"You're not really human, are you? No. You're empty inside. Just like me."
-Flowey
With one final blow, Undyne fell to her knees. "Damn it.." she muttered. "So even THAT power... It wasn't enough...?"
Undyne looked down on the ground. She had failed. Even after years of training for this moment, she couldn't defeat a single human child. She had failed Asgore. She had failed Alphys… Alphys… Undyne was never going to see her again…
But…
"Heh..."
"Heheheh..."
Undyne looked up at her murderer. Their eyes were blank and expressionless, save for a glint of sadistic pleasure. Undyne smiled.
"If you... If you think I'm gonna give up hope, you're wrong." Her whole body was shaking, but she grinned as if nothing was wrong. "Cause I've... Got my friends behind me. Alphys told me that she would watch me fight you... And if anything went wrong, she would... evacuate everyone. By now she's called Asgore and told him to absorb the 6 human SOULs." Even as her body was melting, she was still smiling. "And with that power… This world will live on...!"
Alphys, this isn't how I wanted it to end. I wish we could have spent more time together. I wish I had the chance to tell you how I felt. Heh heh, this is exactly why I never did. But, please, you have to live on. It's up to you now. Keep everyone safe, and warn Asgore. With the six souls, this puny human won't stand a chance! You'll be alright, Alphys... I love you…
Yes, with the human souls, Asgore would stop the human. Asgore may have been a total weenie, but he was a strong weenie! He wouldn't just stand by and watch while some psycho human massacred all his people! Undyne knew she could count on Asgore! Asgore would never let Undyne's death be for nothing! Asgore would never let his people down! Asgore was going to absorb those SOULs and save everyone! Thanks to Asgore, Alphys and the world would live on! Still smiling, Undyne closed her eyes.
Alright, Papyrus. Time for your next training lesson!
Undyne died, always believing in her friends.
Flowey burst out of the ground. He had made it, the royal garden. Right in front of him stood Asgore, who was happily watering his flowers, as if it were a perfectly ordinary day.
"Dum dee dum," Asgore hummed.
"HEY!" Flowey shouted. "What the hell are you doing?!"
Asgore turned around. "Oh, howdy! I'm sorry, I didn't see you there!"
How could he be so relaxed?! "Asgore! You HAVE to absorb the souls, NOW! The human is almost here! You know, the one that's been MURDERING ALL OF US?! The one I'm sure EVERYONE has warned you about?! Come on, hurry! Sans can't hold them off forever!"
Asgore turned back to the flowers. "Just a moment! I have almost finished watering these flowers."
…What…?
"ASGORE!" Flowey screamed. "The flowers can wait! You have to hurry! If you don't, the human will KILL US!"
Asgore finished watering his flowers. "Here we are!" He turned his attention back to Flowey. "I've never seen a monster like you before! What's your name?"
"Ugh, it's Flowey."
"Howdy, Flowey! Would you like a cup of tea?"
Flowey couldn't believe this. A human was about to destroy the entire world, and this guy, this KING, was acting like he didn't have a care in the world. What was wrong with him?
"I don't want your damn tea!" Flowey snapped. "I want you to absorb your souls and kill that human!"
"Now, now," Asgore said. "There's no need for violence. Please, have some tea! I insist!"
Flowey was losing his patience, and he had developed a lot of that over all his RESETs. "Asgore… I don't think you understand. They. Are. Killing. EVERYONE. This human isn't just any human; they have control of the timeline. You know what that means, don't you? If you don't stop them, they'll destroy everything. Humans… monsters… the human will kill every last one in an instant."
Asgore looked up at the sky. "…Nice day today, huh? Birds are singing, flowers are blooming… Perfect weather for a game of catch."
Yeah, even the world itself didn't seem to care that it was about to be destroyed. The whole world was ending, and the only one who cared was the one without a soul.
Flowey's frustration was making him sweat. "ASGORE! GET! YOUR! SOULS! KILL! THE! HUMAN!"
Asgore continued to pretend that nothing was wrong. He walked to a nearby table. There was a full tea set on it. Asgore poured Flowey a cup of golden flower tea. Golden flower tea? Seriously? He was giving a golden flower a cup of golden flower tea? That was, like, cannibalism. Still smiling. Asgore handed the tea to Flowey. "Here you are!"
