Surfacetale - tales of the surface

by Onetruedab77

Summary:

Ever wondered what happened after the true pacifist ending, ever wish you could see all your favourite characters live out their happily ever afters on the surface, want to see what life is like when humans and monsters start living side by side again,

Well, since it seems like a proper sequel to undertale is never gonna happen, I've decided to make my own version that encapsulates everything I loved about the original game and how I think things would play out after the ending,

Hope you enjoy the story.

Chapter 1: Prologue

"Oh my..."

Toriel says with amazement in glistening in her eyes, as everyone stares at the beautiful sunrise in the distance, "Isn't it beautiful, everyone?" Asgore adds, also tearing up from the nostalgia, "Wow, it's e-even better than on TV." Alphys states shakily, "WAY better!, better than I ever imagined!",
"Frisk, you LIVE with this!?" Undyne asks in surprise, "The sunlight is so nice... and the air is so fresh!" She continues with a smile slowly appearing on her face, "I really feel alive!",

"HEY SANS... WHAT'S THAT GIANT BALL?" Papyrus asks with a confused smile on his face, "we call that "the sun," my friend." Sans answers his little brother with a know-it-all tone,
"THAT'S THE SUN!?, WOWIE!!!, I CAN'T BELIEVE I'M FINALLY MEETING THE SUN!!!" Papyrus shouts with childlike wonder,
"I could stand here and watch this for hours..." Asgore sighs dreamily, "Yes, it is beautiful, is it not?" Toriel agrees with the same emotion, before gaining a more serious expression, "But we should really think about what comes next.", "Oh, right." Asgore responds, also snapping out of the moment, "Everyone... This is the beginning of a bright new future, An era of peace between humans and monsters."

"Frisk... I have something to ask of you, Will you act as our ambassador to the humans?" Asgore asks with politeness.

'Yes' you sign with a smile, "YEAH!, FRISK WILL BE THE BEST AMBASSADOR!, AND I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS... WILL BE THE BEST MASCOT!, I'LL GO MAKE A GOOD FIRST IMPRESSION!" Papyrus shouts enthusiastically before sprinting down the path of Mt. Ebott, "welp." Sans states tiredly, "someones gotta keep him from getting into trouble, see you guys" before turning around and walking in the wrong direction, "Man, do I have to do EVERYTHING?, Papyrus, wait!!!" Undyne shouts before chasing after Papyrus, "Hey, Undyne!!, wait up!!" Alphys yells before doing her best to catch up, before falling flat on her face.

"Whoops" Asgore says as he watches her get up, dust herself off, and keep running after her girlfriend, then turns back towards the sunrise once they all disappear down the mountain, the three stand in silence looking at the sun for a couple minutes, before Asgore turns to face Toriel and asks "Uh, should I do something?",

To which Toriel just shoots her ex husband a death glare as a response, "Well, gotta go!" Asgore states nervously before following after everyone else, once he's out of sight, Toriel says "It seems that everyone is quite eager to set off." She takes in the sunrise one more time, before turning to frisk, "Frisk... You came from this world, right?... So you must have a place to return to, do you not?" She asks in a sombre voice, "What will you do now?".

You think back to where you came from, before the underground, why you climbed the mountain in the first place, and what you've been through now, suddenly, the right choice is clear to you now, "I want to stay with you" You tell Toriel.

"What?" Toriel asks, flustered, then she begins to laugh, "Frisk... You really are a funny child, If you had said that earlier, none of this would have happened", you smirk,
"It is a good thing you took so long to change your mind, hee hee hee" she giggles while ruffling your hair, "Well, I suppose, If you really do not have any other place to go... I will do my best to take care of you, for as long as you need, Alright?" You both smile at eachother, "Now, Come along" she says as she takes your hand gently, "Everyone is waiting for us!" then you walk hand in hand down the mountain toward the direction of your new family, ready for all the hard work and fun times that await you on the surface...

Chapter 2: New Horizons - Part One

Summary:

Monsters and humans coexist on the earth once again, characters are achieving their dreams and things are looking brighter than ever before, but what happens after happily ever after?, Frisk is about to find out

You wake up in the morning, in your comfortable bed, with the sunlight shining in from the gap between the curtains and illuminating your room, it's been quite a few months since the exodus from the underground, thanks to your work as the ambassador for monsterkind, change has happened quickly and swiftly, there's still work to be done of course, but things are looking great for monsters and their rights on the surface.

You lay in bed for a while, enjoying the comfort, until there's a soft knocking from the other side of your bedroom door, followed by a familiar voice "Frisk, my child, I made your favourite breakfast, come down whenever you are ready!" Toriel tells you, before you hear her walk away, you throw the covers off your body and get your striped sweater and denim shorts from your closet and put them on, before jogging downstairs.

You walk into the kitchen and see Toriel taking a delicious butterscotch-cinnamon pie out of the oven, "Oh, perfect timing Frisk, the pie is just about done" Toriel tells you, you take a seat at the table as Toriel puts a slice of the pie on a plate and places it in front of you, 'You haven't made a butterscotch-cinnamon pie in a while, mom, what's the occasion?' you sign questioningly, "Come now, Frisk, do not tell me you have already forgotten today is when you start going to school again?" Toriel asks, 'Oh... right...' you sign, "Frisk... I know you love doing your ambassador work for us, and you do such a great job at it, but you are still young, you need to start going to school, to learn and make friends your age, can you do that for me, my child?" Toriel says while stroking the side of your face with her big, fluffy paw, you smile at her and nod.

"*Yaaaaawwwwwwnnnnn!*" Sans's voice rings out as he enters the room, scratching his rear and already holding a mug full of coffee, with the words 'bone tired' written on the side of it, "Good Morning, Sans!" Toriel says cheerily, "'sup" Sans responds tiredly, before taking a seat at the table, next to you, Sans and Toriel, along with Papyrus, have all been living with you for a while now, after the exodus to the surface, Sans and Toriel decided it would be more 'efficient' to get a house together instead of separately, but you're not dumb, you know what's really going on.

"Here you go, Sans" Toriel says as she places a slice of the pie in front of him too, "thanks tori..." Sans says before taking a sup of his coffee, once he lowers the mug, he can see your smug face with your eyebrows bouncing up and down suggestively, trying to insinuate that you know, "... you're so weird..." Sans rolls his eyes, before you both dig into your pie slices, then you hear energized stomping coming down the stairs.

"GOOD MORNING ALL!" Papyrus shouts excitedly, before grabbing you and lifting you up into the air "FRISK!, YOU BEGIN SCHOOL TODAY, CORRECT?, I WILL MISS YOU SO MUCH, PLEASE DON'T FORGET ABOUT ME!" Papyrus says before bringing you into a tight hug, "paps... y'know they're not leaving forever right?..." Sans asks while rubbing the sleepiness out of his eyes, "I KNOW!, BUT WE HAVEN'T SPENT THAT MUCH TIME APART FROM EACHOTHER SINCE WE CAME TO THE SURFACE!" Papyrus states, "Do not worry, Papyrus, they will be back home before you know it" Toriel says reassuringly, "VERY WELL..." Papyrus says before putting you back in your chair, Papyrus then sits down with his own slice of pie, "IN OTHER NEWS!, MY TEACHER SAYS MY COOKING LESSONS ARE DOING WONDERS!, MY PASTA BECOMES LESS CHARRED BY THE DAY!" Papyrus exclaims proudly, "that's great bro..." "I am so proud of you, Papyrus!" Sans and Toriel say,
"AWW SHUCKS GUYS" Papyrus says with blushing orange cheeks, "I BELIEVE IF I CONTINUE EXCELLING AT MY LESSONS, I WILL BECOME A FAMOUS CHEF IN NO TIME!" Papyrus adds 'You can do it, Papyrus, we believe in you!' you sign, "THANK YOU FOR THE VOTE OF CONFIDENCE, FRISK!, I REALLY SHOULD BE GOING NOW, IT'S NOT LONG BEFORE MY NEXT LESSON BEGINS!" Papyrus says, before scarfing down the rest of the pie and running out the front door, you hear his sick, red racecar start up and drive off,
"Speaking of which, it is almost time for school, Frisk, let us get going!" Toriel tells you, you finish what's left of your pie and get up to follow her, "yeah, I should go too, those hotdogs ain't gonna vend themselves..." Sans says as he slips on his hoodie and leaves the house as well.

Sans gets onto his pale blue moped and drives off down the street, you and Toriel climb into her purple mom van, you fasten your seatbelt and Toriel begins to drive to school, as you cruise through Ebott City you look at everything and everyone going by from the window, both monsters and humans are walking through the city, some of them socialising with eachother, you see Muffet's Buffet, which got off to a rough start at first, because of all the spiders, Grillby's Too also opened up not that long ago, it had a fiery grand opening, both humans and monsters are glad to go there and hang out, monsters have been pretty well integrated into human society so far, at least in Ebott City, even if you have to go to school and do homework and stuff like that, you won't let it get in the way of your ambassador work, monsters deserve all the same rights as humans.

Toriel parks her van in her teacher parking spot and helps you get out, you look at the large school in front of you, monsters have only just been allowed to go to school with humans recently, so you can see a lot of both going in, "Friiiiiiiiiiiiiisk!" a cheerful voice shouts, and you see the adorable, armless dino the voice belongs to, sprinting towards you at full speed, before they trip and face plant hard right before reaching you, they peel their face off the pavement and get up, shaking their dazed head before saying "Yo, sup Frisk, long time no see!" 'Hey Monster Kid!' you sign, happy to see them, you became quick friends back in the underground, since you have a bit in common, being around the same age, both non binary, and total weirdos, one thing you can be thankful about going back to school is spending more time with them.

"I'm so glad you're here Frisk!, I'm really nervous about going to school on the surface, I've never been around human kids before, other than you, what if they make fun of me?" MK asks nervously, 'Don't worry MK, we'll go through it together' you sign with a smile, "Th-Thanks, Frisk..." MK responds while blushing, their tail curling around their legs, "Alright children, let us head inside before the bells rings" Toriel says "Yes, Miss Toriel" MK says before you and them walk in together, you enter the classroom and sit down at a desk next to MK, then Toriel walks and claps her paws together a few times "Alright, settle down children, settle down!" She says, the kids all stop talking and look her way,
"For those of you who do not know, I am Miss Toriel" She says as she writes her name on the whiteboard "And I will be your home room teacher, please none of you feel intimidated, either by my appearance or my background, I am simply just your teacher, you can come to me about anything that's on your mind, alright?" Toriel states, most of the kids nod, you notice another kid staring at you from across the room, but you shake it off.

"Now, before class properly begins, we have some time for introductions, if anyone wants to come up and speak to the class, feel free too, but if not, that is also fine, anyone?" Toriel says, you decide to try and make a good first impression at this school, maybe that'll make things go better?, you raise your hand and Toriel calls you up, you step up in front of the class and sign 'Hey, I'm Frisk Foster, some of you may of heard of me, but if you haven't, I'm the ambassador of monsters, my pronouns are they/them and I'm twelve years old...' then you stand there as the class stares at you in silence, until one kid says "Wha?",
"Oh, my apologies class, I forgot not everyone may know sign language, you see, my child Frisk here has selective mutism, so they communicate mostly through signing" Toriel explains, "Miss Toriel's your mom!?" Another child says in surprise, this is already going bad for you, you just shuffle back to your desk and sit down, MK contemplates for a moment, before raising their tail to get Toriel's attention, "Oh, Monster Kid, come on up" She says, so they do.

"Y-Yo, I'm Monster Kid, but, uh, you can call me MK, my pronouns are they/them too, this is my first time going to school on the surface, and, uh... I r-really like Frisk... A-As a friend, y'know!, um, yeah, that's it..." MK says as they stand before the class nervously, one kid raises his hand and asks "Where are you're arms?", "Uh... I dunno... I wasn't born with any..." MK responds, "That's weird" the kid says
"Now, now, just because someone may be different than you does not mean you can say things like that, treat others the way you would want to be treated" Toriel tells the class, MK goes to walk back to their desk, tripping on nothing once again and face planting in front of the entire class, causing all the kids to laugh, "Quiet down!, Monster Kid are you alright?" Toriel asks and goes to help but MK is already back on their feet "Yeah, I'm good, I gotta thick skull!" MK says before sitting down at their desk, you smile at them thankfully and they smile back and lift up their tail for a fist bump, which you gladly accept, then the bell rings, "Alright then class, get ready to learn!" Toriel says gleefully.

 

**Later that day**

 

You and MK enter the cafeteria together for lunchtime, it's filled with a bunch of other human and monster children getting their lunches, "Yo, Frisk, can you get a tray of food for me?, I gotta use the bathroom" MK asks, you nod at them, "Thanks dude" they say before sprinting away, you grab two trays of food and try to find a free table, but as you're looking you end up accidentally bumping into someone and almost dropping the trays, you would've signed sorry if your hands weren't full, the girl you bumped into glares at you, along with two other girls with her, she has long, curled, shiny strawberry blonde hair, wearing a red and pink striped sweater, a purple skirt, and heeled pumps, with an expensive looking phone in her hand
"Ugh, can't you watch where you're going?" she asks irritatedly, you just look at her with an apologetic look, "Hello?, are you deaf or something?, do you know who I am?" She asks, you're desperately looking for a way out of this, when suddenly another kid steps between you and this girl "Leave them alone, Chantelle!" They say, "Excuse me!?" Chantelle gasps, "You heard me!" The kid says, before grabbing one of your trays and dragging you to an empty table and sits down with you.

"Sorry about that, Chantelle thinks she's soooooooo important because she's the principal's daughter, it's annoying!.... Oh, my bad, I haven't introduced myself, I'm Lorem, Lorem Ipsum!, I can't believe I'm finally meeting you!" Lorem says excitedly, she's wearing a sweater that's made of a bunch of different sweaters with different colours and patterns stitched together, and glasses with one round frame and one square frame, her hair is long and frizzy with a bun tied at the back of her head, her skin is dark but covered in white splotches, 'Uhh... what do you mean?' You sign questioningly at her statement,
"Oh um I'm not a stalker or anything!, I'm just such a huge fan!, I mean, you're the kid that freed all the monsters right?, I can't thank you enough!" She squeals, 'Really?' You sign, "Absolutely!, I've been an outcast my whole life, because of how I look and act and all that, y'know?, I've never felt like I fit in with anyone, but now, literal monsters live among us!, they're all so amazing, you're amazing, can we be friends!, pretty please?" Lorem explains, you're a bit thrown off by her energy, but you smile and sign 'Sure, we can be friends', "YEAH!, this is the best day of my life!" She exclaims.

MK walks back into the cafeteria and finds your table "Oh hey Frisk, thanks for-" then they suddenly get interrupted by Lorem jumping in front of them and grabbing their shoulders "OH EM GEE!, What kinda monster are you!?, do you really not have any arms?, are you a dinosaur?, how long have you and Frisk known eachother?, tell me everything!" Lorem rambles, MK just stares in shock "Frisk... who's this?..." They ask, 'This is Lorem, she's cool' You sign, "O-Okay?... nice to meet you, Lorem, I'm MK" They say as they shake Lorem's hand with their tail, then they both sit down on either side of Frisk and start chatting.

"Yeah, so, after Frisk pulled me back up from the side of the bridge, I stood between them and Undyne and was all like 'Yo!, if you wanna hurt them, you gotta go through me!' and then Undyne ran away in fear, it was sick!" MK explains, "WOAH!, Is that really how it happened!?" Lorem asks in awe, 'Eh, more or less' you sign with a smirk, then suddenly someone slams their hands down on your table, making you jump a little, it's a taller kid with dark, spiky hair, a black top with a skull on the chest, and a black and white striped long sleeve underneath, black baggy pants with a chain hanging off them
"You Frisk?" He asks grumpily, 'Um... yeah?, that's me' you sign to him, "What?" He asks in confusion, "They said yes, Travis" Lorem says in annoyance, "So you're the one to blame for all the monsters around here now, huh?" Travis asks, you nod hesitantly, "Well thanks to you, my dad lost his construction job to some freaky buff wolf that wears a pair of hotpants and nothing else!" He shouts, '... Sorry?...' you sign "What!?" He asks again "They said sorry, just leave us alone!" MK says, "What, too much of a coward to speak for yourself, Frisk?" Trevor asks, "Yo, don't talk to them like that, dude!" MK says angrily, "Oh yeah?, what are you gonna do about it, lizard?, you don't even have arms" Trevor says, "I don't care, I'll fight you anyway, jerk!" MK states, "Ha!, fine, meet me outside before lunch ends, loser" Travis says before storming out.

You and Lorem follow MK outside, along with a few other kids who overheard about the fight, 'Don't do this MK, it's not worth it!' You sign desperately, "I gotta, Frisk, you may be a pacifist, but someone's gotta teach him a lesson!" MK responds, "I, for one, abstain from taking a side" Lorem adds, you glare at her in disappointment, a crowd of kids have already gathered around in the school's playground, MK walks up to Travis in the middle of the crowd
"Surprised you showed up, lizard" Travis says, "I'm not scared of you, let's just get this over with" MK groans, "I'm gonna enjoy this" Trevor states, before the battle begins, everything turning black and white, and suddenly Travis' orange soul is visible in his chest, then MK lunges at Travis and uses their clawed feet to scratch him repeatedly, knocking him back a little and barely taking off any health, then Travis swings his arm and punches MK in the face, taking off half of MK's health, leaving them with only one point left, they quickly retaliate by whipping at Travis with their tail, still doing very little, Travis reels his arm back again for another punch, before the fight is interrupted by Toriel shouting "What is the meaning of this?"

Toriel stomps up to Travis and MK "What do you two think you are doing?" Toriel asks, "He started it!" MK exclaims, "It does not matter who started it, this is a place of learning not fighting, if this happens again you will both be given detention, understand?" Toriel says, "Yes Miss Toriel..." MK responds, "Whatever..." Travis mumbles as he rolls his eyes, then the bell rings and everyone heads back inside, "Wow, I can't believe MK loves you so much they'll fight a losing battle for you!" Lorem says to you 'Huh??' You sign back, "What?, don't tell me you can't see it, it's so obvious!" Lorem says, 'Well, uh, I...' you struggle to sign as you get flustered, "OH EM GEE!, You like them too!" Lorem squeals excitedly, '... Shut up...' you sign in embarrassment.

The final school bell rings and all the kids start to leave to go home, but as you leave, MK runs up to you yelling "Frisk!, Frisk!" before tripping and beginning to fall, but you catch them before they hit the ground, "Th-Thanks... um... I wanted to say sorry... I know you don't like it when people fight, but... I just couldn't stand what that jerk was saying to you...." MK states while blushing, you slowly smile at them, unable to stay upset, you hug them, causing them to stand stiff with wide eyes, then you step back and sign 'It's okay, MK, see ya tomorrow!' Then you run off, while MK stands there like a statue.

You see Toriel talking to some other teachers about the fight earlier, then you notice Asgore, wearing his pink Hawaiian shirt, cutting one of the hedges with his shears, you walk up to him and wave hello, "Howdy, Frisk, good to see you again, I hope you had a great day at school" Asgore says, you just shrug then sign 'What's new with you?',
"Oh well, my florist side business is going strong, Alphys told me to try out her new app she developed with the company she works for, but I couldn't figure it out" He explains, 'What kind off app?' You ask, "She explained it to me but all I got was that you use it to meet up with people who share your interests?" He says, 'I could help you' you sign
"Oh, much appreciated, Frisk!" Asgore says cheerfully, before passing you his phone, you open the app called 'MONSTR', it seems like a dating app for monsters and humans attracted to monsters, you smirk, Asgore definitely needs to get back out there, especially since Toriel is moving on, Alphys definitely knew what she was doing, you help set up Asgore's profile and then give him his phone back "Oh my, technology sure is something, look at all these potential friends!" Asgore says innocently,
"Ahem, Frisk" Toriel says, "Um, howdy Toriel, how are you these days?" Asgore asks awkwardly, "I was just leaving, come along Frisk" Toriel says coldly, leading you to the van.

Toriel parks her van on the driveway, next to Papyrus's car and Sans's moped, you and her walk inside together, immediately you are swept up into Papyrus's arms "AAAAAHHHHHH, MY FAVOURITE HUMAN HAS RETURNED!!!" Papyrus cheers as he spins around with you, "welcome home, kiddo, how was your first day of school?..." Sans asks from the couch, Papyrus puts you back on your feet and you sign 'Eh, it was okay, I met one good human, two bad ones, and a fight broke out',
"MY, WHAT AN EVENTFUL DAY!" Papyrus states, "well, it sounds like you could use some r 'n r, wanna binge watch some cartoons with me?" Sans asks, you excitedly try to run to the couch, but Toriel stops you and says
"Now, Now, Frisk, homework first, cartoons later, go on upstairs, my child", so you sigh and go upstairs to your bedroom and get started on your homework, after that you watch cartoons with Sans and Papyrus while Toriel made dinner, eventually you fall back into your bed, exhausted from the day, you're ready to fall asleep in the comfort of your bed, everyone's living their best lives, it truly feels like happily ever after.... but still... you can help but feel like something's missing... someone... someone who's still unhappy, the feeling keeps gnawing at you, especially at night, you can't take it anymore, so you get up, get dressed, grab your backpack and a plant pot, then sneak out of the house and travel through the night towards Mt. Ebott, to find Flowey.

 

**Later that night**

 

You enter through the huge cave in the side of the mountain, leading you to Asgore's old castle, you walk through the hallways, walking and walking until you end up in the old MTT resort, it all seems so weird empty... you don't like seeing it empty...

'What?, don't like remembering what *you* did, Frisk?'

You shake off the sickening feeling and keep walking, until you spot a familiar boat floating in the river, along with the cloaked person aboard it, 'River Person?' You sign in confusion 'What're you doing down here?', "I am wherever I need to be..." their mysterious voice responds, 'Oh... cool... mind giving me a ride?' You ask, "Of course, that is what I'm here for..." They say, you climb aboard the boat, which sprouts it's legs and begins running across the water,
"Tra la la..." the River Person sings as you ride along, before the boat stops at Snowdin, 'Thanks!' You sign before you get off and travel across the snow towards the ruins, walking through Toriel's old home and the winding abandoned halls, more decrepit than they were before.

'You're seriously trying to save someone who tried to kill you and your loved ones so many times?, you really are an idiot'

You finally make it all the way to the start of the ruins, back where you first fell into the underground, where that bed of flowers fortunately broke your fall, and right next to it is that little golden flower, slumped forward and crying softly,
".... Flowey?..." you say from behind him, making him jolt slightly, then he slowly turns to face you, "W... What're you... doing here?..." He asks aggressively, "You weren't supposed to come back... what?, you really think you can... save him or something?... you... fucking... idiot!... Asriel's gone!... and he's never coming back again... just... leave!......... please...." Flowey says, getting more choked up as he speaks, 'I can't leave... not without you...' you sign, "I'm Not Him!... I'll never be him again!... why would you even want me around?..." Flowey asks angrily, 'It's not fair that we get to live on the surface and you're down here... all alone...' you tell him, "Hahahahahaha... that's the stupidest thing I've ever heard... get out of here Frisk!... before I hurt you again..." Flowey says, before turning away again, after a few seconds of silence, suddenly her feels you digging up the dirt around him
"WHA ARE YOU DOING!?" He asks, you lift him up out of the ground and put him in the plant plot you brought "STOP IT!" He shouts, then you pick up the plant pot and begin carrying him all the way back out,
"YOU IDIOT!, I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU FRISK!, I'LL KILL YOU AND EVERYONE YOU LOVE!" He screeches at the top of his lungs, you carry on, "FRIIIIIIIIIIIIISK!!!, JUST LEAVE ME ALONE, YOU IDIOT!" You get a ride from River Person,
"FRIIIIIIIIIIIiiiiiiiiisk!....." His voice and anger begins to waver, "Just let me die... Friiiiisk....." he groans as he slumps over in the pot, you walk to the exit as you stroke his petals softly,
"Whyyyyy?...... let me....." He tears up as all the fight has left him, you travel down the mountain and back into the city,
"....... Why, Frisk... Why?..." Flowey asks weakly, 'Because even you deserve a second chance... at least, that's what I think...' you tell him, he just shakes his head slightly, once you get onto your street, you can see red and blue flashing light and cars outside your house, looks like your absence didn't go unnoticed, "Damn it..." you groan.

Notes:

Sorry this took so long, life gets in the way, y'know?

Chapter 3: New Horizons - Part Two

Summary:

Flowey's about to get a taste of happily ever after, but how will he react to it, how will everyone else react to it, is he truly capable of change, or will he go back to his old ways?, Frisk's about to find out.

You sit on the couch, looking down at the floor with your head hung low as you're being scolded by all your family members for sneaking out last night.

"Frisk Foster I cannot believe you!, sneaking out in the middle of the night without a word!, you could have gotten hurt!" Toriel says in upset 'How did you even know I left?' You sign questioningly "Well, um, I.... I just like to check in while you sleep, sometimes....." Toriel says with a blush "yeah, several times a night..." Sans says under his breath "Silence!" Toriel tells him sternly.

"What were you thinking, Frisk!?, I almost had half the precinct out searching for ya I was so worried!" Undyne shouts intensely "I kn-knew I should've installed that human tracker in you..." Alphys says out of pocket "I hope you understand, Frisk, we're not mad at you, we were just... worried..." Asgore adds a bit more gently.

"YEAH, IF YOU HAD JUST TOLD US, WE ALL WOULD HAVE COME WITH YOU!, THERE WAS NO NEED TO DO EVERYTHING BY YOURSELF!" Papyrus mentions 'Sorry, I just thought if you all knew what I was doing you'd try to stop me, considering who I was going back for...' You explain "You all do realize I'm sitting right here right?" Flowey asks snarkily, in his flowerpot on the coffee table "trust me, we're all *very* aware..." Sans says as he crosses his arms "Yeah, speaking of which, why on earth would you bring that thing up here with us!?, did you forget what he did!?" Undyne asks 'It didn't feel right to leave him down there all alone, I wanted to give him a second chance, everyone deserves a chance' you sign.

"... WELL I FOR ONE AGREE WITH FRISK, THEY FORGAVE ALL OF US FOR TRYING TO KILL THEM, IT ONLY MAKES SENSE THAT FLOWERY IS OFFERED THE SAME COURTESY!" Papyrus states optimistically "Pfft, Well maybe some people don't deserve second chances..." Undyne says with a growl "Hey, I don't like it either, Eyepatch!, I'd rather still be stuck underground than up here with all you insufferable idiots!" Flowey says cockily while Undyne just snarls at him "Whether we like it or not, Flowey is here now, we should try to make the best of it..." Asgore suggests "Uhhhhhh..... I g-g-guess?" Alphys agrees in a pained tone, sweating bullets at Flowey's presence.

"Very well, but we will all be keeping a close eye on him, as for you Frisk, you go to your room this instant, it is late and you have school tomorrow" Toriel says sternly while pointing to the stairs, you get up from the couch and grab Flowey's flowerpot and taking him upstairs while the adults talk.

You place Flowey on your desk by the window and climbs into bed, before Flowey speaks up "You do realize this is the stupidest idea ever, right?..... you're putting everyone you love in danger and for what?..... some fantasy?, your childish delusions?..... I'm just gonna find a way to do it all again, Frisk..... it was a mistake to bring me with you....." Flowey says ominously, as his face morphs and his eyes glow red '.... I don't think you will....' you sign "What?... Why?..." Flowey asks with a sneer, 'Because I believe in you' you sign, Flowey just scoffs in response 'Plus, I think one day up here with us just might change your mind' you add "Yeah right, I'd love to see you try, and I can't wait to see the look on your face when this all ends badly...." Flowey says before turning around to stare out the window, you just sigh, before laying down and going to sleep.

'Nice going Frisk, scared all of your loved ones half to death and brought back a psychopathic murder flower, I can't wait to see how it all goes wrong...'

**The next day**

You sprint downstairs with Flowey and place him down on the table as you sit down for breakfast, "Good morning Frisk..... and Flowey....." Toriel says hesitantly, before placing a pie down in front of you, which Flowey stares at in thought for a while, 'Want some?' You sign "What!?, No!, it probably tastes like shit anyway!" Flowey says, suddenly agitated "Language, Flowey!" Toriel says "What do you care, Old Lady?" Flowey asks, "As long as you are under my roof, you will follow my rules, which means absolutely no swearing, understood?" Toriel asks strictly, with a fire in her eyes, Flowey falters for a bit "... Ugh, fine!... Whatever..." He groans.

Sans shuffles into the kitchen once again, half asleep and half dressed, with his punny mug, Flowey sticks his tongue out at the sight "Ew, you choose to live with this slob?" Flowey asks in disgust, Sans takes a sip of his drink and glares at Flowey "hey bud, how's it growing?" Sans jokes "Right... I almost forgot that Smiles over here loves to make horrible puns...." Flowey says with a grimace.
"you better be-leaf it" Sans says "Grrr..." Flowey groans in annoyance "aw c'mon, you know i'm just pollen your leg" Sans says, Toriel can't keep in her snickering any more, which angers Flowey further.
"Enough!" Flowey shouts, "oh, get clover it, flowey" Sans says before sitting down at the table with his slice of pie, "Do not mind Flowey, Sans, he is just a little... rough around the hedges" Toriel says causing Sans to almost spill his coffee as he chuckles "Not you too!" Flowey yells in betrayal, "Come now, Flowey, don't be so bloom and gloom!" Toriel says, Sans laughs out loud, "This is cruel and unusual pun-ishment..." Flowey states grumpily.

Then Papyrus practically leaps downstairs and runs into the kitchen "GREAT MORNING ALL!, ESPECIALLY TO OUR NEWEST HOUSEMATE, FLOWERY!" Papyrus declares cheerfully, "Listen, Stretch!, it is Flowey!, get it right, you idiot!" Flowey yells, then flinches as Sans slams his mug down on the table "wanna say that again, weed?" Sans asks with a serious tone, Flowey just glares back up at Sans, "OH DON'T WORRY SANS!, IT'S FINE, I'M SURE FLOWERY DIDN'T MEAN ANYTHING BY IT, HE'S PROBABLY JUST NOT A MORNING PERSON!, MAYBE YOU CAN BOND OVER THAT!?" Papyrus states, "i don't think so..." "Hard Pass!" Flowey and Sans say at the same time.

You finish your breakfast, "Right on time, Frisk, let us get going for school" Toriel says with a smile 'Can I bring Flowey with me?' You sign "What!?" Flowey asks in shock, "Oh, um, very well, I suppose, as long you keep him with you all day, alright?" Toriel asks, you nod and pick up Flowey who grumbles in rage "Great!... now I have to spend the day with a bunch of snot nosed brats!..." Flowey mutters
"And I am regretting this already..." Toriel says under her breath, as everyone walks out the door and gets in their vehicles.
Toriel begins driving through the city, while you and Flowey look out the window together, you point out all the main attractions while Flowey rolls his eyes and says snarky comments like "Does anyone even eat at that god awful spider bakery, or do they just get eaten?... on second thought, let's stop there!" And "Did we really need a Grillby's up here too?, what, the humans don't have enough cholesterol problems?".

Toriel parks in front of the school and you all get out, immediately you hear "FRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIISK!" From two familiar voices.
You see MK and Lorem sprinting towards you, before screeching to a halt, MK with a frightened look on their face, while Lorem has a look of wonderment "Gasp!, Frisk!, Does that Flower have a face!?" Lorem squeals in excitement, reaching out to pet Flowey, before being stopped by MK's tail "I don't think that's such a good idea, Lorem!" They state.
"Yeah, keep your grubby hands to yourself, weirdo!" Flowey snarls, "OH EM GEE IT TALKS!?" Lorem shouts, "Yo Frisk!, what the heck are you bringing Flowey here for?" MK asks.
"Well Idiot here had the bright idea to give me a second chance at killing you all, isn't that swell?" Flowey asks sarcastically, "Say what now?" Lorem asks, feeling lost, "Back in the Underground, this thing absorbed everyone's souls and tried to murder Frisk, nobody can remember what actually happened, but when we came to he was gone, and so was the Barrier!" MK explains to Lorem.
'Yeah, but he's changed, even if he doesn't wanna admit it, so I brought him up here to live with us!' You sign, "Well if you think it's a good idea, Frisk, so do I!" Lorem responds, "Ehhh... Okay, as long as you're sure, Frisk..." MK says hesitantly, then you spot a group of humans gathered up across the street from the school, one of them shouting into a megaphone while others wave anti-monster signs, 'What's that all about?' You ask, "I dunno, some sort of protest... I think it's because of the fight I got into with Trevor yesterday..." MK explains guiltily, Lorem just pats them on the back in sympathy, but then the school bell rings and you all run to class together before it's too late.

You're sitting in class as Toriel begins to speak "Okay class!, before we start our lesson, I am sure you have all noticed that Frisk has brought in a little... something, for show and tell today, so come on up, Frisk..." Toriel says, you pick up Flowey and step up in front of the class and explain to everyone as Toriel translates 'This is Flowey, Flowey the flower, he is an old friend of mine from the Underground, I hope you all like him' you sign, "Aw that is so nice, Frisk... Flowey, do you have something to tell the class?..." Toriel asks.
Flowey just looks at all the children sitting at their desks before him and smirks before yelling "Hail Satan!-" You quickly cover his mouth with your hand, "OKAY!, Frisk, go ahead and take Flowey back to your seat!" Toriel says desperately, you sit back down while Flowey just snickers to himself in mischievous delight.

