ATE - 5 - Break



I had been trapped in Ink's room for a year and a half by this point, and there was no change. Error and I were both still trapped, I was still on stage five of Ink's plan, meals were every three days, and I felt pain almost constantly. In other words, I knew my routine like the back of my soul. Speaking of meals, Ink was serious when he said I wouldn't be fed if I tried to cough up some paint; I did it by accident once, and I didn't eat for almost a week. That really sped up the dying process, making it only come in two months instead of four. That was roughly four months ago, and I hadn't made that mistake again. As per tradition, today was the day the swapped Sans would come to kill me; Ink had told me that he'd be coming about three o'clock in the afternoon - it was eleven o'clock in the morning right now, leaving only four hours. Thankfully, Ink didn't know about our arrangement - or he didn't care - which meant we were safe. Of course, I had to get through a different higher rank before the swapped Sans could come, and it was one of the worse ones. 


I had given the higher ranks nicknames that Ink actually liked to use; he said they were appropriate - which meant that I knew if I was going to get a hard beating or a light one. The nickames I had created, from worst to best, were diabolical, which included only Ink and one other guard - he wasn't coming today; evil, which included about five guards - the one coming was one of them; mean, which included the majority of the higher ranked guards; average, which included quite a few of them; easy, which only included about two; and kind, which was only the swapped Sans. The swapped Sans was the only one who didn't hurt me in a cruel way when he came; he only did it to relieve my pain. The easy and average ones only really came when they needed to blow off some steam, but they never stayed for long. The mean ones simply practiced techniques on me, figuring out which ones hurt the most. The evil ones actually enjoyed seeing me in pain; a lot of the mean ones did, too, but they didn't quite make it to evil. The diabolical guard came about once a week, and he was working to become Ink's right-hand-skeleton, which meant he had to get Ink to like him; he figured that proving he was as sadistic as Ink was would fit the bill, and he had no problem at all using me to do it. Ink still hadn't found an interest in his work.


"Dusty." Ink looked to me, forcing my skull up to meet him. "What do you think?"


"A-ab-about wh-what?" I stuttered; Ink preferred it when I responded, and pain was the alternative.


"Is he late?" Ink was referring to the evil guard that should have come.


"N-no.." If he wasn't present, he wasn't hurting me, and that was good enough for me.


"I'll wait a while longer, but I have to be somewhere soon."


"Wh-where?" I didn't even want to know; I just wanted to know as much as I could.


"Just a meeting. I'll be back around eight."


"Ok-okay.." 


"What is taking him?" Ink was impatient.


Soon after that was said, the door was opened, and the evil guard entered.


"Sorry I'm late.." He apologized.


"That's fine, just be on time next time." Ink ordered.


"Yes, Sir."


"Have fun!" Ink opened a portal.


"I will." The evil guard smirked at me, recieving a scared look; at this point, I didn't care who was hurting me - I was just afraid of the pain...and Ink. 


When Ink had left the scene, the evil guard started his term, pelting me with bone attacks; the guards weren't allowed to use blasters, since those were much more powerful, and I could die from just one powerful attack. They didn't mind that, of course, since they were only present to inflict pain while Ink was gone. It didn't matter if they had to use blasters or fists; they would hurt me with whatever they had available. Halfway through my beating, the guard switched from bone attacks to blue magic, slamming me against the walls of the room; they were only allowed to use blue magic for five minutes, since that, too, was powerful. After five minutes, the guard sat next to me to savor my cries; he was in the evil section for that purpose: he loved to hear me cry. When the clock hit two fifty, he had to leave; the swapped Sans would come at three, and he wasn't allowed to be present. In the ten minutes I had before the swapped Sans came, I thought about my brother; he's the best, and I just knew that he would rescue me and Error soon! When I heard the clock strike three, the door opened just as it always did, and the swapped Sans pulled me into a hug.


"Are you okay?" The swapped Sans worried. 


"Y-yeah.." I winced a bit from my bones settling.


"Do you want it over with now, or do you want to talk?"


"Whatever..y-you want.."


"You're so selfless, Dust.." The swapped Sans was always willing to spread compliments wherever he went; he was responsible for the morale of the entire army!


"N-not r-really.."


"I guess I'll let you go now..goodbye, Dust."


"G-good..bye.."


