Chapter Text
Even after the owner's disappearance, no one had been to lock the flower shop, leaving it exactly as it was.
Or almost exactly.
Susie was not content with leaving things as they were in the Dark World. Flowery couldn't have died! She had taped him back together to try and fuse the stem halves, she was sure... Toriel, had said something about it strengthening the stems if they were cut. If it just connected, he'd come back stronger than ever! He... had to.
She owed so much to him, they all did. Even if he was annoying, he had taught them balance, the power of their bonds, and had tried to fight the Knight!
So she had been sneaking in daily to check on him: talking to him, watering him, telling him things that had happened that day. A strange sense of desperation welled up inside her, like when Lancer was in danger in the Cyber World. Darkners were her family, her friends. They lived with her, ate with her, played with her. Even if he was not completely a Darkner... to have one die- especially in front of her- felt like a betrayal or failure. She felt like she had to save him.
"Heya, guys- how's your day been?"
Slinging her jacket over the mini-fridge in the back room, Susie leaned against the counter the flowers were sat on.
They all looked perky, excited to see her- at least she hoped so. Blue and Yellow were in a similar hugging position as she had seen before, but looked happier, somehow. Aqua had peaked the most, she must have been bored out of her mind. Seth didn't move much, but they seemed to still be looking at Susie, as did Orange; she could imagine Green's soft smile without needing to look. She wished that closing her eyes and watching the darkness would being them back, even momentarily, but there was no way it would be dark enough.
"I guess I should tell you how things went with me, huh? 'Course- you wanna hear?"
It must have looked strange to any outsiders, a teenager talking to seven abandoned flowers, bit she didn't care. She didn't care if it was weird, or if it was considered a crime, she felt like she had to, to pay some debt they gave her. If she was caught, she'd still have been doing the right thing in her eyes- though Yellow might have disagreed. But what did he know? Probably more than Susie, but she didn't care.
"So uh... I hung out with Noelle at school today. It was kinda cool, y'know?"
...
"Kris wasn't in so... I was a little worried, but Noelle made me feel... a whole lot better."
...
"Too bad we had to spend it with Berdly... that guy was seriously annoying.- No offence, Seth."
She knew they couldn't respond, but it felt like she had to include the flowers in the conversation at least partially. They liked hearing stories, but they also wanted to be a part of things like humans- or monster- lightners.
The sun had started to set, and Susie yawned, her jaw widening as she stretched. She looked around at her friends, before sitting up quickly.
"Oh crap! Forgot to water you guys- two secs, be right back!"
She hurried over to the sink, where she had perched a small, green watering can on the counter, and filled it quickly with cool water. She shouldn't have waited so long, not with Flowery in that state- he needed the most care out of all of them because he was hurt, obviously! She hurried over, opening the tops of the jars the flowers sat in. Looking into each one she could imagine everyone's reactions:
Aqua was probably drinking it like a water fountain, spinning around and trying to catch the droplets.
Orange was probably crying at the water getting in her eye, and Susie snickered at the thought.
Green was probably cupping the water in their hands, taking small sips as they smiled.
Seth was probably shielding their books and glasses, trying to catch some in their mouth like Aqua, but failing.
Blue was probably pirouetteing around in the rain, it glittering around him like little crystals, whilst trying to make sure Yellow drank some.
Yellow was probably avoiding the water as 'punishment' for something, before getting a water-filled pistol handed to him by Blue to drink from.
...
And Flowery... Susie could imagine herself with a glass of water, pressing it against his lips as he laid by that tree, weakness in his eyes, yet still smiling, as he gratefully took in what water he could. But that was embarrassing as hell! So she quickly scrapped herself from the idea, and replaced it with... Noelle. She decided that was correct, as Noelle seemed like the kind of girl to like flowers, not like Susie the heavy handed brute-
"Oh, all done. That okay for you guys?"
Of course they didn't respond. But she could hear them all affirm, even the meeker and weaker. Maybe she was a little crazy but she didn't care. If she was crazy, then Kris was, then their dad was, then Noelle was- she should drop the subject.
Susie replaced the watering can on the counter, and knelt by the glass cases once more. She sighed, tapping a claw against the glass of Flowery's case. The glass went foggy from her breath, and she rested her head on the raised counter.
She had haphazardly applied the tape with Kris' help, but she could see the part where they had attached him back together. A thick, feathered line of deep green ran like a scar across his stem, where he had been ripped in half by the Knight. They were going to pay for that! They were going to pay for taking the police chief, and Kris' Dad! She watched Flowery, his petals drooping sadly, imagining him trying to look up at her, but his body too weak to fully hold him.
Then she looked closer.
