A trail of golden petals wound through the small cave, spread several feet apart but identical in size and color. At the end of the trail was a flower, slowly inching forward, vines struggling to pull it along.

Flowey had seen better times. With only a few petals left surrounding his face, he knew his end was near. He had escaped with little health, despite the amount of power he had. He never thought anyone could hurt him. No one ever had until now.

Yet here he was, on the brink of death. Normally if he wanted to die he just reset, but for some reason, ever since they showed up, he couldn't. Their determination was too high. He made sure to make them pay for it, but… He didn't expect this.

As he pulled himself forward, one of his vines snapped. A huge wave of pain hit him and he almost yelled, feeling his HP go down again. He had only 3 points left. He was going to find whoever did this, and once he did he'd rip them limb from limb…

There was a voice coming from behind him. Flowery turned himself around slowly, wincing as his damaged vine wiggled frantically.

The semi-familiar figure of a tall skeleton could be seen in the distance, along with the smaller human and a very tall figure whom Flowey guessed was Undyne.

"FLOWEY!" he heard Papyrus shout, and an anger like no other boiled inside of the flower. With the last bit of strength he had, Flowey shot his vines out and wrapped them around Undyne and Papyrus, unable to ensnare Frisk due to the snapped vine.

"WHY DID YOU BRING THEM TO ME?!" Flowey roared, making the trembling human flinch. They just stood, shaking. "DID YOU DO THIS TO ME?"

Frisk shook their head rapidly, watching as another petal detached from Flowey's head and drifted down.

The enraged flower saw his petal falling and let out a sigh, releasing his grip on the two monsters. As soon as Undyne could move her arms, she summoned her spear and started an attack, yelling in fury. Papyrus stepped in front of her, stopping the spear with a bone from the ground.

"Just do it," Flowey grumbled. "Just kill me." He sank into the ground and popped up in between Papyrus and Undyne, face warped. "JUST KILL ME!"

The head of the Royal Guard lowered her spear, tempted to do as the flower wished, but then dropped it. Flowey moaned, drooping over. Small tears escaped his eyes.

"Who did this to you?" Undyne asked. They had just entered the forest door by force, and the first thing they saw was Flowey. No clues were left in Snowdon Forest. There was no trace of Sans nor his captor.

The flower let out a hoarse laugh. "I don't know. Just go away. Leave me to die in peace."

In the preceding silence, Frisk stepped forward and pulled a Cinnamon Bunny from their pocket, holding it out to Flowey. He knocked it away with a growl. Frisk just pulled another Cinnamon Bunny out. They scrunched their face up into an angry expression and forcefully thrusted the food in front of Flowey, making a small grunt.

He begrudgingly gulped it down, and a few of his wounds slowly started to fade. Two of his petals regrew.

Undyne frowned. "How can you not know who attacked you?"

"I just don't know," the flower snarled. "I was minding my own business and suddenly my HP was lowering quicker than ever before. I couldn't see anything; there was this light that almost blinded me." Flowey sighed. "When it was over, no one was there."

The cave was silent. Frisk offered Flowey another Cinnamon Bunny, and this time he took it. A few more petals grew back, and he was starting to look like his old self again. After a moment, he spoke. "What are you doing here, anyway? I stay here to get away from monsters like you."

"MY BROTHER IS MISSING, AND WE THOUGHT HE MAY HAVE COME HERE," Papyrus explained, puffing his chest out for no apparent reason. "HAVE YOU SEEN HIM?"

Flowey shook his head, a crooked smile stretching across his face. "Sans? No, I haven't seen Sans in a long time." There was something strange in his tone that put the skeleton on edge. Warning signs flared into his mind, alarms blaring that something was off.

Bones shot up from the ground, imprisoning the flower in a cage. "WHAT DID YOU DO TO SANS?"

A yelp escaped the golden flower, and he curled in on himself slightly. "Geez! I didn't do anything to your stupid brother, idiot! Let me go!"

