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Laws of the Dead 1: The Martial Turnabout

This story is copyrighted to SashaWS/ArtisticEastern, containing characters owned by various people used with permission.

Any usage or posting of this story under the claim of being your own is not approved and you will be requested to remove it or face charges.

Investigation

"And the challenger is down for the count." The announcer called out as the audience began to cheer when the referee began the count, "One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six." The equine girl stood and panted as she watched her opponent laying on the mat and how they struggled to get up, "Seven. Eight. Nine." The opponent shot up from the mat like a bullet and connected a kick to the side of the equine, only to see that she had already managed to block the incoming kick before delivering a hard kick of her own into the solar plexus of the opponent before taking a good hold onto her waistline with both arms, lifting her up like nothing as the announcer gasps, "Here it comes everyone! The champion's signature move!" The equine threw herself forward into a roll before the challenger followed her and soon found herself hitting the mat with such an impact along her spine and neck that the pain immediately made her world go dark when she lost consciousness, "The Meteorite Slam!" The crowd cheered on as the referee didn't even need to count this time, "The challenger is beaten. Winner and still champion is Aphrodite!"

Later in the evening, in the locker room, a female voice spoke to the challenger, "Did you hear the news? They are planning to cancel your contract since you lost them a lot of money. Listen, I know you are holding back just because you are friend, but you need to get serious if you gonna win." The challenger growled and spun to speak to the female, "Listen! I am doing all I can and nothing you say will ever do any good. Just because you are such a hotshot doesn't have to mean that you got a right to treat me like this." The female sighed, "I knew bringing you here was a mistake. I will tell them that you are better off getting fired." The challenger had enough and jumped at the female when she turned her back, quickly wrapping the arms around her throat in an attempt to choke her, "I got an idea. Why don't you die and I blame her for it? That way I will get the title and you will no longer pester me!" The female wasn't having that and managed to deliver a clean heel strike into the back of the challenger's head, allowing her to get away before she spun around and with a perfectly aimed strike with the fist connecting with the chest of the challenger, the impact was enough to make her gasp for air as the heart stopped and the female smirked, "Blame her? Such a good idea." With a grin, she left the locker room for the evening, just in perfect time to go unnoticed when the janitor reached the locker room and discovered the body.

In the morning, Zeus was laying next to bed partner for the last weeks when his cellphone was beginning to beep, stirring him from his sleep as he reached over to grab the cellphone and yawned when answering, "Hello, this is Zeus." The familiar voice of his daughter spoke on the other end, "Dad, please! Come and help me!" Zeus yawned and sat up, "What is it, Aphroe? Did Jove get drunk and dress up in your bikini again?" Aphrodite whimpered, "No, this is worse, dad. I am currently down at the detention center." Zeus woke up when hearing detention center used by his daughter, "Wait, what?! I am coming down!" Quickly ending the call, Zeus stood up from the bed and walked over to grab his attorney's suit from the wardrobe, quickly putting it on before hearing the bed stirring a bit and a feminine voice speaking up, "Something wrong, Zeus?" Zeus looked back at the yellow dragoness before sighing, "You better get something to eat, dear. I got to meet Aphroe down at the detention center." The dragoness jumped out of the bed and rushed over to grab the smaller male, "What happened? Is she okay? Why does she want to meet you there?" Zeus quickly put a finger on her maw, "That is what I gonna figure out. Just get something to eat." She didn't want to let go, but she had to before she saw him leave.

Down at the detention center, a guard stopped Zeus, "Who are you meeting with?" Zeus flashed his attorney's badge and the guard nodded, "Ah yes, I know why you are here. You wanna be your daughter's attorney." Zeus' eyes went wide, "Wait. My daughter's attorney?" The guard didn't get a chance to tell him as Zeus pushed himself inside and nearly brought down the door to the room where Aphrodite sat in a chair on the other side of a pane of glass. Taking a seat, Zeus looked at Aphrodite, who looked up at him, "Thank the gods you came, dad! You need to tell them that I didn't do it!" Zeus lifted his hands, "Okay, calm down, Aphroe. Before I even can prove that you are innocent, I wanna know a bit more about what happened." Aphrodite sighed and sunk down into the chair before she began to speak.

"Last night, the body of the challenger for the martial arts champion title, Dagny 'Dreadskin' Tyson, was found dead in the locker room by the janitor. They found an imprint of a fist in her chest and judged from the angle that the one who did it was slightly taller than her. And since I am the champion and slightly taller than her, they suspect me to be the murderer." Zeus nodded and looked at his daughter's face, "Tell me, Aphroe. And be honest, did you kill her?" Aphrodite shook her head, "No. I might be doing a sport that is very violent and all, but I am not a steroid-injecting monster. I do not even use steroids." Zeus saw the sincerity in her face and heard it in her voice before giving her a nod, "Aphroe, will you allow me to defend you?" Aphrodite gave her father a quick look before she began to sniff and nodded, "Yes, father. Thank you."

