Author's Note: Sorry, we haven't had internet all weekend, I promise I'm keeping to the schedule.

"Mr. Alvarez, what is your relationship to the defendant?" Pan asked, approaching the witness stand. He leaned against it, casually displaying his dominance to the jury. That's just weird to see. I can't get used to Peter thinking he's in charge of anything, let alone my court room.

"I'm his best friend." Pacha's voice was higher than usual, and he was scratching his neck and moving about a lot. Either he was detoxing from a substance or his conscience was getting the best of him. Knowing him, it was likely both. No matter what, Elsa could use it.

"And yet you're testifying against him?" Have you practiced this already? If not, it's a pretty risky question, more likely to make you look bad than my client, but it could be worth the play. If only you'd phrased it correctly.

"Objection." Elsa from her seat, locking eyes with Judge Frollo. He's not senile enough for her to need to explain that Peter's leading his witness.

"Sustained. He's your witness, Mr. Pan, how about you save us all some time and follow proper trial procedure."
Peter ground his teeth as he turns back to Pacha. "Would you explain why you're here today?"

"Uh, you told me to, dude. Did you forget?"

Elsa could see sweat beading on Petey's forehead. He's not off to a great start. He straightens his tie and stands up. He's clearly losing what control of the room he thought he had. "Well of course, but what was it that I called you to testify about? What did you see that night?"

"What night?"

The teeth grinding only intensified as he glowered at Pacha. "Judge Frollo, permission to lead the witness?"
"Denied."

He stares back at him in shock. "What, but, why? He's clearly being hostile."

"Dude, harsh." Pacha stared at him, his mouth open. Elsa tried not to laugh.

"And had you not just tried to lead him without asking, I may have granted it. You made your bed, now lie in it." Frollo's glare brooked no further discussion.

Peter turned back to his witness, his hands fidgeting together as he tried to regain his ground. "What did Mr. Kuzco do, when you were all in Mr. Coachman's home?"

"He broke my bong. It's the second worst thing he's ever done to me. I can't really blame him though, he was saving Brian's life. He's a goddamn hero in my book, even if he did break my favorite bong." He caught the look that Peter gave him. "Oh, but I guess you said that that was illegal. Sorry, Kuzco. I didn't think it was that bad." I'm actually starting to feel bad for Peter. I suppose he did know what to expect from Pacha; he wasn't any better for him the last time he called him. You'd think he'd have learned by now. "Let the record reflect that Mr. Alvarez said Mr. Kuzco killed Mr. Coachman. His motive is irrelevant."
"Objection! He's testifying."

"Sustained."
Pan looked between the two of them. "No further questions."

Elsa walked over to the witness stand. Rather than trying to look in control, she did her best to look empathetic – an ability she had let wither in recent years. She faced Pacha from an angle, allowing the jury to see them both, and spoke in soothing, even tones, rather than the more assertive voice she would typically use for cross examination. "Mr. Alvarez, what deal did Mr. Pan offer you in exchange for your testimony?"
"He gave me a plea deal for ten years. He said I would be getting 25 years if I didn't testify. I'm sorry, buddy." He turned his gaze to Kuzco, tears forming in his eyes. "I didn't have any other choice. My family needs me. This way I get out before I'm fifty and I can still look after them. I swear I didn't want to."

"Please refrain from addressing the defendant," Judge Frollo said, in an uncharacteristically sympathetic tone.

"In your opinion, does Mr. Kuzco deserve to go to prison for this?"

"Hell no!" Pacha shook his head emphatically. "He's the best bro I've ever known, and now he's a hero. He should be getting a medal, not a prison sentence."

That's about all I can establish. Fuck, I hate this case. "No further questions."

"The prosecution calls Mr. Brian Pepikrankenitz to the stand." He was sworn in and took his seat, looking about as unhappy to be there as Elsa was. There's no way all three of his witnesses are gonna be as bad as Pacha, right? I mean it's basically the only way I could win this thing, so here's hoping, but even Pan's not that bad. "Mr –" he caught himself. He didn't want to try to pronounce that name any more often than he had to. "Brian, would you tell the jury what happened on January 10th, when you broke into Mr. Coachman's residence?"

