Chapter 2

In the morning, Ava and Sans had to go back to the forest on patrol. "We can't leave the kids alone," the young woman said.

"No, but Pap and Gaster will be here," the skeleton said. "They'll keep an eye on the kids for sure."

Since he was being serious, he didn't joke and she nodded. "Okay, you tell Pap and I'll tell Gaster," she said. "I'll meet you at the first sentry station."

Nodding, he vanished and she moved silently as well, quietly unlocking the door to the bedroom the girls were in. She sighed sadly as she felt bad about how she and Sans had to kidnap the kids, but there was no other choice.

Nodding again, she went to find Gaster. Once she did and he agreed to keep an eye on the children, Ava headed out to meet Sans, who nodded. "Good?" He asked.

She nodded. "Good?" She asked back.

He nodded again. "Let's get going," he said. "I sense there's someone else nearing the forest."

She took his hand as he teleported them away to the forest edge, where they hid and watched their posts carefully.

Meanwhile...

Chara woke up and rubbed her eyes, looking around before gently shaking her sister awake. Frisk sat up and looked at her. "Are you okay?" She asked.

The red-eyed girl nodded. "Come on," she said. "We've got to get out of here. Who knows what those two will do to us?"

Frisk nodded and they went to try the door again, surprised to find it unlocked. "The girl locked it last night," the brown-eyed girl said.

"Well, let's not question it," Chara said as they quickly moved out, trying to look for a way out, but the front door was securely locked.

"We've got to find a window," Frisk said.

Her sister nodded and looked around. "You go left and I'll go right," she said. "We'll meet up here if we find something."

"Okay."

Both sisters silently moved away, not seeing the watchful eyes watching them. Gaster had to chuckle to himself as he saw the two were determined to escape. He followed Chara, who was looking around nervously. The child then chose a room and went in, finding it to be a lab of sorts. "Okay, move carefully," the girl said to herself. "Don't want to alert anyone that I'm here."

The door to the lab closed firmly and she yelped, turning around with wide eyes to face a skeleton in a black cloak and he was smiling at her, his eyes glowing purple. "I'm afraid I already know you're here, child," he said in a deep voice.

The girl bolted for the window, hoping to see if she could open it, but just as she reached it, a hand caught her arm and stopped her. She tried to pull away, but another hand caught her other arm. She looked at the skeleton to see there were more hands between him and her and they were glowing purple, making her afraid as he came closer. "Get away from me!" She pleaded, struggling to escape. "Frisk! Help!"

A hand gently covered her mouth, muffling her screams. "You're not going anywhere, child," the skeleton said, making her struggle more. "Now calm down, please."

The child continued struggling, tears filling her eyes as he came closer, towering over her as she shivered in fear.

Frisk was in a similar predicament as she had bumped into a tall skeleton and he had caught her with some bones pinning her to the wall, not hurting her, but making it impossible to escape, though she struggled hard. Tears began falling down her face as he kneeled down to get a better look at her. "Please, let me go," she pleaded.

The skeleton sighed. "I'm afraid that's not possible," he said, his voice sounding young. "You see, little human, if we do let you go...it would mean danger for everyone, including you."

"What do you mean?" She asked.

He sighed. "My brother and friend would be better at explaining it," he said before snapping his fingers, the bones disappearing as he lifted her up, holding onto her despite her struggles. "Until they do, please calm down. I won't hurt you."

She was unable to escape and she looked afraid, to which he held her closer and rubbed her back. "Are you hungry?" He asked. "And where is your sister? Sans mentioned there were two of you."

"She's right here," came a voice as a new skeleton entered the room and he had a struggling Chara in his arms. "She's quite a wiggle worm too."

"Put me down!" Chara demanded, still struggling.

"Not until you settle down, young one," he said before seeing the other child. "Ah, you're the other child Ava mentioned."

Frisk swallowed a bit nervously. "Please, don't hurt us," she pleaded.

"We won't," said the skeleton holding her. "I'm Papyrus and that's my older brother, Gaster. What are your names?"

"Like we'd tell you!" Chara snarled as she was still unsuccessful in getting free.

"Hmm, looks like I'll have to take care of that attitude," Gaster said, sitting down with Chara in his lap.

"Wait! Don't hurt her!" Frisk pleaded.

A hand appeared in front of her and gently rested on her mouth. "Shh, child. I won't hurt you or your sister," the cloaked skeleton said. "But I'm not going to put up with her attitude either."

"Then let us go!" Chara demanded again.

White hands with holes in the palms floated around her while black arms wrapped around her waist in a secure hug, not letting her escape. She glared at him before squeaking as something wiggled against her feet. She tried pulling them towards her, but two hands caught her ankles and held her legs still with her feet exposed. "Well, well," Gaster chuckled. "That's one way to get rid of both a little one's attitude and fear."

