After that flash, I was standing behind a bench. After one scan, I realized where we were.
"Jason's gonna be pissed." was the only thing that went through my head.
"Hey, Ron!" came from next to me.
"Ack!!!" I exclaimed, "Lucas, don't do that that!"
"I honestly don't know what's going on." he said.
"Where did everyone go?" I asked.
"I don't know." answered Lucas.
Lucas and I stood still behind a defense bench. The prosecutor's bench on the other side of the room was empty. The witness stand and the judge's chair were also empty. The room was lit by candles and the walls were a light pink, while the benches were beige.
"Um, I think we're in court." I said.
"No, really!?" responded Lucas, sarcastically.
"Somebody," I said, "why are we here?"
A familiar gray cloud appeared at the judge's chair. Once it was gone, Sebastian was seated in that spot.
"What are you doing here!?" exclaimed Lucas.
"The next phase of the plan is about to begin." answered the demon butler.
"W-what plans!?" I exclaimed, "Just what are we talking about!?"
"The prosecutor will be arriving here shortly." he said, "Ron, you have been requested to defend."
"Okay… who am I…?" I started.
There was pause. I moved my eyes around the room and looked down at the floor.
"Are you going to do it or not?" asked a familiar female voice.
"Jean!" I responded, "What do you want!?"
My eyes focused on the bench that was on the other side of the room which happened to be occupied by Jean.
"You're-?" started Lucas.
Suddenly, we heard a loud sound: the sound of a gavel hitting Sebastian's desk. The room became silent for a few seconds after that.
"Court is now in session for the trial of Lilith Courtney." said Sebastian, "The prosecution may begin with their opening statement."
Lucas' fists were clenched, resting on the defense bench.
"I will prove that the accused killed Elijah Bonheur, Daniel Arbeit, Cameron Harlow, David Ross, and Dexter Breasher in room 508. It is not possible for anyone else to have done it."
"You may want to remember that statement." suggested Lucas.
"Don't tell me how to do my job!" I snapped.
"Calm down," he said, "you know my sister has defended in court before, right?"
"What's that have to do with anything?" I asked.
"Who do you think I'd rather follow in the footsteps of?" asked Lucas, "Lilith or Erica?"
"…! Oh, that's right." I responded, "So you defend too?"
"Yes," he said, "however, you're the one leading this case."
"Yeah, I've seen both of them in action." I said, "I'll never forget Erica's painful prosecuting."
"Now," said Lucas, "don't let me down."
Then we heard the gavel.
"Enough chatter." demanded Sebastian, "Miss Salvai, call your first witness."
"I'd like to call Charles Ainsley to the stand," she responded, "He has some important information to share."
Ten seconds later, he was at the stand.
"Witness, your name and-" started Sebastian.
He was interrupted by Jean banging her fist on her desk.
"Having the witness say his name would be pointless," she said, "I already said his name so we don't need to hear it again."
"I guess you have a point…" responded our judge, "Witness, just give us your testimony."
"So that one guy at the bench discovered the body-" started Charles.
"Hold it!" I exclaimed, "So who's this guy at the bench who disc-" I started.
"Objection!" interrupted Jean, "He's standing right next to you, Ron. Witness, continue."
"Anyways," said Charles, "at the scene we found a few things. There was a note, a knife, and a rock. The knife we found in Cameron's side had Lilith's prints on it."
"Wait a minute!" I interrupted, "Why am I only finding out about this now?"
"Well," said Charles, "I didn't get a chance to check the knife-"
"You've had plenty of time!" exclaimed Lucas.
"Objection!" responded Jean, "This is irrelevant."
"Objection sustained." replied Sebastian.
"Ungh!" reacted Lucas.
"I wonder if I should press further here", I thought to myself before banging my fists on my desk.
"About the rock," I said, "anything important about it?"
"Nope. Nothing." answered Charles.
"Hold on," I said, "something's not right."
"What are you getting at?" asked Jean.
"Have we all forgotten about the rock?" I asked.
"We know that it exists, Ron." answered Jean.
"That's not quite what I meant." I said, "Um, what's important is… the fingerprints."
The room went silent after what I said.
"The fingerprints on the rock belong to one Donovan Fortune," I said, "therefore, Lilith cannot be our only suspect!"
"Oh, I almost forgot about that." commented Charles.
"I take it you have an explanation, Miss Salvai?" asked Sebastian.
"Yes." answered Jean.
"Dammit." I said, "Can I be cool at least once in my life!?"
"Overruled." said Sebastian.
"Nngt." I responded.
"Desperate to find a scapegoat, Lilith found a random person and placed his prints on the rock while he was unconscious." said Jean.
"But Donovan was found in another room!" I exclaimed.
"He must have gotten up and moved to another room himself." suggested Jean.
"But wouldn't he have noticed the bodies!?" I exclaimed.
"It was dark." said Jean, "It would be really easy to miss a few bodies."
"Crap." I said, "Why do I feel so inexperienced today!?"
"OBJECTION!" shouted Lucas.
"Ack!!!" I exclaimed, "Not so loud, Lucas!!"
"Your voice is the one that concerns me right now." commented Sebastian.
"Now if everyone will shut up and listen," said Lucas, "I have something to say."
"This had better not be a waste of time." warned Jean.
"Earlier," said Lucas, "you said that Lilith had planted Donovan's prints on the rock."
"And?" responded Jean.
"If that's true, why didn't she plant someone else's prints on the knife!?" asked Lucas.
"Oh, I hadn't even thought about that." I said, "Today just isn't my day."
"And another thing," said Lucas, "I haven't seen a shred of evidence to back up your claim that she planted Donovan's prints on the rock!"
"By the way," I said, "if the rock was what killed everyone, why was the knife even used?"
"Obviously," said Jean, "to make sure everyone was dead."
"Objection!" I responded, "If that was the case, more of the victims would have been stabbed! The only conclusion that I can come to is that somebody is trying to frame Lucas."
"Are you done?" asked Jean.
"Uh, yeah?" I responded.
"And Lucas," she said, "the accused is your sister, correct?"
"Um… yes?" responded Lucas.
"How can we trust the words of a biased party?" asked Jean.
"Like you have any room to talk!" I said, "You're related to both of them!"
"Nngh." she responded, "So… you're not as dumb as you look…"
"Oh gee, thanks." I replied, angrily, "Anyways, going by that logic, everyone here is biased!"
"Not that it really matters in the end," said Jean, "Lucas will be the most biased one anyways."
"Will you just stop?" I said.
"I'll stop when I feel like it." responded Jean, "Now, I will call my next witness."
"I'm afraid of what's going to happen next." was all I could say in response.