Zeus smiled and soon nodded, "Okay, I need to know where the stadium is." Waiting for her to stop crying, it wasn't long before Aphrodite had dried her eyes, "It is in the west district." Zeus nodded before asking Aphrodite, "Oh, and there is one last thing I am curious about. Why was the victim called Dreadskin?" Aphrodite giggled, "It is something you will know when you see her for yourself." Zeus just smiled, "Thank you, Aphroe. I will make sure you are cleared of this accusation." Aphrodite smiled softly before she stood up and returned back to her cell.

Outside the stadium, the guards stood ready to hold back the civilians, especially one rather loud female hyena that was chewing on the arm of a guard, "Miss, stop this before I am forced to arrest you." The hyena growled, "Let me in! I got work to do!" Zeus gave a sigh as he approached the guards and before any of them could stop him, he flashed his attorney's badge and the hyena growled, "Hey! Why does he get to go in there?" The guard looked at her, "Because he is an attorney." The hyena growled, "Well, I am his assistant, now let me in!" The guard turned to look at Zeus, "Hey sir, does this one belong to you?" Zeus looked at the guard and then the hyena before he smiled, "Nope, she is unknown to me." The hyena growled louder as Zeus kept walking, calling after him, "You are a fucking dick, attorney man!"

Zeus sighed when finally getting through the doors of the stadium, "What a bitch. I hope I never need to see her again. Hmm?" Zeus stopped for a second when he noticed an equine with draconic wings ordering the guards around, her voice filled with authority and the guards seemed to really be scared of her. Zeus walked closer before he grabbed her arms and put them behind her back, "Athena Darkrose, you are hereby under the arrest for being the best daughter in the world. And I sentence you to give me a big warm hug." The equine felt her arms being let go, but quickly spun around to hug Zeus, "Hi dad! I guess you are taking sister's side as her attorney." Zeus smiled as he pet her on the head, "Yes, I am. And I see that the guards are getting themselves a night mare of a boss." Athena gave him a light punch on the arm, "Hey! I am not that bad!" Both shared a laughter before one of the guards saluted her, "Miss Darkrose. We have now gathered every single piece of important evidence." Athena turned around and stomped the floor hard, "Good, then your work is complete. Go to the barrack and leave the evidence for me to examine. I will gather what you are not allowed to." The guard saluted her before the other guards followed them and Athena quickly opened the door to the locker room, "I grant you permission to examine the scene of the crime, dad."

Zeus was happy that Athena had taken up the interest in crime scene investigation and even graduated on top of her class and with it also been granted the job as the head of the forensics department. Stepping inside the locker room, Zeus was met by the chalk drawing on the floor to mark where the body had been found. Zeus was quick to sit down as Athena began to spray luminol over the area where the body had been found, "So, got any information for your old man, Athena?" Athena took her time to spray the luminol, but no traces of blood was found. "Well, this confirms the preliminary cause of death to be the actual cause of death. The victim was 25 year old Dagny Tyson, who went under the stage name Dreadskin due to her red body and many menacing tattoos. She was the most tattooed martial artist on the roster. However, her win and lose record was one of the lowest and she was apparently going to be fired for it. The cause of death is now confirmed to be cardiac arrest due to a powerful punch to the chest." Bringing out the fingerprint dust, Athena systematically worked the dust over the floor in hopes of finding any traces, but much to her disappointment, it seemed the floor had been wiped completely clean, removing any chances of getting a fingerprint or even footprint.

Zeus had listened to Athena, but also taken in the locker room's interior, "Hmm, not a single camera here. Must mean that they didn't wanted to be reported for recording anything indecent." Athena nodded before Zeus remembered something, "I saw something next to the door on the way in. What was that?" Athena smiled, "That would be a card scanner for the lock. It is currently set to open the lock so we can get access. It was the janitor on duty that set it to this and left to the call the guards." Zeus thought for a second, "Does it keep record of anyone using it?" Athena nodded, "Yes, so I asked the security guard to print out a list over everyone that used a card that day." She pulled out the list and Zeus read through it as Athena spoke to him, "I did the autopsy of the body and the time of death is 11:00pm-12:00am." Zeus checked the time and noticed, "Around 10:45pm, Miss Tyson entered the locker room, and 11:15pm, I suspect the janitor was the one entering." Athena nodded, "Very much so. I took his testimony myself. He arrived at 11:00pm and had heard nothing. When he came to the locker room, he noticed her body and called the guards right away from a phone booth outside the stadium."

