It was now eight years since Frisk's birth and things had gone well for the child. Their spells had advanced to a considerable degree; they were able to perform complex patterns with their fire; and their skill at using healing magic was impressive.
They were well known within the Underground and had met and befriended many Monsters. Their friend base had expanded to include a draconic Monster named Susie, despite her stand-offish attitude. Another unlikely friend they had made was Berdly, who tried to stick around Noelle most of the time.
Toriel herself kept fearing that someone would realize that Frisk was human and would try to kill them for their Soul, but so far, no one had. Nobody seemed to recognize Frisk for what they really were. The few that did know, didn't say anything and kept it to themself. This did have the side effect of Frisk still thinking they were a Monster, because nobody suggested they were anything else.
Papyrus was on the verge of adulthood and mentioned that he was thinking about joining the Royal Guard, but Frisk and others suggested he find something else to do. As such, the skeleton was looking into alternate careers.
Undyne tried to avoid Snowdin and only went there when there was some emergency. She did her best to avoid Frisk, therefore they didn't know much about her, or why they infuriated her so much.
Frisk met Alphys a few more times and they found her to be very likable. Despite being a scientist, she never turned them away or said she was too busy for them. She always found time for them and would occasionally lend them a movie from the surface they could watch, though she avoided specific kinds for various reasons.
Meanwhile, Mettaton was on his way to becoming a star, having made a big debut on the Monsters' television, providing them with a new kind of show to watch and entertaining his new audience who would otherwise be perpetually bored.
Asgore, at the same time, continued to walk all over the Underground. He would occasionally come across Frisk who would eagerly greet him. He never turned them away, but always looked a little sad upon seeing them and Frisk never could figure out why.
During all this, there were whispers of a human living in the Underground. Many Monsters knew about Frisk yet kept it to themselves. Toriel panicked when she learned just how many Monsters knew the truth, but since Frisk was still alive, then it meant they weren't in any danger. Still, she couldn't help but worry for her child always fearing that one day, when the secret came out, they would be killed.
Frisk was walking through Waterfall, exploring the area. Their friends were in school and Papyrus was looking for a potential career, so they were by themself for today. They entered a residential area of Waterfall and came across a snail farm. They liked snails ever since Toriel showed them what they were. They especially liked when she made Snail Pie.
As they looked around, they saw a pair of houses nearby, which drooped to either side. One was white, the other was pink. Curious, they decided to investigate. The pink one's door was locked, but the white one wasn't. They knocked first, waiting for whoever lived in the house to answer. Eventually, the door opened to reveal a ghost.
"Hi there!" Frisk greeted.
"oh… hi…" he said morosely.
"Is that your farm over there?" they asked, pointing to the pens.
"yeah… it is…" the ghost said in the same tone. "it's all mine now…"
"Why aren't you happy about that?" Frisk asked.
"because my cousin used to help me…" he answered. "now i'm the only employee…"
"What happened to him? Did he Fall Down?" they asked. They knew all about that. In fact, many Monsters were in danger of that lately. It was why Snowy didn't hang out with them anymore; he was too busy caring for his sick mom.
"no… he just left…" the ghost answered. "i don't know where… but he left one of his diaries explaining why…"
"I'm sorry," Frisk said.
"oh… it's alright… i'm used to it…" the ghost said. "i have the diary… if you want to see it… or… if you don't…"
Frisk went in the house, their curiosity piqued. They saw the diary in question which was all pink and glittery. They opened it, finding only one entry.
Dear Diary: She surprised me with something today. Sketches of a body that she wants to create for me... a form beyond my wildest fantasies. In a form like that, I could finally feel like... "myself." After all, there's no way I can be a star the way I am now. Sorry, Blooky. My dreams can't wait for anyone...
Frisk tried looking back through it but there wasn't anything else in said diary.
"That's mean," they said. "They just left you all by yourself?"
