Reborn as a Spider Once Again

[Kumoko]

This is...?

I try blinking away the blackness constricting my vision, but I just can’t move. Not just my body itself, but my legs, my mouth, even my eyes. Under this mysterious force, I can’t so much as blink. If I had a heart, it’d be hammering in my chest right about now. This white figure I’m being forced to stare at... is this Administrator D? Did... Did I do something? What could have possessed her to contact me directly?

My name is Omni...

All my assumptions are dispelled in an instant, but I’m still left with so, so many questions. What does he want with me? Why am I here? Why can’t I move? I strain with all my being, but still, nothing comes of it. I’d scream into the void too, but I can already tell that’d be useless. Commander Body, Commander Information, Commander Magic... All of them are gone. Whatever it was that he did, it erased all my parallel wills. Bastard! What did you do with them!

This is not the world you know. This is the Omniverse. You interest me, so I have made you part of it. The Omniverse is a place that reflects the wishes of those who are part of it. But! There are rules. I will explain them only once, so listen carefully.

You monster! Of course he doesn’t listen to my struggles! I can’t even twitch my eyes while under this force! Of course he wouldn’t see my struggles! Like it or not, I can’t fight against him... I’m forced to sit here, by his will, and simply accept whatever it is he has in store for me. Every challenge I’ve faced up until now, every monster I’ve killed, everything, was it all pointless? No matter how I trained myself, no matter how I fought, was I forced to face such an unbeatable foe?

What could I have done differently? Could I have simply wandered around more? Could I have trained my skills more? What was it that put me into this situation where I couldn’t do anything? I can’t even tell. Every other fight I’ve gotten into, every other time I’ve dived straight into the deep end, I at least had Miss Appraisal to tell me just how far out of my league I was, but this time... This time, I couldn’t even read the pure white being in front of me. Miss Appraisal! At least tell me you’re failing! At least tell me that this is something out of your league! This emptiness... Just what have I gotten into?

This is Omnilium.

Whaaaaaaat?

Just as I think he’s going to sit there and do a whole lotta nothing, he hands me a glowing, iridescent orb. Omnilium...

It’s what ties the Omniverse together. Without it, you are nothing. With it, anything you desire can be yours. But you will need more than this. If you desire it enough, you will find it. You will find that using it comes naturally. Just think of what you desire most.

... Eh-hem... To quote myself...

Whaaaaaaat?

What is this! Omnilium!? Apparently it’s some mysterious substance that ties everything together?

But whaaaaaaat?

With it, everything I desire can be mine? Why didn’t D tell me about this! I hold the floating, glowing orb between two of my outstretched legs. Wait...? When did my legs get there? The orb sinks into me before I realize it. And my legs fall back to the ground without me moving them. Just what is going on here? I want to pat my spidery chest, feel where it sank in, but I just can’t.

You will not be alone in the Omniverse. There are others. Of course, they, too desire Omnilium. Do not fear death. For as long as you interest me, you will be reborn. That’s all you need to know right now. You’ll figure out the rest soon enough. I’ll be watching … and waiting.

Wait whaaaaaaat? 

What does all of this mean? Answer me Omni! 

Of course he doesn’t so much as acknowledge my questions before fading away. Come on man! It’s not like I could physically ask you anything! You better have been able to read my mind and were just ignoring me! That doesn’t really make it any better but still!

All my mental screams into the void were for naught. Omni disappeared without so much as an answer, and now suddenly I find myself facing a different void. Instead of a pure black that makes me wonder whether I was actually awake or if it was all some fever dream, I see a pure white that makes me wonder whether I’m actually awake or if this is all just some fever dream! Maybe this was just that light at the end of that tunnel I was running through! After all, I was just on the verge of finally escaping the Elro Great Labyrinth!

Of course, such a thing is just wishful thinking. I know instinctively that it wasn’t just a hallucination of some sort. I wasn’t that lucky. This white wasn’t the white of a blinding light, it was the white of a blank world. Once again, I find myself isekai’d. Nai wa... Once again, I’ll have to explore a whole new world...

