A/N: Hi everyone. I hope you are all doing well. So I was debating whether or not to create a AO3 account to cross-post some fics, but I am still unsure since I would have to relearn a new site. Anywho, here's another chapter.


Searifa stiffly shuffled through her resturant as she prepared for the day. Her movement slow and measured any swift motion was met with a wave of nausea. She paused in the middle of her food prep to lean over the counter trying to regain the energy she had used to heal the human. Searifa knew that she had overdone it the previous night and now she was drained. Healing magic always was easy for her, but the human had taken a nasty fall.

She heard the small bell at the entrance to the restaurant ring. "SEARIFA, ARE YOU HERE?" Papyrus's loud distinct voice echoed through the currently empty restaurant. The reptilian monster put a hand to her head as it rung uncomfortably. "SHE IS PROBABLY IN THE KITCHEN. THE KITCHEN IS THE MOST IMPRESSIVE. SHE MAY EVEN BE PREPARING FOR THE DAY. I WONDER WHAT SORT OF CUSINE SHE IS MAKING?" Searifa had both hands on her head trying to block out the noise as a sudden jolt of panic caused her to freeze. Could the skeleton brothers tell that she had picked up the human? She could smell the human's scent on her although she did have a stronger sense of smell than other monsters. "GOOD MORNING SEARIFA," Papyrus cheery voice made the reptile shiver. What would happen if she was found caring for a human? Could she lie and say that she didn't know what a human looked like? "ARE YOU FEELING WELL?" Papyrus asked his loud voice breaking any train of thought.

"you're looking a little unsteady," Sans's mumbling voice added.

"I may need to rest for a moment," she admitted straightening her spine to turn and face the two skeletons. She leaned heavily against the counter and told herself to remember to disinfect it before continuing. "May I help you? It is rather early and I am not feeling energized enough to entertain although I do enjoy your company," she tried to say as politely as she could think of.

"SANS WAS WORRIED THAT THE HUMAN HAD HARMED YOU IN SOMEWAY," Papyrus said not noticing Searifa's flinch or Sans's mumbled 'i wasn't that worried'. "I TOLD HIM THAT YOU WERE FINE AND YOU PROBABLY LEFT HIM BEHIND BECAUSE IT WAS GETTING COLD. I ALSO TOLD HIM THAT HUMANS ARE NOT ALL BAD AND MAYBE THE HUMAN THAT FELL DOWN DOESN'T WANT TO HURT ANY OF US."

"Pause for a moment. A human fell into the Underground?" she asked feeling like it would be appropriate to feign ignorance. She tried to mold her facial features to match confusion.

"SANS SAID THAT WHEN YOU WERE RETURNING TO YOUR HOME THAT THE GUARDS SOUNDED AN ALARM. THEY HAVE BEEN HUNTING THE HUMAN ALL NIGHT. WE WERE ORDERED TO ENSURE THE SAFETY OF THE CITIZENS OF SNOWDIN. EVERYONE IS ON LOCK DOWN AND WE WERE GOING DOOR TO DOOR TO INFORM EVERYONE. THAT WAS WHEN SANS TOLD ME THAT HE HADN'T SEEN YOU AND I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE A GREAT IDEA TO CHECK UP ON YOU." Searifa looked up at the skeleton noticing that she had slid to the floor something during his speech. Now both were looking at her with concern.

"i think you need a break. take the day off. you look eel," Sans stated with a wink. Papryus groaned loudly.

Searifa sighed pushing herself up to her feet again. "I suppose I should shut down for the day if everyone is on lockdown. And you two should gecko-ing." She said with a grin trying to distract from her unsteady stance. Papyrus looked at the reptilian monster in disbelief.

"i newt you'll see it my way," Sans continued and Papyrus was starting to stomp his foot. "i hope you feel tokay soon."

"SANS, SEARIFA. THAT IS ENOUGH. THOSE WERE ALL HORRIBLE. BESIDES AN EEL ISN'T A REPTILE; IT IS A FISH." Sans shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly and Searifa chuckled at the look of disbelief that Papryus gave his brother.

"My apologies. I shouldn't egg him on," she stated before a loud groan reminded her what she had been cooking earlier. The scrambled egg mixture next to her evidence of an unintended pun. "I had no intention of upsetting you."

