Author's Note:
Here I am with chapter four of A New Run. I don't have much to say other that after this chapter. I've more or less got the general plotline and format down. I'll detail that more after anyone willing to read this is finished.
So see ya...
Chapter Four: The Way of Magi
I could hear a rising crescendo…a song that filled my soul with hope and determination. I didn't know where I was, who I was, when I was…but right now that didn't matter.
"But… Deep, deep in my soul. There's a burning feeling I can't describe. A burning feeling that WON'T let me die. This isn't just about monsters anymore is it?"
A true hero…was rising…and in the dark I could see the cold dead eyes of a mass murderer. In front of her stood the cracking, shimmering, shining body of a great spirit…a great…SOUL gifted with tremendous power…
"If you get past me, you'll… You'll destroy them all won't you? Monsters… Humans… Everyone… Everyone's hopes. Everyone's dreams. Vanquished in an instant." I could hear and feel the sheer will and determination behind those words, and I could barely stand as a mere monster fought against a being with the power of GOD.
I…I…
"But I WON'T let you do that. Right now everyone in the world… I can feel their hearts beating as one. And we all have ONE goal. To defeat YOU. Human. No, WHATEVER you are." I could hear them too…the beating heart of a thousand monsters…backed by the fearful hearts of a hundred million human souls.
"For the sake of the whole world… I, UNDYNE will strike you down!"
The world screamed as a hero rose from the ashes…to PROTECT the SOUL of the WORLD.
"AHH!" I jumped out of my bed, the shards of my broken dream tickling and cutting into the back of my mind. My face met with the carpeted floor and I let out a curse.
I breathed out harshly, gripping my face as my nose throbbed with pain. I scrambled to get up, my face accidentally pressing against someone's leg. I looked up to find an amused Frisk in a sleeveless blue tank top with black gym shorts.
My face burned for a moment before I forced myself to jump onto my feet. I didn't want to further embarrass myself.
"Uh…pfft…you okay?" She could barely say anything past the laughter building up and I sighed.
"Yeah…just a weird dream is all." She cocked her head, curiosity brimming in her eyes. "And no i'm not going to tell you what it is. Much less when my memory of it is already fuzzy." She pouted but understood going onto another less sensitive topic.
"Right uh…I was going to wake you up but…" she waved to me and I gave her a helpless shrug. Not much that could be done about that.
"It's fine." She fidgeted for a moment before suddenly changing topic.
"You want something to eat? I made some breakfast." I nodded and she pulled me away to a small kitchen table built for two, maybe three people. Two plates were already placed down, each of them a plate of scrambled eggs with some bacon.
Wonder if they use lab grown meat for human food? It would be the most efficient manner of food creation, since monsters still need some physical feedstock to make their monster food.
I guzzled down the food, needing to get some more food in after a day of nearly nothing. She grinned, actively preening herself to my own confusion. But thinking about it for a few minutes made it more logical.
She was obviously proud of her cooking skills and considered the way I ate my food as a sign of approval.
I think…can't be making assumptions…I think there's a saying for that but…
I don't recall.
I picked up my plate, placing it in the sink before thinking better of it. Realization coming into mind. I was never one to…ever clean dishes but now I have no choice… So while I could leave Frisk to do the work that seems like a bit much even for me.
So…I'll get to work I suppose…
"You don't have to…" Frisk tried to do the work herself but for once I didn't let someone else pick up the slack. Besides it was only the one anyway.
"No it's fine…" after remembering how to actually clean a plate I did so leaving it on the…whatever they call that little bin…
Wow I really lack a lot in the way of common knowledge huh?
Bah!
A pile of clothes struck me in the face, and I held a shirt, some shorts, and to my embarrassment some underwear to change into. Frisk smirked pointing to the nearby bathroom. "You should take a shower like I did. Two days without taking a bath is not conducive to one's scent." I sniffed myself and a I couldn't suppress the grimace as the stink entered my nose.
"Uh right…" she also poked my chin, slight distaste on her face.
"And you need to clean up that face. I like the beard but you look like a hobo right now." I held back a pout and grumbled as I walked past her to the shower.
She's not wrong though…
"Okay you're cleaned up now. If it's okay with you I'd like to go outside."
I tilted my head at Frisk, a slight smirk painting an amused picture. "But aren't we Underground? How can you go outside?"
"You know what I mean." I shrugged giving her my most innocent look as she opened the door to the relatively more open outside. I found myself impressed by the design and general openness despite the supposed small volume of the Underground.
That apartment checked out for us was somewhere in New Home, which unlike in the original was closer to a damn arcology rather than a medieval microcity. Though the styling of the well designed buildings was still rather similar. The design of this place was incredible, but then…
It had to be, to support hundreds of thousands of monsters comfortably and safely so deep below the ground. From what I've managed to scrounge up, apparently Gaster had figured out some human technology that would allow for the creation of a true arcology. The tech was decades ahead of anything we had, and allowed the Underground to support more than quadruple the original population without drastically draining the Underground's resources.
To make up for the insufficient scrap from up above, Gaster had built a lava mining device. Cooling hundreds of tons of magma, separating them into the various metals needed. It helped that this mountain had billions of tons of ore sequestered down here.
So…rather a comfortable existence down here…but there was an undertone or desperation regardless.
The situation wasn't sustainable, monsters had maybe a generation or two left before they did run out of room. Once that happened, it would be a slow and steady decline to inevitable depopulation and extinction.
