Welcome to SurfaceTale! I'm really glad you decided to read our story.

So basically, this story is about what we think would happen after the True Pacifist ending, when everyone goes to the surface. There's also Floweypot AU in here. There may also be hints of Soriel, and there's definitely AlphysXUndyne.

I'm working on this story with my friend. You can find her on Tumblr as 105ttt.

I hope you all enjoy our story! Feel free to like, favorite, or leave constructive criticism or anything else that's not flaming.

-anipwrites

Chapter 1

Toriel sat at the table in the dining room, frowning slightly at the papers before her. She wasn't angry, per say. She was just deep in thought. Is this what the curriculum of schools on the surface required? This wasn't near anything that she had in mind when she dreamed of starting a school and being the teacher. Granted, she had originally imagined the school being in the Underground… and she probably wouldn't've been able to just teach snail facts all year. But at this rate, she'd be learning at the same pace as her students. There were so many different things on the surface, so many things to learn…

But everything would be fine, she reassured herself. She could do this. It was her dream! Granted, it would be a lot of work, running the school and teaching a class, but it could be done. Right?

Of course it could be done. She wasn't entirely alone in this endeavor. After all, Frisk was now living with her, and they knew exactly how to encourage her when she needed it. Just having them around gave her more willpower and confidence than ever. Yes. She could do this. It would all be fine.

In fact, here came Frisk right now. Toriel turned and smiled at her child, masking her frustrations at the curriculum. "Yes, dear? How are you doing?"

"I'm doing good, Mom!" they replied, sitting across from me. But deep inside, Toriel knew they were lying. Should she press for the truth?

"How was your day today? Did you get to meet all of your neighbors?"

"I… nobody wanted to talk to me, Mom… so I just hung out with Sans and Papyrus instead!" they quickly added the last part in, hoping Toriel wouldn't get too upset.

Needless to say, Toriel got upset.

"Why wouldn't any of those kids talk to you? They seemed nice. A bit shy, but…"

"Well, they wanted to talk to me. But their parents wouldn't let them. Said something about monster sicknesses and freaks. Am I a freak, mom?" Toriel frowned noticeably, picked up Frisk, and held them close.

"You're not a freak, my child. Their parents… they just don't exactly like Monsters living on the surface."

"But you haven't been on the surface in, like, a bajillion years!"

"And they're still trying to get used to us. Don't worry about them. They don't mean to offend you directly, they mean to offend us."

"But… Why? If they just talked to you, they'd know you were nice… All the monsters are nice if you just talk to them!"

"We know. It'll just take a little getting used to us being here. Now, what would you like for dinner, my dear?"

"Actually, Mom, we already had plans to go out to dinner, remember?"

Toriel was flustered. She had entirely forgotten.

"Yes, that's right! I can't believe I had forgotten. It's still a new sort of concept to me, 'going out for dinner'… I'm used to cooking all of my food myself."

"I know, Mom. I think you will like eating out sometimes, though! It can be fun! You get to talk with your friends without having to focus on cooking, and then you get to eat, and then you feel full, and then you want to sleep, and then you all laugh about it, and…"

Frisk's voice trailed off. They were looking eagerly at the door to Toriel's home, wanting to leave so that they could see their friends as soon as possible.

"Well, perhaps we should check if everyone is ready before we head out, Frisk."

"Huh? You knew I wanted to leave?"

"Nothing gets past me, my child. Your eyes were locked on to the door."

Toriel chuckled and gave Frisk a smile. She then pulled out her cell phone and began texting various people whom she figured would be at dinner with them later. Meanwhile, she spotted Frisk fidgeting with their striped shirt. They were a bit embarrassed now, too.

"Should we bring Flowey, too? I don't know if he eats, but… he might like going out of the house for a bit."

"I'm not sure if we should, dear. He doesn't exactly have the best manners…"

"I'll make sure he behaves."

"If you're certain…"

"I'll go get him!" Frisk exclaimed, running to their room and coming back with a flower pot. Flowey seemed a bit drowsy, as if he was asleep before. Probably explained why Toriel hadn't heard him yelling for some time.

"Where are we going?" the flower asked, looking from side-to-side. Frisk giggled at the sight. Rarely did one see Flowey confused, and it was actually a little cute.

"We're going out to eat!"

"So, outside? Finally! That stupid window was getting pretty boring."

"But promise me you'll behave, okay?"

