Knowing where he was teleporting to would have been a good idea, but he'd panicked, and now he was here.

In a brief flash of red, Sans the skeleton disentangled himself from the wrinkles in time and space, landing on the floor of the cave with a startled grunt. Almost instantaneously, he was on his feet, his hands clenched and glowing, his eye socket flaring with a warning crimson light.

But he was alone. For the moment anyway. After a few seconds of tense silence, he shuddered and let himself relax, blinking to regain his bearings, his shoulders slumping.

The cave was pitch black, and the floor was damp with sludgy, thick, dark water. Polluted by magic, it seemed to have the consistency of saran wrap from afar, and didn't give way unless you applied a significant amount of pressure. A shriveled echo flower slouched in a corner, seemingly staring sadly at the ground. Sans recognized this cave and gave a growl of frustration, closing his eyes firmly.

It was the cave right outside Snowdin. Why'd he come here, of all places? Why couldn't he have gone somewhere more purposeful, like... like...

Well, anyway.

The short skeleton angrily kicked a rock out of his way and slammed his fist against the wall, making it crack softly in protest. It also made his hand ache, but he wasn't going to acknowledge that.

"What was that all about, huh?!" he yelled at himself, clutching at his skull and shaking it in vexation. "I could've killed 'em, they were both right there, so WHY didn't I-..."

Sans trailed off, not really wanting to hear the end of that sentence for some reason. Why hadn't he been able to kill Papyrus? Why hadn't he been able to push the kid away? They were just hinderances, obstacles, honestly.

"Stupid," he spat, feeling his anger rise up again. "Stupid, stupid!"

A bone crashed up from the dirt, sending mud flying in a splash of scarlet before shattering against a nearby boulder. Pieces of bone plopped onto the ground, and then.. they started to shake. Sans eyed the shards warily before taking a cautious step back, feeling the ground vibrate beneath his sneakers. Red flame glowed softly in his eye socket, and he felt his hands clench... but then he smirked as he saw a familiar bunch of petals break through the mud and sludge.

"Look what the amalgamate dragged in," Sans sneered, his eyes narrowing as the small flower shook himself off and fixed him with a weak frown. "You've come to the wrong place at the wrong time, you-"

"You won't kill me," Flowey interrupted, his eyes gleaming in triumph despite the way his lips curled into a grimace. "You can't."

Sans froze, before his expression went furious.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he demanded, taking a step forward. Flowey strained his stem a bit, shaking with the effort but ultimately growing a little taller.

"It means what it means, Sans," the plant retorted, before shrinking in on himself a little bit. "I.. s-saw what happened. The whole thing."

"Amazing," Sans snarled, looming over him now. "You go missing and leave the human to fend for themselves, then come back and the first thing you do is watch their possible death? Coward. I should burn you alive right here and now."

"..Do it."

Sans blinked, baffled. Flowey had grown even taller, almost up to his chin at this point, stem coiling like a snake about to strike. His frayed petals bristled, and despite his shaky, grimy appearance, he almost looked... confident. The flower tilted his head and his entire face seemed to twitch for a few seconds before he raised an eyebrow.

"W-well? I'm waiting."

Giving a choked growl, Sans glowered as fiercely as he could, and he reached forward to snatch him right out of the ground. Giving a pained and surprised screech, Flowey was unrooted. He grew limp in the skeleton's hand, fear making his previous confidence shrink significantly. Mud dripped off the tips of his roots sluggishly, and they wriggled feebly in search of a proper hold.

"Be careful what you wish for," Sans hissed, leaning in so close their foreheads almost touched, his fingers tightening on Flowey's brittle stem. "Because it just might-"

"What will you gain if you kill me? I've already befriended Papyrus! I'm the one that gave him ideas, I'm the one who helped Frisk survive in the Ruins!" Flowey cried, shivering. Sans stared for a few seconds before straightening up, features twisting.

"And?"

"Think about it! What's done is done," Flowey grumbled, his roots taking hold of Sans' wrist and wrapping tightly. "Even if you do kill me, your time is up. You'll only be stalling the inevitable."

Completely taken by surprise, Sans' grip faltered, and he squinted.

"..Inevitable," he echoed, letting out a snort. "Really? Even when I have Asgore on my side?"

Flowey cringed at the mention of Asgore, but he stayed strong, leaning in so his petals practically brushed Sans' nose bone.

"Sans," he said firmly. "It's time to give up."

The skeleton actually laughed this time, his grip tightening just a bit, tips of his fingers digging into Flowey's leaves.

"What, are you gonna make me?" he challenged, feeling the familiar anger rise inside of him once more. Flowey wilted a bit, and his smug attitude seemed to fade.

"Well, I... no," he confessed. "I was kind of hoping to persuade you."

Somewhat disgusted and frustrated, Sans flung him into the mud, shaking him off his wrist angrily and staring at him as he wriggled around and finally rooted himself again. The skeleton scoffed.

"Oh yeah? And what makes you think you have a chance?" he asked gruffly. Flowey turned to look up at him, arching an eyebrow.

"...Well, for starters... you haven't killed me yet."