April 25
Courtroom No. 5
1:15 PM
Lily Shield
"Well, I wasn't in control at first. Niamh was walking out of the Prosecutor's Office at the time, and since I was in her body, I was forced to leave with her. That was when she heard some stirring, so she walked over to where the victim was with the knife and the bomb. Then, she passed out, and I took over," Nevada explained.
"What did you do after you took control of your shared body?" I asked, though I got the feeling I already knew the answer. Her disposition had changed greatly, and I got the feeling that she was finished hiding things from us now that Prosecutor Lin had stepped in with her amazing persuasive skills.
Nevada hesitated for a moment before letting out a sigh. "I realized what he was going to do, so I fought him. I grabbed the knife when he set it down, and after that, I... I stabbed him. I didn't know for sure if he was dead, so I kept on stabbing him until he stopped moving. I grabbed the bomb after that and hit it against his head. The door wouldn't open, so I forced it open on his head. I'm not exactly strong enough to force it open, so I had to use his skull... Then I cut the bomb from the inside out, which meant it couldn't go off anymore," she explained, swallowing and looking down at the floor. I have to admit, I felt kind of bad for her. I wouldn't have if she had killed an innocent person, but she had saved lives by killing Cormous (if that was even his real name), and for that, I was happy to go easy on her.
"So, this is your way of confessing to the crime," Judge Frost realized, nodding slowly. "I can't say I'm surprised, given what we had heard up to this point... Go on though. What else did you do at the time of the murder?"
"Well, I was absolutely covered in blood... I say that, but I really mean that Niamh's jacket was covered with blood, so I had to get rid of it. I tossed it into the cellar underneath the Prosecutor's Office and ran upstairs. I was really tired, so I wound up falling asleep on the couch in the hallway. That was when Niamh took control again, so I don't remember anything after that," Nevada explained.
"Cellar?" I asked in surprise. "I didn't realize there was a space like that underneath the Prosecutor's Office. How long has that been around?"
"Since it was made," Prosecutor Cruz replied. "You see, they store evidence down there that's sensitive to temperature. There's a fridge inside that can be used to keep stuff cold. It's not used too particularly often, but most of the people who work there know that it exists. My guess is that Nevada here found out about it through word of mouth one time while she was out and in control."
"Yeah, you got it... I figured it would be the best place to hide something that I didn't want anybody to find since not many people would think to look down there. I mean, you just said you didn't realize it existed," Nevada pointed out, casting her gaze over to me, Yuri, and Deirdre for a moment.
"You're officially saying that you killed the victim then," Judge Frost murmured, nodding slowly. "I understand now. Do you know what this means, witness?"
Nevada hesitated before sighing. "Look, I don't think I should get in trouble for this. He was going to blow up the building, so I killed him before he had the chance to do so. Should I really be shamed for something like that? I'm sorry I didn't tell everybody about that little bit sooner, but I thought you were lying to me to get me to do what you wanted. A lot of people have done that before, and I'm tired of dealing with it. You can't blame me for not talking about it when I grew up hearing that talking about it was a bad idea. You should just ask the people I was with before all of this happened. I just-"
Prosecutor Lin held up one hand to silence her. "Nevada, it's okay. We understand. While your attempts to try and hide the crime are something to remember, we know it was because you didn't understand how the system would work for something like this. I think we can work to get you a light sentence, if you get a sentence at all, with all that we're aware of. Your confession is a good thing, you know. If you had tried to hide it much more, we would have had some issues, but you told us everything when you realized it was safe to do so," she told Nevada.
Nevada stared at her in surprise, a small smile appearing on her face. I could have sworn I saw her eyes glazing over with tears. A few seconds later, I was proven correct as the tears fell, and Nevada sniffled loudly. She rubbed one hand across her face. "Aw, thanks, Mama!" she exclaimed.
Prosecutor Lin gasped, her hands going over her mouth. "Mama? That's so sweet... I guess I had more of an impact on you than I thought... I suppose I am the only parent you've ever known, so it would make sense if you wanted to call me that... How kind of you," she whispered, smiling to herself.
Nevada flushed pink at being called out on it. "Don't tell anybody about this," she said, sinking down into the collar of her shirt. Her voice was muffled by the fabric.
"I make no promises," Prosecutor Lin smiled, winking to Nevada. "You're a real sweetheart, you know."
Nevada stared at her, blinking a few times. "I am...?"
