Flowey let out a loud sigh and looked around. He found himself in a vast field of golden flowers. Above him, in the ceiling of the cave, gaped a huge hole. Sunlight shone through and lit up the whole scene. It was here where he ended up first meeting Frisk. And Chara. It was a beautiful place, but Flowey felt no joy or admiration for the scene around him. He could only think about his loss.
So that's it, thought the flower. I'll stay down here forever. Alone. While the others live a good life on the surface. But they all deserve it. Unlike me. Still… I hope I don't become to lonely and bored down here or I might go crazy and fall back into old habits. He sighed again. But before he could sink any further into gloomy thoughts, something fell from above and landed right in front of him. Flowey flinched and cried out in surprise. A human girl lay in front of him, unconscious from the fall. She wore a striped sweater (not very surprisingly), black tights, jean shorts over that, and simple brown shoes. She had shoulder-length hair and was probably about the same age as Frisk.
Frisk… the girl bore a surprising resemblance to Frisk. Skin and hair color were identical and the face also showed a strong resemblance. But that probably didn't mean anything. When Flowey first met Frisk, he mistook her for Chara. Comparing the girl in front of him with Frisk meant he was making the same mistake again. Either all humans were somehow alike, or it was Flowey.
It's probably just me, Flowey thought to himself. He gently nudged the girl by pushing his head against her body. No reaction. Flowey grew a vine from the ground and began to shake her gently. Still no reaction. The way she lay there… she was so still... so helpless. The perfect victim for a little murder…
NO! Flowey shook himself. He definitely wouldn't do THAT.
"Pull yourself together," he murmured to himself. "There must be enough of Asriel left in you to help this girl." He started shaking her again. Harder this time. And this time he got a reaction. Groaning, she grabbed her head and straightened into a sitting position. When she opened her eyes and saw Flowey, she froze. He could clearly see the confusion in her blue eyes. He tried to ease her by giving his typical smile he uses to greet humans to the Underground, although this time it was actually genuine and no trick to lure the newcomer in a false sense of security.
"Howdy I'm Flowey. Flowey the flower. And no, you're not imagining me because you hit your head from the fall."
"I... what... who?" the girl stammered, as her brain tried its hardest sort everything out.
"You must be really confused right now. Someone has to teach you how things work here. That will probably be up to me then. But before we do anything, I want to know one thing: What's your name?" After some hesitation, the girl said, "My name is Lara."
"Lara. That's… that's a pretty name." A faint smile appeared on Lara's face. "Thanks. Um... is this the Underground? And are you a… Monster?"
"Firstly yes and secondly...er...yes. I'm a Monster."
Lara looked down for a second, her voice filled with unbelief and wonder. "...so magic and all the tales where true", she muttered. Lara then looked at Flowey again, the look in her eyes now less confused but rather filled with curiosity. Just like any child her age would with the encounter of a real magical being.
"Are there any other Monsters around and are they nice just like you?"
It appeared that talking to her was helping the girl to calm down, so Flowey smiled and gave her the answer. "Don´t worry about it. ALL monsters are actually friendly. But anyway, you won't meet a single monster down here, apart from me. Some days ago the barrier, the magical seal that held us prisoner down here, was destroyed. All the monsters have moved up to live in peace with the humans on the surface."
"Oh, that sounds nice. But…why didn't you go with them?"
Flowey's smile faded. "Well, that's a little private. Let's just say it's better this way for everyone. Wait a moment. How do you not know about this? I bet that the sudden appearance of Monsters should be a great sensation for you humans."
Lara squirmed in her position, now seemingly unconformable. Flowey knew he should feel bad about that, but he only feel the urge to know the answers to his questions. To satisfy his curiosity. The unfortunates of being soulless.
"I…", began Lara. "I was doing some exploring and just got lost during my climb of Mt. Ebott. So I´m not exactly up to date with the news."
"Why did you explore the local area? They say anyone who climbs Mt. Ebott disappears. So why did you climb up the mountain and jump down here?"
