A/N: Thank you so much for your comments and encouragement!
If anyone finds any other Undertale slave AU fics, please link it to me. I love this genre so much, and I hope that there are more fics to come.
The next day you call into work. Since rumor seems to have already spread throughout the whole office anyways, you don't see the point in putting up a farce. Besides, right now you couldn't be in the same room as Alphys; the guilt is eating at you.
The next thing you do is make a phone call to John. You set up an appointment with him, then you quickly head up to check on Papyrus and Melody. Mel seems to have already gone to school, and Papyrus is sitting on his bed, doing a word search in a puzzle book you forgot you had.
"OH, HELLO, HUMAN," He says, quickly putting the book down. You walk over and examine it. It is a book you had gotten Melody for Christmas almost two years ago. She solved about all of two of them before getting board. You look up at Papyrus, who has an almost guilty look on his face. He seems uncharacteristically downtrodden, like he thinks you are going to take the book away.
Of course he thinks you're about to take it away. A monster touching things that belong to a human was definitely not something that was often permitted. Not that you would ever even think of taking the book away, but how could he know that. He hardly knows you. And the more you think about it, you hardly know him.
That, you decide, has to change.
"Papyrus," you say as gently as you can manage. "Why don't you come down to the dining room and we can have breakfast."
Papyrus smiles and walks down the stairs with as much enthusiasm as he puts into everything. This morning it was just cereal, but you let Papyrus choose from the six or seven brands that your sister bought. Unfortunately, she bought only the sugary, overly sweet ones, so you settle on some frosted oats and skim milk.
Breakfast hasn't gotten any less awkward, and you make a mental note to tell your sister to eat with you from now on because you just couldn't hand these types of situations.
"So, um," You start, trying to make this sound as normal as possible. "How- where- um… So tell me a little about yourself!"
Papyrus looks confused, then delighted.
"WELL, HUMAN, THERE IS SO MUCH TO KNOW, AS I AM VERY INTERESTING," He thinks for a moment. "HMM, WHERE SHALL I BEGIN?"
He has the confidence that you wish you could have. He goes in detail with his life story. You find out a lot of interesting things about him. Like the fact that he likes puzzles (you store that information away for future use), and the fact that he in the royal guard before the barrier broke, through with the way he described it, it seemed more like a pity position. He had an older brother named Sans, who he has much to say about, and he had several friends. To you, it seems, he had a very normal life in the underground - at least, as normal as it got down there. Which left just one question.
"So how did you end up… here?" You finally manage the nerve ask.
Papyrus seems to come down from his happy memories, and you would feel like an ass if it wasn't for the fact that you had to know. Not just for curiosity sake - but for the sake of what happens next.
"WHEN THE BARRIER WAS BROKEN, MY BROTHER AND I WERE SOME OF THE FIRST MONSTERS ON THE SURFACE," He spoke as softly has he could manage. "WE DIDN'T STAY LONG, THOUGH; WHEN THINGS STARTED LOOKING BAD FOR MONSTERS, SANS MADE US MOVE BACK TO OUR OLD HOME IN THE UNDERGROUND."
You nod, understandingly. "Then why did you come back?"
Papyrus looks down. "THERE WERE... SOME PEOPLE WE LEFT BEHIND. I WANTED TO FIND THEM."
That was… heartbreaking. You just look at him for almost a full minute. Papyrus isn't just here as a casualty of a bad situation, he chose to come back to find his friends. And you don't doubt for a second that is just what this guy would do, whether he was fully aware of the dangers or not.
Which means…
"Did someone come back with you?" You ask, praying for the answer to be no. You want to help Papyrus, you really do, but you can't go around freeing every enslaved monster. That was too daunting of a task that not even the most determined person in the world could handle. Up until now you had sat up the sidelines, not intervening in the affairs of monsters and humans. You are already involving yourself in more than you wanted.
"NO, IT WAS JUST ME." You let out a breath you didn't even know you were holding. At the same time, you feel a pang of sadness at that. That means that Papyrus' brother may still be looking for him in the underground, or worse, had come up to the surface to expand his search.
You realize that Papyrus is looking at you expectantly. Why? What is that look supposed to mean? Does he want you to say something? Because you don't think "I'm sorry" can cover a situation like this. Hell, there isn't a goddamn word that you can say that would make this situation any better.
Papyrus eventually lets whatever was on his mind side, and goes back to eating. You sit there for a little while longer, cereal too soggy to eat but not wanting to leave just yet. Leaving meant facing the world, and you just don't feel prepared for that. Eventually, though, you know you put this off any longer, and you rise, taking the dishes with you.
