Bargaining

Dr. Alphys yawned and stretched, enjoying the sound of the bones in her spine and neck as they popped. She sat up, amidst the collection of weeks of used instant ramen packets. There was more work to do today. She was going to have to finish her robot sooner or later.

She stood up, and groaned. Her back and legs were sore from disuse, and her head hurt terribly from hours of watching anime. She stepped onto the escalator to the second floor of her lab and rubbed her eyes under her glasses. As she neared the top, her lab grew darker. She glanced around nervously, hunching over, and she looked more like a real reptile than a scientist.

As she approached the top, it looked like there was a black fog around her, with about ten feet of space in it. Another form materialized at the opposite edge from her. It started from the ground up, moving slowly. A dark robe, two hands, white as bone, with a large hole in the middle of each, until the head appeared: destroyed, mangled, yet still somehow familiar.

Alphys gasped and clutched her hands to her mouth, too petrified to speak. As she watched, the thing opened its own mouth and began to speak.

Its' voice sounded like a nightmare. It cracked and twisted this way and that, winding itself around her eardrum, not allowing itself to be ignored. When it was done, Alphys squinted one eye open and looked at it.

"U-um… I'm s-s-sorry but I can't uh, understand y-you?" She stuttered more than usual, petrified of the creature standing before her.

It looked almost bored as it spoke again, this time, the words appearing over its head as something resembling magical subtitles. In another circumstance, it might have been almost funny.

"(DOCTOR ALPHYS. WE DO NOT HAVE MUCH TIME. I AM THE FORMER ROYAL SCIENTIST, DR. W.D. GASTER. PLEASE DO NOT INTERRUPT. I HAVE SOMETHING I NEED TO ASK OF YOU, AND I NEED TO KNOW IF I CAN TRUST YOUR JUDGEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE. SCIENTIST TO SCIENTIST.)"

Alphys straightened up a tiny bit and tried to stop shaking. At least, for the moment, she didn't seem to be in any immediate danger. She nodded and waited for him to speak again.

"Howdy Papyrus! And if my eyes don't deceive me, this is your older brother, Sans! Golly, how nice it is to finally meet you for the first time!" Flowey said with a wide smile on his face.

Sans grinned even wider and said, "Is this the flower you're always telling me about, Paps? I don't think I've ever 'seed' him around before! Nice to meet you." Yeah, a little bit of a stretch, but this scummy, shit-eating flower didn't deserve good jokes.

As Papyrus started talking about how they would always hang out, Sans' mind wandered against his will.

He had 'met' Flowey about thirty or forty other times now. Each time, their deaths had been surprisingly quick. Every single day, he watched as his little brother was decapitated, crushed, and once or twice, pulled apart. Every day, Sans knew it was his fault.

He guessed that Flowey was trying to make him crack (for once, no pun intended). But Sans could wait forever if it meant the RESETS would finally stop.

"Alright, well, I won't keep you two! Make sure you catch any humans that might fall into the Underground! Have a good day!" Flowey sang and disappeared into the ground.

Huh. That was new.

"He's right brother, you slept for so long that we're going to be late! Let's hurry!"

At his post, Sans began to feel that coldness again. Perfect. Just as he was thinking that he had never been cold, he started to feel it. He wrapped his hoodie tighter around him and closed his eyes tightly. There was no way that Flowey wasn't watching his every move right now. Sans sighed.

He wanted nothing more just then than to go to the door of the Ruins and laugh and joke with the woman within, but he obviously couldn't do that at the moment. Flowey would kill her over and over again, too.

Sans couldn't handle any more than this as it was. This sentry duty was boring stuff. Maybe he would have to get some extra jobs later. But hey, who was he kidding? He was one lazy skeleton.

He opened his eyes and scrambled to look alert as he heard Papyrus jogging up to his station. "Hello, Sans! I've noticed that you haven't recalibrated your puzzles recently. Would you like to do that now?"

Perfect, Sans thought. No way to seem more lazy and useless than refusing to do what Papyrus wants.

"Well, I think my puzzles are good enough, bro. They are already tough enough to die for, ya know." Sans said.

"Sans! Awful pun aside, your puzzles aren't deadly at all! They're basically games!"

"Yeah, but they're 'bored' games. Heh, get it? You might die of boredom. Pretty risky, huh?" Sans grinned, trying hard not to think about Papyrus' skull being smashed open. These thoughts and memories plagued him constantly. He was already pretty screwed up, it seemed.

"Well, fine! If you don't want to catch the human when it comes through eventually, then I will just have to make my puzzles extra good! Nyeh heh heh!" He ran off again.

Sans watched him go. He shook his head and smiled to himself. As apathetic as he was, Papyrus was twice as energetic. He felt, perhaps, just a little jealous.

"He's a cool guy, isn't he?" A voice said from behind him. Sans jumped a little, but quickly regained his composure and turned to face the speaker. Of course it was that little weed.

"Oh, hey Flower. Yeah, my bro sure is awesome! I wish I had his energy, heh." Sans said, struggling to keep his tone upbeat.

"Actually, it's Flowey. Which you should know by now," Flowey said, a little less sweetly.

