I'm sorry for the late chapter... again... Sigh... I have a very short attention span, I promise I stare at my screen then just walk away or go to youtube. I had two sentences written for almost two weeks and I just stare at it then go do something else. I'm so sorry I really do just get distracted easily with anything that puts my brain on overdrive.
Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail. Hiro Mashima does.
Lucy's Trial day
The day has finally come, the day justice will be served.
"Finally Lu-chan can feel free." Levy smiles warmly as she stares at the back of Lucy's head.
Lucy is seated next to her attorney, Evergreen. On the other side, is her father seated next to his attorney.
"Honestly, I can't stand seeing that guy anymore, let this be the last time any of us has to see that wretched man." Igneel glares at the back of Jude's head. The rest nodded in agreement.
"All rise." The judge commands, all stood up. "We are here today because the prosecutor, Lucy Heartfilia, has charged the defendant, Jude Heartfilia, with rape, kidnapping, and child abuse." His gaze falls on the clerk, "Swear in the Jury." The clerk did as told.
The judge looks towards Lucy and Evergreen, "Is Prosecution ready to give their opening statement?" Evergreen stands up, "Yes, your honor."
Evergreen made her way towards the front of the jury and clears her throat before beginning. "Good morning, Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, my name is EverGreen Strauss, I am here today to prove that Jude Heartfilia is guilty of statutory rape, kidnapping, and child abuse."
She glances at the jury and realizes it's made up of mostly elderly men but, they don't seem interested in what she is saying; which seemed a little peculiar to her. Nevertheless, she continues.
"Jude Heartfilia has abused my client, Lucy Heartfilia, his own daughter, at the age of 10, raped her at age 12 resulting her in becoming pregnant with their child and it wasn't until age 18 when Ms. Heartfilia ran away from him, bringing her son with her, then a few months later he came and kidnapped her, her son, and her companions. This man has tormented her and her family, he has gotten away with these crimes for far too long and I ask that you examine the evidence and make the decision to bring upon justice to this man who deserves it." She continues to glance at each jury member, a few seem to be very attentive and the others seem to purposely not make eye contact with her. She decides to eye them carefully during the trial. "That will be all." As she takes a final suspicious glance at them before creating a mask.
"Thank you prosecution. Is the Defendant ready to give their opening statement?" The judge asked. A man stood up, with comb-back black hair, a suit, and tie, and he has a very authoritative demeanor as he stands up to respond, "Yes, your honor." He walks over in front of the jury.
"Good morning ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I am Neil Lanson, I have come to prove that my client is not guilty of the crimes he is convicted of. This man is just like any other, he has been an unfortunate soul from a troubling upbringing and is accused of a crime that isn't his fault. He was forced to commit those crimes by a man unknown to him, Mr. Heartfilia has got caught up with the wrong people, he had no intention to do any horrible things to his daughter but since he was blackmailed he couldn't find the courage to find help."
The gang scoff at the attorney's bold face lie, Layla wanted to deck him in the face, and Lucy glares at him wanting to rip this man apart. SHE was the one blackmailed, SHE was the one who couldn't find the courage to find help, SHE was the one caught up with the wrong PERSON, known as her FATHER, HOW DARE THIS ATTORNEY!?
Evergreen puts her hand on Lucy's lap to calm her down, as she notices that Lucy is trembling with anger.
The man inwardly smirks just imagining their faces, "I ask that the jury find this man not guilty of these crimes. I'm not defending his cowardness but his suffering," the gang wanted to gag, "that will be all." He took his seat.
Evergreen noticed that those same guys who weren't giving her a glance paid close attention to Lein. As if, they cared for what he said and not for what she said. It made things seem strange, there are some members that she picked in the jury which are the ones paying attention to her but, Lein jury members seem really bias. She had a bad feeling.
"Will the prosecution announce their first witness." The judge commands. Evergreen stands up, "The prosecution calls Jude Heartfilia to the stand." Before she made her way in front of the witness stand, she whispers to Lucy "Be on guard." Evergreen wasn't sure what could happen but, she wasn't letting her guard down. At least the judge seems to be doing his job right, he hasn't made any unusual eye contact with Jude or Lein. She glances at Silver, and Silver nods his head as to tell her that he thinks something is up, as well.
Jude makes his way to the witness stand and the clerk swears him in. Evergreen begins the questioning. "What is your name and occupation, also the relation with my client?"
"Jude Heartfilia, Businessman, and her father." Lucy looked disgusted when he said that.
"How would you say your relationship with your daughter has been?"
"I have treated her well until those men made me do those horrible things to her." he chokes up, tears brimming in his eyes.
'What an actor! Someone give him a Grammy.' Lucy inwardly scoffed...
Silver's phone vibrates in his pocket, he checks who is calling him, it was his partner. He steps outside the courthouse to take the call.
"Silver! You need to find a way to get those kids out of there!" Silver's partner shouts through the phone.
"What happened?" Silver remained sounding calm despite the fact that he wants to express his panic.
