"so what did you do to reset all the other times?"

Due to the weather outside, they remained in the bar, though he no longer had a counter standing between him and the human. Instead, they stood at the center of the room, him watching them as they fidgeted with their sleeves.

"I just...concentrated, and it happened."

"and it's not working anymore."

"No."

"try."

Their mouth pressed into a thin line. Eyes closed. Focused. They wrapped their arms in close to their chest, and stayed very still for well over a minute. It was obvious when they looked back up at him that it wasn't happening.

"i don't suppose the old plan is gonna work. would you be able to reset if i killed you?"

There was no nice way to phrase that, but he tried. Made himself as relaxed as possible, stood off to the side a bit, trying to appear nonthreatening. It wasn't supposed to be a threat, but an honest question. As expected, though, they still flinched away, stepping back. "No! No I still won't be able to reset, please don't!"

He nodded. Held his palms up in a pacifying manor before signing, "Okay, kid. We'll find something else."

Once again, their reaction felt genuine. Not a ploy.

Of course, he couldn't imagine a lack of some level of fear. He'd killed them before. That had to have some sort of effect, particularly since it must have happened several times, and unlike him, they must have their memories of the other timelines.

He decided to move on from the subject of resets for the moment.

"here's a question. how are you still here? you weren't alive after the end of our fight, what happened?"

"I don't know." Pause. "I think you killed Chara. Just Chara."

"i was getting you both before?"

"Yes."

Just Chara. Something had gone wrong for them this time around, evidently. "and you were able to reset just fine before they showed up?"

The human nodded.

He tilted his head, regarding them, keeping the lights in his eyes bright. "mind if i take a look at your soul then? see if i can tell what's going on?"

They hugged themself again, a pause. Hesitation. He waited, again, not wanting to cause a fight through aggravation. When they lowered their arms, gave a little nod, he proceeded with a slow and lazy air. No sudden movements here. He tugged their soul out and gave it a proper look over.

It was bright red, the same shade as the one he'd shattered, though he supposed their similarity was why Chara was able to take over in the first place. It was also much...much dimmer. A glowing heart, yes, but it wasn't glowing brightly.

"...seems you're a bit low on determination, kid." With a flick of his wrist, he put their soul back. "you need that in order to affect the timeline."

They stiffened. Already on edge, and now further still. Their eyes were wide as they signed, "Then Flowey can reset."

"asriel?"

"Asriel said he had the power to reset before I fell, but then I got it from him because I had more determination." They glanced away from him, behind them, as if they expected this flower to be sitting somewhere in the bar. "He told me...he told Chara...what he did before I came."

"i take it that it's not something pleasant."

"If he was able to reset, he should have done it by now." Something shifted in their demeanor. A flicker of guilt mingling with their unease. "...he was afraid the last time I saw him. He was afraid Chara would kill him."

Ah. A flash of realization. "he tried to warn the king. asgore mentioned a flower..."

So they were telling the truth.

They'd been possessed by the soul of a ghost. A ghost who, for whatever reason, wanted to kill everything. The child of the king and queen. He thought back to that, back to the entire ordeal. Their death from the flowers they'd eaten the following attack on Asriel when he'd tried to return the body to the surface. Had...had that been on purpose...? Did they want to start a war?

Didn't exactly paint a favorable picture of the adopted royal, did it?

"so looks like that's our next step. let's go give our best flower bud a visit."