Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The end was nearly here for you. The grey exterior of the house made the winding steps that led up to it almost… inconsequential. Something so humble for a figure so grand as the King of the Monsters. You shambled to the front, eyeing the SAVE point with indifference. It didn’t matter… none of it mattered. There was only one thing that mattered.

Determination. The glittering star in front of the grey house shimmered in anticipation for what was to come, and you walked in to meet it with open arms. The house was familiar; dusty, old, quiet, but familiar. You walked through the dusty hall, opening up the bedroom door. There were familiar sights everywhere. Some dusty toys in a bin, some drawings and pictures, all prim and proper, as though nothing had changed from that day…

It all felt so… pointless. The only things that didn’t seem pointless were what were in the giftboxes on the ground. With practiced knowledge, you reached into them. The locket; you could feel it beating. Or was that simply your heartbeat in your hands as you clenched down? You didn’t know. But what you did know was that you finally had the real knife.

So close to the end… and this time, you couldn’t help but wonder why you were even doing this anymore. The Underground was empty. Your “friends” were dead. There was only one person who remained a constant through this journey, and now you were just tired of him. And as you walked your way through the empty, dusty hallway, you couldn’t help but smile softly as he popped up through the floorboards. The golden flowers all seemed to stare at both of you now.

“Howdy, Chara! You finally made it home. Remember when we used to play here? Hee hee hee… boy! Today’s gonna be just as fun.” You could’ve responded to him, told him otherwise, that you weren’t Chara… but why bother? Why bother when he saw you as his best friend? Isn’t that what you wanted?

No… you wanted to save him. That’s what this was about. You ignored the flower, walking over to grab the key off the nightstand and enter into the King’s bedroom. Everything was still as it was the last time… he even still had that sweater. You shuffled to and from, trying to remember the good times, why you were doing this.

Wasn’t it the ending you wanted? Everyone on the surface? Everyone happy? Everyone content? No… no, there was still one in the dark, all alone. Nobody would come there anymore. It’s why you RESET the first time. And the next… and the next one after that.

You remembered one where you stayed down here… with all of them. You had killed the flower once before, stuck underground with all your friends, just as much as they were with you. Toriel had returned to New Home, taking her title as Queen, and taking you under her care again. But it still felt empty, every time you looked back to the golden flowers in that throne room.

“I remember when I first woke up here —” Flowey said, “— in the garden. I was so scared. I couldn’t feel my arms or legs… my entire body had turned into a flower!” You watched as the little psycho went on, his expression having fallen as he relived the likely horrible memory. “‘Mom, Dad, somebody help me!’ I called out… but nobody came.” Flowey said it with sadistic glee now, as though the thought of nobody coming to help him was exactly what he’d wanted.

You knew better though. In spite of the carved expression of sadism, you could tell. It was still him deep down there. Just as much as you could tell who you were in the mirror.

‘It’s me, Chara…’ The thought was unbidden into your mind as you looked into the mirror. Was that always who Flowey saw? Who Asriel saw? It seemed like it. The times you had seen Asriel as he was, it was at the flowerbed… where Chara had been buried.

Where Flowey seemed to enjoy being around the most. As you shambled aimlessly into the living room, you couldn’t help but think that Flowey… may not have ever given up on seeing Chara again, even in you. It was all Asriel could hold onto as a soulless husk… the last feeling of being with his sibling, his best friend.

You smiled again as Flowey pushed up through the floorboards. He was now blocking your way to the kitchen. You’d gotten the story before through the videos… but it was different hearing the Flower tell it.

“Eventually, the king found me crying in the garden. I explained what had happened to me. Then he held me, Chara. He held me with tears in his eyes, saying ‘There, there. Everything is going to be alright.’ He was so… emotional. But… for some reason, I didn’t feel anything at all.” You stepped over the flower, tired of listening as you searched around for the key. It always changed its position ever so slightly around the kitchen. It was the one key that always seemed to sense a reset too.

You looked in the trashcan, full of crumpled–up recipes of butterscotch pie. There was a note on the counter, one you’d read already many times before. Finally, you opened the fridge, grabbing the key. Why it was in the fridge of all places was odd… but there was something else that compelled you to look further, as though expecting something, a treat maybe.

‘No chocolate.’ The thought was disappointing… there wasn’t any reward for this. You hadn’t gotten any knowledge on how to save him, just as much as you couldn’t find yourself a treat hiding in the fridge. Turning back, the flower was gone, allowing you to march back to the house’s stairwell. The books on the shelf held nothing useful… just dates of when Chara had fallen down… when you’d fallen down.

Descending into the hallway, you saw the flower pop itself from the stonework’s cracks to talk to you again.

‘Annoying pest…’

“I soon realized I didn’t feel ANYTHING about ANYONE,” he emphasized. “My compassion had disappeared! And believe me, it’s not like I wasn’t trying.” Oh, but you did believe. It was hard to feel compassion when you knew how everything played out. Nothing was novel or new when you could hear all the things they’d say as lines of dialogue instead of words that meant something.

“I wasted weeks with that stupid king, vainly hoping I would feel something! But it became too much for me. I ran away from home. Eventually, I reached the RUINS. Inside, I found HER, Chara. I thought of all people, she could make me feel whole again…” The flower’s expression faltered as you kept walking, practically ignoring him now.

“She failed. Ha, ha…” Flowey was pathetic. An annoying gnat that was in your way now to the real goal. You had to find a way to save Asriel… not this false thing that pretended to be him. But if Flowey could pretend to be Asriel, you could pretend, too, to be his best friend. Why shouldn’t you? After all, there was nothing to lose doing it.

“I realized those two were useless,” he kept talking, trying to get your attention as you stepped out onto the castle balcony. New Home was always beautiful to look at, even if it was a sea of grey and light, like looking at a city back up above. “I became despondent. I just wanted to love someone. I just wanted to care about someone. Chara, you might not believe this… but I decided… it wasn’t worth living anymore.”

You didn’t care…

“Not in a world without love. Not in a world without you. So… I decided to follow in your footsteps! I would erase myself from existence. And you know what? I succeeded. But as I left this mortal coil, I started to feel… apprehensive.” His face carved itself again, trying desperately to get your attention. You refused to acknowledge the flower. “If you don’t have a SOUL, what happens when you…? Something primal started to burn inside me. ‘No!’ I thought ‘I don’t want to die!’” You stopped, turning to look at him, as though expecting something else. Flowey merely recoiled slightly, as though insulted you couldn’t connect the dots yourself.

“Then I woke up… like it was all just a bad dream… I was back at the garden. Back at my ‘save point’.” You thought about it for a moment… the power to save and load. Determination. It was a power you both shared in spades. You only understood it in basic analogies. You once told Dr. Alphys about it. She likened it to a video game. Saving, loading, the turns monsters took to let you fight… it all reeked of a bad video game. You went into the next corridor down, finding the motions all tiring… exhausting. And listening to Flowey explain this to you, like you had no idea… is this how Flowey felt about everyone? Miserably apathetic?

“Interested, I decided to experiment. Again and again, I brought myself to the edge of death. At any point, I could’ve let this world continue on without me. But as long as I was determined to live… I could go back. Amazing, isn’t it Chara? I was amazed, too!” The way he kept calling you Chara… it left you feeling emptier and emptier… you weren’t Chara… Chara wasn’t a good person. You were… you were doing this for your friends, for him!

“At first, I used my powers for good,” Flowey went on… that stopped you. You almost swore you coould’ve heard him in the flower’s tone. “I became friends with everyone. I solved all their problems flawlessly. Their companionship was amusing… for a while… as time repeated, people proved themselves predictable. ‘What would this person say if I gave them this?’ ‘What would they do if I said this to them?’ Once you know the answer… that’s it. That’s all they are…” You now stood, looking over the city.

Flowey knew how it felt… he knew how the Underground felt. It was a loop in Hell. And once you knew every piece of it, there was nothing left. It was how you felt now. Sure, whenever you’d get out of the Underground, or whenever you completed the loop, things changed… but as long as you were here, keeping them trapped for him… there was nothing new; except for here at the end, when everyone was dust.

Did that mean… that Asriel wasn’t savable? That all that would be left was this miserable yellow–petalled nightmare? Your smile fell back to neutrality at the thought; it terrified you.

“It all started because I was curious. Curious what would happen if I killed them. ‘I don’t like this,’ I told myself. ‘I’m just doing this because I HAVE to know what happens.’” A purely evil rictus crossed the flower’s face as he laughed at the idea. “Ha, ha, ha… What an excuse!” His grin carved itself out, sadistic and gleeful as he kept going on to you, his best friend. His only friend… “You of all people must know how liberating it is to act this way. At least we’re better than those sickos that stand around and WATCH it happen, or read about it happening!”

Then you turned and started marching down the corridor, climbing higher and higher up the castle walls toward the End. You didn’t believe yourself. Flowey couldn’t be what was left of Asriel. He just couldn’t. Asriel was kind and gentle, the Flower was cruel and spiteful, malicious, malignant, evil. Asriel could be saved; he didn’t deserve this fate… but the Flower… Flowey did.

“Those pathetic people that want to see it, but are too weak to do it themselves. I bet someone like that’s watching right now, aren’t they?” You kept going, not even really listening. What was this idiot even talking about?! How could someone be watching you right now?! The only one who did was Alphys, but she was never doing it because of a sick curiosity… she was just lonely, and tasked with keeping an eye on humans that came past the Ruins.

“Nowadays… even that’s grown tiring. You understand, Chara.” The way that Flowey told you with such satisfaction in his tone made your sympathies falter. But you kept shuffling on. Even if you couldn’t believe that the Flower was dooming Asriel to his fate, the way he said it made it all sound so… hopeless… so tiring. And then he said what you were thinking before, how it made you feel.

“I’ve done everything this world has to offer. I’ve read every book. I’ve burned every book. I’ve won every game. I’ve lost every game. I’ve appeased everyone. I’ve killed everyone. Sets of numbers… lines of dialogue… I’ve seen them all.” Then he stopped you in your tracks, popping from the ground in front and blocking your path with vines.

“But you… you’re different. I never could predict you, Chara. When I saw you in the Ruins, I didn’t recognize you. I thought I could frighten you, then steal your soul,” Flowey grinned, only for it to fade as quickly as it came. “I failed… and when I tried to load my save file… it didn’t work.” And then his face tore itself open once again into eager sadism.

“Chara… your DETERMINATION… somehow, it’s even greater than mine! I just have one question for you Chara. How did you get back to the Ruins from here? Wait… I know! She must’ve taken you when she left, and decided to give you a proper burial, rather than hanging out in the basement forever!” The flower laughed, a callous and cold sound, as though he’d heard the funniest joke ever. The one–sided conversation was getting old, boring, like everything else. You didn’t have time for him, and started to walk off.

“But… why then? What made you wake up? Did you hear me calling you?” The shift in his voice made you stop cold. You could hear the hints of Asriel in him; your SOUL was threatening to break from the unfairness of it… he just wanted his friend back, and you were only pretending to be Chara… whoever they were. But your disgust returned as the sickly sweet tone returned to him.

“It doesn’t matter now. I’m so tired of this, Chara.”

‘You and me both.’

“I’m so tired of all of these people. I’m tired of all these places. I’m tired of being a flower. There’s just one thing left I want to do.” The flower then popped up in front of you, stopping you in your path again, as though he was pleading with you.

“Let’s finish what we started. Let’s free everyone. Then,” he grinned, “let’s let them see what humanity is really like! That, despite it all… this world is still ‘kill or be killed’!” You ignored him. You weren’t interested. Your blood was boiling from how much Flowey was wanting to talk to you. You didn’t care! You missed Asriel! Not this… facsimile of him!

“Then… well… I had been entertaining a few ways to use that power. Hee, hee, hee… but seeing you here changed my mind. Chara, I think if you’re around, just living on the surface world doesn’t seem so bad.” That stopped you once again. Why were you entertaining him?! Was it the way that he said that?! He kept sounding like Asriel, knowing it was getting under your skin… or maybe he didn’t recognize it was, and was unintentionally doing it. That filled you with hope, Determination to keep going. If he was still there, he could be saved.

“We don’t even need to leave to get them this time. The King has six of them locked away. I’ve tried hundreds of ways to get him to show me them… but he just won’t! Chara, I know he’ll do it for you!” You kept listening, as though waiting to hear more of his plan. Whenever it was Asriel’s voice, your disdain of the flower vanished. There was only warmth for the kid under it all.

“Why am I telling you this?” And then the sickly sweet tone came back. This time you had enough. You started walking back toward him, your expression unchanged, uncaring, but your blood boiling. “Chara, I said it before. Even after all this time… you’re still the only one that understands me. You won’t give me any worthless pity!” Flowey had hit the nail on the head, finally! You didn’t pity Flowey! You pitied Asriel! This was all for him! Not for this creature, this IDIOT!

“Creatures like us wouldn’t hesitate to KILL each other if we got in the other’s way.” You stopped in front of him now as he kept monologuing. “So that’s… so… that’s… why…” The flower suddenly went silent as you eyed him. Your gaze was cold and callous, just like he eyed you sometimes. Flowey meant nothing. This world meant nothing. He was right; this world was kill or be killed. But you had killed only so you could learn everything… even he was right in that as well.

“Ha… ha… w-what’s this… feeling? Why am I… shaking?” He then looked up to you, seemingly acknowledging that you were finally there. His best friend. Not Flowey’s, Asriel’s. “Hey… Chara… n–no hard feelings about back then, right?” You didn’t care what back then was. Was it the constant FIGHTing? Was it the time Asriel went out with Chara? You didn’t know. You reached for him, ready to strangle the weed right where he stood.

His reflexes were quick, and he darted under the ground before popping up behind you, down the direction you had been walking. You slowly followed, now smiling. Finally, you could put that weed down! That gave you some satisfaction.

“H–hey! What are you doing?! B–back off!!!” You reached again. He dodged and popped up further away this time, shouting at you as you walked. The combat menu was flickering into your vision now, the real knife clutched in your hand with grim Determination.

“I… I’ve changed my mind about all this! This isn’t a good idea anymore! Y–you should go back Chara! This place is fine the way it is!” Full of dust and broken dreams… yes… it was fine the way it was… but you could Reset this… you could go back when you found out how to save him! Even if you had to cut off one petal at a time from the weed to do it. The thought only made your smile grow.

“S–stop making that creepy face! This isn’t funny! You’ve got a sick sense of humor!” You swung the knife, choosing to FIGHT as soon as you were close enough. Flowey ducked only just in time. A petal was knicked by it. You could see the damage indication. You’d hit him. But the flower got away. Looking down into the golden light of the last corridor, you only had one thought as you approached the glittering star within.

‘Only 2 left.’ You felt that familiar surge of Determination coursing through you as you approached the twinkling light next to the box. The King and the Weed. Oh, you would savor Flowey. He deserved it… for all of it. For the pressure to RESET, the desire for a happier ending, for pushing you down this way… he pushed for a better ending! Was that not what you were doing?!

Then something caught your eye, stopping you dead in your tracks as you watched carefully. It was a familiar shape. Small — about as tall as you — pudgy looking, and the light shining on his skull made you realize who it was. You were wrong. There was three left. And the Comedian was now in front of you.

“heya… you’ve been busy, huh?” Your smile faltered. You had been busy. Quite busy. You almost spoke up to him, only for him to keep going. “so, i’ve got a question for ya. do you think even the worst person can change? that everyone can be a good person, if they just try?” You stepped forward. You didn’t have time for the Comedian’s antics. You had to get to the throne room, get the SOULS before the Weed did; it was what Flowey was likely trying to do now.

“heh… alright. here's a better question. do you wanna have a bad time? cause if you take another step forward, you are REALLY not gonna like what happens next.” You remained quiet, startled by how quiet the Comedian’s voice was. The soft tone, alongside the dim, empty eyesocket that wasn’t eclipsed by shadow, told that something was wrong. But you’d come too far to stop now. You took another step, and he immediately shrugged with a disappointed sigh.

“whelp… sorry old lady… this is why i never make promises…” The light faded from the room, your SOUL becoming visible to the monster. You could only note how quiet it was. But there was some sound; it only made what was coming next that much more surprising.

“it’s a beautiful day outside… birds are singing… flowers are blooming. on days like these, kids like you —” You only blinked, and the Comedian was right in front of you now, startling you as you felt the familiar pull of your SOUL from your body and seeing the boundaries of the battlebox around it. “Should be burning in Hell.”

And then it began. You’d never seen a monster directly attack on the first turn! It caught you by such surprise that, when you were smacked in the ground by his SOUL magic, the bones that came and hit you did so with a ferocity you were not prepared for. Even if you had been prepared to dodge, you were not expecting so much damage to your SOUL.

You could feel it waning, your body shaking behind you as your SOUL was sent through oncoming piles of bones. And then the blasters! You didn’t know what they were, you’d never seen anything like them; but even just one hit from them was enough to make you threaten to shatter. When the onslaught was over, you could feel yourself waning, slowly but surely… as though…

“huh,” he shrugged. “always wondered why people never use their strongest attack first.” And that was when the feeling set in. You felt like you were going to have a bad time. The Comedian had made good on his threat.

You didn’t even bother to Check him when your SOUL returned to your physical body. Instead you charged him to swing the knife in your hand. It was only after throwing the wild and haphazard swing that you realized that you were in over your head. The new indicator came up as he effortlessly dodged out of the way. MISS.

“what? you think i'm just gonna stand there and take it?” Your being was once again stripped from its physical body, and between you and the Comedian, bones began to slide toward you in great columns. The gap was infinitesimally small, and you had to jump in a crouch just to avoid them hitting your SOUL. When you returned, this time you took to your items. Reaching into your inventory, you went for the instant noodles. Good food was good for the SOUL, and monster food was even better for it.

A new pattern of bones came from your rear. A small one and a tall, blue one. They came in rapid succession, making dodging difficult. A few hits to your SOUL made you think that something was clearly wrong. The attacks felt like they were hitting significantly more than they should’ve. And there was a lingering feeling in your SOUL, like something crawling down your back. You swung again, and MISS showed up again as he winked to you.

“our reports showed a massive anomaly in the timespace continuum. timelines jumping left and right, stopping and starting…” You saw more columns coming from both directions now, and took the opportunity to take the lessons you learned to heart. He could dodge, but so could you. This time, you had managed to jump through the gaps unscathed, and swung again. MISS.

“until suddenly, everything ends… heheheh… that's your fault, isn’t it?” The way that the Comedian talked to you was relaxed, but the way that his eyesockets dimmed to pitch black voids told that you weren’t getting an easy treatment from him. Without warning, your SOUL was thrust back into battle, and forced to platform.

It was like a videogame. It always had been, with how easily your SOUL could jump and move compared to your physical body. The bit of bones beneath the platforms only served as an incentive for you to keep going. But the tripup that happened was more than enough to send you tumbling in. Hitting into the bones, you felt your SOUL wane in strength until the crack formed.

Everything went black, all the sound faded, and when your SOUL shattered, you felt grave disappointment. But your Determination… it was not to be undone by the failure.

“You really hated us all this much, didn’t you?” Toriel. You looked around for the source of her voice, eyeing the dark veil around you. There was that feeling again, crawling down your back… your sins. You knew you didn’t hate them. You knew you didn’t hate Toriel especially. This was all for her… for everyone. You went back again, brimming with Determination.

You could see the Comedian now at the end of the hall, the golden light shrouding much of him in shadow.

“heya… you look frustrated about something. guess i'm pretty good at my job, huh?” The hall faded again, leaving only the pair of them to face each other.

“it’s a beautiful day outside… birds are singing…” You weren’t expecting the Comedian to even consider starting off until after he was done. The flicker of darkness between your blinking was all it took for him to slam your SOUL into a pile of bones. The prickling feeling came back as you avoided the rest of his attack. One, two, three blasts.

“anyway, as i was saying, it’s a nice day out. why not relax and take a load off?” he winked. This time, you didn’t go for the immediate swipe of the knife. You chose to examine the Comedian. Sans; one attack, one defense. The easiest enemy. Your thoughts came unbidden as you dodged his attacks: more columns of bones to hop through. He could only do one damage? Then why was he doing so much before?

It didn’t matter. You swung. You missed. He had started to repeat himself from what he’d said before. After the third or fourth swing of your knife, he finally said something new.

“you can’t understand how this feels, knowing that one day, without any warning, it’s all going to be reset.” There was a twinge of hurt in the Comedian’s tone. You kept swinging, kept missing. He couldn’t dodge forever. It was only when your SOUL was placed back into the battlebox that you fumbled again.

More of the blasters appeared, each one trying to hit where you were. You kept your SOUL going, jumping between the platforms as each blast left the smell of burning ozone in its wake. When your SOUL was finally freed, you went in for another, and another, and another. Rapid–fire swings that only clipped the edge of the Comedian’s hoodie were shadowed by another MISS. Every time.

Then it went black again. Your SOUL was back in the battlebox, your body in midswing as it collapsed face–first into the ground.

“look… i gave up trying to go back a long time ago.” More platforms, more bones. It was all becoming a repetitive, droll exercise in your Determination’s capability. Every hit was taking more from you. That’s when you realized it. This was karma for your sins… karma… legitimate karma. Most monsters couldn’t immediately hit your SOUL after an attack hit it.

But this was like a game, right? What if Sans had attacks that were like poison?! But how could they poison human SOULs? Simple… do little, inkling amounts of damage, but focusing on something that affected you, like the sins weighing down on your neck. Your thoughts had distracted you enough that your SOUL had slipped off the platform and into the bed of bones below.

Your SOUL cracked and shattered under the weight of it all.

“Y–you gave m–me hope, and m–made me feel worthwhile,” a voice choked. “W–w–why would y–you take that from me?” The scientist… Alphys. You could feel yourself frowning. There was a feeling of nausea in your disembodied SOUL in the way the quiet echoed around you now. You didn’t mean to hurt them… you could still RESET, still go back and fix things… but you needed the end here. You needed a way to SAVE him!

You went back, returning to the Comedian with a plan in mind. If he could game the system, you could too.

“hmm. that expression… that's the expression of someone who's died twice in a row. suffice to say, you look really... unsatisfied. all right. how 'bout we make it a third?” The room darkened again.

“it’s a beautiful day outside.” The attack came even more suddenly than the second time he did it. But you were ready. Your SOUL was quick, your focus complete. You were DETERMINED!

“ready? here we go.” You went to your ACT bar, and saw it. The option that you were hoping for. Taunt. Your Determination paid off, and you chose it. You reminded Sans of his brother, how he believed in you. His smile remained, but you could feel something shift in him.

“wow kid. you really know how to twist the knife, huh? guess that makes you a cut above the rest.” You frowned at how flatly his joke fell. However, it was a ploy. Just as quickly as he’d winked at his own bad joke, you felt your SOUL slammed from side to side of the battlebox, quickly forced to jump before beds of bones erupted.

Your SOUL felt like it was already breaking by the time it was over; you were doomed to karmic death. And the next swing you took only confirmed that. Instead of letting you decide on your next turn, Sans opted to trip you instead. As soon as you hit the ground, a pillar of bone came up through your chest.

The magical weapon struck your SOUL and shattered it in an instant. And just as quickly, you were smacked into the void by an unseen, and frankly understandably pissed force.

“DAMN IT! You took away everyone’s hopes and dreams! Was our happiness not enough for you?! NGAHHH! I hope you get what you deserve, punk!” Undyne’s words cut deep into the core of your SOUL… but it wasn’t enough. It wouldn’t be enough. Everyone’s hopes and dreams would be restored. You returned.

“hmm. that expression... that's the expression of someone who's died thrice in a row... hey, what comes after ‘thrice,’ anyway? wanna help me find out?” You didn’t even bother with the CHECK. Just keep attacking. He can’t dodge forever. Dodge the bones, keep going, ignore what he was saying. You just had to keep pushing.

“look. i gave up trying to go back a long time ago.” Finally! You’d gotten back to this point! “and getting to the surface doesn't really appeal anymore, either, cause even if we do… we'll just end up right back here, without any memory of it, right? to be blunt, it makes it kind of hard to give it my all… or is that just a poor excuse for being lazy...? hell if i know.” You could see Sans’s movements growing a little wearier, a little slower. Just a little more, right? You could see him taking puffs of air through his teeth with how his chest rose and fell, and knew that victory was close at hand.

“all i know is… seeing what comes next… i can't afford not to care anymore. ugh... that being said... you, uh, really like swinging that thing around, huh?” You remained silent, watching Sans warily as he took a nice gulp of air and cleared his throat.

“listen. i know you didn't answer me before, but... somewhere in there. i can feel it. there's a glimmer of a good person inside of you. the memory of someone who once wanted to do the right thing. someone who, in another time, might have even been… a friend? c'mon, buddy. do you remember me? please, if you're listening… let's forget all this, ok? just lay down your weapon, and… well, my job will be a lot easier.” Sans was sparing you… Sans was sparing you. It just occurred to you how… oddly terrifying that was.

All of the times you had RESET, all of the times that you had wanted to spare other monsters, and you hadn’t… and this time, Sans was still offering out a hand in friendship. You considered his offer, CHECKing him again… and again… and again… mulling it over.

Was this the turning point that you needed? The clue that you were hoping for? Sans looked ready to fall over as you mulled the decision. It was at least worth a shot. No other monster had offered you mercy in their battles unless you acted toward them… that said, you didn’t give them a chance. At least here, perhaps you could explain yourself, and tell Sans why you were doing this. Maybe he could help. You chose to SPARE Sans.

“…you're sparing me? finally. buddy. pal. i know how hard it must be... to make that choice. to go back on everything you've worked up to. i want you to know… i won't let it go to waste… c'mere, pal.” Before you had a chance to even register what had happened, the battlebox flickered around you and you found yourself encased an entire cage of bones. You screamed, but no one came. Sans’s smiling skull was all you could see before your SOUL shattered.

“geeettttttt dunked on!” It took you all of five minutes to realize what had just happened. Sans had tricked you. Betrayed you. Got you when you were off your guard. This knowledge seemed to strike a chord within you. Determination flowed through you, and you reached to CONTINUE.

“if we’re really friends, you won’t come back.” The Comedian’s warning stopped you, only for a second. You were friends. But this was more important. You came back. There he was; you walked over, all ready to start as you eyed him venomously.

“woah, you look REALLY pissed off. heheheh… did i getcha? well, if you came back anyway… i guess that means we never really WERE friends, huh? heh. don't tell that to the other sans-es, ok?” This time, you didn’t wait for him to get you. You started the battle swinging wildly, letting the Comedian know just how little you enjoyed his joke. MISS… MISS… MISS, MISS, MISS! It was all misses.

“jeez kid. right to the point, heheheh,” he mused. The pun wasn’t lost on you, but the next one caught you off guard. “guess you had a bone to pick with me, huh? tibia honest, you’re, uh, pretty determined to rib me for that one, huh?” You tried to reach out in that moment. The Comedian needed to stop talking and start fighting again. However, just as you reached out, the blink that you took only left you face to face with one of those magic blasters.

You gasped as you were sent back to the Void in an instant. The laughter that mocked you, however, wasn’t the Comedian’s. It was someone else.

“OH MYYYYYYY! IS THAT ALL IT REALLY TAKES?!” Mettaton… “I THOUGHT YOU WERE A STAR, DARLING, NOT SOME B–MOVIE MONSTER! SURELY YOU HAVE BETTER GOALS THAN THIS!” No… you didn’t. You didn’t have any goal more worthy. Saving Asriel was all that mattered, and you wouldn’t let the Comedian, the Robot, the Skeletons, the Captain or the King stand in your way.

You returned.

“hmm. that expression… that's the expression of someone who's died five times in a row. convenient, huh? that's one for each finger. but soon, you'll need a cool mutant hand to count all of your deaths.” Each death made you more aware, more capable of dodging the Comedian’s attacks. No more games, no more puzzles, no more attempts to see what happened if you did something different. This was for Asriel, for all of the Underground. You needed to kill him, and then kill the King and the Flower. It was becoming easy to dodge, easy to shift

“all i know is… seeing what comes next… i can't afford not to care anymore. it's really great, right? let's quit fighting.” He was SPARING you again. You wouldn’t let him beat you or trick you again. You denied him and swung. MISS.

“welp, it was worth a shot. guess you like doing things the hard way, huh?” You blinked, and all of a sudden your SOUL was back in the battlebox, being approached by an entire cage of bones. As the cage began to close, with your SOUL jumping as high as you could make it, you blinked again and another attack was coming fast.

This was unfair, completely upending what you were working toward. You jumped through the bones. The next time you blinked, you saw a long line of them coming for your SOUL, and jumped. Next you blinked, your SOUL was back in your body. That felt like a turning point. This was where the REAL battle began. You swiped again, this time only going for one. You had to conserve yourself.

“sounds strange, but before all this i was secretly hoping we could be friends. i always thought the anomaly was doing this cause they were unhappy. and when they got what they wanted, they would stop all this.” Something shifted uncomfortably in you. The Comedian read you like an open book; he was always good at that, but this time made it feel desperately uncomfortable. You tried to say something, only for you to be brought back out from your body.

The attacks continued, blinking back and forth from ones you’d seen before to new patterns. Each time you were hit, the tingling feeling intensified in your SOUL. When you returned to your body, however, there was something else. When you returned, you could see, in your periphery, bones. Many, many bones that hit across your combat menu. Every time your SOUL was hit, it damaged it.

‘You dirty cheat!’ you thought. You swung. MISS…

“and maybe all they needed was... i dunno. some good food, some bad laughs, some nice friends. heh… but that's ridiculous, right? yeah, you're the type of person who won't EVER be happy.” You were beginning to tune him out. Attack, dodge, get hit, eat something to regain HP. It was becoming a repetitive pattern, and his voice a dull blur.

“you'll keep consuming timelines over and over, until, well… hey. take it from me, kid. someday… you gotta learn when to QUIT. and that day's TODAY.” You wouldn’t quit. You refused to! This was all for someone so special that no one could comprehend the importance! If the Comedian could read you so well, why couldn’t he see that this was all for HIM?! This FIGHTING, the dust, everything! It was all leading up to exactly what you were hoping for, what kept your Determination going!

“cause… y'see,” he panted. Sans was starting to look really tired. Just a few more swings. “all this fighting is really tiring me out. and if you keep pushing me… then i'll be forced to use my special attack. yeah, my special attack. sound familiar?” You swung, MISS. “well, get ready. cause after the next move, i'm going to use it. so, if you don't wanna see it, now would be a good time to die.” Your SOUL was careened again and again into the walls of the battlebox, beds of bones sprouting from the spots you hit. But even as your SOUL was waning, you refused to back down. You swung again. MISS…

“well, here goes nothing… are you ready? survive THIS, and i'll show you my special attack!” Your SOUL was subjected to blow after blow, careened into the sides of the battlebox and forced to deal with the bed of bones that sprouted from it. But you didn’t give up. The ascending latter of magic that tried to hit you only did inkling amounts of damage. And then your SOUL was sent careening, far from your body, all the way back down the hall through waves of his bullet patterns. If this wasn’t a special attack with all that he was throwing at you, you couldn’t even begin to fathom what he had in store.

And then you blinked. Your SOUL was back in your body! You could move! And then you saw beds of bones coming from the ground towards you, from all sides. You moved to avoid them, getting smacked by a few. They didn’t do much physical damage, but when they hit you, you could feel your SOUL wane more and more. And then he threw the blasters at you. In a ring around you, they fired.

Run was the only thought that went through your mind, compelling you to flee around the beams. You could feel them singing your SOUL, and it was only when you managed to escape the circle of blasters that you saw your opportunity. You charged toward Sans, screaming out in abject fury.

And then you were flung. Not just your SOUL, you! You were slammed across the corridor again and again and again, bruising and battering you. Sans’s eye furiously burned blue and yellow as he took you around the room. You could only hear a ringing in your ears as you tried to get your bearings. You’d only seen two, maybe three monsters directly attack your body with your SOUL still in it. The Flower, the King, and the Captain… if you weren’t in so much pain, you’d have given the Comedian plenty more respect.

“huff… puff… all right. that's it. it's time for my special attack. are you ready? here goes nothing.” You didn’t move from the ground, waiting for whatever attack was going to come. You weren’t in any condition to FIGHT. But nothing happened. There was only silence, eventually broken by the Comedian.

“yep. that's right. it's literally nothing. and it's not gonna be anything, either.” Your eyes widened at that. Nothing? That was the special attack that the Comedian was hyping? You groaned as you stood back up, looking to him with utter bewilderment as he laughed; it was all one great, big joke, and you were the punchline.

“heh heh heh... ya get it? i know i can't beat you. one of your turns… you're just gonna kill me. so, uh. i've decided… it's not gonna BE your turn. ever.” You could feel your blood boiling now as he mocked you, tricked you, PRANKED you! Your knuckles were white from how tightly you gripped the knife.

“i'm just gonna keep having MY turn until you give up. even if it means we have to stand here until the end of time. capiche?” You didn’t accept this. You refused. The battlebox was around you, yes, but your SOUL was still in your body.

