Re: [Neni's Fanfics] ~Complete Turnabout~ (8.10.: Chapter27 
Beginning prosecutor.
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Spoiler: Chapter 27:What They Saw
May 3nd, 12:15pm
District Court
Courtroom No. 2
"Mr. Wright. How is the witness?"
This was the question I found myself confronted with just mere ten minutes later, back in the prosecution's bench in the courtroom. There were probably still sweat pearls hanging from my face from the shock just a few minutes earlier, but at least this was over now.
"She's come to already," I replied to the Judge calmly and somewhat relieved. "…And demanded a fluffy pillow and a blanket as soon as she did. I think it's safe to assume the witness is going to be in the condition to return to the courtroom again soon."
"Ah… That sounds, well… fortunate?"
The Judge sounded everything but sure of his words when he said that, and who could have blamed him? No matter what had happened just now – even though we still didn't have much more than a vague idea regarding why it even happened – she was still Heatherd, the woman who had cost the entire courtroom half their nerves already.
"Ms. Von Karma is supervising her. For now, however, it's best to allow her to rest a bit," I told the Judge. "While it's important to find out what exactly that woman's true role in the case is, I don't think that we should risk cross-examining her further now…"
(And even if we don't cross-examine her now… It doesn't really matter anymore. Edgeworth got her. Her testimony is ruined.)
I found myself not as surprised that Von Karma had immediately volunteered to keep an eye on Heatherd than I thought I would be. Von Karma had been unusually silent and passive throughout the entirety of today's trial. It was obvious that something was going on within her mind… even though I had no idea what that was. But there was no time to worry about that now. I had to focus on the present. I glanced over to the defense's bench, where Edgeworth stood, still alone. I was beginning to seriously wonder where Dahlia might have gone. A look into the gallery finally enlightened me.
There. There she was, right in the audience. Dahlia was sitting beside Iris while, in turn, a prison guard was seated to her right. The sisters were holding hands. Naturally, I couldn't hear them talk, but Iris let out a visible sigh… What were they speaking about? And why hadn't I seen Dahlia before? Had she been with Iris all the time? Questions over questions…
A little further to the right, I could once again spot Trucy Enigmar and Apollo sitting in the audience, at the very same spot I had seen them before, talking to each other like earlier. Still, something had changed about them. It didn't take me long to determine what that was. Their mood, relaxed and casual until the last break, had made a one-eighty degree flip, both of them seeming very excited and tense. They seemed a whole lot more focused on the happenings in the courtroom now than they had seemed before, especially young Apollo, whose already comparably big eyes seemed even sharper and distinct now. Trucy's stare was pretty noticeable as well. The events during Heatherd's last cross-examination had presumably shaken them awake to how serious this all was. I wasn't sure if that was a good or a bad thing, but I tended more towards 'bad'. After all, they were just children. I hoped we hadn't scared them too much… Not that they seemed exactly 'scared'. More like 'eager'… But eager to do what?
"Hm…" During the time I had taken to examine the gallery a little further, the Judge had apparently mentally analyzed our current situation a bit, coming to an conclusion just as I turned my attention back to him.
"Well, without a witness, I don't really see a point in prolonging the trial any longer for today. Neither is it possible to declare a verdict with the current stand of information we have. I thus see no other option but to delay the conclusion of the trial for one last time, to tomorrow, the last possible date to decide this case."
(…Postpone the trial until tomorrow… does that really make sense?) I wondered to myself. (It would give Edgeworth and me one more day to investigate… But, on the other hand, it'd also give Heatherd time to tamper around with her testimony enough to make it fit again. That would make us lose even more time. It's true, we can't cross-examine her again already right now. I can't help but feel that I'd rather have this case wrapped up sooner than later, but… Maybe, more time for our investigations would be enough to clear up all open questions.)
After thinking all of this through as much as possible in the short time span I had, I finally made a decision and gave the judge a nod.
"I agree, Your Honor. At the current point, there is no use in resuming the trial. Not without a witness. Maybe we should postpone the resolution till tomorrow…"
It was no secret that it was kind of a hobby of Edgeworth's and mine to disagree with each other. That he had decided to disagree right now, however, of all times, left me a bit stunned.
"E-Edgeworth?" I gave him the clearest 'What now?' look I could conjure up as soon as he had interrupted the Judge and me. There was a smile on his face. And it was clearly directed at me.
"Wright. You should learn to not rush your conclusions like this, before truly having considered every other possibility."
(My conclusions? I was agreeing with the Judge! How come he's not getting any of your flak?)
Another hobby of Edgeworth's and mine was to insult each other on every given opportunity. Though, that was more a thing on his part than on mine. Probably because I, admittedly, just gave him more opportunities.
Despite all differences, it was interesting to see how all these things still applied here, even with our roles changed. The part of me that wasn't busy feeling offended was intrigued.
"Mr. Edgeworth, are you trying to say you see a way to continue this trial in a meaningful way?" the Judge asked.
Edgeworth tapped his pointer finger on his forehead just once and nodded, still wearing the same smile as before on his face.
"A meaningful and very reasonable way, Your Honor. As, while it is true that our last witness is in no state to be questioned any further for now… That does not prevent us from calling up another witness, does it?"
And that was the moment when I didn't know what to think anymore. Remember my 'What now?'-face from earlier? Well, it had now effectively devolved into just a plain 'Ehhh…?' face.
"Another… witness?"
(Again?)
I wasn't the only person in the courtroom who visibly thought that Edgeworth's strategy of continuing the trial by bringing in more and more new witnesses to be getting a bit old now. Even if all the previous witnesses he had brought in had been legitimate…
"There is yet another witness?" The Judge was among us non-believers. "Who is it and how come this person has not previously been mentioned, Mr. Edgeworth?"
"Oh, this person has been mentioned before in this trial, You Honor. Many, many times, in fact," Edgeworth claimed. "And I assure you that you will find that all of the previous witnesses will have to agree with the statement that this person had been present at the scene of the crime around the time of the murder. We merely have yet to actually hear her testimony. That is all."
I raised my head.
"'Her'?"
(Is he talking about...?)
I was beginning to understand what Edgeworth was planning to do. After all, there was only one woman –aside from Ema herself – who had not been questioned yet and who even Heatherd wouldn't deny to have been at the scene of the crime. And, as if he had understood that I had understood, Edgeworth nodded slightly before continuing.
"Yes. The defense requests the defendant, Lana Skye, to be called to the witness stand!"
"The defendant?" The Judge asked, as if he needed reassurance that he had heard right.
(Of course… That's it!) I however, had understood completely what Edgeworth was trying to do. (Lana's confession is the one thing still holding this case together in first place. If Edgeworth manages to invalidate that… then Lana would only be guilty of perjury. Not attempted murder-suicide or even plain murder…)
"Well… If the prosecution agrees..."
Back straight, head up, I turned to the Judge again as soon as I had understood that my 'OK' was needed for Edgeworth to go through with this.
