My savior was a girl hardly older than I was, yet nearly a head taller. Chara had returned to me to face off against the monster, in my heart I felt a fire lit anew.

The monster in question was shrinking in on himself, "C-chara? You're actually here?" Flowey seemed almost shocked, for the first time in our battle... A true sense of discontent appeared on his face. Sewing the thoughts of misery strewn across this Hollowed world.

"Oh, so you know my name? A miserable creature like yourself knows me? Ha! That's pretty funny, I'm not surprised you look so scared now..." A click of her tongue and a scowl, she pushed onwards.

"You killed my father in cold blood after all..." The sudden shift of temperature wasn't from Flowey, every step the red eyed human took caused the faux-God to retreat backwards into himself.

"Y-yeah, I did! It's a kill or be killed world after all... You showed me that!" What was he talking about? Muttering and insane ramblings of a delusional flower, it seemed Chara was just as perturbed as I was.

"What are you talking about? That's..."

"Don't mess with me Chara! Has your time with this idiot made you forget all about me?" He began to mock us with his screen changing to cartoonish imitations of me and Chara.

"Oh look at me I'm Vergil and I'm so strong and stoic! Fear my power... Fear me ahahaha!" He switched over to another, higher pitched impression.

A more feminine voice, "No, don't kill Vergil! There are better ways to settle your differences aahhhh I'm such a crybaby!" He finished his mockery of us with a demonic chuckle reverberating through this cavern.

"It makes me SICK to my core, watching you two frolic around trying to convince each other of your own worthless sentiments, pacifism, honor, whatever... And It makes no sense!" Chara was stuck, unable to move... Her face paled with a grim realization...

His coyness returned, "After all, you wanted me to kill every last human... Didn't you Chara? Back then, you pushed me to do it! You're the reason why I'm like this." Flowey smiled innocently with a sing-song voice.

"Did you really think you're the only one who survived that day?" Pulling myself to my feet, I dragged my weakened body over and stood wobbly next to the spectral human.

"How could you be such an idiot? Your attempts at saving one another, at doing the right thing... They are meaningless to me!" Damnit... I couldn't let him win, Chara was here now... We couldn't lose.

But...

The words of this beast... Could they possibly mean what I think they do? How could I have missed it? A being who knew Chara personally... Light appeared in my eyes, recognition.

"Impossible..."

Chara was unable to respond to the flower's scathing remarks, her breaths becoming erratic... It must be true then, this being... This terrible creature...

Flowey frowned at the lack of response, "In that case... I'll reset this world once again-" I watched in futility as the abomination prepared to set me back to another death, my breath quickening in realization...

But nothing happened.

"W-what? What's going on? The souls? Where are my powers?" An incredible joy shot through my soul when I realized that his reset failed, a fool to the end... He was not unstoppable... No God!

Suddenly, the souls shot out of him like escaping starlight, their beings illuminating the darkness with ephemeral light.

'That's right!'

Those souls, humanities hearts... They are here now as well! The power Flowey used to get this far, they will be his undoing! Rebelling in his moment of distraction, violent winds began to pummel us from all sides.

I embraced Chara, holding her shaking body close to mine as the light of soul began to flash erratically, each one shining upon us with and drawing upon their various emotions... Traits... Ideas and principal...

Kindness!

Bravery!

Patience!

Justice!

Integrity!

Perseverance!

Each and every one, hearts beating as one. The souls began to swirl and swirl like a cyclone of energies, the cosmos beheld all around Flowey as he cried and roared for them to stop.

"THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING! YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO OBEY ME!" I felt a grin grow on my face, holding my friend tightly as the light of force crashed over our beings, violent winds rippling through this dimension.

"STOPPPP!"

"STOPPPP IT!"

The souls tore apart his body slowly, their energies mixing in with his corrupted form and dispelling the evil...

"I am the God of this world... NOW OBEY MEEEEEEEE!"

BUT THEY

REFUSED!

The souls all conjoined at once at the same location, coming together in a singularity inside Flowey, their energies mixing and churning until finally... Releasing a bright enough light to stun and shock both me and Chara! But I still held on to my friend, even when the wind threatened to tear us away... I still held on.

And then, once again, there was only light.

The wind was back, the echo of howling currents through my ears and causing chills to run down my spine.

Elation filled my soul.

For the beast was gone, and the nightmare was gone with it. Chara and I, after recovering from the flash of light, quickly realized that in its place was the very same flower from the beginning of our journey. I released our embrace, holding Chara's hand just like she held mine... I caught her red eyes with my own, seeing the turmoil going through her mind from the outside in.

