A/N: Hey, guess what? With this chapter we've finally crossed the 100,000 word threshold! Whoo! Also, a forewarning: this is another suuuper dialogue heavy chapter, so prepare yourselves accordingly. I promise I'm almost done torturing you guys with this stuff.
Chapter 16. The Trial of Menoa Bellucci
The United Nations building, New York City; April 14, 2011 – 8:46am.
It was the final few minutes before the trial was supposed to begin. Tai was killing some time by wandering aimlessly around the corridors just outside the auditorium, trying to expend some of the nervous energy making his whole body want to vibrate. He was about to make his third circuit around the outer hallway when a familiar voice called his name.
"Kamiya!"
Tai turned back and saw the man he knew as Kyotaro Imura standing by the corner he had just come from. He jogged casually over to him. "Kyotaro! It's good to see you. What are you doing here?" They shook hands.
Kyotaro had winced at the sound of his name. "While you're here, please only refer to me as 'Agent Yamada'", he corrected. "Nobody here knows my first name, and I'd like to keep it that way. I don't want to have to make a new alias for the next time I go undercover."
"Oh. Sorry."
"But to answer your question, I'm here to testify for the Prosecution. Thanks again for your help bringing down Bellucci. I put a lot of work into making that arrest, and it's won me some major points back at the Bureau. But what are you doing here? Are you testifying too?"
Tai's face slowly fell as Kyotaro spoke. In a quieter voice, he answered, "Yeah...but for the Defense."
A wave of mild shock flashed across Kyotaro's face as the implications of Tai's statement sunk in: here, they were enemies. "Oh," he stammered. "I'm sorry. But I thought you of all people would be glad to see her face justice. Why are you…?"
"Because she's a good person who just made a mistake."
"A good person!" Kyotaro repeated, incredulous. "She abducted thousands of people and separated their consciousnesses from their bodies! That's one hell of a mistake."
"That's all true," Tai acknowledged gravely. "But even so, I'll stand by her."
"I don't understand. You brought her to me yourself after the battle for me to arrest her."
"Because it was the right thing to do. And so is what I'm doing now."
"Well," muttered Kyotaro resignedly after a long moment of silence, "I guess it's like that, then. You should get going. The trial's about to start and we probably shouldn't be seen speaking to each other. Good luck out there."
"All right. Uh, see ya," Tai said awkwardly. Kyotaro waved farewell.
Tai returned to the main chamber as it was filling up. At the lowest tier where the sloping floor leveled out, all the tables at the front of the room had been removed to provide a large square arena of open space for the lawyers to roam freely as they presented their arguments. The tables in the back were bisected in the middle by a single aisle for foot traffic. Tai took a seat in the left section of tables reserved for the Defense. The Prosecution would be on the right. The balcony that ringed the auditorium was filled with spectators from the General Assembly who had come out to witness how events would unfold. In place of the Speaker of the General Assembly podium, there loomed an enormous and decoratively carved judge's bench wide enough for three seats, and which looked to be made out of a single piece of wood. Tai wondered if they had bothered to import it all the way from the Netherlands.
At the far left of the lower level, beyond the jury box and a little ways up the sloped floor, he could see Tom and Maria Bellucci settling uncomfortably into their seats. Tai waved at them to get their attention and sent them an optimistic thumb's up; they waved back in polite greeting, but their faces remained taut with worry.
Presently, Cody and Brian Talbot, Menoa's attorney, entered the chamber and took places along the Defense table near Tai.
"Good morning, Tai!" Cody greeted. It was obvious he was struggling to conceal his excitement. This was a big day.
"Are you ready?" Tai asked.
Cody nodded. "Ready as I'll ever be. Brian is confident we'll be able to attain a favorable outcome for Menoa."
Tai rolled his eyes. "Geez. You sound like a lawyer already."
Just then a tall slender woman in a black pinstripe suit appeared to glide past him. The way she moved was fluid and graceful, yet somehow dangerous, snakelike. Her skin was pale like a vampire's—with blood-red lipstick to complete the image—and her pitch-black hair was pulled into a high pony tail. Everything about her, from her sharp elbows to her stiletto heels, seemed pointy and ready to cut anything that came too close. Drukhovich. It's gotta be. As if to confirm his suspicions, the woman sat down across the aisle from him in the Prosecutor's section and looked his way with a predatory smile. "Brian, how are you? It's so lovely to see you again. Are you ready for another thrashing?" Her voice was sickeningly sweet and full of playful mocking, and the look of diabolical joy in her eyes reminded Tai of the times he'd witnessed the family cat toying with a captive mouse beneath its claws.
"Irina," Brian answered with cool, detached courtesy. "Things will be different this time. Try not to be too disappointed when you lose." His ice-blue eyes flashed with challenge and a hunger to exact vengeance. They have a history together, Tai realized, and not an altogether friendly one.
Drukhovich laughed brightly. "It's good to see you haven't lost your fire. This is going to be fun." She batted her eyelashes at him coquettishly and returned her attention to the front.
Tai soon forgot her as he spotted Izzy, Matt, and Kari emerge at the front of the second floor balcony on the right side of the auditorium beyond the Prosecutor's table. It was comforting just knowing they were there.
A door recessed into the side of the front wall opened and three figures in black robes entered through it.
"All rise! The International Criminal Court is now in session!" bellowed the bailiff, and everyone stood as the panel of judges made their way to the bench. There were two men—one Asian with a wispy black beard, the other a bald dark-skinned man with the build of a linebacker—and a middle-aged woman with short blonde hair and glasses. She took the middle judge's chair, and was flanked by the men on either side. "Now presenting their excellencies, Judge Soo-Jin Kang, Judge Eleazar Knight, and Judge Cornelia Van de Graaf presiding."
"Thank you, bailiff," said the woman, who Tai supposed was the head judge. "We will now hear the case of the Prosecutor versus Menoa Bellucci. Bring forth the accused."
The rear doors opened again, and Menoa was escorted by two guards down to the Defense table. She was clad in a jumpsuit of a violent orange color, and she was shackled at her wrists and ankles, which were connected by a chain that restricted her movement to small steps, and she could not raise her hands above her elbows. She gave Tai a grim smile in greeting as she sat down, but paid him no other acknowledgment. Tai realized this was the first time he had seen her in a well-lit environment in many months. Her hair was messy and tangled in many places. Her skin was paler than usual from her limited exposure to sunlight, and deep bags hung from haunted eyes.
"Who shall prosecute this case?" asked Judge Van de Graaf.
The woman from the Prosecutor's table stood briefly. "Irina Drukhovich, your honor." She spoke clearly, with only the barest hint of a Russian accent.
The Judge acknowledged her with a nod. "And for the Defense…?"
"Brian Talbot, your honor."
"Mr. Talbot, have you brought a child into my courtroom? Who is that boy beside you?" Judge Van de Graaf asked quizzically.
"His name is Cody Hida, your honor, my assistant. He is a Digidestined with aspirations to become a lawyer. Though he is young, his expertise in both areas has been invaluable to me in crafting my defense. He is also a witness to some of the events concerning this case."
"This is highly irregular, Counselor, and hardly the place to tutor your protege."
"I'm aware of that, your honor. If you will indulge me, I will vouch for his presence in this court."
The central judge turned to her companions briefly, seemingly conferring among themselves without the need for words. Then she addressed Cody directly. "Mr. Hida, I take it that you are aware of courtroom procedure?"
Rising from his seat, Cody gave a graceful half-bow and answered, "I am, your honor."
"Very well. Your presence shall be tolerated for now. You may discreetly advise Mr. Talbot from time to time, but you may not offer argument. He is the lead Counsel; you are here only to assist him."
"Understood."
"Now then. Will the accused please rise?"
Menoa and Brian stood for the charges to be read.
