Before they entered the courtroom, Brenden spoke with the Pines family. "Alright, Brad will be giving his testimony. Judging by the case the defense is putting forward, Brad will likely say some things about Mabel that are…upsetting."

"Hasn't he already done that?" Poor Mabel said.

"Yes, he has and it's not right. Everyone in that courtroom knows it, but it's like his nasty lawyer said, he has to get his story out. And the only way he can even hope to make his story make sense is by dragging you through the mud. But I promise I will make sure they see right through him."

"The important thing is to remain calm and professional," Brenden said with a meaningful glance at the temperamental Stan. Stan grunted in reluctant agreement. Brenden put his hand on Mabel's shoulder. "Are you ready, Mabel?"

Mabel swallowed and nodded. Dipper took her hand while Stan and Ford put their hands on her shoulders as they followed Brenden back to the courtroom.

The trial was resumed, and Brad gave his testimony. "Mabel and I were talking, she gave me her number and stuff. She was totally flirting with me, and her uncle could tell so he kept glaring at me."

Stan happened to be giving Brad that exact same glare this very moment. He whispered under his breath, "Maybe cause you were acting like a creep."

"Mabel wanted me, but she couldn't show it in front of her uncle. So she told me to come sneak into her house later that night. We're started to, you know, get going…"

Brad made the briefest of eye contact with Mabel. The anger and spite he conveyed in that short moment were enough to make Mabel shiver. Ford noticed this and put his arm protectively around her.

"Then her uncle came in. He got super pissed and freaked out on me. Mabel told him that I tried to rape her so she wouldn't get in trouble."

Mabel looked up at Stan with pleading eyes as though Stan could ever possibly believe Brad over her. Stan bent down and whispered in her ear. "Don't worry, pumpkin, nobody's buying this garbage."

"And then they tried to blame me for the fire. I was at home and the police were watching me the whole time. I had nothing to do with it."

Now that Brad's testimony was finished, Brenden was permitted to cross-examine him. "Mr. Edwards, if your claims are true and your acts with Miss Pines were simply consensual, I must ask why you felt the need to bring weapons such as a knife and a gag?"

"She asked me to." Brad actually had the balls to smirk at the lawyer. "What can I say? She just likes it kinky."

Ford had to keep both hands firmly on Stan's shoulders to keep him from charging Brad. Even though his own urge to rip Brad apart was growing stronger with every passing moment. They both had to keep their hands on Dipper who was ready to charge the guy, despite being half his size.

"Mr. Edwards, do you honestly expect us to believe that a thirteen-year-old girl would have the ability to communicate such mature desires?"

Brad himself lost his temper at the lawyer's questioning. He was a boy who had never been told no in his life and was not used to things not going his way. "I am tired of everyone acting like this girl is so sweet and innocent. You can ask anyone who knows her; she's chasing a new guy practically every week. If she didn't want me coming on to her she should have told me so, but she didn't say that. She wanted to have sex with me but didn't own up to it when she was caught."

"It sounds like to me, young man, that you're the one not owning up to what you've done." Brenden himself was beginning to lose his calm hearing such a sick person trying to deflect blame to this sweet young girl he's gotten to know.

"It's not my fault! She asked for it! Don't blame me for giving her what she wanted! Blame her for being a little whore!"

Suddenly, a man came up from behind Brenden and charged at Brad. Brenden was about to tell Stan to sit back down but was shocked to see that it was actually Ford who had come running up on Brad and grabbed onto his shirt.

"You piece of shit! How dare you!" Ford hissed. He had tried to remain calm for his family's sake, but calling Mabel a whore had been the last straw for him. He extended his arm back like he was about to sock Brad in the face. Brad panicked and shielded his face.

"BAILIFF, REMOVE STANFORD PINES FROM THE COURTROOM!"

"NO!" Mabel came from behind the prosecution table and pleaded with the judge. "Your honor, please let him stay. He's sorry. Please don't make him leave. I need him."

Ford looked back at Mabel instantly regretting his behavior upon realizing he will be taken away from her. He let go of Brad and turned to the judge. "Your honor, forgive me. I lost my temper. I will not do so again. Please, let me stay with my niece. She needs me right now."

The judge glanced over at the girl. He sympathized with her. Even though he was supposed to be impartial, he knew in his heart who was telling the truth here. "This behavior in a courtroom is not acceptable, Mr. Pines, do you understand?"

"Yes, your honor." Ford bowed his head in contrition.

"Approach the bench," the judge commanded. Ford did so and the judge whispered to him. "I'm allowing you to stay for the sake of that little girl. But I will not tolerate another outburst like this, do you understand?"

