"No!"
Aofil stumbles backwards, hastily fumbling for a grip on the wall mounted cupboard. They knock a couple of flask out of the way in their hectic scrambling, and one rolls off the cupboard and bounces loudly on the cement floor.
"No, my soul is cursed! Y-you must be wrong, Alphys! You only ran one set of tests."
She cowers behind her tail.
"My soul," Aofil moves their hand up their chest, "my soul is broken. Why else would I be feeling this way? Why else would I have had it flourishing every single day?"
Their fingers clutches their skin tightly, "Look!" Aofil focuses their entire being, "It's-"
A red glow fills the basement with long and slick shadows dancing on the walls and floor because of Aofil's shaking fingers. Aofil stares at the crimson heart in fear, in dread. Sharp gasps bring in just enough oxygen to fight away the sinking feeling draining them of color and strength. The red soul hovers gently in Aofil's grasp, just above the fur on their arm.
Throughout the soul, slithering through the cracks present, like a glistening river in a vast landscape of blood, runs a thread not of red.
But of white.
"No..."
The same white that is staining their arm.
"No."
Is staining their soul.
"No!"
Aofil reaches for it, they need to get it out! It can't be there, it can't be holding their soul together.
A flash of surging pain shoots through Aofil once their finger touches their soul. They recoil back, gliding down to the floor with their back against the cupboard.
They reach for the white snake in their forest of red again. They have to get it out!
The resulting pain forces their arm back, and their elbow crashes against a cupboard door. The impact shakes the entire structure causing a small knife to fall off and land next to their leg. It's the instrument Alphys used to remove the tissue from their arm.
Aofil picks it up. If it can remove the white from their arm it should be sharp enough to remove the white from their soul!
"A-Aof-fil!"
Alphys rushes as fast as she can to the human about to gouge their own soul. She wraps both of her arms around Aofil's hand that's clutching the knife. Leaning back with all her weight, she halts the first attempt, but she instantly feel Aofil winding their arm back for another try.
"A-Aof-fil! Don't! You'll d-die!"
"I need to!" Aofil fights against Alphys, shaking their arm wildly, "It can't be like this!"
Alphys hangs on, but just barely. She's losing grip! Desperately, she tries to restrain Aofil's hand, but she's slipping! The scalpel is closing in! She doesn't have time to call for Undyne! She has to do something!
Now!
Alphys whips her tail around and slams it into Aofil's soul. The hit radiates throughout Aofil, echoing inside them an unimaginable pain through every bone and cell. They drop the knife as they clutch their torso in a desperate attempt to endure the pain. The bouncing metal sound is quickly drowned out by Aofil's pained scream. It startles Alphys, and she lets them go while putting her mortified hands up to her muzzle.
Aofil bends over in agony, absorbing their soul back into them in the process. They collapse on the floor, sobbing and breathing sharply and irregularly as they heave from the anguish pulsating within them.
Alphys looks at her hands, terrified over what she has done, "Not again," her face contorts as she balls her hands into two lamenting fists, "Not again!"
The basement window suffers violent knocks. A muffled voice full of worry just barely makes it through the thick glass.
But there is no answer.
A few seconds later the basement door explodes open and a set of hasty footsteps makes their way down the stairs.
"Alphys? Aofil?" Undyne shouts, mortified over the image before her, "What's happening?"
Aofil slowly braces their weight on their arm. Their chest is still thumping with agony, but they have to get up. They have to get out of here!
Undyne helps Aofil up on their knees. Carefully she leans them back onto the cupboard. She checks quickly to make sure that there's no immediate bleeding or damage, "Sit still, alright Aof?"
She rushes over to Alphys to make sure she's fine, "Alphee? What happened here?" she gently tilts Alphys' head to make eye contact with her, "Look at me, Alphee. You're safe, I'm here."
"I-I d-did it-t a-ag-gain, Un-n-dy!" Alphys dives onto Undyne's shoulder, "I-I d-did it ag-gain! I-It's h-happ-pening ag-gain!"
Undyne eases Alphys down on the floor with her, "It's fine, Alphee. It's fine. I'm here," she reassures warmly, "I'm here with you, it's safe now."
Aofil collects whatever breath they can. They place their hand down on the floor for support, but it slips and they fall back down with a pained groan.
