The shine of the |CONTINUE| faded, and once more, she was standing in a familiar doorway.

Her head left swirling, pounding like a drum. The slivers of the memories, the glimpses of people she couldn't remember, of faces she couldn't identify. Things that felt foreign, somehow, yet she was certain were her memories, all flooded in.

Her ears were left ringing, staring ahead. A sensation tugging at her sleeve, barely registered. Sounds, only slowly piercing through.

"H-hey, you alright?" Flowey asked, gaining her attention. "What happened?" He glanced around. "We just passed that table and-"

He was interrupted, being pulled into a hug. Which was at an awkward angle, given his placement. His moment of protest stopped by how tight it was. She sunk against the wall, holding onto the Flower tightly.

She didn't say anything, and even when he worked himself free to do so, he paused. Her eyes had more purple to them, than they had previously. With the red around the edges of the iris's being all that remained of it, at this point. His attention of that fading, as he noticed that she was crying. He sighed and hugged her back.

"So...I take it things didn't go well." He suggested with a half-smile.

Her expression turned violent very quickly. "Why the Hell would you do that!?"

"D-do what?" He asked back, surprised by the sudden shift.

"G-get yourself killed to save me, idiot." Chara growled, pulling him from her arm, to stare at him. "What w-were you thinking!?"

"I did?" He asked, adding. "W-well I mean, it sounds like something I'd do."

"WHY?" She demanded. "Ughh, you idiot!"

"What, I'm sorry, I just-" Flowey shifted, finding himself set down. "well, I don't...remember doing that. But, I mean, I don't want you to get hurt."

"If I die, we just go back. B-but...if you die and...it saves then...I don't...I can't bring you back." Chara noted, sniffling some. "And then...it'd...you..."

He frowned some, while recoiling around her arm. "I'm...sorry for causing you distress Chara. But even if you don't remember it...you're my friend. I'm not gonna let you get hurt, if I can prevent it."

"Yeah...I just..." She trailed off some, the flower patting her on the head. "don't...go dying again, okay?"

"Not unless we both do. Promise?" Flowey offered a leaf.

"Promise...idiot." She shook it.

Following this, the pair were permitted a moment to she was finally able, Chara looked around, finding they were back in the room they first battled the Froggit. It didn't take her long to spot the Frog, presently resting nearby. It seemed they must have woken it the first time, suggesting they could sneak past it.

However, her expression darkened, her purple and red eyes contorting into a glare. The memory coming back to her, of Tera. The conversation they had. Magic, Tera was able to harness magic with her purple soul.

Her mind then turning to the ghost who had been tormenting her mother. She couldn't hurt it, as she lacked magic. The gears were turning in her head, another 'option' presenting itself.

"Flowey...shh for a moment." She got up.

"Eh...what?" He asked quietly.

"We're gonna go steal the candy from that room." She explained.

He gave her a look. "T-"

She shushed him, noticing the Froggit twitch a bit from the sound. It wasn't that the monster was that strong, however, she was injured, and that inspired concern for their later encounter. Heading over to the candy room, she examined the floor, where the spikes would eventually come through.

It didn't take much to form an idea for how to obtain it. She made a gesture, Flowey looking a bit confused. She sighed.

"I'll stand here...use your vines to take the bowl." She indicated. "We can snatch it out, and already be outside the room."

"That...that's a wonderful idea." He admitted with a smirk.

The flower began to extend the vines. Growing them out as far as he could. Huffing some, as it seemed they would still need to be partially in the room for this plan.

Noting this, Chara stepped in, just enough that they could reach. She raised her hand, giving a count-down. Flowey breathing quickly as it came to 3...2...1. Snatching the bowl from the pedestal, the whole thing began to crumble as before.

Chara pushing back, falling out of the room, and onto the ground. The vines rushing and nearly escaping the spikes. Which managed to pierce the edge of the bowl. Candy flying through the air, and onto the ground around them. However, they were both unharmed.

"Hell yeah!" Chara exclaimed, excitedly, while getting back up.

"I almost can't believe it worked." Flowey noted. "Quick let's-"

The world flashed black, and red. A fight? A realization followed after,

The world flashed black, and red. A fight? A realization following after. She turned on her heel. Spotting the ever so familiar Froggit from before. Flowey letting out an annoyed huff at the sight.

"Greetings, Froggit." Chara hailed it, the purple in her eyes shining, as brightly as her soul shined before her.

"Let's just knock this idiot out." Flowey suggested. "Maybe he'll leave us alone this time."

She didn't respond. Instead, a smile grew across her face. A calm, symmetrical smile. Froggit wanted to battle. A decision it would regret.

|Chara - 10/20 HP|- |Flowey - 12/12 HP|

Chara decided to attack.

