Hello all you horrified people! That's right, I ripped Muffet apart for your horror and enjoyment. There is a reason behind my twisted logic, and if you know the effects of playing one ending before resetting to try the other you know what that meant. It may not have been Frisk experiencing it, but I hope it shined a light on the direction this may go.
Onto more lighthearted notes, I am seriously glad people are enjoying this! I rarely ever come up with a worthwhile idea and- apparently- write it well enough for it to work. Yet, I've been getting almost only good review for this. It's a rarity for me that I couldn't be happier to have done.
Even if the premise has probably been thought of quite a bit. So, let us delve into the next chapter of the Spider Parlor!
Disclaimer: I don't own Undertale. I would have made companion options that could help delve deeper into the choices you make. Of course that could easily backfire….
She never managed to go back to sleep after that nightmare. Muffet did manage to get back to her web without alerting her pet or family, but she couldn't even close her eyes for very long. Too long with her eyes closed would cause images to flash before her eyes. Sometimes it was her arms being snapped by the elbow. Other times the vision of her leg bleeding with a broken bone jutting out greets her tired mind. However, it is always the sight of the bloody worn dagger coming down directly into her top eye that makes her sit up straight. More than one time that night she wrapped her arms around her body while shivering in fear. That dream was so out of place, yet it was also very familiar to her- especially the final part with that murderous Frisk clone. It was almost like she had actually experienced that at one time. However, that's impossible. She would never had been able to forget something like that, much less survive it.
The rest of the night was a constant repetition of tossing and turning, attempting to sleep before being startled awake, and looking around in constant fear for a threat that isn't there. Needless to say, it was a rough night for Muffet. With the only bit of sleep being those few hours of nightmarish torture, she wasn't feeling like her normal cheery self the next morning. Every one of her family immediately noticed, but before they could try to see what was wrong she just told them she had some troubles sleeping. Out of pure worry for the young lady the spiders attempted to convince her to rest a couple more hours. Putting her work over her wellbeing wouldn't be a wise thing to do. However, the spider girl had a feeling that if she tried to sleep, she would be greeted by the same visions of terror all over again. She refuses to go through that if she could avoid it.
So, the young lady choices to set up for the day like normal. Though she moves a bit slower than normal with her mind weighed down as well as her body exhausted. She remains determined though as she makes fresh dough while sluggishly going through a mental preparation list for the day ahead. She's been running low on supplies lately, a trip to the store would be needed. That would mean a half day of work today in order to make time for the store, organizing things where they go, and maybe a little time to try to rest later. Though, that would only happen if she can get through the day first. Hopefully she could. Taking a half day off is already bad for business, but collapsing during a work day? That would be catastrophic for her little bakery. Rumors would be spread about that causing less people to come in. Whether they think they're doing that so she can have less word, or if people thought bad of her didn't matter.
She needed to keep her doors open. This is her home as well as her livelihood. The monster girl has already pushed aside many other things that people her age get just to secure a home for her family. She rarely goes out to enjoy herself, any friends she has is made through her business, and the idea of going to school is foolhardy. Only having her bakery open on the weekends? In order to compensate she would have to rocket her prices up. Higher prices mean less people even bothering to come in to look, less people means less profit, and less profit means being shut down. There was never a chance for her to go and get an education, which was too bad. She would have been in Frisk's class. Not that it's the main reason she wanted to go, having more friends would be lovely, but it would be nice to talk to the human more. Maybe they could alleviate the residual fear that she has from that dream. Or at least help her make some sense out of it.
A quick glance at the clock startles her out of those distracting thoughts. It's already almost time to open up shop? Taking a look around she sees her kitchen full of unfinished preparations. The ingredients for chocolate, maple, and spider doughnuts are just sitting out, the oven isn't pre-heated, and the dough hasn't even begun mixing! Looking around in slight panic Muffet quickly realizes she would never have the time to finish all of these before opening up shop. With a growl of disappointment in herself the young girl forces her weary body to go as fast as it can so she could at least get some of this done. Her hands were almost a blur of coordinated efficiency as she put her multitasking skills to the test. By the time the store was supposed to open, she had just cut out the doughnuts. She was about to place them in the oven when she noticed that fact. With a sigh she placed the pan on a nearby table before dusting off her hands.
She silently hoped and dreaded for the possibility of a slow morning. She knew that wouldn't be the case though. Given the fact it was Saturday meant that adults, children, and teens alike would flock to places where their sweet tooth could be satisfied. Her reputation of speedy delivery made her bakery quite the popular place to stop for a moment before heading out to make the most of people's day. Though, with how the day is going so far it seems like that reputation may be ruined. Deciding not to dwell on that negative thought the young lady quickly returns to her kitchen to try and make the most progress she could at the moment. Maybe she could at least get a few fresh doughnuts ready for their coverings before her place fills up with people.
