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Chapter 222: Panic at the Courtroom
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It turned out, a witness having a sudden, Obsession-induced panic attack was one of the things that could temporarily bring a Libran trial to a halt.
As the one experiencing said panic attack, Danny didn't exactly appreciate this.
He laid flat on his back on the floor, his body tense with the need to do something, but he couldn't, he had promised, and he always kept his promises, because if he didn't bad things would happen and everything would fall apart, but he had to do something, had to do something now now now, because if he didn't they'd all find out, they'd find out and he'd never be able to see Mom and Dad again ever, and why hadn't he at least looked at them?
Something cool was pressed into his forehead, cool even for his body temperature, and he shuddered.
"This is why we have treatments for child witnesses!" someone was saying, angrily. "We should never have allowed him to testify in an unaltered state of mind!"
"And then the defense, if they're worth the name of their poison, would have picked his testimony apart on the basis of the alteration," said someone else. "Besides which—"
"Can you hear me, Danny?"
He wanted to say yes, but he couldn't say yes. Saying yes would get Jack and Maddie in trouble. Bigger trouble. The word got stuck in his throat and he choked.
"What's wrong with him? What's happening?"
"Mrs. Fenton, Mr. Fenton, we need you to leave the room, now."
"Daniel," said Clockwork, his voice deep and calm, "if you can hear me, please squeeze my hand."
Okay. That didn't require speaking. Or nodding. Or anything that could be construed as a yes, because he couldn't do yes right now, but he also couldn't do no, because that would be a lie.
Clockwork was holding his hand? Since when? What was Danny supposed to do with it?
Squeeze. Right.
"Alright. Good. The jury has left the room. So have Jack and Madeline. Anything you say now will have no effect on the verdict of the trial."
Danny's vision cleared slightly as the massive weight on his chest eased. He sucked in a breath that felt like acid. Had they replaced the atmosphere of the room? He wouldn't put it past, uh… Who exactly was in charge of atmosphere? Vortex? That sounded right.
Screw Vortex anyway. He was such a jerk.
"Frostbite is on his way."
"Nnh," said Danny, by way of acknowledgement. It was a good sound. It didn't really convey much in the way of meaning.
"That's good, that's good," said Clockwork.
Danny decided to try to sit up. Clockwork switched to rubbing his back. He couldn't see any people, only bright smears of color. Oh. He was crying. Ugh. All the cool points he'd gotten from convincing the initial committee to remove the death penalty and from defeating Issitoq had just launched themselves out a window and fallen through a natural portal into the Jurassic, only to be eaten by a passing Allosaurus.
Weird metaphor. Okay. He was okay. He'd be okay, so long as no one asked him any questions. Probably. Maybe.
Oh, Ancients, he was a mess.
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"What was that?" demanded Maddie, whirling. "Was that an attack? Did someone attack Danny?"
"We should stay and fight!" said Jack, as they were pushed none-too-gently out the courtroom for the second time in as many sessions.
"It wasn't an attack," said Wolfsbane, his ghostly echo far more pronounced than usual. His aura was brighter, his eyes almost difficult to look at.
"Then what—" Maddie pulled her arm out of Azalea's grip. "What was it? What happened?"
"In your rooms. I doubt this is a conversation you want to be overheard," growled Wolfsbane. "Perhaps you should consider the question Astraea asked immediately prior to Danny's… reaction, as we walk."
Maddie did. The question had made the bottom drop out of her stomach, even before Danny had had some kind of fit. Maybe it wouldn't have, if Danny hadn't been clear that the ring Jack had made would be considered terrible, even in context, but he had.
Had Danny tried to lie? Was that what going against a Stygian oath looked like? Or was this something unique to Danny?
Azalea stopped outside the room. "I can't do this," she said, suddenly. "Not right now."
"That's fine," said Wolfsbane. "Please tell me whether or not you want to continue before Themis reconvenes the court. I will need to file the appropriate paperwork, if not."
"I'll take care of the paperwork if it comes to it. I'm sorry, sir."
"Don't be," said Wolfsbane. "You need to do what feels right for you."
Azalea nodded and gave him a tight smile. "I liked the chaos, it just—"
"Not the cause of it, hm?"
"Yeah. I'll be at the office."
Wolfsbane sighed and closed the door as Azalea turned away before looking back at Jack and Maddie. "Sit," he said, harshly.
Jack and Maddie exchanged a glance.
"You're angry at us," said Maddie.
"I am," said Wolfsbane. "You've been keeping secrets from us. How are we supposed to defend you if we don't have the whole story? How—" The ghost raised a hand and rubbed a small circle on his chest.
(Maddie wondered if ghosts could get headaches. Or, rather, their equivalent: coreaches?)