**Later that day**

You sit down in the cafeteria with Flowey, MK, and Lorem, having a good time while you eat, "So, Flowey, tell me everything about yourself and don't spare a single detail!" Lorem says "You don't have an off switch, do ya kid?" Flowey asks in return "Hahaha, I don't!" Lorem answers, then two people walk over and loom over Frisk, it's Chantelle and Travis
"Well, well, well, if it isn't Freak Foster and friends" Chantelle says "I hope you're proud of yourselves!", "Ugh, why can't you just leave us alone, Chantelle?" Lorem asks exhastberatedly "Because you losers are messing everything up!, I'm the popular one here, not all these creatures that literally crawled out of a hole in the ground!" Chantelle says, "And don't think I've forgotten about you, reptile!, we will have our rematch, no matter what!" Travis says to MK who just gulps.

"Wow, you two have to be the worst bullies I've ever met!" Flowey speaks up, "What the hell is that thing?" Travis asks, "I'm Flowey, Flowey the flower, I'm the stuff nightmares are made of!" Flowey says in his fake over the top friendly voice, "A talking flower?, now that is actually impressive, I have to have it for myself, how much do you want for it?" Chantelle asks.
"Ha!, you couldn't afford me, brat!" Flowey replies "Excuse me?, do you know who I am?" Chantelle asks frustratedly "Let me guess, some bleach blonde, rich girl stereotype who thinks she's better than everyone else because of what she can buy, masking the fact that she has no substantial personality of her own to be actually interesting?, am I close?" Flowey asks sarcastically.

"Argh!, I'm telling my mom what your nasty little houseplant just said to me, Freak!" Chantelle says as she storms away, "What, you need a flower to fight your own battles for you, mute?" Travis asks, "And you, you seriously have nothing better to do than pick on a kid that doesn't have arms?, pathetic!" Flowey says to Travis, "You don't know what you're talking about, flower!" Travis responds, "Hm, maybe not, but I do know this, you ever come near these kids again while I'm around and I will devour your soul, disembowel and decapitate you, then slaughter your family as your forced to watch while trapped inside my body!" Flowey says as his face melts and his voice echoes demonically, Travis just looks disgusted and frightened ".... Whatever, screw you guys!" He says as he walks away, staring daggers at MK as he does.
"Woah.... that... was.. So Cool!" Lorem states, "Yeah, I still got it..." Flowey states proudly, you can't help but smile at him.

After you finish your final classes and the school day ends, everyone starts leaving the building to go home, you and your friends walk up to Asgore as he's trimming the hedges, "Oh howdy Frisk, Flowey, MK, Lorem, I hope you all had a better day today" Asgore says
"Yeah dude, I mean, sir!, barely any issues!" MK says "That's good to hear" Asgore responds, 'So, Asgore, how did things go with that MONSTR app?' You ask "Oh, yes, um... I think I may have misunderstood the intention of the app, apparently it's not just for making friends, but for dating?... I suppose Alphys thinks I should "get back out there"?, but... I just think it might be too late for me..." Asgore explains "Aw, don't say that Mr. Dreemurr!, everyone deserves love!" Lorem states "Hmm... thanks for the encouragement, Lorem..." Asgore says politely.

"Hey, my dad's here!" Lorem declares, Asgore looks and see a man walking over, wearing a leather jacket and dreadlocks tied up into a man bun with a few strands dangling down, Asgore's heart skips a beat, "Hey Lorem, ready to go?" He asks with a smooth sounding voice, "Yeah, I was just talking with Mr. Dreemurr!" Lorem says, the man then looks up at Asgore "Oh, so you're the king of monsters turned groundskeeper I've heard about, nice to finally meet you, I'm Brock" He introduces himself as he reaches out his hand "The pleasure is all mine, and please, call me Asgore" Asgore replies, keeping his cool as he shakes Brock's hand, you smirk, instantly sensing the vibes, while Flowey just rolls his eyes.

"So, Asgore, why would a king wanna work as the groundskeeper of a school?, if you don't mind me asking?" Brock asks "Not at all, I just enjoy the gardening work, as well as seeing all the human and monster children learning how to get along" Asgore says "Want kids?" Brock asks "... Had kids..." Asgore answers solemnly "Sorry to hear that... but if it means anything I think it's great having monsters around, no matter what those stupid protesters might say" Brock says as he glares over at the group of humans still protesting across the street "And also my little Lorem has come into her own ever since you guys came to the surface, so I couldn't be more grateful" Brock says "Oh?... well, um.... you're welcome?..." Asgore says with a slight blush.
"See ya around, your highness~" Brock says with a wink before he and Lorem walk away, you give Asgore a knowing look and he just turns away to hide his blush as he continues working on the bushes.

"See ya tomorrow, Frisk" MK says as they run to their parents, then you see Toriel finally walk out of the school with a woman wearing a bright pink blazer and skirt, with glasses and a big, blonde beehive haircut along with Chantelle, they all walk over to you "Hello there, Frisk is it?, I'm Linda Sinclair, the principal of your school, I understand there's been a bit of an altercation between you and my daughter?" Linda asks in a thick country accent "Your brat was the one who started it!" Flowey says "That is enough Flowey!" Toriel tells him "I am very sorry about this Linda" Toriel says "And I'm sorry, but I'm gonna have to ask you not to bring your pet into school again if it's going to behave like that" Linda states "Pet!?" Flowey asks angrily "Very well, Linda, we understand" Toriel says, "Great!, now, how about you two make up, 'kay?" Linda says as she nudges Chantelle towards you.
Chantelle just rolls her eyes and hugs you "Don't think this makes us friends, if you ever get in my way again, you'll regret ever coming to school..." Chantelle whispers in your ear, before pulling away "Fantastic, see y'all later!" Linda says before she and Chantelle walk away.

You and Toriel begin walking back to the van as you carry Flowey, you see Travis walk across the street towards the anti-monster protest "We can't have these dangerous monsters going to school with our children, my own son was brutally attacked by one of those things yesterday, how many more children are gonna need to be mauled before the world comes to it's senses!?" The woman with the megaphone shouts, she seems to be the leader, the other protesters keep cheering her name, Helen, Travis walks up to and tugs on her shirt to get her attention "Mom, can we just go home now?..." he asks numbly "No!, this is more important, Travis!" She responds immediately "Is it true you're the one who started the fight with that monster kid?, uh what's it's name?..." Helen asks "'Monster Kid' and yeah, I was..." Travis answers "Well you keep that to yourself, you hear me?, your the victim here, do not screw this up for me!" She orders harshly "Yes mom..." Travis says with a blank stare.
You climb into the van and Toriel begins driving back home, away from the protest.

You walk back into your home, seeing Sans sitting on the couch while Papyrus doing chores "'ey, look who's back" Sans says "WELCOME HOME!" Papyrus says cheerfully, "I will get started on dinner!" Toriel says as she walks into the kitchen "OH!, I'LL HELP!" Papyrus says as he chases after, you sit on the couch with Sans and place Flowey on the coffee table, he looks at the TV screen and asks "What the hell is Bluey?", "it's what we watch in this house, so shut up and enjoy yourself" Sans responds "Don't tell me what to do, Smiles!" Flowey says, before continuing to watch the cartoon, "you really think he's changed?..." Sans whispers to you, you nod confidently, "okay... but just know... i've got your back in case you're wrong..." Sans says.

**Later that night**

You're in your room getting ready for bed after eating some surprisingly good spaghetti pie, while Flowey stares out the window again contemplativly, 'Hey Flowey, wanna talk?' You ask "About what?" He asks 'About today?, admit it, you had a good time' You sign "Pssh, yeah right, what makes you think that!?" Flowey asks in confusion.
'You joked with Sans and Toriel today, you had fun at school, you even stood up for me and my friends during lunchtime, then we watched cartoons together!, I think you're warming up to living on the surface...' you sign, "... Yeah, I don't think so, moron....... but..... I suppose it's better than doing nothing underground for all eternity..... just... as long as you don't tell Toriel and Asgore I used to be.... y'know...." Flowey says, you smile and sign 'I promise...' before you climb into bed.
".... Hey Frisk?...." Flowey speaks up, you look over at him "..... Goodnight....." He says, you sign a 'Goodnight' back to him and lay down to go to sleep.

'I hope you feel *real* proud of yourself, Frisk, because no good deed goes unpunished, something you'll learn very soon, 'till then, sweet dreams~....'

Chapter 4: MONSTR

Summary:

The all inclusive dating app for monsters and monster lovers

(Endorsed by the MTT brand)

Omar comes home from a very long day, to his small apartment home, puts his glasses aside and flops face down onto the couch, before the light switch on with a blaring brightness as his roommate enters the room, dressed in a crop top and skinny jeans, always ready for a night out "Ey, look who's back, how ya doin' O-Man?" She asks with a smirk.
"Not right now, Kimmy, I'm tired" Omar responds muffledly into the cushions. "How can you be tired from sitting around listening to lectures and reading books like a nerd all day?, regular people get tired from dancing and going to clubs y'know" Kimmy states as she leans against the doorframe "Law school is serious, Kimmy, I've been working at this for years" Omar says as he gets up and goes to the kitchen for a snack.

"That's exactly why you deserve to catch a break for once" Kimmy says as she follows him "Stop opening law books and start opening some dude's legs~" "Wow... you're such a romantic..." Omar responds dryly before eating some cereal out of the box with his hand.
"No, I mean it, for as long as I've known you, your whole life, you've been working hard to achieve your dreams, boring dreams but still dreams, why can't ya put that level of effort into your love life?" Kimmy asks, Omar just sighs "You of all people know I've tried, clearly all the males of humanity have simultaneously decided that I'm undesirable and destined to be forever alone..."

Kimmy thinks for a while, before smirking smugly "Humanity, you say?.... maybe your problem isn't with men... maybe it's just with *human* men...." Omar stops eating the cereal and looks at Kimmy with a raised eyebrow "What are you getting at, Kim?...." Omar asks in confusion, before Kimmy swipes the cereal box from him "My Tasti-Os!" Omar whines, then Kimmy tosses him her phone and Omar looks at the screen with the specific app already opened.
"MONSTR?... what's that?" Omar asks "It's a really great dating app designed by some dinosaur monster thing named Alphys or whatever, the point is this could finally be the dating app for you, Omar" Kimmy states, "So what, you want me to literally hook up with some tentacle monster?" Omar asks while cringing "That's not what it's for.... I mean, that's what I've been using it for, but there are also a lot of monsters on it looking for something serious, maybe the reason why you haven't found "the one" yet is because they've been trapped Underground all this time and now you can finally find each other?" Kimmy suggests, Omar starts considering it.
"...... But what about law school?" He asks "Bitch you've got that shit in the bag, you've earned this..." Kimmy states compassionately "... and hopefully when you finally have a lover you'll finally stop being such a nerd!... it's bad for my cred" Kimmy adds as she gently punches Omar in the shoulder, taking her phone back and walking away "Why are we even friends again?" Omar asks grumpily.
"You know you love me!" She calls out from her room.

Omar is sitting on the couch, on his phone setting up an account for MONSTR.

Name: Omar Amin

Age: 32

Gender: Cis Male

Orientation: Gay

Loves: Reading Books, Studying Law, LARPing

Hates: Parties, Confrontation, Bigoted People

Then he puts his phone down and goes to his room to get some much needed sleep, the next morning, while he's groggily brushing his teeth, he hears Kimmy shout from the other room "Holy shit!" He runs out of the bathroom and says "What's up" with his toothbrush still in his mouth, Kimmy just passes his phone to him, showing him he already has at least 70 monsters trying to contact him through the app already.
"You've got your work cut out for you, monster lover" Kimmy states as she walks off "Let's hope they don't catch on to what all the human men don't like about you" She adds, causing Omar to throw a pillow at her.

Next time Omar has some free time, he goes out on a date with one of his matches at a restaurant, "So.... your profile says you love making music.... that must be fun?...." Omar asks awkwardly.
"Oh........ I guess......." The solemn little ghost responds, then the two of them sit in silence for a bit longer.
"Sorry...... I don't really go on dates...... at all......" They say, "Really?, then what were you doing on a dating app?" Omar asks.
"My cousin........ suggested I should try it....... we just became a family again....... I didn't wanna let him down....... he just wants me to be happy" They say, "Oh I'm sure your cousin will understand, Napstablook... who is your cousin anyway?, you didn't mention him in your messages" Omar asks before taking a bite of his salad.
"Mettaton........" Napstablook answers, causing Omar to choke on his food a little, "U-um... as in *Mettaton* Mettaton?, the famous one?" Omar asks in surprise.
"Oh........ Yeah....... he helps keep me out of the spotlight as much as possible........ I can't handle all the attention like he can......." Napstablook explains, "That's.... That's nice of him...." Omar responds, trying to keep his cool after finding out he's on a date with a celebrity's cousin, "Sorry....... I wasted your time......." Napstablook says sadly, "Nah, it's fine, this is far from the worst date I've ever had... can I take you home?" Omar responds.

Omar and Napstablook arrive in front the new MTT penthouse in Ebott City, "Well, we're here..." Omar says "Oh........ thanks........" Napstablook says "... Should we kiss goodbye?, is that alright?" Omar asks nervously "Oh......... okay........." Napstablook says.
Omar chuckles, then slowly leans forward to give the ghost a peck... before falling straight through them and face first onto the floor with a loud thud, "Oh........ sorry........".

**Later**

Omar is laying gon the couch back at his apartment while holding a pack of ice on his forehead, Kimmy looks down at him, leaning on the back of the couch "That didn't happen by slamming you face into the headboard of a bed during fun times by any chance, did it?" Kimmy asks smugly "No... no it did not..." Omar groans, "Well, look on the bright side, bestie, ya still got tons of other dates to fuck up" Kimmy states while swiping through all the profiles on his phone ".... I hate you...." Omar groans.

**The Next Date**

"-I just really love working on the school garden, making it all look so vibrant and inviting for when the students arrive, it's always so delightful to see the looks on their faces when they see all the different shapes I can cut the bushes into, I've missed interacting with children but I was always so busy, now it feels like I have too much time one my hands, that's why I'm trying to set up my own floral hobby business but I just can figure out how to set up the blasted website, I'll figure it out eventually or just ask my friends for help I'm sure, but oh my I've been blabbering on for far to long, do you want to tell me anything, Omar?"

Omar just stares at the large goat monster man sitting across from him, before taking a breath and saying "Sorry... I just didn't realise I was gonna be meeting with.... y'know... the king of monsters...".
"My apologies, Omar, I suppose I should've made that clearer, though if it makes you feel better I'm hardly even a king anymore..." Asgore replies.
"Still... why would a guy like you wanna... be with a guy like me?..." Omar asks, "Well I read your profile and I thought we could be great friends" Asgore states, Omar just stares at him for a few seconds ber asking "Friends?.... do you not know that we're... on a date right now?".

An awkward beat goes by for a moment, before Asgore's face blushes bright red "Oh heavens, I thought the app was for meeting new friends!" Asgore explains in embarrassment, "It's fine, your majesty..." Omar reassures him "My friend Alphys created the app and suggested it to me, I didn't think..." Asgore stammers "I think your friend is trying to tell you something..." Omar states "I suppose so... but, there's no reason we can't still have a good night?" Asgore says "Uh... sure?... so, since we're on the topic, are you gonna... maybe use the app for... dating?" Omar asks, feeling weird talking about this stuff with literal royalty.
"Oh, no, I don't think so,this may sound pathetic but... I'm still getting over... someone..." Asgore says, "Aw, that's too bad, can I ask who?" Omar asks "It's my ex wife..." Asgore answers "Wife?..." Omar let's out in surprise "Hm?" Asgore responds "Oh, sorry, I just... didn't get that vibe from you" Omar says "Vibe?, what sort of 'vibe'?" Asgore asks with a confused smile.

"Um... well, I kinda just assumed you were into guys?, you look a bit like a bear" Omar answers "A bear?, people usually say goat" Asgore says "No, a bear as in... uh, not important, so you're saying you're not into men and you're not over your ex wife?" Omar asks, Asgore just thinks with a contemplative look on his face "I... I suppose I've never given it much thought... I've usually had other things on my mind than figuring myself out..." Asgore admits "... We've got time now..." Omar suggests, Asgore thinks even more "... I still do have feeling for my ex wife, even though she's moving on... but... there have been times where I've... felt similar towards men..." Asgore explains thoughtfully, "... Y'know, I'm not sure how you monsters labelled things Underground, or if you even did at all, but on the Surface we do have a word for someone who's questioning their sexuality like you... maybe you're bicurious?" Omar states "Bicurious?" Asgore asks "Yeah, some humans like using terms like that one until they've figured themselves out a bit more, even if they don't end up being bisexual or anything like that..." Omar says "Huh.... What a wonderful world it is up here!" Asgore states with a big smile.

**Later**

Omar closes the door as he walks into the apartment, finding Kimmy making out with a monster girl on the couch, before they both notice him "Oh hey Omar!, I hope your MONSTR dating experience is going as great as mine, this is... whatever her name is" Kimmy says, "I'm Faun" The deer girl says, her purple lipstick all smeared.
"Nice to meet you, and no Kim, it's not going great, but at least that last date was better than the last, so here's hoping" Omar states before heading off to his room "Well don't be too upset Omar, not everyone can be so irresistable to monsters~" Kimmy says before she continues making out with Faun some more "Says the girl who wasn't just on a date with the king of monsters tonight" Omar says before closing his door, "What!?" Kimmy and Faun both ask in shock.

**The Next Date**

"So, Aaron, I imagine you like going to the gym?" Omar asks, while Aaron is just smugly flexing from across the table "What make you think that?" Aaron asks before flexing in a different position "Well, obviously a guy as muscular as you had to work hard into such great shape?" Omar states "No babe, this is all one hundred percent Aaron, look all you want" Aaron says before making his pecs bounce.
"Are you just gonna spend the whole date... flexing?..." Omar asks "Hey, nothing wrong with dinner and a show, dude" Aaron says, then he kisses his bicep.

**The Next Date**

Big Mouth repeatedly keeps repeatedly shoving tons of food into his sharp toothed mouth, "Uhh... do you wanna ask me something about myself or...?" Omar asks, the plant monster stops eating for a moment and looks up at Omar.
"Sorry pal, it's just that all this human food is amazing, so much more physicality than monster food, I love digesting it!" Big Mouth says with a mouth full of food "Oh okay..." Omar responds, "Hey, can you cook?" Big Mouth asks "Not really, no" Omar says "That's a shame..." Big Mouth states "Ooh!, we should order desert!" Big Mouth adds.
"I feel like your just using me to get free food..." Omar says, Big Mouth stops eating "Whaaaaaat?, what gave you that idea... um, hey look at that, I gotta go use a human toilet now, totally not sneaking away, just digestion doing it's thing, see ya..."

**The Next Date**

"So, you're a construction worker, what's that like?" Omar asks "Jimmy Hotpants is great at construction working, they used to throw ice cubes back in the Underground" The buff wolf monster states very matter of factly ".... huh....?" Omar mumbles in confusion, "Jimmy Hotpants works so much, they're just looking to settle down now" Jimmy Hotpants explains.
"... I'm sorry, I thought you were Jimmy Hotpants?..." Omar asks, even more confused "This is just the way Jimmy Hotpants talks" The wolf says "..... And.... you're Jimmy Hotpants?...." Omar asks, the wolf just huffs and says "Jimmy Hotpants doesn't think this is going to work out, goodbye forever" Jimmy Hotpants says before getting up and leaving.
"Wha.... WHO IS JIMMY HOTPANTS!?" Omar shouts.

**The Next Date**

Omar and the dog monster sit staring at each other in silence, before Omar finally speaks up "Do you want me to start the conver-" "Ah!, who's there!?" Doggo shouts, "It's just me!, your date!, we've been sitting in front of each other for ages!" Omar responds while raising his hands, "What?, why didn't you tell me?, I can't see you unless your moving!" Doggo responds, "Wait, really?... that explains things..." Omar says.
"So what?, am I just gonna have to be perpetually moving around for you to see me?" Omar asks "Pretty much..." Doggo answers, "Okay... Uh, so what exactly are you looking for from a relationship?" Omar asks while bobbing his head around, "Well, I like taking long walks together, some light petting, oh and of course I love to be given a bone every now and then!" Doggo explains.
"Um, I can't tell if that's a euphemism, plus I'm feeling really ridiculous shimmying around like this" Omar says before stopping his movements "Hey c'mon don't go, come back!" Doggo shouts "... I'm still here" Omar responds.

**The Next Date**

Omar keeps checking his watch, wondering when his date is gonna show up since he's been sitting alone for hours, then suddenly he hears a voice say "Hey handsome, sorry I'm late" Omar looks around to see where the voice is coming from, but can't see anyone "... Hello?..." He asks in confusion.
"Down here, sweetie" says the voice, Omar looks down on the floor and sees a rock "I'd've been here sooner, but, y'know how it is" the rock says, "Oh my God!" Omar states in shock.

**A Few Days Later**

"Urgh!... I don't know what I'm doing wrong!..." Omar groans on the couch "I think it's your tone, nobody wants a whiny boyfriend" Kimmy says from the kitchen "I couldn't find the one out of all the damn humans I've dated, now I can't find the one out of all the monsters on MONSTR!" Omar shouts in upset, then he feels Kimmy smack him on the back of the head.
"Ow!... what was that for!?" Omar asks "For being an idiot!" Kimmy answers "You're always so mean to me!" Omar states, "I'm your best friend, I get to be mean, especially when you're being an idiot!... I love you O-Man but seriously?... how high are your standards?" Kimmy asks.
"No offense, Kim, but I'm not looking for something casual like you, I just want to find the right person for once..." Omar responds, ".... Well, maybe you'll feel better if you just talk to the genius who invented the app, she might be able to give you some advice...." Kimmy suggests before passing Omar his phone "She's got a number on the app people can call if they have any problems" Kimmy says before ruffling Omar's short, curly hair.

**Later**

Omar video calls the number on the app, it rings for a couple of minutes, before it's finally answered and shows a yellow, bespectacled dinosaur monster on the screen, sitting at a desk.
"H-hey, you calling to talk about the app?" Alphys asks with a smile, "Hey, yeah, um, I'm Omar, and not so much the app, I really could just use some help, I've been using your app for a while now and no matter how many dates I go on I just still don't seem to be able to find the right person for me, is it my fault, am I just destined to be alone?..." Omar asks sadly.
"Oh w-wow, that's a loaded question..." Alphys responds "Sorry" Omar says back "No, don't be, i-it's fine, this is pretty much what the number's for" Alphys states before clearing her throat "Tell me a bit more about your issues".
"Well, I've been on thousands of dates with human guys in my life, but they never worked out, no matter how much I wanted them to, so my roommate told me to try your app to see if I had a chance with any monsters instead, but so far, nothing, even after several dates...." Omar explains, Alphys just let's out a breathy laugh, "Are you laughing at me?" Omar asks befuddledly "N-no, no!, not at you, just... I-I can relate... I used to get crushes on so many people back in the Underground, but I never could get any of them to like me back... until eventually... one did, and I've never been happier!" Alphys explains.
"So.... what's the secret?...." Omar asks halfheartedly, ".... D-do you love yourself?...." Alphys asks, Omar thinks and raises an eyebrow "What do you mean?" He asks "Well.... from my experience, I found out that the real reason I couldn't be in a relationship was that.... I didn't love myself first, so how could I expect anyone else to.... Undyne set me straight, put me on the path to thinking about myself in a better light.... only then could I believe she actually liked me back.... I d-dunno, maybe that's not go-good advice..." Alphys says.
"No, no I think that actually makes a lot of sense.... maybe that is the problem.... I've always thought about work or relationships, I've never just thought about me...." Omar says before breathing a sigh of relief "Thanks for listening to me, ma'am", "It was my p-pleasure, I think you and me are a lot alike, th-thanks for calling Omar, bye" Alphys says before the call ends.

**The Next Day**

Omar comes out of his room, dressed all smart again for law school, walking toward the door before Kimmy says from the kitchen, barely dressed in only an oversized t-shirt, while Faun is sleeping on the couch.
"Hey O-Man?, what's up, did that dino lady get you a boyfriend yet?", "No, she didn't, she gave me something much better... clarity... I need to figure out how to love myself and be my own 'the one' for a while, so I'm gonna become a lawyer and help people while also focusing on my own needs and see where I go from there, understood?" Omar explains confidently, "Uh... yeah, totally..." Kimmy responds, taken aback, Omar's about to leave before Kimmy adds "I thought you'd only get like this when you finally had a real boyfriend, but I'm so proud of you bestie", Omar smiles and says "Thanks bestie" before leaving and driving back off to law school, feeling better now that he's finally taking the proper first steps.

Notes:

This is a bit of a different chapter, but I hope people like it.

Chapter 5: The Three Monsteers

Summary:

Frisk finally has friends their age for the first time in their life, can they learn how to have fun and play like other children do now that they're the ambassador?

You wake up in the morning, with the sun shining I through the gap in the curtains, the sound of birds singing their songs echoing, you quickly throw off the covers and get out of bed, sit down at your desk and start writing something down, accidentally waking Flowey from his slumber, he lifts his head up sightly from his flower pot on the desk, his petals drooping tiredly over his face.
"Urgh... what are doing?..." Flowey asks groggily, 'I have an idea for a charity that could help monsters still struggling to adapt to life on the Surface, it came to me I a dream, I gotta write it down before I forget!' You sign and continue writing.
"... God, even your dreams suck..." Flowey responds with snark.

Then the door creaks open as Toriel peeks in "My child, I did not know you were up yet" Toriel says before walking in "Are you drawing something?" She asks 'Not quite, mom, I'm coming up with a monster charity' You sign, "Oh... more ambassador work... very well, just be ready for breakfast and school in a few minutes, my child..." Toriel states, before leaving and walking downstares to talk to the skeleton brothers in the living room.

"Do you two ever worry that Frisk is maybe doing a little too much as ambassador?" Toriel asks, Sans turns down the TV and Papyrus stops cleaning up as they both ponder her question.
"I THOUGHT THEY'VE BEEN DOING A GREAT JOB AS OUR AMBASSADOR, HAVEN'T THEY?, THEY'VE REALLY GONE ABOVE AND BEYOND!" Papyrus responds, "They have, but my point is that I am worried they are not spending enough time just being a child, I want them to have more of a proper balance, is all..." Toriel states.
"isn't that why you started sending them to school, tori?" Sans asks, "Yes, but when they get home not much changes, I know their work is important, but so is their childhood..." Toriel answers.

"... OH!, YOU KNOW WHAT I ALWAYS WANTED AS A BABY BONES?, A CLUBHOUSE!, WE CAN BUILD ONE FOR FRISK AND THEIR LITTLE FRIENDS ON THE TREE IN THE BACKYARD!" Papyrus says gleefully, "You two would really do that?" Toriel asks with a smile, "absolutely, the kid deserves a reward for all they've done" Sans replies.
"Oh how wonderful, I will even call their friends parents and see if I can arrange a sleepover!" Toriel states before excitedly pulling out her phone.

**Elsewhere**

Monster Kid wakes up to pounding on their bedroom door and the voice of their sister, Sissy, shouting through "Hey, doofus, mom says you better wake up soon or you're gonna miss out on breakfast!" MK groans and slides out of bed, walking through the mess scattered across the floor over to their closet "Alright, I'm coming, I'm coming!" MK shouts back before pulling out their armless sweater and maneuvering it to slide over their head and body, until their head pops out of the neck hole.

Sissy opens the door and leans against the frame, she looks a lot like a raptor, with her slender neck and beak shaped mouth, and has crimson scales and brown spines, dressed a bit punkish wearing a grey tank top and ripped jeans, along with dark, heavy eyeshadow and thick mascara, "By the way, mom got a call from that ex queen lady" she states "Miss Toriel?" MK asks.
"Who else would it be, dumbass?... anyway, she asked if you wanna go for a sleepover at your crush Frisk's house, it's your wet dream come true!" Sissy explains teasingly, "What!?, Ew!, What?, What are you talking about?" MK responds.
"Aw c'mon!, I'm your big sister, you can't keep shit from me!" Sissy says before wrapping her arm around MK's shoulders and giving them a noogie "Ow!, stop it, Sis!" MK yells while trying to pull away, eventually Sissy let's them go.

"So, you gonna go on your dumb little date with that human weirdo or what?" Sissy asks with a smirk, "It's not a date, it's just a sleepover, and... I guess so, but it doesn't mean anything!" MK responds with a blush spreading across their cheeks.
"Ugh, you're such a loser, you have no rizz whatsoever, your never gonna get with that human if you don't step up your game!" Sissy tells MK before flicking them between he eyes and running off, MK just huffs in annoyance and follows after her.

**Elsewhere Again**

Lorem finishes making poptarts, placing them down on a plate before covering them with chocolate syrup, rainbow sprinkles and crisps, then pours a glass of milk and soda mixed together, then carries the tray down the hallway and into her dad's bedroom.

"Hey dad, wake up, I made you breakfast!" Lorem says, Brock begins to sit up and lifts his wild dreadlocks out of his eyes so he can see "Lore... Y'know you don't have to make me these... experimental breakfasts... everyday, right?" Brock asks with a yawn.
"I know, but I like to!" Lorem replies cheerily, before giving Brock the tray "Well then... if you're happy, I'm happy, baby" Brock responds tenderly, Lorem smiles happily.
"Also dad, we got a call from Miss Toriel earlier, she wanted to know if I could make it to Frisk's sleepover and I said I would ask you, can I, can I, can I?" Lorem asks enthusiastically, "Sure thing, sweetie, I'll drive you over there after school, 'kay?" Brock states, "Okie dokie!" Lorem responds, before skipping away to her own room and pulling out a picture of her mother.
"Hi mom, guess what?, I'm finally going to my first sleepover!, can you believe it?, Eeeee!, I'm so excited, wish me luck!" Lorem squeals, before putting the picture back into her nightstand and getting ready for school.

**Back At Frisk's House**

Frisk, Toriel, Sans, Papyrus and Flowey are all eating breakfast together, "Frisk, my child, how would you like to have a sleepover with Monster Kid and Lorem after school?" Toriel asks, 'Really?' You ask excitedly, "Indeed, I have called their parents and they agreed to let them come over!" Toriel says, "Great, those little idiots are gonna be in our house now?..." Flowey states under his breath.

You smile and nod happily, "Excellent!, we should make our way to school then!" Toriel says joyfully, before you and her walk out to her van, "well paps, we better work ourselves to the bone if we wanna get that clubhouse done before the kids get here" Sans says "ARE YOU ACTUALLY GOING TO HELP OR ARE YOU JUST GOING TO SIT AND WATCH WHILE EATING JUNK FOOD?" Papyrus asks.
"hey, don't underestimate me, bro..." Sans says as he gets up and walks out to the backyard, Papyrus gets up and picks up Flowey "COME ALONG, FLOWERY!, YOU SHOULD GET SOME FRESH AIR TOO!" Papyrus says before going to the backyard aswell.
"It's. Flowey. Idiot." Flowey grumbles.

**Later**

You arrive in the school parking lot and run up to your friends, "Yo Frisk!" MK says "You looking forward to the sleepover?" Lorem asks, 'Sure am!' You respond, "Hey, I was thinking, we should call ourselves The Three Monsteers!" Lorem states, "What?" MK asks in confusion, "You know, like a group name, since we're all best friends now!" Lorem explains, "But I'm the only monster here, you two are humans, so that doesn't really make sense" MK points out "Well, we can be honorary monsters" Lorem replies, "Mmm... don't think race works that way dude..." MK responds, 'I think it's great Lorem' You sign, "Yay!, The Three Monsteers it is!" Lorem cheers. You all walk up to the school doors together, where Toriel is already talking to a familiar tortoise monster, Gerson Boom, 'Gerson, what are you doing here?' You sign.

"Hey there, just thought I'd stop by, I've been wondering about what I should be doing now that we all live on the Surface, Toriel suggested that I should apply to become a history teacher here and I thought I'd take her up on it, considering I've lived through so much of it already!, Wahahaha!" Gerson explains, "I thought it would be beneficial for the school to have a member of staff that could teach all the students about important monster history, so we can build a better tomorrow for all of us" Toriel explains.

"That's the best idea I've ever heard!, I can't wait to learn all about monster history!" Lorem says, "Just so you know, Lorem, a lot of is mostly just us being screwed over by humanity..." MK warns, "So is most of human history" Lorem responds smugly.
"Alright you little urchins, get going to class before it's too late!" Gerson tells you off playfully.

 

"Alright class, now that you have picked your groups of three, you can get started with your work, remember to help each other figure out the answers, teamwork makes the dream work!" Toriel tells the class cheerfully.

You're sat with MK and Lorem with the worksheet in front you, working through it together and helping each other, "I've never been to a sleepover before, am I supposed to bring something special, some sort of offering for the host?" Lorem asks, "What?, dude, it's a sleepover not a cult ritual" MK responds with a laugh.
'Just bring a sleeping bag, pajamas, toothbrush, and maybe some candy' You sign, "Will do!" Lorem says with a salute, "I'm just glad to have a night away from my sister... and y'know, spend time with you guys..." MK says, 'Maybe you guys can help me with my new monster charity idea?' You sign, "Yeah, sure, but after that, maybe some video games?" MK suggests.
"Ooh, or we could make a pillow fort, with an army of plushies, and have a pillow war over who gets to rule it!" Lorem suggests.

