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It was a beautiful day outside. Birds were singing, flowers were blooming… but that's the issue, wasn't it?
There was a flower that didn't deserve warmth, but instead the frozen winds of Hell's 9th circle. A traitor through and through, Frisk couldn't help but feel like they should have expected it from the way he spoke about his past.
Flowey… What was wrong with him? They were such a good team, they were growing stronger, and they were going to kill Asgore once and for all! But the coward didn't want to commit to it, the bastard! He just wanted to have the moral high ground, like they haven't been in this together!
With their knife drawn, Frisk let out an angered battle cry as they slashed down on the flower, but Flowey was too quick, too nimble, and slipped into the ground before popping up behind them! Before they could fully turn around, they found their ankles wrapped in vines, before they found themselves surrounded by bullets.
They did not escape in time.
When Frisk returned to fight Flowey again, they found out the hard way that he wasn't playing around. Immediately, he wrapped his vines around their wrists instead, surrounding them with bullets once more.
“Give up, Frisk.”
Okay, fine. Different approach - Frisk had two hands, so two weapons ought to be fine. Equipping the Empty Gun into their left hand, they charged towards where Flowey stood, shooting wildly in Flowey's direction. Their bullets would overpower his own for sure, and they were prepared to cut his vines.
Flowey tried the same vine trick again, but the Empty Gun had plenty of power behind it, enough to shoot and cut them. The bullets were far easier to dodge with their mobility unrestricted, and soon enough Frisk was jumping around, barely grazed by the bullets as they kept trying to land a clean shot-
They were tripped up by vines snagging their feet, and the bullets moved too fast.
“Just go back. I'll go with you.”
Who does he think he is? Frisk shot and swung wildly, hoping to randomize their attacks just enough for Flowey to slip up, but he was too attuned to their every move. Their rage had made them far too predictable as well, and they were once again tripped. Immobilized. Surrounded.
“I can't do this without you, Frisk.”
Even with all the power in the world, Flowey was still weak. He couldn't do anything meaningful on his own but try to force Frisk to agree with him, but they were far too stubborn. One of them had to crack, sooner or later.
They came to blows again, and again, and again, neither one making any progress.
“Please, just- I don't wanna hurt anyone anymore. They don't deserve all this.”
It must have been about the 20th time they were fighting, but it was only after Flowey said that that Frisk was truly angered. It was as if something buried within them was forcefully clawing its way out, trying to remove itself from Frisk before the mounting pressure could further rip them apart. They wanted to vomit from Flowey's saccharine words, as if they weren't trying to sugarcoat their betrayal, as if the sweetness wouldn't feel horrible going up their throat. That… that bastard…!
“Why don't you step back, partner?”
Frisk was suddenly made aware of a voice in their head, but it felt… familiar, maybe not the most comforting, but a welcome reprieve from the endless fighting they'd stubbornly subjected themself to. It wasn't their fault, though; the monster royalty brought this upon themselves.
Outwardly, Frisk seemed to shut down, hanging limp and barely able to stand. As Flowey prepared to defend himself against whatever they were planning, they would suddenly jerk wildly, as if trying to get used to their body. He didn't know what was happening, but they would soon clear the air.
“It's been so long… Greetings, Asriel. Your best friend has returned.”
Flowey was, above all else, shocked by the current development. Was this… was this some kind of joke? A new way to disarm and distract him?
“Frisk, what are you trying?”
“They're trying to recover. They don't want to talk right now.”
Whoever it was that was controlling their body, they were taking slow, deliberate steps towards Flowey. He was backing away and trying to play defensively, tens of bullets hovering near him as he watched his new opponent with a great intensity.
“If you're not Frisk, then who are you? I have to get through to-”
“Remember how I would always ask Mom to fill my glass to the brim, because I found it more efficient? Because I remember how you would do the same after you found that out.”
Frisk had no such memories, but it seems the stranger in their body knew exactly which buttons to press. Flowey's expression held terror, confusion, all sorts of feelings that swirled and tangled into a nearly unrecognizable form, but it all served to make him feel small. Helpless, even.
