#honestly surprised I could get gaster's head at that angle so well

[sunn-mechanic]

[ID in alt]

agender Grillby and genderflux Gaster

is this anything

[promisedangel]

Fresh Meat: Confinement- Chapter 24

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Chapter 24- Understanding

Chara’s breath was even but heavy. They struggled to crawl into their bed without disrupting their newly broken leg. They raised themselves upon their right leg with as little pressure on their left leg as possible. They gritted their teeth as they hoisted themselves onto the bed. They laid down on the bed on their stomach. Their left leg dangled off the bed at an uncomfortable angle. They grunted and hissed. They slowly struggled to move their leg onto the bed to a comfortable position. At last, their leg was still. Their breathing slowly became relaxed. The beating pain in their leg subsided but did not fade. They could focus on nothing else.

Their focus was torn away from the pain by a panicked knock on the door. It was quickly followed by Alphys’s equally panicked voice, “Chara?! Are you in there?” Chara jumped slightly in their bed. The jolt reawakened their pain. Chara made a strained noise before their heavy breathing resumed. They could see a figure shuffle outside their door through the small hole they made. Alphys’s voice quieted and her panic turned to dread, “Chara? Are you hurt?” Chara strained to speak, “Y… yes…” Chara heard the two locks click open in succession. Their door flew open before Alphys rushed into the room. Alphys rushed to their bedside. Her voice and expression filled with panic, “Let me see! Where does it hurt?!” “Left… leg…”

Alphys’s gaze switched to the body part. In the darkness, she could see nothing overtly wrong with it. She turned back to the door and flipped the switch next to it. She turned back and gasped. At that distance, she could see a large bruise midway up the calf. The calf had begun to swell to a noticeable degree. She couldn’t see any blood but Chara’s scent had increased slightly. Alphys paused. Her expression dropped to sorrow. Her tone turned downcast, “Chara…” She kneeled next to the bed. She looked over at Chara. She slowly questioned, “How did this happen?” Chara hesitated. Their pained expression melted to mirror Alphys’s sorrow yet averted her gaze. They answered honestly, “He did it.” Alphys gave a look of understanding in her sorrow. She sighed and confessed, “I thought so.” Chara looked back at her with confusion. Alphys expanded, “I… I knew that wasn’t your normal scream. A-and you only screamed loudly once. And… when we talked on the phone… he was surprisingly calm considering you escaped. Especially… when you think about yesterday…” Alphys shook her head. She quickly stood. Her face and tone turned serious, “But I can’t keep talking about it like this! We’ve got to get that leg set and in a splint!” She turned towards the door. “Just wait here! I’ll go get everything!” Alphys ran out of the door. Chara muttered to themselves dryly, “As if I have a choice.”

Alphys returned around fifteen minutes later in a rush. Chara heard her panicked footsteps this time and did not jump as she rushed back into the room. She held a box in her arms. She placed it at Chara’s bedside and kneeled down next to the bed. She reached into the box and pulled out an icepack and placed it on Chara’s leg. Chara grunted at first at the new sensation. Soon, it seemed to numb the pain somewhat. Chara relaxed and sighed in relief, “That helps a little.” Alphys nodded, her voice relaxed, “Yeah. It’s not much, but this should numb the pain and keep your leg from swelling more… otherwise, this split won’t work correctly.” Chara raised a brow and asked, “You are only going to splint it?” Alphys nodded. “Yeah… I’ve read about casts in the books on human biology… but we don’t have those. But this should work. After… we get this swelling down… It looks like your leg doesn’t need to set either, which will save you some pain.”

