Sans looks around the room. He is back in his cell and Papyrus is nowhere to be found. Sans feels a little concern, but mostly he just feels exhausted; when he tries to move his legs, he finds that he can't, and panic begins to rise. Did The Doctor do something to him? He is always exhausted, but he has never been paralyzed outside of examinations and procedures before. It is disconcerting, but not outright terrifying; Sans has had a lot of experience with the terrifying.
"As you can see, S-One is much like the newer model. However, there are many defects that make it unusable."
The Doctor's voice rings out and Sans finds enough energy to roll his head. The Doctor stands behind the impenetrable glass wall, a group of eager spectators watching behind him, many of whom are taking notes.
"Is it alive?" one asks.
"Of course, though it is not very intelligent. Think think of it as… a surface dog, or a mouse. While it is capable of some thought and emotion, it cannot comprehend like we can. It cannot have thoughts outside of basic urges and physical needs. In a word, it is insentient."
That's not true, but only Sans seems to be aware of that fact. As far as The Doctor is concerned, Sans is an animal, and should act and be treated as such. If Sans shows any signs otherwise, he is punished - brutally. Most of The Doctor's coworkers have similar feelings, some even going as far as to take pleasure in Sans' suffering - making procedures longer and rougher just to delight in his screaming. As long as they don't damage the test subject, The Doctor doesn't care. It's actually kind of a relief whenever Sans sees The Doctor is the one who will be operating on him. There is some solace in that The Doctor is normally very cold towards Sans - neither delighting or sorrowing in their pain.
This is how it has been all of Sans' life, and he doesn't think it will change until the day he dies. By now even he thinks he's an animal.
"So what will you do with this one now that it's obsolete," One of the visitors asks dispassionately, looking up from her notepad. She looks right through him the way one would look at an old piece of equipment. Sans shivers.
"Vivisection is my first alternative - if it can survive the process. There isn't much else it's good for other than study," He tells her. Sans doesn't know what a vivisection is, but he knows that if the doctor is planning to do it to him, it's going to be unpleasant. "Other than that, it will be terminated by the end of the month. It's too dangerous to let live."
That Sans understood.
He is going to die.
He is going to die soon.
Sans tries to push to his feet - to shout at them - to cry for mercy - to do something! But he is stuck in place. His body is stuck in invisible tar, and the more he struggles the further he sinks. It fills his mouth and chokes him, making his vision blur and his tongue numb. In his writhing, he can just make out the next words out of The Doctor's mouth.
"If you would like, you can watch the process. I'm sure it would be very… enlightening."
Finally, the tar breaks.
Sans screams.
"NO!"
The Scientists are approaching him and Sans tries to get away, struggling as hard as he can just to move his limbs. Tears prick his eyes and burn his abused throat. Hollowed out hands are reaching for him and Sans thrashes harder, screaming.
There is a loud knocking sound.
"Would you shut the hell up!?"
Sans' struggling cesses instantly, the angry voice triggering a shutdown mechanism drilled firmly into the deepest corners of his brain. He slowly remembers where his is, and his panic and fear subsides slightly. He's not in immediate danger. At least not yet.
Sans feels a horrified chill run through his body as he realized that he must have been making a horrible racket in his distress. He waits anxiously for some kind of punishment, however the door doesn't even open, and Sans assumes the monster has gone away.
Sans rests his head on his paws, unable to return to sleep. He glances over at Papyrus and huffs out a small breath. Papyrus' legs are twitching rapidly; he's sleeping deeply with no disruptive dreams. Sans feels a small pang of jealousy, but it would make sense that his brother would have far more peaceful dreams. After all, he was subjected to far less than Sans.
Being awake is almost as bad as being asleep, because now Sans has time to think of his future. The Monster has them secured, and he obviously has plans for them. The question is what will those plans entail? If the plans are more pain and torture for the brothers, then Sans will have to find a way to get the both of them out of there as soon as possible. He won't survive too long under that kind of treatment and Papyrus, well, he'll survive but he shouldn't have to.