Prosecutor Lin nodded brightly, opening her mouth to speak.
"I just have one question," Prosecutor Cruz declared, cutting off Prosecutor Lin quickly. Prosecutor Lin looked at him with a small frown, but he kept on, either not noticing or not caring.
"What is it?" I asked, getting the chance to talk for one of the first times since this confession conversation had started up.
"I want to know who killed the victim in the previous case. It clearly wasn't the witness. She doesn't fit the description offered at the trial for the other murder," Prosecutor Cruz frowned, crossing his arms. It didn't take me long to remember why he wanted to know the truth. After all, the victim from that case was his father, someone he looked up to and adored. Of course he would want to hear about who had been the killer in that case.
I looked over to Yuri and Deirdre, frowning to myself. I didn't know what to say about that, even if we knew the truth. Was it really a good idea to say so outwardly? It could easily result in disaster, and we wouldn't know if things had gone downhill until too late. I searched their eyes for some clues as to what we should do, what choice we should make, but I found nothing, and it made me sigh deeply.
"Did we find anything out regarding the previous case during the investigation yesterday?" Robbie asked, looking over to me with a small frown. He could tell something was wrong, and for once, I hated how well he understood me. He simply knew me too well for me to be able to lie about something like this.
I hesitated for a moment, unsure of what to say. Could I really just spout the truth knowing fully well it could be dangerous? I mean, if the Emsthorpes weren't going to get violent over him now that he was dead, it wouldn't hurt to speak up and say that I knew who had killed the victim of the previous case, right? After all, there was no way for Cormous to get charged now that he was dead, and the Emsthorpes couldn't change that fact. They had no choice but to abandon him now that he had kicked unter bucket thanks to Nevada. In a way, I was glad we had the girl and her obsession with sharp objects, as she had not only saved lives, but was going to make this decision about telling the court about Cormous a lot easier on my part.
I took in a deep breath. "The defense believes the victim of this case killed the victim of the previous murder at the Prosecutor's Office. He fits the description offered by the lawyers who were on the previous case, has no alibi, and was planning to blow up the building where the crime took place. All of this is heavily suspicious when put together, and I believe it points to the victim of this case being guilty of far more than we originally expected," I explained.
Prosecutor Cruz stared at me in shock at first, but after a few seconds, he seemed to calm down, and I got the feeling he was realizing just how plausible my theory was. Well, I say it was a theory even if we had already gotten confirmation from Prosecutor Daegana about the truth behind the previous case, but nobody else was allowed to do that. Prosecutor Cruz's mouth opened and closed, and he looked down for a moment. "It all make sense now..." he murmured.
"You think this theory is correct then?" Judge Frost asked, looking to Prosecutor Cruz with a small frown.
Prosecutor Cruz nodded. "Yeah. It does make sense. We realized that the culprit was a man who wasn't supposed to be there. He didn't work at the Prosecutor's Office. The culprit was also deduced to be a man that stands at roughly the same height as the victim from the previous case, and as far as I can tell, they're pretty similar in height. There was no known alibi for the Mr. Arme because people didn't realize he was involved with the previous case, meaning he could have done it without anybody asking him since he simply never appeared at the crime scene again," he said.
"Plus, this explains why the victim wanted to plant the bomb in the Prosecutor's Office. He wanted to be able to get rid of the evidence from the murder he had committed recently, and he seemed to think that was the best way to do so. Up until now, we didn't know why he would have wanted to plant a bomb there, but with this explanation, everything seems to fall into place," I continued. "It all makes sense if we picture Cormous as the victim from the previous case. It slips in a bit too well... And it seems to me that's our only solution."
"The previous case makes so much more sense if you look at it like that... Even without planting the bomb though, he probably would have gotten away with it, as there simply wasn't enough evidence for anyone to try and pin him down," Prosecutor Lin remarked. "How did you guys figure this out? Did you do some minor investigating on the previous case during yesterday's session?"
"We spoke to a witness who had this theory, and after we finished our conversation with him, we realized how much sense it made. He's going to be approaching the police after this trial ends to officially close the previous case. Granted, no charges can be pressed now that the killer has been murdered, but I still think it's good that we end this case and wrap up loose ends while we can," I explained. "Nevada, how much of this did you know when you first saw the victim before you killed him?"
Nevada shrugged and shook her head. "None of it. I just realized he had a bomb on him," she replied bluntly. "If there was more to it, I would have told you by now."
