Chapter Text
It was shocking what one day of the barrier being broken did to the Underground.
Granted, Clover only really had a few areas to go off of – New Home, Hotland, the Steamworks, and the Wild East – but it was still remarkable just how quickly monsters had made their way to the Surface. It made sense, though, considering how monsters were imprisoned for millenia.
Somehow, though, as Clover made their way back to the Surface, New Home seemed even emptier. They didn’t think they were gone for that long – it was early in the morning when they had told Martlet they were going to see Ceroba and Starlo – but now they were starting to reconsider that thought. And the more they thought about how much time they had spent in the Saloon, the more they started to worry about what a certain flower was doing.
They hadn’t seen Flowey since the day before, right before they reunited with Martlet. Their own experience had told them that Flowey didn’t like showing himself around other monsters, but after they had promised to keep an eye on him, they couldn’t afford to let him be by himself for hours at a time.
They reached the elevator that connected the city with the Castle, Flowey nowhere in sight. They sighed and entered the elevator.
Maybe I’ll see him at the Castle, they thought, sitting down on the elevator floor as it hummed into action.
The elevator ride was fairly short, and before they knew it they were back on their feet and walking to the Throne Room. As they did so, they wondered how Frisk and Chara were doing. They did see Frisk by the time they finally got to the Surface, but they didn’t see where they went off to.
Maybe they met Martlet. That thought made Clover smile – if they liked Papyrus, and they most certainly did, Clover knew they’d like Martlet.
Their thoughts were interrupted when they saw a flower disappear in front of the Throne Room’s entrance. They ran up to where Flowey disappeared and looked around, trying to see if he had reappeared anywhere else in the room.
So he was here… Clover thought. Why…? What business could he possibly still have down here?
They sighed – and on a chance glance behind them, saw Flowey disappear into the ground.
There he is again! Clover thought as they turned around.
They approached the spot where they saw him, and looked down the long hallway. Flowey was in the middle of the hallway, finally facing Clover. As they got close, he waved at them with one of his vines – before promptly disappearing into the ground once more.
Is he… leadin’ me somewhere? Clover thought.
They began retracing their steps, following the rough path Flowey was leaving. Once they got to the elevator outside the Last Corridor, they looked to their left and saw Flowey in that direction. They turned and ran after him, trying to keep him in their sight.
By the time they reached the stairs leading up to Asgore’s home, they were out of breath. They hadn’t run since they had been resurrected – not when they were making their way to the Surface the day prior, nor when they were making their way to the Wild East. They took deep breaths, trying to steady the beating of their heart, before they climbed up the steps to Asgore’s home.
Flowey was waiting for them at the top. And unlike prior times, he didn’t disappear.
“Howdy!” he greeted them. “Golly, you look exhausted!”
Clover glared at him. “Very funny.” They walked past him, rounding the corner and entering the foyer proper. “Why did you lead me here?”
Flowey reappeared in front of them. “Well,” he said, winking, “I’ve got something to show you.”
Clover raised an eyebrow. “You… do?”
The thought of Flowey having a surprise for Clover, as unnerving of a prospect as it was, did genuinely intrigue them. What that surprise was, they had no idea.
“Yep!” Flowey said. He raised a vine and pointed it to Clover’s left. “It’s over here.” He then promptly disappeared again.
Clover sighed, turning to their left and making their way to the hallway.
“You’re not gonna tell me what it is?” they asked.
Flowey reappeared in front of the first door in the hallway. “Well, it wouldn’t be a surprise then, would it? Besides, you’re almost there. It’s just in here.” He disappeared into the floor again.
Clover approached the first door. Their hand hovered over the door knob, memories of when Frisk had stumbled upon this room – Chara and Asriel’s room, if their memory was right. This room was where their surprise was, and Clover was almost afraid to find out what it was. What could possibly mandate Flowey dragging them to the room that once belonged to him and Chara?
They sighed and finally grabbed the door knob. They turned it, pushed open the door, and stepped into Chara and Asriel’s room.
Clover’s eyes scanned the room. It looked largely the same as when Frisk had stumbled on it, though the two gift boxes were no longer there. Frisk had emptied them of their contents, after all.
As they continued scanning the room, trying to find their surprise, they noticed a lump in Chara’s old bed. They raised an eyebrow, yet approached very, very slowly.
Maybe a monster just wandered in here? Clover thought, even if it sounded outlandish.
That thought was promptly put to rest as they got closer and closer. Clover thought their eyes were playing tricks on them, yet as they finally reached the bed and leaned over it, they saw a human they had never seen before laying on top of it.
Their eyes widened. Of all the things they had expected to see, a human that wasn’t Frisk or Chara was not one of them.
Are they…? Clover thought. They… they haveta be, right?
They looked over the human. They didn’t seem all that older than Clover – in fact, Clover would probably say they were the same age. They wore a light blue shirt and skirt, and their hair seemed to fall just past their shoulders. Bits and pieces of their hair looked charred, as did some of their clothing.
What was most interesting, though, was their face – namely, the vines wrapped around the left half of their face. Vines that looked remarkably like Flowey’s.
“Surprised?”
Clover turned around, seeing Flowey not too far from them. They nodded.
“Good,” Flowey said. He grinned, his eyes narrowing. “You better be, because they were a pain to deal with compared to the others.”
Clover turned back to the human on the bed. It looked as if they were breathing – a miracle, given that half of their face wasn’t flesh. But they had seen weirder.
“If you’re wondering about the vines,” Flowey said, popping up next to Clover, “they're keeping them alive. Had to do something similar to the other four, but not to this extent.”
Clover turned to Flowey, stunned. “Other four? You mean the…”
“The very same,” Flowey confirmed. “Consider it my gift to you, friend.”
Clover didn’t know what to say. They had figured out over the course of their journey that the humans that fell before them were dead. To hear that they were all back, to see one of them with their own eyes – Clover couldn’t help but smile and hug Flowey. Or rather, hug his stem.
“Agh–!” Flowey yelled. “Get off of me!”
“Sorry, sorry,” Clover said, releasing their grip on Flowey’s stem and stepping back. “But… thank you. You didn’t haveta do this.” They paused, a realization hitting them. “I’m still puttin’ you in a pot, though.”
Flowey huffed. “Of course you are.”
Clover looked back at the human on the bed and noticed that they were stirring in their sleep. Not even a moment later, the human bolted upright, their right eye wide. They gripped the sheets of the bed as they turned to face Clover and Flowey.
And that’s when they saw the pure fear that the human had on their face.