Child Of The Sun - Chapter 9 - GamerXZ (2024)

Clover’s eyes shot open, and he automatically began panting while looking around frantically for the others, “Ceroba?! Martlet?! Starlo? Dalv! Axis!!” However, it quickly dawned on him that he was no longer in the generator room, nor was he back at his last Save Point.

In fact, he…wasn’t anywhere. There was nothing.

Darkness.

That’s literally all there was to see now.

A pitch black, empty void where neither light nor sound could penetrate. A place where you couldn’t feel warmth, or cold, or really much of anything. This was the kind of place that, if you spent too long here, would probably make you start questioning your own sanity, perhaps even begin to whisper things to you.

Give In.

You’ve Done Enough.

Rest.

Be Free Of Your Woes And Regrets.

Embrace Oblivion…and be at peace.

For some, that would definitely be a tempting proposal, especially for those individuals who had already given their all only for their “all” to come up just short. Was there any point in going on at this point? Wasn’t it better to know when you’ve been bested and bow out gracefully?

Maybe…but those people weren’t a certain cowboy. In fact, he and the darkness were, in some ways, old acquaintances, so being surrounded by it wasn’t nearly as frightening or soul-crushing as it might be for a normal person.

Speaking of “soul-crushing” Clover patted down his chest where the vine had pierced him only to, as he perhaps should’ve expected, see that there was nothing. In fact, he didn’t really have a body anymore. At least, not a flesh and blood one, but one made of what seemed to be golden light.

That’s right…Flowey, he…killed me, which means he took…and my friends, they had to…

He cursed and fell to his spirit 's equivalent of knees at his failure. Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! I should’ve known he was gonna pull a dirty trick like that at the very last moment! He was just waiting for me to slip up! Waiting for me to make a mistake, to let my guard down, and I fell for it hook, line, and sinker!

…No. No, he couldn’t let it end like this! He needed to get out of here, back to his friends and, somehow, find a way to stop the prince. If the Integrity Soul could successfully reject being absorbed by Chujin, then Clover figured he could do the same with Flowey!

After all, it wasn’t like he didn’t already have experience doing so.

Forcing himself to stand, he took a step forward…only to immediately have his foot start sinking into the void like it was quicksand, “W-What the..? Oi! Flowey! Let me out of here!!”

Said flower’s laugh suddenly could be heard blasting at full volume all throughout the darkness, making Clover stumble forward as if he’d been given a very hard shove but he managed to stay standing as the last thing he wanted was to go face-first into the liquid darkness. “Wow, Clover. I gotta say, you really are the definition of a sore loser, you know that? Too stubborn to acknowledge when it’s time to throw in the towel…”

He tilted his gaze up and grimaced at seeing the darkness being replaced with static before clearing up to reveal the face of his jailer, grinning jovially as if absolutely nothing was wrong, “You and I really are two peas in a pods. Too determined to just give up and let things be..”

The former prince stuck out his tongue and winked, “Guess that’s another reason I’ve kept you around as long as I have. You’re one of the only blokes in this whole place who actually GETS me!”

“You and I are nothing alike!” Clover shot back as he used what little willpower he still carried to yank himself free of the dark puddle and glare defiantly up at the source of his misery, “You only live for yourself! As long as you get what you want, you’ll trample over and use whoever you got to in order to get it!”

“Oh, give me a break, Clover!” Flowey retorted, actually rolling his eyes at the nerve of this human, “In case you forgot, I’ve been with you since the moment you first fell into the Underground so many runs ago…” His eyes darkened and he flashed a sad*stic grin, “Which means I’ve seen the REAL you. Not the “brave hero” you pretend to be. No, I’ve seen what happens when you are pushed far enough…”

The screen Flowey’s face was on got replaced by static again only to then show what looked to be footage of the cowboy gunning down Decaibat, making the soul gasp in horror and take a step back. However, Flowey was far from done, as the screen then showed him executing a myriad of other monsters, from Dalv to El Bailador to Dunebuds, to Guardener and so on.

“N-N-None of that happened!!” Clover finally shouted, his entire being trembling as he did his best to repress the images rumbling through his mind, “I-It didn’t! I-I-I didn’t kill anyone!!”

“You’re right! You didn’t!” The screen went back to Flowey and his evil, all-knowing grin, “Not in THIS run anyways. In fact, I think the time is finally right for me to level with you on something,” His grin grew to impossible lengths as the screen seemed to actually slightly zoom in, making it seem as if he was about to burst right out, “Your first few runs after I interfered? You were definitely no angel…”

The screen then showed a variant of Clover trying his best to solve the fight with Martlet peacefully, only to end up dying again, and again, and again. At one point, something within this particular Clover ended up snapping and he proceeded to wield his gun for its intended purpose:

As a weapon.

“Oh, you would certainly make a good effort to keep up the charade, even better than I expected at times, but eventually, you’d get tired of all the deaths, all the repeats, all the effort it took to commit yourself to something you didn’t really believe in, and in doing so, you’d slip up…you’d lose control…”

Clover closed his “eyes” but he could still hear the gun going off with a loud “bang” over and over and over. “And you’d kill someone!” Flowey’s laughter had literal weight behind it now, to the point he felt himself starting to sink into the darkness again, “Maybe it would just be a few Fliers, or it would be that weirdo vampire, or that idiot farmer who thinks he’s a cowboy! Doesn’t really matter! Either way, you’d show your true colors eventually…”

The soul of justice struggled free of the dark puddles yet again but doing so definitely took more out of him than it did the first time. No. He couldn’t let Flowey get to him! If he gave in, it really would be all over for everyone! “T-That doesn’t change the fact that I had runs where I didn’t hurt a single soul! You were there, so you had to have seen them!”

He took a slight semblance of satisfaction at hearing Flowey groan loudly and obnoxiously, “Unfortunately…though I will say that watching you try and act as a glorified therapist for these losers wasn’t entirely unpleasant…” Was that a hint of fondness in his voice for a second there?

Apparently, Flowey seemed to catch on to this as a smug grin suddenly wormed its way onto his face, “But here’s yet another reason I think you’re one of the biggest idiots I’ve run into over my countless loops and it takes the form of a very simple question…” His grin then became full of razor-sharp teeth and his eyes were replaced by literal holes oozing the darkness he stood on.

“Did You Stop To Think About What Might Happen After You Gave Your Soul To Asgore?”

Clover felt his entire being shudder at the power and accusatory tone behind this one question, the images from that particular run rushing back with such ferocity he was forced to grip his head while staggering backwards, almost losing his balance, “I-I was just trying to protect my friends! T-They shouldn’t have needed to ruin their lives just for my sake!”

He steeled his nerves, or whatever he had in his current state, and stared defiantly up at his tormentor, “And besides! My Soul being in Asgore’s hands meant you guys were all one step closer to freedom and…and…” He wanted to continue that train of thought but any attempts to do so were derailed by the rush of new knowledge he was after acquiring not even a couple of hours ago.

If he still had skin, he was pretty sure it would be starting to turn white as bleach, “...Oh no…no, no…no, no…”

“Finally starting to piece together the bigger picture, are we, partner?” Flowey teased, his face having returned to normal but still wearing that sh*t-eating grin at seeing the human grasping the full gravity of what he had really done, “That’s right! In giving up your soul to my old man, all you did was move your people one step closer to doomsday!”

Clover wanted to yell. To scream. To shout at the seemingly omnipotent ruler of time that he was wrong. That this was just another of his endless mind games to break his will and get him to submit…but some part of his mind was forced to acknowledge the truth in his words.

Yes, Monsterkind would go free, but the King would use the power gained from the seven human souls, Clover’s included, to wage a bloody, destructive war on humanity that could very well either lead to their extinction or possibly even the destruction of the entire world.

And if the latter ended up happening…then there really wouldn’t be anywhere for Monsters to live and they would just go extinct anyway.

Flowey’s face merely hovered there in the darkness and watched with glee as Clover struggled with the weight of what his decision could’ve set in motion, and so he figured he would twist the knife a little deeper, “Like, wow. I’ve seen my fair share of brain-dead decisions from the idiots that live down here, and you yourself were no exception. I mean, giving up your soul just like that? Because you felt bad for these losers? Really?”

Clover didn’t respond but the former prince got the impression his partner-in-crime was scowling up at him, “Well, all I can say to that is the next time somebody looks up the word “moron” in the dictionary, there should be a picture of you in place of an actual description!” He proceeded to laugh at the sheer absurdity of the whole situation, because that’s the only way such an act made any sort of sense to him.

Finally, the yellow soul could take no more and began to muster up whatever willpower he still had to rebel against the mad monarch, “Shut up! J-Just shut up already!!” He wanted to shed tears but he couldn’t, and so he lashed out, drawing upon the power at the core of his being, and as he did so, he began to glow just a bit brighter…

Only for hands made of that same inky darkness which surrounded him to start reaching up in an attempt to drag him down below, the little bit of light he had managed to summon quickly dissipating, “H-Hey!! Let me go!”

“Now why in the name of me would I ever do that, Clover buddy ol’ pal?” Flowey teased, sticking out his tongue, “You should feel honored! You’re getting a front-row seat to the birth of a new world! A better world! And you’ll eveb get the privilege of playing a role in bringing it about!” His face distorted and warped into something truly ghoulish for a moment, “DOESN’T THAT SOUND LIKE FUN?!!”

“No, it doesn’t!!” Clover shouted back, ripping away the hands one after the other, fighting to get free from the muck that was doing all in its power to consume him, “All I wanted was to make a difference! To matter for once in my life! Martlet…Starlo…Ceroba…everyone. T-They made me feel like I was important, that my life had value, so…”

“So you gave up your soul without a second thought to what that might do to those you left behind…” Flowey chortled, but there was definitely a hint of genuine shame in his voice now, “And that’s exactly what I’m getting at! You didn’t bother to put even the tiniest amount of thought or consideration into such a brilliant idea before you just went ahead and acted on it!”

He let out a long sigh of dismay while averting his gaze to the side, “That said, I suppose I should’ve expected as much from someone with your track record…”

“So what? You expect me to be grateful that you yet again rewound the clock and sent me back into this hell?!!” Clover snapped, finally managing to break free of the appendages and trying to draw upon the power of his very being once again, but his mind was too clouded, too unfocused, to dredge up the strength he needed, still winded from all the prior events.

“As a matter of fact, maybe you should be!” The originator of this all-consuming darkness roared with such volume and power his captive once more found himself struggling to even stand, “While you were locked up all cosy and what not with the other Souls, snoozing away in a dream world, you left your so-called “friends” to pick up the pieces and move on without you!”

“In fact…” His face stretched out into a toothy, maniacal smile, his eyes piercing right through Clover as if he knew all his darkest secrets, which he almost certainly did, “Since I was gracious enough to share with you my past, why don’t I give you a small taste of the future your “sacrifice” created for those you left behind…?”

The screen went to static and then showed footage of Ceroba, Starlo, and Martlet all seated together at a counter in Dina’s saloon after hours. Each of them looked like they had seen better days, as evident by the fact they were surrounded by a number of emptied Adult Sodas, each of them having a dead-eyed, faraway expression in their eyes.

None of them said a word to the other, merely stared off into space, and the only motions they made were to take another sip of their beverages. Finally, Martlet proceeded to cross her arms on the table and bury her face in between them, weeping uncontrollably.

Starlo spared a glance at the chair next to him where Clover’s hat and revolver were perched. He would stare at the apparel for the longest time, the pain in his expression growing as he did so, along with the guilt. At one point, he snarled in anger and frustration, pulled his own hat off and threw it on the ground before bringing a hand to his face as he too began to let the tears fall.

Ceroba seemed like she was holding up the best out of the trio which made sense to Clover as she always came across as the one most capable of building up a wall between herself and her true emotions. However, the fact that she was surrounded by the largest number of empty bottles, paired with the constant quivering her entire body appeared to be undergoing, alongside a dead-eyed stare into blank space, told a very different story.

She was trying to be strong. To be tough and remain in control, but the effort required to do so was obviously putting a strain on her already fragile mind.

The soul of Clover, watching all this go down right in front of him, was left at a loss for words. He had genuinely thought what he was doing back then was the “just” thing to do. His friends wouldn’t get in trouble with Asgore, and Monsterkind as a whole would be but one step away from freedom.

After all, a real hero was always ready to make the ultimate sacrifice for the people they cared about…or at least, that’s what he had always been led to believe. Now? Seeing his friends so distraught and crushed…well, he certainly didn’t feel like one. “...Me giving myself up to Asgore…did this to them..?”

“Ding ding! That is correct, partner!” Flowey complimented, his voice speaking over what was going on before his hostage, “Golly! You must feel like a real piece of sh*t right this second knowing that your oh-so-noble sacrifice ultimately meant less than nothing! I swear, you should’ve been there to hear the things they were saying! It was a real riot!”

“All of them whining and complaining about how it was a mistake to let you go to Asgore, that they could’ve done more to stop you, how they “should’ve been better” to you, acting as if throwing themselves an old-fashioned pity party would somehow bring you back to them…” Clover said nothing, merely watching as Ceroba pushed herself to stand, as if she were getting ready to leave, only for her to lose her balance and tumble right into Starlo’s arms.

He looked like he was about to ask her if she was alright, but her only reply was to break down wailing while clinging to him as if he too were about to disappear on her and seeing this made something crack deep within the human’s soul. The version of Starlo on-screen said nothing, merely held her tightly and let his dear friend pour everything out.

Clover, watching all this go down, now felt his will starting to dwindle, “B-But they respected my choice…they said what I did meant more to them than I would ever know!”

“And you actually bought that pile of rubbish?!” The former prince shouted, his voice booming through the void like the world’s most powerful megaphone, “You didn’t stop to consider that they were just acting?! That they were such idiots that the full gravity of what they were allowing you to do wouldn’t sink in until it was literally too late to do anything?!!”

Flowey scoffed, sounding almost disgusted with the lad now, “What am I saying? Of course you wouldn’t!! Because that’s the type of person you are at the end of the day! An idiot who will do literally anything to feel like he matters! Even after the hundreds of runs we’ve been through together, that’s something about you which has never, EVER changed!”

“Funny how even when you tried to be a literal martyr you still ended up hurting everyone you came in contact with, isn’t it?” Flowey commented in a sad*stic manner, finishing off his tirade and chuckling down at his captive.

Clover wanted to object, but he stopped himself as what Flowey just said sparked a thought within his mind, “...Hundreds of runs…” A chill shot itself right through every fiber of his being, despite the fact he didn’t have a physical body anymore, “...You said that no matter what I do, I end up dying at the end…s-so that means you’ve seen me give my soul up more than once already…”

“Wow, you’re only now figuring that out, are ya?” Flowey shot back, his voice drenched in sarcasm as the footage then went back to the moment Clover gave his soul up…only to then glitch out and have that happen again…and again…and again, “Your story ends up going the same way no matter what you do! Either you give your soul up willingly…”

The screen then flickered to a version of Clover staring down Asgore, both of them ready to fight to the death, “Or my old man gets the better of you…”

Another flicker brought them back to the rooftop of the hotel where Clover felt his soul pang in agony at seeing Martlet there offering her forgiveness and compassion, even going so far as to dispose of the one thing that would’ve allowed her to stop him, “Or you agree to go with that bird-brain and live out a “happy, violence-free life” which leads to me having to kill her THEN you, taking your soul, and then I find out you’re STILL too goddamn stubborn to let me have my way!”

“You seriously thought I was gonna let you absorb my soul after you just forced me to watch as you murdered one of the only people who ever believed in me?!!” Clover roared at the projection before him, fury starting to boil within him. This damn flower…always taking away any chance at peace and happiness he could ever have. “If that’s really what you were thinking then you’re an even bigger idiot than me!!”

“HOW DARE YOU??!” Flowey boomed as a literal wall of something flew at Clover and sent him flying backwards like a rocket only to get slammed in the back by another invisible force with such ferocity he was pretty sure he would’ve cracked something, ending up flat on his face while his captor stared down at him with contempt, “Let me make one thing perfectly clear right now, Clover! I.OWN.YOU!!”

The soul of justice found himself getting lifted into the non-existent air by a spindly hand that emerged from the dark and brought him down on the “ground” hard enough to make him scream in pain and agony, “FROM THE MOMENT YOU FIRST FELL INTO MY KINGDOM, YOUR FATE WAS ENTIRELY IN MY HANDS!! YOU LIVE AND DIE BY MY WILL ALONE!! JUST LIKE EVERY OTHER WORTHLESS PEON DOWN HERE!!”

Seeing Clover laying there on his knees, coughing and hacking, made some of the animosity Flowey carried settle back down, but not completely as he was done playing around with his prey, “Now that we got that bit of unpleasantness out of the way, are you finally ready to give me what I’m owed? Because I warn you right now. If you thought what I’ve done to you so far is bad, you ain’t-”

He paused upon hearing what sounded like quiet laughter coming from the human, which made him tilt his projection’s head in confusion, “...What is so damn funny…?”

“Y-You are…” Despite the beatings, despite the verbal abuse, Clover’s resilience shone through as he pushed himself up and grinned in an almost triumphant manner at his self-proclaimed best friend, “Because for the first time…I caught you in a lie…” Hearing this made Flowey raise an eyebrow, “You said my fate was to die in the end…but there is…” He coughed but pressed on, “A timeline where…I beat you…”

“A timeline where you…” Flowey trailed off as the implications of what the human said finally sunk in, and as it did so, he found himself staring blankly into space, realization rearing its head, “...Oh. So you've been remembering THAT timeline too, have you?”

“I have…” Seeing that his former benefactor had seemingly lost some of his bravado, Clover felt encouraged to keep going, “And while it definitely wasn’t a happy timeline by any means, it did teach me one thing…that you ain’t as invincible and all-powerful as you make yourself out to be…”

He used every ounce of fortitude he had just to take one step forward but that step was all that he needed to utilize to cause Flowey to grind his teeth together, making his own smile grow in response, “That power you’re so proud of…the same power you used to make my life a living hell…it can be taken away from you…”

“You are gonna zip that big mouth of yours right now…” Flowey growled darkly.

However, Clover wasn’t deterred in the slightest, “Why should I? Don’t like being reminded of the time that one of your victims actually got the better of you for a change…?”

“Clover, do NOT test me! You don’t have the foggiest idea what I can-”

“Made you feel just as weak and powerless as you made them feel over and over?!” He cut in, continuing his tirade. “Ceroba was right! You’re no god! You’re just a bully! That’s all you are at the end of the day! Somebody who can only feel good about himself by hurting others but when somebody is capable of fighting back, you go crying to Mommy and Dad-”

“SHUT UP!!!!” Flowey roared at his maximum volume. The kind that would make your ear drums burst and cause glass to shatter, and launch Clover upwards only to get smacked back down with enough force to fracture every bone in a person, “SHUT UP! SHUT UP! YOU DON’T KNOW A DAMN THING ABOUT ME!! OR THE HELL I’VE HAD TO LIVE THROUGH BECAUSE OF YOUR KIND AND THAT DAMN PATHETIC EXCUSE FOR A SCIENTIST!!”

“And let me guess…” Clover did his best to stand but doing so had become an almost herculean effort so the most he could manage was to sit on his knees and glare upwards at the husk that was once Asriel Dreemurr, “Just because you suffered that automatically means everyone else needs to suffer with you…so much for being the hope of humans and monsters, I guess…”

Flowey merely panted in and out in a rapid-fire fashion, scowling down at the human like he was nothing more than an ant, “But you know what? I take back what I said earlier. Maybe we’re not as different as I thought…after all…” The smile he wore faded and was replaced with a far more grim, almost disgusted, expression, “When it’s all said and done…in the end…we’re nothing more than kids…and even if you redo this world another hundred times over, that won’t change…”

Silence on both their ends. Clover braced himself for another onslaught of attacks or more venom to come flying from the mouth of his tormentor, but none of that came, much to his surprise. Instead, Flowey just sat there, a blank look on his face…before the world around them glitched and suddenly the screen had vanished and in its place was the talking flower who let out a long sigh and shook his head in disappointment, “...Just couldn’t keep your mouth shut for five minutes, could you? You just HAD to keep pushing…”

“Yeah, well, it’s not like I got much to lose at this point…” Clover pointed out with a grumble. “Especially since I’m dead now so at the very least I can drive you insane, or keep you from hurting my friends more than you have…” He locked eyes with Flowey only to see a small smirk creeping its way onto his face, “What’s with that look?”

“Oh nothing…” A twinkle entered his eye, and this automatically made a chill shoot down Clover’s spine, like he had been sent out into the cold without a jacket, “It’s just I find it rather amusing that you actually think you’ve managed to pull a fast one on me. ME! Of all people! And I'm not gonna lie, I genuinely gotta give you kudos for that! Well done, Clover!”

Literal party poppers materialized from the darkness and went off with a loud pop as applause could be heard alongside more of those hands rising up in order to clap for him which all combined to put Clover even more on edge than he already was, “But see, here’s the thing…I’ve been playing this game for a long, LONG time…way before you were even a thought in the minds of your folks and let me tell you something…”

He leaned in close until they were literally inches apart from one another, making Clover swallow a lump while Flowey continued to wear that devious smirk, staring right into the human’s soul, “You don’t get to stay the game master as long as I have without having picked up a few trump cards along the way…and knowing when to use them…”

“Trump cards? What are you…” Clover didn’t bother finishing that thought as a terrible, sickening sensation suddenly entered the core of his being. A certain factor he hadn’t considered up till now, but the more he focused on it. That timeline where he finally managed to overpower Flowey…where he was forced to kill someone he saw as his equal…

How many more until you are satisfied? Martlet’s question rang within his mind.

“Judging by that look on your face, I think it’s safe to say you’ve started to put the pieces together yourself, but you’ve always been a bit slow on the uptake so I’ll do you a solid this one time and just tell you…” He leaned in to whisper, still smirking as he did so, “How many lives do you think you ended up sacrificing just to gain the power you needed to overtake my control of this world? Hmm? Ten? Twenty? Fifty? Maybe more…?”

“I…I..I didn’t…” Clover stammered, eyes beginning to frantically dart around as he stared down at his trembling, ghostly hands…as for a brief moment, he imagined dust covering them. The dust that made up a Monster, “No! I-I’m not that type of person! I know I’m not! I would never-”

“Now, now, Clover! No need to be modest!” Flowey reassured in a mocking manner, reaching out a vine to pat him on the shoulder, “I’ll admit, even I’m not entirely sure what made you finally snap and give in to your true self back then but I could tell that it must’ve felt REAL good! To just cut loose and tear through anyone who got in your path! To finally take off that mask and show the world your true self!”

“That is not me!!” Clover argued back, doing his best to bite back the tears of guilt and remorse that were threatening to burst forth, “I may not be a hero like I wanted to be, but I also know that I am NOT the type to just kill and kill simply because I think I know better!”

“Oh, really?” Flowey’s smirk shifted to his trademark manic grin, “Are you so sure about that, partner? Why don’t we put that to the test with a little trip down memory lane, hmmm?” The dark hands reached up and began to pull him down into the depths, “And while you’re busy with that, I think I’ll go have a little fun with that pathetic excuse of a family you’ve built for yourself!!”

“You leave my-mpphh!!” Clover was cut off by one of the hands covering his mouth, his eyes wide with horror and desperation as he tried all he could to break free. He needed to fight! He couldn’t let Flowey win!! Not after coming this far! Sadly, his spirit, having been stretched to its breaking point, was quickly losing the struggle and being dragged down further and further….

“Hope you enjoy reliving your past sins, Clover!!” Flowey called down after him, “Perhaps when you’re done down there, you’ll finally come to your senses and see that I was right! You’re a killer!! A soulless murderer! JUST. LIKE. ME!!”

The last thing Clover would hear before being swallowed up was the sound of the former prince’s manic, twisted laughter….

They say that those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

Over and over in a loop that stretches on forever.

True as that might be, what happens when you actually heed the lessons of the past and do all you can to ensure the sins of long ago don’t repeat themselves…and yet despite your best efforts, it still wasn’t enough, and what you feared most ended up happening anyway?

Imagine for a second what that would feel like. The soul-crushing guilt. The tidal wave of despair that would more than likely come crashing down on top of you. Or perhaps…you wouldn’t feel anything at all. You’d be empty inside. Hollow.

If you, dear reader, are capable of imagining that then perhaps you can grasp what Clover’s friends were experiencing right this second, forced to watch as the soulless husk that was once King Asgore’s son killed the child you had swore to protect with your life and stole their soul for himself, laughing like a lunatic as he did so.

The vines ensnaring Ceroba and the others let their prey go as they slithered over to join their master while his body began to warp and change. What sounded like actual bones snapping could be heard as the former prince’s stem of a body began to extend while twisting side to side in completely unnatural ways.

His mouth became full of razor-sharp teeth as his tongue extended to impossible lengths while gaining a fork-like tip, and his eyes became hollow except for the tiniest glimmer of a yellow star within its depths. As his body grew, the vines he used for limbs exploded in size and extended out while gaining ruby claws for hands.

One of the hands, having finished forming, slammed the floor hard enough to make the entire room quake but this got no reaction from those present who simply continued to stare in abject horror as Flowey used the power of the captured soul to make himself even stronger and more monstrous than he already was.

Axis, still laying prone despite having been freed, could only watch as the transformation occurred before him. His last conversation with Chujin replaying itself in his mind. Father…is this what you were after…? Is this..how you wanted to protect your people…?

He wanted to believe that the man who built him would never condone something so terrible and destructive, but just like with Ceroba, maybe he too didn’t know his creator half as well as he had hoped, and that fact was almost as terrifying as what he was witnessing right now.

The other hand crashed down into the ground with the force of a giant striking the earth and rattling its very foundations. Now, it began to haul itself out of the floor, revealing that its roots had begun to bundle together into powerful legs that appeared almost like tree stumps.

His torso continued to burst at the seams with power and muscle while jagged spikes began to form on his shoulders and down along his spine. What appeared to be rags now hung off him but done up in a way to resemble the kind of robe that royalty would wear. Even now, he still considered himself a prince…

The petals he had on his head had grown out too, becoming the closest thing he had to actual hair only now with eyes lining each of them as one more appeared on his forehead.

Its gruesome transformation having seemingly reached its end, the beast took a deep breath, savoring the moment, “Finally…I thought that brat would never shut up…” The voice coming out of him now was definitely Flowey, but at the same time, something was definitely off. It was somehow older, more gruff and deeper in tone, the kind that demanded respect from others…or in this case, fear and awe.

The newly transformed Flowey leered down at his hands, flexing them and as he did so, he gave a toothy grin while drips of liquid determination fell from his teeth, savoring his newfound power, “Yes…yes! This is it! Finally! After so long, that fool’s power, the power he squandered by trying to play the hero, is MINE!” He threw his head back and gave a manic laugh that reverberated throughout not just the Generator Room but the entirety of the True Lab, making it seem like he was everywhere.

Heck, even the Amalgamates, who were basically indestructible, and had managed to force Flowey to flee the first time he was here, found themselves huddling away for their own protection, shaking non-stop as despite their current state, each and every one of them knew that something truly nightmarish had just been unleashed.

Kanako, who had been watching everything going down, merely clung to her caretaker, sobbing uncontrollably. She had just met Clover, yet she was already hoping that maybe he could stay with her and Mom and Uncle Starlo and everyone else and they could all be one big happy family…but now that didn’t seem like it was going to happen…

Alphys said nothing as there was nothing really that could be said. Flowey had won. Plain and simple. All she could do was hold her charge tightly and hum in an effort to try and get her to calm down. She had made a promise to stay with the subjects of her failure to the very end, and she intended to keep that promise.

The transformed Flowey dug his claws into the floorboards, “Such…” And with one mighty tug, he ripped up a decently large chunk of the floor and the ground underneath, “POWER!!” He let the chunk fly as it smashed into a wall hard enough to cause debris to start raining down, leading him to snicker deviously at the thoughts of the carnage he could now inflict, “And the best part is that this is only the beginning…now…”

He cast his gaze over the beaten and battered forms of all those who had been foolish enough to act as a wall between him and his destiny, “What to do about you lot, hmmm?” The demonic flower tapped his chin, contemplating the question, “By all rights, I should just kill each and every one of you right here and now as punishment for trying to defy your god, and with the way you each look now…”

He locked eyes with Ceroba first, “Broken…” And then Starlo, “Defeated…” Dalv was next, “Hopeless…” Axis, “Dejected…” And finally Martlet, “Worthless…well, I don’t think you’d put up much of a fight. In fact, with how much of a bunch of failures you turned out to be, you’d probably welcome death at this point!”

None of them said anything or made a move as he raised one of his claws up and summoned many more friendliness pellets than he previously could, seemingly ready to rain hell on these folks who refused to play his game…only to then stop, much to their confusion, “But you know what? No. I think I have a better idea in mind. I’m gonna let the lot of you live for the time being…”

Before they could even ponder what kind of game he was playing now, he grinned evilly, “So that you can bear witness as I tear down the walls of the capital, kill Asgore, take the other souls for myself and in doing so, truly become God! And I’ll do all that using the power of the human you bunch of idiots failed to save!!”

