Book 3: The Final Beginning

Inspired by: Toby Fox's Undertale

Don't you have anything better to do? I know your kind. You aren't my friend. And you will never be my friend. So, do us both a favor and just... Leave me alone.

...

Golly, you must be some kind of sicko. Do you really want to be my friend that badly? Or do you just want to see me suffer? Either way. I'm. Not. Interested. I could kill you SO easily right now. YOU don't get any stupid goats to protect you. On days like these, readers like you only get four flimsy walls.

But why bother? Even killing isn't fun anymore. Maybe if my friend was still here, I could feel... Something... Anything. But they've been gone for such a long time, haven't they? Chara? Where are you? I-I don't want to be alone anymore.

Huh?! Did I hear something? That's not her footsteps. It sounded like... Like something falling. I'm done with you, little reader. I think my shiny new toy just arrived, courtesy of the Ebott Express. Hehehehehe...

It's been soooo long since I had a visitor. Now how did this go again? Oh yeah! Lull them into a false sense of security.

Howdy!

I'm Flowey.

Blahblahblah.

Geeeeeet the pellets!

They just jumped into all the pellets and HUGGED me? What a stupid kid.

Don't you know who I AM? I'm FLOWEY the ...

Okay, THAT was unexpected.

D-Did you just KISS me mid-monologue? What the HECK is WRONG with you kid?

They shove their finger in front of my face and nearly whisper their next few words to me while gently ruffling my petals.

"Shhh. Stay still. It'll be okay. I've got this."

I'm so confused. What's going on here? Don't they care that they are bruised and bleeding? Or that they are holding the very being responsible for it? And why? Why are they smiling and waving towards the distance behind me?

A moment later, I sense the reason. I hear flames crackling from behind. I-I know that sound. That heat. It's HER. Now's looking like a good time to reset. I reach for my SAVE file, but nothing happened. Urgh! Stupid kid! It seems that brat's desires for this world override mine! T-this isn't going to end well, is it? As I turn towards my assailant, the kid pulls me in, trying to use their own battered body to shield me.

"S-Stop! Don't hurt Azzy!"

I catch a glimpse of her, the flame within her palm slowly fading. Toriel and I share a similar, bewildered look, as we both ask aloud the same question in unison.

Azzy?

That's what THEY used to call me. Could it really be? Has Chara finally come back? N-no. I can't let hopes and dreams get the better of me. Or this human will kill them again, just like those humans in the village.

"Can we keep him? Pleeeease?"

I know those eyes and that tone of voice. And I know what's going to happen. She's helpless to resist. She's going to cave. She always does. Back when I was a naive idiot, that trick never failed me, either. I hate you kid. But I gotta admit, that was well played. Maybe there's still some hope for you after all.

Toriel sighs, pulling out a flowerpot, and approaches me. See? How predictable. She's taking the kid back Home with her, and I'm going to be forced to come along against my wishes.

H-Hey! Stop that! G-Get your filthy paws away from me!

I lash out a couple vines at her, but hold off on the pellets and the verbal barbs. I only put up a token resistance to maintain my dignity, not enough to get her to ACTUALLY fight back. I'm not STUPID. I know full well I have no chance in a fair fight. And with that kid here, well, you know how it is. I'd prefer to NOT die for real, thank you very much.

Ignoring my middling assault, she simply gives a patient smile and continues digging up the soil around me. Arrrgh! How infuriating! Is she... Humming? Urgh. She is, and it's THAT song. I thought that was my theme. But , no. You wound me, moth- no! You aren't my mother anymore. You gave that title up years ago, when you replaced Chara and me with these random children.

"Frisk wants to hold Azzy too!"

Frisk? That's a nice name.

No it's not! It's a stupid name. Perfect for such a stupid kid. But saying that out loud is probably not a good idea. This is bad. She's bringing her ugly face down to my level, like she knows what I'm thinking and has something to say about it. She whispers something to me.

(If you EVER harm my child again, I will not hesitate to strike you down).

Have fun you two.

