Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"I SEE HER!"
There was a loud bang of a gun, causing the disheveled girl's ears to ring as she ran down the abandoned building. She looks down the hall, quickly thinking where the best way of escape is, before taking a sharp turn in order to dodge a tranquilizer.

"Library," a man in a black suit called out to his group, taking deliberate slow and heavy steps on the worn down tile.
This isn't the first girl that's hid in this building, desperate to hide from the cops or his team.
But this is the first girl who managed to avoid them for this long. They had to check all the new hiding spots and holes she made, just in case something like this happened.
The other men rushed in, guns out ready to shoot at the poor woman. She had been an excellent hider so far, the adrenaline and determination pumping through her had made her strong enough to even knock out one of his men...
But he saw her faltering.
Most of the women they had to take tried to kill, make deals with the men, or scream in hopes someone with a good soul would help them. Some tried all three. They never escaped though, Mike and his men were too good thanks to all of the experience they had when they were first taken in.
They had always made sure that the goods arrived in almost mint condition, because if they didn't it would be their asses on the line..
Wilson's head quickly turned as he heard a book fall, followed by a quiet yet sharp inhale. He tilted his head in the direction of the noise, waiting for a nod from Mike before directing his team up the glass stairs. The girl was an idiot, despite her fighting and fleeing skills.

The second floor only covered the edges of the building, it used to be filled with students trying to cram as much information as they could before exams.. before the Mob wars had started, fighting over any small amount of land to try and prove their worth. He watched the frail girl push over chairs and tables as she tried to run towards a corner. She either didn't know what she was doing, or seriously planned to jump out of a second floor building. She seemed to choose neither though, because instead of jumping out of a window, or giving up, she looked Mike directly. Giving Mike the most powerful glare of all time, so full of hate and rage, he was sure he would turn to stone. He understood why she was nicknamed the Phoenix, she always managed to rise from any attack that had tried to strike her down. She smirked at him, stopping him dead in his tracks. She knew there was no way for her to escape, and she had noticed how they made sure not to leave a scratch on her, except for the darts they tried to shoot her with.
"DON'T-" Mike quickly tried to reach out to grab Frisk, before she threw herself off the rails. He loudly cursed as she landed on the cold tile floor, effectively breaking her left wrist. Crying out in pain as there was a sickening crunch. Her vision went white as the men quickly rushed back down the stairs to make sure she was still in working condition.
Mike sighed heavily, taking off his hat to rub his forehead.
"Crazy bitch.."

Chapter Text

Darkness. That's all I could see, which is strange considering my eyes were actually open. I move around, trying to detect anything besides the cold hard metal beneath my back. I could feel warm spots in the metal, made by my low body heat as I used my hands to push myself up. My vision momentarily went white as I took a sharp inhale through my teeth. Right.. I had broken my wrist.

I groan as I gently prod at my swollen wrist in a half-assed attempt to try and see how bad the break had been.

What had even happened anyways? I remember throwing myself off a high area, for whatever god forsaken reason, and quiet murmuring voices..

I try to stand up, before hitting my head on metal right above me. I let out a yelp as a loud bang reverberated through my now injured skull.. I close my eyes in annoyance, while rubbing the back of my head with my good arm. Letting out a sigh, I lay on my back and try my best to remember the night's events..

That loud creaking door woke me up within moments, thank God for that broken door. Always tells me when the police are checking for the homeless, which is rare considering that the other squatters stay away from this place, no thanks to the uptake in violence.. 

Looking through one of the bookshelves, there was a tall, well built man, dressed in a dark velvet suit with a black tie to match his dark pants and shoes. He looked like all the other pricks that pranced down the street to flaunt how “better” they are than everyone else.. The only difference was the pin on his fedora. It was a beautiful thing, something that no doubt cost a shit ton of money. It was a golden spider with an eye engraved on its back. Little Miss Muffet's goons I assume. 

She poses as a homely baker, selling her delicious food for insanely high prices. I couldn't blame her though, her spider donuts really were to die for. Sadly, at night, Muffet runs a kidnapping business. She would send her men out to find bright souls, unaffected by this state's cruelty. She would sell the people she caught, emphasizing their souls and how fun it would be to break one with high hopes. She rarely caught humans however, they were.. a delicacy of sorts. Pure human souls are a rarity in this world.. let alone a pure adult soul. Knowing how many monsters would fight to get their claws on a human with a pure soul like mine, gave me enough Determination to fight off the first monster that tried to grab me. I kicked him in the jewels before bolting off.. and getting caught.

