There was nothing but a darkness present in the back of his mind.

It was like he was aware that he was unconscious but his body was slow to catch up. He could still feel the nausea present as he felt his upside-down form slowly sway back and forth, the blood running to his head.

"Hey..."

He stirred in his partial comatose, a faint sound growing closer and closer...

"Hey! A-are you okay?"

Lux's eyes fluttered opened slightly in response to the voice and could just make out the blurry silhouette of a fairly small figure. It was then when he fully grasped the fact that he was hanging upside down.

"Ugh...what...happened?" Lux managed to slowly whisper out. The small figure approached him in a panic, attempting to pull at something that...seemed to be entangled around his leg. After a few seconds of pulling, the figure turned away from him and ran further away.

"Don't worry! I'm going to get help!" the voice assured him, this time sounding more clearer.

Lux noted that the voice sounded premature; much like him, but tad bit younger. Without warning, a sudden jolt of energy spread about Lux's body. His eyes shot open, and he twisted his waist left and right, panicking as he spun uncontrollably while trying to find out where he was. He looked forward in his inverted state and found that he was in another cavern-like room with torches aflame. His eyes quickly adjusted to the sight of the magnificently crafted stone columns that the torches were secured to. The direction of the pillars led to an exit...the same one the mysterious figure must have ran back through.

"Whe...where am I?" Lux asked himself, still a bit dazed.

He suddenly became aware of a tight pressure around his ankle and felt the urge to look up. As he did, he noticed a far-off hole in the ceiling of the room, a faint tinge of purple emitting out of it. He then lowered his gaze back to his leg, which had a thick, green vine ensnared around it.

"I guess...I can attribute that to the reason I'm still alive." Lux joked to himself, struggling to reach the vine and free himself. He immediately winced, stopping in his attempt after feeling a sharp pain in his back.

"Oww."

As his eyes met the ground, he realized he was at least a foot away from impact.

That's a foot away from the worst face-plant in human history.

It was only then that he realized the true horror of the situation. Just feet in front of him, lay his camera. His broken camera. It was shattered into too many pieces to think about fixing.

"Aww MAN!" Lux yelled in frustration, angrily swiping his arm at the air.

"Now what do I have to prove this place is for real?"

The young boy's tension settled to a beam of hope as he realized that the camera's memory card could still be salvaged. Maybe hope's not entirely lost!

As Lux calmed down, he remembered his other gear that he had brought along with him. He easily spotted his flashlight near the wrecked camera, unsure of its condition. Now, he began to search for his...

"Oh."

The satchel was still strapped around his shoulder and waist, but just barely. The old book on the Monster and Human war was kept safely within its pouch due to the buckle strap that sealed the flap from opening.

"Just up here!"

Lux jerked his head towards the room's exit; two pairs of footsteps echoed from outside the room and were getting more audible with every step. It wasn't long before two figures rushed into the room, stopping just feet in front of the entrance. Though the room wasn't ideally bright, Lux could still see the figures clear enough. The one on the left seemed...whiter than usual. It took awhile for his eyes to adjust, but he could just make out a green sweater with yellow stripes. The other one wore a similar striped article of clothing, except it being a shirt with one stripe.

"Over there! It's a bit dark, but...he's hanging upside down from a vine. You can cut him down, right?" the male voice to the left asked.

A short, and quiet pause ensued before a feminine voice that belonged to the figure right of Lux answered.

"I can try."

With that, the figure approached, arms behind it's back. Before Lux could say anything, the figure slowly pulled one of its arm into view, revealing a sharp cutting knife. Lux felt a darkening feeling twist inside of his stomach. But only for a second. The unknown being stood in front of him, bright-red pupils gazing straight into his eyes. He noticed the strands of brown hair that dangled slightly over them, giving them an even more intimidating look.

Now up much closer than before, Lux recognized the form. Looks kinda like a...

The seemingly uninterested eyes that stared back at him moved up to the strong vine that kept him dangled in his pathetic and vulnerable position. The figure hopped off the ground and swiped at the vine, cutting it in one swift motion. Lux had hit the hard floor before he even knew what happened. Luckily, he landed shoulder-first. Which still hurt. At least he didn't manage to land on his satchel bag.

"Ouch! Uh, a little warning next time, maybe!" Lux said, gripping his right shoulder.

