Guards, Bombs, And Spiders
...
Hey guys! I hope you like the new chapter! I changed up the RG01 and RG02 encounter because randomly cleaning the armor of someone who's trying to kill you in the middle of battle sounds both very dangerous and incredibly awkward in an overworld scenario.
There's also a minor OC debuting this chapter and Muffet will get a hangout with Frisk.
...
"...And he said he was fine and told me not to call you, but I'm still worried." Frisk told Papyrus over the phone half an hour later after catching a break from all the puzzles. She stood beside a laser locked safe, absently watching as a tiny mouse fiddled with it to try to get at the melted cheese inside.
"Thank you for telling me, human. I'll keep an eye on him and make him some of my spaghetti soup. He's actually at home now. He just ran into his lab fifteen minutes ago. Literally ran. That's...honestly the fastest I've seen him move in a long time. Normally he just shortcuts."
"Odd. He told me he was going to Grillby's." Frisk mused, exchanging a confused and concerned glance with Chara as she moved along, keeping her eyes on the path while talking to Papyrus. Chara floated a little ahead, watching out for danger.
"Hey! You! Stop!" a gruff voice called from behind her. She jumped about a mile and whirled around.
"Human, is everything okay?" she faintly heard Papyrus ask but couldn't answer as two huge, muscular guards, one with shining armor and soft white bunny ears sticking out of their intimidating helmet and another one in stuffy, dirt covered armor with bright red fins on the sides of their head ran up to her.
Chara's eyes widened. "Uh-oh."
Thankfully, the guards didn't seem to hear Papyrus. "We've, like, received an anonymous tip about a human disguised in a Deltarune shirt. They told us they were wandering around Hotland right now..." the guard in the dirt covered armor told her.
"I know, sounds scary, huh? Well, just stay chill. We'll bring you someplace safe, okay?" the guard in the shining armor reassured her, compassion in his voice. They began to lead her away.
"Um, guys?" Frisk stammered, trying to figure out how to tell them she was said human and reassure them she wasn't going to cause any trouble before she got killed.
The guards only went a few steps before freezing in place. The one in the dirty armor turned to the other and whispered something.
"Huh? What is it, bro? The shirt they're wearing...what about it?" The guard in the shining armor asked, then jolted, looking Frisk over.
"Bro...are you thinkin'...what I'm thinkin'?" the other guard asked as they both stared at Frisk suspiciously.
"Frisk, get Undyne on the phone." Chara told her frantically.
Frisk swallowed nervously. "Papyrus, can you get Undyne please?"
"ON IT!"
"Bummer. This is, like... Mega embarrassing." the guard with the shining armor sighed.
"We, like, actually totally have to kill you and stuff." the other said, almost apologetically. Frisk started to back away as they raised their swords in unison.
Undyne's voice came on the line. "What's going on over there?"
The guard with the dirty armor snatched the phone from Frisk. He pulled off his helmet as he answered the phone, revealing that he was a rather handsome red dragon. "Captain Undyne, it's RG02 and RG01. Like, we found the human and we'll, like, take her out for you."
"No! I order you two to stand down. I already told you both she's on our side and going to help us break the barrier." Undyne told them.
"Like, I think she's hypnotized, bro." RG01, or at least that's who Frisk assumed he was, told his friend.
"Don't worry, Captain! You, like, told us not to listen to you if you ever defended a human, since they know mind control. We'll avenge you and like, kill her so you'll be set free!" the other said.
"I DON'T know mind control!" Frisk tried to tell them, but was ignored.
"How the hell would you even GET that idea?" Chara asked, but went unheard.
"Oh my god! I'm not hypnotized, guys!" Undyne said angrily. "That human's way too wimpy to have mind control powers!"
"Hey!" Frisk protested, overhearing this.
"Well, it's true, human!"
The two Royal Guards looked between one another, clearly unsure. "She didn't like, kiss you or anything, did she?" Chara burst out laughing and Frisk just looked flabbergasted.
"No, she didn't kiss me! I would have beaten the hell out of her if she tried!" Undyne told them.
"Plus, it's Alphys' job to kiss her." Frisk teased to get revenge for the "wimpy" remark.
Undyne made a flustered noise. Frisk could practically see her blushing over the phone. "Shut up, punk!"
"Sorry."
RG01 and RG02 looked at each other. "She's not hypnotized." they said in unison. Both Chara and Frisk sighed with relief.
RG02 talked to Undyne for a few minutes while RG01 stood near Frisk, making sure she didn't escape, though she caught him sneaking glances at the dragon.
RG02 then hung up and walked over. Frisk mentally crossed her fingers. "Undyne told us to, like, do a security check on the human and then let her go, dude." RG02 reported to his friend.
Frisk willingly cooperated and handed her bag over to RG02 to check while RG01 patted her down to make sure she wasn't armed and checked for any signs of monster dust. RG01 continued to sneak glances at the dragon as he checked Frisk for weapons.
"You're all clear, little dude." RG01 told her when he was done. He gave RG02 another longing look which the other didn't notice, too busy searching Frisk's bag.
Frisk smiled up at RG01. "You should tell him how you feel." she whispered.
RG01 shuffled his feet. Frisk could practically see his blush through his helmet. "You...You think so, dude?"
Frisk nodded encouragingly and gave him a thumbs up.
"Looks like someone's becoming a master matchmaker." Chara teased.
"Shush, they'd be so cute together."
