A/N: I know, I know. This took a small lifetime. But I have another ready to go right after this and it's a knock-out, I promised xD

Chapter 10: Guilty

Rose was feeling like a complete idiot as she walked through the Shadow Proclamation, the Doctor at her side, wearing the most ridiculous outfit she'd ever seen.

She thought the Doctor had been joking when he had pulled it out of the wardrobe. It was a bulky robe-like thing with material that looked and felt like a Pac A Mac, coloured fluorescent green with tassels attached to the lapels. To add insult to injury, the hat was somehow even worse, like a brown felt version of Horatio Nelson's bicorn. Her cuffs were thick and heavy, and made of some material that was severely irritating her skin.

'Stop messing with the cuffs,' the Doctor muttered to her as they walked to the court. They'd tried to see the defendant before proceedings, but the note had been passed to him, and he'd barely glanced at it before throwing it away. Therefore they were now walking into the court without a single clue who they were going to be defending, and what from.

'It's itchy!' she protested. 'And by the way, I haven't seen anyone else wearin' this outfit. You're totally windin' me up, aren't you?'

'What? On Earth the colour of royalty is gold, and here it's fluorescent green. It commands a lot of respect in this part of the universe,' he informed her. 'And relax. You look adorable.'

'Adorable?'

The Doctor shrugged. 'Yeah, adorable.'

She scowled at him.

'What? Adorable's good isn't it?' he asked, confused.

'Yeah, if I'm a bloody puppy.'

'Just relax. People respect the outfit,' he insisted, just as they passed someone who dothed their cap to Rose, bow slightly before moving on. 'See?'

'I still think you're havin' me on.'

The Doctor rolled his eyes, and changed the subject as they reached the truth field, which had a building queue of varying lifeforms. Clearly there was some kind of problem as a mechanic was working on some system. They took a place in line together.

'Nervous?' he wondered.

'Yeah,' she confessed.

'You don't have to do anything for the prosecution's case, just listen and take it in, and think where the weak points in the case are,' the Doctor said in an undertone to her. 'Then we'll meet at the halfway point and compare notes. The only things you'll be asked in this half is to confirm your name and enter the plea.'

She nodded. 'Okay,' she said, and looked at the truth field. The queue was starting to move. 'Hey, if they've got this truth field, why even have trials?'

'What?'

'If the accused person can't lie, then just ask them if they did it,' Rose pointed out. 'Be way quicker.'

'Wouldn't work.'

'Why not?'

'Well, imagine if you were a chef at a restaurant, and one night after eating there all of the customers got food poisoning. You'd think it was you, wouldn't you?'

'Um, I guess.'

'But what you don't know is that all of the customers had been to the same event earlier and all ate the same thing. That's where they got the poisoning, not your restaurant.'

'Oh.'

'People have a tendency to blame themselves for the worst things, whatever the species,' the Doctor explained. 'The truth field measures guilt more than actual culpability.'

'Then why have it at all?'

'It allows a completely fair trial,' the Doctor responded. 'The witnesses can't lie, the evidence is all valid.'

The queue began to move. They proceeded through the truth field together, coming to stand in front of two judoon, and two doors. Even though there was no threat and their alias were fine and within the boundaries of the truth field, the judoon still made her a little nervous. She recalled with startling clarity what they'd done to her, Leah, the Doctor, and the entire universe.

The Doctor brought her out of her thought trail by taking her hand in a gentlemanly manner, and pointing at a right-hand door. 'Your entrance, milady,' he said, bowing.

'Thank you, Theta,' she said, smiling at him.

'As your personal aide, I shall be on hand in the court in a visible location,' he continued, glancing briefly at the judoon. 'I wish you the best for these proceedings, as always.'

Her smile increased. 'Thank you, Theta,' she said again. 'I'll see you later.'

'I shall await that time impatiently, milady,' he said, dipping a gracious bow before he turned and joined the crowd heading through the left-hand door. Rose took a breath, and headed through the right-hand door.

