[[ Thanks so much for being so patient waiting for this chapter. I've decided to break it up a little more, take a little more time to focus on some smaller aspects, really flesh things out. I hope it's been worth the wait. I love each and every one of you and adore the comments you leave me! Enjoy! ]]
The feeling one gets when they lean back too far in their chair, or they take that dreaded 'phantom step', and their chest lurches and they have a millisecond of blind fear... That's what Sans feels building up within his bones, only it doesn't just last for a second. No, it carries and spreads, and despite the fact that he's done nothing but sit on his bar stool and stare at his phone, his body feels heavy and he feels exhausted.
'I fucked up.' The plastic creaks and the glass begins to crack under the pressure of his grip, and he doesn't realize he's breaking his phone until he feels incredibly warm hands pulling at him, trying to get him to release the device. He looks up to find Grillby looking him over worriedly, flames flickering just a little bit brighter around his eyes, and Sans can't even muster up the fake smile he'd normally give in that situation. From the corner of his eyesocket Sans can see another little spider scurrying off, dropping down by a strand of webbing until it disappeared behind the bar, and he wants to ask what the deal is, but his mind is consumed by that single, simple text message.
Chara had followed through with their threat. They have one of the people he loved the most...and there was nothing he could do to change that fact. They'd kill her, her blood would spill onto the cold ground, and he'd be without her. His immediate thought was to ask Frisk if they could Reset, and the cold feeling of disgust in himself was drowned out by his fear, paralyzing and blinding. Would he do it, though? Would he be willing to ask Frisk to go through all of that torment...to bring her back? Would Frisk be willing to? Would they understand?
Another warm hand landed on his shoulder as Grillby shook him gently, checking to see if Sans was alright. He'd apparently stopped breathing and, with the pinpricks of light normally present in his eyesockets gone, he looked like he'd been...not well. Which, in all honesty, he wasn't well. He was so far from 'well' that he wondered if he'd ever be 'well' again. He'd just lost the love of his life, after all.
'No. She's not dead yet...she's not. Nothing about that message says that she's dead...' The bones in his hands creaked loudly from the way they clenched into fists, pain blooming from the strain it put on his fingers, but that pain was the only thing that made him feel grounded, made him realize that this was real, this wasn't just another fucked up nightmare.
He wasn't sure which he preferred.
Consciousness brought with it a slew of sensations, all of which were unfamiliar and overwhelming. Her entire right shoulder was overcome by a powerful ache that felt worse with every breath, and she struggled to keep her breathing low and even in a vain attempt to lessen the strain. The pain that throbbed within her head reminded her too much of the morning after her concussion and, even though she couldn't see, she was certain her vision would be blurry and swimming-
She couldn't see. She couldn't see. Panic began to bleed through as she opened and closed her eyes again and again, struggling to regain her sight, when she felt something brush against her eyelashes. 'Oh,' she thought with only a small amount of relief, 'I'm blindfolded...' It was far from comforting, but the thought that she wasn't suddenly blind was nice. Without her eyes, she tried desperately to get a grasp on the situation by figuring out where she was. There were several voices around her, some crying, others muttering things to themselves. A louder, crueler voice barked out a firm command of "quiet" and a hush fell over the room. From the way it echoed slightly, she could gather that the room she was in was rather large, the cold concrete beneath her signifying that they were indoors, but not inside a nice building. The sharp smell of chemicals was too strong, and she could recognize the oddly addicting scent of gasoline on the stale air around her...maybe a warehouse? She would need to know for certain if she was going to aid in her rescue!
...She watched far too many crime tv shows.
"Wh-why are we here...?" a strained voice came from right next to her, a woman's voice, and she turned her head toward it slightly, frowning. "Wh-what do you w-want with us?! Why are we here?!" She began to cry, her sobs loud and jagged, like they were being torn from her throat forcibly. 'What do I say? I don't know why we're here either...' Before she could even begin to contemplate what to say to calm the hysterical woman, the stomping of boots fast approaching cut her thoughts short, followed by the woman's sharp cry of pain. "NO, PL-PLEASE, LET ME GO-OOO!" Her wails of fear broke through her words, and there was a sound of rough collision, something warm splattering across Lena's cheek, and then the crying stopped. The footsteps receded as quickly as they came, with no other words being spoken. The air was so humid and damp in the-..wherever they were, but all of her crying had left her dehydrated, her lips dry and cracking. She allowed herself to wet them with her tongue nervously, and it was with a lurch of her stomach that she recognized the coppery tang of blood. She spat immediately as her stomach churned uneasily, and she suddenly found herself straining to hear if the collapsed heap next to her was breathing or not.
