Author's Note:
I've got the third chapter of A New Run right here. Its a rather long chapter, and a little above what the average for the fic should be. I really am thankful for all the reviews you've been given me its been rather encouraging for my writing. The next chapter should be out sometime in around two weeks give or take a few days depending on how things shake out.
Please read it and enjoy...
Chapter Three: Exploring Waterfall
—Play Waterfall—
"It's a good thing the puzzles haven't changed much in this timeline."
I had to agree with Frisk on this, my time playing Undertale was vital in maneuvering around this water filled and cool area of the Underground. Warmer than Snowdin but cooler than any other section of the Underground, Hotland was obvious, and the Capital had over a hundred fifty thousand people huddled together. The body heat alone was going to keep it warmer than here, with only around a tenth of that number if what Asriel was telling me was right.
We had been walking and exploring this place at Frisk's behest much to the irritation of everyone following her. I mean, we could have said no but those dang puppy eyes are a lethal weapon. And she knew it, if the way she was victoriously sauntering was any indication.
"So…" I guess it's Asriel's turn to "bond" with me. The tall as hell goat monster tapped his paws together as he talked. "I'm a little curious…about your home." I followed him so far and he continued, encouraged by my interest. "I know we're fictional there, but what else is different compared to here?"
Hmm…what else is different from here? They never went into any detail on the world of humans in Undertale. It was never really the main point of the story. I know they're at least as advanced as we are, if not more so if some of those theories about Chara falling in 2010X are true. Then Frisk would have fallen decades or even a century later.
"Well it's the year 2018 over there for a start." Frisk turned to me with her eyes wide and I internally cheered as the theory was proven correct. Asriel gave her a curious look, but shrugged and urged me to continue. "There's something like 196 different countries scattered across the planet." Frisk frowned, crossing her arms over her chest. I ignored the emphasis it put on her chest and sighed. "I'm a citizen of a country known as the United States which may…or may not exist."
"It does…" Thank you for the input Frisk.
"My country is going through…a rather turbulent time politically as are a few other countries." Asriel raised an eyebrow but I didn't elaborate, that would set me off on a half hour rant. "Anyway, I would say we're doing pretty well. We're even getting into full on relatively affordable space travel."
It was Chara's eyes that lit up with my statement. "Really? Like what kind of space travel? Are they building a space elevator, a launch loop or an orbital ring?" Chara blushed as our merry group of three turned to her. "I mean…uh I…"
I gave her a wide grin, finding a shared topic of interest. "Hey it's fine Chara," Frisk's grinned when I used her friend's name and I ignored the sunny girl as best as I could. "It's not quite as…grandiose as that, but it's still awesome. There's an American aerospace company that's working on truly reusable rocketry and are already halfway there, they've propulsively landed over a dozen rockets already, including a triple booster rocket that sent a payload to just past Mars orbit. In fact…"
I pulled out my phone, and after some finagling pulled up a video on YouTube to show her the footage. Her jaw dropped as she watched the double landing of tow orbital class boosters…
Wait…
I didn't download this video…
"I'm an idiot…" I palmed my face and decided to try a little text, I had no clue whether or not it would even work. Chara leaned in, her expression darkening when I stopped on "Mom"
Mama estas ahi!
I sent the text with bated breath but after a few minutes my hopes were dashed when the text wasn't responded to.
"Sorry but due to the barrier it's one way communication." I sagged and almost growled as Asriel pulled out my phone from my hands. At my look he chuckled. "Don't worry I'm just gonna add a little magic to reinforce this thing against damage of any kind. Wouldn't want your last connection to your home breaking."
That was quite helpful and was really a load off my mind. The monsters were cool and all but they didn't have the most…restraint I would say. This phone was all I had to access my world.
"Thanks…you're a pretty good kid." He bared his fangs once he got the pun and I laughed. "Hey we goat to get going right?" His ears twitched angrily. "Hey what's that look…am I…"
"No you fucking don't!" He hissed with an affronted tone.
"Getting your goat?" He huffed and I felt my breath leave my lungs when he harshly pushed the phone into my chest. "Heh, totally worth it…" I uttered my words out despite the haze of the pain in my chest.
"Please don't mess with my brother…he's really sensitive." Chara walked ahead of our two other compatriots until she was in step with me.
"Um sure?" Chara had approached closer than I was expecting her to, our hands brushing against each other every once in a while. It was at complete odds with her previous behavior.
"So about the space thing?" Oh that makes more sense. And this is a topic I don't mind talking about at all.
"...Oh right it's pretty interesting isn't it?" She nodded with a subtle smile. "They have two rockets right now, they use open gas generator Kerolox engines if I remember correctly. They've just been designed and redesigned continuously until they were capable of 10 reuses. Heck I hear their planning a third reuse for this year."
"Really?"
"Pretty cool right?" The girl's smile widened, seeming to agree with me.
"Are…are they planning anything else."
My grin widened at her question and I thought it best to enlighten her on the future.
"Well…"
(Frisk's POV)
It's good that they're both making friends now. I really don't want to deal with them fighting for weeks on end or I'd go insane.
Not that I was ever sane though.
Right now we were wandering about Waterfall, and it was even prettier than before. The Underground seemed just a lot brighter and more hopeful than when I came here in the OG timeline. Maybe because Asriel is still alive or even something else has changed.
A lot better than the surface though…
Seeing Chara not giving a human a look of disdain was a miracle. Any time they weren't talking about science stuff was spent taking in the sights. Especially on Brandon's part. He looked absolutely enraptured by the view around him, his head swiveling in every possible direction.
