As soon as Asgore saw the six soul mages leave, he turned to his subjects. His citizens saw a somber smile on his face. "My dear friends and subjects, now is not the time to lose hope. Instead we should focus on helping each other prosper by rebuilding what was lost!" Asgore summoned his trident, a symbol of hope and peace for monsters. "Those who can lift should make proper walls and floors. Monsters who can cook with magic should make rationed supplies!" Most of the monsters left for their new duties, except Undyne who just watch. "Finally for those who are still injured, continue resting." Asgore saw his wife still here with their newborn child. They haven't given a name yet, because the war took most of his focus.
Undyne had to lightly restrain Muffet from getting up again. "What did I say!?" Undyne yelled at the injured Muffet, who mearly smiled. "Seriously, stop. I don't know if one fall means death." She joked as Muffet reached and grabbed an overgrown branch.
"Undyne, we may be friends, but I'm not going to sit around doing nothing." Muffet gave a cheesy smile, before she doubled over in pain. "Gah..."
"Like I said, just rest, trust me. Even a fighting fish machine like me needs rest." Undyne gave her own toothy smile. "Besides, we have nothing else to go for." Undyne looked at the transparent barrior. "Besides the obvious." Undyne let Muffet go and gave a quick glare to a nearby Aster. "If he gives you trouble, you have my premission to kick him in the..." She trailed off her own words. "Do skeletons have those?" After a couple seconds of silence, they laughed for a good long while.
"I don't know, ask the medical expert." She continued the joke and they laughed again. They quieted down, thankfully not getting the attention of the doctor. "Okay, I'll stay here." She wanted to help, but if it made Undyne worried she would take a pass.
Undyne left as Muffet decided to take a dirt nap, she had a pleasent dream.
Undyne saw a huge gathering of monsters centered around something. Gerson was one of them so she was hesitant to approach. "What's going on here?" Undyne asked as the king himself approached her.
"Apparently this level is far too small for monster kind." Undyne looked down a bit from the news. "Don't worry, there is a hole that may go to a bigger level." Asgore's optimism raised hope in Undyne.
The doctor was somehow also in the crowd. "My liege, it appears it does have more room then this one level." Asgore smiled while Undyne gave a glare. "Of course, to get down is another story. It's about...maybe 60 meters between levels."
Asgore gave it some thought. "Why not use your magic?" Aster gave a 'are you kidding me' look. "Or...not?"
Aster sighed in frustration. "I used nearly all my magic to get the injured here, I can't do that without a month of rest!"
The queen arrived with the newborn prince. "We have a spider monster, why not ask her to make a rope." Undyne gave her a surprised glare. "The silk threads of spider monsters are the toughest material on earth."
The doctor made some internal equations. "Yes, it should work. If it doesn't bring all the monsters down, I can use the rest of my magic." The doctor was about to go back when Undyne stepped in front of him. "Hello...One-eyed Willy, right?" The doctor mocked as he tried to get past Undyne.
"Muffet needs to rest, you boney creep!" Aster was faced with a magic spear's tip, which surprised absolutely everyone. "My name is also Undyne the-!" Aster put his fingertip on the spear and moved it aside. "...?"
Aster chuckled as he fully removed the spear from his face. "Of course, I was just going to treat her wounds." He walked besides Undyne with a smile full of secrets. "If I were to guess from your actions. I would say that Muffet is your only thread of sanity left." He whispered before vanishing in darkness.
Was he right? Was it after the war that the only thing she had left was a friend? If Muffet was gone, what would happen to Undyne?
...
After a gureling month of labor, they finally made it down to the larger level. It was not large, it was huge as Asgore's influence. According to Dr. Aster the whole underground actually made the mountain a very hollow hill.
The monsters paved a fair amount of the new area, which the king name, Home. It cause many to groan of his lack of creativity, mostly Aster and the queen.
The king still had his royal army to insure that monsters don't self-destruct.
During this time the royal family named their son Asreal, which only Aster found stupid yet clever.
...
Muffet was with Undyne in one of the earliest rooms in Home, the barracks. She wasn't swinging her dual swords like Undyne is with spears. She was meditating her mind for a sense of purpose. She also meditated as a form of mental training, such as thinking of a new style for her swords. After all that time she hasn't found a suitable style in her mind.
Undyne noticed Muffet's frustration. "Hey, are you alright? You look like you're about to bust a head open." Muffet breath out her negativity.
