AUTHOR'S NOTE: Four freaking months and I'm sorry.

The truth is that these past couple of months have been incredibly tiring and stressful and I could barely come on this site to do what I love; writing. God it's been so long and I hope you all missed me as much as I missed you.

But here we are in Chapter 25, wow. We've come this far. My writing might be a bit rusty but bear with me, I'll try to make this chapter as awesome as possible. Love you guys.

WARNING: This story may contain triggering scenes and strong language not meant for all audiences. Viewer discretion is advised. (I love to get that outta the way)

DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of these characters except my OC Kendra and other OC's I might have forgotten to mention. This story is a pure work of fiction (hence its written on) and most of the events and facts are completely made up so... I guess that's it.

Chapter 25 - The Trial Of The Decade

"Court will begin in two minutes! Everyone settle down" Howard Finkel announced. Kendra took a deep breath as her eyes scanned round the room. Now or Never Kendra.

"Everything will be fine Kendra, remember you've got me on your side and you've got the tapes. There's no other possible evidence Russo can use to tackle you. Just remember to calm down and breathe. You're shaking" Shane said rubbing up and down her back. She nodded and took a deep breath in as she and Shane made it to their seats.

Everything will be fine Kendra. Everything will be fine Kendra. She repeated that statement over and over again and she started to feel a bit better when she heard the door open and close. Behold, it was Billy Gunn.

He didn't even make eye contact with her, thankfully but instead walked over to where Vince Russo sat keeping a stone cold (no pun intended) face.

"He looks a bit banged up" Shane whispered to Kendra.

"Courtesy of Bret." Kendra whispered back.

"Wait, but if Bret knows what happened, how come..."

"All rise for the wonder that is; Judge Vincent Kennedy McMahon. God's greatest creation and a genetic hammer!" Howard Finkel introduced as everyone stood up and cheered for Vince. What else could they possibly do?

"Thank you, thank you." Vince said as he took his own seat. "You may all have your seats" He gestured as everyone sat down wondering what that whole intro was all about but hey, it's Vince McMahon. "So, before this court goes into session I want to say a few things. Usually, when cases like these are brought to my notice, I settle them within the privacy of my office and distribute out everyone's deserved punishment. But this case is special because I've never seen anything like this before which is why I called all of you random and unrelated people plus my son Shane to bear witness. That being said, the court is now in session"

"Oh boy" Shane muttered as he saw the terrified look on Kendra's face. "Snap out of it Kendra... Kendra!" To Shane's utter surprise, Kendra ran out of Vince's office. "Dammit" Shane said as he began to run after her. "Dad..."

"Your honor" Vince corrected. Shane rolled his eyes. "I'll give you ten minutes because I know the little intern must be terrified. If she's not back before then... court rules in favor of Vince Russo. Your time starts now" With that Shane dashed out of the courtroom in search of Kendra. He found her not too far away from there huddled over a crate and sounding as if she was struggling to breathe. As an athlete and someone who worked in the field of pro wrestling, he knew what this was; She was having a panic attack.

Well fuck.

"Call... Shawn... Please" She said in between breaths. Shane didn't need to be told twice as he quickly dialed the number of the Heartbreak Kid.

"What's up?"

"Kendra's having a panic attack and she asked of you. We're right in front of..." Shane didn't even have to wait a second longer as within mere seconds he saw Shawn running over to Kendra. "...Vince's office. Wow"

"Kendra breathe. Breathe" Shawn said placing his hands on her shoulders.

"I... can't. I..." She was unable to talk more as her breaths couldn't allow her. Shawn sighed, knowing what he had to do.

"Shane, she'll be there in a few minutes. I know what to do" Shawn said. Shane raised an eyebrow. "Trust me" With that Shane exited and left the pair alone. Shawn turned back to Kendra. "Kendy, it has worked once and it will work again. All I need is your permission" Kendra looked at him with wide brown eyes then nodded.

"Alright" She breathed out and in seconds, Shawn's lips were on hers as he captured them in a slow and tactful kiss for the main purpose of calming her down. She didn't kiss him back, not that he expected her to but he could feel her calming down and becoming less tense. After a few more seconds he took his lips off hers.

"Feel any better now?" He asked rubbing the back of his neck. She nodded and sighed.