But, if his plans are reasonable... Would it be so bad to stay here? The thought hasn't left Sans' mind since they gorged themselves on the wonderful tiny white specs. If the procedures aren't as bad as The Doctor, maybe if he heals them after and gives them more decent food…
Sans can't help the fantasies as they permeate the thick bubble of morbid thoughts surrounding his mind. The Monster treating them gently, feeding them, maybe even letting them out to play a little…It would certainly be better than returning to him.
Sans has lived his whole life in captivity. When he left with Papyrus, his first instinct had been to return. It's not that Sans doesn't crave freedom - he does not know how to be free. It was almost a relief when the monster chained them up. It felt… homely.
The door opens again a little while later. The Monster is dressed in a much more casual attire this time - loose and draping as opposed to the tight coat and tie he had been wearing the last time Sans saw him.
What grabs Sans' attention, though, is the pair of white rubber gloves covering The Monster's flaming digits.
White gloves that would tear at his insides while he stared at the ceiling, counting the moments until it would be over. Oh god he could hear the bones snapping and feel his soul being submerged in acid until he felt like he would die and-
An involuntary whimper escapes Sans' throat and he curls in on himself.
"Wake up, brats," He says, tapping the side of the wall, ripping Sans from his fear-induced fantasy. Papyrus wakes from his pleasant slumber. He makes a small yawning noise under the mask, and The Monster leans over to remove it. Papyrus has a spark in his eye that Sans recognizes from all the times he bit The Doctor. The Monster seems to recognize it too, and quickly says, "Remember, you play nice and I'll be nice back."
When the muzzle is removed from around Papyrus' maw, he instantly shifts. He stays close to Sans, eyeing The Monster cautiously. Sans is next - the dreaded contraption lifted from his face giving him instant relief. The thought crosses his mind to blast The Monster and run, just incase his kindness runs out or worse - was all an act - but Sans dismisses the thought instantly. The Monster has proven more powerful and smarter than both of them, like The Doctor.
And Sans remembers just how well attacking The Doctor went.
Sans joins his brother in a bipedal form, sitting together with him in front of the dreaded flame - anxious anticipation bubbling in his stomach. The Monster quickly reaches down to grab them, then seems to have a thought.
"The two of you follow me," He orders. Sans rises to his feet and takes his younger brother in his arms. It is just like back in the lab, when The Doctor would beckon them to the operation room, or if they were lucky, just the testing room. Sans would pick Papyrus up so that he wouldn't fuss. He knew that his coddling was making Papyrus spoiled (The Doctor never failed to remind him of that) and that's why Papyrus is so bratty now, but he just can't help it. Giving his brother love and attention makes him feel better.
The similarities in the walk through The Monster's home and the walk through The Lab make Sans uneasy, so he tries to focus on the room around him. Sans hasn't seen many bedrooms - or any at all, for that matter - so he doesn't know what any of the items in the room are, from the small black table, to the odd machine with green-lit numbers on top, to the centerpiece of the room which was a large, cushy white square equipped with blankets standing on wooden legs. It is all strange to Sans, and it makes the pit in his stomach turn to a gaping abyss.
They reach a small room off to the side of the bedroom. The Monster opens the door and ushers the two boys inside.
The room is a sterile white and smooth. The Doctor always told them that the room has to be this way for testing to be accurate, or so that there would be no contamination when operating. A shiny metal basin big enough for the pair waits in the center. The only real difference between this place and The Lab is the small size and the faint smell of flowers in the air. Sans' grip around his brother tightens; a sense of security pulses through him as he holds the other child close, though it is not enough to ward the feeling of dread that surrounds him. He wonders if this will be a test, or if it will be something more… physical. Judging by the room he's in, he can only assume the worst.
"Take off your clothes and get in," The Monster commands.