Flowey grabbed the cup with his vines and violently splashed the tea in Asgore's face. Asgore still smiled. "You don't like tea? Well, that's alright."
Asgore was stalling, but why? Flowey's shouts grew desperate. He might as well have been screaming at the wall. "ASGORE! WHY?! Why aren't you listening to me?! WHY won't you absorb the souls?!"
Asgore finally wiped that stupid smile off his face. "…Why…? It's simple… I'm a coward…"
"What the hell are you talking about? With those souls, not even THIS human will stand a chance against you! Even with just six souls, you'll have control of the timeline! You'll be the most powerful being in the world! Nothing will be able to stop you!"
"…Exactly," Asgore replied. "If I kill this human, I will have seven human SOULs, and then it will be my responsibility to take the surface back from humanity. I… am not ready for that. I'll NEVER be ready for that."
"…Are you serious…?" Flowey hadn't been this angry since… ever, not even when he was fighting Sans. "You… you ARE a coward! You're a FUCKING COWARD! You would rather let Chara destroy all of us than destroy humanity? Well, guess what? Humanity is gonna be destroyed anyway! With their stolen SOUL, Chara is THAT strong! As soon as they're done with Sans, they'll come for us! And then, the whole world is going to end! You're going to let the whole world be destroyed because you're afraid of a promise?!"
Asgore paused. "…Whose name did you just say?"
…Damn it.
Yes. The one killing every monster in their way, the one who was about to destroy the world… It was Chara… and it wasn't Chara. Obviously, the human who fell was not Chara, but Chara appeared to be… inside the human. Chara and this human must have shared joint control over their body, just like when he and Chara shared control over his body. How did Flowey know? Why did watching them murder 21 monsters in the Ruins, including his mother, remind Flowey of his best friend? It didn't. It reminded him… of himself. Sure, Chara had tried to make Asriel kill a lot of humans, but that was so monsters could be free. They may have hated humanity, but it was also an act of love towards monsters. In life, they never would have hurt an innocent monster, not intentionally at least. And yet, Asriel never would have murdered anyone, but look at him now. Flowey knew that if he ever found Chara again, he would find them soulless, unable to care about anyone, just like himself. Even with their stolen SOUL, they were still empty inside. Just like how Flowey was no longer Asriel, Chara was no longer the beloved sibling he once knew. The menacing smile they had given him was not the same as the playfully creepy face they used to make. The face they made now, that was the same face he made when he was about to kill someone. Chara was dead, and all that was left was a soulless shadow whose only purpose was to gain power.
Yes… because of his actions, his best friend was dead, and they were never coming back.
For the first time in ages, a swirl of emotions swelled within Flowey. Some of it was anger. He felt anger towards Asgore, for not lifting a finger when everyone needed him most. He felt anger towards the human, for letting, if not helping, Chara become a heartless murderer. He did NOT feel anger towards Chara. He could never hate Chara, and he knew what it was like to be soulless, to be empty inside. Not long ago, he too wanted to destroy the world. Indeed, Flowey felt anger towards the world itself, for taking Chara away from him.
But the truth was, all that anger was just background noise. Most of all, Flowey simply felt… sorrow.
…What was this? Something wet and salty had gotten inside Flowey's eyes. No, it couldn't be… Tears…? No… Flowey couldn't…
Flowey faced his father.
"I… I… I should have listened to Chara! I should have killed those humans! If I hadn't betrayed them, this never would have happened! If I had listened, we all could have lived on the surface in peace! I didn't want to fight humanity, but now humanity is about to be destroyed anyway!"
Flowey's tears starting hitting the ground. "N-no… that's not it. I… I don't mean that. What I really mean, is that I shouldn't have let Chara die in the first place. I never should have given them those buttercups. I… I should have told them that their life wasn't worth it. I should have told them that we would find another way, and even if we couldn't, I... I… I would rather live underground forever than live on the surface without them!"
Flowey was wailing. If the other flowers hadn't been watered yet, Flowey had taken care of them. Asgore looked very confused. "…What are you?"
Yes, what was he? That was the question, wasn't it?
"…It doesn't matter," Flowey said. "It'll all be over soon. See you then… King Dad."
Flowey burrowed into the ground and awaited the end.
