Sorry for the wait and the shorter-than-promised chapter. After a few glitches and a lot of deleted data, I'm really grateful that the site is letting me finally hit the publish button.

She climbed down the steps of the bus and turned the corner on the small suburban street, watching the icicles on a small two-story house fall from the gutters and hit the mounds of snow from the past storm. She closed her eyes for a moment, and then nodded. As much as she preferred to stay quiet, the past few nights worried her more. Each dream became clearer, and if she wasn't quick enough the consequences would devastate the poor girl.

The houses seemed to stretch far beyond the horizon, but after a few blocks the blonde woman smiled slightly at the quaint little home resting in the shadow of the other houses as the sun slowly crept over the horizon. A vivid orange drenched the streets in shining light, hitting melting mounds of snow with sparkles of varying hues. The woman brought her hand-knitted scarf away from her face and looked at the dying pine tree, still decorated, lying in the middle of the lawn. Red and gold ornaments were scattered and shattered around it, tinsel dull and limp in the silhouette of the large colonial.

It must have been Christmas when it happened, the woman determined in her mind as she glanced at the large window with the dark curtain drawn. It must have been awful, something like that happening during such a happy time of year. The woman looked at the tree, amused, wondering who had felt it necessary to discard it in that fashion. She hesitated, and considered if her visit was too soon for the distraught family.

No. She steadied herself, knowing that if not now, it would be too late.

She knocked on the door and waited a moment, hearing nothing, then knocked again. There was a ruffling from the other side of the door before the knob turned and peeking from the doorway was a small, yellow monster.

"H-hello?" Her voice was a nasally soprano, and timid. "C-can I help you?"

The woman looked at the sunny lizard for a moment before taking off her hat with a warm smile- or as warm as she could muster, being the way she was.

"Hello." She tried her best to stifle her thick accent, to little avail. "I need to speak with the family of this house. It is important."

"W-well, it's sort of early.. Ma'am.."

"Are there others awake? This cannot the wait very long."

"Uh, w-well.. You could come back another time.."

The lizard seemed very uncomfortable refusing the woman, but held firm. So did she.

"Can I ask you your name?"

"Uh, i-it's Alphys."

"Alphys, I understand you are confused. I only need to speak to Sans. Is he here?"

"UH."

"It is very, very important."

"Alphys, who's at the door?" The door opened all the way to reveal a blue fish monster with two sheer, red dorsal fins that fell down the left side of her face. She looked at the stranger with a tired sneer. "Who's this?"

"I must speak with Sans. Please."

"He's asleep."

"Please wake him."

"I'm not waking anyone, lady." Her tone was cold. "We're obviously a little occupied for guests right now, and I don't remember Sans inviting a Russian broad over any time soon."

The blonde woman sighed, then looked beyond the two monsters to see a little girl rubbing her eyes and peeking at the door. When her hand was away, the girl's eyes widened and she hurried to the door.

"You're Kalia!" She shouted, causing the monsters to whip around to face her incredulously, then back to the woman.

"I must speak to Sans. Please."

*

*Clack*

Another nail snapped and you hissed in frustration as your ring finger took on the job of scratching against the paint on the window in your room. The sensation of the stuff grinding under the nail made you shudder and after a while you dabbed the glass again with the tainted water, thinning the thick layers a little more.

Had it been another hour? You weren't sure, and you listened very closely to any knocking or turning of the knob on your door in case the sermon got out. Michael probably wouldn't appreciate you picking away at his little community's paint job on the window, and even less so if he saw the pocket of your scrubs was cut from the pants and tied with the drawstring. You had tied it secure three times before convincing yourself the dust would be safe inside.

If I can just see the outside. You thought to yourself. If I can just see where the snow starts...

*critch, critch, crish-clack*

"Ugh."

Another nail gone, and your arms were getting weak from hoisting your elbows on the sill to claw at the paint. You could see something - maybe a streetlamp, but since it was still morning so it may have been the sun- and it pushed you further into your mission. You shifted your weight to your now useless arm and reached with your right index finger to the small area you had nearly cleaned.

After a few scratches there was a soft knock on the door and you quickly slipped down from the window to land on the bed with a soft creak of the coils in the mattress. The door opened as you stood up, feigning a long stretch and looking at the visitor, which of course was Michael.

"Hello, Kalia." He said, his eyes looking slightly tired. "Are you feeling better? The sermon went a little longer than it was supposed to, so they're holding a brunch in the cafeteria."

"Oh?" You yawned a bit to carry on the act. "That sounds pretty good, actually. That water helped my appetite a little while ago."

"I'm glad you're staying hydrated."

"Mind if I change, first?"

"Not at all."