"Menoa Bellucci, you are faced with two-thousand eight hundred and fourteen counts of kidnapping in the first degree, two-thousand eight hundred and fourteen counts of reckless endangerment, and two-thousand eight hundred and fourteen counts of aggravated assault resulting in the separation of the victim's consciousness from their physical body. How do you plead?"
Menoa and her attorney looked at each other, and Menoa gave a small nod. Brian faced the judges again and said clearly, "Not guilty, your honor."
"Very well. The Prosecution may begin opening statements."
Drukhovich slunk out of her chair and strode to the center of the arena, spinning with outstretched arms to include the entire congregation. "Esteemed members of the court, ladies and gentlemen of the General Assembly, I will prove to you beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Defendant, Menoa Bellucci, did indeed with malicious aforethought, commit these heinous crimes on a grand and global scale. She did so utilizing strange and uncanny technologies, along with the aid of an enslaved digital monster, an abominable chimera born of collected data from the enigmatic 'Digital World' spliced together with pieces of her own coding, a creature that she called Eosmon. Miss Bellucci has a diabolical and brilliant mind capable of envisioning such twisted and complex crimes, and is mentally unstable enough to act on these impulses. She is a danger to all of humanity as well as to herself; it is our duty to make sure that she is never permitted to do anything like this ever again. For the sake of global security, she must be imprisoned for the remainder of her life." Her soliloquy complete, Drukhovich sat back down.
"Now for the Defense," declared the judge.
"Good morning, everyone," Brian said in a calm but authoritative voice as be paced the courtroom floor. "My client, whatever she may or may not have done, has committed no unlawful act worthy of punishment. Though the events of August 19-22nd were unfortunate, they bore no actual harm to those involved apart from a temporary inconvenience; therefore, these allegations are not only not criminal, but victimless as well. In actuality, the true victim in this case is Bellucci herself, suffering from the acute personal tragedy of losing her digimon partner at a young and formative age. This pain compelled her to actions that, though admittedly misguided, were intended for the benefit of all they affected and to prevent others from suffering that same loss. Ladies and gentlemen of the court, my client has suffered enough; rather than punish her, we should allow her the freedom to grieve and heal in peace with her family."
Drukhovich teased Brian with a smile as he passed on his way back to the Defense table.
"The Prosecution may call the first witness," said Judge Van de Graaf.
"The Prosecution calls Agent Yamada of the Federal Bureau of Investigation," Drukhovich replied.
Kyotaro got up from amid the throng of people skirting the edges of the chamber and made his way down to the witness stand. His eyes met Tai's for a moment as he walked, and they held a pained confusion, as if he was suddenly second-guessing what he was about to do.
"Kyotaro," Menoa sighed quietly beside Tai. There was no ill-will in it, but a feeling of disappointment, betrayal, and even tenderness.
Tai could see from one of the view-screens high on the side wall displaying the live feed that Kyotaro's face was pixelated to protect his identity and knew that his voice would likely be disguised as well. Once Kyotaro was sworn in, the questions began.
"Agent Yamada," said Drukhovich, "you are the arresting officer in this case, yes?"
Kyotaro nodded. "That is correct."
"Could you tell the court how you came to arrest Miss Bellucci, and the circumstances that led up to it?"
"I was undercover posing as her research assistant in order to investigate her actions. When the mass coma phenomenon started, I became suspicious that she was somehow responsible once it was discovered that all the victims were Digidestined."
"Why is that?"
"Objection! Calls for speculation," interjected Brian.
Turning to face the judges, Drukhovich countered, "The witness is an expert in this field and has intimate knowledge of the defendant's actions during this time."
"Overruled," said the judge. "The witness may answer the question."
"She is one of the few people in the world with the knowledge and capability to pull off something like this; I was already investigating her for illegal activity under orders from the U.S. government, and she began to act strangely in the days leading up to these events."
"Strange how?" Drukhovich prodded.
"She grew increasingly secretive about her work, even from me, backing up the data onto an encrypted drive she kept on her person at all times and wiping any copies from her lab computer."
"Many researchers are protective of their work," Drukhovich replied almost conversationally.
Kyotaro shook his head. "Not like this. Her secrecy bordered on paranoia. I remember a moment a few days before everything went down when she screamed at a member of the janitorial staff not to touch her work area; she had never shown such an extreme reaction before. The poor cleaning lady fled the lab in tears."
"Are you sure she wasn't just stressed?" Drukhovich prodded.
"In my line of work, when you go deep undercover like this, you learn a lot about people. Eating and sleeping habits, physical ticks, emotional triggers, personal vices, things that their best friends and mothers wouldn't notice. I see people at their very best and worst, who they truly are. I've seen how she handles stress, and I know the difference between Menoa Bellucci on a bad day and something else. This was something else. She is normally kind and patient with the staff, energetic and extroverted, driven but not obsessive about her work. She was one of the more pleasant people I've had to investigate, to be frank, a breath of fresh air from the usual sickos I deal with. But then something changed. When the aurora appeared, she got very excited, almost manic, and became consumed with completing her work, which she wouldn't share with anyone. Over the next couple of days, there were signs that she was sleeping at her lab—if she slept at all—and forgetting to eat. She grew uncharacteristically rude and short-tempered with people, and I caught her more than once muttering to herself that she was going to 'save all of them.' I wasn't sure what that meant, but when she suddenly announced her immediate departure for Japan, I knew she was about to make her move and insisted on going with her."
"Why Japan?" Drukhovich asked.
"It's where the original team of Digidestined are from. The pretense for the trip was that she intended to recruit their help with stopping Eosmon, but we later found out her true motive: she was after Izzy Izumi's database of Digidestined contacts so she could use it to abduct them."
Kyotaro recounted their initial meeting with the Digidestined and their first encounter with Eosmon, how Omnimon's fusion failed mid-fight and how that seemed to rattle Menoa. "That definitely surprised her," Kyotaro commented. "I think it may have caused her to move up her timetable in an effort to prevent Mr. Kamiya and Mr. Ishida from being parted from their digimon. But this made her sloppy, and allowed me and the Digidestined to unravel her plot. Mr. Izumi was already close to discovering the truth when she put her plan into action."
"What happened next?"
"She targeted the members of the original Digidestined team whose whereabouts she knew of, as they posed the greatest threat; she took the younger siblings of Mr. Ishida and Kamiya first in order to keep them occupied while she went after Mr. Kido and Miss Tachikawa. Fortunately, Mr. Izumi was able to get a message out that contained the coordinates of the abducted Digidestined before he, too, was taken. Ishida and Kamiya pursued her into the Neverworld."
He briefly told the court of the climactic battle that followed and how Tai and Matt ultimately stopped her and returned all the stolen consciousnesses to their owners. "Those two sacrificed their remaining time with their digimon to bring her to justice," he concluded. "We should not let that sacrifice be in vain by letting Bellucci go free."
"Thank you for your time Agent Yamada," Drukhovich said. Then turning to the judge, she declared, "No further questions, your honor."
"The Defense may cross-examine," Van de Graaf announced.
Brian stood and slowly approached the witness stand, looking thoughtful. "Agent Yamada," he began, "what was your impression of Miss Bellucci prior to the appearance of the aurora in the sky and the sudden shift in her demeanor?"
Kyotaro shifted in his seat a little as he contemplated his reply. "I'm not a psychologist—though I have had some psychological training," he prefaced. "But for what it's worth, she struck me as seemingly very outgoing and friendly, but secretly very lonely. Always composed, always very well put-together, acquaintances would think she was perfectly happy as long as they didn't look too closely. But the more I worked alongside her, I could sense there was something wrong, a secret pain she kept buried deep. And when she finally revealed her true colors, I learned there was madness too."
"Madness," Brian repeated, as if tasting the word. "Pain that is severe enough and long endured can ultimately drive one mad, wouldn't you agree?"
"I...suppose," Kyotaro answered cautiously.
