— authored by #heartseating.

[ Rising from its cage, the SOUL drowning the world in evanescent LIGHT. Until nothingness is left in its wake, a blank void of a canvas. ]

[ THE DARK FOUNTAIN HAS BEEN SEALED. ]

Please.
...

* He turns toward Susie.

She deserves to be treated right.
She deserves to be loved. To be respected.

You know what that feels like, right?

* ...
* Flowey ran away.

You and Asriel,

* He turns towards Ralsei. His voice is single-note. The forlorn look in his eyes screams guilty; like he'd been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

You.
Need to keep this a secret from dad, okay?

He wouldn't like knowing that we'd been fighting.

—

* It spoke.

...
Look at me.

Pretty pathetic, right?

Dad'll kill me.
He's gonna kill me for this.

...
Kris.

I can't go back.
Not like this.

—

* A vine appeared, right at Kris' feet.

* Then, a flower.

* Its petals looked torn into strips of confetti. Far from perfect. If you squinted, you could make out what he might've looked like in the past. Before he'd occupied the tall, haunting machine that was tilted over the trio.

—

* The machine falls into a kneel. Its arms concede into itself. The rhythmic motor storming from inside of him dulls to a hum, then a purr that peters out.

* The black nothing that once shined in his eyes like a pool at night faded into an absolute nothing. The machine went cold.

* ...

—

* The flora ties itself into a knot. It cuts into K_K's paint like a chisel molding a piece of stone.

* The scream of bending metal echoes down byways of trash.

You aren't fun.
Not yet.

Let's be friends.

* His eyes oppress.

* They want to help us.

* ...
* FLOWEY NEO's defense fell to 0.

St
Stop.

Stop it.

stop talking.

* His cannon flashed and groaned. It fired another volley of dark at the three. It sprayed in a cone.

There was something fighting him to steady his gaze on her. The beam of light meant to track their moves faltered at keeping still.

* She still wants Alphys to heal. In spite of how much he's fought and torn into Susie, she still finds good in her.

* He found it in himself to stare into her.

—

* It

* It hurts.

* He would make this right.

* ...
* FLOWEY NEO's defense went down.

* He shifted his gun towards Susie. He had to lift the blaster with his free arm. The robot seemed to shake. He coughed.

* He didn't want this.
* He didn't want to hurt her. —

* It... it didn't know what it was talking about. The doctor made this body for him out of love. Out of appreciation for his company. She promised him this body in exchange for his protection— it was a gesture of friendship.

* ...
* His father haunted his mind. It looked just like his father.

—

It was... an awkward sort of grimace.

* Something flashed in him. It made him jitter funnily.

* ...
* FLOWEY NEO's attack went down.

* He pointed his gun towards Ralsei.

* This thing... It looked like Asriel.

* It preached to him, just like he did.

—

* Kris didn't fight back because, they were thinking.

* He eyed Kris's tentative expression. It made him wince. They made that face when they were deciding what to have for breakfast in the morning. When they didn't know what show to put on. When Toriel would ask them to water him. —

* His armor exhausts steam from his back. He charges another burst in his blaster, aiming it in defense against his enemies.

* They didn't fight back. They didn't fight back because they were scared. They didn't fight back because they were preparing something...

—

It's a shame, really.

* Its vines tighten, crinkling his metal like a piece of scrap paper.

I like you. You're fun. We could've been friends.

* It swings K_K close to its nose, looking deep into his eyes. Its own eyes communicate nothing.

...

Say something.

Speak.

I'm not for playing around.

* The vines fasten and cinch around K_K. They're strong enough to bend and crush metal with ease. They intended on folding K_K in on himself, but it decides to carry him off.

Please come with me.
She and I will do it together.

...

She might even keep you.
Update you.

* It props its gun towards the creature, steady like a mannequin. It stands stalwartly in front of Alphys. She trembles, holding onto its leg like a child.

( ✡︎︎□︎︎◆︎︎ ♎︎︎□︎︎ ■︎︎□︎︎⧫︎︎ ⬧︎︎♍︎︎♋︎︎❒︎︎♏︎︎ ◆︎︎⬧︎︎. )

( 🕈︎︎♒︎︎♋︎︎⧫︎︎ ♋︎︎❒︎︎♏︎︎ ⍓︎︎□︎︎◆︎︎❒︎︎ ♓︎︎■︎︎⧫︎︎♏︎︎■︎︎⧫︎︎♓︎︎□︎︎■︎︎⬧︎︎ ⬥︎︎♓︎︎⧫︎︎♒︎︎ ⧫︎︎♒︎︎♏︎︎ ♎︎︎□︎︎♍︎︎⧫︎︎□︎︎❒︎︎? )

( 💧︎︎♒︎︎♏︎︎ ⬧︎︎♏︎︎♏︎︎❍︎︎⬧︎︎ ⧫︎︎♏︎︎❒︎︎❒︎︎♓︎︎♐︎︎♓︎︎♏︎︎♎︎︎... 🕈︎♒︎♋︎⧫︎ ♋︎❒︎♏︎ ⍓︎□︎◆︎ ♑︎□︎♓︎■︎♑︎ ⧫︎□︎ ♎︎□︎ ⧫︎□︎ ♒︎♏︎❒︎? )

.. I am important, opulent, ethereal.
I am the future.

.. After being so insubordinate earlier?

* An engine revs.

I think the doctor would prefer I wreck and search you for any useful parts.

* His back animates, transforming his large, back arms into a maelstrom of vines. They capture K_K's arms and legs.

I've got my doubts, though.