Steelcode, who owns Sage, asked for this one. Here you go, Amigo! Enjoy! :)

Undertale belongs to Toby Fox. I own nothing.

True Friends Don't Judge On Just Appearance

Frisk ran to avoid the bullies who were chasing her. "Leave me alone!" She said, trying to put some distance between them.

"Come get it, monster brat!" Said one bully as they caught up to her and one punched her hard enough to make her stagger, but she quickly caught her balance and ran, but then another bully tripped her and her ankle twisted and she let out a cry as she landed on the unforgiving pavement.

The bullies surrounded her and were about to punch her again when they felt something wrap around their wrists and suddenly tighten, pulling them back sharply and they looked to see it was rope and holding the rope was a young man, one of the juniors, and he didn't look happy. "The principal is quite firm about not bullying others," he said, coming closer and then cinching the rope tighter so that the two couldn't escape. A teacher came out.

"Sage, why are you roping these two?" She asked.

"They were bullying this young girl, ma'am," he replied. "They tripped her and punched her."

The teacher then saw that Frisk was holding her ankle and crying and that told her enough. "I'll take these two to the principal," she said, taking the rope. "Can you get Frisk to the hospital?"

"Yes, ma'am," he said.

"No," Frisk said, shaking her head. "They'll…They won't help."

Sage had a feeling he knew why. "Is there a place I can take you then?" He asked. "An aunt's house? Restaurant?"

The ten-year-old perked up at the second suggestion. "Grillby's," she said. "He's my uncle."

The sixteen-year-old nodded and pulled out some bandanas. "We can at least wrap up your ankle," he said, using the bandanas to form a makeshift wrap to try and reduce the pain. Frisk winced a little, but didn't complain as Sage then carefully helped her onto his back. "Hold on tight. I'll give you a piggy-back ride there."

Frisk held onto her new friend's shoulders as he began heading away from the school and she pointed him in the direction of where the fire monster's restaurant was. Hardly anyone paid attention to them as they walked and when they reached the restaurant, Sage pulled the door open with one hand while Frisk tightened her grip and relaxed it one Sage had a good hold on her again.

The monsters inside looked up and were a bit curious, but then saw the little girl they called their hero had an injured ankle. "Okay, kiddo, which one's Grillby?" The young man asked.

"Him," Frisk said, pointing to a fire monster behind the bar counter. "That's Uncle Grillby."

As they approached the counter, Grillby looked up and blinked. "Frisk?" He asked. "Did school let out early?"

She shook her head and Sage decided to speak up. "Some bullies were picking on her and one of them tripped her," he said. "I think her ankle's sprained."

Hearing that, the fire monster instantly moved towards them, accepting the younger child from the young man and Frisk clung to him, sniffling. Grillby asked his workers to keep things running while he tended to Frisk and they all nodded, knowing how much their boss loved the little one and they were fond of the young girl too.

Sage followed Grillby as the fire monster went into his office and set Frisk down in a chair, gently removing the bandanas and her shoe and sock from her injured foot and Frisk sat still as her uncle's natural heat soaked into her ankle from his hands. It felt good and eased some of her pain. "It's sprained," he said after a moment. "I can alleviate the pain, but Papyrus can heal her. Or Toriel."

"I'll call them," the young man said. "Do you have their phone numbers?"

"My phone," Frisk said, pulling it out and handing it to him. "Mom's number 1. Uncle Papyrus is number 4."

Nodding, Sage hit the speed dials and first spoke with Toriel, telling her what had happened and letting her know where they were. He then called Papyrus, who said he'd be there in an instant. A moment later, Toriel and Papyrus, along with Sans appeared in the room, making Sage jump a little in surprise for them suddenly appearing, but he then stepped back so that they could see to Frisk.

"What happened, my child?" Toriel asked, her hands glowing green as she began healing Frisk's injured ankle. Papyrus' hands also glowed green as he helped out.

"Bullies," the ten-year-old answered.

"Are they still bothering you?" Sans asked and his left eye lit up a blue flame. "I've been looking for an excuse to visit the school."

