Aofil smacks their lips, "Nope," and turns back around from the grinning child.

The grin fades from Chara, and they raise a confused eyebrow. They throw out their hands, "Wait, what? What do you mean, 'nope'?"

Aofil shoots a look over their shoulder, "Are you gonna help us find a way out?" Chara hesitates an answer, and Aofil nods, "Then nope."

"Chara?" Asriel asks with an unsteady voice, "Why are you here?"

"Asriel," Chara starts, before being angrily hushed by Aofil.

"Asriel," Aofil starts instead with a snap in front of his muzzle. He recoils from the sudden sound, and looks down to Aofil, "We're in our head, not in our soul. The memory box, remember?" Aofil throws a thumb over their shoulder, "It's just a memory. Let's focus on."

"Asriel!" Chara shouts, rumbling the void with their roar, "We still have a plan to do! Come on!"

Aofil steadies their grip on Asriel's ankles, "Look forward, ignore them."

"We made a promise, Asriel."

"The monsters are already free," Aofil answers, not bothering to turn their head, "Asriel owes nothing to you. Go away."

Aofil feels Asriel wanting to turn around. They squeeze his legs, but it doesn't help, "C-Chara?"

"Eyes forward, Asriel!" Aofil demands.

"Maybe they can help us? I mean, we don't know where we are going."

"Whatever good has Chara done to you? It's because of them that we are here to begin with, it's because of them that you died!"

"Because I wasn't strong enough," Asriel whispers.

"That's Flowey talking, Asriel, not you. He's dead now, forget about him."

"They are the same!" Chara spits back, "Asriel, with me we'll become strong! We'll free the monsters, together."

"The Barrier is broken, the monsters have returned to the Surface!" Aofil retorts viciously, still not giving Chara their eyes. They feel Asriel shaking from the stress, and they fear he might try and weasel himself out of their grip. They can't let that happen.

They reach up and grab his muzzle, "You turn around and Chara will take over. Flowey will come back, and all of this will be for nothing!"

"Aofil, it hurts," Asriel whimpers, but Aofil keeps their hand steady.

"Our promise isn't done, Asriel, not even close. The Barrier might be broken, but that was only step one. Monsters can never be free so long as humans still pester this world!"

"They're just something our memory has conjured up, Asriel!," Aofil tries again, feeling Asriel's head turn despite their grip on it.

A loud hawk stops Aofil in their step. Their hands loosen from Asriel's ankle and head, and he almost falls over.

As he scrambles back up using Aofil's hair he notices a faint shine on it. Light! A scared bleat shoots out from him, and again he almost falls off Aofil's shoulders, "A house?" he blinks at it, "Wait, this is your house, Aofil, right? Yours and."

"Put me down!"

A jolly whistle ignores Chara's protests and flailing. It opens the creaking gate and proceeds up the stairs to the front door. The man turns around, being careful not to hit Chara on the door frame, "You two coming?" he shouts to the two perplexed figures standing just outside the wooden gate.

"Aofil?" Asriel asks the frozen statue holding him up, "What's happening? What are we doing?"

"It's just a memory, they're not real," Aofil explains to themselves, "If they are real, then Chara is as well. Can't risk that."

"You're not a vegetarian, right, Asriel?" wonders a woman from a window, "Aofil still isn't sure, even though Toriel ate lamb right in front of them."

"To be fair, she was pretty liberal with the wine," the man halts with one foot already inside the house, still with Chara mumbling angrily in his arm, "I don't think Asriel would like a salad though, since he would be eating his previous self then," he tilts his head around, "Isn't that even worse?" he shouts to Asriel.

Asriel tries to catch Aofil's attention, "Aofil? Should I answer him?" but fails.

A loud and theatrical sigh escapes another window, "Souls and memories are connected, Aofil," their brother reminds with a snark, "And I'm pretty damn sure Frisk is doing stuff with your soul, like they did before," he snaps a finger towards Chara, "Though I'm not sure if that brat is from your memory, Asriel's memory, or Frisk's soul. Heck, maybe they are from Asriel's or your soul?"