He left the room and you changed into a uniform and put Burgerpants in your pocket, smoothing out the leg to keep it from forming a lump. The larger shirt you had picked covered it well with an extra two inches. You knocked on the door for him to open it, and he let you into the hall and you both made your way to brunch.

"So, Michael," you started, looking at him as he focused on the path ahead, "what's the sermon like?"

He smiled serenely. "When you go to one, you'll see."

"Fair enough. I also wanted to ask about the front door."

"Hm? What about it?"

"Is it unblocked? I wanted to see my family before the end of the week."

"Oh." His smile vanished, and his eyes darted away from you slightly. "Last I heard, they were still working on it. I wouldn't worry too much, Kalia. You'll be with your family soon. I promise."

"Oh, so I'm going home this week?"

"Yes. You'll be right at home before the weekend."

If it weren't for his careful wording, you would have felt relieved.

"Maybe," you paused a moment, "I actually... I'd like to come back sometime, but I want to bring someone."

"Who?"

"He's someone I care about a lot, and maybe it'll help the others to see how well we get along that monsters aren't-"

"Kalia."

He had stopped, and you turned to see he was glaring, which took you back.

"You can't bring monsters here."

You struggled to look confused, though you knew exactly why. "I understand-"

"Not all of the people here are afraid of monsters, Kalia. Some of them just... Don't want to be around them. They dislike monsters."

"Monsters are harmless. They can barely defend themselves against humans."

You said the last sentence slowly, punching in the words like an attack.

"I understand that, Kalia. I lost my fear of monsters a long time ago. I just try to maintain peace here. Could you help me do that, please, by following the rules?"

could you do that for a loser like me?

You felt hurt, and judging by the way he spoke you could tell he was close to suspecting something. You sighed and shrugged. "If you say so, Michael. I'll keep the monsters to myself, then."

"Thank you."

You both carried on to the cafeteria, where people were lined up at the trays for bacon, eggs, and hot dogs. The selection of beverages was a variety of fruit juices, coffee, and of course water.

You grabbed some bacon and hash browns and a black coffee, sitting at the table furthest from the crowd and slowly eating the food and taking notes of any strange taste. You noticed a familiar sourness in the coffee and with a scoff you pushed it aside, keeping to the rest of the meal until Michael sat down beside you with a plate full of breakfast staples.

"Kalia, I was just told that Peter is feeling sick and can't help with the dishes. Would you mind volunteering?"

You didn't want to be interrupted from your plan to escape, but keeping inside your room would draw suspicion. You nodded. "I don't mind."

After thinking about it, you figured it would be easy to end up alone in the kitchen long enough to break into the cabinet. All those drunken nights of getting locked out of the apartment were going to pay off, after all. You smirked to yourself.

"Feeling better already, hm?"

"Oh. Yeah, I guess I am." You smiled a little wider. "Must be the company."

He smiled back, happier that you were acting more 'yourself'. "Any plan for the day? I'm going to be busy with work for a little while."

"Definitely shower, maybe do some laundry. That'll be after cleaning up, though. I should be alright."

"Did you draw anything nice the other night?"

"Draw? Oh, yeah. That's when I started to feel sick, so I didn't really draw anything good, no." You laughed. "I'm not really an artist, anyways. I just thought it would help."

"Ah, I see. Well, after work maybe I can teach you how to draw. I'm pretty good at landscapes."

"I'd like that, Michael. Thanks."

He nodded and continued eating, and you did the same, though still suspicious of the food.

You had to get out quickly, before you starved or dehydrated. It would take a few days before any real side effects kicked in, but Michael and the creepy man would be watching closely.

You didn't doubt that your life depended on your discretion.

*

The woman sat quietly on the worn blue couch as the white boss monster nervously prepared tea in the kitchen. What she imagined was the monster's wife sat across from her with 'Alphys' on her left in a love seat.

"A moment, Kalpana?" The female white monster chimed in with a worried frown. "Could you please explain the situation? We would all like to help Kalia come home safely."

"I have only enough strength to take one monster with me, and Sans is the best candidate."

"At least tell us where she is?"

"She is with the Crusaders in the heart of the city. Even if you went looking for them now, you would never find their sanctuary."

"The crusaders?! T-the monster k-killing fanatics?!" Poor 'Alphys' started to tremble. "Oh, god... She really is in d-danger..."

After a moment of silence, there was a loud slam and 'Undyne' strutted down the stairs with something blue under her arm. Frisk came trailing after then with an excited look in their eyes.

"Here he is, in all his shining glory."

Undyne flipped the sad looking lump onto the couch beside the woman, and it slowly sat up and turned to her with a tired smirk.

"Heh. You're not the Russian bride I ordered."