Undyne rested a webbed hand on Papyrus's shoulder, a concerned look crossing her face. The skeleton was getting trigger-fingered, attacking anything that even mentioned seeing his brother. This wasn't like the usual, light-hearted Papyrus she had spent so many frustrating hours trying to train to be aggressive. He was stronger. Sans's disappearance had turned something on in his soul, and Undyne wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.

The bones retreated back into the ground, freeing Flowey. He dragged himself a few feet away from the violent skeleton, a little confused. Papyrus had always been a pushover; why was he suddenly powerful? "Listen, I don't know where your brother is, and honestly I don't care. Now will you guys just leave me alone?"

The two monsters on either side of Frisk had no qualms, but the human stepped forward. They made a few signs, but once again realized that no one would understand. Instead they gestured for Flowey to come closer. From their pack they pulled a boot that they had found shortly after entering the Ruins. It looked big enough to hold Flowey, and they waved and pointed, trying to make him understand.

None of it made sense to Flowey, but Undyne caught on after a moment. "I think they want you to come with us. In the boot."

The child smiled up at Undyne and nodded, then tugged gently on one of Flowey's uninjured petals. He flinched away. "What makes you think that I want to hitch a ride with you losers in a boot?"

Frisk shrugged. They just wanted to help him, and maybe he'd help them too. The child tugged on Undyne's hand, making a pleading face as she looked down. The fish monster sighed. "Just get in the boot, flower."

Flowey grumbled as he did so, but made no argument. Once he was situated in the brown leather, he slumped. "I hate my life."

Happily, Frisk continued forward, holding the boot carefully. Papyrus and Undyne shared a suspicious look but followed, ready for action in case Flowey attacked. Fortunately he didn't, bobbing involuntarily with every step Frisk took.

The dark cave that Flowey was in stretched on for a while, then turned into a long purple corridor. The human and their companions walked through in silence until their path ended with another door, much like the forest door but smaller and etched with a symbol all of them were familiar with.

"The Royal symbol?" Undyne questioned softly, a little confused. "What's that doing here?" Then she realized that this was probably left from when the first monsters came through the Underground, living in the Ruins until they packed up and settled Snowdin, Waterfall, and so on.

Papyrus stepped forward and gently pushed the door. It swung open, revealing a small, oval-shaped room that led into another corridor.

Frisk led the way, ignoring the grumbles of the flower in the boot. No one spoke as they walked, an anxious silence falling around them. Each creature had thoughts keeping them occupied, feet moving of their own accord as their minds switched on autopilot.

There was a wooden staircase leading up to somewhere unknown to Papyrus and Undyne. Frisk and Flowey, however, knew exactly what was up there, but didn't speak up. Frisk just continued on, not waiting for Papyrus and Undyne, who both had paused in puzzlement.

The brightly-lit, comfy atmosphere of Home came as a relief to the human child. They let out a long, relaxed sigh, looking around at the cream-colored walls with fondness. Flowey shrank away from the light, grimacing. He hadn't been here in a while, and he remembered why.

Undyne stood in shock, mouth sightly agape. A perfectly kept-up house in the Ruins? She thought that no one other than smaller monsters with no homes lived here. Apparently not. This house looked very familiar though. She couldn't put her finger on it , but she'd seen this somewhere before…

The skeleton was in a similar state of shock, staring around in disbelief and wondering if this is where Sans always disappeared to beyond the forest door. He shook his head. Sans couldn't have kept a place clean like this.

After letting the monsters take in their surroundings, Frisk took a deep breath and stepped into the main room. The others followed slowly, and Flowey curled into himself even more. He hated this place; filled with mixed memories of thousands of timelines. Sometimes this house was a safe haven. Sometimes it was a crime scene. Other times… He didn't want to think about it.

No one was in the living room, but sounds could be heard from the kitchen. Fire crackling, metal clattering quietly.

"Is someone… cooking?" Undyne asked no one in particular, her voice lowered to a whisper.

A sweet smell filled the room. Frisk felt a shiver of panic go down their spine. They had broken a promise, and now they had to face the consequences.

