A/N: Posted some art on my deviantart iHateFridays for this chapter.
~Cody~
"Welcome to our parlour, dearies~" a spider monster greeted the children, standing behind a selection of funny-looking pastries. Cody had never seen those types of pastries before.
Percy started shaking at the sight of the monster. He hid behind Melody.
"Interested in some spider pastries?" the spider monster giggled. "All proceeds go to real spiders~"
"9999G?!" Clover asked, observing the price for a spider donut. "That's highway robbery!"
"Percy could probably afford that." Melody commented, wrinkling her nose.
Percy shook his head, eyes closed.
"Aww," Brayden grumbled, eyeing the prices. "But I'm hungry!"
"Don't worry," Frisk put their arms around their friends. "I still got some goods for us."
"Oh yeah, from the RUINS!" Brayden gasped.
The spider monster gave the kids an odd look as they headed off.
"This room is like the room we saw before," Alphys explained the next vent-filled room. "There are two puzzles to the north and south. You'll have to solve them both to proceed."
"You can try hacking again, Perce." Clover told Percy.
"Also… I'd like to say!" Alphys added. "I don't really… like giving away puzzle solutions. But if you guys need help, just call me, okay?" She paused. "Actually, wait, I have an idea! Let's be friends on Undernet! Then you can just ping me when you need help."
"But… we're already friends…" Faye said.
"Oh… wait, were all those random people posting… you guys?" Alphys asked. She looked so embarrassed. "Oh wow… I completely forgot your usernames! I didn't realise they were…" She laughed nervously. "Well…! The original Mew Mew is still better than Mew Mew 2!" She hung up.
"Lies." Percy grumbled. He held out Melody's phone. "It seems I have been blocked on here too… I can't hack anymore." With no emotion, he quickly blurted, "Sorry."
"Never mind, Percy," Cody told him. "We can still solve the puzzles! Right?"
Frisk nodded. "Let's go!"
They leaped across the vents, heading off to solve the puzzles.
"We'd better help them out," Melody clapped. "Come along!"
The kids split up to solve the two puzzles. Cody went with Frisk, his sister and Percy.
Alphys called again. She and Percy had another intense conversation about Mew Mew Kissy Cutie.
Frisk went into the small room to solve the puzzle. "I got this. You guys just wait here."
Cody and Clover waited outside, nearby Percy.
"Gosh darn," Clover wiped her brow, eyeing her brother. "Listen, Cody, I was thinkin' we should kill this Asgore guy."
Cody pouted. "Clover-"
"I know you wanna do a good thing, bro, but it's just too dangerous," Clover replied sternly. "We gotta get out of here, ya understand? Yer too forgiving… 'tis why I'm here for ya."
"I'm not a baby, Clover!" Cody snapped. "We're trying to avoid being killers, don't you get it?!"
"I'm trying to protect you!" Clover shouted.
"Then stop it," Cody turned away.
Frisk walked out of the puzzle room. Percy was still talking to Alphys about Mew Mew Kissy Cutie.
"Um… you guys okay?" Frisk walked over to the twins.
"Just fine and dandy," Clover huffed.
Frisk made a face. "Well, if you say so… let's go back to the others now."
Cody sighed. He and the others followed them.
"Melody I don't like this place." Percy said, eyeing a large, purple building covered in spider webs.
"It's the only place we can go, Percy." Melody sighed.
Frisk opened their phone and accessed their dimensional box. They pulled out five spider donuts.
"Do we get to eat those now?" Brayden asked eagerly, eyeing the donuts.
"Soon," Frisk nodded.
They signalled the others to follow them into the building.
Cody avoided his sister, entering the building. It was rather creepy. Spider webs were everywhere. Percy was shivering.
"Ahuhuhuhu..." a voice above them laughed. Everyone jumped. "Did you hear what they just said?"
"They said seven humans wearing striped shirts would come through." a creepy voice replied.
