The Dungeon's Worst Little Mistake

"Enhance Undead"

Pulling the entirety of a spine out from the Lizard Man corpse that Susan had devoured most of the meat from, Bug takes the length of thick bones and cartilage and feeds into the back of the insect, the bone seemingly melting as it fuses into her minion and slowly mends its damage. Her mount had been nearly sliced in half during the fight, a sacrifice that was made to sell the illusion of Bug fleeing.

Luckily, due to how clean the cut is, nearly dividing the insect down the length of its spine, it is actually easier to repair than if it had been smashed apart or anything else. Bug just needs to basically glue it back together.

As she works on feeding the length of spine into the insects back, the two halves being pulled together by the spell's guiding hand, Bug watches as the excess material gets added to the rest of the skeleton, making it slightly grow in size as bone plates become ever-so-slightly thicker and denser.

Once all the damage is repaired and the insect is slightly stronger than before, she pulls it into her inventory to keep it out of the way. Bug moves on to fixing the flier. Poor bugger lost a wing all the way up to its shoulder and nearly its head to Susan…

Dang Ghoul breaking all my stuff…

"Uhh… What am I… Where?"

Bug looks up from her work and sees Susan looking around, a bit dazed and confused.

"Why am I sitting in the fountain, and why am I naked? Elaine, what are you doing?"

"Your hair! Mommy, Sissy is awake!"

"I see that, sweety. Thank you very much." Says Bug as she returns to her repairs. Maybe she should make the flier more durable? No, that would just make it fly slower…

"Uh, Elaine, again, what are you doing?" Susan asks as she reaches up and feels at her hair. Her hand comes away covered in soap suds and smelling of a mix of fruits that she can't place a name to.

"Soap?"

"Shampoo." Corrects Bug. "It's soap, but just for hair or something. I don't know…"

"Where did you get, bwaaaaah!" She tries to ask, but Elaine upends a bucket of water over Susan's head and washes it all out, giggling like a little goblin as Susan sputters and lets out a little scream.

Wiping the water away from her face, Susan lets out a sigh and asks her original question.

"Why am I in the fountain?"

Bug doesn't bother looking up from her work, just looking over the destroyed remains of what used to be Mimmie's mobile cage.

"I can salvage some of the pieces from this, but the rest is ruined… Might as well just build a better one that Mimmie will actually like… You needed a bath. You smelled like shit, were covered in blood and filth. When was the last time you even bathed?" Bug says as she rips the legs and head off of the mobile and discards the rest of the broken body into a pile of junk bones.

"It's… been a while… Where are my clothes?"

Elaine happily answers this time. "Over there! Mommy says it's your turn to do the laundry after bath!"

Susan looks to where Elaine is pointing and finds a pile of smelly clothes, soaked in blood and other drying nastiness. It's a good distance away, but just looking at it, Susan can almost smell, and dang near see, the scent radiating off of them.

"Joy…"

"No complaining. I do all the cooking as is, so I expect you to help out with chores… Something like this should work, right? Let's make the horns longer… I think I still have some Goblin arms laying around somewhere…"

Susan goes to ask Bug what she is doing, but is interrupted as Elaine presses against her back with her little hands.

"Forward, bend forward!"

"Ok, ok, what are you doi- Oh~ Oh, that is nice~ Thank you, Elaine."

While Susan is getting her back thoroughly scrubbed down with a soaped-up sponge and getting weeks of filth scraped off her skin, Bug keeps doing her work in silence, issuing order after order through her mental connection to her new/upgraded skeleton.

After a while, Susan manages to wrestle the sponge away from Elaine when she tries to switch to washing her front. Despite her love for her sister, having Elaine wash her entire body, especially while looking like a child would be… yeah, no thank you. She can do this herself.

Scrubbing down every inch of her body and becoming blessedly clean once again, Susan can't help but to notice how she has changed again.

She no longer looks like a malnourished and withering near-corpse of a lady. But is now supple and smooth all over. Her skin is healthy with a light tan. All her old scars have faded away, leaving behind nothing but unmarked skin. Even the hair on her legs and in certain unmentionable areas, is simply gone. No shaving required!

