Chapter 2: Justice for All
"Now wait a minute! Are you really gonna treat him!?"
"As a first aid administer, I must do no harm."
"He's severely wounded and, with all the monsters around, I'm sure he got infected! He's done for!"
"If that was the case, he would've turned as soon as he was wounded. We need to bring him to a doctor to understand why."
All those voice echoed in Larry's mind as he fazed in and out of consciousness. One moment, he was lying down on his back without his shell with silhouettes looming over him in front of the orange sky. At this point, the pain he felt on the chest already soothed down.
"Is that one of the koopalings? What's he doing here?"
"We found him at the Grassland Keep. The guy lives in the region. We had to bring him here for safety."
"What happened back there?"
"From the look of it, monsters invaded the place and wiped out everything save for that guy."
Another moment, he was staring at a ceiling with neon lights moving upward. He finally woke up to a periodic beeping and found himself breathing into a mask linked to a tube. He looked around and noticed the unusual room layout. It looked like it used to be an office that was repurposed into a hospital room. He looked around more and saw a short mushroom humanoid. This one had arms unlike the mushrooms of Grassland and a smaller face with only a plain mouth and small black eyes on the mushroom's base rather than on the top. The top was colored in polka-dot fashion with its big red circles on the white body. The humanoid was dressed like a nurse and was moving a tray. When seeing the patient was awake, it immediately left the room.
"Doctor! The patient woke up!" A voice could be heard coming from the other room.
A few seconds later and two new mushroom humanoids entered the room. The first one was dressed like a doctor but the second one caught Larry's attention. It was wearing a purple vest and carrying a golden walking stick. Its head had brown spots instead of the usual red like the others of its kind and it had a grey mustache covering its mouth. It was also wielding a cane with its head colored in a similar fashion to the mushroom's head but with its colors inverted.
"I wasn't expecting the old man taking interest in me." Larry chuckled, his voice sounding weak as he just woke up.
"Well, after all, it's quite the particular situation we have in our hands." The old man said, humored.
"From what I heard, everything that happened in Grassland was real, eh?" The punk brought up as the doctor removed the mask on his face.
"Alas, you were the only one that made it out fine though that should be the least of your worries." The old man confirmed.
"I wouldn't say fine but I get your point. So, what other worries should I have?"
"You're being sued."
Larry laughed out loud but the chest pain was still present which only allowed him to let out a few laughers before it became too painful to keep laughing. He looked back at the old man who looked normal as before and it was then the punk realized it was for real.
"You can't be serious. Don't tell me you'll be my lawyer as well." He moaned, grabbing his chest from the pain he felt.
"As much as I would like to hire you a real lawyer, the charges are too delicate for any lawyer to be capable of performing the impossible and require obscure knowledges. The trial will start as soon as you're ready." The old man explained.
"Fine. Let's get the show on the road and be done with that. I got things to do." The koopaling declared.
"Allow us to help you, Mr. Mulan." The doctor intervened.
As the doctor helped getting Larry to stand sitting on the bed, two mushroom humanoids entered the room pushing a wheelchair they parked by the bed. The punk noticed the bandages wrapping around his body covering his chest, where he was struck by the monster that used to be Boom Boom. He was given a patient gown to wear and, at three, they guided the koopa to sit in the wheelchair and the old man, with the help of a nurse and the doctor, pushed the wheelchair to leave the room where they entered a hallway.
"Could I at least know where you're keeping my shell?" The punk asked, looking behind him trying to see the mushroom humanoids pushing his wheelchair.
"You're shell's being fixed from the scratch. Your clothes, on the other hand, had to be thrown away to avoid any infection risk." The doctor explained, peeking out from behind the wheelchair.
"Can you also bring me something to eat? I'm starving." The koopaling brought up, his body back on the wheelchair sitting adequately but still looking to the sides.
"We'll get you something to eat in the courtroom. Will a tuna sandwich be good for you?" The nurse proposed, peeking out from behind the wheelchair at her turn.
"Fine by me. So, who's suing me?" Larry asked, nonchalant.
"We don't have the full detail of the plaintiff yet. We only know it's someone from Grassland who's pressing charge against you for the incident with the skeletons as well as the theft of the orange wand." The old man briefed, walking ahead of him.
The group entered a courtroom where a hundred more of those mushroom humanoids were awaiting their presence. The wheelchair was parked behind a large table on the left side of the room and the doctor left the courtroom with the nurse. On the other side, the mushroom in blue pajama was sitting at the other table anxiously looking around while his lawyer in a dark magenta suit stood up remaining calm.
"Of all the Grasslanders that would've a bone to pick with me, I was certainly not expecting Private Goomp." Larry whispered to the old man.
"The prosecutor might've pressured him into pressing charge. We might stand a better chance if we can convince him to retract the charge instead of drawing from obscure territories." The old man planned.
"What do you mean by obscure territories?" The punk asked, interested.
"Let's hope we must not bring those up." The old man just said.
The judge on the podium slammed his gavel a few times and everything in the room went instantly quiet.
"The court is now in session. Is the defense ready?" The judge asked, looking at Larry and the old man.