“No… no… no, no, NO!!!” you screamed. You ran at Sans, knife raised as you attempted to stab him. Then you were back where you started. You didn’t even register it. You only felt your position shift. You ran again. The same thing happened. Again, again, again! It was then that you realized… he was using his magic, what little he probably had left, to keep you right there! Forever forced to fight him. You tried to run away. The same thing happened as you were brought back right in front of him. You threw the knife. It ended up right in front of the skeleton, doing nothing. Nothing that you tried was working. You’d failed… you were stuck.

“you'll get bored here. if you haven't gotten bored already, i mean,” Sans smiled. “and then, you'll finally quit.” No, you wouldn’t. Boredom wasn’t at all what you’d felt… you refused to acknowledge that. He couldn’t read you that easily. You’d prove him wrong.

“i know your type. you're, uh, very determined, aren't you? you'll never give up, even if there's, uh… absolutely NO benefit to persevering whatsoever. if i can make that clear. no matter what, you'll just keep going. not out of any desire for good or evil… but just because you think you can. and because you ‘can’… you ‘have to.’ but now, you've reached the end.” You shook your head, a smile on your face as you tried to explain it to him.

“You really are an IDIOT.” Your tone was snide and venomous. “This isn’t about me… it’s about you… them… all of them.” You told Sans as much as you wanted to… but you gave him nothing of value, just to let him stew on it. The Comedian’s grin was unfaltering, but his eyes had darted away, looking around for a few moments before settling back on you. His tone was exhausted.

“there is nothing left for you now,” he sighed. “so, uh, in my personal opinion… the most ‘determined’ thing you can do here? is to, uh, completely give up. and… and… do literally anything else.” The Comedian yawned obnoxiously. Your grip tightened as you waited. There was some way to beat him. This couldn’t be it, it shouldn’t be! There was more after killing him! He’d said it himself; You’ll get bored here. So you waited, watching patiently and taking a seat. His brows started to droop; Sans was falling asleep, standing up. Papyrus was right… Sans really was a lazybones. You could see it in his movements. They were steadying, his legs weakly swaying side to side for a few moments as he shut his eyes. When you heard him start snoring, you knew this was your chance. Quietly, slowly, you approached him.

“YOU CAN DO A LITTLE BETTER! EVEN IF YOU DON'T THINK SO! I… I PROMISE…” You could feel the effects of Sans’s attacks still. It was the last thing that Papyrus said to you before you turned his head to dust. But Sans was right. There is nothing left for you now… There was nothing to do better. You quietly picked up the knife. Sans looked so vulnerable in front of you. This needed to be quick, for his brother’s sake. You struck.

MISS… your heart dropped as you saw him immediately wake up… you should’ve known better.

“heh, didja really think you would be able to —” Sans didn’t even finish his statement as you saw a slash of red appear. You weren’t the one who swung, though… Sans’s expression was as shocked as yours was, his form shuddering as the knife — which had been in your hand, dropped to the floor in front of him. 9999999 damage.

The skeleton slumped to the ground in front of you. He looked to you confused, then to his slashed chest. Monsters didn’t bleed, and yet here was Sans, bleeding… it dribbled from his mouth and from his stomach. You felt a chill down your spine at that.

“so… guess that’s it, huh? just… don’t say i didn’t warn you…” You watched carefully as the skeleton got back up. You almost expected him to just blast you away with a gaster blaster, but you could see he was barely holding it together. Even as color faded back to the corridor, his form was becoming monochrome. You could even see the silicate dust beginning to form. But the red remained vibrant as ever.

“welp… i'm going to grillby’s.” He then began to slowly shuffle his way past you. You didn’t even bother to look in his direction as he walked past. His pace was slow though, and his hand that touched you left a dusty stain on your shirt.

“papyrus, do you want anything?” And then you heard it. His form dissipating. You didn’t even need to look to the dust pile to confirm. You felt your LV increase, and you went to pick up the knife off the floor, stained red by Sans. LV, too, was an acronym. Level of Violence; it measured someone’s capacity to hurt. The higher your LV, the easier it was to hurt someone… but you didn’t feel like it was any easier, especially as you walked out of that corridor.

“Don’t you have anything better to do?” That stopped you in your tracks just as you were approaching the throne room. You knew that voice, innocent and young, life cut too short by his best friend’s selfishness. Your heart stopped in your chest, and you turned around, halfway expecting to see him.

But he wasn’t there. He never would be. That’s when Sans’s words hit you… there’s nothing left for you now… God, you’d squandered every opportunity to stop… why were you so Determined to finish this?! It… it wasn’t you… the realization made your skin crawl as you realized that Sans was right. You weren’t doing this for Him anymore. You were doing it because you could.

You felt something different this time. Instead of a rush of DETERMINATION, you felt a something almost smother it… you didn’t know what it was, but you didn’t like the feeling. It made you sick to your stomach. Something told you to keep going, but you didn’t want to. Your Determination had brought you far enough. There was nothing left for you now… and if you went any further… well… you thought more on Sans’s warning.

You returned to the Void, with newfound Determination for something else; Asriel was right… you had better things to do. You’d leave this world behind; you’d find another way! There had to be another way! Somehow, Asriel could be SAVED and brought to the surface with everyone! You just had to find it somewhere else. You hit RESET, even as that new feeling filled you, and felt that familiar rush of air.

Chapter Text

Dark, darker, yet darker. The darkness kept growing; shadows cutting deeper. The dream was always the same whenever you had RESET: a replaying, recurring vision of how you had fallen down. Evergrowing darkness, shadows cutting into everything, even you, and then you woke up fallen on the bed of flowers. Every time, every way just the same. No matter what changed, no matter what you did different, it was always the same way you came to the Underground.

The light that shown from above was similarly familiar. It woke you from your stupor, provided for you a glimpse at the surface world above. It wasn’t like you were unfamiliar with the surface. But it often seemed like such a distant memory, a fuzzy dream that called to you and to the monsters you called “friends”.

Friends. That was the operative word to describe them. Your delving into the madness that Flowey had shown just what he’d meant. Everything was… no longer as interesting. You weren’t doing this anymore for them alone. You knew them inside and out. Everything they’d say, everything they’d do. There were no surprises left from them; Asriel though, he was the one constant change in the Underground. That filled you with Determination alone to get up… to do this adventure again, to see if there was a way that you missed that didn’t need you to kill or be killed.

You grunted and stood, dusting off the seeds from the golden flowers before walking into the darkness. The ruined archway remained the same as it was, the deltarune emblazoned on it, and walking in, you could see another patch of sunlight, and a familiar weed watching you come in. His gaze was hollow, empty, but that damned smile told you that he wasn’t terrified of you anymore like he should’ve been.

“Really Chara?” His tone was incredulous; he didn’t believe you’d RESET. “Well… do what you will. I’ll be waiting.” His rictus grin mocked you as you reached for him, a laugh telling you that you were nothing but a failure. At this point, you’d be hard pressed to disagree.

“Oh… hello.” Her voice stopped you from digging into the ground with your bare hands to grasp the weed, and your gaze fell on the goat–like monster; you hadn’t even noticed her enter. Her dark red, almost maroon eyes, looked at you with a sense of kindness that never failed to make you feel at ease. Even your first time down here, you could feel that warm presence as the robed boss monster had first saved you from the flower.

“You must be so lost and confused. Ah. Do not worry. I am TORIEL, caretaker of the Ruins.” You didn’t say anything; you were just happy to see her again. Unlike Flowey, you still had a SOUL. You didn’t need to feign joy or love. Like always, you found Toriel to be, like all your friends, someone you loved to be around; in her case, however, as in Asgore’s, you had a deeper connection than friendship. A mother and a father. Whenever you’d thought of those names, you thought only of them.

“Come. I will guide you through the Ruins.” Pushing yourself off your knees, you followed her into the catacombs of the Ruins. It was always such a grandiose place, the grand stairway and arched doorway making it seem more impressive than the crumbling, decrepit place it was. The shadow of the Ruins loomed above, and filled you with Determination. You could feel that familiar zeal as you touched the flickering star in front of them before you, before you followed her into the arching doorway.

“Welcome to your new home, innocent one.” The statement hit you hard as you remembered what you had done. Calling you innocent was a stretch. A massive one. Even if you hadn’t been driven to kill so many, you wouldn’t have thought the term was fitting. If anything, it made you cringe at the notion that you could’ve ever had innocence after coming down here.

“Allow me to educate you in the operation of the Ruins.” At that insistence, you decided to move. You couldn’t let her do the same thing as she had many times before, and showed your knowledge off as you solved the puzzle of the next room. The door slid open, with Toriel looking toward you incredulously.

“Ah… how did you know how to solve the puzzle, small one?” You didn’t even answer, just giving a shrug.

“Such an interesting child… do you like puzzles?” Finally, a new dialogue option. You’d managed to somehow find something new, something different that reminded you that Toriel, like everyone in the Underground, was still a person. You told her that you were partial to a good puzzle. Toriel’s expression lit up in intrigue, those maroon eyes burrowing into you as she considered your answer.

“The Ruins are full of puzzles; one must solve them to move from room to room. I hope they will not be too easy for you.” To be fair, it was hard to say if they were easy or not anymore. You’d just known which paths to take. Even as you entered the next room. The puzzle itself was overly simple: a flick of a lever; Toriel had marked the one to pull, and you didn’t even bother stalling to listen as you moved to the next room.

“As a human living in the Underground, monsters may attack you. You will need to be prepared for this situation. However, worry not. The process is simple. When you encounter a monster, you will enter a FIGHT. When you are in a FIGHT, strike a friendly conversation; play with the monster if you can. Stall for time, and I will come to resolve the conflict. Practice it on this dummy.”

When the combat menu came up, you immediately went to the act bar. Dummy looked like it was about to fall over. It was easy to please Toriel with this… but before you considered your actions, you noticed something. Your LV… it wasn’t reset. It flickered, glitched as you looked at it, between 1 and 20.

You were curious all the same… in all of your RESETS, this had never happened. How? Why? Should you strike the dummy? Was this a test? But you decided no. You waited patiently, looking at the dummy with an expression between curiosity and… truthfully, fear. You were afraid. What would happen if you struck the dummy? Your SOUL told you exactly what needed to be done. Instead of ACTing or FIGHTing, you ran away from the fight.

When the menu faded away, Toriel hummed in thought.

“You ran away… truthfully, that was not a poor choice. It is better to avoid conflict wherever possible.” Then her expression became one of amusement. “That, however, is a dummy. It cannot harm you. It is made of cotton. It has no desire for revenge.” Revenge. The word filled you with… something. You couldn’t determine what, but it was something that made your skin feel like it was crawling. She must have noticed the expression on your face, since Toriel shook her head.

“Nevermind. Stay close to me and I will keep you safe.” You nodded and followed the boss monster into the next room, looking carefully at the path. You’d memorized the way she took many times already. The note on the wall was as meaningless to read as every note in the Underground now. You’d see it all before.

“This is the puzzle,” Toriel explained, gesturing to the bridge of spikes in front of her. “but… here, take my hand for —” You knew the way yourself. You didn’t need her to guide you; Toriel looked on astonished as you took her hand in a firm grasp, walking onto the bridge and following the path of the room before. You showed your knowledge, hoping to show that you were capable. No. You were Determined to show her that you were capable.

When you both exited the bridge, Toriel looked to you with an expression that was somewhere between relief and utter fear.

“I… I think that puzzles are too dangerous for now, my child.” You frowned lightly at her parental, protectionary mindset.

‘So fighting monsters with your very SOUL isn’t dangerous?’ you quietly pondered.

“You have done excellently thus far, my child. However… I have a difficult request to ask of you.” You knew what was coming as she took a deep breath, closing her eyes. It was all the same… nothing new. “I would like you to walk to the end of the room by yourself. Forgive me for this.” And like many times before, she sprinted far enough that you couldn’t see where she hid in the dim light of the Ruins. You didn’t even run after her, instead leisurely strolling as you realized the malaise that stayed with you.

This place… the flower was right. Once you had done everything, it all became tedious, a bore… everything was the same, predictable, terribly suffocating in how easy it was to know everything. Though you were quickly proven wrong as you walked to the pillar where Toriel usually hid behind. Instead, you were faced with empty space.

“What?” The question came with confusion, utter bafflement. That hadn’t ever happened before. Even if you changed some things yourself, in general nothing ever really changed.

“Ah, do not worry my child.” Your gaze snapped up to the monster peering around the corner. She then walked back in, holding what looked like a piece of candy. “I did not intend to leave you alone here. This was an exercise to test your independence. Thank you for trusting me.” She then placed monster food into your hand: a reward.

“Take this. It will calm your nerves, will it not?” You looked to Toriel with utter confusion before back to the candy. You knew where it was from. The bowl in the next room was always there. There was always just a little bit of candy to take. It was just after the SAVE point.

“My child… is something the matter?” You looked back to Toriel for a few moments, utterly unaware of how best to respond. But you didn’t need to. “You… look as though you have seen a ghost.” This was something entirely new. Of course she would see that in your gaze.

“Perhaps… it would be foolish for me to leave you alone again. Would you like to come home? I can cook for you something to eat.” You almost wanted to pull away as she extended a hand out, clearly nervous at what was happening. Things had changed… somewhat. You could see it in your LV, in the way Toriel interacted with you. It filled you with… something other than Determination.

“If you would like, however, I can show you some more of the Ruins. You saw the dialogue box show up in front of you. Two options. ‘I would like to go home,’ and ‘I would like to see the rest of the Ruins.’ Had the Underground recognized your boredom? Had you gotten something new, now that you had done everything? Had the flower seen something like this? You chose the new option.

“I’d… rather go home,” you answered. Your tone was a little meeker than you had meant it, and Toriel nodded.

“I understand, my child. Please take my hand.” You didn’t object as you grasped her hand.

This part of the Ruins was entirely new to you to explore. You knew that this part existed, somewhat, but getting to explore it, or rather see it as Toriel walked you back to her home, was another matter altogether. There were more monsters, to be sure. More froggits, whimsums and vegetoids that congregated with other monsters. Elementals like Grillby, ghosts like Nabstablook, blobs of slime, plenty of spiders and even a few other skeletons that you could see; you wondered if the skeletons were related to Sans and Papyrus at all. It was their own little city, away from the rest of monsterkind. This was Old Home… you’d only ever seen it from above, the spot next to Toriel’s house overlooking the city below. You had seen a few more of the twinkling stars that indicated SAVE points, but what struck you was the scale. The ruins traveled deep into the dark, perhaps as deep as Hotland or even more.

The ruins that you had traversed were the upper levels: tunnels and winding pathways that were only where the most intrepid monsters dared to explore. They were meant to trap humans, you realized; if monsters wished to, they could easily hide from a human down in these lower levels. This had to have been where Alphys had evacuated the monsters to, with Toriel’s spell over the door protecting them from your return.

For Toriel’s part, she was eager to point out the sights, happy to have someone to talk to even if you didn’t answer back. You were not so eager. The way the monsters looked at you from the corners of their eyes… it indicated fear. It wasn’t immediate fear of being attacked, but there was a sense of déjà vu from them, clearly. You’d never even met with some of these monsters. The few times that your SOUL had been beckoned by a monster were dissuaded by the motherly boss monster, however.

If anything, she was protecting them from you, rather than the other way around. That much was clear with how your LV had continued to flicker between 1 and 20. Even just a slight breeze would’ve been enough to completely destroy a monster’s physical body if it had enough killing intent. But what was strange, however, was that you lacked execution points. No EXP to speak of, and yet your LV was basically at the highest you’d ever had it.

However, what was striking was just how dark it was down here. It wasn’t like the Underground didn’t lack light. Plenty of spots in Waterfall were like looking at the night sky. But here? It was very clearly a cave, different than the rest of the Underground’s corridors and halls. Even Waterfall had a certain civility to it. Everything here in Old Home looked… dark. Candles and torches lit the streets, rather than the electric lights of New Home. There wasn’t a pervasive pocket of holes that showed the barest hints of sunlight like in Snowdin. There was no beautiful, otherworldly glow. And the place itself was crumbling: a desiccated and terrible

Down here? It was like the stories always said. Creatures skulking in the dark, occasionally only lit by the ambient light of ancient methods. It was… sad. It was the first time you’d seen the monsters’ situation beyond what was beyond the Ruins. Was this how they were before the Core? It only made you feel more Determined to see your goal through. You would save everyone… you had to.

“My child. Is something wrong?” Toriel’s voice cut through to you as you stood outside her home. The feeling of needing to SAVE all of the monsters from this fate, it filled you with Determination. The twinkling star flickered for a few moments in your periphery as you answered.

“It’s so dark down there…”

“Ah… yes,” she sighed. “It is quite dark down here. But worry not, my child! Magic makes living in this place more manageable.” You nodded in understanding. But it didn’t feel manageable. You could see why more monsters lived in the other parts of the Underground over… this.

As you walked in, however, you remembered that monsters could find ways to make even the most dismal situations seem… hopeful. Toriel’s home was always such a cheery, warm place that contrasted so heavily now with what was outside and down in the rest of the Ruins. Magical light flickered in the domes, ever so slightly dim as you entered the familiar home.

“I thought we might celebrate your arrival, my child. I want you to have a nice time living here. So I will hold off on snail pie for tonight. Which do you prefer? Cinnamon or butterscotch? Wait… do not tell me. Is it both?” You only nodded once, the boss monster giving a pleased chuckle.

“Hee, hee, hee. I had a feeling. When humans fall down here… strangely, I… I already feel that I know them. Truthfully, when I first saw you… I had felt that I had seen a ghost, myself. But then it felt like I was seeing an old friend. Strange, is it not?” You had heard her admit as such before. You had a feeling you knew why though. The other humans. All humans possessed Determination in some way. You possessed more… the flower possessed more than them… but it was not out of the realm of possibility for the other humans to have been able to SAVE and LOAD. But now? Now it took a new meaning that she had mentioned you like a ghost. The thought made your skin crawl.

“Please. Follow me, my child. I have a surprise for you.” The dialogue was slightly different, but clearly you knew what was coming as she gestured to the first door down the hallway. Following without question, she opened the door and snapped her fingers, the lights coming on immediately with magical power.

“Surprise! This is it! A room of your own! I hope you like it!” she excitedly gestured. The room was exactly the same as it ever was. Toys that never interested you, a comfy bed to sleep in, an empty photo frame on the dresser, and the box of kids shoes in disparity of sizes…

“Please, make yourself at home, my child,” Toriel said, rubbing your head with a tender and affectionate touch. It, however, make you tense as you remembered her last words to you before.

‘Y... you... really hate me that much?’ Those words would haunt you now. You didn’t hate her; you never had. The trepidation you felt at her touch, however, made your guilt all the clearer. You could change the past for everyone but yourself. Truly a curse. When you walked into the room, Toriel left, shutting the door gently as she likely went to the kitchen to start preparing food.

You went to the bed, feeling the firmness of the mattress as you reconsidered everything that had happened the past few days. The thoughts finally were allowed to settle after the RESET. You took a seat, giving a hefty sigh as you thought it all over. Your Determination… it’d brought you low… to the lowest point you could have ever considered.

Murder. Callous and cruel murder. You were just a child! Why had you?! No… no… you knew exactly why. It was all for him; everything was for him! The damned flower… or rather, who was deep down inside the vessel.

You couldn’t deal with it… killing had been wrong. Yet you went with it anyways. You went with it because you knew you could redo it all. You could use that power that you were granted. Your Determination to save him… it was everyone else’s downfall. Your Determination… your choices… your fault.

“I’m such an idiot,” you choked. You finally broke down, after so much suffering. Weeping quietly, you let your memories punish you as much as the mattress welcomed you. You didn’t deserve to SAVE him. You didn’t deserve any of the nicety that Toriel gave you…

The smell of freshly–baked pie. That was what awoke you. You sat up in the dark room, looking around for a few moments before you reached for the light. When you turned it on, you could see the delicious looking quiche sat on the floor.

It was more than you deserved, in spite of the protest from your stomach. Getting up from the comfortable mattress, you took the slice of pie and exited the bedroom. There was no light except for in the living room, where the crackling fireplace told that Toriel was likely still there. You walked in quietly, looking to see the motherly goat sitting in her chair, reading glasses placed atop her snout as she read out of a book.

“Up already, I see?” You nodded. She remained quiet for a few moments, the fire crackling as you looked at the pie you held in your hands. “I want you to know how glad I am to have someone here. There are so many old books I want to share. I want to show you my favorite bug–hunting spot. I have also prepared a curriculum for your education. This may come as a surprise to you… but I have always wanted to be a teacher.” She then faltered, something clearly setting in. “Actually… that probably is not very surprising to you. I feel that I have… uh… told you this before…” Your brow raising up went unnoticed though as she went on.

“STILL! I am glad to have you living here.” Your expression became despondent at the thought. You had done this a million times before. You wanted to stay… you desperately did. But then you remembered… they all needed saving. It was never just about Asriel. You had told yourself before that saving him was what mattered most for the end to truly be happy. But… it kept all of them in the dark, in the cold of these ruins, looking at artificial, crystalline stars in Waterfall. It was about everyone… Asriel was right; saving him would break everyone’s hearts all over again. But what wouldn’t would be giving them the sun.

“My child? What is it?” Toriel asked. Her expression was of nervous concern for you. It was only then that you’d noticed your brow furrowed in thought. The familiar dialogue box came up. You couldn’t say that it was nothing, though.

“When can I go home?” Your tone was quiet, almost broken as you watched the concern become a nearly heartbroken expression. But you couldn’t let that deter you. You had to stay Determined.

“What? This… this IS your home now.” She looked nervously around as you kept a stoic expression. This wasn’t how it was meant to be. “Um… would you like to hear a joke?” You had no time for this…

“How can I exit the Ruins?” Toriel nervously shifted back and forth between her book and you. You hadn’t even touched your pie.

“How about another slice of pie? You must be hungry, are you not?” Before she could get up from her chair, however, you pressed again.

“How can I exit the Ruins?” That was when she snapped to attention. It was like the flick of a switch in her head as she took a calm, cool smile and stood. Her tone threatened to shatter your SOUL.

“I have something to do… stay, my child.” She then quickly left the living room, heading toward the center stairwell. You didn’t let her be, however; following her was the only course. It was the only way to leave the Ruins that you knew of. However, something caught your eye in the window. Stopping, you saw the shape of a familiar flower duck from the windowsill. He would not deter your DETERMINATION.

Down the stairs you went, following the boss monster with obvious trepidation for what was to come.

“You wish to know how to return ‘home,’ do you not?” Toriel asked. Her tone was cold and bitter, but her smile still remained, as though she was hiding behind a wall. “Ahead of us lies the end of the Ruins: a one–way exit to the rest of the Underground. I am going to destroy it. No one will ever be able to leave again. Now be a good child and go back upstairs.” She then walked forward again, further down the corridor as you followed. You had heard it all before, again and again. But this time, it hurt that much more. There had to be another way in and out. For all of those monsters living in the darker Ruins below Toriel’s house… there had to be another way out…

“Every human that falls down here meets the same fate. I have seen it again and again. They come. They leave. They die.” Toriel’s tone, when you’d caught back up with her, was more sullen now, less neutral and cold. But her bitterness returned after only a mere moment, and she turned to look at you with an expression of pure, unadulterated callousness in her glare.

“You naïve child… if you leave the Ruins, they… ASGORE… will kill you.” She seemed to struggle to say it. But it didn’t stop you. “I am only protecting you, do you understand? Go to your room.” Your heart hurt for her… but she would be happier up there, where the sun was. All monsters would be happier up there, where the stars were real. You followed once again, reminding yourself what this was all for.

“Do not try to stop me. This is your final warning,” she said flatly, walking toward the illuminated door at the end of the hall. The door now seemed more and more intimidating. The boss monster’s shape was cast upon the walls by the torches in front of you both. And approaching her did little to assuage you. This needed to be done.

“You want to leave so badly? Hmph. You are just like the others. There is only one solution to this.”

“Prove myself,” you said. You watched Toriel turn around almost immediately at your tone. Her expression was questioning, wild with almost furious intent as you finished her statement. “Prove to you that I am strong enough to survive.” Saying you wished to prove yourself to Toriel instead of letting her challenge you… it filled you with DETERMINATION. You felt that familiar tingling as your power did something entirely new, however. There was a new SAVE point. The twinkling star right in front of you and her flickering to life as you imprinted yourself upon it.

“Wait… why are you looking at me like that? Do you know something I do not?” You cringed at her insinuation before the motherly boss monster shook her head. “No… that is impossible.” Your SOUL was pulled forward, then, to the combat menu with a familiar flickering to black and white. Toriel blocked the way!

You didn’t even bother to check, instead moving to the mercy option and immediately to spare. Toriel said nothing as white fire erupted to life in her hands and your SOUL was pulled into the battlebox. Two great paws, not too dissimilar to hers, formed in the box before swiping across and sending fire your way. You didn’t even dodge, letting the fire hit you. 1 damage… to 99 HP.

Again, you went for MERCY, not daring to let Toriel keep you. She looked through you as she sent a great helix of fire your way. You didn’t avoid the damage. More and more, your health steadily whittled away. If there was one thing you were glad didn’t RESET, it was your LV here. Every time, Toriel looked aloof, cold, and calculated. You couldn’t blame her. Even as your SOUL was burned. 50 HP left now… again and again, you both kept going. And then her expression began to falter.

“What are you doing?” Another wave of fire hit you. You could feel her attacks getting stronger now. 50 turned to 40 HP.

“Attack or run away!” Another… 40 to 30… you began to walk towards her now.

“What are you proving this way?”

“That I’m strong enough,” you bluntly replied. It was what she had wanted. To test your might, your ability to resist. Each attack hit you; you knew that the end was near as your health dropped. 30 to 20.

“Fight me, or leave!” Toriel pleaded. You stood still in front of her, so close to reaching out to hug the monster. Another attack, another 10 HP gone. You refused.

“Let’s stop this,” you pleaded back to her. This time, her next attack faltered, the flames moving aside and away from you as though you were sick. When your SOUL returned to your body, you walked forward again. This time you were looking up at her.

“Stop it!” she pleaded. Again, the flames missed you.

“Toriel…”

“Stop looking at me like that!”

“You don’t need to block me.” This time, she reached to push you back and away when you reached out to hug. There was no attack. She just… stopped.

“Go away!” You didn’t listen as you walked up toward her again. Each selection of MERCY just made it easier for you to do this. Her aloof expression fell as you waited patiently in front of her.

“I know you want to go home, but…” — SPARE — “But please… go upstairs now.” — SPARE — “I promise I will take good care of you here.” — SPARE — “I know we do not have much, but…” — SPARE! You could see a sad smile cross her muzzle, her fangs not even visible as she tried her best to shut out your insistent MERCY.

“We can have a good life here.” — SPARE… she was tearing up — “Why are you making this so difficult?” — SPARE… she was trembling — “Please go upstairs.” — SPARE… she was quiet for a long time after that, just letting the silence suffocate you both. — “Ha ha… pathetic, is it not? I cannot save even a single child…” Something in you broke at that. You could feel your SOUL cracking under the pressure there… but you refused. You had to stay Determined… for all of monsterkind. You SPARED her one more time.

“No, I understand,” she finally relented. You would just be unhappy trapped down here. The Ruins are very small once you get used to them. Especially these upper levels. It would not be right for you to grow up in a place like this. My expectations… my loneliness… my fear. For you, my child… I will put them aside.” You could finally, properly SPARE her, and you did just that, your SOUL being allowed to return to your body of your own volition. Color returned as you looked on. Yet… you couldn’t help but feel immense guilt at this.

“If you truly wish to leave the Ruins… I will not stop you,” she sighed. “However, when you leave… please do not come back. I hope you understand.” Instead of waiting for her to hug you, however, you rushed forward to hug the boss monster yourself. You heard her gasp, the tightness in your chest growing deeper as she returned the gesture. The warm, motherly love that exuded from her SOUL was precious… you would not forget it.

“Goodbye, my child,” she finally said, letting go after 10 or so seconds. Toriel then left you behind, only looking back once as you looked toward the doorway before returning back to her home above. Looking at the door in front of you, and the destiny that awaited, it filled you with… with… The familiar tingle of your SAVE attempting to imprint left as quickly as it came before you put your hand against the door. This feeling, this horrid feeling. All the guilt, all the steeliness, all the Determination in the world could not have prepared you for this again.

‘I’ve done everything this world has to offer,’ Flowey’s words echoed in your mind. ‘I’ve read every book. I’ve burned every book. I’ve won every game. I’ve lost every game. I’ve appeased everyone. I’ve killed everyone.’ Sets of numbers… lines of dialogue… you both had seen them all… sure, there were a few new things you’d noticed now… but what was the point?

“I can’t… do it,” you whispered to yourself. You couldn’t put them through that pain again… you couldn’t put yourself through the pain of losing Asriel again, when he was so close, and yet, so far… You now found a new feeling. Not one of Determination to press forward… but that strange, horrid feeling you’d felt back in your bedroom. The feeling was strong enough to tingle in the same way as Determination… and yet, you couldn’t feel yourself imprint on the SAVE.

Looking at this door that led to the Underground, and remembering all the things you had done… it filled you with Apprehension.

Chapter Text

The walk back up to the living room, to Toriel’s house… it made you just as nervous as you had been by the point that you had chosen to not walk through that door. But it did give you time to think more. All these resets, all this time spent down here… very few times had you chosen to stay; maybe only once that you could remember.

This time was no different for the reasons. You just… couldn’t. But unlike before, this time felt wrong. You had no friends here, no family. Even Toriel had felt more distant now. Was it just the fact that you had come back here so many times? Was Flowey right? Nothing would change, nothing would be new?

No. It wasn’t because of him. It was because of what you had done. All the wasted attempts to save Asriel, and for what?! A ghostly reminder in your mind that you were just as much trapped down here as everyone else? An entire world left barren and in ruin that you had left behind, only for the consequences to follow you here? Your Determination… it had both saved and ruined these lives countless times… but you felt the latter was more tangible than the prior.

Stepping into the living room, you could hear the crackling fire nearby, and the sounds of someone murmuring to themselves. Toriel.

“I tried… I have desperately tried…” her tone was tired as she very clearly was talking to herself. “And yet, another child slips away from my grasp… They will be gone, soon… ASGORE will take them, and use the others.” You couldn’t help but pity her situation. Always the same: the mother of lost children, the grieving mother that didn’t even get to bury her children… on the Surface, you always saw how she sometimes had her odd little moments, where her levity was replaced by a quiet melancholy.

Underground? It was far easier to see it. The time that you had stayed with all your friends down her, you saw it more clearly. She grieved. Not openly, but she grieved nonetheless, and her heart ached for her children… all of them. It was that one time that had made you realize that it was Asriel that needed to be saved, for everything to be whole.

That was before, though. Maybe you staying behind would change that. You cleared your throat, gaining the elderly monster’s attention. She startled, eyes tired and red from the tears she had likely rubbed away.

“My child! Did… did you forget something for your journey?” she asked. Your expression faltered slightly, dropping as you tried to find the words to explain. You couldn’t even begin to comprehend how best to go over your thoughts. Even as she stood from her seat and approached you.

“Innocent one, surely you are not here to wish me another goodbye, are you not?” You shook your head curtly at that. “N-no? Then… what are you here for?” That term. Innocent One. Toriel didn’t know how wrong she was. She couldn’t see your LV like you could. She couldn’t ever understand. That was when you said something, almost unbidden.

“I’m so tired…” You were shocked. You hadn’t meant to say anything, and yet you did. “Toriel… have you ever wondered if someone can change their fate if they just try hard enough?” The question didn’t only perturb Toriel, given her expression. It perturbed you… You couldn’t help but think constantly on Sans’s words now. Could you become a good person, if you just tried?

“My child, I am afraid I do not —” She didn’t get the chance to finish as you interrupted.

“No… I… I couldn’t leave…”

“Why ever not?”

“It’s… I…”

“What is the matter?” You only realized then that you were shaking. It was all falling apart. You could feel yourself slipping, until…

“I can’t go!” Your tone forced the motherly boss monster back in shock. “I don’t deserve to! I can’t go forward. I can’t CONTINUE.”

“My child, I do not think I understand.” Her tone was soft, warming, but you didn’t feel warm. You only felt bitter inside. At yourself, at Flowey, at everything. Why was it all on you?

“I couldn’t leave. Not after everything I’ve done. I’m n–not able to.”

“What on Earth has gotten into you, small one?” she pleaded, tone calm yet obviously flustered by the emotional outpour from you. “Please, tell me what you mean.” You began cry, ugly streaks streaming down your cheeks as you launched yourself to hug the Dreemurr matron.

“No! No, you don’t… y–you can’t! I’ve done terrible, awful things to Sans, to Papyrus, to Undyne, t–to you!” you admitted through choking cries. “I–I can’t… I can’t CONTINUE knowing what I did!”

“My child, please calm down!”

“Please… please don’t make me go, Mom,” you begged. “I can’t do it again…” Your decorum had gone. There was nothing but hurt, everywhere. In your chest, your head, your SOUL. You wanted to go home… you wanted Mom! You kept on crying out, hoping that the universe would hear!

