The stage was set.
TV cameras were dotted around the courtroom, the place was packed with whispering spectators. Most of remnant were tuning in too watch from home, as the numerous defendants were brought out (one by one) to be given their judgement. Owing to the political and rushed nature of this "trial" not many of the defendants had time or resources to hire themselves good lawyers, and had to present themselves against screaming prosecutors, a silent jury and the stern Judge himself.
Usually each trial lasted between half an hour at the shortest, to a couple of hours at the longest. Evidence was based mainly around video footage during the riots, and how many students were caught acting unlawfully. However these were minor "crimes" compared to main event coming later on in the forms of Ironwood, and Ghira Belladonna's daughter, alongside the newly arrested Shade Headmaster.
"It's like a TV show, it's wrong!" Jaune exclaimed, from where he and Ruby were reserved a seat. As they volunteered to defend Blake. Ruby was appalled with what she heard, but she couldn't fully abandon her former team member, and she didn't want Blake to receive a life sentence.
And apparently neither did her sister, as Yang sat next to her and Jaune.
"Yang, I..." Ruby began.
"Are you okay?" Yang asked instantly. "I didn't know you were up. How's...?"
"I'm okay, walking's a bit of a pain, but I'll manage!" Ruby mused, as her older sister surveyed her, before pulling the younger girl into a bone-crushing hug.
"Yang!" Ruby exclaimed, her voice muffled by her sister's clothes.
"You had me worried!" Yang stressed. "First with Cinder, and then Neo almost... well if it wasn't for Oscar..."
Ruby sighed at this, knowing that Oscar had suffered serious injuries by saving her, while she was knocked out. She owed that boy her life, and when he recovered she was going to visit him for sure.
"So you're here for Blake?" Yang asked, as Ruby and Jaune nodded.
"I know we've spilt up as a team, but... I can't abandon her Yang." Ruby said. "I know Blake, she made a mistake. But she's not a bad person, I don't want to see her sent down for life!"
"I agree." Yang said, nodding her head. "And we're not the only one's, look..."
Ruby followed her sister's finger to see Ren and Nora sitting opposite them, Nora waved back enthusiastically, while Ren's wave was more stiff. Ghira and Kali Belladonna were sat awaiting their daughter's fate and would no doubt defend her.
"I just wish Weiss was here," Yang mumbled.
"She should be up in the next couple of days, that's what the doctors told us." Jaune said. "But what about you, Yang? How are you getting on?"
Yang smiled.
"I've been making some new friends, and keeping busy," she mused. "Do you know this place has a bar, they do some great Strawberry Sunrise's."
"Never had one, gotta be better than fish eyes at least," Jaune muttered.
"Hey!" Ruby snapped. "Don't knock them, they were nice!"
"Yeah, for you." Jaune muttered.
"Why I should...!"
Yang laughed at Ruby's furious expression, it reminded her of when they were little, and her sister was chase her around the house, swinging her fists. It was fruitless of Ruby to try and subdue her older (and much stronger) sister. But Yang found the effort adorable anyway.
"You haven't changed despite everything," Yang mused.
Ruby scoffed.
"Well, maybe I just needed some alone time." she said. "But... you know. If we get Blake out of this and when Weiss wakes up. I think we'll all be ready to reunite, that's if you want too..."
Yang's breath caught in her throat. Weeks ago she would have been desperate for Ruby to suggest this too her. And now it was being mentioned in causal conversation as though nothing major had happened. Yang didn't know what had changed... but maybe she had... maybe she'd calmed down somewhat. But for whatever reason being reunited with her sister and possibly having the team back together again was a dream come true.
"I'll have to apologise to Weiss, and wait until you're one-hundred per cent," Yang said. Keeping her cool. "Let's just hope we can get Blake out of this, before we plan anything."
"Yeah," Ruby muttered. Looking across the courtroom, she tried hard not to dwell on her former team-mate but looked out for familiar faces. She found Winter Schnee's bob of white hair easily, who was sat near to the front of the courtroom, her face grim and her eyes unmoving. The eldest Schnee looked tense and not as prim and proper as usually would.
"She's defending Ironwood, isn't she?" Ruby asked of Yang, who slowly nodded. Before Yang lowered her voice, so only her and Jaune could listen to her.
"Well we got into an argument a few days ago, me, Winter and Qrow, you know how she's the Winter Maiden now?"
"Yeah."
"Well don't you think it's about time, she used her powers to help us?"
"But... wouldn't she reveal her identity that way?" Ruby asked.
