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Chapter Text

You told yourself that you would never do this.

You told yourself that you would never do this.

And yet here you are, sitting at the ledge of the rooftop of your twenty-floor apartment, taking your first puff of cigarette in the middle of the night with your PJs on.

You sighed.

So much for saying 'never'.

Your left eye twitched, ever so slightly to the brief memory of Justin Beaver's song flashing through your mind. Your mood was getting sour by the minute and the bitter taste of the cigarette wasn't helping at all. They say that having one would calm your nerves but it seems like it wasn't affecting you at all. In fact, the opposite quite really.

You sighed again, dangling the white cancer-causing stick in your mouth, staring up into the dark abyss of the night sky.

No stars, as per usual.

But it's expected, you were living near the city area after all. Light pollution would easily dull out the stars.

You lulled your head to the side to scan the neighborhood you lived in, eyes lazily drifting to every single thing, be it buildings or living creatures still awake. Majority had gone to sleep and those who hasn't, were following suit after a few minutes. Little critters stretched and yawned, dozing off to the soft embers illuminated from street lamp posts. It was peaceful to say the very least. You just wish it could always be this quiet, silent, other than the occasional chirping of crickets. A ghost of a smile reached your tired and wrinkled face as your muscle started to relax. You leaned back a bit to looked back up to the sky again. Resignation sinking in.

You fluttered your eyes closed and started to hum a soft lullaby, puffing out a smoke-filled breath.

The wind softly caressed your face.

Just a few more hours.

The darkness of night slowly dwindled, taking its turn to slumber as a range of blue hue painted the sky, small spots of orange and pink colored the rising sun as soft clouds dotted the sky above.

It's dawn.

You stopped humming as soon as the sun took it's first peek at you, curious at your wakefulness. You stood up over the ledge and breathed in deeply, taking in the wonderful fresh morning air. Your eyes hurts, stings from the lack of sleep but you didn't let that get to you for now. You closed your eyes once more.

And you can hear it.

The people around your neighborhood, they were waking up.

You hear the cries of babies, mothers shouting at their children to get their butts off the bed.

You hear cars starting up, getting ready drive off, the bustling of the city near your neighborhood seems to roar.

Time seemed to slow the more you took in your surroundings. You look down from your apartment and immediately felt nauseous. You could feel your heart sink to the bottom of your stomach and you swallowed hard. It's so high. But..

You wanted to do it.

You wanted to end everything.

You were so tired.

It was time.

And yet..

 You still had so much more things to do. Things to say, eat, laugh, read. You have people that you cared for dearly. People that cared about you dearly. Friends, family-You knew that if you were to go, there will be people who would be sad about your departure. But everything feels hopeless, meaningless. You were really tired. You've really, REALLY, tried your best to make everything okay.

Unfortunately, you were never successful.

In fact, every attempt made everything worst. So you stopped. Your senses started to grow numb the more you thought about the memories of it all. You were done. You didn't want anymore of it. It hurts too much. Your vision started to tunnel, mind blank of anything as your body starts to shut down all reasons to back down. You gave a pitiful laugh and hung your head low, stretching a foot out and off the ledge.

And you fell.

...

.....

Backward.

Your phone had startled you out of your trance, blasting and vibrating an unusual long and high pitched alarm within the depths of your pants' pocket. It made you stumble and fall backwards onto your back before you could even exert any weight onto the extended leg. You took a second or two to process what had happened, blinking rapidly before a small sloppy smile rose from your lips. You sighed contently, taking out your phone to check what had relieved you from such a fate.

A news report notification.

Wow.

Even though international news were important due to your job type, it wasn't as if you liked it.

Oh the irony.

You were still curious on what kind of news had saved you however. It wasn't everyday you'd hear your phone scream bloody murder from international news or news in general really. Deaths, murders, epidemics, natural disasters were a natural thing in this world; be it intentional or not. Was it that serious that an international news alarm had to be triggered? You furrowed your eyebrows and you unlocked your phone, jumping a little once again as another loud alarm screamed from your phone. Another one??

You were immediately bombarded with tons of news articles from different news companies. Scrolling down and trying to even click on one article held no avail as more articles flowed into your phone, lagging and draining your phone's battery fast. Your curiosity drastically perked up. What the heck? You have never seen the news go crazy like this. Hell, you've never seen news that could to drain so much phone battery from its activity. It'd be an understandable battery drainage if you were running a game on your phone but news? You think it's a new world record. So you decided to start digging for answers. You wanted to know the source of the commotion. And boy did you found it. Your heart started to pound louder in your ears, a bubbly excitement rising in your chest the more you searched.

Teeth, fur, metal, scale, armor, dogs

Magic.

Monsters.

Monsters were coming up to the surface.

You smiled wildly, your glee reaching your eyes like a Cheshire cat. You can't believe it. You really can't believe this was happening. You stood up so fast that the world around you seemed to spin. But you didn't care, you were so exhilarated to see them. And you almost tried to...

A breath of air escaped from your nose. Eyes fluttering closed, your wild smile was replaced with a soft ghost of a smile.

Maybe..

Once more..

 Just one last time..

You'll give it your best.

With that, your smile grew a fraction as something seems to stir in your chest. You lifted the fabric of your sleeves and snuggle your mouth against it as you walked back down the stairs of your apartment.

Whispering sweet nothings and secrets to your shadow.

To which,

They whisper back.

Chapter Text

You took an attentive looooong sip from your cup of tea, your pinky pointed out mockingly.

Amusement danced around your eyes as you watched your friend sitting in front of you crumble.

An hour after the hectic mess of news regarding monsters' reemergence, you just wanted to lay low and rot in your house, snuggled up on your comfy couch with a hot mug of chocolate before anyone came pestering you to do your job. But of course, like life, nothing goes according to your plans. As soon as you settled down on your comfy sofa bed, your friend called you up sweetly, insisting that you get your ass out of your apartment for the day and have breakfast and a nice chat with her. You beg to differ, however. You could tell from the tired and distressed tone that that wasn't the case. You groaned into the receiver.

As much as you would love to ignore her request and continue to relax in the comfort of your house, your friend had helped you through thick and thin. It's only normal to return the favor.

So here you are, after a quick change in a pair of black sweatpants and a light grey long-sleeved turtle neck with a black jacket tied around your waist, at your everyday local breakfast restaurant, drinking tea as you continued to watch your dear friend burrow her head deeper into folded arms on the table. You could barely hear the indescribable mumbling, groaning and long strings of curses coming from her mouth. You sighed softly into the cup.

This was going to be a long day.

After two cups, an hour of sulking and possibly playing with the servings of sugar with your third cup of tea, your friend abruptly sat up, tall and straight to stare dead at you.  The sudden movement caused the table to shake a little, causing you to momentarily lose grip of the whole serving of sugar and drop it into your cup of tea in surprise. A soft curse came tumbling out of your mouth as you tried to salvage any sugar that didn't fall victim or completely dissolved into the tea.

"Goddammit Ris, what the hell?"

"It's Ameris on official business, (Y/N)."

You stopped your antics and scrunched up your face, looking at Ameris distastefully.

"Says the one who told me to get my ass out of my house to have breakfast and a, oh-so-nice chat with."

Ameris sighed roughly and leaned back into her seat, muscles still tense. She pinched the bridge of her nose and uttered an apology before waving to a waitress to finally order something to eat. Once that was done, she turned back to you and closed her eyes for a second before giving you a tired smile. You chuckled.

You sympathized with her honestly. Her job as the president's assistant was tiring and stressful as hell and you can easily tell that. Ameris' previously long and smooth dark brown hair was now a bun-upped mess. loose strands of hair came sprawling across her face and neck. There were visible dark circles under her eyes despite notable affords to cover it up with cosmetics and her skin was overly pale. Winkles covered parts of her face-although not very visible-and her eyes were bloodshot. On days that she could actually afford to take a break from it all (which is very rare), she'd cut off as many contacts as she could and just shut herself at home like a hermit, sleeping and watching Netflix. Nothing could lure her out unless its about food or the start of work again and you cringed at that. Not to mention, she's also taking your load of communication and work whenever you ditched it for a fling or procrastinate. Taking a sip from your over sweeten cup of tea, you decided to begin speaking.

Not before doing a double-take and gagging that is.

Fuck was that too damn sweet. It almost tastes like liquid metal.

Ameris let out a short snort at your silly antics, finally relaxing as you coughed and retched hard. You quickly grab a glass of water that was provided on the table and drank it hastily to rid of the taste before giving Ameris a sheepish grin.

"So what got you down in the dumps this time ris?"

Her amusement immediately died out, a sour expression replaced on her face as she let out an exaggerated sigh, sinking down into her seat.

"Work has been pilling up tenfold for the past damn hour.. Documents on meetings and discussions, Registration papers, Identity papers, Confirmation... Approval and.."

She flicked her eyes to you, staring hard.

"Rights."

You twirled a finger around the rim of your cup, humming in acknowledgment.

"Aaaand?"

"And? What do you mean, 'and'?"

You made a face.

"What does that got to do with me? You know I don't do politics."

Ameris frowns a little, before reaching down to the side of her seat, taking out a black laptop out of her laptop bag. Switching it on, she begins to type and click through, what you assume, important files and documents she uses for her job.

"Haven't you even read or heard this morning news?"

"Duh, how could I not know? It literally saved my life."

Ameris' movement came to a halt, fingers hovering over letters as she peeled her eyes away from her screen and narrowed her eyes at you. You just gave an airy chuckle and waved her off, shrugging. She doesn't need to know. She gave a small sigh but resumed to search for whatever she was searching, now in complete silence. You wouldn't say that the silence was deafening, nor was it peaceful. It was the silence of understanding.

After another minute of clicking and typing, Ameris rotated the laptop so it would face you and motioned you to read what's on the screen. You rose an eyebrow at your friend before complying with her wishes. With a lazy smile, you scanned what seems like profiles of different types of monsters. Nothing seems out of the ordinary so far. Just profiles.

'So Sorry', 'Glyde Glyde'..'Whimsun'...'Froggit'...

....

The more you read the many different profiles of each monster, the more your smile seems to slowly slip off your face. As more familiar colors start to pop up from the screen, your previous lazy smile was now replaced with a hard firm line. Ameris took this as her cue and started reciting, with her eyes closed.

'This early morning, two large furry goat-like creatures came emerging from the mountains, requesting to meet and speak with the person in charge of the region. While one took on a more maternally and motherly form of a being, the other took on the superior and large form. Yet, a soft and kind vibe seems to radiate from the large one. They were accompanied by four other creatures like them yet, very different.
Two of them were mere bones; skeletons. One was short and lazy while the other was tall and energetic, waving at every person that made eye contact with it with extraordinary positive emotions while the short one merely gave a permanent lazy smile fixed to their face.
The other two creatures were made out of scales and fins; a fish and a reptile. The fish was as enthusiastic as the tall skeleton but rougher while the reptile was timid and was very nervous. She would stutter in between every sentence she spoke.
The two goat-like creatures introduced themselves as the King and Ex-Queen of Monster Kind, the reptile as their Royal Scientist, the fish and the tall skeleton as the Royal Guards.

However, that was not the only thing that shook the government when they saw them.

There was one last being with them as well. They were human; a human child in a double-stripe shirt to be precise. They were said to have broken the barrier that has kept these monsters away from humanity and now they were the ambassador for their kind.
They had one request.
One request only.'

Ameris opened her eyes and looked at you, her lips twitching into a smirk. Mirth danced in her eyes. She was enjoying the reaction she was getting out of you.

"Did you know what they wanted?" she half-whispered, half yelled, mockery dripping with every word.

The buzz of the restaurant dulled, turning into white noise at this every moment. All of your attention was directed to Ameris as she uttered the next few sentences.

"Peace." Her eyes softened.
"They wanted to make peace with Humanity and live alongside us again."

You raised an eyebrow at your friend, silently questioning her. You knew--she knew that it was too good to be true. There has to be a catch to it. There's always been a catch to these kinds of things. Whether it's from either the monsters or humans, one will want more than the other, a hidden agenda underneath all of the facade. Ameris caught on to your drift and sighed again. She massaged her temples this time.

"The government--heck, the whole world's governmental agencies are in a state of parallelization. EVERYONE doesn't know what to do. Ever since news of Monsters coming up to the surface got out, there have been riots in some countries, refusing such...discrimination to live with Humanity on the surface. And while there were many people who supported the idea of another species living with us, the governments are still in the state of shock...in a sense. They've been arguing about the living rights--heck, whether they even are allowed to have rights to even stay up here. They were sealed in the underground for a reason after all."

Ameris, irritated, huffed out a breath and roughly grabbed the plate of the food that she had ordered, out of the waiter's hands as she approaches your table. The waiter looked at you worriedly, to which you just shrugged, giving her the hint to not pry. She left afterwards after a quick nod and handing your plate of food to you and placing Ameris' choice of coffee down. Ah, the morning golden sunshine of these two yellow eggs. Looks tasty as hell, especially the crispy dark red bacon pieces and the side dish of toasted toast. Yum.

You start to dig in, taking a bite of the toasted bread in pure food bliss.

"Oh and let's not forget about magic. How are we supposed to process and proceed with that? The public is getting flustered over the concept of it. Monsters aren't made out of anything but 'magic'? Preposterous! While there isn't any open disagreement from the science department yet, it's just in due time. Once they have a better understanding of the monster body, an uproar will start. Hell, religions are getting turned upside down because the concept of magic has now been proven by them. It's a huge mess."

You watch her tear apart the poor maple covered waffle with her teeth, grunting in annoyance as she chewed it in her mouth. You breathed out through your nose and tried to take a sip of tea, only to stop midway when you remembered that your tea was too sweet to drink, much to your displeasure. 

"Again, what does these got to do with me Ris? 's not like I can change how they think--or convince them in letting monsters stay here. That would be bias and unfair."

Ameris gaped at you.

"...What?"

"You got to be kidding me."

"Again...What??"

"You're the Judge,(Y/N). How the fuck are you doubting yourself? You have the BEST judgment out of EVERYONE. Heck, you were invited to almost everything that needed judging." Ameris chuckled at that.

"Plus.."

Ameris brought up her cup of coffee to her lips.

"...You know them the best. So it's not biased."

Even with her voice muffled up from the cup, you had clearly heard what she said. You poked your yolk open, observing the yellow liquid dribble down to the whites slowly.

"That's exactly the reason why I'd be biased you know."

Dead silence rang between the both of you as you continued to eat.

You sighed.

"....What's the name of the kid...?"

Ameris smiled.

"Frisk. Frisk Dreemur."

And that was settled.

"I DO NOT CONDONE SUCH CREATURES IN MY STATE!"

A middle-aged man, around in his 40s, slammed his hands onto the conference table violently. The table rattled as the slam echoed around the conference room, making the other representatives present flinch. His previously neat white and black hair flew astray from the impact but it didn't matter, he was angry, livid. His mouth was pulled back into a snarl, baring his teeth as angry creases formed around his face.

"Mr. Bates, please, c-calm down!"

You sighed.

After that eventful breakfast, Ameris took off running back to her office to get some things set up. Apparently, every single international states' presidents will be coming over to have a discussion regarding the Monsters before any action was taken. You were heavily invited by Ameris to attend the meeting. No, scratch that, it wasn't even a request. The president gleefully sent you a letter of invitation with a special blue seal on it when Ameris told him that you would happily assist with the monster issue unfolding at the moment. You were requested to be at the meeting at 8 P.M. sharp with your up-most quality clothing. Nothing too fancy or plain should be worn as this was an international crisis. So you went there dressed in a black tank top, tucked in with black shorts over a pair of black leggings underneath, black combat boots to look and feel kick-ass and last but not least, The Judge's signature black cloak, a punk military long flight cargo bomber loose cardigan jacket. Quite fitting for a judge huh?

You were warmly greeted by your country's president upon your arrival and the meeting immediately started once you've seated down. But of course, things can't go professionally, can it?

Everyone was trying to calm Mr. Bates down but you didn't even bat an eye at him and continued to stare into space. Ah, Mr. Bates. One of the most bad-tempered person you've seen so far in the conference room. He was and has been a rotten egg for as long as you could remember him though. So you guess you shouldn't be so surprised.

"Mr. Bates. I would highly recommend you to stop your foolishness and compose yourself. We're trying to have a reasonable and calm meeting regarding the concerns of the monsters. It wouldn't reflect well on both you nor on your country if you continue down this path."

Mr. Bates turned to the owner of the voice, fuming and red in anger as he stared you down from where he stood, pointing at you with his heavy repulsive index finger.

"Oh yeah? And who are you, to tell me what to do Miss? You're just a mere assistant while I'm the president of my state, I have the right to voice out my opinion--my people's opinion on these blasted creatures being out on the surface, living and breathing the same air as we do."

Your eye twitched.

How dare he? You wouldn't have particularly cared if he had only insulted you. It was normal for you to get berated for things but to insult your best friend? You were irked. Be it intentional or not, it makes you irritated that the friend that has been with you thick and thin had been used as an insult towards you.

Strike one buddy.

You wanted to snap back at Mr. Bates but before you could even open your mouth to retort back, Mr. Verner, your country's president, as well as Ameris boss, took this opportunity to shut Mr. Bates down.

"Mr. Bates, I do beg your pardon but you are not allowed to speak to (Y/N) (L/N) that way. It is great discrimination to both you and your country to speak such a way to The Judge of all people."

There was a round of silent gasps and murmuring amongst the entire conference room. A voice to your right spoke up, wavering.

"The Judge..? But I thought that they were pronounced dead a few years back..or well, MIA."

Mr. Verner nodded.

"Yes, that was the case. However, as you can see, The Judge is well alive and breathing. It is a private and confidential issue that we, she, would not like to discuss. In any case, this conference isn't about her, it is about Monster Kind is it not? So we shouldn't dwindle on it."

Everyone hesitated for a second before coming to an agreement, nodding to each other before finally quieting down. You weren't sure whether their haste was due to the issue's urgency or just their fear towards The Judge, but no matter. You turn to Mr. Verner to silently thank him, he smiled back at you before turning to give Mr. Bates a threatening stare. Mr. Bates was super vexed but he could only open and close his mouth, like a fish out of water. He couldn't say anything more, even if he wanted to. If you truly were the Judge, he knew how badly everything will turn out for him if you deemed him guilty. With a click of his tongue, he obediently sat back down, silently boiling.

Mr. Verner nodded to you once everything had settled down. You nodded back.

That was your cue.

Standing up high and straight, you gained the attention of everyone in the conference room. Everyone has switched their attitude, even Mr. Bates. They all waited silently for your next command. Scanning the room, you took note and acknowledge every single representative of each country before finally addressing the whole conference room with a respectful bow. Those who had the fortunate/unfortunate encounter of The Judge would know of their signature posture and attitude before the start of serious or critical judgment. Every presidential representative knew this. Crisis after crisis, where The Judge stood tall and mighty, resolved problems after problems. It was both terrifying and an honor to worth with The Judge, especially with now the uncertain threat of magic monsters above them. A glimmer of respect and recantation stood in the eyes of each president in the room as they continued to wait, eager. They knew now, that the person standing in front of them was the real Judge.

You stood unfazed by these glimmers.

You've said it to yourself already and you'd say it once more. You would give it one last shot, one more time at living. You'll give it your best. No more giving up. One last time.

You took in a breath of air.

And began to speak with the utmost authority.

Your voice rumbled.

"The discussion between Monsters and their Rights will now commence." 

Your shadow crackled in excitement.

Chapter Text

Watching The Judge in action was an incredible sight to witness. Many, many would pay thousands-millions just to see how The Judge work. How somehow, their authority stands above everyone and how no one could ever oppose them. What was the trick? Was there even a trick? There had to be one. Did The Judge have an underground organization to keep everything in order? To ensure that no one opposed to The Judge? No one really had a clear understanding of how and why. Even when every presidential position had seen it more than once, it was still a sight to behold and a sight that they would love to watch over and over again if they could. Perhaps it was the clean-cut facts that made it impossible to retort back and argue? No, there were still unreasonable people in the world that would still argue like the flat earth believers. Even so, it was stunning how The Judge could pull out facts that people had thought was non-existence to this world.

Perhaps it was.

