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Undertale: Reunions and Farewells Chapter 4
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Literature Text
Frisk gave Asriel a slight smile as she took hold of his arm, using her shoulder as support to let the exhausted goat boy return to the house. As the two stepped through the doorframe, they were greeted with the familiar smell of butterscotch-cinnamon pie as Toriel pulled said pie out of the oven, her smile gentle as she looked to the two.
Her eyes shone softly as she cheerily gestured for the whole group to sit down, "Alright everyone, let's sit down and have some of this delicious pie~"
Asgore gave a smile as he lumbered over to the table and sat down-the heavy oak chair groaning slightly as he gestured for the two to sit on either side.
As the whole group was seated, Toriel quickly served a hefty slice for each group as she herself sat down, her eyes misting a bit at the memories of doing such a thing for her two beloved children.
~~~
Asriel accepted the slice from her, sending a quick thank-you to the fragments inside of him for letting him stay for so long before he picked up his fork and cut a piece off with the side of his fork. As he took a bite, the wonderful taste of his mother's butterscotch-cinnamon pie filled him with a warm, safe feeling before memories flooded his mind. He swallowed thickly, holding back tears as he shooed his sadness away. He couldn't afford to be sad right now. Giving his mom a smile, he took another bite before saying, "This is great, Mom! It's the best pie I've ever had!" He hid his melancholic emotions under his happiness and his enthusiasm as he took another bite, making sure to savor the taste. It was his last chance to have this, after all.
~~~
Toriel nodded and blinked back tears of her own as she reached forward and ruffled her son's hair. "I'm glad you love it, sweetheart. Mommy made it with all of her love, after all..."
She trailed off as she looked down to her own pie, not really hungry enough to eat such a sweet at the moment.
Asgore gave Asriel a smile as he dug into his slice, "I'm glad you love it, son...."He paused as he looked to Toriel-who was staring listlessly at her pie- before looking to the setting sun. "How about we all go stargazing after this like we used to?"
At this Toriel brightened up slightly as she looked to Asgore, "Why...that's a wonderful idea, sweetheart...what do you think, Asriel? Want to go look at the stars?"
~~~
Asriel sniffed and nodded as he smiled tearfully, wiping his eyes with his sleeve as he swallowed the mouthful of pie he had in his mouth. "Yeah, that sounds fun!" He replied, giving his mom and dad a bright smile, trying not to cave in to the emotions swirling around inside of him, prompting a slightly stronger tug from the fragment he was drawing off of. Quickly, he begged them for just a little bit more time, apologizing for the exhaustion he was causing and his selfishness. The fragments hesitated before agreeing to his plea, and he fell into a brief dizzy spell before shaking himself out of it and glancing at Frisk before continuing to eat his pie, making sure to eat slowly as he did so, that way Toriel wouldn't worry.
~~~
Frisk on the other hand, was picking slowly at her pie- as she'd never actually had much of a sweet tooth-but she'd never had the heart to tell Toriel any different. Frisk gave Asriel a comforting smile as she gently extended a hand and squeezed his shoulder. "Stay strong, Ree..." she murmured softly as she took a substantial bite of her butterscotch pie.
The rest of the time that the family spent devouring their pie was spent in a solemn sort of silence-with Toriel and Asgore both doing their best to keep their tears at bay. Finally, as the last rays of sun died and the twinkling stars began to appear in the sky, Toriel and Asgore both stood up, with the two adults helping one another clear off the table.
Once the table was sufficiently cleared off, the two turned to the two children and gestured for the duo to accompany outside. Asgore's voice trembled slightly as he withdrew an ancient telescope from the living room chest. "You kids ready to go stargazing?"
~~~
Asriel smiled and nodded, but just as he was about to follow them outside, he gasped and clutched his chest, curling into himself as the soul fragment started to tear itself away from him. He made a quiet whine, gritting his teeth as the pain slowly grew until it was almost unbearable. Sensing his pain, the soul fragment quickly sped up the process, wrenching itself away from him in one clean move, causing Asriel to wince and sigh in relief as it dissapeared. The last remaining fragment gave him their sympathy and slowed down the rate at which he was using it down to a crawl, causing him to stumble slightly before he shook his head and managed to pull himself out of a tsunami of exhaustion that washed over him. "I-I'm okay, don't worry." He said, his steps faltering a bit as he walked outside; however, he managed a tired, reassuring smile at all three of them as he followed them to the field, taking a deep breath of the cool night air that was tinged with the scent of grass and flowers. "I'm...I'm just running out of energy, that's all. I can still stargaze, though!" He said, smiling as he walked with them, trying to reassure his mother and father with his expression and attempting to ignore the way his fur felt like it was crawling on him, causing it to stand up as he attempted to make the feeling lessen.
~~~
Frisk gave Asriel a worried look as she slowly kept pace behind him, extending a hand out to lend her shoulder for support. Her actions were interrupted however, as Asgore came over and hoisted Asriel up to ride on his shoulders. A trembling smile came to his face as he handed the telescope for Frisk to carry-which she did without protest. Toriel's own smile was a pained one as she kept a hand on Frisk's shoulder, pointing out a few constellations for the youth to gaze at through said telescope.
Frisk complied and looked at a few constellations with genuine awe before handing the telescope to Asriel. "Check some of these out!"
~~~
Asriel, who had almost immediately leaned on Asgore's head to rest when he scooped him up, smiled as he took ahold of the offered telescope, lifting it up with a bit of effort before he looked through the telescope at the constellations his parents pointed out to him, his clear eyes shining with wonder as he did so. "They...they're beautiful." He said, his voice no longer strained as he attempted to sound like an excited little kid anymore; exhaustion and melancholic happiness saturated his soft tone, the sound carrying with it the weight of years and years of age he carried on his shoulders. "I'm so glad I can see them with you guys tonight..." He said, smiling as tears gathered in his eyes. "This means everything to me." He said, his voice nearly a whisper as he lowered the telescope and gave his family a heartbroken smile, his true age revealing itself in his posture and his eyes as he did so. "Thank you, Frisk, for carrying me up here to see them. This...this is much better than the other times..." He said, wiping his eyes before he gently hugged his dad's head in a one armed hug, his embrace gentle and warm as he did so. "It isn't time for me to go yet...but I just want to say this while I can. I love you." He said to all three of them, blinking as tears quietly streaked down his face, the tugging sensation within him gentle and slow, as the last fragment wanted to give him as much time as it could. "I love you so much, I didn't even realize it until now...I guess I forgot..." He said with a small, weak laugh as he attempted to wipe his face clean with his sleeve, still holding onto his Dad's head as he did so.
~~~
All three of them nodded and smiled as Asgore lowered Asriel from his shoulders. Tears appeared in Toriel and Asgores's eyes as they pulled him in for yet another hug, this one far more desperate than the previous ones they'd bestowed upon him today.
Toriel's voice trembled as she hugged him tightly to herself, "I know baby...we know..."
Asgore wept as he cradled his son and wife tightly to himself, "And we'll never stop loving you, don't you forget that..."
Frisk was silent at first as she watched the tearful trio...her own eyes brimming with frustrated tears as she felt anger at herself for not being able to just save Asriel and prevent the oncoming calamity. Her voice trembled as she walked up and feebly hugged the group, "And I promise I'll always be by your side as well...and I promise I won't let this be the last time you see him."
The group pulled away with Toriel and Asgore both giving Frisk tearful looks of hope as a small part of them DID actually believe her to be capable of such a thing...
~~~
Asriel clung to them, sniffing as tears rolled down his face, a small part of him that was dwindling away wanting to keep holding onto them forever. However, he forced himself to let go of them as they set him down, letting his small hands slip into his mother's and father's and hold them for just a moment longer before he let them go, giving them a tearful smile before he checked the last fragment inside of him, silently letting them know they could let him go. With a breath, he looked back up at his mom and dad, wiping away his tears before he spoke in a small voice. "Well...it looks like it's time for me to go. Please make sure I don't say anything mean to you." He smiled, looking heartbroken before a final look of resignation crossed his face. "I...I dont want to hurt you, and I'm sorry that I have to do this, but...it's time. I'll see you again, okay? I love you." He said, one final time, smiling up at them before he closed his eyes, the hollow, inverted heart appearing on his chest.
