UT: Unbound Souls

The water glimmered faintly as Vance swam through the underground lake, his strokes rhythmic and steady despite the chilly temperature. The silence of the cavern was soothing, broken only by the sound of his movements. After what felt like an eternity, he finally spotted the soft glow of an opening above. With one last burst of effort, he surfaced, gasping for air as he pulled himself onto the ledge.

Looking around, Vance recognized the familiar surroundings of the ruins. The faint hum of magic in the air and the comforting scent of moss and stone told him he was back in the heart of the underground. As he made his way through the winding halls, memories of his past explorations surfaced, filling him with a mix of nostalgia and curiosity.

Eventually, he arrived at a room that felt like a warm embrace—the candy bowl room. The sight of the small pedestal brought a smile to his face. He remembered this place vividly, how he had once taken candies from the bowl during a time of desperation. Back then, he'd left a small letter along with some gold as a token of gratitude and apology for taking more than one candy.

To his surprise, the bowl was filled to the brim with candies, far more than before. The soft glow of the candies made the room feel even more inviting. As he stepped closer, he noticed a folded piece of paper resting beside the bowl. Picking it up, he unfolded the note and began to read:

"Thank you for your kind gesture. Your gold was greatly appreciated and allowed us to refill this bowl with even more candies for those in need. If you ever find yourself hungry again, please don't feel guilty about taking more than one. Hunger is not a crime, and this bowl exists to help those who need it."

Vance's chest tightened with emotion as he reread the words. Someone had found his letter and acknowledged his actions. Not only that, but they had gone out of their way to replenish the candy supply for others. The thought warmed his heart, and he felt a deep sense of connection to whoever had written the note.

Carefully folding the paper, he placed it back where he found it. He reached out and took a single candy from the bowl, unwrapping it and savoring the sweetness as it melted on his tongue. The taste was just as he remembered, comforting and nostalgic.

"Thank you," he whispered softly to the room, his voice barely audible but sincere. He stayed there for a moment longer, letting the warmth of the gesture wash over him.

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As he made his way through the ruins, he encountered a few monsters. Luckily, they were ones he had already met before, and they didn't challenge him to a battle this time. One of the monsters, a small Froggit with a bright smile, hopped closer to him and said, "Oh! Human! A little earlier, Toriel told everyone in the ruins to look for you. She said to inform her immediately if we saw you. She was very worried!"

Vance's heart sank at the thought of Toriel worrying about him. She must have been frantic when she realized he was gone without a word. Thanking the Froggit hurriedly, Vance picked up his pace, his legs burning with the effort but his determination stronger than his fatigue. The cozy warmth of Toriel's home felt like a distant haven, and he couldn't bear the thought of making her worry a moment longer.

On his way, Vance passed by the area where Mettaton's ghostly form had once lingered. The quiet chamber felt eerily empty now, devoid of the whimsical presence he remembered. The stillness made him realize how late it must already be, and he quickened his pace to make up for lost time.

Further along, he reached the Spider Bake Sale room, only to find it closed for the day. A small handwritten sign hung near the entrance, reading, "Closed for the evening. Come back tomorrow for fresh treats!" The sight of the sign reminded him how late it had gotten, and he made a mental note to return another time to support the spiders. Still, he couldn't linger—Toriel was waiting for him.

The thought spurred him onward, and he resumed his hurried pace, weaving through the familiar pathways of the ruins. Each step brought him closer to the warm glow of Toriel's home, his heart pounding with the hope of easing her worry and making amends for his unintentional absence.

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Just as he neared a familiar corridor, a voice called out from the shadows, chirping with an unsettling sweetness, "Oh, you're still here!" Vance stopped in his tracks, startled by the sudden appearance of Flowey. The small, golden flower grinned up at him, its face a picture of mock innocence. "I thought you'd have left by now. It's been, what, a day already?"

Vance blinked, still catching his breath from his hurried pace. "Uh... yeah, I guess it has been," he replied, not entirely sure how to respond.

Flowey's grin widened, his tone dripping with faux concern. "I mean, it's fine if you wanted to take a little break, but don't you think it's time to move on? If you really want to escape this place, you should probably get going."

Unaware of Flowey's true nature, Vance simply nodded his thoughts a jumble as he considered the flower's words. Flowey, meanwhile, observed Vance with concealed irritation. Over the past two days since Vance had fallen into the underground, the boy had done nothing but make friends—a behavior that grated on Flowey. Even when Vance had tried being kind to a literal dummy, Flowey had been tempted to reset the world just to change things.

