"If the two sides of the coin ever met… what would they do? What would they say to one another? Would they be friendly… or not?"

"I don't know. Would they? And what does this have to do with the story?"

"…nothing. It was just something I was thinking about."

"…okay." -Francine I. Kane and Manuela Sanchez, 201X-

Chapter 21: Arguing With… Yourself?

Frisk stared at the apparition before her, struggling to comprehend what had just transpired. Chara still smiled, seemingly amused by her shock. When they spoke their tone was chiding and yet flat at the same time.

"Come now. Asriel's memories survived… Of course mine would as well."

Frisk didn't know what to make of Chara, but what they said made sense, in a way. After all, a good deal of the determination the two of them shared would have come from Chara in the first place, despite the way Asriel won the struggle to control their body in the end. But if Chara was here, in the place that led her to her memories…

"When I fell, after Undyne destroyed that bridge… that was your memory, wasn't it?" asked Frisk. Chara's smile fell, but they nodded.

"It was," they said. "Only recently have I been able to reach you in this manner. Previously I was stuck in the shadows of your mind. I was unable to speak to you directly. But death brought you closer to me. Whenever it did I would share my memories with you."

"Were you superimposing my name over yours when you did that?"

"Yes."

"Why? Was it to make me think someone was helping me?"

"It was not like that. I WAS helping you. But yes. That was one reason."

Chara sat on the ground a few feet away from Frisk, crossing their legs as their smile returned. They sounded almost excited as they said, "I have been observing you since you fell into the Underground. You appear to be sensitive to the determination of others. You can 'hear' it in a manner similar to how monsters feel one another's souls… in addition to that particular ability. The more intent they bear the stronger you feel it. That is why you remember Boss Monster attacks so intimately. I have been calling that power 'memory mimicry.'"

They started beaming, though their tone of voice brightened only slightly. "It is unprecedented! You balance magic and determination almost perfectly! Just imagine all the possibilities at your fingertips once you master them. No one will be able to hurt you ever again. Would that not be grand?"

Frisk didn't answer. Something was… off, about Chara. Frisk's ability to discern lies from truth was detecting truth, but… It was like talking with Sans, in a way. He said a great deal, and yet said hardly anything at the same time. He lied by omission, just as Frisk did… and as Chara was doing.

"How are you here?" she asked them. "Where are we?What do you want from me?"

That peculiar smile was still in place as Chara tilted their head, slightly. "You are FILLED with questions. But your mind would not be filled with knowledge if you were not curious."

Frisk bristled, a little. "How do you know that?"

Chara shrugged nonchalantly. "When I awoke, I was attached to the determination in your soul. Because it can be 'shared'. The 'soul and the 'mind are closely linked. Once I realized I was not in my own body I stayed with your boxes." They chuckled, slightly. "They are more like filing cabinets. Very organized. They make it easy to find certain things."

Frisk felt her face hardened and she tensed. As she began to feel utterly violated Chara held up their hands in a placating gesture.

"There is no need for that," they said too calmly. "I did not have a choice in this. No more than you. Imagine waking up in a stranger's house. You are locked inside. Of COURSE you would snoop around to find a way out."

Frisk opened her eyes, glaring as she said, "I would have picked the lock and left, by now."

Chara laughed, sounding amused but not deeply so. "If that was an option I would have done so already." They sobered, a hard-to-read expression flickering behind their smile as they said, "Besides… you are interesting… for a human."

Frisk kept her eyes open, but the rest of her face settled into neutrality. Her voice was deadpan as she said, "If you expect me to feel flattered, I'm afraid I must disappoint you." Chara only shrugged, again.

"That is why I tried to keep you ignorant of my presence," they said. "You are a very private person. Despite your loneliness. Given everything you have endured that is understandable. I know what it is like."

"Duly noted." The sense of wrongness lingered, despite Chara's friendly behavior. Frisk tried to get the conversation back on track. "Where are we? Am I dead… again?"

Chara shook their head and said, "This is not where we go when we die. It is… a place to one side of that. I think. Closer to home but nowhere near it."

Frisk blinked. "That doesn't make any sense."