"Yes, I do." I nodded. "I, too, would be very interested in hearing Ms. Skye's testimony. And I won't request any preparation time for this either. She should tell the court just what she has to tell about the incident. That would be… a useful way to continue this trial."
And Edgeworth nodded. "Indeed. That's just what I thought."
"If I understood this right…" The Judge raised his head. "Both defense and prosecution agree that the defendant, Ms. Skye, should be cross-examined right now, without any further delays?"
"Yes," Edgeworth repeated.
"If that is alright with you, Your Honor." I nodded once more.
The next thing that happened was the Judge's gavel sounding through the room.
"In that case, may I ask Ms. Skye to take the stand?"
Lana's reaction was calm, at least outwardly, but there was still something hesitant to the way she stepped forwards toward the stand, as if she was dreading the moment she would have to open her mouth and speak. And that moment was only seconds away…
"Please state your name and occupation for the protocol."
After three witnesses, asking this didn't even feel too awkward anymore.
"Lana Skye. I am the Chief Prosecutor of this District."
Lana replied in her usual factual, almost cold tone, but I knew better. She was nervous. She hadn't wanted to testify and she probably knew just all too well about Edgeworth's sharp mind and talent to spot inconsistencies. She knew that he was going to pluck her confession apart, bit by bit, until she would finally confess again – only that this time, it would be to the truth.
And this was exactly the point to which I wanted to get.
"Ms. Skye, you are accused of the murder of your younger sister, Ema, committed on May 1st in my apartment. What is your standpoint regarding these accusations?"
It was Edgeworth's downright dumbstruck face when I asked this that made me realize that reciting exactly what I would have expected him to say in my situation maybe wasn't my best idea- and Lana's reply to it made it pretty obvious why.
"They are true. Everything. Planning to commit murder suicide, I first took… my sister's life, followed by an unsuccessful suicide attempt on my own part. Everything is just as the prosecution originally assumed and Ms. Lilie Heatherd had suspected it to be."
(That's not good.) I bit my lip. (Now that the Judge heard the confession from Lana herself, he'll be a lot more inclined to believe it. Ungh…)
Edgeworth, however, was not going to just let it stand like this.
"Miss Skye!" One of Edgeworth's hands was on his desk now, and it had produced a loud, attention seeking noise when it made its way there. "What was this suspicious pause just now supposed to be? Just before you mentioned your sister?"
(…!)
I listened up. Being as startled by my own mistake as I had been, I had barely noticed the short silence in Lana's speech myself until Edgeworth had mentioned it. Lana, however, denied it.
"I have no idea what you are talking about, Mr. Edgeworth. Perhaps you imagined it?"
(Huh?)
For a moment, I wasn't sure if I had actually heard it, or just imagined it, but the voice that had just shouted out this sentence… had neither been Edgeworth's nor mine. Rather, it sounded like someone entirely different. Only when everyone turned their heads exactly where I expected them to turn, I knew that my suspicion had been correct.
And then, the whole courtroom was glaring at the one person in the gallery who was no longer sitting in his seat like a nice little boy, and that was… Apollo.
Not that the boy seemed to notice. He was way too focused on staring at Lana in the most unsettling manner I had ever seen a teenager glare at anything.
(W-What… What is that kid doing…?)
"…That was pretty suspicious, if you ask me!"
I don't know if Apollo was planning to blurt out even more after this, but, in any case, he didn't get to do so. The Judge's gavel shut him up as soon as the judge had realized that voice – yes – indeed was that 'random' kid in the gallery…
"Order!"
And the moment the gavel hit the desk… something seemed to happen to the boy. It was strange to describe, but, the way how his pupils suddenly narrowed, his whole body jerked and his determined expression dropped like it had never been there in first place… It seemed a bit like he was waking up from some sort of 'trance'.
The Judge continued by shaking his head. "This is a courtroom, young man! As much as I appreciate getting into the trial, I will have to ask you to either behave or leave!"
"E-Eh… Ehm…"
And then, Apollo didn't seem to be sure what was going on at all anymore, all his previous confidence having vanished into oblivion. Obviously unsure what to do now, he finally just shrunk down, back into his seat, and gave the entire courtroom an apologetic, shameful, "I'm sorry…" under his breath. His face, however, didn't look 'sorry' at all. Just very, very confused…
"In any case…" It was Edgeworth who spoke next, bringing the trial back to focus, "I sincerely doubt I just 'imagined' your behavior just now, Ms. Skye. Especially considering that even the children in the gallery seem to have taken notice of it."
"My sister was my last living relative," Lana replied seemingly calm. "And you expect me to be able to mention her death unfazed? Your cold harshness surprises me, Mr. Edgeworth."
Edgeworth didn't answer to this, probably realizing that it was most likely useless to further press Lana on that point. She wouldn't answer. It was about time to give us a chance to find actual contradictions in her confession…
I raised my head.
"Ms. Skye, please testify regarding the events between 4pm and 5pm on May 1st."
Giving me a short nod, Lana replied, "I will."
Ema's demise
"I arrived at the scene of the crime at approximately 4:40 PM.
I used my keycard to enter. I was wearing gloves at the time, explaining the lack of fingerprints.
Inside, I waited for my sister's arrival.
When Ema came, we first idly spoke for a while.
Then, when I saw the chance, I struck her from behind with a blunt object.
Next, I carried her to the wall and stabbed her with my personal knife.
I arranged the scene to look like there had been a struggle. Then I cleaned my knife of Ema's blood under the tap in the bathroom.
Finally, I attempted to hang myself in the bathroom but failed. The rope couldn't carry my weight.
I fell and lost consciousness. This is all."
Lana attempted to appear calm and collected, but this façade was slightly cracking. The testimony she had just given was filled with holes and she knew it. No wonder, given she had all but a few minutes to come up with it. Then again, this was Lana… She was anything but stupid. If she somehow managed to refute all of the problems with the testimony during the cross-examination, it could drag the trial out further, maybe long enough for her to come up with a 'confession' convincing enough to seal her fate.
That couldn't happen. I knew that and Edgeworth knew it too. We had no choice but to save this woman from her own stubbornness, whether she liked it or not. If not for her, then for Ema…
"Miss Skye." Edgeworth's eyes were clear and serious, looking directly in Lana's face, who tried to subtly evade the gaze. "Is this really where you want to take this? The examination has not started yet. There is still time to take these statements back with a justification. I am telling you this as your attorney."
"I stand by my testimony and will not change it to my own advantage," Lana said in a downright monotonous voice. "I am well aware of the consequences, of course. And am willing to accept them."
(We have everything we need,) I thought to myself. (This trial won't take much longer. As soon as we found out what really happened that day… This will end. Once and for all. And then I can finally take care of figuring out what happened to me.)
"Mr. Edgeworth, you can now cross-examine the witness."
"Very well, Your Honor."
"I arrived at the scene of the crime at approximately 4:40 PM.