Zeus' interest peeked at this, "He called for the guards? And yet you mentioned that there is a security guard stationed here. Why didn't he go for that one?" Athena sighed, "I asked him the very same and he said that the security guard for the shift had called in sick, so no one was watching the place." Zeus rubbed his forehead with two fingers, "Are you for real here?" Athena nodded before she sat back, "Yes, I am for real. And I cannot find any further evidence." Zeus pointed at the chalk drawing, "You do realize that there is a spot remaining there, right?" Athena gave a confused look before a light went up for her, "Oh, you are right!" Zeus chuckled softly before watching his daughter getting on her knees and giving the area both the fingerprint dust and luminol treatment, but neither of them even reacted. It was then that Athena brought out an UV-light and ran over the area, exposing what could only be bodily fluids as well as various micro-organisms. Taking a cotton swab, she rubbed it over a spot that seemed too big to be just tiny lifeforms, "I am going back to the lab. I need to check what I can find here."

Waving his daughter goodbye, Zeus was soon greeted with the sound of two guards getting thrown aside as the hyena from before rushed for the locker room. Zeus took the risk and blocked her path, grabbing the hyena before swinging her over his head and straight into the floor behind him, pinning her down as the guards came close, hearing her growling like a rabid animal, "Let me go!" Zeus didn't listen to her at all and kept her down before waving the guards off, slowly letting go off her head, "Now lets start from the beginning. I am Zeus. I am Aphrodite's defense attorney." The hyena growled, "I am Latiffa, I am the late Dreadskin's manager. Now get off my back!"

As Zeus got off her back, Latiffa was quickly up and growled, "Those guards need to lose their job. I am only coming here to do my job and they treat me like I am nothing. I am the best manager and a former martial artist champion before I retired. I do not deserve this shabby treatment!" Zeus' ears perked and he coughed, "Miss Latiffa. If you wouldn't mind, could I ask you a few questions?" Latiffa growled, "No, I am not going to give you my address, no matter how sexy you might be." Zeus sighed, "That is not what I had in mind. I just wanted to..." Latiffa interrupted him, "Oh, so you are trying to say that I am ugly now, huh?" Zeus facepalmed, "For the love of the queen, woman. All I wanted to do was ask a few questions about the victim, miss Dreadskin!" Latiffa calmed down, "Oh! Then why didn't you say so in the first place?" Zeus thought to himself, "Are all managers a bitch like her?"

Taking a seat with the hyena in the cafeteria of the stadium, Zeus looked at her, "So, miss Latiffa, what is your connection to the victim?" Latiffa grunted, "I told you, I was her manager. I was even the one who brought her the news. She didn't take it well and stayed behind to do some workout in the gym. That is the last I saw of her." Zeus nodded, "And did she use any steroids or any other illegal substances?" Latiffa growled at him, "How dare you even ask that? She was cleaner than anyone. She was a good girl. It is a shame she died like that." Zeus sighed, "My condolences, miss Latiffa." Latiffa just waved it off, "It is no idea to really bother with mourning the dead. It won't bring them back. And you probably need to know this. She already was one of the demons, so her dying without a blessing will mean she is not able to be reborn like others are."

Zeus knew very well what it meant. There was however something that made him curious, "I got only one question." He brought out the record for the card reader, "I got this from the detective in charge of the investigation and it says that 10:45pm, Dreadskin entered the locker room. My question is, would it be possible for someone to get inside before the door closes?" Latiffa was quickly answering the question, "Yes, the doors have a ten second auto-lock on it." Zeus' mind was fully at work when Latiffa got up, "I would like to stay and chat, but I got work to do. I need to sign off Dreadskin from the roster and find a new star to help rising to the sky." With that, the hyena left Zeus, who had many thoughts on his mind, but from her words there was only one occupying a major spot in the mess, "Isn't she a bit quick with finding a replacement? I would expect someone to need some time off after the death of their own hope." Zeus stood up from the table and proceeded to walk out the door, "I better hear from Aphroe again."

The detention center was crowded by fans all demanding the release of Aphrodite, their idol. Zeus barely had a chance to get through the massive river that the guards had to hold back, but he managed to get through and made his way to the room, "I am here to meet with Aphrodite Darkrose." The guard didn't waste any time with bringing her to the chair, Aphrodite's hair looking like a mess as Zeus tapped the glass, "Aphroe?" With an almost feral leap, Aphrodite stood up and looked into her father's eyes, "Dad! Did you find anything? Am I free?" Zeus sighed, "I only found out that miss Tyson was about to get fired, someone cleaned up the locker room pretty well, except for the spot under the body. And I also met miss Latiffa, the former manager of miss Tyson." Aphrodite sat back, "That stuck-up, no-laughing windbag. I disliked her attitude and denied her to become my manager. I do not have a manager. I handle all of my business myself. She never stopped trying to convince me to let her become my manager."

Zeus heard the anger in her voice and approached it from another angle, "Tell me, how did miss Latiffa treat miss Tyson?" Aphrodite slammed her hands against the glass, "The question is more how she didn't treat her. A manager should be understanding and not have a false face of greed. Many switched managers from her due to her abusive nature. One even reported her for assault, but lost in court." Zeus looked at her in confusion, "Assault? How so?" Aphrodite sat down, "I do not have the complete details, but she had slammed them face first through a table and struck their back with a baseball bat. And miss Bitchy had said it was a promotion for an upcoming battle. The jury had rolled in Bitchy's favor and the girl was fired for false accusations."