Sitting on my bruised knees, I look around, squinting in the dark to try and adjust my squinty eyes to the dark. It wasn't long before I could see clearly enough to figure out that I was in a storage room, trapped in a cage. I swiftly took a bobby pin out of my short brown locks, causing half of my previously tucked bangs to fall over my right eye as I bend the pin and try to shove it in the metal lock. Fiddling with it for more than ten minutes left me with nothing but a broken pin, and damaged pride. I run my spare hand through my greasy hair while I take a couple deep breaths to help clear my mind.. Remembering my soul, I decided to summon it to check on myself..

Yet, nothing came.

I open my eyes again, dumbfounded. Confused as to why it didn’t work, I slid my hand under my poncho and over-sized sweater in an attempt to feel any warmth from it.. But there was nothing.

Did.. did they take my soul when they found out what it was..? I look around frantically, trying to sense where it was.. Maybe it just rolled away? Can that even happen?? 

Going into a small panic, I frantically shake the bars with a shaky breath. Maybe if I call out for help, someone will hear me? Attempting to yell for help, a small raspy whisper barely escapes my dry lips. My throat aches in pain from being too dry while trying to shout.. Without anything else to do, I lean against the cool bars and close my eyes, trying to pull it towards me. It’s close.. I can feel it calling to me...

“Oh deary..” A woman’s voice. Her voice sounded soft and silky.. If this was in a different situation, I may have considered her as a caring big sister who just wants to see you succeed.
“You should stop with all that frowning, we don’t want you to get any wrinkles early on, now do we?” She let out a strange giggle as she scurried over towards me with a cute smile.
Thanks to my eyes having adjusted to the dark, I was able to see Miss Muffet in all her elegant glory. She was wearing a beautiful burgundy skirt with two spider buttons, there was a triangular slit on the side of the dress, allowing one of her beautiful dark legs to be teasingly shown while tightly hugging her round hips and her small chest. She was wearing a fur coat, letting it hang off her main shoulders. She wore dark purple gloves, with her middle arms having every finger except her ring finger be wrapped up, while only her ring finger covered on her lower hands. Her black hair fell right above her chin, making her face look smaller and rounder, showing off her five alluring eyes.
She was beautiful. In human, and monster standards.
“My my!” she laughed as a small finger gently touched my nose, making me jump and quickly look away from her.
“Such an adoring expression, it’s as if you’ve never seen a monster before!” She blesses me with a warm welcoming smile as she runs her thin spindly fingers through my greasy, tangled hair. Her touch was comforting, even despite her sharp fingers easily cutting through the knots.
“Oh Deary.. You probably haven’t even had the chance to wash it, living in that dirty library for months on end,” She looks me in my eyes with a sad smile.
“Let’s get you washed up, yes?..” I nod, letting tears fill my eyes as I try to remember the last time I properly cleaned myself. She lets go of me, pulling her thin arm back out the bars and reaching in her pocket to take out the key. With a swift motion she unlocks the cage door, setting me free. She holds out a hand for me, helping me out of the cage. I let go of her hand quickly to hug my right arm close to my chest. Her eyes lidded with concern and hidden anger as she noticed the concerning swelling on my right wrist.
“What happened to your arm Darling?” with a simple snap of her fingers, the light had been turned on. I couldn’t help but squint thanks to the bright light burning at my eyes. Barely registering Muffet holding my right arm gently with many arms, I try to examine my surroundings.. The walls had strange Halloween esk wallpaper, with a purple background and simplistic drawings of cobwebs and spiders unevenly placed on the walls. How fitting.. I let out a quiet chuckle as I looked around the fairly empty room. It had two mahogany doors, one from where she just entered, and the other containing quiet murmurs and heavy footsteps.
“What a shame.. Your beautiful arm has been damaged..” She pouted as she looked around the room. “Mike’s fault no doubt. He was never that caring to human women such as yourself.” She started to walk towards the door she had entered from, using a spare hand to hold onto me to make sure I followed. Too tired to put up a fight, I let her basically drag me through the room.
“That ignorant dog! I’ll wring his neck for treating you so poorly!” Three of her arms got thrown into the air while two made a strangling motion as if to prove a point. She threw open the door gracefully as two male spider monsters quickly dropped down from the wall, causing me to jump back in fear. The men were well dressed, but nowhere as close to the elegance Muffet carried herself with. One was wearing a black suit with a golden spider pin on his purple and white striped tie, while the other was wearing a simple white shirt with all of his sleeves rolled up, exposing his strong arms and scars. His purple bowtie complimented his golden pin on his shirt's collar nicely.
“You two!” She barked at the two, “Get this poor lady washed up and fed! She will never recover without proper pampering!” pushing me at the two well dressed men she crossed her lower two arms. Clearly dazed from all the rapid movement and conversation while I still try to comprehend exactly what's going on.

