"This debate will focus on the topic of Asgore Dremurr's arrest. A vote will be taken by the public afterwards, concluded two hours after." A man stood at a table next to the door of the stage.
"You will be filmed. Do you need the names of the channels you appear on?" Both Jessica and Rave shook their heads. "One question. May Mister Lawrens and I debate on the podium together?"
The man nodded and talked again. "You may, under the circumstance that Miss Grey bring one of her team members up on the podium as well. She has all rights to refuse." Rave raised his eyebrows and looked to Jessica in expectance.
"Sure. Gaster will be with me." The man nodded and wrote something on his clipboard. "Get him in, and we'll..." He trailed off and listened to an earpiece, quickly shutting it off after. "We're on in five. Get them and I'll explain the basics."
Jessica and Rave both went down the hall and out the door. Rave smiled and spoke with malice. "You're not gonna win. You know that, right?" Jessica ignored him. "You're nothing. You don't know what the hell you're doing at this point, Jessica. What you are is crazy."
They turned into another hallway and Jessica walked quicker. Rave matched her pace and continued with a larger smile on the brink of looking insane. "Let me ask you a question. Why do you mask your past? Is it because you're scared of it? Are you scared of me?"
Jessica continued to ignore him. He scowled and gripped her arm, pulling her back harshly. She let out a yelp as he held her tight. "Answer me. If you're scared, I'll give you a reason to show i-"
Jessica shoved him back and summoned her sword, holding it between them. "What the hell is your problem?! I don't understand, Rave!" She felt tears press at her eyes, but she held them back.
"Don't understand what, Jessica? The fact that you hurt me? The fact that you're selfish?" Rave laughed out loud, cutting himself off with a yell. "THE FACT THAT I HATE YOU?! HUH?!"
Jessica stepped back at that. Rave breathed heavily as Gaster and Damian came through a door behind them, Jessica quickly making her sword disappear. Gaster stopped for a moment and took a look at both of them before growling and walking over to Rave.
Jessica held her arm out in front of him, stopping him from walking over. "Don't. I'll explain later, okay?" Gaster looked to her with concern before shooting Rave a glare and moving to let Damian walk over to him.
They walked towards the man again, who hurriedly spoke. "Care to explain what the dilemma is?" He scribbled into his clipboard as Jessica answered.
"Personal matters, not related to the debate." "Prohibited. Keep them personal." Jessica nodded as Rave didn't react. The man continued. "That's one of the basic rules. Second, no yelling or interrupting. Third, initiating physical contact will get you arrested."
Damian looked normal and happy with the rules, while the other three glanced at each other with looks of blame. The man opened the door to the stage and glanced back at the crowd.
"Judging by your audience, rule number one is going to be looking flashy." The man held the door open with a chuckle, letting all of them walk out. "Good luck, guys."
Rave walked behind Jessica, whispering "You'll need it." and straightening his tie. Gaster turned to face him but Jessica shook her head. "Ignore both of them."
They walked up to the stage, where two podiums stood tall above the crowd. Jessica took a deep breath as she stood behind one, not daring to look at the hundreds of people before her. "Hey. You've got this, okay?"
She nodded and smiled as Gaster put his hand on her shoulder. "You just have to disprove their lies. They're baseless."
The man they'd seen in the hall walked out another stage door and to a table in front of the stage. "Alright, alright, take your seats, everyone. A lot of people have been waiting for a proper introduction of both sides, so once we get that over with, we'll get to the questions."
The crowd seemed to die down and the man looked to Rave and Damian. "You two, please give us your names and organization's goal." Damian smiled and cleared his throat, glancing at Rave who gave him a grin.
"We're a group of people who seek to continue the AMD's legacy. My name is Damian Lawrens, and our goal is to once again..."
He glanced back at Jessica. "...Bring peace to our society with the extraction of monsters." The man at the debate table nodded as the crowd softly chattered. Rave spoke shortly after. "My name is Rave Rutrow, head of the HSO. I fully support Mister Lawrens' goal and provide all funding necessary."
The debate manager nodded and turned to Jessica, who stood up straight. "My name is Jessica Grey, former owner of the AMD and current leader of the Monsters Rights Movement."