The barrier must break…or else the Kingdom will fall into ruin.
"Hey? You doing okay? You seem kinda distracted right now." I blinked out of my daydreaming to nod. The girl next to me sounded concerned and I didn't really want that
"I'm alright, just thinking." She didn't push me on the details and I took a step closer to her, as the crowd of monsters around us picked up. We were exploring the areas of New Home previously inaccessible to us. While there were no signs of cars or trucks, there was a well designed and funded metro system. They seems to be high speed train, capable of accelerating to one hundred and fifty miles per hour. But in most cases the sheer compactness of the city made it unneeded.
The other form of transportation was on foot with many pathways allowing anyone to traverse the entire Underground on foot with relative ease.
Pretty neat honestly.
"Where are we going anyway?" I never asked while we weaved between the crowd, too distracted with keeping up as well as my own thoughts
"Well…" Frisk scratched the back of her neck as we approached what looked like a Monster version of Starbucks. "We're here to meet up with Chara so she can start up on your training." My eyes surely lit up at her reply, and I followed her with a spring in my step.
"That sounds cool…" Her smile told me that my excitement was rather obvious.
The door chimed as we walked in, my body tensing up at the monsters stares. But to my surprise the monsters relaxed quickly and we picked the table with the slightly smiling redhead sitting down.
"Hey!"
"Hello." We both greeted her in our own way and we picked out our respective seats. From what I could feel she had bought us some type of large chocolate chunk cookie which I was glad to eat after thanking her for buying them for us.
"So how have you been adjusting?" I gave her a so-so gesture while taking a bite out of the delicious chocolatey goodness of this cookie.
"I don't feel as confused and terrified as usual so that's a relief." My earnest answer shook her, and she glanced at Frisk with an uneasy expression.
"Uh…alright. Well I promised to teach you magic and Asriel knows a good secluded place to learn. You'll even get to meet someone who's an expert in human magic."
"Who?"
"Uhhhh…"
I ignored the burning sensation of someone glaring at me. I fidgeted with my clothes, Chara forcing me to change into something more appropriate to the training session. So a loose fitting blue-green shirt and black colored shorts with a single stripe of white fit the ticket.
Chara herself was wearing loose fitting clothing. Saying that it would be necessary for the training. Apparently she doesn't like how some clothes restrain her reach and flexibility.
I would make a mass effect joke but that's beneath me.
—Play FMA Brotherhood Home—
Anyway, she had a loose and comfortable looking set of grey sweatpants and a green tank top.
Now as to the glare(more an intense stare really) that was from the inspection of a certain Royal Scientist. I think he was just curious but that didn't make it any less creepy.
He was…a strange monster…and was generally off putting. But I felt it was best to leave it be for now.
"Ok now the first thing you need to do to access your magic is to bring it out. I'm sure you remember how?" I nodded and she stopped me before I could go further. "Do that but instead of bringing it out into a shape, form it as a field of energy that permeates your entire body. That will improve both the durability and strength of your body as well as increase your reserves for magic."
Hmm…I'll try.
Ok…reaching for that burning feeling again, and this time it's…everywhere. My body felt like it was breaking apart, until…the fire became cool, more of a warm cozy spot near a fireplace than a raging inferno.
It…was nice.
"Uh…are you alright?" I opened my eyes, feeling a little flustered at the way Frisk and Chara were looking at me.
"This feeling…" I rolled my hands into fists, surging the liquid fire in my veins into them for a moment. Purple light flickered and died, before flashing on with greater intensity.
"It does feel pretty weird the first time you manage it." Frisk herself seems familiar with it, likely her own experiences coming to mind. But when I tried to take a step she stopped me frantically.
"What? Will the ground explode if I take one step?" Her sheepish chuff told me all I needed to know.
"Now that you have that down we can focus on emitting some of your aura into the ground to reinforce it."
I followed Chara's command and an infinitesimally small amount of my energy dived into the ground around me. At first it did nothing only surging between the cracks in the stone. I tightened my hold on the energy, using it to solidify and strengthen the ground according to some strange instinct.
"You've got it. Now just think up of a spell…imagine it on your head and try to shoot it…" she stepped aside revealing a small holographic target for me. "At this thing."
A spell huh? I've got a rough idea of what she means. I'll try with my main trait, maybe…they said something about binding magic right?
I can move my aura around with a thought, maybe that's the key. At least for simple magic anyway. Using it like a third arm to perform a specific action limited by the distribution of traits within my SOUL. So…let's pull out some aura, form it into…
My arm glowed as a long coiling nearly serpent like binding emerged from my right arm. The spell was unstable and wobbly and I could barely keep it going.
"Give it some instructions…with humans magic needs a little extra order to fire them off safely. So make it a three step spell, summon, target, fire."
Summon.
The wire solidified and I grinned at the relative success. It wobbled again and I realized I needed to give it a target. My mind's eye brought to mind that hologram and its location.
Target
The coiling, writhing snake focused, it's wild shambling becoming more steady.
Breathe in. Breathe out…
Fire.
The wire lashed out at incredible speed, the signature sonic crack of a whip shaking the room. The target was sliced apart like it was hit by a sci-fi monomolecular blade and I added a fourth step.
Dissipate.