RG01 took a deep breath as RG02 finished putting Frisk's stuff back in her bag and gave a thumbs up to indicate it was safe. He moved over to his friend. "D-Dude, can I talk to you about something?" The other nodded and moved closer. "I...I...I...I like...I...I LIKE like you, bro! The way you fight...the way you talk... I love doing team attacks with you. I love standing guard with you, bouncing and waving our weapons in sync. 02...I, like, want to stay like this forever..."
RG02 was silent for a very long moment. Frisk's heart sank and she prayed that she hadn't told RG01 to do the wrong thing.
RG01 sweated nervously. "Uh...I mean, uh... Psyche! Gotcha, bro!"
RG02 finally spoke. "...01."
"Y-Yeah, bro?"
RG02 shuffled his feet, looking shy. "Do you want to...get some ice cream...after this?"
RG01 bounced happily. "Sure, dude! Haha!"
"You did it, Frisk! You got one of your OTPs together!" Chara cheered.
"I...have no clue what that means."
"It means One True Pairing." Chara explained.
"You know, you're an even bigger nerd than Alphys." Frisk teased, but couldn't help but agree as she watched the two guards smiling at each other happily.
RG02 shyly put his arm around 01, so flustered he almost walked off with Frisk's bag and phone before 01 nudged him and pointed to Frisk. RG01 then took Frisk's things from his now boyfriend and returned them to her. "Thanks." he whispered and gave her a high five before happily walking off with RG02. Frisk grinned and went on her way.
...
It wasn't long before Frisk and Chara walked into yet another dark room.
"Oh my, I wonder who's behind this?" Chara muttered sarcastically, rolling her eyes.
The phone rang and Frisk answered. It was Alphys again. "Okay, I'm back!" She paused, probably checking the monitors. "A-Another dark room, huh? Don't worry! M-my hacking skills have got things covered!" The lights immediately flipped on, revealing an MTT labeled camera pointing right at Frisk's face. Mettaton was not far away, sitting at a cardboard cutout shaped like a news desk.
"Are you serious?" Alphys groaned.
"Apparently yes." Chara answered, even though Alphys couldn't hear her.
"Ohhhhh yessss! Good evening, beauties and gentlebeauties! This is Mettaton, reporting live from MTT news! An interesting situation has arisen in Eastern Hotland! Fortunately, our correspondent is out there, reporting live! Brave correspondent! Please find something noteworthy to report! Our ten wonderful viewers are waiting for you!"
Frisk waved at the camera and smiled, more confidently this time, before examining the room. A white dog wagged its tail at her, a deflated basketball sat nearby, a glass of water was nestled near a script, a present sat on the other side of the room addressed to "the human," and a video game case sat in the far corner of the room.
"Let's see which one of these he's planning to use to kill me today." Frisk thought to Chara. The video game looked like it could be the least dangerous, so she picked it up.
"Oh la la! This video game you found, is dynamite!" Mettaton cheered. Frisk had the feeling it actually was and held it up as far away from her as possible while still trying to look cheery. "Though I don't make an appearance in it until three fourths in. But I like that! Appearing from the heavens like manna, slaking the audience's hunger for gorgeous robots...Ooh! That's Mettaton!"
Figuring everything else was actually dangerous as well, or something that at least looked bad was about to happen, Frisk chose to report on the video game, hoping that either Alphys would bail her out or that it would be revealed that this all was an elaborate prank.
"Attention, viewers! Our correspondent has found...a video game! This action packed game is guarenteed to blow you away! Strange enemies! Strange allies! Attractive robots! Featuring up to six arbitrary dialogue choices at once!"
"Wait, are we talking about the video game or my life?" Frisk joked and a bad laugh track played.
"You'll see, my dear correspondent! Let's look inside the case!" Mettaton told her.
"This is going to blow up, isn't it?" Frisk sighed, but opened the case anyway, knowing she didn't really have any choice and desperately praying that her and Chara's suspicions about everything being fake were right.
"As you can see, viewers, my correspondent is as sharp as her technology skills are terrible! Those red cylinders with burning fuses...Oh no! This game literally IS dynamite! I guess they were right all along! Video games do cause violence! Or at least this one's about to! But don't get too excited! You haven't even seen the rest of the room yet!"
Frisk turned nervously to view the rest of the room. The dog's tail was burning like a fuse, a bomb fell out of the script, the basketball now had a fuse, the glass of water was flashing, and a final bomb rolled out of the present.
"The dog is a bomb! The basketball's a bomb! Everything in this room is a bomb! Even my words are a bomb!" Mettaton announced, and an explosion sounded after he spoke. He turned to Frisk. "Brave correspondent...if you don't defuse all of the bombs...This big bomb will blow you to smithereens in two minutes!" He gestured to a huge, glittery pink bomb innocently sitting in the north side of the room with a two minute counter flashing. "Then you won't be reporting "live" any longer! How terrible! How disturbing! Our nine viewers are going to love watching this!"
"Well, not very much if you're losing viewers.' Chara muttered. Frisk was very nervous, but her ghostly friend was completely calm. "Don't worry, Frisk. Alphys probably has a convenient thing installed on your phone to bail you out."
And she was completely right.
"Good luck, darling!" Mettaton called as he started to float off and as he did, Frisk's phone rang once more.
"D-don't worry!" Alphys told her when she picked up. "I installed a bomb defusing program on your phone!" She rapidly explained how to use it. "Now go get 'em!"
"Told you. " Chara reassured her.
Frisk frantically went through her icons once more, looking for the bomb defuser. Though she was now pretty much sure this was all just a show, she still didn't want to take any chances with explosives. However, between adrenaline, speed, and not being able to read the icons properly, it was the jetpack she accidentally hit. It went sailing out of her hands with its little remaining fuel...and smacked Mettaton right in the head.