"yeah… i'm just not important enough…" the ghost said morosely. "it's fine though… i'm used to it…"
Frisk looked over the entry again. Something about it stirring something in them. They didn't know why, but they felt like this sounded familiar.
Then it clicked. Was this Mettaton's diary? Alphys would know. But wait… wouldn't the other Monster have been a ghost? Then again, a robot body would make a perfect vessel for a ghost.
"Mind if I take this?" Frisk asked.
"sure… go ahead…"
Frisk ran off, going straight for Hotland.
They got to Alphys' lab and entered without bothering to knock. They found the scientist working at her computer. Well, not working, exactly. Frisk could hear the shouts from her favorite anime playing.
"Alphys!" they shouted, getting her attention, which caused her to jump nearly three feet in the air.
"Frisk!" she yelled. "W-what are you doing here?"
"Well, see – wait, is that Mew Mew Kissy Cutie?" Frisk asked, looking at the screen.
"Yeah, I'm halfway through season… I mean, no! It's research! Important research!" she said.
"Uh, well, anyways," Frisk said, shaking their head to clear their thoughts. "Can I ask you something?"
"Sure, what is it?" she asked, trying and failing to stealthily close the media player.
"I was at this ghost's house and he showed me a diary from his cousin. I read it and I realized that the person who wrote it might have been Mettaton," Frisk explained. "Everyone knows you made Mettaton but was he really just a machine for this ghost Monster?"
"Yeah," she confirmed. "It's a long story." She saw Frisk looking at her with expectant eyes. "Well, pull up a chair. It's a bit of a long one."
Frisk grabbed one of the spare chairs and plopped down in it, facing Alphys in her own chair.
"W-well, it was before I became the Royal Scientist," she began. "T-this one Monster had put up posters advertising a 'human fan club'. I showed up at the first meeting though I should point out I was the only one that did. Anyway, the Monster hosting it was a ghost Monster. He and I shared a fascination with humans and we were able to freely express our opinions of them in this club.
"One day he mentioned that he wasn't very comfortable with the form he had and possessing a dummy wasn't enough for him. He said he wanted to be as close to a human as he could get. So I got the idea to make a body for him. It's still a work in progress but the first step was completed and he liked it. Asgore found out and appointed me the Royal Scientist.
"Mettaton loves his new body, and with it, he decided to pursue his dream of becoming a star. And as for the rest, you already know all that. He's on his way to becoming the Underground's star and he thanked me for it."
"Wow! That's so amazing!" Frisk said. "You helped someone who was invisible become a famous TV star! That incredi… wait…" Frisk's voice dropped as something occurred to them. "If Mettaton was the ghost's cousin why doesn't he keep in touch?"
"Uh, I don't know," Alphys admitted. "I guess he hasn't told him?"
"What! That's awful!" Frisk exclaimed. "That ghost is upset that his cousin left him. Why would he just leave his family behind?"
Alphys shrugged. She honestly had no clue.
"We need to fix that," Frisk decided. "Mettaton should keep his family close."
"Uh, is that really necessary?" Alphys asked.
"Yes! You don't turn your back on family!" Frisk insisted. "We need to find Mettaton and talk to him."
"Well, if you're going to be so insistent on this, then, okay! Let's do it!" Alphys agreed. "I can actually find him easily."
"Then let's go!"
An hour later they were in the upper levels of Hotland. Mettaton was supervising a scouting mission just before the CORE.
"COME ON, BEAUTIES! SURELY THERE MUST BE SOME PLACE HERE THAT WILL BE PERFECT FOR A HOTEL!"
"Mettaton," Alphys shouted once they were in earshot.
"ALPHYS, HELLO DARLING!" The robot greeted. "DID YOU JUST COME BY TO SAY HELLO?"
"No," Frisk said, standing next to her.
"OH, HELLO THERE. WHO ARE YOU?"
"My name's Frisk," they said.
"WELL, HELLO, FRISK. DID YOU WANT AN AUTOGRAPH?"
"Uh, that'd be nice, but it's not what I'm here for," Frisk explained.