"No, I am here to take you to Kalia."

His smile twitched and eyes went dark. "You.. You know where.."

"We do not have time to discuss much here." Kalpana extended her hand to him. "I will explain what I can on the way."

*

Your shower took longer than you had anticipated, but you were steeling yourself for the next investigation.

Through some nonchalant banter (and plenty of water to the other people who were cleaning) you were able to get a schedule of who would be in the kitchen at what times without drawing suspicion. The padlock would be easy to open with a couple paperclips, if you were careful.

You dried off, changed, and swapped the pouch of dust to your new pocket as you casually left the bathrooms to head back to the library to waste time before the kitchen would be cleared out. You stepped inside to see it was empty, and helped yourself to a book and sat yourself down on the bean bag furthest from the door. The book you had blindly picked was so worn you couldn't read the title on the hard cover. Or the pages inside. Regardless, you flipped it open and kept yourself occupied with your own thoughts. You thought about the other monsters, and if there were any left up there that you could lead out the door or a window into the snow. You considered teleporting, if one of them could heal you soon after, but the chances of that failing were greater than the chances of it working, since you've never moved more than one person at a time.

Could it be that different? You started to think about the days of training you had in the wheat fields as the snow first started to fall.

listen listen its me

What? You heard something echo off in the room... or was it in your head? You shook it away, determined to stay focused.

Maybe I could heal them enough to get them to fight. Sure, monsters weren't as strong as humans were, even those with the intent to kill, as Gaster had explained. If they fought only in defense, they would be massacred. Not to mention, you had never really fought anyone with magic in order to kill them.... Though you felt the state of the poor beasts upstairs would inspire you enough.

It was then that you realized how alone you were in this place. Sure, Michael had stated that he is 'at peace' with monsters, but he knew you lived with a family of them. He knew you needed to trust him and drink water, so he could brainwash you and make you dependent on him. Then... Then what? Do you just become another mindless bible-thumping robot in a white maze? Does he try to marry you? Does he convince you you're alone without him?

Disgusting. You clenched the book tightly in your fists, feeling ready for a fight if it came down to it.

You eyed the clock, seeing it was close to the right time. You stood up, threw the book on the bean bag, and narrowed your eyes at the sign stating to please do otherwise.

Fuck your rules. You rebelled loudly in your head like an angry savage.

You walked slowly down the hallway, watching the people leaving the kitchen and exchanging smiles when they noticed you wandering. Once they had dispersed, you hurried to the door and stepped into the kitchen before it shut, letting it click behind you and looking back at the drawer where you had found the pen and paper. Opening it, you rummaged through the markers and crayons until you had one lone paper clip in your hands. Sadly, that was all there was. You pulled it open and spread it until it was almost straight on the kitchen counter, and used shears to cut it in half. You meticulously bent both pieces until they roughly resembled the pick set you had bought after the third night on your landlord's couch. You looked at the padlock, peeking into the keyhole and debating just using your magic before shaking your head at the thought. You needed to save what you could for later that night.

The paperclip pieces went into the keyhole smoothly, but it took a few adjustments before it began to turn and the shackle popped open with a loud click. You put the padlock aside and pulled the cabinet doors open to reveal a pharmacy of various pills with names you'd never even heard of:

Scopolamine

Channelrhodopsin

Dopamine

Varenicline

These were the most common names on the bottles, but you counted another six- or seventeen more on the shelves. It was possible that these were scientific or medical names for brand drugs, but without your phone or a computer, there was no way of knowing what they were and what they do exactly...

Or how they react together in the human body.

You checked the name on the bottle, and they all said the same thing: Rhea Currants. Probably a false name, but you kept it mentally for later research, as well as some of the more frequent medications in the cabinet. You closed it, put the latch back on, and left to head to your room again. You did your best to keep from snarling at the others as you passed them, changing it to an unsure grin. They smiled politely back- which you couldn't stand- and let you be. You found it incredible that such kind-looking people were bashing skulls and tearing tongues two floors up. You could suddenly feel the slight bulge in your pocket as you thought about it, gently and swiftly laying a hand on the pocket before returning to normal with a deep breath.

You reached the bedroom and saw the tray was gone, as well as your dirty clothes. You were confident enough in your ability to wash the remaining dust from your pants, but the paranoia was less than bearable. You hopped up on the bed and jumped, grabbing the window sill and beginning your routine once more.

*critch critch critch critch critch ca-tick*

The last layer of paint gave way to on of your last nails and you quickly opened up the paint around it to get a better view.

"Son of a bitch."

Dirt.

You could see the granules of old soil and pebbles in the light of the room. It made sense; never hearing the sounds of traffic or people on the other side should have been enough of a hint. This meant the exit wasn't down- it was up.

