Chapter 12
It wasn't long before the delicious smell of fresh-baked cookies filled the house and the three children were giggling and running around the house on a sugar high. Ava chuckled. "Hopefully they'll use up all that energy before bed," she said. "Otherwise, we're going to have three very rambunctious kiddos on our hands for a good majority of the night."
"Good thing we have just the thing for that," Sans said as he caught Frisk and began tickling her stomach, making her shriek with giggles.
"CHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHRA! HEHEHEHEHEHEHELP!" The girl laughed out.
"I'll save you, sis!" Chara said, jumped at Sans, who caught her in his telekinesis and grinned.
"Well, well, looks like I've got both my daughters now," he chuckled. "And they've got my favorite snack of all: little ticklish tummies."
Chara began laughing as her father tickled her stomach before he set both girls on the couch, moving Frisk's shirt up just enough to expose her belly button and he blew a big raspberry right into that spot, making her let out a squeal that nearly took the roof off.
"NOHOHOHOHOHOHOHO! NOHOHOHOHOHOHOT THAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAT!" She squealed out, squealing louder when she felt the skeleton start playfully munching on her stomach.
"Om, nom, nom! I'm hungry for that ticklish tummy!" Sans playfully teased his daughter, but he noticed she was starting to gasp for air, so he stopped tickling her before turning his attention to Chara. "I'm still hungry," he said with a playful growl, making her giggle. "Good thing I know where another ticklish tummy is."
Chara was in stitches as Sans blew raspberries into her stomach and then playfully munched on her stomach, making her laugh so hard that tears began to roll down her face. When he saw that, the skeleton stopped, allowing her to catch her breath.
Frisk giggled. "You're so silly, Daddy," she said.
"Silly for my sweet little girls," he said, nuzzling his nose bone against her own nose gently, making her giggle before she hugged him, Chara joining in the hug as both girls relaxed trustingly in their father's arms.
Sans stood up, lifting both girls up into his arms. "Aww, who are my sweet little baby bones?" He cooed to them affectionately.
Chara smiled before her smile fell a little and he noticed. "What's wrong, kiddo?" He asked.
"Nothing," she said. "Just...Just wondering if this is what it's supposed to be like to have a Dad."
Everyone was quiet at the child's admission and Sans sat on the couch, still holding his daughters while Gaster and Papyrus sat in chairs nearby and Ava and Grillby sat on the loveseat, Amelia sitting in her mother's lap.
Chara, afraid she had made her father upset, curled up a bit, but he held her in a hug, gently stroking her head. "Shh," he soothed her. "You're not in trouble, baby bones."
She still looked a bit pensive, but uncurled. "I...I'm sorry, Daddy," she said.
"What for, kiddo?" He asked. "You didn't do anything wrong."
She looked at him in surprise and he smiled. "Chara, I know you and Frisk didn't have a good life before you two ran into me and your aunt Ava, but I promise you, you and your sister and cousin are never going to be starved for affection ever again."
Frisk smiled and snuggled into her father's hug. "And we know you'll keep your promise, Dad," she said.
Ava smiled, as did Grillby as Amelia looked at them and smiled too. Just then, a knock came at the door and Papyrus went to answer it, gasping in surprise. "Mettaton!" He said in shock.
Hearing the shock in the young skeleton's voice, Ava stood up, handing Amelia to Grillby before rushing to the door, gasping in shock at seeing Mettaton, who looked like he had been in a street fight gone wrong. "Papyrus. Honorable Jury," he said, his voice nearly giving out as he fell forward and they caught him. "Please...are the young ones safe?"
"They are, old friend," Ava said as she and Papyrus helped Mettaton into the living room. Gaster gasped in shock as Sans went stiff and Grillby's flames turned red with anger as they saw the state of their friend.
Frisk, Chara, and Amelia looked a bit startled and stood back, but the robot saw them and he reached for them. "Little ones, please...don't be afraid," he said.
"It's okay. Mettaton won't hurt you three," Grillby said reassuringly.
"Let's see about getting him fixed up," Gaster said as he came forward. "Mettaton, where is Alphys?"
"She and Undyne...are keeping the defenses strong," Mettaton said, his voice getting a bit more tired.
"Shh, save your strength, old friend," Ava said gently as she sat near his head, grabbing a pillow nearby and putting it under his head to offer some comfort.
The robot turned to see the children still looking a bit pensive and he smiled at them warmly. "Little ones...can you tell me your names?" He asked.
The three looked at each other unsurely before Amelia took a deep breath and drew closer to her mother, kneeling beside her and the robot. Mettaton smiled at her and he reached up one hand, gently ruffling the child's hair. "Such an adorable little one," he said. "Is she yours and Grillby's, Ava?"
"Yes, she is," Ava said with a smile as she looked at her daughter, who reached forward and her hand gently touched Mettaton's shoulder, to which he gently took her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze.
Amelia blinked. "Um...his hand is really warm," she said, looking at her mother in worry, but she saw her mother smile.
