Chapter 2
Showering Acceptance
"Toilet paper was the 'leash' of her problems."
The heater hummed dutifully, as did Alphys ancient looking computer. It kept the shed warm but your ass was still sore from the halfheartedly made bed in the corner.
You missed modern day comforts. And food. God, you were so tired of eating canned beans from the dump, but the monsters refused to give you anything else. They just gave you the pre-opened can, no spoon or fork, and made you say "thank you". They did not accept sarcasm.
Your hair was greasy and you swore you stank. God, you missed toilet paper. And toilets. And showers. To keep it short, you missed having a basic hygiene routine. It was really gross having to eat beans with your fingers (and your whole face) and only have your own tongue to "clean" yourself. To use the blankets as makeshift napkins seemed sacreligious because they were the only good thing in your life right now.
You slowly stood up and brushed yourself off. Walking calmly towards the prison bars you stopped by them to rest your forehead with a deep sigh. Your whole life sucked and every joint in your body felt as if they had aged thirty years after having slept on the floor like a dog. Blankets or no blankets, you were grumpy and stiff, dammit!
You hadn't gotten very far at even attempting making up an escape plan. Two weeks later and you were still in a shed, still containing a toxic cocktail of emotions that did nothing to help keep you focused. Mostly you just watched the new fish lady and her psychotic lizard girlfriend.
The lizard, Alphys, in turn kept watching you with her freaky glasses that always glinted maliciously whenever she had a breakthrough or another idea for an experiment. Sometimes her fingers twitched like she wanted to do more than just watch you, but so far the presence of Undyne and sometimes Papyrus were enough to persuade her otherwise. Still, you refused to forget how the skeletons referred to her as the psyko. So you kept your distance and tone respectful.
The whole thing had been nothing more than one humiliating experience after another.
The only time you got to come out from your prison was during the tests performed by Alphys or during "potty" breaks. You only had to get naked once and that had been a cold and embarrassing procedure where you had to stand very still in front of a machine for about an hour while Alphys fiddled with dials and took photos, scanned you and tried to open the barrier of your soul. She hadn't said much. Just simple commands like, "lift your arms", or, "turn around". Sometimes she also muttered her written notes out loud. Once you heard her say, "Experimentation is limited since the soul cannot be extracted". It couldn't be called, summoned or tampered with according to the monsters. It was a great comfort that they could only mess with your physical sense of self and not your spiritual. Though you had to admit that you were disturbed by the thought of the photos of you in the nude ending up in a report. Much more so when you imagined who might read it.
Undyne kept watch as if you would suddenly attack her girl if she so much as blinked. For once in your life you were glad for all of those communal showers you had to take. It made it a little easier to constantly feel watched and judged.
Papyrus and Sans were never there during those 'exposing' times. Sans was pretty much never in the shed with you and Papyrus always excused himself. At least there was that, whatever good that did for your dignity.
It was pretty much dead at this point.
Apparently Undyne had been pissed at Papyrus for not telling her about the new human immediately, but she seemed like the kind of person who's fuse burned quick and hot. She'd been over it a little under a day's time after meeting you. Ever since Undyne made you wear a collar and a leash so that you could relieve yourself in the woods, her enthusiasm at seeing a human lowered significantly.
Alphys was harder to get a read on. She was quiet but sometimes while looking at papers or results from scans she would shake ever so slightly. You still didn't know if it was from anger or excitement. The tests had tapered off after the first few days. Now she was mostly at her quickly assembled lab station at the other end of the shed, watching you and going over what they had learnt.
"I thought humans were cooler than this." Undyne, best friend of Papyrus, sentry of Waterfall and borderline sushi plate, said disappointedly.
Alphys fixed her glasses. "It would have been more exciting at the lab." She said with a shrug.
Undyne pouted. "I still don't know why we can't just kill them."
"Don't even think about it!" Alphys hissed unexpectedly. She glanced towards the windows. Undyne caught her look and seemed to understand. "Sorry, babe."
"I'm right here, you know?" They both turned at your baleful tone.