"I know," Chara said manner-of-factly. "It was something I found written in a strange coded journal one day." Frisk made a face at them, and they shrugged again. "You already know I like to snoop. You have done the same. Do not be a hypocrite." Before Frisk could feel offended, Chara waved their hand in an airy, dismissive gesture. "Moving on…

"Mr. and Mrs. Dreemurr left me and Asriel in Duke Asterisk's care one night. The old Duke. We were at his house and he let us go through his personal library. I found a journal written in strange handwriting. It belonged to a skeleton named 'Marlett Corinthians'. I believe they were the Royal Alchemist before the monsters were trapped. That or shortly thereafter.

"Fortunately there was also a book on the different skeleton alphabets. I used it to translate. Much of it was alchemy-related nonsense. But it also spoke of something Doctor Corinthians called 'The Edge.'"

Intrigued in spite of herself, Frisk asked, "The edge… of what?"

Chara was perfectly serious as they said, "Of everything." After a short pause to let that sink in, Chara expanded their explanation without being prompted. They spoke as though quoting something from memory.

"'The edge of life and death. The precipice that separates dreams from waking. The razor's blade that cuts between existence and its lack. The empty doorway to countless worlds.' Excising the poetic claptrap Marlett was prone to it is where souls communicate to one another. The place they are all connected."

"The collective consciousness." Frisk once read a book on the subject, despite having little interest in the metaphysical. But she'd run out of other books to read, around that time, so she read it. Still… "Seems rather lonely, with just the two of us here."

Chara nodded, acknowledging the point. "… I suppose that was inaccurate. You and I are not truly on The Edge just… nearby. Marlett also said, 'those born straddling life and death are always closest to it, and forever remain sensitive to its call.'"

"What does that mean?"

"It means…" Chara's smile faded, (possibly genuine) sympathy in their expression as they said, "There were… complications when you were born. Am I wrong?"

Frisk's brow drew downward in confusion. "What does that have to do with anything?" It was a very good guess, and they weren't wrong. Frisk knew they weren't, because her human mother shoved the information in her face as soon as she could understand. That woman used nearly dying during childbirth as an excuse to treat Frisk however she pleased, nevermind the fact that her daughter almost died, as well. But if Chara could poke around her memories, why ask?

The peculiar smile came back, though it was a bit off-center. "People that cheat Death when they are born are drawn to The Edge at some point. It is because our souls know the way. Even if we forget as we grow older. Where we are now is likely the threshold of that first step onto the Edge." They ended their explanation, smiling expectantly. It was like they were looking forward to… something. Frisk couldn't guess what. But there were still questions that hadn't been answered.

"You still haven't told me why it's so important to regain my full potential," said Frisk. "You also haven't given me a reason to risk my health by using red magic, again."

"What happened before was a fluke. A mistake," said Chara. "I was too eager to help you. Our combined magic caused your injuries. Two people's worth of magic is a bit much for one body to handle. Even if they are in peak magical condition. Yours was not. I will not allow that to happen again."

Frisk tilted her head. "A bit odd that you would call trying to kill my own uncle 'helping out'. You're also avoiding my question."

Chara chuckled. "You ARE stubborn. Fine. Have it your way.

"You need to regain total mastery of your magic AND determination before your uncle's judgement. No matter how careful the monsters are trying to be that human WILLdie. Do you not remember how his simply being present in the Underground took away the star? The star that saves our memories for us and permits us return to that point in time when we die. Contemplate upon what will happen."

She still had the feeling Chara wanted more from her than they were saying, but Frisk didn't have anything concrete to object to. So she thought about her uncle, and what would happen if- when his execution came to pass.

He would be taken to the Last Corridor, the Hall of Judgement. Sans would measure and weigh his deeds, and almost certainly find him guilty. Her uncle would be executed. But… if he could use the stars, he might come back. He might return to face Sans again and again…

A sudden chill made Frisk's stomach turn, but she shook her head. "There's no way my uncle can touch the star," she said. "The guards won't let him. I don't think the monsters can see them, but the stars are still usually far enough out of the way that people avoid casually walking over them."

"Perhaps," Chara agreed, "but he does not need to touch a star. It is possible that he will fall into the Ruins. I know I did."

"…what do you mean? How do you know that?"