Frisk gasped. "Sorry!"
"Don't be. He deserved that." Chara said with a laugh.
Mettaton let out an overdramatic sigh and caught the phone as it fell. Thankfully, both it and his head were pretty much indestructible. He flew back to Frisk. "You know, darling, you're dangerous with this thing. I could just destroy it...but then the show would have no dramatic tension! And we can't have that! So here," He turned on the bomb defuser for her. "Have Dr. Alphys make you some glasses...if you survive this. You have two minutes to defuse all those bombs. Good luck, beautiful!"
The next two minutes were filled with chasing some surprisingly agile bombs. Frisk was panting when it was all over.
"Well done, darling!" Mettaton cheered. "You've deactivated all the bombs! If you didn't deactivate them, the big bomb would have exploded in two minutes. Now it won't explode in two minutes! Instead, it'll explode in two seconds! Goodbye, darling!" He laughed evilly, but didn't move an inch, so Frisk just looked at him, knowing that bomb wasn't going to actually go off since Mettaton clearly wasn't concerned about himself being blown to pieces along with her.
Mettaton paused for a second. "Ah. It seems the bomb isn't going off."
Alphys came on the line again. "That's b-because...While you were monologuing...I...! I...f...fix...Um, I ch-change..."
Mettaton seemed to take pity on her. He threw his arm over his forehead dramatically. "Oh no. You deactivated the bomb with your hacking skills."
"Yeah! That's what I did!" Alphys replied, sounding a little more confident.
Mettaton groaned loudly. "Curses! It seems I've been foiled again! Curse you, human! Curse you, Dr Alphys, for helping so much! But I don't curse my eight wonderful viewers for tuning in! Until next time, darling!" He flew off into the distance.
"W-Wow...W-we really showed him, huh?" Alphys said happily before pausing for an awkward moment. "H-hey, I know I was kind of weird at first...But I really think I'm getting more...uh, more...m-more confident about guiding you! S-so don't worry about that b-big d-dumb robot...I-I'll protect you from him!" A-and if it really c-came down to it, we could just t-turn...um, nevermind. Later!"
Frisk turned to Chara. "You were right. It's all fake. And Alphys is probably in on it, isn't she?" she asked with a soft sigh.
"Looks like it. Sorry, Frisk."
"Maybe that's why she was acting so guilty. I thought it was because she was upset she had messed up with Mettaton, but maybe it's because she knew this was a setup and knew I was scared. But why the hell would she do this? She KNOWS I need to get home." Frisk thought to Chara, starting to get upset.
"I don't know. Maybe she's just trying to help Mettaton. They do seem to be friends."
Frisk nodded. "True. And Mettaton probably talked her into it." Her eyes then widened as she thought of something, and she suddenly gave a small smile, surprising Chara. "And I bet I know why."
"Why?" Chara asked curiously.
"Maybe he's trying to help her improve her confidence and impress Undyne! And what better way to do that than to make her the hero in his show? She gets to look cool for Undyne and he gets ratings and a brand new show."
"That might explain things." Chara admitted. "It definitely doesn't look like he wants to actually kill you, so this might just be the reason."
"I just wish they had told me. I'd be happy to help them, but I need to get Tina, and as much as I like Alphys, this is slowing me down. If I can catch Mettaton without the cameras, I'll talk to him and tell him I'm in on the plan as long as he waits until after I pick up Tina."
"That's a good idea." Chara agreed. She then looked thoughtful. "And you know what else, Frisk? I think this little TV thing actually helps you too."
"What do you mean?"
"Remember what Alphys said when we first met her? About how watching someone on a screen really makes you root for them?" Frisk nodded, a little confused, and Chara elaborated. "Well, it's not just Alphys in the hero role. It's you as well. Didn't you notice Mettaton is acting as the villainous character in every one of these skits and it's your and Alphys' job to foil his evil plans? He's letting his viewers see you, a human, as a good guy. It might make monsters feel a little more comfortable around you, help them realize not all humans are bad guys."
Frisk perked up a little. "You really think so?"
"It's definitely possible. A plan where everyone wins." Chara smiled but also looked a bit sad at the same time.
"You okay, Chara?" Frisk asked.
"Yeah. I just wish all my plans could work out that way." Chara confessed.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
For a second Chara looked like she would, but then she looked down and shook her head. "Not yet. But I will tell you eventually. I promise."
"All right. Whenever you're ready." Frisk reassured her and the two continued on, leaving the room and following the path towards the core.
...
Alphys called only a few minutes later. "Um, I noticed you've been kind of quiet...Are you w-worried about meeting Asgore?" she asked gently.
"A little." Frisk admitted truthfully. "I-I was told by someone I trust that he would kill me, and then other people I trust have told me how kind he was, so...so I don't know what to think."
"W-Well, don't worry, okay? Th-the king is a really nice guy... I'm sure you can talk to him, and w-with your human soul, you can pass through the barrier! S-so no worrying, OK? J-Just forget it and smile." She then hung up before Frisk could thank her.
Frisk relaxed a little more at further proof that Asgore was nice. Chara smiled widely and gave her a thumbs up. The truth was, the little speech had relieved Chara even more than Frisk.
Chara had noticed that Alphys had mentioned several times that Frisk could just go home, including now. As Royal Scientist, Alphys would likely have all the information on the barrier.
Maybe they had found a way to weaken it, at least enough that Frisk's soul could actually slip through now. Maybe Frisk COULD be free and easily able to go get Tina and help with breaking the barrier from the outside.