"I just received intel from an undercover cop who works under me, Jude hired the security guards and bribed the jurors, I don't know if he or the jurors have weapons on them. I don't know if those security guards will raid in there with back up and hurt you all just to get Jude. All I do know is that back up is almost there, so don't you dare take action until back up gets there, do you understand!?"
Silver very reluctantly responds with a yes; the man wants nothing more than to take out the three security guards and go inside the courthouse a pop a cap in that man's head.
"What exactly did those men say to you? Over the course of time?" Evergreen asked, hoping he would make a slip-up.
"They told me if I don't want my precious little girl dead, then I must be the one to hurt her. They wanted to destroy me little by little by making me hurt my family. I never wanted to hurt Lucy, I love her so much. They told me to beat her, to have her afraid of me, then they told me to do the unspeakable… to rape her… I felt my whole world crumble." More tears spilled from his eyes, "But, they weren't satisfied with that, they told me to keep beating her. Then when I found out she had a son, my son, I felt disgusted with myself I wanted to kill myself-"
'I WANTED TO KILL MYSELF! I HATE YOU, STOP LYING!' Lucy felt like she was about to burst, she wanted to scream and choke him to death.
"-when she ran away from me, I felt slight joy but, at the same time despair. Then those men told me to go after her and continue making her suffer."
Evergreen listen attentively. "So they wanted you to hurt your own family?"
"Yes…" He chokes up again.
"What about Lucy's mother? Not once, have you mentioned her. It seemed like you were too focused on making a sob story about Lucy that you forgot a member of your family. You were too focused on making a sob story on everything you were accused of, making sure you had a story covering up for it."
"Objection! Badgering the witness!" Lien calls out, the judge looks at him, "Overruled. Continue Mrs. Strauss."
"What about Lucy's mother?" She repeats once more. Grandeeney smiles, she wasn't called one of the best for no reason.
Jude was caught off guard, he totally forgot to mention Layla. "Well, they made me beat her too but, since this is about Lucy I thought it just matter things related to her. Besides, you said to tell you everything they said about Lucy."
Evergreen smirks, "I said "What exactly did those men say to you? Over the course of time?" Not once had I mention Lucy's name. The cookie is starting to crumble, Mr. Heartfilia."
Jude wasn't liking how this is turning against him. Fortunately for him, he bribed most of the jurors.
"I'm not lying about what has happened to me and what led me to hurt my family, so what if I didn't mention what happened with my ex-wife? This case is about Lucy, not her." Jude backfired.
Evergreen smiles, "Mr. Heartfilia, do you know what's the biggest mistake you made in your story?"
Jude eyes her consciously, "No… I don't recall making a mistake, for it's the truth." he did not like this woman at all.
"Well, that's what you say, Mr. Heartfilia, you are a huge influence, you have many people working under you. I find it hard to believe that some men you don't even know, forced you into hurting your own family for so many years when you could've easily figured out who they were and bring them down with how much influence you have."
"I never had a huge influence over others, I'm just the face while they are the true undercover masterminds."
"You said earlier that they made you find Lucy, correct?"
"Yes..." Gosh, he can't stand this woman and her ridiculous questions.
"Someone with no influence and is just a face, found his 18-year-old daughter and son, as well as her friends and family, by himself. Someone with no influence was capable of doing that?" She asked sarcastically, her expression became serious, "If they wanted you to hurt your family so badly to the point of even going after your runaway child, why didn't they just tell you where she was since they are the ones actually in charge? Since they want to hurt your family so badly?"
"Objection! Your honor, this is ridiculous. She is badgering the witness!" Lien shouts sounding a little desperate for the judge to stop her.
"Sustained. Mrs. Strauss, restrain yourself."
Jude can't stand this woman, he underestimated her or maybe he thought too highly of his attorney but, he looks like he is sweating bullets. It seems that his attorney didn't expect a lot from this woman either.
"Mr. Heartfilia, you made another mistake."
"What is it?" Jude asked anger hinted in his tone.
"When I mentioned Lucy's mother and caught you off guard, you immediately stopped your crying facade and became defensive. If you were truly devastated about what you did to your daughter, your expression would match your feelings even up to this very moment but, since I have pulled the rug from under you numerous times, your true self is showing on your face. Mr. Heartfilia…" She took a dramatic pause before she finished, "... You look like you want to murder me." She stated very calmly.
Jude expression did match his feelings, his feeling of wanting to kill this woman before him. He wanted to rip her throat out and toss her into the sea. He has lost his touch, it's been so long since he felt stumped since things haven't gone his way. Now, he has to rely on those jurors and even if they decide to turn against him, the security guards outside could cause a scene and give him time to escape.
The man remained glaring at her, not speaking a word. Evergreen waits patiently for him to speak but seeing as how he remains silent and showed no signs of speaking up, she concludes her questioning, "That will be all, your honor." Evergreen returns to her seat.
"Argh!" The courtroom heard an agonizing scream, it sounded like a man's. Silver burst through the door along with backup, "Jude, surrender now!"