Zeus couldn't believe what his ears had picked up, "You mean to say that she convinced them it was all faked? What did the jury even think?" Aphrodite grunted, "Probably that if they voted in her favor, they would get to bury their little dicks inside a fresh virgin." Zeus was disgusted by this before proceeding to ask her, "Aphroe, are you sure that you didn't murder miss Tyson?" Aphrodite nodded, "Yes, I didn't murder her. I would never murder someone I get along nicely with." Zeus had to believe her, as a guard soon came and grabbed Zeus by the shoulder, "Visiting hour is over, sir." Zeus nodded before looking at Aphrodite, "I will get you out of there, I promise. Goodnight, Aphroe." Aphrodite began to cry as she walked away, "Goodnight, dad." Zeus stood up as he watched his girl walk away, "Poor Aphroe. She is really taking this hard."

After leaving the detention center, Zeus' cellphone had began to beep and he answered, "This is Zeus." The feminine voice on the other end spoke quickly, "Come to the barracks now. There is something you need to see." Zeus spread his wings before flying straight to the barracks and landed outside the bigger one that looked like a station house. Upon entering, he was met by Athena, "Hi there, Athena, what's up?" He asked her before feeling Athena pulling him along and into the lab where she took a seat in front of a screen, "I found hair under a claw on the victim and ran a comparison in the criminal archives, but it turned up without a match. However, the spot under the body did match, but not to the victim. I ran a comparison between the hair and Aphrodite, there wasn't a match there. So the perpetrator has brown hair and from the looks of it also has a bad case of anger issues." Zeus began to chuckle, "Sounds like someone I met today. But the chance of it being her would be less than you finding someone with a triple helix DNA." Athena began to giggle, "You got a point." Zeus smiled before his face got serious, "Still, I got to make sure that Aphroe gets a not guilty sentence tomorrow. Do you happen to know who the prosecutor will be?" Athena sighed, "I do. He is mystery though. They say that he showed up one day and spoke exactly like a prosecutor of the earlier days had, who was found dead. He is called Artius Eastclover. And from the sound of it, he is quite a formidable force of prosecution." Zeus went silent before shrugging his shoulders, "Well, I look forward to meeting him in court tomorrow then. Now if you excuse me, I am sure your mother are having dinner ready by now." Athena looked at the clock, "But it is only 1:27pm, dad." Zeus looked at his clock, "Oh? You are right, it is. Then she has lunch ready." Both laughed before getting back to their daily duties.

Trial

The courthouse seemed rather full of life the next morning as the trial was quickly scheduled to be under way at the order of the judge herself. Seeing as how time had been limited, Zeus had barely managed to get any breakfast that morning as his mind was focused more on the trial. Standing outside the doors to the almost newly build courtroom, he was seeming a little worried, "Okay, I got everything that Athena provided me with, but also so does the prosecutor. Artius Eastclover, that is a name sounding almost like they would be someone from Equestria." A soft, low voice spoke to him, "Umm, morning father." Zeus kept talking to himself, "I wonder if he got any experience with any heavy case involving the higher society." The voice got a little louder, "Dad?" Zeus rubbed his head, "My poor Aphroe, why did you end up like this?" The voice got clear now to knock him back by surprise, "Dad, stop ignoring me!"

Zeus looked at Aphrodite standing there in a black shirt and black pants, her arms connected by a set of green steel handcuffs, her hair being a complete mess unlike her usual well-groomed coiffure, "Oh! Sorry, Aphroe. Good morning." Aphrodite lifted her arms and soon moved closer to catch Zeus in a hug as the arms swung down around him, keeping him close to her, "I am scared, dad." Zeus felt his heart drop like a stone to the floor as he gave her a tight hug, "There is nothing to worry about, Aphroe. I will win today and prove your innocence. And I might even get the scum arrested that did this to you." Aphrodite gave him a soft smile, but it was visually possible to see that she was trying to cover up her insecurity of being a suspect. She released him from the hold and looked at him, "Please dad, I am not a murderer. I am an innocent victim of someone's desire to get away from their own evil deed." Zeus nodded before a guard called out, "The trial is about to commence. Can the defense and defendant please enter the courtroom?" Zeus swallowed before looking at Aphrodite, "Well, guess we better not keep them waiting." Aphrodite nodded before the doors to the courtroom opened and they stepped inside.