Alphys and Chara stayed there in silence for a few minutes. All the while the ice soothed Chara’s leg. Its swelling seemed to halt if not decrease. Alphys took the icepack and put it back into the box. She turned to Chara with a sympathetic gaze. She spoke cautiously, “Okay. I’m… sorry. This will still hurt while I do this.” She reached into the box and pulled out a carved wooden trinket. She put in in Chara’s hand and spoke, “Put this between your teeth to grit the pain.” Chara looked at the trinket in their hand. It was a long rod-like trinket with a lizard carved around it. It looked old and worn, but the wood was still firm. Chara put the trinket in their mouth between their teeth. They moved their hands to the bed frame and tightly grasped it. They looked back and Alphys and nodded. Alphys gulped. She nodded in returned. She spoke cautiously, “Right… here I go… First, I have to straighten your leg. It’s… not going to like it…” Alphys took a deep breath. She slowly placed both her hands on Chara’s leg. Chara gritted the trinket a little but made no sound. Alphys slowly moved Chara’s leg until it was straightened. Chara began to grunt and breathe heavily once more. Their arms shook slightly as they kept themselves pulled up and yet not curled on themselves. Alphys in the meantime, kept Chara’s leg straightened with one hand. She leaned down into the box and got out two thin metal rods. She placed them next to Chara’s calf. She sighed in relief, “Good, these will work.” She reached into the box and pulled out a strange wound up cloth. Chara recognized it as the gauze Toriel had used. Alphys began to unwind the gauze and spoke, “Um… this gauze is supposed to heal monsters. It’s enchanted with magic specially designed to do that. But… I don’t think the magic will work on you. Or maybe not fully. I’m not sure.” Chara removed the trinket from their mouth to speak, “Mother used the same gauze when I was injured. I did silently wonder why I was healing faster. I never questioned it since I still took time to heal.” Alphys blinked and spoke with surprise, “So, it does work on you? Huh… maybe it just accelerates your body’s healing…”

Chara shrugged before they put the trinket back in their mouth. Alphys placed the rods against Chara’s leg on opposite sides. She placed the end of the gauze at the top of one of the rods just below Chara’s knee. Alphys slowly and carefully wound the gauze around Chara’s leg and kept the rods firmly against Chara’s leg. She cut off the excess and tied the rest around Chara’s ankle. With the splint done, Alphys sighed in relief, “There… that should do it.” She retrieved the ice pack and a few pillows from the box. She carefully lifted Chara’s leg and put the pillows under it, elevating the leg. She placed the ice pack back onto Chara’s leg gently. Chara took the trinket out of their mouth and spoke curiously, “Do monsters have pain medicine? Mother just kept my mind off the pain.” Alphys stood and shook her head. She confessed, “No… and I’m not good at any anesthetic magic. Sorry…” Chara sighed disappointedly, “It should be fine. We will just have to use ice packs.” Alphys nodded. Her voice turned calm, “Um… do you need help finding a comfortable position? Oh! And the sheets!” Chara pushed their upper body up. They used one hand to lower the sheets on their bed, already partially pulled down. With Alphys’s help, they were able to pull the sheets out from under them. Alphys laid the sheets over Chara. She sighed, “Okay… I… I think that’s all I can do for tonight. I’ll see how much of the gauze we have. I… didn’t see any blood, so we won’t have to change it for a few days.” Alphys fidgeted with her hands as she spoke, “Um… and I’ll also look for um… crutches. Or maybe a wheelchair. Which one would you prefer?” Chara mused in silence. They detested the idea of either. Yet, their broken leg was something more detestable. They first thought of the crutches. A thought of Gaster maliciously pulling one away to make them fall came to mind. Chara cringed at the thought. They moved their thoughts to the wheelchair. Despite it having limited mobility, they would have most of the control over that mobility through handling the wheels. It would work. Chara spoke evenly, “A wheelchair. If you can find one.” Alphys nodded. She quickly collected the box before she spoke, “Ok. I’m sure I can find one somewhere. Is there anything else I can do?” Chara replied dryly, “I don’t suppose you can turn back time?” Alphys gave a half-laugh, “Heh heh… No… sorry.” “Worth a shot.”

Alphys gathered the box and the remaining gauze. She spoke cautiously, “Now, don’t keep that ice on too long. I think I read that keeping ice on your skin too long can actually burn it. So… keep it on for a while and remove it before you go to sleep. I’ll come back with a fresh one in the morning.” She continued with some hope, “I’ll probably have to bring your meals to your bed because of this. And that means we can talk more! And I can bring you some books for us to read together!” She lightly laughed and put a hand to her head, “Why didn’t I think of that before?” Chara grumbled, “I will see how I feel tomorrow.” Alphys’s expression dropped. Her tone did as well, “Oh… yeah. That makes sense.” She began to leave the room. She placed the box outside the room and turned back to Chara with an even tone, “I’ll see you tomorrow. Goodnight.” “Goodnight.” Alphys closed and locked the door behind her.

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Chara felt themselves drift to sleep. Before they drifted, they lightly shook their left leg. Tinges of pain resurfaced but didn’t disturb them. The icepack fell off of Chara’s leg and squished onto the floor. Chara sighed in relief. The pain of their leg faded as darkness gave form to colors.