Jude couldn't comprehend when things went out of his control, it's time for him to admit defeat but, not before going out with a bang. Jude stands up, immediately taking out his pocket pistol and fires at Evergreen; he 'missed', though the reality is, he shot exactly who he was aiming for. Afterward, he aims at his own head and pulls the trigger.
Lucy watches as her father fires the gun, her eyes followed the bullet that breezed by Evergreen. Her heart banging hard on her chest as everything played in slow motion, her eyes widen as she saw the bullet penetrate whom it was aimed for… Her world froze... Her body felt numb, tears kept falling relentless, her heart dropped to a bottomless pit, fear and grief devoured her. What felt like an eternity was only a second in reality before her numb shaking body dashed over to...
"EZEKIEL!" Lucy's heart-piercing scream resonated through the room.
"My baby!" Lucy pushes through the crowd and fell to her knees beside her child. The bullet shot through his lower torso, blood was flowing out like a river. Ezekiel's breathing became more rugged as he fought to take in the air. He looks over at his mom's devastated expression, he wanted to reach out to her but he couldn't move his body, the pain was beyond belief, he doesn't even know if he can stay awake any longer as he notices his vision becoming hazy. "Ezekiel baby, it's going to be okay! Mommy loves you! Okay, baby!" She cries out desperately.
An officer runs up, "We need everyone to make space the paramedic are here." She walks up to Lucy and places a hand on her shoulder. "Sweetie, we will help your son, he will live." She reassures Lucy but, the blonde couldn't hear the officer, all her senses were focused on her son. Her hand covered in his blood, his face covered in her tears.
The paramedics rush into the building, "Ma'am, we are going to save your son!" One of them reassures. Lucy looks up shakingly and nods her head as she gently hands Ezekiel to one of the paramedics, her lifeless eyes stare at her son being pushed away on a gurney, his blood staining him.
Natsu runs up to her and hugs her tightly, "Natsu, thank you but, come on we have to go to the hospital right now." She said as nudges Natsu off her and rushes outside towards her car, following after the ambulance to the hospital, leaving the others behind.
"Let's go, guys!" Natsu said urgently. The rest went to their vehicles and head to the hospital.
Lucy arrives at the hospital, she runs through the emergency entrance, she spots Ezekiel being pushed away on the gurney into the operating room. She runs up to one of the nurses, "Please, don't let my son die in there." She begs the nurse gives her a comforting smile, "Don't worry, our surgeons always do their best in making sure every patient makes it through the operations safely. Your son is going to be okay and will return home with you in due time. If you would like to wait outside the operation room, and I will get you some water." He guides Lucy to the bench near the operation room and left to get her water.
Lucy's hands are shaking, she felt her vision becoming blurry from the tears. Her world felt dark and lonely, her pride and joy is suffering and she can't do anything to save him. The only thing she can do is hope that these doctors know what they're doing and save him.
The teen felt tempted to put her mask on, the mask to conceal what she felt, to revert back to how she was when she only smiled not showing her pain and anger. She hates showing this side of her, she doesn't want to be seen in her anguish, she didn't want anyone to see her in this state any longer, she thought she had gotten over it when she had opened up to Natsu in the past but, every old habit is coming back. She has to put it on now or else when the time comes when she speaks to her son again, she will show her weak side to him and she only wants him to see her as a strong mom, lately, she has been showing weakness and she can't take doing that anymore.
She dries her tears and smiles as she hears Natsu and the others voices.; the mask is on. She looks over at them, "Hey guys." Her smile didn't reach her eyes, the eyes that revealed devastation. Natsu felt upset that she ended up back into this state where she smiles through her pain.
"Lu-chan, you don't have to force a smile, we know that you are devastated from this. You can show how you feel." Levy walks up to her and gives her a hug. Lucy hugs her back, the smile never fading, "No, it's okay. I'm smiling because I know my son is going to get through this operation and I will get to pamper him until he is released from the hospital."
They all look at her with worried expressions.
The nurse came back with a cup of water and hands it to Lucy, who thanked her for it. "Are you guys family?" He asked. They all nodded, "Can you guys please follow me to Ezekiel's room, you are blocking the hall for the other patients to be rolled by, one of you can stay beside Ms. Heartfilia." Levy gets up and Natsu sits down beside Lucy where Levy once was. The others followed the nurse to Ezekiel's room, leaving the couple to sit on the bench with a strong silent tension around them.
Natsu didn't know what to say or do. He wants Lucy to not wear that mask but, it seems she pretty much drilled it on this time. He places his hand gently on top of hers, she intertwines her hand with his. He thanks God that at least, she isn't trying to push herself away completely. He stares at the operation door. 'Little man, fight strong. Your mom and I are waiting for you to come back. Please, fight…' A tear fell.
The two hold hands in silence waiting for their loved one to come out alive and well.
This was an eventful chapter, hope you guys were into it. I don't know if I wrote it well, I'm sure I didn't. I suck at writing about emotions or something intense. Well, I hope it was good. I love you all.