Flowey decided to attack.

Stick in hand, Chara made a swing at the Froggit. Catching the creature by surprise with a hard hit. The stick making a cracking sound as it hit, the Froggit croaking in pain. Following this a series of bullet fired out at the creature. The Froggit hopped about, avoiding a few, though a couple homed in, colliding with it from the sides.

In response to this, the Froggit dove at them. Chara side stepped the attack. Another bolting up at her, a lean back avoiding it. The monster landing against the ceiling, pouncing back down. Pushing forward, the monster hit the ground, eyes meeting hers, and the streams of purple, flowing from them.

Chara promptly attacked.

Flowey was compelled to attack.

The Flower felt the pulse of control over his actions. Glancing briefly at the look Chara was wearing. It was...disturbingly calm. The girl swinging the stick from the side as the Froggit landed. Slamming against it hard, knocking it to the side once more. Flowey forming a circle of bullets around it, as that was happening. The froggit slamming into a few, damaging it further.

The monster looked badly injured. Responding by creating its strange butterfly bullets. Sending them out in a wave against the two. A memory flashing in Charas mind.

Rushing to the side as they collapsed in, firing at her. She groaned, and stepped back, narrowly sliding in-between a couple of them. Avoiding the attack, as the Froggit let out a sound of surprise.

"One more hit, and it should be out." Flowey noted. "Just spare it. I'll knock him around."

Chara didn't respond.

Flowey decided to attack.

|Chara|

|Fight| - |Act| - |Item| - |Mercy|

|Act|

|Check | - |Intimidate| - |Reassure|

Chara used Intimidation.

"Do you feel afraid?" She asked, calmly, dark flooding the edges of her eyes. "Don't worry...it'll be over soon." - Froggit didn't understand but was terrified anyways. - Flowey was intimidated.

A row of the flowers bullets fired at the Froggit, who was shaking, an unable to dodge. Hitting it with several, as the creature staggered and stumbled. Croaking, and cowering as a result. The Froggit not bothering to attack, being too wounded and intimidated to muster a defense.

"Okay...I don't think he's gonna go anywhere, if-" Flowey began.

Chara decided to attack.

Flowey was compelled to defend.

The Flower got into a defensive posture. Watching, surprised, and mortified at what happened next. Chara lurching forward in an unnatural lunge. Bringing the stick up, the Froggit watching as it raised, before slamming it down hard. The strike tearing through the monster, rending it in half, with a splash of red blood-like mana across the ground. It shook for a moment then fell to dust on the floor.

Flowey was about to comment, before noticed the dust shift. As Chara reached out, mimicking the pieces of a memory. Tugging on the loose strands, like smoke, the energy flowing it. This suddenly producing a strange sound like the wind, as it surged past her hand and to her soul, which shone briefly in the aftermath.

The light fading, as the fight ended. Her eyes briefly bearing a strange glint.

They gained 10 XP. - Chara rose to LV2. Flowey rose to LV2.

Color returned to the world in the aftermath, as her soul faded into her being. The dark around her eyes fading, the smile retained. A feeling came with it, it was...horrible, and wonderful,, and she tried to ignore it.

The dark around her eyes fading, leaving her mostly purple eyes to examine the dust before them. Letting out a little sight, she turned to face Flowey. Who was giving her a very disturbed look.

"What?" She asked.

"You killed it." Flowey noted.

"You said we should have killed the frog, and now we did." She reminded him, sounding confused. "Wasn't that...what you wanted?"

"I-I...I meant me, not you." Flowey said, scanning her. "Not that you...you...don't seem very bothered."

"What did you want me to do?" Chara demanded, her voice defensive. "That stupid jerk chased us, nearly killed us, multiple times."

"I get being angry, and...I understand, I do." He glanced to the side. "I just...didn't expect it from you."

She got annoyed. "You and Toriel both told me, that it's kill or be killed right?" He winced. "That they'd try to kill me, and I would...have to...fight them back."

"Yes, I-I know. Chara, look, I'm not...mad." Flowey assured her, noticing her glance away. "I just...I figured it would bother you more, is all."

Chara tussled her hair, annoyed. "It's...I'm not...gonna cry about it, okay?" She huffed. "I-I'm not some little kid ya know?"

"Yeah...I know." He hummed some. "But, it's okay to not be okay with it."

This was not the response she wanted, not that she knew what she was wanting, exactly. But she did know that she didn't like the sympathetic tone was using. It made her feel bad, guilty even.

In her mind she reminded herself of why she had killed it. She wasn't the bad guy. She wasn't the one who attacked, it was. And the frog had every intention of killing them both. She knew that for a fact.

Internally she calmed her quivering some. It was just like those shows on tv. When the good guys killed some bad guy, to save other people.