Savoring the delicious irony of such a plan, Flowey turned his attention to the doorway where he heard the sobbing emanating from, “And hey! Maybe I’ll force that pathetic lizard and the brat to watch as I do it…” He took a single heavy step towards the exit, only for a small blast of fire to strike him in the shoulder, barely leaving even a scratch but this did at the very least catch his attention, “Hmm? Is there a mosquito in here or something…?”

Turning his head towards the source of the attack, his eyes widened at what he saw before him, only to then narrow in annoyance, the high he had been riding from his new power starting to fade if only a little, “Oh, you have got to be kidding me…you just don’t know when to quit, do you?”

Panting, wounded, struggling to even stand on her two feet, hand outstretched and still smoldering with the embers of her attack, stood Ceroba, staring down the transformed Flowey with all the disdain she could muster, “Stay…away…from my daughter…” Every word she spoke was physically painful, but she didn’t care. Nothing mattered right now other than keeping this monstrosity from hurting anyone else, especially her little sunshine.

She took a step, grunting from the pain the movement generated, but didn’t lose her focus, “And…give me back…Clover…give..him..back!!!” Conjuring another fireball to her hand, she gave a wordless shout of defiance and hurled the condensed mass of heat at the overgrown weed.

Now, once upon a time, Flowey would actually have been worried as, well, plants and fire weren't exactly a match made in heaven. Quite the opposite, in fact. However, in his current state, he knew he had nothing to fear from the fox lady and her fancy magic tricks. Sure, the blast still stung a bit but he easily shrugged it off.

However, what really got under his skin was seeing her not be the least deterred at her attack’s ineffectiveness and choosing to double down, “GIVE!” A blast of fire. “HIM!!” And then another. “BACK!!” Screaming in a mix of fury and sorrow, she released a steady stream of fire from her hand at the behemoth who simply stood there and took it.

She kept up the onslaught until her strength finally ran out and left her even more winded and dishevelled-looking than she already was. Somehow, though, she managed to remain standing and watched the wall of fire as it dissipated, hoping and praying that her charge’s tormentor was ashes now and his soul would be unharmed.

Ceroba wasn’t entirely sure what they were gonna do about getting Clover’s soul back into his body, especially considering its current state, but they would think of something.

However, she would be disappointed to see that the newly mutated Flowey was still standing there, giving an unamused scowl in her direction while a faint scorch mark on his chest was all she got as payment for her efforts, “...Finally got all that out of your system, did ya? Good,” He lifted one of his arms and from the palm spawned a spike-tipped vine that rocketed towards her like a guided missile. "Now do me a favor and die already, please."

Ceroba slammed her staff on the floor in the hopes of creating another barrier but her magic fizzled out, much to her horror. “CEROBA!!!” Next thing she knew, she found herself being pushed aside by Starlo who took her place in being lifted into the air and slammed into the ground repeatedly, much to the horror of the onlookers, but the sheriff merely gritted his teeth and bore the pain.

This is what I deserve. He thought to himself bitterly. For failing Clover…not just this time either but all those other times up till now. If only I had been stronger…less of a fool…

Flowey merely laughed at all the fun he was having at the sheriff’s expense. He felt on top of the world right now! Completely invincible! Of course, he knew his toy wasn’t gonna last too long in its current state, but he also knew how to fix that…

FILE SAVED

And now the real fun could begin. He lifted the sheriff up high and hurled him at the far wall, causing everyone to scream in horror.

FILE LOADED

And now to lift him as high as possible so he can drop straight down like a rock only to then get crushed by one of the prince’s giant hands.

FILE LOADED

He now pinned the star-themed monster to a wall before charging up a blast in his mouth, aimed right for his head.

However, Flowey found himself grunting in pain at being struck in the side by a barrage of sharp feathers, electricity and energy orbs, “Urghh…don’t tell me…” He turned his head and, sure enough, Martlet stood there alongside Dalv and Axis. All of them looked like they had been put through the wringer, and were clearly having to fight just to remain on their feet.

But their eyes…those were the eyes of people who had resolved themselves to do what needed to be done. Even if it killed them.

With a sigh, Flowey let go of the sheriff who dropped to the ground and immediately fell into a coughing fit with Ceroba by his side. The killer of Clover turned to address the rest of his little posse, “You really wanna go again, huh? I swear, that brat’s stupidity must be contagious. That’s the only reason I can conceive of for why you would even think of throwing hands at this point! Don’t you get it?!!”

“You’ve…” He rose one of his tree stumps for legs up high, “LOST!!” Bringing the foot down hard enough to smash right through the floorboards, cracks would spread out as rows of giant, thorny roots would erupt forth like a geyser towards the trio.

“Like hell we have!!” Dalv snapped as he pushed himself to morph into his bat form and just narrowly avoid being speared on the end of said roots. He transformed back in mid-air and cupped his hands together so he could better focus his magic into a deadly bolt that he then hurled with all the force he could muster before changing back and getting out of dodge.

Flowey was actually forced to use the side of his forearm to block the attack but found himself being pushed back a little from the strength behind it. Before he could retaliate though, he growled in irritation from being fired upon by the mini turrets courtesy of Chujin’s creation/son and a flurry of feathers from Martlet.

(YOU CANNOT BE ALLOWED TO LEAVE HERE, PRINCE ASRIEL) Axis said as he raised his hands up and began gathering energy. (ESPECIALLY NOT WITH CLOVER’S SOUL IN YOUR POSSESSION)

“I AM NOT ASRIEL!!!” The husk shouted, throwing his arm out to the side as a manic, almost crazed gleam entered his eyes. “Get it through your heads already! He and I could not be more different if we tried!” Vines exploded forth from his body and swatted down every single one of the turrets, “Besides, why do any of you even care?! We’ve played out this same story over and over again!”

The eyes on his body began shooting friendliness pellets in a rapid-fire format like that of a gatling gun, forcing the robot to stop his charging and instead wheel away at high speed while being chased by the pellets, “And in all those runs, I’ve never ONCE seen you idiots go half as far for Clover as you have in this one! Not ONCE have I’ve seen you be willing to gamble your worthless little lives for his sake! So why?! What changed?!!”

“Maybe fate isn’t as set in stone as you seem to think it is!” Dalv declared with all the gusto he could muster as he took advantage of the fact Flowey wasn’t focused on him right now to zoom right towards his face and changed back mid-fall so he could cling on with his claw-tipped fingers, digging them as deeply as he could into the giant’s face, making him let loose an ear-splitting screech of agony.

Especially when Dalv added in a powerful burst of electricity, making the beast stagger backwards, “Get…off…me!!” Fumbling around for a moment, Flowey managed to pry the vampire off his now slashed-up face and hurled him like a fastball towards Axis, with the two tumbling over one another and ending up in a heap.

“Dalv! Axis!!” Martlet landed beside the pair and checked them over. Seeing that they were still in one piece, or as much as they could be in a situation like this, she shifted her attention towards the source of all this madness and took up a defensive position in front of them, “Enough!! I won’t let you hurt anyone else!!”

Flowey chuckled darkly as the scars on his face began to slowly heal, “Oh really? You of all people are gonna stand between me and my destiny? You, the scatter-brained loafer that’s so lazy she could even give this trash bag I know a run for his money in that category,” Martlet’s eye twitched in irritation but she said nothing, not that the transformed prince expected her to, “You, the complete failure of a Royal Guardsman who was so incompetent at her job she couldn’t even protect a literal child. Oh, and you didn’t just fail once either…you failed time…”

Martlet winced as the image of her and Clover getting separated by the Feisty Five blitzed its way through her mind.

“After time…”

And then she recalled the timeline where she didn’t even try to convince her charge not to go through with giving up his soul.

“After time!”

And in the one timeline where she did actually manage to get Clover to Asgore, it turned out to be the biggest mistake she could’ve made as the two of them ended up fighting anyway…and the bird monster got the sinking feeling she knew who the victor was…

“So what makes you think this time around is gonna be any different?” Flowey gloated triumphantly as he took a step towards the ex-Royal Guardsman. “You gonna try calling out to your little human? See if he hears you and responds? Well, too bad! He’s in a place where you’ll never be able to reach him!”

Martlet closed her eyes and took a deep breath, “I see…well, if that’s the case…” When she opened her eyes now, there was a fierceness to them that wasn’t there before, which put Flowey on guard just a little, “...Then I’ll just have to rip him out of you, won’t I?” She reached into her pocket and pulled out a very familiar-looking syringe.

The moment it came within view, everyone’s eyes automatically shot out of their skulls, and that included Flowey, albeit to a more limited extent as he needed to maintain some measure of control over this situation, “So…it’s come to that, has it?”

“M-Martlet, wait!!” Ceroba pleaded, eyes tearing up already, her legs giving out from under her but still managing to maintain her grip on Starlo, “You know what using that will do to you!” She couldn’t afford to lose anyone else. Not now. “Look, let’s just get out of here, regroup and come up with-”

“Come up with what, Ceroba?” Martlet grunted, casting her golden eyes in the fox monster’s direction, not the least bit moved by her pleas, “By the time we figure out any sort of plan, this thing will already have killed Asgore and taken the rest of the children’s souls for himself! No!” She held up the syringe to eye level and gripped it tightly, her expression one of pure determination, “We got one chance to put an end to this and save Clover…and at this point, I’m ready to do whatever I have to…”

Flowey snorted in amusem*nt, “Bold words, but are you so sure you wanna use what’s in that needle? I’ve seen the timeline where you do just that and let me tell you…” He grinned, displaying all his teeth at once, “The consequences are gonna be very, VERY unpleasant.”

Martlet’s expression softened up for a moment as in her place of her hand, she saw one that was dripping, melting away, a voice in her head screaming for help…but then she remembered for whom she was doing all this and reaffirmed her resolve, “...Something tells me that you’re right…doing this could very well cost me my life…”

The former prince’s grin widened, “That said…” Only to have his expression shift into a grimace at the sight of her pulling the syringe back, “At this point, that’s just a risk I’m gonna have to take!!”

“LIKE HELL I’LL LET YOU!!” Flowey proclaimed loudly, although if one paid attention they may have heard a hint of genuine panic in his voice before he stomped the floor with such power and ferocity that the chamber itself shook back and forth as if a giant had taken the whole thing and just started shaking it around.

Martlet screeched as she was tossed to the ground hard, the syringe rolling out of her grasp, “Oh no!!” She went to chase after what was looking more and more like their only salvation from the approaching armageddon while Flowey generated a number of thorn-covered vines out of his palms and launched them toward her.

She flapped her wings in an effort to get off the ground but one of the vines managed to clip her and thus she found herself grounded and briefly stunned allowing the others to move in for the kill…

…only for a round of gunshots, electrical sparks, and a ball of energy to make the vines explode and make Flowey grunt in anger and frustration as he threw a heated glare in the direction of the other monsters, “You lot are just begging for a death wish, aren’t you?” He went to launch another attack only for his eyes to widen as he realized his attention had been diverted at the worst possible time, “No!!”

He whirled around in time to see that Martlet had managed to scoop up the syringe again and was in the middle of jabbing it into her arm, “Not happening, bird-brain!!”

FILE LOADED

This time around, Flowey focused exclusively on Martlet to the detriment of anything else, just shrugging off the attacks sent his way like they were nothing more than fly bites, but it seemed his new power had gone to his head a little as he had forgotten one crucial fact: Martlet could remember Resets too.

Using her retained knowledge, she avoided having her wing clipped this time and generated a wind slash to hack her way through the vines heading her way. Recalling her lessons from basic training, she switched between gliding and sliding under Flowey’s attacks, some of which just barely missed her beak, and managed to grab the syringe.

Needless to say, Flowey was not amused one bit.

FILE LOADED

“Try to make another grab for that syringe and your friends are gonna end up paying the price!” He threatened, raising one of his claws and aiming it towards her fellow monsters whom, even though this was perhaps the most dire situation any of them had ever been in, they refused to budge.

Martlet was just in the middle of making another run for what maybe the key to their victory, and Clover’s freedom, when his words registered in her brain and she stopped herself, her eyes darting between the former prince and Ceroba and everyone. She had things she wanted to say to the demonic weed but she got the feeling doing so might piss him off enough to go ahead and do the deed.

After all, as crazy as the former prince was, he definitely wasn’t stupid.

Seeing that she had stopped, Ceroba locked eyes with her old friend then with the vampire and her husband’s creation, each of them merely giving a grim nod, as if they were all on the same wave length. She grimaced in dismay, but she got the message and nodded back, “Martlet! Don’t worry about us! Just grab that syringe!”

She used the fact Starlo was covering for her to hide one of her hands away while beginning to charge another fireball, pushing her body well past its limits in order to do so.

“Ceroba’s right,” Starlo chimed in, sounding resigned to his role in all this, as evident by him lowering his head so his hat cast a shadow over his eyes, “Putting this here varmint in his place and getting our little deputy back is all that matters right now.”

“Starlo…” Martlet murmured meekly, her attention drifting back to the syringe. It was just a few feet away. She could make the run. She knew she could! But would she have enough time was the real question…

“Oh, give me a break already with the sappiness!!” Flowey said in a loud, obnoxious manner, even sneaking in a very high-pitched groan, “Time after time after time I have seen you idiots repeat the same mistakes like a broken record! Every single one of you here either tries to kill the brat, use him for your own ends, betray him, or straight-up just leaves him to die! And now of all times you want to act like his life actually matters?! That you have ANY sort of moral high ground?!"

“None of us here ever claimed to be saints…” Ceroba pointed out, feeling the magic building behind her, “The way we treated Clover was wrong…no, not just wrong, horrible. Inexcusable even…and if he never wants to forgive us then that is his right. I highly doubt any of us would hold it against him…”

“I certainly wouldn’t…” North Star somberly remarked, his memory of the time he turned his back on Clover, just cause the lad had honored Ceroba’s final wish.

“Me neither…” Dalv admitted, guilt written all over his facial features at letting his fear and paranoia rule his actions. How he had repaid Clover’s compassion by leaving him to wander the Underground by himself.

(I REFUSE TO LET ANOTHER YOUNG ONE’S FUTURE BE CUT SHORT) Axis vowed, finding the strength to stand again despite one of his arms now looking busted. (MY PROGRAMMING BE DAMNED)

Flowey could actually feel one of his eyes twitching at hearing all these platitudes being thrown at him. He could hardly believe this! Was he being played with right now?! Some sort of joke that he so happened to be the butt of? Well, he didn’t find it funny one little bit! “If only you idiots knew what that brat is really capable of…I’ve seen the real Clover. I’ve seen the darkness he keeps locked away in the depths of his soul…”

He leveled an accusatory gaze at the posse, “And before you say anything, I didn’t put it there! He had it long before he fell down into this dump of a kingdom! He just needed a big enough push so as to let the real him out which you bozos provided,” The monsters visibly flinched at having such a harsh truth pointed out and he found himself smiling, “Oh yes…I’ve seen the runs where he finally snaps and just slaughters you goddamn hypocrites…”

“Maybe it was the idiot sheriff…” Starlo merely pulled his hat down further over his face, “Or perhaps it was the deranged nutcase of a mother…” Ceroba found her face scrunching up in anguish, “Or the vampire! Or the robot! Or any other number of you idiots!”

“If so, then we likely earned it,” Ceroba calmly remarked, much to his irritation, “Each of us here is after trying to hurt Clover multiple times so it’s only fair that he gets to pay back some of the pain he was dealt.” Nobody bothered to argue with her as how can one argue against the cold, hard facts?

“Oh, give me a break already!!” Flowey’s patience was razor-thin before but now, he was on the verge of reaching his limit, to the point of slamming his fists on the ground repeatedly like the petulant child he was at heart, “The real Clover is just another me, another soulless killer, and yet you lot are treating him like he’s the Angel’s gift to the Underground!”

“Maybe he is!” Ceroba shouted at the abomination that was once Prince Asriel, her magic having finished charging, “Maybe he’s exactly the ray of sunlight we’ve been needing down here for so long! Someone to remind us that both our races still have a chance at a brighter future!!”

The former Dreemurr’s eyes turned blood red in a mix of fury and indignation, “I am the prince of this world’s future!! Its fate is in MY hands and mine ALONE! It’s my divine right to rule and no one's gonna take that away from me!!!” It’s all I have left, after all… A tiny voice in the back of his mind whispered but he paid it no heed.

Conjuring forth a cloud of friendliness pellets, he prepped himself to unleash a god’s fury on these heathens, only to then be caught by surprise at a ball of fire hitting him square in the face, making him recoil in a mix of pain and anger. Ceroba’s strength now truly spent, she fell to her knees in exhaustion.

Martlet, seeing her chance, lunged and went into a perfect tumble-roll, scooping up the syringe as she did so, coming to a stop and raising it up high. For a moment, the world around her seemed to go into slow-motion. She brought the syringe down. She knew this was the ultimate gamble, but if it ensured victory, then she would face death with a smile…

Sadly, one of the prince’s eyes, that hadn’t been blinded by Ceroba’s attack, spotted what she was doing and decided he was done playing around. “ENOUGH!!!” From his body exploded forth what might as well had been a tidal wave of vines interspersed with pellets, knocking everyone off their feet and uprooting the better part of the chamber similar to as if a localized yet still powerful earthquake had gone off.

“Look out!!” Alphys grabbed her charge, much to their protest, and ducked into a corner as dust and debris bellowed out from the entrance to the Generator Room. Kanako wanted to scream and plead for her Mom, for her Uncles, for the brother she had only just gotten to meet, for her Aunt…for Clover. However, the good doctor only held her tightly and silenced her as the older of the two looked out from their hiding spot as Flowey’s new form smashed through the doorway's frame like it was nothing more than cardboard.

Judging by his expression, he was definitely on the warpath now. Those idiots had cost him precious time, and tarnished the high he had been riding. The only way he knew to rectify this was to drag Clover with him to the capital, get the rest of the souls from Asgore and then bring this whole miserable world to an end. Before that, however, he had one other piece of business to take care of.

Turning his many eyes down on the pair, he grinned evilly while exposing his many jagged teeth, "Now then, Doc...I think you and I have some unfinished business." He knew with this newfound power of his, the possibilities for the torment he could inflict on the brain-dead moron who conned her way into her role were almost limitless. Plus, with his ability to control time, he knew he could take as long as he wanted. Really savor the suffering. After all, he had just removed any remaining obstacles so this world really was his for the taking.

Lying here in the shadow of the monstrosity that once upon a time had been the sweet, pure-hearted prince that had brought so much joy and warmth to his people, Alphys felt perhaps the most scared she had ever been in her life. The only occasion she could recall that filled her with anything close to the terror she felt now would be that day she saw her experiments with Determination horribly backfire. She knew trying to struggle was pointless. A fool's errand. A futile attempt at delaying what was already set in stone.

However, despite knowing this, that nothing she tried would alter the outcome, she couldn't bring herself to give up. Sure, she was scared beyond all reason, but wasn't real courage being able to acknowledge fear and then surpass it anyway? "I...I.." Her hands trembled like no tomorrow but she took a deep breath and ended up clenching them firmly while sparks could be seen around them, "...If you expect me to beg for my life, I-I'm sorry to say you're gonna be rather disappointed..."

This earned a distorted laugh of pure mockery that made it sound as if he was in multiple places at once, "A-Are you actually gonna try and fight me, Alphys?! Really?! Gonna try and act like a badass? Go out like one of those so-called "heroes" from your anime?! One last blaze of glory?!" He let out a hearty sigh as he wiped a trace of something from one of his eyes, "Thanks, doc. I needed a good laugh. You know what? Since you've put me in a slightly better mood, I'm gonna repay the favor and let you take the first crack at me!"

Flowey bent down and turned his cheek while tapping with one of his claws, "Go ahead! Give me your best shot! Won't do jack sh*t, but hey! You'll actually get to feel cool for once in your miserable life!" He flashed her a savage grin, "Before I end it, of course."

Alphys swallowed a lump in her throat and pulled her fist back, said body part bristling with an electrical field. She wasn't a warrior like Undyne or Asgore. Heck, any one of the current Royal Guard could probably run circles around her even on an off day, but the fish lady had taught her a trick or two so she could better defend herself. Defend the people she cared about. She could do this. She knew she could! This thing that dared call itself the prince had hurt way too many people! Manipulated their lives for far too long! For once, she was gonna do her part and fight back!!

Channeling all the anger she could, she screamed and hurled the fist with all the force she could exert. For the briefest moment, she would swear she saw Flowey's eyes widen just a little bit, as if genuinely surprised she was actually going for it.

...Sadly, her fist impacted his cheek and, like he had warned her, the attack did absolutely nothing. She might as well had more luck trying to do damage to one of her plushies. Seeing this, she slumped back down, having seemingly given up, much to his amusem*nt, "Awww! Another glorious failure, eh doctor? That's alright. You won't have to dwell on it, or any of your other past mistakes, any longer. Here. Why don't I-"

"Asriel! Please listen!!" She begged, and something in her voice was enough to make him pause in the middle of reaching down to grab her. Clasping her hands in her lap, her whole body heavy with sorrow and desperation, she spoke, "I-I'm sorry! I know I've probably said that a hundred times already, but it's the truth! If I had known your dust was on that flower, I would've left you where you were! I swear! Bringing you back was never my intent!"

The more she spoke, the more the soulless Dremurr found himself getting ticked off at what he saw as nothing more than hollow theatrics, "It was a complete accident! I only wanted to give your father a companion! Someone to make him feel not so alone in the world! He spends way too much time isolating himself in the castle so I thought having someone to cheer him up would bring him some peace! Maybe even convince him to stop the war!"

"If you're trying to guilt trip me, it won't work!" He fired back while baring his teeth angrily, "Like I already told you bunch of idiots, the useless brat you knew as Asriel Dreemurr is long dead! He's gone and he's never coming back!" The former prince raised a claw to inspect with what almost seemed like a mix of frustration and disgust, "This THING you see in front of you is all that's left! Just a soulless creature that can't experience love, carrying the memories of a dead monster! A freak!" He then brought his fist down only inches from the doctor, making her scream in fear, "YOU DID THIS TO ME!!"

"Then take my life!!" She offered without hesitation, even throwing aside her glasses, "If doing so will quell that hatred you have inside you then just get it over with!" She spread her arms, misty-eyed, "I'm the reason any of this is happening, so I alone should be paying the price! No one else!"

Asriel fumed, even more thorns starting to sprout along his body in response to his mounting irritation, "Hate to burst your bubble, doc, but I've already seen you make that offer more times than I can count..." At seeing her gaping in shock, he actually rolled his eyes in irritation, "Time travel, duh! I'm pretty sure by this point I've lived longer than even my old man, done everything there is to do and then some! And yes, that includes killing you. I'll admit, seeing that there fish lady you clearly got a crush on break down at seeing you turn to dust right in front of her was amusing the first couple dozen times...but even that got boring after a while."

She knew she was grasping at straws by this point, but what else could she do? "T-Then why...? Y-You have a human soul within you right now! Shouldn't that be enough to restore all your emotions? Make you able to care again?"

"See, you would think that be the case, right?" He quipped, stroking his chin as vines began to emerge from the ground around, seemingly ready to strike, "But here's the thing. Two things, in fact. First, Clover's a tad more stubborn than he usually is so I have yet to fully absorb him. Annoying, sure, but he'll give in soon enough. Secondly," In an instant, his face was only inches away from hers, his eyes having hollowed out, making her recoil in horror, "You actually think after living like this for as long as I have that owning just one soul would be enough to make me whole again?!"

He didn't give her a chance to respond before continuing, his voice starting to crack up a little as he did so, "Well, you're wrong!! I need more! Only once I have ALL the souls will I finally be anything close to myself! No...even better than that! I'll be GOD!!" The prince proceeded to laugh so loudly that it carried down the hallways of the lab, and froze Alphys right to where she was, "And now I think we're done here! So long, Alphys! You won't be missed!!" The beast raised one of his giant claws, readying to swing downwards as if he were a judge about to bring down his gavel for sentencing.

Alphys merely closed her eyes. Waiting for the end. Hoping that it would come swiftly, at the very least. Undyne. Asgore. Mettaton. Kanako. Everyone...I'm sorry. I failed you. I failed all of us.

She braced herself for the killing blow, to slip away into nothingness...but she felt no pain. Had the hand of death decided to grace her with a painless passing? That couldn't be the case as she swore she heard the flower letting out a gasp of genuine surprise and thus, she cautiously opened her eyes to see that Flowey's attack had stopped just as it was about to reach her face. However, this was not of his own doing. Another claw-tipped hand had grasped his limb.

Following the length of the arm said claw was attached to, Alphys eyes widened in disbelief at what she saw that had come to her defense. Or in this case, whom. "...K-Kanako...?"

Sure enough, standing protectively behind her, almost as if she were a guardian spirit, was Ceroba's little girl. Only now she wasn't so little. Thanks to having assumed her larger form. Except this time around her face was still visible, but there was what appeared to be fangs in her mouth and claws in place of fingers. Her hair, or what passed for hair in her current state, seemed to be floating about as if there were a strong breeze blowing, but perhaps the most startling change were her eyes: The hollow sockets now had the very faint blue light deep within them.

"Bad...flower..." Kanako growled with as much venom as she could squeeze into her voice. This thing wasn't Asriel Dreemurr. The Asriel she recalled from the stories would never do the horrible things he was after doing and now, after seeing him go about hurting everyone she loved as badly as he had, she had decided she was done standing by and doing nothing.

He needs to pay...he needs to pay for hurting Mom! For Uncle Starlo! For Clover! For Aunt Martlet! Axis! Dalv! Alphys! Everyone!
Trying to kill someone who's in no position to defend themselves...that's one of the most cowardly things you can do...
Will you help me then? Please...I don't think I can do this on my own...
...I'm not sure how much help I can be or if we can even do anything, but...you won't be on your own. I promise.
...Thank you.

"Ok, these little diversions are starting to get on my nerves," Asriel actually grumbled, looking not the least bit intimidated by Kanako's transformation. If anything, he appeared kinda bored. "If you really think you're gonna make me run away again, then you're just as big an idiot as Clover, your Mo-" He never got the chance to finish as next thing he knew, Kanako screeched and lunged at his face, grappling on for dear life and proceeding to claw away at him feverously. Surprised, Flowey found himself stumbling backwards and crashing into one of the walls hard.

"Get OFF me, you twerp!" Cursing, Asriel peeled her off his now freshly scratched-up face and swung her around before smashing her into the same wall that he had just slammed up against, seemingly reducing the fox monster to a puddle and Alphys to give a wordless panicked scream. Scoffing, the mutated flower turned away, "Now, where were we?" He zeroed in on Alphys and was ready to resume ending her miserable existence, only to feel something gripping onto his leg, making him facefault, "Oh right, I almost forgot about that little detail..."

He turned and raised his fist to continue pounding Kanako into the floor, but her "hair" moved on its own accord, gaining sharp tips and proceeding to perform rapid-fire jabs at him, managing to puncture the surface of his skin but not much else beyond that. That said, this did manage to irritate him even further, to the point he was forced to focus exclusively on her for the time being. Roaring in a mix of anger and disapproval at the very idea of yet another fool trying to stop his impending godhood, he grabbed hold of Kanako's hair and began to swing her every which way, slamming her from one wall to the other, "Stop," Another slam, "Getting" And then another, "In," Another, "My," One more, "Way!!"

All of a sudden, he winced as a brief static shock went through his body, causing him to stagger a bit flinching. He whirled about and glared dagger eyes at Alphys whom still had her hand outstretched, crackling with sparks. He had briefly considered making her deaths quick and painless, but now? After that little act of stupidity? Well, he was gonna make her suffer.

Of course, he wouldn't get within ten feet of her as that distraction was just enough time for Kanako to pull herself back together and launch at his back. Her fangs gleaming in the light of a lamp hanging overhead, she sank them into one of his eye-lined petals, finally inflicting on him the closest thing to actual pain he'd been dealt so far. "You wretched little thing!!" He yanked her off once more and then punched her with as much force as he could muster then got his arm to extend down the hall at high speed.

However, Kanako's eyes briefly flickered to be filled with blue light and then all of a sudden, she flipped herself up onto the arm and began running along Flowey's limb, showing off a remarkable sense of balance, not faltering or tipping in any way.
Heck, Flowey himself was momentarily taken off his guard by this stunt, "W-What the hell?!" Shaking his head, he raised his other hand from it sprouted what looked like a small batch of thorns. Said thorns then fired themselves off one after the other as if he were wielding a gun.

To his chagrin, the Amalgamate gracefully slid underneath the rounds in a way that he was pretty sure shouldn't be physically possible. She then kicked off his extended arm and went high into the air. An keen eye would notice a blueish outline forming around her body, but Flowey, now more ticked off than ever, was only focused on tearing Ceroba's daughter limb from limb and so a pile of vines burst from the floor in an attempt to impale her but her claws, now having a dark blue tint to them, sliced through them like a hot knife through butter.

Doing his best to ignore the jolt of pain this gave him, he drew his fist back, covering it in spiky vines, and then hurled it towards her. No way she was gonna be able to cut through something like this...except she didn't use her claws. Instead, the feet she had formed for herself struck out in a surprisingly powerful axe kick, connecting with his fist and generating a shockwave that sent her flying into the ceiling but did manage to blast Flowey back as if a car had struck him out of nowhere.