"Children, do not forget to fill out the sheet before class ends" Toriel calls out, the three of you go back to writing with sheepish smiles.

**Later**

You all sit together at lunch, eating your food and talking about the sleepover, "Frisk, is Papyrus gonna be there?, that would be awesome!" MK asks "Which one is Papyrus?" Lorem asks, "Uh, he's only the coolest skeleton from the entire Underground!, even cooler than Undyne, right Frisk?" MK responds.
'Hey MK, what was that symbol I kept seeing in a bunch of places in the Underground?, the one with the triangles and the circle with wings' You ask them, "Hmm... you mean the Delta Rune?" They ask back 'Yes!, that's the one!' You sign before pulling out your notebook and writing it down, "Why'd ya wanna know?" MK asks, 'That's what gave me the idea for the charity this morning!' You respond.
"Frisk... do you ever take days off from being the ambassador?" MK asks, 'What do you mean?' You sign.

"Hey, Monster Kid" Travis says as he walks over, "... Can't you just leave us alone for one day, Travis?" MK sighs in annoyance, "No, because of you monsters, not only has my dad lost his job, but my mom has thrown herself into all of these 'Moms Against Monsters' protests, she's barely home anymore" Travis states "So you're blaming monsters for your bad parents?" MK says without thinking "The fuck you say to me?" Travis asks as he punches the lunch table "N-nothing!..." MK responds.

"You scaly little shit, sooner or later we're gonna have our damn rematch, and when we do, I'm gonna find out if this whole monsters turning to dust nonsense is true!" Travis growls, "You've made your point, Travis, go away now!" Lorem says, Travis glares at her, but then stomps off, MK goes a bit pale in the face.

**After School**

MK returns home and just goes straight to their room, before their sister walks in too "What's up with you, pussy, you look like you've seen a human... wait that saying doesn't really work as well as it did back Underground, does it?" Sissy says, MK turns to face her with their eyes watering "I think some kid a school is gonna kill me, Sis..." they say, Sissy raises an eyebrow "Oh yeah, is this that guy I heard you got into a fight with, the fight all these protesters got all pissy about?" Sissy asks sternly, MK nods as their bottom lip quivers.

"Ugh, don't cry, dork!, no one's gonna harm my little sibling and get away with it, that's my job!" Sissy states, MK's eyes widen I hope "So... are you gonna fight him for me?..." MK asks "Hell no" Sissy responds "What!?, why not!?" MK asks fearfully, "Because you picked this fight, that means you've gotta end it, do you realise how bad you'll look if you're big sister has to come in and save your ass?" Sissy explains, "But... what am I supposed to do?" MK asks worriedly.
"You have to learn how to become a fighter, see if you have any powers of your own, something that'll make this guy think twice before he messes with you again, find someone who can train you to reach your full potential" Sissy advises.

"... Okay... I'll try..." MK replies timidly, "Don't try, pansy, do... now, get ready ready for your stupid sleepover, mom and dad said I have to take you... Don't say i don't do shit for you..." Sissy says as she rolls her eyes.

**Later, At Frisk's**

Toriel finishes baking a pie for the occasion, placing it on the windowsill to cool down "Oh do so hope Frisk has fun..." Toriel says to herself, before there's knocking at the front door, he excitedly runs over and opens it, seeing Sissy standing there with her hands in her leather jacket pockets, MK standing next to her.
"Hello Miss Toriel, so good to see you!" Sissy says nicely, "Greetings, are you going to be joining us?" Toriel asks, "Nah, just her to drop this little scamp off" Sissy says as she softly pats an annoyed MK on the head "I'm gonna go now, be on your best behavior for Miss Toriel, okay?" Sissy says, purposely drawing out her words slowly, "Yeah, whatever" MK replies before walking into the house and up the stairs to Frisk's room.

MK opens the door and walks in, finding you at your desk "Yo Frisk... you still doing homework?" They ask, 'No, it's that charity thing I told you about' You sign before finishing your drawing and holding it up, it's purple with three triangles above a winged circle, with the words The Delta Rune Angel Charity, the D.R.A.C. for short.
'I was inspired by the proficy I learned about in the Underground, this charity will make it so everyone can be an angel too, helping monsters live and prosper on the Surface ' You sign.

MK smiles and stares lovingly, 'What?' You ask, MK's eyes widen as they blush "Nothing, it's just... you're so passionate about helping monsterkind, I can't imagine how we'll ever be able to return the favour..." MK states, looking away shyly, now it's your turn to blush.

 

"Frisk, Monster Kid, Lorem's here!" Toriel calls up, you both just shake off the nerves and rush downstairs to greet Lorem, "Hey guys!, what did I miss?" She asks, "Oh, nothing important" MK says awkwardly, 'Yep, nothing' You sign, "... Okay!" Lorem responds with a nieve smile, "Children, I believe Sans and Papyrus have a surprise waiting for your in the backyard!" Toriel says, the three of you look at each other and quickly run outside in anticipation, gasping in awe when you see the huge, well crafted tree house, Papyrus standing and waving inside it from the window, "Woah!" Lorem says "Dude!" MK adds.

"we hope you like it, took us all day" Sans says from his lawn chair "WE?, ALL YOU DID WAS SIT THERE AND MAKE STUPID PUNS!" Papyrus says as he scowls down at Sans "i was here for moral support..." Sans states before taking a swing from his ketchup bottle, Papyrus jumps down from the tree house "IT HAS EVERYTHING YOU NEED, A TOYBOX, A MINI FRIDGE, RUNNING WATER, FURNITURE AND A SECOND FLOOR!" Papyrus explains.

"This is so cool!" Lorem squeals, before running and climbing up the ladders into the tree house, 'Hold on, let me get make papers first!' You sign and run back inside, then MK looks at Papyrus and nervously walks up to him.
"Umm... Yo, Papyrus..." They say, "OH, HELLO MONSTER CHILD, WHAT CAN I DO FOR YOU?" Papyrus asks, "Uh, it's Monster Kid actually, but, I just wanted to ask you something... since you're the coolest monster I know..." MK says, "I'M GLAD YOU NOTICED, THE GREAT PAPYRUS IS A VERY COOL DUDE INDEED!, NYEHEHEHEH!" Papyrus laughs and poses heroically, his scarf flowing in the wind, MK grins and feels starstruck, "Y-yeah, so, i was just wondering... could you teach me how to battle?" MK requests, "BATTLE?, WHY WOULD A YOUNG MONSTER LIKE YOU WANT TO BATTLE?" Papyrus asks quizzically.

"It's... a bully... at school... he really wants me gone..." MK explains, "AWW, THAT'S TOO BAD MONSTER CHILD, BUT YOU KNOW, FIGHTING ISN'T ALWAYS THE ANSWER, I'VE LEARNED THAT MOST THINGS CAN BE SOLVED THROUGH THE POWER OF FRIENDSHIP!" Papyrus responds gleefully, "Yeah, I don't think that's an option... can't you just help me realise my powers?" MK asks, "I'M SORRY, BUT ALL MY ATTENTION AND EFFORT IS ALREADY GOING TOWARDS MY COOKING LESSONS, BUT I'M SURE UNDYNE WOULD BE MORE THAN HAPPY TO HELP YOU IN THAT REGARD!" Papyrus suggests before strutting back inside, "Hey, MK, check out how awesome it is up here!" Lorem shouts down, MK goes up to the ladders and starts climbing it with the use of their teeth.

You come back downstairs with your ambassador notebook and papers, when Toriel spots you "Frisk, are you taking those with you to the tree house?" She asks, you nod, she kneels down in front of you "Frisk, listen... I know you can handle the responsibility... I just worry about you missing out on having a regular childhood..." Toriel.
'Mom, what even is a regular childhood?' You ask, "... Fair point, my child..." Toriel replies with a breathy chuckle and a solemn look in her eyes, you can see how important this is for her, you look at the tree house in the backyard, then back at Toriel.
'I guess I could always work on it later...' You sign, "Exactly... I will store these safely away in your room, you can bring your friends this delicious snail pie!" Toriel says as she passes you the pie, you happily walk out to the tree house.

**Later**

Everyone is sat in a circle in the tree house, wearing their pajamas, several slices have been taken out of the pie, "I gotta say, snail pie has got to be the weirdest thing I've ever eaten... I love it!" Lorem says before stuffing another slice in her mouth, "She does make them well..." Flowey mumbles, you smile at him sympathetically, "I do always prefer food made with magic, all of the benefits with none of the drawbacks" MK says before they burp, 'I hope Papyrus really does open a restaurant one day, monster food needs to be shared with the whole world' You sign to the two of them.

"Anyway, let's gossip, that's a thing people do at slumber parties, right?" Lorem asks, "Uh, sure, about what?" MK asks, "I dunno... looks like that tortoise monster is gonna start working at our school" Lorem states, "Yeah, Gerson, he's pretty cool, he actually fought in the human/monster war" MK explains, "Wow, really, so he's like, *old* old, huh?" Lorem asks, MK nods.

"Okay, so an actually ancient history teacher is cool and all, but let's move on to what's really important... do you two have any... crushes at school that we should talk about?..." Lorem asks with a smirk as she looks back and forth between you and MK.

You and MK blush and glance at each other, before looking away in embarrassment, "Uhmm... we should probably be going to sleep, it's getting late" MK says, their voice cracking nervously, you just nod and rub the back of your neck, Flowey retches exaggeratedly at the display, so you all tuck yourselves into your sleeping bags for the night.

 

"You really think this can last?..." They ask, cockily....

You open your eyes and see them floating above you in your sleeping bag, a red aura radiating around their body, looking down at you with that smug smile, "What do you want?" You ask them before you sit up, but they still hover in front of your vision.
"I wanna talk to you, Frisk~" They respond with a saccharine sweetness, you look around the tree house, MK, Lorem and Flowey are still fast asleep, MK is snoring loudly and Lorem is cuddling Flowey's plant pot, 'Then talk...' You sign grumpily, "I'm tired of watching you and your toys struggle to make a better world that'll never exist... there's only one way we can truly free them..." They tell you, 'Then why don't you just possess me already?, I know that's what you want' You sign.

"Oh Frisk... where's the fun in that?... I know you'll see things my way eventually... after all... goods things come to those who wait~" They say smugly, you frown at them, "See you in your dreams, Frisk..." Chara says, before they're gone...

You sit there, tearing up silently, watching over your slumbering friends, you know this is your fault, you've put everyone's happily ever after in jeopardy... but you're gonna do everything you can to make things right, no matter what.

Notes:

My last tablet up and died on me, so I had to get a new one...

Chapter 6: You Had Me At Knock, Knock

Summary:

Sans finally swallows his nerves and asks Toriel out on a date, can they actually make things work between them?, will Soriel finally become canon?... Everyone sure hopes so.

Notes:

Warning: Author is shipping trash

Sans' pink, poofy slippers crunch through the snow of the frozen Snowdin forest, he's wandered away from his sentry station out of boredom, Papyrus wants him to be on watch for humans but that's as likely as Sans finally picking up his sock.

That's when Sans spots it, a huge, purple door in the wall at the very end of the path, Sans grins widely once he sees it, it's absolutely perfect for knock, knock jokes, so he begins, knocking out a couple like: "knock, knock. who's there? nobel. nobel who? nobel, that's why i knocked" And "knock, knock. who's there? boo. boo who? hey, don't cry, it's just a joke!", going on and on by himself, perfecting his routine.

But then the next time he knocks, out of nowhere, someone actually responds from the other side, a soothing, feminine voice. "Who is there?" Sans pauses for a moment, slightly flustered, before responding, "..... dishes....." ".... Dishes who?" She asks, "dishes a very bad joke..." he replies.
Then there's a lull in the conversation... before the lady suddenly bursts out in hysterical laughter, Sans can feel his cheekbones heating up a bit, this is the best audience he's ever had.

****

Sans awakens with a start, quickly jerking his head up from his hotdog stand in town, he feels worried for a moment like he usually is when he wakes up, worried he's back in the Underground again, he must've fell asleep from it being a slow day selling hotdogs and hotcats, something must've woke him up from his nice dream, but as he looks around he can't see anyone around.
Until he hears something go "Mew" at first he thinks it's that anime girl Alphys goes on tangents about sometimes, but he sees what it really is once he looks down at the floor next to his stand, a small, stray kitten with bright blue eyes, and scruffy black fur, looking up at him expectantly.

"oh... hey, lil' fella... ya hungry?..." Sans asks, the kitten just stares silently, Sans looks around, then reaches down and carefully lifts the kitten up and gently places it down on the counter, "i've been waiting for a customer all day, since it seems like no one else is stopping by, i guess i can give you a lil' something for free, but just this once, i'm trying to run a business here" Sans says jokingly as he grabs a couple of the bite sized vegetable toppings and sprinkles them in front of the kitten.
It sniffs at them before eating a couple, Sans softly scratches it behind the ears as it munches, it quietly purrs as Sans thinks back to that dream, that memory, and all the feelings that come with it.

**Later**

Sans returns home, walking through the door to see you and Papyrus watching cartoons on the couch, while Toriel bakes in the kitchen, happily humming to herself.

"THE SKINNY, POINTY ONE IS DEFINITELY MY FAVOURITE, FRISK, THE SHORT, PURPLE ONE HOWEVER, REMINDS ME OF SANS, SO I DO NOT LIKE HER AT ALL..." Papyrus says as he watches the cartoon, "Welcome home, Sans, did you have a nice day?" Toriel asks as she walks in with a tray of heart shaped cookies that she places down next to Flowey on the coffee table.
"nah, not really, didn't get many customers today... other than this lil' guy" Sans says before reaching back and pulling the small kitten out of his hood, you, Papyrus and Toriel all gasp at the cute little bundle of fur in the skeleton's hands.

'It's adorable!, can we keep it!, please?' You sign excitedly, "Oh, I would love to Frisk, but what if it has an owner?, I will ask around town, see if anyone knows anything" Toriel says, 'And I they don't?' You ask, "Then... I guess we'll start buying some cat toys" Toriel responds.
"WELL, WHAT SHOULD WE NAME IT IF WE DO END UP KEEPING IT?, YOU FOUND IT FIRST SANS, ANY IDEAS?" Papyrus asks with enthusiasm, Sans looks down at the kitten he's holding in his arms, as it curls up against his plush hoodie sleeves "hmm... how about.... cat?..." Sans replies.
"CAT?... YOU WANT TO NAME A CAT... CAT?... NOT ONLY IS THAT UNIMAGINATIVE, ISN'T IT GOING TO MAKE THINGS CONFUSING?" Papyrus asks in disappointment, "fine... kat then... with a k..." Sans says with a smirk "THAT... THAT DOESN'T CHANGE ANYTHING, IT'S STILL THE SAME PRONUNCIATION!" Papyrus responds in annoyance 'It's perfect!' You sign.

Sans plops himself on the couch, petting the kitten in his arms a few times, 'A cat is the perfect pet for you, Sans, they're like dogs, but they're lazier, and more low maintenance' You sign to him, "heh, sounds like my kinda dog..." Sans replies, then gently places the kitten on the coffee table, to let it wander a bit.
Which it does cautiously, it walks closer and closer to Flowey's plant pot curiously, Flowey starts scooting himself bacwards to try and get away from it, "Hey, hey!, get it away from me!" Flowey says before hissing, "alight, come on kat, stay away from the murder flower" Sans says before picking the kitten back up.

"It would be nice to have a little 'fur-end' around the house, would it not?" Toriel says, "yeah, that would be 'pawsitively' 'purrfect'" Sans replies, "Though they can have a bit of a 'cattitude'" Toriel states, "oh, you gotta be 'kitten' me, tori" Sans responds.
"Ugh, gross, cut it out or get a room!" Flowey butts in with a disgusted tone, Sans and Toriel both blush, "Oh, stop being such a 'sourpuss', Flowey" Toriel says before stepping back into the kitchen.
You glance up at Sans a few times before signing 'He's got a point', "i will sic this adorable kitten on you, kid" Sans responds as he holds the kitten up like a weapon "Mew..."

**That Night**

Sans sits on the couch while everyone else is going to sleep, wearing his headphones and lazily fiddling with his controller, starting up a battle royale game when a user called 'KissyCutieFan12' drops in, knowing who it is, Sans accepts the connection, "'sup al?" Sans asks into the mic on his headphones.
"N-Not much, had a long day at w-work today, thought I'd jump online while I wait for U-Undyne to come home, you?" Alphys responds "same... found a kitten, might keep it..." Sans says casually, looking down at the kitten snoozing away on the pillow next to him.
"Aww!, I've thought about getting a cute little kitty before, but I-I just know I'd go too far a-and become a c-crazy cat lady..." Alphys says, "sure, sure..." Sans nods, "Oop, heads up Sans, our n-nemesis just logged in" Alphys warns, "dammit... 'vagmaster69', we meet again..." Sans says seriously, "This time we'll t-take him down together, r-right Sans?" Alphys asks hopefully.
"you're damn right, al, we'll get him back for every time he's teabagged us!" Sans snarls, before beginning the match.

**Meanwhile**

Toriel is sleeping soundly in her bed, while having a pleasant dream.
She sits with her back against the Ruin door, listening to the deep, relaxed voice of her daily visitor, as he tells another funny story about his beloved little brother's exploits, "-and he didn't even realise the sign was misspelled until it was already put up on the building, now everyone calls it the 'librarby', heheheh!" He says before breaking out in laughter, Toriel would've laughed to but she was too deep in thought, and he definitely noticed, "hey... something the matter?" He asked worriedly, Toriel decides to just say want on her mind, even if it might ruin everything between them.
"... If a human were to ever come through this door, could you please, please promise me something?... watch over them, and protect them... will you not?" She begs, her shaking hand pressed firmly against the door, she didn't even realise she was already crying.

Then there's silence for a few moments, deafening silence, Toriel knows she just messed everything up, what was she thinking, asking someone who doesn't even know who she really is to promise something so crazy, now he's definitely going to abandon her, just like all the others.
Then Toriel is snapped out of her spiral by his response "heh.... you got it, old lady...." her aching heart warms almost instantly, her tears turn into tears of joy, she wishes she could just swing the door open and pick this guy up into a tight embrace, but she settles for just resting her head against the door and imagining he's doing the same.

Then she jolts awake, flustered by her dream and tangled in her sattin sheets "Oh my..." she sighs breathlessly, she can't believe it, she's lived for thousands of years and this comedic skeleton is making her feel like a lovesick teenager again, she can't help but wonder if he feels the same, even if it's foolish to picture someone like him desiring someone like her, so she tosses and turns back to sleep.

**Later**

It was a long and arduous battle, Sans and Alphys' characters dying multiple times, losing several more matches to VagMaster69, "aw come on!" Sans groans as he slides down his seat on the couch in defeat "tell that cheat to stop spawn camping us for our next rematch!" Sans says.
"No can do, apparently it's past his bedtime and his mom made him drop out of the game" Alphys responds, "that kid can't use that excuse forever..." Sans replies, before sighing "we're still good at video games, aren't we?", "Y-Yeah, totally, that kid's just freakishly good, it's insane!" Alphys explains.

Sans starts winding down from the intense gaming session, biting into the last of Toriel's cookies, they're damn good, "Ugh, Sans, mute your mic if you're g-gonna be chewing and moaning..." Alphys says in discomfort, "sorry... just finishing off tori's cookies... she's great- i mean, they're great..." Sans says, a bit embarrassed by the slip up.
"Hmm... you've been living with Toriel for a while now..." Alphys remarks "yeah, so?..." Sans responds "Come on, Sans... we all see the way y-you look at her, the way she looks at you..." Alphys implies, smugly, "... have you been talking to frisk?..." Sans asks, "A sh-shipper can just sense these things, Sans, the only question is wh-when are you gonna make the move?, it would be nice for me and Undyne to have a c-couple to go on double dates with!" Alphys asks.
"alright, i'm disconnecting now" Sans responds, "YOU KNOW I'M RIGH-" Alphys shouts before she's cut off.

Sans sets his headphones aside and turns off the game, relaxing on the couch and petting Kat, looking down at the half eaten heart shaped cookie in his hand.

**The Next Morning**

Sans starts to stir as he hears stomping coming downstairs, he groggily opens his eye sockets and sees the blurry figure of his brother leaning over him "SERIOUSLY SANS?, LOOK AT YOU, YOU'RE A MESS!" Papyrus says, Sans is sprawled across the couch, his clothes messy and covered in cookie crumbs, "ah dang... ain't that a 'crumby' situation..." Sans jokes.
"HONESTLY BROTHER, HOW DO YOU EXPECT TO LAND MS. TORIEL WHILST BEING SUCH A SLOB?" Papyrus asks in annoyance, Sans almost immediately sits up in shock "what?, you know too?" Sans asks, "OF COURSE I DO SANS, WE ALL KNOW" Papyrus states, "how?..." Sans asks, "WELL, I'M YOUR BROTHER, AND I'VE NEVER SEEN YOU MORE HAPPY THAN WHEN YOUR WITH MS. TORIEL..." Papyrus answers, Sans smiles, he knows his brother's got him there.
"PLUS YOU WERE MURMURING HER NAME IN YOUR SLEEP..." Papyrus adds, Sans' smile fades.

"IT'S BEEN MONTHS NOW SANS AND YOU STILL HAVEN'T SWEPT MS. TORIEL OFF HER FEET!, YOU'RE SUCH A LAZYBONES YOU'RE EVEN PROCRASTINATING WITH YOUR LOVE LIFE!, IT WOULD BE IMPRESSIVE IF IT WASN'T SO DEPRESSING!" Papyrus states, "thanks bro" Sans responds, chosing to only focus on the word 'impressive'.
"AS YOUR BROTHER, I WILL NO LONGER ALLOW YOU TO WASTE THIS OPPORTUNITY, FOR SOME INEXPLICABLE REASON MS. TORIEL SEEMS TO HAVE FEELINGS FOR YOU, DESPITE YOUR MANY, MANY FLAWS!" Papyrus says, "real encouraging, paps..." Sans says.

"MY POINT IS, MS. TORIEL WILL BE A GREAT INFLUENCE ON YOU IN A ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIP, AND IF YOU SQUANDER YOUR CHANCE WITH HER, YOU WILL NEVER FORGIVE YOURSELF, BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY... I WILL NEVER FORGIVE YOU..." Papyrus explains.
"listen bro, i appreciate your concern, but i am an adult and i am perfectly capable of deciding when and if i should be in a relationship with someone, and i will tell toriel how i feel when i am good and ready..." Sans replies, Papyrus just raises as brow bone at Sans with an unimpressed look, "... yeah okay i'll call her" Sans caves.

****

Sans breaths deeply as he scrolls through his contacts, trying to calm his nerves before he presses Toriel's number and the phone starts ringing, he puts it up to the side of his skull and waits as Papyrus watches him in excitement, it rings a couple times before Toriel answers "Greetings, this is Toriel!" She says cheerily, "hrg-" Sans grunts before hanging up, his face flushing bright blue in embarrassment.

"WHAT WAS THAT!?" Papyrus asks incredulously "i panicked, she sounds extra beautiful today" Sans responds, "THAT DOESN'T EVEN MAKE ANY-" but then Papyrus is interrupted by the phone ringing again, Sans nearly drops it, it bounces in his hands a few time before he's able to catch it.
It's Toriel calling back "oh god, uh oh" Sans panics, "WELL DON'T LEAVE HER HANGING, SANS, BE A GENTLEMAN!" Papyrus shouts, Sans steels himself and presses answer, "Sans, did you call me on purpose a moment ago?" Toriel asks, "um... heya t... yeah, i just uh... wanted to chat... howzit goin'?" Sans asks awkwardly, "Oh... it is going well, Sans, the children just went off to lunch so I suppose I have time to talk" Toriel replies, Sans can hear the smile in her voice.

"ASK HER OUT, ASK HER OUT, ASK HER OUT!" Papyrus shout-whispers right next to Sans' face, "shh, paps!" Sans whispers back as he shoves Papyrus' face away, "Was that Papyrus?" Toriel asks in confusion, "listen, tori, the real reason i called was to ask you a question..." Sans states, "... What kind of question?..." Toriel asks hopefully, "would you... like to... go out with me... tonight?..." Sans asks, sounding like he's being strangled, sinking into his own hoodie as his cheeks burn.
"Hehe, I thought you'd never ask!" Toriel responds giddily, "'ey, better 'date' than never, right?" Sans says in relief as Toriel cracks up on the other end.

"THAT IS IT, BROTHER!, THE HARD PART IS OUT OF THE WAY!, MAYBE THERE IS HOPE FOR THE TWO OF YOU YET!" Papyrus cheers enthusiastically, "heh... something tells me the hard part is just beginning..." Sans mumbles.

**Afterwards**

Toriel is sitting outside Muffet's Buffet with Alphys and Undyne, enjoying some coffee together, Muffet comes over carrying plates full of pastries in her many arms before setting them down on the table "Enjoy, mes amies~" Muffet says sweetly, before walking away, everyone having a few of the baked goods, "He finally asked you out?" Undyne asks in surprise, "Indeed, I was starting to worry he might not feel the same way, or that I was just seeing signs that were not there, but I could not be happier!" Toriel replies, "Yes... Yes!, I knew you were up there!" Alphys calls out to the heavens joyously.

"You have n-no idea how long I've b-been shipping you two!" Alphys says, "Calm down, Alphy... So, what are the details?" Undyne asks with a smirk, "We are going out tonight, to a place of his choice-" Toriel starts explaining, "TONIGHT!?" Undyne shouts as she slams her hands down on the table.
"That's barely any time to prepare for a date!" Undyne says, "We g-gotta take you dress shopping!" Alphys says, "Really, is that necessary?" Toriel asks "Absolutely!, this date needs to go swimmingly so you two goobers can finally quit this will they won't they nonsense!, quickly, to the mall!, NGAHHH!!" Undyne exclaims, before dragging Toriel away, Alphys quickly pulls out some money and leaves it on the table before chasing after them.

**At The Mall**

Toriel, Undyne and Alphys are at the dress shop, looking at all shorts of potential dresses for the date,
"I already have plenty of dresses at home" Toriel tells the two of them.
"Y-Yeah, regular dresses, you need a d-dress specifically for dating, that's what makes it s-special!" Alphys says before pulling out a dress "What a-about this one?" She asks Undyne, "Nah, too small, we need an extra large, for such a short skeleton, Sans sure likes big gals, don't he?" Undyne chuckles.
"Yeah, I c-can see where he's coming from..." Alphys says as she stares up at her tall, muscular fish girlfriend lovingly, "Ooh!, this one is pretty, right Alphys?" Undyne says as she grabs a dress, Alphys nods in agreement.

"Try this one, Toriel" Undyne says before passing the dress through the curtain so Toriel can put it on in the dressing room, Toriel takes it and puts it on "Hmm... I am not sure... I know times have changed and all, but this is a tad outside my comfort zone..." Toriel responds as she looks at herself in the mirror, "Yeah, well, if you want Sans to be in your comfort zone tonight, you might wanna take our advice..." Undyne states with her large, sharp toothed grin, "U-Undyne!" Alphys sputters and blushes.
"... You really believe we can work?, me and Sans?... I have not been with anyone in thousands of years... what if it is too late for me?... what if he realises that and regrets wasting his time with me?..." Toriel asks full of trepidation, "Woah, woah, don't talk like that, Toriel!, I've seen enough from you to know that you're not a coward, you deserve to take what you want, and if that slacker is what you think will make you happy, then you need to go for it!, after all you've been through you deserve to be happy!" Undyne shouts in furious encouragement.
Toriel smiles and wraps her arms around herself, she almost tears up as she's reminded of the support she is surrounded with nowadays, a stark contrast from the crippling loneliness of the Ruins, "... I suppose you are correct Undyne... and this dress does look good on me" Toriel says.

**Later That Day**

Sans is pacing back and forth in the living room, he's wearing the same clothes from earlier, his blue hoodie and black shorts, except he switched his t-shirt for one with a tuxedo pattern on the front, while you and Papyrus are watching him from the couch, 'I can't believe this is finally happening, it's a dream come true!' You sign before petting Kat on your lap, "slow your roll, kiddo, it's just one date, might not even mean anything..." Sans states cautiously.
"PLEASE SANS, YOU TWO HAVE BEEN JOINED AT THE HIP EVER SINCE WE LEFT THE UNDERGROUND, IT'S TIME FOR YOU TO TAKE THE NEXT STEP ALREADY!" Papyrus exclaims, Sans rolls his eyes and smiles a little, he does appreciate how on board you both are, even if it's a bit too much.
"look, i'm just sayin' this might not go the way everyone wants, i mean... tori's smart, cool, and classy... what could she possibly want with a loser like me?..." Sans states with a sad smile.

Then Sans' eye sockets widen once he spots Toriel coming down the stairs, wearing a deep purple, sparkly dress that ends right at the chest, the fabric hugging all of her curves, with silver lines up the sides, ending in silver straps over her shoulders, her fluffy arms and shoulders bare, this dress stands out from all the other dresses owned by the modest goat lady.
Sans' face flushes bright blue as he begins to sweat, his glowing white pupils shrinking to the size of pinpricks, he's trying not to stare but he can't look away, she's gorgeous, as usual, his soul skips a beat as it all starts to set in, he's actually going on a date with the love of his life.

Toriel comes down the last steps and walks up to Sans "Greetings Sans, you look nice..." Toriel tells him, Sans blinks a few times as he comes back down to earth "uhh... yeah, yeah you too, tori!..." Sans says, trying to keep his cool ".... you sure went all out, t, i'm im-dressed..." Sans jokes to take the edge off, Toriel immediately snickers.
"Hehe, thank you, I must say that shirt suits you also" Toriel jokes back, Sans smiles widely "that seams sew, tori, hats off to you" Sans replies "I do not want to skirt around the issue, but you sure do make me tongue tie-ed" Toriel says, "with puns like these, we oughtta be sole-mates" Sans responds.
"CAN YOU BOTH JUST SAVE IT UNTIL YOU'RE OUT ON YOUR DATE!?" Papyrus asks fumingly, Sans and Toriel just giggle together as they walk over to the door, Toriel grabs her purse "We will be back later tonight, do not stay up too late you two, and remember to feed Flowey" she says before opening the door and leaving with Sans.

**Later**

Sans and Toriel walk down the streets of Ebott City side by side, enjoying the view of the sun beginning to set and paint the sky with a mixture of orange, pink and purple.
"Ah, I almost forgot how pretty the sky could be on the Surface" Toriel states, "... too bad there's too much light pollution in the city, or i'd point out some cool constellations for ya..." Sans says while rubbing the back of his skull, "Hm, you will have to remind me about that for our next date" Toriel responds casually, but it makes Sans blush slightly, they haven't even finished their first date and she's already looking forward to the next.
'okay, no pressure, sans, she digs ya, you just gotta play it cool!' Sans thinks to himself.

"I heard it was supposed to rain tonight, but there is barely a cloud in the sky" Toriel remarks, "guess the news really 'mist' the mark on that one, huh?" Sans jokes, "That sometimes is the case, 'weather' you like it or not" Toriel jokes back, the two laughing together like toddlers.
Punning back and forth somehow relieves both their tension, it's like they're walking on air, gazing at each other lovingly, "oh, here are..." Sans says before stopping, they've finally arrived at where their date is to take place, a pub almost identical to the one in the Underground.
Toriel looks up at the sign and reads it "... 'Grillby's Too'?.... as in also?" Toriel asks quizzically, "yeh, like, the bar back underground is grillby's, and this one is grillby's too... get it?" Sans responds, ".... I... suppose that makes some sense?" Toriel says hesitantly, the two of them walk up to the door and Sans opens it and says "ladies first" Toriel smiles and blushes slightly.

Sans follows Toriel inside the bar, which is already packed with humans and monsters alike, enjoying the beverages and greasy foods, Sans takes a deep inhale and sighs happily "ahh... almost just like the original... except with slightly less vomit..." Sans states, before backpedalling "i mean... this place is absolutely clean, i wouldn't take you somewhere gross on our first date, like, whaaaaat...?".
Toriel just giggles "It is quite alright, Sans, if you love this place, it cannot be all bad, can it?" Toriel says, before walking in further, Sans is starting to wish he had sat through the several hours of being on hold to get a reservation at the New MTT Resort now, Grillby's is great in his eyes, but it's probably not a place he should've taken the former Queen, oh well, too late now.

Sans leads Toriel to a free booth on the right side of the room, once Toriel takes a seat first Sans sits down across from her, but the moment he does there is a long, loud, wet trumpeting sound resembling flatulence that rings out across the entire bar, Sans eye sockets turn fully black as he sits there frozen in humiliation until the sound sputters to an end, before desperately trying to save face.
"t-that wasn't me!" He says, before pulling the whoopee cushion he forget he placed in the seat of this booth last time he was here from under his rear, "s-some weirdo just likes leaving whoopee cushions all over this place, heheh... heh..." Sans says, while blushing bright blue in embarrassment, his penchant for fart jokes has finally come back to bite him, just like Papyrus always said it would.
Toriel just smiles understandingly, then Grillby walks up to the booth.

