Chapter Nine: Spiders and Ghosts

Author's Notes: Sorry for yet another delay, laptop issues meant a failed attempt at fixing it and having to replace it. Things can only last so long. Good news is that I have a replacement now, so this one should not be conking out on me anytime soon.

There was hallway between puzzles, however this time things were different. Rather than a straightforward walk to the next puzzle, the hallway twisted and turned at sharp angles. Frisk imagined that from above it might have resembled the pixel line from a game of 'Snake'. Numerous cobwebs hung from the ceiling, their thin webbing glinting from the light of the torches. In fact, Frisk managed to catch sight of a few tiny baby spiders scurrying ahead of him.

The further along he went, the more Frisk became certain he heard talking. He heard three voices and all three of them had a high pitch; Frisk recognised the strange ribbiting noises they were making as well. Looked for an alternative path forwards, knowing that if these Froggits were older they could figure out he was human. Although he did not understand why, he guessed they may take offense to his presence and convincing a group to leave him along may not be possible.

Keeping as close to the cold wall as possible, his hand moving across an oddly smooth surface. The torches were still shining brightly and, unless Frisk got extremely lucky, any monsters up ahead were going to notice him at some point. However the snake-like nature of this hallway gave him a small break, because another sharp angel awaited him. Frisk hid behind the corner, listening into the conversation going on nearby.

"I thought those spiders would change less," the largest of the trio croaked, "all my pocket gold is gone!"

"Well you did buy a cider and a donut." The smallest of the three squeaked, "You didn't have to buy both, we've got cider back home."

"But mum and dad won't let us drink that cider," the largest one whined, "and this stuff is meant to be for everyone."

"What's the difference between that cider and the one you guys have at home?"

"Mum and Dad won't say."

Frisk felt his ears perched up a little; he recognised that voice to be Darty. He peeked out from behind the corner holding a small smile on his face, waving at the group with just a tiny bit of joy. At least he may have had a little bit more help now. Darty heard Frisk and hopped over to him at speed, great enough that the frog-like monster ended up barrelling into the human child. Both Frisk and Darty hit the ground with a mighty thud, without the former's being whacked in the process. In the middle of all this Chara muttered something about losing brain cells, and Frisk possibly lacking them.

"Get off of that Darty!" The bigger Froggit yelled.

"Run away from it!" The other screamed.

Both of Darty's friends fled the area at speed, dropping their treats as they left. For his part, Darty grinned at his friend, before realising that standing on the homo sapien's stomach might not be the best idea. He swiftly hopped away, ribbiting a long strings of apologies as Frisk pulled himself up from the ground. Nothing felt broken and there had been no audible snap, sure he'd have a bump on his head but that was common.

"Are you here for the bake sale too?" Darty asked, "Because they've still got some stuff left, and I've got a bit of extra gold if you need it."

"You've got gold?" Frisk asked, forgetting about his other questions.

"Yea, don't you?"

"Can I see it?"

The young Froggit looked at Frisk, confused and just a tiny bit untrusting of his new friend. The other Froggits at stolen his gold before. Despite this, Darty rummaged through this 'collar' and found a few stray pieces of the precious rock. With an opened palm, he revealed the rock to be a glittering treasure; Frisk could only stare at it with dumfounded bemusement. Those tiny little specks were probably worth more on the surface than any amount of money he'd ever had. And that included the one time he had tried saving up for handheld console.

"Is that a lot of gold?" Frisk questioned, since the other monsters had said they had spent all of their gold on drinks and pastries, "What could you buy with it?"

"Not much really," Darty replied, "shouldn't you know that?"

"M-my…my mother doesn't l-let handle gold much." His tongue barely kept pace with his brain, "S-she said that I could b-buy something myself today, but I r-really don't know what to get."

'You're a pretty good liar Frisk.'

He didn't like hearing that, because good children weren't supposed to lie.

"Well, if you've a similar amount to me, you should be able to get a cider." Darty replied, "They've still got a few bottles of it left, apparently it's really good this year!"

"Thanks," Frisk started walking forward, only to feel one slippery hand grab hold of this sleeve.

"That's the wrong way silly," Darty dragged him to a hall in the cavern, with a sign standing outside of it.

Frisk read it, taking note of the prices; 8 bits of gold of a doughnut, 96 for a dozen and 10 bits of gold for a bottle of cider. He then felt around the pockets of his shorts, thinking that maybe he'd find just a bit of it left over from their previous owners. He had a habit of leaving things in his pockets, which ended up clunking and clanking about in the washing machine later. And luck seeming to be willing to shine upon him, Frisk recovered a few bits of gold. Exactly 18 pieces to be precise, counting each one with care not to drop them. He hadn't even felt them weighting down his pockets.

