A Flower Feels . . .
Author's Note: Because it's been a little confusing moving into the next timeline, I thought I'd write a note for it when it appears.
Flowey's Memories is focused on a ripped timeline. I place the ripped timelines in italics to help differentiate it from the present.
Faith IS Frisky. The ripped timeline happened before the FRISK Mission in Project UNDERTALE (Where Sans met the Conduit FRISK)
The good news is that the pain in his stomach and eyes and head had all started to go away, but Chance couldn't seem to see anymore. He kept opening his eyes, but he couldn't see. What happened? "Momma, where are you?"
"What do you mean, Frisk?"
"I can't see you." He could feel himself in his mom's arms, but he couldn't see her. Nothing. No light at all. The whole world was dark. He kept blinking his eyes. "Mom, I can't see. I-I can't see!"
"It's okay. Frisk? Hon'?"
"Momma?" He felt around for her. He could feel her face, but he couldn't see. "Momma! Momma!"
"I-it's okay, it's okay. I'll find some help, okay?" After a few minutes of walking though, things started to get worse. Frisk felt numb. "Momma?"
"Huh?"
"I feel numb. I can barely feel you."
"What about now?"
"Momma?"
"I'm holding your hand, sweetie. Do you feel that?"
Holding his hand? No. "Momma, I can't feel you holding my hand. I can't. I can't feel my hand. I can't even feel my hand! Momma? Momma?!"
Nothing. "Momma?! Momma?!" He tried to kick and scream with all he had. He couldn't feel his mom. He couldn't hear her. He couldn't see! "Momma, help! Mommy! Momma?! Mooooooommm!!!"
------------------------------------------------
"What a stupendously glorious day it is," King Asgore insisted as he looked at the small crowd around him. Sans just kept a level face. He figured the king would be a little thrilled with, you know, the sky. He and Alphys gave him most of the details, but was sure to leave out a couple of important bits. King Asgore had had a long and heartfelt speech along with Mettaton on TV about the situation, and everyone was basically dancing around.
Except them. Which made it a little tough to gather the last bits. But, it was almost done.
"Don't fret, Brother," Papyrus insisted. "Something tells me that Frisky will . . . w-will not hate us as much as you think. They'll have to live somewhere, and with her being human, I mean, no one would give her a job."
"I know." Sans sentences were short and to the point.
"And so, let's see." Asgore looked at his desk. "Two committings today, and it makes absolute sense why. Bless your heart Alphys for helping the little conduits."
That was something else. Since the conduits were part of the experiment, and treated badly by the humans as well, Asgore was not considering them human. They were considered a 'different Monster'. Conduits. At least that would mean less scorn for them.
"Okay, let's get you taken care of."
"Oh, me first?" Alphys asked as she looked toward Sans. "Aren't you ready?"
"You said Frisky's staying at the Inn because of some kind of Balancer thing?" Sans said. "It's fine. Papyrus is still trying to get the last part." He shrugged. "The sky coming out is making regular business run a little less smooth."
"Okay." Alphys gestured for her two conduits to come forth toward Asgore. "Already signed and completed by Undyne the Undying."
"Correct, King Asgore," Undyne said, although her voice sounded a little less enthused than usual with Alphys. "She's got all the necessary furniture, GOLD, shelter, and she can follow the humans dietary needs so it's chances of death are lower. She's taken care of the environment factors by vouching they won't leave without her, and she's got a special cream that keeps them from getting too warm."
"Good, good. Sounds proper." King Asgore hummed as he took the paper. "You want to be the children's . . . Aunt?"
"Yes, uh, I think mom's kind of . . . out of my league. Right now. Um . . ." Alphys fidgeted. "But I'll take care of them really well. And, it's nice to have someone around with me. Maybe I can even train them when they get older?"
"Oh, you don't need any bonus credit like that, Alphys, you're my Royal Scientist. I just have to meet and look at the children. It's mandatory."
Alphys moved her two children up. "I haven't picked names yet, but I will get on it. Undyne is putting in filler names for now?"
"Yes, completely understand. Hello?" King Asgore addressed them. "Do you both speak Monster?"
They nodded their heads.
"Do you want to live with your 'Aunt Alphys'?"
They nodded their heads again.
"How old are you?"
"Seven," they both said at the same time, still staying very straight like soldiers.
"And I'm already buying them several toys and trying to interact to try and . . . I don't know the right word but . . . deprogram them?" She tried.
"Yes, I see. It's alright, I think they'll be fine. It just takes time." King Asgore winked at them and signed her paper. "There, it's official. You are now 'Aunt Alphys' and you can take care of the children. No Monster can come and take them, you have the right in encounters to step in and take their place or help them without any kind of strike being noted against it. And, in the unfortunate case of murder, you have the right for just desserts if you come and see me. Meaning, of course, you have the right to pursue a kill vengeance on who killed them and no one in their family can come after you or claim anything against you through legal means."
