-Chapter 2-

...

"Why are you so excited?" questioned Monster Kid when the two were released from school later that day.

Frisk beamed and said in turn, "You heard about the bake sale, right?! Well, do you remember the three women who were insulting Sans and Papyrus that one time?"

Monster Kid frowned, his face wrinkling up in thought. The two waited on the sidewalk next to the road where Sans would eventually pull up to pick up Frisk. "Oh! What were their names? Helen? L...Lindsey?"

"Helen, Linda, and Diana!" Frisk said, growing more excited by the second. "So they're bound to be there! MK, we could totally turn this into a competition and get revenge!"

Monster Kid lit up, finally catching onto Frisk's idea. "Yo, dude, that is awesome! You could recruit Muffet and her awesome little army of spiders!"

Frisk nodded in agreement. "Yes, this is going to be perfect! I'll have Sans drop me off at Muffet's Bakery and I'll talk to her about it. I went to the office a few minutes ago and asked for a flyer." She fished it out of her back pocket. "We don't have a lot of time, but we can do this!"

"Dude! This is gonna be great!" MK practically squealed. He was cut off by the sound of tired stopping in front of them. They turned to see Sans the Skeleton himself on a motorcycle. Even though Sans could still teleport to and from places he had been to before, he didn't like to use his power in public because it raised too many questions. And, with Sans' unique identity, it would be easier for people to track him down if they needed to. It wouldn't look good with the monsters if the government found out what kind of power the monsters really had. Frisk and the others were afraid of what the humans would do if they found out teleportation was actually possible. The thought made Frisk shiver every time, without fail.

Sans looked really dorky, as he looked too short for the motorcycle. The older skeleton had on a blue helmet that matched his jacket's color, and he had replaced his pink slippers with a pair of untied tennis shoes. Another grin grew on the ambassador's face.

"heya, kiddo. how was school?" He asked, his voice a bit muffled by the helmet. He reached behind him to unlatch another blue helmet, working the smaller straps out from their clasps with his phalanges.

"It was good. Sans, I have the best revenge idea ever!" Frisk said, taking the helmet eagerly while waving MK goodbye as he went to one of his relative's vehicles. She hopped on the motorcycle behind the shorter skeleton, then wrapped her arms around his middle.

"heh heh. you can tell me 'bout it when i getcha back to tori's. for now, though, we hafta skedaddle." He asked Frisk if she was ready once she got her feet settled.

"Yeah, but could we stop by Muffet's before we go home? I need to talk to her about something first." He nodded.

"just be sure to text tori first. don't want her to flip out when she could surely get a-" he paused for dramatic effect, then tapped the handlebar with his phalanges, "handle on the situation." He patiently waited for her to tap out a quick text to mom, and then Frisk told Sans she was ready. The skeleton sped up, then pulled out of the school parking lot.

Frisk loved riding the motorcycle with Sans. She loved feeling the breeze and watching the buildings, the trees, and all of the cars flash by in colored blurs as they flew on top of the pavement. She loved it when Sans would give other motorcyclists on the street a short, lazy wave, and how the other cyclists typically nodded in approval or waved back. She supposed it must be a motorcycle thing. The ride ended sooner than Frisk would have liked, but she remembered the bake sale and hopped off the bike, her legs like jelly. She wobbled a bit, but regained her balance. Tearing off her helmet, she placed it on the handlebar opposite of Sans, then raced to the door.

Muffet's new bakery was designed in a more modern style than Grillby's had been. The walls were the color of Muffet's skin: a soft lavender-like color, and there was one long, wide window wall whose glass was darkly tinted. The entire window arched gently around the corner, making the right corner wall entirely of glass. Rather than being pointy, the edge of the glass corner was curved slightly. Where the glass ended, the lavender walls began again, and circled around the building to meet the entrance in the other side. On the top of the building was a sign that read: 'Muffet's' in a sleek, cursive font written in black. Underneath the sign were six black columns that supported a somewhat asymmetrical slab of concrete that was draped over the top of each column, three per side. On the columns were extremely intricate designs that had been carved into them, and the undersides of the carvings had been painted silver to add a slightly metallic shimmer to them. The ground beneath them was covered in a slate plate that lead to the glass doors.

Frisk grew excited again and opened the door, holding it open for Sans. He walked in with a quick 'thanks, kiddo' and Frisk followed him inside. The interior of the bakery was no less impressive to her. The ceiling appeared to be slanted a bit, but what really caught one's eyes was the huge network of spider webs that interlocked with one another, with stars knows how many spiders climbing amongst them. Some customers stood below it, staring at it in either fascination or fear, sometimes a mixture of both. Muffet stood behind the ordering bar near the back, display cases filled with baked goods, from golden croissaints to fat cupcakes to mouth-watering cheese danishes. Above the ordering bar was a neat, Muffet colored-scheme menu listing all of the items Muffet and her army of spiders made. Frisk sniffed the air and caught a whiff of freshly-brewed coffee. There were about a dozen or so tables in front of the ordering bar, and each had its mix of humans and monsters. Little spiders were dropping down from their webs and taking orders from the customers. Idle chatter filled the atmosphere. Frisk ran up to the ordering bar with Sans following close behind.

