Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Ink stared blankly at an AU that had appeared to him just moments before. Usually, he was excited, and would throw himself into that universe because it was new, and new often meant exciting. He looked a little closer, inspecting the title more clearly, because surely he can't have read the data right. It didn't change, no matter the distance he viewed it from. The same line of code, paired with the title. With a heavy sigh, he cranes his skull back; hanging above him are the thousands of papers that make up the doodlesphere, suspended by string that stretches up and out of sight. Silently, he wonders if the creators are looking down at him with pitying gazes. He turns his attention the the AU once again, letting it float from his hands and up into the doodlesphere. He'd... leave that AU alone, for now. Until the 'canon' timeline drew to a close, and it was safe for him to enter.

----

Ash Graves has always been the adventurous sort, often disregarding his own safety as a result. "The mission comes first." he would say, loud and firm so people knew he was serious, "If I lived everything safe, I would be extremely boring!" One such 'mission' led him here, to Mt. Ebott. More specifically, under it. Ash had climbed the mountain with a bright smile, pushing through the exhaustion because the summit was so close, and if he could just get there-- his foot caught on a vine he hadn't seen, and he fell forward. He was horrified to discover there was a gaping hole in the ground, which he'd just fallen into. His screams of terror were cut short as a dull thud signalled he'd hit the bottom.

The underground was dangerous. It was a place where the weak die, and the strong get stronger. To protect themselves, two skeleton brothers put on a facade of mutual hatred to ensure they would never be used against each other. Papyrus was tall, dark and scary. He was a 'skeleton of standards' and was the most respect and feared out of the two. Sans was weak, short and laid back; the polar opposite of Papyrus. He cracked jokes, and his puns ranged from 'alright' to 'terrible'. The only good thing about the underground was how fast news spread; especially if there was a human about. It had been quite some time since the previous one, and now with only one soul left needed to break the barrier, monsters were becoming more bloodthirsty by the day.

Neither skeleton could prepare for the absolute bombshell that came to them in the form of Ash Graves.

Waking up was a bitch.

Everything hurt, and it was a miracle the fall hadn't killed him. His eyes hurt the most. It felt terrible trying to pry them open, because even in such dim lighting as this cave, it burned. Like when you stay up late, or wake up too early type of burn, but multiply that by a hundred. His head was pounding, and his limbs felt too weak to move. He lay there for quite some time, in pain and wishing he died upon impact. Slowly but surely, he worked his way into sitting up and opening his eyes. Almost instinctively, he made to close them, but he wasn't about to navigate this strange cavern blind. Keeping them wide, he grit his teeth and got to his feet.

A quick scan of himself showed the only physical injury he'd sustained was bruises, the likes of which he could deal with. He's had them plenty of times before, after all. Then, he turns to take in his surroundings. What he'd landed on was a flowerbed, although everything had long since died. Squinting his eyes, Ash craned his head back to look at where he'd fallen from. He was no mathematician, but the height from the surface to his current location should've absolutely killed him. Sighing heavily, Ash turns his focus back to the matter at hand.

Something caught his eye, and he steps out of the sunlight. There, directly opposite where he'd woken up, was a hallway and, hopefully, a way out. Feeling a little more confident than he did a few minutes ago, Ash scraps together all the courage he can muster. He was getting out of here alive, even if it meant he'd have to eat bugs.

He really hopes he doesn't have to eat bugs.

Chapter Text

He was a little disappointed to find that instead of some magic stone-carved staircase leading to freedom, it was an extension of the previous room. The only difference was the size of this room, and the lone flower planted in the center. This flower was brighter than the ones before, although it appeared close to dying as well. Ash stepped toward the flower, because at least he could soak in its faded beauty while he freaks the fuck out.

Wow, he lost that 'courage' quick. New personal best.

Turning, the flower looks terrified at his approach. Ash is frozen to the spot, staring down at the face of this flower. His blood runs cold, and the air is sapped from his lungs. Then, rather suddenly, he sucks in a breath and screams. The flower flinches, looking around itself before a vine rises from the ground. His screams are muffled as the vine circles around his head, before the sound cuts out completely. He'd stopped screaming, the vine's texture being more than enough to shut him up. Eyes wide in fear, Ash watches as this flower takes a moment to calm itself (the screaming seemed to scare it, apparently?) before the vine unwraps itself from his head and burrows underground once again. He watches it go, eyeing the dirt that the vine emerged from with suspicion before taking a large side-step away from it. Then, his gaze lands on the flower.

"Um. Hi. Sorry for screaming." short and simple. Then, because he couldn't stop himself, "Talking flowers aren't a normal thing where I come from, so." Awkward, he gestures the flower with his hand. "You're human." The flower points out, and an unreadable expression crosses it's face. Ash nods, clearing his throat. What a great first impression this flower must have of him. Crouching in front of the flower, he offered out a hand. "I'm Ash. Ash Graves. Nice to meet you, uh..?" A vine, like before, emerged from the ground and pushing up dirt around it. Only this time, it looped around his hand, shaking it. "Flowey the flower."

The handshake ended, and Ash stood up. His legs were beginning to cramp. "Well, it was nice meeting you, and I'm very sorry for screaming--" He edged around the flower, headed to the doorway leading into the next room, before Flowey's pleading yell to wait stopped him dead in his tracks. Ash's patience was running thin, and clearly Flowey could sense this, hurrying to explain. "The monsters down here aren't as friendly as me. If- If you keep going, you'll die. Every human to fall here is pre-destined to."

...Is that what happened to those six missing kids?

"I-... If you're serious about leaving, though, I can help. I know the underground; I can be your guide." Ash isn't stupid. On the surface, offers like this were made with the intent to get something back. Folding his arms across his chest, he raises an eyebrow at Flowey. "And in return?" He asks, feeling just a little more defensive. Knowing there were more like Flowey had been a surprise, but knowing they were homicidal? Flowey seemed nice enough, but if it wanted something that put Ash in danger... Luckily, Flowey isn't like that. "Your protection." it answers, before explaining. "I'm weak, and most monsters down here are way stronger. I can hardly hold a weak one off, let alone defeat a monster tougher."

Reasonable enough. Besides, Ash would have to defend himself against these monsters too, not to mention having a guide would keep him from getting lost. A smile quirks his lips up, nodding. "Okay then, Flowey. It's a deal." Flowey looks relieved. "I'll see you up ahead, then." With that, he burrows underground, the only sign he'd been there being the pushed up dirt he'd left behind. With a new-found determination, Ash turns on his heel and steps through the arch.

It's a slow day in Snowdin. Monsters are dying, snow is falling, and Sans is sleeping in his bed. His snores reverberate around the room, arm hanging off his mattress and phalanges brushing against the carpet. Outside his door, there's the unmistakable sound of boots thundering up the stairs and coming to stop outside his door. Then, the banging starts, nearly splintering the door off it's hinges. Sans jerks awake, groaning. "SANS! WAKE UP YOU USELESS BAG OF BONES!" comes a voice, obnoxiously loud and piercing. The door muffles it only slightly. "i'm up, boss, 'm up.." he mutters, earning a scoff. "BE DOWNSTAIRS IN FIVE MINUTES OR I'M GOING TO BREAK YOUR DOOR DOWN. I WILL CATCH A HUMAN TODAY, AND YOU AREN'T GOING TO RUIN IT." They both know his threat isn't an empty one. When the stomping of boots fades, Sans peels himself from his bed, pulling on his coat and shoes. The laces are untied, and he's to lazy to fix it. "asshole.." he huffs, leaving his room. The bedroom door shuts with a bang to alert Papyrus he was awake.

What video game bullshit was this.

Flowey, along their travels, found a training dummy. It was minding it's own business, silently glaring at him when Ash stepped toward it. Then, the world became black and white, and in front of him was a soul glowing crimson red. Flowey, safely protected behind Ash, didn't start the explanation until he was sure Ash was listening, and not gaping mindlessly at the cartoon heart literally floating in front of him. "That there is your SOUL, the culmination of your being. Monsters have one too, but theirs is white and hangs upside-down. Unlike humans, Monster souls don't have 'traits'. Your soul glows with DETERMINATION." He nods, but the information is flying over his head at the moment. He's sure he'll sort it out when he has time, but right now, there is too much of everything going on at once and he's focused on keeping himself from shutting down.

There's also buttons. Rectangular buttons, glowing a deeper red than his soul. FIGHT, ACT, ITEM and MERCY. It's by reading these that he notices MERCY is glowing a gentle white. 

"You'll need to FIGHT this dummy. To survive down here, you need to know how to protect yourself, and gain LV." Raising a hand, he let it hover over the FIGHT button, before his gaze flicks up to the dummy. Silent, still, not hurting him at all. Immediately, his hand gravitates to MERCY.

You won!

You got 0 EXP and 0 gold.

Just like that, the interaction was over, and colour flooded the world around him again. The dummy looked almost peaceful now, and behind him Flowey was silent. Ash could tell the flower wanted to facepalm (heh, face-plant), but managed to hold off. "Let's just continue." it groans, burrowing underground and waiting for him in the next room. Flexing his hands, he takes a deep breath in and continues on his journey.