Sans feels another bite of terror that runs down his neck and to his ribs, but it quickly fades into resignation. Sans slowly places his brother on the ground. So it will be an examination, then. Maybe The Monster will be gentle? Sans doubts it. He undoes the buttons on his jacket with clumsy motions, prompting a frustrated sigh from The Monster.
"Hurry up," He snaps, causing Sans to stiffen. He quickly throws the jacket off and reaches to undo Papyrus. Sans can't help but constantly glance over at the impatient flame. The gloves are what worries Sans the most; The Doctor only wore those when he used the saw and scalpel. Sansdefinitely does not want this unknown monster rummaging around in his insides, though he fears he does not have a choice in the matter.
Sans takes a deep breath and removes the last of his brother's clothing. It will be just like they're back in the lab again. They survived before, they can do it again.
It's actually somewhat relieving, to Sans' horror, to be an experiment again - to have somebody else taking control over their lives. It was horrible not knowing what is going to happen. The outside world is just too much. Everything out there is new and scary and strange and it all just serves to confuse and terrify the poor skeleton. Even if he doesn't like it, he feels he knows what is happening here, and that in and of itself is so much more comforting than just not knowing.
Finally, he picks Papyrus up again and walks over to the waiting tub. To his surprise, there is steaming water filling the basin two-thirds of the way. Sans is at a loss for what to do now.
"Well?" The Monster say, agitated. "What's the hold up?"
"T-there's water," Sans says pathetically.
"Of course there's fucking water!" The Monster spits, flames burning a bright azure. Sans gives a tiny yip and throws himself into the water, splashing some onto the monster, who sizzles and swears.
So water hurts him? Sans files that information away for later, in case he needs to make a plan to escape.
Sans sits completely still in the burning water. He's lucky that he doesn't have skin, or else it would have turned red with the heat - though Sans would take scalding water over the scalpel any day.
This is a very unexpected twist on what Sans had thought would be a very basic examination. Why has The Monster put them in water? Is it really a test? If it is, then are they doing well?
Apparently not, as The Monster gives a frustrated sigh and leans down a little too quickly. Sans reaches out to Papyrus once again for comfort, and The Monster halts his descent.
"I'm just reaching for a towel, kid, relax."
Sans can do no such thing, but he does sit still as The Monster uses a small piece of fabric to wipe down Sans. He uses the same diligence that The Doctor had used when he cleaned his tables. Sans realizes that The Monster is cleansing them, but doesn't fully understand why. When The Doctor had wanted them clean, he would have someone hose them down with icy water from a tap and unless an experiment called for it, he would never clean them himself.
Dread find its way into in Sans' ribs again.
"You got something to say, kid?" The Monster says, noticing Sans' rigid posture. He avidly shakes his head, fearing The Monster's reaction (and answer) to his question.
The Monster quietly scrubs both of the boys as thoroughly as he could, occasionally putting an odd substance on the cloth before rubbing it against their bones. It leaves a small trail of multicolored orbs in its wake, much to Papyrus' delight. Sans' sense of smell is overwhelmed by the scent of flowers he has no name for. It makes him sneeze.
When The Monster reaches Sans' left arm, he pauses.
"The hell is this?" The Monster says, lifting Sans' arm up to examine it.
"A Catheter," Sans tells him. The Monster's brows come together.
"Catheter?" He asks. "Are you sick or somethin'?"
Sans shakes his head. Why would being sick have anything to do with it? All experiments have them (at least San and Papyrus do, and that, to the best of Sans' knowledge, is all of the experiments.).
The Monster continues to look over his arm, eyes finally resting on the plate drilled into to back of his hand. Sans had been able to hide it earlier, but now his hand is in The Monster's gentle grasp. Sans feels more exposed under The Monster's confused gaze than he did when he has removed his clothes.
