October 26

Defendant Lobby No. 6

11:30 AM

Lily Shield

Arriving out in the defendant lobby again made me take the largest sigh of relief I ever had, and a massive weight pulled itself off my shoulders in the blink of an eye. I had known the case had been holding me back and down before now, but feeling it was an entirely different matter, and I was glad to finally have that pressure gone. It was perfect in ways I couldn't fully describe.

"It's over... Finally," Victoria whispered with a light smile. She threw her arms around Pieter once he had appeared, and he pulled her in tight as well. "You're free, and everything can finally go back to normal again... I'm so happy."

"I don't know if it's going to be that easy," Pieter frowned. "That case... So much happened in the courtroom. I don't know where we're going to head from here, but we need to be careful."

I hummed with a nod at that. I didn't want to admit that it wasn't over, but I knew there was still more to this case we hadn't yet seen. The leader of the Emsthorpe family was still at large since the case had transpired because of the events of his children with relatively little interference from him. We were still missing the most important part of this equation, and I was confident he had already gotten away from this case. He had lost everything, and he was running off to lick his wounds. That may have been a temporary solution, but it wasn't going to solve things forever. Instead, he was just going to come back again with more rage in his heart for the legal system that had once again ripped his family apart. It wouldn't be easy to face him again, but we would have to try when the time finally came.

In the meantime, the courtroom continued to empty out, and Chrysalis stepped out with Mr. Morix. Sky and Felicity were with them too, and all four of them looked like they had never seen relief like this before in their lives. Felicity dashed toward Yuri as soon as she was out in the lobby, and she gladly scooped Yuri into a hug before swinging her around in a circle. I didn't know where Felicity had been hiding those muscles, but I wasn't going to ask questions either. Instead, I just smiled as Felicity set Yuri down and beamed at her. "You did it! Everything is finally over!" she cried out.

"That was a tough one," Yuri smiled wearily. "But we were able to get out of it in one piece, so I think we can consider that a win at the end of the day." She glanced around to the rest of the agency. "How are all of you feeling? I know this isn't what we thought was going to happen, but... It's over at least, right?"

"I... I don't know how to feel," Pieter confessed. "I don't like assassins at all for what they've done. Even if the Emsthorpe family wasn't the group behind what happened to me, they were still involved with it somehow, and I don't think I'll ever be able to forgive them for that. But at the same time... Three of them did something good over these last few days to keep people safe."

"I still don't know how to feel about it either," Chrysalis admitted. "I mean, under different circumstances, all of them would want me dead. It wouldn't shock me if all of them wanted me dead at some point. Despite all of that... They still helped me when I was in a bad situation, and I... I'm grateful for that even if I'm not entirely sure how I'm supposed to respond to it."

"This case was a lot," Sky agreed with a nod. "We should try to take a step back from it though. I don't mean to be rude, Victoria, but you look like you've barely slept since all of this started."

Victoria's cheeks went pink at that, and she rubbed at the back of her neck anxiously. "That... That's pretty close to the truth, if I'm being honest," she muttered. "I was just so worried about everything that I couldn't get myself to stay down for the night. It was a lot to handle."

"But it's all fine now, right?" Yuri asked. "We might have a lot to take care of in the future, but right now, everything is okay. We were able to help Pieter, and everybody knows that he wasn't the one responsible for the murder now. On top of that, we helped out Niamh, and she's back home after all of that."

"Speaking of Niamh... I think we should talk to her before all of this is over," Chrysalis suggested with a small frown. "I know she went through a lot while she was being held hostage... Well, hostage might not be the right word, but you know what I mean. The last few days have been tough for her too, and we can't forget that."

"You can say that again."

I turned at the sound of a new voice, and when I glanced up to the entrance of the defendant's lobby, I was met with Neptune, Clarith, and Buddy. Neptune was the one who had spoken, and she wore a glowing but tired smile on her face. She crossed over to the rest of us before she wrapped her arms around Chrysalis and Yuri, pulling them both in close and ruffling their hair along the way. Yuri let out a small yelp before she started to laugh along, and Chrysalis just rolled her eyes at Neptune's over the top display of affection. "I'm really proud of you all for what you did in there," Neptune declared. "You did a lot of good work to help that trial end well, and you should be proud of yourselves too."