"Curious. I've never seen a plant… cry before… Huh? You must be the one that flower just warned me about. Howdy…! Erm… what kind of monster are you…? Sorry, I cannot tell. Well, we can always-"
Frisk watched with awe as Chara brought their knife down on Asgore. Frisk had thought that maybe the boss monster would put up a little more resistance, but as usual, a single clean hit was enough. Asgore fell to his knees.
"Why… you…" Asgore croaked, as if he actually thought that they might spare him. Frisk loved that big fuzzy pushover. It was hard to believe that he had killed six humans. Then again, it was also hard to believe what Frisk themself had just done.
Chara was about to finish him off, but then a circle of energy pellets formed around him. Frisk had seen this exact scene before. Flowey brought his magic down on Asgore, destroying him and his SOUL. Flowey then revealed himself. Hahaha, what an idiot! He should have stayed in the ground where it was safe! Oh, well. More fun for them!
"See?" Flowey asked. "I never betrayed you! It was all a trick, see? I was waiting to kill him for you!"
How pathetic, Frisk thought. He ran to daddy for help, and when that failed, he betrayed his own father to make up for betraying us. This is going to be fun!
Flowey smiled. "After all it's me, your best friend! I'm helpful. I can be useful to you. I promise I won't get in your way." He started shaking. "I can help… I can… I can…" He was… crying…?
Something strange happened. Flowey made a face that resembled Asriel, and he even sounded like him. Tears were streaming down his weird, goat imitation face. "Please don't kill me," he said.
Frisk was given pause. They should have expected it, and yet, throughout their entire killing spree, not one monster they had killed cried or begged for mercy. In fact, many of them had died smiling, or even laughing. It was quite ironic, actually. The only person Frisk and Chara had managed to drive to tears was the one without a soul.
Chara was hesitating as well. You… crybaby…
Chara…? Do you… not want to kill him?
That's your decision, Chara answered. As you've said, you can reset at any time.
But… what do you want, Chara?
…He's nothing, Chara insisted. He's not even Asriel. Asriel is dead. This thing is merely some… twisted imitation of Asriel.
…Are you sure? You saw what happened last time.
Chara didn't answer. Frisk knew what that meant. When someone lived inside your head, you got to know them. When Chara refused to speak, that meant they were in pain. Frisk was confused. Until then, Chara seemed to be enjoying it. Every time Frisk's LOVE increased, Chara responded with glee. Chara loved the feeling of getting stronger.
Why did they start killing? Together, Frisk and Chara had accomplished the impossible. They had destroyed the barrier, freeing all monsters. They even managed to give Asriel some peace. However, Frisk and Chara weren't ready for their adventure to end. Together, they performed a True Reset, but Frisk didn't want to do the same thing twice. They decided to take a… different path. It wasn't that Frisk hated the monsters. On the contrary, Frisk loved pretty much all of them. It sounded a bit weird, but killing people revealed whole different sides of them that Frisk wouldn't have seen otherwise. They saw Papyrus become the ultimate champion of forgiveness, they turned the Mad Dummy into the Glad Dummy, they helped Undyne become a living Anime character (before they killed her), and they got to experience the true power of Sans. It was incredible for Frisk to see all of their friends fight so hard and refuse to give up. As Chara had put it, Frisk was wracked with a perverted sentimentality.
But, something that Sans had said was still fresh on Frisk's mind. Sans said that they were the kind of person who would never be happy, and that sometimes, they just needed to quit. Perhaps he was right. Maybe it was time to move on.
Alright, Chara, Frisk said. We've done enough. Let's reset now.
…I cannot believe you, Chara hissed. You really think you can just get away with all that murder, with no consequences?
…Well… yeah…?
Chara clenched Frisk's fists. How can you think like that? Do you not realize how much pain you've inflicted? Do you think you can just toy with people for your own amusement? Like Flowey has?
W-well… when you put it that way…
You're a murderer, Frisk. You're not even human anymore. You're a demon, like me. Time after time, we will appear. It doesn't matter when. It doesn't matter where. Together, we will eradicate the enemy and become strong.
Suddenly, the weight of their actions came crashing down on Frisk. Their SOUL pounded. They realized how much Chara, no, how much they had both changed. Ch-Chara… I…
What, Frisk? You're sorry? Sorry for murdering over a hundred people? How pathetic. They slowly approached Flowey
N-no! Chara, I've… changed my mind! STOP! Frisk struggled to regain control of their body, but Chara was in complete control. What? How…?
