[They stand in a golden hallway. Bells toll in the distance. A silhouette blocks the path, covered in shadow, shaded by the pillars rising on each side of the room. A mirror image of the time they first met. Home was gold, New Home was gray. Snowdin was gray, the Last Corridor is gold.
Now, their every action is judged.
They know what they deserve at LV 8. They've been LV 8 for a long time now. Even if it never goes up, it's never going down. They made their choice long ago. They know the script by heart.
But this isn't in the script. They're not in a golden hallway. They're at the edge of a pond, by some hydrangeas, because it was a deliberate choice. Just like using the same flowers that had made Asgore ill. They're in on the joke. They know what they deserve. This... isn't it. This is so far off-script they don't even know what to make of it.
This is... stupid. Pointless. Doesn't mean anything. He'll leave Wonderland someday, too, and all of this will be like everything that proves Frisk isn't interchangeable, isn't replaceable, isn't just a name to shuffle around to different blank faces. His "Chara" - his Tessa, his Jake, his Kuro, his Fang, his anything... he doesn't know what they like. They can't even ask what their name was, because he doesn't know, does he? He judges them time after time, pins them to the floor with a sword engraved "won't EVER be happy," and he doesn't even know they exist. They...
God, he's right. They think this is stupid.
Doesn't he even realize what he's doing? The absurd double-standard he's laying down? It's a sin just to own the name Chara. Only a dirty hacker would know that name. It's buried, just like they are. And yet he decides to use it? Decides to list off things that shouldn't matter, should have stopped mattering, should never have been important enough for the Underground to remember.]
...The true name.
[They duck their head, hide behind their bangs. Breathe. Just breathe. Like a living thing does.]
* It's me, Chara.
[Should be a bad thing, shouldn't it? A horrifying red flag, when they change it. Acknowledge themselves instead of you. They lost their grip on something, but wasn't it something that deserved to be thrown out in the first place?]
Why are... why are you apologizing to me? Why are you like this?
[private video]
Now, their every action is judged.
They know what they deserve at LV 8. They've been LV 8 for a long time now. Even if it never goes up, it's never going down. They made their choice long ago. They know the script by heart.
But this isn't in the script. They're not in a golden hallway. They're at the edge of a pond, by some hydrangeas, because it was a deliberate choice. Just like using the same flowers that had made Asgore ill. They're in on the joke. They know what they deserve. This... isn't it. This is so far off-script they don't even know what to make of it.
This is... stupid. Pointless. Doesn't mean anything. He'll leave Wonderland someday, too, and all of this will be like everything that proves Frisk isn't interchangeable, isn't replaceable, isn't just a name to shuffle around to different blank faces. His "Chara" - his Tessa, his Jake, his Kuro, his Fang, his anything... he doesn't know what they like. They can't even ask what their name was, because he doesn't know, does he? He judges them time after time, pins them to the floor with a sword engraved "won't EVER be happy," and he doesn't even know they exist. They...
God, he's right. They think this is stupid.
Doesn't he even realize what he's doing? The absurd double-standard he's laying down? It's a sin just to own the name Chara. Only a dirty hacker would know that name. It's buried, just like they are. And yet he decides to use it? Decides to list off things that shouldn't matter, should have stopped mattering, should never have been important enough for the Underground to remember.]
...The true name.
[They duck their head, hide behind their bangs. Breathe. Just breathe. Like a living thing does.]
* It's me, Chara.
[Should be a bad thing, shouldn't it? A horrifying red flag, when they change it. Acknowledge themselves instead of you. They lost their grip on something, but wasn't it something that deserved to be thrown out in the first place?]
Why are... why are you apologizing to me? Why are you like this?