"I know. But it's not like, she doesn't have any protection, or can look after herself." Yang argued. "Besides, you almost died because she didn't act. Could you honestly see her keeping her identity a secret forever?"
"Well she has to try, if Salem finds out who she is... she'll have access to all of the relics." Ruby said.
"But..."
"It's tricky, I understand where you're coming from..." Jaune whispered. "But... I don't envy Winter. Must be a difficult position to be in."
"It explains why she looks so...tense." Ruby said, observing the Winter Maiden once again.
The first couple of trials weren't too eventful and every student accused of wrongdoing, was simply given community service in order to repair the damage. Or offer payment towards apparent victims and their "outraged family members", who screamed bloody murder, offering a few moments of drama.
"Pah! Compensation, that kid didn't even touch him!" Qrow snapped, this surprised Ruby who hadn't realised her favourite relative had snuck up behind her, with the rest of the ace-ops (minus Marrow) present.
"So, how ya feelin' kid?" Qrow asked of the silver eyed girl.
"Better," Ruby replied.
"Well that's good." Clover mused. "If Ironwood was still in charge, he'd already have you back and training with your silver eyes... but..." he finished there, his eyes dropping.
"You're here to defend Ironwood?" Ruby asked.
Qrow and the ace-ops nodded.
"Are you?" Elm asked.
"Well... no. We're defending Blake." Ruby said.
"But... she killed a man. Well, several people..." Harriet began to argue.
"I know, I heard." Ruby said. "But she was still my teammate and I believe she isn't a bad person. Aren't you defending Ironwood based on the same circumstances?"
"Eh, suppose you've got a point." Harriet said, leaning back in her seat. "And both our chances of success will be zero. Still worth a shot, don't you think?"
"Always," Ruby replied.
"Where's Marrow?" Jaune asked, looking around at them all and noticing their missing member.
"With his new girlfriend," Harriet said bitterly, seeing the confused look on Jaune's face, she simply said. "Our dearest Summer Maiden."
"Wait, what!?" Jaune exclaimed.
"Keep your voice down, it's not public knowledge yet." Harriet muttered, as another figure squeezed herself next to the ace-ops.
"Ruby!" Penny exclaimed, a little too loudly, which turned a few heads.
"Sorry," the android apologised. Before she whispered (still quite loudly). "I am so glad you are better! I hope we can hang out soon when everything calms down."
"Yeah, me too." Ruby said with a smile. "That's if Oz let's us have time off..."
Penny suddenly went quiet, as Harriet openly scoffed.
"What's wrong?" Yang asked, noticing this mood-change instantly.
"Well... it's pretty fucked up. Let's just say that." Harriet said bluntly, before she lowered her voice. "Basically, you know how Theo was arrested yesterday?"
"I heard."
"Well, turns out he was blackmailing Ironwood, Glynda, Oz and Winter." Harriet said. "And..."
"Harriet." Clover said coldly. "I don't think..."
"Hey, come on we all know. We might as well tell them." Harriet said. "Assuming Bimbo-Blondie over here doesn't babble to the press again..."
"I've learned my lesson." Yang said earnestly. "Look, I won't tell anyone. I mean it this time. Tell us what's going on, why's it so messed up?"
"Well, Theodore wanted Oz and the others to back his students up in court, or else he'd release footage of a conversation between Winter and Ironwood. Where he basically calls her the Winter maiden."
"That's sick!" Jaune snapped. "Does he not realise what's at stake?"
"Well, he did it to defend his kingdom. If these three murders go down today, it's likely Vacuo will cut off all support from the other three Kingdoms. Some politicians even screamed about it being a declaration of war!" Elm explained.
"I read about that, but it can't be true." Yang muttered. "There are students from Vacuo, here. Right now. And they all seem fine..."
"Yeah, but the anti-Vacuo sentiment that's going around now, is pretty strong." Elm said. "So they'll cherry pick the worst from the Kingdom and make it out like that's all they are. Works effectively enough."
"Yeah, it sounds like the politicians are warmongering, on both sides." Jaune said. "I read the stories in my hospital bed the other day. I just don't understand why..."
"You need to take a class in politics, kid." Qrow grumbled. "Pretty obvious why they're doing this. Making a common enemy gains them support. Makes them look tough, keeps them in power. Same situation in Vacuo as well, if the world's against them, why blame themselves for everything going wrong in their Kingdom? It's the rest of remnant's fault you're starving, it's remnant's fault you can't get a job... etc... it's textbook."
"And the other Kingdoms will just blame Vacuo for their failures as well," Elm added.