At first, Flowey had thought he could manipulate Vance as easily as the other souls before him, nudging him toward aggression like the child with the Blue Soul. But something strange had happened. Despite his countless resets and attempts to load a world where he could influence Vance differently, each reset beyond their initial meeting led to a world where Vance simply didn't exist. Nothing notable happened in those worlds, leaving Flowey both confused and unsettled.

Despite countless resets, Vance's existence remained confined to that one singular save Flowey had made right after meeting him. No matter how many times Flowey reset the world, no matter how many attempts he made to change Vance's actions, nothing ever stuck. Each reset resulted in a world where Vance simply didn't exist, and in those worlds, nothing of significance or value happened. The world became dull and barren, void of the warmth and kindness Vance unknowingly brought.

At first, Flowey thought it was just a glitch in the system—a temporary anomaly that would resolve itself. He assumed Vance, like the other souls he had encountered, could be manipulated, could be shaped by his own will. But as Flowey continued his resets, trying to steer Vance toward aggression or any other behavior he could control, something odd began to surface. Every reset, every attempt to alter the course of events, led to the same result: a world devoid of Vance, a world where nothing changed or mattered.

Flowey's thoughts turned inward as he recalled the long stretch of time he had spent trying to understand his own existence. He had spent countless resets attempting to refine his powers, seeking to discover the source of his abilities to manipulate time. But there was always one thing that nagged at him: Chara. He knew Chara's red soul had something to do with his powers—he had absorbed some of it when he became Flowey and fused with once as Asriel, but even that knowledge didn't make everything clear.

Flowey didn't know the full extent of Chara's abilities. He didn't know that Chara, too, had been capable of manipulating reality, of altering timelines with the power of Will—the same power that had given Flowey his ability to reset. Flowey never fully understood why Chara had died or why she had chosen to use the poison to end her life. In his mind, it made no sense. If Chara truly had the powers that he now wielded, if she could bend the world to her will, surely she could have stopped the poison from ever reaching her lips.

In his many resets, Flowey's thoughts often returned to that moment—Chara's death. He would replay it in his mind, over and over again. The way Chara had eaten the poison, the way she had fallen, limp and lifeless. If Chara had had the same power to manipulate time as Flowey did now, she never would have died. He could reset to before she ate the poison, undoing her death, and she would still be alive. If Chara had known her own abilities, if she had known what she was capable of, she wouldn't have succumbed to the poison. She could have stopped it, reset the world, and made a different choice.

But, as much as Flowey had tried, he could never get an answer. His resets never revealed Chara's true potential, and all he was left with was the belief that she didn't know she had the power to change things. If she had, she would have used it. She wouldn't have died so helplessly.

Flowey's frustration mounted. If Chara had known, if she had understood her powers, things could have been so different. She could have survived, and they could have changed the world together. But instead, he was here—alone, trapped in a cycle of resets with no real purpose beyond his own bitterness.

Then there was Vance. The boy who didn't even seem to be aware of the fact that he was untouched by Flowey's resets. Vance's existence defied everything Flowey understood about time. No matter how many times Flowey tried to manipulate the world, no matter how many resets he initiated, Vance remained the same. He was a constant, an anomaly that stood outside the boundaries of Flowey's influence. It infuriated him.

In his many resets, Flowey had begun to believe that maybe Vance, just like him, had some hidden potential, some dormant power that could allow him to alter the world. But as the days passed, Flowey realized something unsettling: Vance didn't have determination. He had something else, something different, but not the one thing that made Flowey's resets possible. The very thing that had kept Chara from changing her fate.

The thought stirred something in Flowey's chest—something sharp and painful. If Vance had that power, if he had the same ability to reset, would he still have been able to save Chara? Would he have been able to undo the poison, to rewrite history and save her life? Or was it something more—was it just that Chara had never known the true extent of her abilities, and that lack of knowledge had cost her everything?

Flowey shook the thoughts away. No. He couldn't let himself get distracted by what-ifs. He was stuck in this cycle of resets, forced to watch a world without any real change. And Vance, with his innocent nature, was a reminder of everything Flowey couldn't control.

For now, all he could do was watch as Vance walked through the ruins, unaffected by the world around him, unaware of the true forces at play. Flowey clenched his petals, bitterness surging through him. If Chara had known her true power, she wouldn't have died. If Vance had it, maybe things could have been different. But for now, all Flowey had was his endless resets, and the knowledge that he would never fully understand the past or change the present.

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Vance stood there in the dim corridor, feeling an awkward tension rising within him. He had just been asked by Flowey why he was still in the ruins, considering Flowey had initially shown him the way out and even warned him not to pull the lever a day ago. The golden flower's tone had been unnerving, as if trying to prod him into an answer, but now Vance found himself caught in the uncertainty of his own thoughts.

