"Faith Lehane. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?"

"Yes," Faith replied, keeping her voice level. She felt strangely vulnerable in a dress and heels, but court was a different sort of battlefield than a graveyard at night. She'd felt a bit weird about putting her hand on a Bible after all that she'd done, but thankfully there was the option to substitute the California State Constitution.

"Please be seated." Faith sat down in the witness box and looked out at the court. There weren't too many onlookers save for a few reporters. Most everyone here was part of the trial, be it as a witness, a juror, a lawyer, and the like. The three defendants looked nervous whenever their eyes moved to their own attorney. Faith guessed he was a state-appointed defense lawyer, but that didn't mean he couldn't make her and Buffy look bad to the jury.

"Miss Lehane, do you remember where you were on September 8th, 2001 at 2:15 in the afternoon?" Mr. Russel asked her.

"Yes," she replied. "I was at Sunnydale Municipal Bank."

"Why were you there?"

"A friend was letting me stay with her, and she was short on money. I remembered that I'd had a job with City Hall about two years back, and I thought there might be some money there I hadn't checked on yet. We went there together to see if I had any money that could help her out."

"What is this friend's name?"

"Buffy Anne Summers."

"Could you point out Miss Summers in this courtroom, please?"

Faith gestured to where Buffy was seated. "Blonde, green eyes, short, sitting in the navy blue dress in the second row, second from the aisle."

"Thank you, Miss Lehane. Please describe the events surrounding the defendants at Sunnydale Municipal Bank on September 8th, 2001 to the best of your recollection."

Faith nodded. "I was waiting for the guy helping us to come back with some paperwork. His name was Franklin, didn't get a last name. While we were waiting, I heard somebody scream near the front of the bank."

"What did you do then?"

"Buffy and I went to look at what was going on. We saw a big guy, wearing some sort of Halloween mask or something, holding a guy up by his neck. And then I saw three guys, dressed in black, wearing black ski masks, making for the registers in the commotion. Buffy tried to stop the big guy, and I tried to stop the robbers."

"You took it upon yourselves to take on armed bank robbers by yourselves?"

Faith shook her head. "I don't think they were armed. The big guy might have been on some serious steroids, but I didn't see any weapons. The security guys were already down, and Buffy was having trouble with the big guy. I ripped off the ski masks and hoped that the cameras would pick up their faces, and then I went to help make sure Buffy didn't get herself killed."

Mr. Lloyd handed something from the prosecution's desk to Mr. Russel, who presented it to the judge. "Your Honor, the prosecution submits this security footage from Sunnydale Municipal Bank at the time and date of the events being described by Miss Lehane. The prosecution asks the jury to review the tape and confirm the accuracy of Miss Lehane's testimony."

Judge Stephen Holt took the tape and handed it to a clerk. "The court accepts the evidence into the record. Jurors, please review this evidence and use it to corroborate the associated testimony."

Russel asked Faith a few more questions, basically confirming additional details like if she knew the defendants (she didn't), why did she take on a large thug unarmed (martial arts training plus a protective instinct), and why didn't she call the police (there was no nearby phone, innocent people were in immediate danger). Seemingly satisfied with her admittedly well-rehearsed answers, Mr. Russel eventually said, "No further questions," and Faith braced herself for the defense's smear campaign.

The defense lawyer was a lean, pale man with glossed-over spectacles who looked like he hadn't had a good meal in a while. Faith felt for the guy, but she couldn't give him any ground.

"Miss Lehane, is this your first time in a courtroom?"

"No."

"How many times have you appeared in court before today?"

"Once."

"In what capacity did you appear in court previously?"

"As a defendant."

"A defendant, you say? What crimes were you defending yourself against?"

"None."

That caught the defense attorney off guard. Faith wished that she'd caught his name. "You weren't charged with any crimes, but you were a defendant?"

"I didn't defend myself. I confessed voluntarily," Faith clarified.

The attorney looked suddenly wary. He must not have done all of his homework. Faith guessed that a voluntary confession would gain her more points with this jury than if she had put up a defense.

"What crimes did you confess to, Miss Lehane?"

Faith inhaled deeply and then exhaled. This was the hard part. "Second degree murder, involuntary manslaughter, assault, battery, and breaking and entering."

Mr. Defense Attorney let out a low whistle that was clearly for the jury's sake. "That's quite the list of crimes. Why did you do them?"

"Objection!" Russel said from his seat. "The witness is not the one on trial here, and she's been granted a full pardon for all of her past crimes. In the eyes of the law, her criminal record is clean."

"Objection sustained," Judge Holt said. "Defense, keep your questions related to this trial, please."

The poor, thin man looked like he was about to wither away. "Yes, Your Honor. So, um… Miss Lehane… Why were you at the bank on the date of the incident?"

Faith couldn't help but smile. The man was clearly afraid to take another go at Faith when the law was, surprisingly, on her side for a change. "I believe I've already answered that question."

"Mister Hill," Judge Holt said sternly, "do you have any new questions for the witness?"

Faith looked at poor Mister Hill and gave as small a shrug as she could as if to say, "I'm sorry you got stuck with such a poor case."