"But Salem is on our doorstep...!" Ruby squeaked.
"Yes, I don't think anyone truly cares." Harriet muttered. "After all she's been smart. Keeping herself hidden, so why should people care about some imaginary Grimm witch? They care about where their next meal's coming from."
"I guess that makes sense." Ruby said. "But getting back to the point. Why was Theo arrested?" Ruby asked.
Harriet sighed.
"Well Ironwood, Oz and Glynda discreetly called for our help." Harriet explained. "To cut a long story short, thanks to my speed and Marrow's slow... we were able to grab the tablet off him and delete the footage."
"And...?"
"And Theo was pretty upset as you can imagine." Harriet muttered. "Oz didn't take his betrayal lightly, so not only did he order Theodore to be arrested. But arrested on a charge of well... false accusations."
"What?" Ruby asked, confused.
"False accusations, Ruby." Qrow emphasised.
"False accusations of what?"
"Well..." Qrow muttered, before Jaune's eyes widened.
"No."
"Yes."
"That's... that's..."
"I know. And it's not even the worst part." Harriet added. "Our dearest summer maiden and her merry band of misfits, turned on Theo! Saying they'd help Oz frame Theodore for the crime."
"But... why would they...!?"
"They're gold diggers, plain and simple." Harriet snarled. "Great news for Marrow I'm sure. But they knew Theodore would go down for his little stunt. So they jumped ship, no loyalty what-so-ever. She'd sell us out to Salem, no questions asked."
"And... you... you all just went along with Oz's orders?" Jaune snapped.
"What were we supposed to do?" Harriet inquired. "I didn't like it. Sure arrest Theodore for what he did. But frame him for rape? It's fucked up..."
"And you didn't let Oz know that's how you felt?" Jaune asked.
"What would be the point?" Harriet asked. "If he got rid of Theodore so easily, what's to stop him from making up something about me? Or any of you really. I don't know if you realise it yet, but Ozpin wants to keep the relics away from Salem at any cost, and in order to do that..."
"He has to keep Winter's identity a secret." Yang finished. "Even if it meant essentially losing Vacuo. Or destroying Theo's reputation..."
"But won't Theo just tell everyone Winter's the maiden to spite Oz?" Jaune asked.
"His Kingdom is being portrayed as savages, and once he's labelled as a rapist... well who's going to believe anything he says?" Elm muttered. "Oz took a risk with this. But he must feel this is the best way to keep the maiden and relics safe."
"But Leo already betrayed us, Ironwood's a murderer, and now to label Theo as a..." Jaune left the point hanging there, before glaring over at where Ozpin was sat on the other side of the courtroom.
"It won't look good for him," Jaune snarled. "Does he not realise that?"
"He'll find some way to make it work." Harriet muttered. "After all he's been doing this for thousands of years now. He's probably screwed over who knows how many people in his inner circle."
"Yeah, but the circumstances are different now," Ruby reminded her, also gazing at where Ozpin was sat. Whereas Glynda also looked tense, Ozpin looked strangely relaxed, which unnerved the silver-eyed girl.
"Do you think we made a mistake, bringing him back?"
This turned a few heads.
"Now the world knows his secret and the truth, things aren't going well..." Ruby muttered. "And well... I'm starting to think Ozpin will start sinking to Salem's lows in order to keep the relics safe."
"I don't think Oz, is... like that." Clover mumbled. "I mean... he refused to back up Theodore's killer students, while telling Theo he refused to sink to Salem's lows. He said that himself..."
"Maybe he's projecting," Jaune snarled. "After all he's not above being a hypocrite. Pyrrha wasn't ready to be a maiden, yet Oz pressured her into it..."
"C'mon kid, she agreed to it as well." Qrow reminded him.
"Only because Oz, suggested it!" Jaune snapped. "If Pyrrha was never offered the powers in the first place, she'd still be here."
"Perhaps," Qrow muttered. "But didn't Pyrrha fight Cinder even without the maiden powers?"
"If we weren't caught up in all of this, then we would have been somewhere else when Beacon fell," Jaune muttered, before his eyes softened. "But Oz did get one thing right after all. Maybe it really was best to keep us all ignorant. It was better that way."
"No."
Everyone turned to see it was Ruby who'd spoken.
"Salem's making her move, and if everyone stays ignorant, how are people supposed to know what they're fighting?" she asked. "It's tough, but I think the world needed to know the truth."
"Pretty speech kid," Harriet grumbled. "But the world doesn't want the truth. If they did this trial wouldn't be happening, but here we all are."
