With everything (sort of) planned out, Makayla, Douxie, and April all went to the hideout address that Natalie gave them. And when they got there, there were guards in front of the building.

"I really hope this isn't a trap." April said. "You can't really trust that girl."

"I'm sure it'll be fine." Makayla said. "She's giving us a chance to win!"

"Yeah. . . I don't believe it." Douxie said.

"Yeah, plus what happens if we have to fight them?" April asked. "We're not really in the best shape for that."

"It'll be fine." Makayla said. "We'll just go in, get Jake, and then get out."

"It's not gonna be that easy." Douxie said. "I can sense a betrayal miles away."

"Well, it's not like it'll be a surprise." April said. "This is Natalie we're talking about here."

The three of them then made it up to the entrance, where the guards quickly saw them and blocked the entrance.

"What business do you have here?" One of the guards asked.

"Oh, um. . . Natalie told us to come here." Makayla said. "We have to talk to her to try and get my brother back!"

"I see." The other guard said. "So, you're here for the trial then?"

"Trial?" Douxie asked.

"The hunter trial." The other guard said. "He'll go through a series of tests to see whether or not he'll be free or in our possession."

"That's. . . interesting." April said.

"Natalie did say that you were coming." The other guard said. "Alright, you can come inside."

The grass then stepped out of the way and the three of them went inside, followed by the guards, who led them to an elevator.

"Step inside of the elevator and make your way down." The guard said.

"Thanks." Makayla said.

The three of them then stepped into the elevator and made their way down to the underground.

______

After some time, the three of them made it down to the underground of the hideout. And there, it was a large room with many rows of seats and a large platform in the middle of it. It looked like a proper courtroom.

"Wow. . . there's a whole courtroom under this place?" Makayla said in amazement. "Who would've guessed it?"

"Huh. . . there's a lot more hunters than I originally thought." April said.

"Let's go over there!" Makayla said.

The three of them then made their way over to the courtroom, where they unknowingly passed by Natalie and Chad. When Chad saw them, he nearly choked on his soda that he was drinking.

"Holy fucking shit-balls!" Chad said in surprise when he saw them. "Am I seeing who I think I'm seeing? How did *they* get down here?"

"I told them to come here." Natalie said. "And I let the guards know as well."

"Oh hell no!" Chad said angrily. "I'm putting an end to this right now!"

"Wait!" Natalie said, stopping Chad in his tracks. "You really want to start a fight here in front of everyone?"

"Well, at least we'll be executing that vampire freak anyway." Chad said, a little too loudly.

Natalie pulled Chad by his collar and pulled him close. "Shhh! Everyone could possibly hear you! And who knows if Ryan is listening?!" She shushed him angrily. "What was the number one rule?"

"Ugh, no one is to know about the execution, I know." Chad said, taking a sip of his soda. "And don't fucking 'shush' me, bitch!"

Natalie scoffed. "You're lucky I love you."

_________

Meanwhile, in the courtroom, everyone had gathered around and were seated around the main area where Jake was.

Jake looked around and gulped in fear as he saw the crowd of hunters surrounding him. And up in the main area, he saw Natalie and Chad. And next to them were none other than Ryan and Trinity.

'This is not good. . .' Jake thought to himself.

Makayla, April, and Douxie suddenly arrived to see Jake in the middle of the room, tied up.

"Jake!" Makayla called out.

"Huh?" Jake said in shock as he turned to see the three of them had come to save him. "Guys! You came for me! And April, you're awake?!"

"Yeah, and I'm fine." April said. "Don't worry, we'll get you out of here."

"What?! You didn't say they'd be here?" Trinity said, turning to Natalie.

"Oh, they're here to watch the fun." Natalie smirked.

Ryan just sighed as she slumped in her seat, still thinking about what Jake had said to her the night before.

"Everyone. . ." The leader of the hunters, Charles Hunter, said, quieting everyone down. "Welcome to the first ever hunter trial! Here, we have our convicted criminal, Jake Moon!"

"But he's not a criminal. . ." Makayla said, softly.

"In the jury, we have my son and his girlfriend, Natalie Heartstrings." Charles said. "And on the opposite side, we have their cohorts, Ryan and Trinity."

"Uh. . . hi." Trinity said.

"And on the victim's side, we have three defendants." Charles said. "I don't know their names, but I also don't care."

"Wow." Douxie said, feeling a bit insulted.

"And now. . . it's time for the trial to commence." Charles said. "And we'll let the jury take the first hit. Go for it, son!"

"Well, father. . . I'm here in support of locking up this monster!" Chad said. "Look what he did to my arm! And the rest of my team!"

"That freak is a no-good, act of violence in nature!" Natalie said. "It would be for the best to keep him locked in the dungeon!"

"Yeah. . . In the dungeon." Trinity said.

"Wait, that's not fair!" Makayla suddenly said. "He's not a monster! He wasn't even aware of his powers to begin with!"

"Oh, really?" Natalie said. "So, his whole abilities were hidden from him? Or were they, perhaps, locked away deep down inside of him?"

"He'd never hurt anyone!" April said.

"Oh yeah?" Natalie said. "Then what happened to the wizard boy over there?"

"Oh, uh. . . that's none of your concern." Douxie said.

"See? The freak hurt his own brother!" Chad said. "Not even his family is safe from his wrath!"

"He has made multiple threats to my best friend as well!" Trinity said, getting into the trial, despite knowing their plans. "Did you know they dated for a while before? Yeah! And he made threats towards her, causing them to have to break up!"

Everyone gasped at that statement. Even Ryan was a little shocked to hear this.

