Chapter 31: Trust

Sitting on a chair, Sans was nervously watching Papyrus run on some sort of mechanical walkway. He started half an hour ago now. The small skeleton, exhausted, struggled to keep pace and panted heavily. However, he was not authorized to stop. Locked in a small plastic box, he could only move forward or badly hurt himself. Sans knew something about that, he was at his brother's place right before him. Doctor Gregoire forced him to run for an hour and a half before his legs gave up from exhaustion. Sans hit the wall of the box painfully, crying from stress and unable to stand up again despite the threats and the electric charges in his ribs.

Nothing really changed since Gaster. Whatever small liberty they had between the experiences was just an illusion, and Sans was more than aware of it.

Papyrus threw him a stare full of distress. His brother encouraged him in a whisper, knowing this was not helping. The small skeleton saw the scientists scream at his brother and mistreat him. Papyrus was terrified to go through the same thing. He was already giving his all and tiring himself way too quickly. Sans knew he would never hold on as long as he did.

And he hated he was right.

Papyrus' ankle suddenly twisted and he faceplants on the floor, his body quickly dragged helplessly against the wall of the box. The scientist, a man with black hair and looking constipated, immediately got angry. He swung the electric stick threateningly, and since Papyrus didn't move fast enough, forced it through a small hole to give his brother an electric discharge in the chest. Instead of standing up, the small skeleton screamed and curled up on himself, whining in pain.

"Stand up!" The man screamed. "I never see a monster so damn useless! Stand up, idiot!"

Angry, he poured the electric stick into the hole and hit Papyrus in the face.

That was too much for Sans, who immediately reacted. He ran to the scientist and jumped on his arm to prevent him from doing it again. As his brother's assaulter tried to attack him instead, Sans bit his arm furiously, not having any other way to defend himself without his magic.

Several soldiers burst into the room to separate them, and several painful electric shocks ended convincing Sans to finally obey and let go. What else could he do anyway? He limped to his chair, growling at every step, and sat back. At least, that little altercation calmed down the scientist, exasperated.

"We're done for today." He said, holding a compress where the skeleton bit him. "Let them out, I'm done with these little shits until tomorrow."

He slammed open Papyrus' cage. The small skeleton crawled between the legs of the scientist, fearful, and ran to take cover in his brother's arms. Sans took his hand, mockingly waved at the scientist and the guards, and left the room after throwing them one of his darkest stares, which made them uncomfortable enough to look away.

Two weeks had passed since their arrival and the two skeletons barely got their bearings. If they put aside their regular sessions in the lab all mornings and afternoons, their situation was better than what they thought it would be. They had total access to the castle and the garden, with the only condition to be on time for dinner and back in their room for lights out. Until now, the skeletons obeyed, even though Sans couldn't help but test the limits from time to time, just to see what would happen.

It was clear to Sans that all of this was just a big mockery organized to prevent them from thinking too much to escape. He saw how the humans feared his magic during one of their experiments where he had to shoot a bocal at long range and accidentally summoned a blaster. He didn't manage to control it and injured two scientists without wanting it. The way they looked at him… Since, the experiments were taking place with them at a good distance, hiding behind windows or, like today, the monsters in little cages. Well, they signed for this, right?

"They didn't hurt you?" Sans asked his brother as they went down the corridor. "I'm sorry, they're just brutes."

"That's fine…" Papyrus answered with a small, tired voice. "I don't like electric shocks. It hurts." He growled, scratching the spot where the weapon burned him on his chest. "They said I'm a useless idiot." He said, looking down.

"Don't listen to them. You did your best."

"But I didn't run as long as you! Whatever I do, it seems I can never be good at anything!" He screamed, frustrated.

Sans stopped in his tracks and kneeled in front of him.

"Papyrus, you're only a child. Don't let them pull you down. I'm sure not even Undyne would have managed to do half the things they forced us to do. You're strong, you're intelligent and you're definitely way better than all of these stinky humans out there. You're stronger than them."

"I want to believe you, but…"

"There's no but. Believe me. Believe in yourself. You know you are better than that. You used to call yourself the great Papyrus all the time before, what happened to that?"

