All was thought to be well when the monsters finally gathered themselves and caravaned to the world above.
First and foremost, there was the issue of who should be left behind. After all, the monsters needed to test the waters first, for they couldn't risk losing everybody if things suddenly went south. So King Asgore allowed a few families to build their new homes on the aboveground of Mt. Ebott, but no farther! Those who wished to stay underground remained, and those not willing to settle for Mt. Ebott had to stay as well, until the surface was deemed "safe". Toriel, Alphys, Sans, Papyrus and Undyne were allowed to roam as they please, volunteering themselves as representatives to interact with the humans.
A small amount of monsters grew jealous, they deemed it as "favoritism" and decided to head out on their own anyway. Why should those five be only the ones allowed to interact with humans?
For the first couple of months, things seemed almost too good to be true. Toriel and Asgore had finally found some common ground, and were working together on the political matters between monsters and humans. There were even talks between them of building a co-ed school. One that would set a shining example that cohabitation between the races was not only possible, but natural.
Initially, the people above ground were hesitant. And as expected, they were shortly met with violence. Mostly petty criminals, the prejudiced, religious zealots, etc. Nothing that would cause political scandal. The Royal Guard hastily and non-lethally handled any skirmishes. Once the monsters were deemed not a threat, pockets of land were handed over to them as reparations. To Toriel and Asgore's disappointment, most of them were garbage dumps, infertile farmland, and empty lots soiled with pollution. The land itself, also rested close to the base of Mt. Ebott, but "it was progress" reminded the hopeful queen.
Papyrus had finally achieved his dream. Not becoming a member of the Royal Guard, but his other dream of attaining a license and driving a hot red sports car down a long highway; the wind whipping his cape and the sun's warmth atop his skull. Papyrus also expanded his blog, and he had even gained more followers on the internet- reaching the triple digits! Of course, he could not shake that one troll that refused to capitalize his letters and spammed his page with terrible puns.
Sans only wished for the welfare of his brother, and the two of them still lived in their home underground, though they surfaced frequently. He obtained himself a blue and silver motorcycle, partook in as many fast-food eateries he could find, and attended a comedy club on Saturday nights. To only Frisk's knowledge-which the child was unsure if he was aware of-he attended a reputable online college and earned his Ph.D. in Psychology and Quantum Physics.
Undyne and Alphys finally became an official couple. With Alphys's help, Mettaton was able to air his show on human cable and radio. She also assisted the king and queen in making the land they had been given hospitable. Alphys took the work with great pride- seeing it as a chance for redemption. Perhaps she could prove to the others that she could do more than cause misery.
Undyne remained Undyne. Though she had this odd habit of making grown men cry, to the group's discovery. All the group knew was that she very much liked the beach and the barbecue that came with it, and was taking up this new hobby called "surfing". When she wasn't soaking up sand and sun, she spoiled Alphys with otaku merchandise: figurines, dolls, shirts, hats, and countless recorded seasons of anime.
As for Frisk, they promised Toriel and the others they would keep in touch. They were eager to see their family again. When Frisk returned, they were welcomed back with tears and great cheer, for the child was greatly missed. Frisk resumed their ordinary life with extraordinary enthusiasm! They had so many exciting stories to tell, interesting people for them to meet, awesome things for the townsfolk to see! Those would have to wait however, for to their chagrin, school would be starting soon.
Halfway into a year on the surface, situations turned unexpectedly sour.
The civilians of the underground were growing restless. They were itching to expand their territory and explore the world they had been denied for generations, but still found themselves stuck to the mountain. The general human public was still against cohabitation with monsters, deeming that they saw it as unsafe and unnatural. While many others dared to disagree, there arose this almost civic unrest. You were either against the monsters or not. Which as one could imagine, caused some controversy... Thus slowing the progression of their expansion.
Many close-minded politicians deemed it as unjust, as the monsters had their chance on this earth before they lost the war. But did that matter so much now? The monsters had indeed arrived, and they were not savage. Could the past not be left to rest? This was the perspective of the younger population. Who, unlike their elders, seemed open and eager to the idea of monsters living alongside humans. But as Frisk would soon find out, no one heeds wisdom from the youth.
The human leaders were not impressed when the monsters brought a child to the United Nations as their ambassador. Frisk, though honest and sincere, was not taken seriously. After that, the sticky issue of how the monsters broke the seal was brought to the table: At the cost of six human souls, children no less, the monsters broke the seal and escaped.
