A/N Before we start, I made a battlesprite of Frisk's angel form. Here's the link to it on DeviantART: myu98/art/Angel-Frisk-979918214 Just be sure to put the site's web address before.
Flowey whacked Undyne aside for the fifth time, smashing her into the side of the lab. A bone struck him in the side, curtesy of Sans. He shot multiple vines at him, but Sans teleported out of the way, though Flowey could see he was starting to wear out.
Fireballs struck him in the side and he shot his shuriken-like bullets at Asgore and Toriel. Any other time, he would have hesitated attacking his parents but he had long since stopped caring or feeling anything for them.
Flowey was starting to get annoyed. Frisk was who-knows-where at this point and he had to go find them. Alphys had tried to shoot him with her freeze-ray, but Flowey had grabbed it and smashed it to pieces already.
Flowey managed to corral his parents against the lab wall. Sans tried to distract him with another blaster, but Flowey ignored it, focusing on these two. A small part of him cried out at what he was planning, but it was silenced by his apathy.
"Stay back!" Asgore roared, brandishing his trident.
"How noble. And stupid!" Flowey mocked. "Now, how would you like to die? Pellets, vines, burned to death? How about 'blasted to pieces'? Yeah, I like that!" He charged up a blast in his jaw-mouth. Asgore and Toriel hugged each other, bracing for the end. Flowey fired the blast the same moment a shadow fell over the couple.
The blast struck and produced a large cloud of dust. Thinking he had killed them, Flowey began to laugh like mad. But that laugh was cut off when a form began to appear in the smoke. More than a form; a multi-colored glow was coming from the cloud.
When the dust cleared, a pair of gigantic rainbow-colored wings were curled around something. Those wings uncurled to show Asgore and Toriel unharmed, but it was who – or rather what – the wings belonged to that garnered attention.
They were taller than Asgore, with black plated armor and white gloves. On their chest was the Delta Rune and their shoulder pads had black flames burning on them. Pawed feet were on the ground and a head that was most decidedly a Boss Monster's but not one anyone knew, was between the pads. There were short, curled horns on their head. Their eyes were black with white irises and black claw-marks on their cheeks. There was a white circle with a heart on their abdomen, two hearts on their gloves and flaming kneepads, along with a heart-shaped cummerbund around their waist.
"Hey, Flowey,"the newcomer said in a familiar voice, "pick on someone your own size."They raised their hand and a rainbow-colored blast of lightning pushed Flowey's massive form back. They stood up, towering over the other two Boss Monsters. "Are you okay?"they asked.
"Frisk?" Asgore said in surprise. "What… what happened to you?"
"My plan,"they answered. "It's the only way to beat Flowey."
Said flower recovered from the shock and fired a blast from his jaw-mouth at them. Frisk's eyes changed to green and they raised their hand, a green barrier forming in front of them, blocking Flowey's attack.
Frisk's eyes became orange. "Cheap shot, weed," a different voice said.
The eyes then turned yellow. "You're going to pay for your crimes,"yet another voice promised.
"Who do you think you are?!" Flowey screamed.
Frisk's eyes started flashing in all seven colors. "You wanted us, and now, we are here," they said in seven overlapping voices. "We are the Souls you wanted and now we have awakened."
Asgore straightened in surprise, as did Toriel. It couldn't be, could it? But now they understood what Frisk had done.
"The Underground is in danger, and we rise to defend it,"all the Souls said together. "For we are the last light of the world, and we will defeat this threat to it. We are the protector of hopes and dreams. We are the prophesized savior. The meaning of the Delta Rune. We are…"
"Bravery…"
"Justice…"
"Kindness…"
"Patience…"
"Integrity…"
"Perseverance…"
"And true Determination."
"We are The Fallen."They raised their hands and a powerful blast of rainbow light came from them blasting Flowey clear across the cavern and into the wall.
"My children…" Toriel stuttered, in awe.
The massive being faced her, giving a gentle smile. "You have protected us long enough. It's our turn now,"all seven assured.
"But it is dangerous," Toriel protested. Asgore laid a hand on her shoulder, cutting off anything else she might have said.
"Just be safe," he said to them. "And… I am sorry what happened to all of you."
The being shook their head. "It was our choice,"they comforted. "Do not blame yourself. And this is our choice, as well. We gave our lives for you and your people. We will not let our sacrifices be in vain. We choose to be the hope of your people and we will continue to be as such."
"Now let's kick that flower's ass,"Bravery said, running after Flowey.
"Technically, he doesn't have one,"Perseverance said.
Asgore and Toriel went over to Sans and Undyne to check on them. Sans was panting rather hard.
"that's… probably my exercise for the year," he panted.
"Undyne, you okay?" Asgore asked.
"Ooowww…" she moaned. "What did I miss?" Slowly, she got up, a hand to her head.
"so… uh, frisk seems to have… absorbed the… human souls to… match the ones… the weed has…" Sans wheezed.
Undyne's remaining eye widened in surprise. "Whoa! Is that what I heard?"
Alphys came up. "It seems that when Frisk absorbed the Souls, they turned into a rather large form. And it would make sense. Since Flowey has six, Frisk having seven would make them powerful enough to match him."
"So let's go help…" Undyne wavered, almost collapsing before Toriel caught her.
"I think you need to sit the rest of the fight out," she suggested. "You have taken more hits than the rest of us. I am not sure you can withstand any more."
Undyne wanted to protest, but she wasn't feeling well enough to do so. "Fine."
"I just hope Frisk can manage well enough on their own," Toriel said.
"They're not alone anymore," Asgore pointed out.
Flowey recovered from the blast, shaking his TV head. That had hurt. How had the kid done that? Well, it didn't matter. He'd just reload to fix that…
Except nothing was happening. Why wasn't the Save working?