"nah, papryus is smiling."

"I AM NOT. I AM CLEARLY UPSET THAT YOU TWO HAVE SUCH POOR SENSE OF HUMOR."

"Could I interest the two of you in omelets?" Searifa broke in before the sibling ribbing became louder. "It would be bad practice to let these go to waste," she clarified holding out the eggs.

"MAY I HELP?" Papyrus asked and for the briefest of moments the chef was tempted to reply with a no, but relented and sent the skeleton the task of chopping vegetables. Sans plopped himself down on a nearby counter. Searifa barely gave him a glance with narrowed eyes before adding another reminder to clean that counter as well. "I HAVE COMPLETED THE TASK YOU ASKED." Searifa looked over the evenly diced vegetables with a nod.
With practiced precision she cooked the meal. She related her actions to Papyrus who was watching every move she made. The reptile hoped that perhaps at least the skeleton would be able to cook a decent omelet from observing her. She folded and flipped the fluffy eggs with skill and maybe with a little dramatic flourish when she noticed that Papyrus was entranced by how she could flip the still cooking omelets. There was a near mishap, but she was able to play it off.

Although she loved to cook, she was relieved when she was off her feet and sitting at a table eating. She munched silently and accepted the praise. The little bites she had taken were already doing wonders; fueling her magic and getting rid of the headache that was building. The three spoke little. Between Sans who preferred not to speak much and Searifa feeling nervous the only one speaking was Papyrus. Neither monster minded that the taller skeleton took most of the conversation to himself. Soon though all three plates were empty. "hey pap, can you go on ahead and check up on everyone? i need to rest for a moment," Sans spoke up as soon as the meal was done.

Papyrus sighed frustrated, but listened to his older brother and promised to visit the chef later. Searifa waved him goodbye as he marched to the door. "hey, i needed to talk to ya for a bit," the shorter skeleton started.

"What warrants you dismissing your brother?" Searifa asked feeling a bit unnerved by the two eye-lights staring at her. She tried to busy herself by picking up the dirty dishes keeping her green eyes down. She tried not to shudder at the thought of the skeleton staring at her.

"just concern for a friend. y'know this human is dangerous. they already killed a guard," Sans continued and Searifa barely restrained a shiver. She saw the silver dust that coated the human's clothing; the thought of all that silvery dust now all over her bed where she laid the child made her sick. "just keep an eye out for anything suspcious. they can't be allowed to wander freely." The reptilian monster couldn't help but feel that the other knew more than he let on. She wondered if she somehow didn't remove the dust that transferred onto herself as she moved the human. She shifted the plates in her hands stealing a glance at them and her front.

She smiled as sweetly as she could with her mouthful of sharp teeth. "Of course, if I see any sign of the human, I will inform the guard immediately. In fact, I'll call Papyrus. It could be his ticket into the Roy-"

"not papyrus. i don't want him to try and capture them. call me instead," the shorter skeleton stated holding out a sticky note with a number. "be careful, seari." The reptile opened her mouth to speak, but was unsure on what to say to the retreating monster. Although she was a handful of inches taller than the skeleton, there was something intimidating.

She turned to face the retreating skeleton. "Sans, it isn't wise to keep Papyrus in the dark. One day it could be harmful."

The shorter skeleton looked over his shoulder, his eyes sockets betraying a deep sorrow. "ya, i know."

UT~UT~UT

Kendall regained consiousness slowly. Each sense dragging itself into perception. She was surrounded by warmth which she decided was an improvement to the biting cold of the snow. She was no longer in pain which she was immensely grateful for. The teen never would have thought she would be thankful for something so mundane. She nuzzled into the soft warmth of whatever soft haven she found herself. The thought that perhaps her treck through the Underground was just some bizarre dream crossed her mind. The scent of something warm and delicious wafted through the air causing her stomach to rumble in anticipation. She probably had fallen and hit her head and the camp took her to some medical facility. It made more scense than talking flowers and giant goats.

She could hear soft footsteps walked beside her. The sound of something being set down came moment before a cold hand was placed on her head. Kendall wondered what was wrong with the person's hand; it felt strange against her forehead. A calming warmth emitted from the hand making the teen sigh contently. The hand removed itself quickly.