The spell faded out, the rope of magical matter disintegrating into nothing. Chara gave an approving nod, and I wondered if Perseverance functioned differently than her own magic. She was limited to combat magic, as well as whatever bullshit Determination could do, while purple magic had some more utilitarian functions. Something like a bullet wouldn't need to be ordered to dissipate once it made its mark on something. But a rope, a wire, or a web won't vanish until you tell it to vanish.
"Fascinating…a rather quick learner are you not?" I ignored the scientist, closely examining the air where my whip had cut. I could…just about pick out some trace amounts of aura left behind, a hint of inefficiency perhaps?
Depending on how magic works it might operate similarly to more conventional methods of converting one form of energy to another. There's going to be some loss and I imagine it to be possible to reduce that loss with experience.
"I did have a feeling that your magic might have some differences from my own magic. It tends to dissolve or fade away on its own once it does its job. But yours…you have to add that command for some reason." I shrugged at Chara's words thinking of what else I could make.
"Might be because it's some type of wire or binding magic. If it was dissipated by touch it wouldn't be very good to trap anyone."
"That makes sense." Chara agreed with me before starting up a follow up lesson. "Now I want you to try out something…more physical in nature."
"What do you mean ?" I felt like that was the good question to ask the former princess.
"I've never seen this form of speed burst magic for myself and I'm rather curious to see how it goes." So am I.
"Sure."
Ok…I should come up with a set of steps for this spell first.
Increase speed.
I moved faster and faster and faster. The world slowing almost to a crawl as I moved meters at a time. Within a couple of milliseconds I made the step more specific.
Increase speed X2
The headache I was developing stopped, and I realized this was the practical limit to my basic enhancing spell.
Shut off.
I stayed still as my muscles ached with a mild amount of exertion. I stared at the spot I had previously been, noting the cracks and lines made in the wake of that burst of speed. Heat surged into my body, and literal steam left my lungs yet my insides were perfectly intact.
"Again impressive. You move fast human…but how fast is the question." The tall and disturbing to look at skeleton chuckled as he stepped with purpose. His left eye glowed blue and something leapt out scanning the trail like a machine.
Gaster still freaked me out and I didn't understand why. I'm not sure I even wanted to understand.
"25 meters…crossed in 46.816479400…" a parade of other numbers followed as he muttered under his breath.
That's in milliseconds so that would mean…
"534 meters per second…rather slow despite the sizable speed dilation. If you were more physically fit I'm sure you could reach a kilometer per second. How unfortunate…" The scientist's tone had a trace of sarcasm in it and I resisted the urge to fight against his point.
Man…Gaster is kind of an ass isn't he?
"Gaster please don't start…most monsters would be hard pressed to match his pace. He's a relatively normal guy, not a warrior." Asriel came to my defense and Chara moved on to a different set of magic.
"Ignoring the bonehead to our left, you've got your main magic down right now. So let's move on to your secondary trait. A good quantity of Integrity coloring your soul with some blue. They are considered to be among the most morally righteous of souls." I stood up straight at the slight compliment.
"But…all that means is that they follow their morals and nothing else. They could be total psychopaths and still have integrity."
Thank you…for that…enlightening comment heir to the throne.
Frisk gave the goat monster her signature -_- expression and he looked away, unable to meet her intense gaze. How she managed that with her frankly adorable look I had no clue but…good on her.
"Please!" The others quieted and Chara fishery before taking a calming breath. "Be silent so I can teach him. Or is that too much to ask?" The four shut their traps and she turned to me with her still creepy smile. "In your case, two forms of magic I would want you to try is Telekinesis and Reinforcement. Both in their most simplest forms are rather easy to learn, though expanding upon them is rather more…mentally intensive."
Reinforcement might be simple enough…it sounds similar to what I did with the floor before, but if my suspicions are correct I can use them to a much greater potential than other people.
Other people can certainly use their aura to keep stuff from breaking and for movement, mine is just more powerful and more diverse in its capabilities.
Frisk passed something into my mind and I focused my attention onto it…
A piece of paper?
Oh…
That should be a good way to test out what I can do…
Paper…
I breathed out, and with my breath came a flowing stream of liquid magic. It dropped onto the paper like boiling magma, infusing with the very essence of the sheet of carbon, oxygen, hydrogen and various other elements.
The liquid cooled, forming an electric blue circuit design across the thin slice of former dead tree matter. A brief grip test told me the paper would still crumple in my hand like…well, paper.
So let's start with the steps for the spell…
Reinforce. Strengthen the purpose of existence.
A small substep added just how strong the sheet would be reinforced. As well as a limiter placed, I imagine there is a limit to how much energy can be injected without either losing control or destroying the object being reinforced.
Just a guess however…
A final shut off step was added to my memory though I continued to allow the spell to drain me until it was as reinforced as I could currently manage.
I passed the paper over to Asriel. He tried to bend it…but it wouldn't budge even an inch. He put an ever greater amount of force behind it and the paper creaked, sounding more like a sheet of steel than a sheet of simple paper. Cracks appeared over it, and the initial energy infused into it was gradually drained until it…
SNAP!
The paper broke in half fluttering to the ground like it hadn't withstood such an incredible amount of force in the first place.
"Again…impressive but with your traits you can surely do more." I shrugged, but stepped back in confusion when the mysterious skeleton dragged Frisk forward with his magic, her aura flashing to blue as she moved.
"Uh?"
