-Kevin's POV-
I thought it would be a normal day. Unfortunately, I was wrong. I headed for the gym at school, checking my surroundings. I was afraid that Ron would try to sneak up behind me… and startle me. Luckily, I made it to the gym undetected and as I put my backpack down, it happened.
"Surprise!" said Ron who had his hand on my right shoulder.
"Dang it!" I exclaimed, before sitting down.
Our teacher eventually forced all of us to play a game of Dodge-ball. I ended up losing a ball because it went into the hallway. I decided to go after it and as soon as I returned to the gym's doors, they were closed. I opened the door and what I saw on the other side was not the gym. All I saw was a forest and without thinking, I walked in.
The door closed behind me and disappeared. I ran through the forest and I eventually reached a town that went by the name Dovacath. It was there that I ran into Jason and some of my other friends from school, and there were also the ones that would arrive later. That was a about a couple days ago. I've been arrested on suspicion of shooting an inquisitor with an arrow. Though he wasn't my target, he totally deserved it!
-Ron's POV-
After the previous trial, we went back to the house and got some rest. Before we knew it, it was the day of Kevin's trial. I never thought I would be able to save him, because I never believed in myself. This time, I was to take the role of defense again since Jason didn't want to defend a second time.
I returned to the courthouse and was standing at the defense bench, along with Lilith. The room was quiet as we waited for Bob. After a few minutes, the inquisitor appeared on his side of the courtroom.
"Geez," I said, "how many physical hits can this guy take?"
"He seems to survive a lot of stuff," responded Lilith, "so some people call him the inquisitor that 'dies' a lot."
"Court is now in session for the trial of Kevin Brinkerhoff." said the judge, "Inquisitor Bob, your opening statement."
"The defense is going to die- I mean, lose." answered Bob.
"You can attempt murder at some other time, inquisitor." said the judge.
"Anyways," said Bob, ignoring the judge, "I am here to prove that it was Kevin Brinkerhoff that shot me with an arrow! Now, I am going to give testimony.
"OBJECTION!" I shouted, "You can't do that! There has to be an inquisitor-"
"Um, Ron," said Lilith, "our court isn't the same as your court."
"I know nothing about court in my own world!" I answered.
"What!?" she responded.
"I'm familiar with a different kind of… y'know, it doesn't really matter." I replied.
"If the defender is done being an idiot," said Bob, "I'd like to proceed to my testimony."
"Yes, inquisitor." said the judge, "You may begin now."
"Okay," said Bob, "I was taking on the role of inquisitor as usual and I ended up being shot in the chest with an arrow. The only archer in the courtroom was Kevin Brinkerhoff."
"OBJECTION!" I shouted, "There were other archers in the gallery. Kevin isn't the only archer in my group and I'm sure you guys remember that there were other people with bows!"
"Here I was thinking that I could rush to a verdict," said Bob, "but your foolishness just extends the trial!"
"How dare you accuse me of buying time!" I exclaimed, pointing at him.
"Weren't you taught it's not polite to point!?" exclaimed Bob.
"Shut up!" I exclaimed, "Anyways, don't ignore the contradiction I pointed out."
"The fact that someone like you is defending in trial is a contradiction on its own!" responded the inquisitor.
"ORDER!" exclaimed the judge, banging his gavel on his desk, "Settle down or I'll penalize you both!"
"Y-yes, sir!" I exclaimed.
"Understood, milord." said Bob.
"Ron, do you even know what you're doing?" asked Lilith.
"No!" I responded, "Back on topic… my contradiction! Shouldn't we be talking about that?"
"OBJECTION!" responded Bob, "It seems you want to make this trial last longer, even if it means being a complete idiot! Whatever… guess I'll just play along then. I'm going to call a witness."
"I'm probably going to lose," I then thought.
"Good to know that you have no confidence." commented Lilith.
"Wait- what!?" I exclaimed.
"I'm sorry," she responded, "am I troubling you?"
"No." I answered.
She was able to figure out what I was thinking. Either the expression on my face gave away what I was thinking or she really is able to read minds. If that was the case, that probably meant that she's a spirit medium too. I wasn't sure what having three mediums in my party would do for me, but at least one of them can actually channel the dead, unlike the rest.
"You're fine." I said.
"I'm going to call a man named Paul Hart." said the inquisitor.
"So he's prepared," I thought, "I guess it makes sense. I know Kevin was most likely the one that shot Bob, yet I decided to defend him anyways."
It wasn't much later when a witness showed up at the witness stand. He had a pretty average appearance, with short blonde hair and blue eyes.
"Witness, tell us your name and occupation." requested the inquisitor.
"Guh…" answered the witness.
"Anyways," said Bob, "this is Paul and I don't think he knows what he does."
"OBJECTION!" I shouted, "Why is he testifying if he doesn't seem to know anything!?"
"He doesn't remember what his job is," answered Bob, "but he remembers the incident clearly."
"That's… just great." I muttered.
"Mr. Hart, please tell us what you saw that day." said Bob.
"Guh… estoy hablanodo. Tengo que comprar cuarenta y dos gatos. Yo voy a ir la tienda. Estoy muy mal ahora mismo." answered Paul.
"Dammit!" exclaimed Bob, "Now we'll never know-"
"OBJECTION!" I exclaimed, "I know exactly what he said."
"What did he say?" asked Lilith.
"His testimony is about cats and has nothing to do with the incident at all!" I answered.
"Ugh." said the inquisitor, "Please provide an accurate testimony… in English!"
"Si," answered Paul, "Yo quiero cuarenta y dos gatos. Bob es muy estupido. Necesito un gato."
"OBJECTION!" I shouted, "You should have chosen a better witness!"
