Deep bags hung under Andrew's eyes as he lay sprawled out on the stone floor. George returned to the cell with two Bisharp guards. The Marsthomp lazily eyed the Grovyle before pushing himself to sit upright and scratching the back of his head.
"Goddamnit," he muttered.
George wore a blue and white striped tie neatly wrapped around his neck. The Grovyle clasped his hands together. "Alright Andrew, it's go time."
"I can see that," the Marshtomp groaned.
George held a claw out to Andrew. The Marshtomp frowned and grabbed it, allowing George to pull him to his feet. He brushed off a few strands of hay that had stuck to his legs.
Andrew studied himself. He looked as though he had been thrown from a three-story window.
"I look terrible."
George shrugged. "Yeah, I noticed. Luckily, we can use that to our advantage. You look like you've been mistreated. We can make you out to be the real victim of this whole mess. Trust me, Andrew, I've got this. Just stick to the plan."
Andrew lazily nodded.
"It's a short walk to the old courthouse. Keep your head down, alright?"
He rubbed his eyes, which were bloodshot. "Alright."
Andrew found himself in front of an unfamiliar building. It was at least five stories tall and loomed taller than the houses and shops surrounding it. It was made of wood panels painted a milky white, making it stand out from the usual browns and oranges of the city's structures.
George and the Marshtomp passed through two eight-foot-tall wooden doors. They were light brown with square engravings carved in rows of five.
A cacophony of footsteps and voices from the streets and the roaring of crowds escaping the courthouse barraged Andrew's ears. Despite this, the Marshtomp struggled to keep his eyes open. They shut for a moment as he walked, before flying back open upon him shambling right into someone. He had bumped face-first into George, who did not seem to react at all.
"Can we, like, reschedule this?" Andrew whined as he rubbed his forehead, which began to throb.
The Grovyle snorted. "Are you serious? C'mon, Felicia would lose her shit if all this planning went to waste."
The Marsthomp reluctantly followed him through the doors, the pair entering a large lobby. The ceiling was three stories high with a large metal chandelier hanging overhead. The left and right walls were two stories tall and had large windows, which let plenty of natural light stream in. The floor was made of pristine white tiles.
Pokemon bussed across the space, everyone attending urgently to their own business. They barely seemed to notice the sleep-deprived Marshtomp enter.
Directly in front of Andrew and George were three sets of brown doors. They were all propped open, revealing the courtroom.
"The trial's set to start soon, Andrew," George remarked, looking down at him. "Are you ready?"
"No," said Andrew flatly, meeting the Grovyle's gaze with his bloodshot eyes.
George sighed, throwing up his claws. "I've done everything I can do to prepare you, Andrew. It's up to us to make this work out."
He began to walk toward the courtroom entrance. Andrew gulped as he once again followed.
The volume of the street and lobby hardly compared to that of the courtroom. Its walls were even taller than the lobby's, with the space showing the building's full five stories in all their glory. Most of the room was occupied by long benches, packed with hundreds of Pokemon of all shapes and sizes. Their eyes quickly locked onto him. Fingers, claws, tails, and various other appendages pointed at him.
There was a short barrier at the end of the benches. On the left sat an empty table with two worn-down chairs. On the right was the same setup, but the seats were occupied by an Ariana Ampharos and an Alakazam Andrew didn't recognize.
There she is. That bitch who's going to try to kill me. Right here in front of everyone.
The Marshtomp turned his gaze more to the right. The council was also present, seated on an elevated bench along with nine other Pokemon that Andrew had never seen.
George led Andrew down the aisle, gripping his shoulder and steering him away from Pokemon shouting questions at him.
"How do you respond to the murder charges?" yelled a Scrafty.
A Cacturne stuck their pointed head out from their bench. "Is it true that Chloe Flaaffy killed herself?"
George held up his free arm. "Enough! All of you!" Despite his stern cry, the Pokemon still yelled out question after question and gave the duo ice-cold stares.
George and Andrew made it to the table where they each took a seat. On the center of the back wall was an elevated wood desk with a marble countertop. A large, purple chair sat behind it, unoccupied.