He seems kinda nervous too. Couldn't blame him either, a part of me felt like a monster would jump out at any moment and attack. But that wasn't happening so I felt a little jumpy.
"Its really a sight to see isn't it?" I grinned as Asriel walked in step with me, his dark red eyes watching the duo with a toothy grin. "Seeing Chara of all people talk with a human on good terms is bit of a miracle. If she can do that so can everyone else. I might not be the sweet little cinnamon roll I used to be…" I snorted, no matter what he said he still was an adorable cinnamon roll in my mind. "But with everyone including that human with us, I think we can make things work."
You know maybe he's right.
…
…
"You have something on your mind? You've gone all 'Frisk' on me." I sighed as Asriel read my thoughts with ease. After a few hundred RESETS a person tends to learn how to read you pretty easily. It's even easier when you have your full spectrum of emotions to pick them out on that person.
"I've been thinking…about how we got this 'new' ending." Asriel slowed, his eyes becoming distant.
"You've been thinking about what changed right? It seems you and Chara have fallen down at the same time, despite being born nearly one hundred years apart even here. I've been born almost hundred years later too, You've been born a few years earlier and…" He developed an intense look at my flinch and his paw wrapped around my forearm. "...How was your childhood this time?"
I held back a wince and his scowl deepened. I pretended not to have heard him but he wasn't having it. He pulled me aside away from prying eyes. His eyes held the plea for honesty and I sighed.
"Worst…it was worst."
"Damn, is your happiness really worth this Frisk? Why do you need to make yourself suffer this much?" Asriel sounded angry, his ears twitching and his footsteps leaving furrows in the floor.
"It is worth it Asriel and you know why I don't care."
"Idiot…"
"Maybe…But I don't care anymore."
It's not like I deserve anything less…
(My POV)
"Sooo…you're getting along pretty well with my s—err Chara huh?" I shrugged as Asriel spoke up, his breath tickling my ear as he leaned in close.
"What about it?" I was curious on the tone in his voice. Hope I haven't insulted him somehow. Or maybe he's a little protective of her.
"Hey don't worry man. I'm just happy to see her not hating a human." Well that makes a lot of sense then. Chara is pretty stubborn and I imagine they never succeeded in getting her to open up
"I…can imagine." I replied with some unease, the flow of water and the whispers of echo flowers was mildly disconcerting. But the atmosphere of this place was incredible. A thought struck me as I thought about the future. "Hey Asriel."
"What?" His ears flopped as he tilted his head.
"Has…Frisk ever told you what the surface is really like? I know about my world but I have no idea if this one shares the same similarities. I know my country exists on some level but…" I trailed off as an indications for him to speak.
"Well," he cracked his back and scratched his nose as he replied. "She has told it's pretty hot on the surface, a lot of deserts, and there aren't as many humans as there used to be. Something to do with a war maybe?"
Hmm…
"Well I don't know anything about that, there hasn't been any world spanning wars in almost eighty years back home." The conversation dropped off into a comfortable silence. For once the silence wasn't empty or awkward for me, I was okay with just being for once.
Unfortunate, that Asriel didn't feel the same.
"Sooo," my eyebrow twitched at the teasing tone in the goat prince's voice and walked a little faster. "You think my sister is hot?"
Me…and my big mouth.
I shrugged helplessly and he laughed with an almost mocking intonation. It felt more lighthearted than that, and I scrambled to shut him up. What will shut him up…?
"S-Shut up!"
Genius, Brandon…genius. Asriel quirked a bushy eyebrow and I hoped to god my torment would end.
"Ohhh, so what was it that attracted you to my sister? I know it's a big debate up on the surface." I hate this lovable fluffy boy so much. "You an ass man?" He gestured to his posterior and I turned bright red at the insinuation. "Or do you prefer boobs?" Please kill me…
"Just stop, shut up!" Both the girls in front of us slowed down and my blush deepened.
"Or is it something a little more wholesome. Did you get lost in the beautiful crimson pools of her eyes? Did your eyes love the way her red hair sparkles and shines? Did her smile light up her face and made you think she was majestic?"
"Just…fuck off man!" I roared loudly, lifting up the hood of my jacket to cover my burning face. "Why are you like this?! You were always so innocent before, hmm…" I shut off that path of talk as I thought more closely about it.
"Well being a soulless flower for a couple years, getting sent both back and forward in time. Getting all my memories shoved back in at age 11 tends to change a man." He replied with complete nonchalance.
That's…completely fair…
"You still haven't given me your answer." Are you fucking serious? Is this journey tailor made to fuck with me at every turn.
"I…" I tapped my fingers one against the other as I formulated my answer. I knew this was a losing proposition. He was a rather determined fella and would get it out of me eventually so why not tell him. "Well she's…well I guess kind of got all of the above?" Chara let out a squeak and I promised to punch Asriel in the future. "She was pretty…well kind of a bitch at the start but once she calmed down and just talked. I came to think of her as a person I'd like to know better."
"Really? That's not something I'd expect from you. No offense." I didn't blame him, it was a little weird. But to be honest…Chara kind of reminds me of me in some way. Though it's easy to see she's been dealt a much worse care in life.
"That's fair. But honestly I can at least…sympathize with her. I might not have an exact idea of what she's been through but I have to admire that she managed to survive." Asriel nodded with a solemn look, though he looked dissatisfied. I rolled my eyes and answered his question more clearly. "There isn't any part I really like more Asriel, she's just naturally very pretty, so's Frisk. But I do have to admit having a preference for strong women."
"Like with muscles?" I shrugged as Frisk broke in with a light smile. Her face was a little flushed but that didn't stop her.