I blink rapidly, my spidery eyes slowly adjusting to the new world. It wasn’t blinding or anything, but still, a totally white world took a bit of adjusting too... Also, that just confirmed that I can move again. I give my body a little shake, turning my head away from the horizon and towards the ground, lifting my two front spider legs up so I can see them. If the action of lifting them didn't tell me what I needed to know, the sight certainly did. Yup, still a spider...

Come on, Omni! You couldn’t have thrown me a bone!? Not only did I have to survive as a spider in my past life, but now I have to survive as one in this life too!? Why you couldn’t you have made me like, a cute anime girl, or an overpowered highschool boy, or something along those lines!? Isn’t this supposed to be one of those all-too-popular isekai manga? Nai wa...

Well, I suppose it’s sort of to be expected. He did say I was supposed to be reborn even if I died, so long as I interested him. And he did say there was going to be others. Of course someone would get the short end of the stick. But why did it have to be me! I already got the short end of the stick in my pa-

CRACK

AUGHOFHGAUG

If my mouth could have produced sound, I’m certain that’s what it would have been. Before I even properly realize what’s going on, my eight spidery legs are flailing beneath me, carrying me off to safety. Problem being: where even is safety!? There’s only white! Pure white everywhere I look! Without Miss Appraisal or Detection, the only thing I have is my own eight eyes. I quickly spin around, taking in every inch of this white wasteland that I can, memorizing every little bit possible. If I’m going to survive whatever’s attacking me, this is going to be necessary...

...

There’s absolutely nothing!

Or at least, as close to absolutely nothing as is actually possible! Right next to where I’d been plopped down, there was a tall, towering statue. It twisted, curved, and warped in all the ways a spider like me needed, but also it was slick with moisture. Water ran down every inch of it. There was no way I’d be able to climb it! And right next to it were three... people?

Three humans and one thing. In an instant, I dive behind the fountain, hiding myself from view once again and covering my head with a few of my legs, my body trembling. I didn’t dare close my eyes, lest one of those people took notice of me and I had to flee. What kind of world is this? What kind of abilities do I have? Did Omni just separate me from the Elro Great Labyrinth, or did he take me away to a whole new world?

I just don’t know.

And like hell I’m about to throw my life away figuring it out. But still, I at least need to figure something out... Slowly, I stop hiding under myself and, using two legs to pull myself up, peek over the lip of the fountain. Just enough so I can observe. This longer look allows me to confirm what my quick glance had told me. Three people and one thing. Said “thing” appeared to be a machine...

Yep!

Nope! Not a snowball’s chance in hell! My poison is what had carried me through the Labyrinth. If I had to face something immune to that, I was completely and utterly out of luck. Nope! Nuh-uh! No way! I’m not going anywhere near that mess. I don’t care that everyone else seems normal! If they could all possibly take on a machine, then I’m just screwed, plain and simple!

Nevertheless...

I still find myself eying down the group, some deep sense of... curiosity or something drawing me to it. It seemed to be a two versus one, with the machine and the girl holding the rifle waaaaaaay off to the side getting ready to fight the clown. Off to the other side was, there was a twin-tailed goth loli cowering and clutching what appears to be the bloody stump where a hand would be. My eyes narrow. What are you doing here, little goth loli...? Last I checked, this wasn’t an anime...

Actually, scratch that. Up until recently, had basically been living in a game. Who’s to say this wasn’t an anime? Maybe Omni had decided to drag me out of my game world and into an anime world? Who knows? I certainly don’t. Maybe characters like her were a totally normal sight here. If that was the case, then she probably knew how to fight, too... Good-bye, easy meal. No longer can I snatch you up while the others aren’t looking.

... Or perhaps I could try anyway? I don’t know what’s going on in this new world after all. Sure, I’d been weak the moment I was dragged into my previous life, but I’d gotten strong in the meantime! Maybe Omni had taken pity on me and left me my old abilities! Or maybe even gifted me some new ones...?

