Percy walked along the snowy path, and as he went, he got the feeling he was being watched.

As he was crunching through the snow, Percy passed a branch on the ground. Ignoring it, he kept walking, then suddenly: Snap! Percy whipped back around, and instinctively pulled out and uncapped Riptide. Nothing. The branch had snapped, but no one was there. Percy felt chills along his back.

Although this was still the Underground, Toriel had made a big deal about how the monsters outside the Ruins would try to kill him. Percy silently swore he would do his best to show Mercy, but he kept his sword out, just in case.

Whatever was following him was fast, and Percy didn't want to take any chances. He held Riptide in front of himself, and walked cautiously forwards.

He heard the crunching of footsteps in snow behind him, and Percy looked back, but whatever had been there was gone again.

Looking ahead again, Percy saw a narrow bridge with a wall of bars in front of it, hanging over a deep pit. Whether that hole led to just another room of puzzles, or Tartarus, Percy did not get a good feeling about it.

He tentatively took one step onto the narrow bridge, but then stopped as he heard the crunching of footsteps. This time, they kept coming. Percy was frozen in place.

"Human." On the back of his neck, Percy felt the warm breath of the monster that had spoken. "Don't you know how to greet a new pal?" Percy held still, his sword at the ready.

The voice said firmly, "first, put that sword down." Percy stood there for a second. If this monster had wanted to kill him right away, they probably wouldn't be simply talking right now. Percy didn't want to kill anyone he'd regret, so he slowly put the cap back on Riptide, but kept the pen in his hand.

The monster's voice sounded calm. "Now, turn around, and shake my hand." Percy, very slowly, turned to face the shadowy figure. The monster held out a boney hand, and Percy tentatively grabbed it with his own. This monster had a strong grip. A loud fart noise immediately erupted from their handshake, slowly dying out into a sad buzz of air. Percy snorted with laughter.

"heheh... the old whoopee cushion in the hand trick. it's ALWAYS funny." The monster, a skeleton in a blue jacket, let go of his hand, and said, "anyways, you're a human, right? that's hilarious." The skeleton looked away as he said that.

"i'm sans. sans the skeleton." A little more relaxed now, Percy gave the skeleton a smile, and put away his pen. "im actually supposed to be on watch for humans right now. but... y'know..." Sans narrowed his eyes. "things get complicated." At this, Percy felt a little apprehensive, but he wasn't quite sure why. "now my brother, papyrus... he's a human-hunting FANATIC."

The skeleton, Sans, looked to the side, and then said, "hey, actually, i think that's him over there. i have an idea. go through this gate thingy." Percy pointed questioningly at the wooden bars. "yeah, go right through. my bro made the bars too wide to stop anyone."

Sans hurried him through, and then said, "quick, behind that conveniently-shaped lamp." Percy, confused, looked at the lamp, which was a little bit shorter than him, and then back at Sans. "well, i suppose it's not that convenient, but it'll do. now hurry up."

Percy was about to go over to stand behind the lamp Sans had gestured him to, but before he could take a step, a different skeleton that was taller than Sans had walked into the area. It was probably the guy's brother, Papyrus.

Papyrus looked at them, and said in a loud, authoritative voice, "SANS! HAVE YOU FOUND A HUMAN YET!?" Percy blinked. Did this skeleton not know what a human looked like? Well, Percy was technically a demigod, but demigods generally look like humans.

"yeah." Sans winked. "REALLY!? WOWIE! GUESS THAT'S SETTLED!" Without saying another word, Papyrus then ran off. Percy rubbed his eyes. What just happened?

"that worked out, huh?" Sans looked away, like that was settled. Percy just stared at him in confusion. "...are you just gonna stare at me, or...?"

Percy shrugged to himself and walked away. "well, i'll be straightforward with you." Turning back around to look at Sans, Percy jumped in surprise. He wasn't there. "i know what's going on here." Percy whipped back around to where the skeleton's voice was coming from. Sans' smile didn't look friendly, and his eye sockets were empty.

"i know what you've done." Percy froze. "although the others might just go with your little goody two shoes act, i won't be fooled." Percy pulled Riptide out of his pocket, but didn't uncap it just yet. "you need to make a choice."

Sans stared into his soul with those empty sockets. "you've been living between two worlds the whole time you've been down here, and you need to pick a side." Percy didn't respond. "oh, you know what i mean. you need to make your choice. just think about that."

Sans' voice slightly softened. "choose wisely." When Percy blinked, Sans was gone, and there was a faint whooshing sound as air rushed in to fill where he was.

Percy let out the breath he hadn't realized he was holding, and put Riptide back in his pocket. He stood there for a minute, not wanting to think about what the skeleton monster had said, but knowing he would eventually have to.

He did know what Sans had meant when he told Percy to make a choice. When he was on the surface, surrounded by his demigod friends, and nearly always with an imminent danger looming, it was easy to just see monsters as obstacles, and to slash them down.

But when Percy was down in Tartarus, he was the one in their way. He had fallen into their home, and acted as an enemy. Freeing the Doors of Death he didn't regret, that was something that had to be done. But still, he had barged into their home.

Down here, he was in nearly the same boat as before. The Underground was the home of these monsters. A different group of them, one that's more open. Since Percy had first fallen down here, he had started to realize he shouldn't just kill every monster he sees, and yet he still drew his sword whenever things seemed to get messy. He was only half invested in Mercy.

Along with his hesitance to really trust these monsters, his friends, and the ways they had all always done things, spoke against trusting these monsters as well. Percy was doing his best to show Mercy on his own down here, but if he was on the surface, encountering one of these monsters with his friends nearby, would he stand up for the monster, or just let them kill it?

That was what Sans had meant. To these monsters, he was a possible aggressor. If he was truly invested in Mercy, he would be a defender. And he wasn't. Percy was living between two worlds. His own, and the one with these monsters.

Percy knew he'd have to make a decision. He wasn't committed to anything right now, and one way or another, that would get someone hurt.

Sighing, feeling far from determined, Percy, more uneasy than anything, started tromping through the snow.