Author's Note: I hope you like this chapter and continue to read. This is the second longest chapter I've written for any of my fanfictions and I personally like this chapter. I think it opens things in a new way that maybe you weren't expecting. Enjoy. Let me know what you think.
She had watched in horror, calling out to her once best friend when his bones collapsed to the ground. Determination and fear engulfed her body. It felt like slow motion when she ran to him, frantic to help. Had Jason not been there, perhaps she would've been able to reach him on time. A thud of a closed door had never felt so… so final. The van skidded off and she sprinted after it at a speed that surprised even her leaving her boyfriend behind to yell after her.
"Stop!" She screamed at the top of her lungs. "I said stop!" Puffs of smog backfiring from the van reduced her to a choking mess while the rest was left to dissipate into the air above them. Barely visible through the cloud, monsters of varying species peeked out from the small, barred window. Nowhere among them did she see Sans or even Muffet. The prison on wheels taunted her, making her watch as it shrank into the distance. All too soon, she lost sight of the truck completely. The pounding of her shoes on the black road slowed and locked, begging for relief. Ignoring the sharp needles stabbing her lungs, tears pricked the corners of her blue eyes. The overwhelming need to vomit and scream rattled her system. "Sans…" Her knees buckled, and she collapsed on the street. All sounds surrounding her shrank to a sharp screech attached static in the background.
The inability to rescue her wrongfully taken friends pressed against her brain, demanding the issue be addressed. The screeching sirens of police cars surrounded the area, the riot continuing behind her yet so far away. Right now, there was no hope and no peace. Humans were wrongfully taking monsters to cars and vans, handcuffs of material unknown to her; painfully tightened around fins, paws, and hands. With shaking hands, screaming and aching legs, she went to an officer and grabbed onto his uniform. The officer had been stunned enough to stop the trek to his cruiser and turned to look at her.
"Please… let him go." She begged, tightening her grip on the fabric. The monster held in custody looked at her with a reaction she was unable to identify.
"Sorry ma'am." The officer said, shaking free of her grip. "Orders are orders."
"Orders?!" She yelled, gripping onto him again earning an agitated sigh in return. "From who?!"
"I'm afraid I can't divulge that information, Miss Dreemurr."
She pulled at his arm in a pitiful attempt to help the captured monster. To her, it didn't matter if she was imprisoned. All that mattered was the safety of her friends, family, and the monsters who had fought so hard and held onto hope so long to get to this point.
"Please! I'm begging you!" Her soul-wrenching screams almost drowned out in the wake of fearful monsters and angry humans. "Please—" The ground was left beneath her feet and her hands were freed of the fabric. It took her brain a few seconds to realize what had happened, that she had been lifted off the ground. Fight or flight instinct kicked in making her struggle and try to pry the arms wrapped around her middle.
"Frisk!" Her captor yelled. She recognized that voice.
"J-Jason?" Frisk stammered, calming down slightly. Hyper aware that the officer was getting away, she struggled again. "Let me go! Let me go now!"
"Frisk! Stop!" He yelled. Frisk fell limp in his arms weakly pulling at them. The police cruiser left the scene. Jason had turned her away just in time for her to see another monster fall at the shock of a taser and another fall to the shot of a gun. Screams ripped from her chest, piercing the sky. On the ground, a paw covering the wound was Bonnie, the rabbit whom was famous in Ebott for her cinnamon bunnies. Tears covered her face, growing ever more hysterical when her friend fell onto the pavement face first. Frisk clawed at Jason's arms, ignoring his pained screams. Jason's grip tightened, putting her in a hold to where she was unable to move. He pulled her back and away from the scene not heeding Frisk's screams. She bashed her head against his chest and kicked her legs which only caused Jason to tighten his grip. With every passing second, the sirens died down and the screams—other than her own—settled. Frisk's struggles lightened against Jason's iron grip. Her eyelids grew heavy and the curtain of oblivion covered the scene.
Frisk opened her eyes and looked around. She blinked her eyes, glancing at the one window in the room. Between the crack of the curtain, she saw the multi colored array of sunset. She recognized the room as Jason's. She had only been here a couple of times since they started dating. The doorknob turned, and Frisk bristled. Jason walked in and she exhaled. When she stood, Frisk almost fell back onto the bed. Every muscle in her body was crying out in pain, her legs demanding her to sit back down.
"Are you alright?" Jason asked taking a step closer to Frisk. She held onto her head and looked up at him. He looked extremely uncomfortable and held out a cup to her. Hesitant, but undeniably thirsty, she took the cup. "Sorry…" He said and sighed. "You were hysterical… I didn't know how else to calm you down." Frisk looked down at the liquid in the cup and took a small sip. From all her screaming and crying, she was absolutely drained; body and soul.
"What happened to everyone?" This wasn't the time for pleasantries or apologies. With her senses returned, Frisk's previously doused out determination reignited. Jason didn't answer her and rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. Frisk raised an eyebrow at his hesitation. "Well?"
"… All of the monsters were taken to prison." Jason informed and fidgeted uncomfortably.
"… Bonnie?" Frisk asked, her voice softening. Jason had knocked her out before she had seen what happened to her friend.
"The rabbit? She was taken to a hospital… She's fine." Frisk's relief was palpable. There was some good news in all of this. She took another drink, trying to calm her twisted stomach.
