((By the way I'm working on a third fic on the side that's centered on How to Train Your Dragon fandom. It's still a UTAU crossover, duh, just specifically Momma CQ but kind of angsty. Anyway it's called Monsters and Dragons and I'd love if y'all took a look at it after reading this update!))

Lust charged through the mud-coated earth fervently, eyelights blazing and coloring the dark slurry before him as he marched, his footsteps squelching alongside the pounding rain as the skies continued their deluge. The only real light around was his own, shading the sludge in hues of faint lilac.

It wasn't long before he picked up the faint sound of a nearly inhuman screech, echoing through the pouring rain. He glared at the soaked earth and blinked away the water in his sockets before continuing on.

So singular was his focus, Lust nearly ran straight into Alter, the taller flinching and turning to regard him. "I expected you would already be there." The queen noted with relief, falling in step alongside him.
"No, just heard about it. I've never been present for a human birth but damnit if I won't help. It sounds like a painful one." Lust spoke through gritted teeth.

"Humans have agonizing births, yes. They die more often than I care to admit." Alter murmured guiltily. Lust picked up his pace at that, spotting the great blue dragon standing stock-still in the rain ahead. "They have spells for any and every occasion, why haven't they made it easier for the poor woman?" He demanded half to himself.

Alter sped up and rested a hand on his shoulder. "They are fearful of magic, Lust. It is difficult to comprehend, therefore they are afraid."
They were coming up on a crowd gathering around a single tent, men muttering amongst themselves.
"They at least can't be afraid of healing magic?" Lust questioned, bewildered at the concept of fearing a good thing.

He almost went storming into the tent before Alter grabbed him by the arm and led him to a boiling cauldron where Gertrude was washing bloody rags. "May we be of any assistance here?" He asked. Lust blinked in surprise, glancing back at the entrance to the tent as the air was pierced by another wail.

The woman shook her head. "No, I'm afraid not. We have enough as it is; the elf is helping us as she will."
"No?" Lust queried. "She's screaming in there! I thought there were spells for pain? She still needs healing-" Alter shot him a look and he paused, perturbed.
The taller went on. "May we at least help sanitize these linens?"
"That is acceptable." The human conceded, wringing a few out beside the pot.

Alter set his free hand alight and gently tossed it into the sputtering flames below the cauldron.
"Wait, that's it? We do nothing? A mother's life is in danger and a child is being born into- into this and we are to just sit aside and not help?" Lust's outrage bled through as he spoke.

"Yes." Alter answered sternly. "They are not our people. They have particular customs for events such as these; humans have always had such." He explained, turning to grip both of Lust's shoulders. There was an obvious ache when he whispered. "We could be accused of corrupting or even cursing the child. I'll not have that. If all I can do is clean rags to help, then I will gladly do so, as long as I am not labeled a." His breath caught and he leaned back. Lust was absolutely horrified at the vague implications.

He reached up to hold the other's shoulder. "Alter, I'm sorry. I didn't realize."
The queen simply stood up, shrugging off the hand. "I am fine. Just a sensitive old bones." He swiftly faced Gertrude again. "You wouldn't be opposed to us imbuing a little bit of healing magic into the cloth, would you?"

The woman wrung out another rag, faintly stained as her brow furrowed in consideration. Her eyes darted between the tent as another scream rent the air and at the pair of anxious skeletons. Her arms fell a couple inches. "A little. Only a little. Magic is not a part of our way of life, it still frightens me. But I trust you well enough." She gave them a stern look. "The other women cannot know, especially Elain. Our nerves are frayed enough as is with an elf in our midst."

"I understand." Alter nodded as he lifted a rag directly from the boiling pot and ignited his hand in simmering emerald flames, steam rising from the cloth. Lust was busy ringing out another one, glancing back at the tent when the entrance parted and Katrina emerged, speedwalking over with more rags, many of which were practically dripping blood.

She quickly thanked them as she dumped the pile into the cauldron and turned to rub off excess blood on her arms with the rain.
"Is Elain doing alright?" Alter dared ask when the young woman faced them again, face tight.
Eyes met lights as an agonized wail left the tent.
"I do not know how births happen with your kind, but it will be several hours."

"Still pretty painful." Lust admitted. "Not all monsters have it bad, but us skeletons have to break bones." He grimaced as she blinked.
"I suppose that makes sense." Gertrude replied.
With that, Katrina took the last of the clean rags and hurried back into the tent.

