Silence…

That was the only thing that hung in the air as Nicol Amalfi stared down at the golden flower in front of him with an expression that perfectly conveyed how he currently felt about the sight before him.

Likewise, the golden flower… talking golden flower, appeared just as bewildered as Nicol was as it examined the young soldier from head to toe curiously. Before long, however, the smile that was once on the flower's face returned in full force as its lips curved up into a large and genuine looking smile that, in all honestly… unnerved Amalfi quite a bit as he stared at it, though before he could think much more on it, the plant spoke up once more, surprising Nicol further as he was still coming to terms with the fact that it could speak in the first place.

"Oh golly, I've never seen you around before!" continued the plant with a cheery tone of voice as it waved a leaf at Nicol, who mostly ignored that gesture as he kept his guard up, still unsure on how to feel about this talking plant as he simply stared at it. "Gee, do you greet everyone by just staring at them in shock? What's the matter, anyways? Never seen a talking plant before?"

"... I…" muttered Nicol, with his voice showing just how much shock he was experiencing at the moment as he kept his unblinking gaze fixated on the talking flower as he did his best to say… something. Before long, however, he simply went with: "I must be dead… I… I-I have to be…"

"Dead? Oh deary me, what makes you say that, friend?" asked the talking flower as it tilted its head a little as it spoke. Nicol was unable to respond to that question confidently as he simply remained silent, and after giving a mildly awkward giggle, the flower continued speaking. "If you are dead, then how are you here? Sitting atop some golden flowers within the Underground?"

"The… Underground?" recited Nicol, sounding genuinely curious as he raised a brow and leaned forward a little, with him intending on asking more about his current location all the while, though as he did so, the injury in his abdomen flared up quite a bit, prompting him to wince as he leaned back. The flower appeared just a little worried as it's smile faded away in favour of a rather worried looking one, though in spite of the pain, Nicol couldn't help but acknowledge how that look seemed to be rather… forced, to say the least, though he didn't voice that thought out for now as the plant nodded.

"Yeah, the Underground! The home of monsters!" confirmed the flower with an assuring smile as Nicol wrapped an arm around his injured abdomen and raised a brow in apprehension.

"Mon...sters?" echoed Amalfi, to which the flower winked and nodded in a rather… adorable fashion as he bobbed his head up and down, confirming Nicol's question as he took quite a while to process that bit of info.

"Indeed! I'm a monster myself!" explained the flower with another wink as he chuckled and waved his leaves around, to which the pilot blinked in amusement as he continued. "I'm Flowey, Flowey the Flower, a flower monster!"

"Flowey…" echoed Nicol, with him huffing a little at just how simple that name was and how easily it rolled off the tongue as he nodded. "I can remember it…"

"Of course you can! Not many people can forget such a simple name like that!" quipped Flowey with a prideful smile as Nicol found himself loosening up a little. This monster, as he had introduced himself as… he didn't seem too bad, or at least he didn't seem to be too bad thus far as Amalfi still kept his guard up, with him still unsure on if he should trust this monster too much as he watched the flower bob around casually. "And what about you, friend? What's your name?"

"... Nicol. Nicol Amalfi," replied Nicol, with him reckoning that, at the very least, he could share his name as he watched the flower rub his chin thoughtfully before he nodded swiftly and smiled.

"Nicol… isn't that a girl's name… oh well! I'll remember you well, friend!" assured Flowey with a wink as Amalfi snorted a little in amusement and opened his mouth to ask about a possible way out of this… Underground that he was told of.

Before the question could even leave his lips, however, Nicol felt something rise up his throat, and seconds later, he held a hand up to his mouth and coughed into it. Flowey watched in apparent worry as he watched Amalfi cough thrice into his palm before he shakily lowered his hand, and at that, both human and monster widened their eyes in shock when they saw the mixture of blood and mucus splattered onto the boy's palm as the pilot clenched his fist tightly and shut his eyes in agitation.

"You're dying…" muttered Flowey as he stared up at Nicol, who nodded a little as he made an attempt to stand up, though before he could even get himself up to one knee, the pilot fell onto his back with a soft grunt of pain before he grimaced. All the while, Flowey appeared rather surprised at Amalfi's attempt at standing up in spite of his worryingly large injury, prompting him to speak up. "What are you doing, Nicol?"

