A friend and I have been messing around with ideas for a Kingdom Hearts AU of Undertale. The roles of who is who have been pretty lose and subject to change, and for a brief moment we considered the idea of Flowey playing the same role as Namine. We scrapped it pretty quickly, Flowey has enough power already and he'd be ridiculously powerful if we gave him more.
But of course, my brain latched onto the idea and held on. Sure, it's not part of our AU, but I could still mess around with it on my own, couldn't I? And since it's not canon in our AU at all, I could essentially take it wherever I wanted. So this was born. I wanted to finish this in one go on Saturday, while I was at work, but I'm not in a good mental state to do things quickly, so it took a few days. I also didn't have it in me to expand a ton on this, so it's kinda short, but that's okay. I kinda like it this way, actually. I hope you enjoy it.
Our Kingdom Hearts AU is not related to Underhearts, which is another Kingdom Hearts AU on a different website. You should go check that out, too!
The elevator from the CORE finally pulled itself up to its only stop. Its doors opened up to a monochrome, almost gloomy landscape, and with nowhere else to go, the group got out and stepped forward.
They were almost at the surface, and Frisk's journey was almost over. They were lucky they hadn't had to make it alone. Several friends along the way had decided to accompany them and make sure they made it safely home, and now there were six of them all together; Toriel, Papyrus, Sans, Undyne, and Alphys. (Mettaton had wanted to come along, too, but Frisk hadn't wanted him to abandon his show. He'd promised he'd have a final interview with the human before they left.) Together they'd watched each other's backs and spared every monster they came across, and the end was now within reach. The only monster left to face was Asgore.
New Home...wasn't quite the place any of them remembered. There'd been a lot more homes and monsters here, and the whole place had been much livelier. Now it looked a lot darker, and there was only one building around: the king's castle. It was easy to find, at least, but everyone had a bad feeling about what could have happened here.
With nowhere to go but forward, Frisk lead the group onward. With all their friends by their side, they were filled with nothing but determination. It was easy for them; they'd never been here before, so other than their friends' reactions, nothing seemed wrong. The others were more hesitant, but continued to follow. They'd come this far, and there was no way they'd abandon Frisk now. If something happened, they'd be able to face it...together.
They all walked a ways in mostly silence, but they were stopped in the yard in front of the castle. A small, yellow flower popped out of the unsaturated ground in front of them. The group was immediately on their guard, especially Frisk, who had met the flower most recently. Seeing this, the flower laughed, unsettling them even more. It looked harmless, certainly, but looks could be deceiving in the Underground.
And besides, Frisk knew better. This small little flower had laughed as it tried to kill them (and nearly succeeded). It'd stated that everything in this world would kill you if you didn't kill it first; they had no doubt it believed that.
"Howdy!" Laughter could still be heard in the flower's voice as it put on a huge grin for them. "I'm Flowey! Flowey the flower! You're all new here to New Home, aren't you? Well, mostly..." It frowned for a moment, looking over at Toriel. "But it sure has changed a lot since any of you have been here. Things work different around here now, and someone will have to show you all how it is." It paused, laughing to itself. "I guess little ol' me will have to do!"
A flash of white light filled the area. For a few seconds, Frisk couldn't see anything. When they opened their eyes, they couldn't see any of their friends, and for a moment they thought they were now alone with the flower. They looked around and were relieved to see Papyrus floating in the air above them, a blue glow surrounding him. Off to the side was Sans, a hand raised in the air and one of his eyes glowing blue. He was in mid sidestep when they saw him, and they weren't sure how sidestepping something like that worked, but it looked like he'd done it.
"I should've known you'd interfere, smiley trashbag..." Flowey's face stretched into something terrifying as it saw its plan hadn't entirely worked. "But it doesn't matter. All your magic is useless in this castle. You're at the mercy of the cards!"
A small deck of cards appeared in Frisk's free hand (the other one occupied with carrying a long stick). The backs of each card were black, with the word ACT written on them in orange text with an orange border surrounding them. The other side of the cards were, for the most part, unique. They all had different words on them, written in white. Lie Down, Pick On, Whisper, Hug, Threaten, Flirt...there were a few repeats, but these were far and few between. All of these words seemed familiar to them...they'd seen these before.
At the end of the deck was one single card. The words on this one were orange on both sides. One side displayed the word "SPARE", the other, "FIGHT".
"Battles here are entirely different," Flowey announced. "Any action you can take is listed on those cards. That's all you can do. You have a lot more choices in ACTS you can take, but when you use one, it's gone until the battle ends. You'll have to be careful of how you go through here, won't you? And you can say goodbye to your turn-based combat. Battles take place in real time here. I hope you're good at thinking on your feet."
Frisk frowned, looking down at their cards.