He was suddenly struck by multiple flashing stars bringing him back to the present.
"Trying to go back?"Frisk taunted. "That's not going to work now. My Determination is equal to yours. As long as we are matched neither of us can go back."
Flowey growled. "Then I'll mutilate you until you give up!" Several vines shot out to try and pierce Frisk, but their eyes turned blue and they managed to literally dance around the vines.
"What a horrible flower,"Integrity said. "Someone ought to teach you some manners."They leapt forward, ballerina shoes forming on their feet and they kicked Flowey across the cave. Then they leapt after him and landed on the tips of their feet.
Flowey growled before charging, then firing, a powerful blast from his maw. The being managed to avoid it. The blast traveled on until it struck the cavern wall, disintegrating a huge chunk of it.
Justice took the reins, a revolver forming in their hand, firing a shot at Flowey. He tanked the blow, summoning missiles behind the being, hoping to get them from behind. Instead, they whipped around, firing off more shots than what a real revolver could hold, a few missing and blasting the hole in the cavern deeper.
Then Kindness took over, whipping up another green barrier to protect from the missiles Justice didn't get. Once that was over, Flowey shot more vines, but Patience was now in charge, using their toy knife to slice the vines to pieces.
Flowey was starting to get frustrated. He summoned another vine and grabbed their leg. Caught off guard, the being was flung by Flowey towards Waterfall, but not before Frisk got off one large fireball. Flowey avoided it. The fireball struck the wall and deepened the hole further.
Integrity landed them on their feet. Bravery helped by using their hand to gain a grip on the ground.
"This is going to be harder than I thought,"Frisk mused. "Flowey clearly has more experience with magic than we do."
"Hey, not our fault none of us turned into Monsters,"Bravery protested.
"Experience alone is not the only problem,"Perseverance noted. "The Souls Flowey have are all adults. We are just kids. They are probably a lot more powerful."
"Big bully!"Integrity shouted.
"But seven human Souls should trump six," Asriel said. "Not to mention that you guys have had more exposure to magic than the adults and those adults were not exactly… healthy."
"That might be the reason we aren't being overpowered,"Justice realized.
"Fight's not over,"Frisk reminded. "Let's get somewhere we have more room to move around." They ran back to Waterfall, just barely squeezing through the mountain entrance. Flowey burst out from behind, cackling like mad.
"What's wrong, you seven? I thought you wanted a fight!" Flowey taunted.
"We did. We just needed more room to beat you senseless,"Bravery said, fists at the ready, gloves forming around them. They shot forward, smacking Flowey in his TV face, causing static to appear. The being expected one of the Souls Flowey absorbed to appear and attack, but Flowey returned instead.
"That's not going to work on me anymore!" He cackled. Before they could react, he blasted them with his jaw-mouth, sending them flying. Flowey then whipped them with multiple vines while Kindness tried to protect them. Flowey managed to overwhelm their shield and continued to pummel their shared form.
Frisk fired a few fireballs, but Flowey batted them aside with his arms. "Looks like you can't win!" he laughed. "What a shame, I was hoping for a challenge but even with seven Souls, you're still weak!" He began pummeling them again. Perseverance tried to whack him with a notebook but Flowey easily sent it aside.
Asriel was panicking. Even with all the power, Flowey was still too strong. "They're going to die!" he realized. He curled up and began crying. "I'm going to die. I… I don't want to die," he wept. "Not again. I don't want to die. I… I don't want it to end like this." He was shaking, but something within him was pushing him to keep going. He felt… odd. He wasn't sure what it was he was feeling, but it felt like he shouldn't give up. "What's this… feeling?What's happening to me?"
He looked at himself, feeling oddly tingly. Then he realized; he could feel. The tips of his fingers, no, his whole body, he could almost feel it. He had been incorporeal for a long time, only able to feel the ghost of sensations that Frisk felt when he wasn't controlling them. But now… now he could feel the stone floor under his feet.
He looked up at his friend, who was being beaten senseless by that flower. He had been watching this whole time, never standing up for himself. Not against the humans, not against Chara, not against anyone. No more.
"I don't want it to end like this,"he said, his spirit charging to the fight. Within Frisk, the white Monster Soul began to pulse. "It can't end like this!" The Soul began to vibrate, shaking within Frisk's own red human Soul as Flowey began charging a point-blank blast. "I… I won't let it end like this!"
As Flowey fired, a burst of light blinded all present. The Monster Soul flew out of the being's body and to Asriel's spirit, tendrils of energy following it. The blast struck and Flowey reeled from it. At first, he thought he had won but then the smoke cleared to show they were alright. But what had Flowey's attention more than anything was the robed being standing above Frisk, arm raised, a white star acting as a shield.
"Get away. From my. Friend."Asriel demanded. He then sent a large, rainbow-colored fireball at the abomination, who was too stunned to dodge it.
Frisk got up, looking down at Asriel's form. He was as tall as his mother, dressed in the same robe, but with a high collar, gold shoulder pads, a gold heart locket around his neck, a pair of curled horns coming from his head and the same claw marks and black eyes that Frisk had.
"Asriel…"They said in awe.
Asriel turned to face his friend. "I've got your back, Frisk," he assured.
Flowey got up from where he had been knocked back, staring in disbelief at the two figures before him. That smaller one. It… it couldn't be! Both Frisk and Asriel turned to face him.
"My turn," Asriel declared. He summoned his Chaos Sabers, charged at Flowey who was still too shocked to respond to the multiple slashes, nor was he able to defend himself from Frisk's own bladed staff. The two Boss Monsters slashed the flower while he just stood stock still. Eventually, he snapped out of it, vines shooting everywhere, but Frisk and Asriel avoided them.
"This isn't possible!" he screamed, facing Asriel. "You… you're…"
"Asriel Dreemurr, Prince of the Underground,"he declared. "And I'm done watching my friend get hurt."
