Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Following the trial, the book continues to detail the Bugaria Department of Law’s history, stopping shortly after the settlement between the BDL and J. Ester. Once he’s finished reading it outloud to his teammates, he closes the book, placing it down beside him. He… isn’t sure what he expected, but it certainly wasn’t that. The entire tale seems off, incomplete and wrong, like something vitally important is missing from it. On top of that, it was weird reading about all of these people, who are either dead, or so vastly different now that they bear little to no resemblance to their old selves.

What he’s more intrigued about, though, is Prosecutor Arioch. “So Arioch got kicked out of the BDL for fabricating evidence?” Vi asks as soon as the book hits the floor.

“Not just fabricating evidence, destroying it as well.” Leif adds.

“It would seem that way. Honestly… from the short transcript of what happened, this entire trial seems like a complete disaster.” Kabbu sighs. He can’t even begin to imagine why Arioch did all of that tampering, or why he brought Captain Daxy along, especially since he clearly hadn’t planned on participating from the start.

“He didn’t do it very well, either. It doesn’t really look like he expected to get away with having the painting fixed, especially since he had no backup plan.” Leif hums.

“That… is also peculiar. There’s certainly something more going on here, and that painting really must be extremely important.” Kabbu says. He’s going to have to go back into the Deadlands and ask to look at the painting again…

“It looks like you have a lot more investigating to do, Kabbu.” Leif hums.

Kabbu sighs and nods. “I definitely do. There’s a lot that doesn’t make sense with this story. Like Doctor Sain’s involvement, he told me that he hadn’t been a part of the trial at all, but clearly that was a lie.” He explains.

“Maybe he takes that oath of silence thing really seriously? Unlike everyone else?” Vi suggests.

“That… would make a lot of sense.” Kabbu says. He’s probably still very loyal to Queen Elizant the First. His mind quickly drifts to the other lie that Doctor Sain had told him, about Doctor Abel having relatives, and about not knowing where they lived. Could it be possible that he lied about that because of another oath? Could it be possible that he knew about the substitute?

Kabbu isn’t sure what’s going on with him, but his suspicion is growing. Doctor Sain is extremely involved in all of this. Hopefully he’ll be able to get to the bottom of this before the next horrible thing happens.

“Oh! And why Arioch is still around? If he left Bugaria forever, then why is he back in Bugaria now?” Vi questions, snapping Kabbu out of his thoughts.

“That is another good question.” Kabbu agrees. “This book probably wasn’t written recently, which might mean that Arioch has been gone from Bugaria for quite some time… but I know for certain that he’s returned to Bugaria at least once before.” He explains, before showing his friends the newspaper clipping.

“Is that him in the background?” Vi asks, pointing at Arioch.

“Is it? We can’t tell.” Leif says, staring blankly at the paper.

“Ah, sorry Leif. I forgot you can’t see… this is a newspaper clipping from a few decades ago, it’s an interview with Dara Cavara about that trial, taken on the day her family was murdered.” Kabbu explains. “But the photographer also captured what looks a lot like Arioch in the background.” He concludes.

Leif nods. “So Arioch left Bugaria, for a while at the very least, and then returned for some reason?” He asks.

Kabbu nods. “Though… I think he might have left again. I can’t see why the Bugaria Department of Law would be restarted only recently if he had been in Bugaria for years before that… I’ll have to look further into that, but I think he might have been going between Bugaria and the Deadlands for some time, for some reason.

Vi leans over to Kabbu. “Maybe he was coming back to Bugaria so he wouldn’t forget everything like that pink moth did? Maybe the Wastes stuff only happens if you spend too much time out there?” She suggests.

“That’s possible… I’ll have to look into that as well.” Kabbu nods, before looking to Leif. He doesn’t look like he heard Vi’s whispering… Kabbu certainly hopes he didn’t. It’s for the best that Leif doesn’t learn about the bug in white, at least not for now. “There’s a lot going on with all of this, a nice night's rest might help us all think everything through.” Kabbu says after a few more moments of thinking.

He’s exhausted, to be honest, and with the prospect of another long day of walking and talking tomorrow, he just wants to get into get into bed and get some rest. Though… to be honest, he isn’t sure how many answers he’s going to get. Doctor Sain evidently refuses to talk no matter what, and Arioch is gone until who-knows-when… he might not be getting the answers to all of his questions… at least not on his own.

As Kabbu gets ready for bed and begins to get comfortable, he can only hope that his questions will be answered tomorrow.

…

Before Kabbu can even get into bed, someone pushes past their leaf doorway and practically charges into their house. He turns to see that it’s Zasp, currently panting heavily and covered in sweat. “Zasp? Is everything okay?” He asks.

The wasp takes several moments to catch his breath, before shaking his head. “Kabbu, pipsqueak, get up. There’s no time to waste.” He says.

Vi peeks her head out from her bunk as Kabbu follows instructions and gets out of bed. “What happened?” Kabbu asks.

“And why're you out of breath?” Vi questions.

“I just got back from the Rubber Prison, they found Mothiva a few hours ago but I just found out, she needs the two of you right now.” Zasp explains.

He takes a moment to slip back into his armor as Vi jumps down from her bunk. “They *found* Mothiva? Is she ok?” Kabbu asks.

Zasp shakes his head again. “She's not okay. They found her right outside the entrance to the Deadlands, badly injured. She’s been arrested for murdering Eetl.” He explains.

Any hope of rest that night, and any hope of investigating tomorrow, are instantly dashed.

—

After a goodbye to Leif, and a promise that they’d be back soon, Kabbu, Vi, and Zasp quickly make their way across Bugaria to the Rubber Prison. All the while, Kabbu’s head is swimming with questions, the biggest of all being why. Why did Mothiva leave for almost two months, only to return and kill one of her colleagues? Through all of this panic, the weight of the moment still hasn’t hit him. Eetl is dead, and Mothiva has been arrested for killing him. If he had a moment more to think about it, he’s sure that he’d be crying. The beetle that had helped them become explorers and guided them through the basics of forming a team is gone. The Explorer’s Association will never be the same without him.

Zasp leads them through the Rubber Prison, scanning them through doors with the Team Mothiva badge and eventually leading them to the detention center, shoving the two of them into one of the rooms.

The detention center is as depressing as always, Dark and practically falling apart, but he’s starting to get used to its poor appearance. The room only contains one chair, and Vi’s already taken it by the time the door to the room closes.

Sitting on the other side of the glass is none other than Mothiva. Her fluff looks dirty and knotted, and the flower next to her antenna has begun to wilt. She looks all around horrible, to be honest. Her torso is wound up with dirty bandages, along with some small segments of her arms and her hands. It’s surprising seeing her in such a poor state, but she doesn’t seem to mind , simply staring off at the wall, her eyes closed and her brow furrowed as if she’s deep in thought.

“I’m back.” Zasp says, getting Mothiva’s attention. “I went and got Kabbu, he’s been doing a good job as a lawyer since you left, he can help get you out of this dump.” He explains.

Mothiva lets out a sigh. “I don’t *need* help, and I’m not going to be taking a lawyer. Zasp, I told you to go home and go to bed.” She says.

“I’m not going to go home until I know for certain that you’re safe.” Zasp argues, getting no response from Mothiva.

“If I may… If you explain to me what happened, and why you did it, I’m sure I would be more than willing to help if you’ll let me.” Kabbu interjects.

“I won’t. I’m not willing to explain myself or accept your assistance. Go home, Kabbu.” Mothiva huffs, before squinting and looking at the two of them. “Where’s Leif?” She has a tone in her voice that almost sounds like she’s worried about him.

“He’s not doing very well at the moment. He was attacked earlier this month and is still recovering.” Kabbu explains.

“He’s still under house arrest and now he’s blind.” Vi summarizes.

Mothiva frowns, shifting slightly in her seat, a look of mild discomfort on her face. The fact that it’s only mild is surprising to Kabbu, he knows that she’s a very expensive person, he expected a place like this to bother her more. Maybe she’s just gotten used to less than ideal circumstances on her journey?

She and Zasp seem to be at a standstill, though. Zasp is refusing to leave, and Mothiva is refusing to explain herself… Kabbu might have to interject and hopefully pry some answers out of her.

~Travels~

Maybe it’s a good idea to start with something light? And then, once he’s got a conversation going, he can ask about Eetl’s murder. “Where have you been the past few months? Everyone’s been worried sick.” Kabbu asks.

Mothiva huffs. “They shouldn’t be, I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself.” She says, crossing her arms. “I decided it would be a good time to take a break from Bugaria and from the fame and popularity, so I packed my bags and went out past the edge of the Deadlands.” She explains, the words causing a shiver to run up Kabbu’s back.

“You… you went past the Deadlands? Are you okay?” Kabbu questions.

“Of course I’m okay, as I said, I can take care of myself perfectly fine.” Mothiva says.

“If you didn’t run into any troubles then why’re you all wrapped up in bandages?” Vi asks.

“That’s none of your business, Vi.” The moth hisses, refusing to explain.

Kabbu frowns. “Did you really leave because you wanted a break from popularity? Or was there a different reason?” He asks.

“That’s what I said. What, why else would I go out into the Deadlands? In case you didn’t know, I’m not a fan of the Deadlands, I wouldn’t wander out there unless I needed solitude.” Mothiva explains. He doesn’t feel a shiver run up his back… which might mean that nothing in that statement is a direct lie. Still, he KNOWS that there was a different reason, Zasp and her own letter told him so. It has something to do with Leif’s trial, but for whatever reason she’s hiding the truth.

“Why’d you come back then?” Vi interjects.

“Because I wanted to. What, am I not allowed to go back to my home?” Mothiva hisses.

“I wish you weren’t, you’re a complete jerk! You backstabbed Leif!” Vi hisses back.

“Vi, please, calm yourself. We don’t need to start an argument.” Kabbu pleads. Vi huffs and crosses her arms, turning away from Mothiva. “I’m… sorry about her. Did you find anything interesting? While you were past the Deadlands?” Kabbu asks, hoping to move the conversation away from any possibly sensitive subjects.

Mothiva shrugs. “I fell off a cliff, ended up in a small underground town. It was full of a bunch of weirdos, and they only let me stay until I could walk again, and then the town’s ‘protectorate’ told me I had to leave.” She explains.

Interesting… he supposes it makes sense that there’d be more civilizations somewhere out there past the Deadlands, but the idea still surprises him with how difficult it is to do so much as grow crops. “Is that how you ended up so injured?” Kabbu asks.

Mothiva shook her head. “No, that was weeks ago. All of those wounds have healed.” She explains.

“So the wounds you have right now are recent, then?” Kabbu questions, to which Mothiva doesn’t respond. He might have pushed too hard and ruined his chance at getting a normal conversation out of her…

Kabbu turns to Zasp. “Do you have any reports from the bugs who found her? Anything that might be evidence of what actually happened?” He asks.

Zasp shakes his head. “Nope. I asked to be a part of the investigation, but they said I’d be biased, and that since a government official was killed, it's too important for anyone but the experts at the BDL to be handling it.” He explains.

“So we don’t know anything about what actually happened? Or how she got here?” Kabbu asks.

“The only thing I’ve heard is that Eetl is dead, and that Mothiva was arrested immediately after the crime had occurred, so I assume she was on the scene when the police arrived.” Zasp continues.

Kabbu nods. “That might be useful information, thank you Zasp.” He says. Well, there’s really only one other thing he can ask about, that being what in the world happened. Hopefully Mothiva will be cooperative… though something deep within him knows that she won’t be.

~Eetl’s Murder~

“I wanted to know if you’d tell me anything about what happened. As friends of Eetl’s, I think we deserve to know how he died.” Kabbu requests.

Mothiva lets out another huff, plucking at her fluff. “The only thing I’ll tell you is that I’m guilty, I killed him, and I’ve already given that confession to the BDL, so as soon as the trial starts, it’ll be over.” She says.

“You aren’t even going to try and argue your innocence?” Kabbu questions.

“Of course not, I did it, why should I?” Mothiva shrugs.

“But why did you do it? You have no qualms with Eetl, at least as far as I’m aware. What would have made you kill him?” Kabbu asks, earning no response from Mothiva. “And how did this murder even happen to begin with? Eetl was spending the day at home, resting. I don’t see how he could have gotten to be in a position to be killed, much less in a way that results in you being found near the Deadlands.” He adds.

Mothiva continues to say nothing. She’s being really stubborn, and he can’t imagine why. Despite that, through the short and few moments that she spoke, he could definitely sense that she was lying. There’s something going on here, more than just a murder, and Kabbu has a feeling that it’s related to why Mothiva left in the first place.

He might have to discover that before he can get any real information on what actually happened.

—Why You Left—

“Mothiva, I’ve done a lot of investigating since you’ve left, and I’m confident that there was something more to you leaving.” Kabbu says.

“Yeah! You left right after you got busted for making up evidence at Leif’s trial. You’ve always been a jerk, but you’ve never been so much of a jerk as to try and get us locked up in prison.” Vi adds.

“It had nothing to do with Leif or his trial. I left because I was tired of all of the attention I was getting and I needed some time away from the spotlight.” Mothiva argues back.

“So you’re saying that it was just a coincidence that you left on the day that Leif’s trial concluded?” Kabbu questions.

“Yes, it was a coincidence. I was already planning on leaving before the trial even started.” Mothiva argues, plucking at her fluff again.

“That’s not true at all. I checked your planner, you didn’t make any notes about going anywhere, and you had a concert planned two weeks after you left.” Zasp rebutes.

Mothiva huffs and crosses her arms. “I had it in my secondary planner, which I took with me, and I just forgot to cancel that concert.” She argues back. “What exactly are you all accusing me of, anyways? Why exactly would I lie about this?” She asks.

“I believe that you’re lying because you’ve gotten yourself involved in something dangerous, and you’re worried that telling someone about it could put them in danger as well.” Kabbu says.

“Excuse me?” Mothiva hisses, clearly insulted by the accusation.

“I have evidence to back this theory up as well. While I was investigating, I found this letter in your desk at the BDL, and I believe it might be proof of that.” Kabbu continues, presenting the letter.

“Isn’t opening someone else’s mail illegal?” Mothiva growls, squinting at him.

“It… yes, it is, but it was important to the investigation.” Kabbu reasons. “In this letter, you told Zasp to keep an eye on people, especially a specific person that you didn’t mention by name. You also mentioned that something bad was going to happen.” He explains.

“And? What exactly does it have to do with anything?” Mothiva questions.

”Well, clearly you wrote this letter in advance in case something happened to you. But I can’t think of any legal situation you would be in where you might suddenly go missing without the chance to talk to your teammate. The only explanation is that you were involved in something dangerous, something you shouldn’t have been involved with.” Kabbu explains.

“That’s a load of stagshit, pardon my profanity. Do you actually have an idea on what you’re trying to accuse me of?” Mothiva asks. “Or were you just hoping I’d spill the beans after you pointed at me?”

He… he was kind of hoping she’d just spill the beans. “I don’t have a good idea yet, but I’m sure that it’s involved with the evidence you fabricated.” Mothiva says. He might be able to get some more out of her if he can figure out why exactly she’d participate in whatever it was she was doing.

“Still with the fabricated evidence? I made it up because I wanted to see him get in trouble after you three made a fool of me.” Mothiva argues.

“We kicked your butts years ago! If you were trying to get revenge, you would have done it way sooner!” Vi adds.

“I never had the chance to.” Mothiva retorts.

Kabbu frowns. Bickering isn’t going to get them anywhere. He needs more information on what she was doing, or at the very least he needs hard proof of what the ‘bad things’ she wrote about actually were. If he exposes that, she might be willing to tell him a little bit more. The only issue is, he has no clue what either of those things might be. He’s still missing something, he must be missing evidence.

“I… I think I’ve reached the limit of what I can argue right now.” Kabbu frowns. “I’m sorry, Zasp. I might have to go investigate more, and then come back later.”

Zasp lets out a sigh. “The trial is tomorrow evening, though. There isn’t much time.” He says.

“T-Tomorrow evening?! That’s so soon! When did the murder occur?” Kabbu asks.

“Just a few hours ago. At least that’s when they officially arrested her.” Zasp explains.

Kabbu frowns. He’s running out of time, then. If he can’t get her to revoke her confession by the trial, then she’ll be declared guilty pretty much immediately. He has no clue where to start on learning about those ‘bad things’... but he does have another idea. “I think I might know of a way to get her to talk to us.” Kabbu says.

“You do?” Zasp asks.

“Do you remember when I showed you that letter yesterday, and you told me that the ‘especially her’ part was referring to Jaune? I’m not sure if it would work, since she isn’t listening to you, but she might be more receptive if I can bring more of her friends in here.” Kabbu explains.

Zasp looks over to Mothiva, before nodding. “It’s worth a shot. I’ll stay here and keep trying to talk to her. Be quick.” He says, to which Kabbu nods.

“Wait, what about Jaune?” Vi asks.

“Ah… I had forgotten to tell you earlier. Jaune and Mothiva were actually close friends before Mothiva left. Your sister might be able to help us get Mothiva to talk.” Kabbu explains. Vi frowns, squinting at Mothiva through the glass separating the two rooms.

Well… it’s time they head to the Bee Kingdom. He isn’t sure if Jaune will be able to help, but she might be the only thing they have left.

Chapter Text

The trip to the Bee Kingdom is as quick as they can make it, they don’t have a moment of time to waste. If Mothiva goes to trial tomorrow with that confession and without a lawyer, then she’s pretty much done for. Jaune is, as far as Kabbu is concerned, their only real hope in getting Mothiva to talk to them.

As they arrive in the Bee Kingdom’s lobby, Kabbu looks across the large room. It’s strange to see it so empty, but he’s never really been here at night, so this might be how it always is. The lights in the lobby have been dimmed a lot, making the scene much stranger. Another oddity is that Jaune’s studio is still closed, like it was several hours ago. Vi walks over to the door to the studio before knocking on it. A few moments later, she knocks again. No answer, and not a sound from inside. Vi tries the doorknob, only to find the room locked.

“Maybe she’s not here?” Kabbu asks, peeking into the small bag between the door and the wall. The inside of the room is completely dark. It really looks like she’s gone…

Vi shakes her head. “No, she’d put up her ‘out for lunch’ sign if she was gone.” She explains, digging into her bag and retrieving a small key. “I have a spare key, though, in case something like this ever happens.”

“Are you sure Jaune would be okay with us barging into her studio? What if she isn’t home and just forgot to put the sign out?” Kabbu asks

“Of course she’s cool with it, I’m her sister.” Vi says as she fidgets with the lock for a moment, before letting out a sigh. “The door must be locked from the inside, I can’t get it open… hold this for a minute.” She says, handing the studio key to Kabbu, which he carefully puts into his pocket for safekeeping.

“She might be asleep or something, it is fairly late. Is there any way you know of to wake her up?” Kabbu asks.

“Nah, she’s a pretty heavy sleeper.” Vi answers as she digs through her bag, pulling out a spool of wire out of her bag and feeding it through the small gap between the door and the wall.

“What’re you doing now? And… why do you have a spool of wire in your bag?” Kabbu questions, trying to look through the gap in the door to see what she’s doing.

“She has a door hook as an extra lock… it’s not very secure, and it’s pretty easy to undo from the outside.” Vi explains, not elaborating on why she carries wire around to begin with.

Kabbu frowns. “... I know you said she’d be fine with us barging in, but are you sure she’ll be fine with you breaking in? And how do you know how to do this?” He asks.

“Stop asking so many questions, Kabbu. She won’t mind. Plus, this is important.” Vi reassures, ignoring his last question, fidgeting with the wire for a few more moments before yelling ‘ah ha!’ and yanking the door open.

The dim light from the Bee Kingdom’s lobby floods in, revealing a small portion of the dark room. The silence of the lobby becomes suffocating, and he feels his heart drop. Barely visible, a figure lays in a pool of blood in the center of the room, one arm tucked under themself, and the other splayed out in front of them, as if pointing toward something, their head facing straight down.

He didn’t need a moment extra to recognize the figure on the ground. It was Vi’s sister: Jaune.

“JAUNE!” Vi cries out, hurrying to her sister's side.

Kabbu hurries in as well, kneeling next to the injured bee. He can immediately see a large wound in her gut. She looks like she’s in a bad condition, but he can tell that she’s thankfully still alive.

“Vi, go get Doctor H.B., I'll make sure Jaune’s okay.” Kabbu instructs.

“But–!” Vi starts, but Kabbu cuts her off.

“I can carry her, I’ll bring her to the lab. I promise she’ll be safe, but you need to go tell Doctor H.B. so that she can get ready to treat her injuries.” Kabbu explains.

Vi takes another look at Jaune before getting up and running out of the room.

Okay… okay, Kabbu can do this. He just needs to be careful not to open her wound any further. He carefully turns Jaune over, before putting his arms underneath her knees and her back to lift her up. He starts walking to the exit of the room before he freezes in his tracks. The door was locked from the inside. That shouldn't be possible, unless the attacker is still in the room. He needs to get Jaune out of here. If the attacker is still here, then both of them are in danger, and he isn’t sure if he’d be able to defend her if they attacked.

Kabbu quickly moves toward the door, all the while listening. He can’t hear any movement, the room is silent, save for his quick footsteps. As soon as he’s out of the room, he carefully puts Jaune down for a moment before pulling the spare key Vi had given him out of his pocket. If the bug who did this is still inside the room, or if there’s any evidence that might be able to clue him in on their identity, he needs to make sure it can’t get out.

He reaches for the doorknob, ready to close the door, when suddenly the door is yanked open and an arm shoots out of the darkness, grabbing him and yanking him back inside. He quickly attempts to strike them with his horn, but hits nothing as the hand lets go of him. Before he can figure out where the intruder is or attempt to make a run for the exit and get back to the light, he feels a hand on the back of his head, as they shove him into a wall.

He hears something crack as his vision blurs and he collapses. He barely manages to recover in time to reach out to grab the attacker before they can escape, in a desperate attempt to stop them. Whatever he grabs is certainly not the shell of a bug, and when he pulls on it, the bug lets out a scream of pain, followed by the sound of something metal hitting the ground. They kick Kabbu in the side, admittedly rather weakly, but it allows them to pull out of his grip and make a run for it.

Kabbu tries to grab them again, but they’re already gone. He manages to pull himself back to his feet, feeling at his mask and helmet. They both seem intact… but he can’t be sure about everything underneath. Hopefully that crack was just the sound of the wall breaking…

He realizes, in a panic, that Jaune is still propped up next to the entrance. What if the attacker went after her? Kabbu stumbles back to the doorway, and lets out a breath of relief when he sees that Jaune is okay, or… as okay as she could be after all of that. He looks around the Bee Kingdom’s lobby. Besides the trail of Vi’s own footsteps from when she had stepped in Jaune’s blood, he sees nothing out of the ordinary. It’s late, the room is still completely empty. Where did they go? How did they get away so quickly? He doesn’t know, he can’t think about that right now, not when someone is injured right next to him. He grabs the spare key off of the floor and locks the door, before picking Jaune up again, and moving her to Doctor H.B.’s lab.

—

As soon as he arrives in Doctor H.B.’s lab, Jaune is taken and put on an operation table, before the doctor and her assistant get to work on treating her injuries. Kabbu and Vi wait outside of her lab impatiently for what feels like hours. By the time Doctor H.B. tells them it’s okay for them to check on Jaune, it must be a bit past midnight, but he doesn’t care enough to check at the moment.

Jaune’s stomach is wrapped tightly in bandages, and she has a few smaller bandages on wounds on her arms and back. Her beret is gone and has been placed next to her bed. Despite her injuries, she’s propped up, and is conscious. Vi immediately runs up to her and hugs her tightly, much to Doctor H.B.'s dismay, and although Jaune does wince, she returns the hug.

“She’s not bleeding anymore, I managed to stitch the biggest wound shut, but she still lost a lot of blood. There's also some abnormal swelling around the main wound, but I couldn't figure out what was causing it.” Doctor H.B. explains as she puts away her medical equipment. “I’m not sure if she’d still be alive if you hadn’t found her when you did. Did you manage to catch the perpetrator?”

Kabbu shakes his head. “They were still in the room when we rescued her, but when I tried to lock them in, they managed to get the drop on me and escape.” He explains, taking off his mask. He winces in pain as he tries to move his mandibles… one of them is definitely broken.

Doctor H.B. pulls out a spray bottle and sprays Kabbu with it, causing him to cough and let out a gasp of pain. Whatever it is, it stings. “Whoever it was only stabbed her once in the stomach, but I couldn’t figure out what it was. Maybe a sword or a bow or something? I think the rest of the wounds are from her being dragged.” She explains.

“I… I think they might have dropped it when they attacked me. I managed to lock the room after, so… I might be able to find some clues on who they were.” Kabbu explains, before also turning to Jaune. “Do you remember anything about what happened? Any details you saw could be extremely helpful.”

Jaune frowns. “I’m not sure… I never saw them. They just walked into my studio and turned the lights off, and the next thing I knew, they were dragging me across the floor.” Jaune answers.

“How long were you like that?” Vi asks.

“A couple hours? I… I really don’t remember, I was in silence for most of the time, I could barely move, I… I was so scared that they were going to attack me again.” She manages to say.

Kabbu thinks back to earlier in the day, when he had first come here to talk to Doctor H.B… Jaune’s studio had already been closed and locked at that point… had her attack already happened? Had he walked away and continued with his investigation while she was laying on the floor, injured?

He shakes the idea out of his head. Even though she’s injured right now… Kabbu needs to tell her about the situation with Mothiva.

~Mothiva~

“I’m sorry to pry into your social life, especially at a time like this, but something serious recently came up. Mothiva is back in Bugaria, and she’s just been arrested for murder. She won’t talk to us or let me defend her in court.” Kabbu explains. The mention of Mothiva’s name immediately catches her attention. “Zasp told me that you were close friends with Mothiva, and I was hoping you might be able to help us convince her to talk to us about what happened.”

“Mothiva’s in trouble? I… I have to go see her, then!” Jaune says, with a gusto definitely not fitting someone who was until moments ago on death's door. She immediately tries to get up, only to be lightly pushed back down onto the bed.

“Absolutely not, Jaune. You’re far too injured to be moving right now. If you start moving, you’ll tear your wounds back open.” Doctor H.B. hisses.

Jaune shakes her head. “I have to see her. She’s been missing for months, I have to make sure she’s okay.” Jaune argues.

“No! You can send her a letter or something, but you aren’t going to the Rubber Prison in this state. That’s final!” Doctor H.B. yells.

“Jaune… I know you care a lot about Mothiva, but you’re really hurt right now. Doctor H.B. is right, a letter will be enough. We can’t risk your health.” Kabbu adds.

The artist refuses to hear reason, though. “I’m going to see her, no matter what. I promised I’d be there for her when she needed help, I’m not letting her down.” She says.

The doctor grimaces. “Fine, fine. Go.” Doctor H.B. huffs as she fishes a few rolls of bandages out of her bag of medical supplies and hands them to Vi.

Jaune lets out a sigh of relief, trying to push herself out of her hospital bed and to her feet, her legs nearly immediately giving out from beneath her. Vi and Crow catch her and help her sit back down. “I… I think I’m going to need a minute. Only one, I just… until it stops hurting so badly.” She says.

Kabbu frowns. Her eyes are filled with worry and determination, there’s no way he’s going to convince her to just write that note and keep recovering… he has a horrible feeling that this isn’t going to end well, but Jaune might just be their only chance, and her injured state might even help with convincing Mothiva to let them help.

—

Kabbu makes his way back to Jaune’s studio. Doctor H.B. is preparing Jaune to travel to the Rubber Prison, and he needs to use this time wisely. There has to be evidence that Jaune’s attacker left. He can’t legally take anything from the crime scene, but looking over it and gathering clues can’t hurt, right?

Vi even lent him her mobile termacade for taking photos, so he can have proof of whatever he finds, in case it ends up being important in court. And with that note about Mothiva requesting that Zasp keep Jaune safe, it’s likely that this attack is very related to what’s going on.

He unlocks the studio and steps back inside, fumbling in the darkness for the small switch that controls the lights. He still has a creeping fear that there could be someone in here, even though he knows they left. What if there were two bugs? What if they’re waiting to attack him the moment light floods the room?

…

The switch is flicked, the room fills with light, and it remains still. Kabbu lets out a sigh. It’s empty, thank Venus.

After a moment of fidgeting with the small device, he finally manages to get the camera working, and takes a photo of the scene. Everything has been left relatively as it usually is. The only difference is the large pool of blood in the center of the room, where Jaune was laying. It doesn’t even look like anything has been done through… which makes Kabbu think that this may have purely been an attempt on Jaune’s life.

They didn’t leave much evidence, save for a pair of objects that they must have dropped when Kabbu grabbed their arm. It’s a rather large looking metal rod with a sharp tip, and a crumbled umbrella with a strange hole on the top of it. The metal rod looks familiar, but he can’t explain why, or from where he possibly could have seen it from.

Kabbu takes a photo of both of them, before picking them up, against his better judgment. Why would the attacker bring these two things? He examines the umbrella closely, maybe there’s a secret blade or something in the handle? Something that an attacker could have used as a weapon.

He notices a strange, almost trigger-like attachment to the handle. Pointing the umbrella away from him and pulling the trigger, it shoots open, making an additional odd noise. As it shoots open, the inner mechanisms of the umbrella are also revealed. Hidden beneath the umbrella’s webbing is a string, a groove, and two sturdy limbs across the canopy.

It takes Kabbu a moment to recognize what this contraption actually is. It isn’t just an umbrella… it’s a crossbow! The strange additional noise he heard must have been the sound of the machine dry firing. He puts the metal rod, what must be a crossbow bolt, into the groove and pulls the string back until it clicks into place, the umbrella now fully closed. Looking at it now, he can barely tell that it’s a weapon, save for the sharp tip of the bolt sticking out the top.

He quickly does his best to get the bolt out of the crossbow-umbrella. He doesn’t want to accidentally shoot someone and make this situation worse.

While getting the bolt out, he makes a connection. It had only been a brief thought before, when he saw the bolt, but with the umbrella included… there’s no doubt that this must have been the weapon that was used to attack Loki. The sound of the umbrella opening was it firing, which means that the bug who attacked Jaune might be the same bug that attacked Loki! Thinking even deeper, could this be one of Scarlet’s umbrellas? He doesn’t want to point the finger at the prosecutor, but it looks a lot like one of the ones he had hung on his umbrella rack the first time Kabbu visited. Perhaps it’s the one that he lost?

All of this is only theory, though. At the very least, he’s sure that Jaune’s attack is connected to Loki’s, and might be connected to whatever Mothiva’s gotten herself wrapped up in. The only way to find out is to confront her.

Kabbu takes the umbrella and bolt with him, careful not to touch the sharp tip… he’s definitely going to need this evidence later. He should ask Doctor H.B. for a bag to put it in so that nothing gets damaged.

Before he can look around the room again, he hears the door open as Vi peeks in. “Jaune’s ready to go.” She says, before dipping out of the room.

Well, he can’t delay any longer. It’s getting late, he’d be surprised if they’re still allowed in the detention center, but they need to get back as soon as possible and hopefully get to the bottom of what’s happening with Mothiva.

—

The trip back to the Rubber Prison is slow and arduous. Jaune isn’t able to move very quickly, and has to take frequent breaks, but she still demands that she see Mothiva. Kabbu is shocked when they find that the detention center is still open upon their arrival.

However, that might be explainable by a groan he overhears from a guard about them not being allowed to kick members of the Explorer’s Association out. Honestly, he’s a bit jealous of that, he definitely misses being a part of the Explorer’s Association, he can’t imagine how much an unlimited visitation period would have helped him through his trials.

Zasp is silently sitting across from Mothiva when they reenter, but the moment he sees the trio of them, he gets out of the chair so that Jaune can have a place to sit down. Instead of sitting down, however, Jaune hurries to the glass as quickly as she can, which isn’t much quicker than a weak limp. “Mothiva! Oh thank goodness you’re back. I’ve been so worried, I thought I wouldn’t see you again.” Jaune rambles, placing a hand against the divider.

Mothiva is shocked for a moment, before she lets out a sigh and frowns, also placing her hand against the divider. “Jaune… what happened?” She mutters.

Vi has to pretty much force Jaune into the single chair in the room to get her to sit. The artist immediately pulls her seat forward to be as close to the glass as possible. “They told me you were in trouble, so I hurried here as soon as I could… I’m sorry I didn’t arrive sooner, I didn’t know you were back.” Jaune explains.

“What happened to you?” Mothiva repeats, a concerned tone in her voice that Kabbu has never heard before.

“Someone attacked her in her studio. She just finished being treated.” Kabbu answers.

Mothiva grimaces. “Why’re you here, then? You need to be recovering.” She argues.

“I had to make sure my favorite super star was okay.” Jaune smiles. “They told me you aren’t going to accept a defense, but you need to, Mothiva. I can’t draw portraits of you while you’re in prison. They won’t let me bring in the materials. You need to let someone help you.”

Mothiva frowns deeply, before letting out a sigh. “I’m not going to accept a defense. I... I’ll take back my confession, though.” She says.

“You… you will? You’ll take back your confession?” Kabbu asks, taken aback. He… he honestly hadn’t expected it to work that well, he’s actually making progress!

“Yes. I’ll take back the confession, and instead of having no counsel I’ll defend myself in court tomorrow. I’m still not going to speak about it to any of you, though.” Mothiva says.

“You still aren’t going to talk?” Vi asks.

“Mothiva… I don’t understand. Why? Kabbu is trustworthy, he’s a great lawyer. If anyone can help you, it would be him.” Jaune asks.

“It… it’s much more complicated than that. I’m sorry, Jaune… I can’t accept anyone’s help. I wish I could explain anything to you, but it isn’t safe.” She says.

They’ve made some progress, but not much. Kabbu can’t imagine why she’s still adamant about not telling them what’s going on, or why she still won’t let him defend her in court. He’s sure that he’s at the very brink of getting her to uncover the truth, but he isn’t sure how to yet.

Still… there isn’t much else he can do besides keep arguing. His new evidence can’t really help him, but at the very least, the new contexts he has might be enough to push her over the edge.

—Why You Left—

“When we were here a few hours ago, I was arguing that you left because you were doing something illegal, and that it was involved with the evidence you fabricated.” Kabbu says, ending the quiet moment between Mothiva and Jaune.

The moth lets out a hiss. “Are you really going to continue with that? I’m clearly in the middle of something right now.” She says, motioning at her bee friend.

“Yes, I am continuing this, this is the best time to.” Kabbu says.

“It isn’t. You’ve already got what you want, I took back my confession, now give me a moment alone. I haven’t seen Jaune in months.” Mothiva hisses.

“Don’t worry, it won’t take long, and once I’m done you’ll have plenty of time to speak with Jaune.” Kabbu continues. “I think I’m starting to figure out what you've gotten involved in, and I think I’ve also figured out what the ‘bad things’ you described were.”

“And what were those things, exactly?” Mothiva questions.

“I can’t say exactly what it was… but I believe one of those bad things has already happened.” Kabbu says, motioning to Jaune.

“W-what? Kabbu, you think Jaune’s attack is involved with what happened to Mothiva?” Vi asks.

Kabbu nods. “I’m certain of it. On top of that, I believe what happened to Mothiva is involved in what I’ve been investigating all day.” He explains. “When I left to investigate this morning, I was looking into the attack of Prosecutor Loki. I’m certain that he’s a key player in the murders and attacks that have happened so far, and it just so happens that he was attacked with the same weapon that Jaune was.” He says, presenting the umbrella and bolt he took.

Mothiva scowls at him. “What’re you trying to imply? That Jaune is also taking part in my ‘illegal business’?” She hisses.

“I’m not implying that at all! I’m certain that Jaune isn’t involved in any illegal activities... at least I’m pretty sure she isn’t involved in any of this.” Kabbu explains. “I’m implying that the true reason you fabricated evidence to convict Leif is because you KNEW Jaune was going to be attacked!” Kabbu accuses.

“E-excuse me?!” Mothiva hisses, recoiling in shock.

“While investigating everything that’s happened since you left, I learned that Loki, too, was involved in a very precarious and extremely illegal situation. But instead of being ordered to just fabricate evidence, he was ordered to kill someone. After I proved his guilt in court, he was immediately attacked with this same crossbow and bolt. More importantly, though, he was attacked right as he was denouncing the bug who gave him the instructions to commit his crime.” Kabbu explains. “It can’t be a coincidence that he was attacked at that very moment. And on top of that, it can’t be a coincidence that, as soon as you returned to Bugaria, the person who you requested Zasp specifically protect was attacked.” He explains.

“I’ve been wondering why someone would attack Jaune and then stay hidden in her studio, but it makes sense now. Jaune’s attack wasn’t a threat on her life, it was a threat directed at YOU! Not just to make sure you wouldn’t accept a legal defense, but also to ensure that you’d stay silent!” Kabbu yells.

Mothiva grimaces. “I… refuse to continue to entertain your nonsense. I want to be sent back to my cell immediately.” She hisses, crossing her arms.

“You know it’s the truth, Mothiva! And the sooner you admit it, the sooner we can actually help you get out of this!” Kabbu argues, only to get no response from the accused across from them.

“Mothiva… is… is all of that true? Did you know that this was going to happen?” Jaune asks, a hurt tone in her voice.

Mothiva continues to ignore them, if only for a few more moments before slamming her fist down. “Gods dammit, Zasp! Why didn’t you just listen to me when I told you to go home?” She hisses. She looks tired and utterly defeated… he might have finally managed to break her resolve, and he might finally be able to get answers to what’s been happening in Bugaria.

~~The Truth~~

“Is Kabbu right? Were you really working for the same people as that Loki guy?” Vi asks.

“And you knew that I was going to be attacked if you came back?” Jaune asks.

Mothiva frowns, crossing her arms again. “No. Kabbu got an incredible number of details wrong. The fact that he managed to come even close to the truth is nothing short of a miracle.” She hisses.

“But Jaune believing that you’d allowed her to get attacked made you fess up.” Zasp says, earning a nod from the moth.

“If I got things wrong, then please tell me, what actually happened?” Kabbu asks.

She lets out an annoyed sigh. “First of all, you worded all of that like I had a choice in anything.” Mothiva says. “The instructions I received were to leave Bugaria until they reached out to me, and then to return when they demanded it. Besides that, though, yes. Jaune’s attack was a threat towards me. If I accepted counsel or made any attempt to tell anyone anything other than that I committed the crime, then Jaune would be killed.” Mothiva explains. “The confession was voluntary, to scare off any lawyers trying to defend me, but clearly it didn’t work.”

“Why would you agree to any of this in the first place?” Kabbu asks.

“I didn’t agree to anything, I was ordered by Queen Elizant herself to keep an eye on the BDL right after they were reformed, to make sure they weren’t doing anything corrupt. Zasp was asked to join me in working there, but I never told him about the mission to keep him safe.” Mothiva explains. That would explain why Mothiva joined the BDL to begin with, especially since she clearly wasn’t interested in being a lawyer.

“I found something, I reported it to Queen Elizant, and nothing was done about it. The next thing I knew, that corruption figured out that I ratted on them, and it gave me the ultimatum. Help them, or they’d make sure I regretted it. They told me to use a ball of fluff to frame Leif of the crime, they never told me where it was from, but I could tell that it wasn’t Leif’s, they must have taken some of my fluff out of my trashcan when I wasn’t looking.” Mothiva continues. “They told me that if there was ever a chance that someone might find out, I should leave Bugaria immediately. When Zasp confronted me after Leif's trial, I realized that keeping all of this a secret was going to be a lot harder than I expected. I chose to leave Bugaria immediately.” Mothiva explains.

“Queen Elizant didn’t do anything?” Zasp asks.

“Not a thing. She wouldn’t do so much as talk to me about it afterwards, and she kept pretending she’d never given me the mission.” Mothiva explains.

Kabbu frowns. Thinking through what he knows, assigning Mothiva to watch over the BDL must have been her attempt to fight back against her blackmailer… her going silent on the issue might mean that the blackmailer figured her out and threatened to come out about the Substitute… If that’s the correct assumption to make from all of this, then that means that the blackmailer is involved in what’s been going on with the BDL, and if that’s so, then the corruption Mothiva discovered was undoubtedly also related to those pardons.

“Who was it that approached you? And did they speak to anyone else at the BDL?” Kabbu questions.

“They didn’t talk to anyone directly. Instead, they gave Crime Scene Overseer K a script to go around and read to people. But yes, through K he spoke to everyone, and had plenty of people from outside the BDL coming through and working for them as well.” Mothiva explains. “I wrote a report on everything I saw while working there, I don’t have it anymore but if you got me a leaf and some graphite, I could rewrite it.” She says.

Zasp quickly digs through his bag, pulling out a bundle of leaves, while Jaune fishes a stick of graphite out of her apron pocket, both being passed through the small grates that divide the two halves of the room.

After a quick moment of writing, Mothiva shoves the leaves back through the divider, which Kabbu takes and quickly reads through.

…

- ‘Crime Scene Overseer K’: Has received multiple infractions involving falsifying evidence and tampering with crime scenes, and despite that still works at the BDL and received a pardon for seemingly no reason.
- ‘Tennent’: Shady black-market salesman, received a payment of twelve hundred berries
- Doctor Sain: Haven’t seen any wrongdoing with him but he’s creepy and suspicious
- Laurice Dace: not a member of the BDL, criminal artist, received a payment of twelve thousand berries
- Saraha Silksing: not a member of the BDL, guard for hire, received a payment of sixty-seven hundred berries
- Detective Anagram: private eye, received a payment of seven thousand berries
- Scarlet Scarlet: given a pardon for the murders he committed, allowed to investigate and roam with relatively no supervision despite being a convicted serial murderer
- Loki Tanoo: has committed multiple misdemeanors and felonies while working at the BDL and has not been fired. Received a pardon for his crimes despite showing no improvement in behavior

Possible conclusions: money laundering, a secret criminal organization, or repeated and continuous poor decisions. Third conclusion is unlikely, thanks to the scripts.

…

Laurice Dace, and that guard for hire, both of the people Anagram told him about. That confirms that they’re involved in this! And… this also means that the black-market merchant that Anagram was talking about was definitely Tennent… he really might have been responsible for the gallery fire after all. He takes the leaves and pairs them with the pardons he found in the library, before turning his attention back to Mothiva. “Did you ever come in contact with the bug actually running all of this?” Kabbu asks.

She nods. “No, I spoke to them through K, but they made sure to display their connections from the shadows to keep me threatened. K spoke with me earlier about it, right after I got back to Bugaria.” She explains.

“When you were arrested for killing Eetl, right?” Vi asks, earning a nod from Mothiva.

“Yes. Though in case you haven’t put two and two together yet, I’m pretty certain I didn’t kill him. All I remember is being attacked while going to the exit to the Deadlands, and when I woke up, Eetl was lying dead next to me, and K showed up soon after to give me instructions on what to do next.” Mothiva explains.

“Do you know ANYTHING about the bug behind all of this? We might be able to finish this right now if you have any clue about their identity!” Kabbu exclaims.

Mothiva scoffs, shaking her head. “If I had a clue I would have already told you. The information I’ve told you is already enough to put a target on ALL of your backs, and if you try and hunt them down, he’s going to hurt someone else.” She explains.

“They… they’ll hurt someone?!” Kabbu exclaims.

“Of course. They’ll confront you before long, and tell you to keep your mouth shut, or they’ll hurt someone close to you, like they did to Jaune. If you make any quick movements, like suddenly hurrying to the BDL to try and catch them, then they’ll go ahead and kill someone.” Mothiva explains. “I can run through a few of them, if you’d like. Leif is currently home alone and is blind, Jaune’s mom is currently working late in her lab and she has no combat experience, Vi is injured and you’re rusty from not exploring, Team Ant and Team Celia are probably both doing their nightly patrols. The list goes on, you know a lot of people, and angering a remorseless serial murderer is the last thing you want to do.” Mothiva continues.

He… he hadn’t thought of it like that. He’s suddenly very worried about Leif, they shouldn’t have left him unattended and alone. They need to get home as soon as possible to make sure nothing bad has happened. “Is… is there nothing we can do? If we aren’t allowed to look for them, how can we stop them?” Kabbu questions.

“There is one thing we can do.” Mothiva says, and Kabbu can feel a burst of hope. “Did anyone see you and Jaune leaving her studio?” She asks.

“No, the lobby was completely empty.” Kabbu answers.

She nods. “Good. If we keep everything about the attack a secret and go through the trial like they want me to, then there’s a possibility that they’ll forget about hurting Jaune, and everyone will get to live.” Mothiva explains.

Kabbu recoils. “You… you can’t be serious!” He exclaims.

She shrugs. “I am serious. I’m not risking anything, nor am I going against what they told me to do. Pretending this never happened is the best thing we can do, it won’t draw any attention from the corruption. I’m not going to risk Jaune’s life, I’m not going to risk anyone’s lives.” Mothiva says. “They might still spare her if I let this trial end quickly and take the fall for everything.”

“W-what?! But–!” Kabbu starts, only to be cut off by Zasp.

“I’ll keep an eye on Jaune until the trial ends. I’ll make sure she’s safe.” He says. “This time I promise, Mothiva. I won’t let them hurt her again.”

Mothiva looks to Jaune, who nods, before letting out a sigh. “Why’re you all so obsessed with making things difficult… fine. Kabbu, I’ll accept your offer.” She says. “But know what you’re getting yourself into. They’re going to do everything in their power to make sure that this trial doesn’t proceed the way it should. They'll kill someone else if they have to.” She warns.

“I’m still up for the challenge. If you’re telling the truth, if there's corruption threatening all of us, a corruption that has already killed Eetl, then I will defend you, Mothiva.” Kabbu says.

With that, their visitation is done. Mothiva returns to her holding cell, Jaune returns to the Bee Kingdom with Zasp following to ensure her protection and privacy, while Kabbu and Vi return home to make sure that Leif is okay, which thank Venus he is.

Kabbu doesn't have much time to prepare for tomorrow's trial, not to mention he doesn’t have much that he can do to prepare. He doesn’t know if he’ll be able to do anything against the ‘corruption’ Mothiva told him about. At the very least, though, he needs to prove Mothiva innocent.

Chapter Text

This is it, the time until the trial is quickly counting down to zero.

He had made a trip to the BDL in hopes of gaining any information on the crime, but just as Zasp said, K refused to give him so much as a clue on what they have. He’s going into a crime with nothing but his defendant’s own statement, just as he had done with Leif’s trial only a few months ago. All of this has lead him to here, these short moments before the trial begins. He’s looked over everything he’s gathered, spoken to everyone he can, and done everything he’s sure he could do, knowing that this may be his one chance to lure out whoever is behind all of this and finally bring them to justice. Knowing that, if he fails, Mothiva will lose her freedom and his friends’ live’s will be in jeopardy.

He can’t fail, it’s not an option he can accept.

Vi is impatiently sitting, her portable termacade tucked into her bag for when the photos on it are needed during the trial. Leif has his fake book of toys he recovered yesterday, but keeps it closed for the time being. Mothiva stands silently across the room, arms crossed.

“This is it.” She huffs.

“I believe it is.” Kabbu sighs.

She furrows her brow, frowning. “When I got into all of this mess almost a year ago, the last thing I thought was that it’d end with me being convicted of murder.”

“You’ve only been accused so far, and I promise I’ll do everything in my power to prevent a conviction. I’ve done everything I can, and all I need is to see Crime Scene Overseer K’s report on the crime… I’m just hoping they’ll give me extra time to read over the crime scene findings before K gives his testimony.” Kabbu mutters.

“Hey! Chill out, Kabbu, you’re like a professional lawyer at this point!” Vi comforts.

“That doesn’t mean I can take this any less seriously. Not to mention, there’s a lot more on the line now.” Kabbu says.

“We’ll be here to support you and help you, though.” Leif promises, patting Kabbu on the shoulder. “For what it’s worth, you’re probably the most certified lawyer in Bugaria at this point.” He adds.

Kabbu smiles softly. That’s certainly a compliment, but to be honest he doesn’t know of many other lawyers in Bugaria, besides that one secondary courtroom defense attorney that quit on the spot the moment Kabbu approached him about it. He thinks about how much he'd like to take that out right now, before shaking the thought out of his head. “Thank you, team. I greatly appreciate your encouragement.” Kabbu says.

Suddenly, the doors to the antechamber open, as Professor Neo pokes his head inside. “Ah! Here you are, I’ve been trying to find you since they opened the courthouse, this place is a maze!” He laughs, before looking around the room. “Am I interrupting anything?”

“Not at all!” Kabbu exclaims, the professor letting out a sigh of relief before fully entering the room.

“I came to wish you guys luck! And I’m also here because I'm the court reporter again. Oh! And a third thing, I need to give you that thing you asked for!” Neo rambles, opening up his bag and digging through his belongings, before eventually pulling out the evidence that Kabbu had lent him.

“What’s all this?” Vi asks.

“I lent Neolith some of the evidence I’ve accumulated so he could run a handwriting analysis on it.” Kabbu explains.

Neo nods. “It was a rush, especially since you gave all this to me past midnight last night, but I managed to analyze all of it! I’m certain that this note and these pardons were written by the same people! And that this pardon denial letter you gave me was also written by the writer.” He explains.

“You are?” Kabbu asks, earning another nod from the scientist. “That would make Doctor Sain responsible for the fabricated letter that Cartes had been given… I’m not sure what place he has in all of this, but I’m certain that he’s extremely involved.” He explains.

“I also reviewed the handwriting on those photos you showed me, the fire blanket and the chess set. It’s a bit hard to really make out, because of how small the image is and because of the subject, but I’m pretty sure that those two were written by someone else.” Professor Neo adds.

“So that would mean that there’s another bug involved…” Leif muses.

“It certainly seems that way, but we won’t know until we manage to get some answers out of Doctor Sain. That’s if he even makes an appearance during this trial, I can’t imagine that he’d want to make an appearance after how much I’ve questioned him on his involvement.” Kabbu says as he makes notes on the pardons and on the instructions. “Thank you for this, Neo. I greatly appreciate it.”

“O-of course! If you need anything else, just let me know and I’ll do my best!” Neo smiles.

As the professor is repacking his bag and preparing to leave, the doors fling open again and a pair of bugs burst into the room. “Este elve, Lawyer Kabbu!” Cece-Lia says as she enters the room, a large smile on her face. Revrek follows closely behind her.

“Cece-Lia! I didn’t expect to see you here, I thought you’d still be busy spending time with Aria!” Kabbu exclaims, shocked.

“I am! Acolyte Aria is already in the gallery saving some seats for us! I told her I wanted to experience court without being the accused, and she agreed to come with us.” Cece-Lia explains. “Oh! That reminds me! You asked about a trial that Falsavar Itas was a part of yesterday? Well, I spoke with her holiness, and she just so happened to have brought a majority of his documents from when he was alive. She managed to find his notes on that trial.” The priest explains, before handing Kabbu a small folder of papers.

“Plumeria is still in Bugaria?” Kabbu asks.

“Yes! I was just as surprised to learn it, but apparently, she hasn’t left yet! Even more, I’ve heard that she’ll be joining the Queens in overseeing the trial again!” Cece-Lia exclaims.

Kabbu takes the folder, quickly going through them. This is fairly consistent with the evidence spoken about in the trial… only a lot less detailed. There’s also a lot of notes about the witnesses, most of the papers being on Pommet. Unlike the book, though, he can definitely use these notes in court. “Cece-Lia, I don’t know what to say! Thank you so much!” Kabbu says.

“Of course! It’s the least I can do after you saved my life.” She smiles. “Sorry if it distracts you from your current trial, I wasn’t sure if there’d be a better time to hand it off to you.” Cece-Lia says, before she and Revrek leave the antechamber.

She certainly couldn’t have chosen a better time… that trial has to be connected to everything that’s going on, and if he hadn’t gotten those notes… he isn’t sure, but he definitely wouldn’t have been able to convince the Queens of Bugaria and beyond with an unverified book. Kabbu didn't notice that Neo left during that time, meaning that the room is now once again empty save for the four of them. Looking over the information and evidence he’s just been given, he’s very grateful and lucky to have his friends… he can’t disappoint them.

The door opens again, as a final pair of bugs enter. “Mothiva!” Jaune yells out, quickly running up to the moth and hugging her.

“What are you two doing here? You’re supposed to be in hiding!” Mothiva hisses, before hugging Jaune back.

“We’re just about to head back to the Bee Kingdom to wait out the trial, but Jaune wanted to see you again before then.” Zasp explains as he walks over to the two of them.

“And you *didn’t* want to see me before I go to trial?” She asks, before pulling him into the hug as well. “You two need to go somewhere safe immediately after this, you’re both in extreme danger.” She warns.

“I know, but I couldn’t leave without wishing you all luck first.” Jaune says. “Zasp grabbed me a newspaper on the way over, there’s no mention of my attack yet, which should hopefully mean that I’m out of danger for now.” She says.

“That’s good. Keep it that way.” Mothiva says.

“We will, we’ll stay hidden. Mothiva, I know you’re innocent, and I know Kabbu will prove you innocent. Don’t worry about anything but proving your innocence, okay? Don’t worry about me or Zasp.”

Mothiva nods silently.

“We’ll keep updated any way we can… and we’ll be down here as soon as the not guilty verdict is handed down.” Zasp says as the two begin to leave. “Good luck, teammate.”

Mothiva lets out a sigh as the room becomes empty once more, before turning to Kabbu. “Kabbu. No matter how this trial goes, I’m sure you’ll have done your best.” She says.

The silence in the waiting room only last a few moments, before a guard barges in. “Defendant! Council for the defense! Please make your way to the courtroom, the trial will be beginning soon!” They yell.

“That’s time up.” Mothiva huffs as she leaves the room as well.

Kabbu lets out a sigh, quickly looking over all of his evidence one more time. He has no clue what awaits him in that courtroom, but with his friends at his sides, he’s sure that he can overcome this trial and find the truth.

—

The courtroom is more packed than he’s ever seen it before. Looking over the gallery, he’s certain that it would be impossible to fit even one more bug up there, and yet there are still people trying to push in, all to get a glimpse of the pop star accused of murder.

Mothiva sits in the defendant’s booth with her arms crossed as she ignores the crowd of people yelling her name. Across from him, Prosecutor Scarlet stands, dressed in his suit with an umbrella in hand, and beside Scarlet stands Doctor Sain, currently writing something down on a clipboard.

Across from the witness stand, the Queens of Bugaria whisper amongst one another. A permanent fifth chair has been installed, which currently seats Plumeria. Queen Elizant occupies one of the front most chairs, with the other sitting empty. This is the first time he’s seen Queen Elizant as the leading Queen in a trial, but she looks much more confident than she normally does during these trials. Maybe because it’s her people who are at the forefront this time. Maybe because it’s those working directly below her who have been accused and killed. Maybe because, this time, there’s no one else to guide her through this. She has to be confident, the role of judge falls solely on her now.

She picks up her gavel, hesitating for a moment, before slamming it down, silencing the courtroom. “This court is now in session for the trial of Mothiva of the Explorer’s Association, who is accused of the crime of killing Eetl, also of the Explorer’s Association.” Queen Elizant says. “Councils for the prosecution and defense, are you ready?” She asks.

“I’m ready, your honor.” Kabbu says with all of the confidence he can muster.

“As ready as I’ll ever be.” Scarlet sighs.

Queen Elizant nods. “And Doctor Sain, could you please state your presence in this courtroom?” She asks. Scarlet looks small in comparison to the doctor, and even from across the courtroom Kabbu has to crane his neck upwards to look at the doctor’s face

Doctor Sain stares at her for several moments, before writing something down on his clipboard and nodding. “I believe that this crime will be greatly important to the development of criminal psychology, and criminology as a field. Why the defendant, someone who by all accounts had everything she could have dreamed for, would commit murder is a topic most fascinating.” He explains in his monotone voice.

Queen Elizant nods in return. “Thank you, Doctor Sain. And… I notice that Arioch is not with you today. I was informed that he would make an appearance.” She continues.

“I was as well, but he decided that he’d stay in one of the empty antechambers for the duration of the trial… or until he’s needed.” Scarlet explains. “Why he’s deciding to sit out such an important trial is beyond me, but who am I to judge him?”

Kabbu frowns. It’s more than a bit strange that Arioch would refuse to make an appearance for the trial of someone who works for the BDL. This seems like one of those extremely important trials where the head of a government agency should appear. Kabbu can’t imagine why Arioch is deciding to sit it out.

“I see. Thank you for informing me, prosecution. Now, please explain the details of the crime for the court record.” Queen Elizant requests.

“Of course, your majesty. The crime happened midday yesterday, the victim, Eetl, was discovered just outside the entrance to the Deadlands, having suffered a single stab to the back. I have been told that he was the driving force of paperwork at the Explorer’s Association, as well as the bug in charge of helping bugs form teams, a role which I’m sure earned him the gratitude of most explorers.” Prosecutor Scarlet explains. “Unfortunately for him, not everyone was pleased with his work. The defendant, Mothiva, was found collapsed just outside the entrance to the Deadlands. It is the prosecution’s belief that, due to the defendant being the only bug close to the location of the crime, the defendant is the only person who could have committed this heinous act.” He says.

Queen Elizant nods. “I understand that Crime Scene Overseer K worked on this crime scene alone, did he manage to retrieve any physical evidence to link the defendant to the crime scene?” She asks.

“He was, surprisingly. This is the murder weapon, a colorful brush used by the defendant to comb through her fluff, which contains an engraving with her initials on it. I would also like to mention, this comb is one of a kind. I extensively searched for other copies of it, but as far as I know, it is the only one of its kind.” Scarlet explains. “I will now enter this brush into the court record.” He says, before handing the brush to the bailiff, Tennent, who holds it carefully and quickly delivers it to Kabbu.

He cautiously takes the brush from the termite, before looking over it. Just as Scarlet said, the initials ‘M.S.’ are etched into the handle, which is stained with blood. Along with that, there’s a ring of blood where the brush head meets the handle, and a perfect bloody handprint wrapped around the actual brush part, but nothing to indicate how it could be used as a murder weapon.

Vi glares at it. “I bet there’s a knife in this brush or something.” She mutters.

Prosecutor Scarlet nods. “You’d be correct. There is a blade hidden within this brush.” He says. “By twisting the head of the brush and pulling, you can reveal the hidden weapon inside of it. Undoubtedly an incredibly helpful tool used by the defendant to survive past the Deadlands, but also used as a deadly weapon to end the victim’s life.” Scarlet explains.

Kabbu does as instructed, being extra careful not to smudge the still-slightly wet bloodstains. which causes the head of the comb to pop off to reveal a knife covered in dried blood. He quickly puts the head back on the comb. He's not exactly excited to see more blood.

“Thank you, prosecution. Defense, I have been informed that Mothiva gave a confession upon being detained, but that she recanted that confession early this morning. Can you give the court insight on why that happened?” Queen Elizant asks.

“I cannot give any insight at this time, your honor. All I can say is that my client is not guilty of the crime she’s been accused of.” Kabbu says. He definitely can’t make any claims about her being threatened, at least not until he’s figured out who it is on his own.

“Thank you, defense. Do you have any comments or issues with the prosecution’s statement before the first witness is brought in?” Queen Elizant asks.

“I do, actually. I’d like to know why the defendant was in the area he was during the time of the murder. I was told earlier in the day that Eetl had gone home from work at the Explorer’s Association because he was exhausted. How did he go from being exhausted to being outside of Bugaria?” Kabbu questions

“That’s a good question, defense. The prosecution doesn’t have an answer, and since the victim is dead, and the defendant refuses to elaborate on their meeting with the victim, we may never know.” Scarlet says.

“Do you have any other questions, defense?” Queen Elizant asks.

“No, your honor.” Kabbu sighs. He’s only going to figure out what happened when K takes the stand and tells him about the crime scene, there’s no reason to push it off any longer.

…

K takes his sweet time getting to the witness’s stand, a cup of peppermint coffee in his hand, and a candy cane hanging out of his mouth. It’s been a bit since he’s seen K on the stand, and after learning that K fabricated evidence in Cece-Lia’s trial… he really can’t say he’s happy to see him on the stand again.

“Witness, please state your name and profession.” Queen Elizant requests.

“Name and profession? I’ve never had to do this before.” He mutters. “Crime Scene Overseer K, crime scene overseer and occasional detective, whenever the BDL decides it's time to lay off all of its workforce again.” K says, taking a sip of his coffee.

“Please cease the jokes, K. Now, tell the courtroom about the crime scene.” Scarlet demands.

K grimaces at him. “Y’know, just once I’d like to go through a trial without you being rude to me. Just once, if that’s not too hard to ask.” He hisses.

“Believe me, Crime Scene Overseer K, it is far too much to ask for.” Scarlet hisses back. “Give your testimony and get off the stand.” He demands.

“I'm not leaving this stand anytime soon. You know that, Scar." K says, before taking another sip of coffee. "Let’s get this trial started, yeah?”

—The Crime Scene Overseer’s Professional Opinion—

“The crime scene was brought to the BDL’s attention about sunset yesterday when someone found the defendant passed out and bloodied right past the Deadlands checkpoint,” K begins. “They called a medic, but then they found the victim and immediately sent us a word, so we hurried there,” He continues. “The victim was found dead, with the defendant’s comb in his back. Mothiva is the only sensible culprit here,” K explains. “If that’s not enough, though, we got another witness after me who saw the actual murder.” He concludes.

“Someone witnessed the murder?!” Vi exclaims.

“Yup! They’ll be out here right after I’m done.” K says. "However long this testimony will take." He continues.

“And you said that the defendant was bloodied? If she was injured, then it’s possible that there was a third bug!” Kabbu says.

K shakes his head. “Nah, not possible. I got these photos to prove it, snapped ‘em right when I saw the bodies.” He says, pulling out a pair of photos and handing them to the bailiff, who shows them to Queen Elizant, then to Scarlet, and finally to Kabbu.

The first photo depicts Mothiva on her side, wrapped in bandages but still covered in blood. “While she is injured, she’s wrapped up in bandages, which she wouldn’t have had time to do after the murder, which means the injuries are unrelated to the crime.” He says.

Kabbu knows that that’s not true at the very least. Mothiva told him that she was attacked as she approached the gateway to the Rubber Prison. Still… he can’t throw that information out until he’s certain that he can prove it.

“Also included in those photos are a photo of the victim as he was discovered, with the defendant’s blade in his back. The handle of the comb can even be seen in frame, with the defendant’s initials also visible.” Scarlet adds.

Kabbu looks at the second photo, which sure enough depicts Eetl lying face down in his own blood, one of his arms pinned under himself and his arm extended out in front of him. Kabbu can barely see Eetl’s explorer’s badge in the hand pinned beneath him. The comb sticks out of his back, blade buried deep into him, and the bloody handprint front and in focus. The reality of the situation is beginning to hit him. Eetl is really dead…

He shakes the thought out of his head. He can’t mourn yet, not until it’s over.