"I'm sure she will be alright." Alter smiled encouragingly before it fell. "I cannot help but sense something somehow. Something in the air, perhaps?"
"A feeling?" Lust suggested.
"I suppose so. I cannot fathom what it means, it seems."
"We will have to wait and see, then." Gertrude sighed, stirring the mix of bloodied rags and slowly reddening water.

"May we replace this with fresh water? It will only take about a minute and will help clean the rags." Alter suggested.
"The new batch will need to heat up." The human pointed out.
Alter lit his hand on fire by way of indication.
"How hot can you make that fire?" Gertrude asked, puzzled as she regarded the pot.

Lust lifted the rags from the water with blue magic as he lifted it off the stand and carried it a few feet away to dump it, Alter illuminating the area in blue as he drew rain out of the air and into a single, wobbling mass. Lust carried the pot back and as soon as it was settled upon the frame above the weakly sputtering flames and coals. Alter drifted the fresh water into the cauldron and crouched down, lighting up his hands in twin white-hot blazes shifting to faint blue with tinges of green.

Lust looked on in fascination, returning the still bloodied rags to the pot. "Don't burn yourself with that at least." He muttered.
"I will be fine, Lust. Let me know when it begins to boil, will you?" He raised his voice to include the genuinely impressed healer as she began to stir.
"Most certainly."
"Will do." Lust added, glancing between the water and his friend.

. • ° ° • .

She stumbled in the mud, squinting at the lights in the distance, silently mourning the pristine white of her shoes. Her hair fell around her face in soaked clumps, often getting in her eyes. She swiped it away, still hugging herself as the wind threatened to knock her thin body aside. One of her hands were braced against her long-time partner and friend as she shivered.

The rounder monster blinked up at her in concern, nudging her legs. She smiled back reassuringly, hoping that the terrible rain would let up soon. It was worse than the sheets that would come down in Waterfall most days, the wind howling around, completely bewildering in it's newness.

It was so loud she almost didn't catch the distant flapping like a bat. The only reason she heard it at all was how her partner went uncharacteristically still, many eyes wide and staring at the clouds above. A moment later she heard it and gazed skyward as well. Nothing but roiling grey like a living ceiling.

Except.. a flash of blue light darted through the mists above, disappearing a moment later. Seconds passed before she heard that sound again. Then a shape dropped out of the clouds, impossible to fully identify save for the glowing blue wings it had, spread wide in the semblance of.. a bat? No.

Muffet's eyes went wide as it's face became clear, vaguely familiar from myths and legends of the past. A dragon. Some kind of dragon had it's glowing blue eyes locked on her, flying in with it's oddly thin forelegs outstretched towards her. She and Cupcake turned around and started running for the trees almost on instinct, the smaller half dragging her as they raced. Dragons were wilder races, one flying at them had to mean they had stepped into it's territory, right? She'd never seen one before in her life.

She only had a second to ponder her situation before something clamped around her waist below her secondary arms, another talon clasping Cupcake's topside before the pair were flying above the trees. Muffet screamed despite herself, clinging to the rock hard arms of the dragon as it wheeled, trees zipping by at absurd speeds, Cupcake squealing and clawing at air.

Muffet caught her breath, gasping as she realized the beast was carrying them back to the lights she had initially seen, now resolving into torches and strange cloth structures, bipedal figures hunching and striding through muddy paths. She then glanced at the leg holding her and flinched in surprise. It was entirely bone. Like a skeleton- but this was a dragon?

She jolted again when the beast landed in a sort of clearing, lit by flickering torches, sputtering in the rain. It stumbled on it's hind legs before sitting upright, holding her just a few feet from the ground. She kicked, yearning for solid ground after that dizzying flight.

"It's alright!" A shockingly familiar voice rang out ahead. "You're safe! GB doesn't mean any harm, he just wants you out of the rain!"
The dragon hummed briefly as though agreeing, setting both her and Cupcake on their feet. She backed away from it, shivering as she stared at the boney beast. It only gazed back benevolently, blinking once.

"I.. I didn't know there were still dragons. Anywhere." She coughed out, voice unused. The flap of cloth behind her opened up and she flinched, staring as a familiar short figure stepped out and looked up with oddly white eyelights. His smile immediately dropped as he took in her features even as she his. He was wearing more armor than last she had seen him, so long ago.
"Sans..?"

