"Agent Riley Finn, do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you god?"

"I do."

"Would you please describe your occupation for the Court?"

"I am a team leader and second in command of the Initiative, first under Margaret Walsh and now under the command of Rupert Giles of the Watcher's Council."

"What were you doing on the day in question?"

"I was patrolling with my team, looking for evidence as to where we were and what had happened," the Initiative agent said.

"And what did you find there?" the prosecutor asked.

"First we found a lot of nothing, but after that we were attacked by orcs," he answered. "Agent Miller was shot by an arrow and we radioed for assistance."

"Did you do anything to provoke this attack?"

"No, we were not even aware they were near until the first arrows flew," Finn replied. "It wasn't until the orcs decided to close that we really got a good look at them."

"Thank you," the prosecutor said with a smile. "Now what happened after that?"

"Drizzt helped us out," Riley answered.

"How?"

"He attacked the orcs who were attacking us. If it wasn't for him, we would have never survived," Riley said. "He and Gwen (Drizzt's panther friend) were able to keep a number of them occupied so that we were not overrun. That boy's a hero."

"So you would consider him a good person?"

"Yes I would. Drizzt goes above and beyond what he has to do and helps. If there's a fight, he's right along side us helping to protect the town and everyone living here," Agent Finn answered. "Drizzt does what needs to be done and he doesn't even get paid for it. He's more than just an immigrant or a local, or whatever you want to call them. He's a good person who looks out for others without seeking reward or praise. In fact, he'll personally berate himself for not doing more. I haven't known him long, but I'm proud to call him a friend."

"What happened after the orcs attacked?"

"Drizzt and the others helped to drive them off. Then the stone giants attacked. Drizzt was hit in the leg with a boulder. It was broken. Buffy-"

"Buffy Summers, the Slayer?"

"Yes, Buffy Summers ran in and attacked the orcs and later the giants. We didn't know at the time that the giants were just trying to scare off the orcs. She managed to break up the fight."

"What happened after the fight was over?"

"McGristle immediately tried to attack Drizzt. There was no warning, no attempt at capture. He just tried to kill Drizzt with his axe. Buffy hit him in the back of the head with a club and he passed out."

"And he made no attempt at all? Nothing to show that he was an officer of the law or a bounty hunter or anything of the sort?"

"No, he just charged and attacked."

"Thank you Agent Finn," the prosecutor said. Glancing up at the judge, he nodded to her. "No other questions for this witness, your Honor."

The Judge nodded to the defense for cross-examination.

"Now, Agent Finn, what do you know about orcs?"

"Then or now?"

"Now please."

"Orcs have a very strong warrior culture. The males are raised from a very young age to fight and it is a sort of Alpha Male situation with the strongest warrior as the clan leader," Finn replied. "The females are housekeepers and protectors of their young. They will fight and are very good at it, but they tend to only fight defensively."

"Aren't they very territorial?"

"Some clans can be. However, not all are. There are a number of nomadic orc tribes in the North."

"So, you just blundered into their territory and antagonized them."

"That is not how I would describe it," Riley said, his ire growing just a little.

"Did they attack when you entered their territory?"

Riley paused a moment before answering. "…Yes."

"So they considered you to be an invading force."

"I suppose it could be perceived that way."

"Objection your Honor! Agent Finn is not on trial here."

"Sustained. Council, change the line of questioning."

"Of Course, your Honor," the defense attorney replied quickly as if he expected the question.

Miles to the east, in a still dark canyon, a Sunnydale explorer team went missing.

"Agent Finn, you said that you consider Drizzt Do'Urden to be a friend," the defense council asked.

"Yes."

"And you said he is a good person, always willing to help out."

"Yes I did."

"Then how do you explain the other Drizzt locked up in the Initiative vaults?"

"Objection!" called out the Prosecutor. "Drizzt's dimensional twin did not know McGristle until they were both incarcerated. This line of questioning has nothing to do with Agent Finn's interaction with Drizzt Do'Urden."

"Actually it has to do with what Mr. Do'Urden is truly capable of," the defense argued.

"Copy Drizzt is a mage, something the original Drizzt was not and is not," the prosecutor shot back. "Comparing them is apples to oranges, your Honor."

"Agent Finn has interacted with both of them and has had a chance to compare them and what both have said about their culture," the Defense countered. "It gives insight into how their culture is perceived in the Realms at large."

"I'll allow it for now, but don't stray too far from the real subject here," the judge cautioned.

"Thank you, your Honor." Turning back to Agent Finn he smiled. "Please answer the question."

"I can't explain the other Drizzt. I am not a physicist or mage or psychologist."

"Then describe him."

"He goes by the same name as Drizzt and looks almost identical. He has a few less scars, suggesting he was magically healed more often. He is a mage and delights in psychological and physical torture."

"So he is not a nice person."

"I would not describe him that way, no."

"But they are the same person, aren't they?"

"Objection! We don't condemn people just because they are related."

"Sustained. Skip it along Council." The Judge was not amused.

"No further questions, your Honor." As soon as the defense sat down, the prosecution glanced at the judge.

"Permission to reexamine the witness, your Honor?"

"Go ahead."

"Agent Finn, you know Drizzt on a personal level, but you only know his dimensional twin on a professional level, right?"

"Objection! Leading the witness."

"Sustained."

"I'll rephrase your honor," the prosecution answered quickly. "Agent Finn, could you please describe your relationship with both Do'Urdens?"

"Drizzt is my friend, the other is a dangerous creature. They aren't the same person at all, even if they do share DNA," Finn said. "It's like comparing sweet corn to cow corn. They look alike but are very different on the inside."