Kendall, frustrated with the change, opened her eyes slowly. She blinked a couple of times at a the bland cielling. "Are you feeling well? I did the best I could, but I am afraid that I may have overlooked some things. Please inform me if you are in any pain," a soft voice said. Kendall turned her head to the female voice to meet her savior. The teen balked at the golden reptile who jumped back slightly. Wide blue eyes met frightened green ones as both waited for the other to strike. The reptile's green eyes looked down quickly. "I have left soup on the endtable. You are going to need to regain your strength," she said taking a small step back as she pulled on one of the sleeves of her chef smock as if to try and cover her golden clawed hands. Kendall moved her eyes away for a second to see the steaming bowl next to her. She glared back at the monster who took another step back as the strange trio of frills on her head flared up. "I didn't poison it or anything," she clarified as she reached the top of her head and smooth back the frills so they folded back flat against her skull.

"You're going to eat me," Kendall stated sending another death glare toward the reptile.

The monster scrunched her snout, "That's absolutely disgusting. Oh, I'm sorry. I am unsure if the consumption of human flesh is common for humans. I don't want to offend your practices." Kendall's glare softened with confusion. "Monsters don't believe in cannibalism Even the consumption of dust is frowned down on.." the monster trailed off wrapping her arms around her thin serpentine body.

"Humans don't eat other humans," Kendall stated as she tried to pick herself up. She concentrated deeply as she tried to push herself up. A pair of hands gently eased her into a sitting position before backing away. The monster stood out of arm reach and if the teen looked closely enough, she would have seen her host's slender frame shaking. Kendall grabbed the bowl from the table and took a cautionary spoonful. The warm delicious soup had to be the best thing she ever eaten, but she frowned at the bowl.

"Is it not satisfactory? I apologize. I really don't know what humans like to eat," the monster said shifting her weight from one foot to the other. "I can quickly prepare another meal if you will like."

"Whatever. I'll just deal with it," the girl said with a grumble as she slowly shoveled more soup into her mouth. The food was making her feel much more energized. She wondered if it too was magic.

"I'm glad that you are continuing to eat it. The soup would raise your health back to normal. I would make sure not to serve that soup to anyone else if it is that horrible," the reptile said looking on the ground.

"What are you? A dragon? Hooded lizard? Snake? One of those spine dinosaurs?"

"Oh, my apologizes. I must have misplaced my manners. Salutations, my name is Searifa. I really can't tell you what type of monster I am. I have a mixed heritage so perhaps I am a combination of all of those you listed," Searifa said holding out her hand in the sign for a handshake.

"That's stupid. What sort of name is Searifa?" Kendall said pushing her empty bowl into the outstretch hand.

"It was the name by father gave me when he adopted me. It was a fairly common skeletal name before the war when skeletons were more common. Actually, Serifa is the name, but my father thought I was also a dragon. Which led him to make a pun out of my name. You understand, 'sear' defined as to char a food item and dragons typically breath fire. My apologies, I suppose you weren't asking for the reason for my name... It would be proper for me to ask for your name," She trailed off as she backed to a safe distance.

"None of your business," Kendall snapped. The reptile flinched stepping back another couple steps. The two stared at each other for a moment before Kendall started getting to her feet. Searifa was already moving to help when the teen pinned her down with a glare. "I don't need a monster's help," she stated flatly. Kendall staggered and the monster balanced her out shrinking back just as quickly as she appeared.

Searifa stepped back as Kendall trudged to the door of the bedroom. Her whole body was aching, but she would rather die than ask a monster for help. "Perhaps you will like to take some food for the road. It would be helpful as you transverse the underground."

"I don't want your nasty food," Kendall huffed as she exited the bedroom and into a small living room. The house was small enough that she could clearly see the exit. She took painfully slow steps. She could hear the soft footsteps behind her.

"I have a variety of coats if you like to have one. Snowdin can be terribly frigid," the monster's voice said. She hovered close. One hand pointing to a closet door.

"I said I didn't want your help," the girl shouted swinging her fists through the monster. Her blue eyes widened as her fist meet empty air; the previous image of the reptilian monster was no where in sight disappearing like a disturbed reflection. She huffed to herself before stomping out the front door. The door slammed behind her loudly.