His eyelights shrank and his hand went to his teeth. Muffet winced when a rumbling voice spoke in a hissing language behind her, the concern still recognizable.
"I.. come in. Please." He stepped to the side, holding the cloth flap open. Cupcake nearly bowled her over scuttling in first, forcing her to hesitantly follow.

"Where.. is this? Where have you been? Everyone was looking for so long.." She stood in the middle of the space, eyeing the table with the soft tacos plated neatly suspiciously.

"I know. I know." He sighed, sitting on the bed nearby. "If I could have returned home, I would have. I don't mean to worry anyone, I really don't, but once you're sucked into Alagaësia, you can't go back." He looked up at her worriedly, noting the confusion in her eyes.

"Before I explain anything, is my brother okay?" He asked softly. She hesitated, not wanting to hurt him. His face slowly fell. "He.. he hasn't Fallen or anything..?"
She gasped at the thought.
"No. No. He still came out to plunder my honey stock."

He scowled faintly, then sighed. "At least he's not completely reclused. Has anyone visited him at all?" Hope glinted in his oddly whitened eyelights.
She nodded slightly, biting her lip.
"I have. Many times. Alphys too. And sometimes someone else. Never saw them, only heard them. They are fairly loud. I think they visit a lot, though Papyrus doesn't seem to appreciate their company from what I've heard. I know that is not really what you are looking for, but he hasn't been left alone. That is alright?"

Rubbing an unusual blue armband, he stared at the dirt floor. "I'm just glad they're supporting him right now. I know me disappearing is hard on him." He murmured despondently.

Muffet gave him a minute to process, Cupcake snarfing down tacos that admittedly smelled pretty good, despite the other's infamous reputation.
"What is this place?" She finally asked, openly studying the tent, as well as the massive bejeweled hammer leaning on the bed.

Sans looked up, blinking. "Oh yes, you must be very confused." He muttered with a flash of cerulean and yellow in his pale eyelights. "This is an entirely different world from ours, Muffet. As hard as that is to believe, the world is called Alagaësia and we are currently in a country called the Empire. This camp is an army called the Varden, and we are all fighting against the Empire due to the evil immortal king of it named Galbatorix. That is not too confusing yet, is it?" He smiled weakly.
She only blinked, staring blankly.
"What?"

He laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of his skull. "It's true. This world has no monsters of it's own, only humans, elves, Urgals, werecats and dragons. At least, those are the sapient races we know of so far. Eragon killed the last of the Ra'zac."
"Who?"

He winced. "He is a human and a good friend of mine. Wait, wait wait! There's nothing to fear about him, he actually needs a lot of help most of the time! The Ra'zac were quite evil, they killed his father, tortured his uncle to death and burned his village to the ground. It was mostly a personal grudge that he killed them for. They're a race that quite literally lived to hunt humans here! Morbidly fascinating if you ask me." He admitted shyly.

"Sans.. you're friends with a human?" She asked cautiously. He nodded, a serious look in his lights.
"There's something you need to know about humans in Alagaësia, Muffet." He stood, looking her directly in all the eyes.

"They are not like the humans you and I know. There is almost nothing in common between the two. They are weaker here. Slower. And most have no magic of their own. Alagaësia is a world very much unlike ours, Muffet. The way it's magic works gives us an ability to cast spells. In this world, us monsters are powerful in comparison to even the elves, who are the strongest race of magic here. Eragon is the strongest human you will ever meet, unless you have the terrible misfortune to meet Murtagh or worse, Galbatorix."

He hesitated, glancing at the entrance flap.
"You are actually lucky, Muffet. Other monsters have arrived in unfortunate places in Alagaësia and have been captured by the Empire's forces. GB.. was tortured." His voice lowered as an animalistic skull entered, far smaller than before and blinking owlishly. The other spoke in that strange yet somewhat familiar language.
"Of course, of course, it's pouring out there." Came the reply, in stepping a skeleton with a beastial face and digitigrade legs, tail swinging behind them.

Their hoodie was speckled from the rain, mud on their hind feet as they leaned on the table, holding out a hand to Muffet.
"GB, this is my Muffet- of course. And Muffet, this is GB, a close friend of mine. He is unable to speak common tongue, of course, but he can still sign!" He beamed.

*Thanks, Blue.* GB signed, shifting to pet Cupcake, the spider leaning on his legs curiously.
"Your Muffet?" She finally echoed, baffled at the phrasing.
"Ah.. about that.." He winced when GB began to sign rapidly.
*Have you ever heard of alternate universes?* He asked.