"Thank you, Agent Finn. No further questions, your Honor."

"Call your next witness."

"I would like to call Ambassador Kellindil to the stand."

Miles to the East, the bodies of the exploration team were found charred. Their equipment was partially melted, almost as if amps of electricity had hit the campsite on a clear day.

"Ambassador Kellindil, how did you get to know the Defendant and Mr. Do'Urden?"

"When a family was killed, a group was assembled to look into the matter. It was lead by Dove Falconhand and included myself, Gabriel, a human fighter and our dwarven sage friend, Fret. The mayor of the town called us to investigate the murders. He insisted that McGristle accompany us, even though we all protested the decision. They had already heard the stories of Drow in the hills around the farm."

"And your group is experienced in this method of investigation?"

"Yes, we have done this for some time. I've traveled with Lady Falconhand for nearly 80 years and the others for less time, but they are no less skilled in this."

"Your Honor, I would like to have Ambassador Kellindil treated as an Expert into traditional investigation techniques."

"Council, do you have any objections?"

"If I may ask a few questions to ascertain this?"

"Go ahead."

The defense attorney stood up and walked to the bench. "Ambassador, do you have any formal training in the field of forensics or investigation?"

"I am a well trained ranger and have investigated many crimes across the north."

"But you have never been formally trained at a school of forensics or a police academy?"

"Objection! Your Honor, most people do not have formal academies of any subject in this new world, putting the same expectations to Ambassador Kellindil that we would to an old Earth detective is not appropriate. He is an expert in traditional forms of investigation."

"Sustained. Ask a new question Council."

"I'll allow him."

"Go ahead Prosecution."

"Ambassador Kellindil, please describe the crime scene that you found," the prosecutor asked.

"The farm house was typical of the region. The front door had been knocked in. There were three children and two adults all killed with a scimitar."

"The weapon this Drow had been seen using?"

"Yes, and a broken one was found in the farm house; however, it was a little strange."

"How so?"

"The cuts did not look like those of a Drow. They were haphazard and seemed to come only from the same hand, instead of two. Drow are well known for using twin weapons."

"But there could have been an exception?"

"It is possible, but we also found a group of gnolls killed outside the limits of the farm. These strikes were precise and were placed in perfect X strikes. These fit a Drow attack perfectly."

"And how do you have knowledge of how a Drow attacks?"

Kellindil paused a moment, almost as if he didn't like where the questioning was going. "There was an attack years ago in the Moonwood. Drow attacked an elven picnic and slaughtered all but one child. I was among those who rescued the child. My cousin and her lover had a hand in raising the survivor."

"So you know exactly what a drow attack looks like, correct?"

"Yes, unfortunately I do."

"And the comparison to the attack on the farm?"

"The farm was more like a thug with a blade. There was none of the control and directness of a drow attack. There was plenty of ruthlessness, but none of the precision that a drow attacks with."

"Was there anything else about the attack that was not quite clear?"

"Yes, a beam was broken in the ceiling of one room. It was clearly broken by someone pushing up from below as opposed to weight from above or an attack. The beam was as wide as my forearm is long and just as deep. Only something quite large that had massive strength could have done that."

"Could it have been an older crack?"

"No, the town leader said it was new from the day before."

"And what could have made the break, in your expert opinion?"

"An ogre, a mid level fiend, an Ettin or some of the smaller giants. A very large orc with magical strength could have done it."

"Could a drow have done it? Or any kind of Elf?"

"No, it would have been impossible for an elf of any kind to have done that on his own. There were also the problems with the footprints. There was a first set that, while it was the right size for an elf, but they were far too deep as if something very heavy had made them. A second set was found around the area that was the right depth for a drow. These were made long after the attack."

"So, your party had doubts about the attack right from the start?"

"Yes, but the doubts grew when I first met Drizzt. He had been watching us for some time. I think only myself and perhaps Dove noticed him. Our perceptions are sharper than most. One night I was alone on watch and Drizzt stepped out of the shadows. He was unarmed and greeted me. I…I did not take the greeting well and attacked him."

"How did he respond?"

"He didn't counter attack. He conjured a globe of darkness around me and escaped. It was then that I knew he was not a Drow as I had been raised to think of them. A normal Drow would have taken the advantage and struck me from behind. He took the distraction to escape. I'm afraid that he might have formed a poor impression of me."

"How did McGristle act about Drizzt?"

"He would inflate what the Drow had done. He would make up lies about the Drow, who we later knew to be Drizzt, and say he had done crimes all over the North. He made Drizzt out to be mass murder that had been killing people from the Sword Coast to Kara-Tur. But everything came back to his eye and his dog. He didn't want justice for the farm; he wanted revenge for himself. He was a maniac. After a while he stopped even keeping up the pretense that it was for the family."

"And your opinion of the fight?"

"All doubts I might have had vanished. Drizzt could have used the fight as a distraction to escape, but he didn't. He turned around and protected people he had never met and had no reason to trust. Drizzt did not kill those farmers and there was no reason for McGristle to act as he did except hatred and bigotry."

"Thank you Ambassador."

Closer to Sunnydale, one of the security teams was cut off in mid sentence. They had just reported something flying in from the East. Ten seconds later, the newly installed raid sirens went off in Sunnydale.

The courtroom was full of confusion. The judge cut through the noise with her gavel. "ORDER! Court is in recess until the crisis is over. Everyone exit the building and get to the closest shelters. Bailiff, take the defendant back to his cell. MOVE PEOPLE!"