A lot of legalese that the author and characters needed to get out of the way and the famed thing that I mentioned in the ending notes some chapters back (chapter 12 if I'm not mistaken) would happen at Grillby's.
-w-... My lips are sealed... until the ending notes, that is.
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-insert words- Is for written text
insert words Is for Miranda's mind talk and thoughts in general
insert words Is for Rajani's mind talk
insert words Is for sign language
_*insert words Is for battle commands
"InsertName" & INSERT STATS & *insert soul script Is for checking Soul Stats
+insert name and timeframe+ & +insert text+ Is for texting.
~insert lyrics~ Is for songs
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Chapter 25: Rain on My Parade.
You had no idea of when you had finally managed to fall asleep. One thing is for sure. You were feeling quite warm and comfortable when you woke up, so you didn't bother getting up. You were sure that, when it was time for you to get ready, either someone would wake you up, or your alarm clock would.
Instead you pulled the warmth near you closer still. It must be one of your dogs. Judging from the size, it's probably Hades? He did feel bigger though. Well, never mind. What mattered is that you're comfortable and don't want to get up anytime soon.
It wasn't until you heard some voices murmuring nearby that you began to notice something was amiss. For starters, as comfortable as you were, you knew you weren't on your bed, but yes on the floor.
You remembered the celebration and movie night. Then you remembered Sans' nightmare. How shook up he'd been when Rajani had finally been able to wake him up. Of how you brought him down to the living room in the end, to get him to relax and get some actual sleep.
And suddenly the fact that Hades seemed bigger than usual made sense.
Well, dart!
You opened your eyes owlishly as you took in the people around you. Papyrus was wide awake but wasn't paying much attention to you, instead he was busy cleaning the mess from the previous night. MK was still asleep and, surprisingly, had his tail around Flowey's pot. Even more surprising: despite being awake, Flowey was allowing Kid to hold him, even while looking very much annoyed at that fact. Your dogs were all surrounding them both, still mostly asleep, though they were beginning to perk their ears to the first signs of breakfast in the typical manner dogs usually did.
Frisk, Undyne and Alphys where the ones watching you and the voices you had heard, minus Frisk since they couldn't actually talk. Predictably, Sans was serving as your body pillow. Not so much predictably, you were both covered in cats.
As soon as they noticed you awake, Frisk wiggled their eyebrows at you in a cheeky manner that you didn't care much for, but decided to ignore. Alphys seemed to be toying with her phone with Undyne looking over her shoulder… Had they just taken a picture of you?
"Sup." You say in a muffled, sleepy way, startling both women, as they had yet to notice your eyes were open.
"O-oh! H-h-hi!"
"What you doin'?"
"Just taking pictures of you nerds." Undyne said unabashedly.
"Oh, das cool." You commented, not really caring about what they were doing. "Send me copy later. Now gonna go back to sleep. Nighty night."
"Oh, no, you don't!" Undyne objected. "We need to get ready for the preliminary hearing soon. There's no point in going back to sleep now, punk!"
"Urgh! But I'm so cozy!" You protested. "Plus, I have cats on top of me. I can't possibly kick them out, poor things."
"You… are surprisingly lazier than I expected."
"I hate mornings. If I have time for more sleep, I sleep. Only wake up when I really need to." Despite your protests, you had begun to gently prod your cats out of you.
You, once again, noticed that Sans seemed to have a belly. Being in your sleep deprived state you did the most logical thing you were able to. It was so immensely genius that you could have only came up with it in you sleep-addled state of mind.
…
You poked his belly.
He snorted in his sleep.
…
He was ticklish…
A wide, mischievous and still somewhat sleepy smile filled your face.
You tickled the sleeping monster and he had no choice but to wake up laughing and your laugh sang along. Sans managed to teleport away but you were on a war path now and looked at the three that had woken you up.
Frisk was smart enough to realize your intentions and bolted. Undyne and Alphys weren't so lucky, tough. You pounced on them and attacked their sides. Alphys was ticklish there but Undyne wasn't so you maneuvered to grasp a fishy foot and tickle it until she was guffawing. You almost got kicked in the face but it was worth it.