The courtroom was amazing. It looked almost like a straight copy of an American courtroom and even had a statue of the Lady of Justice herself, only it looked slightly altered to feature the Goddess of Justice, and judge of the trial herself, Tenchi. Aphrodite took a seat in the chair meant for the defendant as Zeus made his stand behind the defense's desk as Tenchi sat with the gavel in her right hand before giving Zeus a nod before using the gavel to begin the trial. "The trial for the murder of Dagny Tyson is about to begin." Zeus smiled, "Your honor, the Defense is ready." Tenchi nodded, "Good, mister Zeus. And I must say, your voice is sounding a little raspy. Are you sure you are up for the challenge of defending your own daughter?" Zeus slammed a hand onto the desk, "Your Honor, the Defense is ready to find the truth and protect the defendant." Tenchi smiled, "Very good, now your voice is clearer. How about the prosecution?"

There wasn't a response to Tenchi's question as the prosecution's desk seemed to be empty at the moment, making Tenchi rub her forehead, "Seems the prosecution has nothing to state for the court, so I will declare my verdict. I hereby declare the defendant..." Suddenly the doors meant for the prosecution flew open and heavy footsteps, or rather hoofsteps to be exact, sounded as a purple unicorn with the strangest hairdo ever entered and with a snap of the fingers had the doors closing before stepping up behind the prosecution's desk, his heavy and rather authority-like voice echoing as he spoke, "Apologies for being late, your honor. Had to use the bathroom quickly. The Prosecution is ready to bring this unlawful display to an end." Tenchi looked at the unicorn and rubbed her head, "Okay then... mister Eastclover was it?" The unicorn nodded, "Yes, your honor. And if you wouldn't mind, I would like to begin my opening statement." Tenchi was surprised how quickly he seemed to wanna begin, just nodding in agreement, "Then mister Eastclover, your opening statement, please." The unicorn bowed deeply, "At once, your honor."

Zeus felt the intense energy from the unicorn, he wasn't an amateur by any degree. In fact, he felt to be more experienced than even him. For the first time in a while, Zeus felt both excitement and fear from facing this prosecutor. With a swift draw, the unicorn pulled out a scroll and opened it up before reading, "The murder took place at Martial Demon Stadium, in their locker room. The victim was a Dagny Tyson, a new-coming martial artist going by the stage name Dreadskin. She was found by the stadium's janitor around 11:15pm and he called the guards. The guard battalion arrived around 11:40pm. The janitor waited outside to escort them to the scene of the crime. He had not cleaned the room, yet when the guards arrived, the locker room floor was cleaned off." Tenchi nodded, "And how did the defendant get apprehended and taken into custody?" Artius kept reading, "The guards received an anonymous tip stating that they had seen miss Darkrose leave the stadium." Zeus struck the desk, "Objection! There isn't any proof as according to the time, it was night and dark, so they couldn't have seen clearly if it was my client or not." Artius closed his eyes and sighed gently, "Zeus-dono, is that all you can produce as a defense, or do you have proof to back up your claim?" Zeus felt struck by this, "Well, no... but you cannot prove that it is true either."

To Zeus' relief, Artius chuckled, "I admit, I cannot prove my point either, but we cannot rule out the possibility yet. So tell me, Zeus-dono." Artius raised a finger to point at Zeus, "Do you have the solid evidence with you? I was given a copy of it all on paper. If you are not having all the evidence with you, I can legally make the judge hold you in contempt of court for attempting to cover up important evidence." Zeus' face went a shade whiter at this declaration. Not only had Artius forced a hand, but had also put Zeus in a rather sticky spot where his title as the realm's first defense attorney could be flushed down the drain quicker than a wyvern's bath. Tenchi looked at Zeus, "Well, do you have all the evidence?" Zeus sighed before walking out from behind the desk and put down all the solid evidence that had been gathered, "Some brown hair collected from the claws of the victim. A saliva sample that is yet unidentified. And that is it." Artius suddenly walked forward from behind the table and placed down a pair of gloves on the evidence table, "A pair of torn gloves found in the trash bin near the door. They had skin flakes on them matching that of the victim and the fingerprints inside matches the defendant." Zeus' eyes widened before he called out, "Objection! I wasn't aware of this evidence. I request the gloves being declared illegal evidence!"

Suddenly the sharp, heavy voice was heard and Zeus found himself getting a minor haircut as his proud bang of hair in the front soon fell to the floor after being cut off by a rather sharp blade, "Silence!" Zeus noticed that style of blade anywhere, it was a katana, but the blade was on the other side. Zeus' eyes widened even more as it finally sunk in who he was facing and a soft smile began before it turned into a menacing grin, which also met him back and Zeus nodded, "I withdraw my request." Both made their way back to their desks and faced each other as Artius called out, "Your honor, I would like to call my first witness." Zeus knew that only three could be called as a witness, since only three had knowledge of this case. Tenchi agreed to it and Artius hit the desk, "The prosecution calls the detective in charge of the investigation, miss Athena Darkrose."