"How can we have anything like a working relationship? How can we know if we should defend you? Our firm has policies."
"Does this mean you aren't going to defend us anymore?" asked Jack, troubled.
"No," said Wolfsbane. "We don't quit part-way through a trial. But I need you to be honest with me. What else did you make that broke Taboo, and what did it do?"
"Explain what happened to Danny, first," ordered Maddie.
Wolfsbane actually growled, eyes flashing, but he dropped into his own chair and put a fist on the table.
"That," he gritted out, "was the result of his Obsession clashing with his oaths. He could not answer the question without putting you, or someone else, I suppose, in danger. He could not lie, or avoid the question, because he had sworn to be truthful, and he had sworn to follow the rules of the trial – Including answering questions." Wolfsbane barred his teeth. "The conflict hurt him. And any of us could have walked into that, because you – Are you even being tried for the right thing?"
"I—" said Maddie, not sure how to even begin to answer. "Well…"
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"Lady Themis wants to see us," said Hemlock.
Danny picked up one of the pillows on his bed and put it on his lap, as if to shield himself. "Why?"
"She wants to talk about what happened."
"Why?"
"Does Danny have to do this?" asked Jazz, who was sitting on the other side of the bed. "Like, can he decline? Or do it later?"
"I'm fine, Jazz," groaned Danny.
"Can you answer this question?" shot back Jazz.
Danny scowled. "That's not fair," he said. Because he couldn't. Yes or no questions were not cooperating with him today.
"Well, she didn't say for you to come immediately," said Hemlock, "but within the next few hours. Are you sure you cannot tell me what happened? What your answer might have been? I won't go sharing it with the prosecution, I can assure you."
Danny shook his head, feeling miserable. "I can't. It isn't that I don't trust you, I can't."
"I understand," said Hemlock. "But Lady Themis may insist."
"I can't," repeated Danny.
"I can explain," said Clockwork. "As can several others. Daniel does not need to."
"I will say as much to Lady Themis, but as I've said, she may insist."
As soon as Hemlock had left, Danny groaned. "I've wrecked everything, haven't I? I screwed up."
"No," said Clockwork. "I am sorry, Daniel, I know you wished it to be otherwise, but… This was always almost certain to come out."
"Almost."
"Yes. And if it didn't, it wouldn't have been any particular action on your part that kept the secret, but oversights on the part of advocates."
Danny hunched his shoulders. "Do you know that, or are you just saying it to make me feel better."
"Why can't I do both?" asked Clockwork, running his hand up and down the length of his staff.
"Grandfather…" said Danny.
"But I have been feeling better these past couple of days."
"That's good. I just… What happens if Themis decides to change the charges? Or do another trial? Is that an option?"
"Both of them are, yes," said Clockwork. "Simply, if either of them happens, we will have to deal with them. As we do with anything else."
"I want this to be over," said Danny, clenching his hands on the pillow.
"It may be, for you," said Clockwork.
"What?"
"The section in the rules about child witnesses."
"But-? Oh. Yeah. Reducing stress on children. If no one asks about that, I'll probably be fine, though. I wish I c—" he cut himself off. Years. It had been literal years. He thought he had trained himself out of using that word.
"Would you like me to go talk to them?" asked Jazz, practically reading his mind. "Mom and Dad, I mean."
"Please," said Danny. "If you think they'll let you in."
"I mean, probably. I'll need to get my advocates to go talk to their advocates. I'm surprised they haven't yanked me away like Sam's and Tucker's did to them."
"They're waiting outside the door," said Danny.
"Wait, really?"
"Yeah, I think they wanted to let us talk a bit befooooooohhhhow did I know that?"
"I was just about to ask you," said Jazz, raising her eyebrows.
"That is not a thing I should know," said Danny. "Why do I know that thing?"
Clockwork patted his shoulder. "Well, there are two options. Either your time-related powers are developing further, in which case we should talk about how to manage that, or you are beginning to receive some of the fringe benefits associated with your position as Prince of the Infinite Realms. Which we should also talk about. We did not have nearly enough time to talk about your duties and privileges back in Long Now, and I think I may have given you some incorrect information on certain subjects. Why don't you take a nap? When you wake up, I'll have some lesson plans drawn up."
"Yeah, and in the meantime, I'll go talk to Ivy and Nettle," said Jazz. "I'll tell Sam and Tucker what's going on, if I see them."
"Thanks," said Danny. "I'm sorry about all of this."
"Still not your fault. Mom and Dad should have taken an ethics class in college or something. Vlad, too, if I think about it."
Danny sighed. "I don't think one class would have changed anything."
"Hm. Maybe, maybe not," said Jazz. "I know some of my classes have been life-changing! Anyway, get some sleep, Danny."
"Yeah, thanks."