"Fuck." You sank back onto the bed and stared off, rethinking your plan. If there were more floors than the fifth, you hadn't heard of them. The top floor- what they used for their 'sermons'- might just be one of ten buried under the city. The irony of a bunch of angry monster-hating humans living underground would make anyone else laugh.... Maybe. You, however, sulked in your little cove in the dirt, considering a new plan to free the other monsters and-

No. Just free the monsters. There wouldn't be any time for revenge.

You felt exhausted from the discovery, as well as from the other recent events, and fell back with your head on the pillow. You closed your eyes and felt yourself being pulled away from the world around you, if only for a moment, into a sense of peace.

You opened your eyes to an unexpected scenery of snow and pine trees. You didn't feel cold, yet your feet were bare against the ice crystals on the ground. You looked far off into the distance and saw a sign welcoming you to a town called 'Snowdin'

"I've..." You whispered to yourself. "I've... Seen this before..."

Something ran past you like a blur, and when you looked at it, though it was standing still in front of you, its face remained fuzzy like an old photo.

"We don't want to be late!" It called, waving at you to follow then running toward the town entrance. You followed, seeing a little town bustling with ghost-like creatures putting presents under a decorated tree and walking their siblings on a leash. As strange as the town seemed, it had a warm, welcoming feeling to it. It was as though everyone there was like family.

"C'mon! Hurry!" It continued to call out.

"Not so fast!" You called back, feeling yourself grow more and more tired as you struggled to keep pace. Finally, you fell to your knees and watched with sadness as the vision disappeared into the darkness of snowfall and caverns. Picking yourself up from the ground, you turned and saw a cozy-looking home with a bright fire burning in the fireplace that you could see through the window.

"Should I knock?" You thought to yourself, glancing at the path the little figure took further into the shadows. "I think I should look for them... But I'm so tired."

You turned back to the doorstep and rapped your knuckles on the door. There was no answer at first, then the door opened an inch and was left open, footsteps trailing away from it.

"Hello?" You called to the home within. "Is anyone there?"

There was no answer, and you turned your head back to the path, worriedly. You felt like you needed to make sure they were okay.

"Can someone help me?" You asked, lightly pushing your fingers against the door. It gave way easily and you could see a worn couch and table, with a hutch filled with little figurines. You went to take a step inside when a voice called to you.

"(Y/n)?" You whipped your head around and saw the figure again.

"(Y/n), I thought you said you were going to help me."

"What?" You blinked and something flashed on the boy's face.

"You promised you were going to help. Why did you leave me behind?"

"I.. I didn't know what to do..." You turned fully to face him, now. The boy's face became clearer and
clearer to you.

"Father was going to save us. Father was going to set us free."

"Daniel." He always loved Father, even at his worst. "Danny.... He didn't help us."

"Father was going to bring us together! He was going to set us all free!"

"Danny, he didn't care about anyone. You weren't... You weren't around to see it-"

"NO." The entire town shook at his outburst, and you looked to see that the ghosts had disappeared. "He was proud of us! You and me, (y/n), we were the missing link of humans and monsters! Together, we could've changed EVERYTHING! Why did you run?! WHY DID YOU RUN AWAY?"

"Danny, stop it!"

"WHY DID YOU STOP LOVING ME?"

"Because you weren't my brother anymore!" You sank back against the door with your face in your hands, forgetting it was open, and fell backwards into the house. The apparition vanished and the door shut tight on its own, and when you looked up from where you were crouched you saw Kalya
sitting on the couch, watching you intently.

"You have no time to sit around anymore, doch."

"You brought me here?"

"Nyet. It was the closest memory you had to-"

"Why here." It was barely a question as it spat from your mouth like hot acid.

"Such anger, doch." She tutted. "You are the one who picked venue." She raised her arm toward the stairs, "I only pick guest."

You followed her arm to the top of the stairs, where a skeleton stood with a lazy smile and a blue hoodie.

"Guess you're not a fan of the underground either, huh?" His voice sent a strong wave of heat and lightning through your body. You felt like you had begged for death and he stood like a reaper, offering eternal rest. It was relief, and devastation, knowing that beyond the realm of sleep he could be miles away.

"Sans." You jumped from your position and bolted up the stairs, nearly knocking him to the floor with your long-awaited embrace. Despite what you remembered of his laziness, he seemed to hug back with equal strength and energy- something you'd never thought possible.

"Heh.. Heh..." His laugh seemed to break and you heard him sniff loudly. "Babe, you have no idea what it took to get here. I even woke up from a nap and left the house."

You laughed through sobs and mocked a gasp. "My fucking god. Just for me? Sans, I'm flattered."

