The world slowed to a waifish crawl around Paint, and her heart plunged down its cavity with a silent thud. This was not real. She had hallucinated the recitation of Star's verdict. It could not be true.
Yet there everyone was, some of them staring at Star and Paint, some at Amethyst, and some at their own feet. Did they feel quiet pleasure at the result, or did they think the sentencing had gone too far? It didn't matter, really. The verdict was out, and popular opinion in either direction would not change it.
She could do nothing but sputter helplessly and loudly. "W-w-w-WHAAAAAT?!"
"I'm sorry if you don't like either of your sentences, Paint," Amethyst said, "but they are what we have decided on. There are other villages you can invade if you so desire, the nearest being Angelic Falls, 23 miles south of Sunny Clearing and 6 miles east. You will be returned to jail shortly so that anyone who wants to can visit and say goodbye for the remainder of today, and you will be escorted far away from here tomorrow morning."
Paint didn't care about her own sentence. "Star... DEATH?!"
"Tonight, E-1030 will be completely immobilized, and someone with expertise in electronics will open up its head and disconnect the power supply to its body. From there, its central processor will be removed and that, along with anything else containing potentially dangerous data, will be melted so that nothing can be recovered. It is likely that most of E-1030's body will be put to good use in household appliances and other projects for the community."
Star writhed violently against its ties, trying to escape, but Carol firmly held its gun arm such that it was pointed away from any and all villagers and gripped its body with her arms and legs, while Amin tied it firmly to its bench and to a tree a few feet away so that it could not move beyond pathetic shaking. Amin and Carol returned to their seats, and Star sobbed pitifully, also beeping in a sickly familiar way to Paint - it was calling for her.
Paint went ballistic at seeing her friend treated like this. She lunged for Star, hugging it tightly as best she could with her hands bound.
"YOU CAN'T DO THIS!" she screamed. Her passion had given her a cause bigger than herself. "KILL ME INSTEAD! YOU CAN DO IT; YOU CAN SWITCH THE SENTENCES!"
Carol pulled her away from the robot roughly and sat her back down, and Amin tied her to the seat in a similar manner. It was like a sick, demented version of her bindings from her dream: she would not be saved. Star, more accurately, would not be saved.
Neither of the officers spoke, but Arrowhead cried out, "Paint, what are you talking about?!"
"STAR DIDN'T DO ANYTHING WRONG! IT HAS A KIND SOUL! IT JUST WANTS TO BE A FRIEND!" With that, she collapsed into tears like Star had. The robot continued to whimper aimlessly, in endlessly vain hope of escaping the day alive and of Paint getting to stay with her friends in Sunny Clearing.
Amidst the dull, mostly uncomfortable murmurs of the crowd, an unexpected voice tolled out above them all. "Are you sure this is necessary?" asked Maxwell the Firefly to Amethyst the Salamander. "Star's a useless wimp, and Paint knows that."
A woman in the audience stood up crossly. "Aren't you the boy who used to bully my son?"
"Yeah, and I stand by that! Your son's a wimp, too, who needs to learn how to use his fists for something beyond kneading pizza dough. I know one when I see one. But even he could beat up Star if he tried, because Star wouldn't put up a fight."
"What are you saying, Mark?" said Amethyst, stoically interested in the young firefly's qualm.
"It's 'Max', and I'm saying that I can vouch that Star isn't dangerous, and if you let it live, I won't have to listen to Paint whining for the rest of today or whenever she grows enough brains to find her way back. I... I want you to cancel the sentencing, if there's a way to do that. Ah, y'know what, Paint's too."
Amethyst wasn't sure what to think. "I appreciate your conviction, Max, but I-"
"I also object," stated Morris stormily. "I've watched Star with its friends including Paint, of course - at times when they would've been completely vulnerable to it and yet it's shown nothing but kindness to them. I've also seen it meet someone new who'd had no part in saving its life, and it was as friendly as could be. Even when I was openly doubtful - right in front of it - that it was safe and that I'd support keeping it around, it was nice to me. I'd never thought it was possible for a creature made of cold metal plating and circuits to have such strong emotions and show so much kindness, but Paint did all along. She convinced Arrowhead, and she's convinced me. I think we should listen to her more often, and we can't do that if she's gone. So I steadfastly join Max in support of waving Paint's and Star's sentences, and I encourage you all to join us."
Paint was looking up at the iguana in wonder, but mainly at Maxwell. Was this really happening?
Claps and low cheers squeaked out of the gathered crowd in support. Maxwell's opinion as a tough kid mattered somewhat, but Morris was well-respected. He was looked up to as an informal figurehead of knowledge and reasoning, and perhaps this was all they needed.
Amethyst was jarred by the display, and she cleared her throat before speaking to the audience again. "This is strongly unorthodox, but in the wake of this new information from these sources and the apparent presence of support for the release of these two, I'd like to call a vote. Please raise your hand if you would like them to be released rather than subjected to the sentences specified."
Paint gasped in silence as the clear majority of hands in the audience stood up. Some shot up right away, and others took a few seconds to blossom. Barring a few stubborn hands like that of Arrowhead's mother, Sunny Clearing was in clear favor of letting Star live and Paint stay.
Amethyst grinned and announced, "Then with that, I take pleasure in voiding these sentences. Paint and Star, you will both promptly be set free and, if you stay on good behavior as we expect of all of our citizens, allowed to stay in Sunny Clearing as long as you like. Court is now dismissed." There was no gavel or other formal object of finality, but when the judge stepped down - even a new, young judge like Amethyst - that was all anyone needed.
A few villagers cheered as most of them shuffled out, ready to get their jobs for the day underway; it was about noon already. Amin and Carol untied their captives, who each hugged them. Carol resisted the affection, but she whispered to Paint, "I'm as surprised as you are, but good for you, Paint. You too, Star."
It truly was wonderful. Paint would still be leaving town before too long to begin her quest to find her father, but she would do it willingly, after proper goodbyes, and - most importantly - with Star, if it so chose.
Maxwell approached her, a dismissive swagger emanating from him. "You're still a loser, Paint, and I still don't like you. And Star's still a wimp. But like I said, whatever keeps your whining to a minimum is fine by me. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm skedaddling for more useful tasks before the mushy emotional fireworks start. Gotta go fast, amirite?" And he did leave.
"Love you too, Max!" she shouted. He briefly looked back, grinning awkwardly, as he walked away.