Needless to say, he wasn't happy. Oh no. If anything, he was beyond furious. Why?! Why the hell is this happening?! I should be the most powerful being in the Underground right now! More than capable of destroying Alphys' little projects!

He hated having to rely on this, especially to deal with such an annoying runt, but he was done playing around. FILE SAVED.

With that done, he resumed his attack as "Kanako" finished reforming and rocketed down from the ceiling, baring her fangs and the two of them grappled with each other all the way down the hall and back into the main part of the lab. Triggering an explosion of blue light to throw both of them apart, the Amalgamate let out an ear-piercing screech and pounced on him, slipping past his grip using her semi-liquid state and went straight for his face-

FILE LOADED.

She slipped past his grip only to get peppered with a spray of friendliness pellets that hit with enough force to jettison her into a wall at breakneck speeds. However, the pain she endured from this was nothing compared to what she dealt with on an almost daily basis and thus she sprung back into the action almost immediately, much to Flowey's growing aggrevation.

He fired off a barrage of thorn missiles but Kanako simply stood there and tanked them, barely reacting at all, before flexing her claw-like hands and generating some of her fire magic to encase them, "Bad...flower!!" Giving in to her more animalistic side, she started galloping towards the former prince even as he sprouted a bunch of vines and sent them rocketing towards her with enough force to puncture steel. However, the Amalgamate wasn't dissuaded and carved through them using her imbued claws.

"H-Hey! Stop that!" He exclaimed, but she ignored him and went to take a swipe, only for him to parry her attack with his forearm, flinching at a burn mark forming, only to then get pelted by another round of stabbings from her seemingly living hair. She-

FILE LOADED

She went to take a swipe but he parried her attack and went to get some vines to sprout up and impale her, only for her to immediately slide between his legs, "W-What the?!" He turned around in time to get hit by another explosion of blue light that sent his mighty form skidding back along the floor, "You...you can remember too, can't you?!!" Her method of answering was to remain on all fours and open her mouth to an almost impossible degree, charging a ball of fire and letting it fly, to which he barely managed to avoid as her attack actually ended up creating a fair-sized explosion that he visibly winced at, "H-How...how?!"

"You...hurt...Mommy..." Kanako hissed as she began taking shaky steps towards him, swords in her eyes, "Hurt...Uncle...hurt...Clover...you...you..." She could already feel her body starting to slowly lose its stability, the adrenaline wearing off, her very soul screaming out in protest, but she refused! She refused to let this THING hurt anyone else! This was her chance to be a hero, a real one this time, and she wasn't about to blow it!

Asriel growled at the Amalgamate, but although doing so hurt his pride, he was forced to admit that he wasn't in a position to do any sort of lasting damage to her. He needed more power. More souls. More! As such, seeing as he wouldn't be getting what he wanted, he spotted the elevator he had disabled earlier and figured the time was right to cut his losses, "...This isn't over, doc!" He roared, "Mark my words. Once I have the rest of the human souls, I'll be back for you AND your guardian angel!"

With his warning given, he charged towards Kanako, swatting her aside as he pried open the elevator and proceeded to tear open the ceiling of the lift so he could then proceed to start climbing up the side, gradually making his way up and out of the True Lab.

Kanako went to try and go after him, but all of a sudden, every ounce of energy seemingly left her and she instantly collapsed back into a pseudo-puddle, her strength spent. "Kanako!!" Alphys emerged from where she had been watching and rushed to her side to hold her tightly, sobbing up a storm, "I-I'm so so so sorry! You shouldn't have needed to do that! You just...w-why...why would you go to such lengths just to protect someone like me...?"

Seeing how distraught she was, the fox monster very much wanted to reach out and hold her but lacked the strength to do so right now, and so she merely chose to gurgle out some words, "...A-Alph....f-f-fri...end....." Alphys didn't say anything in response to that, but she did tighten her grip, much to Kanako's delight, "C-C-Call....h..e..l..p..."

"R-Right! Of course!" Still holding the trembling Amalgamate, the lizard monster fished out her phone and, with shaky fingers, managed to dial a certain fish lady’s number. Thankfully, she picked up after the first ring, “Yeah, Alph? Everything ok down there? We’ve been patrolling the area up here for the past while but haven’t noticed anything other than some weird noises coming from the speaker-”

“Undyne! Flowey! He came! He has the human soul! He’s on his way back up to the surface right now!” Alphys practically screamed into the phone, her nerves fried beyond measure.

Dead silence was all she got in response, before Undyne spoke in a remarkably calm, even tone, “...How badly are you and those other punks hurt?"

“I’m fine, but the others are…” She paused for a second, not wanting to fear the worst, especially in the presence of a mother’s child, “L-Look, nevermind! Take Mettaton and get out of here! Call Asgore! Tell him to absorb the human souls before Flowey gets to them!”

“I’ll definitely do that but there’s no way in hell I’m just leaving you down there either!!” Undyne shouted back, sounding almost offended by the very notion of abandoning her friend, “Look, just hang tight where you are right now, try to keep calm and I’ll take care of things up here!”

“Undyne, wait! You can’t-” Alphys would never get the chance to finish as the captain would immediately hang up. She tried calling her back but got no answer. Seemingly defeated, she let the hand holding her phone fall limp to her side as she just stared off into empty space.

This is it…Undyne’s gonna die…Asgore’s gonna die…every last one of us is gonna die and it’s gonna be all my fault…all because like the idiot I am I brought the prince back as a soulless demon that only lives to seek power…

The only reason she had yet to completely lose what little mental stability she still had was the fact that she had a little one to look after. A little one who now seemed to be doing her best to break free of her caretaker’s grasp, hands reaching out futilely in the direction of the wrecked Generator Room, “M..o..mmy….Uncle…S-Starlo…everyone…no…”

She shifted what she had for a face back at Alphys, and despite the lack of actual eyes, the doctor could read her expression well enough to know what she wanted. Of course, she was hesitant to get the little fox’s hopes up as,well, what good was “hope” in a situation like this?

Regardless, she couldn’t turn down the pleas of this sweet youngling, and so, she merely gave a short, curt nod and pushed herself to stand before carrying Kanako off to go do what needed to be done.

After all, if the world really was coming to an end, why not do all that one can?

At the very least, it ensures you can meet your end without regrets…

Asgore was not one for getting out of the castle much.

In fact, he was having difficulty even remembering the last time he set one foot outside the walls of the capital itself. Granted, he had his reasons. Like it or not, he was the King and he figured after the suffering he was after inflicting on the prior little ones who fell before this “Clover” individual, the least he could do was act as their eternal guardian.

It made perfect sense as, well, if you wanted to get to the souls, you had to go through the strongest Monster in the entire kingdom. A man with not only some of the most powerful magic ever seen but had a lifetime’s worth of experience to back it up, along with the simple fact he had fought in an actual war.

Of course, that was the official reason. In private, the monarch knew the real reason. He was a coward, and that’s all there was to it.

He did all he could to isolate himself, to put as much distance between himself and any chance of ever running into another human on his travels, otherwise…well, if nothing else, he was a man of his word. He also knew the hardest choices required unwavering resolve, so who’s to say that someone wouldn’t succeed in making him second-guess his own resolve?

His people loved him, sure…but…he didn’t feel he deserved their love and adoration. Nor did he deserve their loyalty and respect. A real king would’ve repealed that draconian decree ages ago, made it so any humans who fell down were to be welcomed and treated as fellow citizens. Maybe by joining hands, they could find a solution to the barrier that didn’t involve more blood being spilt.

Unfortunately, such a world would now only ever exist in his mind. At the end of the day, Asgore knew he could only play the cards he’d been dealt, and this situation would be no different. It never was.

He would meet with the latest human to fall, explain himself to the best of his ability, along with answering any and all questions they may have, then he would offer them a choice: Die quickly and painlessly, or allow them a chance to fight back. To earn the right to live. He figured this was the bare minimum he could do for them, and if they took the latter option and did end up somehow killing him?

Well…then he would have finally atoned for his crimes against the humans.

As for the monsters that had chosen to help the human? Regardless of what Clover chose, he would make sure they weren’t punished for defying him. His people were beings of hope and compassion, after all. Why should they have to face consequences for doing what came naturally to them?

For being far braver than he could ever hope to be…?

For the time being, though, he needed to focus on the present, and thus he made his way further and further from the lights of the capital and closer to Hotland, towards the source of the broadcast. However, as he spotted the Royal Laboratory on the horizon, he began hearing what sounded like various individuals either screaming, crying, or in one case, laughing their ass off.

Concern getting the better of him, the old king picked up the pace, wiping the sweat that had formed on his brow as a result of the heat here, and came around a turn to spot…a most unusual site. “What in the name of the Angel…?”

Before him could be only what he would describe as complete anarchy. A number of guardsmen were either running about the area, wailing their heads off, while a Madjick was curled up in a corner rocking back and forth for some unknown reason, at least one pair of Whimsalots were lying on the ground knocked out, and the Knight Knight that was basically their field commander…well…

They were currently in the middle of playing the world’s most elaborate round of rough-housing Asgore could recall seeing in literal ages. One moment they’d be tussling with what looked to be a big, round reddish monster and would manage to throw them off only to then have what looked to be Undyne’s twin hopping onto their back and bonking their head repeatedly.

In the midst of trying to pry them off, another monster in a tuxedo and top hat would cling to the face on their torso while what looked to be a squirrel monster dressed all in green seemed to be rooting through their pockets.

Please don’t ask how the Knight Knight has pockets. Even Asgore wouldn’t be able to give you the answer to that one, and he had been around for a thousand years, if not longer.

However, on closer inspection, it would become clear this whole ordeal had been going on for quite a while with everybody looking like they were on the brink of falling over from exhaustion. Not helped by the fact that they were, well, you know, in Hotland.

Seeing this, Asgore knew he needed to do something before someone got seriously hurt or worse and thus he cleared his throat, “Ahem! Excuse me? A moment, please?” Nobody seemed to pay attention and continued on with losing their minds making him sigh and massage his temples, now choosing to raise the volume on his voice just a little, “Could all of you please settle down and just-”

“A human!! The human!!” Madjick wailed to the high heavens.

Now, the current ruler of Monsterkind prided himself on being a patient, understanding individual who tried to solve most matters in a more relaxed, gentle manner but after the madness he was after dealing with these past couple of days, that trait of his was after being severely tested, and regardless of who you are, nobody’s patience is infinite.

As such, although he felt like garbage for having to resort to this, his demeanour suddenly shifted to a somewhat less gentle one and he summoned his family’s trident before banging it on the ground, “SILENCE!!!”

Immediately, the squabbling ceased, to the point you would be forgiven for thinking someone had hit pause on the whole world with all those present having frozen where they were and now focusing all their attention on the King. Seeing that everyone had calmed down somewhat, Asgore dismissed his trident in a flash of red light before raising his hands pensively, “My apologies for that, dear citizens, but I’m kind of in a hurry at the moment.”

“You mean you’re in a hurry to go kill Clover!!” Mooch, of all people, shouted in an accusatory manner, one hand holding onto Knight Knight’s wallet while pointing at the Dreemurr with the index finger on her other hand, “Well, too bad, so sad! You ain’t getting anywhere near him while we’re her-HEY!”

The squirrel monster wouldn’t get the chance to finish as the guards, finally remembering why they were here in the first place, proceeded to jump the Feisty Four all at the same time and in a matter of seconds, had them all tied up. Naturally, none of them were amused.

“So you actually managed to get the better of us,” Ace grunted, “What are you gonna do now? Blind us with pepper spray? Tie our legs to the back of horses and have them drag us through the desert? Toss us in a slammer and force us to subsist on mould until we finally go insane?”

“Well, do your worst!” Ed chimed in, not showing the slightest bit of fear in his tone or facial features, “Anything you inflict on us won’t hurt half as bad as knowing what you’re gonna do to that poor kid once you get your hands on him!”

“I hope you have nightmares for the rest of your life.” Moray growled, their voice laced with unfiltered venom.

“Be silent, you traitors!!” Knight Knight demanded, the larger of the two faces glowering down at them, “What becomes of that human now is none of your business! Considering the gravity of what you’ve done here today, you should count yourselves fortunate if the worst thing that happens is you get put away for-”

“That’s quite enough, Knight Knight.” Asgore ordered in a lower-toned yet still firm manner of speaking, his eyes expressing disapproval at the way his hired guard was behaving.

Needless to say, this took the armoured monster by surprise, “...Sir?”

“These four may have indeed committed a crime but they did so for a very valid reason,” The king admitted, shifting his gaze to the four whom were all giving him looks of pure disdain. Seeing such faces…although he wouldn’t outright admit to this, he took some satisfaction out of knowing there were souls willing to defy him. To not just roll over and accept things as they were. “They were merely protecting someone they care about very much.”

“That’s right, you big oaf!” Mooch exclaimed, struggling against her binds with all her might despite how fruitless the effort would prove, “Clover may be just another human to you, but to us, he’s way more than that!”

“Mooch is right!” Ed concurred, not taking his eyes off the man who had essentially sold his soul just to create false hope for the rest of them, “He’s one of us! A proud member of the Feisty Five! And sworn deputy of the Wild East! You get up to any funny business and mark my words, you’re gonna have ALOT of fine folk breathing down your neck…”

“For the record, I was actually in the middle of writing a strongly-worded letter addressed to you personally before we left to come here,” Moray added on their end, scowling up at the ruler of all monsters. “You’ll be receiving it in the mail in the next couple of days…assuming you don’t just throw it out, of course.”

“You may be our king, but that doesn't mean jack squat to us,” Ace pointed out, “There’s no justice to what you’re doing, and if you think for even a second there is then you’re the biggest fool in this whole kingdom. I bet the Queen would be so proud if she saw you right now.”

Asgore did his best to remain stoic but doing so was proving quite difficult. Every word being thrown his way was like another punch in the gut, and he knew he had done more than enough to earn all of them. In all honesty? This was actually pretty tame in his book compared to what he felt he should be getting.

The king let his head hang down so that a shadow fell over the top half of his face, “...You’re right…everything you’re saying right now is the truth…” Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Knight Knight making a move as if to speak up on his behalf but he held up a hand to stop them. He didn’t need other people to defend him from criticism, “I deserve your hatred, and I accept it whole-heartedly…”

This admission was enough to get Starlo’s gang to clam up but the faces of disapproval remained etched on each one of them, “Believe me, if there was a better option than I would’ve implemented it a long time ago…but there is not. Like you, I truly despise the cards I have been dealt, but they are all I have…all ANY of us have…”

Ed actually scoffed in disgust, “Right…keep telling yourself that, big guy. I’m sure that helps you sleep great at night.” Upon seeing the king visibly wince, if only slightly, he did gain a tinge of guilt but he refused to take back his words.

“We don’t hate you, King Asgore,” Moray clarified, their voice softening to show they were being sincere, “We just hate what you’re doing. That’s all. Is there really no way at all you can be convinced to just let Clover be? He’s not a threat to anyone.” For a moment, the fish monster’s mind went back to that earlier fight the four of them had with the deputy. How no matter what they tried, the lad refused to fight back.

In fact, if anything he looked…almost guilty at times. Why? What was there to feel awful about? They were the ones who attacked him! Moray felt especially scummy as they had flat-out told Clover they were doing this partly because they were bored.

Treating the poor kid like he was nothing more than a punching bag they could use to blow off some steam…in a way, that was even worse than what the king was planning.

Asgore continued keeping his head down but when he spoke now, his words were heavy with a mix of guilt and his ever-present sense of duty, “Indeed. For now, he is not a threat but even if I were to allow him to go free, there is still no guarantee he would be safe down here. Even now, there remain quite a few of us who fear and resent humanity, after all…”

This admission automatically made the quartet tense up and although the monarch had no way of knowing this, all of them were on the same wavelength when it came to who could possibly be a threat to the lad’s life. A certain fox monster who let his hatred and racist views lead him down a path to self-destruction.

For if there was even one like him…then did it not make sense there could be others?

“And if such an individual were to get their hands on the human’s soul, not only would we suffer a terrible setback, but we’d then have to deal with a threat within our own ranks that we are all woefully underprepared to deal with…”

“Clover’s a lot more capable than you give him credit for!!” Mooch exclaimed with all the confidence she could drudge up, though a part of her couldn’t help but acknowledge that the king made a valid point, “I mean, for crying out loud, he literally made it all the way through the Underground!” He also managed to survive taking on all four of us at once but the big guy doesn’t need to know that…

“And he’s made a lot of powerful friends who can cover for him during the times he IS in trouble!” Ed added from his end. “So I don’t see any reason why he can’t just be left alone!”

“As capable as he may be, and regardless of how you all may feel about him, the risks are simply too great,” Asgore replied, trying to appear calm and sagely but the tension in his shoulders told a different story, “I don’t blame any of you one bit for not agreeing with this course of action, but I assure you that in the long run, this is what’s best. For both him and all of us…”

“That’s a complete load of cow manure!!” Moray roared, now being the one to start losing their patience and thus deciding they might as well make an attempt to break free on their end, wiggling about and pulling against their restraints with great gusto, “Nobody wants another war, but if you keep going down this path then that’s exactly what you’re gonna bring about!” The others merely nodded in agreement.

Asgore was about to speak but at that moment, his phone decided to ring and upon checking the caller ID he breathed a sigh of relief at seeing it belonged to Undyne. “Pardon me. I need to take this. Knight Knight? Keep an eye on them for me, please,”

He took a few steps away, now letting some of the tension and anxiety melt away as he answered the call, “Captain Undyne! I really cannot tell you how good it is to be able to hear your voice again! You’ve had me very worried, especially after what I saw on that broadcast. Did everything work out with the human?”

“Uh, yeah…about that…” Hearing her taking a deep breath, Asgore’s hopes that this situation could be resolved peacefully were dashed almost immediately, “...We’re kind of in a Code Red right now, sir. That damn flower I told you about earlier?” A rumbling could be heard in the background, “...I’m sorry to say this but he managed to get ahold of the human soul…”

And just like that, all of the king’s worst fears were realized in an instant. Every drop of feeling in his hand abruptly vanished, causing the phone to drop and hit the ground while he found himself staring off into the distance, a look of pure horror written across his face.

Fate really did have a sick sense of humor sometimes, didn’t it?

“Sir? Sir! Come on! Look, I know things are looking like super grim right now but you of all people need to hold it together, damn it!!” Undyne’s voice continued blaring from the fallen device, even as another more powerful rumbling could be heard on her end, “I’ll do what I can over here but if I fail, you need to get to the human souls and absorb them! Their power might be our only shot at stopping this abomination!”

Using every ounce of willpower he still possessed to push his body to act, he scooped up the phone, panting as he spoke, “What about Dr Alphys? And the rest of those monsters that human was with? What’s their current condition?”

“Alphys is alive, thank the Angel above,” Undyne admitted, sounding genuinely relieved that at least one person was out of harm’s way, “As for the other monsters? I…” She trailed off and Asgore’s heart sank to a new low at the brief silence, “...I don’t know what their current condition is but I’m gonna assume it’s not good…”

“...I see…” That’s really all he could say at this point in time as the guard captain was right about one thing. He needed to keep himself in check because if HE fell to pieces, then they really were all doomed.

Asgore had made many mistakes in his life, but one thing he would never in this life do is turn his back on his people. ANY of his people. “...Undyne? I think it might be wise for you to perform a tactical retreat. Focus on clearing our people from the area. I will take care of this threat myself.”

“W-Wait, what??!” As he anticipated, Undyne’s tone made it clear she didn’t like such an idea one little bit, “Asgore, hold up a second! Where the hell are you right now?! I-I figured you’d be still in the capital where you almost always are! And now I think about it, what’s this about a broadcast you mentioned?”

“That robot Alphys built sent out a broadcast not even a couple hours ago streaming that fight you had with the human and his supporters,” Asgore calmly explained, “When I saw that, I figured I needed to come deal with this matter personally…and now, I have even more reason to do so.”

Undyne could be heard loudly groaning, “Uggh…assuming we all get out of this in one piece, I’m gonna pile drive that giant bucket of bolts. Asgore, don’t worry about me, or Alphys, or anybody else right now! Just get back to the castle and grab the souls as soon as possible! I’ll buy you as much time as I can!”

“Captain Undyne, No!!” He roared, worry for the fish lady overtaking his better judgement, “I am giving you a direct order! Do NOT engage! Retreat with the others and let me take care of this! If that flower has gotten ahold of the human’s soul, you will NOT survive a fight with it!”

“Asgore, this is literally the type of situation you trained me for!” She argued back, “Besides, if I let this thing go, who knows how many of our people are gonna die before you even get here?! And I…” She hesitated for a second, “...I can’t just leave Alphys here all by herself…”

“Undyne…”

“So in case this is the last you ever hear from me, sir, I..." She hesitated, but only briefly, "I just wanna say that it’s been a great honor to serve as your captain.Thank you.” Undyne admitted with total sincerity before hanging up.

“Undyne! Undyne!!” He went to call her back but got nothing, making him curse to himself. Just when he thought things couldn't get any worse, the powers that be seemed utterly devoted to proving him wrong. He needed to think quickly and thus he made his way back to where the others were, “Knight Knight? Take these four back with you to the capital,”

He turned to address the rest of the guardsmen, “The rest of you spread out and start evacuating whoever you can! If anyone asks why, let them know that the human’s soul has been taken by a traitor within our ranks and is now poised to go on a rampage!”

The guards were left flabbergasted, frantically talking over one another, asking questions that he had no way of answering, nor did he have the time or energy to waste attempting to do so. In response, he straightened his posture and growled, “Go! NOW!!”

All of them immediately took off like bats out of hell at his command. He hated resorting to speaking to anyone in such a manner but this was one of those rare times he had to make an exception.

“Now hold on there a second!!” Mooch exclaimed, shooting a very unamused expression in Asgore’s direction while resisting being carried off by Knight Knight, “What’s this about Clover’s soul?! If any of you bozos did something to him, I’ll…I’ll..I’ll bite your face off! You hear? Yeah! I’ll-”

Sadly, she wouldn’t get the chance to finish that train of thought as the armored guardsman shoved a sock into her mouth and proceeded to drag the whole lot of them away even as they fought against their restraints every step along the way.

With a heavy heart, the king turned and faced in the direction of the Royal Laboratory. The fatherly side of him urged the old Dreemurr to go to his Captain's side. To stand with her against whatever monstrosity was now poised to unleash a symphony of despair on the kingdom. He couldn't afford to lose anyone else. One death today was already one too many! And yet...

And yet the king in him was forced to acknowledge the wisdom in Undyne's words. If he were to perish, then the light of hope for his people really would sputter and fade. This time for good. He recalled his father's words of how he couldn't jeopardize all the lives under his command just for the chance to save a couple more. He needed to focus on the bigger picture, even if doing so completely destroyed him on the inside. Guarding the souls came before anything else. Always had, and always would.

Undyne...I am so, so sorry...

And so, with each step feeling heavier than the last, he turned his back, biting back tears of regret, and began his trek towards whatever fate had in store for him at the end of this road.

Regardless of what that maybe, though, he would face it, and accept the consequences.

For that was the duty of those who bear the crown.

The darkness was suffocating Clover.

It was everywhere. Omnipresent. All-consuming. He wanted to scream but he had no voice to do so. He wanted to fight and struggle but his limbs refused to obey him. Nothing he did mattered in the face of absolute nothingness.

Suddenly, however, impossibly, a flicker of light would enter his vision and next thing he knew the veil that had trapped him dissipated and he found himself standing in a very familiar-looking chamber. It was the Ruins…the very start of them, in fact.

On the surface, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. The layout of the room still seemed to be the same. The bed of flowers was where it always was…but there was one key difference here.

There was another Clover laying there on the bed, staring up at the hole he had jumped down into with a seemingly blank expression on his face. They then stood up and looked around at their surroundings, as if he were seeing them for the very first time.

Um…hello there? The first Clover called out but this new one paid him no heed, making the former question what was the meaning of this. Oh, that’s right. Flowey said this was a trip down memory lane so I guess I’m seeing my own memories right now…?

He watched as the other Clover got to his feet and took a few shaky steps off the flowers and then a few more…but then he did something that the soul of Justice genuinely did not expect.

He lifted his hands up only to see that they were shaking like no tomorrow, his own expression becoming one of genuine fear, “I…wha…but I…w-wha…I..” The Clover with a physical body then began frantically looking around the ruins, fear quickly turning into dread, “N-No…I-I can’t…I…” Not sure what to make of this, he stumbled towards the exit to the chamber, entering the next room where the Froggit would be waiting...wait, why did he know that?

As usual, the Froggit did its thing and Toriel would appear to drive them away, and automatically Past Clover physically recoiled as if he had been hit, and in a way, he had, but not physically. No. This was more like being hit with a wave of nostalgia. Why? Why do I feel like I've been here before? Regardless, he followed the goat monster's lead not being able to shake that feeling of familiarity towards everything around him.

However, what really made the alarm bells go off in his head was when they got to the room with the lever puzzle and Clover was instructed to pull a certain one in particular. He would nod and do as he was told...only to pause right in the middle of reaching for the mechanism. That feeling from before was now stronger, much stronger, to the point he could feel his chest tightening, breathing getting heavier. He...he knew. He knew the moment he pulled that lever that he would fall through the floor and be separated from Toriel!

He couldn't explain for the life of him WHY he knew that. He simply did!!

The cowboy lowered his hand and was in the middle of turning to shyly ask Toriel if she could be the one to pull it for him, or to ask if they can simply skip the puzzle altogether, but something stopped him. A feeling. A feeling that doing so wouldn't work. One way or another, he was gonna pull that lever. He was gonna fall through the floor. He already had before.

And so, with great reluctance, he did as he had done so many times. He pulled the lever. The floor collapsed under his boots and he fell down into the Dark Ruins for the umpteenth time. Lying there, motionless, not bothering to move or respond even when Toriel promised to return with a rope, reality started to sink in. Images of people he both did and didn't recognize flickered by at high speeds. Deaths that had never happened to him, yet to happen, or already had happened.

The lad forced himself to stand and run into the next room where the weight of what he was seeing finally became too much and he fell to his knees, "Stop it!! Please stop!! I-I don't know what you want from me!!" It was in that moment, he heard the whispers beginning to generate. The voices...he knew who they belonged to as he had spent the last couple of years dealing with them. Trying to block out all the terrible things they would say.

Wretched Good For Nothing.
Can't stomach a little bit of hard labor, that one.
Pathetic. Weak.
I'll teach you to talk back to your elders, boy!!
If you're that hungry, go rummage through the trash.
We Own You! And don't you forget that!
If you got a problem with how we do things, the door is right there.
You should've been the one to die instead of your mother!!

The lad found himself gripping the sides of his head like it was about to pop. He tried to shut out the voices but they just kept on coming back with a vengeance. He wanted them to stop. He NEEDED them to stop! All of a sudden, before him, a shadow would start to form and began drifting towards him. This made the fear and apprehension he carried increase a hundred fold. "No...no! Stay back! Y-You can't be here! You just can't!" The figure seemingly ignored his pleas and continued getting closer.

Past Clover began to scuttle backwards, sweating profusely, misty-eyed. Acting out of fear, he withdrew his Toy Gun and took aim at the shadow, "I-I'll shoot! Do you hear me?! I-I'm not weak! I'm not pathetic!" The shadow was basically right on top of him now. In a panic, fueled by the intent to harm, Clover pulled the trigger...

And now in place of the shadow was a Flier, speechless at being shot, as was the human who had done the deed, "...So this is how it ends..." They muttered before closing their eyes, "I'm sorry...I just wanted to help..." With that, they dissolved away, and Clover got their first taste of EXP, and with it a taste of actual power.

That one drop, mixing with the overwhelming guilt and sorrow, alongside that familiar feeling he'd been getting, all came together to break the lock.

He dropped his gun and curled into a ball on the floor, wailing to the heavens above as other, familiar voices began to speak in his mind.

“This means more to us than you know. To everyone.”
“You’re lower than dirt…”
“C-Clover…I should’ve known…”
“This is how it must be…”
(YOUR CRIMES END HERE, HUMAN)
“I don’t want to ever see you again…”
“Monsterkind stands for hope. For good…”
“But I guess you aren’t one for joy…”

The Clover that was viewing these memories could only watch in a mix of horror and dismay as this variant of himself was hit with an almost literal tidal wave of memories in such a short period of time.

“S-Stop it! Stop it!!” The other Clover roared at the voices which had no bodies to attach to, flailing around as he did so, “Stop!! Please!!! I’m sorry, ok?!! I’m sorry! Just please stop…” However, despite his begging, the voices of past runs continued to torment him, and as the soul of Justice watched, a new voice, his own, joined the rest.

“Did they ever really care?”
“Did they ever really love me?”
“Or was I just a scapegoat for all their pain and sorrow?”
“Why did I have to die so much just to make them stop hurting me?!”
“Is it too much to ask to be treated like I matter?! To be loved?!”
“Is this really meant to be my fate? To be stomped all over by everyone I meet? Is there anything in this world worth living for?!”
“I try to defend myself and all of a sudden I’M the villain?! Really?!”
“It’s not a child’s responsibility to solve the problems of the adults in their life!!”
“I HATE THIS!! I HATE THEM! I HATE MYSELF!!”

