Chapter 3 (Steel Tortoise)

It had taken two weeks for all the festivities to die down.

When Monday happened, all those days of warmth and family bonding were gone. Just like that. Like normal for the family, Frisk and Toriel were getting ready to go to school. Both of them had an ample amount of time, considering that not even the dawn wanted to croak yet, but Toriel was already bellowing as if they were running late. As those sounds echoed into the flower's ears, Flowey remembered those days with a bitter-sweet aftertaste. Guess there were some perks to being a flower, after all.

"Slow down, Frisk," Toriel warned the child. "If you keep eating your cereal like that, you will choke." Frisk hacked a few times, but the experienced mother had already been prepared for this impending calamity. Gently lifting their head, Toriel gave them a soothing glass of water. "Drink up, my child. I think you have had more than enough cereal for today."

"hey tori…" Sans mumbled as he abruptly staggered into the room. He stretched, cracking a few of his joints into place as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. "monday already?"

"You bet," Toriel beamed, setting her glass beside the child. She sighed happily. "Do you not just love Mondays?" The skeleton's pupils shrunk a little.

"oh… sure…" Sans responded subtly, his smile becoming more weary than usual. Every. Day. "a great day for sleeping in, right frisk?" He winked at the child, whom was preoccupied with Toriel wiping their face. Through the fibers assaulting their mouth, Frisk managed to free their tongue enough to stick it out. The skeleton had to chuckle. Then Toriel's posture began to shift a little.

"Oh and Sans," Toriel addressed with that natural motherly tone she always seemed to carry. Sometimes it never really seemed to leave her. The skeleton's eyes centered on the boss monster. "We need to talk."

"sure tori," Sans shrugged, pulling out a pair of fake rubbery human ears and sticking them near his temples. "i'm all ears." Frisk nearly spat out their cereal, milk oozing from their mouth again. The boss monster sighed, cleaning the child's face once more. She addressed Sans again.

"It is about Flowey." The air froze. Silence creeped its way into the room and it became quiet. Sans centered on Toriel again, shoving the ears back into his pockets. His smile went vacant.

"uh, okay," Sans yawned dismissively as he stretched and cracked his joints with emphasis. "you can always call me during lunch, tori. you know my number. i'll be here all w-"

"No, Sans," the mother protested. Toriel rose to her feet, slamming her foot down. "You get back here, Mister. We are doing this right here, right now." She gave the skeleton a long hard scowl, crossing her arms. Like a reluctant noodle, the skeleton squirmed, groaning to himself.

"oh my gosh." Sans's gaze shifted over to the kid. "frisk, you might want to get dressed for this one. this might not end well." He wasn't implying that anybody was going to die or anything. As a matter of fact, if anything at all, Sans was implying the he himself may be having a bad time. If there was a lesson that he learned about women over time, it's that they could smell fear; just ask Papyrus and Undyne.

Of course in the wake of an impending beat down, the kid sat there, defiantly crossing their arms. The skeleton couldn't blame them, but this was one performance he did not want them to see. "yeah, that's right," Sans affirmed. "tori and i have to do some grown up talk. i'll wait till you go." Once Toriel had finished drying their face for the second time, Frisk jumped out of their seat. With a harrumph, they marched past her and the skeleton, storming to their room with a sour pout on their face. Both monsters waited for the door to slam before they started to bicker among themselves. Toriel got on her knees, leveling herself with the shorter skeleton.

"You are watching over Flowey," Toriel declared bluntly, folding her arms. "And I want you to promise that you will take care of him while I am gone." Sans shut his eyes and sighed. Why did he know she was going to go there?

"dang, tori," Sans breathed solemnly, still keeping his smile. "after everything i told you. after everything frisk told you, you seem pretty keen on giving him a second chance…" Alphys had been among them as well. The plant was a vessel of pure determination. He was a being with the power to reshape the world by desire alone. The power of a god. It's not really the kind of toy you want to give to your child. Especially when said child had no SOUL.

"Well um… your brother seems eager to help," the boss monster pointed out. She put her furry hand comfortingly on his shoulder. "And you already know Frisk. Both of them really believe that Flowey can change and he has been behaving awfully well as of late. Do you think he has changed?"