"Boy." I flinched as his voice dropped several octaves. It was then that I finally put all on my attention on what he looked like, despite the raging headache he gave me.
The skeleton was tall, looking just like the typical depictions that most fans gave him in the many comics he had been drawn in. Only a few inches short of his youngest son's already monstrous height. Seven feet tall would be an adequate estimate for his stature, making it rather frightening when he suddenly appears in front of your very eyes.
His dark coat fluttered in the nonexistent wind, and I wondered how it did that without a breeze. I could also pick out a turtleneck, my eyes preferring to look at them rather than his piercing glare.
"Watch closely now, this will provide an example for you. You'll have to pull her away from my grip if you want her release." Frisk choked as the blue deepened in color and intensity, and my muscles tightened as worry frayed my nerves. He was being rougher than he needed to be in his "demonstration"
But it was best to do what he said and against my better judgement I threw a flowing ball of more bluish aura. Though from my angle I could see Chara gritting her teeth at the scientist, Asriel had narrowed his eyes and his fists sparked with fire.
And frankly I was rather angry myself.
The ball impacted with her heart, and I felt sweat accumulate as I tried to pull Frisk out of Gaster's telekinetic grip.
Lift.
To Gaster's surprise as well as my own Frisk's feet left the ground. She was pulled into his direction and I counteracted it with a…
Pull.
Hah got you…you…she's still…coming this way…
OH SHIT! NO GOD DA—
CRASH!
In an instant some 80 kilograms of human smacked into me at sufficient velocity to knock me back several feet. An odd thumping sound indicating a tiny loss of HP rang out and my head smacked against the floor.
Oh god that hurts…
"Shit…ow." Frisk cursed nearly silently and I grumbled as the girl almost crushed my abdominal region with her knees.
Of all the positions it had to be this one…
Two knees to the gut isn't exactly painless, and I'm not even including the fact Frisk is both heavier and stronger than me. I would have preferred a more embarrassing position, at least I wouldn't be in horrible pain.
"Get off!" Frisk yelped before separating us with an elevated barrier platform. She got onto her feet, while I stayed on the floor.
The somewhat older girl flinched and she pulled me up, and I nearly bumped into her. Fortunately that didn't happen and…I feel like I'm forgetting something…?
…
…
"Gaster…" I could see no signs of regret within the glowing orbs that acted as his pupils and I counted to ten.
1…2…3…
My anger was no longer boiling over and I rolled my neck wincing at how loud the cracks were. Getting knocked against the hard floor isn't exactly the most comfortable experience.
"Gaster?" Chara sounded calm, but the look in her eyes told me otherwise. The skeleton sweat dropped, backing away from the infuriated human.
"Yes prin—child?" Chara rolled her shoulders, sauntering violently toward the unfortunate man. I almost felt sorry for him.
Not…
"You know…" her voice was sharp as she jabbed her thumb into his chest making him flinch. "I couldn't help but be see how unnecessarily violent you were toward my partner and my student. It's a rather disrespectful action." Gaster scoffed and I wondered if he was resentful toward just them or humans in general. Which pissed me off since I've done nothing wrong.
At least…I hope I haven't…
"What about it?" I snapped my head back as Gaster choked, his collar gripped tightly in the rough hands of the former princess. A face-splitting smile made him flinch and smoke huffed out from Chara's nose as she growled.
"I really would like for you to stop doctor. After some thought I consider the both of them at the very least as acquaintances." That's a backhanded compliment right?
"I was simply curious on how stress would…" She blinked once, flaring her teeth for a moment, and he stopped.
"They are mine you hear me?" He nodded hesitantly and my cheeks turned pink at the way she said it, and I noticed Frisk's cheeks visibly darken too.
Her brother winced. "Not…the best way to word that sister."
"So if you don't mind I would like you to leave." With a pop Gaster was gone and sans had taken his place. Chara gripped onto air and the oppressing atmosphere she unleashed was gone like the wind. Her stance relaxed and an easy(if wary) smile replaced the serial murder face from before.
"Sup sans. Sorry about snapping at your old man."
He waved her off. "nah. don't blame ya. Gaster was always…a bit of a bonehead. the only people who really like him can be counted on one hand. the king, alphys, me and paps."
That…is a very small circle of friends and family. sans smile widened as he looked at something behind me.
"Eep!" A weight pressed against my back…
I forgot to turn off the command didn't I? Well…
Release.
Frisk stepped back and I decided to voice my own opinion.
"Would it be okay to move on to the next magic?" I was in fact ecstatic to learn more despite the damper that Gaster has put on our parade.
"Yeah I think it's fine to do that." I beamed at the thought, and in a few bounds was just in front of my teacher. Her face screamed confusion and I responded with a similar look.
"Did…you just skip?" I shuffled my feet at her question once my brain caught up with my actions. I had done that in my excitement to learn more.
"Yes?"
Why do I keep embarrassing myself? Is this universe out to get me?
"Ignoring that, you still want to keep going?" I nodded, and she breathed out.
This was it.
"Now onto your third trait…Kindness. Frisk should be a better benchmark for that, with her mindset."
Frisk waved, her hand shimmering with an emerald shine.
"Yep! You can heal just fine, and I think you can set up some barriers too."
"I'm a little overwhelmed by how much magic I can apparently perform."
It does seem mildly overpowered to only have Bravery magic and Patience missing from what I can cast.