"I have to go." Frisk said and put her now empty cup on the nightstand. She looked at Jason, but he didn't make a move to stop her. From all his protesting earlier of her getting involved Frisk was sure he would at least attempt to stop her. "I have to help them somehow." Jason merely smiled and shoved his hands in his pockets, shrugging. Frisk returned the smile and left the room, going down the stairs.
Determination returning, she had one focus: save her friends. With Bonnie safe in a hospital, she was able to keep her goal in mind. Ignoring her body's protests, she jogged towards town. Although Jason's home wasn't too far from Ebott's center, the distance felt like forever. By the time she reached the large red, brick building with glass windows and doors, night had fallen. The road and town square were illuminated only the streetlights and the occasional internal light of a nearby building. Frisk slowed until she came to a stop in front of the building. Hard to believe that such a riot—bordering on an all-out massacre—had occurred merely hours ago. If it wasn't for the slight drops of blood dried on the concrete of the steps, and the slightly different color of the third step. Upon closer inspection, white dust was engrained in the concrete. Had it not been for these, she would've sworn it was all a dream. Not wanting to stare at the aftermath any longer, she jogged up to the door and went inside.
City Hall was slightly quieter than usual. It was no doubt due to the riot earlier. The inside was just as it always had been; shining marble tiles on the floor, textured tan walls, ceramic white orb ceiling lights, and glass doors. The trauma hadn't touched the inside, making it feel like a different world all together. Frisk headed up the steps near the back, passing by offices of various figures of the day to day running of Ebott City. Frisk grunted and looked at the steps; had these steps always looked so intimidating? With a deep inhale, she harnessed her fuel; her determination and climbed the sucupira steps one by one. The only wooden door in all of City Hall, her destination was in sight. When she arrived at the door, taking a look at the shining gold plate marked Austin Tills: Mayor. Part of her worried that Mayor Tills wouldn't be there. After all, who would want to stay at work with what happened today? Although, the mere thought of Mayor Tills being in his office was enough motivation to knock.
"Come in."
Frisk walked inside and closed the door behind her. Mayor Tills' office looked like the stereotypical type of a man in his position. A mahagony desk with a leather office chair; desk decorated with various trinkets—a framed picture of his family he liked to show off to everyone who would listen—two leather chairs in front of the desk for those who would visit. Behind him, a large bookcase encompassing the whole wall rested. Books of various subjects lined the shelves pressed together tightly, some of which she had borrowed and read over the years. Despite the clear position difference, Frisk always felt at home when she walked into the office.
"Miss Dreemurr." Mayor Tills smiled, setting his papers down. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"
"Hello Sir," Frisk returned his smile. "could I talk to you for a moment?"
Mayor Tills gestured to one of the leather chairs, which Frisk practically fell into. The coolness of the leather wrapped around her, almost like giving her a hug. Mayor Tills was a nice man; graying hair with a receding hairline and thick glasses and a chevron mustache. His smile was always warm and fatherly. Even when he was disciplining someone, he would always keep his tone even and understanding; listening to all sides of the story before deciding on anything.
"This… is about the riot earlier, correct?"
"… yes." Frisk confirmed. It didn't take a genius to realize why the ambassador for the monsters to the humans would be visiting the mayor. Absentmindedly wiping the clammy sweat from her hairline, she exhaled. "I—"
"Are you alright?"
"Oh uh… yeah. Sorry sir. I just ran here… it's been a very trying day." Frisk said.
Mayor Tills turned around in his chair and fiddled with a small machine near his desk on the wall. He returned to his position and adjusted the coat of his suit.
"There. I hope this will help you a little, Miss Dreemurr."
"Thank you, Sir."
"But, as you said, you didn't come here to make small talk."
Frisk cleared her throat and nodded, crossing her legs ignoring the cracks her bones were yelling out.
"Yes sir… As you said, it's concerning the riot earlier today." She said.
"I've read the report given to me by the police as I was away on a meeting." Mayor Tills stated. "However, I know Miss Dreemurr that this is not the full story, merely the human side."
"That's correct Sir. When pressed with a question, an officer shot a monster—a mother—and killed her. It is true that her husband did maul the man who killed his wife…" Frisk took a moment to silently respect Rebekah's passing. "The monster that attacked the human, Rebekah's husband, was detained by police. However, the police continued to attack all the monsters outside. Many of the officers on duty, if not all of them, were called. Many monsters were wrongfully tazed and detained." Frisk watched Mayor Tills lean forward and create a steeple with his fingers which he placed to his lips; eyes focused on Frisk. "Among some of the wrongfully detained are my friends; Muffet Hill and… and Sans Snowdin." She blinked away her oncoming tears and struggled to stop her cracking voice. "Sans—uh Mr. Snowdin was also the victim, after being cuffed, of police brutality. Mr. Snowdin… did attempt to harm Ebott officers. However, the officers in question were threatening his brother—"
"Papyrus Snowdin correct?"
"Yes Sir." Frisk nodded. "Papyrus along with a group of friends had come to see what was happening. Papyrus was talking to the officers, attempting to get them to stand down. He had his arms wide open and was speaking with no ill intentions."
Mayor Tills nodded. "I have had dealings with Papyrus Snowdin, namely him wanting to cook dinner for everyone at the office." He said. "The boy doesn't have a mean bone in his body."
