Story (c) 2000-2004 by Hikaru Katayamma/Keith Dickinson. All rights reserved. The character Sheila Vixen (c) Eric W Schwartz. Throckmorton P Ruddygore, Poqua, Lakash (c) Jack L Chalker. Jack (c) David Hopkins.Mary the Mouse © Mary Minch. All other characters are (c) Hikaru Katayamma.  This story contains adult situations and language. By reading it the viewer agrees not to hold this or any other person responsible for any content they may find objectionable. If you don't like it, don't read it.

The courtroom was packed with spectators, reporters and numerous "important" people who were on hand to observe the spectacle. Zig Zag, dressed in a very conservative business suit dress, walked around the railing and took a seat on the witness stand.

"You realize that you're still under oath, Miss Zumbrwoski?" the judge asked, looking down at her from his bench on high.

"I do," she replied, nodding solemnly.

"Very well, then," the judge replied, nodding to the prosecution. "You may proceed."

From the prosecution's table, a young zebra stood and adjusted his jacket before approaching the defendant. "Miss Zumbrowski-oops, sorry. I mean, Zig Zag," he paused to shoot her a brief, friendly smile, "Why don't you tell me about the afternoon of the twelfth. The day when Bjorn Ottersman was killed."

The skunk took a deep breath and rocked her head for a moment before answering. "Well, there's not much to tell. Around four o'clock, we showed the week's highlights reels for the crew. We also baptized Arden, who was our newest employee, with a soaking of cornstarch, lemon lime soda and salt."

"Really?" The zebra's ears perked forwards as he leaned slightly forward, intent on her words. "And just what was the point of this little ritual?"

Zig Zag started to answer, but glanced at the jury box and hesitated. Several of the jurors were frowning at her and two had their arms crossed which was not a good sign. Being an actress meant knowing about body language, and she could tell this was going to be trouble. She let out a small sigh and smiled back up at the prosecutor. She'd never been ashamed of what she did and she'd be damned if she'd start now. "Whenever we have a new actor or actress join the crew, we show the best, um," she paused to think of an appropriate word, "climax scene for the week. Since Arden wasn't an actor, we had to settle for creating our own little climax scene, only using super soakers rather than the real thing."

The judge's gavel rang out amongst the hoots, barks and yips of laughter that filled the room. "Order! Order in the court!" Banging the gavel again, he scowled at the crowd. "One more outburst like that and I'll order the room cleared." He waited a moment for the background noise to fade then turned towards the young attorney. "You may proceed."

"Thank you, your honor." The young stallion turned back to the witness. "After the awards ceremony, what did you do then?"

"I took a shower."

"Alone?" the prosecutor prompted, leaning forward slightly.

"Well, no," Zig Zag replied, uncomfortable at what she knew was coming.

"And just who did you take a shower with?" he politely asked, a pleasant smile on his face.

"With Arden," the skunk replied in a low voice.

"I beg your pardon," the young man prompted, "but I don't think I heard you clearly. Would you mind repeating that loud enough for everyone to hear?"

Zig Zag pursed her lips and took a deep breath. "With Arden," she announced in a loud voice, which caused a small stir in the audience.

"I'll bet that was fun, wasn't it," the young man smirked, glancing over at the jury box. "All gooped up in a shower with a big hunky looking polar bear." He turned back towards her and smiled again. "So tell me, did you practice any scenes from your old shower videos?"

"No!"

"I object!" The gray cat that had been sitting silently at the defense table stood up. "We're not here to indulge the prosecution's fantasies."

"Objection sustained," the judge replied, watching the cat sit back down before turning to the zebra. "Please keep your questions on a professional level."

"Sorry, your honor." Turning back to Zig Zag he nodded. "All right then, how about you tell us just what did happen in that shower."

"Certainly," the actress replied with a smile. "We turned on the water, got wet, lathered each other up, washed that crap out of our fur, then rinsed off."

"Right," he replied, drawing the word out as he gave the jury box a wink. "You expect us to believe that you took a long, hot shower with what has been described by others in your studio as a…" he paused and returned to his desk where he checked his notes. "Ah, here it is. 'A real hunk of meat.' Does that sound familiar?"

"I believe I've heard Tammy use that phrase more than once," Zig Zag replied. "Of course, she says that about most men as tall as he is."

"I see," he replied, slowly strolling towards the witness box with his hands behind his back. "And you expect us to believe you, a woman who, by her own admission," he turned towards the jury and gave a satisfied smirk, "not to mention the record of all your movies…" Turning back to Zig Zag, he stopped and clicked his heals together as if standing at a relaxed form of attention. "You expect us to believe that nothing happened."

"Yes," the tiger stripped skunk replied, leaning towards the microphone. "That's exactly what I expect you to believe."