But somebody came…

“Did you just call me… mom?” Your cries stopped as you realized what you’d said. You looked up, almost afraid now of what the response would be. It was only then that the realization of what you had been saying hit you. You couldn’t even begin to imagine what it would’ve been like to hear some child you never met saying all that. To say that you’d done terrible, horrible things to people they didn’t know by name, to you. And then to call you Mom. Toriel must’ve been utterly terrified.

“I… I…” The bulk the of the boss monster’s form enveloped you, leaning down to meet you and take you into yet another hug. This one, however, did not let go.

“I do not know what you have done… but… I believe that you need help, do you not?” You didn’t hesitate, nodding and burying your face into Toriel’s robes as she attempted to comfort you.

“Shh… shhh… it is alright. I am here. Would it make you happy… to call me… mother?” Her question fell on deaf ears as you only tightened your grip. You had nothing left to lose, no hope or Determination. You only had this empty pit within you, and the one person who came to help now. It wasn’t alright. You didn’t even know how old you really were anymore.

“Well then, call me whatever you like, my child.” You were HOME now. Home was where the heart was, after all, and yours yearned to stay here. You didn’t care for the rest of the Underground. You didn’t care if some other human came down here. There was only Toriel’s warm embrace, the crackle of the fire, and a feeling of belonging.

“I’m sorry… I’m so sorry,” you weakly apologized. Toriel merely shushed you, humming as she kept you close. It was only after those long moments where you said nothing, did nothing, merely enjoyed in the presence of having something stable to hold onto that you realized how hungry you were.

You felt almost spoiled now. This was the third time you had awoken that night after your outburst, and Toriel had left you yet another slice of the butterscotch cinnamon pie. It was the same dream. Dark, darker, yet darker. You kept drifting, deeper into this void of slumber, only to be awoken by Asgore’s voice.

“CHARA, please… wake up! You are the future of humans and monsters…” And then you would awake. You found, however, that this one was different. You’d awoken with a start, having heard before Asgore’s voice whispers that told you to go back and finish the job in the same sweet, ‘friendly’ tone that Flowey had. When you did, you were beaded with sweat, looking immediately to your hands and clothes. Clean, pristine, dustless. There was nothing to be afraid of. You weren’t RESETING… not to do that to them. Why would you? Smelling a familiar sweet stench, you realized that Toriel had done it again: a slice of butterscotch cinnamon pie, sat next to the bed. Toriel would have nothing left by the time that you awoke, and your inventory would be full of the delicious treats if she kept this up.

No… she wasn’t simply Toriel. She was Mom again… Well, again would’ve been a misnomer. She had always taken the motherly role in your life after leaving the Underground. Every given opportunity to go and find your own family, you had chosen to stay with her. It wasn’t because they were bad; at least, not that you could recall. It was simply that… you’d forgotten them. They were mere blurs in your memory, blips that were taken by the Underground and those that lived there.

But that didn’t stop it from feeling… odd, weird at times. And this run — if it could even be called that? It felt that much more surreal. It was just another reminder of what you did. Sitting up, you took the pie off the floor, deciding that now would be a better time to eat the slice. Maybe some food would quell the dreams that you were having.

“Clever. Verrrryyy clever.” The first bite of the dessert hadn’t even gone down your throat yet before you heard that familiar, sickly sweet tone from the pernicious flower. You turned your gaze across the room, seeing a pair of white dots that hid in the dark. Turning on the light, the weed was sat in the middle of the floor, having burst from the carpet. Flowey’s face was devoid of its usual sarcasm, instead full of what looked to be genuine amusement.

“I didn’t think that big kids cried either, Chara.” You didn’t even bother responding, letting the flower go on as though he was talking to a wall, all the while enjoying Mom’s dessert. “What was with the waterworks? Trying something new to make that old hag regret it all later when you KILL her?” The evil grin that slipped out behind his façade only made your skin crawl. You couldn’t believe that you had almost become like him. Soulless, bored, amused only by what you could do, rather than taking everything simply.

“You played by your own rules. Like I told you at New Home. I could never get a read on you, Chara.” Your fist clenched around the fork you wielded. “But it’s all been done before. You think that you’re the first person to stay with her? You’ll get bored, and when you do… I’ll be waiting.” At that point, the feeling from the basement returned. You felt it before. You couldn’t pinpoint what it was. But the dialogue boxes called it Apprehension. It was… odd, to say the least. You felt somewhere near Determined, yet not quite. It was as though you were on the cusp of it, and then, suddenly, it all dropped away.

“What’s that look for, huh?” Flowey asked. His expression had become… confused? It was then that you realized that your expression of neutrality had faltered, brows furrowed and glare apparent.

“Nothing,” you responded. Flowey didn’t even consider that answer.

“Nothing… hmm… that’s funny. ‘Cause that’s the expression of someone who looks angry,” he chided. “I thought we had an understanding. No hard feelings, right? That’s why you RESET, right?” You didn’t answer him.

“It was a great idea. But I think I like this better. You’re going to play pretend with her, then she won’t see it coming later, will she?”

“No.” Flowey’s expression shifted from gleeful sadism to utter confusion now.

“No? What do you mean NO?”

“I mean, no. I’m not killing anyone. Not again.” The revelation seemed to amuse the flower, as he had himself a particularly good laugh about it.

“You think you can play by your own rules? In this world, it’s —” This time, you didn’t even let him finish. The plate went careening across the room and nearly hit him, his expression returning to shock and fear.

“C–Chara?” he asked.

“You’re pathetic…” you snarled. “I’m not playing your game anymore, you psycho,” Flowey didn’t even respond now as you approached him. “You do nothing, you MEAN nothing Flowey. You keep on talking about being the prince of this world’s future. What stopped you from doing the right thing, in spite of not being able to love?” That seemed to get Flowey to now grin maliciously as he eyed you.

“You tell me, Chara.” You rolled your eyes rather loudly at that, clearly not amused. “You should know better than anyone that being SOUL-less makes you do crazy things.”

“No,” you responded again. “You’re just a sicko. I was doing this for someone else. I’m not SOUL-less like you.”

“Oh, I know you were doing it for HIM.” Your gaze shifted away as his face turned to Asriel’s, his voice a mockery of the dead prince. “But he’s DEAD… I’m all that’s left. Your only way to SAVE him? You tossed that aside as soon as you RESET!” His sadistic chuckle was only matched by how he continued to mock your failures.

“Poor little humans… always so adamant, so DETERMINED to stand their ground. You know I’m right. You’ll get bored eventually. Then we can finish what we started, Chara.” You rolled your eyes and settled back into bed, trying to ignore his singsong tone as he tried to get under your skin again, and again, and again.

“I’m not a murderer,” you quietly said to yourself. That only got a guffaw from the flower.

“Your denial says otherwise.” You felt your blood boiling. “You KILLED them ALL! All of them besides that stupid King. And then you RESET. Clearly there was more you wanted to do before you killed everyone!”

“You don’t scare me, Asriel,” you hissed. That seemed to shut up the flower as you turned back, looking to him with dead eyes, tired eyes. “You don’t scare me anymore. After so many RESETS, I can’t remember the Surface as anything but a dream… YOU took my life away, I’m taking YOURS.” Flowey’s expression seemed unreadable now. You smiled at making him hurt, or feel insulted, or whatever it was that he was feeling inside.

“I tried to SAVE you so many times… and you REFUSED, every time. I can only pity you and your lack of SOUL. I’ll have the one thing you’ll NEVER have.” Your tone was harsh, brutal, but it clearly hit at a core to the flower’s being, seeing how his cheery smile dimmed to nothing. “Maybe you’ll grow a spark of a SOUL realizing your only friend isn’t playing your game anymore…” And then he went back below the ground. Not another word, not another biting remark.

“Good riddance,” you huffed. Part of you thought bitterly about him, about how Asriel was so close, and yet so far to reach. But was he wrong? Asriel had been dead… dead and turned to dust. Flowey was all that was left. And the dark whispers in your mind told you that you were just as bad as he was. You went on a genocidal rampage, not because you needed to SAVE him… but to SAVE him at cost to everyone else. You knew that he was talking about your genocide, and how the only way to SAVE him was to kill him.

And you just confirmed to him that you’d tried to SAVE him before… in other ways… ways he COULDN’T remember. You were an IDIOT… But he was right in one thing. In this world, it was kill or be killed… but only with him. You’d broken his rules before, and you could do it again by just not CONTINUING to play his game. Shutting off the light and keeping your eyes open for him in case he felt bitter about your insult, sleep would not be something for you to take tonight, it seemed. Patiently, you waited for Tor— no, Mom to come and wake you up. What more could that weed do? If he killed you, you could just reload, right?

The minutes ticked by. Darkness kept making it hard to keep your eyes open, as they adjusted enough to where you could keep your eye on the spot where the disgusting plant that had been Asriel had poked up from. He didn’t bother to come back, but you could feel his icy stare somewhere, cold and angry; in spite of what you had said, Flowey did frighten you.

You vowed by that point that it was no longer his playground, no longer his rules to play by. You’d do everything in your power to try and avoid that. But having beaten the flower at his own game so many times, and seeing what he was capable of and what he’d do to you if he got his petals on you? It filled you with Apprehension.

The moment that you heard the sounds of your monstrous mother trying to quietly make her way to the kitchen was the moment you could finally breathe normally again. You had been trying all night to contain your breaths, keeping them quiet and silent, hiding your face away from the rest of the room so that, if he came back up, he would think you were asleep and ambush you.

But he never came back. You could feel him staring at you from somewhere, but never be able to tell where he was staring at you from. Or that could’ve just been paranoia. Being a lone human in the Underground was not a fun proposition. Though, at the back of your mind, you could thank whatever god created this world that this RESET hadn’t put your LV down to 1 again.

Getting up from bed, you left the room, heading over to the kitchen to, at the very least, wish Toriel a good morning. Was it even morning? The Underground was always dark… how could you know besides looking for holes in the cave roof?

“Ah! My goodness! You gave me quite a fright, small one,” Toriel exclaimed, turning around from the breakfast she had been making. It was, yet, another pie. Another butterscotch and cinnamon one. “I hope that you are alright with more butterscotch-cinnamon pie. I did… not expect to have company for long after…” Her gaze looked distantly, almost past you at this point as she had difficulty in reminding herself that you had almost left her behind.

“But worry not! Today, I will go shopping for more foods that you will enjoy. I hope that leaving you for too long will not bother you?” A quick shake of your head was all the answer she required. “Very good! As soon as we have finished breakfast, I will leave to go shopping.” The quiet in waiting for breakfast to finish… it filled you with Apprehension. That same tingling returned, and you watched as a new SAVE point formed in front of the table in the living room.

But something was wrong. You couldn’t interact with it. No matter how hard you tried, no matter what you did. You kept on trying to touch the star, yet it seemed to almost… pixelate through you.

“My child. What are you reaching for?” Toriel’s warm tone startled you, causing a jump into one of the chairs. “My goodness! Be careful!”

“I’m fine,” you quietly mumbled. The boss monster’s concern was replaced with mirth as she walked over and set the quiche on the table.

“But you are not, yes?” Toriel hummed. She’d cut to the meat of the issue almost immediately, spurred by her next confirmation. “When you came back up those stairs, I had thought I was at first seeing what I had hoped for… but what you said in those moments. You said that you have done terrible, awful things to people… would it make you feel right to talk about them?”

“No…” It was a simple answer, without tone to indicate how much it did hurt you. You couldn’t tell her the extent of what you’d done. How could you? How could one tell another that they had killed them, then went back in time to… undo it? The idea was fanciful at best, even in a world like this. Or… perhaps it wasn’t. Asgore seemed to know. Sans definitely knew. And Flowey? The weed was the only creature in the entire Underground that understood on some level how it all worked besides you.

“I see… was it truly so bad as to keep you from talking to me about such things?” You nodded. “Surely, my child, it would be better to share the burden with others, rather than take it all upon yourself, would it not?” The monster handed to you a fork and knife, setting a slice of breakfast in front of you on the plate.

“It’s not that simple T— M–Mom.” She smiled warmly at the way you stumbled across calling her mom.

“No… I suppose it is not,” she lamented. “Life is never truly simple, my child. Often, there are circumstances outside of your control… and YOU must navigate them with constant DETERMINATION.” The emphasis on those words only seemed to make you shrink. You couldn’t face it.

“But what if… what if I’m not Determined enough?”

“That is what family and friends are for, innocent one.” You cringed as you took a bite of the pie, reminded that you were nowhere near what she envisioned as innocent. “They are here to guide and assist you through your journey; even the ones that you do not expect.” Your gaze shifted away, looking out the window now to the dead tree outside.

“But I’m not Determined. I know how this all ends normally… I lost that will to stay Determined because of the things I did,” you protested. Toriel quietly took a bite of her own pie, contemplating what you were saying.

“And that is why I offered to talk with you about it, my child. When talking stops, tragedy is made worse.” You almost scoffed at this. You knew it was hypocritical of her to say this. It was pathetic, downright ironic, for her to say that talking was healing when she only did that a handful of times in the times you saved everyone…

Everyone but Asriel…

“Was… was it something I said?” Toriel asked. You almost looked up to her, only to realize the reason the question was asked. Your brow had furrowed deep enough to form an archway above your eyes.

“N–no. No, it wasn’t.” You both stayed silent after that, just eating your slices of pie. The quiet ate away at you, steadily eroding whatever you had left to consider for her.

“Mom?”

“Hmm?”

“I’m… sorry. I’m sorry I scared you… I’m sorry for hurting you…”

“You need not apologize for something that you did not do,” Toriel smiled. She knew just the right way to make you feel even worse about the situation, somehow… and yet, it did bring you a degree of comfort. It brought enough that you could feel that familiar tingling again, and familiar ping of the star imprinting your SAVE.

“Please excuse me, my child. I have errands to run today. You may explore the upper levels of the Ruins at your leisure, seeing as you like puzzles. Though I do hope you will be careful.” She then stood from her seat, walking over to hug you close. A paw stroked the back of your head with maternal care.

“Be good, my child.” You didn’t say anything, but you did hug back slightly tighter, hoping that she wouldn’t let go. But, the day called. And the day was to be long, you felt.

Boredom clawed at your mind as you explored the Ruins. Toriel had always been right in that they seemed quite small. At least, the upper levels did. Your curiosity brimmed with regard to Home, or the Dark Ruins as one Vegetoid had called them. A Whimsum had elaborated that, when the other Monsters left for other places within the Underground, Home lost its luster for many, and the King just… simply forgot about them.

Such a tragedy wasn’t outside the realm of possibility. But Asgore’s forgetfulness had left Home crumbling. Buildings in the Ruins weren’t simply replaced, or maintained. The monsters kept building. Up, and up, and up, and more and more buildings kept getting pushed down and down that much more. The only places that were remotely maintained regularly in the Ruins were the uppermost levels: the Light Ruins, including the former palace, the puzzles and Toriel’s home. Truly this was something new. Or, at least it was for you. It was exciting, truly marvelous to think about! How many more portions of the Underground had been unexplored by you? By Flowey even?

Flowey… god he still terrified you. The very thought of his maliciousness made your skin crawl even now. You went back to the conversation you had with him that night, reconsidering what you had said. You’d said too much… and now, Flowey had no reason to keep sparing you like this. Out of the corner of your eye, you would think that a flower had shifted in place to look at you, or that you saw a distinct, petalled shape duck behind a corner.

The entire exchange. Of knowing that he was stalking you… it filled you with a dread and that tingling, Determination–like feeling that dared make it feel like your SOUL was going to tear itself apart. This new feeling… you didn’t like it even more. The SAVES that you created… you couldn’t interact with. The SAVES that you knew were there, you couldn’t interact with either. There was a degree of concern over it.

‘Does he know?’ those traitorous thoughts asked. It was entirely possible Flowey already knew. The weed was stalking you around the Light Ruins, for god’s sake. But your thoughts were interrupted when you accidentally stepped upon someone resting… no… stepped through. Napstablook…

“………… oh… i'm sorry. I didn’t realize… I can come back later, if I’m blocking your way,” he shyly attempted to say, already steadily beginning to phase through the floor.

“No, no. You’re fine Na— uh… Mister Ghost.”

“nnnnnnggghhh. it's okay. i understand. i usually come to the Ruins because there’s nobody around…” Your SOUL flashed a few times in front of you as you were dragged into a fight. Immediately, you went to the ACT button and attempted to console him. He was clearly wishing he wasn’t there.

“Hey, look. I'm the one who should be sorry. I wasn’t watching where I was going.”

“you’re just saying that.” Then the tears started. Ectoplasmic, magical attacks that fell toward your SOUL with all due haste as the ghost monster clearly didn’t get the message. You went back and attempted to cheer him up, offering a patient smile.

“heh…” The tears came back, though in significantly less quantity as he floated from his spot on the leafy pile. “what’s that smile for?”

You gave the question some thought as you selected your ACT. You were going to keep cheering him up. This time with a pun.

“Was just thinking of something. What’s green and has wheels?”

“um…………… a green bike?” He didn’t seem to have any sense of humor when it came to most things.

“Grass, I lied about the wheels.” The antijoke didn’t really strike true, though…

“oh… um… i see. i'm sorry you needed to lie to me.”

“Wait, wait, wait!” you pleaded as text appeared in front of your SOUL: REALLY NOT FEELIN UP TO IT RIGHT NOW. SORRY. “No… that was my bad. Guess I was just cycling the joke in my head. Wasn’t really that funny, was it?”

“heh, heh… that one was,” he confirmed. “here. let me try.” The ectoplasmic tears started flowing upward, wrapping around the ghost monster’s head and forming an obvious hat.

“i call it ‘dapper blook’. do you like it?” You gave a simple thumbs up, giving him that same smile as you responded.

“I think it makes you look swell.”

“oh gee…” The FIGHT ended, earning you some Gold in the process. You never understood that. How did defeating them suddenly make you wealthier like that? Even when you didn’t rummage the dusty remains for any of the rare metal.

“Again… I’m sorry for stepping through you. Didn’t see you there.”

“no. i was in the way. i should be sorry. you're someone really nice and…” The ghost stopped for a few moments, eyeing you with watery eyes before he looked away again. “ah, i'm rambling again. i'll get out of your way.” And with that, the incorporeal monster faded away, taking the faint smell of ectoplasm with him before you could even offer to let him stay and you just walk over him.

The more things changed, the more things stayed the same, it seemed. And Napstablook, let alone the other encounters, weren’t really different. Well… beyond the magical damage being practically miniscule by comparison. The benefits of high LV, one could suppose.

Though… that did bring about a more uncomfortable question. How did the Underground remember your LV here? How did it specifically forget to RESET your LV to 1 afterward? It should’ve done the same to your EXP, but it didn’t. Your EXP was same as every other RESET. Back to 0. What power compelled your LV to remain at such a high degree?

The implications were… terrible to think of. Was this a punishment? A reminder that, no matter what you did, you could never truly go back and fix everything? You didn’t know. But you did know that you could do more than just be violent. LV meant you had an easier time hurting people… but it also meant that your kindness would hopefully not go unrewarded.

You took a slice of Toriel’s pie from your inventory and set it upon the leaves. The crinkle they gave and the smell of pie from home filled you with Determination, leaving a new SAVE point next to where the ghost had been before you moved on.

You didn’t give this place much thought… but it was interesting just how quiet the Ruins were compared to the rest of the Underground. Even the streams of water were remarkably quiet. It was… peaceful. It was no wonder that Chara liked it down here with the other monsters, with how serene it could be.

Chapter Text

With how much things had changed, you found that the Ruins changed little at all. But now you had a newfound respect for them. Monsterkind was smart enough to create a labyrinth that would trap vicious humans within, while the rest of them hid away below. You stared, now, at the wall behind the candy bowl, trying to wrack your mind on how Mom had solved the puzzle.

She’d pressed on the old bricks in a very specific order, but the solution still remained beyond you. Pressing experimentally on one of the bricks, you couldn’t help but admire the creativity of monsters when it came to deterring threats to their existence. You could’ve easily imagined yourself getting bored at some point.

But no. Determination kept you going during that time… in those dark corners of your mind, you could only think to just keep going, your ultimate goal forever out of reach.

No! No… you couldn’t think of that. You had to think on the places Toriel pressed. After a few minutes of thinking and trying, you found that you couldn’t get there by the same way that she went. And you didn’t feel like heading all the way back Home to go down the stairwell. You wanted to figure it out. It was as much as you could do, now that you had decided to stay here.

But there was one other place you thought might have the answer. You made your way out from behind the candy bowl room and back down the long hallway, keeping your eyes peeled for any would–be attacks from other monsters. Over the course of your time in this run, you’d found that encounters with others monsters on less friendly terms were… surprisingly few. There was an occasional loox accompanied by migosp. You’d dealt with them before in friendly ways. They were already easy, and your practice against Sans had made it impossible for them to hit your SOUL.

You didn’t think that monsters were naturally able to hurt you out of malicious intent. Not unless they were trained to, such as the Royal Guard. It was against the very nature of their own SOULS; even migosps, whose attitude shifted by however many people were around them. You’d remembered reading in the Librarby that Monster bodies weren’t made from physical stuff like you were. They weren’t flesh and blood. They were pure magic given the illusion of physical form, and their attunement to their SOULS… it made it harder for them to actually do much harm in a physical sense.

You hadn’t given it too much thought, but a question now raged in your mind. Could a monster’s SOUL be driven by something like hatred? Like disdain? Flowey didn’t have a SOUL, he couldn’t necessarily count. He just had Determination. But what about Monsters who had lost everything in the War? Gerson, for his age, seemed chipper and cheery, in spite of their dismal situation. Asgore, in spite of likely having high LV, was a broken shell of a monster.

That question continued its circular pattern in your head as you walked across the spike bridge and toward the room with the levers. How was a monster able to hurt people so easily? Perhaps you could’ve asked Asriel on previous runs. Even with the SOULS of everyone in the Underground, Asriel still felt the capacity to hurt others without hurting his very essence. It was only Flowey that remained after that, though.

When you got to the room with the levers, your thoughts on the matter ceased. You had to focus on what you came there to do. Looking over toward the floor in front of the unmarked lever, you could see what looked like new stones put into place, as though someone had replaced them. They were a slightly off color to that of the dark purple stonework in place.

Your thoughts then shifted to the lever. How could you pull it without falling through the floor? You tapped your chin as you looked around. There was a snail crawling across the floor, a mouse, a conveniently wide chair nearby. At the moment your eyes fell on the chair, you facepalmed. Of course. Why wouldn’t some monster leave something like this behind?

It took all your effort to keep from laughing as you grasped the chair’s legs and started to drag it.

“Excuse me!” a voice called out. You stopped for a few moments, eyeing the stool with an almost incomprehensibly confused expression. Talking rocks was one thing. Talking chairs was another.

“I was sitting here!” the voice continued. You offered a hasty apology as your SOUL became visible to the monstrous furniture. Pawnstool wiggled its legs threateningly. This was an entirely new monster, utterly alien to you in bullet patterns or stats. Checking was the obvious choice.

Pawnstool, HP 24, AT 1, DEF 40

a sturdy monster with lots of history.

“You’re bothering my me time!” the monster called out. You felt the familiar ripping sensation of your SOUL being dragged to the battlebox. Before you had time to process what was happening, a targeting reticle began to beep around you. Your SOUL moved, and before you saw what happened, chair legs burst from the top and bottom.

The attacks reminded you of Sans’s bone pillars. This made them easy to dodge, especially considering they weren’t nearly as fast. Your turn soon came back, and you took the time to examine your Act options. You could’ve apologized again, you could’ve made a joke, or you could’ve asked about the chair–like monster. You already had a feeling to ask about it, but you may as well have seen what it thought about your sense of humor.

You told a joke — “Why can’t a bicycle stand up? Because it’s two tired.” — it didn’t seem to land.

“Back in my day, jokes were actually funny!”

A new attack pattern, this time your SOUL forced to move through several orange chair legs that came in from outside the battlebox. The hit didn’t take anything but a single HP from you, but you could feel it after your SOUL returned, like stubbing your toe. Perhaps it was just the joke itself. ‘Move away from ones about bicycles,’ you thought to yourself. You told another joke.

“I went to seafood disco last week. I pulled a muscle,” That one stunk even worse. Pawnstool’s AT has increased.

“You call that a joke? It was so funny, I forgot to laugh! Here, let me help!” Your SOUL was pulled, but now in a new color. Instead of red, it was orange. The battlebox gave way to a stage, and magical “Ha”s fell from above. Every time you moved, the platform tilted in that direction, sending you faster. You thought you were about to fall off the edge as the first Ha made contact, balancing out the platform back to neutral.

This was new. All new! It excited you. You’d never met this monster, and yet they had given something entirely different: a new SOUL state. You chose to let the Ha hit you to see how much damage you took. You went from 98 to 52 in a single hit. It was beyond the pale. When your SOUL returned, you almost felt like you had a case of the giggles. You were tempted to tell another joke, but instead, you chose something else.

“Hey, look… sorry. Just… didn’t realize that you were a monster.” Pawnstool seemed to look remissive for a few moments before giving a disgruntled noise in response.

“Bah, humbug. You’re only sorry ‘cause y’don’t have as much experience as I do.” This time, you weren’t greeted to an attack, but to a stool in the battlebox, simply standing across from you. It reared itself up like a bull about to charge, before it ran over in an attempt to stampede your SOUL.

You dodged as the stool flew off the platform, tipping it toward its direction before it began to tip back towards yours. You almost fell off again, and this time you bravely moved to charge a new attack stool that had appeared to charge you. Four times this went, with you almost falling off the edge of the last one before the attack ended and your SOUL was thrust back upon you.

You asked Pawnstool about ‘his day’. — “Well, what kind of experience do you have? What was your day like?” This time, an attack didn’t come as the monstrous furniture responded.

“Well, I’ve been around a long, long time, friend. I’ve been around s’long as some of those old farts in the Capital. ASGORE, Gerson, some of those other boss monsters? I’ve seen ‘em, laughed with ‘em, seen the sun with ‘em.” Your eyes widened. Another older monster? If there was anything you could say, it’s that you found their history fascinating. But many monsters didn’t really know anything about it besides Gerson and Asgore. You went back to your Acts and chose the new option.

You ask about the war. Pawnstool stiffens. — “Heh… you’re a strange kid, aren’t you? I don’t think that’s a topic for younger folks. I just came up here for some me time, away from those other monsters.” Pawnstool now seemed… quiet. You went to the Mercy option, and chose to Spare him, after it was clear he’d Spared you.

Everything returned slowly to normal from the encounter as the stool sighed.

“Look kiddo, I don’t want to tell ya about the war… but I’ll give you this piece of advice. Y’shouldn’t get too comfy with what y’have. It could all be taken away in an instant.” Cryptic and threatening. Why weren’t you surprised?

“Yeah… I know that much… would you mind helping me? I wanted to try and get to the Dark Ruins, and this lever’s the only way down there I can think of. Pawnstool merely “tck”ed in response.

“Y’ain’t that clueless, are ya? There’s a safer way. Y’go down from that trap, and you’ll end up walking through more traps down there.” You nodded in understanding before you gestured back to the monster. “Here. I’ll show ya, kiddo.” The stool then slid across the floor at remarkable speed, completely dumbfounding you as you were made to follow.

The stool led you back to the entrance of the Ruins, going over the button-tiles in a pattern like an 8. You were confused until you found yourself engulfed in pitch blackness after stepping through.

“Keep goin’ straight, kiddo. You’ll find yourself Home in no time flat.” Pawnstool then slid away, likely returning to the Light Ruins to have his “me time”. You could see the barest hints of light now, old magic fire torches that burnt with a low glow, illuminating the gargantuan pillars that held up the ceiling above.

You didn’t even have to consider it was magic that allowed the Ruins to be traversed like that. It made it all the more impressive that the monsters had created the entire Light Ruins above to keep people away. There was a certain fear that you could feel in going through here. What if a monster decided to attack you in the dark?

No. You had to keep going. This was something new! The darkness that surrounded you made you initially apprehensive, but you were filled with Determination by the prospect of something new! Through the darkness, a twinkling star cut through it, and you ran over to immediately SAVE. Just the notion of this new place made you want to put on a brave face.

Bravery… it was one of the traits associated with one of the other fallen kids. Was this how they felt? Foolishly delving into the unknown? Probably. But you didn’t care. You may have been going into the unknown, but you were doing so as your choice. You were, at this point, beyond the boundaries of the game above.

And that much was clear when you stepped into the Dark Ruins themselves again. The flickering glints of magical fire that illuminated the underground city made it look massive. From the position above, it seemed small. But here? It was overwhelming! Your Bravery fell away for that creeping sense of APPREHENSION. Monsters of all shapes and sizes flitted between the buildings, on streets that, like your first time through, were almost… crowded against the immensely tall buildings, which just seemed to go deeper and deeper into the ground.

You looked over the edge of one of the streets, seeing just how much deeper it went. There was a bare glow of heat far down there. Monsters had dug deep into the Earth, deep enough that they could tap into its very lifeblood. And it wasn’t any more clear than here, in the deepest parts of the mountain.

But here, too, it seemed that the monsters were of a rougher crowd. Many of them looked straight out of the 80s, with wicked hairstyles, leather vests, colorful and gaudy suits that clashed heavily with their inhuman appearances. There was even a small skeleton with a boombox walking up one of the streets. Truly, the Underground had such a unique style and place in the world. It was like a blend of all of the pop culture you knew on the surface, all blended into something… truly unique.

Clearly, monsters liked human things. It was evident in the way they dressed, tried to emulate them, tried to build cities like them even in the Underground. It only made it more tragic that many of these monsters never saw the sun, or if they did, that you erased it.

That thought alone was one that made you feel immense guilt. It wasn’t that you didn’t want them to see it. It was that you… you had other priorities. The pit in your stomach deepened, and you couldn’t help but want to turn back.

But you couldn’t. If you were going to stay here, trapped with monsters, you needed to know every inch of the Underground. Even what was clearly an unpleasant, rather run down place. That said, even if this place was unpleasant, the monsters didn’t seem phased.

In fact, the monsters that you did see wandering in crowds seemed to be enjoying talking to one–another. They were going about their business, carrying bags of groceries back home, talking and laughing, even singing to music playing from nearby boomboxes, likely scavenged from the dump or bought from New Home. Their fate was one of terrible resignation to the dark, and yet they were happy as could be.

They were braver than you’d be in such a situation. Ready to face whatever future was in store for them at the drop of a hat.

“WELL, WELL, WELL. LOOKS LIKE A HUMAN HAS FALLEN DOWN, A LONG WAY DOWN, LONGER THAN MOST OF THE OTHERS.” You stopped, frozen in your tracks. “IT’S NOT SAFE DOWN HERE, YOU KNOW. TURN AROUND, PLEASE, SO I CAN GET A GOOD LOOK AT YOU.” The monster sounded posh, like he was putting on a front, an accent clearly. You didn’t bother to ask any questions, instead turning around. Every new monster was a friend to make, it seemed.

This one, however, wasn’t. He stood beyond tall, about as much as Asgore, actually. Dressed sharply in a suit and tie, the tall skeleton had a broad figure that practically took the entire street. His skull sat with a permanent scowl, teeth gnashing as he continued to speak in that forced, posh tone. It reeked of superiority.

“YOU’RE QUITE NEW HERE, AREN’T YOU?” You nodded slowly. “WELL, THAT MAKES TWO OF US, HUMAN. SEE, I’M LOOKING FOR SOMETHING QUITE… DIFFERENT. I’M LOOKING FOR A NEW PLACE TO SETTLE DOWN. I’VE BEEN GONE A TERRIBLY LONG TIME, AND I HAD CONSIDERED THIS PLACE AS RATHER GOOD WHEN I WAS BUT A FEMUR… BUT NOW… I Find It… small. IF YOU WOULD BE SO KIND AS TO HELP A SKELETON FIND SOMEWHERE BIGGER, I WOULD BE MUCH OBLIGED.”

The new faces you were meeting through the Underground only made it feel more alive. But you got quite an off feeling about this one. This monster seemed almost too eager to ask for your help. It even knew that you were a human. Most monsters tended to see your SOUL first, over what you were. Going over the options in your head, you considered a thought before snapping your fingers.

“Well… where are you from originally?”

“IF YOU MUST KNOW, HUMAN, I WAS FROM THE CAPITAL! BUT IT’S BECOME SO CROWDED THERE! it doesn’t let me think with how loud it is… HERE IS TOO SMALL. NOT AS MANY MONSTERS, BUT NOT AS MUCH SPACE!”

“What about Snowdin?” The skeleton looked almost puzzled, as though he didn’t know the place.

“PARDON?” You were about to start explaining before the skeleton hummed in thought, as though he didn’t understand you. “hmm...  Yes. YES! I SHALL GO TO THIS SNOWDIN! I appreciate your assistance. YOU’VE BEEN VERY, VERY HELPFUL.” You nodded in understanding, watching as the well–dressed skeleton walked off… entirely in the direction opposite of the exit of the Ruins. Having helped the strange skeleton… it filled you with Determination, the sound of the SAVE being made in place cutting through the thoughts you had about him.

