Xyder Zephyr - POV;
"Please rise," the bailiff instructed, "Court is now in session. Presiding is the Honorable Judy Rudaia Drakon."
A woman entered, looking no older than thirty, before sitting at the bench as she stated, "Our duty today is to determine whether the defendant is guilty or not based on the facts and evidence provided in this case. The prosecution must prove the crime was committed and that it was perpetrated by the defendant. However, if this cannot be proven beyond reasonable doubt then the defendant shall be declared not guilty. Bailiff, what is today's case?"
"Your honour, today's case is The World Heirarchy versus Regulus Heir Xyder Zephyr."
"Is the prosecution ready?"
"Yes, your honour."
"Is the defense ready?"
"Yes, your honour," Naomi responded. Evelynn's knees shivered visibly from her fear and nervousness but Naomi on the other hand stood tall and proud, unfazed by her opponents.
"The prosecution may now present their case."
"Thank you, your honor. Mr. James Hinds was found dead in a storeroom in the underground carpark of the Oakhart Company Building on the evening of the recent Ball held to welcome and celebrate the performances of the Elemental Clans and there Reguluses. At the time, irrefutable evidence led the Fenix Police Force and the World Heirarchy's Elite Enforcers to perform an organised operation to arrest the primary suspect, Xyder Zephyr, immediately. The evidence is as follows. Mr. Hinds death was found to have occurred within the week of his discovery. His corpse was found bathed in a pool of his own blood. In a final effort to seek justice, he used the remaining ounce of his strength to write the name of his killer using his own blood. The letters? X, Y, D, E and R."
Gasps and murmers erupted from the audience as the prosecution displayed an image of the crime scene.
"There's no way," Evelynn, who sat beside me at the defense' bench, murmered.
"It's seems someone was definitely out to frame you," Naomi grunted.
"The prosecution would first like to call another witness to the stand however: the homicide detective who was first on the scene upon the precinct receiving reports."
A burly man took to the stand immediately. On his chest, he had pinned a badge which identified his place amongst the Police Force.
"Detective, please tell us what you saw."
"When I got to the scene, there was blood everywhere. I thought the crime was newly commited but the body had clearly been there for a day or two at the least, but no older than a week. Later tests proved that. The writing on the wall was one of the most apparent things, as were the deep gashes on the victim's body. We determined with a blood test that the blood around him and used to write the name were the victim's."
"Thank you for your input Detective," the Judge spoke once more, "Would the defence like to cross-examine the testimony?"
"Yes your honor," Naomi responded. She leaned back for a moment, chewing on her lips lightly as she seemed deep in thought. At this point I couldn't help but notice that her current attire lent her a truly unique and more mature aura compared to her usual labcoat. She had tied up her long hair neatly and was adorned in a well fitted suit... perhaps too well fitted.
"Detective, can you confirm what was written in blood exactly when you saw the scene?" Naomi asked.
"Yeah, it was X-Y-D-E-R. All in capitals."
"How do you know he wrote it?"
"Well the victim's hand was touching the end of the R when we found him. His finger was covered in blood which matched that of the writing and the width of the lines matched the width of the smear on his finger."
"What if someone used the victim's hand to write it?" she continued.
"Well... um..."
"Are you saying someone was trying to frame Xyder? Do you have evidence to suggest this or are you grasping for straws?" the prosecution inquired.
"I... do not," Naomi admitted.
"It seems this questioning is going nowhere. Is that all Ms. Ailani?" The judge pressed.
"One moment your honor," Naomi pleaded as she looked over his statements once more, "Detective, you said that you thought the crime was new. Why?"
"The blood looked fresh. It was still running and didn't appear to be drying very much but I was wrong. The crime was clearly old."
"I see," Naomi pondered, "Is there a reason for this?"
"I was probably just overthinking it."
"I see," she sighed, "I have no more questions."
"To move on," the prosecution continued as the detective left, "I'd like to draw your attention to these fatal wounds inflicted upon the victims. These claw marks are distinct and appear to be created by a demon. As I'm sure all of you are aware, Xyder Zephyr has shown quite openly that he has the capability to take on a demonic form as seen in these images and videos captured during the ongoing interclan tournaments."
This revelation was met with further uproar from those listening.
"Now here is where things get interesting because the prosecution would actually like to add more charges to Mr. Zephyr's list. As you all are aware, there were recent reports of an unexplained destruction to the edge of Fenix City in a largely abandoned region. There have been many various theories and speculations but we believe that we can link Xyder Zephyr to these incidents. Corpses of members of the Blaze Clan were discovered at the scene of the crime, murdered. Investigations then had uncovered numerous bite marks as well as fatal gash wounds on the victims. Analysis proved that these bites were undoutedly left by Demon Dogs and Hell Hounds, both of which were discovered on scene as well in the form of corpses. The gashes however have been proven to be demon claw marks, much like that of Mr. Hinds. The prosecution alleges that Xyder Zephyr was responsible for not only the murder of Mr. Hinds but the murder of those members of Blaze as well as the terrorist attack on Fenix City using his army of monstrous canines!"
