Last edited on: 2021/12/26
"I still can't believe it, Dear," a sky-blue feline pokémon said. "Why would you even attack your sister?"
Mesprit suddenly looked at Mew with worried eyes. "C-Chief! I-I-I-I—"
"—ay-ay-Hay nako. Stop your worrying and answer me, Dear," Mew demanded and massaged her head.
After she got the news from Yux, Mesprit was teleported by her sister to the Terminal of the Hall in Mt. Coronet. She was then escorted, with a bit of resistance, to the Terminal's Waiting Lobby for the Judged, the anterior chamber of the Room for the Judged. When Yux was about to leave, Mesprit called out to her, but she immediately teleported after. Soon, a partially-irritated Mew appeared before a disheartened Mesprit.
As with the other Terminals of the Hall scattered throughout Earth, each one bore a Room for the Judged. Here, this was where a member of the Hall would be judged — the defendant — for whatever the complaint or case filed against them. This was so if the dispute was grave or required further deliberation.
No viewing gallery was present within the Room for the Judged; hence, all judgements and deliberations made were in secrecy. Only the plaintiff, defendant, barristers, and the judge were to be present in the Room. A jury and some witnesses would sometimes be included.
Currently, Mesprit and her chief were in the Waiting Lobby for the Judged. It wasn't a well-decorated room, in Mesprit's eyes. The place was painted white and had a dispenser of water beside an indoor plant. Surprisingly, some human magazines and candies were on a white table. Mesprit never bothered to read or eat, since she had some more pressing matters that churned her stomach. She even considered the room to be a bit unsettling for the judged.
This only makes them feel like they did something really terrible… even if they haven't done anything. Mesprit shuddered at the thought.
She wasn't filled in with the details, but she knew why she was going to be judged. She had to confirm it with her chief.
"Before I do, Chief, is this about what I think it's about?" Mesprit asked. Mew stared at Mesprit silently. "S-should I say what's on my head?"
"Well, you are trying to share something with me, aren't you, Dear?"
"Y-yes." Mesprit cleared her throat. "About my Lukey and how I attacked my sister?"
Mew paused for a while before nodding. "You're right on one part, Dear."
"What 'one-part', Chief?"
"Apparently, the plaintiff of this case just wishes to discuss your relationship with that human."
"Lukey isn't just that human!" Mesprit declared and clenched her fists. "He's my friend!"
Mew sighed. "I understand your feelings, Dear, but you have to stand down. You really should control your emotions, knowing that you bear the first mesprit's image and responsibilities. Well, at least one of your personalities is mature."
"I-I…"
"You, what?" All Mesprit could do was look away in disgust. "I think it's your turn to answer my question, Dear. Why would you even attack your own sister?" Mesprit winced and murmured something inaudible. Mew got closer to her face and asked with a softer tone, "I'm sorry. What was that, Dear?"
"Because she…"
"Because she…?"
"She…!"
Mesprit suddenly teared up, causing Mew to retreat. Dammit, Mew might have an idea already!
"Dear, I'll just spell it out for you, so pardon my insensitivity."
Mesprit looked at Mew teary-eyed and with a dumbstruck expression.
"H-huh?"
"I was planning to visit you in your cavern, by the request of your sister, Uxie."
Mesprit eyes widened in disbelief. Wait… wait-wait-wait-wait-wait!
"So, the both of us entered your cavern earlier, and what did we find?"
Mesprit began clutching her drooping appendages. No-no-no-no-no-NO!
"It was dark. You were by the wall, watching the human change his clothes, while you were," the feline pokémon closed her eyes, "de-stressing to him," she said with a straight face.
"NOOOOO!"
Shit! Shit! Shi—t!
Out of desperation, Mesprit cried her heart out while being pulled into a comforting embrace by Mew. The sprite-pokémon poured all of her tears unto Mew's shoulder, but the latter didn't seem fazed in any way.
"It's okay, Dear. I understand your sentiments, but I found it funny, to be honest."
"Guh… 'Understand' my ass, Chief!"
Mew's eye twitched. "I'll let this slide, Dear."
Mesprit continued crying while Mew patted her back as comfort. When Mesprit calmed down, they each sat down on a chair facing each other.
"Better?"
Mesprit nodded while wiping her tears.