She had probably done just that. Saved a lot of other nicer monsters, that this monster would have otherwise hurt. Besides, it wasn't like she was going to go around hurting everyone. She knew well, that to do that...it would be...genocidal, and that thought...made her feel cold.

Flowey nudged her. "Chara, talk to me, okay?" He requested, getting a glance. "Please?"

"Wanna see something?" She asked.

"What...would I be seeing?" The flower inquired.

She briefly pondered. "I felt...something. I think, I can-" she focused on the idea, projecting the menu. "if I just-" the Act prompt bringing up Actions, and...Magic. "There it is. I feel it. Huh..."

Chara noticed it was in a different spot. Perhaps it was unique for each individual? She shook off the question.

"Feel what, exactly?" He asked nervously. "What are you trying to do?"

She replayed the feeling, when Tera cast her spell. The menu fading. They had shared a connection, shared sensations. Moving with the motions, with the same compulsions, little twitches of thoughts. Muscles flexing, moving per her whim.

Chara cast |S-Butterfly|

Above her hand, a butterfly appeared. Made of purple magic. With the same instability found in a bullet, in the attacks that had been lobbed at them. Flowey staring, quietly drinking it in. Even as she smiled a little, motioning it forth.

It floated forward some, pausing where it did. Before firing off randomly down the path, fizzling out. Flowey could feel Charas heartbeat. Every four seconds, another little set of two pounding 'bum buhm' reaching him. It was...discomforting.

"I can use magic." Chara said quietly, a little awed at it. "F-flowey, look...I can use magic!"

Doing so again, this time creating five of them. They floated forward, as she smiled a strange sort of smile. Watching them stop, before flying towards the path that led them forward...where other beings may well reside.

"How?" Flowey asked.

"I dunno. I think...it's my soul, maybe?" She considered, replying. "Kind of looks like the Froggits attack...doesn't it?"

"Yeah. It's...very similar." Flowey noted, asking. "Did you know this would happen?"

She glanced at him. The silence lingered; The feeling of the heartbeat didn't intensify. It was still as calm as it had been before. Flowey found he couldn't quite read her, couldn't tell.

"What do you mean?" She asked. "Flowey." She smiled some. "If I'd known, don't you think-" She snickered. "I'd have done it before?"

"Chara, you're being really creepy right now, you know that right?" Flowey asked, visibly disturbed.

"Am I?" She asked, seeming to realize it herself. "I'm sorry...I'm not, trying to be." She quickly noted, as her heartrate got a bit faster. "I just...I dunno, I've never had magic before...I don't think?" She brushed back some hair. "It's crazy right?" She smiled some. "Like, it's so cool."

"It will definitely be useful in helping defend yourself." He reasoned, hesitantly. "Just, be careful okay. For me?"

She responded. "Of course, but it's not like it'd be dangerous." She noticed his doubtful look. "Do you think it's dangerous?"

"I think it could be...so, if we can, let's try and be a little more merciful on the next monsters?" He requested. "I know you may want to learn more, but ya know, we don't even know how it'd work and-"

"You think if I killed more monsters, I'd learn more magic?" Chara asked, the flower shivering at the thought.

"I think it's easy to hurt people, when we want things. You even suggested it. So, the temptation is definitely there." Flowey said cautiously, as she listened. "But that wouldn't make us very different from that Froggit. Right?"

Chara thought over what he was saying. In truth, for maybe...just a moment, she had felt tempted. To possibly, try and get new spells. Just to feel it, just to see what it was like. After all, it was kill or be killed right?

She glanced away, knowing he was right. That line of thinking was...bad, very bad. No noble wizard gained their magics from destroying innocent people. Even if they were jerks sometimes. And no noble knight picked a fight, just to take something from others. In fact, most showed mercy, even when they didn't have to. Her mind briefly returning to Tera.

"Yeah, heh, that's fair." She laughed nervously. "Thanks for...being you Flowey."

"I do my best." He chuckled some. "But seriously. If we're gonna fight em, we can |Spare| them, if they get weak enough. Mostly."

"Y-yeah, definitely. I'll do my best. I promise." She assured.

"Promise, promise?" He asked, holding up his leaf. "Pinky promise?"

"You don't have a pinky?" She half-asked back.

"Pinky Promise?" He asked more assertively.

Chara shifted and moved a pinky to his leaf. "Pinky promise."

With that situation sorted, or hopefully sorted. Flowey once more remained at his perched position of ponderous guarding once more. The duo setting off, once they'd gathered, and eaten a bit of the candy.

Admittedly, the lure of gaining power, getting stronger, was something a lot of monsters failed at. It led some to be violent, and tough. Adding in the lure of magic, for a being who to his knowledge, definitely shouldn't be able to use it...

It made him very nervous.