After that was said, the swapped Sans summoned a sharp bone; it felt like a dagger, but that was necessary to properly kill the soul. If it was done incorrectly, I could come back to life without my memories, or I could possibly not even come back at all! When I was ready, the swapped Sans wasted no time in killing me quickly; it was excruciating, but it could have been worse if he wanted it to be. When it was over, I felt a reset; it wouldn't be long before I woke up in my bed once more. When I opened my eyesockets, I let out a sigh and rose to my feet, wobbling a bit at first. I eventually gained my usual balance and made my way to the forest; I had decided to start with news about Papyrus before seeing my old friends, partly because he's the best, and I always started with the best! It didn't take long for me to knock on the guard station's door, and I was soon greeted with smiles and let in; they had the files about my brother on standby, since they never knew when I would die. When I had been seated at the table I was led to, I quickly looked for new information about Paps; he's the best!


"How many times does this make?" A guard was sorry for me.


"I think five." A different one answered. 


"That must be horrible.."


"At least he gets this time.."


"It should be that he gets this time forever.."


"Ink's too cruel to let him do that."


"You're right.."


I spent twenty minutes reading about all the awesome stuff Papyrus had been up to, and he had been up to a lot! He organized at least one rescue mission per week, which made me smile; Error and I would be saved in no time! When I had finished pouring over the information, I decided to go back to town; I waved goodbye to the guards and began my run. Although running wore me out, I needed to get as much as possible done in my short time in my universe; I didn't know when I'd get it next. When the inhabitants of my universe were made aware that I was present, the ones that wanted to talk to me went to the most accessible place in the underground: Grillby's. It was the ideal spot for a large gathering, and everybody seemed to find it preferable to hoping they passed me on the street. I had thirty-five minutes left when I reached the restaurant, and I didn't waste any time in entering the building; everybody seemed happy to see me, and I spent the next twenty-five minutes talking with some old friends. At the ten-minutes-left point, I made it a point to have a conversation with Grillby; he wanted to know exactly what went on in my absences, and I didn't shirk from telling him. When I had two minutes left, I had to say something.


"Grillby." I addressed.


"Yes, Sans?" He knew I was serious.  


"I'm going to tell you now."


"What is it?"


"I don't know how much more of this I can take."


"I see..what do you want us to do about it?"


"Just..if I ever show up acting weird, like I have absolutely no care about anything, or I'm acting weird in general, would you knock some sense into me?"


"You mean hurt you?"


"If I don't respond to anything else.." I sighed. "I can take it; you should know that.."


"I'll see what I can do."


"Thanks."


"How much time do you have left?"


"About a minute..I guess this is goodbye.."


"Goodbye, Sans. Stay strong."


"I'll try.."


"Or maybe you shouldn't try!" Ink had arrived. "Do you know what I had to go through to get here on time?"


"And thus starts it.." I frowned.


"You shouldn't go dying while I'm busy!"


"Sorry.."


"I'm taking you back, then I will return to my meeting, and when I get to you, you will be beaten so hard that a doctor won't be able to tell your arms from your legs!"


"You could be nicer about it.." I muttered.


"Excuse me?!"


"N-nothing!"


"That's what I thought."


At this, Ink quite forcefully dragged me through a portal as I got my last glance at my universe for a while. When we reached his room, he threw me to the ground and told me that a babysitter would come shortly; he left promptly. I had been left alone in his room before without injuries, but there was no way out; the windows were quite unbreakable, and the door wouldn't be unlocked for anything except a given key. I hoped that my usual sitter would be coming; Ink had practically forced the job upon Fell when I said he was the easiest to get along with, and he didn't mind it at all! When he came, he told me of current news in the multiverse, including some feats that my brother had pulled off; Papyrus is the best. In exchange for those, I offered him some information that the higher ranks had given me during beatings; they were always complaining about things, and since they always took it out on me, I had some pretty valuable information to share with Fell, who shared it with the rest of the guard. Of course, that didn't make much of a difference when Ink was virtually unstoppable..it could only soften the blow. Fell soon entered the room, and I was happy to see him.


"Heya, Dust." Fell greeted. "You're looking healthy."


"I just died..that helps a bit." I shrugged.


"I see."


"I doubt I'll be fine when Ink gets back..he's in a horrible mood."


"Well, I wish you luck." Fell sat next to me on the floor.


"Thanks." 


"Any news?"


"Some of the higher-ups say there's a chance for Ink to accept a right hand, while others say it's impossible."


"What do you think?"


"Guard isn't gonna let up, but I really have no clue."


"Anything else?" 


"Ink's birthday is coming up soon, and from what I've heard, everybody in the multiverse has to get him a gift.."


"If they don't?"


"Torture for a week."


"Agh..we'll be ready. Thanks."


"No problem. Anything on your end?"


"Your brother defeated a large onslaught in Horrortale; it remains free."