The stem, through the tape's glossy sheen of wrapping plastic, had been smashed together in the crude bandaging, but they had formed that green line she had seen... and fused. The halves had fused together- his stem wasn't broken- he'd be alive-
"Oh my GOD! Flowery, why didn't you say something, dumbass?!"
Susie then realised for the second time she was only talking to the flower forms, not the ones she knew.
Yet if Flowery was alive, then surely there was a way to get him to Castle Town; it was so much safer there! Dashing for her coat, she made her way up the empty streets, tripping over her feet, until she reached the school closet... and jumped in.
♧★♧★♧★♧
"Ralsei! Ralsei! You'll never believe what happened!"
"H-Huh?- Oh! Susie! What's up?"
The monster had run into her friend, playfully rubbing a fist into his fluffy head, and he hugged her back with confusion, but happiness. Susie looked so excited, perhaps too excited, given the recent events, but he was sure it was for at least some good reason, right?
"So you know how I've been hangin' out at the Flower King?"
"Y-Yes- Susie, I think it's time you let-"
"FLOWERY'S STEM HEALED!"
Ralsei stood in a moment of shock, still gripped by Susie, as his hand faltered between them, before pushing her away, holding onto her shoulder. His eyes were blown wide behind his glasses, and his mouth trembled as he tried to form a response. He stopped for another moment, before-
"Huh?! What do you mean?! H-How- What- Susie- D-Did you-"
"When me and Kris went back to the flower shop, I told you we taped him together, right?"
"Y-Ye-"
"Well it must've been close enough for the two ends to touch- a-and I looked today and- THERE'S NO CUT IT'S JUST A GREEN LINE!"
She held back onto Ralsei, and shook him by the shoulders until he was visibly dizzy. Ralsei attempted to steady himself, pushing his glasses back up as his eye still widened. That... was almost impossible. The chances of her just accidentally putting him back together were astronomically low! How in the Angel's Heaven did she do that without even trying? Usually, you would need a splint and florist tape that absorbs back into the stem, but Susie had grabbed only packing tape, and had healed him through sheer willpower?!
"W-What- that's... that's impossible! How?!"
"I dunno, but it's great news, isn't it?! I know that he can't be here... but hey, at least he's still alive?"
"Y-Yes, I... suppose."
...
"Hey, Ralsei?"
"What is it, Susie?"
"D'you think... maybe, he could be here?"
Ralsei looked off to the side, not wanting to answer. He had already answered, after all. He had already told her that it would not be a possible feat, bringing Flowery to Castle Town. She knew it was impossible. Why was she asking again?
"Susie... you... can't."
"Ralsei- come on-"
"Susie. He can't... none of them can, they'll all die if we keep them here."
"I know that!"
"Then why-"
Susie gripped onto Ralsei's shoulders, being careful her claws did not dig into his fur. Her eyes narrowed, and her large jaw clenched. Ralsei tensed up, his arms pinned to his side, and he looked up at his friend with confusion and concern. They were all upset, of course they were! But it couldn't be denied that it was impossible.
"We bring them close enough to the fountain where they can come and go as they please!"
"What-"
"In the Light World, there's this dusty classroom that connects to the closet- it was the place Lancer's castle was originally- but I bet if we opened the locked door, we could keep the flowers there to keep 'em alive, but also let them stay darkners for longer!"
The locked door to the east? How was she so sure that would do anything? They had sealed the fountain there, so it didn't make much sense in Ralsei's mind to be able to. Then again... no one had ever done it. Even though he knew much about the dark worlds, he could not work on something he did not know. And Susie was always the one to try and defy things- if not for a short amount of time. Yet... this would hurt her if it did not work.
"Susie..."
"C'mon, Ralsei! We can at least try!"
"Please... be careful."
If she damaged any of them in her efforts... it would only make the problem worse; more of them would be injured... or worse. Ralsei still had no idea if it would work in the first place! Yet... for some strange reason... he had faith in Susie. Thus, he followed her out of the open and into his castle.
Once the pair of heroes had arrived, they could hear the familiar tune of Queen's mixtape blaring from another room. Ralsei sighed, Susie groaned, but both still followed the noise.
On their walk to the castle, Susie had explained- or admitted- that she had no way to get the flowers to the classroom in the first place. So, the pair had resolved to talk to Queen, as she would either know the answer, or be able to help them get it. She was rather a hassle to get ahold of, though.
The music peaked in the basketball court, where Queen was sipping from a green tinted water bottle that seemed the make fizzy crackling noises, whilst holding onto Lancer, who had what looked like ice cream smeared over his lips. Susie ran over to him, sitting down on the bench beside him, and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Hey, Lancer! What'cha got there?"
"Susie!- Oh! Girl Dad said I did real good at practice for the Lancer-lympics, so we got Lesser Dad to get us some refreshing refreshments!"