Hah! As if! It was nice to think about, but I definitely shouldn’t rely on fortune like that. Come to think of it, it was risky business to try such a thing out in the open in the first place. If the other two or three noticed me, then I’d be done for. But then again... those other three looked like they were ready to start brawling. If I waited until they began, then maybe I could drag the blue-haired girl off without them noticing... Risky, but what was reward without a little risk?

[Kumoko]

Hmm...

Still peeking just barely over the lip of the fountain, I stare on with unblinking eyes, closely watching the gathering from no more than a few meters away. Nobody, not even the deranged clown leaning against the other end of the fountain, has noticed me. Granted it doesn’t really seem like they’ve even noticed each other. Other than a few words being exchanged, they’re all just sort of standing there... menacingly. Come on! Where’s the action!? Where’s the excitement!? Weren’t you guys all gonna start tearing each other apart? That’s what you’re all here for, right? Then get started already!

Of course, none of them respond to my silent pleas. Why would they? It’s not like I’m about to actually start making noise, or egging them on, or something like that. Like hell I want a fire wizard, a robot, and a deranged clown all turning on little old me. Also, come to think of it, where did that black-haired, gun-toting girl go? Wasn’t she here just a moment ago? Did I miss something?

Ah, whatever! It doesn’t matter whether she’s here, gone, or one of these people transformed! No matter what, I still don’t stand a chance! So instead, I’m just perfectly content to let them all deal with each other, whenever they actually get around to it, and grab the loli while they’re all distracted.

...

Okay...

I know that sounds more than a little bit weird, but it’s for totally non-weird purposes I swear! I’m not some common kidnapper!

...

Okay, maybe by definition it is, but shut up! I’m not a human anymore, I’m a spider! Giant spiders totally eat people! 

...

Yeah, I mean I am still a human in mind, even if I'm not one in body. Where did that idea even come from, anyway? When did I start seeing people as prey rather than as enemies and potential allies? Anyway, new excuse! The battlefield is no place for a kid, therefore I have to get her away from here. See? Totally benevolent and not weird at all!

...

Yeah, I know...

I release my grip on the ledge and sink to the floor, closing my eyes and laying my face on the floor, slumped over in defeat. I’m just gonna... stop trying. All I’m doing is digging myself a deeper hole. Just... take whatever justification you need. The fact of the matter is I want out of here, and she probably wants out of here. Hopefully. Even if my intentions are weird, I’m doing something good! Probably. You can’t fault me for that. I pick myself up off the blank ground, planting my two front legs on the smooth stone of the fountain and pulling myself to peek at it once again. And again, my eight eyes fall upon all four figures, three standing and one cowering. 

Ugh

Just fight already. What’s taking you guys so long? It can’t be that hard to find a reason to start killing each other! Come on, you obviously all hate each other! Fire cat lady! Start slinging some spells or something (But not at me please. Keep that faaaaar away). Robot! Iunno, open up your chest and reveal a gun or something? Or do whatever it is robots do. I don’t know! You’re all so varied! As for you clown... You’ve got some big teeth? And a big hole in your face? And a missing arm? Yeah, you’re kinda outmatched sorry. And lastly, for our resident goth loli. Just sit tight there, please. At least until they start firing. I don’t wanna have to expose myself and you’re in the perfect spot to drag away as soon as the clown is distracted...

Ah...

I suddenly come to a realization. Loli’s missing a hand and is looking a little bit woozy there, and clown’s missing an arm and a decent chunk of his face. Meanwhile, the fire cat lady and the robot are both entirely unharmed. So that must mean the loli and the clown were fighting earlier and possibly got interrupted? Suddenly everything makes sense...

Not!

I fall back behind the ledge, completely hidden from view again. What kind of monster is that little girl that she could inflict those kinds of wounds on someone? If she could do that to a presumably monstrous clown, what would she be able to do to me? Who was the one being saved here? Sure, she was the one cowering in fear, and there was someone standing protectively in front of her, but she wounded the clown much more than he wounded her. Were they even saving her in the first place? Maybe some other business brought them forth.

Gaaaah!