Finally, The Monster removes his attention from the tiny experiment's hand and resumes washing. Sans lets out a breath he had held subconsciously. The stress of the situation is making him ill, and the absolute last thing he wants is to lose consciousness in the water.
When The Monster finishes, he orders them out of the tub. Sans pulls himself away from the now-comfortable temperature of the bath to the cool outside. He attempts and fails to suppress a shiver that is rattling his bones at an uncomfortable pace. He removes his brother from the water as well, and Papyrus instantly begins a fit. Sans tries to shush him, but to no avail. The Monster huffs out a long breath. Sans braces himself for the blow he knows will come from the agitated monster, but The Monster simply picks up a large, fuzzy fabric and wraps it around Sans' shoulders. Confused, Sans stares at The Monster as he take another off the stack towels and motions for Sans to hand him Papyrus. Sans is reluctant to give the toddler over to The Monster, but eventually complies.
The Monster wraps Papyrus up in a towel. Papyrus giggles softly, squirming with delight. Sans flinches, remembering the way The Doctor would punish them for making those kinds of noises, but The Monster simply looks… conflicted? He sets the bundle back on the ground and removes the gloves, much to Sans' relief.
"Dry off and sit down. I'll get you dinner in a minute."
The Monster walks calmly out of the room and Sans collapse into a half-upright pile. He quietly drags Papyrus to his lap and holds him close to comfort his rapid breathing. Papyrus squirms playfully in Sans' arms, and eventually shifts to gnaw on Sans' ulna. Sans doesn't have the strength to stop the teething pup and let's his brother chew at his arm. Papyrus never bites too hard, even though he does not truly know that if he breaks the bone Sans will die.
Slowly, Sans stands and dresses himself and his younger brother in their old clothes. Papyrus' clothing is still from the lab, though the jacket that Sans wears was stolen from a clothesline when he entered the snowy part of the underground.
The sharp sound of knuckles hitting wood fills the room and Sans goes still.
"You two can come out now," The Monster's voice rings. Sans knows better than to keep someone stronger than him waiting. He slowly makes his way to his feet and carries Papyrus out the door. The Monster is once again standing with his deep aqua arms crossed. There is a wonderful smell permeating the room; Sans still feels full from the last meal, but he hopes that The Monster plans to feed them again. Two meals in one day was just too enticing a fantasy for him to ignore.
The Monster leads the pair through another door into the room where they were captured. Residual fear eats at Sans, but he pushes it down and takes a seat at the table where he and Papyrus stayed the other day. He holds Papyrus close this time, keeping him pressed firmly against his ribs, as if that act alone could protect them both from The Monster moving behind the counter.
Eventually, The Monster returns with more food, this time an off-color, viscous water that took a few seconds to register as substance to Sans. Another oblong metal - a spoon, as he recalls - is stuck out of the bowl and Sans slowly picks it up like last time, trying to catch some of the water in it.
"Tell the other one to… ya know…" The Monster is looking at Papyrus with an awkward, unreadable expression. Sans quickly gives Papyrus a little tap and makes the motion The Doctor made when he wanted them to shift. Papyrus, now with two arms and a normal skull, makes a grab for the bowl. Sans is able to stop him before empties the contents of the bowl on their laps and attempts to demonstrate the workings of a spoon.
"What are you two?" The Monster asks bluntly. Sans gives him a confused look. The Monster doesn't know?
"we are subjects," Sans tells him.
"Subjects?" The Monster looks as confused as Sans feels.
"y-yes," Sans says meekly. When The Monster still doesn't seem to understand, Sans anxiously continues. "experiments S-One and P-Two, series WG94."
The Monster's confusion doesn't seem to ease, but before Sans can continue with his nervous rambling, he nods. "So, you two aren't monsters?"
An icy feeling pulses through Sans' soul, but he simply nods in affirmation. "no, we're not."
The Monster's mouth twitches, and Sans is at a loss for how to interpret it. Besides being unfamiliar with The Monster's personal facial expression and how to interpret them, The Monster is also made of fire, making it hard to even see the expressions to interpret. It makes Sans uneasy.
