Chapter 10

The rest of the day was eventful as the children saw the Underground, their eyes wide with amazement and the various monsters there greeted the children warmly as if they had known them all their lives. "Wow, everyone's really friendly," said Chara in surprise. She was sitting on Papyrus' shoulders and waved to a shopkeeper who smiled and waved back.

Gaster chuckled. "Despite what you children were told about monsters, we do have a soft spot for little ones," he said, reaching up to gently poke Amelia's side as she was sitting on his shoulders and she giggled, playfully pushing his hand away.

Frisk, who was sitting on Grillby's shoulders, smiled before looking at Ava. "Auntie Ava, when are you going to go meet with your judge friend you were talking about earlier?" She asked.

"Tomorrow," the young woman promised with a smile, looking up at her niece. "Don't worry, your father isn't going to change his mind about adopting you and Chara and your uncle and I aren't going to change our minds about adopting Amelia."

The child giggled. "We know," she said before looking a bit worried. "I guess...,"

She trailed off and Grillby stopped, gently lifting her from his shoulders and pulling her into a hug. "What's troubling you, Frisk?" He asked gently.

She looked more worried now and shook her head. "Nothing," she said.

Sans stopped. "Hey, baby bones," he said gently. "You can tell us anything. Not only that, we can tell something bothering you."

Chara bit her lip. "I...I think I might know," she said softly. She saw them turn to her. "She's scared that the judge Auntie Ava was talking about will change his mind." She looked down. "We...We don't want to be taken away."

Sans looked at his friend and brother. "Let me see them," he said gently.

Both nodded and set the girls down and Sans pulled them both into a hug. "Hey, kiddos. I want you both to listen very closely to me, okay?" He asked them.

They nodded and he continued. "If the judge doesn't sign the papers, I'm not giving you two up," he said. "I'll fight for you two. No one is going to take you away from us."

Frisk looked up at him. "Promise, Daddy?" She asked, her eyes brimming with tears.

"I promise, baby bones," he said firmly. "Not only that, the protection marks that myself, Ava, and Grillby gave you won't let anyone take you kids away. If you kids are being taken away against your will, the protection marks will activate and transport you to our home or Grillby's home."

Chara looked surprised. "So...if we're in danger, we'll just suddenly vanish and reappear at home?" She asked.

"Right," he said with a smile. "Like I said, no one's going to take you away and I'll fight anyone who dares to do so." He hugged them closer. "You're my daughters and I'm not giving up on you two."

The red-eyed girl smiled and hugged him as Frisk continued hugging him. "Thanks, Dad," the girls said softly.

Ava smiled at this and looked up at Amelia. "Amelia, what Sans said also applies to you," she said. "Grillby and I will fight for you and we won't let anyone take you away."

She looked hopeful. "You promise?" She asked.

"We promise," Grillby said with a smile, accepting his daughter from Gaster. She hugged him and he returned the hug. "You're stuck with us, sweetie."

She giggled at that, nuzzling her face into his shoulder.

River Person came up to them and smiled. "How did it go?" He asked.

"Asgore made it official, Papa," Ava said with a smile. "You now officially have a granddaugther and two great-nieces."

He chuckled and nodded. "And no matter what the human judge says, the kids will stay with the family," he said. "Because there's no way I'm going to let anyone take my granddaughter and great-nieces away."

The three kids giggled and ran up to the cloaked being, who kneeled down and welcomed them all with a warm hug. "Just as your parents and uncles will fight for you, I'll do the same," he promised them.

"You promise, Grandpa?" Amelia asked, looking up at him with hopeful eyes.

He smiled again, pleased that she had taken to calling him that title so quickly. "I promise, munchkin," he said with a nod.

Frisk and Chara giggled. "We've got not only really cool uncles, but a really cool great uncle too," the former said.

The latter was quiet before looking like something was bothering her, which River Person noticed. "What is it, Chara?" He asked gently.

She looked up at him before biting her lip. "I...," she began, but then trailed off.

Ava came up to her. "What are you scared of, honey?" She asked, her tone gentle.

The red-eyed girl looked up at her. "Auntie Ava, how well do you know Daddy?" She asked.

The half-human blinked. "I've known your father for over a hundred years," she said honestly.

"Would...Would he ever...hit us?"

The child's question shocked them. "NO!" Sans said quickly, making them jump and Chara winced, looking at him in fear. The skeleton took a deep breath to calm down. "No," he said, his voice calmer. "Chara, I would never hit you or Frisk. Ever."

"Even...Even if we've done something bad?" She asked.

"Even then," he said. "I'd never raise my hand to strike you two. Ever."

"None of us will," Papyrus said reassuringly.

Chara sniffled, looking up at her father. "Sorry, Daddy," she said softly.

"For what, kiddo?" He asked, pulling her into a hug. "I'm not mad. If you girls have any fears at all, you can come to me or any one of us to talk about them, okay? Please don't think that I'll be angry if you ask me something that you're afraid of."

Frisk bit her lip. "We just...well," she trailed off.

Gaster smiled gently. "We understand, girls," he said gently. "It feels a bit surreal, am I right?"

All three nodded softly. Grillby chuckled gently. "Believe us, this is a bit surreal for us too," he said with a smile. "I never thought I'd one day adopt a little one as my daughter and gain two nieces too."

"Same here," Ava said, also smiling.

The three felt a bit better and Sans pulled his daughters into a hug. "Hey, I promise I'll never hurt you girls in any way," he said. "You have my word as your father."

They hugged him, feeling a lot better now.

None of them saw Muffet watching them. She had heard about the adoptions and now nodded, seeing the kids were being reassured by their new parents. She then bit her lip, recalling that she heard the girls' birth fathers were after them.

I may not know yet how to make it up to those three for scaring them so badly when we first met, but I'm not going to let those horrible people take the kids away either, she thought to herself. If they try, they'll have a very angry spider to contend with.

She silently moved away, unseen by the others as she made her way back to her home.

Hmm. Could Muffet be becoming protective of the kids too? :)

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GoldGuardian2418