"Oh, I bet you thought you only had to fight Asgore now, didn't you! And that you could get past him without a single battle, too!" Flowey laughed, its face warping back to normal. "Well, you're out of luck. You've still got a ways to go before you get out of here. But I've given you a present to make up for it. It's that last card you have. You can use it to bring back all the other cards in your deck, and either side will work! The FIGHT side will allow you to attack your opponent until the cards come back, but the SPARE side will leave you vulnerable. You won't be able to move at all, and you'll have nothing but your determination to save you."
It paused, waiting for them to react, but they just continued to frown at their deck. The flower went on, not letting this phase it.
"In this castle, to find is to lose, and to lose is to find. You've lost your friends, you've lost some of the abilities that make you so powerful, but I'm sure what you find here will make up for it. And if you last long enough, you might even make it to the surface you're so desperate to get back to."
Frisk perked up, giving the flower a pleading look.
"With a face like that, you won't even come close, but you can still try." Flowey rolled its eyes. "But as for your friends there, they may have escaped before, but they won't be able to help you. The moment you step inside, they'll turn into cards, and you'll be lucky if they show up to help at all. Not for lack of trying, of course. But they're not in control anymore. I have my doubts you'll last, but I'll be watching you."
With another laugh, the flower popped back into the ground and disappeared.
Frisk turned to Sans and Papyrus, who was now back on the ground. They looked up at them and asked what the two thought they should do.
"YOU CAN'T LET THIS STOP YOU, HUMAN!" Papyrus posed for them, his scarf flowing in the wind that had started up just for this moment. "WE MUST KEEP GOING! NOT JUST TO GET YOU TO THE SURFACE, BUT NOW TO SAVE THE REST OF OUR FRIENDS AS WELL! THE ONLY PLACE TO GO IS FORWARD!"
"paps is right, kid," Sans added. "the frisk i know wouldn't leave their friends behind. and we gotta get to the end of the castle to get to the surface anyway. seems pretty clear to me."
They nodded. They figured they would both say that, and they wanted to keep going anyway. But it was good to be sure.
They stepped forward and walked into the first room of the castle, an entryway into a small house in the front of it. The room on the other side was purple, and had a familiar feeling of home.
Sans and Papyrus had disappeared as soon as they walked through the door. This room of the castle looked suspiciously like the Ruins, monsters and all. Frisk hadn't been here before, but even they were pretty sure this didn't seem right.
It wasn't too long before they found themselves in a fight with a Froggit. A card with Papyrus' face on it bounced around the battle space. Frisk dodged the Froggit's attacks without pause as they scrambled through their deck, looking for the ACT to Compliment...
After some time, Frisk managed to escape the room. They found themselves in a familiar room with a larger staircase in the middle, leading down into the basement. But this room had an extra touch to it. Golden flowers sat in vases on top of desks and drawers. It was a nice room, though they couldn't help but think that they liked it better without the flowers...and when it had been more colorful.
Just as the thought crossed their mind, Flowey popped out of the ground in front of them, smiling.
"So, how was your trip down memory lane? Did you enjoy it?"
Frisk opened their mouth to answer, but they found they didn't have one. They had no idea, they could barely recall any of it.
"Like I said, to find is to lose, and to lose is to find. That's how it works. Here you'll find yourself losing memories, not of just what happens here, but from before as well. You'll forget about life on the surface. You'll forget about the friends you made down here. Eventually, you'll forget everything. Now that you're here, you can't escape it." Flowey giggled, amused at the dark expression now on their face. "But what you'll find instead is more than worth it. Trust me, you'll love it."
Their grip on the stick in their hand tightened. Not from any desire for violence, but from sheer frustration. Why was this happening this way? Why couldn't they just battle Asgore?
"You hate this, don't you? This little game we're playing. But there's no way you're going to turn back now, are you? Not with the rules you play by. You want to help your friends and you don't want anyone to be hurt. So you'll do anything, lose yourself completely just to help them. And you'll think it was worth it and you'll get your happy ending, right?"
They didn't say a word.
"You idiot. You really think it's worth it. But it's a good thing you do, or I wouldn't be having nearly as much fun."
The flower popped back into the ground. There was nowhere to go but forward.
A small, lesser dog had shown up for battle. It was geared up for a serious fight, but the look on its face showed clearly it just wanted some attention. It dropped its sword and shield as soon as Frisk played their first Pet card, and it soaked up all the pets it could get. They stayed their for awhile, just petting the dog.
The limited amounts of ACTs they could use was no problem. All they had to do was SPARE and bring them back with determination. Lesser Dog showed no signs of attacking anytime soon, so they couldn't be any safer.
