Is really Angela the real culprit? If she is, why did she attack Apollo? But more importantly, could our heroes rescue Junie from her false accusations? You'll discover it in this chapter! Take that!

Ch. 11 Turnabout Lovestruck. Trial Final Part

The whole lecture hall remained silent. The only noise that could be heard was the heels of Angela's boots while she headed to the stand. She had an evil smirk all the way there and she was giggling like those creepy little girls in horror movies.

Once she reached the stand, the judge gulped and spoke up "Um… Then *ahem* prosecutor Kelvin…?"

Kelvin stared at Angela confused. He wasn't believing what he was hearing "Uh? Oh, right, Your Honor… Witness, state your name and occupation"

"Angela von Karma. I'm a student of the prosecutor course in the Themis Legal Academy" Angela said with a reverence "And I'm going to testify about what really happened this morning…" (She's going to confess it?! No, it can't be that easy… I can't expect anything, just listen to her and we'll see what we do then!)

Witness Testimony

"I admit that I came early to the school this morning, I warned Ms. Scuttlebutt that the defendant and the victim were here… I knew that Ms. Woods would try to kill Mr. Justice and I wanted to prevent her to escape her crime… All I did was for the wellbeing of Mr. Justice and 'justice' itself. I have no motive to harm him"

Testimony End

"Wait a minute! We already proved that Ms. Woods didn't have a motive to do it! She left the victim to find her Bum Rap Rhiny, not to attack him when he was vulnerable!" You said hitting your bench.

Objection!

"I concede that fact. Although, it's highly probable that the defendant lied to save herself. You need more conclusive evidence to prove her innocent, you foolish fool fooled by his/her foolishness" Angela said confidently.

"I must agree with the witness, Mr/Ms. (Y/N). We must suspect of the defendant, no matter what" (Grr! I was so close!)

"Hmph. Looks like I can win after all" Kelvin said playing with his hair "Nerd, I feel very generous. I allow you to start your cross examination" (Huh? Really? Who are you and what you did with Kelvin?) "After all, it won't make any difference. You still will lose" (And he's back… Great…)

Cross examination

"I admit that I came early to the school this morning, I warned Ms. Scuttlebutt that the defendant and the victim were here…"

Hold it!

"Why you knew something like that?"

"Mr. Justice would be my opponent in the mock trial if this wouldn't have happened. We wished our bests lucks yesterday. Plus, the defendant was the one that must prepare the mock trial. She must be here early so I knew Mr. Justice will be here too"

"But why did you warn Ms. Scuttlebutt of that?" Athena asked.

"I knew that Ms. Woods would try to kill Mr. Justice and I wanted to prevent her to escape her crime…"

Hold it!

"Why would she do that?! She loves the victim with all her heart!"

"The reason was told at the beginning of this trial, fool. Don't you remember? They were having love disputes"

"But every couple has their disputes, and not all the couples want to kill each other for that reason"

"Then, could you care to explain me why Mr. Justice was found with an injury at the back of his head? If you can't answer me, you'll have a little painful chat with my whip"

"Well… Um… Ouch!" She hit you AGAIN with her whip.

"Witness, forget those silly questions of the defense. He/She's being stupid like he/she always be" (Grr! She's the attacker, I just know it! But how do I prove it?!) You were looking at Kelvin thinking carefully in Angela's testimony. Suddenly, it snapped in the back of your head (Wait… Kelvin?... A mock trial?... That's it!)

"What happens to you, nerd? Are you captivated from my beauty?" (Ugh… I must be totally crazy if that's the case… Thank goodness it isn't the case…)

"Nope… Anyways, Angela, could you please continue with your testimony?"

"Don't press me, fool!... All I did was for the wellbeing of Mr. Justice and 'justice' itself. I have no motive to harm him"

Objection!

"Like you said to me earlier, Ms. von Karma, 'you're doomed'"

"What are you saying now, fool?"

"I think you had a perfect motive to harm Mr. Justice"

"What?!" Athena, Kelvin and the judge yelled at the same time.

