His best friend had been angry with him lately. Whenever they went to bed, they would pointedly ignore Asriel's apologies, his bargains, and his cries. They would just say why he was being such a crybaby about the whole thing, and then turn towards the wall, going back to sleep. So when King Asgore suggested that Asriel take a walk with him to Hotland, his son had readily agreed. Usually, he did not want to go anywhere without his best friend, but they had already decided to stay at home with his mother, sampling her snail pies. It was the first time he had been separate from them, ever since both of their excursion out in the Ruins.

It was a hard decision nonetheless.

When they arrived, Asriel had wanted to visit the Core most of all. From New Home, he could still see the shining brightness of it, and if he closed his eyes, could swear he felt its heat, that heat that gave power to the rest of the Underground. But that was not where he was going today with his father. Instead, they went down the elevators to enclosed walls, sterile rooms, and flickering lights, embalmed in fluorescent shades. The laboratory felt really stuffy. He couldn't stop matting down the fur on his arms to get rid of the sweat.

"O-oh! Mr. Dream-! I mean! I mean, Your Majesty!" A yellow, hunched-over lizard monster was shuffling across the floor to both king and prince. She wore a white lab coat that engulfed her rotund body except her thick tail, with tiny glasses perched on her face. She had her claws held close to her chest, nervously clacking them together. It must have been hotter in here than Asriel first thought. This monster was also sweating, and by the tons!

"Howdy, Miss Alphys!" King Asgore greeted with a deep, sonorous voice. He nodded his horned head, his great mantle creaking with the movement. "Brief check-up. I do hope I'm not interrupting. Have I? Oh. I knew I should have called first." Though he wasn't apologizing just yet, a tiny verbal nudge could very easily get him to.

The creature called Alphys held up her arms, stuttering and blushing madly. "N-n-n- of course not! Ha ha… It's the perfect time! I mean, this is a scheduled visit after all! It… It'd be weirder if you didn't come by at all! Um, I mean, it's great to have you here!" She was panting at the very end, breathing so heavily that Asriel thought he could detect the scent of something very high in sodium.

Asgore looked relieved. "I'm very glad. I hope you don't mind, but my son is with me today." He gestured to Asriel, who gave a polite wave. "You know, learning about duties and all that."

"Ah, y-y-yes, yes, of course!" Alphys wiped her clawed hands against her lab coat, holding one dry appendage to the child for a handshake. "I'm Alphys. I work here! Just recently. I mean, not that recently, it's been a couple of months. Interning and stuff. Fixing machines, and…um… electricity… things…" A nervous shifting of her eyes. The silence stretched between the three, until she finally broke it with a high-pitched, "Do you like anime?!"

Both Asriel and Asgore flinched at her sudden shout. The lizard looked startled enough herself, hunching even more into her coat. "Uh, well, howdy!" Asriel said anyway. "My name's Asriel. And… I don't know about… Annie May, but they sound neat!"

"I agree." Asgore said carefully. "They sound… very neat."

"Ha ha, okay!" Alphys was still flustering like mad. "Well, I can take you down to where the Doctor is working, but uh…" She lowered her head, trying to sink inside her coat like a tortoise. "I- I don't know if he wants, like… kids? …down there too? He's- he's very picky about this stuff." She scuffed her bare feet on the tiles, also topped with claws. "I- I can maybe talk to him about changing that policy? Maybe being like… a very strong keyword here…"

Asgore frowned, but not in anger, only in sadness. His mother had mentioned how whenever he pulled this look, he was very successful in imitating a kicked puppy. Like that time he had accidentally stepped on a Froggit's foot. He had been gloomy for a week after that. "Ah, I didn't know. I wouldn't want to make any trouble. I know how important his work is." He turned to his son, then back to Alphys. "Though home is kind of far, and we didn't bring anyone along to take him back. Oh, dear…"

Asriel tugged on the king's arm. "I don't mind just hanging around. I can just eat some stuff from the vending machine."

"A-actually!" Alphys squeaked, then swallowed audibly. "We do have a break room. It has a TV, some free food, so you don't have to like… hang out in the lobby. I mean, we don't even have chairs in here!" She laughed in a slightly hysterical manner, which immediately devolved into coughing.