That was when the panic began to set in. She tried to retrace her steps, to remember what had happened that led up to her being there. She'd come home from work, she'd gotten into a stupid argument with Sans, she ran out on Papyrus, called her friend Brit to pick her up... What had happened to-
A shudder ran through her as she remembered the flash of eerie redness, the last thing she could actively recall before she'd gone unconscious. From the pain in her head, she assumed that she'd been attacked. 'But...why?'
"...-believe that I asked you to keep him over there."
"Yes, but..he said that his wife was there. He wanted to be with her." 'That voice...' The familiarity of it was almost relieving, but something about that voice gave her a strong sense of unease just by hearing it. She strained to listen, above the moans of pain and the labored breathing of the other people around her. The familiar female voice was talking to someone, a male, and though it sounded familiar, too, she wasn't as attuned to it.
"Since when do they get to decide what they want?" he asked sharply, and the sound of clicking footsteps echoing loudly made Lena's head hurt.
"I...didn't see any harm in it-"
"Of course you didn't. You might as well be completely fucking blind." The biting comment made even Lena flinch, and she scooted herself backward as quietly as she could, back pressing even harder against the cold concrete wall behind her. "Oh, looks like she's awake," the male said, sounding all too cheerful for the environment she felt like she was in. Footsteps approached her and a hand roughly grabbed her by her right arm, causing a fresh flare of pain as something already out of place felt like it was torn even further away from where it was intended. A scream clawed its way up her throat, but she was silenced by what felt like a very hard, very swift kick to her side. "Be quiet! We don't want you riling everybody else up, now, do we?" There was that sickeningly sweet tone again, one that sounded as unnatural as it did insincere, and she shuddered when the clammy hand holding her squeezed. She struggled to get her feet underneath her as whoever it was that had a hold of her began to pull her, the scraping of her own frantic stumbling and their level, measured footsteps filling the room. She wanted to be brave and ask where she was, ask who the hell had a grip on her, but the fear had lodged itself in her throat, rendering her silent, save for the gasps for breath she made. It felt like her ribs were broken, but she couldn't tell. She'd never had broken ribs before. Maybe they were just bruised. Or maybe she was just sore. Or maybe she should be worrying more about where she was being taken instead of her the state of her ribs.
After what must have been only a few seconds, but felt like minutes, of walking, there was a loud, slamming sound of a door. The mumbling sounds of other people disappeared along with it, fading into a silence that she could feel, and it felt...wrong. The hand roughly holding her arm moved to her injured shoulder, and she yelped in pain as she was shoved by it into a hard chair.
"So," the voice broke the silence, but she felt no less uncomfortable. "You're 'The One', huh? The one who's decided to bridge the gap..." Footsteps drew closer, and Lena felt herself stiffen as a hand reached out to brush her bangs from in front of her covered eyes. "...You're disgusting." A cold lump fell into the pit of her stomach, churning, and the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end as the voice loomed closer. "You think that you can undo human nature? That you can teach everyone to be accepting and loving and kind to things that don't belong? Teach everyone to go against their own species and start loving monsters?" The hand moved to rest against her shoulder (the one that wasn't still throbbing), pulling at her tanktop just enough to uncover all of the skin that had been stained. Their fingers ran over it in a way that almost could have been described as gentle, but that quickly changed as she felt nails dig into her skin, pinching, and she drew in a small, sharp breath. "You're the reason why the world is going to hell. People like you, who don't even know how to be loyal to their own fucking kind...people like you ought to die."
'No, no, no no no, please-' Her bound hands began to tremble on her lap, and she wanted so badly to run, but where could she go? She was blinded, bound, captured. Even if she did try to run, she probably couldn't escape. She didn't even know where she was-
The hands roughly grabbed at her blindfold and jerked it off, tearing out a few strands of her hair along with it, and she flinched away from it, her eyes squeezed shut tightly. The foul smell of nicotine and smoke and bubblegum washed over her as they were suddenly very close to her face, breathing loudly, and she was so afraid of opening her eyes and seeing her death waiting for her. Still, she steeled herself and forced her eyes open, her heart giving a solid thud as she found herself looking up at a man. He was probably considered handsome at one point, but his greasy, unkempt blond hair and his overgrown stubble stood out starkly, his clothes stained with something faintly brown and red- 'That's blood, isn't it? He's got blood on him. He's going to kill me. He's-' Then she saw his eyes, such a striking shade of ice blue, and she immediately recognized the voice from before.
She found herself staring at Devon Stark, older brother of her ex co-worker Kathleen Stark, and despite the familiarity there, she only felt her dread grow even more.