Books of Monsters and Humans' history (courtesy of the King of Monsters to sent to the conference) neatly opened up around The Judge as stacks and stacks of documents regarding the policies and incidents that had happened ever since monsters had come up to the surface were placed at the right of her side. Two laptops, one black and another white, sat comfortably on the table a little further in front of her as she silently read up another riot news report from the web, her lips in a slight frown as her eyes twinkled in determination as she continued to scan the reports. Her face would scrunch up whenever something reported seemed sour and would hum a tiny melody of approval when she found something nice. It was captivating.

Other than the occasional scratching of her pen against a sheet of paper and a nervous cough here and there, there was absolute silence as everyone continued to wait for the Judge to finally speak. Each and every presidential position in the discussion had given their option and concerns towards Monster Kind and their own country, some in hushed whispers and some loud and clear. Some even dared not to say anything in fear that they would be looked down upon. The Judge nodded understandingly and took it upon herself to further dig out for details as much as she could. Every little halt and humming, she would quickly write down little points and notes onto a blank sheet of paper.

It felt like an eternity before she finally stopped completely, looking up to the watching audience. A few of them started to break into a cold sweat, the intensity of her stare was forbidding. They dreaded what she might say. After all, the Judge herself was a person to be feared when it comes to judgment. She was able to take down even the shadiest business who bribed for their evidence to be disposed of secretly. She was able to detect the off-putting lack of information during her judgment session and was able to dig back up every single solid evidence within the hour of the discovery. Heck, she showed everyone in the courtroom that she did found it legit. It was horrifying and yet phenomenal. It made those presidential positions who wasn't fond of the idea of Monster Kind around the surface shiver, they knew that in HER judgment, everyone was the same and that everyone would have the same rights and qualification as each other unless judged so. Her judgments were always based on ACTIONS and never BACKGROUNDS.

Monster Kind had been nothing but kind ever since they resurfaced, kind to everyone they meet, see and greet, even those who scowled and sneered at them as if they were a lower being then us humans. They knew that Monster Kind had already set in stone where they'll end up. It made those who weren't fond, grow exceptionally nervous. It made Mr. Bates blood boil.

 "Well? Not all of us have all day here Ms.(L/N)."

Mr. Bates irritably shot a look at you, crossing his arms as he tapped his finger on his arm expectantly. You raised an eyebrow at the man but said nothing. Poor guy was already looking like he could faint any moment from the intense death glare that everyone is shooting him for being so disrespectful to the Judge. You could even see the huge drops of sweat threatening to slide down his head. You gave a silent chuckle. So instead, you stood up to address everyone in the conference room.

 "Yes, I do agree with you Mr. Bates and that is why I have come to a decision on this whole ordeal."

Everyone's attention was back to me, eyes trained on the movement of my mouth and body. Mr. Verner smiled and motioned me to continue.

"I have concluded that Monster Kind deserves to have the same rights, citizenship, and identity as us human beings."

Saying that everyone's jaw dropped to the ground was an understatement. While every presidential position knew that Monster Kind had a higher percentage to get their rights easily due to their actions, they didn't expect you to give everything to them immediately. It was preposterous. Wide eyes bored towards your direction but you simply evaded them. You knew that these were the reactions you'd get when you bluntly told them that you wanted to give Monsters their full rights. But you needed these reactions in order to fully gain the agreement of every presidential position to carry out your decision. You needed to get one certain presidential position railed up.

"If there's any objection, please, do speak up."

And fair enough, Mr. Bates took the bait.

Mr. Bates, hot with fuming rage and anger, slammed his hands onto the conference table once again, making many jump from the loud slam. You didn't even flinch so as to bat an eye, however. Instead, you looked him in the eye.

"This is totally unacceptable! I- WE all know that you judge people through the course of their actions but this utter bullshit. Sure, they may have not done anything to Humankind, being as harmless as a kitten, but giving them full rights just because of their kindness is not even a solid reason as to why they should be granted with them!"

Whispers of agreements and small little nods rose from the conference room, distrust towards you slowly crept in the corners of the room. Seeing the reaction that he was receiving from the crowd made Mr. Bates grow more and more prideful and courageous. He thinks that he was winning but you knew better. You knew that the more Mr. Bates became cocky, the more he's throwing himself to the edge of a cliff. A cliff that you could push him down so easily, break him, shatter him from the soul outwards, to the point of no self-redemption. A mental...infiltration (torture) you've learned during the time of judging. So you paid no mind to the crowd and continued to let him be, waiting, for the time to finally strike.

"Furthermore, MONSTERS are the ones causing riots to break out around the whole world. THEIR existence has shaken everyone and they are AFRAID of them. They might even JUST be acting kind for the sake of getting their rights so that when they do start attacking, WE can't do much to stop them! THEY have magic as well, something that scientists had said to be non-existence. They are DANGEROUS. Even in history books, they were locked up, put behind a barrier because of that!"

The voices of agreement grew loud and started to protest together with Mr. Bates, distrust now shot directly at you as if you had betrayed them. You knew that when someone's blinded by anger and fear, their sense of rationality would go out of the window. That, you understand but that doesn't mean it hurt any less. After so many years of doing it, you would've expected at least for the presidential positions to fully trust you when it comes to judging.

You breathed out of your nose, dipping an eyebrow a little as you noticed Mr. Verner's and a few other world presidents' worried looks at the corner of your eye. Hm, guess not everyone had lost trust in you. Your shadow swirled around you comfortingly, whispering sweet nothings to calm you down and urge you to continue. It was enough.

"Well Mr. Bates, on the contrary, riots had always been around for many decades, be it towards stereotypical or religious reasons. And you know what they have in common? Hate. Fear. Fear of the different, fear and hate for the change. Even you said it yourself Mr. Bates, THEIR existence made Humanity afraid because they are DIFFERENT. Especially within the history between humans and monsters, we humans were the ones who started the war because we fear Monsters' strength. They may have even hated the idea of monsters being the superior ones other than them. To turn them down just because they're MONSTERS is like racism don't you think so? Aren't you all better than that? All of you here are presidents of a country, a representative of your people. Shouldn't you all set a good example for them? You were all chosen to be president because people trusted and believed that you could make a difference to help grow the country. Wouldn't they be disappointed if they saw that you turned down someone because you hated--fear them? Especially those who didn't mind Monsterkind support them and are open-minded to them. I understand your concerns about them being hostile, however, you can rest assured that they are not. If they were, they would've started attacking already. They have magic after all and magic is powerful. Like in history books, with magic, a barrier to keep an entire race inside could be created. So attacking us would be easy but Monsters didn't do anything did they not? With that said, that is why I wanted to give them full rights to everything. They've already proven themselves to be qualified for their rights don't you think so?"

The whole conference room went silent yet again, many heads were dipped down, overcast in shame while Mr. Bates sputtered, eyes wide. He seemed to fall back to his seat with a 'thud' as he brought his head to his hands, elbows propping on the table, eyes still wide as a saucepan and mouth opened like a fly trap.

You've successfully broken him.

A lady in a black suit, Mrs. Rosella-if you remembered her name correctly, rose her hand hesitantly as if she was in middle school and you were the teacher, teaching a valuable lesson.

"E-Even if they do get their rights..many would still not agree to them and would continue their assault towards them. Where will they go then..? Almost every country has violent riots and hostile intent to Monsterkind.."

You hummed.

"From the reports of the violence and riots, Mr. Verner's country's would be the safest. Other than a word or two here an there, there aren't any riots nor ill intent that had been reported, so our biggest bet would be to have Monsters live in his country. Are you alright with that Mr. Verner..?"

"Not a problem Ms. (L/N). We should even have enough housing estate for them to move in."

You nodded as Mr. Verner smiled.

"Alright, it's settled then, Monsterkind will attain their full rights and will start living their lives in Mr. Verner's country. Are there any objections still?"

A wave of silence was met with your question before a hand was rose up.

You rose an eyebrow before nodding to Mr. Bates. He blankly stared at you, eyes hard.

" We still haven't discussed the full extent of these..Rights that they'll be getting."

Jeez, hasn't he getting enough?

"How so?"

"As I've stated previously, they have magic. To what extent are their magic capable of, we do not know. All we know is that these magical capabilities can and will affect our soul directly, and have the ability summon..things that science cannot explain theoretically. It would..be better to take precautions for the unforeseeable future, wouldn't it? You can't actually be allowing monsters to attack in self-defense with magic that could potentially kill humans right? What of the law then? Self-defense is one thing but how would that be judged if a monster went berserk and killed not only their attackers but bystanders as well? That goes without saying about human riots too."

Hm.

"If riots and fights are an issue, then having them live in Mr. Verner's country would be ideal for that threat."

Mr.Bates frowned in return.

"What would you do if they didn't want to migrate so far away from their initial home, let alone to another country, Judge? I'm sure there are a ridiculous amount of monsters that can't fit a damn plane with how heavy or big they are. We haven't seen them all yet. What of them then? Tell me, Miss Judge. If you're going to give rights to the monsters, give it right. Shouldn't you plan it out and make sure those rights cater perfectly to them rather than shoving human rights?"

Mr. Bates scoffed, rubbing his face as the conference room falls into complete and utter stunned silence, some representatives were sweating bullets from Mr. Bates' big mouth. Has he gone insane from his prior embarrassment?? Did he have some sort of a death wish to talk back to The Judge?? The representatives flickered their eyes at you and watched, nervous about what you'll do next. Were you mad? You were definitely livid, you must be. After all, The Judge's judgment is always correct and people aren't allowed to question it. Not to mention, you looked displeased. You had a frown and your eyebrows were knitted together in distaste. God, they were so going to die with this idiot Mr. Bates.

In reality, however, you kinda just blinked at him and thought about it a moment.

He did have a point. You suppose you never really thought of it carefully from all the excitement. You knew monsters wouldn't hurt a fly but you were the only one who knew that fully. People will be terrified regardless of whether you say yes or no. And now that you think about it, you haven't really touched on the topic of the souls needed to break the barrier yet. God, you really need to get your head out of the gutter and into the game as The Judge now. There are important lives at stake now and you don't want anything to happen to them. You'll really have to tread carefully from now on and observe as your job title entails you to. You can't let your biasness and endearment for the monsters ruin your judgment. That'd be a pretty shitty thing to happen to The Judge after all. So you think of a solution to things. Though, it's quite clear what needs to be done.

You were a little dumbfounded about Mr. Bates sudden change of heart, however. You thought he'd be senseless about the whole ordeal after his anger rampage at the start of the meeting. You suppose he has a heart of sorts after all. If not maybe a heart of justice towards law and order. You looked around the room to observe the different expressions around the room. It doesn't seem that all are well with Mr. Bates words and ignorance. If looks could kill, he'd be a dead man walking. Fortunately, Mr. Verner and the more open-minded representative had given considerable about of thought into it and seemed to agree on the things pointed out by Mr. Bates.

"..Judge, wouldn't it be more considerable to discuss the type of rights that would be well suited to the monsters together with their representatives in detail?"

Eyes both hostile and passive shifted to Mrs. Rosella, boring holes into her after speaking out on her suggestion. She smiled weakly at you, trying to ignore all the stares pointed at her. You nodded at her reassuringly.

"That is palatable. We can set up another conference meeting in a week or two, this time together with the King of monsters and other represented monster representative that they have to discuss the rights that they shall want and receive in full details. However, for the time being, they shall be given the same rights as humans with a restrictive hold against their magic usage unless in an emergency situation."

The room's attention was snapped back at you, focusing and consuming your words thoroughly.

"Would that be an issue for any of you?"

A various round of 'no's and the shake of heads answered.

"Alright, the representatives of Monsterkind will be requested to attend the next international conference meeting and shall be provided the necessary necessity to be able to attend the said conference. Do anyone else have any other fears, lingering doubts or objections?"

Mr. Bates rose his hand once more.

"I'll agree on one condition."

You were exasperated. Really????

"Which is?"

The kindness, most sincere smile you've ever seen from him rose from the man's lips. What-

"For you to continue your passions and allow me to help you with handling the money needed to set everything up for the monsters, both for the next conference and after."

You blinked once, twice, before huffing breath and pinching the bridge of your nose, chuckling a little. You agreed with the condition.

What the hell man?

You suppose not everyone is a bad person, even if their attitude says otherwise.

You continued to sit in the conference room despite the end of the meeting. Books and papers still placed neatly around the conference table, not a single one touched after the discussion had ended. Every international president gave you a polite goodbye and bows before leaving the room in preparation to head back to their country to settle the final decisions made within the conference. The only ones left in the conference room were Mr. Verner, Mr. Bates, Ameris and yourself. Ameris had come walking after the conference had ended, catching enough information and understand what had gone down from the flustered and shy expression every president had walking out of the room. She gave you a friendly pat on the back, a wide toothy grin plastered on her face. You smile back.

"So what's next Miss Judge?"

You made a face at her.

"Please don't call me that."

She winked at you to which you scoffed.

"We'll need preparations. We'll need to start arranging a day and time to bring them here, arrange whom their flight pilot will be and plane that'll be used to bring them here. I'm sure the King and ex-Queen will be on board so we'll need a suitable plane to be able to carry them. I don't want some racist pilot trying to kill them by plummeting them down to the ground with the plane. We'll also need to arrange which hotels they'll be staying before the conference and the neighborhood and houses or apartments they'll live in if they were to agree to stay in our country. I don't want them to be bombarded with graffiti and hate nor do I want their living conditions to be bad."

"I..think you're overthinking it (Y/N)..."

"I am totally not, I just want them to be safe."

She rolled her eyes.

"Sure you do."

You pouted at Ameris.

You truly meant what you've said. Thinking back to the conference meeting, you personally weren't sure what would've happened if you weren't around to handle the proceedings and final decisions. With Mr. Bates rage against monsters and the fear of magical beings right up the alley of it all-you can't tell whether things would've ended well. It could be possible that without your guidance judgments, monsters would've well been in a shitter hole, riots could've roared and humanity would split between those that support monsters and those that don't-or it could be worse. They could've been enslaved or killed upon arriving on the surface, maybe even captured to be an experiment on to figure their inner workings? You shivered at the thought.

Perhaps Ameris was right; You're probably overthinking it.

A chuckle to your right made you turn to Mr. Bates.

"I'm glad you're back and kicking well, Miss Judge."

"I'm glad you're not being an asshole anymore. And stop calling me that."

Mr. Bates gave a short laugh, along with Mr. Verner.

"Ah yes, I do apologize for that. I wanted to test you and your judgments. I didn't want those kind souls to get harmed."

Really now? You were quite skeptical. His previous actions during the conference had said otherwise. Not to mention, a whole 180-degree switch of a personality? That definitely didn't set up any warning flags at all nor was it unsettling at all. Nope.

None.

Mr. Verner sensed your discomfort and gave a pat to your head, ruffling them and chuckling a bit. You swat his hand away. You weren't a kid dammit.

"What Mr. Bates said is true dear (Y/N), those Monsters did resurface from his country after all, why would he lie?"

Your face scrunches up, making Mr. Verner and Mr. Bates laugh.

"You know that doesn't make sense."

"Don't worry, Bates and I have been friends since we were just young boys, he tends to be bad-tempered but he doesn't have any ill will, quite rather the opposite really."

"It makes you wonder sometimes huh? That judging just through their actions isn't enough, their background sometimes plays a huge role as well. Remember that well alright young one?"

Mr. Bates chirped in, making your lips tug downwards a little. You trusted Mr. Verner. He had been with you since day one being The Judge, trustworthy and loyal to you despite his old age. He holds as many secrets as Ameris did for you even when you had strayed away from your original goal. You were grateful for him. Mr. Bates, however, was a different story itself. You didn't particularly know him personally even though you knew he is Mr. Verner's childhood friend. The only time you did interact properly was during business hours between international disputes and negotiation. What you know, however, was that his justice for the right was insanely high. He'd do anything to make sure justice prevail in law and order, even if he had to get his hands dirty personally; Janus-faced and subversive. That sort of slant would bode well for both monsters and you for a while. You do wonder when that'll ultimately screw monsters over too, however. It's a double-edged sword against monsters.

Still, you were hesitant to believe, you didn't want to fuck this up. But sensing no phenomenal touch or shift in the air, you sighed, nodding towards the two of them in acknowledgment. You'll just observe for now even though they were telling the truth. Mr. Bates chuckled once more, understanding your doubt. He wasn't going to push it and you were glad for that.

Finally, Mr. Bates bid the three of you farewell, saying that he'll need to head back to his own country to inform the monsters of the decision made at the brief conference. As his figure started to grow small, he paused, looking up to the ceiling in thought.

"Oh, I almost forgot."

He turned back towards you, giving you a warm smile on his wrinkled face, a mischievous twinkle in his eyes.

"Welcome back (Y/N)."

 You feel your shadow crawling on your back.

Chapter Text

Preparation for monsters' representatives' arrival took way longer than you've originally expected. It took almost a whole month to properly settle the things needed to cater to their arrival. You thought that with the approval of equal rights between humans and monsters would speed up the integration amongst the two species.

Haha, nope.

News about monsters gaining full rights within the first international conference crisis discussion spread about like wildfire. Everyone was shooked, but not as shooked as Monsterkind. It took a while to process what had occurred. However, as soon as everything had settled down and their gears started to move again, they jumped for joy, celebrating their achievements and freedom. They felt over-exuberant, over the moon (not that they knew what that means), screaming and crying in pure bliss. Some even started to kiss the floor and thanked the stars for not losing hope and continued to live. Humans who supported the monster race celebrated as well, congratulating them for finally becoming one of them. For three whole days, from morning to night, monsters and humans were bonded well over the victorious battle against human law. They ate, cooked, party and repeated the cycle till everyone dropped to the ground, blackout drunk. But that didn't matter and everyone laughed it off because hey, they won!

Of course, things weren't that easy, however. While monster and pro-monster humans went out celebrating, things turned for the worst with the world's state amongst the antis. The news caused an uproar between them, protesters grew angrier and riots became more hostile. Protesters started to aggressively harass monster supporting groups with whatever they had in their arsenal, be it mentally, physically or both. To make matters worse, people started to get murdered because of it. The crime rate increased drastically and heavily armed police forces had to be sent out to deal with them. But it wasn't enough.

The monsters' celebrations were unfortunately abruptly canceled and they had to be ushered and quarantined within Mount. Ebott's region in order to prevent any harm towards them under your command. Mr. Bates was more than happy to provide temporary tents and settlements for the monsters to rest and settle in around the mountain. Hell, he was more than happy to incline special task forces to protect them from danger.

Almost too happy it seems.

You had to put a foot down when he offered to... 'personally handle' the rioters and murders within the country for the monsters. It wouldn't put monsters in a good light if he had done that. No, that'll just show people the government's favoritism towards Monsterkind. In turn, further fueling the hatred and fear towards them and increase the chances of a government overhaul. You appreciated his efforts though, you didn't want humans to find out that monsters are actually very vulnerable to intent and killing them would be an easy feat to do. That'll just fuel their desire to attack them further and you didn't want that to happen under any circumstances.

You sighed, rubbing your throbbing temples as you remembered what you had to do to extinguish the hostile mob. The papers in your hand fluttered to the ground but you didn't let that bother you for now. You adjusted your sitting position within your cluttered home office, sliding down your swivel chair and propping your legs up against the office table in front of you.

Everyone feared The Judge. That, was a fact. And from what Mr. Verner had expressed to you after the conference meeting, the number of crimes had increased after you were pronounced 'dead/MIA'. Once more, corrupted dictators and businessmen had an easier time escaping from their crimes, landing them scot-free of their sins. Those who were wealthy enough were able to afford any type of shady business without being detected under the radar of the police.

Christ all mighty.

What were you? Fucking god??

A bitter laugh escapes your mouth as you stood up from your chair, pulling your phone out from your pocket.

You hated how easy it was when you were the Judge. Everything seems to just resolve by itself once the Judge was involved. Poof. Gone, just like magic.

Irony.

Once you've revealed your existence to the world again, people immediately came forward to confess their sins in the hopes that they wouldn't get as severe as a judgment from you. They didn't even bother to check whether news of your reappearance was fake-they couldn't. Even if the announcement was merely on ink and paper, spoken in whispers or on television, they didn't dare to double-check carefully. Everyone knows the unspoken rule of hoaxes against your existence.

