"You just took their word for that, your going to trust them?"
"Of course... why wouldn't I?"
"What if they try to take advantage of you?"
"Hee hee hee, you worry too much! Why would anyone want to do that?"
"Oh my sweet, naive little brother. Some day you will find out and when that day comes... I can say I told you so!"
Papyrus' morning training session - which Flowey watched, for moral support, of course - finished up early the following day so that he and Undyne could join the Royal Guard dogs in a game of frisbee. Apparently the dogs had been talking excitedly about their plans in Grillbys the previous night, and, being the small, close-knit community that Snowdin Town was, many of the residents had decided to make an event out of it.
"PLEASE WAIT HERE, THIS WILL ONLY TAKE A MOMENT."
Undyne opened her mouth to speak but Papyrus had already shut the door. She frowned, hugged herself against the cold, then looked down at Flowey and straightened up. He smiled innocently, he hadn't spoken much, so perhaps she'd forgotten that he was there. As much as her reaction was funny, it was also a little annoying. They should have gotten over the initial confusion by now but she still hadn't stopped being low-key suspicious of him. He tried to think of something to say to put her at ease but was interrupted when muffled shouting sounded from the house.
They strained to listen, but the voice - which was most definitely Papyrus - was too incoherent to make out. It got louder and intermittent with stomping. The door swung wide open...
"it's six thirty in the morning... and it's sunday..." ... And Sans stepped out.
"IF IT'S TOO EARLY FOR YOU THEN WHY DIDN'T YOU SAY SOMETHING TO THEM AT THE TIME? BESIDES, YOU WERE THE ONE WHO TOLD ME ABOUT THIS CONGREGATION IN THE FIRST PLACE!" Followed closely by Papyrus, who was holding a large stack of frozen pasta under one arm, and a microwave under the other.
"they're dogs pap, they like *yawn* mornings."
"YOU HAVE HAD SUFFICIENT ENOUGH SLEEP ALREADY. GETTING OUT WITH THE COMMUNITY WILL DO YOU SOME GOOD."
"i do that anyway..." He swayed on his feet, eyes half closed and looking ready to fall over.
"GRILLBYS DOES NOT COUNT! NOW COME ON, YOU CAN HELP ME SET UP."
Papyrus marched ahead purposefully but Sans barely seemed to notice. He raised a single sleepy eyelid to regard Undyne and leaned against one of the posts beside the door. "heya..." She didn't look impressed. "go on ahead, i'll catch up... i just need a few minutes." He closed one eye fully. Undyne gave him the sort of glare that would make any sensible monster snap to attention immediately, but Sans just shrugged. "i promise."
Undyne looked about ready to murder the skeleton, but took a deep breath and marched after Papyrus instead. Well, that was interresting...
Flowey dug down and popped up slightly ahead of her. "Hey, uh, what was that about?"
"What was what about?" Undyne said without slowing her stride.
"That thing with Sans." Flowey submerged and popped up infront again. "Why did he make you so mad?"
"I'm not mad." She said. "Sans isn't required to come."
"But..." Flowey began as Undyne passed.
She stopped and spun around glaring. "How about it's non of your darn business?!" Welp...
Without saying another word, she turned on her heel and marched the remainder of the walk down the high-street, entered the woods and disappeared among the trees.
So much for that...
Flowey entered into a well-kept clearing, nestled just behind the main residential area. It seemed to function as the town's park, the place was barely hidden by a line of pine trees sheltering it from the harshest of Snowdin's weather. Any sludge had been cleared away recently and the surface replaced by fresh snow fallen in the night.
On one side of the clearing two bunny monsters and a large wolf were busy setting up tables with cloths and baskets; no doubt ready to be filled with all manor of delicious treats. What a shame he wouldn't get to enjoy them. On the other side, Undyne leaned up against what looked like Sans' sentry station and right next to it, Sans and Papyrus were busy tipping the frozen pasta onto plates... wait, what? How the heck did Sans get here so fast?!
It's Sans, what did you expect?
He was going to offer to help, but it looked like they were handling it well enough on their own. He looked over at the bunnies and wolf instead...
