The robot stood before them in the center of the room, clearly waiting for them. Frisk said nothing while Chara floated silently next to her.
"MY, MY. SO YOU'VE FINALLY ARRIVED." the robot said. "AFTER OUR FIRST MEETING, I REALIZED... SOMETHING GHASTLY. YOU'RE NOT JUST A THREAT TO MONSTERS... BUT HUMANITY AS WELL. OH MY, THAT'S AN ISSUE. YOU SEE I CAN'T BE A STAR WITHOUT AN AUDIENCE. AND BESIDES, THERE ARE SOME PEOPLE, I WANT TO PROTECT."
Frisk suddenly took a silent step forward, clearly itching to start the FIGHT. The robot immediately took notice.
"AH HA HA. EAGER AS ALWAYS, EH? BUT DON'T TOUCH THAT DIAL. THERE'S SOMETHING YOU HAVEN'T ACCOUNTED FOR. AS ANY TRUE FAN WOULD KNOW, I WAS FIRST CREATED AS A HUMAN ERADICATION ROBOT. IT WAS ONLY AFTER I BECAME A STAR THAT I WAS GIVEN A MORE...PHOTOGENIC BODY. HOWEVER, THOSE ORIGINAL FUNCTIONS HAVE NEVER BEEN FULLY REMOVED... COME ANY CLOSER AND I'LL BE FORCED TO SHOW YOU MY TRUE FORM!"
A human eradication robot? Chara thought. Why would King Dad have ordered that to be built? He had always wanted peace between Monsters and Humans.
Frisk smiled as she took another step towards the robot.
"FINE THEN!" the robot said. "RRRRREADY? IIIIIIIT'S SHOWTIME!!!"
The lights on the robot's front started to get brighter and brighter until Chara couldn't look any more. After a few seconds the light seemed to die down, and when she opened her eyes, she could not believe them.
What stood before them was a completely different looking robot. His right arm had been replaced with a cannon, his shoulders now had pauldrons attached to them. On his back were what appeared to be large wings. At his waist was his glowing power core in the shape of an upside down heart, and engraved on his chest plate was a large heart. He had black hair on the top of his head, and the right side of his face was painted black. Over his right eye was a crosshair.
Chara looked over at Frisk who was smiling as she reached over and pressed the FIGHT button. Frisk quickly jumped towards the robot, stabbing her knife directly into his power core and twisting it before ripping it out.
The robot's HP was dropped to zero in seconds before Chara's eyes.
The robot had a pained look of surprise as he said, "GH... GUESS YOU DON'T WANT TO JOIN MY FAN CLUB?" and before Chara could even blink he exploded and was no more.
After the dust settled Chara and Frisk were the only ones left in the room, the only thing that remained of the robot was a scorch mark on the floor. Chara looked over at Frisk who had opened her menu and was checking her STATS. Chara saw to her horror that Frisk's LOVE had jumped from 15 to 19.
Frisk closed her menu and walked towards the doorway at the back of the room. Chara had no choice but to follow her into a long hallway. At the end of the hallway was an elevator, that Frisk and Chara climbed into. The ride up was completely silent except for the hum of the elevator's motor. After what felt like hours they finally reached the top. Exiting the elevator they were in a short hallway. To the left of the elevator was a save point and another short hallway.
Frisk saved at the save point before making her way through the other hallway which lead out into onto a long balcony that gave a grand view of the city. Tall block towers and domed brick buildings as far as the eye could see. Some were small while others were as high up as the balcony they were standing on. Chara loved to look out over the city with Asriel and listen to the hustling and bustling of monsters going about their daily lives.
But now the only thing she could hear was Frisk's footsteps and the wind blowing past the empty buildings. They soon turned left, following the balcony leading to what Chara knew could only be her home.
The Dreemurr's house looked just as it always had, exactly like the one in the Ruin's. It even had the same leaf piles right in front of it. Chara had loved living with the Dreemurr's. She cherished every day she spent with them, especially with Asriel.
Frisk made her way inside with Chara following close behind her, eager to see the inside again. Inside it was still the same with the exception of a chain with two locks and a note blocking the stairs.
Frisk walked towards the bedrooms to the right of the entrance without reading the note. Chara was able to quickly read it before being pulled with Frisk.
The note said: Howdy! I'm in the garden. If you have anything you need to get off your chest, please don't hesitate to come. The keys are in the kitchen and the hallway.
The hallway had several vases in it and each one, to Chara's surprise, had a golden flower in it, just like the one's from her village near the base of Mt. Ebott. Frisk walked into Chara and Asriel's old room. Inside nothing had changed, Chara's bed was on the left and Asriel's bed was on the right. The only thing that was different was there were two boxes topped with a ribbon on the floor.
