Chapter Text
..How the book had they let this happen!?
That was the only thing that Seth could think, as they dashed frantically around the halls of Flower Castle, double-checking every nook and cranny for even the slightest sign of Aqua.
It had all happened so fast.
Just as night had begun to settle over the kingdom, Seth had been in their room– devoting themself to their studies, as per usual. After all, there was always so much to learn about humans.. about ways to potentially bring a smile to Asgore’s face.. about everything!
But, just as they'd gone to flip the page of their textbook, they'd heard a knock at their door.
And when they’d opened it, there, gazing down at them, was Flowery. He was smiling radiantly, as he always did.. and, clinging to his leg, was Aqua, her mouth twisted into that typical, sickeningly-sweet grin.
“Would you mind lending your eyes for Aqua this night?” He'd asked them earnestly. “I've got some real big plans to attend to, for Asgore. And since you two are BestFriends, I thought she'd like to hang with you.”
..Seth had hesitated initially. Just when they'd planned such an intense night of study and intrigue, here they were, getting hassled with babysitting Aqua. Again.
But.. when Flowery was working on something so diligently for Asgore, of all people.. refusing such orders might as well have been a direct affront to the king!
So, reluctant as they might've been.. they'd agreed, and allowed Aqua into their room. But not without making her promise to be quiet. (Which, knowing Aqua, probably wasn't a promise she intended to keep, but Seth figured they'd at least try.)
For a short while, they'd resumed their studies as normal. Aqua, meanwhile, sat on the floor and flipped through some of the books on their shelf. Seth honestly didn't know if Aqua fully grasped the concept of reading.. they thought, maybe, they should take the books away from her before she found some way to destroy them.
..But it was keeping her quiet, so they decided that they weren't going to push it.
Eventually, they'd set their textbooks aside, to begin work on yet another of their stories. They'd spent so much time and energy brainstorming, coming up with concepts and characters and captivating themes that would surely leave Asgore astonished! Finally.. finally, this was going to be the one. The one brilliant enough to repay all that he'd done for them!
..However.. around then was when it'd all gone downhill. You see, Seth had fallen victim to an unfortunate requirement of their perfectly-designed ‘human’ form; the need to replenish energy. They hadn't realized just how draining their sessions of rigorous reading could evidently become.
They'd hardly put a single paragraph onto the paper before they'd found themself dozing off. A grievous mistake, if Seth had ever made one.
..They couldn't have been asleep long. They were sure of it.
But, however brief of a time it was.. it was long enough for Aqua to kickstart a night’s worth of tomfoolery.
They awoke to a sudden crash, as ear-splittingly loud as a clap of thunder. They shot back up immediately, disoriented– they'd hardly even realized they were asleep to begin with– and straightened their sideways glasses to be met with the sight of all of their books having toppled onto the floor.
That alone was enough to make them panic.. but then their eyes shifted to the other side of the room.
The door had been flung open, nearly off of its hinges.
And that only led to an even worse realization:
Aqua was gone.
Their heart had dropped in an instant. They soared out of the bed and, nearly tripping over their own feet in the process, launched themself out of their room. Frantically looking around, yelling out her name, only to be met with even more dread.
She was nowhere to be found! And after Flowery had told them to keep an eye on her.. oh, books and begonias, he'd trusted them! And they'd let him down!
What was he going to think? What would Asgore think, if he found out..?!
.. Before the overwhelming panic could overtake them, they'd attempted to steady themself.
After all.. they were Seth. The master tactician. The one with the most brains of the other six flowers, combined! They could fix this. They would find her.
By employing their genius, infallible strategies, they would find Aqua and have her safely back inside their room before Flowery had a single glue that anything was amiss!
..Or, so they'd told themself.
But, after what'd felt like an eternity of meticulously searching– circling every room in the castle, checking behind every paper wall, underneath every table in the café, even commanding an army of Shinobeetles to help them– they’d still come up with nothing. Absolutely nothing. Not even the slightest trace of that intractable, maddeningly overzealous girl.
