Chapter Text
finally, Parcel thought with overwhelming relief. peace and quiet. He practically melted into Iota's office chair. It was somewhat comfy, probably not the best to lounge and slump in like Parcel was doing but it would do for now. The other chair that Iota had in his office was fine, but between it and the office chair, the office chair looked comfier.
It was after Iota's rather successful first class, and Iota had managed to separate Parcel and Patch from Blue and Stretch with the excuse that he wanted to speak with his 'sons' for a while. Of course the truth was that you wanted to retreat temporarily into the office for a breather, Parcel needed it desperately after the class.
"I'll be sure to get a comfy sofa as soon as possible." Iota sighed from the other chair, stretching himself. It was only the first class for him today and you were already so tired, mentally at least. Parcel especially, having to hold all the anxiety the whole class- it had lessen gradually in small bits as Iota continued to teach, going into the flow of things but it was still stressful to hold every smidge of nervousness that you felt across three bodies.
At the very least, you didn't have a panic attack this time.
Patch, being the least physically tired or stressed, went about the office, trying to imagine where their little cozy and relaxing nook could be in Iota's office. Someplace he, Parcel and even Iota could just relax in or hunker down when one of them was holding all of their intense emotions. You didn't want to do it within the classroom again. "Perhaps Here? We Could Get A Bean Bag Alongside The Sofa Chair. I Think We Could Fit A Tiny Fridge Here As Well." Patch said as he looked at one particularly empty corner of the room. The corner was at the wall where the door was too, so if someone peered in, they wouldn't be able to see their safety nook as easily.
"sounds great." Parcel hummed, very much liking the imaginary scene of where the sofa chair, beanbag, mini-fridge in the corner that Patch presented to them. The bookcase was also close by, they could fill it with good books and other things too. It was already looking great within their mind. Yes, this office would become your safe space on this campus. "man, as much as i hated the entire class time i'll have to admit. seeing everyone so enthralled and fascinated with the lesson was really nice." He sighed, thinking back to earlier on.
Iota smiled, "Wasn't it? My first ever lesson as a professor- it wasn't my original subject but I think I did a good job explaining magic." You were ecstatic from the positive feedback that you saw from the students and even a few professors in the crowd! You weren't expecting Noir or Underfell Gaster to be at the front. It only added into the anxious mess that Parcel was holding, which wasn't good but seeing them equally interested like any other student made you feel rather proud on how you presented the lesson. The magic demonstration at the start was really good if you did say so yourself.
"Of course, the only reason I could do it was because of... the original Iota's notes and information..." All three skeletons sighed, feeling complicated over that.
The original Cosciens family. You have no idea what happened to them. You didn't have their memories, you didn't seem to have their consciousness or minds within your own- you'd think you'd be able to tell if they were in your mind as well. Though it was easy to pretend to be them, you don't really know if you're accurately mimicking them.
The Cosciens house was still unpacked and in your hurry to make sure the first lesson of the semester wasn't a flop, you had mostly focused on Iota's meticulous notes, files and information about magic instead of actually personal information about them. The notes coupled with the extremely limited magic knowledge that you already knew of the games- both the original Undertale whose magic was supposed to be impossible, as well as UniversityTale's magic system, you had managed to succeed in understanding it enough to teach it.
At least, you were confident enough to teach the 'introductory' part of it as Iota had written down in his lesson plans. You'd have to really study into it so you could actually teach the subject further and such- luckily, you had three bodies to study with as well as an enhanced mentality. No normal human mind could control three separate bodies as fluidly like you could after all.
You were one human in the bodies of three skeletons. Your mind wasn't the only thing inside them, your soul was neatly and equally split between the three of them.
Iota, Patch and Parcel clutched their chests at that thought. They had your soul, all three of them. Each holding one part as if their own.
You have a red soul, like Frisk, Chara, or just the main players of the original Undertale Game. Determination was your trait, though you felt it wasn't the only one. You had dabbled in various headcanons for Undertale and the various AUs with it, but in UniversityTale it was semi-confirmed that souls could have multiple traits underlying the main one. At least, in the game mechanics.