"MUSCLES! YOU WANT A FLEXING CONTEST ; )"
Da fuck?!
From out of nowhere Aaron emerged from the darkness. A brief burst of white and black follows before the world shifted back to a normal shade of color. I shook my head and my eyes widened as I read the text popping up above his head.
—Play Enemy Approaching—
* Aaron flexes in!
* Aaron 7 ATK 2 DEF
* This seahorse has a lot of
HP (horsepower).
He gave me a flirty wink and I shuddered. It didn't help that the horse was only a few inches shorter than Undyne though he was certainly far weaker. Asriel was giving the seahorse monster a dry look and he turned to me. And
"You're going to have to enter a flexing contest. Aaron here wants to see what a human can do. Better just to indulge him" Not much of a choice there fuzzy goat buddy.
"Fine just bring it on already…" I gestured for the horse to start and he winked again. I held back a groan and—
"Ahem." I sighed in relief while Aaron started sweating as a certain royal guard snuck up on us. Now I didn't have to embarrass myself by flexing for no reason.
"Hey Undyne." I relaxed and took a few steps away from Aaron. The fish lady waved back, likely mollified by my instant stepping down. I didn't have the particular urge to fight anyone whatsoever.
"Sup punk. Is Aaron causing trouble?" I gave her a so-so gesture and she gave him a glare. The poor guy ran off in a hurry and we were left with Undyne.
"Not anymore." Chara's reply was dry, her eyes following the dust cloud left in Aaron' wake.
"That's good…" Undyne scratched her head a bit and I noticed the conspicuous lack of Monster Kid. Undyne beat me to the question however. "Oh I had to send Monster Kid home after a stalactite nearly crushed him. Had to make some calls to get rid of them. I would do it but…"
"You'd cause the area to collapse?" Undyne winced and nodded her head. Well I have to be honest with her, she's a terrifyingly strong person.
"Soo…we hanging out or what?" Chara broke in with grin and I nodded agreeing with her.
Wonder how that will go…
(Asriel's POV)
This human kid is a pretty shy guy ain't he? But that might just be because of the circumstances of everything. Golly I think I'd be pretty shocked if I was hit with all of this.
The human…Brandon was staring curiously at his hand as he gathered his soul energy into a concentrated ball. He didn't seem to know what to do, and I decided to help him out.
"Howdy," he blinked and turned mechanically toward me. "You wanted some help with that while Chara is busy?" He nodded hesitantly and I grinned when his eyes darted toward my sister. He didn't want to offend her, whether because he liked her or was afraid of her, it was still adorable. "It'll be fine, she won't mind me teaching you a bit. Besides you seem kind of nervous and this might help you relax." Brandon gave me another nod and swallowed nervously.
"Yeah okay," he scratched the back of his head thinking over a question. "Oh! Do you know what that flash of monochromatic light was?"
So…he can see that? Usually only monsters can see that, with most humans unable to. But that could be because of inexperience rather than a natural characteristic of humans.
"That's what marks the start of a battle if it wasn't obvious."
"So is the text a part of that too?"
I smiled slightly at the curious intonation. He was hungry for more information reminding me of Chara when we were younger.
"Yep that helps for communicating because sound can…become a little too slow for communication."
He turned with wide eyes to me. "You're acting like they can break the sound barrier." I gave him a smug grin and he looked impressed.
"Pretty cool right? We monsters might be weaker than you humans but we aren't that weak."
"Are you sure that difference just applies to your humans? My humans can't do any of those things. We have no magic, no Determination or anything."
Are his humans different? I mean it looks like he has magic and even a little determination just fine. But is that just because he's being affected by the rules and laws of our universe? Or did his world have something blocking the use of magic?
"Well I don't know…you have a soul don't you?" He looked unsure, his hold on the soul energy tightening. I decided it might be best to move off the heavy topics for his sake. "Let me start again, I'm supposed to be teaching you."
"Sure." He looks more excited now, a small bounce in his step.
"Right," Thankfully Gaster knew a lot about human magic for whatever reason, so this wouldn't be suspicious. "So you have a purple soul which stands for Perseverance but you have other aspects inside of your soul."
His eyes lit up at the explanation. "Like a magical affinity? Being able to do other types of magic on top of my…base?" I nodded and with a flick of my wrist formed seven floating soul illustrations.
"There are seven main SOUL traits each having their own branches of magic. Most humans have three or four traits. One major and two minors…but in your case you have…five affinities, lacking only Patience and Bravery." His jaw dropped, and his soul flame flickered letting out a burst of astonishment.
"So I have Perseverance as my major?" I gave him an nod, deciding to explain it to him further.
"From what Gaster has told me Perseverance souls have their domain in memory and analysis. They can make some cool traps using magic, as well as use forms of wire and web magic."
Muffet's a good example of purple type magic.
"They're also of above average intellect and memory so they can learn whatever interests them more easily. I think they have speed burst magic too?"
"We're here punks!" I blinked and realized Undyne was right…we had managed to walk all the way into the small town that was considered her home.
"Woah…"
Woah indeed…
(My POV)
We had walked into a section separate from the others, a shortcut if you will. Bit boring maybe but it beats walking and going through a dozen puzzles. Despite the small size it was still a rather pretty place just due to the lighting.
"oh…sorry…didn't mean…to get…in your way…" I flinched as I realized I had passed through a certain ghost monster. In my distraction I had veered off from the main group and got in the ghost monster path by mistake.
"No, no it's okay. I wasn't watching where I was going. It's completely my fault." Despite looking like a floating blanket with a face I felt bad regardless.