For his part, Mister Hill spent a few seconds fidgeting with his glasses before finally saying, "No further questions, Your Honor."

"Thank you for your cooperation, Miss Lehane," Judge Holt said to her. "Please exit the witness stand."

"The prosecution calls Buffy Anne Summers to the witness stand."

Buffy had been so scared for the fate of the trial when Faith had been called to the stand. She hadn't been the first witness, and her account simply backed up what had been said by the half dozen or so other witnesses for the prosecution, not counting Buffy herself. Faith had made it look easy, so Buffy felt a bit surer of herself as she went to the witness stand.

Buffy placed on hand on the Bible presented to her and raised the other.

"Buffy Anne Summers," the court officer said, "Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?"

"So help me God, I do," Buffy said with a small grin.

"Please be seated."

Buffy took her seat, and suddenly she was far more self-aware. From here, she could see the entire courtroom. The jury, both the prosecution and the defense, the three defendants, and the Judge's desk. The only thing she couldn't see was the Judge himself, unless she were to turn her head and look up a bit.

Mr. Russel stood up once more and began his rapport with Buffy. She tried to remain calm and remember what they had rehearsed. "Miss Summers, Miss Lehane claims that she was with you at Sunnydale Municipal Bank on September 8th, 2001 and 2:15 PM. Is that accurate?"

"It is," Buffy replied. "As is the rest of Faith's… That is, Miss Lehane's testimony."

"She was there to help secure your financial solvency?"

"Yes. She had been absent for some time after her employment at City Hall, but during her time there, she had developed a close relationship with Mayor Wilkins, and she thought there was a chance that he had left something to her as part of her work with him."

"Why was she absent?"

Buffy took a deep breath, knowing that this had to come out, but better on their terms than anyone else's. "Faith was comatose when the Mayor died in the gas explosion at Sunnydale High School. After she woke up, she spent some time in prison, but she was pardoned a few months ago. She came back, met up with me, and decided to try and help me out."

"Was she successful in helping you, Miss Summers?"

"Very much so," Buffy said with a grin. "Mayor Wilkins and Miss Lehane developed a bond beyond employer and employee, and in his will, he left a lot of money to Miss Lehane, who used some of that money to secure my financial solvency."

"Thank you for clarifying that, Miss Summers. Is there anything else about the incident at the bank on September 8th, 2001 that hasn't been covered by Miss Lehane or any of the other witnesses for the prosecution?"

"No, but if you need to ask again to make sure the story is straight, then I'll be happy to answer any questions you might have."

"Thank you for your willingness to cooperate so fully, Miss Summers."

"Anytime," she said with a smile. Technically, she would have had to answer the questions anyway, but Russel and Lloyd wanted to establish her eagerness to do things by the book. The questions came and went, and Buffy answered them honestly, save for the demon being a thug in a mask. That was the official story, and Buffy saw no need to deviate from it.

Eventually, Mr. Russel had no more questions for her, and Mr. Hill rose with a smile. Here it comes, Buffy thought. The prosecution had been fairly sure that the defense would use her personal connection to at least two of the defendants against her, but thankfully, they'd prepared for this.

"Miss Summers," Hill said smugly, "please tell the court if you have any familiarity with any of the defendants outside of this trial."

"I do," Buffy answered.

"Really? Please elaborate on this familiarity."

Buffy took another breath. "According to my high school yearbook and a few memories, Andrew Wells was a fellow member of the Class of 1999 at Sunnydale High School, but I don't believe I interacted with him much. Warren Mears was part of that same class for a single semester. Apart from that, I was caught up in some of Warren's romantic troubles. As for Jonathan Levinson…"

Buffy looked Jonathan straight in the eyes. Even with the few meters of distance separating them, she knew she had caught his gaze. "He was also in the Class of 1999. I remember once he was suicidal, and I talked him out of harming himself or anyone else. He also presented me with an unexpected award at the Senior Prom. 'Class Protector,' I believe it was."

Jonathan broke eye contact at that, and Buffy couldn't blame him. She knew that Warren was scum, and she didn't know much about Andrew Wells, but Jonathan Levinson? Buffy hadn't thought that he had this in him.

Apparently, poor Mister Hill hadn't expected this either. "I see," he said as he fiddled with his glasses, trying to adjust them on the bridge of his nose. "Would you say you bear any personal animus against the defendants?"

"Only Warren Mears," Buffy answered honestly.

"So you dislike him? You want to make him suffer? Enough to conveniently be in a place to offer testimony against him?"

"Objection!" Russel said. "Miss Summers and Miss Lehane have both testified to their reasons for being at the scene of the crime at the time of the crime. Any personal connection is circumstantial at best."

"Objection sustained," Judge Holt said. "Mister Hill, think very carefully about how you go about your questioning."

"Y-yes, Your Honor," Hill said as he returned his attention to Buffy. "You said you bear personal animus against one of my clients."

"Yes, but not enough to lie in court about him."