"Melody." Percy looked like he was about to have a panic attack.
"Calm down, Percy," Melody replied, sighing. "It's just some… spiders…"
"No no no…" Percy started sweating.
Clover glared at the spiders hanging down from the ceiling. "Could y'all cut that out? You're scaring my friend."
Percy went red.
"Wait, spiders can talk?" Brayden asked, confused.
The spiders didn't cut it out.
"I heard that they hate spiders," a voice whispered eerily.
"Oh no…" Faye said. Her shoes were stuck in some cobwebs. They were slowing her down.
"I CAN'T RUN!" Brayden grumbled, trying to get his foot out of the webs. Percy was frantically taking notes. Cody did not like this. Only Frisk seemed calm.
"I heard that they love to stomp on them," the voices whispered. "I heard that they like to tear their legs off."
"I would never do that!" Cody protested, even though he wasn't the biggest spider fan.
"HEY!" Brayden yelled. The kids had reached the center of the web. "I CAN'T MOVE!"
"Oh no no no no no…" Percy mumbled. He was covered in webs.
"I heard," Muffet cackled, appearing in front of the children. "That they're awfully stingy with their money."
"Wait, what?" Melody looked dumbfounded. "Excuse me, have you seen how much Frisk spends-"
"Wait," Frisk held up a hand.
"Dude!" Melody exclaimed. "I was just about to compliment-"
"Wait," Frisk repeated, bringing a finger to their lips.
Melody harrumphed and crossed her arms.
"You think your tastes are too refined for our pastries, don't you, dearies?" Muffet asked, chuckling. "Ahuhuhu… I disagree with that notion. I think your tastes… are just what this next batch needs!"
Frisk pulled out their batch of spider donuts. "Miss Muffet… can you give us a moment?"
"Well, I suppose it would be impolite of me not to let you have your last words~" Muffet chuckled.
She backed away, leaving the kids alone.
"So what's up?" Brayden asked Frisk. "Can I have a donut now?"
"We've already got donuts from Muffet, but only five," Frisk explained. "I kept them around from the RUINS just in case…" They grimaced. "Muffet will only let five of us pass, so two of us will stay behind." They put a hand on their chest. "I'll be one of them."
Cody put a hand up. "I'll do it. I gave up one of the donuts."
"No," Clover stared at him. "I'm not gonna let ya get hurt anymore, bro. Brayden can stay behind. He's the one who ate your donut."
"HEY!" Brayden grumbled. He put his arm around Frisk. "That's true."
Cody's body began shaking. His fists clenched around his pan. He couldn't take it anymore. His sister's whining was nails on a chalkboard.
Cody glared at his sister. He walked over to Frisk. "No. I'm the one who gave Brayden my donut. This is my fault. I'M staying."
Clover frowned. "Bro-"
"Just… SHUT UP!" Cody yelled, glaring at her. "JUST SHUT UP, CLOVER! I CAN LOOK AFTER MYSELF! YOU'RE NOT MOM, SO STOP FREAKING ACTING LIKE HER!"
Clover looked a little taken back. But she wouldn't back down. "Cody-"
"NO!" Cody physically pushed her away. "GO AWAY! GET OUT OF HERE! I'M NOT SUCKING UP TO YOU!" He wiped his eyes, which were full of tears. "GO AWAY!" He stared at the others. "ALL OF YOU! GET OUT!"
He took Faye's toy knife and cut off the webs around his friends. He sobbed and yelled, "GET OUT OF HERE!"
Clover held her head down. She stormed off, not looking up. Melody was patting her shoulder. Brayden was giving Cody a strange look. Percy was still shivering. Faye gently took her knife back. She walked off, looking back briefly.
Frisk glanced at Cody. He started crying harder. They rubbed his shoulder, giving him a hug.
"What did I do…?" he asked, crying into their shoulder. "Why am I like this? What did I do…?!"
"It's okay, Cody," Frisk told him, gently. "I'm here for you. It's okay."