"I do wish that we had been able to hear from this witness who told you about the suspect behind the previous killing, but if I had to guess, I would say that they aren't here," Judge Frost remarked. "Besides, it's not vital or anything. I'm sure that they can go to the police, and the case can be closed from there. I think everyone in this courtroom knows the truth behind the previous killing now and sees that the victim from the current case was the one who was responsible at the time."
"He's lucky that he's already dead... If he was still alive, I'd do everything to make sure that he got as heavy a sentence as possible," Prosecutor Cruz grumbled. "You did good, Nevada."
Nevada's eyes lit up like a kid's on their birthday at hearing that. "Aw, thanks! You're too nice. I just did what any good law-abiding citizen would have done. You know, some people really overlook the times where it's necessary to take a knife and just beat the stuffing out of someone, you know?" she commented, her voice much too casual to be talking about something so gruesome.
I looked to Yuri and Deirdre for a moment. "I don't know if I should be relaxed at hearing her say that given what we just learned or terrified that she has that mindset in the first place... It's not like this case set a good example for her... If she really is mentally three years old or there about, we're going to need to put her in preschool and tell her killing people is bad most of the time," I told them.
"Well, I believe that about wraps up the loose ends on this case... Perhaps it's time for me to hand down my verdict on the defendant's innocence," Judge Frost declared. She looked to the opposite side of the courtroom from where I was standing. "Does the prosecution have any objections?"
Prosecutor Lin looked back and forth between Robbie and Prosecutor Cruz. For once, there didn't seem to be a power struggle budding between them, and I had to commend how much they had grown up over the span of the previous few days. I couldn't help but smile to myself at the thought. "The prosecution has no objections, Your Honor," Prosecutor Lin finally declared.
Judge Frost looked over to where Yuri, Deirdre, and I were standing next. She didn't even have to ask to get her answer. "The defense has no objections either, Your Honor," I told her with a small, warm smile.
Judge Frost nodded, taking her gavel up into one hand and letting it wait a few inches above the podium before her. "Well, if that's the case... This court hereby finds the defendant, Victoria von Graye, not guilty. Court is adjourned!" she announced. She let the gavel fall, sending an echo throughout the courtroom as chatter began. I got my evidence together with a smile and headed for the door, a skip in my step and a song in my heart.
April 25
Defendant Lobby No. 5
2:15 PM
Lily Shield
When I stepped out of the courtroom and into the defendant lobby, I couldn't help but let out a lengthy sigh of relief. I was so happy that this case was over. Now that we didn't have much else to worry about, then I could go back to the agency. The traitor situation had been solved, and Cormous was gone for good. At one point, I would have taken this time to grieve for him since I had been his friend while he was still alive, but those times were gone now. The Cormous I had known had never existed in the first place, instead just being a lie meant to deceive and harm me and those I cared about. I would never be able to forgive him for such, but I didn't have to. He could rot in hell for all I cared.
Yuri threw her arms around Victoria once we were in the clear. "I'm so glad that you're okay!" she chirped, grinning widely. "I mean, I know that it's all thanks to us that you finally got the chance to come back okay, but... You know what I mean. I'm happy that you're free to go about your life like this whole mess never happened. No more worries about any traitors either. We've figured out who the sneak was, and he's already gotten what he deserved. Everything is fine now!"
Victoria smiled to Yuri. "I'm only in this situation because of you all... If you hadn't been there, I don't even want to imagine what would have happened. In an odd way, the police were right about the supposed motive they had set forward. It was all about the traitor situation... They suspected I had killed him because I thought he was the traitor or he had figured out I was the traitor... The first one wound up having some truth to it. I may not have committed the crime, but they figured out who the traitor was before anybody else did," she remarked.
"It's funny how things turn out like that," Mr. Morix commented, walking up to us with his arms crossed. "I suppose we should have known it would wind up going like this, but... I don't know. It's a lot to think about, I guess. I feel horrible that I brought such a figure into the agency when it caused this many problems, even if I couldn't have known at the time. I'm just glad we were able to find out the truth sooner rather than later. It can't tear us apart if he's not on this planet anymore to bother us. Plus, he's dead, meaning he can't report any information he was looking for back to whoever sent him into the agency in the first place."
