Chapter 14: Connected Like A Spider Web
A week had now passed since the seven children had ventured from the Ruins and met Papyrus and Grillby and Toriel could see that her children weren't as afraid to go outside. She had smiled at hearing Grillby had asked about her. "He is a good friend," she had said to them. "I'm glad to see he hasn't lost his soft spot for children."
"Grillby likes kids like us?" Frisk had asked.
"Yes," Toriel said, still smiling. "I believe he desires to have a child of his own someday."
The kids smiled at this. "Mom, we think of him like an uncle," Nathan said. "Is...Is that okay?"
"Of course," she said, pleased at the thought.
When Papyrus learned that the kids thought of him as an uncle, he literally hit the roof, as Sans said he would. "I have nieces and nephews?" He asked in extreme happiness. "Then I shall be one of the best uncles to them!" His expression drooped a little. "Sans, the children...had no family on the surface?"
"I don't know their whole stories, Pap," Sans said honestly. "But judging on their reactions when they met me, you, and Grillby, I think they didn't have good lives on the surface."
The tall skeleton looked like he was about to cry. "Why must humans be so cruel, even to their own kind?" He asked. "Will the surface world never change, Sans?"
"I don't think so, Pap," his brother said. "But don't worry, bro. The kids are happy and I saw how you lit up when hearing they think of you as an uncle and Grillby even lit up when they asked if they could call him one of their uncles."
Papyrus realized Sans didn't make a pun about their fire monster friend, which meant the shorter skeleton was serious. "Then we shall be the family that they didn't have on the surface," he said, standing proudly. "They deserve to have that."
"Yeah, they do," Sans said with a smile before seeing Undyne walking past and she looked a bit down. The shorter skeleton frowned at that. "By the way, how's Undyne doing?"
"She's really down," the taller skeleton said sadly before perking up. "Sans, she should meet the children."
The joke-loving skeleton froze at that. "Bro, I don't know if that's a good idea or not," he said.
"But Sans, if they helped us feel better and accept us...maybe they can do the same for Undyne," Papyrus said softly. "We could arrange a calm place for them to meet, like Muffet's."
Sans looked even grimmer at this. "Bro, the kids were afraid of you, me, and Grillby when they first saw us. If they were to see the Captain of the Royal Guard and a spider who has spider webs that are impossible to escape from, I don't think they'd want to stick around, no joke."
His brother looked sadder before perking up. "Then we shall be there too," he said. "If the children are with us, they'll feel safer, right?"
The shorter skeleton realized that his brother wasn't going to give this up and thought for a moment before nodding. "Okay," he finally said. "Let me talk to Muffet."
"I'll come with you."
The two headed over for the very edge of Hotland and Waterfall, right where the two towns met. There was a cave there and the entrance had a few webs that were placed to make it look like a home. "Muffet?" Sans called out questioningly.
Soft footsteps reached them and a spider dressed in a purple dress and black hair done in pigtails, came out, smiling brightly when she saw them. "Sans! Papyrus!" She said happily, her eyes shining brightly as she hugged them. "What brings you both to visit little old me?"
"Just wanted to stick around, Muffet," the pun-loving skeleton said.
"SANS!" Papyrus said in exasperation before turning to Muffet. "Miss Muffet, we were hoping to ask you for a favor."
She smiled. "Come in," she said, leading them into her cave and having them sit down at a finely-decorated table. "What favor would you like to ask?"
"Well, there are children down here," the tall skeleton explained. "Human children who have...had a hard life before coming down here."
The spider looked surprised. "Human children?" She asked. "Like our dear Princess Chara?"
"Like her, yes," Sans replied. "Toriel adopted them as her own."
Muffet had tears in her eyes. "I'm glad to hear that," she said softly. "The deaths of Chara and Asriel nearly destroyed her and Asgore."
Papyrus nodded before looking at the spider. "I'd like my nieces and nephews to meet you and Undyne, Muffet," he said. "Someplace calm. They are...nervous at meeting new people."
The spider saw where he was going with this. "Go on," she said with a nod.
"Would it be alright if Sans brought the children to your shop while I bring Undyne too?"
Muffet smiled and nodded. "My shop is a good place and I can have some treats ready," she said. "I...I would like to meet the children. How do I make them not afraid of me?"
"Show them you don't mean any harm," Sans said gently. "Calm words and gestures help, similar to us comforting or calming a young monster."
She smiled again. "Sans, these children...they are good?" She asked.
He nodded. "Each one has one of the seven traits," he said.
Muffet looked a bit horrified. "But if Undyne sees them...," she couldn't finish her sentence.
Papyrus shook his head. "She's been thinking of the barrier as a layer of protection," he said. "And I'll make sure she doesn't approach the children in a threatening manner."
"I think between the three of us, it'll be alright," Sans said. "If it makes you feel better, Muffet, let's have the kids meet you first and then they can meet Undyne when Papyrus brings her by later."
The spider nodded. "Yes, that would be best," she said. "It'll give the children and myself time to get to know each other."
Her smiled grew bigger. "Why don't you bring them by today, Sans? After I get your brother, that is."
Papyrus looked at Muffet curiously before yelping as she lunged and caught him, her six arms wrapping around his middle and her spider hands going to work on his spine and ribs.
"AAAAIIIIYEEEE!" The tall skeleton shrieked, going googly-eyed in surprise before laughing heartily as the spider got him good. Sans chuckled before teleporting away to find the kids.
