"There won't be a mass exodus of monsters to the surface, I think. Not in my story. There's too many useful things still in the Underground, and too much to be done before they can start making a comfortable life for themselves up there. They also might be a little more leery of making contact with humans, especially if Frisk and the king are the ones arguing for caution." -Francine I. Kane, 201X-
Chapter 1: Frisky Business
It was several days after the barrier had been broken. Although everyone was eager to move to the surface, the king of the monsters urged his people to remain cautious. The humans in the area had no reason to think the barrier would ever be shattered and so might be surprised by the appearance of monsters. Even so the people were hopeful, and those who wished to leave the soonest set up a large camp not far from the exit of the Underground.
Sentries were set to patrol the area, continuing to protect the monsters. Although the last fallen human had said there were no large human settlements within half a day's horse ride of the mountain, they could not account for any hunters stalking the foothills. Or for thieves running from the law and hoped the mountain's reputation would protect them from the authorities. People were asked to be vigilant… and yet even that could not dampen their hopes for a new future under the sun.
For the time being, the Core would have to remain active. However, since so many monsters were leaving it could run at about half of its normal capacity. That would be enough for the few remaining residents to utilize, and it would keep the factories which produced food powered until the first harvest reaped under the sun by monsters in centuries. The Underground would be an even darker place than before, but everyone knew it was worth it.
Back down in the castle, the king and his council sat in their meeting chamber. They had been asked to meet with the human that had somehow freed them all, without having to sacrifice their soul.
The foppish Baron of Ampersand, T.N. Roman Corinthians, privately wondered why he should have to meet with some grubby little human child. He had enough to deal with on his plate, overseeing the move of supplies to the surface. He was more concerned about trying to get a farm and a factory or two going up there, and the sooner that money started flowing back into his family's pockets, the better.
The Earl of Sharpe, Dante Flat, balanced his chair on its back legs as his long, skeletal tail supported him. The slim half-drake wasn't too concerned with much of anything, except for the work of making sure the laws were followed even on the surface. It was really cutting into his personal life, but he'd be able to live with it.
The Duke of Asterisk was present, for once. The judge, jury and executioner of the Underground, Comic Sans Gaster, only yawned. It was much too early in the morning for him to be awake. Besides, he already had a fair idea of what the human wanted to say… because she had confessed to him, first. But if the king wanted her to be his ambassador the kid would have to tell him, too. She'd have to tell them all and have judgement passed on her, again. It really wasn't fair, and if he could have spared the kid from this he would have. He'd tried to, but she was determined to tell the truth.
Sans started dozing in his chair and his secretary kicked him in the shin. Not hard enough to hurt him at all, just to wake him up. His cousin, Lady Pristina Phantom, leveled a glare at him. Her expression alone screamed, "This is too important for you to nap through, bonehead!" His own expression promised retribution in the form of a prank. She was unfazed, and the others didn't miss the silent byplay between the two. The king and the earl were mildly amused, but Roman just rolled his eyes skyward with a groan.
"How much longer is the human going to make us wait?" he asked. "There are many important things to be done and I would much rather be about them than just sitting here."
The king, Asgore Dreemurr, tried to soothe his temperamental baron. "Now, now, My Lord. It's not even time for the meeting to begin! We are the ones who were early. The human can hardly be blamed, for that."
The chamber door opened, but it wasn't the human they'd been expecting. It was the head of the Royal Guard, Undyne, trailed by the former royal alchemist.
Dante raised a spiked brow ridge. "Alphys? What are you doing here? Didn't the queen fire you the other day?"
The little yellow lizard blushed miserably. "Y-yeah, she did… But I-I'm not here in any kind of official position. Frisk just asked me to be here, s-so... here I am?" She shrugged meekly. Undyne made a face, then picked up Alphys and took her to a chair. She plopped the alchemist in it, glaring at the others as though to daring them to say her… more-than-just-a-friend had no place here.
She knew of the mistakes Alphys made in the past. She would still back the alchemist no matter what, and beat the hell out of anyone that gave her crap about it! She would have fought the queen over firing her, but Alphys had stopped her. She had said losing her job was the lightest punishment she deserved…
Undyne stopped glaring when Sans said, "welp, if the kid asked you to be here, that's more than enough for me! good to see ya out of that stuffy old lab, alphys."
