Things moved swiftly after that. The amphitheater was rough, planks on a frame, but huge. A skeleton with bandaged eyes and a stick was moving slowly around the interior, setting up what looked like human magic upcycled to create a sound-magnifying bubble. It made Grillbz uncomfortable. Humans who'd grasped the art of magic were a terrifying force. A few monsters were able to mimic their results or even improve on what they'd created, but to most, human magic was a mystery. This skeleton must have spent a long and hard life learning what he knew, and his bandaged eyes and stiff movements showed it. For lack of something better to do, Grillbz watched him as he walked, striking the first seat of the amphitheater with his stick every now and then to gauge his position. Monsters who'd come down early to get a seat scrambled out of the way. Grillbz could see at least one nursing a banged shin. As he watched, the skeleton slowed, then straightened up and turned his bandaged eyes to face Grillbz. It gave him a strange feeling. He knew they couldn't see him—
"What're you looking at?"
He jumped. The skeleton laughed atonally and continued with his magic.
"Sylfaen," commented Wis, forcing a claw in between his teeth to free a piece of food. "He's pretty weird."
".can he see us?"
Wis made a 'who the hell knows' gesture.
"Dunno. I'm not much to look at, myself, so it doesn't worry me extensively."
"Don't play down the appeal of those fuzzy pointed ears," shouted Sylfaen.
Wis jumped, and Sylfaen turned his skull towards them, grinning.
"My magic seems to be working. Whatever you say will be audible across the amphitheater."
Wis stood up, lashed his tail three times, and said in a full voice,
"I am very fond of back rubs."
"That's nice," said Sylfaen, continuing.
Grillbz tried to silence his breathing.

Not long now.

Not long. It would be over soon.

Where was Gaster? And Toriel? Fuck it all, why did she have to have a trial? He'd be much calmer if he were waiting for his immediate execution, why did they need all this fanfare? The amphitheater was filled.

It occurred to Grillbz to ask why Wis was still sitting there. Was he going to stay throughout the trial? The guards he could understand, but Wis didn't make sense. He couldn't bring himself to ask, knowing that his voice would be projected over the gathering audience.

They were strangely quiet for such a large group, and felt that they were all looking at him. The weight of so many eyes made him shift back against the wall. That was silly, surely not everyone was staring at him at once. What did it matter, anyway?

There they were. Toriel and Gaster's white heads towered over most of the other monsters. He took a deep breath.

…They had stopped. Oh, they were talking to Sylfaen.

They had been walking towards the amphitheater when something seized Gaster's sleeve and dragged him to a stop. "Wha—" Another, shorter skeleton crossed in front of him and took a firm grip of his upper arms, staring intently into his face. It was a little disorienting, since this skeleton didn't have eyes.
"Sylfaen," said Toriel, coming back to join them, "There you are."
"You're a boss monster," said Sylfaen.
"Erf," said Gaster, squirming a little. Sylfaen didn't let go, and inched closer.
"Hmmm. Curious. I sense no EXP, none at all. Yet you're too old to have escaped the war entirely. Who has protected you?"
"I have a shield," said Gaster. "Please let go?"
"Dr. Gaster, this is Sylfaen. Sylfaen—"
"The boundary is set up and it works, my queen. I think you should let me sync your magic with it."
"That won't be necessary."
"You'll know without looking whether anyone steps over the boundary."
"Why do you think that would be important?"
"Look at your audience, my queen, and look at yourself. They do not wish to hear of mercy."
Toriel hesitated.
"Perhaps you're right."

They walked into the center and the amphitheater fell deathly quiet: Toriel first, flanked by two guards, a small crown perched between her horns; Gaster, a small group of other monsters and a child after her. They spread out and Toriel faced the crowd. Wis stood up, but remained where he was. Grillbz watched as if from underwater.