"If it makes you feel better, I sometimes do the same when I'm stressed," Mew leaned to Mesprit and whispered, "but this'll be our secret, alright?" She winked and smiled before returning to her seat.
"H-how could you say that with a straight face, Chief?"
"Because I trust you," Mew answered. "You won't be sharing what I told you right now, right? Don't forget that I'm a rank higher than your sister and two ranks below the boss of this Terminal, Dear."
Mesprit was sweating bullets now. S-scary!
Mew giggled at Mesprit's funny expression, causing Mesprit's appendages to raise up slightly and her face to blush.
"It's only a matter of minutes before the door opens to the Room for the Judged… It's a pompous name, if you ask me," Mew commented. "I think you should be asking me the important questions now, Dear. Rest assured, I'll do my best to act as your defence, and expect that you will be delighted at the results."
R-right! I still have to ask some questions while I'm still here… Shouldn't it be the other way around, though?
Mew remained silent, to which Mesprit understood it as a don't-ask-stupid-questions reply. "Um, why're you acting for my defence, by the way?"
"The confidante and Uxie, surprisingly, asked me to defend your part for tonight's deliberation."
Oh yeah, I might be kicked out of the Hall, like what nearly happened to Az a lot of times… Mesprit frowned at the imminent possibility.
"However," Mew added, "that should be the least of your worries. I have a good feeling about the outcome of tonight's deliberations. Don't ask why."
This raised more of Mesprit's suspicions, but she opted not to press any further. One wrong move, and she'll definitely get kicked out of the Hall or get reincarnated into something else, or worse:
She won't get to see her Lukey ever again.
She gulped thinking at that fact, since there was nothing she could do but depend on Mew. Perhaps she could ask another question.
"Oh yeah." A question pinged in the sprite-pokémon. "Who's the plain-tough for the delibs, Chief?"
"'Plaintiff', Dear, and it's your sister, Uxie. She's also going to act as her own barrister."
Y-Yux?! Oh no-oh no… I'm definitely screwed…
"Then again," Mew added once more, "you shouldn't be too worried about tonight's proceedings, Dear. I have good hopes, to reiterate."
Mesprit was definitely going to remove the remaining suspicions in her. Her chief was acting too optimistic for the later deliberations, and it's like she knew what's gonna happen later on. Mesprit thought that she might be missing out on something.
"Chief, I'm really weirded out," Mesprit stated.
"On what, Dear?"
"You're too optimistic! It's as if you know what's gonna happen, why?" Mew only crossed her arms and stared at her defendant. "Well? Answer me, Chief!" Mesprit demanded and hovered in front of her barrister. A still silence ensued between the two, and Mew smiled while sharpening her stare at Mesprit. "C-Chief! P-please answer… me?"
The staredown continued, but the one losing appeared to be losing conviction in her statement. The other just maintained her smile and icy stare.
"O-okay, I-I'll stand down, Chief." Mesprit gingerly returned to her seat.
"Excellent!" The feline pokémon clapped her hands once. "Know when to control yourself, alright, Dear?"
"Y-yes, Chief. I just have one last question left; it's also not stupid or anything!"
"I'll be the judge of that. I'm all ears, Dear."
Remembering what her chief had said earlier, there had to be a reason that her sister wouldn't bring up their scuffle. Mesprit knew it was advantageous for her, but the Yux she knew never had the attitude to just leave the insignificant details in the dark.
"Why am I just gonna get judged for my relationship with Lukey? And not for our, um, fight? I mean, Yux leaves no stone unturned." Mesprit trailed off at the last word and looked away from Mew.
"Dear, I think it's because you two are family. Isn't that what siblings do, to care for one another despite their differences?"
"Family?"
All Mesprit could remember was how Yux, despite being connected by blood in some way, acted cold and like a workaholic. She also had this tendency to lie, especially that very incident when the truth of her parents was revealed to her and Az. After she and her sisters obtained their positions in the Hall and their parents' passing, Yux began to put her work in the Hall above anything else, saying it was a sort of 'privilege'. Surely, Mesprit was delighted, but Yux's demeanor before that was history. As for Az, she would rarely communicate with Mesprit after having a new set of friends out of the Sinnoh region, maybe even beyond the United Regions. Mesprit would even forget about Az sometimes, but they still do get along and hang out whenever they see each other.