"Yeah I do. Sorry that you had to do all that but thank you" Kendra said. Shawn nodded. "I'll see you later, gotta run wish me luck" She said running back into Vince's office.

"No need to apologize Kends" Shawn mumbled to himself as he touched his lips. "No need at all"

Meanwhile...

"You look quite uneasy man, is everything alright?" Owen asked Bret as the younger man laced up his boots. Bret shook his head.

"It's been what? Almost into a hour since the show started and we haven't heard from Kendra... well she never greets me so go figure. But you, have you heard anything from her?" Bret asked as he paced up and down his brother's locker room. Owen furrowed his brows.

"That's true. But I'm sure it's nothing. Hey, I'll call her now and check up on her" Owen proposed. Bret nodded and kept his eyes on Owen as he dialed the number.

Owen called that number five times yet there was no response. Panic mode activated and Owen could tell.

"Bret.. just calm down. Bret... Bret!" Owen called out but within seconds Bret was gone. "Shit, I have to chase him down before he does anything stupid" Owen said as he ran after Bret. Indeed, this night was gonna be a long night.

Back In The Courtroom...

Kendra rushed back to the courtroom at the eight minute mark of her time allotted which was good enough for her. Taking a deep breath and feeling less tense, she went back to her seat next to Shane. As she looked over at the other side she saw Vince Russo still with that evil gleam on his face and a very uneasy looking Billy Gunn.

"Thanks for joining us once again Miss. Hart. Now, the court is in session" Vince said hitting the gavel on the desk slightly. "So today we have the case of Vincent James Russo against Kendra Charlene Hart with charges including refusal to do work, berating fellow employees and interns, offering of sexual favors to people in high positions of authority..." Kendra's eyes widened as she looked around the room and saw everyone looking at her with judging eyes. Russo was going down. "...using her family name to intimidate fellow workers, disrespect to people in higher authorities, truancy and last but certainly not the least, actually this is the only reason I called for wrestlers court: Threatening to leak out secret information from WWF creative to WCW"

"Son of a bitch. Who the hell do I know in WCW?" Kendra thought. Nonetheless she sat her ground and gave no response. She wasn't planning to do so until she was sure this clown show that was Vince Russo's accusations come to an end.

"Honestly, these are some wild accusations Miss. Hart and they are enough to get you not only fired but you can as well kiss this industry goodbye" Kendra nodded. "Alright, so in that case. The floor is open for Vince Russo" Vince McMahon said.

"Thank you very much Vince. The truth is that I've actually really tried my best to be a good boss and mentor to the youngest Hart here. When she first came in during the internship program I was a bit reluctant to work with someone as young, inexperienced and green as the young lady but I decided to put all that aside for the greater good of humanity and also to give my own back to the industry that made me who I am today. And how does she pay me back? By showcasing indecent and straight up dare I say, criminal behavior. Because she's a Hart? Nah, I won't tolerate that for a second longer which is why I've brought this case to you your honor" Vince Russo said.

Damn he was good.

Son of a bitch.

"He's good alright" Shane whispered. Kendra scoffed.

"Well that was a hard pill to swallow. Have anything to say Miss. Hart?" Mr. McMahon asked. Kendra shook her head. "Alright. Then let's proceed to witnesses that is if any of you happen to have any"

"Of course my honor. Please allow me to call on Mr. Billy Gunn to the podium" Vince Russo said. Kendra tensed up at her seat at the mention of his name. Her eyes didn't leave him as he made his way towards the podium, Involuntarily, she began to shake.

Shane noticed this and grabbed her hand, squeezing it slightly. "Take a deep breath Kendra. Remember to breathe. You're gonna get through this"

"Of course. Thank you Shane" She said taking a deep breath. She physically relaxed and got herself prepared mentally for whatever bullshit Gunn was ready to spill out.

"William Gunn... I know that's not your full name or even your real name but I just felt like saying that because I can!" Vince McMahon joked. Shane chuckled. It was good to see that even in an extremely serious situation such as this, his dear old Dad could not refrain from getting a laugh out of his employees. "Monty Scopp..." Vince started using Gunn's real name. "...do you swear to say the truth, the absolute truth and nothing but the truth?"

