Harmony of Heroes: Ultimate Multiverse Explorers

by Lucar

Chapter 32: Date And Golden Flowers

Sweetie Belle and Frisk left the CORE and began to traverse the bridge back to MTT Resort when they received a call.

«AH! SEE, UNDYNE? I TOLD YOU THAT I WOULD BE ABLE TO REACH THEM!» they heard Papyrus shout from the other side of the phone.

«What? This doesn't make sense! They should be at New Home now! We shouldn't be able to reach them from here unless they decided to return to Hotland! And they have no reason to!» Undyne replied.

«WELL, WE CAN ASK THEM.»

"We're returning to Alphys' lab," Frisk informed.

«OH, I SEE! YOU WANT TO HANG OUT WITH DOCTOR ALPHYS BEFORE REACHING ASGORE. THAT'S A GREAT IDEA! AND THAT'S A GREAT TIMING BECAUSE UNDYNE WANTED TO ASK YOU SOMETHING ABOUT HER.»

"What is it?" Sweetie Belle asked.

«LET ME PASS THE PHONE. OH! BUT FIRST, LET ME TELL YOU THAT I HAVE ABSOLUTELY LOVED YOUR FIGHT WITH METTATON! IT WAS THE MOST AWESOMEST MOMENT OF MY LIFE!!!»

"Great to hear," Frisk said.

«Give me that! Hey punks! As he said about the fight! To tell you the truth, I can't stand Mettaton, so watching you put him back in his place was very enjoyable! Anyway, uh, you said you wanted to return to Alphys' lab? Well then, could you, before that, come back to Snowdin? I have... something that I want you to give her.»

"Uh, sure!"

«Great! To rapidly return to Snowdin, you can use the River Person's boat, just South of Alphys' lab entrance. You won't miss it. Well, that's if they're stationed in Hotland. They could be in Waterfall now. They're certainly not in Snowdin right now, we looked. If they're not in Hotland but in Waterfall, then you will find them just South of old Gerson's shop, not far of my house.»

"Or, instead of using this boat hoping that it will be there, I can do something else. You're in Papyrus' house, right?" Sweetie Belle asked.

«We're in front of it actually, both Papyrus and I. Why?»

Instead of answering, Sweetie Belle teleported both her and Frisk in front of Papyrus and Sans' house back in Snowdin. They appeared not far of Papyrus and Undyne, making them jump, the captain almost dropping the phone.

"Gah!"

"NYEH!"

Sweetie Belle waved at them, giving them her most innocent smile. "Hey there!"

Meanwhile, Frisk was on her knees beside her, trying not to throw up.

Undyne gave the filly a bemused look. "Right... You can do that."

"APPEARING OUT OF NOWHERE WITHOUT WARNING SHOULDN'T BE ALLOWED FOR THE HEALTH OF THE OTHERS! SANS ALREADY DOES THIS ENOUGH! AND FRISK SEEMS TO AGREE WITH ME!"

"Oh don't worry about Frisk. That happens to everyone the first few times, but they eventually get used to it. I'm still trying to find a way to teleport someone without getting them sick. Anyway, what did you want us to give to Alphys?"

At this, Undyne visibly blushed before she grabbed an envelop. "This letter."

"Oooh?" Sweetie Belle gave the captain a knowing look.

"Stop giving me that look!" Undyne yelled, face fully red now. "Now, just go to Hotland and deliver it! And don't read it or I'll KILL you!"

Sweetie Belle giggled before taking the letter. "Okay."

"But why don't you do it? Wouldn't it be easier?" Frisk then asked, having recovered from the teleportation.

Undyne looked very embarrassed then. "W-well... Um... I-it's kind of personal, but we're friends... so... I'll t-tell you... Hotland SUUUUCKS!!! I don't wanna have to go over there!!! So here you go!"

Sweetie Belle nodded in understanding. "Of course. As a fish-monster, Hotland's high temperatures must hit you hard."

"You got it the furball! I can't even go there in armor without getting heatstroke! So I'm glad that I can count on you! You're the best! Thank you very much!"

"You're welcome!" the human and the pony replied.

"Alright, I will teleport us back to Hotland, in front of the lab," Sweetie Belle then warned Frisk.

The human girl gulped and said "Okay" before she fully closed her eyes, hoping to avoid the sickness thanks to this.