"Your 'friend'?" Flowey said in disbelief. Frisk zapped him with a bolt of rainbow lightning. Asriel added his own rainbow bolt, stunning Flowey. They charged, Bravery taking over to punch Flowey in the back while Asriel used Chaos Buster on Flowey, blasting him in his face. "Argh! Stop it! Stop using those attacks!"
Frisk landed next to Asriel, both ready for more. They sent streams of rainbow fire at Flowey, who recovered enough to defend himself, but the fires still hurt. He sent more of his giant 'friendliness pellets' at them, but they both dodged the attack. He tried to pin them down with vines but they used their weapons to slice them before they could connect. Patience took the lead in Frisk's body, using their toy knife to stab Flowey in the back, disorienting him long enough for Asriel to use Star Blazing, a rain of exploding stars slamming into the abomination.
Flowey fired off another blast from his jaw-mouth, aiming at Asriel. The prince avoided the blast, which destroyed a large chunk of rock formations in the cavern. Bravery grabbed Flowey, gloves appearing on their hands, picking him up and spinning around before throwing him to the darkening lantern room. Bravery ran after him. Flowey recovered in the meantime.
Flowey summoned flamethrowers trying to incinerate the being, but Kindness used a frying pan to block the flames. Then Justice took over, shooting Flowey with their revolver, the abomination countering with his pellets. Flowey summoned multiple missiles and flung them at the entity, but they were destroyed by a barrage of rainbow stars, curtesy of a recently arrived Asriel.
"Argh! Die already, brat!" Flowey shouted.
"Not today, weed," Asriel shot back, Chaos Sabers at the ready. He charged, swinging his blades as Frisk snuck around to Flowey's back. "You might as well give up, you're seriously outnumbered."
"Never!" Flowey shouted. Just as Frisk charged, fireball at the ready, Flowey whipped around, blasting them with his jaw-mouth. Asriel rushed to defend them, but Flowey grabbed him with his vines, slamming him into the wall. "Just what are you?" Flowey demanded.
"Asriel Dreemurr," he stated as if it was obvious.
"That's impossible!" Flowey screamed.
"But here I am,"Asriel stated, incorrectly anticipating what Flowey would have said. "And I'm not about to let you kill my people or my best friend."
"Your 'best friend'? Ha! Is that a joke? You really think they are your friend?" Flowey mocked.
"Why does that matter to you?"Asriel asked. "You've been nothing but manipulative and deceitful since the beginning. And yes, I know, because I've been watching Frisk from within them for years and I've seen the kind of creature you are. You're despicable."
For some reason, that seemed to really affect Flowey, as he backed away but didn't let go of Asriel's wrist. "No, it can't be. You… you can't be…" Flowey muttered.
Asriel started struggling with the vine that kept him pinned, trying to free himself, only to get yanked off the wall and flung into the next room, several vines shooting out of the ground to ensnare him.
"You think you're so high and mighty? You think you're better than me?!" Flowey shot. "Ha! But guess what, you're not! And I know you aren't."
"What's that supposed to mean?"Asriel asked, trying to free himself.
"That you're still an idiot," Flowey taunted. "You're a fool and an idiot. After all, we're the same!"
"We are nothing alike!"Asriel shouted. "You tried to kill Frisk! You killed several people! You're a murderer and a liar!"
"Then so are you!" Flowey shot back. "After all, I am y–" The rest was cut off as his whole head was suddenly frozen.
Asriel felt the vines loosen and he freed himself from their grasp.
"Miss Toriel, is that you?" a familiar voice asked, running up. Asriel turned to see Noelle and MK coming, though they both stopped short when they saw him. "Uh… who are you?" MK asked.
"MK, Noelle, what are you doing here?" Asriel asked as Flowey stumbled with his frozen TV head.
"Where's Frisk?" Noelle asked. "And who are you?"
A sharp crack sounded behind them and they turned to see Flowey trying to claw the ice off his head.
"You two need to go, it's not safe,"Asriel demanded to the two of them.
"Not without Frisk, dude," MK stated. "We're here for them." Noelle nodded in agreement.
Asriel slapped his forehead. "I'm not talking either of you out of this, am I?"he asked rhetorically. "Fine. Just stay behind me."
"And who are you, dude?" MK pressed.
"Wait… his voice," Noelle realized. "It's familiar, but deeper. Asriel, is that you?"
Before he could respond, Flowey managed to get the ice off, turning angrily on the three of them. "Ow! You bitch! That hurt! Prepare to burn!" He charged up another blast in his mouth, only to get yanked back by Frisk, the shot flew over the kids' heads and continued to blast another wall in the distance to pieces.
Flowey tried to backhand the being, but Integrity used their dancing skills to avoid the blow, daintily moving around Flowey's larger form to avoid multiple strikes. Frisk tried to blast Flowey, summoning rainbow-hued energy into their hand, but Flowey managed to deflect it down the same hall his previous blast went. The blast created an entirely new cavern in the process.
MK jumped in, blasting Flowey with a beam of freezing cold, icing over his arm. "Argh! Not again!" Flowey screamed, smashing his arm on the wall to shatter the ice. He tried to impale MK with vines, but Noelle flash-froze all of them before they could strike.
That gave Frisk an idea. They remembered Alphys said before that plants don't take cold very well, so that might be the key to defeating Flowey. Bravery caught on, taking over and grabbing Flowey's arm, flinging him down the long straight hall, but Flowey only stopped at the edge of the lake.
The being grabbed on to Noelle and MK. "Hold on," all the Souls warned. Then they launched themself down the hall, MK and Noelle holding on for dear life. As the being flew with their wings, Asriel was forced to run to keep up. As they reached Flowey, they informed Noelle and MK of their plan. "Flowey can't withstand the cold very well and you two wield ice magic. So we're going to get him to Snowdin and battle him there, hopefully weakening him."