However, she was not prepared for what she saw in the kitchen. The moment she entered her cooking/baking area the young monster didn't know what to say. In front of her, legions of her family were working together to get things ready. A good squad of them were carrying pans of doughnuts to the back of her pet while another squad was bringing one of her spare pans to the dough. Her darling pet seemed to be able to balance the pan on its back before walking it over to the open oven. Tilting its back, the pan slid into the center of the heating rack before the cupcake spider nudged the door closed. Working at the dough, the larger of the spiders were putting all of their combined weight on top of plastic cups to make the circular shapes needed. To her amazement, Muffet sees multiple spiders use their webs to pull the glasses out of the dough while keeping the perfect circle shapes they need.
She always knew that they would be there for her no matter what, but the sheer efficiency that they are accomplishing is truly startling. The only thing that wasn't being done was mixing the glazes. The young girl suspected that was because they wanted to leave something for her. Her family knew that she could get offended by someone taking over her kitchen. After all, it's not kind to take someone's pride and joy away from them. A whisper in her ear snapped her out of the daze her family sent her into. She sees the little spider that would have gone to Frisk's house on the Halloween wrapping paper. The spider monster smiles slightly as she is reminded of time restraints. With her family helping her, that is no longer a problem. With a more confident view on how today will go she quickly heads to her own station. With a controlled speed to get just the right consistency, the glazes are soon ready to decorate the doughnuts.
With an unexpected moment of relaxation Muffet looks over everything before contemplating if she should expand her selection. Doughnuts are nice and all, but her store is called a bakery. That suggests baked goods- not only baked circles. It's been a while, but maybe she could start making some croissants again. Those were always so lovely to sink her teeth into. When freshly baked the insides are so soft and fluffy with just a touch of airiness that made one believe that they were eating a cloud. Perhaps she could make some special companion to them too. Maybe some sort of sauce, unique glaze, or maybe- Hm? Wasn't that the door being opened? Oh, right! She has customers to work with. Ideas for expanding the menu can come later.
With a small smile gracing her lips, she sets out to deliver satisfaction to her hungry customers. Despite only being a half-day for her bakery it was an extremely successful work day. Like every Saturday, her place was flooded with customers wanting some of her baked treats. She was quickly sold out of the fresh baked goods up front, but with her family continuing their hard work in the back all she had to do was put the glazes on. It was a much easier day for her than normal. However, she will not let this situation happen again. The arachnid monster may be thankful for their help, but she was certain she could handle everything by herself again tomorrow. She was supposed to provide for them not the other way around. There was an extra bit of stress-relief that came with being upfront almost constantly.
Near the end of the work day Frisk came into the Bakery with their new purple and blue jacket. The sight not only almost made Muffet swoon, but she was very happy that they enjoyed her gift. The human was quick to sit next to the front where they could be easily situated next to her. She knows that she really shouldn't, but the casual way they do that always made a blush rise on the young girl's cheek. It almost resembled a romantic partner coming in to check on their hard working love. The thought nearly didn't register completely, but when it did her face almost went completely flustered. Why does her mind always do this to her? She is not interested in having a relationship right now! Besides, would someone like Frisk really be without someone to call their love? If such a sweet, caring being didn't have someone then she would let Papyrus run her store for a day.
Still, since her bakery had opened the human had made it a tradition to come in just to converse with her. The topics of the two's talks range depending on what had happened recently in their lives. It didn't matter if it was school, work, or nonsense. Every talk was such a nice experience; however, she couldn't help but always feel like she never really learned much about Frisk. Sure, she knows their recent experiences fairly well, but what of their past? That much was a mystery to everyone who knows the child. She had a sneaking suspicion that not even Toriel knows where the human had originated from. They climbed Mt. Ebott right? So, that would suggest that they live near it. Yet, when everyone had been freed they chose to stay with the former Queen of the Underground instead of returning home. Did they even have a home? Was their family convinced they died? Did the human's family even care?
These questions have burned in the back of the arachnid monster since she first really started to get to know Frisk. She would never try to ask them though. Their relationship wasn't fragile by any means, but she had decided that if the human wanted to tell her then they will. If they don't, well then they don't. That was very personal information after all. The young lady has no right to try and force that out of them. She would rather remain content with their idle talk while she served people her treats with a cute smile. However, today she did have a much darker question to ask. The notion to ask someone else about her own nightmare is about may seem strange, but the girl still hasn't shaken the feeling that something about it was so familiar. If that thing that killed her in that dream is somehow related to them, then they should be able to ease her fears right?
