Chara

'His' the sign reads. I turn my head to the other sentry station. 'Hers'. I raise an eyebrow skeptically and go back down past the the little snowball golf course and down the path at the bottom. I don't know who those stations belong to, but I have a bad feeling about it. I stop in front of the pair of skeletons. Separating us is a box. Just a plain, empty cardboard box sitting open in the snow.

"HUMAN!" I tear my confused gaze from the box to Papyrus. This is gonna be good. "PREPARE TO BE CONFOUNDED BY..." Papyrus trails off, taking note of the box and jaw going slack. "GASTER! WHERE'S THE PUZZLE?"

"Right there. On the ground. The box?"

"UNCLE! WHY WOULD YOU MAKE THE PUZZLE A BOX?"

"That's the puzzle." Papyrus and I both stare at him, dumbfounded. "Trust me. There's no possibility that they can get past this one."

They both watch me intently. I frown, feeling suddenly uncomfortable under their scrutinizing gazes. Unsure what they me to do, I slink up and inspect the box. The small brown cube is only about 6 inches tall. I pick it up, looking inside and turning it upside down to confirm it's empty. I glance up uncertainly before shrugging and setting the box back down. I step past it and stop in front of the two.

"GASTER! THAT DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!"

"Ah, but look at the human's face. See how their browline is furrowed ever so slightly? See how their eyes are narrowed? They are infinitely confused. The puzzle has puzzled them."

I glance at Papyrus who shares an expression similar to that Gaster just described on my face. He spins away and out of view. Like literally, spins, kicking up snow and looking a little dizzy as he gets farther away. I giggle childishly at his silliness and glance at Gaster who's smiling. He catches my glance and shrugs helplessly before teleporting after Papyrus again.

I walk back over to the box, turning it over and sitting on top of it for a moment. Progress might be slow going here but at least I'm getting somewhere. I ponder Gaster and Papyrus again. Gaster might be awkward but he seems to have a good heart. Papyrus is just a complete dweeb, but he's still great and obviously not a threat. A pang of homesickness goes through me as I think of Toriel, then subsequently of the overworld. The original plan had been just to break the barrier so Toriel could come up with me. Now though, I have more that I'm sure would want to come up with me. Toriel, Gaster, and Papyrus. We could all go above ground together. I can't help but grin at the thought. Suddenly I'm filled with determination. I save my game, briefly remembering what Gaster told me about resets and everything really. The fact that he knows and doesn't seem to care still bothers me for some unexplainable reason. I sigh leaning back so that my head rests in the snow and I can look up at the roof of the cavern.

A face blocks my view and I yelp, bolting upright.

Staring back at me is a human child.

"W-who are you? What are you doing here?" I stutter in my best demanding voice. The little girl can't be older than than seven or eight. She flinches at my tone, brown shoulder-length hair swishing back to conceal half her face, and timidly clutching the hem of her green and white striped sweater. I sigh, calming myself and try again. "Sorry. I just haven't seen any trace of another human down here. Then I just bump into one..." I trail off, smiling softly at the girl as she slowly straightens up. "See? No harm done. So what's your name?"

"Chara." Her voice is a tiny whisper. I strain to hear it even though I can hear absolutely nothing else.

The name sounds familiar but I can't recall why. "Okay Chara. What are you doing down here?"

Her brown eyes grow until they're huge as saucers. "I-I don't remember."

I restrain myself from giving a hiss of annoyance. I don't let any of that frustration creep into my voice. "What do you remember?"

She frowns, hugging herself. "It was really dark... then I found myself sitting in the snow. I walked over here... and found you."

I return her frown. "Is that all?"

She hesitates before nodding. I eye her a little skeptically and she blushes furiously for some some reason. Probably cause she thinks I'm goggling her. "W-what's your name mister?" She inquires, probably to divert attention away from herself.

For a moment, I'm slightly taken aback as I realize I haven't even told anyone my name. Not even Toriel. "Frisk. It's nice to meet you Chara." The conversation lulls as we both stare at each other is obvious shock. Finally, I clear my throat. "What are you going to do now?"