No one can fake or mimic you. People have tried, oh they tried hard indeed and the consequences were your wrath. No one did it ever again, even after your deathbed.

Hostile protesters cried, begged to be forgiven and vowed never to touch a soul again. They were willing to pay for those who have gotten injured and serve any type of community service to redeem themselves. Some even offered their life to the monsters as tribute. Murders cowered in fear of The Judge, sputtering and groveling their head deep against the ground, some went insane and committed suicide to escape your judgments.

On the other end of the spectrum, however, pro-monsters humans cheered at your return. 

Finally, they said, congratulating monsters for their immense luck. Of course, monsters were highly confused on just who this Judge was. Nevertheless, they understood that The Judge was a person of high authority to be able to make sinners cry, so they were eternally grateful to have you on their side.

You sighed again. You feel pitiful for yourself.

Being the ultimate Judge is an extraordinary gift to have. You could wrong a person and right another with just a flick of a finger. Exaggerated as it may be, many would give their soul up to the devil for it. But for you? It was a curse. People were scared of you. You may use it for the greater good--making the world a better place to live in, even if it's just a little, but what's so damn great about a gift that inflicts fear upon those you use it for to protect?  To make people afraid of the greater good? That's just plain 'ole communism at this point.

Look at where that got Stalin at.

You unlocked your phone with a clean swipe of the thumb, fishing out the contact list before tapping your desired contact number.

Well whatever, what's done is done. You just hope things will proceed smoother moving forth. Knowing your luck, however, it'll probably hit rock bottom before you know it.

*Ring... Ring...

*Ring... Ring..

*Ring- click.

"y'eeeeellllo..?"

"Don?"

 A rustle of fabric could be heard behind the receiver. A grunt and some shuffling could be heard before a gruff, sleep-induced voice spoke.

"Heeeey (Y/N), I haven't heard from you for a long while! How've you been? Hm? How's everything going out for you?"

You smiled into the receiver.

Ah good old Donavon. Even after all these years, he doesn't seem to ever change. You chuckled, walking out of your office room and towards your bedroom. You needed a change of clothes before heading out of your house.

"I've..been better but hey, at least things seem to be going quite smoothly. How about you?"

Another rustle and a grunt could be heard.

"Oh you know, same old piloting, same old flying planes. It's awesome, but it does get tiresome sometimes. It seems that it'll be interesting today, however."

"Oh? And why is that? Ameris finally confessing her undying love for you? Did you get laid? Is that why I'm hearing all those fabric rustlings from your end?"

You raised an eyebrow, mocking him with a teasing grin. You knew where the conversation was headed easily. He loves boasting his feats and achievements to you and you were more than happy to play along with him, so long as he kept it in moderation of course. Switching your call to speaker mode, you placed your phone onto the dresser beside your bedroom closet before proceeding to open it to find an outfit to wear for today. Perhaps some warm-colored clothing would be a good choice for your outfit for today? You wanted to give a good first impression without giving out anything. Or perhaps it'll be better to sit back and observe them? Black would be the obvious choice if that were the case.

You shook your head, pulling out of your thoughts when a howl of laughter came tumbling from your phone. What a goofball.

"Pfffft..oh man you're sure great with horrible jokes. But no, instead, she, as the assistant of the president requested for me, the greatest and most famous pilot in the world, to fly Monsterkind over to our country!"

You laughed a little at Donovan's confidence. You swear you could just hear him just standing around in his apartment, arms high and posing like a hero of sorts.

"Did she worded it that way? Or did you improvise and, improve her wording, oh my great lord?"

"Pshhhhh, she totally worded it that way, don't question your sire."

You snorted, finally deciding to just put on a dark blue blouse and black long cargo pants over your binder, along with your usual black Judge jacket. Ah what the hell, observe from a distance as the Judge it is then.

"My apologise sir."

Donavon chuckled.

"Anyways..yeah, Monsterkind. I finally get to meet more awesome people like me. Ain't that great?"

You hooked on your black belt, jingling it a bit to adjust it against your abdomen snugly before heading to the dresser to braid your hair into a crown. You didn't want your hair to get in the way if anything were to happen during your first encounter with the monsters, nor reveal what you looked like under the hood when you guide them to their destination.

"Aye."

"Imma go get ready to fly them over then. It'll take about two days to fly there and back with them aboard, so I'll need my coffee, badly."

You hummed, making the last few touches on your hair before looking at yourself in the mirror, smiling experimentally. You suppose you look a tad bit healthier than you did a month ago when you were on the ledge. Your skin wasn't ghostly pale and had a brighter flush with the better circulation of blood after being out and about to prepare for the monsters' representatives to arrive. You were eating more so your cheekbones weren't as visible as before despite the dark circle under your eyes. But it was getting better, you've been sleeping more. Your eyes were..brighter, at least you hope they were. You can't really tell but you do feel lighter moving about without the constant cooing from the voices at the back of your mind.

Yeah.

Despite everything, you're still you.

There was a slight shuffle from your speaker before silence rang. You could hear Donovan parting his lips hesitantly.

"..Hey (Y/n)? Why'd you suddenly call me after all these years? You aren't the type to call people for idle talk you know."

You paused, staring at the phone for a bit.

Why did you call him?

Your eyes flickered towards the mirror again to stare at yourself, stare into your eyes-no, soul.

You missed him.

You missed talking to Donovan, you missed talking to everyone. You want to see everyone again.

"(Y/N)?"

You snapped out of your trance and shook your head.

Enough of that.

Flipping your hood over, you stood up. Grabbing your phone and switching it back to call, you head towards the entrance door to the apartment where the shoe rack were to grab your combat boots. You answered Donavon with a strained smile.

"Eh, nothing, just making sure you knew that you needed to fly the monsters over. I am The Judge after all, 'have to make sure everything goes smoothly."

It wasn't the truth but it wasn't a lie either. You did need to check whether Donovan knew he had to pick up the monsters as soon as possible. The only difference is that you didn't actually need to personally check with him about it. Ameris could do that for you like all the other preparations needed for the monsters. Donovan didn't need to know about that though, and it's a damn good valid reason for you to use as a get out of free jail card. That doesn't excuse you excessive worry for monsters though and you're low key glad you could check with Donovan directly instead of hearing Ameris conveying the results of it all. You didn't want to royally fuck this up for anyone for any parties involved. You eased up a bit afterwards. Donavon hummed thoughtfully.

"True that. Well, you've accomplished your mission! Bah-bah!"

You smiled a bit but other than that kept quiet.

"Well, I'll talk to you at another time alright? We're friends after all. Cya, Judge."

With that, the called ended and you were left standing alone at your doorstep, clutching your phone tightly in your hands. Your heart squeezed and ache.

Sighing, you went back into your office to pick up a few of scattered papers on the floor and placed them onto the table, folding and pocketing a single document into your jacket before heading out to the apartment door once more, wearing your boots. Tapping the tip of your boots against the marble floor for adjustment, you walked out of your apartment, making a beeline toward the taxi stand near your complex after bowing gently at your door, bidding the things in your home a small farewell. Your shadow hovered behind you, supporting you the entire walk towards the taxi stand. You smile a little and thanked them quietly.

Time for the second round of Judgement to be held.

Your shadow silently supported your heavy heart.

The journey to the airport was to say the very least, eventful.

Flagging down a taxi at a taxi stand had never been so difficult in your entire life. Every single time you could see a taxi heading towards your direction and tried to wave it down, the sight of you seemed to have magically disappeared from their peripheral view. They would drive pass and continue to be on their merry way to god knows where. It got to the point where you just stood there, arms out, sore, for two whole hours, just trying to flag a cab down. You sighed in frustration.

Eventually, you had to call Ameris to pick you up from your house due to, unreasonably blind people-much to her displeasure. She had been waiting for you at the airport the whole time, worried sick as to why you weren't showing up only to find out that you've got ditched by, and you quote, 'old men driving something out of a 1900s movie'. You chuckled at that.

She was even more irked upon arrival, glaring heatedly at you. Couldn't really blame her for that really. Whilst waiting for her, you had taken it upon yourself to amuse yourself and anyone that walked passed you by climbing onto the small shelter that the taxi stand provided, dangling upside down at the edge of it while sucking on a lollipop, a GameBoy in your hands. People around your vicinity would awkwardly stare as they walk past, whispering about the Judge while kids would stare at you in awe as their parents tried to block their view of you.

What were you, a vermin?

"Look mama! It the Judge! They're so cool!!"

You nodded (or nodded as well as you could upside down) at their comment in agreement. Hell yeah, you were.

When you finally noticed Ameris' stare, you merely give her a lazy wave and smile, uttering one sentence.

"Took you long enough RisRis."

If looks could kill, you'd be dismembered mess.

Ameris gave you a heavy lecture about your attitude and appearance within public view during the ride to the airport, differentiating on how people would look at you as The Judge. You just yawned, waving her off and continued playing Pokemon Pearl. Oh cool, you caught a Pikachu. Nice.

Ameris sighed. She knew you'd never listen to ramblings and lectures about formality or any sort of 'proper way' to act when you have a certain level of authority. You knew what it meant to be a Judge, you've been doing it for years but that doesn't mean you liked the inclination to act like one. You hated it. Plus, it wasn't as if anyone had ever seen your face before. Other than international leaders and selected personals, your facial feature was covered by both your hood and shadow during judgments and in the public, people only truly recognized The Judge through your iconic Judge jacket, not you.

So the next best thing Ameris could do to move on from the lecture was to just bombard you with the schedule and meeting requests from officials around the world. Discussion within those meetings varies from military weapon advancement, peace treaties between countries, to environmental and technology advancement. You just nodded your head in acknowledgment and listened, making mental notes and no comments until Ameris started to revise the final arrangements for the monsters' arrival one last time for you to hear.

"For the monsters' temporally living arrangements during their stay here, our friend Celest had picked out some good and private facilities around the country for them to move into. Don't worry though, they're relatively close to one another so monitoring their everyday activity is possible." Ameris reassured you. You blink, twisting your lips at her.

"Living arrangements? Aren't we placing them in hotels or motels? What happened to that?"

Ameris pressed her lips into a firmed line before explaining the situation.

Apparently, the word 'representatives' was too vague of a...position within the monster community. There were the Leaders of Monsterkind; Asgore and Toriel, Head of the Royal Guards; Undyne, Head Royal Scientist; Alphys, Leader of Snowdin's branch of Royal Guards; Papyrus, Mayor of Snowdin; Gift Bear, Caretaker of Waterfall; Gerson, War Veteran; Grillby, Entertainment Representative; Mettaton, Ambassador of Monsterkind; Frisk, and many, many more that you couldn't count. It means you wonder just how many titles they had underground, be it honorary or authority wise. You groaned into your hands, saving your game file before looking painfully at Ameris.

"Did you clear up the misunderstanding with them?"

Her apologetic look had said everything you needed to know.

"..How many of them are coming over for the conference then?"

Ameris looked up towards the car's ceiling and muttered a bit, her lips minimally opening and closing as she counted before replying you with a wince.

"...Thirty."

You sucked in a breath. Okay, thirty isn't that bad of a number to handle. Just one Ruin-sized population, no big deal.

"I mean thirty isn't much to find a hotel that could fit them all.. Unless, you're telling me that there's another issue regarding it."

Ameris mouth twitched into a nervous smile.

"Reporters and visitors."

You groaned loader, shoving your face into the rim of your jacket's hood. Of course it had to be reporters. They were always hounding your ass for questions, questions on your ability as the Judge, questions about your identity, questions on you. They wanted answers so that they can use it for their own causes, twist and tear apart what you've originally said into some new, unique or grotesque. They were the only people who never really got their ass handed to them despite multiple warnings. They were needed in this world as a news source, they were the media after all. And as if realizing that, they just kept pestering and pestering, like pests. God, were they annoying. You've learned to just ignore and move along with your life and fortunately, that made reporters chase you lesser. But with monsters around now? They have something better to target their grubby hands on.

It wasn't as if you could refuse or move them to another hotel as well. Since the monsters had intrigued Humankind, many had booked hotel rooms in the country just to see and ogle at them during their stay in the country. You doubt there were any empty hotel rooms available now. If not, it wouldn't have been an issue for Ameris to figure and rearrange for the monsters to stay.

Ah what the hell.

"Alright. Private apartments and condo it is then. What of the King and Ex-queen's housing arrangement specifically then? Where have you placed them to stay? Especially the Royal crew."

"Ah, I was waiting for you to ask me that, they will be living in close proximity with you. I assume you'll want to watch them over personally, am I right?"

You nodded and pondered over some things.

"Apartment or condominium?"

"Condominium of course. We don't want reporters to swarm them and your home now do we, Judge?"

You gave a little toothy scowl at Ameris.

"Don't call me that. And make sure that they'll be able to live as near as possible to me. I'll keep an eye on them."

Ameris nodded swiftly and scribbled onto a small book.

"Oh, and cancel any monitoring system for the monsters. They won't be monitored as far as I'm concerned."

Ameris looked up at you.

"Why not?"

"I trust that they won't be doing anything stupid while they're here. They've already been given full rights almost immediately after their resurface, albeit the finer details, so I doubt that they would want to mess that up. Not to mention, they'll be landing in a country where there's a person hold a high enough authority to shut anyone up if they ever crossed them. I don' think they would want to mess too much."

Ameris merely nodded in agreement and scribbled onto her book once again before speaking up.

"Alright. Other than that, businesses and job openings will be tougher to sort out but I'll take that you got that handled once the final conference is over?"

You nodded, remembering some of the documents you had still left scattered on your personal office's floor. Whoops.

"Okay, good. Discussion against magic usage in detail with the King and Queen will be held two days from now, as well as Monster Courts and how their rights shall be altered to suit them fully. Will you be attending it or will you just let the other governmental officials deal with it?"

You breathed out your nose, sinking further into the leather seat of Ameris' car. Although you would absolutely love to skip this bullshit political meeting against dumb rights once again, you have to ensure that everything went smoothly for the monsters. You have to keep Mr. Bates from going overboard for monsters once again and cease any disgruntle disapproval from other international leaders. So you sighed, scratching the back of your head as you readjust yourself in your seat.

"Yeah, I'll be attending it. Just make sure that ALL the Royal crew is there. I want everyone's opinion on the rights of magic and blah blah."

Ameris shook her head lightly and smile at you, before refocusing her attention back at the small book in her hands, noting down more details from your conversations. A bead of silence ran through the car before you spoke up again, remembering one more important detail needed to be executed during the monsters' arrival.

"Oh right, any welcoming plans for the monsters when they touch down?"

"Uh, what?"

You've never facepalmed with your GameBoy that hard in your entire life.

You think you heard it crack.

Chapter Text

You arrived at the airport with a throbbing forehead, groaning in frustration. Ameris apologized to you profusely, guilty that she hadn't thought about how the country would execute welcoming the monsters over to our territory. She had assumed that you had taken it upon yourself to arrange the needed preparation for it. She had assumed right. You would've. If it wasn't that fact it had slipped your mind as well. So here the two of you were, distressed as hell out of your minds while your driver tried to treat your wound and calm Ameris down. It took a while but eventually, both of you did calm down, though the two of you couldn't shake off the awkward silence that followed suit. Between a dejected-looking assistance and a hunched over Judge, the silence was heavy. Fortunately, Ameris save the moment by questioning your next plan of action.

"So..what are we gonna do?"

You hummed softly, happy to have the silence gone as you sat back up properly, ignoring the pain against your forehead.

You wanted to welcome the monsters warmly into the country but a party wouldn't suffice. You didn't know how'd they react to that. Perhaps a strong greeting from the president and the Judge together? No, that might intimate them a little too much, especially if...

You blinked, thoughts trailing off as you realized you've never checked the most important thing against them.

"Wring them with the usual bait I use with criminals. I want to see how they'll react to it."

Ameris looked at you as if you've grown another head, her mouth gaped wide open for everyone to see her Uvula. You gave her a lopsided grin under your hood and exited the car causally, thanking the driver for both driving and treating your forehead. Ameris followed suit, stumbling out of the private car with her belongings.

"A-are you kidding me?? While you did give your permission for their rights for everything, the thorough details of the usage of magic within the country has yet to be determined with the King and Queen of Monsters! What are you trying to do? What happened to welcoming them warmly?? Do you want to get killed??!"

You glanced back at Ameris nonchalantly as she trudged behind you, appalled. You rolled the already dissolved lollipop stick in your mouth, biting and chewing against the hardness of it.

"Oh you know, the usual, being an idiot."

Ameris roughly sighed. You chuckled in return.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine. Have I ever been injured from the plan before?"

Ameris ambivalently shook her head, sighing again.

"No... Just..just be careful alright?"

You smiled at Ameris, patting her head. She playfully clicked her tongue at you, swatting your hand away. You laughed.

"I will, just follow through the plan. I need to see whether.."

Whether genocide had transpired.

"..whether they are, oh so worthy of your time my mistress?"

Ameris mockingly bowed down to you, sticking out her feet to give you a curtsy toed genuflect. You laughed at her antics. Twirling to the side lazily, you pull your hood down tighter and lolled your head to the side to face her. Closing one eye with a grin, you replied back with your lollipop flavor.

"Ya coca bet it."

Ameris groaned.

"Out of all the days, time, hours, minutes, and seconds, it had to be right now huh?"

You shrugged, skiing to a halt in front of the airport's entrance. You whistled. Looking past the airport entrance, you could see many, many, people gathering within the terminal, clattering and chattering away excitedly. You could even see children excitedly running around, begging their parents to move around with them.

"Whoooo boy, is the cat out of the bag already Ris?"

She shrugged, seemingly not surprised if that were the case.

"Seems like it. With reporters up and about, I expected more to be honest. That, or the influx of people was due to the new terminal's grand opening."

You hummed, scanning the crowd from the outside.

Your country had three different connecting terminals, each with its own entertainment facilities of different themes to cater to arriving and leaving passengers. The fourth and upcoming terminal was already built and ready to open to the public. It's just a coincidence that its opening date matched up to the monsters' arrival. But it wasn't a big issue really; nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary so far. You don't see any iffy looking people standing about, waiting. Just a constant movement of the crowd, most of which you noticed heading towards the new terminal to explore. Even those that stuck around were just generally excited and curious, talking about animatedly about things you can't really hear from outside. You don't see any excessive amount of paparazzi wandering around as well, only what looks like a few journalists with mini hand-held books here and there, scribbling furiously into it. You suppose security wasn't that bad here. That, or they figured that they could get more information during the monster conference if they behaved well during the landing. You sighed inwardly at the thought, but nevertheless, grinned. This was perfect for the plan to run smoothly.

"Do you wanna switch up the plan?"

You shook your head.

"Nah, stick with it. In fact, this'll be perfect. Just call in for back up from that special police unit to ensure no chaotic dispute will breakout on scene."

You winked at your friend.

"Zenon's squad."

Ameris started to sputter and blush, smacking onto your shoulder before puffing out her cheeks like a squirrel's. You can't help but laugh at her embarrassment. It was always such a tease to mention her boyfriend during official business hours. Her reactions were the best. You stick your tongue out her and smiled smugly. She returned a toothy grin in return. Ameris then excused herself from your side to make a call to her partner, dialing his number as she walked away to privately talk to him. You shook your head and smiled warmly at her retreating figure.

Ah couples, always so cute together to you.

Seeing Ameris laugh happily into her phone made your smile slip however, it reminded you too painfully of your previous love. You clenched your fist softly as your eyes started to feel moist. Your heart ached and twisted painfully. How foolish if you to fall for someone destined to death. And yet, you couldn't help it. You breathed out a shaky breath as bittersweet memories flooded back into your mind, reminding you of the wonderful times and the horrible last days you had with him. Even after all these years, you still regret not being able to help him out of it. You ached badly.

You feel your guilt and sorrow crawling within you.