She looked at the pure white landscape and spun slightly to look for anything familiar. Kendall shivered against the sudden cold. She chose to continue going straight ahead. Kendall stomped through the snow her hands curled into fists. The wind blew the snow off the ground and into the air. It bit at her face and fingers. Shivers started rack her body. The teen had no clue where she was or even how long she had been walking.

"Yes, dad. I am doing perfectly well," a familiar voice said from ahead of the teen. The wind died down a little to reveal a spot of black, red, and gold in the distance. Kendall frowned as she realized who it was. The reptilian monster had since bundled up and stood with a phone to her head. Green eyes flitted toward her for a second before the monster turned and started walking away. "I was actually thinking about going to visit New Home and see how Roman was doing," the monster continued. Her pace was slow enough and her boots created a flatten surface. "Father! That is absolutely gross. He is my cousin...I know we are not biologically related." The female monsters indignation was clear. "That is besides the point. I was calling...not about Wray. I have no attraction to spider monsters. No, I am not frightened of them." From the tone of the monster's voice, Kendall was pretty sure that she actually was frightened of spider monsters. "Once again I am going to redirect this conversation. Yes, I am wearing my coat. I have been sleeping well," the reptile continued speaking with her father. Kendall thought she glanced over her shoulder. "I was actually hoping to see the barrier as you know it is past Asgore's Castle and the Core. Didn't Roman's girlfriend work there?"

Kendall followed the reptile as she climbed a narrow snow filled staircase. Her boots brushing away the loose snow as the human teen followed the trail. The monster finally hung up with her father after a couple more failed attempts of blind dates. With the phone call over, the monster went into a small building that had a sign reading 'shop'.

The rest of the tiny town Kendall had been led to was empty. The lights in the cozy-looking buildings were off. It looked like a ghost town. The teen wasn't deterred, but continued down the path. Now that she had found the main road it should be easy be follow the path and make it to the Barrier. With a new game plan, she was filled with DETERMINATION.

UT~UT~UT

Searifa looked at the slammed door in shock. The monster had to admit that wasn't what she thought the human would react. She took a deep breath in letting air fill her lungs which surprisingly the human didn't turn to dust. Well, that was a little generous since the human would have if Searifa had been standing where the human struck and not her illusion. The reptile stood at the door contemplating. She should just let the human go and have the guards take care of it, but the human was young or at least appeared to be young. Searifa turned her back to the door as if to walk away from the human. How old was the human? She was definitely younger than Searifa herself probably just out of stripes. How would Searifa react if she was in her place? If she found herself on the surface with a bunch of humans; if they attacked her? The reptile shook her head to clear the thoughts. She wouldn't have killed anyone just the thought of ending another's life made her stomach turn uncomfortably. But she would fight to protect herself. What if the child didn't know that the slightest intent could dust a monster? Of course, if she intended to kill the monster they would dust immediately. Searifa took a step away from the door. The human was bad and she was lucky to survive.

Her feet turned back to the door as she thought about a young human lost and terrified of the monsters of the underground. Another step toward the door was shaky. With all the monster talking about collecting souls, the human must have thought her life was on the line. Searifa took another step toward the door her hand reaching for her coat while her feet found her boots. Perhaps all the human needed was an ally? A monster to guide them to the end to prevent any more loss of life. Searifa pulled her coat on as she swung the door open. The cold was ignorable with a plan in mind.

The reptilian monster hurried through the snow following the quickly disappearing footprints in the snow. A thought froze the monster in her tracks; the human didn't want her aide. The human struck out to attack her. Searifa lowered her head looking at the path of footprints as she thought through another course of action. She grinned to herself as she figured it out. She just had to aide from a distance. Searifa ran faster as she neared the human who looked confused. She slowed her pace to nonchalantly walk the correct direction to town. She reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out her cellphone. She turned it on and went into her contacts. Her eyes caught sight of the skeleton brothers' numbers and for a brief moment she nearly dialed them, but pushed her father's number decisively. The phone rang and rang while Searifa tapped her foot impatiently and fumed to herself. "Howdy," her father's familiar twang came from the speaker. She opened her mouth to speak. "You reached Bill. I must have misplaced the phone again and didn't hear it ring over my amazing band. So leave a message unless this is my little Seari. If so then just call again sunshine and I'll find the phone...hopefully," the rest of the recorded message said before a flat tone indicated to give a message. Searifa hung up without a message and called again. Once again the recorded message retold its message. She hung up the phone again about to give up when it vibrated in her hand.

