Author's Note:

Your reviews and comments… They fill me with determination.

This is probably going to be the only chapter where the author's note comes before the actual chapter. The reason is that I feel like I need to stress this: I may have less time to write this story in the future. I have good news and bad news.

The bad news is I'll have less time to focus on this story (like I stated earlier). The good news is that I'm finally getting a job. Because I don't have as much time to write, my chapters will take longer to publish. I am not going to rush chapters. I will take all the time I need to make them perfect, even if it means you guys have to wait. And I am sorry for the inconvenience but I'm also very happy to finally get my first job.

Don't be sad that chapters are taking longer, please. I already feel bad about it. I know how it feels to wait for things in life and it suuuuuuuucks. So you know… I'll be able to write storms on weekends though.. But don't be surprised if I can only publish on the weekends. I hope it doesn't come to that but… We'll see.

Anyways, I just wanted to tell you guys that. Now to the actual story:

Alphys helped Frisk bring Flowey down to her true lab. It was modeled after the first true lab, except this lab was above ground instead of underground. It was pretty empty because Alphys didn't experiment much due the humans lack of need for a scientist. Instead of injecting him with anything, she was simply doing some empathy exercises with him. He hated it so much. Frisk was in the other room the entire time, watching some of Alphys's favorite animes. They could hear Flowey getting vocally frustrated with her several times. Eventually they heard arguing and ran into the room.

"D-Don't even joke about that," Alphys scolded Flowey. "That's not funny."

"I'm not joking," Flowey hissed. "I am Asriel Dreemurr. Toriel and Asgore are my parents."

"You're Flowey the...uh...flower." Alphys stated, thinking that Flowey was just trying to mess with her.

"Yes, I'm trapped in a flower because you did this to me."

"Y-You may think that you're Asriel, but he's been dead for years…"

Flowey turned back to see Frisk standing in the doorway. "Back me up here, Frisk."

They both glared at Frisk, awaiting a response. Frisk didn't think it was time to tell everyone who Flowey really was but they also didn't want Flowey to be angry at them if they lied and said that he wasn't Asriel. They didn't know what to do. They knew they wanted to tell the truth but they feared that Alphys would tell all of her followers on Undernet that Flowey was secretly Asriel. Well. Maybe Alphys wouldn't do something like that. Frisk honestly had no idea how Alphys would respond. They wondered if she would tell Asgore and Toriel right away. Maybe it would be best not to tell Alphys.

"Frisk, back me up here." Flowey repeated himself. "Tell her who I really am."

Frisk didn't say or do anything.

"Golly, what a friend you are…"

Their little argument ended after Frisk's refusal to join in. Alphys finally looked at the time and told Frisk and Flowey that it would be best for them to leave and come back the day after. They went back to the first floor. Undyne and Papyrus raced through the front door to go have their cooking session. They were so caught up in their own worlds that they didn't even realize Frisk and Flowey were there.

Frisk and Flowey walked home in silence. Flowey was angry at Frisk for not standing up for him. They were too tired to really notice.

Frisk pulled Flowey's face towards their chest as they approached their house. Surprisingly, Toriel did not greet them at the door. They had to unlock the door themself. As they walked in, they noticed Sans lazily napping on the couch. They didn't bother him or wake him up. They simply went to their room and place Flowey on their drawer.

"If Toriel picks me up again, I'm talking to her." Flowey snarled.

'Goodnight, Flowey.' Frisk rolled into their bed and covered themself.

"...goodnight Frisk."

oOo

Frisk woke up, not remembering their dreams. When they turned their body, they saw Toriel grabbing Flowey's flowerpot. She did not seem to notice Flowey's face, or Frisk hoped that she didn't notice his face.

Toriel noticed Frisk was awake. "Good morning, my child. I have made you breakfast today. It is waiting on the kitchen table. I hope you have a good day at school."

'Wait, mom, I need that flower for school.' Frisk ran up and tugged Toriel's sleeves.

"You do…?"

Frisk nodded.

Toriel sighed, handing Frisk the flower pot. "You would tell me if you were hiding something from me, right, my child?"

Frisk nodded.

"I'll see you after school."

Frisk rushed their daily routine of getting ready for school. They ate their breakfast, quickly finished up their weekend homework, and ran out of the house to the school building. They made sure to bring Flowey. They past by Asgore, who was tending to the school's garden. He looked lonely.

"...king dad..." Flowey mumbled gloomily.

Frisk walked into class, hoping to avoid their bullies.

"Nice flower," A bully commented sarcastically. It was almost like they weren't even trying anymore.

The bullies continued to say things to Frisk, but they ignored them. They were too focused on Flowey to really care what the bullies thought of them.

Frisk placed Flowey on their desk. He looked less than pleased with the environment. Meanwhile, the other students were staring at the yellow flower on Frisk's desk. When their teacher came in class, she looked a bit angry. "Frisk, why did you bring that flower to class? Why don't you plant in the school's garden so that Asgore can...uh...take care of it?"

Frisk tightly held Flowey, refusing to give him up. The teacher sent them to the principal's office. The principal ended up calling Toriel down to meet up with Frisk. Things were getting bad real fast.

"Why has my child been called down here?" Toriel questioned. The principal explained the situation to her. "Frisk, why are you so attached to that flower?"

'It's not disturbing class.'

"Frisk…"

Toriel sighed and looked at the principal. "Allow me to have a moment alone with Frisk." The principal understood and left the room.

