Pick your Prison
Chapter 1: The Sharpest Blade
Sans could feel the cold now. It was a tangible thing that settled in the marrow of his bones and made a home. He had been fighting the wind and the snow for hours but it felt like days to him. Maybe he had gotten turned around?
He wandered a bit more, the snow felt like hands pulling him down into their chilly depths, their fingers tight around his tibias and sneakers. Finally he had had enough. His constant exhaustion pulled him face down into the snow drifts. He knew it was dangerous to fall asleep in the open like this but at that moment he couldn't care. His last thought as he drifted into unconsciousness was if he got dusted, he really could blame it on Boss this time.
Sans saw the lump in the snow first, thinking that Papyrus had decided to make one of his "snowmen" in the front yard again after the snow had stopped but a subtle shifting in the snow caught his eye. He could only see the tiniest scrap of black in the blinding white so he went to investigate.
He used a forgotten stick that had been stuck in the snow nearest their fence and slowly brushed the snow off of the cloth revealing more and more of the garment. When the stick finally seemed to strike something more than the clothing he backed up and yelled for his brother through the open door.
"PAPY! COME QUICK!" he yelled.
"what is it bro?" the taller skeleton rushed out of the house, an unlit cigarette hanging from his teeth forgotten in the urgency of his little brother's voice.
"I THINK SOMEONE IS IN OUR YARD!" the smaller one's worried tone pulled Papyrus to his side.
Looking at the lump of clothing in their front yard and the surrounding snow that the stick had brushed away Papyrus could only assume someone had been caught in the freak snowstorm that had blanketed the town the night before.
"you sure it's not just some clothing that got away from someone in the storm?" he walked closer to the lump and nudged it with his untied sneaker.
At the less than gentle tap, a groan was heard, muffled by the dense ground cover.
"oh shit…" Papyrus knelt in the snow, using his hands to gently free the person from their snowy grave. It took him a minute, his long fingers trying not to jostle the being too much but once they were uncovered he froze.
"WHO IS IT PAPY?" questioned Sans.
"i have NO idea… but let's get them inside…" Papyrus lifted the tiny ball of black and red clothing in his arms, stood to his full six foot, and moved toward the door to their cozy home.
He placed the being on the lumpy green couch and stepped back. The persons black hood was up around their face but he could tell it was another skeleton like the two of them. He was small, like his brother but the bones exposed below the black and gold basketball shorts had nicks and scratches in them, and his face… his face resembled his brothers with the exception of the crack running down to his right eye and the sharp teeth with one gold one glinting in the shifting light from the TV.
Sans had ran up the stairs and came back with several blankets and a first aid kit, placing the blankets around the sleeping figure and wrapping him up only his face exposed. Papyrus just kept staring as Sans moved with a thermometer, one that could be placed on a forehead since it seemed rude to try and force the monsters jaw open.
Other than the moan outside the monster on the couch hadn't moved or made a sound in a few minutes and Papyrus was worried they had been too late. Sans kept shuffling the blankets to keep the creature warm, and after a while it seemed to be working. Papyrus touched his brother's shoulder, more than gently pulling him to stand behind him as the figure awoke.
Papyrus watched the monster shuffle and try to move but the blankets hindered them and kept them wrapped tight. With a flurry of movement they were free, the blankets thrown to the other side of the couch and one red eye glaring at the duo. Papyrus had kept his hand on his smaller brother forcing him behind him as much as he could.
"b-boss?" the monster on the couch heaved. His face had become flush in his exertions; both of his hands outstretched, the deadly sharp tips of his phalanges curled slightly in defense.
"HELLO! MY NAME IS THE SANSATIONAL SANS!" Sans poked his head around his brother's arm and waved.
"fuck you pipsqeak! i was talking to boss!... i think…" The monster on the couch scratched his head as he looked at Papyrus.
"LANGUAGE!" Sans chimed, undeterred at the monster's outburst.
"sans… be quiet…" Papyrus mumbled patting his brother's head.
"o-ok boss…"
"SURE THING PAPY!"
It took a second for Papyrus to register what had just happened, the cigarette in his mouth falling to the floor in a bit of shock. Another Sans? He knew about the timelines but his theory about other universes had been right too? And now there was proof sitting on his couch trying not to look him in the eye.
"…sans?" he whispered as he moved toward the couch.
"b-boss?" The monster on the couch shifted closer into the corner, a bit of sweat beginning to drip down his skull.
"WOW! WE HAVE THE SAME NAME TOO?" Sans perked up from his position behind Papyrus.
A small sneeze broke the silence as the three stared at each other, the Sans on the couch seeming to sweat and sneeze, more and more.
"fucking s-say something already…" the other Sans mumbled as he began to shiver.
"OH NO! NOW YOU'VE GOT A COLD! WE HAVE TO GET YOU INTO THOSE BLANKETS AGAIN AND OUT OF THOSE WET CLOTHES!" the smaller Sans, ever the mother hen, ran back up the stairs.
"you aren't b-boss are you…" The Sans on the couch slowly lowered his hands, wrapping them around his upper body as the shivers got worse.