Running a hand through the long hair growing on her head, even wet, it flows through her fingers like it never had before, her old crimson having turned into an even deeper shade of blood-red. The black nails on her hands are no longer claw like things, but are instead perfectly shaped nails adorning narrow fingers. Even the callouses that used fill the palms of her hands, from years of swinging the sword, have disappeared to leave behind baby-smooth skin.

She's conflicted about this as she rubs her palms, feeling for where those familiar bumps should have been. Those callouses were a testament to all her efforts and dedication to her craft after all…

"What happened to me?"

Bug doesn't need the details to know that she is referring to her changes, and not the getting high on meat thing.

"Ghouls are basically just advanced zombies. Stronger, faster, smarter, because you know, the whole having a soul and working brain thing… But besides that, they have a trait that makes them special compared to other Undead. Rather than just slowly rotting and falling apart until you become a skeleton or a specter type of Undead, you have the ability to regenerate your damage by eating meat and drinking blood. You can heal back from almost anything so long as you can eat, and your core isn't destroyed. Going beyond that, eating enough meat won't just return you to being normal looking. It will improve your body and make you look more appealing. Something about a Charisma boost or whatever… It's supposed to be so that you have an easier time getting humans to trust you, so you can seduce them, get into their house, and then… you know. Eat them." Bug says with a shrug as she pulls on a part of the skeleton before her and watches to make sure that it reacts correctly. "Just make sure to eat plenty of meat. Go too long without it, and you will start to rot again."

"Charisma boost? What is-?"

"It's a hidden stat that isn't normally shown. Modifies physical appearance slightly and other stuff like how good you are at talking to people… Can also make your breast bigger for some reason, or if you are a man, give you a bigger penis... Adjust sensitivity for left and right controls by negative 15%, adjust sensitivity for up and down controls by positive 5%..." Bug says mostly to herself as she keeps mess with the skeleton in front of her.

Susan hears this and can only look down at herself, blinking at what she finally notices.

"Holy crap, my boobs did get a little bigger… Huh…"

Maybe this whole, turning Undead thing isn't too bad… Susan starts to think to herself. But then her eyes go to other corner of the room where Ben and Dale's zombified corpses are still standing and waiting. Dead. Because she failed.

Elaine, now half a freaking Mimic and clearly missing too many memories of her past life, happily cheers. "Big Boobies! Sissy, will I get big boobies too?"

Susan pulls her eyes away from her dead friends and gives the little girl a strained smile. Bug's order is still in effect. No lies.

"You'll… they'll be bigger than what you currently have, yes…"

"Yay, big boobies!!"

Again, Elaine is currently a child. She is flat as a washboard currently. But, if she ends up growing up to be just like how she used to be. Well, she doesn't really have very much growing to look forward to…

"Can I touch your boobie?"

"No, Elaine."

"Oh… Can I brush your hair?"

"Sure, just let me get out and start drying off. You can help me with my hair."

"Yay! Mommy, brush!"

"Mimmie, you put it in your Inventory, remember? I showed you how to use it." Bug says over her shoulder as she keeps working.

"Oh, yeah…" And then Elaine just sort of stares off into space for a little bit as Susan is getting out of the fountain and grabbing the towel sitting nearby.

"Are you, ok?"

"Found it!" And then a brush magically appears in her hand with a slight distortion of light, startling Susan.

"You can use Space magic now!? What? But I don't feel a Field around you, though? You're not a mage anymore…"

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

Bug doesn't bother responding to Susan's surprise and just keeps working on her skeleton.

"Hurry, hurry, Sissy! I want to brush!"

"Ok, ok… Hold on, let me sit by the hearth to help my hair dry. Thank you for helping, Elaine. I appreciate it.

…

After getting dried off and letting Elaine have her fun brushing out her hair, which also seems to have grown out some more, she gets changed into a spare set of clothes that Bug left sitting aside for her, ties up all her hair into a long ponytail, and then gets to work on doing the laundry in the still soapy waters of the fountain. Elaine is helping by slowly going back and forth between the hearth and the fountain, moving at the pace of slightly fast snail, and hanging up the dripping wet clothes to dry.