Maybe things would be that easy, and Frisk would never have to know that in Chara's time, it would have taken the merging of a human and boss monster soul just to escape and that Chara had hidden that fact from her.
Maybe everything would be all right.
...
After finding the elevator and getting on the correct floor, Frisk and Chara came upon a bright red room. At a neat table with a checkered tablecloth sat a pretty spider woman with light lavender skin and three sets of arms, wearing a frilly red outfit. Her hair was long and black, pulled back into two clips and her black eyes were intense, all six of them.
"Welcome to our parlor, dearie. Interested in some spider pastries? All proceeds go to real spiders." the spider woman crooned. Her voice sounded friendly, but there was an undercurrent of something that made her not trust it. Something about her seemed...dangerous.
"That's Muffet. She runs the spider bake sales and is basically the leader of the spider kingdom. She's...scary. And obsessed with money. And not the nicest person. Her chocolate eclairs are amazing though. Dad brought some home for me, Mom, and Asriel once." Chara told her. Frisk silently acknowledged what Chara said and smiled to Muffet, not wanting to let this monster know she was uneasy.
"Check the webs to make a purchase." Muffet informed her. Frisk thanked her and did so.
Whoa.
"Wow. Even for her that's high." Chara told Frisk, her eyes wide.
9999 G for a Spider Doughnut and the same for a Spider Cider. She doubted she even had nine hundred G, and even if she had the required amount, she'd never spend that on a pastry. She moved along.
Another monster, a green humanoid creature in a bright yellow suit stood nearby, looking shellshocked as he stared at the doughnut he was holding. Frisk frowned and approached him. "Hey, you okay?"
"I...I... I ended up buying a doughnut... I...I... I didn't want to, but that girl...even though I told her no, she...kept staring at me in this creepy way and licking her lips. N...now I'm outta cash."
Frisk frowned again and looked at Muffet. The spider girl was staring at her in a predatory way, not even hiding it. Her tongue ran over her lips. Frisk just looked back calmly, not about to show her she was intimidated. She patted the still shaking monster on the back sympathetically and left the room.
She could feel Muffet's eyes on her the whole way.
...
The next puzzles were a bit of a nightmare, mostly dealing with the conveyor belts full of painful lasers and the complicated patterns of those dumb air vents. She managed to solve the first Space Battle puzzle and then as she finished crossing the conveyor belt to get to the second, Alphys called again. "Uhh, hey, would you want to watch a human TV show together? Sometime? It's called, um, M-Mew Mew Kissy Cutie..."
"Sure! I'd love to!" Frisk told her.
"R-really?! It's so good! It's um, my favorite show!" She happily started talking about it to Frisk, spoiling the whole show, but Frisk didn't care. She hid a giggle when she realized that Undyne and the guards must have thought humans could mind control by kissing people because of the main character in Alphys' show. Still, it sounded cute. Tina would probably really like it.
Alphys finally managed to stop herself. "Uhhh, I think you'd really like it! We should watch it! After you get through all this!"
"It sounds great! After I get Tina, I'll bring her over and we can all watch it together if that's okay." Frisk suggested.
"Sounds g-great! I-I'm looking forward to it." Alphys told her. There was a faint hint of nervousness in her voice, but Frisk didn't notice it in her own excitement.
Alphys hung up and Frisk went to the second puzzle, smiling. After the creepy encounter with Muffet, she really needed that.
She solved the next Space Battle puzzle easily and went back with a sigh of relief, making her way across the air vents. They still made her a little nauseous, but it was better than before. She made her way left to the locked door and proceeded through with a lighter heart.
...
Until she reached the next room. Cobwebs covered the walls. A hole barely taller than her was carved into the far purple wall, and she had the feeling she knew whose lair she was going to be walking into.
"Chara, what's the chance of her robbing or killing me over not buying her stupidly expensive doughnuts?" Frisk asked.
"Her moral compass isn't known to be the best, but I don't think she'll kill you over that. Not sure about robbery though." Chara admitted.
"Well, that's reassuring." Frisk said slightly sarcastically. She did her best to secure her gold pouch someplace safe and cautiously walked inside, ready for anything.
The room was dark enough that only the path ahead of her could be seen and filled with webs. Small cobwebs covered the ground and Frisk carefully walked past them, not wanting to get stuck. There was a flash of movement. Frisk jumped and looked up. She then tried to maintain her composure and took a few more steps.
A creepy female laugh filled the air. "Ahuhuhuhu...Did you hear what they just said?"
"Frisk, be careful." Chara warned her. She flew around the room, trying to get more information to help Frisk. "There are spiders everywhere. They're blocking all the exits. Muffet's also there. She's on a cobweb in the air over to your left."
Frisk tensed. She felt the urge to take the fry pan out of her bag to protect herself, but didn't, not wanting to incite an attack. "No, I did not. Look, I don't want any trouble."
The voice seemed to ignore her. "They said a human with a Deltarune shirt will come through." Again, dead silence. Frisk stepped around a few more webs.
"I heard they hate spiders." the voice taunted from above her.
"That's not true! She bought from your stupid bake sale!" Chara yelled, but unlike Tsunderplane, Muffet and the spiders didn't seem to see or hear her.
"Not true. Look, I just want to go home." Frisk told them. There was a huge web in front of her and she had no choice but to step on it. It stuck to her feet, slowing her down. She fought the panic and claustrophobia, remaining calm. No way did she want these creeps to see any weakness from her.
"I heard they love to stomp on them." The voice spoke again, ignoring everything Frisk was saying.
"No, she doesn't!"
