Chapter Text
Deep breaths.
Deep breaths, Flowery.
You’re not usually like this.
Just how long has it been? Five years? Ten, fifteen? No, probably sixteen. Yes,sixteen, you’re sure…and never once has he left your side. It has to be a good sign, it has to be. The kids come first. The wife comes second. His other…friends. They come third. Then there’s the job at fourth, and the house at fifth, MAYBE himself at sixth. There’s nothing, absolutely nothing in his life that’s more important to him after that. Stop acting like such an idiot. Aren’t you honored, Flowery? You’re Asgore’s seventh priority. You’re Asgore’s priority.
Why…why hasn’t that damn Fountain burst from the ground, then.
Because it’s an impossibly selfish thing for you to ask, Flowery. Who do you think you are…? You get his attention. You get light and water and more room in his mind than a weak little flower deserves. And you want him to use his knowledge of something impossibly important…to come spend time with you and your friends? Get a chance, Flowery. Get a goddamn chance. If it ever hit him he could do that, obviously he would. But why would the thought cross his mind? That’s what the problem is, Flowery. You’re so tiny in your little glass case that you can’t even conceive the bigger picture. In your world, there’s endless time and devotion to give to Asgore. And in Asgore’s world...there’s billions of people just as big as him. Well…in comparison to you.
You’re so selfish, Flowery.
You’re a terrible best friend.
He should have left you in that bouquet with the others and tossed you in the rain to wilt-
“...Flowery?”
Get normal. Now. Sitting on the edge of a stone wall at the cliffs, your body immediately sucks any humidity off your face and back into your system. And you relax against the stone floor you were sitting on, pretending to uncross your legs, before turning like you just noticed their voice. Normally, if you had any time to think, you’d know immediately which of the six it was. Unfortunately, you only know once you’ve already turned to face away from the rising pink and yellow sun that it’s Seth. Internally, you tell yourself to smile…big whoop, there’s already one plastered on your face. There’s been one this whole time.
Your body is lighter than air. Rarely do you think of it, but it’s true. Off the tips of your toes, you can push yourself to stand in front of Seth with annoyingly perfect balance. And more annoyingly perfect wind blowing in your perfect golden locks. Reaching over your shoulder to hold your coat, you realize it’s just kind of…spawned there already. And while all this is happening, you also realize Seth can’t hear your internal monologue, and they’re standing there in silence, and this is getting awkward, and you should probably talk now.
“Seth! My flower friend! How can I help you?” You pocket the hand you’re not using as you observe Seth make far worse use of theirs, placing both on the book they’re holding over their chest. A pose that promotes insecurity. Who’d know it better than you? They don’t seem bothered by their long purple hair blowing in their face in such an inadequate way, either. “Uh…sure, Flowery. Good morning to you too. So, can I, uh, give you your schedule for today, or…?” Flipping your hair and walking towards Seth, you give them a thumbs-up. The purple flower clears their throat, now stumbling to walk at your side, assuming you’re headed back to Flower Castle. You don’t, uh…you don’t know yourself. “Right. Let me begin.”
They open their book. Geez, it’s like they keep everything in there, thoughts included. “Okay, let’s see…so, today, there’s a special breakfast Green is making. Oh, wait, before that there’s your workout…” Ah, a perfect opportunity to set an example for the others. You speak up confidently. “No worry! I got up early to get my cardio in sooner! We can go have breakfast already!” Seth seems neither surprised or impressed. “Oh, yeah. I forget you do that.” It’s not exactly what you were going for, but since you’ve done this every day for the past nine years, perhaps it’s possible that Seth already foresaw you’d do it today…? Man, Seth’s so smart.
