Before I begin, I did make a couple errors in chapter 2 that I can't fix without messing up the order of events, so please forgive me with room orders being messed up.

Chapter 2

Toriel stood waiting in the corner of the room, her hands clasped gently below her chest.

"Ma'am? Can I ask you some questions?" Percy requested.

Toriel looked a little shocked, as if she weren't used to this kind of interaction. "Why, of course!"

"Great. First question: What is this place?"

Toriel looked even more surprised at this. "I thought you would know the answer to that question. Do they not teach you of the history between monsters and humans in school?"

Percy shrugged. "I have a really hard time with school. They may have mentioned it and I just forgot."

Toriel's eyes lit up. "You have a difficult time learning, my child? I'm sure I can help you with that once we get back home."

Percy didn't know what to make of those sentences. Did Toriel think Percy would be staying with him? If so, she was in for a very rude awakening. A small part of Percy felt guilty for some reason, but he shook the feeling away. He had to get home to his family.

"As for your question, this is the Underground. Long ago, humans and monsters lived in peace. But when one monster accidentally absorbed the soul of a human child, the humans were angry with us. They feared our power. So, they declared war. We monsters did not want to fight, but we had to. After many casualties on our side, we surrendered to the humans, and they sealed us underground with a magical barrier," Toriel explained.

Percy felt that there had to be something more to that story. Why would humans attack monsters unprovoked? Mortals couldn't be that cruel, could they? Maybe Toriel was lying or exaggerating the details to paint monsters in a more sympathetic light.

He decided to change the subject. "Ok, second question: Why did that psycho flower try to attack me? Also, just so you know, my name is Percy. Percy Jackson."

Toriel turned away, her face covered in shadows. "Now that you are living in the Underground, you are surrounded by many monsters. They will try to… hurt you. They still feel angry and resentful at humans for imprisoning us down here. But I, my child, do not blame you for your ancestors' decisions. I will try to keep you safe. Just, please promise me you won't fight back unless absolutely necessary?"

Percy didn't understand this lady. She told him that monsters would try to attack him, but she didn't want him to defend himself? He couldn't understand what this monster's deal was.

"What other choice do I have?" He asked, trying to keep as much anger out of his voice as possible.

Toriel smiled. "I will teach you how fights work in the next room. For now, I must introduce you to the other aspect of living in the Underground: puzzles."

She gestured to the tiles on the floor and a sign to her right. "Normally I would solve this first puzzle for you, but you are much older than the other children. I am sure you can handle it yourself."

Well, at least she didn't think he was a complete baby. But she probably was putting more responsibility on him than he could handle. He scratched the back of his neck, looking at the tiles and the sign. Annabeth would be much better for a challenge at this. He could imagine her rolling her eyes at him playfully. Come on, Seaweed Brain, figure it out! Percy smiled at the thought. He tried his best to read the sign, but his dyslexia prevented him from understanding a single word.

"Um, Toriel?" Percy asked, feeling self-conscious.

"Yes, my child?" Toriel replied, looking concerned.

"I can't- I have a hard time reading."

Toriel smiled sympathetically. "I understand, my child. I shall read the instructions to you. Brave ones, foolish ones; both walk not the middle road."

"Middle road, middle road," Percy muttered to himself, pacing back and forth.

Pacing… that was it! The buttons were on the floor, so obviously he had to step on them. But the real question was which ones he should step on.

"Toriel, what was that last line again?"

"Both walk not the middle road," Toriel repeated. She had a sly look in her eyes, as if she knew what Percy was thinking.

Just then, Percy noticed that there was a lighter patch of floor, in the middle of the buttons. This helped the answer come together. He needed to press the buttons, but not anything in the middle. He proceeded to do so, but nothing happened.

"Did I do something wrong?" He wondered aloud.

"No, my child, you have simply neglected to press the yellow switch. My apologies, I should have told you that," Toriel informed him.

Percy ran over, careful not to press the middle buttons, and pressed the switch. The door opened.

"Very good, my child! Let us proceed onto the next room," Toriel encouraged him.