Chara shrugged, looking a little embarrassed, or perhaps irritated. "The Dreemurrs were taking me to New Home for the first time. We were walking through Hotland and I tripped and fell… Into the lava." Frisk winced, and her expression made Chara burst out in their first genuine laugh of the encounter. "And you thought DROWNING wasn't fun!" They quickly mastered themselves, continuing their story after a sigh. "Then I woke up. Back in the Ruins. I never touched any stars. But I still wound up there.

"I am not saying that WILL happen. But the possibility exists. Will you allow that filth to toy with monster lives by turning back time? Surely you have noticed how predictable magic attacks can be. If you face them often enough. Give him enough chances and he will learn Sans' patterns. He will KILL Sans."

"Th-that…" Frisk noticed that she was shaking, and forced herself to stop. "That's all just conjecture. It's equally possible that all he'll do is die."

"Of course it is." Chara agreed so quickly it made Frisk blink. Their smile was undaunted as they continued. "But do you TRULY wish to risk your friend's life on a possibility? Do you want to risk the lives of the people you swore you would protect? You DO want to keep them all safe."

Frisk clenched her hands into fists. Of course she wanted to keep everyone safe! If Chara was really a part of her, now, they would already know that. So why where they pressuring her to commit to mastering magic? "What do you really want from me?"

It took a moment for Frisk to realize she'd spoken aloud. She couldn't take her question back, so she waited. She and Chara stared at one another, stony gaze meeting empty smile. Then, the other child chuckled. Softly at first, then they began to laugh aloud. Frisk waited and waited but they didn't stop, making her question their sanity. Chara eventually mastered themselves enough to speak again.

"Perceptive of you. Fine. I suppose we have beaten around the bush long enough.

"Those 'nightmares' Mrs. Dreemurr said you were having. They were me. I was trying to reach the surface of your mind and break free from your shadow. I drag your consciousness here while I do. I do so in the hope that I may walk around on my own. Instead of being carted around by you."

Frisk's jaw nearly dropped, and only years of etiquette lessons prevented it. "H-how!?"

The other still smiled. "Determination can be shared. The more determined you become the more you share with me. As you grow stronger so do I."

Their smile disappeared. "I will not permit a HUMAN hurt the monsters. If your uncle gets past Sans they will all die. If you were SMART you would do everything in your power to prevent that. Even if it meant taking matters into your own hands."

"I'm not going to kill my uncle," said Frisk flatly.

Chara's brows drew downward ever so slightly in an expression of restrained anger. "Staying determined means doing whatever is necessary."

"It's not necessary for me to kill him! I'll find a way to keep the star from him and he can rot in prison for all I care! Sans doesn't need to do anything for that. He might even appreciate being able to do nothing."

Chara said nothing in response. They met Frisk's glare with one of their own before standing. Frisk followed suit, and she wondered if Chara could feel the bad feeling they were giving her.

She watched as Chara inhaled deeply, then let the air out of their lungs slowly before they said, "You IDIOT."

Chara's left hand twitched. Frisk ducked as something red flashed past her cheek. Before she could retaliate (though she wasn't sure how she would do that,) red knives taller than her burst from the ground.

She was trapped. Frisk had no way of knowing how much the knives would hurt her if she touched them, so she couldn't risk running through them the way she had Papyrus' bone gate. Judging from the ill intent she could feel coming off Chara, however, it was probably sufficient to seriously harm, if not kill her.

"What did I just tell you," they said. "I will not let ANY human hurt the monsters. Especially not a coward that sits on her hands. Who does NOTHING when there is an obvious solution to a problem."

"How does that hurt anyone?"

"It hurts them because you could have done something. AND YOU DID NOT. You had your chance to end this before it began. In your uncle's basement. You squandered it. I will rectify your mistake. Once and for all."

"You can't do that!"

"We shall see."

Chara turned their back on Frisk, walking to the floating buttons. Frisk bent her body this way and that, trying to find a way between the knives, but there wasn't any. The cage had been expertly crafted to prevent her escape. Chara raised a hand and touched the "continue" button…

Both buttons faded, as did Chara. Frisk was left alone, in the dark, battling her growing hopelessness.