They continue. “Diner’s closed today, so we should probably just let them do their thing in the Castle’s Café. Oh, and Blue wants us all to see his recital today in the evening, and you know what that means for Aqua.” Immediately, you understand. “Alright. I’ll prepare the muzzle. Anything else?” Seth shrugs, shutting the book and holding it under their arm. “That’s pretty much it. Today’s not a very busy day for us.” A comfortable silence stretches between the two of you as you continue walking down the Cliffs. Although, upon further inspection, it seems like it was only comfortable for you. “...Flowery, you can fly. What are we doing here?” Oh, yeah, that. You astutely think of something to justify your aimless meandering. “I just wanted to take in the sights of our beautiful world a little longer, that’s a-” “Flowery, call the goddamn flying flowers.” “Okie-dokie!” With a wave of your hand, rotating heli-flowers appear at your sides. A purple one for Seth, a rainbow one for you. Though you can naturally fly with your Jarona, it’s a bit exhausting. You’re not exactly a TP bank, after all. Stepping onto your heli-flowers, you both quickly traverse the sky, with Seth cross-legged on theirs, reading.
The journey is silent. Once the Foyer is in sight, you immediately dispel the flowers and gracefully hover down, before catching Seth like a princess in your arms. They seem a little rattled from the fall. Maybe they didn’t like that? “FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, PUT ME DOWN!” Maybe they didn’t. But you don’t oblige. There’s no point, anyway. “It’s inevitable now.”, you say, and before Seth can question you, they feel themselves being tackled into the ground with you by Aqua, Green, Blue and Orange alike. Not that Orange adds much to the weight of the dogpile as a rat. Everyone’s talking over each other. Blah, blah, blah! Hey Flowery, hey Flowery! You’re back, Flowery! Flowery, let’s do this, let’s do that! Flowery, let’s crucify Seth!...that part must’ve been Aqua. Soon enough, Seth crawls out of the dogpile and straightens out their hair. “AHEM! I was under the impression it was breakfast time! All of you, get off of poor Flowery!
Like scolded children, which at least Aqua is, they all get up with their heads down dramatically. “Sorry…it was Orange’s idea…”, Aqua replies in that kicked puppy voice. Orange doesn’t seem pleased with the framing. “WHA-NO IT WASN’T!”, they reply, to which Aqua grins. “Huhu, but they won’t believe you over me~!” Orange has no argument to that, and looks around, before pointing at Seth. “I-IT WAS SETH’S IDEA!” “I’M THE ONE CALLING YOU OUT, DIMWIT!” Seth pinches the bridge of a nose they don’t have and sighs deeply. “Green, tell me breakfast is ready or I’ll drop dead here.” Green nods, before leading everyone into the castle. All but you follow, with Seth last in line. “You’re my one saving grace, Green…”, they say.
As you get up and mentally estimate how much damage the dogpile must’ve done to your Adult Back™ , you see an elegantly masculine hand stretching out to you from the corner of your eye. Returning your smile to its rightful place, you accept Blue’s help to get up, even if you didn’t really need to. “Flowery, you must learn to say no to us. I deeply apologize for it, and it will not repeat itself. Though, as the target of all our affection in Asgore’s place…” You make a sound between an amused scoff and a wistful sigh. “I’m A-OK, Blue! Don’t you worry. And it’s not like Asgore isn’t around, anyway,” you add as you step through the Castle doors, “so I don’t have to replace him at all.”
The Café! It’s Green’s favorite place. Personally, you prefer the Diner, but you’re not picky. As long as you’re with the boys, it doesn’t matter where you eat. All sitting at the counter, with Aqua’s bib placed daintily on her chest by Seth, you get to chowing down on some delicious flowery food. Your plate in particular is a well-balanced meal to keep your health pristine, with two scrambled eggs, a slice of whole grain sourdough toast, half a mashed avocado and a side of cherry tomatoes. For dessert? You’re feeling a little adventurous today, so you got one(1) cup of…dirt? No, no, no! That’s where outsiders would be wrong. That’s a cup of worm-flavored fertilizer! Basically, it’s a protein shake. But it has a worm flavor! How intriguing. Oh, and Orange is loudly eating an entire block of cheese next to you. Everyone has different diets, you suppose.
Done with your meal, you down the fertilizer. Wow. That is disgusting. You’ll sure be drinking it again, though. All that’s left is to wait for the others to finish eating. It’d be rude to leave the table early. You decide to tune into some of their banter. It doesn’t take long for you to be included. Orange waves her little paw for your attention. You turn your head. “Big bro, are you going to Blue’s recital later tonight?” You smile down at her, fully turning in your swivel seat to talk. “He’s the best at putting on a show! I wouldn’t miss it for the world. And I’m sure Yellow won’t…uh…either…” You look around. How could you have been so careless? “Orange, where’s Yellow? Is he busy?”