"A.. little. His brother has brought up the theory a few times at my shop." She admitted, indicating the other. He sighed. "Of course he has.."
GB continued to sign.
*Long story short, it exists. It's also possible to travel universes within the Multiverse. Unfortunately this world is not part of the Multiverse and we can't escape it. Why you are here is because the entire Multiverse is collapsing into this world, and it's slowly dragging people like you here. It's why we're fighting this war. If Galbatorix is still alive when the Collapse happens, the consequences of him having access to monsters and even humans from our worlds would be catastrophic. That make sense?*

She stared at him for a long moment.
"I.. are you sure?" She found herself asking, not knowing what else to say. GB gave her a dry look before signing slowly.
*My name is Sans. I go by GB because so many of us have the same name. GB is short for Blaster, which is an attack we all have and my face looks like it. In my universe, me and my bro are related to dragon lineages. I am partly a dragon. The Muffet of my universe is obsessed with raising money for the spider colony in the Ruins. We have a bar in Snowdin run by a fire elemental named Grilby. Is that enough for you?*

Muffet only continued to stare, baffled.
"...I think you broke her." Sans whispered. GB replied in that staticy language.
"No, I think that was too much. Give her time-" He was interrupted.
"What? Of course there's time! Are you expecting her to fight? She's never even trained for the Guard! She's a cook!"
GB argued back, gesturing as Muffet grimaced, bewildered and backing away.

Suddenly, wet footsteps outside jolted her to spin and face the flap as it tore open, revealing a mechanical skeleton that held an odd resemblance to Sans, dual screens in semblance of sockets blinking at her, a glowing blue wig on his metallic skull.
"Mecha?" Sans quizzed, obviously recognizing the stranger.

Looking past her, he spoke. "Abyss is freaking out again, please. I heard you could help? Something uniting?"
The skeleton she knew visibly blanched, GB's sockets widening. "Last time Unity helped, Abyss destabilized dramatically enough to traumatize Horror."

Holding his skull, the newcomer Mecha let out a whistle from a mechanism in his body. "Seriously? Is there anything you can do?"
"I.. I'm not sure. We could try again, but I cannot guarantee anything." He strode forward, glancing back. "Could you wait for me here?" He asked Muffet.

"I.." She looked between the strange Napstabot lookalike and the skeleton that had been missing for months.
"...No." she shook her head. "Not losing you again."
"Muffet!" He was appalled, the robot stiffening.
"That's your Muffet?"
"Yes she is my world's Muffet; she is struggling right now!"
"Sorry, sorry. It's just bad right now and this rain's gonna seep into my circuits at this rate."

"Alright, alright, we can compromise. Will you come with me, then?" He asked the spider monster, who hesitated. She reached out and Cupcake scuttled to her side. "Fine. Cake comes too."
"Of course. Just. Please be careful. Abyss is unpredictable when unstable."
"Hm?" She queried, concerned.

Sans didn't answer, instead holding out his hand and grabbing her's. "Take us there."
Mecha blinked again, looking at the spider before shrugging. "Alright. Brace yourself, ladies." He took the hand and suddenly they were somewhere else. Muffet stuttered in shock, standing in a darker fabric structure lit up with teal and aquamarine light, rippling like water from the glowing figure on the only bed.

Standing beside the mattress was another short skeleton with purple eyelights, a panicky look on their face. "He's just changing and changing. It's all reptiles for some reason."

The only familiar face in the group came forward, arm held out as a giant blue ant suddenly appeared in it, studying the shape. He set it on the mattress and let it crawl around, investigating the writhing form.

"Who's the Muffet?" A voice behind her startled her, backing away from the white coated skeleton with glasses. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you." He apologized.
"She's Blue's." The robot explained quickly.
"What are you doing here?"

Scrunching into himself, he replied awkwardly. "I guess I was curious..?"
"Oh do come in! We don't mind the company!" A new voice rang from somewhere close to the insect. The skeleton regarded her Sans cautiously.
"It's alright. I'm watching him."

Walking into the now somewhat crowded space, he pointed out. "Didn't he hurt the Twins trying to help? Not to mention made him freak out last time."
"Unity lacks the understanding of several mortal concepts. What happened with Cicállaé was an unfortunate incident that won't be repeated and what happened last time with Abyss was an honest mistake. You are too earnest, Unity."
"Oh pshaw! I was only working too quickly!"
"That is exactly what I meant and you know that." He frowned.

