"How dare you!"
The doors slammed open as a frustrated Manny stormed into the viewing room, now filled with many of the Moon Sentinels who were stationed all over the world to oversee and protect the mortal realm.
"Man in Moon! What is the meaning of this?"
He turned to see the proud African king Lisa striding his way in replescent in his bright blue agbada, heavily laden with polished gold and precious metals. Held firmly in his hand was a simple clay staff and transformed into an elaborate staff engraved with details of the Moon along with Lisa who smoothly transformed into his sister counterpart Mawu midstride. She was similarly dressed in a purple dashiki and matching held wrapped neatly around her head. Mawu placed a gentle hand on Manny's shoulder, clearing some of the more livid thoughts on how to deal with that backstabbing trickster.
Clearing his throat and straightening his robes, Manny strode further into the room with a stiff bow of his head.
"Apologies to my fellow Sentinels for my emotional arrival, but I have an urgent matter I wish to discuss with you today. That," pointing angrily at the smug Rabbit, "rabbit has meddled into my dominion and sabotaged my Guardians. I seek punishment from the Moon Council so that I can fix what he has done."
Mawu/Lisa stared thoughtfully into the viewing bowl. "It seems...that the Council must convene. Circle one and all, for a fair trial to take place. The Earth and all her inhabitants, spirits and mortal alike, will all count upon the results of this matter at hand. May the accused Moon Rabbit and accuser Man in Moon come forth?"
As Manny moved to the center, the room expanded outwards as stands elevated in a circle around the viewing bowl and by the time Manny stood across the viewing bowl from the Rabbit, the rest of the presiding Council had taken their seats elevated above the court floor.
"May the Council oversee and judge this trial with fairness and justice in mind. Man in Moon, Moon Rabbit, do you vow to speak your story without omissions or half-truths, but only the whole truth?"
"I vow." two voices intoned.
"Then drink from the basin and may the trial begin."
Both dipped a hand and paw respectively into the basin and raised the shimmery liquid to their lips. Drinking the liquid was like swallowing moonlight, cool and mystical, a powerful feeling of tides and the icy expanse of the universe seemed to reside in the liquid as it slid down their throats. After many centuries of either being part of a trial or watching from the stands, both moon deities knew that they themselves would now glow as if the Moon itself was within them and that any attempts of avoiding or omitting the truth would be shown through their brightness level.
"Now, I wish to understand the argument between you two. Man in Moon, please tell us the full story and your grievance." spoke the gruff voice of Soma who sat next to Mawu/ Lisa and peered curiously down at the two, brown eyes shining with wisdom from his weathered face.
Though no singular being was in charge, Soma, being one of the older deities alongside Mawu/ Lisa and Chang'e, often led trials and were sought out for their counsel from the other deities. Because of this, the normally mischievous Rabbit kept silent as Manny began to speak.
"As you all are probably aware of, a devastating conflict had occurred between my Guardians of which Harry Potter, now Merith Black the Master of Death and Kozmotis Pitchiner, now Pitch Black the Nightmare King had their child brutally taken from them by their fellow Guardians. In their grief, they lost sight of their job and in the midst of trying to console two of my Guardians while finding an appropriate punishment for the other four, this...this interloper interrupted and replaced my commands with his own. And now because of him, both of them are missing from my sight and their trust in me in shambles. This is why I seek justice from the Counsel."
On the other side of Mawu/ Lisa, a Chinese woman gazed scrutiny at Moon Rabbit. She was a beautiful woman with skin as pale at porcelain and flowing hair to her shoulders darker than the dark side of the moon. Around her neck, she wore the yang symbol as well as a toad charm that she absentmindedly toyed with as she spoke.
"Thank you Man in Moon. Indeed, this is a very distressing event and I find myself very curious to understand the cause for your intervention Moon Rabbit."
Withholding a flinch from being under the sharp gaze of the unimpressed goddess, Moon Rabbit began his story.
