Chapter Text
His arms burned.
The Knight's sword, sharp and made of the purest darkness, sliced into the epidermis of his forearm. Drops of pale liquid slowly ran down his arm and moistened his shirt sleeve.
He hissed, and pushed against the sword with all the strength he could muster. The sharp point scratched his jaw, if his strength faltered for even a moment, there would be no saving him.
Behind him, a loud thumping noise rang out, as if someone was running straight at his back. Though he was curious, turning around wasn't an option.
A mass of purple energy hurled past his shoulder and into the head of the Roaring Knight. It slid backwards from the force, sword clattering to the ground with it.
He inhaled a sharp breath, shocked.
"HEY! You didn't seriously think we'd just stand here and do nothing?" A loud voice rang out, even closer now.
The Knight shook their head, dazed and confused but otherwise unharmed. It's form flickered and distorted, like TV static, before stabilizing again.
Flowery, despite his better judgement, turned around and was met with a familiar sight. The Heroes of the Prophecy. Susie in front, axe lifted and ready. Ralsei behind her, his face strained with worry. And in the back, Kris, expression obscured and unreadable.
"Did you princesses come to save me?" He asked, smiling.
"Focus on saving Asgore first! We'll take care of the Knight." She said, brimming with confidence. If she was faking it, it was a mighty convincing performance.
Flowery turned and ran towards Asgore, still suspended in the air, choosing to trust that the heroes would be able to hold back the Knight for at least a moment. A moment was all he needed.
Their eyes met, golden meeting yellow, as Flowery reached up towards his King, dispelling the darkness surrounding him.
Asgore flailed, unstable and quickly falling, before landing directly into Flowery's injured arms. The flower strained, even all the fake stats in the world were barely enough to hold up a monster so much larger than himself, clad in heavy golden armor. But he didn't drop him.
He jumped in the air, flying upwards and away from the Knight.
The heroes were already engaged in their fight, or rather, one and a half of them were.
Susie led the charge, with Kris swinging half-heartedly in the Knight's direction. It was obvious to Flowery that Kris wasn't hoping on things ending up this way. If he needed any more proof that Kris didn't have good intentions towards their father, that pathetic display of resistance would've been enough to convince him.
Beside Susie, Ralsei looked up at Flowery, confused beyond words. The Prophecy must not have mentioned this part happening, if it happened at all. Though Flowery believed with all his heart that the power of friendship would be strong enough to defy fate, he was prepared for things to end badly. "Hope for the best but prepare for the worst." As the saying goes.
He raised an eyebrow and smiled at Ralsei, trying his best to convey a strong "I told you so!" at the darkner. But he couldn't linger around any longer. With Asgore secure in his brave and heroic arms, he flew them back to safety. Placing Asgore down at the foot of a sprawling tree.
"What are you doing? They're in danger! That thing is going to kill them!" Asgore shouted, jumping to his feet and valiantly trying to march back towards the fight.
Flowery stopped him, using both hands to wrap around his Kings forearm. "The Knight isn't after them, it came after you! You need to stay here, and we'll deal with it. Just leaf it to us, Gorey!" He said, in as positive and reassuring of a tone as he could.
"I can't just sit here while children are being attacked!" He pulled his arm out of Flowery's hold, and barged past him.
Inside his head, there was a slight want for him to point out it he hadn't cared much in the past couple of hours. Too engrossed in his research. Not to even mention that his own child wasn't in danger of being wounded by the Knight, at least not mortally.
But he bit back any unsavoury comments, and turned to follow his King into battle.
As they approached, it became obvious the battle was already over. The three Heroes stood in a circle arguing, voices raised and barely intelligible in their fervor.
"What are you guys waiting for, we need to go after it! We can't just keep letting it get away!"
"Susie, that was so reckless! You can't just run in like that every time, we got lucky that it ran away."
"We shouldn't have done that."
"Kris, that thing was about to take your dad! What do you mean? Am I the only one here that sees how serious that is? And Ralsei, if I didn't run in, it would've ran away anyway! Like it does every time!"