She emerged on the bottom level of the courtroom. She'd been here only once before, for the Doctor's corrupt trial, where she'd been sat in the witness box unable to speak through being given gum glue. She'd almost forgotten just how unbelievably big it was - rings of seats stacking upwards for what seemed like forever. The Doctor had explained it to her in their preparations – it was a multi-dimensional space, folded in on itself many, many times. What looked like three floors was actually three hundred. He'd stated the entire court could hold a million people, and it was law that every seat had to be filled for every trial. The audience, which doubled as the jury, were randomly selected from across the known universe, and served as jury for a month at a time.

In the centre on the ground floor was the witness box to the side, which had a greasy, fat alien man in it. The judge's desk seemed to stretch for three floors in front of her, currently empty. In the centre of the room was a circular-shaped platform where the defendant stood, on show to absolutely everyone at all times. They hadn't arrived yet. To her left and to her right were two desks on diagonals - one for the prosecution, and the other for the defence. The prosecution was already there in the same vulgar robes she was in.

The entire court looked like it was made of carved wood, the floor included, but she knew it wasn't. It was huge, breathtaking , and terrifying in equal measures. She was only reminded to move forward when the judoon walked past her, and she moved to the defence desk.

She took a seat and waited, scanning the audience to see if she could see the Doctor. To her utter delight, she found him almost immediately – mainly because he was waving quite enthusiastically to try and attract her attention. Their eyes connected. He beamed, and took his seat.

Getting a million people into one room didn't take as long as Rose thought. Three minutes later, someone called for silence, and the entire court hushed as the hum of teleports died. Then, the judge entered from behind his desk. She recognised him as a shamboni. He was dressed in a variant of her robes, but far more glorious than her own attire. He took his seat.

'The 119,253,987th case of the Shadow Proclamation is now in session,' the judge said, his voice booming around the court. 'I am Judge Fahjo.'

'I am Jarr Vinnag, prosecution,' the man on the prosecution desk said.

Rose nearly forgot herself in the shock. 'I'm … Lady Rose of Tardis,' she stated finally.

'Please bring out the defendant,' the judge boomed.

Rose watched as, just like the Doctor's trial, the judoon escorted out the defendant. It was a shockingly young boy. However, unlike the Doctor at his trial, he wasn't roughed up. He was taken to the central platform. Harmless barriers erected, and the boy sat the seat, looking terrified. It dawned on Rose just how corrupted the Doctor's trial had really been.

'The defendant, prisoner number H7383, is accused of arson, with three counts of manslaughter, and he had intent to cause grievous bodily harm. How does the defendant plead?'

Rose realised everyone was looking at her. She stood up, taking a steely breath. 'Not guilty, Your Honour,' she stated.

The boy looked at her, wide-eyed and horrified. That obviously had not been his intended plea.

'Not guilty accepted,' the judge said. 'Therefore, we shall proceed straight to a trial. Prosecution, you have twenty-five minutes to lay out your case. Proceed.'

'Thank you, Your Honour,' the opposing greasy-haired green alien said, his smile smarmy. 'I shall call my first witness, Parr Tceen, head of the Tceen and Sons company.'

The greasy fat alien in a suit promptly stepped up to the box. He was smiling. There was something about his face Rose really didn't like.

'You are Parr Tceen, correct?' the prosecutor asked.

'Correct.'

'And you are head of the Tceen and Sons company?'

'Correct.'

'Could you explain to us what sort of business you are involved in?'

'We secure apprenticeships for young people.'

'Thank you. Could you explain, in your words, exactly what happened on the day of the incident?'

'Well,' the man began, glancing at the boy in the holding area. Rose swore he was almost amused by the sight of him. 'That morning, around an hour after my shift began, my receptionist informed me that she had a young man wanting to see me about an apprenticeship. I saw him, but unfortunately he wasn't qualified. I informed him of the rejection. He threatened me and my staff, and left the office. Ten minutes later, a fire began in the lower offices. I can only thank all that is holy that most of my staff and apprentices had not yet arrived. I would also like to add to the court that am deeply saddened by the death of three individuals in the fire, and my thoughts are with their families.'