"Thanks, King Asgore." Alphys took her papers.
"Next?"
"That would be me," Sans piped up. "Just . . . waiting a bit." He looked toward the door. "Come on, Papyrus," he muttered.
"I did an examination of the premises. It's fine," Undyne started anyway, getting them into the swing of things at least. "Proper bedding was added, proper dietician was fixed, and salaries and hours were upped and raised. They each are learning about human culture, survival, and . . ." She looked at her notes. "Ah." She whispered over toward him. "Sans the Skeleton is an emergency Royal Guard now. Papyrus the Skeleton is in training."
"Oh. Well, that's good." King Asgore took her papers.
"We have most of the clothes requirements," Sans insisted. "We even have shoes, socks, and coats. We are just waiting on a few sweaters, that's it."
"Okay. Hmm." King Asgore looked over all the notes. "So you're committing a conduit and it's . . . human mother?"
Sans shrugged and chuckled. "We took them as prisoners, but they've been good. We don't want to see them hurt, and with everything that happened. We wanted to make sure the kid was taken care of."
"Oh yes, the human isn't going to be able to take care of itself or it's young, so that would make sense. That is truly a decent thing of you two, not every Monster would do that."
"The mom might not be real pleased about it," Sans warned him. "If she says anything bad during her time to get this done, I apologize."
"No, it's completely understandable. Just make sure you keep a close eye on her. Humans are not very welcomed. They have never been very welcomed, but now. Hmm. Well, let's just wait for this last item."
"I am here, Brother!" Papyrus shouted as he took a shortcut right near Sans. "This is the last of the custom wear for the papers!" He groaned and looked toward Sans. "Getting the Temmie's back in gear wasn't easy. They were all shouting 'look at the sky, Temmie!,' it was very tough."
"But, it's here." Almost done.
"Great. Just set them down anywhere. The last thing I need is the woman and child. Oh, and what are you going to be considered?" King Asgore asked.
"I will go with brother for the woman, Frisky, and Uncle for the boy, Chance," Papyrus finished.
Sans was about to speak before feeling Alphys pull on the side of his coat.
"Ummm . . . uhh . . ." She got closer to his skull but it was apparent something was wrong. "My social's blowing up all over the place! I didn't see it because I was first, but it's not good!" She handed Sans her cell phone.
He looked down at the messages.
ALPHYS, FRISK ISN'T FEELING WELL.
ALPHYS: THAT'S OKAY. I WILL BE THERE SOON.
SOMETHING'S WRONG WITH FRISK. I AM GOING TO GET SOME MEDICINE AND I WILL BE BACK.
ALPHYS, I DON'T THINK MEDICINE WILL WORK. SOMETHING IS WRONG.
ALPHYS, FRISK CAN'T SEE?
ALPHYS, PLEASE TELL ME SOMEWHERE IN WHATEVER YOUR HIDING FROM ME THAT THIS HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH IT?
ALPHYS?
ALPHYS, PLEASE ANSWER ASAP! FRISK HAS GONE NUMB, HE CAN'T FEEL MY HAND!
ALPHYS! DAMN IT, ANSWER ME!
HE WON'T QUIT SCREAMING. I AM GOING BACK TO THE INN, I DON'T KNOW WHAT ELSE TO DO. IF THERE IS STILL A BALANCER DOWN HERE, IT WILL HEAR HIM AND TRY TO EAT HIM.
ALPHYS, HE ISN'T SCREAMING. I DON'T FEEL ANY BETTER. I THINK HE'S DYING. HE WON'T ANSWER BACK.
FRISK IS COLD. UNRESPONSIVE. HE HAS A PULSE, BUT I THINK HE'S DYING. ALPHYS.
PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE.
So close. They had been so close.
"Brother?" Papyrus spoke up. "What do you want them to call you?"
Sans handed the phone back. "We ran out of time." He looked toward Papyrus. "He's changing."
"Who's changing?" King Asgore asked.
Undyne looked away briefly and Alphys took her phone back.
"I shouldn't have muted it. I'm sorry. Big day, I . . ."
"Changing? Already?" Papyrus gestured for Alphys phone in a hurry and read the messages himself. "Oh. I see." No one spoke.
No one spoke.
King Asgore finally pried with a whisper to Undyne. "Undyne? What's going on?"
Undyne looked toward them. "So, is this a committing or . . . something else?"
Alphys took her phone back from Papyrus and brought it to Undyne.
"Just . . . we just needed a tiny bit longer . . ."