Toriel stepped into the room with a pie tin in her arms. Upon seeing the human child and monsters in her house, the tin fell to the floor, snail pie splattering. The former queen crossed her arms, looking disappointed. "Child… I told you not to return."

Undyne and Papyrus's jaws dropped. They looked from Toriel to Frisk to each other in confusion.

Undyne dropped to her knees. "Q-Queen Dreemurr-"

"I no longer answer to that title. You should know that, young one." Toriel corrected softly, unable to resist the gentle smile that crossed her face. "Stand up. My name is Toriel. I know this human already; will you introduce yourself and your friends and tell me why Frisk brought you here?"

Undyne just opened and closed her mouth. Papyrus was in too much shock to speak. Flowey just didn't care.

Frisk moved their hands, introducing Undyne, Papyrus, and Flowey. They explained to Toriel that Papyrus's brother was missing and that they thought he might be in the Ruins, since he hung out by the door in Snowdin Forest regularly.

Toriel's gaze softened as she saw the story, and once Frisk's hands stopped moving she let out a sigh. "I do not know where your brother is. No one can enter through that door; it must've taken quite a bit of strength to break through, Undyne." She paused. "I have known Sans for a while. I never knew his name before now. I did not even know what he looks like and I still don't know. I only know his voice. It was a lonely voice, ever though he tried to cover it with wit. He practiced knock-knock jokes on the door, and once he knew I was on the other side he talked to me about his life, as well." Toriel looked at Papyrus with a sad smile. "Sans mentioned you many times, Papyrus. He loves you very much and is proud of you. Yet he is such a lonely monster. The last time I talked to him, the child was in my care and I was out of sorts. He comforted me and made a promise to protect them, and then he left. The storm sounded very harsh."

The tall skeleton looked intently at Toriel. "WE HAVE A VIDEO RECORDING OF SANS TALKING TO YOU FROM THE DOOR. ONCE HE LEFT, HE WAS PULLED AWAY BY SOMETHING VERY FAST. WE THOUGHT IT MIGHT'VE PULLED HIM THROUGH THE DOOR."

Toriel frowned. "I'm sorry. He didn't come through here through here or I would've sent him back." she remembered the ruined pie on the ground and let out a chuckle. "Before I send you away, would you help me clean this up? I'll make a new meal for you before you leave."

The group agreed, all except for Flowey. "I've had enough of this happy crap. Can't we just leave now?" he snarled, trying to squirm his way out of the boot.

Toriel crossed her arms again. "You must be so uncomfortable in that old boot! Stay here, I've got just the thing."

The flower groaned as she scurried into the kitchen, then reappeared with a flower pot. "Here, child. Put him in this, it might lift his bad mood. Come now, everyone. Let's tidy up!"

It didn't take long to clean the pie up, and soon everyone was in the kitchen, watching as Toriel cooked and told stories about Sans, her adventures in the Ruins, plus an abundance of snail facts.

The steaming casserole Toriel had created was excellent, at least to Undyne and Papyrus. Frisk wasn't a fan of snail so they just indulged on some candy that Toriel gave them. Flowey sulked silently in his flower pot, regretting his decision to go along on this stupid adventure.

A lull in the conversation at the table brought Papyrus's thoughts to his brother again. He sighed, placing his fork down on the table with a clink.

"What is troubling you?" Toriel questioned softly, putting a paw over the skeleton's phalanges.

"I WONDER WHERE SANS COULD POSSIBLY BE." His appetite vanished, replaced with worry that gnawed at his soul. Images of Sans flashed through his mind, cold and alone; injured and crying out for help that never came. If only there had been some clue, some remnant of whatever took him besides low-quality footage.

Toriel hummed. "He occaisionally mentioned someone named 'Grillbz' to me, is that of any significance? Sans seemed very fond of him," the former queen suggested, hooking her claws together and twiddling her thumbs.

Papyrus shook his head. "I CHECKED THERE AND GRILLBZ HASN'T SEEN HIM."

"What about his guard posts in Waterfall and Hotland?" Undyne asked. "He has little shortcuts between them, right?" Maybe he was taken there for some reason?"