Muffet looked at Undyne with a sad smile. "Well, I don't know how to wield my swords properly anymore." She moved her only set of arms, barely accustomed to the change. "When I had six arms, I could parry and attack. Now I can only attack and hope to not get hit."
Undyne knew that it was a conundrum for a spider like Muffet. "I don't know about swords, but maybe it'll come at it's own time?" Undyne then continued to whack a training dummy. "How about we do something fun?" Undyne saw Muffet's eyes open and Undyne smiled.
"And what may I ask, is fun around here?" Undyne thought then shifted her smile. "I knew it, you don't know!" Muffet proclaimed as Undyne hung her head down. "So..." Muffet trailed off in thought. "Prank Gerson or Asgore?" Muffet really doesn't want to do that, but Undyne liked that stuff.
Case in point Undyne's huge smile. "Oh hell yeah, but not Gerson he gets real stingy now!" Undyne then grabbed Muffet and ran off.
...
King Asgore was with the doctor as they saw an 'exit'. The wind of said exit was ice cold with snow pouring around them. "Why is there snow here, Aster?"
Aster looked at a device in his hand. "Hmm..." Those words to Asgore meant this also confused the doctor. "My best guess is that this mountain is a dormant volcano, meaning this is supposed to be ash." Gaster took a small pile and the 'ash' turned to water. "However the chemical properties of this is nearly the same as water." Aster then licked the melted snow, then he tried to get the taste out. "Salt, too much salt and minerals." Aster noticed the king smirking. "It's not funny, now it is clear to me."
Asgore looked forward. "What is clear, Aster?" Aster took a few steps forward into the cold snow blizzard.
"The volcanic section of the mountain does make acidic ash. The ash gets transported to a sort of cleansing section, a marsh perhaps due to the salty mineral taste." He turned around to Asgore with a smile one his face. "Then it gets trapped in this part, evaporates and precipitates as snow!"
Asgore was confused by one thing. "But, why would it originally be ash in the first place."
Aster looked shocked. "You actually said something intelligent!" Asgore made a frown at Aster. "Okay, if you walk where I am you can see trees. Ash is originally composed of bio matter, just rotted and burnt. while it was mostly converted into water, some composites remained such as minerals, thus plant growth underground!" Aster looked really giddy at the discovery. "Of course it will fall through if the marsh doesn't exist after this."
Asgore sighed as he lost track halfway through. "Sure...is it safe for monsters to come through though?" Asgore wanted to be sure his people will be safe when they expand.
Aster frowned. "Well only monsters will fur or are immmune to the cold. Like you, your family, and me" he knocked on his head made of bone. "I can't feel anything without nerves."
Asgore looked forward. "Aster, tell Gerson to initiate the expedition when too many people fill Home." Aster frowned at the name of the new capital.
"It..will be done. Forewarning though...I estimate about a few years till the blizzard dissipates." Aster stated as he typed his own equation into the device. He turned around and saw Asgore already gone. "And they say I disappear at random."
...
Just above the lower level where the blizzard roared was Asgore's house. Asgore saw his beloved wife, Toriel, nursing their son. He felt tremendously burdened that his son would not see the sun.
He approached his front door for his daily run for groceries when.
Splash!
A bucket full of water spilled on him, the bucket remained aloft in the air by a thread of web. Asgore looked up and laughed full heartedly at the prank. "Undyne, Muffet!" The two guards left the only hiding place, a lone tree.
"Hello fluffybuns!" Undyne cheered from a distance.
"We had nothing else to do! Sorry!" Muffet yelled to, apologizing from getting the king dirty.
Asgore did the dog and sent the water everywhere, including the two guards. All three of them laughed as if they weren't trapped underground.
"I see you two are still going at this!" Asgore mildly chuckled at the harmless joke they pulled. "Well, you made my day better. I haven't laughed that much in years!" They all chuckled as they looked at the bucket. "Best of all, no one got hurt."
Undyne helped Asgore take down the bucket. "Well, it wouldn't have happen without Muffet's web."
Muffet snorted a bit. "Well, it wouldn't have happened anyway if you weren't so naturally attuned to water!" A pause of silence, then laughter at their rebuttal.
Yes, reclaiming is laughable and easy at first...then it gets harder.
(They seem to be having fun. This was short, but I just had to put stuff here as a...spicy left off. I mean...really good stuff later on. I hope you had a nice read.)