"You've got just enough to grab some lunch," Darty grinned, "I'll wait out here for you."

Frisk walked into the cave, having to slouch a little when entering. The cavern the spiders had set up their bake sale in looked one part enchanting and two parts creepy. More webs covered the walls, with corners consumed by silky and sticky string. Larger webs were stuck to walls, with full blown messages spun into them and their edges decorated with ornate designs. None of the spiders on the surface ever did anything like that; he'd only read a story were a spider did that, and that had been to save a pig.

"Excuse me sir or madam," someone said in a tiny, high pitched voice voice, "I take you would like to buy something."

Frisk frantically searched for the person talking to him, only to hear a small cough from below. Just a few steps away from his feet stood a small, black dot of a spider; if the creature had drawn the boy's attention, it may have been stepped on. On the small spider, Frisk could just about make out a minuscule amount of red around what probably counted as its neck. Among all of the oddities, this one seemed the strangest to him, because the stripe of colour seemed to have a bow on it.

"Are you wearing a bow-tie?" Frisk asked, his mouth moving before thinking about the question.

"Why yes sir or madam, I am." The little spider said, "And it's not very often that other monsters seem to notice, so thank you very much!"

"It looks…cute." Frisk smiled from ear to ear, "Must be difficult to tie a tie without fingers though."

"Why no sir or madam, it's actually rather easy!"

The little spider jumped with joy that someone seemed to take an interest in their attire. All of the spiders working there made an effort in looking their best; their boss always told them too, saying it would bring business in. The spider excitedly explained how using their legs worked as well as fingers when it came to tying things, and how their fangs did some of the work as well. For his part, Frisk stood as still as one of the many columns he'd seen, rather intrigued by the whole thing. No matter how well the spider explained it, he still couldn't picture the process.

'They spin thread, remember?' Chara said, 'Haven't you ever seen a spider eat its prey?'

An image crept into his mind. A big spider with hug fangs hung over smaller bug, one that flailed about trying to escape the eight-legged beast's nest. But they hadn't a chance and the spider slowly wrapped the in a cocoon of sorts, letting the bug struggle as layer and layer of thread encased the bug. The struggling became weaker and weaker until the bug just stopped. And the spider left the cocoon in its web, alongside all the others that it planned to eat later.

Frisk left a dry lump form in his throat; he could feel tiny legs moving all over his skin.

'Maybe that's what they're going to do to you?' Chara giggled, 'Maybe that little spider there is sizing you up, wondering how many of them would have to help to get you all wrapped up?'

"Is there anything I can get you?" The spider yelled.

"Oh…oh…s-sorry," Frisk looked away from the spider.

"No need to say sorry, you just look a little pale."

"I-I'm fine thanks." Frisk took out the gold pieces from his pocket, "May I have a doughnut and a bottle of cider, please."

"Of course gracious customer, I will just go and retrieve those for you!"

The spider scuttled away, climbing up a long string of thread and out of sight. Left alone, Frisk noticed a faint fairground smell; a mixture of surgery sweetness that even the most addicted of child would be overwhelmed by, and deep frying. It made his mouth water and his stomach awaken with a start, grumbling and demanding something tasty and unhealthy. Normally Frisk avoided sweets, by the wonderful aroma and lack of other option won him over.

A small brown paper bag and a glass bottle descended from above, held up a rope weaved by spiders. It stopped and started many times, before finally hanging right in front of the child's face; the swaying of the snack and drink was almost metronomic. Frisk found himself nearly hypnotised by the movement, and the smell of utter deliciousness amplifying the effect.

"There is your order wonderful customer," the spider cheeped, "please take your order and have a wonderful day!"

"Thank you," Frisk replied and looked upwards with a smile, "I hope you have a good day as well."

A quick tug on the rope released Frisk's lunch, the rope splitting into two as he did. Frisk shuffled around his pockets and managed to find one last bit of gold; he took it out and tried to tie the frayed roped around it. After a couple of attempts, Frisk had it neatly and strongly attached to the rope and gave it a quick tug before leaving. He'd always been told to leave a tip if the service had been good.

Frisk caught up with Darty, who found a tall rock to sit near; the child worried that his friend may have offended the rock by doing that. But without any obvious signs of objections coming from the object, Frisk joined his friend, watching with slightly disturbed fascination as he ate. There was something to be said about a creature that could swallow a hand-sized doughnut whole, his long tongue wrapping about the treat in a serpent-like manner.

