"Halt, Human, you shall go no further!" Papyrus strikes a menacing pose, imagining how intimidating he must look silhouetted in the mist. "You may as well surrender now, for you've found yourself up against Captain Papyrus the Great, of the Royal Guard! You have no chance of survival, so I shall give you a moment to consider the coward's option!"
The child shows no signs of surprise or intimidation. They just look tired. Their body is already covered in scars.
"No? Very well." He attacks with everything he's got, and they dodge with a gracefulness he's never seen before. He pauses to catch his breath and allow his magic time to replenish, purposefully leaving himself vulnerable to attack. He wants to see how hard they can hit. They won't be able to kill him, anyway. No matter how much stronger they say humans are than monsters, this one is still only a child.
The flower yells suddenly, right in the human's ear. "Just do it, Chara! He's not gonna just let you pass!"
The human shakes their head fearfully, and holds out their empty, trembling hands in a sign of peace.
...It's a trap. It has to be. They want him to wear himself out. He attacks again, more reserved, more controlled this time. Even with his blue magic increasing the gravity on their body, they manage to dodge every bone. Again they offer their hands in peace.
"Enough! I'm not falling for your tricks, human!" Again he attacks, and again they dodge, and again they refuse to fight. "This is pitiful."
They continue this infuriating pattern for several more attacks, dodging and weaving and refusing to fight. Papyrus is getting impatient. Finally, he summons his blasters, and three at once fire searing beams of magic at the human, leaving them only a small window in which to dodge. The third hits them dead-on, and they let out a stifled screech as they fall to the ground. Papyrus grins. At last.
The human pushes themselves up with a whimper, and stares up at Papyrus with eyes full of fear. He's seen that look before-the look of a cornered animal. They'll fight back, now, or flee and give him the kill.
Again they open their hands in a wordless plea.
"Stop it!" Papyrus snarls furiously, throwing another bone attack at them. This one hits again, knocking them once more to the ground, and the child erupts in a fit of sobs.
"Chara, please," the flower whispers. But the child won't attack. Another hit will kill them. Papyrus stalks over to them and looms.
"You will die here, human," he says coldly. "Your SOUL will be delivered to King Asgore, and monsterkind will be one step closer to freedom. Don't cry-not everyone gets to die for a cause," he sneers.
The child lifts their hand, carefully, watching him through tear-filled eyes, and touches his hand softly, their fingers curling around his in a gentle grasp.
"What are you doing?"
The child swallows nervously. He can feel their tiny hand trembling.
"What are you doing?" the flower hisses.
Papyrus expects some trick, some follow-up attack, but nothing comes. Their hand is warm, and for some reason it feels good just to let it rest inside his own.
...It's got to be some trick.
But the child just stands there, whimpering. They move closer to him, lifting their other hand. Here it comes. But he's frozen in place, and the human's other arm wraps around him. But there's no knife in their hand, or hidden up their sleeve. They stay still and bury their face in his chest.
The flower slides, panicked, down into the snow and disappears.
The world is very quiet, and mist surrounds them on all sides.
Why can't he move? It isn't as though the child is holding him with any force.
After a long time, he speaks. "You really aren't dangerous at all, are you?" his voice is very dry. He places a hand on their shoulder and gently pushes them away.
The child looks up at him and smiles.
Papyrus's other hand cracks across their skull and knocks them to the ground, unconscious.
The child lay motionless on the other side of the bars, their hands bound behind their back. Their sweater clings to them wetly, and they shiver with cold. Papyrus can tell they're only pretending to still be unconscious, but he stays uncharacteristically silent.
...Sentimentality. That's all it is. He'd been accused of it endlessly during his early years as a cadet. Since then he'd very carefully built up a reputation as not only one of the strongest, but also one of the cruelest monsters in the Underground. Still, he couldn't rid himself of the hated trait. That was why he'd taken the child alive. That was why he hadn't killed Sans many times over for his blatant insubordination. That was why he couldn't even bring himself to kill the former Captain of the Royal Guard, though if she ever showed her face near civilization he knew he'd have to finish the job.
"They'll take advantage of you, Papy." She'd always tell him. "Humans have a way of finding out your every weakness and using them against you. And they're not the only ones."