"At least your still alive." the brown-haired character replied back in a monotonous voice.

Lux's pained expression turned into a grin while still rubbing his aching shoulder. He attempted to get up. "Yeah, I guess you're ri-!"

A sudden, sharp pain shot through his right leg, causing him to stumble to one knee.

"Aaarghhh! My freaking leg!" he shouted, abruptly falling back down and trying to stretch it out.

This only caused more discomfort. The white figure closer to the entrance stood alert and ran over to him. It stopped beside him and brung it's right arm around Lux's waist and used his other one to bring his left arm over its shoulders.

"It's okay. We'll get you to my mom. She can heal you up back up in no time!" the supportive figure said, bringing him back to his feet.

"Thanks. Hey if you don't mind telling me, where exactly am-"

Lux paused in shock as he faced the one who had helped him. He took a quick glance up and down the barely-lit form. It had white fur and a snout with fluffy ears drooping down the sides of its head. Its eyes were an emerald green and a smile was stretched wide across its face. It was definitely clear that it was a boy, but not exactly a human by human standards.

"W-what? Who are you!?" Lux stammered.

"My names Asriel. What's your name?" the creature said, completely oblivious to his 'anxiety attack'.

"Lux! It's Lux!"

"That's a cool name! Never heard of that before. Maybe when she gets back, I can ask my mom if she's heard of it?"

"I know that we're all just getting acquainted, but we should really head back now." the brown-haired figure said, already through the only exit from the room. Asriel carried Lux through as well, following after his companion. They traversed through a hallway that led straight forward to a small turn. As they cleared the next room, a question popped back into Lux's brain that he wasn't able to finish asking before.

"Um, so...your a Monster, huh?"

Asriel turned to Lux, the same smile present on his face.

"Yup. And you're a Human, I'm sure. Chara's human, too! She fell down the same way you did three months ago. Well, without the vines, of course." Asriel admitted, earning him a look from the human herself.

How can any human possibly fall so far down a hole like that and live-

That's when it hit him. Lux shot his eyes back to Chara with surprise. It was just then they entered through a new room. An unexpected sheer power hit Lux in the form of light. He instinctively squinted his eyes before he managed to bring them fully open again. His eyesight gave him the luxury of seeing the beautiful change of atmosphere the room displayed.

Ahead of them were an enormous pile of red, fall-like leaves, all bunched together in the far center. To the right and left of them lay stairs that both led to an elevated floor where another entrance awaited.

"Wow," Lux said, his mouth open wide in amazement.

"Yeah, looks cool doesn't it? Chara had the same reaction when I first brought her through here." Asriel said in hindsight.

This brought his thoughts back to the other human. The much-needed lighting finally did him justice, seeing that this 'Chara' was indeed a human. A bit hesitant at first, Lux built up the strength to talk to her.

"Hey, um...Chara. So how did you end up here?"

She gave him a quick glance before moving up the stairs with Asriel right behind her.

"I'd rather not talk about that now."

"Oh...okay. Sorry for asking."

"It's okay," Chara replied, turning around abruptly with a wide smile on her face. It kinda creeped Lux out, if he had to be honest.

Lux gazed at the ground for a few seconds before Asriel took notice.

"Are you okay?"

Snapping his head up, he replied, "Yeah, yeah...I'm fine...but..."

Asriel seemed to have begun listening in intently.

"...This place..."

The three of them passed through the passage into another area.

"It shouldn't..."

"Shouldn't what?"

There were two decently small gaps filled with water ahead of them. They stretched from one side of the wall to the other, a constructed bridge across each. They kept moving forward.

Lux wavered before finishing his words.

"...Shouldn't be real."

Asriel's widened eyes store into Lux's before he turned to face forward again. He lowered his head slightly and closed his eyes. "Chara told me that humans stopped believing a long time ago..."

"But.."

Asriel turned back to Lux.

"You guys proved to me that isn't the case."

Asriel gave a smile in response.

"Were almost there, Lux."

Another 3 minutes passed before they finally arrived at the door of their home. Or at Asriel and Chara's home. Lux still had absolutely no idea where he was progressing or what he was truly getting himself into. The trio passed by a tall, beautiful tree plentiful of colorful red leaves - the same as the ones they saw earlier.