A constant in the RUINS (Flowey had said it offhandedly, and Ash hadn't questioned the name) was the puzzles. Most, if not all, could lead to death. That, and monsters fighting among themselves in the dark, dimly lit corners. Ash decided he didn't like the sound of monster's dying. Lost in his own head, he hardly noticed the world once again falling to black and white until the frog-like monster in front of him had sent out an attack. While dodging, he noted all the feelings he'd missed the first time this happened. His chest felt hollow, and his body was near impossible to move. His soul did all the work, moving around in the square box arena it was trapped in.

With the monster's turn over, it was now Ash's move. His hand moved to ACT, choosing to compliment the monster on it's strength. While it hadn't managed to hit him yet, he knew it would hurt when it did.

*Toaddit didn't understand... try again?

The Toaddit made to attack again, Ash already bracing for what would come next, before a fireball came out of nowhere. It struck the Toaddit, which was unable to run away in time, and the interaction ended. Trembling, Ash looked down at the Toaddit's dust with horror. A sickly sweet tone caused him to look up, and also notice Flowey's odd silence too. "There, there, my child. Do not fear, for I will take care of you. Are you hurt?"

A goat woman stared down at him, eyes hardly concealing her insanity. She took his hand, grip hard enough to bruise, before beginning to tug him along with her. "Come. You must be terrified. Let me take you to my home, where you will be safe." Alarm bells rang in Ash's head, urging him to fight back, but given how big her hand (paw?) was compared to his, he was a little more concerned she would break his arm if he tried. Casting a look back at Flowey, he silently pleaded for it to do anything, but the flower was shocked still. Just as he and this goat woman turned the corner, he caught a glimpse of Flowey beginning to burrow underground. At the very least, Ash hoped that meant Flowey would be following him still, instead of running away.

Chapter Text

He felt the magic before he saw it. It was hot and it intended to hurt. Dodging swiftly to the side, he was horrified to watch as a fireball traveled past him before dissipating into thin air. "You will only make this worse for yourself child! Do not run!" she called after him, furious and closer than he remembered her being. He really didn't wanna find out what his 'punishment' would be if he slowed down, pushing himself to run even faster. By now, the muscles in his legs were burning. He wouldn't last long.

Then, the exit. At the end of this long, dark and crumbling hallway was a door. His escape. Behind him, Toriel let out a screech of agony and rage, and the fireballs were becoming harder to dodge. "You'll die out there! You want to die instead of staying where you're safe?! You selfish brat!" Ash tuned her out; her screams weren't so different from that of his dad's. Instead, he threw his weight into the door.

Ow, shit. The door was heavy, but it wasn't impossible to pass. That being said, it wasn't a big space. The door creaked open, and Ash could feel a gentle breeze brushing against his skin. Toriel's pace had slowed to a crawl, eyes wide and glassy. He wasn't sure how, but he knew she would not follow him through. He gave her a sharp, toothy smile. "See ya never, bitch." Flipping the monster off, he slipped through the gap he'd created for himself. With a deafening thud, it shut behind him. He was alone with nothing but the wind, and his own ragged breathing. For safety reasons, he stumbled back, creating distance between him and the door.

"You did it, well done!" came a cheerful voice from behind him. Flinching, he turned to look at Flowey, who smiled it's most reassuring smile. Sighing, Ash sat down in front of the flower. He was still disgustingly sweaty, and Flowey seemed to understand he needed a minute before pushing on with their journey. Even the most legendary adventurer understood the importance of rest! So, he stayed sat, breathing in the smell of wet grass and narrowing his eyes at the dark corners of the room like he expected another Toriel to leap out and attack.

Toriel.

Shit, what happened back there?

She seemed... alright. Insane, yes, and she literally bolted the door with seven different types of locks so returning to the ruins was a no-go (not like he wanted to anyway), but in the short time he spent with her, he began to consider that she was capable of saving. That her loneliness had driven her to insanity. Then, she tried to get him to eat a pie that was so obviously undercooked and prepared terribly, and he politely declined. The exact words out of his mouth were "Not right now, thank you. I feel sick, and wouldn't want to eat your pie just to throw it back up." and suddenly she was angry. Now that he thought about it, the pie smelled odd. Like- ohmygod.

Ash's eyes widened to a comically large size, scaring Flowey so bad it began to frantically look about them in worry. The human's hand balled into a fist, slamming down on the dirt beside his leg. "She tried to fucking poison me, that bitch!" something in his voice makes Flowey laugh. It's soft and sweet and so delicate, Ash wants to hide Flowey in his pocket. The human cracks a smile, happy that his friend is happy. Even though he isn't breathless anymore, and the breeze is more cold than refreshing, he's content to sit here just a little longer.

Blinding white coats trees and the ground. When the wind blows, dust of monsters long gone are carried with it. Sans slouches at his post, bored and falling asleep. Papyrus had left him with a warning, threatening a punishment if he was caught sleeping on the job again. Normally, he'd disregard this and let himself rest anyway, but today was different. Everything felt different. He was sure Papyrus felt this too, based on how his eyelights scanned the surrounding area all too frequently on the trip here. Sans may not be the most active, but he knew to investigate when something felt wrong. He warped from his post to the trees just outside the large door he'd seen on multiple occasions now. It had always been closed, firm and unmoving when Sans attempted to push it open. Until today.

He watched as the door slowly creaked open, allowing the sounds of strained grunting to echo out before a human slipped through the gap. Sans noticed a flower on their shoulder, looking around them cautiously. The human tripped over snow, landing on their hands and knees with a hiss. "Are you okay?" he heard the flower ask. The human nodded. "Just cold, Flowey." came the response, so quiet that Sans had to lean in to make out the words. Slinking into the shadow of the tree, he watched as the human got to their feet and hurriedly pushed forward, teeth chattering every so often.

Sans smiled, his golden tooth glinting in the sliver of light that pierced through the trees. Boss was gonna have a field day with this.

It was fucking freezing. Monsters were made of magic, why was their snow real? Why could it affect humans? He was going to die of hypothermia, for fucks sake! then, Ash remembered that literally every monster down here has tried to kill him, and he's a little less surprised. Flowey had taken to curling around his body using vines, explaining that talking would be easier for them to talk if it was always with him. Although it put the flower at more risk, Flowey was determined to be by his side for the whole journey. It was kind of like wearing a weird shaped bag.

The flower glanced at him every so often, observing how the human shivered. It would be lying to say it wasn't affected by the cold, either. "W-was it always like this?" he asked, stepping over a branch. Flowey shook it's head. "I heard Snowdin's snow was once just a stylistic choice, and didn't affect anyone. Then, Asgore, the king, issued the decree that all humans to fall are to die, and.." Ash nodded, understanding.

"The snow changed with the monster's intent, then." Flowey looked away, nodding, and Ash led the subject drop. As he opened his mouth to ask about the king, however, a large crack jolted him into awareness. His head turned to look back at the branch he'd stepped over, appalled to find it now splintered and broken down the middle. It reverberated around the woods for just a moment longer before it faded into nothing. Flowey had tensed on his shoulder, and Ash was frozen, gaping at the branch. It had been relatively thick, the kind of branch that would need a lot of power to snap. And something did it like it was nothing-- something that was following him.

"W-we aren't safe. Let's- get moving, yeah?" it urged, and Ash nodded numbly. For the first time since falling, he became aware of just how dangerous this all was. Turning sharply, he began running; as silly as he knew his run looked, and how sore his legs were from the chase before, he also knew he'd be a corpse if he didn't hurry it up. Up ahead, a bridge. There were bars across it, all wooden like the bridge itself, but they were way too wide to stop anyone. What idiot came up with that idea?

Regardless, it didn’t look stable, but there was no other way across. Ash slowed to a walk, and then he didn’t move at all. He couldn’t bring himself to move, and he wasn’t sure he wanted to. Silently appreciating the wonderland stretched out before him.

He was brought back into the present by Flowey’s desperate pleading, whispered into his ear.

There were footsteps approaching them.

Ash couldn’t move, and he couldn’t feel worried. A state of inner peace he experienced less and less often as he grew older.

Then the footsteps stopped, but no monster attacked. No confrontation was triggered, and the world was still white. Still that blinding, colourless white.

“hey. don’t ye know how ta greet a new friend?”

The monster chuckled quietly. His voice scratched an itch in Ash’s brain he hadn’t even known existed. Words, in this moment, escaped him. Finally, though, his legs moved, and he turned his body to face the monster. Flowey was shaking, he noted.

holy fucking shit.

Monsters were magic. He knew that. Monsters could be literally anything, from toads to goats to carrots— but a skeleton? That was some crazy shit right there. What was even crazier was his appearance.