Flowey sighed.

"Sure, sure. Anything for you."

"Thank you!"

Frisk clutched the flower pot close to their chest, trying to give Flowey a hug. Flowey rolled his eyes, but smiled when he knew nobody could see his face.

"Alright, let's go, you two!" Toriel said, heading out the door. Frisk followed, carrying Flowey. It was kind of hard to hold onto his pot all the time, and the sides were a bit slick.

"Hey! Don't drop me!" he shouted, glaring at Frisk.

"Sorry! We're going to have to find a better way to carry you around eventually. Maybe we can put handles on your pot!"

"As long as you don't drop me and I don't look ridiculous, I'm fine with it."

"We can do it tomorrow!"

Toriel's phone buzzed right then. A message from Papyrus had been delivered.

'We literally live across the street from you! Why are you texting us?'

Toriel giggled a bit, She couldn't help but imagine him saying it in his voice. That was the fun in texting! Another buzz.

'Yeah, sure, I'd love to eat something other than spaghetti. It's great, but after every day, y'know. What time?' It was Sans texting this time. Toriel smiled and started typing.

'We're outside, if you'd like to walk over with us.' She reread her message before sending it to the two skeletons. Another buzz.

'Ooh, a dinner party! I'll snag Alphys up and we'll meet you there! Which restaurant?' Undyne asked after Toriel had sent word of their dinner plans to her. Toriel hesitated. Which restaurant were they going to?

'We were just planning to walk around until we found something interesting, if you don't mind.'

'It's cool with me! I'll meet you on Main Street!' Undyne responded. Toriel was glad to see how agreeable everyone was today.

Toriel looked up to see Sans and Papyrus crossing the street just as she finished reading Undyne's text.

"Hello there, you two."

"Alright, let's go get some spaghetti!" Papyrus declared, rubbing his hands together as if plotting some sort of scheme. Just the thought of it gave him a huge grin, despite the fact that he always spaghetti at home anyway.

"Actually, Papyrus, I was thinking we all needed a change of scenery, as far as food goes. We were just going to meet some of the others on Main Street and explore until we find a place that looked interesting. If you don't mind, that is."

"Cool. Sounds fun." Sans nodded. Toriel's phone buzzed again. It was Asgore. Frisk had told her to tell him about the dinner party as well, though she begrudged it a little.

'If you don't mind, I'd like to come also.' He had sent. Toriel really did mind, but she knew Frisk really wanted to see him and decided she could stand the man for an hour or so as long as Frisk was happy.

'You may come.' She sent back. 'But don't bring your trident this time. Last time you scared everyone, and we'd rather not have everyone scared of us.'

'Alright, I'll leave it home.'

'Ooh, a dinner party! May I come too? I know I can't actually eat anything, but I'd just LOVE to see my little Frisky again!' Mettaton sent. He had been away on a tour with his band for quite a while.

'Of course you can come! And feel free to come over to our house any time to see them.'

"Onwards, Papyrus!" A small voice beckoned.

Toriel looked up to see that Frisk was now sitting on Papyrus' shoulders, chanting and pointing triumphantly towards the distant horizon.

"To food!" Frisk called out again.

"To glory!"

"To Main Street!"

"Uh, guys? Main street is that way." Sans pointed out, gesturing in the other direction. Papyrus turned dramatically shortly before running off, and then upwards into the sky. That was concerning.

"I've got a feeling that ain't gonna end well," Flowey stated, watching as the human and skeleton levitated up into the air.

"He'll come back down. He's just messing around with them. What can I say? When those two are around-"

"Don't you dare." Flowey said through gritted teeth, looking annoyed already.

"The excitement goes sky high."

"I hate you." Both Flowey and Toriel stated monotonously.

"You know you loved it."

"Somebody just pick me up so we can get going. Not you." Flowey said, snarling at Sans when he reached over. "Anybody but you."

"Here." Toriel offered, picking up the flower pot. The three of them went towards Main Street, keeping an eye on the sky for Frisk and Papyrus.

When they got to Main Street, the pair was already there, along with the others. Asgore, Alphys and Undyne were talking about something, while Mettaton played with Frisk and sat them on his shoulders. Napstablook hung around, listening to music.

"Hey, everybody." Sans greeted. "Ready to go exploring?"

"You bet I am!" Undyne exclaimed, pumping her fists.