“As her majesty can see, the crime here is very simple and obvious. Nearly to the point that I doubt a cross examination is needed.” Scarlet says.

“But one is! And I’m ready to go through it, so bring it on, defense!” K exclaims. He’s never seen K actively excited for a cross-examination… this is weird. Not to mention, all of his little quips and comments about the cross-examination have also been weird.

Still, he has to give it all he’s got and find contradictions in his testimony! He doesn’t know much about the scene, but he surely has enough to get somewhere!

—Rebuttal—

(The crime scene was brought to the BDL’s attention about sunset yesterday when someone found the defendant passed out and bloodied right past the Deadlands checkpoint)

“Can you tell me more about the discovery of the scene?” Kabbu asks.

“Of course I can!” K says with a smile. “The defendant was found by the guard who usually runs the checkpoint. They were on break when the victim came through and were just getting back when the defendant passed out from her injuries.” He explains.

“How could she have passed out from her injuries if they weren’t new and she had already bandaged them?” Vi questions.

“I dunno. She must’ve torn them back open while fighting with the defendant. Either way, she opened them enough to get blood on her hands and leave that handprint.” K answers. “Listen, I don’t know much about all this medical stuff, but the obvious thing here is that Eetl wasn’t strong enough to fight Mothiva. There’s no other explanation for what happened.”

Kabbu frowns. He's a bit bothered by the fact that K just... didn't look into Mothiva's wounds, but there isn't much he can do besides complain. Besides that, K is right. Kabbu doesn’t have any other explanation yet, at least not one he can prove with evidence. He’ll have to hold onto that, though. He’s sure that Mothiva’s wounds will lead them back to the bug that attacked her, he just needs to find some sort of evidence! For now, though, he needs to ask more questions. “Do you have the reports from the passage report machine? I would like to see them if they exist, they could very well be important.” Kabbu requests.

“Ah, well I didn’t bring them with me. There wasn’t much on them, and nothing looked contradictory to anything else, so I left them at home.” K explains.

“You left evidence at home?! You could at least try to do your job, detective.” Scarlet hisses.

“Well I’m doing my best, so you can shove it Scar! The report wasn’t important, it isn’t needed as evidence and the prosecution will do just fine without it!” K hisses.

“If you didn’t bring the report, could you tell us about it? Any details you remember?” Kabbu requests.

“Yeah, I can do that.” K hums. “The first entry for that night was a few minutes before the murder took place. ‘Explorer’s Association Staff’, which was probably Eetl, seeing as there were no other entries, and I haven’t heard any reports about other members of the Explorer’s Association’s staff going through the checkpoint.” K explains.

“You said earlier that the guard was on break at the time. How exactly did Eetl gain passage if there was no one there to open the door?” Kabbu questions.

“Hell if I know, another thing wrong with that checkpoint, I guess.” K answers.

“The checkpoint is very finicky. We wouldn’t be surprised if there’s some way to press the button from the outside… a way that doesn’t require magic, that is.” Leif says.

“Anyways, a few minutes after that, there’s a report stating that Team Mothiva passed through, and that’s how we know she was on the scene during the crime.” K explains as he takes a sip of his coffee. “Besides that, there’s nothing else out of the ordinary. Everything looked as legit as it could.”

Kabbu sighs. “Those reports do sound correct. If that’s really what they say, then they don’t show any contradictions.” He says. Dang it… he was hoping he’d be able to find something wrong to have the reports brought in… he’ll have to keep looking.

“The passage report machine strikes again.” Leif mutters as he fidgets with one of the toys from his book. “Though… we think there might have been a contradiction there. Something didn’t sound right.” He adds.

“You… you thought you heard a contradiction? What was it?” Kabbu asks, excited.

“We aren’t sure. Something just doesn’t add up…” Leif muses.

Kabbu frowns. He definitely can’t see anything out of the ordinary either… but he has to admit, Leif is right. Something about those statements doesn’t sound right. “Crime Scene Overseer K, can you add the statement about the passage report to your testimony?” He requests.

“My statement about the passage report? Which one?” K questions.

He thinks for a moment. Everything about Eetl makes sense… he has no reason to doubt that, but nothing really seems wrong with Mothiva’s. He’ll just ask for Mothiva’s for now and continue with the testimony, and if he figures out what the issue is later on, or if he realizes there’s something wrong with the other statement, he can always ask for K to change his testimony.

“The statement about Mothiva’s exit, please.” Kabbu requests.

“On it, I guess.” K says as he takes another sip of his coffee.

((Anyways, a few minutes after that, there’s a report stating that Team Mothiva passed through, and that’s how we know she was on the scene during the crime))

He doesn’t have any ideas for questions to ask about this statement just yet… unless he wants to beg for those reports again. All he knows right now is that something about this statement just feels off, but he can’t put his finger on it.

Oh well. The best thing he can do for now is keep asking questions and hope he figures it out before too long.

(They called a medic, but then they found the victim not long after, and immediately sent us a word, so we hurried there)

“Why was the BDL contacted when they saw the second body?” Kabbu asks.

“Because it was a bug with a knife sticking out their back. Very clearly not an accident or a beast attack anymore, and very clearly an altercation between two people.” K explains.

“So the medics got there before you? Did they do anything before you arrived?” Kabbu questions.

“Nah, I got there first. I called the medics off as soon as I saw the victim’s body, he was already very dead at that point.” K explains.

“Why did you call off the medics? Mothiva was also injured!” Vi yells.

“Cause they weren’t needed. As I’ve said, the victim was dead and the defendant's wounds were fine. Maybe she had torn them open a little bit, and maybe she was bleeding, but she didn’t need immediate assistance.” K continues.

That… still doesn’t make any sense, why would anyone ever call off medics? He doesn’t know about the state of the scene, or the state of Eetl, but it seems strange to just ask help to stay away. What if they had been able to do something? What if they could have saved Eetl’s life?!

Kabbu shakes those ideas out of his mind. “I’ve noticed that the autopsy report hasn’t been entered into the court record. Was an autopsy performed?” He questions.

“Yup, an autopsy was performed.” K explains. “Nothing important was found, though. Stab in the back, stabbing caused him to die of shock, lost a lot of blood, etc etc. Nothing out of the ordinary from a regular stabbing, so I didn’t see a need for it to be submitted into the court record. I left it at home.” He explains.

Scarlet opens his mouth as if to speak, before letting out a disappointed sigh and shaking his head.

That seems like another important piece of evidence… Kabbu can’t imagine why K didn’t bring it with him, nor why he didn't bring that other piece of important evidence. He can’t think of an explanation for how K is still working at the BDL that doesn’t involve corruption of some sort. What other excuse is there? Why did they allow him to go back to working at the BDL after his previous bit of tampering?

He can’t ask that now, and clearly K is unwilling to actually bring the evidence into the courtroom, so there isn’t much Kabbu can do but keep pushing through.

(The victim was found dead, with the defendant’s comb in his back. Mothiva is the only sensible culprit here)

“It’s possible that the culprit could be someone else, though.” Kabbu proposes.

K squints at him. “In what world could it be someone else? Who else besides Mothiva could know that there was a secret blade hidden in her comb?” He asks.

“I haven’t seen any proof that the comb in question actually belongs to her, and the initials M.S. are fairly common. It’s entirely possible that the comb belongs to someone else with the initials M.S., or even that the initials were carved into the handle for the sole purpose of misleading the court!” Kabbu argues.

“Well, that’s a possibility.” K huffs. “But I would like to ask you, if this blade WASN’T Mothiva’s, then what exactly was she carrying around leading up to her arrest? The Deadlands are extremely dangerous, and the Wastes are a death sentence, yeah? You’re trying to tell me that she went out there with nothing but her high heels and killed the wild beasts out there by stomping on them?” He asks with a smirk.

“If I may speak, your majesty.” Mothiva interjects.

“You may, defendant.” Queen Elizant nods.

“Thanks. I had plenty of weapons leading up to my return to Bugaria. Knives and high heels don’t do nearly as much damage to the bugs out there as they do to the bugs in here, so I had a nail on me.” Mothiva explains.

“A nail? Like for construction?” Kabbu asks.

“No, a nail as in the weapon. It’s a sword made out of metal, the bugs in that tiny town I told you about use them.” She explains.

“And where’s that ‘nail’ now, defendant?” K asks.

“I lost it. Right before the murder happened.” Mothiva hisses.

The Crime Scene Overseer nods. “Very convenient that you lost your weapon right before you showed up in Bugaria and killed someone.” He smirks. “Regardless, the defendant’s word can’t be trusted without a healthy dose of evidence to back it up, and as it stands right now there’s no evidence to support what she’s saying. Until some evidence shows up, this comb is what she was using to defend herself. On top of that, until another bug with malicious intent is placed on the scene, you can’t claim anyone other than the defendant is responsible for the murder.” K concludes.

That’s true… he not only has to keep his eyes open for any mention of a sword, but also another bug. Maybe the witness that saw the crime saw the nail as well, maybe they might even be responsible? It’s possible that the nail could even be involved in the murder somehow! With Mothiva not knowing when she lost it, the possibilities are endless.

The only way he can figure that out, though, is to get through K’s testimony and get that witness out here.

(If that’s not enough, though, we got another witness after me who saw the actual murder)

“Someone actually witnessed the murder?” Kabbu asks.

“Yup. They witnessed the whole thing, from start to finish. They’re currently in the prosecution's antechamber, going over their testimony a few more times, as requested by their majesties.” K explains.

“As requested? Who is the witness? And why were they out in the Deadlands?” Kabbu questions.

“Some loonie gardener. They appeared in a trial a month or two ago and didn’t make a good name for themselves.” K continues.

Loonie gardener… a trial a few months ago… the only bug that’s coming to mind is Basil Cilantro, that bug who kept leaving out extremely important details in his testimony during Leif’s trial. If he’s really the witness… not only is he horribly unlucky to have witnessed the crime, but Kabbu is also horribly unlucky, because he’ll have to deal with him again. If it really is him, then he can probably rule the witness out as a suspect, he’s fairly certain that Basil wouldn’t be the type of bug to kill someone. However, he’s been historically bad with determining that in the past.

“Hey, what’s with that look on your face, defense? Just because they made a bad name for themselves in the past doesn’t mean they’re gonna stay bad! We’re making sure his testimony is foolproof, yeah?” K says.

“I… I guess.” Kabbu sighs. May Venus give him strength.

That’s the end of the testimony, and he hasn’t found anything that really sticks out. K’s testimony really pushes guilt onto Mothiva, if he can’t find some sort of contradiction or error in his judgment, it might be over before he even has a chance to see the witness!

“Team, did you notice anything out of place?” Kabbu asks.

“Nope!” Vi announces with a smile.

“We haven’t noticed anything wrong either. Perhaps another run through of the testimony is necessary?” Leif asks.

Kabbu nods. “That’s probably the best idea. There’s something wrong in here, I can feel it, I just can’t figure out what exactly it is just yet.” He says.

“Ooh! Maybe you’re overlooking something? Like, maybe he said something that doesn’t make sense, but because you aren’t thinking it through enough, you aren’t catching the problem?” Vi suggests.

“That… that could be possible.” Kabbu mutters. Overlooking something… the only way to know if he’s overlooking something is to go over that statement again, and hopefully he’ll be able to figure out why it doesn’t sound right.

((Anyways, a few minutes after that, there’s a report stating that Team Mothiva passed through, and that’s how we know she was on the scene during the crime))

Kabbu thinks through the statement. He’s sure he’s missing something, like the problem is right on the tip of his mandibles, but he can’t quite figure out what it is. Maybe the issue was in the other statement, the one about Eetl?

…

No, the issue has to be here, and it has to do with Mothiva accessing the scene… but what could it be? Maybe it could be the time difference? No… Eetl was only stabbed once, someone could easily do that in only a few minutes, it can’t be that. And he knows that she had a badge to enter because she left through the Rubber Prison in the first place, so it can’t be that either.

Wait… now that he’s thinking about it…

...

‘I know you don’t have a badge anymore, so you can borrow the Team Mothiva Explorer’s badge if you need it, they can’t scan them so they won’t know it isn’t yours and they’ll let you pass.’

...

That idea WAS right! Mothiva might have had the ability to pass through the checkpoint, but the problem isn’t Mothiva, it’s TEAM Mothiva! Kabbu slams his fists down. “This statement is flawed, and if what you’ve said of the passage report is true, then there’s a glaring contradiction in the report!“ He yells.

K recoils. “Excuse me? And what exactly is the problem here?” He asks, seemingly completely caught off guard.

“To start off with, this is my lawyer's badge, it contains a record of my identity in the tiny crystals on it, and I can use it to enter and exit the Deadlands and the Rubber Prison whenever I’d like. Importantly, when I go through those areas, the machines read my badge as saying ‘Kabbu’, and not ‘Team Snakemouth’.” Kabbu explains.

“And what does that have to do with anything?” K questions, squinting at him.

“Well, you told us that the passage report machine’s report stated that Team Mothiva exited the Deadlands only a few minutes after Eetl passed through. Is that correct?” Kabbu questions.

“Yeah? That’s exactly what I said.” K confirms.

“In that case, the issue here should be obvious now. ‘Team’ Mothiva, you said. You could have just said Mothiva, but the fact that the report said that ‘Team’ Mothiva exited the Deadlands means that their Explorer’s badge was specifically used.” Kabbu explains. “However, in order for that to be the case, Mothiva would have had to have taken her Explorer’s badge into the Wastes with her, which isn’t possible, because her teammate Zasp used that same badge to get around the Rubber Prison just last night, after Mothiva was arrested.” He explains.

“H-huh!? That… there’s no way!” K hisses. “The report said Team Mothiva… I know it did!”

“That’s just not possible. You can check the passage reports at the Rubber Prison for proof that its been used, and the fact that Mothiva was immediately arrested means that it's impossible for her to have given the badge back to Zasp!” Kabbu yells.

K recoils, his candy cane shattering in his mouth.

Prosecutor Scarlet lets out a sigh. “And this is why we bring the evidence with us to the courtroom. Your majesty, I would like to request that this clown get off the stand, and we have the witness brought in instead.” He demands.

“Wait! Don’t kick me off the stand just yet! I haven't been up here nearly long enough!” K yells.

“The defense also demands that that report be shown! If it contains a contradiction, then it could be extremely important in proving that something was wrong with the machine, or even that it was tampered with!” Kabbu agrees.

“And if the machine was tampered with, there’s the possibility that another bug got onto the scene. Wonderful. Defective detective, what are you waiting for? Go get the report.” Scarlet hisses.

“Hey! Not so hasty, I don’t have to get it just yet, I have all the time in the world!” K argues. “Your majesty, I greatly apologize for my mistake, but I believe I’ve figured out where I went wrong, and I’ve remembered the report correctly. Could I kindly be given another attempt at testifying?” He says.

… Huh? He’s… asking to testify again? Why? And why ask Queen Elizant, why would she ever let him testify instead of just sending him to go get documents?

Despite what he had thought, Queen Elizant nods. “You may. Please correct your testimony and continue.”

Chapter Text

The courtroom explodes into conversation and chatter as soon as the words leave Queen Elizant’s mandibles.

“E-excuse me?!” Kabbu yelps. “Queen Elizant, you can’t be serious!” He whines.

“Crime Scene Overseer K is a respected and trusted member of the BDL. He must be allowed to correct his mistakes, so that we can have the most clear and correct testimony possible.” Queen Elizant explains.

“But what about the documents?! Clearly the issue is that Crime Scene Overseer K isn’t remembering the crime scene correctly! I need to see the autopsy report and the passage report!” Kabbu demands.

“Nope. It’d be a major waste of time for me to run all the way home just for a pair of documents! You just gotta trust me on this one.” K smiles.

“What a disgrace of the law…” Scarlet huffs, before getting glared at by K. The pink ant lets out a sigh of exhaustion. “The idiot might be a failure at his job but he has a point. Trial proceedings can’t be suspended for hours while he goes back to get them. And if the Queen is permitting him to give more testimony, then there’s nothing that can shut him up.”

“Court proceedings CAN be suspended! That’s important evidence that could prove Mothiva’s innocence!” Kabbu argues.

“I promise that the evidence will be brought to the courtroom as soon as the witness has ensured that the testimony he has given is a completely truthful recount of events.” Queen Elizant says.

“But we won’t be able to know for sure if it’s truthful until we see that evidence!” Kabbu cries, before putting his head in his hands. He’s not usually this frustrated so early into a trial, but he’s so confused. Why is Queen Elizant giving K a second chance?

Kabbu looks across the courtroom to Prosecutor Scarlet. The only thing more peculiar than the Queen allowing this is the fact that Scarlet is agreeing to put up with another testimony. Whenever Scarlet makes a comment during K’s testimonies, it’s usually an insult, and he usually looks much less miserable when K isn’t giving testimony. So then why doesn’t he look miserable right now? Why isn’t he complaining more? In a situation like this, why is he holding a straight face and keeping his eyes focused on K?

Something’s extremely wrong, and he’s sure that it has something to do with the bug behind all of this. He can't imagine what their plan is, or what this repeated testimony is going to lead to, but he's sure it won't be good.

“Now, Crime Scene Overseer K. Please give your testimony again, and please be careful to make it as accurate to the crime scene as possible.” Queen Elizant requests.

“Of course, your majesty.” K smiles.

—More Professional Opinions—

“First and foremost, pretty much everything I stated in my previous testimony still stands. Mothiva did it, etc etc, you’ve already heard it,” K begins. “But what I’m just now remembering is that I remembered the report wrong. Sorry,” He says with a shrug. “The report actually stated that Eetl’s employee badge was used twice, which makes sense since his badge was found on Mothiva,” K continues. “In case you don’t believe me, I would like to add that this badge stealing was also witnessed by the witness, they’ll testify it as soon as I’m done, they just need a little bit more time.” He concludes.

“Thank you for giving your testimony again, Crime Scene Overseer K.” Queen Elizant says.

“No need to thank me, I’m just doing my job.” K smiles.

“As much as I would have rather not heard more testimony from him… this does fix the issues with his testimony.” Scarlet says.

Kabbu slams his hands down. “No! It doesn’t fix any issues with his testimony! That’s a completely different statement from what you told us before! This change has no mention of Team Mothiva at all!” He argues.

“Yeah, I don’t know why that popped into my head when I was giving my testimony before! There’s no mention of Team Mothiva in those passage reports.” K agrees with a laugh.

Kabbu grits his mandibles. This isn’t anything even close to a laughing matter, surely incorrectly stating what a piece of evidence said is completely against the laws of court, right? It HAS to be perjury, right?? Why is this being allowed to happen? All of the Queens, Plumeria included, look confused, but none of them say anything, none of them ask why this is happening. Why’re they all just sitting there?

“I don’t get it. Why did he give a whole new testimony instead of just adding on to his last one? He barely even changed anything!” Vi huffs, crossing her arms.

“I’m not sure, but there’s definitely going on here.” Kabbu answers.

Leif nods in agreement. “We’re sensing a strong feeling of anxiety, perhaps even fear, coming from him, and it spiked when you found that contradiction.” He explains.

“Is it possible that he’s scared of moving on past his testimony?” Kabbu asks, earning a shrug from Leif. That might make sense, with how he’s acting, but why? Why is he scared of that?

Vi furrows her brow. “He keeps bringing up that witness and saying they’re going to be out here soon… I’m gonna go see if I can talk to them, and if I can get them into the courtroom maybe K will step down. I’ll be back soon.” She says, before quickly leaving the courtroom.

Kabbu nods. That’s probably the best idea for right now, he needs more information on what exactly is happening, and he has a feeling that that witness is related to it.

“Defense, please proceed for the cross examination when you are ready.” Queen Elizant orders.

He isn’t sure what’s going on here, but he has to do his best to disprove K’s testimony again, and he has to keep disproving it until he can get to the bottom of what’s going on.

—Rebuttal—

(First and foremost, pretty much everything I stated in my previous testimony still stands. Mothiva did it, etc etc, you’ve already heard it)

So… is there even really a reason for this to be an entirely new testimony? A simple addition to the last would suffice… Still, this is a chance for Kabbu to ask more questions and hopefully get more answers.

“Besides what you’ve said about the badges and the reports, and the comb in Eetl’s back, what evidence actually links Mothiva to the crime scene?” Kabbu asks.

“Well, besides the comb, and the passage, it’s mostly the witness's testimony that seals the deal.” K explains.

“So why aren’t we hearing from the witness right now? I don’t see why you need to give more testimony.” Kabbu questions.

“It’s like I said, this is a big, serious trial, yeah? We can’t take a subpar testimony from the head detective on the case, not when the defendant is so popular, and the victim was so important.” K explains. “Trust me, as the expert in giving testimony, this is very much vital.” He says.

“And why not bring out the witness? Especially if you’re claiming that they actually saw the crime, and the defendant’s getaway. I can’t see a reason why they wouldn’t just come out and testify.” Kabbu says.

“Same reason as before. We can’t take a subpar testimony, so they need plenty of time to rehearse before they’re ready to actually talk to the court.” K continues. “Not to mention, you were the defense in your buddy’s trial, you know the witness, you know how they are, we need all the time in the world to make sure he behaves himself up here.”

Kabbu frowns. Yes, he does remember that witness, but even still, they eventually managed to get actual testimony out of him, there were just a lot of inaccuracies. Even in that scenario, Kabbu would much rather go through one bug's testimony a thousand times than go through K’s testimony again, because at least in the witness’s testimony, he’ll actually be making progress.

“I’d also like to ask, why won’t you retrieve the evidence you left at home? If what it says is in Prosecutor Scarlet’s favor, then I can’t imagine why you wouldn’t want it here, and if what it says is in my favor, then you’re biased towards the defendant. Either way, you’re hiding evidence that could be important.” Kabbu argues.

K scoffs. “Who are you to tell me how to do my job? I’m the expert detective here.” He says.

“Clearly you aren’t very expert if you’re hiding evidence, Not to mention, you have a history of tampering with crime scenes.” Leif interjects, to which K doesn’t respond.

This is so frustrating and annoying… what could that report and that autopsy say that would make K want to leave them at home???

(But what I’m just now remembering is that I remembered the report wrong. Sorry)

“You… remembered the report wrong?!” Kabbu asks, completely taken aback.

“Yeah, minor accident. It’s okay, though, I’ve remembered it correctly now and I can fix my testimony to make sure we’re on the right path to the truth.” K says as he takes another sip of his coffee.

“No! It’s not okay! Your entire job is to correctly give information to the court!” Kabbu complains. “You lied about the contents, and instead of giving the courtroom the actual evidence to back up your claims, you changed those claims!” He says.

K shrugs, and then takes another sip from his coffee.

“This has to count as perjury, or contempt of court, or something! There’s no way you can be allowed to just say you forgot what you were saying!” Kabbu whimpers.

“Unfortunately, defense, it’s only contempt of court if the leading Queen decides to punish the witness for it. As long as her majesty is willing to give him another try, he’s able to testify for as long as he wants.” Scarlet corrects.

Kabbu turns his attention to Queen Elizant. “Your honor, surely you have to see that this is wrong! He lied directly to the court and is hiding evidence! You can’t allow this!” He argues.

The Queens murmur amongst each other, mostly in agreement, before Queen Elizant silences the chatter with her gavel. “I’m sorry, counsel for the defense, but it’s important that the truth presented in this courtroom is the most accurate possible. In order for that to happen, we must give the benefit of the doubt to our experts.” She says.

Kabbu lets out a pained sigh. This is so stupid, this is a waste of time, why is she allowing this???

“We can hear the same type of fear in Queen Elizant’s voice.” Leif says. “Perhaps she’s scared of the BDL making a fool of themselves? This is her mother’s system of law, after all.” He proposes.

“Queen Elizant’s… scared?” Kabbu asks.

Leif nods. “That’s what we’re feeling, and the fear she has feels very similar to the fear that Crime Scene Overseer K is feeling. K would also be scared of the BDL failing, since failure could lose him his job.” He continues.

That’s plausible… but Kabbu has a feeling that Queen Elizant’s fear has something to do with the blackmailing. What does ‘same type of fear’ mean though? Does it mean he’s scared of the same thing? Or in the same type of way? If Queen Elizant is scared of blackmail, and having her mother’s name ruined, could K also be being blackmailed? Maybe they’re forcing him to stand up here and make a fool of himself while threatening to reveal his relation to J. Ester? But if that's so, why? What purpose does this serve? The only thing this will do is make the BDL look even worse than it already does.

Kabbu doesn’t exactly have time to theorize on that, though. He has no clue what’s going on with K, and right now he needs to be focused on getting K off the stand and getting that witness out here.

(The report actually stated that Eetl’s employee badge was used twice, which makes sense since his badge was found on Mothiva)

The moment the words leave K’s mouth, Kabbu squints at him. That’s not right, nor is it even a good or clever lie. Why would K say that in front of the Queens, during a sworn testimony? Even one glance at the evidence completely disproves this claim!

Kabbu slams his hands down. “This statement is also wrong.” He says, before presenting the crime scene photos. “Eetl’s badge can be clearly seen underneath him in the photo YOU took of his body! It would be impossible for Mothiva to have it!” He argues.

“Wha–?! Ah, did I say it was on Mothiva? Geez, my memory sure is messed up! The badge was found under Eetl, you’re right, but the witness testified that she threw the badge back toward him after going through the gateway!” K explains.

“That— that’s even less believable than your last claim!” Kabbu exclaims.

“If that’s what the witness said, why don’t they come out and tell us already?” Leif questions.

“Because they aren’t ready yet! We need more time!” K hisses, slamming his hands down.

Kabbu slams his own hands down. “Queen Elizant! The defense demands that the witness is brought out at once! Crime Scene Overseer K has proved that he is an unreliable witness and has lied on multiple occasions about what the evidence actually shows! He can’t be allowed to stay on the stand!” He pleads.

“The defense’s demand is overruled. The witness… the witness cannot leave the stand yet.” Queen Elizant says. He can clearly hear the nervousness in her voice now, whatever's supposed to be happening must not be working out.

K suddenly lets out a gasp, as if he’d realized something. “Your majesty! I greatly apologize for my mistake, but I’ve remembered what the report ACTUALLY said! Could I be given another attempt at testifying? This time will be the last, I promise!” He exclaims.

Queen Elizant lets out an exhausted sigh, before silently nodding her head, causing another outburst of complaints and chatter from the gallery and confused whispers from the royalty sitting behind her.

No… he can’t just say that again and get another attempt at testifying! What in the world is going on here?! What does this even accomplish? The Queens are confused by this but say nothing, the gallery is bewilderd, and Scarlet seems perfectly content with letting this continue, despite his constant insulting of Crime Scene Overseer K. Why is this being allowed to happen?

“What are you doing, K? Why?” Kabbu questions.

“I’m just doing my duty to make sure the testimony I give is the best that’s ever been given. On top of that… I’m just buying us a little more time, so that our witness can be as ready as possible. Believe me, he’s going to need a lot of time.” K explains with a smile. “Now, how about I get back to giving testimony, yeah?”

Kabbu lets out an exhausted sigh. He hopes that Vi will get that witness to come to the courtroom soon.

—

Vi wasn’t very familiar with the layout of the courthouse… there are a lot of rooms, three total floors, and a lot of rooms that aren’t waiting rooms, antechambers, and courtrooms. What else do you even need in a courthouse besides a waiting room, antechamber, and a courtroom? She’s sure that she’s searched every single room on the first floor of the courtroom, and no one’s here! Maybe they’re on the second floor, for some reason? Even though the court proceedings are down here, and there’s literally nothing going on up there?

She walks up the stairs, being greeted by a long, empty hallway. She walks a bit further and glances down adjacent hallways, peeking into rooms, before finally spotting a familiar bug. The bailiff, that albino termite named Tennent, is currently leaning against a wall, and as soon as he sees Vi, he turns his back to her and faces the wall.

“Hey!” Vi yells as she walks down the hall toward him. “I’m looking for the witness in the trial downstairs, is he up here?” She asks.

“I don’t know, I’m waiting for the guard to get back.” Tennent answers, peeking over his shoulder at Vi. Waiting for the guard to get back? Why do they need a guard for a random witness? And why is the guard not here?

“Oh! Vi! Este elve!” Someone yells behind them. Vi turns to see Cece-Lia, quickly hurrying up to her. “I hope I didn’t surprise you, I was going through my things while watching the trial, and I realized I forgot to give Lawyer Kabbu a few papers on that trial! They’re all of Falsavar Itas’s thoughts on the trial, I wasn’t sure if he’d need them.” She explains, pulling out a packet of papers and handing them to Vi.

“Thanks, I’ll give them back to him when I get back. What’re you doing outside the courtroom? You’re probably missing K’s testimony.” Vi asks.

“Ah… well, I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to give it to him while the trial was going, so I hurried out to hand them to you as soon as I saw you leave the courtroom.” She smiles.

Before Vi can even put the papers into her bag, someone suddenly runs between them, shoving both her and Cece-Lia out of the way. Tennent flinches as that guard-for-hire runs down the hall, Savannah… Stringslug? She can’t remember, but they were a part of that trial in the art gallery. The guard— their name is definitely Saraha, Vi remembers now— yells at them. “‘et out of my way! I’m in a hurry!” She says as she goes past them. Tennent finally looks away from the wall to follows her down the hall.

Vi helps Cece-Lia back up, before following the two down to a room at the very end of the hallway. Saraha fumbles with a ring of keys for a long bit, muttering curses under her breath as she frantically tries to get the door open.

“Hey! Why did you push us! You could have hurt Cece-Lia!” Vi yells as she approaches the two bugs.

“Shut up, kid! This is an emer’ency, I don’t ‘ot time to talk!” Saraha hisses, before giving up on the keys and slamming her weight into the door in an attempt to get it open.

“Who’re you calling kid?! I’m an adult!” Vi yells, but her complaint goes completely unnoticed as Saraha focused on getting into the room.

After a few slams, the wood splinters, allowing the door to open and causing the guard to fall forward into the room. The first thing that catches Vi’s eyes is the large, open window, which is very noticeably not barred like the rest of the rooms's windows.

The next thing that catches her attention is the trail of blood leading from the center of the room toward the corner. The furniture is flipped, a chair lays broken in the center of the room right next to where the blood trail starts, and in the far corner of the room, being held in the arms of a strange looking bug, is the bloodied body of a bug dressed in gray pants, with a green shirt underneath a brown apron. A large sun hat decorated with leaves and flowers lays a few paces away from the two bugs.

Chapter Text

“‘Ods dammit!” Saraha hisses. “I was too late.”

“W-what? What happened?” Vi asks, looking across the room.

Cece-Lia, who had been standing a ways down the hallway until now, peeks her head into the room, letting out a gasp of shock. “Oh dear Venus!”

“Hey! Both of you, ‘et away from the crime scene!” Saraha hisses. “I saw that bu’ climbin’ up the wall from outside, I ran in as fast as I could, but I wasn’t fast enough! They killed the witness.” She explains, before they begin to approach the bug, pulling one of the claw-like weapons from one of their belts.

As soon as she begins to enter the room, a look of fear comes over the bug crouched in the corner as they pull the body closer to them and let out a yell, though it doesn’t sound like any language Vi’s ever heard. She’s completely taken aback. The witness is dead? How could this happen, and who in the world is this bug? Why weren’t there bars on the window, and how did they manage to get up into a room on the second floor? And how is Kabbu going to argue Mothiva’s innocence if the witness is dead?!

“☝︎♏︎⧫︎ ♋︎⬥︎♋︎⍓︎!” The bug yells, attempting to drag the body away from Saraha, more words that Vi can’t understand. It sounds like the language that the people from the North speak. “My brother, ♎︎□︎■︎🕯︎⧫︎ ⧫︎♋︎🙵♏︎ ♒︎♓︎❍︎!” They continue, a pair of words sticking out that Vi recognizes. Did they say… my brother?

Looking closer, they do look extremely similar. The bug in the corner seems to be the same bug as the witness… whatever bug that might be. They have no hat, their long antennae hang down in front of their face. They have no apron, instead wearing a long brown and white shirt covered in browning leaves and dirt that goes down to their knees, along with a long pair of dirt-stained white pants.

“Can you understand what they’re saying?” Vi asks, looking up to Cece-Lia who nods.

“I think they said something about their brother needing help, but their dialect is very difficult to understand, they’re definitely not from up North.” She explains. This bug is the witness’s brother? And… if they are the witness’s brother, why would they kill the witness? Something isn’t adding up here…

“Wait! I think they just said that the witness was their brother! I don’t think they killed him!” Vi interjects, causing the guard-for-hire to freeze in his tracks.

“Huh? What in the world are you talkin’ about?.” Saraha hisses.

“They just said ‘my brother’, and if they're telling the truth and the witness was their brother, then it wouldn’t make sense for them to murder him!” Vi argues. Not to mention, they look extremely scared, and are completely bawling their eyes out… not exactly the behavior she imagined out of someone who just climbed up two stories to kill someone.

“I can understand what they’re saying, and I can translate it to Bugish! If someone just killed their brother, then they might still be nearby! I need to speak to them!” Cece-Lia adds.

The guard grimaces. “Listen, both of you, run off back to the courtroom. Just cause a bu’ blurts somethin’ out doesn’t mean that you can trust it.” Saraha says. “And Tennent, ‘o tell the courtroom what’s happened to the witness! And hurry, they've been waiting long enough.” She adds.

“But… but there’s a courtroom full of bugs below us! If there’s a murderer running about… they might hurt someone! She needs to speak to them!” Vi argues.

“If there’s a murderer running around, then the ‘uards downstairs will catch them. Until that happens, this bu’ has to ‘o to jail, and then it’s up to the investi’ators to fi’ure out if they’re ‘uilty. Not me, not you, not now. After the trial’s done.” Saraha disagrees before reaching out and grabbing the bug who’s only fight is to keep clinging to the body.

Dang it… why won’t she just give Cece-Lia a moment to speak to them? This could be an extreme danger! If this bug here didn’t murder the witness, then there’s an actual murderer currently on the loose that just crawled up the wall of a courthouse! People’s lives could be in danger, all because she won’t let Cece-Lia speak to them! Vi gasps as she suddenly realizes, SHE’S an investigator! Well, she’s being investigated right now for stealing evidence from a crime scene and hiding it, but if K is able to do it and get forgiven for it, then surely she would too! And if she can take control of this crime scene, she might be able to give Cece-Lia a chance to talk to them!

“Hold it!” Vi yells out, showing off her junior detective’s badge. “I’m a detective, therefore I can investigate the scene!” She says.

“E-excuse me?! You're a what now!?!” Saraha gasps, looking to the albino termite as if for backup, or assistance, but the termite simply turns their back on the crime scene.

“Yeah! I’m a detective, which means I have authority over this crime scene! That also means everyone has to get off of it so I can investigate, and you have to let go of the witness, too!” Vi demands.

Saraha lets out an annoyed sigh. “I’m not here to play ‘ames. ‘Et out of here, ‘o back to the courtroom, you ain’t got a cent of authority here.” She hisses.

Vi narrows her eyes. “If you don’t get away from the evidence right now, you’re gonna get in a lot of trouble with the BDL! And whoever’s paying you is gonna get real mad!” She threatens. She can only assume they’re being paid, at least. They are the guard put here to watch over the witness, right?

“The BDL? W-who’s paying me?? How… how did you…?!” Saraha hisses, suddenly seeming extremely nervous. She lets go of the strange bug, who immediately runs back to clinging to the body. “Dammit! Fine! I’ll ‘et out of your way and let you investi’ate! Tennent, ‘o ahead and tell the courtroom what happened!” She demands.

Vi can’t allow that, if they hear about the murder, the actual BDL might get involved, and any chance of this bug testifying in the trial will be gone. “I can’t let either of you go anywhere! If you try and leave, I can arrest both of you for interfering with a criminal investigation!” Vi lies, which thankfully is enough to stop Tennent from leaving.

“You… you’re an investigator? I had no clue!” Cece-Lia gasps.

“Well… I’m technically not really an investigator right now, but they were going to take that bug away! I needed to make sure you’d get a chance to talk to them, in case there is a dangerous bug wandering around.” Vi whispers.

Cece-Lia looks conflicted for a moment, before she nods. “Lying is very bad… but I believe that that was the best way the situation could be handled. I will go and try to speak to them, or at the very least calm them.” She says.

“Awesome! I’m going to look at the crime scene, I might be able to figure out what happened.” Vi says.

She turns back to look at the bloody scene before her. Okay… she’s actually going to investigate this crime scene. She hasn’t done this without help before… at least not officially, and it’s usually always been combing over crime scenes. Now she’s on her own, with a priest, a black-market salesman, a bug that’s currently clinging onto the victim’s body, and a guard who’s eager to get out of here.

She needs to talk to the accused quickly, and if they really don’t seem like they’ve done it… she needs to figure out where the actual murderer has gone off to, before someone else gets hurt.

—Begin Investigation—

Even though she’s in a hurry to talk to that bug, she needs to make sure she follows crime scene procedures. She takes out her portable termacade and snaps a photo of the room. Although the image is really hard to see and not very clear, it’s good enough. You can kinda tell what’s going on, enough to probably hold up in a court of law.

There’s no autopsy report to get, no Zasp, no Crime Scene Overseer K. Every part of the incident is laid out before her, and she has all of the witnesses before her. This is going to be difficult, but she has to do it, for the safety of her friends.

She approaches the bug in the corner, first, who Cece-Lia is currently talking to and attempting to calm down. Their face is stained with tears and they’re shaking their head violently, clinging onto the body, repeatedly yelling out things in that language she doesn’t know.

“What’re they saying?” Vi asks.

Cece-Lia whispers something to them, before turning to Vi. “They’re saying a lot so it’s hard to keep up with them. They keep asking for help, saying that their brother is dying, and pleading for him to not be taken away… it’s all very heartbreaking.” She explains.

“Is there any way you might be able to calm them down enough to talk to them? Or at the very least, get them away from the body?” Vi asks.

“I… I may be able to, give me a few moments.” She says, before turning her attention back to the bug. They talk for a few minutes, before Cece-Lia extends a hand, which they hesitantly take, allowing themselves to be moved away from the body. Cece-Lia pulls them to their feet, where they stand just a bit taller than Vi, and probably around Vi’s age as well. Maybe a bit younger? It’s hard to tell. They’re definitely a bit shorter than the bug laying dead on the ground… she can’t imagine how traumatizing this must be for them, if the witness really is their brother. The priest leads them away from the body, the far corner of the room, before turning back to Vi. “They’re a lot calmer now, but they still aren’t doing very well. They’re panicking a lot, I’m not sure how much of what's happening they understand.” Cece-Lia explains.

“Could you ask them what they do know, though? Like, how they got here, what happened, if they saw anything. Their testimony could be very important, especially if they saw the murderer, or even if they killed the witness” Vi asks.

Cece-Lia speaks to them for a moment, before letting out a gasp of shock.

“What is it? What’d they say?” Vi asks.

“They said their name is Parsley Cilantro, that they were here to talk about the murder trial going on downstairs! About what the witness was going to testify about!” Cece-Lia explains. Parsley Cilantro… that really doesn’t sound like a real name. Still, it’s good to have something to refer to them with instead of just ‘that bug’.

Snapping out of her thoughts about their name, she focuses back on the actually important thing that Cece-Lia said. “Do they remember any of it? Any of the testimony?” Vi questions. This could be huge! If they know what their brother saw, then they could testify in his place! The trial might be able to continue!

Cece-Lia nods. “They say that they discussed everything with their brother, every bit of the incident that they witnessed.” She explains.

Vi needs to prove their innocence even more now! If she can get those guards to let her take them down to the courtroom, Kabbu might be able to push closer to proving Mothiva innocent! “Can you ask them about their brother’s murder? If they saw anyone?”

More talking, before the bug– Parsley?– begins to sniffle and cry again. “They said that they didn’t see any of it, their brother told them to hide when someone entered the room, and when they came out their brother was dead.” Cece-Lia explains.

Dang it… she shouldn’t have expected this to be simple, but she was really hoping that this would be an easy point-the-finger-at-someone-else kind of thing.

“And did they say how they got into the room in the first place?” Vi asks.

Cece-Lia shakes her head. “They just keep crying whenever I ask them questions like that… they might be too affected by the death of their brother to discuss the details of the incident just yet.” She says. So she’s going to have to figure out how Parsley climbed the wall as well…

“Keep trying to talk to them, if you can, and let me know if they say anything important. I’m going to go talk to those two and try to convince them to let us go to the courtroom, and if that doesn’t work, I’m going to have to prove Parsley innocent.” She explains, earning another nod from Cece-Lia. Vi approaches the two bugs next. Somewhere in the back of her head, she remembers that list Kabbu read off about shady activity at the BDL. These two were definitely mentioned… she should stay on her guard in case they try anything.

Thankfully she has her beemerang and can easily defend herself.

“Tennent, we need to stop entertaining this kid and get in there already! Even if she’s threatening to tell them, it’s your job to report this.” Saraha whispers, her voice sounding… really weird, but Vi can't place why.

Tennent shakes his head. “I’m not getting in trouble with the BDL again, I can’t go back to jail.” He whispers back.

“Don’t be a wimp! You know you won’t go to jail!” Saraha hisses.

“There’s still plenty of time to do my job. Have patience.” Tennent hisses.

Saraha yanks a silvery pocket watch out of one of her many pockets before shoving it in Tennent’s face. “Does this look like plenty of time? We’re gonna have ‘plenty of time’ in jail if you don’t get up and go!” She yell-whispers. It takes Vi a few more moments to realize why her voice sounds so weird, before she realizes that the guard isn’t speaking in her accent anymore.

“Hey, don’t you usually have an accent?” Vi asked, interrupting their whispering session.

The mantis jumps in surprise. “Huh?! What in the world are you sayin’? Of course I have an accent!” Saraha hisses, the accent returning. Thinking back, she also heard her accent slip earlier when Vi said she’d tattle on her. That’s weird, but she doesn’t really have time to poke into her business any further. “What’re you botherin’ us for, kid?” They ask.

“Don’t call me kid.” Vi hisses, before pointing back toward Parsley. “They said they didn’t commit the crime, and that they were told about the crime that’s in court below us. Is it okay if I take them down there so they can testify? I’ll bring them right back.” She says.

Saraha glares at her, gaze full of anger. “Absolutely not! As lon’ as that bu’ mi’te be a murderer, they ain’t ‘oin’ nowhere!” She hisses.

Welp, it was worth a shot asking. Now it’s time to interrogate them and figure out what they saw. Surely one of them had to have heard or seen something that could identify the culprit.

~Before the Murder~

“What were you two doing before the murder happened?” Vi asks.

“I was out on break, takin’ in some fresh air and all that. Lon’ shift today and yesterday.” Saraha explains.

“I was waiting for the witness to be ready to be moved to the courtroom. I hadn’t heard anything from them in a while.” Tennet adds, looking over his shoulder.

Vi frowns. “Why did they need a guard-for-hire in a courtroom? Shouldn’t the Queen’s have actual guards set up to make sure this doesn’t happen? And why weren’t you supervising the witness?” She questions.

“Hey hey! Way too many questions at once, ‘imme a moment.” Saraha huffs. “I was on break, like I told you. It was only five minutes lon’, so I didn’t expect anythin’ like this to happen. As for why I was hired here, I dunno. They just sent me a letter sayin’ I was needed in the courtroom today and when I ‘ot here I was told to ‘uard this door.” She explains.

Interesting… Vi can’t imagine why Queen Elizant, or any official really, would get a guard-for-hire to watch over a witness instead of their official guards. If they had trusted an actual professional… Basil probably wouldn’t be dead right now. “Could you tell me about what they told you to do?” Vi asks.

“Uh… sure, I don’t think that’s under contract. They told me to watch over that bu’, Basil Ore’ano or somethin’ like that, told me he was an important witness, and told me I had a five-minute break whenever I wanted to take it. I ‘uess I took the break at the wron’ time.” Saraha continues.

“Did either of you see anything suspicious?” Vi continues.

“Nothing. The only one that came in or out of that door while I was here was this guard, but she went on break a while ago, and you saw her return. On top of that, I heard no sounds coming from the room at any point.” Tennent says. “I tried the door, to see if the witness was okay, but it was locked, as you saw when the guard came back.” He continues. Vi nods. So Tennent was outside the room the entire time and didn’t see anything. Good to know that she probably doesn’t have to investigate the hallway too. She turns to look at Saraha.

“I was out on break, in the courtyard. I ran up here ri’te when I saw some bu’, that bu’ over in the corner no doubt, climbin’ up the wall to ‘et into the room. I yelled at them to ‘et down, but they didn’t listen.” Saraha explains.

“They just… climbed up the wall?” Vi asks.

“That’s what I saw, no clue how they did it.” Sarahah huffs.

Very interesting… she’ll have to check the area right outside the window, then. She’s very curious about how they managed to climb up a sheer brick wall… there are those little grooves in the bricks, but they don’t look nearly large enough to actually climb up.

She makes a note about their testimonies… they might be important in identifying the actual culprit, and the sooner she can do that, the sooner Parsley can get to the courtroom and tell everyone what Basil told them.

Approaching the crime scene again, she takes another, closer image. The four things that really stick out to her here are the open window, the victim, this broken chair sitting near the center of the room, and what looks to be a rope of some sort.

She decides to look at the rope first, because it seems the most out of place in this scene. It appears to be about thirty paces long, with the end of it being covered in mud. The opposite end of the rope is currently tied around the leg of a table. That’s… very weird. Who could have done this, and why? Thinking down the route of ‘the accused is the murderer’... maybe they brought a rope to escape out the room after they killed Basil? But if that’s the case, why is all of it in the room and not hanging out the window? The mud clearly shows that it was out the window at some point, and it doesn’t make sense for them to have pulled the rope back into the room if they were trying to escape. Maybe the victim threw the rope down and was trying to escape?

She isn’t sure but snaps a photo of it. She has a strong feeling that it’s going to be important.

Since she’s near the window, she examines it next. There’s nothing off about the window, besides the lack of bars. She looks out further, at the ground below her. There are some footprints in the dirt down below. What really catches her eyes, though, is a series of scratches running down the brick wall of the courthouse. She takes a photo of the whole scene, and the barless window. This must be what Saraha was talking about… but she still can’t wrap her head around how a bug managed to climb straight up a wall. She knows that there are tools for that, like the tools that Saraha has on both sides of her hips… but Basil’s maybe-brother doesn’t look like he has anything on him, much less climbing gear.

She moves on to the center of the room, where the victim’s body is, and where that broken chair is. She takes a photo of both of them close up before she starts messing with things.

Wanting to avoid touching a body for as long as possible, Vi approaches the broken chair next. The only really broken part about it is that one of the legs has been torn off, and the end of the chair leg is bloody, with the other end having a muddy handprint on it… maybe this was a murder weapon? With how it’s broken, someone could probably be stabbed with it, or hit on the head with it, and the handprint definitely supports the idea that someone was holding it. She’ll have to examine the body to get any concrete evidence.

The final piece of evidence that she can see in this room is the witness’s body… Basil Cilantro. They’ve definitely been moved from where they were attacked thanks to his sibling moving him around, so she isn’t going to be able to gather anything from that. She also isn’t an official detective, or someone capable of performing an autopsy. He could have died of some disease, or poison, or even old age, she doesn’t know, but she can try to look at his wounds and make a guess that way?

Looking closer at the body, the victim has only two visible wounds: one in a shallow cut across their hand and the other is a deep stab wound in their upper chest. That wound could be caused by the chair leg since it’s a bit broken at the bloody end, but she doubts that the cut on the witness’s hand could be caused by the chair, and the fresh blood on it probably points to something else being the murder weapon.

She doesn’t know, and she’s honestly getting a bit queasy from looking at this body. She might be fine with blood… but this is something else completely.

She does one more look around the room, in case there’s a weapon or something hidden in some nook or cranny. She doesn’t find anything. If a knife was used in this murder, it must not be in the room anymore. At the very least, she’s certain that this table leg, despite looking a lot like a murder weapon and having blood on it, is probably not the murder weapon.

That’s everything in the room… or at least she thinks it is. Now she just has to prove Parsley innocent and get them to the courtroom. Kabbu is going to need this testimony, she just knows it. Everyone is counting on her.

Chapter Text

All she has to do is convince Saraha and Tennent that Parsley didn’t kill Basil, which shouldn’t be very difficult, she has all of the evidence at the crime scene, the only thing that’s worrying her is that she has no clue who the actual culprit could be, and if she doesn’t find that culprit, her friends and family might be in danger.

“I’ve finished investigating the crime scene.” Vi announces.

“Eh? Already?” Saraha asks, before squinting at Vi. “And why’re you tellin’ us? Ain’t you supposed to ‘o write a report on it for their trial now?” She questions.

Vi shakes her head. “I’m sure that this bug isn’t guilty, and that the actual murderer is still somewhere around here.” She explains. “On top of that, Parsley is needed in the trial downstairs, they need to be taken there.”

“Parsley, huh? Is that that murderers name?” Saraha hisses. “It don’t matter, I already told you, I ain’t lettin’ that criminal ‘o anywhere but to jail! If you put a murderer in a room full of people, they’re ‘onna start hurtin’ people!” She argues.

“So, I need to prove they aren’t guilty before you start looking around for the actual murderer and let us go?” Vi asks.

Saraha squints at her. “The only reason I’d allow that bu’ to leave is if there’s a certainty they didn’t do it, and I ain’t ‘onna say that any more times!” She hisses.

That’s simple enough, Vi just has to argue with her until she’s convinced, and then Parsley can go, and they might be able to hunt down who actually murdered the witness.

“Cece-Lia, could you translate what’s going on to Parsley? If they have anything to say, it could be a really big help to prove their innocence.” Vi requests, to which Cece-Lia agrees. She turns back to the guard-for-hire “I’m going to convince you that they’re innocent, and I’m going to get Parsley down to that courtroom, no matter what. I need you to tell me exactly why you think they murdered the witness!” She demands.

—Parsley’s Guilt—

“This is stupid. And a complete waste of time to boot.” Saraha hisses. “I know they did this, cause I saw them scramblin’ up the wall into this room, leavin’ all those scratch marks. I saw it with my own two eyes!” She continues. “Not to mention, there ain’t any other chances someone could have ‘otten into this room, it was locked, you saw it,” Saraha explains. “If not them, who could it possibly be? There ain’t no escape from this room but drop from the second story.” She concludes.

“So you think Parsley killed the witness because you saw someone that kind of looked like them climb up into the window?” Vi asks.

“Yes! What other conclusion am I supposed to make from that?” The guard-for-hire hisses.

That’s definitely fair, Vi was really hoping it would be more outlandish like some of the things that the prosecution claims. Those are usually pretty easy to disprove… but as long as Saraha saw that bug crawling up the side of the building, she’s going to keep assuming it’s Parsley, and as long as she’s assuming it’s Parsley, she isn’t going to let them go. Well, then Vi just has to find some way to put another bug in this room. That’s really all there is to it. Though as simple as it sounds… this definitely isn’t going to be easy. She has Cece-Lia to cheer her on, though, and the accused to give her information where they have it.

And if worst comes to worst… she can just try and fight these two and let Cece-Lia make a break for it to get Parsley to the courtroom. She hopes it won’t come to that.

—Rebuttal—

(This is stupid. And a complete waste of time to boot)

“This isn’t a waste of time at all! And it isn’t stupid! This is what real investigators do!” Vi argues.

“How is this not stupid? I ain’t a member of the law, I ain’t a lawyer, I’m a ‘uard who’s supposed to make sure no one’s committin’ crimes. Someone just committed a crime! It’s my job to take them away!” Saraha argues back.

“It's not your job to take them away because they obviously didn’t commit the crime! And if you were really trying to stop people from committing crimes, then you’d be searching around the courthouse for the real murderer! They could be attacking people in the courtroom right now!” Vi reasons.

“That ain’t my problem. My job ends once this fool is in cuffs.” Saraha explains. “And also, I don’t even wanna hear an ar’ument about this not bein’ a waste of time. Look at the time! All of this arguin' is sendin' it straight down the drain!” She hisses, pulling her pocket watch back out and shoving it in Vi’s face.

It’s hard to see the time when the watch is this close to her face, but it looks like it reads five-o’-five.

“You see what time it is? It’s past five o'clock! The witness was supposed to be out there at four fifty! We’re ‘onna ‘et in so much trouble if they don’t learn that the witness is dead ri’te now!!” Saraha yells.

“We’ll tell the courtroom that the witness is dead when we go down there with Parsley.” Vi says.

“NO! That bu’ ain’t ‘oin’ down there! Period! End of story!” Saraha growls.

That leaves them at a standstill. Thinking about the courtroom right below them, she can’t imagine what’s going on right now. Maybe Kabbu is still arguing to K, maybe they’re taking a recess. Regardless, they need Parsley, or K is going to end up being the only witness to testify, and the trial isn’t going to go anywhere.

She needs to move on with the testimony and find a contradiction quickly!

(I know they did this, cause I saw them scramblin’ up the wall into this room, leavin’ all those scratch marks. I saw it with my own two eyes)

“You’re sure that the bug you saw climbing up the wall was Parsley?” Vi asks.

“Yes, I’m absolutely sure. I was starin’ at them for a ‘ood few seconds as they did it before I realized what I was seein’. And I know who I was lookin’ at!” Saraha explains.

Parsley suddenly whispers something to Cece-Lia, which she then says out loud in Bugish. “They say that they can’t climb.” She says.

“And how exactly are they claimin’ they ‘ot up here, then?” Saraha asks.

Parsley whispers again, before repeating it a few times as Cece-Lia’s face scrunches up. “I… I’m afraid I can’t say, I’m not sure what they’re trying to say, I’ve never heard that word before. I’m very sorry.” She explains.

“That’s just backpedlin’! Y’all are realizin’ you don’t have a real ar’ument.” Saraha huffs, crossing her arms. She’s really sure about Parsley climbing up the wall… that’s probably not something Vi is going to be able to disprove.

“How do you think they got up the wall, then? I know some bugs can naturally climb, and others like you have tools for climbing, but this bug doesn’t have either of those. They have no claws, and no wings. I can’t see how they’d be able to get up this solid brick wall.” Vi argues.

“There’s a number of explanations.” Saraha answers, crossing her arms.

…

Vi wilts slightly after several moments of silence. “Could you… explain what those explanations are?” She requests.

“Uh, sure. Firstly, some bu’s have hidden thin’, like retractable claws, or tiny win’s hidden under shell. I dunno what this bu’ is, so I ain’t certain if they have win’s or claws or not, and as lon’ as it ain’t disproven, it’s a possibility.” Saraha explains.

“Does Parsley have hidden claws? Or wings?” Vi asks.

“They say they don’t.” Cece-Lia replies.

“And they could pretty easily lie about that. Can’t trust a murderer to tell the truth in any situation, not even about themselves.” Saraha hisses. Well… Vi doesn’t really have an argument against that, she has no clue if Parsley is telling the truth, and without the information of what exactly they are, she can’t say for certain that they don’t have claws or winds.

“What’s the second explanation?” Vi asks, hoping for something a bit easier to disprove.

“Well, they coulda brou’t climin’ tools, and after usin’ them to ‘et up into the room, they chucked them out the window somewhere out of si’te.” Saraha explains.

“They… huh?” Vi asks, completely bewildered. Not a single word of that makes sense at all! “If they had climbing gear, why wouldn’t they have just left the room out the window they climbed through?” She questions.

“Cause I came in at the perfect time to catch them in the act! They didn’t have a moment of time to ‘et out of here.” Saraha says confidently.

“Then… if they didn’t have time to leave the room, how did they have time to throw their tools away from here? And how did they make sure their tools wouldn’t be visible?” Vi asks.

Saraha grimaces at Vi. “Listen, kid. I don’t know, I’m not the investi’ator here. But I am a ‘uard-for-hire, and I’ve seen people throw thin’s just perfectly so that they disappear. I’m just saying that it’s definitely possible, and since you ain’t doin’ a thin’ in the world to prove me wron’, I’m fairly certain it’s what happened.” She says.

But… that idea is complete nonsense! There’s no way that that’s actually what happened, she just can’t believe that! Vi is so taken back by the complete stupidity of that statement that she doesn’t even register that Saraha called her ‘kid’ again. Regardless of the ridiculousness of what Saraha is saying, she seems completely convinced that that’s what happened, and as long as she’s convinced, Vi isn’t making any progress. But how is she supposed to make progress? Saraha isn’t really settling on a single explanation, she’s just saying what could have happened and getting upset when Vi says that it doesn’t make sense.

(Not to mention, there ain’t any other chances someone could have ‘otten into this room, it was locked, you saw it)

“I know that it was locked, but are there any other ways into the room? Any secret passageways or anything like that?” Vi asks.

“Secret passa’eways?! Are you dumb? No! There ain’t no secret passa’eways!” Saraha hisses. “And instead of askin’, look around! There ain’t any other entrance into this room but that locked door and that window, which I saw them ‘o throu’.” She explains.

“Are there any other keys to the room? Like any way that someone else could have gained entry even though the room was locked?” Vi questions.

“Ah… uh, I’m certain there is. We’re in a courthouse, this is a le’al buildin’, I’m sure they have plenty of spare keys, but there ain’t no proof any of them were used!” Saraha argues.

“It is not possible. I was outside this room the entire time, no one even went close to the door.” Tennent interjects. Dang it… they were so silent that she had completely forgotten about them being here.

On top of that, she can’t think of any other ways someone could get into this room. No passageways, no extra doors, no entrance through the door… it really seems like the only way they could have come in is through the window.

This argument is going a lot worse than she expected it to be. She might have to consider that fight… or at the very least, she might have to return to Kabbu without a witness. What will they do? Will that just be the end of the trial, with K’s testimony being the only evidence, and all of it pointing to Mothiva being guilty?

She isn’t sure, and she isn’t sure what kind of result that would bring. Even if it is a not guilty verdict, what does that do for anyone? Mothiva gets to go home, everyone’s happy, but Eetl is still dead, and without Parsley’s testimony, the killer might get away.

Vi can’t give up, she needs to get to the bottom of this and get Parsley to that courtroom so he can tell everyone what their brother told them. She needs to keep pushing on, and she needs to find the truth.

(If not them, who could it possibly be? There ain’t no escape from this room but drop from the second story)

“A drop that far definitely doesn’t seem safe, and it would probably hurt someone's legs and maybe make it hard to walk, but it wouldn’t kill them! They’d still be able to get away from the crime scene!” Vi argues.

“And you think someone would just jump out a window with no plan? That’d be stupid, they don’t know how hard they’re ‘onna hit the ‘round, it very well could have broken both their le’s and they wouldn’t be able to ‘et away. There’s no sense in jumpin’ out a window from this hei’t.” Saraha argues back.

“But they’d get arrested if they stayed in the room! It would only make sense to jump and try to get away from the scene!” Vi continues.

Saraha shakes her head. “And if you did that, you’d end up down there in the mud with two broken le’s. Listen, kid, I know plenty about people, I’ve worked around stupid folk durin’ my whole time ‘uardin’. It don’t matter how much someone thinks they’re ‘onna ‘et cau’t, if they think they’re ‘onna hurt themselves by doin’ somethin’, they usually won’t.” She explains.

“Stop calling me kid.” Vi hisses. “And what about if they were going to go to jail? I’m certain someone would do something stupid to avoid being caught doing something illegal!” She argues.

“Maybe if someone was really scared about ‘oin’ to jail, but this 'uy doesn't seem scared at all.” Saraha says. Vi looks back at Parsley, who's still shaking and crying. They're so obviously terrified that she can't understand how Saraha could come to that conclusion.

This is just getting frustrating! At every opportunity and possibility, she just says no and gives some weak response as to why it isn’t so. It wouldn’t make sense for anyone to climb up to a second story window to get into a room and kill someone! If someone does that, they clearly have no sense, and they’d probably be completely willing to jump out a window to avoid pursuit!

She wishes K or Zasp were here, she’d much rather be arguing with them than with Saraha. Even though they can be annoying sometimes, at least they have to try to make sense!

Well… she’s at the end of the testimony and she hasn’t come up with any groundbreaking revelations… she usually has something at this point, but everything that Saraha suggested seems unreasonable and unlikely, easily disproven by common sense. How is she supposed to argue against someone who isn't trying to actually find the truth?

“Detective Vi, is everything alright?” Cece-Lia asks.

“Not really, I’m not doing very well. I have no clue how I’m supposed to prove Parsley innocent.” Vi explains. “I’ve gone through everything, and I’ve tried explaining what could have happened, but nothings working.” She sighs.

“Well, maybe I could provide some advice? I was a bit too busy crying during my trial to pay attention to how your legal system works, but I’m sure I can find some way to help.” She offers.

“I don’t think advice can really help me, I just don’t know what to do. She just keeps saying things that could have happened, but none of them make sense, and then when I say something, she just says ‘no’ and stops talking.” Vi explains.

“Hmmm… that does seem frustrating.” Cece-Lia hums. “Perhaps you should just try and find a single, good possibility? One that seems more likely than the rest, and then keep arguing that? If you argue it enough, she might start believing it over her nonsensical explanations.” Cece-Lia proposes.

Suggest a good possibility? That’s what she’s been trying to do this entire time!! Though, Cece-Lia’s advice does make her realize that she isn’t thinking through this in the right way. She’s completely forgotten that she isn’t arguing with K, she isn’t trying to find the absolute truth of the incident, she just needs to convince Saraha to let them go.

They aren’t legal experts, and she isn’t trying to get this to go to court. She just needs something that shines through all the nonsense, and she might be able to convince Saraha.

“I’m going to try and make up a good explanation.” Vi announces. She doesn’t have many ideas, but with a few good minutes of thinking, she might be able to come up with something that makes sense.

(I know they did this, cause I saw them scramblin’ up the wall into this room, I saw it with my own two eyes)

“What you’re claiming to have seen is wrong!” Vi announces after a few minutes of thinking to herself. She has one idea, one explanation that might be able to break apart what Saraha is claiming. If she can argue it well enough, then this might be all she needs!

“How is… huh?! How is it wron’?” Saraha asks, flinching slightly.

“Because Parsley wouldn’t have needed to scramble up the wall! If he’s telling the truth about the witness being his brother, then it wouldn’t make any sense for Basil to leave him to try and scale a brick wall on his own. Basil would have definitely brought something to help him get up.” Vi explains. “And that something… was this rope! As you can see, one end of the rope is tied around the leg of a chair, and the other is covered in mud. This is proof that the rope was, at some point, hanging out the window! Parsley would have had no reason to crawl up the wall because he already had an easy way to get up!” Vi argues.

“Hey! A rope being muddy and tied around a table le’ ain’t proof that the witness wanted this murderer up here! It’s possible that they set up the rope after the murder to try and ‘et away!” Saraha explains.

Vi shakes her head. “That’s not possible. The mud on the end means that the rope had already been hanging out the window, but right now it’s completely pulled into the room. If Parsley had been trying to use it to escape, then the rope would be out the window, and they’d already be long gone!” She argues.