".........." Grillby says as he pulls out a pen and a notebook, his head of fire crackling and displaying no emotion, "heya grillbz, i'll take a double cheeseburg and fries, along with my usual beverage, thank you..." Sans says, Toriel looks over the menu skeptically, trying to figure out what to order, what Sans chose is probably the healthiest thing here, "Um, I suppose I shall have the same, with a glass of wine, please" Toriel says politely.
Grillby nods as he writes down the order, before departing to the kitchen behind the bar, "This really is a quaint establishment, it is amazing to think I can still have new experiences after all this time, is it not?" Toriel remarks cheerily, "heh, thanks for spinning it that way, honestly, i just took ya to the first place that crossed my mind..." Sans admits shyly, Toriel giggles "Hehe, maybe that is why I like it so!" She says, Sans flushes and grins wider.

Grillby returns with their orders, placing the plates of burgers and fries in front of them, then places a ketchup bottle next to Sans, and a wine glass next to Toriel which he quickly fills, before going back to tending the bar, "Wait, Sans, I think he forgot to bring you your... drink..." Toriel says before watching Sans chugging the ketchup right out of the bottle with a care.
He opens his eyes and realises she's staring, so he stops, wiping some of the ketchup from his mouth with his sleeve, "urp... sorry, i just... i really love ketchup, y'know?..." he says, Toriel smiles, Sans has always been a breath of fresh air for her, with how laid back and carefree he is, makes her feel like she could be the same.
"Mhm, seems like you really 'relished' that bottle, did you not?" Toriel asks jokingly, Sans begins to smirk, "heh, i 'mustard-mit' It's my favourite" Sans jokes back, "And your sense of humour 'mayo' be your best feature!" Toriel states "aw, thanks for the 'condiment', t, you're sweeter than 'honey'~" Sans replies flirtatiously, "Now your just trying to 'butter' me up" Toriel responds with a blush, absentmindedly twirling one of her floppy ears with a finger.
They both crack up together, laughing too hard to go on, while some other bar patrons roll their eyes at the annoyingly bad puns, but they don't even exist in Sans and Toriel's personal bubble of fun.

The two jokers finally dig into their meals, Sans doesn't resist to cram as much of the cheeseburger he can into his maw, taking a huge bite out of it and chewing it up messily, getting melted cheese all around his mouth, while Toriel hesitantly picks up her burger.
'Alright Toriel, time to prove to him that you are not some sort of fancy, royal snob, you can be down to earth, you can go with the flow... even if this burger does look like it was dipped into a vat of grease...' Toriel thinks to herself, before chomping into the burger so hard it causes the gooey cheese inside to practically burst out, "woah!" Sans says with an impressed laugh "and i thought i was a messy eater..." Sans states, "Oh my... my apologies, I did not intend for that to happen, I think I bit off more than I can chew... literally..." Toriel explains in embarrassment.
"don't be sorry, i know grillby's cooking ain't for ev'ryone..." Sans says, before finishing the last of his burger "an' i gotta say, as good as all this junk food is, it ain't nearly as great as your baking, tori..." Sans mumbles with a hint of blue on his cheekbones, Toriel's cheeks turn slightly red in response.

Sans and Toriel share fries with each other as they continue to converse, "aw yeah, accidental curly, dibs!" Sans cheers before tossing the curly fry into his mouth and eating it.
"You have done that a few times now, should you not have just ordered the curly fries if that is what you wanted?" Toriel asks in confusion, "nah, they're more special when they're mixed in with the regular ones..." Sans replies casually.
"Oh mah gawd... izzat Sansyyy other there?...." a familiar drunken voice calls out, "oh god no..." Sans says, already cringing in anticipation, Drunk Bunny and Big Mouth both stop beside the booth, Drunk Bunny stabilises herself by gripping onto the table, leaning way to close to Sans for comfort, "Saaansyyy~.... how ya been?, dang it's been aaaaaages!" Drunk Bunny says as her eyes swirl cartoonishly, "i was in here with you guys last week..." Sans points out.
Then Big Mouth spots Toriel's food "Oooh!, a half eaten greasy cheeseburger, my favourite!... you gonna finish that, your highness?" He asks, "No, you can have it, and just Toriel is fine" Toriel responds, before Big Mouth flips the burger up in the air with one of his leaf arms, and snatching it out of the air like a shark, then belching loudly, causing the plates on the table to shake from the vibration.

"ahem... toriel, these are two of my friends from grillby's, drunk bunny and big mouth..." Sans introduces them, "Oh, nice to meet you both!" Toriel greets them, "Waaaaaiiiiit.... are you two... on a date right now!?... Nooooo!, Sansyyy!, you can't do this to meee!, at least take me to the bone zone before her!, c'mon, take me, take me, take me now!, you hunky skeleton you!~" Drunk Bunny wails as she jumps up on the table, laying seductively across it in front of the cringing skeleton.
"Sorry Sans, she's had too much to drink, like usual, come on, Bunny, I see some hot guys to hit on!" Big Mouth says before picking Drunk Bunny up and carrying her away "Hot guys!?, where!?" She asks excitedly, "and with that note, i think it's our cue to leave..." Sans states, "Agreed" Toriel responds.

So Sans and Toriel stand up from the booth and head for the exit, "hey grillbz, put it on my tab!" Sans yells over the crowd, before walking out the door, Grillby just huffs while cleaning glasses.
The two of them step out onto the street together, thoroughly embarrassed by the events of the night, then a thunderclap can be heard before thick droplets of rain start to pour down on them.
"huh... i guess the news was right after all..." Sans states wryly, then they start to walk home through the rain, it takes longer than it should with the wind pushing against them the entire way, once they make it there they go through the front door and get out of the storm, their clothing soaked through, Sans' ribcage can be seen through his shirt and Toriel's fur is all wet and matted.
Only when they're inside does the rainstorm turn to a light drizzle, "yeah... that seems about right..." Sans sighs, Toriel puts her purse aside and says "Well, despite certain moments... I had a fantastic night tonight... but, before it ends, should we discuss what this all means going forward?..." Toriel asks formally.

'this is it, sans, you've come to far for this to be a one time thing, don't chicken out you numbskull, tell her how you really feel!...' Sans' tells himself mentally, as he's stood stiffly in the doorway, his wide eyesockets staring intently at Toriel, "Sans?... are you alright?... Sans?" Toriel asks in concern, Sans nearly melts, he loves the way she says his name like that, all eloquent.
Then he shakes his head to ground himself, this woman, man, she could make him do anything, and she has, he trekked across Snowdin just to talk to her through a door everyday, he tried making pie, even though it came out a quiche, he made a promise to her, and he never makes promises!, he's fallen in love with her countless different times, in countless different timelines.
If she can make him care about life again, he can at least tell her the truth, even if it feels like the hardest thing in the world... then Sans gets an idea of how to make it a little easier.

Sans grabs the handle of the door and pulls it closed with him still outside, "Sans, what are you doing?" Toriel asks as she raises and eyebrow, at his strange behaviour then there's the sound of knocking on the door followed by Sans saying the words "knock, knock...", Toriel let's out a chortle before responding "Who is there?" And Sans replies "olive..." "Olive who?" Toriel asks cluelessly.

".... 'olive' you...." Sans says flusteredly through the door, Toriel also blushes a deep red before a loving smile spreads across her face, "Oh Sans..." she says before opening the door and gently pulling Sans back inside, he's pulled his hood over his face to hide his flushing face, so she pulls it down and looks him in the eyes "'Olive' you too~" She says, before leaning down and softly pressing her lips to his skeletal teeth, he's stunned for a moment, his glowing white pupils becoming the shape of hearts, before his eyes slowly shut and all his worries and stress fade away, kissing her back to the best of his ability.

Once the kiss ends, they both open their eyes and gaze at into them lovingly, "Well, I suppose that settles it, we can no longer hide our feelings for each other, oh, it feels so great to finally have it all in the open, does it not?" Toriel states, "heh... you have no idea, tori..." Sans responds breathlessly.
"Well... should we retire for the night and continue this tomorrow?" Toriel asks as she holds out her hand for Sans, "oh man, there's nothing i wanna do more after today, than sleep..." Sans chuckles, before taking her hand and letting her lead him upstairs.

**The Next Day**

Sans wakes up, immediately flooding with panic, has everything reset again?, is he back Underground?, has everything he cares about disappeared like usual?, he tries to sit up to get his bearings, only to find his movement restricted, he looks down at his chest to find a large, white furred arm pinning him to the bed... come to think of it, this isn't even his bed, it's not messy or smells like depression.
He looks beside him to see the gorgeous goat woman sleeping peacefully next to him, Sans cheekbones tune blue as he watches her in awe, a thankful smile on his skull, he can't believe how lucky he is that a stand up gal like Toriel is in his life, but he decides to stop questioning it and just cuddles up to the love of his life.

He should listen to Papyrus more often.

Notes:

Soriel is the OTP, anyone who says otherwise is wrong

Chapter 7: Ashes To Ashes, Dust To Dust

Summary:

Undyne and Alphys try to navigate their new lives on the Surface, facing their own personal challenges while an underlying threat towards all monsterkind lurks in the shadows.

Undyne shoots awake in the early morning, sitting up straight and stretching with a grunt, before shaking the shoulder of the short, yellow dino curled up in the covers beside her, "Come on, Alphys, rise and shine, it's another great day on the Surface!" Undyne cheers, before leaping out of bed, Alphys just mumbles incoherently in response.
Undyne then flings the curtains apart, letting the harsh light of the sunrise blare in, "Ahhh... that view is never gonna get old!" Undyne states with a toothy grin, before strutting away, Alphys groans loudly and sits up, eyes squinting from both the sunlight and her lack of glasses, she tries to reach for the curtains before falling onto the floor with a thump, Undyne gets dressed in her sportswear, a neon green tank top, grey pants and running shoes, pulling her hair into her usual tight ponytail, then she sprints out of the house and down the street for her morning run.

Undyne runs through the quiet neighbourhood with intensity, enjoying the feeling of the Surface wind and sun on her scales, during her run she passes by Gerson's house and spots him sitting on his porch in a rocking chair, she she walks over to him "Hey Gerson!" She says before giving the old tortoise monster a hug, "What'cha doing up so early, old timer?" She asks playfully, "Eh, I'm ancient, this is just in-between naps for me, wahahaha!" Gerson responds.
"Sorry I haven't visited much since the exodus from the Underground" Undyne apologises, "It's alright, kid, not like you've missed much anyway, other than me getting a job as the new history teacher at the school" Gerson says, "Ha, that's a great job for you, Gerson, you know, if you can actually keep your stories straight" Undyne says, "Hmph!, I can handle it!, I haven't lost all my marbles yet, the clock may be slowing down for me but it's still tickin'!" Gerson replies, "Aha!, that's the spirit!" Undyne says as she punches Gerson in the shoulder.
"I gotta go finish up my run before I'm late for work, we should hang out sometime!" Undyne says as she starts to jog away, "I'm free whenever you are!" Gerson calls out, as Undyne dissappears down the street.

Undyne returns home when she's done, walking into the house to find Alphys sitting at the dinner table, having prepared instant noddles for breakfast for the two of them, "W-Welcome back, Undyne!" Alphys greets as she holds out a glass of water, "Thanks Alphy, I can always count on you" Undyne says before taking the glass and throwing the water in her own face, dousing herself and rehydrating her scales.
Undyne sits down across from Alphys and picks up her cup of noodles, quickly slurping a couple up, "So, babe, what do you got planned for today?" Undyne asks, "Not m-much, me and the other techies are still w-working on rolling out that new jetpack phone, but we mainly just g-goof off half the time, it's such a f-fun workplace" Alphys explains happily "What about you, h-hon?" She asks, "Not nearly as fun, it still feels weird to just be an officer and not the one in charge, but I'll work my way up the ranks in no time!" Undyne states.
They both finish their noodles and get dressed in their work uniforms, then share a kiss before leaving to go to their jobs.

Alphys arrives at the office building in Ebott City known as Genesis Labs, taking the elevator to the floor she works on, seeing her coworkers having a fun time while sat in their beanbags, all of them nerds just like her.
"Hey Alphys, good to see you again!" One of them says, her name is Priya, she has medium caramel skin and wears a headscarf, "Thanks Priya, b-but I'm sure you were all doing great without me" Alphys replies, "Nonsense, it's not the same without you here" another one named Brian says, he's a pale guy with messy, platinum blond hair, "You're right, I'm sorry" Alphys says, "And stop apologising all the time, you've got nothing to be sorry 'bout 'round here" the coworker named Marcus adds, he's a gentle giant of a man, has a very dark skin tone with a long mane of poofy hair.

"I know, guys, I g-guess I'm still just not used to such a p-positive work environment, my last job... well let's just say it did a real n-number on my mental health..." Alphys explains, "Well you don't have to worry about that here, Alphys, things have only gotten better because of your presence" Priya says, "Yeah, you're a frigging genius!, your ideas are changing the course of human technology forever, I mean, interdimensional storage phones!?, no one else could've made something like that!" Brian says enthusiastically.

"Aw, come on, that was just a basic mixture of magic and science, nothing special..." Alphys says, "You're too modest" Marcus states, "Yeah, didn't you also build Mettaton's body?" Priya asks, "That invention definitely did the world a favour" Brian remarks before they all laugh, "G-Guys!" Alphys says with a blush before joining in with the laughter.
Then the boss, Jeanie, walks in, she's got tan skin, freckles and long auburn hair with dyed rainbow streaks in it, wearing a hippish attire, "Alright, great energy guys, great energy~ laughter nurtures the soul and will surely help you do your thing~ speaking of which, if there's anything I can do for you that'll help you develop that jetpack phone just tell me~ call me Jeanie in a bottle, coz I'm here to make your wishes come true~" she tells the group.
"Uhh, thanks Jeanie, but I th-think we're g-good" Alphys responds, "Stellar~ I'll let you get back to it then~" Jeanie says before sauntering off to her office, "Well, we should probably actually do some product testing today, Jeanie's a great boss and all but even she has limits" Priya states, "And we don't want to take advantage of her kindness" Marcus adds, "Or her funding..." Brian says through his teeth, "Relax guys, we've got p-plenty of time" Alphys reassures before sitting at her desk and typing away at her laptop.

**Meanwhile**

Undyne arrives at the precinct, walking in and past the many human cops, as she makes her way through the workplace, she's stopped by two detectives, a guy with dark skin and a buzzcut named Ernest, and a light skinned guy with slicked back hair named Robert, "About time you got here, Officer Sushi, Captain Groban wants to see you in his office" Detective Ernest says, "He must've finally figured out that employing a dangerous monster was a pretty bad idea..." Robert states smugly.
"Hey, I might be intense, but at least I get stuff done, unlike you two losers" Undyne fires back, "As if, we were doing perfectly fine without you here, and we'll continue to when you're long gone" Robert says, Undyne snarls at him, before forcing the anger back down and walking off to the Captain's office.

"You wanted to see me, Captain?" Undyne asks as she enters, the Captain is a rotund, balding man with a grey mustache, "Yes, Officer Undyne, firstly, I wanted to go over a couple of your incident reports" Captain Groban states, before putting a large pile of papers on his desk and reading a few of them.
"Apparently last time you were on duty you... suplexed a car?..." he asks, "Yeah.... it was parked in a handicapped spot when it shouldn't've been..." Undyne responds nonchalantly, "And before that you caused a disturbance in the park when you headbutted a tree in half" He says, "A cat got stuck in it..." She replies, "And you also tackled a man in the streets..." the Captain says, "He was jaywalking!" Undyne states.
Captain Groban sighs and says "Undyne, I don't know what things were like back in the Underground, but you can't be doing stuff like that up here, us humans aren't like you and your kind!", "My kind?, what's that supposed to mean?" Undyne responds, "I just mean that we're not used to having monsters around yet, but we want to show that we're willing to adapt, that's why you're here and why I've let you off the hook so much..." Groban states, "I'm not just some kind of diversity hire, sir!, I was the captain of the royal guard!" Undyne says, "I know that, and you have made a damn fine cop so far, but you're on thin ice, Officer!... but you still have time to redeem yourself..." Groban says, before the office door opens again and a young man with ginger hair and freckles walks in, "Ah, right on time, Officer Philips, meet Officer Undyne" Groban says.

"It's an honour to meet you, ma'am, I'm Philips, Casey Philips" he says as he reaches out his arm for a handshake, Undyne raises an eyebrow then shakes it, "Officer Philips here is one of our newest cops, I'm assigning him to be your new partner, hopefully having someone to mentor will make you behave yourself..." Captain Groban explains.
"Really, you want me to train some rookie?... no offense" Undyne says to Casey before turning back to Groban "You know I can handle way more than that!" She says, "All that matters right now is showing that humans and monsters can get along, especially with this 'Moms Against Monsters' hate group becoming a nuisance ever since some kids got in a fight or something..." Groban responds, "So this is just about public opinion?" Undyne asks, "Of course it is!, you're a cop and a monster, you're gonna have it twice as hard with the people up here" Groban answers, "I don't care what people think of me, sir, I'm just here to do my job, protect and serve, even to those who don't like me" Undyne responds.
"And that's commendable, Undyne, but right now, you're job is to just make yourself, and the rest of us, look good, hopefully even pave the way for more monsters to join the service, understood?" Groban asks, Undyne thinks for a moment, "Understood..." She replies, understanding where her boss is coming from, before her and Casey leave the office together, "Alright listen kid, if I'm gonna be showing you the ropes from now on, you gotta listen to my every word, don't worry, you're in good hands, I trained the entire royal guard after all... of course, they were dogs so they were easier to train... but I'm sure you'll do just fine..." Undyne says with her shark toothed grin, "If you say so, ma'am..." Casey says with a raised eyebrow.

**Meanwhile**

Alphys puts on a lab coat and a pair of goggles before waddling into the testing chambers with her coworkers "O-Okay!, we've developed a p-prototype, now we've just gotta see if it w-works!" Alphys states, before Priya straps the jetpack phone onto a crash test dummy and then joins the group at the console behind a wall and a window, "H-Here goes nothing..." Alphys says before pressing a button on the console, causing the jetpack thrusters to rumble and ignight.
"It's working!" Marcus cheers, then the thrusters start to glow and overheat, before exploding, leaving the smoldering pair of legs of the crash test dummy behind, "Well... it may not be a jetpack, but we did just make a pretty great bomb..." Brian jokes, "Did we do something wrong, Alphys?" Priya asks worriedly, "No, no, of course n-not!, I must've f-forgotten the part to k-keep it from overheating, I'll fix it, then we'll try again!" Alphys states optimistically.

They've gotten a new dummy and a new jetpack in the testing chamber, and Alphys is sure she's fixed the problem, "Here we go, jetpack phone test, t-take two!" Alphys says before activating it again, the jetpack springs to life and flies straight up, crushing the dummy against the ceiling, "Ooh, that take-off was way too fast!..." Brian winces, "Okay, I'm g-gonna have to dial back the thrust a l-little bit, but that's why we have test runs!, let's g-go again!" Alphys says, so they replace the dummy and jetpack again, but that one just has one thruster activate and start spinning the dummy in circles, the next one after that rips the dummy's arms of upon take-off, the next one after that does actually start to hover of the ground normally, getting the groups hopes up... before exploding again...

Alphys takes her goggles off and rubs the bridge of her nose, "Ugh... I guess it's time to go b-back to the drawing board..." she sighs, then her and her coworkers go back to their desks, Alphys opens her laptop and starts typing up some new schematics.

**Elsewhere**

Undyne and her new partner Casey are sitting in their police car by the side of a road, waiting for any new assignment from the radio or any speeding cars, "So, Casey is it?, is this what you'd imagine you'd be doing when you joined the service?" Undyne asks, "Pretty much, ever since I was a kid I've always wanted to help people, even if being a cop isn't as glamorous as TV shows and movies made it out to be, but someone's gotta keep order, even when it's boring..." Casey explains.
"Ha, I wish I had that attitude, I just miss being the one in charge I guess, everyone looked up to me, respected me... now i have to start all over from the bottom again..." Undyne explains, "Yeah, I bet things were way more exciting when you were royal guard captain, this all must feel like a downgrade to you, but once I heard about your background, I couldn't have been more looking forward to working with you!" Casey states, "Well, I'll try to live up to expectations..." Undyne says cockily.
Then the police radio crackles and a voice calls out for all officers in the area to drive to a certain house in the Ebott City suburbs, "Looks like things might get interesting after all" Undyne says before starting the car and the sirens before driving off.

**Back At Genesis Labs**

Alphys keeps running the numbers on her laptop, trying to figure out how to fix the problems with the prototype, but everytime she keeps hitting the same dead-ends, "Any luck you guys?" She asks the three others, "Noooo...." they all respond tiredly, Alphys comes to an unfortunate realisation.
"... We're not g-gonna be able to do this I think time we p-promised..." she states sadly, "We're just gonna have to face the music and tell Jeanie to push back the launch date..." Marcus says, "Do you want one of us to do it, Alphys?, we know you dont like confrontation" Priya asks sympathetically, "No... I'm the h-head of this project, it has to be m-me... I can do it..." Alphys says as she sweats nervously, "Ah, good, coz none of us wanna get fired..." Brian says, as Marcus and Priya glare at him, "I mean... I'm sure you'll be fine..." he says awkwardly.

Alphys steadies herself and takes some deep breaths, before walking into Jeanie's office, who is meditating on her desk, surrounded by candles and crystals, "Umm... J-Jeanie... we n-n-need to talk..." Alphys states nervously, "Alphys~ what a treat, you know I love hearing about you and your team's accomplishments~" Jeanie says, "Y-Yeah, about th-that..." Alphys stammers, "But your aura is distressed, what's wrong?~" Jeanie asks in concern.
"Uh... um... the thing is... we've t-tried everything and... I d-don't think we can g-get it done in time... we need to p-push back the release date..." Alphys explainswith a nervous sweat, ".... Alphys... you promised me you could handle this...." Jeanie says seriously, "I-I-I know!, but I'm o-owning up to it, and I'll m-make this right, we just n-need a little more time!" Alphys explains frantically, "This is not okay, Alphys... I stuck my neck out for this project, I've hyped it up for months, got investors interested, pushing it back so close to release is gonna reflect poorly on the company..." Jeanie explains solemnly.
"I'm s-sorry" Alphys apologises, "Aren't you the one who made this technology?... what went wrong?" Jeanie asks, "I am, but th-this is on a m-m-much wider scale!, back in the U-Underground I only ever made one w-working model for one k-k-kid!... and even that o-only had a slim ch-chance of not ex-exploding..." Alphys answers, Jeanie sighs "... I'll give you the time you need, Alphys, but I am very disappointed..." Jeanie states, that causes a hurtful pang in Alphys' chest, "I.... understand...." Alphys says before leaving the office with her head hanging low.

**At The Scene Of The Crime**

Undyne and Casey arrive at the residence, parking their cop car next to all the other ones there before getting out, police tape has already been set up, they walk up to the detectives, Ernest and Robert, "Whats going on here?" Undyne asks, "None of your business, Officer Sushi, we just need you to check the perimeter and make sure no one enters the crime scene, while we handle the real stuff" Robert says smugly, before walking into the house, Undyne groans but starts walking around the outside of the residence with Casey, "... Sorry you have to deal with those two jerks, ma'am" Casey tells her, "I can handle them, Casey, they're just annoying" Undyne responds, "Still... you shouldn't have to put up with such discrimination, you don't see them talking to human cops that way..." Casey says, "We'll see who's laughing when I make captain one day..." Undyne replies, "I hope you do, cops on the Surface could learn a lot from someone like you, like how to actually protect the people..." Casey explains.
Once they checked out the entire perimeter, the two enter the house, seeing furniture knocked around like there's been a struggle, the window is shattered and on the living room floor is a pile of dust in the shape of a body, "Holy shit..." Undyne says under her breath, she and Casey walk up to the two detectives, Ernest and Robert, "What happened here?" She asks, "Looks like a monster got murdered..." Robert states casually, "Wha... do you know who did it?" Undyne asks, "Nope, see anything outside you two?" Ernest asks, "The perimeter is clear, detectives, no sign of anyone" Casey responds, "Well, guess that's that" Robert says.

"That's that?, really?, some detectives you are, a murder took place here and you're not even gonna try to figure it out?" Undyne asks angrily, "We're trained to solve human murders, lady, not monsters, we don't even have a body to inspect, just a pile of dust, how are we supposed to figure out the cause of death from that!?" Robert fires back, "There are other ways, did you even search the house!?" Undyne shouts, "Look, we're done here, if you wanna waste your time, be our guest, we have better stuff to do" Robert says before he and Ernest leave.
Undyne growls furiously, "Undyne, calm down, remember what the Captain said" Casey tells her, "I can't just let this slide, Casey, this monster clearly didn't die from natural causes, but since it's a monster they don't even care!" Undyne shouts, "I know, it's tucked up, and I'm here for you, just don't lose your cool, last thing we need is trouble with the Captain taking our attention away from this case" He says, Undyne eyes widen "You're on board?" She asks, "Of course I am, I told you before all I wanna do is help people, monsters are people too, whoever did this could do it again, we can't let that happen" Casey states, Undyne smiles at the support "Alright kid, keep an eye out while I look around for clues" Undyne orders, Casey nods and stands by the door.

Undyne starts walking around the messed up room, kneeling down next to the dust, judging by the shape of it it was most likely a Wimsun, Undyne sighs as she inspects the pattern, realising something "Huh, the dust that used to be the head is disconnected from the dust that was the body... this Whimsun had it's neck slashed..." Undyne explains, "So definitely not natural causes, as if there was any doubt" Casey says.
Undyne looks down at the dust silently for a moment, "Are you okay, Undyne?..." Casey asks, "... This never should've happened, no monster should have their live taken before it's their time to fall down..." Undyne states, "Fall down?" Casey asks quizzically, "Falling down is is what we call it when a monster is too old to live anymore... cause they just... fall down and stop moving.... we should get someone down here to collect all the dust, send it to the family for the funeral..." Undyne says.
"This wasn't your fault, Undyne..." Casey states, "... I vowed to already protect monsters from dangerous humans... I allowed myself to believe we were past this, blinded by life on the Surface... looks like we still have some work to do..." Undyne responds, before inspecting the dust further, seeing some of it is displaced, leaving slight dusty shoe prints in the carpet, "Hmm... these prints... I'd say they look like bulky boots..." Undyne says, before following the marks into the kitchen, where they stop at the knife rack, she sees one of the kitchen knives has dust on I, she carefully pulls it out and looks at it, "Dammit... no finger prints, the killer must've worn gloves..." Undyne states, "You can tell?" Casey asks in surprise, "Nothing gets past these eyes..." She answers, before putting the knife back.

Then Undyne notices the open window with a shoe mark on the frame "This is how they got in and out" Undyne says "But the lock isn't broken, it's dissembled...", "That's weird, what kind of person would do that?" Casey asks, "Someone with the tools and the knowhow, maybe someone who worked on the house..." Undyne theorised, after looking around a bit more Undyne doesn't find anymore clues.
"Alright, let's get outta here before we're caught working on a case we shouldn't be..." Undyne says before her and Casey go back to the car, "This is your last chance to back out, Case, we might need to bend the rules to solve this..." Undyne tells him, "I know it's risky, but I'm with you all the way... sometimes you gotta break the system to fix it..." Casey responds, "That's what I like to hear" Undyne says with a smirk, before starting to drive.

**Back At Genesis Labs**

Alphys is on her laptop, trying to figure out a solution, as her three coworkers leave the lunchroom, laughing together as they walk up to her, "Hey Alphys, it's boardgame night, we were thinking of doing a quick oneshot, Marcus is DMing, you in?" Priya asks, "Th-That's tempting guys, but I'm w-working o-overtime tonight, to m-make it up to Jeanie..." Alphys replies tiredly, "Aw what, that sucks... we can stay and help you..." Brian states, "No!, you g-guys go have fun for me!" Alphys exclaims, "You sure?" Marcus asks, "Yeah, y-yeah, I'd feel worse m-making you work late, but don't kill off my c-character while I'm not there..." Alphys jokes.
"Well... okay, just... don't push yourself too hard..." Priya says before they all leave together, Alphys' smile droops as she goes back to the painstaking work, waking her brain for answers, which just makes more roadblocks for her somehow.

**Later That Day**

Undyne and Alphys return home as the sun sets, both exhausted and frustrated, they're both sat on the couch, barely able to enjoy the anime they're watching, Alphys yawns loudly, "Long day?" Undyne asks, "Yeah, you?" Alphys asks in return, "Yeah..." Undyne answers gruffly, Alphys scoots over tou Undyne and they begin to cuddle, "Wh-What's up, sweetie?" Alphys asks softly, Undyne sighs "I just... I feel like I used to always know what to do, and what I was doing it for, but now... I'm lost... I used to be seen as the hero for being the authority, but up here, it's a struggle to gain even an ounce of respect, all because of people being given power they should never have!" Undyne explains in anger.

"Yeah... things are a bit more c-complicated up here... but that's why you're job needs more p-people like you... you're gonna make things b-better in this city, I know it..." Alphys reassures her, "Thanks... what are you upset?" Undyne asks, "Oh, I just m-majorly let down my boss and made my t-team look bad by telling her we can't deliver what we s-said we were going to in the time we said we were g-gonna do it..." Alphys responds dimly, "Yeah, that'll do it... but look at you, the old Alphys wouldn't've been able to own up to a mistake like that!, that's a win for you!" Undyne states.
"Huh... I g-guess it is..." Alphys replies with a smile, they both then start to lean in for a kiss, before a loud banging starts at the front door, "I'll get it" Undyne says with slight annoyance, before getting up and walking to the door, opening it to see a familiar, short, orange dino child, dizzy from headbutting the door repeatedly, "MK?, what are you doing here?" Undyne asks, MK shakes their head and regains their balance before saying "I need training!, a bully at school is threatening me and I need to be ready to stand up for myself!, can you teach me how!?" Desperately.
Undyne blinks for a few moments, "Woah, MK, I'm not sure sure your parents will be okay with me teaching you how to battle" She tells them, "I'm not gonna go outta my way to do it, I just wanna stand a chance in case anything happens, don't you want me to be safe?" MK asks, just then Undyne thinks back to the crime scene and that poor monster's dust, with that killer still out there, all monsters need to be prepared, "... You know what... sure thing, MK, I'll train ya" Undyne says, "Really!?" MK asks in excitement, "Yeah, but you have to take this seriously, battling isn't a game" Undyne says, "I gotcha dude!, I mean, I understand..." MK replies.

**In The Backyard**

Undyne and MK stand across from each other in the garden, bathed in the twilight, "Come at me with everything you got" Undyne orders, "Um... everything?" MK asks, "Yes!, in a real battle your opponent won't hold back, you shouldn't either!" Undyne shouts, MK gulps, then charges at Undyne, before tripping and falling flat on their face at her feet, "..... That was just sad...." Undyne groans, then lifts MK back up to their feet.
"Come on, kid, you're capable of much more than you realise, try again!" She says, MK charges headfirst at Undyne again, as she dodges, so MK turns and charges again and again and again, Undyne expertly dodging everytime, "Come on, kid!, don't stop, never stop!" Undyne shouts in encouragement, before MK yells and rams their head straight into Undyne's midsection, knocking the wind out of her and knocking her onto the ground, "Oh gosh!, I'm so, so, so sorry Undyne!" MK apologises, but Undyne just grins from fin to fin, "Don't be sorry, squirt, that was a great blow for your first lesson!" She says as she gets up.

"First lesson?" MK asks, "Yeah, it's getting late, you should go home before your parents get worried, but come back every weekend and I'll teach you everything I know, maybe we'll even figure out your special powers..." Undyne says proudly, "Yoooo!, that'd be awesome!, you really are cool Undyne... not as cool as Papyrus, but still cool..." MK states, "Thanks kid.... wait..." Undyne says in confusion, "Anyway, gotta get home, see ya later Undyne, byeeee!" MK shouts as they run out of the garden and down the street, Undyne just shrugs and goes back inside.

Inside, Undyne finds Alphys passed out of the couch, the anime credits rolling on the TV, she picks her girlfriend up and carries her back to bed, smiling down at her as she snoozes, Undyne then stands at the window and stares out at the city as nighttime rolls in, that killer could be anywhere out there, hiding in plain sight among all the other humans, and Undyne will be damned if she let's them ruin everyone's happily ever after on the Surface, she'll fight for all their hopes and dreams.

That's what captains do.

Notes:

The only cop show I've ever watched is Brooklyn Nine Nine

Chapter 8: Frenemies

Summary:

When Frisk, MK and Lorem get in trouble at school, can they handle it when they're paired up with their respective bullies, and will things just become worse?

Notes:

This got heavy real fast...

It's early in the morning, the sun is barely even painting the sky in purple hues, but Chantelle is already awake, dressed in her red striped sweater and purple skirt, brushing her strawberry blonde locks until they're silky and smooth, before applying a bit of blush, lip gloss and eyeshadow, looking good takes a lot of work, or so her mother has taught her.

"Image is everything..." She says to her reflection, before getting up and doing a little spin to look over her outfit one last time, and walking out the room, going downstairs, where she finds her mother polishing her collection of beauty pageant trophies and photos.

"Morning, mother..." Chantelle calls out, Linda just keeps polishing her prized trophy and humming to herself, "... Ahem!, Morning, Mother" Chantelle says a bit louder.
"Oh, good morning, my little early bird!, I was just busy keeping things nice and tidy, remembering the good ol' times" Linda says, before turning back to a framed photo, "This one's a goodin, the very last beauty pageant I ever won... Y'know, before I got pregnant with you an' all..." Linda explains proudly and nostalgically.