So they, regrettably, found themself back in the foyer, nearly pitch-black in the darkness of night. Pacing back-and-forth, with a racing heart that they desperately wished they could calm.
They were at a complete loss. The clock was ticking now.. it was only a matter of time before Flowery figured out that they'd failed. Or before Aqua did something reckless, and got herself hurt! H.. how would they live with themself if they let that happen? They couldn't– they didn't–!
..They huffed. As regrettable as it was.. there was only one thing left for them to do.
If they were going to resolve this mess before it escalated further.. then they were going to need help. The help of a fellow flower.
But who?
Orange.. please. Involving her would result in nothing but more trouble.
Green.. hm.. Seth couldn't see anything wrong with the thought of Green pitching in to help. But they were always so busy helping others, tending to Orange, running the café.. Seth, admittedly, felt terrible about the thought of waking them.
So, then.. that left Yellow and Blue.
And Yellow.. well, he was Yellow. Did they need to say anything else?
Besides, given that his role was to be a Justice.. they thought it more likely that, instead of receiving any help, they'd simply be delivered directly to Flowery, or even thrown in jail as punishment for their ‘crime.’
..It seemed that Blue was their only option.
And, even then, he was a risky pick. Where there was Blue, there was always Yellow. Even if they weren't trying to involve the cowboy, chances were that they'd end up behind bars regardless.
But they didn't have much of a choice, at this point. And, if anything.. Blue was always calm and level-headed. Plus, he had experience; he was great at tracking Yellow down, whenever he decided to run off and ‘punish himself.’
As long as everything went according to plan, Blue’s help would surely be beneficial.
…As long as everything went according to plan.
==
Seth stopped in front of Blue and Yellow’s door, their arms pulled in closely to their chest. Even from out here, they could hear Yellow snoring. They didn't know how Blue could stand it.
..For some reason, they still felt unfathomably nervous about this. Almost to the point that it made them queasy.
They mustered up a brief semblance of courage, enough to reach for the door handle.. and then that same courage instantly evaporated. They pulled their rapidly-shaking hand back towards themself.
It almost puzzled them. What were they so afraid of..? Even now, they couldn't fully grasp the extent of human emotions..
With a deep exhale to steel themself, they once again reached for the handle– this time, with success. Before they had the chance to back out again, they'd pushed the door open, and found themself gazing into a pitch-dark room.
..Great. That was even more daunting.
They reminded themself that they were still racing against the clock– or, against whatever buffoonery Aqua decided now would be a great time to enact. They couldn't afford to keep wasting time.
Slowly, they swallowed their doubt and stepped into the bedroom, pulling the door shut behind them.
As though they were walking through a minefield, they began to cross the room, towards Blue and Yellow’s bed. Every creak of the floor beneath them made them flinch, their entire body tensing up. One single wrong move, and they knew they'd end up with Yellow's gun pointed directly at their head before they could react.
It felt like a miracle when they'd finally reached the two flowers’ bedside.
In front of them, Blue and Yellow were both sound asleep, tangled in each other’s arms. Yellow had his face smushed into the crook of Blue’s shoulder, snoring at such a volume he could've been shaking the entire castle, while Blue took peaceful breaths, seeming almost as graceful in his sleep as he always was when he was awake.
..Briefly, the scene in front of them made the young flower grimace. They could've gone their entire life without seeing Yellow not wearing a shirt, but here they were.
..They reminded themself that wasn't important.
Slowly, and still rife with hesitation, they crouched down, and outstretched their hand, placing it on Blue’s arm.
“..Blue,” they whispered, shaking him slowly.
..
He didn't stir.
They sighed quietly. They weren't sure how much more force they could put into this without waking Yellow up.
"Blue," they repeated, more desperately this time. They tightly gripped the fabric of his dressing gown and shook him with a bit more fervor.
His eyelid twitched, and his fingers curled slightly. Relief washed over Seth, but their heart was still racing.
Slowly, the ballerino’s navy-blue eyes fluttered open. He blinked a few times, processing what was going on, and then his unfocused gaze found its way over to Seth. They could only imagine what kind of frenzied expression he was seeing on their face.