She's having fun helping, and that is all that matters.

While Susan is working on getting some especially stubborn bloodstains out of a shirt, scrubbing with a washboard and some cleaning supplies that Bug had Billy bring over to her, she can't help but to look over at what Bug is doing.

She is still just working away at the same skeleton, and it is a weird looking one. With six legs, and a weird neck that bends all the way back, with a pair of really long horns. There are armor plates all over its back and weirdly, some bones extensions raising from there as well, along with a pair of small arms raises up into the air…

What the heck is she building?

She's very focused on it, and had stopped responding to any questions directed her way a while ago. Just staring at the thing and pulling on it occasionally. Sometimes the little arms will move and try to grab at the empty air before returning to their original position.

Susan decides to just leave her to it. The quiet is nice and peaceful, and she can use this time to spend with a happy little Elaine as she does slow laps back and forth from hearth to fountain and back again, a big smile on her face.

She's such a happy little girl now…

Should I tell her? Should I shatter her happiness by telling her all the horrible things her mommy did? About how she died, and the entire life that she has left behind? Would Bug even let me? I could probably turn them against each other, but do I want to do that to Elaine? What would we even do then? It's not as if I can just take her and leave. I'm bound to my new master whether I like it or not… What should I do? Would it be right for me to just leave her in happy ignorance, or…

Susan keeps scrubbing at the laundry, letting her mind wander away with depressing thoughts and questions as she works on autopilot. Eventually, Bug sits back from where she is hunched over on the floor and lets out a long sigh.

"Haaaaaaaaah, finally… Didn't think this would be so hard to program." Standing up, she leans back until Susan can hear as Bug's spine is popping like a line of firecrackers. "Ahhh~"

Turning, Bug watches with a smile as Mimmie finishes putting a pair of shorts on the lines to dry and then calls her over.

"Mimmie, sweety, can you come over here, please? I have a present for you."

"Present! What is it, what is it!?"

"Come here and see." Says Bug as she is hiding the skeleton thing with her wings, blocking it from Mimmie's view.

"Ok!" Happily cheers Mimmie as she then proceeds to sprint over as quickly as she can!

Which isn't very fast at all… Even having boosted her Dexterity some, she still can only move at the pace of a very determined snail. Still, Bug happily waits and watches as her daughter makes her way over, and then gives her a pat on the head when she eventually makes it. Much to Mimmie's apparent joy.

"What's the present! What is it!?" She excitedly asks.

With a 'Duh, duh, duh, Duh!' Bug pulls her wing aside and reveals the skeleton. Mimmie promptly deflates and sulks…

"Mimmie don't like the cage…"

"It's not the cage anymore, and I know you hated it. But you're a big girl now, and you don't need to be in it anymore, right?"

"Yeah! I'm a big girl! I'm going to have big boobies!"

"Yea-…"Bug gives Susan a look, like, "Really?" and all Susan can do is shrug back.

"Yeah. We'll shelve that conversation for another day… You're a big girl and I don't need to worry about you eating me in my sleep anymore, right?"

"Yes…" Says Mimmie as she looks off to the side, her eyes most certainly not guiltily darting towards Bug's yummy, yummy hands…

Bug pulls her hands back some.

"Right… Anyways! You don't need the cage, I hope, but you still have one issue. You are pretty slow at getting around on your own."

"But Mommy or Sissy can hold me. I have handles!" Declares Mimmie as she proudly shows off the polished, leather wrapped handles on the side of her treasure chest shell.

"Yes, but what if I'm not here, or if we are too busy to hold you. Like in a fight or some other situation? What then?"

"Hmmmm…"

"You need to have a way of quickly getting around, right?"

"I guess…"

"Well, that is where this comes into play. Mimmie, can I pick you up and place you on it?"

"Mhhm… It's not a cage, right?" She asks as she looks at the protruding spikes on its back.

"No, it is not a cage. Those are just there to help hold your shell in place. It's… a seat!"

