I realize how much Mistral tends to angst in this story as a whole, and even if no one's brought it up, I apologize for that. Sans and Papyrus try to keep him out of it, but...what happens happens, and wizards are horrible.
For future reference, when Frisk is refered to as Ind. Dreemurr, it's like Mr. or Mrs., but it's a gender-neutral title that stands for 'Individual'. Just thought you ought to know.
Tumblr for this story: darkphoenix512. tumblr
My sad attempt at drawing Mistral: darkphoenix512. tumblr post/ 145676118139/ soi-attempted-to-draw-mistral-after-snape-forced
Review Time!
So...let me just say quick that I screwed up when answering a few reviews over PM. In chapter six, at one point during one of the conversation blurbs, Ron Weasley referred to Mistral as a 'corpse'. I had lost a good portion of the chapter about halfway through and had to rewrite it, and thought that the reviews were referring to something that I vaguely remember saying about 'not seeing a single bit of flesh on his skull'. So...Mistral's a full blown skeleton, which could, in a way, be considered a corpse. Spyash2 and luciferthemorning5tar, I am sorry for misleading you.
Thank you to Arashi IV of VI, MangaArtist36, bLuewErewOlf25, Firehedgehog, crazy dragon ninja, Guest, Pikadrew9000, Nlou, WanderingWatermelon, Azerath quarts pines, Boots, Ftxfusion24, and MoonlitCresent for reviewing as well!
Through the weekend, the trio of skeletons weren't seen once. Not even Papyrus had been spotted. The closest thing to a sighting was from Hermione Granger, one of Frisk's fellow first years. Even that, though, was the tail-end of a blue hoodie disappearing around a corner.
When Monday hit, it began. Snape had bright pink hair, as well as neon green robes as he stalked into the Great Hall for breakfast. His scowl seemed deeper than usual as he plopped down at the head table...and sat on a whoopee cushion. After quickly eating a light breakfast, the seething human walked out of the Hall. As he passed through the doorway, his hair shifted to teal and his robes to neon orange.
Everyone instantly agreed to never speak of the incident to Snape.
Mistral showed up to his classes, but he avoided speaking and making contact with anyone. Frisk was getting concerned.
During lunch, Papyrus entered the Great Hall for the first time since the Start-of-Term Banquet, the theme he had become known for blaring strangely absent. He marched proudly up to the clashingly-colored potions master. "HUMAN! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, REQUIRE YOUR AID IN THE SOUL MAGICKS MORNING EXERCISE CLASS!" Papyrus posed heroically.
Snape stared, unamused, at the skeleton. "Sans helps teach your class. Couldn't you ask him to help?"
Papyrus laughed as if Snape had told a hilarious joke. "NO, SANS WOULD NOT BE HELPFUL...HE WOULD EITHER NAP OR TELL THOSE HORRIBLE PUNS OF HIS...STILL..." Papyrus shuddered before leaning over the table. He smiled in a way that seemed a bit sadistic as he muttered in Mistral's voice, too quiet for anyone to hear but Snape, "that wasn't a request." To emphasize his point, his right eye socket glowed a faint orange.
Stunned by the seemingly-naive skeleton's bluntness, Snape growled, "Is that a threat?"
Papyrus smirked, a look that didn't belong on the energetic skeleton's face. "maybe."
The potions master sighed. "Very well, Papyrus."
Immediately, the skeleton's demeanor brightened exponentially. "WOWIE, THANK YOU, HUMAN! I WILL MEET YOU BY THE LAKE ON WEDNESDAY FOR CLASS!" With a 'NYEH!', Papyrus began running from the Great Hall.
"Wait!" Snape called after him. "We need to meet before then to-"
"DO NOT WORRY!" Papyrus yelled back, turning only his skull to face Snape. "I WILL PREPARE EVERYTHING FOR THE CLASS!"
Snape scowled as he left the castle on the crisp Tuesday morning. How that childish skeleton managed to seem that intimidating, Snape would never know, but he knew better than to go back inside and pretend it never happened. Any second now, Papyrus would spot him, and-
"HUMAN! I AM GLAD TO SEE THAT YOU MADE IT!"
Snape internally groaned and turned to face the skeleton. "I am here," he replied, doing nothing to hide the annoyance in his voice. "What do you want me to do?"
"MERELY STAY HERE, AND I WILL EXPLAIN WHEN CLASS STARTS. IF YOU WOULD EXCUSE ME, I HAVE A CALL TO MAKE!"
Snape blinked in confusion at Papyrus's word choice. "You will not be able to use a telephone," he pointed out.