It took less than a minute before Athena took the stand, Artius grabbing a cup of coffee that got served by a black mare. Sipping on it quickly, Tenchi was grunting, "Can the prosecution please stop drinking his coffee?" Zeus laughed, "Your honor. Grant him the time he needs. Nothing is worse than a cranky prosecutor who didn't get his morning coffee." Tenchi sighed, "Fine, I permit it, but it better be fast." With the words clear, Artius swung the cup like a professional coffee drinker and had it empty in less than two seconds before sighing, "Ah, as dark and fragrant as my sex life. As sweet and soft as my woman." Tenchi grunted, "Can the prosecution just get on with it?" Artius sighed, "Fine. Witness, please tell us your name and occupation." Athena smiled before saluting, "Yes, mister Eastclover. I am Athena Darkrose and I am the head of the forensics team." Artius nodded, "Now, if you wouldn't mind telling us, miss Darkrose. What did you find out from your investigation of the crime scene?"

Athena put her chin in the left hand before rubbing it, "I arrived around 12am as I wasn't expecting to work that evening. Once there, I had the guards help me find any important evidence, but the only thing of any use was the gloves. Then when I examined the floor, I noticed it was completely clean, but not under the body itself. I took a sample and ran a scan of it. Turns out it was saliva, but I could not find any connection between it and the defendant. Later in the day before lunchtime, I found hair stuck under one of the claws of the victim. It didn't match the defendant either. That is all I found at the scene of the crime."

Artius nodded, "As I understand, you are sister to the defendant, am I right?" Athena sighed, "Yes, I am." Artius put a hand on the desk, "Isn't it then possible that you are attempting to hide that it is actually her DNA?" Athena shook her head, "No! I swore the oath to never hide any evidence and be open with it. I even gave you a deep report on the DNA structure to show that it didn't match." Artius smirked, "Good, you just allowed me to submit an additional evidence." Athena saw how Artius held up a report, "Your honor, I got here the DNA structure in detail, showing that neither the hair or saliva are the same." Tenchi nodded, "The court accepts this as evidence." Artius laid down the report and then walked back behind the desk, "Thank you, miss Darkrose. You may leave the stand. I will make sure you are given a raise by your commander." Zeus chuckled as he knew the secret, but didn't tell it, but he had to ask, "I got a question for you, mister Eastclover." Artius looked at Zeus with a curious look, "What is it, Zeus-dono?"

Zeus raised a finger to point at him, "What are you after in all this? I am looking to protect my client and find the truth about what really happened." Artius took a deep breathe before holding up both hands, "I seek to cleanse the tarnished name of prosecutors. Not all of us want a perfect record. To me, truth is the most important thing and we follow it blindly like it is our king and we are the king's horse, no matter if it is wrong or right." Zeus saw it in him, it was really him, and he walked in front of the desk and assumed the familiar position that he had once seen someone trustworthy take, "Then lets draw our blades and fight until the truth reveals itself, Artius-dono!" Artius laughed and drew his blade, "I will gladly accept your challenge." Tenchi was soon calling out, "bailiff! Take mister Eastclover's katana this instant!" Once unarmed, Artius lifted a hand, "I wish to call my second and final witness." Tenchi nodded, "The court agrees to the prosecution's request. Any objections, mister Zeus?" Zeus laughs, "No, your honor." The sound of the gavel hitting the bench could be heard as Tenchi nodded, "Then bring your final witness here, mister Eastclover."

Soon the female hyena took the stand and Artius took his cup and was about to drink it, but then instead threw it across the courtroom to Zeus who caught it and in one single swing had it empty in three seconds as Artius put an elbow on the desk to look at the hyena, "Witness, state your name and profession, please." The hyena began to blush when seeing Artius, "Oh my, what a handsome man." Artius' cheeks began to turn as he cleared his throat, "Witness, your name and occupation, please." The hyena giggled, "Awww, please sweetie. Your charm can get you anything you want, so why my name and occupation?" Zeus began to chuckle as Artius soon slammed a fist into the desk, "Your honor, I object to the witness' shameless flirting!" Tenchi looked at Artius and the hyena before she raised the gavel and struck the bench with it, "Objection accepted. Witness, you better state your name and occupation or you will be charged for obstructing justice." The hyena grunted, "Fine. Name's Latiffa Tongan and I am the victim's former manager."

Tenchi nodded, "My condolences for your loss, miss Latiffa." Latiffa raised a hand and grunted, "Whatever, there is no point to cry about the dead. It happens as a part of life and we just got to live with it." Tenchi's face turned a bit sour at those words, "Witness, I must ask you to show some respect for the departed." Latiffa gave a shrug, "Listen, your honor. I came here as requested by the handsome devil, so what will you have me for?" Tenchi looked at Artius who gave a groan, "Miss Latiffa." Latiffa giggled, "Please, call me Sugarmuffin." Artius grunted and slammed his fist down and Tenchi quickly struck the bench with the gavel, "Objection accepted." Latiffa felt struck down by this and Zeus chuckled a bit as Artius nodded, "So miss Latiffa, can you tell this court about miss Tyson's last hours alive?"