"Let's hope we get a good judge," said George before rolling his eyes. "Then again, we're probably getting someone paid off, knowing the council."
Andrew tugged at his bowtie in an attempt to look more presentable. "This is going to go horribly! Her mom is there. She's gonna rip me limb from limb in front of the jury."
"Don't worry about her. Just stick to the plan," the Grovyle ordered, clacking his claws against the table.
A door opened to Andrew's left. A Quagsire entered the room, wearing a flowing black judge's robe as he slowly shuffled over to the desk. He nodded to George and Andrew, the Grovyle being the only one to nod back.
"Was that a good thing?" asked the Marshtomp.
George shrugged. "I don't know, I've never gotten this guy."
The judge sat in the purple chair and reached under the desk to produce a gavel.
Better than slamming his head against the desk like the last guy.
The judge banged the gavel twice on a circular wooden block atop the marble.
"Order! Order in the court!" he yelled in a surprisingly deep, powerful voice.
The shouts from the crowd began to grow softer until eventually quitting into a soft murmur.
Andrew looked at the judge. At a glance, he looked silly. Two beady eyes rested on a wide blue face. He had a neutral expression that seemed to resemble a smile. A thick tail wagged behind him as he rested his flippers on the desk, the gavel clutched tightly in his right flipper. The black robe only served to make him look even more ridiculous.
He looks like a stupid goddamn nutcase. Are they seriously letting mental patients be judges in this country?
"Order!" he shouted again but did not bang the gavel. The remaining voices hushed as a tense silence began to fill the room.
The judge looked toward his right. Andrew followed his gaze to see him make eye contact with Felicia. The two Pokemon exchanged a nod. A moment later, the judge broke the silence.
"Greetings, everyone. Court is now in session. Today, history shall be made in the National Court of Grandeport, with this nation's first-ever trial of one of its own leaders."
Felicia shot him an exasperated glare.
The Quagsire cleared his throat. "The first trial of a former leader of this great nation, rather."
Without a single thought going through his mind, Andrew raised a flipper straight up. "Former leader?! I'm the goddamn president!"
All eyes turned to the Marshtomp, including those of the judge.
"Silence!" he barked at Andrew.
George grimaced at Andrew before shaking his head and leaning in to whisper. "What are you doing, kid?! Shut up!"
"With that rude interruption behind us," continued the Quagsire, "No interruptions of any kind will be tolerated this point forward from either the plaintiff's or defendant's parties, or from the spectators. Any interruption will result in an immediate ejection from the courthouse. Problem Pokemon from the plaintiff's or defendant's parties will be held in contempt of court. Am I clear?"
Nobody dared to respond.
The judge smiled, bearing his wide, flat teeth. "Very good. Without further ado, I Judge Quinton Quagsire will be presiding over this case, Ariana Ampharos vs Andrew Marshtomp. Would the prosecution like to state the charges?"
"Thank you," the Alakazam said in a scratchy voice before standing up. "Andrew Marshtomp is charged with first-degree murder, second-degree murder, malice toward Pokemon life, and obstruction of power. In total, we are asking for a sentence of no less than one hundred years in prison."
"One hundred years?! I wouldn't last a month!" Andrew frantically whispered to George, his flipper beginning to tremble.
George grabbed his flipper. "Calm down. Those are some ridiculous charges."
"How can I be calm?!" Andrew yelled at a volume loud enough for the judge and audience to hear.
The judge humphed and pointed down at him. "Order."
Andrew glanced at Ariana, who gave him a satisfied smirk in return.
If I lose this trial I'm making sure she gets the Chloe treatment.
"The prosecution may present their opening argument," announced the judge.
The Alakazam placed his hands behind his back and levitated off the ground a few feet, winning a collective "ooh" from the audience.
"Three weeks ago from this very day," the Alakazam began, "something horrible happened. My client, the respectable Guildmaster Ampharos, went through an experience no Pokemon should ever have to experience. She lost a child."
George scoffed, elbowing Andrew. "Yeah yeah, real good sob story. Ugh, lawyers these days, am I right?"