"Thanks, Neptune," Yuri grinned as she wrestled herself away from the taller girl's grip. She glanced over to Clarith and Buddy a moment later, and her smile began to fade. Buddy still looked anxious, and given what we had heard the day before, I couldn't help but wince at the sight. Yuri tried to ease the two of them into the conversation though, and she spoke carefully as they approached. "How about you two? How are you feeling? I know this case has been a lot."

"I'm just glad it's over," Clarith confessed. "Everything is fine now... Or, at the very least, most of it is. The assassins responsible for the attack have been caught, and Prosecutor Wood is back here and fine. It's a nice step in the right direction."

"I still feel weird about this," Buddy confessed. "We shouldn't have had to ally ourselves with assassins like that in the first place. I don't know what to think. I'm glad it's over, but... I doubt I'll ever forgive them for what they did. Even if they were raised without knowing another way, this is... It's wrong. One good act isn't going to completely clear them in my mind." He took a few moments to breathe before shaking his head. "But they helped to bring Niamh back to us. I'm grateful for that much, and I don't think that will ever change."

"Speaking of Niamh, where is she?" Neptune asked with a small frown. "I would have thought she would be out here already."

"I... I'm right here."

Prosecutor Wood appeared a moment later. She looked exhausted as could be, and she was flanked on either side by Chief Prosecutor Bespoke and Prosecutor Lin. Prosecutor Wood herself offered us all a shaky wave before she continued to approach us.

Buddy practically launched himself toward her, throwing his arms around her before she could register what was happening. Prosecutor Wood was stunned for a moment before she returned the embrace, though I could tell she was still confused. "Thanks," she muttered, her voice coming out muffled thanks to the lower half of her face being pressed firmly against Buddy's shoulder. Tears started to rise in her eyes once again before they fell onto his shirt. She said nothing else, but every other word she could have wanted to say was still known to all in the silence.

"How are you feeling?" I asked carefully. I knew that question was probably going to end up pointless since Prosecutor Wood was in an awful position, but I wanted to at least ask and give her the space to talk about it if she wanted to. She had gone through so much, and she deserved to have the chance to open up after it all.

Prosecutor Wood remained quiet for a long time before she shrugged. "I'm not sure," she admitted. "I do know one thing though... I want to talk to the assassins before they go to jail. I know that's where they're going to end up, but... I need to hear from them one more time. I just have to understand why they went so far."

Chief Prosecutor Bespoke and Prosecutor Lin shared a look at that before the latter crouched down next to her daughter. "Are you sure about that, Niamh?" Prosecutor Lin asked. "You know everything that happened, and... You saw it yourself. Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"If they were going to kill me, then they would have done it while I was being held hostage... Well, not hostage, but you know what I mean. If they wanted to kill me, then they had plenty of opportunities, but they never did. That has to count for something... Right?" Prosecutor Wood questioned, though I could tell she was trying to convince herself just as much as she was trying to convince the rest of us.

Chief Prosecutor Bespoke looked to his girlfriend at that, and when Prosecutor Lin offered a hesitant nod, he pulled away and went back into the courtroom. I could only assume he was heading off to figure something out when it came to the assassins, but I had no idea what the details were going to lead to. I would just have to wait and see, it seemed.

"So... How are you feeling right now?" Yuri questioned of Prosecutor Wood once again. "I know there's a lot going on, but... I don't know. I guess I just want to be able to help you."

Prosecutor Wood thought about it for a moment before she shrugged. She rubbed at her temple with one hand. "I don't know," she repeated. "I'm tired though. I didn't think this case would leave me so exhausted, and even though it makes a lot of sense... I don't know. I'm exhausted. I think I'm going to need a massive break from taking any cases after all of this."

"How about Nevada?" Chrysalis asked hesitantly. "I haven't heard anything from her since all of this started."

"She came out a few times, but she was nervous too," Prosecutor Wood explained. "I don't think I've ever seen her looking that anxious. It was... It was hard to see, honestly. I don't know how she's feeling right now, but I'm going to try and talk to her when I get the chance. If I had to guess, I would say that she needs the chance to relax just as much as I do after everything that happened."

The room fell silent at that. I couldn't say I was surprised to hear any of that, but my heart still ached for everything she had been through. Prosecutor Wood had endured more than enough, and I wished she had been given a chance to rest before being thrown into the courtroom. Now that the case was over though, she could take all the time she needed. It wasn't going to be easy for her to come back from all of this, but I knew she was going to have to try it no matter what. She was going to be fine eventually, but until then, we would all be there for her the best we could be. Nothing would reverse the damage overnight, but we could at least push her in the right direction.