"Oh? You look like you know who I am. That's convenient, isn't it?" he chuckled, eyes narrowing as he smiled, and it looked so out of place on his face that she wanted to look away. "There is a very specific reason why you have found yourself under my watchful eyes. Would you like to know what it is?" The question felt as loaded as a gun, and she didn't dare say anything. Devon sucked on his teeth in irritation and stood upright, the motion alone being enough to make her flinch. "Kathleen! Get in here!" The door to the small, dingy room Lena found herself seated in opened, and there strode in the very woman herself, her hair still as razor straight and makeup as flawless as the first day they'd met. Her nice skirt suit was pressed perfectly, looking like she'd just been on her way to go to work. Their eyes met and, for an instant, Lena felt something clench painfully within her chest, and anger flared up before she could contain it.
"...Why?" she mumbled, her lips feeling numb as she spoke. The other woman made no motion of answering, only averting her eyes, and she felt even more hurt and angry than ever. What had she done to deserve this? "Why are you doing this?! Kathleen, what are you-" Pain bloomed from her right cheek as Devon brought the back of his hand across it, the force enough to make her head turn. Her cheek throbbed and immediately began to swell, feeling stiff as her eye closed against the sharp sensation.
"That's quite enough of that, I think," he said shortly, the cold look of hatred in his eyes enough to send a shiver through her. Whatever anger she had fizzled out, leaving behind that familiar emptiness and fear. Kathleen almost looked apologetic...but Lena didn't dare to think that this woman felt anything for her but disdain. "My sister here has been rather useful, for once in her life." The mentioned woman had an expression of hurt flash across her face, but she quickly schooled it back to her usual closed-off look. "If it weren't for her, you wouldn't have gotten kicked out of that shitty school. You wouldn't have been denied by every other school in the city area. You wouldn't have had to go through any of this! If only the laws hadn't been passed when they did, I could have gotten around to you sooner... But, of course, that's all water under the bridge now!" Lena glanced over at Kathleen, her eyes already watering from the pain beginning to fill even more. The other woman refused to meet her gaze, instead staring at her brother.
"...Why?" The question came unbidden past her lips, and she immediately expected to be struck again, but, surprisingly enough, Devon just smiled wider at her.
"Why? Why is that the first question anyone ever asks? Why not how? Or who? Or when? What is the significance of the why in a situation? Why does knowing why make you feel better?" He breathed out a long, gentle sigh, crossing his arms over his wide chest. "Because, obviously, humans are disgusting, selfish creatures. Born only knowing how to demand for what they want, and dying with regrets of things they never had. Living with the only intent being to fulfill themselves... Oh, I'm sure you want to tell me all about how not every human is like that. And, sure, some aren't as inherently disgusting." A flash of red crossed over those ice blue eyes for a second, so quickly that Lena believed she'd imagined it, and his smile transformed into a cruel smirk. "But, really, does it matter? When nine out of ten of you are horrific and destined to doom yourselves and everyone around you, isn't it better to just kill you all? You don't deserve to exist."
"Th-that's not true!" Her own voice startled her and, from the look on Devon's face, he wasn't expecting her to speak, either. "We...h-humans aren't all as bad as that. W-we can change things, if we j-just show kindness to one another... It's worth existing. It's the reason why we-!" The male sneered and squeezed her injured shoulder, his free hand curling into a fist and sending itself into her gut, just below her rib cage. She felt the wind being knocked out of her and her throat burned as the smallest amount of bile left her stomach, filling her mouth and dripping past her lips.
"Disgusting...everything about you is disgusting..." He wiped the bile from his hand onto her sweater, being far rougher than necessary, and, once he was clean again, he shoved her shoulder, chair tipping back slightly as it threatened to fall over. As Lena struggled to regain her breath he hopped up onto the flimsy wooden table in the center of the room, pulling a knife from his pocket and sliding his fingertips along to flat of the worn blade. "Your Kindness is probably the most revolting thing. Going through life with a soul like that... I'd rather have torn out my own soul and shattered it."
She coughed, eyes watering as the taste of sick burned her tongue and nose. "M-my soul...?"
"Your soul. The Kindness is so prominent that your soul is especially powerful, even with as little Determination as you have...which is why I needed you." Devon slid himself down from the table and walked over to kneel in front of her chair, giving her a sweet smile that left a bitter taste in her mouth. "You could be one of the souls that I need. Isn't that exciting?!" A distorted-sounding giggle left his lips and he straightened, his eyes narrowing as they began to glow a faint crimson. "If you end up being descendant of magi, then your life will be spared for a bit longer. I'm sure that'll make the comedian happy."
'Sans?!' Her chest ached as she imagined him, realizing she'd been taken, blaming her for not staying with him. She could practically feel her soul shudder painfully, tears dripping more quickly from her bruised eyelids.
