"You still can't heal yourself, huh? And since your magic mixes so poorly with other healing, other healers can't even help you." Jamie questioned as you stirred. A groan was his only answer as the pain made itself known to you again. You could hear his shrug. "You'll get there. I hear it's a common problem with you healers."

You pried your eyes open, wincing at the too-bright lights above you. Your sticky clothes were gone, replaced with simple blue scrubs over bandaging. Headquarters, you realized as you looked around. Right. Jamie had shown up to save you, hadn't he?

The cocoa-skinned mage snapped his fingers in front of your face drawing your attention. "I need you all here, Chica. Doc needs to make sure you don't have a concussion or anything. Douchebag number one slammed your head into that wall pretty hard."

You ran through your own mental checklist. Your vision was normal, no dizziness, no confusion, no memory gaps, no nausea. You did have a headache, sensitivity to light, not sound, and you were certainly drowsy, but those could just be from the beating you'd taken.

"How long?" You croaked, throat dry.

"It's Saturday evening." Jamie responded, handing you a cup full of ice. You'd left Alphys and Undyne's place Friday night, so just a day.

Sitting up, you gazed at the door as Dr. Piroi entered. "Miss _, I'm glad to see that you're awake." She shined a flashlight into your eyes quickly, checking. You winced. "Do you remember how you got here?"

"No, but I'm pretty sure I passed out before that." You answered, blinking several times as she took the light away. "I assume Jamie teleported us in." Said mage nodded at you in response.

"Any dizziness or nausea?" She asked, grabbing the reflex hammer.

"No, not yet at least. I do have a headache, and I would like nothing more than to go to bed right now, but…" Your leg jerked as she tapped your knee. She had you stand up and walk in a line to check your balance.

"That could easily be from your body trying to fix itself." She confirmed, checking a couple more things before plopping into her chair. "You don't seem to have a concussion. You know the warning signs, though, so if they bother you later, be sure to let me know Miss _. And do try not to get yourself killed."

It was a clear dismissal. You let Jamie lead you out into the hall, unsurprised as he headed toward the offices. "You're lucky I got there when I did, Chica." He told you, voice strained. You and Jamie rarely talked and almost never saw each other, but that didn't mean you weren't friends. It was an odd friendship, mostly digital in nature, but you were still friends.

"Thank you." He stopped walking abruptly. "I was lucky."

He whirled, engulfing you in a loose hug, wary of your injuries. "Be more careful, _. You aren't invincible. Not even close." He demanded before letting go and continuing down the hall.

Jamie blatantly refused to tell you what had happened to the teens who had attacked you. You weren't quite sure if it was because he wasn't allowed to, or he just didn't want you to know. Perhaps you should just leave it alone.

"I don't suppose my clothes survived?" You inquired when he stopped outside of Boss's door.

Jamie paused mid-knock to stare at the ceiling. "Almost fucking dies and she's worried about her wardrobe." He complained quietly. As he went to try again, a familiar, gruff voice could be heard through it.

What in the seven hells was Alphys doing at Headquarters? Boss hushed her at hearing Jamie knock, and grunted at you to come in. The door opened on its own, and the two of you stepped in.

It wasn't just Alphys. Sans was here too. Both Boss and Alphys had quieted upon your arrival, everyone save Jamie inspecting you closely. If not for the absolute silence, you might have missed the quiet whisper of your name that came from Sans. You had never heard him sound so quiet.

You were an idiot. You had promised Fuku you would check in once you were home. When you didn't, of course she would call Alphys; you were at her house. You started to reach towards him, trying to reassure him that you were fine, but Boss chose that moment to clear his throat. Your arm dropped back immediately.

"So, you're back with us, _. Glad to see it." You turned, bowing your head to the well-toned man. Boss was an empath, a skill that let him get quite far with people. "Jamie has filled me in on most of the details already. Anything specific from you?"

You swallowed, knowing you should tell him and also knowing it would worry your friends. "They were at the mall before, when we got into a scuffle with teenagers there."

Boss's gaze was severe, but you weren't worried. "Repeat offenders." He stated. "I'll look into it. Thank you. Go with your friends, _. They were worried."

The four of you left, silence reigning until you got to the lobby. Jamie rested a hand lightly on your shoulder before vanishing. You turned to your silent monster friends.

"WE LOOKED FOR YOU." Sans informed you. "THE CANINE UNIT TRACKED YOU DOWN." His voice was forcibly even. You could hear the strain behind it. Oh dear. You had an idea where that trail would have ended.

Jamie didn't leave trails when he teleported. That they'd found Headquarters was more than a feat. You vaguely wondered how they'd done it.

You didn't know what to say. "I…" You trailed off. What could you say? An apology?

"I SHOULD HAVE WALKED YOU HOME!" Sans yelled at you, finally meeting your gaze with tear-filled eye sockets. "THEN YOU WOULDN'T HAVE GOTTEN SO HURT! YOU COULD HAVE…" He shook his head, trailing off.

"That was a lot of blood you lost, Punk. We were afraid we'd never see you again." Alphys cut in, sparing Sans. "And when we didn't hear from you at all today…" She shot a half-hearted accusatory glare at you.

Knowing physical affection meant a lot to Sans, you stretched your arms out to him. He obliged quickly, hugging you more gently than you had thought he was capable of. You were learning all sorts of things about him tonight. "I'm glad you weren't there. I would hate to see you hurt too." You softly echoed his words from the mall.

"BUT I COULD HAVE PROTECTED YOU! I SHOULD HAVE PROTECTED YOU." He protested fiercely. You should have known. Monsters got close to people quickly.

