FriskTale
Frisk was frustrated. They had gotten a handle on magic so easily. On the first day they tried it, they got a flame. Toriel had expected it to take weeks to even get that far. They had assumed magic was easier for humans than the Monsters thought.
That was not the case as their friends were proving. Frisk must have been extremely gifted to get a spell so quickly. Either that or their friends were very poor learners. It had been two weeks, and no one had been able to manage a single spell. It was annoying, especially as Frisk had to keep explaining and re-explaining how magic worked.
Eventually, Frisk took Asriel's advice and brought their friends into the fold, bringing Noelle, MK, Susie, Kanako and Berdly with them for their lessons. But even with their help, the humans just weren't getting it.
Frisk watched as Brent tried punching the air again, trying to make fire. He tried and tried, but nothing happened.
Frisk sighed. They were getting nowhere.
"C'mon, fire up!" Brent shouted, punching the air fruitlessly again, even throwing in a few kicks.
"I don't get it," Asriel said. "Frisk got it so easily. Why are all of you struggling?"
"It doesn't really make any logical sense," Percy agreed. "Even two weeks into this and we've had nothing in terms of results. The lapse in time should have long accounted for any magical exposure Frisk has been subjected to that might have given them an advantage."
"Maybe Frisk is just gifted," Noelle suggested. "They are special."
"But magic isn't a part of the humans," Berdly pointed out. "So, Frisk can't have some innate proclivity."
"It just came naturally to me," Frisk said. "Like I already knew what to do."
Brent kept furiously punching and kicking the air, limbs swinging wildly until he unbalanced himself and fell on his butt. "Come on! You did it so easily! I want fire shooting out of my fingertips!"
"How did you do it?" Connie asked Frisk.
"I just tapped into my Soul, pulled the magic forth and shaped it," Frisk explained.
"You say that every time," Azura said.
"Because that's all there is to it," Frisk said, exasperated. "That's how I do it. I just look within myself, tap into the energy of my Soul, channel it through my limbs and…" With a gesture, they conjured flame in their hand again.
Brent shouted in frustration. "This is pointless! Your explanations are too hard to understand!"
"Those are the simplest terms I can put it in," Frisk said, extinguishing the flame.
Percy was tapping on his phone, looking stuff up. "I think perhaps part of the problem is that humans have lost touch with the spiritual part of ourselves. Technology and development mean we don't grasp the metaphysical stuff like we used to. So its not easy for us to tap into something so obscure."
"So how are we supposed to break the Barrier if we can't – "
"Wait," Noelle interrupted Connie. "What do you mean by that?"
Percy looked up. "Humans no longer have the same spirituality that we used to possess. Rational and critical thinking mean we have lost the understanding of the obscure and metaphysical."
"What's he saying?" Susie asked.
"I believe he is saying that he thinks that Souls are less real than they used to be," Berdly said, sounding confused.
"But a Soul is a Soul," MK said. "It can't be less real or more real. It exists."
"Yes, but humans have forgotten how to tap into souls since we can't observe them," Percy said. "Therefore-"
"But you can," Noelle interrupted. "We do it all the time. Monsters can call their Souls forth to examine them. It's part of our health. It's a part of our very being."
Something occurred to Frisk as Noelle said that.
"Well, you haven't lost that connection like us," Percy said.
"Yeah, I mean religion isn't as big as it used to be," Conne said.
"Personally I think that's a good thing," Justin said. "I mean, burning women at the stake just because the church said its heresy? That's barbaric."
Frisk audibly slapped their forehead, drawing attention. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me. That's what's wrong?"
"Frisk?" Asriel questioned.
"Soul. Soul! With a capital 'S'," Frisk emphasized. "I'm not talking about what the church says, I'm talking about the heart-shaped object in your chests."
The humans looked confused.
"Ugh, just look." Frisk concentrated and pulled their Soul forth. The red heart that was everything they were hovered before them, shocking the humans. "This is what I'm talking about. This is what you're supposed to be summoning your magic from."
"That's a soul?" Mildred asked, surprised.
"Big 'S'," Frisk said. "It's a physical thing. All humans and Monsters have one. I'm not sure if the little 's' is connected to it or not, but I do know they're separate things."