In front of the was another set of stairs that led to a decent-sized cottage house. The lights from inside radiated from the windows through spaces not covered by the curtains. Chara was up the stairs before Asriel and Lux took the first step. She turned to face them from above, holding the door open.

"Come on." she said motioning her hand inside.

Asriel grinned and secured his support on Lux's body, helping him up the stairs and into the house. As they went through the door, Lux immediately noticed the difference compared to the outside. The walls were a vibrant beige, as opposed to the outside's purple and dark color, and the floorboards were laid down in a rectangular pattern.

As Lux looked around in wonder at the criminally well-kept house, Asriel moved him down the corridor to the right. Chara walked past them fast enough to be able to open the first door they encountered.

"Thanks, Chara." Asriel remarked. Chara chose to lean against the wall as he supported Lux to the bed of the room. He made sure to take off his satchel and asked Asriel to slider it under it. Lux relaxed himself on top of it and immediately felt rejuvenated.

"Wow, this is really soft!" Lux said, easily amazed. He accidentally moved his right leg the wrong way in the process of his excitement and gave him a jolting sharp pain.

"Ow!"

"Yeah, my mom makes sure to keep our beds extra soft. She says it keeps you young and your back flexible! But it doesn't automatically heal leg injuries, though, so sorry." Asriel joked. He placed himself on the side of the bed, making sure not to disturb Lux in his current state.

"Heh, that's fine. Well actually, that would have been pretty cool. So where is your mom anyway?" Lux said, relaxing his head against a pillow.

"Oh! She's out shopping with our dad. She told us to stay put until they got back. They both keep reminding us to think of their absence as a test of independence, but I'm sure we'd be fine on our own, right Chara?"

Chara gave Asriel a smile and a quick nod, focusing her attention back on to the floor.

Lux wanted to ask what was wrong, but Asriel intercepted his thoughts with a question of his own. One that was inevitable.

"So Lux? How did you end up falling down here in the first place?"

Lux's felt a sudden uneasiness in response to the sentence. His subconscious worries about how he was going to get back home and how he would never be found came creeping back into his mind. He struggled to find a structured way to explain his story, but eventually, he did.

"I...I was actually searching for this place for a good while, believe it or not. And...well, deep down I wasn't expecting to find it. And to be honest...I'm kinda scared." Lux admitted, trying to hold back the build up of tears threatening to fall from his eyes.

He didn't want to cry, but the thought of his parents and his friends; he couldn't bare to picture how they would react when they discovered him gone.

Asriel's expression showed one of care and compassion as she got off of the bed to stand directly in front of him.

"Don't worry Lux. No matter what happens, we'll be here for you. Then maybe one day...we'll get you back." Asriel tried to assure him, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. Lux smiled as a singular tear escaped from his eye.

"Y-yeah...you're right."

Just then, they heard the front door give out a creaking noise as it opened.

"Asriel! Chara! We're back!" an adult, feminine voice called out.

"And you won't believe the discount I got on this watering pot!" another voice, more masculine, said behind the first one.

Asriel's eyes lit up with excitement. "It's mom and dad! Lux, I'll tell them you're here and I can get my mom to heal you!"

Asriel turned swiftly to face the door, rushing forward and opening it.

"Wai-"

Before Lux could even finish, he was out of the room.

"Mom! Dad! You won't believe who we found. Please, come here, I'll show you!"

"Hmm? You found someone, son?"

Lux barely heard the words beyond the door, but suddenly felt the urge to look towards Chara. Her eyes were on him, but quickly zipped back to the ground once she realized he took notice.

The door to their room opened with a quick motion to reveal two more much taller figures with Asriel in front of them. The first was of a wider bodily build with facial hair and was wearing a purple cape. The second was a bit smaller compared to the first; more feminine in appearance, and sported a long, bluish robe with a strange insignia in the center. They both, like Asriel, resembled anthropomorphic goats.

The two adult monsters stood frozen in time at the sight of Lux, their expressions a bit more than surprised.

"See guys? It's another human! Crazy right?" Asriel said, turning to his parent's astonished faces.

"Uh...hi?" Lux said nervously, waving his hand to them. I'm going to die here.

The only reaction Lux got was the taller monster releasing his tightened grip on his watering-pot, letting it hit the ground with a loud *CLANG*.