She looks up at me and tentatively reaches for me with her right hand. I just stare at it. "C-can I go with you? I don't know what else to dooo..." Her voice is still soft, but it comes close to a wail and she bites her lip.

I blink down at her before springing into action. "S-sure! C'mon there's no need to cry! See, we're in a underground cavern right now and I'm going to break the barrier so I can free my friends." The reality of having to take care of this kid while I transverse the underground slams into my brain. I'll have to protect them from monsters. Maybe feed them. I look down at the hopeful look the kid's giving me and have to awkwardly rub the back of my head. I've already given my word and the way the girl's looking at me... I can't just leave her. Maybe I can get Gaster to take care of her until I find a way to break the barrier. I finally reach for her hand. We both stand there dumbly as my hand just phases through hers. Finally, I find my voice to spring back, a small scream tearing its way out. "W-what just happened?"

The girl pulls back, frightened. It's in that moment that I take her in fully. She looks... faded. Like she's been painted in watercolors while everything else is stark pastel. Right in the center of her chest a fractured red heart follows her every movement. She stares up at me, completely petrified. "I..."

"What happened to you?" The question comes out a little harsher than intended, and the girl flinches, face tightening.

She shakes her head helplessly. She scrunches up her nose in frustration as tears spill over. "I don't know! I can't remember!" She falls to her knees, burying her face into her hands and body racked with sobs.

I facepalm quietly. Great. Just had to go and make her cry, didn't I? "L-look it's gonna be okay. I promise." I uncertainly kneel in the snow next to her, taking note of how my knees sink into the white powder while hers do not. "We're gonna figure this out. I'll help you, don't worry. Come on, I'll fill you in on what's happening." I stand, almost offering her my hand before remembering that might not be the best idea.

She sniffles and wipes her nose, looking up at me with those huge watery eyes. "Are you sure?" I nod encouragingly. Her gaze focuses on something unseen before she sets her jaw and nods determinedly. She climbs to her feet. "Okay. I trust you."

I hold back a sigh as I turn and continue on, looking back every few steps to make sure Chara is keeping up. It's still slightly unsettling how her footsteps don't leave an imprint in the snow. Now if I trust myself to take care of her is the question...

"I don't think they can see me." Chara hisses to me, easily dodging a slicing, magical snowflake. I grunt in response as a snowflake comes from behind and slices through my soul.

Snowdrake makes some bad pun or other and I laugh. Once I've mercied him I turn to Chara who has her head cocked curiously at the fleeing Snowdrake. I sigh and flop down into a snowdrift. Chara sits beside me, looking down expectantly. "I have no idea what to even think anymore."

Chara giggles, covering her mouth with the sleeve of her sweater. She leans back, staring up at the cavern ceiling with me. After a while she glances back down. "Maybe it's because I'm just a soul? What you see is just a projection of my soul but nothing real."

I shrug, sitting up. Chara giggles again as snow flies off me in a flurry. "When we see him, I'll just ask Gaste-"

"No!" I'm cut off, mouth still open. Chara freezes. "I-I mean... I have a bad feeling about Gaster. Like it's something in the back of my mind that won't go away. I-I don't like Gaster."

I blink at her as she falls silent, considering. "Okay." I say before the silence gets too awkward. "I won't tell him. But what do you want to do?"

Chara's quiet and I return to my contemplation of the ceiling. "Frisk." I turn my head to look at her. "I'm starting to... remember things."

I bolt upright, turning onto my knees excitedly. "Well? What's up? What do you remember?"

Chara looks away, tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear. "I remember waking up on golden flowers. A-and the feeling of determination." She looks back to me, frowning. "I don't know if that's very helpful."

