At high noon, the battle of words and wit was well underway. Prince Ralsei had made his move, drawing his swords out in a display of his will.
Flowey pointed his leaf towards the floating weapons and yelled out: “What the heck is with those SWORDS! Aren’t you declaring war?!?!”
With his usual faux polite smile, Ralsei replied: “No, not at all. I’m just proving to everyone that we are not helpless. Peace cannot be maintained by being a frightened weakling. One requires strength to confront hardships.”
“I don’t get it,” Flowey responded. “You just flaunted to the whole wide world that you have the power to eliminate others. How is that not a declaration of war?”
“My oh my, aren’t we jumping into conclusions?” He pulled his many blades down from the air, and dispelled them. “These swords are not meant for killing. They exist only to defend this great nation. Our father, King Asgore, is proof that one can be peaceful without being harmless. He’s so kind that he would never hurt a fly. Yet, his strength is never disputed in the kingdom. I aspire to continue that legacy.”
“But, but, but, THAT’S the whole REASON why King Asgore is under fire to begin with! Your argument makes no sense!”
You could see the gears click together in Flowey’s petalled little head as his expression turned smug. Uh oh. That’s never a good sign.
“Oooohooho, I see now,” said Flowey. “First you play the kind and pretty prince. Then, once you win the popular vote, you’re gonna import all your Lemurian friends and take over the country--”
Mezil immediately stood up and drew out his gun. Without hesitation, he shot Flowey square in his face. The sheer force unleashed a flash of red and sent him rolling backwards on the stage.
The sound of your yelp got drowned out by the chaotic screams, gossips, and panicked pandemonium of the crowd.
You dropped your jaw. D-D-Did he just kill Flowey for spilling the beans?! For telling the whole world that Lemuria exists?!
Mezil followed up his action with a snap of his fingers. The world turned grey and slowed to a pause.
A blink of darkness transitioned you towards a garden under a starless sky. The sweet scents of digital jasmine flowers filled your lungs.
In the middle of your stunned shock, you heard a familiar voice cry out in pain.
“It huuuuuuuuurts!”
Flowey?! Is he alright?!
Rushing over, you found your flower sibling in the grass. He was indeed alright… but the leftover pains from before Mezil used his SAVE still lingered.
“Frisk… Is that you?” he asked, looking up towards you.
At first you gasped. Then, you couldn’t help but burst into an uncontrollable snorting chuckle.
“What? Why are you laughing?!”
You told him that he had a big red butterfly slapped on his face. It’s Mezil’s Mark.
“REALLY?!?!?!” He tried rubbing it off, but to no avail. “Ugh I bet I’m looking so STUPID right now!”
He soon noticed that his location had changed. “Wait… We’re not in the real world anymore. Are we?”
That’s right. We’re in Mezil’s Hub. You recognise the fragrance in the air. Odd. You thought DEMONS weren’t allowed to enter this place.
Mezil walked up to you and said: “An exception shall be made for this scenario. Fret not, I did not just execute your friend in public.”
To prove his point, he emptied the gun into the palm of his hand and showed you the ammo. They were round, white pellets of plastic: the exact type he had used on you in your Trial of the Crimson Hall.
Aha! So he shot Flowey in the face with a BB pellet to Mark him before rewinding time.
Squinting, you questioned the need to make such a scene when he’s going to erase everything anyway.
“That so-called ‘scene’ was not for the public. Instead, it’s for you. And for Flowey. I’ll make it crystal clear to the both of you right now: under no circumstances can either of you expose the existence of the monster survivors.”
One question! What if the fake fluffy Prince throws his own country under the bus and announces it himself?
Mezil replied, “Then, I would immediately use the Keys of Fate to undo his actions as well. I won’t spare anyone. Not even the Prince of Lemuria.”
…The severity in the air sent chilling goosebumps across your skin. You knew he meant business. The fact that monsters survived after The Sealing is one of the Magi’s biggest secrets. There’s no way it could be revealed willy-nilly.
“I’m glad you understand. As for the flower…” The Judge’s stern glare switched towards your older sibling. “What do you have to say for yourself?”
“I… Uh…” Flowey poked his leaves together, nervous. “I’m sorry?…”
“Strike one. You only have two more chances.”