Though the dating sim wasn't like Undertale where the soul was summoned for combat, they did use the soul traits as something akin to stats. A player could choose their 'main trait' from one of the seven and a secondary trait as well. In actuality, the player could use all seven but they could only gain it as they played the game. Some routes required specific traits at specific stats to achieve. Depending on the stats, the route could either succeed or fail.
You remember your friend bemoaning a route they couldn't reach because they couldn't raise their Bravery and Kindness trait stats in time. It was a Horrortale route you think.
Those stats could also affect the player's Magic and Physical stats. Depending on which trait you choose, it gave you advantages on certain choices or other things like Magic and Physical actions. Like how Kindness or Patience gave you advantages with Magic and Health while Bravery or Justice was great for Physical and gave extra points during mini-games of a few routes.
Determination was a general soul, it was the 'basic' trait. The first trait that is displayed and recommended for new players. Your friend mentioned something about how it was supposed to ease new players into the experience as the main trait or a casual play, it was actually kind of 'mid', whatever that meant, since in the original Undertale Determination let you SAVE and RESET. It didn't matter what soul trait the player had though in UniversityTale, there were multiple slots for saving like any other dating sim.
You tried that by the way, in the safety of your home. You tried 'SAVEing' but had no luck, either because you not a player and couldn't do it or because this world didn't have SAVE files nor could it RESET. So honestly, you're happy with your Determined soul. In the original Undertale it would've been a hassle, but here? It was normal and you were fine with it.
The fact it was in pieces was another thing entirely.
As mentioned before, it was in three equal pieces, how do you know? Instinct, there was no other reason. Your soul was split at an angle from the middle, the left piece of the heart-shaped soul was currently owned by Iota, looking more like lump on its own. The right piece, was owned by Patch, looking like another lump. If you pieced them together it would look more like a heart with the bumps, but of course it could only be complete with the last and third piece, the middle part owned by Parcel, it... looked almost like a diamond, if one end was much longer anyway.
You don't know how your soul was cut into pieces and given to three skeletons, you don't know how you're still alive despite that, you don't know you're in their bodies or where their original minds went.
For now, you'll live their life- you don't exactly have another choice at the moment.
But you will survive, and you'll find out why and how this happened.
You are DETERMINED, to PERSEVERE.
Knock knock knock
Rust waited alongside Noir with his arms crossed, his sons bickering like always behind him. They're not that loud so he leaves them to it, any louder then he'll do something about it. Though with Noir's children there, it won't cross to anything louder thankfully.
Thankfully they didn't have to wait for long as the door creaked slightly, opening just enough for a face to fit within the crack and see them standing there. "Hello." Noir greeted with a grin, waving at the boy who looked like Barrel and Merlot. "We'd like to speak with you an' your pops. Noir Fiam, by the way. If you're going for criminology then I'm your future professor." He winked, making Rust roll his eyelights.
"Erm... It's Nice To Meet You- I Am Patch. Come In." The newly introduced Patch said with a politeness that Rust approved of, stepping aside to open the door wider for them to walk through.
"Thank you. I am Rust Fell, if you're interested in high-class cooking, then I shall be your culinary teacher should you take it to your senior years." Rust informed Patch as he, Noir and their children stepped into the office. It was bare, with only basic decorations but no doubt that would change with whatever Cosciens decides to do with a personal touch. So long as he knew the rules and knew the limit of his decor, then he should be fine, the man seemed to be a smart and logical fellow. He wouldn't push it like that fool, Dings tends to do.
"hey, nice meetin' you patch. i'm blade."
"And I Am Barrel!"
Patch shook their offered hands with a polite smile, then he turned to his sons. "Hm, I Am Merlot. And This Unfortunately Is My Brother Red." Merlot gestured with a sigh.
Red snorted, smirking lazily at Patch. "sup."
"It's Nice To Meet You All, Ah, Right- Over There Is My Brother Parcel And I'm Sure You Already Know My Father." Patch introduced his family, Parcel was sat on the chair before his father's desk while Iota sat in the standard leather office chair that every professor had in their office. Until they either got a new one or switched the chairs with something else. Parcel gave them a small, if awkward smile and waved from his chair.