"Are you here doing the test as well?" Frisk questions.

"Nope, I've already passed, are you only just taking it then?" Frisk nodded, "Huh, everyone says Toriel is overprotective…"

"What's the test for?"

"It's….well everyone says it used to be a test of adulthood kind of thing," The Froggit hummed in thought, "I guess now it's just used to make sure we know how the world works."

"And that's…through puzzles?"

"Of course, they're fun, educational and keep people you don't want in your away!"

As subjective as the term fun could be when describing a puzzle, it made an odd kind of sense. Frisk thought over the concept a bit more as he ate; his chewing slowed as his brain buzzed around like an anger hornet. As far as Frisk puzzles were games or attempts to make schoolwork more enjoyable. He swallowed the last of his lunch, only half-finishing his cider, leaving him unable to take it with him. His pockets appeared too small to put it in, although he hadn't felt the weight of the gold before.

Magic was everywhere, so the idea of enchanted shorts wouldn't have been much of a stretch. Frisk experimentally stuffed the bottle into his pockets, at first the object barely stayed put but soon his pockets seemed to drag the bottle of cider down. Frisk did not want to think about how similar too eating this action seemed, because he'd dealt with enough living inanimate objects. The idea of living clothing brought his thoughts to a crying and screeching halt; if they ate anything, maybe he'd be next.

"So…could you help with the next puzzle?" Frisk asked and cringed at the look nervous look Darty had. "Or maybe just give me a hint?"

"I can't, we're not supposed tell anyone else about it."

'Some friend he is,' Chara whispered, 'if he was your friend, he'd tell you.'

"I'm sorry Frisk."

"It's a-alright; I can figure it out b-b-by myself," Frisk got up off the ground, dusting himself off, "I'd better g-get going now."

"I can come with you!" Darty quickly hopped behind him.

"W-what would t-the point be?" Frisk huffed.

"…Because I'm your friend."

Frisk wanted to be angry with Darty, really he did. He wanted to be as mad as Chara kept telling him he should be; if the Froggit was his friend he'd be helping. Frisk hurried through the ruins with Darty barely keeping up with the boy, with the lack of conversation making his webbed feet inch. Telling Frisk what lay ahead would go against the point of test, and everyone needed to know how to live in the Underground. Not helping Frisk had to be in the right choice in that case…or so he hoped.

They passed another arched-door, which led the pair into another roomed filled with autumn leaves. The walls looked a little different as well, with yellowish bricks creating them rather than the badly carved-out purple stone. Frisk turned to Darty and waited for an answer. There had to be something special about this room, otherwise the monsters wouldn't have put so much effort into it. The little Froggit stood mutely, waiting for Frisk to do or say something.

"Do you know where we are?" He finally asked, arms crossed, "Because if you do, the you could tell me."

"It's just another hallway."

'He's lying,' Chara murmured, 'I knew you couldn't trust him.'

"So why is it so different from the others?"

"I don't know." Darty shrugged, "I've heard that some parts of the ruins are like this, you know from before all the other monsters left."

"Why'd they leave?"

"I'm not all that sure, but mum said it had something to do with a disagreement between the king and queen. "

"So the Froggits stayed here because…"

"We wanted to." leaves crunched under his feet, "We like it here, so why should we have leave?"

"And was it the Queen or King who stayed-"

Frisk's question was cut-off by noise, one unlike anything he had ever heard. It sounded like multiply versions of the same voice; there was a mixture of pitches and tones that all blended into echo other, like a broken microphone that bounced off the walls. However, all of them held the same sadness, for what lacked in words was made-up for in sheer sadness. They were not crying exactly, just edging towards tears; like a child who tried holding everything in.

The pair sought out the source of the noise, retracing their steps and paying attentions to any corners or unlit areas. They near weeping continued, and the pair were still none the wiser as to where it came from. Whoever kept made these sounded must have needed help. They were in a part of the ruins barely used anymore, so they could have been lost. The person in question could have also been hurt, and to Frisk there might have been the slim possibility that another human child fell down there. Who was to say how many holes were dotted around the ceiling of the Underground?

"They could be up ahead," The little Froggit's darted from left-to-right, "because they're not here!"

Frisk nodded and they hurried on ahead, running thought the hallway. The leaves on the floor disappeared as their passed through a slightly narrower section, the dry and fragile things replaced by a much different sensation underfoot. It felt cold and damp without actually being wet, the weight of water seeping into shoes missing. He was aware of the temperature plummeting around him, all warmth draining from his skin as moisture built-up on the walls. The boy's teeth chattered and all he wanted to do was curl into a ball to regain just a tiny bit of heat.

