"How do our experiences shape us? How do memories affect our souls? And, in the context of our story, could they affect someone's magic?" -Francine I. Kane, 201X-

Chapter 10: Memory Lane

Frisk sat between her parents in Dr. Flat's office, waiting for her after having another "c-ray" taken. She still didn't know what they were all for, but the doctor said she wanted to talk about all three pictures.

Once the appointment was over, Frisk would return to the surface with Toriel. She was almost sorry to go, but she knew she'd be returning. In the meantime, she touched up the sketches she made throughout the week while Toriel semi-politely ignored Asgore, who hummed to himself as he admired a painting on the wall.

All the Dreemurrs turned to face Dr. Flat as she came in, carrying a device Frisk learned was called a "tablet", which worked like the modern c-phones manipulated by touching a completely smooth surface.

What Frisk really wanted to do was sit down with Alphys for a few hours and learn how all this technology worked. But that would have to wait.

The doctor smiled at them all. "Good morning, everyone! Especially you, Your Highness. I believe you're in for a treat, today."

"What manner of treat, Doctor?" asked Toriel.

Dr. Flat stood beside the screen on her wall as she answered. "It occurred to me that Her Highness hasn't seen her own c-ray images, yet. I would like to correct that oversight today, as well as discuss our findings."

Frisk put her journal away as her parents stood, and the three Dreemurrs joined Dr. Flat by the wall. After she swiped and tapped at her tablet, something appeared on the larger screen. It was three pictures of a skeleton, each with subtle differences between them. Frisk was mildly confused.

"Are these the… 'c-ray' images taken of me?" Dr. Flat nodded, a smile pulling on the corners of her scaly lips. Frisk's brow furrowed, slightly. "I don't understand, Doctor. What makes this so different from an x-ray?" Though it had yet to be reinvented, she learned from books how those machines used radiation to peer through flesh, allowing one to see the bones and most soft-tissue abnormalities beneath. This didn't seem much different, and her doubt showed in her expression.

But Dr. Flat was unfazed. "Because, Your Highness, c-rays are used to monitor magic inside one's body." She smiled as comprehension dawned upon Frisk. "That's right, Princess. What happened last week was no fluke. You are magic." After another tap, the left-most image enlarged while the other two disappeared.

"This is the image we took last week, after you were admitted to the hospital," said Dr. Flat. She told the princess everything she told Asgore and Toriel about her findings that day, including Sans' theory.

In one corner of her mind, Frisk wondered if bare bones would be obscene in a skeleton monster's eyes. Even though all the pictures had been taken while she was fully clothed, she was uncomfortable at the thought of Sans seeing her effectively naked. It was… embarrassing. But Dr. Flat continued, not giving her time to dwell on it.

"This second picture," she said to them, "was taken just a few days ago. As you can see, there's been a marked improvement in the magic density. While it's still not quite where we would want it, if you were a monster, such rapid improvement is remarkable. And now, for the latest scan…"

After a swipe, the newest picture dominated the screen. "The improvement has slowed, a bit, but your skeleton is still becoming more and more magical. Especially your lower half, which wasn't very magic-dense to begin with. Except, of course, for that one spot in your foot. That's been baffling us for a while, now."

Without thinking about it, Frisk said, "I think I know where that came from." As the adults looked at her in amazement, she realized her mother might not like any further explanation, and Undyne might get in trouble.

Asgore smiled encouragingly. "Please, Pumpkin, if you can shed any light on this mystery, feel free to share it with us." As Toriel and Dr. Flat nodded, Frisk sighed. She hoped her mother didn't get too mad…

"That magic probably came from my fight with Undyne," said Frisk. "Whenever she turned my soul green, she did so by stabbing me in that foot with a special spear. It didn't hurt, but it immobilized me and made it impossible to run."

Toriel was aghast. "What?! How in the world were you supposed to fight in that condition?"

Frisk backed away from the screen, into the middle of the office so she could demonstrate. "When she did that, she would give me one of her spears. I used it to defend myself against her bullets." Frisk assumed the stance Undyne had shown her, though her hands were closed around nothing. Still, just pretending was bringing those memories to the forefront of her mind, out of the shadows she shoved them into.