Huh... besides Papyrus, Sans, that now defunct timeline with the drakes and that brief run-in with Gyftrot, he hadn't really spoken to anyone in Snowdin. This event could be a good opportunity to get some useful information.
"Howdy." Flowey said cheerily popping up beside one of the bunnies. "Do you need any help?"
"Hello." The bunny said while setting down the basket she was holding. She turned to him and confusion traced across her face. "Oh... you're a friend of that skeletons, right? It's kind of you to offer, but i'm not sure how you can help..." She looked uncomfortable, it was the 'no arms' thing, wasn't it?
"Yep that's me. My name's Flowey." He extended a vine to the monster. "It's nice to meet you."
"Oh." She seemed taken aback, but overcame her surprise and gripped the vine in a light approximation to a handshake. "Belle." She said, then gestured to the other bunny "And this is my sister, Freda. I run the store and she runs the inn in town." Freda smiled and waved to Flowey, then went back to her task. "And that there's Ice Wolf." Belle gestured to the wolf monster who was currently holding a table above its head as though it were nothing. "The poor fella doesn't get out much. All day, every day throwing ice into the river... heaven knows why but apparently it's important, so I don't question it."
"Howdy." Flowey waved. Ice Wolf set down its table with a grunt and gave him a puzzled look.
Belle leaned in close to his head. "I heard he wants to change his name to 'Jimmy Hotpants'." She whispered. He stared at her, a warm and mildly amused smile plastered across her face. "Anyway, if it isn't too hard for you, you could help me arrange some of these baskets?"
Flowey nodded and grabbed the nearest basket without hesitation, but quickly realized he was too short to properly see over the table. After a few fumbled attempts he managed to set it down the correct way up and somewhat straight, but Belle's expression didn't fill him with confidence. He sighed in frustration and looked out across the clearing. The skeletons had finished setting up their table, complete with microwave, which he wasn't sure how they planned to power.
"Do you know anything about Sans?" He asked, looking up at the bunny who was fine-tuning the arrangement.
"He's a nice enough guy, I guess. Funny and pretty popular with the regulars at Grillbys." She stepped away from the table to admire her work. "Ever been to Grillbys?" Flowey shook his head. "It's not really my cup of tea, but different strokes for different folks I guess. So long as it keeps people's spirits up, i'm happy." He looked out across the clearing again, Belle walked around to stand beside him. "Those two do a pretty good job of that, actually." She continued. "Ever since they appeared the town has gotten a whole lot more interesting."
Flowey frowned. "How long have they been living here?"
Belle shrugged. "A couple of months. They just showed up one day and... asserted themselves." A cacophony of barking erupted from the treeline. "Looks like the cavalry is about to arrive."
"Ice Wolf needs to leave now." The wolf monster said suddenly, it's shadow looming over Flowey.
"Aww, you can't stay for just one game?" Belle pouted.
Ice Wolf shook its head. "Sorry, maybe next time..."
"Well thank you for helping out." She gave it a sincere smile. "You're a real star."
Ice Wolf nodded gratefully, then trundled away into the trees just as the dogs broke into the clearing. They looked about and wagged their tails excitedly, their mouths leaden with frisbees, sticks and balls.
"I need to collect some supplies from the store, be back in two shakes of a rabbit's tail." She called across the table, then left at a brisk jog.
Flowey looked over the clearing again. Undyne and Papyrus had come away from their table and were now playing fetch with the dogs, while Sans sat at his station... snoozing.
Heh.
Over the course of the next hour many more monsters came to join in the gathering. Some came to watch while most took it as an excuse to catch up on gossip. A few teenagers congregated around the edges to chat among themselves; he spotted Chilly and Snowy in one group and three similar but differently colored monsters in another. The rabbit sisters set out an assortment of freshly baked sweets and frozen snacks for the children, many of whom seemed to lack arms; one particularly clumsy kid did little else but run around in circles and gawk at Undyne. Sans didn't get involved, instead he handed out 'hotdogs' to whoever wanted one. No one tried Papyrus' pasta.