Undyne had placed her hands on Alphys' shoulders after setting her in the chair. Now, she felt one of those hands being carefully patted by a clawed hand. She looked down to find an appreciative smile on Alphys' face. She really was too damned cute…
Undyne grinned, gently squeezed that shoulder, then took a seat of her own right next to Alphys. Aloud, she said, "Anyone have any idea what the little punk wanted to talk about?" Before anyone could answer the door opened again, admitting yet another skeleton.
The duke's younger brother Papyrus, sentry and future royal guardsman, greeted everyone in his usual boisterous manner. "GOOD MORNING, EVERYONE! DID ANYONE ELSE GET TO WATCH THE SUNRISE? I DIDN'T KNOW THE 'SKY' COULD TURN SO MANY DIFFERENT COLORS!"
Sans raised a brow ridge at him. "you've seen like three sunrises by now, bro…"
Papyrus nodded enthusiastically. "INDEED I HAVE! BUT THE COLORS ARE ALWAYS DIFFERENT! HUMAN FRISK SAYS IT'S BECAUSE THE 'CLOUDS' ARE CATCHING THE SUNLIGHT, LIKE A PRISM, SO THE SKY IS NEVER QUITE THE SAME FROM DAY-TO-DAY. THEY'RE SO SMART!"
As Papyrus took a seat next to his brother Undyne asked, "Did the punk ask you to be here, too?"
He nodded. "AS A MATTER OF FACT, THEY DID! HOW DID YOU KNOW?"
"Because they asked to talk with Alphys and Asgore, at the same time. But I don't think they ever met the rest of the council, so why are you guys here?"
Asgore answered her question. "Frisk asked me to gather all the people that help me to make decisions. They did not say why, only that they had something important to share with us. But I have a feeling it may regard their decision to be the ambassador." A thoughtful silence fell upon them. Then, right on time, the door opened once again.
The first to come through was the queen. Toriel's expression was painfully neutral as she locked eyes with Asgore. She had not wanted her child to have anything to do with him… but Frisk had been the one to point out that he was no longer going to kill them. Toriel said nothing to him but smiled at the others in the room, especially her pun-loving friend Sans. She then moved to one side to reveal the human standing behind her.
The human that called herself Frisk was trying to hide how nervous she felt behind a squinty-eyed smile. It had been hard enough to confess her crimes to Sans when it had been just the two of them in that sunset-colored corridor… To tell that story again, in front of all her friends (and three complete strangers whose names and titles she only just learned yesterday), was almost more than she had bargained for. But she had to do it. She had to tell them all the truth. Once Toriel, the person she regarded as her mother, had seated herself at the foot of the table Frisk took a deep breath to try and calm the butterflies in her middle.
"Thank you all for agreeing to meet with me, this morning," she said as confidently as she could. "I've asked you to come here because I have something important to tell you, which may very well affect relations between monsters and humans. But before that, there's something else I have to say.
"Frisk isn't my real name. It's just an alias I've been using. My real name is Francine Isabella Kane and I may very well be a criminal, as far as other humans are concerned…"
By the time Frisk finished telling her story a stunned silence had fallen upon the room. The only people not surprised by it were Sans and, oddly enough, the skeletal dragon-man leaning back in his chair, somehow rocking himself a little. She let it sink in for a moment, before addressing the king.
"So you see, Your Majesty, although I would like to help you by being your ambassador to the humans, I'm not certain I should be." Frisk tried to smile, but she knew it was bitter. "It wouldn't do to have a criminal represent your people, after all."
Asgore blinked at her, amazed that such a sweet-looking child could be driven to such lengths. Toriel had only covered her mouth, her expression stricken as she listened, the injuries she had healed upon Frisk's arrival to the Underground suddenly making too much sense. She reached out to hug Frisk but the human simply held her hand and patted it, not wanting to look like a child in front of everybody.
Alphys' jaw had dropped some time ago and she only just now remembered to close it. "N-no wonder you said the truth would make me feel better… T-talk about first-hand experience! My god…"
Undyne was grinding her teeth. "Where is he?" When Frisk only looked confused, she started yelling, "WHERE'S YOUR UNCLE?! I'm gonna tear that piece of trash limb-from-limb! NOBODY is gonna hurt MY friend like that and get away with it! NGAAAAAHHHH!" She rose from her seat, magic spear forming in her hands as she roared. She twirled it over her head and almost brought it down on the table… but Asgore's trident stopped it.
"Undyne, I understand how you feel, but please do not take it out on the table!"