Frisk walked over to one and opened it. Chara could only stare at what was inside. It was her old heart-shaped locket. Toriel and Asgore had gotten her and Asriel one each on the first year anniversary of when she had fell into the Underground. Later that day Chara and Asriel had Best Friends Forever etched into them.
Frisk picked up the locket and placed it in her inventory before walking over to the other box and opening it. From inside she pulled out Chara's old gardening knife.
"About time." Frisk said under her breath before taking her toy knife and tossing it into the dusty toy box at the foot of Asriel's bed. She then turned and left their old room, making her way down towards the end of the hallway.
Halfway down the hall, Flowey suddenly popped out of the ground with a big smile on his face.
"Howdy, Chara!" he said "You finally made it home. Remember when we used to play here? Hee hee hee... Boy! Today is going to be just as fun."
Frisk walked past him and grabbed one of the keys off of an end table next to a hanging mirror. Looking into it she said, "Despite everything, it's always been you."
Chara wasn't sure who she was talking about and decided not to ask as Frisk walked past her back towards the other end of the hallway. Flowey was still sitting in the middle of the hallway smiling.
As Frisk got closer he said, "I remember when I first woke up here, in the garden. I was so scared. I couldn't feel my arms or my legs... My entire body had turned into a flower! 'Mom! Dad! Somebody help me!' I called out. But nobody came."
It was obvious that Flowey still couldn't see Chara and was talking to Frisk. But, that's not what bothered Chara, instead it was what he said about waking up in the garden and his body turning into a flower.
"Flowey, just who are you?" she said to herself as she and Frisk made their way into the living room.
Flowey suddenly popped out of the ground in the middle of the room and said, "Eventually, the King found me, crying in the garden. I explained what had happened to him. Then he held me, Chara. He held me with tears in his eyes, saying... 'There, there, everything is all right.' He was so... Emotional. But... For some reason... I didn't feel anything at all."
Chara's eyesight began to get blurry as her own tears started to fall. She felt so sorry for him despite not knowing who he really was. Chara began to feel the familiar pull of Frisk as she got further away into the kitchen. Inside on the counter was the other key, which Frisk grabbed and placed on her phone's keychain, before making her way back into the living room.
Frisk and Chara made their way back to the entrance. Frisk unlocked the chain using the two keys and descended down the stairs with Chara floating beside her. As they started down the long hallway Flowey popped out of the ground periodically to continue his story.
"I soon realized I didn't feel ANYTHING about ANYONE. My compassion had disappeared! And believe me, it's not like I wasn't trying. I wasted weeks with that stupid king, vainly hoping I would feel something. But it became too much for me. I ran away from home. Eventually I reached the RUINS. Inside I found HER, Chara. I thought of all people, SHE would make me feel whole again." Flowey paused briefly before saying in a flat voice, "She failed. Ha ha..."
Suddenly everything clicked and Chara knew exactly who Flowey really was. "Asriel?" she whispered, placing her hands over her mouth while tears rolled down her pink cheeks.
"I realized those two were useless. I became despondent. I just wanted to love someone. I just wanted to care about someone. Chara, you might not believe this... But I decided... It wasn't worth living anymore. Not in a world without love. Not in a world without you. So... I decided to follow in your footsteps. I would erase myself from existence. And you know what? I succeeded."
"Asriel, how... why did you become like this?" Chara sobbed as she and Frisk continued down the hallway.
"But as I left this mortal coil... I started to feel apprehensive. If you don't have a SOUL, what happens when you...? Something primal started to burn inside me. 'No' I thought. 'I don't want to die!'... Then I woke up. Like it was all just a bad dream. I was back at the garden. Back at my 'save point.'"
Chara knew why he hadn't died, it was because he had some how become filled with Determination, just like she had when she was still alive. Peering over at Frisk, she saw that none of this had fazed her in the slightest as she continued marching towards her goal.
"Interested, I decided to experiment." Flowey continued. "Again and again, I brought myself to the edge of death. At any point, I could have let this world continue on without me. But as long as I was determined to live... I could go back. Amazing, isn't it, Chara? I was amazed too."
By this point they were about halfway between the house and the throne room.
"At first, I used my powers for good. I became 'friends' with everyone. I solved all of their problems flawlessly. Their companionship was amusing... For a while. As time repeated, people proved themselves predictable. What would this person say if I gave them this? What would they do if I said this to them? Once you know the answer, that's it. That's all they are."
Here the hallway turned left, then right. Chara had calmed down a little as she continued to listen to Flowey's story.