Asgore kindly ignored that embarrassment (probably unaware of it) and smiled at her. "That sounds wonderful. Can you take him there? Then I can just see the doctor and be on my way. I believe I know the way."

"Oh! S-sure!" Alphys watched with longing as the King walked off, waving a fond farewell to both as if he were going on a long journey instead of just meeting with the Royal Scientist.

Asriel fidgeted. "I am kind of hungry actual-"

"AAH!"

Both jumped. Alphys was swallowing again.

"Um, I mean, ahhh I didn't expect you to talk so soon."

"Oh. I'm sorry."

"No, that's fine." She fidgeted in her coat pocket, pulling out some gold coins. "Do-do you want some chisps? I mean potatoes? I mean popatos and- and- oh my god, I can't, seriously?" As she stuttered, she was walking to the vending machine placed against the front wall, already popping in her money to buy a snack bag.

Asriel was grateful. "Thanks!" he said as softly and kindly as possible, but Alphys was still freaking out. Well, he was trying.

Holding his new popato chisps, Alphys led him down another branching corridor, passed by a large open area with machines plugged in, and some beds placed in the center ("A lot of us work for long hours, so we just sleep in the lab sometimes! Haha… not like we're losers or anything!") until they reached a halfway open door. There was the brief sound of static coming from the room, which, when Asriel walked in, could see coming from a medium-sized television set. It was placed on a wobbly-looking table. An overflowing trash-can, filled up with rolled-up wads of crinkled paper and nothing else, was right next to said television.

"Oh, Sans! How come, I mean, how come you didn't let the tapes run?"

Asriel somehow didn't notice the skeleton at first, despite that he was laying across the bench of a nearby table. Arms were placed behind his skull, leg bones visible for all the world to see as he stretched them to cover the entire bench. Asriel recognized him instantly, though he was dressed mostly different this time; wearing a white lab coat that matched Alphys', with the addition of some casual shorts.

"have to read the stuff to understand what's going on in them." Sans turned away, giving a great yawn. "this show's better."

"There's nothing even on!"

"it's just a bad episode."

Looking mad for the first time, Alphys prompted the small prince to follow her in. "Uh, sorry, Your Majesty. There's a bunch of stuff for you to pick here, if ya want. And there should be some leftover burger and fries over there somewhere."

Asriel was looking through the bookshelf that Alphys was pointing at, fascinated by the varying colors and titles of what seemed to be hundreds of DVD cases. "Oh, what's this one?" He pointed more to the right.

Alphys squeaked. "Ah! Not those!" She immediately went to pick up the cases of an entire row, cradling them close.

"told ya those should be locked somewhere."

"Not helping, Sans!" Alphys nearly tripped over her feet as she rushed, then turned back quickly. "Oh, and this is Sans. He also works here and, and, uhhhh, he's nice! Really! Sorry, I gotta go!" And that she did, her large tail dragging across the floor, yelping whenever a DVD case nearly dropped.

Asriel stared after her until he felt a tap on his arm. He looked to find Sans standing now, just barely a few inches taller than the child.

"mind sharing some of those chisps, royal buddy?"

Asriel grinned. "You remember me!"

Sans shrugged. "yeah, my memory skills are off the charts." He pointed to the bag again. "seriously, though."

Asriel fumbled, ending up giving Sans the whole bag instead.

"hey, thanks for treating me." Sans unhinged his jaw just slightly to pop a chisp in his mouth. It was uncanny to watch.

Asriel's stomach suddenly growled. He reddened underneath his white fur. "Um.."

"alright, fair's fair." Sans gestured him back to the lunch table. "just avoid the ones with mold and you're good."

Too famished to think about that sentence very hard, Asriel seated himself at the bench. A long and, strangely familiar, farting sound whooshed from his posterior. He jumped, making the sound hiccup in its note.

"oh, that's where it is. thanks, kid." Sans grabbed the whoopee cushion from the seat when Asriel stood up. "should probably eat up before it gets… well, it's already cold, but once it reaches sub-zero temperatures, ya got nobody to blame but yourself."

