"I-I-I didn't think I'd see you on-on the surface." Alphys stuttered to Flowey.

The three of them had gone inside of her house to a small, wooden table. Frisk had placed the flower pot on the table by burn spaghetti most likely made by Undyne. Flowey looked very irritated with Alphys. Maybe Frisk shouldn't have told him that he was a flower because of Alphys's determination experiments.

"I-I….. Uh… Wasn't expecting…" Alphys let out a sigh. "I actually thought going to the surface would make all of that…..disappear. I mean, I'm more accepting of the past and… all of the experiments that I had done that had gone wrong… But.. That was so long ago…"

"I can't believe that you made me this way," Flowey snarled.

'Flowey, calm down.' Frisk signaled Flowey, but he ignored them.

"You ruined my life."

"L-Listen….uh...flower-"

"Flowey." He corrected her.

"Flowey, my experiments went wrong and I… I am terribly sorry about everything that happened to you." Alphys looked down at the floor. Frisk hadn't seen her look so insecure since before they left The Underground. "I-I want to do everything to help.. I want to fix my mistakes."

"It's too late for that," Flowey hissed at her. "Look at me, you idiot, I'm a soulless flower!"

'Don't be so rude to her.' Frisk told him. 'If you keep acting like this, you'll never get any help.'

"Was I ever going to get 'help' in the first place?" Flowey sneered. "I've been stuck like this just because she wanted to do some stupid experiments. I could've stayed dead but-"

Frisk covered Flowey's mouth. They held their hand tightly around him, hoping he would calm down. They couldn't stand how aggressive he was being towards their friend.

"Y-You're talking as if you've lived life before you were a flower." Alphys commented quietly. "But-But I...I think if you have a soul, you'll be able to feel...uhhh….happier…?" She paused. "But it's not really like you could...make a soul… I-I-I mean…" She looked at Frisk for reassurance. "D-Does any of that… make sense…?"

Frisk slowly nodded.

"F-Flowey… Maybe.." Alphys struggled to think of words. "Uh… M-Maybe it would help you to be….uh...a little more...open-minded. I-I mean… M-Maybe you should be less aggressive and….uh...accept things more. T-Try to be less negative.. I think I'll do some experiments to see if…I don't know."

'Don't beat yourself up, Alphys. I can't imagine this being easy.' Frisk comforted their friend.

"T-Thanks…" Alphys looked around the room, blankly. "W-Well, I should…" She looked back at Flowey, who was still frustrated. "I honestly...I don't know what to do about y-your...ahem...flower friend."

"'Flower friend'?" Flowey glared at Frisk. "She doesn't even take this seriously. This is nothing but a waste of my time. In fact, I would rather be alone in The Underground than to spend a single minute with either of you!"

"L-Listen, I told you that I would do everything to….um… fix your situation. But you have to work with me on this…" Alphys stated. "I-I really don't know what it must be like to be a flower with determination…"

"I don't feel anything." Flowey hissed. That wasn't entirely true. Flowey had still felt annoyance and frustration.

"So are you...uh...trying to feel something..?" Alphys questioned.

Flowey looked back at Frisk hesitatingly. Frisk decided to answer for him. 'He wants to feel happiness. He didn't get the happy ending that all the other monsters got.'

"Well….H-He's not really a monster…" Alphys corrected Frisk, not realizing who Flowey really was.

"You two are talking like if I'm not here," Flowey snarled. "Just give me what I need already."

Alphys looked at Frisk. She decided to act more like the horines that she had seen in anime. "I-I'm not going to help you….if you keep acting like this."

After everything that happened with the determination experiments and coming to the surface, Alphys had become more self-assured. She often had moments of self-doubt, but she was slowly getting better everyday. Frisk knew that Undyne and Papyrus were helping her with her low self-esteem. Frisk was happy to see their friend standing up for herself, even though they wanted Flowey to get help at the same time.

"You don't even know what you're doing," Flowey snapped. "I don't need you, in fact, I don't even want to be here. Frisk is the one forcing me to see your useless help. But why would I want your help when you're the one who made me this way in the first place? You're both idiots. You should've left me in The Underground, Frisk."

