Momorin paced back in forth anxiously. The sounds of the laboratory surrounded her on all sides, drowning out her footsteps with its unyielding whirring and humming. With a sigh, she pensively surveyed her workplace.
The laboratory was her own design, made specially for the purpose of her botanical research. Numerous hydroponic tables were placed throughout, each with large numbers of leafy green plants growing out of the trays sitting atop them. Each tray was attached to a pipe system that pumped a special nutrient solution through the workstations, while bright sun lamps placed above each workstation provided the plants with light.
The lights were connected to a generator, placed on the wall farthest from the ascending staircase leading out of the basement, next to the pump that kept the nutrient solution flowing. The generator was powered by an internal turbine connected to the hydroponic piping, allowing it to generate electricity from the flow of the nutrient solution. While the pump still required electricity from the power grid, without the generator the costs of running her lab would be prohibitively high. She was grateful when Itoh had volunteered to help construct the machine: while she was competent enough with technology, most of her expertise lay elsewhere.
On the wall nearest the staircase, there was a desk with a flatscreen computer monitor placed on top of it. One one side of the desk were a series of shelves and lab benches, the former of which housed the preserved and jarred remains of plants, and the latter of which housed a number of tools to examine them. On the other side of the desk was a large teleporter pad. It was a strict upgrade from the teleporters found on the Island: it was large enough to hold up to twelve people simultaneously, and could transport them all at once to any destination with a similarly-sized transporter pad, without fear of harming its users. Next to it was a machine that resembled the older teleporter model: a transmogrifier that Professor Booster had designed in the hopes of turning Sue human again.
The advanced technology in her laboratory, however, was the least of Momorin's concerns. It had been two days since her daughter disappeared, and she had seen no sign of her since. She glanced back at the computer monitor, and in the blank screen she could catch a glimpse of her ragged hair and heavily bagged eyes. She had not slept in more than twenty-four hours, and it showed.
The screen suddenly flickered alive, the display crackling with static for a few moments, before the bespectacled face of Professor Booster appeared.
"Hello? Momorin, are you there?"
Momorin's eyes lit up. "Ah, there you are! I was wondering when you would return my message!"
"Apologies for the delay," replied Professor Booster. "We're still working on improving our communications. The Island's magic interferes with satellite signals, so it's difficult to get video calls to work long-distance." He paused, adjusting his glasses slightly. "We've gotten it to work well enough now, though the visual quality may be a bit lacking. Still, it's miles better than the antiquated chat programs the Island's computers used previously."
"Of course," said Momorin. "But let's not delay any further. I still haven't been able to get the local authorities to believe me when I tell them about my daughter. Have you heard anything from your superiors about helping us find her?"
Professor Booster frowned. "Not much, I'm afraid. They said they'll look into it, but with the amount of red tape involved it might be a while before they can do anything. Now that monsters have made themselves known to the general public, finding Sue could get a lot more complicated."
Momorin furrowed her brow in worry. "It's been two days since she ran away. How much longer will it take?"
"Erm, well..." the Professor hesitated. "...at best, I'd say it would take another three days to assemble a proper search team."
"Three days!?" Momorin cried out. "That's far too long! Where will Sue find shelter for three days? What will she eat? What if someone tries to hurt her?"
Professor Booster stared solemnly through the screen. "I'm sorry, Momorin. I don't know what else I can tell you. I can't do anything beyond request help – I simply don't have the authority or the expertise to coordinate a search any faster than this."
"Alright..." Momorin whispered, her voice trembling. "...I understand. I just worry that it's too late to do anything now. If I never see my daughter again..."
"Momorin," Professor Booster cut her off. "Don't stress yourself out like that. For God's sake, you look like you haven't slept at all in the past two days! I know you're concerned for Sue, but you need to look after yourself, too."
"I don't know..." Momorin replied hesitantly. "Kazuma said something similar last night. That at some point I'll have to accept that I've done all that I can do and move on. But just giving up like that... it seems cowardly, you know?"
"Well, I don't know if telling you to give up was his intention," said Booster. "But I do agree that you need to know your limits. I'll admit, there's no easy solution to any of this. But I do think you should try to avoid pushing yourself too. I know it's a hard thing to ask, given the circumstances, but I don't want to see you hurting yourself."
