*You're tired, but you open your eyes, anyway. 

Something about where you are is... Changed. 

Everything is dark and it feels strangely warm despite the absence of light. The floors are hard and feel as though they are made of metal. The sound of your foot hitting the tiles echoes down what sounds like wide corridors both in front and behind where you stand. It's an eery sound, yet familiar. 

*You call for someone- anyone- and a voice relieves you.

*"hey." 

It's Sans, and he gently takes your hand to close the distance between the two of you. 

*"heh. uh, sorry. i think i brought us here by mistake. old habits, right?"

You feel much safer with him beside you, yet there's a feeling that you can't shake. A feeling of being watched. You ask him where you are.

*"we're underground. in the lab, i think. the warmth in the air is probably from LAVALAND, since that's where it is."

*"doesn't matter. we should get out of here. fast."

Sans illuminates the large hallway with his magic and leads you through the darkness by your hand, treading carefully along the loud aluminum tiles. There is little noise, save you and your partner's footsteps. 

You hear something rumble and stop to determine its direction. You ask Sans for his input.

*"likely the CORE. if we follow it, we'll find some source of light, at least."

*You remember that you both can teleport, and remind Sans, but he shakes his head.

*"the barrier was destroyed, physically, but the magical energy used to create it hasn't worn off yet. it could take decades for it to finally dissipate completely."

*You nod and continue onward, and your eyes begin to adjust to an approaching light.

The air starts to grow warmer and warmer with each step. Finally, you reach a door with windows revealing the source of light.

You see something in the center of a large room, glowing and emmitting a heat that is almost hard to bear. Something about it draws you closer to it until Sans gently pulls you back.

*"hey, uh. be careful. this place isn't safe."

You look over the ledge of the bridge leading to the center of the room, and see a series of bright colors whose force and heat cause minute vibrations against the metal floor. You know if you lean any further, you would fall right in.

You would fall in just like he did.

*"did you hear something?" sans asks, and you both glance around the room to see nothing. however, you begin to hear it, too.

The sound of a child's laughter, coming from the CORE in the center. You squint to see a small shadow slowly emerging from the bright machine. As soon as you can make it out, you call out to him.

*"do you know who that is?" Sans asks, and you reply with a name that seems to surprise him.

The boy looks at you with a smile and waves. 

*"Hey, sis. I missed you."

*You call his name again, and tears begin to well up in your eyes. 

He smiles and beckons you closer. 

*"I've waited for you, sis. I've waited so long to see you again."

The figure in front of you seems genuinely happy, and you share almost as wide as smile as him.

*You stop dead in your tracks, suddenly, as you get close enough to see his smile.

dont let the boy take you

He looks confused, but is still smiling. 

*"Is something wrong, sis?"

The vibrations below you grow stronger as you start to remember. Sans says something that you ignore, and you look up at your brother with a new expression on your face.

*You ask him what your name is.

His smile wavers. 

*"I don't understand. Why are you asking me about your own name?"

*You step away from him and ask again.

He frowns.

*"Are you afraid of me? Are you afraid of your own brother?"

*You deny that he is your brother and step back next to Sans, who's magic begins to flare. The boy reaches to you for a moment, only to let his hand fall back to his side. His smile returns and he begins to giggle.

*"Well, I didn't think it would be that easy, but I can't help but to be hopeful."

The face of your brother begins to melt away, revealing a small girl with brown hair and rosy cheeks. She smiles at you.

*"It took me a very long time, through so many timelines, to find you in this state."

*"Vulnerable. Powerful. Capable of k i l l i n g. That's the strength that I need to come back."

*You demand an explanation, and the girl laughs.

*"that's chara." Sans says, his tone dark and his magic igniting his left eye with a raging blue fire. "she was possessing that man when you last saw her. she's some sort of spirit."

*"So, then, Kalia. I have a proposition for you."

*You tell Chara that you're not interested, but she shakes her head with another laugh.

*"Give me your physical form, and I will bring your brother back."

