You weren't surprised to see Sans sitting at the bar when you arrived with the others, but you couldn't help it when your heart jumped. He looked exactly the same, but he was totally different than him. You blinked a few times, frozen for just a moment before shaking off the foreign emotion. You'd figure it later. Instead you sat at the bar in your usual spot, Undyne, Papyrus and Frisk filling the rest of the seats around you.

Sans looked up from a notepad he was holding and flushed, quickly tucking away the paper and smiling. "Oh, hey guys! I thought you were at Undyne's house for today." He sputtered.

Frisk chuckled nervously and rubbed at the back of his neck. "We may have sorta kinda burned her place down... sorta."

You snickered, tapping your foot absentmindedly as you listened. Undyne laughed loudly and brandished a confident grin. "Don't worry! I'll crash with you guys for a few days!"

"Uh, Undyne?" Sans sighed. "We already have (Y/N) and Frisk on our hands. Why not use the inn?"

"Fire burned my money."

"So why not bunk with Alphys?" Frisk suggested, mischievous grin on his face.

The smile that ghosted your lips stretched as you watched the world around you. Physically you could see and hear what was happening, but for some reason you felt detached, your thoughts pulling constantly somewhere else, to someone else. You ate your food without a words and listened in, only responding when needed.

What wrong with me? Why do I feel so.... satisfied? No, that's not the word... fulfilled? No.... happy?

You shook your head, sighing. You didn't understand what was wrong with you. Your stomach were in knots of anxious excitement, your palms were moistened by a thin sweat. You could stop your thoughts from being pulled back to the same place. Your heart was beating too fast.

Am I sick?

A sharp snap broke your inner monologue as you looked up, the first thing you see being Sans curious gaze. In a moment of sudden panic, you thought it was Death, falling from your stool and on to the ground. "(Y/N)!" He called, offering a hand.

You pressed a hand to your forehead and groaned, rubbing your freshly bruised bottom. You watched as Sans lowered his hand to you and you took it gratefully, hoisting yourself up and shaking your stray thoughts. "I'm sorry, what were we talking about?" You asked.

Sans laughed while Frisk tilted his head in a mixture of concern and curiosity. Undyne laughed at your loss against gravity while Papyrus clapped you on the back, explaining what was happening. "We were just asking if you had any plans for these next few days!" He asked loudly.

"Oh! I'm sorry Papyrus, but I have to keep on pressing through. I'm trying to free the Underground, remember?" You explained gently.

His brow raised in confusion as he looked at you. "Are you okay Tall Human? You seem to have forgotten."

"Forgotten? Forgotten what?" You asked.

"Weren't you listening punk?" Undyne laughed. "I guess you fell a but too hard."

"What?! What did I miss?" You whined.

Frisk giggled, poking your side. "(Y/N), Sans took care of everything. We don't have to fight anyone else."

"What? Why?" You were confused beyond belief.

Sans ruffled your hair, offering a genuine smile. "Don't worry about the fights kid. I set everything up. You're got a meeting to battle Asgore in three days."

"What?! How! How did you manage to pull that?" You sputtered in relief.

He smirked and shrugged. "I got my secrets."

Papyrus rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "I was just as confused, but he refuses to tell anyone how he did it." He huffed.

Undyne grinned. "Ah. King Asgore is a huge softy anyway. Probably just took a cup of tea and a good sit down."

You sighed in relief and smiled. "Well that's a relief then."

Hades cawed loudly in your ear, directing your attention to him as he flew to perch on the hanging clock. Your eyes widened as you realized the late hour. Death would be waiting!

"Shit!" You cursed. "Sorry guys, I gotta go home." You blurted, collecting your few things as Hades perched your shoulder.

"Wait! Where are you going?" Frisk asked.

"I, uh, gotta go back to the skelebros house. I need to get to sleep early because I have a... thing in the morning." You lied.

Frisk seemed suspicious and you directed your gaze to Sans. He caught your gaze and nodded slightly, turning to the counter with a loud exaggerated "OOooohhhh! That thing!" He exclaimed. "Yeah, you better be getting to sleep about now."

Smiling gratefully, you took off towards the door, ignoring their confused gazes as they watched your leave. You dragged your heavy limbs through the thick sheet of snow, path directed straight to their house. Hades flew ahead, waiting on the doorknob as you approached the front door. Twisting it, you were met only by the tough resistance of its lock.