"The defense is ready, your honor." The old man declared, standing up from his seat.
"Thank you. Is the prosecution ready?" The judge asked again, this time looking at the other people at the other table.
"Your honor. Before I confirm this, I must ask an important question to my adversary." The prosecutor asked back.
"You'll be allowed one question. Afterwards, the trial must start." The judge replied, leaning back on his chair.
"Thank you, your honor. Mr. Toadsworth. Why you, of all the toads in the Mushroom Kingdom, have decided to take up this case in favor of the suspect?" The prosecution asked again, looking at the old man.
"I felt this case was too sensible for any lawyer to be able to represent the defendant properly." Mr. Toadsworth explained, taking back his seat.
"You're aware you're defending the indefensible, sir." The prosecutor commented with a more serious tone in his voice.
"That remains to be heard, mister…" The old man began.
"Wallace, sir." The prosecution added.
"You have asked your question. Is the prosecution now ready?" The judge cut in.
"Yes, your honor." Mr. Wallace declared.
"Then let us start this trial. Since the investigation of the crime scene is still undergoing, more evidences will be brought here. Today, we are hearing the case of Grassland, represented by Private Goomp, against Larry Mulan Jr. Prosecution, may you summarize your charges against Mr. Mulan?" The judge began as a group of mushroom humanoids entered the courtroom pulling a tray full of various object to the open space between the tables.
"Have you managed to open the safe in the royal bedroom?" Mr. Toadsworth whispered to one of the humanoids pulling the tray as it got close enough.
"Not quite, sir. The combination is nowhere to be found for now be we still have a team on site to keep searching." The humanoid replied.
"Let's hope we won't have to use that as evidence." The old man feared.
"Then why are you looking for its content if it's potential evidence?" The humanoid asked, raising an eyebrow.
"The content of this safe is personally exclusive to the king's eyes. Getting it would be a breach of his privacy but its content may allow us to prove my client's innocence. I'll inform you of the case if it's going against us. Once you get the combination, stand by." The old man concluded.
"Yes, sir! Good Luck on the case." The humanoid bid before leaving with his team.
"We're pressing charges against Larry Mulan Jr. for the crimes of mass murder of the Grassland City population and the theft of an invaluable royal artifact, the orange wand. Our minimal sentence is prison for life with no possibility of liberation, and at most, death row." The prosecutor summarized, reading from a sheet of paper on his table.
"What!?" Private Goomp exclaimed, immediately looking at his lawyer.
"Is your client alright, Prosecution?" The judge asked, showing concern for the outburst.
"Wait! Don't you think you're going too far with death row!?" The mushroom in pajama stuttered, sweating lightly.
"For the crimes Mr. Mulan committed, there is no other punishment fit. If we treat murderers like him too lightly, does the law even work as intended?" Mr Miles asked back.
Goomp sank back into his chair looking down, embarrassed he panicked in public.
"Your honor, I would call for the prosecution's client to testify in court." Mr Toadsworth brought up, standing from his chair.
"Objection, your honor! My client has nothing to say to this case." The prosecutor cut in.
"Objection overruled! Anyone part of the case is an eligible person to testify. Defense, you may interrogate the opponent's client on the bar." The judge denied, slamming his gavel on his podium.
Private Goomp became anxious when he was asked to testify in court. He left his seat walking toward the stand facing the judge's podium, constantly looking around him in panic, before eventually reaching the stand. A mushroom humanoid suited like an officer had to help the short mushroom to reach the stand with a stool. Mr Toadsworth left his seat and approached the anxious mushroom.
"Mr. Goomp, do you swear under the oath to tell the truth and only the truth?" The old man asked, raising a hand to swear.
"Yes, Mr. Defense. I wish I could raise a hand to swear under oath but…" Private Goomp returned, awkwardly bumbling in his words.
"That'll be enough, Mr. Goomp. Now, may you tell us of your whereabouts before the incident in Grassland?" The defense began.
"Um… How far do you want me to go back?" The mushroom with no arms asked, unsure by what he needed to say.
"Just the day of the incident, right before it happened, will suffice." Toadsworth reassured.
"Okay… Um… I was… scrubbing the floors that morning! Yes! That's what I was doing that morning. Then… Um… I just got orders from one of my fellow goombas to do sentry duty at the outskirt of the city and… Um… That's when I saw Larry with a big koopa walking upstairs. Yes!" Goomp stuttered, struggling to muster his courage to talk in front of a big audience.
"You've seen my client at the Grassland Keep! Can you describe to us what he was doing before the incident?" Toadsworth continued.
"Yes! I kept my distances and peeking at him from the stairs and… Um… That's when I saw him reading from the captain. When Larry followed the captain toward me, I ran back downstairs to the main hall and saw the two going to the dungeons beneath the keep." The goomba continued.
"Objection, your honor! My client is clearly not in the state to answer sensible questions. I demand the testimony to stop." The prosecutor intervened.
"Your honor, his client has sworn under oath to tell the truth. If he said otherwise, it would be a felony." The defense cut back in.
"Objection overruled! You may continue with the testimony, defense." The judge declared, slamming his gavel once.
"Mr. Goomp. May you continue with your day please?" Toadsworth said.