As her footsteps faded, Percy felt strange. He knew he should logically not trust Toriel, but she was so kind, and congratulated him on even the smallest victories. But years of demigod training had proved to him that monsters could deceive heroes easily. He needed to keep his guard up. He needed to remind himself that Toriel was just another Medusa, another Circe, trying to keep him here, until she could destroy him. He gritted his teeth and entered the next room.

Toriel was waiting for him at the top of a balcony, two sets of stairways leading up to another opening. How small were these rooms?! Percy wanted to get this over with, so he ran to the left staircase. Before he took his first step onto the stairs, something caught his eye. A glimmer to his right. He turned and saw a small star shining in a pile of leaves. It was beautiful, and it rotated every second. Percy didn't know why, but he felt a desire to touch it. His hand reached out instinctually and brushed the star. The strange object zapped him, but it wasn't painful, more like a comforting warmth. He suddenly felt like there was something important he needed to do. He wasn't quite sure what it was yet, but all he knew was that it was important. Words echoed through his head, but they were not a memory, rather some sort of message. The shadow of the ruins loom above, filling you with DETERMINATION.

Determination? Percy certainly was determined to get out of the underground, but the message had made it sound like something else, something… powerful. He decided he would investigate this later. For now, he needed to get Toriel to move faster. He ran up the stairs, and Toriel proceeded to walk into the next room without so much as a word. Rude, Percy thought.

In the next room, there was a mannequin sitting next to a door. It looked like it had been through a lot. Its seams were split, and cotton was spilling out of it. Toriel walked in front of the door and stood there, her hands folded behind her back.

"This room is intended to train you in fighting monsters. I understand you were able to deal with that flower easily enough, but down here, there is an honor code that many monsters use, and it would be wise for you to respect it," Toriel said.

"I need to be respectful when they're trying to kill me," Percy responded dumbfounded.

"I understand this may seem ridiculous, but in the end, it could benefit you far more than you know," Toriel encouraged.

Percy sighed. "Alright, explain how it works, please."

Toriel gestured to the mannequin. "Please walk up to the dummy. Being in the close proximity of it will initiate a fight."

"Is that why I exited the battle when I took some steps away from Flowey?" Percy asked.

"Yes!" Toriel responded, happy that he grasped the concept so quickly.

Percy walked to the dummy. He felt the tugging sensation again, and then his polka-dot soul was on display for everyone to see.

"My goodness!" Toriel exclaimed. "I have never seen a soul quite like yours before."

"I didn't even know what it looked like until I came down here," Percy responded.

Toriel stared at his soul in shock and amazement for a few more moments before regaining her composure. "Alright. Now, my child, when you are in a fight, talk to your opponent to bide time. I will come and rescue you before any conflict can occur."

"What if you aren't around to protect me?" Percy asked.

Toriel pursed her lips. "I will always be there for you."

"But when I leave- "

Toriel turned away. "I think you should focus on talking to the dummy right now," she said, her voice choked with emotion.

Percy felt awful. No matter how hard he tried to hate Toriel, she seemed to keep tugging on his heartstrings. If she truly was an evil monster, she was doing a very good job at tricking him into thinking she wasn't.

He looked back at the dummy. He was about to speak to it, when he noticed multiple glowing buttons that had appeared in the air before him. It was like Percy was in a video game or something!

"No way," Percy breathed.

He hesitated, deciding which button to choose. There was Fight, Act, Item, and Spare. He didn't see the point in fighting a dummy, and he didn't have an item. Also, he was pretty sure the dummy didn't need sparing. So, since he couldn't move his hands, he moved his soul to touch the Act button. (Moving his soul still felt really weird.) Within the Act button, there were two options: Check and Talk. Percy didn't feel the need to check the dummy, whatever that meant. So, feeling really stupid, he talked to the dummy.

"Hey, dude, are you alive? I'm just wondering how I can get into a fight with you if you aren't alive," Percy asked, not sure if he was being rude.

He swore he saw the dummy's button eyes roll or move towards him, but before he could ask any follow-up questions, the fight ended. Toriel looked happy.

"Very good! Let us move onto the next room!"