Buddy opened his mouth to say something, but he was cut off when the doors to the courtroom opened once again. Chief Prosecutor Bespoke came walking in a moment later, his expression stiff and unreadable. I could already tell he didn't like whatever he was about to say, but he did his best to not let that hold him back. "I was able to pull a few strings," he started simply. "You said you wanted to talk to the assassins, Niamh, so... Here you go."

A few moments later, Emmeline, Balthazar, and Belladonna were escorted into the defendant's lobby. All three of them were surprisingly calm even though they were in handcuffs and being escorted by a trio of bailiffs. This was my first time seeing Belladonna as herself, and I had to admit that it was shocking seeing her here. She was young, and if I had to guess, I would have said she was the same age as Prosecutor Wood. She had been roped into this before she could understand what she was doing, and she would have continued down this path if not for her siblings intervening. It was awful just how far Augustus Emsthorpe had gone for the sake of his sense of justice. It wasn't even justice at all as far as I was concerned.

Prosecutor Wood hesitated before she took a small step toward the trio of siblings. She seemed to have a million thoughts rushing through her head, but she didn't know how to put any of them to words. Instead, she let out a slow and careful sigh. "I... I wanted to thank you," she murmured. "After everything you did, I'm still here. I don't think that would be the case if you hadn't gotten in the way. Thanks for that."

"You're welcome," Emmeline replied slowly, testing the waters like she thought the words were going to explode in her face. "I'm sorry we couldn't do more to help you. I didn't... I didn't want it to go this far."

"It's fine. You did what you had to, and you saved my life," Prosecutor Wood told her. She took in another grounding breath before pushing it out slowly and surely. "I don't know if I'll ever be able to forgive you for what you did, but... I'm glad you changed your tune in time to save my life. It means a lot to me. I was able to come back to my family thanks to you, and I'll never forget that."

"I'm not going to ask for your forgiveness," Emmeline assured her. "We were given the choice of what to do in our family business, and we made the wrong decision. That's on us. And... I can't blame you for hating me after what I did. I killed someone dear to you, and my father was responsible for the deaths of others you cared for."

"I don't think your father's crimes are on you though," Prosecutor Wood frowned. "And when it comes to Ms. Thompson... You're right when you say that I hate you for that. You took away someone who helped me through one of the darkest times of my life, and you hurt countless other people too. I'll never be able to forget that, but... I can still thank you for this one thing. I wouldn't be here without you, and while it's not enough to fully earn my forgiveness, it's something. I'm not going to completely forget what you did for me throughout this case."

"That's good enough for me," Emmeline smiled loosely. I could tell there was something else on her mind though, and I could guess it fairly easily when given the chance, I was sure. She was thinking about the story Balthazar had shared with us about Zach Moore. Years ago, Zach had been the main person there for Prosecutor Wood when she was enduring massive hardship, and then... He was taken away by the Emsthorpe assassins. He had been used as little more than an exercise in brutality for them, and afterward, he was gone. Prosecutor Wood had no idea his suicide note was a fake one at all, and the weight of the truth hung over the entire conversation.

That seemed to be the question on everyone's minds at this point. Should we be telling Prosecutor Wood the truth about her cousin yet? I didn't want to be the one to do it if that was the decision we made. I personally thought it would be a better idea if we waited a little bit longer so she had the chance to recover from everything that had taken place over the course of the last few days. She had been through more than enough, and I didn't want to make that worse for her.

Luckily, it seemed as if we didn't have much of a choice in where the conversation went next. Belladonna was quick to offer her input with a smile on her face. "It was nice being able to hang out with you for a few days," she told Prosecutor Wood, and the other girl stared at her in shocked silence. "I haven't ever been able to hang out with people my age, so having you around was... Nice. I wish we could have done it for a little bit longer. You know, when you weren't on the run for your life."

That caught Prosecutor Wood off guard too, and she nodded quietly with a loose smile. I couldn't tell how she was feeling, though if I was being honest, I didn't even think she herself knew what to think at this point. "Yeah... I wish we could have gotten to know each other under better circumstances too," she agreed. There was more to this sentiment than met the eye, and all of us knew it, but it was still sweet to hear after everything that had happened. I just wished there could have been a bit more to it before all of this fell apart.