It had been her determination against Undyne's. A warrior's hopes for a future under the sun against a human's, who just wanted to live long enough to have a future. She remembered all those bullets flying through the air, all that magic making the very air sizzle, and the tingle of the spear in her hands as she blocked what she could…

Frisk's hands were tingling, now. No… it wasn't just her hands. Her chest began to feel peculiar, as well. It was almost like when she was fighting her uncle, but not quite so hot. Intrigued, Frisk let herself remember more.

Those bullets had stung, but they held all of Undyne's hopes. They'd held everyone's dreams of being free. Undyne's love for her people burned like the flames from her stove. Her bullets expressed her fierce, direct spirit. Though Frisk had been on the receiving end of a butt-kicking, she still grew to respect Undyne's dogged tenacity.

Frisk let herself remember… and a white spear suddenly appeared in her hands. The abruptness of it stunned the adults for a second, before they exclaimed at the same time.

"My child-!"

"Princess, are you hurt!?"

"Goodness gracious!"

Frisk just stared at the spear in her hands. She hefted it, feeling a fraction of the weight a human-made spear would have. And it didn't feel like holding the borrowed spear, not really. It felt more like the little pencils she summoned, before.

Suddenly, she knew why it felt different. It was because this was her spear. This was her magic, in her hands. This had to be an expression of the memories and feelings now indelibly inscribed upon her soul. Frisk was all at once excited, intrigued and, if she was to be honest with herself, a little frightened. Just thinking of how much potential power she had at her fingertips was dizzying.

Frisk held her spear for a moment, but she didn't flip it around because the office was too cramped for such things. Then she let the memories recede, the magic dissolving. She shook herself, realizing she hadn't said a word the entire time. She gave her parents and the doctor a smile.

"I'm fine," said Frisk. "It didn't hurt this time." Dr. Flat still gave her a quick examination, gently poking and prodding at various spots on her hands. She looked into Frisk's eyes with a tiny light, ensuring there was no inflammation, but they were fine.

Dr. Flat was amazed, her eyes wide. Then, she became puzzled. "How are you fine? What made this time so different? And how in the world are you doing all this without any training?"

Frisk could only shrug as her parents looked at one another, then at her.

Toriel tried to smile. "Well, as long as you are unhurt, my child, then I suppose that is good enough for me."

Asgore nodded with a smile. "Agreed. And just think! Now we can include magic training in your curriculum!"

Toriel was dubious. "I am not certain permitting her to practice magic is wise…"

For once, Asgore stood up to her. "And I am not certain keeping her in ignorance is any wiser. You just saw what happened. We must teach Frisk how to control her new power, so she does not injure someone in another moment of fear."

Toriel's expression was strained, but her tone was civil. "But her magic injured her. How do we know training will not hurt her further?"

Asgore remained firm. "She was not hurt this time. Clearly, something is different about this instance. Whatever made it so must be nurtured. One thing we cannot do is force Frisk to bottle up her soul, again." Softly, he added, "You already felt what that did to her. I do not wish to contribute to that pain."

Toriel struggled to keep her bottom lip from quivering, remembering how small and scared Frisk's soul felt that day. "And I do not wish any new pain upon her," she said, equally softly. "She has been hurt enough. My child will no longer suffer."

As Asgore tried to come up with a better counterargument, Dr. Flat cleared her throat, making him and Toriel jump. They turned almost guiltily toward her, having forgotten where they were, and saw Frisk standing beside her. The child's expression and body language were neutral and unreadable. Did their disagreement upset her? They didn't have a chance to ask.

Dr. Flat said, "Perhaps we should ask Her Highness what she would like to do? It's her body and soul we're talking about, after all." She turned to Frisk. "Princess?"

Frisk thought about it, for a moment, then opened her eyes and looked into Dr. Flat's. "Did you ever find out why I was hurt so badly, when I fought my uncle?"

The doctor raised a hand and waved it in a teeter-totter motion, saying, "Yes, and no." She invited the Dreemurrs to sit back down, because this explanation was going to take a while. She took her seat behind the desk before continuing.