He was shorter than Ash by a few inches, though his posture was relaxed. If he stood to his full height, he was sure they'd be level with each other. He wore a black jacket with mustard yellow stripes running up the arms and, underneath, a red turtleneck. His teeth were pointy and sharp, one of which being gold. There was something in that smile that set the human at ease, even though this monster was clearly planning something. His demise, most likely. One skeletal hand (his left, the monster's right, he noticed without really meaning to) was outstretched in an imitation of a handshake. Flowey leaned in to whisper in Ash's ear.

"I-I don't think we should... trust this guy." it speaks common sense, but Ash had never been able to really grasp that. Instead of doing literally anything else, he reaches out and takes the skeletons hand. The skeletons smile gets wider as he watches Ash twitch and his arm jolt, hurriedly pulling away. His nerves had been zapped by electric, sharper and painful. Laughing obnoxiously loud over Flowey's concerned rambling, the monster revealed he'd concealed a buzzer in the palm of his hand. Sneaky fuck.

"haha! the ol' buzzer in the hand trick. always gets 'em." Ash cradles his hand close to his chest, glaring hard at the monster in front of him. The skeleton continued, unaffected. "ya can call me sans, sans the skeleton."

Papyrus woke up antsy.

He was used to this. Albeit rare, he's woken up feeling nauseous and tense enough by now to know how to keep himself stable through the day. So, he got up and made lasagna twice before he stormed up to Sans' room to wake him. Then, he returned to the kitchen and mentally ticked off what puzzles would need recalibrated and which traps he'd need to check. Finally, after a quick breakfast, he and Sans set out. Once he was sure there'd be no surprise ambush waiting for them, he became aware he'd been following Sans to his post without really meaning to. The shorter hadn't brought it up, but Papyrus was well equipped with excuses if he should need one.

Despite doing everything that usually helps, Papyrus found he was still feeling shit. Every step he took fed into that feeling until they stopped outside Sans' post. Promising a fate worse than death if the skeleton fell asleep, he walked away from his brother and began to assess the nearby traps. As time went on, he found it a near impossible task to indulge himself in his tasks. Summoning a sharp, glowing red bone attack, he lets loose on the nearest tree before stomping his way back to Sans' post with a sense of urgency.

Just to make sure he hadn't fallen asleep, of course. There was no other reason to him checking at all.

He prays Sans is alright, and not dust.

What is even going on anymore.

One minute, some sans skeleton guy shocks him, then starts acting both threatening and friendly, and then takes him across the bridge while chatting about his brother who just so happens to come running toward them with the most stressed expression Ash thinks he's ever seen on a monster recently, only to slow to stomps and begin shouting at Sans for drinking mustard, being a useless slob, and a laundry list of other things that have nothing to do with the situation at hand. Ash hangs in the background, turning to glance at Flowey every now and then.

"Should I-I do something?" he asks, eventually. The flower thinks before shaking it's head. "They seem busy. M-maybe try to sneak around them?" One step forward, the snow crunching under his boots, and both skeleton's attention are on him. "Shit," he mumbles and Flowey cowers behind his back. He knows this will lead to a lot more conversation than he thinks he can deal with right now. Actually, he doesn't think he can deal with any of this right now.

Is his vision going blurry? his limbs feel numb. Flowey's voice feels far away, and something cold is pressed against his knees. The fuzzy feeling fully consumes him. His last thought before losing consciousness?

damn, I could really go for some pizza right now.

Chapter Text

His sins weighed heavy on his soul, and the knife he'd been dragging around was stained with the dust of monsters long dead. It hurt so bad to watch them perish, knowing they couldn't flee because it was his turn, and he was going to kill them. It was hard to breath, struggling to keep his emotions in control. He was the one slaughtering them, why did he feel so guilty? He didn't get to take their life and then feel bad; that was dumb. He felt shitty regardless. It was curiosity that led him here, that drove him to FIGHT. This was his fault, and his alone.

It was cold, so fucking cold, and he was alone. Flowey had seen the gleam in his eyes, had seen the bloodlust and the desire to hurt, and fled. He'd catch glimpses of gold here and there, but he couldn't tell if that was because the flower was stalking him or he was going insane. Maybe he was. To his right, he heard a noise-- the unmistakable sound of movement. His head has never turned so fast.

He feels so guilty, so fucking horrible about his choices, but the thought of watching another monster fade to dust brings a smile to his lips.

The breeze blows, and the dust follows. He wants to cry, to curl into a ball and wish for death. He wants to purge the underground of monsters, to bury their existence in sweat, blood and tears. He hates himself so bad it makes him laugh. There's no movement anymore, no indication of life. He considers going to check it out, regardless.

Get a move on.

Right. Most monsters were evacuated, so even if that noise was a monster...he'd run into them later, more than likely.

With a grin so wide it hurt his cheeks, he pushes forward. Come hell or high water, he'll satisfy the questions that burn brighter than his sins.

...

...

...

Ash finds himself staring at the ceiling. The dream that he's already forgetting had ended, and his eyelids had fluttered open to reveal the ceiling of a house he's never been inside before. The dream's content was unsettling, he knew that. Not a nightmare, but not pleasant either. It made him feel weird. Instead of thinking about that, he thought about food. And then he thought about how he passed out.

Oh, shit, he passed out. In front of Sans, and his brother, Papyrus. With Flowey attached to his back that is now no longer on his back. In muted concern, Ash sits up and looks around. His head pulses in pain, but he pushes it away with a wince. The house looks normal, for the most part. The carpet is blue, though areas of it are stained. The couch he'd woke up on was green and clearly old, given the fact the colour was fading. Across from this couch was a TV, resting on a wooden stand. To the right of the TV, a kitchen (at least, Ash assumed it was a kitchen, given away by the tiling and distinct clatter of pans on a stove) and another table. On top said table was a plate, holding a rock doused in sprinkles. If he squinted, he could see the rock had specks of white underneath the sprinkles.

The second floor only had a few main points of focus; there was no railing to prevent falling to the first floor, and two doors at either end of the landing. One was covered in tape and stickers, while the other was plain. Like, super plain. Boring, Ash scoffed. A rumble from his stomach drew attention to the fact he was hungry. Like, really hungry. And he's still worried for Flowey, too. With no real reason to stay sat, he gets to his feet and shuffles toward the kitchen. The sounds from earlier get louder as he approaches, and a voice accompanies it.

"SANS! YOU SACK OF SHIT-- GO SEE IF THAT HUMAN IS AWAKE YET!" oh. That, uh, didn't sound too good. Too late to turn back now, though, seeing as he's already stepping into the kitchen. "don't need ta, boss. kid's al-bread-y here." Sans answers, wearing a lazy and lopsided smirk. Papyrus, busy at the stove, whipped around to yell at his brother before his eyelights landed on Ash, curled in on himself and carefully avoiding the taller skeleton's eye. "HUMAN! YOU'VE FINALLY AWAKENED!" his voice is so incredibly loud, he almost wonders if the skeleton is trying to burst his eardrums.

"Where's Flowey?" he asks, glancing about the kitchen. Somehow, his headache seemed to be fading, but given how much crazy unrealistic shit has gone down since hiking up Mt. Ebott, he doesn't really question it. Papyrus scoffs, "THE WEED IS OUTSIDE. IT SCURRIED OFF AFTER YOU COLLAPSED, BUT FOLLOWED US ALL THE WAY HERE FOR SOME ODD REASON. IT WAS INCREDIBLY OBVIOUS." Ash nods numbly, looking over Sans and Papyrus without really looking at them before turning to leave the room. "where d'ya think you're goin', kiddo?" Suddenly, as if someone had grabbed a tight hold of his innermost intestines, Ash was dragged back into the kitchen.

Sans had one arm laying horizontally on the table, the other upright and being used as a resting place for his skull. One eyelid(?) was closed, and he was still sporting that lazy grin from earlier. Papyrus had his arms folded across his chest, standing to his full height. Ash wondered how often he hit his head on doorframes. "uh.. to go find Flowey?" the human looked between his skeletal captors in confusion. Papyrus made a noise of annoyance, looking out of the window before looking down at Ash.

"FOOLISH HUMAN! BY GOING OUTSIDE, YOU RISK BEING SEEN BY THE WEAKLINGS LURKING IN SNOWDIN." glancing at Sans, Ash isn't at all surprised to see the skeleton napping. He looks back quickly, to avoid Papyrus noticing. The asshole had a stick so far up his pelvis that he assumed napping was yet another trigger for some nuclear-level outburst. "How'd I get in your house if you didn't drag me here? Surely they already know?" he asked, instead. At this, the taller brother looked a little upset. Not sad-upset, but like his ego had been kicked repeatedly. Sans' chuckle only makes him more upset.

