The darkness seemed to swell around me in waves, the motion comforting in a way. I remembered crying for hours after Sans had hit me with such a low blow, my emotions had come crashing down.

I woke up alone, looking around for anything, but only finding black. Even the floor that I laid on seemed invisible. But I could tell I wasn't alone, I called out. "Gaster?" I called. "Are you here?"

His mangled form appeared before me, his skeletal hand offering to help me up. His garbled voice seemed to ring from all directions. "Hello again Cherry. I see you'd like to take me up on my deal."

I shook my head mutely, thinking about my and Sans' fight. I was ready to get a soul, or find mine if Gaster was right. I was sick of being different. I wanted a soul. I hoped Flowey would forgive me. "Yeah, I'm ready."

Gaster grinned at me lopsidedly and took my hand, leading me into the void.  A lab appeared after a few minutes of walking and I immediately jumped to look at it. The blackness became old quick and I was excited by the sight of real objects. "We need to perform some experiments before we can find your soul," Gaster said. "I promise we'll move fast though."

I nodded, not really caring if we rushed or not. Even if I didn't get a soul, I had decided it was about time I was strong enough to help myself. Gaster prepared a test for me and I sat patiently on a table, waiting. Something churned in the pit of my stomach. It was about to get exciting.
_________________________________________________________________________________
P.o.V Sans
(oooooo P.o.V shift less than 300 words in)
I watched in horror as the door closed behind Cherry. Gaster looked at me just as the door closed, like he had won a victory.

I snatched my phone from my pocket and dialed Alphys's number. She picked up almost instantly. "Sans, I saw what happened. Was that really-"

"Alphys we need to get Cherry out of there. We both know what he could do."

Alphys sighed. "Yes, I know. I-I'll call Papyrus."

I hung up and looked at the spot where the door had disappeared. Guilt filled me after what I said. It wasn't like I didn't know. I knew all to well it was a low blow, but I still swung.
_________________________________________________________________________________
P.o.V. Cherry
When Gaster returned, he held a syringe in his hand. I eyed it wearily and Gaster caught my gaze. "Don't worry Cherry, this will be the only thing I inject."

"What is it?" I asked.

"It is a form of determination, laced with power, adapted to beings with no soul."

I looked at Gaster. "You said I had a soul."

"That is my theory. When I found you after your fight with Sans, I hypothesized you may actually have no soul. I am aware the act is possible. A past partner of mind proved that."

I looked at the needle again and stuck out my arm. "If it's only this one time I'm okay with it."

The needle pinched as it slid under my skin, the liquid inside slowly pushing into my veins. It burned more than anything but I didn't scream.

Gaster led me into a barred room and sat me on a bed. "Your reaction to the injecting may place you as a dangerous being. You'll be staying here as you adjust to it."

I nodded mutely and Gaster left. I opened my backpack and looked over the contents with a sad look. Alphys had packed paper for me, just in case I had another artist attack. Toriel's pie was sitting in a plastic container, half eaten from my stop in the Hotlands. I pulled my phone from my pocket and looked at it. I had no clue if it would work from where I was, but I tried.

Selecting Papyrus as my choice contact, I called him. Ring and ring shook on my ear, the fifth one finally giving way to the familiar voice. "HELLO HUMAN!" Papyrus greeted me.

I grinned to myself, tears in my eyes as I thought about him. "Hey Papyrus."

Papyrus was silent a moment before saying, "CHERRY," his voice became softer, "are you crying?"

I laughed weakly and wiped the tears from my eyes. "Yeah, only a little."

"WHAT HAPPENED?! ARE YOU ALRIGT HUMAN?!"

I giggled quietly and sighed. "I'm alive Papyrus. I just wanted to talk to a friendly voice."

Papyrus was 'hmmmm'ing so loud you heard it across the phone. "I CAN'T TELL WHY YOU'RE SAD! COME TO OUR HOUSE HUMAN!! MASTER CHEF PAPYRUS'S SPAGHETTI WILL LIFT YOUR SPIRITS!"