"It all started because I was curious. Curious what would happen if I killed them. 'I don't like this,' I told myself. 'I'm just doing this because I HAVE to know what happens.' Ha ha ha... What an excuse!" Flowey laughed as his smiled widened. "You of all people should know how liberating it is to act this way. At least we're better than those sickos that stand around and WATCH it happen... Those pathetic people who want to see it, but are too weak to do it themselves. I bet someone like that's watching right now, aren't they...?"
Chara wasn't sure who he was talking about, but what concerned her was that he had killed everyone just like Frisk was doing right now. They had made it to another long balcony that showed more of the empty city.
"Nowadays, even that's grown tiring. You understand, Chara. I've done everything this world has to offer. I've read every book. I've burned every book. I've won every game. I've lost every game. I've appeased everyone. I've killed everyone. Sets of numbers... Lines of dialogue... I've seen them all. But you... YOU'RE different. I never could predict you, Chara."
Chara now understood, he had RESET the world and gone back to his first save point over and over and over, and each time he would do something different. Whether it was a small change like helping one person, or a huge change like killing everybody. Until eventually, after countless RESETs, he had done everything there was to do.
"When I saw you in the RUINS, I didn't recognize you. I thought I could frighten you, then steal your SOUL. I failed. And when I tried to load my save file... It didn't work. Chara... Your DETERMINATION! Somehow, it's even greater than mine!"
Chara glanced over at Frisk and wondered just how much Determination she had.
"I just have one question for you, Chara. How did you get back to the RUINS from here...? ...wait, I know. She must have taken you when she left. And decided to give you a proper burial, rather than... Hanging out in the basement forever. ...but, why then...? What made you wake up? Did you hear me calling you?"
King Dad and Mom must have kept my body in the basement in a coffin or something. Chara thought. But why did Mom move to the RUINS and take my body with her?
"It doesn't matter now." Flowey sighed. "I'm so tired of this, Chara. I'm tired of all these people. I'm tired of all these places. I'm tired of being a flower. Chara. There's just one thing left I want to do. Let's finish what we started. Let's free everyone. Then... let's let them see what humanity is REALLY like! That despite it all... This world is still 'kill or be killed!!'"
Chara glanced over at Frisk, but she just had a blank expression on her face as she continued to walk towards the throne room.
"Then...?" Flowey continued. "Well. I had... Been entertaining a few ways to use that power. Hee hee hee... But seeing you here changed my mind. Chara... I think if you're around... Just living in the surface world doesn't seem so bad. We don't even need to leave to get them this time. The king has six of them locked away. I've tried hundreds of ways to get him to show me them... But he just won't. Chara... I know he'll do it for YOU."
He must be talking about the six human SOULS Undyne mentioned. Chara thought.
"Why am I telling you all of this? Chara, I said it before. Even after all this time... You're still the only one that understands me. You won't give me any worthless pity!"
"Asriel, that's not true! We were best friends, we looked out for each other!" Chara cried in vain. "This isn't like you, you were kind and caring."
"Creatures like us... Wouldn't hesitate to KILL each other if we got in each other's way. So that's... So... That's... Why..." Suddenly Flowey's leaves start to shake as his petals drooped slightly. "... ha... Ha..." he laughed nervously. "... what's this... feeling? Why am I... Shaking? ...Hey Chara... No hard feelings about back then, right?"
Suddenly Frisk took a step towards Flowey.
"...H-hey, what are you doing!? B... back off!!" he said before popping into the ground and popping back out a few feet ahead.
Frisk walked towards him, quickly closing the distance.
"I... I've changed my mind about all this." He said while still shaking. "This isn't a good idea anymore. Y-you should go back, Chara. This place is fine the way it is! ...S-s-stop making that creepy face! This isn't funny! You've got a SICK sense of humor!"
Confused by what he was saying Chara looked over at Frisk, only to gasp and instinctively recoil. For the first time since Chara had met her, Frisk's eyes were open, but they were completely pitch black and there was a dark red, nearly black substance oozing out of her eyes and the corners of her wide grinning mouth.
Flowey popped back into the ground leaving Frisk and the invisible Chara.
"Frisk, are you okay?" Chara asked in a quiet voice.
Frisk looked at her, still smiling, but didn't say anything. After a few moments she looked forwards and finished walking to the end of the balcony. At the end there was an elevator on the left and a large doorway on the right.
Frisk and Chara entered the doorway into one end of another long hallway. This one was different, it had large stone columns on both sides, about a dozen each that reached up to the arched ceiling. The floor was made of brown and tan tiles. On the left side of the hall were stained glass windows with light streaming through them, each had a Delta Rune etched onto them, the symbol of the royal family. Just outside the doorway was a save point and a box.
And standing halfway down the hall, his hands in his jacket pockets, was the grinning skeleton, Sans.
*3 Left.*
*Determination.*