"Murder?" I said, "Of who?"
"I'm here to take Lilith away," replied Bob, "for the murder of Timothy Gates!"
"What!?" I exclaimed, "Please give me your reasoning."
"No," answered inquisitor Bob, "You just found out and I know you have no evidence right now. A cross-examination this early would be pointless."
That was when he left with Lilith.
"What do we do now?" asked Tom.
"We need to find the spot where Timothy was killed." I answered.
The four of us then headed to the spot where Timothy was crushed by a train.
"There's something wrong here," said Jason, "but I don't know what it is."
"Well, it's-" I started.
"What is it?" asked Harold.
"The body is missing!" I exclaimed.
"Are you sure that this is the right spot?" asked Tom.
"Yes," I answered, "the blood on the ground is clear."
"Why would the body have been moved?" asked Jason.
"I wish I knew." I answered.
"There is nothing that would suggest somebody moved the body," commented Harold, "but we know it disappeared somehow."
"Hmm… maybe there is a hidden door or something?" I suggested.
"I'll look under the train." said Jason, who then crawled under the nearby train.
"What the-!?" he exclaimed, "This doesn't feel like grass at all!"
"What is it?" I asked.
"It's a trapdoor." answered Jason
-Jason's POV-
I opened the trapdoor and there was a tunnel that went straight down. There was a ladder in the passage, so I climbed down the ladder. At the bottom was a short hallway that ended with a door. I ran toward the door and tried to open it, but it was locked.
"Dammit," I said to myself.
Then I noticed something on the ground. It was Timothy's magic rock thing.
"What the hell is this doing here?" I said to myself.
I picked it up and then ran back towards the ladder and climbed it. I crawled out from under the train and told my friends what I had found.
-Ron's POV-
"Hmmm… that's strange." I said, "While you were down there, we found Kevin's bow and a penny."
"That doesn't make any sense." commented Jason.
"That's why we're investigating." I answered.
It was at that moment that inquisitor Bob returned.
"You want me to tell you why we arrested Lilith right now, don't you?" he said.
"Well, we have been investigating." I responded.
"Very well." replied Bob, "All five of you guys were at the ruins of Dragon Fortress-" he started.
"Wait a second!" I shouted, "How would you know that?"
"The defendant was questioned," answered Bob, "this…"
"OBJECTION!" I shouted, "You're supposed to be telling me why you arrested her. The details about you questioning her can wait since you didn't talk to her until after you took her away!"
"Yes, well, let me continue." Bob responded, "Anyways, at the place where Timothy Gates was murdered, we found something interesting. There was something like a magic rock."
"But Lilith isn't the only spirit medium in our group!" I exclaimed, "she's not the only one that had one of those!"
"Well, we found something else that's interesting." replied Bob, "We found some fingerprints-"
"Dovacath knows about fingerprinting?" I responded.
"It was only discovered here recently," answered Bob, "those fingerprints we were on the victim's clothes."
"OBJECTION!" I shouted, "How would you know that? The body has disappeared!"
"What!?" exclaimed Bob.
"Go look and you'll see that it went missing." I said.
"Where could the body have gone?" he asked, sounding frustrated.
"I have an idea," I said, "there's one place that the body could have disappeared to!"
"Where is the location you're saying the body disappeared to?" asked Bob.
"There is a spot in the ground that is harder than grass." I answered, "That is because it is actually a trapdoor!"
"What the-!?" exclaimed Bob, "Why the hell would we have something like that in Dovacath!?"
"I have a theory," I answered, "it's possible that it was the work of Dragon Fortress."
"Oh?" responded Bob, "Do you have proof?"
"The fact that the fortress was set up in the forest is my proof!" I answered.
"That doesn't mean-"
"There are no other buildings in the Dovacath forest."
"You've gotta be-"
"It's quite simple. Somebody from Dragon Fortress was hiding in the shadows. Timothy got crushed by a train and not long after, this person put the body in the trapdoor.
"Alright, whatever." said Bob, "I gotta go do some work. The trial's tonight. Don't be late."
***
That night, I stood in the lobby of the Dovacath courthouse, mentally preparing myself for the trial that was to be held.