"And after that?" MK asked.
"Haven't thought that far ahead. Let's get him vulnerable, first."As Flowey recovered, Integrity took charge, ballerina slippers forming on their feet, which they used to kick Flowey across the lake. They tried to kick Flowey again, but he grabbed their leg and flung them away. Noelle and MK screamed again as the being flew through the air. They landed in a room full of crystals.
"Ow," MK moaned, looking up at the ceiling, the crystals twinkling like how many Monsters imagined the stars would. "I think we're close to Snowdin, now."
Frisk stood up and they could hear Flowey cackling from the place they came. They started running, heading for Snowdin. They could hear Flowey's massive form pursuing until they reached the snow-covered path that designated the area they were heading for. A fight in the town was a bad idea, but now they had room to fly.
The large entity expanded their wings, taking to the air, leaving Flowey on the ground.
"Running away? What's the matter, scared to face your DOOM! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Noelle and MK saw Flowey pursuing through the town, knocking several trees down and damaging a few storefronts. "Why are we still running?" Noelle asked.
"Can't have him destroying the town,"the Souls explained. "The forest is much safer to battle in."
Flowey kept flinging his white shuriken-like projectiles, trying to bring them down, but they were an agile flyer and could avoid getting hit. They looked for a good place to battle, remembering to be mindful of all the cliffs and such that could potentially kill either Noelle or MK. Eventually, they reached one of the deepest parts of the forest, trees surrounding them.
"Here should be good,"Frisk decided. They landed, allowing Noelle and MK down.
"So what's the plan, dude?" MK asked.
"Asriel and I will distract him. You two try to freeze him,"Frisk answered.
"That could kill him," Noelle pointed out.
"Just try to incapacitate him," Frisk recommended. "Hopefully something else will come to us in the meantime."
"Will that even work?" MK questioned. "With all those Souls, can anything defeat him?"
Frisk was blasted by Flowey before they could answer, who then tried to strangle them with vines, but Frisk summoned their staff, slicing the vines to pieces. Asriel came up a moment later, Chaos Sabers in hand, slashing Flowey in the back.
"Remember me?"he said, capitalizing on the point by stabbing Flowey. The abomination tried to backhand the prince but he managed to avoid it by leaping back.
While they fought, Noelle and MK talked. "So how do we go about freezing him?" MK wondered. "He's huge."
"I'm not sure if I have the strength," Noelle said. "I'm the only one of the two of us who can freeze something that fast, but Flowey's too massive like this."
MK pondered, a solution coming to mind. "Maybe if we combined our powers, we could freeze him. My ice beam combined with your freezing powers, in a land of perpetual cold, surely it could work?"
"It couldn't hurt to try," she decided. "On three. This might take everything out of both of us."
"I'm ready," MK said. "One."
"Two."
"Three!" MK fired his freezing cold beam while Noelle channeled her powers over ice, focusing on Flowey.
The former flower saw the attacks and turned his jaw-mouth beam on them. Frisk grabbed him and managed to force the beam to strike one of the cave walls instead. Asriel aided in holding him away. As the ice magic worked its way up Flowey he tried to turn his powerful beam on them, but Frisk and Asriel kept him still, all the power blasting a huge hole into the side of the cave.
When the ice was halfway up Flowey's body, it started crawling up faster, Frisk and Asriel letting go so they wouldn't get frozen with him. Then a powerful blizzard whipped up with the excess magic, blinding all present, Flowey's beam vanishing. When the snow cleared, Noelle and MK were on the verge of passing out and there was a large Flowey-shaped ice sculpture where he had been.
"Did it work?" Asriel asked.
There was a large crack and a visible break in the ice appeared.
"Unfortunately not," Perseverance mumbled.
"How are we supposed to beat this thing?"Patience wondered.
"Let's just start punching and see how things turn out,"Bravery suggested.
"That might not work any better," Integrity pointed out.
"And those two are too weak to try that freezing thing again,"Kindness noted, looking at the exhausted Monsters.
"Then how are we supposed to beat him?"Justice asked.
"Perhaps, we've been focusing on the wrong target,"Frisk suggested. "All this time, we've been focused on Flowey, but we've neglected the Souls. They're the source of his strength."
"If we weaken them, Flowey will lose all his power,"Asriel realized. "If we can get them to rebel, he'll lose control. But how do we do that?"
"Leave it to us,"the being said in all its voices.
Asgore supported Undyne, carrying her into Alphys' lab. He laid her on a stretcher the doctor put up. Toriel was carrying a nearly unconscious Sans and set him on the floor. They felt another shake which let them know the battle was still raging.
"I am worried for our child," Toriel admitted. "After all they have been through they should not have to fight."
"It's their choice, Toriel," Asgore said. "Besides, I don't think we could ever stop them from doing something they put their mind to. They're too stubborn."
Toriel gave a small chuckle. "Of course. They would have to be to survive the surface," she mused. "But I am also concerned. Flowey has killed and absorbed the Souls of the people Frisk knew. If it comes to it do you think they would… kill to protect us?"
Asgore was silent for a long moment. "I don't know. At least, I'm not sure which I would prefer."
Sans struggled to open his eye sockets. "hey… couldn't help but… overhear…" he panted. "um, forgot to… tell you… but paps and i… found something in… the ruins."
The two Boss Monsters looked at the chubby skeleton. "Survivors?" Asgore asked.
Sans nodded. "two of 'em," he breathed. "left paps to… watch them. also, they're… apparently… frisk's parents."
Toriel's and Asgore's eyes went wide. "Their parents? Are you sure?" Toriel asked.
"that's what… they claimed," Sans answered. "they… should still… be there."