Saraha recoils, sweat running down her forehead. “But… that doesn’t…” She mutters.

“And if Basil had thrown down the rope, then it would make perfect sense why it would be pulled in now! His brother had gotten up into the room, and if someone saw a rope hanging out of a window, they might get concerned and Parsley could get in trouble for being somewhere he wasn’t supposed to be.” Cece-Lia explains.

“That… no! That’s nonsense!” Saraha hisses.

“It makes perfect sense! If Parsley is the culprit, then there’s no reason for this murder to have occurred! You have to admit it, Parsley is innocent!” Vi exclaims.

Saraha stutters, trying to find some sort of argument but failing. For a few moments, Vi also thinks that that’s it, that she’s successfully proven their innocence, but she should have known that it wasn’t over yet. “Hold it! I… I’ve fi’ured it out! There’s more, I still have more reasons! I know for sure that this bu’ is the killer, and I’m not lettin’ them ‘et away that easily!” Parsley growls.

Chapter Text

“You aren’t done yet?!” Vi asks. What more could they have to argue about? There’s no reason for Parsley to kill his brother if his brother had made a way for him to get up into the room! How could she possibly explain all of that away?

“It’s real simple! Maybe they were siblin’s, and maybe this ‘Parsley’ fellow was let up here, but that ain’t mean nothin’! Once they were in the room, the two ‘ot into a fi’te that led to the witness’s death!” Saraha explains, a smug look on her face.

“That— you can’t seriously think that!” Vi hisses.

“Nah, I don’t think it, I know it! It’s the only sensible thin’ that could have happened.” Saraha says.

“I’m almost certain that isn’t what happened, though! Parsley said that they didn’t fight with their brother! That they would never, and they don’t seem like the type of bug to lie!” Cece-Lia argues.

Saraha shrugs. “What difference does your opinion make? You don’t know them, you just met them! For all you know, they could be the bi’'est liar in all of Bu’aria!” She hisses. “And there ain’t any evidence of what really went down in here, so there ain’t a thin’ in the world you could ar’ue. My theory is as solid as this courthouse.”

Vi’s certain that that isn’t what happened here, and for the sake of Kabbu and Mothiva, she really needs Saraha to be wrong. If Parsley is taken to jail, then their witness testimony is gone, and there really isn’t any way to move the trial forward or figure out who really killed Eetl.

“That small detail completely changes what you’ve been arguing up until this point! If you’re going to change your theory on what happened, then you need to give a whole new argument!” Vi demands.

“A whole new—?! I don’t have time for a whole new ar’ument! We ‘ot places to be!” Saraha hisses.

“If either of you try to leave before we’re done here, Parsley is going with you, straight to that courtroom!” Vi warns, causing Saraha to recoil and Tennent to flinch slightly.

“Why… you…! You think you’re so smart for this, you ain’t! This is the last ar’ument you’re ‘ettin’, and then this Parsley kid is ‘oin’ to jail, and we’re ‘oin’ to the courtroom! Do you hear me?” Saraha growls.

One more argument, that’s all Vi has to prove Parsley’s innocence without a doubt. She can do this!

—Parsley’s Guilt, Revised—

“You’re ‘onna ‘et the both of us in a hell of a lot of trouble for keepin’ us here this lon’, first of all,” Saraha hisses. “Secondly, the fact that I mis-saw somethin’ ain’t mean nothin’ for this. There’s still only one possible culprit,” She continues. “Maybe the two ‘ot into an ar’ument and the Parsley kid used that chair le’ to kill his brother, I dunno, but there’s a lot of explanations that don’t involve anyone else,” Saraha reasons. “What I do know is that it don’t matter how much you ar’ue, you ain’t ‘onna chan’e my mind.” She concludes.

“I know that there’s another possible culprit! There has to be!” Vi immediately argues as soon as Saraha stops talking.

“Stop sayin’ that! You ain’t ‘ot an ounce of proof of what you’re claimin’, and you certainly don’t ‘ot anyone else to point the fin’er at.” Saraha argues back.

That’s true. She has no clue who could possibly be responsible for the murder, but she has to keep pressing on! If she keeps pointing out and breaking down contradictions, she’ll arrive at the truth of what happened before long, and once she knows what really happened, the clues should lead right to who’s actually responsible.

She doesn’t have time to waste, she needs to get to the bottom of this now!

—Rebuttal—

(You’re ‘onna ‘et the both of us in a hell of a lot of trouble for keepin’ us here this lon’, first of all)

“Why would I care if you get in trouble? You’re the one stopping me from continuing the trial!” Vi argues.

“We ain’t doin’ no such thin’! You’re the one stoppin’ us from continuin’ the trial! We have a death to report, you ‘ot some random kid that climbed in throu’ a window! And a kid who just killed someone no less!” Saraha argues back.

“They aren’t some random kid! They’re the witness’s brother, and they came here to discuss the murder with him! If there’s anyone still alive that knows what happened, it would be them! They need to testify!” Vi says.

Saraha hisses at Vi in response, before pulling out her pocket watch again. “You have no idea how late we are, we could ‘o to jail for this! Because you’re too busy sitting on your high sta’ to let us do our jobs!” She says, before showing the watch to Tennent who grimaces.

“I would let you go back to the courtroom if you let me bring them in to testify.” Vi reasons.

“NO! They're a murderer, and dan’erous! You’d have to be the bi’'est idiot in Bu’aria to try and brin’ a murderer into a room that crowded! Someone WILL ‘et hurt!” Saraha hisses.

“And you’re a guard! It’s your job to protect people, you should easily be able to escort him there and make sure no one gets hurt.” Vi says, to which Saraha crosses her arms and refuses to respond. She understands the hesitation at bringing someone she still suspects as being a murderer into a crowded room, but this is ridiculous! She’s just arguing for the sake of arguing at this point!

Saraha turns to Tennent. “Please, Tennent, just make a run for it. I promise I’ll keep them here, you just ‘otta ‘et to that courtroom.” She pleads.

“I will not. Regardless of how real of a detective Vi is, this is not something I am willing to risk.” Tennent huffs. “I have been to jail once, I will not be going back. I have too much to lose.”

“Are you kidding me?! What is she going to do, slap some kiddie handcuffs on you and take you to time out?” Saraha hisses, her accent slipping again for a few seconds.

The more Vi hears her slip up on her accent, the more she has to wonder… is the accent fake? If it is fake, why would she go through all the trouble to try and speak like that? It just doesn’t make much sense… though again it really isn’t Vi’s place to question why a bug talks the way they do.

Especially not when she has more testimony to go through.

(Secondly, the fact that I mis-saw somethin’ ain’t mean nothin’ for this. There’s still only one possible culprit)

“But you said that you clearly saw Parsley crawling up the wall! No where did you mention a rope!” Vi argues.

“Yeah, and I’m sayin’ I just saw wron’. The moment I saw them climbin’ up the wall, I ran up here. I didn’t actually take any time to stare at him, I was mistaken about that earlier. I was in a hurry to make sure the witness would be okay.” Saraha explains. “But that ain’t the bi’ takeaway here! My main point is that there wasn’t another soul in that room who could have done the killin’. It was only the victim and the killer.” She continues.

“We don’t know that there was no one else! There are definitely ways that someone else could have gotten in here and killed someone!” Vi argues.

“Possibilities like what?” Saraha asks, squinting at Vi.

“Well, you were pretty certain you saw someone crawling up the wall, maybe the rope ladder came before and you missed it, and then you saw the actual murder climbing up the wall!” Vi reasons.

“Nope, none of that has any evidence to back it up.” Saraha says, shaking her head.

“W-what do you mean there’s no evidence?! There are scratch marks up the wall!” Vi hisses.

“Maybe they were already there. And plus, as I said, I miss-saw what happened, I saw someone climbin’ up a rope, which doesn’t leave any time for someone to crawl up the wall..” Saraha says with a shrug.

"I didn't see any scratch marks when I came into the courtroom." Vi sighs.

"That's an unreliable claim, how can I know you ain't lyin'?" Saraha refutes.

“I’m… very confused. Did a bug crawl up the wall, or not?” Cece-Lia asks with a frown. “Because she’s saying that there was no time for someone to crawl up the wall and leave those marks, but those marks obviously exist.”

“I’m not sure, but I’m pretty sure that someone did crawl up the wall. I think the scratch marks are a sign of that, but I’m not sure, I’m still struggling to imagine what made them to begin with, I can’t imagine someone just crawled up the wall without tools, though.” Vi explains.

“Tools like what Saraha has?” Cece-Lia asks.

“Um… possibly. Hey, are mantis claws common? I haven’t seen many in Bugaria before.” Vi asks.

“Of course they’re common, anyone who’s ever ‘one climbin’ has a pair, it ain’t easy to get up cliffs without them.” Saraha explains.

Vi nods. “So it could be possible that someone used those mantis claws to climb up the wall, and then jumped down after the murder.” She theorizes.

Saraha shakes her head again. “That just ain’t possible, I’m tellin’ you, that fall is too far.” She denies.

“Then maybe they used the tools to also get down?” Vi asks.

“Nah, not enough claw marks for two trips.” Saraha denies again.

Vi lets out an exhausted sigh. She isn’t getting anywhere with this train of thought, and proposing ideas to Saraha is going to drive her insane.

At the very least, she’s pretty sure that the claw marks were made by a bug using tools to climb up the wall, and assuming that Saraha was actually talking sense when she talked about the amount of scar marks, then she might be able to determine that there was only one trip. That’s a lead, she just needs to figure out where it goes, how the bug got down after using the tools to get up.

(Maybe the two ‘ot into an ar’ument and the Parsley kid used that chair le’ to kill his brother, I dunno, but there’s a lot of explanations that don’t involve anyone else)

“You’re saying that they attacked each other?” Vi asks.

“Well, it’s a theory, the most likely one at the moment.” Saraha explains.

“But— that’s not believable at all!” Vi exclaims. “You said that you ran up here as soon as you saw a bug climbing up into the window, if that was Parsley, then there would have been no time for an argument!” She argues.

“As I said before, I mi’te have just mis-seen somethin’, there mi’te have never been a bu’ climbin’ in throu’ that window at all, so maybe that Parsley kid snuck in a while before I ran up here. That woulda ‘iven them plenty of time to fi’te.” Saraha argues back.

“But then what about Tennent? He was right outside of the room the entire time, if they had started fighting, then he should have heard it!” Vi continues

“You’d be surprised how quickly an ar’ument can escalate, kid. Sometimes so fast that you don’t ‘et a chance to hear it before it’s over.” Saraha says.

“That— what? That doesn’t make any sense!” Vi whines.

“Also… I was not focused on listening in on them, I probably missed the argument.” Tennent says, looking at Vi over his shoulder. That makes a lot more sense than what Saraha was trying to say, but still! It's unbelievable that he managed to miss an entire argument just because it wasn’t paying attention!

“There are still more problems with that idea, if a fight really had broken out, then shouldn’t there have been some sign of a struggle? At least something more than a single broken chair.” Vi questions.

“Listen, I ain’t a crime scene professional, I don’t know what a struggle looks like or what it doesn't. What I do know is that you can’t rule it out, and that there’s more evidence towards it than towards anything else.” Saraha shrugs.

“What evidence points towards it being a fight?” Vi asks.

“Well, it’s pretty simple when you look at it. If you look at that chair le' over there, it's 'ot some blood on it, and there bein' blood on it points towards it bein’ the murder weapon.” Saraha explains.

“And… how does that prove that a fight happened?” Vi questions.

“Cause if any other bu’ came in here to kill someone, they’d brin’ a real weapon. An improvised weapon means they were unprepared, and the most likely explanation for an unprepared killer is someone who ‘ot a bit too invested in a ar'ument.” Saraha says.

That… kind of makes sense? Or arguing with Saraha is starting to rot her brain. Either way, the murder weapon being the chair leg might be detrimental to her argument, there really is no reason for someone to try and murder someone without a weapon prepared. If she can’t disprove that argument, she might be in a lot of trouble.

…

Wait a moment… she had been so caught up about the fight part that she didn’t even notice that she CAN disprove that argument! There’s a very clear contradiction between what Saraha is arguing and the evidence of the scene!

(Maybe the two ‘ot into an ar’ument and the Parsley kid used that chair le’ to kill his brother, I dunno, but there’s a lot of explanations that don’t involve anyone else)

“Hold it!” Vi yells. “This claim is directly contradictory to the state of the body!”

“In what way?” Saraha asks, squinting at Vi. “I’ve seen the body, the witness died from a stab wound right to the chest. A chair le’ could do that.” She says.

“A chair leg could do the fatal attack, but that’s not the important thing here! If you look at the victim’s hand, you’ll see that it’s cut open! The wound looks fresh, and a chair leg couldn’t have made a cut that deep and that thin!” Vi explains.

“And what does any of that mean?” Saraha hisses.

“It means that the murder weapon has to be a blade, and since there’s no blade on the scene of the crime that means that the actual weapon is missing! That means that the murderer left the crime scene!” Vi argues.

“That doesn’t mean a thin’! I… they could’ve thrown the knife out the window, it’s probably hidden down in the bushes somewhere!” Saraha reasons.

“Then why don’t we all head down there to look through the bushes? If we find a knife, then I’d believe that Parsley might have committed the murder, but if there’s no knife, then that means that they’re innocent!” Vi exclaims.

Saraha lets out a hiss, squeezing the silvery pocket watch in her hand so tightly that it shatters, sending shards of glass, gears and springs flying everywhere, which the mantis quickly scurries to regather. “I… I won’t let that happen! That’s too dan’erous! And I’m still certain that no one coulda ‘otten down from here without injurin’ themselves! I’m tellin’ you, that’s a promise!” She yells.

Seriously?? After everything that Vi’s proven, she still won’t accept that it just couldn’t have been Parsley? At this point, she’s actively denying it. If she hadn’t threatened to attack Vi, she’d just leave. “What do I have to do to get you to just let us go already? This is a complete waste of time!” Vi whines.

Saraha grimaces. “You seem competent enough, so tell me how the killer ‘ot out of this room.” She says. “I was outside the buildin’, he was outside the door, where could a murderer have possibly ‘one?”

Dammit… Vi has no clue how to proceed. This isn’t testimony, this is a flat-out question that she doesn’t know the answer to, and she doesn’t feel like she can answer it without pointing a finger. But how is it possible? She could theoretically point the finger at one of them, it's possible that Saraha could have climbed up through the window and then went back down, or Tennent could have entered the room and then left. The only issue is that that isn’t possible at all. Saraha has the key, so Tennent couldn’t have entered the room. There’s only one line of scratch marks on the wall, so Saraha couldn’t have made two trips, and with how sure she is that the fall would hurt someone, she doesn’t think the guard would be willing to have jumped.

Where does that lead Vi, though? They had sights on both of the entrances to the crime scene, and neither of them could have done this alone… but who says they had to have done this alone?

An idea quickly forms in Vi’s head. The only explanation that might really make sense is that this wasn’t the work of one bug, but two! Saraha could have slipped into the room while Tennent turned a blind eye, done the killing, and then slipped back out. Together they’d have a perfect alibi, and since her and Tennent are seemingly completely unrelated, no one would suspect that they’d be working together… but they are connected! Through that list Mothiva gave them.

“I’ve figured it out.” Vi announces. “Not just how the murderer got into the room and got down, but I’ve figured out exactly who the killers are.”

“Killers?” Tennent questions, squinting at her.

“What in the world are you on about?” Saraha hisses.

“This crime couldn’t have been done alone. There are only two exits, and with you two placed on either side of them, the killer would have had to pass one of you, but according to your statements, they didn’t, which would mean it HAD to be Parsley. But the second and much likelier option is that one of you killed the witness!” Vi explains.

Tennent and Saraha recoil. “A-are you out of your damn mind, kid? You’re pointin’ the fin’er at one of us?” Saraha hisses.

Vi shakes her head. “Not just one of you, both of you. There aren’t enough claw marks for someone to have gone up and down, and the fact that you still have the key on you means that Tennent couldn’t have done it on his own. The only possible explanation is that one of you went around in a loop! You unlocked the door, someone went in and relocked it, before killing the witness, climbing down the wall, and running back to their position to pretend like nothing had happened! It was both of you, working together to try and create an alibi and push blame onto Parsley!” She concludes.

“That’s ridiculous! Why would I kill some random witness to some random murder? And I don’t even know this fool, why in the world would I collaborate to kill someone with him?!” Saraha yells.

“The only time I have seen this bug before was during that trial in the gallery. I would not kill someone, and I wouldn’t assist someone I don’t know in doing the deed.” Tennent hisses.

“Both of those questions can be answered with this list!” Vi says, presenting a copy of the list that Mothiva had given her. “I have a statement from the defendant in the trial downstairs, which states that both of you had been receiving money from the BDL. You met each other there, and you were paid to work together to commit this murder!” Vi accuses.

Tennent recoils again, while Saraha squeezes her pocket watch so tightly that it breaks again. “That… that… that ain’t proof at all! If you’re ‘onna make an accusation like that… you better back it up with some evidence!” Saraha yells.

That’s all Vi needs to prove this, some sort of evidence that links them to the crime, and she already knows just what to use! Vi pulls the bottle of blood-detection spray out from her bag. She doesn’t know which one of them killed the victim, or even if the killer got any blood on them, and with the murder weapon gone, she can’t check that either. However, a certain warning from Professor Neo sits at the top of her mind. This stuff isn’t perfect, he gave her an entire list of different substances that would cause it to light up, even if there wasn’t any blood.

...

‘There… are a few false positives though, like swamp water, aspid bile, bee spit, some types of poisons, brick powder, and any paints that are the color Navy Blue #2E2252. Among possibly countless other things that I haven’t tested yet!’

...

“What in the world is that?” Saraha hisses, looking down at the spray bottle.

“It's what's going to finally prove your guilt and prove that one of you is responsible for Basil’s death!” Vi announces, before spraying the bottle on Saraha’s mantis claws. Sure enough, after only a few moments of waiting, the claws on both of them start to glow.

“What in the—?! What is this stuff?” Saraha growls.

“It’s a blood detection spray, and while it’s supposed to only detect blood, it also detects a bunch of other stuff, among them being brick powder! Saraha, the only reason that there’d be brick powder on your mantis claws was if they’d been recently used to climb down the side of this building!” Vi accuses.

Saraha grits her mandibles, as if she’s about to say something else, as if she’s trying as hard as she can to come up with a counter argument, but she comes up with nothing. Vi’s finally won, now there’s no one left to stand between them and the courtroom! Parsley can finally testify and Kabbu will be able to proceed with the trial and prove Mothiva innocent.

The one thing she hadn’t seen coming, though, was that they wouldn’t take her accusation laying down. Saraha suddenly pulls her mantis claw out from her belt and swings, hitting Cece-Lia and knocking her to the ground, before grabbing Vi by the fluff around her neck.

“Dammit, kid! You couldn’t just shut up and let us get away with it! You just had to keep pushing and ruin everything! Do you know how much you’ve messed up? Do you have any clue how much danger we’re in now?!” The mantis yells, her accent now completely gone from her voice. “Tennent! Quick, grab those two! We can’t let them escape or everything will be ruined!”

“Wh-what?! What’s going on? Let go of me!” Vi hisses, trying to get free. She… she had been so caught up in proving their guilt that it hadn’t even occurred to her how much danger she was in. She hadn’t just been trying to prove a bug’s innocence, she had been arguing with a pair of murderers, right above a loud courtroom where no one would be able to hear her.

“You think I’d let you go after how much you’ve ruined!? You’ve ruined my job, knocked me off my schedule, and now you’re trying to ruin my life! You even ruined my pocket watch! That costs hundreds of berries!” Saraha hisses.

Vi suddenly realizes two things. First, she begins to realize why the voice she’s hearing sounds so weird. It’s not just because the accent is gone, it’s because Saraha’s voice is so familiar! She’s heard it before, and there’s only one place she could have heard it. The second realization hits her just a moment later. The voice, the violence, the pocket watch. She remembers what Anna had told them during Astotheles’s trial, about the weird bandits with the pocket watch. If those bandits and the ones from the gallery are one in the same— then…!

She realizes even more now, just how dangerous her situation is. These two are completely willing to hurt her, they’ve threatened bugs in the past, they’ve attacked her twice, and they nearly killed her.

“You… you’re the bugs that attacked me in the art gallery! And you’re the bandits from Astotheles’s trial!” Vi gasps.

“Oh my gods! When are you gonna learn to shut up, kid? If you thought you were in trouble before you’re in a hell of a lot more now!” Saraha hisses, and for a moment she looks away from Vi to mutter curses under her voice, and Vi see’s the perfect opportunity to try and fight back. She looks down at her bag which is still dangling from its strap on her shoulder, her boomerang sticking out of it.

“But I heard both of those bandits speak, though, and neither of them had accents!” Vi yells, trying her best to keep Saraha distracted so that she might be able to reach the beemerang.

“The accent was a lie! I’ve been making it up this whole time cause I thought it sounded cool!” Saraha hisses. “Tennent! What did I tell you?! Go grab them, now!” She demands, looking over at the albino termite.

Tennent shifts slightly, leaning slightly away. “This is falling apart, Saraha. This might be our one chance to escape. The money isn’t something worth killing for, the pardon neither.” He says.

“NO! Don’t you dare leave, you idiot! You know I need this money, if you leave you’re practically killing me!” Saraha yells, but Tennent doesn’t listen. He turns and runs, quickly exiting the room. “Dammit… dammit! Don’t you try and make a run for it, kid, or I’ll kill you as well!” She hisses, pointing her mantis claw at Parsley.

Parsley doesn’t move, continuing to cower next to Cece-Lia as she tries to recover from her blow. The distraction is long enough that Vi managed to grab her boomerang and wack Saraha with it, finally getting free.

“Ack! That’s it, enough relying on other people! If you’re hoping to fight, then let's fight!” Saraha growls. Vi gets ready. She’s still injured, but with her beemerang she’s sure she can fight off a single bug!

She doesn’t need to, though, as a moment later a loud crack echoes through the room. Saraha collapses a moment later, with Astotheles standing behind her. “Vi, are you okay? Did they hurt you any?” He asks, stepping over the unconscious mantis.

“I… I think so. What’re you doing here? How did you know I was in danger?” Vi asks.

“I was watching the trial from outside the gallery so as to not draw attention, but I saw a rather eye-catching termite running out of the building, so I went to check on what was happening. It’s a good thing I arrived when I did.” Astotheles explains.

Vi finally lets out a sigh of relief. Thank goodness, she… she’s okay, she isn’t going to die. “Thank you.” She says, before hurrying over to the fallen priest. “Cece-Lia, are you okay?” Vi asks.

Cece-Lia nods, rubbing the side of her head as she’s helped to her feet. “I think so… she hit me hard, but I’ll be okay.” She says.

“Do you think you’ll still be able to translate for Parsley in court?” Vi asks, earning another nod from Cece-Lia.

“Court? Is this the witness they’ve been discussing?” Astotheles questions, before looking across the room at the body in the corner and grimacing.

“Kinda. This is his sibling, they know what he was going to say, and they need to testify.” Vi explains.

“I see. You should get them to the courtroom immediately, things aren’t going well, Kabbu is at his wits end.” The cricket advises. “I’ll keep an eye on all of this until a guard stumbles upon it. Hurry.”

Vi thanks him again, before the trio hurries back to the courtroom. They don’t have a moment more to waste, it’s time for the courtroom to finally hear what really happened.

Chapter Text

Kabbu is at his wits end.

This must be the fourth testimony of K’s he’s gone through, and he hasn’t gotten anywhere with any of this. K just keeps backpedaling, or changing his argument, or putting new ideas out there. All of this is something that should have been done BEFORE court, before they pulled everyone together for this trial.

Every time there’s a moment of silence, the crowd breaks into murmuring, about what’s going on, about why K is still testifying, about the possibility of him having lost his mind and gone insane. It's starting to take its wear on K as well, he's beginning to look more and more upset, anxious, and paranoid, but he won’t stop. If this mess isn’t the work of the corruption at the BDL, then there’s no way K’s career is surviving past this. Hell, if he ever quits working at the BDL, there’s no way he’s going to be able to get another job, this isn’t something anyone is ever going to forget.

“I can promise you, defense, that my home life has a great impact on this case. I could have investigated the scene just a bit more if I didn’t have kids to take care of at home.” K explains. “However, I’m fairly certain that I’ve figured out where I went wrong in that last testimony. Could I kindly be given another attempt at testifying?” He says.

"No… please. Queen Elizant, please say no to this." Kabbu whimpers to himself. At this point, the witness is the farthest thing from his mind, and he can only really think about wanting this to be over. As much as he doesn’t want to fail Mothiva, he just can’t take this any longer.

Queen Elizant takes several moments to respond this time, before nodding her head silently. The gallery explodes into conversation again, some even questioning whether Queen Elizant is fit to be at the head of this trial.

“Leif, I don’t know how much more of this I can take.” Kabbu whimpers, holding his head in his hands.

“You need to keep fighting, Kabbu. If you give up, then Mothiva is going to be convicted.” Leif reminds. He knows, he knows she will, but this is horribly mentally taxing.

“Are you done having a breakdown over there, defense? I’m ready to start my next testimony.” K says, forcing a smile, but before he can speak, the doors to the courtroom burst open, and Vi, followed by Cece-Lia and a third, familiar looking bug covered in blood rush up to the witness stand.

“Hold it! Stop whatever’s going on!” Vi yells, causing the loud conversation in the gallery to go quiet.

“Vi? What is the meaning of your intrusion?” Queen Elizant questions.

“I’ve brought the witness! They’re here!” She announces, motioning toward Parsley and Cece-Lia.

“The witness? They… they’re ready?” Queen Elizant asks, quickly fixing her posture. “Crime Scene Overseer K, please step down from the witness stand and let them testify immediately!” She exclaims. Kabbu feels a quick burst of hope, of excitement, they're finally going to move on from this testimony!

The hope building in his chest is dashed in a moment, though, as Prosecutor Scarlet slams his hands down. “I object. The prosecution does not approve this witness’s testimony. They are not the witness that was set to testify today, and I refuse to allow their testimony to be heard.” He says, a look of worry on his face.

“E-excuse me?!” Kabbu asks, completely taken aback. “This is what we’ve been waiting for, we have to hear them out! Even if the testimony is unreliable because it’s coming from a different bug, this is all we have!”

“Prosecutor Scarlet, what do you mean this is not the witness that was set to testify today? If that isn’t the witness, then who is this bug? And what happened to the witness?” Queen Elizant questions.

All eyes turn to Vi as she takes a moment to figure out how to explain everything that happened. “The witness was murdered by the guard that was supposed to be protecting him, and the bailiff. This bug is the witness’s sibling. They can’t speak Bugish, but the witness brought them here to discuss the murder before he was murdered!” She explains.

“W-what?! Kabbu gasps. “The witness is… dead?! Murdered!?”

“How could this be allowed to happen? Where is that guard? And where is the bailiff?” Queen Elizant questions.

“The guard’s unconscious upstairs, and the bailiff made a break for it. Queen Elizant, you need to let this bug testify! Even if they aren’t the witness, they need to testify!” Vi explains.

“Speaking from a psychological standpoint, I believe it wouldn’t be wise for a witness to testify right after witnessing the death of their brother. We can’t imagine what kind of trauma they may be facing which could significantly affect their memory.” Doctor Sain chimes in, causing Kabbu to recoil in surprise. The doctor had been so silent, he had forgotten they were here!

“On top of that, it is important that the prosecution be given a chance to thoroughly review this witness’s testimony before they waste the court’s time with a false recounting of events.” Scarlet adds.

“Not unlike Crime Scene Overseer K just wasted the court’s time with several false recounting of events?” Leif interjects.

“Crime Scene Overseer K’s inability to remember even the simplest of details has nothing to do with this. If he were not required to testify, I would request that he stay home. However, this is a completely different scenario, we have no clue what they may or may not say.” Scarlet explains.

“Ah! I’ve got a great idea! The prosecution doesn’t want them coming up here, and our resident therapist is saying that they’re too traumatized to take the stand, so why don’t we adjourn court for a little bit so that all of this can be settled out, yeah? The witness can be interviewed, we can see how much they know, and then reconvene a bit later, how does that sound?” K proposes with a smirk

“The prosecution would agree to that proposal.” Scarlet says.

Kabbu feels… lost, to say the least. One moment he was full of hope, thinking that he might finally make some progress, and now Scarlet and K are requesting for the trial to be pushed back? Why?! This doesn’t make any sense! This entire trial so far has been a complete waste of time!

“Kabbu! Do something!” Vi hisses.

“Do what? I hardly know what’s going on here, much less whether or not this witness can testify!” Kabbu exclaims.

“I don’t know if they can either, but I don’t think they’ll be coming back to court if court is adjourned. The people who killed the witness were Saraha and Tennent— I think this might be apart of that corruption that Mothiva spoke about!” Vi explains.

“Saraha and Tennent—?! They killed the witness?” Kabbu gasps.

Vi nods. “I don’t know why, but I don’t think they wanted the witness to testify, and if Scarlet and K are working for the same bug as them, then asking for trial to be pushed back might be them trying to set up another killing!” She rambles.

He isn't quite sure what's going on, but if Vi is right about the witness being in danger, then he can't let them be taken away. He slams his fists down. “The defense objects to that! We request that the trial continue, and the witness testifies at once!” He yells.

Queen Elizant, who was just about to slam her gavel, carefully puts it back down. “Defense, can you please explain to the courtroom why you think the trial should continue? And why do you think we shouldn’t wait for a later date when all parties involved in the trial are fully ready?” She asks.

“The defense… doesn’t have a reason, your honor.” He admits. At least not a reason he can say out loud without putting more people in danger. “But! If the witness is unable to properly testify, the defense will take full responsibility for the wasted time.”

“You do understand that the witness’s failure would come with heavy penalties, correct?” Scarlet asks, earning a nod from Kabbu. It doesn’t matter how great the penalty is, they need that testimony.

The Queen is silent for a long moment, and Kabbu can feel the fear rising in him that she might say no, but thankfully she nods. “Then I will also agree. If the defense is willing to take the burden of responsibility, then I see no reason for us to stop. The trial will continue.”

Prosecutor Scarlet slams his fist down. “No!” He yells. “The prosecution… the prosecution objects to the judge’s decision! If this trial continues, then I will immediately step down from the stand! I refuse to continue!”

“What?! Prosecutor Scarlet… why?” Kabbu asks.

“You have no understanding of what’s going on here, Kabbu. We can’t allow this trial to continue in its current state. So much depends on this.” Scarlet hisses.

“Then we can get another prosecutor!” Kabbu yells.

“Get another prosecutor? You won’t find anyone in Bugaria who’ll step up on such short notice, and without a prosecutor this trial can’t continue.” K smirks.

Kabbu recoils. He hadn’t even thought about that… are there even more prosecutors in Bugaria? Maybe Captain Daxy could step up… but that’s extremely unlikely. He needs to somehow convince them not to do this, but he has no clue how to. He doesn’t even know where to start!

The crowd explodes into conversation, confusion about what’s happening, discussing what might come next. Even the Queens are baffled, Kabbu can’t imagine a time when the prosecution has refused to take the testimony of a witness, this must be something completely new, though with the relatively low number of lawyers at the BDL, Kabbu can’t be certain that this situation wasn’t also on purpose.

“They’re both hiding something. We can feel it.” Leif announces. “Everything about what’s going on is scaring them. We might be able to deduce that they aren’t scared of the trial actually continuing, but something that might come with it.” He explains.

“Something that might come after it?” Kabbu asks. “Do you mean… the consequences of the witness testifying?” He questions.

“We think that might be possible, but we aren’t sure. The cordyceps is hard to understand, and the pain makes it difficult to figure out what exactly it’s coming from, but we’re certain it’s there.” Leif explains.

“OH! Do you think they might be being blackmailed as well?” Vi asks. “Like how Mothiva was scared to let us defend her, not because she thought she was guilty, but because if she agreed then Jaune would be killed!” She proposes.

“That… that might certainly be possible!” Kabbu exclaims. “That might explain their fear. If they’re being blackmailed to stop the witness from testifying, then them taking the stand could be a death sentence for them.” He says. He thinks more into it, K stalling by repeating his testimony, the agreement between Scarlet and K, they were probably working together to give Saraha and Tennent time to kill the witness. The only thing he can’t stop wondering is why… and the more he wonders it, the more he realizes that he needs to hear this witness’s testimony.

“Prosecutor Scarlet, please reconsider your stance on this! We need to hear this witness’s testimony right now!” Kabbu requests.

Scarlet shakes his head. “I am steady in my decision, and there is not a thing in the world that could change my mind, defense. This witness has not been prepared and thus they cannot take the stand.” He says.

“But we’ve had sudden witnesses before! We’ve had other bugs who stepped up to the stand when their testimony hadn’t been reviewed and you still allowed them to testify!” Kabbu argues.

“Those witnesses were different. They were integral parts of the crime. I have no clue what this witness knows and doesn’t, I can’t allow them to take the stand until I can be certain that they actually witnessed the crime.” Scarlet argues.

Ugh… Scarlet has a point, but he knows what he’s doing! He knows what very well may happen if court is adjourned. “Queen Elizant, is there anything you can do in this situation?” Kabbu asks, turning to the Queens.

She shakes her head. “Unfortunately, the only things I can do are adjourn court and wait for the witness to be ready or adjourn court and look for a new prosecutor. A trial needs a prosecutor to continue, and I don’t know of any that are readily available.” Queen Elizant explains.

Dang it… Kabbu really doesn’t have many options here. He needs Scarlet to allow the witness to testify, but he has no clue how he’s going to convince him. There is one thing he could do, but he doesn’t know how good of an idea that is.

“Team, I think I have an idea.” Kabbu says. “A very risky one. It might put everyone in danger, but I can’t think of any other way to get Scarlet to let the witness testify. If they’re being blackmailed, then the only way to get Scarlet to allow the trial to continue might be to call him out on being blackmailed. If the Queens know, they might be able to do something about it and protect him if his life is in danger.” Kabbu explains.

“And what are the risks?” Leif asks.

“Well… the issue is Doctor Sain. I know he’s involved in this, but I don’t know his role. If he’s willing to get violent like Saraha and Tennent… I fear that calling him out would put Scarlet’s life in immediate danger.” Kabbu explains. He doesn’t want to risk bringing harm to Scarlet… but he doesn’t know how else he could do this.

“If it’s your only shot, you have to go for it! And if things go south, we can always fight Doctor Sain! We’re still a team of tough explorers, we can easily beat him up!!” Vi encourages.

That’s true… he hasn’t really fought too much since their adventures ended, but he still knows how to use his horn. If things go south… he just hopes they’ll be able to act quickly enough to keep Scarlet safe.

Now the only thing left is figuring out what exactly Scarlet and K are being blackmailed with. It might be their lives that would make the most sense, but at the same time, it doesn’t. Why would Scarlet continue to work with his blackmailers while they hurt him? It could be K’s job and Scarlet’s freedom, but even then, that doesn’t completely make sense. K is a liability at the BDL and the only reason for his inclusion in all of this was to get rid of his criminal record, so he could work elsewhere. Scarlet is threatening to step down as a prosecutor, which would definitely violate his pardon, unless whoever is behind this is ready and willing to give him a new one…

Another issue is that they’re working together. If either of their lives were on the line, they’d be focused on saving their own hide. Scarlet would have no reason to agree to K’s antics if he were in danger, and he would definitely be insulting him way more for his actions. If Scarlet’s life is on the line, K might even be willing to mess things up just to get Scarlet out of the picture. They both hate each other, they’ve been at each other's throats since Kabbu met them, he can’t imagine either would want to help the other, even if they had a common goal.

The fact that they’re working together and agreeing on things might insinuate something else. Perhaps they have something in common that might be on the line. Perhaps what they’re being blackmailed with isn’t something they need. Maybe, like Mothiva, it’s something else that they both care about.

Then it clicks. The only thing Scarlet and K have in common besides working at the BDL, the only thing they both care about, what Scarlet was willing to kill for, what led to K needing multiple jobs, what led to him getting arrested in the first place.

There’s only one conclusion, one thing that they would throw everything away for.

He’s fairly certain that this is it, that he’s figured it out. The only thing left is to confront them and pray to Venus that everything goes right and that everyone comes out of this alive. Kabbu slams his hands down, silencing the courtroom. “Crime Scene Overseer K. Yesterday, you left your wallet at the BDL.” He says, presenting K’s wallet.

The detective blinks several times, as if he’s completely lost track of his thoughts. He looks nervously at Scarlet, and then at Doctor Sain, before squinting at Kabbu. “Pardon? I mean… thanks for giving it back, but there are definitely far better times than this.” K says.

Kabbu shakes his head. “I think this is the perfect time for this, actually. I accidentally opened your wallet earlier when I was trying to find you to give it back, and I noticed this photo of you, Scarlet, and your kids inside of it. I’m honestly a bit surprised that you didn’t scratch Scarlet out of this, considering how much you hate him.” He says.

“Hey! It’s rude to go through a bug's wallet, and very illegal! If I find you took one berry from me, I swear to—” K hisses, before getting cut off by Kabbu.

“I didn’t. I only looked at the picture and showed it to Scarlet. You really care about your children, you were willing to take on multiple jobs before the BDL to make sure you could take care of them. Scarlet cares about them as well, he was willing to go so far as to kill for them, and I know he still cares about them even though he isn’t allowed to see them anymore.” Kabbu continues.

“Y-yeah? I’m sure he does care about them, but that means nothing to me, he isn’t coming anywhere near them ever.” K says.

“Defense, please get to the point of what you’re trying to say. This is not a topic fit for a criminal courtroom.” Scarlet hisses.

Kabbu nods. “I’m saying all of this because I’m certain that I’ve figured out why you’re refusing to allow the witness to testify. When I spoke to my client yesterday, she refused to let me defend her, and she refused to do so much as talk about the crime with me. However, after a bit of discussion, I managed to figure out why that was.” He looks to Mothiva, waiting for some sign of approval for him to continue, and eventually earning a nod from her. “Mothiva admitted to me that she was being blackmailed. Upon returning to Bugaria, the blackmailer threatened to kill someone she cared about if she took up a defense or spoke to anyone about the crime. This blackmailing had been going on since before she left Bugaria, and it was the reason she used fabricated evidence in this courtroom during Leif’s trial.” Kabbu continues.

“The defendant is being blackmailed?!” Queen Elizant exclaims, earning a nod from Kabbu. The courtroom explodes into whispers, only for a few moments, before Queen Elizant silences them with a slam of her gavel. “Defense, please continue with your statement.” She demands.

“The prosecution has shown that they are willing to risk everything to keep this witness from testifying, they are willing to step down as a prosecutor and stop this trial from proceeding. Crime Scene Overseer K has similarly shown a lack of care for his future career. The only reason I can think of that would cause them to put everything they care about on the line would be if they, too, were being blackmailed. Someone they care about is being threatened, and the only way they can keep them safe is to stop the trial from continuing.” Kabbu continues.

Scarlet recoils as soon as the accusation leave’s Kabbu’s mandibles, and K’s candy cane shatters. “Y-you… what in the world are you even talking about? This has nothing to do with being blackmailed, we– we’re just doing our jobs! And making sure that this trial goes the way it should!” K argues.

“I don’t believe that at all. I’ve figured out what you’re trying to protect as well.” Kabbu explains. “I presented your wallet to show the one thing you two care about: your children! The person blackmailing you is threatening your children’s lives!”

Prosecutor Scarlet slams his fists down. “Are you mad, defense? Think even for a moment, if someone’s life were being threatened–! By telling the world, you’ve practically killed them!” He hisses, sweat running down the side of his head.

“I know the danger, but this is your one chance to make sure they’re safe. You can ask the Queens of Bugaria for help, if anyone can make sure your children are safe, it would be them!” Kabbu explains. “This is your one chance to turn the tables on whoever’s blackmailing you!”

“If this is true, then I will send available explorers to your residence immediately to ensure their safety. But you must tell me, and quickly so that I may take action.” Queen Elizant offers.

K grits his mandibles for a moment, before letting out a sigh. “They are in danger.” He finally admits.

…

The next few minutes are a frenzy as Queen Elizant leaves the courtroom to talk with K, and several guards and explorers are sent to K’s home to retrieve his kids and take them somewhere safe. During all of that time, the witness stays in the courtroom, protected by guards and Cece-Lia, and Doctor Sain remains quiet. The tall bug didn’t act, he didn’t move to attack K or Scarlet. Kabbu can’t imagine what’s going on in his head, but by the time court reconvenes, he still hasn’t done so much as move a muscle.

“I apologize for the inconvenience, everyone in the gallery. Matters have been attended to, and the trial will now be able to continue.” Queen Elizant apologizes. “Crime Scene Overseer K, Prosecutor Scarlet, are you willing to tell the courtroom what exactly just happened?”

Scarlet nods. “The detective and I were contacted recently about this trial, and we were told that the witness shouldn’t be allowed to testify under any condition, and that if the testimony were spoken, K’s children would be harmed.” He explains.

“How long has this blackmailing been happening? And does the death of the witness have anything to do with this demand?” Queen Elizant questions.

“It was only just last night. And while I can only assume that they’re connected in some way, I can’t say for certain.” Scarlet continues, though Kabbu can sense that he’s lying. That pretty much confirms his theory that all of this is connected. The person that’s blackmailing Scarlet must be the same person that was paying Saraha and Tennent, that paid Laurice, that hired Cartes. All of this has to be connected to the corruption within the BDL.

However, Kabbu can’t understand why Scarlet is still lying. What purpose does it serve to keep it secret any longer? Besides the fact that Doctor Sain is still standing right next to him, he’s relatively safe… though… thinking back to Prosecutor Loki, Kabbu can imagine that he thought he was safe as well.

“Thank you for your statement, prosecution. We will ensure that your children remain safe. Now, may the witness please take the stand and give your name and profession for the court record.” Queen Elizant requests.

“My name is Cece-Lia, I am a priest and missionary for the Church of Venus. I was in this courtroom a few days ago as a defendant. I didn’t see the crime, but I’m here to translate for the witness.” Cece-Lia says with a smile, before leaning over to the strange bug they dragged in and whispering into their ear.

The bug leans back and whispers into her ear a moment later, and once they’re done, Cece-Lia repeats what they said to the courtroom in Bugish. “They say… my name is Parsley Cilantro. I don’t have a job, I helped my brother with growing plants, though.” She says.

“Parsley Cilantro, could you please explain your relation to the witness?” Queen Elizant requests.

“They say… Basil Oregano was my brother. He learned how to speak it after our father died, in case we ever got visitors, but he only taught me a few words.” Cece-Lia says.

That would explain why Basil kept saying ‘we’ and ‘us’ and then lying about it. There really was a second bug out there with him… though he still has to wonder why Basil didn’t want to mention them…

“Thank you. Could you explain what your brother told you about the crime?” Queen Elizant continues.

“They say… my brother did not tell me about the crime.” Cece-Lia continues.

They… didn’t hear about the crime?? The gallery explodes into conversation, all quickly silenced by Queen Elizant. “Witness, we were told that you knew about the crime and what your brother was going to testify about. Explain yourself at once!” She demands.

“They say… a few months ago, I saw something when foraging for dirt… a blue bug messing with a metal cage. As soon as they left, I hurried back home and told my brother about everything I had seen, and he went to go check it out the next day and didn’t come back for several more.” Cece-Lia continues.

“Wait… THEY saw Leif’s crime?” Kabbu blurts out. Thinking back to Basil’s testimony… he barely mentioned any details, and the ones he did mention, like the size of Leif’s wound, were wrong. Him not having seen the crime, and only heard of it, would explain his inaccuracies.

Cece-Lia does so, whispering the question to him and getting a long response back a few seconds later. “They say… my brother didn’t have a good experience talking for me because he got things wrong, but when I saw another thing, he told me I needed to go with him this time to make sure he got everything right, that’s why I’m here. I was out searching the area for that metal cage again when I saw a tan bug. I followed it, and suddenly it was attacked. Another bug knocked them over and stabbed them, and then they dumped another bug, a dark blue one, on the ground. They saw me after that, and I ran away.”

“When I told my brother, he set up everything so that I could help him get everything right. He got a room with no bars, led me here, and threw a rope ladder out the window for me to climb into… but soon after I got there… a bug entered the room and killed him. I stayed safe by hiding behind a table, and they climbed out the window right after.” She concludes.

The gallery grew even louder now, to the point that their talk drowned out Queen Elizant’s gavel. After many slams, the courtroom finally went quiet again. “Witness, you’re claiming to have witnessed the murder? And your recount of events… you’re claiming that the victim was moved to the scene of the crime against their will by a third bug?!” She questions.

“And you’re saying that Mothiva was already unconscious when the murder occurred?! And that she was attacked?” Kabbu exclaims.

“He says… yes, the tan bug was stabbed a few times. But I didn’t see the dark blue one get attacked, when the tall bug brought them, there was already something sticking out of their back when they were placed there.” Cece-Lia translates.

“You… wait, what?” Kabbu stutters, recoiling in shock.

“Witness, are you saying that the murder did not occur at the scene of the crime? Unless I’m mistaken, it sounds like you’re telling us that the body was dumped at the scene.” Scarlet questions.

After the question is translated, Parsley nods, causing the courtroom to immediately explode into conversation.

This is huge! No wonder they didn’t want the courtroom to hear this testimony, it changes everything! Kabbu slams his fists down, silencing the courtroom. “This testimony proves without a doubt that Mothiva didn’t commit the murder! The witness is testifying to the presence of another bug, one who brought the victim’s body to the scene! This means that my client is innocent!” Kabbu exclaims.

Queen Elizant nods. “I would have to agree, with the lack of proper evidence from the prosecution, and now this testimony, I believe that the only possible conclusion is that the defendant, Mothiva, is—”

Before she can finish handing down her verdict, a loud slam echoes through the courtroom, emanating from the witness stand where Doctor Sain now stands. “I apologize for my interruption, her majesty’s descendant, but I fear that this testimony is far too convenient. In my professional opinion, this testimony must be immediately disposed of.”

Chapter Text

“You’re asking to… what?” Kabbu asks. Surely he didn’t hear that right, Doctor Sain can’t really be trying this.

“Perhaps my explanation was too brief. Let me begin by explaining my position in the system of law. I am a criminal psychologist, but on top of that, I am an expert witness. That means that my word on a subject is to be taken as fact. The fact of the matter is that this witness is suffering from shock resulting from the death of their brother. Their testimony is highly unreliable because of that, and they may be suffering from some sort of amnesia, possibly dissociative, that are causing gaps in their memory that they have filled in with things they did not actually see.” Doctor Sain explains. “To put in short, the witness is currently in a very unstable state, and because of that I am requesting that this testimony be stricken from the record, and the witness be impeached.” He reiterates.

“Hey! What gives you the right to throw away their testimony?!” Vi questions.

“Well, a number of things, actually. My experience as a psychologist, my job, my masters degree in criminal psychology, among many other less than important things that I do not need to state in this courtroom.” He says.

“You can’t do this! That would set us back at the beginning! We’d have nothing!” Kabbu argues.

“As I stated before, defense, I can do this. And you don’t have nothing, you have a comb with the defendant’s initials etched into it, and a body. That’s certainly more than enough to achieve a conviction, wouldn’t you agree?” Doctor Sain continues.

“What a complete disaster… I would say that you’re catching on to things rather quickly, defense. This is something that you should have expected.” Scarlet hisses. “In the end it doesn’t matter whether I allow it or not, the witness will not affect the trial. The only difference now is that you’ve disturbed something you should have left alone.”

Dang it… he… there’s no way that he came this far just to fail at the last step! Right as he got ahold of the testimony he’s needed this entire time! “There has to be something I can do! This… he can’t just discard the testimony!” Kabbu yells, slamming his fists down.

Mothiva lets out a sigh. “There is something you can do, Kabbu.” She says from the witness bench, causing Kabbu to quickly pull himself up from the table. “The doctor has entered himself into the trial as an expert witness, and as he just stated, improper testimony can result in impeachment.” She explains.

Doctor Sain turns his gaze to glare at Mothiva, but Mothiva avoids looking toward him, keeping his eyes on Kabbu. “Improper testimony?” Kabbu asks.

“Oh my gods, Kabbu, you’re a lawyer, you've been a lawyer for how long and you still don't know about this?” Mothiva hisses. “If a witness is shown to give biased testimony, or they purposely twist the facts, they may be impeached from the witness stand." She explains.

"There's no reason he would know about this, he's never used it because he somehow manages to squeeze the truth out of every bug that takes the stand.” Scarlet explains.

Impeachment… he knows that he can’t prove that Doctor Sain is lying about the witness’s state of mind, but he might be able to prove that Doctor Sain is being biased. He doesn’t know much about the doctor, or his position in this plot, but he does know three things. Doctor Sain was pardoned for something during Queen Elizant’s time, he is deeply involved in the corruption at the BDL, and he had something to do with Doctor Abel. He doesn’t know enough about the substitute to claim that it's involved in all of this in some way. However… knowing what the corruption in the BDL has done, and their tendency to blackmail, Kabbu might actually have something that he can use against Doctor Sain. He isn’t sure, but it could very well be possible that Doctor Sain is also a victim of blackmail.

Kabbu slams his hands down. “The defense would like to argue that Doctor Sain is being biased in his claims against the witness! On top of that, the defense has proof to back it up as well.” He says.

“Oh? Defense, do explain yourself.” Queen Elizant requests.

Kabbu presents Doctor Sain’s ‘pardon’, the letter that confirmed Doctor Sain’s involvement in all of this to begin with. “This here is a document signed by the witness, which is addressed to Queen Elizant the First. The document is a written apology for a crime that there is currently no record of. I believe that Doctor Sain is being blackmailed by the same people that were blackmailing Scarlet and K! They threatened to release information about his crime to the public!” He argues.

The courtroom explodes into chatter again, questions about how much blackmail is occurring, or who could possibly be blackmailing seemingly everyone in the BDL, all of which is once again quickly silenced by Queen Elizant’s gavel. “Witness, is this true? Are you also being blackmailed?” She asks.

“No, her majesty's descendant. All of this talk of blackmail is ridiculous, I have nothing to hide, much less anything to be blackmailed about.” Doctor Sain denies.

“Then what did you do? If you aren’t being blackmailed, then surely you’re willing to tell the courtroom what you did to require this apology!” Kabbu yells.

“I killed someone. A colleague of mine.” Doctor Sain answers, his flat, monotone voice making the confession feel all the more sinister.

He what?! Kabbu immediately recoils in shock. He– he’s just going to confess this easily? That-- that completely destroys anything he was going for! If Doctor Sain isn’t being blackmailed, then why is he even involved in the first place?! He isn’t being paid, he isn’t being pardoned, unless he’s the mastermind of all of this… then… Kabbu comes to the realization that Doctor Sain actually might be the person behind all of this. At the very least, with Doctor Sain writing the pardons, and him not being blackmailed, he HAS to be involved to a great degree.

Leif suddenly grabs onto the table, shaking and holding a hand over his chest. “We… the cordyceps...” He mutters.

“W-what? Leif, are you okay?” Kabbu asks.

He manages to nod, wincing. “We’re okay, we’ll be okay… but… he can’t be telling the truth. The cordyceps can’t sense any emotions in him, no hint of remorse, no rage, no sadness, not even any happiness. There’s no way that someone could commit murder and feel completely indifferent about it.” Leif explains. "He's lying."

Kabbu nods, before slamming his hands down. “The defense doesn’t believe that! The witness is lying! They have to be!” He argues.

“Why would I lie about killing someone? The defense appears to be confused and on the verge of panicking, may I suggest that you may be suffering from hysteria? It would be in your best interest for you to take a moment to recover, and perhaps think through your next words carefully.” Doctor Sain says.

“Well… if the crime was pardoned, and you aren’t being blackmailed… I see no reason for your testimony to not be taken as fact.” Queen Elizant says.

Kabbu grits his mandibles. He doesn’t know what to say, he doesn’t know anything about the crime, he isn’t sure where he’s going with all of this but he knows that if he gives up for even a second, then Doctor Sain will wrap all of this up and Mothiva will be guilty. He needs to keep the trial going until he can think of something!

Kabbu slams his fists down again. “The defense… demands that Doctor Sain testify about his crime!” He demands.

“Defense… I must ask, how exactly does that crime pertain to the trial at hand?” Queen Elizant asks.

“Doctor Sain still hasn’t proven that he isn’t being blackmailed. The defense believes that there are still details he's trying to hide, and that we can prove that he's being blackmailed if he testifies about his crime!” Kabbu explains. Queen Elizant looks confused, which he understands, he knows that this doesn’t exactly make sense, but this is really all he has to go off of. He can’t prove that the pardons were illegal, he can’t prove that Doctor Sain was involved in anything else, the only thing he has right now is this admission of guilt.

“For the sake of being thorough… the prosecution agrees. We’ve had a courtroom full of clowns today, I don’t see the issue with letting the defense make a fool of themselves as well.” Prosecutor Scarlet says, much to Kabbu’s surprise, earning him a glare from the psychologist.

Queen Elizant looks even more conflicted now, turning to speak with her fellow Queens, which is followed by a tense moment of silence. Kabbu looks across at Prosecutor Scarlet. What is his plan, here? He’s unwilling to tell the court who’s blackmailing him, but he’s willing to go against Doctor Sain. Kabbu can’t imagine what’s going on with him, but he has a feeling that it won’t be long until he figures out. Queen Elizant turns back to the courtroom. “Since both the defense and prosecution have agreed on it, I will formally request that you give testimony to your crime, and how it isn’t involved in the current trial.” She requests.

Doctor Sain stares at her for several moments, before nodding.

—Why I Am Not Involved—

“I can’t imagine why you would believe that the crimes in my past are involved in this in any way,” Doctor Sain begins. “It is not involved. I killed someone, and I regretted it, but it’s not something I’d try to hide.” He continues. “Does the action make me a monster? Perhaps, but my ‘monstrousness’ means nothing here,” Doctor Sain says. “In the end, I was forgiven and given a chance to serve her majesty, Queen Elizant the First. I am grateful that she forgave me.” Doctor Sain concludes.

“And you’re certain you aren’t being blackmailed?” Prosecutor Scarlet asks.

Doctor Sain nods. “Of course. I have nothing to hide, and certainly nothing to be blackmailed with.” He says.

"As you can see, your majesty, there's nothing to be suspicious about here. The defense and his client are being irrational." Scarlet says.

“It would seem so.” Queen Elizant agrees.

Dang it. Kabbu’s plan is quickly flying out the window, but he doesn’t have any other ideas on how to kick Doctor Sain off of the witness stand. How else can he invalidate Doctor Sain’s testimony? What other way is there that he might be biased?

“Defense, I have a feeling that I already know the answer to this question, but do you plan on cross examining the witness’s testimony?” Queen Elizant asks.

Kabbu nods. He doesn’t have any other choice. There has to be some way to tie Doctor Sain into all of this, he knows he’s involved, he just doesn’t have a way to prove it yet.

Queen Elizant nods in return. “Then please proceed, defense.” She orders.

–Rebuttal–

(I can’t imagine why you would believe that the crimes in my past are involved in this in any way)

“I’m completely certain that your crime is involved in this.” Kabbu says.

“And have you determined how exactly it’s involved?” Doctor Sain asks, adjusting his glasses.

“If you aren’t being blackmailed, then I have a number of other ideas on how you’re involved with this.” Kabbu explains. “I’m almost certain that you’re the one who’s been blackmailing people. It’s the only reason that you would try and shut down the witness’s testimony, you have something to gain by Mothiva being prosecuted” He accuses.

There’s a long pause as Doctor Sain stares at Kabbu. “Defense, did you perhaps think for a moment that I ended the witness’s testimony because it was unreliable? Did it perhaps run through your brain that I am doing my job?” Doctor Sain asks.

“If you were really doing your job, then you would have objected earlier, but you waited until the witness had finished testifying, because you wanted to see if they really knew what they were talking about.” Kabbu explains.

“And do you have any proof of that? If you haven’t noticed, I wait to speak until I’ve gathered my thoughts, unlike some other bugs in this courtroom. I needed the entire story before I could properly object, unlike you. Now, defense, how exactly am I involved in this? Besides being slow to talk, how exactly am I giving faulty testimony?” Doctor Sain asks.

“I… I haven't discovered that yet.” He admits. He could bring up the pardons, but he doesn’t feel that it’ll stick. He doesn’t want to throw such important evidence out so early, he needs to keep his hand hidden.

Doctor Sain sighs. “Another waste of time, then. This, however, is not a surprise coming from the court of Elizant the Second, I’m afraid.” He says.

Kabbu frowns. First he refuses to call Queen Elizant ‘her majesty’ or ‘her honor’, and now he’s insulting her as a judge? Not to mention how he keeps referring to her as ‘her majesty’s descendant… it's weird. He ignores it in favor of slamming his hands down. “It isn’t a waste of time! I know that this is related to everything, and I will get to the bottom of it!”

“I’m sure you will. And while you’re at it, could you try and get back on topic to solving the killing of Eetl? Making his murder trial all about someone completely uninvolved is mighty disrespectful, I hope you know.” Doctor Sain says.

Kabbu is… offended, he thinks? It makes him pause for a moment as he tries to come up with a response. “This… this isn’t disrespectful! I’m going to get to the bottom of what actually happened, and I know that Mothiva is innocent!”

“And I’m sure you believe that this witness is sane as well. Good for you, a healthy dose of optimism is helpful in managing your day-to-day routine.” Doctor Sain taunts.

Kabbu grits his mandibles. He knows he’s involved, he just knows it, he just needs to figure out how, he needs to find a theory that can fit and he can get back to proving that Mothiva is innocent! He can get back to getting to the bottom of what’s really going on here, and who murdered Eetl.

(It is not involved. I killed someone, and I regretted it, but it’s not something I’d try to hide)

Leif grimaces. “We… still feel no sadness, no sign of regret.” He says. “We think that they may be lying about the murder.” He says.

Kabbu nods. He’s certain that something about this admission is wrong… the best place to look is probably going to be in the details of the actual crime. “Doctor Sain, could you tell us more about the crime you committed?” He asks.

Doctor Sain stares at him for a moment, before his eyes drift up to the Queens. “Is that truly necessary?” He asks.

“If the defense believes that your crime has some involvement in this case, and the prosecution does not wish to object, then yes, it is necessary.” Queen Elizant confirms.

Doctor Sain’s gaze next moves to Scarlet. “For the sake of the defense’s declining mental health, I believe it’s best that their delusions be entertained. Why not? It’s not like anything will come of this.” Scarlet says with a shrug of his shoulders. The Doctor’s gaze narrows ever so slightly at him, before he nods.

“I will tell you the details, then. The victim was nobody. I stabbed them in the back when they weren’t looking, and I left their body to rot in Snakemouth Den. This was during my early years in Bugaria, I was discovered quickly and I requested forgiveness, and her majesty granted it. The trial was swift, the investigation swifter. I admitted to the crime then, and I admit to it again now.” Doctor Sain explains.

As soon as the words leave Doctor Sain’s mandibles, he feels a shiver run up his back. Something in that statement was a lie… he can’t imagine what it was, but there’s one thing that sticks out more than anything else. “Who was the bug that you killed?” Kabbu asks.

“As I said, they were no one. While their name is engraved into my mind, recounting it would do nothing, you don’t know them.”

“But there’s always a chance I might know them! I need to hear their name!” Kabbu demands.

Doctor Sain slams his hand down on the desk, the hand not currently in a cast, causing Kabbu to jump and Scarlet to flinch. “No, you don’t. They have been forgotten and lost to time. History only remembers those who make great achievements, and the only achievement she procured was in death, as it brought me to the mercy of her majesty and allowed me to serve under her. I can hardly see why her identity matters, her destruction was mourned by no one. No one of importance or relevance to this trial, at least.” He says.

That horrible feeling again… but… when Doctor Sain said that the victim was no one, he didn’t feel a shiver? What is it he’s lying about? Kabbu isn’t certain, he said so much just now that it’s impossible to narrow it down. He knows that the victim’s identity is important, though. There's no other reason that Sain would be so adamant about keeping his victim’s identity a secret, even though he’s so forthcoming with everything else. That must mean something, they must be important, even if he isn’t lying about them being no one.

“Doctor Sain, could you add a statement about the details of your murder to your testimony?” Kabbu requests.

The psychologist's eyes narrow again. “If I must.” He sighs.

((I murdered them in Snakemouth Den and was arrested immediately after. Their identity is of no importance, you wouldn’t know them))

Kabbu squints at this statement. He isn’t sure how to feel about it, but he’s certain that this is the path forward… he just isn’t sure if it’s the path he truly should take.

“You okay, Kabbu?” Vi asks.

“Yes… I’m just not sure about this. I think I have an idea on how to press him further… but I don’t know if it’ll lead to anything.” Kabbu explains.

“If you decide to continue, know that we’ll be here the entire time to support you.” Leif reminds.

Kabbu nods. His idea… when he hears about a murder in Snakemouth Den, the first thing he thinks of is Leif, Snakemouth Lab, and all of that… but after what he discovered yesterday, his mind keeps drifting to Doctor Abel. He knows she died there, or at the very least was kidnapped there and later transformed into the Zommoth. The only thing he doesn’t know about all of that is who did the deed… and he’s starting to get an idea of who that might be. Doctor Sain’s weirdness about her is starting to make sense. When he asked for that locket, he had no intention of returning it. He planned on hiding the evidence that she existed, to ensure that she would be completely forgotten to history.

Kabbu isn’t sure, he doesn’t know if this is just a weird coincidence, but he has to go for it.

He slams his fists down. “Doctor Sain. Despite your best efforts, I think I’ve identified who your victim was.” Kabbu says.

Doctor Sain tilts his head. “You sound very confident for someone so inept. Please continue.” He says.

“During my investigation yesterday, I explored a portion of Snakemouth Den and ended up coming across a small, rusted locket. Inside of it was a painting of you and two other bugs, Doctor H.B., and a third bug that I’ve come to know as Doctor Abel. Does that name ring a bell?” Kabbu asks.

Queen Elizant noticeably flinches when Kabbu says that name, and even though she’s wearing a mask, he can see panic in her posture. He knows how dangerously close he’s getting to mentioning the substitute… he wishes he could promise her that he won’t say anything about it, but if it was required to stop a murderer… he isn’t sure if he’d keep that promise.

Doctor Sain squints at him. “Defense. Do not dare say their name again. Put the locket away. You have no clue what you’re digging up.” He warns.

Kabbu ignores him. “You said that the bug you killed was a colleague of yours, and there weren’t many other scientists from that time period. Not to mention, according to her diary, Doctor Abel went missing after meeting with a colleague of their in Snakemouth Den, and they were quickly forgotten about after they vanished. They died in Snakemouth Den, they were a colleague of yours, and they were forgotten, which is exactly how you described your victim. It’s all way too big of a coincidence for Doctor Abel to not be the bug you murdered.” He presses.