The Marshtomp let out a simple grunt before crossing his flippers and furrowing his brow.
"However, the aspect of this situation that truly breaks my heart is the simple fact that this child did not die of disease. She was not involved in some horrific accident, nor did she take her own life. No. Chloe Flaaffy was… murdered!" the Alakazam proclaimed with a dramatic shout.
The crowd gasped.
The hell are they so surprised about? Haven't they read a damn newspaper in the past week?
The Alakazam bowed in the air before lowering himself back to the floor. "And the most sickening part is that this murderer walks amongst you, a free man. You've all read the news, heard the rumors. The murderer is none other than former president, Andrew Marshtomp!"
"That is false!" shouted George, standing up from his seat.
The judge shrugged. "The defense may present their opening argument."
George began to pace the space between the two tables. "Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, and the fine members of our beautiful nation's council… Chloe Flaaffy is dead, and this is not something that my client takes lightly. Andrew was a friend to Chloe, someone who looked out for her and gave her a job in her time of need. The idea that–"
"How dare you say that! You're a liar!" shouted Ariana. Her chest rose and fell in rapid succession. She pointed straight at George.
The judge banged his gavel twice. "Was I not clear? There are to be no interruptions! Sit down, Ampharos."
Ariana grumbled but obeyed, plopping back down into her seat.
George cleared his throat. "Ahem. As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, my client and the victim were on good terms. Andrew Marshtomp had no motivation to take her life and the accusation that he had anything to do with Chloe Flaaffy's death is, at best, misguided. At worst, slander meant to ruin my client's life."
The crowd let out another collective gasp. George smirked at the Alakazam before taking his seat.
"Andrew Marshtomp… office… she was found… his window was broken…"
The voice of the Alakazam grew fuzzy as he levitated once more and began to ramble. Andrew's comprehension faded in and out, with short bursts of understandable words filtering through followed by sounds that he was too tired to process.
"Wouldn't you agree, Mister Marshtomp?" questioned the Alakazam.
Oh, crap!
"Objection!" George called out. "You have no right to address my client unless he is on the stand. And he has no obligation to answer," said the Grovyle, eyeing Andrew and lightly shaking his head.
However, Andrew ignored the gesture, turning to the Alakazam. "You've got some real nerve asking me something like that," said Andrew as he glared at the prosecutor.
The Grovyle facepalmed.
The Alakazam raised his brow. "Excuse me?"
"You've gotta be a really unique type of idiot to think I would answer yes to your dumb question. I'd expect it from someone representing that bitch," he remarked before laughing.
"How dare you, you slippery, vile monster of a–" Ariana began to shout. But before she could get the full word out of her mouth, the banging of the gavel resounded through the room.
"Order! Order! Take it somewhere else during a recess! I will not have such miserable behavior in my courthouse."
George put a claw on his forehead. "Andrew, you shouldn't have said that."
"It shows honestly. Anyone with a brain knows that Chloe killed herself and Ariana trying to pin it on me for the money," he argued.
George simply sighed. He stood back up and began to speak. "Andrew was the president, there are plenty of reasons why Chloe might have found herself in Andrew's office. I'd like to remind the jury that Chloe's body was not found until two-thirty in the morning, and was identified to have been recently deceased. How could my client have had any part in Chloe's death if he left at six in the evening, Mister Alakazam?"
"If he killed her minutes before he left, the body would still have been recently deceased, Mister Grovyle," said the Alakazam. "And frankly, I have to question the integrity of a man who chooses to defend a murderer."
George growled, muttering to Andrew. "Damn, he's good. We might have to start the plan soon."
"The plan is embarrassing!" Andrew complained.
However, George cleared his throat to continue.
"Even if Chloe died around the time that Andrew left, there is still circumstantial evidence at best to suggest that he had any part in it. Chloe was an employee of his, a trusted colleague, and a friend."
Andrew glared at Ariana as George spoke. He could see the anger in her eyes as George continued to justify why Andrew had no motivation to kill her daughter. He saw her mouth the words, 'Goddamn liar.'
"I'd like to call a witness to the stand," announced Ariana's lawyer before looking up at Judge Quagsire. "Your honor, I call Ariana Ampharos to the stand as a witness."