"It's alright, bro." Sans patted his back. "No biggie. They wouldn't like it either way. Let's just get this set up a little different now, and we'll go check on the kid. No prob. No big deal."
"I'll go check on him," Papyrus insisted. "It's the least I can do for being late with the Temmies."
"Don't feel bad, Pap. It wasn't your fault."
"I should have rushed them even faster!" Papyrus stomped his foot. "No. I'll take care of it! The human can't, and we can't dawdle. Did you bring that emergency suit of yours?"
"Yep." Very short. Very to the point.
"Okay, um. Undyne?" Papyrus called to her while she was looking at the phone. "We're going to have to switch this, but I'll be back."
----------------------------------------------
Frisky walked back and forth in the Snowed Inn room. She had stopped by Sans and Papyrus' but the door was locked. She called Alphys for advice, knowing that her genius must know what was going on. Alphys said she'd be over soon, but it had already been way too long.
Frisky just rocked back and forth on the bed, trying to soothe him as he screamed, calling for her. "I'm here," she said over and over. "I'm right here, I swear, Frisk." What was wrong? But then, his screaming stopped, making her more frantic than ever. "Frisk? Honey? Sweetie?" No, no, no. She didn't even care about the punishment anymore. "Chance, honey, please say something!"
A scream, a cry, a moan, anything. She kept the bed's blanket over him as his body grew cold. She watched him, but he was unresponsive. If it weren't for his pulse, she would be afraid he died. "Please. Please don't leave me. Please." Frisky couldn't help as her tears fell all over him. She was constantly redialing and texting Alphys. Where was she? Where was she?!
"S-so . . . uhh . . ."
"Papyrus?!" Frisky got up from the bed and ran over to him. "Please, please help! I-I can't figure out what's wrong with him! H-he's still got a heartbeat but only barely and-"
Papyrus tried to shoosh her. "It's okay, he's okay! Let me see him." She handed him to Papyrus. "Okay." He patted his back as he tried to pat her too. "It's okay, he's not dying. He'll be fine."
"His skin is so cold. I-I don't even know how he still has a pulse. I-I'm scared, Papyrus. Please help him?!"
"Uuhh . . ." Papyrus looked at Chance. He wasn't doing so well with the change. He looked practically gone, like he had just been dusted, without the dusting. He didn't look alive at all. Frisky wasn't fairing much better. Ever since he knew her, she had always been in such good control. For the first time, she didn't look like she had control of the situation at all.
Sans should have been here instead, but, his brother was going through his own thing too, and this was a rather simple matter. It's just that they were so close. Sooo close with getting away with it. No one would have known until after the fact. They could have all just been fairly agreeable roommates for life! And now?
From the words on the phone to how Chance looked now, time was up. Even if they tried to, there was no way King Asgore would let it go through with Chance sick, and he wouldn't get better until . . . until he was a Skeleton. Which meant . . .
Papyrus sighed. Come on. Hello, there? Hey? Um, it's The Great Papyrus! Come on, use some of that skill. Sans said you had a lot of skill. You were even using your magic really well, so just reach out that way. Please? Still nothing. Really, really. It's me, Papyrus! Don't make me get Sans to do this, he's um, having his own problems right now. Come on, a spark. A little spark anywhere? Hello?
Frisky was staring at him still. "What's wrong with him? Do you know? Is . . . is he?"
"He's, um." This wasn't good. Chance wasn't even trying to reach him. Papyrus just tried to smile at Frisky. This wasn't normal. Chance wasn't just taking the change slightly bad. If he couldn't reach out to him soon, there was no telling what would happen.
Skeletons were Skeletons. They were born Monsters, understanding magic. Chance was human and only recently learned magic.
A human moving into Monster form had never happened before to his knowledge. Oh no. No, no, we took this too lightly! Papyrus placed his skull next to Chance's head. Maybe he needed something stimulating to shock him into communicating? Um. If you can hear me then you should know that I am actually your Uncle Papyrus. He wanted to save that reveal for Sans, but he was starting to feel his own sort of desperation. I'm your Uncle Papyrus. Sans is actually your dad! If you just snap out of this, then, you're going to live with us forever. No more people jumping in you! Safe and warm, cozy in Snowdin? You always liked Snowdin, right? So, please? Aaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh! Come on! Pleeeeeeaasse?! Nothing. Nothing, no response at all.
Desperation was setting in more. What was he supposed to do?! Please, please snap out of this? You are worrying your mother. She thinks you're dying. So. Let's not . . . die? Dying's not good. It's really not, it's much better to live. So, live. Live, please!