Sans shrugged. "hey, what can i say? can't bite the hand that feeds you."

"Regardless, if Flowey does anything, you come and tell me and I will reprimand him. Understand? You do not need to do a thing." With a motherly tenderness, Toriel kneaded her fingers into Sans's scapula.

The tension in Sans's body began to melt into her fingers. The skeleton's eyes drooped. "I'll be honest with you…i don't really think this is a good idea."

"Let us give him a chance, though. Give it some time. He has already started to warm up to someone other than Frisk. Maybe all he needs is love."

Sans couldn't help but chuckle. "oh no, tori. the kid's got more than enough of that!"

"Please Sans, I am serious now. I want to give him a second chance. Do you not think people like him deserve a second chance?" Sans closed his eyes.

"you tell that to asgore."

Toriel's hands fled from his bones as she glared down on him. "Watch it."

"just saying," Sans shrugged. "although asgore is much more deserving than that weed." Toriel gasped.

"Sans," Toriel growled. "How could you compare that flower to that… that monster?!" Sans sighed. Man, did he really not want to be here.

"tori…" Sans began, turning away from her. "something makes me think… you really don't want to see what's going on."

If he could open his eyes again, maybe he'd be dreaming or maybe she'd come to her senses, but no; all he got was a body full of fur and a giant scowl to go with it. Briefly, he wondered if going to Grillby's so early in the day was an option. He shifted his eyes.

"you… you sure you want this?" His eyes raced to meet hers. Toriel always knew the skeleton had a great smile, but if she looked just above that, it would speak more monologues than any monster could speak in their lifetime. Toriel smiled, gently bringing his cold hands into her warm chest. She nodded.

"I do not know why, but I feel as if we should give him a chance. That and it is not right to leave him in the cold in his current condition. Most flowers do not fare well during this time of year."

The skeleton rolled his shoulders back, cracking a few joints. "kay."

"Sans, do you promise me?"

Sans closed his eyes again, letting time pass for a few moments before lifting his shoulders.

"fine," he sighed. "for you, but um… don't be surprised if one day you find him in the freezer."

"Sans!"

"just saying. frisk may have been entertaining him all this time, but honestly, who knows what kind of trouble he'll cause while you're all away?"

"OOOOOH FLOWEEEEY~" Papyrus cooed, twirling into Frisk's room like a ballerina. "ARE YOU BORED? FEAR NOT, FOR I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, HAVE COME WITH PUZZLES!" It had been several hours since Toriel and Frisk left and Sans was still at Grillby's. How anyone could want burgers and fries at this hour was beyond his realm of understanding. Now, he was wide awake and alone with no one to play with… except for Flowey, of course! The skeleton thought the poor flower had missed his wonderful presence to death. After all, who wouldn't? Who could miss his expertly crafted spaghetti and strategic puzzles?

After breezing through the shower and scooping up breakfast for himself, the Great Papyrus made it first priority to spend time with one of his best friends. And Flowey was so happy to see him, too! He was so happy that… he was asleep. With all those moments of anticipation and shoving the puzzle box within Flowey's face, all the skeleton got in return was a snore.

Papyrus lowered the box to find the half-wilted flower hunched over, facing the window. He couldn't make out his face, but his head would lift itself up from time to time as he breathed. The skeleton sweated, feeling a heat rising behind his neck.

"OH, NYEH HEH..." the skeleton whispered, scratching behind his head. "FLOWERS MUST NEED MORE SLEEP THAN SKELETONS DO… I SHALL LEAVE YOU TO REST, THEN." With small pings reminiscent of a xylophone, Papyrus tiptoed out of the room and zoomed away once he got past the threshold. Meanwhile, Flowey waited for the silence to set in before he sighed in relief. Flowey could have spent time with Papyrus. He was the most tolerable of everyone, but he was really not feeling up to it, right now. Sorry. Instead, the flower decided to go by the great teachings of Napstablook and avoid interaction with everyone altogether; the flower 'slept'.