"Who wants to be on the bench with me?" I asked.
"I'll do it." answered Jason, "Besides, we've both been at the bench together before."
"I'd do it," said Tom, "but I prefer… other things."
"Jason, let's go," I said, "the trial is going to start soon."
"Okay," he answered, "I remember what you said. We need to not have confidence!"
"Er, right…" was all I could say.
Eventually, we made our way to the courtroom and got in our spot. This time, the atmosphere felt much different. It felt like things would soon be much more intense and intimidating, much like the final boss to a video game.
"Court is now in session for the trial of Lilith Courtney." said the judge, who had just sat down in his chair, "Will the inquisitor give his opening statement?"
"Yes, milord." said inquisitor Bob, who had just arrived as well, "The accused is under suspicion of having murdered Timothy Gates."
"What was the murder weapon?" asked the judge.
"The murder weapon was a train." answered Bob.
"OBJECTION!" I shouted, "Where the heck would the defendant have gotten a train!?"
"The answer to that question will be revealed as the trial continues. Anyways, I've got reasons to suspect her." answered Bob.
"Tell us what your reasons are." demanded the judge.
"Yes, milord," answered the inquisitor, "we found something interesting on the victim's corpse – the defendant's fingerprints were on his clothes! We also found a magic rock at the scene of the crime."
"Didn't we already prove that it belonged to Timothy whose body also happened to disappear?" whispered Jason.
"Yes," I answered, "but I think we should wait for the right moment. That is when I'll repeat myself."
"Bob," said the judge, "call your first witness."
"Okay," answered inquisitor Bob, "I call Harold Hill to the stand."
Moments later, Harold stood still at the witness stand.
"Name and occupation." said Bob.
"Harold Hill," answered Harold, "I'm an archer… on a quest with my idiot friends."
"I-idiot friends…?" I muttered.
"He's talking about you." whispered Jason.
"Please testify about earlier today." requested Bob.
"Yes," responded Harold, "I was in the forest with my friends-" he started.
"Who were these 'friends' of yours?" I asked.
"Dammit, Ron!" said Harold, "You need to take your job seriously!"
"Yes, sir." I replied, feeling a little sad.
"Anyways," said Harold, "We were all at the ruins of Dragon Fortress. Soon, trains began to fall from the sky."
"What would be the cause of all these trains?" I asked.
"There was some strange white cartoon-like person saying 'I like trains' over and over again- "
"OBJECTION!" shouted the inquisitor, "No such person exists!"
"Yeah," I said, "don't be racist!"
"Ron!" exclaimed Jason, "What the hell!?"
"Oh, right." I said, "We're in the middle of a trial!"
"Anyways," said Jason who slammed his fists and his head against the desk at the same time, "there are a few other people that can back up Harold's claim about the figure!"
"OBJECTION!" shouted Bob, "Most of you aren't even from Dovacath. All of you could be lying!"
"OBJECTION!" I shouted, "The defendant IS from Dovacath!"
"OBJECTION!" responded Bob, "Even she could be lying!"
"OBJECTION!" I shouted again, "You said a few trials ago that people that worked in Dragon Fortress are trustworthy! Are you going to refute your own claim?"
"Ugh," said Bob, "how about the witness just continue his testimony?"
"Alright," said Harold, "Ron reported to us that he saw Timothy get crushed to death by a train-"
"Who is this 'Ron' person!?" I asked, banging my fists on the desk in front of me.
"Goddammit, Ron!" exclaimed Ron, "Anyways, after you reported to us that you saw Timothy get crushed by a train, we followed you to where you saw the incident happen and that's where we saw it. That's all that happened."
"OBJECTION!" I shouted, "Did you forget already?"
"Forget what?" asked Harold.
"When we arrived, the body was missing!" I replied.
"OBJECTION!" shouted Bob, "Our forensics team has reported that they found fingerprints on the body!"
"OBJECTION!" I responded, "I was gone for not that long! How the hell would they have had the time… unless they were the ones to move the body!"
"Nggh!" exclaimed Bob, "That's not possible! They… would never lie."
"Did they or did they not look at the body!?" I shouted.