Gaster spoke last, with a hint of annoyance in his tone. "My name is Wing Din Gaster, head scientist and recovery specialist at the HSO..." He glanced at Rave and cleared his throat. "Excuse me. Former head scientist and recovery specialist."
The man at the table nodded and straightened the papers in front of him. "Alright, thank you. As you know, Asgore Dremurr's arrest is shrouded in fog, and we'd like to clear that up. Why was Asgore's arrest implemented, and why should he be released or stay behind bars? Mister Rutrow, you're up first."
"Well, it was painfully simple. He'd murdered six human children who had fallen down there in cold blood. A crime like that should never be condoned."
The crowd chattered in agreement. Jessica spoke quickly. "If I may, Mister Rutrow. You're not considering the circumstances in which these children were killed."
"Circumstances? Murder, through any colored lens, is murder nonetheless." Rave glared at Jessica with a smug smile. "Wouldn't you lock up a child murderer if they did it up here?"
"First of all, that didn't happen up here. The monsters were obligated to kill them to escape the place they were seal-" "Miss Grey, are you saying you are okay with murder-?" Damian's voice intercepting hers made her slam her hands on the podium. "Let me finish, Lawrens. Goddamn."
Damian gave her a slight smile upon seeing her anger, and Gaster stepped up to the microphone and spoke. "May I speak from a firsthand experience?"
"Woah, be careful. He may murder your children in the process." Rave laughed as some of the crowd laughed along with him. The debate manager spoke. "Strike one for your side, Mister Rutrow. Immaturity with a topic as sensitive as this will not be tolerated."
Jessica couldn't help but put her hand to her mouth to stifle a giggle as Gaster smiled at Damian smugly. He spoke with a new sense of confidence. "As the royal scientist, it was my sole duty to find a way to break the barrier without human souls. The king was not compliant with views of murdering humans."
"When nothing proved effective, we had to resort to using human souls. And it was deliberately out of respect for humans on the surface that we waited for six to fall down instead of using one to bring back others."
Jessica nodded in approval as the crowd seemed to agree. Gaster stepped back with satisfaction as the debate manager nodded. "Alright, thank you both. Myself and many others would like to know, if Asgore was to be freed, why would it benefit or harm our city? Miss Grey, you're up first."
"It would let him live his life in peace, as he deserves to. The charges are completely justified, and at this point, it seems like a case of discrimination."
The crowd seemed to be surprised at that, awaiting a rebuttal. Damian cleared his throat and spoke. "Miss Grey, it's as if you haven't run a similar business yourself."
"My experience with monsters has led me to change. You, on the other hand, haven't had any personal interaction with monsters, have you?" Jessica looked to Damian, who stayed silent and gave her a glare.
"Exactly. You can't make a reliable conclusion on them with nothing to go off of yourself. So, Lawrens, what exactly is your establishment trying to accomplish?"
The place went silent. Damian remained speechless and annoyed as Rave stepped up to the microphone. "Fine. Let's play the hard way, Jessica."
"The goal is to send you back to where you were sealed, skeleton. And that classified event that happened in the city was-" "That's enough, Rave!" Jessica slammed her hands on the table as the debate manager frantically tried to calm them both down.
"Please, please, stay calm- ehm, Mister Rutrow, disclosing classified information is no way civil-" "He's the one you should be worried about! He DESTROYED half our city, manipulating Jessica into-" "I wasn't manipulated into anything! Stop victimizing me!" "Rutrow and I are HELPING you, Miss Grey, and it's a shame you can't see tha-" "Oh, yeah, and what're you gonna do, visor boy? Shoot your little gun?"
The crowd uproared with anger. Screams of different sides filled the auditorium. "MURDER IS MURDER!" "ASGORE DESERVES PEACE!" "SEAL THE SKELETON!" "STRIKE ONE FOR RUTROW, STRIKE OUT FOREVER!"
"SETTLE DOWN, SETTLE DOWN!" The debate manager yelled into his microphone. The crowd fell a little quiet, but uproar still ensued. Jessica smiled, the debate having the exact effect she wanted. Damian scoffed and rolled his eyes at her.
The debate manager scowled. "That's quite enough, I suppose. We'll have our two teams step off." The four walked off the stage, two of them perfectly content with the publicity their new movement had acquired.