"oh…okay." He seemed to notice me staring at his headphones and I turned slightly red.
"Uh…sorry just…you like music right? Those headphones of yours are a bit of a tell." I tapped my fingers, one against the other at his silence.
"yeah…i make…some…music. do…you…like music too?" I nodded with slight eagerness.
I was never much one for making music, outside of random outbursts of song and humming when the mood struck me. But I literally listened to music for up to an hour each day before coming here.
It helped focus my thoughts, as well as stoke the flames of my imagination. I could imagine an entire battle scene following the beat and tone of song. Imagine a heartbreaking and depressing end with the right music. Though it's harder to translate those inward scenes onto paper than you would think. But outside of that not much else.
Except for two years of high school dance…
"Yeah I actually listen to a bunch of music pretty routinely. Music is cool." His duo eyes lit up at my comment and he started to drift away.
"that's…good…but…i…have to go…to take care…of an errand…sorry…" I nodded with understanding.
"It's fine."
"maybe…we…can hang…out sometime…" I gave him a thumbs up and he left phasing through a wall to get to his home.
"Making friends huh?" I jumped as Frisk's voice popped up from behind me. A brief flash of yellow fizzled and then died in my clenched fists before I registered the girl's presence. She had pulled down the hood no longer needing it to shield her from the weather.
"Uh I guess? I always thought that Napstablook needed some friends." She smiled a bit at my reply.
"So…uh you doing okay?" She winced once her question left her lips, a slight hiss accompanying the words.
"About as well as I can separated by possibly millions of light years from everything I've ever known." I decided to be straight up with her, and her embarrassment showed. Her cheeks puffed up, and she wouldn't meet my eyes glancing toward the ground instead.
"HEY YOU GUYS COMING OVER OR WHAT!? I REALLY DON'T WANT TO GET PAPYRUS ON MY CASE!" Frisk instantly bounced, grabbing me by the wrist and taking me with her. Which was fair, disappointing the skelebro must feel horrible.
A mere three or four minutes later and we were at the friendly welcome mat of Undyne's home. The large fish looking house was rather odd to look at in person, and I frowned at the slightly flaming dummy leaning against the wall.
Sometimes I forget that for the talk about how monsters are weaker than humans…they're still far far stronger than a human from my own world.
"Hmm…"
Undyne opened the door to let us in, a wide toothy smile painted on her face. I shut the door behind us and I felt my stomach drop at the fish women's expression.
"I know…" Frisk's smile was instantly wiped off from her face and she stepped back. Chara didn't move a single muscle, a facade of calmness overcoming her. Asriel sighed as if an answer had been given. I didn't do anything myself unsure of what my place was in this conflict.
"I…" Frisk's voice cracked and she looked ready to run away. She braved up and asked a shaky question. "H-How? How do you.." Undyne raised her hand and Frisk stopped talking.
Undyne glowed, red sparking veins lighting up. "How else do you think punk? Determination is a hell of a thing…"
"Then why haven't you…"
"Tried to kill you?" Frisk swallowed nervously but nodded as she got the nerve. "Well a few reasons, you haven't killed anyone, and if I tried to kill you now it would ruin everything. We wouldn't survive a war."
"That…makes sense…" I shrunk back at their gazes, covering myself with a cough.
"And because you stopped being in control a long time ago…"
Huh?
"I don't know what you're talking about." Chara's calm seemed to break, sweat dripping from her forehead. She was shaking, her eyes blinking rapidly. Frisk showed concern, turning to the other girl and gently gripping her wrists.
"Chara? What's going on? Why are you shaking?" Undyne spoke up stopping the frightened women from saying a word.
"The first 300 RESETS are kind of a blur. But that's about the time things started changing. That's when you started Genocide right?"
Frisk nodded with a shaky head, and I wondered just how many times had she had reset this world.
"About then…I saw a…vision. A dark shadow cutting deeper and deeper into this world…" Undyne looked nervous and haunted by whatever she had seen.
"Chara? Please…" Frisk looked conflicted unsure of what to think.
"So I don't hate you…I know why you wanted to RESET. You played with fire…and got burned."
"So…you never really were in control…" Asriel sounded bitter, releasing a frustrated chuff.
"But my decisions were my own weren't they? I decided to reset I decided to…to…kill everyone and I suffered the…" I felt a spike of worry at the broken look on Frisk's face.
"Maybe but…despite everything you've done. I forgive you…"
"I don't understand." Neither of the women had any semblance of control or calm. Frisk was near tears while Chara was muttering obscenities under her breath.
"Maybe," I kept my voice steady as they stared. "We should take a step back here. If there's anything you can tell us please do but the topic of control should be put off the shelf for now." Undyne relaxed her stance and I felt relief. You could cut the tension with a knife.
"That's probably a good idea," she looked concerned for the time and leaned back. "So how'd you get caught up in this mess?"
Oh…guess I should have expected that after butting in like that.
"I don't know actually…I honestly just showed up a few seconds before they did. But what I can tell you. Their messing around with spacetime seems to have torn a hole between realities."
Still pretty pissed about that…
"You're saying you're from another world?"
"Uh yes?" I was hesitant in answering her yet she took it in stride.
"Huh? You punks are always giving me new surprises." She shook her head, and she flashed a weak grin. Her concern deepened and I fidgeted under her intense gaze.
"What?" Some irritation escaped out as a harsh reply.
"You're barely keeping it together." I nodded, I couldn't lie to her face.
I was, well…scared. I had no clue what I was doing. I had nothing, nowhere, no one to fall back on.