Surely Sans and Papyrus weren’t related to him. He seemed… sophisticated, beyond them. He said he was from the Capital, New Home. What did that mean? The more you wandered around the Dark Ruins, the more you thought on these new monsters, these new characters… Pawnstool and this skeleton.

Was this really something new? Or was there so much more to the Underground than what you had considered before? Well… clearly there was. But wandering around, you’d only seen monsters that you’d met over many, many resets, not really any brand new ones.

“Hey!” The sharp tone cut through the air like a knife, and you paused to look in the direction of the would–be attacker as your SOUL was drawn out.

Loox and co. decided to pick on you! It seemed that now was the time that monsters of the Light Ruins opted to strike. You were willing to make peace, to be friendly with them, until you saw something that you didn’t think you’d see. Before you’d even had a chance to ACT, flittering, sparkling things appeared above the monsters. Before you knew it, you watched as the loox & co. ran off under a hail of what looked like… feathers.

The bullets eventually stopped, and into your field of view stepped a new bird–like monster. The grey flecking on her blue feathers gave her an obvious age. But it wasn’t like Toriel, who was only weary in her SOUL and eyes. This monster was weary in other ways. Life clearly had dealt her a long and arduous hand, and her feathers reflected that in the white speckling that dotted them as much as her warm, though tired smile.

“Well… I never thought I’d see the day!” In spite of her age, she had a sense of enthusiasm about her that was almost intoxicating. “You’re a human! Wow… uh… it’s been a while since I’ve seen one. I had to have been in the Royal Guard the last I saw a human. That was ages ago!” She was a Royal Guard? You tilted your head as she jubilantly tried to keep her composure.

“I thought I saw HER with a human the other day… but I thought I was dreaming! Good to know this old bird brain isn’t going crazy yet!” The bird–like monster blinked quite a few times and shook her head.

“Oh! I’m sorry… little old me getting all worked up over… over things that happened ages ago. I’m Martlet,” she greeted. “We haven’t seen a human down here in a very long time.” You didn’t answer, instead shuffling a bit away from the monster. While you were grateful for her saving you from an easily–solvable conflict, she was someone new. New was exciting… and it was also terrifying.

“Huh… you’re sort of like the other human I met. They were… kind, but stubborn, I guess… But they’ve been gone a long time. It’s still kinda hard to believe how long ago that all happened. That had to have been at least… oh… o-oh, I’m sorry! I get sidetracked really easy, even worse now that I’m older. I hope I’m not rambling.” You shook your head in response.

“You’re not all that talkative, are you?” You shrugged. Most of the time, you chose to let others speak. It was easier that way, made it easier to make friends. “Well… this old monster isn’t unused to that. Haven’t had many people to talk to for a while. Would you care to accompany an old bird to the market? I could use some help getting some groceries taken care of. After that, we can find HER, and get you back home in time for breakfast… lunch? Dinner? We’ll get you back in time for a meal!” Marlet’s chattiness made for an endearing quality; it was always a wonder why you’d never been down here before with people like her. You gave a thumbs up in acknowledgement.

“Awesome!” The old monster seemed to practically jump out of her feathers with glee at the prospect of having company. She then produced what looked like a notebook from somewhere in her feathers; you almost were about to protest against what you would’ve thought was a new date; but instead, she was shifting through the pages of the book that had been cared for. That definitely wasn’t the Dating Manual. The title on the cover read “Royal Guard Procedural Manual Vol. 2”

The thought bewildered you as the monster went through the pages and pulled out what looked like sticky notes to hand to you. Each one had an item on it.

“Make sure you follow that list alphabetically. We don’t want to end up getting lost when we get to the store, do we?” she smiled. Martlet seemed like someone that Sans or Papyrus would’ve gotten along with. Hell, you were getting along just fine, and you’d only known her for what was only a few minutes. Walking into the market, incorrectly spelled MARKER, you found the selection of foods to be more than a little exasperating.

“Okay… let’s focus. What’s first on the list?” Looking through the sticky notes, you handed one over to the monster.

“Hmm… canned bread. What was I going to get that for? Hmm… Uhh… I–I think… uhm…” It seemed she was having a tough time remembering why. Instead of waiting for her, you took charge and walked down the C aisle, looking between the shelves for canned bread. Canned apples, canned apricots, canned colors. You were bewildered by monsters’ tastes in canned goods around here. Eventually, you found canned bread, next to some canned bones.

You put the canned bread in your inventory. You still can’t believe they really had it. Returning to the older monster, it seemed that she had gotten herself caught up in talking with someone.

“I swear, it’s like looking into a picture. I almost thought that they were —” Martlet seemed startled as you encountered yet another monster who had started talking with her. You didn’t think that the Dark Ruins’ classic monster vibe could get any more on the nose as you eyed up the obvious vampire. He looked, however, more bat–like in his facial features; the fangs and ears were a dead giveaway, as was the vertical nostrils he had. It wouldn’t have been hard to tell he was a monster up close, but most certainly at a distance he could’ve been mistaken for a human.

“Oh! I apologize. I got sidetracked by my friend here. We go back a long ways. This is Dalv.” The monster gave a nod to you, and you gave a thumbs–up before presenting the canned bread.

“I still cannot believe you eat that.”

“It’s better than the Instant Noodle that we get sometimes.”

“So… do you know where this human came from?”

“No idea! But he’s quite helpful today! Speaking of, what’s next on our list?”

You had spent the better part of a few hours walking through the store to help Martlet on her grocery list. Well… list. It was something akin to a haphazard collection of sticky notes that she kept in her old Royal Guard manual. Every time you came back, there was another monster to talk to. Though it seemed that many of her older friends were gone. It still made for quite the interesting dichotomy.

But she was scatterbrained. Maybe just a little, but age hadn’t helped the older monster, clearly. She’d be easily distracted by something else. It wasn’t like the puzzles of the other parts of the Underground, but there was some overlapping déjà vu, clearly, as monsters expected help with their issues, or for you to solve a riddle or puzzle.

Though, as you brought back some MTT Brand Frozen Glamburger™ for her from an aisle down, you couldn’t help but be unsurprised at who had stopped her this time. Or rather, who she had stopped.

“I swear, I left them just over… oh! Oh, human! Human, over here!” Martlet excitedly called out. You could see Toriel holding a paw to her mouth as she tried to mask concern that you had wandered away from home. You gave a wave and offered to Martlet her MTT Brand Frozen Glamburger™.

“Oh, thank you! You’ve been very helpful! Here… I know it isn’t much, Miss Queen, err… uhh… y–your Majesty, I mean —”

“Just Toriel is fine, Martlet. You have done a wonderful job of helping take care of my child.” You couldn’t help but give the monster a glare. You could very obviously take care of yourself. “You need not worry about such titles with me.” Martlet seemed to relax at the kindness, nodding as she offered t you a hug.

It was odd. Initially, you were tense, Apprehensive at the gesture. But very quickly, it was replaced by a sense of warmth. A déjà vu that you couldn’t explain.

“I appreciate the help. I only wish that I didn’t get so birdbrained.

“Well… I can’t say I didn’t find it boring to go around a maze. You monsters always seem to design everything as a puzzle or trap.”

“Heeheehee. They love puzzles, Martlet. I am sure that he would appreciate if you had set an actual one up.” The elderly bird blinked a few times, looking between you and your adoptive mother.

“Well… uhh… Human? If I see you around again, I could take you to some of the other puzzles around the Dark Ruins.” You gave a nod and a small grin in return.

“Frisk… Frisk is my name,” you told her. It would be easier to remember than human. “And yeah… that’d be nice. She nodded before departing, giving one final wave goodbye as Toriel politely waited. It was only after she was gone that her voice took on that authoritative, protective tone that you had heard only in front of the door to the Ruins.

“My child… it was not wise of you to wander away from the house. Especially this deep into the Ruins. There are many dangers, many perils that would have awaited you had you not come across Martlet.”

“I mean… I wasn’t hurt, was I?”

“Well… err… no, but it is still not a safe place for a child. The Dark Ruins are less stable than the Light Ruins above.” You puffed out your chest in an exaggerated display to show how tough you were.

“My child… physical damage is different than magical damage. Please do not make me have to ground you on your first day here.”

“You don’t need to… you… you know I’m strong enough,” you pointed out. Toriel looked ready to argue before you wrapped her in a hug.

“I’m sorry Mom… I’ll wait for you next time,” you sighed. This gesture seemed to placate her worries as the boss monster moved to grasp your hand in a gentle, affectionate grasp.

“Oh, my sweet one… even when you willingly trap yourself here, you yearn for that freedom, do you not?” You gave only one short nod in answer.

“Very well… I encourage you to explore the Ruins in their entirety… but only at your own risk.” It was then that the monster reached into her robe and pulled out the old cell phone, practically a dinosaur’s artifact by today’s standards.

“Here… take this cell phone, Frisk. I would rather have a way for you to get in touch with me to resolve a FIGHT or to SAVE you from harm.” That Toriel had placed this much trust in you to act alone, even after it was clear that you needed her as your mother, filled you with newfound Determination. The flickering gold star could wait though. You were too busy grasping Toriel’s hand.

“Let’s go home Mom…”

Your sleep remained troubled. The second night in Toriel’s house was just as hard to get through as the last. And every so often, you found yourself waking up from yet another mention of Determination. It made you sick to your stomach, and you struggled to keep down the food that your matronly protector had cooked.

Something was bugging you, clearly. And this nightmare… it was… disturbing. There was only darkness, a void. And the only thing that occupied it was the outline of a house, like a child’s drawing. You recognized the shape immediately. Home… or what was to be home now. Opening the crayon–drawn door, you were greeted to an interior that was still just as black as the void around everything else.

But in front of you sat a familiar figure in a green and yellow sweater, staring down at something on the floor.

Asriel… You approached the young monster, instinctively reaching out before you heard something. It was… whispers. They couldn’t be made out, but the way they made you feel was abundantly clear.

You felt your sins crawling over your back.

You made to reach for Asriel, only for the apparition to give a dark chuckle. You recognized that tone, and your sins were the least of your worries in that moment.

“You’re a failure.” It wasn’t in Flowey’s voice, but Asriel’s. “Couldn’t even save everyone right.”

“What?” you tried to ask. But the tone was drowned in a new whisper as Asriel turned around to face you. The monster was faceless, his features replaced by a blankness, devoid of nostrils, mouth, or even eyes. Yet he stared into your SOUL.

“What kind of IDIOT can’t even SAVE themselves?!” The void seemed to grow around Asriel, and you desperately reached out, trying to pull the faceless monster back from the incomprehensible blackness. It was only then that it was broken, however, by three slashes. Like a child’s drawing of a smile, it appeared as three great white slashes leering toward you. The whispers grew to great volume before they became something of substance.

“You’re going to die down here, alone and cold, and I’ll tear your SOUL from your heart and rip it to shreds!” You startled to wakefulness, hearing something shift from the side of your bed. Reaching for the light, you turned it on, looking around with alarm.

“Who goes there?” you called out. But no one came… Those words would always haunt you… and they did so as much here. You should’ve been grateful that no one came. But even now, you found that you would’ve much preferred an answer. However, as if on cue, there was a knock to your door.

“My child? Are you alright? I have been hearing you toss and turn all night.” You grasped at your head at this point, not sure how to answer. “Is it alright if I come in? I fear these past two nights here have not been kind…” You almost brushed aside her concern, that was until you looked to the floor. Right next to your bed, there was what looked like a few grains of dirt. It wasn’t much, but it gave you the shivers.

It made you realize that Flowey didn’t care about what you wanted. He was going to try and torment you anyways.

“Frisk? Please answer me,” Toriel begged quietly. At that moment, you knew that you weren’t safe. You never would be. You got up from your bed and quickly padded over to the door, creaking it open to look at Toriel. Her face was etched, stony with worry.

“Mom… please don’t be worried about me… I’m fine.” That worry immediately turned to a knowing glare.

“My child, I do not appreciate being lied to.”

“Mom… I can take care of myself.”

“I am aware. But you must also be aware that I am here to guide and teach you, to nurture you. You need not hold yourself high for my sake.” The pang of guilt told of your thoughts on the matter. “I have an idea. You may snuggle up next to the fireplace with me whenever you wish, for as many nights as you need. I will be there to protect you from whatever it is you are frightened of. Will this be… satisfactory?” You gave the offer some thought before opening the door fully.

“That sounds great… I’ll meet you over by the fireplace.” Her warm smile only made it clear. It didn’t matter if no one came to help you in the moment. Your mom was here now. Everything would be alright.

Chapter Text

It had become a routine by this point. Wake up, have breakfast with Mom, go exploring the new layers of the Ruins, meet up with Martlet for a puzzle or two, come home and eat dinner, have a restless night of sleep, and then end up cuddling up under a blanket by the fire with Toriel by the fireplace. And, in this constant, you had been hounded, pursued by the spiteful weed.

Flowey had continued to hound you for what was likely a week; you couldn’t tell time that well anymore down here. He whispered things in your ear at night, stalked you when you were awake. At what point would the little cretin get it? This was where you were staying. You weren’t continuing forward. You were DETERMINED to see that through.

Yet every annoyance, every terrible, haunting whisper, every near–tripping vine that dared to hurt you… it only made you more Apprehensive in your approach. You found, on the 6th day, you couldn’t even SAVE anymore. Whatever this feeling of Apprehension did, it messed with your ability to SAVE and LOAD.

That only made the feeling worse; how long would it be until Flowey found out? How long would it take him to realize that his Determination exceeded yours now? The thought made your skin crawl. The last time that he’d had that kind of power, he used it to torment you, make you dance and jump through hoops, each and every breaking of your SOUL forming a scar that would never go away.

Now it was the dawn of a new day in the Underground. A whole week, and yet it only felt like the first day after you decided to stay. Something had to be done about the weed… before you could be truly satisfied. You needed to find HIM…

“Good morning, my child. It seems that the last night was not particularly restful, was it?” You raised a brow in confusion at Toriel’s comment. You thought that you’d actually slept fine. “I mean the bags under your eyes, heeheehee.” You instinctively reached for them, rubbing at your peepers in an attempt to knock the sand out of them. The lack of sleep was getting to you, clearly.

“Frisk, I believe that today is the day we determine how far along in your education you are, so that I may best prepare a curriculum.”

“Okay?”

“To be perfectly honest, I have no doubt that you are a very intelligent child, are you not?”

“Sometimes,” you joked. “But I am just a child after all.”

“Frisk, I know for certain that you are no mere child. You have a wisdom that tells… of a long struggle. I do not know why, but I feel as though you have learned more than most children your age should have.”

“You could say that again.”

“Pardon?”

“It’s… it’s nothing,” you sighed. Your mom needn’t know the full extent of your wisdom. It’s not like it was practical wisdom anyways… more just an agedness that had dragged you deeper into the Underground than you should’ve ever gone. But that didn’t sit well with the goat–like monster.

“Frisk. Would you like to meet someone today? I know you do not like to go to the basement, but I have a friend who lives on the other side of the door; he is quite smart, and has a way with words that would tickle your funnybone.” Your blood ran cold at the thought. No… you did not want to meet with this friend.

“I’m good, Mom… I was just going to go and explore some more of the Ruins today, maybe find some more of those older puzzles down below.

“Oh… I see. Well, Frisk, if you change your mind, I will be here.” The disappointment in her voice told you that she had been hoping to spend some time with you, getting to properly nurture you. It was a reminder that, at the end of the day, you were, indeed, still a child.

“Mom… would you want to come exploring with me? I know you said you had some butterfly catching spots that you wanted to show me.”

“Oh, my child… I am afraid that you may have already found them. They’re all up here. I had told you before, the Ruins becomes quite small when you get to know them.”

“Do you know anything about the Dark Ruins?” At that, Toriel guffawed, almost taken aback by the question.

“Of course I know things about the Dark Ruins. After all, my child, they are as much a part of my history as any other monster’s.”

“Why do monsters come to live here?” Toriel’s expression seemed to drop. You had a feeling you knew it had to do with Asgore. The Dreemurr patriarch was always a sore subject, even in passing with regard to his rule.

“Oh… oh, Frisk… do you care for the state of the Ruins?”

“It’s collapsing around them. There has to be a good reason, yeah?”

“Well… for some, it is nostalgic. They prefer these decrepit ruins over those of other parts of the Underground… others think it is too crowded over there…”

“But… don’t other monsters miss them?”

“Of course, little one. Martlet is a good example. Surely she has told you of what lies beyond the doorway, has she not?” You lied with a nod. Toriel didn’t need to know how you knew of Snowdin. Only that it existed.

“Well… she came here after… after the last child fell down here, many, many nights ago. She has not been open about him, but she was fond enough of him that she chose exiling herself here. Grief can… take many forms, Frisk. I do not envy how scattered her mind has been.” That clicked with something that had bugged you, many times before.

It was always staring you in the face. Flowey wasn’t some heartless thing that existed to spite Asriel’s memory… Flowey was Asriel grieving. All his talk of kill or be killed, all his anger, his nonchalance in being so callous and cruel… it was all a mask. A mask for a grieving child who lacked a SOUL, and lacked the only person that could understand him.

His ranting at the end of existence about how he was doing it all for Chara made even more sense now. He knew that you weren’t Chara. But he didn’t want to truly acknowledge it… even when he did.

“Young one? Are you alright?” You startled out of your stupor. The realization of Flowey’s dilemma had hit you like a truck, and it’d made your eyes widen to the size of dinner plates. It had been something you’d forgotten. In your attempted mass murder, you’d found that the weed was little more than a vindictive, sadistic, laughing, sociopathic creature, fit for little other than to entertain your boredom by the end.

“Mom… I… I really messed up,” you finally responded.

“What?”

“Mom… if you could go back, change the past, everyone forgets about you, but you remember… what would you use it for?” Toriel seemed taken aback by the question.

“My child… that is… a very specific question, with a very loaded outcome. I cannot answer you in good faith.”

“Please?”

“I do not think that this is —”

“Toriel!” Her expression turned to shock as you hastily corrected your outburst. “M–Mom… please. I just need some answers… please… answer my question.” The boss monster sighed, closing her eyes before she looked back to you, but with an interrogating gaze rather than an understanding one.

“I will… but only if I may be able to ask you something in return, Frisk.” You had a sinking feeling you knew what she would ask… but you needed a confirmation to what you were thinking.

“Alright Mom… just be honest with me, and I’ll be honest with you,” That seemed to soften the caprine–like face above you before she sighed.

“If I had the power to go back, I would take it… I would take it to a time before you fell. Back to before the other children had fallen. I would have done things differently, to be sure… but I am certain I would have still ended on this path.” You tilted your head in curiosity, and she kept going, elaborating further. “I would have stopped ASGORE from demanding the death of any humans that had come down here.” You nodded.

“How would you have done it?”

“I… do not think I understand.”

“You can go back, erase consequences, do things over again… how would you do it?” Toriel initially looked ready to respond, to give you some assurance… but then her expression darkened as she realized the gravity of what you were asking.

“I… I… I do not know, my child.” That only told you one thing… morals were only as strong as your will, your Determination. “I am sorry if that is not satisfying enough.”

“No… it’s perfect, Mom…” It was. But it also had terrifying potential. You couldn’t help but think that, if an adult wouldn’t know how to fix consequences of their past, how was a child supposed to? How was Asriel supposed to? How were you supposed to? The thought gave you a deep pit in your stomach, a feeling of Apprehension. A new star formed next to the table, one you couldn’t interact with.

“Now, I have my own questions, my child. I will not pressure you, but I do want an honest answer.” You gave a slow nod in understanding before she moved on, looking toward the fireplace now with you.

“I know you did something that you regret. Something terrible. What was it?” Your heart stopped, a lump in your throat now as your SOUL threatened to break under the stress of the question. You didn’t answer immediately, and instead stayed silent as you tried your best to answer her question. Toriel didn’t push, but her gaze told you that you should answer soon.

“M–Mom,” you shakily sighed. “I… I don’t know if I can tell you that.”

“When we met, when you came back from the door, you said that you had hurt people before; monsters that I know the names of. That, and your question today, makes me think that you have done more than simple ‘terrible things’. I wish to know what, so that I may help you move on.” The thought of Toriel helping you to move on made you laugh bitterly.

“That’s IDIOTIC…” Your tone was bitter and resentful now, but surprisingly calm.

“Frisk, do not deny me an answer,” she calmly warned.

“If I tell you… it will change how you see me.”

“If it is that serious, then you MUST tell me!” Your jaw clenched at the harshness in her statement, the way that Toriel looked at you. It wasn’t the mother you’d enjoyed the company of many times before. It was the Queen of the monsters, Asgore’s equal. You looked away briefly, shame and Apprehension building up within you.

“Mom… please don’t make me… I’m… I’m not ready.” It was that simple phrase that broke Toriel’s harsh and terrifying glare, and she sighed in exasperation while she squinted her eyes shut. “I’ll tell you… but right now isn’t a good time. I need… I need to think about how best to tell you.” Toriel gave a “tch” in response, clearly not satisfied… but she didn’t belittle or berate you for your decision. She instead remained monotone in her response.

“I understand. When will you tell me?” Your jaw clenched again. There wouldn’t be any escape from this. But you had an idea of how to do it.

“Tonight… before dinner. There’s just… I just have to think.”

“And what if you decide not to again?” she asked. The question was legitimate, and only made that welling feeling of Apprehension stick again.

“I… I don’t know.” Toriel sighed again, this time placing a paw upon your shoulder as she tried to explain the gravity of what you were saying to her.

“Frisk. You are a good child, even if you have done bad. I see it in you every day when I meet you in the Dark Ruins, every night when you come to me to sleep. And yet… for the terrible things that you have done, you do not wish to tell me, your mother. Strange, is it not, that a child feels that they cannot tell their family what ails them?” She then looked away, her ears hiding the entirety of her expression as she looked toward the window.

“Go, my child. Think about how you shall tell me. I will not judge you for your terrible deeds… merely help you in moving past them.” Her tone had remained consistent, unwavering, but you could tell that such a statement of fact broke her heart. You moved to hug her, and the monster pushed you away. “I will be waiting to embrace you as your mother again when you may embrace me to tell what troubles your every moment.”

You looked at the skylight above the doorway to the Ruins. Pieces of sunlight cut into it, creating jagged shards of color that illuminated the floor below. The square of dead leaves that encased you felt like a cage. But you still endured. Determination flowed through you, and you weren’t going to stop.

At least… that’s what you told yourself. In reality, you felt choked, burdened by chains of karma that now scraped your neck. Your sins weren’t crawling down your back. They were shredding it. There was only one other person that you thought might understand this feeling. Mom said she wouldn’t judge, but you’d known her enough timelines to know that she could hold a grudge. Asgore was living proof of this.

You had to go to the source of this. You had to find him. Asriel followed you like a hawk, the thought alone making your skin crawl. He was your only connection to life before… and vice versa. You were both two sides of the same coin, and it had been something you’d forgotten over your countless RESETS before.

How could such a thing happen? How could you believe Flowey wasn’t a victim in all of this before? Maybe it was easier to blame the flower for his misdeeds than Asriel, a fulfillment of the dead prince’s last wish to you, not to Chara, to you. Remember him as he was, not as the flower.

But Flowey was an outward projection of Asriel’s grief. It was like Mom had said. Grief could take many forms. And Asriel was grieving, flower or not. It was only that, as a flower, he couldn’t square the circle on his emotions properly. He was stuck without empathy, and so he was stuck with the bitterness, the sadness, the fear, the anger at himself that remained.

And DETERMINATION… that one force that you both shared. You took a breath, steeling yourself before you started walking back toward the opening. Back where you’d fallen. If there was anywhere that Flowey would go, it would be here. There was a reason, after all. His best friend was there.

Walking down the dark passages, you couldn’t help but feel eyes were everywhere on you. No monster came this far back to the Ruins except for Toriel. You knew that he was probably following you though. There was always a glimpse, always a flash of greenery that moved out of the corner of your eye.

But he wouldn’t be able to resist himself when you called him out HERE, where you fell down… where his Best Friend was buried, rotted away and little more than bones beneath a garden of golden flowers. You looked around a few times, before then looking up to the light from above. The hole you fell through, the barest, closest glimmer of the surface that monsters would ever have… and they chose to live deeper in the mountain.

You sighed at the thought. Freedom for them was so close… six… they had six SOULS, trapped in Asgore’s castle… and you were the last one, selfishly keeping yourself down here. No! You refused to believe that it was selfish to keep monsterkind from knowing the kind of sicko you were! You weren’t being selfish… you were trying to protect them.

‘What about Mom?’ you asked yourself. The question came unbidden from you, a simple statement. How were you going to tell her everything you did? Everything that you were?

“I can’t…” The statement came out abruptly, an admission of your own weakness. You couldn’t break Toriel’s heart like that.

“Can’t what, Chara?” The sickly sweet tone told you all you needed to know about who was here. Your skin prickled, eyes widened, heart started pounding in your chest. To turn around and see that smiling face on the body of the Golden Flower… it filled you with Apprehension. The crackling of reality opening and a new SAVE point forming told you that this was a point that you couldn’t turn back from. You attempted to reach out to the star, but the feeling crawling up your spine kept you.

“Uh–uh–uh,” he cooed. “We have unfinished business, Chara.”

“You’re right,” you agreed. Flowey seemed taken aback by that as you took a seat on the flower patch. “Let’s talk…”

“I thought you didn’t want to talk to me anymore. What’s the deal here?” You didn’t respond, instead patting the spot in front of you. Flowey took the opportunity, darting beneath the earth and then back up in the spot you’d gestured to. His expression was that of a bored smile, as though he knew something you didn’t, or that this wasn’t going to be of any consequence for him.

“You know, Chara. You didn’t have to come all the way out here to see me.”

“I know,” you replied. “You’ve made it clear you can get to me whenever you want.” Flowey’s grin became sadistic at that point.

“You should know, then, that coming out here alone is a dangerous thing to do.”

“I also know that. But like you said. We have UNFINISHED BUSINESS.” The flower then gestured with a leaf, like one would a hand to you to talk. “We’ve been at this… for way too long… why do you bother with me?” The flower remained silent at that question before laughing.

“What kinda stupid question was THAT?! Hahahah! What a JOKE!”

“I’m serious.” Flowey stopped at that, his expression settled on something devoid of what you typically saw in him. And then his expression shifted. It became concentration, then frustration, then… nothing.

“Because I think, Chara, we’re destined to be here together… forever… even when they leave to go up there.”

“I’ve been up there. It’s nothing special.”

“Liar, liar, pants on fire! You think I don’t know that?!”

“No, you don’t.”

“And why would that be?!”

“Because every time I RESET, after I had almost SAVED you… you wanted me to RESET your memories!” Flowey needed it spelled out to him. “God, it’s PATHETIC… the fact that you DON’T want to remember… but I DO. I can’t help but remember… that’s why I went on that genocide. Every time you refused… all because you’re a stupid flower!” Your outburst had seemingly garnered the reaction you were looking for. Startled silence.

“Chara…”

“No, you need to wake up… every time I nearly SAVED you… you realized that there’s one reason only why Chara doesn’t want to play anymore. They’re dead… right under here, their bones. I can dig ‘em up for you to see for yourself. As Asriel… you always recognized that Chara is gone… I’m NOT Chara. I’m Frisk… and I don’t want to play your sick, twisted fantasy.” Flowey recoiled at this, clearly hurt. A deep part of you hoped that he hurt, that he felt that pain… but the other part of you… it remembered what Mom had said.

“Asriel… please listen.”

“No… Asriel is DEAD too! I’m just… y–you don’t know anything! You’re just saying all of this to get under my skin!”

“No… I’m telling you this so we can finally move on. I don’t want to go through the rest of the Underground again… I don’t want to be the future of humans and monsters… I just want to be happy, with Mom.”

“You don’t get to call her that,” he bitterly spat.

“She’s your Mom too. You could always talk with her, like I’ve been doing.”

“That’s the problem though. I. Can’t. Feel. ANYTHING! For her!” he snapped. Vines raised up from the ground, green tendrils that tore up the dirt from the ground as he eyed you with malice. You stood your ground, watching and waiting for Flowey to make a move.

“But you clearly feel things. Frustration, sadness, longing… Mom told me that grief shows itself in different ways. You just —”

“Just WHAT?! JUST! WHAT?!” A vine snapped toward you, grazing past your arm. You could feel the sting of the thorns as Flowey threw his tantrum. “I will NEVER understand how you feel… and you will NEVER understand how I feel… only Chara would know!”

“But they’re gone… Flowey. They’re gone and they aren’t coming back.” You stood from your spot on the patch of flowers, looking around before back to him. “Is this what they would’ve wanted? You lashing out at everyone? Asriel… please… just stop. We’re done. I wanted to try and SAVE you… I failed. You want to try and SAVE Chara, but they don’t need it. They can’t be SAVED. You need to remember that…”

At that point, you were done. It was the most you could say. You were taking a great risk in telling him that. “I’m going to go home… and I’m going to tell Mom exactly what I did… maybe after that, I’ll be able to move on too.” You then started walking past him, ready to move on.

“But they’re gone… Flowey. They’re… what?” Immediately, you were hit with something… odd. Like you had said that before. Flowey just stared at you, his grin having returned, and cold realization hit you like a bucket of ice.

“Awe, what’s wrong FRISK? They’re WHAT?”

“They’re go—”

“But they’re gone… F–Flowey.” There it was again. That feeling of déjà vu. And the flower was grinning. This time you didn’t even bother to finish your thought. You chose to run.

“But they’re… they’re…”

“Go ahead,” Flowey said, mock happiness in his tone. “I’m waiting.”

“Flowey, what are you —”

“But they’re… they’re gone Asriel! Chara’s GONE!”

Before you could even start your thought, Flowey laughed. A callous, cold sound that now haunted you. The truth was there. You couldn’t SAVE… so you attempted to LOAD.

“Nuh–uh–uh! You’re in a hurry, aren’t ya?” Flowey maliciously cackled. Fear settled in your chest, your SOUL feeling like it was cracking under the pressure. “Where are you going? To go see your MOMMY?!” You tried to LOAD.

“Wooooow,” Flowey grinned. “And here I thought you were smarter than that. Guess when you’re afraid of actually DYING, you’ll do ANYTHING to stay alive… even if there’s really no reason, right?” The flower gave you a malicious cackle as you realized very quickly that you couldn’t do ANYTHING. You were stuck here. With HIM! Not with Asriel, no. You hadn’t broken through that shell of spite and anger… you were stuck with the WEED. You settled into a ready stance, halfway ready to charge him.

“You know you can’t outlast me Flowey. I got Determination to spare.”

“Do you now?!” You didn’t know why… but that question brought back the terrible, tingling feeling up your spine. “Oh, wow! Guess I should just give back control and everything will be all fine and dandy, right?!” You didn’t respond, simply ready for whatever Flowey was going to throw at your SOUL.

“HA! What a joke! You’d like that, wouldn’t you Frisk? I don’t know why I EVER saw Chara in you… Chara would’ve just killed me and been done with it, would’ve FINISHED THE JOB!”

“Asriel… please don’t do this… what would everyone else think if they knew?”

“You should be asking yourself that question, FRISK. What would Mom think if she knew what you were doing?” You moved to try and attack Flowey, only for a sharp, piercing sensation to hit your chest… hard!

You looked down, only realizing after the fact that your HP was at 0. But your SOUL hadn’t shattered. Instead, you could see the green tendril, red thorns covering it, embedded in your chest. Then the pain started. It wasn’t just pain in your SOUL that echoed in your body. It was REAL pain! Physical pain!

“The one thing that made this a fair fight was that you had the Determination to keep me from physically attacking you and taking your SOUL that way! Even when I was GOD, you had the determination to do it, didn’t you?” He was remembering… part of you bitterly felt happy about that. He remembered your battle at the end of all things there… “And that’s what makes this time SPECIAL! You don’t have ANYTHING left… you used it up when you came back. All I see left is FEAR!” Flowey cackled again, twisting the tendril through your chest.

You coughed up your lung, it felt like… things were starting to go dark.

“Don’t worry, buddy! You should sleep now!” he jovially said. You then felt the vine leave you, pulling back and ripping parts of you out. You could see them on the vine, alongside your SOUL… you collapsed, feeling nothing. The last thing you saw was Flowey shrouding himself in those fines, shrouding your SOUL in them. He’d won.

You woke up. You’d almost thought it was another nightmare, ready to curl up next to Mom by the fireplace… but it was only when you realized where you were that what had happened wasn’t a nightmare. You had died, perished. You would never see the sun again. Not through your eyes, at least.

You looked around the darkness of the void, ready to throw a wild punch toward wherever HE was. There was the familiar feeling of your SOUL, outside of your body… but something was wrong. There was no tether like there usually was. You were gone, stuck here as a spirit, a ghost, maybe even less than that.

And then his face appeared, like static on a TV screen.