"Professor Fiam, Chef Fell." Iota greeted from behind the desk and Rust smirked, appeased by title he was addressed by. And no, he didn't preen no matter what Noir said. "It is a pleasure to meet you again Professor Fiam, and a pleasure to meet you Chef Fell. I'll admit your appearance both in my class and now is a bit of a surprise." He admitted, waving at Parcel who nodded briefly and stood from the chair. "I apologize for the lack of seats."
"Don't apologize." Noir replied as Rust replaced Parcel's place on the chair. Noir leaning casually against the desk, much to Rust's annoyance but since he said nothing he continued it. All three pairs of their sons were left to stand somewhat awkwardly around the room. "It's only your first day after all."
"Ah, yes... Ahem, so, what can I do for you gentlemen?" Iota finally questioned, glancing between Noir, Rust and their children.
"Well, for one, I'd like to say congrats on the successful first class. I haven't seen a packed classroom like that in a long while." Noir told him with a grin, "Though I imagine that your classes will be quite packed for a while, for good reason. Especially if you'll be demonstrating magic like you did earlier." Rust's eyes gleamed as he remembered how Cosciens had summoned the bones. Bones much bigger than what he, his family and Noir's family could summon.
"It Was Amazing!" Blurted out Barrel from the side, smile as wide as he could and eyelights turned into stars. "So Much Bigger And Better Than The Bones We Made!"
Rust hid a grimace at that, though he wasn't so much ashamed for his skills so far- he recognized that he was, unfortunately, a beginner with magic but still. That information could have stayed private just for a little while longer. Noir's grin even dimmed a bit but he only sighed fondly at his son's impulsive compliment, there was nothing really wrong with it and even told the truth. "Oh?" Iota's bonebrows went up in surprise, "Thank you for the compliments, but, 'bones we made'?" He repeated, glancing at all of them once more.
"Aside from giving our congratulations to you, I will admit that there were other reasons we wanted to speak with you." Rust stiffly admitted, "Noir, I as well as our sons, have managed to feat of using magic. Though not to the extent or skill that you have displayed, we still managed to summon our own bones. I believe you called it a type of Race Magic?"
"Earlier I summoned bones as a demonstration of magic. These bones are a manifestation of magic, as I've found so far, only skeletons have the ability to summon or create bones out of magic. It's been classified as a type of Race Magic; a type of magic that is uniquely utilized or can only be done by a certain race of monsters." Iota explained, summoning another bone but letting it disappear shortly afterwards. "Like every other magic I've mentioned today, I will eventually cover Race Magic and how it coincides and even merges with other magics."
"Yes I did." Iota agreed, looking very thoughtful. "Hm... Did you all learn to summon bones on your own or were you taught it?"
Noir's grin grew wider and he laughed, motioning to an excited and embarrassed Barrel. "Barrel taught us all how to do it! He was the first one to summon a bone and he managed to teach the rest of us how."
Blade chuckled, "yeah, my bro's just that awesome. figured out magic and taught us."
Barrel blushed as every socket turned to him, "It Was Not Really That Difficult To Summon A Single Bone Surprisingly. But For Some Reason Though, Summoning A Different Bone Or Even A Larger Bone That A Hand Is Um, Is A Bit Harder- Which Is Why It's So Amazing To See You Summon Your Bones Professor Cosciens!" He exclaimed, smiling brightly at the professor.
"which really gets me thinking on why it's hard for us to even summon a single bone that's bigger than our fucking hands but professor over there can summon one as big as himself, or even fucking two- hell, he changed their color which is, uhh, color magic right? what do the colors even do? why the fuck are they named color magic?" Red grumbled, it was loud enough for everyone to hear though and Merlot growled.
"Red, You Are Being Incredibly Rude! And Crude!" He smacked him upside the head.
"ow! hey! grr- i still stand by my fuu- i mean, my damn questions." Red huffed, rubbing his skull.
"you'll get your answers eventually." Parcel said, closely examining Barrel who gave him a lopsided smile. "i do have an answer to why barrel was able to figure out magic and teach it. if it was as easy as just that to be able to use magic like that then more information or news about monsters being able to use magic." He now had everyone's attention as he circled Barrel who's smile had faded. "as far as i can tell, barrel's a leak."
"A Leak?" Barrel repeated with clear confusion. That hadn't been explained in the lessons earlier.
"A leak." Iota hummed, "I'll admit I should have expected that some monsters in Underground would have become leaks before I arrived. Or stars- even a spring. I will... have to keep an eye out then."