Asriel sat back down again, looking over half-open boxes of greasy burgers and fries that had just been upended on the table right out of their holder. Some of the grease had already sunk into the table, and now appeared to be the foundation of a tiny colony where microscopic monarchs were erecting statues in their name. At least, that's what Asriel was assuming. He just looked for the freshest food, a far distance away from that spot, and took the chosen burger while grabbing a handful of fries. They were so cold that he felt like he was holding a pack of icicles. He ate too fast to notice, outright swallowing the stuff whole with as little chewing as possible.

Sans looked impressed. "geez, at least leave some for them. they're going through a famine right now."

Asriel wiped his mouth with on his arm. "Sorry. Mom usually doesn't let me have fast food." He then took a gigantic bite of the burger, eyes lighting up at the flavor of cheese, onions, and 'secret sauce' that made up its contents.

"that's rough." Sans ate another chisp. "the same for your friend, right?"

His stutter was too obvious. "oh, uh, y-yeah. though they get a lot of dessert stuff…"

Whenever he spoke like this, adults usually tried to find out what was wrong, and he would go through such lengths to bring back his smile again. There was nothing to explain, especially when it wasn't their business.

"neat," Sans said, still eating. Asriel looked at him, wondering if he heard right. His eyes once again strayed to that lab coat. There was a metal pin latched onto a pocket for holding identification cards, but such a card appeared to be missing.

"Are you a doctor?" he asked.

"talking to the wrong guy here." Sans then discreetly took out what looked like a red bottle from the inside of his coat. He poured its contents straight into the snack chip bag. "i just mainly handle the clean-up."

Asriel swiveled his head around the break room, looking at the greasy food, the wobbling TV stand, and the overflowing garbage can. "Really?"

"sure, we'll go with that." After finishing his chisps, he rolled up the bag and aimed it at the garbage, landing it perfectly on the building pile. "if ya got some more burning questions, kid, you can just ask."

Asriel placed his half-eaten burger back on the table. "You still never told me what your secret mission was."

"oh, yeah. well, it's been long enough, i guess. go ahead."

He was caught off guard by the sudden surrender. Laid with so much power in his hands, the prince wasn't quite sure what to do. "Wh- Um, I don't- I mean, your job-"

"all very good questions, kid," Sans interrupted. "kay, my turn. you on a field trip?"

"N-no, my dad brought me here." The King, he tried to correct, but realized it was probably too late for that. He then tried being clever. "Learning about what goes on around here… like secret things, you know, since I'm the prince and all." He looked at the skeleton expectantly.

Sans gave a wink. "nice try."

Asriel pouted. Why couldn't he just -?

"you know what? i'll throw ya a bone. but only because you asked so nicely."

Asriel bluntly asked, "Are you being sarcastic?"

"hey, i'm serious here. no bones about it."

Okay, that was enough bone puns, even though Asriel did his best to not crack a smile. He crossed his arms. "Sans!"

"heh, okay, don't worry." Sans pulled out another object from his lab coat, bony fingers placing it on the table next to Asriel's half-eaten lunch.

The prince stared at it, trying to understand what he was seeing. But no matter which way he looked at it, or how hard he squinted, it just looked like a regular plastic container full of…spaghetti?

"Uh?"

Sans answered his question with another. "ever heard of time travel, kid?"

Sans' room was always off-limits.

"Come on, Papyrus. Just carry me in a flower pot and let's sneak in! Sans is supposed to be working his station after all."

Papyrus placed a bony hand on his chin, eye sockets narrowed as he used more brain power then he probably ever did in his life. "BUT WE MUSN'T. IT IS AGAINST THE SKELETON BROTHERLY CODE. IT COULD UNRAVEL ALL OF EXISTENCE AS WE KNOW IT."

"Okay, but what if it's unlocked anyway?"

"OH. THEN I GUESS THAT WOULD BE OKAY."

Flowey waited in the snow while Papyrus just stood there vacantly, steps away from the front door of his house.

Finally, "IT'S ALWAYS LOCKED THOUGH."

