As everyone triumphantly reached the top of the stone steps, Ashley Ryan glared at Mina. "Where were you, undergrad?" the catty ex-prosecutor demanded. "The bailiff couldn't find you and they were gonna send for the police to hunt you down!"

"Actually!" Mina said, grinning and looking towards Chief O'Law. "I was with the police AND some long time friends."

Ashley's eyes widened when she saw the other three people with her. It was the annoying Yowl and goth friends AND…"The mayor?!!" she gasped.

Raven chuckled. "Not the mayor anymore, Tigercat. I renounce the title and admit even Monty Banks was a better mayor than me! I'm better off being a humble lawyer and a Freddie Fahrenheit record collector."

Ashley's mouth hung open and she stifled her cat-gloves forward. "But how…did you? How did you…Undergrad? How did you save them?"

Trudy puffed out her cheeks and chuckled in her deep voice. "We're strong independent women and we saved ourselves!"

"And me!" Raven said, striking another disco pose. "You girls are better than a SWAT team!"

Mina grabbed her friends and pulled them together. "More like my SWAG team, Amiright?!"

Everyone groaned and Winona said. "Let's stick to lawyering, Mina. Your humor is kinda post-mortem."

"Oh righty!" Mina said, "We still have to save my butt!"

Mina and her friends all looked at each other and nodded. It was time to right the wrongs and stop the Aura once and for all!

***

Devillia's pleasantly unpleasant smile rose as soon as Mina entered the courtroom. "Ah…" she said, fluffing up her bushy blonde hair. "So you haven't run from your verdict. I believe the jury has come to a nice clean deliberation about you breaking and entering into my house… and my husband's psyche."

Mina raised her fingers and pointed straight in Devillia's direction. "Deliberate this!"

Devillia's perky nose wrinkled at the sight of not only Trudy and Winona, but…her supposed husband emerging from his stasis.

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

"I have an objection, your honor!" Raven shrieked as he walked down the aisle. "That was not my beautiful house."

And he pointed straight at Devillia too. "That is not my beautiful wife!"

Divine, the reigning queen of sassy double takes pulled back in disbelief. Raven grinned mischievously. "Of course you remember who I am, your honorable honor! The day my squawky voiced belted out falsetto in an eighth octave voice!"

Divine rolled her eyes. "Yes I do. And being a professional singer. It was more like a negative eight octave voice."

Devillia let out an unpleasant ahem. "I believe you remember, your honor, what my hubby bubby said to you last year. When we came in for that very important meeting."

Mina gasped. What meeting was Devillia referring to?

"You know," the wicked Devillia said. "That he wanted to change his name and that he fully consented to it."

"Yess…" Divine said. "I remember Raven Lockwood said that he wanted to be known as Ivor Ebony to fit his wife Harmony's last name."

Mina groaned. They actually had court documents apparently to prove who he was.

Raven raised a finger. "I have a hypothesis. Or rather a hypno-thesis. I was hypnotized! By who? A dastardly organization that wants me for their own sinister purposes."

He thrust his finger at Devillia. "And she's the leader!"

Devillia chuckled ominously. "That's absolutely preposterous. Can you prove this notion? Maybe it's just you who has gone screwy."

Suddenly, Raven thought for a second. There was a mischievous gleam in his eye. "Well. I know you're not my beautiful wife, Harmony. Because…that's not the face you wear to bed!"

Devillia started laughing nervously again. "How dare you say that to me! Just because I make up my face to go out, doesn't mean I'm a different person."

Raven started walking towards her. He outstretched his hand. "Perhaps we can test my hypno-thesis further and you can face off with me personally."

"Stop!" she screamed.

She started snapping her fingers angrily at Raven, trying to hypnotize him. "Ivor. You are under my control! Submit to me! SUBMIT TO MEEEEEE!"

Raven turned to the judge and with a humble bow, pleaded. "I rest my case, your honor. This woman hypnotized me and was trying to do it again."

Devillia let out an anguished howl and the judge raised her eyebrows. "And Ms. Harmony rests her face!"

Mina and her friends gasped in horror as Harmony Ebony dug her fingernails into her face and peeled off a prosthetic mask. What laid beneath was shocking.

Her face was powdery pale with dark blue eyes and a bony slim face. She ripped off her housewife wig too, revealing a dark bob of hair. A metallic choker with an embedded skull wrapped around her neck. The woman more resembled a dreary goth more so than happy sunny Harmony Ebony.

Everyone gasped. (Especially Winona who exclaimed "Holy hot gothic!")

Even her voice was no-longer perky or bright. "Fine," the pale faced woman laughed coldly. "Like that insipid fop of a man says. I am not Harmony Ebony. Devillia is indeed my name!"