You stared at Flowey, waiting for an explanation.

"Was there… red?" Flowey asked you quietly.

You nodded, eyebrows furrowed. You weren't angry, you were scared. The Underground was proving to be more hostile than you had thought.

"Yeah." Flowey breathed. "That was… Sans. I've fought him before. Or tried to at least. I could never make a dent on him. He made me reset more than anyone else ever could."

You had almost forgotten Flowey once had the power to reset.

"You were fighting him?" you asked, confused. Flowey hadn't mentioned anything about fighting anyone before. Now that you thought about, you didn't really know all that much about him.

"I… back there, I didn't tell you everything. Before I came to the Ruins, I was different. I wasn't a flower. I was prince Asriel."

You were even more confused now. You knew about the King, Asgore. But this whole Prince Asriel to Flowey thing wasn't adding up.

Flowey looked at you. "It's a little complicated. But anyways… I lived in the castle with my parents. One day, I found a human. Like you, she had fallen from the Surface. Her name was Chara."

Flowey's voice grew quiet and seemed full of something you couldn't place.

"We took her in. Me, Asgore and… Toriel. Toriel was the queen, my mother."

Your mouth opened, but you quickly closed it. It made sense now, why Flowey had been so quiet since Toriel had found you. You assumed she didn't know who he truly was.

"Anyway. Me and Chara grew up to be best friends, but one day she got sick. She… she wanted to return to the Surface. To see the flowers. But we couldn't cross the Barrier. She died under the mountain."

Flowey's voice was shaking, and he was turned away from you.

"When she died, I fused with her soul, and carried her body through the barrier. I took her to the village, and laid her in the flowers. You should've… seen it, Y/N."

You stared at the floor, silent.

"But the villagers found me, kneeling over her. They attacked, and I couldn't hold off. I took her back, through the barrier. I made it to the garden… where I died. My soul scattered across the flowers there, and fused again so.." he trailed off, looking down at the soil he was rooted in.

"My parents" he continued. "fell into grief. My father declared war on the Surface. But my mother left. She couldn't hate humans after Chara. But I hid from them, from everyone once I took this form, and started wandering the Underground."

"I saw them all change. They all started to hate the humans. But there was one in Snowdin who was… slower, I guess. Slower to hate. I approached him in the forest one day. I'm not sure what I wanted. I thought maybe if I could change one person's mind, I would have done something."

"He was reluctant at first, insisting that he hated the humans more than anyone else, but I came to know him. He was a good person, Papyrus. We talked in the forest almost everyday from then on, and I began to really believe I could change all their minds."

Flowey turned back and looked at you.

"That's when his brother found me. I was waiting for Papyrus one day as usual, but I came face to face with Sans instead. 'So you're the weed that's been sweet-talking my brother, huh?'" Flowey mimicked. "And from there… it just gets bloody." Flowey shook his head.

A shiver ran up your arms.

"I reset over and over again, until he finally let me go. Before he did though, he told me to remember something."

You looked up at Flowey, who was staring you dead in the eyes.

"' e, i t ' d.'"

You tensed. The words had taken on a dark, dual tone resounding in your head. You'd heard them before.

From the dream...

"So… that's Sans." Flowey stated dispassionately. "I'm sorry to scare you like that. You just need to know-"

"I'm alright." you assured him, lying through your teeth a little too quickly.

Standing up and stretching your legs, you gave Flowey a smile. You had a feeling he knew you were making an effort.

"But, Flowey… I am sorry about Chara." you offered. And you were.

It was his turn to give you a smile. "Don't worry about it. We're friends now, right?"

You nodded and really smiled that time.

"Well…" you continued after a brief silence, "are we ready to go, then?"

Flowey met your eyes and nodded. "She's going to be hard to get through, Y/N. She won't let you go easily."

You secured Flowey around your neck, and stepped into the hall. The smell of cinnamon was even stronger.

"I know." you said softly.

