Ruby woke up right outside Toriel's house once again. She'd pulled it off! Wiping the tears from her cheeks with her sleeve, she stepped in to see Toriel still standing in front of the stairway as if nothing had ever happened.

"Do you smell that? Surprise!" Suddenly, Toriel frowned. "Goodness, how did your clothes get so dusty?" She stepped forward and knelt down to brush the dust off of Ruby's combat skirt with her hand. Ruby tried not to think about what was actually happening as she did so. When Toriel was satisfied, she stood back. "There we are. I want you to have a nice time living here, so I will hold off on snail pie for tonight. This one's butterscotch and cinnamon!"

For the third time, Ruby told the monster "Toriel, I appreciate everything you're doing for me, but I need to get home."

The conversation went on exactly the same way as the first two times, and Ruby once again found herself standing in the room at the end of the hallway with Toriel blocking the door. "Ready?" Toriel asked.

The fire streaked toward Ruby, and she jumped out of the way. But this time, she didn't even reach for her weapon, and simply kept her eyes locked on Toriel's. After two more dodged attacks, the monster furrowed her brow. "What are you doing?" she asked.

Ruby stood her ground. "I won't fight you, Toriel."

Toriel took a deep breath. "Don't give me that. Fight me or leave!" She sent more flames darting toward Ruby, who once again dodged them easily, but still refused to draw her weapon. Toriel's expression faltered as she launched more fireballs. "Attack or run away!" she commanded.

Ruby just shook her head. "No, Toriel. I'm not going to hurt you."

Toriel's arms dropped a little. "Why are you making this so difficult?" She launched more streams of fire at Ruby, who prepared to dodge, but they didn't come anywhere close to hitting her. They swept harmlessly around the young girl and hit the wall behind her.

Ruby knew Toriel was deliberately avoiding hitting her. This was her chance. She had to keep pressing. "Toriel," she pleaded, "I know you only want to protect me. But I need to get back. I want to protect my friends too. Please, Toriel."

The monster's arms dropped to her sides and she hung her head. The fires around the room flickered and died. Ruby and Toriel stood facing each other wordlessly for several seconds. Finally Toriel let out a little humorless laugh. "Pathetic, is it not? I cannot save even a single girl…" She took a shaky breath and looked at Ruby, red eyes meeting silver. "But I understand. Just promise me you'll stay safe out there, ok?" She stepped forward to the young girl and knelt down to wrap her in a big hug. Ruby hugged her back, her face pressing into the soft, white fur of the monster's neck. She couldn't remember being hugged by her own mother, but this was probably close enough.

When Toriel pulled back, her eyes were misty. "But please, do not turn back for me. I hope you understand. Goodbye, Ruby." With that, she stood up and walked back the way they had come in, taking one last look back at Ruby before heading down the hallway out of sight.

Ruby wanted to go after her, but she swallowed her emotions. Pushing the great stone doors open, she stepped through and continued on her journey.

Another long hallway met her eyes. Walking through it seemed to take forever. Finally it opened up into another room. It looked just like the second room she had walked into since falling underground. And just like that room, sitting in the in a beam of light was a little golden flower with a face. "Clever. Veeeery clever." Flowey smirked.

BANG!

The sniper round blasted apart the ground where Flowey was, leaving a ruined crater. Ruby stood still, holding onto Crescent Rose as the gun barrel steamed. After several seconds, she put away the weapon and let out a breath.

"And just like that, everything she taught you goes right out the window, huh?" Flowey's voice was right next to Ruby, making her jump a foot in the air, scrambling away from the spot where he now stood… sat… grew? "Don't worry," Flowey continued, "I'm not here to kill you. We both know that's not going to accomplish anything, don't we?"

Ruby gave an exasperated sigh. "What do you want, Flowey?"

Flowey ducked underground and popped back up next to the hole left by Ruby's attack. "You think you're really smart, don't you? Sparing the life of a single person." He chuckled to himself. "In this world, it's kill or be killed. So you were able to play by your own rules this time. But don't get too cocky, I know what you did." Flowey's face contorted into a wicked grin. "YOU MURDERED HER." He changed back to normal almost instantly. Ruby didn't know how to react and just stood there, staring at him with wide eyes. Flowey kept going. "And then you went back because you felt bad. You know, I used to have that power too. The ability to play God. The ability to SAVE at those golden lights scattered around the underground."

"SAVE?" Ruby asked apprehensively. "You mean like, in a video game or something?"

Flowey grinned. "Right! You catch on quick. But as I was saying, I can't SAVE anymore, ever since you came in. I think only one being can have the power at a time, and now it's yours. So since you managed to avoid killing anyone this time, I want you to try something. A little contest, nothing complicated. I want you to prove me wrong. I want you to find your way home without killing anyone. See how far that gets you." He winked. "After all, with the power to SAVE, you can try as many times as you like."

Ruby thought for a moment. "What's in it for me if I win your 'contest'?"

Flowey laughed. "Wow, you expect a prize for not killing anyone? But don't worry, I've got something in mind. A little surprise, and a happy ending for everyone." His smile got a little wider. "But what will you do if you meet a relentless killer? You'll die and you'll die and you'll die. Until you tire of trying. What will you do then?" His grin became demonic again. "Will you kill out of frustration? Or will you give up entirely on this world, and let me inherit the power to control it? I am the prince of this world's future. But don't worry my little queen, my plan isn't regicide." His face turned back to normal again. "This is so much more interesting." With that, he vanished underground again.

Ruby hated not getting the last word, and Flowey's words worried her. But she had to keep moving. Walking across the room, she stepped out the door at the other end and into the rest of the Underground.