Y̷̞̲͎̦͉̔͊͋̏̉ö̴̥̤́͛ű̴͔̳̲̭̬̞̤͋́̇̏͝ ̷̘͇̖̫̬̟́͗̽̇͠f̵̙͚̦̫͈̬̪̆̂͊e̷̟͍̼̟̔̑̓͛͒̚͝ė̵̥̯̗̣̩̹͙̖́́͐͘ͅl̸̡̘̪̠͕͔͔͂͌̓͗̽͝͝͝ ̴͖̖̟͌̓̇̒̓͊̏͘̚͜͝d̴̠̉̽͆̒͌̈́̓̏͝ͅe̷͔͎̜̎̎̓͆͝a̸͙̣̲͓̝̳̖̿̐͌̋̆̈́̕̕͜t̶̨̝̰̻̜̭̺̱͈͛̔̏͂h̶͚͉̋̓̄̆͋̆̂͘͝ ̴̗̑͒̇̈͊̕c̷̨̧̙̲͇̲̪͊̑̓r̷̨̢̡̗͒a̵̡̻͔̲̞̪͙͔̿̓͛͌̊w̴͉̤̉̈́l̷̟̙̊̋͛͛̏̊̇͠͠i̶̧̮̭̥̠͔͂̕ņ̵̡͍̭̰̰̱̣͗̊̓͐͆̓̒̄̓͜ͅg̵̲̟̰̩̻͚̮̭͍̓ ̸̧̨̢͈̗̱̻̪̖̑̅̃̎̔̕̚͝u̶̢͂̓̉̌̾͋̍͠p̷̻̗͖̃̏́̏̌͝ ̷͔̤͈̞̝̦̖͝y̷̡̖̬̩̻̪̫͍̑̃̆ö̸̳̘ṳ̷̧̡͙̣̺̲̐͑̿ř̸̢̯̘̼̜̬̭͔̪̈̀͝ ̵̪̞̩̦̓b̷̻̝̤̋ą̵̛͗̉́̂͌͋̚č̵̪͈͒͛̈́̇͠k̴͔̞̻̇̑͗̒̅͝.̵̨̞̯̠̖̗̝͇̬̟͗͑

You blinked, feeling your shadow warped around you comfortingly. It clucked and whined against your skin, caressing and coaxing you out of your thoughts. You closed your eyes and allowed it to wrap around you tighter, easing into its cool temperature and relaxing. It purred and chirped into your ears in return, seeping itself into your heart to null your ache and cover it. You sighed, shoulders slacking from the sensation. Allowing your vision to return once again after a second more, you looked around to assess your surroundings. Ameris was still on her phone with Zenon and the crowd in the terminal hasn't changed since your little episode. Huh.

You must've blackouted for a second there.

"Well I suppose, thinking about it wouldn't really help with anything huh?"

Your shadow rumbled, tickling the base of your skull. You lightly chuckled.

Taking one last glance at Ameris, you pulled your hood down tighter once again and walked into the terminal.

The start of plan 'Bait', has begun.

"SANS? BROTHER! WHAT IS THAT WHITE FLUFFY LOOKING THING?? IS THAT FLUFFY BUNNY?!"

A tall, lengthy skeleton gasped in excitement and awe, his eyes sparkled with literal stars as he pressed his red gloved hands and cheekbones against the airplane's cool windowpane, squealing. Unbeknownst to him, the red scarf that he spotted around his neck had smacked directly into the face of a smaller skeleton sitting beside him from his glee. The smaller skeleton paid no mind to the scarf however and just chuckled, happy to watch the taller skeleton fawn over the white translucent objects in the sky that he knows them as, 'clouds'. An easy smile stretched across his face.

"IS THAT FLUFFY BUNNY FROM 'FLUFFY BUNNY' YOU TELL ME EVERY NIGHT??!"

Sans looked at his brother in the eye socket with hidden mirth, the smile on his skull widening.

"guess you cloud say that fluffy bunny was dying to see you papyrus."

"OH MY GOD SANS."

Sans chuckled, enjoying Papyrus' exasperated reaction while the other monsters sitting around them were considerably less so at their bickering. They didn't dislike the skeleton brothers. Rather, they loved the two siblings to bits. They loved Sans' humor as well, his jokes and puns were hilarious. But at this moment? It made every single passenger on the plane uncomfortable, almost painfully so. As soon as the joke sank in, those who had overheard were uneasy. Some started at him worried, some anxious. 'Tense' was the word to describe the atmosphere within the cabin as everyone stopped and just stared at him. It was fortunate that Papyrus didn't notice the tension, managing to diffuse it by lecturing Sans and his incompetent puns and relieving the monsters of the pressure as they awkwardly went back to their previous activity.

"Fucking trashbag lost his shit."

Sitting diagonally across the two skeletons was a child in a purple striped blue sweater with messy dark brown bob-cut hair. They frowned down at their yellow potted friend, disapproving the cuss words used. Wagging their index finger and clicking their tongue at their friend, they softly spoke to him.

"Flowey.."

The potted plant growled at the child back.

"Don't 'Flowey' me, Frisk. That bag of bones has been agitated and insufferable ever since we've reached the surface, especially when we weren't freaking mowed down like insects like the other times we had resurfaced to the surface! Hell, he even tried to kill you when we all found out that us monsters, got our bloody rights! You were lucky that Toriel and that damn blue fish was just around the corner. You'd be a bag of flesh by the time I actually had found help. Your. fucking. welcome."

Frisk sighed, sneaking a quick glance at Sans. He was too preoccupied messing with Papyrus to noticed their glance but a chill ran down their spine nevertheless as they continued to look at him. Flowey noticed Frisk's stare and scoffed loudly.

"Not to mention, you and I both know that this shouldn't have happened. And yet look where we are! Being carried away to god knows where, never to see that damn mountain again."

Flowey proceeded to smirk, his face distorting into an evil grin.

"Who knows where we're being taken. Maybe that stupid rights announcement was a lie, maybe it's all talk but no action, maybe we're being taken in for experiments, as guinea pigs, never to see the sunlight again as we get tortured over and over again. Didn't I say already? On the surface, there's so many more 'me's."

Flowey laughed evilly, bobbing his head to emphasis the threat. Frisk merely gave him a small smile however, patting the petals of his head, cutting his laugh short and throwing his threat over their heads. Frisk couldn't help but let their mind drift off deep into their own thoughts as they hear Flowey start to grumble and mutter curses and swears though. They couldn't help but somewhat agree with what Flowey had mentioned.

The timeline had changed. The 'true happy ending' of the pacifist route has changed. It wasn't as if Frisk had never done a reset or a true reset before. In fact, he had done it multiple times just to see the 'what ifs' of the underground, find all the secrets and mystery items Frisk could ever done. Even..

Frisk shook their head.

It wasn't their first nor second time doing a true reset because of a non-ideal situation that they forced into. Everyone, including Frisk themselves, were almost murdered on the spot after they've stepped foot out onto the surface to relish the sun's rays. Even as Frisk tried everything they could to prevent, as Flowey kindly quoted, 'mowed down' in every reset, nothing had worked. From redirecting everyone to walk another path, or convince their friends to stay in the underground for another few more minutes, hours, days, weeks, months-nothing changed. They would always get killed, either one way or another. Frisk couldn't even count the number of times they had reset to try to prevent it. Tenths? Hundreds? Thousands?? Frisk couldn't remember anymore. All they could remember was watching their friends-family get murdered in front of them before they themselves, were stabbed multiple times before getting shot in the head by a bullet. They've watched Alphys being protected by Undyne from all the harm, only to get caught in the fray of fire and dying before Undyne followed suit in guilt, Sans grieving over his dusting brother as those..those monsters kicked and broke him under their foot, Asgore shielding and taking hits to protect Toriel and Frisk, only to have Toriel do the same when Asgore had died for them-it hurt Frisk bad, so badly.

Was it some sort of retribution? Some sort of cruel joke the universe's playing on them?

It was as if these murderers knew, knew about everything that Frisk did and made sure that they would never come out of the mountain alive, along with the friends they've gotten underground. But now, after deciding to do one absolute final true reset, even if they were killed or not-Frisk couldn't care anymore, it was the last time and if they died, that was it- out of the blue, they were spared of such a fate again and instead, were given everything, rights, a new place to stay--everything.

Frisk unconsciously started to tremble.

They were scared. Scared about the changes, scared for the future, scared that they now have hope for the future, only to have it trampled over and reset once more and endure those murderers again. Frisk didn't want that at all.

What scares them the most, was Sans. Like Flowey, Sans wasn't able to remember anything after a true reset. Maybe there'd be snippets here and there, deja vus, but nothing too extreme. However, this time round, for some reason, he remembers, along with Flowey. Suddenly, as if a switch has been flipped, he remembers everything that had occurred. Every death..murder..genocide, he remembers all of them, even all of his brother's murders by those people. Oh how Frisk wish that he didn't gain the ability to remember. Those memories, it broke Sans. Even if Papyrus was alive and well in this timeline, Sans still grieve the times he's died, how he couldn't save his own brother from death even within arms' reach. They're scared that he'll likely be the cause of another reset. A murderous rampage against humanity.

The gun was already well loaded and ready to shoot, it's just a matter of time before something or someone triggers Sans.

Frisk grabbed their head tightly.

They didn't want to see any more deaths, they didn't want to reset anymore, they didn't want to die--

"Frisk?? My child, what is the matter?? Are you alright? Oh no, you're crying!"

Frisk snapped out of their dark thoughts, tuning back into reality when a smooth and motherly voice called out to them. Lifting their head up slowly, they stared into the glistening crimson pink eyes of a goat lady, worry etched deep within those red orbs. Frisk couldn't help but choke on a sob, opening their trembling arms for a hug. Toriel had come back from the plane's small bathroom at the right timing. Frisk really needed a hug after all of that.

"Mom..."

Toriel immediately scooped Frisk into a hug, cooing and whispering comforting words towards them. Frisk hugged Toriel tightly, nuzzling their face into the fur of her neck.

"Is it about Sans, Frisk?"

Frisk merely shook their head a little and hugged Toriel tighter, as if she was going to disappear in front of them. Toriel sighed and sat back down at her seat, softly whispering sweet nothings as she rubbed Frisk's back, ignoring the fallen and hissing of Flowey. Frisk just hopes that nothing bad will happen once they've reached their destination. But from the uneasiness that they're feeling, they doubt so.

"We will soon be landing this aircraft at its destination. So please return to your seats and fasten your seat belts."

Frisk could almost hear the pilot's smirk behind the speaker.

"Welcome to the country of Judgement."

Despite having the Judge jacket on, you were still able to blend into the crowd and hide within the shadow of the terminal due to your lack of presence and courtesy, of the help of your shadow. Ameris had given you a heads up, texting and alerting you that the terminal was securely barricaded, every entrance and exits were heavily monitored by Zenon's police squad, ready and high alert of any suspicious movement. Good.

Within approximately five minutes, the monsters' aircraft should touch down and land.

You gave out a shaky breath and partially chuckled, leaning your back against the pillar you're standing under and looked up at your towering shadow. A toothy smirk danced on your lips as you see your shadow tremble and twitch with the same excitement you had bubbling under your chest at the moment. Its form twisted and turned shapelessly but if you squint and look carefully, you can roughly make out a ragged smile carved onto its features. It could be your imagination at play as well but that didn't matter right now.

This was it. It's almost time to finally see them.

You clenched a fist over where your heart is and lowered your head once more, feeling it beat as you closed your eyes. You were nervous, to be honest, you were playing so many different scenarios within your head. All the, 'What ifs'. Will it be alright? Do they look different from what you'll be expecting? How will they react to you? But even with all these uncertainties weighing within you, you were ready. 

A tingle shot down your spine, making you shiver in glee. A wide smile that rivaled a maniac crept up to your face.

Oh how you can't wait.

A crackle of static in the air abruptly halted your excitement from elevating further, however, causing you to tense up. Your shadow was restlessly wrapping you once more, its soft whispers rasping louder and louder into your ears as it gazed behind the pillar you leaned on, agitated and baleful. It made itself look bigger and manacing by stretching its body, reaching the ceiling and doubling its size to that of a bear. Wisps of black mist rose from its translucent body, evaporating into the air. Your shadow looked hungry. Its shapeless face distorted into a horrifying sharp maw, snarling and snapping its snout open and close aggressively. You frown at your shadow's reaction.

Something's wrong.

Your shadow hadn't been this aggressive in a long time. The only times that you've actually seen it looked so famished was when-

Oh.

Oh no.

Fuck this is bad.

Without a second of hesitation, you sprinted out of your hiding spot and into the crowd. You needed to get to the gate asap. You heard it before seeing it; a deafening scream echoed throughout the terminal, along with gasps and shriek of horror. You cussed under your breath and increased your speed, maneuvering your way to the front where the monsters came out. Reaching the edge of the crowd with your shadow ready to pounce on command, you couldn't help but stare in alarm at the scene unfolding in front of you. A small girl was laying on the ground in tears, frozen and frightened out of her wits. Her short brown hair was disheveled and her whole body was trembling in fear. Her eyes were blown wide like saucepans and the terror in her pupil was pronounced. The short blue skeleton in front of her had scared her thoroughly.

Now you'd be shaking your head disapprovingly (though you'd understand the fear) at the girl, laughing at the predicament if it was only the skeleton part of the monster that she fears for. It's something people will have to learn to get used to living with monsters now. However, this was a highly different circumstance, especially with the fucking huge ass goat skull floating right above said skeleton, a sizzling white orb threatening to spill from its mouth towards where the girl laid. Said skeleton was also leering at the girl vindictively, his left eye flaring bright blue with a tint of yellow.

God fucking Sans and his Gaster Blasters.

A cuss came flying out of your mouth and you bolted as fast as you could to the little girl. Ignoring the potent smell of ozone and the prickle of static on the end of your skin, you ski to a halt in between the crying child and the monster to pick her up. The girl automatically grabbed onto your jacket, choking out ugly sobs as she broke down, nuzzling into the crook of your neck. You sighed softly and cooed, rubbing circles on her back. Your heart seriously broke for her, any positive image on monsters must've been shattered. Poor kid. She didn't deserve that. A pit of anger boiled from within you and you turned to glare at the skeleton hard. What the hell were the rest of the monsters doing? Why the hell weren't they trying to stop this stupid bag of bones?? You flickered your eyes to the monsters behind Sans to scanned them, they seemed just as shocked and stunned as everyone else, legs rooted against the ground. You can't blame them if they hadn't expected Sans to act like how he did, but shouldn't they be trying to do something to stop the crisis at hand now? Sans seemed to falter upon seeing you but as quick as he did, he was leering at you instead. A growl escaped from his throat and readied his blasters again. Fucker tried to kill a kid, now he's growling and trying to kill at you?

Oh heeellll no.

Your shadow cackled maniacally behind you, increasing their size once more to heighten the pressure felt within the terminal. Their static whispers roared into the air, wrapping their black mists around your neck instinctively to protect, urging for you to dish out a well-deserved punishment. You complied, gladly with an anomalistically growl of your own. This shocked both humans and monsters watching the encounter and everything went silent. Even the blaster seemed to wither under your growl, whimpering and whining for you to forgive it and have mercy. Murmurs amongst the human crowd started quietly, whispers about seeing The Judge in action and how surprising it is to see. But that went over your head, you didn't care if they talked, you had a judgment to uphold.

With a sonorous sound, your voice rumbled once more. The tip of your tongue tingled against the words that tumbled from your mouth, the taste of it was intoxicating.

"Upon the witness of assault against an innocent child and The Judge themselves, I hereby judge you, Sans the Skeleton; guilty and are hereby forbidden to use any magic until decide otherwise."

The blaster disappeared from the air instantly, easing the magic pressure around the terminal into just a flicker. Sans' bright blue eye flickered in and out of existence before finally disappearing as well, along with his magical capabilities. He fell onto his butt, trembling and held his head, trying to summon his magic from his core but to no avail. You started him down as you felt him try to reactivate his magic over and over again, only to have it null against his body as your shadow ate up the excess magic he gave out, making sure it did its job nicely as the judgment giver. Sans' fixed grin fell pitifully and started back up at you in horror, disbelieved written over his white skull. You smirk down at him. Your shadow did a very well done and you were proud of it. It purred at your approval, subsiding and wrapping around you happily.

"BROTHER!"

"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO HIM, PUNK?!"

"Undyne, please, calm down!"

You clicked your tongue and look behind Sans. Another skeleton prior to Sans had tried to rush over to his side but had to abruptly stop to hold back a blue fish monster from lashing out with the help of a goat woman. The fish lady was snapping and baring her fangs at you, screaming at the top of her lungs for the skeleton to release her but the skeleton refused together with the goat lady, despite the visible concern they had for Sans. Ah, that's such a Papyrus, Undyne and Toriel thing to do. Undyne looked ready to pulverize you, so you suppose you were grateful that Papyrus and Toriel were stopping her from advancing further- not that it'll bother you though, you could well defend yourself. You thought better of it though and handed the girl you were still carrying to their parents (to which they thanked profusely) before hoisting Sans into your arms, bridle-styled towards where the monsters stood. You felt Sans silently flinch but said nothing.

"Nothing, nothing at all your honorable, Royal Guard. I merely did my job and upheld a judgment."

Undyne snarled at you once more, tugging against her boney and furry restraint. Your shadow growled quietly around you in retaliation.

"DON'T BULLSHIT ME! I CAN'T FEEL IT, SANS' MAGIC IS GONE!" You frowned, passing the shaking Sans to his brother. Papyrus immediately released Undyne, gingerly holding Sans to his chest as gently as he could. You would've melted and cooed at the brothers' affection but it wasn't the time and place at the moment, especially with a raging blue fish still trying to break free from Toriel. You never would've thought Toriel could rival Undyne's strength. Guess you had your answers now.

"Didn't I say it before? I was merely doing my job as The Judge. And I won't hesitate to judge you as I did to Sans if you continued your hostility, bud."

Undyne scowled but did nothing else and backed down, swatting away Toriel's grip to stand beside a small yellow dinosaur, Alphys. Well, that was a first, you didn't think she'd back off so quickly. You'd thought that with her natural aggressive behavior, it would've escalated and you'd have to judge her as well. You wouldn't want to waste more time within the public's view. You suppose her being docile for once was a good time. But who were you to judge? You chuckled.

"What's so fucking funny?"

"Undyne, language."

Toriel scolded before turning to you.

"My sincere apologies..."

"Call me Judge."

"-Judge, for both Sans and Undyne's behavior. I had not expected for Sans to..act that way. And now he's..well.." Toriel looked at the bundle of bones in Papyrus's arms warily.

Broken. You silently thought.

"I do suppose we can reach an agreement on releasing Sans'...magic bind?"

"Of course, your highness," You bowed at her, sneaking a glance at the rest of the monsters behind her. Undyne was still scowling at you but Alphys beside her, she seemed to be calming down. That was good. Asgore was preoccupied comforting Frisk in his arms as they held onto Flowey tightly in their arms. No wonder the big fella was so quiet this entire time. The rest of the monsters just seemed uncomfortable with the scene in front of them, either looking away or blatantly just ignoring, or trying to ignore it. Time to wrap this up as soon as possible.

"For now, please, let us not cause any more havoc and get going, shall we? We have a tight schedule to run through."

"Of course, Judge."

And with that, you herded the whole hoard of monsters, with their belongings, out of the airport where Ameris waited with Zenon and his squad.

You sighed inwardly.

Jesus riding a motorcycle into the sunset.

What a fucking first impression on both ends huh?

Chapter Text

Tears prickled the side of your eyes as pain coursed through your body from the torment that you were receiving. You struggled against your confinement.

"A-ah..staph..pweash.."

The mush of flesh sticking on you was pressed together harder, shooting yet again another jolt of pain down your spine. You whined pitifully at the hands of your torturer.

"Amurishhhh, eyh shaid ey wash sorreehhh! Staphh piching mehhh!"

Ameris sighed roughly, releasing your cheeks.

"Apologising isn't going to compensate what happened, (Y/N)."

You looked at your friend guiltily, rubbing your throbbing cheeks. You pouted.

"Would you rather have me left the kid there and let her die by that shit smiling skeleton, as well as further ruining monsters' reputation just because of one monster's dumb decision?"

Ameris crossed her arms below her chest, sitting tentatively in her own bubble within her seat. She looked out of the window, staring blankly at the blurry images passing by the car. She begins to speak again, a certain distance within her eyes.

"Of course not (Y/N)... But by pulling off that stunt just now, you've basically just exposed yourself directly under the eye of everyone. Albeit not fully, but still, partially."