"Yes, your honor. Thank you, your honor." Ford sat back down next his niece. "I'm so sorry, Mabel, forgive me."

"It's okay," Mabel couldn't be angry at Ford. She was too amused seeing Brad shaking and crying like a baby after the scare Ford gave him. But she did have a question for him. "I'm not a whore, am I?"

"No, sweetheart. Don't listen to him. He's just too stupid to think of anything else to say."

The two shared a quiet laugh as Brad left the stands.

Brad's defense attorney called the next witness, someone they didn't expect. "I call Ryan Scott to the stand."

"Ryan Scott?" Dipper whispered to Mabel. "Isn't he…?"

Mabel looked at the young man walking up to the stand. It was, in fact, one of the boys who burned down the shack and tried to kill her and her family.

"Mr. Scott, you and your accomplices have confessed to the burning down of the Pines' home, correct?"

"Yes."

"You and your accomplices were hired to do it, correct?"

"Yes."

"Can you point to the man who hired you to perform this act?"

Ryan pointed his finger. There was a collective gasp in the courtroom. Brad's defense attorney smiled smugly. "I would like it noted that the witness is pointing to Stanley Pines."

Stan was numb with shock. He looked around like he expected Justin Kerprank to pop out and tell him he's being Ker-Prank'd.

"Um...Brad...Brad didn't come up with the plot." Ryan glanced nervously at Brad whom he was clearly being prompted by. "The old man...the old man wanted to make sure that Brad was locked up for the rest of his life. So he paid us to set the house on fire and blame Brad so he would send Brad away and also collect some extra cash from the lawsuit."

"THAT'S A GODDAMN LIE, YOU SICK BASTARD, AND YOU KNOW IT!" Stan stood up no longer able to control his temper. This kid tried to murder his family and he had the balls to blame him for it.

The court began to erupt after that outburst from Stan. Mabel was crying. Hearing this horrible accusation being made against her uncle was worse than any insult they threw at her.

"Order! Order! I will have order in my court!" the judge said as he pounded on the gavel. "Mr. Pines, you will have the chance to defend yourself."

"I SHOULDN'T HAVE TO DEFEND SHIT!" Stan didn't care about swearing. He had never been angrier in his life. "THEY'RE TRYING TO DRAG MY FAMILY THROUGH THE DIRT AFTER ALL THEY PUT US THROUGH!"

"Mr. Pines! Sit. Down."

Ford put his hand on Stan's shoulder. He motioned his eyes towards Mabel who was looking at Stan fearing he'll get kicked out. He took a deep breath and sat back down. He didn't say another word until he was called to the stand by the defense.

"Mr. Pines, would you describe your young niece as flirtatious?" the lawyer asked with a slimy grin on his face.

"You already asked my niece that question, you idiot," Stan said growling.

"Is it too much to ask for some professionalism in this courtroom?" the lawyer asked the judge with a fake innocence.

"If you want to see it perhaps you should show it," the judge quipped back. "Mr. Pines, just answer his question."

Stan curled his hands into fist wanting to sock this slimy lawyer already knowing where he was going with this. "I would describe my niece as a perfectly normal, innocent, thirteen-year-old girl," Stan said through gritted teeth.

The lawyer stared at Stan as if he was trying to find a way to make him crack. "But as thirteen-year-olds go, would you say your niece is fascinated with young men?"

"No, I would say my niece has crushes just like anyone her age would."

"But children her age often began…certain acts that we adults may not like them doing."

"What's your point?"

"My point is maybe your niece isn't as innocent as you think she is."

Not since Brad has Stan met a person he wanted to strangle as badly as this slimy lawyer. He wanted to lunge over the desk and settle this with his fists. But he knew fists weren't going to convince the jury he was telling the truth. "No, she's not. Not anymore…because of him." Stan pointed at Brad with the most bitter of glares. "Her innocence was lost that night. I saw it in her eyes when I found her. You think she was having fun? I saw her. The look in her eyes was one I'll never forget. She was crying and scared. She cried into my arms and I had to hold her until she calmed down. I've seen her have nightmares. I've seen her have panic attacks. And you're gonna tell me my niece was having fun that night?"

The lawyer didn't have a reply. It was clear whose story was more sympathetic. He decided to change course. "Mr. Pines, you have quite an extensive criminal record, correct?"

"Objection, your honor! Relevance?" Brenden shouted.

The defense attorney explained, "Stanley Pines was accused by my witness of orchestrating the arson. His past criminal record is relevant to assessing whether this claim is true or not."

"Very well. Continue," said the judge.