"Sans," Asgore began. "I do not wish to burden you but could you take us to them?"
"yeah. just… let me get my breath back first," Sans requested.
"Both of us?" Toriel asked her ex.
"I have much to say to both of them regarding their treatment of Frisk," Asgore explained. "And I'm sure you have some choice words for them as well."
Toriel looked down, her expression darkening. "I do."
"Then when you're ready, Sans," Asgore said to the skeleton.
"kay. think i got enough energy for one shortcut," Sans said, standing up. He took their hands, focusing his magic and then they were in the Ruins, Sans collapsing to the ground. "wow… uh, not feelin' too good. i'm just gonna lay here for a while. they're just outside your house, tor."
"Thank you, my friend," Toriel said. "Rest up." The two Boss Monsters realized they were in the foyer to Toriel's old house. They stepped outside, finding Papyrus standing before a cage of blue bones, two adult humans within.
"AH, FINALLY!" Papyrus said happily. "I WAS BEGINNING TO WORRY SOMETHING HAD HAPPENED. IT HAS BEEN QUITE A WHILE."
"Apologies, Papyrus," Toriel said. "Some things came up and we were too busy to come before."
Asgore walked up to the cage. "Are these…"
"THEY'RE THE ONLY ONES MY BROTHER AND I FOUND," Papyrus answered. "AND THEY KEEP DEMANDING TO KNOW WHERE FRISK IS, THOUGH THEIR REASONS FOR FINDING THEIR KID ESCAPE ME."
"Thank you. We will take it from here," Asgore said. "I'd suggest going to look after your brother. He's almost passed out inside."
"REALLY? WHAT ON EARTH HAPPENED THAT WOULD MAKE SANS THAT TIRED?" Papyrus asked rhetorically as he walked into the house. Asgore and Toriel faced the two humans, still trapped in the bone cage.
Frisk stood at the ready as the prison of ice kept cracking. "Asriel, protect Noelle and MK."
"I'll do what I can,"Asriel said, standing next to their shorter friends.
Flowey finally managed to break out of his icy prison, his whole body shivering. "Well, seems another one of your plans has failed!" he taunted. He lunged at Frisk, but they managed to catch him and flung him to the Ruins, landing just short of the destroyed entrance. The being ran up, Bravery in charge with their gloves covering their hands and landed a solid punch to Flowey's form, smashing him through the wall that separated the two areas and Flowey landed in the now abandoned city.
The being followed, and landed on the cobble streets. "You cannot win,"they all declared.
"Ha! And what makes you think that? You're all alone now and I'm the better fighter!" Flowey swung a fist, but they caught it.
"You are wrong. We are not alone and neither are you. We are the protectors of the Underground and we fight together, while you fight only for yourself."
Flowey tried to whack them with vines, but they were now familiar with his attacks and avoided them. "You can't keep dodging forever!" Flowey shouted.
"And you can't control them forever," they rebutted. "We know the ones you have taken. Frisk's memories have given us a clear picture of what has become of the world above in our absence. And we are disappointed in our own kind."
Flowey fired off multiple missiles but the being sent a barrage of stars to counter.
"We have observed your actions and you are the real monsters,"they said, not to Flowey, but to the Souls within him.
"You had many chances to protect your fellow man,"Bravery said, gloves in hand. They charged forward, punching Flowey. "But instead, you picked on them and took what you needed. You showed real cowardice."
Flowey's form involuntarily twitched when Bravery said that.
Flowey tried to get them with his giant pellets, but Justice took over, firing their gun at the pellets, destroying them. "You could have defended those who needed it and helped each other survive,"they said. "But instead, you punished them for their weakness and left them for dead. You have no justice."
Flowey's whole arm started jerking, messing up his attack. He fired off a blast from his jaw-mouth, but a rainbow-star appeared in its path, protecting Frisk. Then, before either could react, part of Flowey's twitching arm was frozen.
Frisk turned to see Asriel leaping down, Noelle and MK in his arms.
"I know, we shouldn't be here, but you've rubbed off on them,"Asriel said, gesturing to Noelle and MK.
"You're not leaving us behind, dude," MK said. "We may be tired but we're with you all the way!"
The being shook their head, turning to face Flowey as he slashed the ice off. He roared, charging at them, but Asriel used Chaos Buster to send him back, which Frisk added to with their own, flinging Flowey halfway across the empty city.
Flowey got up in time to see the four of them arrive and he shot multiple shurikens at them. Kindness whipped out their pan and created a barrier to block the attack.
"You have also shown only hatred and contempt for others,"they said. "People need you and yet you turn a blind eye to them. And when Frisk needed you, you chose to ignore them. You have no kindness."
Now half of Flowey's body was twitching and it looked like he was fighting it. "Rrrgh, stop it," he grunted. "I'm in control, here!"
Flowey tried to slash at his opponents but suddenly felt a powerful suction pulling him backwards. He dug his roots and claws into the stone streets, turning slightly to see a giant skull behind him, its jaw open wide and pulling everything in. Asriel was standing firmly in place, arms outstretched to the skull, Noelle and MK behind him to avoid the suction.
The being came up, their eyes a light blue now. "You have only ever taken the quick path to what you needed, never considering other options, even when those options could be better. You have no patience."They whipped out their knife and slashed at Flowey, causing him to lose his grip for a moment, nearly getting sucked into the giant skull. Then, Hyper Goner ended and Flowey collapsed. His body was fighting him.
"Stop – ugh, ngh – it. You're – gngh, urgh – mine, now!" He tried firing off another blast from his jaw-mouth, but Integrity kicked him, the blast sailed across the cave and blasted an adjacent wall.
"You lie and deceive others for your own purposes," they accused. "You break your morals and violate others for your own gains. You have no integrity."
Flowey recovered from the kick, but then another blast of ice caught him on his base, making him wobble, leaving him vulnerable to Asriel's Chaos Buster.