Frisk smiled and closed her eyes. In hindsight, Papyrus was most likely older than Frisk and Mayor Tills' ages combined. In monster terms though, he was still rather young and had the mindset of a young child, but that was one of his many charms.
"Papyrus is a good friend… and Sa—Mr. Snowdin protects his brother with everything he is. He attacked only in defense of his brother. Another of my friends, Bonnie Lyte, was shot by a police officer. Whether it was in a crossfire or just out of spite, I'm afraid I didn't see." Frisk leaned forward, "I came here, Sir, to ask you to release my friends—and all wrongfully accused and detained monsters—from jail."
Mayor Tills exhaled and leaned back in his chair, looking at the ceiling. He rolled his head around and rubbed the back of his neck. His eyes looked at the ceiling like he would find the answer in it. Frisk leaned forward in her own chair, like that would help him make decision in her favor. Her hopes faded when Mayor Tills close his eyes and rub the bridge of his nose.
"I… I know that I'm asking a lot sir—"
"It's not that Miss Dreemurr." He assured, sitting upright again. "You no doubt tell the truth. Since you arrived in Ebott City along with your friends, you've been nothing but upstanding and honest."
"Thank you, Sir."
Please… Please let them out.
"Unfortunately, I cannot grant you request."
"W-What? Wh—"
"It's not that I don't want to, Miss Dreemurr." Seeing the look of confusion on Frisk's face, he continued. "I don't have the authority."
"Wait… What?" Frisk asked, furrowing her brows. "You're the mayor."
"Yes, but… your friends—and the rest of the monsters—have been processed by the law. Now it's out of my power. This issue would have to be discussed with Judge Davis."
Judge Davis. One of the people in the whole growing metropolis of Ebott that she couldn't stand. He was snarky, condescending, and beyond prejudiced. If this decision was left up purely to Judge Davis, her friends would end up rotting and spending the rest of their long, long lives behind bars. The thought of her friends dying behind bars, having to watch generations of humans live and die while they stayed caged like animals churned her stomach. She ran her hand down her face and rested her elbows on her knees. This was honestly probably one of the worst ways this could go.
"Judge Davis is not without reason, Miss Dreemurr." Mayor Tills smiled when Frisk raised an eyebrow.
"Are we talking about the same Judge Davis, Sir?" Her comment earned a laugh from the Mayor. His smile made Frisk a little confused, it was almost bordering on sneaky. Before this meeting, it was a term that she would've never associated with him.
"If he is presented with evidence to the monsters' overall innocence, he'll have no choice under the law to release them." Frisk brightened and then knit her brows again. Almost as if reading her mind, he continued. "If you can prove that Mr. Snowdin reacted in defense of his brother, it'll be justifiable action and will be released."
There's hope.
Frisk smiled though she felt weak. If she could just collect enough evidence to show the police's wrongdoing, she would be able to get all her friends out. She bit at her lip, trying to decide how she was going to collect evidence. If she collected evidence in the wrong way, it wouldn't be admissible to her case. She wasn't a lawyer, but in her years as an ambassador, she had learned a few things. If she was unable to get the evidence by legal means, she wouldn't be able to help her friends. What she did from here would determine what would happen to her friends. While Frisk was running through all her options in her head and trying to run through every angle while trying to keep herself awake and stop breaking out into a cold sweat and ignore her aching body, she watched as Mayor Tills fiddled with his keys. Confused, but intrigued, she couldn't help but watch. He took off a key from the large ring and "accidentally" dropped it on the floor near her. She took the silver key and furrowed her brows, staring at it and then looking back at him.
"You know, Miss Dreemurr, this is completely off topic, but I have suspicions that Jessica Alan is stealing money from Steven Vans. Since you're here, would you do me a favor since I have paperwork to do and check the cameras in the security office?" Mayor Tills smiled at her.
Frisk grasped the key in her hand tighter, her soul bursting with determination. There was only one shot at this. She had to get it right; no room for error.
"Thank you, Sir." She said before turning around quickly and heading back down the stairs, jogging down the stairs, tripping on the last one. She grunted and continued her goal spreading to coat every part of her brain until it was focused solely on that.
The door to the security office was a well taken care of metal, shining slightly in the dim lighting on the first floor. Part of her was worried that she wouldn't be able to open it, like maybe Mayor Tills gave her the wrong key or just gave her one to toy with her. The click of the lock releasing was like gospel. Frisk exhaled and hung her head in relief for a moment before entering and closing the door, locking it behind her. Under a normal day, the office would be filled with at least two guards. However, with the ordeal today, Frisk could only assume that everyone in City Hall went to spend time with their families to ensure their safety. She took a seat in the plush chair, glancing at the monitors. Each was shockingly in color, depicting various places in City Hall. The hallways, a couple around the kitchen and the break room, and two on the second floor in the conference hall. She sighed and looked around. There weren't even any security cameras that were focused on the outside.
"It's over… isn't it?" Frisk asked aloud, leaning back in the plush chair which emitted a squeak in protest. She sighed and looked at the ceiling. The all too familiar feeling of oncoming tears breached the corners of her eyes. She had failed all the monsters in jail. She had failed her friends… She had failed…
Frisk planted her head against the keyboard on the desk and frowned, squeezing her eyes shut.
Sans. I'm sorry.
"Get back!"
"We have families too, you know!"
"I said get back!"