Toriel was in the kitchen. She turned to face you and Flowey, pulling a pie out of the oven.

"Oh! Already up? Did you sleep well, my child"

You nodded. Again with the lying.

Toriel smiled sweetly at you, then turned to slice the pie.

"So," she said, "I have been preparing a curriculum for your educations. I've always wanted to be a teacher, to tell the truth."

Your heart sank. This was going to be hard.

"Toriel," you said quietly, "We can't stay here."

You stopped there, and the silence grew.

"Oh, my child," Toriel responded, a little mellower, "You don't have to be so formal with me. You could call me 'Tori', or even… 'mother', if you wanted to."

You stomach turned. Not out of disgust, but out of sadness. But you held fast. Flowey deserved to get to the Surface, and you couldn't give up on him.

"I need to get back to the surface." you continued, watching her reaction. That was a lie, too. You had no intention of going back.

She stood still for a moment, holding a plate up to the pie.

"Excuse me, children." She set the plate down. "I have something I need to do."

Toriel hurried out of the kitchen, and you followed. She disappeared down the stairs. Walking carefully, you found her at the end of the long hallway.

"Don't try to stop me, my child. You don't know what they'll do to you." Toriel's voice was dangerously low.

I'm getting tired of people telling me that.

She continued towards a light at the end of the corridor, pausing before it as you caught up to her again.

"He'll kill you both." Toriel turned, grinning widely, yellow eyes flaring. "He promised he would, if I couldn't."

You were scared now.

"Who did?" you whispered, though you felt you already knew the answer.

Toriel laughed. "It doesn't matter. You won't be leaving, my children. I'll drag you back if I have to."

With that, she conjured a fiery orb in her palm, and launched it towards you. You dodged as quickly as you could, smelling the singed fabric of your shirt's hem. You stood your ground and looked at Toriel, who grinned back.

"You won't fight back? My child, how do you suppose you'll survive out there? Don't you realize? Down here it's kill or be killed."

You clenched your jaw.

Toriel's laughter filled the room as you desperately maneuvered through a new barrage of fire. The orbs came in waves, but you never raised a hand against her. But it was getting harder and harder to get away unscathed. You were tiring quickly, already having earned more than a few burns over your body.

"I'm sorry, Toriel." you panted, "We have to keep going... "

She didn't falter. Another set of flames came at you.

"I know they all say the same thing." you tried. Toriel glanced at you curiously, the next orbs slowing a bit.

You pressed on. "The other humans. I'm sorry you had to see them all leave." you looked up at her, and she had froze altogether, her face shadowed. The corridor fell quiet.

"I'm sorry you lost them."

Then there were tears running down her face, falling to the floor. The flickering orbs of fire in her hands cackled, forgotten. She didn't make a sound.

"They never understand." Toriel finally said. "...They never realize what happens beyond this door. They don't know how many have died." Her paws clenched, and she shook.

"You'll be eaten alive! Can't you see?" Tears flew as Toriel spat the words at you, her yellow eyes desperate. "Do you want that? Your soul… removed? Torn? I've seen it happen-" a choked cry escaped her. "-six times before."

Toriel quieted again, her shoulders racking with sobs. You stood with your fists clenched, feeling horrible that you had brought her to this. Flowey was still.

Then, slowly, you stepped forward. You wrapped your arms around Toriel and for a second, she didn't move. But then you felt her paws on your back, pulling you in tightly. She pressed her head against yours and rocked you slowly. You closed your eyes.

"My child." she said shakily.

Toriel held you both for a long time. You wanted to say something, anything, to show her she deserved love. But before you could, Toriel stood up. She started to say something, her eyes on the floor, but seemed to change her mind and whispered quietly,

"Be good, won't you?"

And she left.

You stood in the silence for a minute before continuing through. Flowey was trying hard not to be heard, but you could hear him sniffling. Hugging your arms around him and the boot, you stepped out of the Ruins.