"Um… I tried to check out on Larry but one of my fellow goombas pulled me away and… Um… was sent off because… Um… I was taking too long to start my shift. So, um… I was just outside the city on the highest hill on the lookout when… Um… I heard an explosion! I first look at the city and that's when I saw it: the keep engulfed in blue flames and those spreading all across the city!" Private Goomp continued, panicking over reliving those last moments.
"Your honor, I am telling you my client is not in the right state to pursue the testimony. This could possibly cause him to suffer health issues over his stress!" The defense interrupted again, standing up from his seat with his hands on the table.
"You have a point, prosecution. Your client will be exempt of further testimony for now but must calm down. Any other outburst from your client will be held in contempt to court." The judge warned, slamming his gavel.
The goomba immediately left the stand running back to his seat while an officer removed the stool at the stand. Once sat, he sighed in relief and kept his eyes shut. Despite the relief, he was still trembling from his time testifying in court. It was now Mr. Wallace's turn who left his seat.
"I would like to call for the suspect to testify in court!" The prosecution declared.
Mr. Toadsworth began standing up but the prosecutor approached him.
"No need to, Mr. Toadsworth. I can bring him to the stand myself." Mr. Wallace proposed.
"Why, thank you, young lad. I'll surely take it." The old man said as he took back his seat.
The prosecutor moved the wheelchair with Larry on it to the stand. The chair already there had to be moved to make place for the wheelchair. Afterwards, the prosecutor went back in front of the stand looking at Larry.
"Mr. Mulan, do you swear under oath to tell the truth and only the truth?" He said, raising his hand.
"Yes, sir." The punk replied, raising his hand at his turn to swear the oath.
"Now, tell us what you were doing the day the incident happened." Mr. Wallace asked again.
"I arrived at the Grassland Keep escorting Boom Boom who was supposed to represent the Koopa Kindgom in Grassland." The punk began.
"Is that so? You, captain of his highness' royal guard, were escorting a lesser member of the common guard?" The prosecution pressed on.
"Objection, your Honor! According to the Grassland daily order, my client was never meant to represent the Koopa Kingdom there." Mr. Toadsworth interrupted as he pulled out a remote and pressed a button.
A screen unrolled from the ceiling and the photo of a document listing multiple names and signatures was displayed. The mention "Daily order" was printed at the top of the document.
"Instead of my client's name, Boom Boom's name appears on the document, along with his signature, the letter B twice. I'd also point out the rather unusual name that appears on the daily order that is of the member of the Federation Force meant to represent the organisation in Grassland." The old man added.
"The king's decision, he told me I was too young to represent him to the Federation Force." The koopaling continued.
"The Federation Force?" The prosecutor asked, raising an eyebrow suspiciously.
"You must've heard of them. The meeting was made public and billions would be watching the meeting live." Larry explained.
"Let's go back to the day before we sidestep too far. So, according to my client, you met with Captain Goomba who escorted you to the dungeons. Have you already caused trouble there?" The prosecution asked, walking around near Larry.
"Objection, your honor! The rescue team on site have found a letter dating from yesterday stating that my client was to remain on site for the duration of the meeting." Mr. Toadsworth intervened.
"Yes, I've read that letter. Quite authentic, it even matches Bowser's handwriting. I take it the goombas saw it fit to put you behind bars. However, explain to me why you are the only one who made it out alive from the inside!" The prosecutor accused, returning to the stand to slam on in.
"Listen. I don't know how it happened. I fell asleep in the cell, woke up and everything felt different. I'd like to elaborate more on that but…" Larry said, struggling to keep his cool to the prosecution.
"Or maybe your lawyer would be able to tell you how. After all, he's here to defend you. Isn't it true, Mr. Toadsworth?" Mr. Wallace pointed out, leaving the stand alone to approach the old man.
"Unfortunately, I do not have the answer for such thing." The old man apologised.
"Don't worry, Mr. Toadsworth. That was a rhetorical question for I already have the answer. Has any doctor recently taken a look at the suspect's vaccination card?" The prosecutor brought up.
"Prosecution, I am not sure to follow you on that. What do his vaccines have to do with this trial?" The Judge asked, ready to slam his gavel to shut the prosecution down.
"Allow me to expose all of you an anomaly with the suspect." Mr. Wallace said, taking a remote out of his suit and pressing a button.
The screen then displayed two pages of a notebook with Larry's name at the top left corner. The only other thing written on those pages was a vaccine for tetanus with its date and a doctor's name, along with a strange logo by the doctor's name.
"The suspect received a tetanus shot a week before the incident." The prosecutor began.
"Your point being?" The judge pressured, raising his gavel higher.
The prosecution pressed again on the remote and the image on the changed for another vaccination card with the same pattern: a name on the top left corner, a single vaccine listed and the name of Dr. Brimstone with the strange logo.
"This is King Bowser's vaccination card who also received a vaccine a week ago from the same doctor." Mr. Wallace pursued.
He then pressed repeatedly on the remote to show many more vaccination cards. A notable pattern was that the patients were either royalty or from higher ups.
