It was finally over.
The magical barrier shattered, opening a door that had been closed for a long time.
Once the Prince gave back all the SOULs he unwillingly gathered, he reverted to being the annoying flower he was.
He watched a ghost human hovering near the newly found entrance, hesitant to cross the purple door frame.
No matter how much their other half pleaded, the SOUL they once had would never go back to a body buried under a golden flowerbed.
One SOULless being, who tagged along with the saviors of Monsterkind, witnessed the whole parting scene. He was disgusted by the amount of publicly displayed affection but refrained from saying anything.
Instead, he watched their lover leave them after motioning for a hug, knowing they would not see each other for some time. He somehow craved the attention too, but he already had parted with his best friend the late Prince.
"What are you waiting for, brat?"
The flower turned to scold the ghastly human, who hadn't moved much since.
"Nothing ... I am not going."
Flowey - a name he took after his father's bad naming habits - twitched. Spending more time with a depressed ghost wasn't exactly something he expected.
"You don't make sense, do you? You just SAVED all of us down here, and now you want to haunt this place forever? Hurry up and go get your SOUL back! You have a lover, a family, and a bunch of idiots to help on the surface !"
The child went backward, instead of exiting through the door, they floated to the deserted home of the Monster King. Flowey followed them since they had nothing else to do.
"He didn't even bother to take my stuff with him."
The child, named Frisk, giggled at how silly this flower was now. They looked around the room, one they'd been to, three times already.
"That's my bed, you idiot, get out of the way."
Frisk did as they were told to, not feeling like arguing with a pissed-off flower. "Resting" on another mattress, they started reminiscing every memory left on the fabric of their lover's bed.
Their gentle touch, blood-red gaze, soft moan, and a sly smile.
It was too good to be true.
They felt like crying, and they did start feeling tears down their cheeks. Flowey only sighed at the weeping child, having no idea of what to do or say in that instance.
After a while, Frisk stopped crying and curled up into a ball. They wanted to sleep, to forget they ever felt a thing for that person.
"You're pretty emotional for a SOULless brat."
Flowey starting a conversation wasn't exactly the escape door they wanted, but they went on with it.
"I guess we are the same, Flowey."
Flowey, visibly irritated, almost doubled in size as he loomed on the sniffling kid.
"Wh-what the hell are you talking about?!"
Frisk wasn't scared at all; they knew that the flower could no longer harm them. Even if they were able to, they wouldn't feel a thing about it.
"We're both emotional, SOULless, and stuck here."
Flowey shrunk back, a little taken aback by the child's stern look. He was used to their poker face, but that was the first time the brat looked ... serious?
"Don't get cheeky just because I'm keeping you company."
Frisk giggled at the grumbling Flowey, then slowly floated back to the Garden, to take a nap there.
Chara was still on their mind, but it didn't hurt much anymore.
They were smiling, after all.
Chara didn't want any part of the peacemaking process and tough negotiations with the nearby villages.
At first, King'Dad wanted to take over and try handling things, but Goat Mom convinced them not to.
"Humans would be a little more receptive to one of their own, even if that wouldn't change much to their own beliefs." She said, hence the role fell upon Chara's shoulders.
The freshly appointed Monster Ambassador went to talk to people they didn't know, trying to ease their worries about the recent magical explosion on Mt. Ebott and the monsters that suddenly emerged from there.
Most people were still hesitant to welcome monsters in open arms, usually meeting them with weaponry instead, yet Chara managed to convince their audience, which ended up dropping their weapons once the Ambassador finished their speech
It took two whole months to convince the nearby human population to let Monsters be, and allow them to build their little town. They took whatever materials they could find in the Underground and slowly started moving to their new housings.
Chara was ... happy, sort of.
They did it; they saved the monsters like they promised to do with Asriel.
It took them several timelines and many sacrifices to get there, sacrifices they wish they hadn't made.
Granted, their own body and SOUL were expendable, but Frisk was the one thing they regret losing. Even for the one wish, they longed to fulfill, it was too much of a price to pay.
Toriel and Asgore did their best to comfort Chara, taking them again as their foster child and giving them a room of their own. Both monster parents were happy to do so, having tried to work things out since their quarrel back in the Underground.
Although Chara was glad they got their family back, they still needed to see Frisk.
Perhaps after things settle down, they could visit them.
Before they drifted to sleep, they tiredly pulled out both lockets hanging on their neck.
"Best Friends Forever", Asriel's, a golden heart like that of their long lost brother.
"Frisky", faintly pulsing red light, gently warming their body.
Chara gripped both lockets as she closed her eyes, memories flowing in her mind as she finally fell asleep.
Six months later.
Both SOULless partners went back to where it all started, passing by a few monsters who were busy packing up their luggage.
It seems everybody was eager to live on the surface, ignoring the danger humans once posed.
"Humans, huh?"
Frisk wondered what a particular human was doing.
"you thinkin' about demon gurl again?"
When Sans showed up out of nowhere, grinning as usual.
Flowey was about to hide but got caught by Papyrus, who also came back to pick up a few items.
"Hey Sans, Hey Paps', you know Flowey, right?"
Flowey grumbled something and then stopped to shake leaves with the two skeletons.
"OH, YOU MUST BE THAT FLOWER WHO GATHERED ALL OF US THAT ONE TIME!"
"yup, wonder what he is doing here with the kid."
"None of your business."
Frisk stood - or rather, floated - between them, wanting to stop the upcoming FIGHT.
"Guys! NO FIGHTING!"
Papyrus joined the fray and grabbed sans by the collar, eventually dragging him to Snowdin.
"paps, hold on."
"NO, SANS. THE HUMAN SAID NO FIGHTING, AND I KNOW YOU'RE ITCHING FOR ONE !"
"Seriously, gotta tell the kid something."
Papyrus sighed, then headed off alone to the skelebros' house with empty crates. sans followed him once he whispered to Frisk, making them grin widely.
"she's here, for an hour or two."
While Flowey was busy ranting about Papyrus for putting him in a pot, he saw Frisk going back to the Ruins at top speed.
"What the ... Okay, you! Sit right there while I catch up to that stupid child!"
The flower managed to grow vines, break their pot and "run", following the ghost past the Forest and then into the Ruins' basement.
When Frisk smelled the scent of cake and tea, they rushed to the room from which that scent came. Slowly becoming corporeal again, they embraced a distracted Chara.
Blushing madly, the older human hugged them back, taking the time to see if Frisk was alright.
"Hello there, Chocolate."
Frisk giggled, they hadn't felt this good for quite some time.
"Hey Red! Missed you a lot!"