Ruby sighed.
"But..."
"Let's just focus on defending Blake," Jaune muttered, before Ruby could reply.
The trials dragged on for another couple of hours, Qrow provided a running commentary of cases. Many students involved (in Ruby and her uncle's eyes) had not used excessive force, yet relatives looking for a payday had twisted situations to suit their agenda's. Earning a slew of "Community service" or "Atlas will compensate you for wrongdoing," from the judge. The huntsmen or huntresses in question would leave the courtroom, either relieved (as they thought they'd be doing prison time), or shaken from the experience.
"Well, this will certainly inspire more people to become huntsman," Qrow muttered darkly, as a white-faced boy departed the courtroom. His verdict had been community service and a large payment made to his "victim" and his family, which Atlas would have to cover.
"Guess we'll have to cut more services to pay for all this," Harriet said. Ruby noticed that the hot-headed ace-ops member was becoming more frustrated with every passing trial. Yet despite this, Ruby herself was glad that none of them were being given jail time, despite the visible rage on the faces of the Journalists and politicians present.
However, after the fresh-faced students there were a few that had broken guidelines, hurt civilians or caused collateral damage. It was here that the judge began handing out the first sentences...
"10 years imprisonment, with no chance of parole."
"15 years imprisonment, with no chance of parole."
The cases were heating up, Yang (who'd been dozing off) had awoken with renewed interest. Across the courtroom, tensions began to mount. While Ozpin still looked relaxed, Glynda was now visibly red in the face and gazing at the ground, whereas Winter was sweating buckets. It was like a slow, tortuous build-up for the main events, with the press and politicians, waiting like vultures on the side-lines, being served their starters and waiting for the main course.
A group of Huntsman were found guilty of not only abusing their position of power during the riot, but also running a human trafficking circle, involving poor women from Mantle. They eyewitnesses and survivors of abuse gave powerful statements, and the video and collective evidence over the years that was presented to the judge was undeniable.
"I sentence the six of you, to life imprisonment, with no chance of parole!" the judge boomed. For the first time a look of fury was plastered on the old man's face, as the defendants looked scandalized.
"We didn't do anything!" one of the gruff men bellowed. "We were protecting Atlas and Mantle!"
"GOOD LUCK FINDING PEOPLE TO DEFEND THIS KINGDOM NOW WE'RE GONE!" Another one of them exclaimed, as they were led away.
"As long as you're not defending Atlas, then I'm happy." Elm muttered. "God, no wonder so many people hate us when idiots like that abuse their power."
"This is what I'm trying to say!" Yang exclaimed. "I get I was too heavy handed with you guys... but people like those men exist in your military! And you don't do enough to get rid of them!"
"I know, you don't need to remind us," Harriet said. "Believe me, if I could get rid of myself, I would. But I can't just go up to everyone without evidence, and men like that usually have a lot of influence and protection."
"But at least those guys are behind bars now," Ruby said, trying to put a positive spin on it.
"Yeah, but there's probably several more like that," Clover muttered, shaking his head. "This isn't gonna look good for Ironwood, with men like that under his command..."
He left that thought hanging, as the judge got to his feet.
"We'll be taking a short break, the court will resume in half an hour," he announced.
"Well, I need to stretch my legs, anyone want to grab a hot chocolate with me?" Yang asked.
Ruby's back had gone numb from sitting in the same place for hours, so much so that she felt pins and needles throughout her body as she followed her sister out of the packed courtroom and back outside onto the pristine silver decks of Atlas' higher levels. The silver-eyed girl was shocked to see the night sky above her, and feel the harsh gales of the distant tundra slap at her face as soon as she stepped outside.
"It was morning when we were led in here," Ruby said.
"I know," Yang replied, walking towards a nearby hot-drink stand. "Trial's really been going on for ages."
"And I haven't been to the bathroom once." Ruby muttered in awe of herself. "I should give myself a medal."
Yang chuckled at this.
"Or maybe you need another doctor," she muttered. "Unless you've been holding it in..."
"I haven't!"
"Sure, I believe you." Yang mused, clearly in good spirits.
"Well, if it helps. I haven't needed a restroom break, either." Penny said, coming up behind the sisters. "Although our circumstances are very different."
Ruby and Yang laughed at this, before they were joined by more company.
"RUBY!" Nora exclaimed, throwing the girl into a bone-crushing hug, (just like her sister had done). "Glad to see you're up and about! And ready to kick some ass!"
"I won't be, if you don't let go of me," Ruby muttered, struggling to breathe as Nora released her.