Doctor Sain slams his hand down on the desk again. “I gave a simple and easy to follow instruction. Do not. Repeat. That name.” He says, and Kabbu can almost hear a hint of anger in his voice. “And, for the sake of your ruler, consider what you’re on the verge of revealing. You're going to ruin us all.”

He is getting dangerously close… but he hasn’t crossed that line yet. The mere mention of it is making Doctor Sain anxious… he might be able to use this to his advantage to get him to recant his testimony. Kabbu looks to Queen Elizant. He hopes she trusts him, because he’s about to take a huge risk.

“I don’t know enough about Doctor Abel to be certain that they aren’t involved in this trial… since you were obviously close to them, their post-mortem involvement might even be enough to sway your opinion, which could be reason for impeachment. Doctor Sain, I demand that you testify more about Doctor Abel!” Kabbu yells.

The stickbug stares at him for a long moment, before clearing his throat, putting a hand down on the witness stand, and leaning toward Kabbu. “I see that you’re attempting to convince me to step down using less than savory tactics. I would like to speak to you, a heart to heart of sorts before you say another word. You’ve been through a lot, Mr. Kabbu. I would hate for you to have to dig anymore graves but with the route you’re trying to push through, I’m afraid it’s quickly becoming a certainty.”

The courtroom explodes into conversation at his statement, and even the Queens seem completely taken back.

“Are… are you threatening my friends?!” Kabbu asks.

“Not at all. I’m simply letting you know that your actions will have consequences. So please, for the sake of them, choose your words wisely. You know what happened to the last bug that chose poorly. Your friends there will end up exactly like Jaune.” Doctor Sain says.

Kabbu grits his mandibles. The doctor’s words are getting to him, what if he’s not bluffing? He thinks to what happened to Leif, to the times that Vi nearly died. That could happen again, he’s certain that there are more bugs working under the corruption, more than Mothiva detailed in her list. He… he can’t risk the safety of his friends! He just can’t! He's going to have to surrender, as horrible as it is.

“Kabbu! Snap out of it!” Vi yells.

He snaps back to his senses, the gallery’s conversations drowning out his thoughts. “I… I don’t know if I can continue, I can’t risk you two getting any more hurt than you already are.” Kabbu says.

“Oh please, if they try and send someone to hurt us, we’ll be more than prepared. They won’t stand a chance.” Leif says, creating a ball of ice in his hand.

“And! You don’t even have to go down that route! Did you not hear what Doctor Sain said?” Vi asks.

“I did hear him, he threatened to hurt you two.” Kabbu says.

“No! You clearly didn’t hear him at all! He mentioned Jaune’s attack, and that hasn’t even hit the newspapers at the Bee Kingdom yet! No one knows that it even happened!” Vi reminds.

Kabbu gasps. He… he hadn’t even thought of that. It isn’t in the papers, and thinking back on that night, the lobby was almost completely empty. But that makes sense, Doctor Sain is involved in the corruption at the BDL, of course he’d hear about it! THAT might be their proof! He might be able to use that to prove that he’s a part of this corruption! And if he’s involved in blackmailing Mothiva, then there’s no way his testimony will be allowed to stand!

Kabbu slams his hands down, silencing the courtroom. “Doctor Sain, I’m afraid you’ve just made the biggest mistake imaginable.” He says. “I believe you’ve just given away something that could very easily result in you being impeached, or possibly even arrested.”

“I did no such thing.” Doctor Sain denies with a shake of his head.

“You definitely did. If you had stopped at just the threats, you might have been able to get away with it, but you didn’t. Your tongue slipped and you’ve revealed far too much.” Kabbu explains.

“Defense… I’m not sure what you’re attempting to argue, but please explain yourself with caution.” Queen Elizant explains.

“The witness said just a moment ago that my friends will ‘end up exactly like Jaune’. Queen Bianca, I would like to ask, are you aware of the fact that Jaune was attacked in her own studio last night?” Kabbu asks.

“She— she was?!” Queen Bianca exclaims, recoiling in shock. “I haven’t been informed of this at all, nor have I received word from the medical ward of her treatment! Is she well?” She asks.

“Yes, Jaune is doing much better now. She was treated privately in Doctor H.B.’s lab, and she came in earlier to wish us luck on our trial.” Kabbu explains. “The only issue is that her attack has been kept completely secret up until now. No passerbyers saw the scene, and as Vi just told me, the newspapers aren’t even covering it yet. From my knowledge, the only people that have known about it up until now are us, Mothiva, Jaune, Doctor H.B…. and of course, the bug that attacked Jaune.”

Chapter Text

The courtroom immediately erupts once again, people talking loudly amongst themselves, confused about what’s happening and surprised to learn about Jaune’s attack. “Witness, is this true?! Are you responsible for Jaune’s attack?” Queen Elizant asks over the loud talking.

“Not at all. Another fib by the defense, though certainly their most interesting attempt at lying yet.” Doctor Sain answers. “I would never dream of bringing harm to a bug again, I learned from my mistakes.”

“Then how do you explain the fact that you know about an incident that no one knows about yet?” Kabbu questions.

“I was simply in the area at that time of night. I needed a bit more supplies to finish our dear friend Eetl’s autopsy. The medical ward in the Bee Kingdom just so happens to get a large shipment of scalpels every month, and they’re always happy to lend me some.” Doctor Sain explains. "Which, I must say, should be a good enough alibi on its own. How could I have attacked another bug if I was busy performing an autopsy?" He questions.

“You performed the autopsy?!” Kabbu asks, recoiling in shock. "But-- you aren't even a coroner! You're a psychologist!" He argues

“I was the only one at the BDL who can be trusted to perform such an important procedure, and the dissection of a government official simply can’t be trusted in the hands of commoners. And while I have never performed an autopsy before, I happen to have been trained for such a precedure in the past.” Doctor Sain continues. “That’s straying from the point, though. As I said, I was simply in the area, I saw the attack unfold. Since Mothiva is involved in shady dealings, it was a simple conclusion that headed down the same path you’re attempting to go down now.” He explains.

“And that path would be?” Leif asks.

“Running her mouth when she shouldn’t. Something you three clearly love to do.” Doctor Sain answers.

“Defense, do you have any evidence that could prove that the witness is involved in Mothiva’s attack? More than just what he said?” Queen Elizant asks.

The doctor shakes his head. “I am simply well informed, and the defense is simply a master at blowing things out of proportion. There is nothing that could possibly tie me to this scene besides my momentary appearance at the Bee Kingdom.” Doctor Sain argues.

Kabbu thinks for a moment. This might be his one chance to get some progress, to possibly get Doctor Sain convicted of a crime and get him off the stand. He nods. “I do believe that I have something that might be able to connect him to the scene of the crime.” He confirms.

“Then please present it at once.” The Queen requests.

Kabbu presents the disguised crossbow and the bolt from Jaune’s assault. “First and foremost, I would like to ask, Prosecutor Scarlet, do you recognize this umbrella?” He asks.

Scarlet squints at it. “I do. That’s one of the dozens of umbrellas that have been stolen from me by my fellow employees at the BDL. Probably one of the first ones.” He confirms.

Just as he expected… “This umbrella, combined with this bolt, is the link between the crime scene and Doctor Sain. This umbrella is actually the weapon used in the assault!” Kabbu announces.

“It’s what?!” Scarlet recoils.

“Kabbu, please explain yourself at once! Why would Doctor Sain have chosen an umbrella to attack Jaune with?” Queen Elizant questions.

“That's because this umbrella is very similar to other pieces of evidence we've seen. In the same way that Mothiva's comb is a weapon, and Cece-Lia’s necklace was also a weapon. It was made for the sole purpose of concealing a dangerous weapon as something unassuming.” Kabbu explains as he opens the umbrella. “This umbrella is actually a crossbow, made using the components of Prosecutor Scarlet’s umbrella. It was left at the BDL, meaning that Doctor Sain definitely had an easy chance to steal it. In other words, the fact that this umbrella was the murder weapon definitively ties Doctor Sain to the crime as a possible culprit!” He exclaims.

The courtroom explodes into chatter once more, with Prosecutor Scarlet staring at the crossbow with an almost fearful gaze. The chatter is cut off quickly, though, as Queen Elizant silences the courtroom with her gavel. “Witness, do you have any response to this?” She asks.

Doctor Sain stares forward for several moments, completely silent and deep in thought, before he nods. “I do. This accusation is completely insane, and the defense is clearly in need of psychological help. My statement on the matter does not change, I am still completely unrelated to this crime. However, I would like to give a statement to the court, in case that is needed to clear my name of suspicion.” He explains, staring at Kabbu the entire time.

—Doctor Sain’s Alibi—

“I personally had no involvement in this crime whatsoever, and the evidence you’ve presented hardly ties me into it,” Doctor Sain starts. “During the time that the crime was being committed, I was busy performing an autopsy, I only came by the Bee Kingdom shortly to borrow two boxes of scalpels,” He continues. “What purpose would I have to be involved? I have nothing against Mothiva, and nothing to be gained through blackmail,” Doctor Sain says as he adjusts his glasses. “If someone from the BDL is involved, and with the evidence presented, I would say Prosecutor Scarlet is the most likely perpetrator.” He concludes.

The moment the statement ends, the courtroom explodes into chatter once again, which is quickly silenced by the slam of Queen Elizant’s gavel. “Witness, are you trying to claim that the prosecution is responsible for this?!” She gasps

“I am, her majesty’s descendant. As an expert in psychology, I can confirm that he is the most likely member of the BDL to commit such a crime.” Doctor Sain explains.

“Doctor Sain— what are you trying to get at?!” Scarlet hisses. “I had no involvement in this crime! You know that!”

“I only said you were the most likely perpetrator with what I’ve seen. An umbrella belonging to him, which was left at the BDL and then went missing, just so happened to turn into the weapon used in the assault. The only evidence procured points towards him.” Doctor Sain explains.

Kabbu quickly racks his brain for some sort of comeback, before slamming his hands down. “I-- I have more evidence to prove you were at the scene! I was at the scene, and I was attacked by the culprit while they hid in the dark! I managed to grab onto their arm during the scuffle, and they let out a scream of pain. The only reason that someone would scream like that is if their arm was injured, and YOUR arm is in a cast, Doctor Sain!” He explains.

For a moment, Kabbu sees a glint of excitement in Doctor Sain’s eyes, and he can swear that a smile nearly forms on his face. “That… is hardly evidence. There are a thousand reasons someone could scream when their arm is pulled on. However, if you’re hoping to use a brief noise as proof, I must redirect your attention to the prosecution and his injuries” Doctor Sain says.

Kabbu looks back to Prosecutor Scarlet, only to realize exactly what he’s referring to. A large crack runs down Prosecutor Scarlet’s arm, Kabbu had noticed it earlier but he had never thought about the connection.

“You–! I know that Scarlet didn’t do it, though! Prosecutor Scarlet, you need to tell the courtroom how you really got your injury!” Kabbu pleads.

Scarlet puts a hand on his arm, grimacing as his eyes dart between Scarlet, Kabbu, and the crossbow Kabbu is still holding. “I… I… I’m… I’m very clumsy, that’s how I got this!” The prosecutor hisses.

He still won’t admit it?! Why not? This is his perfect chance, Doctor Sain is unarmed, Kabbu has the weapon, and his kids are safe, what more could Scarlet be scared of? And... does this mean that Doctor Sain has been behind Scarlet's injuries this entire time? First as a threat, to make sure Scarlet stayed in line and remembered the danger his children were in, but now he’s using Scarlet as an alibi. This is horrible! This can’t stand! Doctor Sain can’t get away with this!

As if reading his mind, the tall bug shakes his head. “He won’t tell you the truth, Kabbu. Believe me, I have not come this far to fail so close to the end.” Doctor Sain hisses. “And while I agree it is possible that I could have done it, had I not had an alibi, it’s equally possible and more likely that Prosecutor Scarlet, the serial murderer working at the BDL who's choice of weapon was an umbrella, is infinitely more likely to be responsible.” Doctor Sain explains.

Scarlet slams his fists down. “This is ridiculous! I… I wasn’t involved! I wouldn’t kill someone, you—!” Kabbu can hear the conflict in his voice. He can see Leif clutching at his chest, the cordyceps sensing the fear running through Scarlet. Scarlet wants to tell the courtroom what has actually been happening, but he’s far too scared to.

“You would, though. You've killed and maimed people before, I’d be willing to wager that you’d do it again.” Doctor Sain argues back. “And don’t forget your situation, prosecution. You’re better off taking this lying down.”

Scarlet grits his mandibles but doesn’t keep arguing. This isn’t good, Doctor Sain has completely flipped everything on its side, if Kabbu doesn’t manage to prove the doctor guilty, then Prosecutor Scarlet might be going to jail in his place! On top of that… if Doctor Sain gets away with this, his statement will stand and Mothiva will go to jail as well! He can’t allow that, if he’s right about Doctor Sain attacking Jaune, then he can’t be allowed to escape!

“The defense is ready to cross-examine the witness's statement.” Kabbu says. He isn’t sure how he’ll do this, but he’s confident that he’ll figure something out.

—Rebuttal—

(I personally had no involvement in this crime whatsoever, and the evidence you’ve presented hardly ties me into it)

“The evidence I presented DOES tie to you, though!” Kabbu argues.

“In what ways? An umbrella was left in my vicinity. Someone slammed my arm in a door. I had to run an errand. If you’re trying to push blame onto someone, you should first pick an explanation that makes sense and is believable.” Doctor Sain says.

“But it is believable! The umbrella was turned into a crossbow! No offense to Scarlet, but I doubt he could do that!” Kabbu argues.

“And is that something I am expected to do? Please remember, defense, I am a psychologist, not an engineer. I have no knowledge on how to make such complicated machinery. Or were you too busy hurling accusations that you forgot who you were talking to?” Doctor Sain argues back.

“It’s still possible that you could have requested that someone make the umbrella for you! Scarlet wouldn't be able to commission it thanks to still being a felon!” Kabbu says.

Doctor Sain stares at him for a moment. “Apologies, defense, I seem to be forgetting something. Isn’t it true that there was a bug who used to be willing to create machinery for criminals? I think they worked at Defiant Root, do you remember who they were?” He asks.

Kabbu recoils. “B-Butomu! She–!”

Doctor Sain nods. “She was willing to make weapons and other tools for criminals, who’s to say that she wouldn’t have made a crossbow for Scarlet? The timeline would match as well, Scarlet’s freedom and her life overlapped for a short period of time.” The doctor explains.

“But… but there’s no proof of that! Butomu is dead!” Kabbu says.

“Indeed. It’s still a possibility, though, and clearly not a possibility you had thought about. It makes much more sense that he would do something like that rather than I.” Doctor Sain says.

Kabbu grits his mandibles. Was… was Butomu’s death another part of this plan? It… it couldn’t be! Anagram even admitted that it was a complete accident, he went for the wrong person, but… after everything he’s learned, and how extensively all of this covers everything, he really isn’t sure if anything is a coincidence anymore.

He really has nothing to link Doctor Sain to the murder right now… every accusation feels like he's blindly throwing ideas out into the void, and the doctor has a simple excuse for every single explanation, every accusation, every piece of evidence. But he had to have missed something! Kabbu has the pardons and he knows that Doctor Sain made them, he knows that Doctor Sain is guilty! There has to be a way for Kabbu to prove it!

(During the time that the crime was being committed, I was busy performing an autopsy, I only came by the Bee Kingdom shortly to borrow two boxes of scalpels)

“So you’re claiming that you went to the Bee Kingdom to get more scalpels? And you needed two whole boxes of them?” Kabbu questions.

Doctor Sain nods. “Of course. You’d be surprised how many scalpels someone can go through when trying to delicately cut through something as tough as chitin.” He explains.

“And do you have proof that you did borrow scalpels from the Bee Kingdom?” Kabbu questions.

“Of course. I used the scalpels, and because of that, Eetl has been cut open and examined, as proven by the autopsy report. The only reason we can be so sure that he died from that stab wound alone is thanks to me, I was able to directly examine the vital organs that were punctured.” Doctor Sain explains.

Kabbu frowns. “Your honor, the defense at this time would like to request that we be given a copy of the autopsy report so that we can make sure that everything is adding up to what Doctor Sain is claiming.” He requests.

Queen Elizant nods. “Crime Scene Overseer K, you said earlier that you have a copy of this autopsy report at home. Can you go retrieve it at this time?” She asks.

K, who has been standing off to the side for most of this trial, gives a nervous glance to the side. “I can’t. My copy of it was confiscated by my blackmailer before I could read it.” He explains with a shrug.

“Who is your blackmailer then, K? We need this autopsy report, the courtroom needs to know!” Kabbu pleads.

“I’m not allowed to say.” K answers.

“Her majesty’s descendant, if I may…” Doctor Sain interrupts. “I could give the courtroom a statement about what that autopsy report said, if that would help. I have nothing to hide.” He offers.

“The courtroom would greatly appreciate that.” Queen Elizant nods.

Kabbu grimaces. That’s not good… the only reason Doctor Sain would do that is if he were truly confident in his ability to get away with this. As much as Kabbu hates the idea… he may not have a way to prove him guilty… he may be nearing the end of what he can do.

((According to the autopsy, which I performed, the victim was stabbed once in the back and bled out quickly. The comb which has been presented was retrieved from his back, and clearly contains evidence of the defendant's handling of the weapon))

“So you still have a copy of the autopsy report?” Kabbu questions.

“Yes I do. I performed it, as I stated.” Doctor Sain answers.

“And why do you have the autopsy report, but it was taken from Crime Scene Overseer K?” Kabbu questions.

“I couldn’t tell you. I have never seen nor interacted with this blackmailer.” The doctor says.

Kabbu turns to Queen Elizant. “The defense requests that Doctor Sain retrieve a copy of the autopsy report at once and submit it to the court! I need to see it myself to make sure everything he’s saying is accurate.” He requests.

“What purpose would that serve? I’ve already given you all the information you need.” Doctor Sain questions.

Queen Elizant is silent for a moment. “I… agree, unless there is reason to believe that this statement on the autopsy is incorrect, then we must take what he has said as fact.” She explains. “Do not let that deter you from arguing, though, defense. If you believe that you have something that could contradict the witness’s statement, I will immediately request that he retrieve the autopsy report.”

Kabbu nods. That’s hopeful… if he can just find an issue somewhere in here, he’ll be able to get his hands on that autopsy report. Though… finding out if something about the autopsy report is wrong will be difficult without the actual document.

Despite being temporarily blind, Leif squints in Queen Elizant’s direction. “We sense a bit of fear coming from her, too.” He states.

"Queen Elizant is scared as well? That... would certainly make sense." Kabbu mutters. If Doctor Sain is the blackmailer, then he’s the one dangling the substitute above her and threatening to give the information to the public. He’s surprised that he hasn’t done that just yet… though…

Now that he’s really thinking about it, Doctor Sain threatened them when he did so much as mention Doctor Abel… would he really be willing to spill that information to the public if he’s also willing to kill someone over that information being revealed? Something about that just doesn’t quite add up.

“Kabbu?” Leif asks, snapping him out of his thoughts.

“Yes, Leif?” Kabbu replies.

Leif stares forward for a few more moments. “Do you know what’s going on? With Queen Elizant?” He asks.

“Yes, I do.” Kabbu admits. “I’m sorry, I can’t tell either of you yet.” He adds. He has a feeling it won’t stay that way, though. It’s only a matter of time before everyone knows…

(What purpose would I have to be involved? I have nothing against Mothiva, and nothing to be gained through blackmail)

“I think there’s plenty for you to gain through blackmail. You’re clearly very interested in keeping information hidden, you threatened my team to keep information about Doctor Abel hidden! You’ve been blackmailing bugs to keep your secrets hidden!” Kabbu explains.

“Could you please elaborate?” Doctor Sain requests.

“Of course. You’re obsessed with following Queen Elizant the First’s orders, to the point that you aren’t letting information spread about Doctor Abel all these years later. With everyone involved in that trial from eighty years ago, a trial that everyone was sworn into secrecy over, having been involved in recent crimes, the only sensible conclusion is that you’re doing your best to follow her orders and keep those secrets hidden!” Kabbu explains.

Doctor Sain stares at him for a moment. “Are you feeling well, defense? Have you forgotten, I already informed you of this. I was not a part of that trial. I do not know who is involved.” He explains.

“That’s not true at all! You’re in this book we found on the trial!” Vi objects, presenting the book.

“A book you found? Written by, if I remember correctly, Prosecutor Daxy? Who wasn’t even an adult at the time of the trial? His retelling of events?” Doctor Sain asks.

“Uh… yeah? So what if he was only a kid! I was a kid when I left the Bee Kingdom and I still remember everything!” Vi argues.

“And how long has it been since you left? One or two years?” The doctor questions.

“No! It’s been five at least!” Vi hisses, slamming her hands down.

“Five years is still miniscule. Keep in mind the difference in time between the crime and the writing of this book, which was about forty years. I wouldn’t know the exact release, I’m not a big fan of sensationalized true crime novels.” Doctor Sain says. “To summarize, this book was written by someone about an event they witnessed in their youth many years after the event. On top of that, it is a dramatization of the events which occurred, and not at all backed up by evidence. To claim that this gives me a motive is insanity.” He says.

“But–!” Kabbu hisses.

“And, if I were trying to cover up all information on that case, why would this book still exist?” Doctor Sain adds.

He… he doesn’t know. That’s another hole in his explanation, another worry that he’s missing something huge, that there’s someone else in all of this. He curses to himself as well, he’s completely exposed Daxy… hopefully he won’t mind.

He briefly considers presenting Falsavar Itas's notes on the file, in hopes that that might strengthen his argument, but he can already imagine the ways that Doctor Sain could refute it... it's no use.

(If someone from the BDL is involved, and with the evidence presented, I would say Prosecutor Scarlet is the most likely perpetrator)

“Prosecutor Scarlet, what were you doing late last night? Close to midnight!” Kabbu questions.

“I was reviewing documents for the trial today, and talking with Detective K so I could get a good idea on what the hell was going on!” Scarlet hisses.

“I can confirm, we had to spend pretty much every minute leading up to the trial looking at reports and documents.” K says. “When you’re given a bunch of papers last minute, there aren’t many options.” He says.

“Wait, you were reviewing documents the entire time leading up to the trial? Then who was interviewing the witness?” Kabbu asks.

“That was left to Doctor Sain.” K answers.

“It was?! What wasn’t left to Doctor Sain!?” Kabbu cries, to which he receives no response, before collecting himself and taking a deep breath. "How did you manage to do the autopsy and interview the witness in such a short time?" He asks. "I kept the questions in the interrogation precise. I didn't want to waste unnecessary time looking for every little detail. It only took an hour to get all of the information we'd need for the trial." Doctor Sain explains. Dammit… This means that Doctor Sain did the interrogation AND the autopsy, that makes him even busier during Jaune's attack and gives him even more of an alibi! At this point, Kabbu wouldn’t be surprised to learn that Doctor Sain was the first on the crime scene as well! Though… now that he’s thinking about it, with what Parsley saw it’s possible that Doctor Sain WAS the first on the crime scene, it’s possible he set it up to begin with.

“Do not forget, Mr. Kabbu, I am a trusted professional. You have still failed to provide sufficient proof that suggests I would have any sort of bias in this case. Until you manage to do that, there is no reason to question my methods or results.” Doctor Sain explains.

That’s... true. But that’s all that separates them from Mothiva’s freedom. All Kabbu has to do is prove that he’s biased and its over. “Returning to my questioning, what about Scarlet’s alibi? He was clearly busy during the time that the murder took place!” He argues.

“Can we be certain of that, though? Recall the bias between them, they’re a previously married couple. On top of that, they are both being blackmailed to protect their children, it’s completely possible that this is yet another ruse, their word simply can’t be trusted.” Doctor Sain explains.

That… ugh, that makes sense. If he wants to prove Scarlet innocent… he’s going to need evidence. Prosecutor Scarlet’s word isn’t going to cut it.

That’s the end of the testimony, and Kabbu really doesn’t feel like he’s made any progress. Doctor Sain is good at testifying, he hasn't said a single contradiction so far. Kabbu should have expected that, but still! He has no idea what he should do!

“This guy sucks!” Vi hisses. “And even worse, he’s barely saying anything! How’re you supposed to prove that he’s lying?!”

“I’m not sure, but I have to do my best. If I can’t find some way to discredit him, then I won’t be able to prove Mothiva innocent, and I might end up getting Scarlet in trouble as well.” Kabbu says.

“You need to focus on small details, we think.” Leif says. “Like unraveling a cloth, you just need to find a small thread and you can pull it apart.” He says.

“Do you really think a single small detail could break down Doctor Sain’s argument? He'd probably just have another explanation lined up for anything I can come up with.” Kabbu whimpers.

Leif nods. “We can’t say for certain, but we think that that’s your best bet.” He explains.

A small detail… Kabbu just needs to find a small detail he mentioned, that someone mentioned, and he can hopefully make everything snowball from there.

((According to the autopsy, which I performed, the victim was stabbed once in the back and bled out quickly. The comb which has been presented was retrieved from his back, and clearly contains evidence of the defendant's handling of the weapon))

This is the one statement that has the most details… if he’s looking for something to unravel, it’ll probably come from here. Not to mention, if he can discredit this autopsy somehow, then he’s also getting rid of Doctor Sain’s alibi, and once that’s out of the way, he’s sure that he’ll be able to get Doctor Sain off of the stand.

The only issue is… what can he even do? He’s seen the photos of the crime, the blood, the comb, where could he even find an error? He thinks over every portion of evidence he’s seen so far, every piece of testimony, and his mind eventually lands back at Parsley’s. He can’t use anything he said as proof… but he can use it as guidance, towards the proof he needs.

One statement stands out above the rest.

...

‘I was out searching the area for that metal cage again when I saw a tan bug. I followed it, and suddenly it was attacked. Another bug knocked them over and stabbed them.’

...

Mothiva was attacked as well, but the question is, where did the weapon go? It's possible that Doctor Sain took it back with him, but that could run the risk of him being caught with it, and tossing it out would run the risk of it being recovered. Doctor Sain really doesn’t seem like the type of bug to make such a risk. This second blade has to be somewhere.

What are the chances that the comb they retrieved was what Mothiva was also stabbed with? It would make sense, especially if it was specifically made to frame her, like how the umbrella crossbow was likely made to push blame onto Scarlet. It wouldn’t help prove Scarlet’s innocence, but that might be enough to prove that Mothiva isn't guilty.

The only issue is, how would they even be able to prove that Mothiva was stabbed with it? The only thing he has that could possibly prove that is the species identifier, but that only works if the sample is isolated. Since Eetl was also stabbed with this, it wouldn’t work.

Kabbu takes a look at the photo of Eetl again. There’s definitely a comb in this image, but… something about it just doesn’t seem right. Maybe it’s the fact that the blade isn’t present at all, maybe it’s the fact that the bloody handprint is so pristine… he can’t place his finger on it.

He pulls the comb out to look at it. If there's a contradiction in the autopsy, it has to do with this knife, that's the only thing he can think of. He carefully removes the comb from its packaging, looking it over and comparing that to the picture. He isn't seeing any differences... maybe there's something he can find on the blade? Kabbu goes to open it, and reels when he accidentally smears the still wet blood. Now it's all over his hands... oh Venus, he's going to throw up. He manages to get the blade exposed without smearing any more blood, and starts examining what little he has to work with...

There's... no differences that he can see in the photo. He can barely even see the blade, it's so deeply buried in Eetl's back. All he has is the dried blood on it, and that really doesn't help at all.

...

Wait, why is the blood on the blade dry when the blood on the handle is still slightly wet? Shouldn't it be the other way around? The part that was actually in the victim should still be wet, with the handle drying out due to being exposed to air. How... how is this even possible?

He remembers the rest of Parsley's testimony as he racks his brain for an answer.

...

‘But I didn’t see the dark blue one get attacked, when the tall bug brought them, there was already something sticking out of their back.’

...

He nearly lets out a gasp when he finally connects the dots and realizes what's going on. He can't believe he didn't see it earlier! Kabbu slams his hands down. “The defense would like to dispute that statement!” He announces.

Doctor Sain seems taken aback for a moment. “Pardon? You want to dispute the statement about… the victim’s body?” He asks.

“Defense, explain yourself at once.” Queen Elizant requests.

“During the entirety of this trial, we have blindly trusted the words of Doctor Sain, who has performed every single process except for the investigation, but the defense believes that even that was heavily influenced by him.” Kabbu explains. “But the defense would like to point out one piece of evidence that we believe has been explained incorrectly. The murder weapon used to kill the victim.” He says, presenting the comb.

“And what exactly about this comb is ‘explained incorrectly’?” Doctor Sain inquires.

"You spoke about the handprint, and said that it was 'evidence of the defendant's handling of the weapon', but I don't believe that that's true at all. I don't believe the victim had shed even a single drop of blood at the crime scene." Kabbu explains

The courtroom explodes into conversation, which is quickly silenced by Queen Elizant. “D-defense… what in the world are you saying?! How could the victim have not bled at the crime scene? He was stabbed there, the photo clearly shows him laying in a pool of blod!”

“All of the evidence needed is right here, in the murder weapon itself. While the blood on the blade is completely dried, the blood on the handle is still wet, which wouldn't make any sense if the victim had been stabbed at the time that we thought he had died. The only conclusion is that the victim was stabbed and killed much earlier, long before he or the defendant ever arrived at the crime scene!” He continues. Thinking back on it now, it's highly likely that Eetl has been dead for much longer than he thought. In order for the blood to be dry, he's probably been dead since he went home yesterday. Prosecutor Scarlet recoils. "That-- that's insane! That can't be true!" He hisses. Kabbu slams his fists down. "If that isn't the case, then how can you explain the blood on the blade being dry? No other way makes sense!"

“This is truly a mystery, which admittedly even I had overlook. However, your explanation is nonsense. If the victim was not murdered at the scene of the crime, then nothing else makes sense. How can you explain the pool of blood laying beneath him?” Doctor Sain asks.

"That's simple. The defendant was also injured when arriving at the scene, but the photo clearly shows there being no blood beneath her. It's entirely possible that the blood is actually Mothiva's, and that you moved her body to place Eetl there." Kabbu explains.

Doctor Sain glares at him for a moment. "What a fascinating and insane theory, defense. Now, could you kindly back it up with evidence? I know that something existed at one point, that could prove that that blood was Mothiva's, but it is long gone." He says.

“When you say that a way existed at one point, are you perhaps referring to the species identifier?” Kabbu asks.

“Yes, I am. It was tragically destroyed, though, and unfortunately the scientist who made it has been unable to recreate it.” The doctor says.

Kabbu nods. “That’s true. It was destroyed and she hasn’t been able to make another one, but she did make this.” He says, presenting the single use species identifier. “This is similar to that device, with the only difference being that if there are any contaminants in the sample, it will give a false negative. The defense requests permission to use this tool to prove that the defendant’s blood, and ONLY the defendant’s blood, is the blood recovered from the scene!”

Doctor Sain recoils. “She made what?” He says, a sparkle of anxiety forming in his eyes. "While this is incredible, we have no blood from the puddle on the scene to compare to." He says. "Of course, we do." Crime Scene Overseer K says, presenting a vial of crimson liquid. "What kind of detective would I be if I hadn't made sure to collect a blood sample?" "You what? You were instructed to--" Doctor Sain asks, cutting himself off. "This is preposterous, we have no clue what this machine truly is, it could very easily be a spoof. And we can't know if this blood sample is genuine, it can't be used as evidence." He argues.

“As her majesty and head judge of this court, I approve the use of this tool. Defense, please proceed.” Queen Elizant says.

Kabbu nods, following the instructions to first get a sample from the container, and then next from Mothiva herself. There’s a tense moment of silence as he waits for an answer… before it finally lights up green.

“They’re a match!” He exclaims.

“They— they are?!” Scarlet gasps.

Kabbu slams his hands down. “This is undeniable proof that, without a shadow of a doubt, the victim was never stabbed with this blade! That fact alone not only proves Parsley’s testimony, but it also proves that Mothiva is innocent, and finally that Doctor Sain is lying about the autopsy he performed, and his involvement in Jaune’s assault is still up for debate!” He says.

Chapter Text

The gallery’s chatter is so loud that Kabbu can’t even think. People are yelling at each other, yelling at him, at the Queens, at Doctor Sain, he can’t hear what, only the loud cacophony of voices as he tries to focus on his argument. This is the end of the pathway, he can’t see any way for Doctor Sain to recover from this. Queen Elizant slams her gavel down, several times. Kabbu thinks he can hear her voice over the loudness of everyone else, but he isn’t certain. It takes several minutes for the jury to finally silence themselves, though, and once they do, the courtroom is filled with deafening silence as all eyes turn to the doctor.

“Doctor Sain.” Queen Elizant says, breaking the silence. “This device is definitive proof that Eetl was killed elsewhere, and the blood being dry indicates that the murder occurred a great deal of time earlier than expected. If that's true, then you should have noticed this while doing the autopsy. You must explain yourself!” She demands.

Doctor Sain says nothing for several moments, staring up at Queen Elizant, before his eyes float down to Kabbu. “I would like to make a confession, if that will be allowed at this time.” He requests.

“A– a confession?!” Kabbu asks. Is… is he really just giving up!? He— he has proven that Doctor Sain lied, but he’s sure that there’s a bit more room to argue! Why would the doctor be giving in so quickly?

“Yes, you may.” Queen Elizant confirms.

“Thank you, her majesty’s descendant.” He says, before clearing his throat. “I, Doctor Sain, a servant of the Queen of Ants, confess to the act of fabricating the autopsy report.” Doctor Sain continues. “I, however, do not confess to the crimes pushed toward me. I did not bring harm to the defendant, and I did not harm the artist known as Jaune. Early last night, when I was performing the autopsy of Eetl, I was approached and threatened. The changes I made were demanded of me.”

“E-excuse me?! Now you’re claiming you WERE blackmailed?” Kabbu questions. He just spent so much time arguing that he wasn’t being blackmailed, is he really going to try changing his testimony now??

“Not blackmailed, my life was merely threatened.” Doctor Sain explains.

“If you’re going to claim you were being threatened this entire time, you better have some proof!” Vi yells, slamming her hands down.

“Of course I have proof. Do you think I would come to the courtroom without the necessary evidence to ensure my safety?” Doctor Sain questions, pulling down the collar of his coat to reveal a long cut along his neck. “This was given to me as a warning by my attacker.” He explains. It’s definitely new, Kabbu saw his neck earlier when he was laying on the ground and he didn’t see it then.

“Who was it that attacked you? Are you able to say?” Queen Elizant questions.

“Prosecutor Scarlet was the one who did this.” Doctor Sain announces.

“W–what?!” Kabbu yelps.

“You– I…! I did no such thing! I was working with K!” Prosecutor Scarlet hisses, recoiling in shock.

“The prosecutor lies. He approached me late last night, held a blade to my throat and informed me about the murder. He confessed that it had actually been him who had done all of this, and he demanded that I help cover his tracks to stop him from going back to jail.” Doctor Sain explains. “I falsified some reports, assisted him to the best of my ability. Unfortunately, all of that wasn’t enough for him. He had attacked someone else after killing Eetl. That bee, Jaune. He requested that I go and clean up the scene of Jaune's assault, and unfortunately for me, while I was doing that, I ran into Mr. Kabbu, who broke my arm even more than it already was before I even had a chance to explain myself by yanking on it.” He says.

“None of that is true! I wouldn’t– I didn’t! I didn’t do any of that!” Scarlet hisses, sweat running down his forehead.

Kabbu slams his hands down. “There’s no proof in anything you just said! Not to mention, when I was saving Jaune, YOU attacked me first! My mandible is still broken because of you!” He argues.

“Well, due to the limited evidence in any of this, we can’t prove specifics. However, I believe you’ll find that there’s no proof that points to what I’ve said being a lie. The only thing you’ve proven is that the attacker was a member of the BDL, the rest is uncertain.” Doctor Sain reminds.

"Even if there's only limited evidence, no one's gonna believe you! You've been lying this whole time!" Vi argues.

Doctor Sain shakes his head. "If her majesty's descendant knew what was good for her, she would follow the laws of the court. Or else." He warns, and much to Kabbu's frustration, Queen Elizant says nothing. "As I thought. Evidence is needed."

Kabbu can’t believe what he’s hearing. This can’t be happening, his entire argument can’t be falling apart like this. If things continue, he’ll have proven Mothiva innocent, but at the cost of Scarlet’s freedom! “Prosecutor Scarlet! You need to tell everyone what’s really been happening! You need to tell the courtroom who’s really been blackmailing you! You need to tell them the truth now, or you’re going to leave this courtroom in handcuffs!” Kabbu pleads.

“I— I can’t! I can’t say anything! You know this, defense!” Scarlet hisses. Kabbu is filled with frustration. Why can’t he? Why is he still hiding secrets? What’s the point of protecting his pardon if he’s going to be going to jail anyways?

“You won’t be able to reason with him, Mr. Kabbu. He has been thoroughly wedged between a rock and a hard place, one with no escape. Prosecutor Scarlet was doomed to follow this path from the beginning.” Doctor Sain explains.

Kabbu grits his mandibles. “I— I demand that Doctor Sain give testimony about this at once!” Kabbu yells, slamming his hands down.

Queen Elizant looks down at him, and he can feel a look of pity in her eyes. “I’m sorry defense, but with the accusations that Doctor Sain has made, Prosecutor Scarlet is going to have to take the stand and testify as well.” She explains.

"And, if I'm not mistaken, he isn't going to testify." Doctor Sain adds.

Kabbu looks back at Scarlet, praying to Venus that the pink ant will finally speak… but he doesn’t. He keeps silent, for a reason Kabbu can’t imagine. Dammit! He has no more evidence that can prove that Doctor Sain is responsible for committing these crimes! Doctor Sain is going to get away with everything, Leif, Vi, Mothiva, Jaune, and everyone else he cares about will be in danger because he pushed too hard toward finding out the truth and fell short.

Kabbu collapses onto his desk, out of options and hopeless. “Team… Prosecutor Scarlet… I’m sorry.” He mutters.

…

His despair is cut short, however, by the courtroom doors slamming open. “Hold it!” A familiar voice yells out, and Kabbu pulls himself up from the defense’s booth to see Maki standing at the entrance to the courtroom.

“M-Maki?!” Kabbu exclaims in shock.

“Maki! You’ve returned! Where have you been?” Queen Elizant asks, standing up from her chair.

Doctor Sain sighs. “I believe that we are currently in the middle of a trial. If you could, please return after this has concluded.” He says.

“I’m afraid this is not something that can wait. Your majesty, I hope I haven’t come in too late. I planned to show up to show my support, but unfortunately, I ran into a small delay obtaining some evidence.” Maki explains.

“Where have you been?” Kabbu asks.

“The Lost Sands, I was trying to find that bandit hideout, but ending up losing conciousness after I underestimated how much water I’d need. That’s not important, though. While I was recovering from my collapse, I spoke with a bandit who had just recently gotten out of jail, who told me about how a toxicologist had informed him of an incident regarding the assault of a lawyer. I thought it might have been Kabbu, but clearly I was wrong, since he’s still here and well.” Maki explains.

So Maki did end up getting there, at least they managed to find him alive. “And… was the evidence you obtained related to the assault?” Kabbu asks.

Maki nods. “They mentioned that they thought someone high up had to be involved, which I took as a suspicion towards the BDL, so I made a quick detour there before coming here. I managed to find this.” Maki explains, before putting a small bottle on the witness’s bench— THE small bottle that Kabbu saw earlier sitting on Doctor Sain’s desk.

“And what exactly is this bottle you’ve found?” Doctor Sain asks, looking over at Maki.

“I would have expected you to know that, Doctor Sain. I found it in your office.” Maki says. “I made one last quick stop at Defiant Root to try and find someone who could identify it, because I suspected it was some kind of chemical, and I was right. The poison seller I found determined that it was a bug’s venom but couldn’t give me any specifics. He didn’t sell it, and he doesn’t know anyone else who could have sold it considering its quality.” He explains.

“Venom?” Kabbu asks, before slamming his hands down. “The doctor at the Rubber Prison confirmed that there had been venom on the weapon that was used to attack Prosecutor Loki!”

“And Doctor H.B. said she found something like that in Jaune’s wounds!” Vi adds.

"With this, we could test the venom in Loki's blood to see if its the same venom!" Kabbu says.

“Doctor Sain, you will explain yourself at once.” Queen Elizant demands.

Doctor Sain shakes his head. “I don’t believe I need to, her majesty’s descendant. There still is no evidence that could possibly single me out as a culprit in Jaune’s attack, no proof that I nor anyone else purchased this ‘venom’, and due to the fine print on the prosecutor pardon, and Article Twelve Twenty Three Point Four, even if I were to blame for the attack against Prosecutor Loki, it would be perfectly legal, and thus need no explanation.” He says.

Queen Elizant shakes her head. “That article no longer exists, and it will not apply to you.” She says.

“Pardon?” Doctor Sain asks.

“It was thankfully brought to my attention yesterday morning that the article you speak of, which allows harm to come to convicts as long as the culprit is not a convict. I was never made aware of this law’s passing, and because of that, me and my fellow Queen’s agreed that it would make the most sense to simply repeal the article and act as if it never existed in the first place.” Queen Elizant explains. “Now, proceed with your testimony.”

“I don’t think a testimony is needed at all, your honor. I think all of the evidence that’s come together here proves, without a shadow of a doubt, that Doctor Sain is responsible for the murder of Eetl, the assault of Jaune, AND the assault of Prosecutor Loki!” Kabbu yells.

The courtroom bursts into chatter, which is quickly silenced by Queen Elizant’s gavel. “Defense, I am inclined to agree. However, I would like to hear anything Doctor Sain has to say regarding this.” She says. “Well? Do you have anything to say?” She asks.

…

Doctor Sain is silent for a very long moment, staring at Kabbu for what feels like an eternity, before he nods. “The accusations are, for the most part, true. I will admit that much. However, I refuse to admit to the murder of Eetl.” He says, and Kabbu feels a wave of relief wash over him, one that is very short lived.

“After everything, you’re still going to try and push the crime onto someone else?” Leif questions.

Doctor Sain shakes his head. “No.” He says. “I am not pushing the crime onto anyone else, I am simply confessing the truth. Eetl is not dead, he has not been dead this entire time, and as long as no one lays a finger on me, he will continue not being dead.” He announces.

“What?!” Kabbu recoils. Eetl is ALIVE?! H-how? How can this be possible?

Scarlet slams his fist down. “That—! That’s simply not true! Even if the autopsy results were a lie, we have a photo of his dead body!” He hisses.

“Fabricated as well. Crime Scene Overseer K is more than happy to help with fabricating things, he hardly needs to be blackmailed to do what one wants him to. Had he not decided to betray us, everything would have gone perfectly” Doctor Sain explains. “And of course, as the defense has pointed out, everything else has also been a fabrication. An attempt to convict Mothiva of a crime that never happened. I attacked Eetl early yesterday, and when Mothiva arrived, I set up the photos and put the handprint on its handle. I hadn't even considered that it would create a contradiction.” He continues.

That… that lines up with everything Doctor Sain has done. He didn’t kill Jaune, he didn’t kill Loki, he didn’t kill Mothiva, and he didn’t even actually kill Doctor Abel. With a track record of failing to kill anyone in the past… Kabbu should have expected that Doctor Sain wouldn’t have killed Eetl either. But how can he trust Doctor Sain's words? He's lied about everything else, this is likely also a lie. But what if he isn't lying?

“You— Where is he? Where is Eetl?!” Maki hisses, taking his blade off of his back. “By my blade, if you don’t tell us, I’ll—!”

“Calm yourself, Sir Maki. As I said, as long as not a finger is placed upon me, he will be returned to you alive. All I demand is that I be allowed to leave this courtroom.” Doctor Sain explains. “He’s somewhere dangerous, at the moment, down a path least traveled. If I’m not let go soon, he’ll either be killed, or he’ll die of dehydration.”

The court explodes into conversation once more as Maki hesitantly puts his blade away. Even the Queens begin to talk amongst themselves. Doctor Sain… he’s about to go free! After everything he’s done! Kabbu can't believe that this is happening, this... this is insane!

“Are they just going to let him go?” Vi asks.

“I… I think so. If he isn’t let go, then Eetl will actually die this time.” Kabbu says.

Leif frowns. “Unless we find him first.” He says.

“H-huh? Find him first?” Kabbu asks.

Leif nods. “We’ve been all over Bugaria, surely we could find him before he dies. Or maybe there’s some evidence that could possibly point toward where he put Eetl. He said it was somewhere dangerous, and a road least traveled, that has to mean something.” He explains.

That… that’s surely a possibility. While it isn’t a fun one, if they arrest Doctor Sain and they don’t find Eetl, then they’ve lost a life… but… what sticks out to Kabbu even more is the second option Leif said. Evidence of where he put Eetl? He… he might actually have that!

Kabbu slams his hands down, silencing the courtroom one last time. “There’s no need for your help, Doctor Sain. I’ve already figured out where Eetl is.” He says.

“Do understand, defense, a bluff isn’t going to get me to break down. I am an impenetrable fortress, as is where Eetl is currently located. If you even try to arrest me, Eetl will die.” Doctor Sain argues.

“It’s only an impenetrable fortress because you made it one. The defense would like to present evidence at this time, a piece of evidence that will easily prove Eetl’s location.” Kabbu explains, before presenting the Snakemouth Lab crystal. “I don’t have the evidence with me at the moment, unfortunately it’s currently located at Prosecutor Scarlet’s house. He’s been looking after it per request of Doctor Sain.” He says.

“The— that crystal!" Scarlet recoils. "Doctor Sain gave me a crystal around midafternoon yesterday and told me to hold onto it until further notice, and he paid me a large sum of berries to keep it hidden.” Scarlet explains.

“And that crystal isn’t just any crystal! It’s the secret key to the lab in Snakemouth Den!” Kabbu explains. “There’s only one reason Doctor Sain would suddenly remove that crystal and hide it, and that reason is that he now had something he to hide, as a final backup in case his plan went wrong!” He explains. “All it would take is a quick trip to Prosecutor Scarlet’s home, and then one to Snakemouth Den, and we’ll be able to confirm that theory!”

“Guards! Hurry and do as instructed! A bug’s life may depend on it!” Queen Elizant orders, and less than a moment later, several guards rush out of the courtroom.

Meanwhile, Doctor Sain stands still, staring at Kabbu. His face still reflects no emotion, but the way he silently shakes reflects a bubbling rage. “Mr. Kabbu…” He mutters, slamming his hand down on the table. “You…” He hisses, slamming his fist again. “Gods damn you!” Doctor Sain hisses, before grabbing the edge of the witness stand and slamming his face into it, shattering his glasses and causing him to collapse onto the floor.

…

It takes a long time for Doctor Sain to recover from his self-inflicted injury, and even longer for the courtroom to calm down, and admittedly even longer for Kabbu to recover from that shock. Out of everything he expected to happen, that certainly wasn't it. When all is settled, Doctor Sain is kneeling before the witness stand, the breaking of his glasses has caused a small cut to form between his eyes.

“I should have been more efficient… it would have been so easy to get rid of the problem, had I ever been capable of killing. No, the only capability I hold is the strength to lie, to examine, and to break bugs down, whether that be mentally, or physically, but to grind them down to dust as requested is far beyond my potential.” Doctor Sain says. “I blackmailed Mothiva, Scarlet, K, and several other bugs. I came up with the plot, down to each and every murder, pardon, and berry, and whatever wasn’t performed by the bugs I hired and paid was performed by me. Eetl was singled out to be kidnapped for getting too suspicious about our observation. I had him kidnapped and hidden, I had the witness murdered, I had Mothiva framed for fabricating evidence, I tampered with crime scene after crime scene to make sure I got everything just the way I wanted, and I broke Scarlet down to the state I needed for him to be the perfect fall guy. The corruption that Mothiva detailed in her report was ME, and me alone. I did it solely because I desired control over the BDL.” He continues.

He's... confessing to being responsible for everything? Kabbu knew he was heavily tied to it all, but he didn't think that he was responsible for EVERYTHING. Still, Kabbu is so shaken up that he doesn't question it, and that he barely notices the shiver that runs up his back.

“With my arrest, my purpose is fulfilled. With my duty to her majesty, those secrets will remain hidden forever, and this chapter of Bugarian history will come to a close. We will be forgotten about.” Doctor Sain says, and then he speaks no more.

Queen Elizant silences the whispers growing amongst the members of the gallery with another slam of her gavel. “The court will now adjourn until the victim of this crime has been rescued. After that, the verdict will be handed down.” She says.

And with that, court is adjourned.

Chapter Text

It doesn’t take long for the guards to retrieve Eetl who, despite having a small hole in his back from where he was stabbed, is thankfully still alive, and despite the fact that he’s shaking like a leaf, he seems to be relatively okay. Understandably after everything that’s happened to him, he doesn’t seem particularly excited to talk about what happened, and is relatively quiet save for his whimpering.

“So… are we gonna talk to him about what happened, or just wait for the trial to continue?” Vi asks, glancing over at Eetl.

“I don’t think it’s completely necessary to ask him what happened, we already know, and he clearly isn’t in the shape to talk about it.” Mothiva says, finally free of her restraints now that the trial is pretty much over.

“That’s true… I don’t want to cause him any more distress, he’s been through a lot.” Kabbu says.

“An attempted murder, being kidnapped, being sealed in a dark cave full of corpses. We can’t see him, but we’re sure he isn’t doing very well.” Leif adds.

“Still, though, I think it would be a good idea, to make sure I have everything worked out and sensible.” Kabbu continues.

“But… isn’t the trial over? It doesn’t matter if you have everything right, you got the guy responsible!” Vi exclaims.

Kabbu nods. That’s true, Doctor Sain has been arrested, and he will undoubtedly be found guilty. However… something just isn’t sitting right with Kabbu. Doctor Sain really made it sound like he was responsible for everything, but Kabbu knows that Doctor Sain wasn’t responsible for *everything*. The writing in the instructions isn’t consistent with his writing, and unless they were written by K, there must be another bug involved. On top of that… Queen Elizant was being threatened with the reveal of the substitute… but Doctor Sain threatened Kabbu to keep it a secret.

He was clearly extremely passionate about serving Queen Elizant the First… for him to threaten to reveal her secrets just to get power over her doesn’t make sense. His final words echo in Kabbu’s mind as he tries to wrap his head around them.

…

‘With my arrest, my purpose is fulfilled. With my duty to her majesty, those secrets will remain hidden forever, and this chapter of Bugarian history will come to a close. We will be forgotten about’

…

Those don’t sound like the words of someone threatening to spill all of Queen Elizant the First’s secrets. Kabbu isn’t sure what any of this means… but one thing after another keeps building, and he has a feeling that he isn’t at the end of this just yet. “I just need to make sure.” Kabbu replies after several moments of thinking.

They nod, and Vi, Leif, and Mothiva walk over to Eetl. Before Kabbu can follow, however, Maki puts a hand on his shoulder. “If I could have a moment to speak with you, Kabbu.” He requests.

“Of course! What is it?” Kabbu asks.

“I… would like to apologize.” Maki sighs. “For taking your badges, and your team badge. It was wrong of me to make you choose between the association and your job… and had I known that Queen Elizant had requested you defend Astotheles in court… I’m not sure how I would have responded, but regardless, my anger towards you was unjustified.” He explains.

“It’s okay, I’m just glad you’re back and unharmed, that’s more than can be said for a lot of us.” Kabbu says.

Maki frowns, looking off toward Eetl. “Even though the bandits and Astotheles have committed countless crimes, choosing to defend him in court was the right thing to do. If you hadn’t and he were falsely convicted, then there’d still be a murderer on the loose, and Astotheles would be arrested for something he hadn’t done.” Maki explains, before pulling out a case from his pocket, before retrieving four objects from it.

He places them in Kabbu’s hands. It’s their personal badges, as well as the Team Snakemouth explorer’s badge. Kabbu is quick to attach his own badge to his dress shirt, right next to his lawyer badge and his favorite one medal. “Thank you, Maki.” He says.

“No, thank you, Kabbu, for continuing to help people, and for helping people regardless of who they are.” Maki says. “I won’t be able to join you for the conclusion of the trial. Besides needing to make sure Eetl is okay, I need to announce my return and calm Kina’s rage.”

Kabbu nods in understanding. He’s glad he won’t have to experience that… if Kina was willing to tear apart the entire Explorer’s Association headquarters because he went missing, Kabbu can’t imagine what she’s going to do when she finds out he nearly died trying to find the bandit hideout… there might not be an Explorer’s Association headquarters by the time they’re done with this.

He approaches Eetl and his friends, who are currently trying to comfort the shaking beetle, to little avail. Getting a closer look at him… he’s very much traumatized. Not surprising, considering what he’s been through, but certainly not good.

“Hey! Kabbu, did you hear what he said?” Vi asks.

“I… did not, I was talking with Maki for a moment.” Kabbu says with a frown.

Eetl wipes the tears out of his eyes. “I– I don’t know how l-long I was down there f-for, but… after that d-doctor locked me down there, I c-could hear something else. It was s-so dark and cold, a-and… there was something down there with me, I could hear it, dragging around in the darkness.” He whimpers.

Vi turns back to Kabbu. “I know we cleared out most of the monsters down there, but do you think it’s possible we missed some? I can’t think of anything else that could even be down there besides those zombies.” She explains.

“Maybe the Zommoth is still alive down there? We could never find it again after that first time we beat it up.” Leif suggests.

“That’s… possible, it was a very strong foe, I’m not sure if beating it up would be enough to put it down permanently.” Kabbu says. He frowns at that thought. The Zommoth, Doctor Abel, the culmination of the roaches’ research. Is it possible that the cordyceps inside of the Zommoth made it immortal? For the doctor’s sake… he hopes not, and hopefully Eetl was just hearing things.

“I… think it might be best to just let Eetl go home and recover.” Kabbu says.

“That’s probably the best course of action.” Maki agrees. “Kabbu, I wish you the best of luck in concluding this trial. I’ll return and cheer you on as soon as Eetl is safe, settled, and being guarded at home, and as soon as Kina has stopped destroying the Explorer’s Association. You can do this.” He encourages, before taking Eetl and leaving.

Kabbu lets out a sigh. Well, this is it, then. Nothing left to do but wait for the trial to resume. At the very least, it’s good to know that his friends are, for now, safe. He turns to look toward the door, debating going over to the prosecution’s antechamber to talk to Scarlet for a moment, only to be met with the bug in white, standing only a few feet away from him. He gasped, nearly falling backwards and catching the attention of everyone else.

“Excuse my sudden intrusion. This is a matter most urgent.” She says.

“Who in the world is this?” Mothiva huffs, crossing her arms.

“My identity matters not. What does matter is that this fight is not over. There’s more going on here than you have so far discovered.” The bug in white explains.

“What more could be going on here? We’ve figured everything out, Doctor Sain admitted to attacking everyone!” Vi exclaims.

“I… cannot remember, but I am certain that there is more going on here. Doctor Sain is not the end, he was just another cog in the machine. I know it.” They explain.

That’s exactly what Kabbu has been thinking. All of this was far too easy, there’s no way that it could be over. There’s one more part to all of this that he hasn’t figured out yet. “Do you have any guidance on what we’re missing? Or any evidence that I could use to prove that something else is going on here?” Kabbu asks.

The bug in white shakes their head. “All I can give you is this.” She says, handing him the painting. “I trust you’ll make good use of it… I can’t remain in these lands a moment longer, moving between the Deadlands and Bugaria and the Wastes repeatedly is causing issues with my mind and my memories. This will be the last time we meet.”

Kabbu nods. He wishes he could convince her not to return to the Wastes… but he knows he won’t be able to. She’d prefer to forget everything than to run the risk of not actually being who she thinks she is.

“Wait! Please don’t leave just yet, we… we know you, we know we know you.” Leif pleads, reaching out to the bug, who quickly moves away.

“You… you don’t know us. That is a promise.” The bug in white says, before disappearing.

Leif frowns. “We… we can’t place it, but we’re sure we know that bug… from somewhere, from somewhen.” He mutters. “We… is it… could it be? Is it you?”

Vi looks up at Kabbu, silently asking for permission to just tell Leif the truth. He shakes his head. They can’t… if Leif knew, Kabbu can’t imagine that there would be much stopping him from trying to follow them out into the Deadlands.

Before Kabbu can give any comfort to Leif, a guard steps into the antechamber. “Defendant! Counsel for the defense! The trial will be resuming shortly, please make your way to the courtroom!” They demand.

There’s no more waiting that can be done. It’s time for the verdict…

—

As soon as everyone crams back into the courtroom, the chatter is silenced by the slam of a gavel. “Bugs of Bugaria, I apologize for the long delay, the trial will now be continuing.” Queen Elizant announced. “During the short recess, the victim was retrieved, alive and well, and the one responsible, Doctor Sain, has been apprehended, and will face jail time for what he has done.” She explains. “I believe that the truth of the matter has been reached, and as such, I request that the defendant be brought to the stand for the conclusion of this trial.”

The guards bring Mothiva to the stand. “Mothiva.” Queen Elizant says. “I would like to apologize for the less than welcoming return you’ve had to Bugaria, and I would like to assure you that you will not face punishment for the crime of evidence forgery, now that the situation you were in has become apparent. If you are still hoping to continue a career in law, I assure you that you will be accepted back into the ranks of the BDL.” She explains.

“Thank you, your majesty.” Mothiva says, bowing to her.

“And Prosecutor Scarlet and Defense Attorney Kabbu, the Queen’s of Bugaria thank you graciously for your assistance in exposing this monster. But that is a later matter. Right now, it is important that this trial draws to a close.” Queen Elizant continues.

But… that wasn’t the truth of the matter, not the whole truth at least. The bug in white’s words echo in his head, this isn’t the end, there’s something more going on here, and if Kabbu leaves any bit of that corruption, then it’ll just regrow and all of this will happen again.

Is ending the trial here even an option? Will he even be able to continue his investigation? He thinks to Astotheles’s trial, and how the bugs behind this were already ready to assault Leif. Can he leave this trial safely? Or will someone be waiting outside those doors to attack them? Is continuing his investigation even an option at this point?

He really doesn’t have a choice, he can’t risk it, he needs to find the truth now, before the trial ends, before the verdict is handed down, before they have a chance to run away and regroup.

“For the kidnapping and assault of Eetl of the Explorer’s Association, the court of Bugaria finds the defendant, Mothiva, not—”

“Objection!” Kabbu yells out, slamming his hands down and cutting Queen Elizant off.

Queen Elizant flinches, the entire courtroom immediately exploding into conversation, only to be silenced a moment later. “E-excuse me, defense? What are you objecting to? The trial is over.” She says.

“I… the truth about Eetl’s kidnapping may have been found, but the defense is under the belief that there is more here than what we’ve discovered! I demand that Doctor Sain take the stand and testify about *why* he did what he did, so we can get to the true bottom of this!” Kabbu says.

He’s sure that Doctor Sain isn’t the true mastermind, he just can’t be. His motivations don’t line up with what the corruption has been doing. The eternal substitute ties into all of this, as does that trial from eighty years ago. Kabbu knows it, but with Doctor Sain at the head of all of this, and his desire to keep Queen Elizant the First’s crimes hidden, it just doesn’t make sense.

But then who?? It can’t be Daxy, nor can it be Scarlet or K or Loki or Tennent or Saraha. He knows that the trial from eighty years ago is involved, but almost everyone involved is either dead or has had an attempt made on their life recently. There’s only one conclusion, really only one bug left at the BDL that could realistically be the mastermind behind all of this.

Arioch.

The scorpion clears his throat, causing Kabbu to jump with surprise. He hadn’t even noticed that Arioch appeared at the witness stand beside Mothiva. “I apologize for my sudden appearance. Unfortunately, Doctor Saine is unable to take the stand at this time. I am here to stand in for him until the trial concludes.” Arioch announces.

“He… what? Why can’t he? What happened?" Kabbu questions.

“I can testify to that, your majesty.” Scarlet sighs. “For some reason, the venom Maki found wasn’t confiscated and Doctor Sain got ahold of it. On top of that, he wasn’t restrained properly. The moment everyone turned away from him, he poured it into the wound he created from slamming his face into the witness stand. He’s gone comatose.” He explains.

Kabbu slams his fists down. “This can’t be a coincidence! Doctor Sain was trying to hide something!” He argues.

“No, defense, it wasn’t a coincidence. Doctor Sain has just been accused of four counts of assault, and is certainly going to prison for longer than he has left. It makes sense that Doctor Sain was trying to escape the consequences of his actions.” Scarlet argues. “His plan failed, though. The venom was deemed to be nonfatal, and once he wakes, he’ll be convicted for his crimes.”

Queen Elizant nods. “The perpetrator is unable to testify at this time. Defense, I think we have a sufficient understanding of everything that’s occurred, and if there is something more, it will be followed up on in Doctor Sain’s trial. Unless you have evidence that could prove that there’s something that was overlooked, I see no point in continuing this.” Queen Elizant said.

Kabbu gritted his mandibles. The bug responsible for all of this is before him now, it HAS to be Arioch because Kabbu can’t imagine that anyone else could be pulling the strings here. He just needs to prove that he’s connected, and from there Kabbu can reel him in and find the truth.

“The defense has evidence, two pieces of evidence, which when put together, disprove the idea that Doctor Sain acted alone in his plotting.” Kabbu announces.

The prosecutor across from him sighs and shakes his head. “Then please present it, defense. I’ve been up since yesterday and I’d like to put this trial to rest and sleep.” Prosecutor Scarlet hisses.

Kabbu nods, before presenting the pair of instructions, and Cartes’s pardon. “I would like to draw the court’s attention to this document. It’s a pardon, written by Doctor Sain, which if it had taken effect, would have freed Sollytaire Cartes from her imprisonment.” He explains.

Queen Bianca sits up at that. “Sollytaire Cartes? That bug who murdered Doctor Honeycomb? How in the world did she receive a pardon? I didn’t approve of that!” The bee queen exclaims.

“These documents were written by Doctor Sain, but Cartes’s pardon was approved by Arioch.” Kabbu explains. Now that he’s thinking about it… with Arioch involved in all of this, forging of documents wouldn’t have even been needed, both versions of Cartes’s pardon were legitimately made and signed, only one of them was never meant to see the light of day.

“The BDL has the full right to pardon anyone they see fit, for any crime less than treason.” Arioch interjects.

“Meaning that Arioch signing this pardon is fully within the law, and there’s nothing to imply that these pardons have anything to do with the crimes committed by Doctor Sain.” Scarlet argues.

“I would have to agree with the prosecution here, defense. Though, I remember you saying you had a second piece of evidence, if you could expand upon that, it might make it a bit easier to understand what you’re arguing here.” Queen Elizant says.

