Night Terrors

Seventeen

"Oh my stars!"

"He's waking up!"

"It's a miracle!"

Light overwhelmed him as he tried to open them, squinting as he tried to gather what was going on. He swallowed dryly, a disgusting taste in his mouth from a five year coma. He looked around, seeing doctors. Human doctors. God, it felt good to see something besides Nightmare's ugly mug and the dark grey of his dreams.

"Sam!" A similarly tan and blonde, although much lankier and tall, human hugged him. The name felt right. Like even if he didn't before, he had a name now.

"Hey, Pat." He didn't even know how he knew that name. It just fit. He'd never seen this man before, but he just knew, this was his brother, Patrick. He didn't think about who he was supposed to represent in the meta; he was just happy to have a brother.

While the doctors were preparing Sam to see if he could leave just yet, the tan blonde was focused on his clothes. He didn't care if he was in a gown, he was just happy he wouldn't have to spend another moment in that same hoodie and turtleneck and shorts and tennis shoes! Oh, how much he missed being able to not wear shoes!

After an hour of weird, hospital stuff, Sam was ready to go. All dressed up in a white tee-shirt and sweatpants, he was just happy it wasn't the hoodie.

The hoodie was great, but he just wasn't ready for it yet.

He walked past so many doors. He went down stairs and through the front door. Before, the only memory of his world, Underflesh, was just his bed, and his dreams. It was almost weird to see so much life. Before, it was just him and Nightmare, and then just him, but now there was actually a world here.

"Sam, do you know what year it is?!" Patrick proclaimed, crossing his arms. "I knew you were lazy, but... I-I never expected you to be asleep for five whole years... but you're back now!"

"Right." Sam smiled. He was excited. He could have a backstory, and an actual story! He could be more than the creation, abandoned by one of the biggest creators! He could have more to him than the freaky, gross human that was meant to be an experiment, who's story was cut short! He could live!

"Hey Sam!" Alice ran over, giving him a hug. "It's so nice to see you awake!"

"Oh, yeah. Hey Al." Sam hugged her back. He barely knew how or why, but he knew her. God, it was so nice to know people.

"Sam! You are alive!" Diana waved, smiling widely as she caught up to her girlfriend.

"Hey, Diana." Sam pulled away from Alice. It was so nice to see new, yet familiar faces. He almost laughed at how silly everything felt. No one else knew, and maybe that was okay. This universe was new, and he finally had things to do. He was excited at how much he could explore. The ice cream shop, the librarby, the diner.

"Well, you've got an entire crowd that's excited to see you, so we better leave before we get trampled in that." Diana said, causally picking Alice up before jogging off. "See you around, Sam!"

Sam smiled. "Yeah... yeah! I'll see you around!"

He continued to walk with his brother, looking up at his brother. Patrick smiled down at him. It was so nice to see him. He was his handsome little brother. Yeah!

He went around, greeting people he knew yet didn't. Tori, Asher, little Azzy, Maxwell, Nathaniel. They were all human and normal. And he could remember who they were! It was so great and amazing! He was so excited to know all of these people!

Sans. Papyrus. Alphys. Undyne. Toriel. Asgore. Asriel. Mettaton. Napstablook.

They were all Undertale characters. And never before was Sam so happy. He didn't care if they were completely original, or other characters made more "human". All he cared for was that he wasn't alone. That he had this group of friends and family that knew and loved him. He didn't care. He was just happy he wasn't alone.

As he passed by a suspiciously familiar bar, his eyes widened.

"Absolutely not, Sam. You just woke up, and I will not let you spend all your time at this disgusting bar until I get you caught up on the last five years!"

"Yeah, yeah. Just give me a moment." Sam grinned, walking into the bar.

Grillby.

A sense of familiarity washed over him. He knew this place. He knew this place so well! He'd spend hours of his backstory, getting drunk and talking to the hot red-haired bartender!

The owner of the joint looked up, smiling when he saw him. He had such a handsome freckled face. And such a warm smile.

"Nice to see you're awake, Sam."

"It's so nice to see you, again, Griffin." Just being able to say that sent chills down his spine. To be able to see he saw someone again. To remember and know them! Oh, it was magical!

"I don't think you're supposed to drink right out of a coma, you know," Griffin said, watching as the they walked closer to the bar counter.

"You're not!" Sam grinned, getting on the chair. He leaned over and kissed him, right then and there. He'd always wanted to kiss somebody.

A blush came to Griffin's freckled cheeks. "U-um, Sam?"

"I will see you again!" Sam cheered, getting down and running out, full of excitement and adrenaline. He slid to a stop when he was outside. "Come on, Pat! Let's go home!"

"Umm, okay!"

Sam dragged his brother all the way home. To the Skele residency. He threw open the front door, getting even more giddy when he saw his home. He sprinted around, to the kitchen, to the living room, up the stairs. Finally, he burst in to his bedroom.

His own bedroom. It was perfect, even if too neat for his liking. He could fix that, once he had the ability to live in it, really live in it.

Sam jumped on his bed, giggling as his excitement wore down. He was too hyper for his brother to get anything through to him, so he just smiled, standing outside his door.

"I'll talk to you when you get settled in," he said, closing the door.

For a while, Sam laid there. He had friends. He had a brother. He had a home. He had a universe that he could live in.

"I'm finally free." He grinned more, grabbing a framed photo, of all of them bundled together. All these people he knew the names of at a glance, like he'd known them his entire life. He had known them his entire life. "I'm finally free."