For Mesprit, family was nothing more than a dictionary word, unless she considered her Lukey to be her family. She knew that she shouldn't be sharing the real relationship to her 'sisters' or the state of her parents to him at his current age.
I remember something…
"Um, Mes?"
Her Lukey asked Mesprit while making some sort of contraption with the flowers.
"Yeah, Lukey?"
She responded while levitating some flower petals to form his cute little face.
"Do pokémon like you have a family, like a father or a sister?"
At that moment, her petal image fell on the ground, and she started thinking of ways to avoid the question.
"Uh… yeah… I do. Somehow. Why?"
It won't hurt to respond nicely, she thought, but doing would only add fuel to the flame of his curiousity.
"Do you, y'know, hang out often?"
To her horror, he asked the million-dollar question that would reveal much of her familial relations — something that shouldn't bother him, especially that his father had passed away years ago.
"Er… I… Uh… T-tag, y-you're it!"
Mesprit immediately teleported to the bushes nearby to hide and reminisce of her sisters and the events of her past.
"H-hey! Hey! C'mon, don't be a killjoy!"
He cutely groaned, running in the opposite direction of where his pink-headed friend hid. What's important was that she narrowly avoided answering the question like a beam grazing her forehead gem.
"That's… not true."
"Hm?"
"Yux… would even go over the line and kill me if the Hall ordered her to!"
"Really?"
"Of course! I don't think Yux ever sees me as a part of this 'family' we even have. Maybe she only thinks I'm a random wild pokémon off the streets or fields…" Mesprit eyes furrowed in disappointment and sadness just by thinking about it.
"Tell me this then," Mew asked, "how do you know?"
"I can read her mind! I can sense emotions too, and I can tell you that she really puts her work above anything else…"
"Need I remind you, Dear, that Uxie is a talented pokémon in the Hall, and she's also your superior — the United Region's country supervisor, in charge of tabulating the necessary data in this country."
Mesprit rolled her eyes. "So what? She's a hotshot, and I'm not."
Mew tsk-tsked. "That's the point. Ever since she came into the Hall. She's been trying to prove herself as a competent leader, and that got her the position of country supervisor in the Eastern Pacific Terminal 1 of the Hall of Origins, aka this very terminal. Do you know how difficult it is to attain such a position, Dear?"
"You sound like Yux's paid you to say that."
A vein bulged on Mew's sky-blue head. "Listen to me, Dear. Uxie could very well put up a psychic façade to hide her true intentions. She has the talent to do so, and you might be taking her intentions wrongly."
This… made sense to Mesprit, and she conceded to the fact that maybe she might be jumping to conclusions. However, she was adamant in her belief that Yux was a workaholic and a liar.
"No… that's—"
"Mesprit," Mew said with a low voice.
"Y-yes, Chief?" Mesprit frightfully replied.
"Even if you have the ability to read minds or to sense emotions with much more clarity, never — I repeat — never immediately assume or judge anyone's or anything's intentions to what you seem fit. Am I clear?"
"I… I knew that. You don't have to—"
"Am. I. Clear?"
Mew slowly zoomed into Mesprit until their faces were centimetres away from each other. A silence ensued between the two psychic-type pokémon. For what seemed like hours had passed instead of seconds, each moment grew heavier for Mesprit if she continued to remain silent.
"Y-yes, Chief."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, Chief."
And at that moment, the white doors leading to the Room for the Judged flung open with a creaking noise.
"And that's our cue, Dear." Mew hovered by the doorway. "After you, Dear."
Steeling her resolve, Mesprit hovered in front of the door. Being it her first time in how many years to enter the Room, she studied its interior from where she stood.
"It's… dark. Isn't there any light source?"
"Not for long, Dear. Please, after you."
"Why don't you go in first? Please do so, Chief."
Mew sighed. "Ini nga… Alright, if it makes you go inside."
The blue-furred pokémon hovered towards the darkness of the room until her entire body and tail were eaten by the darkness. The remaining Mesprit stared at the dark void for a moment to recollect her thoughts.
My fate's gonna be decided in this room, again. I've been here a long time ago, but it feels like my first time…
The more time wasted meant that the judge would have a bad regard to Mesprit. She slapped her face twice and massaged her cheeks.
