Asgore stood in place, his back to the door for a few moments. Then, Asgore suddenly turned around. He thought out loud, "I don't know why, but I can't help but feel that they should have been here by now. I'm going to check on them."

Asgore then proceeded to walk out of his throne room. Flowey watched on without really processing the information.

After a moment of deliberation, Flowey yelled out loud, "WHAT?!" again.

Flowey tipped his head down as he thought. "I- I wasn't really sure the first time, cuz I was half dead and all, but… the second time…" the plant muttered.

"Huh, somebody just killed Chara! Twice! That's why they're been resetting! It wasn't for me at all… That's equal parts disappointing and relieving," Flowey continued.

"Wait… who even did that?" Flowey speculated while rubbing his chin with a vine. "It was a gunshot so… Nerdlo? No, no way is it that wimpy loser when the king can't do anything! Then again, I don't think there's anyone else with a gun like that who knows how to use it…"

Flowey suddenly shot up in realization. "Wait, whoever it is is right here! I'm an idiot…"

"Starlo?" Flowey called out.

A cowboy stepped out from behind the throne, keeping his hat down, blocking his face from Flowey.

"Hold on… it can't be…" Flowey muttered.

The stranger pushed his hat up, revealing his face. "Wrong cowboy, partner."

"CLOVER!?" Flowey yelled.

"Howdy to you too, my best friend!" Clover said with a smile. A part of Flowey's mind vaguely noticed a Dunebud behind Clover.

"Why are you back?! How are you back?! And why is a Dunebud here?" Flowey sputtered out in confusion.

Clover sighed. "The human."

Flowey sighed. "Isn't that always the reason? But still… how? And again with Dunebud?"

Clover sat down next to his friend and petted the head of Dunebud. Clover looked up at the evening sky peeking into the underground. "The human's injustices… woke me up. I was distantly aware of everything they were doing and I just- I just- felt a ringing in my soul. It wouldn't let me sit idly by… so I didn't."

"But Chara- no, Frisk. Frisk wasn't exactly kind or integritous either. Why are you here?" Flowey asked.

Clover's face darkened into a snarl. Dunebud's face morphed in confusion. "Because murdering them in cold blood isn't exactly kind or integritous either. But it certainly is justified."

Flowey smiled as genuinely as he could muster. "I'd like to thank you from the bottom of my… wait, I'm a flower I don't have a heart. Or a soul… I thank you from the bottom of my roots."

Clover hesitated, side-eying his friend. "…You're welcome?"

"Hey friend, you're gonna need the best ammunition you can get, so here," Flowey offered, "The present I never gave to you."

A pile of magical bullets materialized next to the best friends. Clover nodded his head in approval before unloading the silver bullets and loading in the ones of Flowey's design. As he did so, Dunebud began to lean into Clover with a squeal, demanding further affection.

"What do you call these bullets?" Clover asked.

"Let's call them… friendliness pellets," Flowey suggested.

Clover raised an eyebrow, which Dunebud attempted to mimic.

"They signify our friendship," Flowey explained.

Clover silently "ah"ed.

A strange sensation went through the air, filling Flowey and Clover with a sense of unease. Clover turned to Flowey.

"I know. They just saved," Flowey concurred.

Clover stood up and walked in front of the throne. After a bit of thought, Clover reached into his satchel and threw Flowey a harmonica. It hit his head and bounced off.

Flowey lifted the harmonica with a vine. "What am I supposed to do with this?" he demanded.

Clover gave him a look and muttered, "Play it, please?"

"Why?" Flowey asked.

"Atmosphere," Clover replied.

Flowey sighed and put the harmonica to his… lips? His mouth. Then, Flowey started playing an arrangement of "Your Best Friend". Dunebud giggled excitedly, then popped over to the corner by the door. Clover tipped his hat down to hide his face as he stared directly at the walkway. The familiar feeling of a save file being updated was felt through the room.

Flowey changed his mind about the song he was playing, deciding Starlo wouldn't mind if he borrowed his theme, "North Star". It seemed rather fitting.

Author's Notes: Soon enough, we'll get to see the humans have their first real dual. Exited much? If you want the up-to-date version of the story, that's on AO3. I've linked that below this. Below that is the link to the Undertale Yellow Discord, where I have an author channel. If you want to talk about this work or any other Undertale Yellow work, click on that link and join.

Balancing the Scales of Justice - Chapter 1 - Metal_Omegux - Undertale (Video Game) [Archive of Our Own]

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