Geno Alphys: Here's a bit from us. Nothing too big. Just two friends exchanging their thoughts while doing a bit of shopping.

Sans: and wouldn't ya know it, it's the two people with the more cynical outlooks yet still try to be positive.

Flowey: I'm included also, but whatever. They call me a nagging flower. I don't particularly appreciate that.

Geno Alphys: Only because it's true.

Flowey: I take IMMENSE offense to that!

Chapter Start!

"He's gonna be difficult again, isn't he?"

"when isn't he being difficult?"

"You realize I can hear both of you losers, right?"

Geno Alphys and Sans were both moving about through the city, with Flowey wrapped around Sans' shoulder and Geno Alphys holding a list in her paws. She has been specifically assigned by Toriel and Asgore to get every item that was on the list, and to return to their house when they were finished. Flowey was coming with her to make extra sure she would be able to obtain every item on the list, without mistakes. Sans was even more of a reassurance, because he rarely forgets to double-check his grocery lists. Papyrus does try his best to do all of the shopping, but his boisterous voice tends to catch all the other shoppers off-guard, and it tends to be a nuisance. Hence why Sans goes out to get the groceries most of the time, he can receive them with significantly less hassle than before.

However, while Flowey might help in spotting out what they might need, he's also annoyingly critical about their mistakes. Geno Alphys usually ignores him and Sans tends not to care, which irritates him and causes him to shout louder. Once it became apparent that Flowey was going to be an issue, Sans made it a point to call for backup. Backup they didn't know they needed. Making their way to the store, Flowey continued to bother them both with his rambling.

"honestly, flowey. do ya really wanna be such a pain while we're doing something so important? or are you just worried that we might screw somethin' up without you watchin' us?"

"Smiley Trashbag, you're such a lazy piece of trash that it's ridiculous! I have to make sure that you don't screw this up! It's highly important that you don't laze around and mess this up! So I HAVE to be here to make sure you follow through with EVERY SINGLE ITEM on that stupid list so those two fluffy idiots don't mess around with me afterwards! It'll be a really pain in the bud if they blame me for even the slightest error that either of you might make!"

Geno Alphys smiled as she slightly patted one of Flowey's petals. "You're worried about us messing this up? Aww...that's pretty cute of you!~"

"Shut your mouth! Remember I'm a soulless being! I can't feel any emotions of stuff like that! All of that goes to Asriel Dreemurr."

"Indeed. But at the very least, you have the memories to replicate those emotions as best as you possibly could. I noticed that you're not nearly as pessimistic as you were before. Just slightly. But it's enough to make a difference in your psyche." She scratched the back of her neck. "You're still a bit of a pain, though. That much can't really change."

"Tch, you're crazy. I'm the same crazy, psychotic flower that I've always been! I just have...different priorities, that's all." Flowey huffed in denial. "I don't have the emotions to even try to like any of you!"

"Hey. The impossible has been done before. Asriel has proven that much to everyone."

"relax. we've got this covered, there's no way we'd do anything that might mess with this opportunity. we're gonna succeed, no matter what happens." Sans said. He then shivered as an image of an angry Toriel appeared on his mental plane, her eyes and paws were filled with fire. It was a silent warning: 'Do NOT fail me, Sans.' The image made him hug himself and darken his eye sockets. "i really don't wanna be on the receiving end of the consequences when i'm trying to help my friend...because she'll kick my tailbone if i fail..."

"Yeah, let's not force Sans to experience that. I think he deserves just a bit better than that. Just a bit."

"come on, geno alph. gimme a break. it's like ya want to see tori beat me up."

"She did so plenty of times already."

"that's because i had them comin'! for something like this, it wouldn't be justified at all!"

"Maybe...but I'd still find them hilarious."

"you're quite the sadistic woman, aren't ya? does your counterpart have that trait too?"

"If she does, I'll be quite amused."

"Idiots! Can you two please just FOCUS?!" Flowey shouted at them, seeing that they were slowly getting off-topic. "You two don't have the luxury of speaking so casually, we're on a time limit!"

"fine fine. you're such a pain in the bud, bud."

Flowey quietly growled at him. "You're not funny. I know you might think you are, and you might even believe it...but you're not."

This bickering went on and on during their entire walk there. Flowey even complained about Sans not just using his teleportation to get here faster, but Sans chooses not to expend magic when it wasn't necessary. A simple walk wasn't going to hurt, especially if Flowey wasn't even doing the walking. The only issue with this was his own impatience, something that greatly annoys him and Geno Alphys quickly picked up on. He didn't need all of their teasing, all of their criticism, all of their craziness. He didn't need any of it. And it really annoys him with how casually they go about treating him like he wasn't a threat. He had half a mind to strangle them!