Damn it! I have to keep on going! If it's gonna make me stay with my Lukey, then I have to go in!
She ultimately hovered inside, and doors automatically shut themselves with a slamming noise. The white doors then seemed to phase with the white wall, until the path leading to the Room for the Judged was completely sealed off.
Darkness.
Mesprit aimlessly moved forward through the deep abyss. The sound of the slamming door behind made her skip, but she knew better than to look back. Instead, she pushed forward through the deep blackness.
So, this is the 'Room for the Judged'. It's creepy…
She tried to summon an orb of light on her way, but it seemed like she couldn't channel any of her energy to create one. She proceeded to illuminate her tail gems and forehead gem; no light emitted out of those. Dammit, were her powers nullified?
"C-Chief Mew?" she called out. No response. "Y-Yux? Chief Uxie?" Yet again, no response was given.
Just as she was to try again, a spotlight from above lit the ground on her. She looked below her, and the ground on her revealed itself in an increasingly circular manner, like a small hole opening itself without changing its punctured shape. The ground on her resembled the bricks on Spear Pillar, and — looking in front of her — a stand with a cream-coloured stone fence appeared before her.
T-this wasn't here when the ground lit up—
An ominous breeze gushed past Mesprit along its whooshing sound, and two stone tables of similar material appeared at her sides. As the darkness lifted itself, Yux emerged from her left, and Mew emerged from her right. Their expressions were serious, and Mesprit opted not to speak unless told to. The whooshing sound around her continued.
The illuminated area was now a circle bounded by dark 'walls' in a bird's eye view, with Mesprit in the middle. Yux and Mew were stationed opposite to each other behind their respective tables, nearly touching the dark 'walls' from where they emerged from.
Mesprit was now sweating out of anxiety. What… is this?
"The deliberations for the defendant's position as a member of the Hall of Origins shall now commence," a booming voice of sporadic pitch came from the pitch-black shadows in front of Mesprit.
I can't tell if this judge is a male or female…
Suddenly, two blood-red circles similar to the moon opened up from the darkness, staring down on Mesprit, who fixed her gaze back up at the pair of circles. Below the circles, a mouth-like figure of the same colour opened up in the darkness.
"Barristers," the mouth moved as it seemingly spoke, "make themselves known, and state their positions."
"Uxie No. 150804, Your Honour," the left barrister declared. "I am both the plaintiff for tonight's deliberations and the acting barrister against the defendant. I am the current Guardian of Lake Acuity and the country supervisor of the United Regions for the Eastern Pacific Terminal 1 of the Hall of Origins. This party has been ready for a while, Your Honour."
"Mew No. 210601, Your Honour," the right barrister declared. "I am the defending barrister for the defendant. I am a member of the Board of the Hall of Origins. This side is also ready, Your Honour."
W-why do they have to act like that…?
"Very well." The red face-like figure seemed to nod in approval. "Defendant."
"Y-yes, Your Honour!" Mesprit straightened her back and tails. She stared up to the facial figure in the darkness.
"Make themselves known, and state their position."
"W-well… I'm Mesprit No. 100601. I'm the Guardian of Lake Verity, um, currently."
"Your Honour," Yux called out, "may the plaintiff make a statement, for the record?"
"Very well, plaintiff," the judge replied.
"The plaintiff wishes to clarify that throughout the course of the deliberations, a new light on the defendant may be shed on us, and it is through tonight's deliberations that the barristers may act accordingly on the influx of information. The plaintiff also beseeches your understanding on the matter, if such events present themselves, Your Honour."
"Hmm… I see." The judge nodded. "I shall acquiesce. What is the say of the defendant and the defence on this matter?"
"I… I think it's okay, Your Honour!" Mesprit responded.
Did that mean that something might be revealed…? Well, Chief said that the course of this deliberations is gonna be okay, so why not? It's just about my relationship with Lukey, right? Also…
Mesprit studied Yux's posture and earlier attitude.
… she's kinda cool. I guess she had to be good at words to be able to climb up the ranks.
Yux hmphed, seemingly as a reply to Mesprit's monologue.
"If the defendant acquiesces, then the defending barrister does likewise, Your Honour," Mew responded.
"Your Honour," Yux called out again, "the plaintiff has one last thing to state. Would that be okay?"