'Please stop resisting our help.'

Flowey ignored Frisk. "This is so pointless. All of this, every single thing that we're doing, it's just a waste of time. I don't understand this. The only person who understands me is dead… What is even the point of continuing?"

"A-Are you saying that you no longer want to exist?" Alphys questioned.

"Yes…" Flowey growled before he corrected himself. "Well, no…"

"I-I sometimes feel like that." Alphys told Flowey.

"I don't need your worthless pity," Flowey snarled at Alphys.

"I'm not pitying you…" Alphys adjusted her seat by the table. "I'm just saying that I know… Sometimes I don't want to move forward… I often think that everyone hates me and that I'm just a-a screw-up... But then I look at all my good friends, who don't really hate me, and I remember all the good things in life."

"Golly, you sure have cheer me up. I think I've magically made myself a soul because of your inspiring little speech there." Flowey sneered sarcastically.

"S-So you've never felt that way? You've never felt like you've messed up...like you're a bad person...?"

Flowey remained silent.

"Don't you ever feel like a bad person..?" Alphys sighed. She looked like she could cry at any moment. "I feel bad about everything from the past. I've lied to so many of my friends… I messed up so badly with the determination experiments… And when I first told Undyne I liked her and that I have been lying to her… Well… I was actually going to….do something….err…..cowardly."

'You're not a bad person.' Frisk reminded Alphys. 'Everyone has forgiven you for your mistakes and Undyne loves you. That's all in the past now…'

Alphys weakly smiled. "Y-Yeah."

"Why would they forgive you?" Flowey questioned angrily. "Doesn't that mean they'll just end up even more hurt? Why would they be nice to you after your lies and horrible experiments? You're a terrible person….just like me…"

'Flowey,' Frisk scolded him. 'Don't say that.'

"In a way… he might be right…" Alphys stood up. "If I were to go through my life, heartless, not caring what anybody thought of me….then I wouldn't feel as hurt as I do…"

Frisk couldn't believe that Alphys was agree with Flowey.

"But at the same time, I would miss out on so much. I've worked so hard to get to where I am today." Alphys looked at Frisk. "And they helped me find happiness. All of my friends have. I'm not longer ashamed to say that I spend most of my days at home, with my f-fish g-girlfriend, watching animes about princesses.. I can't imagine my life without all of my friends. They all mean so much to me."

Flowey glared at Alphys. "You still got hurt."

"I-I would rather be hurt than feel nothing at all." Alphys walked over to her fridge and brought a bag of instant noodles over. She carefully read the instructions on the back of the bag and cooked it in front of Frisk and Flowey.

Flowey was shocked by Alphys's words. Frisk noticed him grinding his teeth together out of frustration. He still remained silent.

"S-Sorry, I'm a little hungry…" Alphys placed the instant noodles into a bowl and saw back at the table with Flowey and Frisk.

'That's fine.' Frisk signaled to Alphys before checking on Flowey. 'Are you okay?'

"Why am I here?" Flowey hissed at Frisk. "I told you, I don't want your help."

"Y-You might not want it but you probably...uh….n-need it…" Alphys commented.

Flowey groaned and his stem allow his head to slam onto the table.

"Oh, not to change the subject...but since I'm not really...uh...sure what to do about Flowey… Would you two like to see Mew Mew Kissie Cutie with me...again..? I-It would be the first time that Flowey saw it and I think it would teach him a really g-good lesson in friendship…"

Flowey groaned even louder. Frisk decided it was best to decline Alphys's offer.

"Oh, okay…" Alphys sighed.

'Maybe another time.' Frisk signaled to Alphys before manually pulling Flowey's head up.

"I-I'm sorry…"

'Don't be.'

"...She still hasn't found the solution to our problem." Flowey hissed, repeating his earlier rants. "So this is just a huge waste of my time."

"I'm sorry.."

Frisk was sick of seeing Flowey treat Alphys like how he was treating her. They had enough. 'We'll come back later.' The two walked out of the lab after Frisk waved goodbye to Alphys. They began to walk home, holding the flower pot tightly. 'Why did you have to act like that?'