Before Undyne could strike back at you -you hadn't been much worried about Alphys doing that- you chased down Frisk, who was trying to find a place to hide in.
By then MK was awake and Flowey was berating you loudly, so you detoured towards them. Tickling MK was easy, but you had to get creative with Flowey, while avoiding his vines and teeth. Apparently, he was ticklish on the back side of his flowery head, close to the stem.
Satisfied, you dodged Undyne again and went after Frisk. You finally caught them hiding inside a cupboard and tickled them until they asked for mercy.
Your next target was Papyrus, who just entered the living room again. He had left with the trash made by all your snacking before your tickle war and was completely unaware.
You jumped him but, instead of tickling him, you used him as a hostage to get Undyne to back off. The tall skeleton was very confused, especially when you lifted him and ran around with him, fleeing from a very determined Undyne.
Skeletons were really light, apparently. Despite being taller than Sans, Papyrus seemed to weigh pretty much the same.
Eventually the commotion you were causing calmed down. Only then did Sans teleport back to the living room, more precisely to the couch, where he flopped tiredly.
"so… what was this all about?" He asked.
"… You have a belly." Such genius reply meant you were probably still not awake enough, despite all the hijinks that had ensued.
Sans didn't seem to like the reference to his 'weight' so you poked his belly again, with a smile.
"It's cuddly."
And now he was blue in the face.
You yawned and cracked a few bones in your arms as you stretched.
"Let's go take the dogs out?" You asked Undye and Papyrus.
"Yeah, sure." Undyne said casually, but there was an odd glint in her eyes as she eyed you. It looked a bit mischievous.
Your dogs, which had been pretty excited over all the commotion, became even more jittery when they saw you grabbing the set of leashes. You didn't feel the need to dress up before taking them out for a walk. You usually only walked them within the compound, so no one would be seeing you looking sloppy, anyway.
"Aaa! I' haven't tickled anyone in what seems like forever!" You sighed in contentment once you felt the chilly morning air hit your face.
"REALLY? YOU SEEMED TO BE QUITE ADEPT AT IT, SKINNY HUMAN." Papyrus had finally stopped calling you Miranda again, which must mean he wasn't being overly careful around you anymore. After telling your tale yesterday Papyrus spent the rest of the day calling you Miranda, as if he feared that calling you Skinny Human at that moment would break you. As much as you enjoyed having your name back for a while, it worried you when Papyrus called you by it.
"I used to be. I also used to be great at tackling people with kiss attacks!" You said.
"What!?" Undyne exclaimed.
"Yup. One of my grandmas wasn't ticklish so the only way I got her to laugh was by attacking her face with a barrage of kisses. Her laugh was great. I didn't use that one that often, though."
"You are surprisingly at ease with physical contact."
"Portuguese people usually are. Not with strangers, because that would be creepy, but with friends and family. And you're one to talk, by the way! Aren't you constantly giving noogies to people and stuff?"
"HECK YEAH, I AM! FUHUHUHUHUH!"
Since you still had some time, you took the chance to train your dogs. You didn't have the time to train them lately and didn't want for their skills to go rusty in the short timeframe you would stay in the compound.
Undyne observed you interestedly as Papyrus enthusiastically volunteered to help by pretending to be an attacker or a victim that you and your dogs would defend.
As usual, Iris, or Larger Female Dog according to Papyrus, was pretty unruly, disliking to obey orders right away if she felt there was no urgency to it. One would have called her lazy if it weren't for the fact that instead of obeying she was running all over the place. Her best trait was her speed and energy, though, so if she was feeling particularly competitive she would outrun everyone.
Nucha, also known as Smaller Female Dog, wasn't as fast. She was far smarter and cunning, though, at times managing to outsmart the other two, surpassing Hades' advantage in strength and Iris' advantage in speed. She was quickly becoming Papyrus' favorite dog out of the three. He was even suggesting making a course with puzzles for her to solve.