Suddenly the gleaming figure shot upward, floating above the bed and twitching. A voice wrenched into Muffet's mind, echoing around with a chorus of millions other whispers.

нυη∂яє∂ѕ. тнσυѕαη∂ѕ. ℓινєѕ ¢υт ѕнσят, gσαℓѕ υηƒυℓƒιℓℓє∂, ωαяѕ ℓσѕт, мαgι¢ѕ вяσкєη. ѕкυℓвℓαкα  вℓö∂нσ- 𝚋𝚕𝚎𝚍- 𝚋𝚕𝚎𝚍 ƒσя ηαυgнт. яαgє, яαgє αт тнє ωуя∂ƒєℓℓ. яαgє ƒσя ιмρяιѕσηє∂ вяєтняєη.
A choked wheeze sprang from the hovering figure, indistinct glowing limbs clawing at their center.

"...Ah. That's what it is." Came the disembodied voice.
"What?! What is it?" The robot frantically demanded.
"Intrusive presence. I suppose presences? I couldn't understand who or what was fighting them until that statement. It's Alagaësia's dragons! I really should have recognized it, it's just like what happened to Death! They must have transferred over!" The ant danced in place as though proud of it's detective work.

Her Sans backed up then, gesturing for the others to do the same.
"Will he explode like Reaper did? That would be very dangerous here."
"Explode?" The one with glasses squawked.
"Oh no no no! That's silly! That was no explosion, that was a loss of control over his natural self!"
"For simplicity's sake, I will call it exploding. Now will Abyss do that?"

"Oh no, I understand what is happening here. They want to live again. Badly. But because he's so damaged and all, he's having a hard time. The dragons here really are impressive with their strength." The ant nodded, mandibles clicking.
"I'm not experienced in handling mortals who have departed their bodies, unfortunately! Samsara- I mean, Death and Life- well no, he prefers to be called Reaper?"
"Yes. They're more experienced?" The purple one asked, staring suspiciously at the insect.

"Oh they are! I don't involve myself with the formless mortals, I can't help them. I've tried before, but they either begged to die again or others killed them again."
"...Please don't go into detail." The one with glasses whispered intensely.
"Alrighty! I won't! But really, they want to be alive again so badly, don't they? That evil human killed a lot of dragons. That's impressive, look at how strong they ar-" "That's enough." Her Sans sighed, pinching between his sockets.
"We need Reaper here." He explained, picking up the ant.

It wiggled out of his grip, seamlessly transforming into a blue seal that slapped its fins to its sides as it bounced on the ground. "I'll fetch that one!"
And with that, the bewildering creature disappeared in a poof of bluish smoke.

There was a minute of drawn-out silence before the purple hooded skeleton spoke.
"Blue?"
"Yes, Dance?"
"What was that thing?"
"Oh right, you haven't been told yet. That was a minor deity."
"..A deity?" The robot echoed cautiously.
"His name is Unity and Blue is literally his vessel." The glasses wearer sighed.
"What." Muffet finally spoke, reminding them of her presence.
"Oh crap." Glasses whispered.

Her Sans winced, rubbing his neck vertebrae. "I am so sorry, Muffet. I have a lot of secrets I didn't talk about. Will you forgive me?"
In the brief silence, she awkwardly shrugged. "Does your brother know?"
His lights fell. "Not about Unity, no."

Everyone froze when the garbled voice slurred from the hovering figure, a dragonish face gazing at him. "𝚈𝚢𝚢𝚢𝚘𝚘𝚘𝚘𝚘𝚞𝚞𝚞𝚞…" It devolved into a groan, slumping and floating back to the mattress, twitching every now and then.
"𝚈𝚢𝚘𝚘𝚞𝚞 𝚜𝚜𝚜𝚑𝚑𝚑𝚑𝚑𝚑... 𝚂𝚜𝚌𝚌𝚑𝚑𝚑... 𝚂𝚜𝚜𝚑𝚑𝚑𝚘𝚘𝚘𝚛𝚛𝚎𝚎."

"I did. It's alright, Abyss. Save your energy." He rested a gloved hand on the glowing, scaled forehead. The other whined, trembling slightly.
"Give him space, Blue." A new, deeper and resonant voice spoke from the entrance.

