Ford jumped off of the couch in his room and hit the floor when a pounding knock came at the front door. He groaned and rubbed his pounding head while Everest the Saint Bernard dog ran down the hall, barking. Another urgent knock at the door ran through the house. Ford rubbed his strained eyes and looked out the window. The sun wasn't even up yet.

At the same time, the younger pair of twins were being woken up by the barking and knocking. Mabel yawned and Dipper pulled the pillow over his head to try to drain the noise and go back to sleep. Stan swore colorfully and slipped on his slippers and bathrobe to yell at whoever thought to knock like a policeman. But then a voice yelled that caught everyone's attention.

"Pines, please! We have something for you!"

They all recognized it as Tulok's voice and ran. Ford made it to the door first, with Stan behind him and Mabel and Dipper at the bottom of the stairs. Standing on the porch was Tulok, Amka, Yuka and Tonraq. Tonraq held Amka's hand and Yuka had the phoenix, Fiona, on her left shoulder.

"Thank goodness." Tulok sighed with relief. "We thought you would want to see the trial. Is there a place we can observe it privately?"

"Yes!" Ford said and he and Stan moved out of the way. "Come into the living room! You can use the TV…"

"No, we do not need a television." Amka said as they walked in. "Lock the doors, block the windows, do anything that will prevent an intrusion."

Mabel played hostess and led Hephzie's godkids into the living room. She had them sit at the card table and soon they were joined by the Pines men when all the doors were locked and every window was covered. Dipper even flipped every photograph away or face-down.

"How are we gonna see the trial?" Stan asked. "And who are the extra munchkins?"

Ford remembered that Stan hadn't met the younger kids and said, "This is Yuka and Tonraq, Amka and Tulok's siblings and Ahllen's grandchildren."

"We wanted to see the trial in person," Amka explained. "But Grandfather actually forbade us from going. Usually he would let Tulok and I go, but he doesn't trust us enough." She snarled and crossed her arms over her chest.

"He knows we will be bias." Tulok said. "This only proves to play in your favor. Even Mama H doesn't know. We decided that we would find a way to make sure you saw it. You're her family, too. You deserve to see it."

"But how?" Dipper pressed.

Yuka grinned and smiled at Fiona. "Ready?"

The bird nodded and then flew in the middle of the room. She floated for a moment, but then flew in a circle over and over and over again, picking up speed as she flew until she was nothing more than a ring of fire that was up like a mirror, but rather a reflection, it revealed at the center an odd courtroom.

It was feeling up with giants, elves, centruars, humans, and Mortamigi; the room was a circle, like the forge, and they were sitting in the larger part of the courtroom, along the wall on stadium-like seats. The seats covered the entire wall except for the giant front door and the front one-third of the room, that being occupied by a high-sitted table for the council to sit on. At the center of the room were two small desks, much like a typical American courtroom. The audience members were the only ones present so far. For the ones in Gravity Falls, it was like watching it on TV.

"We thought we would watch it with you to help explain things." Amka offered.

"Thank you." Ford said and looked seriously at the four children, especially Amka and Tulok. "Really, thank you. You didn't have to do all of this."

"We know." Tulok said and sat his staff down by the table. "We wanted to. Any friend of Hephzie's is a friend of ours."

"You're all very anxious." Tonraq said. "I can hear your heartbeats. They're too fast."

Stan looked at the kid's blind eyes again and said, "Guess you got good hearing, huh?"

Tonraq grinned. "I do. I can hear the faintest breathing or heartbeat, I can feel anyone presence in a room by the temperature of their body heat, and I can smell anyone within a mile from me. I may be blind, but I can see."

"That's so cool!" Mabel said. "How old are you?"

"I'm eight."

"I'm nine!" Yuka shared. "And Tulok is fourteen and Amka is twelve!"

"Hush!" Amka said and all eyes were on the trial. "Look! Grandfather, Grandmother, Mother, Uncle Aput, and Uncle Qimmiq have arrived." And they came from one of the two smaller back doors.

