CHAPTER 1

Toriel and Asgore watched their daughter anxiously. Chara's body lay on a bed, her chest slowly rising and falling. She had yet to wake up.

She looked the same as she did when she was still alive: she had pale skin, rosy cheeks and even in her sleep she wore a small smile.

There was a gentle knocking on the door. Alphys shuffled inside. She squinted in the eerie light of the true lab, and would have bumped into the table in it weren't for Toriel directing her.

"My child, where are your glasses?"

"I-I don't k-know...I must h-have lost them somewhere…" she rubbed her hands together. "But, that beside the point. I want to talk about what I did here. Frisk, as you know fully well, has a soul fully composed of DETERMINATION. And so, I took half of the substance from her soul and that is what makes up Chara's soul, along with the DETERMINATION I have left f-from...u-uhhhh...anyway, I did that so she has a higher chance of waking up! But, uh…" Alphys fidgeted slightly, sweat drops appearing on her scales. "...It's been fourteen days now...I mean, she is alive! She is breathing...but, I thought it was take a shorter time to wake up…"

"So what's going to happen?" Asgore's voice was serious and low.

"W-we just have to keep waiting…"

Flowey trembled, petals shaking in shock and disbelief. He shook his head, mumbling to himself that this was all just a bad dream…

Chara's grave had been dug up, the flowers torn out of the dirt.

"What…?" He drew closer to the pit. "What...why? I-I don't understand…" Panic became apparent in his voice as his vines dug through the earth. "Chara?! CHARA? Where did you go?!" his words became a shriek. He dove into the dirt around her grave, panting heavily, mind tumbling with confusion.

A vine felt an object, and Flowey pulled it out.

He held up a pair of broken glasses.

…

"Alphys."

The true lab, in Flowey's opinion, was a creepy hell house haunted by what was left of failures. And so, it was an enjoyable place to visit, as he was haunted too.

He emerged into a room with dirty mirrors and a large table covered in pots of flowers. Nothing to do here. With his roots he scurried down the hallway. Whatever Alphys was planning to do to the body, Flowey didn't know. "Huh, she's probably going to mess with her and completely ruin everything like she always does, the sicko." As he made his way across the hall, he made out two dark figures in the hall.

He recognised them immediately, gasped, and ducked underneath the tiles.

Whatever could Toriel and Asgore be doing there? And in the same room? The caretaker of the ruins never wanted to even put up with the king for a second. So then, why were they…? Had they made up? Were they participating in an experiment…?

Was it… because of Chara…?

Flowey peeked out from under the tiles. Toriel and Asgore were walking out the door, the small silhouette of Alphys leading them away. He rose completely into sight and it was not much after he decided to look around the room did he spot a body in one of the old beds…

He drew nearer to it, lifting his head over the sheets to see…

…

…

Chara.

Of course. What else was he expecting? The body of Chara. But why was she here? And why now?

None of those questions mattered right then... She looked exactly how he last saw her, and Flowey winced, an uncomfortable feeling building up inside of him. He shook his head, brushing it off, assuring himself that it was just the dirt and dust in the air that was making him sick.

But this...this felt different.

He reached out a vine to touch her forehead. Surprisingly, it was still warm. Flowey tilted his head, confused. Didn't human bodies become cold and stiff after they were dead? Didn't their bodies break down over time? Toriel probably used magic to preserve her body, but other than that, why…?

She looked as if she was sleeping.

She looked as if she could just wake up any second, smile and greet him.

She looked just as she did all those years ago, when Flowey was...still him. Asriel.

A tear fell onto her cheek. Flowey stiffened, a vine reaching up to touch under his eyes...they were wet. The feeling overwhelmed him…

"...is this heartache?"

Perhaps. But did it matter? Perhaps she was the only one that could make him feel love. Perhaps she was the only one who mattered anymore. Hehe...but she… was the only one who was dead.

He closed his eyes and struggled to put those negative thoughts out of his mind. Instead he brushed his head against the side of her face…

…

…

…!

She was…

SHE WAS BREATHING-?!

Flowey jerked upright as she muttered something inaudible and shifted suddenly. He gave out a loud cry of shock and watched her.

She was alive.

She was…?!

He pressed his face against the pillows to stifle his sobbing. He...didn't know what he was feeling, or what he should be feeling in this situation. His best friend, after years and years of death...had come back. He was so happy, and yet his head spun with questions and things he could not begin to understand…

"A...Asriel…" her voice was soft.

...

He stared up at her. Was she awa- no...her eyes were closed. She was still asleep.

...she…

"She… whispered my name," he murmured, tears dripping onto the sheets. "Well, at least, who I USED to be…" he looked down dejectedly.