I furiously rub my head with my third leg. Just what’s going on here? The longer I look at it, the more I find out, the more than this little plan of mine sounds like a bad idea. Clearly, I missed some important prologue here. Isn’t there supposed to be some sort of obvious choice in these situations? What sort of game/anime/whatever-this-is that it doesn’t have an obviously correct choice for our isekai’d protagonist?

The sound of screeching metal tears through the air, and I freeze up for just a moment. Was this it? Were they finally getting to the meat of the matter? For hopefully the final time, I sneakily hoist myself up, eight unblinking eyes at the ready. A blaze of fire sears a smoky path right across my vision, and if it had been possible, I’m sure my heart would’ve skipped a beat. I’m sorry Miss Fire Wizard Cat Lady! I didn’t mean to be so rude earlier, please keep those flames further away from me!

The goth loli seems to have the same sort of reaction I do, throwing herself back with a quiet yelp as the fireball washes against the ground just in front of her. Luckily, that display also catches the clown’s attention, and he soon turns towards the cat lady who is now even more on fire. I wanna leave already. Nai wa...

But no! This is my chance! The clown’s distracted with the flaming cat, and the machine has his back to me. If I go now, they shouldn’t notice her disappearing. I just have to hope that they don’t turn around at an inopportune time. Alright, here we go... Steeling my resolve, I straighten up completely, rising to my full height. I mean, I knew it already, but wow I am short compared to these guys... Enough of that, I’m just distracting myself from the task at hand. Grab the loli! Let's go! I coil up my legs beneath me, ready to dart out and scoop the small girl up.

And a blinding snowstorm erupts from the machine. Chilly winds slam into me, freezing me down to my very being. I can feel my insides icing over! I need to act fast, but through the whirling snow, I can’t see my target. I don’t need to, though. I remember where she is. As long as she hasn’t moved, this should go off without a hitch.

I focus as many of my many eyes as I can on the spot I last saw her and hurl myself forward. Not a moment passes before the black and blue of her small, terrified figure fades back into view. Right on target! Of course, as small as she is, I’m even smaller. Her short figure looms over me as I dart noiselessly right up to her feet. Gotcha! I cheer triumphantly to myself as I tackle her legs right out from under her, catching her with my second pair of spidery legs just before she collapses on my back.

Guh

She’s heavier than I thought... I falter for a moment, my legs threatening to give out beneath me as I catch all of her falling weight at once. Still, I can handle this! It takes a second for me to brace myself, but I straighten up again, this time properly prepared for lifting. Still holding her above me, just in case she goes and falls off, I take off running, my other six legs pumping furiously. If my calculations were correct, this should take us well away from the battle. Unfortunately, I don’t know about the snowstorm. Who knows how big the refrigerator made-

And just like that, we burst free of it.

Huh?

I blink rapidly, the sounds of battle and raging wind swiftly disappearing behind us as we retreat at full tilt, quickly being replaced only by the clicking of my chitinous legs on the featureless ground. Was it really that easy? Did I really just get out of that without a hitch? Not only did no one seem to notice me, but the girl I’m carrying doesn’t really seem to be struggling either. Well, that was a bit unexpected...

[Viola]

Whooooosh.

It felt like standing in front of an industrial-grade fan. The small spider was carrying her near to the speed of an arrow - maybe two-thirds of one by Viola's estimate. Regardless, they were going fast. Actually fast. Not the cheaty-fake-fast Viola could manage back at her homeworld by manipulating time to turn her walk into a sprint. This was real, evident by sheer force of the air they were ploughing through.

With a silent scream, she held onto the spider legs supporting her with her one good hand, blood still trailed from the other. Numbing, turning her world grey. It wouldn't take long before the fight was a speck in the distance, but could Viola wait that long to heal and rest? She was never one for restoration magic. And, while she was clinging to the spider, she didn't think she could leave its sticky grip even if she wanted to. I might be planning to eat her - another beast just looking for an easy meal. And she didn't even taste nice! The tangy metallic taste of her own blood frothing at the back of her mouth made her want to puke.

Hit with a sudden wave of inspiration, a spell that should have been obvious flashed to the front of Viola's mind. Her magical arsenal was drastically weakened by Omni, and since coming here she'd been alerted to the fact that she'd somehow forgotten about most of it, many spells hidden just beneath the surface of her mind. Granted to her too late to be useful the first time. 