Frisk found themself in a kitchen next. It was small and clean and cozy, and it felt perfect. A recipe for pie sat in the garbage can, and the fridge seemed devoid of chocolate (which was fine with them, they weren't fond of it). Clumps of white fur were scattered all over the kitchen, especially in the sink. It was perfection.
"Who'd you meet this time? Were any of your friends there?"
They turned around from their fridge foraging and scowled at the flower.
"Oh, my mistake. You don't remember, do you?" Flowey chuckled, Frisk's expression only making it more amused. "I wonder where your memory is at now? Do you remember why you're here?"
They told it they were here to rescue their friends and get back to the surface.
"Do you remember who your friends are?" Flowey pushed.
They said that they could remember their faces, the sounds of their voices, almost everything about them. But they couldn't remember their names.
"You're still holding on pretty well, then, aren't you?" the flower asked, the smile it usually wore dropping from its face. But pretty soon, you won't even remember that much. You won't remember anything about the friends you're supposed to be helping. And after that, you won't even remember you have friends here at all. You'll forget why you're here, why you're still going through this castle, why you even started in the first place..." It tilted its head, its petals flopping over its face. "Are you sure this is all still worth it?"
There was no doubt in their mind. Frisk nodded.
"Your determination's as strong as ever, I see. We'll see what you think next time."
Flowey popped back into the ground. Frisk didn't have any response to that.
The wind was howling. Frisk was barely holding on. The monster in front of them attacked relentlessly, barely giving them the option to look through their deck for ACTs. Most of the damage they had taken had been from SPAREs to bring their cards back. It was dangerous, but they refused to FIGHT. Even if they didn't make it.
A card began dancing around the battlefield. Frisk dodged desperately for it, using it immediately after they were able to get their hands on it. A tall skeleton, dressed in cool armor and a red scarf, appeared in front of them. He summoned bones and fought back. The skeleton didn't attack the monster, but he made sure to protect Frisk and keep them safe.
"DO NOT WORRY, HUMAN!" the skeleton shouted, turning his head back to look at them. "EVEN IF YOU FORGET EVERYTHING, WE'LL STILL BE HERE FOR YOU! SANS AND I WILL DO EVERYTHING WE CAN TO HELP! JUST DON'T GIVE UP, FRISK! WE BELIEVE IN YOU!"
This time, Frisk found themself in a bedroom. It looked like it hadn't been used for ages, but it was still set up for two kids. There were still clothes in the closet, blankets on the bed, and toys in some boxes. It was cute and bright and welcoming...
And they couldn't help but think they'd been here before. Not just a room that looked like this, but this exact room. Perhaps they had. Their memories were so jumbled up, they weren't really sure anymore.
The flower didn't show up this time, but they found something else waiting for them instead. Two wrapped presents sat in the middle of the floor. Carefully, they opened them to find a locket shaped like a heart and a knife, real and sharp.
The whole place was a mess of webs and strings. They had to dodge around them all in addition to the attacks coming at them. The longer the battle wore on, the more obstacles appeared in the room, and they couldn't focus on looking for ACTs to use at all. It was all they could do to dodge.
They hadn't seen it appear, but a new card found itself in their hands. Without thinking, they used it. A small, stout skeleton showed up, dressed in the laziest outfit they thought could exist. He summoned waves of bones and blasters to give them some cover to choose an act. They thought he was probably supposed to be a friend. They weren't sure.
"listen, kid..." He turned around and placed his hands on their shoulders. "it doesn't matter how much you forget, okay?" The skeleton turned his head for a minute, and a bone burst out of the ground to block an oncoming attacked aimed straight at them. "we can do all the remembering for ya. just make sure... no matter what, you stay true to yourself. that when it's all over, it's you walking out of this castle, okay? because if it's not you, frisk...none of it will be worth it."
The human found themselves in a long hallway. It was bright, almost painfully so, and it was by far the most well-lit place in the Underground. They weren't sure where that observation came from. They could barely remember anything from before entering this place.
They looked down and noticed their hands were now full. The stick they had brought here (it seemed so long ago, like a far off dream - they hardly remembered they ever had one at all) was gone. In its place were a knife and a locket, in the shape of a heart. They looked familiar. And they felt right...these things belong with them. They put the locket on around their neck, spun the knife around so they'd be able to use it. They didn't know if they actually would.
Looking up again, they noticed something strange about this hallway. It was luminous, but everything in it seemed to be cast in shadow. Pillars, which they could see up close were a light, beautiful color, looked pitch black even at a short distance. There was something else that was dark on the floor up ahead, waiting for them; after a moment they realized it was the flower.
There was nowhere to go but forward.
"How do you feel now?" Flowey asked as they human approached them. "Pretty hollow and alone, right? Your memory must be in pretty bad shape. Do you even remember anything at all?"