“WHAT?!” Flowey exclaimed. “You can’t do that! I didn’t agree to any dumb three-strike game or whatever!”
“Without the Keys of Fate, you only ever had one chance to do things right. If you think that politics is all fun and games, then I’ve severely overestimated your capabilities.”
He thumped his cane on the ground, his heavy aura pressing down on you and your flower sibling. “Listen here and listen well. Your opponent, Prince Ralsei, is Merged with a former Red. That means the Twin Princes will remember every single thing that you have done. By this spectacular blunder, they now know that you hold intentions to expose Lemuria to the wider world.”
“In addition,” he continued, “We still have an Amalgamate Seer at large. Every rewind feeds him with more information, which increases his chances of victory. Hence, I must put a hard limit on the number of times we use the Keys of Fate.”
Wait… the Handler remembers because he’s like Doctor Gaster, right? If that’s the case, then wouldn’t the Ebott Town Amalgamates also know that Mezil had just shot Flowey for saying something out of line? They would think that he’s some evil tyrannical dictator manipulating the event!
“Hm? I commend you for realising the possibility. However, that’s only if Ebott’s Amalgamates are able to maintain enough conscious awareness to keep track of time travel. They had failed to notice your adventures thus far, so I don’t imagine them being able to remember my actions either. It’s a saving grace, to be honest.”
Oh. That’s right. You’re the one who got spooked this time for the possible fallout. You breathed a huge sigh of relief.
“Besides,” he said, “If they do recall my actions, and know what shouldn’t be known, it’s better for them to fear me. I’ve earned my reputation as ‘The Vampire’ for a reason, after all.”
You had to agree with him over the Lemuria issue. But! You still stood up for Flowey, pointing out that Mezil was being a teensy-weensy bit unfair for not giving him a warning about secrecy in advance. Flowey is not a Magus who’s in the loop.
“…Your objections are not unfounded.” he surprisingly replied.
Then, give your sibling a fresh slate to start over.
“Very well. I will forgive this one infraction. However, no further leniency shall be granted after this.”
Noted. C’mon Flowey, you know he can do this! He’s the REAL Prince Asriel, former God of Hyperdeath!
Still unsatisfied, Flowey ran up to the Tsun and complained: “Are you going to LET that usurper play the idiot population like a fiddle?!?! He’s going to just conquer us from within at this rate!”
“Then your job is to show the world that he is not the only candidate with a good head on his shoulders.”
Mezil reached towards Flowey and removed the big red butterfly on the flower’s face. To replace it, he cast a much smaller and discrete version in between his petals and sepals.
He said: “As long as you don’t show your back, no one should notice. Now try again.”
One snap of his fingers later, and you’re back in the real world.
You observed Ralsei. From the way he kept to his polite yet smug smile, you could tell that he remembered everything that had transpired.
“Excuse me,” Ralsei said, “You just mentioned my argument makes no sense? Shall we instead discuss yours then? For you, your strength is getting the right people for the right job. Do you know which positions need filling?”
Mezil’s SAVE was right after Flowey’s exclamation, and before he spilled the beans. You have to admit, this ‘autosave’ feature could be quite useful.
“Uh…” Flowey replied, “We need someone to defend the town, someone to handle the money, and someone to build houses…?”
“In other words, a Ministry of Defense, a Ministry of Finance, and a Ministry of Development. Fair enough. But a nation requires more than just those three to run properly. Food security, for example. I would want this nation to have some farmland under its name. On The Surface, there’s more to agriculture than planting seeds in the dirt. We’re going to need fertilisers, pesticides, fungicides, and more. Securing land from the humans is another tricky question, and you would require a Ministry of Foreign Affairs to negotiate. After that, you’ll need another department to transport and distribute the raw resources, which would fall under the Ministry of Transportation.”
“Throughout this process, your proposed ministries of Defense, Finance, and Development will need to continuously correspond with the latest updates. We’ve not even begun their subsections of management, such as recruitment. A lonesome flower prince like yourself won’t be able to handle any of that.”
Flowey started wilting as the debate went on, unable to answer any of Ralsei’s assessments. There was no contest. In a battle of words, the fake prince verbally punted, trampled, and rotated your flower sibling in every possible way. Flowey may know the people, but he knew absolutely nothing about how to run a country.
