Author's Note: Sooo... hi? I try not to do too many of these on purpose, but... well... I must be feeling pretty lonely, since I felt like sharing the fact I have a Tumblr blog. X_X If y'all are interested in seeing me be a complete LoZ/Undertale dweeb, or have some questions about my stories, come and see me at deku-lily .tumblr .com (subtract the spaces, of course)! I mean, if you want. I'll just... go now. *crawls back under rock*

"Here I am, making Frisk magic all of a sudden… but how's that really going to affect them? How will their learning magic affect their relationships with the monsters closest to them?" -Francine I. Kane, 201X-

Chapter 12: Bonding

Flowey sat in his flowerpot, basking in the sun as he watched Toriel trying to teach Frisk about magic. He tuned her out, thinking about the human that brought him here. He used everything he learned about humans to try and figure her out.

He hadn't been kidding when he told Frisk he read every book in the Underground. He even read everything in the records room of the Lab. It was easy for him to break in and crawl through the vents with his vines, so he pretty much knew everything Sans and Alphys did about "determination" and humans.

Although the old notes didn't call it that, they held hints of a power humans possessed that surpassed a monster's. The power to inspire one another, and "impress." To touch other lives on a level higher than words, or even actions (whether good, bad or indifferent). More than simple "charisma," it was like they carved themselves into your soul. One researcher even said "tis as though they carve their self into the very earth, upon which they stand in defiance of Fate."

If that wasn't determination, Flowey didn't know what else it could be. And a soul wasn't the only thing determination could affect.

Although he couldn't feel emotions now, the memories of Frisk's mercy still affected him. Remembering the way she reached out to him, how it felt to be "saved", made him less willing to hurt others (though it might've only been because he didn't want to be lectured by her). He was still strong enough to kill her if he wanted to… but he didn't, even if she was passing him off as some sort of plant-pet. He knew she'd just come back, no matter how many times he killed her. And… he didn't want to see the look on her face when she did.

Even though he couldn't feel anything, Frisk trusted him. Well, maybe "anything" was too strong a word to use. There was that one thing, that tiny little something in the place he kept his memories of being "saved" as Asriel. Flowey didn't know what it was, but he'd spent too long not being able to feel anything. If Frisk was what made even the smallest hint of emotion possible, he'd use every scrap of determination he had to keep her alive.

Refocusing on the present, Flowey watched as Frisk tried to summon her magic, just to see what form it would take. She wasn't having much luck, for some reason. She'd shown him how she could summon a spear like Undyne, so why wasn't it working now? Frisk was so weird. She was nothing like Chara.

Chara could summon magic knives and used magic to change their voice to do impressions, but they hid the fact they were a magician from everyone but Asriel. It'd been their little secret, just between them. It was one of the ways Chara made him- made Asriel trust them. So seeing Frisk summon those knives with her left hand, just like Chara used to, was something of a shock. Moreover, Flowey saw her profile when she was looking at Sans, just before she summoned that huge knife over her uncle. She was making Chara's "creepy face" as she said she wanted him to suffer, which was equally as shocking.

The face was shocking, not the words. Chara wanted all humans to suffer, so it wasn't surprising to hear them say that, in anyone's voice.

Frisk and Chara couldn't have been more different. But at that moment it'd been like his best friend was standing there, alive and well and angry. It was no wonder he confused them as being the same person, for a while. And then there was that weird thing about Frisk not being able to hear Chara's name properly…

Had they somehow found a way to cheat death, the way he had? Flowey didn't know exactly how he'd come back to life (if you could call being soulless a "life"). But he suspected it had something to do with the "carving yourself in the earth" aspect of determination.

Golden flower seeds stuck to everything they touched. They were probably stuck to both Chara and Asriel when they returned to the Underground. By the time Flowey came to be, and he went to go see his moth- when he went to see Toriel in Home, golden flowers were already growing in that one room. It was the place where Chara was buried, instead of "hanging out" in the castle basement with the other human bodies.

With the determination from their combined souls had their "selves", their memories, been "carved" into those seeds? Was that why he was alive, now? Was it the same for Chara? Could they be alive inside of Frisk, somehow awoken by her determination?