"I say 'yes', because the blood sample we drew at the time of the second c-ray let us figure out how magic-dense you actually were at the time, which was about seventy-five percent of what is 'normal' for a skeleton your age. But I also say 'no', because we still don't understand exactly how it interacted with your determination and physicality to cause the damage we saw.

"Alphys has a theory. She suspects an imbalance between your 'DT' and magic is what happened. For whatever reason, your magic somehow overpowered your DT, making your bones magicalcify. Then, there's her other theory…

"Her second theory involves her belief that determination is a different order of magic from a monster's. She postulates that we aren't seeing magic gathering in the c-rays, but DT. However, because we've never taken c-rays of humans before, we can't be sure. But with your explanation of how you magicalcified in that one spot on your foot, I now have a theory of my own.

"Your magic density may be climbing because you've been eating so much alchemically made food. Your bones, and possibly your SOUL, are absorbing the magic in them like sponges, faster than normal. Now, you've gained enough strength to perform magic, despite your physicality. And, not only can you absorb food, but you can absorb the magic in bullets, as well. It's entirely possible your skeleton has been becoming more and more magical since you came the Underground. But…"

Dr. Flat sighed. "Even so, it should have taken longer. Off the top of my head, the amount of magic found in our food, even eaten three times a day, every single day, isn't enough to restore a skeleton's magic after two and a half weeks. If your lower half was all-but-magicless after a week and a half, I must assume the rest of you was the same way when you arrived, with the possible exception of your ribcage. So this must mean you've absorbed a great number of bullets… many times over the lethal amount for someone with your HP."

Frisk said nothing. What could she say? "Yes, I've already died several times, and my supposedly dead brother (who is currently a soulless flower) is to blame for most of them"? Hardly.

But before she had to say anything, Asgore asked, "What of the barrier? Could its magic have affected Frisk, somehow?" He looked down at one of his hands, his palm upturned as though cupping something. "I could feel its power, whenever I stood before it. If Frisk once possessed magic in the past, could falling through the barrier have done something? Could it have acted as some manner of booster shot and restarted her magic production?"

Dr. Flat's spiked brows rose. "I didn't even consider that! But I should have. The power of seven human magicians…" She rubbed her lower jaw with a knuckle, deep in thought. "It would have less than a second to zap her… so perhaps not as much power as we'd think would've been absorbed. But that might be enough." She stopped rubbing her jaw, looking at Frisk. "Your Highness, did you feel anything peculiar as you were falling?"

Frisk pondered, then shook her head. "I wasn't paying much attention to my fall, I'm afraid. I… had other things on my mind, at that moment." Which was probably the biggest understatement she'd ever made.

Her arm had been throbbing from the fracture she sustained after being thrown from her stolen horse. She'd been looking Death in the face and was trying to accept the end. And, morbid as it was to consider, she had enough time during the fall to orient herself so she "landed" in a manner that made it quick.

She still didn't know how a bed of little flowers saved her, leaving her with nothing more than a bump on the head. Sometimes, she wondered if she wasn't still back there, dreaming as she slowly faded from the world…

Big, warm hands touched both of Frisk's shoulders, jarring her out of her thoughts. Her parents were giving her sad, worried looks, especially Toriel. Her mother cupped her cheek as her father took her right hand into his left. Frisk closed her eyes and concentrated on the warmth of her parents, letting it remind her that she was alive. If she concentrated hard enough, she could feel something warm in her chest, though it wasn't the same as her parent's hands.

If she could feel this warmth forever, whether she was alive or dead almost didn't matter. She just didn't want it to go away, or do anything that would drive them away. Going through that with her human parents had been bad enough.

Frisk opened her eyes, looking into Toriel's. "Mother… if you don't want me to learn magic, I won't learn any. I don't want to do anything that will be bad. I don't want to be bad…"

Toriel gaped at Frisk, before shaking her head. "No, no, no! That is not why I am concerned. You being magic is not 'bad'. I simply do not wish for you to suffer another injury." She moved her hand back to Frisk's shoulder. "My child… would you like to learn how to use magic?"