The majority vote went to Ralsei, with only a selection of Dad’s loyalists keeping him in the race. Meanwhile, Flowey had but one vote under his name.
Huh? Flowey’s numbers suddenly started to rise. There’s no way he managed to convince anyone in that last debate.
You then spotted a vine curling up the leg of Mom’s chair, reaching into her pocket to steal her phone. She was none the wiser that it happened.
Was that Chara…? You caught a glimpse of their rosy-cheeked self moving in the shadows. A cold sweat rolled down the side of your head, internally screaming at this idiotic scheme.
It didn’t take long for the Tsunderjudge to notice the cheating as well. You knew that nothing -- absolutely nothing -- could escape from that vigilant glare of steel.
Mezil shot Flowey in the face again. Game Over.
Snap. You and Flowey were dumped back in the garden.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
You channelled your inner Papyrus to yell: ‘Floweeeeeeeeyyyyy!!!!’
Frustrated, he yelled back at you. “What?! Don’t you Living Victories cheat all the time? Chara and I had a great plan going! And if the old doodoobutt didn’t break my cover, I would have gotten away with it too!”
With maximum tsun levels and crossed arms, Mezil started roasting the flower. “Did you forget that the citizens could check their votes and switch back to their preferred candidate at any given time? Meanwhile, you have compromised your standing through an unforgivable scandal. Those self-sabotaging attempts were the epitome of pointlessness.”
“But…! But…! How am I gonna win???”
“Do better. That’s how.”
“That doesn’t tell me ANYTHING!”
“Hmph.” Mezil huffed. “If you’re unable to handle the heat by yourself, you shouldn’t have offered to join this election to begin with.”
An idea then hatched in your Frisk-brand brain.
Isn’t Ralsei teaming up with his sibling Kris? That’s a 2-v-1! No wonder the real Asriel is losing: he’s been outnumbered!
You offered to mentally tag-team with Flowey to even the odds. There must be a way to connect minds with magic, right? You had a connection with Chara before, that’s why you could see glimpses of their past.
“…There is a method that involves two Marks. I’ll help you set it up.”
With Mezil’s guidance, you linked your own brand of Mark with the one at the back of Flowey’s head. Then, you cast another behind your ear. By hiding it underneath your hair, you were able to set up a secret two-way communicator.
Flowey focused his thoughts and transmitted: “Frisk, can you hear me?”
With a thumbs up, you confirmed that it works! Perfect, time to start Round Two.
Mezil said, “If you believe that you have a shot, you can go right ahead. Though… failure would land you a second strike.”
Okay. You’re Determined to show the fake prince and his human that the Dreemurrs were not to be trifled with!
Tried, you did.
Defeated, you were.
Despite your efforts, strike two happened at record times. The result was so embarrassing that you would rather not remember it.
You and Flowey lay down in the grass, sulking together.
Mezil leaned over your head, commenting: “I sensed that you wouldn’t listen to me until your resistance was soundly crushed. Again I remind you that screaming ‘Lemuria’ over and over is not going to solve anything.”
Both of you rolled over to your sides, covering your ears.
Nonetheless, he carried on with his lecture. “Frisk, Flowey… Politics is the realm of snakes and wolves. It’s not for the unprepared, and especially not for children. That’s also why I made sure Frisk didn’t meet with the Assistant Commissioner yet.”
Wasn’t that the fair-haired neatly dressed cop who tried to grill Mezil over a conspiracy? He was quite the detective, but he didn’t strike you as particularly dangerous.
“That just means you don’t know what he’s capable of. Nonetheless, we should focus back on Flowey’s current predicament. Attempting to overpower Prince Ralsei in his own field is an exercise in futility. He didn’t spend decades honing his craft for nothing.”
Flowey grumbled: “O’ Great Tsun of Tsunderjudge, pray tell, what should I do?”
“Do better. Focus on your strengths. You don’t need to curbstomp Ralsei. You just make sure he doesn’t get your nation on a silver platter.”
You asked Mezil what would happen if Flowey fails for the third time?
“I would let him lose the election fair and square.”