"we had ta take a shortcut. had teh keep ya a secret, y'know?" that makes Ash confused. Shortcut? did they have a tunnel under the house? catacombs stretching across the underground? a glimmer of hope sparks in his soul; if they had tunnels, he could escape. He could grab Flowey, wait for the brothers to be distracted, and then slip into the tunnels! He could carry them both straight to the King! And then they could face off with him, which Ash would win (obviously), after which he'd probably be crowned the new king--

"SANS! TELEPORTING MAY GET YOU PLACES IMMEDIATELY, BUT IT'S AN INCREDIBLY LAZY OPTION! IF WE RAN, THE OUTCOME WOULD'VE BEEN THE SAME!" ah, Papyrus. Attempting to save his image, he crushed any hope Ash had of an easy escape. Well, shit. Mentally tossing that idea out the metaphorical window, he made peace with the fact that his fantasy of being a monarch is still very unrealistic and moved on. "So how am I supposed to get Flowey?"

He's aware he just cut Papyrus off, because said skeleton looks ready to kill him. "stay 'ere, boss'll get the weed." Sans said smugly, smirking. Frustrated he'd been talked over twice, Papyrus summons a bone and hurls it at the wall with a shrill screech. Sans, unlike Ash, does not flinch and back away. Instead, he looks bored; like the bone protruding from the wall is a regular occurance. It probably is, actually, Ash thought, pressing himself as flat against the wall as physically possible.

His fists clenched tightly at his sides, Papyrus takes note of Ash's fear and seems to take pride in it. Breathing as quietly as possible, he waots for something. Yelling, insults, death... it doesn’t come. His eyes, still as wide as the dinner plates resting beside the pot that’s boiling on the stove, flick from Papyrus to behind him.

There, just outside the window, was a thing green tendril Ash could recognise immediately. Flowey. The window is pushed open, and the yellow flower hauls itself inside. The vine doesn’t retract, however, creeping toward him at an alarming pace. Specifically, his leg, rising off the ground just enough to circle his calf before continuing upward.

With a yelp, Flowey (somehow) dissapears under the kitchen tiles and reappears next to his feet, summoning another vine to help itself climb up. Finally, the vines still, with Flowey resting on his shoulder. It's tense, but clearly trying to put on a facade of bravery as he yells "Leave him alone, smiley trashbags!" and failing because he stutters. A lot. He tried though, which Ash is proud of him for. Feeling a little braver, he stands upright, giving the brothers a cold glare.

"Why are you keeping me here? I expected you to kill me while I was down." Papyrus scoffs, turning away to dish up the food he'd prepared. "SIT. DINNER IS ALMOST READY." he commands, and paired with the look Sans is giving them, he knows he can't refuse. Biting the inside of his cheek, he takes a seat opposite Sans and to the left of the chair Papyrus is likely going to sit in, shifting his weight every now and then. All the monsters down here had done was attack, absolutely trying to kill him, and yet these two were.. feeding him dinner? it was suspicious.

A plate being slammed down in front of him jerked him from his thoughts, which had been steadily creeping back toward the dream he had earlier, instead getting him to glare at Papyrus as he gave Sans' plate the same treatment. The shorter skeleton had been dozing, nearly asleep, and Ash felt a little bad when he jolted awake so violently he nearly fell out of his seat. "jeez, boss. calm th' fuck down." he muttered, which caused the taller to scoff and grumble not-so-quietly about how he was a 'useless slob'. Somehow, the insults seemed normal. Nice, maybe. Like how one would talk to their sibling on the surface.

He hid his smile behind the spaghetti he was close to shovelling into his mouth. He was very hungry. 

Holy fucking shit. Swallowing the food down quickly, Ash leaned to the side and coughed so hard he was half worried a lung would come out of his mouth. "W-what the fuck is that?!" he yelled, weakly pushing the plate away with a hand and covering his mouth with his shirt sleeve. Papyrus looked deeply offended. "THAT, HUMAN, IS MY SPAGHETTI." Ash shudders. In the few seconds it was in his mouth, he'd tasted been sugar, glitter, and very not-cooked spaghetti. He frowned deeply, shaking his head. "Thanks, but. uh. I'm not hungry anymore."

His stomach rumbled loudly, and even Flowey gave him a look that screamed 'really?'. Ash cleared his throat, sitting up straighter. "So. Saving me. Why?" he redirected the conversation, and although Papyrus eyed him suspiciously, the monster finally answered. "IT WOULD DAMAGE MY REPUTATION TO HAVE KILLED YOU THEN!" as Ash looked more than a little lost, Sans chimed in. "what boss means is tha' he'd look weak if he killed ya while yeh were out cold." Papyrus groaned; "YOU AND YOUR PUNS..." Flowey nudged him discreetly, leaning in to whisper in his ear:

"Snowdin is cold. Sans made a pun." 

Ash raised an eyebrow at Sans, unamused. "That was a shit pun. I literally needed Flowey to explain it was so bad." the shorter skeleton shrugged, "no need ta give me th' cold shoulder, kiddo." Ash couldn't hold in a chuckle at that. Stupid puns were his undoing, it seemed. "Stay vigilant, please." Flowey pleaded before leaning away from his ear. Right. Ash wiped the smile from his face, sitting up. Papyrus still planned on killing him, so he shouldn't get friendly with these monsters. He should actually run away from their house at the first chance he gets.

Deep down, buried in a corner bursting with thoughts Ash would never admit to anyone, he wished he could stay.

Chapter Text

Ash, since falling, has been kept busy. He's running from death, escaping a madwoman's house (and death), only to end up with Sans and Papyrus (who are likely plotting his death). Only now, he doesn't need to keep moving. He's in their house, and entirely clueless about his next move. 

In the short time they'd spent here, Flowey already explained a lot; the barrier, the king, bits of monster history... and then even that stopped. Flowey was no encyclopedia of every monster (or pokedex, Ash thought to himself with a smile), and it had been hiding in the ruins for who-knows-how-long. Things might've changed. So, learning was off the table. Learning.

Right, school. He's probably missing a day right now. Days? had he been down here days, or a few hours? It was so tough to tell. How he wishes he was up there to know. He probably wouldn't ever get to, given how ruthless the underground is. He'll either die here in Snowdin, or somewhere else along his journey.

Is this how those kids felt? Alone, scared, and deep down they know they're never going home?

Fucking hell that was sad to think about. Ash groans, flopping back onto the couch. His eyes are scrunched shut, refusing to acknowledge his surroundings. This was just some elaborate bad dream, or a video game. Yes, a video game that he got stuck in and is forced to live through.

God, who would enjoy that as a game?

Composing himself, Ash sat up once more only to instantly slouch into a more comfortable position. This he could live with; so long as he deluded himself that nothing here was real, he was fine. Stable. Sue him for not having healthy coping mechanisms, he was actually going to die at any moment. Papyrus might get sick of him sitting in his house and kill him, or Sans will take his life as he sleeps 'just because'.

So deep in thought, he didn't notice Flowey's quiet calls of his name until the flower smacked him with a vine. "Fuck was that for?" he frowned, turning to look at Flowey. It looked sorry and said as much before continuing with what it originally wanted to say. "Are you alright? you... looked kinda out of it." Ash raises an eyebrow. He's been 'out of it' before; did monsters not dissociate? or they did, and just called it something else. Was he even dissociating to begin with, or just deep in thought? Flowey continues before he can think about the topic in more detail. "You were staring at something that wasn't there, a-and you looked.. dead? y-you were breathing but you weren't answering- so, I had to hit you."

Ah. Likely dissociating, then.

Ash nods exaggeratedly in a comical show of understanding. "Yea, the whole 'lights are on but no one's home' thing." Flowey looks confused (and a little concerned) as he giggles at his own joke. "I-I just wanna make sure you aren't going to d-die on me." it mutters, and Ash's smile becomes genuine and soft. "No need to fret, buddy, I'm all good. Nothing's gonna get me down anytime soon!"

Flowey smiles back, and they spend some time watching TV. All that's on is some four-armed murder bot called 'Mettaton', whom Ash takes great delight in insulting.

He's a huge fucking liar.

"nothing's gonna get me down anytime soon!" he said, just a few hours ago. Flowey's first mistake was thinking he was a good person to befriend; it's second was relying on him to survive. It's third was trusting him. Ash is nothing of what's required to survive this underground. He's unhealthy, unstable and-

He doesn't want to think about what else.

Here, curled up on the couch of a house cold, dark and very not his, he's crying as softly as he can manage. It would be embarrassing if Papyrus or Sans found him; they'd either yell at him, laugh, or some weird mix of both. Flowey finding him like this was possibly worse. He just promised he was fine, the flower didn't need to lose trust in him so quick. Not yet.

He risked losing the only friend he had down here, and while they weren't that close, how could Ash be expected to push on if Flowey wasn't there to encourage him? Once again, he'd turn into a husk. A zombie, shambling through the days. It wouldn't matter if he got hurt, if he died, because the world was better off without some mindless puppet. He wished the fall killed him, that the dead flowers crumbled into dust and let his body hit the ground-

His thoughts were abruptly cut short by the sound of a door creaking open. At first, Ash froze, breathing quietly. Had he been crying too loud? Sans shuffled out of his room, and panic flutters in his chest. Moving as quickly and silently as possible, he settles back onto the couch, attempting to look asleep. Sans moves down the stairs, pausing at the bottom step. Ash can feel eyes on him, hoping to whatever higher power his disguise is foolproof.

