Chapter 14: The Trial

Serenity stared up at it. Big, beautiful, and somehow, powerful: The courthouse. A shiver went down her spine.

"You can't be like this," Duke had said. "You can't hide it, no matter how terrible things were. Do you want to get those guys or not? If you do, then you're going to have to speak out against them, whether you're comfortable with it or not."

Rodger had told her, "You have to tell them, or it will haunt you forever! You'll regret it for the rest of your life and you'll never forget how stupid you were. You have to do this, you hear me?! You're the only one who can make things right!"

Letting out a heavy sigh, she opened the large doors and entered the big building. What immediately caught her attention were the Kaiba brothers, Seto and Mokuba, sitting side by side. Seto had his arms crossed with a bitter expression on his face. His head was turned the other way; he couldn't see her. Mokuba, on the other hand, looked energetic and cheerful. A big smile came to his face as he waved to her.

Serenity smiled, waving back at him.

Mokuba tugged on his brother's shirt and whispered something to him. Serenity watched as Seto looked her way. He just watched her for a moment, then turned his head away.

It wasn't long before Serenity found herself standing up in front of everyone, ready to tell what happened. At least, she was supposed to be ready, but her heart was beating fast. She was nearly shaking with nervousness as she stared out at all of the people...

"Serenity Wheeler."

The judge spoke to her. She looked to him.

"Tell us about that day; everything in detail."

Serenity stood there for a minute, silent.

"Serenity?" the judge inquired.

"Oh, um... yes, the three men," Serenity began shakily. "Ryo Matsuya, Takashi Hideo, and Rodger Wills." Her voice was trembling terribly. She quieted for a moment, thinking. She then straightened her posture, fighting off the trembles. She cleared her throat, beginning, "It all started a few weeks ago. I had a date with Seto Kaiba."

She bravely explained everything up until the point where Ryo and Takashi had left for the bar. Here, she came to an immediate halt. Her heart pounding in her chest, she just stood there, at a loss for words. She glanced nervously about the room. So many people...

"Rodger Wills..." she said softly. She looked in his direction. She stared at him for a moment, her heart beating faster and harder. She stared into those eyes of his, and he seemed to be looking into hers. Chocolate against a deep, emerald green...

"Rodger Wills," she repeated. "He was... He was the worst of them all!" She stopped again. Tears filled her eyes, but she fought desperately to keep them from falling. "See, my head was hurting from where Ryo had hit me with the gun. I told him, and Rodger got me some medicine for it. It made me drowsy, and I went to sleep. When I woke up, he was on top of me. He was on top of me, kissing me, and his hands were working with my shirt, unbuttoning it and trying to remove it... Rodger was... Well, he was... naked."

Looking out at the crowd, Serenity bit her bottom lip nervously. She noticed that Seto Kaiba was looking straight at her. Before, he'd had his head turned away, seeming as though he didn't care and wasn't even listening. But now he was looking straight at her, with a hint of concern in his icy blue eyes. She went on timidly, "I finally got out from under him, but... But even then things just got worse." Her tears were becoming nearly impossible to hold back. "He told me to kiss him. Fighting it was senseless because I knew that he'd force me to do it if I resisted, so... Well, you know... I kissed him. On the lips. I had to! I had to... I had to. But when my lips met his, Rodger put his hands behind my head and held it there. He was forcing it. He was pushing so hard, and right against the spot where Ryo hit me with the gun. It hurt. But I couldn't scream or cry or anything. I couldn't do anything... but keep kissing him."

Her heart was pounding so hard... and her tears had come. They had come, streaming down her cheeks; it was uncontrollable. Just telling that much had been a great task. She stood there for a minute or two, silent, wondering how she would ever be able to tell what happened next. Memories of her horrid dream filled her mind, and she remembered what Rodger had told her before:

"Here's what I think you should do: When the trial comes, you tie in your dream to what happened."

She thought about it. The dream hadn't been real, but it certainly seemed it, and yet... She looked at Rodger, and suddenly filled with anger. 'I'm not going to let a silly dream get the best of me,' she told herself, 'and I'm not going to be afraid! I'm strong, I can do this...'

"So," she continued, "he started to undress me. Not fully. There was nothing I could do about it. He took off my shirt and pants, and then he kept kissing me. Not just that. He was licking me and touching me too. He forced me to keep returning his kisses, and finally... it stopped. He got dressed, and just left me lying on the bed. I was devastated."

Rodger. By the looks of it, he was shocked. There was something in his emerald eyes that told Serenity that he had wanted her to tell the people about the dream. Something told her that he had wanted her to say that he had stripped her of all her clothing and forced her to have sex with him. Yes, that's what he wanted, and she knew. Maybe he could be charming, but he perverted; his mind ever so sick and twisted...

She continued bravely. She told the rest of the story, stopping at the point where she fainted in Kaiba's arms.

It took a little over a week to get everything settled. Everyone- Yugi, Joey, Mai, Tea, Bakura, Duke, Tristan, and even Kaiba- had to say something at least and there needed to be proof. Evidence wasn't hard to find and not much was needed. Finally, the three of them- Ryo, Takashi, and Rodger- were sent off to prison, Rodger having to serve the longest time.