"I'll tell you what you did, dearie~" Muffet cackled, appearing in front of him. "You freed your friends and stole five donuts~ For that, I'm afraid…" Her smile was malicious. "The price will not be pretty~"
Cody gulped. But then he had an idea. He glared straight into Muffet's eight eyes. "No, I'LL tell you what I'll do. I think your pastries are terrible. I bet I can make much better ones."
"Cody…" Frisk held up a hand.
"Oh, really?" Muffet asked, tilting her head.
"YES really," Cody replied, slightly shivering. "I challenge you to a cook-off. Whoever can make the best dessert in half an hour wins. If I win, you let my friend and me go. If you win…" He paused. "You can have us for your new recipe."
"Uhhh," Frisk shook their head. "I don't think this is a good idea…"
Cody held up his pan. "I'm not forgiving you this time."
Muffet smirked. "It's a deal, dearies~"
Frisk and Cody were standing behind a counter full of cooking utensils, a selection of ingredients in front of them. Muffet was on the other side, surrounded by spiders. Because she had more arms, Frisk was allowed to help Cody. They looked a little nervous, yet they were still determined. Cody was determined too.
Cooking was his profession and he was going to win. He had to win.
For once, he had to prove himself.
"Are you ready, dearies?" Muffet asked. She looked smug. Cody glared at her.
"I was born ready." he replied.
"Let's do this," Frisk held up a whisk.
"Then let's begin~" Muffet chortled.
The timer started. Cody eyed Frisk.
"Can you crack those eggs for me?" he asked.
Frisk nodded. While they did that, Cody measured and put some flour in a bowl. He glared at Muffet, measuring some milk. She glared back at him. She was ahead of him, mixing her batter. Cody winced.
Frisk put the eggs in the batter. Cody added the sugar, then pulled out a whisk and started stirring the batter. He and Muffet kept sharing competitive glances.
Frisk gave Cody some melted butter. He gave them a grin. They preheated the oven while Cody added the butter to the batter. Muffet was pouring a cup of spiders into her batter. Cody shot her another competitive glance.
Frisk pulled out a bunch of muffin trays. Cody added some chocolate chips to his batter, then placed the batter into the tray. Frisk gave him some assistance. Once that was done, the duo put the tray into the oven. Cody wiped his brow out of relief.
"Great work, team!" Frisk cheered. They high fived Cody.
Muffet had put her desserts in the oven too. Now it was time to wait. Cody and Muffet kept glaring at each other.
Frisk was holding Cody back, making sure he didn't do anything stupid. This gave Cody time to think. He wondered if he had been too harsh.
No, he thought. I wasn't being too harsh. I was being too nice and now…
He remembered the look on his sister's face. On everyone's face. Had he made a mistake? He'd promised to his family he'd always be kind. Then people took advantage of his kindness… but was it really right for him to snap back?
Cody sighed. He felt like crying again. What was he going to do now? He wanted to go home. He hated this place.
"Cody?" Frisk tapped his shoulder. "The oven!"
"Twenty seconds left, dearies~" Muffet chortled, smugly leaning on her counter.
Surrounding her were piles of pastries. Cody felt his heart jump. He quickly opened the oven. Frisk let him borrow their gloves. He took out the tray, his breathing picking up.
"Ten seconds~" Muffet said. She yawned, looking over her legs. Cody gritted his teeth, Frisk alongside him. He began taking the muffins out of the tray, putting them on the counter.
"5," Muffet counted down. The spiders were clapping along to the music. The kids had nearly got all the muffins out of the tray. "4… 3…"
"Don't drop them!" Cody cried.
"Stay calm," Frisk replied.
"2…" Muffin said. Cody wanted to scream. They were so close. "1…"
Cody collapsed, his brow covered in sweat. Sitting on the counter were his chocolate chip muffins.
Frisk gave him a nervous smile. They held out their hand, helping him stand up. Cody smiled at them. He'd never been more grateful for assistance.