Noir's grin was gone and he stared at Iota, "If you could explain exactly what a leak or spring is, that'd be fine and dandy. Please." He said, his playful and casual attitude fallen in favor of something a bit more serious. He wasn't sure if this was good news after all.
Iota blinked and gave him an apologetic look, "Ah, sorry. Ahem, yes, your son Barrel is something that we've labelled as a 'leak'. A monster that is gradually leaking magic to the point that they can utilize the excess of it. Now, this inherently isn't a bad thing Professor Fiam. Concerning slightly yes, but nothing that will endanger your son, I promise you that." He reassured him with a smile and Noir sighed in relief.
"If he is leaking magic and using the excess of it to create bones, then what of us? Are we not 'leaks' as well?" Rust questioned, looking at Barrel who was looking at his hands with wonder and slight concern.
"Not Exactly." Patch suddenly said, looking somewhat grim. "A Leak Isn't Just A Monster That Is Gradually Leaking Magic From Latent Magic Reserves, That However Is The Main Description Of It But Leaks Are Also Capable Of Letting Monsters Around Them Capable Of Utilizing Magic. Professor Fiam, Chef Fell, You Mentioned Only Able To Summon Small Bones Correct?" He waited for them to nod or confirm before turning to Barrel, "Barrel, Do You Get Tired Whenever You Summon Bones?" He waited for Barrel to confirm. The skeleton nodded and Patch sighed, "Do You Get Even More Tired When Your Family Or The Fell Family Summon Bones?"
Noir's brows furrowed before he straightened as he realized what Patch was asking of his son, he and Blade realized it quite quickly and felt sick as Barrel gave Patch a look of surprise and a hesitant nod. "I'm sorry to say this Professor Fiam, Chef Fell, Blade, Merlot and Red. Though you have learned to summon bones, you are not using your own magic to do so. You have been using Barrel's magic that has been leaking from him and lingering on you to do it. It's why the bones you've summoned have only been singular small ones."
There were gasps and sharp intakes of breath within the room as the Cosciens family shared a similar face of apologetic grimness.
In the shocked silence, Rust almost missed how Blade had bounded towards the desk. He, along with every other skeleton snapped out of it when he slammed his hands on the desk and gave Iota a desperate look. "have we been hurtin' my brother? can- can you do something about it?!"
"Blade-" Barrel started but was held back by Patch.
Iota gave him a reassuring smile, "You haven't been hurting your brother. From what I can see right now is that Barrel only started to leak magic recently and taught it in the same time frame, if it had been longer then there would have been other side effects to such use. So quite luckily, the only side effect Barrel should be experiencing is being tired that his magic has been used by other monsters than him. Though I will look more into his health if that will comfort you and your father."
"Please do." Noir replied quietly, nudging Blade away from the desk. The younger skeleton looking as relieved as his father looked as well. "How... How do we fix this? If using magic means using my son's magic and hurting him, I'd rather give up magic forever." Blade nodded in firm agreement.
"I Would Rather Use My Own Magic Rather Than Someone Else's." Merlot spoke up with his arms crossed, hiding his clear discomfort behind a haughty tone and a harsh look. "You Said In Your Lesson Earlier That You Would Not Be Giving Practical Lessons Or Teaching Magic Yet, Is This Why? Professor Cosciens Also Mentioned Earlier He Should Have Expected Leaks To Occur Before He Arrived, Which Leads Me To Believe That He Is A Leak As Well- Though That Is Obvious By Now By The Demonstration. And Finally You Have Yet Explained What A Spring Is."
Parcel nodded, "essentially that's why i-w-my dad can't give practical lessons yet. the knowledge of leaks and springs aren't exactly public yet. don't ask us why, it's complicated. as for springs... they're like upgraded leaks. leaks can only spread a little bit of magic, usually mostly just for themselves and gradually they'll be able to control all of their magic. using magic is just like using a skill, the more you use it, the more you practice, the better you get at it. but the source of that magic- well..." Parcel trailed off, going silent.