A single, small edge of color surrounded the emptiness, before it faded and dissapeared. With it gone, Asriel bowed his head before the edges of his fur began to dissapear. In a few moments, he slowly turned into dust, falling to his knees before completely disintegrating. The hollow space hovered in the air, and after a moment the dust on the ground stirred and lifted up to swirl around it before it slowly hovered to the ground, where the dust took the shape of a flower and coalesced, a bud forming around the hollow before it was completely hidden from view, and the flower became solid and real. The flower was still for a moment before the edges of the bud twitched, and with a rustle of petals it opened, revealing a face in the middle of the bloom. The flower opened his eyes and blinked a few times looking around before noticing the other three staring at him, tears in their eyes. His gaze shifted between them, his petals folding slightly at his awkwardness. "Uh...hi. I'm Flowey." He said after a pause, the difference between his and Asriel's voice apparent; his was a bit more older, the tone much more awkward and his accent a bit different as well.
~~~
Toriel and Asgore both took deep breaths before wiping their eyes- a simultaneous resignation apparent in both their voices as they still kept their smiles, "Hello...Flowey..."
Toriel tilted her head slightly as she waved to the flower, "Do you know who we are?"
It was noticeable that Frisk shifted awkwardly, her expression one of stone once more as she locked away her fears and anxieties. Flowey was the one she had to save first, after all-and she didn't want to appear incapable. Her eyes were hidden by her hair as she gave a slight wave. "Sup."
~~~
Just as he was about to answer Toriel, Frisk interrupted him. He took a breath, his expression one of barely contained irritation, before putting on a way too happy smile, his sudden mood shift a bit disturbing as his bright golden-yellow petals opened fully. "Howdy, Frisk! Bet you're glad to see me again, huh?" He asked, his voice almost painfully cheerful as he gave her a wink, a knowing, slightly maniacal glint in his eyes. He then turned to Toriel and Asgore, the glint leaving his eyes but looking no less gleeful as he smiled up at them. "And of course I know who you two are, silly! I've spent a LOT of time with you!" He said, something a bit off by the way he said it. He then looked between all of them, before he sighed a bit too heavily. "Oh no, are you sad? Do you miss me?" He asked, his face suddenly morphing back into Asriel's as he spoke before his normal face appeared again, looking even more gleeful as he smiled at all of them. "Don't worry! Frisky here'll get me back! Or were you just saying that to make them feel better?" He asked, his expression turning smug as he grinned at her, a malicious edge to his voice.
~~~
Frisk gave Flowey a confident smile of her own as she leaned right down next to him, "Oh come on now, Flowey, you just want to hear me say it again, don't you. I said I would and I meant it."
Her eyes were still hidden underneath her bangs as said this - so the wink she gave him was lost in translation. "And no Flowey, I haven't missed you one bit."
Toriel and Asgore looked rather surprised at Frisk's abrupt change in attitude towards Flowey, though neither one voiced it.
~~~
Flowey scoffed and rolled his eyes, giving her a sarcastic smile, not leaning away from her as she got close to him. "Well, that isn't surprising. But words only mean so much!" He sang, giving her a rather maniacal smile as he did so, his face still normal. "You'll have to actually TRY to bring me back! And if you fail..." He said, his voice wavering slightly as something dark lurked underneath his cheerful tone. "Well, you'll just have to RESET, won't you? Lose all your precious "friends" just so you can SAVE me. You're so stupid." He sneered, leering at her, inches from her face. "Pining away for me when I'm a lost cause, all so you can feel "special." Just so you can prove you were "the hero" to your poor parents." He said, his voice an exaggerated, mocking whine. "I almost feel sorry for you...that is, if I COULD feel sorry for you." He said, shaking his head and giving her an evil smile. "You're so broken...and all because you "loved your parents". Grow up!" He snarled, his face morphing into a demonic expression. "They're DEAD. You can't do anything about it. Stop wasting your time." He hissed, fury burning in his eyes and causing his petals to go stiff as he snarled at her. "You can't prove yourself, so why waste your life trying to?" He asked, his voice pitching back up to a falsely innocent tone as his face returned back to normal.
~~~
Frisk said nothing at first as she listened to his hateful words - though she was not in the least bit surprised. She'd anticipated that Flowey would use her own past against her... had actually run this conversation through her mind multiple times over...but it still didn't numb the pain any less.
Her smile faded at his words as she tilted her head to one side, her brown eyes warm and hurt-though her tone was steady. "Because I love you, Flowey. Plain and simple. I love you - and I'm not going to watch you suffer."
~~~
Flowey scoffed derisively, although he looked a bit caught off guard by the expression on Frisk's face. "You love me. Ha!" He said scornfully, although his tone was a little less scathing than before. "You know I can't understand what that means. Why do you keep saying that, like it means something?" He asked, tilting his head in curiosity, his petals relaxing as he frowned at her in confusion. He then smiled, giving her a look dripping with sarcasm. "Oh I know. Because you're an idiot." He said, his tone flat as he raised an eyebrow at her, although his insult didn't exactly match up to the ways he had said those words before. It was a little less angry, and if he shifted his tone just a little bit more it would almost sound like he was saying because he had to.
~~~
Frisk smiled bitterly as she stood back up, her eyes hidden by her hair once more. Her tone was resigned as she looked to him through her bangs. "An idiot I may be...but at least I can love..." Her smile became a bit more relaxed as the sirens died out in her mind once more, "And I won't give up on you. No matter what. "
She extended a hand to him as she brushed her hair out of her eyes, "Though I think I should have you know that I won't have to reset everyone to help you. I last saved before I came to get you when you were Asriel. If need be, we'll just return to that moment."
She breathed a sigh as she looked to Toriel and Asgore, which of whom had been watching their interactions with a mix of resigned pain and disgust - though their expressions were carefully masked as they looked to Frisk- who gave them yet another resigned look. "Well...I've got no more reason to hang around now with Asriel back to being Flowey...so...I'll see you two around when I've got him back to Asriel." It was noticeable that as she said this, her to be was a determined one.
Asgore and Toriel, having already been aware of Frisk's planned departure, pulled her into one last hug as they bade her farewell. Toriel's expression was saddened as she released Frisk. "You...you be safe now Ch- Frisk."
~~~
Flowey jerked back at her statement, looking stung that she had pointed out he couldn't love before he hissed at her in retaliation, his face distorting until he had a mouthful of fangs and hollow, dead eyes. As she held her hand out to him, he shrank back, still baring his fangs at her. "Touch me, and I'll bite you." He snarled, clicking his teeth together to emphasize his point. "And that SAVE won't matter. You'll just be looping what's already happened." He added, before she stepped away. He slowly straightened himself, his face returning back to normal as he watched her and the Dreemur's last embrace with a sort of lost confusion before he glared at her as she turned back to him and reached out for him again. "I said don't TOUCH ME!" He shrieked, his voice distorting as he snapped at her hand before ducking into the ground and appearing beside her. "Here! Let me do it if you want to pick me up so badly!" He said, sounding exasperated as his face returned to normal, uprooting himself with several vines and then climbing up her arm, lashing himself a bit tighter than was needed to her shoulder, the vines thorns scraping against her skin a bit. "Come on. Let's go wherever you plan to go, even though it doesn't matter!" He said, sounding thoroughly irritated as he shifted himself away from her hair so it wouldn't get in his face. "Bye, Mom! Bye, Dad! See you again real soon!" He said, his tone turning into false happiness again as he winked at them.
~~~
Frisk winced internally at his thorns before shrugging it off-she'd been through MUCH worse, after all...
