A strange language drifted through the void but faded, decaying away until it was completely lost from-

Asriel gasped awake, adrenaline rushing through his body. The sensation of his petals and stem burning to a blackened char faded quickly; everything was intact again.

He was in the throne room, the midday sun shone down upon the flowerbed, just as it always did. Only moments ago he'd been in Hotland, taking a swim in a rather unconventional 'swimming pool'... it was not something he would recommend anyone ever try. Not pleasant to say the least...

This was the fifth time he'd 'died' as a flower. He'd tried coming up with different and creative ways to kill himself to test this new-found power; it would have been fun if it wasn't always so painful.

But no matter what he tried the result was always the same; at any moment he could have let himself go and allowed the world carry on without him, but as long as he wanted to live, he could come back through shear willpower.

And whenever he did so, he always returned to the garden, at exactly the same time and exactly the same place as when he'd first woken up. He felt just like one of the protagonists from the video games he used to play, whenever they died they always came back to life at a point earlier on in their games too!

This was his 'SAVE Point', but in real life!

Hmm... as incredible as it was, Asriel wasn't keen on having to die every time he wanted to go back. Perhaps... there was a way to harness this power, to use it without needing to resort to such drastic actions? Also, what about going back to OTHER times and places? Could he set his own SAVE points?

Determination had already granted him many abilities that should not have been possible otherwise. Heck, he shouldn't have even woken up in the first place! The idea brought about it's own excitement... the more he thought about it, the more he felt like, if he set his mind to it, he could do anything! It was worth a shot... Hee hee hee, maybe he could even make a game of it?

Asriel burrowed down and surfaced inside his old home. He hid behind the armchair beside the fireplace as a mischievous grin wove across his face. The thought of using time travel to mess with his father filled him with determination. Just like with all other forms of magic, he latched onto that drive and focused his intention onto saving this one moment forever; it manifested into the form of a strange yellow star. The star didn't look of this world, it wavered and flickered in an odd manor and there was something inside... some strange fragment that he couldn't quite reach.

Just as predicted, Asgore walked into the house - groceries in hand - and entered the living room. He set the bag down on the table and began unpacking. Milk was the first item, he set it carefully on the table and turned back to the bag. Oh, this was going to be fun! Asriel summoned a vine and stealthily extended it to his target, but snatched it back just as Asgore turned around with the next item; a loaf of bread. On the second attempt Asgore's attention was turned away for longer and Asriel successfully pilfered the milk right from under him.

Asgore turned around with a punnet of crab apples in his hands. He looked at the table with an expression of bafflement and put the punnet down, then checked on the ground, then around the room, then inside the bag. Perplexed, he mumbled something under his breath and started fishing out the next item. Asriel snatched the bread loaf.

This time Asgore looked annoyed. "Is somebody here?" He asked and started walking around the room.

Asriel moved to the kitchen and placed the bread and milk on the counter, then ducked underground. Hee hee hee, he couldn't stop giggling! Silly little pranks like these were usually Chara's idea, while he would be the one to fret about getting caught... though he never dared to tell them that! But now that there were no consequences, what was the harm?

Asgore walked into the kitchen and became even more baffled to find his two missing items on the counter-top. Asriel drank in his expression before returning to the living room and stealing the entire bag of groceries.

He opened it up as quietly as he could. Let's see... eggs, flour, cinnamon, some tins... and a shopping list.

He read over the list, it looked like Asgore was planning to make an apple pie... but he'd forgotten the sugar. Asriel smirked, that was pretty typical of him, he always did get sidetracked into conversation and forget things...

By this point Asgore had noticed the missing bag of groceries. "I know someone is here playing a silly prank on me. Come out now and I won't be mad at you."

Looks like it's time to crank it up a notch! Asriel took the bag and placed it on the counter-top alongside the rest of the items in the kitchen, with the exception of the flour which he balanced on the cabinet above. He made sure to make some noise as he retracted his vine to draw Asgore's attention back to the kitchen.

The lure succeeded, Asgore turned around and spotted the bag of groceries. He approached them cautiously and checked inside, then looked up with a frown. "Did you take my sugar and flour?"