"You're not wrong, I'm not saying that you are. But that was really dangerous. I didn't think that would happen."
Flowery and Asgore slowed down, and stood a few feet away, far enough to hear them argue but not near enough to be noticed. It seemed they both had the same idea.
"You don't have to lie. You already know what's going to happen. Wasn't that exactly the problem we talked about yesterday? Maybe I wouldn't have to run in if I actually knew what was going to happen next."
Ralsei stayed silent for a second before replying, voice quiet and drained of energy.
"No. I didn't know that would happen."
"Huh? What do you mean you didn't know? Isn't everything we do in the Prophecy?"
"That wasn't."
Kris stared at the Prince in front of them, arms crossed. It wasn't supposed to go that way at all. They'd made a dark world for no reason now, two of them actually. Two fountains closer to the Roaring with nothing to gain from it.
"So, what are you saying? That the Prophecy changed? Or that it's missing parts?"
"I don't know, Susie! I don't know what else to tell you. I don't know. For once, I really don't."
They all stood quietly, Flowery felt like the air itself was frozen. What does that mean? That he'd won, and defied fate? It certainly didn't feel that way, considering he still hesitated against Kris and lost. He needed to be rescued, his fake stats didn't do much to help him. It didn't feel like much of a victory. But if the Prophecy didn't predict Asgore not being taken, and he'd succeed in protecting him, that was a win enough for Flowery.
He stepped forward towards the trio, not keen on seeing them argue for any longer. It just wasn't proper for friends to be so upset with each other!
"Relax, princesses! We're all safe, and the Knight is gone. Isn't that something you should be celebrating? You've won every fight you had today!" He smiled, a bit strained, but genuine. It was something to be proud of, regardless of whether their win meant his loss.
"Exactly!" Susie said. "We kicked that Knight's ass! And if we saved Asgore, we can save anyone else the Knight comes after. Maybe the Prophecy didn't tell you everything, Ralsei."
He frowned; "Maybe. But the Knight still made another fountain, that's not a good thing. Even if they didn't take anyone, that still means the Roaring is even closer."
"We'll deal with it. If the Knight wanted the Roaring to happen by now, they could've just started it, right? Hell, they could've made another titan if they actually wanted to. It's not like anyone is stopping them from making more fountains. Look, let's just be happy we won and worry about the rest later. Okay?"
Flowery clapped his hands together, breaking the other two heroes out of whatever worried daze they'd been in. "That's a wonderful idea, Sussie."
Asgore stood next to them, his head in his hands. He pinched his temple as if he'd experienced the worst headache of his life.
"Goregore, oldbuddy, peony for your thoughts?"
The King sighed; "Where do I even start?"
Four pairs of eyes laid on the man, the picture he painted was one of exhaustion. The heroes exchanged matching looks of confusion between each other, they'd expected he'd be more shocked or angry than tired.
"Something up, Kris's dad?" Susie asked.
"To start: you know what this thing is called, 'The Knight' you said. And you know what it's goal is, or at least have some idea of it. And you're the heroes of the Deltarune Prophecy? Am I following this correctly?" He said, squinting and trying to recall every word spoken.
"Uh, yeah, kinda?"
A moment of silence passed.
"I've spent years trying to solve what made that fountain. Hoping another one would open and I'd find any answers. And my own child ends up being involved in this Prophecy, and is now fighting this Knight? What can I even say to that?"
Kris said nothing, keeping their gaze firmly on the floor. Asgore wasn't exactly wrong, they had been fighting the Knight, and they were involved in the Prophecy. But it was more complicated than that. Not to even mention that the Knight wasn't the only person that could open a dark fountain. And that the Knight didn't open the first fountain in Flower King to begin with.
"In our defense, we sort of had no idea you knew anything about this. I mean, if anyone else knows about it, it would sort of be great if you could tell us." The girl explained.
Ralsei looked from Kris to her, he seemed just as exhausted as The King. Twin frowns etched onto their fuzzy foreheads.