"All of those vaccines were given a week ago by the same person: Dr. Brimstone! If we scroll the pages to check the vaccines prior, we can see the name should've been listed completely which isn't for that Dr. Brimstone. More importantly, this doctor doesn't appear in the list of doctors legally registered to practice medicine!" The prosecution exposed.
A culmination of gasps echoed around the room. The judge slammed his gavel a few times to calm down the room.
"Objection, your honor! I'd like to say I also received a vaccine from the same doctor a week ago. You can check my vaccination card, Mr Wallace." Mr. Toadsworth brought up.
"Why would you keep that secret from us?" The prosecution asked, his hands on the table at which the old man was sitting.
"You have to forgive me, Mr. Wallace. I wasn't expecting this kind of info to be brought up to the case." The old man replied.
"Then tell me who Dr. Brimstone is. Why doesn't he appear on the list?" Mr. Wallace asked again.
"You see. Dr. Brimstone is from the Federation Force. We have his papers and certificates but those are at the Mushroom Castle which, you may know, is currently infested with more of those dry creatures." The defense explained.
Larry was shocked to hear about the state of the Mushroom Castle. At first, he thought only the Grassland Keep was affected but, after hearing it, he feared even more places would be affected.
"Hmmm… Normally, I wouldn't do that but I'll take your words at heart for now. I am terribly sorry for wasting your time with such trivial matter." The prosecution concluded, leaving the table and slowly making his way back to the stand Larry was sat at.
"What else are you gonna ask me?" Larry asked, annoyed his time had been wasted.
"I ask the questions, Mr Mulan, and for my next question: You said you were in a cell so the captain must've locked you in. How did you manage to leave?" The prosecutor asked, annoyed at his turn.
"That's another thing I can't fully explain. Before I tell you how, it's important to note the captain took my keys even though I didn't have any that could unlock the cell door. Now, when I woke up, I found the key to my cell door inside my cell."
"Then you must've had an accomplice on site. You said you were escorting Boom Boom, right?" The prosecutor reminded.
"Objection, your honor! First off, only the king and the captain have the keys to the cells. Those are well hidden from the public so it'll be impossible to steal a key. Plus, by your logic, Mr. Wallace, you're accusing either the captain or the king of being accomplice to mass murder which makes no sense considering their close relationship and we're talking of their homeland." Mr. Toadsworth cut in.
"Then why would one of these two place the key there?" The prosecution pointed out.
"Remember the letter written by Bowser? Since my client is treated as a guest rather than a prisoner, it's their duty to ensure his safety in case of emergency should neither be able to directly assist him." The defense explained.
"That does make sense but it still doesn't explain why the incident happened." Mr. Wallace reminded.
"That's because we're not looking in the right place. We should be looking at the place from where the incident could've originated: The meeting room." The old man declared, pressing a few buttons on his remote.
The screen now displayed the meeting room with its long table and a dozen of chairs around it. Multiple bone pieces were scattered around in the room along the two halves of the insectoid skeleton.
"Here, we can see pieces of a carton box on the table. Now, I'd ask you all to pay attention to the insectoid in this picture." Mr. Toadsworth pointed out, using the laser pointer on his remote to surround the brown pieces on the table.
"Objection, your honor! What do these pieces have to do with the crime?" Mr. Wallace cut back in.
"Objection overruled! The defense may continue with his explanation." The judge denied, slamming his gavel.
"Mr. Goomp, you said you've seen my client before the incident, correct?" The defense asked.
"Huh? What? Sorry, I was cooling down and felt asleep. Can you please ask again?" Private Goomp yawned, slowly opening his eyes and looking at the old man.
"When you saw my client, was he or his friend carrying anything like a cardboard box with them?" The defendant asked again.
"No! Larry only had some sheet of paper in his hands. That's it." The goomba anxiously answered.
The old man pressed on his remote and the image on the screen changed for a completely different location. The photo was a top down view of a stone bridge where an insectoid lifeform was carrying a cardboard box and about to head underneath the place from where the photo was taken.
"This photo was taken at the Mushroom Castle moments before the same incident happened there. Here, we can see the Federation Force member bringing a box to the Mushroom Castle." Toadsworth continued.
Another press on the button and the image on the screen changed again, this time for a close up of the insectoid carrying the box on the left and the two halves of the insectoid skeleton from the Grassland Keep on the right.
"We've cross-referenced these two and have concluded that both brought the boxes to their respective meeting room." The old man said.
"And what was inside those boxes?" The judge asked, scratching his head in confusion.
"The very thing that caused the incidents, your honor!" The defense declared, pressing again on his remote.
The screen now display close up of the carton cardboard found in the meeting room revealing glass shards and an odd contraption. The bottom of the box also had burnt marks
"The contraption was used as the trigger to unleash the blue flames Mr. Goomp told us of. It was attached to the ceiling inside the box so, upon opening the box, a small and barely audible explosive would destroy the flask containing the substance highly compressed. Once the substance in contact with the air, it would turn into a blue gas that devours anything living in its path. The concentration being so high, it would even spread across the city." Mr. Toadsworth theorized.
