Not much happens here. Just a bit of a chat, and a bit of info on more monster-human developments coming along the way. Realize that I'm not all-knowing on this stuff, so do forgive me for being incredibly lame at certain points.

Chara:...Disappointment.

...

...He's so mean to me-

Chapter Start!

It's pretty safe to say that Toriel's first day as Principal was a significant success.

It would appear that a select few humans have been recording Toriel's slight rant towards Linda on their phones, and has been posted online for all those that were curious to see. Hearing her fully admit that down in the Underground, she's not going to sway that she's had a role to play when it came to the death of six children. Trying to play herself off as superior since she was the one who abandoned such a plan, when inn fact she was the one who released them into such an environment, was absolutely selfish and hypocritical of her. It was very clear that the experiences from years before has truly stuck true to her, and she didn't forget the lessons she's learned with the help of the others. She's been acting foolish when she thought she was being wise, and she fully admits herself to this now. It was not a healthy mindset to constantly picture herself in the right just because she had less blood on her paws. Needless to say, she has a lot to thank Undyne for as she remembers how the fish woman forced that arrogance out of her. In fact, that was what she was currently doing, once she and Alphys have visited them.

"I remembered the words you''ve...*ahem*, spoke to me that day, Unydne. I remembered how you've forced me to recognize my own flaws, and my arrogance. Those realizations and lessons I''ve learned was because of your assistance."Toriel said as she briefly sipped some tea in her paws. "Your words were harsh and biting...though it seemed to have helped truly helped me in the long-run, as I haven't forgotten those harsh words of yours. They remind me that I can't afford to delude myself in a mask of arrogance."

"Tch. And to think,at that very same time, you basically beat me into the ground." Undyne said while spping a cup of tea of her own. Alphys was sitting on her lap, twiddling her thumbs and looking towards the ceiling. "Fuhuhu...guess we both had ourselves some humble pie that day. Mine was a bit more physically painful, while yours was much more mentally and emotionally straining. I guess that makes it pretty even, does it? Because I took a lot of pride in being one of the toughest gals around. Then you seriously took me down a couple pegs. And in response, I verbally knocked you off your moral high horse."

Toriel smiled. "Serving each other up some bitter humble pie so we do not drown in our arrogance. I have to say, I'm very glad that it was you who did so for me. And I'm happy I was able to do the same for you. Overheating your armor and all of that terrible quarrels we've managed to place ourselves in."

"Hey. Sometimes we gotta verbally slap one another in the face. And sometimes even physically. Though you much rather prefer using verbal beatdowns in contrast to physical beatdowns, like me." Undyne shrugged. "Had to teach Asriel and Frisk that they gotta be willing to use both of those things should just using verbal solutions fail."

Toriel's smile falls, and she lowered her head with a sigh. "Yes...I would like to thank you for taking that role. I have taught them to heal, while you have taught them to fight when it is truly needed. As we are slowly learning, the Surface is not as safe as we have thought it was. There is plenty of darkness on the Surface that I wish they can defend themselves from, should I be unable to be there to do so myself." She heated up her tea with fire magic, and continuing to gently sip from her cup. "It doesn't help that humans still have quite a fear of magic."

"Yeah. The humans are afraid we might turn our magic against them. Though you managed to prove that you're a Monster Principal who can be trusted with their children, and you're obviously going to continue to do so. So...since the humans might be scared that we turn our magic against them...I decided to take THAT particular issue into my own hands. So with a bit of a talk between the Mayor and your husband, I asked them to lemme set up a little somethin' to give the human citizens at least a bit of peace of mind."

Toriel slowly opened her eyes in curiosity as she lowered her teacup. "Oh? What would that be? And what does it entail?" Undyne lightly petted Alphys's head with one hand, and digs into her pocket with another. She flips it a couple feet in the air, and she catches it when it reaches right into her face, and she holds it out to Toriel with a shining smirk. Toriel gasped in surprise, holding her paws to her muzzle. "My...you've joined the police?"

