Suddenly, he heard loud voices shouting, and he wrinkled his nose in concern as one of them sounded like Violet and walked in the direction of the voices.
"You belong to me, Violet Parr! You are so going to be restricted to the house. You are never going to see that pathetic man, let alone kiss him! If I told you a thousand times, this time, you are to stay seen, not heard!", a man's voice roared in anger.
Violet spat back, "You never said nothing about not seeing anyone else! And that man is not pathetic, his name is Brad, and he's a hundred times better than you, Tony Rydinger! Second of all, I am not your property, and at least, Brad treats me like someone, you bastard! Third of all, he didn't kiss me, I kissed him first, and you know what? I'm glad I did!".
Just as Brad turned around the corner, hearing all of that, shocked to hear Violet standing up for him, and perhaps herself, and before his eyes, in a second, Tony screamed, "How dare you?!", shifting his hands into claws, and slams-claws Violet in the face, earning Violet to cry out as she fell back.
"Violet!", Brad shouted as he ran towards her. Obviously not thinking of how much trouble he'd be in since he wasn't a shapeshifter, nor did he have any real weapons to hold back Tony if he turned to attack him.
Brad kneeled down, gently reaching down to hold Violet, a hiss of anger and horror as he saw the wound on her cheek, "Vi? It's Brad.", hearing Tony's voice, "It's none of your business! Leave!".
Brad whipped around, glaring at Tony as he gently put Violet down, "You hit her! I ain't leaving her in the hands of you, bastard! She said that she's not yours! Leave her alone!".
Tony glowered at him, "And if I am not? You are a fool!", and Brad shouted, "If I am a fool, then I am a fool in love with Violet Parr who is the most remarkable woman that I've ever known! So, deal with it, and get out of my face!", pushing Tony madly as he stood in front of Violet.
Tony stared at him, and snarled, "Bad choice.", shifting into his griffin form of pale brown fur and dark brown feathers, and attacked Brad before he even could move.
Brad's realization hit him like a freight train as finally, his brain registered how screwed he was at the moment when he saw the griffin come right for him. He mentally cursed for not thinking of at least having something to defend himself.
Violet was half unconscious when she heard the loud screeches and the screaming shouts, barely heard Brad's voice before, and she looked across the dirt pavement, seeing Brad trying to hit Tony's griffin form with fists and kicks, but Tony was biting and clawing him.
Violet's heart went pounding as she realized that Brad was in danger, and she screamed, trying to get up, "Don't, Tony! Don't kill him! Stop it! Please, stop!", trying to shift into her griffin form to push and pull Tony off, but Tony only ignored her, kicking her off as he continued to attack Brad.
Tears falling, Violet realized that it was her fault to put the man she loved in danger from the man she was afraid of, her shouts of pleas not reaching Tony, seeing Brad torn everywhere, barely noticing that a crowd gathered around, trying to stop Tony yet staying back as a griffin's claws and beak is deadly sharp.
Violet gathered all the strength she could have inside her and launched one furious assault on Tony's changed form once more; catching him off guard as his focus was still on Brad.
Tony saw Violet, rearing and screeching as she covered Brad from sight, and Tony screeched, pouncing at Violet, and Violet roared as she and Tony fought viciously, clawing and biting, and Tony flipped her off, snarling and roaring.
Violet, now covered in wounds and injuries much like Brad, limped, standing beside him, whimpering as she nuzzled Brad's unconscious face which earned Tony to roar in anger, jumping at her, but in mid-jump, a huge mess of dragons collided with him, snarling, and with the Stones glowing, Tony's griffin form disappeared forever, leaving Tony in his human form, unconscious.
Violet smiled in relief, realizing that the United Talons came in time, and then fell unconscious, shifting back to human, her hand holding into Brad's hand as she laid besides him, her memory repeating Brad's words in her mind, realizing that Brad loves her.
"Haku!", Emma shouted as he quickly went back into human form and got next to Brad and Violet. "Just hang on, you two, you'll be alright.", Haku told them as he was trying to get his potions.
Emma watched Haku work on Brad and Violet, massaging their throats to drink the potions for healing, blood-replenishing, and more.
She can't believe that this happened just after Emma and the team had finished bringing the families through the interdimensional portal, walking to the palace...If it wasn't for one of the villagers screaming out that her cousin was fighting some man over a woman, and got into serious trouble...
"Is he going to be alright?", Emma asked Haku as he nodded, "Should be alright... would've been worse had Tony there not been distracted a few times. Violet may have just saved his life.".
Emma exhaled in relief, "Thank god...Well, this is more than enough evidence to tell Eric to make an investigation...Good thing that we have Adam's magic mirror if we ask for it. After all, with some magic, we could make the replay of everything visible enough in court...".
Haku replied, "And don't forget the first-person accounts and such...Yes...Zuri, are you going to tell your husband about this?". Zuri nodded, "Already going.", leaving instantly as she shifted into her dragon form, heading to the palace.