Once again, The Monster continues before Sans can make up for his mistakes.
"I see," He says, folding his arms. "Well then, you two will be staying here." Sans had expected as much. "If you try to make any attempts to flee, or attack me, I will be forced to retaliate." Again, nothing new. "Any questions?"
"n-no," Sans says quietly.
"And you call me Sir, understand?" The Monster says sternly.
"yes, s-sir."
Papyrus is finished with his meal, and Sans isn't far behind. The Monster stands quickly and exits the room. Sans quietly wipes Papyrus' face with the sleeve of his jacket. Now that the two of them are clean, he realizes out absolutely filthy their clothes had become.
Sans finds that he's reached the bottom of his bowl. He feels a little better now that he's eaten again - the food seeming to fight away his nervous illness. His is amazed that he and his brother can even eat this much; that had been more food than they were normally given in a week.
The Monster returns with a pair of garments in hand. Sans looks at them confused as The Monster places them in front of him and his brother.
"Get dressed in these," The Monster commands. "You'll be warmer."
The Monster takes the empty bowls back to the kitchen and washes them. Sans keeps one eye firmly him as he dresses the other skeleton and dons the new clothing. It is certainly much thicker than what he had been wearing before. There were even little fuzzy gloves and scraps of fabric that go around the neck. He had seen monsters from this area wearing clothing like this before. Somehow, looking down at his now covered hands, he feels more like a monster than he had ever before in his life.
Maybe it's because the gloves covered his marks?
Maybe it's because that's what monsters wear?
The Monster approaches and Sans stiffens. If they got clothes like this, what does that mean is coming next?
His question is answered not a second later.
"Come on, kid," The Monster says, smirking. "We're going out training."
Grillby's eyes dart around, paranoid someone will spot them, as he leads his new charges through Snowdin.
What the hell has Grillby gotten himself into?
First, what exactly are these kids? If they're not monsters - and they certainly aren't humans - then what are they? The kid, Sans , he reminds himself, called the two of them "subjects" and "experiments", but that means as much to Grillby as calling themselves by any other word. The only reason he didn't inquire further was because he could see that the kid didn't know either.
Second, Grillby had seen injuries of some kind on almost every part of their body, and not in a way that he has ever seen before. The breaks and scars were perfect - straight lines and boreholes that speckled their bodies at all the most delicate places.
And most disturbingly, what is with the Catheter? And those things on their hands? The plates read a series of letters and numbers similar to what the kid had given his name as. Subjects, the boy had called himself and his brother. Grillby doesn't think too hard on the matter, so his train of thought is lost before he can even catch glimpse of the connection.
Once as the three are out of the city, Grillby allows himself to relax a tad, but still keeps his senses attuned to the world around him. The woods are the teens original territory, after all; running into those little delinquents now would be devastating - and quite possibly deadly.
There is a pause in the footsteps behind him. Grillby quickly glances back; Sans has lifted his young counterpart off the ground and is carrying him behind the flame. Sans' eyes meet Grillby's and they both quickly look away. Grillby is very glad he gave the boys the warmer clothes. Tonight is colder than usual, and it's a wonder they hadn't froze to death on the streets. The gowns they had been wearing were more like thin cloths sewn together.
They are so thin and sickly too. Grillby knows what skeletons are supposed to look like, and this isn't it. Their joints aren't supposed to creak so painfully when they move. Their bones aren't supposed to chip and flake under the lightest of touch. Their eyes sockets aren't supposed to be so blank and lifeless. Skeletons are energetic and full of life - but the kid did say they aren't monsters…
Regardless, these kids look like they haven't seen decent care once in their life - and they certainly haven't had medical attention. No parent wouldever let this happen to their child, and if they did and the village found out they'd be killed. Do these kids have parents? Have they ever even had a home?