*You feel as though your heart has stopped, and Sans seems to have a similar reaction of shock and anger.

*"What you believe to be gone can still exist- I can recreate your brother, Daniel, in the memories that you have of him. His SOUL can be modified form what you have absorbed over time. All you have to do is l e t   m e   i  n ."

*You don't believe her, and you tell her so.

*"If you don't accept my offer, I will end the skeleton's life. A fair justice, for all the times he has ended mine."

The room, despite the massive energy flowing through the CORE, starts to grow dark.

*"I am already strong enough with the power I now possess to destroy you both. It is rather humorous that you thought you had a choice."

The walls begin to creak as the metal encasing the insulation bends and scrapes against each other from an unknown force, the earth shaking beneath your feet. You struggle to maintain your balance, and you and Sans hold onto each other to keep from falling over the ledge. Chara's face begins to distort and the shadows around her start to creep to her side, encasing her in a strange darkness.

*"that's-!" Sans' eyelights shrink in what seems like terror at her transformation.

*You take hold of Sans and you start to run, the light of the core being replaced with the small blue flame in Sans' eye. Your heart feels as though it is beating hard against your ribs and is going to burst through them. You hear the strange demon laughing behind you and something in your mind suddenly clicks on. You start to lead Sans to where you believe is somewhere safe, and turn to push open a door and run inside.

The room you go into has several desks, some vials of old experiments and recipes, and a trap door, which leads- as you recall- outside of the lab.

*You head to the trap door, hidden behind one of the desks and a floor mat, and look at Sans who is staring back at you.

*"how, uh, did you know this was here?"

*You tell him how you used it, and it dawns on you how you had found it then.

*You remind him, as well as yourself, of how he helped you before.

Sans is silent, and instead you hear the sound of crackling and clicking against metal tiles growing closer.

*You start to feel panicked and tell Sans to snap out of it.

His smile is wavering and he slowly sinks to his knees, still staring at you.

*You, with frustration, grab the small skeleton and pull open the door. With the floor mat still covering most of it, you slide into the hidden tunnel and pull it shut just as the knob on the door begins to turn.

*

Despite the trap door being vacuum-tight, you stare at it with Sans wrapped snug in your arms, ready to run if it opens. It feels as though it's been hours since you closed it.

*You glance at Sans. He still seems in shock.

*You sigh, and put him onto the ground, sitting across from him and looking into his eyes, which seem to be staring off.

*You ask if he's alright, and he seems to snap out of it for a moment to look at you.

*"you're (y/n), aren't you?"

*The name gives you pause, but you're able to nod your head after a few seconds go by.

*You feel old memories return to your mind, like a steady stream of names and faces. Some of the names are hazy, but the faces are crystal clear. Your mother. Your father. Daniel. Sans. ◘○♪....

*You look out to the tunnel that leads back to Waterfall, then look at Sans.

*You ask him if he's alright.

*"heh. heh heh." You didn't even notice he was crying before, and he wipes his eye sockets with his sleeve. "i'm just... you gotta admit, this is a lot to take in. i thought he... after he killed the doc..."

You know what he is referring to, and your own eyes start to water.

*You take hold of him and wrap him in a hug, assuring him that you were safe. Alive.

*You tell him that you're sorry about the doctor. About ♠☺st♣r.

There's what sounds like a wail from above you as you say the name out loud. Your head whips around and up to the trapdoor at the noise, and Sans sighs.

*"i was hoping it wasn't him." he said lowly. "i recognized it, that magic. Chara's got her hands on his magic somehow."

*You ask him how that's possible.

*"i used to see him, sometimes, when the timeline down here would shift. that was before the barrier was broken. i think the CORE sent him out of the time-space continuum, and since Chara had control of it for a short while.... i guess she managed to trick him into a deal."

Many questions come to your mind, but your focus is on the sounds coming from above.
If Sans was right, then the wailing was likely Ga♫t♣♪, reaching from somewhere in time. You saw the look in Sans' eye.

*You ask Sans what he wants to do.