"Objection," called Drukhovich without bothering to rise from her seat. "Is Counsel going to provide an argument or just wax philosophical?"
Brian conceded the point with a nod. "I'll move on. Agent Yamada, you implied just a moment ago that we owe it to Misters Kamiya and Ishida to not let their sacrifice be in vain by letting Miss Bellucci go free. I'm curious, are you aware that Mr. Kamiya and other Digidestined from his team are actually aiding the Defense in this case?"
"I was not until a few minutes ago when I bumped into him outside."
"If Kamiya's sacrifice was to apprehend my client, then why would he be advocating for her release now?"
"I'm sure I don't know. You should ask him."
"Perhaps it was rather meant for the rescue everyone from the memories they were imprisoned in. Perhaps...this even included Bellucci herself?"
"Objection, speculation," sighed Drukhovich in a rather bored voice.
"Sustained," agreed Van de Graaf. "Please address questions of motive to the appropriate witness in the future, Mr. Talbot."
"Yes, your honor. No further questions."
The judge excused Kyotaro from the witness stand and told Brian that he could call his first witness.
"The Defense calls Koushiro Izumi to the stand," Brian declared.
Izzy came down to the front and repeated the witness's oath.
"Mr. Izumi, you created the International Digidestined Coalition Network, also known as 'INDICON', is that correct?"
Izzy nodded. "Yes, it is."
"Could you describe to the court what it is and its purpose?"
"Very well. INDICON began as a simple list of email addresses I'd collected into a database after the battle on the internet in 2000. We were just coming to the realization that there were more of us Digidestined scattered around the world, and I saw the value in being in contact with them in the event of another large-scale emergency. Over time, that database has grown in number and complexity, and has since become a sort of social media for Digidestined to communicate with one another, as well as a source of collective knowledge for us to share."
"How large is this database that you've constructed?"
"The website contains close to a petabyte of data," Izzy quibbled, "but I assume you mean the number of members."
Brian smiled wryly. "Yes."
"At my last count, there were approximately 34,862 registered profiles."
The smile widened, and was accompanied by a raised eyebrow. "That's approximate?"
"My recollection could be off by a factor of three or four units, but it is on the whole quite accurate."
"That's quite a lot of members," Brian mused. "Almost the size of a country, you might say. Indeed, the U.N. recognizes sovereign nations with smaller populations. If we applied a somewhat loose definition to the word, we could think of all the members of the IDC as a distinct people group composing their own sort of nation, do you agree?"
Izzy nodded along. "The logic is sound, in theory. Though I think 'sub-nation' might be a better term, since membership in the IDC does not supersede their status as a citizen in their home country. I would argue that a Digidestined has a kind of inherent dual-citizenship—we live in two worlds after all, and have obligations and responsibilities to both. That, and the fact that the IDC lacks any defined borders in the Real World is what makes the community of Digidestined unique."
One of the judges, Soo-Jin Kang, held out his arm to indicate a pause. Addressing Brian, he asked, "What are you getting at, Counselor?"
Brian pivoted to face the panel of judges and replied, "If you'll indulge me, I'm trying to establish reasonable grounds for claiming that this case does not fall under the proper jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court and should instead be tried by the International Digidestined Coalition."
"An interesting strategy," rumbled the deep bass of the third judge, Eleazar Knight, his fingers steepled together in intrigue. The three judges looked at each other as though communicating silently, then judge Van de Graaf announced, "You may proceed."
"If we consider all the members of the IDC as its own nation—sub-nation if you prefer—and a distinct people group, then it would be as if all the crimes Miss Bellucci has allegedly committed were against that sub-nation, would it not?" Brian asked Izzy.
"That is a valid interpretation," Izzy agreed.
"In your opinion, then, as a high-ranking member of the IDC, do you believe that the International Criminal Court should try this case?"
"I do not."
"Could you please tell the court as to why?"
"The whole basis for the International Criminal Court trying this case is predicated on the fact that the crime was global in nature, without respect to national borders. This much is true, but we must also acknowledge the uniqueness of the situation. What constitutes a nation may be considered as a defined group of people united by a common culture and/or language, usually contained within a specified geographical border. While admittedly lacking in this last qualification, I believe the IDC matches enough of these attributes to be considered as a kind of nation on its own, which would bring the scope down from a global crime to an internal matter for that nation to adjudicate instead of the ICC. The primary factor is that concerning Digidestined, and while I applaud the General Assembly for recognizing the need to be better informed of our organization, this court lacks the expertise needed to properly try this case. It would be like Denmark attempting to resolve a political issue pertaining to Uganda: it would not be the proper jurisdiction."
"What then, in your opinion, should be done?"
"I would humbly suggest that this court should release this matter over to the IDC so that we can resolve it how we determine is best."
"No further questions, your honor," Brian told the judge, then turning to Drukhovich, said, "your witness, Counselor."
Brian took his seat and Drukhovich approached the witness box. "Mr. Izumi, does the IDC have a court system?"
Izzy stiffened. This was the weak point in his argument; Drukhovich had caught it immediately. "No," Izzy admitted, "but—"
"Lawyers?"
"Not as of yet—"
"Judges?"
Izzy huffed. "Ms. Drukhovich, over 99% of our organization is currently below the age of twenty, so it wouldn't be possible for us to have—"
"A yes or no answer will suffice, Mr. Izumi," Drukhovich interrupted.
There was a brief pause. "No," Izzy confessed.
"Does the United Nations currently recognize the International Digidestined Coalition as a sovereign nation?"
Izzy visibly ground his teeth. "No."
Drukhovich smiled her vampiric smile, a mask of sweetness hiding her ruthlessness. "No further questions," she said, dismissing him.
"Well that went well," Tai remarked sarcastically, pacing back and forth in the corner of the room. "I mean, was it just me or did it seem like we got our butts kicked out there?"
It was the first recess of the trial, and the Defense team had retired to a private conference room to rally and strategize their next move. Menoa sat meekly at a table across from him, Brian leaned up against the side wall, and Cody stood tall and straight with his arms folded across chest and his brow furrowed in concern.
Brian pulled a vape pen from his breast pocket and took a long drag. "Relax," he said softly, a cloud spilling from his mouth. "This was just the first round. How a trial begins doesn't matter, it's how it ends that counts. And we've got a lot of fight left to give before it's all over." Returning the vape pen to its place, he grudgingly added, "However, I admit this first salvo did not go as well as I'd hoped. It's not just you."
"What comes next?" asked Cody, ever the pragmatist. He always preferred to focus on the future instead of bemoaning the present and what could have been.
"She will call her next witness, and we will have to poke holes in her argument. My guess is, she will call Digidestined who were kidnapped and try to play up the ordeal they went through. It will be up to us to prove that ultimately no harm ever came to them." Brian smiled as he drew from the vape pen again. "This goes back to your argument, Cody: you can't have a crime without a victim."
"Can you really convince them that I didn't hurt anybody?" Menoa's head never moved from where it slumped forward and down staring at her hands, her face masked by a curtain of hair.
"You didn't," Brian insisted. "Not in any legal sense. They might have been inconvenienced to some degree, but were never physically molested in any way."
"I put them in a coma!" Menoa said in disgust.
"From which they immediately recovered once you released them," Brian reminded patiently, as if repeating an old conversation. "No lasting harm done."
"That's all well and good," Tai interjected, "but I've got a question. What's with you and Drukhovich? She clearly knows you, and not just as a courtroom opponent."
Brian started as if taken by surprise, and all eyes turned to him, even Menoa's.
"Yes, I was wondering about that myself," agreed Cody.
Brian fidgeted under their gaze, looking almost embarrassed. "We went to the same law school. Had some classes together." He sounded nonchalant, as though it was a meaningless anecdotal detail hardly worth mentioning, but the delivery was too deliberate and artificial. There was something more.
For a lawyer, he's got a lousy poker face, Tai thought. "That's it? I don't buy that. I want the truth."