How was that even possible? According to Alphys' lab notes, she lost count of how many DT injections she gave Flowey's body before she gave up. Did Frisk have that much determination? Or was it just that easy for humans to share DT?

He didn't know. All he knew was that Frisk was the weirdest person he'd ever met. And one of the least boring.

Unaware of her friend's thoughts, Frisk was pouting as she and her mother stared at one another. Her failure to summon anything remotely magical using the techniques Toriel just taught her weren't bearing fruit, baffling them both and frustrating Frisk.

"Perhaps we are rushing this," said Toriel. "Forcing yourself to summon magic is not good for you."

"But I can do it!" said Frisk. To prove it, she remembered her fight with Undyne, summoning a spear yet again. "THIS is easy! I don't understand how trying to summon anything else is so hard." And if she loosened her grip on the memory, even for a second, the magic dissipated into nothing, which she did for the moment. But if she ever needed it in an emergency she doubted she could hold onto her memories and deal with whatever situation she found herself in. She hadn't been able to summon those pencils… or the knives. She wasn't sure she ever wanted to use those, again, anyway. Especially the knives.

Toriel's brow was furrowed in thought. "My child, just what are you doing when you do that?"

"I'm remembering my fight with Undyne."

"What, exactly, does that entail?"

Frisk shrugged. "I don't know. I just… remember." Seeing Toriel's doubtful expression, she tried to expand on her explanation.

"It was an emotionally charged fight. She wanted to kill me so Father didn't have to and everyone would be freed. I wanted to live and find a way to help everyone without dying. My will clashed against hers, even though I kept running away… I don't know how else to explain it." Not without also having to explain dying and coming back, anyway.

Toriel was still baffled. "That is odd… I have never heard of memories being tied to one's magic so intimately…" Struck by a thought, Toriel gasped a little. "My child, when you summoned fire to your hand, the other day, what were you remembering then?"

Frisk almost didn't answer, but made herself say the words, anyway. "I was remembering our fight." She didn't know what else to say, and watched her mother press a hand over her chest, her expression close to tears.

"Frisk…! My dear, sweet child, I am so very, very sorry."

"I know, Mother. I know you didn't mean to hurt me, at all." Frisk smiled, trying to show Toriel she held no hard feelings over it, because she didn't.

Though the fireballs hurt, they held none of the sheer rage and hatred her uncle's fists had. Even if Frisk was to combine the attacks of every Boss Monster she faced, all that pain and fear didn't even come close to matching what she experienced laying in the bloodflowers that fateful day. The only thing that did was Flowey's power-fueled lunacy. But, despite everything he put her through, she never felt any hate from him.

The feeling that he was toying with her, just because he could? Definitely felt that. Hatred, however, was notable in its absence.

Toriel stepped closer, and Frisk wrenched her thoughts back to the present. Her mother hugged her, just like she did when their fight was over. Frisk returned the embrace. She could feel a small jolt run through Toriel's body, and she relaxed her arms to look Frisk in the eyes.

"Perhaps it would be easier to show you how to summon magic properly, instead of trying to explain," she said with a smile.

Frisk tilted her head to one side, intrigued but confused. "But I've seen you summon magic, before."

Toriel nodded. "Yes, but you have not felt how I do so. Here, face away from me and take a seat."

Frisk obeyed, winding up in Toriel's lap as they sat on the ground. Her parents were both so big, even though she was a teenager (a short one, but still a teen) they made her feel so small! It was embarrassing… but the attention-starved girl deep inside didn't mind one bit as her mother's arms wrapped around her, again.

Ignoring any embarrassment on her daughter's part, Toriel reached for Frisk with her soul, just as she did that day in the hospital. Though Frisk's inner cage was back in place the little one she kept there was closer to the bars, reaching through them to her. Relieved, Toriel let her love for Frisk fill her soul.

"Do you feel what I am doing, my child?" she asked. After Frisk nodded, Toriel cupped her hands before them both. "Now, pay attention."