Dwelling on the past would get her nowhere, she was still alive - for now - so she was going to make the most of it. Gritting her teeth through the dull pain, Viola focused her magicks towards her wound, freezing it, suspending it in time by a fleeting thread. A small strand holding it back, preventing it from progressing. A deadly chill spread throughout the limb, killing it. For all intents and purposes, the stump was dead. It wouldn't heal. No blood pumped through it. The cells were inactive. But, the bleeding stopped, as if time around the stump has simply paused - which it had. A success, assuming she could reverse it later.

If only she'd done that earlier.

Taking a deep breath, Viola relaxed back, submitting to her ride. Passively, in the background, her prime powers worked away, slowly restoring the blood she'd lost without her noticing. Her cheeks were naturally pale, but the slow transition from the stark ghostly chalk to the more subtle hues of peach would become notable over the coming hours. Unbeknownst to Viola, all she needed was a day's rest and a good night's sleep.

So tired.

Her ride's speed levelled off as they gained more distance, but the volume of air never decreased to a pleasant level, keeping her alert and conscious.

Yawning, Viola succumbed to wave of dizziness. Her voice let out a sharp hiss - like an airlock - as her cry caught in her frail throat. Flailing both her good arm and the stump, she flopped to the side, long twintails fluttering behind her. The world warped once again, it felt as if her brain had walked into a brick wall - yet also calming, warming. Invisible mana splurged around her form, unable to stop the events, but merely delay their progression from within Viola's mind. A few precious seconds to prepare her own calculated response when-

Viola barely fell an inch before the spider steadied its grip, adjusting its passenger. Moments later, it began to slow down further, eventually reaching a halt. Approximately half way between one of the distant gates and the dry fountain.

Gentle stick legs pressed around her midsection, placing her down on the floor in a seated position. The spider eyed her up for a moment and waved some of its legs, pointing at the ground, wiggling them a bit, and then at Viola's stump. Although she had no idea exactly what it was originally trying to say, she felt it was something along the lines of, 'stay here, I can help with your arm'. It seemed like she'd been given a universal wavey-spider-legs translator, but the spider's intending wording would likely be vastly different, at least in dialect.

Scuttling around in a small circle, a silky white rope-like substance trailed out from the arachnid's behind, forming a small coil. Eyes widening, Viola stared, shuffling back. She didn't see how spider silk would help her unless the spider planned to drag her along the ground. Her head span, filled with half-lucid ideas of being trussed up in a near cocoon, hanging from the roof of the spider's den for use as a future snack. 

Helplessly, Viola waited. Not enough mana to use combat magic. No strength. And a highly limited spellbook. Even if Viola chose to run, she'd be caught easily. There was no point exerting any more strength, regardless of her sheer lack of trust for the eight-legged monster.

Unabated, a set of sleek legs reached out, the silk dangling between them. Carefully, the spider began to wrap it around Viola's stump, plastering it over the cut. Instinctively, she winced, but couldn't feel any pain from the region, just a throbbing around the ghost of a hand that was no longer there.

Swallowing, Viola nodded. "Thanks."

The spider bounced its head up and down in response. Silence followed for a moment.

"I am Viola." She spoke like royalty, calm and serene, yet while she enunciated each word clearly, her voice was devoid of any tone. No emotion. A speaking style made distinguished by its lack character, but obviously not synthetic. 

Viola received the waving of legs in response, mimicking various symbols she remembered from one of the foreign cultures of her homeworld. 'Ku-mo-ko'

"Kumoko."

The spider - Kumoko - nodded, Viola having pronounced it perfectly with her first attempt.

"It is nice to meet you." Forcing a shallow smile, Viola's eyes gravitated down, expression grim. With Kumoko's response performed above her gaze, Viola missed most of it, but assumed the spider had returned the pleasantries. A few seconds later she felt a tap on her leg, rubbing her tights. Looking up, her hand gravitated to her skirt, twirling and flicking through the frills.