Brian stalled by taking with another puff from his vape pen. "We...may have...dated, briefly."
"I knew it!" Tai exclaimed, simultaneously triumphant and revolted.
"Dated!" Cody repeated in disgust.
"Who broke it off?" Menoa asked, looking halfway amused.
Brian shot Menoa an insulted look as if to say, "Seriously? Who do you think!", but gave no verbal response.
"How briefly?" Cody prodded.
"Not long. A few weeks, maybe a month. Once I saw what a sadist she is, I ended it. And she's never forgiven me for it."
"I can't believe it took you more than five minutes to figure out that she's totally bananas," said Tai.
"She's very adept at hiding it when she wants to, she knows how to play-act a normal person. And we didn't exactly do a lot of talking when we were together. Our relationship was, ah...predominantly physical."
Tai made a sour face. "Gross."
"But that's ancient history; I assure you this has no bearing on your case whatsoever."
"Doesn't it?" asked Menoa icily. "She knows you, and is willing to do anything to beat you out of some petty vindictiveness."
"Which doesn't make her any better of a lawyer," Brian pointed out. "If anything, it blinds her and makes her vulnerable to traps she might otherwise avoid. Don't forget, she might know my tactics, but I know hers too. I have the most experience, and more victories against her in court than anybody else. Look, if you want to fire me I understand, but good luck finding a competent attorney in the middle of a trial, and as sharp as young Cody is, he legally cannot represent you. I'm still your best bet at freedom."
"I'm not going to fire you," Menoa derided, "but I wish you had been up front with me."
"I agree," growled Cody. "You should have been honest with us about your past from the beginning."
"My personal business with Drukhovich is just that: personal. It has no direct relevance to this case, therefore you had no right to that information. I would have rather had it stay buried in the past where it belongs."
"That's debatable," said Menoa, "but let's move on. It does no good to discuss it any further."
"As you wish. Now, our strategy going forward must be as follows…"
The trial went on for days. Eventually the cycle of prosecution and cross-examination, then defense and more cross-examination, all began to blur together for Tai until he felt like he didn't know what was happening anymore. Drukhovich brought in family members of Digidestined who had found their loved ones passed out on the floor with no sign of their digimon, and the shock and hopeless panic that they felt, not knowing what to do or whether their sons or daughters, brothers or sisters would ever wake up again. She interviewed medical professionals and asked about their experience with the comatose patients. During this segment, at one point she even called Joe to the stand.
"Aw, no, not you too," Tai groaned as he watched the doctor-in-training walk reluctantly to the witness box, feeling a sense of betrayal. His eyes found the Defense table and locked with Tai's for a moment, looking apologetic.
"Don't be mad at him, Tai," Cody whispered. "He was summoned to testify, it's not like he had much choice in the matter. And I know he won't cooperate with Drukhovich any more than he has to."
"That's still dirty, to use our friends against us like this."
Cody shrugged. "He's a valid witness to events relevant to the case. It's totally within her right to question him."
"I suppose, but I don't have to like it," Tai grumbled.
"I also think it's strategic," Brian added. "She could have picked any number of people for the kind of testimony he can give; she's using Joe purposefully to get you riled up. Don't let it." Tai was about to respond, but Cody preemptively shushed him as the questioning had begun.
"Mr. Kido, you are a Digidestined yourself, are you not?"
"That's right," Joe replied.
"And you're also a medical doctor?"
"No, not yet, though that's the goal. I'm just a fifth-year med student."
"As a fifth-year medical student, were you involved in caring for any of your comatose comrades during the events that took place August 19-22 of last year?"
Joe nodded solemnly. "I was; there were two unconscious Digidestined in my ward, both female and approximately eighteen to twenty-two years of age." A pained expression came across Joe's face. "One of them was a childhood friend of mine, and another original Digidestined."
"Who was that?" asked Drukhovich.
"Mimi Tachikawa. As I understand it, she'd been found collapsed in a warehouse she was renting for her business."
Drukhovich adopted a sympathetic voice. "I'm sorry, that must have been very difficult for you. Can you tell me what their symptoms were?"
"Medically, they were perfectly healthy except for their unconscious state. Their brain function was consistent with that of very deep sleep. The only problem is they wouldn't wake up."
"What would have happened to them should they have stayed that way indefinitely?"
"Objection," interjected Brian. "Calls for speculation."
"Overruled," Judge Van de Graaf answered. "Considering Mr. Kido's expertise, I think we can allow him to speculate a little."
"Well," Joe mused, thinking out loud, "we had to put them on an intravenous drip to give them water and nutrients, as they were incapable of feeding themselves, but that is only a temporary solution. Over time and prolonged inactivity, their muscles would atrophy from lack of use, and their bodies would gradually waste away until, if they never recovered...they would have passed on."
"So if your friends had failed to defeat Eosmon, everyone who was in a coma would have died?" pressed Drukhovich.
Joe hesitated. "Conceivably, yes. Including myself. I was taken as well, you see, before the end. We owe our lives to Tai and Matt and their digimon," he finished gratefully.
Drukhovich ignored his last statement and changed subjects. "Hospital stays are quite expensive these days, aren't they?" she asked almost conversationally. "I'm curious, would you be able to give the court an idea of what it cost your patients to stay the night in intensive care?"
"I'm sorry, if I tried to give you a figure I'm sure it would be terribly wrong. I have very little to do with billing. But you're right; I do know it is quite expensive."
"Enough to be a monetary hardship on the average person?"
"Almost certainly," Joe agreed.
Drukhovich produced a paper from her pocket and approached the judge's panel. "Your honor, I present as evidence this graph containing the average cost for an overnight hospital stay with the kind of special equipment and care that would have been used for comatose patients, organized by geographical region for most of the modern world. Healthcare costs are rising nearly everywhere, and Miss Bellucci's actions have severely impacted the finances of thousands of people, to say nothing of physical and emotional trauma. Unlike the Defense, I can find plenty of victims here."
Suddenly it was Brian's turn. He rose from his chair suppressing a smirk and approached Joe casually. "Mr. Kido, just a few moments ago you stated that if Eosmon were not stopped, everyone who's consciousness had been stolen would have died, including you and your friends. Did that in fact happen? Were there any actual deaths from this event?"
"Not to my knowledge, no."
"No," Brian repeated. "Mr. Kido, were you aware that Miss Tachikawa, and your other patient—one Ayaka Nishimoto—had their hospital bills paid for by an anonymous donor?"
Joe blinked and leaned forward, intrigued. "No, I was not."
"Indeed. Not only that, but this mysterious benefactor appears to have paid for all the kidnapped Digidestined's medical expenses. May I present to the court this file showing that every Digidestined I've been able to research has had their medical bills paid in full by some mysterious good Samaritan."
A murmur of amazement rippled through the court as Brian flourished a folder and waved it for everyone to see before placing it on the judge's table.
Drukhovich was livid. "Preposterous!" she shrieked. She stared open-mouthed at the folder like she could will it to burst into flame, the corners of her red lips curled into a snarl."Let me see that." She practically flew with long swift strides to the folder, where she snatched it from the judge's table before any of them could look at it. Drukhovich flipped through the pages rapidly, lines of dismay and horror etching ever deeper into her twisted visage. Finally she returned the folder to the table with an audible slap! and fled to her seat muttering a curse in Russian.
Tai couldn't believe it. Had he heard that right? Some generous person had somehow paid the hospital bills of everyone who had lost consciousness because of Eosmon? But that would have taken an exorbitant amount of money! Millions of dollars! Who on earth could have—?
Scanning the auditorium and watching the muted reactions of the crowd, Tai's gaze swept over the upper tier balcony until it fell upon Izzy, who was looking quite pleased with himself. Their eyes met, as though he could sense Tai's scrutiny, and Izzy sent a private nod his way from the other side of the arena. Tai's jaw fell slack, gawking openly. Izzy held a finger to his lips for a moment, then returned his attention to the court proceedings. The message was clear: don't tell anyone.