"Shit! No key..." You growled.

Hades began to caw repeatedly as you twisted angrily at the knob, using all your strength to try and bypass the usually useless lock. A faint poof of black and purple shrouded the lock and you watched as it promptly creaked open. Walking in, you smiled happily and slammed the door behind you. Your were mystified as to exactly why you were so excited to see Death, when so many others feared him.

As soon as your head hit the pillow, you squeezed your eyes shut and smiled to yourself. "Goodnight Hades!" You cooed gently, slipping gently into your sleep.

It took you a few frustrating minutea, but you fell asleep soon enough and opened your eyes over a vast expanse of familiar golden blooms. They were brighter than before, and the sun on your bare arms seemed even warmer. Your dress seemed whiter and weightless as you ran over the soft blades of grass underneath your feet. "Death?!" You called, looking around expectantly. "Death where are you?"

"He's late." A new voice said, catching you off guard. You recognized it to a degree, but couldn't place it.

Turning, your eyes slid over your surroundings, trying to pinpoint the new voice. "Up here!" They called, drawing your gaze to the tree branches.

Your eyes catch glimpse of a small child, skin a pale, creamy hue with rosy pink cheeks. Her eyes were pits of black, black substance drip from them but she still smiled down at you. Your shuddered, flashes of a memory glancing behind your eyes.

"C-Chara?!" You stuttered. "What're you doing here?"

"Hi (Y/N)!" She chirped, jumping down next to you. She looked up at you with her black eyes and grinned creepily, tilting her head as she looked at you. "You look really nice is white." She confessed. "And your hair looks great when it's down."

You shuddered, creeped out by her random compliments. "What do you want Chara? I thought my mental plain was only accessible by gods and me."

She shook her head and wagged a finger at you. "Ah Ah Ah! Not Chara, but you are right about only gods being able to enter here."

You furrowed your brow as you looked at her. "Wait, so you're not my Chara?" You asked. "Then who are you?"

She brandished a proud smile and jabbed a thumb at herself. "I'm a Reaper! Just like dear old Sansy!"

You scoffed, crossing your arms. "How did you ever gain the right to 'pass judgement'? You're a little demon child."

She huffed and stamped her foot down, turning her nose upwards. "For your information I don't have to pass judgement. That's Sans' job. I just collect souls. And speaking of souls..."

She tapped your chest making the outline of your soul glow. "Aren't you a little overripe?"

You stumbled back a few times and clutched a hand protectively over yourself. "Fuck off. The dealings of my soul is none of your concern."

She snickered, the atmosphere seeming to darken. Suddenly lighting shook the sky and a heavy storm skirted the meadows that surrounded you, reflecting your turmoil. "Actually (Y/N), your soul is my top concern at the moment. You need to be taken away. And that's what I intend to do."

You stood your ground, looking bravely at her. "I told you to Fuck. Off."

She shrugged as black wings sprouted from her back, propelling her upwards. "It doesn't matter to me. I'll still end up with your soul. It's just a matter of when you realize his lies."

"His lies..." You pondered. "Do you mean Death?"

She cackled, dashing upwards and disappearing from sight. "Until next time Lost!"

Your face brightened in red as you yelled after her, "My name isn't Lost!"

Thunder cracked again and you suddenly felt a cold presence behind you. Turning, you watched as Death stumbled appeared behind you, yawning as he almost fell on you. The meadow returned to its former glory, the only hint of rain being the scent of damp earth left behind. "Death..." You cooed softly. "You came."

His eyes found yours and he smiled. "I told you I would. And I never break a promise."

"Never break a promise huh." You pondered. Soon a snicker broke the silence as you tried to muffle the laughter. "I like that."

He seemed startled as he reached gently towards your face, thumb brushing your cheek. Your face reddened as you froze, unfamiliar with the gentle touch. His hand came away wet with that of a stealthy tear you hadn't taken notice of. "Is there a reason your crying?" He asked sarcastically.

You laughed, wiping your eyes again just in case. "I actually don't know. I guess I just like the sound of that. You not breaking your promise."

He chuckled and you couldn't help but smile. After what he'd said, you felt more safe to be with him. You turned your back to hide your face and took a few slow steps forward, letting the field of golden petals swallow your ankles as you looked up at the warm sun. Damp still tainted the ground from the rain, but it seemed comforting to you.

