Ch. 1: The Doctor and the Skeleton

A/N: There will be medical torture in this fic.

His bones ached all over and he just wished the doctor would let him rest, but of course none of this was new.

"Come on you lazy pile of bones, the sooner we get this over with the sooner I can be done dealing with you for the day." Irritation laced their words and he knew by now that he was getting on their last nerve.

As much as he wished to be done with the day's tests himself he rarely passed up the opportunity to push their patience to the edge. Even if sometimes he misjudged how close to the edge he was. He grit his teeth and let out a soft hiss as an electric shock traveled down his spine from the collar around his neck. It was painful enough to send a clear message, but not powerful enough to cause any physical damage. They wouldn't want to damage their property.

He slowly eased himself from the floor where he had been resting, his joints creaking audibly with the effort. He half limped, half shuffled his way back over to the treadmill. After stepping on and stiffly waiting for the doctor to attach all of the sensors he defiantly stood still for several seconds before pushing himself into a hobbled walk. He tried to defy the doctor in any little way that he could, but he had already been shocked once and that meant that their temper was short today.

His breathing soon grew labored as he was barely able to push himself into a slight trot, which was more or less his equivalent of full out running. He felt his soul flutter in his chest and his breaths grew ragged very quickly, this was not a pace he could keep up for long. The doctor just stared at the monitor, ignoring the skeleton's increasingly distressed sounds.

He felt his joints begin to lock up and he stumbled, trying to keep himself upright. "I didn't tell you to stop." He grit his teeth as he tried to force his limbs to keep moving, he knew that if he stopped before he was told to he would have to start over again. His vision blurred as he tried to keep his feet under him, fainting always meant he had to start over and he fainted a lot. "Stop."

He could do nothing as the weight of his own body dragged him down. Dazed he lay in a shivering heap as he slid off the treadmill gasping for breath. The doctor tsked in irritation as they stepped over to him, swiftly removing the sensors from his trembling bones. Before he had the chance to pass out completely they reached down and pushed aside his medical gown so that the side of his rib-cage and his soul were exposed. Ignoring his feeble attempts to move away from them, they pulled a syringe from the pocket of their lab coat and with practiced movement they reached under his ribs bringing the needle directly into his soul.

His breath hitched as the doctor made contact and they quickly removed their arm as his body began to convulse. His soul was on fire as the concentrated magic supplement was injected directly into it. As it slowly dissipated through his body the spasms slowed until his body was left vibrating from the sudden influx of energy. The change from almost falling down to brimming with energy always made him feel sick.

"Get up, we're done for the day." Immediately he got shakily to his feet, the only time he obeyed the doctor quickly was right after his injections. Getting a shock on top of the sickness he felt already was not pleasant, he had found that out the hard way. He followed the doctor out of the physical testing room into the halls that stretched through the massive complex of the lab. Head down he walked with a speed that he normally wasn't capable of. The extra energy wouldn't last long, he could feel it dissipate off his bones like warmth sapped by cool air.

They passed a few other people in the halls, mostly assistants but he didn't try to gain their attention. They worked for the doctor and sometimes they did his tests when the doctor was gone. They were usually nicer to him than the doctor but still most talked slowly to him like he wouldn't understand what they were saying. He couldn't speak himself and they never paid him mind when he tried to communicate with them, so he had stopped trying.

By the time they reached his room he was already starting to limp again and lag behind. The doctor tapped their foot impatiently as the skeleton caught up. He didn't look up as the doctor used the scanner beside the door to open it. They caught his shoulder before he could step inside, he froze at the contact waiting for them to do something. "The king will be visiting tomorrow to see our progress." He tensed even more at the tone in the doctor's voice, "I expect you to do as you're told. Do you understand Gaster?"