Chara’s eyes flittered open. The room around them was bright and warm. It was familiar. Chara’s eyes widened in realization. This was their shared bedroom with Asriel. They gasped. They sat on the side of their bed and threw off the warm covers. They paused and looked down. They were in their sweater and pants again. They carefully moved their left leg. Nothing. No pain. Chara narrowed their eyes as they mused, “Was it… all a nightmare?” They looked over at the opposite side of the room at Asriel’s bed. It was messy, as though Asriel had thrown off the covers in a rush. Asriel. Chara’s chest felt heavy. They heard the whispers, but this time they did not echo in their head. Chara’s gaze drifted towards the source. The open doorway to the rest of the house. The whispers transformed into familiar voices. The Dreemurrs. Laughing. Talking. Still alive. Chara began to shake. They spoke aloud in shock, “They’re… alive?” Tears began to well and drop from their eyes. A large smile grew on their face. Their voice cracked from sobs of relief and joy, “It… it was really all just a dream!” Chara flew to the door. They called out in joy, “Mother! Father! Asriel!”

As they reached the doorway, they felt something stop them. They felt as though they ran into something. Chara gasped and fell to the floor in front of the doorway. They groaned and rubbed their head before they looked up. On the other side of the doorway was the normal hallway. Inside the doorway, reality in front of them seemed to ripple as though a rock had been tossed into water. Chara wiped the tears from their face. Confusion enveloped them. They stood silently. They outstretched a hand towards the door. They felt something block the door. It was solid, but it wasn’t hard like stone. A strange force that rippled with every movement their hand made. Chara’s confusion grew. They spoke, panic slowly grew in their voice, “No… no this can’t be!” Desperation encompassed Chara’s expression. They pounded on the barrier that blocked their way. They called out, “Mother! Father! Asriel! I’m here! I’m finally awake! Please, can you hear me?” The voices went unchanged. Chara’s tears resumed. They called out again, “I’m right here! Why can’t you hear me?!” The hallway through the door began to warp and stretch. The voices grew distant as the hallway distorted. Chara stopped pounding on the barrier and only leaned against their upper body on it. They pressed their face into the barrier and screamed out, “Wait! Don’t go!” The hallway slowly faded to black. Nothing could be seen past the doorway. No light. No color. The only sense past the door was the sound of Asriel’s distant laughter. Chara slowly slid down the barrier to their knees. Their voice went quiet as they spoke sorrowfully, “Asriel…” The world around Chara faded to black. Within this black were strange sounds. Shuffling. Small items being dropped and picked up. Such sounds grew bit by bit until Chara felt a shift in their consciousness.

————————————————————————————

Chara grumbled and opened their eyes. The familiar sight of their cell in Gaster’s lab faded into their view. They sighed deeply. That was the dream, Chara thought with dread. They went to move. They grunted as the pain in their left leg reawakened. Freshly broken and set. Chara could do nothing but look around and listen.

Familiar noises came from the door. Sounds of tools being put away with other tools. Chara blinked. They remembered those noises from the end of their dream. From the corner of their eye, they saw the panel move slightly but soon be held in place. Chara paused. The panel was whole again. No hole from their kick. No damage from the intruder. The door had already been replaced. Chara remembered Alphys’s words from yesterday; Honestly, the door change might wake you up. Chara tensed. If the door was being replaced, who was replacing it? Was it Gaster? Alphys? Or someone else? Chara was curious, but the answer partially scared them. A voice sighed in relief on the other side of the door, “Done. Thank goodnessss I didn’t wake the human.” Chara recognized this voice; the one who installed the latch lock before. Chara narrowed their eyes. What was their name? Chara questioned aloud, “Who are you?” The monster on the other side paused. He sighed, “Oh. I woke you after all. I’m ssorry.” On the other side of the door, the sound of tools being moved and put away echoed. Chara repeated themselves, “And, who are you?” The voice turned friendly, “Oh! Ssorry. I’m Sserol. I wass here before to insstall the latch lock.” “And now you are reinstalling the door and locks.” “Yess. The door wass more damaged than I heard. But… thankfully only the door wass damaged and not you.”