"What are we supposed to do if we can't feed our children?!"
"Are you deaf?!"
"Please! Just give me an answer!"
Frisk raised her head just in time to see Rebekah fall to the gunshot. This was it. Two of the cameras that had previously been focused on the inside now showed two different angles of the riot outside. Bile rose in her throat when she saw the group of humans stepping all over Rebekah's ashes, trying to deafen her ears to the scream of hers on the video. Frantically, she studied every single aspect of the confrontation turned riot. She watched the monsters scrambling around in a frenzy. Frisk's focus went from Rebekah's husband being detained—his muzzle and claws evidence of his guilt of attempted murder of the slumped over human—to Sans who stood near the back of the pack with Muffet. His sockets were wide as he surveyed the scene. From the other angle, she saw Sans' gaze lock on Rebekah's husband that was laying on the ground from being tazed.
"Wait… Hold on." Frisk said and took the nearby mouse and rewound the video to before the horde of police had arrived. She looked at the time and pressed play. Once more, she saw Rebekah's husband pulled away by the nearby police while he continued to mourn, reaching to his wife's dust. She checked the time again when the lion monster fell to the ground from the taser. Frisk paused the video and leaned back in the chair. The time frame from where the police stationed at City Hall held Rebekah's husband to where the horde of officers arrived on the scene was too short to be normal. In the time since they had arrived at the surface, Ebott had grown from a very small town to one bordering on a metropolis. The station was almost on the opposite side of the district. There was no way that all those officers had been able to get there as fast as they had. "… What?"
Frisk's attention glued back to the monitors when she pressed play again. Frisk chewed at her lip when the monsters fled from the grip of the oncoming officers. She watched Sans trying to look over and around, pressed against a throng of other monsters by the police officers with the body shields. The pleas cut off by each other panged Frisk's determined soul with sadness and admittedly some guilt. Even though she hadn't done anything to harm the monsters, it was still her people that had. Every monster that had been clasped in handcuffs had been pushed away by the officers and tazed when they tried to run from the scene to safety. Frisk was certain that the electric shock of the tasers imprinted themselves in her brain. Monster after monster dropped on the pavement knocking some unconscious immediately while others still convulsed and were inhumanely pulled from the ground and taken towards the awaiting vans.
"Look!" The Frisk in the video as well as the one watching turned to where Sans was looking. Papyrus was standing with his arms wide open, not advancing on the officers that pointed their guns at him. Papyrus was smiling, but it was sadly. He had always been a very empathetic skeleton, and to see him sad and still forgiving hurt her. He still was naive and hopeful for everyone, monster and human alike.
"WHY ARE YOU DOING THESE BAD THINGS?"
"Back away slowly. Get down on the ground and put your hands behind your head!"
"I KNOW YOU DON'T MEAN TO DO THIS, THAT YOU'RE JUST SCARED."
Despite Papyrus being so simple, he was very understanding. No matter what, he always wanted to be there to help people. Even back in the Underground when he was supposed to capture her, they had become best friends. Papyrus never wanted to hurt anyone and was the greatest advocate of peace she had ever known even when he was staring death in the face.
"I said, get down!"
Frisk furrowed her brows and leaned in to try and make out what Sans and Muffet had talked about, but it was drowned out by another monster screaming a plea of safety. From the angle, it was hard to read their lips since they were faced away from the camera, now she was only faced with a side view of her friends on that monitor.
"IT'S OKAY! I STILL BELIEVE IN YOU! ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS PUT THAT DOWN, AND IT'LL BE OKAY! I KNOW YOU CAN STILL DO GOOD THINGS!"
Frisk saw Sans pull from Muffet's grasp, every intention in his eye of killing the humans that knelt and were readying themselves to shoot. She watched the give blasters summoned and heard her own voice, begging Sans to stop, the blasts which were way more than enough to kill something miss the humans by a fraction of an inch. There would've been hardly—if any chance—of saving Sans had he hit his target. Seeing Sans and Muffet getting dragged away in handcuffs was one of the hardest things she had ever had the displeasure of witnessing.
"Sans! Muffet!"
Frisk watched herself go down the stairs and to her friends but was stopped by Jason. She watched her friends on the monitor. In truth, she had no right to try and go to their side. She just remembered feeling the desperate need to help in any way she can. She had been so busy arguing with Jason about his desperation to stop her, she hadn't seen Sans pull against the bindings when Jason yanked her wrist, making her wince. His grip had been more than enough to keep her in place against his body and pull her away from the scene. Frisk watched herself scream for Sans when he collapsed on the concrete after being knocked out. Jason had been adamant about keeping a hold of her wrist and she was unable to go and help him and was forced to watch them load his limp body into their van with Muffet close behind. Frisk watched Jason look at something in the distance, something off the view of all the monitors. A brow had raised, and his chin had lifted, almost like he was observing something. At the time, she had been pulling and yanking, ignoring his firm grip. Whatever it was that Jason had been looking at, it gathered his attention enough to where she had pulled from his hold and ran to the door of the van, pounding on it with both of her fists. She turned from that monitor when it cleared after she had left to chase after the truck.