Kabbu nods, before taking a deep breath. It’s time to throw another theory out there, and pray that it sticks. “The defense would like to argue that the pardoning of Sollytaire Cartes was not a lapse in judgment on Arioch’s part. Yesterday, Vi managed to gain access to the room that Cartes stayed in leading up to the night of Professor Honeycomb’s murder.” He explains, before looking to Vi.

“Huh? Oh! Yeah! I found some papers she left laying around, I have photos of them as well.” Vi says as she pulls her portable termacade out of her bag. “I found a notice of release in there, that said she had been let out of jail on the day she started staying in the room, and only a couple days before she killed Professor Honeycomb!” She explains.

“Vi also found this, a chess board that when rearranged, spelled out a set of instructions on how to go about killing a target, including how to retrieve Mason’s mail, and how to get the key needed to enter the room, and down to the exact time to enter Doctor H.B.’s lab.” Kabbu explains.

“These instructions sound very similar to the ridiculous writing that was on Laurice Dace’s fire blanket” Queen Vanessa says.

Kabbu nods. “There are. They were written in the same way, and delivered in a similar medium, and I believe that they were written by the same bug. However, the big issue here is that the messages were written before being put on this chess board and that blanket, and that the handwriting doesn’t match Doctor Sain’s handwriting.” He explains.

The jury explodes into whispers. “Defense, spit out whatever argument you’re trying to make already.” Prosecutor Scarlet hisses.

He nods, before turning his attention to the scorpion standing at the witness stand. “I think you released Sollytaire Cartes from prison with the sole purpose of having her kill someone, and I don’t think Sollytaire was the only bug you did this with. Laurice Dace, the other bug to receive these instructions, was offered thousands of berries by the BDL before his death. I’m certain that if he had survived the ordeal and been sentenced to jail, Laurice would have received a pardon, just like Sollytaire did.” Kabbu explains.

“Why exactly would the head of the BDL, Bugaria’s Attorney General, have multiple people murdered?! He has an incredibly prestigious position, it makes no sense for him to throw it away to have an old, washed up professor and some random artist killed!” Prosecutor Scarlet questions.

“That’s because the bugs he was targeting weren’t just any random bugs. I spoke with the ex-Detective Anagram yesterday, and he confessed to me that he was also paid thousands of berries to attempt to kill Rivour Eugor, and this murder was to occur during the short time that Astotheles was in Defiant Root. Laurice Dace was instructed to kill Cece-Lia, with Dara Cavara just so happened to be moved across the gallery onto the crime scene.” Kabbu explains.

“And Professor Honeycomb was never supposed to be the target! The instructions told her to kill the first person that entered the lab, and if Professor Honeycomb hadn’t broken in, that bug would have been Doctor H.B.!” Vi adds.

“The thing that connects all of these seemingly random people is their involvement in a trial that took place eighty years ago. Rivour Eugor and Anagram are both the apprentices to the detective for the trial, Rae Kalita. Cece-Lia was very close with the council for the defense on the trial, Falsaver Itas. Doctor H.B.’s wife was one of the witnesses in the trial, as was Pommet Dace, Astotheles’s adoptive mom, and Dara Cavara herself. Doctor Sain himself made an appearance as well at the beginning of the trial to testify about the defendant’s mental state.The fact that this long series of bugs just so happened to all get involved in a series of murders is in no way a coincidence!” Kabbu explains.

“We were also present during that trial, for a brief moment, and someone forged fake fluff to get us convicted of treason. We would have been executed for that if Kabbu hadn’t pleaded our case.” Leif adds.

“Defense, this points more toward the idea that Doctor Sain is responsible for all of this, I hope you know.” Scarlet hisses, though Kabbu can hear fear in his voice. Scarlet must already know about this connection, then. That means that he’s on the right path.

“It would point towards him being responsible, if there wasn’t one more bug involved that hasn’t at all been touched by this string of murders. The prosecutor for the trial, who had failed to convict the defendant, and whose entire career was destroyed by the revelation that they had fabricated evidence for the trial, and one of the only bugs in Bugaria who would want to make sure that trial was completely forgotten. That bug is none other than you! Arioch Iram!” Kabbu explains.

Arioch looks at him, arms behind his back. Unlike Doctor Sain, who stood and spoke without emotion, Arioch stands with an air of confidence and calmness. Despite the fact that Kabbu is finally managing to bring his plot to light, he’s calm, even taking a moment to fix his tie and adjust his cufflinks.

“S-Sir Arioch, do you have a response to this accusation?” Queen Elizant asks.

“The accusation is nonsense, it requires no response.” Arioch says, the first words he’s spoken in a while. “I am a bug of few words, and I would rather not waste them on arguing against the defense’s foolishness.”

“You still have to testify! Even if you think the accusation is nonsense, there’s sufficient proof that points toward you being involved in this!” Kabbu explains.

“The prosecution… objects! To the continuation of this line of thought.” Scarlet hisses.

Kabbu recoils. “E-excuse me?! But—!” He starts, only to be silenced by the slam of a gavel.

“The prosecution’s objection will be sustained. I… am sincerely sorry, defense, but the law states that, unless there is indisputable evidence that points to their guilt, there must be a unanimous agreement between the prosecution, defense, and the leading Queen in order for the Head of the BDL to be required to testify. As long as there is an objection from the prosecution, this line of questioning cannot continue, especially since he is the only prosecutor in Bugaria at the moment. The only other option to make Arioch testify is to present sufficient evidence to warrant a statement from him.” Queen Elizant explains.

That… there’s no way that that’s a law! How in the world has Arioch been getting away with making rules like this? What other rules are in place to stop any consequences from reaching Arioch?? He looks between Queen Elizant and Prosecutor Scarlet, two bugs that he knows are being threatened by the scorpion at the witness stand, and he silently realizes that everything has been stacked against him since the start.

“You repealed a law just earlier today! You can repeal that requirement as well!” Kabbu pleads. Queen Elizant shakes her head. This… this can’t be happening, he thought that confronting Arioch would be the only way forward, he thought he’d be able to prove something, but now he’s been stopped, and now the source of all of the corruption in the BDL knows that he knows. If he wasn’t in danger before, he certainly is now.

He goes through his evidence once more, hoping and praying to find something that can link Arioch to the crimes committed… but he falls short. This can’t be the end, it just can’t! After everything he’s done, he can’t fall short so close to the end!

“I don’t wish to interrupt the meltdown that the defense is having, but can we please hand down the verdict now?” Mothiva requests, crossing her arms.

“B-but! Mothiva, if this trial ends, Jaune is still going to be in danger!” Kabbu argues, and is once again ignored.

Queen Elizant nods. “I apologize to the gallery for the tirade that the defense went on. For the kidnapping and assault of Eetl of the Explorer’s Association, the court of Bugaria finds the defendant, Mothiva, not guilty.” She says, slamming down her gavel.

Kabbu can feel the blood drain from his body as Arioch’s eyes dart from Queen Elizant back down to him. He feels completely helpless. “As the trial has ended, I will now take my leave.” Arioch says, turning and preparing to leave, only to be cut off by Mothiva clearing her throat.

“Seeing as I am no longer under suspicion of murder, and my ability to prosecute has been so graciously returned to me, I would like to usurp Prosecutor Scarlet as the prosecution for the remainder of this trial, if that would be okay, your majesty.” Mothiva requests as she takes the prosecution’s stand and shoves Scarlet out of the way.

“Excuse me? Mothiva, the trial is over.” Queen Elizant says.

“If I’m not mistaken, your majesty, the defense has more to say. With myself as prosecutor, I believe there are no more issues with the attorney general of Bugaria being forced to testify? Unless, of course, you’re in a hurry to end this trial quickly and let him possibly get off the hook.” Mothiva argues.

“I… no, I am not in a hurry to end this trial.” Queen Elizant says. “Arioch Iram, please return to the witness stand. The court of Bugaria demands you testify about the accusation set before you.” She demands.

Chapter Text

The courtroom quickly devolves into quiet whispers among the gallery. All the while, Arioch continues to stand at the witness stand. Prosecutor Scarlet has a look of fear on his face, as if he had truly been expecting the trial to end when he objected to Arioch giving testimony, but he refuses to leave his end of the prosecution's bench. Crime Scene Overseer K, who for some reason STILL hasn’t left, is standing next to Arioch at the witness stand, drinking another cup of coffee.

And Arioch stands before Bugaria, accused of masterminding all of the crimes Kabbu has prosecuted recently, and patiently waiting for the courtroom to quiet so that he may speak. He doesn’t have to wait long, as Queen Elizant silences the courtroom only a few moments later with a slam of her gavel.

“Attorney General Arioch Iram, please proceed with your testimony.” Queen Elizant repeats.

“I am unable to.” Arioch says, shaking his head. “I swore to Queen Elizant the First that I would not speak of this trial, nor any matters involving it. “ He explains, before gently laying a claw against the witness stand. “Unless you’re hoping to remove both of the vows of silence she had me make?”

Queen Elizant tenses at that. “I— no, I… I do not request that you break them.” She stutters, anxiety rising in her voice. Any doubt that Arioch isn’t the blackmailer is quickly going out the window, and Arioch isn't even trying to hide that he has Queen Elizant in his pocket anymore. He's pointing it out to all of Bugaria, if anything.

Leif grasps at his chest again, flinching slightly. “We… we sense a lot of fear from Queen Elizant… but… we also sense excitement from Arioch, despite his calm demeanor and straight face. Whatever it is he’s implying… he very much wants to talk about it.” He says.

That’s not good. If Arioch tells Bugaria about the substitute project, then Queen Elizant could be done for… he needs to make sure that that doesn’t happen. The disorder caused by such a revelation would put her in danger, and it could also give Arioch a chance to escape and get away with his crimes.

Kabbu slams his hands down. “Her honor isn’t asking you to testify about the trial! You can keep silent about the details, we just need to hear about the accusation made towards you.” He argues.

Arioch frowns deeply, before nodding, putting his arms behind his back again. “That is acceptable. As long as I’m not forced to break any promises.” He sighs, seemingly disappointed at Kabbu’s interjection.

Okay… he’s finally got the head of the BDL on the witness stand. Now he just needs to find a contradiction and find some evidence that can prove Arioch’s place in all of this. He isn’t sure what his goal is, besides revealing the truth. Will the truth even do anything? Will Arioch be punished for his crimes? Will Queen Elizant, still terrified of her the substitute being revealed, and will she even be willing to remove Arioch from his place in the law? He doesn’t know, he can only hope that whatever he manages to uncover is enough to make sure Arioch never gets the chance to do this again.

—Baseless Accusations—

“I have no reason to want to bring harm to anyone,” Arioch begins. “The trial of Jay Ester is not something I am allowed to speak on, nor is it something that holds any place in my mind.” He continues. “The horrible deed I committed during that trial will forever haunt me, but I have moved past it.” Arioch explains. “Doctor Sain has already confessed to these crimes, and his obsession with the previous queen is proof for motivation.” He concludes.

“So you're going to deny that you had any involvement in all of this?” Kabbu asks.

Arioch nods. “I am. I am here, in Bugaria, for the sole purpose of restoring the Department of Law, and nothing more.” He answers, before turning his head to look at Mothiva. “And I take it the prosecutor who now claims charge in this trial has no intent of actually opposing the defense?”

“I do. Don’t misunderstand my motivations, if the defense says something stupid, there’s plenty of things under this desk to throw at them.” Mothiva says.

Queen Elizant nods. “As long as the prosecution is doing their job of keeping the defense in check, I see no issue with this ordeal.” She says.

Arioch frowns. “In that case, I expect her to be ejected from this courtroom if, at any point, she fails to meet her duty. I will not be badgered.” He says.

“Of course. I will be doing my duty as well to keep this trial in check… even if there is currently not a specific crime being focused on at this time.” Queen Elizant says, before turning her attention to the bullet ant still standing at the other side of the witness bench. “Crime Scene Overseer K… would you mind explaining why you’re still here?” She requests.

“Huh? Oh, me? I’m just hanging around. Nothing wrong with that, yeah?” K says with a shrug, leaning against the bench and taking another sip of his coffee.

“I… suppose there isn’t anything wrong with that. Do not interrupt the proceedings, please.” Queen Elizant requests, earning a nod from K.

This is it, Kabbu’s chance to find some way to tie Arioch into all of this. He can’t fail now, he needs to find something, and quickly.

—Rebuttal—

(I have no reason to want to bring harm to anyone)

“That trail eighty years ago completely ruined your life, it forced you to leave Bugaria and ruined both your reputation and the reputation of the BDL. I can’t imagine that you wouldn’t want to sweep that under the rug.” Kabbu argues.

Arioch shakes his head. “The trial resulted in no such thing. I left on my own accord, and no one stopped me.” He argues. “Not to mention, why would I, someone who loves the law, want a major example of corruption to be covered up? It was something for future generations to learn from.” He explains.

“So you’re claiming that you’ve done nothing to try and hide the fact that this trial occurred?” Kabbu questions.

Arioch nods. “The only bug who has tried to cover this up is the late Queen of the Ant Kingdom, and perhaps Doctor Sain.” He says.

“Then how do you explain your signatures on these pardons that Doctor Sain signed?” Kabbu questions.

“A mistake on my part. I choose to try and see the best in people, a mistake I will not repeat.” Arioch reasons.

“And what about all the other things? Like paying Tennent and Saraha to watch crime scenes, and kill Oregano?” Vi questions.

“Those things occurred without my knowledge. I made the mistake of giving Doctor Sain power in the management of the BDL, another mistake I will not repeat.” Arioch repeats.

“Just a few days ago, I learned that, on the night of the murder of Sollytaire Cartes, the BDL officially requested that no guards be placed in the waiting area. Is this another example of Doctor Sain abusing the power you gave him?” Kabbu questions.

Arioch nods. “From this point onwards, I can promise that the BDL will be controlled by only myself. I will never allow another bug to have any power over this branch of government again.” He explains.

“Why’d you even come back to Bugaria? And if you knew you were a problem when you were a prosecutor, why did you remake the BDL and put yourself as the head of it?” Vi questions, slamming her hands down.

“Because I matured as a bug. Through leaving, and experiencing the chaos of the Wastes, I learned what law truly needs to be.” Arioch explains.

“What part of ‘what the law truly needs to be’ involves firing everyone who works there?” Leif questions.

“I do not need to explain my motivations to anyone. If Queen Elizant decides that I should be demoted for removing the lazy and useless members of the BDL, then she can do that.” Arioch answers, glaring up at the Queens.

Kabbu looks up to Queen Elizant, hoping that she’ll suddenly decide to rule against him… but she doesn’t. Despite him making a department of justice that hardly works, and one that has almost exclusively caused issues in Bugaria, she isn’t willing to go against him. Arioch really has everything thought out. He might even believe that Arioch is innocent, if there were any other bugs that the role of mastermind could fall onto. The only issue is everyone else in the BDL is being blackmailed, bribed, or has been fired.

He knows that it’s Arioch, the only issue is the fact that he has no clue how to prove it.

(The trial of Jay Ester is not something I am allowed to speak on, nor is it something that holds any place in my mind)

“Despite this trial arguably ruining your career, you’re saying that it isn’t something you think about?” Kabbu questions.

The scorpion is silent for a moment, as he glances toward the prosecution’s bench. “Not the trial, no. The crime nor anyone involved meant little to nothing to me, and it was my own actions what ruined me. It was no fault of Jay Ester, the witnesses involved, nor the council for the defense that I fabricated evidence. The blame is mine.” Arioch explains.

“The question we have is why did you fabricate the evidence? From what we’ve heard, you had a fairly good career leading up to then, why throw it away?” Leif questions.

“My motivations are of no importance to this trial. The only thing that matters when regarding this crime is that I fabricated evidence.” Arioch answers.

“How much evidence did you fabricate?” Kabbu questions.

“That would be greatly testing the limits of my vow of silence. I would hate to have to break it.” Arioch reminds. “However, I don’t believe it matters how much I fabricated. There is no one left alive that truly knows what that crime scene looked like, before or after, save for the witnesses, who saw it only the briefest of moments.” He argues.

K makes an odd face and an audible “hmm”, but Kabbu ignores it. For now, at least. K has been nothing but trouble, so its for the best that Kabbu looks elsewhere for contradictions… unless he really doesn’t have anything anywhere else to go.

(The horrible deed I committed during that trial will forever haunt me, but I have moved past it)

“Your deeds will haunt YOU? You ruined any chance that Jay had of getting a fair trial! And it’s completely possible that a murderer got away with their crimes because you fabricated so much evidence!” Kabbu argues.

Arioch shakes his head. “Jay Ester was guilty of that crime, no such murderer got away with anything. As for a fair trial… at that point in my career, I simply didn’t care. I was young and jaded. I have since changed.” He continues.

“If the evidence there did show that Jay was guilty, then you fabricating evidence still let a criminal go loose, because he got off the hook.” Leif argues.

“If I hadn’t fabricated evidence, he still would have gone free. Defense Attorney Falsaver Itas always gets a not guilty verdict.” Arioch argues back.

Kabbu slams his hands down. “How are you still going to say that you don’t care about this trial when you’re making every statement about it about yourself? You clearly have a lot of thoughts about that trial, far too many for someone who doesn't think about it. Not to mention, you said before that it was all your fault, but now you’re saying that you had to fabricate evidence to stop Falsaver Itas?" Kabbu says.

“Objection.” Arioch hisses, causing Kabbu to recoil.

“H-huh?! Wait, what are you objecting to?” Kabbu asks.

“Compound question. I am willing to ignore such questions from your friends, as they are not official lawyers, but for you, someone who wears a lawyer’s badge, it is highly improper to ask multiple questions in the same statement. You must break them up.” Arioch explains.

“B-but—!” Kabbu starts, only to be cut off by Arioch.

“Since both Prosecutor Mothiva and Prosecutor Scarlet are unwilling to do their job in upholding the balance of this courtroom, the job falls into my hands.” Arioch explains. “Which I would like to say, is a warning. Prosecutor Scarlet, work or your job will be stripped from you.” He adds.

Scarlet recoils. “B-but! I… I’ve been replaced!” He argues.

“In what court of law can a prosecutor take the stand and assume control of a trial? Certainly not mine.” Arioch huffs. “Now, defense, break up your questions like a proper lawyer or move on with the cross examination.” He orders.

Kabbu's words die in his throat. The correcting of his speech completely throws him off balance. He's never had anyone object to the way he asks questions before, is that really something you can object to?? “I— um, everything you’re saying in your testimony is focused on yourself, and how your own actions affected you. You were asked to testify about the accusation I made!” Kabbu argues.

“Yes, your accusation, focused at *me*, stating that *I* committed crimes because *I* wanted to cover up my involvement in a different crime. What am I supposed to testify about if not how the trial affected me?” Arioch answers, once again talking down to Kabbu.

That… that does make sense, that is what he was supposed to testify about. “And then what about your previous statement? You said that your actions were your own fault, but you just stated that you had to fabricate evidence to stop Falsaver Itas. Which one was it?”

“Both. I am to blame for committing the crime, and I committed the crime because of Defense Attorney Falsaver Itas. It’s as simple as that.” Arioch explains.

“Defense, as the still-official-prosecutor in this case, I would advise you to move on from this statement. You aren’t going to uncover anything by asking someone if they’re guilty or not.” Scarlet hisses.

Ugh… he’s right. Not only is he right, but Arioch has put Kabbu in a worse position than before. Arioch clearly doesn't take him seriously at all if he's going to stand up there and correct him on how to speak to a witness. On top of that, Kabbu now has to deal with the judgment of both Mothiva and Prosecutor Scarlet. One prosecutor is more than enough...

(Doctor Sain has already confessed to these crimes, and his obsession with the previous queen is proof for motivation)

“This statement is wrong! He might have confessed, but there’s no proof that was actually willing to do all of this, or that he was at the head of everything!” Kabbu says.

“It has already been established that Doctor Sain was desperate to keep Queen Elizant the First’s secrets hidden. He even threatened your friends and blackmailed me. It’s entirely believable that he would be at the head of all of this mess.” Scarlet argues.

“But there are still several things that don’t line up with Doctor Sain’s confession!” Kabbu argues.

“And what would those ‘things’ be, defense? Could you please list them out to the court?” Arioch requests, placing a claw on the witness’s bench.

"The handwriting on the instructions not matching Doctor Sain's is proof that someone else was involved here besides just him!" Kabbu argues

Arioch shakes his head. "Doctor Sain could have easily had someone else write it. What other 'things' are there?" He asks.

“I— um… that's all.” Kabbu sighs. He can’t bring up that Doctor Sain was trying to keep the substitute secret… and he certainly can’t give Arioch a chance to announce it to the public.

“Please refrain from making pointless statements, defense. If you don’t have the proof to back them up, it’s a waste of time to make them.” Scarlet argues.

“But there’s no proof to begin with that Doctor Sain is telling the truth! He's already lied a number of times during this trial, his confession can’t be taken as truth!” Kabbu argues back.

“While there are definitely small pieces of evidence that could suggest another bug’s involvement, you haven’t really presented any evidence that can say for certain that another bug was involved in all of this.” Mothiva adds.

Kabbu frowns. They’re right… but he knows that he’s on the right path! There’s no way that Arioch isn’t the mastermind behind all of this, the only thing Kabbu is missing is evidence that links him to it. Not to mention, Doctor Sain’s confession and his self-inflicted coma have made all of this so much harder… if he could only cross examine him, he’s sure he'd be able to get to the bottom of this with ease.

It’s always a possibility that he could stall the court out long enough for Doctor Sain to recover… but knowing the fact that Prosecutor Loki is still unconscious after being afflicted with the same venom… there’s little to no chance Doctor Sain will wake up any time soon.

“Arioch really isn’t giving you much to go off of, is he?” Vi frowns.

“No, he’s doing his best to keep things vague, and with that vow of silence, he has an even greater excuse to keep the details to a minimum… it’s going to be difficult to find any sort of contradiction in a factless statement.” Kabbu agrees.

“Why didn’t Queen Elizant just remove the vow of silence? It would certainly be much easier to get to the bottom of this if we knew what Arioch did.” Leif hums.

“I… I can’t tell you guys that just yet.” Kabbu admits.

“We assume it has something to do with the fear radiating off of Queen Elizant right now?” Leif asks, earning a nod from Kabbu.

“I might be able to explain it to you guys later, after the trial and with Queen Elizant’s approval. For right now, though, I need to find some way to push the accusations further against Arioch. If he gets away, there’s no way I’ll be able to get him back in here.” Kabbu says.

Vi and Leif think in silence for a moment, before Vi shrugs. “You probably aren’t going to get any information out of him.” Vi says. “You might be screwed.”

“Wha–?! I’m not screwed! I… I’ll find a way through this, I have to!” Kabbu argues.

“We’re sure you will, Kabbu. We believe in you.” Leif says.

Kabbu frowns. Well, that wasn’t the most helpful conversation in the world… but Vi might be right, he isn’t going to get any information out of Arioch… he might have to fall back on that interruption Crime Scene Overseer K did made earlier in the testimony… if he knows something that could be helpful, Kabbu has to hear it.

(The trial of Jay Ester is not something I am allowed to speak on, nor is it something that holds any place in my mind)

Kabbu re-asks how much evidence Arioch fabricated, and thankfully gets the same response, as well as a reminder from Arioch that re-asking the same question is objectionable. He… probably should have read more into objections, he really doesn’t know how much of what usually goes on in this courtroom is actually objectionable.

“However, I don’t believe it matters how much I fabricated. There is no one left alive that truly knows what that crime scene looked like, before or after, save for the witnesses, who saw it only for a moment.” Arioch repeats, and as soon as he finishes his statement, K makes the same strange face again, as well as the loud ‘hmm’.

“Crime Scene Overseer K, I know you were asked to remain silent, but do you have something to say in regard to that previous statement?” Kabbu asks.

“Ah, I was just thinking to myself, nothing important.” K explains. “I mean, I find it hard to believe that everyone who knows about that stuff is dead. Even if Detective Rae Kalita didn’t share any secrets with the public, surely he told someone, yeah?” He continues, receiving a side glance from Arioch.

“So your interjection was pointless. Wonderful. Crime Scene Overseer K, this is hardly the time for baseless speculation.” Scarlet sighs. “Unless someone who actually knows about the details of this crime can be named, there’s no point in entertaining his ramblings.” He says.

Is there? Kabbu has no clue, to be honest. It was a private trial, the number of people that even know about it to begin with are very limited, not to mention there really aren’t many bugs that could have seen the crime scene. The witnesses and the defendant were ushered off right after the murder, and that’s when Arioch entered and sabotaged everything. After that, Rae Kalita investigated the scene, and was the last person to do so before it was cleaned so that the library could be opened again.

The only bug who could know about the crime scene is Rae Kalita, but he’s dead, Arioch ensured that he would never be able to testify against him.

It suddenly clicks. Rae Kalita might be dead, but there are two bugs that he passed his stories on down to. He had completely forgotten about it until now, but they might be able to expose the lengths of Arioch’s staging. He… isn’t sure how that will help him just yet, but it’s all he can think of.

If the staging was severe enough… it might just be possible that the other Queens lose trust in Arioch, and demand he be removed from his position. He wouldn’t get arrested, but he wouldn’t be able to hurt anyone else.

Kabbu slams his hands down. “The defense does know of someone that might know about the crime scene. Two bugs, actually.” He explains.

“Two bugs?” Queen Elizant asks.

He nods. “These two bugs are… ex-Detective Anagram, and the theif Rivour Eugor! They were both apprentices of his, and when I spoke with them yesterday, they expressed that he had told each of them a portion of his findings from the trial.” Kabbu explains.

“You… you managed to speak with Rivour Eugor? The legendary thief?!” Scarlet hisses.

“Yes. I believe if they’re both brought to the witness stand, they should be able to testify about the state of the crime scene after Arioch tampered with it, and we might be able to determine how much Arioch actually tampered with the crime scene!” Kabbu explains.

“Defense. I don’t believe this warrants a response, but it does not matter if either of them knows about it. One is a criminal, and the other is an elusive thief. I will not allow testimony from the likes of either of them, if you could even get the thief to appear before the court in the first place.” Arioch huffs.

“Attorney General Arioch is right, defense. I might personally allow testimony from Anagram were he summoned, but getting testimony from Rivour Eugor simply isn’t going to be possible.” Queen Elizant frowns.

“I know it seems unlikely, but I’m almost certain that if you requested Anagram’s presence, that thief will also appear. It happened in the Lost Sands, and it happened when I tried to speak with him at the Rubber Prison.” Kabbu explains.

“I… suppose I will summon Anagram, then.” Queen Elizant says, motioning to a guard who promptly leaves the room. The court sits in silence for only a few minutes, before a guard enters, bringing in Anagram. That… was far too quickly.

The ex-Detective, looking extremely miserable, is brought in by an ant guard. “The prisoner you requested, your majesty.” They say, before taking a step back.

The courtroom bursts into quiet chatter as Anagram is dragged up to the witness stand, and Queen Elizant stands up. “You… are not the guard I sent to retrieve the witness.” She announces.

“Pardon? I… is something the matter, your majesty?” The guard asks sheepishly.

She shakes her head. “I know each of my guards and could identify them in an instant, you are none of them, I’m sure of that.” Queen Elizant answers. “Who are you?”

The guard is silent for a long moment, before Scarlet lets out a sigh. “It looks like you were right in your assumption defense. I expected a famous thief to be a bit more subtle about it, though.” He mutters.

“You can give up your disguise, Rivour Eugor. Queen Elizant sent the guard to retrieve Anagram only a few minutes ago. There’s no way someone could have gotten all the way from here to the Rubber Prison, and then back again in that time.” Kabbu answers.

The guard sighs. “I knew I should have waited a little bit longer… oh well!” They say, drawing their mask from a pocket on their uniform and putting it up to their face. “Good evening people of Bugaria! It is I, the Great Rivour Eugor!”

Chapter Text

The courtroom explodes into a frenzy, one which takes Queen Elizant several minutes and multiple slams of her gavel to silence. “What is the meaning of this? Are— are you the real Rivour Eugor?” She asks once she finishes silencing the gallery.

“The one and only. I apologize for showing up so early! I meant to make my appearance seamless, but I guess I got excited and ran in a bit too early.” Rivour explains, bowing before the courtroom.

“And what about the detective next to you? Last I heard, he’s supposed to be in prison for murder.” Mothiva questions.

“Ah, well, after Kabbu suggested that we put our differences aside to talk things out, mainly to talk about that trial he’s been investigating, I realized that I simply wasn’t prepared to fully discuss that, nor was I capable of doing so somewhere so public.” Rivour continues.

“P-public? You were in a visitation room!” Kabbu exclaims.

“Cameras, and guards outside. I would rather have privacy for something like that.” They explain. “Anyways, I borrowed my fellow apprentice here and took him to one of my hideouts so we could work everything out, and we finished everything just in time to come watch the trial.” Rivour smiles.

“Please, your majesties! Please don’t extend my sentence, I promise I didn’t have any say in this! They kidnapped me!” Anagram pleads.

“How in the name of the gods did you manage to take a prisoner from the Rubber Prison?!” Queen Elizant exclaims.

“A thief never reveals his secrets!” Rivour exclaims, before turning to look at Arioch, who glances down at them, arms still crossed behind his back. “You certainly look different from how Rae Kalita described you.” They hum.

The scorpion grimaces, before turning back to the Queens. “This is ridiculous.” Arioch hisses. “As well as a complete disregard for the sanctity of the courtroom and the security of the Rubber Prison. This cannot stand.”

Kabbu slams his hands down. “But this is the only chance we will get to hear about what really happened in that crime scene! And we might be able to learn more about how much of that crime scene you tampered with!” He argues.

“What difference does it make? Do you think I’ll be removed from my position for this? For a crime I have already been forgiven for?” Arioch questions.

“If your staging was severe enough, then that could show further motivation to want to cover it up! Which could then prove your connection to everything that’s been happening in Bugaria!” Kabbu explains.

“I… as much as I would love to hear what they would like to say, I simply can’t allow it. This is painting a horrible picture of both this courtroom and of the security of the Rubber Prison.” Queen Elizant explains.

“But… Queen Elizant, you know that all of this is connected! We have to hear more about that trial or the truth will never be found!” Kabbu argues.

“I would like to hear testimony from them, actually.” Queen Layra suddenly says. “They were quite entertaining the last time they were here.” She reasons.

Queen Bianca lets out a gasp before shaking her head. “The defense proved during that trial that these two are both severe liars. The last thing I want to hear from them is indisprovable testimony.” The bee queen argues.

“While I do agree that these two will probably add a few lies to their retelling of events, I have a feeling the defense has something that could possibly corroborate their claims. Am I right, defense?” Queen Vanessa asks.

The Queens are arguing again. If he fails to convince one of them, then he’s lost his chance at convicting Arioch, but if he succeeds, he might just be able to catch him on his crimes. Kabbu nods. “I actually do have something that would prove if anything they're saying isn’t true.” He says, before presenting Falsaver Itas’s notes. “These are official notes from the trial, handwritten by Falsaver Itas Rosetta, and they detail everything that was discussed, including the crime scene as it was presented to the courtroom. If they say something that contradicts the evidence, then I’m certain I’ll be able to disprove it.”

Queen Vanessa nods. “See? The defense clearly knows what they’re talking about.”

“I am still unconvinced. There is no need to waste time on liars.” Queen Bianca huffs.

“And for the sake of our system of law, I will not change my judgment. I’m sorry, Kabbu, but I simply cannot allow this. I hope you’ll understand.” Queen Elizant says.

“But we need to hear it!” Kabbu pleads. He… he has to have something else, surely he has another piece of evidence that might be able to back them up. He can’t lose now, not when he’s so close to actually discussing that crime!

“Wait, did I hear my father get mentioned?” Plumeria suddenly asks, looking up from the floor she was staring at. “I’m so sorry, I got a little distracted for a bit.” She apologizes.

“Give it no mind, your holiness. The defense was trying to argue nonsense by using an old defense attorney’s notes.” Scarlet says.

“Oh! Well, if it’s my father’s notes then surely it’s trustworthy! I agree wholeheartedly with the defense.” Plumeria smiles.

“That— what?! You… you aren’t a judge! You cannot contribute!” Scarlet hisses.

Kabbu slams his hands down. “Even if Plumeria isn’t an official judge, she stood as one during Cece-Lia’s trial, and was invited to stand as one during this trial! She’s still fully capable of inputting her opinion in these matters!” He argues. “And if she's one of the judges, that would mean that a majority of the judges have agreed that they CAN testify!”

Scarlet grimaces, before letting out a sigh. “This is stupid… if you came to make a mockery out of the courtroom, defense, you’re succeeding.”

Arioch makes no comment, continuing to frown deeply.

“Well… if my fellow Queens believe we should hear the testimony, then we should, even if it will damage our court system and our prison’s reputation. Rivour Eugor and Anagram, please give testimony at once.” Queen Elizant says.

“Right away, your majesty!” Rivour chirps.

“If I must…” Anagram huffs.

—The Logic Express—

“The murder occurred while the victim and the defendant were standing next to each other, however their exact location couldn’t be confirmed,” Anagram starts.

“What also can’t be confirmed is the murder weapon! The only weapons in the library were a set of knives in the defendant’s travel case,” Rivour continues. “What we do know is that the defendant interacted with the victim as she was dying, and moved her to the chair she died in,”

“The body was not recovered, meaning further analysis on the body was impossible,” Anagram says. “However, the testimony of the witnesses confirm that the victim did indeed die in that chair.” He concludes.

“And that’s about it! Please forgive any minor inconsistencies, it’s been a few dozen years since he told me that tale. I may have forgotten a thing or two.” Rivour apologizes, bowing again.

“Objection.” Arioch demands. “Hearsay. What proof is there that these witnesses actually heard this testimony?”

“I… pardon?” Queen Elizant stutters. “That… is that hearsay?”

“Very much so. There is no evidence to back up what they are saying.” Arioch continues.

Scarlet grimaces. “If THAT'S hearsay, then a majority of the testimony we’ve heard in this courtroom is also hearsay.” He hisses.

“Well, defense, do you have a response to that objection?” Queen Elizant asks.

“I… um… yes! Yes your majesty, please give me a moment.” Kabbu says, before pulling out the textbook that Arioch gave him. There has to be something in here that he missed about objections. He can't believe that he's scrambling to skim through books like someone getting called out for falling asleep in class. Come on, hearsay, hearsay, hearsay, how does he respond to that? “Aha! I found something!” Kabbu exclaims. A lengthy section on the many exceptions to hearsay, surely one of these will work.

“I think– I mean, according to this textbook, exception number eighty hundred and forty three to hearsay states that if the source of the information is dead, as long as the witness had a direct and solid relationship with the deceased, and little bias as judged by the presiding judge, the statement can be taken as testimony of the witness. I would argue that both of them had a direct and solid relationship with Rae Kalita, and that they’re free of bias.” He explains.

Arioch crosses his arms and frowns. “Impressive, defense. It only took you six minutes to figure out how to argue an objection.” He huffs sarcastically.

“Do you have a response to that, Attorney General Arioch?” Queen Elizant asks.

“I do not. He may proceed.” He answers.

“I will overrule the objection, thank you, defense. Unless there are any more objections at this time, the defense may proceed with the cross-examination.” Queen Elizant says. Arioch gives no response.

“None from me, your majesty.” Mothiva says.

“Of course there are objections! All of this is complete lunacy! Even if it’s discovered that Arioch completely rebuilt the entire crime scene, what proof is there in any of this to argue that he’s involved with Doctor Sain’s actions? It’s completely irrelevant!” Scarlet argues.

“I’m arguing that this trial is his motivation for masterminding this entire string of murders. I think we’ll be able to uncover the truth behind his actions if we can better understand what actually happened at the scene of the crime.” Kabbu explains.

“I will overrule the prosecution's objection, again. The defense’s point makes sense. Of course, if they are unable to connect this crime scene to the actions supposedly committed by Arioch, then I will be forced to penalize them.” Queen Elizant says.

Kabbu nods. “Thank you, Queen Elizant.”

“So… what’s the plan? Just look for stuff that doesn’t make sense?” Vi asks.

“That’s pretty much it… any differences between what they're saying and what the witnesses saw that could possibly point to Arioch's staging of the crime scene. As long as I can find something substantial… I should be able to put more suspicion on him, and he might be brought into custody for an official investigation.” Kabbu explains.

“So, you aren’t expecting to find undeniable proof of his involvement in this?” Leif questions.

“I would love to find that, but I don’t think so. It seems like Arioch’s has been mostly hands off all of this. He wrote instructions, and blackmailed people, but besides that he’s been careful to distance himself from all of it. I don’t think anything conclusive is going to come out of this.” Kabbu admits.

“We bet something conclusive will come out of this.” Leif hums.

“I really don’t think—” Kabbu starts, only to be cut off.

“You got this Kabbu! Go find some conclusive evidence!” Vi encourages.

Kabbu sighs. Conclusive evidence… it would be a dream come true if he managed to find it in this testimony, but highly unlikely. For now, he just needs to find some more proof of tampering.

—Rebuttal—

(The murder occurred while the victim and the defendant were standing next to each other, however their exact location couldn’t be confirmed)

“The location of the murder couldn’t be confirmed?” Kabbu asks.

“It could not. There wasn’t enough blood evidence to indicate where the murder could have occurred, only a trail of blood to indicate where it went.” Anagram explains.

“That… that doesn’t sound right. According to what Falsaver Itas wrote, Rae Kalita spoke about their being blood stains on books, which he used as evidence to the fact that the murder happened next to the bookshelves.” Kabbu explains.

“Interesting approach defense. I can’t imagine immediately invalidating your witnesses is a good strategy in the long run.” Scarlet says.

“I—! I’m not trying to invalidate them, I think what they’re saying can still be true. It’s possible that Detective Rae Kalita blew some things out of proportion for the sake of the argument, kind of like what Crime Scene Overseer K does.” Kabbu explains.

“Hey! I don’t do that at all!” K argues from his place off to the side.

“I’m not sure what kind of law they’ve been practicing while I was gone but blowing ‘some things out of proportion’ is in no way legal for someone performing an official investigation and giving a statement about it.” Mothiva interjects. “A detective’s goal is to give an explanation of what is most likely with the evidence presented. Blowing things out of proportion completely invalidates that, as it makes something seem artificially more likely.” She continues.

“Of course.” Kabbu nods, before looking back toward K.

“Stop looking at me like that! I don’t blow anything out of proportion!” K hisses.

Kabbu sighs, before turning his attention away from the angry bullet ant on the sidelines and back to the bugs on the witness stand. “But they were standing next to each other, correct?” He asks.

Anagram nods. “According to all witness testimony, they were talking to one another leading up to the accident, and their conversation was very quiet, to the point that they were only overheard when the defendant, K, started yelling.” He continues.

Kabbu nods. “That lines up with what I’ve read.” He says. Everything is sounding smooth so far, save for a few light bumps here and there. He’s beginning to realize that he really has no clue how he’s going to prove what Arioch actually tampered with. At the very least, he knows Arioch switched the paintings and attempted to have the blood painted over, but what else?

Surely something will become obvious eventually.

(What also can’t be confirmed is the murder weapon! The only weapons in the library were a set of knives in the defendant’s travel case)

“I think I read about this as well. Falsaver Itas argued that they couldn’t convict him of the murder because there was no obvious murder weapon. I also read that one of the witnesses claimed that the knife couldn’t have caused the wound that the victim suffered from, do you know anything about that?” Kabbu questions.

“Yes! Detective Rae Kalita told me extensively about how frustrating that was. It didn’t fit the narrative of the prosecution or the defense, no one knew what to make of it.” Rivour explains. “If they were looking to listen to her, perhaps they may have had an easier time figuring out what was going on.”

“I see… have you seen the knives and the crime scene sketch?” Kabbu asks, careful not to make another compound question.

“I have! When I was just a hatchling, he showed me that drawing, and one of the knives that he managed to steal from the BDL.” Rivour says with a nod.

“Do you know if the knife he showed you could have caused the injuries in the drawing?” Kabbu asks.

Rivour opens their mouth to speak, before suddenly being cut off.

“Objection.” Arioch booms. “Opinion by a nonexpert. While they did see the body and the blade, they are by no means capable of giving their opinion on it. Unless, of course, the defense would like to qualify them as an expert on knife wounds?” He proposes.

Kabbu recoils again. “I… um… how do I do that?” He asks, quickly flipping through the book again.

“Simple. Ask them to testify about their qualifications, experience in the field, and what investigational methods they used to come to their conclusions. Following that, they may testify to what could have caused the wounds.” Arioch explains.

Kabbu sighs. “Never mind, then. I’ll move on. Did he ever comment on Pommet’s description of the wound?” He asks.

“Not really. He never told me much on the body in general, to be honest.” Rivour answers.

“So… you don’t know about the murder weapon or the injury, and he wasn’t able to determine where the murder actually happened… is there anything he was able to conclude?” Kabbu asks.

“Well, from my understanding, it isn’t his job to put conclusions in his findings, but yes! There was one thing he knew for sure!” Rivour says.

(What we do know is that the defendant interacted with the victim as she was dying, and moved her to the chair she died in)

“And how was he sure about that?” Kabbu questions.

“Well, the blood! The defendant was covered nearly head to toe in blood, so extensively that the witnesses said they thought he was injured himself.” Rivour explains. “Detective Rae Kalita said that that kind of bloodiness could have only been achieved if the defendant had been very close to the victim.”

“Very close to the victim?” Kabbu asks.

“Yes, as in hugging them, or holding them up, or carrying them close to their chest. Things like that, where the two are very close to one another for an extended period of time. Enough time to fully drench the defendant’s clown uniform in blood.” Rivour continues.

Kabbu nods. “And the trail of blood, did Rae Kalita say that that was consistent with someone being moved?” He asks.

“Yes. However, Detective Rae Kalita told us he couldn’t say for certain whether they were dragged or walked, or even if they were carried.” Rivour says.

“Carried?” Kabbu questions.

“He said he couldn’t rule it out of the question. In the victim’s trail of blood from their wound, there was only a single set of footprints, which he concluded as meaning that the defendant either kept their feet out of the blood somehow, or carried them with their feet off of the ground.” The thief explains.

“That… doesn’t make much sense. According to Falsaver Itas’s notes, the blood trail was inconsistent and didn’t show signs of dragging… but there’s no mention at all of footsteps through the blood.” Kabbu says.

Rivour frowns, before shrugging. “I have no clue why that would be. Perhaps he didn’t see it as important?” They suggest.

He… isn’t sure. He’s beginning to develop a feeling that there’s something else going on here. The more he hears, the more he’s seeing that the facts of Rae Kalita’s testimony, and the facts of what Rae Kalita actually discovered, are completely different. And the worst part… he might know why that is. His thoughts briefly drift to Doctor Abel’s diary, and a horrible idea is born, one that he really doesn’t want to think about, and certainly can’t argue. He can’t deny that it’s a possibility, though.

(The body was not recovered, meaning further analysis on the body was impossible)

“The… the body was never recovered? What does that mean?!” Kabbu exclaims.

“It means they never found it. It was not at the scene of the crime when the authorities arrived.” Anagram explains.

The moment Kabbu hears the words, all of his thinking immediately stops. That isn’t even remotely true, one of the biggest pieces of evidence in that trial was the body of the victim, and the sketch drawn of them. Anagram’s statement is a severe contradiction, and he needs to learn more about it.

“That statement… completely contradicts the facts of the court case from eighty years ago.” Kabbu announces, before presenting Falsaver Itas’s notes. “Your honor, please take a look at this crime scene sketch from the trial from eighty years ago. It was submitted then as official evidence, and depicts the victim dead from her wounds.” He explains.

“WHAT!? Let me see that!” Anagram hisses, snatching up the sketch. Rivour peeks over his shoulder to get a look at it. “This… this isn’t right at all! Rae Kalita specifically stated that they weren’t able to examine the body!” The ex-detective hisses.

“What are you trying to argue? That your witnesses are wrong in their recollection?” Scarlet hisses.

Kabbu shakes his head. “I would be able to tell if they’re lying… but the two of them are telling the truth, that’s what Rae Kalita told them.” He says.

Mothiva sighs. “Magic isn’t permitted in this courtroom. Besides, the only other option, besides them lying, is that Rae Kalita saw the crime scene, and made things up. As much as I want to help you, Kabbu, that doesn’t seem particularly likely.”

That… is true, Rae Kalita completely lying about what was on the scene really does seem to be the only conclusion with all of these inconsistencies. However, knowing what he does know, combined with the theory that’s beginning to form in his head… he has a feeling that Rae Kalita making up a crime scene is more likely than they think. Doctor Abel’s diary said that ‘the set up was severely rushed, and the crime scene was watched extensively before then’... that dialogue really only points to one conclusion.

They weren’t just collecting prisoners… if that was the case, why would Queen Elizant the First have employed a detective in the project? Why would Doctor Abel talk about set up in relation to crime scenes? The only conclusion that Kabbu can think of is that Rae Kalita himself was staging crime scenes, to make more convictions, to lead to more test subjects. That's the only explanation he can think of to what in the world is going on here.

Kabbu slams his hands down. “The defense has an explanation for these oddities in the witness’s testimony. Not just the lack of body, but every single issue I have pointed out across this cross-examination.” He explains.

“And what would that be, defense?” Arioch asks. That sense of excitement has returned to him. Despite the fact that Arioch could very well be backed into a corner by this revelation… he’s excited for the court to hear about it.

“The truth is that Rae Kalita WAS lying about the crime scene. In his official testimony, he talks about a thin wound through the victim’s neck, a wound that the witnesses argued was much larger. In court, he stated that he could triangulate the victim’s exact position when they died, a position he told his apprentices he could not find. He told them about a single trail of footsteps but the court about a smooth trail of blood. And finally, he told the two bugs he saw as children that there was no body, despite the fact that he called an artist onto the crime scene to sketch the corpse, with that sketch being the only piece of evidence that corroborates the size of the wound.” Kabbu explains.

“I believe that the testimony that Anagram and Rivour told us today is how the scene actually was when he walked onto it that day, eighty years ago, but by the time Rae Kalita entered the courtroom, the crime scene he had investigated was changed. Just like Arioch tried to do, he staged a scene to ensure that the defendant would be declared guilty.” Kabbu continues.

“He— WHAT?! You… you can’t be saying that!” Anagram hisses, recoiling in shock.

Rivour recoils so hard that their mask flies out of their hand, causing them to scramble to retrieve it. “Our teacher… Detective Rae Kalita would never have done anything like that!” They cry when they finally put their mask back on their face.

“Defense, do you have any clue what you’re claiming?! The detective would have not only had to ignore the lack of a body but would have been completely breaking the law! Far more than Arioch ever did! What does this mean for your accusations against Arioch?? And do you even have any proof to back that claim up!?” Scarlet hisses.

“I do not. No evidence that I can present before the court, at least.” Kabbu explains. “But what I would like to draw the court's attention to is the door that this revelation opens. Regardless of whether Rae Kalita was also staging the crime scene, a major issue still exists: what happened to the victim's body?” He says.

“All of the witnesses say they saw the victim dead, and they all said that, except for a little bit of pickpocketing, no one touched the victim’s body.” Vi interjects.

“Or at least that no one saw anyone touching the victim’s body.” Leif adds.

Kabbu nods. “So what we have here is a body sitting still in a chair when everyone leaves the room, and then completely vanishing by the time the detective shows up. During that time, the room was being watched by one singular bug. Arioch.” He says.

“You… you’re claiming that—?!” Scarlet stutters.

“You're accusing Arioch of stealing the victim’s entire body??” Mothiva questions.

“Yes. That’s the real reason he wants all of this buried so badly. Eighty years ago, Arioch stepped onto the scene of a murder, and for some reason, he took the victim’s body and hid it, before staging the crime scene. Perhaps a few pieces of fabricated evidence aren’t worth killing someone over, but an entire bug’s body? I think someone in a position like Arioch’s would kill to keep that secret.” Kabbu explains.

Arioch grimaces. “I did no such thing. This entire line of thinking relies not only on the idea that two criminals are telling the truth, but also on the idea that a famous detective like Rae Kalita would break the law like that. There is no evidence to back it up.” He argues.

“There IS evidence, though!” Kabbu interjects. “I know that at least two of the eyewitnesses involved in that trial are still alive. Their memory might be shaky, but they might be able to testify about the crime scene they saw! They could tell us how the body actually was, and if their statements contradict the detective’s findings, then that would prove my theory!” He proposes.

“D-Defense! I… are you requesting that I bring two convicted criminals onto the witness stand?!” Queen Elizant questions, completely taken aback.

Kabbu nods. “I know that it seems outlandish, and dangerous, but I really think that that might be able to help us prove Arioch’s role in this once and for all! I’m willing to take all responsibility for this, and I will accept any and all penalties if this doesn’t go anywhere.” He says.

“I will not allow this. Those bugs are NOT coming into MY court of law!” Arioch hisses.

“This isn’t your court of law, idiot! This is the Queens of Bugaria’s court of law! They get the final say in everything!” Vi argues back.

Arioch stares at them for a second, a burning hatred in his eyes and his fangs bared, before he turns to look up at Queen Elizant. “Are you going to allow this? I want you to think your next words through carefully, and fully consider the consequences of repealing not just one, but two bug’s vows of silence.” He hisses.

Queen Elizant flinches. “I… I…” She stutters, looking down at Kabbu for a moment, and even though she’s still wearing her mask, he can see her helplessness. “I will not allow it. I’m sorry, defense, but this theory can go no further.”

Chapter Text

The courtroom is thrown into a frenzy. Despite the fact that his theory is currently baseless, and despite the fact that it’s insane, and unbelievable, the people of Bugaria want to hear him out. There are yells for Queen Elizant to allow this, pleas for the other Queens to veto her decision, and even discussion amongst the other Queens of Bugaria.

All the while, Arioch stands, smiling for what Kabbu thinks might be the first time he’s ever seen the giant scorpion show any sort of joy, while the two apprentices beside him are completely taken aback, as if their entire lives had just been obliterated by Kabbu’s argument.

Queen Elizant silences the courtroom with a single slam of her gavel. “I understand the disappointment, and I understand the desire to hear the defense out, but this is simply too far. All that can be safely discovered has been discovered, and thus I must bring this trial to an end.” She says.

“But—! Queen Elizant, I know I can still prove this!” Kabbu pleads. “I know the risks, but you need to let this continue! It’s the only way that Arioch will receive punishment for what he’s done!”

She shakes her head. “I’m sorry, Kabbu. I can’t.”

Kabbu balls his fists up. This… this can’t be the end. He’s had so many close calls across this trial, he can’t stop now! “I have evidence! I showed it to you yesterday, the objects you told me to keep hidden. You KNOW the proof! Please, your honor, trust me!” He pleads.

He gets no response from Queen Elizant. She knows about the diary and the list of names. There’s no way she hasn’t come to the same conclusion that he has, but she’s too scared.

“You are wasting your time, defense. Queen Elizant cares more about her mother’s image and her place on the throne than she does about justice. It was an inevitability, I was always destined to walk out of this court a free bug.” Arioch explains.

“No! That… that’s not true, that can’t be true!” Kabbu cries out.

“This is certainly for the best, defense. Your argument has been going nowhere since you reentered this courtroom, and you haven’t made any progress through your witnesses or the evidence you presented. It’s time to give it a rest.” Scarlet says.

He… he really hasn’t made any progress, has he? He doesn’t have any clue what crimes Arioch committed, maybe conspiracy to commit murder or an accomplice to the murders… but he can’t prove that. And without a crime to put on Arioch, he’s simply going to walk out of this courtroom, still the head of the BDL, the Attorney General of Bugaria, and he’ll be free to harm his teammates, and to get rid of every last bug who knows the details of that trial.

“Team… I think this is it.” Kabbu sighs. “I really don’t think we can proceed, at least not without hurting Queen Elizant greatly.”

“Hurting Queen Elizant? What do you mean?” Leif questions.

“Arioch… is blackmailing Queen Elizant, she confided in me about it yesterday. If this trial continues, Arioch is going to reveal the information he’s blackmailing her with, and Queen Elizant will be ruined. Or worse.” Kabbu explains.

“So that’s why she’s seemed so scared… is there any way around this? Any way to convict Arioch without the trial actually continuing?” Leif questions. “Perhaps a piece of evidence you overlooked?”

Kabbu shakes his head. “I… I don’t think so. I know what’s going on here, I figured it out… but the truth is tied into Elizant’s secret, and I think it’s tied into Arioch’s guilt as well. If I confront him with the truth, her secrets will be announced to the world…” He explains.

“And if you try to skirt around them, he’ll just reveal them himself, even if it gets him convicted.” Leif continues. “We have no advice, it seems like Arioch really thought ahead on this one.” He sighs.

He really did. He made sure that there’d be little to no evidence linking him to these murders, he made sure to stay distant from the crime and did his best to clean up every last bug involved, and he’s attached himself to a conspiracy that, if revealed, would prove his guilt, but also doom Queen Elizant.

“But there has to be a way around it!” Vi argues.

“I… I want to believe that there is, but I can’t think of anything.” Kabbu sighs.

Vi thinks for a few seconds, before gasping. “What if she just reveals the truth?” She proposes.

“E-excuse me?! Vi, I’m not sure what you think Elizant’s secret is… but revealing it will not make this any better.” Kabbu explains.

“But when you confess to something, you get the chance to explain your side of things. If Arioch tells the courtroom about it, then the only side of the story they’re hearing is his.” Vi explains. “Like when I stole that entire batch of cookies you made. If I had waited to get caught, I would have been in a lot of trouble, but since I fessed up and told you that I was going to give them to Jaune for her birthday, I only got in a bit of trouble.” She continues.

“So… you’re suggesting Kabbu expose Elizant’s secret, but twist it so that she seems innocent?” Leif questions.

Vi nods. “Yeah! It’s not that bad of a plan!” She exclaims.

Announce the truth… that really might be the only way forward. Even though the path is full of uncertainties and danger… spinning the narrative in Queen Elizant’s favor might be the only chance they have.

“Queen Elizant.” Kabbu says, slamming his hands down and silencing the courtroom. “I have evidence. Evidence that would not only prove Arioch’s guilt, but would also prove that Detective Rae Kalita staged the scene of the crime eighty years ago. But in order for me to present that evidence, I need you to trust me.” He explains.

“Trust? Defense, I know you’re a fan of making things up as you go, but asking the head queen to just trust you on something is the stupidest thing you’ve ever requested.” Scarlet hisses.

He shakes his head. “I am not asking Queen Elizant to trust my judgment, or my theories, I’m asking her to trust my ability to explain the truth of this trial to the courtroom.” Kabbu explains.

“I… Kabbu, I cannot let you. I know you believe in your abilities, but there are some things that simply must be left alone.” Queen Elizant says.

“Please, Queen Elizant. I need you to trust me. This is the only way we can move on with convicting Arioch. If this trial stops now, then Arioch is going to get away with everything he’s done.” Kabbu pleads.

The Queen of the Ant Kingdom looks between the two of them, before looking down at Arioch. “I… you may proceed, defense. It would be improper of me to stop now just to save my own shell. Please present your evidence.” She says.

Kabbu lets out a sigh of relief and nods. “Thank you, your honor. I promise I won’t let you down.” He says, before pulling the diary out of his belongings. This is it, another point of no return. Crossing this line, he’s going all in on convicting Arioch, and there’s no going back. With one last deep breath, and silent encouragement from his teammates, he turns to the courtroom.

“The biggest issue with my theory is the actions of Detective Rae Kalita. The biggest question, as proposed by the prosecution is why the detective didn’t question the lack of body. I believe the answer is simple: Detective Rae Kalita wasn’t there to investigate a crime.” Kabbu begins.

“He wasn’t—? E-excuse me?!” Scarlet recoils. “What do you mean he wasn’t there to investigate a crime?”

Kabbu presents the diary. “All of the answers lie within this book. It’s a diary written by Doctor Abel, the scientist that Doctor Saine confessed to killing. In it, they discuss their work on something called ‘the Eternal Substitute’, a manufactured substitute for the Eternal Sapling. Doctor Abel discussed throughout the diary how the project was coming along, and how it needed a lot of test subjects in order to be developed.” He explains. “Also in their diary, they briefly write about the trial, referring to the defendant as being ‘offered up’ for testing, discuss the ‘set up’ being rushed, and the victim’s body never arriving at the morgue for collection. All of this points to one thing: The victim and the defendant were to be two test subjects for the Eternal Substitute.” He explains.

“And these two weren’t unique. The trial from eighty years ago was one of thousands like it, a facade thrown together to get more material for testing. Once the crime had been committed, the other two bugs working under Queen Elizant the First came in. Doctor Sain and Detective Rae Kalita. A crime would be committed, somewhere in Bugaria. We’ve seen that in the statements of every witness to that trial’s murder, as well as the testimony of Anagram and Rivour Eugor, who told us how the crime scene looked before, a scene which greatly contradicted the scene discussed in court. Following their made-up crime, Doctor Sain would interrogate them, and then give information to the prosecution, likely information that would clue them into the story their fake crime scene was telling.” Kabbu explains.

“And finally, after their trial, the bug would be convicted, and sent to the Rubber Prison, only to go missing in transport and end up in the lab over Snakemouth Den to be tested on by Doctor Abel, the same lab that Doctor Sain killed Doctor Abel in front of, and the same lab that Doctor Sain hid Eetl within.” Kabbu explains. “The trial from eighty years ago was one of thousands, the only difference this time was that something went wrong.” He concludes.

Leif recoils. “The substitute… it isn’t…?” He questions.

“It’s the cordyceps.” Kabbu confirms.

“Queen Elizant the First… she… she couldn’t have…” Leif wheezes, wilting and gasping at his chest.

The courtroom explodes into conversation once more, soon cut off by a yell from one of the Queens at the judges booth. “Queen Elizant, is… is this true?! Did you know about this?” Queen Vanessa asks.

Queen Elizant nods. “It’s all true, every last detail the defense spoke about. I only learned about it a short time ago, my mother decided to keep it a complete secret, and took the project with her to her grave.” She explains.

Leif seems on the verge of breaking down at the confirmation. Kabbu puts a hand on his back, hoping to provide some comfort. He can’t imagine what Leif is going through, Kabbu has heard nothing but good about Queen Elizant the First since arriving at Bugaria, and a large portion of those good words were from Leif. Learning that his life pretty much ended because of the bug he idolized can’t be easy to accept.

“I’m sincerely sorry that this isn’t something everyone has learned about sooner. I have wanted to tell the public since I learned about it, but I have been unable to. I was told that great harm would come to my people if I attempted to make a public statement about it.” Queen Elizant the Second confesses.

“Great harm to your people?! Who in the world would dare to threaten a Queen?” Queen Bianca questions, enraged at the very idea.

“It was Attorney General Arioch. In exchange for his silence on the matter and a promise that he wouldn’t hurt my people, he demanded that he be allowed to rebuild the Bugaria Department of Law, and that he be placed at its head.” Queen Elizant explains, wilting in her seat.

“So you assigned me to look into corruption at the BDL, while knowing full well that it was entirely BUILT on corruption?” Mothiva hisses. “I could have nearly died because of that! My friends and family were put in danger because you planted me there!”

“I did. I’m sorry, Mothiva. I needed someone to watch it from the inside, someone who they wouldn’t dare hurt and no one seemed better suited for it than you. You did your mission perfectly… but I couldn’t help you in the end, Arioch discovered what I was doing and threatened to harm you.” Queen Elizant apologizes.

The courtroom’s frenzy resumes. Bug’s demanding to know more, to know who the test subjects were, for justice for those affected, and even some screams for Queen Elizant to be held accountable for her mother’s actions and dethroned. All of that noise is silenced by Scarlet as he slams his fists down.

“Sorry for interrupting this moment of civil unrest, but how does this fit into your theory, defense? Detective Rae Kalita was a fake and a fraud, wonderful, but you’re claiming that the body was gone before that, and that the detective for some reason decided to keep it a secret. How does that make any sense?” Scarlet questions.

“And if these doctors and the detective were the driving force behind everything… Where does Arioch come in?” Queen Layra questions.

“I simply learned about the incident from my careful review of documents, and confronted Queen Elizant about it. I learned, then and there, that she already knew about it extensively.” Arioch announces. “Never did I threaten violence, nor did I demand for the positions I was given. I calmly told how the law could be structured to stop this from ever happening again and promised to keep her secrets hidden. THAT is why she allowed me to rebuild the BDL, and THAT is why she placed me atop it.” He continues.

“That’s an obvious lie! Who do you expect people to trust, Queen Elizant or you?!” Vi hisses.

“Me, of course. You’ve just presented a pile of evidence against Queen Elizant the First, evidence that you found within a locked room of the Ant Palace. There is still no proof that I have any involvement in any of this.” Arioch says.

“Nothing you’re claiming has any evidence to back it up! You can’t just make things up and expect the people of Bugaria to believe you!” Kabbu hisses.

“Can I not? It works perfectly well for you.” Arioch hisses. “Now, defense, how do I connect to all of this? Why didn’t the detective react to a missing body? And in your pretty little theory, surrounded by a corrupt detective, a fraud of a psychologist, and a cruel Queen willing to sacrifice her citizens for immortality, what makes me the monster?” He asks.

All eyes return to Kabbu, but thankfully he has nothing to panic about. He wouldn’t have gone into this in the first place if he didn’t have evidence to show Arioch’s place in everything. “The defense has another piece of evidence. Prosecution, your honors, please take a look at this stack of papers.” Kabbu says, presenting the large list that Prosecutor Daxy had given him.

“What is all of this? A list of names?” Queen Bianca asks.

“Yes. This is a list of every bug that met their end at Snakemouth Lab, every test subject, along with the lawyer responsible for convicting them and sending them to prison. It was written and meticulously researched by Captain Daxy.” Kabbu explains.

After a few moments of slipping through pages, Scarlet drops them on the table in front of him. “I still fail to see how any of this connects to Arioch.”

“Well, that would require you to glance not at the victim’s name but at the most prominent name on this paper. A large majority of these bugs were prosecuted by the same person, a majority far too large to ignore. Arioch, written over and over again, hundreds and thousands of times.” Kabbu explains.

“That is because I was the main prosecutor for the old BDL. I did my best to take as many cases as I could, to make sure those who commit crimes got the punishments they deserved.” Arioch reasons.

“And that makes sense. The only thing that doesn’t make sense, though, is that you could stay blissfully unaware of what was happening. You were an incredibly important piece to all of this, the one actually responsible for getting bugs convicted. It’s hard to imagine you didn’t know.” Kabbu explains. “Just like Doctor Sain, Detective Rae Kalita, and Doctor Abel, you were a tool to get more test subjects. Not only were you completely knowledgeable, but you were involved, and were being given instructions from Queen Elizant the First. And just like Doctor Abel, you snapped one day, and ended up sabotaging your Queen’s efforts by hiding the victim’s body and destroying evidence, before escaping Bugaria to avoid the consequences of your actions.” He continues.