"You are holding well, doch. You are no longer fading from your own mind."

You turned to the witch's voice, smiling. "Kaly-"

"Kalpana, please, for his sake." She nodded to Sans and stood slowly. "Though it matters little, as you two should leave soon before you wake."

"Leave?" You looked at them both, confused. "I can't... It's impossible where I am right now."

"Da, you are right. Your powers are no match for that level of teleport. Sans will have to go to you."

"What?!" You pushed away and stared at her. "Kaly- Ugh. Kalpana. NO. That won't work. Just find where I am and meet me at the entrance."

"Kal, we tried. There's no finding the hideout from the outside." Sans shrugged. "A couple Crusaders get their butts kicked on our way out, no big deal. We can take 'em."

"It's more than that, Sans." You wanted to feel the pouch, but knew as you rested your hand on nothing that it wouldn't exist in this place. "Sans.. They're not just killing monsters. I can't... I can't let you end up like..."

Tears welled up in your eyes and Sans went to you, making some attempt to comfort you as you stifled your crying stubbornly. There was a rumbling outside.

"It's time to go." Kalpana said loudly, opening the door and stepping out into what looked like a sudden snowstorm. Sans guided you down the stairs and you stopped him at the door. Kalpana was right at the edge of the doorstep, looking to you both.

"It will fight you for control. Do not let it win." With that, her body was taken away by the flurries and Sans nudged you out with himself alongside you.

"I can't let you go with me!" You cried out over the whistling winds.

"It'll be okay." His low baritone boomed over the storm's howling. "I'm here, Kalia. I'm here."

He took your arm and suddenly you both were lifted into the open blackness, flashes of blue and red and yellow swirling around you until finally you fell back onto the white bed in the white room, and Sans fell with an 'oof' on top of you.

"Ugh." The wind was knocked from your lungs by the 'big-boned' skeleton and you suddenly realized he was there, alive, in full form. He had teleported to you through your dreams.

"Where the hell did you learn that trick? Did she...?"

"It was the only way we could get to you. It took a while to get you to notice how the dreams were changing." He had gotten off of you to look around. "So, this is where you're at? I was expecting chains or dark castle dungeons. Not that I'm disappointed or anything-"

"Oh shit." It sunk in that he was there. He was with you in a place filled with people who kill monsters. Sans was a monster. "Sans, we need to get out of here, fast."

"Right. The monster killers. Where's the exit? What floor are we on?"

"We're underground." His reaction was what you would expect: hollow eyes and blank smile. "Don't get too comfortable about it. That's not all. There are monsters down here, too. They're alive... For the most part."

The mound in your pocket was very real, then, and you touched it gingerly.

"What do you mean, alive? They're kidnapping monsters?"

"From what I was told... They're torturing them and killing them for some weird religious shit."

"Boy. Nothing like weird religious shit to really set the mood. What's the plan, then?"

You shot a look at him and he flinched. "My plan was to reach the monsters, free them, and sneak our way past the rest of the group to the exit. At least... That was before I found out this was the goddamn basement.

"Still works, right? The exit is upstairs, so let's free 'em and head upstairs."

"How many floors do you think this place has? Five? Ten? We'd get caught, and I can't protect a horde of monsters from an angry human mob. Not a mob this violent, at least."

"Leave them to me." He went ahead of you and stepped out into the empty hall despite your anxious halting gestures. when he nodded to you, you stepped out as well with a grunt.

"Sans, I'm supposed to watch for humans, remember?"

"Sorry, Kalia." His tone was off, suddenly, as though he were bracing for a battle no matter what happened.

"It's... It's alright. We just need to head to the next floor and find the monsters. It might have a few humans, but if we're careful and fast we could knock 'em out before anyone hears us."

"To the fourth floor."

You and the skeleton made your way across the hall, bracing under the window of the double doors to check for traffic, then headed up the restricted staircase.

"Mind if I ask a few questions?" Sans whispered.

"Now?"

"Kinda, yeah."

"Go for it."

"When were you going to tell me you had magic?"

You winced and knew he was staring through the back of your head. You knew he was going to ask that question eventually, but you still felt wildly unprepared. "I was planning a day when I could explain as much as I could. I wanted to read my father's journal first, but... I just couldn't bring myself to."

"Fair enough. How about telling me about how using your magic tears your body to pieces?"

"Well, I figured after showing you, the tearing apart thing would sort of explain itself."

"I can't help but feel a little torn about your decisions, babe."

"I'm not good at talking about myself and you know that." You put a hand up and listened to the other side of the door, hearing only silence. You opened the door a couple inches and peeked down the hall. There was a figure there, but it was standing with its back to you. Staring a little longer, you could identify them as male, and their head was bowed down, almost in prayer. There was a smaller figure in front of them, and they had a shaky hand gesturing to the doors to their left.