The other still contained Jason, his gaze fixated on an unknown while monsters ran around him. It was unnerving, and he wasn't doing anything but standing there. She glanced down at the timer and Jason had stood for about a full three minutes, focusing on that spot. Frisk watched him open his mouth and she leaned forward to catch what was being said, but she heard nothing. Not from him, not from the background noise. Frisk rewound it and encountered the same thing. Not exactly privy to the makings and workings of security cameras, she couldn't do anything to figure out what was happening to this part of the footage. Whatever he had been looking at seemed to jar him, since Jason moved and then was gone. Frisk blinked and rewound the footage again. When she checked the timer, a full minute was missing. She sighed and ran her hands down her face. Obviously curious to what was left in that minute, but unable to do anything she ignored it for the time being. Frisk had her prove, visually as well as auditory. Blue eyes scanned the area, trying to find someway to make a hard copy. She backed up and pulled out some metallic drawers on the desk, only finding untwisted paper clips, rubber bands, and other clutter of similar content.
Frisk turned around and pulled open the closet. Inside was a lunch box, two coats that most likely belonged to the security guards that were usually posted, and a hat that read "#1 Dad". Frisk was about ready to scream out of anger and stress. She stood up so quick, the chair flew to the other side of the office, slamming against the wall. Footsteps echoed against the flooring, making Frisk freeze. Even if she was given the key, she couldn't be caught in here. If she was found with the key, one of two things would happen. She would have had to have stolen the key or Mayor Tills would've had to have to given it to her, which could end up with him being discharged from his position or charged with obstruction of justice and tampering with evidence, if not all three things.
"Shit shit shit…" Frisk muttered under her breath, trying to find something, anything to use as a hard copy. With shaking hands, she opened the filing cabinet and sifted through the things in each drawer. As much as she wanted to stand and watch all of this, and read all the archives, the ever-closing footsteps reminded her of her predicament. The smallest desk drawer was locked when she yanked on it. Frisk prayed by some maricle that the key the mayor gave her would fit. She exhaled when it clicked. When she yanked open the drawer, unmarked discs were scattered inside, unorganized and no labels. She gave a breathless laugh and grabbed one. The tremors in her hands increasing as the footsteps grew even closer. She opened the case and put the disc inside of the machine.
Dammit, now what?!
Frisk urgently pushed any button that her fingertips touched, just wanting a copy. Internally screaming, she pressed a button that popped up a window that read downloading. The footsteps had arrived outside of the door. "C'mon c'mon c'mon…" She pleaded in a whisper, sweat beading on her forehead as an unlocking click sounded, and the doorknob turned. When the door didn't open, she saw that the door had luckily lodged itself just underneath the doorknob, preventing it from being opened easily. With every turn and push, it was becoming undone.
98%
The door was pushed again, the wheeled chair squeaking from the force. It was on three wheels.
99%
The chair had fallen just as the content was being completed. She practically ripped the disc from the drive when it ejected itself. She returned the disc in the jewel case just as the doorknob turned. Frisk looked around and got into the closet and closed it quietly behind her clutching the disc to her chest. The door was forced open and Frisk screwed her eyes shut when the chair was forced from the door. She opened her eyes and was surrounded by the darkness of the closet. Her breathing was shallow with her chest heaving.
Whoever entered the office behind her walked slowly, almost like they were looking for something particular. Frisk covered her mouth with her hand, listening to the person sifting around and typing on the computer. The creepiest part in her mind, was that the person wasn't talking or making any kind of sound. It was almost like they knew someone else was in there and didn't want to give away anything that could identify them. Time passed at a snail's pace while Frisk remained in the closet with shaking legs. The footsteps left and the door was closed behind them, the footsteps becoming more faint with each passing second. The back of Frisk's head met the back of the closet and she exhaled in relief. Tentatively, she opened the door of the closet and peeked outside. She was alone. She exited the closet and looked at the monitors, all were black. Her brows furrowed at the sight. Had the person that was in here found what they were looking for? Frisk turned and gasped loudly and rolled her eyes. Her reflection from the mirror on the back of the closet. She was stared down by her own reflection which was donned with the #1 Dad hat. Frisk clicked her tongue and ripped the hat off her head and put it back. When she had forcefully entered the closet, it must've fallen on her head. She closed the doors and turned back to the monitors. She flipped on the switch and pressed a few buttons until she arrived at the menu where she had been before. The words Data Corrupted flashing in red appeared on all the screens. She furrowed her brows and pressed a few more keys to try and access the outside cameras but was met with red Data Corrupted. Whoever was in there, Frisk was thankful that she had gotten the data first, or she would've been shit out of luck. Thankful that something was going right for once, she exited the window and was met with the live feed. A figure clad in black was heading near the back of City Hall, towards an exit.
"Thank goodness…" Frisk muttered, finally able to relax. The possibility that the person had been outside of the office ready to ambush her had been pushing itself to be noticed. If that had've happened, who knows what would've happened. She could've died… there was no coming back. She made sure to fix things to the way they were the best she could before heading towards the door. When she grabbed the doorknob, she stopped, sniffing the air. A fragrance wafted in the air. It was something between a woodsy smell and a regal sort of cologne. It seemed to be a rather… interesting fragrance to put on when breaking into a room.
Well… I kinda did too… Oh! But I had a key! … well… they did too… But I was doing something good!
Frisk argued with herself as she left. The very real fear of the lurker being outside reared its ugly head again when she left and locked the door behind her. She had two options: she could go and give the key back to Mayor Tills, or risk it and head to Judge Davis' office at the courthouse. Despite wanting to be around someone else to try and calm her down, she headed to the front entrance, sticking the small case inside of her shirt and adjusting it so it looked normal. She headed out and down the stairs, noting the light where Mayor Tills' office was; it was off.
