"I do remember finding a box of yours in the attic," Aofil says as they ease themselves down next to Chara again sitting curled up in Frisk's legs. Their red, half-glowing eyes overlook the view of New Home and its castle in its blossoming, almost pulsating, cyan color. "Found a plastic mirror inside."

Frisk's arms clench the still soaked legs tightly. "I remember that one."

"The one with the make-up on it?"

Chara move Frisk's hand up to Frisk's cheek, but stop halfway, restlessly rubbing the wrinkled fingers together while pinching the collar of the purple and blue striped sweater. "For my cheeks, yeah," they whisper before returning Frisk's hand back to the knot they have the long sleeved arms do around the wet pair of jeans.

"Mine too," Aofil nods. They let their legs hang over the edge of the overlook. The sharp pressure against the back of their knees is the same as the edge on the plateau up on Mt Ebott at the Underground's entrance. "It covered my cheeks as well when I looked in it."

The Underground's old entrance, that is. Not a lot of traffic going through there any longer. Well, to be fair, there wasn't really a lot of traffic going through it before either.

Less color though down here compared to at the plateau too. Not a lot of sun illuminating the nearby town. No trees acting like Mt Ebott's beard at its foot and higher either. Same glimmer down here in the Underground though. The walls on the plateau glimmer as much as the crystals visible from the overlook's cliff edge Aofil's yellow painted legs are dangling casually over. A nice shimmer bringing the mind to imagining treasures vast and forgotten.

"We have the same ones."

"That we do."

"Well..." Chara sighs while burrowing Frisk's chin further into the wet knees. "We had the same one."

Aofil nods absently. "Yeah." There's a glimmer caught in their eye. A pocket of crystals, almost like a nest.

Hm…

Maybe Aofil can reach for them?

Yes, that they can, but a lot of them look to be rather stuck. This one though, just above their shoulder?

Aofil reaches over to one of the crystals that look to be loose enough to pry off its rocky cradle now that they have the use of their arms back. As they tug and twist to get the crystal loose, they feel the rather strange sensation their fur informs them of as the solemn wind howls a tired gasps throughout the dark cavern dotted with light. It brushes the white hairs like one would butter a warm piece of toast.

It's reminiscent of taking off your socks at the end of a long walk, but amplified to the point where Aofil has to jerk their arm back to rub the sensation away. It is tingling at their arm like it was asleep, but it's not in their arm. It's on it, on their patch of fur. Like grass stretching itself upright again after some heavy rain. Aofil can feel every single strand straightening.

They'd rather not.

Chara watches their twin mutter uncomfortably as they angle Frisk's head on its side upon the darkened jeans knees. They don't say anything. They just watch.

"You want ít?" Aofil asks as they finally manages to pry off the crystal from the wall with an audible crack. They inspect their fingers to make sure the sound wasn't from them.

Nope, still have all five left. On both hands too.

Neat!

Aofil brushes away the rocky dust from the crystal before rubbing the last pieces of stubborn dirt off with the help of their sweater. It is already destined for a very long wash, so what is one or two more spots on it? If monster clothing can manage Sans' condimentary escapades it should be sturdy enough to polish a bit of crystal. Aofil offers the now cleaned crystal to Chara in their open palm. "I can find another one if you want this one."

Chara closes Frisk's eyes for a second. "Frisk would like one, yes."

"You can just say that you want one yourself, Chara." Aofil leans over and balances the pill-shaped crystal on the curled up knee closest to them. "You don't have to say that Frisk wants it if you want it yourself."

"You said there wasn't an I though, Aofil," Chara heaves through a sob, halting Aofil like a sharp prick at the tail end of their spine.

They did, didn't they…

Chara picks up the crystals in Frisk's hand, clutching it close as they study the reflection in it. "Did you mean it?"

Aofil's head slumps over in shame. "I don't know." Not because they're lying, not because they don't know if they did mean it.

But because they don't know if they are lying. Were they lying earlier when they lashed out? Are they lying now?