Hades was still the same gentle giant as usual, with no control over his own strength. You used that to your advantage when training him.
When you saw that you needed to get a move on and put an end to training, Undyne questioned about your other training regiments, even as you ate breakfast. She only relented when you went up to your room to change.
You chose the most formal attire you could find, a set you had worn several times in the past for job interviews with a black pencil skirt that ended just below the knees, a black blazer jacket with a maroon lining inside and a loose pinkish red shirt. You also wore high heels for once. You didn't particularly like to wear them but you could still run in them, albeit awkwardly, if needed be.
You carefully brushed your hair into a ponytail and secured any loose ends.
You came down to see MK, Undyne and Asgore waiting for you. Dan had also arrived at some point and was busy fending off Iris' rough affections.
Dan was the first to notice you. He seemed relived at your arrival since it meant he wouldn't have to deal with the crazed dog much longer.
"You look nice, Miss Castro." He said and the other's immediately looked at you.
"Indeed, Miranda." Asgore agreed.
"I had no idea you could look that good, punk! WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME?" She then grabbed you with an odd glint to her eyes and dragged you to the kitchen where everyone else was eating their breakfast. "HEY! LOOK AT THIS PUNK! If she dressed like this every day she would have a hard time fending off a ton of suitors!"
"Really, Undyne!? You dragged me here for this?"
You completely missed the blushing skeletons and dinosaur but Undyne didn't.
"Sure did, punk!"
"… nice outfit." Sans finally commented, conquering the blush you had failed to notice, breaking the silence at such rude interruption of morning rituals. "It suits you."
"SANS!" Papyrus protested.
The next moment, everyone was either gushing at your choice of clothes or they were Papyrus and Sans exchanging puns and chagrin. You took a moment when everyone was distracted from you to escape Undyne's clutches and flee to the entrance hall.
"HEY, PUNK! WHERE ARE YOU GOING!?" She asked from afar when she noticed you were gone.
"We have a preliminary hearing to go to, if you haven't noticed." You said.
She joined you again and you finally left the house.
You could hardly believe the bullbcrap that the three douchebags were trying to pull on the judge. During your drive to the courtroom, Dan informed you all that they had tried to make it all seem like a misunderstanding. That they were in fact trying to help MK and not kill him and that you had come across the scene without full understanding and attacked before actually making sure of what was going on.
During the hearing, their defense attorney sure did his damn hardest to break apart both yours, MK's and Grillby's accounts of what happened. Predictably, he brought up the fact that you were living on the streets as an excuse to invalidate your statements, to which you showed the judge several accounts of your behavior at work to prove you weren't insane or in any way mentally disabled. Their lawyer then asked you why you were living on the streets and you told them to save money. When he tried to press you further about the subject you informed the judge that the reasons why were secret and you would only reveal them to him alone.
After you showed the judge the file you'd compiled, you took the file back, intending on burning it so no one could read it. Perhaps Grillby would be more than glad to oblige? The remaining interviews followed the same logic, even with witnesses that they brought with them.
MK had been pretty scared as he stood face to face with his attackers but, with one glance at Undyne, he gritted his teeth and gave his faithful account. His relief was palpable when he no longer had to stay on their line of sight. The kid was beginning to rely less in the fish woman as his anchor to reality and this moment had been one of the few exceptions.
The judge concluded that there was probable cause and scheduled the actual trial for a week later. According to Dan, it was too close and that a regular court wouldn't be able to handle it, since it didn't give the prosecutor enough time to gather all of the evidence needed, especially if the trial was one of the more complex ones.
After the preliminary hearing, Dan got good news about your own attack trial. Apparently, all of the thirteen guys had been far smarter than the stupid trio and plead guilty with a reduced sentence due to them ratting the others out on several accounts of murder in relation to the missing monsters' cases. Because they plead guilty there would be no need for a preliminary hearing or a trial.
This also meant that a new separate trial would be needed so as to persecute the felons for those missing monsters but you didn't have to worry about that one much, since the only crimes you'd witnessed was MK's and your own. And since MK's attackers were already being judged for it in a separate trial and your attackers wouldn't go to trial... worst that could happen was for you to be asked to give your intake on those people's personalities.