The other Clover roared with such anguish, such resentment that a wave of power burst forth from his soul, shaking the very foundations of the chamber before he fell over, seemingly lifeless, as if he were a puppet that just had his strings cut. He was done. Nothing he did mattered. So what was even the point of trying anymore? He had no one. No friends. Not even Flowey. He was, for all intents and purposes, alone, and now, he was a killer.

Regardless of his reasons for doing so, he had already taken a life, and it wouldn't be long before everyone else labeled him as the villain. And so...he would be what was expected of him.

With that, he dragged himself up, shakily grabbing his gun, a shadow now cast over the top half of his face, and so began the march through the Dark Ruins, along with a slideshow of the yellow soul being forced to watch as this absolutely broken variant of himself brutally executed every Monster he came across.

Needless to say, this did not go over well with the cowboy from the future as he did his best to call out to his past self, although a part of him knew it was futile, “Stop, please! This is wrong! This isn’t the justice we sought!!”

Although he didn’t expect a reply, one of the other Clover’s thoughts did reach his ears. Another remnant of a forgotten time. “These monsters want to treat me like I’m the villain…then let them. They don’t know the first thing about real justice anyway…”

“Even if that’s true, that doesn’t give us the right to act like WE do!” The deputy’s spirit implored his darker counterpart, but his words fell on deaf ears. After all, everything going on right now was nothing more than a long-buried memory.

The slaughter continued, and before long, this Clover came face to face with Dalv with the former not hesitating to brutally execute him on the spot and just moving on. By this point, his hands and face were starting to gain a thin layer of dust, making him look…less than human.

The only saving grace to this madness was he at least had the decency to not just go hunting down every single monster that crossed their path and, as shown in his first fight with Martlet, he did retain enough of his old self to let her go once she surrendered.

Maybe it was due to the fact she was a fellow believer in justice…maybe it was due to the lingering influence from all the times they had been friends in prior runs. Either way, he let her go…but the Clover watching got the sinking feeling he knew they would meet again soon.

More death followed, all the way out to the Dunes. “They deserve this…not a single one of them showed me any mercy so why should I feel obligated to do so? I’m not their punching bag! I’m not their therapist! I’m not anything to them other than another key so they can all escape one day! Besides, nothing I do matters in the grand scheme of things..."

Clover wanted to plead with his other self that what he, no, what THEY were doing right now was not in any way, shape, or form real justice. This was just vengeance. Plain and simple.

Starlo’s words echoed in his mind: Justice without mercy isn’t real justice. It’s nothing more than blind vengeance.

And Clover had seen enough movies to know that vengeance was among the most worthless of causes. A cause fueled by pure selfishness and a desire to inflict the same pain you carried on the wider world as if doing so would somehow make things better.

Eventually, there came the duel with Starlo and this got Vengeance Clover to actually play along, a spark of his old self temporarily shining through, if only to see if the sheriff was actually capable of sticking to his guns for a change and walking the walk. Ten paces were made, they both turned, but North Star was a little bit faster and….

A pop gun.

A literal pop gun.

All that build-up. All that getting the other deputy’s hopes up that the sheriff was actually a man of his word, somebody worthy of respect, of perhaps even being allowed to live…only to end up being disappointed. Made to look like a complete fool.

However, the last straw was getting thanked for letting the cowboy “feel cool”. This made the hate-fueled deputy grind his teeth together, “...I should’ve known you’d chicken out…a coward right to the very end…you don’t deserve to wear that badge OR to call yourself a sheriff!!”

With that, the Clover who had been consumed by bloodlust and his ever-growing power executed the star-themed monster on the spot.

The current version of him wanted to scream, to shout, to punch this variant of himself so very badly even Flowey would feel it. He didn’t want this! He NEVER wanted this! All he was after was a chance to BE somebody! To matter! To love and BE loved in turn! Was that really too much to ask of the world and those who lived in it?!

Ceroba would appear and cradle the dying Starlo while the hate-filled deputy merely watched with an emotionless, uncaring look on his face. Of course she would shed tears for a fellow monster…but a human child who was willing to give up his soul for the sake of these ungrateful bigots?! Nope! Such a person can literally go die in a fire for all she cares!!

The fox monster would go on the attack in an effort to avenge her fallen friend, and while she did prove to be a challenge, between Clover’s strength, his seemingly endless well of rage, and inability to die, she too would eventually fall.

However, instead of dying right away, she had a few choice words for the fallen hero that was already in the middle of walking away from her, some of those words actually being quite familiar: “Look at me, you coward!!” The human turned his head back only to do a double-take at the look she was giving him now, even as her body began to crumble.

That was the face of pure, unfiltered resentment. Rage. Sorrow. Pain. Grief…but most of all? Hatred. Hate for someone who had decided his crusade was more important than the lives of folks who had nothing to do with the objective of said crusade. “The fruits of your labor…does this make you happy? Maybe if I were to beg for mercy. Make you feel bad about your actions?!”

Neither Clover said a word in response, because what would words do at this point? Nothing. Less than nothing, in fact. The cowboy who existed in this memory actually put a hand on his wrist to steady the trembling it was going through. Still, he said nothing, merely averted his gaze.

Ceroba seemed to see what she needed as evident by the hint of disappointment that crawled its way onto her face, “No…once you wipe us out…I hope you choke on the dust that will fill the air…”

She dredged up the last bits of spite she could and hurled them at the human with her final words: “In the meantime…Go to Hell…” With that, death finally claimed her, leaving nothing more than the rush of EXP and the power that came with it.

“...I’m already there…” That’s all the other Clover could say as he made his way out of the town and towards the Steamworks. After forcing Flowey to do his bidding, something which even the Soul Of Justice was ashamed to admit that he took a fair amount of pleasure at seeing, the shoe being on the other foot for a change, the memory of the deputy made his way inside and destroyed everything and everyone.

Heck, his rampage even got to the point that this time around, Axis was the one being chased down, not Clover. Until finally, there was no place left to run and a fight ensued and all the while the robot tried his best to explain himself. Soul Clover already knew his efforts to do so weren’t gonna end well…but never in his worst nightmares did he expect the way this would conclude.

I HAD NO CHOICE.
I WAS FORCED TO NEUTRALIZE THAT HUMAN.

The cowboy stopped his incessant shooting at hearing this information, freezing to the spot like a statue, skin going pale as snow, “...You…killed them…?” The truth acted as the straw that broke the camel’s back and he found his head tilting towards the ground, a shadow now cast not only over his eyes but his entire face.“...So they were right…all the stories I heard were right…monsters really aren’t any different from us humans. Just as ruthless…just as cruel…just as hateful…”

PUNISH THEM.
PUNISH ASGORE.
PUNISH ALL OF THEM.
PUNISH. PUNISH. PUNISH.
PUNISH THIS WHOLE ROTTEN WORLD!!!

He would. He would inflict the same anguish, the same despair he had been forced to endure for so long. The urge to hurt, to inflict pain, welled up inside him and in doing so he found his Soul responding, unleashing its true power as he took aim at the robot and fired a single Big Shot, destroying his protection.

The robot tried to apologize but this Clover was having none of it. He let loose a devastating laser from his soul that cleaved through Axis and destroyed him completely.

Now…only one obstacle remained between him and judgement.

…I did this. The soul being forced to watch this recording of his greatest sins found the strength leaving his knees and he could only stare in horror and disbelief at what was unfolding before him. I killed them…Dalv…Starlo…Ceroba…Axis. Everyone.

He found himself starting to sob as he watched his past self quietly making his way towards the hotel, knowing what awaited him there. No! No! Don’t go up there! Please! Leave her alone! She hasn’t done anything to you! At the very least, you can spare her!! Go after Asgore instead! He’s the whole reason we’re here in the first place!

Let Justice Be Done. That’s literally the only thought echoing in the other Clover’s mind as he climbed the stairs and faced his final challenge: Martlet.

Both Clovers listened as she had her speech about realising the significance behind Chujin’s warning, and by this point, the current iteration of the deputy couldn’t bring himself to disagree. This had stopped being about justice for the five missing children a long time ago.

Now? This had become nothing more than a petulant child throwing the world’s most destructive temper tantrum. In a way, not that different from a certain prince.

Clover could only watch as Martlet transformed into her Zenith form and began the last fight that would decide everything. The battle was long, brutal, filled with many deaths, and carnage everywhere. Heck, the entire roof of the hotel was left in ruins before her armor was even destroyed.

Still, the fight wore on and on, with neither side giving any ground, but eventually, despite having put everything she had into this, the Determination fueling Martlet began to have consequences. Her body starting to literally melt and yet she kept on fighting right to the better end.

“A worthy opponent” indeed. To the point that by the time the battle had reached its climax, the other Clover seemed to be starting to run on fumes, and thus his thoughts became known to his present self: It has to be done. Otherwise, what was the point of any of this? Come on. You’re the soul of Justice, for crying out loud! Treat her like another enemy!! FIGHT! PUNISH THIS WORLD FOR TAKING EVERYTHING FROM YOU!!

With tears running down his face, Clover bellowed out a battle cry and threw his all into this final push. Blow after blow he rained on the Zenith of Monsterkind, even as the landscape around them seemed to be literally falling to pieces.

…But finally, Martlet’s strength waned and she lay there on her knees, beaten. She sputtered out her last words, about how while her people had taken the lives of five humans, he had taken dozens, that he wasn’t just, but a self-serving maniac.

…She’s right. She’s absolutely right.
I’m no hero. I never was.

I can’t even call myself a vigilante as that would imply I still had standards…but no. I know what I am now. I'm the villain in this story. Plain and simple.

Flowey then appeared to call out Clover for his rampage which made the soul grimace as even now, he knew that doing so was complete and utter hypocrisy considering what he now knew/remembered. As such, he couldn’t bring himself to feel THAT bad at seeing his past self fill the arrogant weed full of holes.

Now, with all obstacles removed, only the king remained. Past Clover, now seemingly nothing more than a doll operating on autopilot, made his way towards the throne room and after a few words, the fight began…no wait, scratch that. A “fight” would imply Asgore had even a slim chance at winning.

By this point, however, with all his LV plus control over the power once wielded by the talking flower, Clover was basically unstoppable and he proved it by casually destroying the king’s trident and then channeling a massive amount of Soul Power.

THIS IS WRONG…WRONG…WRONG…STOPPP!!!!!

But he wouldn’t stop.

Asgore was disintegrated, leaving only his soul behind which Clover absorbed before traveling through the hole in the wall left behind by his final attack. The containers holding the human souls lifted themselves out of the floor and, upon being opened, the spirits of the fallen were finally set free.

Clover had done it…he had won…but at what price?

Stepping out of the barrier, he took a moment to bask in the light of the rising sun. Justice had finally been dealt. The souls were avenged. Asgore was dead, and Monsterkind had been punished.

…And yet why did this not feel like a victory? Why did he feel so…hollow inside…?

The world around Clover blurred and next thing he knew he found himself in the driver’s seat but someone else was moving his limbs as he made his way down the mountain and towards the nearest town. He had succeeded where so many others had failed so now his people would notice him, right? They’d treat him like he was important.

…That he was deserving of being loved.

However, the moment he set foot within the town and went to speak to an adult woman who was carrying a bag of groceries in one hand and holding her daughter’s hand with the other, she screamed, dropped her bag, scooped up her little one and carried her away as fast as she could.

Huh? W-Why did she do that…?

He wandered the town for a bit before spotting a man out walking his dogs. Clover, being an avid lover of dogs, found himself perking up and going to ask if he could pet them…only for the dogs along with their owner to freak out and immediately book it out of dodge.

Ok, am I missing something here?! Why are you guys running away from me?!

The deputy continued to meander about the streets but as he did so, more of his fellow humans, whether they be kids, adults, the elderly, business owners, or whoever, all of them took one look at the cowboy and immediately fled, some of them even being heard screaming “Monster!” as they did so.

“No! You got it all wrong!” He cried out, looking around frantically, “I-I’m not a monster! I can prove it too! I travelled to Mt Ebott, the place where all those kids went missing, you know, a-and I-I saved them!! See?!” Trying to force a smile, he would turn and gesture up to where the Souls were hovering.

Except…they weren’t there anymore. They were just…gone. Had they moved on when he wasn’t looking? The very thought of that was enough to cause something to crack inside him. The only proof he had that his efforts and sacrifices had borne any fruit were after simply vanishing into the ether.

All that death. All that hurt he had inflicted during his crusade. All of it…and he had absolutely nothing to show for it. Clover found himself stammering, incredulous at this outcome. “But I…I..n-no..they..they were right there. T-They followed me down from the mountain and everything!!”

He whirled around on his fellow humans, misty-eyed, desperate for some sort of validation. That he wasn’t crazy. “Y-You gotta believe me! I saved those kids! ME! While you adults all went about your lives up here, not giving a sh*t about anyone other than yourselves, I fought and died over and over again! I killed the King Of Monsters! I’m a hero, you hear me?! A HERO!!”

“You’re a monster, that’s what you are!!” One person in the slowly-growing crowd roared, and before long, more voices full of anger and fear joined in. The humans didn’t look at Clover as some sort of savior, but as a mix of a crazy person and a beast. In fact, one among them hurled a rock and it struck Clover in the shoulder but didn’t hurt. At least, not physically.

More rocks flew at him and the cowboy only stood there, dumbstruck at seeing his own kind turning on him. Why? Why are they doing this?! I proved myself, didn’t I? DIDN’T I?!

“Stop it!!” Clover begged but the crowd kept on hammering him with rocks, shouting all sorts of hateful things at him, that he was a demon from the depths of hell, that he should go find a ditch to lie down and die in, and so on, so forth. Finally, Clover could take no more and his anger reached a boiling point, “I SAID STOP!!!”

He stomped the ground and generated a wave of force that rippled through the entire area, knocking the citizens off their feet, throwing cars on their side, shattering windows, rattling the infrastructure of the surrounding buildings, and striking abject terror and dread into everyone’s hearts.

The sight of the destruction his action had generated, coupled with the cowering souls before him, was enough to reignite something within Clover. Guilt. The kind that he’d been trying with all his might to repress. “W-Wait. I-I’m sorry…I didn’t mean to…” Not able to handle the situation anymore, he turned and fled as fast as he could, using blinks to get away even quicker.

He kept on moving until he found himself in an alleyway and ducked behind a rather smelly dumpster to catch his breath and stay out of the public eye. The sounds of police cars ringing in his ears and making the guilt and despair he was carrying magnify itself further.

They had called him a monster and now, thanks to that little stunt, even if he wasn’t, he was most definitely a criminal.

Of course, spotting a puddle, morbid curiosity got the better of him and he cautiously crept towards it and peeked in…and in doing so, he automatically understood why exactly people were so afraid of him.

Outside of the hat, which was covered in a thin layer of dust itself, you could barely tell this was Clover anymore. His skin was incredibly pale, to the point of almost being pure white. His eyes had sunken in, turning a bright shade of yellow as well, and black slash marks now ran down over them.

His hands. His attire. Even his hair. All of it. Covered in dust. The dust of Monsters. His friends’ dust. And that strength he displayed against his fellow humans…it all mixed together to paint a very grim, disheartening picture of what he was now.

A true, bonafide monster. Just like in the old fables. Only now those fables were a terrifying reality. Unable to stand what he was looking at anymore, he wailed to the heavens and brought a fist down onto the puddle, dispersing the bit of water there but also cracking the concrete all around him.

Why?
Why???!
I did everything right! I made them pay! For hurting me, for the kids that fell before me! I brought justice when no one else would! So why??! Why has nothing changed?! Why am I back at square one with nothing to show for it?!!

Sure, he had all this power, power great enough to do whatever he wanted with no one to stop him, but he never wanted to be some sort of demigod! He just wanted to…what DID he really want?

It was then that the memories started to come back to him. Of happier, gentler times. Of getting to meet Dalv and learn all about him. Of traveling through Waterfall with Martlet. Of getting to live out the life of an actual cowboy thanks to Starlo. Of getting to help Axis find love. Of being tended to by Ceroba as if she were his actual mother.

…Of getting held in a warm embrace by a circle of friends and told that what he was doing mattered more than he could ever imagine. Why? Why did I have to act so tough back then?! Why didn’t I ask them to stay with me?!! Because I was trying to be brave and cool?!

And then a million other smaller moments filtered back into his brain. Of Penilla and their love of art. Crispy Scroll and being a living bundle of anime references. Of Decaibat and their appreciation for peace and quiet. El Bailador and their passion for dance. Insomninot. Cactony. The Flower Girls. The list went on and on and on, but the point remained that, regardless of his reasons for doing so, every last one of them was alive.

Every single one of them was a person. They had lives. Families. People who cared about and cherished them. Any one of them could’ve been someone’s Martlet, or their Ceroba, or whoever!

That’s when another horrifying realization hit his fractured mind: That’s right! What about Kanako?! Did you stop to think about her?! What if she really is still alive and she finds out her Mom is dead?! She’ll have literally nobody thanks to you!!

I didn’t think about that, ok?!

Of course you didn’t, because that’s our problem! We weren’t thinking! We NEVER think things through! We just rush into a situation without any sort of plan and now look where it’s gotten us! No friends. No human souls to show for all our work. We have no home to return to, and we look like a literal demon now!!

I didn’t mean for any of this to happen!!

Oh, give us a break! Flowey and Martlet were right. We’re no hero! We’re just a self-serving maniac who went on a power trip! We taint and destroy everything we touch! We’re living poison! Plain and simple!!

He didn’t know how long he lay there, numb to the world around him, bawling his eyes out, hating himself, hating the world. He begged and pleaded to be given just one more chance to go back. To undo all the wrong he had done. To forget everything and start anew.

Please…Please let me go back.
I don’t want this…I don’t want power. I don’t want vengeance. I want…I want Dalv…I want Martlet…Starlo…Axis…Ceroba…everyone. I want to see them all again.

Take this disgusting thing away from me and just let me have them back! I don’t care if I need to die another hundred times! I-I just want the closest thing I ever had to a real family back!!

Sadly, nothing happened….or so it seemed, at first.

At one point, impossibly, a bright golden light entered his vision, pushed away the darkness and forced Clover to take notice of something floating before his eyes. The source of this warm, comforting light. A golden rectangle with the word “RESET” engraved on it.

Reset…wait, that’s right! I forgot! F-Flowey had the power to turn back the clock so…maybe as I am now I can do the same!!

The more he pondered on the thought, the more the embers of hope in his heart reignited. Yes. He could go back. He could undo all this. Make his mistakes vanish as if he had never committed them. Bring everyone back as if he hadn't betrayed them. Make everything right! He could wipe all this away and have a clean slate.

Sure, this also meant getting rid of all his power and being an ordinary human again, but he didn’t care. Heck, he didn’t even care if he lost his memories as they were just a burden he would much rather not have.

Smiling a tearful, yet grateful, smile, he reached out with a shaky, drenched hand. Everyone…I’ll see you soon…and I promise…I’ll do better this time.

He pressed the button and the world around him shattered into nothing…

And as he fell, he could feel this damned power loosening its shackles on him, dissipating into the void.

After that, his memories...he could feel them fading away one after the other. Both the good and the bad.

A clean slate. Free of his mistakes. Free of his guilt. Free of his demons.

He fell...until he knew no more.

Darkness greeted the cowboy once again as the vision ended and he found himself shaking and panting like there was no tomorrow. He remembered. He remembered everything now. His greatest mistakes. His darkest sins.

At last, all the pieces of the picture had fallen into place and with that completed picture came the truth. He hadn’t erased his sins. Merely buried them deep in the depths of his soul where even he couldn’t dredge them up. A fog of ignorance that he had willingly cast on himself so he could continue living through this twisted loop unburdened.

Continue making friends and building relations, experiencing this strange, wonderful world they had down here over and over again. Blissfully unaware of the crimes he once committed.

But that’s the thing, wasn’t it? His body and mind may not have remembered…but his soul certainly did, and little by little, the secrets that had been locked away trickled out, eroding the latches on the door until they fell off.

Now, there was nothing left but his regrets.

The lad said nothing, merely lay there on his knees staring with an empty expression into the depths of the void. Before, he would’ve fought with every fibre of his being to defy it and escape. To return to where everyone was waiting, but now? Now he couldn’t be bothered.

He would just hurt them all over again. Knowing his own track record, he figured he’d more than likely find a way to make their torment even worse.

No. This was where he belonged. Here. In the darkness.

Unfortunately, a certain someone refused to let him have even a modicum of peace and thus, a familiar laugh echoed through the emptiness to reach his ears, “Howdy there, Clover, buddy old pal! Enjoy your little trip down the river of long-buried sins?” No answer, “What’s that? You didn’t? Oh, that’s too bad, because I honestly think you should be wearing them as a badge of honor! I mean, you finally became your true self!”

Clover continued to remain silent so Flowey took this as a signal to go on, “Like, seriously, wow, and here I thought I was capable of dishing out the carnage, but you? Well, you basically turned it into an art form! I’ll admit while I was a little peeved at the time with how lacking in subtlety you were, especially by the end, but otherwise, gold star to you, buddy!”

Again, no response, but the former prince wasn’t dissuaded in the slightest. In fact, if anything, he was having the time of his life right now rubbing the truth that he’d been preaching for so long in the cowboy’s face, “Hey now, don’t look so down! I get it. You wanted to be the big hero, to have everyone love you, to be the one who can solve every problem and make happy endings a reality…but here’s the thing, Clover…”

Although he wasn’t here physically, the flower’s voice could be heard whispering right over his captive’s shoulder, “In this world…there’s no such thing as happy endings…” Clover turned his head slightly, just enough to leer at him, but as the human had anticipated, he wasn’t there.

“Trust me, I learned that lesson a long, long time ago. You can be the best person in the whole world, make all the right decisions and get the best possible outcomes…but it won’t last. Nothing in this world ever lasts…” For a moment, a tinge of what sounded like actual sorrow could be heard in Asriel's voice, “It all rots away in the end…happiness, love…and as for things like justice?”

He could be heard snorting in dismissal at the notion, “Well, that’s a matter of perspective, don’t you think? What am I saying? Of course you do. After all, you’ve seen for yourself that when you’ve got enough power, you can make your own rules and enforce them. I mean, who’s gonna stop you? Nobody, that’s who. So, in a way, you could say that Justice and Power kinda go hand in hand…”

In his mind, Clover recalled how he had terrified all those poor humans into submission with just a casual display of his unearthly strength. He could’ve killed all of them with ease, laid waste to that whole town in the course of an afternoon, if it even took him that long.

Just like what happened with the prince. History repeating itself.

“Hmm? What seems to be the matter, partner?” Flowey’s voice could be heard in his ear once more, making a very poor attempt to sound even mildly concerned, “Got nothing left to say? Burned through all your empty platitudes about you being the good guy in this situation? Finally getting it through that thick skull of yours that you and I aren’t that different, after all?”

Once more, only silence was all the former prince would receive as a response, “Well, on one hand, I gotta say I find that rather disappointing as I honestly expected with all that Determination you’re after somehow acquiring you’d put up more of a fight, maybe even force me to do another Reset like you did in so many other runs before now…”

He then suddenly let out a very loud groan, sounding genuinely aggravated now, “Ugghh! Who am I kidding? As you are now, there’s a good chance you’ll retain enough of your memories to screw me over yet again so maybe it’s for the best we just skip to the grand finale, and hey! To show that there’s no hard feelings, I’ll even let you watch!”

A screen appeared before Clover yet again, but instead of showing Flowey’s face this one showed him what appeared to be footage of a familiar-looking elevator shaft that his captor was climbing, “Once we get out of here, we’ll make a beeline straight for Asgore’s castle. We'll tear through all the Underground's defenses. It'll be a total blast…in the meantime, you can just sit back and let your good pal Flowey take care of everything!”

Flowey’s laughter echoed within the twisted, distorted plane of his mind and in reality too as he climbed higher and higher towards the doors that led out into the fake lab’s lobby. However, as they got within spitting distance, said doors would be forced open and a silhouette would stand there, wielding a spear.

“NYARRGGGHH!! Go back to the dark pits that you crawled out of, you demon!!” The totally-unknown figure would cry out as she hurled her weapon down the elevator shaft so it could dig right into the mutated Flowey’s forearm. However, despite the grunt this generated, he kept on climbing undeterred.

Undyne, also, was not deterred in the slightest. “Ok, so that’s how you want to play it, huh? Fine!! I got plenty more where those came from, bud!!” She then proceeded to repeatedly conjure more spears and hurl them one after the other like she were hurling javelins at the olympics.

Most of her attacks barely made the beast slow its climb, only serving to annoy him even more than he already was, but one did find its mark in his face, causing him to let out a loud bellow of pain and genuine anger, even causing the screen Clover was watching to briefly be consumed by static.

Undyne could actually be heard laughing victoriously, “Hell yeah! That’s what you get, you filthy weed!! Now how about you behave yourself and scoot back down before you really make me m-”

“YOU WILL NOT SPEAK TO YOUR GOD IN SUCH A MANNER, YOU DISGUSTING WORM!!” The voice that came out now sounded similar to Flowey, but at the same time, sounded superimposed over another voice. One darker, more distorted and warped. Like he was possessed.

The screen cleared itself of static in time for Clover to see the husk of Prince Dreemurr beginning to charge an attack and in doing so, he found himself crying out in agony as he fell onto his side, feeling as if somebody had gripped hold of his chest and was beginning to yank with all their might.

The screen would be briefly illuminated by golden light as Flowey fired off a blast courtesy of Clover’s captured soul, just barely missing Undyne and hitting the top of the column that connected the two labs together, creating an explosion that made debris begin to rain down. However, the monstrosity paid it no heed and simply kept on climbing, batting aside particularly large chunks as he did so.

Hmph…funny. I expected that with you being in such a pathetic state, your power would be completely under my control, Flowey’s voice echoed within his mind, sounding somewhere between irked and bemused. Guess there’s still some tiny spark within you that refuses to give in, even now. Defiant right to the very end, I suppose.

Clover said nothing, partly due to the tattered state of his own mind at the moment, but also due to still recovering from the dreadful burning sensation that was still lingering after Flowey used him as a glorified battery. Naturally, he paid the human’s current situation no heed. Ah well! That’s fine. Every spark’s gotta fade sooner or later, so go ahead. Keep struggling. Cry into the darkness. It won’t help you.

Nobody’s coming. Nobody cares, because who could ever love a pair of murderers like us, right?! It may’ve just been Clover’s imagination, but he swore that for a split second there, he heard what sounded like real anguish within Asriel’s voice, only for that brief moment of vulnerability to quickly get smothered by his following words. We’re not meant to be loved. We’re only meant for one thing…and that’s to gain power, so that we can teach these fools the real meaning of this world…

KILL OR BE KILLED.

Flowey’s laugh thundered within Clover’s head like a terrible storm as the former’s mutated body hauled itself out of the doors and into the lobby, zeroing in on Undyne who, despite the fact that she was staring down the literal embodiment of a worst-case scenario, did so without a hint of fear in her facial features.

Captain Undyne…

“Hey, weed!” She shouted, pointing her spear at the flower’s face/screen, grinding her teeth together, “That soul you’re hoarding is the property of King Asgore! It’s one of the keys to our salvation! If you think I’m gonna let you waltz on out of here with that in your possession, then you best think a-”

She would never get the chance to finish as Flowey would casually swat her aside with a backhand, hitting her hard enough that she would be sent rocketing into the nearby wall with enough force to leave an impression of herself. Flowey would only scoff in disgust, “Oh, give me a break with the heroic speech nonsense, Cap. You know, once upon a time I might’ve actually considered you a challenge but as I am now, you’re nothing to me. In fact? You’re less than nothing! You’re like a sheep trying to pretend it’s the big bad wolf.”

Undyne’s whole body ached from that one attack but she powered through and pulled herself free, stumbling a bit, even coughing up a handful of dust, before glaring up at her foe with all the resolve she could muster. She knew that, technically, she was outmatched in every way, shape, and form, but that was no excuse to back down, damn it!

She had already sent R1 and R2 off to lend a hand with the evacuations, along with Mettaton. That said, all three of them had attempted to argue against her but she had put her foot down and left no room for complaining or rebuttal. With them out of the way, it was just her and the walking botanical nightmare.

“A sheep, am I?” She grunted before raising her spear with unflinching purpose and a drive to protect all she cherished, “Well, you’d best prepare yourself, you bastard, because last I recall, sheeps eat weeds like you for breakfast!” A pause, and she stomped her foot in annoyance, “Damn it, that sounded way cooler in my head…”

Deciding that thinking of more badass lines for a fight could wait until later, assuming she survived, she stabbed her spear into the ground and caused the space under Flowey’s feet to become lit up by lots of pointy things…except the spears she called forth barely made his feet lift off the ground a couple inches.

Not deterred in the slightest though, she snapped her fingers and her magic formed more spears in the air around her which she then launched at the former prince all at once. Every single one of them found their mark but Flowey barely even reacted to the fact he had just been turned into a walking pincushion.

“Is that really all you can muster, captain?” He teased, a smug smirk worming its way onto his face as the spears all fell out of his body one by one, having not even managed to break the surface of his skin, much to her quickly-growing irritation, “Aren’t you supposed to be the Spear Of Justice or something? Oh wait, what am I saying? You probably just gave yourself that title to make yourself sound more important than you really are!”