"I don't know… Maybe I am still great."

"And I'm sure you are still great."

Papyrus smiled a little, more cheerful. Sans hugged him. He was sure that this sudden lack of confidence was the result of the last experiments. Since the humans discovered the skeletons could heal their injuries with some food, they tried to see how much resistance they had to pain. They didn't push things to extreme pain, but Sans had no doubt it might happen soon. He wished he had a way to prevent them from hurting his brother more. At night, he could hear Papyrus cry to himself, trying to be discreet so Sans wouldn't hear it. Papyrus was not doing well at all.

Sans stopped in the hall to look at the clock. It was half past four in the afternoon already. The skeleton gently put a hand behind his brother's head.

"Helene probably prepared some snacks for us. You're hungry?"

Before he could end his sentence, Papyrus already ran down the stairs, excited. Sans chuckled. His brother developed a weird addiction to cakes and hot chocolate. Sans preferred to see him like this than huddled up in a plastic box.

Sans went after his brother, waiting for him in the hall, and both walked to the kitchens, talking about lighter subjects. It was their safe place in the castle. Helene was the only person the skeletons trusted blindly, and she was always happy to take care of them with kindness and patience, even when she had to bandage their injuries.

Papyrus entered at full throttle in the kitchens and jumped into the old lady's arms. She welcomed him with a warm hug, laughing.

Not everything was black. Papyrus finally found an adult loving him for real, and Sans couldn't help but think he was treating their "Nanny" as an adoptive mother. His brother, however, stayed distant and distrustful, not forgetting she was working for the Emperor. He appreciated the unconditional moral support she gave to them, day and night, but he could never trust her entirely in these walls.

"You finished early." Helene noticed. "Is everything alright?" She worried.

Papyrus' expression darkened slightly. The old lady looked at Sans, interrogative. The skeleton sighed.

"They forced us to run until we couldn't hold on to our legs anymore. Papyrus couldn't perform as long as me, so they tried to hit him." He answered coldly.

"And I suppose you interfered." She guessed as Sans nodded slightly. "They are brutes." She growled. "A poor sweetie like you, they really don't understand anything." She told Papyrus, tickling him. "You can sit, I'll bring the snacks in a minute."

Papyrus happily bounced toward the table. Sans could never understand how his brother could still behave like a normal child despite everything that happened to him. He was for sure not as skilled, destroyed mentally and physically with after-effects that would follow him all his life, but his little brother had no problem separating the pain from the more joyful moments. Or maybe Papyrus knew how to hide his feelings better than him. He didn't know. He was not sure of anything at this point.

Silently, Sans sat down next to his brother, jumping on his chair excitedly. Helene put a plate full of cookies on the table, and a cup of hot chocolate in front of each of them. Papyrus dug in the food immediately, happy. Sans picked a cookie to please the old lady, but he wasn't hungry.

He didn't have any taste for anything, really. He was not eating that much anymore, slept barely a few hours each night, or on the contrary did only that all day, and simply let Papyrus drag him wherever he wanted to go during their free time, shuffling along. He missed Toriel, but each day passing without him trying something to get out of there felt like a betrayal of the trust she put in him. He tried to leave, several times. Unfortunately, he learned that if he got too close to the borders of the castle, a huge electric shock, dispensed by the bracelet preventing him from using magic, was enough to knock him out for a few minutes. He got punished severely for that. He hated that damn chain holding him tied to the castle like a dog in a kennel. Even if they could go in the gardens, Sans had the impression of lacking air, suffocating between these old walls covered with paintings of unknown paternalist humans.

"Are you alright, dear?" Helene asked him. "You look lost in thoughts today."

"I'm just tired." He apologized.

"You didn't eat any…"

"Not hungry."

He pushed the cookie away from the tip of his fingers. She stared at him, clearly pained, or worried. He felt guilty and looked down, uncomfortable.

Papyrus, unbothered by his brother's qualms, eyed his food intensely. Sans slid the cookie his way, which was apparently enough to make him happy.