"Again, no. I don't know who told you that, but it's a lie." Frisk replied as she continued through the sticky web.
"I heard they like to tear their legs off." the voice said, slowly growing more murderous.
"I don't know who the fuck told you that, but she's never done that! She's nice! Leave her alone!" Chara yelled. She was in the air now, screaming at presumably Muffet, but her attempts to get the spider's attention were clearly not working.
"No!" Frisk told them since they couldn't hear Chara. She forced her way through the web, feeling like she was going slower and slower. She desperately wanted out of there. Suddenly, her feet stuck completely in the web. She struggled, but couldn't get free.
A large cobweb floated down, carried by a group of spiders. Muffet was reclining on it, giving her a predatory smile. "I heard...that they're awfully stingy with their money."
"I don't even HAVE 9999 G! What did you want me to do, shortchange you?" Frisk asked angrily, hiding her fear.
Muffet just laughed again, high and creepy. "You think your taste is too refined for our pastries, don't you, deary? Ahuhuhu...I disagree with that notion."
Frisk cut her off before she could say anything more. "Yeah, so do I! I BOUGHT one of your doughnuts at the ruins!" She managed to get to her bag, digging into it and retrieving the doughnut she had wrapped for her little sister. "See?!"
Muffet looked shocked, then her eyes hardened. "I bet you actually stole it." She turned as something scuttled in the blackness. "Let's show them what we do to thieves, my pet." The frothing jaws of a giant spider appeared.
Frisk stood her ground even though she felt like she was going to pee her pants. "I did NOT steal it! I bought it from this adorable little spider boy when I was in the Ruins!" Muffet froze when she heard this.
"Mommy?" a little voice called.
Muffet whipped around and Frisk turned the best she could as Chara also looked to the voice. In the far doorway stood the little spider monster she saw in the ruins, dressed in a little blue shirt with a picture of a cupcake on it and tiny spider blue jeans. He looked at both Muffet and Frisk in surprise. "Mommy, what are you doing?" Muffet just stood there, not seeming to know what to do. The little spider approached Frisk and all eight of his tiny eyes lit up. "You're the nice lady from the ruins!" He turned back to his mother. "Why is the nice lady stuck in your web?"
Muffet quickly went over to Frisk, making her flinch, but instead of hurting her, the spider woman simply untangled her. She signaled to her pet and it disappeared back into the shadows. Chara sighed in relief and Frisk relaxed a little. "There was a little misunderstanding, sweetie." she explained to her son. "Mommy thought she hurt your aunties and uncles in the ruins."
"But she didn't! She was really friendly and bought a doughnut from me!" the little spider protested.
"I know that now." Muffet reassured him as she helped Frisk out of the web. Frisk was trying to hide it, but she was pretty shaken now that the adrenaline was leaving.
"Mommy, you scared her!" the little spider accused.
"Yeah, Muffet, you fucked up." Chara said angrily.
Muffet nodded to what her son said. "I'm sorry." she told Frisk with more sincerity than Frisk had heard her use before. "I thought you were a person who hated spiders. The person who wanted your soul must have been confused and mixed you up with some other human." The last part was whispered so the little spider boy wouldn't hear. She whistled and some spiders lowered down a table, then three chairs, one with a big booster seat. "C'mon and sit down, dearie. I'll have some cider brought to us. And for you, I'll only charge Ruins prices." She sat down at the table, waiting for Frisk.
Frisk wasn't sure how good of a deal that was considering Muffet had almost killed her, but she also didn't want to piss the spider woman off. Plus, Muffet had mentioned something about someone wanting her soul, and Frisk wanted to know who, though she was worried this was another attempt to kill her. She hesitated and subtly looked to Chara.
"Do it. If someone ordered a hit on you, we need to know who." Chara told her worriedly.
Frisk nodded to both Muffet and Chara and sat down warily, watching out for any danger. She realized the spider doughnut was still in her hand and started to put it back her bag.
Muffet's son saw her do this as he climbed into his own seat. "Why didn't you eat my doughnut?" he asked, his voice a little sad. "Didn't you like it? Was it bad?"
Muffet looked to her for her answer, but Frisk didn't even notice her as she quickly went to console the small child, her words tumbling over one another in her effort to reassure him. "Not at all! In fact, you did a great job. It's so good that I'm saving it to give to my little sister. She absolutely loves doughnuts, especially ones with lots and lots of frosting and sprinkles like this one, so this is for her." she explained honestly.
The little spider's eyes shone as he heard this. "Ohh...But you gotta have a doughnut for you too! I'll get you one!" He darted off before Frisk could even reply.
Chara giggled and Frisk chuckled warmly before looking to Muffet. "He's certainly got the cute sale down, hasn't he?"
Muffet laughed. "He certainly does. It's quite the compelling sales tactic. Unfortunately, I lost that power long ago."
"Lucky. At least you had it. I never did." Frisk joked. A spider lowered a large glass of hot cider and Frisk thanked it before paying the requested price. She was about to take a sip before remembering where she was and that the person waiting on her had almost assassinated her. She eyed the glass a bit nervously, enough that Muffet noticed.
"It's not poisoned, dearie." Muffet assured her. She picked up the glass and took a sip to prove it. "It would be bad business to poison one of my customers."
"You just told me that someone wants me dead. Can you blame me for being a little wary?" Frisk asked dryly.
Muffet shook her head. "Guess not. But don't worry. Clearly, the one who hired me got you mixed up with another human...or lied to me. Plus, he paid me in advance, so I'm still making a huge profit. And...you're innocent, and I do have some morality." Her voice was soft and a little sad for a second before she smirked a little. "Granted, not a lot, but some."
