monocarpy

Rating: T+ (I'll try to keep it toned down).

Disclaimer: I don't own about. . . 99.99% of this.

Summary: The Seventh Child has fallen. With her soul, the barrier can be broken, and all of monsterkind can wage the Great War to kill humans once and for all. The humans, who have taken everything from monsters, will be judged and punished for their crimes.

It's not long now.

You should be smiling, too. Aren't you excited? Aren't you happy?

You're going to be free.

. . . Why do you falter? It's only a human.

You. . . feel pity?

Nonsense.

To flower and to die, that is her destiny.

Warnings: Angst, blood, death, cursing. . . all that good stuff will come later.

It's tame for now, but it won't be later.

Author's Notes: Hello everyone, and welcome to my version of Flowerfell.

There will be some changed aspects regarding the Underfell and Flowerfell 'verses, but I'll address those as I move through the fic. Like most of us, I read SociopathicAngel's fic, "Overgrowth" some time ago, and it never left me alone. It was such a beautifully written fic, I loved it.

After doodling a piece of art the other night. . . I thought, "Gee, Angel, you've always wanted to write an Undertale fanfic. You love Flowerfell. Why not give it a shot?"

And this, this was born!

It is going to be cross-posted to AO3 under my moniker, "PatientZero." Not too much to say - both versions will practically be the same. If the need calls for it, I may axe bits and pieces that I feel will get me in trouble here. I'll do my best to keep myself from going overboard, though.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

germination: prologue

Darkness.

She shifted, twisting, trying to find up from down, left from right. Her efforts were rewarded only with a sensation: thump-thump. At that, she paused.

Thump-thump.

It was strong. It made her warm.

Thump-thump.

She settled down, floating in a shapeless, weightless void, feeling the pulse. She was alive. She had no idea where she was, but she was alive.

Thump-thump.

. . . But. . . how had she gotten there? In the darkness, she concentrated. Her mind felt like tar, filled with a sticky substance that coated everything and made it hard to reach in, to pull free the memories from the muck. What was this? She. . . She remembered. . . .

T-thump-thump.

(-so fast. So, so fast. She had to go faster. Her bare feet hit the jagged, coarse ground of the trail. Angry voices and shouts rang out behind her. Up ahead, there was something-)

Wait.

Wait, she didn't want to remember this.

Thump-thump-thump.

She tried to backpedal, tried to free herself of the memory, but the more she pushed against it, the more it enveloped her. She cried out in frustration and fear, bodily trying to shove it away from herself.

(-which way? Which way? She didn't know! But she had to find a way out! A large, strong hand wrapped around her wrist, and she cried out, her tiny voice fragile and weak in the cool air-)

Thumpthumpthump.

Stop! She begged, stop it, please!

("-have run. Now look. Look what you've done. You've made this so much harder on yourself. If only you'd just listened. But you're so rebellious, aren't you? What were you thinking? That you could just-")

The sinister voice was leaning in, coming closer and closer.

Thumpthumpthumpthump.

"NO!" She cried, finding her voice.

The memory vanished in a heartbeat, taking the pain, the fear, the everything. She was left to the sound of her own ragged breathing and the slowly-calming pulse. She was safe. She was fine. Nobody was going to hurt her. She kept repeating those words like a mantra in her mind, and somehow, in the darkness, she found herself. She squeezed her knees close to her chest and pressed her forehead against them, curling up into a protective ball. She was safe. She was fine. Nobody was going to hurt her.

Thump-thump.

"When will I wake up?" She whispered. "I don't want to be asleep anymore." She feared the memories would come back again, trap her in their clutches.

Around her, the darkness shivered. Curious, and filled with a slight tinge of trepidation, she uncurled herself, trying to peer into the black, but she saw nothing.

"Hello?" She called.

Gravity was her answer.

She screamed as she realized she'd found up from down, and down was where she was falling. The wind roared in her ears, drowning out everything. But as she fell, her stomach falling out from underneath her, she saw flashes. Flashes o flight and images that made no sense to her. They were of people and places that weren't now. Another flash, and despite her fear, she paused.

Was. . . Was that. . .

A human?

A speck of yellow was rapidly coming up to meet her. When had she twisted down to face the ground? She didn't remember. Fear flooded through her when she realized the yellow was the ground. And she was falling at top speed to meet it. She grit her teeth, and shoved her arms as best as she could in front of herself to protect her. She wrenched her eyes shut.

And then everything went black as her head snapped forward, striking the ground.

Pain raced through her body. But she laid there, her breaths raspy in her ears, her blood pounding in her veins. Slowly, ever so slowly, her brain came back online, and she wriggled her fingers. Her toes. She winced and gasped as a fresh wave of pain washed through her, but. . .

She was alive.

She used her hands to push herself up, and she blinked, her surroundings slowly coming into focus.

Flowers. She was on a bed of. . .

Yellow zinnias?

Yeah. Just like the ones that grew outside of her house. Very few places in her hometown grew yellow zinnias. But they were a special flower. A very special flower with a very-

She shut that down. She didn't want to think about it. It took her a while, but she pushed herself up to her feet. She looked around, finding herself right in the middle of a beautiful, very thick patch, of golden zinnias. She craned her neck back, where a dappled sunlight fell through a hole. Far, far, far up. The light was far away, but it was strong. So strong, she had to shield her eyes with one of her hands.

"I've fallen." She murmured to herself. She dropped her hand, closed her eyes.

"I've fallen down Mt. Ebott."

Her only answer was a gentle wind that blew, carrying the pleasant scent of the zinnias.

She shuddered, dropping her head and hanging it. For a while, she stayed like that, standing in a field of yellow zinnias, in one of many patches of golden sunlight shining down through a hole on Mt. Ebott. Taking another steadying breath, she lifted her head. This wasn't the only hole. There were others. After doing a quick count, a heavy weight settled on her heart, and her stomach twisted into knots.

She counted again.

And then one more time, just to make sure.

"I've fallen down Mt. Ebott." She said, her voice thick. Tears started to build in her eyes. "I'm the Seventh Child."

When the tears started rolling down her cheeks, she was glad she was alone.

That meant there was nobody around to hear her sobs.