Who Says You're the One in Control?

The Judgement of the Masses

Asgore tried to get Sans into a set of armor. Being a skeleton, even normal clothes were a pain to work with at times. Armor was a definite no.

Asgore didn't fight much. He had too much to set up. The ceremony was in 15 minutes, and Sans was just about the only one not moving. He was stressing too much to be any help. He had already spilled coffee all over Burgerpants, and ran into Gerson, knocking the poor turtle unto his back. It had taken three people to rectify the second accident. Gerson had just laughed it off.

Asgore had finally decided Sans was too shaken up to be much help. The skeleton was ordered to sit still like a child. Having nothing to do but think of all the things that could go wrong was worse to him than running around stressing over the food and entertainment. The pounding headache he had had for so long didn't help much.

"Hey, Sans?" Alphys had completely sneaked up on Sans. He jumped a little. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

"nah. i'm just nervous is all." Sans forced himself to relax. "what's up?"

"I just wanted to wish you luck." Alphys gave a shy smile. "I... uh.. I'm rooting for you."

Sans felt so much better hearing that. He didn't even realize how alone he had felt till she said it, but now, he was grateful. "you think i can make it?" He asked with a sheepish smile.

Alphys looked surprised. That was to be expected. He normally only talked to Papyrus about his fears, and that was rare.

"Of course you can make it!" Alphys said.

"heh. thanks, Al." Sans smiled.

Asgore walked up and shooed Alphys back to her seat. It was time to start. Sans could feel the butterflies in his stomach, despite not having a stomach.

Asgore started with a whole spiel about how much Chara had destroyed and how his main concern was the safety of the general public. He told about the advances Gerson was making with the cadets of the Royal Guard.

"Of course, I can't lead the Royal Guard and focus on all my other responsibilities." Asgore continued. "Undyne loyally assisted me in her life and heroic death. Now, I've called another monster for help."

Sans took a deep breath and stepped unto the stage. He was met with absolute silence. Looking over the monsters he was to be protecting, he suddenly regretted eating. He was almost certainly going to vomit.

"Sans the skeleton has stepped up to take the responsibility of leading the Royal Guard." Asgore continued.

"Sans?!?" Someone yelled from the crowd. "Are you shitting me right now?" The entire crowd bristled. A short, square monster with cat ears stood above them. "He can't even stay awake at his post! He's the town drunk! You want us to believe he's gonna be the one protecting us?"

Murmurs rippled through the crowd. Sans had no idea how bad the unrest between monsters had been until this moment. They were teetering. If he didn't sell this, he was sure he would die again. Whispers concerning Sans and the king's sanity filtered to the stage. Each was negative.

"hey! i don't see you doing anything!" He yelled. Genius. Yell at them. Perfect idea, Sans. He immediately regretted saying anything, but he was committed now. "yeah, i got lazy. i stopped caring. i gave up. you know what the consequences were? i fucking lost my brother."

Everyone had stopped. Sans was shaking. He was terrified. He knew they couldn't really hurt him. Just make him start over. He didn't want that, though. He wanted to stop relying on resets and actually start to progress.

"i'm sure you lost a friend or family member, too. you know the difference between us? i'm standing up to help the country instead of tearing it down with doubt and selfish fears! i have heard children cry in fear of what you people are talking about!" He scanned the audience for Monster Kid. The child was watching him with wonder filled eyes.

"i want to help. i want to make sure you people never have to feel the pain i felt when Chara murdered my brother. i'm gonna stand by the king. if you stand against him," He blackened out his eyes. "i'll give you a bad time."

The monster ran into the aisle. "Is that a threat?!? Then come on! Fight me!" Sans' eye flared blue. He scanned the entire group, and pinpointed all threats. Some of the farther monster's code was fuzzy, and his head pounded harder. Sans grit his teeth and stood his ground. The monster standing before him was nothing special, yet he ran up the aisle towards Sans.

Sans turned the monster blue and watched him fall to the ground. The crowd watched in shocked silence. "i don't have to fight to keep peace, and i'm not going to let more monsters die needlessly."

"Go Sans!" Monster Kid had somehow gotten to standing on his chair. Sans immediately felt embarrassed for having used his magic in front of so many monsters. In the heat of the moment, he hadn't even realized they were watching him.

He smiled in embarrassment and jumped off the stage towards the monster still pinned to the ground by his magic.

"uh.. if i let you up, are you gonna attack me?" He asked quiet enough for only people close enough to him to be able to hear.

"Fuck you! Fuck the king! Fuck it all..." The monster spat through his tears.

Sans sat criss-cross in the aisle next to him. "hey, trust me. i know how you feel."

"You don't seem all that upset." The monster pointed out. Sometimes Sans forgot he had had so much more time to get past the grief than the monsters around him had. "I bet you don't even care all that much about your dead brother."

Sans' eyes blackened again. "really now?" With complete subtlety, he pressed the monster into the ground more with his magical gravity. Till he could hear his victim struggle for breath. "that's quite the observation."

"S-stop..." The monster gasped.

Sans lightened up. "sorry i don't mourn the same way as you, but at least i don't make accusations about the extent of your love for your dead." His only response was silence. "okay, i'm gonna let you up now. if you try anything, i'm gonna arrest you. deal?"

Still silence. Sans decided that was consent enough and let the monster up. The monster glared at him a while longer, then silently returned to his seat.

Sans took a deep breath and climbed back unto the stage. He could still feel the apprehension the monsters had for him, but he met it with as much determination as he could manage.

"I'm asking you guys to trust me as your king." Asgore pleaded. "I believe Sans is capable, and I'm sure he'll prove it to you over the next few weeks."

The vows to protect the king and country were given, and Sans was fully admitted. During the celebration afterwards, the majority of the monsters avoided him. Monster Kid and Alphys were the first to congratulate him, and Sans made sure to talk to each member of the Royal Guard during the party.

After it was over, Sans stayed to help clean up. He was much more helpful now.

It was way past midnight when he finally got home. He was exhausted. He fell into bed without so much as taking off his shoes. He would clean the mud off the floor later. He needed to rest before his first day as captain of the Royal Guard.