"We really do owe a lot to Nevada," Chrysalis said. "If she hadn't been there to take care of him for us... I don't want to imagine where we would be now. For one, the Prosecutor's Office would have crumbled, and if it went down, there would have been no ways to track him down since all the evidence would have been destroyed. On top of that, he would be able to use the ensuing chaos to dig deeper than he should have been able to into the affairs of the agency. It all would have gone downhill from there, but since he's no longer around to cause such issues... We're all in the clear. I don't think I've ever been so thankful for such."
"I think I'm going to have to talk to Nevada on my own time to tell her about everything you just said," Deirdre told her, placing one hand on her chin as she spoke.
Chrysalis looked up at her with a heavy frown. "You can't be serious... Why would you tell her all that?" she asked. "And what do I have to do with any of this? Keep me out of your thank you card to the killer."
"I merely wish to cite my sources on who said it," Deirdre assured her. "I agree with everything that you said just now, Chrysalis. I won't be using that against you or anything. Nevada did a lot to help us out in this situation... In fact, I would say that she's the single killer we've encountered up to this point that hasn't been a huge pain."
"Well, you won't have to go looking for her after all," Yuri remarked, pointing behind Deirdre and Chrysalis.
I peered over the girls' shoulders to see that Yuri was right. Nevada was walking in, Prosecutor Lin in tow. Nevada was connected to her adopted mother by Prosecutor Lin's hand, which was clasping her shoulder gently. It was a sight I never expected to see, but I was happy to be there to witness it. I felt a small smile creep its way across my face, and I didn't know how to fully express my joy at seeing them together like that. How sweet it was to see...
"Hey there," Mr. Morix said, waving Prosecutor Lin and Nevada over. "We were just talking about you."
"What?" Nevada asked, looking up at him with a raised eyebrow. Despite the drastic height difference, she didn't seem scared of him at all. I was impressed with that, to be perfectly honest. When I had first met Mr. Morix, I had been intimidated since he was so tall, and I was far from meeting his height. Nevada was a lot more gutsy than I had expected... Granted, I don't know what I had expected in the first place, as she was a bit of a special case. After all, what killer wouldn't be gutsy? Even in this case, when the phrase 'killer' didn't really have a bad connotation, I still found myself staring at her in surprise. She truly was an enigma...
"We just wanted to say how thankful we are for what you did at the time of the murder," Deirdre told her with a small, warm smile.
Nevada glared up at her. "You again! Hey, let's make one thing clear, tall one! I'm not your friend. You pressed me when I said I didn't want to be pressed. Court of law or not, that's against the code every human should know! If you want to be my friend, you'll have to make it up to me, and I doubt you'll be able to do that for quite some time. You dug this hole for yourself, and you'll have to live in it now," she told Deirdre. Her words were coming out at a million miles an hour, and I was lucky to be able to comprehend them as they were coming out of her mouth.
Deirdre looked down at the girl with wide eyes. Of all the responses she had expected, that sure hadn't been one. She blinked a few times before letting an awkward smile appear on her face. It was one of the few times I had seen Deirdre looking so opposed to social interaction, and it was odd to witness. Part of me wondered if I should even be staring at her in this state. Even so, I kept looking, unable to tear my eyes away. A little voice in the back of my head told me to take a picture of this while I still had the chance, but I couldn't bring my fingers to reach for my phone.
"We are rivals from this point out!" Nevada proclaimed boldly, placing her hands on her hips. Once again, fearlessness was in her eyes, and I was impressed with her a second time in two minutes. "Until next we meet, tall one!"
Deirdre stared at Nevada with confusion for a few seconds longer before holding up her hands in surrender and taking a step back. "I think I give up," she said, sighing to herself. "One of you can talk to her now. I don't think she would listen even if I was going to compliment her... After all, I am her 'rival' now."
Chrysalis let out a small laugh to herself. "I don't know how I expected this conversation to end, but I didn't anticipate it would go in that direction... Nevada, thank you for what you have done. It truly means a lot to everyone here. I don't know what we would do without you, but I doubt things would have gone well had you not been present to eliminate Cormous... If that even his real name, which I somehow doubt," she told Nevada. "The point is, we all really appreciate what you did, and if you ever find yourself needing something, we're happy to help you out. I somehow doubt you're going to turn around and suddenly become a horrible person after what you did to save countless lives, so we'll support you no matter what."
Now, it was Nevada's turn to look at somebody in surprise. "Wow... That's a lot nicer than I expected you to be," she said, still not tearing her eyes away from Chrysalis. "I do have to ask though... Have we met before?"
