I wake up on the table again. Flowey is nowhere in sight.

What just happened to me? What did I just see? How did Flowey reset earlier than I did? I took all of the determination! That should have given me control of the timeline!

It can't be because he existed before I did. That's not how this works. Flowey came before Frisk, too but he never could reset to the time before Frisk came here, because Frisk had more determination.

So how can Flowey reset to before I came back, when I have more determination?

I go to the elevator. I need to find out what's going on.

Flowey has control of the timeline, somehow. How am I going to take it back?

Ding.

I step out of the elevator. My hands are shaking. I force them to be still.

Flowey is probably waiting for me outside. I'd better not dawdle. Otherwise he might think he scared me. I stride out the door.

Hotland is covered in vines. Just like before. There's just one difference.

Fourteen monsters hang from vines just outside the lab.

They look at me. I give them the scary face. They freak out.

The vines tighten and stop the monsters from squirming. Flowey pops out of the ground again.

"Howdy!"

"What did you do?" I ask.

That same smile. I don't like this smile.

"You don't have the most determination, Chara." He says. "I do."

All the vines in Hotland begin to shake in unison. The sound of rustling leaves, made deafening.

How am I going to fight him? He's everywhere.

The vines begin to settle.

"I only gave you a tiny fraction of my determination." He says. "And I rigged the DT extractor so it wouldn't let you take any more. I know you tried to steal my determination when you moved me into the cotton body… I knew from the beginning."

I scowl.

"I was awake the whole time!" He says, almost bouncing. "Golly… did you really think I'd trust you with something that important?"

How am I going to get out of this? I needed that determination. If he can reset me, he has total control.

I'm going to have be really sweet. I have to get back on his good side.

"There was just one problem." He says, the smile suddenly gone. "If I'm going to get out of this place, or if I want to feel real love again, I need souls… at least one soul. But the only souls down here are monster souls."

He shakes the monsters on the vines. One of them squeals.

"Souls that only you can absorb." He says. "I can't absorb them on my own… I need a human to absorb them. I thought if you absorbed me after you got their souls, I could try and take them away from you. But something went wrong. It didn't work… I can't steal those souls from you."

That explains him asking me to absorb him.

"So." He says. "I need your help. I've re-read all the research Alphys has done on the subject. It seems I need you to give me those souls, of your own free will. I need you to work with me… Will you work with me, Chara?"

"You just killed me." I say. "Two minutes ago."

"You killed me a lot more." He says.

Flowey looks up at the monsters he captured.

"I gathered the monsters before you woke up." He says. "This way I wouldn't have to drag you out to them every time I want you to absorb them."

"Every time?" I ask.

"Well, are you going to say yes?" He asks. "Are you going to give me their souls?"

I fold my arms.

The guns go off.

Back on the table. I hop off and go up the elevator and outside the lab.

Hotland is still covered in vines. The 14 monsters hang in front of me. Flowey is already there, waiting for me.

"I say 'every time,'" says Flowey, "because I might have to ask you more than once. If you say yes, then you will absorb their souls and then give them to me. But if you say no, then I will kill you. And then I will reset."

I see the guns take aim. I close my eyes.

The table. Up the elevator. Outside.

Vines again. And Flowey.

"And then I will ask you again." He says. "And if you say no again…"

I try to dodge the bullets this time. I can't.

Back on the table. Now the room is covered in vines, too. Flowey is right next to me. A circle of guns surrounds me.

"…then you will die." Says Flowey. "And I will ask you again. I will kill you again and again and again. And I won't stop until you do what I say."

I notice a pair of metal claws hanging from vines on the ceiling. Very sharp.

"You always have a choice." He says. "It's completely up to you. Give me the souls. Or suffer."

I consider my options.

"And don't bother trying to think of a way out." He says. "You can't fight your way out of this. Because I don't have to let you fight back. The next time I reset, the next time I wake you up… I don't even have to give you your whole body back."

Table. Flowey is right next to me.

I try to sit up.

My arms are missing.

My legs are missing.

I start to howl.

"Asriel! ASRIEL!"

The claws sink into my face and start pulling it apart.

I try to scream. But there's a blade at the back of my throat, choking me. I try to fight back. But I don't have any hands.

It cleaves my face in half. Then the bullets stop the pain.

Table.

"I can do whatever I want to you," he says, "because I control the world you're born in. You don't even exist in this world until I say so."

The claws are still right above me. They're so sharp. So close to my face.

I'm strapped to the table. I can't move at all.

"Wouldn't you rather play along?" Asks Flowey.

He inches closer.

"Don't we make a good team when we work together?" He asks.

I feel cold.

This can't be right. He can't be stronger than me. No one was ever stronger than me.

Table.

I can see myself in a mirror. Limbless and naked and riddled with scars.

I want to say "Asriel." But I don't have a mouth. Just a tongue hanging from under my skull.

Wobbling.

Table.

I feel myself.

I'm in one piece. I'm okay!

I'm not even strapped in. I sit up.

Flowey is sitting in front of me, on the same table. No smile. No nonsense.

"Yes or no." He says. "Those are your choices."

I've been upset with Asriel before. But this isn't just him doing something I don't like… This is a betrayal. I am going to hurt him for this. I am not going to forgive or forget.

But he's right. He's stronger than me, for now. I can't fight him. I have to do what he says. He will hurt me if I don't.

I could fight back, but it wouldn't help. Now is not the time to fight him.

"Yes." I say.

"Good."

He hops off and motions for me to follow him. We go up the elevator to the 14 monsters still hanging on vines outside.

A new vine reaches down and hands me the knife.

"Kill them." Says Flowey.

I get to work.

I absorb every soul. Flowey thanks me. Still no smile. He's all business.

He tells me how to transfer the souls to him. It's complicated. It takes time for him to explain… He's been hiding a lot of important stuff about souls from me. I didn't think anyone knew this much.

I do what he says. I absorb him and let him take over. And then he leaves my body, taking all the souls with him, back into the pile of dust lying on the warm soil of Hotland.

I sit down and wait.

The dust begins to move. Shaking slightly, and then rising. It grows tall, and gradually it takes his form.

The monster I know. Fur, fangs, and all. Asriel shakes off the extra dust. He has his old body back. Like he hasn't aged a day.

He opens his eyes.

He touches his body and a smile breaks over his face. He snatches his clothes from a nearby vine and pulls them on.

"How are you feeling?" I ask.

He looks back at me, his mouth slightly open.

His eyes are glistening. Gazing out into the distance. Into another world.

"Different." He murmurs.

He touches the locket.

"I feel so different."