"I… am going to find a way to stop the bleeding…" answered Nicol after he recovered from him landing back onto his rear, and as he answered, Flowey widened his eyes a little when he, and only he himself, saw a brilliant red glow coming from the ZAFT Red's chest, and at that, his smile widened just a tiny bit more as he came up with a plan…

"There's no need to do that, friend! I can always patch you right up!" said the flower rather abruptly as Nicol raised a brow and stared at him with some apprehension. Noticing this, Flowey was quick to follow up on his statement as he chuckled. "Ah, you're uncertain about trusting me, now aren't cha? Well, that's to be expected, as you don't know much about the Underground just yet! So, if you'll allow me, I wish to educate you on the basics of surviving in the Underground! I won't do anything to you, promise! Cross my heart!"

Raising a brow as he glanced down at Flowey, Amalfi found himself pondering on if he should take this offer. By all means, this flower did seem rather genuine with his wish to assist him, and he didn't look to be a threat, but even so… looks could very well be deceiving, and there was this odd sensation in his chest that told him that this monster was not to be trusted in spite of his friendly demeanor.

Ultimately, however… Nicol, against his better judgement, opted to take a risk and accept Flowey's offer. After dying to the Strike Gundam, Nicol didn't exactly have much else to lose, and to take this flower's offer to assist him was probably the best option for survival he had at the moment.

And so, with a mild nod of his head, Nicol accepted Flowey's offer to help, and at that, he smiled as he bobbed his head from side to side before nodding.

"Splendid!" proclaimed Flowey, perhaps a little louder than necessary as Nicol raised a brow at him, though as he did so, the pilot blinked when he felt an odd sensation welling up in his chest. Curiously, he stared down at his chest, only to pause briefly when he saw a… cartoonish looking red heart floating inside his chest.

Rather abruptly, the cartoonish looking red heart burst out of Nicol's chest and floated up in front of Amalfi's face, coming close enough for its red glow to shine onto his face as he stared at it curiously. Raising a hand up towards it, Amalfi made an attempt to allow the heart to rest atop his palm, though when his palm came close enough to it, an invisible force pushed the heart upwards, surprising Nicol a little all the while.

"Do you see that?" asked Flowey, smiling as he spoke. Nicol didn't need to say anything as the look on his face gave the flower monster his answer, and at that, the golden flower chuckled and continued explaining. "That, my friend, is your SOUL. It is, in essence, the very culmination of your being, a concentrated ball of energy that consists of all your magical essence squeezed into one heart shaped object!"

"Magic…?" echoed Nicol, sounding genuinely surprised at that word as he glanced up at Flowey, who stuck his tongue out in apparent disbelief as he smiled.

"Yeah, magic! Everything has magic, after all, even humans, though their magical energy is noticeably weaker than that of monsters!" confirmed Flowey as he leaned in close towards Nicol's SOUL and examined it intently. Instinctively, Amalfi pulled his soul away from the talking flower as he still felt a little on edge around him, though the flower didn't seem to mind, even if his smile did falter just a little when he examined the SOUL with a more critical eye. "The brightness of your SOUL tends to show just how powerful you are! Likewise, it also shows just how healthy it is!

"Your red SOUL is currently very dim, so if I had to make a guess, you're currently on Seven HP at the moment!"

"H...P?" echoed Nicol, with him sounding genuinely confused as he let out a humourless chuckle. How very… video-gamey, this was… perhaps he had reincarnated in a video game universe? That was a ridiculous thing to think about, but at the same time… it wasn't implausible, though the pilot kept those thoughts to himself as he watched Flowey roll his eyes playfully and explain himself.

"Yeah, HP! Hit Points or Health Points, depending on your preference! Everything's got that! Humans, monsters… all of us have HP that varies from person to person!" explained Flowey as he gestured towards Amalfi's SOUL, prompting him to instinctively pull it back a little all the while. "HP determines how many hits your SOUL can take before it shatters! On average, humans tend to have Twenty points, though by strengthening your SOUL, you can increase that amount!"

"... that is good to know, but… how do I regain my HP?" asked Nicol, with him getting right down to what he wished to know as he memorised everything that Flowey had just told him. Not long after, however, he flinched a little when he saw his SOUL's brightness dim a little. Likewise, from Flowey's point of view, Nicol had lost about a single point of health, no doubt from the bleeding he was suffering from, prompting the flower's smile to widen just a tiny bit as he responded.

"Simple! Down here, you can strengthen your SOUL and regain health by obtaining LV!" explained Flowey with a smile as Nicol raised a brow at that acronym. This certainly didn't help the video game analogy… "What's LV you may ask? Why, it stands for LOVE! By obtaining just enough LOVE, you can level yourself up, and by obtaining a small portion of it, you can regain your lost HP almost instantly!

