interitus×decay

6: Medic

        Pop.
    With one quick snap of his fingers, he was home, standing right outside their front door. The snow had stopped, for now, at least, so he wondered where the human had gone. He assumed to the Inn, for the sake of warmth. It wasn't like he'd take them to his house right off the bat, no way he would leave them alone with his baby brother. He'd find them later; for now, he had Pap to take care of. He shifted the boxes of bullshit tea in his arms so he could open the door, kicking it open with his shoe before knocking the snow off on the doorway. As usual, he greeted the quiet house.
    "Hey, bro, I'm home, ya need anything?"
    The TV was clicking between channels, and he eyed the bundle of red blankets on the couch. They moved a bit. Damn, it was hot in here.
    "Brother! You wouldn't believe what I saw today!"
    It shattered his heart to hear that his brother's once obnoxious and loud voice had become so weak and sick over time. He broke down into another coughing fit before he was able to continue.
    "A human! I saw a human!"
    He cracked a smile.
    "Really?"
    "Yes, yes, outside! Through the-" another wave of violent coughing, only adding to his pounding migraine, "through the window!"
    As if on instinct, Sans gave him two red capsules and a glass of water, which he gratefully took and swallowed. Instantly, he began to feel a bit better. The magic of monster medicine.

    Papyrus knew he was sick. Very sick. It was a terminal illness, and he shouldn't have even caught it. But, his kindness got the better of him when he spent so long taking care of Undyne. He was a skeleton, so it shouldn't have even affected him. But he was only a bit less susceptible to the disease, not completely immune, as he'd thought. And he'd had it longer than he'd had the symptoms. But the disease had adapted to his body, finding all new ways to make their host miserable. He was likely the beginning of an entirely new strain of the virus, now stronger and powerful enough to do so much harm to a more immune monster.
    "You saw a human, huh? Fascinatin'."
    There was definitely an amused tone in his voice.
    "Brother, I must go capture it!" The bundle of blankets began to move, and a very weak looking skeleton crawled out in his pajamas. Though Sans advised against it, he did try to guide him, to support his weight to prevent him from collapsing. But it didn't help, and he still fell, almost into the TV.
    "Bro, ya don't need ta even be up 'nd walking. Let alone leave the house, you're freezing as is."
    Papyrus knew he was right. His teeth were chattering, so he returned to the safety of his shell of blankets, and sighed. He used to be so full of energy. Now, he was just about as lazy as his brother, and never left the couch. He just sat and watched TV all day while Sans worked, or bought groceries, or cooked, or cleaned. Rarely did he ever see his brother rest anymore, and he would've been proud of him if he didn't know that he was pushing himself too much. Sans had gone from one extreme to the other, from extremely lazy to working himself to death.
    "Brother, I think I'll be alright to walk-"
    "Pap, no. You need to rest." He opened one of the boxes and took a bag of tea out. There was a lot less than the usual (still rather skimpy) amount of purple dots in the bag this time, and he frowned.
    Cheapskate.
    "How 'bout this," he said, remembering his plan. "You stay here 'nd rest, while I go capture ta human. I'll brew yer tea 'nd then I'll leave."
    This made his face light up.
    "Really, Sans? You would do that for me?"
    "'Course."
    So it was settled. Sans would brew his tea and then set out to "capture" the human, although he knew he'd just have to find out where they went. He'd not-so-accidentally left out the part where he'd already met the kid about an hour ago, and had just told them to wander for a bit while he took care of some things (he'd also suggested they walk past the house a couple of times, just to be sure he saw them.) The kid was pretty cool with that. At least, he thought. He didn't know, they talked with their hands. Reminder to invest in a whiteboard and some markers.

    Frisk had somehow managed to get lost in the town during the snowstorm, but luckily they'd found their way into a warm building. Hesitantly, they walked in and looked around, curious. Only a couple monsters we're inside - about two or three dog monsters, a... horse? and a flame monster, behind the bar. A neon sign on the wall said "Grillby's," but it was unplugged. A sign above it said "Medic."
    Stick dragging the wooden floor behind them, they made their way to the bar. Nobody even seemed to notice, too caught up in their own food or quiet conversations to pay any attention. Everyone looked sad.
    Tap tap tap tap.
    They rapped at the counter with their stick, and waited. The flame monster, confused, peered over the bar and down at them. They only stared.
    "... Hello."
    Frisk waved.