Instead, she bore a smile as she looked out to the starry sky and then to the horizon-lights twinkling in the distance. "We're going to the city...with some help of course..." With that, Frisk reached into one of her jacket pockets...and pulled out a notebook.
Frisk didn't bother to explain what she was doing to Flowey as Toriel and Asgore both waved goodbye to the two, both going inside.
Frisk grinned as she withdrew an uninpressive ordinary mechanical pencil from her pocket. After a moment, she stuck her tongue out in concentration...and began to sketch a car....
~~~
Flowey frowned in confusion as he watched her draw, but just as he was about to ask her what she was doing, a surge of magic rushed through the object and he jerked back in shock, his entire body tingling as the magic pushed past and through him on its way to do whatever it was supposed to do. He shuddered, his vines tightening around her shoulder as his petals shivered uneasily. "Frisk..." He said warily as a car that looked the same as the one she had drawn appeared. "I don't like this..." He said quietly, his eyes flicking from her to the notebook and the car as his thoughts immediately began to go down dark paths. "Why are we going to the city anyways?" He asked after a moment, loosening his grip so his thorns didn't dig into her arm but still looking very unsettled as they walked to the car.
~~~
Frisk smiled as she strapped herself in, though it was noticeable that the controls for the vehicle were far more simplistic and rudimentary than that of an actual vehicle- with only a pedal, break, and simple steering wheel inside along with an high appropriate chair.
After a moment however, she frowned and took out her pencil, directly marking on the vehicle adjectives such as "indestructible", "perfect temperature", "fast"...
As she did this, the car somehow felt sturdier, with the inside temperature becoming a comforting 76 F. Frisk smiled as she drew a set of car keys,a keyhole appearing as she stuck the key in the ignition and twisted it. "We're going to the city so I can see if anyone else needs my help. Who knows? Maybe we can find a way to save you along the way?" As she says this, the engine roars to life as the car began to vibrate. "Now this thing isn't exactly "road - friendly" so once we reach the city we'll have to use a bike or something..."
She hesitated before throwing the car in gear and stepping on the gas pedal, with the car immediately rocketing forwards- true to its "fast" adjective.
~~~
Flowey dug his vines into her shoulder out of alarm at the sudden acceleration, his thorns catching in her shirt and drawing blood as they broke the skin. "Wait, we're going to help other people?" He asked, his tone incredulous as he looked at her, disbelief in his expression as he did so. "And you're bringing ME along? Why?" He asked, frowning at her as he asked, not entirely ignoring the waves of magic passing through him after she had added the adjectives on. "And when did you learn how to use magic? Especially THAT kind of magic?" He asked, eyeing the notebook with more than suspicion as he huddled a bit onto his perch on her shoulder, his thorns scraping a bit more into her arm as he did so.
~~~
Frisk visibly winced at Flowey's grip on her as she gave him a pained look, setting the notebook down and an adjective directly on her arm, "painless". She breathed a sigh of relief as the pain instantly faded away - though she knew the effect wouldn't last long.
"I'm bringing you along so you won't get bored with the others at home and start going on a killing spree."
She paused as she added another word to the car, "sonic". At this, the view outside the car became an incomprehensible blur as the city in the faraway distance grew ever closer. "We've got to hurry because there's a time limit on how long these things will manifest, 30 minutes at best." She breathed a sigh as she kept her eyes to the horizon. "And I learned how to use this magic from Toriel...she gave me this as a gift for my birthday. Don't worry, she put TONS of restrictions on it- and I can only use it three times each day."
~~~
Flowey scoffed at the idea that he would murder his parents as soon as Frisk left before he noticed that she looked a lot more relaxed than before. He eyed the word "painless" on the notebook and frowned slightly before he dug his thorns into her arm, sinking them into her a centimeter and noting her reaction before he pulled them out, satisfied with his experiment. "Well, I'm glad she was careful. This is really powerful stuff...I'm surprised she didn't get you something more safe..." He muttered, frowning at the notebook. "And I wouldn't kill them. I'm not THAT bored..." He added, rolling his eyes before he settled on her shoulder, looking a bit more used to the speed as he watched the landscape blur by. "Why are we going to help MORE people?" He asked after a moment, frowning at her questioningly. "You've already saved an entire civilization from being trapped underground forever. Isn't that enough?" He asked, tilting his head a bit as he eyed her with confusion.
~~~
Frisk said nothing at first for a long moment as her eyes became distant. When she finally spoke, her voice was somehow both hollow and emotional. "No. It's never enough."
She turned sharply as she narrowly avoided a massive rut in the valley, and the car was quick to readjust itself as she drove on, her eyes shining with determination as the city drew closer. "There's always someone who needs to be saved."
~~~
"Well yeah, but you're literally twelve. You need to know when to take a break." He said, shaking his head slightly and tightening his grip on her shoulder as she swerved before he relaxed again and gave her a look. "Besides, you're not going to be able to save everyone. Some people just can't be saved. Like me, for example." He said with a slightly pointed smile. "I've been unsaveable for a LONG time. It started when I woke up, and you know what? There isn't any way you can get me to change back. I know. I've tried." He said, his tone casual as he looked out the window again. "Looks like you can't keep your promise to them after all..."
~~~
Frisk was deadly silent for a long moment before she shook her head, "You're right Flowey, I'm twelve. I'm twelve years old and I've taken on you in your Omega Form, Asriel's god form when he had all the souls in him- AND...as you said- have saved an entire civilization. No matter what you think or say, I WILL NOT give up on you and I'm NOT going to let something as inconsequential as my age and past events stop me."
She gave Flowey a slight smile as the city became even closer, with the skyscrapers becoming more and more visible as smaller buildings appeared in the horizon as well. "It won't be long now..." She murmured as she continued flooring it.
After a moment however, what with the city now less than 20 miles away, she eased up on the gaspedal-not wanting to come to a crashing halt when the car stopped manifesting. Her expression was a bit pained as she looked to him, "Flowey...I know you probably see me as some stupid kid who's gonna burn themselves out trying to save everyone..." She smiled bitterly as she tightened her grip on the steering wheel, "and you're probably right... But I just hope you realize that if that happens to me...I'll die with no regrets. I never really had a life of my own anyways-and with my powers and determination that I've got now... I'm going to save as many as I can."
~~~
Flowey huffed at her determination, shaking his head as he still looked out the window. "I just can't understand why you would want to do this, when it only hurts you." He said quietly, glancing over at her as he spoke. "It's just so stupid. Why would you want to do something that could kill you?" He asked, frowning at her in complete confusion as he did so. "Not everyone is going to be as nice as the monsters you've met in the underground. In fact, most of them will probably be like me. Cruel, and with problems you CAN'T help them with. You're going to end up wasting your life for nothing. And when you die, you won't have made much of a difference in their lives at all." Flowey said, his voice bitter as he spoke. "Why are you walking into fire when you know you're just going to get burned?" He asked, giving her a frown as he did so.
~~~
Frisk smiled bitterly as she kept easing up on the brake, the car slowing down to a "safer" 70 miles per hour as the city became nearly 15 miles away. "Because I love everyone, Flowey...because I love everyone and I can't stand to see anyone suffer. I know what suffering feels like-and I know that I wouldn't wish it upon anyone."
She breathed a sigh as she looked to him, "And because my life here on this earth doesn't matter in the end. When I finally kick the bucket for real... I believe I've got two people waiting for me...and I can look at them and show them that I DID IT. I saved as many people as I could."
~~~
Flowey made a noncommittal noise and shook his head in exasperation at her, looking away as he sighed. "Yeah, yeah, I get it. But if those two people you're waiting to see love you, wouldn't they want you to NOT kill yourself trying to help everyone?" He asked, his tone darkly amused as he looked out the window. "I mean, I know my mother hated it when I died."
~~~
Frisk's response was almost chilling as she responded firmly, "My parents didn't mind putting their lives on the line and leaving me behind to save those around them. They devoted everything they were to their duty to save others, they put everything else second-and I will do the same."