"Hmm… ok… But careful!"

"Yes, I'll be careful. I promise." Bug says sweetly as she bends over and picks Mimmie up by her handles.

Bringing her over to the skeleton, she sets her down into the seat and gives Mimmie a chance to latch on with her foot. Once she is in place, she takes a step back, one hand holding Mimmie's as the little girl looks worriedly down at the spikes surrounding her.

"Ok, Mimmie, sweety. I made it with verbal commands and safety features. I need you to engage the seat lock with the command word. It will make these spikes move and grab onto your shell, while these two arms will reach up and lock onto your handles, ok? It's not a cage and it isn't going to hurt you. These are just here to help keep you secure and safe, and whenever you want, you can make them let you go, ok?"

"…Ok."

"The command to make them grab on, is 'Engage Lock.' And to make them let go, is 'Disengage Lock.' Alright? Can you test it for me? Are you a brave girl?"

Mimmie gets this serious look on her cute face. "I'm brave!"

"Good!"

"It's not a cage. Not a cage… Engage Lock. Eeeehhh!"

Mimmie squeaks in fright as the protrusions close in on her shell and the little hands grab onto her handles. When it looks like she is about to panic, Bug reminds her how to make it let go.

"Di-Disengage Lock!"

It lets her go, and Mimmie is slowly able to relax. Bug pets her head and just gives her a reassuring smile.

"You're in control of it. It's not a cage. Mimmie is a good girl, yes?"

"Yes… Mhm!"

"Good. Can you try again?"

"Ok." Letting out a calming breath, Mimmie gives the command again and it grabs her shell. She is still a little panicked by it, and seemingly just waiting for it to get worse, but the knowledge that she is in control helps her to keep calm.

With a big smile, Bug congratulates her and gives more head pats.

"Such a good girl! Ok, now then, you see these horns? Can you grab them for me?" Bug asks as she points to the pair of long horns growing from a skull attached to a very long neck that is bending back and towards where Mimmie is sitting. The skull is floating at about chest level, and she doesn't have to reach very far to grab the horns.

When she does, Bug stops her from moving it yet.

"Alright, please pay attention, ok? Push forward, and it will move forward. Pull back, and it will back up. To go sideways, pull left or right. Twisting left and right will make it turn either direction. And if you twist while moving, it will turn while doing so, ok. You can also make it jump by pulling up, and crouch by pulling down. Aside from that, the skeleton has some autonomous controls for both safety and combat. I'll teach you the rest of the verbal commands after you get some time to practice controlling it, ok?"

"Uhhh… OK!"

Most of that just went right over her head, and Bug can tell.

Maybe I should have had her put more points into Intelligence… I'll make sure we do that for the next couple of her levels.

Oh well. Best way to learn is by doing!

"Ok, have fun!" Bug declares as she takes a step back and just watches with a smile plastered on her face. Susan is just watching in the back as she continues doing the laundry, curious about what is going on.

"Uhh, push forward to… AHHHHHHHHHH!"

Mimmie pushes forward a bit too hard and the skeleton suddenly bolts, breaking out into a dead sprint as all six legs just start running. In a matter of seconds, Mimmie is already at a wall and about to hit as she is screaming bloody murder. Susan panics and is about to move and help her, but Bug just watches with a smile on her face, two hands resting on her hips.

The skeleton meets the wall and instead of crashing, it simply goes up the wall and at a slight angle, taking a screaming Mimmie with it as her hair blows in the wind. Then they are on the ceiling skittering around. Mimmie pulls on the handle the wrong way and then is suddenly turning and moving left across the ceiling, Mimmie going, 'Woohwoohwoohwooh~ Ahhhhhh!' as it spins around and around and then finds another wall to start going down.

When she finally reaches the floor again, Bug calls out, "Pull back and center the skull!"

Mimmie, hearing her call out, manages to do that, but instead of stopping, ends up pulling back too hard and ends up sending her ride flying back up the wall again, only this time in reverse.

"Waaaaaaah!!!"

"You can do it! Mommy believes in you, sweety!!!"