"Bring it on, then" Angela dared you with a smirk.

"Like you said, Mr. Justice was going to be your opponent in the mock trial. Although, you didn't have time to prepare your own case" Angela opened her eyes wide realizing you actually KNEW that "Therefore, you assaulted Mr. Justice to stop your mock trial and have time to prepare your case!"

Angela started to suffocate her whip and look and you in anger "Who told you that?!" You stared at Kelvin. She started to hit him with her whip while he screamed in pure pain.

"Order! Order in court! Witness! Stop harming the prosecu-Ouch!" The judge was hit too.

"Shut up, you foolish judge!"

"Now I think of it…" You stared at Athena seeing her whispering "If she's the culprit, it has perfectly sense! That's why the fingerprints in the xylophone and the suitcase are plain! She's wearing gloves!"

"Shut up, foolish redhead! And how do you prove that I moved the suitcase?!" Angela screamed very pissed off.

"That's now easy to prove" You said with a confident smirk. You took a paper and started to slap it slightly "As we know now from Mr. Collins testimony, Ms. Woods moved the suitcase to the sports shed under Prof. Courte request. It was there all the night, even when it was raining. That's why there's dirt in the wheels. Then, the next morning, you attacked Mr. Justice in the storage room when he was alone. You tried to move him to the sports shed so you could manipulate the crime scene, however, the biggest suitcase was at the sports shed so you couldn't move him under the current circumstances. So you headed down to take back the suitcase, you moved it up, you put Mr. Justice in the suitcase and moved it down again to the sports shed. That's when the roll marks were left!"

Angela started to sweat heavily "Although, as Kelvin said earlier, you failed in wiping the roll marks and got rid of the xylophone" You hit your bench and made an eloquent pause "That's how you attacked Apollo and moved him to make we think that Juniper was the culprit!" You said pointing at her. All the students started to raise their voices again.

Objection!

"Do you really think that you have won?! You foolish fool who foolishly say foolishness through his/her foolish mouth! That's right! I moved that suitcase! But how you can prove that I moved it to the sports shed?! Maybe I moved it to another place!"

You shook your head "No, that's not the case. I have proof that you went to the sports shed"

Take that!

"I found this cologne in the sports shed. Someone told me that you were the only one in this academy who bought this perfume" Angela stared at Kelvin with an evil glare "This proves that you went to the sports shed!"

Objection!

"You were so close there, fool! Yesterday, I was at the sport shed! I'm sure I lost it yesterday! You can't connect me with that!"

Objection!

"You've got that wrong!" Athena yelled when she hit the bench with one hand "If you lost the cologne yesterday, Mr. Collins must have found it when he was cleaning! However, he said that he didn't see anything strange during his cleaning session!" She said pointing at her.

"Nooo! This can't be happening!" The students were chatting again excited.

"Order! Order in court!" The judge yelled.

"Athena… We made it!"

"We saved Juniper!" She stared at you amazed and blushing. You both extended your arms to hug each other until your dreamland sank into a black hole.

Objection!

Kelvin moved his finger in a 'negation' shake "Tsk tsk. Too bad, nerd. You were so close to win this…" (Oh no… What now?!)

"What are you talking about, Kelvin?" You asked frowning.

"Angela forgot her cologne in the sports shed when she hid Mr. Justice there? How can you prove that?"

"What?" Athena asked.

"Think about this. Maybe, when the defendant and the victim were at the lecture hall, she was at the sports shed looking for something. That's when the cologne appeared in scene" Angela opened wide her eyes. She could escape from this.

"That's right! I was looking for the defendant and the victim to prevent them to attack each other! I lost the cologne when I went to the sports shed!"

"WHAT?!" You and Athena screamed at the same time.

"And why then the plain fingerprints? Simple. The defendant wore gloves to prevent left prints in the suitcase and the xylophone" Said Kelvin with a reverence "And that… concludes my theory, Your Honor"

"Hmm… Yes, indeed. If the witness left the perfume another time than the time of the crime, she couldn't have been the culprit" The judge said with his eyes closed.