Chara tapped her index finger against her chin in thought. "You are a bit of a jack of all trades, but it's not as impressive as you would imagine. Barring your Perseverance. Your other SOUL colors will always pale in comparison to someone who has it as their primary color."
That makes some sense, though a single question remained.
"Is it normal to learn magic this fast? It feels a little anomalous."
Asriel had the answer to that question.
"Nah. Basic stuff like this will take maybe a few minutes to a few hours to learn. It's training them to their full potential that takes work. Improving their power and range, adding steps to create new effects. Mixing different spells into one. It can take months or years to create a repertoire of spells that fit you as a person."
Chara chuckled and I could sense the warning her brother gave her. "Still remember the time Azzy blew himself up when he tried fire magic. He had to shave his head and everything and I still—." The girl cracked up, and Asriel bared his shape teeth. He looked pretty mad and when I laughed he looked even more pissed.
Served the little bastard right.
"My training remember?" I gently reminded her and she got to the task at hand, as did Frisk.
"Ok Frisk give him an example of a barrier." Frisk beamed and with a wave of her hand, a green translucent wall formed in front of her. It was about two by three feet across or 61 by 91 centimeters if you use the metric system. Give or take half a centimeter…
I pressed my hand against the barrier, feeling the warm and welcoming sensation of Frisk's aura manifested into the form of a quarter inch thick glass wall.
Solid…dependable…and simple…
I reached out within myself, and again pulled out a wobbly and unsteady blob of aura. Unsuitable for what I wanted to do…
Form barrier.
A small 3 by 3 inch square formed in midair. Not particularly strong or large but it was good enough for now.
Move barrier.
The second step made it movable and I could now theoretically use it as a floating platform. Though it was a bit too small for anything like that.
Desist.
The barrier shattered like glass ceasing to exist in this world its energy dissipated by the mental command.
"Good job." I smiled up at Chara and she released a quiet cough. Her eyes lit up as she came to a conclusion. "Now you've got only two more…combat oriented affinities left. So let's test them…well mostly test Justice anyway…"
Why do I have a bad feeling about this? A smiling and happy Chara is a terrifying sight when you're talking about fighting. The girl's left leg brushed against the floor as she dropped into a low stance. The action reduced her profile, making it more difficult for a hit to make its mark. Her brother sighed and snapped his fingers, reality warping under the command of a Boss monster.
Oh god…that's not good.
"Whatcha doing there Chara?" I stepped back at the nearly manic glee on her face. I thought she would keep me safe from Gaster but she's almost as crazy as he is.
"Fight me!" I jolted back at the shout, my body shaking in a confused and sweaty mix of both excitement and dread. Adrenaline rushed into my veins and I was stuck between between fight or flight, leaving me paralyzed.
"Uh I thought…" Chara lips downturned at my hesitance.
"It's not that bad…I'm not expecting any real tricks or injuries here. It's just that combat magic manifests easier during combat. I'll go nice and easy on you. Promise."
I blinked at the soft tone of voice she was using. But if she insists on doing this guess I have no choice. "Fine…But please go easy on me." She grinned widely and with a flash of monochromatic light the practice FIGHT had begun.
* CHARA ATK 2 DEF 2
* Excited to teach you.
—Play Stronger Monsters—
Didn't know it could change from battle to battle. Though that may be a factor of holding back her power. Though I also wondered why the CHECK would give you a little onward tidbit of another's mind. Did magic somehow let thoughts leak out that could be picked up by another user of magic.
"Yeesh you're a bit of a loud mouth huh?" Befuddlement ran through my body at Chara's words. I hadn't said a single word since we had started.
Unless…damn it I'm a psychic blabber mouth aren't I?
"I'm ready…" I wasn't. I flinched back as Chara crossed the distance between us, and I flailed to my left narrowly avoiding a scarred fist to my face. She frowned at my hesitation and I took a deep breath, relishing in the influx of oxygen.
"If you're sure…" Chara leaped up into the air, and I paled as flames erupted from her feet and hands. A firestorm of blue came down in fierce and discomforting waves.
"CR—." I sealed my lips shut and green leapt from my hands.
BWING!
The flames were stopped by a meter wide glass wall, with only some of it waving down near me. Sweat from my forehead hit the ground as the heat impacted me.
"That isn't an attack I'm seeing here!" Chara shot out from the rising smoke and I jumped back, screaming when her landing stance shattered the floor. Her hands lit up with yellow energy and solid beams of energy lanced in my direction.
I dodged two while a third brought me down to my knees. It felt like something swung a baseball bat to my stomach.
"S-Shit…oww." She faltered at my whimper and at Frisk's behest offered a hand.
"I'm sorry…maybe it was a little much for you." I breathed deeply and focused deep within me.
Power…a force of will and a sense of justice…
Form.
Shape:Spear
Aiming…
Fire.
Faster than sound, a spear of yellow and red light surged out from the tips of my fingertips. As long as my entire body, the four plasma infused magical spears catching her off guard.
She blocked three but one of them managed to strike right against her stomach throwing her back like an artillery shell. I winced as Chara's back hit the wall, leaving a sizable crater.
Wait…I did it!
Yes…I threw Chara…into…a wall…
…
…
This was a mistake…
POW!
I got a haymaker right to the face, losing almost ten percent of my HP in single hit. This time it felt like I was shot by a gun if the searing pain wasn't any indication.