Carmen saw him teleport by a tree near the Ruins and she waved him over. "Uncle Sans!" She said happily, hugging him. Her siblings echoed the cry and ran over to him, making him laugh as he held them all in a warm embrace.
"Hey, baby bones," he said fondly. "I was wondering, would you kids be willing to meet a good friend of mine?"
The seven children looked at each other. "Who?" Nathan asked.
"Her name's Muffet and she's a spider monster," the skeleton explained.
"A spider?" Frisk asked unsurely.
"Will she bite us?" Sarah asked, looking unsure.
"Nah, she's a nice spider," Sans said reassuringly. "Pap and I told her about you all and she wants to meet you. Pap and I will be there too."
Thomas looked thoughtful. "Is she a really good friend of yours like Uncle Grillby, Uncle Sans?" He asked.
"Yes, she is," the skeleton said with a smile. "She's fun to stick around with. Especially in her webs."
Getting the joke, the children giggled before David nodded. "If Papyrus and Grillby proved we had nothing to fear from them, I bet Miss Muffet will do the same," he said.
"Will she like us?" Julie asked unsurely.
"Trust me, she'll love you kids," Sans said. "Gather close."
They did as he asked and he snapped his fingers, teleporting them to the spider's shop. She was outside waiting for them and smiled brightly. "Hello!" She said pleasantly. "Come in, dearies. I have something for you."
The seven approached cautiously, their noses picking up a delicious smell and they entered in, gazing around in awe at seeing so many pastries in the shop. The spider looked pleased as punch when she saw how amazed they were and went up to the counter. "What would you all like to eat?" She asked.
The seven children, most of whom had never had pastries like these before, looked unsure, but then decided to each try a couple of pastries and they would share with each other.
Sans smiled at this and was about to count out some gold for Muffet, but she gently shook her head. "This is my treat to them," she said to the skeleton in a soft voice so only he heard her. He nodded and smiled at her.
Frisk's eyes lit up as he tried an orange danish. "Wow! This is good!" He said, splitting it up with his siblings so they could try it.
"These are good too," Nathan said, splitting up a berry tart into equal sections for this siblings.
"These are just as good as Mom's butterscotch-cinnamon pie," Carmen said with a smile as she shared her chocolate cake with the others.
Muffet, hearing that, beamed at the compliment. "Toriel is the one who taught me how to bake," she said.
Julie grinned, enjoying part of an apple danish. "You're a good baker, Miss Muffet," she said.
"Just Muffet, dearies," the spider said gently, pleased that the children were enjoying the food.
David closed his eyes as he enjoyed a caramel cinnamon roll. Thomas noticed and smiled. "That good?" He asked.
"Yeah," his brother said, breaking off a piece for him and the others.
Sarah smiled too and looked at Muffet. "You know our mom?" She asked while enjoying a piece of blueberry pound cake.
"Yes," Muffet said. "I've known the Queen for a long time."
The seven children looked at her before Julie lit up. "Does that mean you're our auntie?" She asked hopefully.
Muffet was taken aback by the question and didn't know what to say. Carmen, however, did.
"Yeah, I think it does," she said. "Actually, I know it does."
"Cool!" David said, punching a fist in the air. "We have a spider for an aunt! That's so awesome!"
His brothers echoed his enthusiatic cheer and Muffet had tears in her eyes. "You...You children really...see me as an aunt?" She asked.
"Yeah," Frisk said, smiling. "Uncle Sans trusts you and we know we can trust someone he trusts."
"Plus...none of us have an aunt," Sarah said softly.
The spider felt sympathy for the children. "Well, now you do," she said with a smile. "And you just might have another one too soon."
"Really?" Julie asked, her eyes shining.
The door opened and Papyrus entered with Undyne behind them. The fish woman froze at seeing the kids and her one good eye widened. "Pap, I thought you were pulling my leg about kids being down here," she said.
"I would never joke about something important like this," the tall skeleton said, grinning as the kids glomped him with warm hugs, though they looked at Undyne a bit warily. She couldn't blame them though, especially if what Papyrus had told her about the kids being very shy was true.
"Hey, punks," she said softly, kneeling down and glad for once that she wasn't in uniform.
Nathan looked at her. "You're...Captain of the Royal Guard, right?" He asked warily.
"Yes," the fish woman said, deciding to be truthful. "But I won't hurt you."
Papyrus smiled. "Because you're all just kids," he said reassuringly.
"Just like Chara and Asriel," Sans said with a smile.
Undyne nodded, tears gathering in her eye. Seeing this, the seven children went up to her and it wasn't long before they were hugging her and she was hugging them back, fresh tears coursing down her face when they called her 'Aunt Undyne'. After a moment, Frisk spoke up.
"Who's Chara and Asriel?" He asked.
The four monsters went still before Undyne sighed and nodded. "It's only fair that they know," she said to the two skeletons and the spider before sitting down in a nearby chair, all seven children gathered around her as if she was a storyteller reading them a story.
The other three nodded softly. The kids had been asking about the tragedy that had happened and now with their new question, it seemed time to tell them. "If we tell you kids...your mom will have to know that you know too," Sans said.
"I'll tell her," Carmen said with a nod.
Undyne nodded and took a deep breath. "You kids weren't the first humans to fall down here," she said, her tone softening as she began the story. "There was one other...long ago."
And we're going to stop here for now, but no worries. The next chapter will not only have Undyne telling the kids the story, but also some bonding time with her and Muffet and the kids, so stay tuned! :)
And please leave a review, but no flames!
GoldGuardian2418