Alphys snorted. "Not everything is about you. Now shut up and bite down on this." She went over with a white plate looking thing. Without ceremony she shoved it towards the general area of your face while looking at you meaningfully. You could feel your mood sourening further at her irritated face above you. Really, you were sick of being pushed around by these stupid giants. Still, you swallowed your ire and reached for the plate thing. It was squishier than you thought it would be.
"Put it in your mouth." Alphys told you evenly.
"Pffft, hahaha!" The sushi plate bellowed. "At least- HAHA- At least ask it out to dinner first!"
You felt your cheeks reddening but bit down on the white surface. Alphys ignored Undyne and told you to press your teeth down harder. You pushed until it felt like you couldn't anymore before she pried it from your mouth. Looking at the indentation from your teeth she spared a glance at you and Undyne before resolutely walking back to her station.
Your jaw feels sore now. Great. Just when your face was starting to feel normal again.
"I heard them skittering somewhere in the ceiling last night." Alphys told Undyne offhandedly.
Undyne in turn glowered sourly at a wall, muttering, "They wouldn't if they were dead."
"It's annoying but the data is extraordinary. Right now I'm doing a side-project to observe their behaviour with reduced rations and limited territory. So far one of them was torn in two."
"So, one less to worry about! That's great, babe."
"Actually", Alphys smiled. "It divided into two entities."
During your stay you've learnt not to listen too hard to the two lady monsters. They always managed to talk about something disturbing, gross or confusing. So far, the best tried out method of lessening your anxiety was to pretend they weren't even there. It hardly worked, but it was all you had. Tuning them out completely you started daydreaming about your old bathroom and your biggest and fluffiest towel.
There was another hour of boredom and idle daydreaming before the absolutely worst thing happened.
"hey." Sans walked into the shed like he owned the place. Which you guessed, he technically did.
He stepped in, took a few swaggering steps and then stopped dead in his tracks. His face did some complicated things, something you tried not to pay attention to, just in case he looked your way.
"oh, that's rank." He waved a hand next to his face, "pheeew!"
You seethed.
He turned to Alphys in the corner, "bitch, ya work in this?"
She looked annoyed, fixed her glasses, turned her back towards him and started clacking away at her computer.
"cunt." Sans muttered.
"Watch your mouth!" Undyne snapped.
"i will if ya will." He made a v with his fingers and showed her his red tongue.
"UGH! You're disgusting!"
"me? nah, but the human is." He turned his skull towards you. You felt yourself shrinking away.
"That's just how humans are." Undyne said crossly. "At least it has manners!"
"whatever, fishface. take it out back and rinse it down."
"With what? A hose?"
"if that's what it takes."
A loud clatter sounded. Alphys banged down her teamug and swiftly turned around. "And have my subject die from hypothermia? Are you going to have it stand naked in the snow and hose it down with ice-cold water until it dies of shock?
Sans shrugged his shoulders uncaringly. "what, don't tell me this is what does it fer ya? i mean, i know ya have this weird fascination with humans but is that fetish really enough to ignore this?" He gestured towards your greasy form. You resolutely shut your mouth.
"It's not a fetish, it's an appreciation of human culture!"
"is this part of that culture? cause it smells worse than jerry."
Alphys gasped. You had a feeling you just had the worst insult she'd ever heard thrown at you.
"So what!" Undyne stepped forward, partly hiding Alphys behind her. "It's gonna be dead soon so what's the big deal? It's not like you're here helping out anyway!" She aggressively poked his chest. "Unlike your brother who takes his job seriously!"
Sans smacked her hand away, caught it and bent her fingers. "don't fucking poke me, bitch."
"Don't tell me what to do!" She grappled and tried to bend his fingers back. It was like watching two toddlers duking it out while high on cocaine, fighting with nothing but the palm of their hands and chubby fingers.
"I'm working!" A mug came soaring between the fighting couple and smashed loudly on the worn floor. It shattered in tiny pieces but the fighting stopped from the shock of it.
"Alphys…!" Undyne turned big eyes towards her girlfriend.
"You're both in the way! Take it outside if you're gonna fight." Alphys squared up and looked ready to battle.
"crazy bitch! that was my brother's mug!" Sans met her hateful glare with one of his own.
"Whatever!" Undyne stomped to the door. "My shift is over anyway! I'm out of here!" She slammed the door behind her.
There was a tense silence.