'Hop on.' Kumoko waved its (her? it/she was pink) arms, gently trying to pull Viola back up to her prior riding position.

Considering Viola could barely move a tenth of her new friend's speed at the moment, she decided it was probably a good idea to go along with it for now, or even in the future when she wasn't wounded. Ideas of her riding a spider into battle came to mind. Amusing, but it would take practice to handle the speed, and preferably a saddle.

Hopping on without complaint, Viola steadied herself better than before, allowing Kumoko's legs some respite - only one was bent behind the spider's back this time. Accelerating cautiously, Kumoko picked up speed but never carried Viola as fast as they'd travelled originally. This pace was more 'casual', a bit faster than a trained horse's gallop.

The distant archway grew larger in Viola's vision, leaving her some time to think. Sure, she thought, Omni had to have gifted her with something useful after dragging her to this world. Being crippled wasn't particularly interesting - his supposed primary reason for taking her - although her arm wasn't really needed for fights. With that in mind, she turned her attention to her stump, recalling the rainbow substance Pennywise had used to make a balloon. Concentrating intently, but making sure to hold on to Kumoko, she pictured the gloopy orb flowing through her veins, knotting the wound shut.

Within seconds, blood began to gush out the wound again, trapped by the airtight silk. The dead biomass from her earlier spell got a rapid jumpstart, and pain shot through the surviving neurones. Gritting her teeth, Viola held on tightly, doing her best to focus on her injuries despite the renewed burning agony it wrought. Much too slowly, new cells formed under the makeshift bandage, gradually beginning to close up the wound.

[Kumoko]

Okay, recap time.

I take a moment to think as I do nothing but mindlessly run for my life away from the battle right next to where I spawned. Seriously? Who’s idea was it to plop newcomers right out in the open like that? Is it really so hard to give us a safe spawn? Maybe a nice locked room for us to get our bearings? I really need to have a chat with this “Omni” at some point. Give him a stern talking to about how you’re supposed to treat new players. You’re supposed to give them a space to feel welcome and get accustomed! Not throw them into the middle of a battle between a fire boob kitty, a demonic clown, and a combat refrigerator! Of course, though I say that, I know that if I even manage to talk to him, I’m probably not going to flip out on him. Omnipotent beings are just too scary...

Anyway back to the recap! So as I’m sure you’ve all noticed, I’m still a spider. More specifically, I’m pretty sure I’m back to being a Taratect if my pink legs were anything to go by. Not only has Omni managed to pick me up and throw me into a world of his own creation, he also managed to revert all of my evolutions. Which probably means my stats and powers as well. I mean, I know that already. I can’t talk to Miss Appraisal anymore, and my Parallel Wills are all gone. That can’t be the only thing he reverted, which means I’m probably as weak as I was back when I was first reincarnated in a new world. I’m going to have to play it safe until I know what I’m capable of. No unnecessary risks, no picking one-sided fights, no accepting candy from strangers, etc...

Aaaaand suddenly I realize my error in picking up some unknown goth loli that might have supreme mystical powers and could possibly tear me asunder with a wave of her hand. Nai wa... It doesn’t help that I can feel myself quickly wearing out as I skitter along towards... Oh hey look there’s actually something in this vast expanse of nothingness! In the distance, pressed against a wall of whiteness just as blank as the rest of this world, I can see what looks like an arch. Of course, it’s too far away to make anything of it, but at least it’s something. I slightly alter my trajectory to head straight for it.

Back to what I was saying... I’ve already got the goth loli in my grasp, and I am wearing out fast. I may not have lungs gasping for air, nor a heart pounding with exertion, but I can still feel my arachnid body running low on energy. I’m going to need to stop and rest soon, and when I do... Well, then I’ll have to stop and face the music. Maybe I’ll get lucky and she’ll be too drained from blood loss to try and kill me. The fact that she still doesn’t seem to be struggling in my grip offers me a little bit of hope. But... anyone with half a brain would realize that trying to kill the person ferrying you at... However fast I’m running, I can’t tell, is probably a bad idea.

...

Ahhh... That reminds me. She’s bleeding out right now.

...