Undyne was holding out a police badge to Toriel, and she looked like she was highly proud of it. Though instead of the usual police symbol that would usually be seen, it was instead designed to look exactly like the Delta Rune symbol. It was a Delta Rune badge of sorts. Undyne flips the badge into the air again and catches it. "The humans are so nervous about monsters using their magic against them, then they should be more than welcome to accept somebody who's willing to rein those troublemakers in, right?"

"What do you mean...?"

Alphys adjusted her glasses. "We did have to be more realistic about this. It was like we discussed back when we first exited the Underground and we had to go back because we feared what might happen should certain monsters try to turn their magic against humans. Sure, a lot of us have surely cooled down, though we still cannot be too careful about that sort of issue." She lowered her head as her glasses flashed white. "It's why we should really be cautious about this. And it's also why Undyne is choosing to do this, gaining the permission to form her own police unit, so she could keep some monsters from acting out and attacking humans. Undyne has made it clear that she shall not allow such a thing to happen."

"FUHUHU! That's right! If the humans can have a couple monsters in their police force to keep the others in check, then they'll be a bit more at ease. Course I'm not entirely okay with having to watch over monsters and keep them from acting out, but if that's what I gotta do, then so be it." Undyne narrowed her eye as she stuffed the badge back in her pocket. "I meant what I said back then. If someone tries to purposely disrupt and destroy the peace, be it human or monster, I'm not gonna go easy on either of them!"

Toriel lowered her paws and placed them on her lap. "My goodness, Undyne...you feel awfully strong about this."

"I do my best to not do anything I commit myself to halfway, Toriel."

"That's right. Once Undyne commits herself to something, she's bound to do her absolute best at it, and get the greatest results." Alphys smiled, pressing her fingers together. "It can be just a bit overwhelming at times, I can't deny that. But even so, it's one of the many things that make her very admirable to me..."

"Awwwww~ Alphys! Ya little flattering scientist you!" Undyne squealed a bit, cuddling Alphys closer to her and and repeatedly kissed her cheek and face.

"H-Hey! Undyne! That tickles a lot! T-Ticklish!" Alphys giggled, her legs wiggling around, her tail cheerfully wagging under Undyne's arm.

Toriel smiles softly at their interaction, finding it rather sweet and adorable to behold. Though she found herself curious about one thing. "Where is Geno Alphys? We don't really see her often. Is she alright?"

Alphys blinked as she readjusted her glasses again. "Geno Alphys has kept herself busy for a very long time. She still talks to us of course, and we still watch plenty of anime and eat a lot of instant noodles. She just keeps herself busy in our basement since she doesn't have much else to do alongside us. She's not exactly bored. In fact, she's very invested in her work, advancing a couple trinkets from here and there."

Undyne frowned a bit. "I'd really like her to get a bit of outside time, though I can't exactly force her to do so. So I went easy on her and simply told her to get some sunlight here and there. Not exactly go outside, but at least let some light in. She's acts a lot like this Alphys in the past, always secluding herself in her lab."

"She did say that one of her main goals were to make my development go much smoother and end much better than how she ended up." Alphys tilted her head. "I'm guessing that she's still thinking of ways to better me. I dunno how she'll do it, though I trust her completely. She's never steered us wrong, at least never intentionally."

"I see. I do hope that she continues to do well." Toriel said softly. She blinked a little as she turned towards the stairway at the sound of loud footsteps. She smiled at the sight of her husband Asgore carrying both Asriel and Frisk on his back, while Chara was walking behind them all. "Hello, my precious boys~"

"Howdy, Tori/Mommy!" Asgore and Asriel responded simultaneously, waving cheerfully and happily. Chara waved very casually, while Frisk's had a more energetic feel to it. Asgore also caught sight of Unndyne and Alphys. "Oh! Undyne and Alphys! You came for a visit? I would have prepared much more tea if I had known about this."

"Master Undyne!" Asriel beamed, hopping off of Asgore's back and running towards her. Alphys nodded as she hopped off of Undyne's lap so she could catch Asriel with room to spare. She successfully caught the fluffy Dreemurr in her arms, and began petting the top of his head, being careful of his horns.

