A/N Unfortunately, this chapter is gonna be a bit shorter than I'd like, but I should make up for it in the next chapter. Anyway, enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 14: As I nodded, nearly napping

Mike faded in and out of consciousness? he felt cold, weak, and he couldn't feel the very surfaces he was on. It almost felt like he was floating. If it wasn't for the discomfort, he'd almost feel relaxed, something it seems he hasn't felt in a long time. But in his delirious state, he saw visions of things he recognized, and things... not so much. One the one hand, he swore he saw Mono with a worried expression on his face, as well as the walls and ceiling of the hospital he was in. Then other times, he'd be in a pitch-black void. He could not easily tell these two happenings apart most of the time. When he was in the hospital, he would periodically feel pain and a chill in his body as it slowly shut down. How could these feelings possible be a figment of his imagination? Fake? But when he was in the void, he felt the ice-cold ground he was on. It was smooth and solid, such detail in something so simple. More than that, he could stand in this void, move, see. The void was dark, not in the sense that it had an absence of light, but more because the world itself was colored black. This confused him and made his head ache. Again, how could these feelings and senses be an illusion. When his vision returned to the hospital, he saw a dim light and what seemed like buttons, an elevator. He was on an elevator. He felt the pressure of the ground increase as he ascended floors. Back in the void, he saw something strange. Something that didn't belong. He began walking towards it, trying to inspect the interloper, but as he did, he heard voices, these voices brought him back to the hospital where he saw the faded and blurry faces of his sisters and Six. He couldn't hear them clearly, but they sounded worried for sure. He was then taken away from where he was and into the darkness. This brought him back to the void, where he stood over what didn't belong. He slowly kneeled down and reached out. His fingers soon came in contact with... something. He picked it up and tried to inspect it further, but a sudden, sharp pain ripped him back to the hospital. He let out a very real yell of agony as he looked down and saw tools and tubes going into him. The pain was immense and he couldn't tell if it was because of his previous injuries, or the inexperience of his impromptu surgeons. Eventually, the pain was too much for him to bear, and he faded back to the void. Once he returned, he noticed he still had the... thing... in his hands. It was such a strange thing... so unassuming yet... so much more. There was power in this thing, the likes of which he never seen. But the more he handled it... the more he wanted to... wear it... he battled with himself, wondering whether to leave this thing behind, or become one with it... he was conflicted, confused... scared... but eventually the void began to bleed away, fade, fade into nothing. Then all that was left was darkness. True darkness. The darkest darkness. The darkness that hangs at the edge of forever, the one that awaits us all in the end, once our time has finally expired... but just as darkness was an absolute truth in life... so was light. And eventually, light was what he saw. It was blinding at first, blurry, hazy. Then the pain came. It wasn't as intense as it was before, but it deffinatly made him more alert faster. He groaned in pain and tried to lift his head, but a soft hand kept him down. Normally, he would have panicked, but the gentleness of the hand told him he was in no danger. He was safe.

"Where... Am I...?" He asked weakly, barely audible, but it was enough for his caretakers to hear.

"You're safe. That's all you need to worry ahout." The voice of Six said. Mike nodded slowly.

"Thank... you..."

"It wasn't just me." She replied. "Mono carried you all the way here."

"We managed to stop the bleeding and get you stable but... it wasn't easy..." His sister, Frisk, said.

"You were really banged up when we got you here... you almost didn't survive." Chara added. Mike, again, just nodded.

"I... owe you guys... so much... I... I..." He started to say, but they stopped him.

"Don't speak, rest. You need it bad. We'll take turns watching you until you get back on your feet." Mono said, well, more commanded but still.

"Okay... okay..." Mike's eyes drifted back into a closed state and he allowed his mind and body alike to recover from the trauma of the last few hours. He was going to tell them of his dreams, of the void, but something stopped him... maybe it was his weakness, maybe it was his caretakers telling him to rest, or maybe... just maybe... those weren't dreams at all...