That’s a thing people do. I’ve been a spider so long that I kinda forgot.

...

I should probably stop that bleeding. I’m sort of leaning towards saving her rather than eating her right now, and her being, you know, alive is kind of a big requirement for that. The wind rushing past us slowly begins to ebb as I slow down, my legs not pumping nearly as much as they were before. It’s all slowly of course. If it had just been me running away, then sure, I could stop on as many dimes as I felt like. Unfortunately, I can’t afford to jostle the loli on my back any more than I already have.

Finally, I manage to stop, as gently as was possible. Hah... Beautiful rest... Not enough of it though, my legs are still a bit shaky from the run, and the girl on my back, no matter how light she might be, is still wearing me out. With the front two of my eight legs placed around her thin waist, I gently lift her up from my back and lower her to the pure white ground. As expected from someone as close to death as she is, the drearily-colored loli collapses the moment her feet touch the ground, and in the end, I gently lower her to a sit, her gothic dress rumpling around beneath her.

Okay, what now? I cross one leg over my ‘chest,’ I guess you could call it, and prop my head up from below with another (a classic human ‘thinking’ position, if there ever was one), and peer closely at the girl I’d just saved? Kidnapped? Who knows. Either way, she seems a little bit intimidated at a spider nearly her size staring her down. Just a little bit though. Her eyes widen a little bit, and she fidgets with her dress using her one hand, but other than that, she’s doing a very good job of keeping calm. Better than I would do in her situation, certainly.

Now as for her hand... Yup, it’s missing alright. Her right hand is just... gone just beneath the wrist. All that’s left is a mangled wound. Honestly, if I hadn’t gotten used to seeing such things due to being a spider, this would have squicked me out a bit. Strangely enough, it doesn’t seem to be bleeding. I can see that it was bleeding at some point, given that her dress is stained with red. Not only on her right sleeve, where the cuff is absolutely soaked, but also a nice big splotch right around her gut, presumably where she held it there, trying to stem the bleeding. Also her face is pale. I mean, goth lolis are supposed to be pale and doll-like, but this isn’t the pristine, porcelain paleness of a doll. It’s something drained of life, sickly in a way. She’s clearly missing a lot of blood. 

But as for her wound? I can see the glistening red of her stump, it’s clearly fresh blood and should be bleeding, but isn’t for some reason. It isn’t scabbed over her seared shut or anything of the like, it just seems to be frozen in stasis. Weird. Well anyway! Enough thinking about that. I need to get that thing bandaged up just in case. If I’m lucky, this’ll get her to trust me. Maybe even get her on my side? 
Ah, I can imagine it already... Just gotta get her to change her outfit to something more... spider-themed. Change out those roses in her twintails for little spider pins, maybe some webbing patterns around the frills of her dress... Turn her into that sort of goth loli instead of what she is right now. Get her some web-themed spells, make myself my own cute, gothic-themed outfit...

Well, all that’s just a pipe dream for now! I can’t let that distract me from current matters. I quickly motion with four of my legs, two in the common ‘stay here’ push, while the other two mimic a bandaging motion. Unfortunately, the girl doesn’t respond to my charades at all, leaving me to wonder whether she actually understood it at all. It couldn’t have been that hard, right? Stay here, I’ll bandage that arm right up.

I can’t just keep trying to make her understand, however. I really want to get this wrapped up (heh) and get on our way to that arch I saw in the distance. So I stop gesturing and start spinning up some silk. She’s just gonna have to live with worry for now, I guess. At least she doesn’t try to run as I start, or back away, or really do anything other than look very nervous. And here I was, worried that she was the one who was going to beat me up.

Taking my silk in hand (leg?), I quickly scuttle the last few steps up to her and start wrapping it around her missing hand, covering the wound in a thick cocoon of soft silk. If she starts bleeding again, the bandage I’m giving her should easily be able to soak up the blood and stem the bleeding. Probably. I don’t actually know first aid I’m just sort of guessing here. Anyway! With my deft legs, I quickly get that wrapped up and...