Grillby puts the questions out of his mind. Why should he care? It doesn't matter what these kids' stories are. As long as Grillby gets what he wants, the kids lives don't matter.
They finally reach the indention - an area in the walls of the underground carved out by a long dried water system. There is no snow here, the area being almost desolate except for the few trees that have managed to make a home out of the gloomy cove, though mostly it is filled with stalagmites and glowing rocks. This place is where Grillby learned to defend himself - training day after day to get stronger. He's never brought another monster to his little haven, yet some how it doesn't feel like an invasion to bring the children. They said they're not monsters, after all. That must be it.
Grillby stops in the middle of the place and puts his bag down on a large bolder. The kids look at him expectantly. Grillby is once again shocked by the children's complete compliance with everything he says. They are waiting for their next instruction, and Grillby decides to give it to them quickly before the kids wise up to his "strong and powerful" act and make a break for it.
"Alright, before we get started, I wanna know how much you two know about fighting?" Grillby says, leaning back against a stalagmite.
Sans' eyes widen and bink out. Grillby is scared for a moment that the child is going to attack him, but Sans simply puts Papyrus on the ground and looks morosely at the stone beneath his feet. "the doctor showed us how to do some fighting…"
"Okay," Grillby says, ignoring the repeated use of the name Doctor . "Now show me. "
Sans flinches, but shifts quickly and orders Papyrus to do the same. Papyrus, now in his dog-like form, lunges at Sans. Sans perrys and grabs at Papyrus' ankle, then throws him violently into the cave wall. Papyrus recovers quickly and is on all four legs in a matter of seconds. Sans is charging him, but Papyrus is quicker, sending a beam of magic at the older child. Sans dodges, but only by an inch. Papyrus rushes him and slams his brother to the ground. Sans topples over to his side, struggling to regain footing, but Papyrus is having none of hit. Papyrus arches his back and makes to bite his neck.
"Stop! Enough!" Grillby rushes to separate the two boys. He grabs a child under each arms and pulls them back to get to his feet, nearly knocking himself over in the process. Sans quickly goes limp while Papyrus continues thrashing until Grillby drops him. The child sits on the ground and looks at Grillby with determined eyes. Grillby is livid. "I said to give me a demonstration, not kill each other!"
Sans returns to his child form. "Sorry," he mutters.
Grillby huffs out a frustrated sigh. Papyrus had almost killed Sans. Sans had been holding back - probably out of affection for his brother - but it was still much more vicious than what Grillby had been expecting. What if one of them had dusted the other! Grillby feels a strange emotion at the thought, and it confuses him, so he dismisses it.
"Okay, listen," He says, putting Sans on the ground. He watches for another attack from Papyrus, but the child seems to understand the fight is over. "I want you two to spar . Do you know what spar means?"
Sans shakes his head lightly; Papyrus looks disinterested.
Grillby covers his face with a hand and slowly brings it down. " Sparring is when you fight, but try not to hurt the other person. Got it ?"
Sans nods, but his eyes are still clouded with confusion. Grillby sighs and takes a stance. "Sans, come over here."
Sans walks over to the flame with wobbly legs. His head is hanging and his arms are limp at his sides. Grillby fights the urge to roll his eyes at such a pathetic display. "Okay, Sans, I want you to watch." Sans reluctantly tears his eyes away from the ground. The lights in his eyes are gone, replaced with abstract fear. Grillby takes a step forward and the boy instantly tenses. "Now, I want you to hit me."
The lights return to the boy's eyes and he looks at him with the most absurd expression, "S-s-sir?"
"You heard me," Grillby says. "Show me how you punch."
Sans looks at his gloved hand as if it is a new and unusual object. He slowly curls his fingers and rears back. He hits Grillby's knee with relatively high strength for his age. If Grillby's body was physical, that would have hurt much worse. Good, the kid knows to go for weak points.
"Good job," Grillby says, smiling wildly. "Not it's my turn."