Anyway, it was a relief to have gotten that over with, but the next week would prove to be the busiest and most stressful you've ever had. Despite only having missed one day, even the little help you could have provided your team with in that short timeframe had been sorely missed.
Several problems came up that required immediate and fast solutions and you even had to get involved with the dubbing when a singing voice actress got a cold and could no longer sing for the part in time for everything to be ready for the release date. By the time the trial date came you were very much exhausted, but relieved that the animation was finally over and done with.
The actual trial was another subject altogether.
This time there would be journalists and news anchors there. As the only human witness you would probably get a lot of mediatic cover, which you disliked greatly and felt threatened about. The last thing you wanted was for your face to be smeared all over… again…
And if someone recognized you?
It had been a long time so maybe they wouldn't, and the media really hadn't gotten a clear shot of your face back then.
This time the trial would be held in the afternoon so when lunch time came you didn't really eat much. This time you couldn't really present your file for evidence to sway the jury because you didn't want any other people to know what was in there. Technically they weren't supposed to reveal or discuss sensitive aspects of the case to the outside but... could one really trust a stranger with it? You knew you couldn't.
Dan insisted you bring the file anyway so you eventually conceded. Apparently, the judge, the same one as before, would make sure that no sensitive information would reach the jury. That goes to show you how ignorant you are about trial procedures.
You are directed by a Witness Service volunteer to a safe waiting area as Dan enters the courtroom. The volunteer, a fairly young man, answered some of your questions regarding court procedures.
Now you knew that usually the Persecutor would handle the accusation but, because this was a special case involving monsterkind, they would let Dan do that work. He was sort of appointed as the monster persecutor, in a way, as well as defense lawyer. As soon as such problems were solved that would change, though in what ways was yet to be seen.
The jury was also constituted of equal parts of both monsters and humans to further promote impartiality. There were journalists and cameramen inside the courtroom, as well as several curious douches, mostly humans, since most monsters didn't feel the morbid need to sniff around other people's business. There seemed to be an exception to that rule, though.
You didn't really understand what made Undyne, Grillby and MK groan as they were informed of the presence of a certain monster when you had arrived to the building and, though he hadn't groaned or looked annoyed, Asgore did seem slightly displeased.
If someone would get the nice king that liked all of his subjects to make a slight frown, then either that someone was Toriel or they must be really bad to be around.
Undyne, who had also made it her job to know every monster in the underground, since she was in charge of protecting them, informed you that Jerry -a monster that looked like a enormous balloon had deflated over a sombrero and then covered in leftover soda until it was all sticky and gross- was really as disgusting in personality as he was in physical appearance. You had to admit that while you wouldn't be purposefully rude to that monster, you didn't think you would go out of your way to be nice to him, lest that make him think you want him to stick -Really!? another pun!?- around. Of course, if he talked to you, you would feel obliged to reply.
Dude. Way too nice!
Later, Sans and Alphys entered the courtroom to watch. As you came to learn later, Papyrus had a job interview that showed promise for a potential job, unlike so many before, and Toriel couldn't have come without Frisk and Flowey and refused to let them witness what MK had to go through when he gave his testimony.
The trial went as expected. The case was presented and the witnesses called. Somehow you felt that the trial was being a bit rushed even as it was happening. Your time came to testify and once again your sanity and moral code were put into question, this time even more harshly than before. You hung in there as best as you could and sometimes Rajani would even help you out. She had to be a lot subtler than she had let herself become around the monsters, which only went to show how much both of you had relaxed around them. This time the judge told you there was no need to show him the file again, since he already saw it and remembered it quite well, which was one of the many proofs that supported your theory that he was rushing the trial. Regardless of him having seen it before or not, he still had to at least demonstrate the formality of looking over the files again.