He could see Sylfaen in the front, in the center of a knot of skeletons. One sat in front of the rest with a desk and sheaf of parchment. Many of the monsters were grouped by extended family or kind. He had to tilt his head to see the topmost row of the amphitheater.

Toriel said something.

Her words flew right over his head. Suddenly everything was moving very slowly.

He caught up.

"And Wis will speak for the killer."
".what?" said Grillbz, voice crackling. Toriel turned to look at him for the first time.
"I thought it best." There was a rustle through the crowd like a wind through trees.
".thank you."
She turned away. "I think we should start by reviewing that facts. Is there anyone here who knew him before or during the war?" Silence. They were all dead, mostly because of the war and fallout—mostly. "Dr. Gaster. You met him after the Barrier was created?"
"Yes my queen."
"Speak up a little. How did you meet him?"
"Accidentally, but very fortunately for us. I was travelling towards the Barrier with a group of other monsters who had waited out the war in Ireland, thinking it would be safe. Ah, it wasn't. Yet another reason I hate the English." He smiled nervously and went on. "Anyway. He was sweeping the country for survivors to escort to the Barrier and found us."
"But you didn't enter the Barrier with the others when you arrived."
"No, I thought I could help more monsters outside. He and I were partners for a while, then we split up because there were so few of us, and the human army was losing numbers anyway from the plague."
"When was the last time you saw him?"
"Uhh… February, sometime. Early February, I think. He told me to stay warm. That's all I remember."
"And you didn't see him again until traversing the Barrier a week ago."
It had been a week already? How strange time was.
"Yes."
"Thank you. Martin?" Martin was a weasely monster. He stretched up onto his hind legs.
"I travelled with Grillbz to the Barrier on his last trip."
"What was your impression of him?"
"I thought he was alright. A bit downcast, but everyone was. It's the end of the world up there."
"We don't know that."
"Well—no. Anyway. Yeah, he was a good guide. He let those of us who got cold at night sleep close to him for warmth. Didn't go out of his way to antagonize the humans like some ex-soldiers I've known."
"Who else were you travelling with?"
Martin paused for a long time.
"Two Snowdrakes—they were never bothered by the cold, that was nice. My sister, her three children and our cousin. And a bear monster called Euin."
Grillbz shut his eyes tight.
"What happened when you reached the Barrier?"
"There were humans there. I thought we were goners, but Grillbz fought his way through and pushed us into the Barrier. One of the Snowdrakes was killed, but the rest of us came through alright. He was the last."
"Then what happened?"
"Well… nothing for a few days. We split up and spent the time settling down near the Barrier, trying to find friends and family. Grillbz was restless, I thought because he hadn't meant to come through the Barrier himself. He'd mentioned before that he wasn't going to. He wandered around and around not speaking to anyone." He stopped.
"Go on."
"On the 21st, I went on a walk alone to stretch my legs, and suddenly found everyone fleeing the area. I went back to find my sister but couldn't, so I followed the others. That's when we started seeing dust everywhere. I still wasn't entirely sure what was going on until we reached Home."
Grillbz knew for a fact that he still hadn't found his relatives.
"Do you remember, specifically, anything that he said to you?"
Martin shook his head, then paused.
"The first day after we'd come through the Barrier, he said we'd exchanged one hell for another."
"Thank you, Martin. Ciarda?"
Ciarda was a darkly-colored bear who moved stiffly forwards. Silver fur flecked his face and neck.
"I am Euin's grand-uncle."
"Tell us what happened to Euin."
"He was with me when we heard the news. A snowdrake came to tell us that 'Sparks' was terrorizing the community. Meaning him. That was their pet name for him."
"What was the Snowdrake's name?"
The bear looked at the weasel.
"Alba."
"Yes, Alba. Euin went off with her—he said he was going to talk 'Sparks' out of it. He seemed confident that he'd be alright." His voice broke, and he paused. "I didn't see him again. Or the Snowdrake."