Asgore and Undyne profusely disagreed. Were the humans not guilty of their war crimes generations ago? The rebuttal was that any such disagreements were handled with the war itself. Which the monsters lost...
There was even further outrage when an ugly rumor went around that Frisk was subject to kidnapping, child endangerment, abuse and neglect. That is, the gross exaggeration of Frisk's dangerous and taxing journey underground.
This demolished any hope of ever reaching beyond Mt. Ebott. The monsters lost nearly all of their public support. It equally destroyed Frisk's personal life, as they were not allowed to see their non-human friends, speak up on their behalf, or attempt to contact them. The government had their house on intense lock-down, and they were pulled from school to attend a psychiatric ward and regular police-questioning.
It took a toll on the little kid. Frisk nosedived into a deep depression. Their friends distanced themselves from Frisk, either from fear of the same suspicion or at their parents' demand. Everywhere they went, public eyes would leer and glare. Frisk soon became a stigma.
Frisk's own family became increasingly disconnected as well. Though they still cared for their child, they could not sympathize with them, nor did they want to hear of the "wondrous" adventures in the underground. They insisted on convincing Frisk that monsters were evil, and that they was being manipulated this whole time because they were using innocence as a front. (This what they were quickly brainwashed to believe.)
The constant putting down from their family, interrogating, interviews and sessions with therapists caused Frisk much grief. The child had long been known as an introvert and mute, but when she returned from the underground- she returned full of expression and life. Most parents would be relieved, but Frisk's mother and father were blatantly disturbed. The difference between their sweet, quiet child before they went missing and after they returned was night and day! Surely something traumatic must have happened.
In the end, they chose to live life as usual, hoping the matter would solve itself with time.
Alas, it did not. What the family thought was a slow and steady return to normalcy was in fact, Frisk's crumbling back to the default of silent and stoic. Frisk proceeded to make many attempts to run away from home in the following months. But was always caught, then pulled in for more questioning. It began to tear at their soul. The depression overcoming determination.
Until Frisk heard a familiar voice.
"wakey wakey."
Frisk gasped and shot up from the bed. They squinted to make out a short, stocky, hooded silhouette. Two beady, glowing, white orbs floated in the darkness.
Sans put a boney finger to his mouth. "sssh. keep quiet." Suddenly he shrugged. "then again, that shouldn't be hard for you. heard you don't do much talking nowadays."
Frisk rubbed their eyes. Not wanting to get their hopes up for what might be another dream.
Still, he was there.
"you're lookin pretty dumbstruck there, kid. what? am i the skeleton of your dreams?"
It really was him! No one else would make such an awful joke at this hour.
Sans shifted his orbs left and right. "let's cut to the chase. do you wanna go back?"
Without hesitation, Frisk pulled themselves out of bed and smiled.
Sans sighed and knelt down. "kid, this isn't a visit. i'm asking you if you want to go back home, with us?"
The child nodded their head vigorously.
Sans eye sockets went grave. "so you do understand that once you make that choice, you can never live in this world again."
Again Frisk nodded.
"k. follow me. i know a shortcut."
Without giving Frisk a chance to change clothes or pack a bag, he walked off into the darkness. Frisk obediently followed him, their footsteps with a slight skip to them from the fluttering joy in their heart. They could see nothing, only the dark shadow of Sans ahead of them, not even their footsteps were audible. Frisk had done this before, and knew his "shortcuts" were really just acts of teleportation. They were passing through a tunnel, a tunnel that existed on the edge of reality, where Sans traversed the world as he pleased.
A dim, bluish light could be made out in the distance.
"listen kiddo, we're gonna be back in the underground soon, and you should know, things haven't been the same. have you heard the news at all?"
Frisk shook their head. They were not even allowed the curtesy of playing in their yard, so of course no one would fill them in on the details of the world beyond their small house.
Sans's shoulders slumped and he slowed his pace, "..."
By the looks of it, they found themselves outside, not far from Snowdin, based on the environment. Sans continued to walk, and Frisk struggled to keep up. After a few minutes of walking in silence, he noticed the lack of swishing hair in his peripheral vision. He turned around to find Frisk trudging knee-high through the snow. They were shivering and hugging themselves tightly, he noticed the lower half of their footie-pajamas were soaked.
"oh. right." He thought to himself, slapping his forehead. He stopped, let the child catch up and removed his blue hoodie to drape it over them. Frisk took it gratefully, managing what somewhat resembles a grin despite the frost gathering on their face. Sans took the hood and flipped it over their head, then zipped up the jacket so it would fit snugly.