Billy looked around nervously even locking eyes with Kendra before taking a deep breath. "Yes I do"

"Alright, then let's hear your statement. The floor is yours"

"Thank you Vi... your honor" Billy said. Vince nodded. "Alright so about Kendra Hart... at first, she looked like a completely sweet and innocent girl... then one day while I was patiently waiting outside Mr. Russo's office, well... she came up to me and told me that she felt a strong attraction towards me..." Billy started, lying from his teeth.

"What in the actual fuck?" Kendra yelled unable to contain herself. Everyone in the courtroom turned towards her. It was then she realized she actually raised herself and disrupted the order of the court. "Sorry your honor. Please proceed Billy" She said calming herself down and preparing her ears and mind for the lies that were soon to come.

"Just the kind of erratic and degenerate-like behavior I was talking about" Vince Russo commented as he turned over to Kendra and smirked. He also mouthed to her 'you're dead bitch'. She rolled her eyes.

"That didn't do you much justice Miss. Hart. On with you Billy Gunn" Vince McMahon said as he took a sip of his coffee. "Ahhh. Tasteless. Just like me"

"O...kay. Anywho, she came up to me telling me that she had a physical attraction towards me and she wants us to have a fling and well... I am a man and I'm no saint, plus she's hot so I caved in and decided to kiss her. But before things got heated I backed off and I guess she didn't take to well to that."

"So what did she do exactly?" Vince McMahon asked.

"She offered me a push. A mega push. She said with time she'll become big in the creative time and she'll have the power to do all that but I refused. She pressed on it over and over again but I refused. Then she told me that she'd get people to beat me up. I actually laughed at this. She told me to mark her words and she left me alone for some time. Naturally I didn't take any of this to heart cause she's just a young, silly and delusional girl. I always said hi to her whenever I walked passed her, never failing to mind my business."

"I must say I'm intrigued. Please carry on"

"Yes sir. So, last week I was outside in the parking lot talking to Bret, then she came over. Naturally I assumed things were alright and fine then I started teasing her which I see now was a big mistake. Now keep this in mind, at that time I had no idea that she and Bret were related and I have no idea what she told him about me but net thing I know, Bret totally unloads on me. Like he full on attacked me. You can see all the injuries and bruises right?" Billy asked the audience who all affirmed. "Thank you. Honestly I believe Kendra has the potential to be a sweet girl but right now, she has to go for the safety and stability of everyone here. Thank you"

"Wow. So that was Billy Gunn's testimony and it checks out with some of the the accusations on Miss Hart. Anything to say Kendra?" Vince McMahon asked. She shook her head no once more. "Well, things are looking a bit bleak for you right now since you've not made any effort whatsoever to defend yourself but it's good. To the stand I call on Vince Russo next"

"This is gonna be a long night" Kendra said to Shane.

"It's just to put up with whatever nonsense Russo has to say then play your tape. The evidence completely outweighs the lies they're sharing. Plus I'll be right by your side with the truth on my part" Shane said comforting her. Kendra nodded as she turned to the stand to hear what Vince Russo had to say.

Meanwhile...

"No I haven't seen Kendra around. Have you checked Russo's office?" Sandra Gray the seamstress asked. Bret nodded.

"I've checked every fucking place she could possibly be. Dammit" He cursed in frustration.

"Calm down Bret, you don't know if she's sick or has something else to do" Owen reassured.

"She would have called or something! God this is so like her!" Bret yelled once more. "I'm done here" Bret said walking away. Owen and Sandra looked at each other with worried expressions and they watched Bret walk away.

"Are you gonna go after him?" Sandra asked. Owen shook his head no.

"I've done that all night and right now I'm freaking tired. He'll calm down soon. We both know she's fine" Owen said. "I hope"

Bret walked around backstage, partially heading back to his locker room and partially keeping an eye out for Kendra. He couldn't get rid of that gut feeling telling him that something was absolutely wrong somewhere.

As he continued his search, walking past the gorilla position his eyes settled on one person. Someone he completely and utterly despised. And a sure guess is that you all know who that is.

"Bret 'Hitman' Hart. Always a please" Shawn said sarcastically as he teased the hitman. Bret rolled his eyes not wanting to deal with Shawn's shit today.

"Out of my way Michaels, I don't have the time today" Bret said. Shawn raised an eyebrow. This was new. He thought he'd at least get a fight or at least a war of words out of Bret. He decided to pressure on.

"What crawled up your ass and died? You seem Brettier than usual. You on your period or something?"