They don't know, and they feel like they are being unfair. Keeping these things obfuscated, that's what they were angry at the monsters for. Well, angry at themselves for not asking the monsters about it, that is. And here they're doing it again towards Chara.

Again Aofil is blurring the line between monster and human even further, as always.

Heh.

Aofil looks down at their arm.

Fur-ther.

"Did you want to mean it?" Chara tries again while spinning the crystal in Frisk's hand. Doesn't matter how much they do though, they still only see Frisk in the reflection. Not a single stripe of the sides of the conical crystal shows any rosy cheeks on pale skin.

Only yellow. Only Frisk.

"I'm gonna say yes," Aofil answers as they find another crystal that looks loose enough. They reach for it, but it seems a bit more stuck than it made itself out to be. "Not because I actually mean it, but because I want you to explain why you're doing this. To me, to Frisk, to everyone. You are putting us all in danger by being here, Chara."

"I didn't want to come back," Chara states into the crystal. "I'm still a parasite on Frisk, and that will never change. A parasite can't live without a host though, so if Frisk is in danger I come out to make sure I still have a host to latch onto later. I'm like their second wind, but not in a good way."

"Do you keep Frisk from getting hurt by coming forth into the spotlight for them?"

"Don't try to make it a good thing, Aofil." Chara pushes the flat of the crystal against Frisk's forehead, kneading it in as if it would siphon out their headache somehow. "You...and I...and everyone...don't want me to get more strength over Frisk. If I had a choice I'd..."

The crystal slips out of Chara's loosened grasp, falling down into Frisk's groin while gently spinning. It lands on its end, causing Chara to lurch forward with a groan.

"You alright?" Aofil asks while they snap their head away from the barely moving crystal still stuck in the cliff wall.

"I'm fine," Chara says after a cough. "Frisk's fine," they correct while quelling a second one. "I hate feeling like this."

"We all hate being hurt," Aofil agrees with a glum nod.

"Not feeling hurt. Just...feeling. It's too loud for me. Pain is deafening, along with everything else. Frisk is already a very emotional soul, and with mine on top of that...for now that is. Usually I'm at the bottom of it, you know?"

Aofil moves their hand in a circle to gently point out to Chara that they're going off on a tangent.

Chara nods Frisk's head understandingly. They drag a long inhale to get themselves back on track all the while clutching at Frisk's temples. "Anyways, it's like two enormous church bells in their ears whenever I begin feeling something, and then Frisk's soul acts as a catalyst which flows into mine and then back to Frisk and then-"

"Chara," Aofil says loudly to get through to their twin. They plant their hand hard, but not harshly, on Frisk's shoulder. "You told me this before. You don't have to again."

"Just more proof of it, ey?" they chuckle without joy, again catching the reflection of Frisk as they tilt the possessed head down through a lamenting sigh. "If I had a choice I'd..." they repeat before picking the crystal back up in their hand. They meet Frisk's eyes in it for a couple of long seconds. "No, I would still come out. I'd do it for Frisk. Of course I would! They deserve to not die, not after all they've done. They've died enough already."

Aofil carefully lifts their hand away from the damp shoulder while keeping their eyes on Chara staring into the crystal.

"But they're kept alive by someone that's dead. They're made to host longer by the parasite."

"That's a bit grim," Aofil has to admit. They manage to get one of their finger underneath the crystal again, but it still won't budge. They are fully aware that it is Chara behind Frisk's voice, but hearing those word come out of Frisk's mouth like that. They know they shouldn't, but they're starting to feel a bit for Chara now.

Maybe those drops from the Waterfall roof hit Aofil a bit too hard on their head.

"If I could manage Frisk's emotions I would've scoffed at the understatement you just said. I don't want to risk it though. I'm already teetering," Chara says through gritted teeth. "One push and..."

They lean over the edge of the overlook.

"Jump back now or I throw Frisk's body back, Chara," Aofil states firmly with brows lowered sharply. That, if anything, they have zero hesitation about.