...but then Frisk would get upset with him. And for some reason, he tried his best to prevent that from happening. Was he...actually afraid of making Frisk upset with him? Why would he even care about Frisk being upset with him? Why should he even care?

...I don't want to see him cry.

That thought...he didn't know where it came from, but it was there...and it was the honest truth.

"Yoooo! Sans! We're over here!" They each raised their heads to see Alvina waving towards them, alongside Temmie, who was shaking excitedly and yet was still able to hold the papers in her paws slightly. It too, seemed to be a list of something. And it looked very similar to the list that Sans and Geno Alphys were carrying around with them. Alvina approached them and provided a fist-bump to Sans. "Got your text. I'm totally ready to lend a hand!"

"good to hear. we could use it. or else toriel won't be too happy."

"Pleasing the Queen, aren't we?"

"basically."

"Right." She turned towards Geno Alphys and blinked in confusion. "Huh...Alphys? Wait, you're the sister, right? The Alphys I saw doesn't have those scars over her eye."

"Yep, that's me. I'm the twin." They were still going with the story of the two of them being twins, keeping the darker aspects of her existence under wraps. It was best for every human to not know of their time-space troubles. "And I'm totally here to lend a hand. And I see you brought Temmie with you. Wonder why?"

"Tch, why wouldn't I bring her along? She's my secretary, a secretary that's awfully good at her job! Plus I really like hanging out with her. And it seems that she shares that sentiment!" Alvina stated while folding her arms. She then pouted slightly as she looked to the side. "The only thing that really throws me off about her is her ability to stretch herself out to ridiculous distances. I know you guys are basically magic beings and all, but come on! How am I supposed to prepare for that!?"

"temmies do manage to be a major handful...though ya knew that once you accepted her, didn't ya?"

"...You have a point there. I really should have known what I was bound to be dealing with...oh well! Too late now! Besides, it's working out pretty amazingly, right?" Alvina beamed. "Right, gotta go get what we need! We'll go in right away!~"

"Hey, wait a second! Are we seriously going to bring those two with us?! Really?!" Flowey protested.

"ah c'mon, flowey. don't be like that. be a good sport." Sans grinned as he lead the way, ignoring the flower's agitation. At this time, Temmie was taking a prolonged look at him, appearing incredibly fascinated by him. The flower seemed agitated this as well, knowing that they've seen each other before many times, thus doesn't understand why she seems so fixated on him. It was honestly getting on his nerves, but Sans made sure he couldn't act out on it. Thus he stayed silent and made no move to insult her in any way. Once again, he's restraining himself so someone wouldn't get too upset.

Alvina grabbed the list when Temmie stretched her paw out to give it to her, and eyed it closely. "Alright. What is it that we need, exactly...?"

"Muffet said that she would handle anything chocolate, so we can cross that off immediately." Geno Alphys said with a nod. "What we really gotta do is get as much cinnamon as we can. Toriel will really appreciate it. We also gotta get plenty of tea packs for Asgore. He says he's running low on it, and he would also really appreciate it if we got tea packages for him."

"cool, we'll handle that. fluffybuns and i are pretty tight, ya know." Sans grinned as he grabs his half of the list and lifts Flowey off his shoulder. "alrighty, bud. you're gonna stick with the mayor and her loyal temmie secretary. we got this, don't need ya looking over our shoulders or anything like that."

"How can I possibly trust that, you Smiley Trashbag?! How do I know for sure that you won't do anything to mess this up?! Because i swear if there's even a SINGLE thing off that list that isn't accounted for-!"

"Flowey, relax. We've got this under control. Trust us a little more than that, will you?" Geno Alphys shook her head while continuing to move onward without the flower. Said flower growled furiously as he was left behind for Temmie and Alvina.

Ringing...

Sans immediately answered his phone. His contact revealed that both Papyrus and Toriel were calling him, and he decided to answer the former first. "yo, paps."

"SANS! I WAS SUCCESSFUL AT SECURING ALL OF THE ITEMS THAT WERE ON MY OWN SEPARATE LIST! I HAVE MADE SURE TO GET EVERY APPROXIMATE AMOUNT! I EVEN RECEIVED PLENTY OF SPAGHETTI ON MY OWN! AND IT'S THE SPAGHETTI THAT'S SURE TO-"

"shh. even without the speaker on, you're still quite a voice to be heard, paps. but still, we can't take the risk of one of them hearing what our plan is. i know none of them might not be near us right now, but like i said, i'd rather not chance it. you wouldn't wanna disrupt all of our hard work by ruining the surprise, would ya?"