"Oh, come on, Miss Zumbrowsky. Admit it." He sidled up to the box and leaned one hand on the bar. "A hot guy like that in an equally hot shower? You can't seriously be suggesting that absolutely nothing went on."

"Objection," David, the defense attorney shouted once again as he stood up. "Your honor, he's badgering the witness. She's already testified that nothing happened."

"Sustained. That last part will be stricken from the record." The judge glowered down at the prosecutor. "I'm warning you, Mr. Abrams, you will keep this out of the gutter, or I will hold you in contempt."

The zebra shrugged in apparent innocence. "I'm truly sorry, your honor, but I just have trouble believing that any red blooded American male would be able to take a shower with the legendary Zig Zag without having something happen other than a thorough shampoo job."

Zig Zag crossed her arms and smiled. "Fine. I'll have the staff dump a couple of gallons of goop on you, then we'll see if you just want getting it out or not."

"No, thanks," he replied. "I have no wish to partake in your bizarre sexual rituals."

"Objection," the cat shouted as the judge banged his gavel.

"Council!" the judge shouted, again slamming the gavel. "This is your final warning. You will behave yourself or I'll hold you in contempt." He turned to Zig Zag. "And as for you, Miss Zumbrowski, you are here to give testimony, not to provoke the prosecution." Looking around the room, the judge quickly made sure that nobody was acting out. "The last will also be stricken from the records," he directed the stenographer. Turning back to the prosecutor, he frowned even deeper. "You're treading on thin ice, son. You may proceed---with caution."

"Yes sir," the young zebra replied. "All right, then," he said turning again towards Zig Zag, his hands behind him. "What happened after you and Arden were done cleaning up?"

Uncrossing her arms, Zig Zag resumed a more professional appearance. "Well, after drying off and getting dressed, we split up. I needed to get a few things from my office and Arden went looking for Sheila."

"And?" the prosecutor prompted.

"And, when I got to the front of the building, he hadn't found her. The log book showed that she and Bjorn had left at 11:30 but had never checked back in." She looked down as she remembered the events, her ears wilting slightly. "Arden checked the parking lot and found Sheila's car was still there."

"What happened next?" the young stallion prompted.

Zig Zag swallowed a couple of times to try and clear the lump in her throat. "Arden and I came to the conclusion that they might be at the apartment that the studio had rented for Bjorn."

The prosecutor gave the jury box an exaggerated look of surprise. "So Sheila, Arden's girl friend, was also seeing Bjorn?"

"It's not what you think," she replied, her head snapping up to look at the prosecutor. "Sheila and Bjorn were very close. They were just starting production on a new movie."

"Interesting," he replied, chewing on one lip as he nodded. "Tell me, is it usual for two of your employees to go running off in the middle of the day without letting anyone know what's going on?"

"No," Zig Zag replied forcefully and looked at the jury. "That's why we were so concerned. We knew they'd gone to lunch together and wanted to make sure that they were both all right."

"Isn't it true that Arden and Sheila had a fight a few days before that about her sleeping with Bjorn on the side?"

"No," she replied, shaking her head. "I'd say it was more of a minor falling out. I remember talking to Arden about it afterwards. He asked me about Sheila and Bjorn, about how long they'd known each other and what they were like together."

"And do you have any idea why he wanted this information?"

Nodding, Zig Zag looked towards the jury. "Arden told me when he looked at Sheila and Bjorn, he could tell that they were in love, even if they couldn't admit it to themselves." She looked down and took a moment to get her emotions under control. "He said he wanted her to be happy, and if being with Bjorn is what it took, then he wouldn't stand in their way."

"You're kidding me, right?" he said with a chuckle. "This is a guy who everyone at the studio says is madly in love with Sheila Vixen, and yet he's willing to give her up for the first bit of competition that comes by?"

"It's not like that," Zig Zag replied, frowning. "Arden… He knew that what they had wouldn't last. That's why he was willing to give up what time they might have had left."

"Wow!" the young attorney replied, turning towards the jury. "The guy sounds like a real saint if you asked me. Tell me, did Arden have a temper?"

Zig Zag blinked. "I beg your pardon?"

The young stallion leaned forwards, placing both hands on the railing in front of Zig Zag. "A temper. Did Arden have a problem controlling his temper? Would he get mad quickly? Did he ever break or destroy things when he was mad?"

"What?" the tiger stripped skunk squeaked. "No… I mean yes." Flustered, she shook her head to clear it. "Yes, he got angry, but everyone does that. And no, I don't remember him ever destroying anything."

"Oh, really?" The young prosecutor returned to his briefcase where he pulled out some pages that were stapled together. "I have here a sworn affidavit from your neighbors about an incident that occurred late at night where loud shouting was heard to come from your house, sometime after which Arden stormed out the back door and proceeded to, ummm…" flipping through the pages, he found some highlighted text, "reduce a large, sturdy, metal table into a rough sphere approximately the size of a beach ball." He folded the pages closed and cocked an eyebrow at the witness. "Tell me, Miss Zumbrowski, does that jog your memory at all?"