Chara hops back a bit.

"Good."

"I wasn't thinking of-"

"Don't say anything more, Chara. Don't make the image more vivid in my head, please."

"Sorry," Chara apologizes while looking away.

"So it is not a conscious choice on your part, Chara?" Aofil asks to change the subject to something less grim. It's still somewhere on the highest echelon of grim, but at least it is not at the very top.

Or botto-

No!

Stop!

"I'm not even conscious normally," Chara answers after holding their breath seeing Aofil flinch for a moment, "and this goes even deeper than me. I think it is Frisk's soul not wanting to die, so it puts me out in the light to keep appearances while it sorts Frisk out behind the curtains. I've gotten quite good at imitating Frisk by now."

Aofil's face scrunches up as they fight their urge to scream. They. Really. Don't. Like. Hearing. That!

Chara sighs as they see their twin again flinch violently. They lean Frisk's head back from looking inside the crystal as they heave their weary exhale. "I know more about being Frisk than I do about being myself. I don't even feel that I am acting the few times I've been in control."

"Not. Helping!"

The surrounding cavern repeats their shout. The cyan colors turn more somber as their words bounce around, casting a dark veil of exploding bitterness.

Aofil shakes their head before their echo has time to quiet down. "Sorry, it spilled out of me."

"I don't mean it like that though," Chara defends while impatiently rolling the crystal in Frisk's hand as they think. "I...I am not me, really, I'm a part of Frisk. An organ. I'm me, but I'm fully dependent on Frisk. I said as much in the bus stop bathroom, Aofil. My time to remind you now, I guess."

"Still..."

"I'm not holding it against you."

"Thanks."

The crystal begins to loosen a bit more.

"Please don't ask how many times I've taken over from Frisk, Aofil," Chara pleads after a short moment of silence.

"It's gonna be harder living with knowing that than it will without. One of the rare times that is the case."

"Usually it is the other way around," Chara finishes with a thoughtful nod. "And speaking of that." They reach into Frisk's collar. "I should make sure the rest won't know either." The remote with its many strange buttons surfaces from the soggy fabric. "Hopefully this still works."

"If it doesn't with the three of our souls combined hope around it then I'll throw rocks at the cameras until I get them all."

Chara aims the remote upwards, and after a press of a button, they deposit it back inside of Frisk's sweater.

"By the way, about the rest," Aofil voices after letting Chara recover a bit. "Should I be worried that they're gonna be worried about Frisk and I taking a long while to get to MK?"

"No," Chara answers without thinking. It's reassuring to Aofil that it was an instant answer, otherwise their imagination would've produced an ever worse answer and they'd been less inclined to believe. "Asriel promised he'd tell the others that Frisk wanted some human time with you."

That's good and all, but…

"Asriel made a promise to you?" Aofil asks over their shoulder. Not accusingly, but not curiously as well. Not a single drop of emotion in their voice. They have to save it for whatever Chara answers.

"He made it to Frisk," Chara measly defends. They know it's not what Aofil actually asked them. Another quick glance at the crystal has the thinly veiled defense crumble like a single sheet of wet paper. "Yes, he made a promise to me."

The crystal in the wall Aofil's fingers are wrapped around angles itself worse than before, lodging itself into another crevice Aofil couldn't see in the faint light it reflects.

"Who else did you talk to? Besides me. Who of the monsters? Who of the Boss Monsters?"

"I've hugged mom, dad, and Asriel," Chara admits while clutching their own crystal. "That's what Frisk asked me to do. That is what they wanted me to do. Their birthday wish from me."

Man, this crystal sure don't want to come loose now, does it? Aofil has to dig their fingers in around it like they did their chest and soul. "I still don't like you doing it. If there's anything I've learned about your, Frisk, and my soul is that the monsters are keen on picking up on whatever it is that's radiating off of our red hearts like a second sun." Just get off the wall already! "Like a beacon of hope, Sans said," Aofil forces out through their teeth clenched as they strain their arm and fingers.