"... Anywho!, you ready to get to school, sugarplum?" Linda asks as she grabs her coat, "I don't know, mother..." Chantelle responds, "Well why not?, y'know we have to get there as soon as possible, I am the principal, after all!" Linda says cheerily, "I don't wanna go to school if all those monsters are gonna be there, not to mention Frisk and Lorem..." Chantelle says with a pout.
"Oh, my pretty princess, ya can't let all that get to you!, all this monster stuff is just a fad, they don't matter as much as you, you're a Sinclair, you still rule the school, you gotsta show everyone that you can tolerate these... things... and pretty soon life will go back to normal, you'll see!" Linda explains with her hands on Chantelle's shoulders, she looks up at her mother.
"I understand, mother, I just wish they'd go away already" Chantelle states, "Me too, sweetie pie, but don't go saying that in public... repeat after me, 'Image is everything'!", Linda says with confidence, "Image is everything!" Chantelle repeats with confidence, "That's my girl" Linda praises, before they both walk out the front door.

**AT TRAVIS' APARTMENT**

Travis is laying in his bed, staring up at the ceiling, sun shining in through the blinds, his parents shouting echoing through the paper thin walls, it's escalating, Travis rubs the lack of sleep out of his eyes and rolls out of bed, putting on his long-sleeved shirt with black and white stripes, then his sleeveless hoodie on top of that and black ripped jeans, keeping his spiky bedhead stay the way it is, before walking out into the hallway and entering the living room/kitchen, his parents pretend they weren't just fighting each other.

His dad sitting on the couch watching news on the TV, reporters are talking about some killer they call the Duster, targeting monsters, while his mom is in the kitchen pretending she was making breakfast, "Here you go, Travis" Helen says before passing Travis a barely filled bowl of cereal and a fork, he swaps it out for a spoon then sits on the couch next to his father, ".... Your mother's still wrapped up in this whole protesting business...." Troy says gravelly, "I know, dad..." Trevor responds numbly as he eats his cereal, "Told her it won't do any good.... only one way to get rid of monsters...." Troy states, before moving on "I was the best damn construction worker in this city, I know half these buildings like the back of my hand, then they go and throw me away, giving my job to that Johnny Skinnyjeans or whatever it's name was!...." Troy rambles, "Mhmm..." Travis replies, finishing his cereal and putting the bowl on the coffee table, as he gets up his father suddenly grabs him by the arm, making him go stiff.

"Travis.... don't let that armless freak at school show you up again... or else..." Troy growls, before letting go, Travis let's out a sigh before following Helen out the door and down the stairs of the apartment building, he opens the passenger door of her car only to see the seat filled by protest signs which have things like 'You belong Underground' and 'People don't become dust' written on them.
"Mom... there's no room to sit..." Travis points out, "You'll have to sit in the back, these signs are more important and the paint hasn't dried yet" Helen responds as she starts the car, Travis just rolls his eyes and gets in the back of the car.

**AT MK'S HOUSE**

MK is snoring and drooling away, before they're suddenly awakened by their pillow suddenly getting pulled out from under their head, but before they can register what's happening, they suddenly get hit in the face by the same pillow, they sit up in annoyance and see their sister holding the pillow and grinning.

"Yo!, what the frick!" MK screams with their voice cracking from how high pitched it just got, "Shit, calm down, your gonna make my earsholes burst with that shrill screech!" Sissy says mockingly "Just get dress for school or you're gonna be late" Sissy tells them, "Can ya help me this time?, you know it's harder for me" MK asks, "Then I guess your gonna be late, ahah" Sissy responds, before walking out, MK groans before getting their feed into the leg holes of their pants and shimmying them upwards, then they lay their tube like sweater across the floor and sliding into it, popping their head out of the top, "Come on or I'm leaving your ass behind!" Sissy calls up.

MK hurriedly sprints out of their room "I'm coming, I'm-" before tripping on tumbling all the way down the stairs, Sissy immediately bursts out laughing, MK struggles to get up "Ahh... I think a chipped a tooth" They say, "Trust me, that'd be an improvement, now come on shitbird, I don't have all day" Sissy says before walking outside, "If mom heard you talk like that-" MK begins to say, "Good things no one's gonna tell her then, unless you wanna chip another tooth?" Sissy threatens, but it's all talk.

**AT LOREM'S HOUSE**

"You wouldn't believe how many types of monsters there are, mom!, last week, I saw one that was literally a plane!, can you imagine!?... I think you'd like them, all of them... I know I do..." Lorem tells the picture of her mother, before her dad opens her bedroom door, "Breakfasts ready" He says, "Okie dokie!" Lorem says before putting the picture back under her pillow and following Brock to the dinner table.

"You excited for school?, heard you'd be getting another new monster teacher" Brock asks, "You have no idea, he's like eons old right?, like Miss Toriel?, I have so many questions for him!" Lorem replies with enthusiasm, before calming down and smirking.
"Speaking of ancient men, when are ya gonna ask King Asgore out on a date?" She asks, Brock nearly chokes on his coffee "Ack!... Lorem-" He says before she interrupts "Don't deny it!, I've seen how you look at him when you pick me up from school and he's bending over to tend to the plants!, you can't trick a shipper!" Lorem yells accusingly.

"Baby, we barely even know each other..." Brock responds, "Then you better get to know each other, pops!.... it's just.... you've been alone ever since mom.... you deserve to be happy, don't you?" Lorem explains, Brock smiles fondly at her ".... I'll think about it...." He says, making Lorem beam with joy, "Now come on, gremlin, let's get ya to school..." Brock says before he and Lorem leave.

**AT FRISK'S HOUSE**

You sit up in bed and stretch, "Finally!, you know how boring it is sitting in a pot waiting for you to wake up is?" Flowey complains from the desk near the window 'Quit complaining' You sign as you get dressed, then you pick up the flower and carry him downstairs, where Sans and Papyrus are sitting on the couch, watching news about someone called the Duster, before Sans quickly changes the channel, "hey, look who's up" Sans says, "GOOD MORNING, FRISK!, SLEEP WELL?" Papyrus asks.

"Meh" you respond, before placing Flowey on the coffee table, "No pie today, my child, sorry, but I was swamped with grading students papers and there is that PTA meeting coming up" Toriel explains from the kitchen, 'That's okay, I'll just grab some snacks' You sign, before walking up to the fridge and opening it, you spot the snowman piece you have stashed in the freezer, you grab the Nice Cream next to it and unwrap it, there's and illustration of a hug inside the wrapper, you eat the popsicle and feel invigorated.

"Off to school then, we cannot be late for Gerson's first day teaching" Toriel says gleefully, you nod and follow her to the door, "have a good time at school, kiddo!" Sans calls out, "WE LOVE YOU!" Papyrus adds, "Don't leave me here with them!-" Flowey shouts before the door closes, the three sit in silence for a moment, before Papyrus asks "WHY DON'T YOU ACCOMPANY THEM, SANS?", "why would i wanna go to school i'm all grown up, that's not quite a 'grade' idea, bro" Sans responds, "UGH, NO, I MEAN JUST TO SPEND MORE TIME WITH TORIEL AND FRISK!" Papyrus specifies.
"uh... why's that?" Sans asks, "BECAUSE YOU'RE A FAMILY NOW!, IT'S IMPORTANT FOR YOU AND TORIEL TO SPEND TIME TOGETHER WITH YOUR CHILD!" Papyrus explains, Sans nearly falls off the couch, "what are you talking about!?" He asks surprise, "WHAT?, YOU'RE DATING AREN'T YOU?, THAT MAKES YOU FRISK'S FATHER!" Papyrus cheers, "pap!, that's not-... i ain't-..." Sans stammers before getting lost in thought, he never connected those dots before, with one single assumption Papyrus has flipped his world upside down.

"n-... nah, just coz i'm dating a gal with a kid don't make me... a d-... dad..." Sans says while sweating slightly, "DOESN'T IT?" Papyrus asks innocently, "... i don't know!..." Sans says slightly panicked, unexpected feelings of responsibility hitting him all at once, "oh god, oh god, i'm not ready to be a dad!" Sans says worriedly, Papyrus rubs his back, Flowey finally speaks up.
"I'll probably regret asking... but how is this any different that what you've been doing?, weren't you helping the old goat raise Frisk anyway?", "that's... different!" Sans responds hesitantly, "HOW?" Papyrus asks, "the label 'dad' changes things!, now i gotta try and stuff, be a good influence!" Sans explains, "OH THE HORROR...." Papyrus replies sarcastically, "maybe i can ease my way into this?... but where do i even start?" Sans wonders.
"THERE, THERE, BROTHER... I HAVE TO ADMIT, I'VE NEVER SEEN YOU SO EXPRESSIVE, THAT'S A GOOD SIGN" Papyrus states, "oh god it's already starting!" Sans says as he puts his head between his knees, "LET IT ALL OUT OF YOUR SYSTEM, SANS..." Papyrus advises, "Or just keep shitting yourself, that's not a waste of time at all..." Flowey butts in, "FLOWEY, HOW IS THAT HELPING!?" Papyrus asks disappointedly, "I'm not trying to help, I just wanna watch him sweat!" Flowey says with a huge grin.

**LATER, AT SCHOOL**

You, MK and Lorem walk down the hallway together, "I still can't believe we've got an actual historical figure as our history teacher!, do you think he'll show off his famous hammer?" Lorem asks, "Yo I hope so, that'd be sick, dude!" MK responds, before the trio enters the classroom and sits down, not long after that Gerson steps up front and begins his lesson, "Alright whippersnappers!, I am yer new history teacher, you will all call me Mr. Boom!, and I'm here to teach ya what actually happened in the past, I should now, I lived it, wahahahahaha!" Gerson laughs.
".... That's Gerson?...." Lorem ask in confusion, "Yeah, why?" MK responds, "I was expecting something.... much different...." Lorem states, "How so?" MK asks, "Well when you told me his old nickname was the Hammer of Justice, I wasn't picturing to look so.... shrivelled...." Lorem says, "That's coz he's not immortal, like Miss Toriel or King Asgore, he's just a regular monster that's managed to live for decades!" MK explains, "Yeah, I can tell...." Lorem replies, causing you and the two of them to giggle together.
"Already disrupting class before it's even begun, eh!?, I may be new here but I know the rules!, this school has a three strikes systems, and that was strike one!" Gerson raises his voice, ".... Dang, he's not playing around...." Lorem whispers, "Today we will be learning about the human/monster war!, since that's what started it all... it began with-" Gerson begins, before he inevitably starts trailing off with random information and getting distracted by his own side tangents, at some point he ends up explaining the entire history of scho flowers instead of what the lesson was actually supposed to be about.

As Gerson carries on with his old man ramblings, Travis is busy chewing up his paper and spitting them out in little balls through a straw at the back of MK's head, Chantelle pulls out her cellphone and rings someone on it until they answer.
"Hey girl, how are you.... no it's fine, the guy's just going on and on about random stuff that doesn't even matter anyway..... yeah he's supposed to be some sort of war hero or something?..... I just don't see it...." Chantelle gossips, Gerson turns around and glares at them "What's going on now?..." Gerson asks, "Um... talking to my friend in a other class?..." Chantelle replies, "Travis keeps shooting spit balls at me!" MK complains, "That's it, strike one for the two of you as well!" Gerson calls out.
"What!?, you can't do that!, do you know who I am!?" Chantelle responds incredulously, "It don't matter who yer momma is in my class, little one!, now give those over, both of ya!" Gerson walks over and puts his hands out, Chantelle reluctantly puts her phone in his palm "Whatever, my mom's supposed to get me that new jetpack phone anyway... when they stop pushing back the stupid release date...", Travis puts his straw in Gerson's other hand, and spits out the remaining spitballs into it too, "... You can get your things back at the end of the day..." Gerson tells them, before resuming his lesson.

Later on in the lesson, Travis has replaced his missing straw and spitballs with paper airplanes, making them glide straight into the back of MK's head, "Stop it!" MK shout-whispers back at Travis in annoyance, "Yeah, that one's not worth the effort, aim at Frisk and Lorem instead" Chantelle interjects.
"What's your problem?, Frisk literally hasn't done anything to you!" Lorem asks in upset, "Wrong, they ruined my school with all these unsightly creeps and ghouls" Chantelle retorts, "We're called monsters, Yo!" MK tells her, "No one asked you, lizard!" Travis shouts at MK.
"Dagnabbit, you kids made me lose my train of thought, now I don't know where we are in the story!, that's strike two for each one of ya!" Gerson yells angrily, before continuing "Now, where were we?..."

**AFTER CLASS**

The Three Monsteers leave the classroom, exhausted and confused, "Man, no offense to Mr. Boom, but he has no clue how to stick to a topic..." Lorem says, 'Maybe he'll get better at it?' You sign hopefully, "I dunno, dude, all I know is after that class, my mind feels like soup... yo!, let's skip lunchtime and go have some fun!" MK suggests, "Ha, yeah, that oughtta bring our brains back to life!" Lorem replies, 'Oh okay, if you guys wanna, I'm in!' You sign, before you run off with your two best friends with childish joy.

Back in the cafeteria, Chantelle and Travis arrive in disappointment to see that their favourite victims are absent, "Are you kidding me!?, first I lose my phone, now I can't even let off steam by ridiculing the school freaks!?" Chantelle exclaims, "Monster Kid still owes me a proper fight...." Travis states.
"Ugh, whatever, at least I can still chat with my friends" Chantelle says before walking over to the lunch table her friends are sitting at, appalled to find them sitting with a mouse monster wearing an oversized striped scarf, "Naomi!, Megan!, what are you doing!?" She asks, "What?, we wanted to know more about monsters, since they're here to stay" Naomi, who has caramel skin and a large, fluffy afro, explains, "This one here was just telling us about the Underground" Megan, who's pale and has a smart bob cut.
"It was dark and cold, everyone tried to make the best of it but nothing could change the fact that it was a prison, we all just told jokes to distract each other from the crushing depression that creeped in slowly each day..." Scarf Mouse says solemnly, "Aw, that is such a mood" Naomi says, Chantelle fumes "Are You Kidding Me!?", She shouts angrily.
Travis comes over and asks "What's going on now?..." in a bored tone, "More monsters being were they don't belong!" She responds, without a second thought Travis grabs the mouse by the scarf "Haven't you taken enough from me!?" Travis asks frustratedly "W-What?" Scarf Mouse asks in fear, "I mean... from humans, haven't monsters taken enough from humans?" Travis corrects himself.

"Get him, Tristan!" Chantelle cheers, "Travis..." He tells her, "Whatever" She responds, before Toriel rushes over to put a stop to it, "No!, no no no!, we have been over this, there will be no fighting on school grounds!" Toriel states as Travis let's Scarf Mouse go, "Come on, Miss Toriel, if you value your job, you'll forget this ever happened, 'kay?" Chantelle replies, Toriel gasps at Chantelle's attitude "That is it, Travis Marek, Chantelle Sinclair, get to detention this instant!" Toriel shouts, Travis and Chantelle groan and walk away, "This never would've happened if Frisk, MK and Lorem were here to get what they deserved" Chantelle mumbles, Toriel shakes her head at that too, although it does get her thinking, where did that trio get off to?

**MEANWHILE**

You, MK and Lorem are getting up to some harmless yet mischievous fun, like running around the school grounds unattended, avoiding getting caught by the groundskeeper/king of monsters, nothing too serious, after getting everything out of your system you, MK and Lorem sit together behind the school eating snacks.
"So, yo, are we gonna like, skip the next class or somthing?" MK asks, trying to seem cool, but hesitantly, "Uh, I dunno, that might be pushing it" Lorem answers, "Yeah, I don't need anyone telling my parents..." MK admits, 'This was fun' You sign, the other two agree, but before you can continue, a large shadow is cast over the Three Monsteers, "I cannot believe you three!" Toriel says, You all stand up immediately and stand before her, 'Mom, let us explain-' You begin to sign, "No need, Frisk, I am not mad... just disappointed..." Toriel tells you, MK and Lorem look shocked like you just got mortally wounded, which is what it felt like.

"I understand you three wish to have fun together, and any other time I would encourage it, but there is a time and a place for goofing around and it is not here, this is a place of learning!, you were supposed to stay safe inside the cafeteria, but instead I had to track you down by your trail of destruction..." Toriel explains, "That's a bit of an overreaction" Lorem replies, "Oh really?, you have ran through the gardens and tracked mud all across the usually clean pathways" Toriel begins, 'We did?' You sign questioningly 'Okay, we genuinely weren't aware of that' You sign in your defense.
"You defaced all the club posters by drawing ears and tails on them" Toriel says, "Defaced?, no no no!, I improved them, I made the people on those posters look like my Mew Mew Kissy Cutie ocs, specifically my ocs from my MMKC extended universe fanfic" Lorem explains proudly, "And finally you went into the greenhouse and used a whoopee cushion on all the echo flowers and now they are stuck in an endless loop" Toriel finishes, "Uh, yeah, 'whoopee cushion'...." MK says as their eyes shift side to side.

"*Sigh*... As much as it pains me to do this, I have no choice, you three already have two strikes today, I have no choice but to send you to detention, understood?" Toriel says sadly, instead of arguing back, everyone just puts their head down, "Yes Miss Toriel..." MK and Lorem say together, 'Yes Mom' You sign, then the Three Monsteers make their way to the detention room in school.
Once you all enter, you see that Chantelle and Travis are already sitting inside, "Ah, looks like we got more troublemakers going us today, take your seats" Gerson orders, so you do, "Sorry if yer upset, youngsters, but I came here to teach and I'm taking that seriously!, and today I just taught ya that screwing up is just an opportunity to learn how to be better!, wahahahaha!" Gerson explains to the small group.
"Speaking of learning, since my class was so rudely interrupted earlier by you lot, I think it's only right that you finish it for me!" Gerson explains, "What?" Everyone asks in unison, "That's right, students, I'm assigning ya a special project!, put together a comprehensive, chronologically correct presentation of human/monster war, if it aligns with what I actually experienced, you'll get extra credit!" Gerson explains, before adding "But... I get to pick yer teams for ya!", we walks over to everyone and points with his cane "Frisk and Lorem team up with Chantelle, then MK, you team up with Travis!".

Everyone stares at each other in shock and or disgust, "No!, no fucking way!" Travis shouts, "Oh what's that, young man?, my hearings kinda going but it sounded to me like you said you'd rather have more detention?" Gerons responds, Travis quietly seethes, "Sir!, you can't really expect me to let this losers into my home!?" Chantelle asks in disbelief, "I do and you will, yer momma is the principal after all, how badly would it reflect on her if her precious daughter got even more detention?" Gerson retorts.
"Okay, I get it now, he is kinda cool" Lorem whispers, "And by the way, Chantelle, why did you just assume we'd all be going to your house for the project?, and not mine or Frisk's?" Lorem asks, "Ew" is all Chantelle says in response, "Ya have yer assignment, now don't disappoint me, little urchins!" Gerson says before going "Wahahahahaha!" One last time.

**AT THE END OF SCHOOL**

Everyone starts leaving school happily, but the Three Monsteers leave more hesitantly, "I'm gonna die..." MK says with a traumatised look on their face, "Don't worry, MK, you've been training with Undyne right?, just keep calm, you can get through this" Lorem says, "Yeah.... I just gotta get one more session with her in.... for luck...." MK says, 'Please be careful' You sign at them, before hugging them tightly, MK's entire face flushes bright red, then you let go and run over to Toriel.
MK is just stood there completely stiff for a moment, before their sisters voice rings out "Ayo, twerp!, mom and dad got the call, you are in such deep shit" Sissy says in upset before grabbing MK by one of their spikes and dragging them away, "Hey baby, heard you made quite the impression on your new teacher" Brock says as he walks up to Lorem, "Yeah, sorry dad" Lorem replies, "Eh, don't sweat it, you can't help being you, sweetheart, let's just get the punishment over with" Brock states, before spotting Asgore working on garden, he steels himself before walking over, Lorem squeals in anticipation.

"Uhh... 'sup, Asgore, you... you got a minute?..." Brock asks shyly, but it's barely noticeable with his deep, sonorous voice, "Oh, Brock, of course, anytime!" Asgore responds, his blush thankfully mostly hidden by his beard, "I was just wondering if you'd... y'know, wanna go out sometime?..." Brock asks, "Out?, but... we are out..." Asgore says while looking around at the garden, "No, I mean, on a date... with me..." Brock clarifies with smirk, "Oh- OH!... I'd... I'd love to- I mean... I'd like that..." Asgore stammers.
"Great!, how 'bout we figure out when after the PTA meeting, yeah?" Brock suggests, "Can't wait!- I mean, I can wait, until you're ready, that is, no rush!" Asgore answers, Brock then walks back to Lorem, who's wiping a tear away "That... that was beautiful..." She says emotionally, "Ah shut up..." Brock responds playfully, before he and Lorem get on his motorbike and drive away, Asgore can barely keep his hand from shaking as he prunes the shrubbery.

****

You run up to Toriel and grab onto her dress, she's talking with Principal Linda, "I just don't know what's gotten into her, Toriel, she was completely fine this morning" Linda explains, "It is quite alright, Linda, I know from personal experience that good kids can just act out sometimes..." Toriel says while looking down at you, you smile up at her.
"Anywho, I would be there to watch over the kids while they do their lil' project, but I've got better things to be doing, y'know, the PTA stuff 'n all that, I have to be there since I'm the principal, so I'll be trusting you to watch over my house and my daughter, I'll be there to let ya in, but then I gotta get, understood?" Linda explains, "Oh, um, okay, I suppose that is fine..." Toriel replies, completely blindsided by this request.
"Oh you're just the best, snookums" Linda says before giving Toriel a brief hug and doing that weird high heeled, arms in the air, waddling runs down the hall, meanwhile, Helen is dragging Travis to her car by his arm, "I can't with you sometimes!, now thanks to you we're gonna have one of those beasts in our apartment, and the very one that mauled you, no less!" Helen shouts "They never mauled me!" Travis shouts back, "You are grounded, Travis, just wait until your father knows about this!" Helen warns before she tosses Travis in the back of the car and drives away.

**LATER**

"okay... i think that's over with now... that really came outta nowhere..." Sans says as he leans against a doorframe and takes deep breathes, "ALL I DID WAS POINT OUT THE OBVIOUS, SANS" Papyrus states as he and Flowey are busy playing Jenga together, "all you did was complicate things, paps... but it's alright... coz during my, ahem, out of character moment... i realised something" Sans says, "Oh boy, what lies are you telling yourself this time, Smiles?" Flowey asks as he makes a risky Jenga move.
Sans just stares daggers at him before continuing, "just coz i'm dating a gal with a kid, doesn't make me dad, coz all that matters is what the kid sees me as, so that means i don't have to accept any responsibility or change who i am without worrying that i'm failing as a parent... so, ha!" Sans explains, "MMHMM... WHATEVER HELPS YOU SLEEP AT NIGHT, BROTHER..." Papyrus responds exasperatedly, before stacking his Jenga piece on top of the tower vertically, instead of horizontally, Flowey just scoffs and screams "FUCKING CHEATER!" before knocking the Jenga tower over with his friendliness pellets, "... JENGA!, I WIN!" Papyrus cheers for himself.

You and Toriel arrive home, "How about you go upstairs, my child, and grab whatever you think you need for this school project" Toriel suggests, you sign 'Okay, mom' before running upstairs, "what's this all about?" Sans asks curiously, "Frisk and some other children got in trouble at school, so Gerson assigned them to work on a project together about the human/monster war" Toriel explains tiredly.
"wow, big day then" Sans says a tad teasingly, walking up to Toriel as she sits at the dinner table, "But the problem is that Linda expects me to go to her place and watch over the children while she is off at the PTA meeting, which means I will not be able to attend myself, I am not comfortable with not knowing what is going on at those meetings..." Toriel explains sadly.

Sans steps behind her chair and wraps his arms around her shoulders, "aw tori....." He thinks for moment before sighing and asking "how about.... i go to the pta meeting instead?....", "Huh?" Flowey says in confusion, "WAIT, WHAT!?" Papyrus asks, "Sans... are you sure?" Toriel asks in awe, "nah, not really... but this sorta stuff is important to you, so it's important to me too" Sans admits with aslight blush on his cheekbones, Toriel gets up and easily sweeps her miniature boyfriend off of the ground, "Oh thank you so much, my love, you are the greatest" Toriel says before kissing him on the top of the skull repeatedly, making him chuckle.
"All you will have to do is sit there and listen to what the meeting is about, and speak up against anything you disagree with... oh, and it's a sort of potluck, everyone brings a little something so you can take that left over snail pie, alright?" Toriel explains, "sure thing, tori..." Sans says with his thumb up, Toriel let's him back down as you come back downstairs with a bag full of supplies 'I'm ready' You sign, "Then let us get to it" Toriel says, with a new air of energy, "have fun, ya little scamp" Sans says as he playfully ruffles your hair and you playfully push him back, before you and Toriel walk out the door.

"WELL, WELL, WELL..." Papyrus starts, "what?" Sans asks obliviously, "NOTHING, IT'S JUST... FOR SOMEONE WHO SUPPOSEDLY HATES PARENTAL RESPONSIBILITY, YOU HANDLED THAT ISSUE VERY WELL..." Papyrus says, ".... yeah, well.... you're a fart face" Sans retorts before shortcutting away, ".... You're brother is an idiot..." Flowey says as Papyrus restacks the Jenga tower.

**MEANWHILE**

Sissy and MK return home, Sissy knocks on the door and waits, "Oh my, what a magnificent knock" Mr. Kid says from inside "Cut that out, dear" Mrs. Kid tells him, before opening the door and letting them both in, "MK, why did I receive a call at work about you getting detention?" Mrs. Kid asks sternly, her massive t-rex frame towering over her two kids.
"It wasn't my fault!... kinda..." MK responds, "Oh right, just like that fight you got in before wasn't your fault!" Mrs. Kid says, "Come on, honey, give them the benefit of the doubt, our own magic and dust would never lie to us!" Mr. Kid states as his dilophosaurus flare up passionately, completely dwarfed next to his wife, even shorter than Sissy, and barely even the same height as MK.
"Ya got that right, dad" Sissy replies delightedly, "It's not just about lying, it's about keeping a low profile, monsterkind still isn't safe on the Surface, and everytime something like this happens it asks us bigger and bigger targets..." Mrs. Kid explains, trying to stay emotionless but failing "Just... stay safe... both of you..." She says before hugging her two kids and husband with her tiny rex arms.

After MK has gotten their stuff ready they go back outside with Sissy before she starts driving them to Travis' apartment, "... Hey, Sissy, can we visit Undyne's first?... it's important..." They ask, Sissy is silent for a moment, before she sighs and says "Fine..." and changes lanes.

**AT UNDYNE'S PLACE**

Undyne and Alphys are cuddling on their couch, it was Undyne's turn to pick the anime to watch tonight, so they're watching Chainsaw Man, well, Undyne's watching it, Alphys is just occasionally peaking while her face is buried in Undyne's side, but they're interrupted by knocking on the door, Alphys let's out a sigh of relief and Undyne walks over and opens the door.
"Undyne, I'm sorry for showing up unannounced, but I need an emergency lesson!" MK practically begs, "Sorry Al, I gotta go outside with MK real quick, that alright?" Undyne calls back, "Hell yeah, I m-mean, I'll make y-you some snacks!" Alphys says as she pitter patters off to the kitchen, Undyne smiles fondly and goes into the backyard with MK.

***

"If I walk into that apartment, there's a chance I might not come back out, y'know what I mean, done for, yo!" MK explains in spiral, "Whoa, whoa, calm down, squirt!, hopes and dreams, let 'em fuel you!" Undyne tells them, "No!, I need something more!, just in case" MK yelps, "Okay... okay, I guess due to the circumstances you can graduate to the next stage of training, but I can't promise it'll be easy, so listen up!" Undyne says as she starts walking around MK, who closes their eyes and listens.

"Kid, just imagine everything you've ever done in your entire life has lead to this moment, the moment where you're face to face with your own destiny, and you're not just doing this for you, you're doing this for everyone you know and love, if you need to, just picture that one special person out of all of them, the one that fules your hopes and dreams the most, just think what what would happen if they were in your situation, let that passion channel into your magic, let it build!" Undyne instructs.

... Frisk...

"NYAAAA, NOW!" Undyne shouts.

After that, MK's spikes start flashing orange and cyan in quick succession, before fire a fast, small plasma beam from their mouth, blasting straight through a tree and leaving a smoldering, bullet sized hole in it, MK opens their eyes, barely aware of what they just did.
"Holy crap, Kid!, your more of a natural than a thought!" Undyne cheers, "I... I did it... I have powers!" MK cheers back, in their moment of enthusiasm, Undyne and MK jump up and chest bump, causing MK to be launched across half of the backyard, "Oh, sorry, Kid" Undyne apologises, "...Who cares!?, I got bad ass powers!" MK shouts as they get up and run around like nothing happened, "Laser breath and high pain tolerance, ha!, you're gonna do great things, pipsqueak!" Undyne praises with the utmost pride for her pseudo protege.

"Wh-Who wants instant noodles and soda?" Alphys asks as she enters the backyard, oblivious to what she just interrupted.

**MEANWHILE**

Toriel drives her minivan into the driveway of a fancy, larger than average house, "This is it, the home of the Sinclairs" Toriel says, before helping you out of the van, at the same time, Brock and Lorem drive in on their motorbike, Brock takes off his helmet, letting his wild dreads fall loose.
"Oh, hey there, Toriel" Brock says, "Greetings, Mr. Ipsum, do not worry, your child is in safe hands" Toriel tells him, "I don't doubt it, see ya later, goofball" Brock says to Lorem before she gives his cheek a kiss and he puts his helmet back on and drives away, the door opens and Linda ushers everyone in, the interior of the house is almost entirely salmon coloured, "Thanks again for doing this for me, Toriel, you truly are a gem, but I better get going before I'm late to my own meeting, toodleloo!" Linda says, before kneeling beside Chantelle and whispering "Keep a close eye on them and don't let them near anything too expensive, ya never know..." then leaving, "Okay then, I guess we should begin the project now?" Toriel asks, "Yes... the sooner the better..." Chantelle says through a forced smile.

**LATER, AT SCHOOL**

Sans arrives and parks his moped in the parking lot, taking the pie off the back and carrying it into the school, searching around until he finds the meeting room, taking a breathe before walking in "uh, heya, is this the, uh... the pta meeting?" Sans felt weird asking that, but not bad weird, "Oh, yes, it is, and you are?" Linda asks, "i'm sans, sans the skeleton... miss toriel's... boyfriend?" Sans says nervously.

"Oh... you're not what I expected... why are you here?" She asks, befuddled, "well, since tori's busy at your place i offered to fill in for her" Sans explains, "That's... great... just... great!, always great to have a new parent join our lil' meetings!... even a monster one..." Linda exclaims, the other parents turning to look, "no!, i'm not, um, not a parent, just a guy helping his girlfriend... raise a kid..." Sans specifies.
"Right... well in any case, we're glad to have ya, you can just leave what you brought at the table over there" Linda tells him, so Sans walks over to the table filled with the food everyone's brought, placing the pie down before eyeing all the other stuff.

It's a nice assortment, fruit, candy, even some refreshments, except for a plate of piss yellow, brick looking things, Sans picks one up and tries squeezing it, it's not squishy or spongy, but it's not hard and solid either, Sans knocks it against the table and it just makes a sort of thudding noise.
"So, your Sans, huh?, are you enjoying yourself over here?" The woman next to him asks, "i guess, but i just can't wrap my head around why someone would bring a plate of erasures to a potluck, like, what's even the punchline, that's just weird" Sans replies, "Erasures?... that's right, I heard you think you're funny, no, those are lemon squares, my famous lemon squares" She explains with her arms crossed and eyes narrow.
Sans finally looks up at the woman, this must be the 'Helen' that Tori told him about, "Whoops... I definitely wish a could 'undo' saying that, heheh..." Sans jokes and laughs in discomfort, "I must say, that Toriel... she sure knows how to pick 'em, though, I must ask, how did she go from The King of Monsters... to a failed comedian?" Helen asks smugly, 'oh no she didn't' is what runs through Sans' mind first, but with his mouth he says "what can i say, i guess i was just... the love of her 'laugh'?...", She is clearly not the right audience, that might actually be crickets he's hearing.
"Yeah, that doesn't clear things up..." She responds, "well, makes more sense for people with a sense of humour" Sans says with a wide smile, "I might not have a sense of humour, but at least I have better taste in men" Helen claims smugly, "yeah, that poorly concealed shiner is a glowing review of that-" Sans retorts, before quickly covering his mouth, but it's too late, he doesn't even know where that came from, "Ugh, you little!-" Linda says before scoffing and walking away.

"Relax, she brings that out in everyone..." a deep and comforting voice tells Sans from his other side, he turns and sees a guy with messy dreadlocks in a man bun, placing his bowl of popcorn onto the potluck table, "... i feel really out of my element here... still, not how i wanted my first impression to go..." Sans admits.
"How do your first impressions usually go, if you don't mind me asking?" He asks, "usually?... a handshake with a hidden whoopee cushion... but i figured that would be a bit too juvenile here..." Sans says with a smirk, "Hah, that would've been awesome... I'm Brock, by the way, Lorem's dad" He introduces himself, "aw yeah, i remember, good kid, weird, but good, i'm sans" Sans replies before offering his hand, Brock grabs it, which causes the whoopee cushion tied to his hand to deflate loudly and crudely.
"Hahaha!, you told me, and I still fell for it... you're good!..." Brock laughs, as the other parents look on in disgust, "that doesn't seem to be common consensus" Sans says as he looks around at all the judgey Karens with his brow bone raised, "Eh, fuck 'em, now that there's two cool guys going to these meetings, we can form a united front against them" Brock tells Sans, "if this isn't my only meeting, you gotta deal" Sans answers.

