What choice does she have?

'Bad' Kat (she guessed that was what she was called now... the outfit did well to both cement the identity and make it seem sort of appealing to her) decided to trust her better self for once and take her by the hand to hurry into the courtroom, which was only a little bit down the hall, as it turned out. Good Kat pushed through the oak doors and revealed a sight that was surreal and immensely nerve-wracking.

It was an old-fashioned courtroom, like something out of a Law & Order episode she might've watched with her dad as a kid... and its gallery was FILLED with rows and rows of people connected to Kat, living or dead, fictional or real. It was as if her subconscious store of people she cared about, loved, hated, or identified with were there.

They were too numerous to list here in full, but a few interesting people in attendance included: Her Dad and her long-deceased Mom, her two sisters, her cousins and aunts and uncles and grandparents and great-grandparents from Taiwan whom she had never met (they appeared as she always pictured them); famous painters and artists she admired like Kahlo, Hopper, Bacon, Monet, Dali, Carrington, Lynch; historical figures from Abraham Lincoln to Cleopatra; all of her friends from kindergarten to adulthood; every single person she had ever been romantically connected to; every person she ever admired or idolized; every celebrity crush... all of them were there to watch Kat's trial unfold.

While the pair of Kats moved through the aisle and approached their table on the defense side, both feeling terribly nervous in the presence of so many important people, Bad Kat spied *two more* Kats present in the court. This was getting to be too much!

One was at the table on the opposing side, dressed very conservatively indeed in glasses, a brown skirt and jacket and white blouse. She looked tired, haggard even... but when she looked up at the flashy pair that just entered, she looked very, very determined. Kat recognized the look anywhere. It was the look she had when she was mad at herself.

"Who's that?" Bad Kat whispered.

"Don't let her scare you." Good Kat whispered in response, placing her hand on her doppelganger's shoulder. "That's our guilt. I play golf with her all the time. She's usually pretty cool, but today's her big day, so I imagine she's kind of stressed out."

Bad Kat pursed her lips and sneered. "She needs to get laid."

Good Kat looked pleadingly up to the ceiling. "Oh my God, you're *literally* the worst."

A Kat in a beige uniform, the bailiff, apparently, cut the conversation short. "All rise for the honorable Judge Conscience."

The assembly rose as instructed by the surprisingly deep-voiced Kat, and surprise surprise, a FIFTH Kat emerged from her chambers in a comical powdered wig and oversized black robe, carrying a gavel and a book conspicuously titled "THE LAW".

"Ohmigod, is that what I think judges look like?" Bad Kat giggled.

"Shut UP." Good Kat hissed.

"Have a seat, folks." Judge Kat instructed as she plopped down into her seat and banged the gavel a few times with a cheery expression. She clearly had no idea how any of this worked.

"Now we're here today to hear the case of..." Judge Kat flipped through some files (seriously, you don't know which case you're hearing, Judge KAT?) before making a little satisfied noise and continuing- "Ah! Katiana Lao Grey's Guilt vs. Katiana Lao Grey. Katiana, how do you plead?"

Good Kat and Bad Kat looked to each other.