Chapter 1: Fallen Down

"It sounded like it came from over here," Asriel muttered to himself, surveying his surroundings as he walked, his footsteps echoing in the cavernous hall. Just moments before he had been on his normal weekend trip to the spider bake sale—he didn't know what it was about them, but he just could not resist having a spider donut and a tall glass of spider cider for breakfast. Suddenly, however, the sleepy silence of the ruins had been perforated by a loud thwump.

"What was that?" He asked sharply, but nobody answered. The spiders couldn't talk after all, even if they could make a mean donut. The sound had been muffled, far away…he guessed that it must have come from deeper in the ruins. His curiosity piqued, he quickly placed some gold in the web and strode out of the chamber. Asriel was not afraid of the ruins. He had come here many times, and he knew the layout pretty well. The puzzles, while at first intimidating, had become second nature for him. He munched his donut as he made his way towards the mysterious sound. He had a sneaking suspicion he knew from which chamber the sound had come, but as to what could have made it, he had no idea.

Asriel couldn't believe his eyes.

He had heard stories, gossip, rumors galore about humans from his friends and classmates here in the underground. They were something of a myth here, a legend that monsters discussed with a combination of awe and trepidation. Everyone knew the story. When humans and monsters had both lived on the surface, war had broken out. The monsters had lost, and seven human magicians had sealed them all underground with an unbreakable spell. However, all of that had transpired countless years ago. The underground was all that the monsters of today knew. Asriel had grown up with these tales of humans, to the point where they were ingrained in his mind. The story of the war was a particularly popular topic of discussion among his friends at school. His History class had even had an entire unit on the subject. And yet not he, nor anyone, for that matter, had ever seen an actual human before.

That is, until now.

Asriel rushed over to where the human lay. Weak beams of light illuminated their prone body, remnants of a sun that monsters could not see. It was exactly the place Asriel had suspected. It was his favorite place, a personal sanctuary, but one he rarely visited. He only came here when he was feeling particularly down, or particularly reflective. This was the last chamber of the ruins, nestled in a far distant corner, and it was dead silent save for when the wind whistled in from an opening high in the jagged, rocky roof. Asriel could think more clearly here. Often he would stare up at the tiny circle of light and imagine what it might be like on the surface. He thought it must be bright, brighter than anything he had seen down here—and yet alien.

Now that alien world had come to him.

"Oh, you've fallen down, haven't you?" Asriel crouched down beside the human, searching out any sign of injury. Their face was pale, their eyes closed; otherwise, they appeared unharmed. He placed a hand on their shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"Mmnnh…" Their eyelids began to flutter.

"Here, get up." He grabbed the human's hand and pulled them up. They rose unsteadily to their feet, and Asriel had to throw an arm over their shoulder to make sure they didn't fall right back down.

They gazed blearily at Asriel, and then at their surroundings. Even with the lids half-closed, Asriel thought he could detect a hint of surprise in their eyes.

"I'm…alive?" The human said slowly.

"Yeah! There must have been some layers of magic up there that slowed down your fall—I'm not really sure, though. I'm not an expert on that stuff yet. Hopefully someday, though!" He grinned at the human. "Mom's really good at magic. She'll be able to teach me."

"Magic?" They sounded disoriented, half-lucid. That was understandable. They had just fallen between worlds, after all.

"Heh, yeah. I suppose I've got a lot to explain. But let's get back to the castle first, okay? There you can have a cup of tea, recover a bit. Plus, you'll get to meet Mom and Dad!"

"Oh…"

They walked a bit in silence, Asriel still supporting the human. He still hadn't wrapped his mind around the fact that this was a human, a creature of monster legend. Looking at them, they didn't fit the image of a violent, ruthless jailor that he had constructed in his mind. Rather, they looked disheveled, and lost. Who would have thought…the first human to appear to monsterkind in millennia, and Asriel was feeling sorry for them.

"By the way," Asriel said, "I never asked your name."

A few more footsteps. Then…

"It's Chara."

"Chara, huh? That's a nice name. My name is Asriel Dreemurr."

Author Notes

Let me know what you all think! I am currently working on Chapter 2 and beyond. As you can tell, this fic is going to flesh out the story of Chara and Asriel that we get in the neutral route. I am doing my best to keep Chara's gender neutral, but I am only human, so if I slip up, please point it out and I will change it! Reviews and feedback are appreciated. Stay determined!