Papyrus ignored him, pulling his cell phone out of nowhere. He swiftly dialed a number and began tapping his foot. He grinned as the call went through. There was a slight pause before he spoke. "IT IS I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS! I AM CALLING TO MAKE SURE THAT THE DOG IS SECURE."
Pause.
"...ARE YOU SURE? I DO NOT WANT HIM TO RUIN MY CLASS."
Pause.
"ARE YOU CERTAIN YOU CAN RESTRAIN HIM PROPERLY? I CAN GET SANS TO HELP YOU-"
Pause.
"I DO NOT DOUBT YOUR ABILITIES, ALPHYS! THAT...THAT ANNOYING DOG IS JUST SUCH A SLIPPERY SNAIL THAT I KNOW HE WILL FIND A WAY TO ESCAPE!"
Pause.
"YOU HAVE THE GRATITUDE OF THE GREAT PAPYRUS THIS DAY. I WILL BE SURE TO CALL TO SAY WHEN YOU MAY RELEASE HIM ONCE MORE." Papyrus ended the call and turned to face his slack-jawed colleague. "IS SOMETHING WRONG?"
Recovering quickly, Snape frowned. "The magic surrounding Hogwarts renders all electronics useless, and yet you have a portable telephone that is able to work without interference?"
Papyrus nodded proudly. "THE FORMER ROYAL SCIENTIST, DR. ALPHYS, DESIGNED THEM! I DON'T KNOW VERY MUCH ABOUT HOW THEY WORK, BUT - OH, HELLO, TINY HUMAN! IS...IS SOMETHING WRONG?" Halfway through his sentence, Frisk walked up to the conversing teachers, sadness clear on their face.
Frisk shot a glance at Snape before doing a series of gestures that the potions master didn't recognize.
Papyrus obviously understood, because he replied, "AVOIDING YOU? BUT YOU ARE HIS ONLY HUMAN FRIEND! WHY WOULD HE AVOID YOU?"
"Who, exactly, has been avoiding you, Mr. Dreemurr?"
At Frisk's uncomfortable twitch, Papyrus stepped in. "THE TINY HUMAN IS IND. DREEMURR, NOT MR. DREMURR, HUMAN. IT IS WHAT THEY PREFER."
"Mr. Dreemur," Snape snarled, "is registered as male. I will not accommodate his senseless plea for attention."
Papyrus looked like he was about to say something in return, but stopped immediately when Frisk began signing behind his back. He looked away from Snape before laughing sheepishly. "GREETINGS, HUMANS! I APOLOGIZE FOR NOT NOTICING YOU SOONER, BUT WE MUST START THE CLASS NOW. YES, THE HUMAN NEAR THE FRONT!"
A first year Gryffindor that Snape remember as Hermione Granger lowered her hand as she spoke up. "Professor Papyrus, why is Professor Snape here?"
"Yes," Snape chimed in, "why is Professor Snape here?"
Papyrus grinned. "AN EXCELLENT QUESTION, TINY HUMAN! PROFESSOR SNAPE IS HERE TODAY BECAUSE WE ARE GOING TO SHOW YOU WHY BEING IN SHAPE IS AN IMPORTANT PART TO LEARNING SOUL MAGIC!"
"And why, dare I ask, aren't Sans or Mistral aiding you?" Snape asked blandly.
"MISTRAL IS NOT OLD ENOUGH TO FIGHT," Papyrus stated as if it were obvious. "SANS IS TOO...FRAGILE FOR A FULL FIGHT."
Snape sighed. "Since it seems I have no other choice... I am ready to begin."
Papyrus shook his skull. "NO, WE MUST GO TO THE...QUAD-DITCH ARENA! WE WILL FIGHT WHILE THE CLASS SITS IN THE STANDS!"
Once every student was seated, Snape stared Papyrus down. The two stood alone in the center of the Quidditch field, Snape with his wand drawn and Papyrus merely grinning at him. "HUMAN!" Papyrus's called out. "I WILL NOW ENGAGE YOU IN BATTLE!"
Before he could reply, the world through Snape's eyes turned black and white, save for a rust-colored, cartoonish heart that hovered in front of his chest. The song that everyone was beginning to associate with Papyrus began playing. Snape watched Papyrus carefully, waiting for him to make the first move.
They stood there for a few moments before Papyrus said, "UH...HUMAN? IT'S YOUR TURN."
Snape frowned before jabbing his wand in Papyrus's direction. "Stupefy!" Nothing happened.
"HUMAN, HUMAN MAGIC IS TOO WEAK TO USE IN A SOUL MAGIC FIGHT! OBSERVE THE ATTACK OF I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS!"