Mister Hill turned to the Judge. "Miss Summers has a recorded history of juvenile delinquency, as can be seen in this file. The defense submits Buffy Summers juvenile record as evidence to the court. We believe it is material to her credibility as a witness."

"The court accepts the file into evidence."

Buffy winced, but kept her reaction subdued. Russel and Lloyd had warned her that this was a possibility, and they made sure to drill into her not to let it get under her skin.

"Now, Miss Summers, I want you to know a few things about Mr, Mears, whom you seem to bear some ill will towards. He is taking graduate-level classes in engineering and mathematics based on scholarships that were earned through years of hard work and study. I imagine you didn't know that about him, did you?"

"I didn't know for a fact, but I suspected that might be the case."

"You did?" Hill said with genuine surprise. "Why?"

And there was her opening. "Because I've seen Warren Mears' genius firsthand. He built a robot that was lifelike enough to fool several people into thinking it was a real human. The hair, the skin, the way it walked, all remarkably lifelike. It was built to be a romantic companion. It also was programmed to fight with force and skill. I know the last part because Warren told his pet robot to attack me when it looked like he might lose his then-current girlfriend due to his robot finding its way back to him."

Mr. Hill shot a glare back at the Warren. Buffy guessed that Warren hadn't shared that bit of information with him. "How did you come to be involved with Mr. Mears in this prior incident?"

"The robot, which called itself April, was looking for Warren. Probably following some programming to find him and be a good girlfriend. I was at a club when someone said something to April that it didn't like, and it responded violently. I decided to try and find Warren to prevent any similar violent incidents."

Mr. Russel chose that moment to stand up. "The prosecution would like to submit a sworn affidavit from Miss Katrina Silber, Mr. Mears girlfriend at the time, who describes this incident in further detail. The prosecution would also like the record to show that Miss Silber has filed a restraining order against Mr. Mears."

"The court accepts the affidavit into the record. Regarding the restraining order, the court will not accept hearsay on the matter."

"Prosecution requests additional time to locate the appropriate documentation and submit it to the court record as soon as possible."

"Granted. Continue, Mr. Hill," Judge Holt said sternly. Buffy guessed by the tone of the judge's voice that he was growing convinced of the trio's guilt.

"Umm… Yes. So, Miss Summers. Why, exactly do you bear personal animus against my client?"

"It's simple, really," Buffy said. "Warren Mears is, quite frankly a genius. He could easily make millions of dollars working for any number of tech companies, or founding his own, even. Instead, he chose to use his genius to make a robot sex slave that would obey his every command and get rid of anyone he thought might be in his way. I imagine you could look to the list found in his room to get a clearer look at his mindset."

"What list is that, Ms. Summers?"

"I'll take this one," Mr. Russel said. "After arresting them, police acquired search warrants for each of the defendants' home residences. This photograph was taken in Mr. Mears basement, and shows a list of goals that seem to be the implied usage of the funds they were trying to steal."

Buffy had seen the photograph, and she didn't need to see it again. It proved that the boys were just that: children with juvenile fantasies of playing evil overlords. It would have been pitiful if Warren wasn't smart enough to potentially be genuinely dangerous.

"The court accepts this photograph into evidence. Prosecution will provide anything and everything else the police have found in the course of their investigation."

"Yes, Your Honor," Mr. Russel said.

"Continue, Mr. Hill," Judge Holt said.

"I… Yes, of course, Your Honor. That is…" Buffy almost felt sorry for the man. He was just doing his job, after all.

"E-excuse me?" a timid voice said from across the room.

Buffy knew that voice. She looked up and saw Jonathan Levinson getting to his feet. Warren was hissing something at him that Buffy couldn't make out, but Buffy had an idea of what might be happening.

"M-mister Levinson?" Hill said, his voice shaking.

"Yes," he said firmly. "Your Honor, I'd like to make a confession."

"You idiot!" Warren hissed.

"No!" Jonathan shot back. "We were wrong. We were stupid in so many ways, and we've already lost. We lost the moment we agreed to this stupid idea in the first place. And, I want to apologize to Buffy Summers. You gave me a second chance, and I wasted it. If I ever get a third, I'll use it to do better."

Buffy didn't know what to say, so she just nodded silently at Jonathan, meeting his gaze. Buffy never thought it would come to this, but she saw a bit of Faith in Jonathan's face. If the prosecution had simply gone after Jonathan, without even relying on eyewitness testimony, he probably would have folded. Some might call him weak for that. Buffy liked to think that it showed the quality of his character, and that it was something to be admired.

The court had fallen utterly, completely silent. "Mister Hill," Judge Holt said sternly, "I believe you and your client may wish to confer with one another, and potentially with local law enforcement. Until then, this court stands adjourned."

DISCLAIMER: First of all, I don't own any of these characters or the setting or anything else here. Second of all, I am not a lawyer. I have never been to law school. I've seen legal stuff on TV and movies and read about it works of fiction and fan fiction. That is to say, if anything in this chapter reads as inaccurate or not true to real life, then that's due to my ignorance on the matter. Also, this story isn't about the legal process, but about how the characters in the story are affected by the events of the plot.