'Also, as item two, we have a signed statement from the receptionist to confirm these events,' the lawyer added.

'I can confirm this is in my possession, and matches entirely with the witness' story,' the judge confirmed to the entire court.

'Thank you, Your Honour. Mr Tceen, you may step down.'

The witness left the box, and the Prosecutor went straight on with the next part. 'Item three,' he said, pulling out a sealed bag containing a piece of paper, and placing it in front of the judge. 'This is a signed confession from the accused.'

Rose's eyes widened, and looked up to where the Doctor was sitting. He raised his eyebrow. A signed confession?

'It was signed on the day of the fire after the defendant's arrest,' the lawyer continued. 'Witnessed by three officers.'

Well, Rose thought, looking at the boy. That wasn't great. She looked at the Doctor again, he looked at her, and shrugged.

'Item four. This is an extract from the CCTV footage outside Mr Tceen's office. It clearly shows the defendant entering and exiting at the times Mr Tceen specified.'

The entire court watched a hologram in the centre of the room, clearly showing the correct time, and the boy coming and going.

Rose quietly sighed.

'Item five. These are the defendant's clothes on the day of the fire,' the lawyer stated, holding up a sealed bag containing some clothes. 'They have traces of the fuel used to start the fire on them, as confirmed by forensic scientists contracted by this court in the judge's notes.'

'I confirm that this is in my possession and is fully validated,' the judge confirmed to the entire court.

'Thank you, Your Honour. Item six,' he continued, and Rose seriously wondered just how much worse this could get. 'In the historical criminal records for the planet, the defendant is confirmed to have started a fire at the children's home where he resided when growing up. Due to his age, he was not fully prosecuted, but the defendant clearly has a history of arson.'

Rose sank in her seat. It had got worse.

'As you can see, the defendant is proven to have been there at the time, with the fuel on his clothes, and a signed confession. He has a history of arson, and had a clear motive. I rest my case.'

He sat down. Rose blinked, surprised. She wasn't sure, but not taking the full time and instead using seven minutes to lay out an entire prosecution case could not be a good sign.

'Thank you,' the judge said. 'The court will adjourn for ten minutes.'

Rose came out of the courtroom, feeling utterly deflated. She had absolutely no idea what she was supposed to do in the boy's defence. The Moirai had said to prove him innocent, but Rose was now about 98 percent sure that, actually, the boy was completely and utterly guilty. Not only that, but he'd killed three people. Could she really defend a murderer?

The Doctor was nowhere to be seen, so she followed the signs and made her own way towards the room where the defendant was being held, genuinely wondering if it was too late to change her mind about wanting to do this. She entered the room, and saw the boy sitting there. Immediately she stopped.

It had been a little different looking at him from a distance, but now she was up close, she could see just how young he really was. He was fairly humanoid, with pale blue skin and messy black hair, and so very young. Looking at him, Rose couldn't believe that this boy was even capable of committing murder.

He looked at her briefly, and then looked away again, dejected. 'Why did you plead not guilty?'

'Because that's what you are,' Rose told him.

'I'm guilty,' the boy insisted. 'Can you change the plea?'

Rose frowned. Her gut was telling her that he was lying. Her gut was usually right. 'Why would you wanna plead guilty when you're not?'

'I am guilty.'

'I think you're lyin'.'

'That's your problem. I'm guilty. That's all there is to it.'

Rose sighed. 'You got family?'

'Change the plea,' he said, ignoring her.

'Mum, dad?'

'They're dead.'

'Brother or sister?'

The boy sighed. 'Sister.'

'Swear on her life that you're telling me the truth.'

The boy hesitated. 'I-I can't do that.

'Because you're lyin',' Rose said. 'Tell me what happened so I can help you.'

'I don't want you to help me.'

'But you're innocent,' Rose said, confused. 'You basically just admitted it. Why you won't let me help you?'

'Go away.'

'You gonna go to prison for somethin' you didn't do.'

