The UFO-shaped, off-white monster that was Jerry slowly looked at the painting hanging over his small little apartment and sighed, finally looking away from the picture of his grandfather and his apprentice, leaning back in his chair and quietly staring at the ceiling. He tried to close his eyes and let sleep overtake him, but nothing seemed to work. Then a knock came, and Jerry made his way towards the door, opening it up.
Oh. The human, Frisk. The Asian American child cheerily smiled at them, giving a soft bow of their brown-haired head. "Good morning." He remarked. "I'm passing all these out to every monster in the apartment complex. Do you want to come?" He asked of Jerry, handing him a pamphlet that advertised the anniversary barbecue of the date monsters returned to the surface world.
"Ah, well, if that's all that's goin' on that day, I guess I'll come, though I might have stuff to do, I dunno. Whatever." Jerry muttered, looking over his cell phone and sighing. "Ugh. Be it Underground or above, the Wifi in my house always suuuuuucks."
"Can't you afford better Wifi? All the monsters came up here with gold that should have been plenty for anything you really wanted n' stuff." Frisk inquired, scratching his head in confusion.
"I'm the poorest teen in the friggin' block. I had ONE gold and that was it. And I spent it on getting this crappy apartment and movin' my stuff in." He mumbled.
"Weren't you paid money along with everyone else for the interviews the news stations or those History Channel specials that they did on monster/human relations?" Frisk asked. The boy was twelve now, almost a teenager, and he understood far more about the world than before. It puzzled him that Jerry wouldn't get compensated for chippin in the same way the other monsters had, his green eyes looking into Jerry's tiny pupils.
"I didn't get paid cuz I told them what they thought they knew about the Monster-Human War was bullcrap." Jerry snorted. "They didn't like my attitude or my bodily odor and refused to talk to me anymore."
"What do you mean, bullcrap?"
"Didn't you ever wonder how humans learned magic? Barely any of them can do it. Even now, your race has to be retaught." Jerry said.
Frisk scratched his head. "I just assumed that they figured it out on their own."
"If they tried to do that, they died. Plain and simple. Usually blowing themselves up, the way Mettaton's grandpa did. It's how he turned himself into a ghost." Jerry said, spreading his arms wide. "PA-POW. His guts went everywhere!"
"How do you even KNOW about that?"
Jerry wryly looked Frisk over. "You really wanna know? Fine. Whatever. I can spare some time." He said with a sigh.
...
...
...
...The young human held his hand up, trying to focus, cringing as he grit his teeth. His body shook, vibrating intensely as faint light glowed off his body, and the long-haired human concentrated hard as he could. Deep brown eyes gazed intensely at the gold coin below him as his teacher sat nearby, calmly waiting.
"Magic is more than just knocking things down. This is very simple, Leopold."
Leopold cringed. His grey hair felt hot and heavy against the longsleeve white shirt he wore, and he panted and heaved, light glowing more fiercely off his form. But though it emanated brightly off his body, the gold coin remained on the ground in the large stony church hall. Soft light filtered in through the stained glass windows of the Holy Roman Empire's finest purchase in the valley, casting the room in a soft glow of natural light.
But still, despite his best efforts, Leopold couldn't get the coin to rise up. Though it shook and shook back and forth on the stony grey floor beneath him...
It wouldn't rise. He flopped onto his cotton panted behind, groaning, scratching at the golden circlet he wore atop his head as his teacher frowned, shaking his unique head back and forth. "I cannot do it! 'Tis simply impossible!"
"One who believes in the impossible will never get ANYTHING done." Gerald remarked, the circlet-wearing monster walking towards Leopold and the coin, nonchalantly placing a long-armed hand right on Leopold's shoulder. Gerald the Monster Magician was a unique specimen, his entire body was a head, with a large, mountain-like middle atop of an oblong frame, with long, thin arms and three thin legs. He had faint freckles on his pale form, and three spikes atop his long and tall "hill" that was the central region of his head, and the golden circlet on his head displayed the symbol of the Kingdom of Monsters, proudly gleaming in the light of the church. "Now."
He tightened his grip on Leopold's arm, the youth cringing before rising back up, Gerald holding his hand. "Alright. Alright." The human magician sighed, holding his other hand up again, Gerald closing his eyes and calmly breathing and out. The young human's body faintly glowed, Gerald's eyes shooting open as a glitter came to his pupils, and Leopold could see the coin rising higher and higher, finally depositing itself in the nearby poor box as Leopold lowered his hand.
"There. Was that truly so difficult?" Gerald inquired.
"But I only succeeded because you were holding my hand." Leopold protested, shaking his head back and forth, long hair flopping about. "Such an action is hardly commendable."
"Leopold, I am all about bringing out potential. I shall do the same with you that Smartblook did with his apprentice, the very first royal magician. But even better, for I shall not explode after I perform a spell, and neither will you." Gerald promised, taking Leopold's hands and shaking them, giving him a wry smile.
"Gerald, REALLY!" Leopold said with an admonishing frown. "The man was blown to pieces! The court was amazed his spirit survived and transformed into a ghost!" He then scratched his head. "Which makes me wonder. When is a ghost a monster spirit and when is it a human spirit?"
"What I've always wondered is where the skeleton family cometh from." Gerald confessed as they exited the church, hands behind his back as he walked down the long path, past people who were staring and glaring at Gerald. They were somewhat staring at Leopold, but most of their bile seemed to be directed at Gerald. "There are tales that they're not normal monsters at all, but descendants of humans. But I feel the answer may be something else entirely. Their unique bloodline magic that allows them to manipulate matter in such a way makes me feel as though they're otherworldly."
"But I can lift matter about and the like when you assist me."