The old lady didn't comment more. She simply hugged him briefly, making him tense, then left them alone to clean the dishes of the castle.

Soon after, the kitchens door opened on an imposing-looking man. Sans immediately looked down when he recognized the Emperor. As Helene left the room, as the social etiquette needed her to, the man sat peacefully next to Papyrus.

Very uncomfortable, the young skeleton looked at him nervously, and discreetly pushed his chair closer to his brother.

He smiled at the children.

"I have a question for you." He said with a sickly sweet voice. "Have I been good to you? Since your arrival in the castle, I mean."

Sans hesitated to answer. The Emperor met his eyes. He was staring at him. He was talking to him. His instinct screamed something in the behavior of the man was not normal.

He gulped nervously.

"Yes, sir." Sans answered with a small voice.

He smiled, then took Papyrus' hand. The small skeleton tried to resist but then decided to relax slightly when Sans put a hand on his knee, nervous. The Emperor stroked his brother's arm, still looking Sans in the eyes.

"You see, Sans, trust is like the arm of your little brother. Smooth, straight, flawless… Bright white. Sometimes, some spots can appear here and there." He said, pointing some chocolate on Papyrus' arm. "But nothing that time or an excuse can't erase, right? Sometimes, however, that trust becomes thinner. This is what happened with the king of your people. We trusted him, and he betrayed our trust by developing magic on our backs. Sometimes, the trust you can give to someone has limits. And when the amount of trust we give reaches its limits…"

He brutally squeezed Papyrus' wrist and violently forced his forearm in another direction. The bone broke in a horrible snap and his brother immediately screamed in agony. Papyrus struggled and managed to escape the grip of the Emperor, and fell harshly on the floor, quickly cowering in a corner of the room, his broken arm against his chest, whining.

Sans stayed frozen, in shock, still eyes in eyes with the human. The Emperor stood up calmly.

"This was your only warning, Sans. If you try once again to attack my scientists, you won't like what happened next. Is that clear?"

Terrified, Sans nodded. The Emperor simply left the room like he came, not looking back once toward Papyrus.

Sans jumped out of his chair and ran to his little brother. In tears, Papyrus was shaking from all his bones, rattled. Sans slowly tried to get him to stretch his broken arm, but his own hands were trembling uncontrollably. He did his best to put the bone back in place, heartbroken as Papyrus yelled in pain, squeezing his shirt, his face buried in his chest. Sans snatched a piece of his shirt and wrapped it around the bone, trying to keep it still. By the time he finished, Papyrus was barely conscious, softly crying against him.

"We're… We're going to the infirmary, ok? I'm going to carry you." He said, trying to comfort him. "I'm… I'm so sorry Papyrus, that's all my fault, I…"

He trembled, struggling not to cry. But this time, he couldn't. He fell on his knees, bursting into frustrated tears. Papyrus' right arm slowly squeezed his waist, in an attempt to hug him.

Sans was not sad, he was furious. He lowered his guard too much, and this was what happened! He hated humans. He hated them with all of his soul, and he swore he would never trust any of them ever again.

"Sans, that's not your fault… Don't cry…" Papyrus whispered weakly, concerned.

"Eh. You were always the coolest between us two. I don't need to be comforted, I'm fine." He said, stroking his cheek. "We will get out of here, I promise. We're going to show them they can't play with our lives like we are dolls. I won't let them hurt you again. I won't let anyone hurt you again." He repeated, serious. "You and me until the end, right?"

"You and me until the end." Papyrus repeated, cuddling to his chest.

They stayed in this position for a few more seconds before Sans finally decided to move. He put a hand under Papyrus' legs and slowly lifted him off the floor, still holding the bone in place with his other hand, then exited the room to go to the infirmary.

Helene proposed some help, but Sans dissuaded her to get close with a dark stare. She was maybe nicer than the other humans, but she was still one of them. She let that happen and said nothing. This was too late; Sans couldn't trust her again.

As the Emperor said, trust was something fragile.

And he just broke the rare empathy Sans still had for humanity by lashing out at his little brother.