"No, everyone I've told didn't believe me. It's not as if I had any proof. Or, I didn't have any proof that mattered."
"Well, we believe you at least. Uh, there's been a lot of stuff going on, and it would be great if we could sit down and, you know, talk about everything. Honestly, I was sort of hoping we weren't the only people that knew anything."
"I do agree. Susie, right?"
"That's me! One of the heroes in the flesh! Or,I guess, in the scales."
"It's an honor. Thank you for being Kris's friend." His exhaustion eased, and a small smile graced his face.
Kris blushed, embarrassed, and stuck a sharp elbow into their dad's side, only to be met with impenetrable armor. A loud clang rang out and Kris pulled away, elbow stinging.
"Pfffft, Kris! He's just being polite, you don't have to be embarrassed." She laughed.
"And you are?" Asgore asked, looking at Ralsei, who was pointedly not adding to the conversation in the slightest.
"I, uh."
"That's Raly, he's my newbuddy!" Flowery interjected.
"Uh, yeah. Me. Raly."
Asgore reached his hand out towards Ralsei; "It's nice to meet you, Raly."
They shook hands briefly, Ralsei looked as if he was expecting Asgore to say something else, but nothing came.
"Listen, Susie, Kris. I'm glad things ended up okay this time, but you two should really go seal the fountain now. The Knight might be gone now, but they could still come back at any moment."
"Yeah, you're right. But, Ralsei. Can I talk to you about something before we go?" He nodded slowly while Susie turned to look at Kris; "You guys can go to the fountain and wait for me, okay? I'll be fast."
Kris cocked an eyebrow at Susie, it was strange for her to not want them around for a conversation. But they didn't want to question her, or rather, they didn't feel like they deserved to. Not in that moment.
The two Dreemurrs slowly made their way towards the fountain, while the other two Heroes, and Flowery, stayed behind.
"You're not gonna go with them?" Susie asked him, expecting that he'd just follow Asgore around per usual.
He shrugged; "I will, in a minute. There's some things I wanted to say too, actually."
Ralsei grimaced. It's not that he disliked Flowery, if anything, he respected him and his efforts to defy fate, even if he found them foolish and arrogant. In his heart, Ralsei even hoped that he'd be successful. Maybe in a way, he was. But they still had too many differences for them to get along.
"Don't look so prickly, princess. I just wanted to say thank you."
"Huh?" The darkner questioned, not sure why he was being thanked. Weren't they about to close their dark fountain in mere minutes? Stop their precious dream?
"What for? Shouldn't we be thanking you? You're the one that went after the Knight."
"If you didn't jump in to defend me, Asgore would've been taken. As much as I don't like to say it, I would've lost. The Knight would've cut me to pieces."
"Jeez, dude. That's rough."
"That's what I thought was going to happen, too. But Susie just started running right at you." Ralsei said.
Flowery smiled and patted Susie on the head, a flowers with his face on it blooming from her hair. "And that's exactly why I had to thank you! You took a leaf of faith, and stuck the landing. You're a real hero, Sussie."
She shrugged his hand off, and laughed, her cheeks dusted pink.
"I just didn't want anyone else to be taken. I would've done the same for anyone. Asgore, Toriel, some rando I've never met, it doesn't matter."
"I'm glad to hear it."
"Sorry to interrupt, but uh, wasn't there something you wanted to tell us, Susie?" Ralsei asked. The longer they stood around, the more restless he got. It wasn't like Susie couldn't just speak to him in Castle Town. They'd be there together in no time, except they wouldn't be under threat of the Knight.
"Oh! Yeah. I wanted to say. I was thinking. That there might be a way to bring the flowers to Castle Town?"
Flowery and Ralsei looked at each other awkwardly. It wasn't going to be fun letting her down, but it had to be done.
"Susie, us flowers can't survive in the dark. We're neither Lighteners nor Darkners. We need the sun to keep living." Flowery explained. He tried to smile reassuringly at her, but the reminder of how short his dream would last stung.