"I... I just wanted to repay Toriel for all her help and accommodation," Vance finally answered, his voice a little less sure than he intended. He paused, his thoughts drifting as he lingered in the space between his decision and indecision. But do I really want to leave? he wondered silently. I have nowhere else to go. My parents in this life are terrible ones. Toriel's warmth, her care... It's the closest thing to a home I've ever had like my past life.

For a moment, Vance was lost in those thoughts, his heart heavy with conflicting emotions. The sense of belonging that Toriel had offered him was comforting, yet the pull of something outside the ruins, beyond the safety of her home, also tugged at his mind. He didn't know what was best anymore.

But before he could linger too long in his own indecision, he heard Flowey's voice again, snapping him back to the present.

"Oh, I see," Flowey said, sounding almost sincere, though his tone was still tinged with an unsettling sweetness. "You're trying to be polite. Well, I understand. It's only natural, I suppose, to want to show gratitude to someone who's been so... kind to you."

Vance blinked, a little startled by the flower's sudden shift in tone. Was Flowey being... genuine? Or was there something more behind those words?

Flowey, for his part, was inwardly frustrated, though he did his best to hide it. The world was never as simple as he wanted it to be, and Vance's kindness, his confusion, and his ability to resist manipulation were beginning to grate on Flowey's nerves. Despite his irritation, Flowey quickly pushed those feelings aside. He needed to stay in control, at least outwardly.

Think, Flowey... think, he muttered inwardly, trying to calm his rising frustration. I can't just use my save and load powers like before... that won't work on him. If Vance is stubborn about staying here, I need another way to make him leave...

And then, an idea struck him. A brilliant idea that made him smile inwardly, even if his face remained neutral.

Flowey's grin slowly returned to his petals as he spoke again, his tone light but edged with something less than friendly. "You know, if you really want to repay Toriel, it'd be better to leave the ruins so she won't have to worry about you. She's a kind soul, but she doesn't deserve to be burdened by someone who's just... stuck here."

Vance shifted uncomfortably at the comment. His initial instinct was to deny it, but then something in Flowey's words struck a chord. The idea that Toriel would worry about him left him with a gnawing feeling. He didn't want to disappoint her. But the thought of leaving, of truly leaving her behind, felt like it might be more than he could handle.

Flowey took a small step forward, his grin sharpening ever so slightly as he sensed the moment of vulnerability. "You're not doing yourself any favors staying here, Vance. Besides, maybe if you went outside, you'd find something that makes you feel more... fulfilled. Toriel's kindness can only go so far. There's a whole world beyond these ruins."

As the words hung in the air, Vance's heart tugged again. Was Flowey right? Should he just leave, as much as it pained him? The voice in his head that had been quiet before—the one that wondered about the world beyond the ruins—grew louder.

Flowey, now fully caught up in his own scheme, suppressed a growing sense of satisfaction. He didn't need to manipulate Vance through his usual powers. Instead, he'd use Vance's own uncertainty to steer him. That would be enough.

"Look," Flowey continued, his tone softening just a little, "I'm not trying to tell you what to do. I'm just... helping you think it through. Do you want to repay Toriel's kindness? The best way to do that is to leave the ruins, take what she's given you, and make something of yourself out there. Don't stay trapped here forever."

Vance stood motionless for a moment, processing Flowey's words. His chest tightened as he thought of Toriel, her gentle face, her patience, and all the ways she had given him a sense of home. But the thought of what might lie beyond the ruins, of the unknown world outside, whispered to him like a distant promise.

Flowey watched Vance closely, calculating every shift in his expression, every breath. The seed of doubt was planted. It was only a matter of time before Vance made his decision.

Come on, Vance, Flowey thought, barely able to contain his excitement. Make the right choice. Don't stay here, don't linger. Move forward, and let me see how far I can take this.

Finally, Vance nodded slowly, his decision made. "I... I think you're right, Flowey. I should go. Toriel will understand. I just... don't want to hurt her feelings."

Flowey's petals fluttered in a barely suppressed sense of triumph. Perfect. He's falling right into place, Flowey thought, his grin widening again. "Of course, Vance. Toriel will understand. You've made the right choice."

As Vance turned and began walking down the familiar corridor, his footsteps echoing softly in the quiet of the ruins, Flowey lingered in the shadows, watching. The manipulation was far from over, but for now, he had what he wanted. Vance was leaving, and it was just the beginning.

Let's see how far you'll go, Vance... Flowey mused silently, his thoughts full of potential plans as the boy continued onwards the room heading back to Toriel's home with not as much hurry as before.