Hours seemed to slip past him and it seemed as if the higher the sun got, the colder it became. It was like the windows were a feeble barrier compared to the raging cold of the outside world. Flowey tried to resist, but nothing could stop his involuntary shaking. It became even worse when his blanket fell on the floor. It was his only source of protection and he had no hands to pick it up with. Flowey grumbled to himself. How long was a school day? What time was it even? Augh, the sun burns! Since living on the surface, Flowey couldn't even look outside without hissing at it first, as if his threatening fangs would make the sun's agonizing light retreat or something. The flower kept his eyes shut. At least it made him feel better that nobody was looking… or even around.

…why was he even here? This Christmas thing was already over. Weren't they going to bring him back to the Underground or something? Flowey pondered these things to himself as he tuned his focus to the locket. Chara's locket. How did Frisk even find this? Oh wait, dad left it in a box over in his old room all these years. It still amazed him how Asgore was the only one to actually preserve his belongings all this time. Flowey snorted at the thought. Frisk was such a nosy kid. Prying into things that didn't belong to them. However, their nosiness did them good… this time around. The locket really seemed to take his mind off of the cold, even if it was for a little while.

Eventually, Flowey lifted up an eye. Light was already flooding into his cornea. He shut it quickly. "Urgh, come on, Flowey," he mumbled to himself. "You should be used to this by now. Stop being such a baby." The sun is such a pain. Back in the underground, the sun was only this painful whenever it passed the hole in the middle of the day. At that point, all Flowey could do was stare at the ground because all that was above him was nothing but blinding. Flowey tried again. Once he assured himself that he wasn't dying or having his eye balls melt into an oblivion, Flowey opened the other eye, blinking several times. "Well that wasn't so bad," he smiled.

Looking through the glass, Flowey could see that the world outside definitely looked like Snowdin, except – you know – more modern and suburban. The roofs were covered in snow and the trees were barren. He saw some birds perching themselves on the branches, but then they flew off. Flowey groaned tiredly. Might as well put him back in the underground. The plant hunched over, scanning the world below him. It was just more snow. Guh… but what was that thing down there? It was small, black, and oddly shaped. It kinda looked like an animal. Flowey mushed his face against the glass, inspecting the silhouette further. It seemed to be an oval shaped body with two half-moon strips. Was that a bird?

It was weird though, because there were these smaller black things enclosed around, flying and hopping all over it. "Hey Chara," Flowey spoke to the locket. "Take a look at that dead bird, over there! What a masochist. Having bugs eat it alive. What was it thinking?" Flowey laughed to himself. Was it even alive? Heck if he knew! Everything Flowey ever killed in the Underground turned into dust. For all he knew, it was probably still alive. The flower thought to himself over whether the bird was made out of water like humans or not. He would have offered to put the bird out of its misery himself, but no; it had to take the painful route out. "Haha! What an idiot."

Just as Flowey popped his face off the window like a suction cup, a rhythmic sound of footsteps tapped against his nonexistent ears. Instantly, he drooped.

"FLOWEY~," the upbeat skeleton chirped. "SURELY YOU MUST BE AROUSED BY NOW. YOU CAN'T STAY ASLEEP FOREVER!" The flower smirked slightly.

Try me.

"OH FLOWEY~" Papyrus tried to coax again, his head appearing past the door frame. "ARE YOU AWAKE NOW?" He smiled eagerly for a moment. The flower looked seemingly asleep. The skeleton's face deflated. "I… I GUESS NOT." The skeleton sweated again and tapped his chin. "HMM…" Papyrus hummed. "SLEEPING ALL NIGHT AND ALL DAY? FLOWERS CAN'T POSSIBLY SLEEP THIS LONG, EVEN IF THEY'RE NOT SKELETONS. MAYBE HE'S SICKER THAN I THOUGHT" Some petals were starting to grow back, but nowhere near as quickly as he imagined.

Papyrus approached the plant, poking at the back of his head vehemently. "COME ON, FLOWEY," he whined. "PLEASE, YOU'RE TURNING INTO SANS!" Then the skeleton noticed that Flowey's stem was shaking. It had stiffened slightly, as Flowey was trying to get it to stop, but he couldn't help himself. His stem trembled intensely, desperate for any kind of warmth.

"Guuurh…" a gurgle choked its way out of Flowey. Papyrus drew himself back.

"FLOWEY?" Another - more tentative - poke, and Flowey couldn't fight it anymore. The plant spun around and faced him with squinted and blinking eyes. He groaned.