**TRAVIS' APARTMENT**

Sissy finally drops MK off at the apartments, MK gulps before entering and going all the way up to the correct floor and pushing the door buzzer with their nose and waiting, they hear the multiple locks being undone before it opens to reveal Travis, who still has the same grouchy look he always does "Bought time you showed up..." Travis says before letting MK in, for them it's immediately like walking into a haunted house attraction, flickering lights, terrible odor, and a horrific figure on the couch, looks like glimpse into Travis' future self.
"Oh... it's here already?..." Troy asks with a grim tone, "Yeah, don't worry, once we're done, they're out of here" Travis reasures his dad, before leading MK to his bedroom, MK doesn't want to be rude about that state of the place, so they just say "Neat room?....", Travis just flops down on his metal framed bed, which creaks irritatingly, MK just gets started by sorting all the supplies across the floor, while Travis listens to music with his headphones.

**SINCLAIR RESIDENCE**

Toriel is trying to navigate the fancy, large kitchen to make the kids something to eat while they work, and up in Chantelle's room, everyone has their equipment out on her bedroom floor, "So you're trying to tell me that humans started the human/monster war because they were scared of a power monsters never wanted to harness anyway?..." Chantelle asks with a suspicious look on her face.
'Yes, and then the monsters surrendered so no one else had to die and allowed themselves to be sealed Underground by the humans for thousands of years' You sign towards her, "... Yeah, I don't buy it, of course you'd tell the story in a way that makes your side look good, I bet those humans were just acting in self defense!" Chantelle explains.
"Oh come on!, monsterkind documented almost the entirety of their history in the Underground, and they have three living witnesses from that time!, while humanity literally buried all traces of monsters and happened to them, because they knew it made them look evil, which they were!" Lorem retaliates in frustration, "Don't forget who's house you're in!" Chantelle shouts, 'Chill, chill, let's just get back on track' You sign calmly.

You and Lorem sketch the historical diagram in silence for a while, before Chantelle speaks up again "So... was it true humans used to know how to use magic?..." She asks curiously, 'Yep, it was a gift from monsters when they first started living side by side, and so after the monsters went away, the humans slowly lost the ability to use magic without their original teachers over the course of a few hundred years' You sign happily, Chantelle nods a little before asking "Do you... think they could learn again, one day?..."
'... I think so, yeah...' You sign, appreciating even a slight show of interest from Chantelle, Lorem and the other hand looks perplexed and uncomfortable by this interaction.

**BACK AT THE PTA MEETING**

Sans sits with the group of parents as they go on and on about stuff like expenses and schedules, he has no idea how Toriel can keep track of it all, but then the topic of conversation changes right as he was about to doze off, "-And we should really do something about that violent monster kid that attacked my sweet angel" Helen says, Sans wakes right up "woah, hold on a moment, are you talking about mk?" Sans asks, "I don't care what you call it, that thing tried to kill my little Travis, completely unprovoked" Helen responds, "hey, cut the bs, you know for a fact your kid was the one who started that fight" Sans corrects her.
"Gasp!, how dare you make that kind of accusations!, Travis would do no such thing!" Helen retorts, "neither would mk, i lived in the same neighbourhood as them back underground, they're 'armless'... i mean harmless, crap, that pun wasn't on purpose!" Sans tells the group, "Look you two, this has just devolved into a he said/she said situation, so I think it's for the best that we leave it in the past and move forward, alrighty?" Linda explains kindly.

"but it's not in the past, this lady's made it a driving motivation in her life, we all know about her anit-monster hate group, not exactly a secret" Sans explains, "Moms Against Monsters is not a hate group" Helen scoffs, "it literally has the word 'against' in it!" Sans points out, "I'm also uncomfortable with that, my Lorem is friends with that Monster Kid, and her life has been so much better since the monsters showed up, I don't care for anything that threatens her happiness or the safety the people she has bonded with..." Brock adds, backing Sans up.
Linda suddenly jumps into the argument "I think there are a lot of good points being made on both sides, I do believe Helen should have the right to protest whatever and however she wants, but I understand I could be offensive for some, maybe we could meet some sort of middle ground, our school does have to appear accepting, after all", Sans' bone brows narrow as he blows air out of his nose hole "'appear accepting', huh?...." he asks coldly.

**TRAVIS' APARTMENT**

"Yo!, you think you could lend a hand?... I don't exactly have any over here..." MK asks Travis, but he's still just on his bed with his headphones on, MK rolls their eyes before biting onto a pencil and drawing out scruffy detections of the war stuff they learned in the Underground school.
Travis then starts staring down at them drawing with their mouth "How do you even live like that?" Travis asks, "Sigh... Well, it's difficult, but it's all I've ever known so I manage, plus I have my friends to help me out... and before that it was parents who helped me with everything" MK explains informatively, Travis scowls at that last part "Lucky you..." He groans.

MK looks up at them sadly "... Don't your parents help you out with stuff?" MK asks, "Ha... y'know what I get when I ask for things around here?... yelled at, smacked, locked in my room... but it's all I've ever known... so I manage...." Travis explains solemnly.

MK doesn't know what to say for a moment, before standing up and saying "Yo!, that ain't right!, I wouldn't take that sort of crap from my parents, why don't you just stand up for yourself!?",
"Why don't I just stand up for myself?" Travis repeats as he sits up on his bed, glaring down at MK, "... Don't act like you FUCKING know me!, you don't know ANYTHING about me!" Travis shouts, infuriated, standing up to get in MK's face, "You FREAKS have ruined my life, my dad lost his job, my mom's always out protesting, things were better before you showed up, and they'll be better after we get rid of you all again!" Travis blows up.

"... How do you know that monsters showing up caused all your problems instead of just... I dunno... unmasking the problems that where already there?..." MK asks shakily.
Travis' face falls for a moment, before he blows up again "GET THE FUCK OUT!, DO THIS STUPID PROJECT ALL ON YOUR OWN FOR ALL I CARE!, AND I SWEAR IF YOU EVER SAY SHIT LIKE THAT AGAIN, YOU'RE DEAD!" Travis then tosses MK out of his room and slams the door, MK breathes heavily, barely hearing the sound of muffled sobbing coming from inside the room.
MK calms themselves and slowly walking towards the front door, carefully walking past the couch, where the father is still sitting, glaring at them while drinking an entire beer bottle.
MK notices flecks of a fine, grey substance across the floorboards, leading to the man's bulky black boots, which are caked in the unknown substance, MK makes it to the door and quietly walks out, closing it softly behind them.

**SINCLAIR RESIDENCE**

"Oooh, I've got some gold glitter we can use on the King's armor to make it stand out more" Chantelle says, getting way more into the design aspect of the presentation, 'That'd look amazing' You sign in response, before you notice Lorem sitting in the corner, so you walk over to her.

'Hey Lorem, what's wrong?' You sign worriedly, she ponders for a moment, before turning away from Chantelle's direction and talking to you privately "I'm not comfortable with this..." She tells you, you raise an eyebrow in response, "Watching you be all... friendly... with Chantelle... before you showed I was her number one victim, and I didn't have anyone to protect me from her, it was torture, and before that... me and her were fri-" Lorem suddenly gets interrupted by Chantelle.
"Hey are you two seriously gossiping behind my back and leaving me to finish the project!?" Chantelle asks, "Oh like you even care about the project Chantelle, you hate monsters!" Lorem snaps back.

You try signing to them but they don't even notice.

"Maybe, maybe not, all I know is that I have an image to uphold ad I'm not gonna be dragged down by you over a stupid project!" Chantelle complains, "Everything is just about image with you!, are you even real under all that 'image'!?" Lorem asks loudly, "Pfft, you're just jealous your rebound friend likes me more than you!" Chantelle retorts, "Excuse me!?" Lorem exclaims.

You can't take it anymore, your run out of the room and down the stairs, Lorem looks mortified "Oh no, wait, Frisk!, I'm sorry, come back, we'll stop arguing!" She calls out as she runs downstairs after you, but you're already out the door.
"What on earth was that?" Toriel asks as she exits the kitchen, confused by all the racket, "Me and Chantelle started arguing and Frisk ran away!" Lorem cries, "Oh my word!... uh, do not worry, we will find them safe and sound, I promise... one moment..." Toriel says, trying to stay calm as she calls Sans on the phone.

**BACK AT SCHOOL**

"C'mon gang, I'm sure there's a solution to this problem that'll look good for everybody" Linda says, but all the parents are just looking back and forth cluelessly.

Sans just chuckles tiredly and gets up, "well, i may not be a parent, but i think it's a-'parent' that these pta meetings are a joke, i don't know how tori puts up with all this squabbling, she definitely deserves way better, as do all the monster kiddos that go here... so, if you ever become ready to actually listen to a monster's perspective on monster issues, give us a call... y'know, if you're not all choking on 'Hellen's' so caled lemon squares..." Sans explains, before walking out, while only Brock applauds slowly.

Sans checks his phone as he walks out of the school and quickly calls Toriel back "hey tori, what's up?" He asks, "Oh thank goodness, Sans, can you help us find Frisk?, they ran away after some sort of argument!" Toriel explains frantically, Sans immediately gets serious "don't worry, i'm on it" Sans says before he starts taking shortcuts all over the place, searching as far and wide as possible.

***

Meanwhile, you are sitting all by yourself, in the shadows, trying to stop your heart from racing so much, rocking back and forth with your head in your hands.
"Ironic, isn't it?, history, it repeats itself, as it always does..." Chara whispers in your ear "You can't deny it anymore, Frisk... wherever you go, conflict follows, and there's only one way to stop it, permanently... just... let... me..." You can feel their ethereal hands creeping closer to your soul, your walls are crumbling.

***

Sans he finally catches a glimpse of you sitting up against a tree at the base of Mt. Ebott, he quickly shortcuts over there and runs over to you and says "frisk!, are you alri-", "Dad!" You yell as run up to Sans wrap your arms around him tightly, Sans freezes for a moment, registering what just happened, before bringing you into a tight embrace "shh, shh... it's okay..... let's get ya home, kiddo...".

The walls are back up... if your dad wasn't there for you... the thought makes you cry even harder into his hoodie

**ONE SHORTCUT LATER**

Toriel picks up her phone immediately when Sans calls her "Did you find them?.... You're already home them them?, oh, thank you so much, Sans, I love you dearly, I'll be right there!" Toriel says with a sigh of relief, before looking at the time "It is getting late, I will call your father and drive you home, Lorem, alright?" Toriel asks, Lorem nods silently.
Toriel walks outside to start up her minivan, Lorem and Chantelle stand in silence for a moment, before Chantelle speaks "I wasn't trying to hurt you..." She says quietly, "Hmph... so you don't even need to try anymore..." Lorem responds, "No, that's not what I-" Chantelle tries to explain, "Just... stay away from Frisk... I won't let you do to them, what you tried to do to me..." Lorem tells Chantelle, before walking out the door.

**LATER THAT NIGHT**

Sans finishes reading Peekaboo With Fluffy Bunny, for you as he tucks you in, then silently backs out of the room and into the hallway, where Toriel is waiting for him "You were so fantastic tonight, Sans, I know you do not like too much pressure to be put on you, I am sorry if today was a hassle" She apologises.
"nah, not at all, tori... to be honest, this morning i got super stressed about the possibility of being a dad... but in that moment when i found frisk, and they hugged me and called me dad... i realised that all that matters is what that kid sees me as... does that make sense?" Sans explains.
"... Absolutely, I felt the exact same way when they called me mother" Toriel says before leaning down to kiss Sans on his skeletal mouth.
"Oop, by the way, Linda called, she said if your interested, you are welcome to any and all future PTA meetings!" Toriel explains, "really?... i kinda thought after how i left things they'd never want to see me again..." Sans responds, "No, not at all, quite the opposite in fact, she said you could offer an interesting and unique perspective... what do you think?" She asks, Sans just smiles "anything for you and frisk..." He states.
"Hmm... you look exhausted, more so than usual, should we turn in for the night?" Toriel asks as she gestures towards her room at the end of the hallway, "*yaaaaaaaaawwwwn*... in a minute... i still gotta read fluffy bunny to papyrus or he'll be up all night..." Sans says before tiredly stumbling into Papyrus' room, Papyrus can be heard asking "WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG?" Through the walls, Toriel giggles.

**THE NEXT SCHOOL DAY**

You, MK and Lorem are standing before Gerson, "So, I was informed that things surrounding the history project got a little out of hand, my apologies, youngsters, I wasn't aware of the extend of the social dynamics at this school... due to this, I will gladly give you much more time to finish your history projects, and Monster Kid, if you truly feel so unsafe around Travis, you can absolutely join Frisk and Lorem's team instead" Gerson explains "Now get going"

The Three Monsteers leave the classroom and start heading to the cafeteria, "Frisk... I'm sorry for what I did last night... I was just... scared... but I should've known not to doubt you, I mean, you survived the Underground, you can handle someone like Chantelle trying to manipulate you... can you forgive me?" Lorem asks, you smile at them before giving them a hug, "I think that's a yes" MK says.

'Oh, MK, almost forgot to ask, how was it for you when you went to Travis' place?' You sign questioningly, MK responds "Oh man, I dunno how to describe it, it just felt...."

".... Off....."

Notes:

The next chapter will be fun, I promise...

Chapter 9: (N)Ever Meet Your Heroes

Summary:

Papyrus is almost ready to graduate from cooking student to full on restaurant owner, but he may need help from a certain celeb, who is a bit busy with his own issues.

Hope you like Papyton, I sure do...

Papyrus is getting ready in the morning, he straightens the sheets of his race car bed until they're good as new, then rifles through his closet, taking a moment to admire his old fake royal guard armor costume, before putting on the clothes he's worn ever since they started living on the Surface.
Which is almost identical to his old outfit, a white t-shirt with a gold trim, tied up into a knot to look more like a crop top only covering his ribcage and showing off his lower spine, then denim short shorts, cool red black and gold sneakers along with his same old gloves, providing comfort and protection from any sort of touch sensory issues that may arise.

Papyrus slides down the staircase railing to reach the ground floor, jogging up to the dinner table as everyone eats pie together, "Good morning, Papyrus, shall I fix you a slice of snail pie?" Toriel asks kindly, "NO THANK YOU, TORIEL!, I MUSTN'T DILLY DALLY, I NEED TO GET TO COOKING CLASS EARLY TODAY!, MY TEACHER TELLS ME I'M A CLASS OR TWO AWAY FROM BECOMING A GREAT CHEF, SO, FINGERS CROSSED!" Papyrus explains with glee, packing his satchel with supplies.

"Oh my, that is splendid, Papyrus, hold on for a moment, let me get you your packed lunch!" Toriel says excitedly before running off to the kitchen, "i'm proud of ya, bro, you've definitely come such a long way with your cooking" Sans praises, "Papyrus?, an actual chef?, yeah, I'll believe that when I see it..." Flowey says with suspicion, 'We'll be rooting for you, Papyrus' You sign happily, "THANK YOU ALL, IT'S BEEN A LONG AND TEDIOUS JOURNEY FOR SURE!, EVEN THOUGH MY TEACHER SAYS THE HARDEST PART WAS JUST UNLEARNING EVERYTHING UNDYNE TAUGHT ME..." Papyrus explains.

Toriel comes back from the kitchen with a brown paper bag, giving it to Papyrus "Here you go, just the way you like it!" Toriel states "Cheese sandwich, an apple, a carton of milk..." She lists off, "IS THE SANDWICH CUT INTO A MAZE?" Papyrus asks, "Indeed" Toriel replies "WITH TRAPS!?" He asks more elated, "Of course" Papyrus squeals and bounces before hugging Toriel tightly.
"YOU HAVE BEEN SO SUPPORTIVE IN MY CULINARY ENDEAVORS, TORIEL, I PROMISE I WON'T LET YOU DOWN!" Papyrus exclaims, "You could never let me down, Papyrus" Toriel says as she hugs him back, then Papyrus sprints out of the house and gets into his red sports car and drives away at full speed.

**LATER**

Papyrus is participating in the cooking class, along with several other students, wearing an apron with 'Cool Cook' written on it, sweating nervously as he painstakingly stirs his precious pasta, but not too hard like Undyne, also trying not to pay too much attention to the other student's work or all the overwhelming sounds and smells trying to distract him.

Papyrus powers through and continues perfecting his spaghetti, pouring it onto his plate before mixing in the sauce and meatballs, sprinkling on some grated cheese, before ever so gently placing the little green leaf on the top like a cherry on a cupcake, he takes a step back and looks at his creation, it's truly one of the most beautiful things he's ever seen, he wipes the tear from his eyesocket.
Then the class teacher, Sarah, with a cute brown pixie cut, amber eyes and pink apron, walks over to check up "How are things going over here, Papyrus?" Sarah asks, "I THINK THIS IS MY MASTERPIECE, SARAH!, JUST LOOK AT IT!, IT'S... MAJESTIC!..." Papyrus responds emotionally, "Wow, yeah, this sure does look promising, mind if a give it a taste test?" Sarah asks sweetly, Papyrus nods nervously, hiding half his face behind his hands as Sarah twirls some of the noodles around her fork and lifts it up to her mouth, Papyrus feels a pang of worry for a moment, before Sarah's face lights up.
"Holy moly, that is a superb improvement from when you first showed up, no crunchy pieces, no fire, no bad aftertaste, no fire, no unconventional ingredients, and no fire!" Sarah explains gladly, "*GASP!* ARE YOU SERIOUS!?" Papyrus asks in anticipation, "Absolutely!, you've made so much progress so fast, I'm impressed, you're a great learner, I don't think I have much else to teach you" Sarah tells him.

Papyrus can't believe his earholes, he's so ecstatic that his dreams are finally coming true, he can't stand still and starts stimming by bouncing up and down and waving his arms around, "OH THANK YOU, THANK YOU SO MUCH, SARAH!" Papyrus says gratefully as he hugs his teacher.

"Haha, you're welcome, Papyrus, so... what are you gonna do now?" Sarah asks, "HUH?" Papyrus asks curiously, "Yeah, you've practically mastered cooking all sorts of pasta now, what's the next step?" Sarah asks, "OH... THAT PART ALMOST SLIPPED MY MIND, I WAS HAVING SO MUCH FUN HERE, I SUPPOSE IT'S FINALLY TIME TO TRY AND OPEN MY OWN RESTAURANT!" Papyrus explains, "That's great, Papyrus, it's always great to see more monster owned businesses in Ebott City, you should take it up with the city council, if they like your idea enough you could get your place opened in no time, just like Grillby and Muffet" Sarah explains, "WELL ALRIGHTY THEN, HOW HARD COULD THAT BE?"

**LATER, AT THE EBOTT CITY COMMUNITY CENTRE**

Papyrus is stood before the city council, which consists of Principal Linda and four fellow humans, "So, Papyrus, was it?, you wish to open your own pasta restaurant in Ebott City?" Linda asks quizzically, "YES MA'AM, I'VE BEEN WORKING HARD TO PERFECT MY CRAFT AND I BELIEVE I AM FINALLY AT A POINT WHERE I CAN SHARE IT WITH THE CITIZENS OF THIS FINE CITY!" Papyrus explains.

"Mr. Papyrus, you do understand it's not that easy, right?" Linda asks with a sweet tone, "IT'S NOT?, DIDN'T YOU APPROVE GRILLBY AND MUFFETS BUSINESSES PRETTY QUICKLY?" Papyrus asks, "Yes, but they already had pre-established businesses to build off of, but you have no such background..." Linda explains delicately, "OH....WELL NO WORRIES, THE GREAT PAPYRUS DOESN'T GIVE UP!, SO TELL ME COUNCIL, HOW CAN I GIVE MY BUSINESS VENTURE MORE VALIDITY!?" Papyrus asks enthusiastically.

Linda and the four council members all whisper to each other for a while, Papyrus just stands there, tapping his heel against the ground anxiously, before the council turns back to him "If you can somehow acquire backing and sponsorship from a more reputable source, we would allow you to open a restaurant in Ebott City" Linda explains, "..... SO..... I BASICALLY NEED THE HELP OF SOMEONE RICH AND FAMOUS?" Papyrus asks while rubbing his chin in thought, "Um... essentially yes..." Linda replies.

**BACK AT HOME**

Papyrus kicks the front door open, startling everyone, "GUESS WHO'S A REAL CHEF!?, IT IS I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, IF YOU COULD NOT GATHER THAT FROM CONTEXT!" Papyrus exclaims, "Congratulations Papyrus!" Toriel says before embracing Papyrus proudly, "i knew ya could do it bro..." Sans says lazily from the couch, "OF COURSE I COULD!, BUT NOW I HAVE A NEW GOAL, BEFORE I CAN OPEN AN ACTUAL RESTAURANT, THE CITY COUNCIL SAYS I MUST SOMEONE MORE WEALTHY AND POPULAR TO VOUCH FOR ME" Papyrus explains.
'How are you gonna find someone like that?' You sign, "THAT'S A TOPIC FOR ANOTHER DAY!, NOW IT'S TIME TO CELEBRATE MY ACHIEVEMENT!, THAT'S WHY I'VE PURCHASED US ALL FRONT ROW TICKETS FOR METTATON'S NEXT BIG LIVE PERFORMANCE!" Papyrus cheers, "How generous of you, Papyrus" Toriel says, "One of those tickets better not be for me, I don't get what people see in that sexbot!" Flowey groans.
"COME ON, FLOWEY, WOULDN'T THIS BE BETTER THAN SITTING AROUND IN A PLANT POT ALL DAY WITH NOTHING TO DO!?" Papyrus asks, "No matter what I say you're gonna bring me, aren't you?..." Flowey scowls, "YES I AM!" Papyrus says joyfully as he picks up Flowey and twirls around with him while Flowey screams "PUT ME DOWN YOU LANKY-

**THAT NIGHT, AT THE BIG MTT LIVE CONCERT**

Tons of fans fill the arena, and at the very front of the crowd are You, Flowey, Toriel, Sans and Papyrus, everyone is wearing MTT t-shirts, except for Flowey who just has an MTT sticker slapped on his pot, against his wishes.

"ARE THESE THE BEST SEATS IN THE HOUSE OR WHAT!?" Papyrus asks loudly over the noise of the crowd, "But there are not any seats, we are standing" Toriel says, pointing out the obvious, "and i'm already tired from it" Sans adds, "COME ON, THIS IS METTATON WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, THIS IS A RARE EXPERIENCE!" Papyrus states, "Doesn't he do live concerts once a week?, how is this a 'rare experience'?" Flowey asks in a condescending tone.
"WELL IT USED TO BE EVERY SINGLE DAY, BUT HE'S GOTTEN SO BUSY RECENTLY WITH INTERVIEWS, OPENING CEREMONIES, PHOTO SHOOTS, MOVIE ROLES-" Papyrus explains before the lights start to dim and fog covers the stage "EVERYONE SHUT UP!, IT'S STARTING!" Papyrus says with wide sockets, "You were the one talking..." Flowey grunts exasperatedly.

The words "Oh Yes~" echo throughout the stadium, pink lasers and neon lights begin flashing on stage, the main attraction himself rises up from inside the stage in a dramatic pose, in his glamorous EX form, a spotlight shining down on him, the ghostly DJ behind him in an extravagant booth, wearing their headphones, activating the music while slightly bobbing their head to the beat, as Shyren provides the backup vocals.

"I can't help it if I make a scene, stepping out of my hot pink limousine, I'm turning heads and I'm stopping traffic, when I pose they scream and when I joke they laugh, I've got a-" Mettaton sings at the audience as he dances across the stage "Pair of eyes that they're getting lost in, they're hypnotised by the way I'm walking, I got them dazzles like a stage magician, when I point they look and when I talk they listen, well..." Mettaton sings as the theatrics die down for a moment, to symbolise a more serious and vulnerable tone "Everybody needs a friend, I've got you and you and you, so many I can't even name them, can you blame me?, I'm too famous~" Mettaton sings as he points randomly at crowd members.
"HE POINTED AT ME!, METTATON NOTICED ME!, THIS IS THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFE!" Papyrus says as he violently shakes Toriel in excitement, "Haven't you noticed I'm a star?, I'm coming into view as the world is turning, haven't you noticed I made it this faaaarrrr?, now everyone can see me burning!, now everyone can see me burning!!, now everyone can see me burning!!!~" Mettaton belts out as MTT fireworks blaze and the crowd goes wild.

After a long night of Mettaton live performing his entire album, fans finally leave the concert to go home as the sun is coming up, Toriel is carrying You as you sleep like a baby, Sans is barely conscious as he shuffles tiredly next to her while holding Flowey, while Papyrus is still literally jumping with joy.
"METTATON NEVER FAILS TO IMPRESS!, HIS SHOWS ARE ALWAYS AS GREAT AS THE LAST!" Papyrus states, "It definitely was very.... long.... much longer than I anticipated.... it is a good thing tonight was not a school night, but I think we should take Frisk back home and put them to bed" Toriel responds as she adjusts your conked out body in her arms, "*yaaaaaaaaawwwwn*... right behind ya... tori..." Sans mumbles in exhaustion, "Don't you DARE drop me, you lazy bag of bones!" Flowey screeches angrily.

Papyrus is about to follow after, before he overhears two other fans talking, "Omg, like, where does Mettaton even find the time anymore?" Catty asks, "I was gonna say the exact same thing... maybe we can, like, ask him to appear on our podcast for an interview or whatever?..." Bratty answers, "WHAT'S THIS I HEAR!?, A PODCAST!?, I WOULD LOVE TO SEE ANYTING WITH METTATON IN IT!" Papyrus enthused "BUT ARE YOU SURE HE WOULD ACCEPT?, HE'S SO BUSY ALREADY!".
"Uh, like, yeah, totally!" Catty says, "He'll accept anything that helps him stay relevant on the Surface, like, anything!" Bratty adds, Papyrus has a light bulb moment "... ANYTHING?..."

**THE NEXT MORNING, BACK AT HOME**

Sans lays limp on the couch, watching TV, slipping in and out of lucidity, while Papyrus paces back and forth, doing random chores repeatedly to channel his pent up energy, like vacuuming the floor, organising books on the shelf, trying and failing to wash the dishes in the insanely high sink, filling Kat's food bowl and pouring sprinkles on his pet rock.

"paps.... stop moving 'round.... i can't keep track of ya...." Sans says tiredly, "I CAN'T, SANS, THE WORDS OF THOSE TWO NICE LADIES LAST NIGHT KEEP PLAYING IN MY HEAD, IF METTATON TRULY ACCEPTS ANY OPPORTUNITY THROWN HIS WAY, DOES THAT MEAN HE WOULD ASSIST ME WITH MY PASTA RESTAURANT AND GIVE ME THE BACKING IT REQUIRES?" Papyrus muses as he paces.

".... okay, but.... you're making a trail in the carpet...." Sans informs Papyrus, who stops in his tracks and looks down to see there is indeed a noticeable divet in the carpet from how much he's been walking back and forth, so Papyrus steps back and drops himself onto the couch next to Sans, Kat climbs up onto the couch and curls up on Sans' tummy to take a nap.

"so.... what's exactly the problem here?...." Sans asks, "WORKING WITH METTATON WOULD BE A DREAM COME TRUE!, BUT... I DON'T JUST WANT TO BE ANOTHER ANNOYING FANBOY BOTHERING HIM... WHAT SHOULD I DO?" Papyrus asks, stressed out, Sans just stares deliriously, blinking each eye individually "okay.... say all that again?...." He asks, Papyrus groans "SANS!".

"jeez, i dunno, paps... maybe just follow your own advice ya gave me?... stop procrastinating, rip off the bandaid and contact him already?... if he's really anywhere near as cool as you are he'll be on board... you'll never know 'till ya try..." Sans explains as he slowly drifts off.
"HMM... THAT'S SURPRISINGLY SOUND ADVICE CONSIDERING YOUR SLEEP DEPRIVED STATE, DEAR BROTHER!" Papyrus responds happily, before hearing snoring and looking over to see Sans has fully passed out, Papyrus rolls his sockets before sitting down with a pen a paper to write a letter.

**AT THE MTT PENTHOUSE**

Mettaton powers on in the morning, sunlight shining off of his beautiful metallic exterior, making him look even more majestic, his battery feeling depleted after a long night of performing, he sits up in his fluffy pink bed, in his BOX form to conserve energy, his magenta coloured silky robe stretched across his rectangular body, he stretches his extendable arms as far as they'll go, before getting out of bed and wheeling himself out of his room.
Napstablook turns away from the flatscreen TV and addresses Mettaton "Hey Metta..... looks like we got even more fan mail delivered today....." They say as they point towards the front door, which is fully blocked by a mountain of envelopes, "Ah.... mind going through them for me, Blooky?... I need to recharge..." Mettaton asks, before going out and laying down on his expensive lounger chair next to the pool, pulling out one of those foldable reflectors and beginning his sun bathing routine.

Napstablook starts to open the envelopes one by one and review the contents "...... Another invitation to be the celebrity guest star in an upcoming movie......" Napstablook says, "Put that in the career opportunities pile..." Mettaton replies, "...... Another request for a line of provocative calenders of you in numerous risque costumes and poses......" Napstablook says slighty uncomfortable, "Put that in the merchandise ideas pile..." Mettaton responds, "...... Another demand for pictures of your bare feet......" Napstablook says grossed out, "Put that in the fetishists pile..." Mettaton says numbly, "....... Another desperate attempt to get you to appear on that trashy podcast for an "interview"......" Napstablook says with an annoyed look, "Ugh, put that in the "Maybe" pile..." Mettaton scoffs, Napstablook nods before dropping that letter in the shredder.

"Love letters...... more love letters..... even more love letters....." Napstablook says as they toss all of the pink heart shaped letters into the ever growing pile of them "....... Oh!, here's something different for once......" They say before opening the newest letter and reading it "...... Looks like one of your biggest fans needs your help getting his own business off the ground..... he wants to discuss it over dinner at your earliest convenience....." Napstablook explains.
"Hmm... investing in an unknown, struggling entrepreneur will definitely will definitely help my image, people love it when celebrities pretend to be humble, put it on my schedule, Blooky~" Mettaton exclaims.

**LATER THAT DAY**

Sans rests against his large, comfy girlfriend on the couch as they watch a documentary on snails together, you and Flowey laying on the floor colouring together, when Papyrus suddenly bursts in after getting the mail, making everyone jump "SANS HOLY HECK YOU WON'T BELIEVE THIS!" Papyrus yells ecstatically, "I DID WHAT YOU SAID AND YOU WERE RIGHT!".
"wait... what did i say?" Sans asks in confusion, "I SET ASIDE MY WORRIES AND CONTACTED METTATON!, HE WROTE ME BACK TELLING ME HE'S INTERESTED IN HELPING MY RESTAURANT!" Papyrus explains cheerfully, "That is great news, Papyrus!" Toriel responds, "i hope he hears ya out, bro" Sans says supportively, "THIS IS SOOOOOOOO EXCITING!, I'M MEETING HIM LATER TONIGHT, I'VE GOTTA GO CHANGE INTO MY SPECIAL DATING CLOTHES!" Papyrus rambles cheerfully, Sans and Toriel look at each other in shock, 'Does he think he's going on a...?' You sign worriedly, "Oho... this is going to be a spectacular train wreck!" Flowey says with a sickening grin.

Mettaton's limo arrives in front of the MTT Resort, he steps out in his EX form, wearing a pink furred jacket and comically oversized pink glasses with black lenses, he struts down the red carpet and waves at the crowds of paparazzi snapping pictures of him from behind the velvet ropes.
Mettaton enters the restaurant and walks up to the host, a hand headed monster, "Hello there, darling, I'm here for the reservation I made for a business meeting?" Mettaton explains, "Of course, sir, your guest has already arrived, right over there, best seats in the house" The hand monsters says, using their giant hand head to point over at a dinner table in the middle of the fancy restaurant, where Mettaton can see a lanky skeleton with a huge smile on his face sitting there, practically bouncing up and down in his seat, wearing a backwards cap, a crop top with the words "Cool Dude" written on it, short-shorts and sneakers, and adorning his shoulders are MTT brand fashion balls.

Mettaton wanders over and sits down at the table "You must be Papyrus-", "OHMYGODMETTATONICAN'TBELIEVEYOU'REHEREI'MYOURBIGGESTFAN!!!" Papyrus interrupts at the top of his lungs, causing most of the people dining around them to look over, "OH, SORRY, THAT SLIPPED OUT, I MEANT TO SAY, IT'S NICE TO FINALLY MEET YOU, METTATON!" Papyrus corrects himself, his cheekbones blushing orange slightly in embarrassment.
"It's-It's quite alright, Papyrus, I'm well aware of the effect my overwhelming presence has on people~.... your letter intrigued me, I'm always looking for ways I can expand my brand, so, let's talk details, darling~" Mettaton explains, "WE WILL... BUT FIRST!, LET'S ORDER SOMETHING, I'M AWARE THAT THESE SORTS OF THINGS REQUIRE A BIT OF "WINING AND/OR DINING"!?" Papyrus suggests.

