A/N: The trial has arrived! The stakes are no less than they are in previous cases: a guilty verdict means tearing apart a pair of sisters. So Hugh will do everything to stop that from happening! Enjoy, my readers.

May 6th, 2029

District Courtroom, Defendant Lobby #1

9:30 a.m.

"It's almost time for the trial," Hugh said, to Carnila, Juniper, and Sheila. "How is everyone this morning?"

"I'm nervous. I don't know who the prosecutor is, but I don't imagine they're going to be very nice to me," Carnila said, nervously twisting her bandana in her hands.

"Don't worry about Robin! She's going to aim to uncover the truth no matter what happens," Juniper said in a reassuring tone.

"A-are you sure?" Carnila said, her face going pale. "I've heard… rumors about the prosecutor's office. That any prosecutors that do not focus on securing convictions are chastised, or even demoted!"

"Believe me, Robin is the last person that cares about what the office thinks about her," Hugh said. "Your case is in good hands."

"But does this 'prosekuter' have to do this to my sister in the first place?" Sheila asked angrily.

"She does. It's her job," Hugh pointed out. "Court cases should always have a prosecutor, and this time it's Robin."

"Then maybe she should get a different job!" Sheila countered.

Hugh didn't have an answer to that, because he couldn't speak for Robin. Yet, that did make him consider something.

Ever since Mr. Artisan's case a week ago, it feels like there's been something unsettling going on at the prosecutor's office. I only hope that doesn't rear its ugly head in this case.

May 6th, 2029

District Courtroom, Courthouse #3

10:00 a.m.

ALL RISE

"Court is now in session for the trial of Carnila Winters."

Hugh took up his position on the defense side of the courtroom, with Juniper at his side. On the prosecutor's side of the bench, Robin stood by herself.

"The defense is-"

"Wait, don't start the trial yet!"

Sheila came running into the courtroom, holding a milk crate in her hands. Arriving at the defense bench, she placed the milk crate down and stood on it so she could be seen over the defense bench.

"I would like to help the defense too!" Sheila declared.

"...And who is this cute little girl?" The Judge asked. "Does the defense know her?"

"She is the defendant's little sister," Hugh explained, rubbing the back of his neck. "She really wants to help out."

"That is so inspiring," The Judge said, sniffling with emotion. "I don't see why this young lady shouldn't help her big sister."

"Is the defense sure they want to do that? Their bench is looking rather cramped," Robin pointed out. Even with Sheila being a small child, there was barely room for three people on the bench.

"I guess I could step down and cheer the two of you from the gallery," Juniper said quietly. She stepped away from the defense bench and headed to the seats.

"Wait, I wanted Sheila to step down-!" Robin's shoulders slumped. "That isn't how I wanted that to go."

"Serves you right!" Sheila exclaimed, sticking her tongue out at Robin.

The Judge banged his gavel down. "Order in the court! The defense's assistant will refrain from being disrespectful in court!"

...I'm starting to see what Robin meant. I should have asked for Juniper to stay. Is it too late to switch?

"Now that everyone is ready, it's time to move on to the opening statement of this case. Prosecutor Newman?"

"Got it, your Honor!" Robin put a report on her miniature easel. "This murder took place two days ago, at the Starry Skies Carnival. The victim is the owner, Adalie Illusa. Her body was found stuffed into one of the teacup rides, where it was discovered by a hapless patron the day after the murder!"

"I see. What does this tell the prosecution about how the victim was murdered?" The Judge asked.

"For one, that the killer wanted throw people off of their crime!" Robin declared, shaking her fists. "And to explain further, I would like to summon the lead detective of the case!"

"So then, Ema. I'm used to questioning her by now, so there shouldn't be any problems," Hugh said, grinning confidently.

"Hey, it's the pretty detective lady!" Sheila exclaimed when she saw Ema take the stand.

"In court, it's Detective Skye," Ema said. Then she smiled, adjusting the glasses on her head. "But I do appreciate the friendly greeting."

"Detective Skye, please inform the court of the results of our investigation," Robin said, folding her hands behind her back. "As much I'd love to keep up this friendly conversation, we do have a case to present!"

"Understood, Prosecutor Newman! Time to show the defense what forensic science can do!"

Witness Testimony

How the victim died

"The autopsy report is clear on how the victim died, which is from a forty-foot fall," Ema explained. "That means there are only a few places it could happen."

"If you consider places where people could get to if they were determined enough, there a few possible locations. But I used forensics to narrow things down."

"After that, I learned that there is only one place that the victim could have died. As such, that means only the defendant could be the killer."

End Testimony

"A pretty firm declaration of guilt right away. Then again, Ema is usually confident in her testimonies, even when she shouldn't be," Hugh said to himself, smirking.