"I'm going shopping," You inform him. "You still have my number, in case anything goes wrong?" Papyrus nods. "Okay, so same rules apply today. Don't go outside, and… um… I'd like to cook with you tonight, so please try to keep the kitchen clean." You say as politely as possible. It seems that Papyrus really likes cooking, and you just can't bring yourself to take that away from him, so you resolve to stay with him next time he cooks. The household fire extinguisher is not too far from there, after all.
You leave the house and you feel like you can breathe right for the first time all day, despite not even noticing your breath before.
Time to get the day started.
Your first stop is at a clothing store not far from the complex. It isn't too high-end but it still has clothes that you and your sister like, and they aren't too expensive. You have never bought men's clothes before in your life, and you, being about average height, have no idea where to begin finding things that will fit Papyrus.
Well, you can always keep the receipt.
You had thought about bring Papyrus with you to pick out his own clothes, but you decided against it in the end. There would just be too many complications with that right now.
So instead you spend an hour sifting through shirts of various sizes, trying to estimate Papyrus' height, width and style.
When you finally decide to check out, you hear a loud crash. Everyone's heads turn and there, not too far from where you were, was a monster, desperately trying to clean up a rack they had knocked over.
"Worthless thing!" You hear a man shout, quite possibly the manager from the way he was dressed. You here stammered apologies and loud "thumping" noises, but you don't look. These kinds of things happen often, and the best thing to do was walk away. You've done it before a thousand times - but this time, something was different. You keep your eyes firmly on the ground and keep walking. There is nothing you can do. The shouts eventually die down as you are exiting the store, and you make it all the way to your car before you burst into tears.
You're a coward.
You know it.
But there was nothing you could have done.
If you had gone over there to try and help, you wouldn't have made a difference, and at worst you could have made things worse for the monster. You bury your head in your hands. What has gotten into you?
You've never hated monsters, you've never even disliked them - Hell, you considered Alphys a friend… but until recently slavery has just seemed like a necessary evil; a fact of life that couldn't be changed.
Monster Rights has always been your sister's thing, not yours. You have lived with this culture your entire adult life - so why now? Why is it that now you suddenly care?
But something is different now. Something has changed - You.
Because you know you can make a difference now.
Now, you know that doing nothing was a choice, not a necessity. You could have intervened, just like you did with Papyrus, but you chose not to.
And God if that isn't a responsibility you aren't ready to handle.
A wave of tiredness falls over you. You feel responsible and powerless at the same time. You don't think you can stand living on the sidelines anymore. You shake it off. For now, you had to take care of what you had started.
You are late for your meeting with John.
"I'm so sorry!" you say, winded as you stop by your friend-and-lawyer's table at the coffee shop.
"Don't be, I'm glad you decided to show at all," John smiles sarcastically. "I ordered you a cinnamon bun… I ate it, but I did order you one."
You laugh a little and sit next to him. John has helped out your family so often, it's hard to remember life without him. Your mother had had a habit of getting in trouble with the law for various reasons, but she never saw prison time thanks to John.
"So what brings to my office today?" He asks, getting serious - or at least as serious as John can get. "You were pretty vague over the phone."
"I need you to draw up some emancipation papers," You tell him. He raises an eyebrow at this and lowers his coffee.
"Emancipation papers? You know, if I didn't know you better I would say that that sounded like you had bought a…"
You nod sadly and he makes an unreadable face.
"What on earth possessed you to do that?"
"I don't know, but I want to get him freed as soon as possible," You say decisively.
John sighs and puts his head in his hands. "Now, I like you, you know that, but do you have any idea how complex monster law is?"
"I don't care," you say. "I want it done."
John chuckles. "That's the first time I've heard you sound adamant about something. But I'm not sure where to even start with this." You open your mouth to argue, but he puts a hand up. "I'm not saying I can't. Let's just start from the beginning. How on earth did you end up with a slave?"
If he only knew how often you've been asking yourself the same thing. You tell everything. Starting with your "casual stroll" in the auction house to buying clothes and ending with the epiphany you had had in the car.
"I see," He says simply when you are done. "I think I can work with this situation, but before I go any further, I need you to tell me something, and I need you to answer honestly - how far are you going to take this?"
"I don't understand," You say truthfully.
"I mean," John leans over the table. "If I help you draw up the papers, is that going to be the end of it? Or am I going to have to do the same thing six months from now?"
You sit there, stunned. You can't answer him - because you don't know. Will this be the end of it? Once as you get Papyrus home you thought it would be over but… would it? Saving one person wouldn't end the entire slave-system, and you suddenly realize that bothers you. Can you destroy the system? Do you even want to?
John, sensing your hesitation, waves a hand dismissively, "Doesn't matter what you answer. I'll still take the case - I just wanted to know because I do have other clients, and if I'm about to fight a civil rights battle then I'm going to need some time to get ready."
You smile. "Thanks, John. That means a lot. I didn't know you were such a Monster Rights Activist."