Tai sat back in his chair, stunned at the incredible lengths his friend had gone to for this trial. He knew it wasn't solely for Menoa's sake (though that was certainly part of it) but it was also a calculated move to improve the Digidestined's standing on the world stage, and to help out all those who were impacted by Menoa's actions. Tai felt immense gratitude toward the young genius in that moment, knowing how much he had sacrificed. He couldn't speak for Izzy, but Tai thought he would agree that the look on Drukhovich's face was worth every penny.
The file was passed around among the judges. "Extraordinary," Judge Knight commented to himself while thumbing through the pages.
"As you can see," Brian argued, "none of the abducted Digidestined have had to face financial hardship due to my client, and however dire their fate could have been if not for the heroic actions of Mr. Kamiya and Ishida, that is irrelevant. We do not try people for things that did not happen. I challenge my colleague once again to provide a compelling reason why Miss Bellucci should be punished at all."
Drukhovich stood up, visibly agitated. "All right," she muttered quietly to herself. Then more clearly, "The Prosecution calls…" she looked around the auditorium as if trying to decide who to pick next. "...Yamato Ishida to the stand."
Tai ground his teeth as a surprised and bewildered-looking Matt came down to the courtroom floor and took his place at the witness box. "I really wish she would stop using my friends to make her case," he growled.
"Just wait," Cody shushed. He was leaning forward with hand on chin, watching the proceedings intently. Something about this latest development had him on high alert. "Somehow I don't think Matt will be quite as accommodating as Drukhovich is hoping for."
Drukhovich asked her first question. "Mr. Ishida, can you please describe for the court the events that took place on the evening of August 21st, 2010?"
Matt sat hunched forward, looking uncomfortable. "Well, Gabumon and I—err, that's my digimon partner—we were following Menoa's assistant around when Izzy got news that my brother, T.K., along with Tai's sister, Kari, were kidnapped. They were being held in abandoned warehouses on opposite sides of the city, so we took off to rescue them. When I got to the location where T.K. was being held, Ky—Agent Yamada was already there. I confronted him about his suspicious activity, and he revealed his true identity as an F.B.I. agent." A bitter note entered Matt's voice: "Then he led to me T.K.'s body."
"How did seeing your brother like that make you feel?" Drukhovich prodded gently.
Matt took a shaky breath and let it out. "He was just lying there, not moving. I couldn't even tell he was still breathing at first, and for one horrible second I thought—" Matt's fingers curled into tight fists and he looked down briefly. "I was terrified, and I was angry. I wanted Menoa to pay. For doing that to my brother, for making my bond with Gabumon go away, all of it. But most of all I felt powerless to do anything."
"I'm sure that was an awful experience for you. Thank you for your time."
Drukhovich started to walk back to the Prosecutor's table, but Matt spoke up. "I'm not finished!"
Drukhovich's heel stopped with a clack! as she paused to turn back to him. Judge Van de Graaf was also leaning over the bench, intrigued.
"I'm not done answering your question." He managed to make the statement sound like a challenge. Van de Graaf gestured permission for Matt to continue. "That is how I felt at the time, but it's a far-cry from how I feel now, and I would be remiss if I did not say so."
Matt paused to gather his thoughts before continuing on. "I was so angry at Menoa, at the situation, and how unfair it all was. Then when we got back and found Izzy was taken, Tai immediately concluded we had to go after her. I couldn't understand him at first; I didn't get why he was so gung-ho to get back into the fight when that meant losing our digimon that much quicker. But I wasn't thinking clearly at the time; I couldn't see past the pain in front of me to what else was at stake. But Tai could."
A smile born of nostalgia crept up Matt's face. "He could always see clearly what needed to be done, even if none of us were ready to face it yet. I used to fight with him a lot during our first adventure, because he could see the bottom line and I would get bogged down in the details. Tai saw that we had to fight, or else everyone that had been taken—including our siblings—would be lost forever. And yet, when it came to dealing with Menoa herself, he treated her with kindness. He tried to talk her down from the ledge she had brought us all to, and it was the right decision in the end. He managed to get through to her. Through her memories I saw what led her to do the things that she did, and it was heartbreaking, but what's more, it was relatable. I'm not excusing her actions, but if I had been put in the same situation, I could easily have gone down that same path myself. I've made my share of mistakes too, but thankfully my friends have forgiven me."
Matt looked over at Menoa then, who was sitting very small and still in her chair with her head bowed. But, as if feeling his gaze on her, she straightened to meet it, and looking into his intense ice-blue eyes something passed between them: an acknowledgment of sorts, an honest understanding without condemnation, and ultimately, acceptance. Menoa's eyes brimmed with tears and she had to look away.
Matt's eyes relented and he faced the court again. "I don't know that I'll ever look back on the memory of my brother lying there, or of all my brainwashed companions in their childhood state trying to stop me from rescuing them, without some part of me feeling feeling angry and bitter. Thinking of what almost happened still makes my blood boil. But I can't bring myself to hate Menoa. She's as much a victim in this as any of us, and we managed to stop her from doing irreparable damage. For what it's worth, I think she should be allowed to go free and be with her loved ones so she can heal. And if she were, I would urge the Digidestined community to welcome her with open arms as one of our own."
Matt looked directly at Drukhovich then with all the coldness of a winter snowstorm. "Now I'm finished."
Drukhovich only sneered in response and whirled around to Brian. "Your witness!" she hissed.
"I don't feel the need to question him at all, actually," he replied pleasantly. "Mr. Ishida did just fine without my help. However, I will call my next witness: Taichi Kamiya!"
Tai stared blankly in confusion like a deer in headlights. "Huh?"
Brian smiled at him gently. "You're up, big guy."
"Oh. Now?" He'd known he was going to testify eventually, but he had expected to get a warning ahead of time to mentally prepare himself.
Brian nodded, and so Tai quickly rose from the table. He could feel every eye in the Assembly chamber on him as he made his way to the witness box. The back of the wooden seat creaked as he sat down, and it seemed to echo in the uncomfortable stillness.
"Mr. Kamiya," Brian began, could you please tell the court your version of events on the night of August 21st?"
And so he did. Tai recounted the tale of how they discovered Izzy had been taken, and the last clue he had left them of his whereabouts; of their losing struggle against Eosmon, their failure to get through to Menoa in her madness, and how they hid in shame and despair; how their partners encouraged them to try again and how they rallied together for one last battle; the final digivolution, Eosmon's swift defeat, and how they were finally able to reach Menoa.
He left nothing out, telling every detail whether good or bad. He didn't gloss over Menoa's flaws or dance around what happened, but reported his account with complete honesty just as he'd been instructed, and the court received it with rapt attention. He ended with the collapse of that world Menoa had created and sustained through Eosmon, and how they returned to Izzy's office where Menoa meekly accepted being handcuffed and led away by Agent Yamada.
"So you handed Miss Bellucci over to the F.B.I. personally?" Brian asked.
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because it was the right thing to do," he replied, echoing what he had told Kyotaro earlier.
"And yet you're here testifying in her defense? Again, I must ask, why?"
"Because even though I believed she needed to face justice, I also believe that justice would set her free. She's not a bad person; she just made some bad decisions out of a broken heart."
"Could you expound on that, please? Broken how?"
Tai lowered his head briefly as he chose his words carefully. "It's a difficult thing to explain to a non-Digidestined. First you need to understand the depth of our bonds with our digimon. You can't understand it, really—not without experiencing it yourself—but you need to understand that, too. It's...a bit like all the closest relationships in your life all blended together, kind of like a child in one way, kind of like your dog in another; your best friend, or even—only in a certain sense, mind you—like a lover. What I mean is, there's a closeness, an intimacy there, stronger than I can put into words. When we talk of a bond between us and our digimon, we mean that quite literally; there's something almost like a psychic link that connects our minds and hearts together, even across the worlds. That's how we can cause them to digivolve, in fact. Izzy could explain it much better than I could, but even he doesn't really know exactly how it works."