Frisk looked at her, trying to judge whether she was telling the truth. Muffet looked honest, so she relaxed a little and nodded. "Do you know who hired you?" she asked softly.
"No. He kept to the shadows when he spoke to me. I remember he had a sweet smile. And I could have sworn I saw him changing shape." Muffet explained.
Frisk frowned. It sounded an awful lot like Flowey. Flowey had a rather sweet smile when trying to trick people and he could turn his face into different shapes. Apparently, he had abandoned his plan of trying to "help" her and had went straight back to murder, though she had no idea why the sadistic flower didn't want to kill her himself when he clearly had no qualms about trying it before. Or maybe he was trying to get her to do what he wanted and fight.
"With that crazy flower, it could be anything." Chara told her, reading her thoughts. "Maybe we'd better get Sans."
"Not while he's not feeling good. He doesn't need to go after Flowey ill and with one HP. Plus...we don't know it's Flowey for sure. I want to get some more information first."
Frisk jerked herself to the present, knowing Muffet was probably waiting for a response. "Thanks for letting me know." she said gratefully and took a sip of her cider. The apple flavor was tart but sweet, with the perfect amount of cinnamon. She smiled a little. "This is really good." She didn't notice Chara make a face, the ghost girl knowing exactly what was in the cider.
"Why thank you, dearie! The secret is to use whole spiders, not just the juice." Muffet told her proudly. Poor Frisk almost choked and instinctively looked to the room where Muffet's son was. Muffet just laughed when she saw this and took pity on her. "I'll let you in on a little trade secret. They're not sentient spiders."
"Oh. Phew." Frisk sighed in relief and took another drink of her cider, making Chara gag.
"Frisk, that's gross. Don't you even care that she just said that there were BUGS in that?" Chara complained.
"Eh, I've eaten worse." Frisk continued to nonchalantly sip at her cider and Chara gave her a disturbed look.
The little spider boy came crawling out of the kitchen happily, holding a chocolate doughnut with a large, chocolate covered strawberry that still had its leaves on it in the center, messily covered in chocolate and strawberry frosting. He scurried up the table leg to give it to Frisk. "Here you go! It's chocolate strawberry! I decorated it all by myself!"
"Wow, thank you! It looks great!" Frisk told him with a huge smile as she handed him seven G and took the treat. Chara was eyeing it longingly as well.
He beamed widely at the praise and took the coins to Muffet proudly. "Look, Mommy! I made more money to help with the limo!"
"I see! You did great, Christopher." Muffet praised. "But you earned that money all by yourself and it's yours to spend on whatever you want."
"But I want to help buy the limo so my aunties and uncles can stay with us and I can play with my cousins all the time!" Christopher insisted, giving his mom the same puppy eyes he had used to get Frisk to buy a doughnut.
Muffet quickly relented. "All right, sweetie. Now, why don't you run and get yourself and Mommy a doughnut too?" Christopher nodded happily, clearly eager like any other little kid for sweets, and darted back into the kitchen.
"Oh my gosh, he's almost as adorable as Asriel." Chara said with a grin, the child's antics having taken her and Frisk's minds off their fear for now.
Frisk set her doughnut on the table, wanting to wait for the others to get theirs. "He's so precious."
Muffet smiled at this. "I know. He's such a good little boy. He's kind, helpful, gentle, generous...the complete opposite of me." She chuckled a little, then looked to the kitchen, her eyes soft. "And I honestly couldn't be prouder of him for it." She spoke the last sentence so quietly Frisk barely heard it, then looked embarrassed after she said this.
Frisk gave her a reassuring look. "Hey, I get it. Tina, my sister, and I have gone through some tough times, and I've done some...less than moral things...to make sure she's fed and happy, things I never let her know about, things I never want her to have to do. She's the sweetest little girl ever, and so smart. She deserves the best in life, and I'll do anything I can to make sure that happens. I don't want her to ever end up like me." This last sentence came at a whisper as she thought about all the things she had done over the years; the stealing, the fighting, the bitterness at her parents and humans that weren't her sister in general, the failing grades, the fact that she was about to drop out of high school...
Muffet patted her shoulder. "Nothing wrong with bending the rules a little, especially when the profits are so great. We do these things so they never have to, dearie. Just as long as we keep enough of our morals to remember that we love them." she said with surprising gentleness.
Christopher came back into the room before either of them could say anything more and happily climbed up his mother's chair leg to hand her a doughnut before crawling across the table and into his booster chair with his own little spider sized doughnut. He munched at his treat and watched Frisk eagerly the way Tina always did when she brought home a craft project or a treat she had made in class for Frisk, anxious to see if she liked it.
Frisk took a bite of her doughnut. It was delicious, rich dark chocolate mixing wonderfully with the sweet strawberry. "It's amazing." she told them both. Christopher grinned widely, clapping his little forelegs together and Muffet smiled at her son's excitement.
Chara eyed the doughnut longingly. "I wish I could try that."
"Maybe you can. Hold on, I got an idea." Frisk thought to her. She took another bite of her doughnut, savoring it slowly; the soft texture, the creamy chocolate icing melting on her tongue, the sweet tartness of the strawberry, and concentrated, projecting it to Chara.
Chara's eyes went wide. "Whoa."
"How was it?"
"Incredible! Frisk, you're amazing!"
"I know." Frisk thought with playful smugness as she continued to eat her doughnut, "sharing" it with Chara, saving the chocolate covered strawberry on top for last.