Sans shuffles closer, and he fights off the urge to open an eye. He almost jumps when Sans scoffs, pulling the ratty blanket he'd been provided up and over his 'sleeping' form. Like that, Sans moved away, and Ash heard the fridge open. "Stupid kid.." he heard the monster mumble. Maybe he was still affected from his breakdown, but it sounded.. almost fond?

His senses dulled, the exhaustion won out and Ash was dragged back into a (thankfully) dreamless slumber.

Okay, what did this weird world have against waking up?!

Ash sat up, grunting. His eyes, for the second time, didn't want to open. They were sore, and put up a fight every time he tried to crack them apart. "Are you okay?" came Flowey's voice. The human nodded, though kept his eyes shut. He'd open them eventually. Once Flowey was once again curled around him, Ash instructed the flower to guide him to the kitchen. He could heard the tell-tale sounds of cooking, and inwardly hoped the food had improved from last night's 'dinner'.

"FINALLY." a voice boomed. Flowey sighed softly. If Papyrus noticed his closed eyes, the skeleton said nothing about it. "YOU'RE FUCKING USELESS, I SWEAR. IF IT WEREN'T FOR NEEDING YOUR SOUL, I WOULD HAVE THROWN YOU OUT TO BE SOME WEAKLING'S DINNER LONG AGO." Ash yawned, cutting Papyrus off without really meaning to. "TCH. THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I MEAN. SO USELESS THAT IT WOULD BE DISGRACEFUL OF ME TO KILL YOU MYSELF!" he took the words with a silent nod, not actually caring about what this asshole had to say. Ash supposed this monster was the exact idiot who made the bars on the bridge too wide.

His eyes still didn't want to open. Flowey, having assumed this, was already guiding him to his seat. It felt like the same he'd sat in last night at dinner. Sans' voice from across the table confirmed his theory from last night too; the skeleton brothers had designated seats. Papyrus sat between Sans and Ash, able to view the whole kitchen and the most prepared for any surprise attacks. Sans sat to the left of Papyrus, gaze flicking to the doorframe behind Ash. The only seat he could grab was the one facing the window, situated behind Sans. There wasn't much in that direction, or outside. Just snow, dead trees, and dead trees covered in snow.

"heya kid. ya look bone tired." Papyrus groaned, but said nothing. Sans chuckled at that. Flowey, as it often did when in the presence of the skelebros, hid closer to his neck. Ash could feel it's petals with how close it was, biting back a giggle at the ticklish feeling. "Didn't sleep too well. It happens." he answers, slouching against the table. One hand kept his head propped up, silently lamenting that he had yet to open his eyes and embrace the day fully. If the house was attacked right now, he'd be defenseless. It was with great effort he pried his eyes open, gaze locking onto Sans' 'default' smile. The shorter was copying Ash's pose, minus the flower on his shoulder.

Sans couldn't press the previous topic further before plates were aggressively set before them, Papyrus huffing moodily. Still upset over that pun, probably. It was a surprise the plates didn't smash when he slammed them down.

"Thanks." Ash says, out of habit. Papyrus, having angrily stuffed a forkful of lasagna into his mouth, choked the food down. Sans' eyelights shrunk to pinpricks, and for the millionth time Ash saw his life flash before his eyes. Then, the moment was over and Sans had begun to eat too, but there was an air of awkwardness that settled over the room. He pushed the plate aside, the sound of ceramic dragging across the wooden table forcing the pair to look at him. "Has seriously no one said 'thank you' before?"

A dumb question by itself, given how glaringly obvious the answer was, so he hurriedly follows it up with "Not even to each other?" Sans looks nervous, red sweat beading from the top of his skull before slipping down; a reaction he seemed to have for literally every stressful situation ever. Papyrus made a 'hmph' sound, but ultimately answered his question. "PERHAPS WHEN WE WERE YOUNGER, BUT SUCH MEANINGLESS PLEASANTRIES ARE CHILDISH AND FOR THOSE LESS GREAT AND TERRIBLE THAN MYSELF." wow, paradox much? not only could these monsters defy all of science as humanity knew it, but they could be both great and terrible at the same time.

Inwardly, he snickered. Perhaps Papyrus was just terrible, and insecure of the fact he was a worthless piece of shit so he added 'great' in there to make up for literally everything.

...That was rude. Ash mentally apologises to imaginary-Papyrus for insulting him.

"like boss said, kid, that stuff... it just don't work down here." Sans chipped in, skillfully avoiding eye contact. By now, he'd sat up, one arm draped over the back of the chair and slumped down in his seat. It looked both uncomfortable and cool at the same time. Ash shrugged, pulling the plate toward him and finally digging in. He expected the worst, given how badly the spaghetti was last night, and was pleasantly surprised to find it was edible. Not only that, but the food was delicious! Honestly, Ash very much doubted this was poisoned, but if it was he wouldn't even care. He swallowed down his plateful, sitting back in his chair with a satisfied smile and a full stomach. Yet again, the words slipped free without his consent. "Thank you! holy shit, that was good food!"

This time, Sans and Papyrus didn't react nearly as much. Maybe there was a slight wince from Papyrus, but Ash didn't catch it. He was about to offer to clean the plates when he realised two issues:

1; the sink was atop a stupidly tall cupboard thing, the likes of which he couldn't get to even if he jumped.

2; he had, yet again, acted nicely toward the two monsters that kidnapped him.

Groaning, he hid his face behind his hands and leaned forward until they rested ontop the table. It was going to take some time to adjust, so he hoped they were okay with sudden displays of kindness because it was going to happen a lot of the course of his stay with them. 

Already lowering your guard? wow, you really are gonna die down here, Ash thinks to himself bitterly. Maybe it would be better if they just killed me now, or something.

Instead of any of that, however, Papyrus gathers the plates into a stack and rises from his seat. "WELL, NOW BREAKFAST IS OVER, YOU IDIOTS CAN LEAVE ME TO CLEAN." he takes this opportunity to also rise from his chair and shuffle back into the living room. "I'm gonna take a nap. Wake me if something goes down." he mumbles to Flowey, who bumped his petals against the side of his neck affectionately. Clambering back onto the couch, he heard water running and Sans murmuring what was likely more of his puns and clever word play, much to Papyrus' annoyance.

If life down here wasn't so ruthless, could he find a home with these skeletons?

How childish. First thing when he woke up, he would leave the house and continue on to the Capital; that's where Flowey said the king would be. Even without saying it, Flowey appeared to understand. The tense anxiety rolling off it's flower form said it all. Or was that from him? his thoughts on monster flower feelings are cut short as he drifts into sleep.

Chapter Text

It was fucking freezing out here.

Ash had kind of noticed it before, back when he stumbled out from the ruins, but that was a brief period of time. He passed out and woke up somewhere warm, where he'd stayed for the last three days or so. Or was it two? Instead of worrying over the time, he let Flowey's voice guide him back to the present. "O-okay, good job. You got a-away from them, so.. we just have to k-keep going straight."

If he weren't running on adrenaline, Ash might've found himself feeling guilty for running away.

They were going to kill you, he reminded himself. It was either you ran, or you kissed freedom goodbye.

Did he even want to live anyway?

He trudged through the snow, arms folded across his chest and rubbing his hands over his arms every so often to generate heat. He kept his head on a swivel, attracted to the slightest sound that could potentially be movement. Once he was sure he was in the clear, albeit briefly, he let his thoughts drift to how he got here.

Just how did Ash Graves wound up stumbling through snow and dead trees, looking over his shoulder every now and then to see if he was being followed, having ran from the two monsters that gave him shelter and food? he thought to himself sarcastically. Of course, he knew realistically he couldn't have stayed with them regardless but he wasn't here to nitpick his own thoughts.

Papyrus had been busy in the kitchen, cleaning up after breakfast. Sans was rattling off puns, and the adrenaline had slipped into Ash's bloodstream. Quiet, tense, he hurried from the couch to the front door, slipping out and breaking into a hard sprint in the opposite direction of the doors to the ruins. It really was that simple. They were distracted, likely under the impression he'd stay put, and he made a break for it. At some point, he darted between two homes and into the woodland, making sure he was still going the right way. Thank fuck for Flowey, eh?

Now he was out here, and he was cold.

"We're gonna get out of here. We're gonna be okay." he muttered under his breath, feeling the anxiety coil his stomach into knots and the sting behind his eyes blur his vision; he was trying to keep his cool, and failing so miserably he might as well just stop attempting. Flowey nodded, opening his mouth to say something in agreement that it was unable to finish, cut off by the sudden screech that echoed through Snowdin. "ASH! GET BACK HERE, NOW."

Shit.

Panic fluttering in his chest, he did what any sane person would do when in this situation; he ran.

Papyrus had, foolishly, let himself get distracted. The human he captured (and was nursing back to health) had fled right when he least expected it because of this, and now the pair were forced to search for him.