Obviously still half-sleeping, he murmured, “..What is it?”
"I need help," Seth blurted out immediately.
Concern illuminated Blue’s eyes at the sound of their desperation; he vaguely raised an eyebrow at them.
“..I'll explain everything,” they promised in an urgent whisper. “Just.. Blue, please.."
Blue groggily shook his head at them, and they pursed their lips, not entirely knowing what to make of it.
The ballerino glanced down at Yellow, and then slowly began to sit up. Gradually, he made his way out of the bed, using gentle hands to slowly guide his lover’s head down onto the pillow.
Yellow seemed to stir slightly when Blue left him; his arm twitched, as if searching for him. Seeing this, Blue leaned down to brush the cowboy’s hair away from his face, and plant a kiss upon his forehead. The gesture seemed to lull Yellow back to sleep.
Seth stood awkwardly beside the bed. They were relieved that Yellow hadn't woken up, but they didn't exactly have time for all of this lovey-dovey malarkey right now. Their eyes went to Blue’s face, as he turned to face them.
He placed a hand on their shoulder and began to slowly guide them back towards the door. The two of them exited the bedroom, with Blue shutting the door behind them.
“..Now, then.” Blue muttered curiously, gazing down at them. “What's troubling you, dear?”
"I can't find Aqua." They rushed out, pulling anxiously at their own hair.
“..I beg your pardon?”
..Seth sighed, and started from the beginning. They recounted everything– Flowery’s visit, their monumental mistake, and Aqua’s vanishing– to an obviously still groggy Blue, who was doing his best to comprehend their words.
“So that's why I need your help to find her,” they frantically explained, almost out-of-breath. “Before Flowery finds out, or Asgore, or she does something stupid, or.. or, I don't know, just–! Blue, can you please help me?”
..Blue only stared at them, squinting.
Seth’s panic quickly devolved into awkwardness as they waited for him to say something. Anything.
Staring back at him, they did acknowledge just how much they had to be inconveniencing him. Blue, normally the epitome of elegance and beauty, was standing in front of them wearing nothing but a flower-patterned robe, his tired face devoid of any makeup, his periwinkle locs veiled beneath an indigo-colored bonnet.
Right now, very little was visible of the radiant performer who called himself Mr. Butterfly. There was only Blue, and he did not look impressed.
But they had no other choice than to ask for his help.
“Blue,” they said again, as if to emphasize this.
.. Blue shut his eyes, raised a hand to his temple, and released some sort of combination of a yawn and exasperated sigh. He then opened his eyes again, looking to be in thought for a moment, before looking back down at Seth. They locked eyes with him expectantly.
“Very well,” he nodded. “I do shudder to think of the things she could get herself into, left unsupervised.”
Seth’s shoulders relaxed with the overwhelming relief. They hadn't even realized how painfully tense they'd been until now.
“Thank you,” they breathed out, genuine gratitude warming the analytical edge their voice normally carried.
“Of course.” Blue confirmed. “..Let's make haste, shall we?”
“Right! Haste..”
==
The two cool-toned flowers began making rounds around the castle once more, retracing the routes that Seth had already taken with an extra set of eyes.
Having Blue’s help provided quite the significant advantage; with his dazzling butterfly wings, the taller flower could reach and inspect spots that Seth would've never been able to reach on their own. But that they were confident Aqua could have found some way to, if she really wanted.
As they turned to make their way down yet another corridor, Blue, floating meters above Seth’s head, called out, “Aqua, dearest! Where are you?”
His voice reverberated against the hallway’s walls.
"Shh!" Seth whipped around immediately, shushing him; he looked down at them, seeming baffled. “Be quiet! Do you want Flowery to find out that she's gone?”
Blue paused momentarily.
“..Seth, with all due respect..” he shook his head. “How else would you expect to find her?”
“I–” Seth began to answer, but tripped over their words. Dejectedly, they exhaled. “I don't know, okay? Just.. be quieter!"