"Maybe you're right," Momorin sighed. "But I'm not giving up. I'll keep looking for my daughter, no matter how long it takes."
Professor Booster hesitated for a moment, before speaking up again."...Listen, Momorin. Your daughter's a very strong person. She's courageous, resourceful, and filled with the determination to do anything she sets her mind to. In a lot of ways, she's just like you," he chuckled. "If she can survive several weeks on the Island during Doctor Date's invasion, she can certainly survive being lost in the suburbs for a few days."
"Perhaps you are right," said Momorin. "But I still can't help but worry."
"Well," said Professor Booster, "in the meantime, I'll let you know as soon as I hear back from-"
Suddenly, a voice called from up the stairs. "Mom, I'm home!"
"Sue!?" Momorin gasped.
Booster grinned. "Speak of the devil! I suppose I won't be needed after all, then! I'll tell my superiors you found her, and that there's no need for a search." The screen flickered, and the Professor's image faded away in a buzz of static.
Momorin suddenly heard the loud thumping of Sue's feet as she excitedly descended the staircase. "Hey mom, there you are!" she called.
Without even thinking, Momorin rushed over to meet her daughter at the bottom of the staircase. She kneeled down wrapped her arms around Sue, embracing her closely.
"Thank goodness you're safe! I was so worried about you..."
"Oof.. little bit tight there, mom," Sue grunted. "But... for what it's worth, I'm sorry I scared you like this. I just... I wanted to go outside so badly that I didn't even think even think about how you'd feel about it."
Momorin pulled back from her hug, leaving her hands on Sue's shoulders. She could see the sincerity in her daughters eyes as she stared back through the tears that had collected in the corners of her own.
"Please don't ever do anything like this again," Momorin pleaded. "I already came so close to losing you on the Island..."
Sue looked back into her eyes, and offered a comforting smile. "There's no need to worry about that. I'm not going to let that happen. But if it makes you feel any better, I promise I won't run away again."
Momorin smiled back. "Alright... but I'm going to hold you to that, you hear? And no television for a week."
"What? Aw, come on!" Sue protested.
"You didn't think I'd let you off completely, did you?" Momorin teased. "Now go upstairs and tell your brother to put dinner on."
"Yeah, alright," said Sue. "Oh! That reminds me! Toriel and Frisk are upstairs talking to Kazuma. You should go and meet them, they're really cool!"
Momorin blinked. "I'm sorry, could you repeat that? Who are they?"
"They're my new friends," replied Sue. "Frisk found me when I ran away and took me to his house. Toriel's kind of like his mom, and she took care of me while I was away. There's also Sans, but... well, I don't really know him that well, and he's kind of annoying."
"Ouch, kid," a voice remarked. "That's pretty harsh."
"Gaaah!" Sue cried out, nearly leaping out of her fur. "When did you get here!?"
Momorin looked to see the source of the sudden voice, and stared at him blankly. "You're... a skeleton?"
"Yup," the skeleton replied. "I'm Sans. I take it you're Sue's mom?"
"Indeed, I am. You can call me Momorin."
Sans's perpetual grin widened even further, and he reached out with a bony hand. "Pleased to meet you, Momorin."
"No! Don't you dare!" Sue shouted. "No whoopie cushions!"
Sans retraced his hand, placing it back into his pocket. "Eh, it was worth a shot," he shrugged. "Why don't we head upstairs? I'm sure Tori would like to meet you." He walked towards the ascending staircase and began climbing the stairs leading out of the basement, briefly turning back as he approached the door to the first floor. "By the way, this is a pretty nice lab you've got here."
"Oh, um... thank you." Momorin replied, nonplussed. Sans, however, had already gone through the doorway by that point.
Sue breathed a sigh of relief. "That was close. I just narrowly avoided more embarrassment there. Why don't we go upstairs and you can introduce yourself to everyone?"
"That sounds like a good idea," Momorin replied. "I would like to meet this Toriel person myself, if you don't mind."
"Great! Let's go, then!" Without another word, Sue raced up the staircase.
Momorin hesitated for a moment, conflicting emotions whirling through her mind.. The thought of someone taking care of her daughter caused a growing knot of discomfort to form in her stomach, yet at the same time felt deeply grateful that someone did.
As she ascended the staircase, Momorin could only hope that Toriel was a person she could trust.
