Toms POV:

"ORDER IN THE COURT!!!" Yelled Dec over the loud chattering of the people in the courthouse.

Everything turned silent...

"We gather here today for the trial of Tom Cassel, who has been accused of assisting in a murder, and suspected treason against the islan-"

"SUSPECTED?! I SAW HIM TORTURE TUCKER! HE'S GUILTY!" Yelled Sonja angrily.

"SILENCE!" Dec shouted.

Sonja went quiet, crossing her arms and looking away.

I sat in the trial cage, arms shackled above me, and legs weighted to the ground, my head hanging low.

"The accused has no lawyer, so is there anyone here who can defend him?" Said Dec.

Nothing.... and then....

"Technically...I'm qualified to defend him...." said a voice in the corner.

Everyone turned to look at the source, and I looked up wearily, surprised at who I saw there.

Standing there leaning against the wall, head facing down, was Nade...

"And what makes you, a Dianite, qualified to be a lawyer?" Declan questioned.

"This..." said Nade, holding up a certificate of law from a school no one knew of.

After dec checked if it was reliable, Nade came around back to the trial cage and opened the door.

"Nade. If you release him from the handcuffs at any point, you too will be prosecuted. You have 24 hours to make a case argument. Choose wisely..." explained dec.

I felt the chains holding my wrists up fall, and detach from the cuffs, as they fell to my front. The weights were removed from my ankles, and I felt a hand on my shoulder, guiding me backwards, out of the cage. My mind went blank for about five minutes, but the next thing I knew I was sitting on a chair in a room with bare walls and a desk in the middle, which the chair was under.

Nade sat at a chair opposite me across the desk, with an empty piece of paper in front of him, and a pencil.

"Soooooo......" I started.

"How ya doing?"

"..."

"Ok good talk...."

"Jeez you're almost as talkative as Diani-"

"YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO SPEAK HIS NAME!" He yelled suddenly, making me flinch.

"HE GAVE YOU ONE JOB DUDE! TO MAKE SURE FURIA SUCCEEDS! AND YOU COULD'NT EVEN DO THAT! I AM A BETTER FOLLOWER THAN WHAT YOU EVER WERE!" He shouted angrily.

"BUT OF COURSE HE CHOSE YOU! HIS CHAMPION! CHAMPION MY ASS! I AM MORE LOYAL TO HIM THAN ANYONE! BUT NOOOO! IM NOT THE CHOSEN ONE! IM JUST THE SIDE BITCH!"

"N-Nade I-I....Listen dude....I'm really sor-" I stuttered.

"No! This is where you Zip It alright?! You failed so shut it! Dianites plan relies on you being out of jail! So we, no, I am going to win this trial for him! You just shut up and let me do the talking! We only have a day to prepare your case!" He half shouted.

I sat speechless as he started rapidly scribbling down on the paper in front of him, so fast that within a few seconds he broke the tip of the pencil, and yelled in frustration. I went to speak but he gave me a death glare. He started searching the drawers of the desk for another one, and groaned when he couldn't find one. I coughed loudly so I got his attention, and flung a pencil square into his forehead, sending it rebounding on the desk beside the paper gently.

"You're welcome" I smirked.

He sighed in annoyance, ignoring me, and continued to write, but I couldn't see what he was writing down. After about ten minutes, he had written the entire argument, and shoved it in my cuffed hands, telling me to read it, and walking out of the room, slamming the door. I started to read the formal case argument, and struggled to make sense of it. After about five minutes, Nade walked back in and glared at me.

"Well? Have you read it yet? Get what you need to do?" He demanded.

"Actually no....I don't understand your long confusing words....." I said hesitantly.

He groaned and slammed his head on the wall, before turning back to face me.

"Ok listen. The story is, that Dianite mind controlled you and forced you to say yes to helping Furia, and forced you to follow along with his plan. You couldn't escape his control, and he made you kidnap tucker. You tried everything to stop him, but when Furia escaped, he lifted his control and you were paralysed until today. You are very sorry about everything you did, and beg for forgiveness. I'll handle the rest. Got it?"