“Last time I checked, yeah! He's in the punishment rooms.” You hum in acknowledgement. Well, if he’s busy, that's fine...you didn't expect to ever have to use the punishment rooms, though. There's barely any crime around here. But missing breakfast for that is so not Yellow. You feel a tug on your seat. Seems like Aqua’s already turned it for you. “Flowery, Flowery! Something funny happened earlier today... “ You smile attentively down at your little friend, while Seth prepares to have some kind of seizure at her side. “Yellow was playing cards with Orange, and Orange did a cheat, and she took aaall the money!”
Orange almost chokes on her food. “HEY! Somebody needs to put you in time out, little brat! Who even are your parents!?” How amusing. Supposedly, it’s time for you to laugh now. “Hahahaflowershahaha! That does sound like Orange!” Your eyes flicker to your side, but Aqua tugs on your pant leg. Seems like she’s not done with her story. “Yeah, yeah! And then Orange told Yellow HE was the one cheating! So he said he was a crime guy, and he had to go to the punishment room!”
“...”, says you.
“...”, says Aqua.
“...mhm, mhm! Aqua, why don't you go play the throwing knives at Seth game?” Seth preemptively gets up before booking it out of the Café. Aqua hops out and follows suit after them, conjuring her knives in the air. “I love playing that game!” Once the cyan flower leaves the room, you muster up every drop of patience you have and turn back to Orange. “Orange! You know Yellow? Our very strong friend who could blow anyone up? The man who's so obsessed with justice he arrested me for stealing a kiss? The idiot.” Orange nods with her cheeks full. “Sure do!” “Yeah, I thought you would.”
“And you convinced him that he committed a crime.”
“Yup!“
“Against his friend.”
“Y...yeah...?”
“In a Castle with a room specifically designed for blowing criminals up. By HIM.”
“...yeah, what's the prob-”
“Orange, I swear to God.”
With no time to waste, you get up off your seat and pick up your coat off the counter, putting it on for once. You can’t be blamed with the chill that just went through you. This is absolutely the time to panic. Blue seems to pick up on that. “Flowery? What seems to be the proble-?” “Yellow’s gonna blow himself up.” Blue immediately hops off his seat as well. “How does this keep happening…?” One deep exhale out through your nose. You put your hands together and turn to Green, Blue and Orange. “Okay, guys! Let’s go save Yellow from blowing. Himself. Up. Again. Who wants to come?” Before Orange can open her mouth to say she doesn’t feel like it, you speak again. “That’s great! C’mon, everybody!” You pick up Orange as gently as you really can right now and walk out in a hurry. Blue follows.
Your head-turning charms seem to affect the whole Castle entrance, but now isn’t the time to smile and wave. Just to smile. And make sure your eyes aren’t twitching. Flower Castle is divided into two districts, the Green & Orange district and the Blue & Yellow district, both symbolized by the pairs of decorational hedge trimmers hanging from the ceiling. Yellow’s punishment room is in the Blue & Yellow district, so following the scissors, you turn to the left and go, go, GO, subtly using your Honey Kiss ability to push mysterious winds behind your back. Can’t let anybody see you running, so fast-walking will do. “Blue, do you have the Yellow Key?” He hums in thought, following with a ballerina’s quiet steps behind you. “I’m afraid not, though there is another entrance through the Blue Key area.” Hah. Just what you needed, another detour. Reaching the Blue Door, you gesture for Blue to do his thing.
Blue’s part of the castle is the smallest, which is ironic for the biggest and tallest flower, but it’s all he needs. Just a stage and some backrooms for his shows and living quarters. The soft music of loving steps poisons your ears already as you go inside. Walking towards the stage, you feel all the eyes on you. Ah, one won’t hurt. You turn and blow a kiss to everyone at the tables. Seems like you knocked each and every one out with an anime-style nosebleed. Orange silently hops out of your hand too, weirded out, and hops onto Blue’s shoulder. “Let’s just go!”, she says. You oblige, with your head back in the game. Past the curtains and into the backroom, you head through a hallway, before entering Yellow’s area.
