The Trial of Geoffrey St. John

(Theme song - Pokemon Journey: The Series (Season 23) - English Dub Opening)

(Abigail's POV)

*Practically everyone in New Mobotropolis & Knotehole had gathered at the Civic Center in New Mobotropolis for the trial of Geoffrey St. John. I sat in the stands with my family, Lacey, & her family. King Nigel sat at his throne with Naugus standing behind him. Antoine stood in the middle of the room, holding a pile of papers. Geoffrey sat on a stool with two guards on either side of him. Two male grey kangaroos with purple eyes sat at the judge's table. One of them banged his gavel*

Note: I can't tell who's who with Hip and Hop, so I'm just guessing.

Hip: Order, order, please. Honorable Judges Hip and Hop will pass judgment in today's case . . .

Hop: With King Nigel presiding. Commander D'Coolette will prosecute . . .

Hip: . . . While the defendant has elected to be his own defense.

Ixis Naugus: Hmph. Let's get this over with.

Antoine: Certainly ze Royal Wizard is not opposed to justice, hmmm?

Ixis Naugus: Bah! *Nigel sent him a glare over his shoulder* I mean . . . Of course not.

Antoine: Now, zen . . . Commander Geoffrey St. John of ze Royal Secret Service. You are charged with treason. How do you plead?

Geoffrey St. John: Not guilty.

Robert: Baloney.

Laura:*whispering* Robert, hush!

Antoine: You served in ze Rebel Underground and Secret Service, both in service of King Nigel, non?

Geoffrey St. John: I led them, yes.

Antoine: And you assisted Ixis Naugus in trying to take ze throne, oui?

Geoffrey St. John: Yes. An apprentice must serve his master.

Antoine: Zen ze case is shut-and opened! You are guilty!

Geoffrey St. John: Naugus has been the rightful King for years! I served him long before I worked with King Nigel!

Antoine: Since you have not seen fit to tell how you came into service to anyone over ze years, perhaps you will fill in ze court now?

Geoffrey St. John: . . . It was during the Great War. My Father was killed by Overlanders on a mission for King Acorn. I was going through his belongings, namely those from his investigation of Warlord Kodos. That's when I found an Ixis Artifact . . . *he explained how he found an amulet that allowed him to talk to Naugus when he was trapped in the Void* I gathered plans and manuals from my Father and other Generals to train by and to prepare for Naugus' return. Just as predicted, Dr. Robotnik turned on the Kingdom and conquered the city. The King and Queen's whereabouts were unknown. I headed west. By day I trained by my Father's manuals and learned Ixis wind magic by night. That is, when the Void wasn't disrupting the messages. It was a . . . Struggle to learn on my own. Then, came the big turning point . . . *which was when Naugus somehow got free from the Void* Easier said than done, right? Thanks to the materials I'd taken, I knew where to look for recruits. *by "recruits" he meant his Dad's old comrades* I whipped the Rebel Underground into shape, and we worked our way east. Eventually we linked with the Knotehole Freedom Fighters and, well, you know the rest.

Antoine: If you were truly helping zis Ixis all along, why did you help rescue ze King and Queen from ze Void?

Geoffrey St. John: The Void was falling apart around us. I did what I could to stabilize the Void and save my Master.

Antoine: After we reclaimed ze city from Robotnik, a probe was sent into ze Void. It freed Naugus and his minions. Obviously your meddling. Why did you not side with him zen?

Geoffrey St. John: Because my Master is about as subtle as a brick. Before I sabotaged the probe, I told him coming on too strong wouldn't go over well.I kept up the charade so I could salvage the situation, and he allowed me to continue my tactics while he did his thing. And anyway, I was right to do so. Nigel confirmed Naugus' claim. But Sally refused to accept it. Things only deteriorated from there, then Sonic and Tails chased Naugus off to the Southern Tundra and he got sealed in the Void again. So I set about building a stronger Kingdom for him to return to.

*Sonic & Tails did a fist bump*

Antoine: You also handpicked ze roster for your new Secret Service.

Geoffrey St. John: Right . . . What if it?

Antoine: Two former Badniks, an unknown agent from Angel Island, a foreign Freedom Fighter, and ze women responsible for nearly killing Princess Sally. Any one of them could have easily been framed for actions against the Kingdom due to their pasts or unknown statuses!