"Uuhhhh"

"Great! Glad we're on the same page!" He said sarcastically.

The trial:

"All rise for the honourable judge Declan!" Champwan said.

Normally we all would've laughed at him for being so serious, but when no one laughed, to be honest, I felt a bit empty and sad inside. We all stood up, and I stood inside my cage. They let me stand without any chains holding up my wrists; just a pair of handcuffs around my wrists was all that restrained me. The jury consisted of Tucker, Sonja, Capsize, and Skipper. Sparklez couldn't make it because of a medical problem or something.

I saw Nade in the corner of my eye, and he was passing something to waglington on the sidelines, and it looked special, cause the wizards face lit up. Was Nade rigging the trial? Waglington nodded to Nade and looked around, made sure no one was looking, then blue particles emitted from his hand and he mumbled something I couldn't hear. I felt something happen to me, and suddenly I went into a dark void. I couldn't see anything, or hear anything, and I was confused out of my mind. I heard a voice boom through the darkness.

"Listen up Tom. So you don't screw this up I've hired the wizard to send you here for the duration of the trial. A few buttons will pop up every time you are asked a question by the jury. You'll hear the question and then you need to hit a button to answer. I'm giving you some choices here, but only ones that will give you an upper hand. Stay focused and let me handle this." The voice boomed.

A few minutes later I heard another voice, one that sounded like Tucker.

"Did you or did you not assist in an attempted murder, and treason against the island?" Tucker asked.

Three buttons popped up in front of me.

Yes I did, but I was not in control, and couldn't stop myself. I really wanted to but I couldn't. I tried as hard as I could to gain control over myself, but Dianite, or Furia, was too strong.

I wasn't in control of myself so didn't do it. Dianite did.

Yes, but I'm sorry and I couldn't stop myself.

All of them were in relation to nades backstory, but what was more believable coming from me?

I thought about it, and hit the second one. Putting the blame on someone else was my sorta thing. Not gonna lie. Satisfied with my answer, I waited a few more minutes, then Sonja's voice broke the silence.

"Tom, I watched you kidnap Tucker. I watched you stand by as Furia tortured him. I saw tears form around your eyes. Are you telling me, that Dianite made those tears? Or were you completely in control at that moment?" She asked blankly.

Three buttons appeared once again, and I read them all.

Those were my tears. To be honest, I could see everything that Dianite made me do. I was heartbroken when I was made to standby, not being able to stop Furia. I hate myself for not being able to stop him.

If you saw me kidnap him why didn't you try to stop me?! I didn't want to do it! I swear! I saw you not try to stop me, and I begged you to! How didn't you see I wasn't myself?!

I was never in control. Those tears were mine, yes, I admit that I have a heart. They must've gotten past Dianite. I never wanted to hurt anyone. Remember the last time I got possessed? The only reason I got out of it was because Dianite was done with me and I killed myself! Dianite didn't help with the torturing because he was trying to stop me from jumping into that lava bucket! Jordan wasn't there to call me a sausage, so I couldn't gain control for even a minute. I'm sorry for what I did...

I clicked the third button, painfully remembering the last time... Even though it hurt me, it would probably provide us with backup evidence, and an advantage in the trial.

After I clicked it, I could hear a few giggles from the outside world. They were laughing. It brought a smile to my face. It reminded me of the old times. Back when everything was all fun and games. No one hated me. We were all friends... Where did those times all go?....

Nades voice came into the void.

"Good work. A few people seem convinced. We can get into the pirates heads and reduce your sentence. We can still get you out of this relatively unscathed."

"Greeeaaaaat!" I said sarcastically, but Nade was already gone.

A few more minutes passed, before I heard skippers voice.

"Everything ye just said. Tell me truly, are ye lyin? Should we trust ye?" He asked.

Three buttons appeared once more.

You should trust me. I did nothing willingly. I'm not lying.

I be telling the truth and ye should trust me ya scallywag.