"Hey…kid you want to see something cool?" I took a breath and nodded. A distraction might be good for me right now. She stood up and pointed with her grin to follow her.
I wondered what she wanted to show us?
I'm entirely sure this a terrible, terrible idea. That would be my first words to go Undyne as I watched her and Chara stretch as they got ready to…
Fight…
"This is a bad idea…" I decided to go with the blunt approach because frankly, not doing so would end…poorly. Chara scoffed as did Undyne making me worry even more.
"Come on…this should do the both of them some good. And it'll teach you some neat stuff about magical combat." Frisk did her best to convince me but I wasn't so sure about this. Asriel didn't seem to lean one way or the other, it he was setting up a small sports neck so we could watch.
The girl smirked and pulled me to the seats, rather forcefully placing me next to her.
"Besides this gives you a chance to stay close to me." She whispered into my ear with a slightly sensual lilt. In that moment I hated that I was so easily swayed by her, not used to such actions by…well anyone.
"F-Fine." She showed off her teeth in a happy grin and I turned to watch the bout.
Undyne rolled her shoulders and I flinched as she cracks her neck along with it. If my eyes weren't deceiving me I could feel her…intent from here. An outflow of energy, much like an aura of raging fire and determination. I could see hints of green, yellow, and red within the white aura of her…soul…
But Chara…if Undyne was a raging fire then Chara was a county wide firestorm, though one held back by lack of fuel and space. Most likely her body hadn't kept up with her experience. Even then her aura…her intent was bright and more deeply painted than Undyne's. A shining almost blood red flames coated with bits of yellow and orange. A sense of…bloodlust? No, more a frenzy fighting within her for release. A possible enjoyment for combat?
Without killing anyone…my guess anyway…
"You can sense that huh?" Chara's eyes were covered by her curtain like bangs as she asked out of nowhere. "You're picking stuff up pretty quickly. I think you'll be able to catch up in no time with my training."
I don't know about that.
"CHECK us if you like…get a feel for what magical combat is like." Undyne gave me a her permission and I did so, curious on what I would see.
First the Spear of Justice.
* UNDYNE ATK 15 DEF 4
* The heroine.
Thought there'd be a higher attack for some reason. Undyne had knowing smirk and I gave her a weak glare.
"You know those checks can be fooled right? I'm suppressing my power a bit to math up more evenly with our little princess of darkness here." I nodded, hiding a chuckle behind my fist as Chara pouted. But yeah I did know, though Undyne confirming it for me is rather helpful. I decided to CHECK Chara next out of curiosity if nothing else.
* CHARA ATK 6 DEF 5
* The fallen princess.
Well that's a confirmation of her gender if nothing else. Both suddenly dropped into combat stances, and I felt a shiver as Asriel snapped a finger. A bubble of something surrounded us, and I wondered what he had done.
"Uh? What was that?"
"Bound magical field…with my magic I create the rules for this fight. So nothing lethal can happen by mistake…"
"I swear I've seen or heard this before." Maybe from the Fate series? Yeah that sounds right…
"Pretty cool right?" Frisk eyes glowed for a moment as she asked me and I gave her thumbs up. I was a little too focused on the incoming fight. Both had a slight barely noticeable glow as they walked toward the other.
Another flash of black and white…
"This is going to be pretty interesting isn't it?" Chara chuckled between her words, electricity sparking from her fingertips. She whistled, one of her red eyes shifting to meet my own. "Now Brandon…you're going to see what magic can really do. So get ready." Music echoed from all directions, and the flames of monochrome light only intensified
—Play Spear of Justice—
"Because it's going to be an eye opening experience!" Undyne entered in before…blurring.
BOOM!
I was nearly thrown out of my seat as the two women connected, a shockwave of what I knew was magical energy rocking the air.
Then I noticed more closely the nature of that resounding sound…oh…oh man…
"They're breaking the sound barrier." Frisk didn't reply, her focus clearly away from me and toward the fighting women.
They were fast…faster than anyone I had ever seen before. Each attack and movement of theirs rang with power and ferocity. Most of their attacks were a blur, my eyes unable to keep up with the flurry of punches, kicks, and magical attacks. Several books echoed the second indicating something of a near hypersonic nature.
"Hey…focus on keeping that burning flame inside of you active…" Asriel gave me simple instructions, and I thought about focusing some of that energy in my eyes. The blur of movement became more comprehensible but they were still substantially faster than I was.
But the difference was more like between me and an elite athlete or martial artist rather than me and a damn space shuttle. I decided to watch, seeing just what they could do.
Undyne shouted…something and I focused my magic once more. It was clear that sound shouldn't carry between them at a several times Mach speeds…unless maybe…if I CHECK.
"You've gone soft haven't you punk. I thought you'd put up more of a fight!" Undyne boasted to Chara's chagrin, the redhead gritting her teeth in suppressed rage.
"Oh sorry fishlips but I didn't exactly bring all my power with me. And you and I both know that was for the best." Undyne frowned, and pointed a clawed finger toward the girl.
"Well that's…FAIR ENOUGH!" Dozens of blue spears surged to life, striking in the spot Chara had once been in. At the last second she blocked the attack, beams of yellow plasma countering the spears destructive power. She used three for every one of the spears, the gulf in magical power more obvious.
Chars leaped up, and impossibly changing direction in midair, summoned two orange boxing gloves over her hands. She twisted her hips, adding further power to her punches. Undyne took a physical orange attack to the face, unable to move back in time. Then another as a full on kick struck one of her legs.
From what little I could tell…the punch had done less damage than the kick…
"Oh you should know that an ATK stat is just a base…we can hit way harder than that, unless you're sans. It just tires out a user more."