She let go of the pedal entirely as she drifted her car on a road leading into the entrance of the city, "This life is all I know, Flowey...just like you claim to not be able to understand love- I can't understand a sedentary lifestyle where I sit and enjoy the love of a family and not worry about the world."
~~~
Flowey made another dismissive noise and shook his head. "Wow. Your parents weren't that good to you, if they left you by yourself to throw their lives into peril." He remarked flatly before he looked down, dark red liquid seeing out for between his vines. "And besides, it sounds like they saved people they could, not ones they had no hope of saving. It's still stupid, though." He added, before shifting his vines and moving to the seat beside her, retracting the vines into himself before putting them out and anchoring himself to the seat, the green spiky growth not coated in blood anymore. "You're bleeding by the way." He said after a moment, giving her a casual, sidelong glance.
~~~
Frisk gave a little sigh as she looked to her bleeding arm, her car slowing to 50 mph as she reached over and drew a set of bandages, pulling them out once they manifested and wrapping them tightly around her wounds. For a brief moment she entertained the idea of scolding him...but just decided against it."No...I guess they weren't...but there's nothing I can do about it now-no use moping about what could've been. Honestly, I don't even think they'd ever planned on having children-but they did the best that they could with their schedules to take care of me." As she said this, memories of the rare times her mother and father were home flashed across her mind, a wistful smile briefly crossing her face before fading away as she felt the car begin to shudder-the magic allowing it to manifest beginning to run out.
"You might want to cling onto me again, because this car's about to dissapear."
~~~
Flowey sighed and climbed up her arm to rest on the bandages, making sure to be careful not to puncture them with his thorns as he anchored himself to her. He ignored the magic that passed through him when she used the notebook again and was quiet until the car dissapeared. "You can't make anything living with that, can you?" He asked after a moment, eyeing the notebook with wary curiosity as he did so. "And how long is the magic in your arm going to last?" He added as he glanced down to the bandages he was resting on.
~~~
Frisk nodded with a bit of pointed irritation as she looked to him. "Technically since it's 11, though, I'll be able to use it in an hour again. Funnily enough, adjectives are actually fair game-there's not really any limits to what you can do with them-well, except for how long they're in for effect. They usually last for about 10 minutes on other people, 40 on me."
She sighed as the car shuddered once more, though at this point it had slowed to 20 miles per hour. "Get ready..."
As she said this, the car slows to 10 miles an hour, the interior of the car becoming translucent before at last giving way, with Frisk being unceremoniously forced to run-stumble to the ground.
~~~
Flowey clung onto her, his thorns catching in the bandages as he made sure he didn't fall off. "But you can't MAKE anything living with it, can you?" He asked again after she had recovered. He noticed the monsters in the area smile and wave to her, casting him curious looks as they did so. Almost immediately, he sighed and muttered several irritated remarks under his breath before he smiled in return, glad they smiled back and then promptly looked away. Apparently, he still looked a bit off to the monsters, which he used to feel bad about but now was just used to. The only reason why he didn't play off of their wariness was because he noticed there were many, many more people than he was used to surrounding them, causing him to tighten his grip a bit out of nerves. "So, who are you saving?" He asked after a moment, his tone flat and non-enthusiastic as he did so.
~~~
Frisk shrugged her shoulders as she walked about, her eyes scanning about in keen interest as she stuck her sketchbook in her sweater pocket once more. "Honestly, I just try to help wherever I'm needed...." As she says this, her eyes flash white for the briefest of moments, "Hmm....." Without warning, she took out her sketchbook once more and, with a swift little turn of her pen, erased the drawing of the bandages. Almost immediately, the bandages dissapeared, with Flowey's vines once again sinking into her arm. "And in regards to the living objects thing...yes."
She gave a little sigh as she offhandedly murmured, "I can draw something else so long as I erase the previous object before it runs out-the energy left over goes into the new item." She paused as she continued to look about, her eyes flashing for a moment AGAIN before she suddenly straightened up, as if receiving an unseen signal from somewhere. "Downtown." She stated in a flat voice before an eager smile crossed her face-the first time she'd shown real happiness since the drive into town.
She quickly took to sketching a bicycle, with said item appearing before her. "Perfect!" She beamed, ignoring the stares from the onlooking monsters as she began to pedal. "Oh yeah...and can you please switch to my other arm? That one hurts less."
~~~
Flowey sighed heavily and glared at her for a moment before reluctantly complying, his thorns pulling out of the fresh holes they had poked in her, causing them to ooze blood before he wrapped his vines around her other arm and transferred himself over to her other shoulder, the monsters watching them giving him noticeable uneasy looks, which he ignored. However, the fact her eyes flashed white twice caused a deep, unsettled feeling to twinge inside of him, something about the magic he was comprised of reacting to the event. He frowned slightly but then put on a smile as they rode past droves of humans and monsters, the humans paying him no mind other than simple curiosity and the monsters regarding him with the same attitude that he had come to expect from them.
~~~
It was about 10 minutes into their pedaling before Frisk turned her curiosity to Flowey. Her hair fluttered in the breeze as she briefly turned to him. "Hey Flowey, is there anything you want to do here? Any foods you want to try? Places you want to see?"
~~~
Flowey leaned away from her hair and shifted his vines a bit, the thorns catching in her clothes but not stabbing into her skin. He looked around a bit, ignoring the passing glances of the other people before he shook his head and smiled a bit awkwardly. "...Not really. I'm just here because I can't leave right now. After all, I'm kind of waiting for you to figure out a way to get me back." He said, shrugging slightly as he in a dismissive way. "I don't really care about anything here." He concluded before looking away from her, looking at the tall buildings and all the people with a subdued manner, falling silent as he did so.
~~~
Frisk shrugged at his response before pedaling faster, their speed increasing as she withdrew her pencil and scribbled down, "speedy" She let out a whoop of joy as they dashed through the city sidewalk.
It was another ten minutes till Frisk's eyes briefly flashed white again - with her halting the bike abruptly in front of an unassuming restaurant. Quickly, without any sort of explanation to Flowey, she ran inside. The little bell nearly rang off its hook as Frisk burst through the door with a look of desperation. She didn't stop or give any explanations as she cut directly through into the back kitchen - ignoring the protests of the cashier. Her expression twisted with panic as she cut through to an exhausted young violet-haired man with dark circles under his eyes who looked on the verge of collapsing - right into a vat of deep-fry grease. "WAKE UP!" She screamed as she launched herself at him, wrapping her arms around his waist and pulling him backwards.
The young man let out a cry of shock as he was snapped back to his senses - though he couldn't stop himself from collapsing on top of Frisk's tiny frame. He didn't even get a chance to protest or question Frisk's abrupt appearance before the youth squirmed out from underneath him, offering a hand to him, "You need to be more careful next time!"
~~~
Flowey quickly moved himself so he wouldn't be crushed underneath her or the young man, his vines wrapping tightly around her shoulder blades as he transferred himself to her injured shoulder again. He peered at the man from her shoulder with an expression of slight curiosity as he took her hand after a moment, giving the flower on her bleeding shoulder a bit of a guarded glance before he thanked her. Just like his hair, his soul was a bright, vibrant purple, and Flowey frowned slightly as the man gave him a rather sharp glance, as if he could feel the flower looking at it. He then returned his gaze to Frisk, brushing a hand through his hair a bit awkwardly before he returned to work, proceeding to ignore her.
~~~
Frisk gave the man a nod of affirmation-seeing as her job here was finished, before silently exiting the kitchen. She didn't bother to give any sort of explanation to the cashier and staff who were gawking at her as she swiftly walked through the restaurant and out the front door. Unfortunately for her, however the bike was gone-as she'd forgotten to erase it to conserve energy in her rush to get to the man. Frisk gave an exhausted little sigh before giving a pained look to Flowey, the adjective "painless" having worn off.