"I'm always ready for an adventure!" Papyrus added, imitating Undyne's excited gestures.

Toriel couldn't help but notice a few people nearby wince, parents drawing their children away from the small group. None of the others seemed to notice-if they did, they didn't care. That is, until they were interrupted.

"Hey! Those monsters kidnapped that little kid!" A woman in the vicinity shouted. Everyone turned and suddenly seemed to recognize how set off the other humans were by them. But they'd have to deal with the current accusation at hand. Especially when the woman stomped over with an officer who was nearby.

"Actually, ma'am, Frisk here is with us." Asgore said. "We're their adoptive family. I-If you don't mind, we were just going to go out for dinner."

"Yeah, sure you are! What's the dinner going to be? The kid? No self-respecting adoption agency would ever let some poor orphan out at the mercy of monsters!" The officer said with a frown.

"They aren't going to eat me!" Frisk shouted. "They're my friends! And my family! They treat me nicer than any human has! Ever!"

"So, you brainwashed the poor kid?"

"How the hell would we do that?!" Flowey interjected. The humans gasped.

"Flowey. Language." Toriel scolded. Frisk climbed down from Mettaton's shoulders to go calm down Sans, whose left eye was glowing blue. Papyrus's mouth was curved into a nervous smile.

"Look. The only person I can trust here is the robot, and even he was made by a monster! I'm going to need you to show proof." The policeman interjected, holding out his hand to get the expected papers.

"Okay, here!" Frisk went over to the officer and showed him their school ID. "Frisk Dreemurr! Asgore Dreemurr is my dad, and Toriel Dreemurr is my mom! We left the adoption papers at home, but we do have them! I fell into the Underground and each and every monster I met treated me kindly, even if they were scared of me! They were really sad underground, and most humans who came there tried to hurt them! I helped them find a way to leave! Because they wanted to leave! So they could be happy! And now you all are being mean to my new family because they're different from you! And that's really stu-not nice! Can we please just go out to eat?!"

When Frisk had finished talking, they wiped a tear from their face and breathed a bit faster than usual. They had shouted the whole thing. The crowd of people was taken aback. The policeman spoke up when Frisk's breathing was normal again.

"Gee, kid, you really got emotional there… Are you feeling okay? These monsters really tricked you bad if you feel so strongly about them. Maybe you should come with me, I can-"

He had offered his hand out to Frisk as a friendly gesture, but Frisk pushed it back to the policeman's side and walked back to the group of monsters.

"I don't want to go with you. I want to go with them. Please. They won't hurt me. Just let us be."

Everyone was quiet.

"Awkward, huh?" Sans said, trying to break the silence. It didn't help much.

"If I may," Toriel started, trying to act as polite as possible, "I have legal custody of this child, and I would give my life to keep them safe. Please. I don't know how much credibility my words have to you all, but I mean what I say."

"Y-yeah, we don't want to e-eat them. Just, uh… h-hang out with them. We really don't m-mean any harm." Alphys tried her best to defend Toriel's position.

"… Kid. For the last time, come with me," the policeman demanded. Frisk shook their head, then clutched onto Asgore's left hand as tightly as they could.

"Look at them. They're comfortable enough with me to get this close. Isn't that proof enough?" Asgore queried, his voice a little quiet.

"Maybe you're forcing them to act that way! I bet you promised them something if they would stay quiet about it! You-"

The woman who had originally called out the monsters put up her hand to silence the other person.

"No, look at the mother's eyes. I know those eyes. She wants to protect the child from being taken away. Look at the father's face. He's distressed. I understand why they look that way. As a single mother myself, it's only natural."

"Ma'am?" The policeman turned to her now.

"Let them be for now."

"Are you sure that's a good idea? They-"

"Are the child's family." The woman asserted without a hint of doubt.

"… If you say so. Everyone, move along. Nothing to see here."

The crowd slowly disbanded after that. When the street had reverted back to its original state, every monster in the group breathed out in relief.

"What is up with those people? How rude can you be?" Undyne asked. She was still ticked off.

Flowey nodded. "If I had some arms, I would've taught them a lesson."

Frisk shooshed them both. They didn't want something to start again. "Let's get going! Asgore! Up!"

Asgore smiled gently and picked them up before putting them on his shoulders. They played with his horns as they continued along. There was an awkward silence amongst the group. Everyone was chilled to the bone by how quickly they could've had Frisk taken away from them, documents or not. It was worrisome.