"Chara, tell me... Are you alright." Genuine worry laced my voice, shocking me as much as it shocked her.

Chara coughed, shaking her head suddenly. "I'll be fine partner..." There were words left unsaid, but right now there were more important matters to attend to.

Both our gazes turned towards the flower at the center of the room.

Flowey...

My eyes narrowed suddenly, and the only thing I felt at this moment was pure... Unadulterated and unrestrained... Hatred.

A dark blue mirage blade appeared in my hand. "It's time to do what I should've done long ago." My voice darkened and I held tightly to the blade I'd summoned for a single purpose.

Flowey's petals drooped down, his face covered in darkness. "So... You've finally realized? There is no mercy in this world... So do it, kill me." I'd be doing what he wanted clearly, but at this point I couldn't care less.. This monster deserved to die.

I raised the sword up in a quick stroke, "You are truly pathetic weed, to have thought there would be any other outcome than my sword through you." My words had such venom, but the weed merely smiled unsettlingly, releasing his last breath in acceptance.

How I wanted to crush him into pieces...

'For all my pain, for all your crimes!'

But... Her voice stopped me in my tracks, blade mere inches from the flower's stem. Sweat drizzled down my face while my hands shook.

"Partner... Please." My skin froze, Chara rarely spoke so quietly.

"What? You'd have me spare him, after all this time?" I didn't dare glance back to my friend, afraid I'd be too weak to deny her request if we met eyes.

"Yeah... Please trust me on this one, you can't let yourself be consumed by hatred and spite. You'll be no different from... Him..." Chara choked out, her voice becoming stronger.

Perhaps she was right? All this time I'd been focused entirely on the advent of more power and nothing else, ignoring all those around me and projecting an aura of indifference... Neglecting my humanity, I became weaker ironically... And now I was faced with a choice too much for my sad soul to make.

"Don't listen to that crybaby, just strike me down!" Flowey rose his glare just a smidgen out of darkness.

But... I was too weak. "I..."

"Just do it! Don't you get it? If you spare me then I'll just come back again!" To continue terrorizing everyone and everything, I couldn't let that happen.

"Vergil, just let me handle this... Put the sword away." The sword began to violently tremble in my hand, Flowey facing up to stare directly through it and at me.

"I'll kill everyone you've ever met! Everyone you love! I'll make them suffer just like I made you suffer!" My breath hitched as the flower's face warped more and more insane, becoming disfigured by the second.

"Shut up!" Chara suddenly roared as she took her place next to me, holding gently onto my shaking hands... Calling me to put the sword away, I... I should listen, no matter how much I wanted to pierce this demonic weed and be done with it.

Chara had saved me.

Golden visions of those two children playing together appeared in my mind once again, their amulets reminding me of my own; the one my brother had as well. My entire body was quivering in anticipation, in reluctance as I watched the golden memories inject themselves into my mind.

"... I see... It's up to you then, Chara." The blue light evaporated into nothing, traces of my power becoming null until at last... I lowered my guard... Slowly but surely and then-

I spared Flowey... No, that wasn't his name was it?

...

Chara smiled at me, tightening her grip over my hand with a last tug before releasing, "Thanks partner."

She strolled towards the psychotic flower, his face becoming confused. "I don't get it... I don't understand... I just can't understand! You were just like me, Vergil! You were the same! Why... Why are you being so kind to me?"

Chara let him finish his spiel, and no matter how much I wanted to kill him... I wasn't strong enough...

My eyes closed, "Someone I knew very briefly told me that a true act of goodwill always sparks another... He told me that, and then spared me... Even when it meant the suffering of his people, even when I myself... Would have killed him at the time without a second thought." My voice held a rare emotion, regret. I then opened my eyes with a new emotion...

Empathy.

"And I'm not one to kill the Son of a man I respect." Chara turned her gaze to me suddenly, realizing that I knew...

"Isn't that right?" Flowey's eyes widened, breath hitching.

"Asriel?"

A small tinge of satisfaction grew in my veins as I saw the flower step into a momentary state of shock.

He glared at Chara, "You told him then, somehow..."

She shook her head of course, "No, he figured that out all by himself... You weren't exactly being discreet about it earlier." Her voice had a weird echo to it, almost as if she was nearly crying but unable to.

We stood in silence for a moment, Chara merely sitting in front of the flower with tears trying to escape from her eyes. As if she was trying to think of what to say.