This was the first time the Pines saw any of Ahllen and Amka's sons and daughters. Princess Hephzibah the Second had long hair and a stern face, taking after her father heavily. She wore a nice but simple dark-red dress. Prince Aput had a softer expression and short hair. He wore a brown tunic and clean white shirt with brown pants and polished shoes. Chief Qimmiq was a big, muscular man with his long back hair tied into three braids and scars all over his face and body. He wore a thin shirt and pants with a million pockets. The Royal Family all wore maroon cloaks with their hoods down as part of the uniform if on the council. King Ahllen sat in the center, with Queen Amka at his right hand, his daughter at his left, and Qimmiq sat next to his sister while Aput sat next to his mother.

Ahllen did not pick up a gavel, but instead a small gong and mallet. He barely touched it, but it rang loudly and the room was silenced. "On the twelfth of August of the year two-housand and fourteen, the Council of Pilivark's Justice System brings forth General Alicia-Sarah Hephzibah Fisher Cece for trial."

The back door the Royal Family did not come out from opened and Hephzie was walked out by two more Manotaur guards. She was chained by the ankles and wrists and her hands were still domed over. She wore her usual clothes and the tired look in her eyes told Ford that she hadn't slept since her arrest, but she didn't look hurt or injured; he was grateful for that. The guards stood at the door. Hephzie walked alone to a spot right between the two desks.

"General Hephzibah Cece, you are charged with committing the ultimate taboo and alchemy's one unforgivable sin." Ahllen stated plainly, as if he wasn't talking to a lifelong friend. "How do you plead to this charge?"

"Guilty."

The whole courtroom took in a breath. The Pines were free to yell and gasp as loud as they wanted. Stan sat in his armchair and his kids joined him, but Ford stood and watched. Tulok, Amka, Yuka, and Tonraq were also shocked by her simple response.

King Ahllen raised an eyebrow at Hephzie. "Do you understand the severity of this charge?"

"I do."

"Do you still wish to defend yourself or do you contemplate suiside?"

"I wish to speak when it's my turn."

"Than you may." Ahllen said and Hephzie sat at the vacant desk for the defendant. "Representing the prosecution is Alchemist Mark Ooluge, who may deliver his speech now."

"If there a direct victim of the crime," Tulok explained as the man stood up and collected his papers. "He or she would state why the criminal is guilty, but since there is no one like that in this case, he will educate the courtroom as to why what Mama H did was wrong. He is to be unbiased and only remind us of an opposite viewpoint."

Amka shushed him. "They'll see! Watch!"

"Ladies and gentlemen," The prosecutor stated more so to the audience than the council. "Today we will be tackling a very gruesome and ancient crime that has not been made in decades, so for the purpose of this case, I will be reminding the court what exactly is alchemy's one and only unforgivable sin and why it is taboo: human transmutation."

The room took in some air and quickly whispered among themselves. The prosecutor waved his hand and the domed ceiling turned into a projector, showing a transmutation circle that was greek to the Pines family.

"Human transmutation is to transmute chemicals into a human being. Not only is it impossible to perfect and nearly impossible to perform, it is an evil act that has lead only to death and devastation. We all know the tale of the brokenhearted alchemist that tried to bring his wife back to life, but with no evidence of that story, I will be pulling from two previous cases to show why this act is taboo and illegal in every right."

The prosecutor waved his hand again and two young ladies appeared on the domed ceiling, almost like mugshots. "Exhibit A took place back in 1903. In 1895, these teenagers were orphaned as girls when their mother was killed by a plague and their father died at war when they were just infants. Mary, born in 1885, and Madeline, born in 1887, spent years training hard and learning the darkest secrets of alchemy to try to bring back their mother. It would take eight years, but finally one day they attempted it, and paid the price. I will warn younger spectators to cover their eyes and for parents to use their better judgment."