Looking up, Muffet beheld the tallest skeleton she had seen yet, sockets void of light and clad in dark, flowing robes, hovering inches off the ground. There was a chill surrounding him, one that sank into her still wet clothes. She shivered as the ominous skeleton drifted to the figure on the bed, resting a hand on their forehead. They made an incoherent sound, shivering violently as clawed hands dug into the bed, extraneous limbs lifting up and shaking.

"Uh.. you won't explode or anything, right?" The one called Dance asked warily.
"Explode?" The tall one asked, regarding him.
"Lose control, he means."
"Ah." He turned back to the afflicted. "No. I was just caught off guard. I'll take on most of them, but I'm confident he can handle what I'll leave him with. I won't risk the amount I had before. You know what happens." He chuckled, a faint light seeping out of the creature and up his arm, largely hidden by the sleeve.

"Are you telling me that you actually.. carry Souls? Like in you?" Dance questioned.
"That means they were actually in Abyss too." The robot added.
The tall one turned, faintly smiling. "That's how it works. How I work. Though if it's any comfort, I prefer to store in Bladey until taking them to the after. It's just that Alagaësia's realms are in such disrepair that both Bladey and even Blunda are filled to the brim, and almost all of them are dragons and Riders." He scoffed, glaring at the earth. "It's ridiculous."

They all flinched when an arm abruptly latched onto his sleeve, gasping and staring through them all before he intoned in a voice that sounded.. wrong.
"Rock of Kuthian. You must… find.." The being went limp, gasping through elongating jaws.
"Rider's.. Inheritance." With a spasm, their gaze zeroed in on the robed one, and he winced, grimacing.
"Blue, ask your teachers about that rock. Get Eragon involved, and make sure you do that sooner rather than later. I'm getting contacted by Error on top of all this."

He gently removed the hand clamped around his sleeve, the figure completely limp as he drifted back towards the entrance. "Make sure he gets sleep. He's been staying up."
"Hypocrite." The robot called out.
"I know, I know, just do it. He seriously needs it. If you don't, he might get possessed by a very angry dead dragon."

They all fell silent, allowing him to disappear in a flash of darkness and black feathers. Muffet felt dizzy, leaning on the ever worried Cupcake at her side.
"Do you still need me for anything?" Her Sans asked softly.
"No. Just go. She's looking kinda dazed over there." Dance pointed out. She blinked at him.
"She's clearly overwhelmed right now."
"I am.." "Not okay." The robot finished for her, guiding her to the exit. "Looks like you need sleep just as badly as Abyss does." The purple added, arms crossed.

"Alright then, I suppose that's it! Abyss is consigned to bedrest for several days and I.. shall take my leave." He bowed dramatically, eliciting a couple snorts before he took one of Muffet's hands and beamed at her.

In a moment, the world flashed blue and they were back where they had been before, GB jumping from the table and shoving a taco in his face guiltily.
"How..?" She whispered, faint.

"I must confess that I have kept secrets from everyone in the Underground." Sans sighed, leading her to the chair, where she found herself practically falling into the seat.

He frowned at the two remaining tacos on the plate, then slid it over to her. "You don't look well. How long have you been wandering alone?"
"I.. I'm not sure." She admitted softly.
"Eight days." Cupcake chittered beside her, pedipalps rubbing against one another with slight rasps.
"Eight days?" She repeated for the skeletons.
He blinked, then held up the plate. "Here."
She stared at it, hesitant.

He eventually smiled weakly. "It's alright. I know what you've heard. They're alright."
She jolted back up. "You know what's been said?"
His smile widened. "Of course I do. I made them intentionally bad." He looked away at her astonishment. "I know, I know, the pranks are in bad taste."

Muffet froze, slowly realizing. He peered at her not quite so discreetly with a slight grin. She finally set the plate on the table and giggled into her hands, GB wheezing mutely on the floor close by.
"That's what it was? A pun?"

He chuckled. "I have to have some class. Papyrus can have all his half-baked puns, I at least can cook up quality jokes." She snickered, still surprised. He leaned on the table, reaching into his inventory. "If you don't want my delicious tacos, I still have other options I've already cooked up. I've actually made several pastries?"

She perked up, eyes glittering "You have?"
He grinned wider. "And everyone loves them." Then it faltered. "Well. Humans and elves can have a hard time with it, one of the ingredients are actually poisonous to them. There are spells that render them harmless, though."
"Oh?" She asked, curious.