"Objection, your honor! There's a clear contradiction in his words! Mr. Toadsworth, you've first said Dr. Brimstone of the Federation Force gave people vaccines. Then, you're telling us the same Federation Force were behind the attacks." The prosecution reminded.
"Objection sustained! What do you have to say, defense?" The judge said, slamming his gavel once.
"As much as I understand your confusion, we've been tricked. The Federation Force members at the meetings weren't the same as Dr. Brimstone." The defense declared.
"And how exactly are you gonna prove that? With more evidence you've conveniently left behind at the Mushroom Castle?"
"No, with their signature itself." Toadsworth said, pressing on his remote.
The screen now displayed the last page of Larry's vaccination card on the left and the daily order at the right.
"Dr. Brimstone's signature has a unique logo stamped next to his signature while the Federation Force member at the meeting did not. This stamp is an obligation for any Federation Force member to put by their signature to avoid any form of usurpation." The old man explained.
"Hmmm… In that case, I have nothing else to say on the matter. I admit defeat, Mr. Toadsworth, but this is just the beginning." Mr. Wallace confessed, first bringing Larry back to his place by the defense's table then returning to his seat chin up.
"I have heard enough on this matter. Mr. Larry Mulan Jr, for the crime of mass murder in Grassland, I hereby declare you… NOT GUILTY!" The judge concluded, slamming his gavel.
A lot of talking happened in the courtroom. Half were not pleased of the verdict but the other half were glad of it. The judge slammed his gavel a few times to keep silence and order in the room.
"We will be taking a break for diner. Mr. Mulan, your trial for the theft of the orange wand will resume afterwards. Court adjourned!" The judge concluded again, slamming his gavel.
The crowd was first to leave the courtroom. Eventually, those implicated in court could finally leave the courtroom. Just outside, into the hallway, a nurse holding a tuna sandwich was waiting and approached Larry.
"I'm sorry I couldn't bring you diner earlier. The staff wouldn't let me in with food." She said as she passed the sandwich to the punk.
"Then I'll need another sandwich." The koopaling joked, taking a bite into his meal.
Those implicated took the elevator down and headed to a cafeteria where the mushroom humanoids were being served food. Instead of waiting their turn, the small group took a table by themselves.
"From what I've heard in court, it sounds like the incident also happened in the Mushroom Kingdom." Larry commented, already finished his first sandwich.
"Yes, and I fear it also happened beyond in eastern Amarioca." Toadsworth said, concerned.
"Old man, did you already forget you can use a phone?" The punk joked, with the others chuckling expect the prosecution.
"Do you have an idea who you're disrespecting right now, Mr. Mulan?" Mr. Wallace bumped in, annoyed by the joke.
"Now now, Mr. Wallace. The lad knows me better than any of you. In fact, I already know every snarky remarks and jokes he has up his sleeves." The old man chuckled.
"Excuse me, Mr. Toadsworth, but you said something about this happening elsewhere too." Private Goomp stuttered, occasionally blinking.
"Well I wish I could confirm but all our telecommunications got shut down after the incident so there's no way to speak to anyone outside the Mushroom Kingdom." The defense explained.
"Look! The line is almost over." The judge pointed out, already standing up from his chair.
Those implicated in court followed the judge to the counter where they ordered their food. Due to the incident, there was not much variety in the selection of food so everyone contented themselves with sandwiches. Their diner afterwards went quiet with not even a single grunt or moan let out. Once over, they returned to the busy court where they took back their seat. The same group of mushroom humanoids that brought the evidences before returned with another tray filled with more objects. One of them approached the old man.
"We found the code to the king's safe, Mr. Toadsworth. Give us the signal and we'll bring its content to court." He said, saluting the defense.
"As I said before, stand by. We don't want to have to need it." Toadsworth replied, saluting his fellow comrade.
As the mushroom humanoids left the courtroom leaving the tray behind, the judge got back on his podium and slammed his gavel thrice to silence the crowd. Larry noticed across the room that Private Goomp had his attention focused on the defense following the mentions of the safe.
"The court is now back in session. Is everyone ready?" He asked.
"The defense is ready, your honor." Mr. Toadsworth said, standing from his chair.
"The prosecution is ready, your honor." Mr. Wallace said his turn, standing up from his seat as well.
"Then let us resume the trial of Mr. Larry Mulan Jr who we have proved his innocence in the mass murder that took place in Grassland. Yet, he still has to answer to the charges against him for the theft of the orange wand. Prosecution, if you may." The judge resumed.
"Before I call in anyone to testify, I would like to present the facts as we know them." He began, showing a remote he held in his hand.
One press on one button and the screen scrolled down from the ceiling again. At the bottom, the lights turned off on their own. Another press on another button and the screen displayed a photo of Larry lying down on his stomach with the orange wand nearly out of reach of his hand.
"This photo was taken right after the suspect collapsed to his wounds. We were lucky to have this photo taken as the first aids were about to do their job thus tempering with the evidences before our arrival. As reported by witnesses on site, the suspect was carrying the orange wand with him before fainting." The prosecutor explained, walking around in the room.
He then pressed on the remote again, this time changing the photo on the screen for one only depicting the wand in a dark environment with bright blue shapes all over the shaft.