The prosecutor waved his hand and some screamed in shock at the gory pictures on the ceiling. Stan covered Dipper and Mabel's eyes. Mabel happily accepted being oblivious, but Dipper peaked between his uncle's fingers. Tulok brought Yuka's face into his chest. Amka didn't worry about covering Tonraq's eyes. Ford stared as one picture showed what Tulok and Amka had described yesterday. It looked like a blackened, burt, misshapen version of a human, with exposed bones, flowing blood and dislocated joints. Clearly, if the thing had been alive, it would not remain that way for long. The eldest teenager, Mary, lost an arm, and Madeline lost a leg.

"The girls were brought in quickly, and after treating their injuries, the sad remains of their mother were buried with as much humility as the court could manage." The prosecutor said. "The girls were then sentenced to life in prison, but neither ate and died shortly of starvation. Reports state that they had been driven into insanity by what they had seen and done."

The pictures were gone and the prosecutor went on with his story. "Exhibit B is a more recent and obscure one, but it is a case General Hephzibah Cece herself dealt with and brought in."

"No, not that one…"

"Silence!" King Ahllen said and banged his gong gently and Hephzie and the whole room was quiet. "Proceed."

"1986, one of our own alchemists, David Tucker the Animalistic Alchemist, performed a heinous act. The word was that he was trying to find a way to communicate to other species like fish and birds and non-talking mammals." The prosecutor went on. "His wife, possessively, died of illness when their daughter was only a year old, and when the daughter was five, Tucker fused her and their pet dog together to create what we thought was impossible: a chimera that understood human speech."

The prosecutor waved his hand again and a picture of what looked like a small black dog with dead white eyes and a brown wig on sat curled up in a corner, skinny, malnourished, and afraid. It had human-like hands and feet and the fur was balding in some places. Ford noticed that Hephzie tightly shut her eyes and looked at the floor. He would have given anything to hug her and comfort her. Everyone winced at the poor creature. No one could quite pin-point why, but it was very, very wrong.

"The record states that General Hephzibah Cece was checking in only to find the girl she was supposed to visit gone forever." The prosecutor stated. "Tucker was brought in and put to death for what he had done to his daughter, and as for the chimera, it could understand human speech and it could speak freely, but General Hephzibah Cece was the only one bold enough to ask what it wanted, and it only stated 'I want to die.' Rather than let it starve to death and die slowly, it was also put to death by medicine and in a comfortable bed."

"How DARE ya!" Hephzie yelled.

"Silence!"

"How dare ya group me in with that… that monster!"

"SILENCE!" King Ahllen yelled and banged the gong. "Speak out of line again and I will have you removed from the court!"

Hephzie glared daggers at the man she had considered her brother for years, but bit her lip to keep her words back.

"Now then," The prosecutor resumed calmly and waved his hand so the picture of the chimera was gone. "Both the sisters and Tucker had their own reasoning for attempting human transmutation. While it is logical to want to have someone back, the laws one would break to achieve that is ungodly and evil. And Tucker… well, he traded his family for gold and glory and paid the price. Alchemy is all about equivalent exchange and, therefore, if General Hephzibah Cece is proven to have committed the ultimate taboo, than she is nothing less than guilty. I rest my case." And he sat down.

"Thank you." King Ahllen said and announced to the room. "Now, in her defense, General Hephzibah Cece may deliver her speech."

Hephzie stood and moved so she was where the prosecutor gave his presentation, between the desks and at the very heart of the room. The room seemed much more interested in what she had to say versus what the prosecutor had to say. Hephzie took in a deep breath and held her head up high. "I plead guilty. I did what I had to do to protect my loved ones. I committed the taboo."

The courtroom was muffled with noise. Mabel started to munch on her hair with worry. "What is she doing?" Amka hissed, but Tulok shushed her.

"You admit to committing the taboo?" Queen Amka, the wife of King Ahllen, asked.

"Yes."

"Why? Why did you do it?"

"Does my reasonin' guarantee a chance at freedom?"

"Answer the question." Ahllen snarled. "You say you did it to protect loved ones. Explain yourself."

