Turning Over A New Leaf

[Roma]

There was nothing quite as satisfying, especially as the Ambassador of Monsters, then to watch everyone flourish on the surface and realize all their  hopes and dreams: Papyrus finally getting his license and his dream car, Mettaton becoming as much of a star to the humans as he was for monsters, Alphys and Undyne making the most of their new relationship. To have played an active role in all of it and continue to offer their love and support, Frisk couldn't be happier.


Even their latest project, still filled with as much spite and bitterness as a flower could possibly hold, was making progress. Forcing Asriel- no, it was Flowey now- to find a place in the new human-monster society was much better than leaving him to rot in some old mountain, even if his blatant unhappiness often made them reconsider. But, given Flowey would have been unhappy either way, Frisk was sure they made the right decision.


Progress was progress, even if it was painfully slow. Patience was not their virtue but for Flowey’s sake Frisk remained determined. They refused not to believe in him. Someone had to, right?


“We knew this was bound to happen sooner or later, Papyrus.” Frisk was busy munching on cookies Toriel made for them as they worked on their homework, though they hadn't touched a single math problem in about an hour, instead chatting away with Papyrus on their bulky cell phone. Their ambassador duties were much more important! “As much as they want to help, Vulkins are a hazard to nature and human alike. We have to find somewhere they can be happy and not destructive.”


“That could be said of any Hotland dwelling monster, yes.” Papyrus’ voice echoed through the receiver. “The Pyropes have set quite a few things on fire themselves! It's a good thing Grillby and his restaurant are fireproof and willing to house them until we find a solution. They're like one big, happy flammable family!” He paused. “Well. I'll check out a few places. There has to be an active volcano around here somewhere, right? Though I can't imagine they'll be all that thrilled going back into a mountain. I've heard of a “dessert” area I think they might really like! Maybe they can melt all the ice cream instead of cities?”  


“Good thinking Pap.” Frisk gave an unseen nod, unable to hide a smile. “Let me know how that goes.”


“The Great Ambassador-Mascot Papyrus won't let you down!” They imagine he gave a little salute. “Good luck with your mission too, Ambassador Frisk!”


“Thanks,” Frisk glanced at Flowey from the corner of their eye. He seemed to be glaring out the window, but they knew he was carefully listening to every word. “I won't let you guys down either.”


“That's the spirit! Math is just another puzzle!” Papyrus sounded proud. “I will tell the Hotland monsters you send your regards!”


Frisk hung up, realizing most of their cookies were missing but pretending not to have noticed. “Do Vulkins even like ice cream?” They innocently asked their companion. 

 

[The Queen of Scrubs]

"How am I supposed to know?" The golden flower sitting atop the window sill spat violently, not turning around to see the child. Outside the humble household, children played on the sidewalks and in the streets, some raced on scooters and bikes trying to get to the nearby park. The neighbors were watering their plants and mowing their lawns, and Flowey was disgusted by every human. Even now, sitting here surrounded by people that claimed that they loved him, it appeared to the flower prince that Frisk was merely forcing themselves to try and enjoy Flowey's company. 


Disgusting. Pathetic. Unreal. 


Ever since coming to the surface, Flowey couldn't help but think how much better it would be if he wasn't here. Although learning something after being spared countless times by Frisk in battle, and feeling that overwhelming amount of mercy and love, the flower longed for it now, and he grew more and more spiteful now that he would never feel it again. Saddening, depressing, even the negative emotions of sorrow could not be felt by the soulless plant. 


"And even if I did know, why would I tell you?" Flowey inquired in response to his last question. He shook his little flower head, upset and angry. "Why don't you just focus on your stupid math problems?! At least then you can prove yourself an idiot without screwing anyone else's life up but your own!" The words were mean, but definitely nothing Frisk hadn't heard before. The flora was sassy, and although it would put a damper on anyone in the household to hear Flowey's running mouth, the human was probably over it by now. 


Toriel waltzed through the door, bringing a glass of milk for the hardworking child, setting it beside the bobcut human. Looking at the worksheet, the motherly goat realized the child hadn't quite been working as hardly as she would have liked them to be. Patting Frisk's head, she kindly smiled. "How's the math coming, my child?" she asked gently, hoping that her question would prompt them to work even harder. 

@Roma

 

[Roma]

"Okay..." Frisk had been around the flower long enough to read between the lines of his insults and winced. He seemed to be in one of those moods today. 


Never one to be deterred, Frisk decided to bite the bullet- or friendliness pellet, as the case may be. They hid a smile and made a mental note to tell that one when Sans was around. 


"Do you want to talk about it?" They could make a pretty good guess what he was upset about but friendship was about talking things out, not making assumptions. "It'll make you feel better to talk, even if there's not much you or I can do about it. You nor I? Ugh..." Grammar was similarly not their strong suit. 


They turned as the door opened to avoid the withering glare no doubt pointed their way. "Hi Mom!" The smile on their face waned as they realized how little progress they had made since her last checkup. "Oh, uh...it's. It's coming." 


Their nervous smile was no match against Toriel’s motherly stare. "...Okay. I haven't done a single problem since you brought me these cookies." They slumped in defeat. "But I was discussing Ambassador stuff with Papyrus and talking to Flowey about...um...other stuff. Also, this problem is really hard! Why do I need to learn long division anyway?! Ambassadors don't need long division." 