I used my keycard to enter. I was wearing gloves at the time, explaining the lack of fingerprints.
Edgeworth's hand hit the desk flatly. "There were no gloves found on the crime scene!"
I bit my lip that moment. "Actually, there were."
The expression on Edgeworth's face changed a lot that moment. As he turned towards me with a puzzled look, I put my hands down on the table and explained, "I investigated the bathroom where the defendant was found the evening after the crime yesterday. We actually did find a pair of gloves there in the end. If the court would please take a look at this…"
I brought out the plastic bag that contained the nylon gloves and handed it to the bailiff, who, in turn, brought it to the judge. I continued explaining, "They were found in the toilet, which complements a suspicion I voiced during yesterday's trial. They were hard to spot, so it took me a while to find them. One of them is damaged, but the water washed away all eventual prints or blood. Still, I think it's rather safe to assume they were used in the murder."
"So what the prosecution proposed yesterday seems to have been correct," the Judge concluded, eying the gloves. "The culprit brought gloves to prevent touching anything directly. Then, he or she disposed of them via the toilet… hm. That makes sense."
Edgeworth had first seemed taken aback when I had presented the gloves, but now, his expression was calmer again. As if he was thinking about something and… somehow I felt like he liked the way his current train of thoughts was going. Don't ask me how I knew this though. It was just something in his expression. Many trials worth of experience might have something to do with it.
"Well, it seems like there were no further questions about this point. Witness, please proceed."
"Yes, Your Honor."
"What did you and your sister talk about, if I might ask?"
Lana stood there, stiffly disciplined as ever. "Nothing of importance. It was nothing but idle chitchat between sisters, including some exchange about our impending meeting with Mr. Wright."
"Why were you going to meet with me in first place?" I asked, when I realized that this was something I still didn't quite know.
Lana's response to this was less than impressed. "Mr. Wright, excuse me if I must ask, but is your memory leaving you?"
At this point, Edgeworth gave me a look that could be interpreted in many ways, 'worried' among them – but only because it was him giving it – as Lana continued,
"It was you who had invited both Ema and myself to come to your apartment. We were to discuss details regarding one of your recent cases. I merely used this opportunity to carry out my plans…"
"One of my cases? But what does Ema have to do with that? Why did she come along?"
"Again. You were the one who invited us, Mr. Wright. Shouldn't you be the one who knows this best?"
At this moment, I fell silent. I had nothing to respond with.
(Darn…)
It was then that I realized that, while I had read Ema's text message to, at least partly, explain what she had wanted from me that day, I actually had no idea why Lana had come as well. Was it really like she said? That he - the other 'me' - had actually wanted to meet with both Lana and Ema that day to discuss something? What had he wanted to tell them…? And was it connected to the reason Ema died...?
I couldn't ask Lana those things right now. It would have been too suspicious. All that remained to me was to keep those things in mind until later.
Edgeworth asked another question:
"Was there anything notable about your sister that you noticed when you spoke to her?"
"No," Lana replied. "There was nothing of notice. She behaved perfectly normal and carried nothing on her that would have stuck in my mind."
"I see…"
I read in Edgeworth's face that this statement had only strengthened his belief Lana wasn't telling the truth, though I didn't really understand what – so far – had been wrong with what she had said. The problematic part was only going to come up in the next few moments…
"Would you mind elaborating on said 'blunt object', Ms. Skye?" Edgeworth asked, clearly doubting that she even knew what had hit Ema.
Lana looked away. "I don't really remember it too well. I just took the first fitting object I found and used it. Then, I returned it to its place. I clearly wasn't in my right mind at the time, as you surely understand. It could have been anything. I assume it was a vase or something of that kind."
(She doesn't know what Ema was hit with... That makes me wonder…) I scratched my chin a bit. (Was the 'club' that robbed Ema of her consciousness even at the crime scene? I can't remember anything like this…)
"Let us make sure I understood you correctly, Miss Skye." Edgeworth was calm and focused. "You are saying that you used your personal knife to stab the victim… Then cleaned it with soap and tap water from the bathroom?"
Lana nodded, equally calmly. "This is correct."
Edgeworth shrugged, smiled and sighed.
"Except for the fact that it is not possible."
Surprised, Lana lifted her head a bit, her eyes opening a bit further, her mouth opening slightly.
"What…?"
"Edgeworth." I put both my hands on the desk before me. "Not possible? You mean Ms. Skye's knife couldn't be the murder weapon?"
Edgeworth's hand rested on a file on the desk before him. "I wasn't referring to this directly, though the conclusion is ultimately the same."
Before I could figure out what he meant by that, Edgeworth had picked up the file and continued:
"Wright. Earlier, you mentioned a pair of gloves found in the toilet, complementing your theory from yesterday. You are saying that the killer used these gloves to protect their hands from getting stained with Ema Skye's blood. Is that correct?"
I nodded. "That's what I believe, yes."
"…However. I couldn't help but notice that there is one quality to these gloves that does not quite fit with what you proposed to us yesterday." Edgeworth smirked. "…Namely the fact that you were able to recover them from the crime scene in first place. Didn't you say yourself that the culprit would have flushed them down the toilet to destroy the evidence?"
"…!"
I began to understand what Edgeworth was talking about… And as I did so, more pieces began to line up in my mind. A whole lot of things finally began to make sense… while also some more questions showed up.
"Mr. Edgeworth, weren't you questioning Ms. Skye about the murder weapon just now?" I heard the judge's bewildered voice coming from above. "What is it with this sudden change in topic?"
It was me who responded:
"Your Honor, I think what Edgeworth is trying to tell us is that the knife couldn't have been cleaned… For the same reason the gloves were where they were found yesterday."
"You believe there is the same reason for both of this?"
Edgeworth took the floor again:
"I am going to try to explain the reasoning behind this, Your Honor: It is out of question that the killer threw the gloves into the toilet in order to dispose of them. They could turn out to become vital evidence for this case after all. However… Wright was still able to find them, which means the culprit did not flush after ridding himself of those gloves. The question is: Why? Pushing this one button would have barely taken up a second and there are many ways to do it without leaving any fingerprints. Which leads me to one possibility: What if the toilet wasn't flushed because it couldn't be flushed?"
"It couldn't?" The Judge didn't seem to yet fully understand, so Edgeworth did him a favor and kept explaining.
"During yesterday's trial Ms. Heatherd made a statement that she only mentioned once, yet it stayed on my mind… She said that most of the occupants of the 20th floor had left the building at the time of the crime… due to maintenance works."
Finally, a little light bulb seemed to light up in the Judge's mind.
"Maintenance works…!"
"Indeed, Your Honor. Maintenance works. Connecting the dots from here on should be easy. The toilet couldn't be flushed. Why? For a reason that would have also made it impossible for Ms. Skye to clean the knife of blood at the time of the murder. Namely…"
Edgeworth's hand landed on the desk again and he leaned forwards:
"There must have been no running water in the 20th floor at the time of the murder!"