She tapped into her magic and flame danced in her palms. She asked Frisk, "Do you feel it?" After another nod, Toriel said, "Do your best to emulate what you are feeling." In order to aid Frisk she moved the fire to one hand and held the girl with the other, to keep her close. As Frisk began her attempts Toriel could not help but be reminded of when Asriel was small, and just starting to use magic…

But unlike Asriel, Frisk never felt the magic in the people around her, much less her parents' soul-deep joy as they welcomed her into the world. After so much exposure to magic starting from birth, a monster child had some idea of how to express their soul after a certain age… but Frisk did not. In fact, even with Toriel setting an example for her, the girl was still struggling with manifesting something besides a memory. At one point she came very close, only to lose whatever-it-was before it could appear. Her body tensed, and fear built in her soul…

Perhaps a gentle reminder was in order? "Remember, my child, that magic need not be fire, nor a weapon. It is whatever dwells within your soul. You need not fear judgement or failure, so do not hold back." When those words changed nothing Toriel said, "I am here for you, Frisk. I always will be, no matter what." She hugged her daughter, and some of the tension in her body finally eased, though the fear remained. Toriel could not guess exactly what Frisk was so afraid of.

Reaching for another's soul was not mind-reading. Feelings could be shared, but not thoughts. Toriel focused on being as comforting as possible, reaching through the bars Frisk caged herself in. The fear only grew stronger, and seemed to be inhibiting the girl's attempts at magic.

Frisk's breathing became shaky, and her body trembled in spite of her efforts to conceal it. It got to the point where Toriel was compelled to ask, "My child, what troubles you so?" When Frisk didn't answer Toriel dismissed the fire in her hand and retracted her reach into Frisk's soul, lifting her daughter from her lap and taking a better look at her.

Frisk's eyes were open wide, yet not truly focused on anything. She did not appear to see Toriel, nor hear her when she called. Frisk's expression was on the verge of tears, and her teeth began to chatter as she spoke at last.

"D-d-dark…"

Toriel shook her head. "It is mid-morning. We are outside, in the sun. Can you not feel it?"

Frisk's teeth chattered even harder. "C-c-c-cold… Why? M-mommy, why? I w-wasn't b-bad. I d-did what y-you said. I was g-good! So why?" Tears fell from her eyes, wrenching Toriel's soul even as fury built in one corner.

Just what did that wench do to this precious child? And why did she not consider emotional trauma, as well as physical injury when she objected to Frisk's training?!

Promising to speak with Asgore later, Toriel shoved all other thoughts aside and focused on Frisk. She reached to her child's soul again, only to feel some… thing in the cage with the little one. It dragged her just out of reach and wrapped itself around her, blinding and deafening her to everything else.

Aching, chilling loneliness filled with contempt for wanting companionship. Doubt for others, even as she doubted herself. Blazing hatred, endless sorrow, rage born of helplessness and so much stomach-churning fear… All of it radiated from the black mass covering the little one as though it was stickier than tar. Toriel could feel her fighting it, trying to reject it, but there was just too much! Frisk was completely mired in her own negative feelings and the sheer impossibility of it stunned Toriel.

How could one carry all of this inside them, yet still be so loving and kind? Where did it come from? She should have detected feelings this strong long ago! How did Frisk manage to hide it all? What-?

"MISS TORIEL? WHAT'S WRONG WITH PRINCESS HUMAN FRISK? AND WHY DOES SHE LOOK ALMOST LIKE SANS DOES WHEN HE HAS A BAD DREAM?"

Papyrus' voice jolted Toriel out of her perusal of Frisk's inner being. She found him waving a hand before Frisk's eyes, looking concerned when they didn't follow, or acknowledge him in anyway.

He lifted his visor and nodded to himself. "DEFINITELY A BAD DREAM. A NIGHTMARE, EVEN! ALTHOUGH, NORMALLY PEOPLE FALL ASLEEP BEFORE HAVING THEM!"

Toriel blinked for a moment, amazed at how calm Papyrus seemed. Then, she recalled what he'd just said. "Sans has bad dreams?"