He smirked and pulled out a plate.
"I rather consider them a trademark now; my Blueberry Strudels." He set it down and abruptly turned to glare at the intensely staring GB at his shoulder.
"You're going to make a mess." He warned.
The other only whined softly.
"You made an enormous mess!"
He looked like a kicked puppy.
"The floor doesn't matter, she is a guest!"

"I'm sure he can have one." She smiled kindly, biting into one and smiling as she found it still warm. "It's not a spider pastry, but it is.. very good!" She admitted excitedly, sharing another with an eager Cupcake, the smaller hungrily gobbling it up. He beamed at the compliment.

Finally, the dragon-faced one snatched a pastry, shoving it in his jaws before the other could do anything beyond glare.
Muffet paused with her third, awkward with the tension in the air. She set it down and crossed two of her hands.
"Why were they calling you a color?" She asked.

He blinked, regarding her blankly for a moment before he understood.
"Oh! That. We all go by nicknames, since just about everyone here has the same real name. Some are even more comfortable with the nicknames than their real names."

She pondered this, looking back on the strange situation she had previously been in minutes ago.
"Are they all really.. you in other universes?"
"Well.. we have the same name, and look similar, but there are many differences beyond that. GB here is related to dragons in his AU, after all. And the others, Dance? You met him. That's his name because his universe resolves conflicts through dancing. And Mecha- the robot, of course- is from a universe where all monsters were robots I think? I don't know much about where he came from. He left his universe in favor of traveling the Multiverse alongside Abyss. They are quite close. And Reaper, well, he's the God of Death. In his universe, all monsters are in fact, gods and the like. There was no imprisonment. They simply did not interact so much with humanity." He smiled at her wide eyes.

GB signed to her. *The Multiverse is gigantic, and there are millions of unique universes.* He hesitated, glancing at the other. They stared at each other for a moment before her Sans sighed and faced her.
"GB doesn't like signing a lot. However, he has another way to communicate. Unfortunately, it is a bit.. invasive sometimes. He wanted to ask for your permission first."

"How is it invasive?" She quizzed, puzzled.
He tapped his skull. "It is a sort of telepathy, to put it simply. He wants to speak in your mind."
She blinked, regarding Cupcake, who just shrugged.
"As long as Cupcake can hear too. She knows as little as I do." The smaller spider squeaked in agreement.

She suddenly felt an odd weight on her mind, stiffening at the alien sensation.
Sorry, I know the first time is weird and all. A deeper voice spoke, louder than her thoughts. GB waved slightly.

I just find it easier, y'know? I once could speak normally, but when my face grew all dragon-like, that stopped being possible and I just kinda missed talking. The whole telepathy thing makes my life easier.

"I.. you could not always do this?" She hesitantly met his sockets. He shook his skull.
Nope. Learned it because it's a thing magicians in Alagaësia do. I would have used it on you when I first spotted you two, but I figured that'd be too jarring.

"Ah.. thank you for that. You are right, we would not have been prepared for.. this."
I'm still sorry for that scare earlier. I was just shocked to see a spider out in this weather. Looked like the wind was going to blow you away out there.
She blinked as an image of herself struggling in the storm flashed in her mind, Cupcake's magenta eyes glowing with worry beside her.
"Oh! You can-!"

"Oh dear, that storm has been going on for several hours." Her friend remarked in shock, glancing outside. "You must be exhausted!"
"You could see that too?" She asked incredulously.

"Yes, I'm sort of automatically included." He nodded.
It's like our thing. GB added. Most people in Alagaësia hate having people in their minds, even if it's just to talk, so he pretty much started as my translator before the elves decided to escalate it.

"Escalate?" She asked. Her friend was abruptly blushing, laughing awkwardly. "It's quite the story, actually! Are you sure you don't want to have another bite or anything? You're already sitting, that is."

She shrugged, picking up another strudel. "Go on." She encouraged, biting into the pastry and offering Cupcake another.
He sat on the bed across from her. "Well, it's a part of the history and tradition of Alagaësia. Dragons here, they are just as intelligent as any other race, but extraordinarily powerful. Even greater than the humans back home. Unfortunately they could not speak like the other races, and originally relied solely on communicating with their thoughts, which prevented them from ever needing to develop a language and all that. The first dragons were rather wild."

