"You guys can't be there! If they see a couple of monsters dropping her off, you know what they're gonna think!" Brit was screaming from the back seat, and Papyrus felt himself flinch. His skull was throbbing with sharp pain, and he knew that he wasn't in any real danger, but it was in his best interest to get to Toriel for healing quickly. "Just...just drop us off." The human sounded like she was on the verge of tears, her voice trembling, and Papyrus just couldn't bring himself to argue. She was right on all accounts, anyway. He pulled the wheel and made a sharp U-turn, turning onto the road headed toward Tristin.
"It'll be okay, babe. Y-you're fine..." Brit pet the unconscious woman's head gently, fingers gently prodding, feeling, trying to assess the damage. Her eyes flickered to Sans in the front seat, giving him a quick glance over. She hadn't seen him get hit, so he was fine, thankfully. One less hurt person to worry about. Her own cheek stung fiercely and her scalp burned where her hair was so roughly pulled, but that was nothing. She felt the damp spot on the back of her friend's head growing and, when she pulled her hand away, saw that her fingers were slick with blood. She suddenly felt thankful that past experience made her not fearful of blood. She had to hold herself together for right now. Even as she told herself that, though, she could feel her chest growing tighter. She fumbled in her pocket for her phone and started texting her husband, sending short little messages back and forth, trying to keep herself calm.
It wasn't working.
By the time Papyrus pulled up in front of the hospital, he made a move to get out and help them in, but she refused. She climbed out and pulled Lena out as carefully as possible, feeling her stomach lurch the way her friend's head fell forward limply. 'Hold it together. Hold it together.' With promises to text them, she sent the skeleton brothers on their way, shooting Sans one last concerned glance before they pulled away and disappeared down the road.
"Are you alright?!"
"What happened?!"
"Quick, bring a stretcher!"
As she watched her friend being carried away, Brit fell to her knees and retched, anxiety whittling away at her and guilt clawing at her heart and mind. 'If only I hadn't made them go out...'
Once they arrived back in Taobh, Sans had become completely unresponsive. No matter how Papyrus tried to talk to him, tried making awful puns that made no sense, cracked the lamest jokes he knew, quoted the worst memes, nothing did a thing. He sat so still, so completely void of any movement or sign of life that, if Papyrus weren't able to sense his soul and monsters didn't turn to dust upon death, he'd have worried his brother had died. So he did the only thing he could do, which, at the time, was reaching over to hold his hand.
He pulled into a parking space messily and quickly got out of the car, striding up to Toriel's apartment door and knocking loudly. The sound of someone shuffling around inside could be heard, and he heard the queen's voice, quietly mumbling something about 'late hours' and 'unexpected company'. The door swung open and she looked slightly annoyed, and Papyrus felt a momentary guilt because he knew that Frisk was already in bed. She recognized him and immediately her eyes widened, expression becoming drenched with concern.
"Papyrus, what- ...Come in, come in! Where is your brother?" He turned and looked at the car, frowning when he saw that it was now empty, his brother nowhere to be found.
"He...went to bed, I believe..." he murmured, turning and giving Toriel a big smile that was supposed to be reassuring. "It has been a rather eventful evening." She sighed and pulled him by the arm to sit on the couch, paws gently holding either side of his skull and tilting it to get a better look. The expression she had on her face now was pained as she traced the crack lightly, hearing Papyrus' bones clatter together roughly as he flinched.
"Poor dear... What on earth happened?" She closed her eyes and rested a heavy paw on top of his skull, and he grit his teeth against the pain as his vision became enveloped in a soft green light.
"Well, the human Lena came home upset, so human Brit came over and we had a movie night slumber party."
"Yes, I heard from Frisk...she got fired, did she not?" He made a small noise, a hum of agreement, since he was unable to nod his head. "Awful... So how did this happen?"
"Human Brit said that she wanted to go out to have drinks," he said, hearing her give a small suspicious hum, and he continued. "They were having quite a bit of fun, at first! They were dancing and laughing and my brother was so happy watching, and everything was great."
"...But?"
"But...then some humans came, and they were quite rude to us, and to them because-" 'Because they were with us.' Papyrus wasn't so totally innocent of how the world saw them, and how they treated those who were kind to them... He just preferred to believe in people's potential kindness. That did little good for them tonight, obviously. He sighed. "One of them hit me with a bottle, I think. One hit the human Brit on the face, but she was alright. Lena..." He felt Toriel's hand clench reflexively on top of his skull, and he winced slightly. She removed her hand, having done all the healing she could, and knelt down in front of Papyrus, paws resting on his shoulders.