For a moment, Frisk seemed to waver in her stance, darkened circles under her eyes manifesting as she appeared as though she were going to collapse. "Well gee...looks like we've got to wait about 30 more minutes till I can manifest anything anymore." She sighed as she trudged forwards, tiredly rubbing at her eyes as the late hour began to really wear on her exhausted frame.
Her eyes shone softly as she cheerily gestured for the whole group to sit down, "Alright everyone, let's sit down and have some of this delicious pie~"
Asgore gave a smile as he lumbered over to the table and sat down-the heavy oak chair groaning slightly as he gestured for the two to sit on either side.
As the whole group was seated, Toriel quickly served a hefty slice for each group as she herself sat down, her eyes misting a bit at the memories of doing such a thing for her two beloved children.
~~~
Asriel accepted the slice from her, sending a quick thank-you to the fragments inside of him for letting him stay for so long before he picked up his fork and cut a piece off with the side of his fork. As he took a bite, the wonderful taste of his mother's butterscotch-cinnamon pie filled him with a warm, safe feeling before memories flooded his mind. He swallowed thickly, holding back tears as he shooed his sadness away. He couldn't afford to be sad right now. Giving his mom a smile, he took another bite before saying, "This is great, Mom! It's the best pie I've ever had!" He hid his melancholic emotions under his happiness and his enthusiasm as he took another bite, making sure to savor the taste. It was his last chance to have this, after all.
~~~
Toriel nodded and blinked back tears of her own as she reached forward and ruffled her son's hair. "I'm glad you love it, sweetheart. Mommy made it with all of her love, after all..."
She trailed off as she looked down to her own pie, not really hungry enough to eat such a sweet at the moment.
Asgore gave Asriel a smile as he dug into his slice, "I'm glad you love it, son...."He paused as he looked to Toriel-who was staring listlessly at her pie- before looking to the setting sun. "How about we all go stargazing after this like we used to?"
At this Toriel brightened up slightly as she looked to Asgore, "Why...that's a wonderful idea, sweetheart...what do you think, Asriel? Want to go look at the stars?"
~~~
Asriel sniffed and nodded as he smiled tearfully, wiping his eyes with his sleeve as he swallowed the mouthful of pie he had in his mouth. "Yeah, that sounds fun!" He replied, giving his mom and dad a bright smile, trying not to cave in to the emotions swirling around inside of him, prompting a slightly stronger tug from the fragment he was drawing off of. Quickly, he begged them for just a little bit more time, apologizing for the exhaustion he was causing and his selfishness. The fragments hesitated before agreeing to his plea, and he fell into a brief dizzy spell before shaking himself out of it and glancing at Frisk before continuing to eat his pie, making sure to eat slowly as he did so, that way Toriel wouldn't worry.
~~~
Frisk on the other hand, was picking slowly at her pie- as she'd never actually had much of a sweet tooth-but she'd never had the heart to tell Toriel any different. Frisk gave Asriel a comforting smile as she gently extended a hand and squeezed his shoulder. "Stay strong, Ree..." she murmured softly as she took a substantial bite of her butterscotch pie.
The rest of the time that the family spent devouring their pie was spent in a solemn sort of silence-with Toriel and Asgore both doing their best to keep their tears at bay. Finally, as the last rays of sun died and the twinkling stars began to appear in the sky, Toriel and Asgore both stood up, with the two adults helping one another clear off the table.
Once the table was sufficiently cleared off, the two turned to the two children and gestured for the duo to accompany outside. Asgore's voice trembled slightly as he withdrew an ancient telescope from the living room chest. "You kids ready to go stargazing?"
~~~
Asriel smiled and nodded, but just as he was about to follow them outside, he gasped and clutched his chest, curling into himself as the soul fragment started to tear itself away from him. He made a quiet whine, gritting his teeth as the pain slowly grew until it was almost unbearable. Sensing his pain, the soul fragment quickly sped up the process, wrenching itself away from him in one clean move, causing Asriel to wince and sigh in relief as it dissapeared. The last remaining fragment gave him their sympathy and slowed down the rate at which he was using it down to a crawl, causing him to stumble slightly before he shook his head and managed to pull himself out of a tsunami of exhaustion that washed over him. "I-I'm okay, don't worry." He said, his steps faltering a bit as he walked outside; however, he managed a tired, reassuring smile at all three of them as he followed them to the field, taking a deep breath of the cool night air that was tinged with the scent of grass and flowers. "I'm...I'm just running out of energy, that's all. I can still stargaze, though!" He said, smiling as he walked with them, trying to reassure his mother and father with his expression and attempting to ignore the way his fur felt like it was crawling on him, causing it to stand up as he attempted to make the feeling lessen.
~~~
Frisk gave Asriel a worried look as she slowly kept pace behind him, extending a hand out to lend her shoulder for support. Her actions were interrupted however, as Asgore came over and hoisted Asriel up to ride on his shoulders. A trembling smile came to his face as he handed the telescope for Frisk to carry-which she did without protest. Toriel's own smile was a pained one as she kept a hand on Frisk's shoulder, pointing out a few constellations for the youth to gaze at through said telescope.
Frisk complied and looked at a few constellations with genuine awe before handing the telescope to Asriel. "Check some of these out!"
~~~
Asriel, who had almost immediately leaned on Asgore's head to rest when he scooped him up, smiled as he took ahold of the offered telescope, lifting it up with a bit of effort before he looked through the telescope at the constellations his parents pointed out to him, his clear eyes shining with wonder as he did so. "They...they're beautiful." He said, his voice no longer strained as he attempted to sound like an excited little kid anymore; exhaustion and melancholic happiness saturated his soft tone, the sound carrying with it the weight of years and years of age he carried on his shoulders. "I'm so glad I can see them with you guys tonight..." He said, smiling as tears gathered in his eyes. "This means everything to me." He said, his voice nearly a whisper as he lowered the telescope and gave his family a heartbroken smile, his true age revealing itself in his posture and his eyes as he did so. "Thank you, Frisk, for carrying me up here to see them. This...this is much better than the other times..." He said, wiping his eyes before he gently hugged his dad's head in a one armed hug, his embrace gentle and warm as he did so. "It isn't time for me to go yet...but I just want to say this while I can. I love you." He said to all three of them, blinking as tears quietly streaked down his face, the tugging sensation within him gentle and slow, as the last fragment wanted to give him as much time as it could. "I love you so much, I didn't even realize it until now...I guess I forgot..." He said with a small, weak laugh as he attempted to wipe his face clean with his sleeve, still holding onto his Dad's head as he did so.
~~~
All three of them nodded and smiled as Asgore lowered Asriel from his shoulders. Tears appeared in Toriel and Asgores's eyes as they pulled him in for yet another hug, this one far more desperate than the previous ones they'd bestowed upon him today.
Toriel's voice trembled as she hugged him tightly to herself, "I know baby...we know..."
Asgore wept as he cradled his son and wife tightly to himself, "And we'll never stop loving you, don't you forget that..."
Frisk was silent at first as she watched the tearful trio...her own eyes brimming with frustrated tears as she felt anger at herself for not being able to just save Asriel and prevent the oncoming calamity. Her voice trembled as she walked up and feebly hugged the group, "And I promise I'll always be by your side as well...and I promise I won't let this be the last time you see him."
The group pulled away with Toriel and Asgore both giving Frisk tearful looks of hope as a small part of them DID actually believe her to be capable of such a thing...
~~~
Asriel clung to them, sniffing as tears rolled down his face, a small part of him that was dwindling away wanting to keep holding onto them forever. However, he forced himself to let go of them as they set him down, letting his small hands slip into his mother's and father's and hold them for just a moment longer before he let them go, giving them a tearful smile before he checked the last fragment inside of him, silently letting them know they could let him go. With a breath, he looked back up at his mom and dad, wiping away his tears before he spoke in a small voice. "Well...it looks like it's time for me to go. Please make sure I don't say anything mean to you." He smiled, looking heartbroken before a final look of resignation crossed his face. "I...I dont want to hurt you, and I'm sorry that I have to do this, but...it's time. I'll see you again, okay? I love you." He said, one final time, smiling up at them before he closed his eyes, the hollow, inverted heart appearing on his chest.