"Boss!" Sans laughs when Papyrus jumps in surprise. There are dark circles under his eye sockets, and his eye is glowing far too dull.
"Sans, you look like shit. And you let this human slip right past your sentry station! Lucky for you I was able to catch it before it reached Waterfall. What the hell have you been doing all this time?"
"...Skullking."
"If I find out you let this human past you on purpose-"
"Relax, boss. I ain't no traitor, I just like tellin' dumb jokes through doorways."
"Pathetic."
Sans steps closer to the bars and grins at the human. "So, uh, this is what a human looks like, huh? Great idea, taking it alive. I know Al's been looking for a live subject."
"...Yes. If we're going to war with them, we had better find out all we can." Papyrus admits, grateful Sans offered an excuse before he had to come up with one.
"Heh, exactly." Sans's shaky hand slides from his pocket and grasps a bar loosely, his magic eye fixed on the human. Papyrus doesn't like the way he's smiling at them. "Why don't I...stay here and watch 'em while you give the ol' girl a call?"
"Absolutely not."
Sans winces noticeably, "w-why not?"
"There's no way I'm leaving you alone with a human now that I know what you've been doing while you're slacking off! You may call Dr. Alphys, if you wish."
Sans scowls, "but Boss, s-she hates me."
"Hah! Her and every other monster in the Underground!" Papyrus crosses his arms. "Go."
Sans shows no objection other than an insolent stare as he shuffles away.
After a moment, the child rolls over to face Papyrus. "I liked your spaghetti," they mumble.
He blinks a couple times, caught off guard. "The human bait? That was poison!"
"It still tasted good. And it was nice and fresh."
"You're a maniac!"
The child giggles shyly, and Papyrus can't help but feel...
Something.
"Well, clearly I have to up the dosage. How much arsenic does it take to kill a human?"
"Um. I don't know. Um, Papyrus?"
"It's 'sir' to you, human."
"...Sir? Is there something weird about your brother?" The child looks away. "He seems...I don't know. Weird."
"Hah! Everything about him is weird! Where do I start?" He knows he shouldn't be indulging the human's curiosities, but he's taken aback by the child's sincerity. No one brings up his brother to him unless they're trying to start a fight, but the child doesn't seem angry or mocking, just concerned. "He's completely useless! If it weren't for me he wouldn't do a damn thing all day except sit at home and collect socks! Fucking Socks! He's too weak to fight at all-which wouldn't be a problem if he would follow orders and take his job seriously!" And now on top of that he may be a human sympathizer. "I wouldn't hesitate to put him in his place, but-" he stops himself. The child stares up to him curiously. He always tries not to let his weakness for his brother show, lest it be used as leverage against him, but looking at this human-this human who would not fight him, who put their tiny arms around him as though there was nothing to fear-he can't help but trust them. "But he couldn't even handle stubbing his toe, he's so weak. One stray hit, even on accident, and he'd be dead where he stood."
The child's face goes pale, their eyes wide.
"What's that look for? It was not my intention to frighten you-if it was, you would know." He gives them his most menacing grin, but the child's expression doesn't change. "Are you concerned for him?" The child nods. "Well, don't be. He knows how to avoid fights relatively well, and of course, he's got the Great Papyrus to keep him out of trouble." The child giggles and he snickers with them.
They fall into silence.
"What will happen to me?" the child asks.
A cold tremor crawls down Papyrus's spine. "You will be taken to the laboratory in Hotland, where the Royal Scientist, Dr. Alphys, will conduct research and experiments on you in order to learn more about your race. What these experiments will entail I don't know, as it is none of my concern." He pauses. "It will not be pleasant."
They sniff and stare at his feet.
He feels something like a pit in his stomach. None of the monsters who were taken away to Alphys's lab were ever heard from again. Strange sounds are often heard from within at night. It's well known that The Face of the Underground, the robot newscaster Mettaton, had been created by her, but it hadn't occurred to Papyrus until now how that'd happened, or whether he'd been someone before.
Mental images eat at his mind, of the child trapped in a dark cell, in chains, drugged into submission, led out only to be prodded at and cut open, and forced to fight, and always, always terrified.
And suddenly, out of nowhere, he just can't do it anymore.