If word got to Undyne that he lost the human he captured, she would never let him live it down. Every meeting, she would gloat about it- it would only get worse if she happened to be the one to kill him. No, that wouldn't do at all. Beside him, Sans was nervous. Beads of sweat dripped down his skull, the same colour as his magic. Ash had been so well-mannered, it felt strangely more like having a friend rather than a hostage.

Both of them were surprisingly lack with security because of this, which is of course what led to the escape in the first place. "WHEN I FIND THAT HUMAN..." Papyrus growled, hands balling into fists at his side. The taller marched through Snowdin with a murderous energy radiating from his bones. Monsters steered clear as he walked past. Sans said nothing, stressed and a little pissed off.

"You lookin' fer a human?" came a voice from the left. Papyrus stopped his stomping and whipped his skull to face the monster that spoke, an accusatory glare on his face (as if this monster had personally taken Ash). "YES." He answered, and the monster jerked their head back behind them, in the direction of where Snowdin ended and Waterfall began. "Some kid wit' a flower on their back darted that way us' a few minutes ago. Looked real scared, too."

Papyrus swore to Asgore, when he got to him, Ash would pay for making him worry look like an idiot.

The outskirts of Snowdin came into view, where the snow thinned to slush and the damp atmosphere of the new area invaded his senses. "That's Waterfall!" Flowey whisper-shouted. Ash panted, tired and aching all over. That chase had worn him out, but hopefully he would be able to rest when he was sufficiently further away from the skeletons that acted as his captors. His dreams were cut short when a familiar feeling coursed through him; the feeling of someone reaching a place deep within his chest and grabbing hold, squeezing. Flowey let out a yelp as Ash was flung backwards, collapsing onto the snow at a monsters feet.

"well hey there kiddo. ya didn't think me n' my bro were just gonna let ya go, did ya?"

Ash felt like crying as he gazed up at Sans, sniffling. The hold on his soul had mostly disappeared, but there was enough force around it still to signal Sans was prepared to hold him if the situation so called for it. Sans wore a shit-eating smirk, eyelights dim but not gone. The sound of a second set of footsteps approaching had Ash scrambling to sit up, shaking the snow from his hair. Flowey hid behind his back, trembling in fear as Papyrus towered over the pair. Said skeleton raised a boot, bringing it to press down on Ash's leg. No matter how hard he struggled to get free, the pressure didn't lighten, and he let out a cry of pain as Papyrus put more weight on it.

"HUMAN! YOU HAVE FOOLED ME FOR THE LAST TIME. NO LONGER WILL YOUR TRICKS BAMBOOZLE ME. I, THE GREAT AND TERRIBLE PAPYRUS, WILL NOT ONLY PUNISH YOU FOR MAKING ME LOOK A FOOL, BUT I ALSO REFUSE TO TREAT YOU AS KIND AS I HAVE BEEN." Ash whined as the pain in his leg grew; was he gonna break them?! genuine fear coursed through him then, looking from Papyrus to his leg and then back. "TO ENSURE YOU CANNOT RUN FROM ME AGAIN-" Papyrus summoned a bone into his hand, the end sharp and pointy. It was a shade of red.

"Flowey. Run, now." He mumbled, knowing his worst fears were going to become reality. The flower shuddered. "Go. I'll be fine; come back only when the screaming stops." Flower let out a weak sob, but quickly uncurled himself and burrowed into the ground.

Flowey escaped!

"-I AM GOING TO BREAK YOUR LEG. ONLY ONE! I AM MUCH TOO KIND FOR SCUM LIKE YOURSELF, I KNOW." Ash swallowed hard, scrunching his eyes closed. His heart beat in his chest erratically, wishing Papyrus would stop talking about it and just get it over with. "uh.. boss. we're takin' 'im back ta our house, remember? ya don't need to break his legs."

What.

"OH. HMM..."

Ash opened his eyes to see the taller skeleton was no longer holding a bone. Instead, he was thinking- all while still putting an unbearable amount of weight on Ash's leg. "AS MUCH AS I HATE TO ADMIT THIS... YOU RAISE A GOOD POINT." Papyrus moves away, still plotting things in his head likely, and the pressure around Ash's soul becomes suffocating again. Sans was very clearly keeping him from darting off.

A speck of gold pulls the human to look right, spotting Flowey watching the scene unfold with a nervous expression. It made no move to come back, though, which Ash did not take to heart; he'd told the flower to stay away, after all. His attention is swiftly grabbed by Papyrus' voice. "I HAVE DECIDED, HUMAN. BREAKING BONES WILL NOT BE NEEDED; NO I HAVE SOMETHING JUST AS EFFECTIVE IN MIND." with an evil laugh as haunting as the idea of math homework, the monster turned back toward Snowdin and marched in that direction. Sans, now looking just a tad worse for wear, hoisted Ash up via soul and shuffled after Papyrus.

The garage was cold, being both terribly built and also just poorly insulated, and Ash's teeth began to chatter as Papyrus chained his right hand to the wall. "THERE! NOW, UNTIL I RETURN TO TAKE YOUR LIFE, YOU WILL BE FORCED TO SIT HERE. GET USED TO IT." he nor Sans hung around long after that. Ash glanced around, shuddering at the many devices lining the walls. Mostly beartraps and rope, though occasionally there was a knife amongst those. That was on the right side of the room, beyond the poles seperating him from the door. This one, unfortunately, was not wide enough to escape from as easily as he had the last, not to mention he was still chained up.

A bout of exhaustion hits him like a freight train, and Ash couldn't find it in himself to continue his 'house tour'. Instead, he curled up underneath yet another ratty blanket and a mattress (all while carefully avoiding the springs that stuck out). With a yawn and yet another shiver, Ash finds himself drifting off. The adrenaline has worn off now, and Ash was just tired now. So, so tired.

His dreams are, once again, dreamless, blissfully unaware of the golden flower watching worriedly from the window.

Chapter Text

Ash shuddered, clutching his chest tightly. What.. the fuck... was wrong with this world?!

Never had he had such a vivid and yet horrific dream. Being murdered? sure, he had those. Too often, maybe, but most nights he didn't dream so they were manageable. This? no.

This was wrong. It was probably just the stress, which would make sense given the situation, but something just felt off. Paired with the last dream, details of which he could recall as clearly as a summer's day, something was definitely wrong. Instinctively, he attempted to wrap his arms around himself in a makeshift hug, only to be reminded his right hand was chained to the wall.

Ash eyed it worriedly, swallowing the lump that formed in his throat.

The dream had been normal, if a little blurry. He'd been screaming, but the words were garbled mush and unintelligible. The door to the garage opened, and a figure stood there. Their form warped and twisted, going from a tall monstrosity to a shorter monster. They said nothing as they entered, summoning an attack and spearing him in the chest with it. Tears fell from his eyes, rolling down his cheek as he choked on his own blood before collapsing back against the shed wall, coughing and wheezing as he went. His vision grew spotty and dark, the pain unbearable, and that shadowed figure watched on in silence.

Emerging from his thoughts, Ash found he was glaring at the handcuffs. How he wished to snap the chains and run away; maybe smack Papyrus in the jaw, if he was lucky..

Realistically, though, he was stuck here until his untimely demise which could be any day now. Even if he did scream for help, no monster out there would care. He was a human, after all, and even if he wasn't there was still no chance of rescue. Frowning, Ash slumped against the wall.

Good job, idiot. He thought to himself, willing away tears. You're gonna fucking die cause you wanted to explore like some Indiana Jones rip-off.

The sound of tapping on a window pane jerked him to sit upright, craning his head to look at the window behind him. There, one green tendril, poised and ready. A glimmer of gold, and suddenly he was making eye contact with Flowey. Sniffling, Ash found it within himself to smile, which the flower returned. A second and third vine rose beside the first, twisting and weaving into one chunky vine. Flowey easily pushed open the window, chuckling to itself.

"Need help there, friend?" it joked, already descending into the shed. The sight would be unsettling if Ash wasn't so grateful to be saved right now. The chunky vine slid up his arm, wrapping around the limb as it went until it reached the cuff. There, it molded itself to fit in the keyhole. After some wiggling about, the lock inside clicked and it came loose. The vine removed itself quickly after that, giving Ash space to get up.

"We need to hurry." The flower stressed, watching as Ash rolled his wrist in a circle a few times, soothing the skin with his other hand. Realising the importance of the situation, the human nodded, crossing the distance to the window in quick strides. For the second time, his heart was pounding furiously in his chest, and the adrenaline was coursing through his veins. Flowey moved back, returning to the ground and giving Ash ample space to clamber out. Taking a deep breath, he hoisted himself onto the windowsill before slipping out and landing safely in a pile of pure white snow.

Flowey took this opportunity to coil around his body once more, which Ash allowed. "We gotta get to the king and stop him." he mutters, getting to his feet and brushing off any snow that hadn't melted onto his clothes. Flowey hummed. "Child murder is one crime, but starting world war three? whole different ballpark." Flowey looked appalled, which made Ash snort. He focused on their surroundings, carefully sneaking into the trees- deeper than he ventured last time, in the hopes it covered them both more securely.