"Why did you bring me there? You two aren't going to be able to help me." Flowey frowned. "I'm broken far beyond repair."

'If anyone understands you, it would be Alphys. You heard her when she said that she used to think that she was a screw up.'

"Sure…"

'You really aren't making this easy.' Frisk paused. 'But I am determined to make this work.'

"Of course you are."

'I…'

"Frisk," Suddenly, Frisk heard someone call their name. They turned to see two familiar faces. They didn't want to see them.

"Who are they?" Flowey questioned.

Frisk didn't answer. They sprinted away with Flowey away from the two adults who chased after them. They kept running until they couldn't run anymore. They pushed open a door to a store while carefully holding Flowey's pot. They walked to the far back of the store and hid in the bathroom.

"Who were they?" Flowey questioned again.

Frisk didn't answer.

"You never answered me when I asked you why you went to Mt. Ebott." Flowey was talking about a conversation that happened right before Frisk had left The Underground to go to the surface with their friends. Flowey was still Asriel during that conversation and understood when Frisk didn't answer.

'Fine.' Frisk got off the floor. 'Those were my birth parents. I like Toriel and Sans better.'

"Why?"

'It doesn't matter.'

"Why did you run away from your parents?" Flowey hissed. "Just answer me."

'Why do you want to know so badly? I thought that you said you hated me.'

"I...lied." Flowey grunted under his breath. "I don't actually hate you… I was just angry with you because you were being an id...you were frustrating me."

Frisk looked around. The door was looked. They were alone with Flowey. They still felt like someone else was there. Flowey looked at Frisk impatiently, waiting for a response.

Frisk opened up to Flowey. 'My birth parents aren't nice people. Toriel and Sans treat me better. They actually care about me enough to talk to me and feed me. While my birth parents… They never wanted anything to deal with me. I was being bullied and they didn't care. They didn't respect my identity. They just...They weren't nice people. They are the reason I went to Mt. Ebott. I wanted to get away from them. I was unhappy with them. I am so much happier with my new family.'

Flowey remained silent.

'Toriel and Sans don't know.' Frisk stated. 'I've actually ran into my birth parents a few times. I always run out of their sight. I don't want them to take me away from my real family.'

"Toriel is a good mother…" Flowey commented quietly. Frisk thought his face looked a little like Asriel's when he said that.

Frisk placed Flowey on the ground. They buried their head into their hands and began to cry. Thoughts of the past, before they had gone to The Underground, haunted them. They didn't want to think about it. They hadn't thought about their past in so long. They struggled to keep the thoughts away, despite the fact that they hadn't felt these feelings in years. Their tears gently slipped between their fingers.

But Frisk knew they would get through this. They were determined.

They pulled their hands away and wiped their tears off their face using their sleeves. As they looked up, they noticed Flowey staring nervously at them. He almost looked worried about them.

"I'm sorry."

'Sorry about what…?'

"I've been treating you...rudely…" Flowey hesitated to admit how he was acting. "It's kinda hard to work with you when I'm like this. But you remind me a lot of an old friend of mine. Well, maybe you're not quite like them but…"

'You mean Chara?'

"Who else would I be-" Flowey almost lost his temper again. "Yes, I mean Chara. While you two are different, in countless ways, I feel like you two are…. I don't know how to say this. You both.. No. You don't even remind me of them. You've been kinder to me than they ever were. I can't compare you two."

'Why are you saying this now? You hated me a minute ago.'

"I told you I was lying. I don't actually hate you…" Flowey looked away. "I'm just frustrated without a soul. It's really hard to feel without a soul, Frisk. You have no idea." He paused. "But it's obvious that you do everything that you've done just because you deeply care about me. And I've done nothing but spit in your face and use my lack of a soul as an excuse to do so."

Frisk was surprised to hear Flowey actually apologizing. Maybe Asriel was still in there, slowly getting stronger.

"I'm sorry about you and your parents." Flowey glared at Frisk. He attempted to relate to them. "If it….makes you feel any better, my parents haven't seen me since I tried to murder them both. So we both can't see our parents."

Frisk appreciated Flowey's attempt, even though he didn't make them feel any better.