"No! But… Your Honor…!" You tried to gain time.

"No, Mr/Ms. (Y/N). The prosecution has just proved that the witness is innocent. Unless you have decisive evidence to prove that the witness was the only one who did it, I'm afraid that I will have to give the verdict"

"Come on, (Y/N)! We must have something!" Athena said.

"But… that is the problem… I don't have more evidences…"

"What…? No…" Athena opened wide her eyes "No! It must be something! You can't surrender! I trust in you, I now you can do this!" You just stared at the floor while you rested your hands in the bench. You couldn't do it. You have fought very well for being your first time in court, and in an official trial, no less. But now, you can't do anything more. You hadn't any more evidences and there weren't any more people to ask about. It was all over, you couldn't save Juniper and Apollo will hate you forever for doing this.

"The defense… has no more evidences… Your Honor…" Athena looked at you with wet eyes. She was very upset and irritated that you gave up but… she understood what you were feeling. After all, she had her 'gift' to know your feelings. She began to sob knowing that all was over.

"Very well…" The judge said grimly "Then, now I'll give my verdict" He raised up his gavel to sentence Juniper. Sentence her… in the bad way… "This court finds the defendant, Juniper Woods…" You gulped while you felt tears flowing down your cheeks. You couldn't resist the urge to put your head on the bench while holding it with both of your hands (I'm so sorry… Juniper... Apollo… Athena… I disappointed you… I couldn't save you… I don't deserve your friendship anymore…)

The judge started to lower down his gavel while opening his mouth…

Until…

"Sorry for interrupt you…" A sweet female voice said from the entrance of the lecture hall.

"Who are you?" The judge asked.

"Hey! You're the nurse of Apollo!" You said shocked.

"That's right, Mr/Ms. Lawyer. I'm sorry for interrupt you, Your Honor, but I have something to give to the defense" She gave a file to you.

"What is this?"

"Don't you remember? I told you that the report of Mr. Justice wasn't complete. That file is the complete report of Mr. Justice's injuries" (She's right. She gave it to me while I was investigating the sports shed…) She left the lecture hall nonchalantly.

You opened up the file and read it in your mind ('There's an injury of a large flat object in the back of his head' Well, I already knew that… 'Also, there're some scratches all around his body'. Scratches? But why is that? There wasn't any weapon neither the sports shed or the storage room that could have left scratches… Wait… NO WAAAAAAAY!)

"What does that report say, Mr/Ms. (Y/N)?" The judge asked confused.

"What does it matter, Your Honor? It wouldn't change the fact that Ms. Woods is the perpetrator" Kelvin said arrogantly.

Objection!

You shook your head and smirked. Right now, a sparkle of hope has born in your heart. Now you can save your friends once and for all!

You hit the bench and pointed out slowly with your finger.

Take that!

"This is my evidence, Your Honor!"

"The report? But why?"

"According to this report, it says that Mr. Justice had an injury of a flat large object in the back of his head" You said slapping slightly the report "However, looks like they found some scratches all around Mr. Justice's body"

"Scratches?" Athena and the judge asked.

"Are you stupid?" Kelvin said "There's no weapon in this academy that could have left scratches!" He hit his bench. You didn't mind it and you shook your head.

"Wrong. There is, in fact, an item that could have left scratches. And this proves what item it is!" You raised up your T-shirt so your belly was now exposed. There were scratches all around your belly.

"What?! When did you get injured?!" Athena asked very worried.

"Wait… Impossible!" Kelvin jumped from his bench. Angela was sweating now more than ever.

"What happened to you, Mr/Ms. (Y/N)?!" The judge asked.

"It happened minutes ago! When I was questioning Ms. Scuttlebutt, Ms. von Karma hit me several times with her whip! Therefore, Angela von Karma is the only one who attacked Mr. Justice with her whip! Then, she assaulted him with the xylophone and moved him to the sports shed! All of this was made to gain time to prepare her mock case and pin the blame on the defendant!"