He paused as she picked up another strudel.
"Well, another powerful race in Alagaësia were the elves, and back then they weren't immortal like they are now. At first, elves believed dragons to be mere animals and that led to one making the mistake of hunting and killing a dragon. This started a great war between the two races that went on and on. It only ended when one elf, also named Eragon, found a forgotten dragon egg and decided to hatch and raise the dragonchild inside. This was the beginning of the end lf the war, as the pair eventually went out and helped organize a treaty. However, dragons do not listen to mere words and letters on a page, so the elves worked out a spell to connect their races forevermore to prevent another war between them. This formed Dragon Riders, elves who were partnered with dragons for life. Part of their very beings are one. The pair constantly have a mental connection, somewhat like what GB is doing to you now, but far deeper. You understand?"

She focused on the odd presence in her mind, like an alien weight, faint mutterings of thought drifting just beyond her. It was strange, baffling even. She nodded, intrigued.

"Well, this connection gave the elves immortality and much of the magic they have today, and the Riders were revered for their great magic and power. They became really important to the elves. Then humans came into the picture, tried to start wars, failed, and then the spell was amended so the humans could become Riders as well. This proved rather successful for a time, until Galbatorix became a new Rider and unfortunately lost his young dragon to an attack. This drove him crazy. A part of him died that day. He wasn't allowed another dragon because his elders recognized that madness in him, but that would not stop him. He stole a hatchling and killed their Rider and fled far beyond the known lands to raise and force into submission."

He hesitated then, grimacing. "..Shruikan.. is unfortunately completely, unreasonably insane now. Moreso than Galbatorix. At least the now tyrant king can find some hint of reason. Unfortunately he finds pleasure in other's pain and seeks to take control of all Alagaësia and commit genocide on both the elves and the dearves, just as he had murdered all of the dragons. There are now only two free dragons of Alagaësia, one of which has. Fallen in battle. So really, Saphira is the only remaining free dragon native to this world." He smiled weakly. GB rested a hand on his shoulder and Muffet winced. She had never seen him so despondent before.

He sighed, a strange yellowish bronze shading the edges of his eyelights as he was silent for a minute.
"The truth is, Muffet, is that Alagaësia views GB as the same as their own dragons, and because I had chosen to be his translator and because us monsters are in fact capable of mimicking the bond true Riders have with their dragons, we were appointed as the same. They consider me a Rider. Part of an old order that is all but dead because of Galbatorix."

She rubbed her arms. "Are you alright? It sounds.. like a lot of responsibility."
He huffed, amused. "It is, but it's nothing I can't handle. GB, however.."
Hey! He snorted, leaning away in offense.
"You have it easy."
They make me go dragon mode all the time, I can't fit anywhere like that. GB pouted.
"Oh, how terrible." Came the sarcastic reply.

A slight thud drew everyone's attention to Cupcake, the round spider having abruptly sat down, legs unable to support her weight.
"Oh, we've been unspeakably rude, haven't we? You both must be so tired." Her Sans tutted, watching the numerous eyes blink sleepily at him.

He turned and fluffed up the pillow on the bed behind him, then gestured at it. "Here. You two can sleep here for the night."
She stared. "Are you sure? Where will you sleep?"
"We have sleeping bags. Please, you're guests here and you haven't slept in a bed for far too long." She suddenly caught a glimpse of fangs from him, blinking in surprise but choosing not to comment.

Muffet hesitantly stepped closer to the mattress, feeling like an invader of privacy for doing so.
"Do you want some space for the moment? We can leave for a few minutes if you're uncomfortable."
"Ah.. I don't know. I've never slept in someone else's bed."

"Well, there's a first for everything!" He clapped, effortlessly lifting the giant hammer leaning beside the table and setting it in his inventory, guiding GB outside and waving at her before the pair had vanished in a flash of blue light. She stared at the space they had previously occupied before hesitantly sitting on the bed.

Cupcake hopped up beside her and reached up to tug at her hair. She sighed and undid the bundles, letting the long, silken strands fall down past her waist. The rounder spider monster proceeded to tease her forelegs through the slightly tangled mess.

Muffet buried her face in her hands, overwhelmed after the past hour and week. Her aimless wandering was at an end, yet her understanding of the world had been shattered. What was she to do? They were alone, only two spiders in a world they did not know.

Cupcake trilled sadly, sensing her anxiety. Muffet only reached a hand back to pat the smaller spider. "It's still just us right now." She murmured.
"They said everything will collapse into this place. They will come to us. At least there are other monsters here. We are not as alone."
"...Thank you.."