'You'll get to talk your parents again some time.'

"I don't think they'd want anything to do with me after what happened." Flowey sighed. "They are such…. No. I'm...an idiot. I should've known that 'kill or be killed' was just a bunch of nonsense that Chara made up. I never should've listened to them."

'Flowey,' Frisk tried to get his attention. He was too caught up in his own speech.

"But at the same time, if I were to kill the humans in their village back then…" Flowey continued.

Frisk kept signaling him. He didn't respond to them.

"No. I wouldn't have." Flowey said to himself. His face began to change as he spoke. "My parents didn't raise me like that. My parents… actually… Frisk, I can't believe you think I could ever be fixed after everything that I put you and your friends through… After everything I put queen mom and king dad through…"

Frisk didn't know what triggered Flowey to feel his feelings of regret, self-doubt, or empathy, but they had a feeling that he was finally opening up. They didn't know if they should appauld Flowey for thinking about someone other than himself or comfort him and tell him not to beat himself up. While Frisk felt like he was acting less self-centered than usual, they couldn't help but feel bad for him. He seemed genuinely sorry about everything that happened.

'Do you want to go back to doctor Alphys's?' Frisk asked. 'As you know, she's felt some of the feelings that you're feeling right now.'

"She doesn't understand. She's not going to understand."

'Flowey, she has felt that way before. She told you, she regrets everything about the determination experiments.' Frisk reminded him.

"But this is different!" Flowey growled. "I actually am a bad person. The worst thing that she did was create me. But what have I done? I've killed people, I've made people's lives living hells. I've made real mistakes… You can't even call them mistakes."

'I think you need to talk to Alphys about how she got rid of her feelings of self hatred.'

"So we left her lab just to go back to her lab?" Flowey sneered. He was beginning to act like himself again. "Maybe you just need to accept that I'm no longer Asriel."

'I wanted Alphys to get a break from your negativity.'

"Why do you want Alphys to help so much?" Flowey groaned. "She's the one who made me like this in the first place."

Frisk repeated their thoughts again. 'Alphys can relate to your feelings. Don't say she doesn't understand because you don't know how far her experiments had gone. Anyways, she probably blames herself for everything that you've done. We just want to help you. And I think you want to change. Don't you want to be able to see your parents again?'

"...Fine. Let's go all the way back to the lab." Flowey was still annoyed with the situation but at least he was willing to go back.

oOo

"Y-You two are back…" Alphys greeted them at the door and invited them inside. "I thought you two weren't coming back…"

Frisk looked at Flowey, hoping that he would apologize for the way that he treated Alphys earlier. He didn't. But at least he wanted Alphys's help.

"I want to stop being…" Flowey grinded his teeth together angrily. He was resisting help again. "I would like… I just…"

Alphys looked at him, confused and wondering what he was going to say.

"I want to change."

Author's Note:

I am sorry that this chapter took so long… Or longer than I wanted it to. I am only writing this on the activity bus ride from Votech to home. Well, now I'm writing it at home. Sometimes I write it during school if I have the class. I'm a little set back on this chapter because I had been distracted several times while writing it or I just forgot where I was going with the story. Now I'm a bit more confident..

Sorry about the lack of puns.

But I would actually like to say something I've been meaning to say… I want to explain why I am writing this. It probably doesn't matter to a lot of you so, if you don't care then just ignore this little paragraph.. But the reason I am writing this is because I really like the idea of Frisk being determined to give Asriel the happy ending he rightfully deserves but at the same time, I feel like the other fanfictions sugar-coat Flowey's personality too much by making him a lot more innocent or kind than he really is. I feel like there isn't enough stories going into why Frisk ran away to Mt. Ebott or what they were running away from. I personally don't think there's enough stories about Frisk simply living domestically on the surface with Toriel (and preferably Sans and Papyrus). Usually, I don't write fanfictions… I just wait until someone writes the story that pops into my head but I feel like this is a story that I just needed to write. And I am so glad that so many people like this. If you're reading this, thank you. I am glad that you liked my stories enough to read through four chapters.

Again, tell me your thoughts. Thanks for reading.