Old habits die hard. In Lana's case, said "old habit" must have been biting her thumb nail when she was starting to lose her composure. Right now, she was gnawing on it nervously, so much it almost looked downright painful. It took her a short moment to force herself to lower her hand and instead turn towards Edgeworth, leaning on the witness stand as she did so.
"…P…Proof!" she shouted out. "Mr. Edgeworth… This is a fact-changing claim that you make there! Can you support it with evidence?"
"Ms. Heatherd's statement from yesterday is part of this trial's protocol," Edgeworth responded calmly, yet Lana disagreed.
"That statement proves nothing!" she claimed. "Ms. Heatherd was speaking of 'maintenance works'. Did she mention that it was the plumbing that was being worked on? There is nothing you can present to support this claim!"
It was then that I believed it to be my turn to say something again.
"Edgeworth may not have anything to support it… But I do."
"Mr. Wright…!"
Lana was slightly stunned, slowly turned her head into my direction, as I was searching my files for something… and found it.
Once again, I couldn't help but wonder to myself what I would do if Maya didn't always end up convincing me to do things I probably shouldn't do but ended up getting me some invaluable evidence.
"If the court would please pay attention of the following data from the building's administration. If you do so, you will see that Mr. Edgeworth's deduction is absolutely… correct. There was no running water in the building in the timeframe that encompasses the time between the murder and the discovery of the crime scene. In other words: There is no way you could have cleaned a knife of all blood and fingerprints before Edgeworth and I arrived, Miss Skye!"
Lana lost her balance on the stand for a moment there. Clinging to the stand with one hand, she was sweating. Her eyes were on me, piercing, almost as if she silently asking me why I was doing this. More and more, it became clear to me that allowing herself to be pronounced guilty in this trial… Lana expected me to know the reason why. Meaning that the other Phoenix should have known. There was a reason. A reason she thought that ruining her own life once and for all for would make any sense.
To me, however, this didn't matter. All I knew was that Lana was innocent. Not just because I trusted her. Now, all evidence pointed at it as well. There was no way I was going to allow her to end it this way. No matter what her reasons were.
The Judge had, meanwhile, finished taking a look at the data I had presented to the court. Closing his eyes and thinking about it for a bit, he finally let his eyes sweep over the courtroom, the gallery, me, Lana, Edgeworth. He used his gavel once, before he announced:
"Well… In the light of this new evidence, I think there is one thing we can say for sure now… And that is that the knife that was found at the crime scene was not the actual murder weapon."
Edgeworth nodded. "I agree, Your Honor."
I did the same. "There would have been blood remaining on it, after all."
Lana smashed her hand flatly into the witness stand.
"And what does that mean? Just because the knife that was found at the crime scene wasn't the same that was registered in the Court Record, it does not mean that I wasn't the one who committed the crime!"
Edgeworth did the same as Lana, except with his own hand and desk.
"This was the only knife that could have caused the deadly wound at the crime scene, Ms. Skye! If it wasn't the true murder weapon, it means that that the knife that was actually used has been removed from the crime scene in-between the murder and Wright's and my arrival! You, however, where unconscious in this time frame. Meaning that someone else removed the murder weapon from the crime scene!"
Trying hard to regain her cool, Lana stood up straight. She didn't look at Edgeworth however.
"I could have found a different way to rid myself of the murder weapon. My memory of the time of the murder is… unclear. Perhaps I threw the knife out of the window?"
I replied. "The window…?"
"The bathroom window, Mr. Wright," Lana replied. "It might be too narrow to serve as an escape route, but take a look at the plan of the surroundings of the building. The window faces a small stream just behind it. Had I thrown the knife into this small river… It would have been a good enough alternate way to rid myself of it."
I took a look at the plans and realized she was right… There was a kind of small river in the backyard of the building. It would have been perfectly possible to throw the knife there through the small window, though she would have needed some crazy precision to successfully aim for this bit of water...
But this wasn't about probabilities. This was about possibilities. And as long as the possibility was there, there was no way we could argue with the point she had just made. Edgeworth, too, seemed to understand this just all too well.
Still, he wasn't out of munitions yet and was perfectly ready to show that.
"If that is the case… Then let us take a look at another question for now. Namely, how you brought said knife to the crime scene in first place."
Lana still refused to look at Edgeworth.
"What kind of question is this supposed to be? In my handbag, of course."
"Excuse me if I doubt this, Ms. Skye."
The woman in the witness stand jerked at the determined tone in Edgeworth's voice. He went on:
"According to Mrs. Fey's testimony, your handbag was stolen from you on the same afternoon the murder happened. She explicitly mentioned you not carrying anything on you at the time. "
"Mrs. Fey was probably trying to protect me by stating this," Lana claimed. "After all, I am a close friend of her elder daughter. The chance that she lied in order to make it look like I couldn't have committed the crime is rather high."
"…Ms. Skye. I am sorry to tell you that there is proof that you didn't have your handbag when you entered the building that day."
Lana's eyes opened wide.
"Proof…?"
Edgeworth was holding a piece of evidence I hadn't seen before in this trial… A cellphone. Judging by the look in Lana's eyes when she saw it, it was most likely hers.
"Where… did you…?"
"This is your cellphone, Ms. Skye, correct?" Edgeworth asked. "It was found in your handbag, at the crime scene. The police deemed it as irrelevant to the case, so a friend of mine allowed me to take a look at it. What I found was… interesting. There are records of several missed calls on this cellphone… however, all only from one single afternoon. Not one from before. I assume you can guess which afternoon I am talking about?"
Lana had started to bite her thumbnail again. Her other hand enclosed one of the ends of her scarf.
"The afternoon… of… the murder…?" she spat out, only for the sake of responding.
And Edgeworth nodded. "Indeed. Tell me, Ms. Skye, isn't it strange that you have not a single missed call on your phone except for calls that happened that very afternoon? If you, in fact, carried your phone with you at the time, why didn't you pick them up? You also did not call back a single one of them, at least according to the records on your phone. It can't have been because of an empty battery. Your phone was almost fully charged when it was found."
She didn't seem like she had anything to reply to this, so Lana remained silent, trying hard to resist the need to gnaw on her thumbnail and looking all-around nervous. When Edgeworth saw that she wouldn't say anything, he simply continued:
"Given that your phone was found in your handbag and the timestamps of the missed calls match up with the period of time in which, according to Mrs. Fey, you were not on possession of it, that leads me to the conclusion that you indeed entered the building without your handbag, which, by extension, also means that you carried neither your phone, nor the alleged murder weapon at you at the time. How, however, come those items were found with you when I discovered you in the bathroom, unconscious? I can think of only one explanation: Someone else was present in this apartment during the events of the murder. Someone aside of yourself or the victim. And it was this person who returned your handbag to you after you had been robbed of your consciousness. The thief of your handbag and Ema's true murderer could, by that logic, very well be the same person!"