"Glad to see you're alright," Ren muttered calmly. Thankfully he kept his distance, which the silver eyed girl appreciated.
"So you're defending Blake too?" Ruby asked.
"Yep!" Nora confirmed with a bright smile. "But let's discuss this over some hot chocolate! I'm parched, I wanted Ren to pay for us, but he doesn't like hot chocolate, can you believe that!?"
"Sorry," Ren said, smiling never-the-less.
"I say we arm wrestle, the loser pays!" Nora announced to a determined Ruby.
"Hey, now come on...!" Yang said, interjecting as the big sister. "Ruby's arms are like chopsticks and she's just come out of hospital, that wouldn't be fair Nora."
"Hey come on sis, I'm fin...!" Ruby began to protest.
"No. We'll have a rematch!" Yang said, her eyes blazing. "You and me Nora, and this time I'll use my real arm."
"You're on!" Nora said, instantly accepting the challenge, as the two of them found a nearby table, and Ruby spectated them, offering a loud commentary. Penny and Ren stood back, Penny sighed to herself, noticing this, Ren decided to initiate conversation, something that wasn't his strong point.
"Hey, you ok?" Ren asked of the android.
Penny turned to face him.
"Fine," she mused. "I'm just wondering what hot chocolate would taste like."
"Oh... oh yeah you can't have it." Ren muttered. "Well... it's not that great. Too me anyway."
"Yeah, but I bet there's food and drink that are delicious, which I can't have." Penny muttered sadly.
Noticing that she seemed down, Ren decided to pry a little further.
"Are you okay?" he asked. "I know we don't speak often, but... you can tell me if something's wrong."
"I appreciate that," Penny said, looking over at where Ruby was stood. "Usually I would speak to Ruby, but she's happy now and I don't want to interfere."
"So, what's wrong?"
"Well..." Penny muttered nervously. "Ozpin is like me, isn't he?"
"What do you mean?"
"We're both... robotic," Penny muttered, looking down at herself. "And maybe I'm as heartless as he seems to be. If I'd have gone into that social club, I could have rescued the hostages, and Blake wouldn't be in the position she's in now."
"You did what you had to," Ren said.
"Everyone tells me that, but I still feel bad." Penny said.
"It can be difficult to step aside, believe me." Ren said, recounting his own memories. "But they'll come a time when you can fight. Recklessly throwing yourself into battle, isn't the smartest move. It's likely, Neo, Tyrian and Watts would have beaten you, had you gone in before calling for help."
"But..."
"I know, it's tough. But you did the right thing." Ren reassured her.
Penny smiled at him.
"Thanks," she muttered. "It's harder than I thought to follow orders, sometimes I wonder if I'm really doing the right thing."
"Well, that just shows you're not the robot you think you are." Ren said.
Penny smiled once again, however despite Ren's reassurance that she was a good person, was that really going to make a difference? Should she have put her foot down and told Ozpin she thought that he was wrong to arrest Theodore for such a heinous (and false) crime, one her innocent mind still didn't fully understand. She could be the best person, but would that matter if people were dying left and right because she was simply "Following orders?"
It made her wonder if she was the real "Protector of Mantle".
Before re-entering the courtroom, Ruby discovered after a hot chocolate that she did need a restroom break after all. Leaving Nora and Yang to arm wrestle themselves to death, "IT'S A BEST OF 5, 3 IS FOR WEAKLINGS!" Nora exclaimed in protest to Yang's victories. Ruby went towards the restrooms, passing by a swarm of people, talking amongst themselves, or discussing the upcoming trials.
"...Ironwood should get life. Don't care what anyone else says..."
"...Judge Reiner is fair. I can't see him getting paid off..."
"...Those Vacuo bunch should get life as well..."
"... Outrageous we don't know the full details of Theodore's arrest..."
"...I heard it was Tax Evasion..."
"...Corruption..."
"...Sexual Assault, I bet he's got some trafficking circle going on as well, they're all doing it..."
"...Miss Rose! Miss Rose!"
Amongst all the gossip, Ruby heard her name being called clearly, she turned to see three figures approaching her. A councilman she faintly recognised from the TV known as Cerulean Sleet. Alongside Blake's own parents who walked alongside him. Ruby heard the crowd around her quieten significantly, no doubt whispering amongst themselves while waiting for the latest developments.
"I'm glad to see that you're better." Sleet began, with a slick smile.
Knowing what he'd said to remnant and the problems he'd caused for Ironwood, prevented Ruby from greeting him in a friendly manner. However with such a large audience, (alongside Blake's parents) she decided to be civil.