I shook my head. "I'm sorry Papyrus, I won't be in Snowdin for awhile."

"ARE YOU FAR AWAY?! I CAN SEND SANS TO GET YOU!"

"Papyrus, Sans can't get me where I am. I don't think it's possible." I said quietly.

"WHERE ARE YOU THEN?" He asked.

"Somewhere I'll become stronger."

Papyrus was quiet a moment, then said, "SANS IS CALLING ME!! WOULD YOU LIKE TO JOIN CALLS?"

"Uh, no. I'll get off the phone. Goodbye Papyrus."

"GOODBYE CHERRY!! I'LL TELL SANS YOU SAID HI!!"

"Don't bother with that," I said rather coldly. 

I hung up the phone and flopped down on to my mattress. Tears welled in my eyes as I turned to cry into my pillow. While the injection hurt, it hurt more not to see the few friends I had. I pulled the paper and some pencils from my pack and drew mindlessly, sticking them to the wall if I finished a piece.

I drew around twenty pictures before frustration gripped me. I roared in anger and broke the pencil in my hand in half. I felt cheated, unfairly treated. It was either be alone and powerful or have friends and suffer unimaginable things. Tears still streaked my face but they were more tears of rage.

I took the knife from my side and launched at the wall and carving into the wall, 'WHY.' Emotions hit me in waves. Each one almost too strong to handle. I couldn't remember what all happened until I woke up in a tornado of mess. The walls were lined in line upon line of curse words and hallow quotes. I had drawings surrounding me, each image more grim than the last. I could feel the injection working, power hummed in me. But I felt like something was wrong. My entire left side laced with unbearable pain. My consciousness collapsed.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
When I opened my eyes, Gaster was leaning over me putting tools in a bag. I shot up and was met with a throbbing headache. "W-What happened?" I asked.

He looked at me with an almost alarmed expression. "You're awake already? Interesting..."

I looked around and found myself lying on a metal table. Gaster's tools were put away but there was blood on the tray next to me. "Gaster, what happened?" I asked again.

He turned away from me and continued to put away his things away as he spoke. "Your body tried to reject the injection, but your will overcame it. The left side of you faced a toll however, your left eye became completely useless. But your new magic fixed it promptly. I was just fixing the stitches."

I looked down at my left arm and leg. Long cuts and scratches traced my left side making it hurt to move. "Is my eye, okay?" I asked quietly.

He nodded. "You should see normally through it. But it has changed its composure."

I raised my brows in a questioning manner. "It changed but it works?"

He handed me a mirror and I looked at my left eye. Instead of the dull blue eyes that usually met my gaze, I saw a pure black orb with a red circle for a pupil, flames matching the black hue stretched from it. Ice filled my veins and my heart pounded in my chest. I screamed, trying to cover my eye like it would make it normal again. The image was repulsive and sent me into panic. I looked like a more evil version of Sans. I didn't want that.

Gaster put an arm around my shoulder and took the mirror from me. "It is okay Cherry. There is nothing to fear of your new magic."

My mind latched around two of his words. Almost as if breathing the word, I repeated the words. "Fear.... Magic..."

A tear trailed my cheek, but if happiness. "I'm scared?" I asked. "I feel afraid?"

Gaster nodded and I yelped in joy. Jolting from the table, my body protesting, I ran. The door was open and the void extended on and on but I didn't care. A smile painted my face as I ran.

My heart pounded. My skin was littered with goosebumps. I was afraid. I had fear! I don't know if I have love but fear! I love it! I love the fear! I have love for the feeling of fear.

A child giggled in my mind. I do too.

I ignored the words and fell on my back, grinning like a madman. Gaster appeared meters away, looking at me questioningly. "You are happy to have fear?"

I nodded. "I've never had fear. It was one of my flaws. I never feared anything and now... Now I'm terrified. It's amazing."

The black void seemed to loom over me like a demon and I welcomed how it made me tremble. Gaster sighed and brought me back to my room. He wrote things as I bounced around my mess of a room.