She didn't even looked at the id before answering. "Seari," her father's cheery voice called out causing the female monster hold the phone away from her head. "How's my sunshine doing? Did you get a lot of customers? Why am I even asking, of course you did. I bet everyone was knocking down the door and you were running, well not running, but definitely working hard." Searifa smiled at his confidence in her and responded that she was well.

She spared the human a glance and smiled to herself as she realized that the teen was following her. Searifa continued speaking with her father and of course he had to direct the conversation into territory she would rather stay away from. If one good thing came out of the conversation is that the human knew the direction to go to. The reptilian monster looked over her shoulder to check on the human who followed behind her. As they entered town, Searifa cast her magic toward her tail. If she narrowed her eyes, she could focus enough to cast an illusion. Of course, she wasn't affected by her magic so it would be impossible to know if it worked until someone came.

Searifa paused in front of the shop for a moment. Thinking about how having some cinnabunnies on hand would be helpful she slipped into the shop. The bunny shopkeeper smiled at her. "Good Morning, how may I help you?" the shopkeeper asked.

" Salutations. I am in need of a dozen cinnabunnies, please," Searifa greeted kindly.

"I'm sorry I only have ten," the shopkeep apologized.

"That will do thank you very much," Searifa responded putting down the appropriate gold down on the counter and grabbing the bag filled with sweets. She put the treats into her inventory before hurrying out of the door. She found the human quickly in the empty streets and crept up as silently as she could. Searifa reached for her magic sent it around her. The human turned around quickly blonde hair splaying around. Searifa froze in place hoping that her magic did as it was supposed to. The human's blue eyes looked around the empty town quickly, but not seeing anything. The human turned around again walking through the town at a quick pace.

Searifa grit her teeth in concentration as she stretched her illusionary magic to reach the human as well. The monster kept an eye out for any of the guard. Her eyes caught sight of Grillby's. She wondered if the guard were in there and if it was filled with other monsters. The reptile figured that everyone was hiding in their homes hoping for the human to pass. The emptiness of the town was beginning to unsettle her. It was so quiet and dull. She shivered, but kept moving forward. She ignored the cold and how her footsteps slowed. She could feel exhaustion creep up again. Her head starting to spin with all the magic she was using. "Just to the edge of Snowdin," she whispered to herself. Outside Snowdin, monster wouldn't be as common and everyone wouldn't be on high alert. Her foot caught the edge of the other sending the monster sprawling into the snow. She landed with a huff all her concentration broken.

Searifa spat out snow that chilled her mouth as she pushed herself to her knees. "I told you that I don't need your help," a cold voice said. Searifa looked up at the human teen.

"Yes, you did. However, I would feel immensely guilty if something were to happen to you. You are young and still have your whole life ahead." Searifa could feel that the human was getting bored with her speak. "I am trying to convey that I wish to help you exit the underground."

"I killed monsters," the girl responded.

"I know. Dust has a tendancy to cling," Searifa responded before shaking her head. "But you must have been frightened. I understand that you must fear for your life, but you no longer have to. I will protect you." She wondered when her speech turned into a plea. The reptilian monster watched as the human's blue eyes narrowed down at her. The dust on the teen was striking against the crimson of her blazer and the gold of her hair. The human clenched her fists and Searifa was beginning to regret not calling the guard the day before. Her heart beat rapidly in her chest as her breathing quickened. Searifa closed her eyes and waited for the blow that would spread her dust among the snow.


A/N:In case it wasn't obvious, my headcannon is that there is more skeletons other than Sans and Papyrus, but there are so few that they all see themselves as extended family. The only exception is the skele-bros due to you-know-who. Anyways, that's all I wanted to say on the matter. Anyways, So Father's Day is coming up (meaning tomorrow) as a little celebration I decided to write a little drabble just for my enjoyment and hopefully yours as well.