A single, small edge of color surrounded the emptiness, before it faded and dissapeared. With it gone, Asriel bowed his head before the edges of his fur began to dissapear. In a few moments, he slowly turned into dust, falling to his knees before completely disintegrating. The hollow space hovered in the air, and after a moment the dust on the ground stirred and lifted up to swirl around it before it slowly hovered to the ground, where the dust took the shape of a flower and coalesced, a bud forming around the hollow before it was completely hidden from view, and the flower became solid and real. The flower was still for a moment before the edges of the bud twitched, and with a rustle of petals it opened, revealing a face in the middle of the bloom. The flower opened his eyes and blinked a few times looking around before noticing the other three staring at him, tears in their eyes. His gaze shifted between them, his petals folding slightly at his awkwardness. "Uh...hi. I'm Flowey." He said after a pause, the difference between his and Asriel's voice apparent; his was a bit more older, the tone much more awkward and his accent a bit different as well.
~~~
Toriel and Asgore both took deep breaths before wiping their eyes- a simultaneous resignation apparent in both their voices as they still kept their smiles, "Hello...Flowey..."
Toriel tilted her head slightly as she waved to the flower, "Do you know who we are?"
It was noticeable that Frisk shifted awkwardly, her expression one of stone once more as she locked away her fears and anxieties. Flowey was the one she had to save first, after all-and she didn't want to appear incapable. Her eyes were hidden by her hair as she gave a slight wave. "Sup."
~~~
Just as he was about to answer Toriel, Frisk interrupted him. He took a breath, his expression one of barely contained irritation, before putting on a way too happy smile, his sudden mood shift a bit disturbing as his bright golden-yellow petals opened fully. "Howdy, Frisk! Bet you're glad to see me again, huh?" He asked, his voice almost painfully cheerful as he gave her a wink, a knowing, slightly maniacal glint in his eyes. He then turned to Toriel and Asgore, the glint leaving his eyes but looking no less gleeful as he smiled up at them. "And of course I know who you two are, silly! I've spent a LOT of time with you!" He said, something a bit off by the way he said it. He then looked between all of them, before he sighed a bit too heavily. "Oh no, are you sad? Do you miss me?" He asked, his face suddenly morphing back into Asriel's as he spoke before his normal face appeared again, looking even more gleeful as he smiled at all of them. "Don't worry! Frisky here'll get me back! Or were you just saying that to make them feel better?" He asked, his expression turning smug as he grinned at her, a malicious edge to his voice.
~~~
Frisk gave Flowey a confident smile of her own as she leaned right down next to him, "Oh come on now, Flowey, you just want to hear me say it again, don't you. I said I would and I meant it."
Her eyes were still hidden underneath her bangs as said this - so the wink she gave him was lost in translation. "And no Flowey, I haven't missed you one bit."
Toriel and Asgore looked rather surprised at Frisk's abrupt change in attitude towards Flowey, though neither one voiced it.
~~~
Flowey scoffed and rolled his eyes, giving her a sarcastic smile, not leaning away from her as she got close to him. "Well, that isn't surprising. But words only mean so much!" He sang, giving her a rather maniacal smile as he did so, his face still normal. "You'll have to actually TRY to bring me back! And if you fail..." He said, his voice wavering slightly as something dark lurked underneath his cheerful tone. "Well, you'll just have to RESET, won't you? Lose all your precious "friends" just so you can SAVE me. You're so stupid." He sneered, leering at her, inches from her face. "Pining away for me when I'm a lost cause, all so you can feel "special." Just so you can prove you were "the hero" to your poor parents." He said, his voice an exaggerated, mocking whine. "I almost feel sorry for you...that is, if I COULD feel sorry for you." He said, shaking his head and giving her an evil smile. "You're so broken...and all because you "loved your parents". Grow up!" He snarled, his face morphing into a demonic expression. "They're DEAD. You can't do anything about it. Stop wasting your time." He hissed, fury burning in his eyes and causing his petals to go stiff as he snarled at her. "You can't prove yourself, so why waste your life trying to?" He asked, his voice pitching back up to a falsely innocent tone as his face returned back to normal.
~~~
Frisk said nothing at first as she listened to his hateful words - though she was not in the least bit surprised. She'd anticipated that Flowey would use her own past against her... had actually run this conversation through her mind multiple times over...but it still didn't numb the pain any less.
Her smile faded at his words as she tilted her head to one side, her brown eyes warm and hurt-though her tone was steady. "Because I love you, Flowey. Plain and simple. I love you - and I'm not going to watch you suffer."
~~~
Flowey scoffed derisively, although he looked a bit caught off guard by the expression on Frisk's face. "You love me. Ha!" He said scornfully, although his tone was a little less scathing than before. "You know I can't understand what that means. Why do you keep saying that, like it means something?" He asked, tilting his head in curiosity, his petals relaxing as he frowned at her in confusion. He then smiled, giving her a look dripping with sarcasm. "Oh I know. Because you're an idiot." He said, his tone flat as he raised an eyebrow at her, although his insult didn't exactly match up to the ways he had said those words before. It was a little less angry, and if he shifted his tone just a little bit more it would almost sound like he was saying because he had to.
~~~
Frisk smiled bitterly as she stood back up, her eyes hidden by her hair once more. Her tone was resigned as she looked to him through her bangs. "An idiot I may be...but at least I can love..." Her smile became a bit more relaxed as the sirens died out in her mind once more, "And I won't give up on you. No matter what. "
She extended a hand to him as she brushed her hair out of her eyes, "Though I think I should have you know that I won't have to reset everyone to help you. I last saved before I came to get you when you were Asriel. If need be, we'll just return to that moment."
She breathed a sigh as she looked to Toriel and Asgore, which of whom had been watching their interactions with a mix of resigned pain and disgust - though their expressions were carefully masked as they looked to Frisk- who gave them yet another resigned look. "Well...I've got no more reason to hang around now with Asriel back to being Flowey...so...I'll see you two around when I've got him back to Asriel." It was noticeable that as she said this, her to be was a determined one.
Asgore and Toriel, having already been aware of Frisk's planned departure, pulled her into one last hug as they bade her farewell. Toriel's expression was saddened as she released Frisk. "You...you be safe now Ch- Frisk."
~~~
Flowey jerked back at her statement, looking stung that she had pointed out he couldn't love before he hissed at her in retaliation, his face distorting until he had a mouthful of fangs and hollow, dead eyes. As she held her hand out to him, he shrank back, still baring his fangs at her. "Touch me, and I'll bite you." He snarled, clicking his teeth together to emphasize his point. "And that SAVE won't matter. You'll just be looping what's already happened." He added, before she stepped away. He slowly straightened himself, his face returning back to normal as he watched her and the Dreemur's last embrace with a sort of lost confusion before he glared at her as she turned back to him and reached out for him again. "I said don't TOUCH ME!" He shrieked, his voice distorting as he snapped at her hand before ducking into the ground and appearing beside her. "Here! Let me do it if you want to pick me up so badly!" He said, sounding exasperated as his face returned to normal, uprooting himself with several vines and then climbing up her arm, lashing himself a bit tighter than was needed to her shoulder, the vines thorns scraping against her skin a bit. "Come on. Let's go wherever you plan to go, even though it doesn't matter!" He said, sounding thoroughly irritated as he shifted himself away from her hair so it wouldn't get in his face. "Bye, Mom! Bye, Dad! See you again real soon!" He said, his tone turning into false happiness again as he winked at them.
~~~
Frisk winced internally at his thorns before shrugging it off-she'd been through MUCH worse, after all...
Instead, she bore a smile as she looked out to the starry sky and then to the horizon-lights twinkling in the distance. "We're going to the city...with some help of course..." With that, Frisk reached into one of her jacket pockets...and pulled out a notebook.
