Several phone calls later, it was time for a q-and-a with Chara's chosen family. A family you were now a part of, despite their lack of knowledge as to how that happened. And your own chosen family, you noted as Fuku and Grillby sat down at the table too.
You were glad the monarchs' table was so large, to try to fit everyone here at once.
"Why don't we start with the teacher thing, Punk. You were pretty adamant before that you weren't Chara's." Alphys prompted when you stared blankly at the table trying to figure out how to begin.
It was as good a place as any. "I wasn't their teacher then. Being someone's teacher in mage culture has a very different connotation than in regular human society. Especially if it's a one-on-one setting." You paused, trying to figure out how to explain. "There's a reason the Academy exists as an institution. It was originally created to train mages that were born to non-magical parents since, before that, people were taught by family. Only family." You stressed.
"So, being our child's teacher had somehow made you related?" Toriel demanded, less than pleased. Probably because it had been unknown and completely out of her control.
"Not the title. The magic did, though. You don't really rate the title without the magic. That's what it's for. Our magic, as mages, is pretty much everything we are, so a bond at that level is even closer than one of blood. I don't know the history well, but it was considered an acceptable substitution for a bond of blood or matrimony. Any pair that used this ceremony were considered family in every way. Even legally, which still applies once I get the paperwork done."
You paused to let the information sink in. Undyne was scribbling furiously on a sheet of paper. Probably making sure to get down every word you said, enjoying the thrill of learning. Alphys was studying you carefully. Sans was sitting quietly, unusual for him, paying rapt attention to what you were saying. Papyrus seemed disinterested, as was his norm, but his eye-sockets were locked on yourself and Chara. Toriel was still glaring.
"I don't remember anything of the sort." Asgore piped up. "I remember the days before we were sealed, and the academy was only starting at that point."
"I'm not surprised." You replied easily. "It isn't necessarily that we're tight-lipped about it. It was just rare. Like, maybe three or four times in a decade rare. Worldwide."
Grillby fixed you with an understanding gaze as you paused again. "What's it mean today?" he inquired, easily picking up on the fact that you were still speaking historically.
"The same thing. Only so much more. Since the academy exists, the need to bother becoming someone's teacher is thoroughly irrelevant. Those who need to be taught have the resources available. If I hadn't studied sequencing so much, I wouldn't have had any idea how to go about it. It isn't really used anymore, which is saying something since it was barely used in the first place." You glanced at the back of your hand.
Chara's mark had faded since the bond wasn't active at the moment, sinking beneath the layers of skin and waiting to be needed. You supposed it was lucky. You wouldn't have to wear gloves absolutely everywhere.
Fuku fixed you with a worried expression. "Can't sequencing backlash dangerously even if the most minor mistake is made? And you basically remade such an obscure ritual from scratch?"
With a sigh, you confirmed it. Several protesting voices filled the air immediately before Grillby and Asgore hushed them.
"You assured me it was safe." He commented. It wasn't accusing, only curious.
"It was perfectly safe." You replied confidently. "I know what I'm doing. If you understand spell structure and sequencing, it's possible to replicate all sorts of effects, even if you don't know the precise sequence someone has used historically."
"that's quite a bit of confidence." Papyrus commented. For once, it didn't seem like he was trying to accuse you of anything.
"Of course. I'm excellent at sequencing. I didn't spend a decade worth of study in the field to pretend I suck at it. I'm honest, not modest." You smiled a bit at your unintentional rhyme.
"SO, YOU CAN DO BASICALLY ANYTHING WITH YOUR MAGIC IF YOU SEQUENCE? DOESN'T THAT OVERRIDE YOUR SPECIALTY?" Sans inquired, curious. "WHY WOULDN'T EVERYONE SEQUENCE?"
What an odd way to put it. "Sequencing is unspecialized magic, so it takes much more power to do much less than any specialization. It's also much slower. If I wanted to, say, freeze time for an object like Chara can for example: first, I would have to devise an appropriate sequence and apply it to the object in question. Second: I would have to activate it before I lost contact with the object, so I could feed magic into the sequence when I wanted it to do its job. Third: unlike Chara, I would be restricted only to stopping time for that object unless I made another sequence altogether, so I couldn't fast-forward, rewind, or affect any other object. All that, and it would take me almost twelve times the amount of magic energy it would take Chara, since they're specialized, to do the same thing."
'Not to mention what would happen if you screwed it up.' The mark on the back of your hand flared as Chara spoke to you through it.
"There's that too, I suppose." You affirmed, not quite realizing that not everyone had heard it.
"there's what?" an impatient Papyrus prompted.
"Sequencing is…unkind if you do it wrong. It can backlash if you mess it up, and even if you do it right you very much need to know how much power it's going to take. One you activate a sequence it'll take what it needs, whether or not it's more than you have."
"WHAT IS A BACKLASH?" You didn't bother to respond verbally this time. It would be easier to show them. You grabbed a napkin and scribbled down a few symbols, setting it down on the center of the table.