"Hey, I heard that!" Ema snapped, flicking a snackoo at Hugh's forehead.

"Ow!" Okay, I might have had that coming.

"HOLD IT! Could you describe me how you differentiate a death caused by a fall from say, a death by a blunt weapon?" Hugh asked, hoping to find a weak point.

"I don't want to get too graphic, in case someone in the audience has a weak stomach," Ema said, scratching at her neck. "In short, it has to do with the state of the body itself. Victims that die from a fall have large, flat bruise on their entire body, and that was the case with the victim. By comparison, a victim that's been hit multiple times has different-sized bruises, even when it's done by the same weapon."

So there's no chance that the victim was killed another way to fake dying from a fall, according to Ema.

"HOLD IT! Let's consider the fact that the victim's body was found in an attraction that is nowhere near any tall locations," Hugh pointed out. "Does the prosecution plan to explain this?"

"That's the job of the next witnesses. My job is to present the forensic findings of the case," Ema said, putting her finger on her chin. "The location suspected of being the true site of the murder has blood traces that belong to the victim."

"That's the Comet Shuffle. It's true, I did see blood there," Sheila said, looking down. "But that doesn't mean my sister was there!"

"Well said, but our job is much harder than that." There was something that bothered Hugh about this testimony, but he wanted a little more information first.

"HOLD IT! Why does the Comet Shuffle being the murder site mean that only my client could be the killer? For that matter, how are you sure that that's where the victim died in the first place?"

"To answer your second question, there is a maintenance platform on the Comet Shuffle," Ema said, scratching her neck. "On that platform, I found the victim's footprints on it. There is also a second, unidentified set of footprints that someone tried to wipe away."

Hugh slammed his palm down on the bench. "If the second set of footprints are unidentified, then you can't say that my client is the killer!"

"OBJECTION!" Robin shook her head. "Slow down there, Hugh! The footprints are not the reason why Miss Winters is the main suspect. There is another reason, related to the Comet Shuffle. If you will, Detective Skye?"

"During the investigation yesterday, the defense may remember that they had to use a cherry picker to reach the platform. Well, as the mechanic of the carnival, Miss Winters does not use a cherry picker," Ema explained. "Because she uses a ladder built into the Comet Shuffle itself, that most people don't access because they don't know it's there."

"There's a WHAT?!" Hugh screamed, rearing back with his glasses falling off his face.

Picking up Ema's explanation, Robin continued, "Also, this ladder is kept away from the public with a locked door. And the only person that has access to the key is Miss Winters!"

Comet Shuffle updated in the Court Record

Putting his glasses back on his face, Hugh asked, "Why was the defense not made aware of this previously?"

"Because we weren't aware of it ourselves until this morning," Ema said, pouting. "The defendant certainly didn't want to tell us, so we had to find the ladder ourselves."

Hugh looked over at Carnila in the defendant's chair. "Is everything the prosecution is saying true?"

"...It's true that the Comet Shuffle has a service ladder," Carnila admitted, twisting her headband nervously. "And yeah, normally it's locked away."

"All that means is that someone stole your key! You weren't on that platform, Carny!" Sheila exclaimed.

The Judge banged down his gavel. "Enough. The prosecution has presented compelling proof of the defendant's guilt. However, the defense has exposed holes in their case, and there is no decisive evidence. So the court demands for the prosecution to continue to present their case."

Which means that we're likely moving onto the witnesses. Hugh adjusted his glasses. So we get a chance to confront Mr. Scarlet.

You should not have let it come to the witnesses. As an attorney, you should have cut off the prosecution's evidence before they presented it.

Hugh stood up straight as one of Professor Means' lessons echoed in his head. No, that is not the kind of attorney I want to be. But… why do I keep thinking about him now?

"The prosecution would now like to outline what happened the night of the crime," Robin said. "And so moves to call the witnesses in this case!"

By now, Hugh was used to Robin's case having multiple witnesses on the stand at once. So he wasn't surprised to see Nina, Harry, and Jacob take the stand.

"Witnesses, please introduce yourselves. But if you want to add a twist to it, the court probably wouldn't mind!" Robin said cheerfully.

"My name is Nina Booth! I'm a ticket seller," Nina said, adjusting the small hat on her head to be at a cute angle. "But I also get volunteered for other duties."

Harry took a torch, and pointed it to the gallery at large, though it was unlit. "Harry Scarlet. This body houses a passionate flame, which craves for even more flames."

"What the court is more concerned about is the fact that you are not wearing a shirt," The Judge said, looking down on Harry. "Isn't this public indecency?"

"I looked it up, and there isn't actually a law for a person to be shirtless in public," Robin said, amused. "So the witness isn't breaking any laws."

"That's not a reason to subject the rest of the court to this uncomfortable sight," Hugh said dryly.

