Chapter Two: Temple of Virtues
Temple of Virtues – 98 Degrees (F), Humid
Days had passed since Orion ran from the skeleton's cottage. Knees weak and shuddering, the collapsed in front of a set of stairs leading down into a valley. A walkway lay below, in different colors. Red, light blue, orange, dark blue, purple, green, yellow, and red again. The walkway got smaller; a silver-lavender, like Orion's Soul; and then a bright pink, a blue-gray, a golden color, a brownish one, and finally, a black one.
Orion got up, making their way down the stairs. At the end of the walkway stood a pyramid, tall and imposing. The top of it had a diamond shape, and there was a massive golden star-like object glimmering. Statues stood around it, arms raised as if it was something important.
"curious, huh? that is a save point, the biggest one known."
Behind me...
They turned around. Sans was there, leaning against a tree, smiling. Both of them heard rustling. They checked the bushes, but it was only a bird.
"A Save point? What's that mean?"
"well, see, pal, a save point is an area where you can record your progress."
"...Okay then. How'd you get here?"
"i have a few tricks."
"Tell me."
"next time."
"Ughhhh."
Orion continued, ignoring him. They walked into the Temple. Another Save point lay in the center, along with seven floating Souls. Red, light blue, orange, dark blue, purple, green, and yellow. The other red was missing, but it was still just like the walkway.
A yellow flower stood in front of the Save, muttering to itself. "So close. I was so close, all those years ago. That human... 'Frisk'... Why did I say all those things as Asriel?!"
Orion just ignored it, but Sans walked towards the flower. "hey there." His left eye glowed. "what'cha doin'?"
The flower turned around "Gah!"
"better not be trying to reset. we've worked so hard for this timeline. too hard for it to be erased."
It saw behind Sans, smiling. Perfect. Another human Soul.
"Howdy! I'm Flowey. Flowey the-"
Sans didn't stand it. He uprooted Flowey before handing him to Orion. He teleported away and returned holding a flower pot.
"Hey! What's the deal?!" The second sentence was muffled. Sans stuffed him into the pot.
"What's with that flower?"
"don't trust him."
"Okay?"
"he's evil."
"I get it-"
"soulless."
"Oh."
"Hey! I'm right here!"
Sans covered Flowey's mouth. He passed him to Orion while he walked over to the Souls. Standing in the center of their circle, he reached up. They all disappeared. "perfect."
Flowey yelled, "No! Why would you do that?! They're supposed to be mine!"
"sorry, but we can't have an abomination with six human souls going around."
The golden flower smirked. Multiple white pellets appeared around Sans and the pot. "Really? Maybe that's what you would think."
Orion acted quickly, throwing the pot across the room. They drew a toy knife from what seemed like thin air. Might look like a toy, but it's pretty sharp.
The pot broke. Flowey laughed. "Yes!"
He saw Orion's knife. "What will you do with that? It's just plastic."
"That's what you would think." They lunged forward, slashing Flowey in the face. It didn't do much. Just a slight scratch.
Flowey growled, and created more pellets around Orion. "You will regret this!"
Several blue bones appeared around him.
They weren't from Sans.
"IF YOU MOVE, YOU WON'T GET HURT! NYEH HEH HEH!"
The voice didn't belong to Sans either.
A taller skeleton stood in the eastern entrance to the Temple. He walked over, fairly quick.
Flowey didn't fall for the lie. "I know what you're up to!"
"wow, bro, when did you turn not-so-innocent?"
"SANS, STOP BOONDOGGLING! WE NEED TO TRY A TEAM ATTACK!"
Sans got up, summoning bones around him in a circle. They all flipped on their sides and expanded, shattering the white pellets.
Flowey gasped and held his breath. "You traitor!"
"HEY, I'M NOT THE ONE THAT ABSORBED EVERY MONSTER'S SOUL BEFORE REVEALING MYSELF AS PRINCE OF THE MONSTERS."
"Ugh..."
"'UGH' SOUNDS LIKE NOT-PAPYRUS. I HATE SOUNDS THAT ARE NOT-PAPYRUS."
Flowey sighed. "I don't care about skeletons." He summoned more pellets around Sans. They closed in quickly. "SANS, NOW!"
Both of them summoned orange and blue bones. Sans made a ring of blasters, which looked like dragon skulls. They fired off different-colored lasers. Green ones immobilized Flowey; purple ones made it so he can only move straight ahead and to the side; red ones indicated another attack from the same blaster; blue ones hurt if he moved; orange ones hurt if he stayed still, and gray ones wouldn't do anything. They would just make messages, most of them being puns. Flowey dodged most attacks with ease, only making mistakes when he was in a green or purple attack.
Meanwhile, Orion stayed back, still holding the knife. They eventually put it away.
"BEHIND YOU."
Orion turned around. They saw a shadow huddled in the corner, but it disappeared quickly.
"HEH...HEH..."
"Who's there?!"
The only answer was their voice echoing off the walls.
They turned around to face Flowey, Sans, and the tall skeleton. They thought his name might be Papyrus.
No scratches on the darn flower.
After all those team attacks, he's still standing. Not a single missing spot on a single petal.
Flowey's smirk was there. He was ready for any attack the two could throw at him.
"heh, i'm just getting started." Sans's left eye lit up; his right pupil disappeared.
Flowey shifted around. "I'm not scared of you! I'm not gonna have any bad times! I've felt my sins all day, every day-"
Sans stepped on him.
Flowey growled. His face was somewhat flatter now. "You will regret this!" He disappeared into the ground.
"well, don't think anyone expect him to be here."
Orion walked over to Sans. "Uh, Sans? I think your brother left?"
Sans scanned the Temple.
"paps?"
Orion suddenly felt a bit discouraged.