"Yeah, I'm okay." she muttered.
"I guess you're defending your friend Blake?" Sleet asked, getting straight to his point.
Ruby nodded.
"Well, I've just been speaking to Mr and Mrs Belladonna here," Sleet mused gesturing at them. "And we just want you to know that we'll support you every step of the way. Blake did some terrible things, but we cannot ignore how awfully Faunus have been treated that led up to this. Don't you agree?"
"Um... Yeah I guess." Ruby said.
"Perfect!" Sleet mused, apparently not noticing or caring about Ruby's lacklustre answer. "Well, I'll see you back in there. Best of luck!"
With that the seemingly happy politician turned on his heel and left Ruby with Mr and Mrs Belladonna. The crowd began to lose interest now the leading political figure was gone and began to disperse.
"So... hi." Ruby muttered, looking up at Blake's parents. "Erm... nice to meet you. Well I saw you at Haven, but we didn't have time to get properly acquainted and all..."
The stern look on Ghira's face melted, and he broke out into a more genuine smile.
"Ah Miss Rose," Ghira mused, shaking her hand. "It is a pleasure to see you again."
"Yep." Ruby said. "I just wish it could be under different circumstances."
Ghira nodded, his face becoming grave once again.
"We even have to collaborate, with that snake," Ghira hissed, referring to Sleet no doubt. "I don't like it, not one bit."
"Come on honey," Kali muttered to pacify her husband. "I don't like it either, and it's clear he's only doing it to gain favour with the Faunus. But any support we'll take, if it gets our daughter a lighter sentence."
"I agree. But that doesn't make it easy," Ghira muttered. "Sometimes I wonder where we went wrong with her."
"It wasn't your fault." Ruby said. "Blake made her own choices. None of us could control that."
"But she seemed so passionate about helping the Faunus, and now..." Ghira sighed. "I just don't know how someone can change so fast. I still love my daughter, but she has to face the consequences of her actions. Only then can we all move forward."
"She's already suffering, she feels so much guilt..." Kali muttered.
"To every else her guilt doesn't matter, only a sentence will." Ghira muttered harshly. "I just... I never wanted this."
Ruby sighed.
"No, I don't think any of us did." she muttered.
Re-entering the court-room in lower spirits, Ruby tried to blot out the noise, whispers and restlessness of the crowd, but it was proving impossible. The atmosphere had now become electric due to the upcoming cases. The Judge (Reiner) sat down with a heavy look on his face and wearily opened his mouth to continue the trials, first to face the fury of remnant was... Blake Belladonna.
Ruby almost jumped out of her seat, Blake was first!? Surely... surely not, how had it come to this so fast!? She'd forgotten that she'd been sat there all day waiting for this.
She simply wasn't ready.
Neither were her sister or Jaune as they both looked alarmed as Blake (situated between two soldiers) was led to the defendant's box. She was wearing an orange jumpsuit, that sent her mother into a sobbing fit. Ruby tried to keep herself composed, this wasn't the Blake she knew.
Yet, the cat-Faunus was here, facing her crimes.
"Blake Belladonna!" the judge exclaimed. "You've been brought here today, under charges of first-degree murder, conspiracy to murder, and charges of corruption within your time in the Atlesian police force, do you plead guilty or not guilty to these charges!?"
Blake sighed, feeling the eyes of the world on her head.
"Guilty," she said, her voice small.
Raucous whispers broke out from behind her, she heard her mother wail, but didn't turn to face them.
She couldn't bear to look at their faces. As she did the prosecutor was brought in to tear whatever arguments she had to shreds, even though she had already pled guilty. There was no doubt the families of those that had died due to her actions, wanted to see her pay a harsher price for her crimes.
"On the 17th May, you killed a Mr. Gregor Smith, you've confessed to the crime, have you not?" the prosecutor (ironically a Faunus himself) snapped at her.
"Yes, I killed him." Blake said.
"But you stand by your statement that you were tricked by Neo?"
"Yes, I regret what I did!" Blake exclaimed back, "But...!"
"But you don't have any credible eyewitnesses do you?"
"Well...no..."
"And you callously killed him. You admitted to that yourself. How did we know you didn't torture him first before you killed him?" the prosecutor asked.
"I would never do that!" Blake exclaimed, her vision begin to blur with tears.
"Yet, your behaviour during your time on the police force makes a very bad case for you." the prosecutor said. "You arrested numerous humans, and if those trials had gone ahead, they could have faced lengthy spells in prison, for crimes they didn't commit. Crimes that you made up."