"OH? THEN WHAT ARE YOU HERE FOR?"
Frisk held up his diary. "This," they said. "I met your cousin today. He seemed upset."
"OH. BLOOKY," the robot realized. "WELL, THAT'S NOT A VERY BIG DEAL. HE'S ALWAYS BEEN LIKE THAT."
"Pretty sure this wasn't normal upset," Frisk insisted. "He said he misses his cousin. And that's you. Did you really just abandon him?"
The robot's screen went blank at that, presumably trying to process that. "UH, WELL… YOU SEE, I JUST… I'VE BEEN SO BUSY… I JUST, UM, DIDN'T HAVE TIME FOR…"
Frisk glared at him, not buying the robot's excuses. Even Alphys looked disappointed.
"UH, WELL, THE THING IS, UH… OKAY, YES, I DID JUST ABANDON HIM," he admitted.
"Why? He's your family?" Frisk asked.
"STARDOM WAS CALLING, YOUNG ONE! MY DREAMS COULDN'T WAIT FOR ANYONE," Mettaton said.
"But he's your cousin! Are your dreams really that important that you'd just abandon your family?"
"WELL, IT'S NOT LIKE… HE CAN ALWAYS VISIT…"
"Does he even know?" Frisk persisted.
"UH…" Mettaton looked like he was trying to find a way to safely answer that but wasn't able to find a solution.
"Mettaton…" Alphys groaned. "I didn't build this body for you just to throw your friends and family away."
"YOU SAID YOU BUILT IT TO HELP ME ACHIEVE MY DREAMS," Mettaton said.
"No, I made it so you could feel like yourself," Alphys said. "Y-you can't just leave everyone behind. I-I don't care how busy you are now. You should always make time for others."
"Yeah," Frisk added. "Your family has been there for you your whole life, right? Are you really going to repay them by just tossing them all aside?"
Mettaton slumped, as much as a box on a wheel could slump, his arms laying on the ground.
"WOW," he said. "WHEN YOU PUT IT LIKE THAT, I'VE BEEN A CRAP PERSON. I'VE ALWAYS WANTED THIS BODY SO I COULD FULFILL MY DREAMS. BUT YOU KNOW, TO BE HONEST, FOR THE LONGEST TIME, I'VE IMAGINED BEING AT THE TOP ALONGSIDE BLOOKY. HE HAS ALWAYS BEEN THERE FOR ME AND I PROMISED I WOULD BE THERE FOR HIM. AND I'VE BEEN FAILING THAT LATELY. I GUESS I GOT SO WRAPPED UP ON BECOMING A STAR THAT I LET THE PEOPLE WHO HELPED ME HERE FALL BEHIND."
"So what are you going to do about it?" Frisk pressed.
Mettaton scratched his non-existent chin in thought before coming to a conclusion. He whipped out a microphone and put it to his speaker. "ATTENTION ALL EMPLOYEES. YOU ALL HAVE THE REST OF THE DAY OFF. I'M TAKING SOME 'ME TIME' FOR THE REST OF THE DAY TO FIX A MISTAKE I MADE."
Like that, all the Monsters began to disperse. Mettaton turned to Frisk.
"I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO THANK YOU. YOU HELPED REMIND ME OF WHAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT. NOW, I'M OFF TO GO SEE BLOOKY."
"Hey, I just had an idea," Alphys said, stopping him before he could take off. "You said your cousin likes to make mixtapes, right? Why not hire him as your sound guy?"
"ALPHYS, THAT'S A BRILLIANT IDEA!" Mettaton praised. "AND BLOOKY CAN GET ALL THE ACCOMODATIONS HE WILL HAVE EVER WANTED. AND I JUST HAD ANOTHER BRIGHT SPARK! A GREAT STAR LIKE MYSELF COULD ALWAYS USE AN EXTRA SINGER FOR VOCAL PIECES. AND I KNOW JUST THE RIGHT MONSTER FOR THE JOB!" He retracted his arms before a jet of flame came out the bottom and he flew off. "TA TA, DARLINGS! SEE YOU AGAIN!"