“Thanks...” the small girl’s voice is almost a whisper, and she nods nearly imperceptibly at me. I freeze up for a moment. Oh, um... Right, I guess I sort of appear intelligent right now, given that I’m bandaging up her wound. No wait I am intelligent, I don’t just appear so. Yeah. It only makes sense that she’d see if I can understand her language. Yeah, sure, don’t mention it, kid. I nod right back at her. That counts as acknowledging her thanks, right?

ARGH!

ANYWAY!

“I am Viola,” the girl continues, giving me what I assume is her name. Her voice is just as soft as before, but now it becomes apparent to me that it’s not from blood loss or dizziness (though that does play a part). She’s one of those quiet types. You know the type. The calm, calculating, monotonous character. That type. As my erratic thoughts consume me, the goth loli just keeps staring, calmly, placidly, almost no emotion showing. Why’s she just...

ARGH!

AGAIN!

I need to introduce myself! Right! That’s a thing that people do! Um... Yes, hi, my name is... I quickly think back to the statuses Miss Appraisal gave me. Come on, what was the name I always saw there... ‘Nameless Small Taratect.’ ‘Nameless Small Poison Taratect,’ ‘Nameless Zoa Ere...’ Okay! Just call me ‘Kumoko’ I guess! Apparently I’m nothing but a small spider anyway so I might as well be that in name too!

...

Oh, right, she can’t hear me. It takes every ounce of my willpower to not cringe myself into a black hole. Or roll around on the floor and let my sheer stupidity consume me and make an even bigger fool of myself. Okay stop thinking of that stop thinking of that stop thinking of that. My name. How do I tell you what to call me, small child? Let me just... spell it out in the air I guess? ‘Kumo’ for ‘spider,’ ‘ko’ for ‘child.’ Works for me. I roughly spell out how it’s supposed to look with my legs, all the while Viola is nodding along, her head barely moving.

“Kumoko?” she repeats slowly, enunciating carefully, trying to nail down the pronunciation given that I can’t help her with that at all. Yup! Good enough! Perfect, even! I nod slowly and sagely, trying not to let my anxiety show through in my actions. Good good, introductions are out of the way, can we go now?

“It’s nice to meet you...”

Yes it is, I’m a lovely person, er... spider. Alright now hop on we’ve got places to be. I tap at her leg gently, careful not to scare her. All the tiredness that used to be weighing my limbs down is suddenly gone and I’m ready to get moving. I guess that’s what adrenaline does to you. Or at least... whatever mimicry of adrenaline this arachnid body of mine has. Whatever it is, it’s working.

Luckily, Viola decides she wants to hop on my back without a fight. With only a little bit of help from me, she’s able to climb on, and once her light weight gets settled in, I can feel her small arms holding tightly onto my exoskeleton. Awesome! Now I can use all eight of my legs to run. A bit less energetically than last time, I turn to face the gate in the distance, and immediately I feel the strength drain right back out of my legs. Ugh... Is it really that far? I really only made it halfway in that sprint?

Ahhh I’m not running all that way. A brisk walk sounds nice. I’ll take my merry time until something decides that it wants either me or my charge for a snack. Then I’ll run. With that in mind, I start forward, my tired legs pumping beneath me, but not with nearly as much gusto as earlier. We’ll make it there in due time. It’ll just take a bit longer. Once we do, however, we'll just speed right on through that arch and to whatever’s on the other side of it! Hopefully somewhere with actual scenery we can admire and hide in...

Minutes pass, how many exactly, I don’t know. I was too zoned out through most of the trip to really pay attention. All I know is that the arch that I’d been skittering towards so lazily is now almost consuming my vision. I stare up, wide-eyed, at it’s rapidly approaching form, my legs never missing a beat as I march on endlessly. My chest starts to fill more and more with dread the closer I get. Smoke and heat pulse off of the smooth stone, and though I can’t see what lies beyond it, I know that that isn’t a good sign.

But it’s too late. I’ve already walked all this way. I just gotta hope that appearances are deceiving. My pace rapidly slows as I get within feet of it. I am not barrelling through this at full speed. Please don’t be a fire world please don’t be a fire world please don’t be a fire world...