Good thing I chose to go to Judge Davis.
She turned and stuck to the streetlights, making sure to go through the center of town where there were other people and cars going by. Unfortunately, Frisk couldn't shake the feeling that she was being watched, or even worse, followed. Shivers ran down her spine and the hair on the back of her neck stood up. Shaking away her fears, she tried to fuel her determination. Her friends… and Sans. That's what's most important right now… she couldn't stray from that because of her fears. Turning the corner from a popular bar (but nowhere as good as Grillby's), the large white courthouse came into view. Frisk breathed another sigh of relief, ignoring the nausea and dizziness. She gave awkward smiles to the humans that noticed her and waved. Taking the steps two at a time, she arrived at the door.
"Damn…." Frisk muttered to herself through her heaving breathing. "I need to work out more."
The inside of the courthouse was even more intimidating than City Hall. Columns of marble attached to each side of the wall, breaking in its linear pattern only for the reception desk where a blonde female was, typing away at her computer. She smiled, glad to be in the presence of a familiar face during this terrifying time. She relaxed and headed to the counter.
"Daniella." Frisk smiled when the woman looked up and broke into a bright smile of her own.
"Frisk! What are you doing here?" She asked, standing up and coming around the front of her desk. "It's been like, forever since I've seen you."
"I'm here to see Judge Davis." Frisk said. "Is he still here?"
Daniella scrunched up her nose at her friend and folded her arms.
"Yeah, he is. But are you feeling okay? Why would you want to visit him?"
"It's… about what happened today."
"The riot at City Hall?" Daniella asked and sighed, putting her hands on her hips. "I… I heard about it. About the monster that… that passed. I just… It's so hard to believe that Rebekah's gone."
"…" Frisk nodded. Rebekah had tutored her and Daniella after class when Toriel was busy with grading some papers along with her own sons. "Yeah…"
"I heard Sans was there too."
"Y-Yeah… Mr. Snowdin was." Frisk said and looked up at her friend.
"Mr. Snowdin?" Daniella asked. Frisk looked at Daniella who didn't push the matter. Daniella had been living out of Ebott City for a while but had recently come back. She had no idea what happened between her and Sans. "Anyway, Judge Davis is in his chambers. I'd get going if I were you, I think he's going to be going soon. We need to catch up, so you can tell me what the hell is going on!"
Frisk waved her agreement when Frisk headed up the stairs to where Judge Davis' chambers were. She went to the door with his nameplate and rolled her eyes. A migraine was already coming on from just the mere thought of having to deal with Judge Davis. She raised her hand and was about to knock when the door opened. She blinked and was met face to face with the Judge.
"Oh. Frisk." Judge Davis said and yawned. "What do you want?"
"I need to talk to you about the riot today." Frisk said. "Could we go in your office and talk?"
"Frisk, I'm on my way home."
"I'll make it quick." Frisk pushed. Judge Davis rolled his eyes and walked back inside and closed the door behind him. Frisk's nose flared slightly, and she opened the door and walked inside after him. The office smelled like leather and alcohol. Judge Davis should've been in jail with his terrible crime against hair. His toupee didn't even try to match his hair, but he seemed to think that he looked amazing and a gift together. He always had a smug look on his face; a smirk and raised brows. Sometimes, Frisk was sure that it was his default face and he didn't know how to make any others. "I nee—"
"Let me guess: you want me to get your monster friends out of jail."
"… Yes." Frisk gritted her teeth. He was so condescending! If she could just hit him once, it would make her feel so much better. Judge Davis exhaled and smirked, shrugging his shoulders. He might as well have been wearing a sign that flashed asshole and I don't care. Davis was practically renowned for his blatant discrimination on monster matters, of course on smaller matters where the law couldn't get involved. It goes without saying that Davis was reveling that he was able to hold monsters indefinitely because of his word.
"Well Frisk, I'm sorry to say I can't help you." Davis said and shrugged his shoulders; flippant in both tone and stance. He leaned back against his oak desk. Whatever he had going on at home, it must've paled in comparison to trying to get Frisk to get angry and ruin her plan. "The monsters broke the law, so they have to be imprisoned for it. Mr. Leon and Mr. Snowdin especially."
"Most of the monsters that were taken into custody had been bystanders and had nothing to do with the confrontation and were trying to leave the scene." Frisk said. There was no way this was going to go easy and he wasn't going to go down without a fight. "Mr. Snowdin acted in self defense of his brother who was threatened while he was doing nothing."
"Papyrus Snowdin, huh?"
"… Yes." She hated that Davis even said her friend's name. It sounded dirty whenever he said it, whenever he said anything. "The police were going to shoot Papyrus Snowdin who was making no move to hurt them whatsoever. Sans Snowdin attacked the police to save his brother who would've been unjustly shot."
Judge Davis chuckled and shrugged his shoulders, shaking his head.
"You honestly think that you coming down here and asking me is going to grant your request? Of course, you're going to talk highly of them. You're their ambassador after all. You can look through it with a filtered lens. Look at it unfiltered, and you can see that they belong in jail. They're a danger to everyone else if they're out. Just a small tiff and they're willing to kill countless people."