She took in an unsteady breath, her voice wavering as she muttered her next words.

 "God, Who knows how many people are scheming to take you down now..?"

It was your turn to find the blurry images passing by the car window fascinating. You crossed your legs. Was that a flying dog?

"It doesn't matter, does it Ris? Even if they do manage to kill me," You paused, feeling your lips twitched, a sinister excitement bubbled in your chest. "I'll still come back."

One way or another.

The car suddenly felt a lot colder than it's supposed to and Ameris shuddered. The hair on the back of her neck stood and she knew not to say anything more. Instead, she just went back to looking out of the window, letting the silence fill in the car. You would've appreciated the silence more if your mind wasn't running a marathon at the moment. Your eyes narrowed blankly, allowing your brain to replay the confrontation in your head once more.

Plan 'Bait' was both a success and a failure. It was 'successful' because you had gotten the reaction you needed to confirm whether genocide had occurred. It was a 'failure' because, well, the little girl that got in front of the monsters wasn't the initial plan. Originally, the plan was to allow yourself to get caught amidst the monsters' path as they head out of the terminal, testing the waters with an..illusion so to say, to stimulate their reaction. It's hard to imagine that the child had 'accidentally' crossed path with the monsters, however. It's a bit harsh to think that way, sure, especially since she is a child but what are the chances of a kid with the exact hairstyle as Frisk, 'bumping' into the monsters when the crowd were clearly, already warned not to obstruct the monsters' way out of the gate?

Almost slim to none.

Not to mention, the girl had somehow managed to bump into the skeleton man himself; Sans. You doubt it's sheer luck. From what you've heard from Donovan during a private call after boarding the car, the skeleton brothers were seen walking behind the Royal ex-couple whilst Frisk and Flowely trailed beside them. Bumping into Sans individually would need precision and timing. A girl that age couldn't have that kind of grace and accuracy even if they had trained their whole life. Furthermore, wouldn't have Sans dodged? He was pretty agile from what you've remembered. So he was caught off guard? That's unexpected. Unless the kid was nimble, has the brains and accurate calculations, Sans would've definitely be able to avoid physical contact with the child. What's worse were the child's clothing. You never really took notice of the girl's clothing during the attack itself but now that you thought back of it, they were eerily similar to Frisk's striped sweater, the only difference was the colors; hers were green with navy stripe. Was it deliberate..?

You shook your head, readjusting your sitting position and stared blankly at the car's ceiling.

You could just be too skeptical, paranoid even. You have your doubts, however. It couldn't be coincidental. That expression Sans wore whilst confronting the little girl...

Well,

You wouldn't grace it with a description.

Nevertheless, you now know that Frisk had reset more than once. You may not know the exact amount, but you know its enough to drive them to commit mass genocide, not once, but multiple times and it shows, very evidently. Sans' reaction to Frisk's lookalike was a prominent tattletale. You've observed Frisk actively avoid Sans despite still being unconscious in Papyrus' arms as well. They would fumble with the flower pot they held and look at anywhere but him. If Sans got too close to Frisk, they'd quickly walk closer to Toriel, holding her furry paw tighter. In addition, you saw them. That dark, heavy collective mass of translucent matter, silently following behind Frisk like an obedient puppy in their humanoid form uncannily similar to that of Frisk; Chara.

You weren't surprised that they could still maintain a semi-solid form as Frisk's shadow despite leaving the underground. You would've been, if it weren't for their hatred for humanity, still bubbling deep within their core. It's what fuels and keeps Chara alive and going-as a ghost. Add that with post-genocide EXP and LV, it wouldn't be hard for Chara to manipulate their form as much as they pleased. Your shadow didn't appreciate their presences however, you could feel Chara's hatred seep out from them once in a while when you were guiding the monsters special buses deployed to ride and your shadow doesn't like it. It saw them as a treat threat, practically wanting to pounce and rip them to shreds. You couldn't sense any malice oozing out from them though, so you decided to let it slide for now and deal with them at a later date. Chara was practically part of Frisk now and ridding them could kill Frisk in return, which is something you highly don't want happening. That didn't stop you from letting your shadow go wild on its malice towards them though, sending hostile threats of its own as a warning. You can never be too careful after all.

You frowned and rubbed your chin in thought as your driver alerted the both of you of the distance left to your destination.

With Chara being Frisk' shadow, the possibility for that girl to be Chara's reincarnation is at a zero percentage. You know that having that kind of agility for a child is impossible, especially mimicking Frisk's speed and agility style during the genocide run to trigger Sans' post-traumatic stress disorder.

You hunched down, settling your elbows onto your legs and closed your eyes, knitting your eyebrows together. What bothers you the most was how Sans had reacted to you, not as the Judge, but as a human adult. Sans had seen you but still proceeded to act as if you were the same threat as the child was anyways. Something must have had happened between the resets but as to what, you didn't know. All you can assume is that it has something to do with humans, adult humans. You sighed into your hands roughly and grabbed the side of your head, groaning. You were drawing a blank and that wasn't good. Something is happening but you couldn't pinpoint what it was.

"You're gonna make your head explode if you do any more jumping jacks with it, (Y/N)."

You glanced at Ameris with a sheepish grin and noticed her worried expression.

"Sorry, I was just thinking about the kid."

"Frisk?"

You hesitated.

"..Yeah, you could say that."

She hummed, taking out her phone to fiddle with it.

"Hmm... Well, they are quite an interesting kid. They did manage to help break the barrier after all," Ameris chuckled. "It's too bad that Frisk doesn't seem too fond of humans in general. In fact, they're more afraid than anything. The way they clung onto Queen Toriel like a koala when a human passed them, you could really see the fear they had in their eyes."

"What-?"

Your phone vibrated in your pocket, cutting you off. You frown down and took another glance at Ameris. She was smiling at you thinly, phone already kept back into her pocket. You were about to open your mouth again when your phone vibrated three more times. Grumbling, you shift your attention to it and took it out to see who had messaged you. With one quick scan over the notifications on your lock screen, you closed your phone and plastered a poker face, letting the words sink in.

"(Y/N), I can tell that you're still pondering over the incident that happened at the terminal so here's the raw surveillance footage of it,"

*1 Videoclip attached.

"I've managed to hack into the security cameras directly from the swat van outside to download it before anything happened. And sure enough, when I called in for a copy as evidence of the incident while you guided the monsters, the clip was found corrupted and could not be retrieved."

"We're being watched as well. I only caught a glimpse, but we're definitely being followed. Whether they could see or hear us, it's better to play safe and zip our mouths for now. There's some foul play going down here."

"Got eyes from Zenon, watch your six, eight and four."

Fucking lovely.

Clicking your tongue silently, you closed your eyes and called out for your shadow, allowing yourself to be consumed by its presence. It purred and snapped, answering loyally to your call and intent. You whispered into its mist as it did to your ears, enticing its appetency.

Go play with them. If you do it quick and swift, and squeeze every last drop of information, I'll reward you with whatever you like.

Your lips twitched.

Additional points if you can bring them back to the laboratory.

Your shadow swooned, cackling in glee and briskly zipped away from you, leaving you bare and cold under the sunlight. You could hold on until it was finished though. It wasn't your first time letting your shadow head elsewhere for a mission whilst you did something else. Although, you doubt you'll ever get used to the cold and sense of loss whenever your shadow leaves the premise of your body. You blew into your hands and curled up a little more, pulling your jacket further into yourself. Exhaling through gritted teeth, you crossed your arms together and puffed out your cheeks to stay as warm as you could. Yeah, you don't think you'll ever get used to this extreme cold. You decide to divert your attention to the monsters instead of the cold, it does nothing if you kept thinking about it. So you let your mind wander.

With how things are playing out right now, you can assume that whatever happened between Frisk's resets were being stretched over to this timeline. And with reference to both Sans and Frisk's reactions to humans, you can fully expect it to be along the lines of human activity, adult human activity. You glowered. It makes you wonder whether the said activity was expanded to children as well now in this timeline. It that were the case then well... You're going to have one hell of a time taking care of the monsters aboveground.

For now, you'll have to reinforce some new rules for the monsters for the time being. Sans had already royally fucked up monsters' chances for active magic usage so you'll have to prevent any further setbacks and, hopefully, salvage monsters' approval for better magic usage. You don't want to have any drawback now, especially with an invisible target painted on their backs. You sighed, feeling your shadow creep back to you comfortingly. They mewled and rubbed against your skin, whispering the wondrous expressions of the men spying and trying to kill you as it dragged them to the depths of hell called your laboratory. You giggled softly and gave your shadow a hum of approval.

Good job.

Ameris turn to look at you as she finally starts to relax into her seat. She gave you an easy smile, one that you happily returned.

"So, did the monsters meet your, oh great mistress' expectations?"

You chuckled, stepping out of the car with Ameris and thanking yet again your private driver once the car came to a halt at your destination; The Court House.

"Yeah, they did. Monsters aren't as dangerous as people give them credit for."

We humans are.

"ASGORE'S CLONE, I'M WORRIED ABOUT SANS. HE HASN'T WOKEN UP SINCE THAT HUMAN TALKED TO HIM...I'VE TRIED EVERYTHING I COULD TO WAKE HIM UP BUT IT'S NOT WORKING."

Papyrus stared softly at the sleeping bundle in his arms, troubled. Sans was shivering, his breathing uneven and ragged as blue sweat dripped down his porcelain skull. He was clutching onto Papyrus' battle armor for dear life, his face distorting in discomfort and pain. Toriel looked down at Sans and checked his status.

Hp: 1

ATK: 1

DEF: 1

*Has trouble breathing.

"HAS, has Sans 'fallen down'..?"

Toriel was startled, to say the very least. She hadn't known the skeleton for long, only finally meeting him a short while before the barrier broke down, but Papyrus wasn't a child to hold his voice so quietly, often quite the opposite. Even when he was genuinely upset with his brother during the quantien period, she has never heard him spoke so softly before; this was the very first. Toriel glanced at Papyrus cautiously, gauging his expression. Translucent orange tears threatened to spill from his eye sockets as his shoulders shook, his teeth clattered together in a downwards bent. Toriel sympathically embraced Papyrus a little, patting his skull and ensuring she doesn't squash Sans in the process.

"Don't worry Papyrus, I am sure that Sans hasn't 'fallen down', his status looks healthy and stable. It should just be a temporary aftershock from what had happened at the..'airport'. Let Sans rest for now, alright Papyrus? And please, call me Toriel. I am not a clone of Asgore's."

Papyrus brighten at her words, nodding enthusiastically.

"OF COURSE AS-I MEAN LADY TORIEL!-"

"Just Toriel, Papyrus-"

"-I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL BE COOLEST BROTHER IN THE WHOLE WORLD AND ALLOW THIS LAZYBONES TO SLEEP IN MORE! NYEH HEH HEH!"

Toriel chuckled, watching Papyrus tenderly place Sans back on his seat as comfortable as he could before happily bouncing towards where Frisk sat with Flowey to chat at the back of the bus. She watched Frisk gleefully converse with Papyrus animatedly about things that was completely lost to her. Flowey would occasionally hissed and spit out horrible words against them but that only seem fuel the two of them even more and increased their prate, much to Flowey's frustration. While Toriel wasn't pleased with Flowey's awful profanities, she was glad that Frisk was having fun. Times since the barrier broke was tough on the child and that didn't sit well with Toriel. While Frisk had volunteered to be the ambassador for Monsterkind, the state of affairs between humans and monsters weren't going as smoothly as expected. In fact, it wasn't kind to Frisk and whatever Sans had against them was making everything worse, stressful even. So she was delighted to see Frisk act like a child once more, even if it was just for a short while.

Toriel sighed serenely and turned her head towards the window, watching the buildings turn into a blur as they went past. Her contentment was shortlived as her mind couldn't help but wander to you, the Judge. You've made a very big adverseve imapct on monsters the very moment you stepped in to stop Sans' attack completely. Being a boss monster, Toriel had a heighten sense of magic sensitivity. She would be able to detect even the slightest of magic mobility in the air. But Toriel couldn't even feel an ounce of magic from you. You had no magic whatsoever and yet, the very moment you spoke, Sans' exessive magic was practically eaten away in huge chunks and bound his magic around his body right in front of her eyes. To say it was utterly terrifying was an understatement. She doesn't understand what it was, it defies all the knowleadge she had on magic.

...Was it even magic? Toriel's not so sure. You definitely weren't a mage but whatever ate Sans' magic, it ate like an animal. Toriel can only assume that that something was a monster-no, a beast that cannot be seen by the mere eye or sensed, and that made you absolutely frightening.

Would monsters efforts go to waste with you around? Not only was the world groveling under your feet after your presence, the Judge, was announced but as well as seemingly able to use a source of power to hold absolute judgment against others in a perceived wrongness. If you ever see monsters as wrong or guilty, would monsters' lives be at stake? Toriel didn't want to think of it but the apparent possibility scares her. She breathed roughly out of her nose and looked up into the sky, worried etched on her face.

Toriel suppose, at least for now, Monsterkind was safe. Even after the incident at the airport, you've remained poised, and humbly escorted the monsters to the buses specially deployed to carry them to the Court House for further briefing for the next two days before the conference. Furthermore, Mr. Bates had put in a good word about the Judge and their judgement. You had your sense of equality and had the final say for the given rights for monsters after all. And with a strong bright yellow soul of justice and nothing else, Toriel could trust Mr. Bates and his words. You though? She'll tread cautiously for now. It's better to be safe then sorry.

Toriel placed a paw on her cheek and let out a delightful sigh at the change of scenery as the bus curved into its destination. While the Court House was fenced off heavily with iron bars, brick walls and security, that didn't stop the beautiful landscape that it held within. Various colorful flowers and plants decorated around the building, adding a vagrant contrast of color against the milky white marble structure. The plants that adorn the facility weren't randomly scattered about either, they were stratigically placed to let the Court House stand out amongst the pretty enviroment. It was a real sight to behold. Every monster in the bus tentatively leaned against the windows of the bus and gasped in awe, trying to drink it in as much of it as possible. Frisk was excitedly jumping in their eat, their eyes practically stars as they squealed in delight with Papyrus.

"Beautiful ain't it?"

Toriel turned her head to the old bus driver in front of her, chuckling slightly as she rubbed her moist eyes.

"Yes, it is indeed. I have never seen such pretty flowers under the mountain before."

The old man gave her a snort, his wrinkles vividly visible on his old skin as he gave her a grin. He looked out of the bus' rear window and gave the wheel a turn once more, rolling to a stop a little ways from the Courthouse's entrance.

" 'hank t'ha Judge 'en. They didn't like how the Courthouse looked back in t'ha days. 'so they decided t'ha to change things around t'ha building when they're older," The driver opened the bus's doors and gestured towards it for the monsters, his thick accent rolling off his tongue with great ease. " 'cause even t'ha sinful would want redemption, and the Courthouse is where they would have t'hat."

The driver give a quick glance at Toriel as she got off the bus right after the rest of the monsters did.

"Does t'hat make sense ta 'ya?"

Toriel give him a quick smile.

"Yes, yes I do suppose it does."

Stepping out of the bus, the monsters were immediately hit with the smell of fresh flowers. The monsters were exhilarated on how well maintained the flowers were to smell so heavenly and strong. They were tempted to just wonder around the flower field right in front of their eyes and explore it to no end. They didn't even mind if they got lost or stayed there for hours, they just wanted to breathe in the sweet scent of flowers the surface has given them. Thankfully, Asgore and Toriel held their composure and guided the monsters diligently to the Courthouse, ensuring that no one went too far away from the group as they head towards the entrance of the Courthouse. Ameris came walking out of the Courthouse to greet the monsters together with Mr. Verner in toll, a black folder of papers promptly kept close to her body. She gave the monsters a curt bow as formality before introducing Mr. Verner and herself to the two royals. Mr. Verner smiled warmly up at the two and happily greet them with a firm handshake.

"It's so nice to finally you, Mr. and Mrs. Dreemur."

Mr. Verner then proceeded to kneel in front of Frisk, raising his palm for a high-five.

"You too Frisk, ambassador of Monsterkind."

Frisk smiled shyly at him, returning Mr. Verner's high-five. Asgore chuckled at the little exchange before addressing Mr. Verner for Toriel and himself.

"Likewise to you, Mr. Verner. Although, I must apologize on behalf of one of my citizens for causing The Judge and you immense trouble. I am sure you have heard the incident at the..'airport'?"

Mr. Verner laughed heartfully, shaking his head.

"Don't worry about it, I just hope our Judge wasn't so harsh on them."

Undyne growled beside Asgore, baring her teeth at Mr. Verner. Ameris immediately stood herself in between them, making sure that Undyne doesn't attack Mr. Verner.

"Harsh? HARSH?! THAT Judge of yours, literally drained away Sans' magic from his body! That's unheard of from a human!! And now," Undyne turned, jestering to the bundle in Papyrus' arms. "He's FUCKING fallen down! HOW IS THAT NOT HARSH?!"

"UNDYNE, SANS IS ALRIGHT! EVEN TORIEL SAYS SO."

"U-Undyne, p-please, calm d-down.."

"How does breathing irregularly and not being able to wake up alright Papyrus?? And no, I will NOT CALM DOWN Alphys. THAT DAMN JUDGE OF YOURS KILLED HIM! HOW'D YOU EXPECT ME TO CALM DOWN?!"

Undyne roared, ready to pounce at any second. The monsters behind Undyne were tensed and uncomfortable at the situation at hand. They don't fully agree with Undyne but they understood her anger. Despite Sans' odd behavior since the barrier broke, he was still one of them and well likable amongst the community at that. Dusting him will be..well, it won't make anyone happy. The air grew heavy, excruciating so. Magic from within the monsters swirled out, instinct ready for fight or flight. Even Toriel was affected by the heavy atmosphere, her magic flaring out and prepping to oppose the monsters' urge to attack. She wasn't going to let Undyne's words get the better of the monsters and break any chances they had for peace between humans and monsters.Papyrus shrunk back into himself, hugging his brother tighter into his arms in means to protect him from the hostility in the air. Asgore just stood there, unsure what to do with himself while Frisk stood at the side with Flowely, uneasy. They wanted to stop the fight from breaking out but they were scared and unsure what to do, they didn't want to ruin this timeline.

There was a pregnant pause among the group before Undyne growled again, ready to take a step forward Mr. Verner. Alphys sprung into action in impulse, hugging Undyne as tightly as she could before Undyne could do anything further, tears prickling the side of her eyes, begging her to stop.

"P-please.."

Undyne clicked her tongue aggressively against her teeth before scooping Alphys up, apologizing for making her cry. Everyone let out the breath they were holding, relief that the conflict was avoided thanks to Alphys. Ameris sighed, her muscles slacking from their tense state. She was glad there won't be another dispute. You wouldn't be happy if anything started again. Mr. Verner hummed, unfazed by the aggressive behavior faced and scratched under his chin thoughtfully. Toriel looked at Mr. Verner apologetically before proceeding to reprimand Undyne for her attitude. She merely grumbled, nodding at Toriel's authority as Queen. Asgore breathed out of his snout, giving Undyne a long, lingering glance before sheepishly addressing Mr. Verner once more.

"I apologize, Mr. Verner. It appears that we are still tense after the incident at the airport."

Mr. Verner waved him off.

"Anyone would be, Mr. Dreemurr. No harm done. I understand the stress and discomfort being far away from your original safe cavern. In addition to the negative responds that you've received thus far, it's understandable."

Ameris caught Frisk flinching at Mr. Verner's words, shaking a little despite their best affords to show a brave posture. Ameris took a mental note to inform you about it and pretended to be unaware of Frisk's change of demeanor.

"That being said, I would appreciate if you could the Judge more. I believe they wouldn't harm any of you."

Undyne scoffed, ignoring Toriel's disapproving stare.

"Yeah? And why should we huh?"

" Oh yeah? Why should we?"

Mr. Verner simply smiled at Undyne, his smile hid no insincerity nor malice, but something about it made Undyne's spine crawl. He turned, motioning for the monsters to follow him into the Courthouse without uttering another word. Ameris followed suit, giving the monsters one last hard stare before giving the same smile as Mr. Verner, as if they knew something the monsters didn't. Tilting her head, she replied to Undyne's unanswered question.

