Book Five:
Harder the Fight

Chapter 1

Frisk had to suppress her scream.

Chara, who had always been her floating mask companion, now had a full form. He possessed a body, arms, and legs. Although he still floated around and was transparent, this was the closest Chara had come to once again being whole.

"What's wrong, kid?" Gerson, oblivious, asked. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

You have no idea. Swallowing, Frisk answered, "Nothing."

Holding the broken glasses closer to her chest, Frisk had forgotten all the questions she wanted to ask Gerson. When did Chara die, how long ago, was he certain that Asriel was also dead – after all, he might have had information Frisk had yet to uncover about Chara's mysterious past. However, the sight of Chara with a ghostly body was enough to temporarily dismiss those concerns from her mind.

After thanking Gerson for the glasses, Frisk stepped outside. She went a little ways out of the shop before turning around to see if Chara was following her. To her relief, he was not far behind.

The two of them stopped proceeding a few feet out and faced each other. Her mask wore an expression of boredom and his one of happiness, both poor representations of what they each truly felt. If Frisk's demeanor were not covered, she would have glared at Chara who had refused to truly speak to her since remembering a past he would not share. She wanted to use her eyes to dare him to try not speak to her now. With a development as dramatic as this, she wanted to know if Chara really would continue to ignore her after all she had done to help him remember who he was and what happened to him.

Then, as if Chara had lost an internal war, he merely stated, "You can see me."

"Of course, I can see you," Frisk replied. Chara only floated a few inches off the ground, so he could not have been much taller than she if they stood side-by-side. His chestnut hair was shoulder length, and his skin was the color of milk. The clothes he wore were black shorts with suspenders and a white, short-sleeved button-up shirt. Chara really did look like a kid. Maybe he was not many years older than she.

Thinking back to the family portraits in Chara and Asriel's room at Toriel's home, Frisk concluded with certainty that this Chara was indeed one in the same.

For a moment or two longer, the humans did not speak. Frisk could not begin to imagine what Chara could possibly have been thinking. If he thought he could fade into the background to be forgotten by her, he needed to think again.

"I'm here with you," Frisk reaffirmed. "If you don't want to tell me this awful thing that happened in your past, then fine. Just . . . stop pretending that you are not here. We're in this together."

Not sure why she did, Frisk held out her hand, palm facing upward. Perhaps she wanted an illustration between the two of them that they were going to continue this journey together. Perhaps Frisk needed affirmation that Chara was not going to try to disappear on her again.

Whatever the case, when Chara said, "You do not know what I have done," it was easy for Frisk to reply, "I don't need to know. What I need is for you to be here with me."

Hesitating, Chara slowly reached out and rested his hand on hers. It did not feel like warm flesh contacting Frisk's open hand, but more like a chill settling into her bones. Nevertheless, it was a comfort to Frisk and a relief for the journey ahead all at once.

"If you never want to tell me what happened, then fine," Frisk said, swallowing past the lump in her throat, "but don't try to pretend I'm not here. You and I are in this together. We have come too far now for you to start backing out."

After a heartbeat, Chara whispered, "What if I don't like who I was? What if I wasn't a good person? What if you don't like who I used to be?"

Frisk took a deep breath. This was not the first time Chara voiced such concerns. She knew it wasn't going to be the last. "Who you used to be doesn't matter. Not to me. All I care about is who you are now, and right now, I haven't been fond of the you that you have been."

Silence, then "I am sorry. I . . . I fear you will be better off without me."

"I don't know how you can think that when it is certainly not the case." Frisk wrapped her thumb around Chara's hand and was somewhat surprised she could hold the ghostly hand this way. "Don't decide things for me I can decide on my own again, okay?"

"Okay."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

Frisk let go of Chara's hand, and he let his arm fall back to his side. Exhaling slowly, Frisk turned around. Now that they had the human glasses, they needed to find Dr. Alphys. Although Frisk knew it would take seven human faces to break this curse, she still didn't know what the connection Chara had with the human items was. Every time Frisk obtained one, Chara came closer to rediscovering his past. And if what Undyne said was accurate, then each time a human died here, King Asgore grew a little madder.

It was too neatly linked together to be a coincidence. Perhaps there was more to this curse, but only one person might have the answer. It was now a matter of not only finding this person, but also getting this person to speak with Frisk as well.

"We should get going," Frisk said, slipping the glasses into her pack. When she did, Frisk saw the wooden mask she had picked up while Chara left to find help after Undyne chased her off a bridge. Swallowing, Frisk pushed the matter aside and closed the pack without further thought of the mask.

"Since Mr. Gerson didn't react," Chara said as they began to move forward, "then he didn't see me."

"Or his eyesight was that bad," Frisk joked, but it fell flat. There was too much on her mind to attempt to make light of the situation.

"It remains that only you can see me."

"And Napstablook."

"If we were to stop by, do you think he would see me in this form?"

"Possibly." Frisk turned her head to look at Chara then looked forward again. "It is going to take some getting used to seeing you like this."

"Is that a bad thing?"

"No. I—" What Frisk was about to say was, "I like the way you look," but afraid of teasing from Chara, she instead stated, "You look more human this way."

"Thanks, I suppose."

Walking out of Waterfall Marsh towards Hotland Jungle, Frisk mentally prepared herself for what was to come. Undyne said nobody had seen Dr. Alphys for months. With the broken glasses and Undyne's letter in hand, Frisk marched and thought about how difficult things had become.

I'm fighting a battle I don't know how to win, Frisk thought. I feel like things can go wrong at any moment. It's harder the fight.