"Very well," said the judge with a nod.
The Alakazam led Ariana to an elevated desk beside the judge. It was a bit lower than the Quagsire's, but still high enough to give the audience an easy view of her.
"Ariana Ampharos, do you swear by the names of King Stormus, King Mirage, and Arceus himself that you will tell nothing short of the truth?"
Ariana locked onto Andrew, narrowing her eyes. "I do."
"And are you aware that any untrue or misleading statements spoken while under this oath are considered a violation of the law and will be punished without mercy?"
"I do."
The judge clapped his flippers together. "Very well, then. Mister Alakazam, you may begin."
"Ariana, would you care to elaborate on Andrew's relationship with Chloe?" he asked the Ampharos with a sly grin.
A somber look came over her face.
"I loved Chloe very much," she said weakly. "We didn't see each other all that much in the final months of her innocent life… But when we did see each other, she would tell me about him—the monster."
The audience gasped again.
"He is a vicious creature. She wouldn't even use his name because of how much fear was struck into her just by mouthing it. He berated her every chance he had—he wouldn't even stop even when she began to cry–!"
That's not true! I stopped when she started crying!
George banged a claw on the table, drawing eyes to him. "Objection! This is hearsay and Ms. Ampharos has no evidence of this ever happening."
"My poor baby told me that he hit her!" Ariana shouted over the Grovyle, a tear running down her cheek. "It was horrible, they didn't–"
Andrew stood up from his seat. "Would you shut up, you lying bitch?!"
The whole room froze. Andrew looked at the jury, seeing the entire council and other Pokemon gawking at him as if they'd just seen a ghost type.
The judge banged his gavel several times. "Andrew Marshtomp! Sit down, or be ejected and held in contempt."
"You can't kick me out, this is my trial!" he shot back.
The judge grimaced. "Would you like to test that theory?"
Goddamnit.
Andrew sat back down.
Ariana sniffled before wiping her snout. "H-He killed my daughter, I'm sure of it. She never said a single good thing about him to me. I implore that my daughter gets the justice she deserved, that Andrew be punished for taking her from us."
Ariana began to walk off the stand. As she did so, the audience began to murmur and buzz. Some Pokemon in the back had begun to clap. Before Andrew could fully turn around to see the reactions, the entire audience erupted into a roar of claps for Ariana, those without hands or paws banging their appendages against any surface or Pokemon they could.
"Goddamnit! Shut up, all of you!" Andrew yelled but was drowned out by the noise.
Judge Quagsire began banging his gavel once more, even more loudly and violently this time. "How many times do I have to say order?! Quiet down, all of you!"
After a moment the claps began to die down. The room settled back into silence, which was only broken by the occasional murmur.
"This is a courthouse, not a theater. Do not underestimate my willingness to remove the entire audience if anyone pulls a stunt like that again."
"Your honor? May the defense respond to Ms. Ampharos' statement?" George asked.
The Quagsire nodded. "Yes, the defense may present an argument."
"I'd like to call Andrew Marshtomp to the stand," said the Grovyle.
Andrew hopped out of his chair and journeyed to the desk beside the judge. He climbed up a short ramp until he reached an oversized wooden chair, which he sat down in.
The judge turned to him "Andrew Marshtomp, do you swear by the names of King Stormus, King Mirage, and Arceus himself that you will tell nothing short of the truth?"
"Yeah, sure, don't see why not. I'd give my thoughts on all of Arceus' bullshit, but I have a feeling that you wouldn't get it," he droned.
"And are you aware that any untrue or misleading statements spoken while under this oath are considered a violation of the law and will be punished without mercy?"
He tugged at his bowtie. "Uh-huh."
The judge sighed. "You may proceed."
"Andrew, can you recount what happened on the day of Chloe's death?" George asked, sticking a claw in the air.
The Marshtomp smiled. "No problem. Let's see, it wasn't a very eventful day. I arrived at the castle and did some work. I sat in on some meeting, but I forget what happened. Probably wasn't important. I then went to my off–"
He caught sight of George shaking his head.