"In the next picture, our detectives conducted an UV scan on the wand. As you may all see, the wand was recently held." Mr. Wallace continued, still walking around in the room.
He pressed on the remote a third time and the picture changed for two identical sets of fingerprints, one with the label "Orange wand" under the first set and the other with the label "Larry Mulan Jr" under the second set.
"The fingerprints on the orange wand have been confirmed to be from Mr. Mulan's hands. Interestingly, Larry's fingerprints weren't taken from his hands at the moment of the investigation. Those were instead taken from… His criminal record!" The prosecution exposed.
A mix of shock and anger could be felt in the courtroom. Larry himself was not surprised but he remained suspicious of how far the prosecutor would go in trying to guilt him for the crimes. His lawyer remained quiet.
"Order! Order! Prosecution, what is the implication of this!?" The judge shouted, slamming his gavel a few times to calm down everyone in the courtroom.
"For this, I call the suspect to testify on the stand." The prosecution declared, pointing at Larry.
Mr. Wallace moved the wheelchair with the punk to the stand and stood in front of him.
"Why do you have a criminal record?" Mr. Wallace asked, suspicious of the turtle.
"I work in electronics and, to access any building belonging to a crown or government, I must submit my fingerprints to the authority for a background check." The koopaling explained.
"Interesting. You did not outright lie as I would have expected but that was only a trick question. I forgot to mention your fingerprints were taken… Eleven years ago, in an incident that happened at the Grassland Keep as well, from reports catching you for trespassing!" The prosecutor brought up.
"Objection, your honor! The incident mentioned by the prosecutor was resolved with no charges pressed against my client. The Grassland king had pardoned my client at the time for his young age and social status."
"Objection sustained! This matter took place too long before the current incident therefore there's no reason to think both are related." The Judge overruled, slamming his gavel once.
"It doesn't matter. Where did you find the orange wand, Mr. Mulan?" The prosecution continued.
"It was lying down on the floor in the meeting room." Larry began.
"Not with Goomba King or his captain? They never leave the wand behind." The prosecutor pointed out, irritated.
"I didn't see the king at all, even before the incident. I last saw the captain after le left me in the cell." The punk pursued.
"Not even their skeleton." The prosecution coldly said, leaning toward the koopaling.
"I'm telling you I haven't seen him since the incident!" Larry said, leaning back in response, his anger building up.
"Why did you go to the meeting room first after the incident?" The prosecution said through his teeth.
"Because I was looking for Boom Boom to make sure he was fine!" The punk admitted, now leaning forward with his snout touching the prosecutor's face.
"What next?! All the skeletons where destroyed before the red rescue team arrived on site! I suppose you have something to do with all of that, right?!" Mr. Wallace asked with a higher tone, giving Larry space as he got off the stand.
"Yeah! I took out all the skeleton goombas with my shell." The punk stated.
"Your shell…" The prosecution repeated, unamused.
"Your honor, I would like to elaborate on my client's statement with proof." Mr. Toadsworth commented, showing his remote to the audience.
"Go ahead, defense." The judge agreed, nodding.
The old man pressed on his remote and the screen displayed a short video of a koopa withdrawing in its shell then spinning quickly in place then propelling towards bowling pins sending them all over the place.
"This is the iconic shell attack the koopa and all other cousin species use as self defense. The koopa uses its defense as its best offense to fend off any aggressor." The defense explained.
"Interesting but I doubt this was used on the two biggest threats in the keep." Mr. Wallace exposed, using his remote.
The screen now displayed three photos. The first photo was the skeleton of the insectoid cut in half with the mention "Victim 1" above, the second photo was the skeleton of Boom Boom pieced back together and the mention "Victim 2" above, the last photo was a close up of the cut which was a clear and perfect cut.
"Explain this!" The prosecutor declared.
Larry looked at his lawyer. It was not for an answer but instead for permission. His lawyer closed his eyes, sighed and nodded. He then looked back at the prosecution who was in his face again.
"What are you two planning?" He muttered, fuming in anger.
"You want to know how I destroyed these two? It's simple: I used the orange wand." The punk confessed.
"Do you take me for a fool, Mr Mulan!? Do you have an idea how long it took just to piece back Victim 2 together!? Is this trial just one big circus for you to waste everyone's time before we throw you in jail to rot!?" Mr. Wallace shouted, slamming his hands on the stand.
"Watch yourself, prosecution, or I will hold you in contempt to court!" The judge shouted back, slamming his gavel.
"Your honor, if I may. I can explain how my client used the orange wand to destroy these two skeletons in two complete different ways." Toadstool brought up.
"That doesn't make any sense! Two intimidating monsters like these would make mincemeat of your client!" The judge objected.
"Your honor, let him be. I want to hear him throw out any credibility he still has. I want him to humiliate himself in court." The prosecution demanded.
"But, there's no way the defense can prove such thing. That's indefensible! Are you sure, prosecution?" The judge asked, confused.
"I am, your honor." The prosecution said.
"Well then, you have the floor, defense." The judge said, scratching his head and resting his gavel.
"Thank you, your honor. First, I need the orange wand." Mr. Toadsworth began, leaving his seat to stand on the large space in front of the judge's podium.