Frisk didn't bother to explain what she was doing to Flowey as Toriel and Asgore both waved goodbye to the two, both going inside.
Frisk grinned as she withdrew an uninpressive ordinary mechanical pencil from her pocket. After a moment, she stuck her tongue out in concentration...and began to sketch a car....
~~~
Flowey frowned in confusion as he watched her draw, but just as he was about to ask her what she was doing, a surge of magic rushed through the object and he jerked back in shock, his entire body tingling as the magic pushed past and through him on its way to do whatever it was supposed to do. He shuddered, his vines tightening around her shoulder as his petals shivered uneasily. "Frisk..." He said warily as a car that looked the same as the one she had drawn appeared. "I don't like this..." He said quietly, his eyes flicking from her to the notebook and the car as his thoughts immediately began to go down dark paths. "Why are we going to the city anyways?" He asked after a moment, loosening his grip so his thorns didn't dig into her arm but still looking very unsettled as they walked to the car.
~~~
Frisk smiled as she strapped herself in, though it was noticeable that the controls for the vehicle were far more simplistic and rudimentary than that of an actual vehicle- with only a pedal, break, and simple steering wheel inside along with an high appropriate chair.
After a moment however, she frowned and took out her pencil, directly marking on the vehicle adjectives such as "indestructible", "perfect temperature", "fast"...
As she did this, the car somehow felt sturdier, with the inside temperature becoming a comforting 76 F. Frisk smiled as she drew a set of car keys,a keyhole appearing as she stuck the key in the ignition and twisted it. "We're going to the city so I can see if anyone else needs my help. Who knows? Maybe we can find a way to save you along the way?" As she says this, the engine roars to life as the car began to vibrate. "Now this thing isn't exactly "road - friendly" so once we reach the city we'll have to use a bike or something..."
She hesitated before throwing the car in gear and stepping on the gas pedal, with the car immediately rocketing forwards- true to its "fast" adjective.
~~~
Flowey dug his vines into her shoulder out of alarm at the sudden acceleration, his thorns catching in her shirt and drawing blood as they broke the skin. "Wait, we're going to help other people?" He asked, his tone incredulous as he looked at her, disbelief in his expression as he did so. "And you're bringing ME along? Why?" He asked, frowning at her as he asked, not entirely ignoring the waves of magic passing through him after she had added the adjectives on. "And when did you learn how to use magic? Especially THAT kind of magic?" He asked, eyeing the notebook with more than suspicion as he huddled a bit onto his perch on her shoulder, his thorns scraping a bit more into her arm as he did so.
~~~
Frisk visibly winced at Flowey's grip on her as she gave him a pained look, setting the notebook down and an adjective directly on her arm, "painless". She breathed a sigh of relief as the pain instantly faded away - though she knew the effect wouldn't last long.
"I'm bringing you along so you won't get bored with the others at home and start going on a killing spree."
She paused as she added another word to the car, "sonic". At this, the view outside the car became an incomprehensible blur as the city in the faraway distance grew ever closer. "We've got to hurry because there's a time limit on how long these things will manifest, 30 minutes at best." She breathed a sigh as she kept her eyes to the horizon. "And I learned how to use this magic from Toriel...she gave me this as a gift for my birthday. Don't worry, she put TONS of restrictions on it- and I can only use it three times each day."
~~~
Flowey scoffed at the idea that he would murder his parents as soon as Frisk left before he noticed that she looked a lot more relaxed than before. He eyed the word "painless" on the notebook and frowned slightly before he dug his thorns into her arm, sinking them into her a centimeter and noting her reaction before he pulled them out, satisfied with his experiment. "Well, I'm glad she was careful. This is really powerful stuff...I'm surprised she didn't get you something more safe..." He muttered, frowning at the notebook. "And I wouldn't kill them. I'm not THAT bored..." He added, rolling his eyes before he settled on her shoulder, looking a bit more used to the speed as he watched the landscape blur by. "Why are we going to help MORE people?" He asked after a moment, frowning at her questioningly. "You've already saved an entire civilization from being trapped underground forever. Isn't that enough?" He asked, tilting his head a bit as he eyed her with confusion.
~~~
Frisk said nothing at first for a long moment as her eyes became distant. When she finally spoke, her voice was somehow both hollow and emotional. "No. It's never enough."
She turned sharply as she narrowly avoided a massive rut in the valley, and the car was quick to readjust itself as she drove on, her eyes shining with determination as the city drew closer. "There's always someone who needs to be saved."
~~~
"Well yeah, but you're literally twelve. You need to know when to take a break." He said, shaking his head slightly and tightening his grip on her shoulder as she swerved before he relaxed again and gave her a look. "Besides, you're not going to be able to save everyone. Some people just can't be saved. Like me, for example." He said with a slightly pointed smile. "I've been unsaveable for a LONG time. It started when I woke up, and you know what? There isn't any way you can get me to change back. I know. I've tried." He said, his tone casual as he looked out the window again. "Looks like you can't keep your promise to them after all..."
~~~
Frisk was deadly silent for a long moment before she shook her head, "You're right Flowey, I'm twelve. I'm twelve years old and I've taken on you in your Omega Form, Asriel's god form when he had all the souls in him- AND...as you said- have saved an entire civilization. No matter what you think or say, I WILL NOT give up on you and I'm NOT going to let something as inconsequential as my age and past events stop me."
She gave Flowey a slight smile as the city became even closer, with the skyscrapers becoming more and more visible as smaller buildings appeared in the horizon as well. "It won't be long now..." She murmured as she continued flooring it.
After a moment however, what with the city now less than 20 miles away, she eased up on the gaspedal-not wanting to come to a crashing halt when the car stopped manifesting. Her expression was a bit pained as she looked to him, "Flowey...I know you probably see me as some stupid kid who's gonna burn themselves out trying to save everyone..." She smiled bitterly as she tightened her grip on the steering wheel, "and you're probably right... But I just hope you realize that if that happens to me...I'll die with no regrets. I never really had a life of my own anyways-and with my powers and determination that I've got now... I'm going to save as many as I can."
~~~
Flowey huffed at her determination, shaking his head as he still looked out the window. "I just can't understand why you would want to do this, when it only hurts you." He said quietly, glancing over at her as he spoke. "It's just so stupid. Why would you want to do something that could kill you?" He asked, frowning at her in complete confusion as he did so. "Not everyone is going to be as nice as the monsters you've met in the underground. In fact, most of them will probably be like me. Cruel, and with problems you CAN'T help them with. You're going to end up wasting your life for nothing. And when you die, you won't have made much of a difference in their lives at all." Flowey said, his voice bitter as he spoke. "Why are you walking into fire when you know you're just going to get burned?" He asked, giving her a frown as he did so.
~~~
Frisk smiled bitterly as she kept easing up on the brake, the car slowing down to a "safer" 70 miles per hour as the city became nearly 15 miles away. "Because I love everyone, Flowey...because I love everyone and I can't stand to see anyone suffer. I know what suffering feels like-and I know that I wouldn't wish it upon anyone."
She breathed a sigh as she looked to him, "And because my life here on this earth doesn't matter in the end. When I finally kick the bucket for real... I believe I've got two people waiting for me...and I can look at them and show them that I DID IT. I saved as many people as I could."
~~~
Flowey made a noncommittal noise and shook his head in exasperation at her, looking away as he sighed. "Yeah, yeah, I get it. But if those two people you're waiting to see love you, wouldn't they want you to NOT kill yourself trying to help everyone?" He asked, his tone darkly amused as he looked out the window. "I mean, I know my mother hated it when I died."
~~~
Frisk's response was almost chilling as she responded firmly, "My parents didn't mind putting their lives on the line and leaving me behind to save those around them. They devoted everything they were to their duty to save others, they put everything else second-and I will do the same."
She let go of the pedal entirely as she drifted her car on a road leading into the entrance of the city, "This life is all I know, Flowey...just like you claim to not be able to understand love- I can't understand a sedentary lifestyle where I sit and enjoy the love of a family and not worry about the world."