"How about I give you some lessons in human history while I walk?"

--

Getting to Waterfall was almost too easy. Flowey, whilst listening to Ash's word vomit about humans, kept an eye out for witnesses and occasionally chipped into the conversation. Ash's next words caught in his throat much like the blood had in his dream, staring at the beautiful scenery that was Waterfall. The human wasted no time, sprinting into the new area with a smile on his face.

"We made it!" He celebrates, quietly, because there's still danger about. He isn't that dumb. Yet when faced with the realisation that you escaped your captors, it's only natural to feel happy. "Thanks for coming to get me, Flowey." he says, and the flower hides it's face. Probably embarrassed, the poor thing. Taking a deep breath, Ash focuses on planning. Sans and Papyrus could come after him, so it's best to be prepared. That said, although he hates it, perhaps he's going to have to start killing monsters...

A thought for later.

Chewing the inside of his cheek, Ash sets a brisk pace, hair swaying ever so slightly. Flowey snaps out of it's flustered daze, giving him a worried glance Ash pretends he didn't see. "We're literally saving the world right now." he mumbles, after a few moments of listening to nothing but the sound of rushing water. Flowey's attention turns to behind them, watching for pursuers. The path is empty, and so instead it watches as Snowdin fades away until tall grass obscures it's vision. "If Asgore is, as you said, set on fighting a war with humans... monsters will be wiped off the face of the earth for good, and a few million of our numbers will be cut down too.."

Ash liked pretending.

Using his imagination, music and the right props, he could take himself anywhere in the world. From the sand dunes of the desert to the tiled flooring of a palace, from a dystopian city to adventuring the wild of a jungle; Ash was free to do it all. Every opportunity to run free that presented itself, he took. His favourite fantasy to indulge in, though?

Saving the world from a threat so terrible that everyone's future rested on him.

This wasn't fantasy, though; if it was, he wouldn't have ran into nearly as many problems as he has.

"That serious, huh..?" Flowey says, more as a statement than anything, as the pair come to the end of the reed-like grass. Ash doesn't even question that now, like he would've done at the start of this nightmare. He doesn't give Flowey a response, too caught up in his own head. Channeling the belief he had when he still resided in Sans and Papyrus' house, he once again endeavours to convince himself that the world around him is unreal. That he is having some kind of hallucination, and he is going to be okay.

Not for the first time, Ash feels years older than he actually is.

They fall into silence again, letting the ambiance of Waterfall do all the talking. It would be peaceful, if the monsters weren’t so murder-y, Ash thought to himself with a roll of his eyes. He has half a mind to call them out on their discrimination, but considering he is but one human placed against hundreds of monsters (all of which itching to take his soul), he's much more inclined to fly under the radar.

The sooner he gets to the King, the better. According to Flowey, the areas that lay before the Capital are Waterfall, Hotland and the Core. In Waterfall, he has to get past Undyne; head of the Royal Guard, and definitely smarter than Papyrus.

Sans and Papyrus.

Hm. He wonders how they're doing, or how Papyrus is reacting.

Damn, I wish I got to punch Papyrus though. Narcissistic prick...

Although having no way to confirm this, Ash is sure Papyrus is tearing apart the house in his anger at being outsmarted twice. Flowey has relaxed some on his shoulder, a sign the flower is feeling just a little more at ease. If only he knew how to help more... As he nears a river, his steps slow until he's stopped completely. There, a small waterfall; while he's sure he could never provide that feeling of full security, he could at least try to make his friend feel confident about their journey.

Expression serious, he turns to look at Flowey. He's only slightly surprised to see it already looking at him, curious as to why they stopped. "You aren't like an actual flower, right? you won't die from overwatering?" Flowey shook it's head no, and couldn't even question why his human companion would ask such a thing before Ash was throwing himself into the body of water. One thing he'd noticed as they traveled was that Waterfall was humid; not swelteringly hot, but enough that the cold of Snowdin faded from memory. It was only right the water feel warm, too; although, he didn't like how it felt on his skin...

His head breached the surface, shaking wet hair out of his face. Flowey spluttered, soaked but okay. "What were you thinking?!" it screeched, in the way that friends do when they aren't actually mad. He knew this to be true when Flowey smiled, laughing despite the water dripping off of it's petals. "I needed a bath, dude. Besides, hotland is after this, right? I'll dry off in no time!" he assured his friend with a smile. For the nth time since stepping into Waterfall, a silence blanketed them. Ash swam over to hide behind some grass, allowing his body to go completely lax in the water. His head rested on the bank, attention focused on the ceiling.

"Why's the water here so warm..?" he whispers, lazily flicking his hand in the water. Flowey uses a vine as a makeshift cup, gathering some of the luminescent water and offering it to Ash. He drinks it, although grimacing as he does so. The water was lukewarm and so very uncomfortable, but Flowey appeared to be enjoying itself and so he would suffer in silence. "Well, it's as you said; we're right before Hotland, silly. It makes sense that Snowdin's water would be icy, Waterfall would be warm, and Hotland.." the flower trails off, taking it's vine away from Ash's mouth when it noticed all the water had been drank.

He waits, and then Flowey snorts. "Hotland is lava, to be honest, and the CORE doesn't have water, so..." he nods, although it doesn't make much sense to him. Like, at all. "And the Capital?" Flowey tenses, shuddering. It's less out of fear than disgust, as it's expression morphs into a grimace. "Dry, bland and downright terrible. Everyone who lives there is uptight, snobby prick with no regard for anything or anyone." Ash barks out a laugh at that one, which startles Flowey and makes him laugh harder as a result, curling in on himself from the force of it. When he's capable of speech, he says "yeah, that sounds like the type of people the King would enjoy." and returns to lazing in water he doesn't even like.

He realises that his cheeks hurt, because it's been days since he laughed so genuinely, or smiled so wide his teeth were on display.

Somewhere else, a skeleton is screaming violently into a pillow. Somewhere else, a skeleton watches his brother rampage through the house. Somewhere else, Sans and Papyrus are faced with an empty garage, undeniable proof that the human they captured just a day before had managed to escape them.

Here, Ash lay with his best friend and a new-found determination to not only see the King, but to leave this hellish place, and take Flowey and show the flower all the things he's been missing out on.

Is there a competition for 'best friend of the year'? cause Ash has clearly already won it.

Chapter Text

It starts with a dream.

This dream, when broken down to it's core, is one Sans has had a multitude of times before. At the same time, it's not.

The dreams before were the same; Sans stood in a vaguely familiar hall, waiting and waiting but he didn't know what for. Just that he had to. The colours and appearance of this hall were impossible to define. Everything, including his own body (when he finally had enough sense to look down) bled into each other like water on a painting. Usually, this dream ended with a slash across his chest, his blood yet another colour added to the mess. It faded with the sound of manic laughter echoing from somewhere. This time, though was different.

Maybe he'd had this variation of the dream before, but he couldn't remember it at all.

The hall was easier to see, if only a little. In front of him, on the cracked red and orange tiles, were specks of blood. Stationary as ever, his eyelights followed the trail to their source. The dots got bigger until the blood became a pool, and in the largest pool lay the corpse of the human that fell recently- Ash. His face was obscured from view, but the sight of flayed skin proved it was Sans' magic that caused his demise. In fact, there was a few bones still protruding from the human to confirm this.

Then, something strange happened.

Red-tinted tears slid down Sans' skull, his magic leaking profusely from his eyesockets. Ash did not move, did not breath, and it didn't occur to Sans to look for the flower that hardly left the human's side. Sans dropped to his knees, a sob making it's way past his teeth. He cried, and cried, unable to look away from Ash's corpse. Something akin to his soul tearing in his chest forced his skeletal hands from his jacket pocket, grasping at his red turtle-neck sweater.

The pain was unbearable. He assumed that this is the exact pain he'd be consumed by if Papyrus was somehow dusted; another monster swept away by the wind.

Sans awoke with a start, disturbed and more than a little uncomfortable. Given how silent the house was, he assumed it was early; or perhaps Papyrus left him to sleep in, having heard his crying. Unlikely, but not impossible.

Wait.

Crying?

Reaching up, a phalange brushed a stray tear from his eyesocket. That fact alone was surprising; he hadn't cried at any nightmare since he was a babybones. Hell, even then it hardly happened! Not to mention, his ribcage felt as heavy as it did in the dream, as if he was still mourning the kid's death. Ridiculous. The kid was still alive! He somehow managed both the Ruins and Snowdin, so he was definitely still alive in Waterfall.

...But was he?

Sans, enraged by this sudden wave of emotion, let out a frustrated yell and kicked his covers away. Screw keeping quiet! If Papyrus was sleeping, he was about to fucking wake up, because Sans refused to succumb to this- this phase. He hardly knew the kid, hardly cared- or, he thought, until that dream. What better way to deal with this issue than going right to the source?

