Dragonsrule18 asked for this one. Here you go, Amigo! Enjoy! :)

Undertale belongs to Toby Fox. I own nothing.

How Protective We Can Be

Frisk was shaking a little, looking out the window of the car. Asgore and Toriel were making it official to adopt her, but they had to face Frisk' birth parents, something the young girl wasn't looking forward to. "Frisk?" Mettaton asked, seeing his niece was shaking. "Are you alright?"

"Not really," she admitted.

"Punk, if you don't want to face them, you don't have to," Undyne said gently. "Just say the word and one of us can take you elsewhere while Toriel and Asgore officially get custody of you."

Toriel was watching Frisk closely. "She's right, my child," she said. "You don't have to be present if you don't want to."

The ten-year-old let out a small sigh, but then lifted up her face, determination in her eyes. "I want the courts to see that I'm happy with you guys," she said. "I want to show my former parents that I'm not afraid to tell the courts about how they treated me before I met you all."

Sans, who was next to her, placed a hand on her shoulder. "You're very brave, baby bones," he said gently. "But you don't have to force yourself to do this."

"I know," she said, appreciating the gesture and knowing the monsters she now considered her family were just looking out for her. "But I want to."

Gaster gently ruffled her hair with a smile, making her giggle. "Don't worry, Frisk," he said. "We won't let your former parents take you away."

"We'll fight tooth and nail for you if it comes down to that," Undyne said strongly.

"Although let's hope it doesn't," Asgore said with a gentle smile.

Grillby had been silent the whole ride, as had Muffet, but both were proud of Frisk and now the spider spoke up. "You can do it, dearie," she said encouragingly.

"And remember, we're with you the whole way," Grillby now spoke up.

They arrived at the courthouse and moved inside quickly, finding a policeman waiting for them and he escorted them to the courtroom. "Go ahead in," he said, holding the door for them before lowering his voice. "And good luck."

Toriel turned to him and saw something in his face. "Her birth parents are well known to the system," he revealed, keeping his voice down. "I doubt the judge will let them take her back, but I sincerely hope he doesn't decide to make her a ward of the state too. She deserves a good family, just like any child deserves."

The goat woman nodded. "Thank you," she said softly, glad to see an authoritative figure felt that it was best for them to adopt Frisk. The young girl felt move nervous as the all found seats on the side of the courtroom they had been ushered to and she sat with Toriel and Asgore on either side of her before looking at Sans. Seeing this, Toriel smiled. "You may go sit with Sans until it's time, my child," she said gently.

Grateful to the monster she considered her mother, Frisk went over to Sans, who picked her up and set her in his lap, holding her as she hugged him, her light blue dress a contrast to his black suit. "Dunkle Sans, I'm scared," she whispered to him.

He nodded. "I know," he replied softly. "We're a bit scared too, but that's okay. We're going to face those fears, baby bones, and it'll soon be official."

She nodded, feeling Papyrus and Gaster both touch her shoulders to show their support and to let her know that they were there for her and she wasn't alone.

Just then, two people came in and Frisk clung to Sans, who tightened his hold, already knowing who the couple was. Undyne looked ready to go over and have a few words with them, but Alphys touched her arm, the gesture telling her that it wasn't time yet. Muffet felt the same way, as did Grillby, but they all managed to keep their tempers in check. It wouldn't look good if they started a fight before the judge arrived. Thankfully, it was only five minutes later that the judge arrived and they all rose in respect before the judge told them they could be seated. The judge looked over the papers and looked over at the gathered monsters. "Which of you are Toriel and Asgore?" He asked, his voice low, but commanding respect.

Both goat monsters stood. "We are, Your Honor," Toriel replied respectfully.

"According to the petition, you have been raising the young child called Frisk for a few months now?" He asked.

"A bit longer than that, Your Honor," she replied. "Frisk fell into the Underground seven months ago and I took her in, accepting the role of a mother for her after she asked if she could call me 'Mom'."

Frisk's birth parents glared at the monsters and stood up. "Your Honor, these creatures lie," said the father. "Our daughter has never been to this Underground."

"What would we have to gain from lying?" Asgore asked softly before coming to a decision. "Your Honor, if you will permit, I believe Frisk should tell this court her story."

The judge nodded and Frisk gulped, but the monsters gave her reassuring nods and she stood up, standing by her goat mother and looking at the judge. "Your Honor, what my goat mom says is true," she said. "On the day I fell into the Underground, I was running from them."

She pointed to her birth parents. "They had beaten me with a whip and gave me moldy food to eat," she continued. "They called me every bad name that is known. They were going to lock me in a closet when I managed to get away and run to Mt. Ebbot."

"That's not true!" Her birth mother exclaimed.

The judge pounded his hammer once. "Silence," he said firmly before looking at Frisk. "Continue, young one. What happened when you fell into the Underground?"