Undyne snaps her head around, "Don't move!" she commands, "I don't know if you're hurt or not, so stay fricking still!"
Aofil needs to get out of here! They can't stay any longer! They again try to prop themselves up on their legs.
"I said don't move, Aof!"
A spear crashes next to Aofil. It fizzles before bending over Aofil's legs, holding them in place. Aofil grabs the spear to try and rip it loose, but it's locked tight, "Let me go!" they slam their fist on the spear, but it does nothing, "Let me go!" Aofil's tears evaporate into small puffs of steam as they land hard on the magical shackles.
Aofil stares at the fur on their arm. It can't be! It can't be helpful! No! Never! Alphys' wrong! "You're wrong!" they shout to the hunched over yellow lizard, "It is a curse!" Aofil raises their fur stained armed, and slams the patch down on the cyan magic stretching over their legs.
Immediately a surge shoots out of their arm, and immediately their fur reacts. Aofil's entire being is filled yet again, a familiar and warm wave surges through them, enveloping them throughout.
Something's wrong! Aofil doesn't feel nauseous, they don't feel it to be wrong, but that's wrong. It's supposed to be wrong, why does it feel right? They're reinvigorated! Their breathing is calming and their pain fading. No! No, that's all wrong! Aofil doesn't accept it, they refuse it!
They try and force a heave from their stomach, but it refused.
They try and give in to the anger, but they're being soothed.
They're not filled by dread, fear, nor anger.
They're filled with determination!
Aofil again grips the conjured hobble around their legs. Why do they have strength for it? They feel the magic give in to their efforts. Why does it budge?
With a determined pull the shackles come off. They sizzle away in the air around Aofil as they stand up. Aofil puts their hand over the patch of fur. It's warm, comforting, soft. Why?
"God dammit!"
Aofil slams their fist down on the cupboard. Their hand starts shaking from the pain, but another wave from their fur calms it. They slam their fist down harder, feeling their bones crack from the impact. Before the pain can reach their head though another soothing wave erases it completely. Aofil's left gritting their teeth against nothing. Clutching against pain that never arrives.
Their stain is healing them, helping them stay alive. Helping them stay determined.
But.
Aofil falls back down on their knees.
It's not supposed to…
Their head falls into their hands.
It's not supposed to…
Thick tears find their way through the tiny cracks in between Aofil's fingers, dripping like light rain onto the cold and gray cement floor. Aofil wants to fall over, they want to lay down and disappear, but they can't help but feel like they can take on the world. How? Why are they like this? It's a curse, why is it helping them?
It's the reason for everything! It's the reason why they're tired. It's the reason why they're angry. It is to blame for everything! It's because of their curse that they had to move away. Why they had to leave their friends without as much as a goodbye.
It's why Aofil abandoned them.
It's why Aofil has to abandon yet again. They have to leave Tylior, their job, their friends, because Aofil can't live with monsters. Aofil's cursed! They're allergic to magic. They have to get away from it.
So why is their arm healing them? How can they feel better from something that is the reason they're feeling this horrible?
"I don't understand," Aofil clutches their head, "I don't understand!"
What can they do? The only thing that helped them before. They have to get away, they have to abandon what their curse have stained. Their friends, their everything. Aofil's a threat. They can lose themselves to their curse. They can be taken over by magic they never asked to wield.
Aofil removes their hands to discover a small puddle between their knees from their tears. They stand up. It's so easy. Why is it so easy? They don't feel tired, they don't feel exhausted.
How can Aofil's body be so against them? Their body prospers from their curse. It grows stronger. Is it even their own? Is it Chara's? Did the switch really happen that day at their summer home? Aofil's cursed soul in Chara's body. Is that why this is happening?
Aofil's head feels lightheaded, their entire world is spinning. In their fumbling their foot pokes at the knife on the floor. Aofil tries to focus on it, but their eyes refuse. They know what it is though. They see enough to know where it is.
Aofil needs to get away from their curse.
They pick the scalpel up.
Aofil needs to get away from their own body!
A blue hand snaps at Aofil's wrist from outside their field of vision. Their arm is twisted around, and Aofil loses control of their hand. The knife again lands on the ground, but this time Undyne kicks it away as hard as she can.