"Oh? I do hope it won't consume much of our time," the judge clarified.
"It won't, Your Honour. In fact," Yux raised her hands and grinned, "the plaintiff expects that the course of the deliberations to be swift. It is, of course — as what the humans say, 'time for bed'. It is also the belief of the plaintiff that the deliberations need not be prolonged for hours. As the acting barrister, I surmise that the defending barrister also shares similar sentiments?"
"Yes, Ms. Uxie." Mew nodded and crossed her arms, smiling. "The defence also wishes for the deliberations to be completed with utmost speed."
It feels like… I'm really missing out on something, Mesprit thought with exasperation.
"Aren't we all sleepy?" the judge joked. "However, I digress. Though this is just a simple deliberation for the defendant, I understand if the barristers wish that the proceedings would end earlier, but make it clear that incompetence shall not be tolerated. Am I understood, barristers?"
"Understood, Your Honour," Yux replied.
"Crystal clear, Your Honour," Mew replied.
Alright, Chief, I hope everything goes really well… You're, like, a rank higher than Yux!
A chair below Mesprit appeared, and she decided to rest by sitting down and hoping for the best. In reality, she's actually anxious and restless about the outcome.
"If it is the plaintiff's wish for a speedy deliberation, then may its barrister present the case of the plaintiff for us?"
Yux nodded. "Yes, Your Honour. The plaintiff addresses their case with respect to the current offences of the defendant." Raising a hand, a pink folder materialised out of thin air. Yux summoned it towards her, and it automatically opened. "To note, revealing her physical self and a portion of the Hall's information to a human."
Mesprit clenched her fist hearing how her Lukey was referred to as such, but she held her emotions in. She remembered that having a breakdown in the Room would cause her to be sent out, or worse.
"This is just a formality, but how is this an offence to the Hall, Ms. Uxie?" the judge asked.
"The defendant has made such data known for a total of six years to the human boy, therefore threatening the very existence of the Hall to the human population!"
"Objection!"
"Is that really all you've got? Please don't immediately assume that the defendant was indirectly involved in divulging the existence of the Hall to a random human being. Furthermore," Mew summoned her own set of papers, "the human boy in question is currently 12 years old, and we have the power to completely erase the memories."
"Your point being, defence?"
"That six years ago, the human boy was six years old." Mew wagged her finger. "I ask this, how could the human masses believe the tellings and visions of a young one? It is almost certain that they are to immediately dismiss those stories as fairytales of a child, so how could they ascertain credibility from it? Despite making herself known to a lone human child, that simply cannot be a reason for a macroscopic revelation of the Hall's existence. Additionally, I would like to note that the Hall's members have the ability to erase memories should their existence or the information of or from the Hall be threatened to be revealed."
"I suppose you have evidence to back up your claim, defence?" the judge asked.
"Certainly, Your Honour." Mew picked two sheets of paper and a small book from her stack and deposited them into the dark wall. After being eaten up by the darkness, the same papers were delivered to the opposing barrister. "I have submitted the evidence for your perusal."
"And these are?" the judge asked.
"A miniature pocket book summarising the Hall members' exclusive abilities, published by Uxie No. 150804 and ultimately authorised by Father Arceus, and two published surveys on the perception of adult humans to children's tales: one conducted by humans in the name of a reputable university in the United States, and the other conducted by a team led by none other than," Mew pointed to the opposing barrister, "the very plaintiff of tonight's deliberations as well, Uxie No. 150804! See how your own deeds can be your undoing!"
W-wow! Way to go, Chief! Mesprit grinned and clapped from her seat.
The judge hummed. "Very well. These shall be accepted into the record. Also, your line of reasoning does not hold water, plaintiff."
Yux crossed her arms and remained silent. She also put her hand near her mouth, something she'd do when she's thinking.
Dammit, I hope she's not cooking up something in her mind.
"Also, Your Honour?" the defending barrister called out. "A small request."
"What is it, defence?"
"May we, the participants of the deliberations, address the human of interest as 'Lucas'?"
Mesprit's eyes lit up upon hearing her request.
"And why, pray tell, should we address him as such?"
"Your Honour, it would be deemed rude and a misfit for us to belittle the human population by generalising as to who they are as mere 'humans'. I believe that we are better than that; hence, we should refer to the human as 'Lucas'."