“Ch… Chara?”
“The one and only.”
Flowey was reluctant to fire at the person claiming to be their long dead sibling, but the way they brandished their knife, he knew he couldn't expect any mercy from them. He was too afraid to hurt the person whose memory he tried desperately to cling onto, the source of all his hope before he met Frisk, and he had to shut his eyes before he could send all the bullets their way.
He would open his eyes to Frisk- no, Chara in Frisk's body continuing to walk towards him, the red sizzle of magic hanging in the air as the knife they hold appears to cool off, its dark red glow dimming.
“You know, I don't truly hate you. Not even for getting us both killed.”
Chara seemed unnaturally calm about everything, even after their display of power. Frisk couldn't help but gaze in awe, their disembodied spirit watching as their… companion, headmate, whatever they're called continued their slow and steady march. It was certainly impressive, but was this alright? It had to be, right? Flowey had betrayed them, it was only fair.
Flowey, on the other hand, could not accept what was happening in front of him. He could only feel fear as every bullet he fired was effortlessly deflected by a blade faster than he could process, each stray impact chipping away at the walls of the Judgement Hall. They weren't nearly as flimsy as the wooden bridges of Waterfall, but they were chipping, cracking, crumbling…
“That being said, I'm a little disappointed that you made that exact same mistake again. What prompted this?”
Chara was certainly good at deflecting magical attacks, but surely there were ways around it! With how slowly they were moving, Flowey had an idea, one that would need some stalling…
“I-I just… I didn't think it was right. We were gonna condemn all of monsterkind to extinction! That's- that's not what you would have wanted… right?”
“I thought so too. But after seeing what Frisk experienced, what you experienced, I've come to a different conclusion.”
Flowey didn't wait to hear it. With a ring of bullets prepared, he fired them all at once at the ceiling above, breaking off a chunk big enough to crush them! If magic wouldn't work, surely…
Alas, it was not meant to be. Chara sliced up the rock meant to crush them in a blink of an eye, but at least they stopped in their tracks for now. They had an unparalleled intensity in their eyes, staring right at Flowey.
“Humans and Monsters aren't nearly as different as I hoped. You all loved and cared for me as if I were one of your own, but when we died… look what it drove them to do. Look what it drove you to do.”
They didn't outright say it, but Flowey could feel only the worst of intentions from them; if Frisk was legitimately in danger of destroying the world, Chara was almost certainly looking to capitalize on that power. He was lucky they weren't going in straight for the kill, but they suddenly made a horizontal slash across the air, and it cracked the wall and pillars behind him heavily.
“Ch-Chara, I'm sorry! I should've- I should've followed along with your plan! We wouldn't have…”
“That's all in the past, Asriel. I don't regret letting them go anymore: we've shown monsterkind's true colors, the ones we'd been blind to for too long. If you don't wish to join me, let me go.”
“I-I can't do that! Please, we can make things right! We have to go back!”
“What makes this world so worth saving that you'd want to go back?”
Flowey knew that Chara wasn't running at him at full force, but it still terrified him as he made use of his roots and ability to bury into the ground to dodge their attacks, futilely attempting to pepper them with bullets. He was too afraid to attack them with his vines, but maybe…
“H-Hey, were you always hanging back there with Frisk? Remember that butterscotch cinnamon pie Toriel made? I mean, I dunno if you can-”
“I can. It's a good pie, but I always preferred chocolate.”
“Y-Yeah? How do you feel about the Snowdin community gua-”
Flowey yelped as he dodged another relatively slow, deliberate slash, practically scrambling away to keep his distance. Chara's ferocity knows no bounds…
“What's the point of your stalling? I want you to join me, what's your game?”
“I just want you to remember the good times! I don't care what you say about the monsters, those memories were real! Please, you have to remember!”
That seemed to provoke something, at least. It definitely got Chara to stop moving, but unbeknownst to Flowey, his words have reached Frisk too, giving the spirit pause as well.
They remembered Toriel's bedtime stories, which they had found surprisingly engaging despite their age.
