General Scourge sat, hoping to god that the yelling would stop. Of course the council of generals existed just so they could argue, but this argument hadn't ended for the past six months. His hangover was raging over the angry screams that filled the room.
"I'm telling you," General Kaufmann said through clenched teeth, "The Monsters can't be trusted, they're gonna turn on us, it's just a matter of time!" General Kaufmann was a short, anemic, balding, insomniatic, and an all around angry man.
General McDuffet stood, her face twisted in disapproval, "And what makes you assume that?" Her anger clouded her mind far beyond her ability to hide are Scottish accent, "If this is gonna be another 'My Mommy didn't hug me enough' rant I'm gonna stick my grandfather's sword up your pompous, greedy…"
Major General Kaiser stood and slammed his cane on the ground, "SILENCE."
The breath General Scrouge didn't know he was holding was released as the silence permeated the room, and the hard throbbing in his head turned soft. Scourge sat to the right of the Major, the leader of the council, one of the higher ranking members. Sitting on the other side of The Major was General Baron, who stood to speak.
His french accent buzzed across the room, it's annoying nasalness made it impossible not to hear, "I know that we are in disagreement about the current condition of Human-Monster relations, but screaming and insulting each other isn't going to fix anything. Why can't you just be like the Great Alexander Baron and act like adults?"
General Scrouge couldn't help but poke some fun at his self absorbed friend. His words coming out were hardly understandable. A weird blend of his thick Canadian accent, his hangover telling him to speak quietly, and the two Bloody Mary's he had for breakfast. "Says the Man-baby to the other Man-babies."
From the far side of the table came the voice of the "oldest" general at the table, General Baxy, "How about you say that to my face you alcoholic, Monster loving, waste of space!" The old Aussie's face a dark red from his anger.
"Alright," General Scrouge said, standing, "That's two votes for genocide, I just love how caring and supportive of change we are."
"Yes," General Baron called, the sarcasm going over his head, "We are so very good at our jobs! Well, at least Iam."
"I'm just having trouble figuring out why we're discussing killing the Monsters when they've done nothing wrong," General Terris spoke up in her dulled southern drawl, "It's stupid to punish people who have done nothing but extend an olive branch."
General Kaufmann, never one to accept that he's wrong, had a rebuttal prepared. "We are the Human council of generals, we fight for the benefits of mankind and they have shone themselves to be a threat. Are we going to take away antifungals because the fungus 'didn't mean it'? No, No, we aren't because that's stupid. And, if I might remind you, this council was set up to preventwar, that means to stop it before it starts, before anyone can get hurt. They are a threat, and if you won't believe me, then it'syou that's not doing your jobs."
General Kaufmann looked pleased with himself, seeing the sad, dejected look on General Terris' face. It was short lived as the Major stood, ready to have his turn to speak. The Major still managed to be just as, if not more so, intimidating than your average man. Ditching the uniform when he stopped caring about his appearance long ago, in exchange for a sleeping gown. His hat adorned with five old, grimy stars still sat on his head, a reminder that he was still the only one to ever be in a war.
"General Kaufmann, you are just as aware as any of us that that is not what this council was built for," the Major Kaiser said in his disapproving, booming 'Dad Voice' that only ever came out when a General had overstayed their welcome, General Scrouge could only remember three other times he had heard this tone of voice from the Major, all of those Generals were promptly voted out, "This council was set up so that the world could have peace, not so you can give an excuse to act upon your own prejudice like a man-baby."
General Scourge couldn't help but smile at that.
"If the Monsters had wanted war, they would have brought it to us as soon as they escaped. I don't know what that 'Frisk' child did to make them so peaceful, but I feel it would be a folly if we rejected a true chance at peace. General Axel Kaufmann, you are dismissed from the council floor."
Like the true Man-baby that Axel was, he stormed from the room, fists clenched, and blood on his mind.
"You are all idiots," General Baxy said, feeling ignored from the conversation, "They're gonna catch you off guard and you'll all burn…"
"That is enough," Major General Kaiser interrupted, "You are dismissed as well."
General Baxy left the room after General Kaufmann with a huff.
General Baron signaled for the Major and Scrouge to turn around to talk in private.
"Are you sure it's safe to let him leave," General Baron 'whispered', even though his whisper was just a slightly quieter and somehow more annoyingly nasal version of his voice, "Adolf Kaufmann does not posses the same amount of self control that I posses, even though that's a hard bar to reach, and he may do something brash to prove his point."
"For once I agree with Alex, Fin, letting him spread his angry gospel is only gonna make angry gods." General Scrouge said.
Major General Kaiser spoke, "If we try to subdue him it's gonna tell people that we're pro-Monster, and it'll make people scared that we wouldn't protect them if the time comes. We need to talk people down from the edge of violence, not become violent. If I believed he was a risk to the peace I've worked for for 200 years, I would have killed him myself, but he is only a threat if the people are threatened. It's their choice alone on whether they think the Monsters are dangerous or not."
It was at this moment General Loggers thick Cockney voice rang out over the hall, "Oie, I leave to go to the bathroom for ten minutes and when I come back 'Broke back' and Adolf are storming out like they got McDuffet's sword up their arse. I suppose that means that the murder butt friends are still angry? Why don't we just vote Axel 'Adolf' Cough-man off the bloody council before he lives up to his nickname."
"We can't vote him off the board." Major Finely monotoned, clearly hating the truth of the statement.
"Why," General McDuffet asked, her thick Scottish helping her sound as enraged as she probably was, "He causes nothing but trouble and I know you want him gone just as much as the rest of us do."
"General, what do y'all say we do about the two of them?" General Terris asked, not wanting to see her friend and the Major get in one of their infamous screaming matches.
"The first and only step, hopefully, is make sure that the people know the Monsters aren't threats, People are scared of change, and that's what this is, change in its simplest form. But even the simplest form of the most complex thing is hard to wrap your head around. Council Dismissed."
As the council dispersed, Major Finley's personal assistant approached him. "Would you like anything Sir."
"Charles, you know I don't like it when you call me Sir. It's just Finley."
"I know, but I like calling you Sir, it makes me feel more important."
"Yeah Yeah, self importance and all that jazz," he took off his hat, two lumps on the top of his head poking through his hair, "Please get me a glass of water, I need to think alone for awhile."
"Yes Sir," Charles said, a cheeky smile on his face as he turned toward the council halls cafeteria.
Alexander Baron scowled at his long time friend across the table from him, he hated it when he was like this, he preferred it when he was too hungover to speak, cause all conversation always devolved to this.
General Scourge pretended to struggle to break the ice cube he had placed on the table. "What are you doing Christy?" Alex asked.
"Well," Christy chuckled, having trouble containing his own laughter, "I'm just trying to break the ice with you."
Alex let out a loud groan of pain at the knowledge that this was his life, but he wouldn't have it any other way.