"Thus, my hypothesis. Their form of magic is meant to be used by humans. I've yet to met a single monster who can do what they do, but human magicians all know that type of spell quite easily."
"I KNOW it, but I surely cannot DO it."
"Give it time." Gerald said calmly, nodding at Leopold. "You'll find the type of magic that's your forte, and you'll do spectacularly with my guidance, of this I've no-"
But before he could finish, a faintly draconic, faintly bird-like monster with icy wings bumped hard into Gerald as he passed by in the road, Gerald cringing as he nursed his shoulder, Frostdrake smirking slightly at the unfortunate teacher. "My apologies, Gerald. I meant to hit your pet monkey."
Leopold was about to step forward, but Gerald held a hand up, shaking his head back and forth, his human student glancing about. Hundreds of eyes were upon them all, peering out from windows, or watching from across the way, peering out of alleys. The city was on the border of the kingdoms, a joint venture between monster and human, but monsters had a slight majority. It would not be prudent to act.
Frowning slightly but sighing, Leopold stepped back as Gerald dusted himself off, Frostdrake smirking. "You've trained your monkey well."
"One day you will find we shall ALL walk down the street together." Gerald just said, Frostdrake giving him a "harrumph" as the two made their way towards the front gate to go to their usual spot out in the large stretch of plains that surrounded the city. A faintly fish-like woman in powerful-looking silver and grey armor stood there at the drawbridge, standing by the crank with a gauntleted hand resting on it, golden eyes narrowed slightly.
"Gerald, I must ask. Why is it it that you teach this human magic? Many of our kind are unsettled at the prospect of a human gaining our boon. A human having such power is discomforting to us."
"Well, now you know how my kind feel every single day here." Leopold harshly snapped back, arms folded across his chest as Melusine the Royal Guard's black pupiled eyes looked him over. "What, pray tell, should stop one such as yourself from entering our homes and killing us in our slumber? Even a whelp such as I could wrestle a knife-wielding drunk to the ground. Should you or one such as Pyrope or Frostdrake enter my home with the desire to kill, we would be in pieces before we could take so much as a step. Every day we fear we may anger one of you too much, and you will lash out and make us perish."
"Our concern is that if you are taught magic, our own kind will be less powerful. We will have no advantages, we will be lessened and made weak." Melusine commented quietly.
"Did the works of Jesus the Christ taketh away from the works of Moses? Or did they not build upon the majesty of the Lord, God? The raising of one does not equal the lowering of another." Gerald reasoned as he placed his hands together and slightly bowed his head, Melusine looking the two over, thoughtfully rubbing her chin.
"Perhaps you present a fair point." She confessed freely. "Enjoy your time out there. I've much to do. The new recruits to the Royal Guard are foolish little pups who have much disicipline to be whipped into them."
"I hope thou will be slightly more lenient on thy child than your newcomers to the guard." Gerald offered as Melusine rested a hand on her swollen belly and chuckled. "How is the little one doing?"
"Undyne is a kicker." Melusine giggled softly, turning the crank on the drawbridge and allowing the two to walk over the moat and towards a far-off bench, sitting down as a soft wind blew and they just allowed its touch to drift over them. The grass in the plains drifted about in the wind as Leopold slightly hesitated, and then spoke.
"Gerald, I must ask of you. Why me? Why did you not choose another human to teach magic with? After all, the former Royal Magician asked to teach that delightful young human prince, and even though his tragic accident has left him an apparition, he still is able to impart much. But why did you not choose, perhaps, the new acolyte of magic over in the new world I've heard of? In the land of Arcadia, they speak tales of him and his mastery over elemental magic, which is in dire need of a steady hand to guide him." Leopold confessed. "Would you not have leapt at the chance to work for a future master of the elements? I don't even know what my truest talent is."
"You shall discover it the same way my family did. I chose you because I see in you myself." Gerald confessed. "I...my species is unique among monsters. We have no abilities of our own but the skill to empower others. Without helping others, we are nothing. Worthless. We are the runt of the litter, looked down upon for the little we can do. But I see greatness in you." Gerald offered, the monster taking Leopold's hand. "And I want to bring that out."
"It must be hard knowing that you can't match others efforts in magical skill. That if someone such as Frostdrake should persecute you, you cannot do much."
"Another reason I and my family sympathize with you. We are much in the same boat, and might as well be humans ourselves. Birds of a feather must flock together." Gerald said, giving Leopold a firm handshake before leaning back on the bench, gazing out at the grassy plains. The sunset was casting golden rays that danced upon the meadows that surrounded the high walls of the city, the main castle far off in the distance as he sighed. "Everything is so beautiful in the sunlight, no matter what time of day it is."
Leopold nodded softly, smiling in delight. "I could sit here and look at this forever. But I must also say, I've...not truly thanked thee for taking me under your wing."
Gerald simply smiled. "I require no gratitude. Your success will be...epic. Of this I've no doubt."
...
...
...
... "Not everyone can be like Leopold was." Jerry finished, sipping on some Mountain Dew, Frisk sitting across from him on the deep blue couch he had, Jerry resting on his faintly brown chair. "Or like you. And because of that, I've been treated like crap."
Frisk was quiet for a long time, but then, at last, he found himself asking "Do you act how ya do because people have treated your family bad, or were you already acting badly and you're just using this as an excuse?"
"I don't even remember if one came first. All I remember is everyone's been throwing shade my way since I was little." Jerry said with a shrug. "I don't want any pity. I just want you to understand."
He stood up, heading for the bedroom before Frisk's voice stopped him. "What happened to your family? After the war?"
Jerry was quiet for a long, long time. And then, at long last...
"I think you know." He said, before shutting the door, leaving Frisk alone with the painting. Alone with shadows, dust, and memories of long ago.