But it refuses.

"Did they notice?" Aofil questions with a growl. "Did any one of them notice?"

"No."

Unfortunately, an instant answer is not gonna be enough this time for Aofil to believe it.

"Look me in the eyes," Aofil commands firmly.

Chara slowly tilts up Frisk's head again to meet Aofil.

A good sign.

"Brush away the hair."

They do so.

Another good sign.

"And answer me again."

Aofil takes a steadying breath.

"Did Toriel, Asgore, or Asriel notice anything? Did they suspect that you were Chara and not Frisk?" And most importantly! "Am I going to have to fix something? Am I going to have to do something to convince them otherwise? Just tell me if something happened, Chara. I only want to know so that I can prepare myself."

Not a single blink from Chara during Aofil's questions. Not a single movement from their head. Just focused breathing. The smallest curl begins on Frisk's lips now that Aofil's finished, and as Frisk's mouth begins to open to form the answer, Aofil's eyes strain themselves to not look down. They have to watch the windows to the soul to believe now, whatever it is their ears hear.

"No."

Aofil keeps their gaze hard on Chara's windows. They're opened wide for Aofil to peer into from outside. But there is nothing inside. Not a single grain of a lie which would be enough for the small piece Chara's soul is.

"They didn't suspect a thing, Aofil."

Aofil's arm bends just the slightest as the crystal in their hand jumps out of its second crevice. Still has a bit more to fiddle with though. "Good," they say to Chara with a nod. "I believe you."

"Thanks," Chara returns with a subdued gasp.

One of tremendous relief.

"You're welcome."

Another gravely crack rings out into the looming hollowness of the overlook. Aofil rolls their shoulder to ease out the sudden jolt. The second crystal popped out a bit more violent than the one they gave to Chara.

Strange…

They look down at it, but they only see yellow. Only MK.

Their MK makeup is not really the most robust any longer though. Half-melted by their emotional outbursts and the water and-

"Can you do me a favor, Aofil?"

"Hm?"

"It's a small one, I promise."

"Depends on the favor," Aofil answers as they begin polishing their crystal. "What is it?"

Chara shows the crystal in their hand. The reflection of Frisk shines within it as a ghostly aberration. Like an old weathered photograph just underneath some moving water.

"These crystals are a bit like the Echo Flowers," Chara explains while tapping their now yellow tinted crystal in Frisk's hand. "They remember the last monster or human reflected into them. They react to the presence of different magic than their own environment, so a human's reflection is more visible than a monster's one."

"Kinda like how the Echo Flowers don't just repeat the folly around them?"

Chara tilts Frisk's head from side to side. "More or less."

"Huh." Aofil nods to themselves. "Always wondered about that."

"Can you..." Chara has to steady their own breath again. They swallow hard. "Can you take off your makeup and put your reflection inside your crystal?"

Aofil angles up their crystal to their face. Even under the layers of yellow paint, they can see their eyebrow raised. "Why?"

"I..I want to say goodbye to you as me, and if I see myself in a reflection while I do it..."

Chara tries, but they can't grit Frisk's teeth hard enough to hold back the thick tears forming.

"Frisk amplifying the emotions?" Aofil guesses carefully.

Chara nods reservedly through a loud snivel. That might mean that Frisk is getting their strength back. It's not a large favor that Chara is asking, to be honest. Although, what if it makes Chara more aware? Maybe that will give them more control over Frisk?

"I can hear what you're thinking," Chara informs while rubbing Frisk's arm. "And I promise that this is the only thing I want. I just want to say goodbye to you, Aofil. I want to say goodbye to you as twins. That's...how I remember you as."

The tears fall from Frisk's chin like the drops did the stalactites around the corner into Waterfall. Splattering against the rocky ground violently.

"Please."

Frisk's body is almost shaking now with all the potent sobs quaking throughout the damp torso and limbs. Aofil can't watch that, it's too much for them.