Perseverance got up in Flowey's TV face. "And because of these means, you have chosen the easy way out of all problems, rather than sticking with them and coming up with permanent solutions. Even when one such answer was handed to you, you chose the short-term solution, rather than trying to learn to live with others. You have no perseverance."They whipped out their notebook, words flying off it to smack into Flowey, causing him to fall onto his back. Almost his whole body was twitching now.
"Stop it! Stop – urgh, agh, ngh – it! I can't – gnn, hrgh, ack – fight them if your – urk, ngh, urgh – fighting each other!" he shouted. He tried to fire off another blast, but this time, Frisk whipped out a red stick to whack Flowey hard enough to cause the blast to miss, blasting another cavern open in the process.
"And as for me,"Frisk said. "I'm ashamed to have ever been one of you. You're all incredibly selfish and cruel and never showed me one iota of compassion while the Monsters have given it to me freely. This is who I am and I will never change. So call me a traitor if you want, but I'm never abandoning my home."They struck Flowey one more time, sending him reeling from the blow.
"No! No – argh, ngh, urgh, hck – no! Quit it! They're – oof, argh, gngh, ack – just trying to get in your heads! Stop – ack, ugh, bck, rrgh – it! We can still destroy them. Stop – hagh, urgh, agh, mgh – fighting me!"
The being could see it, Flowey was losing control. His entire body was spasming and every time he tried to use an attack, it vanished before it could fully manifest.
"You are the true monsters,"they all declared. "And we will defeat you. We gave our lives for these people and we will not let you endanger them anymore."They all channeled their power together, a ball of rainbow light forming between their hands. Flowey tried to move, but his body was no longer under his control. Then, the being stretched their hands out and fired a blast of energy at Flowey.
Flowey was struck by the blast and he could feel the Souls coming untethered. "NO! NO! YOU CAN'T DO THAT! YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO OBEY ME! STOP! STOP IT! STOOOOOOPPPPPPPP!"
There was a brilliant flash of blinding light that forced everyone to shield their eyes. Faintly, Frisk could hear the sound of multiple Souls breaking. When the light faded, Flowey was a small flower again, though beaten up. With a flex of their will Frisk reverted to their child form. Asriel followed suit.
The four friends walked forward, wary of Flowey but they could see he wasn't a threat anymore.
Flowey glanced up at them. "Heh… even with all that power, I still couldn't beat you," he muttered. "Well, I guess this is it. You win. Guess you're not as weak as I thought. So, this is your chance. Finish me off." Flowey bowed his head, expecting Frisk to deal the final blow.
Frisk was surprised at that blunt statement. But it made sense. Flowey believed the world was 'kill or be killed' and once, Frisk would have agreed with him. It was all they had ever known for so long. Until they came here. Standing amidst the Ruins where they had first entered the Underground, they realized how far they had come and everything they had learned since.
Before, Frisk might have been willing to kill Flowey to save their friends and protect them from him. But now, after everything, Frisk didn't want to. They had been part of a cycle of pain that humans had perpetuated for centuries which now resulted in their extinction. Frisk refused to take part in it anymore. They had learned. They had grown. Flowey was wrong and they weren't about to prove him right by killing him. They felt a small warmth in their chest that told them the Souls agreed.
Confident they were making the right choice, Frisk chose mercy.
"… What are you doing?" Flowey questioned. "Do you really think I've learned anything from this? No."
Noelle was happy for Frisk. Though she was scared that Flowey might come back to hurt them she understood why Frisk would do this. She chose mercy, too.
"Sparing me won't change anything. Killing me is the only way to end this."
MK might have taken initiative once upon a time but enough mistakes had taught him to listen to his friends. Flowey was a threat, but he wasn't going to kill him. Not like this. Not when he couldn't even fight back. He chose mercy as well.
Flowey was puzzled by their choices. Why weren't they killing him? Why were they showing mercy? After all he had done, why? Perhaps they were too weak. But there was one he knew wouldn't do that. After all, they were the same, right?
"If you let me live… I'll come back," he said to Asriel. "I'll kill you." Asriel was shaking and Flowey pressed. "I'll kill everyone. I'll kill everyone you love."
Asriel was tempted. To say he wasn't would be a lie. Flowey was a danger to everyone and if he died it would protect everyone. But… Asriel wasn't sure if he could do that. Chara would have pushed him to do it. In fact, they had once. When he was being beaten and killed by humans, Chara had wanted to use their power to destroy them and it had been Asriel that held them back and it got him killed in the process.
For a while he had thought that if he had fought back, if he hadn't fought against Chara, he might have lived. But Frisk's story had made him rethink that. Hearing how much killing had hurt them it made him question whether fighting had been necessary. But Frisk had told him that if he had done what Chara wanted, they would have had to wage war on the humans and everyone would have died.
Asriel could see Flowey's train of thought and understand why he had adopted such a horrible worldview but he wasn't going to go down the same path. 'Kill or be killed' wasn't how the world worked and Frisk had shown him that. But not fighting at all wasn't right either, as there would always be people you couldn't reason with. The best compromise he thought was 'don't kill, and don't be killed'. He chose mercy as well.
Flowey had been waiting for the fatal blow but it never came. Asriel didn't try to kill him and he didn't understand. They were the same person! They should think the same! Why wasn't he trying to kill him? "…Why?" he questioned. "Why are you being… so nice to me?" Anger gave way to confusion. The world was 'kill or be killed'. Why were they defying that? "I can't understand." Confusion turned into disbelief. After all he had done, all the lies, the tricks, he tried to kill them, why weren't they doing it in turn? "I can't understand!" The world had only one rule! Why didn't they see that? Why did they not chose it?! Disbelief became sorrow. "I just can't understand."
