StarFox Fan Fiction ❯ Fire and Ice ❯ Chapter IV: Something's Wrong Here... ( Chapter 4 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
"Fay..." Miyu murmured. "Fay, wake up..."
From her position on Miyu's chest, Fay blinked slowly, and her eyes fluttered open. "Hmm? What?"
Miyu gently caressed Fay's cheek. "It's morning, girl," she said softly, smiling.
Fay looked around, seeing the sun's rays filter through the trees under which they were sleeping. "Hmm....I guess it is," she murmured back. She leaned up and gently kissed Miyu. Ever since they had escaped Panther, the bond between the two girls had strengthened and deepened to a point to be nigh unbreakable. Miyu tenderly stroked Fay's hair, smiling. "This isn't so bad, you know," she murmured. "I could get used to sleeping under trees."
"Fay--" Miyu said. "We can't run forever..."
Fay sighed. "We don't have to do anything, Miyu...things are good as they are. Let's not make any ripples..."
Miyu sat up, pushing Fay off of her. "You were the one who was--"
Fay cut her off curtly. "I know, dammit! But all I want to do is forget, Miyu! Not dredge the whole thing back up again."
"Please, Fay..." Miyu pleaded. "If not for you, do it for me."
Fay crossed her arms, pouting.
Miyu ducked her head the looked up at Fay, a coy look on her face. "Please?" she asked, her eyes wide in a puppy-dog look.
Fay giggled, then burst out laughing. "No fair!" she said, shoving Miyu back.
Miyu laughed. "I just want you to see reason, Fay," she said. "We have to do this, Fay. It's the only way we'll get any justice."
Fay sighed. "All right, Miyu. We'll go to court."
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"Panther, those are some pretty serious allegations against you. Have you anything to say?" asked the judge, a venerable husky.
Panther looked up, his amber eyes rimmed with tears. He looked over at Fay and Miyu, who recoiled visibly when their gaze met his. He only smiled gently, then looked back at the judge. "All I wanted was to help these two young girls. They were lost and confused, and I thought I could be a positive influence in their life," he said, nodding slowly.
Miyu nearly flew out of her chair and took a menacing step towards the black feline. "Bullshit! You have no shame at all, you heartless bastard!" she cried. Even though the lynx was only 14, she had the heart of someone much older. She had to, to protect the younger Fay from Panther. Fay was only 13, and what he had done to her had left her scarred, both physically and mentally.
The catman looked at Miyu, a mix of hurt and shock on his face. "Why do you say such things? I only want to provide for you and Fay, girl."
"You are the foulest--"
"You're out of order!" the judge snapped. "Take your seat."
"I will not!" Miyu hissed. "This bastard--"
"TAKE YOUR SEAT, Ms. Lynx!" the judge thundered.
Miyu blinked, tears beginning to form in her eyes. What was happening? Why was this going so wrong?
"This is wrong!" a voice in the back of the courtroom shouted. "Panther is cruel! Look at their scars!"
"We've seen them before," the judge said airily as Miyu and Fay began to show what damage had been done to them. "They could have been caused by anything. They're likely to be self-inflicted."
"Self-inflicted?" Now Miyu quickly glanced behind her to see to whom the voice belonged. A tan reynard wearing sunglasses had stood and shook a clenched fist at the judge. "Self-infli--Are you blind, Matthew?"
"Sit down, McCloud, or I will have you removed from this courtroom!"
"You listen to me, Matthew O'Hara. I don't know what you have against these girls, but so help me, if you do not call this trial fair, I will have you run off of Corneria!"
Judge O'Hara sighed, removing his glasses and rubbing his eyes. "You're making me do this, James," he murmured, then said in a louder voice, "Men, remove Mr. McCloud."
The two court bailiffs began to advance on McCloud, who resisted as they tried to escort him out of the courtroom. "No! This is wrong! Wrong, I tell you!" he shouted as he was dragged from the courtroom.
Several heads turned to watch as James was pulled from the courtroom. "This is all happening like the Fair One said," a hare stated.
"I know. I'm so glad that Judge O'Hara was able to speak to him and prevent a possible tragedy. How many people do you think that these two girls would backstab if no one had stopped them?" a wolf murmured.
"I have no idea," was the reply. "Oh! The judge is getting ready to pass his sentence."
Judge O'Hara had been conversing with the jury, and now he turned and addressed the court. "It is the consensus of this court that these two girls, Miyu Lynx and Fay Spaniel, be charged with falsifying information, giving false witness, lying under oath, and the attempted homicide of Panther Caluroso," Judge O'Hara intoned in an ominous voice. "That scar will never heal," Judge O'Hara murmured, as Panther absently scratched the scorched flesh on his cheek.
"That was in self-defense!" Miyu screamed. "He--he--" she couldn't finish her sentence, and broke down, sobbing. Fay pulled the lynx to her, gently stroking her hair and purring reassurances, even though they both knew they were hollow.
"Judge, perhaps you could pass a less harsh sentence," Panther murmured, smiling slightly. "It's obvious these girls are lost and confused. They do not need to be placed in juvenile detention, but in a place where they will be cared for. I wasn't the right person for the job," he said sadly. He moved closer, to place a hand on Fay's shoulder, but the white dog growled warningly, and Panther wisely withdrew his hand.
Judge O'Hara looked at the two girls, then at Panther, and sighed. "Very well. It is the ruling of this court that Miyu Lynx and Fay Spaniel be placed in foster care until the age of eighteen Cornerian years, at which time they will be granted legal adulthood and be given their freedom." The judge pounded his gavel on the podium, and Fay and Miyu were escorted out of the courtroom, still embracing each other. Both girls could feel the disapproving stares of the people boring into them, and could even hear snippets of whispered comments.
"What's wrong with you?"
"Panther wanted to take care of you, and you spat in his face!"
"You're evil, just like the Fair One said."
Fay could feel tears trickling down her cheeks, and could feel one of her shirtsleeves becoming wet from Miyu's silent crying, as well. 'Why?' Fay demanded. 'What have we ever done to be so mistreated? We don't deserve this!'
________________________________________________________________ _______

You and your hare-brained ideas!" Fay sobbed, hugging her knees to her chest. After the judge's ruling, Fay and Miyu had been escorted out of the courtroom, and they went to the tree in the park under which they spent most of their time.
Miyu tried to pull the spaniel to her, but she jerked away. "Please, Fay," Miyu pleaded. "Don't shut me out like this. It's all we could do, and we had to do something..."
"No, we didn't!" Fay snapped. "If we'd've just let things lie, then no one would have known about anything. But now that we went to court, the whole of Corneria knows, if not all of Lylat!"
Miyu tried again to pull the girl into an embrace, and this time, Fay grudgingly allowed herself to be enveloped in a comforting hug. "Shh, shh, Fay. We tried. It's all we could've done. Besides, who else do we need, anyway? We have each other; that's all that matters."
Fay gasped softly and looked up quickly, her sapphire eyes searching Miyu's violet ones. "Do you mean that?"
Miyu laughed softly. "Why wouldn't I?"
"Well....I just wouldn't want you to do anything that would get you made fun of..." Fay mumbled
Miyu laughed, looking down at Fay. "Girl, who would make fun of us that hasn't given us hell already? And besides, even if someone new tried to put us down, I wouldn't give two shits. I love you, Fay..." she murmured, her cheeks becoming a light shade of pink.
Fay smiled gently at Miyu, placing her hands on Miyu's cheeks. "I love you too, Miyu," she said. "I'm sorry about yelling at you earlier. Now I know that I have you, and that's all I need."
Miyu gently embraced Fay and whispered softly in her ear, "I'll always be here for you, Fay."