"I was told..."
"You had no evidence, you just decided to take justice into your own hands." the prosecutor said. Before he turned to the jury.
"I believe Miss Belladonna here has a long history of lying and manipulation. She was formerly a member of the White-Fang terrorist group. Then she kills Adam and probably feels as if she doing the right thing, and returned to her violent tendencies. I would ask you to give this girl a lengthy sentence in prison. She's been given far too many chances and squandered them all, she'll be a danger to society if she's allowed to go free today."
Blake was openly weeping now, his cutting words make her feel hollow inside. She didn't want to look around the courtroom, she didn't want to hear anything.
She just wanted it all to end.
But it didn't, it only got worse as witnesses were brought forward to testify against her.
"THIS BITCH KILLED MY SON!" A mother screamed. "SHE LET HIM DIE SO SHE COULD KEEP HER SERCETS AND SAVE HER FAMILY! SHE DESERVES DEATH! DEATH! DEATH!"
Her piercing voice cut through Blake.
"LOOK AT ME YOU CUNT!" The woman screamed. "LOOK AT WHAT YOU'VE DONE TO ME! AND OTHERS! I'LL NEVER FORGIVE...!"
"ORDER! ORDER!" The judge exclaimed, banging his gavel to no avail, as the courtroom began to erupt in shouts. The screaming woman was removed by security, she was still screaming out of the door, while Blake stood silently feeling like a block of ice, trying desperately to drown out the world. While holding her head down and observing the carpet below her.
"Miss Belladonna was never good at following orders while working for us," came the curt voice of the woman who was supervising Blake during her time with the police force. "I was warned about her vigilante actions, but she ignored us and committed an atrocity. She has helped to ruin relations between our force and Mantle and because of that she deserves nothing better than a sentence fitting to what she was going to give to innocent people."
"She had an attitude, what I can say?" Debnar (the truck driver of all people) testified. "She's a bad egg that one, doesn't surprise me too much that she's committed such a crime. Tried to tell her she'd end up like Adam, but she thought she knew better. Well I think it's best she faces the consequences of her actions."
"Well, some of my colleagues may disagree with my stance," Anna Bronson said, taking the stand. "But I'll make this short and sweet. Blake Belladonna is a spoilt little princess, who we're better off without."
"Blake, like many Faunus, succumbed to the darkness." Councilwoman Camilla muttered, shaking her head sadly. "Just like Adam Taurus, she's filled with hatred and anger. Only through giving this girl a harsh sentence will Faunus be better accepted in society. I beg the Judge and Jury to think of the people first, not the politics, or Faunus rights, but of the people and what's best for them."
"The prosecutor here is a Faunus, and I'm a Faunus." Marrow (of all people) said. "Camila has a point, that we want equality. And how can we achieve it, when the likes of Mr. Taurus, or Miss Belladonna here, represent us? We need to show the world that we've moved forward. That we're not all White Fang or FAH members. I really hate to do this, but... she must be punished for her crimes."
Blake felt empty after all these statements. She knew the prosecutor had made his point clear and the verdicts from people she'd been rude or disrespectful too had come back to haunt her. Strangely Ilia or Sun didn't appear to bash her, but that was of little comfort to the Faunus girl at the moment, as she awaited her pitiful defence.
As she had no money for a lawyer and didn't want one. She only expected her parents to defend her.
And they did.
"My daughter deserves punishment, but look at her!" Ghira shouted, gesturing towards his sobbing offspring. "She's not evil! She's not a bad person! She's made terrible, terrible mistakes! But she feels remorse from them! Would Adam Taurus feel the same!? I beg of you, as her defender and as her father, to please consider the good things she's done. She helped us at Menagerie, and I couldn't be prouder of her for it. I'm not asking you all to let her off freely, but use your hearts and offer her mercy."
Kali gave an emotional speech but was sobbing to hard to complete it. She sat and cried into her husband's chest. Blake expected that was the end of her meek defence.
But it wasn't.
"Blake... Blake is a good friend of mine." Yang said clearly to the packed courtroom, as Blake looked up at her former team member in shock.
How!? Why!? She didn't deserve this.
"We've argued and had our differences," Yang said. "But I've been just as terrible. Blake was led down a dark path. I truly believe that, as her team-member and her friend. I ask all of you to give her another chance. I know it's hard, but... take it from someone that knows her best, I believe she's a good person."
Blake was crying once again. Despite everything that was said... Yang was still sticking by her.