Percy stepped forward, looking it over. "Fascinating," he said. "So, a physical representation of oneself. Probably not substantial, but physical enough to be grasped? The old legends did say Monsters wanted to take these. This explains a hole in the legend that's been overlooked."
"So, you're drawing your magic from that?" Brent asked.
"Yep," Frisk confirmed, returning their Soul to their chest. "Of course, Monster Souls look slightly different."
"Way more different," Noelle corrected, summoning forth her own. The inverted white heart surprised the kids. "But they are similar." She returned it to where it belonged.
"So, we have the same thing in us?" Connie asked. "But I don't feel anything."
"Well, it would be weird if you did," Asriel said. "They aren't supposed to be felt if you're not using them."
"Okay, but we can't use them if we don't know what to look for," Justin pointed out.
"Hmm. I managed to get it because Toriel showed me mine," Frisk said. "Can one of you do the same?"
"I can," Noelle offered.
"Me first!" Percy said.
Noelle walked over to him. "Okay, now don't freak out. You'll feel a slight tingle as I do this." She raised one hand up, palm facing Percy's chest. She focused, and a moment later, a purple heart emerged from his body.
"Whoa. That feels so weird," Percy said. "But I can feel it now."
Noelle let it return to Percy's chest.
"Wow. I can still feel it," he said. "Now that I know it's there, I can feel it."
"How come yours is purple?" Brent wondered. "Frisk's was red."
"Human Souls come in all sorts of colors," Noelle explained. "I think the most common ones are orange, green, blue, cyan, purple, yellow, and red on occasion."
"Okay, so I just tap into my Soul and… what? Channel its power to the surface?" Percy asked.
"Start with your hands," Frisk suggested. "That's simplest."
Percy closed his eyes, focusing on the feeling in his chest, feeling the tingle of his Soul. He focused, trying to pull the power he felt up.
"Remember, let it happen, don't force it," Frisk suggested.
Percy did, and a moment later, purple whisps were coming from his hands. He opened his eyes and gasped when he saw the energies. "Cool! I'm doing it! I'm using magic!"
"Okay, now see if you can form it," Frisk instructed. "The shape doesn't have to be specific. Heck, just let it form the way it wants to."
"How do I do that?" Percy questioned.
"Just focus the magic and condense it so it starts to take on something solid," Frisk suggested.
Percy tried, but when he did, the whisps went away. "Aw, what happened?"
"Maybe you pushed too hard?" MK said. "Magic doesn't like to be forced to bend. It'll bend how it wants to."
"At least you got a little magic up," Frisk encouraged. "That's progress."
"Me next!" Mildred spoke up.
One by one, Noelle pulled each human's Soul to the surface, making them aware of it. Mildred's Soul was green, Justin's was yellow, Connie's was blue, Azura's was cyan, and Brent's was orange. Asriel found it oddly amusing that each of Frisk's friends had a different Soul color, and that somehow, they had all of the seven most common human Souls in their 'class'.
Each one managed colored whisps that day, but none were able to form it into anything. They tried, but none were able to make a spell. For a couple more days they tried to shape the magic, even practicing on their own, but they were never able to get it, and Frisk was having trouble explaining it. Even the Monsters couldn't provide an explanation, as for them it was all instinct.
School started up and as a result, they all had less time to practice.
But one day, Percy managed to form the magic into a shape.
It was during the lesson, every kid trying to form their magic, when he managed it first. But it came out as a purple blob at first.
"Uh…" He was confused. The Monsters' spells didn't look anything like this. It was a mass of purple goo between his hands. He was able to move it, but while he did, it splattered onto a tree. "Oops."
Frisk walked forward, curious. "Huh. Wonder what's going on." They touched the stuff, but nothing happened. It didn't even rub off on them. It was like part of the tree was now stained purple.
Percy took a closer look. For some reason, he felt like he should snap his fingers while thinking about the tree. He did so. When he did, the purple mass exploded, taking a sizable chunk of the tree with it. Frisk and Percy jumped back as tiny splinters erupted forth, catching the attention of the others. A moment later, the tree started to sag, then snapped at the weakened part.
"Whoa! What just happened?" Berdly asked.
"I made the tree explode," Percy said. "Well, part of it."
"Dude, what did you do?" MK asked.