"That was awesome!" Frisk said, bouncing up and down. "I can't believe I got to meet Mettaton in person."
"Easy, calm down," Alphys said, laying a hand on their shoulder to stop their jumping. "Well, I suppose I should get you back home before your mom…"
"OOPSIE. I ALMOST FORGOT." Mettaton had flown back down. "YOU SAID YOU WANTED AN AUTOGRAPH, DARLING. HAVE ANYTHING I COULD SIGN?"
Frisk quickly search themself for something for the robot to sign and eventually settled on their scarf. They held it out and the robot pulled out a marker, writing his signature on it.
"THERE YOU ARE. NOW, I'M OFF!"
Frisk gawked at the signature on their scarf. Alphys tried really hard not to laugh at their expression as she escorted them back home.
Frisk got home and told Toriel all about their day. She giggled at their enthusiastic explanation of meeting Mettaton and how they got him to reconnect with his family. They even showed her their scarf, where Mettaton had signed it. She couldn't begrudge Frisk any of this, as she could see just how much fun they had and how they had enjoyed the encounter, despite it being very close to Undyne's house.
The next day, Mettaton made the announcement of his cousin Nabstablook joining his crew, alongside a shy Monster named Shyren. He announced that both would help him in his various shows and performances.
Frisk liked that Mettaton had reconnected with his friends. But as they thought about it, they kept wondering about this 'human fan club' that Alphys mentioned. They never had much reason to think about humans, having never seen one before. But it made them realize how little they knew about them. Including their appearance.
Frisk had looked over some of Alphys' movies but they were never able to find anything close to what they thought a human would look like. In fact, most of those shows featured actors that vaguely resembled Frisk in various ways.
Frisk eventually came to a realization. They had never seen a human before but neither had they ever seen another of their 'kind'. They had been all over the Underground and no Monster looked like them. There were a few that faintly resembled them but they were too different to be the same. And that made them wonder, were they human?
They tried to dismiss it. They couldn't be human. Their magic was too good to be human. But, then again, certain Monsters looked at them funny when they talked about humans.
It couldn't be true, could it? They couldn't be human, they were Monster. Right?
Toriel picked up on their attitude leading up to dinner. She was concerned so she decided to bring it up.
"Frisk, is everything okay?" she asked.
"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine," they lied.
"I can tell you are lying, my child," Toriel said. "What is going on?"
Frisk put their fork down, not looking up. "What… what kind of Monster am I?" they asked.
"Where is that coming from?" she asked.
"Well, I've never seen another Monster like me," they explained. "So, what kind of Monster am I?"
Toriel tried to come up with an explanation that was believable. She tried and tried but nothing came to her.
She took too long to answer so Frisk spoke. "Am I… am I even a Monster?" they asked.
Toriel's mouth opened and closed several times. She didn't want to lie to her child but she didn't want to hurt them, either.
"I'm not, am I?" Frisk stated.
Toriel sighed. No point covering it up, it seemed. "No. You are not. You never have been."
Frisk's head sunk into their shoulders. A part of them had always known but it still hurt. "Then, what am I?"
"I imagine you already know," Toriel said.
Frisk sighed. "Human."
Toriel nodded and Frisk caught the movement out of the corner of their eye.
"That's what you tried to tell me a couple years back," they realized. "My mother was human."
"Yes," she confirmed.
"Why didn't you say anything?"
"I tried," she admitted. "But I could not. I did not want to hurt you or burden you with that knowledge."
"So, you let me think I was a Monster for my whole life."
Toriel didn't say anything in response. She had tried once but she was never able to bring herself to try again.
"Does anyone else know?" they asked.
"Many others. They just figured it out on their own."
"And I didn't." Frisk got up from their chair.
"Where are you going?"
"I'm just going to lay down for a while."
"You have not finished your pie."