"Anyway, Agumon, for example, could almost be thought of as my other self. So much of my inner personality was embodied in him, he was like—like the manifestation of my soul. And it's the same for every Digidestined. However, Menoa had her soul torn in half when she was fourteen years old. We've talked a lot about how a Digidestined's bond with their partner is broken once they enter adulthood, and Menoa 'grew up' so to speak abnormally quickly, we think because of her genius intellect. That caused her digimon to disappear in front of her eyes, which severely traumatized her from then on. As far as we can tell, she was the first person to be unbound from her partner. Having since gone through that process myself, I can attest to what a tragedy it is. I'd give anything to have Agumon back, and to prevent anyone else from suffering the same fate. But Menoa found a way to do just that. Sort of. She managed to create an approximate copy of her old partner and used it to create a place where Digidestined could remain children forever and never have to say goodbye to their digimon. It was perfect except for two things: the first was that she never offered this as a choice to make, but took it upon herself to 'save' everyone whether they wanted it or not."
"And the other?" Brian prompted.
"It wasn't real. The world she created was only an empty illusion. It trapped people in a prison of their happiest memory, never to learn or grow or experience anything outside of it. That's no way to live. I believe she genuinely wanted to help people, but she was so blinded by her own pain that she couldn't see how this was really hurting them instead. We all have to learn to live with the choices we make and grow from them into something stronger. It's our own sort of digivolution. We wouldn't have been able to do that in there. And Menoa can't do that in a jail cell. That's why I believe she should go free."
"Thank you, Mr. Kamiya. No further questions."
Brian and Drukhovich swapped places on the floor. Tai braced himself for the coming cross-examination.
Drukhovich slunk toward him with the expression of a shark that smelled blood in the water. "Mr. Kamiya, just a moment ago you said that Miss Bellucci was behind this whole plot, did you not?"
Tai winced. He tried to soften the blow. "What we discovered through the course of our investigation is that ultimately she—"
"The creature known as Eosmon was her creation, yes?"
Tai paused, but said reluctantly, "...Yes."
"And it was acting under her orders when it abducted the consciousnesses of all those people, yes? Including your own sister, as well as most of your friends?"
Tai released a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. "Yes."
"That's pretty definitive then, isn't it? It's abundantly clear she is guilty. Case closed, we can all go home, right?"
"Haven't you been listening?" Tai countered. "It's not that simple. There are mitigating factors—"
"Mitigating factors?!" Drukhovich laughed, her voice saturated with scorn. "What is simple is that she committed every crime of which she is on trial, making her unequivocally guilty."
"What if it had been your child that you lost?!" Tai blurted, every ounce of pent-up frustration coming through in his outburst. "Is there anything you wouldn't do?"
"A child?" Drukhovich sneered derisively at the comparison. "They're monsters!"
"Digital monsters, yes," he replied, "and far more human than most people I know! Our partners are innocent and kind and selfless! They've risked everything to save a world entirely alien from their own."
Drukhovich tapped a finger to her cheek thoughtfully. "And how many children do you have, Mr. Kamiya?"
Tai was thrown off by the question. "None," he admitted.
"Then how can you know what it is like to be a parent?"
"I could ask the same of you about being partnered to a digimon."
A low rumble of hushed voices and a few scattered laughs spread through the air, as if the chamber itself had bristled at Tai's retort. It was clear he had hit his mark by turning Drukhovich's argument back on her and everyone waited with baited breath for what would happen next. Drukhovich's features briefly twisted into a snarl, sending Tai a vicious glare that only he could see. Then it was gone as quickly as it had appeared, replaced with an amused smile.
"Touché, Mr. Kamiya." She turned and strolled a few paces away from him before facing him again, gesturing with one slender arm to Menoa. "Mr. Kamiya, would you be so kind as to look at the accused for me?"
Tai warily complied, not sure where she would go with it. Menoa's eyes pierced into his from across the room, vulnerable but trusting.
After waiting a moment, Drukhovich observed, "Miss Bellucci is quite attractive, wouldn't you say?"
Cody and Brian were both on their feet in an instant. "Objection!" they cried in tandem, but then remembering himself, Cody mutely took his seat. Brian continued as if he hadn't noticed the breach of protocol. "Relevance?" he challenged.
Drukhovich addressed the judge's table. "I have a point, your Honor, if I may be given a little leeway to get there."
The judges glanced at one another, but spoke no word, and ultimately Judge Van de Graaf gave the decision. "You may have it...for now. But tread carefully, Counselor. The witness may answer the question."
Tai fidgeted awkwardly in his seat, still looking at Menoa as though trying to form an opinion. "I...ehm...y-yeah, sure," he stammered at last. "She's very pretty...if you're into that sort of thing."
"And are you?" persisted Drukhovich. "Into that sort of thing, I mean."
"Objection!" Brian shouted, indignant. "Your Honor, Mr. Kamiya's romantic preferences are not on trial here!" Cody clenched his teeth, but remained silent.
"I withdraw the question," Drukhovich said before the judges could reply. She walked in a half-circle back to the Prosecution table where she picked up a file and flipped to a particular page. "I've been looking over the visitor's logs from the prison, and it appears that you have gone to see Miss Bellucci on a number of occasions—more than even her attorney, in fact. Do you know how many times you've gone to see her?"
Tai shook his head. "I'm not sure."
"The records show a total of twenty-two visits from you over the last seven months. That's quite a lot, wouldn't you say? I can't help but wonder, what could the two of you have been doing, two healthy young individuals of the opposite sex, alone in her cell together?"
Brian was apoplectic. "Your Honor—!"
Van de Graaf actually slammed the table with her gavel. "Ms. Drukhovich! You go too far!"
"Withdrawn," she replied smugly, without a trace of remorse. "No further questions, your Honor."
It was another recess, and the conference room they were in was oppressively quiet. Cody sat in the corner of the room, silently brooding. Brian was leaning against the opposite wall again, taking long puffs from his vape pen regularly. And Menoa sat at the table staring darkly into her handcuffs.
Tai couldn't take the silence any longer. "Sooo, how are we doing? Seriously. We've been at this for so long my brain is fried and I honestly can't keep track of what's going on anymore. Do you think we are winning?"
Brian expelled a sweet-smelling cloud from his lungs. "That's the question, isn't it? It's impossible to say, really. I feel like we've scored some good points, but so has the other side. It all depends on what sways the jury more. Truthfully, I feel like it could go either way right now."
"Oh," said Tai softly. He swallowed, his throat suddenly dry. "Was my testimony helpful at all? Or did it…?"
"No, no, you were brilliant, handling Drukhovich the way you did."
Menoa looked up from her shackles. "Yeah, you did great, Tai. Thank you, really. And I'm sorry about Drukhovich's line of questioning towards the end. She crossed the line."
Tai's face grew slightly warm. "Uh—y-yeah." He coughed. "What was all that about, anyway? What was she trying to accomplish?"
Brian breathed out another cloud as he answered, the vapor distorting his voice a little. "Character assassination. She wanted to discredit your testimony by making it seem like your motivation for speaking on Menoa's behalf is because you've developed feelings for her. Drukhovich was grasping at straws trying to salvage something out of questioning you, but it just might be enough to convince some to dismiss what you said."
"Great," Tai grumbled. He noticed Menoa wouldn't look at him anymore, and he wondered if he might have done something wrong. "So what do we do now?"
Cody looked up, his eyes bright and fierce. "I still say we should go with my idea."
Brian's response was immediate. "No. Absolutely not. It could backfire on us terribly."
"But it could also help give us the edge we need to win this case!" Cody argued spiritedly.