"What a nice attempt at an insult but unfortunately I'm not in the mood." Bret said before taking in a deep sigh. "I don't kike you, or trust you or rate you as a human being but desperate times call for desperate measures. Have you seen my sister around recently? Like today?" Brt asked. Shawn furrowed his eyebrows looking visibly affected by the question.

"Kendra?" Shawn asked. Bret nodded. "Uh... no, I haven't." Bret rolled his eyes.

"Of course you wouldn't be of much help. Outta my way" Bret said walking past him. For a second, Bret could've sworn that he perceived a familiar perfume scent from Shawn but with the frame of mind he was in he didn't give it too much thought and continued the pursuit of his sister.

Back in the courtroom...

"...and you wouldn't even believe how rude and disrespectful she is! Not to mention trying to rat us out to WCW and Billionaire Ted's entire corporation. She's a crazy bitch that's what she is and she needs to be dealt with!" And like that Vince Russo had been ranting for the past thirty minutes and quite frankly the whole court was already sick and tired of listening to him. Especially Vince McMahon who most certainly dozed off more than a dozen times.

"Oh for crying out loud. Objection my lord" Kendra said standing up.

"You can't just..." Vince Russo started.

"Yes she can. In fact she can continue. To the podium Kendra! Pronto!" Vince McMahon announced.

"But..."

"But nothing Russo. We get the point, she's a horrible person. Take a seat. I'm bored!" If not for circumstances Kendra would've burst out into laughter. But now she had other pressing issues at hand.

"Kendra Charlene Hart, as you're called do the podium do you pledge to say the truth and nothing but the truth?" Vince McMahon asked. She nodded.

"Yes. I promise to say the truth and nothing but the truth." She said.

"Alrighty then. Well, for starters it's actually nice to meet you I don't think we've met before. How's your dad?"

"Oh he's great. Still fit but you know..."

"Um dad... sorry, your honor. Some of us have things to do. Let's try to wrap this up" Shane interrupted.

"Oh yes. Well I honestly don't see any possible way you can defend yourself or turn the tides around but I am a fair man. The floor is all yours Kendra" He said. The time had finally come.

"Alright. Greetings all. Now before I put forward my evidence I'd like to say something." She started as she took in a deep breath. "Working in the WWF is my dream job. Wrestling is in my blood as it is all I've ever known. Vince Mc... sorry, your honor. You're one of the most respected and brilliant people in this industry..."

"That's correct" Vince interjected. Shane rolled his eyes.

"...right" Kendra said as she and Shane exchanged looks. "And I was so excited when I got this internship position, it felt like my life suddenly had meaning and direction. But I'd like to say that this man..." I said pointing to Vince Russo. ",,,has made my life in this company a living hell!"

"Objection my lord!" Vince Russo yelled.

"Overruled." Vince McMahon said. "Please proceed"

"Thank you your honor. Vince Russo has done everything possible to make me miserable. Your honor I'd like to inform you that literally every single storyline idea throughout the past three months that has come from Vince Russo has been my idea including the Austin storyline. Your son can confirm this because I gave him some ideas one time when you guys were running out of what to do"

"It's true dad. She did" Shane added. Vince Russo glared daggers at both of them.

"Well, this is an interesting development. What have you to say about this Mr. Russo?" Vince McMahon asked.

"Your honor. She's my intern. Of course she would, and should know ever storyline idea I've come up with. Maybe she ratted some out to Shane and is trying to take up all the glory. This is an old trick and I must stay, it's not very effective" Vince Russo said.

"Good enough. Anything else you'd like to add Kendra?"

"Anything else? Well asides from verbal threats, verbal humiliation, forcing me to quit my job which I didn't by the way which is what led to this whole court thing. There was a point where I voluntarily stopped giving him ideas and then he had Billy Gunn..." Kendra took in a deep breath as her voice and overall tone calmed down. "...he had Billy Gunn sexually assault me!"

The entire court room gasped. Vince McMahon gasped. Even Shane who already knew the story gasped. It was that shocking.

"Billy! Vince! Did this really happen?! Remember this is a criminal offence. Did you or didn't both of you conspire to sexually assault Miss. Hart?" Vince roared. Billy was stunned and couldn't say a word so Russo had to speak up for him. He laughed.