"Because she knows you all more than anyone else."

Ameris had to suppress the urge to groan and facepalm when the monsters entered the courtroom. What was always the prestigious hall of judgement where the Judge stood at the end of it all, looming as the Judge and Jury for sinners to plead guilty and dish out rules against nasty criminals and foul beings was you, draped across the judge's bench with a white cloth hanging against your body. You laid there in style, like 'draw me like one of your french girls' with a rose in between your lips. You stared seductively at the crowd above you, wriggling your eyebrows at them-not that they could see that from under your hood of course but you still liked to try. You still wore your Judge clothes to dress the part as 'The Judge' but that doesn't mean you couldn't fool around in it. The monsters awkwardly stared at your form, uncertain what to do with the scene in front of them. You raised an eyebrow and broke the silence with a wink-again, not that they could see with your hood on. So you just spat the flower on the floor with a audible 'pu' before speaking to break the awkward atmosphere.

"What--too soon?"

There was a bead of silence before a snort or two came tumbling out from the monsters. Frisk's shoulders shook with contained laughter from your horrible attempt of flirting and before everyone knew, they burst out into a shy, giggling mess. This egged the monsters to release whatever restrain they had earlier and reacted accordingly to their personalities, some chuckled, giggled, guffawed and some even shook their head and groaned in amused disapproval. Ameris groaned in mock irritation at your antics while Mr. Verner chuckled in amusement. Toriel was giggling hysterically, her fur tainting a little shade of pink and Asgore boomed with chuckles. Even Undyne finds you amusing, giving you a mocking scoff and a sharp toothy grin. You suppose that's good enough of a laugh from her given the circumstances at the moment.

Nevertheless, you were happy at the laughing chaos you've created. In spite of not being outside the Courthouse with Ameris and Mr. Verner to greet the monsters upon their arrival, you've felt their hostility and magic dance across the air from within the Courtroom. You weren't really happy with that; you didn't want to limit their usage of magic any further during the final rulings, that'll make them more vulnerable and harder to live on the surface. It was lucky thing that it didn't fully escalate like it did in the airport if not you're gonna need some alcohol for the night. You wanted to the monsters to feel safe on the surface, not threatened. So what's the best way to ease that for a quick moment?

Laughter of course.

And so you made it your mission to make them laugh when they came into the Courtroom. It may or may not be an excuse as well to eat all that delectable negative emotions emitting from them cause god were they smelling so damn good to devour. Hence, lightening their mood immensely. Licking your lips, you refocused your attention back to the monsters and smiled warmly at them before noticing one of them approaching you with their bright black and neon pink attire, a playful frown plastered across their face; Mettaton.

"I'd say that you're a thousand years too early for such glamorous feat, especially me darling~!" You smirk at Mettaton.

"Oh, so you mean I can't compare with you with legs LIKE THESE?!"

You stretched your legs out, letting the white cloth fall to reveal the pair of fabulous glittery pink boots underneath.

"OH MY~!"

Mettaton proceeded to duet with you, posing after poses with fabulous glamour. The audience roared with cheers, urging for the both of you to continue the performance as they laughed, amused at the antics. Flowey, unfazed by your silly buffoonery, scoffed loudly, catching your attention.

"What a fucking freak."

Frisk frowned down to the flower, whispering their disapproval of cuss words and rudeness. Flowey glowered at you in retaliation.

"Well, I wouldn't have said anything if that stupid Judge over there would just get this over and bloody done with instead of dragging our goddamn time even more." It was Toriel's turn look at Flowey with great displeasure, her eyes held a fiery gaze that made the flower cower against Frisk and hiss in reprisal. Toriel cleared her throat and smile apologetically towards but you just waved her off.

"It's no skin off my bones so don't worry about it Toriel. Flowey's right though, it's best we start now and finish this little briefing as soon as possible. We still need to take all of you to your temporary living quarters for the next few days before nightfall after all," You chuckled, before gesturing for everyone to take a seat. "So let's get seated and start, shall we?"

Giving Mettaton a quick hi-five and pointedly ignoring Toriel's giggle from your unintended pun, everyone complied with your wishes and found a seat to sit. You nodded in approval and jumped down from the Judge's bench, landing neatly onto the floor with a soft thud. As you looked up to give the room a swift scan, you quickly notice a familiar tall skeleton walking quietly towards you, holding the oh-so-familiar bundle of blue in his arms.

"HUMAN! AH..WELL..Judge..? Would it be possible for you to make my brother well again..? He has been shaking and holding onto me tightly the whole journey here and..whatever I do, he.. he wouldn't wake up.." You blink up at Papyrus before looking down to Sans. Sure enough, you see blue sweat forming on his skull, slowly but surely, dropping from his skull. His bones were rattling so badly that you could heard audible clicks and clacks from his body and his breathing was way too ragged to be normal. "I know Lady-I mean, Toriel told me Sans would be alright but I can't help but worry.."

You frowned at Papyrus' words and tapped the nape of Sans' collarbone, listening to the hum of his magic. It was still there, coursing normally through his body, but it was dull, sometimes stuttering and struggling to keep up with his bodily need for magic circulation. Had you been too rough on your ruling? You didn't mean to completely knock Sans out into a semi-coma state and make Papyrus so worried about his brother. It was weird hearing him so soft and not the loud, enthusiastic voice he was known for.

Oh jeez, you definitely screwed up quite a bit huh? Monsters aren't constructed the same as humans so the effect of your ruling would heavily differ. Since monsters are purely made out of magic components instead of actual flesh, your punishments are going to take double the effect on them, and that was bad. Your frown deepened as you shifted your fingers to Sans' collarbone directly, applying a bit of pressure into it and listening to your shadow's response. While you do felt bad about accidentally doubling Sans' penance, you couldn't completely erase the penalty. He still deserved it for attacking a child, but that doesn't mean you couldn't ease the burden of it. Hopefully, you'll be able to lighten it back to its original intended implementation as well .

Your shadow merely grumbled, unbinding and shoving just enough of Sans' magic capacity back into his system so that he wasn't suffering so much from magic constriction and depletion but not enough to actually wield it to his will. Sans' shaking started to die down, his breathing became more evenly distributed and he looked more content as he slept, literally and figuratively dead to the world. You smiled down at your shadow's handiwork and gave it a hum of approval. It purred, wrapping around you in response, content with your approbation. You're not sure how long he'll slumber for due to the initial shock and magic restrains, but he'll have a better time sleeping now.

"There we are. While I can't forcefully wake him up due to shock, he should be able to sleep better now. So just--"

The air was knocked out of your lungs as Papyrus lifted you up to give you the biggest, bone-crushing hug he could give with one arm still holding onto his brother like a sack of potato, effectively silencing your words. Papyrus leaned into your ear, exhaling a breath that you didn't know he could have and whispered his gratitude so softly that you had almost missed if it weren't for your shadow efforts to instinctively wrap around the skeleton in defense, ready to strike if he had hurt you.

"Thank you.."

You smiled, patting his back and calling your shadow off.

"Your welcome, Papyrus."

Papyrus gave you one of the biggest smiles you've ever seen in quite a long time before running back to sit beside Undyne, cradling Sans close to him lovingly. You chuckled softly.

Gosh, aren't they just the cutest brothers ever?

Once you've ensured that everyone has sat down comfortably around the Courtroom, you looked at Mr. Verner for permission to proceed with the briefing. You've already told him what you had in mind for the monsters before they've arrived. With the stunt Sans had done at the terminal, the media were unquestionably going to buzz about it. Even when there wasn't much reporters around-only a few journalists-news will spread around one way or the other, be it from the victim of the incident of the bystanders. You were sure that whoever had corrupted the tape had stolen it for..unsavory purposes. So now it's all about damage control and saving the monsters face. Of course, you were The Judge, so you can't actually actively help them in their endeavor, but you can give suggestions and rules to ensure their....safety from humans. Yeah, that is absolutely it, you weren't biased or anything like that. You couldn't afford to.

Mr. Verner gave you a knowing look but still did a simple nod and smile, prompting for you to begin. You took a deep breath in, before exhaling it out in a slow drawled out breath.

"While I'd like to finally be able to welcome you all warmly into the country, there's a more pressing issue at hand now isn't there? One of your fellow monsters here, has taken upon themselves to attack one of our kind, and we don't take that too kindly."

"But-!" You held your hand up, silencing the opposing standing fish. Undyne growled, sitting back down with her arms tightly crossed in front of her, her girlfriend anxiously reassuring her by her side.

"..So, until the conference that's within two days' time, there'll be some...rules that will be implemented to ensure both humans and all of your safety."

Quiet murmurs spread around the room, displeased of the restriction.

"That's bullshit and you know it, Judge."

"U-undyne!"

You sighed inwardly at Undyne's glower and glanced at Ameris at the back of the room. She just nodded silently at you before walking out with Mr. Verner, whom which, gave you a wink as he headed out.

Damn them for leaving this mess up to me.

You sighed loudly, scratching the back of your head uncertainly.

"Yeah yeah, it's unfair that all of you got punished just because of one peep, blah blah," You shifted your weight from one leg to the other, feeling all the monsters eyes on you once more as you place a hand on your hip. Good, you've got their attention now, albeit, a bit hostile but it's fine.

"But listen here monsters, one of you attacked a human child for reasons unknown and unprovoked. It's already bad that there's footage of it happening and now ya'll upset that you get restrictions because of it? Use your magic brains my dear monsters, there's a tension between the two species and you want to prob that more? Sure, you could do that I guess," You shrugged, shoving your hands into your jacket's pocket and rocked on your heels.

"But don't blame me if one of us--" You gestured to the monsters then pointedly point to yourself with a wicked smile. "--snap evidentially because of it. And honestly? It's a pain in the butt to deal with more incidents like that so I'd rather avoid it like the plague. But hey, it's up to you guys whether you want to take my words or not. It's just a suggestion from me. Just know that I can't keep and eye out for all of you and humans all the time, there's only one me after all."

And many shadows.

Of course, you refrained from saying that out loud, content when the room was once again dropped in silence as the monsters contemplate your words by themselves. You just hummed and leaned against the Judge's bench, waiting for their response, in hopes they'll agree with you and take up your words. You want to protect them as much as you possibly could.

There's just too many humans hiding in the dark, scheming to take you bunch of lovable munchkins down.

And you didn't want that. Your shadow briefly cackled at your thoughts before a rough, quiet snarl caught your attention again.

"...We can take care of ourselves, punk."

"And how do you suggest you do that? Shouting profanities and threatening them?" Undyne pursed her lips. She was fuming but couldn't say anything else. She couldn't argue back when as a matter of fact, she probably would challenge her opponent, provoking them further and escalating the situation with how aggressive her nature was. She knew that herself so she couldn't talk smack back.

And you knew that all too well.

"Fine."

You nodded at her.

"Good. So within these two days, every single one of you can roam around the country how ever you want; find out how this country works, what kind of food we sell here-go nuts! We're a small island so you can travel the area with ease without any worry of straying too far away. Just make sure to have your phones at all times. I..assume that all of you have a monster phone of sorts?" A mass majority of the monster nodded at your question, even so far as to show you their model of a phone; Nokia and old flip phones.

..Eh, it better than nothing.

"Okay, great. While I'm sure they've been fiddled with to adapt to the underground receptors, it should still work with the surface's electrical magnetic waves. So if anything were to happen, or you're in some sort of danger, do call or text me. I'll be at the scene before you know it to take appropriate measures. Here's my number, pass it around," You tossed your phone to the monster seated at the far end of the first row of seats, giving a lazy stare up at the ceiling.

"With that being said, please, and I mean it, be back at your apartments by 10pm latest during the night," You shuffled against your feet, rolling and relaxing your shoulders. "Night time is, after all, more prone to criminal activities. Not that there'd be any with me around, but it's better safe than sorry. So I'd advice for all of you to not go wandering around town during the night, especially narrow spaces between buildings and alley ways."

"As for money... Mr. Verner and I will provide it for all of you, so again, go nuts, buy whatever you want to."

From the corner of your eye, you could see Toriel frown at you, standing up with her head held high as she addressed you formally as the Queen of monsters.

"It is truly, truly kind of Mr. Verner and you to provide everything we need thus far on the surface. However, I must insist that we use our own money for any purchases to our liking instead of further reliance on the both of you. It is the least that we can do for all the help you've been giving us."

You hummed.

"I suppose that would be alright if it wasn't for the fact that your currency consisted of gold coins.. it'll be hard to buy anything with that much value on you..." You kinda gave up with your sentence as soon as you saw Toriel's unwavering stare. It'll be impossible to win the argument if Toriel puts her foot down and her heart into it, she is goat mom after all. You half-heartedly gave her a shrug before speaking again.

"Tell you what, we can establish it as a tab, for now, spend as much as you want. Once everything has settled down and your currency converted, you can pay us back then. Is that fine with you Toriel?" Toriel smiled triumphantly and nodded, taking her seat again with a small content sigh.

"Alright, last but not least, magic. No one is allow to use magic for the time being. The full details for the initial use of magic has not been fully discussed, so using them during the period of uncertainty will make things worse for all of you during the conference. Chances are, tighter restrictions against magic use would be decided if anything were to happen within the next two days with any indication of magic being involved. It's best to avoid letting any chances to use it against you. With the airport incident, you have something to be pinned against now, so let's not worsen it. But, if worse comes to worse, there's some sort of urgent need to use your magic at any given time, especially in life-threatening situations, use them. If your encounter someone or something couldn't be outrun or beaten by brute force, then use your magic to beat them to a pulp. Not killing though, that is of course, a certainty."

The monsters mumble discontentedly but nodded anyways. It was a new start, unsteady but new nevertheless. It's better to take things slow and cautiously if they want to earn their peace with humans and they understood that. You breathed out, glad that your briefing was coming to an end.

Man, what a pain in the ass.

"And we're done. That's it, short and sweet. Are there any questions though? If there isn't any, we can start heading out to show where you'll be living for the next two days."

You scanned the crowd and spotted a tiny raised amongst the sea of monsters. Frisk was frantically waving their hand in the air to catch your attention, their face scrunched up in determination. You chuckled and motioned for them to speak.

"What's your question, Frisk?"

You feel your shadow glower hard at the child, its growl reverberating hard against your body at Frisk's sudden hesitant to ask their question, their own dark shadow wrapping around them protectively. An uncertain expression passed their face before they opened their mouth and spoke, as soft as the wind. You almost missed their words.

"How do you know our names..? I'd understand if it were just Mom, Dad or me but... Undyne, Alphys, Papyrus? Sans? How do you know their names? How..how do you know so much about us..?"

All the monsters tensed once more, staring at you with heated distrust. Undyne looked as if ready to pounce you once more, getting up from her seat so fast that it almost knocked Alphys off hers, a green neon spear flickering into existence in her hands. Toriel instinctively held Frisk close as Flowey hissed from the contact, Asgore was ready to stand to deescalate the room if needed while Papyrus scoot off to the side to avoid the conflict from hurting his brother. Fuck that was precious.

Wait, not the time to fangirl right now.

You roughly sighed and snatched your phone from the last monster that dialed your contacts into their phones, pocketing it. Walking up to the entrance to the courtroom with every single eyes on your movement, you gave each and every monster one last glance, relishing their critical stare before tilting your head back towards them, an absolute wicked smirk plastered on your face. You licked your lips, feeling your shadow cackle and crackle as it surrounds its black mist around your body. You know they couldn't see it, but they undoubtedly could feel it around you and in the air. The temperature was dropping and you could almost see the small cold puffs of air from the monsters' mouths as their face twisted into..something.

Fear? Apprehensive?

You weren't sure but god were you have fun. It's been awhile since you had this much fun.

But of course, you didn't actually want to scare off the monsters or make them fear you. So you ceased your little tease and called your excited shadow off, letting the room return back to its original temperature. You suppose that could be set as a warning to show who's in charge as well. You left the courtroom with a swift clack of your boots, your last words to the monsters as the Judge for the day echoed throughout the hall of the Courthouse as you made your way to the exit of the building. You gave them a quick lazy wave over your shoulder.

"Didn't Ameris already said it just now? I know all of you more than anyone else."

After all, all of you, down to the very core were video game characters.

Pulling your hood down tighter, you turned a corner and let your shadow take you, sinking into its black mists and whisking you away to your destination, your secret laboratory, for some personal interrogation. You gave Ameris a quick text to alert her the end of the briefing before slinking further into your lab, gathering your tools and taking off your Judge's jacket in favor of your lovely, hooded white coat. You'll let Ameris deal with the aftermath and guide the monsters to their quarters. With newfound danger lurking under the radar due to monsters' resurface, you'll be making a new resolution to accomplish as the 'Judge'. It'll surely be a pain in the ass to deal with but the rewards will be delicious. You shivered in anticipation of the future, eyeing the silver scalpel in hand from side to side.

God were you going to have so much fun.

Your shadow excitedly exclaimed of the wonderful men they've dragged into the lab once more, its voices crackling in absolute glee. You couldn't help but happily agree with it, opening the door to the cells hidden under your..home. The pained groans and moans sent a shiver down your spine and you breathed out of your nose, an excited grin tugging against the edges of your lips.

Speaking of which...

"Pick one, a reward for your hard efforts and good behavior today."

Your shadow delightedly complied, its body growing by the second until it covered all the nooks and cranny of the wall you stood right under its door frame before zipping into one of the cell at the far corner with inhumane speed, covering the rest of the cells with distastefully dripping black. You chuckled wryly at the agonizing whimpers and screams that followed throughout the room as the sound of flesh being torn and bones being gracefully crushed echoed. Pulling your white hood over your head, you slanted over to your victim with lazy movements, tools in hand for the..interrogation. Your victim's eyes widen in fear at your toothy grin.

Well, time to do your job.

Chapter Text

Darkness.

Darkness is all he could see.

Black.

Blacker than any silent room he's ever been.

Darker yet darker.

And yet..

And yet, there was never any coldness. No suffocation, no pain. 

Just a light fluffy numbness, as if he was floating mid-air.

Where was he again? Sans couldn't quite recall. His memories were fuzzy, and trying to remember anything just made his skull buzz like a warm melody. It was annoying, so he just stopped trying after a while. He can't move any of his limbs--but then again, why would he? It was so comfy wherever the hell he was. Was this the so-called 'heaven' that Frisk had told him about once upon a lifetime ago? He didn't know. All he knows, was that he was oh so cozy, snuggled up to something warm and soothing.

And that was enough for him.

It had been such a long time since he felt so calm, solace to all the awful shit he vaguely remembers he's been through every single second of his life. He just wants to forget it all and live in this ecstasy, savoring its sweetness and drinking it all up as much as he could. Even so, he couldn't shake this uneasiness in his soul.

Was he forgetting important?

Stars forbid, crucial?

Either way, he couldn't actually be bothered with it. After what felt like an eternal hell of genocidal timelines and ruthless human slaughterers, he couldn't be bothered to care anymore.

Sans chuckled inwardly. His raspy, tired voice echoed endlessly throughout the empty black space that surrounds him.

Maybe this was just another transmission into the next reset the kid was doing. Yes, that's it. That's perfectly normal. Sans was familiar with the sensation of a reset. He sees, feels and remembers it. He's one of the very few beings that were aware of the timeline shenanigans. He wasn't always like this, though. Sure, he knows quantum physics and theory but that doesn't give him the awareness of an actual reset happening. Just data, deja vus, and soundless theories. That was once upon a time, however. He supposes if he could, he would've wanted to keep that ignorance longer. To see himself stop as his loved ones continue to move forward in time with another him before getting sucked right back to the beginning by a blinding white light-it's maddening really. Somewhere out there, oblivious to his disappearance, Papyrus would continue to march on, where time flowed normally whereas he was stuck in a loop, forever not knowing whether it'll finally end.

Would Papyrus even notice his disappearance? Would he realize that his 'Sans' isn't actually his 'Sans' in that timeline? Or perhaps, that Papyrus wasn't his brother anymore when a reset happens? That's another whole can of worms to open.

Either way, it's definitely taking a longer time for Frisk to reset properly if Sans was still floating..wherever he was at. Did they fail once more up at the surface, and were trying to salvage without resetting again?

Sans sighed softly.

