Chapter 24: The market laws

Only silence could be heard in the children's cell.

Papyrus was sitting in a corner of the room, his knees folded up against his chest. Sans laid on the opposite wall, curled up, his back turned to his brother. The older skeleton knew he should say something, try to patch things up, but he just felt so tired.

He had given up and waited to see what would happen next. What else could he do anyway? His little brother still refused to accept the situation and Sans wouldn't change his mind.

What time was it now? Without a window leading on the outside, the skeleton lost all sense of the time. He feared their situation would worsen soon.

He shivered. He felt so cold too. The grey concrete floor was not comfortable, even for him who used to sleep all the time in weird places. He couldn't find the right position and Papyrus constant sniffing didn't help to soothe him. Toriel tried her best to comfort him from the next door cell, but what Papyrus needed was a hug that no one could give him for the moment.

An unpleasant crackling escaped the camera in the corner of the room. Sans glared darkly at it. Gaster probably didn't miss a bit of this pathetic show and it made him angry. He might be jubilating, and he could. It was the first time in five years the brothers fought this harshly. There were always bickering, like all siblings do, but never on subject as serious than these. Because they shouldn't even be debating about if it was right or not to kill someone.

"Sans, Papyrus. Go stand against the back wall."

Both children jumped when their father's voice echoed from the camera. Papyrus quickly obeyed, but Sans didn't move a bone. He clenched his fists and ignored him.

"Sans…" The voice threatened. "Obey this instant."

"Or what?"

A loud sigh could be heard from outside before the door opened, letting Gaster in. Papyrus hesitated to come to him, but finally stayed back, looking sad. Their father didn't even look his way once, immediately focusing on Sans.

"Stand up and go against the wall already!" He ordered coldly.

He violently grabbed Sans' arm and lift him back on his feet. The skeleton tried to defend himself with magic, before remembering he couldn't because of the collar. He turned toward other means and bit his father's arm as he dragged him towards the wall, wincing. He threw Sans next to his brother. The older skeleton hesitated to sit down again just to piss him off, before he felt Papyrus tiny shaking hand took his own hand.

Sans squeezed back, as Papyrus was obviously terrified by what was happening. Maybe the situation was not that desperate between them after all. The skeleton couldn't tell how much seeing his brother make a step his way was a relief.

Gaster opened the door to let a human and Asgore enter the room. The skeleton tensed when he recognized who that man was: Mr Jolanger, the human who bargained his life in the forest. Sans took a step forward and slightly hid Papyrus behind him.

"Is that them?" He asked with a point of excitement.

"As promised." Asgore answered darkly. "You can tell your leader they will be ready to be delivered next week as agreed, at the condition he erased his clause about Mount Ebott."

"I don't think you are in any position to negotiate, Mr Dreemur."

"And I don't think you are in any position to refuse, alone, circled with my people."

The human stared despisingly at the King, before he walked to the children. He kneeled in front of Sans, who stepped back, wary.

"How do I activate it?" He asked Gaster.

"This is not a robot." His father replied curtly. "You can't ask him to obey all your whims like some dog."

"For now." Mr Jolanger threatened. "Take off his collar. I want proofs."

Gaster sighed, annoyed, but obeyed. He grabbed Sans' arm and deactivated the magic inhibitor with a small box. Almost immediately, Sans' eye turned blue.

"Activate it." The human asked again. "I want to see its magic."

"Who do you take me for?" Gaster hissed. "I worked on them many years, I don't see why I should…"

"Do it, Gaster." Asgore asked, defeated. "Let's get this over with."

His father turned to him. Sans growled, challenging him to do something he didn't want to.

"Sans, summon a blaster please."

"No." Sans refused, tensed.

"Sans."

"No. I won't do anything for that guy."

The scientist rolled his eyes, then turned towards Papyrus, paralyzed against the wall. Without a warning, he slammed his hand against the small skeleton's cheek, pushing him backwards because of the strength of the hit. Papyrus curled up in a corner, shaking, and hid his face in his arms.

"Summon a blaster." Gaster threatened a second time.

Sans breathed heavily, staring nervously at his brother. Gaster lifted his hand to hit him again. Sans screamed and teleported in front of Papyrus, two huge blasters on each of his side. He shot at his father's feet to force him to stand back, angry. The beam rebounded against a forcefield, protecting the three intruders.

Sans let go of the blasters, as he quickly understood it would do nothing against them. He calmly walked to Papyrus instead. The small skeleton hugged him, all limbs shaking. Sans held him close against him. It was unfair.

"Impressive." The man said. "It looks like the ball of nerves. With a bit of authority, I am sure we would be able to make what we want of it. It almost reminded me of you, Doctor. Is it a coincidence they are also skeletons?"

