The three of us stood before a two-way staircase. Flowey and Chara seemed to hold some sort of grudge against it.
"Guys, are you okay?" That was when the smell of freshly baked cinnamon butterscotch pie hit my nose. So this was the place they stole from.
"She's home." Flowey stated, his tone emotionless and devoid of his usual snark and sarcasm. Chara nodded.
"We should be careful. She... is powerful."
I gulped. Whatever could make Chara, much less Flowey, this scared, I should definitely worry about.
"Let's wait here until she leaves." Chara suggested.
"Wouldn't that take forever?" Flowey groaned.
"You wanna go in?" Flowey stayed silent after that. "I thought so. Now let's keep quiet. I heard goats have good hearing."
Crunching in the crisp, autumn leaves... fills me with determination.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It has been a few hours, now. Me and Flowey sat behind some bushes, while Chara kept watch inside of them. We were silent, and the dreary mood made the air heavy. I yawned, wanting to stretch but afraid that it might blow our cover.
"Chara has been there for a while. Maybe we should switch shifts..." Flowey whispered. Following him, we searched in the prickly bushes for Chara.
"Chara!" I hissed.
But nobody came.
"Chara?"
"Looking for someone?" A raspy voice called out above me. Flowey and I froze like statues.
Looking up slowly, I saw a terrifying sight. Towering above our crouched figures, was a goat monster in a tattered black dress, ripped and stained with dirt, a dried patch of snail slime, and what appeared to be flour. Her face was cruel, and her eyes were frighteningly lifeless, but what was the most horrifying was what she carried on her shoulder.
Chara.
Bruised and bleeding and covered with black burns, she was swung upside down on the monster's shoulder. Barely breathing, she somehow managed to choke out "Run..."
"You little fools. You think any intruders would pass into the ruins without my knowing? This tiny Froggit saw you murder it's parent, and the poor thing came to me, once again proving that HUMANS ARE WORTHLESS SCUM." The air felt a few decrees hotter. Glancing at Flowey, she growled. "You are no son to me. I hope you rot in Hell... And I'm gonna send you all there soon enough!" Throwing Chara to the ground, a scorching pulse resonated from her, and my soul appeared in front of my chest.
"WHO IS THIS LADY?" I screamed frantically, trying to push my soul back into my chest, but with no avail.
Flowey, with a faded red heart in front of his stem, replied hopelessly. "She is my mom, Toriel, and get ready for a few resets." Disregarding the fact that a flower had just said that a goat monster was his mother, I grew shocked.
"That happens that often?" I felt faint. Was I going to die? Are their memories gonna disappear? Flowey nodded. "But you don't have to worry about us. I'll hold her off for a bit, and get to those leaves! Hurry!" Right as he said that, a wall of flame erupted in between him and me, blocking my view of him. I didn't know if he was alright, but I was already dashing towards the colourful leaves.
Focused on her son, Toriel screamed insults and profanities at her son, disowning him in every single hurtful way possible. With petals burnt and fringed, every word that came from Toriel's mouth made Flowey wince. Tears were dripping down his face as his mother threw fireball after fireball at him. He seems to be pretty strong, but I knew I didn't have much time left. Running in the fallen leaves filled me with the same warmth I felt when we saw the cheese. I felt my soul fill with bright light, then fade again.
Flowey was almost beaten to the ground when I reached the two. The other was holding one fireball in her clawed hand, just about to throw it, when...
My back burned like agony when I felt the fireball pass through my soul and scorch my back as I blocked its path. Screaming in pain, I felt my phone vibrating like crazy, and then the world faded into darkness.
I couldn't feel anything. I couldn't see anything. I couldn't stand. I was floating in blank space, just existing.
I sensed two others join me, and we didn't communicate with words, but we sensed each other's thoughts.
"Frisk. It's me, Chara."
"And Flowey."
Kind of freaked out by the unusual turn of events, I panicked.
"What's happening? Why can't I see? Or feel? Or hear? Or-"
"Sh! This is the Game Over Screen, as we like to call it. It's where souls with determination go when they die. Here, you get the choice to continue from your last save point, or reset the world." Chara explained.
"But wait...why are you here?" I asked.
"It's a long story, but let's just say we have some determination ourselves, too,"
"So...how do I continue?"
"Simple. Just will it."
"What do you mean, 'wi-" I was cut short when the world appeared again. I was back in the leaves, and looking behind me, I saw Flowey glance at me for a second before winking and dodging a wall of fire I remembered he hit last time. He dodged more attacks more easily, now, but he still needed help, fast.
Running to Toriel, I screamed and waved, calling out her name.
She turned, distracted momentarily, and her son seized it to pelt her with row after row of friendliness pellets.
A green bar appeared below Toriel, and as Flowey threw volleys of pellets at her, the bar grew shorter, and shorter, and-
*CLACK*
Toriel fell onto one knee, gasping for breath.
"Asgore... I failed you..." Her body crumbled to dust, a flickering white heart left in its wake. I couldn't help covering my eyes as the heart shattered to pieces, and fell in fractals all around us.
Flowey glanced at his dead mother's remains with contempt. "Let's go." We went into the house, leaving the burnt, charred yard behind.