Geoffrey St. John: Heh. Pretty devious. But knowing Valdez from my time abroad, I doubt it'd easy to pin anything on that Shinobi Clan spy.

Antoine: Oh? And yet he was ze only one roboticized. Convenient, huh?

Geoffrey St. John: He was a good man, and he fell while protecting the people. Don't belittle his sacrifice by blaming me!

Antoine: You appointed yourself Prince Elias' advisor when he returned to ze Royal Family. Under your direction, Sonic - Ze Hero of Mobius - lost his Knighthood! Elias driven from ze title of Prince. You were obviously attempting to undermine ze Royal Family.

Geoffrey St. John: And after that, the Kingdom of Acorn grew into something respectable. Everything I did benefiting the Kingdom itself and set it up for the true King. With all due respect, the authority of the Prince and Princess was never legitimate. But - their image kept the Kingdom under control.

Antoine: And your marriage to Hershey Cay was all part of ze ruse, zen? She was another pawn in your little game?

*Suddenly, Geoffrey jumped up & screamed at Antoine*

Geoffrey St. John: DON'T YOU DARE BELITTLE HER, YOU POMPOUS - !

*Everyone looked surprised at his outburst*

Hop: Order! Order in the court!

Hip: The defendant will control himself during these proceedings!

Geoffrey St. John: Of . . . Of course. But you have to understand. She saved me when I was at my lowest. My team had been destroyed. Naugus had gone silent. I guess he had gone silent. I guess he was busy fusing the Zone of Silence and the Void. I had failed my missions and as a Secret Agent. Hershey had been my best student. She learned everything I had to teach about being a Secret Agent. And then she taught me. How to love. How to live for more than the mission. She was my partner - in life as well as in the field. We were married at gunpoint, and it somehow felt . . . Right. She . . . Was my equal. She was my everything. I felt . . . Free, like I suddenly had a new direction in life.

Antoine: . . . And what happened to her?

Geoffrey St. John: With just the two of us left, we had to split up. I spent time in the United Federation's territories while she followed activity in Soumerca. When she went silent for too long, I investigated. The Felidae eventually gave me the information I needed. She'd been living among them to spy on the local . chapter. She . . . Died while under cover. I investigated the scene myself. I combed the area for days. I . . . Just couldn't find any trace of her. I had lost the only other direction in my life. I knew Naugus was free. I'd seen how close we were to losing everything to the Iron Dominion. So . . . I went back to complete the other purpose in my life. But all of that is beside the point. Naugus has been the rightful King for years. I've served him since I was a child. I'm not guilty of treason.

Antoine: Naugus' position as Royal Wizard was not recognized until a few days ago! Ze accused admits to stealing documents before ze attempted Coup D'etat - including those belonging to my late Father - and to actively trying to undermine ze reign of our King without making his true allegiances clear! He is guilty!

*Hip & Hop whispered to each other for a few minutes & then they came to a decision*

Hop: We, the Judges, are in agreement the defendant was pretending to serve the active authority while working against it.

Hip: The ends do not justify the means. We find Commander St. John guilty of treason.

*Everyone erupted into cheers*

Sonic: Woo! In your face, ya jerk!

*Bunnie hugged Antoine*

Bunnie: Well done, Sugar-Twan!

*Elias shook Antoine's hand*

Elias: Well done, Commander!

Antoine: Thank you, Your Maj -

King Nigel: Ahem! Court is still in session . . . And according to the Constitution, Section L, Paragraph 75, "The King is granted one annual pardon that does not require the ratification of the Council." Therefore, as King I formally pardon the defendant.

Ixis Naugus: I believe justice has been served and the matter settled.

*Everyone was shocked by what we had just heard*

Lacey: Wait . . . What just happened?

Abigail: Antoine won the case, but Geoffrey gets off scot-free!

*Antoine crushed the papers he was holding in frustration*

Bunnie: Easy there, Hon. You did your best there.

*After that, everyone left the Civic Center*

Sonic: And today had such a promising start.

Tails: I hate to say it, but it looks like we can't do anything about Geoffrey and Naugus for now. We should focus on helping Nicole and rescuing Sally.

*As we walked out, I noticed the King holding his head like he was in pain. I then made eye contact with Naugus & he gave me a sly grin as the Chaos Emerald on his staff glowed*

Note: Do any of you have any theories on what happened to Hershey? If you do, I'd love to read about them in the comments.