"Ah, sorry! I'm just an old bonehead, I guess. Terrible with names."

Flowey said nothing, scrutinizing Sans' face carefully. When he seemed to find nothing of concern, he went right back into the act. "Well, that's all right! Hey, you seem cool, too! Maybe just as cool as Papyrus! That is, if you know any cool magic tricks you can show me."

"Sorry, bud, I don't really have a lot of skill with magic, or… life. You should ask my brother, he loves to perform for people!" Sans was starting to get worried. Where was this going?

"Come on, I have an idea for a little game! Are you up for it?" Flowey asked, a dark glint in his eyes.

"Um, maybe? I'm not too good at games." Sans said.

"Well, let me tell you the rules, and we'll get started from there. Okay? Just hold on a sec."

Flowey disappeared. Sans waited for a few minutes, getting more and more confused. Eventually, he saw that Papyrus was coming back this way. Oh shit.

Flowey reappeared just as Papyrus reached Sans. "Ah, everyone's here. How nice! Now we can begin."

Flowey grew to monstrous size, with different leaves and vines popping out of the snow and reaching up. They snaked over and snatched Papyrus up, grabbing him by the ribcage, collarbones, and neck, and they wound themselves in and out of his bones.

"Wha- Flowey, put me down! This hurts!" Papyrus yelled.

Flowey shook him violently. "Be quiet, you pathetic idiot. Well, Sans, are you ready to play our game?"

Sans was already on his feet, and vines grew around him too, but they only poked up about a foot or so, winding around each other, making a short barrier that trapped him in it. He clenched his fists and glared at the monstrosity before him.

"Aw, don't give me that look. Alright, here's the rules; you will do various magic feats that I tell you to do. You will do them perfectly, and for each time you make a mistake, or pretend you can't, I will break another of your brother's bones! And he has no shortage of them, from the looks of it. Are you ready?" Flowey asked.

When Sans didn't say anything, Flowey continued. "I will take that as a yes! Ok, first of all, I want you to free yourself from the vines at your feet, okay? Go!"

Sans looked down and exhaled, closing his eyes. He held out his arm a little, and six small bones broke through the ground, stabbing perfectly through the vines. They did so little damage, however, that Flowey just threw back his head and laughed. "That's ridiculous!" he called. "Ah, but for your effort, I will not harm your brother. At least not for this turn. Next! I want you to do it again, but this time with twice as much damage!"

Sans made up his face to look worried. "I, um, I'm not good at magic, I don't know if I ca-"

"Aw, are you nervous? No need to be! Watch this!" Flowey made a new vine creep along Papyrus' tibia. "I thought I told you the rules so carefully! ...Well, I guess it can't be helped."

He began wrapping around the bone, once at the top, and once at the bottom, and simply twisted.

Sans winced as the chilly air was filled with Papyrus' scream. It broke the silence of the forest, and suddenly Sans didn't think he could keep this up anymore.

"Now, Sans, let's try this again!" Flowey said over Papyrus' quiet sobbing. "Twice as much power! No less, and no more! Go!"

As soon as Flowey finished talking, Sans made twelve bones stab through the weed's tendrils. He kept eye contact with Flowey, and the anger must have shown on his face.

"My, my! Well done! It seems you can be obedient after all! Shall we continue?"

Gaster watched Sans and Papyrus' ordeal from far away, masking his magic signature and keeping well hidden. It saddened him, the fact that he couldn't do anything to stop this, that Sans had to be so strong and keep up the facade. But already, Flowey was basically an unstoppable creature. Without completely, wholly believing that Sans was weak, lazy and useless, they stood no chance of surprising him, let alone overriding the DT from him.

Killing him would do absolutely nothing because Flowey's powers denied that possibility. Why try to kill him when he could just RESET and undo it? No, to try to do it that way wouldn't work, and would waste even more time. Gaster would soon be able to end this constant torture, but for now, Sans had to be strong.

They had been at this sick little game for several hours now, and Sans was careful not to seem too powerful, or too aware. Flowey had broken only two more of Papyrus' bones. Sans was breathing heavily, and although he was certainly holding back, the toll of such constant magic use was beginning to wear on him. The entire forest was littered with bones and dead vines.

Flowey looked at Sans with false pity. "What, are you tired? We haven't been at this for long, you know!"

Sans, fell to his knees. Despite the frigid temperature outside, beads of sweat were collecting on his skull and running down his back. He looked up at Flowey with pure hatred on his face.

Flowey sighed as if he was bored and said in a falsely disappointed voice, "Alright, I guess we can stop for this run. Because you did so well, I'll give you the rest of the day with your brother before I RESET. Have fun relaxing!" Flowey vanished into the ground, and let Papyrus fall to the earth.

Sans barely caught his brother, who was very injured and completely exhausted. Sans cradled Papyrus' head and finally felt himself cry. Papyrus' stats weren't good; he was at a dangerous 2/20 HP. His eyes were closed and he only slightly opened them when he heard his brother's voice.