"I only did it to trap Bill Cipher." The prisoner snapped.

The room was in panic. Some gasped, some yelled or screamed, one giant fainted and people had to push and shove out of the way to avoid being crushed. The council's faces grew rigid. Apparently this part of the story had been kept secret.

"As y'all know, last summer Bill entered our world." Hephzie said. "I tried to have ya aid us, but y'all decided to let those who were inside the Weirdness Magnetism bubble suffer. Before we could help, Bill had already been defeated, but not by the zodiac. To make a long story short, they trapped Bill in someone's mind n' then erased said-mind. Luckily that brave mind was recovered n', for awhile, it appeared that Bill was gone, but he traded some of his powers for a chance to live again, n' a few short weeks ago, he came back as a ghost, a vision, a phantom. He managed to trap me n' my friends n' use my friends as leverage to make him a body. I didn't have a choice. I made him a body n' he became human."

"That is your story, then?" Ahllen asked.

"That's the truth." Hephzie said firmly.

"I see." But Ahllen sounded like he didn't believe her. "Well then, moving on, we legally cannot deem you guilty unless there is proof that you committed the crime. As much as we might enjoy listening to your tale and your reasoning for your actions, they are still regrettable and you must face judgment."

"Ya seem way too relaxed for my likin' 'bout the fact Bill's back, brother." Hephzie stated coolly.

"He is not my concern."

"Ya mean he's not your problem."

"As long as the forcefield is intact it is not my problem, no."

"Gravity Falls' Natural Law of Weirdness Magnetism very well would've been torn down if the man bein' tortured to keep the world safe had given in." Hephzie snarled.

Princess Hephzibah sat up straighter. She of the five seemed more inclined to clear Hephzie of her charges since the beginning. "Tortured? That changes…"

"This is not a case on Bill, it is a case on you, General!" Ahllen growled and pointed at Hephzie.

"But if I was forced into a corner n' had to do what I could to defeat him all cuz y'all refused to help…"

"We have no control over your actions and are not the ones that are held accountable!"

"If ya want to kill me for brinin' Bill back I don't blame ya!" Hephzie yelled. "But if you're gonna kill me to hide the truth than you're nothin' but a bunch of cowards!"

"SILENCE!" King Ahllen roared and stood. "The debate of whether you are guilty or innocent has NOTHING to do with Bill or the people of Pilivark! Without evidence, you are innocent." Ahllen, cooling down, formed a cruel smile. "However, there is one way to determine if you performed human transmutation. Qimmiq, send forth your strongest troops and have them attack Hephzie. You there, unchain her. Let us give her a chance to prove her innocence."

Tulok, Amka, Yuka, and Tonraq gasped as they watched their uncle step down from the council and exit through a door. Meanwhile, one of the Manotaurs unchained Hephzie and she flexed her fingers and popped her wrists.

"What? What's happening?" Mabel asked.

"Grandfather wouldn't, would he?" Yuka asked her big brother.

"I think he would, little sister." Tulok said and looked at the confused Pines. "Did we try to tell you? That if one sees The Truth, than they can perform alchemy without a matrix, because they are the matrix."

"I still don't get it." Mabel said, but Dipper thought he did, but hoped he was wrong.

His eyes widened and he said, "To perform alchemy, you gotta draw a transmutation-circle or have one to use, like a tattoo or an engraving, but I've seen Hephzie do it without a circle!"

"You have?!" Amka and Tulok gasped at the same time.

The Pines nodded. Hephzie built a bridge without a matrix. She once fixed a broken porch stair with a clap of her hands. They had assumed that maybe she had drawn one and they didn't see it, but the more Hephzie's friends thought about it, ever since Bill returned, she had been using alchemy more often but for smaller things. Had she been training herself to use this newfound power wisely? Had she always had it? Or did she have a matrix drawn every time and they just didn't see it?