"Rituals at th-this hour would cause a disturbance, right?" It was Michael's voice. "Yani, you have to remember there are n-new recruits here. They're n-not fully converted."

"Brother, dear."

The voice put a dead silence in the air, as though ripping reality and hope from the very center of your core. Your mind- for half of a second- went completely blank, and seeing the other man's hand slowly land on Michael's shoulder made you flinch without reason.

"I'm not asking for the new recruits. We will retrieve more monsters for that. No," the voice went on, sweetly, as if spoken through a pleasant smile. If it was, Michael didn't return the gesture. "The monsters we have will suffice enough for myself."

"B-but killing them for their strength-"

"Poor little Michael, in his new body, denying me all I ask in return for saving him."

"No! No, I promised I'd be helpful to you, brother! Please..."

"Get the Knights. Bring the monsters to the church. I'm no longer asking, scribe."

"Yes, Father Yani."

Michael clapped his hands together quickly and bowed before nearly running down the hall past where you and Sans were crouched and around the corner. The man, his back still turned, slowly walked away until he reached a door on the right and stepping inside. Sans had to nudge you back to your senses before you opened the door and cautiously stepped out.

"They're in here, right?" He asked.

"Yeah." You still felt uneasy, watching the door intently as you and Sans moved toward the hall with the other labelled doors. He peeked into the first one, and his eyes went dark as he slowly shut it.

"Nothing but dust. Lots of dust." He mumbled. "Let's... Keep looking."

You went to the next door. "Just let me open them." You said, pushing it open and peeking into the dark.

There was a small volcano monster, shivering and whimpering. You reached out to it.

"Come on out, little guy. You're a Vulkin, right? We're getting you out of here."

It wobbled as it stood, and you saw a crack in its side that led to a pile of cooled lava, leaving the monster empty of its contents. She was whimpering something under her breath that sounded like 'trying to help', as she limped toward Sans. You moved on to another door, revealing a room with a pile of gray powder in the far corner. You stayed silent and Sans looked at you questioningly until you sighed.

"Clear."

*

Two vulkins, one Froggit, a small flame monster with water burns, and a snow monster. Out of all the doors, these were the monsters that survived.

"We're going to have to find a way up, now." You looked to the hall you came from. "Michael walked past us to leave here. Maybe there's a set of stairs to the top floor?"

"Friend of yours?"

You looked at Sans. "I thought he was."

You checked the area before leading them all down the new hallway and peeked around the corner to see a set of metal doors and buttons in between. Gesturing for the group to stay back, you went to the doors and put your ear to each one, checking for the whirring of gears and pulley systems behind them.

You felt Sans close to you and nodded to the doors as you pulled your head away.

"Elevators." You whispered. "We could get to the top with these."

"Not if someone catches us and stops it." He shrugged. "Or drops it."

"We could lock it so it doesn't stop on other floors, and I haven't seen any cameras in this place."

"Either way, there's a risk."

"What do you suggest?"

He winked. "I like a shortcut as much as the next guy, but maybe we should think outside the box."

"Gotcha." You smirked and led the monsters back through the hall and to the stairs. You looked up and saw flights that went far beyond what would have been one more floor, bringing truth to your initial fear. With a sigh you and the others began climbing the steps as quietly as possible. As you reached the fifth floor, you eyed the door with curiosity. Sans noticed and lightly tapped your arm, shaking his head. Nodding in agreement, you pushed onward and when you reached the next floor you glanced in the window of the door. The hallways were clear, save a couple of doors with writing on them:

P R I D E

W R A T H

"Oh no."

"What?" Sans looked at you.

"There's another floor with possible monsters."

"Oh. Oh no."

You looked at the saved monsters, who seemed worried. "Sans, can you keep watch while I check the rooms?"

"You got it."

You stepped out, listening for more footsteps as you made your way to the first door and pushed the handle down. The room inside was dark, and you saw a large puddle of water where the light hit and a small pile of dust. You continued the process all around the corner to the next corridor and the next until you returned to the awaiting monster horde. The rooms were either empty, or filled with dust.

"Nothing." You said, nodding to the next flight.

Sans mimicked you to the monsters and let you lead further up the stairs to the next floor, which was locked tight. You brought your hand to the locked bolt but Sans grabbed your arm softly and shook his head.

"We need to save what we've got." He explained. "This isn't our last stop."