I looked in my bag and found my phone ringing. The name Papyrus was bright on the screen. My grin widened as I accepted the call. "Hello Papyrus!" I said cheerfully.

There was a moment of silence, then I heard Papyrus's voice boom over the mic. "HUMAN YOU'RE ALIVE!!!!"

I shook my head up and down so quickly my ear rang. "Oh, Papyrus, I'm so happy right now. I'm so so happy!"

"HUMAN, ARE YOU HURT?! YOU SOUND LIKE YOU ARE CRYING!"

I laughed. "I am crying Papyrus, and it's amazing. For the first time in my existence I'm terrified. My heart is pounding, my veins feel like ice, the left side of me is so scratched up it looks like I was dipped in a grinder. My eye is on fire, I look like the spawn of a demon. I'm so scared. I'm so happy."

Papyrus sounded unsure of what to say.
"Cherry, are you okay?" He said softly. "You haven't answered your phone in a week and now you're scaring me."

"I'm fine Papyrus! I'm just enjoying my new emotion. Don't worry about me! Call me again tomorrow. I'll be calmer then, still scared, but calmer."

"Cherry, do you know where you are?"

"I'm in the void! Everything's dark and Gaster visits me every so often to check on me." I looked at my hands and laughed. "I'm shaking!"

I heard the air and the phone move and a new voice spoke. My grin fell into a sad frown. "Hi Sans..." I said sadly, remembering our last encounter.

"Cherry?" He said quietly. "Are you okay?"

My eyes glazed over a drawing I had made of him, his eyes were furious in the image and I cringed. "Why do you ask?" I said. "I thought you wanted me dead. Remember? Interesting to see what would happen to a soulless creature after death..." My tone was sad and monotone. Even if I never got along with Sans, it hurt you when he hit such a sensitive topic.

Sans sighed on the other end of the phone. "Cherry, I'm sorry about what I said. I don't want you dead. I was... am scared of the fact there's another soulless being out there. The first one I ever knew tried to kill me."

Though I wanted to deny it, I felt my next word was right. "Flowey?" I asked.

"Yeah."

I looked into a mirror hanging on my wall. "It's okay Sans, I don't think I'm the same person you last saw. I have power now, magic. I can feel fear now, it's exhilarating. I may actually have a scrap of a soul." I spoke softly.

Sans didn't respond and I laughed lightly. "That's what I thought."

In my free hand I spun the knife. "Sans, why was Papyrus so surprised to have me pick up? I haven't missed a call as far as I know."

"Cherry, you've been silent for two weeks." Sans said shortly.

I gasped and flopped onto my ruined bed. "I lost that much of my memory."

Sans made a sound making him seem intrigued. "You don't remember any of the past two weeks."

"Parts, but nothing more than a few seconds. A lot of screaming, a lot of mood swings. It was like I was in an ocean of emotions and every time it lapped my mood changed." I snickered. "It looks like I'm living in the after effects of a monster temper-tantrum. Seriously."

Sans laughed. "Are you hurt? Any permanent damage?" He asked.

It felt weird talking to Sans in a way that wasn't a sneer. "Sorta." I responded.

"What does sorta mean?"

"It means I wasn't hurt by Gaster, I attacked myself within the past to weeks. Left side vs the right side. Left side loss. It kinda looks like a cat's scratching post after playing with it and a laser pointer. Then there's my eye..."

I stopped there. The eye scared me. "What's wrong with your eye Cherry?" He asked.

"I have to go." I said suddenly and hung up the phone. In the mirror my eye had started to fade. The black flames retracted leaving a black orb with a simple white dot. I moved my head back and forth, realizing it was my new pupil.

I felt confused. The injection had been a mystery to me, and now I wanted to know exactly what Gaster did to me. As I turned to call his name, I found he had disappeared.

I laid my head down on my bed and let sleep take me. Texts shook my phone. All from Papyrus's number. A tear slipped from my eye. I felt guilty for the sympathy I felt. It wasn't mine. It was this new form's. This insane, magical and terrifying form that consumed my body.