"Paps, it's gonna be okay, I'll heal you, it's alright," Sans closed his eyes and tried to collect every ounce of magic he had left. Sans was usually good at healing magic, but obeying Flowey's commands completely drained his power.

He kept trying to close the wounds and mend the broken bones, but only little sparks flashed out here and there, doing absolutely nothing. Papyrus winced and groaned. The pain was draining his HP even as they sat there. And out of no where, Sans had a horrible thought. What if Flowey didn't RESET? What if he knew, despite Sans' best efforts, that Sans was more powerful than he let on?

What if Flowey let Papyrus die and never brought him back? Sans would not allow even the possibility. He struggled to lift his brother, and managed to do so through sheer will. He turned and sprinted faster than he ever had to the door that blocked the way to the Ruins, dragging Papyrus' body behind him. When he had reached it, he leaned Papyrus gently against the wall and banged on the door.

After about two solid minutes of knocking, the familiar voice appeared. "My goodness, friend, are you alri-"

"Lady, please help me! My brother got hurt, and I can't heal him. I think he's going to die an-" Sans' voice broke, and he stopped talking.

There was a split second of silence, and then Sans backed up as one half of the door slowly opened out. A tall figure stepped into the snowy forest.

Her white fur matched her surroundings, and there was no mistaking her. She was Toriel, once the Queen of the Underground. Sans' closed his mouth realizing it was hanging open. I've been telling the Queen knock-knock jokes?!

Toriel smiled at him, and Sans' barely remembered why he dragged his brother all the way there.

"Please heal him," He said, kneeling down next to Papyrus and taking his hand. He was unconscious now, and some of his bones were at odd angles.

She put her hand over her mouth when she saw him. "What on earth happened?" She too, knelt down and put both hands over Papyrus' SOUL. She shut her eyes and golden colored light flashed around the three of them in arcs.

Sans had never seen any healing magic that was even half of hers. Papyrus' bones straightened and the cracks disappeared almost instantly, and while Sans watched, his HP skyrocketed from 0.5 all the way back to 20. When she was done and the light faded, she put both hands on the sides of her forehead.

He looked up at her with concern. "Are you alright?"

She nodded. "Yes, I just… have not used that much healing magic in a long time. Your brother looks exhausted. If you wish, we can bring him to my home to let him rest for a bit."

"Oh, uh, okay. I mean, that sounds good." Sans sighed, and he was definitely not his usual, smooth self. This day had been too painful for him to be articulate.

She gently picked Papyrus up in her arms and carried him, like a child, through the open half of the door. Sans followed her, and shut the door behind them.

Queen Toriel's house was much simpler and more comfortable than he would have expected for the Queen of the Underground. He was sitting at her table, not slouching for once. She was in the kitchen, and something smelled delicious. Sans had actually forgotten what being able to relax felt like, at least partially. There were dark circles under the dark circles beneath his eyes.

Flowey had been tormenting him and Papyrus for what felt like years. Sans had endured so much since he had met Gaster in the woods that night, the same one where he'd had that little tantrum and stormed away from home. I was so selfish. Is this my punishment?

He glanced over at his brother guiltily, who was sleeping peacefully in an armchair that seemed far too large for him. He couldn't help but feel completely responsible for what had happened today. If it takes a hundred years, I'm gonna tear that little weed's petals out one by one, and I'll crush him under my foot.

"Alright! Here you are, my friend. Sorry about the wait!" Queen Toriel brought out two plates with her, and set one in front of Sans.

He started to say, "Don't worry!" But it just kind of turned into gibberish as he looked at the plate before him.

His mouth started to water just from looking at it. It was a delicious-looking piece of pie that smelled like butterscotch and cinnamon. Wisps of steam curled from the inside, showing off its freshness. He had never eaten anything like it; most of the food he and his brother made was either spaghetti or something Sans threw together at Papyrus' insistence. Grillby's didn't have dessert, either.

"I'm glad I had the urge to bake a pie today! I usually don't, so count yourself lucky." She said smiling, and picked up her fork. Sans quickly followed suit, and took a small bite, so as not to seem rude. The fork glided through the pie as if it were made of liquid, but the filling held its shape. As he put it in his mouth, it seemed to melt on his tongue.

It was probably the best thing he had ever eaten. He took another bite that was considerably bigger, and then another after that.

Queen Toriel looked at her guest with a teasing expression on her face. "Come on, it's not that good! It's just a normal pie recipe!"

Sans shook his head. "It's the most delicious food I've ever had in my entire life."

She laughed when she saw that he'd already cleaned his plate. "Well then, would you like another slice?"

Sans looked torn between not wanting to be rude and really wanting another piece, so she made the decision for him and went to cut him an extra large slice. She brought it back out and grinned. It was nice to meet her friend like this, face to face.

"Oh! I only just remembered that we haven't properly introduced ourselves yet!" She said. "I'm sorry, I've forgotten my manners! I am Toriel, but you may call me Tori."

He nodded and smiled, "I didn't let it get my goat. My name is Sans. His name is Papyrus."

Between her giggles, she said, "It's nice to finally meet you."

There was a peaceful feeling in the house as they all finished off their cinnamon-butterscotch dessert.