Sweetie Belle then teleported them as she said. Now in front of the lab, they went to enter it only to find out that the doors were locked shut. Instead of teleporting inside and possibly startle the poor scientist, they searched for a mail slot only to find none, so they slid the letter under the door before giving it a knock.

In the following seconds, they could hear Alphys' footsteps, and then her voice behind the door, talking to herself.

"O-oh n-no, is that another letter...? I don't want to open it... C-can't I just slide it back out...?"

This made Sweetie Belle and Frisk exchange glances in wonder. What was the problem with the mail?

"N... no... I can't keep doing this. I'll read this one... Um... I-it-s shut k-kind of strongly, isn't it?"

Typical Undyne...

"Wait a second..."

They then heard a weird sound before the door opened.

"Hey, if this is a joke, it's...... Oh My God? Did one of YOU write this letter?"

Oh... Undyne forgot to sign it, isn't it?

Sweetie Belle could definitively NOT let this occasion pass.

Hiding a grin, the filly pointed at Frisk.

The human looked back at her in shock and horror, not believing what she just did.

"O-oh I see... It wasn't signed, so, I had no idea who could have... Oh my god. Oh no. That's adorable... And I h-had no idea you, um, wrote that way! It's surprising too... After all the gross stuff I did..."

Frisk then attempted to correct her, but Sweetie Belle used her magic to keep her mouth closed.

Don't. This may be what we need to put behind what happened and help her, the filly then said to her in her mind, surprising Frisk.

"I don't really deserve to be forgiven," Alphys continued, not aware of what happened. "Much less, um... This? And so passionately, too."

"In the contrary. You deserve a second chance," Sweetie Belle said.

"Y... You think so?"

They both nodded in answer.

"... You know what, okay! I'll do it! It's the least I can do to make it up to you! Y-yeah! Let's go on a date!"

Alphys then returned inside the lab to get herself dressed.

Frisk took the occasion to glare at Sweetie Belle who just replied with a grin.

"Come on. You already did it with Papyrus. You can always tell Alphys the truth after that date. You can even say that it's all my idea and that, this way, we're even."

Frisk gave the filly a pout before she said, "Alright..."

Alphys returned at this moment, now wearing a gorgeous dress.

"H-how do I look?"

"Sublime!" Sweetie Belle answered. "Well then, I will leave you to your date!"

She then teleported away, deciding to wait in Grillby's and play some rounds of Poker with whoever was present (hopefully Sans and the dogs).

---

After a few rounds...

Sweetie Belle looked at her cards, a six of spade and a king of heart. Then, she looked down at the two cards on the table, a six of heart and a king of diamond.

So, she was already assured a Two Pairs, and if she was lucky, she could get a Full House.

She looked at the other players around the table. Bob the Temmie had folded at the beginning of the round. Dohj, a brown female dog who wanted to become a member of the Canine Unit, did so after the first card had been revealed on the table. This left only two other players: Sans and Mad Mew Mew.

Yes, apparently, Mad Dummy found a life-sized Mew Mew doll more in their taste, so Sweetie Belle decided to call them, or her, Mad Mew Mew.

And seeing her face, she seemed confident in her actual hand.

She wasn't good at hiding her emotions...

Sans however... It was just impossible to read him. He always had that smile, no matter what.

The skeleton then revealed the last card on the table.

A three of heart.

Sweetie Belle internally groaned. Well, here goes the Full House... But at least, a Two Pairs in not that bad.

"Take that. Take that! TAKE THAT! Two Pairs!" Mad Mew Mew shouted in victory, revealing her hand composed of a king and a three.

No wonder she was sure of herself, a pair of kings is rather good. And then, she got a pair of threes.

"welp, i lost," Sans said, revealing a pair of aces in his hands. "lucky you got that three."

"Ah, so, I would've lost if I hadn't gotten it..." Mad Mew Mew said, sweat appearing on her dolly face somehow.

"Actually..." Sweetie Belle began before she revealed her hand. "You still lose."

Even if they both had a pair of kings, Sweetie's pair of sixes was superior to Mad Mew Mew's pair of threes.

"Arg! Damn it!"

"Eheh. Good job kid," Dohj said.

"That was close," Bob said.

"Just you wait! I will win the next round!" Mad Mew Mew said as Sans gathered the cards and mixed them.

But then...

Ring!