An officer wore gloves and brought the orange wand to the old man who held it with his bare hands.
"I wouldn't touch that without gloves if I were you, Mr. Toadsworth. I've heard bad things happening like that." The officer stuttered, immediately backing away once he no longer held the orange wand.
"That's the point. Watch as I try to use the orange wand." The old pursued, rising the orange wand as high as possible.
The judge hid in his podium. Private Goomp hid under the table he was at. The prosecutor backed, so did everyone else. Some even ran to the door. Only Larry remained at the stand as he had been, oblivious to what was bound to happen. In a fraction of a second, an explosion of energy engulfed the defendant leaving behind the old man on his knees coughing smoke. The punk flinched in surprise. Many people in court screamed in terror and made it out the courtroom. The prosecutor got thrown off by the sudden explosion and bumped his back on a nearby wall and slowly slid down to the ground. The judge emerged from his hiding spot to notice the only people who stayed were the ones implicated in court.
"Mr. Toadsworth, you have to stop this nonsense! You nearly got yourself killed!" The judge pointed out, leaning forward to see the damage.
"What took you to do such a mindless thing?!" The prosecution added, getting back up.
"I needed to show what happened if I tried using the orange wand." Toadsworth coughed, standing back up with the help of the orange wand.
"How does this have anything to do with the case?" The judge asked, concerned, as private Goomp slowly emerged from under his table.
"It allows us to explain how my client used the orange wand to destroy these two creatures in two completely different ways. Now, watch what happens when my client holds it." The old toad explained, approached the stand and extending his hands with the wand on them.
"Lawrence…" A voice whispered.
Larry stared at the wand for a moment before looking around to read the room. The few remaining were waiting after him to see what happens next. With little hesitation, he grabbed the wand and it shined a bright light blinding him in the process.
"Lawrence!" The voice shouted.
Wrapped in a towel with only his face showing, holding a mug of hot cocoa through the towel, shaking like a leaf out of anxiety, Larry was waiting inside a cell room made of big yellow bricks and a large grid with a cell door. Private Goomp showed up from around the corner on the other side of the cell door pulling a handle with his mouth. The handle was attached to a char with Larry's shell resting on it. The child was surprised to see his shell here and walked to the grid. The goomba grabbed a key on the char and unlocked the cell.
"Here you go. I heard this is yours." He reassured, pushing the char inside the cell.
The young punk put his mug away and tossed his towel to immediately dive inside his shell. Having this back brought back a sense of security he wished he had yesterday. Emerging his head from his shell, he looked at Goomp with a smile that however was ruined by a nervous feeling, one that stuck since the incident.
"Ah, yes! I almost forgot. Some people would like to meet you in Interrogation Room C. Please, follow me." The goomba in pajama nervously declared, turning around but slightly twisting his head to his left trying to look at the koopaling.
"Am I in trouble?" Larry asked, obliged to follow the mushroom into the corridor.
"Well, you didn't listen to me when I told you not to get inside the keep. I don't see why you shouldn't." Private Goomp reminded, although not sounding angry.
The punk moaned in a faint fear and looked down as he walked with the goomba. He looked around from time to time and saw all the goombas stopping what they were doing to stare at him in disbelief.
"However, since you're just a child, I'm sure you'll only get a warning and a call from your parents." Goomp tried to reassure.
They both reached a corridor with doors that only had one letter on them. They stopped at the one with the letter C. It was then Larry noticed how low the doorknob was.
"I should get going. They're waiting for you inside." The goomba concluded before leaving.
The child opened the door and gasped when he saw the four people waiting for him inside. His anxiety was already at the top when he saw the captain with the king still a snake sat on chairs furthest from him but it got worse when he saw Bowser and Kamek sat next to him. Due to his size, the koopa king was sat on the floor.
"Close the door, Larry." Bowser ordered.
As soon as the child closed the door behind him, Kamek immediately got off his seat to lash out at Larry. The snake dashed toward him as well to hiss at him.
"You stupid, useless child! I told you to not touch the wand with your bare hands! Did you lie to me, your sovereign!?" The archmagister berated, causing Larry to withdraw in his shell then moan in panic.
"Enough!" Bowser cut in, slamming his powerful fist at the wall causing everyone else to jump in fear.
"But, your highness, he failed the mission and…" Kamek bumbled, readjusting his glasses on his face.
The koopa king stood up and grabbed his advisor from the robe to forcefully put him back on his chair which shut him up for good. The latter kept his mouth shut. On the other side, the captain grabbed the snake by the tip of his tail and brought him back on the chair.
"Your majesty, I suggest you let me handle this. Your rash behavior is what caused the incident to deteriorate more than it should've had." The captain pointed out, getting back to his seat.
An awkward silence settled in where everyone stared at Larry, waiting for him to feel comfortable enough to show up. Eventually, the child emerged from his shell but still felt uneasy and stayed at the door.
"Well, I suppose we can start the meeting." The captain spoke up, finally breaking the silence that reigned in the room.
"Before we do though, Larry, why don't you play with the toys we brought you?" Bowser said, leaning forward to see the child.
"Yes, sir." Larry said, his head lowered.