Lara said nothing. She didn't know if she could trust the flower Monster. Should she confide in him why she was here? While he acted friendly, he was still a complete stranger. Although a rather adorable one. Still, it could all be a facade. Lara knew first looks could be very deceiving. She decided to play it safe for now.
"That's also something private." The sentence sounded harsher than intended. But Flowey didn't hold it against Lara.
"Well, I guess it's not my right to interfere in the private affairs of others either. I'm sorry if I was just a little too probing. I have trouble sometimes figuring out how to properly interact with people."
Lara sighed. "Its fine. I didn't mean to sound rude. I just don't want to share everything with everyone."
"Yeah I get it. I really do. Still, allow me to guide you safely through the Underground. Okay?"
"I guess that would be nice," Lara said.
"Good. Before we start, I'll show you how to behave in a dangerous situation. Even though there are no more Monsters down here that might attack you, the Underground is still a dangerous place. There are rockfalls from unstable tunnels, floods, fires, mini-volcano eruptions and even falling icicles that can impale you like a spear. If something like this happens, you should know what your most vulnerable point is. Namely the manifestation of your existence. Your soul. Wait, I'll show you."
Flowey used some magic to make Lara's soul appear. A floating, glowing heart appeared right in front of her chest.
"See that heEEEEEEHHHHHH?!" Wide-eyed and with a gaping mouth, Flowey stared at the white soul in disbelief.
How can that be? A white human soul, I've never heard of anything like that. Monster souls are white, but humans' souls are not. That... that's really incredible. It must be a new soul trait.
"Um, Flowey? What´s up with the heart? Is this my soul Is there something wrong with it?"
"What? Oh no, I'm just a little stunned. You see, your soul is... I've never seen a soul like that. Human souls have seven traits, each trait has a color. However, the fact that your soul is white shows that there must be an eighth trait. One that I either haven't heard of because it's extremely rare or completely new. Both cases would be very unusual. That's why I'm so surprised right now."
"Oh. And what do we do now?"
"I don't really know. There might be some people who could help you better about your soul. But until then, let's focus on the essentials and get you out of here. Okay?"
Lara nodded. Even though she was burning with curiosity, she knew that asking questions would not help at the moment. Instead, she asked, "So what's next?"
"Wait, let me think for a moment. Where did we stop again? Right, I wanted to teach you how to interact with your soul in a dangerous situation. First: move in different directions."
Lara stood up and took a step to the left. Her soul followed her movement. She took a few steps backwards and then a few steps to the right. Again, the heart followed her to every direction. The human girl looked at the white heart, her soul, in awe. Her curiosity has returned with full power.
I'm actually able to see my soul and interact with it, how cool is that?, she thought.
"You're doing well. It is also usually good to always have your soul close to your body. But sometimes it's better to move your soul and body separately to avoid more damage. If your soul is destroyed in an attack, you are instantly dead. If instead only your body takes the attack and your soul is unharmed, you have a higher chance of surviving the attack. And even if you die, you would live on as your soul. Somehow. But let's just hope nothing bad happens."
The mention of death dimmed her excitement and Lara mumbled: "Yay. Great. I've always wanted to be transformed into a flying heart after I die." Still, it kind of comforted her that there actually was some sort of afterlife. She practiced a little more moving, her soul independently of her body. It was easy. All she had to do was imagine her soul moving in this direction or the other and the heart did it. After seeing her be successful in managing her soul, Flowey let the white heart disappear in Lara's body.
"Good, you seem to have figured everything out. I guess we are ready to go."
"Then lets not wait any longer. Let's go!" she said. Flowey smiled at her. "Now that's what I call an adventurous spirit. Alright, if you are truly ready, then in your own words: Let's go!"
Flowey buried underground and was gone. The only thing he left behind was a small hole in the ground. Lara leaned over it, frowning, and asked, "Flowey?"
"Over here," called the flower. Several meters away.
"How did you do that?" Lara asked.
"To put it simply: I can move into my roots and grow out of them somewhere else."
"Ah okay, that's cool." And with those words, Lara ran after her new companion.