Frisk slowly nodded. "I do. I don't want to hurt somebody by accident. I don't want it to simply happen, the way it did just now. I need to learn how to control this… but I don't want to upset you, either." She tried not to remember how her human mother punished her whenever the irrational woman got upset, but it was hard. Even telling herself that Toriel was nothing like her didn't help. Frisk's mind was full of flames filled with heartache…

Her hand suddenly became almost too warm, and Asgore stopped holding it. Frisk looked down to find her palm engulfed in fire… and singed fur on her father's hand.

The color drained from Frisk's face. "I'm sorry, Papa! I'm so, so sorry!" She shook her hand, but the flame only followed. It wasn't going out! As she began to panic, Toriel gently gripped her wrist and hugged her close.

"Calm yourself, my child," Toriel murmured. "It is alright. Everything will be alright."

Frisk looked like she was trapped in a nightmare. "I'm sorry, I'msorryI'msorry!"

"I know, Pumpkin," said Asgore. "I am unhurt. I was shedding that fur, anyway. I am fine, do you see?" He showed Frisk his hand, which was indeed unharmed except for the singed fur, most of which easily fell as he brushed it off. He then used that same hand to brush away a tear from Frisk's eye. He smiled, again saying, "I am fine."

Frisk blinked in incomprehension as the flame continued to burn. "You… you're not mad?"

It was Asgore's turn to blink. "Why would I be? This was clearly an accident. I know you did not mean for it to happen."

Frisk's panicked thoughts slowed. She tried to stuff her memories back in their box but they refused to budge. She didn't know why, and her voice quavered as she said, "I can't make it go away."

Toriel continued to hold Frisk as she said, "You must create a still space within your SOUL and go there. A quiet place. It may help to envision a pond, or something else involving water. Let it fill your SOUL with peace, and the flame will recede."

"Quiet… water?"

Different memories filled Frisk's mind. Memories of a hidden park bench, and the soft sound of a river as it flowed by. Soft, blue light from luminescent mushroom trees across the water filled the room. The sound of shared laughter echoing as she and Sans traded puns, and the wonder on his face as they talked about the surface. Even though she still had to make it past Undyne at the time, that moment of peace had been just what she needed to make it through the first trial with a cool head.

Frisk held the memory tight, and the flame in her hand finally extinguished.

Everyone in the room sighed in relief. Frisk returned her mother's embrace before throwing her arms around Asgore. He pat her on the back and murmured soothing words, telling her she wasn't in trouble. Toriel watched them for a moment, before Dr. Flat regained her attention.

"Miss Toriel, if I may offer my opinion?" After a nod, she continued. "I believe that, as long as she's not experiencing anything abnormal, training may benefit Her Highness in many ways. Not only may she be able to defend herself, should she ever find herself separated from her guards, but it may also help her emotional and psychological states.

"You may know this, but if someone can't express the magic in their soul it can lead to serious problems. I'm beginning to suspect that Sans' theory was correct, and the loss of Her Highness' magic in the past has lead to this involuntary activation now that it's returned. She never learned the essentials of how to control it growing up, as a monster would, and must make up for lost time while she can."

Toriel thought about it for a long moment, looking back at her daughter as she and Asgore finally parted. Frisk was was sniffling a bit, and he smiled gently as he handed her a handkerchief.

The poor girl had truly been through enough, but the doctor had a point. Forcing Frisk to suppress what was in her soul would do her no good. Even the "quiet water" trick Toriel just taught her was less about stifling one's magic, and more about calming the emotions fueling it. That was the sort of thing Frisk needed to learn.

Toriel was beginning to realize how much her child had been deprived of when she lived with humans. Did she truly wish to be no better than them? Even if it was to "protect" her daughter, did she wish to cage Frisk, again? If her memory served her correctly, doing so once did no good, whatsoever. Was she going to let herself make the same mistake twice?

Toriel took a deep breath and made her decision. "My child, I want what is best for you. If it means teaching you magic, that is what we will do."

Frisk smiled, as warm as the sun and twice as bright. That was enough for both of her parents to feel at ease.