.. Blue only hummed in response, and Seth wasn't sure what exactly he was trying to convey.
Their search went on for a good while longer, but was still proving itself fruitless. Seth was beginning to grow restless.. their mind wandered into the realm of possibility that they'd simply never find her. That she'd wandered off, and.. and gotten stuck in a hole, somewhere.. or.. or–
They shook their head at the thought, and threw their head around another paper wall, just as Blue was doing behind them. But on the other side of the wall, they found only another empty room.
"Agh, drat!" They exclaimed loudly, shattering the silence, stomping their foot angrily against the floor. When they did, a few nearby paper decorations flew off the ceiling and down onto the ground.
“..Perhaps you'd do well to heed your own advice,” Blue murmured from behind them.
Seth turned to face him with a lukewarm scowl. Seeing this, his lips curled ever-so-slightly, and he almost seemed like he was trying not to laugh.
“Calm yourself, Seth. I was only kidding.” He told them matter-of-factly. They weren't fully convinced, but sighed anyway, stepping towards him.
“So you still haven't found anything either?” They called up to him.
He frowned. “I'm afraid not.”
“Of course not,” Seth growled to themself. “She could be anywhere, at this rate.”
A look of sympathy came to Blue’s face, and he floated down onto the ground to stand before them.
“Don't be so easily deterred,” he advised. “Think, Seth. Is there anywhere within the castle that you haven't yet searched?”
Seth hesitated, wracking their brain momentarily.
“..No!!” They suddenly yelled, shaking their head. “I've looked everywhere I can possibly think of. And, trust me– that's everywhere.
“I've checked the punishment room, the café, your stage, even the zen room."
“Really?” Blue inquired.
“Really,” Seth nodded. “I thought maybe she'd crawled underneath Chairery.”
“A viable theory,” Blue concurred. “I can think of not a soul in the kingdom who holds no love for Chairery.”
“Except Aqua, apparently.” Seth rebutted, and then groaned in vexation. “With my luck, she's already found her way to Flowery, and she's been bothering him this entire time!
“Because of course she would,” they continued ranting to Blue.. whose eyes, oddly, seemed to be drifting towards something behind them. “Of course she would take the first chance to run away and ruin my evening of study! Because I can't take my eyes off of her for one seed-bearing second without her pulling some–"
“Seth,” Blue whispered suddenly.
“..What?”
The blue flower remained completely silent. Slowly.. painfully slowly, he raised his hand, pointing his index finger out into the distance behind them.
Seth blinked, and cautiously turned to glance over their shoulder.
Their hair bristled at what they saw.
..There, at the end of the corridor.. was Aqua. Peeking around the corner at them, with a sly grin on her face. An expression reading nothing but mischief.
Blue began to quietly urge, “..Now, Seth, don't–"
"AQUA!!"
Before another word could leave his mouth, Seth had yelled at the top of their lungs and launched themself down the hallway towards her.
She ducked around the corner, giggling, and they propelled themself after her. Their shoes skidded on the floor as they rounded the corner, stopping for breath– but Aqua was bounding farther and farther away, laughing as she went.
Groaning, Seth picked up their pace again, speeding after her. But she only ever seemed to speed up with them– it was like she was lightyears away..!
A whooshing sound rang out from above them, ruffling their hair. They looked up to see Blue, flying as fast as he possibly could in their direction– somehow still as elegant as ever, even in such a dire situation.
“I was going to advise that you didn't follow her,” he called down to them, and they scoffed.
“Well, it's a bit too late for that now!!” They screamed back as they ran. "We need to find some way to–"
They yelped, cut off in the middle of their sentence.
Blue had swooped down to grab them off of the ground, hoisting them into his arms as he kept flying.
"Wh– Blue!!" They protested, squirming in shock. "You can't just–!!"
“Stay still,” the ballerino encouraged, tightening his arms around them.
They began to argue that they didn't have any choice, but with the way that the ground was soaring by underneath them, they came to the conclusion that they might throw up if they tried.