"You did it," Frisk grinned at him.
"We did it," Cody smiled.
"Well well well," Muffet smirked at the children. She had made many more desserts than the kids had. Cody shivered. "It seems we already have a winner~"
"We haven't tasted anything yet!" Cody retorted.
"We don't have to," Muffet chuckled condescendly. "Those muffins are undercooked~"
"No they're…" Cody began.
His face creased with horror. He poked one of his muffins. Wet batter was on his finger. His pupils shrunk. He was such an idiot… he'd made a huge mistake. He hadn't made enough time for the muffins to cook.
"No…" he flailed backwards. "I was… distracted…"
Frisk held onto him.
Muffet licked her lips, approaching the children. "Don't be upset, dearies. You'll both make fine cakes~"
"Let's get out of here," Frisk whispered into Cody's ear.
"But we lost," he uttered.
"It's our lives or your honour," Frisk replied.
Cody felt his arms shaking. He stood up.
"Sorry," he told Muffet. "But you won't be making any cake today."
And with that, he and Frisk ran for their lives.
The two ran through a purple room, and some kind of stage. It seemed there had been a show of some kind there. There were strange noises behind the kids. They sounded like… spiders. Hundreds of them.
"Uh!" Cody gave Frisk a fearful glance.
"Keep going!" Frisk was approaching a pathway. Surrounding it was the Nice Cream Guy and the guards.
Frisk pointed at the pathway going north. But Cody didn't care about that. He'd spotted something ahead that was worrying him. It was a Vulkin, hanging off an edge. It was near the elevator.
Cody raced towards the Vulkin, which was obviously in distress. How come none of the other monsters could hear it? Cody didn't care about that now. He had to save the Vulkin.
"Cody, just leave it!" Frisk cried out. They turned around, eyeing the army of spiders approaching.
Meanwhile, Cody raced over to the Vulkin. Its kawaii face had become one of distress. Cody felt a chill crawl up his spine. He held out his hand.
"Don't worry," he told the Vulkin. "I've got you!"
He felt a spider crawl up his shoulder. He glanced behind him and saw Frisk was fighting off a tidal wave of spiders with their stick.
Cody gulped. He leaned down, his grip tightening on the monster. He pulled it up, his breathing heavy. His pan was lying beside him.
"Are you okay?" Cody asked the monster.
It nodded, snuggling against Cody's arm. He would've squealed like a fanboy if he were in a
different situation. He stood up, eyeing Frisk, who narrowly avoided another wave of spiders.
Suddenly he felt guilty again. He was putting this poor child through so much. He realised all along he had been taking advantage of their kindness. Everyone had been taking advantage of their kindness.
Cody looked down. He knew what had to do. Making sure the Vulkin was standing back, he held out his frying pan and took a step forward.
"Get away from my friend!" he yelled, charging at the spiders.
"No, I got it!" Frisk cried.
"I'm not gonna leave you, Frisk!" Cody shouted.
"You will not escape me forever~" Muffet hissed, appearing in between all the spiders.
"Go away!" Cody yelled. "We never did anything to you!"
"That is quite a lie," Muffet replied. "You stole five donuts, freed your friends and dishonored your word. At my bakery, we don't accept this behaviour~"
"The whole world isn't your bakery," Cody replied, baring his teeth. "I'm sorry, but there are more important things we had to do. Now get out of here before I have to hurt you."
"Oh, dearie," Muffet chuckled. "Who said I was getting hurt?"
Cody suddenly felt a sharp pain in his neck. The spider from before had bitten him. His vision was getting blurry, and his bones felt like they were turning to mush. He fell over, feeling even weaker than before. Voices chuckled around him, teasing him, taunting him…
Tears were in Cody's eyes. He never even got to say goodbye. And now he never would.
"Cody!" Frisk roared.
"Tell Clover I'm sorry…" Cody told them. Then his vision went dark.
RESET…
RESET…