"Good afternoon, dearies! Ah, Frisk, darling, it's been far too long!" She closed all six of her eyes and smiled down at Frisk.

"It has! How have you been lately, Muffet?" Frisk asked, placing her arms on top of the glass display case.

"I've been lovely ever since your last visit! My little babies are getting along nicely with most of the customers, except for a few I had to...introduce to my little pet. Ahuhuhuhu~." Two of her six arms were folded across her chest, the second two were on the display case, and the third pair were holding a notepad and pencil. "What can I get you two today?"

"Um...we actually need to talk to you. Here!" Pulling out the crinkled flyer and flattening it out a bit, Frisk slid it over to Muffet. The spider-like monster took the sheet of paper and read over it, a delighted smile on Muffet's face that seemed to grow bigger with each sentence she read.

"What do you think?" Frisk asked, eyeing the monster hopefully.

"But of course, dearie! I do love a bake sale!" Muffet grinned, then smoothed out the wrinkles on her sheet. "I will make a copy of this! I'll be back! Oh, and please, help yourselves to a treat! It's on the house!" Muffet giggled, then turned and walked into the back room while a small little spider climbed down on a string of spider silk that was connected to the network of webs above them. It looked up at Frisk and Sans expectantly. Frisk giggled, and gently touched one of the spider's raised arm.

"Give us a minute or so," Frisk whispered. The spider seemed to nod in response and waited patiently on the countertop.

"what's the catch?" Sans said, smirking at his pun after shooting the spider webs a glance.

"Helen, Linda, and Diana are bound to be at the bake sale, right? But if I come with Muffet, and we all go prepared, then we can get revenge on them by baking better cupcakes! It'll turn from a bake sale to a bake competition! And, technically, I'm not doing anything wrong. It's called competition, and it's perfectly legal and encouraged by our government and economy!" Frisk made gestures with her hands that seemed to represent 'duh'. "Do you remember Helen, Linda, and Diana, Sans?"

Sans paused for a moment, his eye pinpoints shrinking for a moment before enlarging again. "oh. you mean those three speciest slash racist slash stupid women that were making fun o' me an' paps at the school dance thing that you invited us to?"

Frisk nodded. Sans' stance stiffened a bit, and he gazed down at the ambassador. "kid. wow. i honestly have no words. i'm a bit-" his permanent grin widened, "caught up in the sincerity of the moment." Frisk giggled at the spider web pun and then asked-

"Yeah. What do you think, Sans?"

"'s a good idea. i appreciate you stickin' up for me an' paps, but don't get yourself in too much trouble, 'm kay, kiddo? wouldn't want you to have to deal with that just 'cuz we're lookin' after ya. 's not your fault we're monsters. 's not your fault that you fell 'nto the underground, 's not your fault that the wizards who locked us up are the ones who messed everythin' up between humans an' monsters. you aren't at fault here, kid, an' i don't want you gettin' hurt for it." He released a sigh.

Frisk frowned. Of course, he'd be concerned about this. "Everything's going to be okay, Sans. Things are rough now, but everything will fall into place eventually. I mean, the anti-monster humans can't change the fact that monsters are on the surface now, and they can't change the fact that monsters now have human rights. And, if they don't realize that, then they'll be punished. And when they get punished, then, all...er, no, maybe most of them, at least, will learn their lesson. This is a change that is necessary for us. Monsters and humans need to integrate and communicate together. I think that, at least, has to happen." She grinned, happy with the little spiel she had come up with on the fly.

"pretty emotional speech there, kid. think it might'a made this old bag o' bones cry." He pretended to wipe at his eye sockets. "but anyways. i hope you're right, kiddo. 'think you are, but i...shouldn't get my hopes up. but i think you mighta gotten your civics and economics mixed up there, kiddo. 'f one of the companies beats out all the other competition," his permanent smile twisted into what Frisk assumed was meant to be a smirk, "then it's called a monopoly. an' that's illegal an' discouraged by the government."

Frisk sighed. "You're right. But this is a middle school bake sale we're talking about. Do you think anyone will really notice?"

Sans laughed, and then answered: "i was just usin' an extended metaphor there. addin' onto the one you started, just makin' it better."

The ambassador sighed, then looked through the display case glass, her eyes examining the treats that were locked away. "You're right though. Things might get ugly between the competing bake teams."

Sans only shrugged, shoving his hand into the pockets of his jacket. Before he could respond, the little spider waved its arms, grabbing Frisk's attention.