They recalled Sans and Papyrus assisting them in driving off the Royal Guard, along with providing food and shelter in Snowdin.
The mercenary leader Undyne, tough as she had been to fight, had been a joy to discuss survival tips with.
Although Dr. Alphys and Mettaton had been playing the role of supervillains, they made sure to give them a proper fighting chance, as if they didn't necessarily want them dead.
…
Suddenly, the memories came flooding back! The little kernels of goodness they found throughout their journey, it could be so much more! If they could change the view of those monsters and befriend them in one timeline, surely they could change the world again!
Chara, though… they took a slow, deliberate breath, before turning their gaze towards Flowey. They held their knife out towards him, their grip tightening around the handle as the blade glowed a dark red.
“I know, Flowey. But I don't think they're worth preserving this wretched world for.”
They had made up their mind at that moment. Flowey's face was frozen in terror as the human dashed towards him, swinging their knife down on the flower…
… Only for the blow to get intercepted by their own soul.
No… Frisk's soul.
The power behind their slash was enough to cleave them in two, but their spirit-like body grit its teeth and clung on for dear life. They refused to die to such an attack, and through sheer determination they managed to piece themself together unscathed.
“Partner? What is the meaning of this?”
Flowey could only stare in shock, but Frisk didn't hesitate. They turned around to face their apparent partner, with a determined, resolute look on their face.
“I… I think Flowey's right. This world doesn't need a destroyer, but a savior.”
“Surely you can't be serious? After all they did to you…”
“I know, Chara. But things have changed. I have changed.”
Chara wasn't about to take this slight against them lying down, and moved to try and cut Frisk down. But Frisk had other plans, and quickly backed their soul into Flowey, trusting him to know what to do. Despite Chara's blinding speed, Flowey was coordinated enough to quickly pull Frisk away, and did as he and Chara once had before.
The sudden surge of power the human soul afforded him was enough to blow his opponent back, his petals shimmering red as a truly enormous amount of thorny vines sprouted from the ground and golden glowing bullets began forming around him. Chara couldn't help but feel tense at the new development, all the while Flowey had all the determination in the world.
“We're going to set things right. For ourselves, and for you.”
Chara tried to dash towards Flowey, but a swift whip of his vines smacked them back harshly, leaving a deep and wide gash where they were struck. As they geared up to defend themself, Flowey wouldn't let up in the slightest, pelting them with bullet after bullet! For all their speed, they could not deflect every single one, each bullet piercing them with the force of a powerful sniper rifle!
Chara's determination would not let them fall as easily as Frisk, however, and they would still stand and bleed. Their arms and legs were shaky from their injuries and blood loss, and Flowey took advantage of that to quickly wrap his thorny vines around them, just before they could reach for the Empty Gun!
“I'll be the prince of this world's future… I promise you, Chara.”
Chara had no time to react as they were slammed into the ground, before hundreds of bullets riddled their body. Their determination wasn't enough to save them as they bled an inky black all over the floor of the Judgement Hall.
“Is that what I look like when I die? Eugh, gross…”
Oh, right. Frisk was still with him. He should know the feeling, he's done this before after all.
“Yeah… uh, before we go back and fix this… do you mind if I confess something?”
Frisk didn't verbally respond, but Flowey could feel them… nodding? Or at least a general sense of approval for him to continue. It's weird.
“Well, I… I was kinda bullshitting about the good memories. I was terrified, and I wanted some breathing room to survive Chara for just a little longer.”
Flowey wasn't sure what he was expecting, but he let out a heavy sigh. He was anxious about Frisk's response, but all he could hear was laughter.
“Haha, they were real scary, huh? But… I was acting scary, too. I getcha. I didn't even know I could do all this, honestly.”
They didn't hate him, huh? That's a relief… he could smile and rest easy knowing that.
“Well, you learn something new every day, huh? Oh well… let's go back, Frisk. We'll find a way to beat Asgore, without all this violence.”
Their collective vision was tinted gold as they focused their determination, before filling with light as they went back once more.