The hand that holds the chain(swapfell)part 2

chapter 7

The jobs kept pouring in, and so did the training Sans put himself through. He worked his tailbone off in his armor until he could no longer feel its extra weight, until no movement was hindered. He worked until his armor was like a skin, his boots and gloves were broken in perfectly, and he wasn't comfortable unless he was either wearing it, or nothing at all.

Though, if he was being completely honest, he preferred it with the armor ON.

He had an inkling Papyrus felt the same way. If anything, it made his brother more comfortable with joining in with training, which pulled in a bigger boon for them both on the job. During their sparring, he had Alphys record it for future reference, and the three of them found that over a short period of time, they built something of a system in their fights.

When Alphys was on the offensive, it was impossible to get close to Sans, even if he was barreling in. Any attack Alphys threw at the smaller brother was blocked entirely by Papyrus, who never let anything escape him when in battle mode. With his back taken care of, Sans was left to send out volleys of attacks in every conceivable direction, to any possible enemy. And any enemy who might have eyes for Papyrus's back to stab only had the bad luck of having Sans hone in on them.

It happened more than once on the job. At one point, Papyrus's spine was almost severed by an assailant, and it was thanks to Sans's open shot that he was spared, although the same couldn't be said of the Monster once Sans got his hands on him.

More than once, Papyrus found himself physically wrangling his older brother away from clawing at dust piles or turning on any unfortunate soul who happened to wander into the fray. Alphys and Undyne were witness to it when they were surveying the jobs from Undyne's viewing room, seeing the normally-composed Skeleton snap when Papyrus's life was nearly in danger, or when someone got a minor hit in, or when someone flipped The Switch.

It was a frightening image, seeing Sans's eye sockets blaze with cerulean electricity as he slaughtered a Monster down, clawed his way into someone's face, and even physically attack Papyrus before coming to his senses. After the fact, it was bittersweet to see Sans both lamenting his temper and petting over Papyrus's wounds as Papyrus just held him, taking both the abuse and the comfort with equal desire.

Sans's temper became an interest to both girls, especially considering how reserved and composed he had been in the past. Alphys remarked that one didn't just develop a hostile temper like that overnight, but Undyne knew it was possible. As she often recalled, both Papyrus AND Sans had broken in some way that day, and both had irreparably changed in one way or the other.

It was easy to overlook the damage Sans took when compared to Papyrus, but Undyne was reminded of it every time she stepped into her viewing room, seeing the LOOK on Sans's face when he saw what had been done to his brother. She SAW something break in him, both physical and psychological, that no doubt left a scar on his soul.

Papyrus was not the only one to have fits of anxiety or rage; Undyne and Alphys both had to work hard to cover his ass when he went for anyone who looked at Papyrus wrong, or said just the wrong thing at the wrong time. They would worry more about it, though, if Papyrus wasn't completely receptive if not WELCOMING to those fits.

Alphys and Undyne both were witness to one of Sans's more violent fits that had Alphys separating Sans from another Monster and Papyrus pulling Sans further back and putting himself right in Sans's line of vision.

Sans threw himself on his brother and began punching and clawing, screeching like a beast until he worked out his rage. When it was over, he panted hard and stood over his brother, his fists stained with marrow as Papyrus was slumped on the ground with bleeding cuts and cracks along his skull.