Chapter 4
The next morning, Sans and Ava left early for patrol. "How are the girls?" The skeleton asked in a whisper so they didn't wake up the rest of the family.
"Sleeping soundly and snuggled together," the half-human responded back in a whisper. "We should see about getting them some plushies to cuddle."
He chuckled. "Good idea," he said. "Maybe after patrol."
She nodded. "Though I'd hate to leave you to patrol alone," she said.
"Nah, I know you won't be long," he said as they headed out, leaving a note for Papyrus and Gaster.
Ava then had a thought. "Sans, do you think Grillby would be a good father?" She asked. "Amelia seemed to feel safe with him yesterday."
"I noticed that," he replied. "He loves kids, as do we."
He nodded. "Maybe you and Grillbz could adopt Amelia and either me or my brothers could adopt Frisk and Chara."
The half-human smiled. "That would be something, but since Amelia is like a sister to Chara and Frisk, I don't think it would be a good idea to separate them," she said thoughtfully.
"Let's see how it plays out," Sans suggested. "We're kind of jumping ahead of ourselves."
"True," she admitted before stopping short, her sharp hearing picking up something. "We've got company."
The skeleton immediately called up a couple Gaster Blasters. "Seek and find," he said to them.
This meant they were to seek out the mystery person and bring them to the Judge and Jury, who stood by as one Gaster Blaster growled and dove into some brush. A scream sounded out and the Blaster came out with a man, the man's shirt caught in the Blaster's teeth. "What are you doing here?" Ava asked, her eyes narrowing. "This forest is forbidden to your kind!"
The man gaped at her and at the skeleton, who's left eye was lit up blue and the girl's eyes began glowing too. "So, you were hired to find the girls, hmm?" Sans asked.
"The same girls that came here seeking shelter?" The half-human asked.
"Yes," he replied before growling at the man. "Who sent you?"
The man swallowed. "This guy asked me to find his daughter," he said. "He said her name was Amelia."
Ava snarled and the area went white, bones erupting from the ground along with a dark fog. "Heed us well. Leave and never come back," she said, her voice ominous.
"And if you go to the police, you'll regret it," Sans growled. "Stay out of the forest. And tell your employer that the girl is none of his concern."
The Gaster Blasters began building up their power in the backs of their mouths while the fog became darker and the bones moved closer. The man felt fear before feeling the blaster let him go and he began running, hearing snarling and other terrifying sounds that made him run faster, not stopping even when he finally got out of the forest.
Ava took a deep breath and her powers receded. "Sans, I think it might be best if we took the kids to the Underground," she said, urgency in her voice.
"I get where you're coming from, but I don't think that's the best idea right now," he said. "We should only do that as a last resort. The girls are still wary around us and if we move them suddenly, we won't gain their trust."
She nodded. "You're right," she said. "The last thing we want to do is make them think we're not letting them decide if they want to stay with us or not. And we promised them they could choose."
Sans nodded in agreement. "But it might be best if we tell the kids what's going on and tell them that we might have to move for their safety if it comes to it," he said. "That way it's not a big shock to them."
"And it won't freak them out," she said. "Okay, but I think we both agree that Asgore needs to know about this."
"Absolutely," the skeleton said. "Does he know about the girls?"
"I haven't told him yet, and it might be best not to yet," she admitted. "Not unless things become dire."
He nodded. "Okay," he said. "I'll keep patrolling. You tell Asgore. We'll meet up at the sentry station at lunch time."
Nodding, the half-human took off to tell the king what had happened in the forest, hoping the three girls were okay.
Meanwhile, the three girls were exploring the forest behind the house, having promised Papyrus and Gaster that they'd be careful. "Look at these," Chara said as she found some blue flowers. "What are these?"
Amelia gently touched one. "What are these?" Came Chara's voice in an echo, making the girls jump before they looked at the flowers.
"Touch it again," Frisk said to her friend.
The young girl did so. "Touch it again," came the echo.
Chara gasped. "It echoes us," she said.
"That's so cool!" Amelia said, giggling.
The girls played with the flowers, not realizing there was someone in a nearby cave that was awoken by the echoes and snarled angrily, going to see who dared to awaken her.
