Chapter 45:
Growing Weeds
He relaxed, knowing it was me again, and then got to work. The skeleton could work hard if he had the right mind to be.
"We're heading home. I'll tell Grillz, and then we get out of here."
I wasn't going to argue. I wanted to be home, curled up on the bed, holding Arial while Sans held me. I wanted peace and safety. Mostly, I wanted things to go right for everyone, just this once.
"We'll take a shortcut to get Paps and Arial too." Sans said while he escorted me out of the employee space toward the bar. "They should be fine since G never knew about the Ruins."
Grillby saw us come out and just nodded. He did not need an explanation for the noise in the back or why we both looked exhausted, he just let us go. I'd have to remember to work extra hard for him when I returned, he deserved it. Sans's short cuts put us in Mom's living room. As I adjusted to the jump through space, I noticed the lack of sound. I knew Arial was in bed, but I expected there to be at least the noise of Papyrus talking or whispering but the house was dead quiet. We both shivered and made our way to the bedrooms.
"Papyrus?" I called out, hoping for an answer.
Sans had said Gaster shouldn't have known about this place, but I still felt cold inside. The room where Arial would normally be sleeping was empty. Nothing seemed out of place though, so we perused forward. My hands were getting shaky now. Sans seemed disturbed and prepared for an attack. We approached Mom's room and noticed the scratches on the door. This is when panic set in.
"Mom! Arial!" I threw open the door.
Sans grabbed my arm, ready to pull me from harm, but he let go in an instant. Inside the room was thick creeping vines that snaked across the walls, floors, and ceiling. Toriel and Papyrus were ensnared by the tendrils, gagging them and locking them in place. They squirmed at the sign of us in an attempt to break free.
Summoning sharp bones, Sans sliced through the foliage and freed the two monsters in moments. Toriel, body free of plants, hugged me tight and began to cry. I did my best to make out each blubbered word she said.
"A-A cute...y-yellow, flower...h-he came in from...I-I don't know...A-Arial...h-he bound us a- and took Arial."
"A flower?" I didn't really need to ask, but I wanted to be sure.
Flowey, the one we didn't find as a huge threat, took my most precious treasure. When Mom nodded to confirm it was him, I had already begun to think of where he could be and how long I had before Arial would need me. The most obvious places were where I fell, years ago, or Asgore's flower patch. After those spots I'd have to look harder.
Sans muttered the name, "Asriel" under his breath, and it temporarily confused me. Had I heard him wrong? It was Flowey we were after, not an Asriel. Or did he misspeak on Arial's name? It didn't matter. Flowey was my focus, and he was not going to lay a leaf on my daughter.