"Well, if she did perform human transmutation, she would have seen The Truth and become the matrix." Tulok explained. "Grandfather is going to make Hephzie fight so she will have no choice but to transmute without a drawn matrix."

"But what if she can't transmute without a drawn matrix?" Ford asked as Qimmiq returned with six large, muscular fighters, some giants, some Manotaurs and some humans.

"Than she will be badly injured and lose the fight, but she is the Healing Alchemist and will be given a chance to heal herself later." Amka said. "It will hurt, but she won't die."

"Well that's nice!" Stan snapped sarcastically.

"Mama H will be alright." Amka said firmly. "She is one of our best fighters. I just hope she can control the urge long enough to prove herself innocent."

"Why are they even doing this is she pleaded guilty?" Dipper asked.

"She must have given up on trying to win favor with the counsel and is trying to win favor with the people, who will determine her sentence." Tulok theorized. "Or maybe… I'm sure she has a plan."

They were silent as they watched the soldiers circle Hephzie. She looked up at the king and asked, "May I at least have my sword back? It means a lot to me."

Ford felt his heart flutter; that was the sword he had given to her as a birthday present years ago.

Ahllen, however, sneered and said, "And do what, give you a chance to hide your skills? No. No, I think this will insure that you will use what you already have. You know the rulers, fighters, injured as horrid as you want, but do not kill. Any injures will be treated immediately after the battle, but do not hesitate. If you do, you'll be placed in a cell right next to the convicted. BEGIN!" And Ahllen banged the gong.

The Manotaur swung his club at Hephzie, but she did a backwards flip out of the way and landed on a desk. A human swung his sword, but Hephzie dodged and he only cut the desk in half. Hephzie balanced one-legged on the desk, dodged again and again, and then flipped behind the man, stole his cloth belt, and used it to tie it around his eyes and blind him. Quicker than light, Hephzie swiped his sword, kicked him down, and used the stolen sword to block another human who was shooting arrows at her. Hephzie either dodged it entirely or cut or swung arrows away from her, all while the crowd cheered like it was a wrestling match and a Manotaur was going behind her.

"Look out!" Mabel yelled.

"Come on, Mama!" Yuka shouted.

Hephzie waited patiently, and at the right moment, sprung in the air and did another backwards flip over the Manotaur. He was hit by a few arrows and fell on his knees in pain. Hephzie, behind him, popped her aching back and Ford was reminded that she had been having back-pains lately. She quickly recovered when the Manotaur with the club was back and Hephzie dodged again. Then a giant behind her tried to crush her, but she ran up the wall and around the domed ceiling so quickly she didn't fall.

The crowd cheered and Hephzie leaped and stabbed the giant's shoulder. He roared and swatted at Hephzie like a fly, but she landed on her hidden, robotic knee and dueled with the Manotaur with the club. Hephzie cut the wooden club in hand, then cut his hand just enough to hurt, and then she slid under his legs when he moved forward and she kicked so hard with her disguised automail that the beast fell.

"You FOOLS!" Ahllen roared. "You two! Get her!"

The second giant tried to squish Hephzie like a parasite, but she dodged and stabbed his hand. The giant held it and sucked it like it had been a splinter and then Hephzie cut his leg and then kicked the second desk in his way so when the giant moved he tripped and fell with a powerful thud. Before Hephzie could do anything else, she was hit by an arrow and it stuck on her left shoulder. She held it with her right hand and yelled and saw that the swift human with a bow and arrows had shot her.

Hephzie narrowed her eyes angrily and pulled out the arrow, dropped it like a mic, and went after the human. He shot multiple arrows, but Hephzie dodged them all and swung the sword at the human. The human backed away just in time and Hephzie swung a fast kick that swept the human off of his feet and Hephzie pointed his sword at his neck. The human dropped his weapons and held his hands up in surrender with a scowl. The crowd cheered as the soldiers left to be healed and Hephzie clapped her hands and then touched her shoulder to heal it, using the healing matrixes on the backs of her hands to transmute.