"Mr. Pines, you have been guilty of many crimes: shoplifting, pickpocketing, forgery, tax evasion, teaching bears to drive, first-degree llama-cide, he even invented a new crime called 'burglebezzlement.' But the charge I find most interesting of all: insurance fraud."

Stan crossed his arms defiantly and glared at the lawyer.

"You stand to make big money if your business and home, the Mystery Shack, was burned down. And since you've shown a history of insurance fraud and other similar crimes, why should we disbelieve Mr. Scott's claim that you orchestrated this whole thing."

Stan took another deep breath. In a calm, matter-of-fact voice, he replied, "My family was in there."

"You've shown yourself to be a man of no ethics willing to scam people to make a buck. What's to say that you wouldn't risk your family's lives for a significant amount of money?"

Stan didn't know how he was managing not to kill this guy on site for accusing him of nearly killing his family. "Look, I'm no angel. I've done a lot of bad things in my life. Call me a scammer, a liar, a con artist. I won't argue. But the one thing I would never do is hurt my family. When the fire started, Mabel was downstairs. I had to go get her. I saw her lying on the ground. She wasn't moving. I didn't know if she was alive or..." Stan's voice broke. "I got her out. She was alive but in bad shape. She had to go to the emergency room and I never left her side." Stan's eyes began to water, but he held them back.

Stan looked the defense attorney directly in the eyes as his anger simmered. "And now you're going to stand there and say I did that to her? That I intentionally put my little girl through all that pain? That I tried to kill her? She flatlined that night!"

There were two gasps from the prosecution table. He looked over to see Mabel's hands over her mouth in shock and Dipper quickly wrapped his arms around his sister as though he feared death would try to take her a second time.

So much for keeping it a secret. But the cat was out of the bag now, so Stan continued his rant. He wanted Brad and his slimy lawyer to know what he's been through. "And I will tell you and your client this much, I hope to God that you never have to sit in the back of an ambulance where you watch your loved one die right in front of you!"

Finally, the tears spilled over. Stan's explosive rage transformed into something, quieter, sadder…but no less in emotional intensity. "For a few seconds, I thought I watched my baby girl die right in front of me."

Stan wiped his eyes and made his best attempt to steady his voice. "Watching someone you love go through that, I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy. Who, at the moment, is your client. He is one that did that to her. He's the reason I almost lost her that night."

The defense attorney was visibly shaken by Stan's response. He tried to think of a way to turn this in his favor, but his mind drew a blank. "No further questions, your honor."

Desperate for any straws to grasp, the lawyer decided maybe he can get the girl to fumble on the stand and cast doubt about his client's guilt. "I call Mabel Pines to the stands."

"Objection, your honor! Has my client not been through enough questioning already?" Brenden didn't want to subject the poor girl to any more suffering at the hands of this slimy human being who, unfortunately, shared his occupation.

"Need I remind you Mr. Michaels that your client has accused my client and just like you have a right to question my client, I have a right to question yours."

"It's okay, Mr. Michaels, I'll be okay," Mabel said forcing a small smile. Brenden didn't like letting her go, but there was nothing he could do to stop Mabel from being forced on the stand once more.

"Now, Miss Pines, you stated earlier that you do not personally know the three boys who set fire to your home, correct?"

"Correct," Mabel answered plainly.

"Now when you and Mr. Edwards were "talking" earlier did he mention any of these boys by name as his friends?"

"No, but we weren't talking very long."

"Now you are aware of your uncle's criminal history, correct?"

Mabel simply nodded.

"Would you say it would be completely out of the realm of possibility for your uncle to bribe people if he felt he had something to gain." the lawyer asked, determine to stump the child.

"No," Mabel answered without hesitation.

"Then is it really so absurd that your uncle would burn down your home for the insurance money?"

"Yes," Mabel said her anger growing. "Yes, it is, and I can tell you exactly why. I've heard a lot of bad things about Grunkle Stan, and some of it is true. But everything he's worked for, everything he cares about, it's all for his family." Mabel made eye contact with Stan and they smiled at each other over the familiar words that were said when her trust in him was put to the ultimate test.

"Grunkle Stan hasn't left my side since the night Brad attacked me. He's been scared for me, trying to protect me and look after me. He's sacrificed so much for me already. My Grunkle Stan loves me. He's…he's like a father to me."

Stan put his hand over his heart touched by Mabel's statement.

"So there's no way he would put me in danger," said Mabel. "There's no way he would set the Mystery Shack on fire with us still inside."

The defense attorney was taken aback from such a strong response from the girl who seemed so fragile the last time she was on the stand. Apparently, she was much more confident defending Stan's honor than her own. Trying to question her further would only dig his client's hole deeper. "No further questions, your honor."