Chrysalis looked at Nevada for a moment before furiously shaking her head. "No... Never. We've never met before now. I didn't even realize you existed up to this point, so how could we have met if I wasn't aware of your existence? I wouldn't even say I'm particularly close to your other side," she told Nevada. I couldn't see any signs of panic on her face or in her voice, but her shoulders got weirdly tense out of nowhere. It was concerning, to say the least. Was she lying about this? If so, why did she feel the need to hide the truth?
Nevada didn't seem bothered by it though. Instead, she shrugged her shoulders loosely. "Cool... Mama, can we go home? I'm tired," Nevada remarked, looking up at Prosecutor Lin. When the eye contact broke, I saw Chrysalis' posture collapse in on itself in relief, and I frowned to myself. Judging by the look on Deirdre's face, she had noticed it as well.
Prosecutor Lin nodded with a pleasant smile. "Alright. Sure. I'll see you all later. Have a nice rest of your day," Prosecutor Lin said. She took Nevada's hand in her own and started to walk towards the door.
Everybody in our little cluster waved back. I watched as she disappeared before turning to Chrysalis. I pulled up my pointer and middle fingers to make a gesture to Chrysalis, showing her that I was watching her. She looked at me with an unreadable expression for a moment before looking away, focusing her attention back to Mr. Morix.
"Perhaps we should follow her lead. We all have other places to be now for sure," Yuri remarked. "I know that I want to go home and rest after all that... Plus, I need to be ready for tomorrow. Now that the traitor has been taken care of, we're allowed to go into the agency again for work. That means I need to be nice and rested for my first day back on the job."
I nodded, a bright smile appearing on my face. "Yeah... You're right! We can finally go back to how things used to be!" I exclaimed, resisting the urge to pump my fist into the air in excitement. I didn't want to cause a scene in the middle of the courthouse though, so I kept my hand down. "I'll see you all later!"
In the moments that followed, everyone bid each other farewell before heading off in their separate directions. I couldn't help but smile to myself on the way out. Things were finally going back to normal after weeks of endless suffering.
I finally had a place to call my second home again, and I couldn't be happier about it.
April 25
Unknown Location
Unknown Time
Unknown Perspective
I walked into the living room of my home once again, a woman at my side. I hadn't been able to be in there with her in longer than I would have liked, but life was back to normal now. Everything was returning to the way it had been before this mess kicked off, and I couldn't keep my smile off my face. She seemed to be much the same way, something I realized as we sat down on the couch next to each other.
She nestled up against me, placing her head in the crook of my neck. I hugged her tightly, relieved to have her in my arms again. It had been too long since we had been given the chance to hold each other like this, even if in the grand scheme of things, it hadn't been a horribly long time. However, we were both naturally affectionate people, and even a short period of time without one another felt excruciating.
"I missed you," I told her, unsure of what else to say on the matter. I mean, she knew that I missed her, so she didn't need to hear it from me, but at the same time, I got the feeling she liked hearing it. In a way, it was reassurance that I still cared about her after the mess that our lives had been thrown into over the course of the past few days.
She smiled and pressed a brief, sweet kiss to my cheek. I held her a bit closer, if that was even possible, closing my eyes and letting the silence speak for itself. Sometimes, silence can speak louder than any words ever could. Declarations of love mean nothing if the quiet can't say all that you're thinking when nobody wants to talk.
"Are you ever going to introduce yourself to them?" she asked softly. "It seemed as if you were avoiding them the entire time we were there, honey."
I paused for a moment, unsure of how to respond to that. I didn't want to make her unhappy by giving an honest answer, but I didn't want to tell her that I was going to come forward about it either. After all, each result was bound to end in disaster some way or another, and I wasn't eager to plunge into the messiness that awaited me.
She didn't wait for a response. Instead, she squeezed my hand a bit tighter. "That's okay... Take your time. I know that you make all your decisions meaningfully, and I trust you with what choices you make. You're an adult. You can think for yourself without me forcing it down your throat."
I swallowed the sob that threatened to rise in my throat at her kind words. "Thank you."
"You're welcome," came her gentle reply.
And in that moment, I was the happiest I had been in a long time. I didn't know how else to describe it, but that moment was perfect bliss, and I wouldn't give it up for the world.
THE EXPLOSIVE TURNABOUT
END
We love God Shattering Star for urging me to type with its boss ass melodies
-Digital