For a while, the adventure seemed to progress as normal. Toriel led Frisk through a few rooms, I was able to SAVE for the first time. Toriel taught the concepts of puzzles, of going through the ruins safely, of fighting, or rather, talking down the enemies within the ruins. From what I remember of the last timeline, Flowey wouldn't be showing up until after I killed Toriel.

Then again, being able to only do one point of damage to any given thing was making killing anything a problem. The dummy Toriel had instructed Frisk to practice talking to had quite literally given up out of boredom and floated away. And later, I had only been able to hit the Froggits once before Toriel scared them off with a disapproving glare.

This is getting annoying.

As we approach a long hall, Toriel, as usual, instructs Frisk to reach the end without her. I direct Frisk forward passing some vines, some pillars, Flowey…
Frisk stops without my intervention.

"Oh good… I caught up," Flowey said, catching his breath.

Approach the flower?
Yes *No

Frisk moves on. "Hey stop!" Flowey shouts as the screen leaves him behind.

As we reach the end of the corridor, Toriel emerges from behind a pillar. "Greetings, my child, do not worry, I did not leave you. I was merely behind this pillar the whole time," she explains. "Thank you for trusting me. However, there was an important reason for this exercise. I was testing your independence. ...What's that? You… do not feel very independent?"

Well this is new.

"Why is that, my child?" she asks, then pauses for a moment. "…Someone is with you? Did a Froggit follow you in, young one? …No? Hm…" Toriel looks puzzled. "Then you must mean that YELLOW FLOWER? Do you not? You do not need to be afraid of him, I have already taken care of him for you, my child."

Tell Toriel…
*I saw the flower again. The flower was trying to help me.

"Again? Well where is he?" I am able to guide Frisk again, and I move back to where Flowey appeared. Oddly, he isn't there anymore. "I do not see anyone else, my child. Are you sure you saw anyone? These vines might have just looked like a flower." Taking Frisk's hand, she guides them back to the front of the room. "I must attend to some business, and you must stay alone for a while. Please remain here, it is dangerous to explore by yourself." She looks thoughtful. "I have an idea, I will give you a cell phone. You can call me if you need anything." She starts towards the exit. "Be good." She leaves.

There is a quiet rustling sound. Frisk turns away from the exit Toriel just left through. I start to move them to follow Toriel, but the rustling sound is heard again, and Frisk turns immediately. I sigh, and go to investigate the noise. The thick patch of vines that looks different from the other, single vines in the room is shaking. Frisk moves towards it.

"…Is she gone?" Flowey asks, sticking his head out of the vines.

Frisk steps back in surprise.

"Oh… Sorry. Listen, please don't run off again, I need to talk to you."

Ask the flower…
What's happening? *What's going on?

"I think… You're being controlled. Just a little. That's what you were trying to tell Toriel just now, wasn't it? She thought you were talking about me though."

Ask the flower…
What's controlling me? *How do you know I'm being controlled?

"It's… complicated. But I think that my old friend Chara is doing it. They guided you through your journey once and… then reset it all. So they must be doing it again… I think." Flowey paused. "Honestly, I thought you were them when we first met. I just… feel like they must be there I guess. I mean they made you respond to their name!"

Because I had no way of knowing Frisk wasn't Chara in the first timeline… but sure.

Ask the flower…
*Why would they do this? Can we make them stop?

"They're… bored… I think," Flowey says. "I can't think of any other reason, really. But this world was already perfect... tell me, if you make something, but you don't want to keep it, what do you usually do with it?"

Tell the flower…
I give it away. *I destroy it.

"Yeah… exactly. After everyone is saved… we see what would happen if everyone were killed. I think… I think that's their intention. But I don't want that to happen… Not anymore." He looks up at Frisk. "Frisk… I know that… this all must seem so overwhelming but… Frisk, I'd like to help you. And I'd like to go with you. Is that okay? …Yes? Gosh, thanks Frisk. …I'm Flowey by the way, I think I forgot to tell you, sorry."

Flowey joined the party! ...Wait...

"Wait… wait, how am I going to do this…" Flowey looked at his roots, clinging to the dirt behind the vines. I can't actually walk… see I know where you usually show up so I usually just take short cuts and… y'know… wait there… How am I supposed to do that? ….Oh! I know, there's a bowl a couple rooms over. I'll meet you there, okay Frisk?" And with that he disappeared into the ground.

A party system… While I would like to go through the adventure without being impeded by Flowey, this might be my only chance to recruit him in this playthrough. And I know already that he's more powerful than just about any monster in the game. I'll take him with me. Best to keep your enemies closer.

Frisk continues to the next room, then moves North. Within this room is a pedestal and upon it, a bowl of candy. Flowey pops out of the ground nearby. "Great, you made it. Now, we can use that bowl to carry me around! …If you don't mind, I mean." Frisk moves forward to the bowl. Upon the pedestal is a note: Take one.

What do you do?
Dump the bowl out. *Take a piece of candy.

