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Joella sat quietly in the back of the room in tears. She couldn't understand why all of this was happening. Her mothers had tried to make everyone happy. They shouldn't even being tried at all. She couldn't understand why the Hunters had made war on them. If they couldn't get along, she reasoned that they ought to just stay away from each other and let them make Glendale.
Of course, she couldn't understand the concept that most of the people the witches had made "happy" were already happy when the witches transformed them. She didn't understand that practically none of the witches followers would have even associated with the witches, let alone followed them, if their minds hadn't been rewritten. The witches and their magic had committed great acts of evil, but since they disguise their actions as the reasonable thing to do, to Joella, she couldn't understand that. She couldn't understand the trial... and the one eyed Hunter had promised to defend her mothers... and then advocated killing everyone just as the mob did...
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"I think Marie was trying to point out the dangers of Linus's argument," Lawrence spoke, "not outright advocating the execution of those the witches took in."
"Yes," Marie-Eliza nodded, "but Joella didn't know that. By letting the children run rampant through the house, yard, and possibly even the town, their behavior was... well... like children. And with no concept of rules or order, a courtroom argument, which is very much tied to rules and order, a child like Joella that had no concept of rules and order, as something other then a means of oppression..."
"Another of the witches' lies," Maddex grumbled.
"...was rather in over her head," Marie continued, "it's largely why she continually tried to debate Linus while on the stand, and even afterward. But since that wasn't tolerated, Joella found herself more and more depressed..."
"If the witches hadn't spent all their time in an idiotic fantasy world..." Maddex growled.
"I know," Marie answered, "May I go on?"
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And if it weren't enough that her mothers were on trial, there was also the remains of the battle that had raged on the witches' grounds. Someone had moved those that were still alive inside the manor, where they were all in the state of unconscious sleep that Lark was in. She couldn't understand that. And then there were four Leomen that were left outside and laying by a fallen tree.
She noticed them when Vatican arrived with her. She rushed to them before anyone could catch her, only to find them dead. One male looked like he had been stabbed in the chest. Another looked like he'd been shot. The two females had been disemboweled. It made her sick and Vatican did the best he could to shield her eyes and move her toward the house.
And now she sat listening to an argument that would decide her mother's fate, and she could not even defend them. She couldn't understand it. Why the hunters fought her mothers. Why her mothers refused to try and tell the hunters that they meant no harm and only sought to make everyone happy. Why no one could just get along with one another... and a good part of her did not want to remain here, as to her, it seemed all too gloomy...
"Thank you for your words, Sister Cruz," Dr. Azrael spoke, "The prosecution is now free..."
"Excuse me," came Joella's voice from the back of the courtroom.
Azrael looked down as Joella came forward and approached him.
"This is unorthodox," Dr. Azrael spoke as she approached.
"What does that mean?"
"Against the rules," Dr. Azrael answered.
"I don't mean to..." Joella said slowly, "but this is all so sad... and... and... I don't want to die."
"Everyone dies eventually," Azrael commented, "that is a fact of life. Your time though, is a long time from now, I believe."
"I don't want to be killed," Joella spoke.
"You won't be," Marie spoke from the defendant's table.
"But you said that was what you had to do," Joella countered.
"Young one," Dr. Azrael spoke as he wanted to avoid another distracting argument, "what motion are you proposing to this Court?"
"I do not wish to stay here," Joella spoke, "it is sad and... I do not want to be brought into it."
"You are free to go," Dr. Azrael told her, "You did not need to..."
"I would like to say goodbye to my mothers," Joella spoke.
"DON'T..."
One look up silenced Golgotha's protest.
"Go on then, young one," Dr. Azrael spoke, "we recess for a short goodbye."
"We aren't your mothers," Golgotha said firmly as Joella approached, "we are better then that. We are your friends. Your BEST friends, and we will always protect you."
"Isn't that what a mother does though?" Joella asked innocently, tears going down her cheeks, "protects and loves her children?"
"Mothers always die before children," Golgotha answered, "it's better that everyone be children, and then they'll live forever together."
Joella only hugged her in response, "I love you, mother Goldwyn... and I hope that you will be free."
Golgotha found herself unable to answer. Joella, meanwhile moved on to Gaal.
"We will be free," Gaal promised, "the Dogs and their stupidity will fail and we will take our righteous revenge and everyone will be free."
"Please, no more fighting," Joella pleaded, "For me. If they free you, please try to get along. There has been too much fighting, and that is what I hate."
"But the dogs..."
"I don't like the fighting," Joella answered, "Mother Goldwyn and Ms. Cruz have a lot in common... shouldn't that mean you CAN get along peacefully?"
Gaal looked own at her somewhat confused. While Marie Cruz did lack one eye, the skin on her face was still largely healthy didn't look all that bad. Golgotha, by comparison, between birth defects, magic used to heal them, the brief fight with the Lupman, and then the attempt to use magic to heal those wounds, which only backfired on Golgotha, did not have that sort of appearance. The skin on the side of the face where her eye was missing had practically nothing underneath it in the way of fat or muscle, and clung to her facial bones tightly, combined with the loss of her eyelids as well as her eye, that side of Golgotha's face looked very much like a skull. Any similarity between Golgotha and Marie Cruz was only tangential at best.
"Joella," Gaal began.