Sometimes, he wonders why the kid still tired so hard. Why, why were they so determined to give everyone a happy end despite so many countless of failures. Nothing will change even if they kept on resetting, those damn murderers seemed to always know where they were before slaughtering them. And in all honesty? Sans was tired, everything was starting to blur together. With so many resets, he's much more surprised that his memories hadn't deteriorated at a faster rate rather than just starting to lose them right now as a side effect of getting dragged into this mess. So what's the point really? Just give in and...

Sans felt his mouth miserably widen, a wet substance spilled down his cheekbones, moistening the side of it.

give up.

He could feel his mouth threatening to split his skull with how wide his smile was, tears overflowed and poured down from his eye sockets, staining his entire face. He was sure if he had a mirror to reflect his image,  he'd look insane.

why try?

A bubbling heat boiled from the depths of his soul, angry; angry at Frisk for putting him through this hell, angry at the stupid weed for doing the same, angry at the fact that he could do nothing as he watches Papyrus, his brother,  got his head bashed through by those dirty brother killer. But that anger soon converted into sadness, weighing his soul like a twenty-kilogram weight. He was so, so sad that he couldn't do anything to save his brother, do anything, to change something. He was a bystander until judged, only then, perhaps he'll be useful. Sans trembled, softly sobbing into the warm surface that gave him the only reassurance he had.

just....give up..., i did..

As soon as that thought went through his mind, Sans felt his body shift, detaching himself from the comforting heat. His immediate reaction was to kick and squirm against the force, his body finally moving to his wishes as he tried to wiggle back into that warm embrace of serenity. The force(?) grunt and grumble in distaste at Sans' attempt to escape, struggling to restrain his movements, its voice noticeably incognitos despite its clear vocalization. Huh, was it an actual being? Were they male? Female? Monster--human?

He couldn't tell, but that wasn't a case of concern right now. Sans didn't want to lose the only quietude he had left against his own negative brooding in this impossible black space. He didn't want to move from that very spot of comfort and he'll be damn as stubborn as he could to do that. He wanted to be selfish for once. So he lashed out further against whatever was pulling him away. Unfortunately for Sans, however, his body size was relatively small compared to many of the monsters in the Underground, so he was subdued easily.  Sans grunted in return, trying to struggle once more when he felt a cold, hard surface pressed against his forehead and frontal spine, the sound of low scraping reverberate into his skull in slow, deliberate rotated motions.

Oh.

It must be a knife.

Sans went limp at the thought, uncaring of the abrupt stop of the motion when he had opted to just lay motionless. He should've known. Of course the kid wanted to vent all their frustrations from their failures, and what better way to do so by genocide once again with no consequences? All they needed to do was to reset once they're done and then poof, it'll right back to where they first started once again.

Fuck.

And here he thought that perhaps, he was on the surface giving it another go rather than a genocide timeline. His memories must be really screwed up if he couldn't differentiate the two. Sans was sick and tired, and he could feel it in his soul too. Whatever hope he had left was definitely slipping away from his non-existent heart, leaving his already cracked soul further broken and faded. His senses towards his surroundings proceeded to dull further, the sensation to that sickening cold touch diluted to almost non-existent. He was tempted to grab his own soul on impulse to hasten its destruction, tearing it apart from its tip to the bud of it; get it done and over with. But of course, he couldn't actually do that since he was well restrained against his will. So he just let his soul and thoughts do all the work for him, like the lazy bones he was.

However, before Sans could fully shut himself down, he suddenly felt it, that reassuring, warm surface. Though it did feel little..funny, different he suppose. It felt squishy and tender as it warped around him. It was firm, yet soft. Sans didn't know what to make of it, he was at the very least, confused. And then there was that soft thumping near where his ears would be, beating to a rhythm that Sans couldn't put a phalange on it. Whatever negative brooding he had previously had all simultaneously dissipate as he felt himself rock back and forth to the soundless lullaby of those thumps. Sans snuggled closer into the warmth and sighed, enjoying the sound of those soft pounds underneath the soft surface. Sans could say that he liked this warmth better than the previous one.

This was nice.

Sans wasn't sure how long he had spent just listening to the thumping in the vast space of nothingness, being rocked back and forth, but eventually, he found himself starting to relax and calm down from all the tension in his body. His eyelids felt a tad bit heavier as the edge of sleep came beckoning to him, like a moth to a nightlight. Sans stifled a yawn before nuzzling further into the warmth, letting sleep take him away into the land of the dreamless.

He supposes, if he had this warmth all the time, everything will be alright.

As Sans finally succumbed to the clutches of sleep, a ghost of a whisper blew quietly into one of his ear sockets.

"Good night, Sans."

Sans could've sworn he saw a hooded girl with glowing cerulean blue eyes before he finally drifted off to a peaceful rest.

"Do you really think it's a good idea to have Sans stay at that Judge's place?"

Undyne glance at Toriel with a dipped brow, a twisted frown etched on her face as she rubbed the back of her neck, apprehensive. Toriel merely smiled thinly at her before placing her attention back to two gleeful children in front of her. Papyrus was animatedly squealing at everything around him, excitingly pointing at buildings and decoration with gusto and sparkling eyes. Frisk was practically vibrating with zest, bouncing along with the tall skeleton and nodding their head vigorously in agreement with whatever he says. Flowey was lucky to have opted out from the shopping trip, he would've been stuck within Frisk's grasps and hold his pot for dear life with how much Frisk's was shaking all about. Toriel gave out a small airy chuckle at the two's antics, she hopes Frisk's head wouldn't fall off from that much nodding.

"That Judge has done a lot for us, Undyne. ...I am sure Sans is in good hands."

Undyne grumbled, breathing out of her nostrils harshly as she crossed her arms against her chest, clearly not satisfied with Toriel's answer. How could she? Undyne's nerves were on edge from the Judge's clear threat a day prior in the Courtroom. She couldn't sense anything when the temperature dropped, no magic, no whatsoever. Yet she sure felt--she was certain every monster did as well; that deep ominous fear. Once second there was nothing and then the next was a whole malicious shitstorm. It felt so, so very frighteningly sinister. Whatever the hell it was, it surrounded that damn hooded human-no, that thing like a hurricane. And while she couldn't see the entirety of their face, the Judge's unpleasant toothy grin alone just screamed danger.   

Just..what the hell was that? 

Undyne looked down at the cracked stone pavement she walked, a deep scowl on her face. It quickly dissipated however, when she looked back up and see Alphys looking around the street in awe, her claws clasping her mouth so she wouldn't alarm anyone from her cute squeaks and gasps. The way her eyes shimmered and shine made Undyne's soul flutter and softly smile. Undyne didn't know for sure what or who the Judge really was, but she was certain with one thing.

The Judge was peril and she wouldn't hesitate to fight them to protect those she loves.

"Mr. Bates may have vouched for them but it isn't good enough, the fact that they somehow knew things about us that we don't ourselves is down right suspicious! And that malicious threat if we don't comply? That's just ridiculous! How could you trust that thi-Judge so easily?"

"I do not," Toriel clipped, visibly bristling at the question. Undyne flinched at Toriel's harsh tone and inched a bit from her, giving her space to cool down. Toriel sighed, trying to calm herself by taking in the scenery surrounding her. Like Papyrus, Frisk and Alphys, she was pleasantly in childish wonder at the astonishing difference between her age of civilization and today's advance development.

Perhaps to humans, the little milky stone apartments that lined the street were a normal sight to see in today's community but to the monsters, it was as if being toss into a whole new world. Buildings lined side by side each other on the long, straight street, only cutting corners at junctions between small roads every so often. They were painted in a variety of chocolate brown, vanilla and brick red, some were even painted dark maroon red to go along hand in hand with the other brown buildings. Though the main frequent color used to dye the apartments was brown to enhance and contrast the gray pavement. They weren't as luxurious as the condominiums provided for the monsters stay (where there were a literal large balcony and pool which Toriel was happy that Frisk was excited to use), but these smaller apartments had their own cozy feel. They didn't have many stories, perhaps three to four stories max, but they had greenery planted all available spaces, the older stone buildings more so, having an abundance of colorful potted flowers and green plants. Toriel definitely wouldn't mind getting a similar apartment once all the government fuss had been settled.

Then there were apartments that had weren't solely focused on living space. They mostly consist of small business shops on the very first floors of these apartments. A bookstore, flower shop and pastry store...Toriel even observed mini cafes and bars amongst the shops. There were individual stores apart from the apartments as well, wholly dedicated to what their brand gives. The ones that stuck out to her were 'Starbucks', a coffee(?) shop of sorts? and 'Walmart'. She didn't know what a Walmart was, but she supposes she'd like to check it out later in the future.

The stone pavement that they walked on wasn't completely smooth, having cracks and many worn downed pieces. Many of the stone plates were chipped from its original shape, but that merely carved out the age of its life, enhancing its already entrancing patterns. Both big and small trees were neatly planted along the street in an orderly and fashionable manner, giving shade to people and beautifying the area further. There was an occasional dark green bin in front of the trees as well, encouraging passerby to throw their trash away. The two-way road that ran between the buildings were mostly quiet, many of its residences up and out of the area for the day. Other than the occasional passing of cars, chirps of birds and Papyrus and Frisk's echoed giggles, it was peaceful. It was truly an amazing sight to experience for the monsters. Even Asgore, who understood that the world had changed without them, had his eyes widen in wonder whenever the group passed something new, wondering just how vast humanity had advanced since the era where monsters called the surface, 'home'. Toriel sighed in serenity, recollecting her thoughts and composure as she looked up at the blue sky above her, clouds slowly adrift from her direction. She doesn't doubt that she'll get use to seeing the sky again.

"It is..unsettling that they knew things we haven't spoken of," Toriel started, her tone was soft yet hard, drawing Undyne's attention once more into the previous conversation they had. "But they haven't done anything to warrant monsters' hostility."

Despite the menace the Judge had openly demonstrated in the Courtroom, it was clear they mean no direct antagonistic intent with them. Rather, it was a show of power, to show that they would and could harm the monsters easily if they wanted to with their authority and..something else entirely, but didn't. In fact, the Judge, as the responsibility as one entails, was on the fence between the conflict Humanity and Monsterkind had. Anyone acting out of order would be snapped back to their rightful place until further discretion and a 'trial' between the two sides will be commenced in a day's time. Humans that were lashing out were punished for their aggression and the favor for monsters were increased in the eyes of the Judge., vise versa when Sans had attacked the human child in the terminal, increasing monsters liability with the use of magic. It was almost as if it's a game to them, unfolding right in front of their very eyes, and that unnerved her. Though, Toriel had a sneaking suspicion that the Judge was a little biased to the monsters (which she was relieved in all honestly). In spite of how little help they've given to monsters, they had actively greeted the monsters personally at the airport ( even though it was an utter disaster), guided them and gave 'suggestions' for magic damage control after the incident. They even gave monsters money and living spaces under Mr. Verner's name as hospitality to raise no qualm. 

Toriel had her suspicions due to the Judge's odd ruling, but how could she not be grateful for all the care they've given? Toriel had seen these similar actions done by a certain someone but the Judge was kinder than that foolish king, so she's more tolerable to them. Toriel even feels that Sans' punishment was well deserved. Attacking a child, no matter what circumstances were morally wrong, and she felt better albeit, guilty at Sans' penalty. Notwithstanding that, she will still tread cautiously around the Judge as decided the day prior. She was grateful for all they've done for Monsterkind but she still feels reluctant to trust them. And that's was just exactly what Toriel told Undyne as calm as she could.

"Give them a chance would you, Undyne? They are helping us more than they could afford to as a Judge. Besides, without them, I am sure we would not be here right now, enjoying the view and walking down this lovely street, would we not? If not for them, then for Alphys. Of course, that does not mean we should be reckless, we should tread cautiously around them as well. We have seen what would happen if we got onto their bad side."

It was odd actually, Toriel was compassionate to all alike, humans and monsters. She understood well and cared for others with patience and kindness. But for some reason, she feels as if she shouldn't trust humans as easily as she would usually, like a gut instinct. Why was that? She isn't sure, but perhaps sticking with it will keep Frisk safe. Yes, that's it. Perhaps she would've easily trusted the Judge if she could've sensed their soul, but not once could she even get a glance on it, even when she was standing right in front of them this morning when they were dropping Sans off, like there was something purposefully blocking it from peering eyes. She had wanted to probe more, but had a distinct feeling of fear rush down her spine preventing her to do so. So she stopped.

Undyne was upset, Toriel could tell well from living for many years--and mainly due to Undnye's extremely expressive facial expression.

"You just want to go along their shit and get strung up by them?? Are you kidding me?!"

"Tread cautiously and abide by the Judge's 'suggestions'. I did not say anything about being manipulated," Toriel shot back, giving Undyne a hard glare of her own.  "Please Undyne, we all want this peace treaty to work. If not for them, then for Alphys, Frisk as well. They have been through hell and back for monsters on the surface as the ambassador of Monsterkind. They've been through a lot even in the underground and I just want them to have fun and be a child again."

Undyne backed down immediately to look down at the ground again, feeling guilty for the tears that threatened to spill from Toriel's eyes. While Undyne wasn't happy with the outcome, she was beginning to realize that Toriel was right, and that the kid really needed a break from everything that's happening. And what kind of girlfriend and bestie was she if she couldn't give both Alphys and Frisk the time of their lives?

So Undyne relented with a loud exaggerated sigh, slumping her shoulders in defeat before looking slightly away from the ex-Quen, loudly and dramatically admitting her lost.

"I guess you're right, my Queen. I have been too much of a fool to be able to see what you see from those glorious eyes! I shall give my head and prove to you that I am your loyal Royal Guard by..GIVING YOUR CHILD THE TIME OF THEIR LIFE!! NYAAAHHHH!!!!"

Undyne roared, charging with mad speed towards Papyrus and lifted Frisk up from his side, before booking around the group in circles with maniac laughter as they continued to move forward as a whole. Frisk squealed in glee, their body bobbing up and down from Undyne's shoulders as they told Undyne to go faster. Undyne obliged with a cackle, picking up the pace and ran faster around the group, feeling the wind rush against her skin. At some point, Papyrus had joined Undyne and her adventure with an audible 'Nyeh' and soon it became a race; first one to lap the group with a partner fifty times wins. Undyne had literally toss Frisk to Papyrus and picked up her babe with a big smooch to the forehead, to which she blushed furiously and Frisk's scrunched up face. The group laughed together at the ridiculous horseplay but had fun nevertheless, even egging them on with japes and jokes.

Undyne dared a glance at Toriel mid-run with Alphys still under her arms, giving her an apologetic sheepish grin. Toriel just chuckled and gave her a grateful smile, silently thanking her for everything. Undyne brightened at that, giving her a toothy grin in return before bringing her attention back to the race. Toriel breathed out of her nose in content and went back to watch Frisk happily playing. That little exchange was all they need to know that everything was okay.

All was forgiven.

And while Undyne still didn't like the Judge, she trusts Toriel, so she'll drop it for now. 

Once Undyne had claimed her victory (which Papyrus denied and claimed that he was the victor), she went back to Toriel's side with Alphys still hanging from her arms like a sack of potato. Toriel smirked at Undyne with a huff, shaking her head. Her eyes held a certain glimmer that made Undnye's eyebrow rose in mild interest, curious as to what had spark Toriel's mischief.

"What's cha thinking about, Toriel?"

She chuckled.

"You know, despite everything so far, Sans seemed pretty fond of the Judge."

Undyne's jaws dropped, flabbergasted at Toriel's mirthful giggle. How could she say that? She'd thought Toriel would've been livid (and rightfully so Undyne noted as she mentally winced at the image of Frisk as the victim) at Sans but she was happily joking about it. Undyne supposes Toriel's anger subsided due to the punishment the Judge had inflicted on him, but still... In any case, Sans has been completely screwed over by the Judge and their 'punishment' because of the airport incident. All he's done since then was to sleep, writhe around in agony and sweat a whole bunch even in the safe comfort of his brother's arms. It was so bad that they couldn't bring him for the shopping trip despite Papyrus' insistence that it'll be alright. They couldn't leave him alone either unlike Flowey who could take care of himself. They were in unknown territory and with the way Sans was at the moment, he was vulnerable. The only reasonable solution was to leave him in the care of the Judge where-

Oh.

Undyne understood what Toriel was hinting at.

Undyne mischievous cackle caught the whole crew's attention once more, further widening Toriel's smirk.

"Oh man, did you see how Sans cuddle up to the Judge of all people? What was that?"

Toriel and Undyne both snickered at the thought of Sans snuggling up with the Judge, amused and interested in the prospect of the relationship the two of them will have in the future. As dangerous as the Judge could be, there was something in the way they held Sans that Toriel and now Undyne, saw and couldn't deny. They could call it affectionate but they don't think that was the case. Maybe in the future, it would be, but for now, all they could call it was...'tender'. Papyrus nodded enthusiastically at Undyne, seemly pondering hard with a gloved hand under his chin and a bone brow raised after placing Frisk back down on the ground.

"IT'S REALLY SHOCKING! SANS WOULD NEVER LET ANYONE CARRY HIM, LET ALONE TOUCH HIM OTHER THAN ME! FOR HIM TO CANOODLE WITH THE HUMAN..WOWIE!! IS THIS A NEW FRIENDSHIP IN MAKING THAT I SMELL??!"

Undyne barked a laugh, her sharp yellow teeth glaring against the sun. Well, Papyrus isn't wrong, but Undyne doubts it'll be 'friendship'. It was funny to her really; Sans, the lazy sack of bones, is seemingly unconsciously fond of the Judge, a person of high sovereignty of all people?? Hilarious. She didn't think Sans would seek out for someone with how unmotivated he was, let alone a person quite the literal opposite of what he was. Or it may be a side effect of that suspicious power the Judge had. It was surprising, and everyone felt the same. Nevertheless, Undyne agreed about the two's.. 'soon-to-be-friendship', for the sake of Papyrus.

"Uh yeah, 'friendship'. Did you guys felt how his soul leaped and flutter in his chest though? That was the BEST! Head over heels and he doesn't even know it! How hilarious is that?!"

Toriel fanned herself a little with her paw while Asgore looked away, both flustered at the remembrance of Sans' accidental declaration. As unintentional as it was, he had openly shown everyone his contentment with the Judge, and that was embarrassing. He was lucky that they were the only monsters around the premise to feel it. Toriel knew that the idea of Sans' intimacy was lost to Papyrus though, his innocence lighting up like a Christmas tree at the prospect of Sans making a new human friend on the surface. So she decided to keep it to herself like Undyne did and continued to stay quiet. Alphys shyly spoke up a little while into the secondhand embarrassment, voicing her comment from underneath Undyne's arms.

"I-I ship i-it."

Frisk quickly joined in, giggling as their hands fluidly signed in front of their chest.

'Same here!'

Asgore chuckled, watching the crew chatter amongst themselves in light of Sans predicament. A ghost of a smile appeared on his maw as he watched Toriel laugh with Frisk by her side, reminding him of a once, happy time where he still had her as his wife and their two children by their side. A distant memory that he could help be so fond of even in the present time. Asgore sighed through his nose and looked down the street they've been walking, memory replaying at the back of his mind over and over again.

"Ah to be young again."

There was a pause in the chatter and Asgore immediately realized his mistake for letting his mouth run. The crew all had their eyes snapped to Asgore's attention, boring holes into the now embarrassed king. Toriel was frowning at him but it soon turned into amusement, her eyes crinkling upwards as a bubble of laughter followed. Her laugh caused the rest to follow suit as well, laughing at the ridiculous and silliness of it all. Even Asgore chuckled a little at that, laughing away his embarrassment. As everyone finally started to calm down, Toriel decided to speak up again, urging the group to continue their trip into town.

"Let us get going, shall we? While we do have the whole day to ourselves, we would not want to spend it all idly chatting now, do we? Let us explore this lovely place, shall we?"

Undyne cheered on with Papyrus, while Frisk jumped around the duo excitedly.

"HELL YEAH!! LET'S GRAB SOME FLOWERS FOR THOSE SOON-TO-BE-LOVEBIRDS AS WELL!! RACE YOU TO THE TOWN PAPYRUS!"

"U-U-Undyne?!?"