Everyone exclaimed and loud speculation and conversation enveloped the room.
"Order in the court!"
"Thank you your honour," the prosecution nodded, "Mr. Zephyr has all motive to do so as well. As news has broken, this interclan tournament started due to a squabble between the Zephyr and Fenix Clans over ownership of a certain free region of land. Tension has grown between the clans following this, especially in the wake of the conflict between Regulus Seraphim Zephyr the Third and Regulus Horus Fenix. Mr. Xyder Zephyr thus has ample reason to resent and fight back against Fenix. He may have mistaken the members of the Blaze Clan who caught him in his terrorist acts to be members of Fenix, due to both clans utilising fire as their primary element. It's also possible he knew Blaze used to be part of Fenix long ago so he killed them anyway. We'd like to pursue these charges but before this however, we have brought a witness who says that they saw Mr. Zephyr near the location of Mr. Hinds' murder within the window in which Mr. Hinds could have been killed. Please take the stand."
A woman seeming to be an average, office worker stepped up.
"Please relay to the court what you have told us," the prosecution asked of her.
****
Jaya Ailani - POV;
"Come on, you said you would have had it ready last night! We're running out of time, the case is on!" Zeliel pestered me from behind as he peered over my shoulder at my computer as I worked.
"I know that's what I said and I'm working as fast as I can but the drive and it's data was screwed much worse than I originally thought. I finally managed to get it to boot but the data is scattered. I need time to salvage and rebuild it!" I insisted.
"Well how much longer do you need?! Time isn't something we have with us!"
"Oh shut up will you Sid! You're annoying as hell! I'm trying to concentrate!" I yelled.
"Wha- Oi just remember you're the little sister here! Keep that mouth and attitude and I'll wash it out with soap and toilet water," he spat.
"Wait.... wait I think... yes! I got it! Let me just check it's contents and-"
"No time!" my brother shouted, tucking me and my laptop under his arms.
"Hey! Stop thaaaaaaaaaaaaaat!" I squealed as he leapt out of the room and took to the air with spread wings.
****
Xyder Zephyr - POV;
"Her testimony and the detective's both seem perfect. I don't really see a chance to push back," Naomi mumbled as we sat outside the court in a waiting room while the court took a short recess.
"Were you really there Xyder?" Naomi inquired.
"I was definitely in the area at that time as she said but... I never went into the building that he was killed in," I answered.
"God damn it," she cursed under her breath just as Jaya and Zeliel practically burst through the door.
"I finished my analysis! I got what I could!" Jaya announced, passing her computer to her sister.
"Let me see what you got!" Naomi said excitedly, waking the device, "Hmm? What's this open tab down- OH MY GOD!"
"Kyaaaaaaaah!" Jaya exclaimed suddenly, slamming the screen shut as her face grew exponentially red.
"J-jaya! Once this is all over I'm going to have to have a talk with you about what I just saw. I can't believe you'd watch something like that," Naomi's voice quivered in a mixture of surprise, anger and disbelief.
"Can we just deal with the case for now?" Jaya whispered.
Naomi amd Jaya poured over what she had gathered in this time. The younger of the sisters explained, "So I ran multiple checks on the recordings we got from them and our hunch was true. After salvaging and rebuilding everything I could from the drive, I got these snippets and ran them through my new intensive analysis software. This is what I found!"
Naomi just nodded as she stared intently at what was going on.
"And look at these numbers on the corner."
"This is... No! This is our big break!" Naomi squealed, hugging her little sister tightly.
"Really?! Then can we forget about what you saw?"
"Nope. I'm going to grill you tonight," Naomi answered with a frightening smile.
As court resumed, we assumed our positions and the witness took the stand, Naomi began her cross-examination.
"So Miss, can you confirm once more that you saw Xyder in the area four days before the body was discovered?"
"I did."
"Thank you. Now I'm afraid that this information is completely irrelevant," Naomi declared.
Questions arose immediately from onlookers.
"Irrelevant? How so Ms. Ailani. It clearly indicates that Mr. Zephyr was in the area around the time that Mr. Hinds was murdered," the judge pressed.
"That's the thing, your honor... it doesn't. It indicates he was there yes, but not when the victim was killed. The defence is saying that Mr. Hinds was not killed during the week it was originally believed. Instead, he was killed much, much earlier," Naomi boomed.
The entire courthouse reeled from her bold claims.
"Tests were performed on the body. The death definitely took place around that time!" the prosecution argued angrily.
"The body could have been easily preserved to appear as such," she stated.
"That's a complete bluff!" the prosecution growled.
"Ms. Ailani, this is a very outlandish statement to make without any evidence," the judge muttered.
"If I may ask your honor," Naomi continued, "would you rather believe the time of death based on estimations by analysing a corpse that could have been tampered with and shows unusual signs such as the detective's point of the blood seeming unusually fresh for a murder that was a few days old... or would you rather believe it based on seeing that moment with your own eyes?"
"Well my own eyes of course," she answered, "But how will I see that?"