So, instead, they focused as intently as they possibly could on Aqua.
They gave chase for a few moments more, before Aqua suddenly veered off to the right, through a previously-unseen doorway and into some mysterious room.
"In there!" They yelled to Blue, pointing to the doorway.
He honed in on it, accelerating as the two of them neared the entrance. Gradually, he sunk lower and lower to the ground.. before returning to his feet, not far from their destination.
Seth rejoiced when their feet touched the floor once again, but their head was still spinning violently. They nearly tripped and fell when they attempted to walk.
“Are you alright?” Blue questioned, sounding concerned.
“..A.. affirmative,” Seth nodded, catching their breath. “Just– warn me before you do that next time!”
Blue chuckled empathetically. “Right, apologies. You have my word.”
..Seth didn't think there was anything humorous about it, but they compelled themself to hold their tongue.
“..Now.” They steadied themself, facing the doorway.
They glanced at Blue, and then charged into the room, with him following behind.
"Alright, Aqua, I've got you now–!" They announced as they barged in.
..But then they stopped in their tracks. Blue drew to a halt next to them.
“..Oh, you have got to be kidding me.”
Instead of finding Aqua within this room, as they'd expected.. they'd found an entire horde of Aquas.
A horde of Netskies, to be more specific. The tiny foxes had all shapeshifted into identical Aquas, forming the army of Seth’s nightmares. They were all bouncing up-and-down, laughing maniacally as they did so. There were so many of them that they entirely filled the spacious room.
..For a moment, Seth couldn't even formulate a single thought. All they could do was stare, slack-jawed, at the preposterous scene playing out before them, in total disbelief.
“..D..” they drew in breath to speak. “Do you.. think that the real Aqua is in there somewhere?”
Blue didn't respond.
..Unnerved by this, Seth slowly swiveled their head upwards to look at him. His eyes were firmly shut, and he'd pressed his fingers to the bridge of his nose.
“..Blue?”
They watched as he inhaled deeply, and then proceeded to release the longest, most irritated exhale that they'd ever bore witness to.
Seth shrunk backwards. Blue opened his eyes, scanning the crowd.
“..I suppose she'd have to be, if it was truly her that we were pursuing.” He muttered.
“But.. there's no way that she'd ever just admit to it.” Seth shook their head, unamused.
Both flowers stood side-by-side, wordlessly, for a moment.
And then Seth slammed their hand into their face. “..Ugh. How the stamen.."
Blue blinked, turning to them with a raised eyebrow. “Seth, dear, I'm not sure you should be saying that.”
“It's scientific," they bit back, and he shrugged.
They scanned over the crowd of Netskies once again, trying to utilize their sialia-tier intelligence to formulate some kind of plan. There had to be some way for them to fix this.
“..Oh, what a mess.” Blue groaned next to them. “How are we ever going to lure her out..?”
..Just then, it hit them. The ideal strategy. The perfect way to outsmart these buffoons.
“We aren't,” they declared.
“Hm?”
“We aren't going to.” They turned to him, pushing up their glasses confidently. “Listen here, Blue. I.. have an idea!”
==
Seth's brilliant plan was two things: simple and effective.
You see, Netskies, tricksters that they were, would often revert back to their original forms if spooked or exposed to sudden, unexpected movement.
And so, Seth had devised a foolproof combination of the two flowers’ special abilities, to force them to do just that. Blue would use his mini-ballerina attack pattern to jump upwards and shake the floor beneath him upon landing, accompanied by the force of his legion of ballerina bullets. The bouncing would surely be enough to force the Netskies out of their infuriating guises!
Meanwhile, Seth, whilst diligently watching for the real Aqua to show herself, would use their Bullet Pattern to double the amount of ballerinas! These meddling Netskies would stand no chance.
It sounded remarkably genius in theory.. and, Seth was thrilled to find, it was just as clever in practice! In fact.. it worked like a dream!
They stood by the doorway, making excellent use of their Bullet Pattern. Blue, further into the room, repeatedly leapt into the air and gracefully back onto the ground, followed by an army of ballerinas.
