Disclaimer: I don't own Devil May Cry, Capcom does.
As you may have noticed, I did no research on court procedure, either UN or US, for this. My defense is that this is a special court, as this is semi-unprecedented. Or so we shall pretend, shall we?
Do you really want me to spend hours doing research that I could be spending to write this fic?
Yeah, I thought so.
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Eirene
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"So, Mr. von Schwärzung, you are not claiming to be innocent of any of the crimes in question?"
"No." Vergil shook his head.
"No, you are claiming that your actions, which besides raising the tower include several murders, albeit of people you claim were attacking you, are justified by some plot to defend humanity, which none of your actions point to you having any interest in doing?"
"Yes, I had to maintain the deception, or no sorcerer would have helped me."
"You claim this despite the fact that you are half-demon, and demons are, according to these documents, extremely bad at lying?"
"That would explain why Arkham planned to eliminate me, if he had seen through my deception, would it not?"
"He's doing great!" Dante whispered, amazed.
"Yet you deceived your own brother?"
"He was around me much less, and he had no reason to suspect I was trying to trick him, except a few words on the tower."
"Those words?"
"Without power, you cannot protect anything. Though perhaps he didn't hear them, as he was run through at the time."
Dante chuckled. Vergil! Instead of being intimidated, being confronted instead of coddled seemed to be making him stronger, more like his old self. Maybe Dante should have been rougher on him.
"You ran him through?"
"Not fatally, he was in no danger." Vergil shrugged. "I would have made sure he was in no condition to follow me, as was the plan so he would be safe, but Arkham interrupted."
"You attacked him instead of telling him your plan and having him act?"
"His act would hardly have been enough to convince Arkham." Vergil shook his head. "I didn't want to take any risks, not so close to my goal."
"A goal for which you violated dozens of laws and broke your own Father's seal."
"In fact, I only attempted to break it, Arkham was the one who broke it. Everything he told me was a ruse to gain my help and my blood." Couldn't the lawyer even get his facts right?
Sparda sighed. "Not too arrogant, Vergil," he whispered in hopes that his son's keen ears would hear him. "Even if he is a fool."
A slight nod. Whispers carried farther than just speaking softly, as Dante and Sparda had taken care to do so far.
Despite the practical aspects of the matter, Vergil's ability to consider others foolish enough to mock them despite being convinced he himself was a fool was a very good sign.
This was Vergil's way to set the record straight, to be judged by someone not related to him, someone not foolish enough to love him, and he wanted all the facts to be known, to go to his grave without shame if that was what the impartial judge decided.
Finally, the questions petered out and the judge called Lady to the stand to renew her testimony.
Which wasn't good. She had to admit, as did Dante later, that they had both been convinced that Vergil was evil as all hell at the time, though they both had changed their minds later. Dante winced as he left the podium. "I'm probably going to be on trial next, for not turning him in." He'd probably get off with just a fine. If Vergil's sentence was lifted.
Dante was trying not to be nervous. He was never nervous.
Sparda also gave his testimony, that Vergil had indeed been severely damaged by his torture, torture that he would not have received if he truly had been willing to serve Mundus. The faint of heart had to leave the room when Sparda was asked to tell the court what he judged had been done to Vergil. The traditional punishments for the families of traitors were not for the ears of human children, and coupled with Mundus' hate… "There are scars upon his mind and soul with which marks upon the body do not compare. Those can be healed in seconds for our kind: other pain lingers, though as I have said they would have hurt his body as much as they could." Sparda bowed his head, ashamed at his inability to defend his children.
"And you were not conscious during the events of the tower?"
Sparda shook his head. "I sensed a sorcerer approaching the sword and was preparing to test him. After that, nothing until the amulets were joined after Dante recovered Vergil on Mallet Island, and even that is… like a dream.
But my kind are empaths, and Vergil has been honest with me and you all: he truly was trying to follow in my footsteps despite my own fate and his inexperience."
"Thank you, Sparda." Now, they used the one-word name, when it was one with such a legend behind it. There had been chatter and noises of disbelief when the others spoke: now, there was respectful silence as most present took their first look at one who was, once again, a living legend.
And the testimony was finished: time for the closing arguments, as the physical evidence had already been reviewed.
They were allowed to see Vergil again, finally, with the bailiff standing a respectful distance away. Sparda embraced him. "You were wonderful, son. Surely they will see."
"If you say so, Father, but the prosecutor was right. I am guilty."
Dante chuckled. "Think about it: the road, or in this case, portal to hell was paved, or raised, with good intentions."
Sparda looked at him askance for the joke but Vergil knew Dante better and smiled. "Thank you, Dante."
Dante patted him on the shoulder, not wanting to be too physically affectionate in front of witnesses. He had a macho image to uphold, after all. "It'll be okay, Vergil." Though there were no higher courts to appeal this to, not with jurisdiction over demon cases. The decision here was likely final. Too bad the judge was shielded: no chance of reading what he was likely to decide, and Dante sucked at reading people sans empathy, which he actually didn't use most of the time since it wasn't fair to humans. Had to work on that, he noted for the umpteenth time.
Finally, time for the decision. They filed into the court and took their places.