A Quick Note:

There will be no extreme shipping between the characters, especially with the Reader. I only recognize relationships that are stated outright by the source material. However, that isn't to say that certain characters will not act close. By all means, if you want to interpret a platonic relationship as a romantic one and vice versa- go ahead, it is entirely your choice. There will be blood and other distresses in this fic, though I wouldn't call it hardcore gore.

All feedback is appreciated!

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Despite everything, it was quiet.

At that very moment, the King of all Monsters was fighting the Fallen Human at the barrier. The battle could only end in one of two ways; the first being that King Asgore would kill the child and finally collect the seventh and final human Soul, freeing all the monsters from the underground. The second option was that the young human would emerge victorious instead and use the brief power of Asgore's own Soul to escape alone.

Flowey personally believed the second option to be more likely.

The faint heat of fire magic and the vibrations of both heavy and light footfalls just barely reached the tiny flower pellet that lurked beneath them. No doubt they were locked in a furious dance of fire, magic and blades. They had no idea what awaited them. Those idiots.

As the battle waged on, Flowey smiled to himself. It wouldn't matter if (when) the kid won. As soon as the fight ended he would pop out of the ground and seize the six collected Souls for himself, crushing the little human's hopes and dreams of escaping to the outside world.

There was a certain giddiness he felt at the thought of his plan... Or, at least, it was something that resembled giddiness. He was long past the point of remembering what 'emotions' supposedly felt like. Giddiness was a type of happy excitement, right? What a stupid word to use for something so specific. Still, it made him twitch in the earth as he waited for his chance to ruin everything.

The look on the kid's face... would it be shock? Anger? Fear? Or maybe...

Maybe there would be nothing but cold, uncaring Determination.

It had been the best twist that Flowey had seen in a long time. After so many resets of his own the Underground just bored him. That was why he waited in the Ruins for so long. If he killed the next human that fell down before anyone else had the chance, he could take their Soul for his own. He would then have slipped past Asgore, absorbed the six other Souls that the old man had hidden and broken the barrier himself. Finally, Flowey would be free of the boring confines of the Underground and the most powerful monst- hmm, entity(?) in existence. A god-like being for sure. He was going to teach the whole world the meaning of 'Kill or Be Killed'.

At least, that was how he'd planned it in his head. If that stupid, useless monster woman hadn't showed up and stopped him...! Flowey had been so bitter that he decided to let the fallen child suffer instead. They would learn how miserable life could be just by experiencing it themselves. If one of the monsters killed them along the way he would just quickly pop up and snag their Soul before anyone could stop him. He had his Savestates after all. As long as he could Reset he could always be secure in the knowledge that he would get whatever he wanted eventually. What was the harm of watching things unfold a little further before ending it all?

At first it had been incredibly boring. The kid was completely pathetic by all standards. They spared all the monsters they came across, avoided conflict where they could and completely disregarded his words about the unforgiving nature of the world. He'd almost snapped and killed them to take their Soul and skip all of their tedious little kindnesses. But then everything changed.

As soon as the child entered Waterfall, the underground had been coated with a fine layer of dust. It was surprising to say the least. One moment they were a harmless brat, walking around and 'befriending' everyone and the next... they were slaughtering everything. Even the head of the Royal Guard- that loud blue clod with the spears- couldn't stand up to them and was torn to pieces with an efficiency that left even Flowey floored.

They were ruthless, cutting down everything in their path as though it was their sworn duty. There was no way that Flowey was going to interfere with that. It was just too good to stop.

As he had watched everything, Flowey felt... something. And it had nothing to do with his smugness over the fact that the kid had finally snapped and followed his advice of Kill or Be Killed... There was a faint sense of deja vu. He'd struggled with it for a long time, trying to pin down what it was. But after watching the child for so long, watching them tear apart the monsters with a smile and rosy cheeks, watching as they placed the locket so carefully around their neck and cradled the knife like an old treasure...

It had to be true. He wanted it to be true more than anything.