“I expect you both to treat her correctly.” She passed something to the man in white with a certain sense of foreboding that ran a shiver down not only mine, but the two men’s spines as well.

“Now!” Her eyes looked at the door behind us. “I have a dog to put back in place..” She stormed through the door she had taken me from, her heels loudly clanking against the hardwood floor. The man in black let out a sigh once he heard the other door open and slam.

“Cleaning duty huh..? On a human girl no less?” He lazily lifted up my two arms, ignoring the pain he caused in my right arm. “I don’t know the first thing about cleaning up humans..”

His friend gave a friendly pat on his shoulder, getting his attention. “There’s not that much too it honestly! Just pretend she’s a Tiefling without all those extra bits, and it’s pretty much the same!” He started walking through the closed bakery with a smile, as the man in black easily lifted me up and slung me over his shoulder. In a weak attempt to escape, I hit his back with my good arm, and flail my legs at his chest.

 “Calm down Lady..” His extra arms held onto my legs as he let me hit his back, not taking off so much as one sliver of health from him. He lags behind his friend in white trying to control me as I feel myself slightly weaken. 

My soul.. I need my soul.. I let out an intelligible curse while stopping my weak assault, trying to conserve as much energy as possible so I don’t pass out from exhaustion. Trying to focus on anything to avoid any feeling of nausea, I stare down at the stairs we seem to be going up and ignore any outside noises to try and think..

Muffet was acting kind and caring to me.. Does she do this with all of her captives, or was it simply because I carry a Determination soul..? When I had looked out the windows in the bakery, it was fairly dark outside so I couldn’t guess where exactly we were or how much time had passed from my initial kidnapping.. I gulp, forcing down any saliva I have down to try and help my sore throat. Was I really going to be sold off as a slave?.. They hid my soul somewhere, but it’s close-by.. I hear it’s song resonate deep within. I close my eyes, trying to listen to my soul’s song. It’s within a couple meters behind me. I try to pull it close, before being suddenly pulled out from my deep thinking.

“You didn’t pass out did you? It’s a lot weirder trying to bathe an unconscious woman..” the man in white poked my face, causing me to yelp in fear. I notice that I’ve been seated on the lidded toilet in a sparkling clean bathroom. He smiled once he noticed I was awake, and turned on the water to run my bath. The man in black went to take off my poncho, causing me to quickly smack at his hand and to cross my arms.

“You can’t bathe in clothes, lady” He shot me an annoyed look, before reaching to grab at my clothing. I quickly slap at his hands once again, indignantly sticking my tongue out at him in defiance.

“Oh just let the poor girl take off her clothes herself,” The man in white sighed as he pushed his friend out of the bathroom. “Humans get so much more embarrassed having to do these little things with eyes on them. Just guard the door and she’ll be fine.” his partner barely protested, as if this same interaction has happened many times before. 

“Don’t you worry yourself Ma’am! He’s a bit of a newbie here, and he’s uneducated on the ways of Human culture! I would let you bathe alone, but since you’re the ‘Infamous Phoenix’ and all, I have to be in here with you.” Noticing my clearly uncomfortable and concerned look I had, he quickly waved four of his hands in the air. “I won’t peek as long as you don’t cause any harm ma’am! I’m just here to make sure you stay nice and safe.” I let out a sigh of defeat, knowing there’s no way I would be left completely alone, but grateful that I'll be able to properly clean myself.

After all, it could be a lot worse for me here..