No One is Happy with This (Undertale)

51 ~ A Question of Morality

Gaster's given you an opportunity to convince him that Asriel can be brought back, and you're determined to do so.

Leaning forward a little against the table at Grillby's, mimicking Gaster's own posture, you start to talk.

"You and I both know that Asriel can come back. I fought him, and he broke the Barrier. And it was him, even as a child. Flowey may be an 'empty husk,' as you said, but then, doesn't that mean if we fill him up, he can be Asriel again?"

Gaster nods just a little. "You're right, I'll give you that. Theoretically, if he has enough power, he would turn back into Asriel. But, then, where do we propose we get that power?"

"Well... Can't we... Give him a Soul somehow?"

Gaster's brow rises. "How? Take it from someone? That would kill them."

"What about how you gave Sans and Papyrus Souls?"

"Different scenario entirely."

"How is it different? You're giving a Soulless being a Soul!"

"Because then, it was putting a piece of my Soul into a piece of my body. Their frames were conditioned to my Magic, and compatible with my Soul. On the off chance that someone were willing to give up their Soul to Flowey, it wouldn't be enough- the incompatibility between Asriel's essence and the foreign Soul would cause too much energy leakage, and it would be completely ineffective."

"That can't be right!" You argue. "Because if that were true, then how did he turn into Asriel when I fought him?!"

"You can still fill up a leaky bucket if you pour water into it fast enough, Frisk, so long as you're putting in more than is falling out.  The power equivalent of seven human Souls poured emotion into Flowey fast enough that it made up for the incompatibility. Which then brings us a step further- you wouldn't just need to kill one human to get a Soul, you'd need to kill seven. And as much as I'm for killing humans, I get the impression that's not what you want."

You sit back, thinking on that. It's true; Flowey didn't turn into Asriel until he had six human Souls and all the monster Souls. He just became that strange, creepy... Omega Flowey with the six Souls. And he was still sadistically emotionless.

So... is there no way, then? Because you're not going to kill seven people. You're not going to kill anyone. Ever again. And without either seven Souls or a compatible Soul, Flowey will remain Flowey.

... But what about a compatible Soul? What if you could get that?

Gaster sees your expression shift. "What now?"

"Well... you said you put a piece of your Soul into Sans and Papyrus. So what about... If Toriel or Asgore put a piece of their Soul into Flowey?"

Gaster seems to muse on that for a moment, then he shakes his head. "No. It wouldn't work. Mainly because, again, my Soul into my body. Toriel and Asgore are both Toriel and Asgore. Even though Asriel came from them, he's still Asriel. Not Toriel and Asgore put together. So even if you could get a Soul fragment into him, and even if you could grow it into a full Soul, it still wouldn't be enough." He pauses. Then, "I mean, I suppose, theoretically, Toriel and Asgore could--" He seems to realize what he's saying, and hesitates. Then he shakes his head, muttering something under his breath. "Maybe they could... make another one, but even still, that would still be like making another child. A sibling to Asriel, not another Soul for Asriel. It wouldn't work."

You frown. "But what if you did both of them? A Soul fragment from Asgore, and one from Toriel, and put them together to make an Asriel-Soul fragment?"