"NO! OF COURSE NOT, BROTHER! THERE'S NO WAY I WOULD RISK RUINING THIS! I ABSOLUTELY CANNOT RUIN THIS! EVERYONE IS COUNTING ON US TO GET THIS RIGHT! DO NOT WORRY, I SHALL KEEP THE SECRET SAFE AT ANY COST!"

"cool. toriel is waiting on the other line, i gotta take this. later." Click. "tori?"

"Hello Sans! May I ask where you are right now?"

"going out to get the stuff on the list you and fluffybuns gave me. it was pretty tough to decide which store will have everything that we need. humans sure have a lot of stores in a lot of places close together. they must really like business."

"Business is one competitive occupation, Sans. There isn't any easy way around it, it takes a lot of time, focus, effort, and much more. Which is why I am positive that you might not do very well in that kind of occupation." Sans visibly flinched at the honest statement, because it wasn't exactly untrue. He didn't see himself getting involved in some serious business or anything like that. Still, Toriel could have been a least a bit more tactful about it. He wouldn't say anything about it, though. "Anyway, I'm hoping you can succeed in your own endeavors. I have plenty of cinnamon prepared for the event, and I'm currently in the process of baking. Once every single item has been acquired, we'll be able to do much more. I might have to stay up a bit late, but it'll be more than worth it."

"Howdy, Sans!"

"that fluffybuns in the background?"

"Indeed! I have my paws full for the moment, but I wish to hear of your progress as well! Are you aware that I've also put tea on the list?"

"I've got it covered, Asgore." Geno Alphys said so he could hear her. "I know about it already, because Undyne was pretty insistent on getting it for you. So there's no way that I'm going to forget about it. Besides, I've written it down at least a couple times to really make sure I don't forget about it."

"Excellent! I knew we could count on you, Alphys! And you as well, Sans!"

"was there ever any doubt that you could count on me?"

"Just a bit."

"ouch.'

"Gorey's just joking around, Sans. We very much expect your success in this endeavor. And to you as well, Alphys. We're hanging up now, before we accidentally release more information."

"gotcha."

Click...

Sans pocketed his phone as he walked alongside Geno Alphys. "sheesh. they're just as insistent as our 'bud' is about this. they really want us to succeed n this objective, don't we?"

"Would you wanna fail them when it comes to an objective like this one? I know that I wouldn't want to fail them. And even without the threat of what they might do to us if we don't succeed after all, I still wanna do this. This is a thoughtful thing that we'll be doing. Besides, it'll be the very first one on the Surface, we'll have much more room for the results themselves to shine."

"yeah, i guess you're right." The two of them paused as Sans used telekinesis to place various items on their list into the cart. "so, uh...how's the dynamic between your counterpart and undyne? i mean, you three make it pretty obvious what your dynamic is. but still...how are things?"

"As stable as we can possibly get with an Undyne in the house. We're doing fine, Sans." Geno Alphys nodded. "It gets a bit weird from time to time, but I'm accustomed to that. I've made it very clear that I have no intentions to pull a crazy copy scenario on either of them. And Undyne belongs solely to my counterpart, I have no intentions of taking her. I'm quite satisfied with how everything's turned out. Alphys and Undyne are happy, which was one of my main goals of crossing over to this timeline in the first place." She narrowed her eyes slightly. "Still, I'm not convince that everything just ends there. I'm keeping my guard up and keeping an eye on everything that might happen. You know about that attack from before, I think I'm quite justified in being cautious."

"trust me, i know."

"Yeah. In cases like that, I find it my personal job to keep those two happy, no matter what. And it does have it's perks. Undyne has made a point to keep loving both of us. I'm definitely not complaining about that. It's not very different from our times in the Underground, but being on the Surface gives Undyne quite a bit of energy, more than even we expected. Not that I'm complaining. Getting up in the morning with them can be quite the experience." Geno Alphys smiled. "There's just something about seeing myself and Undyne getting up and getting ready to face the day. It's really nice." She smiled wider, her glasses shining and a bit of drool dripping from her mouth, especially from her thoughts on Undyne. "Really, really nice...hehehe~"

that look in her eyes doesn't look safe at all... Sans thought, sweating nervously.

Geno Alphys turned towards Sans as she grabs the next assigned item. "What about you, Sans? How are you faring?"

Sans looked towards Geno Alphys with some surprise. Then he stared towards the ground while keeping his telekinesis focused. "yeah. i'm gonna be honest with ya. it's not so bad up here. the humans are much more understanding than i thought they'd be, so it could definitely be much worse. even the attack from shamir and parvos can't bring me down as hard as a reset can." Sans scratched the back of his skull in mention of it. "...i still get cautious about it..."