"Now, you must be wondering; how do I obtain LOVE down here? Why, the answer is simple! Down here, we spread LOVE via little… white… friendliness pellets!"

And right as the last few words escaped Flowey's lips, several small, white seeds hovered up into the air, catching Nicol's attention as he glanced up at them with raised brows. Friendliness pellets, huh…? Narrowing his eyes at one of the pellets, Nicol found himself putting his guard up as he felt a pit growing in his stomach.

"Now, move your SOUL out and grab as many of these friendliness pellets as you can! No need to worry about being greedy, consider this a favour from your good pal Flowey!" assured the aforementioned flower as he winked, in turn causing the 'friendliness pellets' to hover up towards Nicol's SOUL. The little red heart still remained atop Amalfi's palm as the 'friendliness pellets' flew towards it, and as one got close enough to his SOUL, Nicol, not wishing to potentially put the very culmination of his being in any danger, reached a hand out to touch the 'friendliness pellet' to see if Flowey was being sincere with his words.

And right as the tip of his index finger poked against the 'friendliness pellet', Amalfi felt a massive surge of pain rush through his arm and up to his chest as his SOUL, rather abruptly, slammed itself back into his chest, causing him to fall onto his back thereafter. The SOUL's already dim red glow darkend further as it crashed back into his chest, and from Flowey's point of view, the attack he had just inflicted onto Nicol Amalfi had sent his HP spiraling down from Six to One.

His entire arm felt as though it were on fire as he was sent onto his back and gasped out in a mixture of shock and pain, and within seconds, tears began to form in his eyes as Nicol grabbed onto his injured arm in a desperate attempt to numb the pain, though that in itself proved to be a rather fruitless endeavour as his limb kept crying out in anguish, though even in his current state, the pilot was still able to hear the sound of Flowey cackling in front of him as several dozen friendliness pellets materialised all around him.

"You IDIOT!" bellowed Flowey as Nicol gasped in pain, wincing as he felt his arm writhe by his side. Tears began to fall from his eyes as he did his best to get back up and demand to know just what the flower was doing, though he was unable to do so due to sensory overload, and as he laid down there, defenseless and alone, the pilot simply grit his teeth tightly as his vision slowly began to fade.

While his vision blurred, Nicol just barely made out the sight of Flowey lifting himself up into the air by extending his stem, with him now staring down at Amalfi with a mixture of delight and pleasure as he waved one of his leaves through the air, issuing a silent command to his 'friendliness pellets' and causing them to slowly but surely close in on Nicol's injured form.

"Who would pass up on the opportunity to take a human's SOUL?" commented Flowey as his grin grew inhumanely large, so much so that it threatened to tear the flower's face in half as he leaned his body down to speak to Amalfi in a mocking tone of voice. "In this world… it's kill or be killed, Nicol Amalfi… so prepare to die!"

And at that, the flower leaned his head back and cackled out victoriously as the 'friendliness pellets'... the bullets came closer and closer towards Amalfi's weakened form, and at that, Nicol found himself… frowning rather dismissively as he simply accepted his fate.

This… ultimately, did not matter, if he were honest. This wasn't the first time he's died, after all… and considering how he had no attachment to his Underground place… he reckoned that it might not hurt as much if he died a second time. And with that in mind, the pilot simply exhaled sharply as he felt his vision going blurry thanks to the pain that surged through his arm and abdomen, with him having come to terms with his second demise, one caused by his own naivete and desperation, as he allowed it to happen.

Right before his vision could black out completely, however, Nicol felt a sudden burst of heat impact a spot in front of him, alongside a mildly terrified shriek from Flowey, before he heard a rather… a gentle voice spoke up, though before he could process just what she was saying, the pilot blacked out.

"What a miserable creature, to wish to bring harm upon a poor innocent… o-oh my!"

Not sure why I'm updating this so much. Not many people seem interested in it, but I enjoy writing it!

A lot of personal touches will be added soon, just to make this more… unique to my own tastes, so to speak. Until then… I forgot to do review replies for the last two chapters…

Guest (Chara): well I'm glad you do!

Guest: I appreciate your suggestion but honestly, I think I'll stay away from the show. I'm only really invested in the Cosmic Era for a select handful of characters, after all…

I'm terrible with outros. Ciao.