Frisk could feel Flowey's nervous breathing against their chest.

"Did you find it in The Underground?" Toriel asked. "Was it one of the flowers that broke your fall when you climbed Mt. Ebott?"

'Why does it matter?'

"Frisk, answer me." Toriel spoke in a stern tone that she had never used to Frisk before.

Frisk didn't respond.

"Mom…"

"Who…?"

Flowey turned to Toriel. "Mom, I don't even know where to begin."

"I….Frisk… Isn't that the flower that tried to kill you…?" Toriel looked around the room, confused as to what was going on.

"I've done bad things but…" Flowey paused. "This is all so wrong… This is stupid."

"...did it call me, 'mother'?" Toriel asked Frisk.

They nodded.

"I...I don't even know how to respond.. My child, I love you but… Why do you feel so strongly for this flower? It tried to kill not only you but Sans and I."

'He's not as bad as you think.' Frisk tried to explain.

"I want to believe you…" Toriel sighed. "I wish you would've just told me the truth instead of hiding this from me. I'm sure we could find a place for your...uh..friend. What is their name?"

"Flowey," He muttered quietly.

"Flowey…? I am Toriel." She still seemed uneasy about talking to him.

"I...know…" Flowey turned to Frisk for reassurance. He felt horrible that Toriel no longer viewed him as her son.

Toriel let out another sigh. "I'll take Flowey home and you can go back to class."

'Okay.'

"Frisk, wait, no…" Flowey protested. He had suddenly become very dependant. Frisk wondered if he was just afraid to be alone with his mother. "I want to...stay with Frisk."

'You will be okay.' Frisk comforted Flowey as they handed him to Toriel.

Afterwards, Frisk went back to class and attended school normally. They didn't think much about Flowey or Toriel because they were focused on their classes. The school day seemed long and their bullies wouldn't stop harassing them but they got through the day alive.

When they got home, they were not greeted by Toriel. They walked inside to see Toriel reading on her favorite chair, where she usually read books about snails. Flowey was on the coffee table, silently staring at Toriel.

"Welcome home, my child." Toriel slowly shut her book to greet Frisk.

'Mom, did you and Flowey talk?' Frisk quickly asked Toriel.

Toriel looked at Fowey, who did not return her gaze. "Well...We did for a little."

'Can I take Flowey outside?' Frisk asked.

Toriel nodded. "I will bake a pie while you two...uh… play…"

Frisk left with Flowey. They sat down in their backyard and placed Flowey's flower pot nearby. 'You didn't tell her…?'

"I'll tell her eventually." Flowey growled. "Don't rush me… I… I told back in the ruins… I wanted you to just remember back when I was...him."

'You are still Asriel.'

"No, I'm just a soulless flower. Everytime I try to connect with any of these monsters...I swear I feel like I'm the only person who isn't a complete idiot."

'Do you think that Toriel is an idiot?'

"Ye..She has her stupid moments…"

'Do you think that I'm an idiot?'

"Yes." Flowey didn't even hesitate that time.

Frisk let out a sigh. 'Do you ever plan on telling her?'

"Yesterday, you wouldn't back me up when I tried to tell Alphys who I am. Why are you pressuring me so much? Do you honestly think m..Toriel will believe me? Let's face it. I'm just your friend in her eyes. She will never view me how she once viewed me." Flowey hissed at Frisk.

'That's not necessarily true. I am determined to make this work.'

"Of course you are…" Flowey grumbled.

"Hey, punk," A voice called out from behind them.

They turned around to see Papyrus and Undyne. "Would you like to join our cooking lesson?" Undyne asked.

"Don't you dare…" Flowey whispered.

Frisk ignored him. 'Of course.'

"Great!"

Frisk dropped Flowey off with Toriel so that they could join Papyrus and Undyne with their cooking lesson. They had a lot of fun with their friends. Both Papyrus and Undyne were full of energy the entire time. During this cooking lesson, unlike Frisk's other cooking lesson, Undyne made sure that the house would not catch on fire. The three of them cooked a somewhat edible looking pasta.

Papyrus and Frisk went home afterwards. Papyrus went on about how great he was and how proud he was of how the spaghetti turned out.

Frisk excitedly ran to the living room, hoping to see Toriel and Flowey. Toriel wasn't there. Flowey wasn't there. Frisk sprinted up to Toriel and Sans's room. Nobody was there.

"Human, are you okay?" Papyrus asked as he noticed Frisk frantically searching the house.

'I can't find mom.'

"Maybe she went out… Do not worry, I, the great Papyrus, will help you find Toriel." He reassured Frisk.

Author's Note:

Okay, okay, this chapter was shorter than I wanted but I didn't want you guys to wait as long as you already were. It feels horrible having two author's notes but I wrote that first one a while ago… There are a lot of complications with writing this. I think I'm going to take a short break from this story. I'm sad to say it but there is too much going on in my life right now to keep trying to cram the time to write this. This short chapter took me over three days to post. And that's unfair to all of you. But I think I need to take a break from this story until after Christmas. Things should be better by then (hopefully). So, I am sorry about the hiatus, I will continue after the holidays and hopefully will stockpile some chapters so that you won't have to wait about waiting.

Thank you for reading this. Merry Christmas...Unless that's not what you celebrate. I celebrate Christmas, but if you celebrate a different holiday then happy holidays to you!