"Your honor, the jury, Ladies and Gentlemen, Howard Finkel, Shane McMahon and Kendra Hart, that's a huge accusation. And a huge PROOF LESS accusation to begin with!" Vince Russo said stressing on the proof less part.

"Oh please. Your time is up Russo" Kendra said. Vince Russo raised an eyebrow as Kendra got out a silver recorder and Shane passed an amplifier over to her for the whole courtroom to hear. It was then that boh Billy and Vince Russo's eyes widened.

"Wait, there's no need to..." Kendra cut Russo off by pressing play.

Meanwhile...

Bret had just finished having his match. As the best there is, the best there was and the best there ever will be he had no problems with the match and it was a technical classic as usual, but once he got backstage, the adrenalin of performing in front of thousands wore off and his mind went back to his sister.

His blood boiled.

He knew quite well that she was capable of this stunt. She'd done it before the whole disappearing thing and as always he was always the one who had to handle this mess and find her which was exactly what he was gonna do.

But what Bret couldn't realize or admit to himself is that though he was angry, a little part of him was scared that something bad might have happened to his little sister...

Back in the courtroom...

The last recording had just ended and the entire room was silent. Vince looked furiously at both Billy Gunn and Vince Russo while Kendra just had a pure look of relief on her face. At last the nightmare was coming to an end.

"With this overwhelming evidence, I rest my case" She said as she stepped down from the podium. The audience erupted in cheers for her as she made her way back to her seat.

"I'm so proud of you Kendra" Shane assured. She mouthed a 'thanks' and smiled at him. Her heart raced incredibly fast as she couldn't believe that she had done all that.

"Your honor I can explain..." Vince Russo started.

"That's Vince McMahon to you! And there's nothing else to explain. You have displayed a incredibly bad work ethic and even committed an offence punishable by law! Vince Russo... YOU'RE FIRRREEEEDDDD!" Vince announced and the crowd erupted once again as Russo slumped down to the floor. He passed out. "How sad. Well, before anything else. Kendra, would you like to press charges against Billy Gunn?"

Kendra looked over to Billy who had a pitiable look on his face. On one hand, she could argue that was entirely Vince Russo's fault but she knew better. Gunn knew what he was doing as well.

"Nah Vince. But what I do want is a restraining order" She decided. Vince nodded.

"I'll make sure that is done. I'm extremely sorry for all that happened. The WWF is an extremely safe working environment and we're all supposed to be like a family here. I promise that this won't happen ever again. And goes to everyone else here. If anything bad happens, please do the needful and speak out before it becomes too late."

"Well put Dad, well put" Shane commented. "So who's Kendra gonna be assisting now?" He said putting an arm over her shoulder.

"Well, I was thinking she might as well take Vince Russo's job since all those storylines were her ideas..." Kendra's eyes widened. She definitely didn't want that! Well not that she didn't but she was so inexperienced she didn't wanna have that kinda responsibility yet. "...but on second thought and judging by her face right now, she's way too inexperienced to have that kind of job right now. No. I say she spends out the remainder of her internship as your assistant Shane. Then afterwards we can decide on how ready she is for the position. She will be paid from now on, of course. How does that sound dear?"

"Very good sir, thank you" Kendra said her eyes glittering with excitement.

"Ahh, call me Vince. You've earned it" She nodded. "And trust me, we will be calling you into the creative room more often now so get ready. Court dismissed!" Vince said. "And can someone please take this piece of trash out of my building!" He said referring to Vince Russo who was still lying down flat on the floor.

"We did it!" Kendra squealed with joy once she and Shane were out of the court room... sorry Vince's office. (Hehehe) "I'm so happy. Finally, what a relief! Thank you so much Shane, you're the best" She said jumping up and hugging him.

Shane was stunned as he never expected this but eventually gave in and hugged the girl back. It was a nice wholesome moment until he set his eyes on someone familiar who cleared their throat spoiling their moment. Kendra let him go and turned around knowing exactly who made that sound.

"Hi Bret" She said to her brother who honestly looked like he was about to explode.

"Where the fuck have you been all night?!"

So things ended on a happy note... right? More drama coming up in the next chapter. It feels good to be back and it definitely feels good to finally get rid of that Vince Russo character. Honestly, I was getting sick of him myself.)

Keep it in mind, the story will take a new direction in the net couple of chapters so brace yourselves. See you all in the next chapter. Remember to always stay safe :)