After talking to Muffet and her son for a few minutes and finishing her cider, Frisk departed, but not before purchasing another chocolate strawberry doughnut for Tina. She said goodbye to her hosts, leaving several G lighter than she had arrived, but it was worth it to gain some more allies.
With whatever the hell Flowey, or whoever was behind the assassination attempt, was planning, she knew she needed them.
...
As Frisk and Chara were discussing whether to inform Undyne about the hit placed on Frisk or try to find out more information first, they were suddenly confronted with another MTT brand camera right in their faces.
Frisk looked to see if the camera was on or off, hoping to talk to Mettaton alone. Unfortunately, it was on and his fans were probably already watching. She smiled awkwardly and looked around to see what Mettaton had planned for her now.
The set was that of a castle with painted gray bricks, a long staircase, and many windows, many of which were just painted, though one was a large opening.
Mettaton peeked out the window opening. "Oh...that human! Could it be...?" He emerged in a long, silky blue princess dress that actually looked really good on him considering that he was shaped like a box. "...My one true love?"
Frisk decided to heck with it and that if she had to be forced to be on TV that she would just roll with it and ham it up. "Yes, it is I, my love!" She dramatically clasped both hands over her heart. "I've run through deadly puzzles in agonizing heat, got past the kingdom's guards, and faced a den of fearsome spider warriors, all so I could be by your side!"
"Nice. Pretty good improv, Frisk." Chara told her.
"Heh, thanks."
"Want me to check to see what he's going to "try to kill you" with this time?"
"Please."
Mettaton swooned dramatically at Frisk's little speech. He gracefully floated down the long staircase and to her side. "Excellent spirit, darling!" he whispered so the camera wouldn't pick it up. "Now are you ready to perform our big musical number and wow our audience, or should I skip ahead to the finale?"
"Do I have to sing?" she whispered back. "Because, just as a warning, I'm a terrible singer and I don't want your audience to sue for eardrum damage."
"Never fear, beautiful, the singing role is all mine." he reassured her. "Just stand there and be lovely."
Frisk nodded, giving him a loving look for the audience. "I'll do it. But can I talk to you after the..."
Mettaton seemed to have stopped listening after "I'll do it." "Oh my love...Please run away! Monster king forbids your stay!" he sang, his rich, baritone voice filling the room. "Humans must live far apart, even if it breaks my heart." Frisk gave him a longing look and shook her head pleadingly as if refusing to believe this.
"They'll put you in the dungeon. It'll suck. And then you'll die a lot." Mettaton sang. Ah. There's where the "killer" part of the show came in. Frisk wondered if she would get to use the cool laser Alphys had made her. She tried to both widen her eyes in horror but still look determined, playing her part, but she was pretty sure she just ended up looking constipated.
"Really sad...You're gonna die. Cry cry cry. So sad it's happening." Mettaton wiped his screen dramatically like he was crying as he sang, but he sounded more smug than sad.
Well, he was playing the villain after all.
Mettaton ruffled her short hair, messing it up even further. "So sad. So sad that you are going to the dungeon."
"Frisk, there's a trapdoor right under you." Chara warned her.
"I figured. I hope I don't sprain my ankle again..." Frisk mentally sighed as she braced herself.
Mettaton moved away from her. "Well, toodles." The trapdoor opened, dropping Frisk into the depths. Thankfully, the fall wasn't far and she was able to land so she avoided any injury.
Mettaton and Chara floated down to join her. "Oh no! Whatever shall I do? My love has been cast away into the dungeon." Mettaton cried out. "A dungeon with a puzzle so dastardly, my paramour will surely perish!" Frisk turned and saw a similar colored tile puzzle to the one Papyrus had used on her what felt like ages ago at the other end of a conveyor belt. Unfortunately, this one appeared fully functional and not stuck on an incredibly easy to solve pattern like Papyrus's. She just hoped she remembered which tiles did what. Chara tried to help remind her, but even she couldn't remember them all.
"O, heavens have mercy! The horrible colored tile maze! Each colored tile has its own sadistic function. For example, a green tile sounds a noise, and then you must fight a monster. Red tiles will...Actually, wait a second. Didn't we see this puzzle about a hundred rooms ago? That's right. You remember all the rules, don't you? Great...Then I won't waste your time repeating them! Oh, and you better hurry. Because if you don't get through in thirty seconds..." A wall of flames appeared behind her. "You'll be incinerated by these jets of fire! AHAHAHAHAHA! AHAHA...HA... HA! My poor love! I'm so filled with grief, I can't stop laughing!" Chara flinched at Mettaton's words, but Frisk didn't see that. "Good luck, darling!"
Frisk tried her best, but got stuck, nipped at by piranhas, and zapped in short order as Mettaton sang some song she didn't really pay attention to. Thankfully, nothing caused more than a tiny shock or cut, though she was trapped somewhere near the beginning of the puzzle when the timer went off.
"Ooooh, I'm so sorry! Looks like you're out of time!" Mettaton crowed. "Here come the flames, darling!" The flame walls slowly moved closer, trapping her. "They're closing in!" They moved closer and closer. She could feel the heat. Even though she knew this was fake and Alphys would "rescue" her at the last second, she still felt afraid. "Getting! Closer! Oh my!" The flames were only inches from her. She prayed Alphys would hurry up and hoped she hadn't been wrong about everything.
"She'll save you. Don't worry. Look, they're stopping." Chara told her.
And Chara was right. The fire wall had quit moving. Frisk's phone rang. She picked it up, hands shaking even though she knew it was an act.