Flowey ran away.
The four friends stood there, looking at the place Flowey had been. What drove the flower to become the way he was they might never know. But that last line made them feel bad for him. Could he really not understand their reasons? They would be left with questions for a long time, but they had won and they were alive.
"Man, that got scary for a moment there," MK admitted.
"But we're alive," Noelle said.
Frisk nodded to their friends before turning their focus inward. "Thank you. All of you,"they said to the Souls. "I couldn't have done it without you."
"No problem!"Bravery said. "It was fun!"
"But scary,"Integrity added.
"So what happens now?" Perseverance asked.
"Well, I think I can return you to your containers,"Frisk said. "If you are okay with that. Unless you prefer to share the body with me."
"I'd rather not,"Patience said.
"Agreed. It's not fair to you for us to be here,"Justice added. "You should live your life without us being this intrusive."
"You're okay going back to the jars?"Frisk asked.
"We all gave our lives to give the Monsters hope,"Kindness said. "We will continue to be that hope. Send us back. But if you ever need help again, you know where to find us."The other five agreed with them.
"Alright. If you're sure. Once more, thank you all,"Frisk said.
"Also, tell Toriel 'hi' for us and that we miss her,"Patience requested.
Frisk relinquished their grasp of the Souls, returning them to the jars they were previously held in. Frisk felt the power leave them once it was done. They were an ordinary Boss Monster once more.
"So now what?" MK asked.
"Let's head to Toriel's house," Frisk suggested. "It's one of the few exits out of here and we could also check on the humans to see if there are any survivors."
"Something tells me Flowey didn't leave any of them alive," Noelle commented.
"Well, let's go," Frisk said, gesturing to a staircase that led to an upper level.
Asriel followed, his feet dragging. He was pretty sure that when Frisk gave up the Souls, whatever allowed him to be visible and tangible left with them. Back to being an invisible spirit, he thought, not realizing that his clawed feet were leaving little scuff marks on the stone.
Asgore and Toriel faced the two humans that were apparently Frisk's parents.
"So, the king arrives with his queen," the man snarked. "Where's your little prince?"
"Preoccupied," Asgore answered. "Are there any others left, or is it just you two?" He had a feeling he already knew the answer.
"That thing came and killed six of us," the woman answered. "There's no one left but us."
"Were there not nine of you?" Toriel asked.
"One starved to death a couple months back," the man admitted.
"I am sorry," Asgore said sincerely. "But you did bring that on yourselves. We had offered to share and you refused."
"Because you're Monsters," the man said. "We're not about to live with abominations."
"Your kind is almost gone," Toriel pointed out. "You two might be the last ones left. Can you not see the necessity of cooperation?"
"With freaks like you?" the woman asked incredulously. "Not a chance."
Asgore sighed, shaking his head. "I am sorry you feel that way. If you cannot live with us then you cannot live here. We have a prison we can put you both in. You will be taken care of and provided for but you will not be able to roam. I can also arrange it for Frisk to visit as often as you would like."
"Where are they?" the man demanded.
"That is not easy to answer," Toriel said before Asgore spoke. "Asgore, I am not sure they will like what became of their child."
"What did you freaks do to them?" the woman demanded.
"You will find out," Asgore said. "But before that, I want to know something. Frisk told us that they took a life. Did you not comfort them at all?"
"Why? It's a cruel world. They need to be strong enough to face it. If they don't have the strength to kill, then they won't survive."
Toriel could not believe how cruel these people were. She was struggling to believe they were Frisk's parents. "Your child needed you. Needed comfort. How could you turn a blind eye to them? Taking a life is not easy and you acting like it should be is wrong. It is no wonder they never spoke of either of you and why they chose to stay down here."
"That attitude will get you killed. It's either kill or be killed," the man said. "There is no middle ground."
Asgore shook his head in sadness. There was just no reasoning with them. "I shall call Undyne. Hopefully she's recovered enough strength to supervise their transportation." He pulled out his cellphone.
"I'm not going into any cage, especially one run by you freaks!" He charged through the blue bones, flinching as they damaged him, a knife in hand. He prepared to strike Asgore but Toriel reacted faster, flinging a fireball at him. But she had made it too strong and it slammed into his chest and sent him flying into the wall where he slammed his back into it and slumped to the ground unmoving.
Toriel gasped when she realized what she had done, running to him.
"You bitch!" the woman shouted, charging through the bones as well, a knife at the ready to slash Toriel. But she only got three steps before a trident impaled her. She looked down in disbelief, then up at the Monster that had stabbed her.
"I am sorry," Asgore said sincerely. "I wish it didn't have to be this way. But know that we will care for your child, for as long as we can."
Her only response was to spit in his face. Then she slumped over, dead. Asgore pulled his trident out and the body fell to the floor. After it did, a light blue Soul appeared and for a moment, Asgore was tempted to absorb it. Instead, he swung his trident, destroying the Soul. He turned to see Toriel kneeling next to the body of Frisk's father.
"No, no, no," she muttered, channeling her magic to her hands. She tried to heal him, but it wasn't working. "Come on, come on," she pleaded. Asgore came over, laying a hand on her shoulder.
"Toriel, it's too late," he said gently.
She lowered her hands, the magic stopping. "What have I done?" she said shakily.
"You saved me," Asgore answered.
"I killed him."
"And he would have killed me," Asgore replied. "You protected me. I wish there had been another way but there wasn't. They were never going to stop."
"But they might have. Surely, we could have reasoned with them…"
"And how many lives would we lose in the process?" Asgore rebutted. "Far too many for my liking."
Toriel looked at the body – her kill – in shame. She could understand that it had been necessary, she just wished it didn't have to come to that. "What are we going to tell Frisk?"