"We're not in public in this room, Larry." The koopa king brought up, leaning back to his place.
"Sorry, dad." The child apologized, quietly sitting down.
The toys brought were a carpet depicting a cartoon city and a bunch of toy cars. While the child began playing with the toys, he paused time to time to listen to the adults.
"Wait a minute! He's your son!?" The captain asked, he and his king surprised.
"Among many others but, before we address this, please tell me what happened yesterday." Bowser responded, dismissing the family matter.
"Right, well, I caught Larry under the table with the orange wand in his hands after the theft was noticed." The captain began.
"Was he wearing gloves?" Bowser asked.
"Yes, I remember pulling a glove from one of his hands when I failed to grapple him. Though, with the dimly lit room and the lightweight gloves, he must've not noticed he was bare hand. When he held the wand with that hand, he got wrapped by an orange light." The captain continued.
This time, Kamek was the one surprised. He tried to say something about it but Bowser put his imposing hand on his mouth preventing him to speak. The koopa king seemed unfazed by the info. Someone knocked on the door from outside. The captain left his seat and opened the door to let in a younger Mr. Toadsworth with a brown mustache.
"Good morning, gentlemen. I'm terribly sorry for getting here late but we had a small affair to deal with back at the Mushroom castle." Toadsworth greeted.
"Where's the king?" Bowser asked.
"His majesty couldn't leave due to an important matter. I'll be taking note of everything that happens in this room." The mushroom humanoid explained.
Larry stopped playing with the toys and slowly stood up to see who the newcomer was.
"And you must be Larry, correct?" The middle-aged man asked.
The child did not say anything but nodded shyly.
"I am Mr. Toadsworth, his majesty's royal advisor. I'm here to investigate about an anomaly that took place yesterday. However, I need you to wield the orange wand." The mushroom humanoid said, gently pulling on his mustache.
The punk gasped when he heard about the orange wand and began panicking. He looked around and saw the captain lending the orange wand to Toadsworth.
"Now, you have nothing to worry in here. If things get out of control, we'll help you let go the wand." Mr. Toadsworth said, presenting the orange wand to the child.
Larry trembled in front of the wand. He slowly extended a hand to the wand but…
"Lawrence…" A voice whispered, causing Larry to back away.
"Are you alright, my boy?" The mushroom humanoid asked, concerned.
"I think it spoke to me. It said something like a name but it wasn't mine." The child whispered, shaking like a leaf.
"And what name did it call for?" The captain asked.
"Lawrence. Who's this supposed to be?" Larry asked back.
"It must be you." Toadsworth theorized.
The child mustered his courage and reached for the wand again, this time holding it for real. A light emerged from it.
"Lawrence!" The voice shouted.
Back in the courtroom, Larry was now wrapped in an orange light. Looking around, this peeked everyone's interest, so much that those who left the room cautiously returned inside.
"You see. Larry here is no ordinary koopa. He's in fact an athlean, the royal family that used to rule over Grassland before the Dragon War. With this, he's not only capable to wield the wand but also use it at its full potential without the crown." Mr. Toadsworth explained.
"Objection, your honor! How does this even prove Larry didn't try to steal the orange wand?" The prosecution cut in, struggling to comprehend what was happening.
"Objection overruled! Defense, I suppose you already have the answer." The judge denied, slamming his gavel.
"Correct, and it's in the king's safe." The old man declared.
"Wait!" Private Goomp intervened.
Everyone looked at the nervous goomba. No one in the room expected him to speak up without being asked.
"Mr. Goomp? What do you have on your mind?" The judge asked, shocked.
"Um, your honor, I'd like to retract my lawsuit." The goomba said, having accumulated a small amount of courage that baffled the room.
"Are you sure, sir? We might catch the suspect red-handed." Mr. Wallace reminded, having calmed down.
"I mean it! What they're talking about is the king's last will and it's my duty in his absence to stop everyone from trying to read it. I know nothing of its content but I'm sure that, somewhere on those pages, he was planning to give Grassland to Larry. So I ask again, your honor, to please declare him not guilty." Goomp reiterated, almost shouting with his eyes closed.
"Well, in that case, before we declare the verdict, does your lawyer have anything to say?" The judge asked one last time.
"I suppose not. I trust in my client to make the decision he believe is right and will abide to that." The prosecution said, defeated.
"Then, Mr. Larry Mulan Jr, for the crime of the theft of the orange wand, I hereby declare you… NOT GUILTY!" The judge concluded, slamming his gavel one last time.
Despite the anomaly that took place in court, everyone was relieved and applauded the verdict. Mr. Toadsworth, with the help of his opponent, brought Larry back outside the courtroom and back to his room where he was put back on his bed.
"I guess it's too late to do anything else tonight." The punk supposed, lying down on his bed.
"Indeed, we'll talk again tomorrow but, for now, go get some sleep. We've wasted enough time in the courtroom. I'll see you tomorrow." The old man bid to the koopaling before leaving the room with the prosecution.
Even though it took the day to settle, Larry felt he had been relieved of a burden he had no idea he had before until today. He slept at ease knowing he would not get in any legal dispute later, over what happened in Grassland.