And then she becomes all smiles and waves when she tells the kid to have fun. That was kind of creepy. So, yeah. Guess I won't be trying to steal their soul again unless I'm absolutely sure I have a clean kill. But, I'm not sure how much this pot will restrict me. If I get the chance, I'll need to test my power out on a random Froggit or something. Not like anyone would actually miss them anyways.

She hands me off to this "Frisk" and leads the kid to the stairway. But when she climbs the stairs leading into the Ruins proper, the child slows down.

As they come across a pile of leaves below the stairway, I sense something. Could this be what I think it is? Hahaha. It is. It IS! I can FEEL the Determination. I guess the best way to describe this would be like having nausea and a migrane at the same time. It really is a terrible experience. But it ends quickly. And this suffering will SO be worth it if it means getting out of this pot.

Maybe my power's coming back. It's just like... It's just like when I reset. Well, time to do some experimenting. Time to get rid of this flowerpot once and for all. FOR FREEDOM!

But the future refused to change.

Frisk! Are you coming? I could hear her voice from across the hall.

"Just a minute!"

I am not sure if it was my feeling sick, or my disappointment in being unable to reset even after that surge. But I must have let on some sort of hint to the child by mistake.

"Azzy, is something wrong?" they ask me.

Oh boy. That's rich. THEY are worried about ME? And yet, they don't even have the decency to use my name. Pathetic.

Urgh! My. Name. Is. Not. Azzy! And yes! Something is wrong. It's YOU!

I forgot just how much fun it is to go off like this. This is so exhilarating. So liberating.

"M-me?" they stutter.

YOU refuse to call me by my name.

YOU won't let me borrow your Soul.

YOU conspire with that stupid goat to cram me into this stupid flowerpot and drag me to her stupid Home.

I have a few options on how to end this. I COULD keep up the anger. Scare them into submission. But that would be a temporary solution. It would only work so long as they see me as an actual threat. And, in my current situation, my pot-ential is limited... Damn it. I hate puns.

Instead, I pause briefly and take a deep breath. I chose to deliver the next line nice and slow, even feigning struggles of getting the words out, to ensure maximum guilt tripping power.

YOU… won't even let me *sniffles* reset.

Are they... Crying? Oh no, oh no, oh no. Toriel's gonna KILL me for real when she sees this. I-I gotta do something, and fast. And then, it happened. I couldn't believe my luck. Or their idiocy. Frisk fought through their tears to make me an offer I couldn't refuse.

"Azz- Sorry. I mean Flowey. I-I didn't mean to upset you. I don't think I can fix all of that. But... I guess I could stop calling you that when it's just us. And you can tell me when to reset. W-would you like that?"

Frisk's face is still red from all that crying. And now, I can hear HER coming. She's going to assume I hurt them again. I know she is. B-but it's not my fault! I didn't even touch them this time! Guess I have no choice but to accept Frisk's offer.

Tch. Fine.

I reach out a small leaf towards their pinkie. Kids still like pinkie swears, right? Truthfully, I don't expect them to keep their word for long. I certainly wouldn't if I were in their place. But, I just need to stall for a little time. Just long enough until I can steal their soul, or at least escape this pot.

She finally comes back to the door and enters the room. She gazes down, sneering at me in harsh judgment. I can tell that she's getting ready for another one of her grand ol' speeches. Like that time when time she caught me LV grinding on a bunch of Froggit. I really don't want to sit through another one of THOSE. So, I turn to Frisk. It's time to see if they are true to their word…

Do it!

"Okay!"

They nod, close their eyes, and calm their breathing. They're really going to do it!

I feel dizzy. My vision is blurry. It seems I was right after all. This kid really DID steal my reset powers.

Author's Notes

I'm sorry about getting this one up a day late. Also, I had to edit it shortly after publication as only some of the the formatting transferred over. Well, TECHNICALLY it's still the anniversary on the West Coast, I suppose. So guess I didn't really lie? I should get chapter 2 posted sometime on Friday Sept 16.