Laughing. Someone, somewhere, was laughing like a maniac. Flowey felt strange, because it wasn't him producing it. He burrowed through the ground, the sound getting louder and louder, it echoed through the trees, and was no doubt awaking the sleeping residents of Snowdin. Flowey pushed himself back onto the surface, and there they were, the child. They were sat there in the snow with a TV in front of them, and their laugh would have chilled Flowey to the bone, if he had any sort of bone matter.
"Huh, something funny on?" Flowey forced that friendly smile onto his face. The child looked up from the TV, and that look in their eyes, Flowey couldn't quite tell what it was. The child nodded "Very…" Flowey shifted his eyes around "So…what is it?"
The child stood up with the TV, and slowly paced over to the flower "Y'know…you're a real…funny guy, Flowey" Their voice was like sandpaper. Flowey frowned "I'm uh…glad you think so…" They dropped the TV, at first, Flowey wasn't entirely sure what he was looking at, but then it hit him.
Displayed on the TV, was Papyrus. He was standing there, covered in vines, and on his head, Flowey saw his own face, grinning. Flowey looked up at the child's face and laughed, but he was cut short. The child was laughing with him.
"Yeah, one of my finest moments...wh…why are you laughing?" The child dropped to one knee and stared at Flowey "Because it's funny…" Flowey moved back a bit, leaving an open wound in the ground as he went "No…no it's…well, yes it is but…not to you! That's not fair! Stop it!"
The child stood up and laughed again, "You wanna keep watching? I haven't laughed like this in hundreds of resets…" Flowey simply stopped moving, his face blank "H…hundreds? No, just…stop it! I've already seen it"
The child wasn't listening, they turned and punched the top of the TV, and it un-paused. Papyrus shambled towards the camera, the sound of creaking and manic laughter filled the forest, as if it was happening all over again. "s…sans?...I think Flowey's upset…" Flowey couldn't help but let his real smile break out. Such great memories.
Sans was standing there, his hands still in his pockets, that grin still on his face. "Let him go, kid…" Flowey simply laughed "Hee hee…you idiot. You care too much, that's your problem. C'mon Sans, what's wrong? Why don't you take the first swipe?" Sans didn't move. "Sans? What's going on? It's so dark…"
Sans closed his eyes for a moment, as if deep in thought. "I'm gonna warn you once, Flowey. Let him go, and stop this…" Sans opened his eyes, but those lights in his sockets were gone "Or you're gonna have a bad time" And with that, he was gone, as if he was never there.
Flowey let out a small laugh "Idiot…" Papyrus turned and shambled into the woods, the sound of his bones creaking echoed off the trees. "Sans? Sans!? Help me…are you there? Saaaaaaaaans!"
The child punched the TV, and it stopped. "Funny…isn't it?" Flowey's smile dropped. "Why…are you laughing!? He's your friend!" The child looked Flowey in the eye, what was that expression? "He was your friend too…" The child put their head back and cackled, their laugh almost sounded like Flowey's.
Flowey's face lost its façade, his frown formed into that of a scarecrow's. "Why are you…enjoying this so much?" The child looked back down at Flowey, still chuckling as they spoke "Because…like everyone else, I got bored of you Flowey. You know the feeling. It's just so…funny…because this story, your story. I know how it ends, little prince."
Flowey started grinning again "No, you don't…no-one can tell me what to do, and no-one can predict me. I'm going to do whatever the hell I want and there's nothing you can do about it" Flowey laughed again, but the child didn't laugh with him, this time.
The child crouched and whispered into Flowey's face "Then why are you afraid?" The child stood up, and Flowey frowned uncertainly up at him "I'm…I'm not afraid! You don't scare me!" They weren't listening "I'll tell you why. Because everything that was yours…is mine. I have the power to do whatever I want to you Flowey. Just like you once had that power over my friends. Isn't that just…hilarious?"
Flowey noticed he was shaking, he struggled to stop himself. "But…you aren't like me, remember? You have a soul! You're better than me. Alright, I said it! You. Are. Better than me. Just…stop…laughing!"
The child grinned "Oh, so I got my soul back, did I? I hadn't noticed" The child put their hands on their knees and cackled again. Flowey's face froze "You…don't have a soul?...How?"
The child loomed over Flowey "It doesn't matter, really. I made a serious mistake, and I payed for it. But I've still got too much power to worry about all that. I've still got plenty to do, with you, Flowey. So…"
The child suddenly grabbed Flowey around the neck and squeezed, he tried to speak, but couldn't. He screamed and cried into the woods as best he could. But nobody came.
"Shall we get started?" The child's laughs echoed once more through the forest.