"Azzie-"

"Don't call me that, he died a long time ago!" A shrill request, but Chara didn't flinch away or shy away. Almost as if she was fearless when facing this demon, her brother... Asriel.

"Flowey it is then, brat." The two siblings stared at each other with heavy tension, reminding me of my own past in the same situation.

Flowey sighed and looked away, "What are you trying to pull here Chara, I've been soulless for way too many years to count... All sense of compassion, care, kindness, gone!" Chara didn't let up her gaze.

Flowey continued, "So again, what are you trying to do? This is your fault anyways, I thought you'd understand... But you lied to me that day, you said it was kill or be killed... Yet here you are acting like there's another choice in this game." I saw Chara grit her teeth as the flower bombarded her.

"You idiot." Suddenly Flowey leaned back as if struck, his face reeling from the venomous insult.

"Do you really think this is what I wanted? That I wanted you to... To become a psycho? No..." Flowey merely chuckled at that, barely phased by the emotion in Chara's voice.

"Unfortunately for you and me, we didn't have a choice in what we became..." Hollow, the pretense was gone.

"No Flowey... You chose this when you decided to kill our father!" Her rage was palpable, but Flowey couldn't feel any of it.

His voice was soft, "Do you think it matters now? Either way, here we are. A ghost and a flower, a world like this that will never stop repeating... Wouldn't it be easier to just throw it all away?" Chara growled suddenly before tearing something out of her shirt, a golden glimmer shining brightly in her palm.

She shook it in front of the flower, "Is this meaningless to you Flowey? Is this something you want to throw away like it never happened? Like I never loved you and you never loved me? Like..." Chara choked out suddenly, shaking the heart shaped locket in front of Flowey, her eyes blazing in anger.

"We were never family?"

For a small second, we both hoped for something... that anything would get through to the flower...

But he merely smirked, "All of that means nothing to me... I can't feel love, I can't feel hope, I can't feel happiness anymore Chara... don't you get it? Don't you understand how hard that is? How impossible it is to empathize when I can't even LOVE MY OWN PARENTS? THIS ISN'T MY CHOICE!" The only thing Flowey could feel... Was spite.

A grim smirk curled onto his face, "This world IS kill or be killed, and despite everything you've done to uproot your own convictions... Guess what, as soon as demons leave the underground... As soon as you guys leave me behind... There won't be peace! You IDIOT. It would be better if this, all of this, all our suffering was gone..." A hint of rage coming from the flower's voice, Flowey's stem was vibrating.

But.. Chara merely smiled at what he said, shocking Flowey once more out of his musings.

Her eyes glimmered, "No... Maybe I would've agreed with you at one point, but a lot of things have changed Asri- Flowey... I've seen things I never thought I would ever see, met people I never thought I would meet. And all the while, I realized that it IS possible to change..."

"If you really try." She glanced back towards me quickly, her eyes flashing a brilliant crimson.

Turning back to Flowey, a real true smile appeared across her lips, "And I wouldn't be here now telling you this without those... Those incredibly foolish human souls that despite what I thought... Helped me reach you here. And even if humanity will always be bigoted, cruel, and stupid... The small few who can be good... Don't they deserve to live as well?" Chara's visage brightened, a real and true ear to ear smile finally appearing across her face.

Her gaze looked towards the void, as if catching the gaze of ghosts, "Demons... Humans... Even if they are set in their ways... Can they not still choose to change, to be better every day? Even if the jealous and cruel ones exist, there will always be demons who are kind... Patient, as long as the perseverance to do the right thing still exists in man or beast... This world will be one worth protecting!" Chara finished her spiel, clutching her fist and raising it to the sky.

I felt an odd sense of pride, seeing her lit up so brilliantly... With such motivation, with such nobility. A far cry from the girl who when I first arrived, seemingly held a defeated perception of the world.

"It's something I hated to admit... But I saw it before my very own eyes all this time." Chara turned to me, "Vergil may be a demon, but he's human too... And even then he still found it in himself to change... To see through the eye of a heart."

My breath hitched suddenly, a familiar choking sensation coming over my throat... Falling to my knees.

"And if Vergil can change... If I can change then... So can you." I collapsed to my knees, clutching my chest with all my might as her words nearly drew me to tears.

Finally, "It's not too late Flowey, it's not too late to get a second chance..." She turned to speak to the flower again... but beneath both our noses, and to Chara's dejection.

Flowey ran away...