The hyena placed both arms on the wooden fence of the stand as she began to speak, "After losing to the defendant, I was called in for a meeting with the company board and they announced that they are planning to cut Dreadskin's contract if she lost one more match and also that she lost the company a lot of money. I went to tell her this and after I was done, she told me to leave her alone, because she wanted to have some time to herself. So I left around 10:15pm to give her the night alone. And that is when I saw her for the last time as the next day I found out that she had been murdered." Zeus looked down and soon pulled out the card reader record he had put away in his pocket and began to look through it before he looked up at Latiffa, "Around which time did you enter the locker room?" Latiffa thought to herself, "It should have been around 9:55pm. And I used my own card to gain entry."

Zeus knew it, he had the first contradiction right there. A firm slam with the open palm on the desk sounded throughout the courtroom with a loud and clear voice following it, "Objection!" Zeus lifted the paper, "Thanks to you, miss Latiffa, I can now use this record to confirm that you are lying." Latiffa growled as Zeus walked over to the evidence table and laid down the record there as Tenchi nodded, "The court accepts this as evidence if the defense can provide a good explanation as to why it is important." Zeus didn't have to be told once, "Your honor, this is a record of all the cards used by their card reader for the door's lock. Whenever a card is used, it registers the use in the database. However, at the time that miss Latiffa said, there wasn't any use of a card to the locker room." Latiffa began to growl louder as Zeus turned to her, "Tell the truth now, you didn't use a card, you went in there with miss Tyson, didn't you?" Latiffa slammed a fist into the stand, making it crack slightly, "You damn, winged piece of garbage!"

Zeus felt like top of the world from finding the contradiction, but it was soon shut down by Artius, "So she forgot that she had not used the card, big deal. It is not important in the slightest other than to confirm that she was there." Latiffa began to murr happily, "That is right, put him in his rightful place, studmuffin!" Artius grunted and Tenchi was about to use the gavel when Zeus quickly asked, "How was the floor in the locker room then?" Latiffa responded quickly, "It was clean as a whistle." Zeus laughed softly, "Objection!" Latiffa growled out, "What now, you punk?" Artius chuckled, "The prosecution shall explain. The janitor had not even began to clean the locker room that evening and when the detective examined the floor, it was completely clean. That means, if you had been there and left, there would still been footprints from you!" Latiffa began to sweat a bit as Artius pointed at her, "It was dirty in the locker room, wasn't it?" Latiffa growled and looked away, "I use my right to silence." Zeus felt his head hurting as he tried to think about the situation, "I know it is her, only she can have murdered, but there is no motive. I got the evidence and all. I got to really think about this." Artius saw Zeus peacefully closing his eyes before he smirked, "Go ahead, Zeus-dono, find the answer to the riddle."

Inside Zeus' head, his voice began to trace the events that transpired, "She is the murderer, but there is no motive. What is it that could possibly lead her to do something like this?" His mind sharpened up as he remembered everything from yesterday and also from the trial so far before a light went up in his head, "Miss Tyson losing another match would mean her losing a possible new star and she wasn't slow with trying to find a new star. She is greedy." Zeus' mind went down into thinking mode again, "However, this wouldn't trigger a murder at all. Something must have happened that made her murder miss Tyson, but what?" As Zeus' mind calculated every possible reason, he soon found the logical answer to it, "Of course, the hair! Her hair is brown and the victim had some hair under a claw and she is rather easy to piss off." Zeus' mind soon thought harder than ever, "But was it her throwing the first punch or was it the victim?" Zeus opened his eyes to look across the evidence before he noticed the saliva report, "She was the one being attacked first or the saliva wouldn't have landed below the victim's body!" Zeus' eyes shut a final time as he thought to himself, "But why would she accuse Aphroe of this and even go to the length of using the gloves to make it look like her doing?" The answer was clear as day and suddenly he opened his eyes as the thoughts had been collected, "She wanted to get Aphroe out of business as a payback for the denying."

Artius saw the confidence in Zeus' eyes and bowed deeply, "Zeus-dono, the floor is yours!" Zeus slammed down the fist into the desk and pointed out a finger, "I object to your silence, miss Latiffa, as I want you to listen to my speculation and tell me if I am right or wrong." Latiffa looked at him before Zeus began to talk, "You had just gotten to know that your upcoming star was going to lose her contract if she lost another match. You went with her to talk about this and in the midst of the moment, miss Tyson took offense against you and attempted to assault you, even attempt to strangle you, forcing you to spit out saliva onto the floor. You managed to get your hands on Aphrodite's gloves and pulled them on quickly while getting loose from miss Tyson's grip and spun around to deliver your fatal blow to her chest, staining the gloves with her skin flakes before you deposit them in the trash. You had to run though as the janitor was going to come soon and without getting seen, you hid until he found the body and ran to call for the guards, after which you cleaned off the crime scene to hide what had happened, but you didn't clean off under the body. And you put the blame on Aphrodite to get her out of the business and with a new star, you could make sure she won matches and earned you some hardcore cash."