Ah, the punishment rooms. There is literally nobody getting punished here. It’s a little eerie how empty the place is, despite being the property of such a lively guy. You walk through the area, looking around. “Yellow! Yellow, my main man! Where are you?” That’s odd. He’d have yeehaw’d all the way to you by now if he was really here. Before you can question Orange if this was all just an elaborate practical joke by her and Aqua, You hear a bubbling. “Does anybody else hear that…?”, you ask. That’s when you turn your head and see Blue soaked head to toe from the pond at the bottom of the room, next to a very very wet Floradinn. “Yes.”, he says. Thanks, Blue.
Crouching to the Floradinn, you tilt your head. It’s blushing already. “Hey there! Have you seen our friend Yellow?” “O-oh, I dunno! I mean, I-I, uh, I was just swimming here!” There’s a short silence after that one. “In the punishment room-” “In the punishment rooms, yeah! Haha. Yeah. Haha.” “...okay! Well, you’re sure you didn’t see him? Big, lanky cowboy, looks like he was gonna blow-” You’re once again interrupted. “Can I get your number?”
After manifesting a note with your number on it from thin air and saying goodbye, you walk away from the Floradinn having gained nothing. That really didn’t amount to much. But it does give you an idea. Asking around would certainly be faster than looking for Yellow alone. “If Yellow isn’t here, and there’s no signs of any blowing up…maybe he’s doing it somewhere else? I don’t know where, though..” That’s when Orange speaks up. “Oh! Big sis probably knows, she sees everything!
Big…sis.
Odd. You have no idea who Orange is even talking about. Despite your lack of blood relation, Orange always talks about the other flowers like she’s related to them. She calls you big bro, calls Aqua little sis…but there’s no female flower older than her. Unless she’s openly calling Seth a woman? But she wouldn’t disrespect Seth’s gender identity like that, would she? So you walk up to Blue’s shoulder and talk straight to Orange. “Big sis?” Orange quirks an eyebrow like you’re the crazy one here. “Uh, yeah? Pink.”
There is no Pink.
Before you can say anything, Blue shoots you a look. A look that tells you to shut your mouth immediately. In a nice way, of course. So you do, despite having no idea what the hell is going on here. “Ah! Yes, I forgot to ask Pink. Why don’t we go to her, hm?” Orange nods excitedly. “Right! I’ll go on ahead! Follow me!” Orange rushes forward, out of Yellow’s area, and seems to rush back to the Castle’s Foyer. It’s a silent walk there with Blue. Eventually you speak up. “So…explain.”
“I believe I am the only other aware, Flowery…there is another Darkner who is not, in fact, a flower like us, but calls herself Pink, and has convinced Orange she is one of our siblings. But when I tried to tell her off…I noticed that she, herself, is thoroughly convinced of it as well. Are you familiar with that Japanese animation Asgore’s old friend recommended to him…? The doll of the character remains in Flower King, and so a Darkner manifested from them. In the shape of that girl…Mew Mew Kissy Cutie, I believe.” You would react, but you honestly, honestly have no words. You don’t even know what to think.
Up the air in the Foyer with the heli-flowers, down the hallways at the top, and finally, into a chasm in the temple-like walls, before finally reaching an area of the Castle you had never once seen in your life. Sixteen years in this Castle and you had never once seen this place in your life. There’s a large pink door ahead of you, which Orange uses a bright pink key to open up. It’s exactly like the design of Blue and Yellow’s keys and doors. Who knows what lies ahead? The Netskies are good shapeshifters. Maybe it’s one of them. But Blue did say she’s a Darkner made from that anime doll. So…how? How could she ever think she’s one of you?
Orange pushes open the doors with effort before walking in. Blue follows after her. “Flowery…do not be alarmed. She is harmless.” …well, if Blue’s saying it, maybe you can trust her. You walk in. Clean white flooring, bright pink walls. And at the center of the room…a goddamn anime catgirl. Her eyes light up in excitement. She looks exactly like the character, that Mew Mew girl. Is this it? Is she…Pink? “Big bro Flowery! Hi!”