"Official castle cafeteria. I got this weird bread thing and then I left. I was out the door before five. I didn't see Chloe at all that day."
The Alakazam raised his hand. "Objection! Mister Grovyle clearly just signaled to the Marshtomp while he was giving his testimony."
"What in Arceus' name are you talking about?" George questioned in a deathly serious tone.
The Quagsire furrowed his brow. "I am suspicious of what–"
"I declare a mistrial!" cried Andrew. "Ariana lied under oath! We have to kill her like she killed her daughter!"
The judge's head shot toward Andrew. "What? You can't do that!"
"I'm declaring this trial over because I'm the president!"
The crowd erupted in shouting, limbs pointing and flailing in the direction of the Marshtomp. The jury—including the council members—lost all their poise as they too began yelling like the chaotic audience.
"Order! Order! ORDER!" Judge Quagsire yelled as he banged the gavel over and over again, but nothing was able to quell the crowd.
Andrew looked to George, who was covering his face with both his claws. The Alakazam was yelling in his scratchy voice, pointing at Andrew and yelling, but the Marshtomp could hardly make out a few of his words.
"Child… idiot… Ariana…!"
He's probably not saying anything important.
Spurred on by the commotion, Pokemon began to flood in through the three doorways in the back of the courtroom. The aisles swelled with more and more Pokemon pouring into the spaces in between benches as the space became filled well over capacity.
The judge kept on banging his gavel. The shouts and roars began to grow quieter, rendered powerless by the cacophony. A few Pokemon slipped out of the back exits. The noise didn't outright die out; however, it was quiet enough that Andrew could hear George, the Alakazam, and the judge with relative ease once again.
"Andrew Marshtomp, you are dismissed from the stand," the judge said sternly. "I will be merciful and not hold you in contempt. For now."
Anger came over George's face, his teeth bared, but he chose not to fight the judge as Andrew climbed down and scampered back over to the table.
The Grovyle shook his head. "Damn it. We're gonna have to do the plan. You're not gonna look good, but it's the only chance we got at skirting jail time."
"Your honor, now I'd like to call Andrew Marshtomp to the stand!" proclaimed Ariana's lawyer.
The judge's mouth fell agape. "But I just… Did you not… Ugh. Fine! Permission granted, on the condition that there are no inflammatory comments."
Andrew walked back over before taking a seat. He rested his flippers on the desk and slumped his head onto them.
"Blah blah blah, I won't lie."
The judge rolled his eyes. "Just get on with it."
"Mister Marshtomp, how would you describe your relationship with Chloe?" asked the Alakazam.
Andrew sighed. "Oh, well, I'd say it was fine. We were never particularly close or anything like that, but I respected her and I imagine she respected me."
"Objection!" the Alakazam cried. He levitated high enough to be several feet above Andrew, then pointed his finger down at him. "You had a horrible relationship with her!"
Judge Quagsire banged his gavel. "You can't object to something that has yet to be proven false during cross-examination."
"Grovyle's allowed to object and I'm not? In what world is that fair?!"
George raised his claw. "Motion to eject the witness from the stand."
"Accepted. Andrew, back to your seat," the judge ordered.
Goddamnit, can't these people make up their minds already?
Judge Quagsire stood. He turned to the jury, mouthed something to Felicia that Andrew couldn't decipher, then cleared his throat.
"Attention! Despite the… irregularities in how the trial has been conducted, we will now move on wto closing arguments. The prosecution may proceed when ready."
The Alakazam, who had quickly moved to the side to console a crying Ariana, walked away from their table and right up to the jury benches.
"The Marshtomp who sits across the room from you is a murderer. I am not going to embellish the situation or provide mindless speculation like the defense. Chloe Flaaffy had a terrible, abusive relationship with the president which ultimately culminated in him killing her. The attempts from the defense to obstruct this trial only gives further credence to the fact they know Mister Marshtomp is guilty. I can only hope this jury sees the truth. Please, give a grieving mother the justice she deserves."
The audience remained silent this time.
But George began to clap. He slowly slammed his claws together, over and over as he approached the jury. He made sure to lock eyes with Felicia.