"Looks like Ryan was right...", Emma said under her breath as Haku looked at her, "Did you say something?".
"Nothing, it's fine now. Tony's probably going to suffer heavily for this.", Emma looked back at him. "Long imprisonment at the lightest, I would think. Maybe in the dungeons for the rest of his life.", Haku said.
"Do you think he might be executed for this?", Emma asked him as he shook his head, "Hard to tell... personally, long imprisonment or life would be what I would judge if I was the one to give the sentencing. If either of them don't make it, then probably death.".
Emma frowned lightly, "But they will make it, right?", and Haku nodded, "Yes, with enough potions, they should be healed by the end of the afternoon, but it's hard to tell if they would wake up tonight as it was a whole lot of trauma back there...I mean, a griffin's claws and beak, efficient in battle, but here, in public, it's no wonder why Eric has a rule about any shapeshifters to behave in the village...".
Emma blinked, and then nodded, "I can see your point, Haku...Are they viable enough to be carried to the palace? The ground isn't comfortable as much as beds are.".
"Yeah, we should be able to easily move them.", Haku grabbed Brad gently and looked to Emma. "A dragon ride should at least get them to a better spot.".
Emma nodded, and shifted into her dragon form, detracting her claws back into her paws, and picked up Brad and Violet, and flapped out of the alley between the backyard basketball court and the public gardens, with Haku following behind in his dragon form, heading fast to the palace, knowing that Logan, Jason, and Pippa are arresting Tony, to be put in the dungeon jail for the court trial sooner or later, talking to the villagers, to make sure that anything isn't broken like flowerpots and such.
They made it to the courtyard, shifting back to partly human, with Emma carefully handing Brad to Haku, while carrying Violet, and they walked into the palace, with Emma's Earth family gasping in shock and horror as they were reuniting themselves with Ryan, while Zuri's ma and brothers were talking with Eric and Ariel, with Zuri's ma cooing over the baby bump, with Pippa's Earth family staring in bewilderment and surprise.
"Brad!", Daphne gasped in fear, and Emma spoke, "He's only out of it, Aunt Daphne. He's gonna be okay with all the potions healing him up.", with Eric speaking, "Grimsby, lead them to one of the double guest rooms.".
Grimsby nodded and bowed his head, "Yes, my king. Come, Lady Emma, let's have Brad and the young lady settle and heal in their beds.", and with Eric calling to Emma, "Please come down when you are able, Lady Emma. Haku will stay with them as I know him.".
Emma nodded, "Of course, your majesty.", hearing the tone in his voice before she and Haku went up the stairs with Grimsby leading them, to the upper floor, to a guest room that has double beds, with Brad and Violet being put on them respectively, and after sharing a look with Haku, she left the room, with Grimbsy standing near the room, ready at a moment's notice to deliver news for Haku.
"So, what exactly happened?", Daphene had to ask as Emma sighed. "Violet's betrothed, Tony Rydinger clearly saw the two of them getting too close for his own liking... and got into a fight; a really bad one too. Tony clearly was going for blood.", Emma answered.
Ryan groaned lightly, "I knew it. I knew it!", and Eric held up a hand, "Peace, Ryan. We are only hearing Emma's side of the story. With Brad and the young lady, Violet Parr, out of commission for the moment, we need to gather all points of view. Tell me, Lady Emma, were you there for the beginning?".
Emma shook her head, "No, your majesty. I do not know what escalated exactly, but I do know that Violet, the young lady, was clearly inflicted by Tony and was protecting Brad when we came in to take Tony out. With the Stones, we had to take his griffin form away, permanently, so he won't escape jail or worse. He's currently out of it, but he wasn't equally injured as much as Brad was, and Violet was more or less injured as well.".
"If not for our intervention; it's probably safe to assume that Tony would've done much worse to the both of them.", Zuri added.
Eric nodded, and murmured, kissing Zuri on the temple, "You have a most excellent point, my dear wife. And Emma is correct of taking Tony's griffin form away. I do not want my people to be harmed by a mad, blood-inflicting man like Tony...".
Footsteps sounded out, and Haku walked down, holding a list, looking sick, weary, and relieved, and Haku bowed before Eric, "Your Majesty, I have gathered evidence of past and present wounds.".
Eric nodded, "Good. Read away, Healer Haku.", and Haku took a deep breath, "It was quite a lot of potions, your majesty. Wound-healing potions, blood-replenishing potions, bone-resetting potions, restorative potions. I'll start with Brad; he had three sprained ribs, a broken shoulder, a splintered hand, a sprained ankle, and a broken nose, along with a split lip, bruised eyes, cuts on his chest, arms, and legs, and a bruised part of his reproductive system...".
All the males cringed upon hearing that last injury. "Though the good news for anyone wondering...", Haku continued as he looked to Brad's parents. "That should be alright, it's just a bruise. Anyway, that's it for his injuries; he should recover well but will need a few days of bed rest to truly recover.".
