(A/N: I had a very intelligent discussion with my mum about this matter over dinner, and was struck by inspiration. I altered the actual conversation, since it was pretty long-winded and my mum roped in another murder to explain this to me. Enjoy (or not… since it's murder)! :3)

Characters/ Pairings: No pairings, just our usual trio plus Charice.

Genre: T (mentions of beheading someone and killing)

Rating: Crime/General

Inspiration: A news article I read on Yahoo! News.

Pyro Drabbles—Cause & Effect

=Unspecified Location in Amity Park=

~Normal POV~

"…oh my God."

"What? What happened?" A blue-eyed boy blinked at Tucker, who was staring at his PDA, stricken.

In the span of a heartbeat, the boy had the previously-mentioned PDA shoved into his face. "Just look at this, Danny! Just look at it! It's terrible!"

Danny squinted at the screen, reading off what he saw on the screen. From the looks of it, it was a news article of some sort. "…U.S. Man decapitated disabled son, seven…" By the time he was done reading it, he wrinkled his nose. "Jeez, that is terrible… Not to mention kinda gruesome, with all the cutting of his body parts…"

"Cutting of his body parts?" The two boys turned to see Sam and Charice, with the former raising an eyebrow and the latter merely blinking at all of them.

Danny and Tucker quickly showed the article to the girls. Charice was visibly upset, her eyes going wide with ever-growing sadness. "How could that man do that? I mean, even if he was tired of taking care of the disabled boy, it's his own son! How could he? Such a horrid man…"

Tucker and Danny nodded in agreement, similar disapproving expressions written all over their faces.

Sam chewed on her lower lip thoughtfully. "Hm… Actually, think of it this way, guys… Have you considered the man's side of this article?"

"…what do you mean, Sam?" Danny asked curiously, tilting his head to the side.

"I mean… Look at the article again. It says that the seven-year-old had cerebral palsy, heart problems and limited speech. Not to mention he needed a feeding tube and was in a wheelchair. Can you imagine taking care of someone like that?"

Tucker shook his head slowly. "No… I can barely look after myself, let alone take care of someone who has all those problems."

The amethyst-eyed girl nodded. "Exactly; the years of exasperation built up from raising that child must've been quite a load on the man, and took his toll."

Charice's forehead creased slightly as she frowned. "But… Did he really have to be so cruel? I mean… He put the poor child's head out by the side of the road, just so that the mother would see it when she came by…"

Sam was silent for a few moments, deep in thought. She spoke, "I'll give you a case scenario, Charice. If Paulina were to bully you continuously for nearly seven years of your life, how would you feel?"

"…upset?" The brunette murmured uncertainly, her answer ended up sounding a lot like a question instead.

"Mm… So, if she pushed you down the stairs, purposely spread lies to everyone about you, slapped you every day… What would you do then?" Sam questioned gently. The boys merely stayed quiet, trying to figure out what she was trying to do.

The girl's eyes sparkled in mild annoyance at the thought of that happening. "Frustrated, of course! I didn't do anything to deserve all that, so why is she treating me so badly? Why me, of all people?" She blurted.

Sam smiled wryly. "Charice, that's exactly how that man feels. He hadn't done anything wrong, and yet he had to look after a disabled child while his wife works."

Charice blinked, her eyes going wide again, this time in enlightenment. "Ohhh, I get it now…"

"So, Sam… Basically, what you're saying is that… It depends on the situation and the person's background when you look at a crime like this?" Danny concluded, sounding more like a professor than a C-student at that moment.

"Yes, that's a good way to describe this crime. Everything has its cause and effect. It's just a matter of how you handle a situation."

(A/N: …the ending wasn't quite what I had expected… Oh well. Hope it made sense to you. I know I'll probably get blasted for siding with the murderer… Bring it on. I've got my Flame-Thermos ready :D

~Phanton Flame :) )