"I was nearly hurt by a cruel monster, but then Toriel saved me and took me in," Frisk said. "When I learned there were more monsters trapped there, I decided I was going to help them get free."

She looked at her family. "Despite looking scary to me at first, they all proved they wouldn't hurt me. Not one of them raised a hand against me after learning I was wishing to help them be free. They helped me to recover from my injuries I got from my birth parents."

"And you feel safe with them?" The judge asked gently. "Do you feel afraid if the monsters approach you?"

"No," Frisk said. "They've become my family. I always feel safe with them."

"Your Honor, these monsters have messed with her head," said her birth father. "She is just a child. She doesn't know what she's talking about."

Undyne stood up quickly, as did Grillby, both wearing thunderous expressions. "Frisk may be only a child," Undyne said, just barely keeping her temper down.

"But she is very smart," Grillby said. "To imply she is not is a sign of abuse."

Sans stood up, some pictures in his hand. "Your Honor," he said respectfully. "Both my brother and best friend treated Frisk for her injuries, but only after she trusted them to do so. For a long time, she would flinch if any of us touched her shoulder. She revealed to us why one day and these pictures were taken to show the abuse she endured."

"May I see the pictures?" The judge asked.

Papyrus took them from his brother and walked up, giving them to the judge, who looked at them. His expression became disgusted for a moment before he schooled it back into a serious expression. "And the child's injuries now?" He inquired.

Alphys stood up, taking a deep breath. "Fully healed, Your Honor," she said, holding up a file. "This is Frisk's medical file that Dr. Gaster and I have put together since finding out about the abuse Frisk endured."

The judge examined the file and then looked at the birth parents. "You claim your daughter didn't get these marks from you?" He asked.

"She lies, Your Honor," said the mother. "She did that to herself."

Sans glared at them. "How can a child give herself whip marks on her back?" He demanded to know. "And for the longest time, she wouldn't even speak. Any sudden noise would scare her so bad, she'd go into shock and beg for her life."

He held up his phone, turning to the judge. "Your Honor, I recorded a few of the times when Frisk was pleading for her life after something had caused her to go in a flashback," he said.

"What would cause these flashbacks?" The judge asked.

"For the longest time, it was a door opening and closing, Your Honor," the skeleton said. "Or if the lights went out in a storm, she'd scream and curl up. And one night, she had a terrible nightmare, to the point that she lost all control on her body. This alone told us the abuse she had suffered was indescribable."

The judge looked right then as if he had already decided who Frisk should stay with, but he straightened. "If you'll be so kind, sir, would you please play those recordings?" He asked.

"Yes, Your Honor," Sans said.

The recordings alone brought tears to the monsters' eyes as they heard the child they loved crying and begging to not be hurt, begging to not be whipped, and promising to be a good girl. The judge turned to the birth parents and looked at them with disgust on his face before again taking a deep breath as if to calm down and he looked at Frisk. "Frisk, I would like you to be honest with me, young one," he said.

She gave him her full attention. "Yes, Your Honor?" She replied.

"How did you feel when living with your birth parents?" He asked.

After a moment, she replied. "Afraid," she said. "They never hugged me, never told me they loved me, and never helped me when I struggled in school."

The judge nodded. "And with the monsters? How do you feel when living with them?"

"Happy," she replied without hesitation. "They give me hugs, say they love me, spend time with me, help me with school, tuck me in at night, comfort me when I have nightmares or a bad day, and they never say anything mean to me."

Her birth parents glared at her. "You ungrateful brat!" The father said angrily.

"How dare you choose creatures over your own kind!" Said the mother.

"Enough," the judge said firmly. "What also comes into play is Frisk's birth parents' records."

That made the monsters look up in surprise. "They have…police records, Your Honor?" Asgore asked.

"With a long list of charges," the judge replied. "Therefore, by order of this court, their parental rights are terminated and custody of Frisk is granted to Toriel and Asgore."

The birth parents charged at the monsters, who quickly stood together, their magics all activating as they stood protectively around Frisk. "Don't even think about it," Undyne growled warningly.

The father turned to the judge. "See? They're dangerous!" He said.

"Really?" The judge replied. "From what I see, you were advancing threateningly and they responded defensively."

Police came in and arrested Frisk's birth parents and took them away while the monsters gathered around as Toriel and Asgore signed the adoption papers and the judge put his signature on the paper, finalizing the documents. "Congratulations," he said with a smile. "Take good care of her."

"Yes, Your Honor," Toriel said. "Thank you."

Frisk hugged all of her family members, happy that it was final. She'd never have to face her birth parents again and the monsters were equally happy that their protectiveness and how much they cared about her was seen by the judge.

Please leave a review, but no flames!

GoldGuardian2418