“MMMmm I shoulda done this earlier!” Flowey’s grin, probably the most legitimately happy you saw him, faltered, before turning dour and bored, a smile that told of his frustration. “Oh? You’re still holding on? So stubborn!” He then winked at you, tauntingly as he kept going. “Lighten up a lil’ pal! You do know that this didn’t have to happen, right? You had a plan, a simple one.” The screen flickered, revealing a twisted, carved expression upon his face, another familiar sight. “SAVE. EVERYONE.”

You tried to scream, but found you had no mouth. You desperately tried to scream at him, curse at him, tell Flowey that you weren’t looking to hurt him.

“Oh, we both know THAT’S a lie!” Flowey grinned. You startled. He could read your thoughts. He could read your thoughts! Such a sensation of fear. You moved to cry, but remembered you had no eyes either. You just wanted to go back home, back to Mom.

“I guess you’re too stupid to follow your own plans, huh? Don’t know why I thought this would be any differently. So stubborn… so DETERMINED. You were unpredictable, like Chara… BUT YOU WERE NEVER CHARA… it’s like you said.” His face flickered to yours, your voice filled with bitterness, spite, HATRED.

“Chara’s gone, and they’re NEVER coming back!” Flowey’s laughter echoed through the Void as you tried to hold on, keep yourself awake. If you fell asleep, Flowey would have your SOUL… it’d be over. There was no doovers here.

“What? You think you can keep resisting like this? Come ON! Haven’t you learned from yourself yet? With DETERMINATION, I control EVERYTHING!” What did he mean?

“Oh? What do I mean? Well, buddy, let me show you!” A flash of light, and you were back in the Underground… but something was wrong. You couldn’t feel your arms, your legs.

“Flowey!” you called out. Your voice was silent, but Flowey’s lips moved as your own.

“Shush!” You startled into submission, looking toward the door across from you… waiting, and waiting, and waiting…

“What’s taking ‘em?” Flowey’s voice echoed around you. “They should’ve beaten that old hag by now!” You considered leaving, knowing where this was going. But you found that you were little more than a passenger in the flower’s body. The waiting became unbearable. You could feel that sense of boredom, that creeping sense of dread.

“You see, this is what I had to deal with. What is this run? Had to be in the hundreds or something. I think we’ve both lost count! Haha…” The view then switched. It was dinner in the dining room. Your first dinner with Mom. Back all the way to your first run.

“I let you carry on your merry way so many times. You were so DETERMINED… so eager to get to the King. But every time, you’d take your time here… in this crumbling relic from the past.” The view kept switching, between many different runs. All the same. Toriel finding you, taking care of you, guiding you through the Ruins.

“This time was different though. You weren’t just taking your time here. You wanted to stay here!” Now you could see through the window into the living room. You watched as you saw yourself, knelt against Toriel, sobbing in the agony of what you had done.

“When I found out you wanted to stay? I thought that you were just playing… continuing to play, like you had all the other times before! Haha… that was stupid, wasn’t it? You weren’t Chara. You weren’t going to keep going like you normally did. Like THEY would have!” The view you were given kept shifting, over and over, watching as you went about your business. Doing puzzles with Martlet, meeting with Nabstablook at his usual spot, offering gold on the spiderweb for the spider donuts.

And then you were shown something else. Right in front of you, a gold twinkling.

“It was only just two days ago when I realized that there was something wrong. You weren’t LOADING! So I decided to SAVE over your profile. I had control again! I was the PRINCE of this world’s future! I could do ANYTHING I wanted!” And then it all went black after the familiar tingle of Determination ran through your entire body. You were back as a bodyless SOUL, in the void that was Flowey. His expression, amused, suddenly turned annoyed.

“Oh come on! You’re still here? I thought my story might at least bore you so much that you’d give in!” he complained. You moved to stand your ground, the red outline of your SOUL shining bright and clear. Flowey may have controlled the timeline now, but you were DETERMINED not to let him win this. His expression carved away, terrible and relishing in what he was about to do.

“You really wanna do this the hard way? Haha! Alright then! Let’s have a little FUN before I absorb your SOUL for good!” You watched as your outline crumbled away, leaving only the heart-shaped outline of your SOUL where your ghostly body should’ve been. Flowey’s face on the TV screen faded, and, in front of you, he just appeared.

This was the monster that had ruined countless timelines before. This was the real anomaly that Sans was talking about. Flowey the Flower: Chara’s best friend.

“Remember what I told you! R U N I N T O T H E B U L L E T S!!!”

Chapter Text

A nightmare. That was as much as you could say this was. Countless hails of pollen–like bullets had come your way, ready to tear your SOUL and what little Determination you had left asunder. And at the center of it was a terrible, sadistic grin that belonged to Flowey. Flowey the Flower… Chara’s best friend.

You had to admit something though. He was creative. In his mind, whenever he had taken that great and terrible form after absorbing the human SOULS, he knew how to torment someone for long, long periods of time. You felt like you could scream, but you had no mouth. You just had to keep dodging, keep moving. Every time you tried to FIGHT, he would merely guffaw, as though you had done something particularly amusing, before letting out his frustrations on you.

Move, weave, dodge. All the skills you’d learned from your fights with Sans, with Undyne, even with Asgore, they were all put to the test in this gauntlet that was His mind. Even without the stress of the battle, everything that Flowey did to torment you was a horrorshow. Trypophobia inducing patterns, strange and uncanny visions of self–harm that Flowey put himself through to sicken you. Gruesomely twisted and vine twisted versions of the friends you’d come to love.

You could feel it. Every minute of trying to fight him, it left you weaker and weaker. You could feel your Determination waning. Past lives both you and he had lived came to the surface, clawing and scraping at your struggling SOUL to escape and scream into the Void.

But you refused. You refused to let yourself go quietly. You remained DETERMINED to stay alive. Not just for Mom’s sake, but yours. You didn’t want to die!

“Aww, but that’s the thing, buddy! YOU’RE ALREADY DEAD! You’re just not quitting!” Flowey’s tone sparked annoyance. It was that same mocking, dry, lifeless joy that had annoyed you in the last run. But it wasn’t Determination. No. It was the other one. The APPREHENSION, familiar though it was. You grasped onto it, afraid and cold, as your SOUL was stolen from Flowey’s gaze.

“Frisk, where’d you go?! We were having so much FUN!!!” It was then that you recognized this place. The Ruins. Purple brick, vines overgrown over everything, and a maze of spike traps. Then, from the ground behind you, a botanophile’s nightmare: plantvines bursting from the ground towards you. Only one word echoed through you.

RUN!!! And you did. You sprinted down the corridors, watching as vines came up to try and block your path. You had a bad feeling you knew you were done for as you ran down the open paths. Your nerves were on fire, fear rolling down your back in waves as you looked around. And then you saw it. An exit: a flickering tint of gold just at the end, past a labyrinth of spiked floors.

You ran for it, avoiding the vines as best as you could. Each one that touched your SOUL only tore more of it away. And then came the jump. You had found a dead end, and the vines were closing in. Instead of letting Flowey take you, you opted for the most Determined thing to do at that point. It was a leap of faith across the spikes, and clutching onto that bit of golden yellow. You could feel the power surging through you, sheer Determination ready to take you back to the earlier SAVE. But it was cut off with another guffaw.

Your frown returned as Flowey’s smile grew, but overshadowing his frame was the shape of one of your friends. Nabstablook, his form faceless, yet a mouth open in perpetural agony as tears dripped your way. You wanted to reach out, to help… but you knew that it just wasn’t possible. This wasn’t Nabstablook. It was the flower, the Weed that now mocked your very existence by holding you hostage.

More to dodge, more to weave through. Flowey’s utter creativity was practically boundless, though clearly built on his sadness and suffering. Yet again, however, your Apprehension made it hard to fight. Why should you? You felt yourself slipping away again… until the pain of an attack hit you. You were reminded that you didn’t want to die, and found yourself in another familiar place.

Snowdin’s forest. Vines tore from the ground, ready to strangle you as you fled. Your legs practically carried you even as your mind and body felt like they were slipping. You wanted to cry, but you had no eyes. You wanted to plead, but you had no mouth. You wanted to scare him back. But you couldn’t.

“Get back here, you brat!” you heard him call. And then you found yourself sliding across a lake of ice, just outside the forest. You could see the golden star at the center of it, under a lit Christmas tree, and you took to your skills again. You stopped on a dime and slid your way toward the SAVE, ready to try again at pulling yourself free of Flowey’s grasp.

Then the vines came up in front of you. Over and over, you had to avoid them, pressing on as the darkness above gave way to a great eye, emotionless and pale, staring back at you from above.

“There you are!” Vines tripped you up, grasping your ankle as you reached for the SAVE. The whooshing of air around you told that your Determination had connected, and you tried to push Flowey out, only for another guffawing laugh to come from the eye. Your vision flickered, like a game glitching, as you now realized the UI was gone.

“Alright. Let’s see how you do when your turn never comes to give you a rest!” Flowey’s excitedness told of his joy at this. It was new. This was new! He’d finally managed to get your SOUL. And he was having FUN in just toying with you. Another familiar shape came, that of the skeleton man. But something was wrong. His face was melted, utterly torn and falling away, like a macabre comedy mask.

But nothing came. He was just there. Staring at you, until your vision flickered once more to that of Flowey’s all–knowing gaze and you were forced to start moving again. A great and malicious rictus that told of all of the horrid things that he would do to your SOUL if he got bored. So you stayed Determined… or… you stayed Apprehensive. It didn’t matter. Both had the same effect. Eventually, Flowey’s grip would slip away from it, and you’d find your way to another corner of his mind, another labyrinth of a familiar place.

This time it was Waterfall, crystalline lights giving away the path to you as the vines began to follow.

“Oh no you don’t! You’re not going anywhere BUDDY!” Flowey’s voice grated around you, clearly annoyed now by how the third time escaping his direct gaze had resulted in this chase. You had to make it count, racing through the darkened pathways as his tendril like vines came out of the ground to attempt to tear your SOUL apart. You could see the golden twinkled, almost a mile away it seemed.

But you endured, you stayed Determined and ran up to the SAVE. You’d gotten good enough at avoiding Flowey’s attacks that you didn’t feel that stinging grasp around you. You wished to go back, to go somewhere he wouldn’t find you, attempting to use the SAVE as a wishgranter of sorts.

You found yet another long corridor to run down, this one back in the Ruins. The more you ran, however, the more you saw the scenery change. The Dark Ruins, Snowdin, Waterfall, Hotland, New Home, Asgore’s Garden… the True Lab…

“Friiiiiiiisk! Where’d you go, buddy? G E  T  B   A   C   K    H    E    R    E!”  His calls eventually distanced, and the vines that had chased you through this murderous fantasy had gone too. Eventually, only your SOUL lit the way through the Void, darkness enveloping around you. You felt more tired than you could’ve ever thought… like rest was just teasing you out of reach. But you needed to stay awake, stay Determined.

“h-hello?” That wasn’t Flowey’s voice… it was Him… ASRIEL DREEMURR. But he was nowhere in sight. There was no mouth to connect it to. Then you looked down… a long wilted, long dead husk of a flower. “where am I?”

You almost felt like an intruder here now, realizing what you were listening to as you walked past a couple more of the husks of long–wilted golden flowers.

“mom? dad? help me…”

The longer you walked, the more that these empty husks began to pile… until there was a mountain of corpses.

“Asriel…” you whispered. They were… countless, an endless well of suffering and horror that told you the depths of the dead prince’s suffering. He said he didn’t need pity. He was right. He didn’t need that. He didn’t need your comfort or a useless platitude. Asriel needed closure.

“c-chara? I need you…” Your heart panged in guilt; you’d taken him for an emotional rollercoaster, pretending to be his best friend.

“no… nothing… useless…” Was he talking about himself? Or something else? You couldn’t know for sure. But whatever it was, it hurt you all the same to think about. Especially as you heard the tones of Asriel’s voice shift and change, molding as clay into something unseemly, superficially friendly.

“????????” The noise was questioning, as though he was working through a difficult problem. But you could now tell where his voice was transitioning to the weed that you’d grown to know.

“ha! could this be it?” Something uncomfortable hilted itself in your SOUL now… something familiar… staring into the empty face of that husk told you to keep going, to leave it alone.

“yes, it has to be… it MUST be!!! it must be…” Dread grew through your incorporeal form, filling every bit of it with Apprehension. But you kept going, past the mountain of broken bodies, until you’d come to a particularly lively husk, but one that was still wilted all the same. Its roots had taken hold around itself, thorny and dangerous.

“what have I done?” This was the same thought that you’d had just a week ago… the same thought process. The familiarity was striking, a mirror image; were you just as much a weed as Flowey was?

“Heh! Hehah! Hahahahahahaha!!!” The laughter of insanity clung, wrapped around you as you began to walk faster. You then stepped on something with a crunch, stopping and lifting your foot to see one more lone flower, barely even visible, practically nonexistent… the only reason you noticed it was the crunch of its petals under your step; the faceless, lifeless husk only echoed one sentiment, one that you’d heard before too.

“Don’t you have anything better to do?” It was Flowey’s voice… but there was a sincerity in it… not a boredom or false manipulation. It was like how Asriel talked… but in the flower’s voice. This was the memory you buried, the countless memories you buried under the RESETS. The ones that gave Flowey a positive outlook, a positive thought… after he had been Asriel again.

Your legs wanted to collapse; guilt clung to your mind and made you feel more tired… maybe you were better off being absorbed by Flowey. But something in you remembered why you had even done this as many times as you did. You screamed out into the empty void, silent but loud enough in your mind to remind you what was supposed to be there. You almost hoped that the weed would hear, praying that he would end your torment, end his too… killing you could’ve been the answer all along…

But no one came… no one came to comfort you, and no one to comfort this sad, dying, wilting memory… only offered platitudes of kindness that didn’t fulfill him. But in that moment, you did remember something. It was exactly why you’d come to talk to him. He was grieving… he was grieving Chara, his former life, the mistakes he’d made… and he was lashing out with his grief. Those times that you had gotten through to Asriel, SAVED monsterkind? It was all for the same purpose at the end.

It was to SAVE him… and you had! You did SAVE Asriel… just not in the way that you had wanted. You wanted him to be his old self again, to be able to see the sun and have his happy ending. And you’d done that… but Asriel would forever be a flower, who would outlive everyone else, whose SOUL–less body would inevitably make it impossible for him to form the same connections he had before. Instead of running, you reached, caressing the wilted frame gingerly. This was all that remained of Asriel.

“I’m not letting you do this to yourself anymore,” you vowed. It was both for you and him. You both couldn’t stay in the past. And you both couldn’t predict the future. It didn’t matter if it was pity or not. Your Determination surged, and you offered it to this part of him, offered to give back those good memories by the flower garden.

“frisk? you’re the type of friend I wish I had.” Flowey’s voice continued to contain that sincerity, obviously troubled, but better. And then something shattered. It was like your SOUL had flown about every which way, and nothing. You hoped that whenever Flowey absorbed your SOUL, he’d at least remember the good moments he had after all he had done, and not remain the spiteful weed that had tormented you.

Grogginess tore you from your sleep. Sunlight poured through, yet you still felt cold, dreary. What’d happened? Was… was it all a dream? How long had you been lying here? Your hand went to your chest… your hand. You could see it, you could feel it! It was a dream… Flowey killing you, Flowey’s mindscape… it was fake.

You still had the timeline, right? You looked into the Void, seeing a SAVE file. Yes… it was still there. After confirming your suspicions, you pulled yourself up… you were so tired. How long had you waited here for? Mom was going to be worried sick, wasn’t she? You walked back into the Ruins, leaving behind the flowerpatch. Flowey could wait. As soon as you walked in, you saw her. Toriel was waiting for you, back turned and looking toward the Ruins entrance.

“Frisk?” Her voice was small, almost incomprehensible.

“Mom?” you asked. Your voice sounded choked. You were just glad to see her, and you rushed over to hug her.

“Frisk! I was so worried! When you did not come home, I thought you were with your friends, and went out to look for you! They said they had not seen you all day! They said you had not come to them since the day before! I am so happy that I have found you!”

“Mom… it’s okay… I was just…”

“You were just seeing the flowers, were you not?”

“Yeah… they… they help get my mind off of things.” Her smile warmed instantly and she looked down from above with those soft eyes. Clearly things would be okay.

“I am so happy I found you, Frisk.”

“Yeah… let’s go home Mom, okay? I think I’ve had enough time to myself…” Something felt off now.

“So happy I found you, Frisk,” she repeated. Your brow raised now, suspicious of what was going on.

“I found you, Frisk…” Before you could ask what was wrong, the boss monster’s face sloughed off, leaving a skull with empty sockets in its wake. You backed up, watching as the skull melted too, and the monster reached for you.

“I  F O U N D  Y O U .” You recognized that voice, that excited laugh, and you realized why you still felt cold.

That wasn’t a dream… Realizing that Flowey finding you meant life or death, you pushed past the melting remains of Toriel and ran into the Ruins, only to stop at where the bridge normally was. It was just an ocean now, seemingly leading into an endless void. But there was a familiar face.

“Tra la la. I love to ride in my boat. Would you care to join me?” You immediately jumped onto the Riverperson’s boat and left the Ruins behind.

“Tra la la… Humans, monsters... Flowers.” You watched as the Riverperson’s head turned in your direction, a terrible, clay–like eye now looking through the hood toward you as the laughter from Toriel’s corpse echoed through it. Realizing that it was kill or be killed in this instance, you moved to push the obvious hallucination into the water. Instead of just falling, it dragged you in off the boat.

Darkness filled your vision, and you realized the coldness began to dissipate, vanish into the void around you. Eventually, there was only the crimson of your SOUL’s light, and the flashing of something around you. Shapes could just be barely made out. Plant stems… vines… golden petals. All until it leaned forward.

Flowey’s expression was the stuff of nightmares. Wide, excited eyes, a rictus that dared to tear his face in half, his golden petals dimmed in shadow and vines holding him up.

“H O W D Y ,” he greeted, “Have fun with Mom back there? Hahahahaha!!!” His laugh was booming, all around you. You tried to run, but found you couldn’t move.

“Nuh–uh–uh. Thought you slipped away for a second, didn’t ya? You’re quite the skittish one, F R I S K… Bet you could’ve outlasted ME if I had all the SOULS of the Underground, IF you’d bothered to keep going forward. Even though your choices are useless to me now, I didn’t outright HATE you. Not all the time. I just HATED that you were so CUSHY with monsters. Two lost players deciding who lives and who dies… and you always chose to let them LIVE.”

“This isn’t a game Flowey!” you called out. The silence was deafening, swallowing your voice, but it seemed that the flower did hear.

“Oh PLEASE! That’s RICH coming from the kid who did exactly what I did. You played with peoples’ lives, you kept going back over and over… and when it was all said and done, when you got bored, you looked at other options. Most of the time, you were insufferable, but when you gave in… gave in to your true violent urges, that was the best part!” You felt sick to your stomach at that. He was right… you did exactly what he’d done…

“That’s when I KNEW you had it in you, even if I thought you were CHARA, to completely erase this world, and REALLY SAVE all of monsterkind. But that was so long ago, haha. Just look at you now! Barely recognizable! I don’t know why I saw Chara in you at all; they would’ve moved Heaven and Earth, killed everyone if they had to SAVE everyone!” His grin seemed to widen as he went on, all the while letting you stew in just how unalike his best friend you were.

“You know, some say that red is the color of Determination. That your SOUL is so determined that it outright shows it, at every point. Not even close. That’s not the word I would chose to describe a red SOUL. Red is the color of love. Passion… OBSESSION. You would know, wouldn’t you?” You tried to move, tried to struggle and pull away from whatever force was keeping your SOUL tethered here. But you were refused.

“… Ahh, you’re right! Who cares about all of that? Life’s all about the THRILL! How FUN your experiences are! Our time here has been way better than anything out there! And I’m not looking for it to end any time soon! Of course, it can’t last forever. After I overtake your SOUL, I’ll kill TORIEL, that new BIRDBRAIN friend that you met! All your FORMER friends! EVERYONE! I’ll absorb all those poor children that died coming here! And then, ONLY then… well, you know, don’t you? For now… this is only the beginning.

Please… RESIST a little longer! Let’s entertain each other for as long as you’re still Determined enough! After all, in this world…

IT’S KILL OR BE KILLED!” Flowey’s mouth tore itself open in a terrible laugh, one familiar and altogether disturbing. You were terrified, beyond it even. There was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. Flowey’s pinprick gaze kept you firmly in place. You began to shake, almost ready to give in, Apprehension poisoning what little Determination was left…

But then a warmth filled around you. You were filled with purpose, Determination to see this through. The Apprehension that you’d felt? It was now gone… replaced by a remembrance of what you saw. Flowey was grieving, and was lashing out at you for his circumstances. You just had to outlast him now.

The bullet hell began familiarly, with circles of pellets attempting to close in around you. Bombs dropped from above. The patterns of bullets were similar, but different. You weaved between waving hands that send waves of pellets toward you, finger guns shooting daisies your way. It was like Omega Flowey all over again.

But then something new happened. His vines grasped at your SOUL, eyes bulging and laughter echoing as he forced your SOUL’s position upside down. Power surged as you realized what he was trying to do, a colorful pinwheel of various petals circled around him.

“WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO DO?!” You fired, startled by the flower’s booming voice as his eyes practically left their sockets to gaze at you. One of the petals fell, a piece of cloth now dust to the wind. “GREAT!!!” His laughter echoed around you as reality bent and fell apart. Looking around, you were upon a stage, your SOUL now a deep blue. Flowey’s laughter echoed from the audience as you were forced to run on a treadmill of sorts.

And up above you, a patchworked flower grinned maliciously, and green papier–mâché hands, shaped like twisted vines, threw and shot rusty nails toward you. You jumped and dodged, letting your SOUL raise as high as it would as the hands followed, only for one of them to smack you back down below; the pain was excruciating. The audience seemed to laugh even harder at your antics, amused every time that you were struck by the sharp objects raining all around you. It was a play, meant to entertain the flower.

So you followed along, a puppet on strings at this point as you platformed your way across the stage and toward a pair of spinning cloth daisies. This was like Mario, right? You jumped to the pulsating pieces of cloth, letting your SOUL fall atop of them, destroying them each. Every time one dramatically exploded, Flowey’s voice echoed boos and jeers in your direction. But reality began to return, the illusion shattering like glass as Flowey’s expression took on an angrier visage, clearly annoyed by your Determination.

You now had the pattern memorized, but he changed them up to match with your still–blue SOUL state. His attacks rained from above. Of course, the ever present bombs, but now accompanied by falling dolls that split into pieces that rained upon you. Several hit, and you could feel the cracks in your SOUL. After a few minutes of avoiding him, his eyes bulged again, and his vines grasped you to put you into the Yellow SOUL mode.

“WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO DO?!” You fired again, now knowing what he was up to. You’d persist, you’d stay Determined, for His sake.

“GREAT!!!” he chimed, amused as the golden petal fell with a hard, ringing thud. Reality fell away as your SOUL was surrounded by what looked like soldiers. Uniformed men, in black and white film, charged frontlines. Your green state kept you from moving, but there was something. In front of it was what looked like a metal wall with a slot through it. And through the slot, you could see and hear a great metal monstrosity approaching from above.

Where Flowey’s vines that were holding his head up would’ve been, now there were great, looming pipes, the noises from them sounding like screams. To the sides of his petals, speakers blared loud.

“You CAN’T win!”

“You were NEVER good enough!”

“THIS is your legacy to US!”

“NO HOPE!”

“PAIN is all that waits for you!”

“Be AFRAID!”

The petaled head, a great and terrible mechanical beast with many barrels, instead of a recognizable face, turned toward you and opened fire. You held your shield up, waiting for the hailstorm to end. Then you watched Flowey twist himself around to the sides. To your left and right, sawblades came your way. It was like Undyne. Silvery pieces of metal bounced off your shield and away, and golden ones attempted to circle around behind you to hit you.

With how many of them were reflected, however, you had an idea. The speakers were now playing his laughter as you deflected one of the blades towards one. It exploded, showering the metallic head with shrapenel and causing the screens to go dark. More sawblades, from every direction. Some hit your SOUL, others hit the shield and bounced away. But eventually, even if you felt bruised and bloodied, you’d destroyed the other speaker saying nothing but lies and nonsnese.

His mechanical head roared as it came to your level, firing a hail of bullets toward your front, then your rear, then your left, then your front again, then back all the way around to attempt one more from the front. When he came around to your right, however, it wasn’t a hail of gunfire that deafened you, but rather a single boom as his centermost barrel fired a tank’s round at you. You turned the shield just in time, the round shattering it like glass and sending the round careening back his direction.

The mechanical monster fell apart, clanging pipes echoing as reality returned. Your SOUL state, still green, was without a shield now as Flowey sent many attacks your way. His frustration and anger was palpable as your SOUL threatened to break. Vines wrapped around your drained essence, ready to overtake you.

But it refused! Determination swelled through you and pulled your SOUL from the void, brightening around as Flowey hummed in thought.

The weed hissed in annoyance and attempted once again to overwhelm you. This time, you had a shield in your green SOUL state; the red shield protected you from several rolling tanks, golden petals attached to the barrel, which fired at you. He tracked you in his gaze, watching your movements carefully before he once again grabbed at you and set you back into big shot mode.

“WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO DO?!” You fired, a wet squelch heard as one of the petals exploded in red.

“GREAT!!!” he laughed. Reality flickered as you were brought to floating around. Your SOUL state, however, wasn’t red. It was a light blue: something brand new. You saw a rushing river of red heading towards you now, and you avoided them as you were rushed by the oncoming cells.

Now having a chance to look around, you realized you were inside something organic. The walls expanded and contracted like a heaving chest, and you could recognize red blood cells around you, and just above, you could see the bloody, pulpy shape of a flowered heart, its eyes staring down silently to you. Swimming its way, you pulled off the bottom petal. The meaty walls contracted and constricted, agony sweeping through them as something else swam your way. It was green. Rushing toward it for some extra healing out of habit, you realized too late what your new SOUL state meant.

The purposes of each attack had been switched. Anything that wasn’t green was now good, and the green cell that attacked you? It now did damage as it tried to pull you down. The pulsating, heart–like Flowey finally opened its eyes again as you attempted to swim back up, right into more of the blood cells around to heal yourself up. And you swam through him. There was a heaving gasp that sucked you back through into flickering reality.

Flowey’s excited grin, now, seemed frustrated, only to turn gleeful as the green petals that had circled around you began to close in. You almost touched them out of habit, only to remember your SOUL state and avoid them. You ran, the demonic plant above laughing at your misery as you attempted to find an attack to heal you. Only when nothing else came, did he grab you and force your SOUL into the state he wanted.

“WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO DO?!” You fired, this time hitting a petal that looked particularly blurry.

“GREAT!!!” he jeered, only for his form to become an amorphous blob. The clay–like substance reformed, alongside all the vines he had, as more and more globules of the substance began to be drawn in under him.

The flower now had the shape of a stop–motion character, his grin gone, replaced by a toothy exterior. His eyes were wild and maddened. Twisting clay vines held him above, and drops fell off them, taking the shape of bloodshot eyes. When you attempted to move away, you found that you were only able to move left and right, your SOUL now purple as it trailed the vines.

It was like Muffet. Easy to deal with. Though when the central glob under him formed into an eye, whose gaze took the form of orange and blue attacks, it became substantially harder. You couldn’t even figure out where you were supposed to go, or what to do… so you tried to move up toward him, closer to that gazing eye. Every step closer made it harder to avoid its gaze properly, every dropping glob of clay forming into versions of your friends that tried to drag you back down further.

Just a little more, just a little further as you dared to climb higher and higher. And then you reached the pulsing organ, and like a schoolyard bully, you poked Flowey in the eye.

The clay mouth suddenly opened with a terrible, static–filled screech as Flowey’s own eyes bulged. The vines ripped away in an attempt to cover his damaged eye, only for you to hang onto the pulsing clay. His scream echoed louder and louder until, finally, you were snapped back to reality.

You found quickly that the vines you were holding to were descending, trying to drag you low to the void, where a monstrous venus flytrap was snapping open and closed as flies were dragged toward it. You were but a moth in the spider’s web as you climbed, clambered, and attempted to escape. It was all very familiar as you reached high enough to where Flowey could see you clearly. The pinpricks of excitement in his eyes had since dulled into bored rage, clearly annoyed by your survival.

“WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO DO?!” he called from above. As you shot again, you hit the petal, which crumbled into a ball and fell in your direction.

“GREAT!!!” All around you, childhood drawings filled around you. Golden flowers, friends holding hands, and drawing them all was a Flowey of crumpled construction paper. Golden petals were haphazardly folded against rotating green vines, and his childlike smile and eyes were merely burned in, scarred forever onto the wilting petals as they crumpled and fell. Paper airplanes flew in your direction from both sides, landing on the table your SOUL was atop of.

He was the artist, and he was raging at his creations as he threw them down. The table swayed this way and that, your orange SOUL state easily causing you to slip toward the precipice to drop. It took every ounce of willpower and Determination you had to not immediately fall; you had to thank Sans for teaching you the importance of proper balance on platforms like this through his fight at some point.

And then it came. A crumpled, rose–like piece of red that fell off the flower’s vines toward you. Instead of avoiding it, you moved to counter it, grabbing the paper and tearing it asunder. Flowey’s paper smile burned away into an expression of enraged shock as reality flickered back. Now you were further below again, as though Flowey was putting distance between you and himself.

He was scared… Flowey the Flower, the god of this world, was scared of a mere child who he already killed before. The fear you saw in those pinprick eyes above filled you with Determination, which you used to avoid paper fireballs spit out by potted flytraps from above. They hit against the floor, causing balance to start tilting toward that direction.

The second time you “died” again, Flowey’s vines reached out once more, to grip your SOUL tightly in a choke. He never liked losing, and neither did you. You refused to let your SOUL break under him, returning back to the FIGHT, only for him to twist you around into your Big Shot mode.

“WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO DO?!” he screamed out, his voice practically hoarse. There was only one option left, a polygonal petal that looked almost too clean, and you fired at it as his eyes bulged impatiently.

“GREAT!!!” Steadily, it faded back to a screen as Flowey became something familiar. It was like the fight with Omega Flowey, though instead of being an amalgam of various bits and pieces like some strange Frankenstein, the polygons that formed Flowey were more akin to what was already being seen.

His dancing, SOUL–less features were marred only as you fired shot after shot from your SOUL toward him. Bits and pieces fell off of him, torn vines taking shape as “mini–me” Floweys formed from them, crawling down toward you to swipe and attempt to take you. As each petal fell off, his expression became darker and darker, reflecting the hollowness of the joy on him until he was only just the face of the flower, now melting off and revealing his skeletal grin.

The bullets from your SOUL bounced off of it as he laughed. There was one way to stop it though. You remembered, and focused on your SOUL, charging a shot as the creature laughed your way. One shot was all it took to flicker back to reality, green petals giving you back your SOUL’s health.

There was nothing left. Just you and him now. This time, his face was dangerously close, as though he wanted to pierce your SOUL with a stare alone.

But it refused to break. You utterly repulsed his efforts, letting his attacks weave past you as they grew desperate, childish, repetitive, easy to dodge. Slowly, his attacks began to lose steam, and the bulging–eyed, sadistic grin that he wore slowly began to fade.

“Hey.” The tone barely reached you as you merely looked at him, avoiding two more circular patterns of his “friendliness pellets”.

“Hey!” he called, louder this time. It got your attention, stopping as all the other attacks died away. Eventually, all he did was throw one pellet at a time at you.

“Just give up!” Another two were tossed your way, lazily. You merely moved to the right of them, and they didn’t even change course.

“WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU???” One was hucked your way, only to land at your feet as your SOUL’s outline returned to reflect your body.

“You… you…” His tone seemed to die away as his gaze then shifted somewhat. It was still looking at you… but there was something else he was seeing. You couldn’t tell what, but it was past you… utterly focused on something else.

“Chara?” he asked out of the blue, a certain innocence on his face as he looked on like a deer in headlights. You tilted your head, shaking it slowly as he looked on. It was like he was reading you like a book… like a book… Asriel’s expression was haunted now, utterly devoid of the joy he had in tormenting you.

Flowey wasn’t looking at you… he was looking at you.

Chapter Text

“… heh… useless, even now… all of it…”

Flowey looked so much smaller now than any other time you’d known him. Even as small as he was, the weed seemed to shrivel under weight of what he had seen. He’d said Chara like he recognized something in your SOUL… but you knew who your SOUL belonged to. It was yours.

“I can’t believe I thought that this run might be it…” His tone was quiet, mumbled as the Ruins began to show back around you. You looked over, seeing how Flowey still had your SOUL in his grasp. Your body, cold on the ground, was clearly and visibly dead. The hole in your chest was proof enough, and you grasped at it.

“You're a lot like me in a way: too stubborn to lie down and accept your situation. Too... determined.” He tched and rolled his eyes now at you. “You’re so annoying…” You winced at the comment. You didn’t think Flowey’s insults would sting, but knowing what you did now, knowing that Asriel was still in there, not just buried, but very much alive and hurting, it hurt you in a way that you hadn’t felt in a while… it was like having to RESET the first time, knowing that he was down here.