As you put magic into the symbols, a tiny ball of light the size of a marble appeared hovering over the table. Satisfied that they understood what it was for, you released the magic and grabbed the pen again. Just a minor adjustment, a line no bigger than a flea that wasn't supposed to be there.
Grillby grabbed your hand as you reached for it again, glaring at you. "I cannot allow you to purposefully hurt yourself." He told you forcefully.
"It'll be small, I promise. But just telling won't properly explain why people don't bother learning this when it has so many uses."
"Wait, this'll hurt you, Punk?" Alphys cut in. "No thanks, we'll take your word for it. I've had enough of your blood to last a lifetime."
You smiled. "It's too small to do anything like that. Probably just magic burns up to about…here." You informed them, drawing your finger across your arm two inches down from your elbow.
"FROM SOMETHING THAT TINY?" Sans sounded appalled, swiftly jerking the napkin away from you so you couldn't activate it. "WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED IF YOU'D MESSED UP EITHER OF THE SEQUENCES YOU USED YESTERDAY?"
"I don't really think about it. You have to have confidence when you're doing it, or nothing would ever get done." Several expressions darkened around the table as they were clearly dissatisfied with that answer.
"What would've happened, Punk?" Alphys interrogated, narrowing her eyes at you. Wow, they took your not-endangered safety far too seriously.
'Welcome to the club. I'm a fourteen-year-old that almost always has a babysitter.' Chara told you wryly. You grimaced in sympathy.
You'd forgotten again, you realized as your friends reacted to the new facial expression. "Y-you wouldn't d-d-d-d-die, w-would you?" Undyne stuttered fearfully.
You weren't able to tell her no. That would be a lie, after all.
Toriel, surprisingly, broke the silence. "I believe we all understand why more mages don't use this method. I must ask, it is alright to share this information?"
"Of course. You could easily find it on the internet if you wanted." You replied easily. "I don't say anything that isn't my place to say. Of course, people rarely tell me such things anyway."
"Ea-earlier, y-you referred t-to y-your magic a-almost l-like we r-refer t-to S-Souls." Undyne informed you questioningly. "E-everything y-you are?" She repeated.
You smirked, allowing your face to fall comfortably into your palm. "You guys know as little about how we work as we do about you, huh? Yeah, a mage's magic won't lie. You can't change the color, or the specialization once you realize it, or your mark. It's directly tied to the force that keeps us alive. It's the truest form of ourselves. It probably is almost like your Souls."
For a moment, everyone at the table exchanged meaningful looks. 'So, we can't lie to each other this way?' Chara questioned.
"Nope." You answered aloud, thoughtlessly. "You could try if you wanted though." You added, shifting your gaze to your new student. In the next few seconds, the communication in your bond was reduced to static as their magic refused to cooperate.
"What are you talking about, Punk?" Alphys demanded. "You keep talking as if someone said something."
Oops. It was such a natural way to hear, it wasn't occurring to you that Chara wasn't actually speaking. With you and Chara wearing the same impish expression, it didn't take anyone long to figure it out.
"you can hear them? they can talk to you?" Papyrus interrogated. You supposed it would be surprising, since Chara never used their voice. He switched targets. "you can talk to her?" He demanded accusingly. Chara signed back at him quickly.
You didn't understand.
Sigh. More explanations.
You stretched your arms well over your head as you walked, glad to be done explaining for the moment. Who even liked talking that much? A smile tugged at your lips as your shoulder made no protest.
It was finally done healing then.
It was nice to take a break under the beating sunshine. The heat almost made you sleepy. You wished you could just find a park bench and curl up on it.
But you couldn't. You had several more people to call, and a bit of travel to plan.
Best to start at the beginning. You flipped the small device open and plugged in a familiar number. "Hey Eve. Have I got news for you." You greeted your sister as she picked up.
Fuku wasn't quite surprised. You may not know about Souls, since they weren't allowed to talk about it, but you were intelligent. You were figuring it out fast from the context they were giving you.
She almost wished for a moment that she could see it. She wanted to know if Souls and human magic were as closely related as you assumed, and the short glimpses it was possible to get from you just wasn't enough to check.
The opposite was just as impossible at the moment. Fuku wasn't nearly close enough to ask the child if she could check and see if you'd left a mark on their Soul, like she suspected. It was what happened when monsters made bonds with chosen family, after all.
All she needed was one good look. Fuku knew that if she asked, you would agree readily. You made no effort to hide the fact that you trusted her absolutely. She couldn't ask you though. Not yet.
Toriel and Chara were worried about what would happen if humans found out about monsters' connection to Souls. It made sense, since that information had been what started The Great War in the first place. Like you, it wasn't necessarily that they lied about it. Monsters just didn't talk about it where humans could hear.
It wouldn't be long before you knew, though. Then she could ask you. After all, if your bond with Chara was as deep as the two of you had made it out to be, they and you would be even closer family than the child's chosen monster family.
It was a situation that Chara seemed more than pleased by.
Perhaps she should have a talk with your friend, the royal scientist. If she brought it up, she knew Undyne would be just as curious as she was. The glimmer of curiosity was already burning just beneath the surface.