No. And yes.

I smiled, and was about to hit the second button, before another one appeared. It was bright white, unlike the other floating ones, which were green. I read it, and gasped.

I'm lying. Nade made me do it. Don't trust me. I'm guilty.

I felt my hand drift towards the white button; it was so pretty...and shiny....maybe they'll have mercy if I turn myself in?...

Suddenly I realised what I was doing, and pulled back. My hand went to it again, and I used my other hand to hold it back. I've only seen people do this when they're insane.... never thought I'd be doing it...

It was almost like my hand was magnetised to the button, but I was holding it at bay.

"A deep thundering voice roared.

I recognised the voice instantly, and swore under my breath as my hand went closer.

"Shit! How the fuck do I make it stop?!" I yelled to myself.

I suddenly had an idea, and slowly raised one foot, my balance suffering. I strained to reach the second button. I pressed it with my foot, and all at once, the buttons disappeared, and my hand stopped moving on its own. I fell over onto the dark floor in the area I was in, which was confusing because it was the same colour as the void surrounding me.

I expected something to happen, anything, but no. I floated in the endless void, thinking about my life, and how many stupidly bad decisions I've made in it. I laughed, and realised I must sound crazy, laughing in a black void. All. By. Myself...

Sound. I can hear!

Light. I can see!

I opened my eyes to find myself back in the trial cage, with a very happy looking Nade in front of me. The jury was talking, and it looked like the pirates and the mianitees were arguing about my sentence. Tucker kept occasionally glaring, and nade turned to me.

"You ok?" He asked.

Wow. He actually sounded concerned...

"Yeah I'm good...but I need to talk to you. Ps, maybe tell me when you plan to hire a wizard to send me into an endless void before you do it?"

He laughed.

"Yeah sorry bout that dude. You had to be unaware to have it work. What do you need to talk to me about?"

"Not here. It's too risky. What's happening?"

"Oh. Well. The jury is deciding your fate. I think we got into the pirates heads. They haven't known you for long, so they're very forgiving. Tucker and Sonja however, they're a bit, no, a LOT sceptical about our case. Not as believing or trusting. Especially when it's you who's on trial. No offence but they sorta don't like you right now."

"Hmm. Understandable." I said blankly.

"Yeah...oh! They've come to a decision! And tucker and Sonja don't look very happy. Which is good for us."

"Jury. Have you reached a conclusion?" Declan asked.

Tucker stepped forward.

"Yes. Even though it was divided, we have come to a decision. Tom, you are to spend five weeks helping the entire island with whatever they need. The pirates want you to build their new boat. Sonja and I haven't decided what we want from you yet. We'll get back to you. Also, you are not to leave your house unless helping us, and you can never take off the tracker we will put around your ankle. If you do. Five years of jail time. Everything you say will be recorded, and if at any point it stops recording, we will come beat your ass. Got it?"

"Aye aye capn!" I said mockingly.

Nade sighed.

"Nade we are trusting you to take Tom home and equip his ankle tracker." Said Declan.

"Yes your honour." He said walking out and around back.

He unlocked the cage, and let me out, then equipped a tracker around my ankle.

"Made out of bedrock. Unbreakable. Key is under Decs supervision." He said.

"Anyway I better walk you home. Pirates work starts tomorrow." He said uncuffing me.

"Hey Nade."

"Yeah?"

"Thanks." I said.

"All good man. I might've been a bit hard on you earlier. Sorry for going off my top." He said.

I could tell he wanted to be sorry, but was still a bit hurt. He felt like the side kick even though he was way more deserving of the champion title than me.

"All good. You probably deserve the champion title more than me anyway." I laughed.

He smiled.

We started to walk back to my house, when I remembered the voice in the void, and the white button.

"Umm nade? I heard someone in the void. They tried to make me press a button that would make me confess everything."

"Shit... That spell was really strong..."

"Yeah, but I know who it was. I recognised the voice." I said grimly.

"Who?" He asked eagerly.

"Mianite..."