"W-What?! A little tiff?!" Frisk yelled. "They were going to murder a monster on the basis of him just being a monster."
"And?"
"What?"
"You said it yourself. Just on the basis of him being a monster. A monster. That's all they are." Davis said and shrugged his shoulders. "However, I am not without reason and must abide by the law." Frisk rolled her eyes which only earned a laugh from her verbal enemy. "The monsters that were taken I'll let out. As you've said, most of them were taken unjustly and as much as I dislike it, their records indicated that they were harmless… by legal standards." Frisk's triumphant smile quickly faded. Leave it to him to trick her into thinking she won. "Since I'm such an amazing guy, I'll even release your friend Miss Hill."
What's your game…?
"But?" Frisk asked, folding her arms.
"I will not release Mr. Leon or Mr. Snowdin." Judge Davis said. His smirk widened seeing Frisk a few more hits from falling apart. She knew that he was trying to bait her. If she resorted to violence, she would lose her place as ambassador effectively leaving the monsters without someone to represent them in legal, ethical, and morality issues.
"I'll admit… I have no way to release Mr. Leon…" He would probably end up being convicted and spending a lot of time in jail. After all, he had tried to murder a police officer. Yes, it was because that officer did murder his wife… but he did retaliate. "I want his sentence lessened. I also want the police officer that did murder Rebekah Leon to be tried for murder."
"And I would agree to that… why?"
"You said it yourself. You're such an 'upstanding man who follows the law'." Frisk repeated. "Mr. Leon did commit a crime, but so did the officer. In addition, I want Mr. Snowdin released with no prison time."
Frisk's blue eyes widened at the loud laugh that echoed through the pompous office. Funny how much you could tell about a person by their chosen décor. Snarky and smug yes, but she hadn't ever heard him laugh like that before. Nor did she want to hear it again.
"You're delusional."
"Sans Snowdin stopped a murder."
"By almost murdering five officers himself." Davis reminded and wiped some tears from his eyes. "Look, as cute as it is that you're going to so much trouble to try and get Snowdin released, it's not going to happen. Give it up." Frisk felt her skin crawl when the Judge eyed her up and down. "Unless you can somehow prove that your little friend wasn't trying to harm police and tag teaming with his brother, then we're done here." Frisk smirked staring straight ahead as Judge Davis walked passed her.
"That's a very interesting fragrance you've got." Frisk said, continuing to keep her eyes on the bookcase littered with files and assortments of knick knacks of different prices—needlessly expensive either way. She heard the Judge stop.
"It is. My wife got it for me."
"It… has a tendency to… linger after you've left a room."
"Is that so?" Davis muttered, clearly aloof and uninterested. "I never noticed."
"That's because you left the room." Frisk said. "Either way, you're going to release Sans Snowdin." She reached into her shirt.
"We've been over this Dreemurr, I—" Davis stopped when Frisk turned around, waving the disc.
"What's wrong?" Frisk feigned confusion. They were at an impasse. Playing games of mental and verbal chess could be a pain in the ass and if not done right, it could get screwed up and everything she'd worked for wouldn't come to fruition. The fragrance was the final piece. "You look like you've seen a ghost. Does this mean something to you?"
"W-What's that?" He asked, but Frisk noticed how rigid he went.
"Proof." Frisk said. "Proof that the monsters were taken unjustly as well as proof that Mr. Snowdin was protecting his brother from being brutally murdered by the police force."
"…"
"Do you have a TV, so we can view this proof you so desperately craved?" Frisk smirked even wider when Judge Davis sucked his teeth and walked to the other side of the room and opened what Frisk had thought was a closet, but held a DVD player, a VHS player, and a television all clearly used for evidence viewing and honestly probably some 'adult content' on Davis' part. She went to the disc player and entered it, watching the scene play out. Out of the corner of her eyes, she could see Davis clenching his jaw and his nose flaring. She knew that he hated monsters, but it surprised even Frisk that he would go to the lengths of tampering evidence to keep them imprisoned. "Well well, look at that." Frisk said watching Sans and Papyrus on the footage. "Looks like Sans was protecting Papyrus, wouldn't you say Judge?"
Checkmate.
"If you still disagree… we can hold a trial. I'm sure a jury will be very interested in seeing this evidence. Wouldn't you?"
"… Sans Snowdin is freed."
Frisk took the disc from the drive. There was no way in hell that she was going to leave this with him. If he was willing to go far enough to erase vital evidence, he would undoubtedly erase, corrupt, or even break the disc.
"Fill out the paperwork so I can get them out." Davis went to his bookcase and ripped out a folder, writing on the forms. She had no idea what any of it really meant while writing, but when the documents were thrust in her face, even she could see that it was a legal binding document to indict the officer who murdered Rebekah, lessen Ivan Leon's sentence, and the release of the rest of the monsters. "Always a pleasure, Judge Davis." She said and headed to the door with both the disc and the papers.
"Be careful Dreemurr… You're in a dangerous line of work and teetering."
Frisk didn't turn and look back at him. She left the room and went back down to the lobby. Daniella had already gone home. It didn't matter at that moment. She had saved them… It felt like she had been nothing but trouble to the monsters lately, but here she was doing something. Nausea crept up on Frisk, making her lean against the wall outside of the courtroom, her face paling and sweat pricking the back of her neck. Frankly, if she had said she hadn't been terrified of the likelihood that she would've let her friends down, she'd be lying. Her body must be just catching up with her. She gripped onto her stomach, closing her eyes and focused her breathing to calm herself down. With trembling hands, she took out her phone and made a call.