"What the heck did you do?"

Asks Susan as she walks over, watching Elaine zoom around on the walls and then the ceiling again with a concerned and worried look on her face.

"Gave her a fun present to help her get around faster." Bug says like an irresponsible parent that just gave their young child a dirt bike with no helmet on their birthday and sent them loose into the streets.

They watch for a while as she zooms around, fighting to get a handle on the controls. No matter how much she spins around and suddenly changes directions, the thing never trips and moves with an unbelievable level of control, be it upside down or sideways.

When Mimmie accidentally makes it jump off the ceiling, she screams as the floor comes flying to meet her, almost going to pull herself back into her shell. But her new toy suddenly twists in the air like a cat and lands gracefully before continuing to charge forward. Seeing Bug and Susan watching her, Mimmie does the only thing she can think of and twists the skull in their direction, sending the thing screaming towards them.

Before it can hit, Bug calls out, "Stop." and the skeleton obeys, coming to grinding halt right in front of her. Even if it is for Mimmie, and Mimmie alone to control, it doesn't change the fact that it is a skeleton under Bug's domain. She always has the parental controls.

"I forgot to tell you, but if you want it to stop, just return the skull to its original position. That, or you can just let go and it will stop on its own after slowing down.

"WaaaaAaawha~~ Ok~~" Is all a dizzy Mimmie can say as her eyes are spinning, her long blond hair a windswept mess all over her head.

"You did that on purpose."

"It was funny."

"It was dangerous!"

"No it wasn't. She can't crash that thing even she wanted to. I even programed it to sacrifice itself in order to ensure her safety if necessary. You see those armor plates, they-"

"I don't care about that! She could have hurt herself! What if she bit her tongue?"

"Then I'll get her a potion. She wasn't in any danger, don't be a spoilsport, she had fun."

"Fun!? She was screaming and-!"

But Susan doesn't get to finish as Elaine is suddenly throwing her hands up in the air and cheering, trying to bounce around in her safety seat, which it should be mentioned, had perfectly held her in place despite being literally upside down and doing donuts on the ceiling.

"AGAIN! Again! Hahahahahaha! Wooooh!!!"

"Did you have fun?" Bug happily asks her daughter.

"I was going SO fast! Like, zoooom! And zwip! And zow!"

"Really?"

"Yeah!"

"Well, I'm glad you had fun. Do you like your present?"

"Yeah!"

"Do you want to go again?"

"Yes please!"

"Ok, but this time. Try and go easy on the controls, ok? Take it nice and easy~ Ok?"

"Ok!" Mimmie happily cheers.

When Bug steps out of the way and relinquishes control back over to Mimmie, the little girl immediately guns it again. With an excited cheer full of joy and adrenaline, she goes flying past Bug and Susan and back up onto the ceiling. "Wooooooooh!!!"

"Something to know about Mimmie. Even when she was just a little brick, she always enjoyed going fast. It's just too bad she was born with a snail's foot instead of legs…" Bug looks to Susan and give her a winner's smile. "And I just gave her legs."

"I hate you…"

"Mhm, back to doing the laundry, please. I still have some work to do and then we are leaving."

Bug turns and walks off to head over to Ben and Dale's corpses, to presumably do horrible things and desecrate them as she leaves Susan standing there to watch a smiling Elaine zip back and forth across walls and ceiling as she learns to control her new toy.

"Just be careful to not crash into any of us, please. Mommy needs to focus on her work!" Bug calls out to the laughing girl, golden hair and a big, long tongue from her lower half, flying through the air.

"Ok! Hahahahaha!"

As Susan sighs and heads back over to do the laundry, she can't help but to keep watching Elain's happy face.

Just a happy, little girl…

Susan could ruin all of that so easily. But should she? Is the happiness that Elaine is experiencing right now more important than knowing the truth?

Susan decides to think about it as she returns to washing, desperately trying to keep her attention away from the pair of corpses that are currently pulling off their own flesh. The meat and skin being stored away by Bug for things that Susan doesn't want to consider.

…

As long as Elaine is happy. Is that all that matters?