Chara huffed, “I have been hurt almost every day I have been in this prison.” Serol went silent for a moment. His tone lowered to a small shock, “What? What do you mean?” Chara rolled their eyes and replied dryly, “I am not surprised he wouldn’t tell anyone. He has beaten me multiple times, both physically and psychologically. In fact, this past night he broke my leg.” The shock in Serol’s tone grew, “Why would he do that?!” Chara replied darkly, “To break me.” Serol went quiet again. He then spoke in disbelief, “No. I have to ssee this before I can believe it.” Chara shrugged and spoke in a blasé tone, “Only Alphys and my torturer have keys.” Serol paused. Chara heard him stand. He spoke, “I will be back.”

Chara heard him leave. Silence pervaded for what seemed like an hour. Chara felt themselves drift in and out of consciousness in the meantime. They heard a strange noise. They focused on it. It almost sounded as though wheels drifted across the linoleum tiles. Alphys’s familiar knock echoed on the door. She spoke gently, “Chara? Is it okay if Serol comes in with me?” Chara replied evenly, “I do not mind.” The locks clicked open in succession. The door opened fully. The first thing to enter the room was a simple wheelchair. It had dark, durable cloth-like material as the back and seat. It had pushed armrests and a long footrest with support for the back of the knees. On the wheelchair was a new icepack and a cloth. Alphys pushed this wheelchair in. Serol followed into the room behind her. Alphys spoke, “I found one. The wheels are a bit stiff but other than that it’s fine.”

Alphys turned on the light switch. She laughed nervously, “I would have come with breakfast, but… Serol asked to see you.” Serol lowered his head and turned his attention to the foot of Chara’s bed. He spoke kindly, “You… mentioned that Dr. Gasster broke your leg. Alphyssssaid you told the truth. May I ssee it?” Chara gave a silent nod to Alphys. Alphys approached Chara’s bedside. She was slow and careful to remove the bedsheet. Serol’s eyes widened as Chara’s left leg was unveiled. Despite the ice, the leg swelled tight against the poles of Chara’s splint. Alphys sighed, “I knew it was going to swell more, but I didn’t think it would be this bad.” Alphys gently placed the cloth over Chara’s splint before she placed the icepack on top of it. Chara gritted at first, but sighed in relief immediately after. Alphys smiled as she spoke, “Okay. It’s working again. Did you want to sit up? Or maybe try the wheelchair?” Serol peeked over Alphys by bending his neck over her. He gritted, “It lookss painful. But… I musst admit, the fact I do not ssmell an overwhelming amount of blood meanss that the break was sskillfully done. Enough to jusst break the bone but not the sskin.” He frowned and lowered his tone in disappointment, “I… did not want to believe it wass becausse of Dr. Gasster, but he iss the only monsster allowed near here that iss capable of ssuch sskill.”

Chara replied with a small sorrow, “And he will continue to torture me. There is nothing I can do about it.”Alphys slowly petted Chara’s head. She shushed Chara gently, “It’s okay, Chara. I will do the best I can to prevent more.” Serol pulled his head back. He gave Alphys an inquisitive tone, “Iss it… always like thiss?” Alphys gave Serol a nod. She replied sorrowfully, “Every once in a while, I’ve seen new scars and wounds on Chara. Things have died down in frequency… but this… this is the worst injury he’s caused. Other than… the emotional trauma of… seeing the Dreemurrs die.” Serol hugged himself. He replied quietly, “I… I didn’t know.” “You wouldn’t have. As far as I know, if he’s ever questioned about Chara, he speaks vaguely.” Serol nodded. “Yess. He sspoke of ssome misssbehavior of the human.” Chara shot a glare. “All I did was try to escape his torture. Does that warrant breaking a leg?” Serol’s expression and tone dropped to nervousness, “Well… not really… but keeping you ssafe iss a neccessssity. I can undersstand him trying to contain you… but thisss… thisss would break you.” “Exactly.” Chara’s voice turned sorrowful, “and… he has succeeded. He has broken every part he could break. Body. Mind. Soul. And yet he will look to break more.” Chara’s voice began to crack, “He won’t stop until I will only breathe if he commands.” A few tears peeked from Alphys’s eyes. She kneeled at Chara’s bedside as she gently held Chara’s cheek. Chara’s expression worsened. Tears flowed from Chara and they began to sob quietly. Alphys frowned as she spoke with concern, “Chara… do you really think that?”

Chara nodded as they continued to sob. Alphys signed and turned toward Serol. She spoke gently, “Serol… I think it’s time for you to go. Thank you for installing the new door… but I need to focus on Chara.” Serol nodded. They spoke evenly, “I undersstand. Take care. Both of you.” Serol silently walked out of the room. After a few paces, he reclaimed his tools and walked out of the lab.