You looked back at the door. You considered the idea of there being monsters behind it. After all this time of living here, enjoying the company of monster-killing maniacs and brainwashed 'Pleasantville' zombies, there were innocent creatures being maimed for fun and ritual. You stared at the door for a little longer before turning back with the group and pursuing your escape. Maybe you couldn't save them now, with all of the monsters already in your custody, but you swore you would be back. 

You cursed in your head, hating yourself for not acting sooner. Despite whatever they had put in your drink, something as dark as this should have been obvious. There were so many red flags; a place that paints all of the windows and lives underground would have set off warning bells in any other person. It would have set off warning bells in you the moment you woke up, once you had thought of it. So careless. So trusting, only to reveal a closet of lies and corpses so rotted the smell invaded miles of happiness. 

God damn them. God damn you. It was all you could feel at that moment- that you were damned for your incompetence.

The last set of stairs led to a door not unlike the others, and you moved to break the lock and pull it open. The room that was revealed seemed like the entirety of the floor itself, the ceilings reaching higher than any of the rooms and halls you had ventured thus far. You and your group stepped out into the dark room, and you checked for a light switch beside the door. There was a set of two buttons, and you pressed the one on the top. A low hum filled the air as lights from the far end of the ceiling clicked on, and then each row of lights took their turn illuminating the white and grey area. 

The third and fourth set of lights revealed a group of men and women, with a taller man standing in the center who was the only one of them all not holding any weapons.

The man had medium-length, dark brown hair, and his eye color seemed so dark they could have been black. Though his eyes had barely a glow or glimmer, the smile that spread from ear to ear held no other emotion than joy. As much as you would have liked to, you felt no joy in seeing his pleasant grin.

"I'm so happy."

The voice pierced your heart and numbed your mind as hard as it had before, and you didn't have to look over at Sans to know he had tensed up just as badly. The monsters behind the two of you whimpered and growled and shrunk together in an attempt to hide from the group that stood with bats and rods of iron at the ready. You spotted Richard, who unlike the others didn't smile or jeer. He only stared.

"I was hoping for a proper introduction, Kalia." The man went on, pressing a hand to his chest sincerely. "I've heard such great things about you, and I couldn't help but feel so eager to invite you into our family after learning you also had magic. Perhaps you could even join as a Knight like the noble ones you see around me." He gestured to the malicious crowd and smiled wider. 

"Who the hell are you?" You snapped. 

He kept smiling, to your chagrin. "You may have heard Michael refer to me as 'Yani', but with your... Friend standing there I'm sure he knows who I really am. So, then, allow me to introduce myself." He cleared his throat:

"... Greetings.  

I am Chara."

The name, unfamiliar to your ears, stilled the air and you looked to Sans who's eyes were without light. His famous, cheeky grin faded down to a grimace, and in that moment you knew that your numbers were going to dwindle soon.

Though, if you had any say in the matter, they were going to lose a few as well.

"I don't care who you are." You said boldly, putting yourself closer to the opposing side than the rest. "You have no right to keep these monsters here. You have no right to keep me here, and you're fucking twisted if you think I want to be a part of your stupid fucking cult."

"Oh? How humorous." Chara looked past you and to the monsters that cowered closer to the door. "Those creatures are meant to give us strength. How else would I have gained the strength to take not only this body, but give one to my dear brother? Of course, the timeline is grounded; I couldn't do what I had initially planned for this world now that the resets are gone. The power, however, is still there, and I'm the only one who will take it." He raised his arm out to you. "Leave her alive. Make it clear who is in control of this world."

The humans charged, and Sans immediately snapped out of it to raise his arms high and summon what looked like floating dragon skulls ten times his size. They blasted the room with beams of white, but humans still pushed through, with one of them throwing a tire iron at the broken Vulkin and smashing her to smithereens. She fell down instantly, and the other monsters ran back to the door in a wild panic, only to be stopped by two more Knights with wooden bats. Before one of them could swing, you were there with your left hand toward him, pushing him with your magic as well as his partner in the air and hard against the right wall. You could already feel your bones vibrating under your skin, threatening to tear it to shreds. Another human ran around Sans' wall of bones, colliding into a few stragglers that bruised his knees and arm. You pushed him into the wall, and the man howled in pain before falling onto the floor, unconscious.

You could hear Chara shouting verses to his minions, filling them with blinding rage and violent intentions:

"What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?"

"When you go out to battle against your enemies and see horses and chariots and people more numerous than you, do not be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, who brought you up from the land of Egypt, is with you."