"Oh, of course" Mettaton says before whistling over one of the waiters "Hello there darling, I'll have the steak in the shape of my face~" Mettaton orders with a smirk, "HI!, I'M PAPYRUS!, I'M DINING WITH METTATON!" Papyrus blurts out proudly, "... Your order, sir?" The waiter asks after a lull, "OH, YES, I'LL HAVE THE METTABURGER WITH EXTRA SEQUINS!" Papyrus orders before the waiter leaves.
"SO... TELL ME A BIT ABOUT YOURSELF, METTATON..." Papyrus says as he rests his skull in hands, leaning against his elbows and staring at Mettaton with fascination, "Um... I'm sure you know how much I love talking about myself, but at this point I'm not sure there's much left to sa-" Mettaton explains before Papyrus butts in "YES, I KNOW THAT, I AM YOUR BIGGEST FAN AFTER ALL, I KNOW EVERY FAMOUS THING YOU'VE DONE, BUT I JUST MEANT... WELL, IF WE'RE GOING TO BECOME BUSINESSES PARTNERS WE SHOULD KNOW EACH OTHER ON A DEEPER LEVEL, YOU KNOW?..." Papyrus explains nervously, Mettaton mulls that over for a moment.

"... OKAY, I'LL GO FIRST, AHEM, FOR AS LONG AS I CAN REMEMBER IT'S BEEN JUST ME AND MY OLDER BROTHER, SANS, WE GREW UP TOGETHER IN SNOWDIN, WHERE I QUICKLY MADE A NAME FOR MYSELF OF COURSE, AND THAT'S WHERE I MADE MY GRAND DECISION TO BECOME A MEBER OF THE ROYAL GUARD-"

**AN HOUR LATER**

"-NO MATTER HOW HARD I TRIED UNDYNE WOULDN'T RECRUIT ME INTO THE ROYAL GUARD, MAYBE SHE FELT THREATENED I WOULD END UP SURPASSING HER I DON'T KNOW, BUT SHE DID HELP IGNITE MY PASSION FOR COOKING... QUITE LITERALLY... I CAN STILL TASTE THE FLAMES..."

**SEVERAL HOURS LATER**

"-AND EVER SINCE MOVING TO THE SURFACE I HAVE BEEN TAKING CLASSES TO BECOME THE BEST CHEF EVER, WHICH I HAVE SUCCEEDED AT, SO THE NEXT LOGICAL STEP, OF COURSE, IS OPENING MY OWN PASTA RESTAURANT AND FOR THAT I NEED A PARTNER WHO'S JUST AS GREAT AND TALENTED AS I AM, THAT'S WHERE YOU COME IN!..." Papyrus finishes with a flourish.
Mettaton has just been staring in astonishment at the skeleton the entire time, never before has he met someone who can talk about themselves nearly as much as he talks about himself, it's... impressive.

"Oh my... you seem like you really love what you do..." Mettaton says, "OH PLEASE, WHEN YOU LOVE WHAT YOU DO YOU NEVER WORK A DAY IN YOUR LIFE!" Papyrus responds, that statement makes Mettaton feel a little bittersweet for some reason, then Mettaton's watch, which has his face in the middle with his arms acting as the arrows, chimes to alert him of his next appointment "Shoot, looks like I must be going now" Mettaton sighs, "AW, I'M SORRY, I JUST SPOKE ABOUT MYSELF THE WHOLE TIME!... WHAT DO YOU SAY TO A ROUND TWO?, WHENEVER YOU'RE FREE OF COURSE!" Papyrus asks with his charming smile, Mettaton can't help but trust him, he's definitely far from his usual obsessed admirers.
"Of course, Papyrus I could fit you in for tomorrow and we can go over the actual details~" Mettaton answers, Papyrus practically beams and leaps out of his seat to lock arms with Mettaton and start leading him towards the entrance "THIS WAS ONE OF THE BEST DAYS OF MY LIFE, METTATON, I CAN'T WAIT UNTIL NEXT TIME!" Papyrus enthused as they walked out together, causing all the paparazzi to spring back to life and start snapping tons of pictures of the two of them, Mettaton quickly pulls away from Papyrus and out of his grasp, he doesn't need a bunch of gossip about his personal life right now.

"Yes, see you tomorrow, Papyrus" Mettaton says before getting into his limo and driving off, Papyrus returns home to find Sans on the couch, petting Kat and waiting for him, "hey paps, how'd it go?" Sans asks, slightly worried, "IT WAS AMAZING!, EVEN BETTER THAN IT WAS IN MY DREAMS!" Papyrus replies.
"oh, that's... good to hear, but, paps, ya know that wasn't a date righ-" Sans starts hesitantly, before being interrupted "EXCUSE ME, I NEED TO START PLANNING ON HOW TO MAKE OUR NEXT DATE EVEN BETTER!" Papyrus exclaims before sprinting off to his bedroom, Toriel walks out of the kitchen in her apron, taking her oven mitts off as she asks "Do you think he will figure it out?", "i think he's gonna get his heart broken..." Sans sighs with concern for his brother.

**THE NEXT DAY**

Mettaton is on the set of the movie he was invited to cameo in, sitting in his dressing room, rereading the script as a little makeup is added to his already perfect features, until he hears two valley girl voices talking about him coming from one of the other workers phone, so he extents his mechanic arm to grab it and pull it over, restarting the video.
"Hello there everybody, welcome back to 'Trash Talk', your favourite podcast with your favourite trash sellers" Catty says, "So, what hot goss do we have today, Catty?" Bratty asks as she brushes her hair with an old hairbrush fished from the garbage, "Well Bratty, I'm sure you heard about the fact Mettaton went out for dinner at his own restaurant yesterday" Catty says, "Yeah, if I was him I'd eat there every night, never have to pay for food again" Bratty laughs.
"Thanks to all these paparazzi photos I was able to get my hands on, it seems like Mettaton has found himself some arm candy" Catty explains before the video slide transitions to show off a couple of pictures of Mettaton and Papyrus leaving the resort while locking arms, "Omg!, and here I thought Mettaton was married to his career!... but who's that he's with?, definitely not a celeb..." Bratty says curiously.

"At first I had no clue who this skeletal string bean was, until I did a little research, turns out he's the president of Mettaton's fanclub, name's Papyrus" Catty explains, "Never heard of him, but I guess we finally know what Mettaton's type is, huh Catty?" Bratty says with a smirk, "Totally Bratty, guys who worship the ground he walks on!" Catty responds before the two start snickering and giggling together.
Mettaton scowls before giving the phone back to the worker, standing up and taking a deep breath, all the charities he's donated to, all the entertainment shows he's created, all his bold and experimental fashion lines and this is what people would rather focus on... nevertheless, he has a job to do, "What are we waiting for?, let's make a hit movie!" Mettaton calls out to everyone else as he struts away.

**LATER**

After Mettaton is done filming his scene in the movie, he drives to meet up with Papyrus again, this time at Muffet's Buffet, he looks around for any possible paparazzi first, before quickly making his way inside, the place has a great French bakery atmosphere with the decor and the furniture, there's cute spiderweb patterns on the wallpaper and such, the bell above the door dings as Mettaton enters, causing Papyrus' head to pop up like a meerkat.

"Oh bonjour, Metta dearie~, to what do I owe the pleasure?" Muffet asks in surprise, "Oh I'm just here for a business meeting, Miss Muffet" Mettaton says as he gestures over to Papyrus, "Oui oui, I'll let you get to it" Muffet replies. Mettaton takes his seat across from Papyrus at their small table "Good to see you today, Papyrus" Mettaton says, "RIGHT BACK AT YOU, METTATON!, NOW, GO AHEAD AND ORDER SOMETHING, IT'S MY TREAT!" Papyrus says as he excitedly waves over Muffet, "Oh, that's sweet of you, I suppose I'll have some spider macaroons and some tea" Mettaton says, "OOH!, SOUNDS GREAT!, I'LL HAVE THE SAME!" Papyrus exclaims, Muffet bows before walking back behind the display.

"SO METTATON, LAST TIME I TOOK UP ALL THE TIME TALKING ABOUT ME, TELL ME MORE ABOUT YOU" Papyrus says with a smile, "I'm pretty sure you know everything already, darling, as my number one fan and all..." Mettaton responds, "BUT NOT FROM BEFORE YOU WERE FAMOUS, WHY NOT TELL ME ABOUT THAT?" Papyrus asks, Mettaton stammers for a moment.
"W-Well... I was made in a lab by Dr. Alphys, the first things I can remember is getting adjusted to my body and..." Mettaton begins, before looking at the genuine smile on Papyrus' face, something about him makes Mettaton wanna trust and be honest with him "Actually... that's not entirely true... I... existed before I was Mettaton... I lived on a snail farm in Waterfall with my cousin..." Mettaton explains with vulnerability.
"WAIT A MINUTE... ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT NAPSTABLOOK?" Papyrus asks as he tilts his head to the side, "Yes, they are the only family I still have contact with, I regret abandoning them when I first got my physical body, I just thought they would hate me for breaking my promise to them to fulfill my dream... now I can't imagine my career without them..." Mettaton admits, "OH METTA... FAMILY IS SUCH A GIFT, I ALSO HAVE A SHORT, MOODY RELATIVE I CAN'T IMAGINE LIVING WITHOUT... DON'T TELL MY BROTHER I SAID THAT" Papyrus whispers with a smirk, Mettaton laughs.
"... Can we... keep this between us?... I'd rather not have everyone know about the time when I... wasn't myself..." Mettaton says softly, "OF COURSE... YOUR SECRET IS SAFE WITH ME, METTA..." Papyrus says as he holds Mettaton's hands in his, then Muffet walks over with their order, and they quickly pull away from each other.

"Bon Appetit, dearies~" Muffet says before walking away, Mettaton and Papyrus start sharing the spider macaroons and tea, "So... we're at 'Metta' already, are we?" Mettaton asks coyly, Papyrus' cheekbones turn a little orange in embarrassment "UMM... I SUPPOSE SO... I WASN'T THINKING... IF YOU LIKE YOU CAN CALL ME PAPY, A LOT OF PEOPLE I KNOW DO... EXCEPT FOR FLOWEY, HE HAS HIS OWN... 'COLOURFUL' NICKNAMES FOR ME..." Papyrus explains as he rubs the back of his skull.
Meanwhile Muffet pulls out her phone and sneaks a picture of the two from across the store "This will surely bring more business to my petit bakery" She whispers.
Then Mettaton's watch goes off again and he sighs in disappointment "Time truly flies when you're having fun" He says, "I THINK WE'RE MAKING SOME GREAT HEADWAY HERE, METTA, ARE YOU FREE TOMORROW PERHAPS?" Papyrus asks hopefully, "Yes, of course dear, next time we'll definitely make some progress with this restaurant of yours" Mettaton says.

**THE NEXT DAY**

Mettaton is participating in a photo shoot for his themed calendars, the first picture is of Mettaton dressed as a sexy sailor, laid sensually on top of a boat, the next picture is of Mettaton dressed up like a sexy nurse, pressing a stethoscope against his own chest, the current one they're shooting is of Mettaton dressed up like a sexy police officer, sitting on the hood of a police car, wearing a pair of fuzzy handcuffs.

"Yes, yes, Mettaton!, the camera loves you!, everyone loves you!" The eccentric photographer cheers as he snaps a ton of pictures, eventually Mettaton stops posing and lifts up his cuffed hands "I'm sorry, can we stop?, I... I just don't think I'm comfortable with this one" Mettaton states.
"What do you mean?, you're doing great!, don't you want to give the people what they want!?" The photographer asks, Mettaton just exhales and slides off the hood "I need a break, someone get these damn cuffs off me..." He says in exasperation, so one of the assistants comes over and unlocks them.
"... What a diva..." The photographer criticises under his breath as he walks off, Mettaton then pulls out his phone and turns it off silent, getting a notification from Muffet's account, he pulls it up and sees a picture of him and Papyrus sitting together having tea, looking like they're on a date, then he sees that the Trash Talk podcast has posted another video.

"Welcome back to Trash Talk with Bratty and Catty, usually we let the previous hot goss cool for a but before we pile on more, but this week us Mettastans are eating and we will leave no crumbs" Catty explains, "So what's the new news for today, Catty?" Bratty asks as she stares at herself in a compact mirror while doing her lipstick and eyeshadow.
"Not that long ago, the official Muffet's Buffet account posted a photo of Mettaton on yet another date with his boy toy Papyrus" Catty explains, "Two dates back to back?, just how serious are these two?" Bratty asks, "I know, right?" Catty responds giddily.

Mettaton just turns off his phone and huffs, before an assistant walks over to him with the next outfit for the photo shoot, a sexy maid outfit, Mettaton rolls his eyes before taking it.

**LATER**

Mettaton arrives at his and Papyrus' new meet up place, at first Mettaton has to recheck his messages to make sure that he's got the right place, then he puts on his disguise, a big pink and black sunhat and comically large shades that make him even more noticeable, before walking into Grillby's Too.
The atmosphere immediately makes him feel uncomfortable, it's the complete opposite of the fancy establishments he's grown accustomed to, he spots Papyrus waiting for him in one of the booths and sits down across from him, "Hello there, Papy, I must say I didn't expect you to pick a place like this" Mettaton says, "I KNOW, TO BE HONEST THIS IS MORE OF MY BROTHER'S SCENE, BUT I FELT LIKE IT WISE FOR US TO MEET IN A LOCATION NOBODY WOULD EXPECT YOU TO BE AT, YOU KNOW?" Papyrus explains.

"Oh, well, that's thoughtful of you, Papyrus" Mettaton says as he adjusts his shades, "YOU'RE WELCOME, NOW LET US ORDER SOMETHING BEFORE WE BEGIN!" Papyrus says before looking at the menu, the back up at Mettaton "ON SECOND THOUGHT THIS MENU IS ABYSMAL, LET'S HOPE THE DRINKS AT LEAST DON'T HAVE GREASE IN THEM" Papyrus states, Grillby walks over with his notepad, ready to take their orders.
"WE'LL JUST TAKE TWO... 'BOOZES'?..." Papyrus asks questioningly, knowing nothing about alcohol, Mettaton just smiles at him before saying "We'll have two glasses of champagne", Grillby nods before going back to the bar, "Is that Mettaton over there?" Big Mouth asks in confusion, "Naaaaaaahhhhh... what would a hot guy like Mettaton be doing in a place like this?..." Drunk Bunny responds before slumping face down on the bar, "I guess..." Big Mouth says before stuffing his maw with food.

Grillby brings over the glasses of champagne, which Mettaton and Papyrus clink together before taking a sip, Papyrus almost immediately gags from the taste and burning sensation, "THAT IS.... GOOD.... VERY TASTY...." Papyrus groans.
"You don't have to drink it if you don't like it, dear" Mettaton tells him, "NO, NO, CHAMPAGNE IS A CELEBRATORY DRINK, CORRECT?, WELL ANY MOMENT WITH YOU IS DEFINITELY WORTHY OF CELEBRATION!" Papyrus states, before taking another sip, coughing as his face scrunches up, Mettaton's cheeks heat up slightly at Papyrus' praise, his internal fans working overtime to cool down his system.

**LATER**

"I GOTSA TELL YA, METTA, I'M SOOOOOOO EXCITED TO MAKE PASGHETTI WITH YOU!" Papyrus slurs his words cheerfully, "Yes, we should really go over the details of how I can help you with this restaurant, so how about-" Mettaton begins before Papyrus interrupts "YOU ARE SUCH A 'SPIRATION TO ME, METTATON, EVER SINCE I FIRST SAW YOU I THOUGHT 'I HAVE TO BE AS COOL AS THIS GUY IS!' AND NOW LOOK AT ME!, I'M ON A DATE WITH THE ONE AND ONLY METTATON!" Papyrus explains.
"Gah- Wha- Um, A date?, what are you talking about?" Mettaton stammers, "PEOPLE ARE WRONG ABOUT YOU, Y'KNOW?, I CAN TELL YOU CARE A LOT, ABOUT A LOT, YOU'RE A GREAT GUY!... SOMETIMES... PEOPLE JUST WANNA SEE PEOPLE FOR WHAT THEY WANT THEM TO BE... THAT'S WHY IT'S SPECIAL WHEN YOU FIND THE PEOPLE WHO SEE YOU FOR WHO YOU ARE..." Papyrus says sloppily.

Mettaton is taken aback for a moment "... Okay, I think we should pick this up another time, you're clearly not thinking clearly... even though you barely had anything to drink..." Mettaton says as he puts down the money for the drinks, before standing up and helping Papyrus stand and walk out of Grillby's Too.
Mettaton sits Papyrus down in the back of his limousine with him before it drives off to Papyrus' house, "SEE?... PEOPLE LIKE TO SAY YOU CAN ONLY THINK OF YOURSELF, TO WHICH I'D SAY YOU'VE EARNED BEING SELF-ABSORBED, YOU'RE AMAZING!, BUT RIGHT NOW YOU THOUGHT ABOUT ME!... I'M THE LUCKIEST MONSTER IN THE WORLD..." Papyrus explains as he slumps against Mettaton's shoulder.
Mettaton just smiles softly, the limousine comes to a stop and Mettaton watches as Papyrus stumbles through his front door, making sure he actually gets inside before the limo drives off again, then Mettaton gets another notification on his phone, it's from the podcast Trash Talk, "Hello everyone and welcome back to Trash Talk with your girls, Bratty and Catty, we have soke breaking news for you all tonight" Catty starts.
"This better be good, Catty, you know I need my beauty sleep" Bratty says as she's still wearing her sleep eye mask of Mettaton's eyes, "Trust me, Bratty, this is worth losing sleep for, I just got a text from that one customer of ours who keeps buying the human garbage we found just to eat it, Big Mouth" Catty explains, "Ew, that guy is a piece of work, what could he have said that was so important?" Bratty asks, "He has reason to believe that he witnessed Mettaton at Grillby's Too on another date with that skeleton again!" Catty says.
Bratty gasps and pulls of her eye mask "No way!" Bratty says, "Way" Catty replies, "But that place is so... Blegh... why would Mettaton go there?" Bratty asks quizzically, "Our source says it seems to so he could get this Papyrus fellow tipsy, he saw Mettaton dragging his date out of the bar and into his limo~" Catty explains suggestively, "Omg!, those two really are moving fast, at this rate, we can probably expect their next date to end in a chapel!" Bratty states, before her and Catty burst out laughing.

"Are you kidding me!?" Mettaton shouts in the back of his limo, before rolling down the window and tossing out his phone and sulking, he's got plenty of them anyway.

**THE NEXT DAY**

Mettaton is inside a newly built Mettaburger as a long line of people, human and monster, wait outside, Mettaton is at the front counter talking to a certain employee, "It looks like everything is in order for the grand opening, are you and all the other employees prepared, this place is going to be swarming for hours so we cannot handle any weak links right now" Mettaton explains.
"You said this was an emergency on the phone..." Burgerpants states tiredly, "Yes, a fast food emergency, this needs to go perfectly, I need the people thinking about something other than that silly Trash Talk podcast!" Mettaton explains, "Do I really have to be here for this?" Burgerpants asks, "Of course!, Burgerpants!-" Mettaton begins, "That's not my real name" Burgerpants interjects, which Mettaton ignores "I need my oldest and most hard working employee here on the first day!".
"But Boss, I was supposed to go on a date today" Burgerpants says, which makes Mettaton laugh "Oh my!, Good one Burgerpants, have you always been so hilarious?" He asks, Burgerpants sighs in defeat, Mettaton makes his way outside with a comically large pair of scissors, "Hello one and all, young and old, thank you for waiting patiently and welcome to the grand opening of this new and improved Mettaburger!" Mettaton cheers before cutting the ribbon and opening the doors, the crowd pours in.

Mettaton stands front and center in the fast food place, watching the customers go about their days and order stuff, then Mettaton sees Papyrus emerge from the crowd and walk up to him.
"HELLO METTATON... I'M SORRY FOR HOW THINGS GOT DERAILED LAST TIME" Papyrus apologises, "No, it's quite alright, Papyrus, I should've learned what your tolerance level was before ordering the drinks" Mettaton responds, "GREAT, WATER UNDER THE BRIDGE THEN, I'M GLAD YOU'RE HERE BY THE WAY, THIS IS THE PERFECT OPPORTUNITY FOR YOU TO MEET MY FAMILY!" Papyrus says excitedly, "Wait, what!?" Mettaton asks before Papyrus grabs him by the arm and drags him over to a booth.

Toriel, Sans, Flowey and You are all sitting together, figuring out what to order, when Papyrus comes bounding over with Mettaton, "FAMILY, I WISH TO PROUDLY INTRODUCE MY- UM, METTATON!" Papyrus cheers, "oh yeah, you... you're the one who got paps drunk last night..." Sans says in a low pitched voice.
"Ignore him, dear, it is a pleasure to formally meet you" Toriel says as she shakes Mettaton's hand "You aswell, Toriel" Mettaton replies, "And Frisk, long time no see, how are you doing?" He adds, 'Hungry' You sign to him, Mettaton laughs a little "Well, we can't have that, how about I give you guys a one hundred percent discount for today?" Mettaton suggests, "You do not have to do that" Toriel responds, "Please, it's no trouble" Mettaton says, "Free food?, Papyrus what are you waiting for, tie the knot with him already, we'll be set for life!" Flowey shouts teasingly.
"Wh-What?" Mettaton stammers, Papyrus flushes orange "DON'T LISTEN TO HIM, HE SAYS CRAZY STUFF ALL THE TIME!, NYEHEHEH" He says nervously, pushing Mettaton away from the table with him, "BUT SPEAKING OF FOOD, WE SHOULD PROBABLY HAVE ANOTHER MEETING, YES?" Papyrus asks, "Oh, right, I'm not exactly free today, after this I'm doing a fan meet and greet and signing, but maybe tomorrow you can come over to my place?, and we can finally get all the details ironed out and be done with it" Mettaton says.
Papyrus gasps "Y-YOU'RE PLACE!?, I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!, THIS IS SUCH ON HONOUR!, I'LL BE THERE AND I'LL BRING A PLATE OF MY FAMOUS SPAGHETTI TO SHOW YOU THE QUALITY THAT MY DREAM RESTAURANT COULD PROVIDE!" Papyrus cheers in elation before sprinting back over to the booth.

"HOLY HECK, GUYS!, GUESS WHAT!, I'VE JUST BEEN INVITED TO SPEND TIME WITH METTATON OVER AT HIS PLACE!, I'M OVER THE MOON!" Papyrus squeals, "his place?..." Sans asks as his sockets go dark, 'Ooh, I know what that means!' You sign with a smirk, "Yep, bring protection" Flowey advises Papyrus, "Flowey the Flower!" Toriel gasps, "will you both shut up!?" Sans shouts at you and Flowey in extreme discomfort.
"... WHY WOULD I NESD TO BRING A WEAPON TO METTATON'S?..." Papyrus whispers to Sans naively, Sans just slams his head down on the table.

**THE NEXT DAY**

Alphys comes over to Mettaton's penthouse after getting a text from Napstablook, she goes up the elevator and enters the top floor, "O-Okay, where is he?" Alphys asks Napstablook before they point over at the large, fancy, white couch, where Mettaton is face down in exhaustion, in his BOX form to conserve energy, his silky nightgown stretched across it, the flatscreen TV playing the newest video from the Trash Talk podcast.
"-News is spreading like wildfire after many witnesses saw Mettaton with Papyrus at the grand opening of Mettaburger, seemingly being introduced to the skeleton's family, fans have even started calling the couple 'Papyton'!" Catty explains, before Alphys turns off the TV, "M-Metta?... are you okay?..." Alphys asks as she looks down at the depressed rectangle, "No matter what I do, I can't stop these rumors from spreading..." Mettaton says muffledly into the couch cushions.

"... So... you're n-not dating P-Papyrus?" Alphys asks in slight disappointment, "Ugh, I don't even know anymore!" Mettaton says as he sits up "All those times we met were supposed to be "business meetings", but I think that's just a cover up... I'm starting to think maybe this was his plan all along, be seen in public with me, stirr up some drama, next thing you know people will be lining up to eat at the restaurant owned by "Mettaton's boyfriend"!" Mettaton rambles.
"Aw, c'mon Mettaton, I kn-know Papyrus, and you've gotten to know him p-pretty well too now, you really think he's that type of guy?" Alphys asks, "I don't know!, he seems genuine and sweet and cute- I mean, trustworthy, but people are capable of anything up here, Alphys!..." Mettaton fires back, "... Wh-What's that supposed to-" Alphys asks before Napstablook interrupts, "The front desk downstairs said they're letting up that Papyrus guy, since he has an appointment with you........", "WHAT!?, He's early!" Mettaton says as he gets up and wheels around, cleaning up the messy penthouse as fast as he can, then trying to reach the switch on his own back desperately.
"I can't let him see me like this!, can't... reach... my switch!" Mettaton grunts "Alphys!, give me a hand over here" He orders, "Y'know, he'd be f-fine with whatever form you're in" Alphys sighs, before flipping the switch, in a poof of sparkly fog Mettaton transforms into his EX form and pulls off the nightgown and tosses it away, the the elevator dings and opens, Papyrus walking in and looking around in amazement.

"WOW, I CAN'T BELIEVE I'M REALLY HERE!, IT'S JUST LIKE I ALWAYS DREAMED!" Papyrus says, "Papyrus is here......" Napstablook states, "Yes Blooky, I see that..." Mettaton says as he grinds his teeth, "W-We'll just be... in the other r-room..." Alphys says with a forced smile, as she backs away slowly, Napstablook just follows by phasing through the wall.
"You really know how to keep me on my toes..." Mettaton says, "I KNOW, I'M EARLY, BUT I WAS JUST SO EXCITED!" Papyrus responds before placing a plate of spaghetti on the coffee table, "NOW, TRY SOME OF THIS AND IT SHOW YOU THAT MY RESTAURANT IS DEFINITELY SOMETHING WORTH INVESTING IN!" Papyrus says as he twirls some of the spaghetti around a fork and lifting it up to Mettaton's face, Mettaton awkwardly opens his mouth as Papyrus feeds him, "Mmm... that is actually quite good..." Mettaton says, "THANK YOU, I WORKED ON IT ALL NIGHT!" Papyrus says before spotting some of the sauce on the side of Mettaton's mouth.
"OOP, LET ME GET THAT FOR YOU, METTA" Papyrus then pulls out a hankerchief and wipes off the mess, "Y'KNOW I CAN MAKE THIS FOR YOU WHENEVER YOU LIKE, IT'S NO BIG DEAL", Mettaton flushes a little "... Okay, Papy, what is all this really about?" Mettaton asks, "UH, WHAT DO YOU MEAN?" Papyrus asks in confusion, "Are you just trying to seduce me?, use me?, is this just all one big ploy?, to be seen in public with me, stirr up some drama, so when time comes everyone will be wanting to dine at your restaurant because they think we're somehow involved!?" Mettaton accuses, Papyrus sinks away "IS... IS THAT WHAT YOU THINK OF ME?..." Papyrus asks in a hurt tone, "Well, why else would you be making excuses to meet up so often, not even to talk about your restaurant, and get me to open up to you!?" Mettaton asks, "... I JUST WANTED TO GET TO KNOW YOU... THE REAL YOU... MAYBE I SHOULDN'T HAVE... I'M SORRY, I'LL LEAVE YOU ALONE NOW!..." Papyrus says with tears in his eyesockets, running over to the elevator and quickly going down it.

Mettaton's heart shaped battery core wrenches at the sound of pain in Papyrus' voice, realising he's jumped to the wrong conclusions, he quickly runs over to elevator and calls it back up, going down to the bottom floor and running after Papyrus, catching up to him outside.
"Papyrus, darling, wait!" Mettaton yells, Papyrus stops in his tracks, "I didn't mean to jump the gun like that, I just-" Mettaton begins, "NO NEED TO EXPLAIN, METTATON, THIS IS MY FAULT, I SHOULD'VE KNOWN BETTER THAN TO TRY AND BLUR THE LINE BETWEEN FRIEND AND FAN, YOU HAVE YOUR BOUNDARIES AND... I SHOULD RESPECT THAT..." Papyrus says, trying not to cry, "That's not it, Papyrus, I do like you- a-as a friend... it's just... ever since moving to the Surface things have been different... back in the Underground I was the one and only star... now, I'm just one star in an entire sky full of them..." Mettaton says as he gestures up towards sky "I'm afraid... that if I don't work constantly... stay relevant in this society... then I'll just fade into obscurity... I can't stop, even for a second, not up here...".
Papyrus turns around and stares at Mettaton in sympathy, "You've given me no reason to doubt you... but enough bad experiences up here have taught me that everyone has an agenda... tons of people want to use my fame for their own benefit... it's so hard to know who to trust anymore... then you came along and made me feel seen in a way I haven't felt in a while, that made me feel vulnerable and if there's one thing you can't be in this industry is vulnerable... I'm sorry for lashing out at you..." Mettaton explains as he wipes his tears away.

"METTA... I HAD NO IDEA... AND FOR THE RECORD, I'M ALSO SORRY, I MIGHT HAVE LET OUR... DATE/MEETINGS GET A LITTLE OUT OF HAND, BUT I WAS NEVER TRYING TO TRICK YOU, I JUST... I'VE ALWAYS DREAMED OF BEING FRIENDS WITH YOU ONE DAY... MAYBE EVEN SOMETHING... MORE..." Papyrus explains as he blushes deeply, Mettaton blushes in return, "I NEVER SHOULD'VE DONE SO UNDER FAULSE PRETENSES... BUT, I DO LIKE THE REAL YOU... I THINK HE'S JUST AS GREAT AS THE YOU YOU SHOW EVERYONE..." Papyrus says softly.
"Thank you, Papyrus, that means the world to me..." Mettaton responds, before stepping closer to Papyrus, "You know... I usually wouldn't date any of my fans... but I think I could make an exception for... my number one fan~" Mettaton says flirtatiously, holding Papyrus' gloved hands in his, "M-METTATON!?" Papyrus replies in surprise, blushing and sweating more.
"Let's just... take it slow... I'm pretty tired of all the drama and rumors, alright?" Mettaton asks, "OH, OF COURSE, METTA, I'LL KEEP THINGS CASUAL!" Papyrus states joyfully.
"And Papy... promise me you'll see me as an equal in this relationship..." Mettaton says, "... I'VE ALWAYS SEEN YOU AS AN EQUAL..." Papyrus says sweetly, Mettaton smiles happily, "Come on, darling, let's go back and finish that spaghetti" Mettaton says as he locks arms with Papyrus and walks him back into the penthouse, meanwhile, Alphys and Napstablook were watching from above, "*Sniff* I think my sh-ship just set sail..." Alphys says as he let's out tears of joy, "I think you might be part of the problem........." Napstablook replies.

**A FEW WEEKS**

The sun shines over Ebott City and it's newest addition, a fancy looking Italian restaurant called "Papy's Pasta", with a picture of Papyrus' face winking and wearing a chefs hat on the sign, Papyrus practically skips around inside as he takes it all in.
"I SIMPLY CAN'T BELIEVE THIS IS REALLY HAPPENING!, YOUR PEOPLE WORK FAST, METTA!" Papyrus states, "Well, when you are the best, you hire the best... do you like it, Papy?" Mettaton asks, "LIKE IT!?, I LOVE IT!, I LOVE YOU-" Papyrus says excitedly before stopping as his eyesockets widen in shock, face flushing bright orange, Mettaton just chuckles as his cheeks turn pink and he twirls his hair, he's not ready to say it back yet, but he feels like Papyrus will get him to, one day, you can't help but love the guy.

Papyrus then commences the grand opening of his restaurant, his family of course being the first to enter, "This is amazing, Papyrus, you've come so far, we are so proud of you!" Toriel exclaims as she embraces Papyrus, who "Nyehehehehe"s all giddily, "yeah, paps, look at ya now, you're a regular chef bone-yardee" Sans snickers.
"SANS, YOU ARE BANNED FROM THE ESTABLISHMENT" Papyrus says with a fed up look, "worth it..." Sans states, as all the customers take their seats and the cooks prepare themselves in the kitchen, Papyrus goes up to Mettaton "THANKS AGAIN FOR EVERYTHING!, HOW COULD I EVER RETURN THE FAVOUR!?" Papyrus asks gleefully, "Well, you could be my V.I.P. at my last performance tonight, I want to do one last show before I take a break and focus on me for a while" Mettaton explains, "ABSOLUTELY... BUT I MAY HAVE TO DO A LITTLE SOMETHING FIRST..."

**LATER THAT NIGHT**

"Welcome back to Trash Talk with Bratty and Catty, tonight we have with us a very special guest, the skeleton who has been supposedly dating the superstar Mettaton for the last few weeks, he wanted to come on the podcast to "clear things up", so, Papyrus, what is it you want to say?" Catty asks, "It better be juicy~" Bratty adds.
"I JUST WANT YOU AND YOUR LISTENERS TO UNDERSTAND THAT ALL THOSE TIMES METTATON AND I WERE SEEN TOGETHER WERE MERELY BUSINESSES MEETINGS, SO WE COULD DISCUSS OUR COLLABORATION ON PAPY'S PASTA, NOTHING MORE" Papyrus explains, "Are you telling us that Papyton isn't real?" Catty asks, "I'M SAYING THAT EVEN IF IT WERE, YOU ALL NEED TO REALISE THAT GOSSIP AND RUMORS CAN BE HARMFUL, AS METTATON'S NUMBER ONE FAN I KNOW THE LAST THING I'D WANT TO DO IS HARM SUCH A BRILLIANT ROBOT THAT HAS DONE SO MUCH FOR US..." Papyrus explains with an air of wisdom.