Undyne's face twitched, not wanting to disrespect her king, mentor and friend, but she was just so angry! She dismissed the spear and started pacing round and round the room, punching her palm with a fist and muttering words she knew she shouldn't say too loudly around Frisk (or Papyrus, for that matter).
Papyrus was the most stunned. He had no idea any creature could hurt another so badly, or that the one being hurt would want to hurt them back! He looked to his brother, hoping that this was all some big, elaborate joke to make him feel naïve, but Sans' complete lack of a smile was all it took. This was real. His friend's pain was been real…
The baron was the first of the council to speak. "Your Majesty, do you mean to tell me you've intended for us to live amongst such… animals this whole time?"
Frisk found her voice and spoke while still holding Toriel's hand. "In all fairness, sir, my uncle is… an exception, and not the rule. Most humans aren't all that different from monsters, except for what they look like and a general lack of magic abilities."
Roman looked at her coolly. "If you must address me, human, you will call me 'Lord Ampersand', or 'My Lord'."
"Of course, My Lord. Please forgive my ignorance." Frisk went as far as to bow, which pleased the baron mightily although he tried not to show it. He only had the smallest of smiles on his face as he preened at having his ego stroked so promptly. The other skeletons in the room, even Papyrus, all rolled their eyes at him.
The king cleared his throat. "Moving on… Lord Sharpe, Duke Asterisk, what say you?"
The earl stroked his mandible with a taloned hand as he stared at the ceiling. "Well… The fight in the basement could be considered self-defense, since the human's… since Frisk's life was being endangered. However, all counts of theft and arson were clearly premeditated." He looked over to Frisk and wagged a finger at her. "We call those 'no-nos' down here, girly." Frisk hid her face in her turtleneck, remembering the last time someone had said something like that…
Sans scoffed, then said, "if i ever saw a case like this in MY court, i'd throw the charges back in their faces and sign the arrest warrant for her uncle! far as i'm concerned, she never would've done what she did if he hadn't driven her to it." The tone of his voice changed and his pupils extinguished as he added, "This… individual has all the hallmarks of a 'special case'…" Everyone but Undyne shivered, just a little. The warrior shouted that she would carry out the arrest, personally.
Dante nodded, but said, "The problem is that all these crimes were committed on the surface, so they're subject to human laws. It's all out of our jurisdiction. We may not be able to help, if it comes to trying to defend her in court OR prosecuting her uncle, not unless the humans will let me study their laws. But that may take too long if they get their hands on her before I'm ready to represent her."
Asgore nodded. "So what you are saying, My Lords, is that having Frisk as our ambassador at the moment would be to her detriment?"
The earl shrugged with hands and shoulders. "Honestly, Your Majesty, having this on her résumé might always be a problem… But I'll stand in her corner, whenever she needs me to." He winked, and added. "The little firebug just makes life too interesting to lose, now!"
Sans gave him a raised brow ridge and said, "i think what dante meant to say was we'll back frisk, no matter what. but yeah, 'til we can figure this out, it might be best for the kid to just lay low, for now. she probably needs to learn how politics work, anyway." He looked at Frisk and shook his head. "i don't envy you, kiddo. that junk is boring."
"I'll back Frisk, too!" Undyne had stopped her pacing and was now standing beside the human. She clamped Frisk to her side with her right arm, making a fist with her left hand and holding it before her heart as she proclaimed, "The Royal Guard is gonna keep EVERYONE safe from the animal that did this to her! And anyone ELSE that gets the same idea! THEY'RE ALL DOG MEAT IF I EVER GET MY HANDS ON THEM!" Even though Frisk was being squeezed against Undyne's side, she managed to thank her friend with an appreciative wheeze.
Alphys shyly raised her hand. "I-I… I want to help, too! M-maybe if we take the scrying eyes I scattered through the Underground and put them on the surface, it might help the sentries with their patrols…?"
Undyne smiled at her. "That's a great idea! I know just where to put them."
Roman cleared his throat impatiently. "IF that is all, I'm sure we all have important business to attend to. I know I certainly do. If I may be excused?" He raised a brow ridge at the king and received a nod. He bid everyone good day (even to the human because there was no excuse for a noble like him to forget his manners) and left the council chamber. Almost everyone relaxed at his absence. Frisk couldn't, due to being squeezed by Undyne.