A woman faced Sans, and as she raised her bat to him something green appeared out of her chest and glowed before her. Sans immediately aimed for it, sending more beams of bright energy and bones of white and blue toward her. She managed to dodge the first few, but one sent her to the ground and the rest shattered the green light, and once it was gone she lay there lifeless while three more jumped over her body to continue the assault. You stared at the corpse for a brief second before coming to in time to save one of the Froggits from losing his head to a Louisville Slugger. *Push*, and that human was off to the side and knocked out. The skin on your fingers tore from the tips down to the knuckle and two of your nails fell to the floor. You winced and pulled your hand away, cursing under your breath and switching hands while the tattered one stayed tucked into your chest. Sans was slowly being backed into you and the other monsters, and after a few more humans were pushed away by your self-destructive magic he created large white platforms and sent them into the floor around all of you, creating a large barrier that the Knights began beating on with their blunt weapons.

"I don't know how much longer I can hold these." Sans said. "If I make an opening, do ya think you can get yourself and the monsters to the other side? There's a door over there that looks like an exit."

"I'm not leaving you here, Sans! I won't do it! I won't lose you again!"

"Chara.. She's not going to stop. Death couldn't even stop that little brat. You need to trust me; I'll keep you safe."

Something started to call to you then, and you felt yourself almost be pulled away from reality.

let me let me let me

The voice called to you like a siren song, and you could feel your hands tingle every moment you heard it in your head. You could barely hear Sans anymore, but you knew he was telling you something you would just refuse to hear. You closed your eyes and let the world go quiet, and in front of you was Daniel- healthy, smiling- holding out a hand. 

"Let me help you, (y/n)." He said softly, his voice ringing like a soft bell in the echo of black around you.

"What can you do to help me, Danny? This magic.." You held out your decrepit hands. "This magic is killing me."

"Then let me use it. Give me control of it. I can help you."

You looked at him for a moment before slowly taking his hand. He giggled with excitement and breathed in deeply.

"I can't wait to burn this place for you, (y/n)." He said. "I'll even save Sans for you. Let's burn it all. Let's burn them all."

You felt your hands slowly start to repair themselves, and you sighed with relief as the stinging, aching pain of torn flesh started to disappear. "Thank you, Daniel."

"I know you'll probably be sad, since monsters are dead now."

"I'm not sad, Daniel. I love you."

"I love you-"

You gasped as something was suddenly thrown on your hands and grabbed you tight. The horror of the battle returned as the world around you was covered in a bright orange blaze. Humans and monsters alike were screaming and fading away to ash as you stared in shock.

"I'm sorry." You heard Sans say in a broken tone right in your ear as you felt yourself and him being carried through time and space. You could feel a part of you fighting him for control of the destination, and after a short while you both landed on soft carpet with a sickening, wet slap. Your eyes were aimed at the ceiling, but you didn't need to look at the blood pooling around you as your skin opened up in spiral patterns all around your body. Your vision tunneled and Sans' and Alphys' voices seemed so far away.

"S-sans, her arms are-"

"-or Toriel and get me some-"

"-in the back where we keep-"

*

At first, you were sure you had died. The pain had numbed to nothing, and as the world went black you felt a strange sense of peace fill in your chest and spread throughout your body. Then, just as quickly as it came, the serenity of death faded and you woke in Sans' room on his bed that was lined with plastic underneath a soft white bed sheet. You grimaced at the tearing feeling in your arms as you attempted to push up with your hands. Something lightly touched your forehead and you moved your eyes to see Toriel and Sans there, smiling (or trying to) and keeping you down on the bed. 

"Easy, child. You're.... You're safe now."

The sound of her voice, hearing it after what felt like an eternity, nearly brought you to tears. You tried to reach for Sans, but she had her hands on your arm and looked at you with a tender, motherly smile. You knew that wasn't intentionally a bad sign, but you knew what it meant regardless.

"How bad are they?" Your throat was rasped and your words were shaky.

"You're going to be alright, Kalia. Your body is taking a little longer to heal, but with plenty of rest and sessions with Sans and myself there shouldn't be too many scars afterwards."

You mouthed the word 'okay' and she nodded back, standing and moving out of the way to let Sans sit down on the little stool beside the bed while she went back downstairs, shutting the door behind her. You looked at him for a moment, his own eyes returning your gaze with an intense emotion you lacked the ability to identify, then you turned to stare at the ceiling again.

"Where are the other monsters?" You asked finally.

He tensed, then relaxed and casually shrugged. "I wouldn't worry about that right now. If anything, you should worry about the 'get well' spaghetti Papyrus is making right now."

"Sans." 

He sighed. "Kalia. It's okay. We're safe and alive, right? That's good enough for me right now. After a long time of trying to save everyone, it's a relief to just have the essentials there. Just, before you decide what to ask next, just sleep on it for now?"

Despite what he had implied, you couldn't help but smile back. Just like before. "Okay."

"Thank you."

You nodded and closed your eyes, letting the deadly void of sleep consume you once more.