If Asriel replied so accurately I must have said that aloud by mistake…
Undyne brushed off her lip, a smile curling onto her face. "Not bad 'princess', now show me what you got!" A wave of green struck the battlefield, but instead of damaging Chara it merely kept her in place. Chara's SOUL shifted from red to green, and she caught a thrown spear, forming a defensive shield for the human.
The human looked annoyed, her expression just screaming "really?"
"I have some new tricks up my sleeves…I won't be as easy as before." Chara didn't seem to believe her but played along regardless.
SHOOM!
Chara scrambled to block as many spears as she could, blocking a spear each and every second they fought.
Each of her movements became more desperate and then…a blue glow from below…the girl's eye widened before she cried out in pain. A single gigantic spear brought her down to nearly half her aura, and she flew up into the air, striking the ceiling and leaving a Chara-shaped crater in the cave rock.
"God dammit you wanker! Was that necessary?" She flushed at Undyne's expression and gripping her hands into the fragile cave wall, stepped off, the air pushed away by the raw energy of her jump.
She landed a super powered kick, Undyne blocking it with a fist but wincing nonetheless. She shaped both her fingers into guns and a dozen yellow bullets struck scores across Undyne's body.
"You shouldn't have put yourself in reach of my arms." He fish warrior's hands gripped around Chara's right leg and…
Threw her around like Hulk throwing around Loki. I winced each and every time Chara's face met with the floor, chunks of earth exploding outward with each impact. But then…Chara
Exploded.
A ball of plasma detonated coating the entire field and stopping just short of our faces, stopped by Asriel's boss monster magic.
"I didn't think anyone could be…this ridiculously overpowered." In just a sentence the two threw a dozen hits, with Chara hitting the bullseye a little more often.
When Chara was thrown against the barrier protecting us. It was clear she was pissed and ready to strangle someone.
She growled, and opened and closed her right fist as if…
"ENOUGH of this shit! I'm right furious now!" Her breath became shaky and unsteady and a red aura infused the air. The air shimmered until a wire-frame matrix came together. A bubbly liquid solidified until the object became visible.
A knife…
Chars exploded into action and a spear and knife struck against the other. The two weapons sparked as they clashed.
Chara struck through Undyne's guard leaving a shallow cut.
Undyne thrust forward, the spear bouncing off Chara's abdomen and dropping her HP even more.
Chara's knife fired a beam, and then glowed with orange light cutting diagonally across Undyne's stomach.
"Should we—?"
BANG!
"Uh? T—?"
SLASH! KRASH! BWOOM!
"To stop the—?"
SHINK! BOOSH!
"THEM!" I lost my patience at the continuous interruptions, and Asriel as well as Frisk did their work. Suddenly vines tripped the two fighters, and a friendly green barrier caught the both of them. I heard the signature sound of a battle end, and sighed in relief.
Chara jumped back up ready for another fight before she staggered. Her breath was ragged and she was close to collapse…she looks ready to fall.
She's falling…
Green.
Another barrier stopped her fall, and it acted like a soft cushion stopping her fall.
"Good that you stopped her fall, that looked like it would hurt." I felt puzzled when Frisk gave me a funny look and pointed to my hands. I glanced down to find one of them glowing green meaning…
"Huh? So I made that?"
I made that…I made a floating barrier with magic.
Magic…
I have actual magic…
"So cool…" I couldn't help but feel awe, though it was soon replaced with embarrassment as I realized I had leaped into the air. All four of them had amused expressions and I wanted to hide.
"Heh…guess you have a bit of kindness inside you. Quiet a gentlemanly thing to do, preventing a lady from falling flat on their face." I jumped out of my skin as Chara appeared from behind me, leaning into my ear. A hot flush rose from my neck and into my ears.
Damn my inexperience with women…the only thing I've managed with them in the past, is not thinking I'm creepy. Except for that one exception and that was completely intentional.
Though talking about eating guinea pigs as a delicacy is kind of a dick thing to say. Even if she is a bit of a raging hippie vegan…and while I'm no conservative, messing with her was pretty hilarious.
Drip-drip.
Is that blood…?
"You're bleeding!" I rushed over into Chara's space as worry overtook me. The taller women was holding her nose, and something was telling me to to reach for her. "Oh…maybe one of you can heal her?" I asked the prince and Frisk for that help but they shook their hand to my utter confusion.
"If you can make a barrier you can heal her." I frowned at their response and tried to speak up until a hand patted my shoulder. Her smile was oddly reassuring despite how off it always seemed.
"Hey, just think of it like practice. You never know when you might need healing magic. And it's not…that bad."
The blood dripping from your nose says something completely different Chara.
"Fine just tell me what I need to do." I demanded of her with bite and she grinned, showing most of her front teeth with the gesture.
"You have the first step down already. Concern and caring for others." She flicked my forehead and I huffed. I really wish I could stop her, but I'm not even a third as strong as she was. She also knew much more about fighting than me with untold years worth of experience stored up in that pretty little head of hers.
"Now try to feel out my injuries and damaged aura with your aura. Think about repairing that damage using your own power. Because you want to help yes?" I breathed, and reached out before realizing I couldn't heal her without contact.
"Uh…could you lean down? I think I need touch to heal you." She blinked at my request. I gave her a helpless shrug at her inquisitive gaze, but despite her misgivings she bent her knees.
Aura…magic felt incredible. A feeling of love and acceptance of myself, any feelings of helplessness, fear, and self doubt fading away. And now I would use it to help another person.