“Shut up, weed!” She fired back, triggering her magic and causing the soul he was holding prisoner to turn green, freezing Flowey to where he stood much to his ire and her amusem*nt, “Ha! How do you like them apples?! That there is one of the downsides to taking in a human soul! A little trick that Asgore taught me in case I ever needed to square off with one!”

Come to think of it, perhaps I should’ve remembered to use that earlier against Clover. Maybe then, I…no, no! Now is not the time for that, Undyne! You got a job to do so just grab the soul while that thing is incapaci-wait, why is he laughing?

Sure enough, the transformed flower was heckling up a storm, “Hmhmhm…you actually think this is gonna hold me, huh? That’s cute. Real cute, in fact…” He raised one of his claws and gripped his chest with a look of evil glee, “Clover? Mind helping out your old pal here?”

N-No…

“No? Well, of course you don’t! We’re best friends, after all!!” He let out a boisterous laugh that chilled Undyne to the core as he began forcibly drawing upon the human’s power making him scream as if he were receiving a painful electrical shock courtesy of Dalv. No, wait, this…this was far worse. It just went on and on.

Even the flames Ceroba conjured didn’t come close to how much this hurt.

However, Flowey paid the child’s screams of agony no heed. Clover meant nothing to him. Never had. Never would. In fact, the former prince figured his prisoner should consider himself grateful to be of such use to him. This was what you wanted, wasn’t it??! To be useful?!! Why aren’t you happy?

I…I didn’t… The tiny ember that represented Clover’s resolve tried to reignite but they lacked the fuel they needed to properly rebel, and what little remained was slowly fading away.

Back in reality, the sound of glass shattering could be heard and Undyne immediately recognized that this meant her magic had failed, “W-W-Wait, wha-” She wouldn’t get the chance to finish as Flowey would go to throw a punch, forcing her to materialize a wall of spears to cushion the impact but his fist still smashed through with contemptuous ease and sent her skidding back along the floor of the lab.

She conjured a spear and jabbed it into the ground to dig a trench so as to slow her skidding. Once she stopped, she hurled that same spear like a javelin which Flowey went to grab out of the air only for the magical construct to seemingly move under its own power to avoid his hand, “Huh?” He yelped in a mix of pain and annoyance as the spear found a home within his face.

Taking off like like a bullet out of a handgun, she pushed herself off the ground and landing with surprising levels of grace on the beast’s outstretched arm and then launched herself again straight towards its face with another spear ready to strike again only for her to get swatted away by a vine that had grown itself out of Flowey’s body.

The same vine then grabbed her by the ankle while she was still in mid-air and slammed her on the ground as if she were a nail being driven into the earth by a hammer. Still, she refused to go quietly and smacked the one arm she had free on the ground so that around the outline of her body formed blue dots that began shooting into the former prince’s body and face with a steady stream of spears.

Clover, despite the great pain he was currently in, managed to force one eye open and saw on the monitor what was going down and what he witnessed, needless to say, left him dumbstruck.

She’s still fighting…she must know that there’s no point in doing so and yet…

“H-Hey! Stop that! Stop that right now!!” Despite how little damage her onslaught was doing, the prince was still forced to shield his face, “Just give up already! You know all you’re doing is delaying the inevitable!! You can struggle all you want, but I’m still gonna be the winner in the end! It’s fate!”

“You’re wrong, weed!” She retorted, doing all she could to push his hand off her, “Fate?! Destiny?! Don’t give me that crap!! As long as you got the courage to fight for what you believe in, you can make even the impossible become possible!”

As to reinforce her point, Undyne let out her trademark battle cry, “NYYARRRGGHH!!!” and jabbed her spear into the beast’s palm, causing him to recoil while screaming and cradling his hand as she pulled herself to her feet, out of breath and slouched over but clearly ready to go another round or two.

Of course, Flowey shot her a glare so intense you swore he was trying to shoot eye beams, “You think you’re some kind of hero?! Huh?! That anything you do matters in the grand scheme of things?!! News flash! It doesn’t! Heroes are nothing more than a fairytale! A concept devised by the weak and the cowardly to make themselves feel better!”

…He’s wrong…

“That some knight in shining armor will ride to their rescue and make all their problems go away in a flash while they have an excuse to sit around being lazy and feeling good about themselves when they've done nothing to earn that right!” He went on, much to Undyne’s escalating aggravation, “But those idiots live in a dream world and it’s about time they woke up and acknowledged the truth!!”

He slammed his fists into the ground and from out of it emerged a series of overgrown thorny roots that began to chase Undyne every which way even as she launched and somersaulted from one end of the room to the other to avoid them, “The truth being that in the real world, the strong reign supreme and the weak either fall in line or get eaten!”

…Shut up…

“And in this world, there’s no one stronger than me so as far as I’m concerned, I MAKE THE RULES!!” He bellowed as from his many eyes fired off a machine-gun spread that Undyne evaded by running along the wall even as she just narrowly avoided becoming swiss cheese. She launched herself onto another wall, using a spear as an improvised pole to swing on to regain her momentum.

Flowey was getting increasingly ticked off by her inability to just stand still and accept her end, so as she catapulted herself from the wall and somersaulted in mid-air while going in to pull a drop kick on his face, he proceeded to muster his power and rewind the clock….

But something in him refused…and next thing he knew he found himself receiving a sharp boot to the head which made him stagger backwards, albeit more from shock than actual pain. W-W-What the hell just happened?! Clover??!

He got no answer, which only made him fume even harder, if that was somehow possible. Try that again and you are really not gonna like what I do to-

“Focus on your opponent, bud!” Undyne reminded him and reinforced said reminder by suddenly being in his face and giving him a mean right hook hard enough that it sent a small shockwave through the lobby, knocking over tables and chairs, and then another one, and then another.

The blows didn’t do much in terms of actual damage, but Flowey’s tolerance for all these shenanigans was after all but dissipating completely. Even when it seemed like he had won, these idiots still had the absolute gall to try and defy him! To act like they could somehow change what was already set in stone!

For the umpteenth time, the former prince legit wondered if he was the only sane person in a kingdom full of nutjobs…

Deciding he was done playing the part of a living punching bag, he grabbed the captain off his face and gave a wordless, rage-filled scream as he smashed her into the ground hard enough to make the earth tremble before whirling his arm behind him and having said limb extend out at high velocity to have her crash into a wall yet again.

“Sorry, captain, but I can’t afford to waste anymore time with you! I got a date with destiny and I think I’ve kept her waiting long enough!!” He aimed his other claw, readying to fire off a salvo of thorn missiles and end this little skirmish…

Only to wince as a number of small explosions suddenly hit him out of nowhere, forcing him to drop the fish lady and turn to face the latest road block to his impending godhood. When he saw who it was though, he immediately facefaulted, “...You have got to be kidding me…”

“OHOHO! REST ASSURED, DEARIE! YOUR EYES ARE NOT DECEIVING YOU!!” A flamboyant voice would chastise him as standing there in the doorway was a very familiar ghost-turned-robot, “FOR IT IS INDEED I! THE STAR OF THE UNDERGROUND! THE ONE, THE ONLY, MET-”

“Mettaton, what in the name of Asgore do you think you’re doing here?!!” Undyne shouted, completely flabbergasted at the very sight of the automaton, “I thought I told you to leave with the others!”

“HMPH! HOW RUDE!” The former ghost folded his arms in a huff, “I WAS GRACIOUS ENOUGH TO COME BACK FOR MY DARLING ALPHYS’ SAKE, AND I SUPPOSE TO AN EXTENT YOUR OWN, AND THIS IS THE THANKS I GET, HMM? WELL, IF THAT ALONE WAS ENOUGH TO TICK YOU OFF, YOU’RE CERTAINLY NOT GONNA LIKE WHAT HAPPENS NEXT.”

Before either the former prince or the captain could ponder what he meant by that, a rumbling could be heard emanating from the ceiling up above. Both of them automatically experiencing the same train of thought: Don’t tell me…

Sure enough, a chunk of the ceiling literally exploded and rained debris down on Flowey’s head, making him scream like a banshee as both R1 and R2 descended down into the ruined lobby using ropes they had somehow procured, “Don’t worry, boss! We’re here to save you!!”

“I don’t need saving! I’m the one who does the saving around here for crying out loud!!” Undyne roared at the top of her lungs in response to her orders being blatantly defied, only to then let out a sigh, “That being said, that actually was a pretty cool entrance, not gonna lie…”

Gotta agree with her on that… Clover thought to himself with a hint of amusem*nt.

“It was actually R2 who came up with the idea,” R1 admitted as he and his partner helped Undyne to her feet, “And sorry about going against your orders, boss, but, like, we couldn’t just leave you here to die! We made a promise we’d stick together right to the very end, didn’t we?” R2 merely nodded in agreement, as was his trademark.

Undyne couldn’t help but roll her eyes in a good-natured manner at their bravado, “You guys really are gonna be the death of me someday…” She graced them with a proud smile, “...Thanks. Now let’s show this overgrown weed what the Royal Guard is really made of!”

“I think not!!” Flowey proclaimed as he burst forth out of the rubble, cuts and scratches littering his mighty form as a result of, you know, having part of the ceiling dropped on his head, but he could easily walk that off. What he couldn’t so easily walk off was the fact that he seemed to just be running into one hurdle after another! If it wasn’t Clover’s little cheer squad then it was that no-good fish lady and HER little cheer squad!!

At this point, he honestly wouldn’t be that surprised if his father decided to walk in the door right now…oh right, he probably shouldn’t entertain that idea unless he wanted to risk it actually becoming a reality. He had enough annoyances to deal with at the moment.

And so, figuring it was long past time he dealt with some of them, he fired off a dual stream of friendliness pellets and thorn missiles at the guardsmen.

“I THINK NOT, DARLING!!!” Metatton skidded to a stop in front of the group and used himself as a living shield, much to their shock and horror, and Asriel’s ever-growing annoyance, but the star simply stood there, tanking each and every shot like a real trooper, “D-DON’T WORRY ABOUT ME!! DR ALPHYS BUILT THIS BODY OF MINE TO BE VIRTUALLY INDESTRUCTIBLE! JUST FIGHT ON AND LET ME BE YOUR SHIELD!!”

It’s the least I can do for all the times I let you down, Doc. He thought to himself bitterly.

Undyne became stone-faced but she did nod in acknowledgment and thus, using him as a shield, she catapulted herself into the air above and launched a volley of spears at the enemy of her people, “Try to get the human’s soul out of that thing!! It’s our best chance at victory!!”

“Right!!” Both R1 and R2 exclaimed at the same time as they leapt at Flowey from either side of him. He went to grab the pair out of the air only to receive a face full of bombs courtesy of the mini Mettatons their progenitor had spawned while he was distracted, allowing the two guardsmen to grab on and jab their swords into his chest.

Naturally, he didn’t take too kindly to this and began flailing every which way, doing his best to dislodge the swords but the pair held on for dear life, allowing Undyne to stick another spear in his eye before sliding between his legs and leaping up onto his back. The beast then tumbled backwards into the nearest wall in the hopes of forcing the captain to let go but, much like a certain cowboy, she was too stubborn to admit defeat and so, she refused to budge.

Even as he tried the same tactic again…and again. Yeah, Undyne knew she was gonna be sore as hell in the morning. Ah well. A bit of pain to serve as proof you’re alive. “Give up, weed! You ain’t leaving this place! Especially not with that soul! It belongs to King Asgore and that’s exactly where it’s going when we’re done with you!!”

“YOU CAN’T HAVE HIM!! CLOVER BELONGS TO ME, YOU HEAR?! HE’S MINE!!” Flowey bellowed like a dragon giving a mighty roar to declare what was his property. In response to his anger, the power within him bubbled to the surface and from out of his body erupted a barrage of thorn-covered vines, blasting everybody away, and tearing through the lab’s infrastructure.

Both R1 and R2 were thrown to some other part of the fake lab while Undyne jabbed a spear into the side of one of the bigger vines and flipped herself onto it, proceeding to skid down the top towards her foe while he continued to pepper her with machine gun sprays of friendliness pellets which she handily deflected by spinning her spear in front of her.

Dislodging the vine from the wall, the motion caused her to be sent into the air and while in free-fall he began gathering the energy of the Yellow Soul in order to fire a mouth beam and hopefully end the damned fish lady…but the energy sputtered out as soon as it began to gather, much to his surprise and annoyance.

This didn’t go unnoticed by the captain, and she couldn’t help but wear a smirk as she landed on another vine and folded her arms, “Ha! Guess you and your so-called “buddy” aren’t as in sync as you thought, huh?!”

“Shut up!!!” He roared like the insolent brat he was at heart, eyes turning blood red once more, “What would you know, anyway?? You were literally trying to kill Clover not even a couple hours ago!!”

“Only because that’s my job, weed!!” She shot back, “They may be human but during our fight they proved they got the heart of a true warrior!” Taking a fist, she thumped it against her chest proudly, “Even when we were on opposing sides, they never wavered from what they believed in! Not even for a second! For that, they’ve got my respect! That said!!” She gestured to where Clover’s soul lay, using an index finger for emphasis, “They just might lose that respect if they don’t start fighting back right now!!”

M-Me? Fight back? But I…I don’t…I’m too weak right now…and I’m tired…

“Really? You honestly think your voice is gonna reach him where he is?” Flowey quizzed, his tone being that of someone who was very much unimpressed, “This isn’t one of your silly anime, girlie! Spouting a bunch of hollow words about friendship ain’t gonna do jack sh*t! It won’t change reality, and if you think it will then you really ARE an idiot!!”

“I BEG THE CONTRARY, MR FLOWEY, IF THAT REALLY IS YOUR NAME,” Mettaton chimed in, doing his best to cut himself free from the vines ensnaring him, “THE ONE CALLED CLOVER IS LIKE A LITTLE STAR THAT HAS YET TO TRULY SHINE! THEY DON’T STRIKE ME AS THE TYPE TO GIVE UP AND ADMIT DEFEAT, EVEN WHEN ALL SEEMS LOST!!”

…Mettaton…

“For once, I actually gotta agree with you!” Undyne concurred as she pushed herself to summon up another spear and point towards the screen the human was watching all this through, “Clover, right?! If you can hear me in there then this is as much your battle as it is ours! Now stand up and fight! Not just for yourself, but for all those who put their faith in you too!”

“Oh my me, would you all just shut the hell up??!” Flowey snapped, now feeling legit sick to his stomach at all the platitudes being thrown around, “Clover’s story is DONE!! I Win! He loses!! That’s how it’s always been and always will be!! Now can you all please go ahead and die already?!!”

He prepped himself to summon another omni-directional attack that he would make sure ended this brawl right here and now…

But Undyne and Mettaton’s words had stirred something within Clover’s being. A promise. A promise that they would all get to go home together and live as a happy family. Himself. Dalv. Martlet. Starlo. Axis. Ceroba…Kanako. After everything he had endured to get to this point, was he really about to throw all that away and let this self-proclaimed god have the last laugh?

Dalv’s Courage. Martlet’s Devotion. Starlo’s Friendship. Axis’ Persistence. Ceroba and Kanako’s Love. And all the other things he’d been entrusted with. He couldn’t let all that go to waste…so while he figured there wasn’t much he could do right now…at the very least, he could try and give those fighting a chance.

And so, as Flowey cackled like a maniac at unleashing another seemingly unavoidable attack in the form of a tidal wave of roots, Clover reached out and refused with what little strength he still had…and as a result, the vines all just narrowly slipped by their intended targets.

Flowey just stood there, stupified at what he just experienced, “....What…”

Undyne’s smirk only grew, “Heh. Well done, punk! You seeing now what I meant, you overgrowth thornbush? You can crush a warrior’s body into dust, but what’s in their heart, their SOUL, can never be destroyed!”

“Oh, give me a break already!!” Flowey stomped on the ground over and over, “Do any of you here have a mute button on you that I can push so I don’t have to listen to anymore of this nonsense?!”

“ALPHYS ACTUALLY DID INSTALL A MUTE BUTTON IN THIS EXQUISITE BODY OF MINE ONCE UPON A TIME!” Mettaton offered up his two cents, still trying to get free but having limited success, “IT TOOK A LOT OF CONVINCING BUT I DID EVENTUALLY MANAGE TO GET HER TO REMOVE IT! LAST THING THAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN IS FOR MY WONDERFUL AUDIENCE TO BE DENIED EVEN A SECOND OF MY ENCHANTING VOICE!”

The former prince merely remained where he was, frozen, staring blankly into space as his mind tried to wrap itself around the utter stupidity he was hearing. Upon hearing a quiet giggle in the back of his head, he facefaulted, “You know what? I thought this would be fun, take this new body out for a test drive, maybe go on a rampage, but it's clear to me all I've done is waste my time so I'm just gonna undo all this, if you don't mind."

He began to muster his power over time and for a moment, the world around him seemed to distort and wobble, and a feeling of dark triumph began to stir within the core of his being….

…No…

Only for the distortions to cease immediately, leaving him standing there feeling even stupider than he already did. …Ok, let’s try that again! He dug deeper, mustering up even more of his own innate Determination, and as he did so, the distortions would return, making the world look like it was in the midst of glitching out…

I said no…

And just like that, the world was put back to its normal state, leaving Asriel completely frazzled. Clover…what the HELL do you think you’re doing?!!

Stopping you, duh…no more Asriel…I…I’m tired…of going back…of living in the past…aren’t you? Don’t you want to try moving forward for a change?

At being asked this, something snapped within Flowey’s brain, causing him to bare his fangs, hissing as he did so, “Moving…forward you say, partner…?” He slammed his fists on the ground, shaking the whole lab, “You really don’t know anything AT ALL, do you?! I tried that already!! Multiple times, in fact! I tried letting go of the past and moving on but I couldn’t!”

He was speaking out loud, meaning everyone could hear him, but he literally couldn’t care. “Mom and Dad had split up! Chara was gone! And I was basically a stranger within my own kingdom! I had literally nothing! Nothing except power! Because at the end of the day, that’s all you can count on in this world!!” Abandoning any sense of rhyme and reason, he began attacking haphazardly, firing out sprays of friendliness pellets on one end while shooting out a spray of vines that tied around the fallen debris and began hurling it every which way.

The pair whom had been fighting could only hunker down behind a wall of spears and do their best to wait out the onslaught while trying to piece together the somewhat cryptic statements he was yammering about. Undyne, especially. Alphys…assuming we get out of this alive, you and I are gonna have ALOT to talk about…

“I actually thought using this power would somehow let me get back everything that was stolen from me by this disgusting world!!” Flowey/Asriel screeched as black ooze began to leak from his eyes while he fired off thorn missiles in every direction, “Everything could go back to the way it used to be! But it can’t! And it never will! So why shouldn’t I just do whatever I want?! No consequences means no reason to care, right?!”

Flowey… Clover still carried a great deal of disdain for the flower, but hearing his words, and recalling what he had seen of him in a certain timeline, he couldn’t help but feel some sense of sorrow for what was essentially just a kid like him, “...Asriel…believe it or not, I actually do kinda know what you must be going through on some level..maybe not to the same extent, but-”

“BULL-sh*t!!” The former prince shouted back at the voice in his head, stunning them into silence, “You, Clover, are nothing more than an IDIOT who hurled themselves down into this place just because he was too much of a coward to handle life up above! Just like that brat from Snowdin! And all the others before them!!”

And instantly, any bit of sympathy he could’ve felt towards the prince dried up almost instantly. You have no right to say such things…you don’t know them. You don’t know what they endured up on the Surface to convince them to come down here…

“If they’re anything like you, then all I need to know is that they’re a bunch of weak, pathetic cowards!!” Flowey actually had the nerve to snort in twisted amusem*nt, not realizing that hearing this was enough to cause the spark of resentment to reignite within his captive’s core, “Oh, what’s that? Mommy didn’t give them enough hugs? Daddy didn’t read you enough bedtime stories?”

…Be quiet…

“Too weak to stand up to the bullies at school? Nobody tried to understand you and why you were so different from them? I’ve heard all the excuses before, Clover, and that’s all they are! Excuses!” The flower proceeded to break down into crazed hysterics, flailing his arms about blindly as if he were the most deranged conductor to ever live, “If that’s all it took to convince them to hurl themselves down a giant hole then maybe they had no right to live to start-”

“I SAID BE QUIET, ASRIEL DREEMURR!!!”

Clover roared as the resentment in him sparked and then ignited into a mighty font of flame. A result of him finally cracking under the pressure of having to endure Flowey’s taunts one time too many. Within the darkness, his soul began to burn once more. Desire for payback against the prince who had squandered away everything he had, and then when given a second chance, threw that away too.

Feeling the same burning within his own chest, Flowey’s eyes began to widen as a familiar sensation took hold of him. Fear. C-Clover?? W-What do you think you’re doing…?

“I’m done, you hear me?! I’m done!” He retorted, tears in his eyes, “I’m done letting you have your way! Letting you think you’re the center of the world when you’re not! You once told me that yellow is the color of consequences, so maybe it’s time you finally faced some yourself!”

Hearing this was enough to make Asriel start sweating profusely, “W-W-What? Uh, n-now hang on there, Clover. L-Let’s not do anything hasty, ok? I-I’ll admit maybe I did go a little overboard back there but, hey, it’s all in good fun, right?”

Upon not hearing a reply from his captive, he knew he had to think of something and quick, “Hey, how about I let you take the reins for a few minutes and you can go on a little rampage, eh? Yeah! Burn off some of that pent-up steam you got going on there! I mean, you must still have a grudge against at least a few of the blokes down here!”

…The only person I got a grudge against right now is you…and, in a way, myself…

A chill went down his spine upon hearing those words. As if somewhere someone had rung the bell that signaled a church service for the fallen. Clover…for once in your miserable life, stop and actually use your brain for once. Do not throw all this away just because you decided to get cold feet at the last moment!

No answer, so he got a little desperate now. We are this close…THIS close to finally bringing an end to our shared suffering. All you need to do is let me retain control for a little while longer, just long enough to get the souls, and everything we ever wanted, that we DESERVE, will be ours!

…All I wanted was a life with the family I found down here…Clover calmly replied and yet his voice was filled with heartache and melancholy. And you couldn’t even let me have that..so I’m not gonna let you have anything either.

….What do you intend to do…?

Simple…I’m gonna force your hand. The barest hint of smugness could be sensed within Clover’s voice as he began to muster what little power he had to try and reach for…for something. If he and Flowey shared the same body right now, then, maybe, with enough persistence, he could reach for his save file and…

“NOO!!” Flowey, panicking, gripped at Clover’s soul, his face going white as bone at it clicking what exactly the human was trying to do. He was trying to go back. To undo all this. That was most definitely not something the reanimated corpse that was once Asriel Dreemurr would allow by any means.“CLOVER, YOU PIECE OF sh*t!! YOU THINK YOU’RE SO CLEVER??!”

Eh, kinda hard not to be smarter than you, to be honest.

Letting out an almost animalistic roar that managed to make a bead of sweat drip down Undyne’s face, the monstrosity, seeming to now be having a tug of war with itself, ended up crashing through a wall and began lumbering away from the lab…and towards the capital in the distance.

Undyne was about to spring into action when, to her surprise, Mettaton was first to take the initiative as, having freed himself from the vines, rushed on over and began using all his strength to try and pry open the elevator doors, “I’LL LOOK AFTER DR ALPHYS! YOU DARLINGS GO ON AHEAD AND TRY TO SLOW THAT TRAVESTY AGAINST NATURE'S BEAUTY DOWN HOWEVER YOU CAN!!”

The captain wanted to protest, but the logical part of her mind knew he was right. They’d get more done if they split up, and so, she merely nodded before turning to R1 and R2 whom had managed to pull themselves up from where they’d been thrown.

Both of them giving a thumbs up, they followed their boss out through the hole in the lab and towards the monstrosity that was now galloping down over the embankment and towards the castle.

Maybe they couldn't do anything...but they'd be damned if they wouldn't try.

To say the Generator Room was a mess would be a grave understatement.

In fact, it was actually kind of a miracle that the power was even still working. Perhaps a testament to the ingenuity of those involved in the lab’s initial construction. Not that such a thing mattered too much at this point in time as there were far more pressing concerns.

Like an impromptu rescue mission, spearheaded by a certain lizard and a former fox monster, both of whom were stumbling over the wreckage while calling out to see if anyone could hear them.

“Mommy!!!” It took everything poor Kanako had just to shout that one word, and doing so caused her no shortage of agony, but she didn’t care. Nothing mattered right now other than making sure the one she had spent so long waiting for was still alive. If anything happened to her…Kanako wasn’t sure what she would do. “...Mommmmyyyy!! Uncccllleee S-Starllooo!!”

“Miss Martlet!!” Alphys shouted with all the energy she could summon, even cupping her hands around her mouth to focus her voice, “Mr Dalv!! Axis??! If any of you can hear us, please give us a sign!” Almost immediately after saying this though, she cursed to herself. If they were buried under enough debris, how were they supposed to send a signal?!

All of a sudden, a light bulb illuminated within her head and she smacked herself at her own lack of brain cells. Pulling out her phone, she proceeded to dial the former Guardsman’s number, hoping, praying to whoever was out there that her own phone hadn’t been completely destroyed. That a signal would still get through.

Please, please…let at least one of you still be alive…don’t leave this youngling all by herself.

She waited as the rings went through one after the other, and as each did so, she felt her already diminished spirit shriveling up more and more. At least, until she felt a tug on her coat and glanced down to see Kanako by her side, gesturing to her fox ears before pointing at a seemingly random corner of the destroyed room.

Berating herself for not remembering that fox monsters had far better hearing than other species, she rushed over to the pile of rubble and began yanking at a piece with all the strength she could muster, Kanako even having taken on her taller form in order to help. “J-Just hang in there, Martlet! We’ll have you free in a jiffy!!”

The two of them tried with everything they had to move the rubble, straining themselves to the point that Kanako’s body lost all its stability and collapsed into a puddle, but displaying the same level of stubbornness as her mother, she immediately reformed and went back to doing her part.

If only Undyne were down here. Alphys thought to herself wishfully, as she knew the captain would have this job done in a flash…and then would probably have a million questions about what exactly this place was, but at this point, with the apocalypse looming on the horizon, the good doctor couldn’t exactly bring herself to care about that little tidbit.

The debris finally started to budge a little and coughing could be heard exiting the small hole that had been made and a weak yet familiar voice could be heard, “A-Alphys…? K-Kanako?”

“Yes, we’re here, Martlet!!” Alphys exclaimed, her soul reignited with a faint ember of hope simply at being here to hear the bird monster’s voice, “Just sit tight, and we’ll get you free in a mo-ack!”

A sharp pain went through her arm and she found herself clenching said limb as she was forced to take a seat, groaning from the burning now shooting through that part of her, “O-Ok, maybe I should consider actually lifting some weights every once in a while…”

Kanako kept at the debris, trying to make the hole bigger so her aunt could hopefully start climbing out. Her arm sagged down into a puddle but she refused to give up! She would not lose anyone else! She would save her Mom, and her aunt, and everyone!

Suddenly, barking could be heard coming from the doorway and the pair shifted their attention in time to witness Endogeny galloping into the room before turning their head back and barking non-stop. Before either of them could wonder what the Amalgamate was doing, they would get their answer as more of Alphys’ patients would filter in.

Snowdrake’s Mom, Lemon Bread, Reaper Bird, and so on, and so forth. Endogeny would begin woofing and even stomping its many feet as if it were a sergeant giving out orders, and considering they were made up of many members of the Dog Unit that was more than likely the case.

One by one, the Amalgamates spread out across the room, shifting parts of their bodies into giant hands to shove aside the chunks of debris. Endogeny actually personally came over to where Kanako and Alphys were and, after gently nuzzling its fellow Amalgamate and giving a playful yet reassuring lick to the latter, they got to work on helping free the captive bird.

As you can imagine, the current Royal Scientist was left completely speechless, even briefly taking off her glasses and giving them a light cleaning to make sure she wasn’t seeing things. Sure enough, this was indeed her reality. They’re helping us…even after everything I’ve done, they’re still willing to come to our aid…

She didn’t deserve this. She had done nothing to earn this kind of love and support. She had separated these poor folk from their families, turned them into these living nightmares, and yet here they were, without any need to be asked, acting to save their fellow monsters.

However, the good doctor then recalled the promise she had made with Kanako’s mother. Of how she would tell Asgore and Undyne the truth. The whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Yes, they had every right to know, and she was done hiding. As painful as it would be, this poison in her soul needed to go.

For now, though, she had to focus and thus, pushing herself to stand, she joined the pair and dislodged the fallen infrastructure so that, before long, one by one, the gang was pulled out of the rubble and laid together side-by-side. All of them covered in bruises, cuts, dust from the concrete, Axis literally had an arm missing, one of Martlet’s wings looked like it was busted, both Ceroba and Starlo were clenching busted arms of their own and Dalv’s leg was crooked.

But…they were alive. That was all that mattered.

“Mommy!!” Kanako hurled herself at the taller fox monster, clinging to her and weeping non-stop.

Ceroba coughed up a mix of dust from being buried alongside her own but managed to use her one good arm to hold her youngling close, finding the strength to put on a soft, reassuring smile, “Kanako…I’m so glad you’re alright…thank the Angel..”