"All right. Well we all grabbed our gear and made our way over to his estate. It was about as we'd heard. We managed to break in, and get to his vault, but while we were trying to break in, who should happen to walk in on us but the famous kidnapper himself?"

"Strike that last part from the record."

"No," Frollo retorts. "I will not have Mr. Phoebus remove the crux of your witness's statement simply because you don't like it. He could add alleged kidnapper if you insist on whining about it."

Peter blanched. "No, your honor. That's all right. He can leave it." He turned back to his witness. "What happened next?"

"The bastard pulled a gun on me. I mean we were just trying to do the whole Robin Hood thing, stealing from those who deserve it, but I wasn't expecting anything like this. He was supposed to be out of town. My life flashed before my eyes, I was sure I was gonna die, and then he saved me." He pointed toward Kuzco.

"Let the record indicate that he pointed at the defendant," Elsa interjected.

"Ms. Agnarrsen, Mr. Pan has the floor," Judge Frollo admonished her.

Peter attempted to recover from her distraction. "How exactly did he save you?" Not bad. Seven out of ten recovery there, Petey.

"He bashed him over the head with a bong."

"He killed him," Peter clarified. "Thank you. No further questions."

Elsa didn't even bother to stand. "So my client saved your life?"

"He did. I'd be dead if it wasn't for him."

"And you're testifying against him, why?"

He sighed. It seemed this wasn't easy for him to say. "Mr. Pan said he'd give me a ten year sentence if I flipped. I didn't want to do it, but it was my only choice."

"No further questions."

Frollo looked over the courtroom. "Mr. Pan, you may call your last witness."

Peter hesitated. Starting to rethink your three witness plan? Less isn't always more, Petey. Except of course for my zero witnesses, they are clearly the best bet and not at all a risky move that I wouldn't be making if I had any other option. "The prosecution calls Mr. Luis –" he cleared his throat, trying to figure out the name again, "Pepikrankenitz to the stand." He grinned. He managed to say it. He just had to avoid ever saying it again. "Could you describe for the jury the night of January 10th?"

Luis's look back at him seemed hollow, as if he wasn't even there. He didn't offer a flippant or confused response, he only followed the script. "We were robbing Mr. Coachman's place." So that's why he saved him for last. "He wasn't supposed to be there. We were armed, but only in the case of an emergency."

"So you did have guns. What happened next?" He prepared the only competent witness to be the only one to bring up a vital part of felony murder. If it was Pacha or Brian, I might've been able to get them to say that Kuzco didn't know, but the way he's acting, I don't think he'd veer even the slightest bit from what Pan told him, and even Pan would know better than to gloss over that. He set a trap for me, and it's a damn good one. If I don't call him on it, all I have is jury nullification, if I do call him on it, then he can give a solid testimony that gets rid of any possibility that it wasn't felony murder. Did Peter just beat me?

"Kuzco, he grabbed the bong from Pacha's bag and he swung it at Mr. Coachman's head. He died instantly."
"Objection!" Elsa stood from her chair. She had grounds for this, but still felt more than a bit desperate. "He doesn't have any medical expertise."

Frollo turned to Pan.

"It's a lay opinion. He appeared to be dead."

The judge turned back to Elsa and shook his head. "I'll allow it."

"He was lying in a pool of his own blood and he wasn't breathing," Luis elaborated. "I don't need to be a doctor to know that. Kuzco saved my brother, and I'll always be thankful for that, but he did kill the guy."

Whelp, I'm fucked. "No further questions." Peter took his seat.
What the hell am I going to do? I can't just have him repeat that he's being rewarded for this, his testimony is too good, it'll sound weak. There has to be something. She took the time to saunter over to the stand, clearly in no hurry. It didn't buy her enough, she was still stumped when she reached him. "Mr. Pepikrankenitz," she managed. "Would you be testifying against my client if Mr. Pan didn't make you?" It's all I can do. I can't ask if he thinks Kuzco's a killer, I can't ask if Kuzco was against them having guns, none of it matters, and all of it just lets him screw my case all the more.

He shakes his head. "No, Ms. Agnarrsen. He saved Brian. I owe him my life, but I just couldn't handle throwing my whole life away for this. I'm sorry." Tears streamed down his face as he turned to face Kuzco. That's the best I'm gonna get.