Asriel's eyes widen in fear, "Wait, what if Chara is controlling us while we're in here?" he takes Aofil's head in his hands and shakes it, "We have to wake up now! If Chara is controlling our body."

"I would reduce this house into firewood!" Chara cackles, "Show you what real determination looks like!"

"Hm," Aofil's dad ponders, "you're leaning towards being from Asriel's soul," he smiles and ruffles Chara's hair, much to their dismay, "but you're still my child."

"No! I'm not!" Chara roars, "I'll never forgive you for cursing me!"

"And that's from Aofil's memory and or soul," Aofil's mom adds.

"Yuck!" the brother remarks loudly, "I don't want an amalgamate in my house."

"It was mine before it was yours!" Chara snaps back at him, their fringe swaying, exposing their murderous eyes and angry scowl.

"Haha," he snaps another finger with a cheeky wink, "got you to admit."

"Shut up!"

The self satisfied laughter and furious huffing stops.

Asriel slowly removes his hands from his ears, "Aofil, you OK?" he asks carefully.

Asriel is almost thrown off as Aofil turns around, "Are you from my soul, or are you from my memory?"

"Um," their dad start, "I don't know. I think we only know what you know, but as your brother said, they're both connected."

Aofil massages their forehead, "Were you real back before?"

Their dad breathes through their teeth, "Again, we only know what you know, so."

"Isn't it better if we try and sort this out over dinner?" Aofil's mom proposes, "You're invited as well, Asriel. You're family."

"In the sense that he's Chara's adopted brother, or that he and Aofil are the same?" Aofil's brother ponders while failing to hold back a smile.

Aofil's mom shoots him a furrowed glare, "Guess we now know who's doing the dishes afterwards," her eyes soften as they move to Aofil and Asriel, "You two come whenever you feel like it."

Aofil's dad readjusts his grip on Chara as they try to wiggle their way out of it, "This is still about them, and not you, Chara. You can help set the table meanwhile if you're bored."

The door is closed, and Chara's loud protests dies off. Aofil stands in place though, not knowing what to think, or what to do.

"You have a nice family, Aofil."

"Is it really them, or are they just my memory?"

"Can't it be both?"

"Well, yeah, but the entire reason that we are in here to begin with is memories. The reason everyone is hurting. It's because of memories that I had to almost die, again," Aofil throws their hands against the house, "I mean, look at this. A house in the middle of literal nowhere, with my dead family inside inviting me to eat with them. It's just, it has to be a memory! That's why I'm hesitant, because memories have done nothing good for us."

"But," Asriel taps Aofil on the head, "it's also because of them that I'm here, right?"

Aofil shrugs, "I suppose? Still though, I already have one family dinner that I'm debating whether or not it was real. I don't know if I want another on my mind."

"Don't worry," Asriel smiles warmly, "this time I'll be here to share the burden with you."

"Asriel."

He rubs his arm, "It's the least I can do for everything you've done for me. Besides," and grabs it in embarrassment, "I kinda want to meet Chara's parents. They didn't really talk much about them, and now that I have the chance. I'm also a bit hungry."

Aofil looks at their house, their home. The house that cursed them, and the house that nourished them. Shadows walk back and forth behind the lit window, shadows they recognize.

"Also," Asriel continues, "you deserve to sit down for a while, Aofil. I'm not gonna be intrusive, if you don't want me to follow, then I'll wait for you here."

Aofil shakes their head, "No, I need you with me, to help me get through this."

Asriel catches a smell in his muzzle, "Wow, that smells really good."

Aofil takes a sniff, "Yeah," and makes their way towards the inviting house, "it really does."

"Shoes off, Aofil. And could I ask you to just brush off your feet, Asriel?" asks a warm and motherly voice from the kitchen. A sweet smile leans into the door frame, "It's so good to finally meet you, Asriel," it melts into a worried frown as Aofil's mom notices Asriel rubbing his muzzle, "Oh no, dear. Does it hurt?"