"Please, Mother Gita," Joella answered, "Please try to get along. No more fighting."
Gaal looked down at her and sighed.
"Okay," Gaal sighed, unable to resist anything Joella wanted.
Joella again hugged her respective parent.
Gomorrah wanted to say something defiant as Joella approached her, but seeing Joella's tears, she found she couldn't go that route.
"The Dog seems to be determined to defend us," Gomorrah spoke, "Perhaps she has seen the light that we are the heroes here."
That didn't really help Joella a lot, mostly because she couldn't understand the argument.
"I hope so," Joella said simply and hugged Gomorrah.
"Everything will be fine," Gomorrah told her.
"I hope so," Joella spoke as she stepped away, "I know you never preferred the term "mother" but... I will always see you as loving mothers who seek to protect me. And know that I will always love you."
There was no response.
"Good-bye mothers," Joella whimpered and then moved off.
Marie turned to Vatican who was crouched as low as he could get.
"You'll stay with her, old friend?" Marie half asked.
Vatican nodded and lead Joella out. Once she had departed the trial proceeded.
"The prosecution is free to make a statement and either call its next witness or call a new witness," Dr. Azrael spoke.
"Thank you," Linus answered, "I do not advocate sliding down any slope and to make mistakes. My argument and points are only with these three here. No one else."
Linus then sighed, "they have committed crimes against everyone and everything, and their victims fought with the intention of killing their opponents or at least allowing their familiars to transform those who came to free the ones they enslaved. The facts of the battle demonstrate their corruptive capabilities of others. I know not what medical procedure that Sister Cruz has learned that will sever their connection to their magic, but by association of her own argument... that represents its own slippery slope. Their familiars are able to draw on their magic. Even if they can not control it themselves, an enslaved familiar could still tap into it, and that would be well within the laws of magic. By extension of Sister Cruz's own argument, should we merely sever the witches' connection to their magic, we would need to do the same to EVERY child that was in their care with the exception of Joella, who apparently isn't/wasn't a familiar. And without full knowledge of the procedure, that could be just as dangerous."
Linus then moved into the center of the courtroom, "If my argument represents a slippery slope, then it will then fall to us to create a better world after this trial. Provide those with the education needed to understand what is appropriate and what is an inappropriate use of the argument. I have no delusions that what will come after this will be difficult. But the facts of THIS case are still clear. THESE three are dangerous, either through their own magic, or through those they have enslaved to their will, and the evidence of this comes from the witches' own words."
Linus motioned to Katherine, who carried a small leather book toward Dr. Azrael. Azrael noticed two sets of bookmarks in the book. They were mostly scraps of paper with the either the letters "MC" or "LS" on them.
"From the witches' journal," Linus spoke.
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Present Day
As the shifts began to switch again back from the day shift to the night shift again, those in the recovery area relaxed comfortably watching some late night program on the television. The volume was on low enough that a human wouldn't hear it easily, but the rounded ears of the Leomen and the triangular ears of the Lupmen easily heard it.
The television was not the first thing on everyone's mind though.
"Where did Pearl go?" wolf Megan wondered as she looked around.
That raised some surprise as no one had expected Megan to ask that question. Some might have expected to as if Lawrence was back, but not Pearl.
"She probably took Zelipe to bed, why do you ask?" Zack answered from his bed.
"She'd seemed determined to lack after you four," Megan answered, trying to sit up, "and well, she and I have been paired together on hunts a lot... so I'd think we're good friends."
"When she's not plotting something against Jensen," Ashley quipped, mostly to be teasing.
"She only did that twice," Zack answered, "and you both know that Jensen holds no grudge."
"Shouldn't he view that as treason?" lioness Megan asked from her bed next to wolf Megan.
"He could," Zack nodded, "but we've been friends since we were pups. Neither of us really wants to see the other hurt..."
"But why plot against him?" lioness Megan asked, "if you're such good friends?"
"The plotting has been Pearl's doing," Zack admitted, "My challenges have been through the stand wrestling matches."
"But WHY?"
"Some of it is what has been expected of me," Zack admitted, "It's a long history. The Pack's Alphas have either run through Jensen's family line going back to Nil-John and in my family line going back to Alpha-Ross... but a good part of it is that I think I've had some good ideas for the Pack."
Zack then paused for a moment, "but NONE of that has any real animosity against Jensen. He is my friend. If I had won the rank, I would expect him to stay with the Pack, just as he has expected me to stay."
"Sounds like something that would kill friendships," lioness Megan commented.
"It hasn't," Zack answered, "Jensen and I have talked a lot about things that affect the Pack. My challenges, and Pearl's ideas are nothing personal against Jensen. We would be friends, no matter WHO is the Alpha."
"There are times when I just don't understand you Lupmen," lioness Megan sighed.
"A lot of what we do is complicated," Zack commented, "although I'd tend to think that helps keep us mentally sharp..."
"Crossword puzzles would be easier," lioness Megan told him.
"Possibly," Zack only shrugged.
"Jensen bares no ill-will against Pearl," Julie commented as she and Darla had finished their hug with Fran and let Fran go off to bed while they took over the night shift, "and neither does he bare any grudge against you."
Darla nodded beside her sister.
"And as I was trying to explain, my challenges were not because of any ill-will toward Jensen," Zack told the two Betas, "it was for the Pack, not against my friend."