"What? What did he say!?" asked the inquisitor.
"Just call another witness!" I demanded.
"Seems your wish to make the trial drag on came true." commented inquisitor Bob, "Alright, I guess I have no choice but to call someone else. Samantha Matthews, please come to the stand."
It wasn't too much later when someone else appeared at the stand. Her appearance made her stand out a lot more than that weird guy from earlier. She had longer blonde hair but her eyes were the same color. When Bob spoke up, I could tell that he was frustrated.
��Witness! Name and occupation!" he demanded.
"I am Samantha Matthews and I work in the mines." answered the witness on the stand.
"OBJECTION!" I shouted, "It was you, wasn't it!?"
"You're just randomly accusing people, aren't you?" asked Lilith.
"Seems like a good strategy." I replied nervously.
"I-I didn't do anything!" exclaimed Samantha, "Please believe me!"
"You said you were a miner, but that was a lie!" I exclaimed, "You're actually an archer, aren't you!?"
"Yes-well, no… but, I mean I am an archer but I wasn't lying when I said that I worked in the mines."
"She just admitted it!" I shouted.
"No, she didn't." muttered Lilith, sounding disappointed in me.
"N-no, I didn't admit to anything!" exclaimed Samantha.
"OBJECTION!" I shouted.
"Shut up!" responded Samantha.
"The fact that you're an archer should be proof enough." I said.
"Are you retarded or something!?" exclaimed Samantha.
"Just ignore the defender," said Bob, "and please give us your testimony.
"Hey," I said, "I'm the one that has to cross-examine!"
"Then save your goddamn questions for the freaking cross-examination, okay!?" exclaimed Bob.
"I guess I'll… begin now." said Samantha.
"Okay, so… on the day of the incident, I was sitting in the gallery-" started Samantha.
"What were you even doing in the Dovacath courthouse?" I interrupted.
"I wanted to see somebody get sentenced to death," answered Samantha, "but someone keeps proving people innocent."
"OBJECTION!" I shouted, "Well, they WERE innocent."
"I know that," responded Samantha, "I was just hoping one of them would be guilty."
"Do you really think seeing someone sentenced to death is fascinating?" I asked.
"Yes." answered Samantha.
"I hope I never see this woman again after this trial," I thought.
"Well, she is a minor character." Lilith whispered.
"Anyways," said Samantha, "the guy who was a few seats away from me was the one that shot the inquisitor. The person was the defendant."
"How do you know it was the defendant?" I asked.
"I remember that face of his," answered Samantha, "he wasn't that far from me."
"And… did you see him do it?" I asked.
"Not the exact moment," replied Samantha, "I wasn't looking when the shot went out, but after everyone reacted, I looked over to where that guy was sitting. He had a bow in one hand and it was obvious he shot an arrow."
"So… what do you think of the testimony, defender?" asked Bob.
"It… seems fine to me." I said.
"What? No contradictions?" said Bob.
"Well… if it's the truth, it'd be hard to find contradictions." I said, "Anyways, there's always a reason for the presence or lack of contradictions."
"So… do you have anything to say?" asked Lilith.
"What can I say?" I responded, "I can't say I didn't want to believe it, but I think it's the truth."
"So… you've reached the same conclusion." said Lilith.
"Yeah, it was…" we both started in unison.
"The judge!" I said.
"…Kevin." said Lilith.
"I didn't do it, I swear!" the judge exclaimed.
"Are you serious?" asked Lilith.
"Nope!" I responded, "Anyways, there's only one person that it could be… it's Kevin, unfortunately."
"Are you giving up?" asked Bob.
"I wouldn't exactly call it giving up, but why should I keep going?" I said, "It's kinda obvious that it couldn't have been anyone but Kevin."
"Do you even feel like you've wasted your time?" asked Lilith.
"Isn't he your friend?" asked Bob.
"Yes, but whatever." I answered.
"So… you, the defender are suggesting that your client is actually guilty. Am I hearing this correctly!?" exclaimed Bob.
"This is one of the weirdest trials I've been in." commented the judge.
"Yes," I said, "Kevin is guilty."
"So… you are giving up." said Bob.
"I wouldn't call it that," I said, "it's just clear that you've won this time. It's not that big of a deal."
"If that's the case, I am now prepared to give my verdict." said the judge.
"Ron," said Lilith, "are you sure you want to stop here?"
"Yes, I'm certain." I answered.
"But you could just lie to get your friend out here… because he's your friend." said Lilith.
"Do you think I really want it to end this way?" I responded, "It's not that I want this; it needs to end this way."
"Just which is more important to you?" asked Lilith, "Your friends or revealing the truth no matter what it takes?"
"I think my actions should have answered that question already." I said, "Sometimes we have to do things we don't want to do or even break rules to do the things we need to do."
"If that's how you feel," said Lilith, "I won't stop you."
"This court finds the defendant, Kevin Brinkerhoff… guilty of shooting our inquisitor with an arrow." said the judge, "Everyone is dismissed and the defendant shall be executed. If you'd like to stay and watch, we won't stop you."
"Let's go," I whispered to Lilith.
"Are you really just going to let him die?" she asked.
"I've had to deal with a few others dying already," I answered, "he needs to pay for the sins he's committed in this world. Besides, he'll just wake up in my world later."
"Are you-" started Lilith.
"We need to go if we want to finish our quest." I interrupted.
"But Dragon Fortress-" she started.
"There's a lot we don't know about it. For example, who is in charge of everything." I replied.
As the courthouse began to empty, I left with what was left of my team, which had shrunk quite a bit since we had arrived in this crazy world. We were lucky to have Lilith join us. All of us headed into the forest, getting further away from Dovacath. It was filled with more dried-up blood than I remembered.