Gaster didn't answer, but the way he looked away spoke for itself. The man chuckled. He kneeled in front of Sans again, and grabbed his chin, forcing the skeleton to look him in the eyes. The older's brother reaction didn't wait. He summoned a sharp bone in his hand and tried to stab the human in the eye. Gaster stopped his hand with blue magic before he could do anything, and pushed him a little more against the wall, out of reach.

"Enough." The scientist claimed. "You saw what he is capable off, now get out. My lab is not a freak show and I have work to do, unlast you. Asgore, please."

"Come, Mr Jolanger. Let's doctor Gaster go back to work. Can I invite you to have tea?"

The three of them finally left the room, but not before Gaster put back Sans' collar in place. Once the door locked, Sans relaxed slightly. He looked at Papyrus, still pressed against him and decided to sit down next to him. Papyrus hugged him closer, sniffing.

"I'm sorry." Sans said. "He didn't have to do this. He promised he wouldn't do it again and I believed him. I'm sorry I was mean to you too yesterday."

"I'm s-scared, Sans. What do they want? Why… Why are they doing this to us? I don't understand. We were always good. Right?"

"Of course we are. I won't let them hurt us again, alright? We're going to get out of here soon."

"Why is he like this?" Papyrus cried. "He wasn't like this before. He never liked me very much but he never hit me. I hate it. Did I do something wrong, Sans? Why doesn't he like me? I'm trying… I'm trying so hard, but he never sees it!"

Sans felt tears of anger and helplessness fall along his cheek bones. He made them disappear with a sweep of his hand. He couldn't break down. Not now. He had to stay strong for his little brother.

"You did nothin wrong, Papyrus." He answered, trying to control how shaky his voice felt. "You are the best, don't think about him anymore. It was always just you and me anyway. You know what? Starting today, he doesn't exist anymore. We will get out of here, both of us, and I promise you won't have to be scared of him ever again. I won't let him hurt you again. I'm sorry. I'm so s-sorry, Papyrus. I don't even know why I'm crying! I'm sorry…"

"You did nothing wrong either, Sans. I want him gone too so you stop being so sad all the time. Even if… Even if you have to hurt Charlie. I'm sorry I sulked all night. I won't say anything if you decide to do it. I don't want you to be mad at me again."

"I was never mad at you, Papyrus. And I don't ask you to accept it just because we had an argument. You have the right to tell what you're thinking too. I'm sorry I didn't listen to you."

Papyrus burst in tears uncontrollably, and Sans soon followed, unable to calm down. They hugged each other, on the verge of breaking down, but still together.

That moment of quietude, however, cut to an abrupt end a few seconds later, when the door opened on Gaster again. Sans stared at him, angry, and held Papyrus closer. The scientist sighed loudly.

"I knew authorizing this visit would cause troubles." He growled. "Stop crying, Sans, you are not a baby anymore. It's time. Take your brother and follow me. Don't try anything stupid, you would regret it immediately."

"I don't want Papyrus to see this." He answered back, shocked he would even proposed it. Charlie was his friend!

"He will see it. And Toriel. And Undyne too. I want them all to stop considering you as an innocent child, Sans. You are not anymore. You are a war weapon starting today, and I won't tolerate more misplaced sentimentalism for this human or Papyrus wellbeing. You need to learn to accept what people really think of you, or you and your brother won't have any chance outside. You saw it just like me, that man is not here to play."

Sans refused to look him in the eyes. Gaster grabbed his chin and forced eye contact.

"I want you to understand I'm not doing this to be mean or to punish you. I am helping you to have all the keys in hand to succeed. If you're not putting more effort into his project, not only your brother will die, but the rest of monsterkind with it. That man won't just slap Papyrus, Sans. They're going to experiment on him. They are going to hurt him, you can't prevent this. But you can make sure each hit the both of you take can be used against them later. You can make a difference, you just need to believe it a little more. It is time you stop behaving like a child. You are not one anymore since the day I asked you to take your brother and run under the bombs."

Gaster walked behind him and took off his collar. Sans didn't react much.

"I am not your enemy, Sans. I am not Papyrus' either. All I want is help you to survive. We lost a precious time running after you, and I recognize it was partially my fault. But we can't waste anymore time. What about a deal? You let me help you, you obey to what I ask you without any question, and in exchange, I will answer anything you ask and tell you all about what is going to happen to you. No more cell. No more collar. Only trust."

Sans looked down at Papyrus, nervous. Gaster sighed.

"And I promise to not touch your brother again if it's the only thing that scares you. He can stay with Toriel and Undyne while I perfect your training. We have five days left, Sans. After that, everything will be between your hands and you will be free to do anything you want. Deal?"

Gaster leaned his hand to him. Sans hesitated. He had no trust in him whatsoever, and it was not some nice sentenche that would change his mind. But Gaster was right on one point. Sans needed context, aims and answers before he got sold to the humans. He couldn't do without. He needed everything he could to protect the both of them.

Slowly, he took Gaster's hand.

"Deal." He answered with determination, and the unpleasant feeling he was signing a contract with the devil.