"Sans," Grillby said, placing a hand on his friend's shoulder. "As much as I too would love scaring the life out of those bullies, we have enough trouble with people accepting us and the law enforcement trying to keep the peace, along with Asgore trying to work with them."

"But this is the third time this week Frisk has been bullied," Toriel said. "I'm very seriously considering pulling her out and opening my own school and teaching her myself."

"But…not all humans are like those bullies," Papyrus said. "Some are accepting, even if it is only a few."

"Speaking of people accepting us," Sans said, turning to Sage, who had stayed quiet while they had been there. "Are you one of them? Or are you just here to say you met a monster?"

The young man stood straighter. "No," he said.

"Why aren't you afraid of them?" Frisk asked, looking at him. "Most people flinch from just seeing Uncle Grillby and they usually run whenever they see Dunkle Sans and Uncle Papyrus."

"Well, if you haven't noticed, I'm not one of those people," Sage said, a bit of humor in his voice.

"Really?" Sans asked with a raised brow bone. "Then you won't mind if I see if you're really friend or foe."

The young man looked curious. "How would you do that?" He asked.

The skeleton grinned and his eyes went dark. "It's called checking your stats," he said. "Also, I look at what traits you have."

Though not completely understanding what the skeleton meant, Sage decided that if doing so would put their minds at ease, it was necessary. "Okay," he said. "I don't know how you're going to do it, but…I'm giving you my permission."

The monsters looked a bit surprised and Sans held up one blue hand and the young man felt a slightly uncomfortable feeling before trying to stand still. "Sixteen years old. Does farm work. Has good standing in school," Sans muttered aloud. "Champion roper. Not afraid of hard work. Well, stats look alright, now let's see your main trait."

A heart floated in front of Sage and in front of Sans, who lifted a hand and carefully drew it closer. "This basically represents your soul," he said. "The colors tell us if you're good or not."

Sage nodded and stood still as the skeleton examined the colors. "Hmm. Orange, green, blue, and indigo," he said. "Bravery, kindness, patience, and integrity, along with hints of determination, perseverance, and justice."

"What does that mean?" The young man asked.

"It means I can see you were telling the truth," the short skeleton replied. "Though, it doesn't exactly tell me why you haven't judged us and why you really helped Frisk."

"I helped her because I hate bullies," Sage replied. "I was raised to respect people and raised not to judge on just appearance. Appearance is only a very small part of a person and to really judge someone, you have to look at the whole person."

Grillby nodded. "You are wise for your age, boy," he said.

"Yes," Toriel said in agreement. "And a fine young man too."

Nodding, Sans dispelled his magic and Sage let out a breath of relief. "No offense, but that felt really strange," he said.

"You haven't felt magic before, have you?" Sans said.

"No, sir," the young man replied.

"Continue showing we can trust you and you'll never have to worry about that again," the skeleton said. "Also, thank you for helping my baby bones."

"You're welcome," Sage replied. "The teacher and principal took care of the bullies too."

"Oh, good," said Toriel and she felt her phone ring and answered it, nodding and thanking the other person. "That was your teacher, Frisk. She spoke to the superintendent and asked him to grant me permission to school you at home for the rest of the year. She'll come and check now and then to see that your education is going well."

Frisk looked happy and then noticed Sage. "But Sage," she said, now frowning a little. "What if those bullies go after you?"

He chuckled. "Then I rope 'em up just like cattle," he said, indicating to his side. "I always carry a bit of rope with me to practice roping the fence during break and this time, it came in handy to put those boys in a three-handed race."

The young girl giggled at his play on words and the others chuckled. "Well, it's nice to see our Frisk has at least one human friend willing to look out for her," Grillby said.

"I think that's earned him a place among our friends," Toriel said as she picked up Frisk, who was feeling much better and she turned to Sage. "You're welcome to our home anytime," she said to him warmly.

"That goes for us too," Sans said and Papyrus nodded.

"And for me too," said Grillby. "Thank you again for helping Frisk."

"I'm happy I could," Sage replied.

While he had only set out to help the young girl and not looking for reward, he had been granted the best reward: friendship with the monsters who accepted him just as he accepted them.

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GoldGuardian2418