The judge nodded. "That is true. The members of the Hall are neither savages nor close-minded folk, and calling this 12-year-old a mere human without his knowledge is simply unacceptable for our grandiose image. Your answer, plaintiff?"
Yux put the hand near her mouth down. Crap, she's done thinking. "Even though no one bears witness to tonight's deliberations, it won't hurt to address the human by their designated name. I'll acquiesce, but this seems pointless," Yux said.
"I see." The judge's face turned to the centre of the illuminated room. "Defendant?"
"Definitely, Your Honour! It's very rude to call anyone by their general name or classification!"
"I see a consensus between the barristers and the defendant. Very well, the human shall be hitherto, throughout the duration of tonight's proceedings, labelled as 'Lucas'."
A breeze stirred up in the Room for the Judged, indicating the effectiveness of the defence's request. Mesprit flashed a thumbs-up to her own barrister, to which the latter nodded in approval.
"If the defence is finished with their menial celebration, the plaintiff would like to continue its case," Yux stated.
"But of course," the judge responded. "By all means, the plaintiff may proceed."
"Thank you, Your Honour. It is clear that no adult human would believe the ramblings of the hu — Lucas, rather, and that we, the esteemed members of the Hall, have this power to erase emotions. However! The fact still stands: the defendant had still conversed with Lucas for six long years, and the possibility of leaking this Terminal's whereabouts cannot be disregarded."
"Objection!"
"Is the plaintiff seriously planning to prove their point with the same argument that has been disproven?"
"Objection!"
"If the defence is having doubts as to this barrister's credibility, then why not ask the defendant directly?" Yux offered. "After all, no one else would know the truth besides the defendant themselves. Your Honour, if you may?"
The judge nodded. "Very well. The defendant will submit themselves to a cross-examination of the barristers if need be. Moreover, will the defendant speak of the truth, and nothing but the truth?"
"Y-yes, Your Honour. I won't lie." A breeze stirred up in the Room, but Mesprit appeared to be dumbstruck at what the judge said. "Um, Chief? What does 'cross-examination' mean?"
"It basically means that we will question you, Mesprit No. 100601," Mew explained, to which the defendant 'ah'-ed in response.
"Go on, defence," Yux urged. "Ask her what you want to know."
"Alright, Mesprit?"
Mesprit leapt from her seat. "Y-yes, Chief!"
"Have you discussed with Lucas regarding the whereabouts or anything related to the Hall or its Terminals?"
Mesprit winced at the question. In fact, she felt the need to lie building up within her because she had spoken to Lucas about the Hall in one of their meetings. Hell, even just today! Before today, she thought that Lucas couldn't have understood her at that time, and she even put his memories to sleep from that time, or so she thought.
Oh wait, I reawakened his memories just today…
"Defendant, bear in mind that lying on purpose, or perjury, can put you in a very dire situation," the judge warned. "You have to answer truthfully, for you have just sworn to speak truthfully. Perjury is not tolerated in the Room for the Judged."
"Y-yes, Your Honour," Mesprit replied.
"I'll ask again, Defendant: have you discussed anything with Lucas regarding anything related to the Hall?" Mew asked.
"C-Chief, I-I—"
"Also," Mew added. "it's okay if you tell the truth and expound on it. Remember what I said? 'I have good hopes for the outcome of tonight's deliberations.'"
"A-are you sure, Chief? It's really okay?" Mew nodded and smiled warmly. "A-alright." Mesprit faced the red figures on the dark wall. "Y-Your Honour?"
"What is it?"
Mesprit sighed. "I-it's true…"
"Speak up, Defendant!" the judge commanded with a booming voice.
"I-I did! There were times that I spoke about the Hall to Lukey — I mean, Lucas. Also, I… reawoke his memories today. I never really truly erased them."
Yux snickered. "And there you have it, Your Honour. Case closed."
"T-this is… unbelievable!" the judge shouted. The wind felt stronger around the participants in the Room. Mesprit thought that this was because of the judge's anger. "Defendant, explain yourself!"
"Y-Your Honour!" Mesprit leaned forward and pushed the stone fence in front of her. "Even though I did speak to Luk — Lucas about it, I didn't say anything delicate or anything that should be kept a secret about the Hall. I'm better than that! Hell, all I said was that I was a legendary pokémon in the Hall, and that there were more of us. That's it, promise! You gotta believe me!"