As he solved the almost laughingly easy puzzle of flipping the switches to turn off the spikes, Percy took in his surroundings. Tall purple walls with vines crawling down them, the bricks' cracks full of dust, surrounded him. The musty smell made Percy feel like he was back in the Labyrinth again, which was not a great feeling. He wondered why Toriel and Flowey were the only inhabitants he had seen so far. This place felt like many people had lived here, but there was no one. He supposed there was a reason why Toriel called this place the Ruins. But then, why would she choose to live all alone in this area? She made it sound like there were many other monsters underground, but Percy had yet to find them.

Percy soon got his answer, in a way he wished he hadn't. As he was walking along the lighter purple tiles, a small frog jumped out at it. The narration box informed him that it was called a Froggit. Percy recalled what Toriel had advised and decided to strike up a conversation.

"Hey there, little guy, you look pretty cool!" Percy said, wondering if the frog could understand him.

The narration box informed him it couldn't but was flattered anyway. Percy wondered how it could tell. Before the Froggit could attack him or anything (really, how much harm could it do?), Toriel appeared, giving Froggit the stink-eye until he sadly left.

They soon came to another bridge with many spikes. Toriel looked like she was going to say something, but she backed up against the wall. Percy looked around for a switch, but there were none. This had to be a puzzle, but the answer wasn't very clear. He decided that his shoes might be thick enough to survive the spikes, so he stepped onto the bridge. However, he didn't have to worry about his feet for long, as each time he stepped on a new spike plate, the next spikes would recede, making him not have to worry about hurting himself. Sure, he got lost a couple times, but Toriel patiently followed behind him, until they reached the end of the room.

Percy had thus far been underwhelmed by the size of the rooms in the Ruins, but this next room was so long he couldn't see the end of it.

"You have done excellently thus far, my child, and I have not needed to help you as much as I usually would. However, this next challenge may still be difficult for you. I would like you to walk to the end of the room without me. Forgive me for this," Toriel said dramatically as she sped away.

Percy was flabbergasted. This woman thought walking to the end of a room would be hard for him? What was he, 6? He rolled his eyes and took his time walking down the long hallway, occasionally stopping to admire the pillars. Annabeth would love the architecture here. He felt an ache in his heart with how much he missed her.

When he reached the end, he looked around for Toriel and saw her attempting to hide behind a pillar. Maybe Toriel had gone insane from being alone for so long. Why else would she think this would be a challenge for a 16-year-old? Or maybe monsters matured differently than humans, and to her, he looked like he was 10.

Toriel jumped out from behind the pillar. "Very good, my child. This was to test your independence, and you passed with flying colors. I do not think I even needed to hide behind the pillar, as you saw right through my disguise. I will give you your reward now."

She handed him a very old-looking cellphone. Percy looked nervously at it. Cell phones attracted monsters, and he was in a place full of them.

"I don't know if this is such a great idea, Toriel," he started.

"Why not, my child? This will help me stay in contact with you in case you need me," Toriel explained.

"For d- for people like me, cellphones can alert dangerous things to where we are," Percy explained.

"Oh, I completely understand," Toriel said. "However, I can assure you these are safe, as they have no such tracking capabilities."

Percy still had his qualms, but he figured Toriel knew what she was doing. He pocketed the cellphone.

"Now, my child, I must leave you. Try to make your way through the Ruins to my home. I need to prepare some things for your arrival. Please be careful and call me if you need anything!" Toriel instructed.

Percy nodded, and Toriel left. He was almost completely at ease with Toriel. He was still creeped out by her thinking he was a little kid, and he didn't like this talk about him living with her, but overall, it seemed like she had his best interests at heart.

Taking a deep breath, he took his first step into the next room, for the first time completely and utterly alone.

Or so he thought. While Percy had been listening to Toriel and solving puzzles, a small flower had been watching, waiting. He knew there was something different about this kid. After all, he had never encountered a human with a soul like his before, and he had seen hundreds when he went- when that other monster went to the surface. He smiled as he pushed himself back into the ground. He was excited to see what Percy Jackson would do to the monsters of this wretched place. Whether he would kill or be killed, Flowey was eager to see how the Underground was changed by this unsuspecting human.

Thank you for reading Chapter 2! Again, please leave any comments or critiques, as that is the only way I can improve! Stay determined, and good luck on your quest!