"Uuuugh… it's too c-c-cold!" Suddenly, Papyrus leaped into the air.

"FLOWEY!" Papyrus exploded. "YOU'RE ALIVE!" With a swoop, the skeleton snatched the flowerpot into a tight and loving hug, but the flower tried to pull away.

"Too tight, too tight! Petals!" Flowey could barely choke out his words, as the skeleton had his radial bone pressing up against his stem. The flower yanked harder. "Flowers are fragile, remember?"

"OH THAT'S RIGHT," the skeleton corrected himself by changing positions, his other set of metacarpals and phalanges wrapping themselves around the pot. Papyrus smiled softly at the flower. "FORGIVE ME, FLOWEY. I WOULD NEVER WANT TO HURT A FRIEND." Keeping the flower in hand, he squatted down, picking up Flowey's blanket from the floor. "THIS ROOM IS INDEED FREEZING," he observed. "I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, SHOULD HAVE KNOWN. COME DEAR FRIEND, I SHALL TAKE YOU SOMEWHERE WHERE IT IS WARM. I SHALL EVEN MAKE YOU HOT CHOCOLATE!" The flower didn't even grumble as Papyrus wrapped the small cloth that was his blanket around him and carried him out of the room.

"Do I have to," Flowey whined childishly. He was sitting on a table where he had a clear view of the fireplace and the warmth steaming from it. The flower found it rather comforting compared to the harsh winter air, but it would be even better if there wasn't a pile of trash laying beside him. Look at it; it's snoring. There was something that didn't sound like a snore, though. Flowey took a whiff of the air and cringed. He swore to himself that Papyrus's brother was just out to get him. He glared at the bag of bones and pointed at him with a leaf. "Why HIM?"

"NOW, FLOWEY," Papyrus pacified. "JUDGING FROM YOUR RATHER… POOR SLEEPING HABITS, I DON'T APPROVE OF YOU BEING NEAR SANS."

"I don't approve of me being near Sans, either."

"WELL I WON'T KEEP YOU FOR LONG. AS YOUR CARETAKER WHILE FRISK IS AWAY, THE GREAT PAPYRUS MUST MAKE SURE YOU ARE IN GOOD HEALTH. THIS TABLE HERE WILL KEEP YOU WARM AND TOASTY."

"Doesn't help that you moved his toaster in order to put me here," Flowey mumbled. "I HOPE that wasn't a pun, by the way."

"OH HEAVENS NO," Papyrus shouted. "I ONLY PUT YOU HERE BECAUSE IT IS CLOSEST TO THE FIRE. ANYWAY, THE MASTER CHEF PAPYRUS SHALL PREPARE YOUR DRINK. WOULD I SATIFY YOU WITH A HOT CHO-CO-LAT?" The skeleton wiggled his nonexistent eyebrows, but Flowey curled his fangs in response.

"How about a nice warm SOUL?" The flower asked teasingly.

"ALRIGHTY THEN, ONE REFRESHING HOT CHOCOLATE COMING UP~!" With his unwavering spirit, the Great Papyrus frolicked into the kitchen and with that, a certain skeleton and Flowey were left alone.

Flowey always did admire the way Papyrus was able to shake off anything. Well… almost anything. A time flashed through his mind where the skeleton's bones weren't as big as he made them out to be. As a matter of fact, they were actually quite fragile. And the flower loved to hear them break…

"FLOWEY, STOP PLEASE," Flowey could hear the skeleton screamed. His eyes envisioned the agony in the skeleton's eyes as his vines pulled hard against his bones. "THIS HURTS!"

"You want to be in the Royal Guard, don't you friend~?" Flowey's voice was playful at first, yet easily able to plow into dark extremes. "This is the fate of the Royal Guard, Papyrus. The fate of all who join! You must be able to stand and stare death right in the face. You must be willing to die!" It was all fun for a while. Watching his reactions. Watching him squirm and beg for mercy and get none.

Flowey never forgot the time he found Papyrus gazing over a pit of lava below him. From time to time, he found him standing over it only to walk away. One day, Flowey went to Snowdin for their usual training. It almost seemed out of the blue when he said:

"FLOWEY… IT'S NOT WORTH IT… I'M NOT GOOD ENOUGH…"

"Of course you are, friend. If we train a little more, you'll-"

"NO, I'M NOT DOING THIS ANYMORE. I'M GOING…"

"Oh, and where do you think you're going, best friend~? I shouldn't even call you that, now! If you were really my best friend, you wouldn't leave me like this!"