"Frisk dearie, I need to talk to you about something. Could you please follow me?" Her experiences at night are not for public ears to pick up. Sharing the horrifying experience with someone she trusted was hard enough, those she doesn't trust have no right to know of what is going on in her personal life. The confusion on the human's face was slight, but still noticeable as they followed her. The two of them quickly pass through the kitchen into the very back where the young lady lays her head down to slumber. It seemed fitting enough that this is where they talk about this.
Turning to face Frisk, Muffet pauses for a moment to see her friend looking out into the kitchen in amazement "I know it's an unusual sight Frisk, but may we talk?" A slight tinge of much needed amusement can be heard in her voice. Her lips curl up slightly in a smile as Frisk faces her with a slight grin on their face. Why do they always seem to be able to cheer anyone up just be being there? Is it part of their determination to just make everyone happy? If so, she can't help but be a bit envious towards the people who see them much more often.
"What is it Muffet?" The young lady has to suppress some shivers going down her spine from the human's voice. As far as she could tell, Frisk rarely ever speaks without purpose. They preferred to listen more than say in order to get a better grasp on any situation. That sort of mentality had no doubt helped them befriend almost everyone they meet; however, it would be quite the lie to say that the human didn't have a voice as smooth as velvet. The rare instances where they speak for much longer than a single sentence are like heaven to her ears. Oh god, she can feel her face heating up. She needs to focus on the task at hand-
Speaking of hand, why is their hand suddenly touching her forehead "You alright? You're heating up quite a bit." Of course she's going to be heating up if they continue to do that! Okay, it's getting harder to focus now. The dazed girl starts to feel the full effects from her lack of sleep combined with the work day. Unconsciously, her body begins to sway in the slightest way. Most wouldn't even be able to notice it, but Frisk isn't like most. They survived the underground by noticing the smallest of details, and a detail like this would be an instant alarm to them.
The young human steps back to examine Muffet with a slight frown "You're dead on your feet." It would be utterly useless to try and convince them otherwise "I think whatever you wanted to talk about can wait, you need rest." The spider girl opened her mouth to protest before the feeling of his hand encasing her center right hand causes her blush to act up again. She was effectively silenced as her companion gently leads her back to her webbing. After helping the young girl up onto it the human's grip lingers for a moment longer than necessary before letting go.
The webbing feels utterly divine to the humanoid arachnid, but even with her body rebelling against her need to stay awake she tries to convey what was on her mind "Wait… I need to…" She struggles to keep her eyes open as they each close one by one. The last image she sees is the sight of a smiling Frisk standing beside her bed. Almost as if they were a guardian angel here to protect her while she sleeps. That final thought lulled her asleep. Although, for one small moment, she could have sworn their shirt changed to green and yellow.
Maybe it was just a trick of an exhausted mind.
I feel as if this chapter came out a little bit weirder than others. Like the quality went down. Then again, I get that feeling all the time, so nothing new on that front. I still do hope you enjoy this chapter though. I felt as if it needed a more happy/cheesy tone to it compared to the horror show you guys and gals got last time.
As always, I would love it if you guys could tell me if I did a 'gender mistake' regarding Frisk anywhere in this chapter. I would just like to add that if you could give me the general area of the mistake then I could fix it much faster without combing through the entire chapter with a fine tooth comb.
Regardless, now that this chapter is done I can try to start introducing other characters! Hey, as much as their interactions can be cheesily adorable we still need others. I just don't know how to incorporate Papyrus…. I mean I want him in here, but forcing him in doesn't sound like the best idea. Plus, being the frontman of an Agency must keep the man busy. Oh well, I'll figure these things out later.
I would like to do a quick thank you to those who did help point out some gender issues I made in the earlier chapters. You people made it clear that I have a tendency to write Frisk as a guy when I'm not completely focused. I will admit that I do believe that Frisk is a guy, but I wanted to keep the ambiguous part of the character because it seems to be a good aspect of them. So, again please help me with that.
One last thing: Thank you for reviewing Randomguy. png, but please don't make it sound like I have a solid work schedule. I don't want to disappoint when I inevitably fail that schedule, but it also makes me feel more stressed. More stressed equals more rushed, or giving up entirely. Just a fair warning
Anyways, I need to get going. See you later! Bye!
~DeathOnWings1203~