With her eyes screaming anger and confusion she throws out her other arm, firing a spear into the backrest of a chair on the other side of the basement. A ghostly chain forms, connecting the spear and Undyne's outstretched arm. She tugs at it, and the chair flies into her hand. She spins Aofil around, "Don't!" and slams them down into the chair, "Move!"
She spins Aofil back around and gabs hold of their head, "The hell were you doing with that knife?" she shouts into their face.
Aofil can't answer, their head is too jumbled.
"And why is your forearm covered in fur?"
"C-curse," Aofil mumbles, not loud enough for Undyne to hear.
"And why are you looking fine yet acting like someone possessed?" Undyne frustration over her failure to understand anything that's happening boils over, and she clutches her own head, "Ngah! You almost stabbed yourself, Aofil!"
"I need to get away..."
"No! You're staying right here until you've told me everything," Undyne snaps her head over her shoulder, "You too, Alphys! Asriel's on his way to fetch Toriel, so if you'd rather that I know than any of them now is the time to speak up!"
No answer.
"That wasn't a question!"
No answer.
"And don't you ever think that I enjoy this!"
Alphys looks over to Aofil, who's slumped over in their chair. Their eyes are glazed and focused on a horizon far far away. She lowers her head, "A-Aofil, t-they…," but she doesn't have the courage to continue.
Undyne squats down to Alphys' level, "Please Alphee. I'm fricking freaking out over here. I looked through the window up there and saw Aofil trying to stab themselves and you desperately dragging their arm away. I'm a panic here, Alphee, I've no idea what's going on! How could this day turn on its heel like this?"
Alphys swallows hard, "A-Aofil, t-they n-need h-help."
"Are they hurt? Is it their soul? I caught a glimpse of something that was red between their hand and chest, was it their soul?"
Alphys nods, "Y-yes, b-but it's n-not their s-soul t-that's h-hurt. It's act-tually the op-pposite," and scoffs lightly, "A-Aof-fil need-ds..."
"Already tried it," Aofil shakes their head without moving their eyes, "didn't work."
"B-but, n-now y-you know-w w-what it is, A-Aofil!" Alphys shouts back with tears flying from her eyes, "N-now y-you can g-get t-the help y-you n-need!"
"I thought you would help me, Alphys, but look where that got me."
Undyne has to struggle to keep Alphys in her grasp, "It got you t-the t-truth! Y-you h-have t-to r-realize t-that it is-s! Y-you've h-heard it, n-now y-you h-have top ac-ccept it!"
Aofil's eyes finally focus, and they flop their head to meet Alphys' burning stare, "How do you-"
"Because I've done it before!" Alphys roars, cracking her voice and leaving her coughing and clutching her throat. She refuses Undyne's help, and waddles over to Aofil while forcefully drying away her tears, "T-the tests went b-by quickly," Alphys voice is coarse like gravel. It hurts her to speak, but she has to, "t-the r-reason it t-took s-so long is b-because I r-realized that y-you w-were s-standing ov-ver t-the same v-void I w-was."
She coughs violently, further straining her voice. She throws her hand up to again stop Undyne from stepping in, "I," Alphys' groans against her voice. Had she been human she'd be coughing up blood, "I s-saw m-ys-self in y-you. T-the p-pain, t-the t-thoughts. H-how n-nothing was w-worth any l-longer. I w-wanted t-to r-run away. G-get aw-way f-from everyt-thing t-that h-hurt. T-the on-ne t-thing th-hat s-saved me. T-the one r-reason that I'm-m s-still h-here, is m-my f-friends. T-they w-were t-there f-for me, h-helped me."
"It h-hurts!" Alphys throws her arms out, "Ev-very s-single d-day it hurts! It's b-because I h-have f-friends ar-round me t-that I c-can still f-function. D-don't l-leave, A-Aofil. D-don't m-make t-the m-mistake I alm-most did!"
She glances back to Undyne before taking a guilty inhale, "A-and if-f a h-human isn't-t st-trong e-enough," Alphys grabs a hold of her head, to keep it from falling apart, "H-how c-can I e-ever b-be s-strong en-nough?"
Undyne grits her teeth, "No! Alphys! You are strong enough," she bolts over and swirls the yellow lizard around. Alphys' tail punts Aofil's feet, but they don't notice it, "There are so much strength inside of you, Alphee!"
"B-but if A-Aofil c-can't..."