She gets up. Blue elbows you. “Let us two do the talking, Flowery.” Pink gently walks towards you, her golden little cat staff in hand, before throwing a peace sign. “It’s so nice of you to visit, mew~! What do you need?” Orange jumps into the air. Taking the signal, Pink stretches out her hands for her to land in. “Big sis! Yellow’s gonna blow himself up!” Pink looks amused, but almost disappointed. “Ah…again, mew? Well, if you want to find him, then I’ll see what I can do! Count on me, mew!”
You had heard of the Mandela effect before, but this is just surreal. So you just stand there, smiling and extremely concerned. You want to say something, so so badly, but there’s not really anything you CAN say in a moment like this. It’s like being approached by a distant family member who claims to have changed your diapers when you were a baby. Though, in this case, Pink is acting like you changed her diapers just last week. Okay, maybe not the best analogy, but you’re still in a really awkward place here. Blue clears his throat.
“Pink, would you mind using the resounding floors of your room again…?” Pink gasps softly, before tiptoeing to the center of the room gleefully. “Right! How could I have forgotten, mew? I’ll just use my patented Kitty Staff and we’ll echolocate big bro Yellow in no time!” Your inner voice is screaming at the top of its lungs that none of you are related, ESPECIALLY not Pink, but you do a good job of holding it. You always have, after all. And so, she lifts her staff, before gently striking the ground. A little pink shockwave rings out and she closes her eyes. Her cat ears twitch slowly, before she looks at the three of you again. “Got him!”
“Big bro yellow is in the Green & Orange district. Specifically, he’s in the onsen. Also, I felt a, uh, giant gun loading up to blast something into pieces right above him? You might want to hurry, mew!” She looks genuinely concerned. You’ve asked it once before, but it really can’t be overstated. What in the world is going on here? Blue interrupts that thought process. “Much obliged, Pink. Say, would you like to come to my recital later this evening?” Pink beams. “I’d LOVE to! I don’t usually leave this room EVER, mew! Of course I’ll come! Thanks so much, big bro Blue!” Blue chuckles. “Come now, everyone. Let us save Yellow from an untimely demise once more.” Orange waves goodbye before hopping back on Blue’s shoulder as they walk out. But you stay inside for a moment, just awkwardly looking at Pink. She tilts her head. You snap out of it and wave goodbye. “Bye bye, Pink.” “Bye, big bro Flowery!” You exit.
“...Blue. We’re going to talk about this later.”
“...if you wish to, Flowery.”
And the moment disappears.
Slowly, you begin to take off your coat. “The Onsen, huh…?” Orange and Blue look nervous. The former is the one to speak up. “W-we can only get there in a couple of minutes, even with the heli-flowers!” You smirk, before turning to your friends with your coat over your shoulder. Ah, a perfect opportunity to set an example for the others. You walk to the worried pair of flowers and your warm smile grows. You can almost feel the tension turning into excitement in their eyes. Because they realize the ally they have here isn’t just anyone. It’s Flowery the flower. The heli-flowers, by your will, fly up under their feet and hoist them into the air. And you? You let the transient winds blow against you once more. A blue energy glows around you. “Hey, guys. Don’t worry.” That same blue energy envelops the heli-flowers. “Just hang on tight.” Like a racer, you put your hands to the floor.
“Nobody outspeeds a flower.”
And you blast off.
Your Jarona. The difference between you and anyone else. The distance you can cross in just a couple seconds, thanks to your light body, and the energy you can fill it with to move across the air. That’s your Jarona. The wind pushes back for a moment, but come on. Air resistance? Get a chance. That’s not gonna hold you. After all, you’re a flower in a hurry, and nobody stops that. Nobody tries. Peeking over your shoulder, you see it just past your coat in the air. Blue and Orange are holding onto their heli-flowers like champs. Good. Your friends are strong, you don’t have to hold back. Time to kick things up a notch.