After your testimony was done with being cross examined, you returned to the waiting room. All there was left was for the judge to listen to Grillby's testimony and a few character and expert testimonies. MK was long done with his part too and the Witness Service volunteer had provided him with paper and crayons and watched as the child drew.
"Hei…" You said after sitting there in silence for some time. "…is it just me… or is the judge-"
"Rushing the trial? Yeah he is, the demon." The volunteer sighed. "The mayor doesn't like all the free publicity all the pro-monster groups are getting out of it, and since there is the rumor that he had some dirt on the judge I figure that's why. Serves the bastard right."
"You really shouldn't say that word in front of the kid." You pointed it out.
The man winced at his own mistake and apologized.
"So yeah… The other trial, regarding all the other unsolved cases, is already going to be BIG. That one he won't be able to rush through. And kids always sway the opinions of the masses so he's trying to cut this one short."
Grillby rejoined you in the room as the usher came to get the next witness.
It was only after dinner time that the final verdict was announced with the trio being declared as guilty, despite all their effort in trying to discredit you, MK and Grillby.
Undyne, who had gone to sit with Asgore, Sans and Alphys, came to get you, carrying a sleepy Alphys on her back, and you joined the others as you skirted around the crowd, trying to not get noticed. Apparently, they had left the building through a side entrance.
"…It's finally over…" Grillby commented in relief and he stretched in a very uncharacteristic way.
"We should really celebrate this victory! Fuhuhuhuhuh!"
"uh, undyne, not that i wouldn't say yes to that idea, but alphys looks like she can't even scale the front step of the bar."
"NGAAAAH! Stop it with the fish puns!"
"Actually… that one could also be considered a law pun since justice is represented as a blindfolded woman with a sword and a scale. As in the measuring kind of scale." You pointed out and Sans' eyes literally turned into starts, surprising you to no end.
"i didn't think anyone would get that one. finally, someone got the appeal of its complexity."
"Sans, as much as I would like to comb my brains for puns I just really need some grub right now." You told him.
For once you felt bad for not being that good of a punster. He had seemed so happy when you noticed his double pun. He didn't seem to mind your rejection much, which relieved you greatly.
"it's ok, everyone is a bit flawed anyway so i won't take it personally."
"Thanks."
"I'll be taking Kid home." Asgore said picking the child up.
"I-I-I'll go with you. I'm a b-b-bit too t-tired for partying and MK n-needs one of us a-around." Alphys slurred as she tried to get down from Undyne's back. "You go have fun, my sweet nereid."
Everyone exchanged a look of surprise at the nickname aside from Dan, that didn't know them long enough to realize how out of character that was, and Undyne that went from blue to red in a span of a second.
"Yeah… ok… You really should catch some sleep. I won't take too long." She replied kissing the dinosaur woman's forehead.
You were feeling really awkward, just like you were watching something you shouldn't about a couple's intimate moments.
Dan was the first to leave the scene, this time it was clear that he realized that there were definitely too many people there, and that it would remain to be so unless everyone but the two female monsters left.
Finally, the tender moment ended and Alphys went with the king and the child.
"She has been working too hard. This was the last afternoon off she might have in a long while. She really should have spent it at home watching anime." Undyne commented.
With that said, Sans teleported you four to the bar. Grillby quickly took over his usual spot on the counter as you, Undyne and Sans sat on the stools. You were careful to check the seat for evidence of shenanigans… Undyne wasn't.
You laughed at her outraged expression when a fart noise sounded and thanked Grillby as he took your orders and put your choice of drinks in front of you. You noticed Sans loosening the cap on his ketchup a bit. Was he trying to prank you into getting ketchup all over your food? Good thing you weren't very fond of it. Instead of pointing it out, you focused back on Undyne's retort.
"SANS! REALLY!?"
"what? pranks are an arresting subject! I can't help but to put them to practice."
"Urgh!"
"don't like my pranks? i don't judge you!"
Just as Undyne got ready to reply to Sans' provocations you felt liquid slap your shoulder with some reasonable force and turned, spilling San's ketchup all over the bar counter with your elbow. You saw the asshole that did it with a freaky smirk on his face as you sent him a disgusted sneer at his antics. What even was his deal?