As did the rest of Team JNR, Jaune, Nora and Ren spoke highly of her. Even that politician Cerulean Sleet spoke up;
"I agree with Mr. Belladonna that there should be punishment, no one is denying that." he said. "And her friends aren't asking for her freedom, but just for you to have mercy and not cave in to media pressure." he continued.
"My own wife is a Faunus and I always hear the awful stories that occur in Atlas and Mantle towards people like her." Sleet muttered. "It doesn't excuse her actions. But are we going to continue to bury our heads in the sand and pretend this blatant racism isn't an issue? If Miss Belladonna gets a life sentence here today, what message will that send out? The AC and HAF will have a field day, Faunus will be scared to fight back, in fear of imprisonment. I ask you all to evaluate this case carefully before any rash decisions are made."
Blake didn't want to hope, but she couldn't help but feel a small, warm tingling in her stomach.
Especially as her team-leader took the stand.
Ruby gulped to herself, this was her moment. She blurred out the faces of the crowd in front of her and inhaled deeply, calming her nerves before she gave her speech.
"Blake Belladonna is my teammate and my friend," she stated clearly. "I know what she did was horrible, we all know. And I'll make no excuses for it. All I know, is she is a good person. She turned away from the White-Fang when Adam took over. Ever since then, I've seen how hard she's worked at Beacon, to become a huntresses in order to save people. Human and Faunus alike."
Ruby looked down at Blake, just as the cat-Faunus looked up, the two shared a smile.
More confident now, Ruby's voice grew stronger when she next spoke.
"She helped us at Haven, she helped bring peace to Menagerie, she risked her life for us so many times!" The silver-eyed girl exclaimed. "She's already pled guilty to her crimes! She could have hidden it, or denied it! Or tried to fight, but she hasn't because she knows what she's done is wrong! Is that really someone you want to give a life sentence too!? I ask you all to think about it. I can't change your mind if you've already come to your conclusions, but for those of you still wondering, my verdict is that Blake Belladonna deserves another chance. I hope you'll feel the same. Thank you."
Ruby stepped from the box, having feeling as though she ran a marathon. She collapsed in her seat. Yang shot her a grin, Jaune gave her shoulder a squeeze of comfort.
"Nice one," he whispered.
"Thanks." Ruby replied.
But her stomach began to bubble once again, as Blake had already pled guilty, it came as no surprise that the jury found her all guilty.
What everyone was waiting for was Judge Reiner's sentencing.
He inhaled deeply, a pin could be heard dropping as the courtroom was that silent.
"Miss Belladonna, I don't believe you're truly an awful person," he said. "Your friends and family put up a good case for you. And despite your shortcomings here in Atlas, we can't forget your positive achievements in other places."
However, at this point he sighed, and Blake felt her stomach drop.
"Never-the-less, your crimes here in Atlas have been... shocking." he admitted, shaking his head. "I want to give you another chance, but the scale of everything you've done in such a short space of time... makes that impossible for me. I truly believe you need to be rehabilitated, do you understand that?"
Blake nodded slowly, she could no longer cry. However she braced herself for the sentencing, knowing full well it was going to be bad.
"Blake Belladonna, I sentence you to 40 years imprisonment, being Eligible for Parole in 15 years."
Kali fainted, Ghira turned white as stone. Blake was limply dragged from the courtroom, the sentence echoing in her head. While Ruby felt as though the floor below her had been pushed away.
"40 years... 15 at the minimum." she thought to herself.
Her Uncle took her shoulder, as Jaune had done moments before.
"Ruby, it's gonna be okay." he muttered.
But it wasn't, Blake had been sent down for good.
Team RWBY wasn't due a reunion anytime soon.
A/N: Again sorry for the massive wait, life got on top of me let's just say that. Also won't be answering individual reviews this chapter, as there was a ton of them to get through. But I did read through them all and thank you everyone for stopping by and giving your thoughts! I got the general gist that last chapter got a bit too dark and depressing, so I added a bit of levity this chapter with Ruby's return. Granted things still ended up dark with Blake's sentencing etc... but yeah originally this chapter was going to have all 4 trials... Blake, the Vacuo bunch, Theo and Ironwood's trials in, but it would have gone forever, so I've cut the chapter and spilt it into 2 (hence the name of this chapter).
As for Blake's sentencing, let's just say this clearly, it won't be the last we see of her at all. But it will give the other characters (e.g. Weiss) some more time to shine.
Next chapter we'll finish the trials can't promise when that'll be out but hopefully soon. Once again thanks everyone for continuing to support this fic, it means a lot to me, so until next time!