"That's quite the narrative the prosecution has crafted, I'll admit," he began. "But there's no evidence to prove my client had any part in Chloe Flaaffy's death. How a Marshtomp, of all Pokemon, could somehow be in his home across the city and in Grandeport Castle at the same time, is beyond me."
"That's true!" Andrew shouted from the table.
George clenched his fists but maintained a grin. "In addition, the defense's only witness—to be blunt—was not truly a witness. Ariana Ampharos was not there on the faithful night of her daughter's death. And how can we know Chloe told her she hated my client? Ms. Ampharos' words are nothing more than conjecture and hearsay."
Andrew saw Ariana scowl—but only for a moment. Her face fell back into a frown as her head slumped forward and toward the floor.
"I ask that this jury put the politics attached to Andrew aside. Because, behind all of that, he's just a kid. He's a scared, lonely, kind of pathetic excuse of a Pokemon who's gotten wrapped up in something way bigger and more complicated than himself."
"Hey! I res-ent that!" Andrew yelled, standing tall and enunciating as loud as he could. "I. Am. Not. Pathetic!"
George motioned to the angered Marshtomp. "You see what I mean? He's in denial. Andrew's too weak and pathetic to kill someone, he simply wouldn't win in a fight." The Grovyle began to speak at a faster pace and a quieter volume. "Plus, even if you believe he could kill Chloe Flaaffy in some strange, alternate version of events, it'd be a crime of passion, not premeditated. Therefore he could only be guilty of third-degree murder, which he wasn't charged with. "
The Grovyle straightened his tie before strutting back over to Andrew.
"You did good, kid."
Andrew sighed. "I know. I still don't like that you called me pathetic, though."
"You'll thank me when the jury finds you not guilty," George said with a wink.
In the following silence, the crowd began to stir. Judge Quagsire quickly took note of this and struck his gavel. "Attention! The jury will now deliberate."
The jury climbed off their bench and exited out the door through which the judge had come. Charlie was the last in line to leave. After all the other members had exited, the Raichu stalled at the doorway, looking at Andrew. Solemnly, he shook his head. Ears drooping and tail dragging across the floor, Charlie finally left through the door.
Andrew squeezed his eyes shut.
"He was my friend," he muttered to George.
"Good," said the Grovyle. "Maybe he'll be able to sway the council members."
"I said it was," Andrew repeated.
George threw up his arms. "We gave it our best, kid. It's out of our claws and flippers now, what happens happens and the best we can do is hope. Whatever the result, best of luck."
"You really like saying that, don't you?" Andrew groaned as he crossed his flippers.
George snorted. "What? It's a nice thing to say. And you're going to need it where they're sending you."
"How reassuring, coming from my lawyer."
George tapped his claws against the table. "This is the worst part, waiting. And the worst part of the worst part, Arceus, it takes hours!" The Grovyle leaned back in his seat. "Not sure how much evidence they have to work with because that might be the biggest disaster of a trial that I've ever been a part of."
Andrew gave him a warm, bright smile. "You're welcome!"
"Why are you so happy?" George asked, tilting his head.
Andrew tugged at his bowtie. "I've mentally prepared myself to never see the light of day again. Now I can just… relax. Prison's a relaxing place, right?"
"I've never been…"
"Then you can come visit me!" Andrew exclaimed with a cheery, saccharine tone. "Oh, we'll have so much fun! Fun, fun, fun! Everything's gonna be alright! I'm never going to see Thomas again, great! Everything's amazing, Arceus, thank you! Thank you, Arceus!"
Andrew's yells drew the attention of some pairs of eyes in the crowd.
George placed a claw on Andrew's flipper. "Calm down. It's going to be alright. You'll get through this."
"Of course it'll be okay—for you! You can live your carefree life like none of this ever happened!" said Andrew, his words dripping with vitriol. "Go back to your wife, kid, and a perfect little life. God, I hate this place. I hope this stupid city burns to the ground."
The Grovyle's eyes narrowed. "I'm beginning to see why they rigged a trial against you."