Knowing Papyrus would be useless, as he always was, so why the heck did he think he would've been some kind of help… Flowey tried going in by himself. He crawled underneath the house, breaking through the carpeted floor none too subtly, knowing he could just reset it away, and then slipped under the crack of the bedroom door. All he found inside was a sparse room with a bed like most normal bedrooms, a mass collection of dirty socks, (He never even wore socks, what was the deal here?), a turned-on treadmill in the middle of the floor, and several blankets all rolled up into one gigantic, greasy ball. Heaving from the stench, Flowey had left right away. Even without a nose, this was too much for him.

Determination isn't something so easily let go of. All Flowey had to recall was that sickening grin, the pain of his body being punctured to shreds, and his murderous rage would shoot through the roof. It was enough to make him slaughter any other monsters passing by, like Lesser Dog, Ice Cap, and those chill Snowdrakes especially, their lame jokes reminding him so well of someone else's. Yeah, he was determined – determined to slowly pick apart Sans' bones one by one.

When that thirst came, he would settle for Papyrus instead. But it just wasn't as fun anymore.

He didn't reveal himself to Sans after those defeats. Only because he honestly didn't know what to expect anymore. He had gotten too used to the boring predictability of the Underground. Now that he was thrown a curve ball, he fumbled on his way to being the winner again. And every game he played, he feared the prospect of losing. Not like he hadn't lost before. Countless times he had let himself get killed by a random monster, just to spice up his murder runs. He even let Undyne and Papyrus have a chance at victory, though the skeleton idiot never took advantage, always halting his last attack and going into some sappy speech about being good, like his spaghetti or whatever.

Sans barely had to even try to give Flowey a hard time.

So instead of the usual introductions, he followed Sans around instead, retreating back into the ground when the very threat of the skeleton turning around was a possibility. It wasn't easy. Sans would turn into a corner, or go through a thicket of trees just to immediately vanish from existence. And when he even did keep Sans in his line of sight, it was uneventful. The hours of his stalking consisted of watching Sans sleep at his station, hanging out at Grillby's, or walking around with Papyrus around Snowdin. Sometimes he would be sitting at the door to the Ruins, knocking on it and mumbling jokes to himself. Flowey would have laughed if his throat didn't always feel so raspy nowadays.

When Sans slept, Flowey thought that perhaps this would be the perfect opportunity to pay the skeleton back. Yet he always hesitated. Bony eyelids would flicker, the snoring would break in rhythm, and Flowey would dive back into the dirt. Maybe next time. There was always a next time.

He had found out one thing at least–a room in the back of the brothers' house that even he never knew about. Sans sometimes went there, but whenever Flowey tried to follow, the door was always locked. Diving underneath it didn't help. The floor to whatever this room was seemed to be made of steel. Not even Alphys' Laboratory had floors this strong. Hours would pass as he stalked the premises, and then he'd overhear one of the sentry dogs panting about how Sans just beat them at poker over at Grillby's, confusing the heck out of him.

The whole mysterious aura surrounding Sans was seriously pissing him off.

One night, as Sans left Grillby's yet again, patting Doggo on the head and tossing him a treat, Flowey went back to his routine of trying to find out what was Sans' deal. He popped up back and forth into the snow, making as much noise as any regular flower would, which was nothing at all.

And then, just a few feet from the house, the skeleton stopped.

"hey."

Flowey froze.

"you that talking flower my bro keeps telling me about?"

Stupid Papyrus and his big mouth. He'd make sure to tear out his jaw next time.

"Guess the secret's out," he said in a merry voice, face arranged into a picture of perfect innocence. "Howdy! I'm Flowey! Flowey the flower! Nice to meet-"

Sans turned.

"…you?"

His eye sockets were dark. Slippered feet were placed in a wide stance, hands dug deep in his pockets.

"you've been following me around for a while... trying to start a fan club for me or what?"

The air shifted behind Sans. Flowey jumped back several feet, not wanting it, not understanding it at all. "What are you doing? You're not supposed to be doing this. This isn't you."

Sans' voice showed a hint of tightness. "pretty presumptuous of ya."

Flowey was shaking his head. "What the hell are you anyway? Tell me!"

"can't reveal all my tricks. they'll start losing their appeal."