"I'm not sure." Percy tried again, summoning another purple blob. This time he sent it at a bush, covering a good portion of the leaves in the stuff. Then, snapping his fingers again, the part of the bush that was turned purple exploded. "So, apparently, I can make stuff explode on command."
"I think you're just making the purple stuff explode," Frisk said. "Geez, imagine what that would do to a person."
"Would it work on people?" Justin wondered.
"I don't think we should find out," Connie said. "Those booms looked big."
Frisk picked up a stick, handing it to Percy. "Here, stain this. I want to try something."
Percy did as asked, using his magic to stain the stick without the blob. Frisk took it back then threw it into the brush, outside of Percy's sight.
"Now, try that again," they recommended.
Percy tried, snapping his fingers. But the lack of a boom indicated it didn't explode.
"Try thinking of the stick while snapping your fingers," Frisk suggested.
He did so and got a 'boom' a moment later. Frisk tried it a few more times, giving him more stuff to stain and hiding it, as well as testing how long the stuff lasted for, and even had him stain multiple different items. He was able to make it explode regardless.
"Interesting," Frisk said. "It seems you are making the stains explode and you can do as many as you want and choose which ones detonate."
"That could be useful," Percy said.
"Well, you're first spell, how about that?" Frisk asked.
"Kinda scary, but also exciting!" Percy shouted. "Also tiring."
"Yeah, spells take a lot of work," Frisk admitted. "But don't worry, it gets easier the more you do it."
For the rest of the day, they practiced, Frisk continuing to test Percy's new spell while the others worked on solidifying their magic. The next to accomplish it was Azura, who managed to make a ball of water.
"Guys, look!" She found she was able to manipulate the water, moving it around with her hands, making streams, shapes, and she was even able to make little waves.
"Fascinating," Percy said as he observed her. "You can generate water. Though I imagine it wouldn't be as substantial as real water."
Azura agreed on that when an idea came to her. She focused on her water bottle that she brought, and a moment later, she pulled the water out of it.
"Whoa!" Noelle yelled. "Not only can you create water, but you can also manipulate existing bodies of water."
Azura tried to control the stream she made, but it quickly splashed Berdly, soaking him. "Oops, sorry," she apologized.
Berdly took his glasses off and shook them as his shirt was too wet to dry them with.
"Not bad, Azura," Frisk complimented. "Too bad that's all we got time for." They gestured to the setting sun. "So, we'll continue this tomorrow."
"Okay, gives me time to practice," Azura said.
"Not sure how I'll be able to practice without drawing attention," Percy panted. "Plus, it's really hard to make the stuff."
After parting ways, Frisk led their group underground, and brought up the day's development. "Well, that's two down," they said. "Four to go."
"I'm surprised Percy's spell is so destructive," Susie said. "He's more of a nerd than anything."
"Well, explosions, controlled ones, do require a bit of thinking," Frisk said. "And plus, he seems to have no limit to what he can make explode. Also, it doesn't seem to make a fireball like real explosions, so he could make stuff disappear and blow up just by thinking about it. He could probably even control the size of the explosion if he wanted, like maybe if he adds less purple, less will detonate."
"Well, we could find out tomorrow," Asriel said.
"Azura is able to control water," Kanako said. "That was cool!"
"Well, it makes sense," Frisk said. "She does love swimming."
Over the next few days, Percy trained his spell and found that he could control the size of the explosion with adding less to the stain. He was even able to remove stains from objects, clearing them. Azura honed her control over water, even managing to add it to her swim practice, allowing her to go faster by creating currents for her to control.
Mildred was the next to conjure a spell, creating a green shield that she could adjust in size and shape. She was even able to create a full bubble with it. Asriel hit it with his sabers and found that it took a few good hits to break.
As for Justin, he found that he was able to mark objects in a similar manner to Percy, but whereas his smart friend made things explode, Justin was able to make the objects hit exactly what he wanted to hit, with perfect accuracy.
Connie's magic took the form, initially, of a baseball bat. It was strange until she smacked it against a tree, leaving a dent in the bark, but not damaging her own tool. As she worked more, she found she could shape her blue magic into any weapon she could imagine, and the weapon itself was strong. She was even able to apply it to whatever she was holding, making it far more durable than normal. Even a flimsy stick.