The door creaked back open and the jury entered back into the courtroom, led by Felicia. They gathered on the bench. One member of the jury, a Floatzel, went up to the stand with a small, yellow slip of paper in their paw.
"Moment of truth," George said before crossing his claws.
The judge banged his gavel twice. "In the wake of this historic trial, the jury has reached its verdict. The jury has found the defendant, Andrew Marshtomp…"
The judge placed down his gavel and unwrapped the paper. His brow raised as high as it could go.
"...Not guilty?"
The room fell silent.
Andrew leaped up from his chair straight onto the table. He pointed at Ariana. "In your fucking face, Ariana! I win! I always win! Yes!" He turned to the audience, a smug grin plastered across his face. "I win! I always fucking win! Andrew forever!"
The crowd's expressions turned fierce and angry. Eyes burned with rage, and teeth were bared up and down the aisles. Shouts were hurled at him.
"Stupid Marshtomp!" cried a female voice.
"Immature child!" said another.
A shrill voice from the back echoed, "My brother's killed fewer people than you have!"
That's not a hard accomplishment.
Luckily, nobody shot any projectiles or attempted to make physical contact with Andrew.
He looked at the jury bench, ready to shout an insult at Felicia. However, the entire group had become enveloped in a fight, with Eugene and Larry yelling at the Floatzel and another Gallade. Meanwhile, Felicia and Charlie motioned and yelled at each other.
Maybe he's defending me. Hopefully…
"Do I get to go home?" he asked George.
The Grovyle scratched the back of his head. "I'm not sure yet. Theoretically, yeah."
Andrew caught sight of a blue blur out of the corner of his eye. Felicia broke away from Charlie and stormed up to the judge's desk. She exchanged words with him. Andrew couldn't make what Felicia said, but a few of the judge's words traveled to him.
"Illegal… maybe… family… insist…"
Felicia grabbed the judge's gavel and began smashing it against the wood until the crowd settled down—though only a bit. Still, it was quiet enough for the judge to shout over them.
"I have just been informed by a member of the jury that–"
He paused as Felicia whispered something to him. "I mean—New charges have been levied against Andrew Marshtomp. He is charged with defrauding the government via embezzlement. It is my understanding that the jury finds Mister Marshtomp guilty, correct?"
Felicia nodded.
"Yes! Andrew Marshtomp has been found guilty!"
The crowd began to cheer, clap, and whistle upon hearing the judge's words.
Goddamnit.
"This isn't fair! This isn't fucking fair!" he said frantically to George. "I won! I was supposed to win, this isn't possible."
George held up his claws in defense. "I'm sorry, Andrew. I've done what I can do. At least it's not murder you've been found guilty of."
"You gotta help me get out of here while I still can, at least! Please, George! I'll give you more money than you can ever dream of!" he pleaded.
"The money you stole?"
The Marshtomp stood up. "Maybe, maybe not! Now c'mon, let's go!"
"I'm happy that you trust me, Andrew," George sighed. "But I've got a family. Even if I wanted to break the law, I have responsibilities. I think you should go with them."
Andrew humphed. "I'm not going with them! Wait, who am I going with?"
The Grovyle pointed behind him. The Marshtomp turned around to see two Bisharps. They looked down at him with ice-cold glares, their were extended so their claws were only inches away from his head fin. One of them tightly grabbed his flipper, constricting the claw around it.
"Oh…"
A cold, heavy feeling of defeat filled his stomach, weighing him down and making his head fall.
"...Fuck me."
AN: I can't say that this chapter was particularly accurate to how real court trials go. I'm neither a lawyer or someone accused of a crime, however, I do hope the inner workings of the insanity that has transpired before our eyes brought you some entertainment.
Speaking of which…
Next chapter. That's the final one. I don't know how we got to this point, it's been over two years, over two hundred thousand words, it's here. Unfortunately, I do think I'm going to push the chapter back by a week or two to assure that it is as good as it's going to be. Regardless, thank you for reading up to this point. It's been an honor to write this strange, strange story.
Big thank you's to DaGamestar, Sonic Ramon, DoomHuntley, Zee102, and YOU!
…Until the final time.