He felt so empty.
Just moments ago he had felt such intense emotion, the likes of which he had never felt before... but the last remnants were already fading away. He would never feel it again. Ever. All he had were his memories, and this patch of flowers. The little prince cleared a space in the flowerbed and sat down among the stalks, a slight breeze lifted pollen from the cheery yellow heads into his watering eyes.
"I always was a crybaby..."
He felt hollow, as if a structural part of his form was gone, and it trembled... It wouldn't be long now, this body could not last, already his feet were sinking into the mud and taking root. He was a monster, in the other sense of the word, the bad sense. He could relapse, he could cause suffering and he didn't want to do that. The only way to stop himself was through isolation. Through determination to never EVER go to the surface.
The sensation of sinking felt very odd as his body shrank and withered, soon enough he was just another flower in the garden, Asriel was dead.
Again.
Several hours passed, little light was shining in from the top of the cavern and the final evening rays caste long strips of orange across the silent ruins. Everyone had left, not that there were usually many monsters around here anyway. The ruins were such a nice place for quiet contemplation... and planning. A loud noise echoed from the distance and the flower ignored it, then it heard the sound of footsteps, they were getting closer.
"Asriel!"
Frisk?! Flowey thought with a pang of frustration.
"Asriel are you here? I came back for you!"
Flowey ducked his head down and didn't answer. The child burst through the doorway at full speed and skidded to a halt. They tightly gripped their legs and bent over panting.
"Asri- Asriel! I- I- I know you're here!"
Flowey kept his head down and didn't say a word.
"If you don't come out... i'l just wait here until you do!"
You will be waiting a long time... Flowey thought while remaining motionless. A long moment passed, Frisk walked up to the flower patch and sat down in the dirt beside it, glancing at each golden flower in turn.
"You know..." they began "I made a SAVE right before finding you down here earlier."
Where are they going with this?
"If you refuse to come out, I could always go back to it..."
Flowey held back a chuckle Yeah you sure could... and I would remember, and I wouldn't be here for you to find.
"... and if that doesn't work, I guess I could always RESET."
Flowey twitched "What?! Why would you undo everything for this!"
Oops... But it was too late, Frisk had already spotted him.
"There you are Asriel!" They said with that kind, sickly-sweet smile he found strangely nostalgic.
"Don't call me that! Also, why did you come back? You're friends must be waiting to leave."
"They are outside, I told them I had to come back for something."
"Well you found me, do you feel PROUD of yourself?"
Flowey pushed back the burst of anger, yelling was not the way to resolve this situation. He composed himself and took a deep breath before continuing.
"I told you already that I can't come with you, if I came with you..."
His face morphed into a hellish one.
"I. WOULD. KILL. THEM."
His face changed back and he wilted slightly. Frisk did not seem to care about the threat, they took a step closer to the flower.
"No closer!" Flowey protested.
"You need a SOUL to feel compassion and empathy right?"
"Durr!"
Again, where are they going with this? Frisk took another step closer.
"Seriously, back off. I could kill you, I could kill you and do you know what I would feel?
... NOTHING."
But Frisk wasn't listening "Do you remember what you told me earlier, before you changed back?"
"Y-Yes?"
Frisk leaned in and wrapped their arms around the flower. Shocked by the sudden contact he opened his mouth to protest...
...Then he saw the dagger in Frisk's hand. Dull and warn from use, designed for cutting the stems of plants.
"You-" Flowey mustered weakly, a thousand thoughts filling his mind as his body began to shake violently.
The dagger thrust forward and Flowey braced for the impact... but it never came. Something warm and moist was running down his stem... no.
"YOU IDIOT!" He had never meant that more in his life.
Flowey prepared for the timeline to shift but it never happened. He was so shocked that, at first, he hadn't noticed the warmth climbing inside of him and taking up residence in the void where his SOUL should have been.
...Why? Flowey was so confused.
Every SOUL is worth saving.
You were so determined to save me... that you gave up your life for it?... Well, you really ARE an Idiot! All you did is trap us BOTH in this flower!
Take your other form.
I can't!
Yes you can, I can tell you're lying.
...Do you remember that lab Frisk? The one deep underground that Dr. Alphys didn't want anyone to see?
The entity of Frisk gave the impression of a nod.
The monsters down there who fell... if I- we took back my true form... we would become like them.
Frisk seemed confused for a moment, then the realisation dawned on them.
Determination... They thought sullenly. Their greatest gift had suddenly become their most terrible curse... but wait.
Alphys has a machine to extract determination!
Flowey's interest perked up, then bitterly crashed down again.
You seriously want us to give up our determination?
Yes!
No more SAVING!
No more LOADING.
No more RESETS...
... and no more RESPAWNS.
But...
A primal fear rose in Flowey's stem, Frisk could sense it, despite Flowey's efforts to hide it.
Determination... is all I have.
Frisk would hug the flower if they still had their body.
We can get out of here, together. We can live with Toriel! She would read us stories, tell us jokes and bake us butterscotch-cinnamon pie... we can live as a family!
Emotion hit Flowey like a flood, all that hollow, black-and-white nostalgia suddenly had colour again...
I can go back to... Mom?
What use is determination with an empty life? You are not alone anymore...
... It is time to let go, Asriel.
I wrote this for myself, but thought that others might appreciate it... or not, your preference is your preference. Please be kind.