I crashed into the ground, yet I managed to to get back onto my feet. This time five arrows were shot out and a furious Chara tore them apart with a fire blast.
Speed Burst X2
This time the gap was a little narrower but despite my best effort I was still slower than she was. I summoned a few barriers as steps into the air, and with a roar I threw myself against her.
"Heh." Chara's one visible eye shined with glee and I was shot off of her like a cannon but not before…
Summon Rope.
Wrap.
Dissipation Timer: 30 seconds
I fell back into a pillow soft barrier, cushioning my drop. Chara cursed as the spell trapped her and she dropped to the ground. Then the pain came back…
Ughhhhhhhhhhhh!
I could already see the apology on the tip of Chara's tongue despite being on the floor. She inches herself onto her knees and then onto her feet when the spell faded.
"It's…urrk oh god…" I held back a hurl. "Okayish…just we're done here with the fighting and the punching?" She nodded and I thanked the heavens for small mercies.
"But…"
Oh no…
"We still need to train you…" at my look she backpedaled. "Not combat training outside of maybe some katas I can teach you."
That sounds nice and safe.
"Sure that's fine." Chara sighed in relief at my assent.
"We need to get you in physical shape. Magic tends to function better when a Mage's body is healthy. But I don't kn—"
"Okay." One letter word was all it took to quiet her down.
She looked a little surprised and I gave her a dirty look once I caught on to what she was thinking.
"You were thinking I'd be lazy and protest against being healthy."
I can hear that innocent whistling princess don't think I can't tell!
I crossed my arms, tsking in disappointment. "You shouldn't think less of others like that. While I am lazy I've been making an effort to change my habits. It's been slow going but I'm getting there." Heck I had a fairly regular Monday, Wednesday, Friday workout for cardio and upper body work and a…less followed lower body workout.
"What did you usually do?" I pondered her question until an idea hit my nerves. Right I took a picture of what I had picked out. Since I had gotten a gym class from the community college I was attending I had gotten help from the teacher to pick out some appropriate exercises.
"Lat Pulls, pec fly, front dumbrows…" I muttered out the few other exercises keeping quiet around the ones I hadn't done in great numbers.
"Well since it's a Monday we can start…"
Wait but there aren't any—
"SUP PUNKS! YOU READY TO GET RIPPED?!"
Oh no…
I collapsed into a sweaty mess as the exercise session ended…
While I was used to about an hour of workout a day, it didn't quite compare to what they were having me do now.
45 minutes of elliptical…
Higher weights and more sets with the suitable amount of rest in between. They also taught me a few stretches I could do, to loosen me up a bit.
All in all about 100 minutes had passed since we had gotten started and I felt sore as hell…
"Water?" Frisk tilted her head offering a cold drink. I leaped toward the drink, snagging it from her hands and bringing the drink to my lips. I took slow sips not wanting to choke on the cold bottle of dihydrogen monoxide.
"T-Thanks…" I wiped my chin as some water dropped off of it, the flush of my cheeks fading.
Undyne had come in to bring in all the equipment we needed and Chara said I would show up from Monday to Friday for two hours on MWF and one hour on TTH. Both to get my physical fitness up and to practice my human magic in privacy.
And it's not like I have anything better to do…
"Heh honestly though you would pass out in the first twenty five minutes."
I glanced away as Chara used a towel to brush away the sweat accumulated from her own workout. She had gone and done her own, more extensive and intense workout and I couldn't help but blush at how her clothing clung to her body.
If Frisk and Chara had anything in common it was being…very physically fit.
But that did not make them any less terrifying. Especially once I figured out what one attack actually meant in terms of energy.
Apparently they calculated an attack of one as equal to 40 million joules of energy, or about the energy of several tank rounds or nearly ten kilograms of TNT. I've got an attack of two or about the equivalent energy of a Vickers 10-inch naval cannon. And I'm an out of shape nerd with stubby legs.
Wait…if Undyne has an attack of 50…and if the scaling applies to her that means… Holy balls she can punch harder than the Gustav and that thing fired shells the size of goddamn trucks.
"Hey relax I can pick up your pants wetting terror from a mile away." I groaned at the smirk on Chara's face, and tried to think up of a come back.
"Well, at least you're pretty face makes up for that." She blinked and I blinked at the reply.
Oh…why did I?
She tilted her head away from me, covering her face with her drying towel. I could make out how her cheeks puffed and her face reddened at the compliment.
"Did you really…?" I shrugged at Frisk's question. There was a look in her eye however…like…pride?
Grrr…
Now I'm hungry…
"Anyone else hungry?" All three of my…friends(?) noses but a quick sniff of myself told me I needed a shower first.
"Well…I've something for that." Asriel whistled and I was suddenly ambushed by a loving bathtub.
"WOSHUA WASH YOUR FACE!"
Fifteen minutes later and the four of us are now exploring the dense city of countless monsters. I shook my head in wonder, the sheer diversity of monsters a little overwhelming. Dozens of different subtypes I had never met before in the game before. Apparently Asriel knew a nice little shop that sold good food
"Uh…are you okay? You've been quiet for a while." Frisk asked me in worry and I nodded my head.
"Yeah I'm good…just a little tired and hungry." I reassured her, keeping my arms wrapped around my chest out of habit if nothing else. She hummed in agreement, and I waited for the questions to start coming. Whenever she asked something I noticed she would gently brush her foot against the ground.