*"we'll both be killed if we go up there. i don't have the strength to take her on, and she already knows all of my attacks. your magic will tear you apart before she even gets the chance to, so i guess all we can do is run for it... but i don't know what'll happen if we let her run around with his magic freely. she'll come after you again, probably, on the surface."

*You frowned, unable to think of a way out of the mess.

*You tell Sans one of your options but he quickly shakes his head.

*"you're not going anywhere without me, babe. after all..." he winks at you with his casual, tired smile, "we're SOULmates, remember?"

*You can't help but laugh, despite the circumstances, then something clicks in your mind. A new idea. A crazy one.

*You tell Sans the idea and his smile is gone immediately.

*"(y/n), i didn't mean... that's a huge risk. one of us... one of us might not come back from that."

*You ask if there's another option he has in mind, and he stays quiet for a while before shrugging.

*You explain the science of your idea as best as you can, and when you're finished, he slowly nods.

*"it makes sense, in theory, but you have to understand... the nature of SOULs isn't all cut-and-dry. it's sporadic, and free. this could be a disaster if we don't stay in control."

*You understand his concern, but something in your gut knows that your plan will work. It has to.

*"guess you'll need this, right?" Sans summons his SOUL, a bright white heart, hovering upside-down in his hands, and hands it to you. "hope you know what you're doing, since this is literally all i've got. heh..."

*You take the SOUL, and with one last prayer, you close the distance with your hands and press it to your chest, where something else pulls it and wraps it into itself.

Lightning pierces your heart and everything around you begins to spin rapidly.

*You call for Sans, and despite no answer, you hear him.

*You call again, but can barely hear him over the sound of a mechanical roar.

*You open your eyes and see the Doctor, smiling at you like he's relieved.

"So it worked." He says with a smile, holding his hand out to you. "Can you walk?"

"lemme check." You push off the bed and land on your feet, somewhat gracefully, and smile at the doctor. "yep."

The bright lights around you are a little strange, but the familiarity of the doctor's voice brings you some comfort. He gestures for you to walk with him, and you obeyed.

"I am Doctor Gaster." He says, opening the door for the both of you and leading you down the left corridor. Everything was bright, as though there were lights behind every wall and floor tile. Doors were leading to unlabeled rooms with unknown purposes, but the confident stride of the doctor you're following indicated how little he needed labels or signs. "I will be frank: you may not feel it, but this is your first day alive. so, how do you feel?"

"not sure what i'm supposed to feel, doc."  You reply.

"Your speech is incredibly fluid. Casual." Gaster summons floating hands to hold his clipboard of notes, copying his every word. "You don't seem to have the personality traits of the subject in question. However, it would seem your ambiguity and overall structure resembles a small human- perhaps even that of a child. I struggle to maintain my composure, as this first attempt could likely be a success. The true form of both human and monster."

Something flashes, and you're in a chair,  watching as the doctor gently files away a ship of bone from your pinky. It stings, but as soon as he has enough of what he needs, he covers the wound with a bandage and hands you a plate of small, yellow rectangles.

"Eating these french fries will replenish your health, whatever small amount that has been diminished from filing your bone away." Gaster says, putting the petri dish into some large, white box-shaped machine sitting on the adjacent table. "My colleagues eat from the bar and seem to enjoy the food there. That red bottle beside you is 'ketchup', which can be added to the fries for flavor."

"you're putting a lot on my plate to learn here, doc." you reply with a smile- a smile that feels natural to you. "it might take a while for me to ketchup to ya."

The doctor turns with a smirk and shakes his head, chuckling. "You're quite the comic."

You wink back at him and turn to the food, squirting a small amount of ketchup onto the plate with the french fries. You sample one with the red sauce, and the sharp tang and sweetness appeals greatly to you. It isn't long before your plate is more ketchup than it is fries.

You pause when you hear the doctor mumbling, and you see he is frowning at the charts that the machine is spitting out. "No, no. This can't be right."

You slowly put the bottle down and hop off of the chair. "somethin' wrong, doc?"