A single ray of light shone through the surface above, and into the caverns of Mount Ebott. In the past, this hole in the mountain was the only thing connecting the Underground to the rest of the world. Many monsters had tried climbing the walls of the caverns, some even tried flying, but the powerful winds surrounding the opening preventing anything from escaping. Once one entered through the hole they could never leave.
Until now, that is. There was another entrance to the Underground, one that had been sealed away more than a thousand years ago by the nigh-impenetrable Barrier. But now the Barrier had been shattered, and the monsters, in their desire to see the surface, began to leave. It was a gradual process, as integration into human society took time, but every day the population still residing in the Underground grew smaller. It was only a matter of time before there wasn't a single soul remaining.
Not a single soul...
He cursed the exactness of his own words. There wouldn't be a single soul in the Underground. Yet he would still be there, trapped in the plantlike form he now found himself in. He could only move as far as the soil would allow him to, and the rock surrounding Mount Ebott proved too thick for him to ever leave the caverns.
"So this is it, huh? Am I just going to be trapped here forever, completely alone?" Flowey mused. Speaking aloud was more to reassure himself than anything else: it was nice to hear someone's voice, even if it was only his own.
Yet the thought of being alone filled him with dread. With no soul, it wouldn't take long for him to be completely overcome with boredom. And with nobody left to keep him entertained, there would be nothing he could do to escape from it.
To make matters worse, his recent exploits had left a powerful impression on his mind. After centuries spent resetting and reloading, after countless years of manipulating time to his own ends, he had not merely lost the ability to feel empathy: he had completely forgotten what the feeling was even like to begin with. But now that memory had resurfaced, more powerful than ever, and he once again felt the overwhelming resentment at just how much he had lost. Every so often, he thought he could feel something resembling compassion, but that brief feeling quickly slipped out of his grasp, leaving nothing behind but bitterness.
"What do I even have left to live for now?" he wondered. "Would it be better if I just... stopped? Is it even worth existing like this anymore?"
"Giving up so easily. How cowardly." Something spoke, reverberating deeply as though it were made of many voices at once.
Flowey yelped at the sound of the new voice. "Who said that!? Show yourself!" He quickly whipped around, searching for any sign of someone listening in.
The voice let out a deep chuckle. "As you wish."
Suddenly, the winds surrounding the hole in the cavern began to pick up, and in a rush of air, something descended into the Underground. It was unlike anything that Flowey had seen before: a swirling mass of blood-red particles, radiating with the unmistakable glow of a human soul.
"Greetings," it said.
Flowey stared at the mass in a mixture of confusion and fear. "Who... what are you?"
"My name is unimportant," it replied. "Like you, I am an incomplete being. My body has been killed. Though my soul still persists, it has been broken. I cannot die, for my power is too great. Yet I cannot truly live for as long as I exist as I am now."
"And what do you want with me?" Flowey asked. "Why did you come here?"
The voice chuckled deeply. "You are a body without a soul, and I am a being without a body. It would be in our mutual interest to work together. Through you, I can truly live again. And with me, you can regain the feeling that you once lost."
"Wait..." Flowey hesitated. "Are you saying you want me to take your soul?"
"That is correct."
"Hah!" Flowey laughed dismissively. "You must really take me for an idiot, huh? Do you honestly think I'm just going to trust some... thing that comes up and tells me that it wants to give me its soul? I mean, just look at you! You look like some sort of blood-red demon cloud! Your voice sounds like a swarm of locusts! You couldn't be any more obviously evil if you tried!"
"So you would refuse my offer, then. And what will you do when the Underground is empty?"
"H-huh?" Flowey stammered. "W-well, I haven't figured that out just yet..."
"If you do not accept my soul, you will remain alone until the end of the earth itself. Or you can simply give up and die. But if you die, whatever part of your essence that remains will vanish. You will utterly cease to exist. Either you suffer an eternity of crushing loneliness, or face the total annihilation of your being..."
Flowey gulped.
"...or you can take my soul. Be granted a second chance at life. So, Prince Dreemurr, will you accept my offer?"
"What?" Flowey gasped. "N-no! Don't call me that! Asriel is dead!"
"And what if I told you that I could bring Asriel back?"
Flowey was stunned. For almost a full minute, he simply stared back at the red cloud, unblinking. A newfound determination soon welled up within him, and he finally replied.
"...Alright. I'm listening."