“…I knew it…” Flowey started to sob. “Everyone is useless. I’m useless too! The moment I lost my SOUL for the second time, I knew that I reverted back to being an IDIOT!”
“Quit using that excuse. Do. Better.”
“SHUT UP!” Flowey snapped back. “SHUT UP, SHUT UP, SHUT UP! YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT IT’S LIKE TO BE ME!”
After that, Flowey broke down crying.
Angered by Tsunderjudge’s excessive hardassery, you went up against him in full force.
Why does he need to be so harsh towards Flowey??? Why does he keep trying to treat him like a grownup??? Flowey is not a saint like Papyrus, or smart like Sans and Alphys, or gusto like Undyne, or experienced in politics like Mom and Dad, or charismatic like Mettaton, or Determined like you. He doesn’t even have a SOUL to mature from!!!
Instead of forcing him to do the impossible, why not think of something else???
The air in the Hub’s garden hung thick over your head.
“Answer me this,” replied Mezil. “What happens when you don’t use your muscles?”
They… waste away and become weak?
“Exactly. If Flowey doesn’t use what he has, he will lose what little development he made along the way. It’s Do or Die.”
After the old man had dispensed this nugget of wisdom, he left the both of you alone to ponder over your last chance.
………………
Flowey, you know that there are a lot of things he can’t do. That’s why you’re here to help. But, at the very end, there are things that only the real Asriel can accomplish.
“What should we do, Frisk?” Flowey whimpered.
You… don’t know yet. You wish Papyrus was here. He would give a brilliant suggestion right about now.
What would he say? ‘I believe in you’ would definitely be part of the pep talk.
“Papyrus? Well… this time I can’t use him to round everyone up like back in the Underground. Think, Flowey, think! There has to be some way I could use Papyrus. Aha! I figured it out! We’ll borrow Papyrus’ teleportation pad, slide it under the fake prince, tweak the coordinates, and send him far away! Meanwhile, I’ll use the time to gather everyone’s SOULs, including The Six, to become Hyperdeath again!”
No, no, no. Becoming Hyperdeath is out of the question! He wants to get shot again?!
“Hey, hey, how about this?” Flowey scooted over you, wiggling his eyebrows. “What if we teleport the annoying old Magus first? Y’know, the killjoy? Then we can go all out.”
That’s a BIGGER no! None of that could stop Mezil from using his SAVES!
“Aw c’mon. Once I become a Seven SOUL God, I’ll become unstoppable! I-it’s not like I’m gonna hurt him either. A bit of immobilisation is enough.”
Flowey. Your big sister Cenna is there. She’s a JUDGE VANQUISHER! Wielder of the WANDERSTAR! You already imagine her tag-teaming with Mezil to pop Hyperdeath like a balloon. After that, the tsun would definitely get his SAVES back, undo the whole shebang, and kick Flowey’s butt in The Hub!
“Okay, okay, suppose you’re right. You’re the Ambassador after all. So. Any bright ideas?”
Bright ideas…. Bright ideas… You rolled on the grass in circles trying to think up one of these ‘bright ideas’.
What does Flowey have that Ralsei doesn’t? More importantly, what would be the usurper’s biggest weakness?
Ugh. If only he didn’t somehow copy and install Asriel’s memories into his brain!
Hold on. They were installed, not experienced. He never lived through them. Eureka! A proverbial light bulb lit up. His acts were so convincing, you too got caught up in his stupid lie!
Flowey. No matter what Ralsei claims, he’s LYING about his identity! He can only spit out historical facts and not feelings! Meanwhile, Flowey knew what it was really like to live his OWN past.
“W-what are you getting at?”
Flowey needs to tell the whole world the truth, from his perspective! That’s the only way we’re going to trap Ralsei in his own wiles. We need to channel all of Flowey’s flowery chessmastery brainpower to remind himself about the one thing that’s personal to him and only him!
“Stop beating around the bush and tell me already--”
You saw his face change when the truth finally clicked in his little petalled head. He was somewhat terrified about the proposal, and rightfully so. “A-a-a-are you sure about this, Frisk?”
10,000,000,000% Yes.
“I mean… well… you have a point… uh… I… I guess… It’s Do or Die, right? Like what the annoying old Magus said.”