"Oh?" Sweetie Belle took her phone and looked at who was calling. "Sorry guys, but I must go." She quickly took the gold coins she won under the groans of Mad Mew Mew. "It was great! I hope to play against you again some day!" She then jumped down from her chair and answered the call as she exited the bar. "Hey Frisk! So your date is over?"

«Yes,» Frisk answered.

"Okay. where are you?"

«At the Save Point not far of Undyne's house.»

"Okay, give me a second," Sweetie Belle said before she teleported to the indicated place, finding the human girl here. "So, how did it go?"

"Uh... It was... weird. She didn't know what to do, she took it like a game, and even brought all kinds of objects to raise my "affection statistic." And the worst was that they were all gift clearly for Undyne, not me. Like a polish for armor."

"Oh my Celestia..." Sweetie Belle said at this, putting a hoof on her head while slowly shaking it with an amused smile.

"Then she brought us to the Garbage Dump."

"Ah, of course... What is a better place for a date than a garbage dump?" Sweetie Belle deadpanned.

"And she saw Undyne coming so she quickly hid behind a trash can. When Undyne was gone, she then revealed to me her love to her but she was too scared to tell her because she feared what Undyne may think of her if she discovered the real Alphys who was hidden behind all the lies. So I began to help her, convincing her to tell Undyne everything and giving her the confidence she needed to do it. We even began to roleplay with me as Undyne! But then, as she was spilling her heart to me about how she wanted Undyne to hold her, Undyne returned and heard this!"

Sweetie Belle burst into laughter at this. "W-woah! She couldn't have chosen a worst timing! Or best timing! Whatever!"

"Well, I guess that it was the best timing because Alphys was able to tell Undyne everything. And then... Everything went weird again."

"How so?"

"Undyne threw Alphys in a trash can..."

"Say what?"

"Then she said that she didn't care about all that and that she loved Alphys because she was passionate and all. So Alphys didn't have any reason to lie to her and anyone else and wanted her to stop. Undyne then said that she will help her become happy with who she was and Papyrus came from nowhere to train her. And finally, when Alphys was gone with Papyrus, Undyne began to have a breakdown about whether or not anime were real and became really scary, but I told her the truth and she accepted it before leaving me."

"See? Everything went well! You didn't have to worry!"

Frisk huffed. "Yes, well, then, before reaching this Save Point, I got a call from Papyrus who told me that Alphys had already finished her training and he sent her to her home. And he advised me to go see her. He sounded a bit strange, by the way."

"I'm not surprised about this outcome. Most nerds don't have a lot of stamina. So, we still go to Alphys' lab?"

"Yeah, but before that, I must tell you something. You see, Alphys brought us in the Garbage Dump all the way to the end. And you know what? There are golden flowers there, growing in the water! So, after the date, I went to smell them and I touched one of them, but then... I don't know, I must have lost consciousness because I got a vision or a dream, I don't know, before waking up lying down on the flowers."

"Really? Weird. What was that vision?"

"It was mainly of someone talking. I couldn't see anything, but whoever it was, it was a child, a boy, I think. And he was talking to... Chara. Uh, if I understood it right, Chara had just fallen down when this boy found, uh... Her? I don't think I ever got this Chara's gender, but I don't know why, something deep in me is telling me that she was a girl. However, I woke up just as the boy was about to give his name."

"Mmh... And you said this happened after you touched one of these golden flowers?"

"Yes... I have no idea why..."

"I will go have a look then. Maybe I can find something."

Frisk nodded, and the two entered the Garbage Dump and went all the way to the end, beside a bottomless pit. And here, indeed, was a patch of golden flowers in the water. When she approached them, Sweetie Belle quickly felt something from them. An energy...

Exactly like the one she felt from Frisk, especially when he used a Save Point. She also felt it from Flowey, and a little bit from Undyne.

Determination.

"These flowers have Determination in them," she said.

"What? How is this possible?" Frisk asked in shock.

Sweetie Belle thought about this for a moment. "I don't know enough about Determination to be certain of an answer. It could very well be natural from these flowers to have Determination in them. Or they could have gotten it somehow, but how... Well, the only explanation I can think of right away is Flowey."

"Flowey?"

"Yeah. When I talked to him, I could feel that he had a lot of Determination in him. Not as much as you, far from it, but still a lot compared to the monsters who have almost no Determination, or even Undyne who has some. So, maybe these flowers come from him? Like, his seeds are filled with his Determination?"

"Maybe... But then, why did it give me that vision?"