Why? Why are they always putting the blame on Aofil? Why are they always looking to them for help? They're no one special, they're just a human. Why don't the monsters understand?
Alphys and Undyne embrace each other. Undyne doing her best to keep Alphys' sobs suppressed and quiet for Alphys' sake. A long and deafening silence follows until Undyne finally manages to meet Aofil's eyes, "Aof, what the hell is going on?"
Does she even deserve to know? After all she's done? After putting more weight on Aofil's shoulder without them asking for it? Does any of them deserve?
"Why is your arm like that? It looks like something from the royals."
Toriel, Asgore, Asriel. So needy of Aofil. Ever since they first met, and even more since...
No, they can't be doing that! Aofil's not…
And just like that, it all clears for Aofil. They laugh. It's so obvious. They are cursed, and it is their soul. It's not because of some old prophecy though, or it being broken. No, their curse is worse.
Way worse.
Aofil sits up straight while staring at their arm. A loud creaking sound follows them up, but once they're almost standing, it turns dead quiet. Not even a sound from Alphys, or Undyne.
"My arm," Aofil grits their teeth, "I got this patch when I saved Asriel. My soul was broken, I had died when Asriel and Chara came to my summer home. They almost killed me, my soul almost shattered, but my dad saved me. Because of that I've lived with a broken soul. When I saved Asriel, whatever soul was left in Flowey fused with me. I don't know how Asriel was created, but he was, and a piece of him is now holding my soul together."
Aofil runs their fingers through the patch of fur, "This is him."
Undyne and Alphys are stunned beyond belief. They're not even looking at Aofil.
"What the hell is going on here is another story though, Undyne. What's been going on has been going on from the first second I met you, met any of you. It's never stopped, even when I left you it kept going. Day in and day out, I was subjected to it without any input on my end."
Aofil massages their forehead, "You all talk about new chapter this new chapter that, how you're gonna leave all the bad things about the Underground behind so that you can once again live on the Surface with us humans. You say that, but there's one thing you'll never let go of. One sin that will always crawl up your back, and it's because of me that you can't move past it."
Aofil points to their eyes, "It's this."
They drag their hand through their hair, "It's this."
They tap their cheeks, "And this."
And pat their chest, "And this!"
"It is all my curse. To never be me, to never be myself. No, because in your eyes, I'm not Aofil. I'm not me. I am Chara's twin."
No answer.
"And that's my curse, being Chara's twin. To never be seen as something else through your eyes. You've all told Asriel that I'm the adult Frisk, but that's not true, I'm the adult Chara. Your Chara died in the Underground, your Chara was buried down there, but once you broke out of your prison you found another literally on your doorstep. How lucky! Now you can continue Chara's legacy, don't mind asking the damn vessel if they even want to."
Aofil scoffs, "And that's why I can't be near any one of you, that's why I can't be around any monster. Because I'll always be the other Chara, and never myself."
Aofil takes a deep breath, "So please," and turns around, "Toriel," they address the stunned monster standing at the top of the basement stairs, "Asgore," they address the monster to the left of Toriel, "Asriel," they address the monster to the right of Toriel.
"When I leave through the front door, who's back will you see? Aofil's, or Chara's?"
No answer.
Aofil throws their arm up towards the Dreemurrs, "Well there I have it then," they make their way up the stairs, "Good luck with your new chapter. Neither Aofil or Chara wants to be a part of it."
Aofil squeezes themselves through the gap between Toriel and Asriel. The static causes their hair and arm to stand straight up. They just have to fetch their phone and wallet from the bathroom and then they'll be out of here. Fucking mistake, the entire ordeal. The metal door handle shocks Aofil's hand, and they retract it without thinking.
"My child!"
Aofil tilts their head down while shaking it, "Too little, too late, Toriel," they turn around, "You had y-"
Standing inches away from their face, and with a muzzle contorted into a furious snarl, Asriel grabs Aofil's collar and throws them against the wall.
"Asriel!" Asgore shouts, but to no effect.
Aofil sinks down on the ground, clutching the back of their head. There's no blood, but their head hit the wall quite hard.
Asriel towers over them, fists clenched and chest heaving up and down from his angry huffing, "You hypocrite! It was all fine to have me talk about my problems, but when it's about you it's all arms waving around in the air and leaving without as much as try to work it out! You did it once, Aofil! How did that work out for you? You're just gonna leave everything behind because you're too afraid to admit that you've been lying to yourself all these years?"