Asriel nods weakly while trying to hold in a small sob. Aofil's mom dries her hands on a towel and beckons for Asriel to meet her halfway. She opens the freezer and puts some ice in the towel. She ties a knot to hold it together and places it gently on Asriel's muzzle. His muzzle wrinkles, "Sorry if it smells a bit of garlic," another warm smile apologizes. She nods to Aofil, "And speaking of apologizing."

"Mom."

"It wasn't nice of you, however necessary you might've deemed it. I think an apology is in order."

Aofil agrees, they went a bit rough on the kid, "Sorry, Asriel. I didn't think clearly."

Asriel nods, "It's OK, you kept me from looking at Chara."

"Speaking of your twin, Aofil, they should be in the dining room. Why don't you and Asriel join them? I feel like you both have some things to talk about with Chara. Dinner will be ready in a bit."

Aofil looks up the stairs, "What about?" they ask the upper floor.

Their mom puts a soft hand on their shoulder, it's heavy, "Aofil, they will not be joining us."

Aofil spins around in a flash, "What?" they search their mother's face for any clue that she's lying, but they don't find anything. It's cold as stone, "But, didn't you say we were invited to a family dinner."

"Not your family," says a voice from upstairs. Aofil's brother's head nods towards the goat, "his."

"You know you can't come down here," Aofil's mother reminds him, her voice filled with remorse about having to turn away a child of hers, "Remember, they need to stay focused if they're to get out of here."

"Which is why I'm telling Aofil why, so that they don't have to guess," the brother retorts, "Listen, Aof, I'm gonna help our sister with her homework up here, you and Asriel get your heads and souls sorted out, and we'll come down and say goodbye. Sounds good?"

"We'll be back down to say goodbye to you, Aofil," their sister assures, peeking out from under her brother's legs.

"But," Aofil shakes their head in anger, "if this is all about Asriel, then why aren't we in New Home? Why are we on the Surface, and not in the Underground?" they protest angrily, "This doesn't make sense!"

A hard tap on their skull has them grunting, "It's your head, Aof, and therefore you set the scene. Makes perfect sense, for us being in your jumbled head, that is."

Aofil's mother waves the brother and sister away with a hand struggling to hide its grief, "Children, upstairs," a conflicted smile asks again, with the same warmth as before, "these two need their time to think and work things out between them."

The siblings nod, and wave goodbye to Aofil. They wave back with a tired hand, and smile.

Aofil's mother wipes away a tear in her eye, "Good luck, you two."

Aofil and Asriel nod, and Asriel accepts Aofil's outstretched hand for the second time.

"She doesn't know how to make snails, so why even bother?" Chara mumbles to themselves as Aofil and Asriel sit down on the opposite side of the table. They twists their lips, "What do you want?"

"Are you real, or a memory?" Aofil starts, "Is Frisk doing stuff with our combined soul?"

Chara shrugs and blows their lips, "Like I would tell you."

"Your tone is a bit different than the last time we talked."

"I think it's my fault they're like this," Asriel admits, "it's my memory of them."

Chara rolls their eyes, "Always the crybaby. What if I'm real, what are you gonna do about it? What if I'm in control of your combined body right now?"

Aofil raises an eyebrow, "Are you?"

Chara counters with one of their own, "Yes," and rolls their shoulder, "It's really stiff though, I might have to take it slow to begin with."

Aofil hardens their gaze, "So how come you can sit here and talk with us?"

Chara waves their fingers, "Magic," before throwing them against Aofil sarcastically, "that's how."

Aofil furrows their brow, "Prove it."

A knowing smile grows on Chara's lips, "Hold your hand up, both of you."

Aofil looks at Asriel, and then back at Chara.

"Hey, you're the one that wanted proof."

With a defeated sigh Aofil raises their hand, and Asriel follows shortly after.

"Three, two, one," Chara counts down.

Aofil and Asriel both grunt loudly in pain as Chara reaches zero. They both look at their hands that's shaking in pain.

Chara lowers their hand with a chuckle, "Three guesses who you just got hit in his smiling and stupid skull. Your fingers should feel rough as well."

Asriel looks horrified at his hand, "W-why?"