"Ron," said Jason, "just think about it. If the body is missing, how did they hide the body?"
"Hmm… wait. I was totally pulling that out of my ass," I said, "but what if… that's what really happened?"
"Well?" said Jason.
"If they got the fingerprints from Timothy's clothing, they must have found the body at some point." I said
"What are you suggesting, defender?" asked Bob.
"That the forensics team took and hid the body!" I answered.
"OBJECTION!" shouted Bob, "Where the hell would they have hidden the body!?"
"Have you forgotten already?" I asked, "There was a trapdoor under that train. It leads to a secret hallway that ends with a locked door. Since it's in the woods, that means only the workers at Dragon Fortress would be mostly likely to have the key. Therefore, the forensics team has been working with Dragon Fortress!"
"How!?" exclaimed Bob, "Very well then. Guess I'll have to change my attack."
"A-attack?" commented Jason.
"You've drawn your sword," said Bob, "but is it sharp enough?"
"You're the only one participating that um… actually has a sword." I commented.
"It's a figure of speech, you moron!" exclaimed Bob.
"More… on what? …Oh! You're saying I'm dumb!" I responded.
"Ron, did you take dumb pills or something?" asked Jason.
"No, I don't think I did." I said.
"Enough!" said Bob, "You've just shown me how dull your blade truly is. Moving on, it's about time that I called my next witness!"
"Yes," said the judge, "but first, how about a recess to prepare?"
"There's no need." said Bob, "They should be coming to the stand shortly."
Less than a minute later, there was a young man at the witness stand. He had short light light blue hair and silver eyes.
"Okay… I'm sure you know what we require of you." said Bob, "but I'll say it because it's a part of my job. Who are you and what do you do?"
"My name is Elijah Tolbert and I work at Dragon Fortress." answered the witness.
"Alright then." said Bob, "Now, tell us… what happened."
"Yes." replied Elijah, "I was talking a walk in the woods."
"Why were you taking a walk in the woods?" I asked.
"Why do you even care?" responded Elijah, "It's not like I had much else to do anyways with how Dragon Fortress had been destroyed. After a little while, trains started falling from the sky and I saw the defendant summoning them."
"HOLD IT!" I shouted, "Isn't she your boss?"
"OBJECTION!" responded the witness, "Even so, she has committed crimes that I can't forgive."
"You are a wonderful person," commented the judge, "please continue your testimony."
"I don't know about that…" Jason muttered.
"Okay," said Elijah, "I also saw those two defenders."
"HOLD-" I started.
"Ron, you know who he's talking about." said Jason, "There's no need to go through all of that again."
"They were doing good for Dovacath," continued Elijah, "they worked hard fighting the accused."
"OBJECTION!" I shouted, "We weren't fighting Lilith!"
"…Meh, who cares what you were really doing?" responded Elijah, "Anyways, that's pretty much everything. There was nothing unusual."
"OBJECTION!" I responded, "When I investigated, I noticed something strange!"
"Defender," said Bob, "what exactly is strange?"
"There were two interesting items found at the site of Timothy's death," I answered, "a penny and a bow."
"What's wrong with that?" asked Bob.
"They were belongings of people in our party that are no longer in this world! The bow is Kevin Brinkerhoff's and the penny belonged to Eric Duck!"
"OBJECTION!" shouted Bob, "You can't prove where that penny came from. You probably just took it out of your own pocket!"
"OBJECTION!" I shouted, "There's something interesting about this penny… something that would suggest it was never in my pocket."
"Alright," said Bob, "what's so 'interesting' about the coin?"
"It's covered in dirt and it's wet." I answered, "That means it has been on the ground for a while. Oh, and my pockets are very dry!"
"Nggh!" exclaimed Bob, "So what if these items actually belong to your friends? Everything you've just proven is meaningless!"
"Yes," commented the judge, "none of it seems to have anything to do with the case."
"Crap," I said to myself.
"Ron," said Jason, "it must mean something! I don't know what it is, but you might be able to figure it out."
"Um," I said, "I think… maybe… just maybe… I might know? Um… OBJECTION!?"
"What?" responded Bob, "What the hell could you be objecting to?"