"Whoa, hang on," Tai said with hands upraised. "What's your idea, Cody?"
"I want to put Menoa on the stand and let her engage with the court directly."
Menoa nodded. "I'll do it. I've been wanting an opportunity to speak."
Brian chopped his hands downward in a sharp X-pattern. "Not a chance. I can't let you go out there. If you do, you'll be open to cross-examination and I don't want Drukhovich to get her claws anywhere near you."
"Let me?" Menoa repeated, her voice rising. "What do you mean 'let me'? I thought you worked for me!"
"As your attorney, I have to advise against it," Brian amended in a placating tone. "It's normally a bad idea to let the accused testify on the stand."
"Do you think this is a normal case?" countered Cody. "We left 'normal' behind a long time ago, and you need to forget all the regular tricks in your rule-book and try something unexpected if we're to get anywhere in this case."
Tai regarded his friend in awe for a moment. All at once it hit him with unexpected force that this was not the small young boy he remembered from so many years ago. He had gained a few more inches to his already respectable height in the last few months, perhaps a final growth-spurt in a last gasp of puberty. Tai knew that if he were to stand face-to-face right now, they would be at eye-level with each other.
But more striking than that was his voice: the breathy rasping quality was disappearing, and being quickly replaced by rich bass tones which bestowed a power and authority to his voice that, in time, would serve him well in the courtroom. It gave the passion and confidence in which he spoke a real persuasiveness that was hard to resist. He's really grown up. The realization gave Tai a swell of pride for his friend, yet strangely made him a little sad also.
Brian ignored Cody, however, and instead kept his focus on Menoa. "She could force you to make what amounts to a confession," he warned.
"So? They all know full well what I've done, that's pretty common knowledge by now. The evidence isn't hard to find."
"It's not the same," Brian argued. "With others, there can still be room for doubt; people may have different motivations for saying one thing or another, and so forth. But when the accused comes forward and basically says that they've done what they're on trial for, there's no room for doubt anymore. They know it has to be true."
"I'm not interested in convincing them that I didn't kidnap those people. I never was. I did kidnap them, and I won't shy away from that. If they decide that means I should live the rest of my life behind bars, then...so be it. And if I'm acquitted, it won't be because of a lie."
A sharp glint came into Brian's eyes as he looked at Menoa with new respect. He took one last drag from his pen and sighed resignedly. "All right, then," he said slowly, "if that's how you want to play it." He gestured to Cody. "I'll follow your lead now, Mr. Hida. What's your plan?"
Cody's eyes lit up with fiery determination, and he grinned. "All right, here's what we're going to do…"
The courtroom was abuzz with the excited chatter of hundreds of people, like the drone of a disturbed bee's nest. Tai felt a thrill of nervous anticipation that matched the thrum of the surrounding air. Cody's gambit was unexpectedly ambitious, and Tai fervently hoped it worked in their favor. The judges called for quiet as they returned to their seats and the simmering roil of conversation faded into silence.
"Are you ready to proceed, Mr. Talbot?" Judge Kang asked.
"We are, your Honor. The Defense calls Menoa Bellucci to the stand!"
Another wave of startled whispers coursed through the air. Drukhovich twitched an eyebrow in mild surprise, but betrayed no other emotion. The bailiff assisted Menoa with getting to the witness stand, and Brian gestured for one of the news crew to roll a camera mounted on a tripod closer to the witness box.
"I would like to begin a little differently this time, if I may," Brian announced. "My client has expressed a desire for the chance to address this court and the victims in this case herself. To accomplish this, and with the assistance of Izumi Industries, I have opened a link to INDICON, the Digidestined social media, which is now projected on the large screen for us. In addition to all the major news agencies broadcasting this trial, there is also a live feed streaming directly to INDICON as well, as it has been from the beginning. The comment stream is blocked for now, but at the end of Miss Bellucci's statement it will be opened for the Digidestined around the world to let their voices be heard. At this time I will ask no questions, but surrender the mic to my client." Brian looked solemnly at her and said, "Menoa Bellucci, the floor is yours," and retreated out of view.
Menoa closed her eyes and inhaled deeply before letting the air out in a soft sigh. Now mentally prepared, she opened her eyes directly into the camera and spoke in a calm, grave voice. "Hello, everyone. I am Menoa Bellucci, and I am responsible for the mass coma phenomenon that afflicted so many of you around the globe. Yes, I admit I was behind it; there's no point in trying to hide it any longer. I created Eosmon and used it to bring your consciousnesses to the Neverworld. I do not ask for your forgiveness, but I wanted to express to you how sorry I am for the trouble I've caused. I never meant to hurt anyone. I was trying to save you all."
She reached up with her hands to brush away a strand of hair that had fallen over her face. It was a little difficult because of her shackles. "I was a Digidestined too, once, long ago, as others have already stated. My partner's name was Morphomon, and she was my whole world. We did everything together; we ate, slept, bathed, and even went to school together. The other kids thought I was a freak because I was the only one with a digimon where I grew up and would never play with me or include me into their group, but I didn't care. Not as long as I had Morphomon."
Menoa raised her head toward the ceiling briefly and blinked back tears from glassy eyes. "But when I was fourteen...she left me. I was in such a hurry to grow up and be taken seriously by the world that the bond between me and my partner was shattered, and I lost her forever. It was the most painful thing I've ever experienced. It...it felt like dying. I know that sounds melodramatic, but it's true. After that, I devoted my life to digimon research to find out why this happened. Through years of study, I discovered that when a Digidestined becomes an adult, the potential they had as children—the potential which fuels the bond they share with their digimon—fades away and they go their separate ways. I realized what happened to me wasn't some freak accident, but a natural part of life that would eventually happen to everyone with a digimon partner. I was horrified that so many would suffer that same awful experience I did, and I vowed to find a way to prevent it. That's why I created Eosmon and the Neverworld. I reasoned that if you didn't grow up, you could never lose your partner, so I created a place where you could live in your childhood memories forever. I know now that was the wrong thing to do. I'm grateful for the heroic efforts of Tai Kamiya, Matt Ishida, Izzy Izumi, and the other members of the Odaiba Digidestined team, who made sure I didn't succeed in trapping you all there, but it doesn't undo what I did."
Now she looked around the auditorium to include everyone involved with the legal case in her speech. "I don't know what you are planning to do with me, but whatever punishment you think I deserve, I assure you I am already paying it. Nothing can be worse than having to live the rest of my life without my digimon partner. I would gladly face any sentence, even execution, if only I could see Morphomon one last time. I ask for mercy, not for my sake, but for the sake of my parents, so that my mistakes would not deprive them of their daughter. If I am set free, I swear I will spend the rest of my life trying to make up for what I've done by using my skills to benefit mankind. That is all I have to say. Thank you for listening to me."
Brian stepped back into view. "And now for the IDC's response."
All eyes turned to the screen that projected the feed from INDICON as everyone waited with baited breath to see how the Digidestined would react. The chat remained empty for several moments, and the tension mounted until it was almost a physical force that saturated the air, until finally…
[Diginomad]: FREE MENOA BELLUCCI!
After the first message came through, the metaphorical floodgates were opened as comments started to pour in, often so fast that they could not be read in time before they were whisked away into the ever-growing wall of text.
[CarolineP]: Aw, I'm crying now! T_T It's okay, honey. We forgive you.
[DonkeyMadness4Eva]: Sorry about your partner. Hope they let you off easy.
[IsabelleR]: Yeah, free Menoa Bellucci!
[CatherinetheGreat]: It was pretty scary being taken like that, but now at least I understand why you did it. I hope you find peace. Libérez Menoa!
[LudwigF]: Part of me wishes you had succeeded. Not having to grow up sounds really nice right now tbh.
[KaraB]: We all make mistakes, and us Digidestined have to stick together, yeah? I know it's long overdue, but welcome to the family. I think I'll join in with the others and say, "Free Menoa Bellucci!"