"You are a human with a powerful Kindness...and I intend to unravel it! Bit by bit, I'm going to destroy every aspect, until nothing but hatred remains..." He loomed ever closer, raising the blade until she could feel the sharp edge pressed against her throat. Her entire body felt cold as ice as she froze, her breathing quick and shallow. "I'm going to hurt you. I'm going to hurt you until I can worm my way into your soul, and, once I do, I'm going to use you. Even if you aren't of magi blood, your relationship with that smiley trashbag and Frisk will be of use to me-"
"No! Y-you leave them alone..!" she forced out, gritting her teeth as she felt the razor-sharp edge press even deeper into her skin.
"...Orange doesn't suit you, Lena." Devon- no, whoever they were- slowly pulled the knife away from her throat, admiring the faint red line they left in its wake with a faint smirk. "Kathleen," they said, returning the knife to its sheath on their belt and turning toward the silent woman, "take her into the other room and get her ready to be tested. And make sure to- ..." Crimson eyes narrowed dangerously and they stormed forward, and Kathleen flinched as they drew near. A small spider rested just on her shoulder, apparently unnoticed by her. They growled, voice thick with animosity as the grabbed it and crushed the poor creature in their hand. "You IDIOT!" Fist still clenched, they sent it into Kathleen's cheek, causing her to stagger backward and trip on her heels. "DO YOU REALIZE WHAT YOU'VE DONE?! I TOLD YOU TO CHECK FOR EVERYTHING BEFORE YOU CAME HERE! NOW THEY KNOW WHERE WE ARE!" Their voice was a booming roar, full of unbridled rage, and Lena felt fear as well as pity as she watched them grab Kathleen by her beautiful long hair, shaking her.
"I-I'm sorry! I didn't know-" They released their grip, sending her tumbling to the ground.
"No... Of course you didn't," they spat vehemently, eyes narrow slits and lips drawn back into a sneer. "Get her ready to be tested. I have to go check and make sure you didn't fuck up anywhere else." They walk as though they're on a warpath, past the blonde woman shivering on the floor and wrenching the door open roughly. Pausing just at the door, they turn back to glare at Kathleen, a look of disgust passing across their features. "Keep an eye on her. I'm sure even you can handle that much." The door then slams loudly behind them and both women release a sigh of relief, almost simultaneously. The more violent threat was gone, for the moment...but there was still one very real threat in the room with her, and Lena felt her stomach churn as she looked at the woman. Kathleen attempted to smooth out her mussed and pulled hair, a look of shame disgracing her features.
'She's the reason why I lost my job. And why I wasn't able to get another one in town. She's probably at fault for all of the bad things that have been happening lately, even me winding up here...' Despite how badly she wanted to hate her...Lena couldn't bring herself to. Breathing past the pain in her shoulder and ribs, she looked Kathleen over as she got to her feet, heels clicking loudly against the concrete floor.
"Hey..." Ice blue eyes darted over to look at her, her expression instantly becoming guarded, and Lena swallowed uneasily, her mouth suddenly feeling dry. "Are you...alright?" The question surprised the blonde, obviously from the way her eyes widened and her lips parted in a somewhat slack-jaw expression.
"You're asking me that, really?" The biting tone that was normally present in her voice was gone, dampened by emotions that were swirling within her mind. She had a point. Why was she so worried about her? Why did she care at all?
"When someone hurts you, Lena-bug, it's usually because they're hurt themselves."
'Gran... I'm trying.' Sniffing loudly, she breathed out a steady sigh, steadying her nerves. "Yes. I am." Casting a wary glance towards the door, Lena wet her cracked lips with her tongue, curling and uncurling her fingers to try and regain some feeling in them. The ropes that bound her wrists were tied too tightly, the rough fibers digging into her skin. "...What happened to him?" Kathleen flinched bodily before she could compose herself, taking in a sharp breath. "It's obvious that something's...wrong." The other woman avoided Lena's gaze but she kept looking anyway, her eyes earnest and desperate. "You don't have to do this. You can go to the police, and-"
"And what? Go against the only person I've got?" she spat, an iciness in her tone that almost hid the pain underneath her words. A shout from outside startled both of them and, looking torn, the blonde hurried forward, pulling something silver from her pocket. "Here. Take this." The cold steel of the razor blade pressed into Lena's palm and she shivered, a heaviness resting within her chest as she met the woman's sorrowful eyes. "...I'm sorry." She then turned on her heel and hurried out of the room, closing the door with a soft click behind her. Outside, Lena could hear Devon's voice bellowing orders, cries of fear and pain from other nameless, faceless people that had been captured just like her. She was afraid...so, so afraid, but the cold sharpness in her hand kept her grounded.
She wondered if she was going to end up having to use it. A cold shiver ran through her soul...
[[ RIP smol spoider... Muffet isn't going to be very happy about that. Thank you so much for reading, and look forward to the next installment! I'm already working on it, so stay tuned! Things are getting real busy! ]]