~~~
Flowey made another dismissive noise and shook his head. "Wow. Your parents weren't that good to you, if they left you by yourself to throw their lives into peril." He remarked flatly before he looked down, dark red liquid seeing out for between his vines. "And besides, it sounds like they saved people they could, not ones they had no hope of saving. It's still stupid, though." He added, before shifting his vines and moving to the seat beside her, retracting the vines into himself before putting them out and anchoring himself to the seat, the green spiky growth not coated in blood anymore. "You're bleeding by the way." He said after a moment, giving her a casual, sidelong glance.
~~~
Frisk gave a little sigh as she looked to her bleeding arm, her car slowing to 50 mph as she reached over and drew a set of bandages, pulling them out once they manifested and wrapping them tightly around her wounds. For a brief moment she entertained the idea of scolding him...but just decided against it."No...I guess they weren't...but there's nothing I can do about it now-no use moping about what could've been. Honestly, I don't even think they'd ever planned on having children-but they did the best that they could with their schedules to take care of me." As she said this, memories of the rare times her mother and father were home flashed across her mind, a wistful smile briefly crossing her face before fading away as she felt the car begin to shudder-the magic allowing it to manifest beginning to run out.
"You might want to cling onto me again, because this car's about to dissapear."
~~~
Flowey sighed and climbed up her arm to rest on the bandages, making sure to be careful not to puncture them with his thorns as he anchored himself to her. He ignored the magic that passed through him when she used the notebook again and was quiet until the car dissapeared. "You can't make anything living with that, can you?" He asked after a moment, eyeing the notebook with wary curiosity as he did so. "And how long is the magic in your arm going to last?" He added as he glanced down to the bandages he was resting on.
~~~
Frisk nodded with a bit of pointed irritation as she looked to him. "Technically since it's 11, though, I'll be able to use it in an hour again. Funnily enough, adjectives are actually fair game-there's not really any limits to what you can do with them-well, except for how long they're in for effect. They usually last for about 10 minutes on other people, 40 on me."
She sighed as the car shuddered once more, though at this point it had slowed to 20 miles per hour. "Get ready..."
As she said this, the car slows to 10 miles an hour, the interior of the car becoming translucent before at last giving way, with Frisk being unceremoniously forced to run-stumble to the ground.
~~~
Flowey clung onto her, his thorns catching in the bandages as he made sure he didn't fall off. "But you can't MAKE anything living with it, can you?" He asked again after she had recovered. He noticed the monsters in the area smile and wave to her, casting him curious looks as they did so. Almost immediately, he sighed and muttered several irritated remarks under his breath before he smiled in return, glad they smiled back and then promptly looked away. Apparently, he still looked a bit off to the monsters, which he used to feel bad about but now was just used to. The only reason why he didn't play off of their wariness was because he noticed there were many, many more people than he was used to surrounding them, causing him to tighten his grip a bit out of nerves. "So, who are you saving?" He asked after a moment, his tone flat and non-enthusiastic as he did so.
~~~
Frisk shrugged her shoulders as she walked about, her eyes scanning about in keen interest as she stuck her sketchbook in her sweater pocket once more. "Honestly, I just try to help wherever I'm needed...." As she says this, her eyes flash white for the briefest of moments, "Hmm....." Without warning, she took out her sketchbook once more and, with a swift little turn of her pen, erased the drawing of the bandages. Almost immediately, the bandages dissapeared, with Flowey's vines once again sinking into her arm. "And in regards to the living objects thing...yes."
She gave a little sigh as she offhandedly murmured, "I can draw something else so long as I erase the previous object before it runs out-the energy left over goes into the new item." She paused as she continued to look about, her eyes flashing for a moment AGAIN before she suddenly straightened up, as if receiving an unseen signal from somewhere. "Downtown." She stated in a flat voice before an eager smile crossed her face-the first time she'd shown real happiness since the drive into town.
She quickly took to sketching a bicycle, with said item appearing before her. "Perfect!" She beamed, ignoring the stares from the onlooking monsters as she began to pedal. "Oh yeah...and can you please switch to my other arm? That one hurts less."
~~~
Flowey sighed heavily and glared at her for a moment before reluctantly complying, his thorns pulling out of the fresh holes they had poked in her, causing them to ooze blood before he wrapped his vines around her other arm and transferred himself over to her other shoulder, the monsters watching them giving him noticeable uneasy looks, which he ignored. However, the fact her eyes flashed white twice caused a deep, unsettled feeling to twinge inside of him, something about the magic he was comprised of reacting to the event. He frowned slightly but then put on a smile as they rode past droves of humans and monsters, the humans paying him no mind other than simple curiosity and the monsters regarding him with the same attitude that he had come to expect from them.
~~~
It was about 10 minutes into their pedaling before Frisk turned her curiosity to Flowey. Her hair fluttered in the breeze as she briefly turned to him. "Hey Flowey, is there anything you want to do here? Any foods you want to try? Places you want to see?"
~~~
Flowey leaned away from her hair and shifted his vines a bit, the thorns catching in her clothes but not stabbing into her skin. He looked around a bit, ignoring the passing glances of the other people before he shook his head and smiled a bit awkwardly. "...Not really. I'm just here because I can't leave right now. After all, I'm kind of waiting for you to figure out a way to get me back." He said, shrugging slightly as he in a dismissive way. "I don't really care about anything here." He concluded before looking away from her, looking at the tall buildings and all the people with a subdued manner, falling silent as he did so.
~~~
Frisk shrugged at his response before pedaling faster, their speed increasing as she withdrew her pencil and scribbled down, "speedy" She let out a whoop of joy as they dashed through the city sidewalk.
It was another ten minutes till Frisk's eyes briefly flashed white again - with her halting the bike abruptly in front of an unassuming restaurant. Quickly, without any sort of explanation to Flowey, she ran inside. The little bell nearly rang off its hook as Frisk burst through the door with a look of desperation. She didn't stop or give any explanations as she cut directly through into the back kitchen - ignoring the protests of the cashier. Her expression twisted with panic as she cut through to an exhausted young violet-haired man with dark circles under his eyes who looked on the verge of collapsing - right into a vat of deep-fry grease. "WAKE UP!" She screamed as she launched herself at him, wrapping her arms around his waist and pulling him backwards.
The young man let out a cry of shock as he was snapped back to his senses - though he couldn't stop himself from collapsing on top of Frisk's tiny frame. He didn't even get a chance to protest or question Frisk's abrupt appearance before the youth squirmed out from underneath him, offering a hand to him, "You need to be more careful next time!"
~~~
Flowey quickly moved himself so he wouldn't be crushed underneath her or the young man, his vines wrapping tightly around her shoulder blades as he transferred himself to her injured shoulder again. He peered at the man from her shoulder with an expression of slight curiosity as he took her hand after a moment, giving the flower on her bleeding shoulder a bit of a guarded glance before he thanked her. Just like his hair, his soul was a bright, vibrant purple, and Flowey frowned slightly as the man gave him a rather sharp glance, as if he could feel the flower looking at it. He then returned his gaze to Frisk, brushing a hand through his hair a bit awkwardly before he returned to work, proceeding to ignore her.
~~~
Frisk gave the man a nod of affirmation-seeing as her job here was finished, before silently exiting the kitchen. She didn't bother to give any sort of explanation to the cashier and staff who were gawking at her as she swiftly walked through the restaurant and out the front door. Unfortunately for her, however the bike was gone-as she'd forgotten to erase it to conserve energy in her rush to get to the man. Frisk gave an exhausted little sigh before giving a pained look to Flowey, the adjective "painless" having worn off.
For a moment, Frisk seemed to waver in her stance, darkened circles under her eyes manifesting as she appeared as though she were going to collapse. "Well gee...looks like we've got to wait about 30 more minutes till I can manifest anything anymore." She sighed as she trudged forwards, tiredly rubbing at her eyes as the late hour began to really wear on her exhausted frame.
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