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[Saying things they've told themselves over and over again. You don't deserve MERCY. You deserve nothing, not trust, not love, not sympathy.

The mirrors they've met have largely been pointlessly cruel, and such is to be expected.

It still doesn't make it easy.]

She taught me to show MERCY.

[Their smile is tremulous, but it's there.]

You think you can tell me anything I haven't already told myself?

[Toriel's face grimaces somewhat- the things that her Real taught, how horribly misguided she is... She does not approve.]

She is a fool. She thinks to show MERCY to those that slaughtered her people and left them underground to die out.

Even to you, who sought to finish my people off, she tries to be merciful.

If given the chance, she would lead her people to destruction. She is unfit to call herself a ruler.

[She lets the words linger for a while, before erasing and writing more.]

I merely thought that you would appreciate having your thoughts confirmed. They are not mere idle doubts- it is the truth.

She cannot forget what you really are, just as you cannot. You know what you are and what you deserve. You and the other child on your side have that in common.

You understand that your nature is inherently destructive. Such a shame that you are already beyond saving- I might have been able to turn you away from it.

[Frisk stands there, silent. Lets her write the words they've told themselves over and over again. So, the difference between this Toriel and the ones they know...she's harsh, unforgiving, someone who would've done what Asgore couldn't. Taken revenge on humanity. Never shown an ounce of MERCY.

Yes, they know what they deserve. None of what they've been given.

But then she mentions the other child, and Frisk straightens up, their expression hardening.]

You don't talk about Chara like that. They're better than anyone on your side will ever be.

[On the other side of the mirror, Toriel actually laughs at their reaction. That's what they have to say to this? Really? It's absurd.]

No, they are not. You and them are the same. You are both the epitome of humanity, violent and cruel simply for its own sake. No monster that claims to value compassion and peace could possibly permit your existence.

The Chara on this side, though they might lack conviction, is at least still an innocent worth protecting. Same as the Chara that I knew.

You must truly be deluded if you think that your Chara is better than anyone. Except perhaps yourself. They at least do not pretend to hide their nature behind serene smiles and false kindness.

I don't care what you say about me. But you don't talk about Chara. Not like that. Not ever.

[But then she mentions the mirrored version, and they hesitate.]

You're...looking after them, though. The Chara on your side. Protecting them from the other me.

[If it means someone is ensuring that the other Frisk isn't terrorizing them daily, they...they don't care what Toriel thinks of the Real Frisk.]

Are you blind, or simply an idiot to not realize that what I am saying is the truth?

[She really doesn't get it at all. Why, of all things that they would be upset over, would it be Chara? What kind of pointless sentimentality do they have for them that allows them to ignore the obvious?]

I am not incapable of mercy, human. Children cannot help that they are born into a race and culture of violence.

So long as they embraced the ways of monsters before humanity had been allowed to corrupt them, then I allowed them to live and accept my rule.

So long as this Chara remains non-violent toward my people, then I will protect them as well.

I don't care.

[That's...anger. Familiar, hot, sick anger. Licking up inside them. They know that they are what they are. Stupid, horrible, and broken. An anomaly. A danger to everyone they know, everyone they love. And they tried to fix the problem, and that didn't even work. They couldn't even get that far. Couldn't even manage to die properly, just like the countless other times they always fell, and came back. Fell, and came back. Fell, and came back.

Their hands tremble at their sides, coiled tight into fists.]

I don't care what you think about me. I just care that Chara's mirror is safe. They don't deserve to suffer because the other mirrors are cruel.

Fool.

[Toriel has nothing else to say to that- she is the ruler of an empire on the surface. Even if those memories are fake, she still feels that dealing with a human child's willful ignorance is beneath her. She will not repeat herself because they refuse to listen to what she has to say.]

Then on that, at least, we are in agreement.

Good.

[So she's like a lot of the other mirrors, then. Full of hatred, disgust, contempt. They shouldn't be surprised.]

Is that all you had to say to me?

Yes.

I wanted to make sure you understood the nature of what you are, and my Real's feelings about yourself.

I do not expect you to disagree. I simply wished to erase any doubts you had about the truth.

[On the other side, Toriel caps the marker- waits to see if Frisk has any last words to her or not, and then turns and leaves. She has no interest in wasting more time on this human for now.]

Fine.

[Their response is curt, like her words. It pains them to be so openly scornful, but they know what she's saying isn't...true. Not wholly.

They hold the words close to their heart, as if that might lessen the impact of the encounter.

It doesn't. But Frisk turns away regardless, and takes their leave.]

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