But it didn't make it less embarrassing…
I placed my hand slowly and gently on her warming cheek, doing my best to stay calm. I pushed that feeling of empathy and compassion through my chest and up into the connected arm.
"Recording this for posterity Asriel?"
"Yep, this is freaking gold Frisk. Hope you don't get easily jealous Frisky."
"Shut it goat-boy."
Ignoring the weirdos in the back acting like we can't hear everything they're saying.
The glow spread out to the rest of her body, and she sighed as if relieved. The bleeding from her nose stopped, while all the small scrapes and bruises accumulated from the battle faded or healed at a rapid pace. I let go once the process was done, stepping back from the girl at the same time.
"You know…" there was sly grin on her face, and I held in a groan. "You could have used my shoulder instead of grabbing my face?"
"Not my fault that's what my SOUL is telling me." I grumbled out, refusing to engage with any teasing. "And I'm so sorry for worrying for your health Chara." Her laughed stopped at my complaint and I smirked just the slightest. It seems I left her a little speechless.
"So you got that out of your systems you battle freaks?" Asriel looked mildly annoyed and his slight snark was a result of that.
"Come on Asriel, at least it's not the two of us sparring or I'd have to do some pruning." The goat monster twitched and refused to acknowledge Undyne's reply.
"How fast are you?" The cage around my curiosity has finally broken after a day. A day in a place of monsters and magic. I couldn't stop myself, from asking a flurry of questions now.
"Uh you talking to me or all us?" Chara questioned me with reluctance and I took two steps forward.
"Yes!"
"That didn't answer the—."
Ignoring you fluffy boy.
"I know you can all seemingly break the sound barrier. But I don't know much else other than that." I popped up in front of Chara, and she looked uncomfortable. "Can you outspeed a fighter jet? How much damage to bring down one HP? What type of magic is there? Do boss monster souls last longer because their magic is stronger or is it due to determination?"
"Uh…woah there give me a moment to—."
"How many types of monsters are there? Is the magic you're using Justice and Bravery? How—mpph?" Chara pushed her hand against my face, muffling my voice. Which wasn't fair since I had so many questions I needed answered.
"Brandon dear?" Her voice was cold and I clamped my mouth shut. "I would strongly prefer you keep that babble in check. It's hard to answer your important questions when you're throwing them out at a hundred words a second. So please keep quiet capiche?" I nodded and she let go with an almost whimsical hum.
"Whop-eesh."
I can't believe myself…I kind of want to punch Asriel Dreemurr in the face right now. Apparently as a teenager he's kind of a dick…if a well meaning one at times.
"I will kick your ass mate!" And I can hear Chara's cute accent some more.
Asriel rolled his eyes picking up the bench with one hand "Sure you will…" he dragged it away, and Chara pouted, now cross with her adoptive brother.
"Hey Brandon?" I twisted on the balls of my feet to meet Undyne's…well neck.
"What?"
"Well since you've gotten a taste of what your magic can do. Why don't you try out a spar with me? It'll be—."
"NOPE!" Undyne was pushed back by a frantic Frisk, and Chara stepped between us as well. Frisk was shaking her head and quietly whispering an admonishment to the now sheepish Royal Guard.
"Now I don't want to be mean here but…" Chara didn't know how to word her sentence. But it did not take me long to understand.
"I'm kind of an out of shape wimp?" Her wince gave me my answer.
But she wasn't wrong. I was no determined soul, at least not to the same extent as they were. Not a badass boss monster, or a Determination burning undying warrior. Not a reality warping skeleton, or a super entertainment robot, not a spider queen or a royal scientist.
I'm not going to call myself average, mundane would be the most accurate word to describe me. I'm smarter than the average person, wealthier too but that's my parent's accomplishment rather than my own. I'm…was getting a college education which has now been derailed.
Maybe someday I could rise up and become something more than who I was right now. But now was not that time. Chara might be a way to that path of becoming more than I once was.
"If spars are out of the question…what about a cooking lesson?"
Oh…my
YESS! Time to blow off some steam!
The crackle of a burning home greeted us as we woke up…
"You think we might have gotten a little carried away?" The small spark nearly hitting her in the face was Undyne's answer to our question.
"I really hope we don't get in trouble for this." I worried immensely though Undyne waved off my concerns.
"Don't worry! This happens all the time, it should be up and running again in a week."
"Right…that sounds great." My reply was almost caustic but I held it back. Regardless of the property damage, cooking together was actually pretty fun. Really gets the blood pumping.
"Probably have to call sans and Papyrus to crash at their place until my house gets fixed up." She bounces up onto her feet, running in place before she… "See ya!" I flinched at the sudden boom muffled by an outflow of magic.
RING! RING!
Asriel's were twitched and he reached into…a pocket dimension I think? He pulled out a rumbling smart phone, with a touch screen and everything. He answered and I couldn't make up much of his conversation. Chara tilted her head, an ear straining to listen in on him. He hung up, his look unimpressed with his sister's failed attempt at spying.
"Oh brother." Her voice was sickeningly sweet and he rolled his eyes. "What was that about?" He flicked his wrist, the phone vanishing back into his Inventory if I'm guessing correctly.
"Just some news from the landlord. The paperwork for the apartment next to mine is filled out so Frisk and Brandon have place to stay until the barrier is broken."
Well that's a relief.
Adding Undyne to the mix would make the skeleton's house a little too crowded for my taste.
"And it is pretty late…about nine I or so?"
No way that much time has passed. I'll check on my phone it should only be…
7:30 PM
We…must have been knocked out by the explosion longer than I thought. And if we've been out that long, that means…
GRRRR!