Balthazar glanced over his shoulder at the nearby bailiffs watching them. Even after Chief Prosecutor Bespoke had asked them for a chance to talk, they didn't seem very happy about having to wait on taking away the trio of assassins. Balthazar was the most aware of this out of all of them, and he let out a small sigh as he turned back to the rest of us. "I believe it's time for us to go," he said. "We've waited long enough."

"But you've only been out here for a few minutes," Yuri protested. "What if there's something else you need to say?" She cast a glance at Prosecutor Wood out of the corner of her eye, though I could tell the target of her worries wasn't paying much attention after everything that had happened.

"We can resolve that at a later date. For the time being, we've been on the run as assassins for far too long," Balthazar told her with a shake of his head. "Even before this case, we were some of the most wanted people out there because of our relationship to our father. That's not something we can easily erase. We need to make up for everything we did while under his thumb."

"And perhaps we can do something to make our mother proud after all this time," Emmeline finished for him as she closed her eyes in muted contemplation. "I know this wasn't the path she wanted any of us to follow. I can't say I understand the details behind everything she did or how she felt about our circumstances, but... I hope she's proud of us for being able to break free of it all. This was a long time coming, and it's nice to finally be able to leave this in the past."

"I just wish it didn't mean we hd to leave Raven behind," Belladonna muttered. "I mean, I knew she wasn't going to listen to us no matter what we said, but... I wish she had been willing to change her mind even a little bit. If that was the case, then none of this would have had to happen. There would have been no massive murder attempt, and we wouldn't have had to leave her behind to..." She sighed and shook her head. "You know." Die.

"If hearing the truth about our mother's death wasn't enough to snap Raven out of it, then I fear nothing would have brought her to her senses," Balthazar told Belladonna, and something about his tone told me they had gone through this line of discussion many times over the course of the last few days. "We did what we had to, and that's all there is to it. How people choose to respond to that is their decision. It's out of our hands now."

"I don't regret what I did though. I don't like that I was forced to kill my sister, but I'm glad I was able to succeed in my mission," Emmeline said. She looked to Chief Prosecutor Bespoke, Chrysalis, and Prosecutor Wood at that. "What happened when Raven died was necessary for the sake of saving other lives, and I don't regret lashing out at her if I was able to save three people's lives. It's not much after everything I've already done, but it's a step in the right direction."

"Yeah... I guess so," Chief Prosecutor Bespoke muttered under his breath. He still didn't know how to feel about all of this, and I couldn't blame him at all. Everyone was going to be thinking about this case for a long time while they tried to figure out how to respond to its consequences. It had been a lot to manage while the trial was in session, and it was going to continue to hold us back even after we left it behind. That was just the way of it all whether we liked it or not.

"If you need to speak with us in the prison, you know where to find us," Balthazar said next. "I know we're going to be there for a long, long time. If you ever have questions, we'll be there." He eyed Prosecutor Wood out of the corner of his vision at that, but she didn't look up to face him, instead just continuing to stare down at the ground. She offered him a vague nod, and that seemed to be enough for him. Balthazar turned to both Emmeline and Belladonna before looking back to the bailiffs. "Alright... It's time to go."

"Goodbye, everyone," Belladonna smiled as she waved to us. "I'll see you again... One of these days. Or so I'm hoping."

With that, the bailiffs escorted the trio of siblings out of the room, leaving behind a vacuum of silence where they had once stood. Something in my stomach shifted uncomfortably with their departure, and I couldn't quite figure out how I felt. That wasn't surprising in the slightest given the circumstances, but it still bothered me in more ways than I could explain out loud. This case had ended the best way it possibly could have, but it had still left behind far more questions than I was comfortable with. There were still so many open threads that we needed to resolve, and it would take a long time before we could fully forget about this.

Chief Prosecutor Bespoke seemed to understand that, and he glanced down to his adoptive daughter with a frown on his face. "From now on, we're not letting you go anywhere alone," he told her firmly. "It's too dangerous."

"Yeah... I had a feeling you would say something like that," Prosecutor Wood muttered. "I don't think I want to be left alone for a while after this anyway. It was a lot to deal with, and I... I'm tired. I need a nice long break from everything after all of that."

"And you're going to have it," Prosecutor Lin assured her. "No matter what, we'll be here for you. We can go back home and make dinner together. I could make cookies for dessert too. I know how much Nevada likes those."