Flowey joined in the games a couple of times. It was kinda fun, but he wasn't used to dodging the wild magic of overexcited dogs. No one else could understand why he was making such a fuss about keeping distance. After all, wild magic doesn't hurt monsters...
Dog magic was one thing, Undyne was another. He'd witnessed her aggressive style from a distance and up close while sparing with Papyrus... but to have that turned on HIM, well... lets just say 'that was fun!' She put a lot of force into her throws. A lot. A PAINFUL amount, why would anyone need to throw a frisbee that hard!? How was that even possible?!
"Are you alright?" Flowey knew that Undyne was approaching him, but he didn't pay it much attention. He watched instead the treetops and high cavern ceiling spin in a sickening blur, then her face appeared above him. "Do you need some help?"
The sound of more crunching footsteps indicated she wasn't the only one, he closed his eyes. "I'm fine... just... give me a minute." Not even a second later he felt a cold scaly hand close around his stem and pluck him from the ground. "Hey!"
"That's enough fun for you, punk." He felt nauseous in Undyne's grip but didn't fight back.
She put him down in the snow beside Sans' stall. He didn't replant himself right away, just a couple more seconds for this headache to ease off a bit...
"IS HE OK?" Flowey cringed against the loud voice. Ouch Papyrus...
"I'm fine."
"He's fine." They both said in tandem. "He just needs to stay off the field for a while."
"I'm fine." Flowey repeated through gritted teeth. He planted his roots into the permafrost and straightened up as best he could, discovering a new and uncomfortable kink in his stem.
"Hey, if you want to go out there and hurt yourself more that's fine by me. Just don't act like I didn't warn you!"
Flowey shot Undyne a glare which she returned at full force. Eventually Papyrus interrupted what had quickly become a staring contest. "PERHAPS SOME SPAGHETTI WILL HELP? I'LL WARM UP A PLATE FOR YOU!"
Papyrus' words cut apart the tension like a knife. Flowey sighed and watched him take a frozen plate of spaghetti from the table and put it into the microwave. Beside him, Undyne audibly shivered.
"Papyrus, do you have any... warmer clothes I could borrow?"
Papyrus stared expectantly into the unplugged microwave. "HMM, WELL I DO HAVE A COAT HANGING UP IN-"
"Thanks, i'll be right back!" She interjected, not waiting for him to finish before bounded away.
Flowey ducked underground and quickly dug after her. He wasn't done with her yet, and he couldn't have Papyrus interrupt. She was a stubborn sort and it was getting annoying, but most of all, right now, he hated what she'd implied.
By the time he'd caught up with her Undyne had already entered the brothers' house. He waited and not half a minute later the door opened and she stepped out wearing a long red raincoat. The fabric looked too thin to offer much insulation.
"I'm not weak." Flowey stated flatly.
Undyne looked at him with an eyebrow raised. "Is this about me taking you off the field?" She knelt down to his level, and smiled almost mockingly. "Listen, I've been watching you out there. Some monsters just can't take the hits, and you're one of those sorts. Accept it."
He narrowed his eyes, he didn't like her condescending tone. He may be a kid, but this wasn't because he was a kid, was it? No, it was because he was a flower. "No. I am not weak."
Undyne gave a dismissive shrug and started walking away. "Whatever buttercup."
"DON'T CALL ME THAT!" Rage like he'd never remembered feeling before suddenly and irrationally erupted inside him. Before he knew what he'd done a bullet was sent hurtling towards Undyne.
She spun around and blocked the projectile effortlessly with a spear. "Do you wanna go punk? Have something to prove?!"
More emotion than sense, Flowey was filled with determination. That quiet little voice telling him how dumb this was, silenced by the overwhelming desire to prove a point. "Yes, actually!"
Undyne spun her spear in her hands looking unimpressed. "Alright then."
She sent a slow volley towards him which he blocked easily with a vine. He summoned a set of five bullets and flicked them towards her in response which she also blocked with ease. It felt like the whole world had gone dark and monochrome, like Undyne and Flowey were the only two beings around. The only ones who mattered.