[Dogemon (such wow!)]: Yeah, Free Menoa Bellucci!
[xXprocrasti-N8ionXx]: I swear they better let you go free.
[digipoke]: Free Menoa Bellucci!
[NumeNumeGuy]: I just got here. What'd I miss?
[TheDigivolution!]: Free Menoa Bellucci!
[charlietheunimon]: Free Menoa Bellucci!
[SummerMemory]: Yes, Free Menoa Bellucci!
[Zoegirl]: Keep it up, everyone! Free Menoa Bellucci!
[GunnarK]: Free Menoa Bellucci!
[KasperD]: Free Menoa Bellucci!
The comments cascaded in, and seeing that they were almost universally positive and in her favor, Menoa was moved to tears once again by the kindness and support of the Digidestined community. Within half an hour, the handle "Free Menoa Bellucci" was trending on all major social media sites. The Digidestined had spoken with one voice, and it was clear what they thought the outcome should be.
When Drukhovich approached the stand for cross-examination, Menoa quickly tried to compose herself, wiping her face on the sleeve of her jumpsuit.
"Bravo," Drukhovich called, clapping with mocking slowness. "Bravo. What a moving speech. I think I can speak for the entire court when I say that we all sympathize with your situation. But—correct me if I am wrong—did you not just admit to committing the very things for which you are currently on trial? Did you in fact kidnap all those people?"
Menoa held Drukhovich's gaze without wavering. "I did."
"And by doing so, did you recklessly put their lives in danger?"
"I suppose it could be viewed that way, yes."
"And did you assault them in such a way as to separate their consciousness or mind from their physical body?"
"Yes, I did."
Drukhovich turned around, beaming with triumph. "Then that settles the matter. There can be no doubt: the jury has no choice but to issue a guilty verdict. Thank you for your cooperation, Miss Bellucci. The Prosecution rests."
Judge Van de Graaf leaned forward and motioned to Brian. "Mr. Talbot, do you have any more witnesses to call?"
"No, your Honor. The Defense also rests."
"Then the Prosecution may give their closing remarks."
Drukhovich walked leisurely around the courtroom floor in a lazy semicircle as she held the gaze of the panel of jurors. "Ladies and gentlemen of the jury," she began, "we have just seen irrefutable evidence that the accused did indeed commit all of the heinous crimes that have brought her here today. She constructed a Frankenstein's monster capable of ripping human consciousnesses from their bodies, and she used this abomination to abduct thousands of young adults and trap them in a prison of their own memories. By doing so, she endangered their very lives, since none of her victims would have survived for long in such a condition. The Defense will try to tug at your heartstrings with sob-stories about her past and the circumstances of losing her digimon, but that doesn't matter. What matters is she broke the law, and she broke it in such a way as to impact thousands of families. She is a criminal, and as such must face the consequences. Thank you."
Drukhovich left the floor and Brian took her place. "There are three key components to any crime that must be considered in a trial," Brian said, looking almost more like a professor lecturing his class than a lawyer. "The first is the act that breaks the law in question; the second is the intent or motivation behind the action, and the third are the actual consequences of the action." He raised a finger high in the air for each point. "For example, let's say one man kills another. Is he guilty of murder? Well that depends on the circumstances surrounding the act. If it was in self-defense and the man he killed was actually attempting to kill him, then it's justified. Or if it was a workplace accident, that man could possibly be guilty of a negligent manslaughter, but not murder. That is because no malicious intent was present. But let's use yet another example: suppose someone poisons another person's drink with the intention of killing them, but they are a lousy assassin and that person survives unharmed. Is he then guilty of murder? No. He may be guilty of attempted murder, but no one has actually died. The intention of the lawbreaker and the end result can often be as important as the law that is being broken. Miss Bellucci did some very objectively bad things, but she did them out of pure motivations. She wanted to save these people from suffering what she had. And though things could have ended very badly, they didn't. Thanks to the efforts of the original Digidestined team, disaster was avoided. These facts must also be taken into consideration. My client tried to do a good thing for a great number of people in a very bad way, and fortunately was unsuccessful. No true lasting harm was inflicted on anyone. Since no one was harmed, can we really say a crime has been committed? And where are her accusers? The Digidestined had the chance to let their voices be heard, and they have just overwhelmingly shown their support for Miss Bellucci. Why? Because they recognized this truth: my client doesn't deserve to be punished. Do the right thing and abide by their wishes. Free Menoa Bellucci."
What followed after that was a period of roughly ten minutes where the court waited in a tense silence as the members of the jury deliberated among themselves in private. Tai was having trouble staying calm and composed.
What's taking so long?! Tai thought to himself for the billionth time as he repeatedly bounced his knee up and down with considerable violence. Maybe something's gone wrong. Are they going to find Menoa guilty after all? There's no way! Not after all the work we put into this trial…
He was jolted from his anxious thoughts by the sight of the jurors returning.
Finally. Tai tried to glean any indication from their expressions which way their decision would sway, but their faces remained inscrutably blank as they filed into their benches. Tai and Menoa glanced at each other, and her face was full of fearful apprehension; she wordlessly took his hand in her own and squeezed it with a vice-like grip.
Judge Van de Graaf eyed the jury with a piercing gaze, hunched over the podium on her elbows. "Have the members of the jury reached a verdict?"
The spokesman of the jury stood. "We have, your Honor."
"Then you may proceed."
The head juror pivoted slightly to face Menoa directly and spoke in a clear and powerful voice that rang throughout the chamber with dreadful finality: "Menoa Bellucci, on the charge of kidnapping in the first degree, numbering two-thousand eight hundred and fourteen counts...this court finds you guilty; on the charge of reckless endangerment, numbering two-thousand eight hundred and fourteen counts...this court finds you guilty; and on the charge of aggravated assault, numbering two-thousand eight hundred and fourteen counts...this court finds you guilty."
A/N: I wonder how many of you thought I would actually have Menoa declared guilty, lol. Did it surprise anybody? This chapter went through so many different versions in my head before I ever started writing it; I've been wracking my brain over how this was going to work since well before I had finished Part 1, knowing it would be one of the trickiest things to solve. I treated this beast like it was a 5-dimensional Rubics cube and approached it from every angle I could think of. At different points in the development I considered things like Brian either being an incompetent attorney or actively trying to lose the case and Menoa firing him and representing herself, or Cody trying to take over in the 11th hour (I scrapped these ideas for various reasons, mostly practical). Brian and Drukhovich being ex-lovers was a relatively late addition that I thought would create an extra layer of drama. But I always knew I wanted to have Menoa address the Digidestined of INDICON directly and receive their forgiveness.
I included the part of Izzy paying all the Digidestined's hospital bills because I realized that would be a real weakness in the argument that she didn't ultimately harm anybody, and not only was that the only way I could see to solve it, I thought it was a fun idea that made total sense to Izzy's character in that he would do whatever he could to help public opinion of the IDC as well as show he has no ill-will toward Menoa.
And when Matt came to testify, I couldn't resist trying to explain away what was to me a bizarre reaction in LEK where he didn't want to fight Menoa because he would lose Gabumon. I mean, yeah, that sucks, but if he and Tai didn't fight they would have lost everyone, including T.K.! I get it was good drama playing up the old Tai vs. Matt trope, but it always rubbed me the wrong way. Anyway, we're almost done with the slog of political/courtoom stuff, and next chapter should be more interesting. Stay tuned!
Digimon episodes referenced: while nothing specific, there's a reference to Matt's rivalry with Tai in general during season 1, some good episodes showcasing that are s1 ep. 9, "Sub-Zero Ice Punch!", and s1 eps. 43-45, "Playing Games", "Trash Day", and "The Ultimate Clash".
Next time on Digimon Adventure: Continuing Evolution—Chapter 17. On the Brink of War.