"W-well, yes. I remember it," Zig Zag replied.

"And isn't it true, Miss Zumbrowski," he demanded, slapping the now rolled up papers in his hand, "that only an hour before, you and he had been in a physical altercation?"

"No!" Zig Zag replied, horrified at the accusation.

"So you're telling me that he didn't, in fact, attack you, forcing you to maul his chest in defense?"

Zig Zag shook her head "No! That's not what happened---"

He leaned closer as he demanded answers from her. "So you're telling me that you didn't maul him?"

"No!" She again denied, but shook her head. "I mean, yes, I mauled him, but it wasn't like that…"

"So you decided to take this man, who's known for his angry temper, and look for Sheila and Bjorn, right?"

"It wasn't like that!" Zig Zag repeated defiantly.

The young stallion turned to the evidence table and picked up a large, black pistol. "Do you recognize this pistol, Miss Zumbrowski?"

The skunk visibly recoiled from the proffered pistol. "Please. I don't like guns."

"I didn't ask if you liked them," he replied, shoving the pistol closer to her. "I asked if you recognized it."

"Look," she replied, shoving the pistol back, "I wouldn't recognize it if you put the damn thing under an electron microscope. I don't like guns. I don't know anything about them and I don't want to."

"Fair enough," he replied, unfolding the tag that was attached to the pistol by a string. "Perhaps this will jog your memory, again. This pistol was found in the wall safe of your office at the ZZ Studios by the police during a search for evidence shortly after the disappearance of Sheila Vixen and Arden Bearridge." He set it down on the railing in front of her. "Do you recognize it now?"

Zig Zag glared up at the attorney. "I suppose so."

Once again leaning on the railing the young stallion pointed at the pistol. "Then perhaps you can explain how this pistol came to be in your safe?"

"If that's the same pistol," she paused, reluctant to continue with the answer, "then that's the one Arden gave me to give to James."

He gave another mock look of surprise for the jury. "James? As in James Sheppard, the former CEO of Sheppard Computers?"

"Yes."

"He picked up the pistol and examined it as he talked. "Tell me, Miss Zumbrowski. Why would Arden give Mr. Sheppard such a valuable pistol? This weapon is worth a considerable amount of money."

"James had loaned him a small pistol to use as protection." She turned to the jury, much more confident in her answer. "After the repeated attacks on his life, it was the least James could do."

Placing the pistol back on the evidence table he turned back to the witness. "So tell me. How often does Mr. Sheppard give away his pistols?"

"I wouldn't know," Zig Zag replied flatly.

"Indeed. And yet for all your hatred of pistols, you were more than happy to take this," gesturing to the pistol he raised his voice, "LOADED pistol and place it in your safe where it remained for two weeks until it was discovered by police while searching your business, isn't that right?"

Defeated, Zig Zag nodded. "Yes, I put it in the safe."

He leaned forwards over the railing and spoke in a low, but clear voice. "It's not the first time you've handled a loaded pistol, is it?"

Shocked, she looked up at the young man in confusion. "What… what do you mean?" Her mind immediately flashed back to the hillside where she had stood, wearing a black body stocking and holding a machine gun.

Not moving, he kept the timber of his voice low and clear, so everyone could hear. "I mean, Zig Zag, that you once picked up a loaded pistol and shot someone, didn't you?" He straightened up, pulling on the base of his jacket to get rid of the wrinkles and turned towards the jury. "Isn't it true that you once picked up a loaded pistol and, not only did you shoot someone but you killed them?"

"Objection, your honor!" David again declared, standing. "He's badgering the witness."

"Overruled," the judged barked in reply. "The witness will answer the question."

"Yes," Zig Zag replied in a horse whisper.

"And is it not true that this very pistol," he shouted, picking up the weapon and holding it out for the jury to see, "was used in the multiple homicide which culminated in the death of one Bjorn Ottersman?" He watched as her head shook in refusal. "Ballistics have matched the bullets form this weapon to the death of one of the men believe to have been responsible for the kidnapping of not only Sheila Vixen and Bjorn Ottersman, but also our own District Attorney, Daniel Khansman! The man shot with this, THIS pistol, had his neck broken by a size sixteen boot, the same size Arden wore. Also, two other people were killed with a sword." He turned back to the jury. "And this was no ordinary sword, folks. Slivers of metal from the blade, which had come off when they nicked a wrist watch worn by one man showed that the sword was over two hundred years old. Not only that, but that the nature of the slicing wounds as well as those of the man who was stabbed to death indicate that the weapon was most likely a Japanese Katana."

