(~???~)

The lost soul stood at the edge of a staircase. It was quiet. The soul wasn't used to the quiet. Her form was transparent with (s/c) outlining her features. The staircase in front of her eventually led to a door. It was the only source of light in this grey space. She was unsure of how she got here or what she was meant to do.

So, she started to walk up the stairs.

As she got to the halfway point, voices could be heard. They were familiar to her. Though, she knew that she hadn't heard them in a long time. Figures appeared in the doorway, watching her. All of their ghostly forms looked similar to her, except they all had different colored outlines. Why was that? She didn't remember. She continued climbing. "Y/N, my sweet phoenix." Her mother spoke gently as she always had. "It's been so long since we played together. Can we finally play now?" Her sibling asked. They appeared to not have aged at all. The soul had long since grown up but their sibling still remained as a child. Her father stood just behind her mother, giving the soul a saddened smile.

The lost soul paused. Y/N, that's right. That was her name. It was her family. Y/N's family had been waiting for her all this time. Emotions flooded through her as she took a faster pace. She could see them again. The soul could finally apologize for what happened that dreadful day when she lost them all. They could be a family again. She kept moving forward until she was nearly to the top of the staircase.

(Writer~San: I can hear all the readers screaming at her already- *wheeze*)

Her family was now only a few steps away. Y/N's mother reached out her hand. Y/N reached out also to take it. Without warning, white bones shot up in between them like the bars of a jail cell. This prevented the soul from going further. Y/N grabbed onto them and tried to pull but they wouldn't budge. "Y/N!" The soul's father, outlined in yellow, was now rushing down the stairs to assist her. They tried pulling and pushing their weight on the bones but there was no sign of them moving. The lost soul began to panic and grow hysterical. Why could she never have back what she lost? Why was she always the one to be alone, separated from everyone she loved? The room suddenly faded from gray to a dark black. It felt as though the shadows were swallowing up the space.

Y/N looked down to see dark liquid matter crawling up the stairs towards her. She turned back and saw her father's distressed expression through the gaps. He continued to attack against the obstacle. There was no result. There was no way out, was there? She couldn't go with them. The black matter began to wrap around her legs. The soul stood there, petrified as she stared at her family on the other side. Her father quickly reached through a small gap in the bones and cupped his hand around her cheek. "We love you, Y/N. Take your time. We'll be waiting for you." He said. Before Y/N could respond, she was forcefully pulled into the depths of dark matter.

(~Serif's POV~)

My dad teleported us to a new place after getting a call on his phone. While he spoke with them, I immediately recognized the name he had mentioned. It was Miss Undyne, a family friend and the scientist that created my medicine. She even invented the machines that helped Dad when he was sick. We approach a large metal building with Dad pulling me beside him. Dad's eyes remained forward as his pupils slowly lost their color. He didn't tell me why we're here. On each side of the path are cliffs made of rock with a giant pool of lava below. No wonder this place is really hot. I'm still trying to adjust to it since we've been in Snowdin for all this time. I wince as Dad squeezes my wrist a little too hard. "Dad, that hurts." He stops and looks down to me. He lets go of my hand with a soft mutter, "Sorry.." I take this opportunity to ask him, "Why are we here? Did something happen?" The door to the building slides open and Miss Undyne comes running out towards us. "PAPYRUS! T-ThANk The s-s-sTaRS yoU mADe It!" Dad's attention is instantly diverted to her. "Where are they?" He asks firmly as they walk together into the building. I don't like the sound of this. Little did I know that things would get much, much worse.

I take two steps inside and see Miss Alphys is here too. I forgot how easily I was intimidated by her and that's only when we were on the surface! Now she's wearing a heavy set of armor, having a large axe over her shoulder, and her fierce eyes glaring at the computer screens.

(Writer~San: Love this style of Alphys and Undyne. Of course, we will have overlook how baby they made Sans look in this photo. That is definitely not what he looks like in this story X'D)

My Dad and Miss Undyne approach her and form a commonly known adults-talking-serious-circle. I already know I'm not invited. Miss Alphys is the only one I can hear. I know from experience that she's normally loud, but right now she's definitely furious. This factor makes her even louder. "PAPYRUS, YOU AND SANS REALLY ARE NOTHING BUT EMPTY-HEADED IDIOTS!" Undyne and my dad both get a quiet word in before Miss Alphys yells again, "I DON'T CARE! YOU DIRECTLY DISOBEYED MY ORDERS TO REPORT THE NEXT HUMAN THAT FELL. NOW OUR CHANCE AT BREAKING THE BARRIER IS GONE, SANS IS IN CRITICAL CONDITION, AND WE HAVE A CHILD TERRORIZING THE UNDERGROUND!!!" Her gaze then shifts to me, a growl erupting from her throat as she bares her fangs, "And who's to say I should spare this one..?" I take a step back in fear.