"You aren't to blame. Neither am I, or Boss, or Jamie. Only the jerks that attacked me are." You assured him. He pulled back far enough to give you a thorough inspection. His expression darkened with each new injury or bandage he found.

"Jamie is that kid from earlier?" Alphys asked. "He's a mage, right?"

You chuckled, ignoring the pain shooting through you as you did so. "He's not nearly a kid, but yes. That's him. And, save you two, everyone in this complex is a mage. Though, considering monsters have magic, the exception may be unnecessary."

Alphys's good eye fixed on you. "Yourself included?"

Oh. You'd walked right into that. "Yes." You answered without hesitation. "I am."

Alphys sighed. "I know. We all do." What? Since when? "We kinda figured it out after last night, Punk." Oh right. Not many normal people got attacked randomly by mages, and fewer survived. It was a logical leap. You involuntarily flinched when her hand flew up to point at you. "It's hard to hate you when you're so damn honest about it! Why do you make it so difficult?" She raged, glaring at you.

"ALPHYS." Sans stated her name so calmly, you almost missed the dangerous undertone in it. The captain turned away from you, fuming. You were relatively certain her ire wasn't really directed at either of you.

The guard captain was silent for a moment. "We need to get her back to Fuku and Grillby. Everybody's worried about you, punk." Everybody? Really?

The clerk on the first floor handed you your slightly bloody phone and keys on your way out. Sans made an odd noise when he saw them, so you quickly asked for a tissue so you could wipe them off. It was hard enough, you supposed, seeing you with injuries and bandages. You figured they had more than enough blood if they followed you to where Jamie had saved you. You had probably left a puddle of it. Seeing the sticky substance on your things only made it more real.

Once you got out of range of the building's jammer, your phone blew up with messages and missed calls. Just as you went to check them, it rang.

Here we go, you thought as you brought it up to your ear. You didn't even have the chance to talk before Fuku sobbed your name. After failing for several minutes to calm her down, you hung up, promising to come right over.

Sighing, you looked down at yourself. There was no getting around this. Even if you changed, they would be able to see the bandages, not even mentioning the obvious injuries exposed on your face and forehead. At least you probably wouldn't run into any more trouble, courtesy of your overprotective escort.

Ten minutes later, you spotted a distraught Fuku outside her father's bar waiting for you. She wasn't alone. Sans and Alphys stopped a bit before you did, finally allowing you more than a meter worth of space. Grillby trailed along behind Fuku as she slammed into you, fixing you with an expression somewhere between fury and worry. You didn't doubt he wanted whoever had done this.

It wasn't long before she noticed you wincing from the pressure. "What happened to you?" She demanded furiously, pulling away slightly to trace the burn on your face with a gentle hand. Her gaze followed the line of bandaging underneath the scrubs you were wearing, as well as the large wrapping on your left arm from where metal stairs had attacked you.

"Teenagers from the mall with maguns." You replied simply.

"Who?" Grillby demanded. If he had teeth, you were certain he would be grinding them.

You sighed. "There's an entire building full of people who know and won't tell me. I'm pretty sure Sans and Alphys didn't have any more luck on that front." You informed him as he turned to the two guards.

Fuku finally released you, only to grab your shoulders and whirl you around, marching you inside. You didn't protest. A place to sit sounded like heaven right now.

Grillby must have warned the guests ahead of time, because you could almost see the canine unit restraining themselves from swarming you. Undyne waited at a booth, where Fuku sat you down. Then everyone swarmed.

Sans somehow managed to end up right next to you, standing over you just as protectively as before. A quick glance around told you that, no you hadn't just missed him. Papyrus wasn't present. Of course not; he disliked you before he knew you were a mage.

Fuku couldn't pin down what her emotions were doing just then. She had been so excited to tell you about her evening last night, and she knew you'd been just as eager to hear about her date with Muffet. But you never called. You could get carried away, but once it passed midnight she knew something was wrong.

But you weren't at Alphys's place anymore. The guard captain agreed to look for you, so she'd waited. She hadn't even told her father yet when Alphys and Sans had come into the bar, expressions grave.

Fuku knew Sans. Everyone knew Sans. She'd never seen him like this, though. Seven sorts of distraught and looking like he wanted to punch something. It was more than enough to tell her.

She had barely registered the words in her mind as the two told her and her father what they had found. Which was nothing except for the severe possibility you were dead.

They kept looking. She kept trying your phone.

Then you had answered. Fuku couldn't stop the lava-like tears that had spilled down her face in that moment. She hadn't been able to say anything intelligible for nearly a minute she was so relieved. She'd shot a huge smile at her father, who interpreted it correctly, before dashing out the door to wait for you.

And you came, flanked by your new friends. They had found you.

Fuku was so happy to see you alive and well, she engulfed you in a tight hug without checking that second part very hard. You tensed as she squeezed, letting out an almost imperceptible grunt of pain.

She could see a curve under your scrubs. One that she could easily identify as a bandage. Horrified, she allowed her gaze to rise, noting the burn on your face and the abrasions on your forehead dipping dangerously close to your eye. You weren't fine.

You knew she needed it though, so you hadn't protested when she hugged you. Even though she'd caused you pain.

How had she forgotten that your magic didn't work on yourself? Knowing you must be tired, she somewhat forcibly led you inside, sitting you down at one of the comfortable booths. How could you be so calm about the whole thing? If your bandages and reported blood loss were any indication, they had nearly killed you.

But you smiled at her, reassuring, as if everything was okay. And she knew you were right, underneath her growing fury. You would heal up just fine in a week or two. Then you would go on as if nothing had happened in the first place. But something had happened, and all your friends were in agreement on one thing.

Heaven would burn before they would allow anything like this to happen again.