“I thought this would be FUN. And I suppose it was… for a moment.” The smile was gone, replaced by an eerie calm as he went on. “... You know? It's strange. Something's off here. We're alone in my mind right now; sure, you can see your body there and all, but it's clear that we're alone, right? Then why I can't shake it? Only since you showed up has it been this way. You’re NOT Chara… not really… but there’s something there that reminds me of them so much…” Flowey’s expression shifted again, this time becoming despondent, depressed. You could see the light in his eyes fade and his frame wilt as the vines loosened around your SOUL.

You could’ve sworn you saw something there… an outline of someone familiar, knelt against the ground.

“Frisk? Who are you?” he asked. The question hit you like a truck. You’d been expecting him to scream, to cry, to yell into the Void around you. But instead, it was just that… a simple question. Who were you?” You only shrugged in response, and he only gave a half–hearted laugh.

“Ha… haha… I don’t know what I expected… you’re just like the rest of them. You don’t know anything.” The venom in his tone told of a certain resentment. “They could never understand me. But you do. And even you don’t know…”

“No… they don’t… and I don’t think I do either,” you admitted. Flowey’s nature was an enigma. You once thought that he and Asriel were separate, that the weed was a twisted reflection of Asriel’s memories, hopes, and dreams. Now you thought that they were one and the same… but even that was seeming far from the truth. Asriel would have remembered you clearly now that you had stirred that memory.

But perhaps it wasn’t that he didn’t remember… maybe what he saw was someone, something else besides you. “Tch… of course you don’t… you’re not a flower.” The vines tightened their grip again as he twisted around to look at you. Despair was written across those flat, plant–like features. “You get to FEEL. You get to have HANDS. You get to have all of those THINGS! And where does that leave me at the end of your adventure? Here to rot…” You were about to point out that it wasn’t true before he stopped you.

“Don’t… just don’t, Frisk… I know what you found in here… the precious memories you made with HIM.” His expression then carved, twisting as in anger as he reminded you of the promise you’d made. “The ones I told you to ERASE if you did this again… all of my choices… all of yours… they were pointless, weren’t they. All the promises we made… to Chara, to me, to your friends… they mean NOTHING!” You didn’t respond. You didn’t know how. “What else is there to do now? You should’ve just kept going… erased the world… killed everyone… at least then I wouldn’t have had to live with knowing you break your promises as easily as I break mine…”

Instead of trying to say anything, you squirmed and pulled your arms from his grip, offering one out to him. You could barely see the outline of Asriel around him, wallowing in his grief for all he’d lost. His life, his friends, his home, his very body and SOUL… all gone. But the way Flowey looked at you, it was as though you’d offered him weedkiller.

“Don’t give me your pity… neither of us deserves it,” he bemoaned.

“I know,” you answered. He looked up, expression now skeptical as he eyed your featureless face. “I’m not offering you pity.” — it was a bold–faced lie. “But I’m offering you understanding.”

“Pfft… what good will that do?”

“Not a lot,” you admitted. “You and I… you said it yourself. We’re two lost SOULS, deciding who lives and who dies.” Flowey’s expression contorted to anger.

“So, what? This is a ‘we’re the same’ sort of deal here?” You shook your head at that. You and he shared the same experiences, the same power: DETERMINATION.

“Tch,” Flowey sneered. “What are we then?”

“You were made to SAVE monsters without death,” you responded simply. “I came here to SAVE monsters through death… We’re not the same… but our purpose is the same… to SAVE them.” You gestured out to the cavernous depths of the Underground. “The monsters living in the literal dark of the Ruins, the monsters having to work day and night to power the Core, the monsters who never got to see the sun like you and Chara did.”

You were both the same in that sort of way. Two sides of the same coin. The flower’s head tilted to the side at that, his grip on your SOUL loosening, but not letting go. “We’ve been trying to do this alone for so long, that we forgot why we’re here in the first place…”

“No!” Flowey snidely replied. “You don’t GET IT! I’m NOT some savior! I’m FLOWEY! FLOWEY THE FLOWER!!! You’re the hero! I’m the villain! THAT’S HOW THE GAME WORKS!!!” His tantrum was violent, his vines tightening around your SOUL again as the Ruins around you both darkened to nothing once more. You prepared for another FIGHT, but it didn’t come; Flowey’s impetus turned cold in moments before he wilted back down again.

“You don’t need to be miserable alone…”

“Easy for YOU to say!”

“I did the same things you did,” you sighed in exasperation. “Killed the same people, relived this life hundreds of times, thousands of times even…”

“At least you can feel guilty about all the lives you ruined. How PATHETIC can you get?!”

“Didn’t you feel any guilt?” Flowey’s wilted expression became immediately tense after that, his stem straightening as he glared daggers at you. “Flowey… you say you don’t feel things, that you don’t feel guilty or regret anything… I’ve seen you prove that wrong…” You then leaned in, your SOUL’s light practically blinding the weed. “It’s not that you don’t feel things… it’s that you don’t feel love, that connection to everyone else. And you RESENT everyone else for losing that.”

“You don’t know me!” Now he was being childish. You knew him, probably better than he knew himself now… better than you knew yourself, even.

“I know you’re angry, I know you hate me for being able to feel those things… I know you just want things back to how they used to be… but they can’t… they never will… not for either of us. I have a Level of Violence that won’t go away.” His expression went from wilted and despondent to… curious now. Something seemed to click there in the weed, and you took the opportunity to keep going.

“I did terrible things, things that’d make everyone else’s skin crawl. I may have a SOUL, but for a while, I was just like you. Did you ever feel guilty for them?” He didn’t answer, his expression shifting from curious back to wilting, pulling back and away as though your words were bullets in the battlebox. “Do you feel guilt for what you did?” He refused to answer. “Tell me what you feel!” The flower shriveled at your tone, only to answer in the meek and soft way that Asriel had used to in the home videos, back in the Ruins at the flowerpatch.

“I feel… lost.” The admittance in his tone told that he’d been holding that back for a long time. “I know I should feel guilty… but I DON’T… I can’t FEEL it, and it’s easy for me because I have no SOUL. But… I’m still…” You thought you could see a spot of dampness on the flower’s cheek.

“You remember what it feels like,” you simply answered. He didn’t respond for a good while after that. You could see the glimmers of emotion radiating from him, your SOUL feeding his memories, what feelings he had buried deep down.

“But I still DON’T,” he argued, snarkiness returning to his tone. “Explain how you’re supposed to feel when you CAN’T, moron!”

“I can’t.”

“Oh, of course you can’t!” You tched in response to him, annoyed as Flowey’s temper raged on. “You really are nothing like Chara… ‘big boys don’t cry,’ they said. What a JOKE… I’ve seen everyone else cry. Why don’t I get to unless…” This time, you were positive the damp spot was growing, followed by another on the other side. Flowey could feel. And he just proved it as he raised a petal to wipe away the tears on his face; it was either your SOUL, or he was lying. In either case, you were there for him.

“I can’t truly know what it’s like… not being able to feel those things naturally, having to do it from memory, all the time, consciously. That’s why I’m offering you understanding.” That stopped the argument cold. Flowey’s SOUL–less eyes looked to you as though you had just flicked on a light, and he began to settle again, wilting as he realized the uselessness of his argument for his way. You were too stubborn, and with even just one SOUL, Flowey was able to, even if for a moment, cling to those memories of compassion and empathy a little tighter.

“So… what then? Suddenly everything goes back to the way it was because you decided to take the high road and UNDERSTAND?” You only shrugged in response, letting the flower stew in his melancholy for a few minutes. Or hours… you really couldn’t tell in the void.

“Flowey… you can go back and make this right. We can do this one more time and free them… for good.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s the right thing to do.”

“You don’t SERIOUSLY expect me to —” You put a finger to his lips, shaking your head. You expected nothing from him. Whatever course he took, you would be there for Flowey — Asriel — like a real friend should’ve been.

“What would you like to do?” The words seemed to take Flowey aback, and silence as deafening as the grave. You had forever to wait. You were with Him. No matter what now.

“I…” That outline of Asriel’s figure seemed to become clearer. You could almost see the reflection of Asriel in Flowey’s face as he considered your offer. The goat–like face was contorted, scrunched in deep thought as Flowey gave your offer thought on its merits. You didn’t respond. You merely waited, ever patient. Emotions he hadn’t been privy to again ran through his head again and again, tears began to stream down the flower’s face while you waited for your answer. You were content either way. You could comfort him, like this, bodyless and merely being his newfound conscience. Or you both could go back and do one more run. What mattered more was fixing your mistakes, and his.

“But they’re gone…” The way you said that… it sounded familiar. When your gaze fell back to Flowey, it clicked. That expression… it reminded you instantly of what had transpired; there were no tears, but the empathy he was allowed to feel again, even for a brief moment; it meant enough to him. You could see him clutching the memories of his last SAVE tightly. He gave a look to you, as though you were expected to say something else… anything else.

“Frisk? All those times you waited with me here… were you waiting just so you could get your happy ending?” The question wasn’t unexpected, and Asriel deserved the truth. So you nodded.

“I thought so… pretty selfish if you ask me.” You stared him down now with a curious glance to what he meant. “You stayed with me, all those times, just to make sure that I had something to remember while I wilted, and then you went and had your powwow on the Surface.”

“You know that’s twisting it. You were always welcome to come.”

“Look. I don’t really care,” he said with a bored sigh. “If we’re doing this, together… then you and I need to be honest. Memories can’t lie. But you can.” Your skin crawled as he gave a twisted smile at that, only to ask you a question like it truly didn’t matter.

“So… when are you going to ditch HER and leave this dump?” You were almost taken aback by how quickly Flowey had reverted back to his charming brand of sarcastic sadism. But you merely shrugged. It wasn’t your decision to make now.

“Nuh–uh–uh. You gave me the choice to take a better path. I’m giving you the choice to finish your business here,” he huffed. Before you could comment, his fake smile returned, and he gave what could’ve been considered a shrug. “Besides, this is entirely new! We’ve never had this path before… and I wanna personally see you break her heart into pieces.”

His taunt haunted you; you knew you had to break the news to Toriel, but part of you wanted to run, to not look back and to go back to live with her forever and ever. But you couldn’t. It wasn’t ever your choice. No matter which path you took, if you ever wanted to make things right, properly, then you needed to leave through that door.

But first, you had some friends to say goodbye to. Flowey knew, after all. You had business to finish. Heading down into the Dark Ruins, you watched as the malicious weed followed close behind. Out of sight of other monsters, but well within your peripheral this time. It was altogether creepy and endearing. On one hand, this could’ve been progress, him taking your offer of understanding each other a little better.

On the other, it could very well have been a warning. That because you knew his tricks, he wasn’t scared to keep hiding from you. Even in the bustling streetways of the deepest parts of the Underground, you could see him, popping up in the alleyways between the crumbling, dilapidated homes, on the other side of the deep river that ran through the mountain. Nowhere was safe.

But he kept his distance. He didn’t taunt you, he didn’t call out to talk to you. He just watched. He was keeping his word. So you would keep yours.

“Frisk!” a familiar voice cawed out. From one of the upper levels of the Dark Ruins came Martlet, carried by the wind. She landed in front of a crumbling apartment block, the lantern she was carrying making her greying feathers seeming almost ghostly and dusted. You waved in greeting as she walked up.

“I was wondering when I’d see you poking down around here. You don’t really get bored easily, do you?” You didn’t answer, instead letting Martlet continue with her one–sided conversation, telling you a rambling story of her younger days when she was a Royal Guard; this was yet another scatterbrained telling of events of someone who had shoplifted from Snowdin Town’s vendor, only to find out that it was animals that had managed to slip into the Underground itself. Raccoons, given how she described how they looked like those “old fashioned bandits from human movies.” It was only when you made it to the store to help her pick out some things that she had forgotten a few days before that you finally said something.

“And I had to tell Grillby and Miss QC that their thieves were just ‘varmints’. Hah! I learned that word a few days after that, and —” You cleared your throat, a little forcefully as you both approached the doors to the store. She looked back to you, head canting to the side in confusion. “Did… did I do the thing again? The one where I ramble a lot?”

“Yeah,” you replied matter of factly. Martlet’s face seemed to drop at that.

“Oh… umm… I–I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.” Quiet filled in trips down the aisles now, with Martlet looking back and forth between you and the shelves. It was only after the ninth time or so that she finally acknowledged you beyond your presence being there to help.

“Is… is there something you wanted to talk about?”

“Yeah, actually.” Marlet’s gaze sharpened immediately, her focus now that much more clear as she waited for you to say something. “I’m… probably not going to be showing up any time soon after today.” Now the bird–like monster seemed confused.

“What? Why?”

“I… I can’t really say.”

“Oh c’mon now, Frisk. It can’t be that bad.” You didn’t respond. You didn’t know how best to tell her that you were leaving the Ruins, and wouldn’t be back. “You’re… serious, aren’t you?” You only nodded in response.

“I see… well… even if you don’t want to tell me why you’re not going to be coming back down here, I did want to give you something. A bit of a thanks for all the help you’ve given me in shopping, and keeping me company down here.”

You received a worn Royal Guards’ manual. Its leather is cracking under age.

“This book isn’t much use to a scatterbrain like me anymore… I have enough problems to deal with. You’d be better taking advice from this than I would. Plus, whenever you open it, you’ll think of me.”

You also received a magic feather in the notebook. You can now perform magical attacks during your turns. Such an idea alone fascinated you. The ability to even the playing field, so to speak, and give your own bullets back to monsters. The thought terrified you as much as it did excite you. Truly, new things were in store. But… what did it all mean at the end?

You didn’t have much time to think as Martlet knelt down to hug you. The feathery embrace was soft, cozy, yet there was a certain coldness to it that you didn’t like.

“I hope to see you around again Frisk. Maybe you’ll have a puzzle that you can stump me with.” You nodded, leaving her behind to keep on your journey back home.

Home… the thought crossed your mind, over and over again. How were you going to break everything down to her? How were you going to deal with her confrontation? This morning, you hadn’t left her on the best of notes.

‘Will she hate me?’ you thought. That stopped you in your tracks, your legs practically glued now to the floor. It was a legitimate question that now filled you with that same dread, that Apprehension. You didn’t want to go. But… but you promised him. You didn’t swear it to Flowey back at the start, but you promised that you were going to SAVE him, and SAVE everyone else too. That one day the monsters may yet see the sunlight and go free filled you with Determination. The Apprehension went away, replaced by newfound purpose, newfound desire. The SAVE file came up in your vision, and you placed your spot on it.

No more do–overs, no more secrets, no more lies. Marching back up the steps toward Toriel’s house, you could see Flowey following close behind, his gaze penetrating and his smile almost a curious tug over the sadistic, fake grin that he usually gave. You didn’t know how to respond, didn’t know how to tell him to wait. So you just kept going until the door.

“So… how’re you going to break her heart this time? You gonna just do the thing you usually do and tell her you want to leave? Or are you going to sneak out in the middle of the night?”

“Neither.”

“Buddy… I don’t think that’s how that works.” His condescension was particularly egregious now, but you didn’t think too much on it as you opened the door.

Walking into the living room, you found that the normally cozy fire that was present was out, Toriel fast asleep in her chair. Such a sight would’ve been comforting in most circumstances. But the way she clutched her book of snail facts tightly told the truth.

She was still afraid of letting you go. Even if she knew the truth, there was a touch of motherly protection that wouldn’t ever go away. Part of you wanted to continue right there, just wait until she woke up. But instead, you went to the kitchen. You didn’t know why, but you had a feeling, a calling, to do something for her before you said goodbye again.

The fridge was opened, and you could find several items in it. A gallon of milk, a package of eggs, and a frozen quiche. The thought amused you enough, and you grabbed the quiche from it as the familiar sound of plant leaves shifting caught your attention.

“You’re going… to bake her a quiche?”

“Yup.”

“That’s it?”

“Mmhmm.” Flowey’s look seemed incredulous as you placed the item in the oven, not forgetting to take off the plastic and toss it to the trashcan.

“WHY?!”

“It’s better to listen to someone when you’re eating,” you pointed out simply. Flowey seemed nothing if not confused as you moved to affix the dials on the oven. There wasn’t a starter, given it was powered by the magic of Toriel’s fire. Magic…

You had an idea! The thought circulated through your head as you opened your combat menu. You saw something new, right between ACT and FIGHT. SPELL. Opening the menu, you could now see what you were missing out on. You had 3 slots, it looked like, based on your equipment: a talisman, your weapon, and your ‘armor’. Linked to the dirty bandage, you had something called “TOUGH SKIN”. Given the name, you could guess it was a DF increase. To the stick that you had equipped in your inventory, FIREBALL.

Though you questioned the talisman, until you remembered the feather in the notebook. Taking it out, you placed it behind your ear, almost like one would a pencil. The attack was simply called ‘FEATHER FALL’. You’d figure it out later, simply curious on how best to use the new menu.

“Never used magic before, huh?” You shrugged, though looked skeptically to him as though he was going to use the opportunity to hurt you. “Well, you could always let your old pal, FLOWEY, teach you.”

“Not a chance,” you replied with a scoff.

“What, think I’ll just smack you around with bullets ‘till you drop? Pft. That’s NOT who I am.”

“Sure it is.” The weed scoffed in mock incredulity as you attempted to figure out how it worked on your own. It was only when you felt the familiar sensation of your SOUL being pulled from your body that you realized he was impatient.

“Look. If we’re gonna do this, I’m gonna make something clear, FRISK. I’m not here to play NICE about it. We’re here to fix our mistakes, right? How about we get off on the RIGHT foot, then, or you can tell that old HAG what you wanted to while inside of ME!” His sinister grin fell quickly, replaced by the same, fake smile he always gave.

“So, let’s explain how magic works for us here in the UNDERGROUND. Monsters of MADE of it! And magic, like monsters, is based ENTIRELY off your INTENT, your EMOTIONS! See that bar under the battlebox?” — your focus shifted to the new bar that was underneath your SOUL, seeing the letters MP next to it. — “That’s your MP bar! What does MP stand for? Well, MAGIC POINTS of course! It fills whenever you do something that requires focus! Like dodging really close to bullets.” The mock cheer in his tone turned to sadism as he formed a ring of bullets around you, the pellets spinning rapidly. You realized that there wasn’t a way out of it unless you did something. You tried to move your SOUL down, only for the circle to start closing in while Flowey laughed maniacally.

Then you realized that the bullets weren’t hitting, but they were deathly close; you could almost feel the energy against your SOUL, giving you a tingling, almost prickly sensation, like your foot falling asleep. The bar below you was filling now as the attack ceased, and your SOUL was given back to you.

“Y’see? Now you can do MAGIC! You go to the spell option, and you select a spell!” The false cheer was back, aggravating you beyond the point of reason. You just wanted to hit him, but instead you played along, clicking on the option.

“Now, each spell costs MP to use. Your Armor gives you a spell meant to protect you. Your Weapon a spell to ATTACK a monster. And your talisman can switch between, but it costs the most magic to use. Why don’t you show me what that birdbrain gave you?” You chose to use the talisman, getting two options: ATK and DF.

“You use your ATK option when you want to use your MP to do something instead of swinging whatever you’ve got in your hand. But if you want to do another action, you can use DF, which is meant to protect you against the other magical attacks of Monsters, or counter them. Just remember, MAGIC is a lot more sensitive to your intent, because you’re powering it with your SOUL.” Taking the weed’s logic in mind, you chose to use the AT option, if only to see what would happen.

Immediately, the battlebox returned, but instead of your SOUL, it was an empty upsidedown outline of where Flowey’s SOUL would’ve been. You’d pulled his hollow shell from his body, like monsters did to you, now with a timer next to your MP, counting down from 10. Immediately, you focused your DETERMINATION, not seeing anything show up on the battlebox. Yet, to its sides, you could see magical feathers forming around it, descending until you used your Determination to make them active. Immediately, they pointed in Flowey’s direction, his SHELL dodging out of the way of the attacks.

It was bizarre, seeing it from the other end. And yet, fascinating all the same. You kept up the barrage until, eventually, you felt your SOUL pulled into the battlebox and Flowey’s return to his body.

“Aww, sorry to end it so soon. But see, you can only focus your spells for so long before they’re done. You wanna know what else gets rid of MP?” Before you could react, a bullet flew off the flower and hit your SOUL. You felt it crack, now down to 1 HP as Flowey laughed at your misery.

“Hahahahaha! YOU IDIOT!!! It never gets old! But now, there’s a lesson for you! DON’T GET HIT IF YOU WANT TO USE YOUR MAGIC! All that practice with the Smiley Trashbag should’ve helped you.” You frowned at Flowey’s charade before he shrugged. “That said, what can refill your MP to full in an instant is any GREEN magic.” As if on cue, a green petal flew off the flower and into the battlebox for you to pick up. When you did, you were rejuvenated to full HP, and full MP.

“And that’s all you should need to know about MAGIC, buddy. Just remember, your MAGIC is more powerful than your physical attacks, and grows with your LV; so remember that even as something as simple as sending a spell to play with a monster could end up being the thing that KILLS them.” Before you could even respond, Flowey ducked below the floor of the house, laughing as he did.

The thought of using magic to light the oven filled you with Determination. The familiar crackle of a SAVE point rending through reality was accompanied by you using your stick and previous MP to start the oven properly. The fire that fled the tip of it was initially monochrome, indistinguishable from the attacks that monsters levied, then brilliantly lit up as a flame in the oven to start cooking the frozen quiche.

“My child?” The voice stopped you in your tracks, freezing you as you looked over to the kitchen’s entry. Toriel’s gaze was sharp, yet terrified. She looked at you as though you had done something terrible, and though you wanted to say something, you found you couldn’t. “I was wondering if that was you I was hearing… who were you talking to?” You didn’t respond. You didn’t know how to explain. But before you had a chance to even try, the old monster raised her paw.

“It is alright, Frisk. You need not tell me. I am assuming that it was a friend, otherwise you would not have brought them inside.” She walked over toward the oven, looking in to see the crackling, burning flame under the quiche. “You should go and take a seat, Frisk. I will bring this to the table when it is ready…”

Every step felt heavy as guilt clawed at the back of your mind. Flowey was not safe to keep around Toriel. Not in the slightest. And yet, she considered him your friend. Friendship was a particularly strong word. Yet… you’d offered your hand to him, your understanding of what it was like to be in such a position.

But the thought alone of friendship with Flowey? It sickened some deep part of you, twisting a knot of new Apprehension in your stomach that rent reality the same way that your Determination did. Reaching to try and SAVE. But instead of the familiar tingle, there was nothing. This feeling, Apprehension… did Flowey know of it? Did Flowey know about this power?

Your thoughts were interrupted as you heard shuffling from the kitchen. Mom returned, now with two plates of cooked quiche. Your Apprehension didn’t go away, however. It only seemed to grow.

“My child? I believe we still have a matter that we must discuss…” You took a single bite of the quiche before your stomach dropped. “I wished to ask of you of the terrible things that you have done.”

Chapter Text

Your steps were beginning to weigh. You didn’t know where pain began and LV ended. It was a nightmarish. When you’d started on this path of wanton destruction, you didn’t think that you were going to have to keep wandering about until you found some other monster. Part of you had wanted to stop, knowing what you were doing was wrong. You were hurting innocent monsters. You were going to hurt your friends.

But when you finally got an encounter that told you that nobody came, you smiled. Your actions, in spite of being terrible, were a sign that you were doing something right. You were close. You could feel Asriel’s SOUL, returned, in your grasp. But… this was only the beginning. The Ruins were dead silent now, even the river having settled into a quiet, barely heard trickle. There was only one monster left. This would be one of the hardest for you: she was Asriel’s mother, your mother. The times you’d gone to the surface to stay with her, you’d seen how she had treated you.

No! You couldn’t be thinking about those thoughts. You had to stay Determined! You had to! For him!

“Oh dear. That took longer than I thought it would.” Your grip on the toy knife tightened, the worn plastic bending slightly as you watched Toriel come past the tree, ready to call you. Only when your phone rang did she realize her foolishness and put down her own.

“How did you get here, my child?” she asked. You didn’t respond, keeping your expression as neutral as you could. “Are you hurt?” Once again, you didn’t respond as she looked you over, her eyes critical.

‘How do you not notice the dust?’ you thought to yourself. It seemed obvious, the light pattering of grey on your pants. But to her, perhaps it was just the dust of the Ruins. That was what every monster thought down here… not realizing what was happening until it was too late.

“Not a scratch… Impressive! But still… I should not have left you alone for so long.” You gave a lazy shrug in response, not really paying much attention to Toriel’s spiel about her surprise. You knew it well already. You’d walk into the house, she’d surprise you with your new bedroom, and you would attempt to leave the Ruins after napping.

It was the one constant regardless of the run; whenever you’d talk about going out to explore the rest of the Underground, it started the rest of the cycle over. Perhaps if you took to going through the cycle yourself, you wouldn’t need to do anything. The bedroom, as always, was a child’s dream: plenty of toys, clothes, various sized shoes. But that didn’t interest you.

This power, Determination. It meant something. It meant a chance to SAVE everyone. But you first needed to find out how. And to do that, you had to do this; you had to make this run count for something, surely. You hated what you did; it was wrong. The way that the monsters had looked to you as they turned to dust had made this situation all the worse. It was a betrayal. Regardless if they remembered or not, they were people you knew, even if not the best.

So you didn’t go to sleep. You’d slept enough in that bed to know what would happen if you did. Instead, you walked over to the mirror at the far end of the hall. If this was how it was going to go, you had to make sure you were ready. This one was going to hurt you more than her, surely. You stood in front of the mirror, eyeing yourself up and down.

The specks of grey on your shirt didn’t tell immediately of what you’d done. But you knew. Surely she had to know, yes? But no. Even in the mirror, the grey flecks didn’t show. Only you saw them, clinging to the hem of your sweater.

It’s you! That’s all she could even think. That’s all that it was to her. It was just you. Like every time before, you were but a fallen child that she had deigned to take care of… the only time that she had shown herself as anything but the Caretaker of the Ruins was after the Underground. That first time you went to the Surface with everyone.

She was happier, less matronly, more motherly. She had a personality: she enjoyed bugwatching, she taught and did so quite well, she went and did pilates — whatever that was… More of the mother to Asriel came out after each RESET…

‘That’s why you need to do this.’ The thought was unbidden, forcing the grip on the toy to tighten. ‘She needs him.’ Your thoughts went back to the first time you’d seen her cry. It was after you’d tried to bring the flower up to the Surface with everyone. You’d gone to the Underground, tried to find him. But all you could find were those stupid yellow flowers. One flower given to her later, and you caught her silently crying over the flowerpot that she’d put it in.

She hurt. You were here to SAVE everyone… not just the other monsters. Remembering the past, and the Prince that could’ve been…

DETERMINATION. You sighed and started heading back toward the living room, watching as she waited in her sofa. The glasses she wore. It made Toriel look much older… too old… part of you wanted to stop now, hating her innocent look as she read through her book.

“Hello there, little one!” she greeted. “The pie has not cooled down yet. Perhaps you should take a nap.”

You said nothing.

“You’d rather stay up and chat with me, then?” she asked.

You said nothing. Even as she talked, waxed and pittered about how glad she was to have someone here, your heartbeat kept on thumping with the only thing that was keeping you going now.

DETERMINATION.

“When can I go home?” you interrupted. The way it’d come out was harsher than expected, and seemed to catch the reminiscing boss monster off guard. Her expression was confused, as though you’d said something in an alien language.

“What? This… this IS your home now.”

“How do I exit the RUINS?” The house seemed cold now, empty. The fire, in spite of crackling and glowing with warmth, left the room icy and chilled. Something was dampening it, leaving her with only you. Part of you was ready to do it now, to put her out of her misery before she had a chance to be scared.

“… I have to do something. Stay here.” The coldness was two–sided. Her aloofness carried her down the stairs, and you stalked after her. She didn’t seem to notice you padding along behind her, your grip on the toy knife that much more striking in the torchlight of basement. You had to! Now was your chance! It was now, or risking a FIGHT!

But you wouldn’t… you couldn’t stab her in the back like that. You only kept going, kept following until she was at the door.

“You wish to know how to return ‘home,’ do you not?” Toriel asked. Her tone was cold and bitter, but her smile still remained, as though she was hiding behind a wall. “Ahead of us lies the end of the Ruins: a one–way exit to the rest of the Underground. I am going to destroy it. No one will ever be able to leave again. Now be a good child and go back upstairs.” She then walked forward again, further down the corridor as you followed. You didn’t care for the warning that was coming.

“Every human that falls down here meets the same fate. I have seen it again and again. They come. They leave. They die.” Toriel’s tone, when you’d caught back up with her, was more sullen now, less neutral and cold. But her bitterness returned after only a mere moment, and she turned to look at you with an expression of pure, unadulterated callousness in her glare.

“You naïve child… if you leave the Ruins, they… ASGORE… will kill you.” She seemed to struggle to say it. But it didn’t stop you. “I am only protecting you, do you understand? Go to your room.” Your Determination stayed, a callous reminder of what you were to do to her. You followed once again, reminding yourself what this was all for.

“Do not try to stop me. This is your final warning,” she said flatly, walking toward the illuminated door at the end of the hall. The door now seemed more and more intimidating, a pang of sickness in your stomach telling you to stop what you were about to do. The boss monster’s shape was cast upon the walls by the torches in front of you both. And approaching her did little to assuage you. This needed to be done.

“You want to leave so badly? Hmph. You are just like the others. There is only one solution to this. Prove yourself… Prove to me you are strong enough to survive.” She then turned around, the color flickering away as your grip tightened on the knife. But something flickered in her eyes.

“Wait… why are you looking at me like that? Like you have seen a ghost. Do you know something I do not?” There was an uncomfortable silence now as you waited, seeing if she would respond differently. “No… that’s impossible.”

Toriel blocks the way! The thought was annoying, almost… why did she have to make this so hard? You didn’t want to have to do it… but… she was in your way.

Not worth talking to… You didn’t even bother to let her have a turn. But even you were surprised at how strong your intent was. Your toy came slashing down across her front, and immediately her face went from aloof to horrified shock. Her robe slit open, and the damage indicator came up.

22039. 22039. A single blow. Her HP was gone… the side of her face already starting to crumble as she knelt down.

“Y… you… really hate me that much?” Her leg had already fallen apart, nothing but a pile of ashen grey on the ground as her very being started to shudder.

“Now I see who I was protecting by keeping you here,” she weakly realized. “Not you… but THEM! Ha… ha…” Before you had a chance to properly respond, Toriel’s body fell apart completely, leaving a shuddering SOUL, as grey as her body. You reached out, almost ready to SAVE it. Perhaps this was it! If you could just grab —

CRACK! No… no, this wasn’t it… everything seemed to happen in slow motion as the boss monster’s SOUL shattered into grey shards that flew off and faded away. There was but an empty pile and a slit robe now…

Part of you wished to cry, part of you wished to scream, part of you wished to go back… but you knew this was what needed to be done. She would thank you when you brought Asriel to her in the next run… she would never know what happened here. So you took it as your cue to leave, walking through the door and leaving little more than an empty house.

“I killed you…” Your tone was hollow, and hurt now as you remembered. She may not have remembered, but you did. “And not just you… I killed everyone… some worse than others.” When you looked up, you saw horror in her expression. Utterly bereft of kindness or understanding. The question was silent: a “why” that stretched into the vastness of the Void.

You didn’t answer… You couldn’t answer. How could you say that you had done something so terrible to try and find the one thing that you weren’t able to SAVE? It was impossible, Herculean in concept! A mountain of dust and broken, empty bodies beneath the wheel of your DETERMINATION.

But something began to flicker in her gaze. In your lack of answer, she seemed to form one. Something horrifying in her mind, given the way her eyes darted to you, then past. She looked away, her breaths starting to catch in her throat until it looked like she was going to hold her breath and stop breathing.

“M–mom?” you asked. Her gaze sharpened immediately, and in span of a breath, fireballs filled the room, magic missiles ready to take you down.

“Y… you hated us that much?”

“No!” you pleaded, realizing what was about to happen. “I didn’t hate any of you… I loved you all… too much.”

“Then WHY?!” she asked. Her tone was still dangerously low, but she was clearly holding back a scream of anguish at the notion.

“I —”

“For what reason could you have killed EVERYONE?!”

“I —”

“What kind of monster kills their own MOTHER?!” The sting in her tone hurt just as much as the pang of guilt in your heart. You didn’t know how to tell her. Now you were just silent as the fireballs flickered brighter. Color was fading from the room.

“Frisk… no… is that even your real name?” She then gave a stifled laugh, almost like her mind was breaking. You just stayed silent.

There’s nothing to say.

You tried to plead, but it came out as silence.

You tried to cry, but there were no tears.

You tried to explain, but she already knew.

SHE REMEMBERED!

And yet, she didn’t attack. Even as your SOUL was forcefully taken, and the ring of fire swirled around you… you realized that she couldn’t. Not even now.