"This... I have no idea. Maybe this Determination interacted with yours and resulted in this vision. But then, why a vision of this Chara? And this is not the first time. You told me that you already had one before waking up in the Ruins."

"Right. Mmh, then I wonder if the golden flowers there also had Determination."

"I can go give a look. Give me a minute."

The filly then teleported. Not knowing the layout of the Ruins, nor where the flowers were specifically, she actually teleported back in Snowdin Forest, in front of Sans' first station, and flew to the door to the Ruins from here. Once in front of the door, she teleported behind it and followed the path behind. When she reached a house - Toriel's house she guessed - she teleported out of it. As much as she wanted to talk to Toriel and to tell her news of Frisk and of how her journey was going, she didn't want to make Frisk wait.

Then she rapidly flew through the Ruins from room to room, traversing the whole path from the house to the patch of golden flowers in a few dozens of seconds.

And not only she found the flowers, but also a monster who looked like a bipedal goat wearing a purple robe. The monster was currently knelt, back to the filly, busy taking care of the flowers.

Well, Sweetie Belle certainly hadn't expected to find Toriel here...

Before she could think of what to do, Toriel spotted her from the corner of her eye and she stood up to face her.

Despite having never seen something like Sweetie Belle, Toriel immediately guessed that she wasn't just an animal, seeing intelligence in her eyes. "Oh. Hello little one. Who are you? I... never encountered a creature like you. Can you even talk?"

Sweetie Belle nodded. "Hello, miss Toriel. My name is Sweetie Belle. I'm... just passing by."

"My... Aren't you the most adorable little thing? And polite too. I am curious to know where you come from, and also why you are here, if you wish to tell me."

"I'm from another dimension. As for why I'm here, mainly, to make friends and have exciting adventures. But right now, I just wish to have a look at these flowers, for Frisk," Sweetie Belle decided to answer trustfully as she approached the flowers.

Yup, Determination.

Toriel gasped. "Frisk?! You know her? What can you tell me about her? How is she? Is she hurt? Is she...?"

"She's alright. I have been helping her traversing the Underground. She made a lot of friends, even managed to befriend the Captain of the Royal Guard and the Royal Scientist. Now, we're about to reach New Home. Don't worry, I won't let her die."

Toriel sighed in relief. "Oh... Thank you... I... I was so worried about her. I'm glad to hear that she was able to do all this. She's such a sweet girl, I'm not at all surprised that she befriended even the Captain of the Royal Guard," she said with a small laugh. "But... You said that you're about to reach New Home... This means that you are about to reach Asgore..."

"Yeah, we understood that he was powerful, but I'm not scared. I'm powerful too, and Frisk found one of these orbs that give magic powers. There's no way Asgore will kill her between the two of us. Anyway, what can you tell me about these flowers? I must hurry, Frisk is waiting for me to return."

Toriel looked at her for a moment before she turned her attention to the flowers. "The golden flowers... They... They're from the surface. They were brought into the Underground... later. And if you ask about these flowers specifically, then... They are a mystery even for me. One day, not long ago, they began to grow here, but I never planted any seeds. I don't know how this happened, but I took it as a gift. Not only they have cushioned Frisk so she wasn't hurt after her fall, this place is... It's..."

Sweetie Belle could hear pain in Toriel's voice as the monster began to hesitate. So the filly placed a comforting hoof on her leg to encourage her.

"It's... where someone important to me is buried... I-I don't want to talk about this."

"Alright, as you want. Thank you miss Toriel."

"Just call me Toriel."

Sweetie Belle then sat in front of the flowers and lowered her head to give whoever was buried here her respect. Toriel smiled at this and petted the filly in thanks.

"Please... Once you return to Frisk... Protect her from Asgore... I don't want her to die, like the others."

"I promise. And I also promise to, one way or another, free the monsters. Once we pass Asgore, I will try to destroy the Barrier."

"The Barrier is very powerful. I doubt that you will be able to..."

"I know. I may not succeed even with all my powers. Then I will find something else. I have contingencies."

"My! Really? From a being from another dimension, maybe I shouldn't be surprised," Toriel said with a laugh.

"You shouldn't, yeah," Sweetie Belle replied with her own giggle. "Well, I must go, it was nice to meet you, Toriel."

"It was my pleasure, little one. Thank you for lightening my heart."

The filly gave the monster a last nod before she teleported away. Instead of directly returning to Frisk, she teleported back to the door at the end of the Ruins to think for a moment.