"That's good. He's the best!"


"He's pretty cool."


"Anything else?"


"Not today, sorry.."


"That's okay! How's it going?"


"Same old, same old; it feels like the restrictions just keep getting tighter.."


"The higher-ups are behind that.."


"Speaking of them, did you know that Blue's one of them?"


"Yeah."


"Do you know how? I mean, he wouldn't accept Ink's offer."


"Since he used to work with Ink when he was 'good,' he didn't have a choice. If Dream gets captured, he'll receive the same."


"I see. Is he nice?"


"Yeah. Sometimes he comes to relieve some of the pain; it's only temporary, though.."


"That's kind of him - dangerous, too."


"Yeah, but he doesn't care..he's based off of a Papyrus, you know."


"Yeah, and he acts like one....well, not like my brother, but mine is just a special one."


"Every brother is special."


"That's true. Any suggestions on gifts for the 'oh so mighty ruler'?"


I snickered at that. "Let's see..he likes paint, torture, art, and he has a big ego. Maybe a card that says he's cool or something."


"I'll keep that in mind. Let's just hope nobody actually gives him a torture weapon.."


"Yeah.." Last time somebody did that, I was on the receiving end. 


"So, wanna do anything special before you know what happens?"


"Maybe walk a little?"


"That sounds like a good idea."


When that was said, Fell and I stood up and started walking around the room; I couldn't explain how being able to move made me feel! For the next few hours, we talked more and did a few other things; by the time the clock struck eight, I was smiling happily - until Ink came back. Fell was rapidly dismissed, and he had no choice about it; after a silent wave, he left me alone with Ink. Being alone with Ink was one of the scariest things I could ever think of, and it was only made worse by the fact that he was holding a can of paint. He donned a sadistic smile as he came closer to me.


"Hello, Dusty!" Ink chuckled. "Do you remember what I said earlier?"


"Y-yes.." I was scared.


"I changed my mind!"


"Y-you're not going to h-hurt me?"


"I never said that! Just that I wasn't going to disfigure you. I have a present! Do you want to see it?"


"N-no?"


"Too bad!" Ink sat on the floor in front of me and opened the can of red paint. "This..this is a special mixture of paint I've had my top scientists working on.."


I didn't like where this was going.


"They've found an easy way to create it, of course, but there's only one problem.." Ink looked to me.


"Wh-what is it?" I didn't want to know. 


"There's no one to test it on..it's supposed to function as one of the most effective torture devices..supposed to cause lasting pain with no real harm to the body; an illusion of sorts..I wonder who could possibly have it tested on them.."


Being silent was my best option.


"Oh, wait!" Ink snapped his phalanges. 


I was doomed.


"You wouldn't mind, would you?" Ink wasn't fooling me.


"Y-yes?" I hoped he would let me go.


"Did I say you could mind?"


"N-no?"


"That's right, Dusty." Ink grabbed my jacket and pulled me across his lap; that wasn't good. "Now..tell me how this feels."


Before I could say a word, Ink poured the paint into my mouth; to say that it burned was an understatement. Compared to his old paint, this was extremely potent, and I believed that I screamed louder than ever before; Ink enjoyed that. Fortunately for me, he only brought one can of his new paint, but I doubted that I would be so lucky in the future. I screamed for ten minutes after the paint had finished coming, simply because it hurt so much. When I had reduced my volume to loud sobbing, Ink smirked and decided to address me.


"Dusty?" Ink leaned in close. "Can you hear me?"


"Y-y-yes.." I could barely speak; it still burned, not to mention the fact that I was crying.


"That's good. On a scale of one to ten, ten being enough to make you want to die, how bad did that hurt?"


"N-ni-nine.." 


"That's impressive! What did you say the old paint was? Five?" Ink wondered, receiving a shaky nod. "Well, I'll be sure to have it mass-produced! We wouldn't want to run out, now would we?"


"P-please.."


"Oh, I understand! You're tired, aren't you? Ah, it's bedtime; what a shocker." Ink pushed me off of his lap and started his bedtime routine. 


I cried even more when Ink turned out the light; the pain was still there! The old paint never burned that much for that long; it always died down to at least half potential after the first minute! When the lights had been turned out, Ink climbed into bed; I was still crying. Ten minutes later, Ink got out of bed, grabbed his brush, and hit me on the skull as hard as he could; I was knocked unconscious, and Ink no doubt went back to bed. I had a feeling that there would be a crack in the morning.


I wasn't happy.


~~~chapter end woot~~~


Dust bean ow ow ow!


Thanks for reading my ouchie writing!


Bye!

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