"WELL TOO BAD. I'M GOING TO THE HOTLANDS AND YOU CAN'T STOP ME."

"And what are you going to do there, huh? Are you going there to see your precious boyfriend?"

"NO. I'M GOING THERE TO DIE."

It was at that moment that Flowey sunk into his chew toy way too far and broke him…

A curdling sound reverberated through Flowey's nonexistent ears. His leaves were getting heavier on one side. Then something began to run underneath his nose. Flowey knew what was going on, though. Flowey flung the heavy leaf in the offending direction.

"Nice try," Flowey taunted, lifting himself up. The culprit in mind was covered in whipped cream, staring at the flower with that vacant smile of his. "I wasn't sleeping, you bonehead."

Sans seemed to be enjoying himself though, nonchalantly scooping the white goop up in his phalanges and bringing it up to his mouth. "that's okay," the shorter skeleton replied. "i love whipped cream."

"Yeah? And I like mushing ketchup all over your jacket." It was an almost passive remark, but it was just enough to bring the tires against the rubber. Sans appeared to not be biting, but Flowey knew better than to sink into that façade. His smile was getting cheekier.

"Did you relish it," Sans asked with a wink. Flowey stared at the skeleton.

"I'm not answering that." Flowey looked away.

"it didn't have to be a question." With a growl, Flowey swerved around and faced him, making direct contact with his eyes.

"Okay then," the flower started. "Let's get to business. Why were you searching for me after the barrier broke?"

The skeleton didn't answer. His eyes were locked right with Flowey's and that innocent little smile he carried started to become all the more menacing as he glared.

"oh, you know," Sans explained casually. "i was in the neighborhood. somebody's gotta take care of those flowers. make sure no weeds grow in there." Sans shifted his eyes. "guess i overlooked."

Flowey smiled patronizingly. "So what? Were you trying to kill me? How adorable!" He had to giggle at that. Did he realize how many times he could have died, but didn't? Years and years of deaths piled one on top of the other. If Flowey's had a dead body for everytime he died, there would be enough bodies to fill a stadium. Flowey's eyes narrowed into slits. "Did Frisk tell you something they shouldn't have? How much do you know?" Sans chuckled at that.

"how much do i know of what?"

"Don't play with me, Sans," Flowey barked. "What do you know about the timelines?"

"you really wanna go there, don't you pal?"

"YES, because of anyone has more dirt on me than anyone else, it's gotta be you." Well actually, if Flowey's theory of Sans not retaining memories from other timelines was correct, he would only be the second biggest threat. Whatever, the plant still got the desired effect!

Without warning, the skeleton slid out of his seat. He wasn't even looking in his direction. It seemed reminiscent, though. There was a time when the frustrated flower attempted to challenge Sans to a duel. At first it didn't seem as if he would bite. He rose from his sentry station slowly, as if there wasn't any real urgency. Then with one swift swiping of his arm, Flowey found himself face to face with a tree and the showering 'face-plant' jokes that came right after.

There was no tree this time, much to Flowey's fortune. Sans kept walking away from him. Flowey studied his adversary with caution. From the looks of it, there was no way he was going to fight. For Sans, it was all the matter of stepping on the right toes. Outside of that, Sans had to be the laziest bum he had ever met.

Then the skeleton stopped. He stood completely still and Flowey's glare was locked to his body. He wouldn't dare turn away. With a glance, Sans noted the flower and then the bookshelf before him. He rolled back his shoulders.

"welp," the skeleton finally spoke. "you gonna reset?"

Flowey's eyes widened. Was this a joke? Was he trying to rub that lack of power in his face? With clenched teeth, the flower stretched his mouth with the stench of his friendly façade.

"Golly, would I love to," the plant sneered. The skeleton's head snapped at him.

"go on then," Sans said calmly. "i'm surprised we even stayed here this long."

"Well, gee," Flowey smirked. "Sorry to say you might be trapped in this timeline, buddy. It's not that I won't do it, but that I can't do it. Frisk has that ability now. Their DETERMINATION always seems to override mine."