There was a reason Edgeworth added that last statement, and it seemed to work, as Lana suddenly raised her head when she heard it, as if an invisible switch had been turned in her mind and she was beginning to realize something. For a moment, it seemed as if she would ball her hands to fists. Then, however, just as quickly as the changes in her expression and movement had come, they disappeared again and Lana, once more, lowered her head.
"Another person? Ridiculous. Nobody could have entere-"
"This was already disproven, Ms. Skye," Edgeworth disagreed. "There was a person present who could have opened the door lock with ease: Dylan Sengage and, by extension, Lilie Heatherd. Making use of his talents."
Lana shook. Her thumbnail was between her teeth, her other hand still at her scarf. Throwing glances at me from time to time.
"…There was no one else," she kept claiming. "Nobody except for Ema and me entered the apartment at the time of the crime. I know this for sure. This hypothetical person you speak of does not exist."
"You know it for sure? Just like you knew what object Ema was struck with? Or that the knife used in the murder was not the same one as the one in the Court Record? Just how you knew about the lack of running water in the apartment at the time? Or the missed calls recorded on your cellphone?"
The more Edgeworth spoke to Lana, the more often she glanced in my direction. Finally, I returned her looks with my own serious expression.
"Ms. Skye," I told her. "Really, I don't understand why you are doing this. And I don't really care for the reason either. All I know is that everyone here can plainly see that you didn't murder your sister. Stop denying it. I am not going to help you to get yourself sentenced for a crime you clearly didn't commit."
In that one moment after I had said this, Lana seemed to be two things. Helpless and… puzzled.
"Mr. Wright… You…"
She never said more than that, but fell silent right after.
"There are simply too many things you didn't know, Ms. Skye," Edgeworth told her while she was still looking into my direction, surprising her. She slowly turned as he kept talking. "Whether or not you were 'in your right mind' at the time the murder happened, many things you stated turned out to be incorrect and simply recited from previous statements in this trial. In fact, most of your knowledge of the case seems to be a simple patchwork of things that were previously said. I seriously wonder if you actually saw any part of the incident with your own eyes."
(Lana… please take back that confession,) was all I thought to myself. (This is helping nobody, can't you see that? And until you take back that confession… There is nothing we can do to help you either. Please...)
But she didn't seem to share that opinion.
"I… I saw it," Lana kept claiming, as her whole body shook. Her voice faltered. "I was there. I was there… with Ema… It was me who…k…k-killed…"
Yes.
That's exactly what I heard. That word, loud, clearly echoing through the entire room. It cast the courtroom into a silence for just a moment, before slowly, everyone turned to find the source of the shout. Really, everyone turned. Edgeworth, the Judge, the audience in the gallery… everyone.
Somehow, I am still rather sure I was the first one to have my eyes at the right spot. Maybe because the second the yell happened… I just knew where it had come from. And I wasn't mistaken. Up in the gallery, standing straight, one hand balled to a fist, the other one outstretched with the pointing finger aimed straight at Lana – if I think about it, he was clearly imitating my pose there, but I really didn't care much for that kind of copyright-infringement at that moment – was the same boy who had already caused a small commotion earlier. Apollo. And just like before, his eyes were so scarily focused on Lana, it send a cold sensation down my spine. This wasn't a kind of look any kid should be able to give you. By his side, the little Trucy, who had jumped out of her seat as well, was standing, looking just as pumped as him, both of her hands balled into fists as if she wanted to punch the stupid out of Lana. She, too, was glaring down at her.
"Stop lying!" Apollo yelled. "You keep saying that you were there and saw everything, but none of that is true, is it? You can't even utter her name in the same sentence as the word 'killing'! What are you trying to do, Miss? You are going to get yourself a life sentence or worse! And the victim was your sister… God! You think your sister would want that? Why are you doing this? This way, the real killer is never going to pay what he did to her! I mean… It's not like… I could claim that I knew what it's like to have a sister, but… but… don't you want justice for her?"
For a moment, Lana was stunned. She just stared up at the boy telling her off, her face rather blank. Finally, she looked away.
"Things are more complicated than that. You are just a kid. You can't understand that yet."
Apollo's eyes were downright fierce when he replied:
"Maybe I am just a kid… But that doesn't mean I can't tell right from wrong! Even I can plainly see that you're being stupid!"
Maybe there was more he wanted to yell at Lana. Maybe. I will never know. The Judge's gavel came down loudly three times while he was still talking, drowning out the boy's voice under its sound.
"Order! Order! ORDER!" The patience of the judge with Apollo had found its end. "I am sorry, but I warned you once before! This is a courtroom, not a school playground! Bailiff! Please take this boy out! He is to not enter the courtroom again until after the proceedings!"
Two bailiffs were up in the gallery faster than I'd have them expected to be, grabbing a rather distraught and surprised Apollo by his wrists. There was a bit of a struggle between the two parties, also thanks to Trucy, who had grabbed Apollo's shirt and was trying to pull him back, away from the men who had come to take him out.
"P-Polly!"
When Apollo realized that it was no use to resist and that he was going to leave this room, whether he wanted to or not, he turned towards me. He shouted:
"Mr. Wright!"
I looked up at him, listening to what the boy had to say. Apollo tried to resist being dragged out for just a bit longer.
"That… That woman! Every time she claims that she knew or saw what happened, she's tugging her scarf!"
I blinked in surprise. Tugging her… scarf? I hadn't noticed anything like that.
Apparently, my face made it rather obvious that I was thinking just that, as Apollo kept shouting:
"It's really subtle! She's just tensing her muscles for a split second. I didn't realize right away either, but… I saw it! Twice in a row! I don't know what it means, but there's something she wants to hide so badly, she gets even more excited when she lies about it! That just has to be it, please, believe me! I really saw it!"
I couldn't help but stare. Just tensing her muscles a split second? If that was true, there was no way he could have seen that! Not that quickly, not from all the way up there. And still… there was such a deep sincerity in his voice, I just felt that he wasn't just making it up. Neither did Psyche Locks appear, not even vaguely. He really meant it. I had no idea how…
I remembered back to the day before, when I had met him and to what he had said in the bus. How he could feel people who weren't honest.
(This boy… just… who is he…?)
He finally gave up struggling when the bailiffs threatened to use handcuffs and, reluctantly, walked along with them. Trucy clung to his uniform a bit longer until he turned around to her and smiled, as if to assure her that he was going to be fine. Hesitantly, the little girl let go and stepped back as the two men in uniform led her friend out.
The door closed behind Apollo and the bailiffs and silence returned to the courtroom. A rather demotivated-looking Trucy returned to her seat, not making a sound and the people in the gallery, one by one, turned their attention back to the actual happenings of the trial…
Except nothing was really happening. Lana just stood in the middle of the room, the eyes of Edgeworth, the Judge and myself all on her. She looked even more shaken than before, but still made no attempt to take her confession back.
A quiet tension hung in the room for a short while. It was only about a minute later that Edgeworth finally broke this uncomfortable silence.