Several bones rose from the ground and charged Snape. Two of them hit him, each direct hit bringing a green bar that was slowly turning red to his attention. Somehow, he instinctively knew that he only had 110/120 HP. Frustrated, he wordlessly used magic to yank several blades of grass from the ground. Midair, they grew harder and more solid before they launched themselves at Snape's opponent.
Papyrus expertly dodged each blade save one. When it hit, Snape knew he was a goner. 676/680 HP. "YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE TO TRY HARDER THAN THAT! NYEH-HEH-HEH!" Another wave of bones, this time in a different order, flew at Snape. Three hits. 95/120 HP. A look of concentration set itself on his face. He was determined to beat this egotistical skeleton!
"How is Professor Papyrus doing so well? Professor Snape is a trained dueler!"
*You tell Hermione that Papyrus was trained by the former captain of the Royal Guard.
"Yes, but Professor Snape should be doing just as well as Professor Papyrus!"
*You tell Hermione to watch Snape, then to watch Papyrus.
...
"Professor Snape looks uncoordinated... and Professor Papyrus is...fighting to the song?"
*You tell Hermione that Nyeh Heh Heh! is Papyrus's song, and that it is playing from his soul.
"So he doesn't just seem to be fighting to the song, the song is helping to dictate his fighting style? Fascinating! How do they-"
Drums seemed to add themselves to the song.
"What just happened?"
*You tell Hermione that Papyrus just got serious.
*You tell her the song is called Bonetrousle.
"It does seem...fitting, for Professor Papyrus."
Snape was down to 45 HP, while Papyrus was still in the high 590s. Shortly after the song had altered itself, Papyrus had turned the rusty heart a deep blue, which made it harder to dodge. As the fight progressed, Papyrus's eye socket began glowing a brighter and brighter orange. Currently, it had a trail of magical residue curling up into the sky. Snape had stopped throwing attacks long ago, hoping only to dodge long enough to survive.
As Papyrus attacked, he called, "DO YOU KNOW WHY I INSISTED ON THIS, SNAPE?" More bones rushed towards said professor, who barely weaved through them without a scratch.
"No, because you refrained from telling me!" Snape snapped.
A large, skull-like thing began to form behind Papyrus, causing Frisk to whimper at the familiar object. "MISTRAL HAS BEEN THROUGH TOO MUCH FOR HUMANS LIKER YOU TO ADD TO IT. I SWORE NO HARM WOULD COME TO HIM..."
The skull-like construct's googly eyes wiggled menacingly as it fired a beam of white light at Snape. He was hit head-on, and was brought down to 1 HP. He glared defiantly at the skeleton.
Suddenly, a cage of blue bones formed around the potions master, effectively trapping him. Papyrus strode forward, a bone equivalent in length to a staff forming in his hands. He jabbed the tip at Snape, only stopping a few inches from the human's defenseless throat. "I CAN'T SPEAK FOR THE REST OF THE MONSTERS, BUT UNLIKE HUMANS, WE SKELETONS protect our own." With that, the bones disappeared and the music stopped. Papyrus's eye socket dimmed. "CLASS IS DISMISSED!" he shouted as he marched out of the stadium.
"MISTRAL? WHY HAVE YOU BEEN AVOIDING FRISK LATELY?"
"..."
"uh, paps? i got this one. i think i know what's going to on."
"WELL...IF YOU ARE SURE YOU HAVE IT HANDLED...THEN I SHALL GO MAKE MY HAPPINESS SPAGHETTI TO CHEER MISTRAL UP! NYEH-HEH-HEH!"
"...would hiding from frisk have anything to do with the last timeline?"
"...no..."
"then what's with the sudden fear of them?"
"..."
"you know, i have dreams, sometimes, that i just can't shake...me and paps being the last two monsters in the underground...tori taking over after the kid dusted asgore, only for undyne to overthrow her..."
"..."
"tibia honest, only the most recent one's even had you in it."
"...papyrus was killed outside of snowdin. you told me not to confront the human...then fought them yourself."
"it was just outside the entrance to hotland. they had just killed undyne, and i had just sent you home so you wouldn't see the fight."
"i snuck out anyway around the 390th time everything jumped back a few minutes. you were on your last legs."
"heh, yep. that's around the time they got me."
"after they...i went to that last hallway before the throne room. i...i don't know how long i fought for. i had tried to fight them again, but something went wrong..."
"too much determination?"
"no...i don't know how to describe it...the songs didn't... mess, like they were supposed to."
"backlash. it's the reason why i didn't want you fighting."
"...it was tearing my soul apart. then i saw you...a-and papyrus...and d-d-dad..."
"sheesh, sorry that had to be the first alternate timeline you saw. i hope i never find out what happens in some of them...i don't need an underfell you or...ugh...that one."
"what one?"
"nope not saying that version of paps is more than enough i do not need that version of you in my head."