"What's up?" Frisk asked. It pointed at the register to their right. The girl in the blue and purple striped sweater nodded.

"I'll have a spider donut and some cider. What about you, Sans?" She turned towards the older skeleton, awaiting his response.

"nothin' for me." Sans said. Frisk tilted her head and gave him the 'Really? C'mon' glare.

"Are you sure, Sans? It's on the house." Muffet reappeared behind the counter, and handed Frisk the original version of the flyer.

"'m sure. thanks, though, muff. i appreciate the offer." He took his hands out of his pockets, shifting back and forth with a little bit of discomfort.

Frisk sighed, then shook her head. "Okay. If you say so."

Muffet grabbed a little bag from underneath the counter, then she went over to the display case that had the spider donuts in it. She opened the case, then grabbed the donut with the bag. She set the bagged donut onto the counter, then went to a brewing machine to make Frisk's cider. Frisk and Sans watched as the spider woman added a pinch of brown sugar, some grated nutmeg, and then stuck a small stick of cinnamon in it. Spider cider was typically enhanced by monster magic, which made food tasted different from normal human food. Muffet always fixed her human customer's drinks with a perfect combination of a few simple ingredients.

When Muffet finished enhancing Frisk's cider, she set it on the counter. Frisk took it and sipped it. It wasn't too hot, but it wasn't too cold, either. The cinnamon complimented the nutmeg perfectly, and the brown sugar tasted well with the warm apple in the juice. All of the flavors combined contrasted deliciously with the faint tingle of magic she could taste. Frisk sighed contentedly as she sipped on her drink. People who went to the bake sale would definitely be pleased. Frisk and Muffet would win for sure, with this cider on their side...

"Does it taste okay, darling?" Muffet asked, sliding the donut over to Frisk, who snatched it up greedily.

"It's perfect." Frisk responded, her eyes closed as she took another sip. Then, she remembered why she had come in the first place. "Oh yeah! So, about the bake sale..."

"While I was waiting for the sheet to print out, I made a list of what I will bake for it. Here," she pulled out a yellow piece of paper and handed it to Frisk, "let me know if I need to change anything. How does it look?"

Frisk grinned. It read in Muffet's unnaturally perfect cursive:

Frisk's School's Bake Sale List!
-Spider Cider

-Donuts

-Danishes

-Cookies

-Brownies

-Freshly Brewed Coffee

-Croissants

"This looks perfect!" Frisk declared. Sans remained quiet beside her, awkwardly shuffling his feet.

"Ahuhuhuhu, I'm so glad you think so! Now, I'm thinking...would you like to help me out here, dearie? As much as I love bake sales, I don't typically carry enough supplies on me to cover such a large order. You, however, could help out with this. What say you, dearest?" She tapped her purple-painted fingernails on top of the glass, each of her six eyes studying the human.

"Of course! How can I help?" Frisk asked eagerly, that all too familiar DETERMINATION shining in her eyes.

"Let's see...alright. First, give me a day or two to calculate the necessary amount of ingredients needed. I'll try to be quick about it, but it typically takes a while. After I get that finished, I will contact you, and we'll go shopping for the ingredients together. It'll go much faster if we split the load. And the third part is the fun part! I want you to help me bake! Alas, the fun must end at one point. We'll have to find a way to transport all of the goods..."

"i might be able to help out with that," Sans spoke up, shifting his gaze to Muffet.

"Oh yeah! Sans is psychokinetic and can teleport!" Frisk added excitedly.

"That will certainly make things easier. Alright, dearie. I'll start on the calculations as soon as the store closes for the evening!" Muffet said.

"Sounds great! Oh, and thank you, Muffet. I'm sorry this was so last minute, but thank you for doing this! It means a lot to me!"

Muffet flashed Frisk another one of her smiles. "You're quite welcome, dearie. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must go attend to the other customers. Enjoy the rest of your day, dears!" She gave six small waves with each one of her hands, then she strutted to the other side of the ordering bar. Frisk gave a wave back, then turned towards the exit, her grip on the bag that contained her yet-to-be-touched spider donut in bag. Deciding to save it for later, she tucked it away in her bookbag. Sans followed her out of the bakery.

"Okay, now that that is settled..." She trailed off, "we can go home now. Thanks, Sans!"

"heh. 's no problem, kiddo. but we should be goin' now 'fore tori comes out an' kicks my tailbone for bein' late." He moved towards his bike, shoving on his helmet in the process. He handed Frisk her helmet, then tightened the strap under her chin when she put it on. Frisk climbed on behind the skeleton and wrapped her arms around his middle.

"you ready, kiddo?" Sans asked, shoving the key to his motorcycle in the ignition and turning it.

"Let's fly!" Came Frisk's muffled voice behind Sans.

"cool." He sped up, and pulled out of Muffet's parking lot.