Chara squeaked and giggled as the skeleton continued tickling her feet and she tried to get away. Frisk giggled as she watched before giggling louder as she felt something wiggle into her side. She turned to see Papyrus was the culprit and he grinned. "Is my captive ticklish?" He asked, making her giggle more and try to get away. "It seems she is."

She squirmed while giggling and was almost free when he adjusted his hold on her, lifting her up again and holding her over his head, smiling as she giggled. Chara had managed to get her feet free and had almost gotten away, but two ghostly hands caught her as Gaster stood up and lifted her into his arms. "Are you going to give us more attitude?" The older skeleton asked, wiggling his fingers at the red-eyed girl, who squeaked and shook her head. "Good," he said, gently pinching her cheek, something that surprised her. "Now, I think it's time for breakfast."

"All ready, brother," Papyrus said as he gestured to the stove where pancakes, grits, and fruit were all ready. Gaster summoned more hands, bringing the food to the table.

"You...don't eat humans?" Chara asked nervously.

Gaster chuckled. "No," he said, his voice filled with amusement.

The girls were set down and Papyrus gestured to the table. "Have a seat," he said with a smile.

The two sisters sat close to each other, not really making a sound, but the food smelled good and when they were served, they at first ate slowly, but then with much more enthusiasm as the delicious food made them perk up.

Ava and Sans suddenly appeared, making the girls jump but the other two skeletons didn't flinch. "How was patrol?" Gaster asked.

"Good," Ava said before smiling at the girls. "Good morning, girls."

"Good morning," Frisk replied back politely and Chara echoed her sister quietly.

Sans noticed that they were still a bit afraid. "Girls," he said, making them look at him. "Do you have any other family besides your father?"

Frisk and Chara looked at each other before looking back at him and shaking their heads. Ava sighed. "Well, at least no one will be looking for them," she said.

Chara looked at her. "Who are you?" She asked.

Ava smiled. "I'm Ava," she said. "Half-human, half-monster. And this is Sans, my dear friend."

The skeleton nodded. "I see you two met my brothers," he said with a smile. "Hey, Ava and I wanted to apologize for scaring you two last night."

"Why did you?" Frisk asked.

"It wasn't our intent," Ava said. "But as we said, we couldn't risk having you kids go back to either with that man who claimed to be your father or to the police."

"If they knew that monsters lived in the forest, we'd be in trouble," Sans said.

Ava nodded. "You see, girls, Sans and I hold the roles of Judge and Jury," she said.

"Like a court?" Chara asked.

"Similar," the young woman said. "Whenever someone comes into the forest, Sans judges them based on what he sees, as he can see what is truly within someone. Are they good or evil?"

"And what do you do?" Frisk asked.

"I'm the Jury," Ava said. "Sans tells me what he sees and I decide the verdict based on that."

"Can you show us?" Chara asked.

The four were surprised, but Sans nodded, his left eye lighting up blue and yellow as he held out a hand to Chara, making her gasp as she felt like she was floating. "HP: 100, Attack: 1, Defense: 15, LV: 1. Is loyal to her sister," the hoodie-wearing skeleton said.

Ava nodded and her eyes glowed a mixture of white and yellow. "Verdict of the child," she said, her voice echoing a little. "Innocent."

Sans then turned to Frisk, his eye still glowing as he lifted her with his telekinesis. "Same stats," he said. "Wants a better life for her and her sister."

"Verdict of the child," Ava said. "Also innocent."

The skeleton let the child go and Ava's eyes stopped glowing. "That is how we fulfill our roles of Judge and Jury," she said. "And we've decided what to do with you two."

"What?" Frisk asked.

"You both will stay with me and the brothers," the young woman said. "You'll be safe here and we'll take care of you."

Chara looked nervous. "You're not going to lock us up again, are you?" She asked.

"No," Sans said. "That was just for last night as we didn't want you kids running away."

Frisk nodded before looking curious. "Can we at least explore?" She asked.

"You can," Gaster said with a nod. "But you mustn't go beyond the line of rocks that lie between here and the edge of the forest."

"That's Sans and mine patrol route," Ava explained.

Papyrus smiled. "We promise you'll like it here," he said.

Chara looked at Frisk, who looked at her, looking unsure. "Tell you what," Sans said. "Let's give it a week. If you girls don't want to stay after a week, then we'll get you to the police station. If you want to stay, then you can."

"Until then, you can explore as much as you want, but as Gaster said, don't go beyond the line of rocks in the front," Ava said.

The girls nodded, still a bit nervous, which the young woman could see and she sighed softly, feeling her heart ache for the girls.

Now before someone comes on here ranting about Stockholm Syndrome, this story will not have any of that. The girls are free to go anywhere they wish in the forest and the Underground (which we will get to later), but they just can't leave monster territory. They will not be forced to say they want to stay. That will be their choice.

Please leave a review, but no flames!

GoldGuardian2418