Yep. Do or Die. You promise to use your DT aura to protect him from the Red Prince.
Alright! It’s time to let the ‘annoying old Magus’ know that you were both ready.
Round 3 began in earnest. For once, Flowey didn’t immediately spout any rhetoric. His calmness attracted the fake Chara’s attention more than ever before. You could feel their ominous baleful glare from your seat.
You encouraged Flowey by shielding him with your Aura of Determination, whispering into his mind that everything will be okay.
“Thanks, Frisk.”
“Hey other me,” said Flowey, “Do you remember… the time when Chara died? And we took their body to their village?”
Ralsei nodded. “Yes, I do.”
“Do you remember how we got killed?”
“The citizens recounted that we were overwhelmed, but you and I know the truth: In my inexperience, I -- Prince Asriel -- held Chara back from using their full power.”
The people in the crowd were astonished by that news. They chatter between themselves with great concern.
“Prince Asriel held Chara back?”
“From doing what? I don’t understand.”
“Didn’t the humans attack first? They had to defend themselves, right?”
“Ah,” said Ralsei, “It appears that the truth was never revealed. You see, a Merger is a partnership: the control of one body split into two. Chara and I ended up imbalanced because we failed to come to a proper agreement beforehand. The problem has long been resolved in our adult life, though. Since then, we’ve lived with the mantra of ‘don’t kill, and don’t be killed’.”
Dammit!!! He has those memories too?!?! That sly goat snagged even this opportunity to make himself look better…
Flowey started to shrink, lost. “W-what should we do? Should we give up? Try something else?”
…Not yet. It’s still too early to throw in the towel. There had to be a flaw in Ralsei’s narrative somewhere. Your team just needs to poke deeper. Play along for now, Flowey. The smartypants always trip up when they’re at their most confident.
“Heh heh, a first hand lesson from the Trashbag huh?”
You’re glad that Flowey grounded his roots again, figuratively speaking.
The Red DEMON within Ralsei noticed your meddling. A faint human shadow emerged, hovering behind the fluff.
An aura of dark Determination struck you, trying to break your spirit. Although it lacked your tremendous strength, it felt as sharp as a knife. No… a sword. It had the focused, pointed finesse of a fencer.
The hit sent a feedback of complicated emotions into you.
…The fear of defeat.
…The burden of ideals.
…The ire against their foes.
…The genuine fondness towards their brother.
…And the will for victory tying it all together.
Kris had stakes in this election… just like you. Yet, you’re DETERMINED to help your family!
You raised your guard, reinforcing the DT near your SOUL by mixing it with Green and Blue.
Their next strike deflected off the surface with a mental ping. All that training with Undyne paid off.
“Frisk?! I heard something hit you! Are you alright?!?”
You transmitted to Flowey that you’re locked in a duel against Kris. Keep pressing Ralsei, Flowey. Everyone is starting to get anxious about his silence.
“O-okay. Right.”
After a bit of hesitation, Flowey resumed talking. “…That’s true. Merging with a human doesn’t make you the sole owner of your transcended self. The human SOUL will be at the steering wheel too.”
And the people started to chatter between each other again. This time, their murmurs were too muddled to understand.
Flowey asked: “So, Ralsei… Tell me. Does that mean you think we made the wrong decision?”
Ralsei took a moment to think about his answer. “Looking back from the perspective of an adult, I have come to the realisation that there were many things I could have done better. For example: fleeing the scene before it got out of hand. I trained myself to be more level-headed so that such tragedies will never repeat.”
The flower blinked a few times and shook his head. “I’m not talking about the long winded tactical stuff. I mean, did you regret what you had done?”
“I didn’t regret what I had done. Rather, I regretted what I didn’t do. Our demise had caused much despair and sadness among our people. It skewed our father’s judgement, making him declare a war he didn’t want to fight. It shattered our family, where even the undying bond between husband and wife was broken. And for what? All because we children were so frozen in fear that we let ourselves be killed.”
W-what did the usurper just say?
Flowey looked at Ralsei funny. “…‘We’? Who is this ‘we’? You mean me and Chara both?”
“Hm?” Ralsei seemed puzzled. “Was that not the case? We had all the power in the world, yet we were too afraid to use it to defend ourselves.”