"How does this one look?" Toriel asked, looking up at a restaurant sign.

"Too fancy. Not my style." Undyne said.

"Perfect! Let's go in!" Mettaton exclaimed, heading inside. Undyne grumbled but followed nevertheless, Alphys tagging along behind her. The others shrugged and followed.

"Dad! Wait!" Frisk shouted, making Asgore stop in his tracks. "You're too tall."

"What do you mean, child?" The monster asked.

"Your horns are too tall. I'll get off and you can duck." Frisk said, sliding down Asgore's back. He ducked down and went into the restaurant, looking around.

Undyne was right. It was quite a fancy establishment. A low-hanging chandelier illuminated the room, which was dim otherwise. Each table had a candle and a rose in the center. There was a larger table in the center that the waitress seated them at. Everyone sat down and the waitress left. Toriel noticed that she headed to the back of the restaurant instead of to the front to greet more customers. The dining hall seemed to grow silent once people realized there were monsters in the room.

Frisk set Flowey on the table by them before picking up the menu and reading through it. They didn't really know what anything on the menu was-oh, look, the kids menu!

Before any of the others could read through the menu, a different waiter came up to them. "Hi, my name is Brian, and I'll be your server for today! May I interest you in the special of the day?"

"Well, wh-what is the special of the day?" Alphys asked, twiddling her fingers.

"Well, we have a lovely chevon dish." Toriel and Asgore stiffened noticeably. Flowey's eyes widened in surprise.

"O-on second thought, I'm suddenly not hungry." Toriel murmured, glancing off to the side. Asgore's face was red.

"Well then, perhaps I can interest you in the catch of the day: fresh wild tilapia." The waiter offered. Flowey narrowed his eyes. He had a feeling this guy was just trying to scare them off.

Either way, it was working.

"That's it, I knew there was something wrong with this place!" Undyne proclaimed, standing up and stomping out of the building. Alphys hesitated and then immediately scurried after her. Mettaton knew Alphys wouldn't handle this well, and left with her.

"I… Excuse me," Asgore said before following them hurriedly. Toriel, for once, seemed to agree with Asgore and follow after him immediately. Unfortunately, Asgore forgot to duck and his horns smacked into the doorframe, making him fall backwards as he lost his balance. The patrons of the restaurant laughed at him as Toriel helped him back up, and they left. Only the two skeletons, the human, and the flower in a pot were left.

"Come on, let's just go." Papyrus said. "I think I found a pizzeria near here a few days ago that you all would like."

"Works for me, bro." Sans agreed, standing. Frisk followed them out, accidentally leaving Flowey in the restaurant alone.

"... Well, well, well. I'm sure you all feel really proud of yourselves, huh?" He said, addressing the patrons of the restaurant. "You managed to scare off a couple of monsters by offering them your disgusting food and laughing at them. I know how it goes. Selfish! You're all selfish! You jerks can all just take a long walk through Mt. Ebott and fall into the Underground yourselves! Then let's see how you like it down there! Try living in that hell of a place for millennia, why don't you?" The flower cackled, sending shivers down everyone's spine.

"Flowey!" Frisk exclaimed, bursting through the door and running back inside. They saw everyone's frightened and shocked faces and frowned at the flower before them. "Were you misbehaving?"

"Maybe,"

"Flowey. Apologize, or I'll pick your petals off."

"But they were-"

"Flowey,"

"Fine! Fine. I'm sorry you idiots are all so pathetic that you can't give people a chance."

"Flowey…" Frisk warned, putting two fingers on one of his petals. The flower winced.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry for yelling at you! Please don't pick my petals off…"

"Thank you for apologizing. Now, let's go." Frisk picked up the flower pot and left the restaurant.

"You wouldn't have picked my petals off, Frisk! Uh… right?"

"Don't misbehave, alright?"

Flowey swallowed nervously but nodded. Frisk smiled and ran to catch up to the others.

"So…. now what do we do...?" Napstablook asked. He hadn't been inside with them. He was too busy listening to his music.

"Worry not, friends! Follow me!" Papyrus exclaimed. Next thing anyone knew, he was off like a bullet.

"Papyrus, Papyrus." Sans said, following him casually. The rest of the group followed a bit more hurriedly. They didn't want him to get into any trouble.