The royal guard's shoulders twitched, and he looked off to one side, sweating a little under his helm. He wasn't supposed to tell people about that! "ERM… W-WE SHOULD HELP THE PRINCESS! BEFORE HER DREAM GETS TOO BAD!" He knelt beside Frisk, placing a hand on her shoulder before shaking firmly, yet gently.

"Princess? We are here. Your mother and your best friend, the Great Royal Guard Papyrus are here!"

Papyrus' cadence was softer than usual (since his normal volume had done nothing to snap Frisk out of her trance), and his eye sockets were glowing as he spoke. Toriel knew skeletons did so as they reached for others' souls, but it had been a long time since she'd seen it… and she laughed in one corner of her mind, because his irises were orange! A bit brighter than Frisk's, of course, but still orange. She wondered if Frisk knew that…

Toriel shook her head. This was no time for distractions! She joined Papyrus in reaching for the little one within Frisk, though he too had been stopped by the cage. But he wasn't giving up.

"Human Frisk! You must wake up! Wherever you think you are, you're NOT there! You're with friends and family. People that care about you. We will protect you, even if it's from yourself!"

Papyrus reached for the little one, his soul warm and caring, braving the darkness. She was reaching back… but the darkness swelled, reacting to his presence and rejecting him. It lashed out and Papyrus withdrew his hand from Frisk's shoulder, feeling as though he'd been physically struck. Such was the danger of such deep interaction with another's soul. He shook his hand thinking that, while it stung, there hadn't been any real intent to hurt him. She was just scared. And very, very lonely.

Just like him…

But unlike him, she didn't have someone like Sans to quell her fears. Nor did she have someone like Pristina, or his other cousins, to ease her loneliness. She only had herself, and clearly she wasn't doing the best job of it. Well, she had the Great Royal Guard Papyrus, now! And he wasn't done helping his friend, yet!

"Human Frisk, that is enough!" He reached for Frisk's soul again, this time with both hands on both her shoulders and eyes glowing brighter. "You can kick me out all you like, but I'll still be here, like the great friend I am! Because that's what great friends do! It's… it's what family does, Frisk!"

Frisk's brow furrowed, confused. The dark mass inside twisted, receding yet remaining wrapped around the little one. "Fa…mily?" She said the word so hesitantly, like it was completely foreign to her, though she had to know its meaning… Papyrus was at a bit of a loss, because she was too smart and cool to NOT know the meaning of that word!

Toriel nodded, adding more of her magic to their efforts. "Papyrus is correct, Frisk. You are an important part of our lives. You are no longer alone. You have all of us, now. So please, tell us. What is wrong? Why do you think you are being bad?"

"I…"

Frisk was trying. Both monsters could feel that she was trying to break free from the morass inside her, but despite all the warmth they were sending it was still so cold! Even so, Frisk fought it as bravely as she fought Fate. They could feel the steel in Frisk's soul harden and sharpen, cutting away the blackness enough that she could breathe and speak, if not escape.

Her eyes were still unfocused, but she didn't look so lost, anymore. Frisk made herself speak through sheer determination. "I… was about t-to go up. But up is b-bad. Mommy… M-Mother said I'm not allowed to go up, anymore."

Toriel grasped either side of Frisk's face and Papyrus moved away to give her space. Firmly, she said, "My child, I am your mother, am I not? Look at me."

The child focused on her face, hesitantly. The fear inside was building again, and Toriel gentled her tone. "I am your mother. I told you to use your magic however you wished. If that means going 'up', then by all means go up! I will not stop you." Although what "up" meant was a bit of a mystery…

Frisk's voice was tinier than her inner self as she said, "…you're not mad?"

Toriel shook her head. "No, Frisk. I am not mad."

"Why do you look mad?"

Toriel winced, a bit. She was trying to hide that, but Frisk picked up on it, anyway. Such a perceptive child… Aloud, she said, "Because I am angry with the people that hurt you. I could never be angry with you. I love you too much to ever think of it!"

Confusion mingled with shock as more tears fell from Frisk's eyes. "You… love me? B-but… But-!"