"Your logic." I said, "Because the victim… is not actually dead!"
"What the hell!?" exclaimed Bob.
"Ron," said Jason, "have you gone insane!?"
"No," I answered, "I did that last month. Anyways, just think about it. Timothy's body just disappeared."
"Yes," responded Jason, "but what about that other evidence? Y'know, the bow and the penny."
"It's simple," I said, "they were found at the scene of the crime because Eric and Kevin never actually died!"
"That doesn't make any sense!" exclaimed Jason.
"Remember what Jon said," I answered," when somebody in this world dies, they return to the 'real world'. Does that make sense?"
"Are you really saying that none of our friends have died!?" responded Jason.
"Yes," I answered.
"OBJECTION!" shouted Bob, "This is just a bunch of bull! You know damn well that blood was discovered at the crime scene! How do you explain that!?"
"Guess your theory doesn't work out." said Jason.
"No," I said, "it's too early to say it isn't the truth."
"W-what?" responded Bob.
"Listen," I said, "if you have proof that I'm wrong, just present it! Get the blood at the crime scene analyzed. If it's fake, that means my claim is true!"
"…Fine." said Bob, "We'll get the blood tested."
We waited several minutes for the results and when got them, the atmosphere totally changed. The courtroom was silent as Bob looked at the results and then after reading them out loud, the result was chaos.
"What the-!?" exclaimed Bob, "It's just paint! Why… this is making my head hurt!"
Suddenly, Bob fell to the ground.
"I guess I have no choice but to call a recess." responded the judge, "We can't continue with out an inquisitor."
"HOLD IT!" shouted somebody in the gallery.
"Who was that!?" exclaimed the judge.
"I was the one that told you to 'hold it', sir." said Tom as he walked down toward Bob's bench, "The trial will continue… with myself as the inquisitor!"
As soon as he got to the inquisitor's bench, he rolled Bob's body over.
"Witness," said Tom, "how about another testimony? I'm sure there's more you've yet to tell us."
"But… I'm pretty sure I said everything." said Elijah.
"Hey… I just realized something." I said, "You were pretty quiet when I went on about the victims not actually being dead."
"That's because it was so idiotic that I didn't want to get involved." responded Elijah.
"How about this?" suggested Tom, "How about telling us what you think of what the defender has claimed...?"
"The defender's claim doesn't have a shred of truth. How could those victims still be alive?" responded Elijah.
"Then, do you know where the bodies are?" I asked.
"They should be in police custody." he answered, "Anyways, as I said earlier, nothing was strange. The evidence you have presented is worthless. I saw what I saw. The defendant is the one responsible. You can't prove your theory to be true, can you?"
"OBJECTION!" I shouted, "The evidence… is far from worthless!"
"Ron," said Tom, "just how is your evidence useful at all?"
"I'll tell you." I said, "Earlier, it was proven that the blood was fake. It's also been revealed that there is a hidden passage underneath the train where the victim 'died'. I request that we check that hidden passage at the scene of the crime for fingerprints!"
"HOLD IT!" exclaimed Elijah, "Fingerprints? What are you talking about?"
"Why didn't he say anything earlier?" I said.
"Perhaps he's been playing dumb?" suggested Jason.
"Whatever the case," said Tom, "it does not matter. However, I do believe it would be a good idea to check the area for prints."
"But," said Elijah, "you're an inquisitor! Why are you helping the other side?"
"I don't care about which side of the courtroom I'm on," answered Tom, "I only want… the truth."
After that, we waited for the results and Tom spoke up as soon as we got them.
"Looks like they're done." said Tom, "We seem to have finger and shoe prints matching, well I'm pretty sure you know who."
"Impossible!" exclaimed Elijah as he fainted.
"Now to-" started Tom, who was interrupted by a train falling from the ceiling, which caused him to exclaim "What the!?"
Everybody except me and the rest of my team evacuated.
"Well, guys," I said, "it's time for one hell of a battle!"
Jason pulled out his sword, Harold pulled out his bow and the remaining spirit mediums prepared their magical items.
"Come, guys," I said, "it's finally time to close the book on this adventure!"