He felt Frisky's hand on his bony arm. He looked around himself and saw his magic surrounding himself and Chance. He was putting everything he could into trying to communicate and he wasn't getting anywhere. If Chance didn't learn how to reach out, if he didn't learn how to settle down and use his own magic before his pulsing heart stopped, then the transformation would never complete. It would be like a bird jumping out of a nest and dying from the fall because it didn't learn how to fly. "I have to get Sans." He gave Chance back. "I'll be right back, I promise. Just don't jump in, whatever you do."
"I can't. I tried that a long time ago to try and help him," she said. "I-I can't do anything. I can't do anything!"
"I'll be right back. Right backy back, right back!"
---------------------------
Flowey watched through the stained windows of the castle. I don't care. I don't care. What am I doing here? What is happening to me? He looked up toward the sky. It was nice to see it. I don't care. I don't want to care. I don't want to care. Because caring equaled heartbreak. He didn't want heartbreak. He didn't need heartbreak. I don't care. He watched Sans as he tried to tie a black bow tie around his neckbone. All in a white suit, with a little black bow tie. A familiar sight, but his expression wasn't the same. He looked like he was going to a final battle that he couldn't win. He looked like he was hopelessly trying to fight FRISK again. Downtrodden and just going with the motions.
That's . . . not how it was before . . .
----------------------------------------------------
Flowey's Memories . . .
"I can't get this dang thing," Sans said. "A little help?"
"Absolutely!" Papyrus was thrilled as he came over and tied his bowtie. "So, how are you doing?"
"I can't tie a bowtie. Good thing this isn't a prerequisite," Sans chuckled. "Of course, after surveying the situation, I don't think it's that bad." He moved around the corner, and yanked someone straight over to him. "I had Faith you'd show up."
"No, no, not the puns on your wedding day!" Papyrus groaned as he rushed over to them. "Faith, you really need to make it clear to him not to get too punny. He gets really punny when he's happy, and this is . . . well, probably the happiest day of his life and-Ooh! Oh no, the refreshments! I haven't poured the refreshments yet!"
"Chill, bro. We'll be fine. Gaster and the others aren't even here yet," Sans insisted. "It's early. Relax. Boy, I thought I would be bad getting dragged around by my ball and chain today."
Faith sighed. "You know . . ." She rubbed her shoulders. "I still feel bad about this?"
"Oh not this again." Sans patted her shoulder. "Don't worry so much. It's not the same as in your world, okay? If I didn't believe you weren't right . . ." He pulled her closer. "I never would have gave my Faith a Chance."
"But this is so risky," Faith insisted. "Sans, really. I . . . not many humans have really been born down in the Underground. To my knowledge, no human or Monster has ever even been married down here."
"Never cared much about rules, why start now?" He insisted. "Come on, let's go help Papyrus with the refreshments before he blows a fuse. I know he's the Best Man for the job, but even they need a little help."
"Uh, yeah. But . . ." She gripped onto the bottom of his tux. "I just, this isn't allowed. Why am I allowed?" She bit her lip. "They seemed very happy. Very, very happy about it."
"That's a bad thing?" Sans groaned as he spun her around once. "Have some faith, Faith. I know he wasn't planned, but Chance isn't going to be a bad thing. Seriously, another Monster Underground is always a great thing." He came over and pretended to knock on her tummy. "No one can answer, but I know someone's there." He stood back up. "Not hard for anyone to miss my Mrs. You're getting really round these days. Oh, and hey? Queen Toriel wanted to have a word with you. I think she wants to talk about our kid playing with Princess Chara or something. Human bonding."
"Yes." Faith gulped and cleared her throat. "That'd probably be fine. But . . ."
"What's up?"
"Well, it's that flower again . . ."
----------------------------------------------
I don't care. I don't care. I can't do anything anyhow! He doesn't remember, no one remembers! No one ever remembers! Flowey shouted to himself. I gave Smiley Trashbag plenty of hints. It's been sitting in front of him for days already. What part of there's been almost 4,000 resets and FRISK was only 892 and . . . well, I suppose back then. She didn't have that mission name? Guess I could have said something differently. Oh, why . . . why am I starting . . . h-he wouldn't care anyhow! Different timelines don't matter, pointless, ah his favorite phrases!
Flowey pulled himself back into the ground and rummaged around his MP's. His personal collection over all the resets. His best prized one though wasn't in his hands. It was in Sans. Still, the others always held information, and there was never any telling when one would come in handy. Unfortunately, even they wouldn't be able to retell the story correctly. And, he didn't want to. That wasn't him.
And even if he did, why would they believe him? He was a manipulative flower! That was Flowey. That was him. Oh, I don't want to care. I don't want to care . . .
Alas, that Smiley Trashbag missed one important thing about timelines being pointless. They were only pointless, if everything stayed in the timeline . . .
. . . and nothing wasn't yanked away, from the Underground itself.