The warrior groaned. "I swear that guy gets snootier every time I see him!" She finally remembered that she was still holding Frisk and let the human down.
Sans crossed his arms atop the table and rested his chin on them as he said, "roman's not so bad, once you get used to him. it'll take a few decades, but he'll grow on ya."
"Like a fungus, maybe," Pristina muttered.
Sans waved a finger at her. "now, now, tina, there's no need to shiitake like that. roman just has high morel standards. he can be a fungi, when he wants to be! he just needs to be convinced to break the mold. i would lichen him to a-!"
Papyrus clamped a hand over his brother's mouth. It had been the only way to stop the pun barrage. Everyone in the room except Frisk and Toriel had started groaning at the first one, and the two exceptions were trying very hard to maintain neutral expressions (the human managing better than the queen). But Sans saw his brother's smile, strained though it was, and pointed to Papyrus' cheekbones as though to draw attention to that fact.
"YES, BROTHER, I KNOW I'M SMILING. I STILL HATE IT." Sans smiled with his eyes and pinched his brother's cheekbone affectionately. Papyrus shook himself away from Sans, uncovering the comedian's mouth as he said, "WOULD YOU PLEASE STOP!" Sans chuckled, but said no more.
Frisk mastered herself and stopped laughing. To Dante, she said, "Lord Sharpe, you may want to start with studying New Ebott Town's local laws. My uncle's ranch is supposed to fall within their jurisdiction but ranchers like him tend to… chop and prune at them. Their distance and isolation from the general population makes them think they're above any law not their own."
The earl nodded. "Noted. But it'll probably be a while before we start seeking out humans to talk to. There's no rush, at the moment." He righted his chair and stood, using his tail to push it back under the table as he said, "Don't worry about it. Right now there's something more important to do. It occurs to me that we haven't been formally introduced." He walked closer to Frisk, stopping at a respectful distance before giving her an elegant, courtly bow as he said "Dante Flat, Earl of Sharpe, at your service, Princess."
Frisk blushed a little and pointed at herself. "Me? A princess?"
He winked. "Well, of course! You've been adopted by the queen, haven't you? That makes you a princess." He took the hand Frisk was holding up in gentle talons and said, "A rather lovely one, at that," before kissing her knuckles in a gentlemanly fashion.
Frisk ignored the somewhat flirty introduction in favor of asking a question. "How are you kissing my hand? I thought skeletons didn't have lips." For that matter, his teeth were still very much visible. But then what was being pressed to her knuckles, if not teeth?
Earl Sharpe only smiled. "A skeleton can do anything with enough magic." When Toriel cleared her throat and levelled a mild glare at him he quickly added, "You'll, ah, learn more about that when you're older." He excused himself and left the room as Toriel tried to glare a hole in his retreating back.
Sans stood up for his friend. "dante's not a bad guy, tori. kids are strictly on his 'nope' list. he just can't help being such a flirt with everybody. he doesn't mean anything by it." He declined to add that the earl might take a real interest in Frisk once she was of legal age. He figured his friend might like to stay whole and uncharred.
Toriel huffed. "I should certainly hope not! My child is too young for such things."
Frisk tapped her on the shoulder and said, "Mother, I'm thirteen years old."
The queen was a little shocked, since she had thought Frisk was younger than that, but she remained undeterred. "Well… That is still too young. And even if you were not, he is much too old for you!"
Asgore cleared his throat. "Frisk, Tori… I mean, Toriel? While you two are here, there was something I wanted to ask."
Undyne looked at him, wondering if he was talking about that. She beckoned to Alphys, saying that they should get started on moving the scrying eyes she'd mentioned. Papyrus followed them out, saying he wanted to talk with Undyne. He told his brother he would see him at their temporary home on the surface.
Sans tried to excuse himself from the meeting… only to be intercepted by his secretary. Pristina said to him, "Oh no you don't, Your Honor. You have paperwork waiting for you in your office." Before he could "shortcut" his way out she turned his soul blue, making him float. Sans sighed, resigned to his fate, and kicked back in mid-air as though he was lounging on his couch at home, clearly planning to enjoy the free ride while it lasted. Pristina bowed to the king and dragged her cousin through the air and out of the chamber with her.
Only the king, queen and Frisk were left. Asgore smiled, trying to hide his nervousness. Toriel wasn't going to like what he had to say, and he couldn't really blame her for being so protective, but he knew his request would help protect Frisk in the long run.