"Yeah... I'd like that," Prosecutor Wood nodded. She didn't say it out loud, but I could tell she was worried about Nevada too. The two of them were only just starting to repair their relationship after being driven apart by their own amnesia for so long, and this case had thrown a wrench into the healing process. It was only natural she would be upset thinking about it, especially if Nevada had been as afraid as she claimed earlier.

"You'll always be welcome at the agency too," Chrysalis chimed in. "I know you don't visit all that often, but if you ever need a place to relax, you know where to find us. We'd be more than happy to invite you over if you decided you needed it."

"Thanks," Prosecutor Wood smiled shakily. "I'll probably have to take you up on that. I somehow doubt I'm going to be able to prosecute any cases for a while to come... There's a lot going on, and I have no idea what I'm going to do about any of it."

"We'll figure it out together," Prosecutor Lin assured her. "No matter what, we'll be okay. It might take a while for everything to smooth itself out, but we've been there for one another before, and we'll do it again too. I promise."

Prosecutor Wood nodded at that, and she glanced over to the door leading into the hallway outside defendant's lobby. A quartet of figures had appeared in the entryway, and when I glanced up, I realized it was her extended family. Mr. Wood had a somber but kind smile on his face as he took a step forward. "Niamh... We're glad to see you safe," he began.

"If it's alright with you, we'd like to speak with you for a few minutes," Mrs. Wood said next. "I know you've been through a lot, so if you don't want to come with us, then that's alright, but... We're here to offer it if you want it."

Prosecutor Wood hesitated and glanced over her shoulder at the rest of us as she tried to figure out how to respond. She hadn't expected to be given a choice like that, and it had caught her off guard more than she was willing to admit. When she realized nobody was going to stop her though, she nodded. "Yeah... Okay," she agreed. She shuffled toward the quartet slowly, and I could feel her exhaustion with each step she took. She desperately needed to get home so she could rest for the first time since this nightmare had started, but she was still putting in the time and effort to speak with her family. She was too sweet for her own good.

"We'll make sure it's fast, I promise," Mr. Wood assured everyone when we noticed just how tired Prosecutor Wood really was. He offered us a wave before he escorted his niece out of the room.

"We should probably go with them," Neptune pointed out as she glanced back toward the door. "It was nice talking to you all. If you decide that you need anything after... All of this, I'm happy to help. I know it's been a lot." She waved before she stared toward the door, handling things with a lot more grace than Clarith or Buddy. The latter couldn't seem to keep his anxiety under control no matter how hard he tried, and Clarith was left trying to soothe him while his nerves ran rampant. Neptune just smiled despite it all. "We'll see you later."

As Neptune led Clarith and Buddy out of the defendant's lobby, I let out a hefty sigh. "If you ask me, we've all earned a chance to breathe and go home after everything that happened," I announced. "We've dealt with a lot these last few days, and I would go so far as to say that this has been one of the most exhausting cases any of us have ever had to take on."

'You can say that again," Pieter agreed with a loose groan. "I'm looking forward to getting a good night of sleep again. I've been struggling to sleep ever since I was taken to the detention center. Granted, I don't know if I'll rest all that well given everything I know now, but at least I'll be in my own bed again. That has to count for something."

"We should head back to the agency to celebrate. You've gone through a lot, and we owe it to ourselves to celebrate a good victory in the courtroom," Felicity declared. It was nice to see her regaining her usual love of the world even after everything that had happened. I hadn't been given much time to think about it with everything else going on, but I had been worried she would never be the same again. I knew deep down that everything she had learned had changed her, but she was still alright to some degree, and that had to count for something given all that we had endured.

"I agree," Chrysalis nodded. "And after that, I'm going to enjoy one of the best naps I've had in my life." She rubbed at her head with one hand before glancing over to Chief Prosecutor Bespoke and Prosecutor Lin. "If you need anything, all you need to do is call us. We're happy to help if you need it."

"I know," Prosecutor Lin smiled gently. "We'll take care of her. I promise. Just... Be careful in the meantime, alright? No more assassination attempts."

I expected Chrysalis to offer a snarky comment about how she couldn't make any promises. Instead, she just nodded. "No more assassination attempts." With that, she started off toward the door, and the rest of us trailed after her.

Finally, it was over... Everything had been laid to rest at last.

only two more updates,,,

-Digital