“Thank the Angel indeed…” Starlo grunted as he strained himself to slide over and wrap his one good arm around the pair as best he could. He tried to remain stoic and in control, but the fact his eyes were starting to water and the tension in his shoulders showed how much a toll trying to do so was taking on him, “That’s the only reason I can think of for why we’re not all dead…”

Martlet hissed in pain as she pushed herself into a sitting position while cradling her broken wing, “Owwwieee….I can’t remember being in this much pain since that time I took that dare back in high school to fly from one end of Snowdin to the other by going right through the treeline…not one of my smarter decisions, to be honest…”

“The only other time I can remember feeling like I do right now was during the Snowdin Incident…” Dalv groaned as he tried to pop said leg back into place…only to suddenly remember he didn’t know how to do that properly.

(...I AM MISSING AN ARM) Axis nonchalantly commented, his gaze locked on the sparks and wires where once there was, indeed, an arm. (IF ANYONE COULD PROVIDE ME A REPLACEMENT, I WOULD BE MOST GRATEFUL)

"I-I might be able to scrounge you up something from one of the supply rooms," Alphys offered while still in the middle of stroking Endogeny's head. "A-And I'm pretty sure I placed a few first aid kids down here somewhere f-for occasions just like this one."

"Thank you, Doctor..." Ceroba calmly yet sincerely remarked, her eyes full of gratitude as she scanned the room with them, now getting her first proper look at all the Amalgamates whom had come to their aid without any prompting. She had meant what she said about not being in any mood to forgive the lizard for what she had caused, as this whole mess was, at least to some degree her fault thanks to the fact that she had been the one to MAKE Flowey in the first place. That said, seeing the scope of the poor scientist' failure, and having to live with that fact day after day...

Well, she was after gaining a bit more respect for the doctor. Begrudging respect, but still respect at the same time. It's just as Undyne said...if Alphys didn't do what she did, I might not have gotten this chance to hold Kanako in my arms again. Now she was the one being forced to swallow down the bitter pill known as truth. How ironic. "...All of you...thank you..." A chorus of "woofs", "Snowy..." surprisingly gentle humming, and other such sounds all clumped together into the closest equivalent the Amalgamates could give to an answer.

"Yeah, you guys are all a mighty fine bunch. I'd invite you all back to Dina's saloon for some grub but, well, you know how it is," North Star praised with a soft smile, before said smile flatlined and he started the arduous task of trying to push himself to his feet, "But as much I would like to lay down right here and take a nap, we don't exactly have that luxury at the moment. Not with that thing on the loose and holding my deputy's soul hostage..." He winced at the effort, not helped by the fact one of his arms was hanging limply, but he persisted anyways.

"W-Wait a minute!" Alphys immediately rushed to his side and proceeded to attempt to force him to sit back down, "S-Sheriff! W-What do you think you're doing?! You're in no condition to go anywhere! None of you are!!" She rotated her head at those last few words, addressing each of those present as they had also been in the middle of trying to force themselves to stand and get moving. "Besides, the prince has Clover's soul in his possession and all the power that implies! Outside of maybe Asgore, I can't think of anybody who has even a ghost of a chance against him now!"

"So what do you suggest we do, doc?!" Martlet all but growled, narrowing her own eyes in the scientist' direction while still cradling her wing, "We can't just sit here and twiddle our thumbs while Flowey is up above using Clover's power to do whatever it is he wants! Besides, we all made a promise to that little cowboy that we would all go home together and that's exactly what's gonna happen! I just..." All of a sudden, her eyes shot open and her face went white from dread as she shot up from where she was sitting, frantically looking every which way, "T-The serum! Where is it?!!"

With one arm, she vaulted over the rubble and began searching around where she'd been buried, only to quickly stumble onto a sight that made her fall to her knees with her one good wing covering her beak, wanting to deny with all her being what she was seeing, "Oh no...the syringe...it's broken..." As she said, the syringe lay there, shattered to pieces and all that remained was a small reddish puddle of the serum that was starting to fade away already. She sank to her knees while watching their only lifeline, their only shot at fixing all of this, dissipate into nothing.

"H-Hey, Martlet. It's ok..." Dalv grunted, trying to move but his leg shooting pangs of burning right through him that forced him to remain where he lay, "T-There has to be more where that came from...right, doc?" He turned to face her, a spark of hope igniting within his eyes and posture, "Y-You gotta have more lying around somewhere..." Instead of answering the vampire, however, she merely kept her gaze tilted towards the ground and remained grimly silent. "...You do. Don't you?"

Alphys let a shudder pass through every fiber of her being, "...P-Perhaps...But!" She raised her voice before anyone could say a word, "I stick by what I said earlier in the elevator! F-For crying out loud, you've seen for yourselves what playing with Determination can do to someone!!" She swung her arm out at the Amalgamates and Kanako to help get her point across, all while tears threaten to spill from her eyes, "It's the whole reason we're in this situation to begin with! I found something I wasn't supposed to find, tampered with it, and ended up unleashing forces that I had no business meddling with!"

(I AM A ROBOT THOUGH) Axis pointed out, still paying his lack of an arm little attention. (I AM CERTAIN I CAN CHANNEL ITS POWER SAFELY...FOR THE MOST PART)

"Yes, that's true, but..." The doctor took a moment to perform some deep breathing, trying to regain her center, before soldiering on, "The rest of you...there is a very good chance that you could all end up like poor Kanako here..." She once again gestured to said fox monster who did her best not to flinch at now being made the center of attention. "Mrs Ketsukane...I need you especially to take a good, long look at your daughter...and I mean REALLY look this time..."

Ceroba shifted her attention to her little sunshine whom gazed up at her with hollow sockets for eyes, the faintest trace of black tear-like stains being visible on her cheeks. "I have done my best to care for her like she was my own daughter. I really, truly have...but living as an Amalgamate is nothing short of a nightmare that you cannot wake up from..." Every word the scientist spoke now was heavy with overwhelming guilt and brutal honesty. "Every single day you struggle to do the most basic things, and even remembering your name can be a challenge all on its own sometimes..."

"And you also mentioned earlier that her condition is tame in comparison to the others..." Starlo calmly yet bluntly remarked, not taking his gaze off the youngling.

"Yes...exactly..." Alphys confirmed, giving a stiff nod as she began pacing back and forth, "My leading theory right now for why her case is unique is that it might have to do with her carrying the Boss Monster gene, but I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say none of you here are boss monsters..." She paused briefly to silently address each of them and one by one they all shook their heads sadly, "I-I figured as much...so the chances of you all being even more negatively affected than she has been are much, MUCH higher. Do you understand what I'm saying?!"

"...I do..." Martlet curtly replied, before forcing herself to stand up fully, a forlorn expression gracing her features, "...I understand perfectly...and I don't care..." She could hear Alphys gasping, along with Kanako but she paid their shock no mind, "This may not make too much sense to you, doctor, but I can kinda-sorta recall a time I actually did have access to that power..." The former guardsman lifted one of her hands and clenched it tightly as for a moment, she pictured the limb being larger, with more claw-like fingers. "In a world that has long-since ceased to exist, I...I once used that power to...fight against Clover..."

"You did what?!!" Ceroba and Starlo exclaimed together at the same time, and upon realizing this, Starlo shyly turned his head so his dear friend could take the reins, "Martlet...why would you do something like that?"

"My memory of the time loops isn't nearly as good as the prince's, or Clover's, but I..." Martlet took a moment to close her eyes and try to dredge up those memories as best she could. As she did so, a few somewhat blurry images came to her mind's eye, "Clover...he was...I think he was covered from head to toe in dust at the time...meaning he must've killed quite a few monsters to get like that..." She brought that hand up to her face, leaving only enough room to expose a single golden eye, "And I just get this feeling if I didn't do everything I could to stop him, he would kill even more, so I..."

She trailed off, not having the motivation to even finish what she was gonna say. Besides, who am I to judge? I had the means to stop him sooner and save more lives but I waited until the last possible second to do anything...guess I'll just chalk that up to yet another failure I can throw on the pile.

"That doesn't sound anything like the Clover I know..." Dalv admitted while frowning before staring off into space, "He wouldn't just go around killing everyone he saw for no good reason..." He went back through his memories of what he recalled about the young deputy. His ability to inspire others to be better, that seemingly boundless compassion and capacity to be brave. "...Anyhow, that's not really important right now. Martlet's right. Regardless of the consequences that come from using it, we need that power if we want to stop the prince and save our human friend..."

"I'll gladly ride into the depths of hell itself if it means having a shot at getting my partner back," Starlo proclaimed as he forced himself to stand, scooping up his hat with his one good arm and slipping that part of his attire back on, all while wearing the most serious face he could muster, "He's already been through his own variant of it courtesy of all of us here, Kanako too...so this is the least we can do to even start to pay them back."

"Are any of you listening to yourselves right now??!" Alphys exclaimed, clenching both sides of her head as if she were on the verge of having a breakdown, "Miss Ketsukane, even IF I gave you the formula and you somehow manage to not immediately melt from having that much raw Determination running through you, there is still no guarantee that you will win! Besides, if this goes wrong in any way, you could either die or end up in a situation even worse than death, just like your daughter!"

Ceroba solemnly looked down at her offspring who could be heard moaning dishearteningly as she continued to cling to her mom. She didn't want her to go, especially so soon after just getting her back. The taller of the two had no wish to leave her youngling either, calmly putting a hand on the side of her face and offering a solemn, sad smile, "...I know...but if I don't do this then my daughter, and Clover...and you..and everyone else here in the Underground won't have a tomorrow to look forward to." With great reluctance, she gently pushed herself free of Kanako's embrace and forced herself to stand tall alongside the sheriff.

Martlet joined their side almost immediately and, with Axis help, Dalv and the robot also propped themselves up. Seeing the group ready and raring to go around, despite the admittedly less than ideal state they were all in, reminded the doctor, for better or for worst, of a certain fish lady whom also refused to quit even when the odds were stacked against her. Even when what she was doing seemed literally impossible. The more she watched them stand there, resolute, determined to go through with this, the fight in her gradually started to fade away and she found herself letting out a sigh of resignation, "...You guys are gonna do this regardless of what I say, aren't you?"

"Well, we did kinda already, technically, sorta break into your lab despite your best efforts to try and keep us out," Martlet helpfully reminded the scientist, trying to add a bit of levity to this incredibly dire situation, even giving one of her trademark playful winks, "So, yeah! I think it's safe to say that, regardless of how much determination that flower has stored away, we're plenty determined ourselves!"

(I HAVE LITTLE ONES OF MY OWN I PLAN TO BRING INTO THIS WORLD AT SOME POINT IN THE FUTURE) Axis admitted, beaming with hope. (AND SO I WANT TO BE THE KIND OF FATHER UNIT THAT THEY CAN LOOK UP TO AND BE PROUD OF)

"Five times we've stood by and done nothing while young ones were forced to shoulder the burdens of an entire kingdom..." Dalv remarked as she put a hand to his chest where his soul lay, a pained expression coming across his face as he recalled that lone, scared human who wandered into Snowdin on that dreadful day, "Five times any one of us could've stood up, put our foot down and said no. We wouldn't be part of this slaughter...but we didn't. No more..." Sparks of electricity filled his vision, "This has to end with Clover...no matter what it takes."

"I gotta concur with my vampiric friend here," Starlo said, nodding sagely in full agreement with what he just heard, "If turning myself into what my niece has become is all I gotta do to make up for all the crap I've put that there deputy of mine through, then I won't think twice about it. In fact? I think I'll welcome it with a smile..."

"As will I," Ceroba plainly added before zeroing in on the doctor, "Now, are you gonna show us where the rest of that stuff is stored? Or are we gonna have to go find it ourselves?"

A part of Alphys wanted to beg, to argue, to scream at the top of her lungs that none of them had the faintest idea what they were getting themselves into! That they were throwing their lives away for essentially nothing! She was tempted to try and convince them to leave this matter to Asgore, as he would more than likely absorb the human souls currently in his possession and then ending Flowey's reign of terror would be a cakewalk! But is he really gonna do that? A voice, her own, quizzed in the back of her mind. If he finds out that...THING was once upon a time his own son...will he really be able to raise his trident against him...?

In his current state, the prince was not only incredibly powerful, but also unpredictable, extremely dangerous, and very, very deranged. All he would need was for Asgore to lower his guard for even just a second, and if that happened...the King had forced himself to endure one heartache after another all for the sake of their eventual freedom. However, being forced to contend with the son he had thought lost to him forever? That would almost certainly break him completely, especially if he somehow did manage to emerge the victor.

And if that ended up happening, well, then the Underground really would become devoid of hope...and for all intents and purposes, the prince would have still won.

No matter what angle you came at this from, one thing was crystal clear: This was yet another situation with no good options. Just "do nothing and hope it all works out" or "take a gamble and hope said gamble pays off". Either way, you were basically playing a game a chance, and unlike a certain flower, you couldn't rewind the clock until you got the result you wanted. All you could do was make your choice...and hope that the dice you rolled would result in a positive outcome.

With a blank expression, the doctor walked towards the doorway, all eyes following her as she did so. Once she reached said doorway, she leered back at the group of monsters, "...Well? Are you coming or not?" Upon seeing their surprised looks, she let out a long, dragged-out sigh of defeat, "It's clear to me there's nothing I can do to stop you from doing whatever it is you want to do, so, at the very least, I can make the procedure go as smoothly as possible."

"Dr Alphys..." Ceroba began.

"Don't." The lizard cut her off sternly before turning away, shoulders trembling as she prepped herself to fulfill her terrible work, "...Don't bother thanking me for the hell I'm about to put you all through. Let's..." Her breath got caught in her throat for a second but she continued, "...Let's just get this over with..."

The group, leaning on one another for support, hobbled their way out of the wrecked generator room, and got their first look at the carnage that had been inflicted while they were out cold. Axis head swerved side to side, taking the whole scene in. (THE LAB HAS SUSTAINED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE, AND YET THE PRINCE IS NO LONGER HERE. WHAT HAPPENED?)

"A-As crazy as this is going to sound, Kanako is the one you should be thanking," Alphys admitted, smiling warmly as she gestured to the Amalgamate whom shyly clung to her Mom's hand while waving awkwardly at everyone's slack-jawed expression, "I-I don't know what exactly happened myself, but Asriel was right in the middle of trying to...you know..and then out of nowhere, she came to my aid and, and..." She pinched the bridge of her nose, "The crazy thing is that the way she fought...it was almost like there was someone else there with her..."

"Someone else, huh..." Ceroba wondered aloud as she looked down at her daughter who merely beamed up at her. She then recalled the formula she had injected her daughter with. The same one that Chujin extracted from the soul he murdered. Could there have been something, or perhaps in this case, someone included with that injection?

"A..l..ph...helped....too..." Kanako managed to croak out.

"Is that so...?" Shifting her attention to the lizard whom seemed to shrink under her gaze, she spoke plainly, "Well, in that case, perhaps you're not as much of a coward as I originally thought you were, doctor."

"T-Thank you, Miss Ketsukane..." Cheeks turning red, she shyly turned away, "A-Anyways! We've wasted enough time! Let's get moving! The room we need to go to isn't far!" The group proceeded to follow her in-between patting a very proud-looking Kanako and telling her what a good job she did but to not do anything like that again (much to her annoyance) and before long they reached, for all intents and purposes, the type of room you would see dentists doing their work in.

The very sight of which was enough to automatically put Kanako on edge, and by extension, her mother, who reaffirmed her grip on her little one and gave a disapproving scowl towards the lizard, "What's the meaning of this, doctor? I thought you said you were taking us to where you keep more of that Determination stuff?"

"You have nothing to worry about, Miss Ketsukane. We're exactly where we need to be..." Alphys cryptically remarked as she rummaged through the doors and began pulling out syringes and swabs.

Seeing these was enough to automatically put everyone on edge, recalling that Kanako had been given a dose of the substance to help heal her from her Fallen Down status, and this realization set off all kinds of alarm bells, "I hope you're not planning on doing anything with my little girl. Otherwise, that thing which used to be the prince will be the least of your concerns." Ceroba warned her, eyes starting to glow a dark shade of red.

"Kanako will be perfectly fine, but I do highly recommend that you have her leave the room as the last thing I want is to scare her even more than what she already is..." The doctor calmly suggested as she cleaned the syringes...which on closer inspection, would be shown to have nothing in them. Seeing this, Ceroba followed her instructions and gently shoved her daughter out the door before closing it, "Now...which one of you wishes to be first?"

"I'll go!" Martlet stepped up, posture straight, shoulders squared, and eyes full of resolve and focus, "I've already had experience using the serum in a prior timeline so...maybe it won't affect me as badly...but where are you planning to-"

"Get the samples we need?" Alphys finished for her. To everyone's surprise, she let out a shockingly dark-sounding chuckle, "...You leave that part to me..." With that, she drew forth her own soul and raised the syringe in order to pierce it, much to her audience's horror.

However, she wouldn't get the chance to perform the action as, faster than anyone could've anticipated, Starlo lunged across the room and grabbed her wrist, stopping the syringe which was just inches from her soul, leaving her aghast, "S-Sheriff!! W-What the hell do you think you're doing??!"

"I should be asking you that question, doc!!" He shouted back, doing his best to try and yank the syringe out of her hands, "Taking the determination we need out from your own soul?! Doing that is likely to kill you! Have you gone flipping insane??!"

"Maybe I have!!" She retorted, misty-eyed, "Or maybe for the first time in years I'm actually thinking clearly! This...ALL of this that's happening right now was caused by me! It's all on me!! If I never tampered with the essence of the soul then none of this would be happening! What I'm doing right now is just balancing the books!"

"So killing yourself is your way of fixing everything?!" The sheriff retorted angrily, refusing to let go of her wrist even as she struggled against his grip, "That has to be one of the stupidest, most selfish things I've ever heard! And this is coming from a guy who once upon a time tried to steal Clover's soul thinking that doing so would somehow cause the friends that HE drove away by being an complete jerk come crawling back! Heck, ask ANYBODY here and they'll tell you stories of how they wronged that little human!"

"At least you all managed to fix your mistakes!!" She barked, tears starting to slide down her cheeks, the guilt hitting her full-force from every direction as if she were some sort of punching bag, "As for me...the mistakes I've made...the crimes I've committed...t-there's no undoing any of that, even though I wish with every fiber of my being there was!!" Unable to stand, she let herself slowly sink to her knees, sobbing. "So please....please let me do something right for once..."

"Doctor Alphys..." Martlet murmured, watching the scene unfold while instinctively putting a hand to where her own soul lay as she felt a strange, yet somehow familiar, burning sensation starting to grow within her chest. Seeing the poor scientist fall to pieces right in front of her had stirred...something within her. A desire to not want to see anyone else in such a powerless, broken state ever again. You're almost there....you just need one more push...

"Please...please...!!!" The lizard clung to the sheriff's pant leg, the river of tears refusing to cease, with the others only looking on, unsure of what they could do, if anything. "I need to do this...I NEED this...!"

Finally, somebody did step up, standing right in front of her, but she made no motions to address them, which made them sink to their knees...and put their one good arm around her, startling Alphys so badly that she was immediately snapped out of her dark, destructive mental spiral, "...Miss Ketsukane...?" The fox monster said nothing at first, choosing instead to focus on holding her tightly. Her eyes drifted up towards her old friend and he nodded before joining in. "I...I-I don't understand...w-why are you..."

"I meant what I said earlier. About not being able to forgive you," Ceroba calmly admitted but refusing to loosen her grip, "At least...not right now. However, I also know that throwing away your life won't fix anything. All you will do is leave a gaping hole in the hearts of the people who cherish and value you so much..." And those words weren't just her trying to be comforting. She got the feeling in her soul that she had seen a certain cowboy throw away everything on a whim merely to give the rest of them a little bit of hope, and in doing so, had indeed torn a part of each of them away. "...What about Captain Undyne? Have you stopped to think about how she would feel? Knowing all her efforts to protect you were for nothing?"

"I-I..." Alphys stammered out a string of unintelligible words before biting her tongue. Ceroba was right. She hadn't considered that at all. "...I just want to make things right..."

"Then do the hardest thing you can do right here, right now. Live," Ceroba's advice was concise and to the point, "Live with the memories and the weight of what you've done. Make the most of the life you've been given instead of throwing it away on a whim just because you think that will somehow wipe the slate clean...just like Sheriff North Star has to...just like Dalv, Axis, Martlet...and especially myself," Alphys raised her head, tear stains still visible, but she was definitely paying attention by the alertness in her gaze, "...I tried to take Clover's life no less than 27 times. I should know because the prince was there watching our fight while treating it as if he were at a sporting event..."

"Miss Ketsukane..." Alphys quietly murmured, sniffling until being offered a tissue by Starlo which she graciously accepted.

"The whole reason my daughter is in the condition she's in is because of me," Ceroba somberly admitted while closing her eyes, "Before Chujin died, he had a secret project to turn monsters into Boss Monsters so that way we'd be strong enough to defend ourselves against humanity. However, to accomplish that, he needed the very soul of such a rare breed monster and a pure-hearted human soul. By merging them together, he could then extract a formula that could trigger the necessary change. Although I had done all in my power to keep her out of his work, as that was his last request, Kanako somehow found out and convinced me to perform the procedure on her..."

As she expected, the scientist let out a horrified gasp, which actually made her feel just a tinge better to know somebody else could see her decision for what it truly was, "I let faith in my husband blind me to reality...I convinced myself that there was no way he would ever steer me wrong...and Kanako ended up paying the price for my foolishness. Sometime after, Clover fell down and when I realized just how kind and compassionate he was, I knew he had to be the one. By sacrificing his soul, I could not only save Kanako but complete my husband's project. Two birds with one stone, as the old saying goes,"

Again, nobody said anything, merely listened, including Alphys, "I fought Clover with everything I had, as this was my last chance to make everything right. Pushed to the brink of madness, I convinced myself that I was in the right. That it was infinitely better if his soul was used for something constructive like saving the life of my little one instead of being locked up inside a glass case and put away like he was some sort of participation trophy that you admire for a little bit then shove into the back of your closet and just forget about."

"But you came back to us," Starlo pointed out while wearing a warm, sweet smile and shaking his head, "You stopped yourself before it was too late. You only needed a little bit of help remembering what was really important."

"Hmph..." Ceroba let a slight smile grace her features as she opened her eyes, now looking a bit more at peace with herself, "I suppose I did...thanks to you, and Martlet, and especially our little deputy..." She refocused her attention on the scientist, "If even someone like me can be offered a second chance despite the gravity of my own crimes, then why should you be any different?" Alphys merely tilted her gaze downwards, staying silent, "Now come on...let go of the syringe and we'll think of a better option together. Alright?"

Kanako's caretaker sulked but gave a slight nod and released her grip on the needle, only for the sheriff to suddenly take a deep breath and produce his own soul, causing his childhood friend to immediately replace her smile with a furious glare, "Starlo, what the hell do you think you're doing?!"

"Relax, Ceroba. I'm not killing myself," He reassured her with a playful grin before studying the syringe, "I'll just take-HEY!!" In a flash, the syringe was stolen away by the bird monster who was also glowering down at him, "Feathers! As the lawman of the Wild East, I order you to return that syringe to my hand right now so I may stick it in my soul and extract that there Determination thingamabob!"

"Sorry, sheriff, but I don't think that would be a wise idea," Martlet plainly remarked, not lightening up her current facial expression even the slightest, "With your body in the state it's in right now, I doubt you'd be able to withstand having even a single extraction, and besides, I'm the former Royal Guard here so it only stands to reason that I be the one to-HEY!!"

Sure enough, now Ceroba was the one holding onto the syringe, giving the pair the most unimpressed look she could muster, "I may not be a boss monster like my husband or Kanako but I'm pretty sure I can-oh, you have got to be kidding me," She got interrupted by a certain vampire having managed to snatch away the tool that could be their salvation. "Really, Dalv?"

"I-I can do this!" He managed to stammer out, even though the fact his hand was lightly shaking told a somewhat different story, "I-I know I can! Just gotta have a little faith in myself, that's all!" Seeing the others looking like they were ready to pounce on him like a pack of hyenas to wrestle away the syringe, he instinctively backed away, "L-Look. Even if each of us gives up just a small portion of our own Determination, that still doesn't guarantee there'll be enough for even just one person here to match what the prince has at his disposal! I mean, there has to be a reason nobody up till Clover's been able to usurp his power!"

Ceroba fumed but she was forced to acknowledge that he had a valid point, so she took a moment to inhale some air and put up her hands, or at least the hand that she could move, "Yes, because monsters aren't equipped to handle excessive amounts of Determination. Only humans or creatures that are neither race can pull that off...but we're kinda low on options here, in case you forgot. Besides, the longer we stand around debating, the further away that thing gets with Clover's soul, and if he gets his hands on the others, we're done for. Plain and simple."

"I know that!" Dalv snapped back, before awkwardly averting his gaze, "I just..." His mind went back to the moment he saw Clover getting pierced through by Flowey and his soul taken away by the husk that was once Asriel, "...I don't want to see anyone else die..."

All of a sudden, a knocking came at the door which surprised everyone present, even moreso when they heard a familiar voice, "HELLO? ALPHYS, DARLING? ARE YOU IN THERE BY ANY CHANCE? IF SO, PLEASE OPEN UP AND LET ME IN. I AM QUITE UNCOMFORTABLE AND I'VE ONLY BEEN DOWN HERE FOR NOT EVEN FIVE MINUTES...ALSO, THERE WAS A VERY SAD-LOOKING BLOB WHO TOOK OFF DOWN THE HALL WHILE YOU WERE ALL ARGUING."

"Kanako?!!" Forgetting about the syringe, or her injuries, Ceroba tapped into pure adrenaline and threw open the door, galloping out right past Mettaton whom had finally managed to make his way down but was now forced to simply stand there as she gripped him by the edge of his boxy frame and shook him vigorously, "What way did she go??!" The robot merely pointed and she took off down the hall with the others not far behind. Thankfully, she hadn't gotten far as they found her back in the lobby surrounded by other Amalgamates and writing something on the ground. "Kanako, what do you think you're..."

Her daughter turned around and glided across the floor to be held in her arms once more. "H...h..help...everyone..."

"Help?" Wondering what she meant by that, she cast her eyes over the assembly of those who were victims of Alphys' experiments and every single one of them stood at attention, almost like they were...expecting something, and when Dalv came into the picture all their gazes automatically locked onto him, or to be more exact, the syringe he carried, and seeing this made everything click, "You guys...you know what we need, don't you?" A chorus of noises that only they could make were all the answer she needed to hear.

This world really didn't make much sense to her sometimes. Good people like Clover and her daughter always getting punished for doing the right thing, yet people like her whom only made things worse seemed to have blessings basically fall into their lap repeatedly. It was the kind of thing that made you stop and wonder if such a world even deserved to exist...but, much like when it came to whether Monsters had the right to see the Surface again, Ceroba knew she wasn't qualified to answer that.

All she could do was take the hand she was being dealt, and try to make the most of it. "...Alright...thank you for this, by the way...Dalv? The syringe?" Hesitantly, the vampire went to hand over the tool over to her, only for it to be snatched away by the royal scientist, making her grimace, "Alphys, I know you don't want to cause them anymore pain than you already have, but we're running out of time here!"

"I'm well-aware of that, Miss Ketsukane," Alphys acknowledged while readjusting her glasses and leering down at the syringe in disapproval...before her disapproval shifted to begrudging acceptance, "...That's why you should let me perform the extraction. I-I am the legally certified doctor here, after all," She said this with the barest hint of a playful grin on her face, but seeing that nobody was laughing, she immediately dropped the act and sighed, "J-Just wait here and I...should be done with the procedure in a few minutes..."

"DO YOU WANT SOME ASSISTANCE, DR ALPHYS?" Mettaton quizzed, eager to help in any way he could. Granted, this place and its denizens did give him the creeps but he was pushing that fact to the back of his radiant mind to deal with later...assuming they all survived, of course.

His friend/creator's expression softened and her eyes filled with warmth at the gesture, "Thank you, Mettaton but, if you don't mind, I think it might be best you stay here and get everyone up to speed on what's been happening topside. I...nothing against you but I kinda need total concentration for this part..."

Although he had no traditional face to use, the fact he seemed to slouch over if only a little, showed how he felt about the request, "I...UNDERSTAND, DOC..." With Ceroba keeping a hold on Kanako, the rest of the Amalgamates were led into the room one after the other. "NOW THEN..." He turned to the other monsters present and clapped his hands together, "YOU ALL LOOK LIKE YOU'VE BEEN THROUGH HELL SO WHY DON'T I, THE ILLUSTRUOUS METTATON, FIX THAT WITH SOME OF MY NEW MTT BRAND SNACKS AND REFRESHMENTS? OH BOYS?"

Suddenly, as if from nowhere, a number of mini-Mettatons rolled into the room carrying trays of food and drink from...somewhere. "DIG IN, DARLINGS! AND WHILE YOU DO SO, I'LL SHARE WITH YOU SOME GOOD NEWS!"

"Good news? Really?" Martlet, of all people, sounded completely unenthralled by the very idea, even as she took careful nibbles of her sandwich, "With all due respect, Mettaton sir, I don't think there's anything you can say right now that could count as good news..."