The little Froggit did not fare any better. Darty's vibrant green skin took on a pale and sickly tone; his eyes grew wide with fear, and his lips took on a wiggly shape. He had never seen anything like this in all of his short life. Darty tried to scream as the thing formed behind his friend, but found his voice only came out in a tiny wheeze. His terror for himself and his friend kept him rooted in place, all four legs filled with fear as heavy as lead.

An unnatural mist appeared and snaked its way past Frisk's legs and grew upwards, stretching in height until it reached above the pair. The top of its blurry form had a dome shape, whilst the rest of the misty mass stood straight. The mass of mist had no feet to stand on and instead it had a frill-like row, giving it an appearance comparable to a sheet ghost. The pair of sunken in, black-rimmed eyes only added to this impression.

Frisk became aware of this supernatural entity when he saw Darty pointing at it, mouthing the words 'behind you'. Frisk slowly turned around, facing the ghost head-on and letting loose a screech before running away as fast as his legs would carry him. He grabbed hold of Darty, because he was not angry enough to leave the Froggit behind with a ghost. However, the ghost stood on the spot rather than follow the two. And the crying they heard lessened as they ran away from it, making Darty stop and forcing Frisk to do so as well.

"Why are you stopping D-Darty?" Frisk cried out

"I…Frisk I think the ghost is the one crying."

Frisk and Darty looked behind themselves. The ghost had not moved an inch, its head hung low and at a rather painful looking angle. Big, bubbly teardrops fell from its too long eyes and the small mouth the ghost had hung open in sadness. The ghost kept sobbing and sniffing, murmuring half-formed words and noises; obviously, the ghost had noticed them but it did not seem to care about their presence. On the other hand, maybe they had made the ghost even more upset.

Darty hopped forwards, approaching the ghost with thought put into his movements. Frisk merely watched as the Froggit took the lead; all the human child knew about ghosts was that they were not supposed to exist, and they tended to haunt things. Sometimes they killed people; sometimes they tried to kill people before being forced to 'move on'. Frisk never heard of ghosts being anything other than frightening, temperamental and quick to attack the living. He really did not want to approach the ghost, despite its unthreatening appearance.

"Are you okay?" Darty looked up at the ghost.

"I'm fine."

The ghost's voice sounded like two or three people speaking at once. Their head had not moved and they seemed reluctant to make eye contact, although it was a little hard to tell because of the lack of pupils. The ghost's sullen demeanour did not convince Darty even the tiniest bit; however, it did make Frisk feel a safe enough to step close. If the ghost intended to do harm, they probably would have done it by now.

"Why a-are you crying," Frisk asked, "are you h-hurt?"

"No…I fine," the ghost replied, backing away slightly.

"Did someone upset you?" Darty asked.

"No…no, no-one upset me." The ghost sniffed and tried to stop crying, their breath hitching.

"Then what's wrong?"

"I j-just feel…down." The ghost deflated as they spoke.

"Can we help you?"

"We can talk to you if you want!" Darty jumped at the ghost, making them shriek back, "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

"It's alright…I'm just not feeling all that happy," the ghost gave them both a small smile, "I'm…grateful you're talking to me though, a lot of other monsters just ignore me…"

"Maybe it's because they can't see you," Darty suggested, looking to Frisk, "I mean we couldn't see you until you let us!"

"Yea," Frisk said, "y-you just appeared out of nowhere."

"Is that why you both ran away?" The pair nodded, "I-I'm so sorry, I didn't want to scare either of you…"

"It's o-okay, we just misunderstood."

"We were just going to the final test…you see my friend here is taking it today!" Darty grinned, "Maybe you can come with us?"

"No thanks, I-I'll just get out of your way now" the ghost started to disappear, "M-maybe you can come visit me some time. I have a house near Snowdin…"

"Sure that'd…be…fun?"

The ghost had disappeared, and right before Frisk could ask their name. Despite wanting to try to find their new friend, Frisk knew that the only way to do that would be to finish the test. Snowdin must have been outside of the Ruins, and he could only get there once he had proven himself to Toriel. Therefore, when they came to another large, stone door, Frisk readied himself for whatever waited for him.

"Don't worry about it too much," Darty cheered, "you'll have it figured out in no time, you'll see!"

"Thanks…I-I'm sorry I got mad earlier."

"Don't worry about it. Just pass the test so we can visit the ghost together!"