Before anyone could relax, Ahllen jumped off of the council's high table and down at the center of the room, right in front of Hephzie and growled, "I have shown you mercy thus far, but that is over! I will MAKE YOU show us what you have done!"

"I won't fight ya, Ahllen." Hephzie said coldly.

"You don't have a choice!" The king snapped, clapped his hands, and touched a satchel of water by his hip with a transmutation circle on the lid. Ahllen pulled his hand away and a beam of ice followed him, growing longer until it was a spear in his hands. He pointed it at Hephzie and the second part of the fight began.

It was clear that Hephzie and Ahllen had learned how to fight by the same person or at least practiced together back in the day. They both had a similar fighting style of dodging and then waiting for a perfect moment to strike. Ahllen's temper and Hephzie's refusal to fight, however, put the king on the offense and the criminal on the defense. Ahllen cut Hephzie on the cheek and drew blood. She winced and kicked Ahllen away from her. He recovered quickly and attacked again, but not before Hephzie stabbed the sword between the stones that made the ground and ran for the front door. It was locked and guarded, but Hephzie wasn't trying to escape. She climbed up the frame and perched herself on top like a bird. "I won't fight ya, big brother!"

"You have to if you want your freedom!" Ahllen yelled back.

Hephzie touched a bead of blood oozing from her cheek and used it to draw a transmutation circle into her palm. Just as Ahllen was about to climb after her, she clapped her hands and projected them out to Ahllen in a spot-position, but a ball of fire came from her palms and flew out to Ahllen. He stabbed his ice-spear into the ground and it turned into a thin wall of ice that protected him from the fire, but then disappeared. Just as it did, Hephzie leaped from the doorframe and punched Ahllen in the jaw. The two engaged in hand-to-hand combat, dodging and punching and kicking, and they were evenly matched. Ahllen grabbed Hephzie's shoulder, flipped upside down, and when behind her punched hard on her back. Hephzie groaned and fell on her knee, but then spun and punched, but Ahllen grabbed her wrist, punched her face, and then twisted the arm he had in his hold dangerously so she was at his mercy.

"Ya little…" Hephzie lost her temper, used her free arm to punch Ahllen in the gut, twisted her arm free, and backed away. "ENOUGH!" And with that, Hephzie clapped her hands, touched the ground, and chains erupted from the stone floor and flew to Ahllen. He was chained by the wrists and ankles and the throat and brought to his hands and knees on the floor.

But the defeated king chuckled darkly and let his chuckle grow into laughter. The room was buzzing with gasps and cries or shock and disgust. Hephzie's eyes widened and she stood up straight. The chains fell away from Ahllen and a Manotaur tackled Hephzie to the ground from behind.

"NO!" Tulok yelled and stood up from his chair.

"I can't believe it!" Amka gasped.

"As suspected," Ahllen announced and the room fell silent. "You can transmute without a matrix. On top of which your right leg is automail."

Hephzie, who had been chained up again and was standing, stared at him. "How did ya…"

"Please I can tell just by sparing with you!" Ahllen sneered and walked to the high table to sit where he belonged. "As such, this is undeniable evidence that you performed human transmutation. With that, this council finds you guilty." And Ahllen banged the gong.

The crowd was at an uproar; they couldn't decide who to be angrier at. Stan groaned and held his head. Yuka held Tulok tighter in his lap; the young prince rubbed his sister's back. Dipper clenched his fists in anger. Ford felt numb; a part of him knew this was coming, so he was more concerned with Hephzie's sentence.

"Now, the audience may decide how she may be punished." Ahllen said and the room was quiet again. "You were all told of your options. Which…"

"I have a request." Hephzie said clearly, keeping her eyes on Ahllen.

Tulok and Amka gasped. Before any of the Pines could ask, Amka quickly explained, "This is very risky! If she requests for a merciful punishment, the crowd may give her a more cruel one out of spite."

Tulok, however, said calmly, "I told you she had a plan." He seemed to understand something the others didn't.

