Chapter 4
Chara knew one thing and one thing only – his name. Claiming he was the Chara from Toriel's past, the adopted son from the outside world who was later supposedly murdered by his adoptive brother Asriel, was more of a strong feeling than something he knew as fact. However, Chara didn't see it as a coincidence that he shared the same name as the human whose mask Frisk now wore.
Chara.
Chara.
Chara.
No matter how many times Chara thought about the name, he could not deny it was his. The name just fit. In so many ways, he felt that much closer to discovering who he truly was.
Yet in so many ways, he had so many more questions to not only who he was, but what happened to him.
If I am this same Chara, was I truly murdered by Asriel?
Why did I come to Ebott Forest in the first place?
If I am from the outside world like Frisk is, what are the odds that we originate from the same village?
At the thought of Frisk, Chara turned his attention to the young girl asleep in the snow. He almost couldn't believe that she was traveling with criminals. Said criminals were lying on the other side of the fire. Both were fast asleep, the short and wide one snoring loudly. All three were bundled in thick sleeping bags, and while the brothers seemed comfortable in the cold, Frisk shivered, her teeth chattering loud enough for Chara to hear.
This was his fault. He pressured Frisk to leave the Ruined Woods, and now she was on the run with criminals. If they were caught, Chara could not begin to imagine what would be done to Frisk, if whoever captured them would trust she was a monster like them or force the mask from her face.
I have to help her somehow, Chara thought. There has got to be a way we can go through Snowdin Lane without guides. We cannot stay with people whose company is this threatening to Frisk's safety.
As he was thinking this, Frisk opened her eyes. It was hard to tell when the eyes of Frisk's mask were slits, but he could see the shift behind her mask. Besides, Frisk confirmed she was indeed awake when she pushed herself upright and softly asked, "Chara?"
"I'm here," Chara answered. He floated closer to her. If he had a body, he imagined that he would be sitting next to her as she leaned her back against the tree by which she slept.
"Did we make a mistake in leaving?" Frisk questioned, her words barely above a whisper possibly in case the brothers awoke to see her talking to a ghost. This was the first time she had been able to speak to him since coming to Snowdin Lane. She sounded more terrified than anything.
"I suppose it will be a mistake if you get hurt on the path through this part of the forest," Chara replied, not wanting to reply with a straightforward yes.
"But am I not in danger as long as I am with Sans and Papyrus?" Frisk challenged.
Knowing that he couldn't deny it, Chara admitted, "Perhaps leaving the Ruined Woods was not the best solution if this is the circumstance you were going to find yourself within."
Frisk pulled her sleeping back up to her shoulders and let out a long, deep breath. "What should I do? Should I keep traveling with Sans and Papyrus and hope nothing happens to us, or should I try to get away?"
"I wish I had the right answer to give you." Chara, without lungs, did his own version of a sigh. "Perhaps it is better to remain in the company of guides for now, but if it starts to get too dangerous for you, finding an escape may become the smarter solution."
"Hmm, maybe you're right." Frisk rubbed her arms from underneath the sleeping bag. It then crossed Chara's mind that Frisk never fell asleep in the first place. She may have been too cold to relax enough to fall asleep in a place like this.
"Do you remember anything?" Frisk then asked, her eyes locked on the starry sky above. "Do you remember being alive? Do you remember dying? Or do you only remember your name?"
"Only my name, I fear," Chara answered. "Even saying that I am the same Chara as Toriel's adoptive son is more of a speculation than fact. I could be the same, but it could also be a coincidence. Until we learn more about who I was and what I am now, we cannot say for sure."
Not saying anything, Frisk nodded. Then, "You know, I kind of like your name. I didn't mind calling you 'Mask,' but Chara sounds so much nicer. I'm glad we at least know your name."
"I am glad as well." It was at that moment Chara realized that Sans was no longer snoring. He turned his attention to the monster with the skull mask, but Sans still seemed to be deeply asleep. Not wanting to risk it any further, Chara told Frisk, "You had ought to try going back to sleep. I know it's too cold for you, but you will feel a lot better getting rest over staying up all night."
"I know, it's just too cold to get any real sleep." Frisk wiggled downwards so that she was once again lying on top of the snow. "Even the fire has done little to help warm me. I never knew someplace could be so cold."
"I am sure you will get used to it as you travel through this part of the forest," Chara reassured her. "For now, just try to get some sleep."
"Okay." Turning over, Frisk muttered, "Good night, Chara."
"Good night, Frisk."
"Chara?"
"Yes?"
Frisk was silent for a moment, then, "Never mind."
Without another word, Frisk remained still. After more than a few minutes, her breathing grew steady. When she started snoring softly, Chara knew that Frisk had finally fallen asleep.
As Chara watched Frisk sleep, his mind again wondered to all the questions he had of his past. If he was like Frisk and also from the outside world, then he too had to have willingly entered a forest he knew from which nobody ever returned. Part of him started to wonder if perhaps it was better he never knew who he was if that was the case.
From a feeling deep within his soul, Chara sensed that his was not a happy past. Not just in how he may have died, but also in how he lived. Chara had to take a moment to think if finding out who he was would be worth it in the end.
Frisk had insisted back in the Ruined Woods that Chara was alive. Chara questioned whether or not she was correct in insisting so. Either way, he was here now, and it was very much possible that discovering who he was then might reveal why he was the ghost he was now.
"Why was I brought back to life?" Chara wondered aloud. "What is the purpose of my reincarnation?"
Chara was unsure if he wanted to find the answers.