"Mettaton is more than just a robot, sweetie," she said.
Frisk and Chara moved closer, making the robot smile more. "They certainly are adorable," he said, gently ruffling Frisk's hair and Chara's hair too.
Gaster soon stood up. "Alright, let's get Mettaton to the couch," he said.
Ava and Sans helped their friend to the couch and the robot sighed in relief as he felt mostly better. "I think a recharge and I'll be right as rain, as I've heard you say, Ava," he said.
"Careful with that flattery, Metta. My heart belongs to Grillby," the half-human said, her smile proving she was only teasing him.
"Oh, that flame monster! Sweeping you out from under my nose!" Mettaton said dramatically, making Ava laugh.
Sans rolled his eyes. "Yup, he's feeling better if he's able to pull off that cheesy act," he said.
Amelia looked confused at Sans before looking at Mettaton before looking even more confused, which Grillby noticed. "What is it, my little candlelight?" He asked.
"Well, Uncle Sans said Mettaton had a cheese act, but...I don't see any cheese," the child said.
Sans began howling with laughter as Ava covered her mouth to try and keep her laughter quiet, but was failing as Gaster and Grillby both laughed in amusement while Papyrus just playfully glared at his brother.
"Now you've corrupted one of my nieces!" He said in mock anger.
Mettaton was laughing in amusement at the child's question before he gave Amelia a gentle boop on the nose. "Sans was joking, little one," he said. "He means I was being too silly."
"Oh," she said as Frisk and Chara giggled too. The robot smirked at them and playfully poked their stomachs, making them giggle more.
"Troublemakers just like your parents," he said without heat.
"Troublemakers? My baby girl?" Ava asked innocently.
"Certainly not my baby bones," Sans said with a smirk.
They all shared a good laugh, including Papyrus at that one before Mettaton looked somber. "I do wish this was a more pleasant visit, but I do have news," he said. "In fact, my appearance when I first arrived was because I was hastening to arrive before it was too late."
"What is it, Mettaton?" Gaster asked.
"There are missing kids' posters signs in the town nearby and the posters have pictures of these three," the robot said as he sat up and gestured to the three children. "The two men putting up the posters are trying to make themselves out to be good fathers, but we could plainly see they weren't, especially after you told us about these three, Ava."
"Sounds like the girls' birth fathers aren't giving up," Sans said. "Though...have they tried to enter the forest again?"
"There has been someone coming up to the edge of the forest, but he never enters," Mettaton explained. "We don't know who he is, but he may be looking to enter the forest."
"We'll keep our eyes open," Ava said. "Until then, Mettaton, you can stay here with us."
"Thank you," he said before seeing Frisk approach him cautiously and she looked sympathetic before she hugged him, surprising the robot, who smiled and hugged her back. "Aww, you're a sweetie, little one."
Seeing the robot wasn't hurting Frisk, Chara and Amelia approached too and hugged him, to which he returned the hug. "My goodness, who in the world couldn't love these sweet little munchkins?"
Sans chuckled. "The kiddos are learning that not everyone is going to be like their birth fathers," he said gently.
"You're a better Dad than our birth dad, Daddy," Chara said.
"Yeah," Frisk said in agreement.
Amelia smiled. "My new mommy and daddy are much nicer than my birth dad," she said, making Ava and Grillby smile.
Mettaton then saw three hearts floating in front of the children and he saw the marks on them. "Looks like you three are well protected," he said. "No one would dare try to hurt you three."
"Muffet did," Frisk said, looking a bit scared.
"I think she's been really thinking about her actions since River Person gave her an earful," the robot said.
"How do you know that?" Amelia asked curiously.
"Word spread fast about three little ones protected by our honorable Judge and Jury," Mettaton explained. "I'll admit, many were a bit surprised that Sans and Ava took you girls in, because of the treaty in place."
"Treaty?" Frisk asked.
"The treaty that we would return any child that got lost in the mountain forest to their parents," Ava explained. "Believe it or not, we did have some children get lost in the forest."
"You three are the first ones we haven't returned to your fathers due to the situation of them abusing you three," Sans said. "That's why we went to go see Asgore and our judge friend to adopt you three. Adopting you three was the only way to bypass that treaty, but that's not the only reason we adopted you kids."
"What was the other reason?" Chara asked.
"The promise we made to keep you kids safe," Grillby said. "Not only that, we found places in our hearts for you three."
The kids were quiet for a moment. "So...you adopted us because you really wanted us as your kids?" Amelia asked.
"Yes," Ava said with a smile.
Mettaton smiled too. "If they hadn't adopted you three, I certainly would have," he said.
Little did they know, someone was looking to enter the forest outside and had now just stepped foot inside, looking at a paper in his hands before continuing on the path.
Uh-oh, looks like someone may have entered the forest, but what are they after? Stay tuned to find out! :)
And please leave a review, but no flames!
GoldGuardian2418