Sans pointedly opened a window and sat down at the uncomfortable stool his brother usually used. During the commotion you had abandoned the prison bars and instead pressed yourself to the wall by your "bed". It still didn't help the dread you felt when Sans red eyes found you. You were just waiting for his face to morph again. You glanced at his teeth, they were sharp but no longer resembled thin needles. He looked like he did the first time you met him. None of the other monsters you'd seen had changed their faces like he did that one time he threatened you, which was a relief.
Sans usually didn't come to the shed with the others, when he did it was always brief. This was different.
Alphys still looked angry but soon turned back to her station to work. The sound of her claws on the keyboard filled the room.
The door opened and Sans skull swiveled to the tall form of his brother walking in. Papyrus swept snow from his shoulder and stomped his bots to loosen any clumps of ice. The keyboard stopped for a second then resumed.
"Close The Window. You're Letting Out The Heat."
"it stinks."
"So Give It A Bath!" Papyrus looked more tired than usual. His sharp uniform wasn't as straight and there was a slight shadow under his eyes.
You let your attention switch between the brothers. Something was up.
"Doctor Alphys." Papyrus started while his brother grumpily closed the window. The sound of the keyboard came to a dead halt.
"S-sir." Alphys never stuttered around anybody else but Papyrus. You didn't get it. Out of all of them, he was the most level headed one.
"Bring My Brother The Leash. We Have Business To Discuss."
She quickly complied. Going over to a locked drawer under her desk, she unlocked it and uncovered the dreaded leash. You shuddered when you realised what this implied.
Alphys went over to Sans who stood with his hand out, waiting for her to drop it in his sharp looking fingers. The leather creaked when he closed his hand over it.
You gulped.
The door to your prison was unlocked. Faster than your mind had time to process you found yourself standing far too close to Sans. He didn't look happy to be closer to the source of the stink but he bore it with a grim determination to get it done.
"get over here, human." He sneered a few paces from you.
Your feet moved without your consent until you were standing in front of him.
"move yer hair."
You complied and gathered it in your hand. You heard the click when he opened the leash and felt it around your neck. He was trying his hardest not to touch you. Maybe you looked even worse than you smelled? The leather tightened until you could just about fit the tip of a finger between it and your skin. Then he locked it and fastened the leash with a harsh tug that made you nearly lose your footing.
Sans stepped back from your space and looped the leash around his fist three times. Turning he started heading out, giving you no choice but to follow. Alphys and Papyrus didn't give you a glance.
"time?" Sans halted by the door leading outside. You almost walked into him.
"Two Hours. Take It To The Back When You Are Done." Were they going to shoot you behind the barn?! Before you could panic he continued. "I Need You To Move This After." Papyrus angled his head towards the computer.
Sans nodded and opened the door.
"And Sans."
"yeah, boss?"
"... Let It In The Bathroom."
"sure thing, boss." He tugged your leash and before you knew it you were freezing outside. Thankfully the walk to the house was short and he didn't tug, unlike Undyne who always abused the power of the leash when she was impatient and wanted you to walk faster.
You've never been inside the house before. You didn't even know if they lived there or if it was an official building for sentries of the area until today.
The christmas lights gave a false sense of comfort but the doormat cleared any misunderstanding. A proud, "FUCK OFF", and a skull giving you the finger very helpfully told you that all were unwelcome and you better not feel at home. Sans deftly sidestepped the mat in a loose circle, guiding you along in his footsteps. You didn't question it, just went along quietly.
Without ceremony, or any threats, Sans let you into the house.
With your leash temporarily secured between his teeth, he got comfy. He took off his gloves and jacket. You'd never seen him without his jacket before. The red sweater looked warm but the collar around his neck looked nothing but tacky. Although, you really couldn't say anything about that anymore considering your own.
It was hard taking in anything more about the house. You were too focused on the fact that Sans, the skeleton who hurt and threatened you was going to… Hose you down? Give you a bath?
You weren't ready when he led you to a door under the staircase. The bathroom was small. A quick survey showed that it contained a shower, a bath, a facet, a mirror and numerous places for storage. Something it didn't contain was… Of course… A toilet. Not that it would matter. You felt like a child in there. You needed something to stand on to even reach the sink, let alone a toilet from your vivid daydreams.