Hmm, he wasn't looking up... time to improvise a little. Asriel summoned a small, pellet-shaped bullet and carefully aimed it at the base of the flour bag. The bullet hit it's mark and the impact made very little noise; flour started to trickle down from the hole left behind and land softly on Asgores head, slowly turning his golden mane a ghostly white. Hee hee hee...

After a moment, Asgore noticed and looked up, shielding his face with his hand. "Oh, hohoho. Very funny..."

There was nothing left to do now but sit back and watch. Asgore reached up to grab the carefully balanced flour bag. The bag tipped over at his touch and sent its white powdery contents EVERYWHERE, but especially over his robes and fur!

Asriel burst out laughing. Asgore, who was now quite peeved whipped around to confront him.

But he didn't care.

"This has gone far enough! What do you have to say for yourself?!"

"N-nothing at all!" Asriel breathed through the streaming tears at the sight of his father. It was just so funny! "Y-you should see yourself in the mirror!" Asgore loomed. He didn't look like he was in any mood to take Asriel's advice. "Oh well, your loss. Hee hee hee... see ya later, dad... or should I say earlier!" He made a silly face and ducked underground.

Okay, enough silliness, time to test that SAVE point! Asriel focused on the past moment, shutting out everything until he felt nothing at all... and there it was; a flickering pinprick in the endless desert of eternity. He approached the moment, feeling as though time itself was standing still as the star neared closer and closer in the total darkness. He couldn't feel his body anymore. Peering inside, the fragment was still there... something strange briefly drifted through his mind at the sight of it. At first it didn't make any sense, then a word formed. He couldn't tell if this was his own thought, or some strange prompt from the star itself.

Continue?

Yes. He nodded his agreement despite not physically nodding. The star disappeared leaving the void still and empty, then suddenly there was a flash of white light.

Asriel opened his eyes, he was behind the armchair in the living room of his old home, exactly where he'd made the SAVE point. Just to be sure, he also checked the kitchen; it was immaculate, there was not a crumb of flour in sight.

Right on cue Asgore once again walked into the house, groceries in hand, and entered the living room. He set the bag down on the table.

"Howdy!" Asriel chirped, this time revealing himself to his father.

"Howdy." Asgore echoed back, frowning. "My, my, how strange. You seem somehow familiar to me... but I think I would have remembered seeing a talking flower before."

Huh, this was new. "Golly, that is strange. I'm pretty sure we have never met before, either." Asriel lied, trying to keep himself from giggling.

"Well, as you are here, would you like a cup of tea? I assume you came to talk to me about something?" Asgore tried to be gracious, but Asriel could see conflict on his face. Part annoyance, part recognition, like when multiple thoughts are fighting to be heard in the same space.

"That's a very kind offer but I am going to have to decline, sorry. I came here to tell you one thing... but it's very, very important!"

Asgore frowned. "I'm listening."

Asriel made a motion with his head and smiled sweetly. "Come closer, please." Asgore obliged, though hesitantly. When his face was much nearer, Asriel spoke up. He whispered in a conspiratorial manor right into the king's ear. "You forgot the sugar."

Asgore pulled his head back, looking even more confused than ever. Asriel giggled, waved a vine in as close an approximation to a goodbye wave as he could then ducked underground. Oh yes, this power had a great deal of potential!

The monsters needed hope, and now he had the power to give it to them. He could solve everyone's problems, and then, eventually even find a way to finish what he'd started. With enough time, he was sure that he could break the barrier and set everyone free!

Heck, who needs compassion when you have infinite possibilities to explore?!

So, where to start...

Night fell before Asriel surfacing again. He waited in the bed of buttercups at the heart of New Home. As usual, no monsters paid him any mind and it turned out that he didn't need to wait for long. From out of the shadows of a dark alleyway she appeared; his first friendly encounter since leaving the castle.

She ran to him but stopped short, her expression unreadable beneath her hood. He'd had plenty of time to plan for this. A SAVE point was set and he'd even come up with a new identity for himself. She always wanted to go to Waterfall? Well, consider that a wish granted.

"Howdy!" He said, giving her a reassuring smile. "My name is Flowey. Flowey the flower!"