"I'm not," He says, taking another sip of coffee. "I'm just a lawyer."
You are slightly disappointed, but you are happy he'll take the case anyways.
"Anyways," John smiles, taking out a notepad. "I'm not an expert on monster law, but I do know enough to know we have our work cut out for us."
You hand John a copy of all of Papyrus' paperwork before you leave. You had tried to keep your eyes away, but you know that if you wanted to help you had to look. Luckily there isn't much in there that either you don't already know or that he hasn't already told you.
John tells you he will be in touch, and leaves you to go home.
The night goes by smoothly. Papyrus cooks again, but this time he has Melody as an assistant, and she is able to mostly keep the kitchen in one piece. You let the two of them decide what movie they want to watch for the night while you research more on monster law.
Searching emancipation on the web immediately brings up the Monster Rights website. You click on it. There are transcribed copies of laws regarding the ownership of monsters:
A monster is defined as any creature whose body is composed of mostly (over 63.9%) of magic and turns to dust upon expiration.
A monster existing above the designated Underground zone without the required documents as designated in section III article I is considered property of the state unless claims are made by one or more individual(s), and cannot be returned to the Underground unless the current employer files for emancipation.
If a monster is to at any point exit the designated Underground zone without written approval of an appointed authority figure, it is immediately in violation of the terms of surrender and may be taken into government custody. After being taken into custody, their emancipated status shall be revoked and it will become the legal property of their captor, who is at liberty to relocate it as they see fit.
You click on the link for Emancipation.
A monster is considered emancipated if it is
A documented residence of a designated Underground zone. Carrying on its person written approval for above ground excursions
A monster's current employer may choose to file for Emancipation for the following reasons:
The monster is too dangerous to continue with their workload The monster is sick, old, or too weak to continue with their workload. The monster has completed the task it has been assigned and is no longer of use.
Should a monster be deemed by their employer or an official of the state to be dangerous, they will be removed from the public. In the other cases of emancipation, the monster shall be returned to the Underground within 24 hours of their release.
The state can, at any time during the emancipation process, deny the request and/or take possession of the monster for the following reasons:
The monster is believed to be faking its illness The monster is believed to have been involved in criminal activity The monster is considered an asset to the state.
You read for a few more hours, taking note of certain clauses that might be helpful in persuading a judge of your case. You are particularly concerned about them taking Papyrus away during the process. You read on several successful cases and a few catastrophic ones, though the ratio seems to be skewed heavily in your favor. The more you read, the more you feel the pit growing in your stomach. You have to take constant breaks to keep your head clear from all of the cynical talk about slavery. And they don't even have the gall to call it that! Not once in any of the legal documents do you see the word "slave" or "owner".
You have to stop when you reach the comments.
People arguing morals. Arguing right and wrong and opinions and middle grounds and oppression disguised as compromise…
It makes you so sick.
Your sister calls your name.
You look up from your computer screen. "Yeah?"
"Do you want to go stargazing with us?" Melody has your old telescope under her arm and Papyrus is carrying a picnic blanket.
"Where are we going to go?" You ask, nervously.
Melody snorts. "We have a backyard, don't we?"
You set out with the pair, making sure that there are no peeping neighbors looking over the fences. You are sure they have found out by now about your new "resident", but you still don't want them looking in on your personal life. You help your sister set up the telescope and watch her try to teach Papyrus the names of the constellations.
Listening in, you learn that in the Underground there are actually caves with star-like rocks in them that monsters use as their makeshift stars. You smile and wonder what that looks like.
"I'd like to see that," You mutter, mostly to yourself.
"NONSENSE," Papyrus says. "WHY WOULD YOU WANT TO SEE THOSE OLD ROCKS WHEN YOU HAVE REAL STARS TO LOOK AT?"
You make a small noise and let their conversation drift into the background of your mind. How long has it been since you looked at the stars, not just the little blimps of data that show up on your office screen. They're so much more fascinating when you look at them now, knowing that that one is 9 thousand light years away, and that one is almost two million miles wide. Well, fascinating to you at least; your sister and Papyrus seem to be enjoying the stories about constellations and the pretty lights each star gives off.
"I ALWAYS WANTED TO MEET THE STARS," Papyrus says, leaning back to get a better look at them.
"I'm sure the stars wanted to meet you too," Mel snickers playfully.
"OF COURSE THEY DID, WHO WOULDN'T?"
The nausea you felt reading all of those horrible things on the internet just seems to disappear. This couldn't be wrong, could it? You feel so at peace here, with your sister and Papyrus, just watching the stars.
You decide in that moment that you were done being a bystander. You are done walking the middle road, trying to stay out of "politics".
You are never going to allow good people like him to be put through a system that treats them like objects.
You are determined to make a difference.