Mesprit's tails were already wagging furiously in terror. She felt that the judge may not believe her story, but she couldn't just throw a fit of rage; she was better than that.
P-please, please believe me! Mesprit prayed while trembling.
The judge was silent for a few moments, but Mesprit felt the anger and disappointment coming from all sides of the room. It's as if the tension and fear was squashing her down, literally.
"If that is the statement of the defendant, what is the say of each side of the debate?" the judge asked.
"Your Honour, I believe that this statement must be taken into scrutiny," Yux commented. "The defendant may be lying or hiding more critical details to the Room."
Mesprit's appendages and tails drooped while her face turned upset. Y-Yux… I guess all that pent-up hate's coming down to this.
"As the defence, I must disagree, but I believe that the defendant may be unwittingly hiding something from us, perhaps due to the fact that she is worked up about tonight. Hence," Mew's tail straightened, and her hand tapped the desk in front of her, "the defence asserts its right to continue the cross-examination of the defendant!"
"C-Chief!" The defendant locked her eyes onto her own barrister. "W-why? Why don't you believe me?!" Mesprit asked, on the verge of tearing up.
"This is a cliché saying, but no matter who stands before any of us, the truth of the matter has to come into light. And since we are in the Room for the Judge, all the more does the truth need to show itself. Isn't that right," Mew looked at her opponent, "Ms. Uxie?"
T-the hell? I thought you were on my side…
Yux smiled and nodded. "I couldn't agree more, Ms. Mew. To reiterate, the defendant may be lying."
Mesprit slouched on her seat. "N-no… W-what the hell…"
W-will I ever see my Lukey ever again…?
"Mesprit No. 100601!" Yux called out.
"Y-yes, M-Miss!"
"Chin up. Back straight," her sister commanded. "No matter where one may be, no matter what the situation or condition may be, a member of the Hall must proudly raise their head up high in the face of their fate. Now," Yux slammed her hand on her desk, "proudly submit yourself before the Hall!"
All it took was a single line for Mesprit to do a complete 180 — from her ashamed self into one brimming with energy and pride.
"YES MA'AM! I will submit myself before the Hall!" Upon saying this, Mesprit immediately bowed in front of the face on the dark wall.
I'll fucking get you for this, Yux! Just you wait…
The judge laughed heartily. "Magnificent! I know that I would never regret my choices for the leaders of the Hall!"
"I do not deserve such praise, Your Honour," Yux said as she bowed.
"Your compliments flatter me, Your Honour," Mew said as she smiled sweetly.
I-is there a side of the Hall I wasn't shown within these hundred years of living? 'Cause I feel… different…
As what Mesprit thought, the chains binding her resolve suddenly unshackled themselves. It's as if the pompous pep talk from her sister blew her shamefulness and fright to smithereens. Perhaps she really didn't know who her sister was after her promotion, but she didn't care. She still hated that lying scum.
"Very well. Defendant!"
"Yes, Your Honour!"
Now, Mesprit could look at the menacing blood-red face of the judge without quaking in fear. Besides, what could she possibly be afraid of? Mew did constantly mention that the outcome of the deliberations would be okay.
"By the Name of the Hall of Origins, do you swear to speak of the truth, and nothing but the truth?" the judge asked, while the circular eyes seemed to glow a pulsating red.
I'm ready for anything. And if it's to secure my place with my Lukey, then so be it.
Mesprit bowed her head once and stared back up. "Yes, I swear by the Name of the Hall of Origins."
"In that case, Your Honour," the defending barrister slammed a fist on her desk, "the defence asserts it right to continue cross-examining the defendant!"
A wind blew within the Room for the Judged. The wind this time, however, bore a more ominous, deep purple colour.
Guest No 1: Well, it seems like her she couldn't stop herself from doing it XD
Mallory S. Nocturne: Oh, you found it terrifying? Thanks! There's more in store for everyone, too! :3
Jess Loves Austin: No comment.
Anon Omega: I can't really say anything that would be a revelation, so all I could say is: 'Nice try!'
Guest No 2: Oh, don't worry. You won't be disappointed in the future. -3-