He led you straight to the shower. Once there he stopped, fastened the leash around a narrow pipe and started rummaging around for a towel. You watched numbly.
"here's the deal. ya get to take a shower. Use soap, plenty of it. wash yer nasty places, all of them."
You were unsure if he knew enough about humans to point out said nasty places. Sans placed the towel at the side of the facet along with a fresh soap. "yer only using this soap." He tapped it with a finger. "yer not touching any of the fancy ones, got it?"
"Yeah."
"yeah?" How did he make his sockets so expressive?
"Got it!" You said tiredly.
He gave you a long look. "alright. i'll unleash ya fer yer shower. no funny business. i don't care if yer naked. i will be here faster than ya can blink if i so much as hear something weird."
Thank god, he was going to wait outside! You told him you understood and complied when he told you to stand still so he could remove the leash and collar. As soon as he left with a final warning and closed the door you were by the mirror.
You looked worn. Like you'd been kidnapped (which you kind of had been) and forced to live in a bunker without sunlight for a week. Your wounds were red and looked irritated but not infected. The cut of your lip was scabbed over. It was healing at least. The swelling of your nose had gone down but a big bruise had bloomed across pretty much your entire face. You ghosted your fingers around the edges of it and met your own eyes in the reflection.
"Breathe." You took a deep breath, held it and released. "You're fine. You're gonna be fine."
You'd throw a pity party later. For now you shucked your stinky old clothes and stepped into the shower with your designated soap. All of the dials were too far up for you to reach without true effort and perseverance, you felt like a child with heavy rain coming down hard and all of the bottles in there looked like jugs. Still, the water was warm and felt luxurious after all this time. It washed away the rusty red from your body, the dirt and the salt of your secret cry sessions at night. The soap was harsh and smelled like pine. It stung your lip but you revelled in the feeling of finally being clean. Your hair was shown no mercy. There was no shampoo or conditioner. Pine soap was on the case! You scrubbed your scalp, not caring about what your hair thought about this abhorrent treatment. It was glorious. You nearly cried again from the feeling.
The shower in itself was nothing special, but it might as well have been a luxury spa as far as you were concerned. Lined according to brand and alphabetic order were the expensive things Sans had told you not to touch. There was a small space next to one of the purple bottles labeled, "BONE CRUSHER: Cinnamon, orange and SPITE", with a picture of a very shiny skull. You managed to jam your soap next to it so that you could get everything out of your hair. It was slow going. The soap seemed to cling to it, leaving a strange glossy soap feeling. Was it made from slime?! Pinetree slime?
Knock knock.
You jumped. The shower trance was broken.
"don't waste the water." Sans mumbled from the other side of the door.
"Okay!" Nervously you rinsed the soap out and turned off the water. Stepping out of the shower and grabbing your towel gave you a new problem. Worriedly you looked around like the solution was hiding right in front of you. Another knock at the door decided for you.
"hurry up."
"I'm done!" You said on reflex. The door started opening.
"NO!" The door halted.
"what?"
"I don't have any clothes on!" And your old ones were stinky. Impulsively, you didn't even think of the consequences of your cheekiness.
There were no further movements from the door. Sans swore.
"stay there. don't move." As if you would dare!
He was gone for a minute then his arm came from behind the door with a bundle. "got ya some stuff."
"Thanks." Cautiously you took it from him. The arm retreated and the door closed. He didn't say anything else and you hurriedly toweled off the worst of it and put on the new clothes. They looked old and worn but well loved. Black and red, just like everyone else down here. The pants pinched your hips and the sweater fell to mid-tight. It was alright. A vast improvement to your old clothes. You did miss your underwear though.
"... Sans?"
There was no answer.
It was now or never!
You grabbed your dirty underwear from the pile, worn for a week and ready for its death sentience, and dragged one of the smaller storage units over so you could reach the facet. You did your best with warm water and soap before trying to wring it out. You hoped they didn't take offense to your sad panties hanging to dry on the lowest hook away from the towels. It felt weird to hang it there, like you had to hide it behind something... But desperate times call for desperate measures. Hopefully it would dry soon or maybe you could convince someone to let you come get it later.