"nah… name's papyrus. your's is sans i take it…" Papyrus slowly lowered his guard and moved toward the end of the couch, tossing the mess of blankets back at the shivering skeleton before he plopped down.
He angled himself so he could keep watch of the monster at the other end of the couch, his left arm hanging on the back of the couch while his other rifled through his hoodie pocket for his smokes. He lit the cancer stick and finally exhaled as his Sans came back down the stairs, a bundle of clothes tucked under his arm.
"HERE ARE SOME DRY CLOTHES! I DON'T KNOW YOUR SIZE BUT I HOPE THSES WILL FIT!" Sans held out the clothes and Papyrus could see it was a pair of long pajama bottoms and a long fluffy sweater, probably the warmest clothes Sans had.
When the other Sans didn't respond his Sans looked at him questioningly. He looked at the other Sans and saw that he had fallen asleep in the tangle of blankets, probably the minute he had thrown them at him.
"well, I guess we have to do this ourselves bro…" Papyrus exhaled.
He was in hell. A warm, suffocating hell with some kind of demon running sandpaper over his sternum and blasting some kind of horrible electronica in his ears. But if he was in hell, that meant that someone had finally killed him and honestly, he thought he would remember the fight to the death he had always been waiting for around every corner. Slowly his other senses came back online and he could feel his arms trapped against his sides and his toes scraping against some kind of fabric that wasn't his shoes.
Sans peeled open his left eye socket, and stared at the white ceiling above him. Gradually his fever dream came back to him. Another Boss and Sans? What the hell had been in that mustard he had drank?
It wasn't until the other Sans popped into his field of vision that he realized it hadn't been a dream. The initial panic of the other monster swept through him and he tensed.
"PAPY, I THINK HE'S AWAKE AGAIN! HIS FEVER HAD BROKEN BUT HE PROBABLY NEEDS FLUIDS!" The over cheery voice practically yelled near his skull. He opened both of his eyes and glared at the other version of himself.
"f-fuck off pipsqeak…" he mumbled with none of his usual strength. It was scary how weak he felt and the blanket burrito he was currently in made his feel hogtied instead of safe. It took all he had just to wiggle free, escaping the warmth only to realize he had been unclothed and clothed again while he had been out.
A pair of sleep pants with images of trains had been placed on his legs and his zip-up and black shirt had been replaced with a giant fluffy sweater with some kind of long-necked creature on it. It itched like all hell but with the lingering cold in his bones was starting to dissipate so he kept it on.
"w-where are my clothes?" he grumbled as he sat up against the arm of the couch.
"OH I PUT THEM IN THE WASH! THEY WERE SOAKING WET AND COVERING IN WHO KNOWS WHAT!" the tiny Sans beside him chirped.
The annoying pitch of his voice made Sans grab his skull in pain and he glared back at the other.
"here's the tea bro…." Boss' look alike muttered as he came around the corner from the kitchen and handed a steaming mug to the small monster.
It had spooked him as the other Papyrus had walked in but as Sans sat there and stared he could see the differences. This Papyrus only had pointed canines, not an entire mouth of jagged teeth. His jaw was straighter with a lazy grin, his cigarette hanging between his teeth. His orange hoodie with tan cargo shorts with untied sneakers screamed chill and even his fingers were different, instead of claws they were long and narrow. But it was his eyes that scared Sans the most. They were relaxed, with a warmth he had seen eons ago but now it only frightened him.
Sans watched as his double grabbed the cup from his brother and walked toward him. Again he could see the similarities but it was the differences that called to him. The smaller stature, the blue 'armor' and scarf, not to mention the crazy, bright blue eye lights he had.
The mug was thrust into his hands and he grumbled. Thankful for the heat but he wouldn't drink anything for fear it had been poisoned. Too many mistakes had led to too many scars, fuck you very much. He shuffled on the couch and dangled his feet of the edge as he watched to two interact over the lip of the drink. His bad eye twitched as he watched Papyrus pet his brother's head as he sat at the other end of the couch.
"WELL SINCE YOU ARE SANS TOO, I FIGURED WE SHOULD GIVE YOU A NICKNAME! THAT WAY WE WON'T GET CONFUSED! HMMM…." Sans seemed to pose, his gloved pointer tapping his chin in thought. "HOW ABOUT RED? MWEH HEH HEH! YES! RED! 'CAUSE OF YOUR EYE!" Sans placed his hands on his hip bones and posed, his eyes lights shifting to stars as Sans looked at him.
He shrugged, he couldn't find the energy to care about the stupid nickname and he was more concerned about the proximity of this Papyrus than anything else.
"WELL, I'M OFF TO PATROL! DON'T KILL EACH OTHER WHILE I'M GONE!" Sans waved as he walked to the door.
Red put the cup down on the coffee table and pulled his feet back up on the couch facing Papyrus.
His opponent shifted on the couch, his left eye smoldering in an orange glow. Red began to sweat again, but grinned. This he could handle.
"well, now that that's over… what the fuck are you doing here?"