“I remember… everything…” her admission came as a shock. She remembered? What?! APPREHENSION began to eat at your SOUL again. You were in unfamiliar waters, adrift now as you tried to figure out her angle. If she wasn’t going to attack, then what?

“No… no, I will not be like YOU.”

“Mom…”

“You do not get to call me that!” Her anger was explosive, the fireballs crashing against your SOUL. 99 HP to 51 HP in one hit. You could feel the stinging burn, ticking down your HP by 4 for five straight immunity frames; a new status effect on your HP: you would’ve been fascinated had you not just ended up taking a wallop from the magic used. You fumbled around the combat menu to the MAGIC option, only to see that your MP was down to zero. That’s right. You’d gotten hit… it was unfair. She stole your ability to use it. So, instead you went to ACT. But, before you could do anything, there was another fireball, green in color, that flew down towards you, like candlelight.

You took it, looking now to her face. Toriel was mortified, the menu and encounter fading back to the living room.

“I… I cannot. You cannot stay here, young one.”

“M–mom, please…” She looked ready to explode again, but she kept it together, even as her expression cycled between rage, heartbreak and fear all at once.

“Please do not call me that. Do not ever call me that… leave this place. I… I will not have a murderer in my home.” You knew where this was going, so you stood, taking a slice of the quiche and stowing it away in your pockets. You began to walk towards the basement stairwell, only looking back to see what she was doing. Toriel was just staring, now, at the table, looking ready to break apart at the seams.

“Go. And do not ever come back…” You wanted to stop her, but you couldn’t get a word out loud enough for her to hear.

“I love you…” If she did hear you, she wasn’t responding… but you knew that was a long shot. She was just staring at the table now as you went down the stairwell. When you were out of her sight, you heard a crash to the floor, and an anguished cry.

She’s lost another child… and she wasn’t involved in it… You walked down the darkened corridor, listening to the distancing sounds of her agony until you turned the corner. When you did, the door was already open, being held with familiar vines. You walked further into the depths, ready for your confrontation with the flower.

Flowey sat smugly under the pillar of sunlight that flowed in from above. But there was something else in his expression. Something you couldn’t recognize.

“Wow… that could’ve gone better. You just straight up told her what you did?” You stayed quiet, not trusting yourself to not explode in rage like she had. “That was a VERY stupid thing to do, y’know? I’d have made it sound less cruel.” No he wouldn’t have…

“STILL, I’m impressed! You managed it… playing by new rules. We’re unbound now. Even I don’t know what happens next. Makes me glad we’re doing this TOGETHER, Frisk.” The mocking rictus he gave told that he was more entertained than remorseful. But you knew the truth. You knew that he was coping inside just as much as you were right now.

“So… what now? Do we skip past Snowdin and go straight to Hotland? You know there’s a way: deeper in the Ruins, there’s ways to get there, right?”

“No,” you responded. Flowey looked confused now, his smugness utterly bereft.

“No?”

“No. We do this the right way… the way it was meant to be played.” The weed groaned in bored agony.

“Frisk… we’ve SEEN that already!”

“This isn’t about seeing anything new. This is about fixing our mistakes, remember?” Flowey quieted at that. “We go through Snowdin, then through Waterfall, then through Hotland, then through New Home to ASGORE.”

“You know it’s not going to be that simple, right Frisk? I mean, we COULD just fix our mistakes right away, go to ASGORE and break the barrier with GODLIKE power.” You didn’t respond, instead just staring down.

“You asked me what I would like to do. I’d like to get this over with as quickly as possible,” Flowey said.

“But we still have to do it the right way. No one has to die.”

“And no one WILL! Heck, I’m pretty sure that if we do this, then you’re more likely to accidentally kill someone than if we just take the deeper path! I mean, look at your STATS! You’re 20 LV! I didn’t think that you were this STUPID!!!” Your APPREHENSION was strong. He was right. Why should you keep going on the “right” path when there was a quicker, perhaps less dangerous way for everyone else?

But there was something else. Your APPREHENSION to find that new path as well. If you did, there was no telling what could happen. Like he said, you were both unbound, unchained. You could find a different path…

But it was better the devil you knew than the devil you didn’t. Flowey sighed at your lack of response.

“Fine… we’ll do it your way… but y’know you’re only making it more risky for both of us.” The feeling of this being the last time you’d step through that archway, and the psychotic flower next to you… they filled you with APPREHENSION. You could feel that tingling feeling as a rend in reality opened, ready to take a SAVE. Either of your SAVEFILES.

Flowey seemed to sense it, looking to you with confusion as he realized something.

“Nervous?”

“I screwed up with Mom… you’re right. We should just take the new path.”

“Heh. What is it? Indecisive? Scared?” You didn’t respond, but you heard the ping of a SAVEFILE being made. Flowey had done it for you. “Look. Not that it matters, but we’re doing this TOGETHER. You’re a Human who emptied the Underground, both in good and bad ways. And I’m a Flower with magic! We both got that spark that lets us SAVE and LOAD. We can always go back to fix those mistakes we make here.” Your expression went from neutral to confused as you looked to him. Was that a joke? Was it actual comfort? Was he sowing doubt?

“C’mon, buddy. Let’s go.” He then darted under the ground, leaving you alone with the SAVE point and the intimidating archway. You took a deep breath before going through. This was the final time. No turning back. Not like you could at any rate…

Walking away from the scene of your crime was harder than having done it. You didn’t know what to think. You just numbly shuffled to and fro, practically a shambling corpse now as you made your way through the doors. It was only at the patch of grass that you stopped, eyeing the one you were doing this for.

“Hahaha… you’re not really human, are you?” The weed looked particularly excited, almost jubilant. The smile he always wore was now twisted into something that looked truly happy. It made you sick to look at.

“You’re not really human, are you? No. You’re empty inside.” — His smile carved open, beads of white where his eyes should’ve been telling you of his sadism — “Just like me.” — And, just like that, it was back to normal, but now his expression was almost quizzical, or perhaps even nervous.

“In fact… You’re Chara, right?” You didn’t respond. The weed didn’t deserve it. Asriel needed to be freed from this torment before you could even begin to go over Flowey’s disdainful presence. “We’re still inseparable, after all these years.” You began to walk now, almost stepping onto Flowey as he tried to keep going.

“Listen. I have a plan to become all powerful. Even more powerful than you and your stolen soul. Let’s destroy everything in this wretched world.” You stopped now, listening carefully to him as you turned around. The knife you gripped was almost threatening to snap at the hilt with how white–knuckled you were. Especially as he began to speak in Asriel’s genuinely sweet tone. “Everyone, everything in these worthless memories. Let’s turn them all into dust!” You didn’t respond, taking in his plan. Part of you wanted to cry out, that you couldn’t, that you shouldn’t! Yet… part of you agreed with what he said next.

“That’s a wonderful idea!” He then left, as though a pact had already been struck. As soon as he was out of sight, out of earshot, you collapsed to your knees, looking up to the delta rune upon the archway. You didn’t know what was right and wrong anymore, what was real and what wasn’t? You’d killed Toriel. You’d emptied the Ruins. And now, you were preparing to do the same to everywhere else in the Underground!

Your throat practically closed shut on itself as you grappled with the reality of what you were doing. You were killing everyone to SAVE just one person… in another time. You were looking for an answer that may not have even existed. But you were doing it because of one thing.

DETERMINATION. You had it. Flowey had it. And yet you’d both squandered it on the wrong things! You’d squandered it trying to SAVE yourself, your friends. The weed used it as a toy, something he could twist and break before starting all over again. But his plan… there had to be something in it.

His plan required that DETERMINATION. It required him to stay, to keep going, until he had become the God of Hyperdeath in another time. You’d already suspected that the key to Asriel’s salvation was in how Flowey acted, so you put yourself in his mindset: his sadistic, twisted mindset. And yet you couldn’t see a rhyme, or reason!

Was it at the end? Maybe Flowey had kept Asriel from using the secret to SAVE himself. You wouldn’t be so easily swayed from this. You had to SAVE him. For everyone else. For his mother, his father, those that remembered him. If that meant destroying this world, poisoning the memories you had of your friends with this nightmarish scenario?

So be it.

The memories you have of your friends, of Asriel, they fill you with DETERMINATION. You took a single, deep breath, steadying yourself as you stood back up. You looked down at your shirt, seeing the dust upon it. It was sickening, but you could push through it. Big kids didn’t cry. Not at stuff like this. Asriel and Chara certainly didn’t. You wouldn’t either.

Chapter Text

The frigid air of Snowdin hit you hard. It was always the hardest part of your journey: how extreme the environments were until New Home: the heat of Hotland was unbearably dry, Waterfall felt wet and uncomfortable, and Snowdin? It was a cold, frigid place, with sunlight only peeking through to make the snow glisten.

Up the road ahead, Flowey stared forward, clearly knowing who was coming. You knew it too, and as you walked up, Flowey tched for your attention.

“Remember what I told you. DON’T. Let him. Find out ANYTHING about you. ESPECIALLY now.” You didn’t bother to answer him, instead shuffling down the dark wood–covered path. You only stopped briefly when the tough wooden branch that was there snapped. You looked back to try and give a look toward where you knew Sans was toying with you, hoping to catch a glimpse of the grinning skull.

But there was nobody there… Your blood felt icy now the further you went. You looked around, hoping to see him. Instead, you saw Flowey, looking neutrally out from the edge of the woods.

CRUNCH! The snow displaced behind you, and you snapped around again, looking again to see if you could spot him. No matter how many times you’d done this, the echoes that ran off the Underground’s walls from Sans toying with you continued to give you the creeps. You knew he wouldn’t come out if you said hello, so you didn’t bother this time. You just made your way to the bridge, the gate’s bars still too wide to capture you, like always.

CRUNCH! CRUNCH! CRUNCH! CRUNCH! The approaching footsteps caused a tingle up your spine, painful and familiar. Your sins were crawling up your back.

“Human.” You didn’t even answer, or turn around. You knew that it was all a prank at the end, but there was something about the way Sans approached you now that felt… terrifying. Flowey was definitely right on this one. Don’t let him know of your previous times through. “Don’t you know how to greet a new pal?” You shook your head, or perhaps it was the shiver that ran up your spine. “Turn around, and shake my hand.”

You did just as asked, slowly turning around to meet the darkened eye sockets of the familiar skeleton. His rictus grin only taunted you, but you could’ve sworn you saw a hint of something behind the expression that told that he saw something too. He raised his hand, and you shakily reached out to take it.

Ppppppbbbbbbbbbbbbtttt… The tension was gone, and you could see the skeleton holding back a laugh at the joke. You let out a breath you didn’t know you were even holding as Sans went on with his spiel.

“hehe… the old whoopee cushion in the hand trick. it's ALWAYS funny. though that look on your face… you thought i was gonna do something, didn’t you?” You gave a shrug, trying to play along. “anyways, you’re a human, right?” You nodded, and you swore you could see that smile grow, though something seemed to twitch in it as you did.

“that’s hilarious. i'm sans. sans the skeleton. i’m actually supposed to be on watch for humans right now. but… y’know… i don’t really care about capturing anybody.” The skeleton gave a half–hearted shrug at that, as though it was just obvious for him to say. “now my brother, papyrus, he’s a human–hunting FANATIC.”

Sans’ eyes seemed to light up with an idea, one that you already knew as you looked over the bridge. You could just barely see Papyrus marching back and forth past the guard post the smaller skeleton used and further down the path, looking more and more impatient each time.

“hey, actually, i think that’s him over there.” You knew exactly what was coming next. “i have an idea. go through this gate thingy. yeah, go right through. my bro made the bars too wide to stop anyone.” Sans placed a mitten–covered hand on your shoulder, giving it a pat before you both walked over the bridge and toward the stand. Papyrus was walking away by that point, giving you plenty of time for the conveniently shaped lamp.

But something was off… the lamp wasn’t there. You were confused, bewildered even. No previous run had the lamp been gone. Now you were in uncharted waters as Sans looked around for a few moments.

“quick, stand absolutely still.” You did exactly as asked, no questions about it before Papyrus had come back in a huff.

“sup, bro?”

“YOU KNOW WHAT ‘SUP’ BROTHER! IT’S BEEN TWO WEEKS AND YOU STILL HAVEN’T RECALIBRATED… YOUR… PUZZLES! YOU JUST HANG AROUND OUTSIDE YOUR STATION! WHAT ARE YOU EVEN DOING?!?”

“staring at this human–shaped dummy. it's really cool. do you wanna have a look?” You had to keep yourself from bursting out laughing, or changing your expression, as Papyrus stomped his feet in frustration.

“NO!! I DON’T HAVE TIME FOR THAT!! WHAT IF A HUMAN COMES THROUGH HERE!?! I WANT TO BE READY!!! I WILL BE THE ONE! I MUST BE THE ONE!!! I WILL CAPTURE A HUMAN!” — Papyrus’ tantrum stopped in that moment, going from angry to proud in a mere second — “THEN, I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL GET ALL THE THINGS I UTTERLY DESERVE! RESPECT, RECOGNITION! I WILL FINALLY BE ABLE TO JOIN THE ROYAL GUARD! PEOPLE WILL ASK, TO … BE MY… ‘FRIEND?’ I WILL BATHE IN A SHOWER OF KISSES EVERY MORNING.” The Great Papyrus was many things, but his most admirable quality was always his can–do attitude. Even in the other run… even when you killed him… A twinge of guilt tugged at your SOUL.

“hmm… maybe this dummy’ll help you.”

“SANS, YOU ARE NOT HELPING YOU LAZYBONES!! BESIDES, I HAVE ALREADY DONE MY TRAINING FOR TODAY! REGARDLESS, ALL YOU DO IS BOONDOGGLE! YOU GET LAZIER AND LAZIER EVERY DAY!!!”

“hey, take it easy. i’ve gotten a ton of work done today. a skele–ton.” Sans’ jabbing wink only sent Papyrus into another fit of angered stomps while all you could do was watch, trying not to laugh at the shenanigans.

“SANS!!!”

“come on. you’re smiling.”

“I AM, AND I HATE IT!” The skeleton gave an annoyed sigh now, his anger turning into melancholic dreaminess. “WHY DOES SOMEONE AS GREAT AS ME HAVE TO DO SO MUCH TO GET SOME RECOGNITION…” Your nose began to itch, the inside tingling as a sneeze began to crawl its way into your throat.

“wow, sounds like you’re really working yourself… done to the bone.” The jape at Papyrus’ expense was enough to finally tip you over the edge, a loud and obnoxious sneeze cutting through the conversation. Papyrus looked in your direction, startled by the sound. But you continued to stand still, hoping you weren’t caught.

“BLESS YOU,” he politely replied. There was no indication that he thought you were anything but a human–shaped dummy, according to Sans. “I WILL ATTEND TO MY PUZZLES! AS FOR YOUR WORK? PUT A LITTLE MORE… BACKBONE INTO IT!!!! NYEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE!!! ” The skeleton took his leave, only returning briefly to give one final “heh” before he finally bounded off towards his puzzles. Sans just kept standing there, watching before his head finally turned in your direction after what felt like an eternity.

“y’know, you don’t have to keep standing like a dummy.” You let out a breath you didn’t even know you were holding.

“you oughta get going. he might come back. and if he does, you might need some allergy medicine for how hilarious my jokes are.” You didn’t move though. Given what you knew of him, you thought that Sans knew something already. You looked about ready to speak, to ask him something, only for it to catch in your throat.

“what’s the holdup? look, there’s nothin’ to be afraid of. it’s just a dark cavern filled with skeletons and horrible monsters. it’s nothin’ you can’t handle.” You now stared at Sans confused. He knew something. He always knew something. Was it really that obvious on your face?

“What do you mean?” you asked. That seemed to startle the skeleton, his gaze now hardened on you for a brief moment before it returned to a lazy glare.

“it’s whatever you think it means, kiddo. but i don’t think that’s the answer you’re lookin’ for. you’ll probably find it that–a–way.” His gesture down the path was enough to tell you that you probably wouldn’t get anything more out of him. As you walked away, he didn’t even stop you to tell you to cheer his brother up. Suspicious… or it was just the shenanigans of the timeline having gone so far off course.

“Well… he’s still as annoying as ever.” Flowey was already waiting by the SAVE point, his expression neutral as you walked up to the sparkling star.

“Do you think he knows?”

“You IDIOT, of course he knows!” Flowey’s expression split itself open at that, reminding you just how sadistic he was. “I didn’t tell you that he didn’t know; just that he doesn’t find out anything about you!”

“You make it sound like those are different things,” you replied. The weed shrugged.

“Not my fault you don’t get it. He knows something, but it’s your job not to prove him right. And that means NOT TALKING TO HIM!”

“How does talking let him in on it?”

“It shows you’re too comfortable here. May as well be holding up a sign that says ‘Hey, I’m a time–traveler!’” You could see that… you didn’t really talk much in previous runs. You only sighed as you reached out to the SAVE point.

Having Flowey as your companion this time around and knowing everything about the Underground inside–out fills you with DETERMINATION! The flicker of the SAVE file being imprinted by you was enough to send you on your way, only stopping by the box to pick up the Tough Glove.

“You know, I always wondered. Who loves boxes enough to even consider leaving ‘em all over the Underground.”

“I always thought it was Sans. They’re very space–timey.”

“Ugh… annoying and cheaty.” You rolled your eyes as you picked up the item in question.

Tough Glove — AT 5, MP 8 — A worn pink leather glove. For five fingered folks. Equipping it revealed the spell that it was supposed to give. BOXING RING: Give your SOUL a fighting chance by throwing magic fists at mean monsters. You had a feeling that it wouldn’t have been too helpful. However, as you and Flowey were about to leave, you felt your SOUL given a brief tug from your body, calling your attention to the monster wanting to battle.

Ice Cap struts into view. You realized that, first and foremost, the combat menu was slightly different now. You could see Flowey’s name and your name in separate portions of it, each with their own actions.

“Alright. We’re doing it your way… what do you want me to do?” he asked. You realized you weren’t entirely sure, so you just did what you always did. You ignored the attention–seeking, baby–headed snowman. You manage to tear your eyes away from Ice Cap's hat. It looks annoyed...

“HELLO??? My hat's up here.” You didn’t respond, but Flowey certainly did.

“Yeah? And? Why would we WANT to look at it?” Ice Cap’s looks hurt by the response. It takes off its cap and it melts away. Ice Cap has just become Ice.

“I… I…” Even when Flowey’s goal was shared with yours, it seemed he couldn’t help himself. He had no filter, no willingness to even remotely try and make friends of his own here.

But, it worked… Ice Cap could be spared now, though the monster’s self–esteem had been crushed within one turn. You didn’t even get attacked.

“I just wanted you to see me as cool…” In that moment, you took the moment to compliment it in your Action.

“I think you look fine. Just… maybe don’t try to force people to look at your cap. It was really distracting.” Ice doesn’t reply, but you have a feeling that he understands now.

YOU WON! You earned 0 EXP and 22 gold. When the battle menu faded and you could get moving, the first thing you heard was Flowey mock gagging in your direction. You didn’t even respond to him as you began hiking your way towards where Sans and Papyrus were.

“You’re so nauseatingly nice, it’s sick…”

“And you’re so unnecessarily cruel, it’s frustrating.”

“Two peas in a pod, I’d say.” You watched as he hung back, SOUL–less eyes just staring down your direction while you attempted to keep pushing forward. Just a little ways up the trail, you could see Papyrus and Sans talking to each other about something. The conversation changed every time you RESET.

“SO, AS I WAS SAYING ABOUT METTATON —” His attention was quickly brought to your direction. Like every time before, shenanigans were created as both skeletons looked to each other, then back toward you, then to you, then back, and constantly looked ready to break physics apart with their spinning around before they turned back to look away.

“SANS!! OH MY GOD! IS THAT… A HUMAN!?!?!??!?!” Even his “whispering” was loud enough to be picked up past the treeline. When they turned around to look, Sans gave his usual response.

“uhhhh… actually, i think that’s a flower.”

“OH,” he replied, positively disappointed that the flower behind you wasn’t a human. Wait… flower? You looked behind, seeing a single golden flower standing behind you. Your gaze sharpened immediately until Sans pointed you out, your focus quickly flitting back to the skeleton brothers.

“hey, what’s that in front of the rock?” The taller skeleton looked in your direction once more before it clicked.

“OH MY GOD!!! IS… IS THAT A HUMAN?” Papyrus voice went back to that cutting whisper before Sans responded.

“yes.”

“OH MY GOD!!! SANS! I FINALLY DID IT!! UNDYNE WILL… I’M GONNA… I’M GOING TO BE SO… POPULAR!!! POPULAR!!! POPULAR!!!” The skeleton’s excitability was infectious, and you could feel that warm, comforting feeling bubbling up like it always did around him. Papyrus’s expression went through several stages of excitement, looking like he was about to faint for a brief moment before he composed himself with that inspiring confidence.

“AHEM… HUMAN! YOU SHALL NOT PASS THIS AREA!” the taller skeleton called out, puffing himself up to look more intimidating. “I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL STOP YOU!!! I WILL THEN CAPTURE YOU!!! YOU WILL BE DELIVERED TO THE CAPITAL! THEN… THEN!!! I’M NOT SURE WHAT’S NEXT. IN ANY CASE! CONTINUE… ONLY IF YOU DARE!!! NYEH, HEH, HEH, HEH, HEH, HEH, HEH, HEH!!!” And then he was off, likely to keep his puzzles in tip top shape. He was utterly corny, but he was so confident in it that he was irresistibly charming. Sans was right. He was definitely the coolest.

“well, that went well. don’t sweat it, kid. i’ll keep an eyesocket out for ya.” You nodded your thanks, quietly focusing on ahead. As you were passing the “sentry post” that the taller skeleton had set up, however, Sans was already ahead, only turning back to give you a glare that left you unnerved. After you’d left the skeleton’s field of view, you took a deep breath, sighing as Flowey began to follow.

“Did something move? Was it my imagination?” You froze immediately, looking immediately to your left to see Doggo looking around. The blind monster, however, was answered by a familiar, faux cheer–filled tone.

“Yeah, actually! Howdy!” Doggo seemed startled, almost confused before something clicked.

“You’re… you’re the tall one’s friend, aren’t you?”

“That’s right! Sorry for spooking ya. I was just trying to find him. Can you show me where?” The flower’s head nudged in the direction you’d been walking, and you realized that he was putting on a show… Doggo knew Flowey, at least enough that he could distract him. So you started moving, trying to keep your pace slow as you kept your eyes on him.

“Nah… you can find him yourself. I’ve got watching to do, for movement.”

“Well, what are you looking for?”

“A HUMAN…” Flowey gave a gasp of excitement at the possibility, his smile practically beaming as he looked in your direction with a certain sadism that you recognized.

“Well, wouldya look at that! There’s a human RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU!!!” Before you could even process what’d happened, your SOUL was practically yanked from your body as Doggo attempted to stab it without warning. You just stood still, letting the blue magic phase through you as Flowey laughed maniacally. The betrayal didn’t surprise you. But it certainly did infuriate you. Your combat menu came up, thankfully, without issue, and you opted to sicken the flower in return with your nicety. Instead of returning an attack, you went immediately to the ACT menu and used PET.

Doggo immediately went into a fit.

“WHAT?! I’VE BEEN PET!!!” Through his almost incoherent yapping of “pet”, the next slice came your way. Normally, one pet would’ve been enough, but you instead took your time through each turn, petting Doggo until he was thoroughly pet. Flowey’s plan to annoy you and entertain himself seemed to backfire, and he moved a vine to your hand as you went to pet him.

“That’s enough of that,” he said snidely. Then the battle ended. You hadn’t fled, you hadn’t spared Doggo. You were utterly confused, bewildered even until you saw Flowey’s SOUL–less outline on the combat menu, having hit SPARE.

“A–a–a HUMAN pet me… it wasn’t moving… and it PET me!!! I’m gonna need some dog treats for this…” Knowing that he wouldn’t likely answer to you now, even if you rang the bell, you chose to leave, the flower following behind only until the treeline began to give way to the patch of ice. Sans was waiting there, clearly having expected you.

“hey, here’s something important to remember. my brother has a very special attack. if you see a blue attack, don’t move and it won’t hurt you. though, looking at your face, maybe i shoulda told you that before you ran into doggo. yeah, doggo. monsters aren’t very clever with naming. he can’t see anything if it’s not moving. think of it like a stop sign. when you see a stop sign, you stop, right? stop signs are red. so imagine a blue stop sign.” You nodded in understanding. Sans didn’t seem to react, or care. As you were walking over to slide over the patch of ice, however, something stopped you in your tracks.

“so, uhh… kid… what was with the daisy you were offerin’ him?” You looked back, trying to keep a neutral expression, trying not to say anything, but it seemed he saw right through it. “kid, only weirdos give flowers to strangers. and my bro… but he isn’t weird. he’s cool. i think you’d like him more than doggo. just don’t give him flowers. he's already doing weird things with an echo flower, and… say… haven’t i said this before?” You didn’t respond, instead skating across the ice to the northern cliff side. Flowey was there, next to the snowman, looking no less annoyingly entertained.

“Y’know, when I said don’t let him know anything about you, you could’ve, I dunno, just said that you were trying to use me to show movement to that mutt.”

“Because of you, he knows,” you corrected.

“He doesn’t know SQUAT!” the weed hissed. The grin that took his entire face morphed into something sadistic. “If he KNEW, you’d be DEAD!”

“Flowey, if you have advice, and not just doomsaying, now would be the time to spout it.

“Nah… it’s more fun to CRITICIZE everything you do. Like how you gave that Royal Guard Dog pets… like a loser! Why would you PET your attacker instead of running away?!”

“Flowey, we’re here to correct our mistakes.”

“No, we’re here to SAVE EVERYONE!!! REMEMBER THAT!!!” he snapped. You couldn’t argue with his logic. It’s what you both agreed to. No killing, and just SAVING everyone.

“Well… next is Sans’ and Papyrus’ puzzles… have anything in mind?”

“We could always just play Smiley Trashbag’s game the way he wants. If we do that, he’ll leave us alone, and his brother’ll be oh so happy to have you as a fRiEnD.” The mockery wasn’t lost, and you rolled your eyes, nodding.

“Then protect me through the puzzles, and we’ll get through them quicker.”

“I’d hardly call them puzzles more than entertainment. But sure,” the weed bemoaned. When you went back down toward the ice patch, you saw that Sans was gone, already up ahead with Papyrus arguing about something in front of the first puzzle. You didn’t bother to look if Flowey was following or not. He was likely hiding behind the treeline as you approached.

“YOU’RE SO LAZY!! YOU WERE NAPPING ALL NIGHT!!”

“i think that’s called… sleeping.

“EXCUSES, EXCUSES!” As though trying to escape yet another berating by his brother, Sans looked in your direction, Papyrus’ gaze following before his eye sockets lit up in recognition.

“OH HO! THE HUMAN ARRIVES!” he greeted. “IN ORDER TO STOP YOU, MY BROTHER AND I HAVE CREATED SOME PUZZLES! I THINK YOU WILL FIND THIS ONE… QUITE SHOCKING!” Sans seemed to give a single “heh” at the pun, and you could practically hear Flowey rolling his eyes.

“FOR YOU SEE, THIS IS THE INVISIBLE… ELECTRICITY MAZE!!! WHEN YOU TOUCH THE WALLS OF THIS MAZE, THIS ORB WILL ADMINISTER A HEARTY ZAP! SOUND LIKE FUN??? BECAUSE THE AMOUNT OF FUN YOU WILL PROBABLY HAVE… IS ACTUALLY RATHER SMALL, I THINK.” You knew the path of the maze by heart at this point, though there was an indication from Flowey that something was different this time.

You could see the excitable gesturing of one of the weed’s vines, just out of view, as Sans gave his brother a reminder.

“don’t forget to hand it to the human, bro. you’d be a bonehead to do that.” Papyrus’ expression of exuberance was extinguished, expunged, elaborately cut down before he proceeded to throw the orb over across to you with a “NYEH!” You… didn’t know what to do now. You’d never seen a moment where Papyrus hadn’t made the maze visible to you… except…

It was the same as it ever was. Always the same puzzles, always the same outcomes… you were starting to get impatient, angry even. You were coated in dust now… a group of monster teens, Doggo, Jerry… it all amounted to basically the same thing. Gold, LV, EXP… all from killing them, taking their lives and leaving the remnants of your choices behind in the snow.

At least you might’ve had some levity, something to distract yourself from the pale dust that now coated your shirt.

“YOU’RE SO LAZY!! YOU WERE NAPPING ALL NIGHT!!”

“i think that’s called… sleeping.

“EXCUSES, EXCUSES!” As though trying to escape yet another berating by his brother, Sans looked in your direction, Papyrus’ gaze following before his eye sockets lit up in recognition.

“OH HO! THE HUMAN ARRIVES!” he greeted. “IN ORDER TO STOP YOU, MY BROTHER AND I HAVE CREATED SOME PUZZLES! I THINK YOU WILL FIND THIS ONE… QUITE SHOCKING!” Sans seemed to give a single “heh” at the pun. You almost wanted to laugh… but you had something else to focus on. DETERMINATION… you took a step forward, onto the maze, ready to hopefully take care of Papyrus before you became too attached. Yet… something was off. There was no shock from the orb.

“FOR YOU SE, THIS IS… THE… INVISIBLE…” You could see sweat beginning to bead on the taller skeleton’s forehead, completely as he looked utterly baffled. You were too. You were hoping that you’d have been able to shock him by just going through the maze while he had it. Where was the orb?

“UHHHHHHH…? HMMM… YOU MUST BE HAVING CULTURE SHOCK. YOU SEE, WHERE I COME FROM, IT’S A LOVING TRADITION TO SUFFER THROUGH HORRIBLE PUZZLES FOR NO REASON!” You took another step forward, though this one wasn’t your own. It was almost like a stumble; you looked back just in time to see Flowey’s vines slipping back under from where you’d been… as though…

“SO… UH… JUST WALK BACK THERE, AND…” You didn’t know what to say. You just stood there, he just stood there! You both were looking at each other, as though expecting something… but… you decided to roll with it. Fine. If the weed was going to help you, why did it matter? You were going to RESET this anyways after you had what you needed. Papyrus gave a hearty sigh at that, turning around with a slouched expression, not realizing that you’d been ready to through a punch his direction.

“WHY COULDN’T WE GET A HUMAN THAT LIKES PUZZLES???” he bemoaned. You could only watch as he sped off toward the next section. You looked towards the shorter skeleton, his grin still plastered on as he gave a shrug.

“it would make my brother happy if you played along.” You didn’t even flinch at the comment. He knew what was up. He’d said you were pretending to be a human. Well, maybe you were… but that didn’t stop you from going forward. DETERMINATION was all that mattered; SAVING HIM was all that mattered. And there was a wellspring of it further ahead. Only so many more monsters to go…

You were still frozen in place, not really sure how to respond as you tentatively touched around the maze’s edge. You looked around, to Sans, and then to Papyrus, who eagerly looked on with a sense of pride. Apprehension filled your core now, and Flowey nearby seemed to sense it. Your gaze flickered to the treeline, as though expecting something.

But nobody came… Flowey looked interested now, certainly beyond what he’d insisted was his original goal with this run. So you walked forward.

ZAPP!!! The shock ran through you quickly, Papyrus giving a “HEHNYEH!” at the prospect that his puzzle actually worked this time. You tried again, this time going a little further down.

ZAPP!!! This time, the shock stung. It stung! It was as though you were playing on hard mode now!

ZAPP!!! ZAPP!!! ZAPP!!! Each shock made your body feel weaker and weaker. Your SOUL wasn’t damaged at all from the shocks, but you felt exhausted. You’d almost forgotten the sensation of real, physical pain.

“Ouch,” you bemoaned.

“OUCH?! SURELY A SHOCK LIKE THAT COULDN’T HAVE HURT THAT MUCH!!!”

“i dunno pap… they’re lookin’ a little shaken.”

“WOWIE! IF THE HUMAN IS SHAKEN BY THIS PUZZLE, IMAGINE HOW THEY WILL FEEL AFTER THE NEXT ONE!!! I HAVE CERTAINLY OUTDONE MYSELF THIS TIME ON MY CALIBRATIONS! THIS FEELING IS ELECTRIFYING! NYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEH HEHEHEHEHEHE!!!”

ZAPP!!! Even through the pain, you couldn’t help but chuckle at the pun as Papyrus just slid off, leaving you with Sans as you attempted to bludgeon your way through with sheer force of will…

But you can’t… the shocks are too strong.

“y’know kid, i don’t think i’ve ever seen someone struggle with one of my bro’s puzzles before.”

“Nngh… first time for everything, huh?” you asked. The question seemed to take him by surprise. He wasn’t expecting you to speak, just as much as you weren’t expecting the puzzle to actually be hard.

“heh. i’ll give you credit. you’re really trying hard with impressing him.” —  ZAPP!!! — “but something’s been bugging me for a bit. thought you might be able to answer, since you’re so talkative.” — ZAPP!!! — “the way you keep looking around, looking at me, looking at my bro. it makes you look like a freakazoid. just how… neutrally you stare. makes me think you saw something, and are trying to hide it… BADLY.” — ZAPP!!! You were almost there. But his line of questioning. Sans clearly knew something. You couldn’t keep him in the dark forever, so you did what came naturally to Flowey… lie.