The skeleton shrugged. "IT'S A LONG SHOT, BUT IT'S SOMETHING. LET'S GO!" He started to stand up, but Toriel stopped him.

"Do you young ones have any idea what time it is?" They just stared blankly at her. Toriel tsked. "You need to have a good night's rest before you go out again. There is a bed in the room down the hall, and a bigger bed in the other room, which can most likely fit two of you. I will sleep in my armchair."

"Are you sure, Toriel?" Undyne asked. "That's a very generous thing to do."

Toriel smiled warmly at the fish monster. "Yes, Undyne. You need your strength, and a peaceful rest is the best thing.

Papyrus's rest was everything but peaceful. Undyne was a sleep-talker, mumbling something about "destroying" and "war" every five minutes. Plus, the worry was still there. He laid rigid under the covers, mind reeling about how hurt and scared and alone his older brother must be. The thing that took him seemed pretty strong, and even though he knew Sans could hold his own in a fight, Papyrus was still concerned.

When he finally drifted off, it was only a short while before he was viciously jerked awake by a jarring nightmare. He curled into a ball, shaking, orange tears trickling from his eye sockets and onto the sheets. Undyne suddenly let out a loud "HYA!" and kicked out, catching Papyrus in the ribs and sending him sprawling off of the bed. He let out a strangled yelp as he landed on the floor, then curled up once again, deciding to stay down there until morning.

Toriel woke the group up one by one, Frisk excitedly following behind her. They'd hardly gotten any sleep due to the excitement from the coming adventure. They had stuffed as much candy as they could into their pack, almost to the point that they couldn't close it. They also affixed a small holder to the top of the pack that was perfect for carrying Flowey in case holding him became too tiring.

Undyne woke fresh and ready to go, only running a webbed hand through her hair before exclaiming "LET'S GET GOING!" She jumped out of bed without looking and almost crushed Papyrus, who was finally sleeping, curled into a tight ball on the floor.

He jerked up with a shout after Undyne landed in a heap beside him. Confused, he stared around at the monster. "IS IT MORNING ALREADY?"

"Yes, Papyrus. Get up and get ready. As soon as you finish breakfast I will accompany you to the door," Toriel explained, folding her arms and turning to leave with Frisk. "Come, my child. Let's go prepare breakfast." Frisk followed her happily, a bounce in their step.

Undyne and Papyrus didn't take too long to prepare for the day. Undyne did stretches and Papyrus gave himself a half-hearted pep-talk in the hallway mirror, and soon they were all eating in comfortable silence.

Frisk signed a question to Toriel. She smiled sadly, patting the human's head. "I'm sorry, child, but I will not be joining you on your journey. I must stay here and watch over the Ruins, in case another human happens to come along."

Once everyone was finished with their meal, Toriel announced that it was time to leave. The monsters (and human) made their way down to the long purple corridor, through Flowey's cave, and stopped in front of the large door exiting the Ruins.

"Here is where I must leave you, young ones," Toriel said softly. "I hope you find Sans soon. Bring him here once you do, I'd love to meet him."

Papyrus, with the hint of tears in his eyes, nodded and gave Toriel a salute. "THE GREAT PAPYRUS WILL RETURN WITH SANS BEFORE YOU CAN SAY 'PASTA!'"

Undyne simply saluted as well and gave Toriel a wink. Flowey groaned. Frisk wrapped their arms around Toriel's legs, trembling with silent tears. 'Please come with us. I'm scared,' they signed with shaking hands.

"I'm very sorry, Frisk. I would come with you if I could, but I have a duty here. I cannot abandon my responsibilities."

Slowly, the former queen pushed the door open, the cold front spilling into the cave. The snow wasn't as high as before.

Papyrus took a step forward, boot sinking into the white powder that coated the forest ground. The other followed suit, silent except for Flowey, who was perched in Frisk's pack. "It's too cold in this wretched forest…"

As they walked in the snow, they all waved to Toriel, who waved back sadly. "Farewell, my children. Good luck on your journey. Bring Sans home!"

The door closed.