"Just give me a second," Aofil asks as they run their dirtied fingernails underneath the paint on the edge of their cheeks. "Might have to give it a moment so that my cheeks aren't the same color as the rest of my face."

Chara again looks away. "Maybe with those gone our parents could've loved us."

Yeah, Chara is definitely getting a bit too emotional now. Very much so, in fact.

"They did love us, Chara," Aofil begins before finding a grip and pulling off the yellow painted scales to reveal red irritated skin underneath. They discard the hollow and eerie mask over the edge of the overlook. They'll deal with Radentim later.

For now though they have to get Chara a bit more stable emotion wise. Last time they succumbed to their and Frisk's joint emotions things took a turn for the worse, to again understate it immensely.

"They just had trouble expressing it. Dad, mom, they weren't ready for us. Although," Aofil pauses as they prepare themselves for what they are about to say, "I don't remember the time when they weren't ready, only you do."

Chara nods once and hard.

"I don't remember you," Aofil continues while throwing their hand up, "and I don't remember who or how they were before you disappeared. From what they told me, or from what my imagination told me as them when I almost died for the first time..."

They need another pause for that.

"On the day you and I decided to give Mt. Ebott a chance, our dad got a phone call that meant he could start over. With us as well."

Chara keeps Frisk's chin on the soaked knees, and the red glowing eyes locked hard on the distant castle humming in its turquoise color. They look to be calming down a bit.

"I haven't given it much thought because of obvious reasons." Aofil blows their lips as they join in their twin's stare while keeping their crystal angled up on their cooling face. "It's a damn mess, and the less I bring it up, the better."

"It sounds very convenient," Chara says quietly.

"It does, and the more I think about it the more it sounds more like my imagination than something real." Aofil breathes out heavily. "Which I why I don't want to think about it."

"Fair."

"Maybe me forgetting everything that happened beforehand was their chance to begin again. They were devastated at losing you, Chara. Make no mistake about that."

Chara only shortly hums.

Aofil does so as well before allowing a long silence to fall upon the two.

"Why does the castle calm you down so much, by the way?"

"I grew up there, with Asriel."

"Does that make me royalty?" Aofil shoots over casually, half joking. Might just be what the two needed though.

A small smile grows on Frisk's lips. "I think the piece of Asriel in you makes you more royal."

"He's doing a lousy job at it, to be honest."

A chuckle.

A small, insignificant chuckle if it were from anyone else. What would be a groan and a dismissal towards one of Sans' puns now instead explodes as a roaring laughter.

Guess this is gonna be as stable as Chara gets.

Aofil checks their crystal. Their image shows them, but it also shows their twin. It shows Chara's pale skin, Chara's rosy cheek, and after some tussling from Aofil, Chara's long fringe. Aofil adds a smile to it too.

After all, it's what Chara is doing now.

"Here."

Chara takes it in Frisk's hands. They look down at it with Frisk's eyes.

But they see themselves.

And this time, when the tears fall on the reflection of the pale human with the rosy cheeks, there is no paint to obfuscate the truth. Right now it is not a curse. It is not something that meant loss, it is something lost itself.

But for now it is back, in the briefest of moments it is back to Chara. Their own face, while they're sitting next to their own twin.

Time to say their own goodbye.

"Thank you," they whisper through the streams of tears running down their face in the crystal.

Aofil extends their arms to invite their twin for the last, and also the first, time. If anything than to make sure Frisk doesn't fall over slump onto the hard ground.

Chara accepts the embrace with everything that is their soul.

"Goodbye, Aofil."

A long silent moment passes with the two twins sharing in the embrace with tears raining down from the sobbing human.

"I'm finished now, Frisk," Chara whispers to themselves. "Thank you."

Frisk's body turns limp in Aofil's arms, their weight loosening into Aofil's chest. Aofil carefully leans the now sleeping body down onto the ground with the yellow slumped head resting on one of their thighs.

Chara's crystal rolls gently out of Frisk's opened hand.

Aofil mirrors the warm smile on the crystal.

"Goodbye, Chara."