Golden flower platforms appear below your feet as you run through the very air, and at some point, burst into your top speed. You turn the corner, now unstoppable, unslowable. Just a little more to the tower housing the Onsen. You can almost see it. Come on, Flowery! Run like the wind! And just as you start to slow, just as the heli-flowers pass you, one last push! “JARONA!” You, Blue and Orange obliterate the wall. And as you look up with a grin on your face…
“WHA-USE THE DOOR!”, says Seth. Who is covered head to toe in knives and somehow alive. Aqua’s next to them too. And behind them…something incredible. A cocoon. A glowing yellow cocoon with the barrel of a giant laser gun buried inside. “I-I mean, I guess I can’t complain that you’re here now! We’ve been trying to tear this thing down ever since it showed up while I was running away from her! But the vines are too thick…Yellow’s not answering inside, and it looks just about ready to blow!” Everyone stares tensely at the cocoon. Except Aqua. “Why aren’t you dead from my knives?” Seth chooses to ignore her for once. “Flowery, you think your Jarona can…?”
“Heh, leaf it to me!”, you exclaim. Just a little more. Glowing with rainbow light that turns a deep soulful blue, you focus all of it into your foot, before dashing as hard you can into the cocoon. “Here I come, San Fran-” Thunk. Your foot stops against a thorn, no matter how hard you push…? How!? Nobody stops your Jarona!
“What the flower!?”, you exclaim.
“What the heck!?”, Orange exclaims.
“What the hell!?”, Seth so rudely exclaims.
“What the fuck!?”, Aqua exclaims.
Everyone goes silent as you all side-eye Seth. “Seth, I know this is a life or death situation, but please don't say the H word…” They seem outraged at being corrected. “Wha-she said FUCK!” How ridiculous. You pose just to emphasize how ridiculous it is and correct him once more. It starts with an F! Like flowers!” They scramble to find a solution despite so clearly being in the wrong. “S-so does fibromyalgia, is that a good thing!?”
“What the fuck is fibromyalgia-?”, you ask. “YOU HAVE NEVER SAID THAT WORD! AND AQUA IS, LIKE, 10!” Aqua pipes up once mentioned. “Uuu, I say we fucking kill Seth!” Fair. But not now. You throw aside your coat. “Later. Let's solve this first.” Hand to your chin, you get to thinking.
Yellow’s stats aren’t the best. They can barely be considered good, at least in comparison to your maxed-out ones. How could he defend against your Jarona? There’s only one possible answer. He’s using his Yellow Hat. It makes Spells 20% stronger, right? He made up a whole spell just to barricade himself in? Oh, Yellow...the gun flares up the brightest yet. Seth stutters. “F-Flowery, please! I’ve tried everything I could think of as the tactician!”
“Let’s blow up the gun.”
“WHAT!? NO! That would just kill all of us!”, they respond. “Nope! Trust me!” “W-why!? What’s your plan, Flowery!? Yellow’s defense is catastrophically low! He’ll die!” You don’t answer.
Deep breaths.
Deep breaths, Flowery.
You can fix this like you fix everything else.
It’s a hot, bursting feeling that makes your petaly skin crawl. Even after having dashed up the cocoon and stuck your hand into the gun barrel, you didn’t think too hard about how it’d feel to let it burn with the energy inside. Well, the answer is hot. So hot all your nerves can barely register it for the first few seconds. You can hear Seth calling your name, begging you to explain the plan. You scream at the top of your lungs. “SHOOT IT!”, you say. Hopefully they heard that. Aqua needed no further instruction. Knives barrel into the gun, and it starts to leak energy. Seth reprimands her. This time, though, she did the right thing. Orange’s boxing gloves follow suit, striking the handle several times and creating cracks. The pain is easing slower than the adrenaline wears off. Damn. Damn, it hurts.
And with Blue’s attacks following suit, there’s just one person left. Everyone turns to them. You can feel the eyes on them. The pressure to perform. So you scream right back. Aqua tugging on their tie, Orange yelling into their ear, Blue taking their hand and begging them. But you can also feel it, how unconfident they are. Seth, meek little Seth. They’ll never make the first move to solve the crisis. How easy would it really be for them to come through at a time like this? They’re frozen, you know they are. If you didn’t have to be confident for the others…you would be too. Well…if they’re not gonna trust themselves, then there’s only one more thing you can say. “SETH! TRUST US!”