"What about Lena and Sans?" she asked carefully.
"Sans was unhurt... Lena is... The human Brit took her to the hospital." The queen sucked in a breath and leaned in closer, wrapping her warm arms around Papyrus' shoulders in a hug. His jaw was trembling, he hadn't even noticed. He leaned his forehead against her shoulder and mumbled against her. "Everything will be fine. I... I-I believe that she will be fine. She is strong..." She nodded, stroking the back of his skull absentmindedly, and after a few moments she pulled away, giving him a small smile.
"There is some pie in the fridge. Please eat some, it will help you feel better." He nodded and watched curiously as she headed toward her front door.
"Where are you going, Your Majesty?" She paused just outside the doorway, looking back at him with eyes full of determination.
"I am going to speak with your brother."
It happened again.
He had been unable to protect the people he cared about...again. Again, and again, and again. How many times would he have to watch them be hurt, while he stood by, useless? The ache in his soul grew stronger with every breath he drew, as if he were breathing in smoke, clouding his mind. Everything felt cloudy, inky, dark.
"Go ahead! Try to tell yourself this isn't real. I dare you~"
He raised his hands to cover where his ears would have been, trying to block out the noise, only for his actions to be in vain. It was real. It was real, and he saw it happen. The way her skull bounced like a rubber ball off of the tile. The faint cracking noise he'd heard, faintly, through the thrum of music that was so loud it'd shaken windows. The dark red blood staining her hair. It was real, and he couldn't stop it. His body trembled and his soul throbbed viciously, his magic spiking, reacting to his emotions. He fell through the passenger seat and fell into his living room, knocking his kneecap roughly against the coffee table, and he hissed in pain. It did little to clear his mind, to calm his soul.
Lena did that.
Humans were strong. Their souls were far stronger, but their defenses were weaker. They had no magic to protect them anymore. But was she strong enough? Her soul had been weaker, her emotional turmoil draining on her spirit. What if it wasn't enough? What if she didn't make it? Head trauma was a serious thing to humans. He'd read reports where some people never woke up, bodies sustained by machines and their existence kept in limbo. What if she didn't come back?
His left eye glowed fiercely, the room filled with its harsh light, flickering between blue and yellow. Bones began to rise from the floor, surrounding him like a cage. A small opening of pure darkness appeared just over his head, slowly growing wider with every labored breath he gasped. He was panicking. Why was he panicking? Why did the thought of never seeing her again fill his soul with such chaos?
A soft knocking came from the door, rapping twice, and he flinched, jagged bones spawning from the air around him, pointed outward, defensive, protecting. It took him several minutes before he could calm himself enough to realize who it was, and he shuddered with his sigh.
"This is where you are supposed to say, 'Who is there?', are you not?" Toriel's soft voice came, slightly muffled through the door, and he gave a dry bark of laughter. Why did it sound more like a sob?
"Who's there?" he rasped, and he could hear the concern in her tone.
"Won't."
"Won't who?" He already knew where this was going.
"Won't who tell me what's bothering you?" He huffed a breath and lowered his hands from his head, slowly taking control back over his magic and making the bones surrounding him disappear. He scooted back until he was leaning against the door, her just on the other side. Just like old times.
"That one was pretty bad, Tor," he said, and she gave a small chuckle.
"Yes, well, my mind is rather occupied at the moment. ...Are you okay?" Why did that question make him feel like crying? He pulled his knees to his chest and buried his head in his arms, sighing. "...Sans?"
"Why's bad shit gotta happen to such good people, Tor? 's not fair..." She hummed softly in agreement, and he could faintly hear the sound of her claws tapping rhythmically against the door. "I couldn't-" His throat that he didn't have suddenly felt tight, and he choked on his words. "I couldn't keep 'em safe, Tor..."
"It is not your fault, Sans... Papyrus is worried about you, you know."
"...I know."