"Uh… yeah okay… Humans get hungry easily I guess. Can you dump the bowl out now?"

What do you do?
Dump the bowl out. *Take a piece of candy.

"You aren't going to eat all that at once are you? You'll get a cavity," Flowey says.

What do you do?
Dump the bowl out. *Take a piece of candy.

Flowey looks exasperated. "Frisk, stop being greedy, we need to move on."

What do you do?
Dump the bowl out. *Take a piece of candy.

"Oh for the love of-" A crash echoes through the room. "…Seriously, Frisk?" The bowl lays on the ground, shattered. The candy is spilled. I am the scum of the Earth, apparently. "Okay… Okay this is fine. We can think of something else. Like… uh…" Flowey trailed off, thinking. "Here you keep going for a while, and I'll get back to you." And he disappears into the ground again.

I continue, going past piles of red crunchy leaves and sudden pitfalls. A few monsters appear, and despite my reluctance, I spare them. Maybe playing along with what the world seems to want will yield its own reward. Finally after a few encounters, puzzles, and calls from Toriel, I reach the room with the mouse's hole. It fills Frisk with determination, and I move on. Ahead of me, Flowey seems to be negotiating with a (not actually) asleep ghost.

"Move. Move. Moooooovvvvveeeee."

"Zzzzzz," was Napstablook's reply.

Well, only one way to get through here. I use force, and a fight begins.

I spend the first turn checking the enemy: Napstablook, a ghost with no sense of humor. "oh, i'm REAL funny…" they say sadly, and begin to cry. The tears are easy enough to dodge. Flowey appears on screen next for his turn.

"Hey, it's alright Napstablook… uh… don't you have a trick with a hat or something?" he says, trying to be gentle. It's an odd sight.

Napstablook is upset. "you gave away my only surprise…" Flowey looks regretful. My turn. I smile a little at the ghost. "heh…" they reply weakly. They opted not to attack that turn, apparently not feeling up to it.

"Uh… You make cool mix tapes, right?" Flowey asks.

"you… think the tapes i make are cool…" Napstablook mutters inquisitively.

My turn.

Fight *Act Item Mercy

My options this time are different, limited to "check" or "talk about spooky music" I opt for the later.
"well i have one you might think is okay…" Napstablook says, looking for a cd player. He plays "spookwave" and the echoing music fills the room. I see a Whimsun flee in fear. "do… you think its okay…" the ghost asks.

Tell Napstablook
It's great! *I love it!

Napstablook looks happy. They spare Frisk and Flowey. "i didn't think anyone would like my music… i usually come here because there's so few people down here but… you two are okay. i'll see you around…" And they fade away.

"Phew… glad that turned out alright," Flowey says. " Now in the next room, there should be a spider bake sale. If we buy a jug of cider, I can just sit in the jug. Sound good?" He waits, apparently for Frisk to answer, then says, "Great, I knew I could count on you. Just come back here once you have the jug."

I direct Frisk East. Within the next room, two spider webs. I know I have the option of a donut or cider. I only have enough money for one… So I opt for the donut. Obviously.

When I return, Flowey looks crestfallen. "Is… that… a donut? I said cider, you know. Do you know what cider is? Forget it, I thought this might happen so I got my own money. I'll be right back. Flowey disappears underground, and just a few moments later, he reemerges and sets a jug on the ground and pours it out. "Eugh… spider juices… anyway, if you could break the top off and put some dirt in here, that would be swell."
Frisk does so without me prompting them. Once the jug is filled with dirt, they carefully plant Flowey and pick him up. "Ah... much easier. Now, we can really get moving through this place!"

Flowey joins the party! For real this time!

Battles became… different with Flowey at Frisk's side. Sometimes they were easier, sometimes not. Often he would offer extra observations, such as the fact that Whimsuns have an older sibling, not nearly as nice, or that often the monsters that pick on Loox are Migosps, who only do so when they aren't alone, and that Loox only bullies others when in a group as well, so they really aren't so different. Though the situation has been changed somewhat, the puzzles within the ruins are the same and I get through it quickly.

Eventually Frisk goes past a froggit to a room with a view of the old ruined city, far beyond. It almost seemed like a sight that would fill them with determination. "Oh hey, a toy knife…" Flowey said, looking at it. "Heh… that… kind of brings back memories."

Ask Flowey...
Memories of what? *Do you like knives?

"Me? Oh gosh no… not really, anyway. But my- …Chara did. They really wanted a real one but… I wasn't allowed to get them one. I gave them a fake one once though and they… threw it away somewhere. Said it wasn't too useful. …Heh, I guess a toy knife really isn't that useful if you think about it." Frisk picks the knife up. "You'd want something like that? But… It isn't even sharp!" He pauses. "That's okay? …Heh you really are different from Chara. C'mon Frisk, Toriel's house is right around the corner."

Frisk exits, holding the toy knife and Flowey's jug tightly. "Hey… Frisk… Did Toriel ask you if you liked cinnamon or butterscotch earlier? Which did you say? …..Heh, wow… Me too. How weird."