Bill wasn't the first monster that came to mind when the term father. Even he didn't ever see himself as a father. It was a shock to the entire neighborhood when he came home with a little reptile monster trailing behind him like a duck. But that was months ago, several long and difficult months. Months of silence with only brief conversations between himself and his adopted child. The little lizard always seemed so far away and the skeleton was starting to look into therapy.

A tug on his sleeve brought him back to the present. He looked down at the small lizard monster in red and gold stripes. "Did you need something, Searifa?" Bill asked the child.

She nodded and climbed onto the couch. Bill remained silent waiting for the younger monster to say what was on her mind. "It has been very nice here, Mr. Bill. My room is really nice and the toys are great," she began looking down at her clasped hands. Bill looked down his eyelights meeting the smaller monster's green eyes. She shifted her gaze away looking away. "You've been very nice to me and I know I can't go back home," the girl continued. Her voice broke a little sending a stab of pain through the skeleton's soul. Her shoulders shook as she started to sob.

"Seari, I'm so sorry," he comforted reaching out putting a hand on her shoulder with a little hesitation. He tried not to flinch when the little reptile leaned against him burying her face into his side. His eyelight flashed a pink in surprise, but he readjusted his arm so he could wrap the child close to him. Searifa sniffed, but the sobs didn't stop.

The skeleton raised a hand to brush the trio of frills on her head. He gently ran his phalanges over them careful not to tear them. "Can you sing for me?" a soft question floated from the shaking child. "I like it when you sing," the reptile clarified.

Bill stopped his fingers. "I didn't know that," he admitted. His adoptive daughter leaned back to look up at him.

She looked guilty, "I'm sorry. I have been so mean." Her bottom lip started to quiver.

"Seari, you have not been mean," Bill insisted. "Seari, look at me," he said. The girl looked up blinking rapidly. "You are the nicest monster I know. Remember when you gave your Glamburger to that fire elemental? Or how about giving that kid lunch money after bullies took it?" the skeleton reminded. Bill could tell the girl was still on the verge of tears.

He reached over the armrest to grab his guitar. It was a bit beaten, but so was a lot of human things from the surface. He strummed a couple of chords. He cleared his nonexistent throat. He hoped that it was okay that he just skipped to the chorus. "Cowgirls don't cry. Ride baby ride. lessons in life are going to show you in time. soon enough your gonna know why. it's gonna hurt every now and then. if you fall, get back up again."

The girl recognized the song from the plenty of times he sung it. She frowned, "That's a sad song. How is that supposed to cheer me up?" Bill laughed heartily.

"Okay Seari, how about you give me a song to sing?" He replied still chuckling.

"I don't know any songs that can make me happy," she sighed looking down sadly.

"What's bothering you?" Bill asked.

"I was thinking about my mom," she admitted. Bill set his guitar aside. "What if... what if I forget her?" she asked looking up at the skeleton as if he had all the answers. "If I stay here with you, will I forget my home? Will I forget my mom?"

Bill realized how unqualified he was for this job. "uh, Seari. um, I have an idea. Wait a second I'll be back." The skeleton got to his feet quickly and ran to the next room. Grabbing a couple of items before hurrying back to his adoptive daughter. He grinned widely before handing the items in his hands to her one by one. The first was a scrapbook. He opened it to the first page.

The page held four different pictures each of them showing a tiny golden reptilian monster being held by a copper one. Searifa ran her clawed finger over each one. "You'll always have pictures. Your mom must have really liked scrapbooking before.." Bill trailed off before he upsetted his daughter. "You'll always have these pictures. And you can take more," he added putting the polaroid camera he had picked up and set it in her lap. "And you can write all your memories. There's no way you can forget anything with both." The reptilian monster looked at all of the items around her. Bill shifted uncomfortably at the silence that seemed to last forever.

She finally looked up at him with a small smile. "Thanks, dad," she said softly. Bill felt his soul warm in his ribcage.

"You're welcome, Seari," he replied not mentioning the title she gave him. "How about we look through that book together? I have a couple stories about your mom when we were in school that I'm sure you'll find humerous."

(Note: the song the Bill sings is "Cowgirls Don't Cry" by Brooks and Dunn.)