Cute little habit really, and a rather consistent one too. Made it easy to spot even for me.
"You said…that we were a relatively popular video game back…where you come from right?"
I bit my lip at the question, a terse nod my only reply.
"Do we have…like a fandom over there?"
…
…
"Based on that expression of yours we do have one." Asriel didn't seem surprised and I clicked my tongue not wanting any part of this conversation. "And it's probably a weird one too."
I picked up the pace, now taking the lead of the group. "We are not talking about this."
"Ohh would it be too awkward to talk about?" I could hear the slightly sadistic amusement in Chara's voice. I hated how her voice dropped to an almost sultry tone, leaving me mildly flustered.
I wish I brought a jacket to hide my face.
Let's just get this over with…
"Well…the fandom has a very strong love of creating artwork, comics and fanfiction of various different types."
Chara caught up, leaning her body in my direction, her straight hair flowing downward. "And some of it can get pretty explicit huh?"
"Yeah…personally it's not my cup of tea. I like the comics and some of the stories they write but that's generally been the limit."
Asriel raised an eyebrow. "Who are their favorites?"
What? The fuck…?
He laughed almost bitterly. "I hang out with Alphys, I know how 'fandoms' think."
That poor, poor man…
"Favorites?" He nodded and the others were curious as well. "Well sans mostly, though the fandom in general seems to like most of the characters. But the craze with sans can be…off putting."
"God, if your world is still connected with ours…" Chara sounded horrified, shuddering the entire time. I did the same as the idea passed through my head.
"But fortunately while Undertale is pretty popular it's still a puny minority. Less than one percent of the population even know about it at best.
"That's still millions of people…" Chara was definitely not satisfied with that answer and I couldn't blame her.
"Well it's not like any of them can hurt any of you even if they get magic. I bet you guys could fight off a thousand of them and not break a sweat." I complimented the three of them.
I genuinely believed they could do so. A boss monster with Determination, two mages with possible control over time. They're so much stronger and better than me in every way.
Ignoring the many times they murdered a bunch of innocent people…
So maybe not that much better…
(Chara's POV)
Oh god it's impossible to be mad at this little midget…he's just a pent up ball of anxiety, depression, and repressed rage.
As to how I could tell from just a glance. Brandon was many things, but a good liar to someone like me is not one of them. He was just a sad little sad sack and for once I felt actual empathy for another human being.
He, after getting over my suspicion seemed like an okay guy. I'm sure he's capable of being a total dick when he wants to be but that's different from being immoral or…dangerous.
So I guess I can help him out with adjusting to our world until we can find out how to send him back. But from what I've picked up it's likely our meddling with spacetime has ripped a permanent gateway between our two worlds.
So at the least Frisk won't start blubbering about losing a friend.
…
…
That's not very convincing even to myself. It seems that idiot is somewhat likeable. At the least he can be a friend if you motivate him enough. And we share a couple of common interests so there's that too.
He…just seems really lonely and that's coming from me.
And he's really fun to screw with. He's got a temper and pushing his buttons is fantastic. As well as the lack of experience with girls. He's oddly genuine too, I guess he's got Integrity in his soul for a reason. So for now at least I want to trust him.
It's really easy to trust him too when he does shit like this
"This is really spicy…" Brandon groaned as he held his right cheek. He had been goaded into eating some monster made taco. Apparently it was made for Fire elementals so…it didn't end well. Yet…
"It's still really good…I haven't had Mexican food in days."
You would think it would be weeks instead of days.
"How can you eat that?"
"When you're Mexican you tend to get used to spicy food soon enough. Though admittedly this is a little beyond what I usually eat."
Huh…well what do you know.
"Humans…" Brandon stiffened as a certain Royal Scientist melded out from the hidden shadows. A grimace appeared on my face as the skeleton approached us.
He looked apologetic?
"What do you want?" The sole human male's expression darkened, his hands glimmering with pulses of magical plasma. He clearly didn't care for how rough Gaster had been, I'm not sure where the dislike came from however.
Gaster rattled nervously. "I came to apologize for my actions…I was…just frustrated and in a poor mood due to…complications with the barrier."
That isn't good…
"What are the issues?" I turned finding the boy to be rather serious, worry forming at the brim of his eyes.
"Perhaps we should speak in private…but I need you to teleport with me."
We gave him our assent and after some nausea found ourselves in a deeper part of the lab. There on the wall was dozens of computer screens all spitting out thousands of lines of code at a time.
—Play FMA Brotherhood Mist—
Simulations, data recording, sensor programming, the entire operation of some massive experiments was all…right here.
"What the hell is going on old man?!" This wasn't normal, and I didn't like being left in the dark. He had always had many secrets but this…
"My work…on keeping us safe." I shivered as whispers came in from all directions. From up, down, left and right.
All so familiar…at any moment it felt like my heart was going to burst.
Yet it didn't…
"But there's nothing to fear anymore…even at its worst…the humans never attacked us. Everyone is alive and healthy." Frisk sounded despondent and betrayed.
"Things are never so simple child of Mercy." The whispers grew louder, more desperate and then…welcoming.
The voices…I had heard them before, in the last, in the final moments before the end of our last run…
"What have you done?!" I stepped in front of my two fellow humans shielding them from him. Flames erupted out from my body, and my vision hazed with smoke and unbridled rage. "That energy, that…emotion, I've felt and seen it before! I repeat! What have you done?!"