And with that, the Smiley Trashbag turned around, strolling back with that agonizing smile slashed permanently on his face. Gosh, did he hate that stupid smile…

"then…" Sans started, closing his eyes. "other than being my brother's secret admirer… you're not a threat. if anybody's got more dirt on you, frisk would be the one you wanna talk to."

"But SANS," Flowey growled. "I'm talking about YOU! Do YOU remember ANYTHING AT ALL about the timelines?" Sans was leering over the flower pot at this point, that lifeless smile unfolding in front of him. Flowey wondered why he was even pushing it so hard if he already knew the answer. Yet he wouldn't look away from the skeleton until he shut his eyes again, sighing solemnly.

"you really wanna know," Sans asked.

"YES!"

Sans grabbed the pot, all of a sudden. The disoriented flower watched as Sans took him to the kitchen of all places.

"Wait Sans," Flowey piped up. "Where are we going?"

"you said you wanted to know," Sans replied, opening the freezer door. "it's either here or outside."

"What are you talking about," the flower protested. "I'm not going in THERE! You're crazy!"

"really? because it looks like you can't take the heat. time for you to chill out." What made things worse was that there was a pot full of milk sitting on the stove, but Papyrus was nowhere in sight.

"Where's Papyrus," Flowey demanded. "Papyrus, help! Help! The skeleton is bullying me! PAPYRUS!" …but nobody came. Figures. Some things just never seem to change. Why did he even try?

The flower thrashed and rattled violently in Sans's grip, but the skeleton knew better than to carry Flowey around. With one swift move of his arm, Flowey went smashing against the frozen meatballs and veggies, soil displacing itself all over from behind him. It was a miracle that idiot didn't break the pot.

"welp," the skeleton saluted. "see ya, nerd." SLAM!

"FLOWEY," Papyrus called out urgently. "ARE YOU IN HERE?" For once the blinding light meant something good and it wasn't the afterlife.

"FLOWEY!" The skeleton grabbed the pot before wagging his finger childishly at him. "HOW DID YOU END UP IN HERE? DON'T YOU KNOW THE FREEZER IS NOT FOR FLOWERS!?"

The plant in question shivered violently, his face full of rage. "Why don't you go ask your t-trash brother," he growled. "He sure knows A LOT about that!" Handing the pot over to Frisk, Papyrus began scooping up the stray soil while reorganizing the freezer. Frisk frowned at the plant.

"I didn't think you'd get into this much trouble," said the child.

"Yeah, and I di-didn't think I'd get into such little trouble," Flowey cried. "You're just lucky I didn't bl-blast him into pieces!"

"OH, LOOK AT HIM," Papyrus howled as he set the soil in Flowey's pot. "HE'S SO COLD THAT HE'S NOT THINKING STRAIGHT. I SHOULD'VE KNOWN BETTER THAN TO LEAVE FLOWEY WITH SANS FOR SO LONG. HE MUST HAVE BECOME SO WARM THAT HE WANTED TO BE COLD AGAIN. NOT TO WORRY, FLOWEY! THE MASTER CHEF PAPYRUS KNOWS EXACTLY WHAT YOU NEED; A NICE, REFRESHING CUP OF ICE-"

"GRRRR!"

"I-I MEAN HOT! HOT COCOA! NYEH HEH HEH!" Papyrus was sweating nervously. He grabbed two mugs, filled them with the drink, and set them before the children. Frisk took one and brought it up to shivering flower's mouth. "DRINK UP!" He took a swig and cringed.

"Wow, that's hot," Flowey gasped, blinking his eyes. "Good job, Papyrus."

"I helped!" Frisk smiled sheepishly. "Thanks again, Papyrus!"

"WITH GREAT PLEASURE, HUMAN," The skeleton blushed. Scooping up the cups and the pot together, the child hurried away to their room. Papyrus waved to them. "ANY TIME!"

"I hate it here," Flowey grumbled at the child. He swore if he had arms, they would be crossed by now. Everything about this situation sucked from the people to his current status as a pathetic houseplant. Even the view outside sucked because there was a tree and house in the way and it wasn't like he had legs that he could walk around with. He was confined in a child's room and the child didn't want to play with him. A whole day sitting around being bored and they have to go do math. Flowey scowled at the child. "Why am I still here, anyway?"