"Disturbance or not. I find it… rather interesting, I suppose."
Lana slowly turned her head into Edgeworth's direction, as if to ask him what he meant.
"What this boy told us just now," Edgeworth stated. "About a secret… that you are hiding with your scarf."
And then, Lana jerked. Wordlessly, not even making a sound, she just jerked. I felt confirmed with my feeling that the boy had been right. There was something Lana was hiding on… on her neck, maybe?
The Judge did not seem to see the meaning of Apollo's words quite as quickly as Edgeworth did.
"Mr. Edgeworth. Does this scarf hold any relevance to the case?"
"I have a suspicion," Edgeworth just replied before turning to Lana again. "Ms. Skye, if I might kindly ask you to remove your scarf?"
Lana didn't even react. She seemed deep in thoughts not really aware of what was happening anymore… or what to do.
I raised my voice:
"Ms. Skye, please take that scarf off."
Silence. Lana just turned her head and looked at the floor.
"I… see no reason to," she uttered.
"If you won't remove it yourself, I'll see myself forced to ask the court for permission to do it in your stead," Edgeworth said. "No matter what you do, Ms. Skye, that scarf will not remain in place."
Lana didn't move or say anything for a while. She just silently kept looking at the floor. Then, finally, a few seconds later, she moved her hands up to her neck. She undid the knot on her beige muffler and let it drop to the floor.
There was… nothing special on her neck.
The tension that had built up within me suddenly dropped in just a moment I felt my shoulders slump down. Nothing? There was nothing on her neck? I would say that I felt 'disappointed', but I don't quite think that's the right word for it. The Judge, too, seemed less than impressed by what the removal of the scarf had brought us. He skeptically looked down at Lana.
"Well. And… now?" he asked.
But Edgeworth didn't seem finished yet. Unlike the Judge and me, his expression had changed not a bit. Calmly, he moved over to Lana where her scarf had fallen. He placed herself right to her left, beside her and… slowly brushed away her hair. Lana did nothing to keep him from doing so. It was a quite unsettling scene to watch, to be honest, may it have been because of the silence, or because of how close Edgeworth had come to his client… Wasn't there a law against that? In any case, Edgeworth was now examining Lana's neck. It didn't even take a few seconds until a smile began to form on his lips.
"Ms. Skye," he asked, stepping back from her, "Could you explain to me what exactly this small hole is doing in your skin?"
My attention rose. A hole…!
"It's a bite mark," Lana claimed. "I was bitten by a mosquito. Is that so unusual?"
"A mosquito bite? Is this really what it is?" Edgeworth asked as he started to return to his desk. "Because actually… I believe something entirely different caused this wound."
"Edgeworth…" I looked at the man on the other side of the room. "Do you think she was hit by…?"
"What?" The Judge looked down. "Could somebody explain to me what Mr. Edgeworth is talking about? What is so special about a little bite mark?"
Edgeworth, already holding something in his hand, turned towards the Judge. "Your Honor, I believe that I might be able to show you the 'mosquito', which caused this 'bite mark,' here and now."
"You can?"
"Yes, I can. Because the object which caused Ms. Skye's small wound was, in fact…"
"The dart…" I said, while Edgeworth was still in the process of presenting his notes of the evidence that I had shown him the other day.
He nodded. "The dart you found at the scene of the crime. Since Ema was rendered unconscious with a blow to the back of her head, there should have been no reason to aim such a dart at her. However… what if this dart wasn't shot at her… but someone else?"
"Hm…" I had brought out the dart from my Court Record already, to take a closer look at it. "The needle is thick… thick enough to leave a mark that would last a bit longer than just a day..."
(If it matches up with the size of the hole in her skin…!)
I looked up from the dart over to Edgeworth.
"So you are saying that the dart's actual target was… the defendant?"
(That makes sense. The dart was found several feet away from Ema… If Lana was rendered unconscious with a narcotic, then moved into the bathroom, the dart could have fallen out on the way. But where had she been sho-)
And suddenly, I understood why everything Lana has said so far had just been recounting previous witnesses' testimonies. It all made sense. Now, it made sense.
"Yes," Edgeworth replied to me. "If the defendant was rendered unconscious with this dart and a narcotic and not due to a fall, unlike previously assumed, it would explain all the discrepancies in her explanation."
I leaned forwards, slowly nodding my head. "I see… She was asleep the entire time… even before Ema ever arrived at the apartment."
I turned my head to Lana. "You were shot with the dart before you entered the apartment, weren't you? Right… Your keycard was probably in your handbag as well! You couldn't even have entered by yourself! Ema… You never even met her that afternoon, did you?"
Lana was trying her best to evade both Edgeworth's and my glares. Finally, she stated, "…This is enough, Mr. Edgeworth."
She looked up. "I did not hire an attorney to be badgered at the stand with wild claims like this. I… am revoking my own right to an attorney."
(She's pulling this again…!)
"Ms. Skye… no… Lana! It's over!" I told her. "Even if Edgeworth doesn't prove your innocence, it still won't change that I won't let this trial end until the actual killer has been found! Come to your senses and stop trying to make yourself into the scapegoat!"
"I have no idea what you are talking about, Mr. Wright," she replied, looking in an entirely different direction. "I am merely taking responsibility. That is all."
Edgeworth was silent. He didn't try to argue with Lana, or talk her out of it. Instead, however, he turned to me.
"Wright."
I directed my attention at him.
"Give the dart to the forensic scientists for analysis," he told me. "The narcotic that was used on Ms. Skye might have been rather strong. Should there still be traces of it left on the needle, a test on a sample of her blood might be enough to prove that she was hit by it."
"You are wasting your time."
It was Lana, and her voice sounded cold and factual. "You won't find anything, even if you take a blood sample from me. There is no use to it."
I sighed. She was not going to change her mind, was she?
"Ms. Skye…"
My ears perked. I was hearing a voice again. One that wasn't Edgeworth's, nor Lana's, nor the Judge's. I wasn't the only one who heard it. The entire courtroom was turning once again, except this time, they weren't turning towards a spot in the gallery, but rather… the door.
My mind was about to think 'That can't be!' but then I reminded it of how many things in this world I had found could, in fact, 'be', so I just looked at the door, where a girl with long, black hair, wearing a Kimono, was standing.
"Everyone's body breaks down different substances with a different speed," the girl stated with a certain fascination in her voice. "It's been about sixty-eight hours since the incident, right? Chances are that the traces of the narcotic might have vanished by now, depending on Lana's body. The difference is because- ehm… I kinda forgot that. But that's not too important. Still, you should get the dart analyzed. Because if there are traces of the narcotic left on it, that would mean that somebody was hit by it and fell asleep! And since that couldn't have been the victim, since she was hit on the head, it must have been Lana, right?"