And as soon as those words come out of your mouth, that giant book bullet rams into Yellow’s Hyper Punishment Gun. That’s it. All the energy is leaking out. It’s time to put your plan into action. “FLOWERY, YOU BETTER HAVE A GOOD REASON FOR THIS!”, an infuriated Seth screams behind you. So, of course, you can feel them getting nervous when you don’t move at all. “FLOWERY!? FLOWERY! WHAT’S THE PLAN!? WHY ARE YOU JUST…!?”
And…boom.
With your hand inside the barrel of the gun, you move. Jarona propels your movements. Shattering through it in the explosion, you dive into the cocoon. Come on, Flowery. Let’s see if flowers can outspeed flames. It’s a deep dive for the milliseconds you have. The cocoon goes all the way into the hot spring at the bottom of the room, after all. No time to be scared! Just push! And there he is! Yellow, silently curled into himself at the bottom of the cocoon! “JARONA!”, you say, using the last of your strength to push deeper in. But not just for that. As a sign of hope. He heard you. Yellow looks up in awe from under his cowboy hat. No words needed. His hand shoots up to be held. Unfortunately, that’s not gonna cut it to get him out of there. Sorry, Yellow. You tackle him during your final push and rip through the vines. And if you gambled right…!?
Splash. A warm feeling runs over your body as you see the explosion rid the room of a ceiling. Debris rains into the water around you. Your clothes are charred, you can’t feel your hand…but Yellow is next to you. Yellow is safe. And you’re to thank, flower man. You let out a deep breath, which turns into bubbles in the hot water around you. And after just a moment of relief, you wrap an arm around Yellow. He smiles at you, tips his hat, and helps you swim up to the surface.
Once you reach the surface, you inhale deeply. “Phew! That’s what I call danger!” Once you look to your side, you see Seth shakily holding a charred, giant book bullet they summoned to shield the others from the blast. Perfect! They did get it in time. “That’s great! Good job, Seth! I knew you’d know what to do!” And instead of being mad, for once, they just…drop to their knees and sigh, plucking a knife out of their head. Seems like that took a lot of TP. “I-I…I really do hate you, you know that, Flowery…?” Yellow rises from the water with you and tips his hat at the others. “Howdy, y’all! Say, why’d y’all come here while I was punishin’ a criminell?”
Immediately, Orange jumps into Yellow’s face, hugging it. He doesn’t seem opposed to the rat’s embrace. “YEEELLOOOW! I’M SOOO SOOORRYYY!”, she cries out. Chuckling, you unwrap your arm from around Yellow. He quirks an eyebrow. “What’s wrong, little missy?” She sniffles. “Y-you’re not a criminal! It…it was me! I was the one who cheated at hanafuda! I took your money u-unfairly! I’m sorry!”
A silence washes over the room. Suddenly, Yellow’s face turns hyper-serious, as he draws a gun to point at Orange on his own face. “So you’re sayin’ you’re a criminell, huh?” She scrambles to get off, but is pressed between his face and the tip of the barrel helplessly. “WAIT WAIT WAIT I TAKE IT BACK IT WAS YOU-” Immediately, you step in, and blow a Honey Kiss, blowing Yellow’s gun out of his hand. Yellow looks mildly annoyed. “Flowery! This here rodent’s a criminell! Ya can’t get in the way of justice!” You clear your throat. “In the name of King Asgore, as his advisor, I forgive her crimes.”
Immediately, his face brightens up again as she scampers back to Blue in despair. “Well, darn! If King Asgore says so, I guess she’s innocent! Fair ‘nuff. But, uh, ya can’t do that for everyone, can ya, partner?” You chuckle, and begin to walk out of the Onsen. “Don’t worry, I also respect justi-” Trip. You, really? YOU tripped? Oh, you must not be able to walk too well from the pain in your charred hand. Well, this is embarrassing. “Flowery!”, Seth says, as everyone circles around you. All this effort, just to end up worrying everyone. You really are useless, Flowery.