Asgore didn't have an immediate answer. He looked around at all the bodies, what might be the last of humanity. He realized that everyone died in some manner and all rather close together. "Perhaps, we don't," he decided. "We'll let them think they died due to Flowey rather than because of us."
"And when they ask us how they died?" Toriel asked.
"We'll tell the truth," Asgore answered. "But if they don't ask, we'll say nothing. Odds are, I imagine they won't."
"But these were their parents," Toriel pointed out.
"And they never cared about their child," Asgore rebutted. "And from the little Frisk speaks of them, the feeling is mutual. I'd be surprised if they cared. I know that's wrong, but it may be the truth."
Toriel sighed, not wanting to think such a thing. But she had to agree. Frisk rarely talked about their parents and never in a good light. They might not want to know what became of them.
A moment later an orange Soul appeared from the human's chest. Without preamble, Asgore swung his trident, destroying that one as well.
Toriel stood up, her head hanging. She felt incredibly guilty for taking a life and she could see Asgore was the same. It felt horrible. Mirthlessly, she realized that she now understood Frisk better. If they felt like this when they took a life, she could see why they acted the way they did. She was going to carry this burden forever, she could tell. But she would bear it.
A short while later, they heard several footfalls coming from the other side of the yard. They turned to see Frisk – child Frisk – and Noelle and MK walking up. There was a fourth there but their eyes were so focused on Frisk, they paid it no mind.
"Frisk!" Toriel shouted in relief, running to her child, Asgore behind her. They scooped up the former human in their arms, hugging them tight. "You are alright!"
"I am," Frisk said. "By the way, the other Souls say 'hi'."
"What about Flowey?" Asgore asked.
"We won't have to worry about him for a while," Frisk answered. That told the couple that Flowey was alive, but not a threat anymore. They didn't want to know how Frisk managed that, afraid of what they had to do to defeat the flower.
"What are you two doing here?" Toriel asked Noelle and MK.
"We came to help," MK answered.
"They were a big help," Frisk supplied. "Saved my fur a time or two."
Asgore sighed. "We'll discuss the repercussions of leaving the safety of the school later."
Frisk hopped out of Toriel's arms, looking over all the bodies in the yard. "Did Flowey leave any alive?" they asked.
"There are no more living humans," Asgore answered.
Frisk sighed, walking amongst the bodies. "It's funny. For the first several years of my life, these guys were all I had. But then I met you guys and I found something better. I should feel sad, a little heartbroken, even." They saw their parents amongst the corpses, their eyes going over them. Toriel was scared that Frisk would see that it was her and Asgore that killed them, but they continued talking. "But… I don't feel anything for them. Maybe a little disappointment that they ended like this, but not sad. I don't know if that's good or bad."
Noelle came up and laid a hand on their shoulder. "It's complicated," she said. "But we're still here for you. All of us. You're one of us now so don't ever feel like you're alone, because you're not."
Frisk smiled at her. "Thanks, Noelle," they said.
Asgore came over and hugged Frisk himself, to assure his senses that they were there and alright. Frisk hugged him back, glad they still had a father. Toriel walked over and joined the embrace, hugging Frisk as well.
A few feet away, Asriel watched with a sad smile. He was glad that Frisk was happy and that they had a place they belonged now. He still felt a thread of jealousy toward them since his mom and dad were essentially replacing him with them, but he shoved it aside for Frisk's sake, unwilling to let it color his perception of them.
MK walked over to stand next to Noelle, leaving Asriel by himself. As he did, Toriel looked up, but then her eyes widened and she took in a sharp breath. Asriel was confused about what she was looking at, turning to look behind him.
Asgore heard Toriel's gasp and followed her gaze, freezing up as well. "Asriel?" he muttered.
The young Monster whipped around to face his parents and realized they were looking at him. They could see him! "What?" he muttered in surprise.
Toriel took a few hesitant steps forward in shock, reaching her arms out for him. "Is that… you?"
Asriel took a nervous step back. "W-what's going on?" he asked aloud.
"Wait… can you see him, too?" Frisk asked in surprise, which got Noelle and MK's attention. They had known Asriel was right there but they just assumed it was his spirit.
Asriel looked down at his hands and realized he couldn't see through them. He was solid. "What happened? How can you see me?" Asriel asked no one. Toriel stopped a couple steps away, puzzled by her son's statement.
Frisk had an epiphany and summoned their Soul out of their body. When it became visible, it was a glowing red heart. Just that. The white Monster Soul that had been nestled within for the past four years was gone. "Asriel, the Soul," they said, showing their Soul to all.
Asriel understood and summoned his own Soul, expecting it to fail since he technically didn't have one. But instead, an upside-down white heart with a rainbow outline became visible, hovering in front of his chest.
"You have the Soul," Frisk realized. "It went to you! You have a body now!"
"I'm alive?" Asriel said, dumbfounded, which quickly became joy. "I'm alive!" He ran to his mom, leaping up into her arms. They hugged, tears streaming down both their cheeks. Asgore came over, Frisk still in his arms, wrapping one arm around them both, adding the two of them to their hug. The formerly broken family cried in happiness, reunited once more.
"How is this possible?" Toriel questioned.
"What does it matter? Our son is back," Asgore proclaimed happily.
Noelle and MK were surprised, standing back to give the family the space it needed. "Maybe it was the human Souls," she muttered just loud enough for MK to hear. "Maybe the magic and power somehow allowed Asriel to make a separate body for himself…"
MK nudged Noelle to cut her off. "Noelle, Asriel's back," he said simply.
She nodded in understanding. "He's back." She resumed watching.
The yard was filled with so much happiness and the cries of 'my son' from both Boss Monsters and 'I'm alive' from the resurrected child, Frisk still in the Dreemurr's embrace. They had a feeling that everything was going to be alright for a long time.
End of Chapter 30
Don't go anywhere. Next week is the epilogue.