That was why it was so important for him to get the timing just right. His plans had changed. If the human child got their hands on Asgore's soul, Flowey would be left behind with all the other miserable monsters. He was going to make sure that they wouldn't leave the underground without him. They belonged together. There was no one else in the whole world that he could count on to understand him.

There was a final rumble as the fighting ceased. With a speed that he almost thought beyond him, Flowey rocketed up to the surface. Asgore knelt in front of him, talking solemnly to the child, unaware of the real threat at his back. The barrier hummed rhythmically as faint rays of light tried and very nearly failed to shine through. The seven Soul canisters, one empty and six filled, were laid out for the taking.

As Asgore muttered his final words, begging the child to take his Soul to pass the barrier and leave his people be, Flowey barely restrained a cruel snicker. He watched with a proud smile on his face as the kid buried the knife to the hilt inside the King's body. It was finally time.

As the worthless old man turned to dust, Flowey prepared his 'friendliness pellets'. A single white light shone out from the monster's collapsing form. The King's Soul. It was all that the little human needed in order to cross the barrier and abandon everyone. There was no way that Flowey was going to let them have it. He'd shatter it into tiny pieces and take the collected Souls. The child had to stay. Here. With him. Even if it meant that neither of them could ever get out of the Underground. Even if it meant that the timeline would be Reset again and again. They were going to be together, just like old times. Forever. Just him and Cha-

A splitting pain stopped Flowey from finishing that thought.

In a brief moment of confusion he tried to look around but quickly found it was impossible. A small whimper made its way unbidden out of his mouth as he tried to figure out what had just occurred. But he couldn't think. Something was wrong.

The child walked up to him, the shaking white Soul of the former Boss Monster quietly fracturing in their palm. They stared down at him with empty red eyes and a smile that held no kindness. It occurred to Flowey that there was something missing. He'd been watching the kid since the Ruins, he ought to know if anything was odd about them, right?

Struggling, he tried to pinpoint what was off. They had their striped shirt, rosy cheeks, heart-shaped locket, dust-covered knife- knife? No. They didn't have their knife in their hand. So where was the knife? Within his limited view, Flowey couldn't see the rusty knife anywhere. If only he could turn his head, he might be able to see if they had dropped it. But somehow he was pinned in place.

As he wondered what could have happened to the treasured weapon his head throbbed. It was so hard to think. Why couldn't he focus?

Smiling, the child knelt down in front of him. Unable to look away, Flowey simply stared back with wide eyes.

"... Ch- Cha...ra?"

There was a sharp shing as the child retrieved their blade from Flowey's trembling face. Suddenly free, Flowey flopped forward and shivered violently. The splitting pain raced through his small body and turned his mind completely white. Even with his eyes wide open he couldn't see. This wasn't how things were supposed to go.

Again and again the knife was brought down onto his small form.

Despite being a flower... it somehow hurt.

For the first time in what seemed like like forever, Flowey was almost certain that what he felt right then was pure, instinctual fear. He reached out to his Savestates. It didn't matter which one he picked, he just wanted to get to one that wasn't where he was right then. Heck, he'd Reset right back to the beginning of the Ruins if he had to. He just wanted the pain to stop. He didn't want to die. The silence and isolation of death was the only thing that still unnerved him.

But even as he desperately reached out, he remembered how they had always been so much stronger than him. They prevented him from reaching to his Savestates, blocking his path and overpowering his ability to Reset. Damnit! If only he'd absorbed the human Souls before attempting to shatter Asgore's. He could have been a powerful monstrosity already. He could have beaten them! But now he was being blocked by the power of the kid's own ability to Save.

They were supposed to be best friends, together forever... yet here he was, being cut into pieces so small that he might as well be considered pulp. All the Determination that had been injected into him still couldn't outweigh that of his sibling. He was simply weaker than they were.

Like a fool, Flowey had forgotten his mantra of Kill or Be Killed could also apply to himself.

He remained conscious just long enough to watch the smiling child stand and walk towards the barrier. After that... there was nothing.