Flipping the script(swapfell)part 1

chapter 15

Hearings that reached the level of which this entire scandal went were so rare that it took a few extra days to dust off the proceeding how-to's and get everyone together. Altogether, it was a trial where judgement was passed by the highest-ranking Monsters in the Underground, including King Asgore, Queen Toriel, and since there was no longer a Prince to stand as third and Alphys was set as key witness to Sans, Doctor Undyne took the third judge position, her status as the Head Royal Scientist being just high enough to fill the spot.

There was a seldom-used hall in the castle made up just for this event, with Asgore, Toriel, and Undyne situated up in the front with Monsters of important position or standing as witnesses to the hearing. Although normally the hearing was supposed to be a private matter in which to quietly deal with huge issues of the kingdom, the publicity was unavoidable. Already, there was a crowd outside the castle, and the Capitol had never been more bustling and noisy.

Even from inside the hearing room, Asgore could hear the crowd outside, their jeering and excitement bordering on bloodthirsty, and couldn't help but think of how much more manageable the crowd control could be if only Papyrus wasn't the center of this entire scandal. Seeing that first picture had been jarring enough, but when more came in, as well as VIDEOS, he nearly had a heart attack at the sight and broke his phone to avoid having to see anymore.

Papyrus had always been one of his more favored subjects, much like his father Gaster had been. While Gaster had been more of a friend to Asgore, Papyrus gained more favor from Toriel at how thorough and pin-tidy the Skeleton was with his job. This scandal was just as much of a shock to her as it was to Asgore.

But Papyrus was only PART of the scandal; the second part was his brother, Sans. According to Alphys's reports, Sans had dispatched the group of Monsters responsible for the scandal in the first place with ease with an incredibly unorthodox and disturbing reason: they had damaged Sans's 'property', and according to Alphys, it was entirely LEGAL.

The two Skeletons had been untouchable and unreachable for the past week, but Sans had sent his intention to arrive on time for the hearing with Alphys's added report as him saying ' I'll tear their souls out of their bodies and dust it in my hands' if there was any move on his person, with a worse fate for those who went after Papyrus. The almost haunted look on Alphys's face when she recanted that statement had Asgore reminding himself that Gaster had TWO sons, and if Papyrus hadn't inherited the late former Captain's temperament, then it stood to reason that it should fall to Sans instead.

Asgore heard the gong of the clock tower striking noon, and wondered where the basis of the hearing were, lifting his head sharply when he heard the sound of a commotion outside quickly followed by the doors opening. Just past the doors, Asgore could see twin walls of bones jutting from the ground, creating a clear pathway for the new arrivals.

Alphys led the front, her battle axe in hand but lowered and not intended to be used. The doors closed behind the trio, and the silence was broken by the sound of heels clicking on the floor as they walked forward.

It was...taking some time to process the whole picture. Asgore had never seen Alphys look so cowed before, for one, but that paled entirely in comparison to her compatriots. Asgore instinctively honed in on Papyrus, already feeling a twinge of worry for the Skeleton, what with what happened, but he was honest-to-gods surprised to see the tall Skeleton looking completely at ease with his surroundings.

Hell, he was surprised to see Papyrus looking at ease at ALL. Papyrus's posture was careless and slumped, hands shoved into his jean pockets with a half-spent cigarette resting between his teeth. He almost looked BORED...but his expression was anything BUT. Even from this short distance, Asgore could see that Papyrus had eyelights only on the third member of the new arrival party...