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[It's happening again.

They remembered far too late the whispers about mirrored versions of yourself, and they hadn't stuck around long enough to determine what that mirror in the kitchen was going to say. It just seemed like a cruel joke. A familiar, cruel joke. Like the ones Asriel played in his floral shell.

They almost panic and leave again, but this...this isn't the same. Red ink. Like Chara, but...Chara's not here.

Frisk creeps closer. Presses their ear against the glass like it's a seashell. Feels exceptionally foolish for trying.]

Hello?

[They...rap against the glass next. They're not sure how this works.]

* Howdy!
* It's me,

[A pause in the letters that form on the surface. Like maybe the thing on the other side is giggling, or knocking in response even though it doesn't do any good, or just... can't decide which line in the script they want to quote.

It's me, your best friend!

...Maybe not.]

* It's me, Chara.

* I can't be heard. You can't see me. But I can hear you.
* A bit like the Underground, is it not? =)

Chara?

[They draw the word out suspiciously, stretching the syllables to their limit. Again, they look back over their shoulders, as if waiting for someone to leap out at them and laugh about playing a joke. Maybe even Chara. They've been so about pranking and joking lately, or they were before the zombies hit the mansion in full force.

* But nobody came.

So they look back at the mirror. The disconcerting smiley face. Sounds a lot like Chara, but...they talked to Chara just today, didn't they?]

But you're...why're you in a mirror?

[They have their suspicions. But they've never talked to a mirror version of anyone before. How're they supposed to know when it happens? Is this what's happening now?]

* Let me explain something about mirrors.
* Real people can reach this side, too. It's not easy, though. A copy and the real thing cannot be on the same side. They have to switch.

[Nobody explained this? Poor Frisk, always having to figure things out by trial and error. It's not really fair, is it? Someone should be helping them.]

* That was your mirror, you know. Who wrote those horrible things to you earlier. I saw it.

But...

[Okay. They're still learning the rules, but...Wonderland is a pretty strange place, isn't it? It's not so strange. Their heart clenches a little in fear, and they put one hand to the mirror's surface, smudging it with their fingerprints, searching for the sight of something in the glass, anything.

But nothing.

* Still just you, Frisk.]

Why? And...why are you telling me this?

[They draw an asterisk, but hesitate to fill in words behind it. Should they...? No, maybe not yet. They don't know for sure if Frisk believes in them.]

* I want to help you. I want to talk. I miss you, ha ha. Is that weird?
* What they wrote was cruel. You didn't deserve that.
* They just... wanted to see you suffer.

* They like seeing me suffer, too.

Wh-why?

[The word sticks in their throat as their eyes widen, horrified. Is this...some sort of trick, maybe? They hate that the thought springs to their head.]

That's - that's mean! I don't...I'm not like that, am I? On that side?

* That is not you. You are shaped by your choices, Frisk.
* If the way they behave is not congruent with what you would choose to do, then... well.

* They're still sort of merciful? They must have some of your niceness, deep down.
* They don't hit me because they like it. They hit me because they have to.

They hit you?

[Frisk's hands scrunch into fists as they straighten up, shoulders squaring. A mirror is different in key ways, isn't it? Well, they weren't always nice Underground, were they? That wasn't fully them, but it wasn't fully anyone else, either.]

Why?

[They keep firing that question out. Why. But the thought that this version of Chara might have been conditioned to think that they deserve it...

...that's horrible.]

You - you know no one deserves to be hit, don't you?

=)

[A smiley face isn't an answer to their last question. But there is no answering that in a very happy way, not unless they start lying. So just... draw something happy, move on.]

* You really are kind, huh.
* They got mad. They were going to taunt you, and I got in the way of it before they could write more.
* I ruined their fun.
* ...It's. It's generally not very fun on this side.

I...

[They put a hand to their mouth. The smile. Another thin, bright-faced drape over whatever turmoil must be going on within. They can't see anyone in their own reflection, can't read anything from the subtle nuances in this Chara's facial expression.

But the ellipses tell a whole story all on their own.]

I'm sorry. I wish that...that I wasn't so cruel on that side. You don't deserve that either.

[Regardless of who this Chara is, no one deserves to simply be slapped around like something disposable.]

* Most of them are cruel here.
* Don't trust them. Mirrors hate their real selves.
* They'll say anything to hurt you.

[See, Frisk? They're on your side. It's the kind of warning anyone over on the real side would offer up, the obvious "oh gee doppelganger bad," but when it's written on glass like this, it's brave, huh? Someone risking themselves to warn the quote-unquote enemy?]

* Um, I'm sorry as well.
* It's not always nice on that side either, right?
* The Chara on your side of the looking glass is pretty cruel too.

[Mirrors hate their real selves. So the things the other Frisk said and did were meant to make them feel uncomfortable, scared, watched. But this Chara...doesn't seem hateful, or much like they want to make them feel uncomfortable.]

So why're you being nice to me?

[They tilt their head to one side, confused, though not demanding. It simply puzzles them.]