To the human he said, "Frisk, why don't you take a seat?" She nodded and took a seat on a corner near Toriel and gave Asgore her full attention.
"It is funny that Dante mentioned Frisk being a princess," he said. "That is actually what I would like to talk about, with the two of you. You see, I would like to adopt Frisk, as well." Toriel's reaction was exactly what he expected.
"ABSOLUTELY NOT! I will not permit you to take Frisk from me, MR. DREEMURR." Although she remained in her seat Toriel's force of presence made it feel like she was standing at her full height, looking down her muzzle at the king who was trying to not cringe away from her anger. Still, he tried to explain his reasoning.
"Tori, just think about it-"
"Do not 'Tori' me, Mr. Dreemurr." Her voice had gone soft and cold, chilling the king. "I need not think of anything. Whatever scheme you have brewing in your head, my child will have no part in it! Frisk, we are leaving." She rose angrily, almost knocking over the chair in her haste to vacate the chamber before she completely lost her temper. She wrenched the door open and looked behind her, expecting her child to be right behind her…
But Frisk hadn't followed. She was still in her seat, her expression calm and thoughtful.
Toriel suddenly had a bad feeling. Putting as much authority into her voice as she could, she said, "Frisk, there is no need to consider this miserable creature's proposal. You can be the ambassador without being his daughter. The very idea! We are going home and forgetting this ever happened. Now come, my child."
Frisk looked at her and said, "No, Mother. I think His Majesty's proposal has merit."
Toriel clenched her jaw to prevent it from falling. She recognized the look on Frisk's face. She had seen it during their FIGHT, the steel in Frisk's eyes as she decided there was Something To Be Done. Toriel had let her go once and did not want to do so again!
She tried to reason with Frisk, since commands hadn't worked last time. "My child, you heard what Lord Sharpe said. You are already a princess, just by being with me. There is no need for Asgore to adopt you, as well!"
Frisk countered with, "But for how long will that remain true?" Seeing Toriel's confusion, she said, "How long will you be 'the queen'?
"It's clear to me that your marriage… isn't doing well. It's probably only a matter of time before you two divorce. But once you do, you won't be the queen anymore. I won't be a princess any longer, but I have to be.
"Humans think some are better than others based on status, or money, or any number of things. Even though there's no feudal system in place in New Ebott Town I've been told that it's common elsewhere, and there is still a sense of authority attached to 'royalty'. If I'm ever going to be more than just some child with delusions of grandeur I need my own title, besides just being the ambassador. I'm not sure the older humans will listen to me without it."
Toriel was stunned. She hadn't been thinking about that. It had been hard to think at all when it felt like Asgore was trying to steal away yet another child from her. She closed the door and turned back to face them.
Softly, Asgore spoke. "There is another thing to consider, as well." Toriel said nothing, but focused her attention on him. He took that as an assent to continue. "If Frisk's uncle is truly out there, waiting to finish what he started, then she will need to be protected. As my daughter she can have bodyguards assigned to her to watch over her."
Although she agreed that Frisk's safety was paramount, Toriel still made a face. "I am more than capable of protecting her, myself."
"At every hour of every day?" Asgore asked gently. "Can you do so while you sleep? What if Frisk must leave your side, or you must leave hers? Marvelously strong as you are, there is only one of you. You can only be in one place at a time. Would it not help to have an extra pair of eyes or two, or three, watching over Frisk?"
Even as she said, "Flattery will get you nowhere, Mr. Dreemurr," Toriel couldn't ignore the fact that Asgore had a point. But she was still so torn…!
"Mr. Dreemurr?" Frisk's voice drew the adults' attention to her, and she continued. "I would feel a lot better if Mother had someone looking out for her. My uncle isn't the brightest star in the sky, but he has a talent for hurting people. If he ever figures out how much it would hurt everyone to kill her, he'll do it. He'll make us all know he did before killing everyone else." Frisk struggled to keep her voice even as she said, "I don't want him to hurt everyone, too."
Although Toriel knew Frisk had her own reasons to fear her uncle, the way the sweet child could still put others first pulled at her heartstrings. She knelt beside Frisk's seat and hugged her, the human finally letting herself be pulled into a comforting embrace. There were no tears, but Toriel could feel her poor, dear Frisk shaking. She looked at Asgore over Frisk's shoulder, finding sympathy in his eyes. She could see how he would have joined in comforting Frisk, if he could have.