Further down the hall, Flowey could hear footsteps.

"...is anyone there? Hello?"

Flowey dove off the bed and into the ground. It was Frisk. She spotted Chara and she watched her for a while. "Come on, Chara," she murmured. "Please...do wake up. Our parents are getting very unhappy with the thought of you sleeping for eternity…"

Chara turned to her side, now facing Frisk.

"So Alphys had something to do with this. She had brought Chara back to life…" Flowey bit back a laugh, but he was certain that he had made a noise when Frisk looked up, startled.

"Who's there?"

What was the harm in paying a visit to this little imp? He rose out of hiding and gave her a smug look. His eyes must have been still watery, for her usual look of cautiousness had been replaced with a look of…

...pity.

Flowey glared at her, and she stopped. "So, it seems like Alphys isn't a complete failure," he giggled, then cringed inwardly at his tone. His voice was noticeably strained and tight. Flowey let out a shaky breath and turned his head away. He would not give her the satisfaction of seeing him break.

"Flowey," she murmured. "You're happy to see your friend alive, aren't you?"

"What about it?" he grumbled.

"It's okay to cry, you know."

He began to shake with barely suppressed anger. "What?! You want to see me suffer?" He laughed cruelly, eyes forming into black soulless pits.

"No. It will just make you feel better."

Flowey scoffed. "Sure, Frisk," he glanced at Chara, whose eyebrows were furrowed. "Whatever." His voice was still quavery.

They were silent, both watching the sleeping girl. "Why don't we just wake her up?"

Frisk shook her head. "She needs to awake naturally. If she doesn't...her soul may become too unstable."

They both heard heavy footsteps in the hall. Asgore.

"Well, then," Flowey smirked at her. "I guess I'll be leaving! Don't tell anyone you saw me, or I'll kill you~!" Chuckling, he submerged underneath the floor.

"Frisk? Is there someone here with you?" Asgore entered and looked around the room.

"No," Frisk lied. "Just talking to myself."

"I...see," he gave her a bemused look before smiling again. "Lunch is ready, my dear."

"I'll be up in a minute, dad." Frisk smiled at him.

"Alright, Frisk." He made his away back to the elevator.

Frisk turned back to Chara, wrapping her arms around her friend in a hug. "I'll see you later, Chara."

Flowey was silently weeping in the mirror filled room, watching as the tears fell onto the tiled floors.

He felt so emotional...but how could that be?

"I literally don't have a soul," he laughed softly. "This is interesting though." He closed his eyes. It hurt, though. It was a type of pain that he hadn't felt for a very long time...in this form, at least.

He wanted Chara to wake up. He wanted to be with her again. Perhaps he could… make up for the the last time, and kill whenever she wanted him to, and she would be satisfied with him.

…

…

That was what she wanted, wasn't it?

Frisk had left the room with a whisper of, "Stay DETERMINED." Chara had reacted to these words, and shifted and her eyes fluttered, but she still did not open them.

Flowey came back into the room, brushing his cheek against hers and looking over her achingly familiar form.

"I'm getting annoyed, you know," Flowey muttered. "My whole world is revolving around you waking up. I've been so alone all this time, Chara. You're the only one I could ever care about."

…

"If I knew that this would happen, I would have never protected those stupid humans."

…

"I...Asriel really was an idiot."

…

He couldn't cry anymore. "Please, Chara…You know I'm sorry, right?"

… She was still as a board, and he felt restlessness and longing blossoming inside of him.

"If you only knew how much I want you."

…

…

It was as dark as night. The girl was coated in hot searing pain. She laughed, though deep inside she screamed in agony.

…

"Chara, do your creepy face!"

She let her anger and want for power run through her as she smiled. His hind paws took a couple steps back as he cried out in fascination and fear. He tripped over a branch and fell over on his back.

"Are you okay Azzie? Here, let me help you up."

"How did you learn to do that face? It so cool! You should act for a scary movie or something!"

"The humans taught me."

That wasn't exactly a lie.

…

Chara's eyes fluttered open, dark brown orbs gleaming in the dark. Her body felt sore, and her head throbbed with an ear splitting headache"Where am I?" her voice was raspy from disuse. She struggled out of the covers and sat up, taking in her environment.

"The true laboratory."

She stumbled through the room into an area full of flowers. She spotted something wriggling in the corner, and a like the curious child she was she crept nearer.

She froze.

It was an amalgamate.

She stepped back, but it had already noticed her presence in the room.

"CoMe jOiN ThE FuN...cOmE jOiN ThE FuN…" it muttered over and over again, like a broken record. It reached out quickly.

And then it touched her.