Aqua waddles up to you curiously. Unusually, she looks a little sad to see the state you’re in. Gently, she takes your hand…and kisses it. Like you always do to hers. You smile, though you don’t seem able to control how right now. And you’d ruffle her hair…but you’re just about a couple seconds from passing out from the pain. It makes you feel weak. Sure, you were reckless…but if you were actually strong, you’d have that privilege, wouldn’t you? “G-guys, go get Green!”, Seth says to Blue and Orange as your vision starts to fade. Isn’t this great? You sure can’t wait to see Asgore reprimanding you in your nightmares. But right now, you really have no choice.
A scrambled egg slaps you in the face and immediately disappears. HP maxed out.
“Phew…you were watching this the whole time?”, Orange says to someone. Looking down at your hand, you see it to be perfectly fine. Nobody has healing that good but your friend. So you look up expecting to see Green, and your eyes don’t disappoint. Raising your healed hand, you give them a fist bump. That’s all there is to it. Getting up and leaving the center of the circle, you smile, now in the way you always do. “Okay, everyone! How about we unwind a little? We still have a recital later today! Why not lunch at the Diner?”
Slowly, you feel Blue walk up to you. He puts his hand on your shoulder and looks at you. There’s so much love in his eyes, and…wait, what is he going to say? A…a bad feeling runs through you. “Flowery…you don’t have to come to my recital today. You always come, and after today...don’t you perhaps deserve a little rest?”
“N-no. No, I don’t.”
No, no, no…everyone’s attention’s shifted to you again. You smile as best as you can, scratching the back of your head while picking up your coat from the floor. “C’mon, guys! You know I wanna go to the recital. It’s not like I’m really tired! I’m all healed up now, remember? I don’t need it. Let’s be positive, okay? Gotta keep movin’! That’s what Asgore would want if he was here with us!”
They don’t believe you. Why!? Why don’t they believe you!? Lie better, Flowery! And, well-! It’s not like it’s even a lie! You aren’t tired! You could run a whole other lap around the Castle! Why are they looking at you!? With that…pity!? That concern!? That should be from you to them! You’re the strongest one! How could you be letting them be so scared for you!? This…this is all your fault. If you had just stuck to your schedule, you would’ve been around when Yellow got tricked by Orange. And the hand thing was stupid! You should’ve prepared bullets to fire at the gun alone instead of trying to punch a hole through then relying on everyone else to finish the job! It all always comes back to you, doesn’t it!!? Why is that, huh!? Maybe, just maybe, it’s because you ARE! You’re a terrible best friend after all, aren’t you!? And he should! He should’ve left you in that bouquet with the OTHERS! Tossed you in the RAIN! And left you to WILT-
It was as if your very soul was shaking.
All their looks. All their judgment suddenly turns into cold, raw despair and confusion, rattled by the rumbling of the land and the brightening of the color as your world invades the realm of the real. The body that was given to your just barely living form now feels like real stem flesh and petal skin around the essence of your being. You can look down at your hands with hands to look at and eyes to look at them. All the life around you is now alive as a dark light floods everything without being there at all. Every color that you used to see, they’ve been mixed with black and are now a vibrant, vibrant shade that’s whiter than it’s ever been. You turn around slowly to look out at the sun. The heat you “felt” before, you now feel. You are real. You are a flower and you are a man at once. Seth has little commentary. “A…a D-Dark…a Dark Fountain…?”
YES!
You jump onto the railing! Seth was in the middle of speaking, and calls out your name to wait, but it seems you just can’t hear him! “JARONA!”, you BLAST towards the sky, and fluttering in it, you find it, you FIND IT! The Dark Fountain! It’s somewhere in the glade a little north of the Castle! You launch yourself with the most powerful, eardrum-blasting Jarona you can, and use your feet to stop the momentum as you skid to a stop! The color in the sky, this is it! You run through the dark glade! Find the empty room in the cave! Asgore! Asgore, he’s finally come for you! He’s HERE! You step in and look inside!
…a little, blue human child in a sleeveless latex suit with a heart symbol on the chest looks curiously at you, with two red horns coming from their head. They’re holding a knife. It’s still shining. Asgore doesn’t have just one kid. He adopted a human, too.
“...K…Kris…?”