Hello!
Well, that last one was longer than normal! I'm glad though, and I hope you enjoyed it.
I really do appreciate you guys for sticking with this story. It's been a long and not always cohesive tale (at least for me) but still, I'm glad I've made it.
The epilogue will be uploaded shortly, and I hope you have enjoyed this adventure.
Sincerely,
Gatekeeper
At the courtroom, Day of the Trial
Eggman was stunned.
"Why bring this up now?" he thought. "Isn't it far too late, to announce it here at the court?"
He had hoped, of course, that perhaps his confession to Sonic would yield some mercy. That he could possibly rectify his mistakes.
But now he sat, the Princess announcing her own testimony and pleading for his life. It was a surreal experience.
However, it came too late. A second witness would be needed to correlate the story, and another testimony needed to cement the evidence of a recent change to provide enough leverage to sway the courtroom.
Surveying the sea of stunned faces, Eggman felt his heart drop.
No one would come to his rescue. Just like always.
He stiffened, putting on a stoic expression.
"Very well. If this will be the outcome, then so it will be. I'm done running."
The murmurs grew as the people came back to their senses and as the Princess sat down again. The whole courtroom was ablaze in whispers as they tried to understand the request from the Princess.
A quick tock of the gavel brought the room to quiet once more as all turned eyes to the judge.
He heaved a sigh before continuing. "This is... unprecedented, to say the least
As they did, a figure rose from the crowd, drawing the gaze of those around her. "Excuse me, I have something to say."
Eggman looked as well and felt his heart stop for a second.
Vanilla the Rabbit stood bravely facing the crowd.
Vanilla the Rabbit stood trying to keep her knees from knocking together.
"This is a terrible idea why did I do this!"
The crowd was suffocating, this was too hard. What could she possibly do?
"You can still try."
An old memory shot through her mind, and she manged to hold onto it, as it unfolded.
"I can't do it!"
She was younger, too young to be doing what she was about to. But old enough to know it was also a bad idea.
The ground seemed to swim beneath her from the limbs of the peach tree.
"You can still try." A voice called from above calmly.
She looked up, and saw the smiling face of her friend Riesling the Rabbit a few branches above.
She shook her head and that familiar fear began to over take her again.
"Wh-what if I fall?" she asked.
The smile disappeared as a quiet look of seriousness overtook Riesling's face. "I swear, I won't let it happen. You'll be safe as long as I'm here, Vanilla. I can promise you that."
A flutter erupted in Vanilla's chest, along with a sudden warmth in her face. She looked away before returning his gaze with a nod.
"Okay."
With a deep breath, she lunged for the next branch, feeling herself slipping from her own precarious perch.
She felt gravity start to pull her back, even as she reached with all her might to grasp the branches around, and started to yell.
It was cut short as a strong yet gentle grasp locked onto her wrist, keeping her stable long enough to scramble up.
She opened up her eyes again to see Riesling look at her worriedly before settling himself on an opposite branch. He quirked a crooked smile.
"See? Looks like you can do it just fine."
Vanilla let out a deep breath and opened her eyes, surveying the courtroom before beginning.
"Some of you may know me, but my name is Vanilla the Rabbit," she said calmly "I am the mother of Cream the Rabbit and I was, like many of us here, a victim of Eggman's schemes."
She looked around, seeing some give nods of understanding as small whispers echoed in the room.
"But I am not here to talk about that. I am here to say the Eggman deserves this chance. Not only because of what he has done for our Princess, but also for myself. Eggman has shown he is willing to help others, even those who have the most reason to hate him, because he did so for me not just once... but twice."
She turned to the judge "I would like to share more of my case, may I do so?"
The judge frowned, mulling it over for a while. He eventually nodded.
"I suppose. We will need to reconvene another time for the trial and sentencing already due to the Princesses' request, I see no reason that we cannot use the remaining time for any who wish to calmly explain their cases for or against this proposed idea."
With a small bow she glanced around the room to Eggman, who sat astounded by the change of events.
She gave a slight smile before standing up straight. Cameras and microphone began to move closer in her direction, but she fought down the swelling nervousness and began again.
"You see, it all started one afternoon at Eastern Park..."