Mettaton smiles down at his phone as he watches the podcast backstage, Papyrus enters the room and says "OH METTA, YOU DON'T HAVE TO WATCH THAT JUST BECAUSE I'M IN IT, I KNOW YOU DON'T LIKE THOSE VIDEOS...", "Actually... I think this is my favourite one" Mettaton states before standing up and kissing Papyrus, "I love you..." He says, "NYEH... HEH... HEH~" Papyrus whimpers flusteredly.
Then the show begins as Mettaton goes onstage, sitting down on a stool with a singular spotlight on him and a microphone, Napstablook starts the music as Shyren provides to backup vocals, Mettaton looks out at the sea of his adoring fans, then back at his boyfriend watching from behind the curtain, giving him a thumbs up, then he begins.

"When I was younger and I hated fun.... I was always looking back on what I should have done.... I use to live my life in fear.... of the terrible performances that brought me here, but, I'm looking forward, I'm looking forward, I'm looking forward now~.... I'm looking forward, I'm looking forward, I'm looking forward now~...."
Some of the fans in the crowd lift up their glow sticks and wave them gently as the soothing song continues.

"It's hard to live your life in stride.... when you feel the way I always used to feel inside.... now it's easy that it's strange.... I'm a person, and the the person who I am can change, so, I'm looking forward, I'm looking forward, I'm looking forward now~.... I'm looking forward, I'm looking forward, I'm looking forward now~...." Mettaton finishes basking in the moment of silence before the fans applaud, Papyrus' applause drowning out all the others in Mettaton's ears.

Notes:

Sorry for the slight angst last chapter, hope this a nice palette cleanser.

Chapter 10: Pride Parade and Prejudice

Summary:

The monsters experience their first Pride on the Surface, while M.A.M tries to rain on everyone's parade... pun intended.

Notes:

I just wanted to do a special chapter just for Pride Month, it's nothing much.

Almost everyone in Ebott City is in high spirits, both humans and monsters alike are decked out in rainbows and celebrating in the streets, meanwhile, You are changing into your new sweater that you got for the occasion, with the colours of the non binary flag, yellow, white, purple and black stripes all across, then you even slap a Pride sticker onto Flowey's pot.

"Ugh, what is even the point of this event?, back in the Underground no one cared what you were" Flowey scoffs, 'Well Flowey, it hasn't been that easy for queer people up here, Pride is a time to celebrate how far we've come, and remind us what's worth fighting for, love is love!' You sign proudly.
"Frisk... you know the only kind of LOVE I'm interested in, right?..." Flowey smirks, You just shake your head in disapproval, then Toriel walks in "Oh, my child!, you look so splendid in those colours" She says before hugging you "You are going to outshine everyone else at the parade!" She adds before kissing your forehead and cheeks repeatedly, 'Mom, stop!' You sign bashfully with a smile.

"Come downstairs, Sans and Papyrus are almost done getting ready and then we can get going!" Toriel says, You wave bye to Flowey who just turns to stare out the window, before following after her, Toriel knocks on the downstairs bathroom door "Sans, Papyrus, what is taking you so long?" She asks nicely.
"JUST A MINUTE, TORIEL, JUST ADDING THE FINISHING TOUCHES!" Papyrus calls back, Toriel waits for a moment, before knocking again "Hey Sans, knock knock!" She says, "heheh... who's there?..." Sans asks, you can hear the smile in his voice, "Water" She responds, "water who?" He asks, "Water you waiting for?, open the door!" Toriel finishes, making herself and Sans burst out into laughter, "ARGH!, YOU TWO ARE INSUFFERABLE!, AND SANS, STOP LAUGHING, YOU'LL RUIN THE MAKE-UP!" Papyrus shouts angrily.

After a few more seconds, the bathroom door finally opens and the skeleton brothers step out, their skulls painted in intricate patterns and rainbow colours, like Pride themed sugar skulls, "How marvellous!, you both look fantastic!" Toriel says, "I KNOW!, WE WOULD'VE BEEN DONE SOONER, BUT I HAD TO DO BOTH MINE AND SANS' MAKE-UP!" Papyrus huffs with a stomp of his foot, "that's coz you do it better than me, paps" Sans replies, "DON'T TRY TO BUTTER ME UP, BROTHER!" Papyrus scowls, 'What about Kat?, we can't leave her home alone' You sign, "don't worry, we're not, kat's coming with us" Sans replies before lifting up his t-shirt, revealing the little black kitten napping on the pillow Sans has stuffed under his ribcage "i think she likes it in there" Sans says.
"Since we are all ready, we should get going now, we must not miss the parade!" Toriel explains, before everyone leaves the house, getting into Toriel's minivan as she drives off.

****

Toriel parks before everyone gets out and walks towards the parade, in the heart of Ebott City, greeted by Officer Undyne and her partner Casey, "'Sup guys?, I was wondering when you were gonna show up" She says, "Greetings Undyne, why are you in uniform?, are you working here?" Toriel asks, "Yeah, we just wanna make sure things don't get ruined by..." Undyne says before glaring over at the M.A.M. protesters the police are keeping outside of the event, "Once they learned monsters were gonna be here they pretty much all flocked..." Casey explains.
"WELL, LET'S NOT LET A BUNCH OF IGNORANT BIGOTS RUIN OUR FUN TIME!" Papyrus says before sprinting full speed into the parade, "Undyne, what about Alphys?" Toriel asks in concern, "She's in there, I told her to have fun for me, every now and then she comes over to tell me how things are going... keep her company for me, 'kay?" Undyne asks shyly, "Of course" Toriel responds, before taking your hand and leading you and Sans into the parade.

"Yo Frisk!" MK yells out before running over, Lorem helps stabilise them before they fall flat on their face this time, "'bout time you finally got here!" MK says cheerfully, "Yeah, Monster Kid didn't wanna do anything before you got here" Lorem adds, MK turns to them and does a quick, embarrassed 'SHHSH!' before tuning back to you, "So, how do I look?" MK says as they show off their outfit, they got an identical non binary flag sweater to yours, but the sleeves have been cut off and the arm holes stitched up, and the sleeves have instead been made into leg warmers on MK's legs.
'You look amazing!' You sign with a blush, "Now that you're here, wanna see what this thing has to offer!?" Lorem asks, You look up at Toriel for approval, "Alright, just stay where Sans can see you" She says as she strokes your hair, You, MK and Lorem run off in excitement as Sans slowly walks after.
Meanwhile Toriel looks around until she finds Alphys, who's currently eating some rainbow Nice Cream, "Alphys, how are you doing, dear?" Toriel asks, "O-Oh, Toriel!, hi, h-hello!, I'm fine... Undyne told you to check up on me, didn't she?" Alphys responds, "Um... yes..." Toriel answers, "Well, I suppose I was looking forward to going to a Pride parade with her, but I understand she has a job to do" Alphys explains, "Do not worry, Alphys, I am sure she will make it up to you afterwards" Toriel tells her comfortingly.

Mettaton is getting ready behind the main stage, dressed in his best drag show outfit, with a large, poofy, feathery skirt and sparkly make-up, complete with an over the top wig, when Papyrus sneaks up discreetly, "HEY METTA~" Papyrus says sweetly, "Papy, darling~" Mettaton smiles before giving Papyrus a hug and kiss "I love your look" He adds, "RIGHT BACK AT YOU, I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE PERFORM, BUT ARE YOU SURE IT'S NOT TOO SOON?" Papyrus asks in concern as he holds Mettaton close.
"It's fine, I'm still taking a break, but this is a very important event to me, I had to do something special" Mettaton explains, "THEN THIS IS GOING TO BE THE BEST PRIDE EVER!... OOP, I SHOULD FADE BACK INTO THE CROWD BEFORE ANYONE SEES US TOGETHER, NYEHEHEH, SO SCANDALOUS" Papyrus giggles, "I'll be looking for you out there~" Mettaton flirts, making Papyrus blush before he leaves.

You, MK and Lorem are eating snacks together while Sans leans against a wall and sips from a bottle of ketchup, "So, you guys are telling me we get to do this together annually?" MK asks curiously, "Yep, I've always wanted to go to one of these, but there was never a right time and I never had any friends to go with, I'm so glad I'm spending my first Pride parade with you guys!" Lorem explains giddily.
Then the sound of the mic being checked rings out as Mettaton, Napstablook and Shyren get set up onstage, 'I think the show is gonna start soon, let's go and dance!' You sign excitedly, "Hell yeah" MK cheers, "Let's do it!" Lorem agrees, then you turn to Sans expectantly, "oh, oh no, sorry kids, i don't dance..." Sans states as he crosses his arms, 'I've seen you dance with Toriel when you think you're alone' You sign smugly, "you shut those hands up" Sans orders you, playfully.
The Three Monsteers then huddle together and stare at Sans with baby doll eyes and beg "Pleeeeeaaaaaase?...", Sans is silent for a moment, before sighing and rolling his eyes "fine... but it's won't be pretty..." He says before following the kids into the crowd as Mettaton starts his extravagant drag show.

Meanwhile, outside of the event, Helen gets up on a step stool with her megaphone, trying to be louder than the music as she speaks to her fellow protesters.
"Listen up everyone!, we may not be able to go in there and stop those abominations, but let's not forget what we're fighting for, those things think they can just come up here from a hole in the ground and take everything that's ours, first they force their way into our land instead of staying where they belong!, then they force their way into our schools, putting our precious children in danger!, now they're forcing their way into our human holidays!, my family has already been harmed enough, my husband lost his job, my baby boy was attacked, I'll be damned if I let keep getting away with this!, who's with me!?" Helen shouts out, to which all her protesters cheer and wave their signs.

Travis walks up to his mom and tugs on her sleeve "Mom, can we go yet?" He asks, "Stop complaining, Travis, I can't get distracted, not even for a second, or the monsters will win, now, just stand there and try to look traumatised, you were viscously attacked by one of those things, remember?" Helen says, before turning back to the protest, Travis puts his hands in his pockets and looks over at the parade enviously.

Meanwhile, Asgore stands to the side and watches the crowd dance along to Mettaton's show, happy to see a mix of humans and monsters enjoying themselves together, when suddenly a familiar face walks up to him.
"Fancy seeing you here, your highness~" The suave sounding voice of Brock states, "Brock!, you're here too?" Asgore asks joyfully, "Of course, Lorem and I have always looked forward to this, now that monsters are ettending too we figured now's a better time than any" Brock explains.
"I must say when I first heard of this event I was a tad worried, things are still so fresh when it comes to human/monster relations, but I'm glad to see I was wrong, this community has been so excepting, and I love seeing all these humans and monsters getting along with each other, this really is the time for unity..." Asgore explains passionately, "Yeah, speaking as someone in the community, we know how it feels to be shunned and attacked, in a way our communities have a lot in common, only we were forced into closets, while you guys were forced Underground... but what matters is that we're all together now, and we can help each out" Brock explains.
Before Asgore can respond, another familiar face shows up, "King Asgore, is that you?" Omar asks happily as he walks over, "Oh howdy Omar!, I haven't seen you in a while, how have you been?, any luck with MONSTR?" Asgore asks, "Not really, but it helped me realise that I just need to focus on myself for a while before I get into a committed relationship, how about you?, you meet anyone special?" Omar asks, "Well... I suppose I have..." Asgore responds bashfully as he looks at Brock, "Hey, I'm Brock" Brock introduces himself, "Oh, hi, I'm Omar, so... you two are together?" Omar asks, "Well, not exactly, we still haven't gone on a- I'm not sure if I'm ready to- I still might have feelings for-.... Um, I should go find my friend Alphys, her girlfriend is working and she shouldn't be all alone here, see you around!" Asgore rambles before frantically walking off, leaving Brock and Omar perplexed.

Once Mettaton's performance has finished, Sans stumbles out of the crowd and leans against the wall, panting and sweating "why did i let you kids talk me into that?... i'm so tired... i haven't moved like that since... never!..." Sans exhales, 'You barely even danced' You sign, "don't you judge my lack of fitness... i was perfectly happy as a couch potato..." Sans retorts.
Then you spot some stands on the sidewalk selling all sorts of Pride themed stuff, 'Ooh, let's get some souvenirs to remember this day!' You sign to your friends before going over there with them, Sans sighs and follows after, stretching in a way that his spine audibly pops "ugh, these kids...." Sans groans.

"What are you gonna get, Frisk?, coz I'm kinda feeling these key chains, and I don't even own keys" MK says, and when they turn to face you boop them and leave behind a rainbow heart sticker on their nose, you smile at them with your own cheeks adorned with two stickers that say 'Love is Love', MK blushes and smiles back.
Meanwhile Lorem is at the nail polish stand, looking at all the options in the example pictures, "Woah, these are all so good, did you do all these people's nails?" Lorem asks in amazement, "Sure did, ya want me to do your's, kid?" Kimmy asks as she sorts her equipment, "I don't even know what to get, I don't have enough fingers for all of them!" Lorem states as she looks at her hands, "Well how about you just pick the one that speaks the most to your soul?..." Kimmy suggests, "My soul?..." Lorem repeats, before looking over the options again, the picture with the nails painted pink, white, purple, black and blue jumps out at her the most "Those ones!" Lorem says, before jumping up onto the seat in front of Kimmy.
"The genderfluid flag?, nice choice... and my work cut out for me..." Kimmy says before beginning the process, delicately painting stripes of those colours across each and every nail, "So, are you genderfluid then?" Kimmy asks as she works, "Huh?, nah, nah... I dunno..." Lorem replies dismissively, Kimmy raises an eyebrow "Don't wanna talk about it?" She asks, "I... I'm not sure what I am..." Lorem says shyly, "Really?, kid, if just met you and just by looking at your style I can tell the word that describes you best is 'bold'!" Kimmy says as she gestures at Lorem's outfit, with her stitched together sweater of different patterns and mixes of blues and purples, her glasses with one round frame and one square one.
"You really trying to tell me someone like you has never given your identity any thought?" Kimmy asks playfully, "Maybe...but it's just... I'm already plenty weird, and it makes things difficult enough for me and my dad... no need to pile any more on..." Lorem responds, Kimmy frowns "That's not reason not to be yourself!... we need more people like you in the world, kid, otherwise we'd all die of boredom!" Kimmy says with a chuckle, before getting more serious "But more importantly...you can't let what other people think dictate how you live your life... you gotta embrace the weirdness, be who you are without any shame!, people who have shame look back on their lives and have regrets" Kimmy explains passionately.
"I'm not sure..." Lorem replies, "Look kid, just give it some thought, 'kay?, and don't listen to what people like them out there-" Kimmy points towards the M.A.M. protesters in the distance "-Have to say, they think their ignorant shouting is all it takes to get their way, but you just being loud and proud about who you are, is all it takes to push the world in the right direction..." Kimmy explains softly, before finishing her work by placing some tiny fake crystals on top of the nails, Lorem looks down at them and smiles slightly.

**MEANWHILE**

Undyne and Casey are still keeping an eye on the protesters, but Casey notices how Undyne keeps glancing back at the parade, "... You know, I'll be fine on my own for a couple seconds if you wanna spend time with your girlfriend" He tells her, "No, it's fine... sure, I feel bad letting her down, but I don't feel comfortable taking my eyes of these people..." Undyne says as she scowls at the protesters, "... You've done your fair share, Officer, thanks to you this event is the safest it's ever been... now go do something special with her before it's too late" Casey explains.
".... Are you sure?, can you handle this alone?" Undyne asks worriedly, "A bunch of privileged suburban parents who have nothing better to do but yell about their hatred for minorities?, I'll sure try my best..." Casey replies with sass, Undyne just grins and rolls her eyes "Alright smart-ass, I'll be right back" Undyne snorts, before sprinting away to find Alphys.

Asgore is gently pushing his huge body through the crowd, before finally finding Alphys "Alphys, thank goodness I found you, I need some advice about-" Asgore says before stopping once he notices Toriel standing next to Alphys, "H... Howdy, Toriel..." Asgore says nervously, "Asgore..." Toriel replies flatly, Alphys just stands between the two, eyes darting back and forth awkwardly, before Undyne pops in "Hey Al, I got some time to spare, wanna take pictures together in the photo booth?" Undyne asks, "Y-Yes please!" Alphys answers immediately before darting off with Undyne.
"So........ you and Sans?....." Asgore blurts out for some reason, "Yes?" Toriel asks, already annoyed, "Nothing, it's just.... I heard things have been going well.... do you.... are you sure you 'love' him?" Asgore asks hesitantly, "Asgore, I am never, ever, going to get back together with you, not even if I was not with Sans, do you understand?" Toriel states sternly, ".... Are you absolutely certain?, because things are different now" Asgore asks, "That does not matter to me, no matter what you do that will not change the pain you have caused me, I am finally healing and starting over for the first time in a thousand years, without you, you need to move on and leave me alone!" Toriel tells him off in frustration, before leaving quickly.
Despite the pang of hurt he feels, Asgore also feels like he needed to hear that, then suddenly Omar and Brock come over "There you are, the way you left made us worry something was wrong" Omar says, "Thank you for your concern, but I'm fine... in fact" Asgore says before turning to face Brock "Brock, how about next Friday you and I... if your free of course... go out for a bite at Papy's Pasta?" Asgore asks, Brock smirks and responds "You don't have to ask me twice, your majesty~" with a wink, "*Sniff* Guys... that was beautiful..." Omar states as he wipes a tear from his eye "I never thought I'd be this happy that the hunky royalty I went on a date with found a better, cooler and more attractive guy than me to go out with" He adds, Asgore and Brock just stares at him, "... And I made this strange enough already so I'm just gonna go find my roommate and tell her the good news!" Omar says before jogging away.

**MEANWHILE**

"I KNOW I'VE NEVER SEEN A DRAG SHOW BEFORE BUT I CAN SAY WITHOUT A DOUBT THAT WAS THE GREATEST ONE OF ALL TIME!" Papyrus exclaims cheerfully, surrounded by a few other fans, "I know, right?, no matter how bad my dysphoria gets, seeing Mettaton in a dress lifts my spirits like nothing else!" The lion wearing the pretty blue dress says gleefully.
"Like, it was okay, I guess" Bratty says as she files her nails, "But Mettaton always does everything waaaaaaay too much anyway, so this was just pretty standard for him" Catty explains, "I dunno, I thought it was pretty darn good, I liked that there was a lot of moving around!" Doggo says as his tails wags in excitement, then Papyrus checks his watch and sees the time "AWW, I WISH I COULD STAY AND TALK ABOUT METTATON LONGER, BUT ME AND MY FAMILY NEED TO BE GETTING HOME SOON, SO LONG" Papyrus says before going off to find everyone.

You and Sans carry all the souvenirs you got to the minivan, where Toriel is already waiting, "Greetings you two, you sure got a lot of things" Toriel says, "what can i say, this kid is impossible to say no to" Sans sighs before helping you put everything in the trunk, then Papyrus comes bounding over "HELLO ALL!, I DON'T KNOW ABOUT YOU, BUT I HAD A SUPERB TIME!, I LOVE PRIDE!" He cheers while hopping up and down.
"That is great to hear, Papyrus, I wish I could say the same for myself..." Toriel sighs, "uh oh, lemme guess... asgore again?" Sans asks, immediately sensing what's bothering his girlfriend, "Indeed, I just hope he will finally get it through his head after today, but I am not going to hold my breath..." Toriel states, before everyone gets into the car, "try not to worry 'bout him, tori... want us to watch that snail documentary when we get back home?" Sans asks sweetly as he holds Toriel's shoulder, "You always know how to cheer me up, Sans" Toriel says, "'shell' yes i do" Sans puns, the van filled with a mix of laughter and groans as it drives off.

Undyne walks back up to Casey, holding all the pictures she took with Alphys in the photo booth, before she sees Casey arguing with Helen, she gets inbetween them and asks "Is there a problem here?", "I want to get through but your idiot of a partner won't let me!" Helen yells, "Lady, I've already explained to you, you and you little 'M.A.M.' group are allowed to protest as much as you want, but the moment you did that you put yourself in opposition to this event, thus we cannot in good conscience let you in, everyone here is just trying to enjoy themselves without worrying for their safety" Casey explains it a neutral tone.
"Saftey!?, this thing became unsafe the moment you let monsters in!, they're capable of anything with those dangerous magic of theirs!" Helen complains, "Miss, if you wanna spout that bs, go back over to your little echo chamber where people wanna here it" Casey fires back, Helen gasps before stomping away, "Damn Case" Undyne says with a grin.

**LATER THAT NIGHT**

Helen and Travis return to their apartment, "I can't believe those monster loving pigs, the whole world has gone mad!" Helen grumbles as Travis sulks off to his room, it's not long before there's a knock at the door, Helen opens it to see Linda "What on earth are you doing, Helen?, I thought we agreed to cool it with the protests!" Linda asks as she shuffles her way into the apartment in her high heels.
"You agreed on that, Linda, I didn't, those monsters deserve to hear that they're not wanted here!" Helen retorts, "You're being too obvious about it, Helen!, everybody likes monsters right now, openly protesting them like this isn't gonna make people listen to you!" Linda explains, "I'm trying to watch TV!, can you two take this cat fight somewhere else?" Troy shouts from the couch, Helen grabs Linda by the arm and drags her over to the kitchen.
"So what, are you a monster lover too now?" Helen asks venomously, "Of course not, but I know that we can't just get rid of them overnight!, just let me handle this" Linda retorts, "Sorry Linda, you can keep leading M.A.M. from behind the scenes, but I'm gonna keep doing what I do best and I'll do it publicly" Helen states.

"Fine!, fine!... you work harder and I'll work smarter, hopefully our combined efforts will get those things back Underground before it's too late" Linda says before heading for the door, "Yeah, Underground... one way or another..." Troy says under his breath.

Chapter 11: Skeletons In The Closet

Summary:

Sans' most recent nightmare gives him an unexpected wave of crippling depression, and Frisk blames themselves for that and more...

The birds are singing.... the flowers are blooming.... the last rays of sunlight illuminate the judgement hall through stained glass windows as the deep, eerie ring of a bell echoes throughout....

Sans solemnly stands alone, hands in pockets, sombre smile resting on his face, he hears footsteps behind him, slowly looking over his shoulder like he's stuck in tar, before the blade slashes across with a flash of red and searing pain.
Sans jolts up in bed, holding his chest and clutching his shirt tightly, gasping desperately for air, tears forming in his wide eyesockets, Toriel quickly sits up next to him and gently wraps her arms around his small frame, rubbing his back and saying "Shhh, shhh, it is alright, my love..." in a soothing manner, Sans holds onto her in return, burying his face into her soft fur and trying to steady his breathing.

****

The next morning Sans is laying in the fetal position in bed, he thought he was past this, he has so much to be happy for nowadays, but still...
Toriel then walks in with a tray of breakfast "Care for some breakfast, Sans?" Toriel asks nicely, Sans sits up and nods and Toriel places the tray down on his lap, there's a warm slice of delicious pie, along with a bottle of ketchup, Sans raises a brow bone "i thought you said you wanted me to cut down on drinking ketchup outta the bottle?, said it was unhealthy..." He asks, "Indeed... but... I thought you could use a pick me up today..." Toriel explains as she sits down next to the bed.
"c'mon tori.... don't coddle me, i'm fine...." Sans says with a weak smile, "No you are not.... you have been having nightmares more and more lately, and you will not tell me what they are about.... at least allow me to take care of you...." Toriel says, almost a beg, Sans sighs "'kay, hon... but don't go and start treating me like a little kid, i'm pushing forty..." Sans responds before digging into his pie, "Well, you look good for your age... very handsome..." Toriel says in a dreamy tone, Sans flushes blue "heh, look who's talkin'... over thousands of years old and still a looker..." Sans flirts back.

After eating some of the pie slice and nursing the ketchup bottle, Sas notices the time "dang, i should be getting to my hotdog stand before it's too late..." Sans says trying to inch himself to the edge of the bed, but he just can't make the final move to get up and dressed, staring blankly for a moment before Toriel's voice gets his attention.
"Do you need assistance, Sans?" She asks in concern, "huh?, oh, nah, nah, i can do it... in a moment..." Sans replies tiredly, trying to stand up, but his legs just feel weak compared to the massive metaphorical weight he's carrying on his shoulders, Toriel sighs "Sans, I do not believe you should be working today" She states sternly, "c'mon, if i ain't there how else will the people get their daily 'dogs?... it'll be anarchy" Sans asks playfully, "I am serious, Sans, you barely slept last night, do not force yourself and just rest, please... for me" Toriel begs, Sans stares in silence for a moment "... alright, i ain't gonna pretend i'm the type to turn down an excuse to sit around on my a- butt all day... especially if you want me to~" Sans jokes as he lays back with his arms behind his head nonchalantly.

Toriel just sighs, a bit exasperated with Sans' jokey attitude about something so serious "Just... let us know if you need anything... we are all here for you" Toriel says, "i'll be okay, tori, don't worry..." Sans replies with a smile, so Toriel kisses him on the cheekbone and leaves, Sans' smile immediately fades.

**LATER**

Toriel feeds the rest of the family, who glance at Sans' empty spot at the table, 'Where's Sans?' You sign questioningly, "Sans is... taking the day off..." Toriel replies delicately "OF COURSE HE IS, DESPITE ALL THE CHANGES HE'S STILL AS LAZY AS EVER" Papyrus states in a judgemental tone, Toriel shakes her head "Actually, Papyrus... I do not think Sans is as lazy as you believe..." She says, "EXCUSE ME?" Papyrus asks in confusion "I think most of his behaviour actually stems from... depression... possibly for quite a long time..." Toriel says hesitantly "... I... DON'T KNOW WHAT TO SAY..." Papyrus responds, starting to feel bad for all the times he criticised his brother for such things, while you sit there barely touching your pie, you can't help but blame yourself.

"It's all your fault, Frisk, you did this to him..."

****

Sans is laying in the fetal position in bed, staring at nothing, when suddenly the door gets kicked open and Papyrus sprints in "BROTHER!, TORIEL HAS INFORMED ME THAT YOU ARE DEPRESSED!, I CAN'T BELIEVE I NEVER REALISED!, I'M SO SORRY I DIDN'T KNOW!, CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME?" Papyrus cries as he drops to his knees next to the bed, "aw jeez" Sans mutters, unable to process what's happening right now, "I'M GONNA MAKE THINGS RIGHT!, I PROMISE, JUST TELL ME HOW I CAN HELP YOU!" Papyrus begs, "please calm down, bro, it's alright, you didn't do anything wrong" Sans says before his sits up and hugs Papyrus and rubs his back, ending up comforting him in this moment.
"REALLY?... SO... SO I'M NOT A BAD BROTHER?..." Papyrus whimpers, "you're the best brother i could ever ask for, don't worry..." Sans says as he wipes the tears out of Papyrus' eye sockets, Papyrus sniffles before standing back up "YOU WOULD TELL ME IF YOU WERE HAVING ISSUES, RIGHT?" Papyrus asks, ".... sure..." Sans answers, wincing at the flash of decapitated Papyrus in the back of his mind, "GREAT!, I'M GLAD THAT WAS CLEARED UP, I NEED TO GET TO WORK... CALL ME IF YOU NEED ME, I LOVE YOU, BROTHER" Papyrus says as he backs out "love ya too..." Sans says while sinking back down under the sheets.

**LATER**

You arrive at school, looking dejected as you walk down the hallway, Lorem and MK coming up to you in concern "Yo Frisk.... you good?" MK asks 'I dunno... things are weird at home...' You sign, "Good weird or bad weird?" Lorem asks, 'Bad weird... Sans couldn't get out of bed today... mom says it's because he's depressed' You explain, "Sans is depressed?, but he's always smiling and joking around" MK says, raising their eyebrow, "Well, my dad says that it's usual the people you least expect and depression is like a wound you can't see" Lorem adds, 'I just wish I could do something to help him... it's all my fault...' You sign sadly, "Aww, don't blame yourself, Frisk, it's not like it's your fault he's depressed" MK says reassuringly, before they and Lorem walk into the classroom.

"Just imagine if they knew the truth, knew who you really are, they'd be just like Sans right now" Chara whispers in your ear asyou stand outside the classroom, "Alright whippersnappers, sit down and be quiet, just because my class is about ancient history doesn't mean it'll wait for you to be ready!, Wahahahaha!" Gerson's voice snaps you out of it, so yu walk in and take your seat.

**BACK HOME**

Sans is still laying in bed, but now has his laptop with him, wanting to at least occupy his mind with something, even if it's doomscrolling on the internet, but once it starts up it becomes clear it has a virus, with the hundreds of pop-ups invading the screen, Sans groans in annoyance.
"hot milfs in my area?... i'm all set on that front, thanks..." Sans gives up trying to close all the pop-ups and takes out his phone to call Alphys, who's arrives shortly and looks over the laptop, "Won't take long for my virus cleansing program to work it's magic.... so... wh-what's gotten you so down in the dumps?, you can tell me, I've been there more times than I can c-count..." Alphys asks nervously, "c'mon, does everyone know at this point... look, i'm just tired, it's nothing more than that..." Sans says grumpily, "Are you s-sure?, cause we've known each other a long time, you know you can tell me a-anything, right?..." Alphys says supportingly.
Sans just looks at her and sees a flash of her in her queenly attire, mourning Undyne and Mettaton and every other fallen monster, "... there's nothing to tell..." Sans sighs, Alphys knows that isn't true, but she doesn't speak up, she just takes her flash drive out of the laptop and hands it back, "Sh-Sh-Should be g-good to go, see ya l-later, bye" Alphys stammers awkwardly before leaving, Sans facepalms, he wishes he could talk to someone, but he couldn't bear to burden them with what he knows.

**AT SCHOOL**

You have lunch with MK and Lorem as they chat happily, but Chara's words keep echoing in your mind, "He's in pain because of you" "How long until he snaps and tells everyone what you did?" "You can end his suffering if you just-" suddenly you jolts up from the lunch table "Excuse me" You say before running out of the cafeteria, leaving MK and Lorem very confused, you run into the janitor's closet and slam the door behind you, hyperventilating, "Having a bad day, Frisk?" Chara asks as they float before you in the dimly lit enclosed space, 'Can't you just leave me alone for once?' You sign angrily, "This is good, Frisk, you're finally starting to realise..." Chara says smugly, 'Realise what?', "That there's no such thing as happily ever after!, you can't run from what you did, doesn't matter if it was in different timelines, you can't escape yourself!" Chara grins.

'No!, those timelines were your fault, you latched onto me from the very beginning of the Underground, you... you swayed me in those directions!' You sign with tears in your eyes, "Please, I only started gaining power because of what you started, you made your choices, and now they're coming back to haunt you... but they don't have to, if you just help me bring it all down again..." Chara explains, 'Never!' You sign, "Sooner or later, you'll see things my way, Frisk, until then, I'll enjoy seeing this all crash and burn~" Chara says before fading away again.

****

After school ended, Toriel comes back into the bedroom to check up on Sans, "Feeling any better, my love?" Toriel asks, "everytime i see your face" Sans flirts, "Stop it" Toriel says playfully "I am just about to tuck Frisk and Papyrus in for the night, need anything?", "oh, it's that late already?, i should go read fluffy bunny to papyrus" Sans says as he starts to sit up, "Do not be absurd, I can handle that" Toriel says as she gently pushes him back down and leaves to Papyrus' room.

Once everyone has turned in, Sans lays on his back staring up at the ceiling, he makes sure Toriel is fully asleep next to him, before he carefully climbs out of bed and goes downstairs, he quietly trudges towards the kitchen to get a midnight snack, sitting in deafening silence at the table and occasionally chugging his ketchup, when he sees something out of the corner of his eye, he turns and sees you standing there in your pajamas, looking worried, "oh, hey kiddo, what's up, have a bad dream?" He asks worriedly, 'Did you?' You sign back, Sans stalls for a moment "... To be honest... i didn't even try to go to sleep..." He admits, you walk over and sit down next to him, after a moment of silence he says "i think it's time we address the elephant in the room, kiddo" You nod in response, 'I'm sorry for everything, Sans, I know I can never really take it all back, I just wanted it to all go away when we left the Underground, but I still did those things, I was just alone and confused, I didn't understand the power I had yet, I just kept killing and killing and just got numb to it, then I tried so many alternatives, but none of them felt right... I was selfish, it took me too long to realise the impact I had... I don't expect you to forgive me...' You sign tearfully.

Sans stares for a moment, before scoffing "kid... i won't lie... you did some messed up things down there... but i don't blame you... you took the easy route first, then you had to spend a lot of time unlearning what you thought was right and wrong... i'm proud of how hard you've worked at fixing things, and yourself... what's really weighing on me is that i can't tell anyone about any of the trauma i experienced... if everyone knew what we knew... it could ruin them..." Sans explains solemnly.

After another moment of silence, you sign 'At least we have each other... I know everything you do... I caused most of it... you could always lean on me', a genuine smile slowly spreads across Sans' face "heh... thanks kiddo... right back at ya..." Sans says, before you to embrace each other tightly, both feeling much lighter after that heart to heart.
"c'mon, let's get you back to bed... we could both use the sleep" He says before leading you back upstairs, while Chara watches from the shadows, "Keep all the secrets you like... Frisk, Sans, Asriel... the fallout will just benefit me in the end~"

Notes:

I wish I could've written more, but I'm working with a headache, still, hope you enjoyed

Notes:

This is pretty much my first real fanfiction so please be nice.