Latiffa began to sweat as Zeus continued, "Also, during the fight she managed to scratch your head, making some of your hair get stuck under a claw. And you didn't bother to check that." Latiffa felt the sweat turning up a notch, "Y-You are wrong." Zeus just chuckled, "Tell me, would you mind if we took a sample of your DNA to test out my little theory? If it isn't yours, then surely there is nothing to be afraid of. What do you say?" Latiffa began to growl, "You are wrong, you are wrong!" Zeus smiled wider and soon held out a hand, "If I am wrong, then give us a sample of your DNA for testing." Latiffa began to feel how bubbles formed in her maw and dripped down onto the stand before Zeus pointed at her, "Latiffa, your greed has now sounded the bell to signal the end of your career!" The bubble production began to grow rapidly before Artius finally spoke up after a long silence, "The gavel of judgment is ready. Do you have the spine to accept the verdict?" Latiffa finally snapped and the bubbles began to fume out of her maw as a loud scream echoed in the courtroom, "Aphr... Aphro... Aphroooooooooo..." Latiffa looked at Aphrodite before screaming out at the top of her lungs, "Appppphhhhrrrrrroooooddddiiitttteeee!!! You ruined my star's career with being such a gentle and hard-working person! You are not beatable! You denied me a chance to get your glory! You do not deserve to be a fighter! You deserve death! Death! DEATH!"

Tenchi had heard enough and lifted the gavel, "I have seen enough to declare my verdict now. I hereby declare the defendant, Aphrodite Darkrose, not guilty!" Latiffa's rage couldn't be held back as she took a leap towards Aphrodite with a feral scream, "DIE, YOU BITCH!" Her wishful thinking was cut short when a clothesline connected with her chest and with the head coming to the floor first, Artius had managed to slam her down so hard he had even taken the stand with him in the process as Tenchi looked at the hyena, "As for you, Latiffa Tongan, I hereby declare you guilty for the murder of Dagny Tyson and I sentence you to death right here and now." Aphrodite felt the handcuffs coming off before she leaped over to where the stand had been and her voice rung out loudly, "OBJECTION!"

Her voice was enough to send Tenchi backwards in the chair before she got up, "What is the meaning of this?" Aphrodite looked at Tenchi, "You sentence her to death which you are to carry out. I am the victim of a false accusation that could have ended with me being in her seat. I declare... no, I demand that I am the one getting to carry out the execution." Zeus' face had lost all color as he spoke up, "Objection, your honor!" Tenchi looked at Zeus, "I am sorry, but objection overruled." Zeus' heart felt like it was about to stop as Aphrodite lifted up Latiffa by the hair and looked into her eyes, "Well, I always hated you, but I did see the potential in a good manager within you. Had you only stopped treating your stars as money dispensers, I would have accepted you. But as you did this to me, I lost all respect for you." Latiffa soon got wide eyes when Aphrodite gave her a soft kiss, "Now, enjoy your sleep. Miss Tongan." Latiffa looked confused before Aphrodite slammed her face first into the floor, grabbing both her arms as she placed a foot against the hyena's spine and pulled hard, the screams of torment echoing and the gallery heard a crack as Latiffa's spine broke when she was halfway leaned back, only for Aphrodite to stomp one of her legs and using her free one to deliver a kick to her chin with such a power that not only did the head fly into the lower portion of the bench, but the headless body's belly was soon torn open by the force, spilling out the guts over the courtroom floor, Aphrodite looking at this, "That is for you, Dagny. I finally had her..." Aphrodite adjusted her hair, "...open up to the truth."

The next morning, Aphrodite walked into the ring with the announcer before she looked around at the audience, "Everyone doing good?" The audience cheered loudly and began to shout her name, making Aphrodite smile as she took the microphone, "I got an announcement to make everyone. You all know the trial I had to go through that ended up with avenging our lost sister, but also to lose a very important icon for you older people. Knowing that my popularity created a monster, I am hereby ending my contract as a martial artist for this company. It has been fun and I met many wonderful friends, but when murder happens because of it, you got to know that it is time to leave before more fall victim to it." The crowd was completely heartbroken and many even cried, but Aphrodite spoke out clearly, "It is hard for me too, friends. I have become someone important for you, someone to follow and strive to be. I am sure that one day there will be someone who will take my place and all I ask is that you give her a chance. Call her my spiritual successor if you want. Just never forget about me." Aphrodite lifted both her hands to form a heart with her fingers, "You are all in my heart. Take care everyone." Under the tears falling and the many applauds from the crowd, Aphrodite climbed out the ring and with a final look at her past, she closed the door to move on.

The End.