They said they were here to find their friends. They couldn't remember names, faces, or anything...and they had the feeling they wouldn't even recognize them if they saw them. All they knew was that their friends were here. And their friends needed their help.
"Really? That's all?" The flower had been amused before, but now it seemed almost...disappointed. The game wasn't fun when it was this easy. "No names, no faces, nothing? There's gotta be something in there. That memory of yours can't be empty already."
The human was annoyed that it didn't believe them. But they tried to remember anyway, if only to appease it. Voices lingered on the edge of recollection, they tried to see a face. At first, there was nothing. They weren't surprised. Then something came to them, driving itself in the forefront of their thought. A name, maybe even a voice or a face. They hesitantly voiced this to the flower, unsure if they were even correct, but this was the closest they even had.
Asriel?
Flowey face twisted for half a second, its eyes wide and its mouth stuck in a thoughtful frown. It caught itself and smiled. It was a big smile, and one of the most genuine that had crossed its face in a long time. "There we go. Right on cue. I knew you were better than that."
The end of the hallway was a long ways away. Flowey didn't disappear this time.
For a moment, the human thought the timeline had been reset. They were back at the beginning, when they had fallen into the Underground. But something wasn't right. There weren't any flowers here to break their fall. And they were in a lot more pain than they'd been in before when they fell. Every part of their body was screaming in pain. They screamed back. They cried out for help.
They didn't think anyone would come, out of the corner of their eye they could see a small monster hurrying towards them. Someone came to help, at least, but they weren't sure how to react. Not to something so unfamiliar. They continued to scream.
"Hey, are you alright?" The monster knelt down next to them. "You look like you're hurt. Can I take you to my house? We can help you there."
They nodded.
"Can you walk?" the monster asked.
They nodded.
"I'll help you anyway." Carefully, the monster helped the human stand up, and together they started walking through the Ruins. It was a long way to the monster's home, but they didn't mind. If this monster was willing to help...they were better than any human they'd ever met.
The monster looked pretty gentle and kind. Bits of yellow flower petals were stuck in its white fur, and it wore a striped sweater that had similar colors to theirs, so they knew this monster was a kid. The monster didn't look like it could harm them if they tried. Their paws were soft and warm, and there wasn't a part of their body that looked like it could hurt the human.
After a long time of walking in silence, the monster looked over at them. "So...what's your name?"
...That was a good question. They weren't even sure of that anymore, and they felt like they hadn't for awhile. But there was only one name they could think of. Only one they could remember. They hoped that was it. They told the monster the name.
"...Chara, huh? That's a nice name. My name is Asriel. I hope we can be good friends!"
"So, in this place, to find is to lose, and to lose is to find. You've lost all the memories from your adventure. But I wonder if you gained anything?"
The human found themselves in a large garden. Beautiful golden flowers filled the room, and the light filling in made them all sparkle. The largest one was in the middle, and the only one with a face and a voice. They'd met this flower somewhere, and they could remember where or how, but it didn't matter. The knew who the flower was now.
They couldn't remember why they were here. They couldn't remember why they were going through this castle. They couldn't even remember what had happened in the last room. But it didn't matter. They'd lost memories, but they'd gained something much more important.
Memories of the past.
"Good. You'd been gone for so long, I gave up hope of ever seeing you again...but here you are! We're finally together again." Flowey grinned up at him, his smile more sinister than the human ever remembered it being.
A small part of them felt really unsure of this. This didn't feel right. It couldn't be right. They ignored it.
"Listen. I have a plan for us to become all-powerful. Everything we need is right here. We can show them how terrible the human world is...and we can show them the true meaning of this world." Flowey's face was morphing rapidly in excitement, trying to be everything it could be at once. It was a bit unsettling... But liked the sound of what he was talking about. It was everything they could want and more.
"We can become the GODs of this world!" the flower went on. "And the first step lies with you. All we need to do here right now is reset. Go back to before this started. We can start over, and gain power beyond our wildest dreams."
Two options appeared in front of the human. Two ACTs they could choose. RESET...and DO NOT.
For a moment, their hand hovered over DO NOT. They hesitated, then quickly slid it over to RESET. They confirmed their choice.
There was no going back now.
"Perfect. I'll see you again soon, Chara."
Haha, like I said, I'm not in a really good mental state. Didn't have it in me to put a lot into this, didn't have it in me to proofread, I just wrote it all out and shoved it on here. It kinda suffers from that, but I'm fine with it, honestly.
This was supposed to have a Chain of Memories feel, but it has a bit of a Re:Coded feel to it too, which is nice, actually! I love Re:Coded and I'm happy with that.
This was a fun distraction for a few days since I couldn't concentrate or focus on anything, so I hope it's a nice read for someone out there, too.