From the next room, Sans heard something collide with the wall, triggering Sans to impulsively wipe his eyesockets of any remaining tears. Unphased by the string of curses Papyrus yelled out, he warped inside Papyrus' room, getting a front-row seat to the tall skeleton falling out of his bed. Papyrus, for all his talk, was not a morning monster. Heh, neither was Sans. Papyrus grunted, sitting up and resting his skull in his hands. "get th' fuck up. ya wanna go get this kid? we're gonna fuckin' get 'im."

Papyrus didn't say a thing, not even to appraise himself for being a good influence on Sans and getting him interested in work, for a minute or two before looking up and finally meeting Sans' gaze. SOmething in Papyrus' eyelights burned with the same passion Sans felt lighting his SOUL. They were on the same wavelength, then. Good. "GIVE ME FIVE MINUTES."

Five minutes was more than enough time for a quick stop at Grillby's, and so Sans agreed.

They were gonna find this fucking kid, even if they had to slaughter the whole of the underground to do it.

Ash had been in Waterfall for... a day? a few hours? it was unclear, but with Flowey by his side he didn't think it mattered all too much. Nudging an echo flower with the toe of his shoe, he reflected on the journey ahead. This trip was, by far, his biggest and most dangerous one yet. If he lived to tell the tale, Ash would bet he'd be rich. Think of how famous his story would make him!

That was if he made it out.

"Ash?" 

He smiled at Flowey, bittersweet but refusing to let his determination to be snuffed out. "I'm fine." because surely the flower was concerned about his well-being, right? at least, he thought that was what Flowey was getting at. Yet the look of panic of his friend's face made him rethink, doubling back. Flowey had called his name, but it was shaky. Scared. It took a few seconds, but the echo flowers around them began to babble. It wasn't the same mindless chatter as before, conversations and arguments of monsters that had passed this way.

No, this was recent things. Like, words spoken mere moments ago. He raised a hand, cutting off whatever Flowey had to say and listening.

"SANS! HURRY UP."

"tch. chill, boss, t' kid can't have gotten far."

"EXCUSES! WE MUST NOT UNDERESTIMATE OUR OPPONENT."

Ash refused to listen any longer, paralysed with fear. His blood ran cold, and for a moment he considered crying. Idiot, he thought. It was this, and the familiar surge of adrenaline, that powered his movements. "Flowey," he whispered, eerily calm. "I am going to run, and you aren't going to say anything. Alright?" the flower nodded. Ash crouched, bracing himself before sprinting forward and through the field. He was foolish to think those skeletons, goofy as they are, would end their pursuit at the end of their home.

Flowey hid it's face in his neck, and though he was breathing heavy, Ash could feel the way the flower's vines trembled around him. The number of echo flowers dwindled, as did the endless repeat of Sans and Papyrus' voice, fading into white noise.

They were following, though— he knew they were.

“WHERE THE FUCK COULD HE BE?!” Papyrus kicked the ground in fury, enraged and maybe just a little tired. Sans grunted, surverying the area. There was no small number of echo flowers around them, no doubt copying their conversation and playing it for every other flower to loop.

Wait.

“ah, fuck. if the kid was ‘ere, he booked it.” he snaps, grunting. Papyrus looks down at him, somehow even angrier than before. “WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?!” Sans rolled his eyelights, gesturing around them.

“are ya fucking blind? boss, there ain’t nothin’ but echo flowers here. the kid probably heard our voices ‘n left.” with a screech loud enough to scare any monsters in the vicinity scuttling away, Papyrus snatched his brother up and stomped in a direction he’d clearly chosen at random. 

“FOOLISH HUMAN! ATTEMPTING TO RUN FROM US! THAT BRAT BETTER PRAY, BECAUSE WHEN I FIND HIM...”

Sans slumps, knowing the journey was going to be long and Papyrus wouldn’t really mind if he took a nap for a few minutes.

“Shit shit shit fuck oh god-” Ash cursed, clutching his leg and hyperventilating all at once. His foot caught on something— a branch? Monster remanins? did it even fucking matter right now?— and with an undignified squeal, he fell to the ground.

Flowey raised it’s head just enough to see the issue was a twisted ankle. “C-can you walk on it..?” it asked, in admist quiet rambling from Ash. The human, still cursing his bad luck, pushed himself up onto his feet...

...only to fall right back down again, clutching at his ankle. Tears burned his eyes before they fell from his eyes, spilling down his cheek. 

“It hurts so bad what the fuck, oh shit,”

“I’m gonna die, they’re gonna get me, they are-”

Flowey had never seen it’s friend so panicked. Not even when he was chased by Toriel, or when Papyrus locked him up. Ash failed several times to calm down, gagging weakly and still gripping his leg worryingly tight.

It goes without saying that Ash has never, not on any prior adventure or in daily life, ever been hurt this bad.

“I- I can’t move it, it hurts so bad, what the fuck is wrong with it-?”

From thin air appeared a green oval-shaped thing. It was small, and very clearly magic, so Ash could only hope it was healing of some kind. It shot toward his ankle, colliding with his hand and evaporating. The effect was immediate; a warmth crashed over Ash, soothing him and easing the sharp stabbing pain he felt in his foot.

“There.” Flowey said, quietly, as his sobs eased and the tears dried. It sounded disturbed, a tone Ash decided he didn’t like on his flower friend. “You’re all better. Do... are you alright to walk now?”

Drying his eyes, Ash stumbled to his feet and dusted himself off. The world around them was quiet for the most part, the exception being the sounds of water pouring somewhere.

“Thanks. I, uh.. I’m really scared.” he isn’t sure why he chose now, of all times, to relay this information. Sans and Papyrus were likely hot on their trails, and now definitely wasn’t the time to get sentimental.

Ash was going to say it all anyway.

“I-.. I know I said I wasn’t going to be knocked down so simply, that I was going to take you to the surface and I really, truly want to— but the chances of me living are so slim, I’m not sure if I’ll get that chance.”

He doesn’t cry, instead giving Flowey a bittersweet smile. If he dies here, he wants Flowey to know exactly what’s on his mind so the flower never has to lament not asking. It never has to sit, thinking about Ash, with so many questions it can never ask.

“I want you to know I’m really happy you’re my friend, Flowey. If we somehow do survive, I’ll treat you to the whole surface as celebration.”

It goes without saying that Ash, young and broke as he is, will not be able to give Flowey the whole world. Doesn’t mean he won’t try, though; and that’s what brings the flower to raise a vine and weakly slap Ash in the face.

“S-stop talking like you’re about to die! We... you’re tired!” it protests, just as weak, before hiding it’s face in Ash’s shoulder. Ash chuckles, turning his attention to the path ahead of them. “Yeah, I am. Let’s keep moving; the further we get, the better.”

Sans and Papyrus are close by, he knows. But if he can delude Flowey into thinking they’re in the clear for now, then maybe it won’t be so hard to say goodbye when they catch up.

Surprisingly, Sans and Papyrus do not catch up. Flowey is giving him the silent treatment, though the vine it used to slap sense into him is curled around his left arm. Occasionally, it squeezes him; just enough to get Flowey’s point across.

I’m not mad at you.

Ash is happy to have known Flowey.

He isn’t sure where this came from. This suicidal thought process, where he’s already saying his final words to Flowey before they’ve even ran into any kind of lethal threat.

It takes a few minutes, but he finds an area he deems safe enough to take a rest. Whatever breakdown he had earlier took a toll on his body, leaving him feeling weak and tired.

“Let’s take a nap here.” he mumbles, sitting amongst the grass. There’s no echo flowers, and he isn’t by any water, meaning the area around their makeshift campsite is dark. Already, Ash can feel himself falling asleep.

Flowey says nothing, squeezing his arm once before snaking from his limbs and into the ground. Ash lays back, using his arm as a pillow and letting his eyes flutter closed.

“Wake me if there’s a situation..” he whispers, before sleep claims him.

Sans is sure they’ve gone the wrong way. Papyrus is marching around without any real thought as to where, searching for their human and his flower.

Papyrus doesn’t enter Waterfall much, because he doesn’t need to. Snowdin is his station, and anything beyond that is unfamiliar territory. Waterfall is where Undyne resides, and as Head of the Royal Guard, any human somehow getting past Papyrus definitely wasn’t getting past her.

“HAH! THIS HUMAN... THINKING HE CAN RUN FROM ME, THE GREAT AND TERRIBLE PAPYRUS..!” Papyrus hadn’t even acknowledged Sans, which was hilarious considering the taller skeleton still had him tucked under his arm like some kind of basketball. Not to mention, he began to mutter to himself.

Sans would offer to call it quits and go home, but Papyrus was given a mission and Sans knew all too well that Papyrus wouldn’t rest until it was completed.

He hadn’t even noticed they’d begun to approach Undyne’s house, and Papyrus clearly hadn’t either— until she was in front of them, amused and slightly irked at their presence.

“The fuck are you numbskulls doing in Waterfall?”