…

…

She was paralyzed as white slime engulfed her arm. She screamed, nightmares dragging her back into the dark.

…

"LET'S KILL THESE DISGUSTING CREATURES!MAKE THEM PAY FOR WHAT THEY'VE DONE TO US!"

"Chara please! Don't hurt them!"

"You'll DIE if we don't!"

"Please...Chara!"

"GET OUT OF THE WAY!"

Arrows tore at Asriel's form and he crumbled, bleeding out onto the golden flowers. Their white and red soul started to shake and its form threatened to splinter into billions of pieces.

"I'm so sorry, Chara…"

"I'm so sorry...I couldn't…"

"Do...do you hate me…?"

…

"Chara?"

"CHARA?!"

BUT NOBODY CAME.

She dragged herself away from the amalgamate, and it scuttled away as if frightened of something. She fell backwards into a mirror so hard that it shattered. She heard the whines of the unstable creature fade away…

The mirror shards had made lacerations on her arms, and small streams of blood soaked into her jacket. She snickered, raising one of the shards to her forearm. She had been brought back to life, she knew that, and she wanted none of it.

"What do you think you're doing?" Something hooked around her arms and torso, dragging her away from the sharp edges. She stiffened and cried out, restraining herself from using the glass to slash at her bonds. "I can't believe it. I wait for all this time to see you, and the first thing you do is cut yourself."

His voice was rather high pitched and could be interpreted as cute...if you didn't know who he was.

Flowey's appearance, as well, could be deceiving. He was hidden among the other flowers, a large smile on his face. "Finally. It's been awhile, Chara."

"Not really. I've been watching you," Chara stated, her voice cold. She smirked as an expression of shock crossed his face. "You've been a bad boy, haven't you…" She pulled his vines off of her shoulders, a shadow crossing her face. She grinned wickedly, and he shrank back. "I ought to punish you."

"Chara please-" he flinched as she swiftly brought her hands to his face, shutting his eyes tightly. She simply pinched his cheeks and laughed, and he flushed in embarrassment.

"I've been dying to do that to you since forever," she burst into hysterics, and he stared at her like she had gone insane. "It's funny because I'm dead. At least…" she looked down at her hands. "I used to be…"

"Because of me," Flowey whispered. He looked at her nervously. "No hard feelings because of back then...right?"

"No, you were right to do what you did…" Chara wrapped her arms around him and he stiffened in shock. "Killing is wrong, I was wrong...and Frisk...is proof of that."

"You've gone soft!" Flowey scowled at her.

Chara looked down at her bleeding arms and laughed hollowly. "I guess…It's because I have a soul."

Flowey rolled his eyes. "Well, at least you don't give me useless pity."

She giggled. "You're a flower, and it can't be helped. Seriously, I can't even help myself." She reached out again, and he shifted out of the way. "I knew you liked flowers, but I never knew you wanted to be one."

Flowey froze. "What have I done to deserve this?"

"You say that you can't feel anything because you have no soul, don't you..?" Chara murmured, brushing her thumb against his face. He didn't pull away.

"You've been through a lot while I was gone, weren't you? I'm sorry for leaving you."

Flowey sneered. "Just promise it won't happen again," he snapped.

Chara sighed and rested her head on the table. "I can't promise that, buttercup."

"What do you mean?" There was an edge of panic to his voice.

Another voice sounded through the hall, emitting a shout of shock. "Chara? Where are you?" Boots clacked around franticly in the other room. Frisk was back, so it seemed.

"...I have to go…" Flowey muttered, his form tense.

"I'll be back," Chara promised gently.

"You better," he threatened, glaring at nothing in particular.

She snickered. "I will, don't worry." She gently ran her fingers through his petals and he gasped. She looked at him, surprise written over her face and he jolted away from her, internally screeching with embarrassment.

"Chara?!" Frisk sounded very worried, and she nodded to Flowey and hurried away.

"I'm right here, Frisk."

"CHARA!" the playful child grabbed her by the waist, and then jerked away suddenly. "I'm not supposed to do that. Your body is very unstable," they muttered, tone serious. "But I'm so happy you are here." She circled around her. "You look much like me." Frisk murmured in wonder. "I always thought you were older by the way you talked." She stopped suddenly and she opened her eyes; an action she didn't do often. "Perhaps it's because you've been through a lot."

Chara smiled tiredly.

Frisk went back to narrowing her eyes. "You're hurt," she crooned worriedly. "Momma will help you. Come on, let's get out of this place. It's not good for you."

As the girls walked hand and hand through the elevator, no one noticed a golden buttercup watching them, a pair of beady eyes gleaming in the dark.

And it waited.