"I must first state this. My intentions were only to help a fellow Sentinel the best I know how. I know of your relationship with your Guardians is that of a parent and child, and I knew that you'd be deeply affected by this conflict between them." he said, the glow around him still bright and strong. "However, I've told you time and time again that the cursed general shouldn't be a Guardian; he's too dangerous and doesn't obey or even respect the authority of the Moon Sentinels. Those Fearlings that fester within your Guardian have finally overwhelmed him and look what he did! He nearly consumed the mortal realm with despair and darkness while you sat on your laurels thinking about how to spare your precious Guardian. So I did what had to be done. I ordered your more obedient Guardians to lock them away so that the realms could remain safe once more. So please, understand me Council when I say that I did this with the world's safety in mind." Moon Rabbit finished in a somber tone.
"Thank you Moon Rabbit. The Council must now make a decision based on what we've heard." murmured Chang'e as she flung her hand in the air, invoking a glimmer in the air that settled into a spherical bubble around Man in Moon and Moon Rabbit that blocked the rest of the Council from their ears and eyes.
There was an awkward silence between the two beings until Moon Rabbit spoke quietly.
"It was for the best interests of everyone involved, even that demonic Guardian that you favor."
Man in Moon stared determinedly ahead, face blank and emotionless as he awaited the Council's decision.
Flustered by the lack of reaction, Moon Rabbit continued, his words slowly beginning to tumble over each other. "This was the best course of action to keep everyone happy. It was for his own good that he's locked away; Manny, surely you can understand that?" he finished almost pleadingly.
Moon Rabbit was slightly anxious. He and MiM had been friends for over a millennia, before humans were even on the planet Earth for the protection of Moon Sentinels. They've played pranks and interfered in each other's business, including in each other's various Guardians over the decades. But when Kozmotis Pitchiner under the influence of the Fearlings stood where they were now standing after the Battle of the Moon and was placed under the care and rehabilitation of Manny, he saw his friend change.
As time passed, Manny became more protective of his Guardians, spending unnecessary time worrying over them like a fretting mother hen over her children. When his troublesome demon got in trouble, Manny treated it like he was merely a rebelling mortal adolescent instead of a former general turned Fearling puppet that had attempted to take over the stars. It had only gotten worse with the newest addition to Manny's Guardians and now nobody was allowed to interfere with them, not even Moon Rabbit. And to be honest, in the innermost recesses of his mind, he was jealous. In the process of taking care of his Guardians, Manny gradually withdrew from the other Sentinels and left Moon Rabbit alone and without his best friend.
Because of his trickster personality and the fact that he played pranks on the other moon deities, sometimes rather cruelly, many of them had long become wary and disinclined to trust him. So Moon Rabbit became envious and spiteful of Manny's Guardians and when an opportunity to free his friend from his unhealthy and self-imposed obligation to his Guardians, Moon Rabbit took it without hesitation. But now his best friend, only friend really, was furious with him and despite the fairness of this trial, Moon Rabbit knew no one really liked him and therefore nothing was in his favor. And as he prepared himself for the Council's verdict, he glanced one more time at Manny and briefly wondered what punishment could be worse than the loss of Manny's friendship.
The bubble quietly popped as both Man in Moon and Moon Rabbit solemnly looked up at the Council.
Chang'e started first, her gentle voice floating through the room. "The Council has discussed both sides of the story and the events that have led up to the situation and this is our decision."
Mawu/Lisa continued from there. "Man in Moon, Pitchiner Black has attempted several takeovers and has misused his powers; powers meant to protect the wellbeing of the mortals and the spirits. Because he is under your jurisdiction, the punishment for those actions will fall to you. However, in light of the current situation and examining the cause of this most recent siege against the world, he shall be pardoned under the condition that those Fearlings will be exorcised from his being; they cannot be allowed to stay any longer."
"But the effects it could have on him are unknown!" protested Man in Moon vehemently. "You're talking about something deeply rooted in his mind and center, if you take out the Fearlings, despicable as they may be, it could ruin the great man he still shows signs of returning to."
"That is a risk we're willing to make." Soma declared sternly. "You've avoided this moment for far too long, and the Council will no longer accept any of your excuses. We have allowed your rebellious Guardian to have free reign, but the safety of the realms can no longer be under threat. This is our ultimatum; it is far more lenient than it would have been under normal circumstances, do you agree?"