"EN CONTRAIRE, MY FEATHERED FRIEND!!" Mettaton wagged a finger at her in disapproval, as if she had just said something she really shouldn't have, "THIS PARTICULAR NEWS I THINK YOU WOULD BE MOST INTERESTED IN HEARING. OUR LITTLE STAR IS STILL VERY MUCH ALIVE WITHIN THAT BOTANICAL NIGHTMARE."

Starlo's drink got caught in his throat forcing Ceroba and Kanako to pat his back to help keep him from choking, instead sputtering out a series of coughs before slamming said drink on the table and shooting the robot an incredulous look, "W-Wait a second...you're saying our little deputy might still have a chance?!! He hasn't given up the fight?!" The former ghost merely bobbed his body forward and back in their impression of a nod and this made him feel like an anvil had just been lifted off his chest, allowing a light chuckle to escape his mouth, "Heh...well, would you look at that...I guess I really do have an eye for talent after all, huh?"

"You certainly do, sheriff," Ceroba happily admitted, doing her best not to start crying herself at the realization they might actually have a slim chance at fixing this situation. At fulfilling her promise, at least in a sense. She turned her attention to the others and each of them, judging by their own relieved expressions and body language, made it evident that they were all just as happy as she was. She looked to the other robot in the room, "Thank you, Mettaton. That is very good news indeed."

Mettaton let out a hearty chuckle and gave a dismissive wave, "THINK NOTHING OF IT, DEAR FOX LADY. I'LL ADMIT, THAT THING DID A PRETTY GOOD JOB MAKING IT LOOK LIKE HE WAS THE ONE CALLING THE SHOTS BUT I GUESS OUR LITTLE STAR SAID SOMETHING HE DIDN'T WANT TO HEAR AND NEXT THING WE KNEW HE WAS THROWING ONE OF THE MOST CHILDISH TANTRUMS I'VE EVER SEEN ANYONE ENACT,"

(SO CLOVER'S SOUL HASN'T BEEN FULLY ABSORBED YET) Axis stated.

"PRECISELY, MY FINE-LOOKING MECHANICAL FRIEND!" The rising star of the Underground exclaimed, pointing at his fellow robot for emphasis...before his finger dropped and some of the enthusiasm left him, "THAT SAID, I DON'T KNOW HOW LONG OUR DARLING WILL BE ABLE TO RESIST FOR. BOTH OF THEM SEEM...ALMOST EQUALLY STUBBORN. IN FACT, EVEN AS WE SPEAK, I'M PRETTY SURE THEY'RE FIGHTING EACH OTHER FOR CONTROL ALL THE WAY TO THE CAPITAL."

That admission kinda brought the positive mood back down a notch as everyone present were reminded just how dire this situation actually was. Especially Ceroba. Could that have been the fate of that poor child from Snowdin if Chujin had managed to succeed in fusing their souls together? Trapped in the mind of the person who murdered them? The very thought of that was enough to make a cold, hard stone form in the pits of her stomach. No. She would not let that be Clover's fate. None of them would.

"Then that means we have even less time than we originally thought." Dalv grunted as he downed the last bit of his Legendary Hero, now no longer feeling like he was about to crumble into dust. Just very sh*tty.

"Agreed," Ceroba gently stroked her daughter's head, "Mettaton? I know you must have a million questions going through your head right now, and I'm sorry to ask this but I really need a favor."

"YOU WANT ME TO LOOK AFTER YOUR LITTLE ONE UNTIL YOU GET BACK," He finished for her, much to the mother's surprise, and even though he basically had a screen for a face, she got the impression he was smiling at her, "BUT OF COURSE. SHE'LL BE IN GOOD HANDS WITH ME AND DR ALPHYS. THE REST OF YOU DO WHAT YOU NEED TO DO."

"M-M-Mommy..." Kanako weakly muttered, doing her best to reinforce her grip on the one who had brought her into the world, "...W-W-We...go...t-togeth-her..."

However, her mother shook her head in firm denial, much to her disappointment, "No, Kanako. You've done enough. You've been through enough. Because of your father, because of me. No more. The best thing you can do for us right now is wait with the doctor and Mettaton until we get back with Clover."

"And when we get back to the Wild East, we'll throw a big welcome home party just for you!" Martlet proclaimed with all the cheer and gusto she could summon, even rubbing the Amalgamate's head, causing the latter to giggle, "And Dina will make a big platter of her sliders that you won't have to share with anyone! Doesn't that sound lovely?" Kanako's eyes went wide as dinner plates at that offer, and so she nodded vigorously. "Atta girl!!"

Alphys finally emerged from the room a couple minutes later, carrying a tray holding a syringe filled with the cursed substance for each of them, though in Axis' case, there was a small vial that she planned to hard-wire into him, alongside a new arm. "Alright. Here you-WAIT!!" She pulled the tray back the moment Martlet reached out a hand, "Before I allow you to go through with this foolishness, I need you all to understand what you're doing. Once you inject yourselves, there is NO going back! None!"

"Oh trust me, doc. I know very well what I'm doing." Martlet swore with utmost seriousness as she scooped up her syringe and walked away.

"As do I," Starlo scooped up his before tipping his hat to her, "When the chips are down, a lawman's gotta do what he's gotta do. Regardless of the consequences."

"I can handle anything, especially if it's for those I care about." Dalv beamed at Kanako, grateful to have gotten the chance to see her again even if this would end up being the last time he did so. He too took a syringe.

(I WANT LITTLE ONES LIKE CLOVER AND MY SISTER TO HAVE A FUTURE) Axis remarked as he gingerly picked up the container that would act as his new power source. (SO YES. I TOO AM QUITE CERTAIN OF WHAT I AM COMMITTING TO)

Ceroba didn't say anything. Merely took up a syringe while locking eyes with her daughter's caretaker who, after swallowing a lump in her throat, curtly nodded. No further words were needed.

"WELL, WELL, WELL!!" Mettaton exclaimed, clasping his hands together, "I GUESS OUR SHOW IS APPROACHING ITS GRAND FINALE! BUT PERHAPS WE SHOULD CONSIDER HEADING TOPSIDE BEFORE YOU ALL DECIDE TO DO...WHATEVER IT IS YOU'RE PLANNING TO DO. THE ELEVATOR SEEMS TO BE OUT OF COMMISSION THOUGH SO GETTING BACK UP MIGHT BE A BIT OF A CHALLENGE FOR SOME OF YOU."

"T-There's another elevator we can use!" Alphys chimed in, scratching the back of her head while looking off to the side, "It, um, kinda goes up to New Home though, so you're gonna have to move fast if you want to catch up with the prince.."

"That's fine," Dalv said with a nod as he looked around before pushing himself to stand, "It'll give us a chance to place Clover somewhere more comfortable...or at least his body. He doesn't deserve to be left down here to..." He couldn't even finish that train of thought as it was just too horrible. Judging by the melancholic faces surrounding him, they all were on the same wavelength.

Without saying a word, the group returned to the Generator Room where they wrapped the cowboy's body up in cloth, all while Ceroba made sure her daughter didn't have to see his current state. Somberly, they all then made their way to to the other elevator, still not speaking to each other. Miraculously, despite the damage done to the True Lab, the elevator to New Home still had power and so they all piled inside.

Upwards they went, in a solemn silence. Although each of them wanted to offer to carry the body for Dalv, especially at seeing the way his hands trembled, and his slouched-over frame, but he merely shook his head, "Thank you, my friends...but I...I can handle this. I am the one with the most experience seeing dead humans, after all..." Incredibly morbid, yes, but at the same time, he wasn't wrong either. Unfortunately.

(OUTSIDE OF ME) Axis reminded plainly, looking straight ahead. His mind going back to that day he was unable to fight against his programming, and due to that, a child had lost their life. All because his creator,no,his father, wanted a weapon to use against mankind, and then buried the truth behind his crime all while trying to paint himself as the good guy.

"Axis...." Ceroba laid her hand on his shoulder, speaking calmly and gently, her eyes full of sympathy for the robot, whom her husband had essentially betrayed, "What happened back then wasn't your fault. Chujin is the one to blame here. Not you." It was funny. Once upon a time, she would never consider saying anything remotely negative about her husband, but now? After everything she was after enduring, admitting that he had faults of his own was becoming second nature.

She still wasn't entirely certain that was a good thing or a bad thing.

(...I KNOW...) Her robotic son acknowledged, venting some steam as Alphys finished installing his new arm. He nodded in thanks to her before giving the limb a few practice flexes, (BUT EVEN IF I WAS BEING CONTROLLED, IT WAS STILL MY HANDS THAT-) He paused after having the hand he wasn't practicing with being grasped by someone else's. (HMM?) He turned his attention to the source was surprised to see a certain Amalgamate clinging to him. (KANAKO?)

Her eyes still having that faint blue spark in their depths, Kanako croaked out words that she swore were her own but also sounded like they came from...someone else, "N-Not....y-y-your...f-fau..lt..."

The data that made up Axis' digital mind was firing on all cylinders as he automatically connected the dots, and saw the portrait they were trying to paint. (KANAKO...YOU...) He then stopped himself as he knew this wasn't the time or the place to discuss the implications of what he had just figured out. Instead, he merely squeezed her hand back. (...THANK YOU...)

The fox monster nodded back, even letting out a small giggle at her Mom patting her head gently. Still, she couldn't take her eyes off of Dalv and the bundle he carried in his arms. That fire of resentment towards the one responsible reignited. Monsters were supposed to be all about hope and love, and compassion but the former prince...there was no joy inside him. No love. Nothing but a desire to hurt, kill, and then inflict even more pain just because he could, so he felt he had to.

And yet despite her wanting to help, she was forced to acknowledge there wasn't much she could do in her current state, which frustrated her to no end, along with the voice she shared a mind with. All she could do was trust that her Mom, her Uncle Starlo, and everyone else knew what they were doing.

Starlo tsked and spared a glance down at Clover's hat and revolver. He still recalled the first time he had procured both items for his number one deputy. The sheer joy he emitted was enough to bring the sheriff himself to the brink of tears. Back then, he had chalked such euphoria up to the lad's love of anything relating to the Wild West, but now, after learning the things he had about his human, he was starting to wonder if that was the first time someone had given him an actual gift in literal ages.

He had so many things he wanted to do with his special little guy. So many adventures he wanted to go on with him and the rest of the crew, but now...

No. No! Don't you go dare down that trail, Sheriff North Star! He admonished himself, narrowing his eyes as he did so. You may not yet know how you're even gonna begin to fix all this, but you're gonna find a way, damn it! First thing's first though, you gotta actually GET Clover's soul back, and in the process, hopefully teach that there no-good, traitorous, varmint of a prince a lesson or two!

Ceroba saw how troubled her childhood friend was, and although she was tempted to offer some manner of comfort, she wasn't entirely sure what she could say. At times like this, silence was perhaps the best way you can help someone. Give them room to think and get their priorities in order. She let her attention drift towards her pocket where she had stored her own syringe. Yes, she knew the substance within was incredibly dangerous, especially since this whole crisis had essentially been caused by it in the first place, but right now she knew this might be their only way out.

Martlet was perhaps the most anxious-looking of all of them, awkwardly pacing back and forth as the elevator neared its final destination. She couldn't begin to imagine the torture that her human was going through right this moment. Trapped in the mind of a literally soulless creature while they used you to hurt people. Yes, she knew that thing was the prince once upon a time, but at this moment in time, she couldn't bring herself to care. He had made his choices a long time ago, and if need be, she would literally rip him to pieces and pry Clover's soul out of what was left.

Neither Alphys or Mettaton said a word to the other, not that the former was in much of a mood to talk. She was reminded of the agreement she'd made with a certain fox monster, that she would share the truth behind her experiments with Asgore and Undyne (assuming, again, they all got out of this alive) but now she would have to put the robot's name on that list as well. He had seen her sins for himself, and while she would try to explain herself as best as she could, she was also acutely aware that he would now have an actual reason to not associate with her ever again.

At least, once he got his new body, but after that? Well, she wouldn't blame them for choosing to forget all about her.

She too spared a glance at the fallen human's body and the guilt resurfaced with a vengeance. Yes, Flowey had been the one to strike the killing blow, but he would've never even existed to begin with if the doctor had bothered to just leave well enough alone when it came to Determination and its properties. As far as she was concerned, Clover's death was as much her fault as it was the prince's. Hence, all the more reason to come clean about her wrongdoings once this was over.

"...Dr Alphys?" She was brought out of her musings at hearing Dalv speaking, but he did so while keeping his gaze focused on Clover's body, "Do you...do you think it's possible if his body is healed, we could put Clover's soul back into it?"

Needless to say, this was definitely the last thing she expected to be asked at the moment. Granted, it was a legit query and something she had pondered herself on occasion, but she wasn't entirely sure how to answer, as evident by her proceeding to fumble with her hands and awkwardly shuffling her feet, "W-Well, that's um...that's a good question, actually. As you know, part of the reason humans are so much stronger than us is due to a mix of not only having stronger souls but having a body strong enough, o-or rather physical enough, to c-channel all that power, but here's the thing..."

Taking a deep breath, she dabbed the sweat from her brow, "Due to being mostly physical beings, a human's physiology is far different from ours. Where we're mainly made up of dust and magic, the human body is very...complicated. A lot of things working together just to keep them functioning, like blood cells, bone marrow, bio-electrical currents, optic nerves-"

"A simple yes or no answer will suffice, Doc," Ceroba quipped, letting out a frustrated sigh as she did so, "We don't exactly have the time for a biology lesson."

"R-Right! Right! Sorry! Force of habit," Embarrassed at being called out, Alphys sheepishly scratched the back of her head, "Well, um...the short answer I can give on the matter is...theoretically?" At being shot a mix of looks that straddled the line between confused and skeptical, she raised her hands in mock surrender, "I-It's not really something that's been tested before! Nor have we had a reason to do so! At best, it's a slim possibility, but before we even try that, you would need a lot and I am talking about ALOT of magical energy to even begin to fix such fatal wounds...and that's not even taking into account what eventually happens to organic ma-"

"Stop." Dalv said in a surprisingly firm manner, especially for him. "I...w-we get the picture."

Martlet stopped in the middle of her pacing as an idea suddenly came to mind, "What if we..." She cut herself off and shook her head in denial, "No, no. It's a stupid idea anyway..."

"What is, Feathers?" Starlo quizzed, tilting his head, "If you're worried about us shooting it down, don't worry. At this point, I think we'd accept just about anything." The others, including Ceroba, all nodded in agreement.

"W-Well..." The former guardsman massaged the wing that had been crippled earlier, feeling quite uncomfortable at the very thought of suggesting this but deciding to go for it anyway, "Clover said that he once managed to steal away Asriel's power, so, what if we could get him to do that again and reset everything?" Silence from the group was all the answer she needed, leading to her huffing, "Yeah, see what I mean? Stupid idea..."

"Not...as much as you might think, actually." Of all people, Ceroba was the one to suggest this, much to everyone's surprise.

Especially a certain sheriff, "W-W-What??! C-Ceroba, did I just hear you correctly?" The star-themed monster could hardly believe what he was hearing, "Y-You want to go back...after everything we've been through, after everything YOU went through to get Kanako back, you seriously want to consider rewinding the clock?!"

"I don't like this idea anymore than you do, North Star!" She shot back, her face appearing stoic but the misty veil in her eyes told a different story, especially as she bent down to pull her daughter into a hug, "But we're not exactly in a position to be picky on ways to get out of this, are we? The last thing I want is to be separated from my little sunshine again...but Clover has become equally important to me. I am not choosing one over the other!"

"Ceroba..." Starlo murmured softly, reaching out a hand only to pause and pull back while scowling at the floor, baring his teeth in frustration, "...No. You're right. I...I don't want us to have to choose one over the other either. That said, I hope you realize if Clover is allowed to hit that button, there's a chance we may not remember any of this. We'd have to start all the way back from square one..."

(FOR BETTER OR FOR WORSE, IT WOULD BE LIKE NONE OF THIS EVER HAPPENED) Axis threw in his two cents, though he sounded quite dejected as he did so. (I KNOW HUMANS AND MONSTERS SAY THAT IGNORANCE IS BLISS BUT IN A CASE LIKE THIS? I CAN'T BRING MYSELF TO AGREE WITH SUCH ASSERTIONS)

At that moment, however, Kanako spoke up, or at least tried to, "R-Re...mem..ber...f-for....y-y-you..."

"Kanako?" Ceroba pulled back, "What do you..." She then recalled another topic that came up during their trip down to the real lab. Of how those with enough Determination in their bodies were capable of at least somewhat remembering past timelines. Her daughter hadn't merely been given the formula extracted from the human soul, but Alphys had mentioned giving her a shot of Determination shortly after she arrived too. "Kanako, darling. I love you and I appreciate that offer more than you can imagine, but this isn't your responsibility to bare. It's ours."

The youngest of the Ketsukane ended up doing her best impression of an annoyed scowl. She wanted to help! And so did the voice in her head! She may not look like it but she was aware she wasn't a little girl who needed babying anymore! Besides, it wasn't like she was putting her life on the line this time either! She was just acting as a living recording device! Or a diary! "N-N..ot...in...d-d-ang-e-r...."

(CEROBA...MOTHER..) At being addressed by that term, Ceroba turned her head back to face Axis, (SHE'S...NOT WRONG. LIKE IT OR NOT, SHE CARRIES BOTH THE BOSS MONSTER GENE AND DETERMINATION FROM THE HUMAN SOULS WITHIN HER) And in her case...something else. The robot thought to himself but didn't say out loud. Better to deal with the can of worms that was currently open before they considered opening another.

"And I thought we agreed we would stop letting literal children fight our battles for us!" Ceroba snapped back, making her robotic son recoil backwards, and automatically she was filled with sickening revulsion at herself for lashing out, "I-I'm sorry, Axis. I-I shouldn't have snapped like that. I just..." She sniffled, "...I'm tired of seeing young ones being forced to hold up the weight of the world."

"Ceroba..." Starlo laid an arm around her shoulders, "This ain't like back then with the serum where you were putting blind faith into Chujin's faulty research, ok? Besides, it's just an idea for now. We don't have to commit to it," A bell ringing signaled that they had arrived at their destination, "Anyhow, let's focus on what we can do right now. Once we have Clover's soul back, we can figure out what happens next."

"I-I could try building them a robot body?" Alphys offered, forcing a hopeful smile onto her face as the doors opened and they all ushered themselves out back onto the surface, "I-I know that's not the most ideal solution either b-but it's another option to consider. Right?"

"I suppose so..." Ceroba replied while letting out another huff, making it clear she wasn't the biggest fan of this idea either but not in the mood to start an argument. She stepped out into New Home and although she wasn't a big fan of being so close to Asgore's throne room she had to admit that she was somewhat relieved to be out of that lab finally. No offense towards Alphys or the other patients, of course. "...Maybe we should consider going to-HEY!"

She wouldn't get the chance to finish as another monster, in this case a Whimsun, barged past. Upon realizing what they just did, said monster turned back to bow profusely, "S-Sorry! R-Really, really sorry about that! I-I'm just in a hurry to get to one of the shelters! And, if I may be so bold, it may be a good idea for all of you to do the same! A traitor to our people has taken a human's soul and is now running amuck!"

"We know," Martlet grimly acknowledged, her eyes drifting towards Dalv and the human he was carrying. "Is King Asgore still in the throne room?"

"King Asgore?" The Whimsalot tilted its head, "No. He left the capital a couple hours ago after seeing Mettaton's broadcast. Are you saying none of you saw-wait..." Upon closer inspection, the flying monster's eyes widened, "O-Oh my gosh! It's you! All of you! T-The ones who were with the human that fought Captain Undyne!"

Automatically, the assembly of monsters all flinched and suddenly felt very uncomfortable, along with a bit ticked off at the other robot present, with all of them glaring his way, making him raise his hands, "H-HEY NOW! IT'S NOT WHAT YOU'RE ALL THINKING! BELIEVE IT OR NOT, I WAS ACTUALLY TRYING TO HELP!" Judging by the fact their glares were getting more intense, even judgmental, they weren't buying what he was selling, "I-I FIGURED IF MORE MONSTERS SAW THE LITTLE STAR THE WAY ALL OF YOU CLEARLY DO, THAT WOULD..."

They heard a sigh emanating from the robot despite him technically not having a mouth, "I-I DON'T KNOW...MAYBE DRUM UP SOME MORE SYMPATHY? GET SOME OTHER MONSTERS ON YOUR SIDE? DESPITE WHAT YOU MAY THINK OF HIM, ASGORE IS CAPABLE OF BEING REASONABLE. HE WOULD'VE LISTENED..." He glanced towards the now-deceased human and even without a face, you could tell from the way his arms hung at his sides how down he felt, "...BUT I GUESS THAT'S A MOOT POINT NOW..."

"Hey, don't be so hard on yourself, Mettaton," Starlo said, laying a hand on the robot's shoulder, or the closest thing they had to one, "You were just trying to give Clover a chance at a life down here with the rest of us. Can't get angry at you for that." The performer didn't say anything. Merely keeping their gaze tilted towards the ground, once more pondering their life choices up till now.

"E-Excuse me?" The gang all shifted their focus back to the Whimsalot who rubbed their hands together nervously, "I-If you were all strong enough to fight Captain Undyne, m-maybe you can go help our King? I-I know none of you here have a high opinion of him, but he's not an bad man! He really isn't! He's the only source of hope we have left!"

Ceroba scowled. Hope? Really? Him of all people?! What about Clover? And the humans that fell before him? Couldn't any of them have also brought us hope?! Or have we really become so jaded and complacent that we're really alright with letting literal human children be turned into glorified keys just so we can be free? Even though we've done nothing to deserve that freedom?!

That's what she was tempted to say, but seeing the despondent, desperate look on the Whimsalot's face, she couldn't bring herself to do so, especially when there were more pressing matters to contend with. As such, she closed her eyes and let out a huff, "We'll do what we can, but we make no promises." The monster thanked her profusely before flying off.

Dalv turned his head in Alphys' direction and asked her, "Do you think King Asgore really has a chance against...whatever his son has become?"

The Royal Scientist took a moment to ponder his question before a look of grave uncertainty crossed her face, "I...I don't know. Out of all of us, Asgore IS the strongest and most experienced monster, and he HAS killed humans before..." She barreled onward the moment she heard Ceroba snarling, "B-But this is a unique situation, obviously, as he's never had to face a monster who managed to absorb a human's soul! T-This is c-completely unknown territory we're entering into here! All I can say is that he has a chance but...it's a slim one, at best,"

She adjusted her glasses and lowered her voice, "And what's worse, if Asriel really does manage to win and get his hands on his father's soul then he'll have everything he needs to cross the Barrier. H-He probably won't even stop at just seven souls!"

"Then we best not waste anymore time," Sparing one final gaze in the direction of the now-deceased human, Ceroba steadied herself and led the way, "Come along. I think I know the perfect spot for Clover."

Not questioning her, the group made their way through New Home. Trusting her to know what she was doing.

The cherry blossom tree was exactly like they left it last time.

Calm. Serene. Complete with a picturesque view of the Underground's Capital.

To think that she would be back so soon. How things really do come full circle. When she was here before, lost in her own madness, she was all set to put Clover six feet under if it meant completing her husband's work and saving her daughter. Oh, she could try to downplay the cruelty of what she was doing by arguing it was all for the "greater good", that it was better this way then letting the human's soul be used as an instrument of war.

Now, with her sanity mostly restored, and the benefit of hindsight, she could look back and acknowledge that her justifications were nothing more than empty bluster. The ramblings of a widow half-crazed by grief and sorrow. If the cowboy and her fellow monsters hadn't succeeded in pulling her back from the brink of self-destructive mania...she wasn't sure what could've happened.

And yet, here she was. Back where it all began. Sure, she had her daughter back, and for that she would be eternally grateful, but Clover...

No. She had to be strong. She couldn't let herself show weakness. Not right now. Not when there was so much on the line. Yes. She could allow herself the chance to fall apart later. When the world wasn't on the verge of being destroyed by a soulless reincarnation of the King's son. When Clover's Soul was back with them. When they were all back home in the Oasis, far away from all this. From the capital. From the Dreemurr family. From the laboratory. From-

"M-Mommy...y-y...c-crying..." Kanako's raspy voice brought her back to reality.

"Hmm?" Ceroba brought a finger up to her face and came away with tear drops. Huh. Observant as ever, her daughter was, even in her current state. "..I'll be fine, Kanako. Really..." The younger fox wasn't buying it, but she also wasn't gonna pry either.

The gang all stood together on the balcony overlooking New Home as Dalv placed Clover's body underneath the shade of the tree, even removing his own cloak and draping the human in it as if he were putting them to sleep, all the while trying to wear a reassuring smile, "T-There you go, Clover, buddy. All warm and cozy! Now, you just sit tight, admire the view, have yourself a nice little snooze and before you know it, we'll...we'll..."

The vampire trailed off into heavy breathing, hands quaking, his smile almost seeming to melt off his face as the tears began to roll. His strength leaving him, he fell to his knees, his whole body shaking from the weight of the guilt and failure, "..Damn it, I-I'm sorry, I can't do this I just...can't..." He slammed his fist onto the roof's material over and over while quietly mumbling "damn it" over and over.

Seeing her adopted uncle in this state, Kanako slid her way over to him in order to cling on and hum the song Mom always used when she was scared and/or upset. "I-I'm so sorry, Clover...I promised to protect you. To make sure that history wouldn't repeat itself! But..." Like clockwork, that memory of the Snowdin Incident played itself out in his mind, reminding him of his failure. Yes, he knew they still technically had a chance at fixing this, but that didn't change the fact he felt like a total failure.

The others wanted to say something comforting, but were aware that a bunch of reassurances weren't gonna change the cold, hard facts. They HAD failed to keep their promise. Not for lack of trying, of course. The prince was just too good at manipulating the game.

Starlo silently waltzed over and bent down to put Clover's hat back on his head and lay his Wild Revolver next to him, "There ya go, partner. A proper lawman should always have their trusty six-shooter and their trademark headgear by their side. Seriously, I figured with all the times we've repeated our first meeting up till now, that's one thing that would've gotten engrained into you..." He tried to put on a cheeky grin, but he couldn't muster the energy to do so and thus he chose instead to remove his own headgear, sniffling. "...We're gonna get that damn flower for ya, bucko. You just hang tight for a while longer..."

Martlet slowly walked to the other side of Clover's lifeless form and knelt down, pulling a feather out of one of her wings and securing it to his hat, "H-Here, Clover. A little something extra to make you look really fashionable! N-Not to say your getup wasn't cool already because it was! I just..." Not able to hold in her emotions any longer, she covered her face, "Aghh! Who am I kidding?! I should've used that stupid syringe sooner when I had the chance! If I did, maybe Clover would still be here!"

"Feathers, don't go blaming yourself," Starlo advised gently, "The doc warned us about relying on that stuff, remember? And I highly doubt our little deputy would've been very happy knowing you traded your own life for his...Kanako too."

(CLOVER...) Axis wheeled himself closer, (I APOLOGIZE FOR NOT HAVING ANYTHING TO OFFER YOU...OTHER THAN MY THANKS FOR ALL YOU'VE DONE. FOR ALLOWING ME TO MEET MY SISTER UNIT. FOR GIVING ME THE CHANCE TO BUILD A FAMILY OF MY OWN. YOU ARE...AND ALWAYS WILL BE...A CREDIT TO YOUR RACE)

And now all that remained was Ceroba. Reluctantly, she reached into her kimono and removed the fragments of Kanako's mask, holding them in her hands with reverence, "Kanako, sweetie?" She turned and saw her mother getting down to her level, "I-I must apologize. I...broke the beautiful mask you gave me doing something really stupid, and-" She was interrupted by her daughter giving her a tight hug, to which she gladly returned, "I don't deserve such a wonderful daughter like you..."

Without another word, she handed the shards to her youngling who gingerly brought them over to lay on Clover's chest. With the offerings now laid out, the group allowed themselves a moment of silence.

Alphys, whom was watching from nearby, lowered her gaze in shame before turning away, "W-We should...perhaps give them a minute alone..." She went to walk away only to bump up against what she swore felt like a brick wall, "Ooof! What the-" She re-oriented herself and took a gander at what she bumped up against only for it to dawn on her whom was standing right in front of her, "A-Asgore??!"

"Howdy, Alphys," Sure enough, the current King Of Monsters was before her now. Tall and proud yet with a warm, gentle smile on his features, "It is a great weight off my shoulders to see you and everyone else in one piece. Undyne will be most pleased to hear about this too as she's been very worried about you," His smile stiffened, however, when he shifted his attention to the other monsters present, all of them slowly getting to their feet with Ceroba keeping her back turned to the lion-maned monster, "You are...Miss Ketsukane, correct?"

"...That is my name, yes," She replied plainly, still not turning around, "My husband Chujin used to work for you, until you fired him over concerns regarding Axis..." She gestured to love's creation who gave an awkward yet still polite wave.

It took a moment for the former father's mind to recall the finer details of that particular day, "Ah...y-yes, of course. I remember now, and I see he continued his work even afterwards...hello, Axis. I must say, your creator's efforts seemed to have paid off splendidly."