With each success, the humans were emboldened. Frisk even suggested they try to learn a second spell.
But Brent was having the hardest time, his magic not taking on any form despite his efforts. One day, Frisk decided to try and solve this.
Frisk approached Brent while the others were practicing their spells. "I've noticed you're having trouble having your magic take shape."
Brent sighed. "No matter what I do, I can't get it to take shape."
"Maybe you're trying too hard," Frisk suggested. "Are you trying to force it to take shape?"
"I want it to be fire," Brent explained.
"That might be the problem," Frisk said. "Your magic doesn't want to become fire, so it doesn't. Let it become what it wants to."
Brent sighed and decided to try it. Rather than force the whisps to become flames, he let them form as they wanted. When he did, an orange glow came from his hands. He realized what that meant. Justin's hands had glowed when he got it, before he picked up something. Brent reached down and picked up a rock, which gained an orange glow. Brent looked at a tree and threw the rock somewhat casually. The rock shot to then through the tree, creating a rock-shaped hole in the trunk.
The other kids jumped when they heard the crack of the rock going through the tree. Frisk almost jumped at the sight.
"Whoa!" they said. "What just happened?"
"I'm not sure," Brent admitted. He grabbed another rock and did it again, going for a different tree. He threw it leisurely, and it punched right through the trunk and embedded itself in the one behind.
"What's going on?" MK wondered.
"It doesn't appear to be aim like Justin's," Percy said. He went up to examine the rock. "The rock doesn't appear to have enough mass to go through the tree with how hard you throw it." He tried pulling the rock out, but it was stuck fast. "And there is no way a rock this size can embed itself in a tree like this without extra speed."
"So, what, I'm making the rocks go faster?" Brent wondered.
"I think that's merely a side effect," Percy guessed. "But you do seem to be imparting more force onto the stone. Perhaps you are adding more kinetic energy to the equation."
"What's that mean?" Brent asked.
Frisk walked over to a sizable boulder. "See if you can move this," they suggested.
Brent went over and tried to push it, but it was too large for him to move. "It's too big."
"Try applying your magic to it," Frisk suggested.
Brent did as asked, making the rock glow orange. This time when he pushed, he did succeed in moving it. He managed to push it three feet before wearing himself out.
"Fascinating," Percy said. "Your magic seems to allow you to add kinetic energy to an object. That's why the rocks went as far as they did when you threw them."
"So, I can make stuff move," Brent said.
"Yep. That's your special magic," Frisk said.
"Okay, it is kind of cool," Brent admitted. "Makes me look stronger than I am."
"So now we've all got a magic spell," Connie said. "Should we try to destroy the Barrier now?"
"We're waiting for Halloween, remember?" Frisk reminded. "That's still a couple months away."
"Oh, right."
"Well, in the meantime, we could perfect our magic," Justin suggested. "It also wouldn't hurt to learn more magic, just in case."
"You all keep practicing," Frisk said. "I'll help Brent out with his new spell."
For weeks they kept practicing, slowly mastering the magic they had learned. They managed to work their magic practice around school, though when they got homework they had problems, as most of their families wouldn't let them leave the house until it was finished.
Day by day they improved with Frisk's help. Frisk themself even managed to develop a new spell of their own, creating a red knife that could expand into a sword, which proved to be as strong as the weapons Connie made.
Frisk's new spell made the other humans jealous, as they only had a single spell, while Frisk had two. As a result, they tried to figure out a new one during practice.
A month before Hallowee came, Justin managed to create yellow balls of energy that he was able to fire off. Berdly deduced that it was separate from his accuracy spell, which meant he had successfully created a new spell.
Justin's success emboldened the rest of the kids, leading them to experiment with their magic to see if they could also make a new spell.
Brent was the second to get a second spell, generating orange flames. However, Frisk noticed that he couldn't control the intensity of the flames like they could, and as such they burned like regular fire.
Percy, not to be outdone, succeeded in getting a second spell. He managed to make himself briefly stronger, but not like Brent did, as lines on his body glowed purple as he focused this new spell.
Mildred also got a new spell almost at the same time, her body glowing green as she did, making herself stronger in the process. She also discovered that while it didn't make her as strong as Percy's spell, she was able to share it with others, making Azura briefly stronger as well.