Sans only has enough time to comprehend the words as he braces himself for the hit. Grillby gives a gentle swipe with his leg, hitting the child's arm with just enough strength to knock him over. Sans seems to panic and flail for a moment, as if he believes the flame will attack him now that he's on the ground. Grillby chuckles warmly at the child's scrambling, then offers a hand. The child freezes and stares at the offered appendage with a mix of confusion and trepidation.
"You want up or not?" Grillby says, beginning to lose what little patience he had with the boy. Sans quickly stands himself up, ignoring the hand completely. He hangs his head pathetically, and Grillby can't resist rolling his eyes this time. "Okay, so you wanna learn how to avoid getting knocked on your ass like that again?"
Sans looks up at him, and it's the first time he's made willing eye contact with Grillby. Sans seems to be silently questioning Grillby, and Grillby sighs hard. Does this kid need everything explained to him.
"Kid, I'm trying to help you," Grillby says, leaning against the cave walls. "If I wanted to hurt you, I would have. Got it? So no more looking at me like I'm some human, 'kay?" Sans nods slowly, and begins to look down again, but Grillby stops him. "Eh! No more of that. You're gonna look at me from now on. And speak when you answer me. 'Yes, Boss' or 'Yes, Sir.'"
Sans begins to nod again, but stops himself. "y-yes, b-boss."
Grillby huffs. Close enough. "Okay, so back to the lesson."
Grillby spends the next two hours just teaching Sans how to block and dodge. Sans picks up on that fast, though when Grillby asks him to attack the rocks he finds that his shots are wild, powerful, and uncontrolled. Grillby makes a mental note to train him on that later, when he trusts the kid enough to not kill him on the first shot.
Sans is still nervous, though training like this he seems almost relaxed. Not that his suspicion of Grillby has visibly decreased, but rather he seems to be in a 'zone' of some kind. Grillby knows that feeling - letting the world fade out, letting just him and his target remain. Absolute focus. Like all the problems in the world can't touch you while you're busy.
The kid once again shows his obedience. He never questions an order, never complains, never asks to stop, he just keeps going simply because Grillby tells him to. Grillby smiles. This is good. They are much more well behaved than the brats he's seen other people have. Grillby feels an odd sensation stir in his chest - he must have over exerted himself on that last set.
While Sans is very obedient, that doesn't translate into enthusiastic or a good learner. He is sloppy, and often has to be told and shown things several times before he figures out how to do them on his own. Grillby does end up losing his temper once - his flames singing one of the scattered trees. Sans and Papyrus rush back and hide behind a pair of boulders, and it takes several minutes of coaxing to get them to reveal themselves.
Papyrus mostly entertains himself with the rocks on the ground, though occasionally Grillby tries to let Papyrus join in on the lesson; he is definitely too young to start fighting for real. If he got into a real fight he would probably be dust before his opponent even started. Not that Grillby cares, he reminds himself. He is not going to get emotionally attached to these two. They are just tools. Nothing more.
"That's enough," Grillby says after a particularly draining exercise. "We'll pick back up tomorrow."
Sans nods and takes Papyrus into his arm. Grillby feels annoyed. How old is that kid? Four, five at most? Certainly too old to be held.
"Put him down," Grillby says. "He can walk on his own."
Papyrus seems almost thankful as he is let down. He stands well enough on his own, though his walking is somewhat wobbly - probably from lack of practice. Grillby leads the pair back through the forest. It's slow with Papyrus on the ground, but neither Grillby nor Papyrus could stand for Sans' coddling.
It must be almost dawn on the surface, Grillby guesses. The Underground doesn't have a day and night cycle, though from running the bar for so many years, Grillby's internal clock is attuned enough for him to base his time judgments on it. When he gets back to the town, he will have to be careful not to be seen with the kids.