"There Is A Theory Among Magic Researchers That A Long Time Ago That Somehow Someone, Or Something, Sealed Magic Away. Magic Is Not Only Supposed To Be Inside Us, But It's Suppose To Be In The Air, All Around us." Patch picked up from where his brother left off. "There Is Still Much Research To Be Done About It, But Leaks And Springs Are Hypothesized To Be 'Breaks' In Whatever Seal Was Put On Monsters And Magic. Their Own Magic Leaking Out Of Them To Be Turned Into Ambient Magic All Around Us And To Let Monsters Use Magic Once More. However Leaks And Springs So Far Have Been Sparse And Only Recently Popping Up In Small Or Single Groups."
"But the continuing hypothesis is that the more leaks and springs there are in one place, the more magic is spread and the more leaks and springs are created. A self-propagating cycle that will hopefully bring magic back fully." Iota piped in. "Also you're quite sharp Merlot, I am a spring. I can only hope that my lessons will soon spread magic across the campus and let UU flourish with it."
"you still haven't explained what we can be done to stop us from usin' barrel's magic." Red pointed out gruffly, glaring at him. "like my bro said, i'd rather use my own magic than barrel's."
"That... the answer to that is merely time and patience for now. Barrel, please refrain from using magic for the moment, same for the rest of you. You'd only be using Barrel's magic reserves. If I can get Principal Black's permission to—" Iota started but was swiftly interrupted by Noir.
"Whatever permission you need, you'll get. Whatever it takes to make sure this doesn't happen again." Noir told him firmly.
It was uncommon to see Noir so serious, and though there have been worse times, it was still quite the sight to see. Rust glanced between the Cosciens family, considering all three of them. It was clear that whatever Cosciens knew, his sons knew as well. Or at least, they knew most of it as perhaps Cosciens had held back a few things for the sake of his children.
Rust would make sure to find out what that was, he refused to rely on Noir's son for magic in the future. The fact he'd been doing so for a while now sickened him already.
He and Noir would have to speak more about this with Cosciens, preferably just the three of them without their children in the room perhaps. There was something Cosciens was holding back from saying and no doubt he and Noir would want to know what it was.
"finally they left." Parcel sighed, once again filled with relief as the Fell and Fiam family left.
They were lucky that whatever anxious feeling they had had pretty much disappeared as soon as it was mentioned that the skeletons could use magic. All three of them had dipped more into 'thoughtful and interested' territory by then, it was easier to slip into that with just six skeletons watching them instead of a whole classroom of students and professors.
"Again, All That Reading Paid Off. We Knew What Was Happening And How To Respond!" Patch exclaimed, feeling accomplished. Sure, they didn't delve into the more personal details of the Cosciens family but reading everything Iota had about magic had once again, come in really handy.
Honestly you didn't expect to find the topics you did when you read into the notes, files and information that was written down about magic. It was more complicated than you'd ever expected from a dating sim world, but it kind of made sense because it was a dating sim world? It might just be you. Also it was frankly fascinating actually, trying to figure out what the hell happened to magic and monsters all those years ago and trying to figure out magic right now.
What you told the Fell and Fiams were the truth pretty much, Leaks and Springs were hypothesized to spread magic and potentially 'unlock' magic that was somehow sealed away. That was a popular theory and something you actually could see happening. You just don't really know why, but you have a few suspicions...
Iota was indeed a spring, however he wasn't the only one.
All three skeletons were springs. All three of them could use magic. Though you don't know if it was because they were all you now or if they were already springs before.
But you got the gist of the hidden mission Iota had for himself and his sons before you arrived. 'Spread magic'. Which should be easy enough.
All they had to do was just, wander around the campus. That was it, magic would spread and eventually build up. Literally you had to do nothing and it would eventually just end up working out. All in all, a great mission!
Keep your heads down, teach magic, spread magic- you could do this.
Totally.
...
Dear Dr. Cosciens,
I hope this email finds you in good health and timing. I apologize that you found my words offensive during our last meeti|
"... Tsk, no..." He pressed backspace.
Dear Dr. Cosciens,
You might be surprised to hear from me once again after ou|
"... Hmm..."
Dr. Cosciens,
This email to you|
"No."
Cosciens,
It's me, Dr. G|
"Definitely not."
Dr. Iota Cosciens,
I truly apologize for what I said|
"..."
He closed the laptop and sighed.
Maybe he'll compose the email later.