"Heya punk. I was just talkin' to your mom about a couple things."

"Really? What about?"

Chara yawned, stretching his arms up and placing them behind his neck. "Are you talking about that little police unit you formed for yourself? The one that you got agreement from Dad and the Mayor to form to keep possible monsters from picking fights with humans? Keeping an eye on them?"

"Yeah. Somebody's gotta do it. We really don't need the humans to be constantly filled with fear of us possibly turning on them. Consider it...a Royal Guard reconstructed to befit humans and monsters alike. And once again, I've been placed in charge of it. And obviously, I needed a couple trustworthy volunteers of this new force to ease their minds further. Since I've learned restraint from Asgore, I'm been much more trusted to lead the way, and to make sure that the troops keep from doing something overly drastic."

"Is that so?"

"You bet. Monster police and human police stickin' together. That sounds like a worthy enough goal to strive for, don't you think?" Undyne grinned again, continuing to pet the top of Asriel's head. "I'd say we're on a pretty good roll so far, when it comes to finding ways to cooperate with one another. First education, now law enforcement. FUHUHU!"

Toriel lifted her head a bit. "Pardon me, but I wasn't well-informed on the issue, as I just found out about it. Are there volunteers that we know of?"

Undyne grinned. "Yeah. Definitely a group I can trust. Handpicked by me, Frisk, and Asriel. Obviously the previous Royal Guard members are gonna be a part of it. And that's not all..." She closed her eye and grinned. "I have declared Papyrus to be my second-in-command."

"Wait, what?! Papyrus?!" Chara said with awe, his jaw actually dropping from the shock. "You actually allowed Papyrus to be your second-in-command? Why would you do something like that?"

"It's obvious. Papyrus isn't the same...yet at the same time, he is." Frisk declared, placing himself on Toriel's lap, who then began petting his hair. "Papyrus isn't as naive as he used to be, while he's kept all of his kindness. Our conflict with you has opened his eye sockets to how dark the world can be, how it's created people like you and Flowey. He's willing to fight with a bit less restraint than he ususally does, if that's what it takes to protect the ones he loves. Especially his brother. Seeing how Sans was suffering for his brother's sake and he was completely helpless to do anything about it...Papyrus didn't want to feel like that anymore. Helpless because he lacked the resolve to act a bit more fiercely when the time called for it. And the results...are much less that what we would want."

"Our lack of action has lead to some bit of suffering for everyone. And not acting strong enough has lead to the same result. It can sometimes be very difficult to properly gauge how much force we would need in a situation where softness wil not be getting us very far. You can see how well that was becoming for me." Asgore said with a deep sigh. "The world can be a dark and dangerous place...it's very dangerous for hearts like Asriel, Frisk, and Papyrus. Purity like theirs...are at very high risk of being taken advantage of, in a very dark manner."

"..." Chara chose not to say anything, to this, his hair overshadowing his eyes. Asgore placed him on his lap and hugged him softly to his chest. Chara sighed as he begins hugging the fluffy goat back. It's painfully clear that his past actions are still causing him intense discomfort.

"Yeah. The world can be a rather dark and dangerous place. And we can be very sure that having a mindset like ours, is not always the greatest course of action. I think Papyrus has finally come to this realization, and he needs to better himself as a person in order to face the darkness of the world, and the dangers that it's sending our way." Asriel said as he kept himself nestled against Undyne's chest, closing his eyes. "I really don't want to discard our kindness, nor dismiss it as a solution to certain problems. But...we can no longer ignore that it can't always work out the way we want to. Sometimes...it just isn't enough. We wish it were...but since we're out of the Underground, we really can't expect it to work out all the time, like we might still wish for it too."

"I think that's one of the more positive benefits that we've gotten from clashing with Chara. It's not a very positive lesson to learn, but it's one we have to keep in our minds." Toriel said softly, raising her head to meet Undyne's eye. "Isn't that right Undyne? it's precisely why Asgore chose you of all people to teach my son how to fight with much more skill and power. To be able to protect himself, and to protect others."