People's reactions to the girl's sudden appearance were very diverse. For the gallery, there was whispering, chatting, wondering who she was and where she had come from and why she was interrupting the trial like this. Edgeworth's reaction was silence, his face not showing any particular emotion. He didn't seem like he had expected this, but not overly surprised either. Maybe half-surprised is the right word? As for me, I was more surprised than Edgeworth, at least a bit.
Lana's reaction, however, was very different. She froze. The moment she heard the voice, she turned into a statue, not moving, not twitching… I'm not even sure if she was breathing.
And as for the Judge…
"Um… Miss Fey?" There was a strange mixture of bewilderment and annoyance at the continued interruptions in his face, "I find it nice of you that you want to share your deductions with us, but… You are currently not being questioned. So if you would please return to your seat…?"
"Hey! Who are you calling 'fey' here, Your Honor?" The girl took a few steps forward, clearly unhappy about what the Judge had said. "You know, I haven't had a chance to testify even once yet! And I find that pretty weird, given how I am the focus of this entire trial! …Scientifically speaking, of course."
She got a wide-eyed, confused look for a reply. "…The focus? Ehh…Who exactly are you, young lady?"
The Judge's question was about to be answered. Not by the girl. But by Lana.
Lana, who was now very, very slowly beginning to turn around, bit by bit, until she was facing the girl.
Her body was shaking like crazy. Her breathing was irregular and loud enough to be heard. And then finally, after a while of Lana staring… just staring at the girl in the door before her, she finally, with effort, managed to cough out a word:
"E…E-Em…a…?"
And the girl's face changed when she saw the woman like that. Slowly, her previously normal, childish expression vanished, changing into a painfully forced smile.
"…Hello, Sis."
A blank-faced Lana Skye broke down to her knees and cried without a sound.
District Court
Courtroom No. 2
"Mr. Wright. How is the witness?"
This was the question I found myself confronted with just mere ten minutes later, back in the prosecution's bench in the courtroom. There were probably still sweat pearls hanging from my face from the shock just a few minutes earlier, but at least this was over now.
"She's come to already," I replied to the Judge calmly and somewhat relieved. "…And demanded a fluffy pillow and a blanket as soon as she did. I think it's safe to assume the witness is going to be in the condition to return to the courtroom again soon."
"Ah… That sounds, well… fortunate?"
The Judge sounded everything but sure of his words when he said that, and who could have blamed him? No matter what had happened just now – even though we still didn't have much more than a vague idea regarding why it even happened – she was still Heatherd, the woman who had cost the entire courtroom half their nerves already.
"Ms. Von Karma is supervising her. For now, however, it's best to allow her to rest a bit," I told the Judge. "While it's important to find out what exactly that woman's true role in the case is, I don't think that we should risk cross-examining her further now…"
(And even if we don't cross-examine her now… It doesn't really matter anymore. Edgeworth got her. Her testimony is ruined.)
I found myself not as surprised that Von Karma had immediately volunteered to keep an eye on Heatherd than I thought I would be. Von Karma had been unusually silent and passive throughout the entirety of today's trial. It was obvious that something was going on within her mind… even though I had no idea what that was. But there was no time to worry about that now. I had to focus on the present. I glanced over to the defense's bench, where Edgeworth stood, still alone. I was beginning to seriously wonder where Dahlia might have gone. A look into the gallery finally enlightened me.
There. There she was, right in the audience. Dahlia was sitting beside Iris while, in turn, a prison guard was seated to her right. The sisters were holding hands. Naturally, I couldn't hear them talk, but Iris let out a visible sigh… What were they speaking about? And why hadn't I seen Dahlia before? Had she been with Iris all the time? Questions over questions…
A little further to the right, I could once again spot Trucy Enigmar and Apollo sitting in the audience, at the very same spot I had seen them before, talking to each other like earlier. Still, something had changed about them. It didn't take me long to determine what that was. Their mood, relaxed and casual until the last break, had made a one-eighty degree flip, both of them seeming very excited and tense. They seemed a whole lot more focused on the happenings in the courtroom now than they had seemed before, especially young Apollo, whose already comparably big eyes seemed even sharper and distinct now. Trucy's stare was pretty noticeable as well. The events during Heatherd's last cross-examination had presumably shaken them awake to how serious this all was. I wasn't sure if that was a good or a bad thing, but I tended more towards 'bad'. After all, they were just children. I hoped we hadn't scared them too much… Not that they seemed exactly 'scared'. More like 'eager'… But eager to do what?
"Hm…" During the time I had taken to examine the gallery a little further, the Judge had apparently mentally analyzed our current situation a bit, coming to an conclusion just as I turned my attention back to him.
"Well, without a witness, I don't really see a point in prolonging the trial any longer for today. Neither is it possible to declare a verdict with the current stand of information we have. I thus see no other option but to delay the conclusion of the trial for one last time, to tomorrow, the last possible date to decide this case."
(…Postpone the trial until tomorrow… does that really make sense?) I wondered to myself. (It would give Edgeworth and me one more day to investigate… But, on the other hand, it'd also give Heatherd time to tamper around with her testimony enough to make it fit again. That would make us lose even more time. It's true, we can't cross-examine her again already right now. I can't help but feel that I'd rather have this case wrapped up sooner than later, but… Maybe, more time for our investigations would be enough to clear up all open questions.)
After thinking all of this through as much as possible in the short time span I had, I finally made a decision and gave the judge a nod.
"I agree, Your Honor. At the current point, there is no use in resuming the trial. Not without a witness. Maybe we should postpone the resolution till tomorrow…"
It was no secret that it was kind of a hobby of Edgeworth's and mine to disagree with each other. That he had decided to disagree right now, however, of all times, left me a bit stunned.
"E-Edgeworth?" I gave him the clearest 'What now?' look I could conjure up as soon as he had interrupted the Judge and me. There was a smile on his face. And it was clearly directed at me.
"Wright. You should learn to not rush your conclusions like this, before truly having considered every other possibility."
(My conclusions? I was agreeing with the Judge! How come he's not getting any of your flak?)
Another hobby of Edgeworth's and mine was to insult each other on every given opportunity. Though, that was more a thing on his part than on mine. Probably because I, admittedly, just gave him more opportunities.
Despite all differences, it was interesting to see how all these things still applied here, even with our roles changed. The part of me that wasn't busy feeling offended was intrigued.
"Mr. Edgeworth, are you trying to say you see a way to continue this trial in a meaningful way?" the Judge asked.
Edgeworth tapped his pointer finger on his forehead just once and nodded, still wearing the same smile as before on his face.
"A meaningful and very reasonable way, Your Honor. As, while it is true that our last witness is in no state to be questioned any further for now… That does not prevent us from calling up another witness, does it?"
And that was the moment when I didn't know what to think anymore. Remember my 'What now?'-face from earlier? Well, it had now effectively devolved into just a plain 'Ehhh…?' face.
"Another… witness?"
(Again?)