"take it slow kid, i wouldn't want people to think i'm in a hurry." Although Frisk was very tired, and cold, and wet, and hungry- they did not not want to take their time; they wanted to get indoors as soon as possible. By the time Frisk was about spent, they approached the intimidating stone doors. Sans took a step forward and rapped his knuckles against the stone.
"knock. knock." He said aloud.
A soft, gentle voice answered. Frisk heartbeat picked up a few paces. "Who's there?"
"a great, big, bonehead."
"A great, big, bonehead who?"
Sans took a moment, as if he was trying to think of something clever, but in the end he chose to answer simply. "that's me. open up."
He took a step back, and the heavy doors groaned open just wide enough for them to slide in.
"Sans. What are you doing here at this time of night?" Toriel questioned sleepily.
"and what are you doing by these doors at this time of night?" He rebuttled.
Toriel blushed, but then took on a more mothering tone. "Where is your sweater?" She asked immediately noticing the skeleton was in his usual white tee and black shorts, but without his signature hood.
"lent it to a friend." He pulled Frisk forward by the sleeve rather roughly, they stumbled in front of Toriel.
Toriel lost her breath, and her eyes immediately began to water. "Frisk!" She fell to her knees, arms open, Frisk rushed into them, and the two shared a heartfelt embrace.
Sans looked away, trying to hide his slightly-bigger-than-usual-smile.
Frisk buried their face in Toriel's tummy, sniffling and clutching her dress tightly. Toriel picked Frisk up and stroked their hair lovingly, Frisk's head now resting on her shoulder. Then her demeanor changed once more.
"Do you realize what you've done?"
Sans shrugged. "no one else had the backbone to do it."
Toriel momentarily turned her head to the soft snickering muffled into her shoulder. "This is a serious offense. We can never go back from this." She squinted.
"there. you said 'we'. besides, this was their choice too, so technically it's not 'kidnapping'."
A small smile crept upon Toriel's face. "Still, they will accuse us of it."
Once again, he shrugs. "then it doesn't make a difference."
A loud sniffle pulls them from their conversation.
"kid's gonna be chilled down to the bone if we don't get em' some warm food and a hot bath." Sans advises.
Toriel rolls her eyes. "You were right. You are a bonehead."
Back in her cozy home, Frisk is enjoying a soak while the food is being prepared. Sans skims through Toriel's book collection. "this lady's obsession with snails… better not be in the food." He thinks to himself, a little disturbed.
"Just a simple vegetable stew tonight. I wasn't planning on cooking on such short notice." She frowned.
Sans doesn't even bother to look at her. "you don't answer your phone these days."
She lets out an audible sigh. "Come help me set the table."
He shakes his head. "nah. too much work."
"Fine, no dinner for you then." She quickly retorts.
"i'm not hungry anyway." Of course, that was a lie. But stew wasn't really his thing. Maybe if she had onion rings...
"Sans, you know you could really benefit from being more productive." Toriel advises, her voice stiffening.
Finally he turns his head. "you sound just like my brother."
Toriel giggles. "Nyeh heh heh…"
"please don't, i'll set the table." Sans pleads, already regretting mentioning his brother.
"The Great Toriel recommends you eat all of your greens tonight."
"tori, stop."
"Nyeh heh heh…"
Sans snatches the dishes from Toriel, and begins setting up the plates and cups. With a triumphant smile, Toriel heads into the kitchen to tend to the stew.
Frisk emerges from the bath, and atop the towel rack are some child-sized, neatly folded clothes. Frisk pulls over their head a polka dot pajama shirt, fumbles with the buttons, then wiggles into the pants. They open the door to release a cloud of steam, and waddles into the living room to take their place at the dinner table. Sans notices that Frisk eyes the soup suspiciously, then after stirring it around with the spoon, inspecting it for signs of snail, hungrily begins slurping it down. "guess that means it's safe." He decides to start eating as well.
Once the stew is devoured, Toriel addresses Frisk. "I am so happy to see you again, my child. I've heard awful things."
Frisk's face goes stone cold.
"I am sorry you were put through such treatment for our sake. But I am proud of you."
Sans excuses himself from the table to sit in Toriel's armchair. He has his back to them, facing the fireplace.
"I know you must be tired, but I want to tell you what you missed while you were locked away."
Frisk musters up enough energy to sit up straight and stay awake. Toriel then regretfully recalls the events that have passed in the following months.