"No further questions." Elsa returned to her seat.

"The prosecution rests."

Frollo turned to Elsa and for just a fraction of a second, she froze. She had been counting on Pan not being able to make his case. She could still hit him for that, but he'd done a far better job than she'd expected. He was finally learning; it only took him most of a decade. She looked to her client and Kuzco's eager face beamed back at her. He's certainly ready to testify. If only that wasn't the worst idea in the world. She turned back to the judge, her throat going dry as she prepared her answer to his unasked question. "The defense rests."

He arched an eyebrow at her, but nodded. "We'll take a short recess and then you'll both have time for your closing arguments." His gavel echoed throughout the chamber, and everyone rose to leave.

Before she could even make it halfway to the door, Peter stopped her. He was trying to look as confident as he could, but she could see in his eyes that he was as nervous as she was. This case should have been a sure thing for him. If he messed it up, his boss might start wondering if he was actually competent enough for the DA's office. "Do you have a minute?" he asked.

She glanced to Kuzco, to see that he was following behind her. Good, would hardly help to lose my client now. "Yeah. Buy me a coffee?"

Elsa was surprised to see that he actually laughed at that. It hadn't been meant as the power play he may have read it as, though she'd certainly done similar deeds before; she just needed a drink, and a pastry if any looked good. "Sure." How scared is he? Maybe I'm not as screwed as I thought I was. I definitely managed to depict Kuzco as pretty sympathetic. Gaston might be right, the jury really might not care about the law.

She followed him to the lobby's little cafe, and they both ordered a coffee, and an espresso for Kuzco. Great, he'll be even more jittery. They were unfortunately lacking in chocolate croissants, so she ordered a bear claw instead. Pan didn't object as he paid for everything.

They took the food and drinks back to the defense's waiting room. I have home turf advantage – kind of – and he paid for everything. He's fucking terrified. "So, how can I help you, Peter?" She didn't want to come off too informal, but showing him the respect he honestly deserved at this point might just give away how weak she felt her hand was.

He glanced between the two of them and pried the lid off of his coffee before blowing on it. "Five years, burglary."

Holy fuck. Elsa took a sip of the far too hot beverage to avoid giving away her shock. She had a pretty good poker face normally, but he had gotten to her during the trial. She looked to Kuzco.

He shook his head. "No way, man. I'm not doing it. I trust Elsa, she can win this thing. I'm not going back to prison." You were only in jail!

She let out a slow breath, both cooling off her tongue and trying to appear as if she was considering the offer. "Miguel, if you trust me, then trust me when I say you should take the deal."

Both Pan and Kuzco's eyes widened as they stared at her. Neither one said a word for several seconds. Kuzco was the first to break the silence. "No way, Ms. Agnarrsen, you can win this. I have faith in you."
She met his eyes and tried to do everything in her power to convey that that was a very bad idea. "If I lose, you're likely to face thirty years, maybe even life. You should take this deal. You're twenty, you have your whole life ahead of you, and you'll still have it when you walk out in five years – maybe less if you behave yourself. It's worth it. If you go away for thirty, you'll be fifty when you leave, and you'll have spent over half your life behind bars."

He raised his hands up, Elsa hoped in surrender. "Nope, can't do it. Five years is too long. Give me one. I'll agree to one."

Peter gave him an incredulous look before turning back to Elsa. "This is the best deal you're ever gonna get, I shouldn't even be offering it." Elsa could hear the implied 'But you're doing such a good job nullifying the jury that I'd rather not risk it, so I'm giving you the best deal in the history of plea deals that only an idiot would turn down. Of course, her client was an idiot; she'd made that point enough times.

"Kuzco, you should really reconsider. Take the deal, it's in your best interest."

He shook his head again. "Nope, not doing it. Five years is way too long. That's a quarter of my life!" Holy shit, he did math.

"Yeah, and this is 150% of your life."

He tilted his head at her. Clearly the number was just too big for him to wrap his head around. "You'll get me off, I believe in you. Zero is like," he paused, double checking the math in his head, "zero percent of my life."
Elsa smashed her head against the back of her chair. How can anyone be this dumb? Ow. The ceiling had a nice marble pattern in it. It really was a beautiful courthouse. She dropped her gaze back to Peter. "Sorry, Pete, he won't take it."