There were still some pieces missing, but a... weird picture was beginning to form in her head from everything she gathered.

If she was right, Flowey made these flowers grow. But then, why? Why... on this grave? And why in the Garbage Dump? For the grave, she could only see one reason: Flowey had at least some respect for whoever was buried here. She wouldn't say loved or cared since Flowey couldn't love or care, but certainly had some form of good relationship.

Frisk got visions in contact of these flowers... Flowers filled with Flowey's Determination. Why? Well, she first fell on the flowers on the grave so this may be a reason. Is this what happens when you put flowers with Determination on a grave? You start to get visions from whoever was buried? Or more than visions since Frisk also got these weird feelings that didn't seem to be hers. When she listened to the song of that statue for example, or when she got Chara's name and gender.

So... was this Chara's grave? So, by falling on the Determined flowers covering it, did Frisk get... a piece of Chara somehow? Could Determination even do that? Too many questions remained.

Speaking of, Sans told her that Alphys may have at least some of the answers, at least about Flowey's origin. This may help a lot in solving this puzzle.

Flowey himself may hold many of the answers, but she wasn't sure that he would accept to give them.

She finally teleported back to Frisk who was still waiting for her beside the Save Point, sporting a very happy smile.

"Why the big smile?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"I found the owner of the key that we got from Bratty and Catty. It was the key to Mettaton's old house, beside Napstablook's!"

"Really?"

"Yeah, I saw Napstablook and Mettaton talking together and I went to say hi! Mettaton then saw the key and identified it as his. He had thrown it into the Garbage Dump after getting his robotic body. But now, he was very happy to find it! He really wants to reconnect with Napstablook."

"Aww, I'm so happy to hear that! I will have to go and give him a hug! So, about the flowers in the Ruins. I confirm it, they also have Determination."

"Oh."

"But that's not all! I encountered Toriel, and she pretty much confirmed to me that it was Flowey that made them grow. Also, the place on which they grew is apparently Chara's grave. I'm still not sure of everything, but it seems that you got at least a piece of Chara by falling on these flowers, which would explain the visions and all. Also, Toriel told me that the flowers grew recently, so I don't think that this happened to any other humans before you."

"Are you telling me that I am haunted by Chara's... Uh... M-maybe the voice I hear..."

"Let's just ask. Hey, is that you in there, Chara?"

...

"Umh... I feel that she wants to talk, but she is hesitating, if that's really her," Frisk said.

Sweetie sighed. "Alright... So you may or may not have a ghost in your head. These all could only be memories from Chara, but since the voice actually laughed, I doubt it."

"How do you know that she laughed?"

"Like I said, I have my tricks. Anyway, Flowey apparently knew Chara, and I don't know what to think of this. Sans told me that Alphys may be able to give us answers about him."

"So, one more reason to return to her lab."

Sweetie Belle nodded. "Let's go."

Frisk, guessing what Sweetie Belle was about to do, rapidly closed her eyes just before the filly teleported them in front of the entrance of the lab.

Then, they entered it, the door now unlocked, only to find Alphys nowhere. Instead, they found a note in front of the door out of which Alphys had come from the first time.

Door that opened when they approached, where it had remained shut until now.

Hey. Thanks for your help back there. You guys... Your support really means a lot to me. But... As difficult as it is to say this... you guys alone can't magically make my own problems go away. I want to be a better person. I don't want to be afraid anymore. And for that to happen, I have to be able to face my own mistakes. I'm going to start doing that now. I want to be clear. This isn't anyone else's problem but mine. But if you don't ever hear from me again... If you want to know "the truth." Enter the door to the north of this note. You all at least deserve to know what I did.

The note ended here.

Sweetie Belle and Frisk exchanged worried glances before they quickly passed the door, entering what revealed to be an elevator.

Only for the elevator to lose power before dropping and crashing.

Comments

[The Kelduo]

Looks like we're skipping the Neutral route completely. Good thing too, because it would be too confusing to be taken out of the context of a video game.

[Lucar]

10735248
And in this story, Frisk and Sweetie Belle just wouldn't let Alphys by herself after what happened. They had to return to her lab to help her.

[Herald of Opera]

10735248
That's been obvious to everyone since the Papyrus date.

[SuperMoonPro]

10735275
Well can you do Earthbound

[Lucar]

10741000
It will be done. I will not say when.