Although, that may be a problem for right now, as Grillby hears footsteps and voices in the distance. He curses under his breath, recognising them instantly. Before he can open his mouth to warn the boys, the local teens round the corner.
Snowdrake was in the middle of a story, but quickly cuts off when he catches sight of the flame and two children. Sans takes Papyrus' hand and inches behind Grillby, much to his disappointment.
Slowly, Snowdrake's face turns from surprise to delight.
"Oh, score!" he shouts. "We got Grillby and the cash kids!"
Ice cap, Monster Kid, and Chilldrake all smile just as wild.
"We're gonna get some revenge ."
"And the money."
"Spilt it ten, sixty, twenty?"
"Hey! Why do I only get ten?"
"Cause you're the youngest, duh!"
Grillby quickly steps back. He looks out the corner of his eyes at the children. Sans has shifted and taken a defensive stance in front of Papyrus. The obedient child from before has been replaced with a determined beast. Grillby smiles. That's what he wants to see.
"Sans," Grillby whispers. Sans looks up at him. Grillby gives a decisive nod. "Attack."
That is all the motivation the kid needs. He lunges at the closest monster and rips into his leg. The teen gives a earsplitting screech, and the others begin to attack. Grillby watches as Sans struggles to taken down a pair that is trying to double team him. Grilby is enraged. There's no way that Sans can fight them both.
Well if they're not going to fight fair…
Grillby sends out a wall of blue flames, burning the teen behind Sans, giving him time to fire his blaster at the teen closest to him. It nearly blows a hole through his chest, too, and Grillby can tell his hp is dangerously low. Yet instead of giving the killing blow, Sans just stands there.
"Finish him!" Grillby calls to the frozen child; Sans' bones remain planted firmly on the ground, though Grillby notices a slight shake in them. "Sans! Do it now! That's an order."
Too late. The teens have had enough time to recover and retreat back to the town. Grillby lets out a slew of swears. Sans rushes to Papyrus, and Grillby can see the thought of escape manifest in Sans' eyes. He creates a right of azure flames around the pair; it's not enough to stop Sans if he tried to get past them, but it did scare him enough to give him pause. Sans quickly cowers around Papyrus as Grillby stomps forward.
"What the fuck was that!?" Grillby shouts. There are tears in Sans' canine eyes, and it just serves to sicken and incite the flame further. "Change back. Now."
Sans slowly lets his bones back to their original, child-like structure. He sits on the ground in front of his brother, shaking - and Grillby knows it's not just from the cold.
He quickly leans forward and grabs Sans' coat enough to lift the emaciated skeleton off the ground. Sans yelps pitifully and Grillby is tempted to knock his lights out right then and there. "Look at me!" Sans shakes his head, and Grillby's flames burn hotter than they ever have. Sensing the head, Sans slowly turns his head back to meet the eyes of the fuming monster. "Now I want to know exactly why you didn't dust those brats just now."
"I- I- I-" Sans stutters, looking panicked. His eyes have manifested a ruby tint, glowing bright enough to illuminate the surrounding area. Grillby can see the red beginning to pool around his eyes, and it doesn't take him long to realize that Sans is crying. Grillby can feel a ghost of anger in his stomach at such a strong display of weakness, but mostly he feels empty. An emotional hole has opened up in his chest and all of the anger drains out like hot air escaping a balloon.
Suddenly it's as if Grillby is standing outside of his own body, watching the events unfold. He sees his own enraged features and the small, abused child's tears, and the last of his rage quickly snuffs.
He puts Sans back on the ground, and for a moment, he numbly wonders if the kid is going to make a break for it. It seems Sans is wondering the same thing, though he eventually seems to decide against it. He hangs his head and pulls Papyrus closer to him for comfort. Papyrus doesn't like it, but doesn't fight. The proverbial hole in his chest seems to have robbed Grillby of his energy as well, because he doesn't even have the strength to roll his eyes.
"Let's go," Grillby mumbles. The three continue their way back to town, not speaking a word.