'I said go away.'

Before Rose could get any further, the door suddenly opened and the Doctor stuck his head in, looking a bit jittery.

'You took your time,' she said as he grabbed her arm and pulled her out into the corridor. 'Whoa, what's wrong?'

'Security's heavy. I've only got a bit so listen up. Take apart each piece of evidence piece by piece. Most of it is circumstantial, and they're all lying. Do that first, then introduce new evidence.'

Rose frowned. 'But the truth field …'

'I didn't think anything of it, but we saw someone messing with it earlier,' the Doctor said. 'I've just tested it. It doesn't work anymore.'

'Oh my god,' Rose muttered. 'We gotta tell someone.'

'No,' he said quickly, glancing around. 'That'll render the whole trial null and the boy will just come back at a later date. Use it to your advantage.'

'What?'

'You know you can lie. The prosecution might know, but they won't be able to point out you're lying without exposing themselves.'

'Oh.'

'The CCTV isn't valid. You can see the cut where the footage has been edited to put the boy in it. The lighting changes at frame 346, and 347 is replicated frame.'

'Oh.'

'The lighter used to start the fire is a hugely common brand on that planet. All in all, the defendant is protecting someone. Find out who, and use it. Also,' he showed her some pieces of paper. 'Grabbed these in the Tardis. They've all been validated. This is proof that Tceen's business was haemorrhaging money, and he'd just taken out a new insurance plan just before it all got conveniently burnt down.'

'Oh my god,' she said, looking at the paper. 'He did it?'

'Maybe, but not your job to prove that. It's your job to provide a credible alternative to your client,' the Doctor said. 'You can't prove the boy not guilty, so try and suggest that maybe someone else is guilty.'

Rose nodded. 'Okay. But he's got a history of arson.'

'Find out the circumstances. It might not be what it seems. Start with what you know and work from there.'

'But what about the confession?'

'That's not admissible, because …'

Suddenly large Judoon hands clamped down on the Doctor's shoulders. Rose hadn't even noticed them.

'No contact with the defence is permitted by the public!' the Judoon grated.

'But I am aide to milady!' the Doctor protested as the Judoon dragged him back away from Rose.

'Why's it not admissible!?' Rose cried, but the Doctor had already been dragged around the corner, his protests fading away. Rose sighed. 'Great,' she muttered, and walked back into the room where the boy was still sitting.

'Right, you've got some explainin' to do,' Rose stated, slamming the pieces of paper onto the table in front of the boy. 'I know you didn't do it and I'm now pretty sure that Tceen had a part in it. 'Why are you coverin' someone who's gonna happily put you in prison?'

'What?' the boy asked, staring at the paper. 'What does it say?'

'It says Tceen's business was failin' badly and he'd just taken out some insurance just before the fire. I think he did it. What I can't figure out is who you're protectin' and why.'

'It's got nothing to do with you.'

'No? I'm your lawyer and I need your help. If you don't start tryin' to defend yourself then you're gonna go to Volag-Noc,' Rose stated. 'You know what that's like, yeah?'

'... No.'

'Someone I know who was completely innocent went there, and he got put in solitary confinement for twelve years. He went insane. For ages after he was saved he kept thinkin' that he was in that cell and everythin' around him was a hallucination. This one time, I found him sitting in the shower in his clothes, crying. The water was almost burnin' him it was so hot. I asked him what was wrong and he said he was still in the cell. I told him he wasn't, and he asked me, "why am I still cold?".' She paused, trying not to cry. She'd never said that out loud to anyone before about exactly how damaged the Doctor was after his twelve years in Volag-Noc. It had been a long-standing secret between her and the Doctor. 'It made him terminally ill. Then he died. You really wanna voluntarily go there? Go there for that greasy-haired idiot?'

The boy hesitated. He looked scared at her words. '... Not for him.'

'Then who for!?' Rose demanded.

'Court will resume in two minutes,' a disembodied voice said from overhead as the door opened and some judoon arrived. The conversation was over.