The air drifted with thick snowflakes, frosting the edges of his petals, stiffening his leaves.

"Just stay away from me! Stay away!" His voice shifted, like claws making marks against stone, gouging deep. "I'll kill everyone again if you don't. Those stupid dog guards, that bartender, and your brother. I'll make sure I'll keep killing him again and again, and make you watch!"

Sans said nothing. His smile was all teeth, and no joy. Pupils lit back up in the depths that served as his eyes.

"one of these days, kid, you're gonna have to learn when to quit."

Flowey ran away, not wanting to hear the rest of it.

Continue. Reset.

RESET.

Continuing from his original SAVE point, Flowey skipped Asgore, Toriel, and all the other monsters completely. He didn't want to deal with them. He didn't want to deal with anyone.

He burrowed underground with the worms, hiding underneath the floorboards of homes, overhearing the simple, asinine conversations of everyone around. He didn't want to put on anymore fake smiles, or deal with fake compassion. Not now. Not when he had had problem to get rid of first.

No more waiting around. No more being cowardly and weak. His best friend would agree. This only proved a point anyway. In this world, it was kill or be killed. So he was going to kill Sans once and for all. The best time was when he was at his sentry station, sleeping and unguarded. Flowey knew the routine.

And if Sans was easy enough, he might just kill him again. After all, he was only paying him back. As if Flowey was about to let some comedian have the last laugh.

He was confident as he popped out of the ground to emerge into the white-covered Snowdin, breathing the Underground air after several days of dirt and rock. When he did so, he found himself on the pathway that led to the Ruins, straight and narrow, lined by tall trees that stood as erect as well-trained guards. He had gone a little off-course, but that was no problem. Sans was just a little further ahead. He was already grinning as he edged forward, his miles-long roots reaching out to that wide-open glade where the skeleton was resting.

Bones punctured up from the ground, severing one of his roots.

What? What?

Shock drowned him completely when he blinked and suddenly found Sans there, just a few feet ahead of him. Hands stuck in his pockets, his stance slouchy. That blue eye of his was already shining.

"looks like we got a little weed problem here."

He held out his hand, palm facing forward. Giant heads materialized behind him.

Flowey tried to retreat. Already he felt so stiff. "Wait!" he pleaded.

Sans didn't wait.

Continue. Reset.

RESET.

When Flowey woke up, he stayed exactly where he was; at the center of the garden in the throne room, where the reflection of sunlight could be felt, where the echoes of birds could be heard. He waited with the other, non-talking flowers, petals shivering at what had just happened.

What the hell had that been all about?

In the half-light, he thought about what he had seen. Could Sans have recognized him? Did he already know Flowey as the creature that had killed his brother, his friends, over and over again? Could he actually retain his memories, unlike the other, useless idiots in this world?

No, he realized. That wasn't it. When Sans had gone up to him, there had been no recognition in his stare. No previous memory, no realization as to who Flowey was. Sans, in this new timeline, hadn't known him yet, as should have been expected. Flowey had been completely new to him. Then why…?

He must have let something slip. Instead of all smiles, he had grinned with hungry revenge, thinking he was alone. Sans had seen that, hidden away in the trees, in the ground, in whatever place he pleased.

Sans had decided to kill him then and there because he hadn't trusted him.

"But that's just stupid," he muttered. "He'd be killing everyone if that were the case. Like me!"

Sans could not be this ruthless.

Sans could not be this scary.

"He just makes stupid bone puns!" Flowey shrieked to himself, knowing that Asgore wouldn't hear him, that no one would. Nobody ever did, for hours at a time. "He's not worth anything!"

Not anymore, at least.

Timelines, anomalies, scientific gibberish. Flowey couldn't go back any further to where Sans must have done something important for once in his life. He couldn't go back to when Sans had done whatever stupid research he was talking about. He knew. He tried already before. He had tried going back to a time when his best friend was still alive. He had failed, of course. This place, this garden with its useless plants, was as far as he could go.

Whatever made Sans go off-route for that timeline, it was enough to make him commit murder.

"I just have to get better at faking, even when by myself!" He practiced immediately, making sure his eyes were bright and eager. "He can't kill me if he sees me all happy! Just try again. Like always! Try, try again."