Without a second thought, Undyne holstered Alphys on her shoulder and dashed away from the group, leaving a trail of dust clouds behind her. Papyrus gave a small 'Nyeh!' before doing the same, sprinting after Undyne once he scooped Frisk onto his shoulders, leaving another trail of dust along side Undyne's. Frisk gave a squeal of glee, their body bobbing up and down once more on Papyrus' shoulders as they turn to wave at Toriel animatedly. Toriel chuckled, returning their wave as their figure grew smaller and smaller into the distance. Now all that's left of the group was the ex-couple, standing side by side from each other. Asgore gave his ex-wife a nervous glance, fiddling with his paw.

Perhaps he could try and take this chance to reconcile...?

"So um, Tori.."

"No."

Toriel's immediate response was sharp and cold, making Asgore flinch and sigh in defeat. She knew what he had wanted to say and she wasn't letting him finish that sentence. She wasn't going to forgive him after all the years of wrongdoing he'd done. She gave a quick annoyed puff of air, puffing her chest out before striding away from the dejected King, intending to catch up with the rest of the group before they wreak havoc in the mall. Asgore silently followed after her, sulking at her rejection.

Unbeknownst to him and everyone else, Chara watched and sympathetically pat their father's back before returning back to Frisk's side, staring directly back into the eyes they could feel hidden behind the dark and in the darkness.

"Oh my.."

"WOWIE!"

"This. Place. Is. HUGE!!"

"I-I agree..!"

Frisk stared at the layered marble floors in awe, admiring the glistening lights that shined from the shops surrounding them. The place was huge and Frisk was wholly elated to start exploring the mall. They knew it was mall; they've seen one and have been in one before. In fact, Frisk had been to a vary of different malls before they had climbed Mount. Ebott but this one really takes the cake. They almost didn't recognize that it was, indeed a mall until they had accidentally eavesdropped on a conversation from a passing human couple, happily on their merry to shop their wallets dry. Never had they been in one so big and extravagant like the one they're in right now, and that excited them to no end.

Frisk jumped from leg to leg, grinning up at Toriel with big pleading eyes. They signed in quick succession.

'Mom? Toy store? Please??'

Toriel chuckled, smiling down to her child and pat their head softly as they continued to vibrate in excitement.

"Of course my child. Shall we get going everyone?

Undyne pumped her fist into the air, screaming her enthusiasm with Papyrus before dashing across the mall manically, ignoring the startled humans that looked and evaded the running monsters. Undyne called back to Frisk with a grin so sharp that they think she could cut the air with.

"Come on punk! What are you waiting for?!"

Frisk giggled and ran to catch up with the two monsters, Toriel, Alphys and Asgore walking in toll. The group continued this little routine as they venture around the mall, screaming and giggling like little school girl gossipping and talking about their crushes. The group was astonished at the array products being offered and displayed at each and every shop, their eyes and mouths grew into sauces as they started in awe. Everyone wanted to purchase at least one of everything. They may not know what lots of the goodies' were for, but hell were they going to leave the opportunity to get them. However, Toriel had the rationality to stop the group from doing so before things got out of hand. They didn't know their currency's value to today's age of human currency well enough to mindlessly splurge their spending. Toriel didn't want to overuse the privilege given by the Judge as well.

Undyne huffed out a breath and pouted, disappointed that she couldn't buy as much as she could as the Judge had allowed her to. But Toriel was Toriel, and Undye knew that she was just trying to be careful and was just looking out for the group, so she wasn't as discouraged as she was looked. Instead, Undyne took it as a challenge and slammed against the store's counter, startling the poor clerk as she declared that she'll return and buy everything off the shelves once everything political was settled. The clerk meekly nodded, face pale as a ghost and accepting the underlying challenge (and maybe borderline threat) Undnye had dished out. Undyne grinned triumphantly before storming out of the shop victoriously, dragging Papyrus together with her by the scarf. He quickly gave the clerk an apologetic look before actively trailing after Undyne, only to have his skull immediately head-locked in her arms in a noogie.

"PLEASE DON'T NOOGIE THE SKELETON!"

Undyne merely laughed at that, rubbing her fist further against Papyrus' skull.

Toriel sighed deeply, rubbing the bridge of her snout as she watched Alphys panic a little before giving a quick apology for Undyne to the clerk and rushing off to catch up with her girlfriend. Toriel turned to the clerk and sincerely apologized to her on behalf of Undyne's bad behavior. Asgore ducked his head in apology as well, embarrassed at Undyne's explosive personality. The clerk smiled at the royals softly, shaking her head and waving them off.

"You don't need to apologize for such a trivial thing. If the Judge so wishes, then so be it. We'll gladly handle any nasty things said to us on a silver platter so that all of you have a good time wherever you go. If there's anything needed to be critically addressed or take action, the Judge will surely handle it immediately."

Frisk didn't need to look up to the clerk to feel their sickly sweet and thin smile tugging at the edge of her cheeks. It unnerved Frisk to no end, and that was apparent to the ex-couple as well, as they muttered their thanks in a hurry and ushered Frisk out of the shop with their hands in hand. Chara was the only one who remained unfazed, their stoic expression remained emotionless even as they look back at the clerk once more, noting of her hollow stare as the group went further away from the shop. The only thing Frisk could feel from them was a small itch at the back of their mind; a subtle annoyance.

There was a quiet unease amidst the group once Toriel, Asgore, and Frisk reunited with the group, retelling what had happened with their trusted allies. Everyone was on high alert afterward, Frisk could feel the air shift and swirl around their friends, their magic working under pressure to the slightest of suspicious activity. For what reason were they on high alert though?

Frisk didn't have a clue really.

And neither do they think the monsters did as well.

Was it actually because of the clerk? Or was it the way the clerk had put an odd light above the Judge? Perhaps its a combination of both?

...No, that wasn't it. Frisk had seen monsters act exactly like the clerk did when they were in New home, reaching to meet King Asgore. The constant chants of 'King Asgore will let us go', 'King Asgore will give us hope', 'King Asgore will save us all'...

'You should be smiling, too.'

'Aren't you excited?'

'Aren't you happy?'

"You're going to be free."

....

There was once upon a time where Frisk was unsettled and scared by the monsters' constant desperate chants. And the clerk was no different. Frisk wasn't scared, perhaps merely unnerved at her desperate adoration to the Judge like the monsters did to the king, but they weren't afraid. So what was making the monsters and Frisk so suddenly high alert?

Frisk sighed quietly and looked down at the floor, tense. They...didn't know who this..'Judge' truly was, let alone how they really looked like. All they know was that the Judge was human (were they?), that they are very important to the world, and that they had the ability to lock one of the most powerful monster's magic with just an utter of a few sentences. Frisk couldn't help but involuntarily shiver. Frisk didn't know what to make of it. Chara however, had gleefully whispered their excitement of the Judge ever since the incident at the airport, even more so when all the monsters were getting into the bus afterward and after the briefing. Frisk didn't have a clue why they were so enthusiastic about them. All they've felt when they watched the Judge closely at the Courtroom was the ends of their hair standing at the back of their neck, their skin prickled into goosebumps as they watched the shadow of the Judge's hood shift, a glimmer (perhaps it was their eyes? Frisk thought) under it moving about and pointedly shift to Frisk's general direction.

Needless to say, Chara was given control of the body that night so Frisk could get a time out.

And boy, was Frisk glad that Sans was unconscious for that period of time. He would've actively smelled and sense the bloodlust oozing out of Chara from a mile away. And Flowey wasn't helping either, cheering and egging Chara to actually do something.

Frisk didn't know what was going on and that frightens them to no end. It has been countless resets, whether it'd be genocide or pacifists, since they've encountered something they didn't know, something that they couldn't at the minimum roughly estimate what will happen. They've gotten so used to it that they're now so damn afraid of the things ahead of them. Perhaps Frisk would've been more at ease if they could remember some things pre-fall, but they couldn't. The multiple resets and in addition to trauma, had messed their memory quite badly. Was there even a Judge up on the surface in the first place? Frisk, for all the love of them, couldn't even remember a single thing before they leaped into the mouth of the mountain. They had a sneaking suspicion that there wasn't one, but they couldn't be so sure either.

Frisk inwardly sigh and retreated back into the back of their mind, letting Chara take over once more. They were too stressed and tired to deal with the situation they're in right now, Frisk just wanted to rest so badly. However, Chara had other plans it seemed. Instead of switching, they surprised Frisk by staying put, ignoring Frisk's request.

Chara?

No reply.

Chara? Chara, hey? What's wrong?

Silence, not a single word was uttered from Chara.

Frisk looked up at their spectator friend in worry, only to see that their attention elsewhere, staring off into the distance with narrowed eyes. A deep frown was plastered on their face, almost scowling at whatever they were looking at. It was then that Frisk realized that Chara wasn't the only one silent.

In fact, the whole mall was.

Darting their eyes around, Frisk wasn't surprised to see little to none of the people roaming around the mall, leaving it nearly deserted. As much as humans were curious about the monsters now wandering the country, it was a Tuesday and they couldn't just abandon their daily duties in favor of gawking, and following wherever the monsters went and stare. While Frisk was thankful for that they wouldn't have to spend the day having their every move watched and observed by terrifying, gawping human eyes, they couldn't help the tremble that started to take hold on their body. While yes, the mall would definitely be quieter than usual due to work hours, it shouldn't be this quiet, especially being so close to their family and friends. Frisk should've at least been able to hear the low hum of the monsters' magic against the air but there was nothing. No sound, nor movement. Everything was eerily stock still; numb and muted.

Frisk's body shook harder. They were scared, scared at the lack of noise-no, they were frightened by everything that surrounds them, Not just the lack of sound, but the people around them. Friends, family--even the sole partner that could hear the screams of their cracked, determined soul.

They were scared of the underground's Judge.

They were scared of the surface's Judge.

They were scared of dying agai-

"-isk? My child?!"

Frisk blinked, their vision slowly returning and refocusing onto the goat monster that held them within her arms. Heavy concern radiated from the mother's face, her eyebrows were twisted into a knot and tears were threatening to slip from the edges of her burgundy eyes. When had their mother picked them up? Frisk frowned a little and looked around them, noticing that the rest of the group had huddled closer to them. Undyne, Alphys, Papyrus and Asgore all held a various degree of worry on their face, and their frowns did nothing to pacify Frisk's concerns. Blinking once more to readjust their blurry vision, they felt up their cheeks, realizing that their own salty tears had spilled down their face.

Huh..?

"Thank goodness.... Are you alright, my child? You are trembling very badly."

Frisk looked down at their open palms and gave them an experimental squeeze, feeling themselves shake as they reopened them once more. Toriel was right, their hands were shivering uncontrollably. They grit their teeth and leaned into their mother for a hug in an attempt to calm themselves down, only for their body to shake harder against Toriel's hold. Toriel obliged with a quiet sigh, patting and humming a soothing, familiar tune to Frisk's ears. Frisk grit their teeth harder, clutching onto Toriel's clothing for dear life as their heart twisted inside their chest. Frisk should've known this would've happened again. Dammit, they had a panic attack again.

"I think... that is enough of exploring for now, don't you agree? Frisk must be tired. Why don't we head back for today?"

The group unanimously agreed, nodding to Toriel's decision.

"Yeah, I agree with Toriel, Punk needs rest! so leT'S GO!"

Undyne cackled, ready to sprint out of the mall with a blushing Alphys under her arms once more when Papyrus spoke up, stopping her in her tracks.

"NYEH! CAN WE- I mean, can we go to that store first?"

A pastel pink store came into view as the group turned to where Papyrus pointed, keeping his voice softer for Frisk's sake. Toriel gave a slight frown on her part but it was gone as soon as it came, a ghost of a smile replacing it instead, appreciative of  Papyrus' thoughtfulness of his voice for Frisk's emotional state.

"Of course Papyrus, but only if Frisk is well enough and up for it."

Toriel proceeded to pat Frisk's head, tilting her head a little to address them softly.

"My child?"

Frisk released their hug and smiled wide at Toriel, giving her two huge thumbs up. She returned the smile gently, wiping away any excess tears from Frisk's face before giving them one last tender squeeze and settling them down. She held onto Frisk's small hand affectionately and turned to address the group that was watching them kindly.

"Well then, shall we get going?"

Papyrus and Alphys had never squeal so hard in their entire magical lifetime.

Walking to the pastel shop was pleasantly quiet, other than Undyne and Papyrus' occasional idle bickering. Toriel did chastise them for it for Frisk's sake, but they didn't really mind the noise their friends were making. In fact, they enjoyed the chatter, letting it ease themselves from and forget the little episode they had not just a minute ago. It reminded them that all the things that they've been through would be worth it if they could see all the monsters, all their family and friends, happy and enjoying the surface they've missed for so long being underground. Frisk even forgave Chara despite their refusal to look directly at Frisk, opting to continue to stare into the distance where they had denied the switch and away from Frisk. Frisk knew Chara felt guilty-they could feel it in their owl soul-but was too prideful to admit, they knew that Chara was highly uncomfortable with humans and being in an area where they roamed in mass, had them extremely uptight of their surroundings. So Frisk just smiles easily at them, giving them the most understanding look as they could pull off without alerting the group.

All's forgiven..partner.

Chara floated down a little to bump their ghostly head gently against Frisk's. They smirked at them, appreciative and amused at their attempt of reassurance.

Frisk's smiled broadened at that. It further widens into a toothy grin when the heavy scent of bread from the pastel store warps around their nostril as they got closer. Frisk ran into the shop squealing, pulling along a startled and grouchy Chara. They hover a little ways above beside Frisk, unhappy at the sudden dash they did without warning. They did give Chara a quick apologetic look but other than that, paid no mind of their grumpy friend. Chara was Chara after all, and, they couldn't just ignore the literal treasure they've stumbled upon.

Despite the store's small structure, it carried rows and rows of shelves filled to the brim with pastries. There was a wide variety of them--from rainbow sprinkled donuts to powdered sugar chocolate bread-- placed in the safety of the bakery's glass display cabinets but many laid bare, on fancy-laced glass display plates and saucers, glistening under the eyes of the shop's spotlights. Cookies were neatly stacked up together on a frilly pink display table in the middle of the shop's entrance, showing off their delicious goodness within the lanced filled wrappers, shielding them from further prying eyes. They beckoned for Frisk to come closer, picking them up with their greedy two hands and sink their pearly white teeth into their juicy inside, tasting every ounce of sweet, sweet goodness that they had to offer. Frisk always had a sweet tooth on them. No matter the type of sweet presented to them, they would gratefully take them happily without question. Seeing the huge amount of tempting stack in front of them wasn't just an immeasurable feast to their eyes, it was literal candy heaven. As quick as they could, Frisk took the service tray from the corner of the shop and started to pile it up with all the sugary sweets that looked good to eat and that they liked. They threw in some chocolate-filled ones into the mix as well for Chara, to which they were glad that Frisk did so without the need to ask.

Hearing the audible gasps of the monsters from the entrance of the shop, Frisk turned towards their mother with the spilling tray, their eyes glistening with a determined sparkle. Toriel chuckled, covering her maw with her paw to hide her happiness for Frisk.

"Alright alright, you can grab whatever you want, my child. But not till it overflows okay?"

Frisk pouted, clearly disappointed that they've obviously gone over the limit with their tray already. However, as quickly as their disappointment appeared, it disappeared and a more mischievous expression grew onto their face, a plan already forming in their mind. Sauntering as slyly as they could to Asgore, Frisk gave their tray to him--to which he accepted in his confusion--before rushing to grab another, blinking innocently at Toriel. Poor Asgore became the prime target for slander as he looked at Toriel nervously, like a deer caught in the headlights, completely and utterly dumbfounded by Frisk's little performance. Toriel gave him the stink eye, scrunching her snort in distaste. It went away, however, when she sighed and instead gave Asgore a playful smirk.

"I suppose, since Asgore's tray is filled to the brim, he can no longer choose the pastries he wants. Ah well, come along now Frisk, let us choose ours now shall we?"

With a giggle and wink from Frisk, both Toriel and they turned their back towards Asgore and wandered around the shop, picking more pastries onto the new tray nonchalantly. Asgore sputtered, his fur turning a lovely shade of pink in embarrassment. Undnye snickered at Asgore, giving him a generous slap to the back as he tried not to drop the tray of pastries from dropping from the impact.

"Guess you still have a chance, big guy!"

Asgore chuckled lightly, looking over to Toriel lovingly.

"I suppose I still do."

Undyne snickered once more, grabbing two trays from the corner of the store for both Alphys and herself before joining Papyrus in his scavenger to wipe the shelves clean. She laughed harshly, pilling her tray to the brim with pastries, unbothered that the more she stacked, double the amount would spill from the tray. Fortunately, Alphys had convinced Undyne to place her tray down to the floor as she stacked, decreasing the chances for the pastries to fall from the pile. Even so, Alphys went around said tray as quickly as she could, placing more trays from the corner of the store to prevent any stray, fallen goods from hitting the floor from Undyne's escapade. That said, she needn't worry about the same issue with Papyrus. While Papyrus is more positively hectic than Undyne, he understood his capabilities far more than Undyne did of her recklessness. Papyrus had his tray well balanced against one of his gloved hand, arranging and assembling his chosen sweets like a puzzle with his other on his tray neatly. Whenever a bread, or a doughnut fell, he'd swiftly catch them without turning and batting an eye socket, returning or grabbing a new service tray for him to place the pastry on.  With a quick sigh, Alphys quietly picked a dozen glossed donuts from one of the glass display tables for herself and retreated to the back of the shop, waiting for the rest of the group to finish picking out their pastries.

"Have you selected what you wanted, Alphys?"

Alphys jumped, turning her head to the gravelly voice from her side. Asgore was slowly walking up to her with the tray of pastries Frisk had shoved upon him, still within the clutches of his paw. Alphys visible shifted, fumbling with her glasses before replying meekly to Asgore.

"O-oh um, y-yes. A-are you not going t-to pick some u-up for yourself, your m-majesty?"

Asgore shook his head once and looked over to the chaos in the shop, his eyes lingered a little too long at Toriel's smiling and Frisk's giggle forms.

"There is no need, Just by seeing Monsterkind..my family, up on the surface is already the best candy that I could ever get."

Alphys timidly smiled, looking over the shop as well, watching Undyne make a mess of herself.

"Y-yeah."

"Sooo.., you're gonna pay for all of that right?"

 A voice so small, so quiet, yet so loud, spoke from the two monsters' backs, making the both of them freeze. Their magic started to hum a little too loudly as their body tensed hard from the sudden presence behind them. This caught the rest of the group's attention, making them halt and freeze as well. Alarms rang beneath their skin (and bones), goosebumps running down each and everyone's spine. How had the monsters not noticed the presence earlier? The monsters didn't even sense anyone in the store, let alone at the back of the store when they had entered, assuming that whoever was running the shop had gone out for a while. How the hell did they manage to bypass all detection from both the back and the entrance of the store? They clearly didn't see anyone walk out or in from any ends of the store. Toriel, Undyne and Papyrus' magic quickly reacted to Alphy's and Asgore's distress and hummed along with their rhythm, prepared and ready to strike whoever had managed to sneak up on them. Frisk stood their ground despite feeling a little suffocated from the monsters' magic and held Toriel's dress, attempting to be brave and unphased by the sudden change in the atmosphere.

The group sharply turned their heads towards the source of their alarm and tensed a little further. The sudden presence was in fact, a lady with shoulder-length wavy hair. She wore a cream-white blouse and sky blue short jeans. The ends of the lady's strawberry hair were dyed in a shade of scarlet red, and her long bangs were combed and styled to the left side of her head. What truly caught the group's attention though, were the eyes that stared apprehensively at them; they were red. They were red like the serum that Alphys knew and feared from her experiments. Red like the blood the ex-royal couple knew and experienced, whether it'd be the fallen children that were slaughtered or the pre-barrier war. Red like the strong determination that Frisk had in their soul, intoxicating and poisoning them consciously and unconsciously.

The red that Chara knew all too well, just like the eyes of their own.

The lady drifted her gaze across the group one by one, taking in their facial expression as she crossed her arms with a loud puff of air. Tucking the loose stands of hair behind her ear, she rose an eyebrow at the monsters in front of her with a sharp stare, a frown tugging down from her pink, rosy lips.

"Well?"