Frisk, unfortunately, could not run very fast. Their legs were rather short, and they didn't quite have the stamina to keep up. Napstablook stayed behind with them until Mettaton came by to pick them up. Then, the three of them caught up with the rest of the group.

They finally arrived at a place called the Pizza-Pie Palace. Toriel seemed thrilled at the mention of pie until she was reminded that 'pie' could also mean 'pizza'. Papyrus was in front of the door, making dramatic gestures.

"Here we are! Pizza-Pie Palace!" he said with a smile. "I, the Great Papyrus, have found us food!"

"Great job, Pap!' Undyne said, heading inside. Mettaton didn't seem to be looking forward to greasy fingers and the medieval charade the place seemed to be putting on, but he could deal with it for a little while.

When they walked inside, they were led to a long table with plastic swords and paper crowns on it. Frisk was overjoyed and immediately put two crowns on Asgore and Toriel's heads. Undyne and Papyrus were already goofing off with the toy swords, while Napstablook and Sans explored the restaurant. There was a play zone with a fake dragon and knights' armor to mess around with. Sans decided to put some on. He looked great. Maybe.

Toriel smiled at the sight of everyone enjoying themselves and sat down at the table, looking over the menu. Maybe she could just order several large pizzas. Yeah, everyone should be fine with cheese. Or, if they weren't, they'd hopefully come soon and order their own pizza.

And eventually, everyone did congregate around the table to decide what pizza they wanted. The servers gladly took their order and went to the back to get the pizza made. Everyone was quite shocked at how courteous the staff at the pizzeria had been so far.

"Great find with this place, Pap!" Sans said, nudging his brother with his elbow. "People actually treat us nice here."

"Yeah. I guess the surface isn't too bad after all." Undyne nodded, looking around.

"I r-really hope the pizza's good…" Alphys murmured with a nervous smile.

"I think I see the pizza coming right now…" Mettaton said, peering over her head to look towards the kitchen. Five servers were coming out with the pizzas and drinks. Some of them were even monsters! Toriel couldn't help but smile, seeing that other monsters were getting along okay.

"Is this everything, ma'am?" a waitress asked. Everyone nodded yes and they went on their way to the next order. Frisk was hopping up and down excitedly, ready to eat. The large family started fixing their plates before they ate.

The pizza was really good.

After they finished eating, everyone split up to do whatever. Mettaton, Sans, and Papyrus stayed and goofed off at the pizzeria until it closed. The children of the other restaurant patrons were thrilled to play with them, and seemed to have fun defeating dragons and having legendary adventures; even if it was just their imagination. Mettaton made a very good damsel-in-distress, and graciously thanked the children for his rescue when the adventures were nearly over. Undyne and Alphys went off on their own to have a night on the town almost as soon as they finished eating. It would be their second date on the surface, and they couldn't be any more excited. Napstablook hung out with Frisk at the table for a little while longer before they decided it would be best if they went home, calling Mettaton back over and then leaving with him. Frisk, of course, said goodbye to them first by giving Mettaton the hugest hug they could muster and giving a high-five to Napstablook. The spirit didn't have an arm to return it. Asgore left around the same time Undyne did, headed back home. He claimed he had a lot of work tomorrow, but he also seemed to be a bit down. Frisk did what they could to cheer him up, but nothing seemed to truly work. They just couldn't figure out why Asgore was acting that way. They hoped for the best, though, and knew that things would be resolved nicely, one way or another. Sooner or later, Toriel decided it was around time Frisk went home for the night and left after bidding Sans and Papyrus goodbye. As soon as they were out of the excited buzz of the restaurant, Frisk started getting a bit drowsy. Toriel picked them up while they held Flowey close to their chest and carried them all the way home. She would tuck them in right away.

"Good night, my child." Toriel whispered as she kissed their forehead before gently closing the door to Frisk's room and leaving. It was about time she went to bed herself; she could familiarize herself with the curriculum tomorrow.

Then she realized Flowey was still on the dining room table. Toriel walked over and picked up his pot before carrying him back to his spot on Frisk's windowsill. He was a bit tired himself.

"Hey… Toriel? Thanks for letting me stay here…" he yawned, head hanging low. Toriel smiled and stroked one of his petals.

"It's my pleasure. Just don't get into too much trouble." she said. "Good night, Flowey." At that, she left the room. Flowey yawned again, slipping into sleep.

"G'night, mom…"

Expect more chapter soon! I hope you all liked it!

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