Chara rubs their finger and thumb together and blows on them, "Dust."

Aofil takes strain with their other arm on the table, and lunges themselves across it. They grab Chara's collar, and drags them back across on the tablecloth. Plates and glasses fall down and crash against the hardwood floor.

"And here I thought you would've appreciated me setting the table for you," Chara smiles smugly, "Look, now the plates look like your soul."

Aofil wrings them closer, "How do we get out of here?"

Asriel tucks at Aofil's shirt, "Aofil?" he asks with a somber sob. Aofil ignores it, they ain't letting Chara go.

"Is this how you treat your long lost twin?" Chara blinks with a pair of puppy eyes summoned to annoy Aofil, "And here I thought you had a change of mind when you preached for me in the True Lab?"

"If there's anything I've learned is that I only know one thing about you, and that is that you made your choice, and died because of it," Aofil pauses to catch their breath, "It gives you no right to linger on. Especially not like the parasite you are right now."

"Why are you talking to me?" Chara turns their head to Asriel, "Wasn't all this about you, Asriel?" but shoots a glance back at Aofil, "Why can he linger on? Isn't he also a parasite?"

Asriel's head sinks into his paws.

Chara smiles, "See, he even admits it. I'm a part of him just as much as he's a part of you. So whatever thing you and Asriel are gonna talk about, I'm gonna be here."

"Give us back our body," Aofil snarls viciously, "Now!"

"You and Asriel fused into something more powerful than what he and I did, and the first thing you did was attacking a door," Chara knocks Aofil's hand away, "and then faint, as you always do. Your soul couldn't handle the amount of determination, like it never could," black ooze pours out of their grinning mouth and piercing eyes, "Good thing Frisk was there to be the angel they always are, right? Keep you two weaklings alive while you struggled to adapt to your new soul."

The room grows darker around Chara, creaking menacingly as their shadow absorb the light around it, "A soul stronger than the legend could ever predict, a soul that can lay waste to everything if it wanted to. It just needs someone to control it, to make it their own."

Chara grasps their chest, and pulls out their soul. A red soul, with its cracks filled with pieces of a white soul, "Good thing I had a vacant place for it. The determination pouring out of it is infinite. It just needs someone that doesn't stands in its way."

A large hand leans in from the darkness, and with a flick of its finger the soul flies out of Chara's grasp, and into the burning fireplace. It pops like a small balloon, and the shadows enveloping the room gives way to the warm crackling of the colorful fire left behind by the soul.

"Again, still not about you, Chara," Aofil's dad reminds, and puts Chara back in their chair, "And look at this mess you made!"

Chara stares at the fireplace with their jaw on the floor. They reach out for it, but their hand is swatted down, "How? But?" Aofil and Asriel is just as perplexed, if not more.

"Third one is here now," Aofil's dad announces, "Time to sort things out so that you can get out of here, and start thinking about how to separate."

Chara blinks at him, "But, I was here first? I was here before Aofil and Asriel."

"I feel like I'm repeating myself, but that's because I am. This is still not about you, Chara," informs a tired sigh. He places a pot down on the table that he was carrying under his arm, and removes his hand from the yellow flower in it.

The plant spits and coughs dramatically before crossing its leaves, "Idiot human with his idiot spade," it mumbles, "didn't even get me a good pot."

Flowey's petals perk up as he and Asriel lock eyes with each other, "What?" they say in unison.

Flowey runs his eyes up and down Asriel, "Is this a joke?" and swirls his head to Aofil, "You're kidding me? Why is the crybaby here?"

Aofil can't produce an answer.

Asriel can barely form words, "But, I'm here? Why is he?" he slurs out.

A clean whistle echoes through the room, "Tea's done," informs Aofil's mom from the kitchen. She peeks her head into the dining room, "Who wants some?" but is met by silence from the four heads trying desperately to deduce what just happened, and what's currently happening.

"I think all of them," Aofil's dad answers in their place, "even though they can't say it right now."

With a confused frown Aofil's mom peeks over her husband's head, "Why is there determination on the table?"