"Of course. Teachin' Asriel how to fight was a really good thing for him. I've said it many times, Toriel, and I'll say it agin. Asriel is obviously much more powerful than Papyrus, but he's also a much faster learner on top of that. It's obvious that he really dislikes fighting...and it's even more obvious that he dislikes seeing his loved ones get hurt, when he obviously has the power to prevent or stop it from happening...even less. I can tell it's been tough on the little guy, but he recognizes the need." Undyne sighed as she continues petting Asriel's head, still being wary of his horns. "Isn't that right, little buddy?"

"Yeah..." Asriel said quietly. He still remembered the time when he first tapped into the memories of Geno Frisk's soul...it was a very difficult experience for him to mentally endure. It wasn't exactly very easy for Frisk, either. It was very clear that out of everyone involved, asriel and Frisk's suffering surpasses everyone else's. Not even Chara can consider his own suffering in the past before his fall in the Underground to even begin to compare to theirs. He doesn't have the right to place his own suffering on par with theirs, and he's let them know this many times. He's lucky they still consider him a brother.

Frisk nodded quietly. "I guess we can say that we've lost our innocence a long time ago, but we're still hanging on to our ideals..."

"And that's what's making you guys stronger than ever. I'd like to believe that Papyrus has learned how to do this, for his brother's sake, and our own. It's a big reason why I can consider him my second-in-command. I don't have to worry about him nearly as much as I used to be. I have faith in Papyrus, I believe he can take care of himself, and Sans thinks so too."

"Does he now?" Toriel asked curiously.

"Yeah...this is the Surface. Anything can happen. Which means the times we had coddling Papyrus...those times are over." Undyne narrowed her eye. "And Papyrus knows this too. Coddling him is not something he wants. He wants to be treated as an equal, and that's exactly what I plan to do. Naming him by second-in-command will be a huge step forward in that regard. It just so happens that Asriel and Frisk are much faster learners than he is." Undyne nodded. "With him as my second in command, and with him growing up a little, then there's no way he's not gonna get stronger. Besides, he's still got his friendly face. One of the friendliest monsters-besides you Dreemurr's-on the force will be a big help when it comes to monsters and humans trusting one another. And it's only gonna continue getting better."

Asriel looks up at Undyne a little bit. "Do you really think so, Undyne?"

"I do. Though of course things aren't gonna get better if we don't work for it. So I'd better not catch you slackin' off, ya dork!" Undyne grinned, her petting turning into noogies.

"N-No! Not the noogies! Ha ha!" Asriel laughed, now lightly squirming in her arms. Frisk and Chara were cheered up about this, and began laughing heartlily. Toriel, Asgore, and Alphys gave a few chuckles of their own, glad that the slightly tense subject was discarded for now.

So they learned something new. Undyne has become a chief in law enforcement, that will not hesitate to stop monsters from attacking humans, and vice versa. She won't allow their magic to be used against humans. They needed their trust. It wasn't an entirely positive aspect to get into, but Undyne can't afford to be soft in that regard. And with Papyrus as her second-in-command, the humans will surely be able to trust them on a deeper degree with more friendly faces on their sides. It was another great, yet risky step to gaining the trust of humans. And their progress will continue to grow. But still, they can't afford to allow themselves to grow comfortable enough to be completely careless.

After all, this world has enough darkness within it to corrupt someone like Chara to such an intense degree...I can't allow something like that to happen again, can I? Asriel thought quietly, as he slowly gazes at Chara again. His eyes lowered halfway when he could still sense the pain hidden behind his eyes. With this in mind, he nodded strongly.

Their progress on the Surface was slow...but it was still progress nonetheless.