"State it then." Ahllen growled and sat in his chair.

"I request the death penalty..."

"NO!" Ford yelled, but Hephzie didn't stop.

"...in exchange for the protection of Gravity Falls."

There was silence. No one seemed to know what to say or do or even think. The Pines looked at Tulok, Amka, Yuka, and Tonraq for some answers, but they were just as lost as anyone else.

Ahllen laughed maliciously at his old friend. "This is what you are reduced to? The great General Hephzibah Cece has resorted to going to extreme measures to call troops to a land our people left behind decades ago? Do you remember the laws on which alchemy is founded upon?"

"Do not site our laws to me, big brother." Hephzie snarled. "I wrote a handful of 'em myself or was there when they were made."

"Do not address me like you're family." Ahllen growled like an angry wolf. "You never married and your guardians died a long time ago. You have no family."

Amka gasped and her hands flew to her mouth. Tulok covered Yuka's ears and swore in some different language no one but his siblings knew. Mabel's eyes filled with tears and Ford was more desperate now than ever to see her after they saw the way Hephzie's eyes heavied sadly and her stature drooped like a wilting flower.

"And you know well that if one life is traded in for another, only one is protected." Ahllen said with a tiny smile on his lips as his eyes peered at Hephzie from his high place of power and she was below him in chains. "Do you really hold yourself so high that you think your life equals an entire town's value?"

"No, I…"

"If you wish to turn your life in for the protection of one life, you may." Ahllen interrupted. "But that is it. One. For what can equal the value of dozens of lives?"

"If ya know the value's nearly impossible to match than why do ya refused to help our brothers n' sisters?!" Hephzie demanded.

"What is to gain by sending my people into Bill's arms?!" Ahllen roared.

"What's to gain by doing what's right?!" Hephzie asked. "Only innocent lives!"

"We have to protect our own or risk letting our own loved ones suffer!"

"If I thought like that I would have let ya die when we were kids! NEVER forget who ya are n' where ya came from, Ahllen! You're better than this! You're ALL better than this!"

"SILENCE HER!" Ahllen screamed and cloth was tied around her head and over her mouth. "I SENTENCE YOU TO LIFE IN PRISON! GUARDS, TAKE HER WHERE SHE WILL NEVER SEE THE LIGHT OF DAY AGAIN!" And the king banged the gong.

The crowd was furious. Ahllen had delivered the sentence without consulting the people, breaking the law. Even Queen Amka and her sons and daughter looked angry, but King Ahllen left the room before anything else could be done. Hephzie was dragged away and the crowd started to pick fights with the guards. Tulok and Amka both stood up and Fiona sat on the TV screen, back as a bird and not just a monitor of the trial.

"We have to return home before Grandfather sparks a rebellion!" Amka said.

"I agree." Tulok said and the four started for the door.

"Wait!" Mabel yelled. "What about Hephzie?! Is that it?! She's in jail forever?! She's gone?! Can we at least see her?!"

Tulok looked sadly at the girl and then the Pines men. He sighed heavily and said, "We will do everything we can, but for now… she gave you a job to do, aye? Bill has returned, and she said you could prevent his chaos, right?"

Ford nodded and swallowed before speaking. "We… we're working to keep him from creating a rift and bringing his gang back. If he opens another rift, we will have a second Weirdmageddon on our hands."

"Than we must act quickly." Amka said. "Grandfather will be furious, but…"

"There is strength in numbers." Tulok said and put a hand on one of her shoulders, his other hand holding his staff. "We will do what we can or go down doing what is right." He nodded politely to the humans and said, "May we meet again under better circumstances. Come, Yuka and Tonraq, we're going home."

Yuka and Tonraq turned into wolves and ran out the door and into the woods. Amka turned into a wolf, ran after the hyper Yuka, and carried her by the scruff of her neck. Tulok turned into a wolf that held a twig in his mouth, but before he left the dirt road for the woods, he turned to the Pines, bowed low to show his respect, and then ran after his siblings for home.