“According to Doctor Abel’s journal, this entire plan was plagued by miscommunication. The people involved barely spoke outside of work, and when it came time to look at the body, everyone told everyone else that they didn’t know where it had gone. And to tie all of the miscommunication together, Queen Elizant the First refused to talk to them about it, so they were forced to question whether this was even a set up to begin with. That day, eighty years ago, when Detective Rae Kalita entered the scene, he saw the lack of body and assumed you or someone else involved had taken the victim’s body elsewhere, and simply continued as if nothing had happened.” Kabbu continues.

“D-detective Rae Kalita… why would he have done something like that?! Why would he have done something so clearly against the will of the law?” Anagram cries out.

“I don’t know, I can only assume that he, just like Doctor Sain, was incredibly loyal to his Queen. However, unlike Doctor Sain, Arioch clearly isn’t here to keep Queen Elizant the First’s secrets secret. No, Arioch, the only thing you’re here for is to keep YOUR involvement secret! After years of sending bugs to their deaths, you’re trying to slip back into power to erase every bit of evidence that could tie you back to your actions. That’s the true reason you want the bugs involved dead. Not to protect you from your fabrication of evidence, but to stop everyone from knowing that you never were a real prosecutor. Your entire career, you’ve been nothing more than a corrupt puppet!”

The court continues to talk, voicing their opinions, but there’s a noticeable shift from those blaming Queen Elizant, to those blaming Arioch, until the two arguments sound about even in volume. He might have done it. He might have actually managed to put this in a light that won’t get Queen Elizant immediately dethroned, and now that the court knows, there’s nothing holding her back anymore, nothing more that she has to be afraid of, and no reason for her to let him continue.

Queen Elizant silences the courtroom with a slam of her gavel. “I knew of my mother’s involvement in that atrocity… but I wasn’t aware that you held a key role in it, Arioch.” She says.

“I… I DO NOT!” Arioch yells. In a fury, he slams one of his claws down on the witness bench beside him, causing it to break, sending chips of wood flying everywhere. He takes a moment to calm himself, before clapping his claws together, and a moment later a pair of bugs bring in a new witness stand to replace the old one. “Forgive me for my outburst. As I was saying, I do not have a role in this, the defense is making things up.”

“So, you’re still going to deny it?!” Kabbu questions.

Arioch shakes his head. “There’s nothing to deny. I flawlessly did my job, and put my trust in my Queen, and in return I am suspected of sending bugs to their death? Please, you still haven’t given proof that I committed a crime.” He says. “And believe me, defense, if a single fool attempts to arrest me before I’ve been PROVEN, without a doubt, guilty, there will be bloodshed.” The scorpion hisses, snapping his claws.

Kabbu gulps. He… he thought that all of that was convincing! It definitely convinced the public, everyone’s certain that Arioch is guilty of this crime. Coming into this trial, Kabbu didn’t think for a second that the person he actually needed to convince was Arioch.

“Him messing with the victim’s body is still a crime, right?” Vi questions.

“That… yes! That is a crime!” Kabbu confirms. “Your honor! Even if he won’t admit to his involvement in the Substitute Project, I’m certain that Arioch moved the victim’s body eighty years ago, and tampering with a deceased body is still a felony!” He explains. If he can’t get Arioch on one thing, he just needs to find another. Eventually he’ll have evidence to convict Arioch of a crime, just one. That’s all he needs.

“I did not touch the victim’s body, I will not be accused of that, either.” Arioch growls.

“You are in no place to make demands, Arioch. I will allow that, defense. You may proceed.” She says.

“Thank you, your honor.” Kabbu says. His head is still buzzing, his hands are shaky, but he did it. He’s ruined Arioch’s public image, there’s no way that he’ll continue being the Head of the BDL after this, and Kabbu has his doubts that the BDL will still be around once this is over.

However, that isn’t enough. If Arioch is free, then he can hurt people, no matter what position he’s in. Just one crime, that’s all he needs, and he can put Arioch behind bars, where he’ll never be a danger to anyone else ever again.

“At this time, I would like to call the witnesses of the trial from eighty years ago to the stand, to testify on the state of the crime scene, and on the victim’s body.” Kabbu requests.

Chapter Text

It takes a long time for the witnesses to be brought to the witness stand, which isn't surprising. Kabbu imagines that there is a lot of paperwork involved in actually getting the witnesses down here. Thankfully that gives Mothiva and Scarlet time to read over Defense Attorney Falsaver Itas’s notes on the trial, and gives Leif plenty of time to recover from his learning about the substitute. During all of that time, Rivour Eugor disappeared once again, leaving Anagram to be arrested and dragged back to prison.

However, when the three do finally get here, Arioch steps to the side, allowing Dara Cavara, Doctor Path, and Pommet Grant to take the stand, joined by General Fuff. Scarlet, who has been voicing his complaints since the order was sent out by Queen Elizant, crosses his arms and grimaces. “This has to be the most dangerous lineup of witnesses ever seen before this court. A mass murderer, a bandit leader, and the general of the Wasp army.” He huffs.

Mothiva rolls her eyes. “If the defense is right about anything, then I’m sure Doctor Sain and Arioch are much more dangerous than these three.” She says. “Witnesses, please state your name, profession and or prison sentence for the court record.”

“Of course! My name is Doctor Path Oli, I am Dara Cavara’s personal doctor. Dara, can you say hi to the courtroom?” Doctor Path encourages.

“Dara Cavara, royal librarian.” Dara hums, mindlessly thrumming her claws on the table in front of her.

“And her current sentence is six and a half life sentences!” Doctor Path adds.

“Pommet Grant, ex-bandit queen and current professional felon. Sentence goes till I die I guess.” Pommet shrugs.

“My name is Fuff, I am the proud general of the Wasp’s militia, and am here to testify for my late father, General Puff.” Fuff explains.

“General Puff was your father?!” Kabbu exclaims. He— he probably should have guessed, their names are nearly identical, but still!

“Yes, he was. Unfortunately, he passed away many years ago due to health complications.” General Fuff explains.

“Witnesses, do you know why you’ve been summoned to court today?” Queen Elizant questions.

Dara shakes her head immediately, before the question has even finished being asked.

“Uh… well, since you’re willing to acknowledge my existence, I assume it’s something important.” Pommet guesses.

Queen Elizant sucks in a breath, before sighing. “Yes, what you have been summoned here for is very important. I understand that the two of you, Dara Cavara and you, Pommet Gant, were witnesses in a trial eighty years ago, the trial of Jay Ester.” She explains.

“That I was, your highness.” Pommet says.

“Poor poor Judas…” Dara mutters, a frown covering her face for a brief moment.

“More specifically, during the course of today’s trial, we’ve discovered that the body of Judas went missing at some point. We’re hoping that you might be able to tell us what you saw, so we can figure out if that body was removed by Arioch.” Kabbu explains.

“The body… huh? It went missing?! When? How?!” Pommet asks.

“Before the investigator, Rae Kalita, got to the scene. And as for how, we're still triying to figure that out.” Kabbu answers.

“That… that doesn’t make much sense, what about that sketch Rae showed us?” Pommet questions.

“According to the defense, that sketch was fabricated to make it appear as if there had been a body. However, they have yet to prove that the body was actually stolen and have smeared just about every name involved in this trial to try and prove anything.” Scarlet hisses.

“Well, that sounds simple enough. My memory ain’t quite what it used to be, but I’ll certainly do my best to say everything I remember.” Pommet says.

“And… I can’t promise that anything Dara says will help much, but I promise that she’ll do her best!” Doctor Path smiles.

“A possible corruption in the highest levels of Bugarian government is of high concern. While I was not there, I will also do my best to supply what I was told of the incident.” General Fuff adds.

—Witnessed From Across the Library—

“I knew something was going on with that body, Rae kept trying to convince me but I knew he was wrong,” Pommet starts.

“I didn’t see the body, but my father told me plenty about it. Especially about the moment the murder occurred, and what he saw after.” Fuff says. “He told me the victim’s neck was nearly gone on both sides, the sight was something he remembered until his death,” He continues.

“He said to leave the room, don’t touch anything. I sat right outside, where could Judas have gone?” Dara mutters to herself.

“Yeah, what Dara’s saying. He was in there for a while, all alone. If something was removed from the scene, he would have to have done it then.” Pommet says.

“So… as expected, the witnesses didn’t actually witness anything that could prove that there was any tampering with the body. Another wonderful waste of time from the defense.” Scarlet hisses.

“This isn’t a waste at all! The witnesses stated that they saw something different from what Detective Rae Kalita reported in court. The fact that the actual scene differed from what was reported in court adds to my theory that Arioch could have been in on the forgery.” Kabbu argues.

“It’s no surprise that testimony from eighty years ago contradicts what actually happened, especially since the bug who died was a friend of theirs. Their testimony is unreliable.” Scarlet argues back.

“Not to mention, General Fuff’s testimony is pretty much hearsay, and definitely wouldn’t be accepted as testimony if it weren’t for that exception.” Mothiva adds.

“Well, when you put it like that, it does sound bad, but the details they’re testifying about are still very similar to what they testified to eighty years ago! Even all the way back then, Pommet still argued that what Rae Kalita was reporting didn’t match with the body she saw.” Kabbu reasons.

“And if they’re saying the same things they said back then, then what’s the point of hearing new testimony now?” Scarlet questions. “Any details they decide to add will be untrustworthy and dated. It’s been nearly a century since this crime occurred, it being remembered at all is a miracle.”

That… that’s true, he’s very thankful for this testimony, but the age of it definitely doesn’t give it credit. He can’t rely on it much, and he’s going to need really strong evidence and a good argument to back up whatever he finds in this testimony.

“Unless there are any more issues with what the witnesses have stated, the defense may now proceed with the cross-examination.” Queen Elizant says.

Kabbu nods. This is it, possibly his only chance to really figure out what really happened those eighty years ago. He just needs to find proof that Arioch committed a crime, something that can put him in prison and isn’t the forgery of evidence.

“We… are starting to remember more. We definitely remember these witnesses.” Leif says, putting a hand on his head.

“Well, I’d hope you remember Fuff, it hasn’t been THAT long since you last saw him.” Vi huffs.

“No, we’re talking about the other two, the ladybug and the scorpion. We can remember bringing that painting into the courtroom with Muse.” Leif explains. “Dara looked a lot… different back then. On top of remembering… we have a bad feeling about this testimony.” He adds. That… doesn’t sound good at all, but Leif refuses to give more details on what the bad feeling is. Hopefully he’s just imagining things… and hopefully whatever is going to go wrong won’t stop them from convicting Arioch.

That’s more than enough delay, though. As much as he’d love to keep talking to Leif and help him remember more about his time before Snakemouth, he needs to focus on this cross-examination.

—Rebuttal—

(I knew something was going on with that body, Rae kept trying to convince me but I knew he was wrong)

“So you’d suspected that Rae Kalita was lying from the start?” Kabbu asks.

“Not lying, no. He was a good friend of mine, and a professional, I woulda never thought he’d tamper with a crime scene, but I had a good, up close look at that body and I can tell you that what he was saying about it was dead wrong.” Pommet explains.

“And you didn’t think of mentioning that there was something wrong earlier?” Scarlet asks.

“Well, no, not really. He’s the expert in this stuff, but I got up close and personal with the body, I knew what it looked like, and I couldn’t get that sight out of my head even if I wanted to. Judas, all bloodied like that, I just knew it couldn’t’ve been a little slit in the throat.” Pommet continues.

“No weapon, either.” Dara interjects.

“Yeah! That too, there just wasn’t a weapon he could’ve slit someone’s throat with! I was arguing from the start that it had to be someone else, but no one believed me.” Pommet huffed.

“What about the defendant’s trick knives? I’ve heard a lot about them, could it have been possible for the murder to have been committed with it?” Kabbu asks.

“Nah, no way in hell.” Pommet says with a shake of her head. “Those little knives are dull, I’d be impressed if you could slit someone’s throat with one of them.” She explains.

Kabbu nods, before wilting slightly. “Did… did you ever even see the defendant go near the case that the knives were in?” He asks.

“Nope, he never even went close to them. I kept an eye on him while I was taking Judas’s wallet off of her, he didn’t move an inch, just kept pressing his hand against his neck and pacing back and forth, whimpering and all that.” Pommet explains.

Scarlet slams his hands down. “Wait a moment, you WHAT?! You stole the victim’s wallet?” He hisses.

“Well, it sounds really bad out of context, but we had an agreement set up that if one of us died, the other would get out money. I had a bad feeling, so I took her wallet while waiting for the authorities to show up.” Pommet explains.

“That is the most barbaric thing I’ve ever heard! Pillaging your friend’s corpse for a couple of berries?! Agreement or not, you deserve prison time for that!” Scarlet hisses.

“I’m already in prison forever, they can’t give me any more time now.” Pommet shrugs.

“Also, dimwit, it’s called a will. Everyone has one, It’s not barbaric at all.” Mothiva adds.

Scarlet slams his fists down. “A WILL is not barbaric, but taking money off a fresh body is—”

Queen Elizant cuts him off with a slam of her gavel. “Prosecutors, please stop arguing and let the defense proceed with his cross-examination.” She says.

They thankfully do quiet down. He’s always wondered what it would be like with two prosecutors in the courtroom, and the two of them bickering is pretty close to what he had been imagining. It makes him wonder what it would be like if there was a second defense attorney in the courtroom… would they work together, like how he does with his teammates? Or would they also bicker?

He probably won't find out. After this trial, he might be done with the whole lawyering business.

(I didn’t see the body, but my father told me plenty about it. Especially about the moment the murder occurred, and what he saw after)

“So your dad told you about the murder he witnessed?” Kabbu asks.

General Fuff nods. “Among many other tales, like his time in the trenches, or his victory at the Battle of Bottlecap. The tale of Judas Garridan’s murder wasn’t the most gruesome tale he told me, but it clearly had a great effect on him.” The wasp explains.

Kabbu nods. “So, you said that he told you about the moment the murder occurred. Could you tell me more about that?” He asks.

“My father described the moment it happened as an explosion of mist. Blood stained the painting and both of the bugs, and a moment later the victim, Judas, was on the floor. He didn’t tell me many other details about the exact moment, he said he was frozen in shock for quite a bit, until the defendant approached them.” General Fuff explains.

“During the trial he testified that he couldn’t remember what he had seen for a while, and when he actually said it, no one believed him.” Kabbu continues. “But that was because he said the painting got covered in blood, but the painting Rae Kalita found on the scene of the crime was clean.”

“And that was because Arioch decided that that blood evidence needed to be hidden. For some reason.” Leif concludes.

Kabbu nods. He knows that there’s something more going on with that painting, the blood on the back proves it, but he can’t quite imagine what that is just yet. “What did your father tell you about the time after the murder?” Kabbu asks.

“A lot of nothing, he said. He told me he felt as if he were in a daze, but still very much there, observing the scene. He also told me that he suspects he got distracted for just long enough for the ladybug to snatch the victim’s wallet, but that besides that, he kept his eyes on everything the entire time.” General Fuff continues.

“So there wasn’t any chance for someone to tamper with the crime scene? Or any chance for someone to steal the body?” Kabbu asks.

“Not that he knew of. By the time he left that room, the body was still sat in its chair.” Fuff confirms.

“I see… was there anything else that General Puff told you?” Kabbu asks.

General Fuff nods.

(He told me the victim’s neck was nearly gone on both sides, the sight was something he remembered until his death)

“That— that’s far different from what the picture shows!” Kabbu exclaims.

“And that’s exactly what I was saying the whole time! It didn’t look like some little knife slash, it looked like a beast had torn a chunk out of her!” Pommet adds.

“Please keep the descriptions at a minimum. The last thing I want to do today is throw up.” Mothiva sighs. “I can’t imagine what that must have looked like, especially since the mere sight of it left a heavy impact on a war veteran.”

“Did General Puff tell you what he thinks could have caused a wound like that?” Kabbu asks.

“Objection.” Arioch booms, causing Kabbu to flinch. He had almost managed to forget that Arioch was still in the courtroom. “This question calls for opinion from a non-expert witness.”

“Defense, do you have a response?” Queen Elizant asks.

“If I may, Queen Elizant.” General Fuff interjects. “I believe my father was an expert. He fought in many wars, first as a medic and then as a general. He would have been perfectly suited to give his opinion on what could have caused a wound.” He explains.

Arioch shakes his head. “That still means nothing. He may have qualifications, and experience, but he did not investigate the scene of the crime nor the body.” He refutes.

Queen Elizant thinks for a few moments, before shaking her head. “I think the witness’s father’s viewing of the scene was sufficient to count as an investigation, at least for now. If this testimony points toward a specific weapon, I will have the defense provide additional proof that the weapon it pointed towards was indeed the murder weapon. Objection overruled.” She says.

Phew… thank goodness for Queen Elizant and General Fuff. “Um… do you want me to repeat the question I asked?” Kabbu asks.

General Fuff shakes his head. “It’s fine, I remember it. He told me that he couldn't figure out what had caused the wound. In all of his time on the battlefield, he had never seen an injury like that before.” He says.

Interesting… so whatever was used to kill the victim wasn’t something General Puff had seen before. That’s very similar to what Pommet’s description of it, as an attack from some sort of beast… Kabbu’s curiosity on what the murder weapon was is continuing to climb. “Did General Puff see anything else following the murder?” Kabbu asks.

Fuff shakes his head. “Queen Vanessa the First left the palace after that, and my father followed. Perhaps one of these two saw what happened next, but my father certainly did not.” The general explains.

(He said to leave the room, don’t touch anything. I sat right outside, where could Judas have gone)

“I’m assuming I won’t be able to get a good response from Dara about this, but… Doctor Path, could you get her to elaborate on what she’s talking about?” Kabbu requests.

“I can certainly try!” The doctor smiles, before turning to the scorpion next to them. “Dara, could you tell Kabbu more about that?”

Dara smiles, before shaking her head. “Wasn’t in the room, I don’t know what happened.”

Well… that’s kind of Kabbu’s fault, she doesn’t seem very talkative today. Still, he doesn’t need to hear more from her to analyze that statement, there’s already a lot of information in there.

“I might be wrong, but I think the witness is questioning what exactly happened to the body while Arioch was alone in the library. It took Detective Rae Kalita a while to get there, and when he arrived, the body was gone.” Kabbu says. “And the rest of her statement is talking about how she was outside the library the entire time… so the big question is how Arioch managed to dispose of a body in a room with no exits.”

Scarlet sighs and shakes his head. “I believe that would count as proof against what you’re attempting to argue, defense. And good proof at that, the body couldn’t have gone anywhere, meaning that Arioch couldn’t have gotten rid of it.” He argues again.

“With everything you’ve presented so far, Kabbu, it seems more likely that the detective simply disposed of the body, fabricated a sketch to make it look like the murder was committed by someone else, and then kept the details out of his story. Or, alternatively, his apprentices are just liars. Which is equally likely.” Mothiva adds.

“That… that’s true.” Kabbu sighs. “I’m sure that there’s some way to get out of that room, some way other than the door out… I just need to figure out what it is.” He muses. If he can figure that out, he might be able to have someone sent to that exit, and then they might be able to find evidence.

Suddenly, he hears a noise, as if someone had just made a realization, but looking at the witness stand, no one looks like they’ve thought of something. Neither do either of the bugs at the prosecution’s, nor Arioch or K, nor his teammates. Kabbu looks up at the judges stand, only to see Queen Elizant deep in thought.

“Your honor, is everything okay?” Kabbu asks, snapping her out of her thoughts.

“Ah! My apologies, I was simply remembering something my mother told me a long time ago.” Queen Elizant explains. “When I was very young, there used to be tunnels in the walls of the Ant Palace. It was so that cleaners and guards could get around quickly and quietly in the case of an emergency… but most of them were sealed up due to structural problems with the palace.” She says.

“Tunnels? Is… is there any way that a tunnel once existed in the library?” Kabbu asks.

“I can't say, my mother had most of the blueprints for the palace destroyed before her death, and as far as I know, she destroyed the records of where the tunnels were before she passed away.” Queen Elizant continues.

“But if there was a tunnel in there, that could perfectly explain where the body went! Arioch could have carried the body through one of those tunnels!” Vi proposes.

“Perhaps he could have. However, just like with every other theory the defense has thrown out so far, it has no proof. The tunnels have all been sealed up, and I doubt her majesty will be willing to punch random holes in the walls of the library to try and find a tunnel that might not exist.” Scarlet argues.

Kabbu wilts at that. That’s true.

Still, these tunnels are a possible route for Arioch to have disposed of the body. He should ask Queen Elizant to talk more about the tunnels… if he can learn more about them, he might be able to find some proof. “Um… your honor, I know this is a strange request, but could you please add a statement about the tunnels to the testimony?”

“You want me to testify? I mean, I certainly can, but I don’t think that’s usually permitted in a court of law.” Queen Elizant says.

“Yet another clue to the people in the gallery that this courtroom has lost its mind.” Scarlet sighs.

((There used to be many tunnels around the palace. I don’t know where any of them were when they existed))

“Queen Elizant, could you tell me a bit more about these tunnels? I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around them.” Kabbu admits.

“Of course. They’re rather large passageways that connected main rooms to adjacent staff rooms, and most had their entrances obscured by easy to move objects, such as paintings and large banners.” Queen Elizant explains.

“What were they used for?” Kabbu questions.

“Moving objects and people around the palace. If there’s an event happening in the war room for example, maids and workers would use the tunnels to quickly gain access to the room and prepare it while my mother and her guests made their way there. Thanks to the help of the tunnels, the guests don’t see the workers dashing to and from with furniture or supplies.” Queen Elizant explains.

“And you already stated that you have no clue where they were?” Kabbu asks.

Queen Elizant nods. “That’s true. My mother sealed as many as she could find before her end and destroyed the records of where they were. However, there were apparently hundreds of them around the palace, it’s possible some have gone unfound this entire time and we simply don’t know about them.” She explains.

“What purpose did sealing all of the access tunnels serve?” Scarlet asks.

“My mother told me it was due to structural issues with the palace.” Queen Elizant answers.

“I can’t imagine that they weren’t made when the palace was being built. To have built those tunnels without support would be completely foolish and irresponsible.” Scarlet huffs.

It does sound irresponsible… Kabbu can only wonder if perhaps the tunnels had alternate uses as well. He can’t imagine that the Substitute project was the only thing she was working on in secret… surely there’s more. He’s sure that this is the way forward, though. There has to be a tunnel somewhere in the library, there’s no other way he can prove that Arioch removed the victim’s body from the scene.

((There used to be many tunnels around the palace. I don’t know where any of them were when they existed))

He quickly goes through his evidence. There must be something, anything that can clue them in on its location. That’s when it finally hits him. The painting. There must be a reason that Arioch wanted it hidden, and Kabbu has a feeling that he might be able to find it by examining the ancient work of art.

The blood on the front makes sense, the victim was right in front of it when she died… but what doesn’t make nearly as much sense is the blood on the back of the painting. The only way blood could have gotten on the back if it were removed, and there's really only one reason that the painting would have been removed following the murder.

Kabbu slams his fists down. “The defense has proof of the location of this secret tunnel.” He announces, before presenting the painting. “I would like the court to look at this painting. It’s the one piece of evidence that they proved Arioch had tampered with during that trial eighty years ago.” He explains.

“A beautiful painting, unfortunately ruined. How does this prove Arioch’s guilt, though?” Scarlet questions.

“For that, you’d need to look at the back.” Kabbu explains, turning the painting around and showing the smear of blood.

“Is… is that more blood?” Queen Elizant asks.

“I’m almost certain it is. The question is, though, how does blood get on the back of a painting if the only thing behind it is a wall?” Kabbu questions. “The answer is that there WAS something behind the wall! One of the tunnels that you told us about, and a tunnel that Arioch used to remove Judas’s corpse from the room, and it was while he was handling the body and the painting, he accidentally smeared blood on it!” He explains.

Scarlet recoils. “A tunnel behind the painting?! That… that makes no sense! If there really was a tunnel behind that painting, and Arioch was trying to stealthily steal the body, then he wouldn’t have changed the painting at all! It would have drawn much more attention to the tunnel behind it” He argues.

“He would have had no choice, the painting has two large holes in it. If Arioch had left the painting up, they would have seen the blood and subsequently taken it down to better examine it, which would then reveal the tunnel and the blood on the painting's back. The only way he could make sure that it wouldn’t be examined was if he replaced the painting with something innocuous, like a painting of Queen Elizant the First!” Kabbu concludes.

Arioch grits his mandibles, clenching his claws. “I…. did nothing of the sort, I refuse to be accused of this crime.” He hisses.

Queen Elizant nods. “This explanation seems very reasonable, defense. I’ll have someone sent to the palace immediately to check the wall where that painting once hung to confirm that tunnel’s existence. I can’t say how long that will take, but if a tunnel existed there, they should be able to find some trace of it.” She says, before waving to a guard who quickly leaves.

Chapter Text

It thankfully doesn’t take the guard long for them to return. They hurry up to Queen Elizant, whispering something into her ear, before returning to their place in the courtroom. The Ant Queen slams down her gavel, silencing the courtroom. “I have just received the information that there was, indeed, a tunnel hidden behind that spot in the past. According to my guard, the tunnel only went straight forward for twenty or so paces, before ending at another sealed entrance, but thanks to the help of a light, a trace of blood was found on the walls of the tunnel.” She explains.

“If there was blood on the wall, then that proves it! Arioch had to have used this tunnel as an escape route, and after holding the body and getting blood on his claws, he accidentally smeared it on the wall of the tunnel and on the back of the painting!” Kabbu concludes.

The courtroom explodes into chatter. This could be enough to prove Arioch’s guilt. It’s not quite conclusive evidence, but it’s still fairly convincing.

Queen Elizant slams her gavel down, silencing the courtroom. “Arioch. What do you say to this evidence?” She asks, and the entire courtroom waits with bated breaths to hear his response.

Arioch grimaces, before shaking his head. “What is it supposed to prove? A smear of blood on a wall, and blood on the back of a painting? That could have come from any time period, there is no proof that it resulted from my actions.” He argues.

“Where else could it have come from?!” Vi exclaims, slamming her hands down.

“Any time period, and from anything. Queen Elizant the First was a horrible, horrible ruler. It’s impossible to say what occurred within the walls of her palace. Perhaps this was why she sealed those tunnels in the first place.” Arioch huffs.

The courtroom explodes into chatter again. Damn it, he was hoping that would be enough to convince Arioch to just give up and allow himself to be arrested. He doesn’t have any way to prove that the blood stains were from that incident. Perhaps if he had a sample of the victim’s blood, and another species identifier, he could prove that the blood came from the victim’s body… but the body is long gone, no murder weapon was ever found, and he’s already used the only species identifier Neo made.

What can he do now? What other path of action is there? He could ask for more testimony from them, and hope that they might know something— anything— but so far their testimony hasn’t given him much.

The noises of the courtroom are silenced once more by Mothiva suddenly clearing her throat. “I was hoping the defense would have an explanation for this during their accusation, sorry for my interruption, but why are there holes in the painting to begin with?” She questions.

Kabbu snaps out of his thoughts. “Ah, I’m… not sure, actually. I haven’t been able to find any clues towards what could have caused it.” He answers.

“One would presume that these holes are the reason that Arioch sent it to be fixed in the first place. Whatever the cause is, the reason has long been lost to time.” Scarlet interjects.

Mothiva frowns, taking a closer look at the back of the painting. “And just look at the way the canvas broke, it almost looks like something was thrust through the painting…” She mutters.

Vi suddenly gasps. “What if something WAS thrust through the painting?”

“Pardon?” Scarlet asks, squinting at Vi.

Vi turns to Kabbu. “Either I’ve had a great idea, or a really stupid one. General Puff described the moment the victim attacked as an explosion of blood, and if you hung it on a wall, that hole in the painting is about neck height for an ant! What if that explosion of blood, and the hole in the painting, were caused by something being stabbed through the painting?” Vi explains.

“You— you think the holes in the painting are connected to the murder?” Kabbu asks.

“That would explain why no murder weapon was ever found on the scene, it never entered the scene to begin with.” Leif adds.

“Exactly! The murderer could have been hiding on the other side of the painting and stabbed through it to strike the victim! And that would explain the two cuts as well! They stabbed through and cut the front of the victim’s throat, and then stabbed through again to get the back!” Vi continues.

If that were the case, it would explain not just the painting, but also why the murder shocked everyone, and why no one else in the room noticed the victim and the defendant arguing. There was no build up to the crime. One moment, everyone would have been alive, and the next, Judas would have been dying on the floor, covered in blood.

“If I may interject. Defense, as much as you try and talk quietly, you’re the loudest bunch of people I’ve ever met. The idea you’re whispering about is complete nonsense.” Scarlet interjects.

“Hey! Stay out of our discussion!” Vi hisses.

“How doesn’t it make sense?” Kabbu questions. “It lines up with the missing murder weapon, the painting, and the description the witnesses gave.” He says.

“Well, for one, the idea makes no sense. You’re claiming that some bug was hiding behind a painting in a secret tunnel only known about by trusted officials of the Queen. On top of that, who could it even be? The only bugs in the palace were some officials from the Wasp Kingdom, and a few people from the Ant Kingdom. And don't even get me started on how this secret murderer managed to stab them twice before they hit the floor." Scarlet explains.

Kabbu thinks for a moment. “Both of those questions have the same answer. If the killer were one of those officials from the Ant Palace that were in the meeting, then they'd know about the tunnel’s existence.” He explains.

Scarlet sighs. “At least you actually began thinking that idea through before you blurted something out. Next on the list of nonsense, this secret murderer would have had to have been hidden for who knows how long while waiting for the two bugs to come over and stand in front of the painting. And how would they even know that their victim was in front of the palace to begin with?”

“If I could speak, your majesty.” Pommet interjects, and then doesn’t wait for a response from Queen Elizant. “Jay and Judas always talk in front of that painting when they want to be hush about it. Them moving there is usually a sign to us to move out of the way and let them chat.” She explains.

“So, if the killer had planned to kill the victim, they’d likely have memorized where the victim would be. If they had been listening in on the victim’s conversations, they might even have known that Judas had something secret she wanted to talk about on that day.” Kabbu continues.

“And for the issue of them even being able to tell where the victim was? If they had randomly stabbed through the painting the moment, they heard the victim’s voice close by, there’s a high likelihood that they would have missed.” Scarlet hisses.

Kabbu frowns. Another issue with that theory… but he does have an idea. Back when he first saw the painting in person, he looked behind it and managed to see the bug in white's and Vi’s silhouettes through it. “I think the painting itself has the answer to that question, actually.” He explains. “When it's dark on one side, and bright on the other, you can actually slightly see silhouettes through it, kind of like a one-way-window.”

Scarlet recoils. “That— that’s ridiculous!”

“That’s how canvas works, idiot.” Mothiva huffs.

“No! I know how shadows work. It’s ridiculous because the killer wouldn’t be able to see who they were striking at. They'd just see two vaguely similar silhouettes, they could have easily struck the wrong person!” Scarlet growls.

“Perhaps the killer didn’t care about that. If they struck the wrong person, the surviving bug would be accused of murder since that’s the only sensible explanation. If they killed the wrong bug, they’d still get their target.” Leif interjects.

“Okay, fine. Final question, why? If it were a higher up at the Ant Palace, they would be risking their high position for what? Why would they go through all of the trouble to come up with this massive, complex plan? To kill a random library hand? It makes no sense.” Scarlet questions.

Kabbu frowns. “I… I’m not sure, but a why isn’t needed yet.” He says.

Scarlet grimaces. “This is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. You have no proof, no suspect, and half of your explanation for this logic gymnasium is complete nonsense.” He hisses.

Mothiva frowns. “Not to mention, this does completely undermine what you were trying to argue before. If Arioch took the body out this way, wouldn’t he have seen evidence that the murderer had fled? Or perhaps even ran into the murderer themself? And if Arioch had found evidence of the murder, why did he cover it up instead of reporting it?” She asks.

Kabbu frowns. She… she’s right. This entire theory is a bit of a mess, and it doesn’t tie into anything he’s been arguing, and actually ruins most of what he’s been working toward. But… what he’s been arguing against Arioch also makes sense, almost just as much sense as Vi’s theory about the murderer hiding behind the painting.

Surely there’s some sort of explanation?

Maybe Arioch was covering up for the murderer? If the crime had been a part of the plan to get more test subjects for the substitute, then it could make sense that he was working together with someone else and ignored the evidence in favor of covering everything up… the only issue is that it would make infinitely more sense for Rae Kalita to do all of that. Why did Arioch cover up the scene and then say nothing to the others working with him?

Perhaps Arioch and the killer both got extremely lucky and missed each other? It doesn’t seem very likely, and doesn’t give him anywhere he can go, but it's a possibility. That still wouldn’t explain why Arioch covered up the obvious holes in the painting though. There's only one idea that really makes sense. If Arioch and a murderer were both using those tunnels, they would have run into each other… but if Arioch WAS the murderer, there would be no issue.

Rae Kalita and Arioch were ready to fabricate the scene the moment they got there… but why? How were they supposed to know whether this was a crime scene or a chance at a test subject? The only thing that makes sense would be if there was even more tampering, beyond just a staging of the scene.

If someone had committed the murder from the shadows, then every single aspect of the scene would be changeable to ensure that they would be able to find the defendant guilty. Beyond just being a good enough prosecutor to prove the defendant guilty… Arioch is the only sensible bug who could fit the role of executioner. He’s far stronger than every other member of the plot that Kabbu knows of, and he, a random prosecutor, was brought into a meeting between the Ant and Wasp kingdoms. It would even explain how Arioch got there so quickly. Immediately after committing the murder, he left, cleaned any blood off of him, and then moved to be intercepted by Dara so he could watch over the scene until Rae Kalita arrived.

The only thing that still doesn’t fit into place is why Arioch would go awol and dispose of the body, but Kabbu can get to that later. He has a much bigger accusation to throw out now, one that he might be able to prove if he can only iron out a few issues.

Kabbu slams his fists down. “I think I’ve figured it out. Why Arioch ignored the signs that something deeper was going on, and how he managed to miss the murderer.” He announces.

Scarlet lets out a hiss. “I swear to the gods if I hear someone say ‘I’ve figured it out’ one more time, I’m going to lose my mind.” He growls. “What are you on about this time?”

“I believe that every issue you’ve come up with, save for a motivation for the murder, can be explained by the true identity of the killer. Someone who had access to the palace on the day of the crime, someone who would have known about the tunnels, and someone who would have had the opportunity to learn that the defendant and the victim often talked in front of the painting.” Kabbu explains. “And finally, someone who would have been able to ensure his plan went off without a hitch. If he killed the wrong person, he would be able to make sure his victim ended up being convicted for murder.” He continues. “The bug who murdered Judas eighty years ago was none other than YOU, Arioch Iram!”

The courtroom once again devolves into madness at Kabbu’s accusation. He doesn’t have much proof yet, but he knows he can find some. He can make Arioch testify about the crime, and then it’s just a matter of time before he finds a contradiction capable of proving Arioch guilty!

The yelling chatter doesn’t last long before Scarlet puts an end to it by slamming his fists down. “You… you can’t be serious!” Scarlet hisses, recoiling. “There’s no proof of that! That… that’s completely insane!”

“It’s the only way that any of this makes sense! There’s no other explanation for the missing murder weapon, or for the holes in the painting, or for how Arioch managed to miss the killer!” Kabbu argues.

“There IS another explanation! The explanation is that you’re just rambling and hoping some nonsense manages to catch on.” Scarlet hisses. “None of this has any proof behind it!”

“I have to agree with Scarlet here, that IS completely insane, and it does sound like the defense is rambling. However, I’m sure you have something to back the claim up, right?” Mothiva questions.

“I don’t have any evidence just yet, but if her honor would make Arioch testify again, I think I might be able to find evidence of his crime!” Kabbu explains.

Mothiva grimaces. “Well, the prosecution would still like to hear this out, even if the idea doesn’t have any physical proof just yet. I agree to having Arioch testify again.” She reasons.

Scarlet slams his hand down. “Your majesty, you can't possibly let this slide. There is no proof of this crime, and no reason for Arioch to testify. This… all of this is completely ridiculous!” He exclaims.

Queen Elizant shakes her head. “I’m afraid that we’re far past that at this point. Arioch will testify about anything that's requested of him.” She says. “If it were not for the threats he’s put against my guards, he would already be in custody.” She says.

“Objection.” Arioch booms. “Not only is this severely unlawful, but I am still the Head of the BDL. I can assure you that the actual standing prosecution is still very unwilling to let me testify. This testimony will not happen.” He says.

“Objection overruled. Due to your inclusion in the substitute project my mother worked on, and the crimes you’ve been accused of, your position as Head of the BDL will be revoked. You have no choice but to testify now.” Queen Elizant says.

“You—! I—!” Arioch hisses, completely taken back for a moment, before he slams his claw down on the desk again, causing it to break. “I had NOTHING to do with that project! This is a mockery of the courtroom! The defense’s accusations are wrong! I have not been proven guilty, and I will not be taken into custody!” He yells, before taking a deep breath and, with a clap of his hands, the witness stand is replaced again.

Kabbu can’t help but wonder who the bugs are that keep bringing new stands in. Is it possible that Arioch has more bugs working on him? More than just the few that Mothiva documented? He isn’t sure, but he does catch a brief moment in which Arioch whispers something to one of the bugs, who then rushes out of the courtroom. He must still have more up his sleeve… even though he’s been backed into a corner… Arioch is still fighting.

“If you don’t testify, then you’ll be held in contempt of court, Arioch! You have to give testimony!” Kabbu argues.

Arioch grits his mandibles, before letting out a sigh and straightening his back again. “Fine. I will give testimony, but only once.” He hisses.

Kabbu is… shocked? He didn’t expect Arioch to give in that easily… he must have something up his sleeve. No matter what it is, though, Kabbu will be ready for it. Every word that Arioch says is a possible slip up, a chance for Kabbu to finally get the upper hand and prove him guilty.

All he needs is to prove Arioch guilty of a single crime, and it’s over.

—The Truth Behind the Murder—

“I had no involvement in this murder.” Arioch concludes.

…

“Is… is that it?” Kabbu asks. “You aren’t going to explain how you don’t have involvement?”

“Of course. There’s nothing more to say.” The scorpion huffs. “And all that was demanded of me was that I give testimony. Testimony has been given, and I have fulfilled the requests of the law.”

“You know that this is not what was requested. You are under accusation for murder, you MUST give proper testimony, about where you were prior to the attack, and you must dispute the defense’s accusations.” Queen Elizant argues.

“There is no law stating that. The defense can argue their point, but unless they can prove it, I see no reason to say anything.” Arioch argues back.

“That’s not fair at all!” Vi hisses.

“It IS fair. I am not going to fall into so obvious of a trap. The defense must prove I am guilty of this foolish accusation with evidence alone.” Arioch hisses.

He… he doesn't think he can do that. He doesn’t have nearly enough evidence from that trial, he barely even has the testimony of the bugs who saw the murder happen.

Kabbu grimaces. Is he really just out of places to go? Is that how this ends, with Arioch simply refusing to talk?

Besides bringing Dara, Pommet, and Fuff back to the stand to testify again, he doesn’t have many options besides Arioch. This testimony from him was going to be the backbone of his argument, the proof of Arioch’s guilt, he was going to find a contradiction in his testimony and finally prove him guilty–!

“Well, defense? Go ahead, cross-examine the suspect.” Scarlet says with a smirk, snapping Kabbu out of his thoughts.

He grits his mandibles. He doesn’t really have any other option, does he?

—Rebuttal?—

(I had no involvement in this murder)

“If you have no involvement in the murder, then how do you explain the holes in the painting? And what other reason would you have for tampering with the scene of the crime?” Kabbu questions.

“I do not have to answer either of those questions.” Arioch says. “And while the law may state that I must testify, no such law states *what* I must testify about.” He says.

Vi slams her hands down. “If you don’t explain yourself, then you’re pretty much admitting that you’re guilty! If there was an innocent explanation, then you’d have given it!” She argues.

“In what justice system does one need to prove they didn’t commit a crime? Certainly not mine. It is in the hands of the accusers to prove that I committed this crime.” Arioch argues back.

“At the very least, it doesn’t help your case that you’re refusing to explain yourself.” Mothiva huffs. “If you’re hoping to get back your position as Head of the BDL, a proper rebuttal to the defense’s accusations would certainly help.” She says.

“A ‘proper explanation’ would only result in a pitfall. I know what tricks the defense employs, the same tricks that Falsaver Itas used to lure innocent bystanders into taking the fall for his clients. The same tricks I witnessed eighty years ago during that trial.” Arioch growls.

“It’s no trick, Arioch. Falsaver Itas’s sense allowed him to see people’s lies, and the fact that you’re refusing to say anything is just more proof that you’re lying! You’re afraid that, if you say something, I’ll be able to find your tells!” Kabbu argues.

“I fear nothing, much less a fictitious magical ability. I will not incriminate myself.” Arioch says.

“Your emotions say quite the opposite. Every word you speak about that trial is laced with anger, and every word about the defense, and Falsaver Itas, is drenched in fear. You know that you’re running out of room to run.” Leif interjects.

Arioch shakes his head. “Least of all, I do not fear a blind, elderly moth who can’t even remember his own last name. The gift given to you by the monstrosity in your chest is useless without evidence. Evidence you do not have.” He continues.

Kabbu grimaces. They’re really running low on options here. The law can’t help them, and he doesn’t think he has any evidence that can prove Arioch’s guilt. It really seems like Arioch destroyed every piece of physical evidence linking him to the scene, and everything he missed was cleaned up by Rae Kalita.

“Team, I’m not sure where to go from here.” Kabbu sighs. “It really doesn’t seem like cross-examining Arioch is going to provide any results.”

“It certainly doesn’t seem that way.” Leif says. “We fear that the only reason he came into the courtroom after Doctor Sain’s arrest was because he knew there was no evidence left capable of proving his guilt.”

“Either that, or he was really confident that no one would try and arrest him if we did manage to prove him guilty.” Vi huffs. “But now that we’re actually getting close to cornering him, he’s refusing to talk!”

Kabbu nods. “There has to be some way to prove his guilt… I might have to call the witnesses back to the stand. Even if they don’t remember much, it’ll actually be evidence we can think over.” He says.

“There is no point in doing that.” Arioch booms.

“Pardon?” Kabbu asks, turning back to fact the witness stand.

“You’ve seen it yourself. The witnesses from that trial remember nothing. No matter how hard you try to comb through their testimony, they know nothing about what actually happened.” Arioch says. “In the end, the only bugs who truly know what happened that day were the defendant and the victim. However, they are both dead.”

“He… he’s right. There isn’t much use I can get out of them.” Kabbu sighs.

“Maybe, but you got Arioch to say something!” Vi exclaims.

Kabbu blinks several times. He hadn’t even realized it, but Arioch had given more testimony. Even if it seems like an empty statement with no information, it’s still something he can go over, it might be enough. Kabbu slams his hands down. “Arioch! Add that statement to your testimony immediately!” He demands.

Arioch recoils, only barely noticeable, before adjusting his tie. “If it pleases the court, then I will.”

((In the end, the only bugs who truly know what happened that day were the defendant and the victim. However, they are both dead))

“How can you say for certain that the witnesses didn’t see anything about the crime? Even if you’re refusing to believe that the true killer was hidden behind the painting, and even if you’re refusing to accept the fact that YOU did it, how can you say that no one can give testimony about it?” Kabbu questions.

“No comment.” Arioch says, shaking his head.

Kabbu wilts. He… should have expected that. A small bit of progress doesn’t mean he’s going to get Arioch to start talking. But still, this statement gives him a lot more to work on than the previous one.

The defendant is definitely dead, and unfortunately it is true that the only bugs who really know what happened would be the victim, the defendant, and Arioch. Still, Arioch’s assertion that they’re both dead catches Kabbu’s eye. Is that really true?

He digs out Jay Ester’s folder and flips through the papers. He isn’t sure if Jay would know anything, especially since he didn’t give any helpful testimony during that trial eighty years ago, but any testimony is better than nothing, especially the testimony of someone so close to the victim when they died.

The folder is full of files on the settlement, of court documents, and of many, many incident reports, but somethings missing. He gets to the end of the folder. Arioch said the defendant was dead, and he sounded rather sure of it. However, the contents of this folder clearly dispute that claim.

((In the end, the only bugs who truly know what happened that day were the defendant and the victim. However, they are both dead))

“Objection!” Kabbu calls out. “I believe this statement is too speculative to be accepted as testimony.” He says.

Arioch bares his mandibles. “How is it speculative?”

“Simple. In your previous statement, you stated that the defendant for that trial died many years ago. However, according to the defendant’s records,” Kabbu explains, presenting Jay Ester’s folder. “He hasn’t died yet. No death certificate is present.”

Arioch recoils, before adjusting his tie again. “That bug is long dead. I am sure of it.”

“If he died, then there isn’t any evidence of it. But if he is alive, then he’s fully capable of testifying about what really happened that day. He can finally tell us the truth.” Kabbu argues.

Arioch shakes his head “If he even is alive, it will be of no use. A cross-examination will end the same way it did during that trial ago. You'll make a fool of yourself and you'll waste all of our time.” He hisses.

“Whether it is a waste of time or not, I am willing to entertain the defense’s request. Guards, please retrieve Jay Ester from the Rubber Prison immediately.” Queen Elizant request.

Arioch and Rae Kalita’s tampering destroyed almost every single piece of evidence at the scene, and none of the witnesses in that trial were paying enough attention to see what really happened. None of the witnesses but one. If Jay is still alive… if he remembers anything about the crime… then he might be able to prove Arioch as guilty once and for all.

Chapter Text

It takes nearly twice as long for Jay Ester to be brought to the witness stand as it did the other witnesses. Whether that’s because of there being more paperwork involved, him being difficult to find, or there being difficulties with actually getting him to the courtroom is unknown to Kabbu, but the wait gives him plenty of time to think and talk to his teammates.

“Do you remember anything about Jay?” Kabb asks, turning to Leif.

Leif frowns. “We don’t remember much, and the only time I actually spoke to him was after all of the chaos with the murder. Muse took us to the Rubber Prison to try and get some information out of him. She didn’t get anything, and neither did I, but I remember him complaining a lot about the prison guards hurting him.” He explains.

“Hurting him?” Kabbu asks.

“Yes. Whoever was interrogating him wasn’t kind. He said they cut him, but he refused to let Muse see the wound. She filed a complaint to Queen Elizant, but I don’t think anything came of it.” Leif says.

“That’s horrible!” Kabbu exclaims. He can't imagine why Jay's interrogator would have done something like that. He can't imagine why Jay was held in solitary confinement, either. This trial was definitely important, someone was murdered in the Ant Palace of all places, but what was all of this supposed to lead to? They did so much to this bug and got nothing from it.

After what feels like ages, the ex-court jester is finally brought to the stand. He’s dressed in a jester outfit, but instead of green and white, the colors have been changed to match the Rubber Prison’s tan and darker tan uniform, and all of the bells have been removed. His shell has noticeably gotten lighter, but the discoloration on his face is still the same shade. There’s also a very noticeable scar that runs across the entire left side of his neck. Each segment of his body has a shackle around it, but he’s been mostly set free from his chains.

He’s still surrounded by guards, though, who stand with spears at the ready in case he attempts to run for it. The book described him as constantly moving, however Jay is completely still as he stares up at Queen Elizant the Second with a blank face and large eyes. Their stillness and the lack of emotion in their face is genuinely off putting. It’s like he’s looking at a corpse.

“Witness, could you please state your name and sentence for the court record?” Scarlet requests.

Jay’s head snaps to look at Scarlet, and suddenly the prisoner’s entire posture seems to shift, from rigid like a corpse to much looser, a smile forming on his face. “Of course! Of course! Jester Jay Ester, Court Jester for her majesty the Queen!“ They exclaim, quickly bowing, causing their shackles to jingle.

“And your prison sentence?” Scarlet questions.

Jay makes a strange face. “Prison sentence? Why, whatever could you be referring to? I’ve never been to a prison a day in my life!” He says with a smile.

Scarlet sighs. “Yet another lunatic witness, wonderful. Defense, what is the prisoner’s current sentence?” Scarlet asks.

“According to his records… he has a little over two hundred years left in his sentence.” Kabbu explains.

“Two hundred years?! What did he do to get that?” Queen Elizant asks.

“If I may, your honor.” Crime Scene Overseer K interrupts. “He let someone under his care die and was convicted of neglect, only about ten years of jail time. The rest of his sentence he got by disrespecting guards and refusing to cooperate.” He explains. “And thanks to more disrespect, he’s spent the past thirty years in solitary confinement.”

That might explain their strangely happy attitude. Thirty years in a windowless, black box with no one to talk to certainly isn’t good for one’s mental health, and he can’t imagine the joy he’s feeling from finally being let out, even if only for an hour or two.

“Oh? Who are you, who knows so much about me? We look so similar, we might even be the same person!” Jay laughs, causing K to grimace and quickly leave the stand, hiding behind Mothiva and Scarlet.

“I see. Thank you, Crime Scene Overseer K. Now, witness, do you recall a murder that happened in the Ant Palace eighty years ago? The victim was Judas Garridan, and you were the accused.” Queen Elizant asks.

“Hmm… Judas… that name certainly does rattle a chain or two. Perhaps I remember something about it, though I can’t promise I know anything.” Jay hums, shrugging. “Why would it matter? Eighty years ago happened eighty years ago.”

“We are currently debating the culprit of that crime, as part of the defense’s continued attempts to find something to accuse Arioch of. You have a chance to clear your name if you can testify truthfully.” Scarlet explains.

“Testify truthfully? Why should I? The last time I did that, they locked me in a room for a week. I would hate for another repeat of that.” Jay laughs.

Scarlet grimaces. “Your criminal record certainly doesn’t show any signs of you trying to testify truthfully.” He hisses, to which the ex-jester pouts.

“Jay Ester, if you can testify truthfully, we might be able to get to the bottom of who killed Judas and pinned the crime on you. She’d finally get justice.” Kabbu argues.

“Oh, I would surely love to get justice for her, but unfortunately I have a nasty habit of lying.“ Jay says in a sarcastic tone, a wide smile forming on his face.

“Testimony is still expected from you, witness, whether you have habits or not, and it is expected that you tell the truth.” Queen Elizant says.

Jay sighs. “If I must.” He says before waving his hands. One moment they’re empty, and the next a flimsy plastic with a plastic star on top appears out of seemingly nowhere. “I’ve been asked this a thousand times before, but surely the one thousand and first will be the time I finally testify correctly!” Jay exclaims while twirling the staff.

—The Jester’s Series of Events—

“Me? Not guilty of murder? I dunno… that seems hard to believe,” Jay begins. “I’m not sure how Prosecutor Arioch comes into any of this, I don’t think I’ve ever even met him before!” He says, twirling his staff again. “As far as I can remember, I stabbed Judas until she died, right in front of everyone,” He continues. “And I ruined that poor pretty painting of Queen Elizant, and so much more… I sure got what I deserved, huh?” Jay concludes.

“So, just as you were accused of eighty years ago, you murdered Judas Garriden?” Scarlet asks. “Just to clarify, there was no secret murderer hiding behind a painting, or anything of that nature?” He says.

“That sounds about right to me! I mean, if every single official out there agrees on it, then it really is the only possible explanation, huh?” Jay says with another shrug.

Kabbu recoils. “You… you can’t be serious!” He yelps. He had expected that the bug most hurt by Arioch’s fabrication would want to speak out against him and get revenge. He thought that they’d want to set the situation straight and say what really happened… but now that he’s finally been given a chance to speak in front of court again, he’s confessing to the murder?!

“Of course I’m serious! This is the only time I’ve ever been serious!” The jester says, before making an odd face that might be a mimicry of a ‘serious’ face? “It doesn’t matter, anyways! What can they do, add more years onto my sentence?” Jay questions.

“As I said before, nothing will come of this. The witness is a chronic liar at best. Cross-examining him is a waste of time.” Arioch hisses.

Kabbu grimaces. It's looking like Arioch might right again. Not only is Jay testifying to his own guilt, but after every single sentence in that statement, Kabbu felt a shiver run up his back. How much of this testimony is lies? Is any of it even true? Still. This is his last hope. Between all of the lies and useless information in his testimony, there has to be some truth. No one but the killer, the victim, and the defendant were close enough to know what really happened in that brief moment, and Arioch isn’t talking. “The defense would still like to cross-examine the witness.” Kabbu says.

Queen Elizant nods. “Of course. Defense, you may proceed with the cross-examination when you are ready.” She says.

He nods, before turning to his teammates. “I don’t think I’m going to be able to find anything from that feeling… every single statement felt like a lie.” Kabbu sighs.

“We aren’t going to be of any help either… the only emotion we’re sensing is fear, and a lot of it. Not to mention, the amount of it doesn’t seem to change between statements.” Leif says.

“Then it looks like you’re gonna have to keep relying on the basics for this one.” Vi says.

Kabbu nods. He just needs to find something in this testimony that he can use to argue for Arioch’s guilt, either for the murder or for perjury. Surely there has to be something in this testimony that isn’t a lie.

—Rebuttal—

(Me? Not guilty of murder? I dunno… that seems hard to believe)

“You think it’s hard to believe? That you didn’t kill someone?” Kabbu questions, wilting slightly. Proving Arioch guilty of this crime depends on Kabbu being able to prove that Jay didn’t commit it, but if Jay is just going to confess, then this line of questioning isn’t going to last very long.

“Of course it’s hard to believe! Have you not read the papers? Everyone knows I did it, every member of the BDL, every lawyer that came across me hoping for a quick burst of fame, every news reporter that wanted exclusive information on the trial… they all think it was me.” Jay explains.

“Just because a bunch of people uninvolved in the trial think you’re guilty doesn’t make you guilty. What matters is what actually happened, and whether you think you did it.” Kabbu argues.

Jay, however, ignores what he said. “Even my little ol’ friends thought I did it. None of them had an ounce of belief in me.” He whimpers, sniffling and wiping at a non-existent tear. “Pommet wouldn’t speak to me in prison, Muse and her husband came to try and juice answers out of me for the sake of Judas, and Dara went on to the newspapers and told the world that I did it. They all betrayed me!” He fake-cries.

“They didn’t think you did it! I spoke to Pommet, she still believes you’re innocent! Dara didn’t say anything about your guilt in the newspaper, either!” Kabbu continues.

“And Muse and us didn’t think you did it… we wanted to make sure you were okay and figure out what happened.” Leif adds.

"Lies! Falsehoods! You can say how everyone felt, but their actions are what really speak, and not a single one even spoke to me after the trial!” Jay yells, pointing his staff towards them.

“But what about you? It doesn’t matter what your friends thought, or what the authorities thought. It matters what the truth is, and what you actually did.” Kabbu says.

Jay seethes for a moment, before throwing his staff across the room at Kabbu, which hits into him, almost knocking him over. For something that looks so flimsy, the jester managed to throw it with a lot of force…

The guards around Jay immediately motion their spears at him, causing him to put his hands up and yelp. “W-what’s everyone so mad at me for? What did I do?” He whimpers.

“Witness, refrain from attacking the defense! I will not tolerate the assault of my people.” Queen Elizant warns. “Defense, are you okay?”

Kabbu nods. “It didn’t hurt… just surprised me.” He says. Having something thrown at him by someone other than Mothiva was certainly the last thing he had expected going into this trial, and the last person he would have expected to throw something at him was a century old prisoner. It might be best that Kabbu not press on this topic any further. Jay made that staff somehow appear out of thin air… and Kabbu's certain he could do it again with another object if he wanted to.

(I’m not sure how Prosecutor Arioch comes into any of this, I don’t think I’ve ever even met him before)

Kabbu recoils. “You… what?!” He exclaims. “That’s not true at all! At the very least, you would have had to meet him during the trial eighty years ago!”

Jay scratches his chin, before shaking his head. “No, I don’t even remember him being there. It was just me, that horrid defense attorney, the queen, and my traitorous friends.” He says.

“What about Gal Daxy? He was at that trial for sure! He even wrote a book about it!” Kabbu argues.

Jay shrugs. “People can write books without having been there, y’know. That shouldn’t be a very hard concept to grasp.” He says.

“As much as I enjoy watching the defense make a fool of himself, it’s important to remember that lying in the courtroom is considered a crime. You will be convicted of perjury if you don’t stop.” Scarlet hisses.

“What’s the point in not lying? I tried so hard eighty years ago and no one believed me.” Jay says, pouting.

“You could get more jail time, for starters, and if you get too many more years onto your sentence, execution could be put on the list of possibilities.” Scarlet explains.

“And that’s a threat to me… how? More years? I can’t live off what I have. Death? After thirty years in a pitch-black room, how much different can it be?” Jay continues.

Scarlet grimaces. “Gods… defense, out of everyone you could have called to the stand in your attempts to convict Arioch, surely you could have called someone less—?” He hisses, before getting cut off by Jay slamming his hands down.

“Hey! Prosecutor!” Jay interrupts, a large smile on his face.

“What is it?” Scarlet hisses, before suddenly dropping to the ground as an entire deck of cards is thrown across the room at him.

“That’s what you get for making fun of me! You people are so horrible that I don’t even have the patience to do a card trick!” Jay says.

“Witness! What were you just told not to do?” Queen Elizant asks, standing up.

“I was *told* to refrain from throwing things at the defense. You said nothing about throwing things at the prosecution.” Jay reasons.

Kabbu sighs. “I can already see some of that lying I felt… this statement is clearly not true at all, I know for a fact that Jay at the very least saw Arioch during the trial.” He says.

“It’s gonna be a pain to find any contradictions in his testimony, when everything he’s saying is a lie.” Vi agrees.

“It seems different, though.” Leif says.

“Pardon? What seems different?” Kabbu asks.

“His lying. In that book, it describes Jay’s lying as uncomfortable or even painful, like Jay really wanted to tell the truth. But… we sense no pain in Jay’s voice, he doesn’t feel bad at all about lying.” Leif says.

Kabbu nods. “Now that you mention it… I can definitely see it. He seems out of it, almost like Dara does.” He says.

“He probably just lost his mind from all that time in solitary confinement.” Vi argues.

“I hope not… he really might be our only hope left.” Kabbu says. He can’t help but pray to Venus that that isn't the case. He needs this testimony, it’s just about the only thing left he has.

(As far as I can remember, I stabbed Judas until she died, right in front of everyone)

“As far as you can remember?” Kabbu asks.

“Of course! I’ve learned that it’s never a good idea to say anything with certainty, it’ll never end well for me. But as far as I can remember, yes! I did it! I killed her! Can I go back in the box now?” Jay exclaims.

Kabbu grimaces. Jay is dead set on testifying to his own guilt… which is detrimental to Kabbu’s argument. However, if he can go about disproving Jay’s statements, it might be possible to simply disprove him as a suspect. And if Jay isn’t a suspect, then Kabbu is one step closer to proving Arioch guilty. “Do you remember the state of the victim’s body after you ‘stabbed’ her?” Kabbu questions.

“Ehhh… no, it’s been so long. It wasn’t something I wanted to remember.” Jay says. “A slice in the front and a slice in the back is all I remember.”

Kabbu nods. “What weapon did you use to kill her? And where did you put it following the crime?” He asks.

“I stabbed her with one of the knives I had in my entertainment kit, and I slipped it away the moment it was done and moved my case to the other side of the room before anyone noticed!” Jay explains.

“You killed her with one of the knives in your case? According to the testimony of all three of the witnesses, the victim’s throat was extremely damaged, far past what a little knife could have done. Could you explain how the wounds that the defendant suffered were caused by one of your knives?” Kabbu presses.

“Um… that could be because… maybe… oh! I know it!” He cheers. “One of my blades had some chips in it, from when I had dropped it in the past. The sharp chips caused the wounds!” Jay explains with a smile.

“Completely false. According to these documents that the defense showed us a small bit ago, all of the knives in your case were undamaged and clean.” Mothiva disputes.

Jay’s smile instantly disappears, replaced by an almost fearful look as he leans away from the prosecution’s bench, putting his hand on his neck. “I… I don’t know what you’re talking about at ALL! I remember what I did, and I remember putting my bloody knife back in my bag.” Jay argues.

“It’s highly possible that cleaning or even replacing the blades was another action performed by Rae Kalita when he tampered with the crime scene. There’s no proof that what the defendant is saying isn’t true.” Scarlet chimes in.

“But that wouldn’t line up at all with his motivations for tampering. Him cleaning the blade wouldn’t make any sense because it would get rid of proof that Jay committed the crime.” Kabbu argues. “And on top of that, the rest of his statement is also false! Judas didn’t die ‘in front of everyone’. No one but you, the victim, the attacker, and General Puff even saw the moment the victim was attacked.” He continues.

“Everything you’re saying is highly speculative, defense. You can’t say what a dead bug was planning, or even what Arioch was planning eighty years ago. This ‘attacker’ idea is a prime example of that, there’s currently no proof that they even exist.” Scarlet remarks.

“Oh, they don’t exist. It was just me, always me. Or… if I remember it correctly, it was Judas who did the attacking.” Jay interrupts.

“It was… what?” Kabbu asks, getting taken out of his argument with Scarlet.

“The memories are flooding back to me again. Yes, Judas pulled the knife out of my case and tried to stab ME! I just barely defended myself!” Jay argues.

“That… you can’t be serious! You were just arguing a moment ago that you were the killer!” Kabbu whines. “Jay, we really need the truth here about what actually happened that day. Your testimony is the only way that we can figure out what really happened that day!” He says.

Jay says nothing, staring at Kabbu with an emotionless face and wide eyes for several seconds. Suddenly, he reaches into his prison uniform and produces a comically long line of tied together napkins. “Voila!” He exclaims, the smile returning to his face, before he balls the napkins up and throws them across the courtroom at Kabbu, which he barely manages to avoid by ducking.

“Witness!” Queen Elizant reprimands.

“I don’t care! I don’t want to hear that again! I’ve given the truth! A million times, and you didn’t want to hear it then! I’m not saying it anymore!” Jay hisses, stamping his foot.

Kabbu sighs. He thought he might have been starting to make progress for a moment there… this is starting to look more and more like a bad idea… he really thought that he might be able to get Jay to tell the truth, but the ex-jester clearly doesn’t want to at all. On top of that, every line of questioning ends with some object being flung at someone.

(And I ruined that poor pretty painting of Queen Elizant, and so much more… I sure got what I deserved, huh)

Kabbu frowns. That’s not true, he knows for certain that that statement isn’t true, because the painting that was hung up that day wasn’t the portrait of Queen Elizant. The only issue is… he isn’t sure if he should call Jay out on his lie. This is the first time he’s had definitive proof against a statement… but…

What would disproving a statement in this testimony even do? Kabbu is… unfortunately nowhere near finding the truth, and even worse it doesn’t look like he has anywhere to go back to. He needs Jay to tell him the truth, and usually the best way to do that is to present evidence and make the witness panic, but he knows that making Jay panic is just going to result in more lying.