Sans still hadn't said anything or knocked. Indecisive, you stood by the door. Technically you hadn't been given permission to leave. Thankfully you didn't have to wait long.
"ya done?" Sans asked from the other side of the door.
"Yeah." The door opened. If he saw your panties hanging on the hook he didn't mention it.
"hair."
You moved your hair away from your neck. The collar and the leash were back on. Now you felt even weirder about your sad panties. Oh no, wait! Maybe you could cram them into the- Oh. Never mind. Sans started walking. You had no choice but to follow.
He didn't take you back to the shed. Instead he took you to a small home office and directed you to sit on the chair opposite the desk. You gave him a questioning look but his expression told you he wasn't in the mood to explain. You settled for looking at the floor and waiting.
Five minutes later made you very aware of the cold water dripping down your borrowed clothes from your hair. You wished you had a brush and a blowdryer. Feeling the wetness seeping down your spine gave you goosebumps. Daring to glance around to distract yourself from the feeling you saw a desk, filled with papers and books. It was orderly, well used and- Hold on.
You tilted your head to read the title. "HUMAN HEALTH", said the main title. A smaller text under it continued, "And how not to accidentally kill them!"
What?
Looking at the bookcase behind the desk you saw books about nature's law, magic and, "INTENSE PET CARE FOR DUMMIES." Followed by smaller books crammed into the corners on the highest shelves. One was in a bright orange colour, "HUMANS DESCENDED FROM SKELETONS", by Octopus Marvin. All the books varied but had the same theme. Humans. Their bodies, their souls, their customs and… Yoga?
It seemed either the terrifying Papyrus was looking for a pet… Or he was really… REALLY interested in human health. Dare you say, he was interested in keeping you alive may-
Papyrus opened the door loudly. Immediately you tried to pretend you weren't dying to go over his bookcase with a fine comb. He went straight for the office chair and opened a drawer. He took out papers and his glasses. Unfolding the glasses he put them on and straightened his back. "The Doctor Is Ready Now, Sans." He fiddled with the papers.
Holy shit. You completely forgot Sans was in the room!
"consider it done." Sans left with a sigh. You were alone with Papyrus who looked like an edgy principal preparing for a meeting with parents of entitled brats.
He turned a paper towards you. "Sign Here."
"What's this"? Your hand reached forward to tug it closer.
"Your Release Form."
You stilled.
Papyrus chair creaked when he leaned back and closed his sockets. It was just a few seconds before he opened them again. "You Have Permission To Move Freely Through Snowdin Territory Under Supervision Until Further Notice."
"I…" Your hand was shaking. You put it on your lap. "Why?"
Papyrus released a sigh. "I Will Only Say This Once." He looked irritated. "The Human Soul Lingers After Death. It Can Last Outside Of A Body Longer Than A Monster Soul. All Souls Shatter In The End... If You Were Killed Today Your Soul Would Leave Your Body And Break. It Wouldn't Be Of Any Use. Your Barrier Is A Passive Ability That Would Make It Impossible To Collect."
"So…" You worried the scab on your lip. "What does that mean for me? If I'm not… Terminated?
"It Means-", He pushed the paper closer to you and tapped the paper. "Sign Here."
The pen was black and sleek. The ink flowed smoothly and then it was done.
Papyrus, in a certain light, almost seemed to smile. "Welcome To Snowdin."
Before you knew what happened, there you stood. Collarless, no leash in sight and outside, ready to start your new life in a town full of monsters. The only things you had with you were hastily packed into a worn backpack, kindly thrown at you while at the door by a scowling Papyrus, your old jacket the bone brothers had confiscated, and heavy paperwork, also bestowed upon you by Papyrus.
Your hair was still wet from the shower. After just about two minutes of standing in the snow like a dummy you could feel how your hair started to freeze.
"Shit."
A quick shake of your head later, and a whispering chant telling yourself to get your shit together while tightening your grip on your hefty paperwork, you were ready to fake it till you make it. The paperwork was the only proof you had of being allowed to stay alive.
Don't!
Lose!
It!
One last look back at the brothers house and you were off to the woods.
Sans, standing outside the bathroom sweating: this isn't weird
Sans, finding the sad panties on a hook later that night: alright, this is a little weird