"Sans. It's not going to happen again. It's over." Geno Alphys reassured. "Those three wouldn't do something like that to us. They're intent on defending the path we're walking on together. They'd never let it happen when they know what damage it might do to everyone."

"i know that. i know they wouldn't. but..."

Geno Alphys could understand Sans' doubt. They were both equally cautious, but for different reasons. She was watching out for any potential threats in the world, because she knew that in a world of magic, keeping the peace would never be that easy. The appearance of Shamir and Parvos proved that. She wasn't worried about the Dreemurrs, they're more than capable of taking care of themselves. Though Asriel and Asgore's closeness to Undyne will make that a bit difficult.

Sans was a different matter. His mental strength was something to behold. He could deal with anything that comes his way with a mostly cool head. Because nothing this world could throw at him would be able to break him faster than a Reset. He's had this sort of happy path ripped away from him so many times that it became numb. The only other things thag can do just as much damage would be anything bad happening to his brother, or Toriel.

She could understand his doubt, and his hesitation.

"Hey." Geno Alphys gently placed a paw on his shoulder. "Don't worry. Nothing like that will happen. We are the ones who have to make sure there's never a reason for that. It's easy for people like his to be cynic about things like this, but we have to push onwards anyway. No good in dragging down everyone else with our negative moods. After all, I want to protect the smiles of my counterpart and Undyne. Don't you want to do the same and protect the smiles of both Papyrus and Toriel?"

Sans thought over Geno Alphys' words for a bit. Then he genuinely grinned. "yeah. i can get along with that gig."

"HEEEEY! YOU IDIOTS!" Flowey shouted, stretching himself over one of the aisles and glaring down on them in irritation. "You're not slacking off, are you?! I told you that you're not allowed to do that for this objective!"

"calm down, bud. we've gotten everything we need on our own list. what about you?"

"Hmph. I've gotten everything we needed on my end. Because I'm superior to you all when it comes to grocery shopping! Now...CAN SOMEONE GET THIS PSYCHO OFF ME!?"

"wHy U ruN froM TeM?!" Temmie was seen climbing on his stem a few seconds afterwards, cheerfully swing around it. "F1owe4 sTRetch jUSt lIke teM1! U amazInG!~"

"GET OFF!"

"Temmie! Chill out and get down here! You're embarrassing us!" Alvina blushed as she tried to get Temmie to settle down. Nearby monsters didn't pay too much heed to it. While humans stared in awe, before rolling their eyes and dismissing it as 'more monster shenanigans'. Alvina was really getting exhausted with Temmie's fascination for the talking flower. It wasn't that she was against it, but this really wasn't the place for it.

After that whole fiasco was over and they bagged their items, the group exited the store, Alvina wiping sweat from her brow. "Geez. I really gotta remember to keep Temmie close. This isn't the first time she's done something like this, and I doubt it'll be the last."

"Maybe. But it's still fun to watch a Temmie in action." Geno Alphys snickered.

"Just keep her on a tight leash! I don't want her pouncing on me again. I'm not a jungle gym!" Flowey probably had enough power to transform into an entire jungle...but then Sans would have to play exterminator. That was not a fun game for Flowey. Not at all.

"I'm not gonna put her on a leash. She's not a savage. She's just gets excited easily, that's all." Alvina smiled as she bends down and pets Temmie on the head. "Still, you gotta control yourself more, Temmie. We don't wanna cause the others a ruckus."

"OKaY!"

"Good." She nodded while standing back up and swinging the bag over her shoulder. "Now then! I'll just take these back to my place and we can continue preparations on the phone!" She then clenched her fist as fire entered her eyes. "And when I'm done with my side, I can get some serious practice in so I can beat that jerk who keeps dunking me online!"

Sans began whistling and swung around to divert any possible suspicion. Alvina didn't seem to notice. Flowey did, however, and looked between the two of them with annoyance.

She can't be serious...

"yo. bud. wrap around my shoulder. Sans suddenly said as he looked towards Flowey. "i just remembered that visiting hours aren't over yet."

"Huh...?"

(Later...)

Sans and Geno Alphys were moving down the corridor, with Flowey wrapped around the former's shoulder. Undyne was in uniform leading the way, a serious expression gracing her face. After a few minutes of silence, as well as stopping in front of one of the cells, Undyne turned to the trio.

"You sure about this?"

"not really. but i think asriel will appreciate it. don't you?"

"Fair point..." With a sigh, Undyne opened the cell door and allowed herself and the others to enter, then closed the door behind her.