Chara and Frisk both blushed as their stomachs rumbled at around the same time.
"If you're hungry my mom brought in some human food ingredients. We might be able to cook something up." Both their eyes lit up at the prospect as did mine for obvious reasons.
"That sounds great!" I replied with much gusto, unable to contain myself.
Because frankly I was starving.
"Only thing is…I don't know how to cook any of it, and Toriel is busy with Kingdom governing."
"I might be able to make something…" Chara looked skeptical and I shriveled under her critical gaze. I didn't back down though.
"If you're sure."
"I am."
The quiet humming of His Theme was rather soothing as we cooked what we were respectively skilled at. I fortunately had a moderate knack for not instantly ruining my food. Though I was limited to cooking eggs, and making spaghetti. Thankfully the ingredients were similar enough to back home. Right now I was waiting for the noodles to heat up, stirring them every once in a while when needed. There were also some microwavable meatballs which while not as tasty as something handcooked. I didn't exactly have the skills for such a task.
"Didn't think you'd know how to cook." Chara spoke up from a table set up in Asriel's moderately sized kitchen.
"I don't really…I've only made spaghetti once before." At her panicked gasping I reassured her. "It tasted fine…honestly it came out perfectly fine, my mom didn't even have to monitor me too much." I went back to stir the noodles, eying Frisk's own dish. She was working a small grill in the house and was the first to start making a meal, though it was clear she would take the longest out of the two of us.
She had started by grabbing like two pounds of chick along with ginger, garlic, lemongrass, various powders and lemon soda. She mixed them together and allowed them to sit and marinate, she grabbed a seperate bowl and combined some other ingredients.
Right as I was finishing she began to grill the food, and I decided to sate my curiosity once again.
"What are you making? I know it's grilled chicken but still?"
There was an appreciative smile on her face as she answered. "It's called Chicken Inasal it's a filipino recipe Nothing too special…"
It looks really complicated to make…
"I could teach you if you want?" I considered her offer, and nodded though.
"But not right now…maybe tomorrow if I have time." She accepted my answer returning most of her attention to her task.
"It's only a little question. You say you aren't a cook, but if you were is there anything in particular you would want to learn?"
"Anything in particular?" She gave a "ahm" sound at my query and I pondered on it, coming to a single answer.
"Well there's this pizza I really like in the sobreruedas."
"Sobre-what now?" Please don't make me want to hit you Chara.
"Sobreruedas, a mexican flea market of sorts that puts itself up a few times a week, usually thursdays and sundays I believe. My parents and I would do weekly to buy this pizza. It was and still is my favorite pizza in the world." I sighed forlornly in memory of when things were simpler. When I didn't understand why my parents were…arguing.
"How good was this pizza?" Chara was intent on knowing the answer.
While I added the sauce and meatballs I obliged her. "I've always had a bit of a sweet tooth." I didn't imagine Asriel's pointed look toward his sister. "The pizza place I think used some type of sweet dough that gave the pizza this weird perfect mix between savory and sweet that I adored. We went on a weekly to biweekly basis for years until…now."
"Uh sorry."
"It's fine. Besides it's time to eat anyhow."
I served a respective plate for each of us, and after another couple of minutes so did Frisk. So it was now time to eat!
Ughh might have overdone it.
But then again I hadn't had a meal since breakfast and that was almost half a day or so. As of 9:57 PM I was quietly digesting my meal, covered in a warm blanket that Asgore had generously brought in as well as the bed.
Two beds in fact, with the other a few feet to my left and occupied.
"Do you really need to sleep in the same room? There are two bedrooms you know?
There was a nervous rustling from her side of the room, and I could make out a glowing blue eye peeking out from under a tiger print blanket.
"It's…I don't want to sleep alone okay!" There was shame and embarrassment in her voice and guilt surged into my mind.
"H-Hey don't worry about it Frisk. It's a little…disconcerting but I can deal with it."
"If you're sure." I was.
There was one issue with sharing the room though, and it was mildly shameful…
I couldn't exactly get any…release if you catch my drift. I mean I could…but fuck that would be weird.
…
…
Should stay off that train of thought for now…
Feeling sleepy…
Zzzzz.
Zzzzzz.
Zzzzzzzzzz.
Lights out…
(Unknown POV)
How interesting…These readings they are both intriguing and disturbing at the same time.
"Alphys? Are you reading the data?" Some nervous shuffling alerted me to my assistants plight.
"I-It c-can't be right! These spacetime anomaly readings are off the charts! The m-machine i-is indicating massive damage to the timeline that predates the first, second, and third anomalies."
"But is right my dear, and you know why that damage exists don't you?"
"T-The barrier sir?"
"Indeed, the humans awakened this world to a dark prescence when they trapped us Underground and have dearly paid the price. My sensors have picked up several space-time bubbles forming throughout the surface. Synchronized with the boy's timeline."
"Why would the-oh god!" There was horror in her voice.
"That entity has wrecked most of the inner solar system, while the planet's are thankfully left in orbit. A good fraction of life has been left…well unable to live."
"All those people…"
"Are fine, those bubbles protected them."
"Those bubbles…if they're along with the Barrier synchronized with this parallel timeline before the rest catches up. How…m-much t-time has there been?"
An excellent question from my fellow scientist.
"Who could say…a year, a thousand, maybe even a million? Until the Barrier is shattered we will not know."
"A f-final query. Where is the first anomaly?"
Cold ran down my bones before I could stop them.
The possibilities are many, and most end in tragedy. There would be no stopping that thing without incredible numbers.
All I can do in the face of adversity…
Is to stay determined.