He returned to the table to pick up a large 11x17" photograph showing Arden and Sheila. "Miss Zumbrowski, would you please identify the two people in this picture?"

Zig Zag swallowed as she glanced at the picture, the pit of her stomach felt like it was trying to worm its way to her ankles. "That's Arden and Sheila."

"And when was this picture taken?" he asked as he handed the picture to the lead juror who glanced it and passed it on.

In a trembling voice, she looked down towards the microphone. "It was taken the night that they left."

"The night they disappeared, you mean," he corrected. "Interesting, that disappearance. Interesting how two people who had decided to run from trouble would leave all their worldly possessions behind. Credit cards, cash, clothing, personal mementos, a vehicle, everything. I find it interesting that Arden happens to be wearing a set of Japanese swords. Interesting how one of the kidnappers was killed with a Japanese sword while you also just happened to have a pistol in your possession which was also linked to the crime. A pistol that you admit Arden gave you!"

No!

"Tell me, Miss Zumbrowski, do you really expect us to believe that they just vanished and left everything behind?" He paused to look at the jury and shook his head. "No, I didn't think so. How about I tell you what I think happened, hmm? Your friend Arden didn't like Bjorn and he wanted to get rid of him. You saw this as a way to kill two birds with one stone, so you hired those men to kidnap District Attorney Khansman. That way, when you and Arden were done killing everyone off, you could tell the tale about how you tried to save them from the bad guys, but unfortunately only Sheila survived. But it didn't work, did it? The District Attorney got away. His escape ruined your little plan. Knowing that Arden was the only one he could identify, you arranged for them to disappear, but they didn't run away, did they?"

No!

As he spoke, Zig Zag's in horror as the broken logic of his arguments hit home. "No… No…" she muttered in denial.

Zig Zag!

"No. You killed them, didn't you?" He slammed his fist down on the railing. "You killed them just like you killed your father!"

No! This can't be!

David jumped to his feat, shouting, "Objection!" as the judge banged his gavel.

"That's why nobody knows where they went!" He pointed an accusing finger at her and shouted. "You killed them! You killed them!"

No!

"No…" Arden mumbled. "Zig Zag…. No…."

"Wake up," Sheila said, smacking the sleeping man's face with all her strength. "Ouch." Shaking her hand from side to side, she frowned and looked at Hecate. "You're supposed to be a badass, you smack him around for a while. My hand's getting sore."

"Zig Zag!" Arden shouted. Reaching out, he grabbed for something that wasn't there. "No!"

"Wake up!" the ebony female demanded, smacking his face with a blow that rocked his head like it was mounted on a spring.

Arden blinked and then looked around the demolished room, as if seeing it for the first time. "Where am I?" he asked, looking up at the two women.

"We're still locked into that shitty hotel room where you left us. Where did you think you were?"

"I-I was back," he replied slowly before looking up at the pregnant vixen. "I was at Zig Zag's trial."

"No you weren't," she replied gruffly. "You were dreaming. You fell asleep."

"Asleep?" he echoed, rolling the thought around in his head. "How long have I been asleep?"

"Going on about six hours if my reckoning is right," Hecate replied, reaching down and hauling the big man to his feet. "You'd still be asleep but Lakash dropped by and did something so you'd wake up."

"Six hours?" he muttered to himself before it sunk in. Eyes wide, he straightened up. "Six hours! Damn it. We've got to get out of here. Christ only knows what they've been up to while we've been in here."

"No shit, Sherlock," Hecate replied in a sarcastic tone, her arms crossed in front of her. "We'd have been out of here hours ago, but you've got this place locked up tighter than a drum."

Arden gave the Imir a confused look. "Locked up? What are you talking about?" He walked over to the door and studied it for a second. "You've got to be blind not to see the thread I left hanging to crack the spell."

Hecate and Sheila both made their way over to the door. "Hey, the only strand I saw dangling looked like a classic trap. I'd have to be an idiot to pull that string."

Turning to the ebony woman, Arden gave her a look that fairly shouted "Duh!". Casually he reached out and tugged on the strand of magic, causing a chain reaction that quickly unraveled the protection spell on the door. "You set traps to keep people out, not in."

"That's what you think," Hecate replied, opening the door and limping out, her hand covering the wound in her side.

"If it's any consolation," Sheila said as she waddled by, "I'd have pulled the string."

Before stepping through the door, Arden paused and looked back and where he'd fallen asleep. "It wasn't a dream. I know it wasn't." He paused and shook his head. "If Lakash was responsible for waking me…"

His gaze swept outward, beyond the boundary of the room, beyond the edge of the town, beyond the horizon of the planet, beyond the very bounds of the reality that he stood in. Outward, his mind reached, searching for something, searching for someone. "No," he whimpered, as his sight settled back on the spectacle in the courtroom. "My god, Zig Zag. What have I done?"