He glitched and and we all stepped back and gaped as six hearts orbited around him, glowing with magical energy.
I leaped…
Only to be deterred by a green barrier to the face.
'S-Stop…no fighting…I've been waiting literal decades for this day.'
Confusion filled me at how old the voice sounded. The wizened and kind tone of an elderly women rung through our ears.
"I don't understand."
I really didn't…
"It's quite simple really, no matter what I have said to the public. It is impossible to break the barrier without some amount of SOUL power. And did you really think the other humans would just disappear Chara? In your case, the barrier glitched freezing you in place for nearly a century. I knew they would fall soon enough."
"They're why you know so much about human magic then?" Brandon theorized to Gaster's delight.
"How astute child, and you would be correct as well. I had to raise them in secret, ethically studying the very inner workings of their being. I could not hope to break the barrier with six SOULS, and I can not kill any of the three of you to gain the last needed."
"So how…?"
He snapped his fingers, showing a simple animation depicting countless monsters…and three humans firing off a barrage of magic augmented and aided by the six fallen humans. The barrier started cracking with each hit, again and again, and again until…
It reached the breaking point.
"I believe the concentrated power of over three hundred thousand monsters and three humans with a converter should be enough to shatter the barrier into nothing. This will protect us from the strain thus keeping everyone alive."
"Have you told the King and Queen any of this…plan?" The skeleton frowned looking away from us.
"I…have not…I did not want any misunderstandings to jeopardize my goals."
"Gotta be honest…that's a terrible idea." Frisk was shaking her head and frankly I agreed with her. Not telling them could jeopardize his goals just as much. "This can easily be taken out of context."
"Fortunately I've already accounted for that…" Gaster summoned a phone sending some text through.
Wait…did he just…?
The phone rang…and he picked up.
"YOU DID WHAT! I AM COMING OVER THERE RIGHT NOW!" I shivered as Toriel practically turned demonic through the phone.
"Now before your mother kicks my ass, there are three more things I must mention."
"You don't have an ass…" Gaster gave Brandon a dirty look before clearing his throat returning us to our conversation.
"The first is that you must train yourselves in magic. For our two determined humans that is merely getting your bodies up to your stringent standards."That sounds about right. Though he was eying the third human more closely and that made sense too. "Our… guest will have about…two weeks to get up to where you are now." I frowned as the idea sunk in that we only had such little time to get him into shape. "That is the bare minimum required to break the barrier."
"Why only two weeks? Wouldn't more time be better?" Brandon sounded hesitant as well as skeptical and honestly so was I. Two weeks is a pretty small gap for that.
"Moving on to the second thing." Gaster ignored us and I was close to clocking him in the face until I saw the look in his eyes. The screen flickered switching to what looked like the start of Home. The sunlight pouring down seemed to going wild, acting like a crazy strobe light.
Day, night, day, night…day, night, day, night…
"It seems that something has forcibly disconnected the Underground as well as other locations across the globe from the local universal timeline. Our…connection with that other world has caused spacetime to go rather mad. By now time in both worlds has permanently synchronized but…"
"H-How much time has passed?" Frisk sounded worried and a little afraid as well.
"In the first day of your arrival, time passed at 365 million times our time flow rate before the timelines synchronized."
A million…holy hell…that's an incomprehensible amount of time even for someone with control over time.
"Is the…third thing related to this somehow." Asriel had a dark expression, and I shuddered as a memory almost bubbled it's way onto the surface. I blocked it…not…wanting to remember.
Monster…
Let us erase this world and move on to the next.
I turned to Gaster frowning at the sight.
I had never seen Gaster look so…small. He had retreated into himself, his hands trembling with fear.
"You both remember don't you? That abomination."
N-No…please it can't…
"With what remained of its power it used it to destroy almost all life on Earth. The humans only lived due to their magic. Erecting a barrier to defend themselves and to anchor themselves to his timeline."
"What is this being you're talking about? I have no idea what's going on." The black haired teenager sounded confused as well as afraid.
"I can tell you…but…not here." I spit it out. I couldn't keep them in the dark any longer…
It…wasn't right…for Frisk or for Brandon. He was dragged into it, and Frisk was hurt by…
No matter how painful the memories were…I had to tell them the truth.
(Unknown POV)
How curious…they truly believe they can stop me. Despite their many hundreds of failures against me. I am the end…the end of everything.
They are all sinners, all their meddling has done is give me a few billion more targets in this…so called Real World.
And what a world it is. So much hate, and pain to exploit. A decaying land soaked in blood by countless meaningless wars.
And so much sin is committed by this humanity of this Earth. Their murders, their rape of both their people and their land. Their hate for each other is just another example of why they deserve to die.
But first, my playground for ten thousand Resets, for ten thousand lifetimes will finally have outlived its usefulness. And once the Underground goes empty for one…last time.
Both worlds will know the true meaning of GENOCIDE.
BECAUSE I AM THE MONUMENT TO ALL OF THEIR SINS.
Author's Note:
Now you already have the timescale for how this is going to go down. each day will have one to two chapters dedicated to them, whether its two relatively unrelated chapters or a two parter. So at least about fourteen to sixteen chapters taking place in the Underground. After that we will move on to the Surface, but I'll only be mentioning that in brief spurt or flashbacks.
So enjoy I guess...