"Watch out! I'll save you!" Alphys told her. "I'm hacking into the firewall right now!" The flames immediately turned off and Frisk didn't have to fake her relief.
"Oh no! How could this happen?!" Mettaton cried. "Foiled again by the brilliant Dr. Alphys!"
"That's right!" Alphys cheered. "Come on, Mettaton, give up already! You'll never be able to defeat us...Not as long as we work together! Your puzzle's over...Now go home and leave us alone!"
"Puzzle? Over? Alphys, darling, what are you talking about?" Mettaton asked. "Did you forget what the green tiles do? They make a sound, and then you have to fight a monster." He turned back to Frisk. "Well, darling...That monster...Is me! Say goodbye, darling!"
"You'll regret messing with me, evil robot! Because I've got a phone laser made by the incredible Dr. Alphys, and I'm not afraid to use it!" Frisk yelled, guessing it was now time to use her cool laser.
Her phone went off yet again. "Is that your phone? You'd better answer it!" Mettaton told her.
Of course it was Alphys. "Hey, Th-this seems bad, but don't worry! J-Just use the laser you found earlier!" Clearly, Alphys hadn't heard what Frisk said.
This time Frisk actually hit the right button, giving Mettaton a tiny zap with her phone laser.
He stumbled back as though she shot him with a grenade launcher. "Oh no, you defeated me! How can this be, you were stronger than I thought, etc. Whatever." Frisk wanted to giggle at his bad "Saturday morning supervillain" acting, but just looked triumphant for the cameras.
Mettaton started to fly away and Chara let Frisk know the cameras were off. Frisk chased after Mettaton. "Wait! I know what you're actually doing and I think you're a really great friend to put all this together to help Alphys gain confidence and impress Undyne, and I'm in, but can we please wait to do this until after I go home and pick up my little sister? Tina's waiting for me, and..." Mettaton just kept flying and Frisk sighed in frustration, thinking he hadn't heard her.
Alphys called again. "L-Looks like you beat him! Y-you did a really great job out there."
"All thanks to you." Frisk told her and was about to tell her she knew the truth when Alphys cut her off.
"Oh...Oh no! You were the one doing everything cool! I just wrote some silly programs for your phone." She paused a second and Frisk prepared to speak again, but Alphys beat her to it. "...Um, h-hey, this might sound strange, but...can-can I tell you something?"
"Of course." Frisk told her, thinking Alphys was about to tell her the truth herself.
"B-before I met you, I d-didn't really...I didn't really like myself very much. For a long time, I f-felt like a total screw-up. L-like I couldn't do a-anything w-without... W-without ending up letting everyone down. B-but...! Guiding you has made me feel... A lot better about myself. So...thanks for letting me help you."
Frisk's heart ached for Alphys. After what she just heard, she couldn't bring herself to tell her that she knew it was all an act. "Thanks for helping me." she said instead.
"Uh, anyway, we're almost to the Core. It's just past MTT Resort. Come on! Let's finish this!" Alphys said cheerfully before hanging up.
Chara shook her head. "Frisk, you could have told her."
"How was I supposed to after that?" Frisk sighed as the two girls moved along.
...
Mettaton sighed as well from his hiding place a distance away as he watched the human girl leave with her ghostly companion, who he assumed was her sister or another family member. In truth, had heard everything the human said as he was leaving. Of course she had figured out at least part of the plan, especially since he had to keep helping her with her phone to keep Alphys' asinine plan on track. And somehow in her mind, she had made him out to be this big hero who had started this whole complicated thing to help his friend.
She liked him. She TRUSTED him. She was his fan.
And he was going to go behind Alphys' back and actually kill her. Not because he had anything against her. In fact, she was, as he called her nearly constantly, a darling.
But she was too weak to survive Asgore.
He'd seen her fight, or lack thereof. She had made it this far through sheer luck, diplomacy, semi-decent dodging skills, and help from other people.
And she thought she could just reason with Asgore and walk through the barrier, not knowing that was impossible and that Asgore wouldn't just let the last soul go. And if Asgore got her soul, he would start a war and destroy humanity or get monsters caught up in a second conflict they couldn't survive. Either way, people would die.
To save humanity, and monsterkind as well, he would have to take her soul himself and go to the surface. He would reason with the humans, get them to open the barrier, and become a hero. He would be the greatest star of all!
At the cost of the life of one innocent human girl.
He considered taking the ghost girl's soul instead, but realized it was far too fragile, so weak that probably only other ghosts, the girl she was attached to, and monsters sensitive to spirits could see her. It probably wouldn't get him through the barrier. Plus it was tightly bound to the living girl's soul. Separating them would probably be very difficult, if not impossible.
It would have to be the living girl. Only her soul was strong enough to help him.
His soul ached at what he was about to do, but he pushed the guilt away. She would die anyway. At least this way he would make sure humanity and monsterkind wouldn't fall with her.
He flew to his resort, found a phone, and dialed a number.
"Hello, I have a job for you..."
...
If anyone's curious about how Muffet's son got to the Ruins to see his relatives, Muffet bundled him up in her jacket which likely had warming charms or a small heater to protect him from the cold and carried him there herself to where there was a small entrance or crack in the door where she had one of their Ruins relatives meet them and pick up Christopher. Then she picked him back up and took him home to Hotland when the visit was over. However, taking the hundreds or thousands of spiders that live in the Ruins back to Hotland would be something she wouldn't be able to do so easily, which is why she wants the limo.
I also headcanon that Muffet, like my Frisk, experienced proverty as a child and that's why she's so obsessed with money.
I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Please let me know what you think and feel free to message me if you have any questions!