None of this testimony is helpful at all… the best thing Kabbu can really do is argue that Jay’s testimony is wrong and request that he give more testimony, but how far can that even go? He’d just be back at the beginning of this trial again, getting the same testimony fed back to him with minor differences while he tries to find some breakthrough that doesn’t exist.

At the end of the day, though, what other choice does he have?

Kabbu slams his hands down. He’s just going to have to push through this and hope he can get more testimony from Jay. “There is a rather large contradiction in this testimony.” He says.

“Oh, really? You’re just now finding that out? If you haven’t noticed, this entire testimony has been nothing but contradictions.” Scarlet remarks.

Kabbu ignores Scarlet’s statement. He needs to hold out hope that Jay CAN give truthful testimony. Because he needs that testimony, he isn’t sure where else to go. “The witness said in his statement that the painting he ruined was the portrait of Queen Elizant. However, as we established earlier, this isn’t the case.” Kabbu says, before presenting the painting. “This was the painting present.”

Queen Elizant nods. “Indeed. I noticed that as well. Witness, do you have an explanation to that?” She asks.

Jay looks genuinely upset and lost for a moment, looking between Kabbu, Scarlet, and the Queens for several moments. “I… I don’t your majesty. I… I don’t know what you’re talking about!” They whimper.

“To no one’s surprise, the witness isn’t telling the truth. Defense, how long do you plan to keep this up? Because this isn’t very productive.” Scarlet hisses.

“As long as I need to to find the truth. Queen Elizant, if possible, I would like to request that the witness give testimony again, this time about the painting itself.” Kabbu requests.

Arioch, from his place at the end of the witness’s bench, slams his fist down, causing its edge to splinter. “This is a waste of time. You're repeating the actions of Falsavar Itas to even less effect than him. If he testifies again and fails to say even a shred of truth, I will take that as my leave.” He says.

“You— you can’t leave! You’re being accused of a crime!” Vi yells.

“You will see me leave, and you’ll see how eager the Queens are to send guards to stop me. I can, and will, harm anyone who attempts to detain me unlawfully.” Arioch reminds.

He looks to the Queens, hopeful for some kind of remark, some announcement about how there’s a precaution for bugs on trial threatening to fight their way out of the courtroom, but all of them seem conflicted. They don’t want to take the risk but they know they can’t let Arioch escape. Dammit… this next testimony really is it. This isn’t good, he has no clue what he’s going to do, this witness isn’t giving him any new information, and he’s going to need to find something before the end of the next cross-examination…

"In that case, Jay Ester, please give more testimony, this time on the painting, just as the defense requested." Queen Elizant orders.

“You… you want me to give MORE? More testimony? After you already called me a liar?” Jay yelps, snapping Kabbu out of his thoughts. His eyes are wide again and that nervous look is back.

“Yes. If you can. Please, Jay, we need the truth.” Kabbu says.

Jay puts his hand over his neck, before slamming his hands down. “You aren’t going to get it!” He hisses. “If you’re going to keep patronizing me, you aren’t going to get your ‘truth’! I refuse to testify!”

Chapter Text

The courtroom explodes into conversation as Kabbu recoils in shock. He can’t believe what he’s hearing! Jay is just going to refuse to testify?!

Queen Elizant manages to silence the courtroom with her gavel after several slams. “Witness! What do you mean you refuse to testify? Do you have any idea of what can happen if you refuse court orders?” She questions.

“You’ll throw me back in jail? Back into solitary confinement for another thirty years? Extend my sentence? What difference will it make!? I’m going back into that box for the rest of my life regardless!” Jay hisses.

“I don’t understand… why are you doing this? Arioch’s conviction depends on this!” Kabbu asks.

“Why? WHY? Because you aren’t here to help me, you aren’t here to find any truth for Judas, none of you ever were! You just want to learn about what happened to make an article on it, or get famous by trying to defend me, or fuel your own beliefs by trying to figure out ‘why I did it’! You’re all leeches! Pests!” Jay hisses. “And I’m not STUPID! I KNOW things have changed, I KNOW I’m not right! I KNOW who Kay is! KNOW who Scarlet and Arioch and YOU and the Queen are! I’m not ignorant! Telling me to ‘tell the truth’ doesn’t change anything! I’m sick and tired of being dragged out of my cage every few years when someone wants to try their hand at ‘understanding’ me! There’s never been anything wrong with me! Everything wrong with me is because of people like you!” Jay yells.

“If I’m not mistaken, there is something wrong with you. In the report Doctor Sain presented during that trial eighty years ago, he clearly stated that—” Scarlet interjects, only to be interrupted.

“There’s NOTHING wrong with me! My ‘something’ was deemed as funny until they dragged me into court! Jay the Jester getting scared and lying was HILARIOUS until they actually needed to listen to me! And then it wasn’t funny anymore!” Jay argues. “I’m done with dealing with all this! I’m tired of having to listen to you people! All of you, you horrible, horrible people ruined my life!”

“Witness, please calm yourself!” Queen Elizant demands.

“I am calm! Perfectly calm and collected!” Jay hisses.”But if I hear one more word about Arioch or the BDL or about Judas I’m going to lose it!”

“As I warned, this testimony would get nowhere. The witness is fully incapable of telling the truth, even to save his own life.” Arioch huffs.

“Shut up, old man! Just because you talk to me doesn’t make you better than anyone else at the BDL!” Jay hisses, slamming his hands down on the table in front of him. The words visibly anger Arioch, but he stays silent, putting his arms back behind his back.

“Jay, please, I’m deeply sorry that you’ve suffered so much from all of this, and I know you don’t want to hear anything about this, but people’s lives are at stake! This is beyond just you!” Kabbu pleads.

“How?! How is it beyond just me? The only person who’s been hurt through all of this nonsense! Through all of you lawyers’ constant interrogations has been ME!” Jay argues.

“My mom was almost murdered because of all of this! Because Arioch didn’t get arrested for killing Judas! If you don’t testify, he’s going to hurt more people!” Vi argues back.

“NO! The only person who was murdered that day was Judas! Anyone else who’s gotten attacked because of that incident deserved it! For getting involved and making things worse! For ruining my life!” Jay hisses.

“Even us? We got blinded for helping Kabbu try and get to the bottom of this. After all we did to try and help you, after Muse tried her best to get to the bottom of what happened, for your sake, is this what we deserved? ” Leif asks.

“YES! That’s what I’ve been saying! If you had stayed out of this and stopped trying to make things harder for me, you’d be perfectly fine!” Jay yells, slamming his hands down.

Leif frowns. “We thought that might have elicited more sympathy…” He mutters.

Kabbu slams his own hands down. “Can’t you see the danger this mystery is bringing to everyone? Even if you think everyone else deserves it, and even if you don’t care that the people who tried to help you are getting hurt, you have to see that the person that will benefit most from this being solved is you! You’ll finally be free from the suspicion of murder and your friend will rest easy knowing that her killer was caught! If you don’t testify, your life will never get the chance to get better!” He says.

“You… stop it! My life can’t get better! It’s far too late for that! You have no clue what you’re talking about, you’re just another idiot with no understanding of anything! Haven’t you been listening?! I’ve given a thousand testimonies before, a thousand people have asked me to talk about it, but none of them listen! YOU won’t listen either! You’ll be just like all the rest!” Jay yells.

“I will listen. Jay, I promise you that I will listen to your testimony, from beginning to end. I’m here to find the truth about what really happened.” Kabbu says.

Jay sputters something, baring his mandibles. “What do you not understand about shut up? About stop it?!” He growls. “FINE! You want to hear testimony? I’ll GIVE you testimony! And I promise you every second of it is going to be lies, just to spite you.” He hisses.

Kabbu recoils. “W-wait! No, we need as much of the truth as possible, if you testify falsely then our one chance is wasted!” He says. Dammit, he should have stopped arguing earlier, he should have been a bit more patient with talking to Jay. This is the last testimony Arioch will allow before he ups and leaves, and if Jay purposely lies through all of it, then that’s it for him! Everything is over!

“I’ll lie as much as I please! If you want testimony, then sit down, shut up, and LISTEN TO ME already!” Jay yells.

–Listening to Jay–

“Why does everyone care so much about JUDAS?! It was MY life that was ruined!” Jay hisses. “All of those people, my ‘friends’, they worked together to frame me! I know it, I saw them do it!” He continues. “A-and Judas STABBED me in the neck before stabbing herself, she was the monster here! It hurt so badly, I bled so much, but no one would help me.” He cries. “That painting was never a clue, nothing happened with it! There wasn’t a drop of blood on it when they dragged me out of that room.” He says. “And Arioch?! How is he involved in any of this? He never even entered the library! This is all nonsense!” Jay concludes.

He’s immediately hit by a wave of that horrible feeling, chill after chill running up his back. He doesn’t need that sense to know that almost all of this testimony is lies.

“As was expected. You wasted your last chance, defense. I was a fool to ever believe you could be a defense attorney.” Arioch booms.

“No! Please! This isn’t testimony, I need another chance!” Kabbu pleads. He can’t believe he’s begging to a murderer, but Arioch’s opinion is the only one that matters here. If he asked anyone else they’d say yes in a moment, but Arioch is the only person he needs to convince right now, and he has the power to just leave if he doesn’t want to wait any longer.

Arioch shakes his head. “This is all you will get. I am a busy man, I will not let any more of my time be wasted.” He says.

“Well, this isn’t good.” Leif mutters.

“Not at all. This is probably the worst thing that could happen.” Kabbu sighs.

“At least you got testimony.” Leif says.

“Yeah! And as long as you have testimony, you’ll be able to find the truth!” Vi exclaims.

“I can’t imagine that being true at all, you’ll be doing nothing but arguing with the witness for the entire testimony. I would be surprised if you can manage to get any information out of him.” Scarlet says.

“The defense will not get any information out of the witness. This cross-examination will be a waste, just like the last. I request that the Queens send this criminal back to his cell, so I can be on my way.” Arioch says.

“No! I demand a cross-examination! I have a right to one, even if the testimony looks completely useless!” Kabbu demands.

“The defense is correct. Even if this seems like a waste, I will not allow this witness to leave after giving testimony without a cross-examination, especially when their testimony is so important to the trial.” Queen Elizant agrees.

“Important to the trial?! In what world is this pile of lies important to the trial?” Scarlet hisses. “This can hardly be considered testimony! This is ridiculous!” He says.

“It certainly is ridiculous, but I’d be surprised if even a single one of the judges agree with you.” Mothiva huffs.

Scarlet frowns, but stays silent.

“If there are any more objections to the cross-examination, please let them be known. If not, please proceed, defense.” Queen Elizant says.

Arioch doesn’t object, to Kabbu’s surprise. This is it, then. Kabbu’s final chance to get something, anything out of Jay. If he can’t find proof of Arioch’s guilt in this testimony, then it’s all over. He gives one last prayer to Venus before beginning the cross-examination.

–Rebuttal–

(Why does everyone care so much about JUDAS?! It was MY life that was ruined)

“People cared about you, but they had to focus on Judas because she was murdered! They needed to figure out who committed the crime so that they can’t hurt anyone else.” Kabbu explains.

“But then what about after they gave up on that? When they decided her trial was over? They interrogated me, locked me up in a dark room for days, and when they found out I wasn’t going to cave, they just spit me back out!” Jay hisses. “You can say they cared about me all you want but I know the truth!”

“The people who hurt you like this were the BDL, the very same agency that Arioch is trying to bring back! Your friends, Dara and Pommet, even Muse and Leif, they cared about you, and are hurting because of this! We need you to tell the truth!” Kabbu says.

“I don’t care about Arioch! And all those people that you’re saying cared about me didn't help me! My life fell apart after that trial, I couldn’t do anything! I couldn’t even get a job, I couldn’t live! The only reason I managed to afford a lawyer was because of my wife!” Jay yells. “And all the while they were following me, looking for a chance to put me back in jail!”

“Clearly they were right to be watching you. Look what you ended up doing.” Scarlet hisses under his breath.

Jay slams his hands down. “Shut up already! I don’t want to hear anything from anyone! Those police were the ones who killed her in the first place, I had nothing to do with it! I wasn’t even there when it happened!” He yells.

“Jay, please, we need you to—” Kabbu starts, hoping to calm the jester down, only to be cut off by another slamming of fists.

“That means you too! I don’t wanna hear anything from you! Not a word, especially not after everything people like you have put me through!” Jay hisses.

Kabbu wilts. He isn’t going to be able to have a solid conversation with Jay at all, is he? He should have expected that… but he can’t start wilting now! The more he gets Jay to talk, the more likely Jay is to say anything useful.

He can’t give up, even if Jay isn’t willing to actually talk with him.

(All of those people, my ‘friends’, they worked together to frame me! I know it, I saw them do it)

“You’re really going to lie about their involvement in all of this? Even if they didn’t come to you after the crime, they testified for you! They argued for your innocence!” Kabbu argues.

“That doesn’t matter one bit! They didn’t care about me! They only testified because they had to!” Jay hisses.

“They still cared about you! I can promise you that, all these years later they’re still arguing that you’re innocent! They’re being hurt by this as well, and by refusing to tell any truth on what happened, you’re just going to hurt them more!” Kabbu pleads.

“Do you really think after thirty-six years in solitary confinement that I’d do anything ELSE but lie?! Every time I told the truth they shoved me back in that room for another week. I don’t care who it hurts, I’m not helping the people who did this to me in the first place.”

“I…” Kabbu starts, only to sigh. Arguing isn’t a good idea. Maybe trying to listen to Jay will make him? If he plays along and doesn’t argue with him, maybe Jay might calm down and he might be able to actually get something out of him.

“How did they ‘frame’ you? What did they do?” Kabbu asks.

“Uh… I don’t know, they dragged me out of the room before I could see anything, but I know they did it! I heard them talking about it after the trial!” Jay says.

“Defense, are you really trying to entertain this idiot's nonsense?” Scarlet questions.

“I know I've been arguing with him so far, but I think it’s important to hear what the witness is saying, even if it seems like nonsense! It’s the only way we can get closer to figuring out what really happened.” Kabbu answers.

“The reason what the witness is saying seems like nonsense is because it absolutely is nonsense. Entertaining lies isn’t going to get you any closer to figuring out anything.” Scarlet sighs. “Not to mention, you have no way of differentiating the truth from lies. Even if he does suddenly stop lying, what difference will it make? You could ‘prove’ any one of these blatant lies with a vague piece of evidence, but it won’t make any of it true.”

Kabbu grimaces. Scarlet is right. He really has no clue how he’ll differentiate Jay’s lies from any truth’s he might tell… the only reason Kabbu is certain that all of this is a lie is because of that horrible feeling he gets when bugs lie. But he doesn’t have a truth sense, there’s nothing to warn him when something said is actually correct.

“Sorry to agree with Prosecutor Scarlet here, but even looking past entertaining the witness's lies, this is probably the worst statement you could have chosen. We already know who all tampered with the scene, you really aren’t going to get anything out of this.” Mothiva adds.

“That… that’s true…” Kabbu sighs. Mothiva is right, too. He should probably move on from this statement and hope that there’s something of value in another statement of the testimony.

(A-and Judas STABBED me in the neck before stabbing herself, she was the monster here! It hurt so badly, I bled so much, but no one would help me)

The statement about Judas stabbing him immediately catches his eye. They’ve already discussed the possibility of Judas having injured herself and he’s more than certain that it isn’t true, and Jay briefly mentioned Judas *trying* to hurt him. However… this is the first time Kabbu’s heard anything about Jay actually being hurt.

“What do you mean Judas stabbed you? When did this happen? And where did she stab you?” Kabbu questions.

“Right on my neck, and on my hand.” Jay says, showing off the scar on the right side of his neck again, before showing Kabbu his left hand, which has a long scar on the back of it, running from between his pointer and middle finger, down to the back of his wrist. “She nearly killed me! I nearly died! And no one would listen to me when I said I was hurt, no one cared!” He whimpers.

“The witness is lying, once again. With how large it is they would have seen it when they were examining him before admitting him to the prison, and there would be a record of it, which there is not. The scars could have only come from after he was admitted, long after the murder.” Scarlet interjects.

“That’s unlikely. The records don’t say anything about the witness receiving any medical treatment, which would have been administered and recorded if he were injured during his sentence.” Mothiva argues.

“Perhaps he injured himself during his years of solitary confinement, and since he wouldn’t have been removed from the darkness for any reason except interrogations, it’s possible that he injured himself and it healed before anyone saw it.” Scarlet argues.

Kabbu slams his hands down. “How would he even manage to injure himself that badly in solitary confinement? And wouldn’t there still be blood and evidence in the cell when they finally took him out of the cell?” He asks.

“It’s possible they simply never looked into his cell, or maybe that someone went in to clean the cell and didn’t notice the blood, or didn’t realize it was blood. Maybe he injured himself with something and sent it away with a food tray.” Scarlet argues. “There’s no evidence of this injury, and the witness is already a liar. so there's no reason to believe him.”

“But I’m not a liar!” Jay whines. “I swear I’m telling the truth! She hurt me!”

Kabbu sighs. “This is going horribly… there’s no proof of anything, what can I even do?” He whimpers.

“We have no advice to give you… this is probably the worst way that this could have gone about.” Leif says. “And even if something isn’t a lie, there’s not much you can do to prove it true.”

“There’s gotta be something, though! You just gotta keep looking, something in this testimony has to be provable!” Vi says.

He nods. Vi’s probably right, there has to be some hope in all of this, somewhere. He can’t let hopelessness settle in just yet. He briefly wonders what could have truly caused those wounds, before returning to the testimony.

(That painting was never a clue, nothing happened with it! There wasn’t a drop of blood on it when they dragged me out of that room)

“If there wasn’t any blood on the painting, then where did all of the blood end up?” Kabbu asks.

“I don’t know, but I do know that the blood came OUT of the painting! It sprayed out and got all over both me and Judas! That’s where the blood came from!” Jay says.

“The blood came out of the painting?!” Kabbu exclaims.

“Yes! Yes, that’s what I saw, I’m sure of it! And the blood cut up Judas’s throat, and it gave me these scars, and it got all over the floor!” Jay says as he digs through the pockets of his uniform, retrieving a trio of balls from wherever these props keep coming from, one green, one blue, and one yellow.

“By the gods, this is ridiculous…” Scarlet sighs. “I understand the witness is insane, but I thought you at least had a little bit of sanity left in you, defense. Surely you can’t believe anything the witness is saying.” He says.

“Well, of course I don’t believe it, but that doesn’t mean I won’t listen to him! That’s my job, and it’s the only way I’ll be able to learn anything!” Kabbu explains.

“You– you still don’t believe me?!” Jay asks, seeming almost offended as he begins to juggle the three balls.

“I… no? You said at the beginning of this testimony that you were only going to lie.” Kabbu sighs.

“Of COURSE you wouldn’t believe me! After I pour my heart out and tell you the truth, you STILL don’t believe me! It’s because you’re a horrible, horrible person! You don’t trust anyone but yourself and your money!” Jay hisses, before suddenly stopping his juggling and throwing the balls at them.

Kabbu and Vi manage to dodge them as the green and yellow balls hit the wall behind them, but Leif is not as lucky, getting hit in the head and nearly falling backwards. Thankfully, Kabbu manages to catch him.

“And I don’t even wanna hear someone tell me to stop! If I’m not going to get an ounce of respect, neither are they!” Jay yells.

“This is why you don’t try and listen to people who’ve clearly lost their minds. Dara Cavara, Pommet Gant, Jay Ester, the whole lot of them. No matter how ‘useful’ they might seem, everything they say is lies and nonsense. You’re a fool to even try this, Kabbu.” Scarlet says.

Kabbu grits his mandibles as he helps Leif get his footing again. That’s just not true, Dara and Pommet gave him so much help in figuring all of this out, and he knows that Jay has a piece of this puzzle as well. He just hasn’t found it yet.

He needs to keep pressing onwards, he can’t give up.

(And Arioch?! How is he involved in any of this? He never even entered the library! This is all nonsense)

“He was the first bug to enter the library after the incident! Arioch was the bug responsible for Judas’s murder, and he tampered with the crime scene after everyone had left the room! Please Jay, I need you to tell us the truth about what happened! Multiple lives depend on it!” Kabbu pleads.

“I am telling you the truth! Stop calling me a liar! I’m sick of it! I’m not a liar!” Jay yells back. “I know for a fact he wasn’t there! He was out sick on the day of the murder, he never even came into the palace that day!”

“Please, Jay. I’m not calling you a liar, but I’m begging you to do your best to tell me what really happened to Judas, we need to know what killed her.” Kabbu continues.

“It was the blood, like I said! Or… she did it herself! Or something else, I can’t remember.” Jay says.

“Give it up, Kabbu. You’ve tried arguing with him, you’ve tried playing along with him, and now you’re just begging pathetically. This needs to end.” Scarlet interjects.

“It can’t end! This is the only thing left we haven’t looked at! He has to remember something about the murder! He was right there! He was the only bug to see it up close!” Kabbu argues.

“Even if I did see it, which I didn’t, I wouldn’t tell you! All you’ve been doing since the start is calling me a liar and yelling at me! And then all the sudden you think you have some grand idea, or that you have some magical power that’ll let you figure me out! You don’t! You’re the exact same as every other bug who’s tried to squeeze something out of me before!” Jay yells, slamming his hands down.

Kabbu opens his mouth to argue back, to plead more, only to be cut off by Scarlet slamming his fist down.

“There’s no point, defense. This entire statement, this entire witness, this entire crusade to prosecute Arioch has been a waste. There is nothing of worth here, you won’t be able to prove him guilty.” Scarlet says.

Kabbu wilts. There really might not be anything of worth in this testimony, this really might have all been a waste. He looks to Jay, who stares at him with hatred in their eyes. Maybe there had been a chance at one point, maybe if he had said something different, acted differently, he might have been able to get something. But he angered Jay and now the jester has no reason to cooperate. As horrible as it seems… the truth may be lost.

“Team, I… I have no clue what to do.” Kabbu whimpers, putting his head in his hands. “There’s nothing of use in this testimony, and I don’t think we have any other options to fall back on.”

“There has to be something.” Leif says. “Maybe there’s some tiny detail you missed, a single word that changes the whole meaning of the sentence.”

“And maybe you can go over the testimony with your lie detection!” Vi adds.

Kabbu shakes his head. “I’ve looked over the testimony multiple times and I really don’t think there’s anything I missed, detail wise. And listening for lies just won’t be useful, every statement has multiple lies in it, pointing them out just isn’t going to help.” He says.

“And the cordyceps isn’t going to help us either. We’re sensing many emotions, but since none of this testimony is true, and because it’s been nearly eighty years since the crime occurred, we can’t be sure if the emotions he’s experiencing are genuine or false.” Leif adds.

“I can’t really help either, there isn’t much of a crime scene to examine.” Vi huffs, before frowning.

They're all pretty much useless right now. He's got no evidence to back anything up, there aren't any emotions to follow, and there's nothing to analyze. His lie detection can't even help them, finding the lies in these statements are redundant, it's almost entirely lies!

But... maybe there's still a way to figure out what's truth and what's lie.

He lets out a gasp as he realizes that while he can use Falsavar Itas's blessing to find truths, he can also use it to find lies. He gets a horrible chill up his back when someone lies, but when someone tells the truth, he feels nothing. If he keeps his eyes open for statements that *don't* cause shivers up his back, then he can effectively confirm what's a fact and what's being made up!

"I think I might have an idea." Kabbu announces. He’ll give it one last go, one last sift through the testimony to see if any bit of it is true.

{(Why does everyone care so much about JUDAS?! It was MY life that was ruined)}

Everything in this statement is an opinion, so when he listens to it again, he doesn’t feel that chill run up his back. He should move on to the next statement.

{(All of those people, my ‘friends’, they worked together to frame me! I know it, I saw them do it)}

Jay immediately starts fidgeting with the pockets of his uniform the moment he starts talking, and he fidgets throughout the rest of the statement. Every second of it is punctuated by that horrible chill up his back, he can't wait for all of this to be over so he never has to feel it again. Kabbu feels immediately uncomfortable just sitting there and watching it. Every other time he’s done this, he yells at the first sight of a fidget or movement. But here, he has to watch through the entire thing intently, keeping his eyes out for the one statement that Jay isn’t fidgeting in.

At the very least, Kabbu can be certain that this statement is all lies. He should move on to the next.

{(A-and Judas STABBED me in the neck before stabbing herself, she was the monster here! It hurt so badly, I bled so much, but no one would help me)}

Jay continues fidgeting again in this statement, rubbing at the uninjured side of his neck with his scarred hand. However, the moment he begins talking about his pain, and his bleeding, and about no one helping him, he goes still and the chill running up his back goes away.

It catches Kabbu completely off guard. The part about Judas stabbing him is a lie, he can sense it clear as day, but somehow the statement about him bleeding, and about no one helping him, and his neck wound hurting… isn’t a lie? But if that’s true… then what does it all mean? When did he get hurt, and how? Kabbu assumes that he’s talking about the scarring on his hand and neck, but how can he be sure? He thinks further into the injury and begins to finally start piecing things together.

If Jay had been injured during the murder trial, then that would line up with what everyone kept saying about his jester outfit. He was covered in so much blood that they thought he might have been injured, and with his refusal to let anyone take a look at him, it’s possible that he actually was.

That could explain him complaining about no one helping him, he was so defensive about the accusation against him that he didn’t let anyone check on him, and the bugs at the BDL were so hellbent on getting a confession out of him that they didn't care to look into the possibility. But even if that is true, and he did get injured during the murder, then how did Jay get injured?

The murderer couldn’t have hurt him, could they? The murderer had attacked only twice, to leave those marks on the front and back of Judas’s neck, but if that’s true then Jay shouldn’t have gotten injured. Despite that, they both somehow received a pair of injuries.

Even more interestingly… the injuries all line up. A specific quote from Daxy’s book pops into his mind, something that General Puff said.

…

‘I… I think I’m remembering it all now. That little ant turned to look toward the painting, and scratched at his neck, and the very next moment blood exploded out of Judas’s throat and covered the painting. It was a bloodbath!’

…

Judas was facing forward at the moment of their attack, while Jay was looking toward the painting, and had his hand over his neck. In that position, during that brief moment right as the murder occurred, all four of the wounds point toward the painting… but what does it mean?

He’s been thinking this entire time that those two holes were from two attacks on the same person. That’s the only way he could have justified the wound on the back and front of Judas’s neck… but what if there was another explanation? What if it could be possible for someone to attack someone once and leave two marks? With a blade or any typical murder weapon, that wouldn’t be possible…

All it takes is a look at Arioch for him to finally make the connection.

Kabbu slams his hands down. “I’ve got it!” He exclaims. “I think I’ve managed to find the decisive piece of evidence needed to finally prove Arioch guilty!”

Scarlet recoils. “Pardon?! What in the world are you talking about?” He hisses. “I can assure you, there’s no evidence in this testimony! All of it is complete nonsense!”

Kabbu shakes his head. “Not all of it is nonsense. Even though Jay was doing his best to lie, he still let slip one vital detail, and that detail led me to the most important question in this entire trial: what was the murder weapon?” Kabbu questions.

“Pardon? I can think of a thousand questions that are far more important than that one.” Scarlet hisses.

“The biggest issue with Jay’s conviction was that he had no weapon to kill the victim with, and even now, it’s ridiculous to imagine that Arioch could have killed the victim and then hid a weapon in the short time between the murder and his arrival at the entrance to the library.” Kabbu explains. “This big question was even one of the biggest talking points in the trial. Rae Kalita argued that the neck wound was nothing more than a slit in her neck, while Pommet described it as Judas nearly missing her throat.” He says.

“And what was your conclusion? Surely, if you’re bringing it to the court's attention, you have to have an idea of what that weapon was.” Mothiva says.

“I do. The simple answer to that question, and every other question about the body… is that the killer never had a weapon, he didn’t need one.” Kabbu says. “Instead, the weapon the murderer used to kill Judas was his own two claws! Eighty years ago, Arioch thrust his arm through that painting and brutally attacked Judas, nearly tearing her throat out with one of his claws. The quick motion would have been too fast to comprehend and would have resulted in an explosion of blood spraying all over the painting that the murder weapon then retreated into.” Kabbu explains.

Scarlet recoils. “You—! You can’t be serious!” He hisses, before slamming his hand down. “That’s complete madness! Arioch’s claws–?! There— there are a thousand other explanations before anything like that comes even close to being possible!” He argues.

“Not to mention, while that might explain the state of the victim’s body, it doesn’t explain anything else. What about the painting, and those huge holes in it? If Arioch only needed to attack once, why are there two holes?” Mothiva questions.

“That’s because Arioch didn’t just attack once. The two separate holes in the painting imply that Arioch attacked twice, which is where Jay comes in. The first strike left the wounds on the front and back on Judas’s neck… and the second left the scars on Jay’s neck and hand! Jay WAS injured during the murder eighty years ago!” Kabbu argues back.

Scarlet sputters, struggling to find his words for a moment, before slamming his hands down again. “The proof! You can talk all you want, and form as grand a theory as you’d like, but without hard, physical evidence, it’s nothing!” He hisses.

“Defense, do you have proof that Arioch’s claws were the murder weapon used eighty years ago? Any proof that could show, without a doubt, that the killer attacked both Jay and Judas?” Queen Elizant questions.

This is it, all he needs is a single piece of evidence and he can finally put Arioch behind bars for good. And thankfully, this time he has it. The damage to the painting is too abstract to point toward Arioch, and Judas’s body is gone. There’s only one thing left that bears any marks of the attack.

“The defense would like to present… Jay Ester himself! There’s a reason Arioch had to dispose of Judas’s body, and that’s because the damage he left was likely incredibly easy to identify. The wounds were so distinct that Pommet made the connection to a wild scorpion attack she had seen years prior while working in the Lost Sands. I’m certain that, if someone examines Jay’s scars and compares them to the claws of a scorpion, that they’d be a perfect match!” Kabbu explains.

“That— that’s impossible! He… he wouldn’t have…! This… this can’t be happening!” Scarlet hisses, reaching for something at his waist when suddenly his umbrella pops open, and he dives underneath the prosecution’s bench again.

The gallery explodes into chatter, and Queen Elizant immediately requests Jay to be sent to a medical expert, with his fleet of guards following once he’s escorted out of the courtroom.

All the while Arioch is left silent, standing at the witness bench. If Kabbu is right about this, if those wounds match, then that’s it. There isn’t a single other bug that it could have been, or a single other way it could have been committed. He’s finally got Arioch cornered.

After several hours of waiting, a single guard finally returns. “Your majesty! I have a report from the Lost Sands. She said that the scarring looks almost identical to that of a scorpion attack, but that she isn’t certain yet!” The guard explains.

Kabbu feels his heart skip a beat, and the feeling of a great weight being lifted off of his chest. “What do you say to that, Arioch? All of the evidence has been pointing toward you, but these scars are indisputable proof of your actions! You can’t outrun the truth any longer!” Kabbu yells.

There’s a long moment of silence as the entire courtroom watches with bated breath, as Arioch stares at Kabbu with the burning hatred and desperation of a bug backed into a corner, before he clears his throat, and looks up to the Queens. “I… would like to make a statement now.” Arioch says.

Chapter Text

The gallery erupts into excited conversation. Kabbu has to admit, he's excited, too. Up to this point, Arioch has had no reason to speak, no reason to testify, but now Kabbu has evidence that directly points to him, and judging by the fact that Arioch is finally going to speak up, that means that it’s decisive. Scarlet seems extremely rattled by all of this, he’s been completely silent since he recovered from his miniature breakdown. Even more, he has a look of fear in his face, one that keeps Kabbu on edge.

Queen Elizant silences the courtroom with several slams of her gavel. “Arioch, I’m not sure what you believe you can achieve from this, but your testimony is not needed any longer. I am certain that you are guilty of every single crime you’ve been accused of today.” She says.

Arioch still looks completely confident, as if Kabbu hasn't convinced the Queens of Bugaria that he's guilty of murder. Despite everything, Kabbu can't help but feel he isn’t out of the woods yet. “It does look that way. However, I believe my statement is incredibly important. I will not allow myself to be apprehended before it is heard by the court.” He says.

“So you’re going to force us to listen to you testify?” Mothiva asks.

Arioch shakes his head. “No. It will not be a testimony, it will only be a statement or two. I do not need to waste words on this.” He says. “The truth is very simple and will clear up any lingering questions. I will be leaving this courtroom a free bug following it.”

Kabbu recoils. “You— what?!”

“You really think you’ll be getting off scot-free?” Vi questions, slamming her hands down.

Arioch nods. “I do. I have something which will protect me from any and all conviction you can attempt to throw at me.” He says.

“Now you’re just bluffing. There’s nothing that can save you from what you’ve done.” Leif argues.

“There is, and you will see it.” Arioch argues back.

The courtroom explodes into conversation again. Dammit. Kabbu should have expected that Arioch had a backup plan. There’s no way someone who went through all of this trouble to bury the past wouldn’t also come up with some way to avoid that past if it caught up. But what is it? What could he possibly have up his sleeve that could get him off the hook for a murder charge??

Queen Elizant silences the conversation again with another slam of her gavel. “Arioch, if you are demanding to be heard, then testify immediately.” Queen Elizant orders.

Arioch looks at Kabbu, before nodding again.

–Why I Cannot Be Convicted—

“The defense is correct, I am responsible for all of the past crimes they have accused me of. Murder, tampering with a crime scene, and involvement in that horrible plot.” Arioch begins. “However, I am exempt from punishment. I was officially pardoned of all of those crimes by her majesty, Queen Elizant the First before my departure from Bugaria.” He concludes, before pulling a document from his pocket and presenting it to the courtroom.

“You… you were pardoned?! That’s… that’s impossible!!” Kabbu recoils.

The bailiff quickly passes it around the courtroom, before finally handing it to the Queens. “I… I can’t believe this! This can’t be!” Queen Elizant exclaims.

“It’s… Queen Elizant, please say it isn’t genuine.” Kabbu pleads.

“I’m sorry… everything about it, from the writing to the signature, looks genuine. I believe this may be a real pardon from my mother.” Queen Elizant says, and finally the document is passed to Kabbu. He takes it and skims through it.

...

It... it's nearly the exact same letter as Doctor Sain's pardon. It has the apology but with Arioch's name, the comments from Queen Elizant but with some slight changes. “This document... it has to be forged! It looks exactly like Doctor Sain's pardon! Nearly word-for-word!” Kabbu argues.

“What evidence is there that this is a forgery?” Scarlet asks. Kabbu can still hear the fear in his voice, but his confidence is quickly returning.

“I-- Arioch has been lying this entire trial! He's shown that he's willing to lie, deceive, and fabricate evidence to get his way, him forging a document is entirely possible!” Kabbu continues.

Scarlet shakes his head. “It's a possibility, yes, but you need to prove that. Real evidence, defense. Physical, tangible. You might have gotten lucky once with Jay, but I can assure you, you won’t get lucky twice.” The pink ant hisses. He hates how confident Scarlet is. He hates that Scarlet is still clinging to this sinking ship and that he's still arguing for Arioch's innocence.

Kabbu grimaces. Evidence… he thinks back to what he saw in Arioch’s office yesterday, that folder from Laurice Dace… was that it? Did Laurice fabricate this pardon for Arioch? That would explain why he was paid so much money in comparison to everyone else… but the only issue is that the evidence has already been covered up. That folder it was in is nowhere in sight, and Laurice is dead. Still, he slams his hands down, praying for a miracle. “I saw a sealed folder in Arioch’s office yesterday, a folder that was sent to him by Laurice. I'm certain that that sealed folder contained the pardon he's holding right now, he had it fabricated by Laurice! That's the only explanation!” Kabbu yells.

“First of all, very much hearsay. Second of all, what evidence is there of that? An empty, sealed folder with Laurice's name on it means nothing. You'll need real evidence to prove that that document is a forgery.” Scarlet says.

“Even if the evidence is gone and the creator of the forgery is dead, I will accept Kabbu’s statement as evidence for the time being. He has been trustworthy this entire trial, and more importantly, his judgment has been fairly correct. It is more likely than not that the folder Kabbu is speaking of not only exists but also contained that pardon.” Queen Elizant rebukes.

Arioch slams his fist down, destroying the witness stand again. “What you accept and do not accept does not matter. The defense is not trying to prove to you that I am guilty, their goal is to prove to ME.” He growls. “Must I remind you again of what will happen if you try to arrest me. It will not end well.” Queen Elizant sighs and does nothing. This is ridiculous! With Arioch still threatening everyone, there’s nothing they can do. “And with it, my time here ends. What I gave was only a statement, I will not stay for a cross-examination. You can settle this on your own time.” Arioch adds.

Queen Elizant immediately slams her gavel down. “Absolutely not! Return to the stand immediately! I may not be able to arrest you, but it IS unlawful for you to leave! The authenticity of your document is being called into question, you MUST participate in a cross-examination, or you will be arrested.”

“Even if that arrest results in the death of numerous guards?” Arioch questions.

Queen Elizant doesn’t answer.

Arioch shakes his head. “Fine. So be it. I will allow this cross-examination.” He huffs, before clapping his hands. The witness stand is quickly replaced again. “Defense, begin your cross-examination and get this over with.” He orders.

Kabbu wilts. This is going horribly, far worse than Kabbu could have ever imagined. Getting Arioch to testify *should* have been something he was looking forward to, finally getting to hear from the mastermind behind all of this, but with a single statement Arioch has turned everything on its head yet again.

“This certainly doesn’t look good.” Leif mutters.

“It looks really bad, but we don’t have to worry about it! Kabbu, you’ve still got your lie detection! You can just listen to his statement and present it to the court when you hear it, and that’ll be enough to prove that he’s lying!” Vi encourages.

“I… I don’t think I can.” Kabbu says. On top of the dread that he’s feeling over this testimony… he’s also feeling a distinct lack of something. No matter how hard he’s focusing… he can’t feel it anymore. That pressure on his shoulders, the chills running up his back, the horrible feeling of lies hanging above him… it’s all gone. Even trying to focus on any fidgeting, he just can't point it out anymore, even though he knows Arioch is lying. “Vi, did you eat those donuts I brought back from Crisbee’s last week?” He asks.

Vi crosses her arms. “No? Of course not, if I wanted donuts I’d just get my own.” She says.

He doesn’t feel a thing. No shiver, no weight, nothing, even though he knows that Vi ate those donuts, because he saw her doing it. “Team, I don’t think I can hear lies anymore.” Kabbu says.

“What?!” Vi gasps.

“You lost it right before you needed it. That’s horribly convenient.” Leif says. “Why do you think that happened to make it go away?”

Kabbu frowns. The only thing that makes sense is that finally uncovering the truth of that trial eighty years ago made it go away… but why? As he questions it, he remembers something Cece-Lia told him when he went to her to ask about this strange power.

…

“How can I make it go away?” Kabbu immediately asks. “As much as I appreciate it in court, I would really like to not be burdened with this.” He says.

“Well, I’m sure you could find an exorcist in the North, or perhaps a Seer from an old Moth Tribe, but I think the easiest course of action would be to simply finish his business and put his regrets to rest.” She says.

…

That must have been it… Falsavar Itas’s business must have been that trial, his regrets must have been that he didn’t prove his defendant innocent, and now that Kabbu has done that, Falsavar Itas has no reason to lend him his blessing anymore. Dammit. Never in a thousand years did Kabbu think that revealing a killer would be detrimental to his ability to be a lawyer, nor did he ever think he’d be wanting that ability back.

“I can’t say for certain, but I think I'm going to have to get to the bottom of this without it.” Kabbu answers. “And even worse… when I think back to earlier, I can’t remember sensing a lie when Arioch claimed he wasn’t a part of the plot. He... he really might have been telling the truth.” He continues.

“Well, that certainly creates an issue.” Leif hums. “Especially since you’ve been arguing this entire time that Arioch was a member of it.”

“That was my original idea, but… if he really was a part of it, then it would only make sense that he got a pardon, which means he gets to go free. And if he wasn’t, then why did he do any of this in the first place?” Kabbu questions. “The situation is bad no matter which way I look at it.”

“Why he did it doesn’t really matter anymore. He’s admitting to doing it, you’ve got irrefutable proof that he killed that bug, you just need to focus on just getting rid of that pardon!” Vi says.

Leif nods in agreement. “We’re sure you can live without ever knowing why Arioch did what he’s done. What’s more important is making sure he goes to jail and never gets out.”

Kabbu nods. They’re right. There are still plenty of questions, but none of them matter anymore. The only thing that does matter is finally bringing an end to all of the chaos and destruction that Arioch has caused. No more supernatural powers, no more emotion detection, no more surprise witnesses. It’s just the three of them versus Arioch and Scarlet. They didn't come this far to fall short right at the finish line.

–Rebuttal–

(The defense is correct, I am responsible for all of the past crimes they have accused me of. Murder, tampering with a crime scene, and involvement in that horrible plot)

“So you’re admitting to everything?” Kabbu asks.

Arioch nods. “Yes. I murdered Judas, I dumped her body, and I switched the paintings. Not only that, but all of it was done in order to further progress on the creation of the substitute.” He says

“But how can we be sure that you were actually involved in the plan?” Kabbu asks.

“Pardon? Defense, you’ve been arguing for his inclusion in all of this for this entire trial! You’ve put every single piece of evidence you’ve presented towards this conclusion.” Scarlet hisses. “How does any of this connect together if Arioch wasn’t a player in all of it? Think back to the list of names, and whatever other worthless evidence you’ve presented.”

“Well, just as Arioch said, he was one of the main prosecutors at the time, so it only makes sense that he’d appear more than the others. He was also not loyal like the other’s, he’s been threatening to reveal the plot this entire time.” Kabbu explains.

“Your previous argument for his repeated recurrence in those papers is still valid, if he were a major part of it then it would only make sense he appears so much. As for loyalty… it has been eighty years, it’s entirely possible that his loyalty wavered over this time.” Scarlet explains. “As you know, a confession is the strongest piece of evidence that can be presented in court. You would be incredibly lucky to find some way out of this.

“But I have disproved confessions in the past! All it takes is a bit of evidence, and they always fall apart.” Kabbu argues.

“And do you have any evidence to disprove his confession?” Scarlet questions.

“I… not at the moment. But I know there’s evidence!” Kabbu says. “He’s also been denying it since it was revealed, and every time he said he wasn’t involved, I didn’t see any signs that he was lying.” Kabbu says.

“You didn’t see any signs that I was lying? I hope you understand that your imaginary signs do not hold up in court. Unless you can provide evidence that my statements earlier were the truth, then you have no argument.” Arioch huffs.

“If you were lying earlier, you’ve still committing a crime! Lying in court is a perjury!” Kabbu says.

“If he were convicted with perjury, he'd get up to a year in prison. He'd be officially declared innocent of murder, and after that short year, he'd be free.” Scarlet interjects. "Is that the punishment you're looking for, defense? Because if so, I'm sure Arioch would gladly accept that minor conviction."

Kabbu recoils. "The jail time for perjury is that small?! I-- No! I can't let Arioch get away with everything he's done!" He argues.

"Then stop arguing about the perjury." Scarlet hisses. “Honestly, the fact that he knew about the plan enough to be blackmailing Queen Elizant proves that he was a part of it. If Arioch didn’t have a role in it, everything you’ve been arguing falls apart.”

Kabbu recoils. He hadn’t even thought about that aspect of things… but there has to be an explanation! He slams his hands down. “There’s still the possibility of Arioch learning about the project through someone! He was good friends with Rae Kalita and Doctor Sain, two bugs we know were a part of this, it’s entirely possible that one of them told him about it!” Kabbu argues.

Scarlet shakes his head. “Not only is there no proof of that, but it doesn’t make any sense. If Arioch wasn’t a part of the plot, then why did he kill Judas?” He questions.

“But it doesn’t make sense the other way, either! If Arioch was a part of it, then why did he hide Judas’s body and not tell anyone? It completely ruined the investigation and made everything ten times harder!” Kabbu argues.

“There is a simple explanation. Following Judas’s murder, I felt very remorseful and decided to sabotage the project’s efforts. Following that, I was pardoned and then dismissed.” Arioch explains.

Kabbu wilts. It all goes back to that stupid pardon. He can't believe that Arioch is going to get only a year in prison all thanks to an obviously fabricated piece of evidence. He can't believe Arioch is still arguing his innocence despite all of the evidence stacked against him.

(However, I am exempt from punishment. I was officially pardoned of all of those crimes by her majesty, Queen Elizant the First before my departure from Bugaria)

This pardon is the last line of defense Arioch has, and it’s by far the most convincing one. If Kabbu hadn’t searched the Rubber Prison’s records for anything on Arioch, then he might even be convinced that this pardon is real. “When I searched the Rubber Prison’s records room yesterday, I didn’t see any mention of this pardon. I didn’t even see a file under your name! There’s no way that this pardon is genuine, because it didn’t exist before yesterday!” Kabbu argues.

Arioch shrugs. “If you were more knowledgeable on the law, perhaps you would know that a lack of file means nothing.” He says. “As the Attorney General of Bugaria, and the Head of the BDL, I have the right to destroy any file I wish, and I can check out any file I please without record.”

“You can do what?! That’s horribly corrupt!” Queen Bianca exclaims.

“Queen Elizant, is this true? Is the head of the BDL truly allowed to do that?” Queen Vanessa asks.

“I— I never approved anything like that! I would never have allowed for the destruction of files!” Queen Elizant says.

“I do not need your approval to give myself new rights. I am the law, I decide what is lawful.” Arioch yells.

Kabbu slams his fists down. “You’re lying about that, I know it! If you really could destroy any file you wanted, then you’d have gotten rid of the Jay Ester file long ago, and if you could check files out silently, then there wouldn’t be a document saying that you checked Dara’s file out!” He argues.

“There is no proof that I am lying about anything. I chose to leave Jay’s file intact, and to leave a paper trail, to better hide my destruction of the document.” Arioch argues back. “Until you can prove that I didn’t, my statement stands as truth.”

“There has to be someone who remembers seeing the file, then! If it existed at some point, then there must be a witness to it!” Kabbu says.

“No witnesses that can attest to the file's existence are here with us today.” Arioch growls.

"But that only means you CAN'T prove that the file existed!" Kabbu argues

“It also means that there’s no way to disprove that the file existed.” Scarlet argues back.

Kabbu grits his mandibles. “I… I refuse to believe that that file exists! I refuse to believe that the pardon is genuine! It’s all too perfect, and it completely covers Arioch’s trail and allows him to get away with everything you’ve done!” He hisses.

“Have you thought that, perhaps, the reason that it covers my trail perfectly is because I knew its limitations and worked within them? It only seems perfect because I acted perfectly, and thus avoided breaking the rules.” Arioch asks. “There never was a way to convict me, Kabbu.”

Dear Venus, this is bad. Really bad, Kabbu has no clue how to disprove anything Arioch has said. If he can’t think of something soon, Arioch is going to escape his crimes, and he’ll be free to leave this courtroom and do as much harm as he pleases. “Leif, Vi, I have no clue what to do. This pardon has to be fake, or Arioch is going to walk free, but… I don’t think I can prove that it’s fake. There doesn't seem to be any contradictions in his testimony.” Kabbu says.

“There has to be something! If he’s lying, then something can’t add up!” Vi argues.

“But it’s been eighty years since this pardon was supposedly created. It doesn’t need to add up, it’s age alone makes anything he says almost impossible to fact check.” Kabbu whimpers.

“What about our eighty-year-old evidence? Surely you can piece something together out of the information they give you.” Leif suggests.

“I… it’s possible.” Kabbu sighs. “I don’t even know where to start though, and I don’t have any clue on how I’ll be able to prove or disprove ANYTHING about the substitute project! There’s barely any information on it.”

“Whatever the evidence is, you’ll find it! You always do!” Vi encourages.

“You haven’t failed yet, you’ve got this Kabbu.” Leif adds.

Kabbu nods. He has to trust that everything will turn out alright… there has to be evidence. No matter how perfect Arioch is, there’s no way he destroyed everything. Somewhere in this statement is a contradiction, and somewhere in his evidence folder is a way to put an end to this madness once and for all.

He just needs to find them.

The first statement is about Arioch’s crimes and his involvement in the substitute project, and the second is about Arioch’s pardon.

He really doesn’t think he’s going to be able to get rid of that pardon. Arioch’s explanation for his file's destruction is entirely based on his own word, which is completely indisputable as long as Arioch refuses to give in. His only hope here might be finding some way to definitively prove that Arioch wasn’t a member of the eternal substitute project. Once he can... if he can, everything else should collapse.

(The defense is correct, I am responsible for all of the past crimes they have accused me of. Murder, tampering with a crime scene, and involvement in that horrible plot)

There has to be some way to prove that Arioch was never a part of that project. Kabbu has no clue what it could be, but… there has to be something. He digs through his evidence one last time, praying to find something that might open a path forward. He doesn't have much, almost all of the information he has on the project is guesswork and word from other bugs, and none of that can be used as evidence.

He picks up Doctor Abel’s diary. This is one of the few documents that specifically mentions the project. If any information about who was included in it existed, it must be in here. He flips through the pages, scanning through entries in hopes of finding some detail he missed before.

In the final entry, a specific passage catches his eye.

…

The mark that our leader put on me burns when I stand in the sun, and I have no idea how to stop it. It is a constant reminder that I cannot escape, and what I have done and will do. I wonder how Rae manages, since he is always standing out in the sun, investigating crimes. Why can’t I be strong like him?

…

That mark! That’s it! That’s how they can prove that Arioch isn’t a member of the project! The only issue… Kabbu has no clue what this mark is, or what it looks like. If he approaches Arioch right now and accuses him of not having the mark, Arioch could simply point to any scar or mark on him and claim that it’s the mark.

He needs to figure out what the mark is, first.

Kabbu thinks through everything he’s seen in regard to this trial, scouring his memories for something, ANYTHING, that could clue him in on that mark. His mind lands on Doctor Sain, and that moment that Kabbu found him resting on the floor of his office. For a brief moment, Kabbu caught a glimpse of the Ant Kingdom’s crest etched into the back of his neck. Kabbu knows that he’s one of the members of the substitute plan… is it possible that that’s the mark?

It's the only thing that makes sense, the only symbol Kabbu has seen that could match it's description, and it's something Arioch obviously doesn’t have. This is the only idea Kabbu has on this mark, his one shot.

Kabbu slams his hands down. “This statement contains a major lie, one which completely invalidates Arioch’s entire defense, and the pardon he’s been waving around this entire cross-examination.” He says.

Scarlet recoils. “You– you can’t seriously be trying to backpedal out of this! What in the world could you possibly be claiming is a lie in this statement?” He questions.

“The obvious outlier of the bunch, of course. Arioch committed the murder, he tampered with the crime scene, but he was never involved in the eternal substitute plan.” Kabbu says.

The pink ant visible relaxes. “Thank the gods, I thought you were about to say one of those other two crimes. I was convinced for a moment that you had finally lost your marbles, defense.” Scarlet sighs. “But no, you’re just being stubborn. As previously stated, there’s no way to prove that Arioch wasn’t one of the bugs working for this project.”

“Except there is. I have definitive proof that Arioch wasn’t involved in it, and it lies right here! Inside of Doctor Abel’s diary!” Kabbu exclaims. “In Abel’s final diary entry, they wrote: ‘The mark that our leader put on me burns when I stand in the sun, and I have no idea how to stop it’. They then go on to explain that Rae Kalita also has this same mark. I believe that all of the bugs involved were given this mark, as a way for Queen Elizant the First to identify them and stay in the know on who all was actually involved without having to keep up to date on all of the researchers and participants.” Kabbu explains.

“And do you have any proof of this mark outside of this diary entry? Or any clue on what that mark could possibly be?” Scarlet questions.

Kabbu nods. “I do, because another bug who was a key player in the substitute project ALSO has a mark on the back of their neck! That bug is none other than Doctor Sain!” He exclaims.

Scarlet recoils. “W-what?! You– you can’t be serious! That mark on the back of Doctor Sain’s neck is– it’s just a tattoo!” He hisses.

“What mark? Defense, please explain yourself!” Queen Elizant demands.

“Of course, your honor. Doctor Sain has the insignia of the Ant Kingdom etched into the back of his neck. It's odd placement, combined with it being the symbol for the Ant Kingdom makes it obvious that THIS is what Queen Elizant the First put on those workers!” Kabbu explains.

“How can you be certain?” Arioch booms, arms crossed.

“Pardon?” Kabbu questions.

“How can you be certain that that mark is truly the one mentioned in the diary entry? Doctor Sain isn’t mentioned at all in that entry, and neither is what the symbol is. With only one instance of this marking, it’s impossible to come to the conclusion that this is that mark.” Arioch argues.

“Because it doesn’t have any other explanation! It has to be the mark!” Kabbu argues.

Arioch shakes his head. “Proof, defense. Unless you can bring definitive proof that that symbol is worn by the bugs responsible for the substitute project, then you cannot hold it against my pardon.” He hisses.

Kabbu frowns and then thinks. He hadn’t thought that he would need another bug, but he should have seen this coming. He knows that there are more members, but Kabbu is only familiar with three of the bugs working for this project. It’s going to be difficult to find another bug wearing that mark.

However, he won’t need to find another bug.

“I know for a fact that that symbol is what Queen Elizant the First used to mark those involved, and I know of one other bug who’s still alive that bears that mark!” Kabbu exclaims. Rae Kalita might be dead, and his body long destroyed, but there is still the final member of that trio! Kabbu slams down his fists. “That bug… is the scientist who helped with the experiments, and the one who wrote this diary! Doctor Abel!”

Arioch recoils. “WHAT?! You… you’re insane!” He growls.

“The defense has finally lost it. It’s been almost eighty years since her disappearance, and Doctor Sain confessed to killing her.” Scarlet hisses. “Nothing remains of her body now, and there certainly isn’t any way to figure out if this symbol really exists.”

Mothiva shakes her head. “If I’ve learned anything about Team Snakemouth, it’s that there’s nothing they can’t do. No matter how stupid or ridiculous it might sound, they always find a way.” She argues. “There’s not a doubt in my mind that, if Kabbu believes he can bring Doctor Sain to the witness stand, he absolutely could.”

“I can.” Kabbu confirms. “And that’s because Doctor Sain didn’t kill Doctor Abel. He sentenced them to a fate worse than death, Doctor Abel ended up becoming a test subject in Snakemouth Lab.” He explains.

“The Zommoth… we had thought that that moth looked familiar.” Leif mutters. “But we killed it when we went into the lab, we defeated all of the cordyceps zombies down there. Zommoth has been dead for years.” He reminds.

Kabbu shakes his head. “We may have killed them, but I don’t think that’s enough to stop them. When I went by the entrance the other day, I saw a zombant despite us clearing Snakemouth Lab out, and Eetl said that he heard something moving in the darkness while he was trapped there. Not only am I certain that these creatures imbued with the substitute are still alive, but I’m certain that the something Eetl heard was Doctor Abel! All someone would need to do is go down there, find it, capture it, and check the back of its neck for that symbol!” Kabbu explains.

Scarlet recoils. “That… that can’t be possible! The defense is bluffing! They’re making things up!” He hisses.

“I am willing to take that chance. The law of Bugaria must be willing to explore every possibility in the pursuit of justice.” Queen Elizant replies.

With a final command, the remaining guards in the courtroom hurry out to get prepared to capture the Zommoth, check the back of its neck for that symbol, and finally put an end to all of this madness.

Chapter Text

It takes a long while for the guards to return, and the entire time, the courtroom is left in a tense silence. If Kabbu is right about this, then it’s over, they’ve finally won, but if he’s wrong? He has no clue what else he can argue, he's used just about every piece of evidence he has and he can't think of any other crimes he could accuse Arioch of.

After what feels like hours, a single guard returns. “Your majesty! I… I apologize for the long wait, it was not easy subduing that monster, but I have returned with results!” The guard announces.

“You— you do?! So does that mean Doctor Abel really was still alive?” Scarlet asks, recoiling in shock.

The ant guard grimaces. “Calling that thing alive doesn’t feel right… but yes. We found it crawling through the hidden lab. And the results! We managed to locate a symbol carved into the back of its neck, the same symbol that we located on the back of Doctor Sain’s neck!” They explain.

“So that means that the mark that Doctor Abel spoke about IS the Ant Kingdom insignia!” Queen Elizant exclaims. “Arioch, do you have that mark?” She asks.

Arioch does not reply, standing silently and lowering his head.

Prosecutor Scarlet slams his hand down. “This mark means nothing! It’s still entirely possible that this was simply a shared tattoo the two of them got! Or that Arioch simply refused to get the mark, or perhaps even that—” He rambles, before suddenly getting cut off.

“That is enough.” Arioch booms. “Yes, the mark on Doctor Abel’s neck is the mark of that horrible project, and no, I do not have that mark, I never did.” He confesses.

Kabbu recoils. “You… you’re just admitting that you lied?” He asks.

Arioch nods. “There is no reason to keep arguing. You called my bluff, defense. I was not a part of that project, and I do not have a pardon for it.” He huffs, tossing the documents onto the floor behind him.

The courtroom is left in shock, the people of the gallery either quietly whispering to one another, or watching intently to see what happens next. Kabbu can feel a wave of relief wash over him… but at the same time, he still feels horribly tense. This doesn’t feel like the end, it feels like he’s missing something. He knows what it is, though. There’s one final question that’s lingering in the air, something Kabbu couldn’t uncover the answer to through his investigations.

“Why?” Kabbu asks. “Why did you do any of this? Why did you kill Judas, why did you organize this whole plot? What was the point?”

Arioch stands there, silently, for several moments, before he clears his throat and begins to speak. “It was necessary. I did all of this in pursuit of justice, the only thing I believe in. A justice that was torn out of the court system by Queen Elizant the First.” Arioch hisses. “I admit to fabricating the pardon, I admit to the crimes I have been accused of, and I will admit to masterminding this entire operation. However, the court must know that every action I committed was necessary.”

“We can’t even begin to imagine how any of this could be necessary. You’ve caused the deaths of six people in your pursuit of justice, and most of them were innocent.” Leif says.

Arioch shakes his head. “There were far more than six people. Those who have died in the past few months were mistakes, miscalculations. Butomu's and Professor Honeycomb's deaths were caused by the carelessness of those working under me.” He continues.

“But how was any of this in pursuit of justice? If anything, you’ve made the justice system even worse! You’ve been trying to convict people of crimes they didn’t commit!” Vi argues.

“My actions will not make sense unless I begin from the start. This path towards justice began eighty years ago, three days before Jay Ester's trial. It was a robbery gone wrong, an elderly bug was stabbed in the Ant Kingdom's Plaza and all of their belongings taken from them, and to this crime was a single witness. Judas Garridan.” Arioch explains.

Kabbu thinks back to what he read in that book. The trial three days ago… not only was that when Judas appeared in court, but that was also when Arioch’s mood completely soured.

…

Queen Elizant nods. “Judas Garridan… am I mistaken when I say that she was just recently here, within this courtroom?” She asks.

“You would not be mistaken, my Queen! She just recently testified in this very courthouse, just three days ago I believe.” Rae Kalita interjects.

…

Detective Rae Kalita pulls away, blowing into his pipe again. “Yes… yes, he has been particularly upset recently. What’s up with that? I’ve been checking in on him since his last trial, talking to him all three days that it’s been, and since the murder I’ve been keeping him updated on my investigation, and do you know what he’s been?” He asks.

“...no?” Gal says, slightly confused.

“He’s been angry! I haven’t seen him do so much as smile, he hasn’t so much as laughed at my amazing jokes! He’s clearly mad about something, but I can’t imagine what!” Detective Rae Kalita rambles.

“I… I suppose he has been rather angry? I mean, it makes sense that he’s angry, he lost that trial.” Gal sighs.

Detective Rae Kalita hums. “It couldn’t be, Iram doesn’t care about winning or losing, only that justice is served. I can only wonder what it might be… I suppose only time will tell us the truth.”

…

“That trial ruined everything. Not only was it the first trials I had seen a not guilty verdict for in years, but it was one I should have won. I interrogated Judas about what she had witnessed, and she told me everything. The accused approaching the victim, the altercation, the moment the stabbing occurred, and how the accused had snatched the victim’s purse afterwards. After telling me all of that… she asked me how much I was willing to pay her for her to testify to that in court.” Arioch continues. "She told me that she knew everything was fake, that no robbery had taken place. She told me that she had seen that the victim’s purse was empty, that the blood bled was far too watery to be real, that the stabs weren’t nearly strong enough to kill someone that quickly. I had no clue what she was talking about, I couldn’t have understood at that moment, so I refused her bribe.” Arioch explains.

“That murder… it was one of the substitute project’s fabricated crimes, wasn’t it?” Kabbu asks.

Arioch nods. “I didn’t know it at the time, but yes. They had gotten lazy with their set up work, their witness saw through it easily, but I did not. When I refused her, she left and went to speak to the defense attorney, who accepted her bribe. Come the trial, she testified that she had seen a different bug at the scene, that the defendant was innocent, that nothing she had told me had happened.” Arioch says.

“So all of this started because you lost in court, and your ego got hurt?” Vi questions.

“NO! It was more than that! She had committed perjury, and NOTHING was done about it! I reported her to the highest authority in the land and no one cared!” Arioch growls.

“But you still ended up being worse than her. She broke the law, she testified falsely in a crime that never happened, and you murdered her for it. Did you even think to try and figure out if what she was claiming was true?” Leif asks.

Arioch shakes his head. “I did not, it meant nothing to me whether or not the crime had actually been committed. What mattered was that the sanctity of the courtroom was desecrated by her lies.” He hisses.

Leif grimaces. “You were far worse than her. Nothing she could have done during that trial could have justified you killing her in the way you did.” He says.

“Your blind eyes couldn't ever hope to see it how it was. This was a moment of realization, I finally saw the weakness in the justice system. It restricts not only those who break the law, but also those who wish to enforce it. I realized that Judas was not just scum… she was a call to action. As long as criminals like her exist, people willing to lie for the sake of money, the law is being threatened.” Arioch explains. "I answered that call to action and ended her life. As I stood behind the painting, I will admit, I had a brief second thought, but when I heard Judas bragging to Jay about the money she had gotten out of her lies… any semblance of hesitance I had was destroyed. I struck through the painting twice, at both of the silhouettes and then quickly retreated. I did not care if I killed Jay, he was an acceptable casualty.” Arioch continues.

“The only thought that ran through my head after I murdered Judas was that I was going to be arrested, that justice would correct itself and I would be punished. My trusted colleagues would find the many, many clues I left behind. Only they didn’t.” Arioch hisses. "When I saw the crime scene drawings and descriptions, I saw a piece of fiction. Blood where it wasn't, a sketch that didn’t reflect the corpse I had stolen from the scene, the bloody footsteps that showed a number of people had approached the body had been removed and replaced by a smear. A body and the objects in said body’s pockets, all things that were currently at the bottom of a river. When I asked Doctor Saine if the defendant would kill again, a defendant who had never harmed anyone in the first place, Doctor Sain said he was certain he would.” Arioch says.