Flowey didn't move from his spot. He stayed rooted, lowering his petaled head among the other flowers. He could try, try again. And he would die, die again. Again and again and again.

"I'm not scared," he whispered to no one. "Right?"

As expected, no one answered.

Flowey headed straight for Snowdin again, quick in his travel, careful to not let precious hours waste away. He had been too slow before. He'd catch Sans unaware for sure this time, and give him a cheap death. It wouldn't be satisfying, but it'd least give him one tiny victory. Not like he wasn't opposed to stabbing people in the back for his own gain. He'd already done it hundreds of times before. No more hesitating. Just crack open his chest and watch the dust fall.

Once again, he had overshot his destination. He was back on that narrow pathway, but even further down the line. He recognized where almost instantly. Ahead of him were the gigantic double-doors that led straight into the Ruins. Frost covered its surface, marring the engravings of the Delta rune that was perched on the archway overhead. On his earlier runs, he would sometimes pause here, remembering trudging through the snow when he had two feet, remembering holding someone's large paw when he had paws of his own. Back then, the doors would open silently for monsters bearing that same crest, but not for a flower. He would instead have to slink under the ground to get past it, making his own way in.

His eyes traveled down those doors to the ground. Sans was there, sitting in the snow, looking straight at him.

Flowey stuttered. "Wh- what are you-?"

Sans held up his forefinger. "one sec."

Not knowing what else to do, the flower waited.

The skeleton laid his skull against the doors, pupils peering at a point at his right side. A knuckle tapped against the stone. "okay, so that's, um, five eggs i'm using? and a whole lot of butter?"

From behind the door came a familiar voice.

"Ah, no, you just need three eggs for the filling. As well as six tablespoons of butter. Then mix it with some brown sugar, two cups of milk, and prepare the whipped cream separately… am I going too fast? I apologize."

At that, Sans smiled, then turned his full gaze back to the flower. Flowey couldn't seem to get his throat to work, and wasn't sure if that was because of what he was learning, or because of the way Sans was staring at him just now.

"nah, no worries. i'll give a shot at making it today. sorry to keep yolking your chain about the ingredients this much."

The voice laughed at the pathetic excuse of a joke, giving a few snorts here and there that were muffled by the door. "Ah, do not worry. I am sure you will whip up something great!"

It was Sans turn to laugh, his sides shaking. Flowey did all he could to not gag.

"here, i just came up with a new one," Sans was saying, never taking his eyes off the flower. "what's the worst thing about getting hit in the face with pie?"

A giggle. "I cannot even imagine. What?"

Through a few snickers, Sans answered, "it never ends!"

Flowey blinked at the bout of laughter from them both, then growled in anger. That joke didn't even make any sense! What the hell?!

"Oh, goodness! Funny and smart," said the voice. "I haven't heard a good math joke in ages."

"don't worry. i got a million of 'em."

NO, Flowey was desperate enough to yell, but was soon cut short.

"I'm afraid I must leave now. Please do tell me the results of your cooking tomorrow."

"you got it. same time, same place?"

After some grueling minutes, the laughter finally stopped. The person behind the door left, leaving Sans truly alone with Flowey.

Petals quivered in frustration. "Of course you'd get along with her."

Sans flicked his hood over his skull, half-covering his eye sockets. "sweet old lady, isn't she? and how about you? got a name?"

Flowey's patience was wearing thin. So much for any stabs in the back today. "You already know who I-!"

"hey," Sans interrupted suddenly. His voice got very low. "wanna see something cool?"

From his pocket, he pulled out a tightly wadded-up blanket. Wait, no, it was a cloak. Dark blue, with trimmings on the side. He unfurled it slightly, and on the back of it, words were stitched in red threat. Words that read, 'The Great Papyrus.'

"Wait." Flowey edged back, recalling. "I… how did you get that? That was so long ago."

White pupils blinked at him, like the bright stones that glowed in Waterfall. "that expression…" Sans said. The sound of rattling bones filled the air. "how many times we gonna keep doing this?"

Flowey retreated back into the ground.