(THANK YOU, KING ASGORE) The robot put a hand to his chest and bowed slightly. (I AM SURE IF MY FATHER WERE STILL WITH US, HE WOULD BE VERY HAPPY TO HEAR YOU SAY THAT...ALSO, I MUST APOLOGIZE ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED THAT DAY. MY PROGRAMMING MALFUNCTIONED AT THE WORST POSSIBLE TIME)

However, the king merely smiled and shook his head, "No apology needed. Besides, you didn't really cause that much damage and..." He took a deep breath and, after exhaling, he suddenly seemed older, and even more tired, "It was a long time ago. To be honest? Perhaps I was rather hasty back then myself. Chujin always came across as a very passionate soul with a lot of imagination. Maybe if I had just given him a little more time-"

"No, Asgore, you..." Ceroba bit her lip, "...You already gave him plenty of chances, and nobody's patience is infinite. Not even yours," She folded her arms while letting out a long sigh, "...I suppose you're here to arrest us?"

Hearing this made Asriel's father raise an eyebrow in confusion, "Arrest you? Why on earth would I..." He trailed off as everything started to click and he found himself nodding, "Ah, I see...you can lay your worries to rest regarding that matter. No charges will be laid against any of you. As long as Dr Alphys is alright with that herself."

"O-Oh yes, absolutely!" Said scientist piped up, raising her hands in a placating manner. "A-All I care about right now is making sure we all survive today!" Upon seeing the gang giving her a dirty look, she immediately corrected herself, "S-Sorry. I-I meant those of us still here. Y-Yeah..." She mumbled "stupid" to herself over and over while turning away.

Asgore's gaze then drifted towards the fallen human and his demeanor automatically became more melancholic. He took a step towards them but, in an instant, the group had formed a protective wall before him, though judging by the lack of change in his facial expression, he had clearly expected this, "Please, I just-"

"You just what?!" Ceroba snarled, tearing up, "Wanna take Clover's body to use for more of your sick experiments?! Has he not suffered enough because of us?!" When he didn't respond, she growled and pointed behind her, "Look at him! That is a goddamn child! A child dragged into a war that he never needed to be part of! For that matter, NONE of them should've needed to be involved to begin with! But did any of us care about that? No, we didn't!"

"If the humans on the surface ever find out what we've done, what we allowed to happen, just for the sake of our freedom, they WILL hunt us down to the ends of the earth..." Dalv grimly remarked, shuddering as if he'd been caught in a blizzard, "And I...I can't say they would be entirely in the wrong to do so. The reason for why we did it won't matter. All they will see is a race of beasts that want to devour their souls and make their kind extinct..."

Asgore listened intently. Their words tore him up on the inside, every one another blow to his soul, another stab at his already fragile sense of self. "...You maybe right. And if you hate me, then you are completely justified in doing so. The things I've done are inexcusable, criminal even..." He lurched forward slightly, eyes downcast to the ground as he once more felt the weight of his crown and all it represented, "Believe me. If there was another solution, I would've found it a long time ago...but we..no, I...have come too far to stop now. The beast carrying Clover's soul will be stopped and their soul put away for the sake of all monsters."

"You try that and you're gonna have two fights on your hands, bub," Starlo growled as he put his hat back on, scowling at the king as he did so, "Clover maybe just a human to you, but he's one of the finest individuals I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. Even knowing all the sh*tty things we've done, or allowed, he still chose to fight for our sake. Heck, even when that damn flower tried to turn him to the dark side, get him to give in to vengeance, he still chose us!" Ignoring the wide-eyed look Asgore was giving him, he leered back in the direction of his fallen friend, "And this is his reward..."

He ended up spitting on the ground in disgust. Whether at himself, the king, or all his people, he didn't know and didn't care.

Asgore remained silent for a moment, letting the sheriff's words rattle around within him, spurring a queasy feeling in his gut. A part of him was tempted to fall down right here and apologize profusely for all the suffering he had set in motion, but two things stopped him from committing to that course of action: First, the knowledge that he needed to stay focused on the task at hand. For his people's sake. Even those who saw him as a pariah. Second, the simple fact that he knew all the apologies in the world wouldn't even begin to make up for his sins.

Instead, he merely turned his head to address a certain bird monster, "Martlet? Do you have anything you wish to add?"

Martlet, whom was after crossing her arms and looking away, let out a huff and shrugged, "I think my friends said pretty much everything I wanted to, so anything I add now would be kinda pointless. That said..." Her facial features softened to that of utter disappointment and Asgore visibly winced at her doing this, "I still respect you, King Asgore...but I most certainly don't respect the choices you've made up till now. I get that you were just trying to keep our spirits up and, you know, make sure we didn't fall into hopelessness, but..."

She paused, tensed up for a moment, then trudged right along, "Look, I...I get you weren't thinking straight back when you made that law, and I'm really sorry about what happened that led you to making that decision, but I refuse to believe that there weren't better options you could've implemented," The former guardsman spared a regretful gander back at her charge, "That WE could've implemented...eventually, at least. Once everything had settled down."

"Martlet, I..." Asgore brought a hand up and massaged his temples to relieve some of the pressure, "...You weren't there back then. None of you were. Those early days after my babies were taken by the humans, they...I wish I could tell you everything. I truly do, but unfortunately, we don't have the luxury of time on our side..." As if to prove his point, everybody's blood ran cold at hearing a titanic roar echoing from outside the capital. It certainly didn't sound human, nor did it sound like an animal. No. This was more...warped. Distorted. As if it belonged to something not of this world.

(SENSORS INDICATE THAT THE BEAST WILL REACH THE WALLS OF THE CAPITAL WITHIN HALF AN HOUR) Axis remarked fearfully. (...IF WE'RE LUCKY)

"Then it seems I must go..." Asgore turned back to his fellow monsters, and Ceroba may've been seeing things but she swore for a second she saw him biting back tears, "But first, will you grant this old fool the chance to pay his respects to such a noble soul? Even though he's well-aware that he's done nothing to deserve it?" The group's body language made it abundantly evident none of them were too fussy about the idea, but if there was one thing they knew the King wasn't, it was a liar, and so one by one, they stepped aside while keeping their eyes on him.

Seeing this brought a small smile to his face again, "...Thank you...I'll make this quick, I promise," He stepped forward until he was by the fallen human's side and knelt down, all while he took a moment to allow the guilt and the anguish to surge forth and envelop him. Even if he didn't have a direct hand in this sweet young lad's passing, he couldn't help but feel...responsible, at least on some level. "...I would've so very much loved to share a cup of tea with you, to hear the stories of your travels through our great kingdom, before...well..."

He could feel the weight of the judgmental stares being aimed at his back, and he accepted them all. "Unfortunately, I do not have anything to offer...except..." Getting an idea, he raised up his index finger, the air around said body part starting to shimmer as a faint tinge of red began to form. As he expected, this caused a series of horrified gasps to erupt from everybody's mouths, scared to the point they couldn't move. Was he really going to...burn Clover's body...?

They waited with baited breath as he reached towards their hat where the petals were, but their fears turned out to be unfounded as he began brushing away the petals with his finger, and as he did so, said petals would turn to ash that ended up drifting away into the wind. Once he was finished, he then took that same digit, ignited a tiny fireball at the tip, and began to gingerly trace it along the bark of the tree in careful strokes. The gang watched, enraptured at his handiwork.

When he finished, the king stood up and nodded in approval, "There you go. I know this is far, far from adequate compared to what you actually deserve, but for now, this will have to suffice."

Engraved into the bark was one word: CLOVER.

"King Asgore..." Martlet murmured in a mix of awe and disbelief, wings covering her mouth.

"I make it a point to ensure the memory of all those who fall, the ones whom we selfishly forced to shoulder our burden, are never truly forgotten..." Asgore remarked with as much conviction as he could muster before turning to leave but keeping his eyes to the ground, "...Please get to a shelter as soon as you possibly can..."

Starlo and Ceroba shared a knowing look, before the former stepped up while pulling his hat down over his eyes, "With all due respect, sir, I don't think it's a wise idea to fight that thing all on your own. Maybe we can-"

"I know what you're about to say, and the answer is no," Asgore cut him off in a firm yet still not unkindly manner without even turning his head, "...You have all suffered enough already, due in no small part to my cowardice and foolishness..." He held out his hand and conjured his family's trident in a flash of red light, "One death is already one too many. No more. If this beast was originally meant for me, then it's only fitting I be the one to slay it."

Starlo wanted to warn his king of that creature's true nature but something held him back. Even if that thing didn't have the prince's soul, it was still technically his son. He didn't need that little tidbit holding him back from giving his all, or maybe it would have the opposite effect? He genuinely didn't know. "Still, maybe we should-HEY!!" Sadly, the king was already walking away, to which he tried to give chase only to be held back by the doctor and her creation, "L-Let me go! He's gonna get himself killed!!"

"DON'T BOTHER, DARLING!!" Mettaton all but ordered, refusing to loosen his grip for a second, "THE KING'S MADE UP HIS MIND AND ONCE HE'S DONE SO...WELL, YOU'D PROBABLY HAVE MORE LUCK TRYING TO CONVINCE A BRICK WALL TO SERVE YOU SOME NICE CREAM BEFORE HE WOULD EVEN CONSIDER WHATEVER YOU HAD TO OFFER..." There was the barest hint of annoyance in the former ghost's voice.

"I-I know I'm being selfish, but I can't bring myself to leave Clover just yet either..." Dalv admitted as he took a seat next to the second human he had failed and buried his face in his hands, "I-I think I need a few more minutes..."

"I..." Ceroba glanced down to her daughter whom had been hiding behind her this whole time. "I think I need a little longer too..." She bent down to hold her daughter as tightly as she could. Some aspect of her aware this maybe the last chance she got to do so.

"Oh, before I forget, Miss Ketsukane?" She turned her head at being addressed to see Asgore looking back, eyes beaming with pride, "Congratulations on reuniting with your daughter."

"Asgore...?" She couldn't believe what she was hearing. He...he knew about Kanako too? He...didn't see her as just another statistic? Another lost cause to be written off? Without another word, the king walked away.

Those remaining, the ones who knew Clover best, all went to stand around the tree, huddling together into one big group hug and just...choosing to let everything out. All the tears they could muster. All the grief. All the shame at their own weakness and failure.

They just let it all out.

For what little time they had left.

Asriel really did feel like the universe was mocking him.

It was the only way he could make sense of what was happening to him currently.

When he had taken Clover's Soul, forced him to relive his greatest sins, finally be forced to accept the truth about himself that he was nothing more than another killer who didn't deserve love, mercy or forgiveness, his will would be completely destroyed and thus the former prince could take full control. Once that happened, Clover would have no other choice but to play ball, to go along with what HE wanted.

They could tear this world down, and then build it back up however they wanted, and once they had their fun, then they could do the whole process all over again!

However, the cowboy seemed to have other ideas as that stupid fish lady and the robot had injected the idea into his head that, even after everything, he could still be some sort of superhero! If circ*mstances were different, Flowey swore he would've laughed his head off at such an absurd concept. Heroes? Really? There were no such thing as heroes! Only those who had the power and those who didn't!

But Flowey couldn't laugh as right now he was engaged in a mental tug of war with Clover over ownership of their body. Monsters, upon seeing the titan approaching, would run or fly or do whatever they had to in order to escape its wrath. Upon seeing one that had gotten left behind, Flowey would take this chance to attempt some sort of attack in order to sate his need for carnage, only for Clover to use what little influence he had to "nudge" the body just enough so its attack missed and said monster could get away.

It was after he managed to allow a Whimsalot to flutter off into the distance that Asriel decided he needed to lay down the law with his partner, "Clover. Why the hell are you making this so difficult?! Do you just like watching me make a fool of myself or something? Huh? Is this funny to you for some reason?!"

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't taking a little bit of satisfaction at seeing you get so pissed off. Clover admitted without a hint of shame. He knew pissing off the all-powerful lord of time was a really bad idea, but hey, at this point he didn't exactly have much to lose. He was dead, and his friends, his family...he wasn't sure he wanted to even think about what may have happened to them.

At this point, one of the only things he could think of trying was somehow forcing Asriel to perform another Reset. Whether that be by making him go into the lava of Hotland, weakening him from within that someone strong enough could slay him, or simply by doing all he could to anger his warden enough.

The last thing he wanted was having to endure yet another hellish loop, or to force his family to have to share in his suffering, especially since he was aware that getting an timeline like this again was going to be, at best, a very difficult endeavor. Not helped by the idea that Flowey may end up remembering, which considering he could recall the route where Clover had snapped and killed everyone...well, it was a very real possibility.

But if the cowboy had to choose between that and allowing the prince to finally attain ultimate power then he knew which of those options he preferred.

As for why I am, well...come on Asriel. You love toting yourself as some sort of genius so why don't you use that big brain of yours and put two and two together?

The guttural growl he heard Flowey let out was enough to bring the barest hint of a smug grin to his face. "You realize what you're doing is pointless, right? You're only delaying the inevitable so why keep on fighting?! Just give up and let me win already!"

If letting you win means everyone dies then I think I'm gonna keep on being a thorn in your side. He retorted, and due to their connection, he could sense Flowey's annoyance escalating from that one pun. Asriel...not that I care or anything, but you do realize what you're up to now isn't gonna fix you, right? I have a soul and I had all the power in the world at one point...and it didn't make me happy. Didn't bring me peace, and if that's the case for me, then what would make you any different?

"I..." The reanimated husk that once was the King's son was about to tear into Clover for the umpteenth time, only to briefly pause at being asked such a question.

Even if you become the most powerful being in the whole world...I don't think you're gonna be truly happy.

Shut up. Stop talking about things you don't have the foggiest clue about.

You were given a taste of godhood and you threw it away like the brain-dead numbskull you are!

Because I realized that I didn't want power! I wanted something that you can't get with power! A life with people who loved and cherished me for me!

Lies! Lies! Lies! You're a liar, Clover! A liar and a coward! Flowey, acting on pure instinct, got their monstrous form to stomp the earth and trigger some tremors in the real world as he gradually got closer and closer to his final destination. You could've done whatever you wanted with that power! Indulged in the real you! Not this wild west superhero you pretend to be!!

Oh yes, because you think deep down everyone is secretly like you?!

Exactly! We all try to make ourselves look good and sweet and compassionate and all that other revolting stuff but really, if given the chance, we'd all kill each other without a moment's thought! THAT'S our true nature!

Oh? So is that what you think of your own Mom and Dad too? Of Chara?! Clover didn't get an answer right away to that question, and he instinctively knew he had struck a nerve. You wanna know what I think? I think there's another reason you can't beat Asgore. Why you needed ME to do it for you! It's not just that he's too powerful! It's the simple fact that he's your GODDAMN FATHER!! YOU'RE THE REAL COWARD HERE, ASRIEL DREEMURR!!

"Oh, I'm a coward, am I?!!" Giving a wordless scream to the heavens, he gripped the soul in his chest as tightly as he could and squeezed, sending convulsions all through Clover, making him scream in agony as he fell to the ground within Asriel's mind, "Would a coward be capable of doing this?!! Huh?! You think you're so high and mighty?! That you're better than me?!"

Clover wanted to speak but he was in too much pain to do or say anything, "Well, you're not! You mean nothing to me! Or to the world at large! You never have, and you never will!" His captive continued to scream from the torment but he refused to relent, "It could've been so perfect! We could've ruled together! But you just had to go and suck all the fun out of this like you always do! I hate you, Clover! I hate you with every fiber of my being!"

Finally, mercifully, he relented leaving a barely conscious cowboy who instinctively curled up into a ball, much to his disgust, "Pathetic..." The darkness shifted and strung him up in the non-existent air while Asriel made his way onward yet again, now free of any and all obstructions. "Hopefully now, you'll keep that big mouth of yours shut and do what I say...because I can do so much worse if I wanted to..." Clover didn't say anything, but unlike before, this didn't bring a smile to the wannabe god's face.

His good mood had evaporated entirely thanks in no small part to Clover's words. He would get those damn souls. He WOULD become God. He WOULD make this into the perfect world he knew he deserved. He WOULD get back everything that was wrongfully taken from him and absolutely nothing would rob him of what was his ever again.

He crossed the bridge and spotted the capital's perimeter wall not even a few dozen feet away from him, the castle itself looming overhead. He was so close. True Godhood was finally within his grasp.

All of a sudden, though, he found himself being pelted by a steady stream of magical bullets of all shapes and sizes, courtesy of the Royal Guardsmen standing in front of the gate. All of them were clearly quaking in their boots but refusing to budge in the face of this seemingly unstoppable monstrosity. Flowey, however, simply let out a sigh of pure boredom, "I don't have time for this..." Raising one of his claws, he began gathering soul energy in the center of his palm which gradually built into a sphere that then began to spark and crackle.

Anybody who stands in my way only deserves one thing: To be punished.

The former prince readied to fire his attack, only to hear a familiar "NYARRRRHGHHH!!!" and look upwards to see descending from on high a figure wielding an equally familiar-looking spear. They jabbed their weapon into his face, making him screech in pain and completely throw off his attack's trajectory, causing it to misfire and go off into the distance, generating a decent-sized explosion. "HA! Bet you thought you saw the last of me, huh, punk?!!"

"RAAAHGGGHHHH!!!" His patience wasn't just non-existent. It had officially gone into negative values. Forcing his body to sprout spikes all over him, he managed to throw the captain off him while yanking the spear out of his eye, doing his best to shut out the burning sensation he was left with, "You just don't know when to quit, do you?!"

"Rule Number 16 of the Royal Guard Handbook!" Undyne proclaimed as she leant over while holding another spear behind her, glaring daggers at her opponent. She wasn't at a hundred percent, sure, but that wasn't going to deter her from giving it her all until the very end. "A Royal Guardsman never, EVER gives up! They keep going and they save as many lives as they can! Even if doing so puts their own in jeopardy! So as long as I got breath in my body and can hold a weapon, I ain't stopping!"

"...No. I suppose you wouldn't..." Flowey quietly remarked, recalling the timelines he had actually fought her. An itty bit part of him was almost gonna miss butting heads with the fish lady as in the runs where he just decided to off all these blokes, she was one of the very, VERY few people who could actually give him a real challenge. Outside of a certain skeleton, but Flowey wasn't gonna touch that topic with a ten-foot pole. "But if you're expecting Clover to bail you out again then you're gonna be very disappointed as he's in time out!!"

Hearing this was enough to immediately get her one good eye to start flaring up brightly. "...That's fine. I don't need their help to take down some Little Shop Of Horrors reject! All I need are these two hands and some nerves of steel!" She snapped her fingers, triggering her magic to fill the air around her with spears which all moved on their own and shot in a rapid-fire style towards the beast who placed one arm in front of its face and proceeded to start charging forward, shrugging off all her attacks, his other arm swinging downwards in an effort to crush her.

Naturally, she launched herself backwards only for vines to sprout from his body and grab her out of the air and slam her down into the ground, hard. "You were saying?" He teased as he loomed over, ready to strike, "Any last words?" Instead of letting her speak though, he cut her off, "On second thought? No. I don't think I'll be tempting my luck any more than I already have so please do us both a favor and return to dust already." He opened his mouth which began gathering energy for a final attack.

However, that's when a ball of fire flew in from nowhere and hit Asriel right in the face, making him stagger backwards, roaring in a mix of anguish and annoyance. Compared to the flames of that fox woman, these were actually on a whole other level, which could only mean one thing...

Undyne turned her head back and her eyes widened, "K-King Asgore!"

The king flicked his wrist and sent out several tiny orbs of flame that singed the vines just enough so she could easily break free and then gave her a helping hand to her feet, "Captain Undyne. Excellent work holding out as long as you did..." He took that same hand and placed it on her shoulder while grinning proudly down at her, "You've done me proud here today."

"T-T-Thank you, sir..." She put a fist to her chest and did a small bow, trying her best not to be overwhelmed from embarrassment, "I can't take all the credit, though. I actually had a lot of help...from both our own men and, in a way, the human," Seeing him tilt his head curiously, her expression hardened, "That thing may have their soul, but I don't think it has full control over their power, and if that's the case..."

"Then our chances for victory have every so slightly increased thanks to this human's efforts," Asgore concluded with a nod of affirmation. Seeing the beast starting to recover, he took up a defensive stance in front of her, brandishing his trident as he did so, "Undyne! Lock the gate behind me, and then tend to your injuries! I will deal with this matter myself Alphys is already inside waiting for you!"

"W-W-What?!" Needless to say, Undyne was quite flabbergasted, "W-With all due respect, sir, you're out of your goddamn mind if you think I'm just gonna stand back and let you go all mano-a-mano with this thing! I mean, did you even get a chance to absorb the human souls like I asked you to?! Because that's the only way I'm even gonna consider letting you do this on your own!!"

"I..." He flinched and closed his eyes. Yes. He knew with the five human souls already in his possession he would be the strongest monster to ever live. More than capable of destroying this abomination with little to no effort...but as usual, his own cowardice kept him from committing. He knew he was not deserving of such power. He had no desire to become a god, and especially no desire to be seen as one. If father were here in my place, he would chastise me for my weakness and then do so without a moment's hesitation. "...I'll be fine. Now go!"

"Oh no you-" She never got the chance to finish as he would shove her back through the gate which began to shut itself. She went to rejoin him but was held at bay by several of her fellow guardsmen, "Asgore! Asgore! Don't you dare do this to us, you hear?!! You're the hope of all Monsterkind! Please! Let me fight by your side!"

The king merely smiled and shook his head before the gate shut completely. However, that smile faltered and was then replaced with stone-cold determination as he turned back to face the overgrown weed, "...I know what you are."

"Oh? Do you now?" Flowey teased as the scorch marks on his face started to slowly heal, an evil grin forming.

"Dr Alphys brought you into this world in order to become a fountain of hope, but instead you have become a wellspring of despair and misery," Asgore said as he gripped his weapon tightly, embers starting to form all along it, "However, that was only possible because I loaned her the human souls for her research. As such, this...all of this...is just as much on me as it is her, so for the sake of my people AND to atone for my role in this madness I will strike you down with my own two hands."

Flowey merely snickered, amused at his words, "You know, there was once a time I would've actually taken such threats seriously, old man, but now that I've got Clover in my corner, well...let's just say your bark has lost pretty much all its bite," He took a single threatening step forward, making Asgore brace himself, "I've never been able to defeat you in any of my other runs up till now, but today? That's gonna change. All I need to do is kill you once and my victory is assured!!"

Blurry images flashed through his mind at lightning speed, making him grunt in pain but he suppressed them and focused on the task at hand, "That power is not yours. You stole it away from its rightful owner. The one called Clover is a noble soul who fought for the sake of my people. They would never willingly aid a freak of nature like you!"

Hearing this actually caused Flowey to expel a mocking laugh from his mouth that chilled Asgore to the core, "W-Wow! Talk about ironic! Clover? A noble soul? Really? You need to get out of that castle more often, old man! Now, let me ask a question..." He leaned in until they were basically inches apart from one another. A stoic king, and a deranged mutated flower with a cheshire-cat grin. "You know WHAT I am, sure, but...do you know WHO I am?"

"You are..." An odd question to be asked, but it did spark something within his mind. An image. A thought. A cry for help. From a flower in the middle of a garden. He didn't know why but he could feel his heart sinking a little at the implications. "You are...Flowey, correct?"

Impossibly, the flower's grin grew even bigger, "Yes...but I had a name long before that...one you knew very well once upon a time..."

Hands starting to tremble, his magic starting to fizzle out, Asgore's mind grappled with the puzzle pieces. A garden. A talking flower. A cry for help. What did they all have in common?!

...Wait, had he...met them before? He saw himself holding this flower, promising that everything would be alright. A word. "....Dad...."

Asgore gasped as his trident slipped from his fingers and hit the ground with a resounding thud. His breath heavier than it had been in ages. It wasn't possible. It couldn't. It shouldn't.

And yet, deep in his soul, he knew the truth. All he could do was stare in disbelief up at the creature whose grin was wide in triumph.

"....Asriel...."

The gang were snapped out of their grieving at hearing the loudest, cruelest, most demented laugh any of them had ever heard in their lives. It was everywhere, and yet nowhere at the same time.

Starlo sniffled and wiped his tear stains away, letting out a breath he'd been holding in, "Welp, the big galoot's here...guess it's finally showtime, huh?"

"Yes. I suppose so..." Not looking forward to this one bit, but knowing they were all at the end of their ropes, Ceroba knelt and looked her daughter in the eye, "Kanako? Mommy, Uncle Starlo, and the rest of us here, have to do something really important, so I need you to go with Dr Alphys and Mettaton for the time being. Ok?" Before she could protest, her mother went on. "This won't be like last time. I...no. WE will come back for you. That's a promise."

"No matter it takes, we WILL all go home together," Dalv reassured his adopted niece, doing his best to stay strong, even as the trembling he was undergoing showed just how nervous he really was, "You. Your Mother. Me. Martlet. Starlo. Axis...and Clover," At the last name he spared one final meaningful glance down at his human, "We're gonna make sure this story has a happy ending."

"It's always darkest before the dawn anyway," Martlet offered with a smile which earned a look of surprise from the resident sheriff, making her roll her eyes, "What? I've watched wild west movies every now and then too, you know."

(IN CASE SOMETHING DOES GO WRONG, I...) Axis fumbled with his hands awkwardly. (...I JUST WANTED TO SAY THAT EVEN THOUGH I HAVEN'T KNOWN ANY OF YOU FOR VERY LONG, I AM HONORED TO HAVE MET YOU ALL...ESPECIALLY CLOVER...AND MY SISTER UNIT, KANAKO) He reached out and pulled said sister into a rather goopy yet still loving hug.

Everybody present gave the Amalgamate a tender, loving hug and then sent her on her way with Mettaton. Alphys was planning to join them but before she did so, she took a moment to hardwire the DT Canister into Axis' main power supply. Thanking her for all her work, the scientist wished them well and stepped away from the balcony.

Starlo pulled out the twisted substance that started all this, and stared with mixed feelings down at the syringe said substance was contained within. This stuff had started everything, and now? It would hopefully be the key to ending this. "...Alright, so who wants to go first? Or should we all go at once?"

"Might be best if we all go," Martlet admitted, scratching the back of her head, "I...kinda-sorta remember what happened last time I used this stuff and to say it wasn't fun would be an understatement. I-I mean, misery loves company after all, right?" She deflated the moment after saying this, "Sorry..."

"No, it's alright, Martlet. I'm fine with going all at once too," Ceroba glared upwards at seemingly nothing, "Anything to distract me from that damn flower's laughing..."

In agreement, they all took their syringes, or in Axis' case, readied to flip the switch that would activate his new power source, each of them eyeing the other. All of them having a drop of sweat on their foreheads, but, knowing who they were doing this for, they all prepped themselves with Starlo taking the lead. "Ok. On the count of 3. 1.....2........3!!"

At once, the group activated the injectors, having braced themselves for anything. The injection went surprisingly smoothly and nothing seemed to be happening. "...Anybody feel anything?" Starlo quizzed.

"I do feel this oddly warm sensation brewing in my chest, but other than that? Nothing." Dalv admitted, sounding both relieved and yet disappointed at the same time.

"Strange. The formula should've reacted by now," Martlet pointed out, stroking her chin, "Anyways, it doesn't matter! We've given ourselves the injections so let's go lend the King a hand," She raised one of her hands and clenched it tightly, "With this new strength, I'm sure we can get Clover back." All together, the group went to leave the balcony, ready to face their final battle....

....Only for Ceroba to suddenly let out an ear-splitting screech that forced her to the ground, clenching her head and scaring the sh*t out of the others who all rushed to check on her, but as they all tried to call out to her, she was seeing things. Lives that had been forgotten. Clover saving her. Killing her at her behest. Killing her after he killed Starlo. Her spending days, weeks even, trying to find any signs of her old friend.

Before the sheriff could ask what was wrong, he too clenched his head and fell over. He remembered too. Meeting Clover. Trying to kill him. Times where he did succeed only to be left consumed by the guilt. Unable to stick to his guns long enough to put an end to a certain human's killing spree before it got to the point of no return.

Dalv was next. He was having flashbacks too. Hurting. Being hurt. Being left well and truly alone in a Ruins that had been emptied of all life.

Axis' body sputtered and sparked as he too recalled a life he had never lived. Clover, in fear of his life, destroyed his body, only to then be abandoned by Ceroba, not realizing that part of him had remained active just long enough to see her do so, leaving a heartbroken Clover behind.

Even though Martlet somewhat expected this, the pain, the burning, was just as bad. Just as agonizing. No. She couldn't give in. She had to control it. She had to go save Clover! Give him the life that he had been denied over and over and over again! And yet, despite her best efforts, she found herself falling over, consciousness gradually leaving her. Clover....Kanako...everyone...I'm sorry...

Each member of the group gradually slipped away from the waking world, until there were none.

All of them seemingly lifeless.

...And as she was led away to safety, Kanako clenched her chest where her soul lay. The pain somehow being greater than what she dealt on a daily basis. Though her caretakers stayed by her side, pleading to know what was wrong, she tuned them out.

Whether it was a result of overusing her abilities, or due to her connection with her mother, the result was still the same.

Another crack had formed....A symbol of lost Hope...