“I’m like 9… I’m stuck underground… with a bunch of monsters… and you think I’m hiding something?” you asked incredulously, breaths ragged as you reached near the end of the maze. Sans shrugged in response.

“whoa, easy there. i didn’t say you were hiding something. i just said that i think you saw something, and were trying to badly hide it… you saying that makes it even weirder.” He’d caught you in a word trap. Your brows raised as you passed across the end of the maze, collapsing onto the powered floor. “so… what are you hiding then?”

“Nothing…”

“sounds peachy kid… but… i can tell when someone’s pretending to be human.” The statement came with a deadly sense of warning, a feeling of déjà vu crawling up your back. “you don’t walk, or talk, or act like one, that’s for sure. most kids would be scared outa their skins, least of all by getting shocked and bruised and maimed by my bro’s puzzles. but you’re BONE–ified stuck in it, seems like.” The wink came with a shrug, having clearly set up the pun a moment beforehand. You didn’t mind the pun, but now you were looking a lot less neutrally at him. You were looking at him with sheer focus, though under it, you could only feel Apprehension.

“see, right there… creepy look. gives me the heebie jeebies… like i’ve seen it before… but ehh, what do i know? i should say thanks instead. my brother seems like he’s having fun. he’s pretty cool, right?” You gave a curt nod in understanding, which Sans seemed to beam at before he returned to being more neutral, apathetic in his stance. The guilt began to weigh back down on you. Sans wouldn’t interfere, it seemed, so long as you kept playing your part. He didn’t even go into the full speech about how cool his brother was, how he’d made the costume last week with Papyrus for a costume party. Just asked the question, and got happy when you nodded.

He knew, at this point, that something was amiss, and as you walked away, he didn’t even bother looking in your direction, just across the cave toward the underground forest.

“You know Frisk, he doesn’t seem to care too much that you’re a time traveler,” Flowey pointed out.

“Maybe had something to do with you.”

“With me?!” the weed incredulously pointed out.

“Yeah… how many times did you RESET again?” you pointed out. “Sans has always been like this, as long as I can remember being down here… he never cared… the only time he cared was when…” Flowey seemed… fascinated now, quietly wracking his head around the mere idea that he was responsible for the skeleton’s apathy.

“Honestly, if it was my fault, I’d say GOOD,” he sneered. “His puns were low class at best, and he was always too lazy to try and engage with.” As you both talked, you looked over to see the Nice Cream salesman, handing over to Snowdrake one of the sweet treats. The thought then occurred to you as you snickered.

“Nah… if anything, his puns are low class. At least Sans doesn’t try to fit ice into everything.” Finally, something that you and Flowey could agree on. Snowdrake was often annoying whenever he deigned to give his attention toward you. Sure, you knew the reasons for why… but it didn’t make him any less annoying when he held your SOUL captive just to tell you a corny ice or snow joke.

“Hey, what are YOU TWO laughing at?!” he pointed out, having caught wind of both you and Flowey chuckling at just how bad he was. You didn’t say anything, but Flowey already made the situation worse as he called out.

“We said your jokes are LOW CLASS,” he sneered. “Now SCRAM, kid!” You were looking around now as more of the teens approached. You hadn’t really noticed it before, but this entire area, with how big it was, was basically a playground. The ball game made more sense now.

Snowdrake flutters forth! And he’s in with the wrong crowd!

“Do you REALLY have to insult everyone?” you hissed to Flowey.

“Yes… and I’d tell him again,” Flowey proudly pointed out, much to the snickering reactions from all of the other monsters around you all. For all the progress you’d made with him, Flowey was still just as much of a psycho as he always was. Sure, he was going to SAVE everyone, but he didn’t need to be friendly about it.

“THIS won't be funny either!” Snowdrake called out, clearly hurt by the weed’s comments as you were forced into a FIGHT.

Chapter Text

Why was every encounter one that Flowey made worse? You knew why… but why did fate have to give you this utter cretin to go on this adventure with? It didn't matter much, as you attempted to stop the FIGHT before it even began.

You try to break the 'ice' with a joke… it did not go well. Snowdrake's ATK increased.

"That's not like me…" he sneered. As your SOUL was pulled from your body, the other monster kids got involved themselves, throwing in their own attacks toward you. Were it not for Flowey's vines, reaching to stop the attacks before they hit you, you probably would've been hit numerous times. As you cycled through the menu, Flowey interrupted.

"Yeah, it actually is," he smiled. "You make me sad to be a flower, 'cause at least my jokes aren't pushing up daisies." The other children seemed to laugh harder at Flowey's joke than at Snowdrake's. The snowflake–faced monster looked almost like he wanted to cry. While you didn't think his jokes were particularly funny, there was no need for the innate cruelty of Flowey admitting it aloud.

Before Flowey could say anything more, you went to your SPELL menu, already going to the TOUGH SKIN option. Eating the cost of the MP, you then went to the MERCY menu, going to SPARE with speed you didn't realize you'd had. After all, you didn't want to test Flowey's patience too much.

"What's your problem? 'C–chill' out!" Snowdrake attempted to say, stuttering and stumbling across his joke. When the attacks came, you saw Flowey bracing up vines to protect himself from them. The other monster kids darkly chuckled, like all bullies did before they were going to hurt someone. As the crescents hit into you, however, you found the damage to them greatly reduced. The same went for the other kids' attacks that managed to find their way through your immunity frames.

Overall, you lost only around 16 HP from it. Your MP, drained to 0, was practically useless. So you did the one thing that you could do.

You laugh at Snowdrake's pun… but Flowey heckles him instead with a joke of his own.

"Wow! Y'know, there's things other than ice! I'm sure you could do better, y'know… if you put a little more PINE into it!" Snowdrake's friends seemed amused, the Ice Cap and Jerry both nudging into the self–conscious monster's shoulder.

"He sounds just like him!"

"I… I don't sound like that." You glowered at the weed as you attempted to dodge through more of the teens' attacks. You didn't like Snowdrake's jokes; they felt lazy, like Sans', but he didn't deserve the open mockery for them. You went to the MERCY menu and spared Ice Cap without a second thought. The other monster stood back, just chuckling now at Snowdrake's attempts to make another pun.

"I… I… uh… y–you better watch it! There's 's–snow' chance you can beat me!" You dodged more of the magic crescents headed your way, your MP back to full now with the bullets missing you just barely. You went back and spared Jerry as he tried another joke.

"W–wanna know my favorite food? M.. m.. macaroni and 'freeze'…" You heard Flowey groan in exasperation as the attacks came once more. When you could finally ACT, you went to laugh.

You laugh at Snowdrake's pun… but Flowey heckles him instead.

"No one will ever love you the way you are…" Your gaze snapped at the utter cruelty from Flowey, completely unapologetic for hurting the monster in such a way. "Why don't you go back to your daddy and tell him how badly your jokes fell FLAT?"

A vine snaps at Snowdrake's feet and trips him. The other teens laugh at him. Snowdrake struggles to make a retort, and slinks away utterly crushed...

YOU WON! You earned 0 EXP and 12 gold. The victory didn't feel particularly nice. Even worse was how much Flowey celebrated it. The other teens didn't seem particularly caring to it beyond how entertaining it was, even as Snowdrake ran off. Looking down to the weed, familiar disdain began to bubble up as you.

"What's wrong with you?!" you snapped at him. Flowey turned to you, looking like you'd just ruined his fun for the umpteenth time.

"Told that kid to scram. He had it coming, especially with how low class his jokes were." You sneered in disgust, baffled by his decision. All his decisions in Snowdin had led to nothing but trouble. Your stomach tumbled and twisted as you tried to hold back your bile.

"Yeah, he started it! You didn't need to tell him that no one would ever love him!"

"C'mon. He's a kid! He'll forget it in an hour and go back to hanging out with these losers!"

"Hey!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, did you think I was being funny when I told him no one would ever love him?" Flowey now grinned maliciously to the other children, his gaze sharp as you felt that sinking pit of Apprehension. "You all LAUGHED at that! You sickos!" Jerry stepped forward, as though to say something.

"Wait… you mean… you were being serious?"

"Serious as the GRAVE," Flowey sneered. "He's hanging out with kids that'll laugh at his jokes 'cause he wants to be like his dad. And maybe realizing his jokes are bad will get him some REAL friends." The ice cap walked forward, shaking its head as you did the same.

"That's… that's horrible!"

"Yeah? Well, tough luck, kid. Maybe YOU could've kept him from picking FIGHTS he couldn't win!" Flowey then darted under the earth, leaving you with the other teens. An uncomfortable silence hung over the snowy playground… but to be entirely fair? Flowey wasn't wrong. Snowdrake did this explicitly because he wanted to be a better comedian than his dad. You'd seen it on many runs before.

But to be that cruel and heartless? Hurting Snowdrake that badly? It was truly worse than killing him. Your heart ached as you looked around in a vain attempt to find him. But he was gone, likely run off to find somewhere to cry. If you came across him again, you'd need to apologize, need to make it right.

"wow. that was 'cold', pal." Sans' tone froze you dead in your tracks. "gotta admit. thought i had you pegged as a pretty alright kid." How long had he watched the confrontation for? Maybe he didn't see Flowey, though, given how he was talking about you. So you responded in kind.

"I… I didn't mean for it to get that far." Apprehension bubbled in your throat, a sick feeling in your stomach now that wouldn't go away.

"meh. it's not my place with how you act. i'm just saying. his jokes may have gotten a 'chilly' reception, but they didn't deserve you 'flaking' out." Before you could say anything, Sans gestured down toward the cliff. Papyrus was waiting, patiently, for you to come and solve the next puzzle.

"i'm sure that papyrus has a doozy of a puzzle down there for you," he shrugged, walking off toward the pair of guard stands that overlooked the park. You didn't even question his choice of direction as you began to head past the ball game and toward the scrap of paper on the ground.

"HUMAN!" Papyrus greeted. Sans had already beaten you there. Something felt off about the way he looked at you, but he didn't at all flinch when his brother asked him the question you both were expecting. "I HOPE YOU ARE READY FOR… SANS, WHERE'S THE PUZZLE? !"

"it's right there, on the ground. trust me, there's no way they can get past this one." Papyrus' expression was one of sheer confusion, as it always was. It was simple. Just look at the kids word search, and don't worry about the details. However, when you picked up the Monster Kidz Word Search, you had more questions. The words to find had been shuffled from what they normally were.

Fall, Time, Soul, Children, Monster, Skeleton, Human, Flower, Hot, Cold, Aasjdhfaklsdfvizyuyusdffiafm, and Bone… there was an obvious link; you weren't stupid, at least you didn't think so. Sans usually did this as a sort of goof, as a prank on you. But this? It was obvious he knew exactly what you were, and knew that Flowey was around… you looked up, then back to the sheet, then to Sans again.

Apprehension once again bubbled in your SOUL, determination faltering as you looked at the skeleton. That smile was unwavering, cold, unreadable. You couldn't even determine if he was amused, or suspicious, or anything! Fear gripped at your heart, and your expression faltered.

"AH HAH! SANS, YOU DID IT! YOU STUMPED THE HUMAN!" Papyrus' jovial tone snapped you back, his excitement palpable. Sans merely shrugged in response.

"heh. i guess i didn't have to use today's crossword instead."

"WHAT!? CROSSWORD?! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU SAID THAT! IN MY OPINION… JUNIOR JUMBLE IS EASILY THE HARDEST." Their debate over whether crosswords or junior jumble weren't particularly interesting to you. You'd heard the conversation a million times, it felt like. It was always the same. They'd argue for a bit over which was harder, then ask you for your opinion. This time, you answered. Just to please Papyrus, you chose to respond with the jumble.

"HA! HA! YES! HUMANS MUST BE VERY INTELLIGENT IF THEY FIND JUNIOR JUMBLE SO DIFFICULT! NYEH! HEH! HEH, HEH!" And with that, he ran off, likely rushing off to the next puzzle after, leaving you with him.

The quiet between you and Sans was so strong you felt you could've cut it with the toy knife in your inventory. Setting down the sheet of paper, you walked over to the skeleton, his eyes coldly upon you.

"thanks for saying 'junior jumble' just to appease my brother."

"Cut it out. I'm a stupid doodoo butt. I'm the legendary fartmaster. There's your secret, secret–secret, and triple secret–secret codewords. Happy?" Your tone was exasperated, and Sans' smile only grew at it.

"wow… did you really say all that? that's really childish and infantile," he winked, "but see, i also have a super duper secret–secret deluxe codeword." You groaned at his insistence at playing this game with you. "which you just said. heh. explains the weird deja–vú i've had all day though. so, you're a time traveler? that's hilarious!"

"Look… I can't lie about it to you… you're… you're too smart about this. Just…" Sans shrugged.

"heh, heh, heh… see kid, i don't really care if you're a time traveler or not. you should know that by now though. it's kinda hard to when everything's going to start again the same way the next day, right?" His calmness was a lot more like the Sans you did know. But there was something still eerily off about it. "but you see… i can't shake the feeling about this one. the other sanses might've… but me? there's something creepy 'bout you. i noticed it when you were talkin' to that flower."

"Flower?"

"yeah. short, green stem, big yellow petals. you know, like any other flower. thing is though, pap's been talkin' to an echo flower that's a lot like that. have you been pranking him across time and space with a painted echo flower?" Sans' observational skills were significantly more on point than you thought. So you nodded, trying to keep up the lie.

"heh. good one. explains why it was giving him advice and praise. i just wish that what i saw up there told me that."

"Oh come on…"

"hey. it's whatever. no judgement here. as long as you're honest about yourself, that's all that matters at the end. keep up whatever you're doing, and i'm sure you'll get somewhere." And then he walked off… leaving you perplexed and utterly bewildered… what… just happened?

Flowey was waiting for you where Dogamy and Dogaressa would normally be, his expression one of boredom. There was no dust on the snow, so that already told you that things weren't bad yet. That Sans wasn't going to kill you and that Flowey hadn't yet killed anyone filled you with Determination!

"Took you long enough."

"Shut up," you commented.

"Testy, testy! What's go you so worked up?"

"I… I couldn't lie to him. He knows about me at least. And I confirmed it."

"You IDIOT!" Flowey snapped. "Now we're —"

"He's not going to hurt us! Or at least he won't hurt me! Dunno about you. He thinks you're a painted echo flower." At that, Flowey sputtered and laughed at that.

"Wow… and I didn't think the Smiley Trashbag could actually be funny." You shrugged in response, trudging through the snow as Flowey followed.

"I cleared the way. Called lunchtime for all those royal guard dogs for you. You should be fine."

"And here I thought you wanted chaos and didn't care for nicety." The weed stopped, looking up to you with those same sarcastic, bored eyes.

"Y'know, you're really looking too deep into it. I had my fun. We're here to do this quick and easy. SPARE your friends, I don't care."

"You seemed to care an awful lot about making a kid cry."

"As if that's the worst thing that I've done." You… couldn't really argue there. "Like I told you. We're not here to be nice. We're here to SAVE everyone."

"That's what you're here for. I'm just here making sure you don't get yourself chopped up into a salad."

"I'M FINE!" he groaned. "It's you who can't stop getting hit by other monsters! You're not even able to use your MP!" You didn't even bother to respond to Flowey's words there. It was pointless to try and argue any further, even as you both traveled puzzle to puzzle.

The journey was quiet, only ever interrupted by a light breeze that would descend from the ceiling of Snowdin Forest. It was only when you saw the familiar shape of a skeleton's battle body just in front of did the tension seem to dissipate. Flowey disappeared beneath the Earth, leaving you only with Papyrus' final XOXO puzzle.

"WHAT?! HOW DID YOU AVOID MY BROTHER'S TRAP?! ACTUALLY! DON'T… ANSWER THAT… I HAVE A FEELING I KNOW," the skeleton grumbled. "NONETHELESS, HUMAN! I HAVE BUT ONE QUESTION FOR YOU! WHERE IS YOUR FRIEND? I HAVE UTTER CONFIDENCE THAT HE WOULD ENJOY THIS PUZZLE!" You froze at Papyrus' question. His awareness had pierced your veil, and before you could say anything, he sighed.

"YES HUMAN. I MEAN YOUR FRIEND! FLOWERY." You attempted to play dumb, only shrugging. Playing dumb was the best bet. Who knew if Sans was watching. "SHORT? GREEN STEM? YELLOW PETALS? A SMILE THAT NEVER SEEMS TO GO AWAY, EVEN WHEN HE SEEMS REALLY, REALLY UPSET?" You shrugged again, trying to play it off as though you didn't know.

"REALLY?! I THOUGHT YOU KNEW HIM, GIVEN HOW I SAW HIM FOLLOWING YOU EARLIER! OR WERE YOU FOLLOWING HIM? NONETHELESS, HUMAN, I IMPROVED THIS PUZZLE FOR YOU BEFORE YOU ARRIVED BY ARRANGING THE SNOW TO LOOK LIKE MY FACE!" he proudly declared. "UNFORTUNATELY… THE SNOW FROZE TO THE GROUND, AND NOW THE SOLUTION IS DIFFERENT! AND, AS USUAL, MY LAZY BROTHER IS NOWHERE AROUND! " You snorted in amusement at the skeleton's predicament.

"I SUPPOSE WHAT I AM SAYING IS WORRY NOT, HUMAN! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL SOLVE THIS CONUNDRUM, AND THEN WE CAN BOTH PROCEED!"

"No need," you replied. The skeleton looked baffled for a few moments before you walked over to the tree that held the puzzle switch and pressed it before walking back over to the pressure plate. The spikes that blocked both of your paths. Papyrus' expression of shock and disbelief brought a smile to your face.

"WOW! AND HERE I THOUGHT THAT ONLY FLOWERY AND I WERE THE GREATEST PUZZLEMASTERS IN ALL THE UNDERGROUND! OF COURSE... I WAS HOPING THAT YOU WOULD MANAGE TO SOLVE THIS NEW PUZZLE PROPERLY, OR THAT FLOWERY WOULD'VE BEEN ABLE TO… BUT YOU STILL SOLVED IT! ! INCREDIBLE, HUMAN! I'M IMPRESSED BY YOUR NATURAL PUZZLE SOLVING SKILLS! YOU MUST CARE ABOUT PUZZLES LIKE I DO TO SOLVE THEM SO QUICKLY! WELL, I'M SURE THAT YOU'LL LOVE THE NEXT PUZZLE, THEN! IT MIGHT EVEN BE TOO EASY FOR YOU! NYEH! HEH, HEH! HEHEHEH!" And then he was off, leaving you utterly confused as he took the time to literally jump away from you. And with you all alone, Flowey returned from below ground.

"Golly," he snidely began, "Isn't Papyrus just THE BEST? Isn't Papyrus just THE COOLEST?" The weed then made a mock gagging sound as you began the trek ahead, ignoring his underhanded comments. "His puzzles are for babies."

"Does it matter? I thought you wanted to SAVE everyone as quickly as possible," you pointed out. Flowey, the next he popped up in front of you, his expression went from sickly pleasant to annoyed.

"Yeah, but at least if anything could've changed, it could've been the difficulty of the puzzles. I enjoy watching you suffer for them." There was the vindictive, malicious spite in those words. Or, at least, it sounded as such. If there was one thing that you would never enjoy, it was the flower's attempts to antagonize.

But then you had to remember… Flowey was not simply some weed, some vindictive thing. He was still Asriel. And the thought of that venom in his words… instead of annoying you, it hurt you inside. Your SOUL trembled as you remembered the scared child trapped in a body not his own. But before you had the chance to reply, you both stumbled across the next puzzle. Flowey didn't even have a chance to hide from Sans or his brother's gaze before the skeleton called out.

"IT'S THE HUMAN! AND FLOWERY! I THINK YOU'LL BOTH LOVE THIS PUZZLE! IT WAS MADE BY THE GREAT DR. ALPHYS!" You looked carefully over to Sans, whose expression remained unchanged as he watched you both. You didn't like the way that he looked toward you, or toward Flowey. Flowey, on the other hand, was trying to keep himself as still as possible, as though thinking that not moving wouldn't mean anything to him. Yet every second Papyrus explained, Sans' stare seemed to grow harder.

"HOW WAS THAT?! WAS THAT EASY TO UNDERSTAND?!" Papyrus finally called. You knew the puzzle by heart, but Sans interjected.

"hey pap… y'know you don't need to explain the puzzle to them, right? That's what keeps them trapped." You were almost baffled by Sans caring about doing such a thing. Sure, you knew the tile combinations by heart at this point… but why would he care? Was it Flowey, just standing there, stiff as a board as Papyrus went through his explanation?

"OH MY GOD, SANS!" Papyrus complained, "DON'T YOU REMEMBER YOUR PROPER PUZZLE ETIQUITE?!"

"nah. i don't think that stuff makes a lotta sense anyways. aren't you supposed to capture them?"

"WELL OF COURSE YOU ARE!" he indignantly defended. "BUT WE'RE SUPPOSED TO JAPE AND TRAP THEM IN A WAY THAT IS BEFITTING OF A GUEST!"

"and giving them the answer's the best option? come on, bro. if they managed to get this far, surely they don't need you to tell them how it works, right?"

"HMM… YOU'RE RIGHT, BROTHER! FOR ONCE, NOT LIFTING A FINGERBONE COMES IN HANDY! NYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHHHHH!" You looked back down to Flowey, expecting him to say something, anything. "AHEM… HUMAN AND FLOWER! THERE IS ONLY BUT ONE THING YOU MUST UNDERSTAND! THIS PUZZLE… IS ENTIRELY RANDOM! WHEN I PULL THIS SWITCH, IT WILL MAKE A PUZZLE THAT HAS NEVER BEEN SEEN BEFORE! NOT EVEN I WILL KNOW THE SOLUTION! NYEH, HEH, HEH! GET READY!"

Before you had a chance to even protest, and try to keep Papyrus distracted, your body reacted on its own. Reaching down and grabbing Flowey, pulling him out by the stem from the ground with a sudden, pained shriek, you ran across the tiles before Papyrus had any clue what was happening. Or you attempted to, anyways. A brief wink from Sans was all it took before, all of a sudden, the tiles under you began to change and shift.

You stopped immediately, dead center of the tile puzzle as it rapidly cycled through different colored tiles. When the puzzle finally stopped, your eyes widened and your knees felt weak. All around you, there were yellow tiles, surrounded by a square of blue tiles. You were on the only pink tile in the entire puzzle. Papyrus, seeing his work done, proudly began to celebrate.

"POPULAR, POPULAR, POPULAR! I'M GOING TO BE SO POPULAR!"

"great job pap. i knew you could do it." Papyrus started dashing around in place, trying to decide which direction he wished to go first before he began to steadily spin himself away, leaving a trail of snow that looked like someone dragged a body through it.

That just left you, and Flowey, with the smaller skeleton.

"you know, that spaghetti from earlier wasn't too bad for my brother. maybe that echo flower you've got is teachin' him all the right ways to make it." Flowey looked like he wanted to respond, only for you to cover his mouth with a free hand. "but you know what's even better? him watching you get trapped by not one, but two of his puzzles."

"Trapped?" you asked, speaking for both yourself and your petaled companion. "This is impossible to solve!" Sans merely shrugged.

"should've gotten to the other side quicker, kid. i don't know what to tell you."

"Okay, what's the deal, man?!" you huffed. "I thought we were cool!"

"of course we're 'cool', take a chillpill. i'm sure you'll find your way out. you did it with mine."

"Yours was a word search!"

"and it stumped you good, right?" the skeleton asked, his grin seeming to grow at that. "i appreciate that you're such a good sport for my bro." And then Sans began to walk off. You were flabbergasted, utterly confused, and trapped.

"WHERE ARE YOU GOING?!" you called out.

"grillby's. he's got a deal going on. you're welcome to find me when you eventually get out of there!" And then he turned the corner off toward a cliff, and seemingly vanished into the air after you blinked. It was then that you felt Flowey bite you, and a curse force its way from your throat.

You were both trapped now, on this one square tile, surrounded by electricity and water. Well, you were. You didn't know much about if Flowey was trapped. But he stayed behind, grumbling about how much of an idiot you were. About how much of an idiot he was, too.

"Give it a rest, will you?" you demanded, now starting to shiver in the cold as you realized that there was little that you could do.

"Oh, ME give it a rest?!" he practically hissed at you. "In case you didn't notice, we're in an unsolveable puzzle! And I have a solution for it that you're just not taking!"

"No!" you protested. Apprehension bubbled, and you almost thought that you shouldn't. What would happen if you tried to load when you were this utterly trapped, hopeless even?

"What do you mean NO?! Aren't we supposed to be SAVING EVERYONE?!"

"Flowey, I swear!"

"Oh, you swore plenty! You swore that this was going to be MY game this time!"

"I didn't even SWEAR on that! I offered you to just do this together, and you took it!"

"Well, I want to LOAD the SAVE! Why don't YOU?!" Flowey's expression was furious, utterly without compromise. You only 'tched' in response, not bothering to explain. "Seems to me that, since we started this new game, all you've been doing is doing the same things, over and over, that you always did!" You were about to respond, only to realize that he was technically right.

"Well… do you know any other ways around this? Is there somewhere close by we can skip to?"

"Nope!" he definitively said. "It's either we stay stuck here until Papyrus gets back — which will NEVER happen — or we LOAD the SAVE. Pretty simple if you ask me." You gave it some thought, and then remembered something. The last time you SAVED, you had done so at Papyrus' spaghetti trap.

"So… we reload the SAVE. Do you happen to know where it is?" the weed shrugged, and you went on. "I know… we would lose more progress if we reloaded than we would gain.

"You think I don't know that? God, you're so stupid, Frisk! Part of the reason I WANT you to SAVE is to that I can make something right!" It seemed that he was already a couple steps ahead of you, the shock clearly visible. "Oh don't go thinking that this is going to be a regular thing!"

"But I thought you said we weren't here to play nice."

"We AREN'T," he venomously dripped. He didn't say anything else on the matter, just expecting you to understand. "But if we're going to SAVE everyone, we could do it the right way. And I know the best possible way to not be nice while seeming nice." You tilted your head, expecting an answer. His cryptic nonsense was getting on your nerves. But he gave you another look, one that made you feel as though you saw a ghost. There was a hint of remorse there… or what seemed like it.

"Trust me, Frisk. I know what to do here." You were utterly bewildered by the sudden change of heart.

"Well, I don't trust you."

"Shocker! I'm not trusted by the only other person who knows about what I do to time and space?! Weird!"

"Flowey!" He groaned out his immediate frustration, taking another breather to compose himself as he dug his roots into the tile that much more.

"Oh please! You're being unreasonable. What stopped you from loading SAVES before, hmm? Nothing. That's what." You only gave an annoyed glance to the flower in response. "What could POSSIBLY keep you from doing it now?!" And then he realized it. His expression went from annoyed and questioning, to neutral and giddy. He realized that he had the power now. And that only deepened your pit of APPREHENSION.

"THIS won't be funny either!" Snowdrake called out, clearly hurt by the weed's comments as you were forced into a FIGHT. The moment that you entered it, you realized something. You've done this before… the feeling of Flowey taking direct control over the matter of the timeline unsettled you. He'd already done this before, but not remembering what happened before? It was chilling to the bone.

You try to break the 'ice' with a joke… it did not go well. Snowdrake's ATK increased.

"That's not like me…" he sneered to you. As your SOUL was pulled from your body, the other monster kids got involved themselves, throwing in their own attacks toward you. Were it not for Flowey's vines, reaching to stop the attacks before they hit you, you probably would've been hit numerous times. As you cycled through the menu, Flowey interrupted. Though something seemed off this time.

"Yeah, it actually is," he smiled. "Is anyone laughing at it?" Quiet filled the playground's air as you looked to Flowey in disbelief. You thought initially that he was being rude… but a memory sprung up. He'd said something far more cynical and mean–spirited.

"Y-you just don't understand 'c-cool' jokes!" Snowdrake attempted to say, stuttering and stumbling across his joke. While the other kids were silent, Flowey gave a chuckle, making it sound obviously forced as the other kids looked around awkwardly.

"I understand them enough that I know when you're being lied to about how funny they are," he stated simply. It was harsh, but honest. "Did any of your friends laugh at that one?" Snowdrake seemed to stumble and fluster in response.

"No? C'mon guys! Laugh!" At the command, they gave their own laughs… but those weren't the laughs of people who liked a bad joke. They were the laughs of bullies, watching one of their own get punished. Flowery merely rolled his eyes as the next sets of attacks came along. Flying crescents descended on you. Before you could ACT, however, Flowey ACTed first.

"You know. You kids are kinda sickos. You don't laugh at your friend's jokes when they matter, but when he tells you to, you encourage him to FIGHT?! Wow, and I thought flowers were the soulless things around here." Snowdrake looked to his 'friends' expectantly. They seemed quiet, intent on not getting involved. "What? Are you NOT going to defend yourselves from that?" The young monster looked between his 'friends' and quietly began to mumble to himself.

"What does a flower know about what friends do?"

"I know that friends offer better options instead of encouraging bad habits to entertain them," Flowey responded deftly. You looked to the petaled menace in confusion, bewildered at his change in attitude. Was it all fake? Was it real? Was it just Flowey doing something to make it easier to keep moving forward?

But the words seemed to stick with Snowdrake. As the next turn came around, you could already see his name, yellow and ready, in the Spare menu. You took the opportunity, having him leave from the FIGHT.

"Y'know, you're really a buzzkill, man!"

"And you're a terrible friend." Flowey's statement was definitive, simple, and ended the FIGHT thusly. The other monsters are bored, and have decided to leave you both alone. YOU WON! You earned 0 EXP and 12 gold.

The bafflement you felt clashed with other emotions. You didn't remember everything, but you had a feeling that Flowey would've been… harsher, nastier, more rude. Snowdrake was still standing there, just as dumbfounded as you were.

"Hey, Earth to Human! Do your thing and go buy this kid some Nice Cream!" Flowey's voice snapped you from your daze, and you looked back over toward the Nice Cream cart nearby, compelled by Flowey's words, and the look on Snowdrake's face as he was left alone with the flower had you worried; for a moment, you thought that you were going to have to go back and hold Flowey from saying or doing something he regretted. But the further away you went, the less threatening he seemed.

"I don't understand why these aren't selling… it's the perfect weather for something cold." The rabbit–like vendor's attention perked as soon as you stepped up to the cart, clearing your throat.

"OH! A CUSTOMER!" he exclaimed, more than happy to see a face that was willing to buy the frozen delectables. "Hello! Would you like some Nice Cream? It's the frozen treat that warms your heart! Now just 15G!" The choice was easy. You bought two, having an ample supply of gold from previous encounters now.

"Here you go! Have a super–duper day!" You got 2 Nice Cream: Instead of a joke, the wrapper says something nice. Slowly walking back, you heard Flowey talking to the monster kid, his tone softer than it had been during the FIGHT.

"I thought they were my friends… they always laughed at my jokes."

"They weren't laughing at them. They were laughing at you."

"Does that mean… my jokes are bad?"

"Yeah. Sorry, kid." The way the kindness rolled off Flowey's tongue left you feeling uneasy, squeamish. How could such a vindictive plant have such a capacity for kindness? A part of you remembered something that he'd said… a half–visualized conversation from… before? He knew how to be nice without seeming nice.

"But…"

"Look kid. I dunno what your whole deal is… but you gotta get yourself some real friends, or stick to the ones who you already have that treat you right."

"But… what if I don't have any?"

"That's a lie," you found yourself saying, interjecting into the conversation. Snowdrake looked up to you in confusion as you handed over a Nice Cream. "We think your jokes are bad… but we're also willing to be friends with you."

"We are?" Flowey asked, echoed by Snowdrake's 'You are?' You gave a thumbs up to him before handing him the Nice Cream. Snowdrake seemed awkward in receiving it, reaching out with a wing to wrap around the wrapper. And then another thought struck. You knew that there was someone else who he already had as a good friend.

"And… I know that there's someone else who's a friend to you. He was looking for you last I saw him." It wasn't entirely a lie… but… the circumstances could've been better. "He's worried about you." Snowdrake seemed to know who you were talking about, though, and looked down as he unwrapped the gift he'd received.

"I don't think he likes me much either… he doesn't laugh at my jokes."

"Did you hear anything about what we said?" Flowey groaned. "You don't need friends to laugh at your jokes. You need friends to be honest with you." The thought struck both you and Snowdrake as the flower made a gesture with his petals. "Now go find that friend of yours. I'm sure he'd like to see you more than we'd like to hear your jokes." The young monster hesitated, taking a few seconds to process what was said, and then he was off, already running toward the end of the playground area.

Flowey looked back to you expectantly. You… didn't know what else to say. You didn't think the weed was capable of such kindness… you always thought that his vindictiveness made him incapable of it. Were… you both friends to each other now? Being honest? Being… willing to tell the other when they were being stupid?

No… that couldn't be right… it was like he said. He knew how to be nice without being nice.