"Trinity, what are you saying?" Ryan asked. "He never-"

"Just look at her!" Trinity said. "She's traumatized!"

Ryan didn't say anything as she just slumped back in her seat.

"No, that's not fair!" Makayla said, seriously. "There's no reason for this!"

"What makes you so sure?" Trinity asked.

"Because. . . Jake loved her." Makayla said. "He loved her with all his heart!"

Ryan gasped softly as she was stunned by Makayla's words.

"And. . . I know she loved him just as much." Makayla said, looking up at Ryan. "Trust me, I've seen those two together their whole relationship. It seemed healthy to me. The reason for their break-up, I'm still unsure of. But all I know, is that Jake was trying his best. He truly cared about you, Ryan! Would a true monster care so much about someone?"

"Yeah. . . even when I was bleeding on the ground from her attack, he didn't even go out of his way to attack her back." April said. "In fact. . . he basically let her off with a warning. He could've done so much more. And quite frankly, he should have. . ."

"Guys. . ." Ryan said softly as tears began to form in her eyes. She never expected that she'd be getting defended by the ones she hurt the most.

"That's nonsense!" Trinity said angrily. "Ryan came back to us, crying her eyes out! Jake is just as guilty as she is when it comes to breaking hearts!"

Ryan sighed as she looked down at Jake, who was breathing heavily and looked scared for his life.

Ryan: "But she is right, Trinity
He showed us that he's not all bad
They saw the light, Trinity
Checked all the boxes 
that you said would 
Prove a person
deserves a second chance
Now we turn our backs,
no second glance?"

Trinity: "It's not as simple as you think
Not everything is spelled in ink"

Makayla: "It's not fair, Trinity"

April: "Careful, Kayla,
keep a cool head"

Makayla: "No!
Don't you care, Trinity?
That just because someone
is a monster,
it doesn't mean they can't resolve
to change their ways
Turn the page,
escape infernal blaze"

Trinity: "I'm sure you wish
it could be so
But there's a lot that
you don't know"

Natalie: "What are we
even talkin' about?
Some vampire
who messed up already?
He blew his shot with
the girl that he loved
This discussion is
senseless and petty"

Chad and Natalie: "There's no question to be posed
He's unholy, case closed
Did you forget that
we're vampire hunters?"

Chad: "A man only lives once,
Say we've won the hunt
Gotta say, I can't wait to..."

Trinity: "Chad. . ."

Chad: "Come down and
exterminate him!"

Ryan: "Wait!"

Chad: "Shit"

Ryan: "What are you saying?
Let me get this straight
You were planning to
Kill him from the start?"

Makayla: "You didn't know?"

Chad: "Whoops"

Natalie: "Guess the cat's
out of the bag"

Chad: "What's the big deal?"

Ryan: "Trinity, tell me that
you didn't know"

Trinity: "I thought since
I'm your best friend
I would just let this end"

Ryan: "No!"

Trinity: "You have to listen,
it was such a hard decision
I wanted to save you,
the anguish it takes to
Do what was required"

Ryan: "To think that I admired you, well I don't need your condescension
I'm not a child to protect
Was talk of virtue just pretension?
Was I too naïve to expect you
To heed the morals you're purveying?"

Makayla: "That's what the fuck
I've been saying!"

Makayla and Ryan: "If you're all hunters, then you must be telling a lie"

Trinity: "Ry!"

Makayla and Ryan: "If hunters can do whatever, and get away with it
The rules are shades of gray
when you don't do as you say
When you make the wretched suffer just to kill them again"

Makayla: "I was told not to trust
You guys long ago"

Chad: "By her?"

Natalie: "Ha! She should know"

April: "We should go"

Makayla: "No!
Don't you see?
We've come so close
Look at them fighting,
they're at each other's throats"

Chad: "Don't you act all
high and mighty
Did you ever think your brother's girlfriend might be a liar?"

April: "Don't, Chad please!"

Chad: "What's the fuss?
Why hide the fact that
you're a monster just like them?"

As he sang that last part, a large screen came down, showing a video of April. And it looked like she was causing trouble and even hurting her own friends. She almost looked. . . possessed.

When Jake saw this, he instantly had a look of terror on his face. He looked over at April with a sort of disappointed look on his face.

"Jake. . . please." April pleaded. "I never meant to-"

"Why. . . ?" Jake sighed. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I. . . I wanted to, Jake." April said. "But-"

"Uh oh. . . someone's disappointed." Chad said with a smirk.

"Damn right. . ." Jake scoffed.

"Jake. . ." April said.

"If only you would've told me before." Jake said. "I. . . I could've hel-"

But before Jake could say anything else, Natalie suddenly pulled out a taser and stuck it in his side, causing him to fall unconscious from the shock.

"That's enough out of you." Natalie said.

"Jake!" Makayla called out in desperation.

"Don't touch him!" Ryan suddenly yelled out as she started to lunge towards Natalie, but she was stopped by Trinity. "Hey, let me go!"

While everyone was scrambling around with trying to save Jake, April just stood there. Her head began to throb as she cried in pain and clutched her head, falling to her knees as her ears began to ring.

"It's my turn now. . ." The dark voice inside her head said.

Everything that happened next was all so fast. One moment, everyone was in the courtroom. And in the next. . . they were blasted outside of the warehouse by a powerful blast of energy.

To be continued. . .

Song is a parody of "You Didn't Know" from Hazbin Hotel

Jake Moon, Ryan, Trinity, Natalie Heartstrings, and Chad Hunter belong to me

Makayla Light belongs to makaylaLight435

TMNT belongs to Nickelodeon

Tales of Arcadia belongs to DreamWorks

All rights reserved