Frisk giggled as she gently touched another flower. "We'll have to ask our friends what these are," she said.
"They're Echo Flowers and you kids are mine!" A voice snarled, making them jump and whirl around in shock, screaming as webbing ensnared them and dragged them towards a cave where they could see eight glowing eyes and glistening fangs. The girls screamed again as they tried to escape, but couldn't as the webbing was too strong.
"Let us go!" Chara screamed.
"Silence!" The monster yelled, coming into the light to reveal she was a spider and a very angry one at that.
"Stop!" Frisk cried out fearfully. "You can't hurt us!"
"Oh, but I can, dearie," the spider snarled again before reaching out a hand, two red hearts and one purple one coming into view. The spider suddenly gasped in shock when she saw the three hearts.
All three had the gavel, scales, and flame marks.
Before she could do anything else, a blast of magic hit her and made her stumble back and cough hard while another blast of magic sliced through the spider webbing, freeing the girls, who stood up and turned to see who had rescued them.
A person in a dark blue cloak was behind them, their gloved hands glowing with magic. "Muffet!" The person scolded, revealing it to be male. "What are you doing scaring these poor children?!"
The spider got up, coughing a little. "I thought they were intruders, River Person," she said. "Plus, they're human."
"That's no excuse!" The cloaked being said angrily. "You should have done a check on them before attacking them! If they are here, Ava and Sans must have let them in! Not only that, they're just children!"
"I can see that," she replied.
The girls looked back and forth between the two, getting scared. Seeing this, River Person came forward and gently gathered the three close to him, part of his cloak wrapping around them comfortingly before he looked at Muffet. "You better be thankful it's me that stopped you, because if it was Sans or Ava that had, I can't guarantee that they would have been as merciful," he said. "You've been warned before and now is your final warning."
"Understood," Muffet said meekly, knowing better than to argue, especially since the cloaked being was right about Sans and Ava not being merciful when someone attacked someone with the Judge and Jury marks.
The girls suddenly felt a strange sensation before their surroundings changed from a cave to a dock where a boat sat in the water, their rescuer kneeling down to look at them. "Are you three alright?" He asked gently.
They nodded, though moving backwards a little in fear. "Please don't be afraid, little ones," River Person said, his voice soothing. "I won't hurt you."
Frisk decided to speak up. "Who are you?" She asked.
"River Person," he replied. "I was in the forest going for a walk when I heard you begging Muffet for your lives."
Chara swallowed. "She's scary," she said, her voice trembling.
"Muffet is actually all bark and no bite, but that doesn't excuse her actions towards you three," he said. "Capturing you and terrifying you like that. Ava will not be happy to hear that."
"You know Ava?" Amelia asked curiously.
"I do, little one," River Person said gently, a smile in his voice. "Tell me, what are your names?"
"I'm Frisk," Frisk said. "And this is my sister, Chara, and our best friend, Amelia."
"Hi," Chara said.
"Hi," Amelia echoed softly.
The cloaked being chuckled gently. "It's alright. You have nothing to fear," he said. "You three bear the protection marks of not only the Judge and Jury, but also Grillby's mark. I'm surprised they haven't shown up yet." He looked at them. "Did Muffet hurt you?"
"No," Chara said. "But she scared us."
"That's why," he said. "If she had hurt you, then Ava, Sans, and Grillby would have been there in an instant."
Frisk bit her lip. "Well, Ava and Sans are on patrol and we don't know where Grillby is," she admitted.
River Person gently reached forward and gently took hold on the brown-eyed girl's chin in his hand, giving it a gentle tug to release her bottom lip from her teeth. "How about you three stick with me for today and I'll take you back home later?" He said. "You could help me steer the boat."
The three girls looked at each other before nodding. "Okay," Amelia said before impulsively hugging him. Chuckling, the cloaked being returned the hug, rubbing the girl's back soothingly. Frisk and Chara also hugged him and he returned the gentle hugs, also rubbing their backs.
Frisk, Chara, and Amelia felt better and eagerly climbed board the boat that was in the water, watching their rescuer step onto it and it wasn't long before they were enjoying themselves, the scare they had gotten moments before far from their minds.
Whew! What a crazy chapter. :)
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GoldGuardian2418