Secrets Are Ba(n)d

Chapter 17: Celebratory Angst.

(Warning for sewerslidal ideation, self harm, and angst.)

Even with the cold, Papyrus broke a sweat, not daring to stop running until his joints wouldn't let him continue, halfhazardly leaning onto a tree. He had been careless, he could've been killed, or worse, he could've gotten Flowey hurt.
His quick breaths, even if unnecessary, echoed through the trees. Where had he run? Where could he go? For all he knew, the dogs would find a scent and wouldn't stop until they found the source. Suddenly, every shift in the wind, every twig that snapped, it stabbed at his senses as panic seeped into his bones like hot tar. He couldn't breath, he could hardly see, every wound and scratch on him ached and he could feel his soul in his ribcage. "Brother.. I want my brother" he wheezed as he sat against the tree, half hoping it would grow arms and hold him up, tell him he was great and strong. He couldn't tell he was crying until the tears froze, his eyesockets aching. Now the wind howled, picking up snow from the branches and tossing it against the skeleton. He could hardly see a few feet in front of him, and when he could, he dreaded what he saw.

"HALT, HUMAN" he shouted, the words pouring out of his skull before he could think.

"I, THE.. GREAT PAPYRUS, HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY" he shivered, from the cold, fear, or both.

"YOUR LIFE IS GOING DOWN A DANGEROUS-" he started, before interruption. A swing, a hit, and a blue jacket. God, oh Asgore no. He hated, truly *hated* these runs. When his brother got *too* tired, too unwilling to give them a chance. He fell to his knees as he held the torn jacket, the snow threatening to bury him, but he couldn't care. Maybe he wished it would, to make the goodbyes less hard. To take him back to his friends, to his brother.

And then, he opened his sockets. He was leaning on a tree, deep in the forest, and everyone still hated him. He could feel his soul fighting, the deepest parts of him pushing for his survival, while his legs and arms refused to move. The carefully carved grooves in his bones stared at him, strikes that poisoned his smooth magic like chains holding him in the wet cold that threatened to overcome him.

When he did move, it wasn't brave, nor graceful, it was clunky; almost falling with every step as his skull filled with fog, hardly being able to keep his bones attached against the whistling wind. He had to go, had to live, just this time. This time, and he would make it. The snow only got heavier as he shuffled, or maybe he was just getting weaker, either way he couldnt stop. He trudged, shaking with every step, until he saw a light through the trees.

"..He..lp"

He called, but nobody came.

He called again, using all of the hope of survival to give him strength, but nobody came.

And soon, he fell, the once sharp snow welcoming him like soft pillows.

Alphys paced around the sterile room, muttering quick paranoid nonsense. A fugitive, a criminal in her lab, a criminal that called for help through her cameras, that wore the jacket of her favorite singer. The brother of her old best friend. She checked her notes over, the vitals of any past visits, procedures on treating criminals, and a photo of Sans, her, and a little skeleton full of big dreams.

Papyrus recognized this pain, his shoulders ached, his soul full of dull fog, so sitting up came quickly. "What.." he stopped, the room around him unfamiliar. "It's not the cells.." he thanked, noting the beeping machinery around him, a voice suddenly coming from a speaker above him. "You-You're awake, good" the doctor stuttered through the microphone. Papyrus recognized the monsters voice quickly, having talked to her only hours before. "Where.. am I?" "My Lab, I-I saw you in the snow and.. you looked like you needed help" She mumbled, Papyrus noting the careful bandages around his bones and jacket hanging in the corner. Fuck. "So they renovated the medical cells.. strange" he mumbled to himself, hardly noting the camera following him as he stood from the bed. Of course, only to immediately hold the bed for stability. "w-wait! Don't do anything, I'll be ri-right there" the lizard monster called quickly, the sound of claws against concrete followed by a mechanical whooshing indicating she'd run into the room. "Pl-please sit, I need to check your vitals now" She pleaded nervously, hand placed against the buttons to the door. Most likely in case he attacked.
With a defeated sigh, Papyrus sat. There was no use. He would be treated and arrested in the next few hours. His thoughts were interrupted by quiet clicks as the doctor approached, eyes not leaving his unusually down disposition. 'This was Sans little brother? The upbeat, happy-go-lucky pacifist?' The doctor said under her breath, examining the graphs on the machine carefully hooked onto his soul.

HP 340/500

* Liked to say Nyeh Heh Heh at one point

500.. that was unusual. His HP had been lowered by something, though thankfully, he was healing. "You're he-healing well" She said with a glimmer of hope, though the look the skeleton gave her was almost disappointed. It tugged at her heart strings, that look that she knew so well at one point. But she tried to focus, blinking away the notion of watery eyes. "..M-May I ask you so-some questions?" She stuttered out, still eyeing the door. Papyrus thought of his options, or lack thereof, and decided he had nothing left to lose. He gave a half-assed nod, fiddling with his un-gloved hands, scars littering his bruised and bandaged bones. He'd hardly recognized himself anymore.
"Wh-why do you have Froids jacket? D..did.. you do s-something to him?" She said with worry, only imagining the outrage of both his fans, and worse, Mettaton. "Hurt him? Hes.. a friend of mine" the skeleton almost laughed, noting the web of lies he was making for himself. What was one more anyways. "Is.. that where you've been hi-hiding? ..W-With Froid?" "You could say that." He answered, the doctor *almost* satisfied with the answers.

"What.. happened?"
"What, with the attack?"
"Ye-yeah.. "
"Well, I was bullied, attacked, expertly avoided dusting with help from a friend that I may have feelings for, and now I'm a hated fugitive."
"..."
"Happy?"

The blunt answer left the doctor in shock, though she carefully picked at every word. '*he* was attacked? I mean it isn't impossible. Did they check the monster girls' records? And he hadn't had any prior signs of violence'
"You tend to mumble" Papyrus smiled, enjoying what little normalcy he could grasp at.
"S-sorry! I just, I-I need to think" the doctor squeaked, making her way towards the door. "Take your time, I'm not going anywhere" He joked as she left, the swoosh of the door closing leaving him in silence. Something about her gave him hope, maybe the vague familiarity, or that she was a monster that followed facts. Whatever it was, Papyrus was bone tired. With one last pathetic chuckle, he layed on the firm white sheets of his bed and drifted to sleep.

1286 words
(Hooey a long chapter, hope you're all ready for the next because I've got some 'fun' ideas! PS. Papyrus regular HP is 680, recent events may or may not have affected his soul more than we thought [hee hee]. But anyways I digress, happy reading!)