Almost the next day, Connie got her own second spell, managing to generate a ball of golden-white light between her hands that she was able to slice through objects with like a laser.
While the others practiced their own spells, old and new, Azura was disheartened that she wasn't able to get her own second spell. While she was able to get a cyan glow from her hands, when she touched stuff, nothing happened.
The other Monsters tried to help her figure out what was going on, but nothing she touched gained any special properties like the boys' spells. She because discouraged as she couldn't figure it out, until she touched a tree that was sick and it perked right up when she used her magic.
Percy deduced from the effects and the state of the tree, both before and after, that Azura had cleansed the tree of pollution that had infected it. This cheered her up and she continued to practice it, finding that she could cleanse anyone or anything of any sickness.
As the days passed and Halloween came closer, the humans got better and better with both of their spells. Eventually, Frisk decided that they were ready to destroy the Barrier, and so began planning how to get Monsters out of the Underground and into the city in the span of a single night.
As the day of their plan got closer, trepidation filled all thirteen kids. They were all nervous beyond measure, as they weren't sure how the day was going to go. The humans had a few connections with figures of authority and spoke to them to help prepare them for that day. Frisk wasn't sure how to break the news to Asgore and Toriel that they had a plan to break the Barrier, they hoped that the king and queen would took it well. The Monster kids all promised to speak to their families and get them on their side so that they could get everyone out of the Underground in a timely fashion.
Frisk was nervous about more than just how their new parents would take the plans they had formed. They realized that when they went aboveground for good, the Dreemurrs would want to live on the surface, and that meant potentially encountering Frisk's own family. They weren't sure what would happen, but they prayed that it would all work out in the end. They were Frisk Dreemurr now, and nothing would change that. They hoped.
It was the week before Halloween. Frisk was drawing up the final steps of their plan to show the rest of their friends the next day. They were in their room at their desk, Asriel out doing something with his mom. He didn't share what it was, but Frisk got from his tone, posture and body language that it was something he had been holding off for a while and wanted it to be a surprise. So, Frisk waited in their room for Asriel's surprise, curious about what it would be.
It was just before supper when Asriel returned, knocking on the door to let Frisk know he had returned. Frisk turned in their chair to face him as he stepped in, hands behind his back.
"Um, hi, Frisk," Asriel said, sweating through his fur.
"Hi, Asriel," Frisk returned. Whatever it was that Asriel wanted to say, it made him very nervous.
"Um, I've got something for you," he eventually got out.
"Oh? What is it?" Frisk asked.
"Close your eyes and hold out your hands," Asriel instructed.
Frisk sighed, doing as told.
"Are your eyes really closed? Because it's hard to tell," Asriel asked.
"Yes, they're closed, I can't see anything," Frisk answered.
After a moment, they felt something hard and metallic laid in their outstretched hands.
"Okay, you can look now," Asriel said.
Frisk opened their eyes, wondering what Asriel gave them. They started when they saw a golden heart on a chain in their hands. On it, etched into the gold were the words 'Best Friends Forever'.
"A necklace?" Frisk questioned.
"Open it," Asriel said.
Frisk only now noticed the latch on one side and the hinge on the other. They opened it up, and inside the locket was a picture. It was of Frisk and Asriel, standing together to pose for a family portrait a few weeks ago, their parents behind them.
"I had mom take me to the best jeweler in the Underground to get it made," Asriel said, hands still behind his back.
"Wow, thanks," Frisk said.
"Oh, and look," Asriel whipped his hands around to show he had an identical locket in his own. "They match!" He clipped his around his neck before taking Frisk's and doing the same. "Frisk, when you first came here, I was alone. Now, I have more friends than I could ever have dreamed of. And it's all thanks to you. But while I have so many new friends, you'll always be my best friend. And I want you to always remember that. That no matter what you are, you'll always be my best friend."
Frisk touched the golden heart that hung around their neck. Once more, tears fell from their eyes. Asriel's words touched them so deeply. "Thank you, Azzy," they said. "I'll always treasure it."
Asriel smiled before hugging Frisk, which they returned. "So, how's the plan going?" he asked.
"Very well. I think I've got a good plan," Frisk said. "Tomorrow, we show the others."
"And then, a week from now, we break the Barrier and free my people!"
End of Chapter 9