He rose from his chair, and attempted to straighten his tie, despite it already being straight. "Well it's still on the table until we reconvene. Let me know if he reconsiders." Elsa nodded in response and he walked out of the room.

Kuzco grinned and held his hand up for a high five. "Did you see that? We've totally got him! He's so scared, there's no way we're going to lose."
Elsa somehow resisted smacking him in the face, instead only taking a bite of her bear claw. "The entire case is on his side, Miguel. The jury might not want to see you face 25 to life for this, but if they do their duty then you will. You should take that deal."
He chuckled. "Don't be ridiculous, Ms. Agnarrsen. You're the best lawyer in the world. You've got this in the bag."

She took another bite of the bear claw. It wasn't great.

Back in their seats, Elsa saw Peter fidgeting across the court room. He was twirling the corner of a piece of paper into a fine point. Turning back to Kuzco, she saw his legs bouncing as he looked back and forth and drummed his hands on the table. I should not have let him have that espresso. She kept her own anxiety inside of her.

The jury sat down, and everyone rose and then sat again as Frollo entered the room. "Mr. Pan, you can go first." His curt smile made it quite clear that he was not so eagerly anticipating Pan's speech. Why does Judge Frollo always seem to like me? I'm literally everything he hates.

Peter stood, adjusting his tie again, and clearing his throat. He took a few paces from his table and faced the jury. "Ladies and gentlemen of the jury," he began, his hand twirling his tie just as it had the paper, "Judge Frollo has instructed you as to the letter of the law. Your heart may go out to Mr. Kuzco, but don't let your pity keep you from giving him what he deserves. Perhaps facing consequences for his actions is the only thing that can truly help him. He broke into a man's home, and killed him. It doesn't matter who this man was, whether or not Miguel had intended the murder, or if he had a motive. He was in the act of committing a crime, he knew that two others in his group were armed, and he killed someone. That is every single element of felony murder. There is no possible explanation for the events that took place that January 10th, that could make it anything else. If you are to follow your duty to uphold the law as a member of this jury, then you are obligated to convict. Thank you." He almost bowed before turning away and scurrying back to his table.

Elsa blew out a breath. I'm fucked. She stood and turned to face each member of the jury, one by one, looking them directly in the eye. She could see how conflicted they were. Kuzco may have deserved this, but they didn't want to give it to him. She would use that the best she could. "The prosecution gave you a compelling case. They offered three witnesses, granted all of whom said that they didn't feel my client deserved to go to prison, and they were all here as part of a deal made with the prosecution, and they all were trying to avoid this exact fate themselves, but they were still witnesses. Probably not the most reliable witnesses, but they were there. Why didn't he call anyone else that was there? He didn't call any of the security guards who arrested my client, he didn't use any footage of the crime, he didn't call the arresting officer, or even someone who could testify as to forensics.

"He offered you three men, who all very badly wanted to not be sitting where my client is sitting. Maybe they told the truth, maybe they didn't. Luis certainly seemed like he was instructed to tell a very specific version of events; he even volunteered information that had nothing to do with the question he was asked. He just brought up the guns out of nowhere. Maybe they were all told to tell this version of events in exchange for their softer sentence. We simply can't know. We weren't offered anyone reliable who could verify any of it. That's reasonable doubt." No it isn't. "As long as we can't be sure that what we were told was reliable, then you can't be certain that you're convicting a guilty man." With that, she pivoted and somberly walked the few steps back to her seat, her head just slightly bowed, as if in mourning. That's all I've got.

Kuzco grinned at her and gave her a thumbs up.

"The jury will now be sequestered as they deliberate the verdict." Frollo banged his gavel again.

As Elsa walked out of the courtroom, almost in a daze, weighing her odds, and desperate for another answer, she felt a hand grasp hers. She almost shook it off, but it was warm, familiar, comforting. She turned to its source to see Tiana. "Hey, honey."

Elsa's heart thudded in her chest. "Tiana?" To repair her weak greeting, she pulled her girlfriend into a hug.