"Why don't you come down, talk to him? He is all healed, having some pie. You should join us." He stayed silent, feeling guilt nagging at him, and he curled in on himself more tightly. "...Well, you are welcome whenever you are ready. If you wish to go to bed, then that is fine, as well. You could use the rest." A shuffling sound indicated that she got to her feet, and she turned to walk away, but paused. Turning back, she leaned her forehead against the door, paws pressed against it, willing for Sans to hear her. "I believe that I know Lena well... She does not blame you, my friend. The only one who does is you... Please, do not be so hard on yourself..." After another few seconds, waiting, she sighed and padded away from his door and toward her own apartment. As soon as he could hear that she was gone, he slumped against the door, bones clattering as he trembled.
"Not my fault...? They wouldn't've done it if we weren't with 'em... If she wasn't with a monster." 'But what could've happened if we weren't there?' Images of the filthy human's hands roaming all over her came to his mind, and he clenched his jaw so tightly that his teeth ground together. It made him livid, his soul flaring brightly with anger as his mind began to wander, filling in the blanks of 'what if's, if a group of drunken human men had dragged two human women off, and-
A low growl rumbled from his chest, face contorted into an expression of rage. 'Those fuckers even think of touching my human, and I'll kill them.'
...Why did it feel so good to think of her as that? As his human? He groaned and let his skull fall into his hands, closing his eyesockets tightly. "Fuck."
How did this happen? How did he end up beating himself up over not being able to keep a human that wasn't Frisk from harm? How did he find himself so emotionally distraught and lost just at the thought of not seeing a human again? How was he more worried about a human than Papyrus? Even though Papyrus was fine now, he'd never let anything else take precedence in his mind, ever. How did this happen?
'How did I wind up falling in love with a human...?'
"Sans...?" A different voice was outside the door now, and Sans scrambled to his feet, quickly pulling the door open, revealing his younger brother. He was standing there looking and sounding so small, wringing his gloved hands nervously as his skull practically contorted with concern. All it took was one look at his brother's face and Papyrus' eyes began to glow that soft orange light, and he reached out and scooped his older brother up into his arms, reaching behind him to close and lock the door. Sans latched onto him, arms winding tightly around his neck. It had taken a long time for him to be comfortable with this. With letting Papyrus in, letting him comfort him.
"You okay?" Papyrus shushed him, striding into his bedroom and sitting on the edge of the bed. "'m sorry, bro. I'm so sorry." He didn't respond, flopping onto his side with his brother still in his arms, so they were laying together in his racecar bed. "She got hurt 'cus of me, bro."
"My head hurts, you bonehead. Go to sleep," Papyrus scolded gently, not really meaning it, and Sans curled into his brother's chest more closely, the trembling slowly subsiding.
"Okay, Pap... Okay.
The beeping of various machines filled the air, and it combined with the sterile, mediciney smell was enough to make Brit nauseous. It had taken over an hour before she was allowed into the room, and it was so similar compared to the last time that she felt herself starting to lose it. Lena had been fortunate, the nurses said, that she was delivered to the hospital so quickly. Head wounds always bleed a lot, they said, and so it just appeared worse than it actually was. It was a small cut, not big enough to warrant stitches, and all of the x-rays and MRIs said that her skull and her brain were, wholly, undamaged. She had a concussion, and that would fade with time. Again, they asked for her family's contact information, and Brit had boldly refused.
She slumped into a chair next to the hospital bed and scooted it as close as possible, leaning to lay on the unconscious woman's legs, tightly holding onto her hand. "Sorry... I'm sorry, Lena." She closed her eyes and sighed heavily, turning her head to bury her face in the blankets covering her legs.
After a while, the nurses came back in and said that she was free to go home. Brit was in disbelief, but they insisted that since she had no fractures or brain damage, that she clear out. Apparently the ER was busy. There was a group of five or six men that came in that needed attention. Brit hoped that they got what was coming to them.
| Brit: Just a concussion. I'm taking her back to my place. I'll text you when she wakes up. |
She sent the message to Papyrus and, pausing only for a second, sent another message to her husband, requesting a ride. Her van was still at the apartment, and they'd been dropped off, leaving them with no way to travel. A nurse came in and, again, asked when they would be leaving, and Brit had spat that they had a car coming, and they'd leave as soon as they could. The pushiness was not doing a thing to help improve her mood.
By the time Jordan arrived with the car and they got loaded up and headed home, she burst, retelling everything that had happened and how it was her fault. She was told again and again that it wasn't, but as she glanced in the back seat at her injured and unconscious friend, she couldn't help but feel like she was right all along.