She would always think of Asgore as a coward, a wretch and a killer of the innocent. But even in her worst thoughts she never considered him "evil." Although he used his duty to the people as an excuse for murder, she knew he didn't revel in the humans' destruction. She had fought beside him for too long during that horrible war to think otherwise. It was part of why she'd been so disgusted when he declared another war against them. Even knowing how much pain he'd been in after losing both of their children, it had been so unlike the man she had married, the man that had helped her to raise Asriel… She could see a glimmer of him, now, no longer as youthful but still with kindness at his core, chipped and battered though it was.
She would never again bear the feelings she once had for him. Too much had happened between them, and too much pain filled the gap, but she was tired of being angry with him. She was tired of feeling something that bordered too closely upon hatred. She didn't know if she could ever forgive him, but…
If Frisk was willing to trust someone that had been fully prepared to kill her, then the least she could do was try to do the same. That the youth would prefer Asgore over her human family spoke volumes of her treatment on the surface without having to say a word. What little she had said was horrid enough, and Toriel could tell her child hadn't shared all of the details with them…
Toriel drew in a deep breath, held it, then let it out. "Very well." She eased her embrace, holding Frisk by the shoulders. "If it will help you to feel safer, my child, then I will agree to this. However." She locked eyes with Asgore and said, "I am watching you like a hawk, Mr. Dreemurr."
Asgore nodded, although it was glum. "I… I understand."
Frisk was pouting at Toriel. "Mother! There's no need to ram your point home, like that!" The two adults stared at her, wondering if she had punned on-purpose… "I think he's been bleatin' and battered enough. He's made mistakes but I know he won't kid around with our safety. You need to give him the beh-eh-eh-nefit of the doubt."
Toriel started howling with laughter. Frisk's puns were always good, but her delivery was the best part! Always perfectly serious until the very end, where she couldn't help but grin at you… And that little bleat at the end had been adorable! Even Asgore joined in the laughter as Frisk smiled at him.
He calmed himself quickly, clearing his throat as he tried to get back on-topic. "Thank you, Frisk. I promise to care for you as though you were my own child. We will have to figure out how to share custody, and plan for an announcement to be made to the people, but for now…" He rose from his seat, walking around the table to approach Frisk as he said, "For now, we will be as a family." With a quick glance to Toriel he quickly added, "Perhaps not the most… conventional one, but a family nonetheless." He held out a large hand to Frisk, palm up, revealing the same paw-like pads Toriel had.
Even as Frisk placed her hand in his and stood, painful memories lashed at her heart. She remembered hearing words like those, before fighting Flowey for the first time. He had said something very much like that just before he died. Before she let him die and he turned to dust. Before his very soul shattered like so much glass…
"Frisk? Are you alright?"
The king was kneeling before her, his other hand on her shoulder. Frisk could feel herself trembling with remembered sorrow. Her hand was lost in a giant paw with a strong-but-gentle grip. It was so warm…
Frisk's mind raced to give herself an excuse… "I-I… I'm alright, Your Majesty. I'm just… I'm not accustomed to having a father, anymore. He and my mother both passed away before I was sent to live with my uncle, you see, and…" She shrugged and focused on the wall, hoping her ambiguity would help to disguise the fact that they hadn't exactly been the best parents in the world. The time to tell that story would come, but not today.
Asgore's expression was full of sympathy. "I see…" He moved the hand on Frisk's shoulder and used a finger to gently turn her head back to him. He could see the pain in her eyes, squinted though they were, as he said, "Toriel and I will both do our best to care for you, from now on. You will no longer be alone, Frisk, we promise you." Asgore looked behind Frisk, up to Toriel, and Frisk did the same. The queen nodded while looking into Frisk's eyes, smiling a bit sadly at the same time.
Frisk's lips trembled before curling into a fragile smile of her own. "Thank you, Mother. Thank you… Father. Thank you…" She sniffled, then threw her arms around Asgore's neck to give him a brief but hearty hug. She then turned around to do the same to Toriel. They were both so kind…
It was agreed that, until a custody schedule could be figured out, Frisk would live on the surface with Toriel. The two of them left the castle to go home, and as the queen passed through the archway to the surface Frisk stopped at the little star that was still shining next to it.
She vowed she wouldn't be the sort of princess to let herself be locked away in a tower. Even while others protected her she would protect them, too. She vowed to protect her friends, her growing family, with everything she had.
She was filled with determination.