"Yes I Did. You Did: Real Good Lancer."
"Sick!- Mind if I get a bite?"
Lancer held out the cone, and Susie bit down, almost swallowing it whole. The two sat laughing like it was the funniest thing in the world, before Ralsei stepped over. He pushed his glasses up, before wringing his hands behind his back. He looked over at Susie, who- looking like she had been caught in a crime- stared back at him with her head lolled back.
"Susie, didn't you have something to ask Queen?"
"Oh, yeah- oops."
She turned her head to face Queen, who threw her water bottle to the other end of the court, nearly hitting Tenna, who flinched as the bottle shattered upon impact with the wall. Green liquid slimed down the wall, yet still managed to make the scoreboard add one point to her side.
"Oh Score: I Win."
"Queen? Can I ask you something?"
"Go Ahead Susie What Do You Need To Ask"
Clearing her throat, she looked up at Queen.
"So there's these flowers that need taking care of but they're too far away to live in Castle Town, so I want to move them somewhere else closer in the Light World, do you uh, know how?"
"Susie. Susie My Darling."
"Yeah???"
"I'm The Internet. Of Course I Know."
Her eyes displayed a red 'LMAO' as she grinned wide, leaving Susie flushing with embarrassment. The girl grumbled under her breath, grabbing Queen by the shoulders, who whirred slightly.
"Invalid Motion: Touch. No Sensory Reception."
"Tell me how to move the flowers!!!"
"Ah. On This Website It Says-"
"WAIT- I'll... forget, probably. Can we like... have a copy of it. On paper."
"Sounds Like A: Skill Issue."
"H-Hey!"
Queen laughed for a moment, before explaining that it didn't matter, she could print something. However, she had to be in the Light World to do so, as anything printed in the Dark would would turn to trash after the transfer. So, the two were waved off by Ralsei as they arrived in the hallway of the school.
Susie opened up the laptop, finding an article on proper plant care already open. She clicked to read more on it, skimming through ways to plug in the lights, how to navigate putting them in the right positions under the lights, the optimal watering times, and determined it was good enough. Closing the laptop's lid, Susie wandered over to her classroom, creaking open the door, and stepping to the teacher's desk. She fiddled with the cables and plugged it in, making sure to connect up the printing cable too, before opening the laptop back up and pressing 'print' on the article.
It took a few moments, but the printer finally spat out the pages she needed, and Susie ran her claws over the paper as she read, scanning her instructions carefully. Finally, she took a breath, patted Queen on the head, and started running.
"I'll be right back, Queen! Gotta go get the flowers all set up!"
♧★♧★♧★♧
Susie had rushed back to the Flower King, and into the back door where all the flowers were kept. As much as she wanted it to be a surprise for the flowers, their safety was the priority. She stood in front of the glass jars, and sighed, calming her slightly ragged breathing from all the running, before stuffing her hands in her pockets and pulling out the how-to guide she had printed off.
"So, guys, I've found you a way to come back to Castle Town- to stay... uh. 'Human', for as long as you want. Maybe. Don't... put all your faith into it, but it's worth a shot."
...
"Trust me on this, I'll... be careful- promise. I'm gonna unplug your lamps, set them up in the classroom next to the fountain, and then take you guys over there and unlock the door to the closet where Castle Town is in the Light World. It might take a while because I need to be careful, but... trust me, kay?"
Yeah, they could not respond, but she needed to make sure they were okay with what was going to happen. Plants were often very temperamental, as said the article, so they should not be moved without warning or too suddenly. Susie stepped over towards Flowery's case, her hand gently caressing the glass, as she debated taking him first. If she unplugged all the equipment, then took him over to the classroom last, she was concerned he would be worse off than any of the others.
She kneeled down at the switch labelled 'GOLD', flicking it off and unplugging the cable. It wrapped around her shoulder, the lamp head and light bulb dangling precariously by her side. With the smallest amount of force possible, Susie slowly slid the glass case into her arms, cradling the injured flower like a baby. It felt like she was genuinely holding Flowery, his body slumped in her arms and against her chest, his eyes closed with slight wrinkles, like he was straining to keep them shut, rather than relaxing. Maybe they were her own muscles, too, tensing as she stressed about making it back to the school.
Luckily no one saw her trudge back to the large building carrying a large glass case, a yellow lamp, and a watering can, or there would likely have been many questions she could not answer.
♧★♧★♧☆♧
Carefully juggling all the items in her arms, Susie managed to pilfer the keys to both the unused classroom, as well as the closet door, and had softly arranged each piece ready for assembly. She used a string to tie up the lamp to a comfortable distance, before placing Flowery's case underneath it, being careful not to shake his soil too much. All she had to then do... was retrieve the rest of the flowers, and head to Castle Town to check if she had succeeded.