"ARRRRRGGGGGHHHH! NOOOOOO!" Angela burst in the stand with both of her hands in her head.

Minutes later, Angela wasn't in the lecture hall anymore. The judge raised his voice "Prosecutor Kelvin, where's Ms. von Karma?"

"She has been arrested and the police took her to the detention center"

"Very well. I must say that, even of you lost your case, you behaved like a real prosecutor. I hope seeing you in one of my trials one day" The judge said with those adorable smiles that old mans had.

"Hmph. The pleasure will be mine, Your Honor" Kelvin said angry. Looks like he's a bad loser.

"As for you…" The judge said looking at you and Athena "Mr/Ms. (Y/N)… Ms. Cykes… I must say that your behavior in this trial was splendid… You reminded me so much those amazing trials with Mr. Wright… You have a grand potential as lawyers… I'm very excited to see you both again in a trial soon"

"Thank you so much, Your Honor" You said nodding.

"We will, Your Honor! Wait for us!" Athena said happily.

"I can't wait, Ms. Cykes! Anyways, now I will hand my verdict"

NOT GUILTY

All the students began to clap their hands and whistle to Juniper. There even was confetti flaying around. Athena ran from the defense bench and went to hug her best friend tightly. They giggled and cried from happiness. But your eyes were locked in Athena's smile. She was very beautiful like that… You couldn't resist the urge to smile and tear up too… After all, you made it! You won your first case even if you weren't an official lawyer! But more importantly, you saved your friendship! You are a hero!

"Court is adjourned!" The judge said hitting his gavel for the last time.

-Hickfield clinic. 18:20-

Apollo was lying in a hospital bed while looking at the ceiling (I know they arrested Junie… But if they're going to accuse her, I won't give up! I'll testify that she didn't do it, even if I didn't see my attacker!) Apollo thought (Although… I wonder why (Y/N) and Athena didn't come here to see how I am…)

Suddenly, he heard the door opening. But what he found there made him smile from happiness "Junie…?"

"Polly!" She ran for him and hugged him tightly. She started plant several kisses in his cheek "Don't you ever try to scare me like that again! You heard me?!" She said worried and tearing up.

"Junie… But I thought they arrested you…"

"They did in fact" You said to him "But don't worry. I resolved that"

"What?"

"Yes, Apollo! It was amazing! In the moment they arrested Junie, (Y/N) decided to defend her in court even if he/she was a student!" Athena said excited.

"You did WHAT?!" Apollo was shocked too.

"Trust me, man. I still can't believe that I made it…"

"So… you won…?" Apollo asked worried.

"Of course they won, silly! I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for that!" Juniper said very happy to see her beloved being alright.

"(Y/N)… Thanks, man… I don't know what I will do if I don't have Junie with me anymore… I owe you a lot…" Apollo said looking at you with tears in his eyes.

"Well… You could have woke up earlier so we could have summoned you up in the stand and testify to save Juniper!" You said ironically. Apollo scratched his horns feeling very embarrassed while the girls giggled. "Just kidding. You don't owe me nothing, pal. I would do everything to save you all" You said now in a humble voice.

"Thanks…" Apollo said. Then, he stared at Juniper sweetly. They closed their eyes and started to kiss passionately. They didn't care if you were there.

You smiled at the scene. Suddenly, you felt that Athena curled up to you in your chest. She was staring at Junie and Polly being so lovey-dovey so she was following the romantic atmosphere. You blushed more than ever and you felt your heart rate rising up again

But on top of all those things, you put a hand on her shoulder and approached her to you. You even hugged her from behind, and she didn't seem to mind. However, you couldn't feel that she was blushing and her heart was running fast too.

You couldn't have wished a better ending for this trial…

To be continue…

Aww, the trial ended up T.T. It's a pity, I was starting to enjoying it… Whatever! It was fun to write though! But don't worry, I'm not done in this story yet! After all, you still have to confess Athena!

See you next chapter!