Tiana's lips met hers, and Elsa could feel the anxiety flowing away. They broke the embrace far sooner than Elsa would have liked, but they were blocking some people. "I got back a couple hours ago, haven't even been home yet, figured I'd come watch. You're doing great, by the way. I didn't want to interrupt you when that guy was talking to you," she indicated Peter, "but you were really compelling. Hell, I'd vote not guilty." She smiled up at her partner. "I missed you."

Elsa's cheeks hurt from how wide she was smiling. "I missed you too."

"I'll let you go do whatever you need to do, didn't mean to interrupt. We'll grab dinner after?"

Elsa nodded. She didn't want to let her go. She needed her. "Yeah. If they're taking too long we might just grab dinner before then, but we'll see."

Tiana gave her another smile and walked off in the direction of the coffee stand. "Who was that?" Kuzco asked, from somewhere behind Elsa.

She groaned. "My girlfriend."
"Oh." His eyes widened as he considered this information. "I had no idea."
She shrugged.

Once they were back in their little hideaway, she threw herself into her chair. This wait was going to be agonizing. Kuzco paced back and forth in front of the door. "If you want, Mr. Pan's deal might still be on the table."
He turned to her, blinking in confusion. "No. I told you, I'm not going to prison."

She sighed and leaned back, staring up at that tasteful ceiling yet again. "All right."
"How long are they going to be?" Why do they always ask that?

"I don't know. I gave them a lot to think about. Don't expect it to be too soon." If I did my job right, then likely one or two will have doubts about convicting him. They'll talk to the others, and one-by-one, they'll manage to all convince each other that they just can't do that to the poor kid. If Peter did his job, they don't have much to consider, he's guilty as sin.

Her heart dropped when someone knocked on the door. "Jury's back," the bailiff informed them.

It had been barely ten minutes.

Once everyone was seated, Judge Frollo turned to the jury box. "Jury, do you have a unanimous verdict?"

"Yes Your Honor," the foreman replied.

"What say you?" He looked bored. Elsa wasn't sure if that was a good sign or a bad one.

"We find the defendant, Miguel Kuzco Jr., guilty."

Elsa blinked away tears. Kuzco screamed. Peter just watched the jury in shock. He won. He actually beat me. She saw his look of surprise and gave him a respectful nod as she wiped the tears from her eyes. She was a little proud of him, and it only made it hurt more.

"Miguel Kuzco," Frollo began, "you're to be confined to the New York State Correctional facility for twenty-five years." Kuzco's jaw dropped.

"Can we still take the deal?" he asked, desperation beyond clear in his tone. He was positively frantic. He might just try to run. I'm not too keen on seeing him tackled to the ground.

"No, Kuzco," she replied, choking back a sob.

He looked around the courtroom, seeing all eyes on him. He bolted. An officer had him on the ground before he even made it past the first row. "No, this isn't right! I can't go to prison! I can't. Please, Elsa, you have to do something."

"We appeal," she offered.

"Noted," Frollo growled. With that, Miguel was taken away to spend the next twenty-five years of his life behind bars. Stupid fucking kid. You had so many chances.

The court was dismissed.

Tiana caught Elsa again on the way out. Elsa didn't have any words for her, but they held hands as they walked out of the courthouse. She couldn't recall the last time a case had shaken her this badly. It hurt even more than winning the Thompson case had. "Is there anything I can do?" Tiana asked, once they were back in Elsa's car.

She didn't answer. She didn't know how.

"I'll get you pizza?" Tiana offered.

This got a response. Elsa turned to her, her eyes clear enough to meet Tiana's. "You hate pizza."

"I do not!"

Elsa quirked an eyebrow at her.

"I hate a lot of pizza. It's just all so by-the-numbers, there's no soul, just like fast food. Motorino is pretty good though, and I know they're your favorite."
They hadn't gone in at least two years. "Tiana," Elsa began, not sure where she was going to go from there.

"Come on. Let me drive," Tiana suggested, as Elsa reached her driver's side door. "I'm not sure you can even see the road."

She had a point. They switched places, and Tiana took them to Elsa's favorite pizza place, her hand never leaving Elsa's as she navigated the treacherous New York streets.