Toriel turned to look at Grillbz.
"Do you remember them?"
He nodded.
"Did you kill them? I'd like a verbal answer."
".yes."
"Why?"
He shrugged.
"That isn't an answer."
".they approached me. . there was no reason."
"Do you remember the weasel family?"
".faintly."
"And you killed them?"
".I think so."
"You think so?"
".yes.I did." weasels were small and slippery, but that wasn't justification for losing track of how many of them he'd fried. That was early on, half of his memories from then were erased in a haze of white. Only later did his memory crystalize into a single burning purpose.
The queen was talking to a mouse who had seen him near the Barrier. Asking for a description.
"There was fire everywhere. He just started setting things on fire. When I saw him he was walking along, not slow and not fast, and very alert—he'd whip around whenever there was movement, so I didn't dare move, even though I was hiding under a tent that was on fire. I nearly choked to death before he left. As I was running away I caught a glimpse of him fighting some of the Guard, but I didn't stay to watch."
The remnants of the monster army had in general become the new Royal Guard. They had attacked him in clumps, as they heard the news. None of them had waited to form an organized attack. None of the fights had lasted long.
"I can speak for the King's death myself," said Toriel. "We were in Home with many more of the monsters who had moved on from the Barrier, building our new city. It took several hours for the news to reach us with the first wave of evacuees. Asgore was horrified, but hoped that the Guard would be able to stop and calm him. We waited the night, but early in the morning found even more evacuees arriving than before. It was clear then that he could not be stopped or reasoned with. The King and I left immediately." She paused. "Asgore continued to believe that he could be reasoned with. He was convinced it was delayed battle fever—he'd seen warriors become disoriented and fight their own friends, he said, but it wasn't a permanent state. But when we arrived we found him unwilling or unable to speak. He would only fight. So Asgore fought him, trying all the while to talk to him. Had he been less hopeful, it would have been a more equal battle, but because he tried to show mercy he was struck down." She paused. "I retreated with the rest of the monsters. The Undines volunteered to stay as rearguard and collect any stragglers." She turned to the child. "Katara? Come here."
It was an Undine, not more than six years old, with salmon-colored hair and fins. She crossed to Toriel and grabbed a fistful of her skirt. Toriel rested a hand on her shoulder.
"This is Katara. She asked to be here. As far as I know, she is the last living Undine. None of the rest returned. Argent was in Home briefly when he brought the injured Gerson in, but he returned and hasn't been seen since. Gerson is still unconscious, so we don't know the details of what happened to the Undines, but it seems that they died in Waterfall. Katara saw a few of them there, but they sent her Home."
Toriel turned to Wis.
"I'm going to ask him about the Undines," she said, then broke off as someone crossed the boundary.
"Ask me first! Waha!"
"Gerson?"
He was walking with a cane, shell encased in bandages.
"I woke not long after you left and I'm not going to be left out."
Toriel smiled faintly.
"I'm glad to see you up. Tell us."
Gerson struggled into the center and faced the crowd. He pounded his cane on the floor.
"If I told you everything about the Undines' last stand we'd be here all day. With the queen's permission, I'll give you the short version for now, and then sit down."
"Certainly."
"As far as I know, every last one of them died protecting the rest of you." He waved his cane at the crowd. "I wasn't with them for long, but I saw enough to know they'd never give up. Their strategy was to hide, ambush, and retreat across Waterfall, slowing Mr. Fire McMurderson here down, and it worked damn well from what I've gathered. Mrs. Dreemurr wouldn't have had time to get the little small barrier up and all the stragglers inside otherwise. Now, may I sit?"
"Please do," said Toriel. "The witnesses may leave now. Ciarda, will you help him?"