Flowey squinted, trying to look his opponent over for weaknesses. Undyne smiled. "If you're trying to check me, don't bother. I'm going easy on you." She sent more spears his way, he blocked four and ducked underground to dodge a fifth. "Papyrus told me about the training he's giving you." She ducked under a wave of bullets. "He mentioned your grounding and asked me what it meant." A much larger wave of spears appeared, Flowey tried his best to block but ended up having to hide underground to avoid most of them, Undyne smirked. "Do you know what other kind of monster has a grounding formation like yours?" He summoned a larger wave of bullets and attempted to form a more elaborate attack pattern. Undyne blocked a few while the rest missed. "Whimsuns." Flowey lowered his vines.
Whimsuns... really? Those meek monsters who flitted about the Ruins and New Home? He hadn't had much interaction with them, but from what he'd seen they always came off as shy and easily upset. A spear hit it's mark, slicing a tear right through his stem. In an instant all other projectiles dissipated, and the spell of battle was broken.
"Had enough?" Flowey curled up against the sap welling at his wound. Undyne approached him, hands on hips and looking particularly smug. "I admire your spirit, you know. I used to be a lot like that when I was younger." She sat down and looked him over skeptically. He hid the tear in a coil and smiled in defiance of the pain. He could get something to heal it later. "I'll take back some of what I said... with enough determination, you can achieve anything you put your mind to! Some Whimsuns even went on to be warriors." She rubbed the back of her head and smiled awkwardly. "Well... almost anything. You can't change what makes a monster who they are, you know? It's hard-coded into the SOUL... you can put a Whimsun in armor, but it's still a Whimsun on the inside..." There was a long pause, Undyne sighed and looked out in the direction of the clearing where voices and barking could still be heard through the trees. "Hey uh.. please don't tell Papyrus this, but... i'm not sure if I can ever let him into the Royal guard. It's not that he's weak, he's actually pretty freaking tough! AND he's an excellent student! But... he's just so innocent and nice! If I sent him into battle the way he is now... he'd get ripped into little smiling shreds..." She got up slowly, turned back to him and smiled widely, showing off her pointy teeth as she added one last thing. "Oh, and i'm serious. If you tell any of this to Papyrus I WILL beat you up!... AGAIN!"
Flowey and Undyne made their way back together. He was grateful for the numbing effects of the cold for once, and tried to push away any concern for whatever adverse effects it might have on plant injuries. He barely noticed when cheering erupted from the clearing, then came the shouting.
"UNDYNE! FLOWEY!" Before they'd even reached the trees, Papyrus rushed out and almost collided with Undyne head on. "INCREDIBLE NEWS!" He bounced around giddily from foot to foot.
"Well spit it out then!" Undyne spat in a mixture of irritation and excited impatience.
"DOGAMY JUST PROPOSED TO DOGARESSA! THEY'RE GOING TO GET MARRIED!"
"Oh my god! Oh my god!" The two monsters grabbed each others shoulders and started jumping up and down.
Flowey put on a smile and tried to pretend to care. "Golly, that's great news!"
Thankfully, Undyne and Papyrus were too busy celebrating between themselves to scrutinize him. "DO YOU THINK THEY'LL NEED A BEST MAN? DO YOU THINK I COULD BE BEST MAN? MAYBE THEY'LL WANT SOME SPAGHETTI TO SERVE AT THE RECEPTION?"
"Oh my god Papyrus!" Undyne stopped his rambling with a rough shake. "Where are they?! I need to congratulate them!" She didn't wait for an answer before charging into the clearing, Papyrus happily skipping along behind her.
In the darkest, coldest depths of the Underground, an entire town had come together. Young and old alike gathered to celebrate that which made monsters, monsters. To share love, compassion and hope in an otherwise bleak world. Seeing them all right now, gathering around the two dogs and offering their congratulations, the joy beaming from everyone's faces... Flowey had never felt so isolated. It was ironic, hard to describe. It reminded him of his time with his father, trying to feel love again... heh.
Asgore would have loved this, he really would...