(Later That Night-Asriel's Dreamscape)

Asriel slowly opened his eyes a bit. He gasped in surprise as he was staring at a clear blue sky, and he was surrounded by buttercups. His breathing slowed a little and he relaxed, as he remembered that this was a very personal place in his mind, the place he goes to when he retreats deeply into his imagination. It was a place he used to control flowey and keep him from acting out against his wishes, back when they were all forging their own route. He slowly sits up and looks around him, feeling a soft breeze of wind pass by him, making his scarf and ears flow along with it. He was feeling a bit stressed out due to thinking too hard about the troubles that might befall the Surface. it helped to not think so much, and to just relax in his personal mindscape once in a while.

He doesn't remember bringing himself here, though. Not that he was complaining, he was just very surprised. Well, since he was here without really meaning to be, he might as well take the time to enjoy himself. By his mental will, he lifted his paw, and a slice of Butterscotch Cinnamon Pie. He then takes a cheerful bite out of it, and adopts a happy expression due to it. Of course he knew he wasn't actually eating anything, though it did make him feel incredibly nice on a mental level. It was a nice little thing he discovered. He looked to the side, as he observed somthing on the horizon. Humans and Monsters getting along in Ebott, slowly but truly becoming companions that can really rely on each other, like they used to be. That was a bit strange, though. Why would...

...Oh yeah. This mental plane also reflects on the wishes that his soul deeply desires. And this is what he deeply desires. And he could see his family there. Frisk, Chara, Toriel, Asgore, Master Undyne, Alphys, Papyrus, Sans...everyone was there. They were all happy on the Surface. Asriel smiled. This was what he deeply desired, and hoped would come true. He got up and he was about to join them...but he stopped and looked down at something jumping at his legs.

The Annoying Dog, barking multple times and wagging his tail.

"Oh, hi!" Asriel smiled, kneeling down and petting the dog behind the ears. he seemed to appreciate it, as he then collapsed on the ground and exposed his belly for rubbing. Asriel complied, rubbing the little canine's belly with much affection. The dog continues to bark and wag his tail, happily panting. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be with the other canines?"

"Bark! Arf!" The dog soon gets back up on his feet, and began scurrying off in one direction.

"Huh? H-Hey! Wait up!" Asriel said, chasing down the dog with curiosity filling his mind, exemplified by cartoonish question marks appearing all ove the place on his mental plane. The dog ran and ran, and so did Asriel. Neither of them got tired, they just ran across the sea of buttercups...until they turned to dandelions. Asriel blinked in confusion. "W-Wha...? Dandelions? Why am I thinking about dande-"

He stopped once the Annoying Dog stopped, which was right by a cliffsde. He stopped right in front of a cliff, and simply sat down with his tongue out. Asriel looked to the side, and was cofused to see somene else standing on the cliff. Someone wearing a red cape with a cowl over their head. This was all he could see at the moment. Asriel blinked as he began making his way towards the person, reaching his paw out. The figure swiftly turns around before he could make contact, and he got a brief glimpse of the dress beneath the cloak, as well as the mask covering the face.

The...Delta Rune symbol?! Asriel blinked. "Who...who are you...?" There was a strong flow of wind, powerful enough to send her cape-and her noticeable pink hair under her cowl-as well as his scarf and ears flowing to the east. It also blew up a plethora of dandelions up into the air, spreading numerous seeds around to grow elsewhere. Then he heard her speak..

"...Trapped..."

Before he could ask what that meant, the Annoying Dog barked once more, much louder than the others.

And then everything vanished.

(Nighttime)

Asriel suddenly shot upwards from his bed, looking forward while taking heavy breaths. Frisk and Chara didn't notice his abrupt awakening, so the luckily stayed peacefully asleep. That...was completely random. He hasn't had dreams like that, not to his own recollection at least. What was that dream? Why did his field of buttercups suddenly turn into a field of dandelions? What significance did the Annoying Dog have in that dream?

And...

Who was that? And why did she say 'trapped'?

Here's this thing I did. Things will be going much more differently than the last. At the very least, the beginning will be the most contrast to the other and the whatnot. Plot will come soon, not to worry. It will come.

Asriel: Am...am I seeing things...or is...wha...?

This is a new slate. Thus, he is completely clueless. Here's an idea though!

Until th next chapter.