With his every skybound jump, Aqua-imitating Netskies were launched into the air, and instantly reverted into foxes the moment they touched the ground. Then, as if embarrassed to have been revealed, they'd all run away and vanish into a cloud of smoke.
"Hah!" Seth boasted proudly, as yet another group of Netskies retreated. By now, they could finally see through the ocean of Aquas.
Blue leapt into the air once again, jostling several more Netskies back into their original forms. He stopped briefly to steady himself, and then made for another jump. A certain air of exhaustion was beginning to seep through his poised veil, however.
“..You know, Blue,” Seth started, seeing this, “things like this would be a lot easier if you'd ever just use your Omega!"
Blue seemed to laugh under his breath as he continued to leap.
“..A messenger of love such as myself.. has no need for an ‘Omega attack,’” he told them in between movements. “Be it now.. or ever!”
He paused again, looking to them.
“..But, especially now.” He clarified. “I refuse to summon that kind of effort at this hour.”
Seth rolled their eyes.
They kept up their routine for a bit longer.. but something was beginning to worry Seth. They were running out of Netskies, and yet they still hadn't gotten even a glimpse of the actual Aqua. They were beginning to wonder if she was even in here at all.
..No. She had to be. They furrowed their brows, reminding themself that they couldn't give up yet. Telling themself that, surely, their master plan would lead them to success!
But, eventually, an unfortunate truth presented itself. Before long, they'd transformed the last of the remaining Netskies.. leaving the two of them standing in a room that very clearly did not contain Aqua.
..Blue looked to Seth, a sorrowful frown upon his lips, while they dismissed their Bullet Pattern and ran into the center of the room in a frenzy. They looked around frantically, holding onto hope that maybe, just maybe, she was hiding somewhere..
But they couldn't keep pretending. The room was wholly empty.
"..Aaaagh!" They screamed in complete and utter frustration, collapsing onto their knees.
Blue huffed. “..Seth..”
“I can't believe this," they growled, pulling at their hair. “I thought for sure that'd get her to come out..! Wh.. why wouldn't.. how could I have..”
Their voice tapered off into silence, a sensation of guilt brewing in their chest at the thought of their failure. Suddenly, there were tears welling up in their eyes. Tears that they had to frantically blink back, lest Blue see them.
“Seth, dear.” They looked up when Blue addressed them, his voice gentle and compassionate. He was staring down at them with affection gleaming in his eyes. “Lend yourself not to such premature anguish. The night is far from over.”
“W-well.. maybe, but.. but I–” they couldn't believe they were about to say this; even forcing out the words was a struggle. “.. I'm out of ideas!"
“Oh, nonsense.” Blue shook his head. “A tactician such as yourself is never truly devoid of inspiration.”
Their eyes glimmered at his flattering words, as he outstretched a hand down towards them.
“..Provided that they're able to pick themself up off of the floor, that is.” He smiled.
Momentarily, they were frozen in place, still not fully able to collect themself.. still without a grasp on their racing thoughts. All of their worries.
But, somehow.. with his encouragement, they were able to regain enough composure to take Blue’s hand, and allow themself to be hoisted back onto their feet.
“There you are.” Blue nodded approvingly, while they brushed off their clothes. “I didn't think you the type to surrender so easily.”
“.. I'm not.” They assured both him and themself.
“Now,” Blue started again. “Seth, I want you to really think. Question yourself, my dear: are you positive that there is absolutely nowhere you have not searched?”
“..Well..” they muttered, once again wracking their brain. Only one possible answer came to mind, but they weren't a fan of it. “I suppose..”
“Hm?” Blue urged them to continue.
..Briefly, the thought was too daunting for them to even consider.. but, unfortunately, it was a possibility.
“..I haven't looked outside the castle yet.” They admitted. “But.. you don't think she would have just left.. would she?”
..For a moment, Blue stood motionless. He mounted a hand on his hip, a conflicted look clouding his eyes.
Finally, he shrugged. “..There would be no harm in making sure.”