“I made no argument during that trial, and yet no one suspected a thing. Even after the trial, when my lies had been exposed, I wasn’t fired. I was told to not do it again, I was given a slap on the wrist! For breaking the law, for letting a murderer escape! It was at that moment that I realized the true scope of what was happening, I realized that the bugs I worked with were corrupt.”

“So you saw the many, many issues with the justice system, and did what? You decided to leave Bugaria and let the corruption continue?” Mothiva asks.

Arioch takes in a sharp breath. “Believe me, I tried to do something. I planned to stop it, to report it to Queen Elizant the First, I just needed to figure out what was going on.” He explains. “However… before I could even begin looking into everything, Rae Kalita approached me and told me the truth. I knew nothing of the project prior to that, I didn’t even know it existed, but I learned. I learned that they were fabricating trials to get test subjects, what they were doing to those test subjects, and the role I was forced into. He told me that Queen Elizant the First was at the head of it all, and that I would be paid handsomely if I joined. If I wasn’t so revolted, I would have killed him right then and there.” He continues.

“That’s when I finally realized the greatest flaw in our society. I realized that, when given impunity, anyone could do anything, they could break the law as much as they desired, and that that impunity could be handed out on a silver platter to anyone, no matter how undeserving they are. That’s when I knew I had to act, I needed to get to the top of the justice system and rebuild it from the top down. The law needed to affect everyone equally, and I was the only bug who could make that change!” Arioch says. “All I needed was to wait. I left Bugaria and hid in the Wastes, and every day I prayed that the Queen’s plans would fail. My prayers were answered. She went out with a whimper, dying surrounded by the corrupt monsters who had ruined so many lives, and once she left, the path for me was opened.” Arioch explains.

“You came back after the Queen had passed, and you had the legal knowledge to be able to be the Head of the BDL… but why did you decide to do all of this?” Kabbu asks

“The corruption in the BDL, the attacks and the killings, all of the bugs you harmed in this plot were innocent.” Mothiva adds.

“And you paid bugs to kill people, and then gave them same immunity from the law! You’re no better than anyone in the old BDL!” Vi adds.

“I had to get my hands dirty to make progress… and as for those innocent bugs. They were witnesses. Everyone who knew of the crime had the potential to find the truth. Those moths, the witnesses, the crime scene painter, the defendant, that artist and her wife, my coworkers, and that evil defense attorney. If any single one of them figured it out, I was done for, and any hope of the justice system being repaired would be dashed. I had to destroy all of them.”

“You… you’re completely insane! How would any of them have been able to figure this out?” Mothiva hisses.

“I doubt anyone even remembered the incident clearly enough to be able to figure out that the killer had attacked from behind the painting! The only reason that I figured that out was because I had every piece of evidence surrounding the incident.” Kabbu says.

“They were never going to discover your guilt… you harmed and killed so many people out of your baseless paranoia and greed!” Leif hisses.

“I could not take the risk, the future of Bugaria depended on it. I approached Queen Elizant the Second, told her what I knew, gained my position as head of the BDL, and not a moment later I began to enact my plan. Falsavar had done away with himself, Leif was supposedly long dead, Muse had disappeared shortly after me, General Puff had died from old age, Pommet was a none-issue, and approving Rae Kalita’s execution was my revenge for the role he had dragged me into.” Arioch says. I failed to kill the scientist, but a wasp-training-exercise gone wrong was simple to set up, and the world was rid of that awful artist. The crime scene painter was next, I paid a criminal a few berries to break into his home, steal his belongings, and kill him. It went down as a tragedy, and no one was the wiser. The only bug left who posed a direct threat was Jay Ester… and unfortunately, I chose to listen to his descendant instead of checking for myself.” He hisses.

“I believed Jay was dead, and with K keeping the only copy of that file so close to himself, I wasn’t able to check for certain. Up until today, I had truly believed he was dead and gone… I was a fool to have trusted him.” Arioch huffs.

Kabbu frowns. He looks over to where K is still standing off to the side. He can’t place K in all of this, he’s been complacent and even active in the damages, but at the same time he’s been making efforts to help Kabbu and sabotage Arioch. Telling him about Mothiva’s letter, giving him Jay’s file… what in the world was his end goal? Kabbu doesn’t ask that question, though. He isn’t sure that there’s even an answer to it. “What was K’s role in all of this? And Doctor Sain’s? And all of the bugs you paid?” Kabbu questions.

“I believed K was as loyal to the law as I was, so I allowed him to speak to me and help gather information. However, I began to suspected he wasn't as loyal as I initially thought, so I gave him an ultimatum. Assist or lose the only thing he cares about. I was ultimately correct, he was a scum of a traitor.” Arioch explains. “Doctor Sain set up the dirty work. The killings, the assaults, everything save for writing the instructions was done by him. I told him to prevent the witness from testifying in Mothiva’s trial today, and not even an hour later the witness was dead. While he was an irredeemable monster for his inclusion in that program, he was loyal to the Queen, and that was easy to weaponize.” He growls. “Everyone else was a pawn. Scarlet, Laurice, Loki, Tennent, Saraha, Anagram, Sollytaire, and plenty others. All of them were criminal scum willing to risk their lives for a chance at redemption. Tools to use and roughen up as necessary. It didn't matter if any of them were harmed or died in the process of achieving justice, and if they ever created issues or failed to assist me, I would have them killed, as you saw with Loki and Sollytaire.” Arioch explains, glancing over at Scarlet.

Kabbu grits his mandibles. “How can someone who claims to be the law be so callous? They had families, they had lives, they had people who cared about them! They could have gotten help! They had futures, futures that had hope in them, you ruined their chances!” He hisses.

“I did not ruin a thing. The only future they had was gifted to them by me. I helped rip the criminal out of them. Look once more to Scarlet. A serial murderer and a monster, and yet thanks to my help, he has not committed a single crime since his release.” Arioch argues.

Kabbu says nothing. He’s beginning to realize that there’s just no point in arguing. Arioch is beyond convincing, he’s beyond logic. Nothing Kabbu can say or do could possibly change Arioch’s mind on the people he’s hurt or his actions.

“Where do I come into this? Where does my sister come into it? What about all of the other bugs you’ve been hurting?” Vi asks, snapping Kabbu out of his thoughts.

“You are an extension of your parents, and thus you inherited the risk of information spreading. It was possible that any of those bugs could have told their descendants of the crime, spreading the risk even further.” Arioch explains. “Falsavar’s assistant, Detective Rae Kalita’s apprentices, the doctor’s daughters, my own prosecutorial assistant, General Fuff, Astotheles, even that crime scene painter’s child. It didn’t matter that they were innocent, they were dangerous.” He explains.

“I set up plans to eliminate those I could, and more plans to clean up the stragglers I had left behind. Pommet was becoming dangerous, the scientist needed to die, and Leif had reappeared. Leif, I chose to go easy on you. You were a victim, same as myself, so I decided to only to blind you. If everything worked well, your missing vision would prevent your memories from returning.” Arioch continues.

“You… you can’t seriously be saying that you're a victim!” Vi yells, slamming her hands down.

“All of our friends and family, everyone we knew and the world we grew up in, died while we were asleep. You lost nothing. You were blindly sending bugs to their death, and when you learned of it, you could only see how it hurt yourself! You’re no victim, you’re a cruel monster, you're just as bad as them!” Leif hisses, summoning a ball of ice in his hands.

“You can call me whatever name you want, but I knew what had to be done, and I had the guts to do it. No one responsible for that atrocity, save for Doctor Sain, still lives in Bugaria thanks to me. Using the same sin they had, I gave murderers impunity to kill off not only the scientists I had managed to locate, but also those who still posed a threat to my position.” Arioch argues. “My only mistake was putting my trust in those who couldn’t use it right. The pawns failed, they admitted too much, they refused to fight back, and they created more witnesses that had to be dealt with. And worst of all, they lied. Had that damned Crime Scene Overseer told me the truth… I would have known that Jay wasn’t dead, I would have been able to stop you three from ever getting in my way and I could have buried the truth.”

“That’s the only thing you’re seeing as a mistake?!” Kabbu exclaims. “You killed how many people, and the only thing you can see as a mistake was that the people you were puppeteering didn’t behave properly?”

Arioch nods. “Of course. If they had, then this would be over. Everyone who posed a threat to me would be dead, and I could finally put all of my focus on fixing the justice system and making it truly perfect.” He explains.

Kabbu can feel the anger rising in him again. He killed how many people, and the only thing he sees as a mistake was that the people he was puppeteering didn't behave properly?! He forces himself to take a moment to calm down, there's no point in arguing. “Where do I come into any of this? You decided to let me become an attorney at the beginning of this all… why?” He asks.

“Because I saw the fire of justice in your eyes. Not a desire, but a need to uncover the truth. I gave you the chance to prove that Leif could be left alive, because I knew you would fit perfectly into my new system of justice. The only thing I hadn’t anticipated was that Falsavar Itas would rear his ugly head one last time to give you the power to unravel everything. I hadn't anticipated that you'd lock onto these crimes and refuse to let go.” Arioch hisses, before slamming his fists down, destroying the witness stand once more. “I admit that I am a monster, but I’m a monster that Bugaria NEEDS! It needs strength, it needs someone to be willing to get their hands dirty! To pull us from the dark ages and put us back into the age of the law! I did what everyone else was too cowardly to do, and I did it without hesitation, because it was the right thing to do.” Arioch concludes.

…

“How can you claim that anything you did was the ‘right thing to do’?” Kabbu asks, after a long moment of silence. "Nothing you've done has helped the justice system, or any of the bugs in it. The Rubber Prison is still just as horrible as it was before you arrived here, the BDL you rebuilt is completely falling apart, and it's just as corrupt as it was when you left!"

"The state of the BDL currently is not final. Once all loose ends were tied, I planned on rehiring the staff and fixing the remaining issues with it. As for your claim against me helping the justice system, I have in fact decreased the rate of crime across Bugaria. A majority of the crimes committed recently were under my watch, and all of it was working towards justice.” Arioch disputes.

“That doesn’t make it any better! The crime you’ve been claiming to want to stop has only been happening because you’ve been making it happen!” Kabbu argues.

Arioch shakes his head. “You continue to fail to comprehend the situation.” He says.

Kabbu slams his fists down. “The only bug here who doesn’t understand is you, Arioch. You’ve destroyed every chance for the justice system to improve because you refuse to accept that it could heal without you. You’re the issue, you’ve been the issue all along!” He says.

Arioch pauses, before shaking his head again. “You'll never see the truth, but that matters not to me. The world knows why I’ve done what I’ve done, they know that it was justified. I will not allow myself to be arrested.” He hisses.

Kabbu recoils. “You… what?! You can’t be serious! We proved that you’re guilty!” He says.

“All that you have proved is that Bugaria is ungrateful and undeserving of the path I carved for it. I will simply leave Bugaria, and find a new Kingdom.” Arioch explains.

The courtroom explodes into yelling. Kabbu can’t believe what he’s hearing. After all of the work he’s done, after he finally managed to uncover EVERYTHING Arioch was responsible for, he’s just going to leave?! Queen Elizant silences the courtroom with her gavel. “Arioch, I will not allow this! You are a criminal, if you have any belief in the values you just told us, then you must allow yourself to be punished for your crimes!” She yells.

“You have no control over me, I will not be detained. Death still awaits anyone who dares to do so much as lay a hand on me.” He hisses. “I pray you find comfort in the knowledge that I will never return, and that your lands will be overrun with criminals. Goodbye.” Arioch huffs, turning to leave.

“HOLD IT!” Kabbu yells, slamming his hands down and causing the scorpion to pause.

“What?” Arioch asks.

“You… you can’t leave just yet!” He pleads.

“And why not? My guilt has been proven, I have confessed to everything, there is no reason for me to stay in this courtroom any longer.” Arioch says.

Kabbu grimaces. He… he doesn’t know, he really doesn’t have any ideas on how to keep Arioch from leaving and getting away with all of this. “I… I…” Kabbu stutters, trying his best to think of something, anything, that he might be able to say… but he comes up with nothing.

“Because we haven’t come to a complete understanding of everything you’ve done yet.” Mothiva interjects.

Arioch stares at her for a moment. “That is no issue of mine.”

“Yes it is. You’ve caused these damages, if you truly believe in justice, the least you could do is give us a better idea of all of everything you’ve done. We need to know how many crimes you’ve set up, and who exactly you set up.” Mothiva explains.

Arioch frowns, and is silent for a long moment. All the while, Kabbu holds his breath in anticipation. After what feels like an eternity, Arioch nods. “Fine. I will allow that, and nothing more.”

“Wonderful. Your majesty, the prosecution would like to have a moment to speak to the counsel for the defense so we can figure out how the trial will proceed from here.” Mothiva requests.

Queen Elizant looks down at Arioch, waiting to hear his opinion on it. “It doesn’t matter to me. Scheme as much as you would like, you cannot stop me without bringing about unnecessary deaths.” Arioch says. “Though I must let it be known, if I see even a single bug leave or enter this courtroom, I will be leaving. The courtroom doors must stay closed if I’m expected to stay.” He adds.

“I cannot allow that.” Queen Elizant argues.

“Your majesty, I request you trust me on this. The only thing we'll be able to gain from this situation is more information. To throw away our chance to get to the bottom of his lies would be foolish.” Mothiva explains.

“I... I suppose that is true.” Queen Elizant sighs. “Guards, close the doors to the courtroom. You may speak with the counsel for the defense now, Prosecutor Mothiva.”

Mothiva nods, before grabbing Prosecutor Scarlet by the arm and dragging him across the courtroom to the defense’s bench, much to his complaint. “I have a plan.” She whispers.

“You do?” Kabbu asks.

“Yes. At this moment, there isn’t anyone in the courtroom who could possibly take on Arioch. The guards are all gone, Celia’s arm is broken, Zasp is watching over Jaune, and Queen Elizant sent an order for the Explorer’s Association to watch over K’s children.” Mothiva begins. “However, if you’ll recall, Maki said he was going to come back once he had made sure Eetl was safe and home. I don’t know what’s taking him so long, but when he gets here he’ll come in, regardless of Arioch’s blockade of the court doors. At that point, the five of us might be able to take Arioch down as a team. We just need to stall for time.” Mothiva explains.

“You– you really think we could take down Arioch?!” Kabbu exclaims quietly.

“The Queens aren’t going to call any guards in to try and apprehend him, they’re too scared to risk anyone's lives. I can’t think of any other way to prevent this monster from escaping.” Mothiva hisses.

“We’re more than prepared… even if we can’t see him, we’ll do our best to freeze him.” Leif says, summoning a ball of ice.

“I brought my boomerang and plenty of snacks! This jerk is going down!” Vi adds.

“Hold it! I’m not going to die for this stupid plan! It doesn’t matter how strong you are, Arioch is stronger.” Scarlet hisses.

“I don’t need you to fight, you just need to play along. If Arioch figures out the plan, then he’ll just leave. I need you to either shut up, or help us waste time.” Mothiva says.

Scarlet stays silent, his arms crossed.

“Are you seriously going to keep standing beside him? He threatened to hurt your kids!” Vi says.

“This is beyond just my kids. You have no understanding of ANYTHING that’s going on!” Scarlet hisses.

“This is your single chance to fight back and free yourself from Arioch’s grasp, are you really not going to take it?” Leif asks.

“I will stay silent but I will not be involved. My life ends the moment I stand against him.” Scarlet says.

“Good, all we need is for you to be silent.” Mothiva says. All attention turns to Kabbu.

“I’m not very in shape, my horn is a bit dull and I didn’t bring my badges, and I haven’t trained in a long time… but I’m willing to fight if it means putting an end to this.” Kabbu says.

“Great. You just need to find a way to waste time until Maki gets back. Our combined forces should be enough to stop him.” Mothiva says. “You’ve got this, Kabbu.”

The two move back to the other side of the courtroom, leaving Kabbu to try and come up with something to waste time. He has no clue how long it’ll be until Maki gets back… but hopefully it won’t be long.

“Well? What are you going to discuss?” Arioch asks. “It better be something worth my time. I do not wish to stay here any longer than I must.” He says.

Silence fills the courtroom once more, as all eyes continue to be on Kabbu.

What could he possibly argue to stall for time? Arioch’s confession settled everything he could think of! He explained his involvement or lack thereof in pretty much everything, he confessed to every action he committed, what could Kabbu possibly bring up?

He flips through his evidence, hoping to find something he might be able to argue about. His knowledge of that time and what happened during it is incredibly limited, and Arioch explained pretty much everything he did know about.

…

Wait… Arioch DIDN’T explain everything! There was one bug he left out of his confession, and not just any bug, but a bug with a mystery surrounding them. This is it! This is what Kabbu can use to stall for time! Kabbu slams his fists down, prepared to accuse Arioch of a crime he has almost no basis for. “The only thing left to discuss is the one crime you refused to admit to. During your confession earlier, you made no mention of one, specific bug, and I believe that that’s because you’re to blame for the incident that ruined their life.” He says.

“I confessed to everything, I can assure you that there is nothing I left out.” Arioch says.

“There was, and that thing is the Dara Cavara incident!” Kabbu exclaims. His knowledge on the case is limited, but if he’s lucky, Arioch’s knowledge won’t be, and he can ask plenty of questions. “There are plenty of suspicious things here, most of all being that, according to the findings of the court, the killer had to be a scorpion! That means the killer could have been you!” He says.

Arioch glares at him. “Are you attempting to joke with me? I will not put up with this nonsense. My time is valuable.” He hisses.

Kabbu shakes his head. “This is the only incident you made no mention of, and I don’t think that it’s a coincidence. You confessed to going as far as to kill the bug who drew the crime scene photograph for that trial eighty years ago, there’s no way you’d let one of the main witnesses go.” He argues.

“She had long since gone mad by the time I arrived back in Bugaria.” Arioch argues.

“That’s not true, and I have evidence that proves you were back in Bugaria before the crime was committed!” Kabbu exclaims, before presenting the newspaper clipping. “If you weren’t in Bugaria when the crime occurred, then how do you explain your appearance in this photo, taken on the day of the murder of Dara’s family?” He asks.

Arioch grimaces. “You… I was not aware that the dates lined up, and my presence in this photo is a coincidence, I never saw her. I had no reason to look into her crimes, she was already a non-issue by the time I began fixing Bugaria.” He argues.

“If she was a non-issue, then what was with all of that weird stuff at the art gallery? I doubt one of the bugs you wanted to kill just so happened to escape the bug looking after her and get into a small passageway that led onto the crime scene!” Vi argues back.

“I had changed my mind about her being a non-issue at that point, just as I did with Pommet. The purpose of the crimes I set up were to convince the Queens to let me execute them.” Arioch hisses.

“You also checked out the file on the incident over a year ago and still haven’t returned it! There’s no other reason you would do that, other than to hide its contents to cover your tracks!” Kabbu continues.

“All of it is a coincidence!” Arioch booms. “I have already confessed to all of the crimes I have been accused of, and you have learned that I will not be going to jail. What makes you think that throwing another accusation at me will solve this?” He questions.

“This doesn’t have anything to do with convicting you. Dara Cavara has been in prison for the past thirty years, if she's innocent, she deserves to be free.” Mothiva says.

“You need to testify on this! Allowing a crime you committed to continue standing as a wrongful conviction completely goes against your definition of justice! Even if you didn’t do it, we still need those files so we can make sure that Dara really was the culprit!” Kabbu argues.

Arioch glares at Kabbu, before letting out a deep breath and nodding. “Fine. I will entertain this nonsense, for only as long as I see fit.” He says.

Kabbu lets out a breath of relief. The trial will continue.

Chapter Text

Quiet chatter fills the courtroom. Kabbu doesn’t have much on this, he doesn’t have much of an idea on how to progress from here. He isn’t even sure if Arioch is actually responsible for this crime, all he knows is that Arioch *could* have committed it. It’s realistic, and because of that it’s effective enough of an accusation to delay Arioch’s escape. The big thing, though, the only thing that matters, is that Kabbu wastes more time. Maki will be back any minute now, and all they have to do is waste more time.

After only a minute of waiting, Arioch clears his throat, putting a hand on the broken witness stand in front of him. “I will not waste any more time. I will give one last piece of testimony, and then that will be it. I will leave.”

Kabbu snaps out of his thoughts. “E-excuse me? We can’t begin the testimony until you’ve handed over the Dara massacre’s documents!” He argues.

“I can’t imagine what you’re referring to.” Arioch growls.

“You can’t play dumb, Arioch! I went to the library, and I found records stating that you checked the files out last year!” Kabbu says.

Arioch stares at him for a moment, before reaching into the coat of his suit and pulling out a folder. “I suppose you’re referring to this. I will not be handing it over, it would be a waste of time.” He hisses, before pulling a match out and lighting the folder and its contents on fire.

The courtroom starts getting louder, only to go quiet again when Queen Elizant slams her hands down. “Accused! What you’ve just done is highly illegal! You—!” She starts, only to be cut off by Arioch.

“What does legality matter anymore? If the contents of those documents are important to this waste of time, then I’ll recount them, but I won’t allow you to read the information within.” Arioch retorts.

Kabbu is left in complete shock, he can't believe Arioch actually just destroyed evidence in front of the entirity of Bugaria. At least he’ll still be getting the information, but not only is Arioch the least trustworthy source of information in the entirety of Bugaria, but this means they’re moving entirely at his pace.

“This is off to a great start.” Mothiva mutters to herself. “Begin your testimony, Arioch. Give us every detail from the scene of the crime, and your explanation as to why you aren’t responsible for the murder of Dara Cavara’s family.” She demands.

Arioch nods.

—The Dara Cavara Massacre—

“My presence in that photograph is purely coincidental, I had nothing to do with the crime,” Arioch begins. “The killer, Dara Cavara, returned home after work and stabbed and stung her spouse and all of their children, resulting in their deaths,” Arioch continues. “There was a single survivor of the initial attack, one of her children, however they perished shortly after rescue,” Arioch explains. “There was no sign of a break in, meaning that the only bug who could have committed the crime was someone who had free access to their home,” Arioch says. “I had no involvement in any of this. To claim so is ridiculous.” He concludes.

“That… all sounds really vague.” Vi sighs. “If these are all the details to the crime, then I can’t imagine it was easy for them to convict Dara.”

“On the contrary. The two greatest details are that the culprit had access to their home, and the culprit was a scorpion, and since the victims of the case were all but one of the scorpions in Bugaria, the line of suspects were very narrow.” Scarlet argues.

“It’s also very likely that we aren’t getting the full picture, seeing that Arioch has no reason to tell the truth.” Leif adds.

“Every word I have spoken is completely truthful. If you argue with that fact, I will simply leave.” Arioch threatens.

“No! You don’t have to leave, I think you’ve given enough information.” Kabbu says, before taking a deep breath. “I’d like to get started with the cross examination as soon as possible.” He continues. He knows this isn't enough information, but he can’t risk begging for more and testing Arioch’s patience. He doesn’t need to know everything, he doesn't even need to solve this crime. He just needs to ask questions, argue, and stall until Maki returns.

Kabbu prays to Venus that Maki won’t take much longer.

—Rebuttal—

(My presence in that photograph is purely coincidental, I had nothing to do with the crime)

“It seems far too coincidental to actually be a coincidence. You were in the same place at the same time as one of the bugs who knew about your crime, a crime that you’ve shown you’re willing to kill to cover up. It wouldn’t make sense that you’d let her go.” Kabbu argues.

“Not to mention, she was talking to a reporter about the crime when this photo was taken. You knew she still remembered!” Vi adds.

Arioch glares at them for a moment. “Do you think I’m an idiot? If I killed every bug involved the moment I saw them, this situation would have arisen much sooner. No, when I saw this, I began planning on how I could take her out.” He explains.

“But she took herself out first…” Mothiva concludes.

Arioch nods.

“Admitting that you were going to kill someone is hardly a good argument for your innocence.” Leif says.

“And yet it doesn’t matter. Whether I was only planning on killing her, or if I actually did, my guilt is already known. This is a colossal waste of time, one which I should not be putting up with.” Arioch hisses.

Kabbu slams his fists down. “It isn’t about proving you guilty any more, it’s about making sure that we know every bug that you’ve hurt!” He argues.

Arioch glares at him again for several moments, before letting out a sigh. “Then proceed with this waste of time so I may conclude my business in Bugaria and leave.” He demands.

Kabbu does as demanded. He needs to get into the details and start making connections, before Arioch loses what’s left of his patience.

(The killer, Dara Cavara, returned home after work and stabbed and stung their spouse and all of their children, resulting in all of their deaths)

“Did the detectives find the murder weapon while investigating?” Kabbu questions.

“Of course. A bloody knife was found laying on the kitchen floor, next to Dara’s husband’s body.” Arioch answers.

“Were there any identifying details that linked it to Dara?” Kabbu asks.

Arioch shakes his head. “At this time in criminal investigations, such processes were only beginning to be theorized about. Perhaps, if the knife still existed, the claw marks on its handle could be compared to Dara’s. Unfortunately, I incinerated it along with many other pieces of ancient evidence when I brought the BDL back from the dead.” He explains.

Kabbu’s jaw drops. “You incinerated the evidence?! How could you do that?”

“Quite easily.” Arioch answers. “All that remains from this case is the culprit and the documents that the attorney and detectives left behind. Perhaps I should read an excerpt from their conclusions to you?” He offers, before pulling out a paper from his suit pocket and reading it aloud. “The only survivor on the scene, the defendant was so thoroughly soaked in blood that no conclusion other than that she brutally slaughtered her own family could possibly be made. To propose an alternate conclusion would be insanity.” Arioch reads, before looking back up at Kabbu.

“That… that’s not conclusive evidence! There are plenty of ways that she could have gotten blood on her besides being the culprit!” Kabbu argues.

“I have more statements from the files, if the previous excerpt didn’t please you. The report from the first guards on the scene stated that they struggled to remove one of the victim’s from her arms. All the while, she was screaming phrases such as: ‘it’s all my fault’ and ‘it’s my fault they’re dead’.” Arioch continues, before folding up the paper and putting it back in his pocket.

“Couldn’t that have been the reason she was covered in blood, then?” Leif interjects.

“Pardon?” The scorpion asks, turning his gaze to glare at Leif.

“If you were to cling to a bleeding bug, you would also get blood on you. That would explain why she was covered in blood.” Leif explains.

Arioch crosses his arms and shrugs. “Perhaps, but there’s no way to prove that the blood wasn’t from her killing her family, either.” He says.

“On top of that possibility, it’s also unreasonable to take the words of someone in shock over the death of their family as a confession.” Mothiva says. “Those words could instead be her blaming herself for not being there when the murder occurred.” She continues.

“Her nonsensical ramblings, similarly to the blood evidence, and everything else from Dara’s conviction, aren’t disprovable. All of the evidence from the case has been incinerated. You’re wasting my time by arguing against something that no longer exists.” Arioch says with a hiss.

Kabbu grits his mandibles. He’s sure it would be disprovable, if only he could somehow look into the past and actually see the scene for how it was, and if he could only look at the actual reports instead of hearing them from Arioch. He’s certain he’d be able to find some contradiction, but he can’t. Those reports are off limits, at least until Maki arrives and they can finally arrest Arioch. He just needs to remember that he isn’t here to actually solve this case, he’s just here to stall as long as he can.

If he spends any more time on this statement, though, Arioch is going to snap. He needs to keep moving.

(There was a single survivor of the initial attack, one of her children, however they perished shortly after rescue)

“One of the victim’s survived?” Kabbu asks.

“Not for long.” Arioch answers. “Her eldest child lived for two hours after the initial stabbing, and only a single hour after being rescued by medics. She was in a coma-like state and was unable to give the police a statement before she passed away.” He continues.

Kabbu frowns. “A coma-like state?” He asks.

Arioch nods. “Induced by the scorpion venom from the sting. All of the victims likely suffered the same fate, but their wounds were much more fatal, and they bled out before the guards arrived. The fact that she lived for a short duration allowed doctors to uncover that she was suffering from the effects of a very weak scorpion venom, which served as proof of Dara’s guilt.” He explains.

“Wait, but isn’t scorpion venom really deadly? How would someone survive two hours after being stung?” Vi asks.

“The toxicity of the venom varies greatly depending on the scorpion.” Scarlet interjects, speaking up for the first time in a while. “The scorpions of the Lost Sands are all fairly venomous, but some other species can have a venom so weak that awoken bugs like us will barely feel it.”

“Interesting… did they run any tests on the venom to see if it was the same grade of venom that Dara has?” Kabbu questions.

“No. Testing the potency of venom is a very expensive and dangerous endeavor, one which was not deemed necessary as Dara was the only known scorpion left in Bugaria at the time.” Arioch explains. “It would be impossible for a test to be performed today. The bodies were cremated, and Dara’s stinger was removed long ago. The only thing that remains are a vague list of symptoms that the child suffered from before death.” He continues.

“It could still be possible to test if you were responsible for the murder, we could have you sting a guard and rush them to the hospital to examine their symptoms, and if they match the report then–!” Kabbu rambles, before being cut off by Arioch.

“What a horrible idea… My venom is extremely deadly. If I were to sting a bug, they’d be gone long before they even managed to get out of the courtroom.” He hisses, before glaring at Kabbu. “You’re welcome to learn the potency of my venom if you believe I’m lying, of course.”

Kabbu questions accepting that offer for a moment, but once the moment passes he realizes that it isn’t worth the risk. He’s just going to have to take Arioch’s word on it, until he can find some evidence that says otherwise.

All of this venom talk is definitely important to the case, though. He should ask Arioch to add one of these statements to his testimony… but he isn’t sure what. Maybe the potency of Arioch’s venom? It might also be a good idea to look further into the symptoms of that surviving child.

After a short bit of thinking, Kabbu comes to a conclusion. “Arioch, can you add a statement about the child’s symptoms to your testimony? I need to hear more about it.” He says.

Arioch grimaces, before nodding. “This is the only time I will change my testimony. I will not allow you to waste time on more pointless additions in the future.” He hisses.

((The child was found to have been suffering the effects of Dara’s weak venom))

“I don’t think I’m very familiar with the effects of scorpion venom. What kind of symptoms does the report say they were suffering from?” Kabbu asks.

“Swelling around the puncture point, sweating, an increase in blood pressure, muscle twitching, and a rapid heart rate. The comatose state was also determined to be induced by the venom.” Arioch explains.

“If those are the effects of weaker venom, then what does a stronger venom do?” Vi questions.

“A stronger venom would cause your organs to shut down and your body’s balance to be thrown out of whack. And then you’d die, rather quickly.” Scarlet continues.

“So the Lost Sands scorpions are about in the middle on the venom scale… they’ll definitely kill you if you’ve been stung badly, but it isn’t instant death.” Leif hums. “What do you make of all of this, Kabbu? Is any of this ringing any bells?”

Kabbu frowns. “It… it sounds familiar, but I’m not entirely sure why.” He explains. “Honestly, something feels wrong about this entire venom situation. I can’t place my finger on it.”

“Well, the statement is always there if you figure it out!” Vi says.

“The statement might always be here but Arioch won’t be, so you definitely need to figure it out sooner rather than later.” Leif reminds.

Leif is right, Kabbu needs to keep asking questions to keep Arioch’s attention. Hopefully he’ll manage to figure out what's wrong with that statement before he reaches the end of the testimony.

(There was no sign of a break in, meaning that the only bug who could have committed the crime was someone who had free access to their home)

“What do you mean by this?” Kabbu asks.

Arioch sighs. “Dara’s neighbors testified that the family had a habit of keeping all entrances to the home locked at all hours of the day, meaning that the only way to enter would be to have a key.” He explains.

“There are other ways someone could have gotten in without needing free access.” Kabbu says. “Perhaps someone accidentally left the door unlocked and the true culprit was able to get in, and then they took a key and locked the door on their way out.” He offers.

Arioch shakes his head. “Not possible. All family keys were found inside the house by detectives following the murder.” He refutes.

“Maybe you didn’t lock the door after you murdered her family, and Dara simply locked it behind her when she entered.” Leif suggests.

Arioch glares at Leif. “It’s impossible to prove that such a series of events occurred, and my involvement in this is not substantiated.” He hisses.

“What if they let the killer into the home because they knew who it was? You and Dara both worked for the Queen, Dara’s husband could have recognized you and let you in because she thought she could trust you!” Vi continues.

“Enough! That is all completely impossible to prove!” Arioch yells. “There is no way to connect me to this crime in a concrete manner because I was not involved. Move on to the next statement NOW defense, or I will be leaving.”

Kabbu recoils, and does as ordered. Clearly that struck a chord, but the only reason he can think of for *why* it struck a chord is that they’re on to something. He doesn’t have much time to think about it right now, though. He needs to move on to the next statement.

(I had no involvement in any of this. To claim so is ridiculous)

“It’s not nearly as ridiculous as you’re making it out to be. You’re a scorpion and you were in the area at the time of the murder. That fits all of the criteria needed to be the culprit.” Kabbu argues.

“It does not even remotely fit all of the criteria.” Arioch hisses. “The potency of my venom does not match with the venom used in the murder and I have no provable way of entry into the home.” He argues.

“But there are ways to explain how you could have committed the crime even with those extra criteria, like an unlocked door or the victims recognizing you, or you being a liar.” Leif argues.

“And there’s barely anything linking Dara to the murder either! Besides her being a scorpion and having a key to the house, and having been found at the scene, there’s no way to prove for certain that she did it!” Vi adds.

Arioch shrugs. “That’s simply the nature of this case. You can’t pick up a mystery after decades of it sitting untouched and expect to find some hidden secret. Even if all of the evidence was circumstantial, it only pointed to Dara. No evidence connected to the crime scene points to an alternate solution.”

Ugh… he’s certain he would be able to find the hidden secret if Arioch wasn’t the one feeding all the information to him. If only he could get his hands on the official documents, he’s certain he’d be able to find some connection to Arioch in there! But for now he just needs to keep looking, and keep asking more questions. He’s done a good job of stalling so far, but his job isn’t done yet. He needs to keep going.

Kabbu puts his head in his hands and lets out a groan of frustration. “What’s taking Maki so long to come back? Surely there's another member of the Explorer’s Association that can watch over Eetl!” He complains.

“Queen Elizant sent everyone that wasn’t missing or in hiding to go keep watch over Crime Scene Overseer K’s children. It’s just us here.” Leif says.

“How does it take an entire association to guard a couple kids?” Kabbu whines.

Leif is silent for a moment. “I’m not sure, but it’s probably for the best that they aren’t here. If Arioch’s venom is as deadly as he’s saying, then we won’t come out of that fight without someone dying, and I doubt anyone wants to risk that.” Leif says.

“If Arioch’s venom is so deadly that it’ll kill us in a single sting, then how are we supposed to stand a chance when Maki gets here?!” Vi asks.

“I… I don’t know. We’ll have to figure out when Maki gets here.” Kabbu says. The more he’s thinking about it, the more he’s realizing that they really don’t have much of a plan besides hoping that everything goes right. On top of that, Kabbu can clearly see that Arioch’s patience is waning, he isn’t even sure if he’ll be able to stall long enough for Maki to get here.

He needs to get back into the testimony, but where? And what is he supposed to do? He needs to make progress or Arioch is going to realize what they're doing, but how can he make progress when he doesn't even know if Arioch is actually guilty? He could pursue that statement about the venom symptoms… but he isn’t sure how much longer he’ll be able to think about it before Arioch gets impatient again.

Still, it’s all he has right now.

((The child was found to have been suffering the effects of Dara’s weak venom))

If Arioch really is responsible for the murder of Dara’s family, then the contradiction in this statement is obvious. It would be his venom, and not Dara’s… but Kabbu doesn’t have any way to prove how deadly Arioch’s venom is without getting stung and risking death. So what can he do? How can he possibly prove that Arioch is responsible?

…

He… he probably can’t prove Arioch guilty through the information he has right now, but maybe he doesn’t have to. Kabbu digs through his folder before pulling out the copies of Dara’s records that Doctor Path had given him. Obviously they aren’t complete, and have no information on the massacre, but they do contain the report for the incident that led to the removal of Dara’s tail.

This is it. This is exactly what Kabbu needs to prove Dara innocent, and finally push the blame onto Arioch!

Kabbu slams his fists down. “I’ve figured it out! I’ve found definitive proof that Dara couldn’t have committed the murder! Take a look at this incident report, from a copy of Dara’s prison records!” He says, presenting the file. “According to this report, eight years ago Dara was involved in an incident where she accidentally stung a guard attempting to restrain her. Despite the response being instant, and the sick bay being extremely accessible no matter where you are in the Rubber Prison, the guard was dead by the time medics arrived at his position.”

“It usually only takes a few minutes for medics to arrive for guards… for that guard to have died in such a short amount of time…” Scarlet mutters.

“Would have to mean that Dara’s venom is a lot more deadly than Arioch has been leading us to believe!” Kabbu concludes.

“But if that’s the case, then there’s no way that Dara’s kid could have survived for over two hours after being stung! That means that the venom of the scorpion that committed the murder was a lot weaker than Dara!” Vi continues.

“That… that’s not possible!” Arioch hisses.

“And if Dara couldn’t have committed the murder, then that only leaves a single bug left who could be responsible.” Mothiva adds.

Arioch recoils. “NO! It wasn’t me! There are a million other explanations before the conclusion that I was responsible!”

“We can’t understand why you’re still fighting this accusation. You’ve confessed to killing others, and to planning the deaths of plenty of bugs. What does being responsible for one more murder do to you?” Leif questions.

“ENOUGH!” Arioch yells, taking a moment to readjust his tie. “There’s a much simpler explanation. Dara’s husband was a different species of scorpion than her. It’s possible that this was a murder suicide, and not simply a massacre. Dara’s husband murdered his children before killing himself, leaving Dara to take the blame.” He argues.

“What?! That’s complete nonsense! How could her husband have gotten stung if he was the one stinging everyone?” Vi asks.

“It’s the only possibility left. I am a highly venomous scorpion, and if Dara is as well then that means it couldn’t have been either of us.” Arioch hisses. “Unless you can provide PHYSICAL evidence that can prove my guilt, then this testimony and this entire waste of time is over!”

“Wait! You can’t leave yet!” Kabbu yelps.

“I can. This entire trial has been at my mercy since the moment you dared to drag me into this courtroom. I refuse to entertain it any longer. I’m leaving.” Arioch continues.

“How are we supposed to find physical evidence to prove he’s guilty? Is that even possible?” Vi asks.

“We aren’t sure, but we are sure that Kabbu will think of something.” Leif encourages, looking down in Kabbu’s vague direction.

Kabbu nods. It’s up to him to hopefully fix his mistake and get everything back on track. If he can’t think of something fast, then Arioch is going to leave and they’re going to lose their window to capture him!

Thankfully, it only takes Kabbu a moment of thinking before he finally thinks of something. He realizes why Arioch’s description of the symptoms sounds so familiar. He’s heard it before. “Actually, I do have the evidence necessary to finally connect you to the murder, Arioch.” He announces.

“Lies. If such evidence existed I’d either have it in my hand now, or I’d have already had it destroyed long before you got a chance to see it.” Arioch hisses, crossing his arms.

“And you have been trying to get it destroyed, but you didn’t have enough time to. The final piece of evidence I need to prove your guilt in this trial is stored in this medical report!” Kabbu announces.

“A medical report? Who’s?” Mothiva questions.

“Prosecutor Loki’s. It describes him as having very similar symptoms to what Arioch described earlier. Swelling around the wound, sweating, increased blood pressure, muscle twitching, rapid heartbeat, and Loki has been unconscious since the attack. Those line up nearly perfectly with the symptoms that that victim suffered from in the Dara massacre!” Kabbu explains.

“And how does this relate to Arioch? They might have similar symptoms, but the victims of the massacre had puncture marks from a stinger, and the toxin used for Loki’s attack was purchased and applied to a crossbow bolt by Doctor Sain!” Scarlet argues.

Kabbu shakes his head. “Maki told us that before coming to court, he asked the poison seller in Defiant Root about the bottle of venom he got from Doctor Sain’s office, and they confirmed that not only had they not sold it, but they couldn't imagine that anyone could have sold it due to its quality.” He continues.

“That makes sense. It would be foolish for a member of the Department of Law to purchase toxins from known criminals. Not to mention, it would just create more witnesses that Arioch would need to have killed.” Leif adds.

“But if they couldn’t have bought it, where did they get it from?” Vi asks.

“It’s simple, and perfectly explains why Dara’s child was suffering the same symptoms as Loki. The venom in that bottle is Arioch’s own venom! He gave some of it to Doctor Sain to ensure that the bugs Sain attacked wouldn’t be able to tattle on them if they survived the attack!” Kabbu explains.

Arioch recoils again. “That… that’s completely ridiculous! That’s preposterous! That’s unbelievable!” He hisses.

Kabbu slams his fists down. “Then where was the venom purchased from?” He asks. “If you want to prove that you didn’t provide the venom for Loki’s assault, then you can provide some of your own and we could have a test run to compare it to the venom in Loki’s blood.”

…

Arioch doesn’t respond for several moments, simply balling up his fist and grimacing, before finally speaking. “A test would be a waste of time, I'll confess to it as well. When I returned to Bugaria, ready to restart my legal career, I saw her, through the crowd, talking about that trial to those damn reporters. I knew then and there that the others would also break their oaths, I knew I needed to act while I still had time, before she spread information to everyone else. I couldn’t attack her directly, though I knew how toxic her venom was. Instead, while she was held up, I hurried to her home, and destroyed her family when they let me inside, making sure to leave plenty of evidence while I was there. Evidence that could only come from a scorpion, before I left Bugaria once again, and left her life to fall apart.” Arioch explains. "And I succeeded. Never again did she speak on what occurred during that trial, and the trauma of losing her family ruined her. She’d never manage to deduce what truly happened, and my reputation remained safe until you returned and ruined everything.” He hisses. "There, are you happy now? That's all of my crimes, laid before the courtroom."

“You realized that you might get in trouble for committing murder, so you slaughtered a witness's entire family?” Mothiva hisses.

“You murdered six children! You’re a complete monster!” Vi adds.

“How can you blame us for your downfall? You set it up yourself the moment you murdered Judas, and you cemented your own ruin the second you returned to Bugaria.” Leif hisses.

Kabbu slams his hands down. “You can keep imagining yourself as a hero, or a deliverer of justice, but you never have been! From the very start, all of this has been your selfish attempt to achieve a delusional dream of what you think justice should be! If you cared at all about the justice system, you would have turned yourself in the moment you returned to Bugaria!”

Arioch grimaces. “None of you will ever understand. You haven’t stood in my shoes, you haven’t seen how bad the corruption in the BDL was, and you still can’t comprehend that I am the only bug in the world capable of fixing this mess of a legal system! I’m the only bug capable of properly punishing those who break the law!” He yells.

“You’ve broken the law more than any bug I’ve ever seen in all my time alive. To claim that you could have ever improved the system is idiotic.” Leif hisses.

“I’m done with your ignorance and foolishness. This cross-examination is over.” Arioch hisses, turning to leave the courtroom.

“Hold it!” Kabbu yells. “The only place you’re going, Arioch, is the Rubber Prison. You can’t run from the law anymore.” He says.

Arioch bares his fangs and readies his claws. “Have you lost your mind? If ANYONE even dares step close to me, I’ll sting you. You’ll be dead in a matter of—”

“We won’t. You confessed to it yourself, Arioch. Your venom isn’t even strong enough to kill a bug. Your greatest defense is gone, and there’s nothing stopping us from charging you down right now and arresting you!” Kabbu explains.

Arioch recoils. “You—! Dammit!” He hisses. The braver of the courtroom guards ready their spears and begin to approach Arioch. “Even without deadly venom, I’m still more than capable of fighting off all of you!” He threatens.

“Face it, Arioch. You’re cornered and outnumbered. The only way you’re leaving this courtroom is in chains!” Leif exclaims as he and Vi get ready for a battle.

“You’re wrong. I still have one more trick up my sleeve.” He hisses, before digging into the rubble of the witness stand and retrieving an umbrella. “I had a copy of the weapon stored in the last bench, just in case it came to this. Even without the venom, this weapon is capable of killing if aimed well, and unlike Doctor Sain I don't miss.”

“Your threats don’t scare us anymore, Arioch! You’re going down!” Kabbu yells.

Arioch grimaces, looking around the courtroom and slowly backing away. His eyes land on the prosecutors bench and narrow. “Scarlet… you’ve completely failed me in every conceivable way. Consider yourself fired.” He hisses. That familiar pop, the opening of an umbrella, and a moment later Scarlet is on the ground, a metal bolt sticking out of his chest.

“SCARLET!” Kabbu yells.

“And now I will take my leave. I hope you fools can one day appreciate the work I put towards making this land lawful.” Arioch says, taking the moment of chaos to slam past several guards before leaving the courtroom.

Kabbu is torn, he can’t let Arioch escape, but Scarlet is injured! Even if he’s been helping Arioch this entire time, Kabbu can’t just leave him for dead. He takes several moments to decide, precious time wasted, before he hurries across the courtroom. Crime Scene Overseer K has also hurried over there, holding up Prosecutor Scarlet, with Mothiva kneeling beside the pink ant.

“Stop squirming, you idiot. I’m trying to help.” K huffs as he digs through his pockets for something to stop Scarlet’s bleeding.

“I… shouldn’t have accepted that pardon. I should have stayed in jail.” Scarlet whimpers, weakly grabbing onto the bolt and trying to pull it out.

K slaps Scarlet’s hands away. “You shouldn’t have done the crime to begin with… you should have just talked to me, or told me what you did. We could’ve talked things out.” K mutters.

“Would you have cared? Would it have made any difference if I had told you rather than keeping it a secret?” Scarlet asks.

“I don’t know. I want to think it would have.” K sighs, before looking up at everyone else. “What’re you all still doing here? I’ll make sure he doesn’t bleed out, go get Arioch!” The bullet ant yells.

Kabbu nods, and he, along with his teammates and Mothiva hurry in the direction that Arioch went in. With any luck, they still might be able to stop him before he escapes!

As they rush out of the courtroom, they find Maki already blocking the doors out of the building, blade drawn, with Arioch standing in front of him. “Out of the way, fool, or I’ll strike you down.” He hisses.

“That won’t be happening. As a member of the explorer’s association, and the Queen’s blade, it’s my job to keep Bugaria safe, and that can’t happen as long as you’re still free.” Maki says, before looking past Arioch at them. “Kabbu! Forgive me for my absence. I took far too long to arrive, and when I returned, the entire situation was explained to me by a guard in the hallway.” He explains.

Kabbu lets out a sigh of relief. Thank Venus, he *had* managed to stall long enough. “His venom isn’t strong enough to kill. If we all take him on, I’m certain we’ll be able to take him down!” Kabbu explains.

Arioch lets out a hiss, before turning and making a run for the stairs to the second floor of the courtroom.

Vi lets out a gasp. “He’s making a run for the open window on the second floor!” She yells.

Arioch doesn’t even manage to get to the stairs before another figure suddenly appears out of nowhere, knocking him backwards. “Your reign of terror is over, Arioch. You won’t go any further!” The bug in white says as the rest of them catch up.

“You’re surrounded, Arioch! There’s no point in resisting!” Kabbu says.

“I may be surrounded, but I won’t go down without a fight!” Arioch growls.

“Together, everyone! Let’s finish this!” Kabbu yells. He hasn’t actually fought in a life-or-death situation in years, but with his friends by his side he’s certain they’ll prevail!

…

The battle is long and grueling. If Team Snakemouth had known they were going to be battling the head of the BDL, they would have stocked up on food prior to coming into court today. After the dust settles, though, Arioch is on the ground unconscious, and everyone is still alive. Maki is quick to restrain the scorpion, and he and the remaining guards in the courtroom take Arioch away to be put in the highest security cell they have in the Rubber Prison. Kabbu wishes he had a moment to speak with Maki before he had to leave… but he knows he’ll see him again soon.

As Maki and the guards, and all of the bugs who had been watching the trial unfold leave the courtroom, Kabbu sees several bugs carrying away a thankfully still alive Scarlet. He lets out a sigh of relief as he watches them go out the doors of the courthouse. He’s alive, he survived the attack. Kabbu will have to visit him in the hospital sometime soon.

Kabbu’s snapped out of his thoughts by Mothiva clearing her throat. “Now that all of this is finally over… I wanted to thank you, Kabbu. I didn’t think getting out of all of this was possible, at least not without someone dying, but you managed to do it. I’ve never been more thankful for how stubborn the three of you are. You saved my life and Jaune’s as well. Thank you, for everything.” She says.

“Of course! We’re willing to do anything to help a bug in need, especially when that bug is a friend.” Kabbu smiles.

Mothiva smiles back for a moment, before crossing her arms. “I’ve wasted enough time in this courtroom for today, I’m going to go back to the Bee Kingdom and find Jaune and Zasp. We have a lot to catch up on.” She says, but just as she’s turning to leave, Jaune suddenly slams into her, hugging her and nearly knocking the two of them over. “Jaune! What’re you doing here?” Mothiva asks.

“We ran over as soon as we got news that the trial was over. Is everyone okay? How did it go?” Jaune asks.

“We’re a little beaten up, but everything went well! We proved Mothiva not guilty, and we managed to figure out who was behind all of this.” Kabbu explains.

“Thank goodness! Thank you so much, Team Snakemouth. I didn’t doubt you three for a minute!” Jaune smiles.

Vi glares at Mothiva and Jaune hugging from across with fury in her eyes. She’s still not happy about them being friends.

Zasp slowly walks up the group, greeting everyone with a ‘sup’, before turning to look at Vi. “Thanks for always helping out with investigations, pipsqueak. You’re a pretty good junior detective.” He says.

Vi’s glare momentarily fades away as she smiles. “You’re welcome! And I’m not just a pretty good junior detective, I’m the best junior detective there ever will be!” She exclaims.

Mothiva, Jaune, and Zasp are saying their goodbyes when the doors to the courtroom open. Kabbu looks over, only to see Dara and Doctor Path. Before Kabbu can say anything, the doctor rushes across the room and pulls Kabbu into a tight hug.

“Oh goodness! Hello, Doctor Path! Are you okay?” Kabbu asks, trying to get free of the doctor’s grip, which thankfully doesn’t take much strength.

Doctor Path’s face is stained with tears, and more tears are currently pouring out of their eyes. “I came straight here the second the guards told me what happened. I– I knew you would, I knew you’d prove her innocent! I knew the moment I handed you all that paperwork that you wouldn’t stop working until she was free!” The doctor cries.

Kabbu smiles. “There’s no need to thank me. I’m happy I was able to get a confession out of Arioch, I don’t know if I would have been able to prove it otherwise.” He says. He doesn’t have the guts to tell Doctor Path that proving Dara innocent wasn’t his main goal during the trial, that's not something anyone needs to know.

The doctor takes a moment to wipe the tears out of their eyes. “You’re a saint, Kabbu. I knew she was innocent, I knew it.” She continues. “They said they’ll just have to do some paperwork and then she’ll be free to go home.”

Dara smiles, looking down at Kabbu as Doctor Path continues to ramble. “Thank you, Kabbu.” She says.

Doctor Path and Dara leave once more, and Team Mothiva and Jaune follow close behind, leaving only the three explorers and the bug in white remaining, enjoying a moment of silence and peace after all of that chaos. It doesn’t last long, however, as the bug in white soon turns to leave. “I have spent more than enough time here… I’ve risked far too much by coming back, but I had a horrible feeling that you would need my help one last time.” She explains. “We’ve reached the end, and it’s time for me to leave.”

“Wait! Muse, we know it's you. Please don’t leave.” Leif pleads, taking a step toward her.

The bug in white freezes, before turning back to face them. “Please do not call me that… I… I’m not Muse… I don’t know who I am. It’s far too complicated to force you to deal with, and it’s better if I leave and we both let go of the past.” She says.

Leif is silent for a moment. “Even if you aren’t really her… we’d still like you to stay.” He says.

The bug in white is silent for even longer, before she sighs. “I… I won’t be the Muse you remember, so much has happened, so much has changed.” She says.

“That’s okay. We don’t expect things to ever return to the way they were eighty years ago, we don’t think we’re ready even if they could… but we’d still like for you to stay.” Leif continues.

She’s quiet for one final moment, before she nods. “I… I will stay, I’ll give it one more chance.” The bug in white says.

Just as the two moths finish talking, the doors to the courtroom open once again, and Queen Elizant approaches them. “Team Snakemouth, I apologize for how long it took for me to get out here, there was a lot of discussion amongst the Queens, and amongst the members of the public. I heard of the battle, I greatly apologize that my guards didn’t pursue Arioch as he fled. I’m going to be having a long talk with all of them.” She says.

“It’s fine, the six of us managed to take care of him without too many injuries. A quick trip to the doctor and some rest should be all we need.” Kabbu smiles.

“Thank goodness. I don’t know what I’d do if we lost anyone else to that monster.” Queen Elizant says, before looking back to the party. “Time after time, you’ve done so much for Bugaria. I… honestly have no clue how I could possibly thank the three of you enough for your actions.” Queen Elizant says.

“You could throw us another celebration.” Vi suggests.

The Queen smiles. “Yes… once the fallout of this situation has been properly dealt with, I think another celebration is in order.” She agrees. “And Kabbu… after seeing your actions during all of this, and your unwavering sense of justice for everyone… I believe I want to place you at the head of our next system of law. If every member of the law was as noble as you, this situation wouldn’t have ever happened.”

“I… will pass on that offer. I apologize, but I think I’m done with lawyering. I meant Leif’s trial to be my last.” Kabbu sighs, wilting slightly.

“No need for apologies, I completely understand.” Queen Elizant nods. “If you’ll excuse me, I have a lot of work to do, and the sooner I work on it, the sooner I may get forgiveness for my mother’s sins.” She says, before leaving the four of them.

“Welp, I’m ready to go home.” Vi announces after a brief moment of silence.

“We’re ready to go to the hospital… we got stung a lot.” Leif groans.

“It’s definitely time we leave this courthouse, hopefully for good. Let’s go home, team.” Kabbu says, before the group begin the walk home, finally bringing their latest adventure to an end.

—

Leif closes the book and looks up at the branches and leaves above him. “And after all of that, everything pretty much went back to normal. We may have gotten some of the details wrong, all of that happened around five years ago, and this book on the events was written just last year.” He explains.

The Usurpers Tree, having grown much larger since it was moved here by Kabbu at the beginning of their journey, gives no response.

“Vi’s wounds healed pretty quickly, and our blindness only lasted for a year. All that’s left now are scars, and a lot of stories.” Leif continues, before looking up at the sky. “We… might have spent too much time going into the little details. It’s getting late.” He says, collecting everything he brought and getting to his feet. The setting sun looms on the horizon, painting the sky a beautiful shade of orange. “We’ll be back soon with more stories.” Leif promises, before leaving the summit hills and making his way home.

Chapter Text

Doctor H.B., Her Lab in the Bee Kingdom:

The doctor was hard at work, hunched over a table and putting together the prototype for some new device but still willing to participate in an interview. Despite that, she was far too engrossed in her work to give any satisfactory responses. “The whole ordeal was a really big inconvenience, really. Disrupted my work, my assistant’s work, and caused a lot more stress than it was worth.” She huffs, before pausing. “But the closure was nice, after all these years.”

She shakes her head and promptly returned to working. “If you want to hear more about it, ask Crow. I’m too busy to waste more time on that whole fiasco.” When I mentioned that she wasn’t here, Dr. H.B. finally looked up from work and said: “Huh? Where’s Crow? She should be… She’s off distracting a bee kingdom guard, that’s where she is! CROW! Get back in here and get back to work!”

—

Jaune, Her Art Studio in the Bee Kingdom:

The famous artist was not available for a full interview, only being open to briefly talk in the doorway of her studio due to being in ‘the middle of a painting’. “I don’t have anything to comment, neither do Mothiva or Zasp.” She explained. “I’m glad all of its over and everyone is safe, but I’m honestly just excited to forget any of this happened.”

—

Detective Anagram, Visitation Center in the Rubber Prison:

He refused an interview several times before giving in and was extremely paranoid the entire time, constantly asking who I “really was”. He had nothing to say about the trial, but on the topic of the Rubber Prison security, he said: “It’s about time! The Kingdom’s of Bugaria have all sorts of money to spend on ace detectives and the law, but nothing on keeping people out of this damn prison!”

When asked what that meant, he said: “Oh, wouldn’t you like to know? You don’t fool me, Rivour Eugor! I can see through any disguise you wear!” Following this statement, he refused to give any other comments, other than the fact that he was miserable in prison.

T: Important note, the guard accompanying Anagram was grinning during the entire meeting. Refused to be interviewed.

—

Cece-Lia, Detention Center:

She was more than eager to participate in an interview, and talked extensively about how wonderful Bugaria was, but how she was starting to get a bit homesick and plans to return as soon as possible. When asked about her trial, she said “Both Revrek and I are eternally grateful for Kabbu! I don’t know what I would have done if it weren’t for his generosity!”

Unrelated to the questions ask, Cece-Lia asked: “Could you tell Kabbu you talked to me when you next see him? And that I could use his services one more.” When asked to elaborate, she said “I… unfortunately wandered somewhere I was not supposed to be during the Harvest Festival. They had the gates to that power plant wide open, and so few signs warning about the area! It wasn’t my fault, really! And I was so focused on the festivities, I didn’t even notice the guards telling me to turn away…”

—

Skech North & Madelyn (Refused to give a last name), Visitation Center in the Rubber Prison:

Despite agreeing to an interview at a specific time, the artist was taking another visit at that same time. The puffy-maned moth sharing the visiting room was seated in the single chair, sitting in a dramatic pose while Skech painted her. “I’ve been able to keep up with my art, with only some slight tool-restrictions. I do not think I deserve to be here, as some of the other bugs here do… but I am grateful that I will not be here long. And I am grateful that I am still able to see visitors.”

—

Queen Elizant, Ant Kingdom Palace:

Her Majesty of the Ant Kingdom gave a very concise response when asked about the entire series of events. “The Bugaria Department of Law will, for the most part, cease to exist, and what needs to remain will be integrated into the functioning of the Kingdoms of Bugaria. All of us are working tirelessly to repair the damages Arioch caused to our system of law, and to ensure that nothing like this happens again.”

When asked about the Eternal Substitute project, she connected me with the head of a project designed to investigate the project and identify as many people involved as possible. Currently a very small amount of progress, but has only recently started. Contact information is on a page at the bottom of this report.

—

Cenn & Pisci, Explorers Association:

The two were very excited to show off their genuine Explorer Permit, despite not being prompted to. Responded to very few questions, and instead they rambled about how happy the atmosphere around the Explorer’s Association is, and how happy they are to have been given another chance.

—

Dara Cavara & Path Oli, Ant Kingdom:

Her caretaker agreed to an interview, and gave a recounting on her release from prison that has already been covered in previous articles published by the Caelifera Newspaper Company. On the topic of the recently approved parole system, he started tearing up and said: “It’s just amazing to see, after so many years of working, to finally have some kind of result! And to have someone finally believe me afteryears of vouching for Dara, it’s such a relief that she’s free!“ After saying this, he burst into tears and hugged Dara Cavara, who gave him a pat on the head in response.

She had nothing to say on the matter.

—

Pommet Grant, Visitation Center in the Rubber Prison:

She barely let me ask any questions, and kept asking about how I was doing. Nothing of use in the interview transcript, but she said she was doing well, and was happy to hear we were doing better. When asked about the newly established parole system, she admitted to turning down an offer for a reduced sentence because she “has no interest in leaving”. When asked about the changes to security and her new visitation privileges, she laughed and said that the changes “hardly changes a thing”.

—

Gale Owens, Rubber Prison:

There was very limited time to talk to her, due to her being on break. She said: “I’m still getting used to taking all of these! Now that they’re picking up security there’s a ton more people working, and I don’t have to be up there all day. I even get weekends off now!” And when asked if there were any other notable changes to her job, she mentioned the installation of better guard rails on the crowsnest, and how she “hasn’t had a single close call getting blown off the crowsnest” since they were put in.

—

Crime Scene Overseer K, Bugaria Department of Law:

No longer working as a detective, and instead is working through the paperwork created by the Bugaria Department of Law so that it can be properly dissolved. On the topic of ex-Prosecutor Scarlet, he said: “They nulled his contract while he was still recovering, but were kind enough to give him a day out before locking him back up. And after some talks… I let him see our kids. We’ve made up, yeah? At least as much as you can make up with a murderer.”

When asked if he’d heard about ex-Prosecutor Scarlet’s disappearance prior to the continuation of his sentence, he said: “Have I heard what? They don’t know where he is? Well, that’s a shame… hope he’s happy and staying out of trouble, wherever he went.”

—

Astotheles, ???:

Agreed to an interview as long as no details about their hideout and its location were included. Was “happy to see me”, and talked about everything they’d been doing to stay off the radar and not get in any more trouble with any of the kingdoms.

T: Important note. Noticed a pink ant on my way out of the bandit’s hideout. Responded to my questions with: “How— I don’t know you. No, I don’t know who Kabbu is. Leave me alone! And don’t you dare write anything about me in your paper!”

—

Observing Mock Trial in Progress in Secondary Courtroom:

“Ha! What a fib, only an idiot defense attorney could come up with something so foolish!” Prosecutor Loki laughs, before jumping back as Captain Daxy slams a fist down on the table.

“That is not how a proper lawyer behaves in the courtroom. From the top, again.” Daxy hisses, earning a quick nod from the firefly.

When interviewed following the mock trial on the topic of his work overseeing Prosecutor Loki, he said: “It’s a pain, but it must be done. Bugaria needs half-decent prosecutors, and if I have to stay in the legal system for a few more years to ensure it has at least one, then so be it.” He went on to explain how the Prosecutorial Pardon Program was being repurposed to allow for Loki to continue his job and receive a reduced sentence as long as his behavior improved by the end of this year.

On the topic of his health, Captain Daxy said that he “should have died months ago” and voiced his displeasure that this is how he was spending his extra time, despite having no clear obligation or requirement to do this.

—

Muse, Ant Kingdom:

Has recently moved into a house near the Ant Kingdom Plaza. Sought me out and offered to participate in an interview for the article. “It’s been good being home, even if I don’t know if it really is home. Leif and his friends have made it a lot easier.” She said. When asked the entire series of events, she said: “I’m glad it’s over. This has been… my entire life, for years, and to be able to look back on it knowing it’s all over… It makes me excited for a new future, one without secrecy and paranoia and danger. After ninety years of service… I can finally move on to something new.”

—

T: Despite repeated efforts to arrange an interview with the former head of the former Bugarian Department of Law, and despite receiving approvals from all of the queens, was unable to speak to him. Prisoner guards said he refused to leave his cell for visitors center appointments. Sorry

H: No stress! You did the best you could. Good job on all the interviews, at this rate, you’re shaping up to be a better journalist than me! Keep up the good work, Term!