"Well, mom said it's best to let you heal first before we let you go."

"Your mom is an idiot." Frisk slammed their pencil down.

"But Flowey," they gasped in shock. "She's your mother, too!"

"NO, SHE'S NOT," Flowey snapped. "I HAVE NO MOTHER! I DON'T NEED A MOTHER! I'M FINE ON MY OWN!" He whipped away haughtily, trying to focus on the view outside, but Frisk wouldn't let him. Instead, they wrapped their arms around his pot and brought the angry plant close to them. They wondered how long it had been since Flowey got a hug or kiss or any kind of love from someone. They thought maybe he would appreciate it. And he did… with a prickly vine slashing against their cheek.

"Don't touch me," he spat, bearing his fangs. "I don't want your saccharine bullshit! In this world, it's KILL or BE KILLED. The only love that will ever matter here is LOVE." With a grunt, Frisk released the plant, but Flowey lost his balance and rolled over the child's homework. Their hands were shaky as they anxiously tried to prop him back up. Thank goodness he wasn't recently watered.

"Flowey," Frisk stared, a protective hand over their torn cheek. "I just wanted to help."

"Really, you wanted to help," the flower mocked. "Why don't you give me your SOUL then, huh? You can't change me, you idiot. Nobody can. I've seen all of this before and you're no different. You just want me to feel again, like everybody else."

"Why can't you try again," Frisk wailed, wiping their tears in their eyes. "Please, we could help you if you just try!"

"No, I already tried! Can't you see that it's impossible, Frisk? That it's impossible because I don't have a SOUL? You're better off taking me back to the underground. I don't really care about you or anybody else in this pointless world." His vines coiled tighter around the locket. "There's only one person I care about and even then… I wouldn't truly be able to care about them." Flowey lowered his head. Even with a wall of ceramic between him and Chara, Flowey could still hear their heart beating just as strong. The sickly plant began to steady his breath, the heavy gasps becoming soft.

Frisk sat on their bed, licking the blood and tears off their hands and rubbing it against their pants. Knowing that Flowey did care for at least one person. It filled them with DETERMINATION. Frisk looked up at him, attempting to veer the conversation somewhere else.

"So… what have you been doing all day?"

"Nothing."

Frisk blinked. "Nothing?" The pale flower nodded.

"It would have been great… until Papyrus showed up and ruined EVERYTHING. He decided it'd be funny to put me next to his trash brother and then ABANDON me!" He hollered that last part at the door, hoping Papyrus would hear.

"But… why would you willingly do nothing all day?"

"Well, it's not like I could do anything to begin with," Flowey retorted. "I don't have any hands and from the way I see it, I either play dead or somebody DROPS dead around here. Okay?"

Frisk nodded, their eyes wandering to the floor. The room became quiet momentarily.

"That reminds me," Flowey piped up again. "About animals on the surface world. Are they like humans and their bodies stay after dying?"

"Uh… yeah. Why do you ask?"

"I was just thinking is all. Would you mind putting me up by the window sill again and leaving it open? That way I could get more sunlight."

Within the reaches of their right ear, Frisk could hear a door opening, followed by some greetings from downstairs. Frisk swiftly followed what Flowey asked before spinning around and running down stairs. They almost missed their leap into their surrogate mother's arms again.

"Mommy!"

"Frisk," Toriel cried, wrapping the child into a big motherly hug. Of course, she had to be careful as human bones weren't as strong as a boss monster's. She couldn't hold them as tightly as she would with Asriel. It was one of the small things she missed about her flesh-born child. The fact that she always had so much love to pour out on Frisk, but constantly had to refrain herself from doing so. Frisk could feel her holding back too, but they giggled all the same. Toriel playfully swung the child around before actually studying their face. "Did you have a good day at school, today? …My child, your face is bleeding." Toriel ran her thumb through their cheek and dried blood got caught in her fur. "What happened?"

"It's nothing," Frisk said dismissively.

"Nothing?" Toriel's eyebrows furrowed.