He glances to you for a moment with a tired smirk. "Well," he sighs, "it would seem the results of my experiment haven't gone as I had planned. I was sure, with the tools and formulas I had here, that  you would succeed where I had failed to create a perfect human-monster hybrid." He looks down at the chart again, shaking his head but still smiling. "It would seem that I was wrong; even with what I assumed was still the boy's SOUL, my own DNA took over yours, and you share no genetic code with the original subject. I suppose that explains your rapidly-growing vocabulary and critical thinking, if I can speak of myself so fondly."

"SOUL? do I have one of those?"

"All monsters and humans have SOULs- em, hmm.... They also have names, too. We'll need to come up with something. Something that appeals to your comedic nature."

"So, this other subject... I was made from their SOUL?"

"To put it very, very simply, yes. You're a result of my own DNA," the doctor holds up his hand, which you see has a perfect circle carved out of his solid palm, "combined with the power of what was once a human SOUL."

"so, i'm guessing humans are different from monsters?"

"Their SOULs consist of a different formula, to start. Humans gain LOVE at such a slower pace than monsters, yet their SOULS are much more affected by its... Do you really want to hear all of this scientific jargon?"

"yeah. i wouldn't ask if i didn't."

"Hmm. Here, I'll show you what I've learned thus far."

There's a flash of light, and you see a tall figure staring dumbfounded, while Doctor Gaster gestures with his hands to where you stand.

"heya." You say with a smile.

You can tell he isn't like other monsters you had seen around the laboratory, and he seems wary at the sight of you.

"This borders on the unethical, Doctor." He says slowly.

"Oh, haven't we done enough along that border? It brought you your family!"

You stop listening to their conversation as someone else peeks into the hallway from a corner behind the other man. A little monster, with (h/c) fur. You recognize her as one of the monsters that helps the doctor from time to time. Someone named (y/n).

There's a feeling of warmth before another flash of light, where her face was closer, and her expression looked grave.

"Please," she says, her hands desperately grabbing your shoulders, "I need to save my brother. Will you help me?"

You look at her, and something stirs in your chest. You feel like you understand her pain- like you have a brother of your own to protect.

"yeah. come on, you can use the tunnel. this way."

There's another flash of light.

"Sans! Get Papyrus out of here! Now!"

You run away from the crumbling doctor, turning back for a moment only to see the grown human hastily following after (y/n), with most of the blueprints and notes in his hands.

A flash of light, and the doctor is holding the door handle in his hands.

"This experiment was more for my own curiosity, to see what would happen if I used a full human SOUL in the same process as I had done with you, and... Well, Sans, I'd like to introduce you to your younger brother: Papyrus."

Gaster's eye-sockets start to crack from the top and bottom, and you feel like you're suddenly being pulled away and up, up, up to a different room.

You see gold, and bright lights unlike what you'd seen in the lab, and a little girl is standing before you.

"heya." You hear yourself say. "you look frustrated about something. guess i'm pretty good at my job, huh?"

y o u  c a n ' t  u n d e r s t a n d  h o w  t h i s  f e e l s

You suddenly see a new face, a small smile from a girl across the table.

"Bonehead."

That familiar warmth creeps through you again, and you can't help but smile back at her, wider than you have in a long time. In another flash of light, she's offering you a candy while snowflakes slowly melt away from her eyelashes. She's laughing with you at a bar, the warmth of the sake reaching her nose with a light blush. She's planting a soft kiss on the cold forehead of your skull and dancing on the ice.

k n o w i n g  t h a t ,  o n e  d a y ,  w i t h o u t  a n y  w a r n i n g . . .

She's setting an entire building ablaze with a fire that doesn't even touch your body, but it's heat would have felt like an old friend's embrace- that white-hot flame that's burned in your chest since the night she first really smiled at you.

i t ' s  a l l  g o i n g  t o  b e  r e s e t .

Everything goes black.

She's standing right in front of you.

She reached her hand in the darkness.

"Are you ready?" She asks.

You take her hand.

"here we go."