A blaster nearly four times my size summons beside me with a loud growl. It's one of Dad's. I hide myself behind it and away from the giant lizard's sight. Dad raises his voice towards Miss Alphys, "WHERE ARE THEY?!" It was Undyne that spoke up next, loud with panic, "E-E-E-ENOUGH FIGHTING! Sans i-is d-dOwNsTairS. He N-NeeDs HeALing F-F-FAST and That'S wHY I-I cALLed yOU H-Here. As For thE h-h-hUMan, they diDn't... They d-didn't survive the a-attack. I s-s-saw it all.. She saved him.." My soul goes into both shock and denial as I stand there.

"N-No! They're not telling the truth. Mama just went back to the house. She's probably there waiting for us!" I come out from hiding and yell at them. Dad remains frozen with no pupils and countless tears streaming down his face. His blaster disappears. "If only life was that simple, kid." Miss Alphys growls. She walks over to me while saying, "If anything, I'm frustrated that Sans couldn't at least harvest her soul before she died. That human was our ticket out of here." Dad mumbles with a growing anger in his tone, "ThaT HuMaN.. waS MY WIFE.." Miss Alphys doesn't seem to pay attention to his words. She grabs my arm harshly, dragging me towards another door. "LEt Go! LET ME GO PLEASE!" I reach out my hand to my father, yelling a cry for help, "DAD!!!" One of his eye sockets sparks into an orange flame of magic. In the blink of an eye, he teleports himself in front of the captain. His glare speaks death itself as he warns, "Get your selfish claws off my kid." Alphys releases me. I run away from her. "SeLFish? SELFISH?! YOU WERE THE ONE HOARDING A HUMAN FOR YOUR OWN GAIN!" Alphys retorts, being too distracted with Dad to notice me. Something tells me that this intense tension can easily turn into a battleground any minute. I don't want to be here when it does.

'HIDE!'

Miss Undyne is startled and fearfully jumps onto a chair as I run past her. "CHILD! W-W-WAIT!" She stammers. I don't listen. I don't want to listen to any of it.

'Where is Mama? Where is Roman? I want my family back!!!'

I find another door and run through it. It's an immediate dead end. The elevator doors quickly close behind me before I could get out. I wait anxiously until the doors open again. My pupils illuminate the darkened room. Only a few feet in front of me is a hospital bed. To the left is a machine that is monitoring his soul. To the right of the bed is a curtain hiding the rest of the room. Uncle Sans is laid on top of the bed, his soul being dimly lit inside his exposed rib cage. Small wires and tubes lead from the machine and have been attached to his soul. Cracks and even blood are scattered across his entire body. His eye sockets are completely dark, his expression being void of life. "Uncle Sans!!" I scream, rushing forward. He doesn't respond. I check his stats using the monitor.

'His HP is low. TOO LOW.'

His soul is struggling to beat on its own. If these injuries keep chipping away at his health, he'll be dust soon.

'I have to use my magic.'

Healing magic, used by those with a soul trait of kindness, is the most difficult to learn. It's even more straining on the user's soul. This explains why only so few, like Uncle Sans, are able to use it. I allow my pupils to shift.

'I want Uncle Sans to live. I need to heal him. He needs to get better.'

I use this motivation to stir my kindness trait. A green glow soon coats my hands. I hug onto my Uncle, desperately hoping that I can heal him enough. I can feel the large amount of magic being drained from my soul. Still, I push myself to continue. A soft groan comes from Uncle Sans. I close my eyes tightly, fighting back the tears and burning pain in my chest. The very fiber of my being reaches out to his soul, calling out to him.

'Please come home. You have to.'

He needs to come back. He will wake up, he has to. Nearly all of my magic is depleted.

'I WILL SAVE YOU.'

His soul then responds to mine with a little shock of magic. The moment after, Uncle Sans wakes up with a shudder. I feel as he shakily sits us up. His arm wraps around my back as he sees me here with him. "S-Serif???" I open my eyes. Uncle Blue is looking down to me with both confusion and fear. The cracks that were once there are now gone. His soul is glowing brightly and beating healthily.

'I saved him.'

I smile and finally let the tears fall. "T-There you are." An extreme wave of exhaustion hits me instantly. My soul slows down considerably. I'm thankful that at least I don't have a harsh migraine right now like I usually do.

'I need.. a nap..'

My body falls forward into Uncle Blue's chest. He wraps both arms around me, panicking, "SERIF-" I want to tell him I'm okay. I want to tell him I'm just tired. I'm not able to. I lay in his arms until everything is only dark.