"But nothing." Toriel wiped her child's dampened eyes. "If you were trying to say I cannot love you, due to some perceived wrong-doing on your part, I can safely say you have done nothing to warrant such treatment."

"But…"

"No 'buts', my child. I love you, and that is that." She kissed Frisk in the middle of her forehead before pulling the girl back into her lap for another hug. She could feel Frisk finally calming as her embrace was returned. The little one within Frisk pulled the darkness off herself and then… it simply disappeared. Toriel could hear Papyrus gasp, knowing he just felt the same thing she just did.

What did Frisk just do to herself? It was a question she wanted to ask, but with Frisk finally back to normal she didn't want to upset the girl again.

Frisk felt her mother's curiosity, and worry, but said nothing. She just let herself soak in the warmth coming from Toriel's soul. She could also feel Papyrus nearby, his relief warring with his own curiosity and something that felt like… longing, as he watched them.

It was the same thing she felt whenever she saw other children with their mothers. A wistful feeling as she thought "is that how mothers are supposed to be?" Then the inevitable sadness as she reminded herself that she would never feel her mother's love, and the ache left behind when she tried to push those thoughts aside. They were feelings she knew well, and they were all present inside Papyrus.

During her stay in the castle she learned enough about the noble families to know of sad events surrounding his birth. Even though their circumstances were vastly different, the ache felt the same. Neither of them had known their mother's love. They never would, and yet…

Frisk looked toward him, over Toriel's shoulder, reaching for him with a hand. A new warmth built in her chest and she reached for her friend with it. Even if they didn't have the love of the mothers that birthed them, no matter the reason, they still had plenty of other people that loved them just as much. And they had each other, best friends forever. She tried to send those feelings to him, but she didn't know if she was doing it correctly…

Papyrus must have felt it, because his eyes began to glow even brighter. He held her hand between both of his own, smiling his great big smile as tears pooled in his eye sockets. Pulse after pulse of purely platonic pacification began to flood her inner being, bringing tears to Frisk's eyes as she smiled. She'd never seen his eyes glow before, and it was a relief to know she wasn't the only one with orange eyes.

She could feel the darkness inside scratching at the sides of its box, but it was being held at bay, for now. She knew she would have to wrestle it again, one day, but she'd handle it then. Right now, she just wanted to soak up as much warmth as she could from her true mother and best friend.

She felt something on the edge of her senses, something that "tasted" (if a feeling could have a taste) like metal. Maybe copper. It was in the direction Flowey sat in, so she sent a little warmth that way, too. She didn't know if he'd feel anything, but she didn't want her other friend feeling left out.

Toriel ended the magic lesson early. Frisk was too emotionally drained to argue. She was grateful for how her mother didn't ask questions, but she knew she'd have to answer them, eventually. She just had to figure out how to answer them, before then.

She didn't know why "up" was bad. It was just something her human mother forced her to say whenever she was punished by being thrown in the tiny storage space under the stairs. Being stuck there with no light for hours upon hours, and going hungry as a draft blew in from somewhere to chill her were some of her earliest memories. It was why she hated the dark. It always made her feel like she'd done something wrong, even when she knew she didn't. Oddly, the smell of fresh apples brought on the same feeling for equally mysterious reasons. But what was "up?"

Frisk felt like the answer was obvious, but she couldn't place it. And trying to think about it made the darkness restless, so she stopped to focus on the present.

She walked over to Flowey to pick him up. He had time to give her a glance, his expression hard to read, before he hid his face from Toriel. Frisk mentally shrugged, filing it away for future discussion.

The three of them walked back to camp, Toriel holding Frisk's hand as the princess carried Flowey in one arm. Papyrus saluted as Toriel's guard joined them, and together they went home.

All the while, Flowey struggled to keep his face hidden. Frisk had done something during her little love-fest with Toriel and Papyrus. He wanted to ask her what it was. He wanted to demand that she tell him what she did, because he didn't understand.

He felt something. Like a bell ringing inside him, he'd felt something, just for an instant. He didn't know what, and he didn't know how, but Flowey was going to find out.

How did Frisk keep doing this when she was so obviously clueless about everything?!