Sighs of relief rang around, and Eric nodded, "That's good to hear. And Miss Violet Parr?", looking at Haku.
Haku took a longer deep breath, and replied, "I have found evidence of past wounds on her. For the past few months, she had been adorned with split lips, broken arms, broken legs, and was bruised everywhere in reach, and that's not the worst of all...She was raped not one, but five times...She took the anti-conception potion for almost all of it except for one...She unknowingly lost the fetus as the womb was too destroyed at the time upon her fifth time which happened only two weeks ago..".
"Oh, Christ...", Daphne gasped as she covered her mouth. "I... Are you mistaken in any way, Haku?", Emma had to ask as he shook his head.
"Believe me, Emma, I wish I was making this up... Tony was clearly a monster behind closed doors. How he kept it hidden, I don't know...", Haku replied with a harsh scowl.
Eric narrowed his eyes, "And the present wounds, Healer Haku?", and Haku sighed, "Less than Brad, but still were bad as his. A broken arm, bruise on her cheek, cuts on her arms and legs, and a broken couple of fingers.".
Eric nodded, "More than enough for me. Grimsby!", and Grimsby walked down the stairs, "Yes, my king?", with a bow of his head.
"On my command, there is to be an investigation into the lives of Tony Rydinger and Violet Parr in that house. Ask all the magicians in the vicinity to make a time-lapse view of it all. I am quite anxious to see what Tony has done to hide what he has inflicted on Violet.", Eric ordered sharply with a glower.
Grimsby nodded, "It shall be done, King Eric, and on the way out, I will make sure that Jason and the others bring Tony to the dungeons for the court trial and your judgement tomorrow, if they hadn't done already.".
Grimbsy soon left leaving the others silent with their thoughts for a few moments. "What was that you were saying before about punishment, Haku?", Emma asked as he shook his head.
"Well, I wasn't aware of the horrific crimes he had committed against her before. I was just under the assumption of simple abuse.", Haku admitted.
"And now it's much worse than anyone could've known.", Eric sighed. "Why she didn't try to come forward to someone sooner...", with a weary look.
"She easily could've come to us; we obviously could've protected her from anything Tony would try.", Emma argued. Daphne exhaled, "It's because she was afraid of him in the first place.", and Eric looked at her, "What do you mean by that, Miss Daphne?".
Daphne glanced at Red, and Red nodded with a small smile, and Daphne replied, "When we were only young adults, Red and I had a best friend. We've told her plenty of times not to go with a man of rumored reputation, but she was ignorant, telling us that we were jealous. At first, he may have seemed nice at first glance, maybe some blissful dates here and there, and then something changed. She was in too deep by the second year, and she was afraid of him...We finally got her out, but she was so clinging to him, and by the time she got better to talk, she confessed that she thought he was her true love, and then came threats of her baby sister that forced her to stay, wanting to keep her baby sister safe and all...I do not know what this Tony threatened her on, but Violet was afraid of him, and today, when she stood up to him, he snapped, for he controlled every aspect of her, which I believe.".
"It's all too familiar anywhere, it seems.", Logan shook his head. "At least she's away from him now...", Jason said as they came in just as Daphne was talking.
"Only after quite the damage had been done.", Emma reminded. "Haku, is there any chance for her? For the damage he inflicted to be fixed?".
Haku exhaled, "I have done my best to heal her through and through, and if she regains strength again, she is able to be able to carry children once again, but with all the past trauma, it's perhaps 1 in 5 chances she could carry a baby to full term and give birth. The womb is healed, yes, but it's herself she would have to heal with her heart and soul on her own terms as I only physically healed her.", with a sigh.
Ryan replied, "And if one source of healing is Brad, would she be better?", and Haku replied, "A good chance there, yes, but only if she wants to be. It's herself she has to convince, not Brad, through it's still okay to help her, but steadily.".
"Well, at least there's a chance.", Emma nodded as things calmed down. It was good to know that Violet wasn't at least permanently sterilized thanks to Tony's cruelty.
Eric glanced at Jason and Logan, "Was there any trouble with the criminal?", and Logan snorted, "Hardly. He was barely waking up when we threw him in one of the cells. Heard him shouting in anger when we left. Pippa is still out there, talking with the villagers. Another count you can put him on is disturbing the peace and public abuse, your majesty. Turns out there were mothers and children in the crowd, and such.".
Zuri's ma, Trinika spoke and shook her head, "Tsk! I can't imagine what those mothers would tell the children tonight after witnessing all of that. Is it common around here?".
Eric glowered, "No, it's not. This is the first time I have personally heard about this situation. Tomorrow during the public court trial, I will put the rule into an absolute law. If anyone in the future does this again, they will be due for jail, a trial, and a severe sentence, and it will start with Tony Rydinger as an example. Is there a way to show the public court trial to the rest of the kingdoms, United Talons?".