In The End (a PeteZahHutt fanfiction)

Chapter 14

The song for this chapter is "Gold" by Imagine Dragons. Up for a spot of backstory, anyone? ;)

~Flashback~

"Mod A'Free, you stand accused of trafficking survival world items and reckless endangerment of a hub world." The following uproar drowned out what the judge said next. He looked distinctly annoyed as he banged his gavel on his desk. "Order!" He yelled, glaring over his glasses at the court room.

Once silence was restored the judge pushed the emergency trial along, calling for the prosecution to begin. Evidence had to be presented before it was destroyed, after all. The sword in question was brought forward and presented for inspection. Anyone with experience enchanting could tell there was something non-vanilla about the blade. A court recognized weapons expert examined it and stated as much for the record.

After the hard evidence was presented, witnesses were brought forward. I swallowed a sudden lump in my throat as I heard my name called. Kara gave me a reassuring smile as I stiffly stood. I was acutely aware of everyone's eyes on me as I walked to the bench. I glanced at Mod as I passed him; he had a hurt expression on his face. Did he honestly expect me not to report him when he refused to take the sword back? He could have gotten this world destroyed.

I tore my eyes away from the kid and focused on keeping my hands from shaking as I was sworn in. Questions started simply then moved to the situation at hand. "You stated earlier that you spoke to the defendant this morning. Could you relate the nature of that discussion for the court?" The prosecutor prompted.

This was it. I nodded and cleared my throat. "We talked about adventures, and he mentioned that he'd just come back from one. As he described the world, I noticed his sword. It was well made, and I asked if he'd commissioned it or made it himself. He proudly revealed that he'd made it, partially drawing it to show me the design inlaid on the blade. I recognized the non-vanilla enchantments right away and called him out on them. I told him to take it back to the world it came from before something happened. When he laughed and brushed me off, I knew I had to call it in..." I trailed off, catching sight of Mod's eyes boring into me.

The prosecutor recaptured my attention when he asked, "Can you confirm for the court that the sword before us now is the sword Mod admitted to making and had on his person at the time of your discussion?"

"Yes, it is."

The defense asked me a few questions as well, but I couldn't tell you what any of them were afterwards. My head was swimming. Just this morning I'd had plans to do a parkour course with Preston before heading back to my pixelmon base. Then I ran into Mod and got wrapped up in this case. I didn't realize just how quickly the Guild's legal board moved when there was an offworld item case. I mean, it makes sense. They can't keep that sword here for months until a full trial with the city's court. That thing needs to go, like now.

I snapped back to reality when the judge's gavel fell again, announcing a brief recess while the six person board deliberated. Mod was led out to a holding area, and the rest of us rose and stretched. I wanted to get some fresh air and started to head for the door with Kara when Jerome and Kenny stepped out of a row to block our path. "Yo, Pete!" Jerome said, crushing me in a bacca hug before I could get away.

Kara and Kenny laughed as I struggled. Finally Kenny stopped long enough to add, "You did great up there, Pete."

"Hehe, thanks," I said when Jerome released me. We all walked to the exit and were met by the rest of the gang. They must not have made it before the doors closed. Once the court—whether Guild or city—was in session, no one was allowed in. "Hey guys."

"Petey!" Preston shouted. "What happened to parkour? Did you get accused of being a hacker in Money Wars again?"

"No, man. He's a witness," Kenny explained.

"Wait, seriously?" Vikk asked, equal parts curiosity and concern. "What did we miss?"

I didn't feel up to telling the story a second time, but Jerome enthusiastically took over, embellishing events only slightly. I snorted when he made it sound like I had to fight Mod into submission before the guards got there. My friends were grinning too but let the bacca tell his tale.

All too soon came the call to return to the courtroom. This time all of my friends were able to squeeze inside. I felt a little better knowing they were nearby. Knowing I didn't have to go back up to the stand made me feel even better. Kara holding my hand almost made me forget why I was here.

"The board has found the defendant guilty of all charges." The words rang through the still air with finality. Murmurs rose at the pronouncement. For the first time since walking in, Mod's façade of confidence broke, and his face paled. "Mod is hereby sentenced to four years in the CubeCraft prison, eligible for parole in two years."

Mod was young—only a year or two into his Guild membership. This decision would hang over him for the rest of his life. I almost felt bad for him, but then I remembered how he'd reacted to my order to return the sword. He didn't believe he'd done anything wrong. I shook my head and thought, The rules are rules for a reason. Maybe this will straighten him out before he hurts himself or someone else.

Mod still looked shell-shocked as a guard started to lead him down the aisle towards the main door and a waiting prison transport. Mod's fearful eyes met mine, and suddenly they were filled with anger. "This is a mistake. You're going to regret this one day!" He said as he started struggling. A second guard came to help drag Mod past me and my friends. His eyes frantically flitted between faces, looking for sympathy and finding none. I averted my eyes when he turned to look back at me. "You'll be sorry!"

The door closed behind him and the guards soundlessly, and another guard stepped up to the evidence table to retrieve the contraband sword for disposal. The judge wearily rose and dismissed the board and audience. As people started filing out, gossiping quietly, uneasiness settled in the pit of my stomach. Did I do the right thing? Had there been a better way to handle this?

Kara noticed my uncharacteristic silence and guessed the reason. "Hey, it's over now. I'm proud of you, Brandon. You did the right thing," She said, leaning up to peck my cheek.

I forced a smile and wrapped an arm around her as we walked. My frown slowly returned as I thought, If I did the right thing, why do I feel like something's wrong?

~End Flashback~

For those that weren't able to make it out to Pete's pixelmon streams, just know that Mod is the reason Pete turned off his donations for a while and implemented the cheer system. Charge backs are not cool. (Pete cut most of that out of the vod when he posted it on youtube.) He was the closest thing to a villain I could find in any of Pete's series. xD

If anyone has suggestions on how to improve this chapter, please let me know. This was my first time writing a court scene. xP