Chara...they're trying their hardest. It doesn't mean they're a bad person.

* Wasn't I always nice to you, Frisk?
* Remember the hints? Migosp, Whimsun, Greater Dog, Ice Cap, Snowdrake... I was always trying to help you understand the monsters when you Checked them. So you'd know they weren't bad. So you'd know how to Spare them.
* I tried to joke. Make you smile. I picked you up when you fell.
* We're partners.

[It's hard to make handwriting look fond, but they try their best to put fondness into it. It's not impossible to believe, is it? That a Chara, an actual Chara and not a demon, would want to help Frisk?

The next line is anything but fond, smooshed down at the very bottom of the glass.]

* The Chara you're stuck with, though...
* Are you really sure about that?

Edited (how type word) 2016-05-05 06:23 (UTC)

[Frisk...they don't know what to make of them. The words are nice, even if they are somewhat playing to Frisk's sense of pity. But...it's kind of working. They smile.

But it soon fades a bit, by increments, at the next words.]

I'm not "stuck" with them. They're my friend.

[...It's not fair. Why is that thing getting defended? It's done nothing to warrant that. It kills people. Killed Frisk's friend! Undyne! Has hit every single person who's actually been nice to them! Has a bruise shaped like the bottom of Chara's shoe totally faded off Frisk's chest yet, they wonder?

They should be the Chara that Frisk defends, not that hellspawn. They're willing to change for Frisk! They're willing to be a good person! They don't have any LOVE dying them a hideous black!]

* Please, Frisk, be careful.
* How long would the cut on your arm take to heal if you didn't LOAD that away?
* You were terrified, weren't you? They really would have killed you.

I don't know a single person from home who hasn't tried to kill me at least once.

[And they've treated them all with dignity and respect. They owe Chara the same. And besides...Chara really is trying to help them. The latest event, sitting with them, fighting through hordes of mindless abominations to keep them safe, sharing food with them? That's the kind of thing a friend does.

It strikes them that maybe this Chara might be worried that there's not room in Frisk's SOUL for two of them, and that's why they're so upset? Does that make any sense?]

That doesn't mean I can't care about you too, though.

[Not good enough. It's not good enough to leave that threat running around unchecked, over on a side where nobody even wants it. Not good enough to just drop a little commentary once in a blue moon, never touched, never heard, never seen.

But Frisk is far more determined than they are. They give up pushing. For now, it's getting a foothold, huh?]

* You'd be willing to care about me?
* ...
* I could really use a friend.

* So could you, I think.
* A real friend. One that doesn't hurt you or kill you.

* You know no one deserves to be hit, don't you?

Of course I am!

[What happened to this Chara, to make them feel like they don't deserve even the slightest modicum of kindness? It makes their heart hurt just to think about it.]

It's...the friends I have...we're still working on how to really be friends, in a lot of ways. But that just means we'll come out of it on the other side much, much stronger! You can be their friend too, I bet!

[A moment where they wipe the writing off and pause, just... lingering on that sort of raw, hopeful optimism. That's... that's right, isn't it? An enemy is just a friend you haven't made yet. You're just getting hurt because you haven't found the right way to win them over.

Maybe even the Frisk on their side is like that, huh? Maybe they want to be Chara's friend, they just don't know any other way to show it. Maybe if Chara keeps trying... well. Maybe that won't even matter. The better Frisk, the one right here, already has room in their heart for Chara! Already suggests... haha, this is exactly what Chara hoped it would be!]

* You think so?
* Won't they hate me?
* I'm not a demon, but I'm... you know what I am, huh.

Everyone deserves a second chance. If I can explain that to them, I think they'll listen.

[Their friends trust Frisk. They've trusted Frisk thus far when it comes to Chara, certain events notwithstanding, and as tenuous as the peace is, it's still kept them going so far.]

It doesn't matter what you are. You're alive, so that means you have the right to live. Right?

[Another moment where there's a pause between wiping the glass clean and writing. An asterisk appears, a few letters start to follow it, but get smeared away into nothingness before a complete thought is put down.]

* I could help them out, too! I'd make it worth their while!
* There are things I shouldn't say, or can't, but... it would be useful, right? Having a friend on the other side.

[Frisk's mouth opens, closes again. Their brow furrows in concern.]

Is that...the only reason you think I'd want to be your friend? Because you'd be "useful"?

[Perhaps that's just how this Chara has been conditioned to think, to live like a commodity. They were created as one, weren't they?]

Because you - you deserve more than that. You know that, don't you?

* I deserve whatever I get, ha ha.
* Really, Frisk, it's enough that you're being this nice to me. That...

* That someone's willing to just. Hear me, I guess?
* Not that it's really hearing when it's all writing. Um. Sorry, you know what I meant.

N-no. You don't.

[They say it firmly, eyebrows knitting together.]

Doing or saying or thinking something bad doesn't mean you forfeit your right to - to ever treated nicely! If that was true, I wouldn't have any friends at all!

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