Ribras and Rasha lifted their heads in surprise, while Shamir simply looked over to them with a passing glance. Sans has been visiting them on a daily basis ever since their incarceration, making small talk with them and bringing them food. Undyne does the same since she's basically in charge. It's left the trio confused about their actions. They act as if they're no longer enemies.

"You visited us...again..." Rasha said in surprise.

"yup." Sans said while moving towards them, grabbing a chair and sitting in it backwards. "listen. you guys have been here for a while and have been pretty well-behaved. this has gotten me thinkin' that you're really not bad folks. so i wanna give you a first step forward when it comes to cleaning yourselves up."

"Huh...?"

Sans gave them a brief explanation of what he and the others plans were, what they intend to do, and their purposes for doing so. When he finished, Rasha and Ribras' eyes widened in surprise, while Shamir lifted his head. Ribras spoke out their current thoughts.

"You...you'd allow us to accept such a prestigious offer, to participate in such an honorable event...?!"

"dude, chill. it's a big deal, but not something to freak out over."

"But still, you better count yourselves lucky that we're letting you do this. If you do anything to mess it up, however...I will end you!" Flowey snarled.

"I share the plants sentiments." Undyne said as she roughly grabbed Shamir by the head, lifting him up to her level. "You seem to be the one most likely to cause trouble, so let me make this clear to you. This specific is day is VERY important. We aren't looking for perfection, but it's imperative that this day is NOT ruined in any way!" Undyne narrowed her eye as a vicious snarl escaped her. "So you'd better be on your best behavior, and not do or say anything to mess this up. Or so help me, I will make. You. PAY. Now...are there any misunderstandings about what I'm telling you?" A spear was now levitating in front of his face and just under her arm, glowing menacingly. "If so, please...I do implore you to speak up."

Shamir was left a quivering mess, sweating bullets and eyes wide with terror. "...Nope! No misunderstandings, everything is just fine!"

"Let's hope it stays that way." Undyne said while releasing him and setting him down.

Ringing...

"Hm?" Undyne heard her phone ring, and pulls it out to answer. "Yeah?"

"Dyne-Dyne!~"

"Hey Azzy Wazzy!~" Undyne's expression turned from strict to cheerful in a matter of seconds, grinning widely. "Ya calling to give me your latest status check, little man?"

"I've done my daily solo training for today! And I didn't pass out from jogging this time!""

"Great work! You'll be getting some cinnamon pretzels once I'm off work! They're all on me!"

"Yaaaaaay!~"

"Fuhuhuhu~"

"Okay! My daily update is over. I'll see you later! Oh, except for one more thing. Chara's being mean."

"He's exaggerating. All I muttered was that your cinnamon obsession tends to get ridiculous."

"Don't mock cinnamon! It will strike you down where you stand in a sea of sweetness!"

"That doesn't even make any sense!"

"Cinnamon doesn't need to make sense! Cinnamon doesn't need logic! Cinnamon is almighty!"

"Crazy goat! Quit throwing Cinnamon Bunnies at me!"

"BOW BEFORE THE CINNAMON GODS, NON-BELIEVER!"

"GET OFF OF ME, ASRIEL!"

Click...

Undyne chuckled, shaking her head. "Hmph. They always take a time out of their day to drive each other crazy..."

Ribras and Rasha watched the entire exchange in surprise. That sounded like the Prince...they know each other that closely? Her tone took on that of an older sister... It was like a relationship between a former Royal Guard and Royalty was foreign to them.

...Sans and Flowey will remember this detail.

Undyne pocketed her phone and turned towards Geno Alphys, Flowey, and Sans. "That'll be all, right?"

"yup. our business is done here." Sans hopped to his feet and moved out of the cell, as the others followed them out and left the trio of felines behind.

Flowey huffed. "Those fuzzballs better not do anything to mess this up. I'll make them taste true despair of they do..." His voice turned slightly demonic as his face shifted to suit the voice.

The others weren't fooled for a second. Geno Alphys smirked. "Wow Flowey. You are really serious about making the Dreemurr Trio's first birthday on the Surface a success.~"

Flowey blinked owlishly for a moment before turning away and blushing profusely. "Shut up..."

Sans: there ya have it. two monsters have a heart to heart while doing shopping. outlook can get quite negative.

Geno Alphys: But that doesn't mean we lack hope for positives. And them we have Flowey...the most complicated plant history has ever known. Because not even he knows what he's doing anymore.

Flowey: You're...all...idiots.

Sans: we're fine with that.

Geno Alphys: Totally fine with that.

Flowey: Now I KNOW you two are toying with me...this better stop by the time the next chapter is out...

Geno Alphys: There's a one percent chance of that happening.

Flowey: Curse you...!