Glancing back, you caught the flashing glimpse of Death staring before he averted his gaze to the blue expanse of sky. You snickered, turning to the field. The flowers seemed to go on forever, nothing else breaking the view even to the horizon. Looking back at Death first to make sure he was still looking away, you smiled excitedly and broke into a sprint. Running into the vast expanse, you felt your heart beating fast again.

Your feet were light on the ground, almost floating as your hair flew behind you. Your dress clung to your figure as wind blew up against you. Sans yelled to you, but something pressed you forward. A feeling of freedom, the hum provided by a rush of adrenaline propelled you forward. Your eyes searched hungrily for the end of the blooms, the tree growing distant behind you.

From the corner of your vision you saw Sans' blur of fabric, making you squeak quietly in surprise. He was chasing you? Smiling with broad determination, your head snapped forward and you pressed on, eyes alight with the light feeling in your chest. Laughter shook you. You squeezed your eyes shut and threw your arms open, yelling in delight.

Your foot fell, expecting to once again meet the ground but instead slipping. The breath was sucked from your lungs as you began to fall. You saw the meadow on both sides, confusing you before you realized the large crack that divided the two. You hadn't seen it before. You couldn't call out, your breath caught as your eyes sat wide open.

Help...

All you could see was a blur. Black whipped around you, cutting off your vision, before you felt something clasp around you. Gravity lost its grip on you as you sailed upwards, head cradled against whatever surrounded you as you were chucked over the canyon wall back into the field of flowers.

You couldn't breath for a brief second, until whatever it was began to squeeze you tighter. In your surprise you gasped, remembering how to breath in that second. You blinked a few times, trying to sit up but remaining pinned. They panted, out of breath from catching you then getting you both to safety.

He was the only other one there... was it really....? You looked back and saw Death, his boney arms caging you against him, your head resting against his chest. He met your gaze, skull flushing as he grew mad. "What the hell were you thinking jumping into that? I didn't think you were gonna take the leap!"

You glanced at the abyss in wonder and steadied your breath. "I couldn't see it until I... I fell..." You panted. "It just... appeared... and I didn't...."

You took a moment to catch your breath, Death waiting patiently for your excuse. You finally collected your thoughts and looked at him. Your face blushed red as you realized your position. His arms caged you against the crushed flowers as he hovered over you. His hands supported him on the ground, placed adjacent to your head. You couldn't see past the robes, but you assumed that it was his knees flanking your hips. You squirmed lightly and looked away, tugging on your dirtied, white dress.

"Sorry..." You muttered. "I got caught up."

He sighed, hanging his head. "Seriously... you have to be more careful about that. You could've been really hurt if you fell in."

You gulped. "H-Hurt?"

He nodded. "That pit... it's the collection of all your inner demons, darkest fears and worst nightmares combined. It's your own personal hell."

Your cheeks flushed as you went back and forth between red blush and scared white. "Thank you." You said quietly. "For saving me. But could you uh, maybe..."

He seemed confused but when his eyes darted down be finally realized what you meant. "Oh... OH!"

He fumbled to his feet and you fixed your dress. It was torn most of the way up the skirt but it would be restored by the next time you visited Death here in the meadows.

This time when you held up a hand for help getting up, he took it. Lifting you up, he sighed and gave you a dangerous look. "Why were you running like a madman?" He asked.

You looked down at your hands, not knowing exactly why you felt guilty. "I just felt like running." You confessed. "Every time we meet here, it looks exactly the same. So I was curious. I wanted to see if there was anything different."

He rolled his eyes but offered a small chuckle. "Maybe warn me next time."

"I thought you'd stop me."

"Why?"

You shrugged. "I don't know. Instinct I guess..."

He offered a hand as he looked at a watch on his wrist. "You're friends just returned home." He interrupted, looking at you. "You're apparently feverish."

You blushed. "What?"

He smiled smugly and looked at you. "I knew it too." He bragged.

"How? I'm not sick!" You groaned.

"Really, because your face has been red the entire time you've been here."

You fell quiet, knowing it was true but not being able to explain it. He lifted a hand towards your face and you froze, face deepening in hue. He placed the palm of his hand on your head and smirked.

"Red and warm. Either you're sick or you've fallen for me."

"Ha, fat chance."