"Lost my appetite." They left. Toriel did not stop them as they went to their room. They laid on their bed and tried to understand this revelation.
They were human. Always had been. Why hadn't they ever figured that out? Of course, they had never seen another human, and no one ever pointed to them and said 'you're human'. Frisk couldn't believe how they never figured it out. It should have been obvious. Then again, their skill with magic was supposed to be greater than what a human could manage, even one three times their age.
Toriel said that many others knew they were human. Who?
Well, Sans probably did, given how he always acted around them. Probably the king, too, which explained why he always acted the way he did whenever they met. Alphys probably knew as well, given her love of humanity (belatedly, they wondered if that's why she wanted to be friends with them so much).
But what about the others? Their friends? Papyrus, MK, Snowy, Berdly, Susie? Noelle?
No, no they didn't know. They didn't act like the others so they must not know. But Frisk would have to tell them at some point. They couldn't keep it a secret. But would they still be friends? Frisk hoped so. They weren't sure what they'd do if they lost their friends.
They heard a knock on the door and Toriel entered a moment later carrying a slice of Snail Pie on a plate.
"You did not finish your supper so I brought you your favorite," she said. She laid it on a table next to their bed.
Frisk didn't feel so horrible to turn away Snail Pie. They ate it and the slimy texture and squirting calmed them somewhat.
Toriel sat on her knees so she was level with them. "You know you can talk to me, if you like."
"Why did you never tell me?" was the first thing that came out.
"I thought you already knew," she explained. "Then you talked about humans like you were not one of them. That was when I realized you did not. I… I tried to tell you, many times. But I feared what that would do to you, so I did not tell. And the one time I tried, you cut me off."
Frisk sighed. "Would you have let me live my whole life believing that?"
"I… I do not know," she admitted.
Frisk ate more of the pie before asking their next question. "Why didn't you kill me?"
Toriel was shocked by that. "What? What kind of question is that?"
"We – you, just need seven human Souls to escape. And… I would be the last one, wouldn't I? So, why not take my Soul and free your people?"
"You are a child, Frisk," Toriel said. "And you were a baby when you came into my life. I would never forgive myself if you had died by my hands. And I do not care about freedom."
"Then why care for me?" they asked. "Why take me in? Surely you'd prefer a Monster child over a human one."
"And abandon you?" Toriel retorted like it was unthinkable. "You were all alone, as was I. And, when you looked at me, you saw me as your mother. I could not just leave you."
"But I'm not a Monster," Frisk said.
"That does not matter to me," she said. "You may not be my child by birth but I have cared for you for your whole life. In my heart, you are my child. And I know you feel the same." She laid a hand on their shoulder. "We are family, Frisk. And family is more than who we share blood with. It is the bonds we share. And family always loves one another."
Frisk smiled. "Thanks."
"Feeling better?"
"A little," they answered. "Um, can I ask something else?"
"What is it?"
"Who was my mother? My birth mother?"
Toriel sighed. "I do not know. The day she came was the same day she died. I found her on the bed of flowers at the end of the Ruins. I tried to get answers out of her but she was too hysterical and in too much pain while having you to say anything. She died seconds after your birth."
"Where is her dust?" Frisk asked.
"Her remains are near the entrance where she fell," Toriel said. "I… I visit there sometimes."
Frisk didn't think about the strange wording of that statement. "What do I do now? How do I tell my friends?"
"I do not know. That is your choice," Toriel said.
"What will they think of me?" Frisk wondered. "I… I don't want to lose them."
Toriel laid her hand on Frisk's head, rubbing it. "I am sure they will not leave you. Your bond with each other is strong. It may weaken a little but I am confident they will stay by your side."
"Thanks, mom," they said. They put their plate down and hugged her. She returned it. Both were relieved after this. Frisk still had to tell their friends, which they would do tomorrow, and deal with the fallout, but they would manage. Their view of the world had been shaken, but they would endure. They could do it. They were determined.
End of Chapter 10