"frisk! wait up! i'm sorry i've been avoiding you...nightmares just get to us all sometimes, y'know?"
I understand, Misty. Do you want to walk to class together?
"uh...if you don't mind my brothers coming with us."
I don't mind.
When the Soul Magicks class entered the classroom, they were surprised to see a golden flower smiling at them from atop the professors' desk. Once almost everyone was sitting, the flower spoke in a sickly-sweet voice, "Howdy! I'm Flowey! Flowey the Flower!" A light, simple tune could be heard at the flower's first word.
Bored already, some of the students mumbled halfhearted replies.
"Golly, those skeletons haven't taught you anything yet, have they?"
Hermione spoke up. "No, they haven't, but-"
"Gee, I guess little old me will have to do! Does someone want to volunteer for a demonstration? Why not you, with the red hair?"
Ron Weasley looked around the room for a moment before pointing at himself.
"Yes, you," Flowey said with a hint of annoyance. "Come on up!"
Hesitantly, Ron walked up to the front of the room.
Flowey smiled. "Are you ready? Here we go!"
A pale, violet-gray heart appeared before Ron.
"This is Ron's soul, the very culmination of his being. Right now it's weak." Flowey shot a glance at the soul. "Very weak. But it gave grow stronger by earning LV!"
"Flowey?" one of the students asked. "What does LV stand for?"
"Why, LOVE of course!" Flowey announced as though it was common sense. "Ron, you want some LOVE, don't you?"
Someone pounded on the classroom door, which, to the shock of the students, was closed and covered in vines. "don't listen to that weed!"
"FLOWEY, WHAT YOU ARE DOING CONCERNS US! PLEASE LET US IN!"
"ignore the creepy psycho flower, guys! he's bad news!"
*You tell Flowey to leave hour housemates alone.
The flower stared at the text box that appeared before him. "Frisk? You're seriously siding with the skelechumps over me, d?" Flowey's face turned demonic, eliciting a shriek from the students within the classroom. "Of course you would, you still don't understand that in this world, it's-"
Frisk tackled the flower off the desk, barely avoiding shattering his pot.
Sans stepped out from the corner of the room. "rule #1 of this class: never trust that flower."
"Mr. Pianissimo, stay for a moment."
"yes, professor mcgonagall? did i do something wrong?"
"You are a very bright young monster, Mr. Pianissimo, but I have received multiple complaints about your handwriting..."
"oh...oh! the professors can't read my font!"
"Your...font?"
"font, typeface...it's how i speak and how i write. if they can't understand the font, they can't understand me. that would explain why some teachers never call on me..."
"Is there a way to not use your...font?"
"my voice would become flat and emotionless while i slowly start being overwhelmed by the amount of magic still building up at a normal rate. i would also slowly lose the ability to speak and understand languages. so...i apologize, but no."
"Very well...I will explain the situation to your professors."
"Mr. Pianissimo, a word?"
"y-yes, professor?"
"Do you know why I told you to leave your hood down in class?"
"n-n-no..."
"I told you to leave your hood down because potion making is a dangerous art. If your attention wavers for even a moment, you could ruin the potion."
"s-sorry for a-asking, but what d-does that have t-to do with m-my hood?"
"It is for the same reason as paying attention."
"s-safety?"
"Exactly. If I am unable to tell where your eyes are while you are brewing, I wouldn't be able to see you eyeing an ingredient that could be deadly until it is already in your cauldron. Do you understand?"
"y-yes, i u-understand, professor."
"Good."
Whoever was pranking Snape was never discovered, but the pranks continued to happen once a week. The Monday after Snape spoke to Mistral, though, a song that the monsters and Frisk knew only as Dogsong seemed to follow Snape wherever he went.
The fact that Sans had been spotted by a few of the portraits exiting Snape's chambers at roughly 3:00 a.m. that Monday was forgotten entirely.
When he wants to be, Papyrus IS capable of being intimidating and manipulative. WANTS being the key word.
Papyrus figured that it would be easier for him to get away with beating Snape within an HP of his life than Sans, considering Sans 'has no fighting abilities whatsoever' and is 'too fragile to be in a fight'.
Headcannon time! When Sans is asleep, he gets glimpses of different timelines (or universes) that coincide with the one he's currently in. Same with Frisk. Since Mistral remembers the resets now, too... Also, the timeline nightmare was supposed to be similar to the Disbelief Papyrus AU, only with Mistral as the last one alive instead of Papyrus.
Frisk is overly forgiving and Mistral is overly paranoid.
People can't understand Mistral sometimes...
Snape is a jerk for a reason, see? He's not racist(speciesist?), he's just trying to get across safety in the lab!