Underearth/Book 4/Chapter 18

A</span

**Want to read this elsewhere?**

The lurch of the elevator car came to a head as it crashed on the front lawn of Asgore's home.

"Alright," the Human said. "we're safe. At least for now."

"We're safe!?" Mettablook screeched. "But what about Alphys? All the other Monsters down there? What about them?"

The Human gave the ghost a reprehensive look. Letting out a heavy sigh, the Human placed the empty robotic form he carried on the ground and approached the ghost.

"I'm sorry, Metta, but... they're likely all dead..." he said softly. "There was nothing we could've done."

"Nothing we could have done!?" Mettablook said, appalled. "We could have stayed behind to fight, or at least have gotten others to join us!"

The Human dropped a SOUL jar onto the ground, the loud noise it made causing Mettablook to jump.

"That monstrous demon" the Human started, "would have slaughtered us too if we hadn't left. Besides, without your upgraded body, you wouldn't have been much help."

"Why'd you have to... 'upgrade' it anyway?"

"Like I said, Alphys built your body as a showcase piece. Despite being a talented engineer, she was only working with salvaged garbage. The fact that those neon signs strapped to your back even glowed was a miracle unto itself. You wouldn't have been able to actually fly, let alone glide, and the arm cannon she equipped you with was just for show. To put it simply, your 'NEO' form was a joke. A trifle. At least now, with this laser cannon," the Human slapped the arm cannon that was attached to the machine. "you'll actually have a ghost of a chance—pun not intended."

Mettablook looked bleakly at her body. "Does it have to look so... hideous?"

The Human, who had picked the robot body and the SOUL jar back up, looked at Mettablook. "Sorry I couldn't make it look elegant, Metta. I was too busy thinking about a way to get that Human to stop. Based on everything that happened in the lab, they've been working on growing LOV exponentially. Right now, I'm beginning to wonder if I can even stop them..."

The Human stepped from the elevator onto the front plaza of Asgore's home, reluctantly followed by Mettablook, and began walking to the elevator that led down to Helios Station. "This Human has managed to, at the very least, kill the head of the Unitary Republic of Home, the fallen Queen, our illustrious Judge... two old war heroes, one of whom had absorbed the Human SOUL I gave him; the head of the Royal Guard, who'd also absorbed the Human SOUL given to them; and now everybody that had evacuated to the laboratory, which was all the remaining Monsters in the Outskirts." Once finished, he let out another heavy sigh as they'd both arrived at the elevator.

"Here." the Human said, placing the body on the ground. He then pulled out one of the SOUL jars, the one carrying an orange SOUL within it, and placed it in an open gap between the torso and the legs of the body. "This SOUL will boost the power of your body. Should give you more than enough to power the laser cannon." He looked up at Mettablook, who was hovering nearby, a terrified look hidden behind her attempts to remain calm and composed.

"You're not coming with?" she mumbled, still looking at the hideous body of the robot.

"No. I still have two of the SOULs. If nothing else, I need to get them back to Asgore so he also stands a chance of surviving if the Human makes it that far."

"Past me..."

The Human gave another reprehensive look to Mettablook. "Sorry I'm too frank, Metta. This Human is... horrifying, to say the least. If I'm being honesty, I don't actually know if... er, nevermind."

"If I can kill them!?" Mettablook shouted, her body quivering.

"No... I actually have no doubt you could kill them."

"Then what are you so afraid of?"

The Human remained silent. After a few seconds, he spoke up once again. "I'm sorry I'm not the most cheerful person, Metta. I wish I had better news. But the fact of the matter is that it is entirely possible none of us are going to survive this. That Human is extremely determined, and I can't think of anything that could sway them. Despite this, I'm gonna put my life on the line just to *try*."

When he finished speaking, the Human stood up and began walking back to Asgore's house. "I ask that you try and fight them, Metta. For Blooky." he said before stepping around the corner.

Walking along the path, the Human looked out over the countless buildings below. *How many people are counting on me, and don't even know I exist?* he thought.

"Hey, scumbag!" an instantly recognized voice shouted ahead of him. Upon hearing it, the Human immediately summoned a sword a pointed it at the source; a small, golden flower.

"What the hell do you want, Flowey?" the Human said, "Haven't you caused enough trouble already?"

"WAIT!" Flowey screeched. "I'm not here to fight, I just wanna talk!"

The Human stood aghast. "You? Talk? Civilly? What game are you playing at *this* time?"