The weasel and mouse disappeared into the crowd, and Ciarda, whose own speed was equally slow, helped Gerson follow them. Toriel looked down at Katara.
"Do you want to go with them?" She shook her head. "Alright. Stay close to me." She paused and looked up at the crowd.
"As Gerson said, when most of the evacuees were inside Home, I created the Lesser Barrier, combining my magic with that of many volunteers from Home. I and waited outside it to let stragglers in. Gr….. He came not long after it had been created, and I went inside and waited for him to leave, which he eventually did, after attacking the Lesser Barrier and failing to break it. After this, he wandered the Underground, and many monsters left Home to fight him, but none returned. And this brings us to nine days ago, when I asked Wis to follow him. Wis was the first who succeeded in getting close without being attacked. Wis, it's your turn."
Wis took a step out.
"Hello. I spent a day watching Grillbz wander around aimlessly in the area of the Barrier. Every few hours he'd go back and stare at it, sometimes attacking it. A week ago, he was standing there when we saw someone passing through the Barrier. It was Dr. Gaster, and when I tried to intervene Grillbz created a shield, something I hadn't heard of him doing before. I decided to interpret this as an encouraging sign and went back to Home with the news. The Queen took a small party to investigate. For several days there was no change, then Dr. Gaster walked out of the shield, and after a short discussion the shield was deactivated. Grillbz then submitted to arrest and was brought back here."
"Thank you." Toriel turned to face Grillbz and stared at him for several moments. Her face was blank, eyebrows drawn down in a straight line. Katara stood behind her. "Now… you. Your perspective is the only information we lack. And know that, if you lie, you will have the hatred of all monsters bent upon you." She drew herself up a fraction taller, and silent power radiated from her.
".I have no reason to lie," said Grillbz. ".you already know the truth."
"Swear."
"I swear I will not lie."
Toriel looked keenly at him.
"I will believe you. Speak up, there are many who want to hear you."
He took a deep breath. Over Toriel's shoulder, Gaster caught his eye and tried to give him an encouraging smile. He looked ill.
"Do you remember the first monster you killed?"
"Yes."
"Do you remember the date?"
"….no."
"It was probably early on the 21st or late on the 20th."
".that….sounds right."
"What happened?"
".I killed a Moldsmal. . it was blocking the path."
"That was your only reason?"
".I don't know."
"You didn't consider the effects of your action?"
".I knew I'd gain EXP."
"From killing a monster. Do you not consider Moldsmals to be real monsters?"
".no!I…" was that it? He had killed them off first. But that was because they hardly moved, and it was easy! And also because they hardly seemed like monsters.. Well, it was great to know that he was a racist jerk as well as everything else.
Toriel watched the dawning realization on his face.
"You killed all the Moldsmals within a mile radius of the Barrier. Possibly, all of the Moldsmals in the Underground. We haven't been able to find any more."
".that's how I started. yes. .they don't move much."
"Do you have any, however unsatisfactory, justification for what you did?"
".there isn't one. no. .I wasn't thinking, not in ways that make sense now."
"How were you thinking?"
".that I wanted to free all of us from this place. . and that I needed to be stronger to do it. . and that I could gain EXP from killing."
He hated saying it, because he knew it made no sense. He looked at Toriel as he spoke, not at the mass of life behind her. Her stare was like ice.

A/N: Gonna end there for now…This isn't a modern court procedure, but some things are fairly standard across the ages.
…It's a bit easier when everyone already pretty much knows and agrees on what happened.

And here we are, I want you to speak up.

You can comment here or on Tumblr (here's the post with some bad art I made! ask-chry dot tumblr dot com/post/161186444506/the-trial-is-currently-in-session-if-you-have , apologies in advance for ads), anonymously or with an account.

Give your argument, for or against mercy and to what degree, and I'll include it in the beginning of the next chapter, and (unless you ask me not to) on a Tumblr masterlist (yes I'll credit you… unless you anon me, then how).

My only restriction is, no 'arguments' from personal preference, ie 'nu plz dun kill Gribby cuz he's mah fave!1!' That's not a real argument.

Otherwise, any applicable point that you can make is welcome.

I already have plans, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't like to hear from you.