And then you heard the scream.
Grillby, who had just brought your food during the pun war, was screaming bloody murder. You looked back and saw half his face as well as his chest sizzling and smoking. Those bastards had hurt your friend…
He was screaming so loud. Oh god no not again please not again help no please . . .
Ketchup spilled across the dark wooden counter, strikingly red. . . .god please no please oh god oh god no please help please . . .
Water soaking your shoulder, dripping to the floor. . . .no please no no no no help please someone help . . .
Screams
Red
Water
Screams
Red
Water
Screams red water
Screams red water screams red water screams red water screams red water
Screams red water screams red water screams red water screams red water screams red water screams red water screams red water screams red water screams red water screams red water screams red water screams red water screams red water screams red water screams red water screams red water screams red water screams red water screams red water screams red water screams red water screams red water screams red water screams red water screams red water screams red water screams red water screams red water screams red water screams red water screams red water screams red water screams red water screams red water screams red water screams red water screams red water screams red water screams red water screams red water screams red water screams red water screams red water screams red water screams red water screams red water screams red water cries of pain red water cries of pain red water cries of pain red water cries of pain red water cries of pain red water cries of pain red water cries of pain red water cries of pain red water cries of pain red water cries of pain red water cries of pain red water cries of pain red water cries of pain red water cries of pain red water cries of pain red water cries of pain red water cries of pain red water cries of pain red water cries of pain red water cries of pain red water cries of pain red water cries of pain red water cries of pain red water cries of pain red water cries of pain red water cries of pain red water cries of pain red water cries of pain red water cries of pain red water cries of pain red water cries of pain red water cries of pain red drenched cries of pain red drenched cries of pain red drenched cries of pain red drenched cries of pain red drenched cries of pain red drenched cries of pain red drenched cries of pain red drenched cries of pain red drenched cries of pain red drenched cries of pain red drenched cries of pain red drenched cries of pain red drenched cries of pain red drenched cries of pain red drenched cries of pain red drenched cries of pain red drenched cries of pain red drenched cries of pain red drenched cries of pain red drenched cries of pain red drenched cries of pain red drenched cries of pain red drenched cries of pain red drenched cries of pain red drenched cries of pain red drenched cries of pain red drenched cries of pain red drenched cries of pain red drenched cries of pain red drenched cries of pain red drenched cries of pain red drenched cries of pain blood drenched cries of pain blood drenched cries of pain blood drenched cries of pain blood drenched cries of pain blood drenched cries of pain blood drenched cries of pain blood drenched cries of pain blood drenched cries of pain blood drenched cries of pain blood drenched cries of pain blood drenched cries of pain blood drenched cries of pain blood drenched cries of pain blood drenched cries of pain blood drenched cries of pain blood drenched cries of pain blood drenched cries of pain blood drenched cries of pain blood drenched cries of pain blood drenched cries of pain blood drenched cries of pain blood drenched cries of pain blood drenched cries of pain blood drenched cries of pain blood drenched cries of pain blood drenched cries of pain blood drenched cries of pain blood drenched cries of pain blood drenched cries of pain blood drenched cries of pain blood drenched cries of pain blood drenched cries of pain blood drenched . . . . . .
You woke up with your head ringing.
You were covered in water. It drenched your clothes.
The red blood looked purple under the oceanarium lights.
You could hear distant, blood curdling screams all around you. They were cries of pain that would forever haunt you.
The attacker wasn't there. . .
Wait. . .
N o . . .
. . .
T h e a t t a c k e r i s r i g h t b e h i n d y o u ! ! !
*You feel the terror clouding up your mind.
.
.
* A sense of dread fills your soul.
.
.
*…
.
.
*Everything fades into darkness.
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End Notes:
So have some angst and a cliff hanger ;P
(As for everything else, I had initially planed for a more nervewracking trial experience but then got bored while trying to write it XC so I decided to keep it short and tasteful instead of dragged out and cringy at best.)
(Also tickles, and belly fluff XP)