@The Queen of Scrubs

 

[The Queen of Scrubs]

Toriel put a furry hand on her hip, raising an eyebrow at the human's remarks. A smug smile still rested on her face, looking at Frisk and shaking her head. "You need to know these things for the future! Even if you plan on being an ambassador for the rest of your life, you need to learn how to work with numbers and problem solve, my child." Toriel knelt on the ground, offering the child some help as she picked up the math book and put it in her lap. Picking up a pencil and putting a pair of purple reading glasses on, she began to read allowed the problem Frisk had to do. 


The old woman had always wanted to be a teacher, and now on the surface she got to live that dream. After explaining the division problem, and doing it out on paper for Frisk to see, the old woman gave a laugh. "Oh dear....It seems I've done the first problem for you!" She put a hand on her forehead, laughing at herself for a good moment. "Well, I hope you understood the explanation." Standing up, the goat lady dusted off her floral printed skirt, and put her spectacles away. Toriel cleared her throat and turned to leave, but before she fully left the room, she looked at Frisk. 


"Make sure that no one distracts you until you have that done, Frisk." The monster left the room after giving their child a large smile, and then walked down the hall humming to herself. 


Flowey, on the other hand, once Toriel was gone, rolled his eyes and looked back out the window. Moody again, just like every other day he would be. Conflicted the poor thing was, without a soul to feel anything. He was sick of being a flower. He was sick of being here. At least in the Underground he could mess with monsters and go wherever he wanted - now he was just a stupid potted plant. Flowey was degraded, and empty inside. 


@Roma

 

[Roma]

"I'm great at problem solving." Frisk grumbled as they sat up anyway, curling against their adoptive mother as she went through the rest of the problem. It looked really easy when she did it, tentatively accepting the worksheet to try the next problem. 


"Huh. It does make a lot more sense." They smiled. "Thanks, Mom. You're a really great teacher!" Sometimes they wondered what it would have been like staying with Toriel in the ruins, eating snails and learning from whatever dusty textbook Toriel managed to get her paws on. Their education might have been outdated, but in the Underground it wouldn't have mattered. 


They returned Toriel’s smile with one of their own. "I'll do my best, Mom!" Once the old monster was gone Frisk stayed true to their word, finishing the rest of their worksheet (leaving one or two blank because what were they supposed to do with decimals??) so they could focus on the real issue at hand. 


They didn't fail to notice how Flowey had avoided answering their question and decided a different approach was needed. "Hey Flowey, did you ever learn math? Mom must've taught you. I bet all this stuff is super easy for you." 


Asriel looked about the same age for what brief time they had together, but it was impossible to tell. Counting his time as a flower Asriel was technically a lot older, and they wondered if he taught himself about every subject with the amount of time he had at his disposal. 


@The Queen of Scrubs

 

[The Queen of Scrubs]

Flowey sighed. "I've read every book....I've burned every book. Your math is dumb, and we never needed to learn it before!" The flower grumbled harshly, pouting his face out the window and crossing his two arm-like leafs. Even now, as rude as he would get and as much grief as he'd serve to Toriel and Frisk - they still kept him around. 


In some sort of sick, twisted, false hope that he'd get better. Flowey didn't regret any of it, because he couldn't feel that guilt - and more importantly, he couldn't go back and fix what he'd said. Frisks's determination was more powerful than his, the savepoints Flowey created were nothing. They didn't matter. Failures. "Besides," Flowey scoffed. "The old woman's not THAT good of a teacher...." 


Thinking back at it, that wasn't necessarily the truth. But Flowey didn't have a problem with lying. He didn't care, because there was no consequences to it. He now forgot why he had tried once again to feel those powerful, moral emotions...because the case was hopeless. 


@Roma

 

[Roma]

This was getting ridiculous. 


"Floweyyy..." Frisk most certainly didn't whine. "Why won't you tell me what's eating you? You love talking about your problems." They tried to egg him on, huffing at their successive failures as they followed his stubborn gaze out the window. Another idea popped into their head. 


"Oh. Do you want to go outside?" Flowey had survived just fine Underground with minimal sunlight, but it wasn't lost to Frisk how he seemed the slightest bit happier when sunbathing. "I don't think Mom would mind. Come on, let's go to the park!" 


Frisk sprung off their bed and pulled on some shoes, grabbing their cell phone before carefully picking up Flowey and his lovingly decorated flower pot. They paused by the entrance of the living room where they found Toriel reading on her favorite arm chair, coughing to get her attention. 


"I finished my homework so Flowey and I want to go the park for a bit! We'll be back before sunset." Frisk gave her their best hopeful grin, bouncing a bit on their feet in their eagerness to get a move on. They only had a couple hours left of sunlight, after all. 


@The Queen of Scrubs

 

[The Queen of Scrubs]

Toriel looked up from her book, then her gaze fled to the window, and then the old grandfather clock that ticked in the corner of the room. The goat woman pondered for a moment, looking a bit skeptical of the skies. "Mmm....alright," Toriel nodded. "But you must be home in an hour! And I will send Sans and Papyrus over to watch you play in a little bit." She eyed the potted plant for a moment, squinting her eyes at him. "Be good, and you too, Flowey." The goat resumed to her polite smile. "And be good, and safe!" Picking up her cell phone, Toriel began to dial in the numbers of Papyrus and Sans, calling up the skelebros to meet Frisk at the park. 


Flowey just scoffed and rolled his eyes. 


@Roma