You gasped. That’s it! That’s the moment you’ve been waiting for!
In response to your reaction, Kris’ willpower tried to strike at your SOUL again. They’re distracting you from helping Flowey. Darn it!
“I see the opening, Frisk. I’m gonna do it. I’m gonna do better!”
In your mind, you yelled in encouragement: ‘GO, FLOWEY! GO! IT’S DO OR DIE!!!’
And do, he did. “That’s where you’re wrong!!!” Flowey pointed out. “Chara was never afraid. Why would they be? It was the most exciting moment of their life. They finally got to destroy the humans they hated so much.”
Ralsei widened his eyes. That’s the face of a goat who knew, deep down, that he had messed up.
“E-excuse me,” said Ralsei. “I knew Chara hated humanity. Their humanity. Was it really the human species? Was it not because they resented their existence of flesh and blood? Their volatile yet fragile heart? That was why they climbed the mountain where children never return: to seek solace from their troubled existence.”
Flowey countered: “Maybe they had turned that hatred inwards at one point. But, on the day I took Chara’s body to their village, they were DEFINITELY trying to murder the people there. Did you think I died because I was scared of some puny humans?! No! I was scared of what WE could do to THEM! I was the one who STOPPED Chara from using our combined powers to KILL!”
He wiped a tear away with his leaf. Was that… emotion? You thought since he doesn’t have a SOUL, he shouldn’t be able to grieve over that day.
“You would have forgotten, wouldn’t you?” He said, “The terror of being a god: to have the world as a cardboard cutout, where you could destroy it in one accidental sneeze. That fear was bigger than anything those humans could do to us. I… I… I just didn’t want Chara to become a murderer.”
Ralsei asked: “Even if that means a fate worse than death? To become a soulless flower for the remainder of your life?”
“Yes! B-because we’re Best Friends, Forever! Nobody wants to see their BFF go down the dark dusty path. That’s why I don’t regret my decision a single bit. Even if I could turn back time, I would do it all over again!”
More tears flowed from Flowey’s eyes. He kept wiping them off with his leaves in the middle of his sobbing. All the while, he tried his hardest to maintain a strong front.
It was then that your flowery friend started to glow. He shone brighter and brighter and brighter. Then, when he seemed ready to burst, thousands upon thousands of little white Friendliness Pellets were scattered into the sky.
You and the whole nation gawked in stunned awe, bedazzled by the aerial spectacle.
Then… they started to descend, ever so slowly, like snow on Christmas Day.
You reached out to catch one. It doesn’t hurt. It was not inflicting any harm. Instead, it felt… Soft. Fuzzy. Kind. True friendliness condensed into a pellet.
…Tears streamed down your cheeks. Yes. This is the Prince Asriel you knew: the same one you met yesteryear, next to the flowerbed, after he set The Underground free.
Looking around, you noticed Chara watching the event from within the foliage of a nearby bush, catching their share of the friendliness with their vines. They looked conflicted from guilt.
Mom started to weep as she let the magic resonate with her heart. “My son… My dear son… I am so sorry…”
All the while, a distraught Kris had been trying to cut away at the Friendliness Pellets. But no matter how hard they tried, there were simply too many. More and more of Flowey’s unrestrained emotions rained upon the populace.
Slowly but surely, the opinion of Ebott Town began to shift.
“This is all so tragic.”
“He has the guts to do the right thing.”
“Nothing touches the heart more than a tale of friendship.”
“He is the Prince Asriel I want to follow!”
Even Ralsei caught a fuzzy pellet in the palm of his hand and clasped it close to his chest. With a gentle voice and a warm smile, he said: “Chara– No, Kris, it’s fine. Everything’s fine. Let it be.”
Their brother’s approval was enough to make Kris relent. They stopped trying to fight and retreated instead, letting their dark aura dissipate into nothingness.
Flowey himself seemed super confused by what was happening around him. Yet, he focused on making the best out of the circumstances. “A-anyways… Um. If I become King, I will make sure none of my people become murderers under my orders. Is that… good enough?…”
For the people of Ebott Town, that was indeed good enough. And so, the votes for ‘Prince Asriel Flowey’ overtook ‘Prince Asriel Ralsei’.