"Hi, gals and pals! You can call me Jacob Tumble," Jacob said, squeezing his own rubber nose, causing a squeaking noise. "I'm here to put a smile on everyone's faces."

"I must say, this might be the most colorful set of witnesses I've seen in many years," The Judge said, his eyes wide. "If only more court cases were like this!"

"Then brace yourself, Your Honor. Because you're going to experience testimony that's more f-u-n than anything else seen in this court!" Robin declared.

"Wow! This is going to be like a day at this carnival!" Sheila exclaimed.

So even Sheila has forgotten that this is meant to put her sister in prison. Robin's prosecuting ability is never to be underestimated.

Witness Testimony

The Starry Skies experience

"Our boss, Ms. Illusa, was at her office that night." Jacob put his hands around his eyes to mime glasses. "I happen to spy that she had papers related to Carnila."

"I dunno if I've seen much worth talking about," Nina said, scratching her head. "I know that Carnila was busy with some repair work."

Harry crossed his arms. "I refuse to say a word to anyone that does not demonstrate a hot enough flame. For I would consume all that is unworthy in an instant!"

End testimony

"A lot of this is what we heard yesterday. I choose to take that as a good sign," Hugh said. "It means we might already know most of the case that Robin has planned."

"So if you win this testimony, you win the trial, right?" Sheila asked.

"Not how I would word it. Breaking the testimony would certainly help." Hugh said. In his head, he added, Now I'm starting to miss Juniper picking up on what I'm saying. But how do I approach this testimony?

Testimony that goes against your client's best interests should be discredited with extreme prejudice.

Hugh did his best to disregard another one of his former mentor's teachings.

The first thing that Hugh noticed was the complete lack of testimony that Harry provided. "Mr. Scarlet, you're in court. You can't refuse to give testimony for no reason."

"The defense is correct. However, I'm surprised that the prosecution allowed this testimony from the witness," The Judge said.

"When I prepped the witness earlier, he told me that his was still deciding on what he was going to say," Robin said, glaring at Mr. Scarlet. "The prosecution is just as unhappy with the witness as everyone else."

"Before you make any demands of me, first prove to me that you have an inferno inside you that outmatches my own," Harry said, crossing his arms. "Those are my terms."

"So you want passion, then? In that case…" Robin took a deep breath. Abruptly, she smacked the gallery stand behind her, and her aura erupted into a brilliant light. "Is this hot enough for you?"

For the first time, the arrogant look on Harry's face vanished. "So that's what you possess in the depth of your soul!"

"W-wow, I guess Robin can just do that now," Hugh said, sweating. "Maybe I should practice doing the same?"

"That prosecutor is on fire! Someone should put her out!" Sheila cried out, alarmed.

Harry bowed his head. "I will tell you anything you want to hear, Prosecutor Newman."

"Glad you see things my way! All I need you to say is exactly what you saw on the night of the crime," Robin said, grinning. "But feel free to put a little passion in it."

"What I saw that night is a sight that did put a chill in me. I happened to catch Miss Winters on her way to her office," Harry said, holding a torch close to himself. "And she was pushing something to the maintenance area of the carnival."

"OBJECTION!" Hugh immediately slammed his palm down onto the bench. "You mentioned nothing of the sort when I questioned you yesterday!"

"I told you before, you didn't have the inner fire to handle what I knew," Harry said, pointing the torch at Hugh. "And it looks like I was right."

"In court, you are compelled to tell us what you know!" Robin exclaimed. "So don't hide anything anymore!"

As I was saying, Carnila was pushing something. A common enough dolly, at first glance," Harry continued. "Except for the fact that it was stained with blood."

The audience immediately erupted into a ruckus, which forced the judge to bang his gavel repeatedly to restore order. "This is very helpful testimony for the prosecution! Do they have anything to add?"

"OBJECTION!" Robin smacked her hand into the gallery stand behind her. "When I questioned the witness yesterday, they didn't mention it then either. What's the big idea?!"

Harry reared back a bit, but otherwise kept his cool. "The information does not change solely because of when I choose to say it. And I am not lying- the dolly should still be in the storage area."

"We'll see about that. Detective Skye!"

When Ema entered the room, Robin said, "Go to the carnival and check if dolly is where the witness says it is."

"Got it, Prosecutor Skye," Ema said, grinning. "I'll make sure to investigate the evidence forensically as well. So hang on tight!"

Hugh wasn't content with standing around waiting for the report. His eyes were placed firmly on Harry Scarlet.

I knew there was something about you I didn't like. I'm going to get to the bottom of what it is!

To be continued

A/N: The testimony continues next chapter. With three witnesses to draw testimony from, there are sure to be more reveals to be waiting for everyone in court. Where do you see this case going? See you next time! Please review.