Waken (UT×MLP) [STC]

Bars

With the help of some colleagues, Alphys eventually locked the poor guy up.

And the cycle started all over again.

Sans - if you could even call him that - was on his 27th failed reformation.

The screaming mess that had been lashing at the walls was now crawling across the room in another ferocious dance, pieces of it spewing blood and soaking it up like a wet sponge.

Alphys wasn't keen on staying around any longer; it made her skin crawl to have to watch such an inhumane project take place.

Still, Sans was one of the most talented, strong, and surprisingly important monsters. He was also amazing at keeping secrets secret - which is why people thought he was just one of the laziest.

Time went by, thirty minutes becoming an hour, an hour becoming two, two becoming five, and soon enough, it had been many, many months, and it seemed like Sans wasn't coming back.

Alphys felt so guilt-ridden that she didn't even bother to check the cameras anymore.

She knew he was gone.

She thought he was gone..?

Until she heard a scream.

*

Sans sat, curled up in a corner, scratches lining the walls like wallpaper.

He rocked back and forth, tears scribbled down his paper-thin smile.

He had woken up, gasping for air as if he'd choked to death, in a big room with no windows and no doors and practically no light.

He used his own magic as a light source, but even that was running low.

He felt so... done with it.

Why was he in here?

Why was he in here?

WHY WAS HE IN HERE?!

His ears were ringing like an alarm clock, his eyes burnt from the scalding hot tears that had seeped out of its sockets, and his mouth tasted like rusted metal.

His breath was like nails on a chalkboard, scraping like a screeching engine.

He wanted help.

He needed help.

He didn't know why he was locked up, and in such a large room, at that.

So he screamed.

...Help came.

*

A slit opened in the wall.

Sans cocked his skull in curiosity, the light streaming into the room.

Then the slit widened into an opening.

Alphys.

"SANS! O-Oh, thank goodness you're okay!" Alphys exclaimed, startlingly loud. "A-Are you f-feeling okay?"

Sans didn't answer.

He looked... numb.

Lost.

Confused.

Distant.

Empty.

...Why was he still in here? What was he in here for?

If he knew, he must have forgotten, because forgetting something?

Yeah, that never happened.

Sans grinned to himself, replaying the Pacifist Route in his head.

"S-Sans?" Alphys winced, clearly disturbed by his good mood.

Sans turned to look at Alphys.

Right, he was talking to her.

He asked a question.

...No answer.

He tried again.

Nothing.

Sans continuously opened his mouth to speak, mumbling, gagging, screaming, but nothing came out.

Sans looked scared, sweat rolling down his face.

He panted.

He grasped at his skull, scraping his fingers down its surface.

He can't be mute now, he can't!

He can't...

"S-S-Sans?! Sans, n-no, d-don't screa-"

He felt his face split in two, in three, mouths, eyes, everywhere, rows and rows of teeth revealing themselves, a sharp cry erupting from his being.

He collapsed, grasping tighter.

He wanted it to stop, but he was scared it would leave.

He bashed himself against the wall, screaming louder, and louder, almost in a twisted relief to hear his own voice.

He could scream to communicate! That would make sense to everyone!

He could make all the sound in the world, hear it day and night, the sound loud and clear to comfort the silence filling his head, the numbness creeping through his arms, dampened, stifled, silenced! He'd be happy! He'd be safe! He'd b-

-when Alphys grabbed him.

"S-Stop. P-Please. Don't l-lose yourself again. I can't afford to mess this up again, I c-can't!"

Again?

He paused, his mind racing in the opposite direction, towards a search for answers.

The holes in his face lay open and gaping wide.

It was all blank, the clear slate oddly calming.

He glanced back to what he was doing before.

Maybe screaming was a bad idea...

Sans felt the teeth lock back together and close, sealing his skull back shut as Alphys looked down at him.

"S-Sans, I think i-it's time you went o-outside for once."

For once?

The door opened again, and Alphys pulled him through.