I shake my head, standing. "More than we had before. Maybe you'll remember more as we go along." I stretch, yawning loudly. Man, I could really go for a nap right about now, but one glance at Chara and I know I couldn't just leave her out here while I dozed. "So, other monsters can't seem to see you, your soul seems very fragile, and you're slowly remembering things." I pause, brushing snow off my sweater. A thought pops suddenly into my head. "What happens to you if you get hit?"

Chara frowns, looking down at her soul. The little red heart glows softly, the cracks like a fine black spiderweb ensnaring it. "Um, well, I'm never really in battle like you. Maybe if I get hit... nothing will happen?"

I narrow my eyes, concentrating. "Let me..." We both jump as the world flickers to black and white around us. Chara stumbles to her feet, looking around wildly. She takes a sharp breath as she looks at me. "Heh, actually managed to do it. Alright let's see here, since I engaged you, it should be your turn."
Chara blinks, tentatively tapping her soul like she's seen me do before. The glow grows weaker as the menu pops up along with her health bar, the real reason I did this. We both blink at what pops up. 0.00000001/99.

"W-wha... how..." I look up at her. Her eyes have gone distant and we stand there frozen. Eventually, Battle just fades, leaving us gaping at empty air. I'm the first to speak. "W-where did you get so much health? Why is your health a decimal?"

Chara's face tightens in the way that it does when she's confronting something. "I-I don't know."

We both stand there completely dumbstruck. I'm snapped out of it as I hear movement from behind me. I spin around, but it's just Gaster looking down at me with concern. "Child? Are you alright? You look as if you've seen a ghost." I fight the urge to glance at Chara.

"U-uh, yeah, I'm fine. Just tired. All this fighting is wearing me out. Don't worry about it."

Gaster looks down at me skeptically. Dammit why is this guy so perceptive? "I will trust you're telling the truth. Papyrus was getting worried that you were unwell, as was I. I am... glad to know you fine." Gaster has to fish for the word.

I manage a half smile. "Yeah I'm fine. I have a question." Gaster cocks his head. "How do you get more HP?"

Gaster does his blinking thing again. "Why?"

I shrug, doing my best to keep it nonchalant. "Thought it might be a little helpful. More health, harder to die, right?"

Gaster peers down at me, sockets slightly narrowed. I keep my face carefully curious, slightly uncomfortable. Finally he shakes his head. "Has your HP hit zero yet?"

I let out a mirthless laugh, remembering the first time it happened. I had figured after that fall that I shouldn't have survived, if my health reached zero I would keep living somehow. Indeed I had, respawning back at the last save point. Still it had been... undesirable to say the least. Cold, painful, dark. Yeah, no, don't want to go through that. I haven't 'died' since I've met Chara and I'm suddenly anxious. What happens to her if that happens again? "Yeah."

"And you are still here. I see no reason to further your HP. You're doing fine as you are." Gaster says it in a way that makes it final. Okay, probably can't get it through the best means then. "I will get back to Papyrus. You should be on your way as well, I believe."

I turn back to Chara as he teleports away. She's hugging herself, staring down at her feet. "C'mon Chara. I'm sure we'll figure this out. Let's just keep moving for now and hope you remember some more, okay?"

She squeezes her eyes shut, nodding vigorously. I smile weakly, attempting to be encouraging. We both eventually turn and trod on.

(A/N): Hello peeps! I don't know why this text won't be normal, but it's whatever, italics are cool or whatever. Sorry for the lapse between chapters. I've had serious writer's block. I'm warning you right now, the beginning and end of this story has been thoroughly mapped out and I have the general skeleton of how I want the middle to play out, but the entire point of this story is the ending. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I hate to write fluffy middles and there will probably be skips in the story after Snowdin since yall know the story of Undertale. As a sidenote, I should say I don't have serious writer's block. I've actually written a good portion of the ending cause I'm that excited about it. There will probably be longer breaks between chapters until I can stop being lazy and get middle chapters out there. Please don't hate me!Also (sorry for the uber long author note) thanks to the guy that favorited this story! I'm very grateful! I've been filled with determination!Oh gosh I'm such a nerd... 0_0