no pain no gain... or something like that

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The clock light glowed softly, illuminating the room just enough for Horror to see. Throbbing agony stabbed through his skull. He choked down a couple pills from the bottle on his nightstand, groaning as movement worsened the pain. Tears dripped down his skull. Horror gripped his empty socket, tugging hard at the aching bone. A muffled sob escaped his throat.

Scraping his phalanges along the inside of his socket didn't help, but it was a different, more bearable pain. A familiar sting, not this overwhelming torture. He only pulled his phalanges out when marrow started dripping out of his socket. Sobbing again, Horror shoved his face into one of the pillows, not caring as he accidentally tore through the pillowcase.

Sleep evaded him. He tried, oh how he tried to drift back off into blessed unconsciousness, but to no avail. The medicine didn't help much either. After a couple hours Horror resigned himself to wait out the migraine and hope it didn't last too long.

He had just dozed off when another unpleasant feeling washed over him. Horror sat up quickly, magic churning uncomfortably. Scrambling to his feet he barely made it to the adjoined bathroom before vomiting up thick magic. The pounding in his skull worsened, his burning throat adding to the agony. Sobs tore out of him as another spam wracked his body. 

After what felt like forever Horror finally stopped being sick. He dragged himself back to the bed, shoving his skull under a pillow. Whining pathetically, he couldn't even bring himself to care how weak he was being. Monsters could break down his door and eat him for all he cared. At least the pain in his head would stop if he was dead.

Reality seemed to spin around him, the past and present mixing together. Where was he? Was this place his room? It didn't look like his room. And why couldn't he hear Papyrus? Did something happen to his brother while he was sleeping?

Wait, that didn't seem right. Sans Horror hadn't been sleeping. Why wasn't he sleeping? Oh, that's right. His skull hurt. Migraine, that's the word. The hole in his skull gave him a migraine. Nightmare said that would happen and gave him medicine for it. 

Who was Nightmare?

Horror groaned, scratching at his skull to drown out his muddled thoughts. It didn't matter. Nothing mattered. Everything hurt.

In a moment of clarity, he remembered the ration bars he kept on the nightstand. He was supposed to eat that with the medicine, wasn't he? Horror gulped down several more pills and opened a bar. The smell made him retch but if he didn't eat, the pills could make him sick again. 

Grimacing, he chocked down a couple bites before it became too much. He couldn't. No more food. No sound. No light. He couldn't handle anything else, he just wanted to sleep so bad. Sleep and escape this overwhelming, nauseating pain.

It was okay, though. Sans expected this after Undyne practically shattered his skull. Papyrus must be letting him rest until he healed. That must be it.

Another jolt of pain sent him further into the spiral. Had the injury already happened? Was the Queen Undyne ripping his magic out now? Or was this all a nightmare, perhaps brought on by another Genocide run?

That was it. The kid- Frisk had killed him again, and now he was trapped in one of those strange dreams he'd have after a Reset. Any minute now he'd wake up. Papyrus would come drag him out of bed, he'd go to his sentry station for a few hours, detour at Grillby's, eat dinner with Papyrus and hear all about his new plans to impress Undyne. Maybe he would even go to the Lab this time and try to help Alphys with whatever project she was doing. It had been a long time since he'd done that.

If this was a good run, Sans might even get to hang out with Frisk for a bit. They could wander the Underground, play games with Papyrus, watch anime with Alphys.... he might even convince them to stop resetting. Unlikely, but no harm in fantasizing.

Nausea tore at his non-existent stomach. Pain mixed in with the unpleasant feeling, confusing him even further. Frisk had been gone, had left them long ago. Abandoned them. Threw them away like old garbage.

Where was his brother? Was Papyrus okay? Did the kid spare him before leaving? Sans couldn't remember. He wasn't even able to care at the moment. It didn't matter. It didn't matter it didn't matter nothing mattered nobodycarednobodywascomingtheyalllefthimtheydiedtheyabandonedhimnoonecaredhewoulddiealonetheeylefthimhedidn'tmatterSansdidn'tmatterhewoulddieherealonenoonewouldrememberhimhewasuselessstupidworthlessworthlessworthlessgarbagestupiduselessuselessuseless-

"Horror!"

A shout broke Sans out of his thoughts (what was he thinking about again?)

"Breathe, buddy. C'mon, breathe for me." He clung to the monster in front of him, phalanges digging into the worn fabric as he tried to follow their breaths. They smelled familiar. It was... comforting.

A hand gently rubbed along the break in his skull. The motion was soothing, grounding him. "There ya go. Keep breathing, kay? Nightmare's getting the first-aid kit. Just relax. Everything's gonna be okay."

Sans- that didn't seem right. What was his name again? Did- did he even have a name? Was any of this real? Was he even alive?"

"Gonna stop you there, bud." The voice interrupted his growing panic, bringing him back to the present. "Yer name's Horror. We're at Nightmare's castle. Yer brother- Papyrus is fine, he's in your AU. Ya seem to have some sort of breakdown in the night. Screamin', clawin' at yer skull, stuff like that. Based on the drugs ya spilled I'm guessin' ya got a migraine or somethin' and it messed ya up."

Oh. That was right. It hurt and made him sick, then he forgot where he was.

"Hey, that's okay. Happens to all of us." Sans Horror didn't realize he was talking out loud until the other spoke. "Yeah, figured that was the case. But yep, you've been talkin' to yerself for a while now."

Horror lifted his skull from the other's chest (since when was he leaning against him?) and slowly blinked his good eye opened, wincing at the dim light. An oddly familiar skeleton stared back at him. His lightless sockets were creased with worry, though his frown quickly changed into a smile.

"Mornin', bud. Feeling any better?" The skeleton-Killer-purred. Horror whined softly when Killer brushed a hand against the deep scratches, dropping his skull back to the other's shoulder. "That's okay. We'll getcha patched up soon."

As if on cue, quiet footsteps entered the room. Horror raised his head again, blearily watching as Nightmare approached. Dark phalanges caressed his skull, and he leaned into the touch with a contented sigh.

Sharp, stinging pain shot through one of the bleeding scratches. "Shh, it's okay, Horror." Nightmare's soothing voice seemed to echo through his skull. He watched as Nightmare carefully disinfected his wounds. The headache had dulled at some point, clearing his head. Horror relaxed under the care. 

"I need to clean the scratches in your skull." Horror whined, trying to hide his face in Killer's shirt again. "Killer, hold him still."

Killer gently but firmly grabbed Horror's wrists, shushing him. Nightmare rubbed his spine, encouraging him softly. Horror finally gave in and lifted his skull. Whispering praise Nightmare pressed the soft cloth against the inside of his sockets. Disinfectant burned the raw bone. Nightmare brushed away gathering tears as he rubbed healing ointment into the wound. Horror relaxed as the pain faded, exhaustion pulling him into a alight doze.

"Sleep, Horror. Everything is fine. We will not leave you." Nightmare and Killer held him close as he drifted off, trusting their presence to ward off the nightmares that often followed such an episode. Horror was vaguely aware of two others joining their impromptu cuddle session, much to his relief. They were all here and safe. He was safe. He could sleep now.

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