"Yeah," Frisk nodded vigorously. Then they looked away. "…um… Flowey and I got into an argument… and I tried to comfort him, but he um… he slapped me. It was my fault, though. I should have left him alone…" Frisk's eyes shifted continuously, bringing their hands over their mouth. What if Sans finds out? Fear for the ill plant's fate dangled over them like a chandelier about to fall.

"QUEEN TORIEL," Papyrus interrupted. Sometimes "Queen" would slip out without him even realizing. The skeleton was more excited than usual. "THE GREAT PAPYRUS HAS BEEN MAKING HIS WORLD FAMOUS SPAGHETTI!"

"and it's edible this time," Sans added.

"SEE? EVEN MY BROTHER IS SMILING OVER IT! I'LL BE SEEING YOU TWO AT DINNER~. NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!" Then his head disappeared into the living room. Toriel began to set the child down when Papyrus popped up a second time. "HEH." Both of their heads snapped in his direction as he fled. Gazing at their towering mother, Frisk could tell that she wasn't upset. Her eyes were actually quite soft. Toriel ran her fingers through the child's hair reassuringly.

"I will talk to Flowey after dinner," she declared. "In the meantime, I will dress up your wound."

Flowey appeared to be livelier by the time Frisk came back. He smiled brightly at the child, watching them step into the room.

"Howdy, Frisk," the flower greeted. Frisk jumped back. "Is it time for dinner, yet?"

"Almost," Frisk replied with a half-smile. It had been so long since Flowey looked this buoyant. They tried not to let the sudden change faze them, however. "Would you like to join us? Papyrus and the others would really appreciate it if you came this time." It would also mean that Frisk could enjoy their dinner with their family again; something they haven't been able to do since Christmas.

"I sure would," Flowey chirped, wiggling his little limp leaves. "I can't wait!"

"Okay." A sense of unease permeated the air. Frisk could feel it. The child's hand trembled as they did their homework, glancing now and again. At one point, Flowey even gave them his famous wink. They almost missed Toriel's call for dinner.

Things went smoothly at first. Papyrus had been raving the whole time over how great his cooking and Mettaton's new show. Apparently, it's been getting dramatic ratings for its spontaneity and humor. It was a huge step compared to the small stage he, Shyren, Napstablook, and Burgerpants first resided on. Papyrus reenacted a few parts which, for once in a blue moon, Flowey laughed genuinely at. Meanwhile, Frisk took note of the flower. Toriel and Papyrus told him how happy they were to see him getting better, but Frisk thought otherwise. It wasn't until he heard his laughter from how loud he snorted that maybe he really was trying to get better. This was turning out to be a great start for him.

"Don't forget dessert," Flowey chimed in suddenly. Everyone was just about finished with dinner, laughing among themselves when something popped out of the flower's pot right into Frisk's empty spaghetti bowl. It was black and had its limbs sprawled out. Its spinal cord was sticking out like jagged shards from being shoved into the pot and its eyes and beak were gaping open, staring at anyone who had the audacity to look. It was a dead bird.

Screams rang throughout the house as more than half the table scurried away into various corners of the dining room. Frisk nearly fell out of their chair in shock, crawling away in fear as the flower laughed at them all.

"What is that," Toriel shrieked. "Are they even alive?!" The only one who never moved a muscle was Sans, who was watching the plant and smiling. That lousy, no good piece of…

"wooow," Sans looked around in his own amusement. "looks like you really knocked 'em dead, huh Flowey?" As the shorter skeleton reached over to pick up the rotten bird, Papyrus fainted.

Author's Note: Hey there! It's been awhile, huh? Like two months. Oh my goodness, I was not expecting to take so long! I hope this makes up for it, though. I'm expecting that the next chapter should be shorter and that's when things really start hitting the rubber. So I'm excited for that! If anything, you can follow my Tumblr ( bunnyrocxpantz) or the tag SSaCaGF for updates as I actually am taking my time with this (in case you couldn't already tell) pouring my love into it. I am determined to finish this fic. Also, I'm planning on reediting this first two chapters of this fic because there are some small inconsistencies I want to fix, but it's nothing huge. I appreciate any comments you guys give me because I love to hear your reactions, no matter what they are. What you like, what you didn't like, whatever! They really make my day and thank you all for the support I've been getting so far! Toodles~