"Hey… could you meet me at the jail?" Frisk smiled sadly. "It won't take long. I'll be there soon."
Frisk hung up the phone and shoved it back in her pocket. Trudging along, she headed back to the jail. A bed and a nice nap sounded amazing right now, but she couldn't relax until her friends were out safe and sound. The walk back to the jail felt it was taking a lot longer than it had the other way around. The streets were bare compared to how they had been; a car had passed every couple of minutes and most people were inside. This part of Ebott City was bright during the night as all the night business opened around this time; such as bars, diners, and… other places. On one hand, the bright lights brought her comfort from the darkness, it also was distracting as all people that were outside would be heading inside to be patrons. No one during the night cycle would take notice of a person walking by themselves at night in this part of town. Her steps were uneven, and she was becoming dizzier. Sounds of laughter and clinking glasses from the nearby bar helped bring her double vision into focus.
By the time Frisk reached the jail, she was barely able to stay standing. The person she called was standing outside looking around awkwardly. Dressed in boots, leggings, and a cute coat she must've been cold. Every time she breathed a little puff of air presented itself before dissipating into the air. If things had been different, Frisk would've brought a jacket. It didn't matter what time of year it was, nights in Ebott City got cold. It wasn't cold enough to kill you, but it was enough to make you extremely sick if you weren't indoors or bundled up. She walked up to the girl waiting for her, smiling.
"Fall." Frisk said. "There you are."
The bundled-up girl turned and gasped.
"Frisk?!" She exclaimed. "What are you doing with no jacket on? Are you crazy?" She quickly began to undo her jacket. Frisk took her hand and put it on Fall's. "What's wrong?"
"I'm alright." She assured. The look on Fall's face showed she didn't believe her. It probably was obvious; she felt terrible. Frisk knew she looked terrible too. "Sorry I called you out here so late."
"Um…it's okay. What did you want to meet for?"
Frisk held out the folder of papers and watched Fall read it. Her eyes brightened.
"W-What? When? How? Are you sure?"
"Papers. Earlier. You don't want to know. Yes." Frisk answered and took the papers back. "… I'm going to turn these in… Fall, please, don't tell Sans I did this."
"What? Why?"
"… It's a long story, just… please promise me you won't."
"Well… alright, but… what am I supposed to tell him?"
"I… I don't know, just make something up."
Frisk went into the jail without another word, Fall following close behind. She followed Fall to the ward where Sans and her friends were at. The person behind the desk at the ward looking up at her with furrowed brows, concern seeping into his eyes.
"Miss Dreemurr are you alright?" Frisk handed him the papers, getting to the point where she was unable to speak adequately. The male looked over the papers and looked back up at Frisk. Everyone in the law or government positions knew how hard it was to get Davis to agree to anything one requested of him, so it wasn't surprising that she was getting all the shocked expressions.
"… Now. Please."
"Y-Yes ma'am! Of course!" The man said and stood up, stamping the papers. He went to the door with Fall trailing behind. "Are you coming ma'am?" Unable to talk, Frisk merely shook her head. The man and Fall disappeared behind the door. Once the door screamed to a halt, she looked through the small window. The man behind the desk had handed some papers over to a man with a chevron mustache and a toothpick between his lips. Even though he was wearing sunglasses, Frisk could tell he looked pissed.
What kind of ass wears sunglasses indoors at night?
Sans had gone to the cell gate and said something to Fall who nodded. Whatever she had responded, Sans' sockets widened, and brow bones furrowed in disbelief. Frisk was elated when the gate opened, and he was free from the prison. Muffet was clapping all her hands which only added to her elation. Fall wrapped both of her arms around Sans' neck while he wrapped one around her waist. When they parted, Fall had laughed at something Muffet had said and Frisk could get a full view of her friends. Sans looked exhausted and slightly in pain. The tie he had been wearing was draped lazily around his neck. The first two buttons on his white button up shirt were undone, and the sleeves were rolled up to his elbows. Part of her thought she could see dark circles under his sockets. She smiled softly, when he shoved his hands back in his pockets and look away, like he always used to do when he was nervous or heard something embarrassing. Frisk met eye contact with Muffet and tried to smile. A concerned look crossed Muffet's face.
Frisk turned around and left the jail, feeling accomplished that she had been able to do something for someone who had once been the most important person to her. Who was each other's most important person. Shaking her head, she focused on heading home. She staggered on the street and leaned against a tree, balancing herself with a hand. Frisk's shoulders hunched forward, expelling all contents from her stomach onto the sidewalk. She leaned on the tree more, making a bigger puddle of vomit. Frisk was gasping for breath between each fit, her body turning against her unwilling to give her a break. Her shoes were covered as was the base of the tree before she was finally able to fully breathe again. She desperately needed to blow her nose. If she could just get home, she would clean herself up and take care of herself before getting in bed. The tip of Frisk's shoe got caught in the crack of the sidewalk and she fell into her newly made puddle. She tried to push herself up but ended up back in the puddle. She was so tired, her eyelids fluttered to keep them awake. Regardless of her best efforts, they closed just as a pair of feet stood next to her.