Man in Moon stared back at the Council unflinchingly. "I won't agree to the terms until I hear what sentence you're giving Moon Rabbit."
Glances were exchanged between Council members before Mawu/Lisa acquiesced.
S/he turned her ancient eyes to the twitching Rabbit who froze under her gaze.
"Moon Rabbit," she said slowly, "your trickster games have placed you in this spot before us numerous times over the past millennia, but never has the consequences been this severe, to the point that several lives have been ruined. It appears that we have also been lenient with your behavior for far too long, so this punishment will encompass all your previous misdemeanors as well."
A proud Roman rose from her chair, steely gray eyes boring into the rabbit. Her voice rang clearly over the assembly as she stated Moon Rabbit's punishment.
"Your punishment, as agreed upon by myself and my fellow members have decided to temporarily strip you of your titles as Moon Sentinel and banish you to the mortal realm as a real rabbit, cursed to die and live again until proper compensation the torment and anguish you have caused others."
Moon Rabbit's got wider with every word, and as the Roman deity began finishing her declaration, the frantic rabbit began pleading with the Council, desperately pawing at MiM's robes for a show or mercy from his lifelong friend. But his cries went unheard and for all his pleading, MiM remained like a statue, unmoved and uncaring of Moon Rabbit's sentence. A bloodcurdling scream left the Rabbit's mouth as a painful tug at his center, his power and immortality. His ethereal white fur began to dull as his decorative robes vanished, his mochi bowl and pound stick falling to the floor with a clang. He fell to the floor on all four legs as he began shrinking, his screams tapering off to the squeals of a frightened animal, uncomprehending of the world around it. The rabbit cowered in its spot until with a flick of her hands, Chang'e whisked it off to the mortal realm.
A flicker of sadness saw could be seen in MiM's eyes, but if any Council member saw, they kept silent as they got back to the case at hand.
"Wasn't that rather lenient of the Council?" said MiM. "He no longer has the same intelligence as he did when he was a deity, won't it merely feel like a long nap before he resumes duty?"
Soma, creator of the elixir of immortality, smiled vindictively as he replied. "Not to worry Man in Moon, our dear Rabbit friend will remember everything once he's given his power. And just so we get our little rabbit back quicker, a few of us have made sure that some of his rebirths are located in very interesting places like Europe and China; I hear the mortals there are very partial to rabbit. Rest assured that he will have received the proper punishment for his...pranks, once this is all over with. But never mind him right now, we've given the Rabbit his sentence; will you comply with yours?"
"For the best interest of my Guardian,...I will comply."
Mowa/ Lisa continued from there, gracefully raising his arms as the doors to the room were opened and the unconscious body of Kozmotis Pitchiner was levitated in. He was brought to a stop next to MiM who glanced at him with poorly concealed worry before staring back at the Council.
"Very good, very good." muttered Mowa/ Lisa as he examined MiM's unconscious Guardian for what felt like hours, but was merely a few minutes.
"I have a suggestion." she said abruptly, switching her intense gaze to a bewildered Man in Moon. "I know you are still thinking of a fitting punishment for those four Guardians that started this, and I have a great idea."
Her accent began to thicken and slur slightly in her excitement as she told MiM and the Council of her idea. "Firstly, you will have no contact at all with the Guardians on Earth while we find a way to purge Pitchiner of this dark plague. Once he is free of Fearling influence, we will stage his 'escape' to the mortal realm where he will be allowed the attempt to take over and teach his fellow Guardians a lesson and punishment in one. As long as none of the Guardians are killed, it should make a suitable compensation, agreed?"
The silence in the room was stifling for all the Council members as they awaited the Man in Moon's response.
"I agree."
I know this feels like a filler chapter after a long, painful drought and it might not even be that great, but I wanted to put this out and as I continue trying. I hope you've enjoyed this story, and thank you for those who've been so patient with me and those who are new to this story. It's soon reaching its conclusion so please be patient with me. Thank you!