She shook her head. "No, no. Listen. Even if you can't be in the dark world all the time. Why can't you be there sometimes?"
"Where would you put us, then? And who would take care of us?"
"There's that empty classroom right next to the closet. Ralsei, you remember, right? Where the Card Kingdom dark world was opened?"
"I remember. But even if you brought them to that classroom, what then?"
"Uhhh, what do you mean? There's a window and a windowsill we can put the flowers in front of. I could take care of them, it's not like Asgore can't just tell me what to do. I don't have anything better to do anyway. I can just take you guys to Castle Town when it's nighttime, it's not like you'd be getting light then anyway."
Flowery looked at the Prince, not knowing how to refute what she was saying. He didn't know what exactly went into taking care of the flowers himself, only being half conscious in the Light World. It sounded almost too good to be true.
"Would Asgore even let you take them? They're from his wedding bouquet and he's been taking care of them for years." Ralsei reasoned, still not convinced.
Susie sighed; "Why do you sound like you don't want to see them again? If Asgore cared about them, wouldn't he want them to be, you know, sentient, or whatever it's called?"
"I do want to see them again, and I do want them to be sentient, and sapient. Susie, you should ask Asgore about it. Obviously, if that was possible I'd do everything I can to make them feel welcomed at Castle Town."
"Okay, good. Flowery, what do you think?" Susie asked.
He thought about it for a moment. Spending more time with an actual physical body, spending time with the other flowers, helping them, helping Asgore. It all sounded like everything he'd ever wanted. His dream. Now that he'd experienced it, fought for it, he didn't want to just let it all go. Selfishly, he wanted to keep living as a 'human'.
"I dig it! If you could make that happen, I'd be grateful forever. I'd grow a garden of golden flowers in the shape of your face. I'd trim a hedge in your visage. Whatever you ask for."
"Haha, no way! I've seen enough conveniently shaped hedges today, if I see another one, I'd just cut it down! No offense."
She looked at Ralsei, who was fidgeting with the seams of his robe.
"You hear that, toothpaste boy? I'll be bringing the flowers to Castle Town in no time! You'll be helping me set up rooms for them, ya hear?"
He smiled at her, earnestly happy at her enthusiasm. If there was anyone who could find hope in a hopeless situation, it was Susie.
"I'd love to."
Flowery stood and watched them, it was heartwarming that they were willing to accept them all into Castle Town. Though their own dark world was special to him, if they stayed inside it for even a day longer, they'd begin to wilt. It was a world that could never last, a dream that could never come true. If they were able to travel to and from a dark world with Susie's help, it would certainly solve that issue.
They were fighting each other on opposite sides mere minutes ago, but there was no reason they couldn't still be friends.
"So, Heroes. Don't let me keep you waiting. Go seal that fountain. If we'll be seeing each other again soon, there's no need for you to stand around."
"I'll stay here. I'll see you in Castle Town, Susie." Ralsei said.
She nodded. "Okay, you two don't get in another argument while I'm gone. You're friends now, got it?"
Before they could say anything in response, she turned and made a run for the fountain.
"Yeah, Raly. Got it?" Flowery repeated, smiling at the darkner next to him.
"Don't make me ban you from entering Castle Town."
"You wouldn't. The other flowers would be sad."
"I wouldn't."
The flower man didn't reply, rather he looked down at his torn sleeves. In the commotion, he'd almost forgotten about what happened. It wouldn't be impossible for him to recover, but even a shallow cut could irreparably harm something as delicate as a flower.
Ralsei, perturbed by the silence, turned to see Flowery inspecting his injuries. They weren't actively bleeding, or rather leaking anymore, but they were still noticable.
"Let me try something." The darkner said, reaching a hand out towards Flowery.
Even with all of his focus, his healing magic missed, and nothing happened.
"You already knew that wouldn't work." Flowery pointed out.
"I had to at least try."
And wasn't that enough? To understand that it might be hopeless, and try anyway?