No, he's wrong! He's wrong. It is a curse. Aofil knows it! "It is a curse!"
"You said to me to forget all about Chara, but here you are, blaming everything on them! Chara's not our escape goat, they're yours! You fucking idiot!"
"Asriel, enough!" Asgore commands, shaking the entire house with his voice. He walks up to his son and puts his hands on Asriel's shivering shoulders, "Go to your mother, I'll handle this."
Asriel rips away his burning gaze from Aofil with a frustrated grunt. Toriel embraces him warmly, softly running her hand on Asriel's head.
With little effort Asgore forces Aofil's focus to him, "Aofil," he pauses to scratch his head, "how about I put on some tea?"
Aofil stands up without Asgore's help. They don't need it. They brush themselves off, "You do that for yourselves."
Asgore solemnly nods, "I understand. It was nice seeing you again, Aofil. You're always welcome back."
All other evidence screams the opposite, but whatever, his waste of air. Aofil fetches their stuff and slams the front door behind them.
"Guest profile added for later visits!" informs the doorbell.
If there were anything bigger than gravel around Aofil would've thrown it.
/
"Next bus leaves in thirty minutes," the ticket vendor smiles, "You might be the only one traveling on it. I hope you've enjoyed your stay here, human."
Aofil takes the ticket handed to them, "Yeah, sure," and heads to the nearest bench to sit down. The vacant parking lot is quiet, and Aofil welcomes the silence with open arms, and then some. They sink down in the bench and close their eyes. They need some time for themselves right now.
Need, but not given, as shortly after they're joined by another human. Aofil peeks open one eye, only to find the last human in the world that they want to see right now. A human that has Aofil leaning their head back over the back rest of the bench and sighing deeply through their lips, "Is it even worth me asking why you're here if you're not even gonna answer me?"
Frisk clenches their legs with their hands.
"So I take it your headache is better now?"
Rows of teeth grit against each other.
Aofil turns their head away, "Guess not."
"Not. Here."
Aofil's brow furrows immediately. They can't help but stare perplexed into the distance. Frisk spoke to them. Why? Their curiosity spins their head back to Frisk, "What do you mean?"
"Please! Just."
Frisk clutches their head, shaking it back and forth. Their breathing becomes strained and pained. Frisk nods violently towards the bathrooms on the other side of the parking lot. They try and stand up, but their legs won't listen.
"Help."
Aofil puts their arm under Frisk's shoulder, "Do you want me to call Toriel?"
"No!"
Aofil recoils back from the intense plead. What's going on?
"Bathroom."
"Sure, I'll get you there."
"The code is five three six two," the ticket vendor shouts, "We had to add a code after humans complained about monsters using it as an attraction rather than a utility."
The keypad accepts the code, and lets Aofil and a grunting Frisk into a pristine bathroom with stalls and faucets with mirrors in rows on opposite walls. It's empty and devoid of anyone else. Finally, some luck.
Aofil opens a stall door for Frisk, but they slide off and braces themselves on a porcelain sink instead. They stare at themselves in the mirror.
"What's happening, Frisk?" Aofil asks, a bit uncomfortable with the entire ordeal, to say the least, "You sure you don't need help?"
Frisk puts a hand up towards Aofil, but in doing so they almost lose balance. They return their hand to the sink as quickly as they removed it.
Again they stare at their reflection, but strangely, their breathing calms. It's not what Aofil expected, but it's a good sign. Right?
Frisk lifts one hand and looks at it. Inspects it, almost as it was a piece of jewelry. They gently flex it before removing the other and doing the same. They cock their head, and then nod to themselves, "Yes, I promised. I know."
For a third time Frisk catches themselves in the mirror, but they act like it was the first time. A smile forms on their lips, "It's been a while..."
Aofil takes a step back. The fuck is going on here!
"It's me," Frisk turns their head around.
Aofil crashes into the stall door behind them. The door swings back and smashes against the tile wall with a loud bang. Aofil hits their tailbone on the back rest of the toilet, but the pain doesn't reach their head. It's too occupied by the human leaning against the stall door on its shoulder smiling and eyeing Aofil.
Crimson blossoming behind the eyelids.
"Your sibling."