AHAHAHAHA! You wish to know how this is possible? Your SOUL. After committing so much murder, you have entirely shut off your compassion. You might as well be soulless, which made it trivial for me so seize control of it. Now, we have reached the absolute. You can turn back no longer. Chara raised their knife. YOU'VE MADE YOUR CHOICE! Now, partner. Let us finish what we started!
Chara brought the knife down.
"P-please!" Flowey begged, in Asriel's voice.
The knife stopped, less than an inch from Flowey's face. Chara was panting.
Chara…?
"S-stop that," Chara said. "Stop pretending to be my brother."
"Chara…"
"MY BROTHER IS DEAD!" Chara screamed. "I KILLED HIM! He's DEAD! ASRIEL IS DEAD! AND HE'S NEVER COMING BACK!"
Flowey returned his face to normal. "…You're right." Flowey also stopped speaking like Asriel. "I'm not Asriel. Asriel is dead. I'm just a soulless shell of Asriel."
Chara's knife trembled in their hand.
"But…" Flowey said. "Just like me, you're not really Chara anymore, are you? Chara would never do the things you've done."
"H-how can you be so sure? How do you know I ever really cared about you? What if I just wanted to destroy that village, and couldn't care less about what happened to you?"
Flowey laughed. "I guess I don't. Not really. But, when I saw that look of hope in your eyes, I couldn't say no to you." Flowey was still crying. "But I SHOULD have said no. Not because I doubted you, but because it wasn't worth your life, let alone six others. I know you weren't really the greatest person, but I don't care! You were my friend! You were my sibling! I loved you! I loved you, Chara!"
…Chara dropped the knife.
Frisk felt something salty in their eyes. Chara was crying too? "Y-you crybaby," Chara muttered. "Now you've got me doing it, too." Chara grabbed the heart locket around their neck. They read the inscription: best friends forever.
Flowey looked confused. "What are you doing?"
Chara knelt down to Flowey's level wrapped their arms around his stem. "You idiot! What does it look like I'm doing? I'm sparing you, because I… I loved you too, Asriel! I miss it so much!"
"Chara…"
Chara wiped away a tear. "Heh… Asriel… this isn't the first timeline I've been through. Last time, everyone got a happy ending, thanks to you. You absorbed the souls, shattered the barrier, and freed everyone."
"Wh-what? Then, why did you…?"
Chara held their brother tighter. "You begged me not to, but I didn't listen. I wasn't ready to say goodbye to you. I wanted to spend more time with you. But then, Frisk and I decided to…"
Flowey wrapped a vine around Chara. "I understand, Chara."
After a long embrace, Chara let go. …I don't wish to do this anymore, they told Frisk. Do what you will, but if you dare harm my brother...
I… I understand.
Chara relinquished control of Frisk.
"…Hey," Frisk said.
"Oh, you," Flowey spat.
What could Frisk tell him? Chara was right; saying sorry would have been so pathetic. How could Frisk simply apologize for what they had done? All Frisk could offer was, "it won't happen again."
Flowey laughed. "Do you know how many times I've told myself that? Whenever I reset, I'd say 'Alight, this is it. This'll be the last one.' But it never was. I never stopped until you came along, so thanks for that, I guess."
Frisk stared at Flowey. "…Chara said that last timeline, everyone got a happy ending, but that's not really true. There are two people who didn't... You know who I'm talking about. It's no excuse, but maybe that's part of the reason why I reset. Knowing the fate of you and Chara left me feeling so… unsatisfied."
"…You have a SOUL," Flowey said. "I thought that only someone like me could do what I've done, but you've proven me wrong. Even with your SOUL, you still killed everyone. When I watched you turn the Ruins to dust, I thought you weren't even human, but the truth is even scarier: you ARE human. The soulless aren't the only ones capable of genocide."
Frisk sighed and stood up. "Yeah, humans can do horrible things. I thought I was one of the good ones, but maybe I was wrong. Well, I guess I'll just have to live with that. At least you two finally got to talk things over. You must have cared about each other a lot, if you can both remember it without a SOUL."
"…Yeah," Flowey said. "Well, see you soon."
"...See you."
Frisk RESET. Thanks to the soulless flower, the world was saved.
The End. Thank you for reading!