"Please, I'm telling the truth. I... I made a huge mistake, I'm sorry. I wanna help."

"Cut the act, Flowey. I already know you can't feel remorse."

"That's not true! I really, truly am sorry."

"Wow, that's exceptionally good. How many times did you repeat that line to Papyrus? Fifty times? A hundred?"

"PLEASE! I JUST WANT TO HELP!!!" Flowey screamed.

The Human stood silent, eyeing every inch of Flowey, who was hyperventilating.

"Fine. I'll listen. Though be sure of this one thing, Flowey. It's not because I trust you. I don't. It's because I know you're too scared to actually try to do anything to me; especially now that you no longer have your time bullcrap."

"Thank you..." Flowey said.

"So, you said you want to help? What do you want to help with." the Human said, dispelling the sword and continuing down the path.

"I... I wanna help you stop the Human."

The Human stopped and looked back at Flowey. After a few seconds, he began wheezing with laughter, a few low howls here and there. After about a minute had passed, the Human regained most of his composure and looked back at Flowey, who'd kept a straight face through his bout of laughter. Seeing the seriousness in his face, the Human's smile dropped.

"You're serious!?" he said.

"Yes, I'm serious!"

"Tell me something, Flowey. In all your eidocidal sprees, how many times did you kill Sans?"

"What? What does that have to do with—"

"How many times did you kill Sans?" the Human repeated.

Flowey looked off to the side.

"You never managed to kill him, is the answer, Flowey. This Human has managed to kill him *five times.*"

Flowey shuddered at this number.

"And now you, the cowardly Flowey, wants to help stop a more terrifying version of himself. Outstanding move." the Human slowly clapped as he said that last bit. Once finished, he turned back around and continued to Asgore's house.

"I could be of greater help if you gave me a Human SOUL!" Flowey said, popping out of the ground further ahead.

"You've got a snowball's chance in Hell at getting one of these SOULs, Flowey. The only reason I agreed to hear you out, remember, is because I know that I could easily kill you if you tried anything. Powering you up doesn't give me that safety guarantee."

"How am I supposed to kill them then, huh?"

"Use your imagination. You slaughtered thousands without the assistance of a Human SOUL. I'm sure you can come up with a creative solution to this problem, too."

The Human stepped into Asgore's home before turning back to look at Flowey. "Remember, Flowey," he said. "In this world—." the Human then vaulted the stair rail and disappeared over the horizon.

"—it's kill or be killed..." Flowey muttered, turning to face the entrance to the plaza.

The long elevator ride up to Elysium finally came to an end as the elevator doors mercifully slid open and Frisk stumbled out. Following the path, Frisk quickly arrived in the front plaza of Asgore's home, the reactor elevator sitting out on the front lawn.

"Howdy!" a familiar voice called out to him.

Frisk turned to face the source of the voice.

"Hey, Flowey." Frisk said. "Been a while, hasn't it? Of course, you probably wouldn't remember any of the *fun times* we've had."

"Sarcasm isn't a good trait to have, Human." Flowey retorted. "I remember just enough to know something is deeply wrong when Home sets off its emergency war signal. You've caused quite the stir. And since you know so much about me, you should know that I, too, was a horribly murderous villain." the childish innocence indicative of Flowey's common voice deeply contrasted with its content.

"What are you gonna do, fight me?" Frisk asked.

"Well, now that you mention it..." a hundred orbs formed above and around Flowey as he finished speaking, all of which shot right at Frisk, who summoned a shield around himself just as quickly.

"Wow! LOV sure has a tight hold on you. Tell me, how does it feel? I can't exactly know, since I don't have a SOUL for it to grow on. Give me *all* the juicy details."

Frisk ignited the shield surrounding him and shot it outward with great force. He then blasted the entire courtyard in fire, setting fire to everything in sight. When he stopped launching fire everywhere, he looked around. Within the charred remains of everything, he spotted what he was looking for. His eyes now glowing blue, Frisk dragged Flowey out of the ground with gravity magic, snapping his charred stem. When Flowey's face was in front of Frisk's, he answered his question.

"You want to know what it's like to have LOV growing inside you?" Frisk asked. "It's the most horrid feeling I have ever felt in my life. Lucky for me, I no longer have LOV. That honor has gone to Chara."

Flowey's eyes widened upon hearing this. Before he could respond in any way, however, Frisk finished what he started and incinerated the flower to ashes.

No longer distracted by the brief interruption that was Flowey, Frisk continued down the path, further in towards the Barrier.