"Your honor, the defence has footage from a cctv camera on the premises that shows the moment Mr. Hinds was killed."
"That's a lie!" the prosecution bluted out, "We already did investigations into footage ourselves. During the week that Mr. Hinds was murdered, the Oakhart Company was experiencing technical difficulty. There was no footage showing much of the activity around the building in that period as a result. We even looked over footage from a few weeks before and leasing up to the incident but there was nothing of note."
"That's where you're wrong," Naomi grinned with hands on her hips, "Unlike the prosecution, the defense performed extensive analysis on the footage in the weeks leading up to the incident and what we discovered is startling. On the evening before the second match of the interclan tournament, the footage shown on the cameras showed irregularities. We discovered that the footage had been edited and looped, then the timestamps were altered across all of the cameras, almost as if there was an attempt to hide or cover up something that someone did not want to be seen. By sheer luck, the defence discovered this hard drive which is identical to those used by the company to store camera footage, however the device was in disrepair. Our skilled technician was able to repair and recover some of the footage. This is what you are about to witness."
The clips were shown before the courthouse and displayed vividly, the arrival of James Hinds' vehicle to the building and the moment he parked and left his vehicle in the park beneath. The male walked towards a far, isolated corner of the carpark before stoping and staring at his surroundings as if looking for winesses. Opening an old door to a store room he stepped inside. He looked around outside suspiciously before closkng the door. Moments later, a cloaked, dark figure emerged and in the dim light of the room behind him, James Hinds' dead body lay motionless, covered in blood.
"As you can see, this clearly shows the point at which Mr. Hinds was killed and ass you can see in the bottom corner, this is none other than the unedited, lost footage dated all the way back to the evening preceding the second match. This is Mr. Hinds true time of death so Xyder's presence in the area weeks later is irrelevant!" Naomi shouted, pointing her finger at the stunned prosecution.
"Well that doesn't prove anything! It just changes the time of death! Xyder simply killed him the night before the tournament," the prosecution reasoned, his voice shaking.
"Except that Xyder has a solid alibi, because at the time the murder was committed, Xyder was on the opposite side of Fenix City, in the slums where the supposed Terrorist act had occurred!" Naomi snapped, "This footage taken from a store in the shopping district of Fenix City clearly shows Xyder, his sister Evelynn and a third comrade headed towards the slums at five pm on that evening! We have a witness to confirm as well!"
The entire court went up in a chorus of shouts and conversations.
"Order! Order in the court! Bailiff! Have the evidence analysed! See if there is truth in these claims!"
****
An hour had passed before the bailiff returned with the results of their analysis. The court had been brought back to order by this time and everyone eagerly awaited what would be said.
"Your honor," the bailiff stated, "based on scrutiny from our professionals, we can confirm that the footage from Oakhart Company was indeed doctored and the video presented by the defense is indeed the original, unedited footage missing from it. The video from the shopping district has not been tampered with either. In addition, mages sent specially by the World Heirarchy had taken it upon themselves to examine the body of the victim and have sent word of their discoveries. It seems that some form of ancient, arcane, powerful magic was indeed used on the victim to preserve the body and slow the rate of decay. However, it seems that the spell is more effective in preservation of blood, hence why the blood at the scene appeared to be much fresher than the body itself. That is all your honour."
"Impossible," the prosecutor whimpered.
"Your honor, if we may bring our witness to the stand," Naomi muttered.
"By all means."
An old woman now stood before the court and began to speak, "I own an old café in the shopping district and that evening at a little past five, I remember seeing muscle boy there passing through while I was watering the plants outside the shop. He was with a handsome, dark lad and the green girl sitting over there. I remember overhearing green girl say something about going to the slums. I had to ask why and so I stopped them but muscle boy told her not to answer. She did end up asking how to get there though. I told them and they left towards the outskirts."
"Thank you witness. Let me just point out that you can actually see this interation in the video if you look to the right edge. You can just barely see the witness calling out to Xyder and company, though it's a bit far away from this angle," Naomi added.
The prosecution proceeded to question the witness but when they could not find contradiction with or new information from her testimony, they gave up on cross-examining her.
"If the prosecution cannot proceed then I believe this is a good point to call my verdict. I hereby declare that for the murder of James Hinds, the court finds the defendant, Xyder Zephyr, not guilty."
Naomi squealed in delight and literally pounced on top of me, hugging me tightly. I noticed Evelynn shooting me a sly grin in the corner, but I did my best to ignore her obvious fantasies.
"Do not celebrate too soon," the judge told us, twirling her hammer in her fingers, "I have just received word from the World Heirarchy that this trial will continue. New charges have been laid on your head Mr. Zephyr. Serial murder of numerous members of the Blaze Clan as well as coordinating a terrorist attack against Fenix City. The prosecution seems to have intended on raising these concerns so I'm sure they would not object. Oh and one more thing. Since the crime no longer involves a member of the World Heirarchy, the lawyer is not guilty of aiding in high treason and will not be punished regardless of the outcome."