I wasn't the only person in the courtroom who visibly thought that Edgeworth's strategy of continuing the trial by bringing in more and more new witnesses to be getting a bit old now. Even if all the previous witnesses he had brought in had been legitimate…
"There is yet another witness?" The Judge was among us non-believers. "Who is it and how come this person has not previously been mentioned, Mr. Edgeworth?"
"Oh, this person has been mentioned before in this trial, You Honor. Many, many times, in fact," Edgeworth claimed. "And I assure you that you will find that all of the previous witnesses will have to agree with the statement that this person had been present at the scene of the crime around the time of the murder. We merely have yet to actually hear her testimony. That is all."
I raised my head.
"'Her'?"
(Is he talking about...?)
I was beginning to understand what Edgeworth was planning to do. After all, there was only one woman –aside from Ema herself – who had not been questioned yet and who even Heatherd wouldn't deny to have been at the scene of the crime. And, as if he had understood that I had understood, Edgeworth nodded slightly before continuing.
"Yes. The defense requests the defendant, Lana Skye, to be called to the witness stand!"
"The defendant?" The Judge asked, as if he needed reassurance that he had heard right.
(Of course… That's it!) I however, had understood completely what Edgeworth was trying to do. (Lana's confession is the one thing still holding this case together in first place. If Edgeworth manages to invalidate that… then Lana would only be guilty of perjury. Not attempted murder-suicide or even plain murder…)
"Well… If the prosecution agrees..."
Back straight, head up, I turned to the Judge again as soon as I had understood that my 'OK' was needed for Edgeworth to go through with this.
"Yes, I do." I nodded. "I, too, would be very interested in hearing Ms. Skye's testimony. And I won't request any preparation time for this either. She should tell the court just what she has to tell about the incident. That would be… a useful way to continue this trial."
And Edgeworth nodded. "Indeed. That's just what I thought."
"If I understood this right…" The Judge raised his head. "Both defense and prosecution agree that the defendant, Ms. Skye, should be cross-examined right now, without any further delays?"
"Yes," Edgeworth repeated.
"If that is alright with you, Your Honor." I nodded once more.
The next thing that happened was the Judge's gavel sounding through the room.
"In that case, may I ask Ms. Skye to take the stand?"
Lana's reaction was calm, at least outwardly, but there was still something hesitant to the way she stepped forwards toward the stand, as if she was dreading the moment she would have to open her mouth and speak. And that moment was only seconds away…
"Please state your name and occupation for the protocol."
After three witnesses, asking this didn't even feel too awkward anymore.
"Lana Skye. I am the Chief Prosecutor of this District."
Lana replied in her usual factual, almost cold tone, but I knew better. She was nervous. She hadn't wanted to testify and she probably knew just all too well about Edgeworth's sharp mind and talent to spot inconsistencies. She knew that he was going to pluck her confession apart, bit by bit, until she would finally confess again – only that this time, it would be to the truth.
And this was exactly the point to which I wanted to get.
"Ms. Skye, you are accused of the murder of your younger sister, Ema, committed on May 1st in my apartment. What is your standpoint regarding these accusations?"
It was Edgeworth's downright dumbstruck face when I asked this that made me realize that reciting exactly what I would have expected him to say in my situation maybe wasn't my best idea- and Lana's reply to it made it pretty obvious why.
"They are true. Everything. Planning to commit murder suicide, I first took… my sister's life, followed by an unsuccessful suicide attempt on my own part. Everything is just as the prosecution originally assumed and Ms. Lilie Heatherd had suspected it to be."
(That's not good.) I bit my lip. (Now that the Judge heard the confession from Lana herself, he'll be a lot more inclined to believe it. Ungh…)
Edgeworth, however, was not going to just let it stand like this.
"Miss Skye!" One of Edgeworth's hands was on his desk now, and it had produced a loud, attention seeking noise when it made its way there. "What was this suspicious pause just now supposed to be? Just before you mentioned your sister?"
(…!)
I listened up. Being as startled by my own mistake as I had been, I had barely noticed the short silence in Lana's speech myself until Edgeworth had mentioned it. Lana, however, denied it.
"I have no idea what you are talking about, Mr. Edgeworth. Perhaps you imagined it?"
"So? Then why did your eyes slide to the side just now, Miss?"
(Huh?)
For a moment, I wasn't sure if I had actually heard it, or just imagined it, but the voice that had just shouted out this sentence… had neither been Edgeworth's nor mine. Rather, it sounded like someone entirely different. Only when everyone turned their heads exactly where I expected them to turn, I knew that my suspicion had been correct.
And then, the whole courtroom was glaring at the one person in the gallery who was no longer sitting in his seat like a nice little boy, and that was… Apollo.
Not that the boy seemed to notice. He was way too focused on staring at Lana in the most unsettling manner I had ever seen a teenager glare at anything.
(W-What… What is that kid doing…?)
"…That was pretty suspicious, if you ask me!"
I don't know if Apollo was planning to blurt out even more after this, but, in any case, he didn't get to do so. The Judge's gavel shut him up as soon as the judge had realized that voice – yes – indeed was that 'random' kid in the gallery…
"Order!"
And the moment the gavel hit the desk… something seemed to happen to the boy. It was strange to describe, but, the way how his pupils suddenly narrowed, his whole body jerked and his determined expression dropped like it had never been there in first place… It seemed a bit like he was waking up from some sort of 'trance'.
The Judge continued by shaking his head. "This is a courtroom, young man! As much as I appreciate getting into the trial, I will have to ask you to either behave or leave!"
"E-Eh… Ehm…"
And then, Apollo didn't seem to be sure what was going on at all anymore, all his previous confidence having vanished into oblivion. Obviously unsure what to do now, he finally just shrunk down, back into his seat, and gave the entire courtroom an apologetic, shameful, "I'm sorry…" under his breath. His face, however, didn't look 'sorry' at all. Just very, very confused…
"In any case…" It was Edgeworth who spoke next, bringing the trial back to focus, "I sincerely doubt I just 'imagined' your behavior just now, Ms. Skye. Especially considering that even the children in the gallery seem to have taken notice of it."
"My sister was my last living relative," Lana replied seemingly calm. "And you expect me to be able to mention her death unfazed? Your cold harshness surprises me, Mr. Edgeworth."
Edgeworth didn't answer to this, probably realizing that it was most likely useless to further press Lana on that point. She wouldn't answer. It was about time to give us a chance to find actual contradictions in her confession…
I raised my head.
"Ms. Skye, please testify regarding the events between 4pm and 5pm on May 1st."
Giving me a short nod, Lana replied, "I will."
Ema's demise
"I arrived at the scene of the crime at approximately 4:40 PM.
I used my keycard to enter. I was wearing gloves at the time, explaining the lack of fingerprints.
Inside, I waited for my sister's arrival.
When Ema came, we first idly spoke for a while.
Then, when I saw the chance, I struck her from behind with a blunt object.
Next, I carried her to the wall and stabbed her with my personal knife.
I arranged the scene to look like there had been a struggle. Then I cleaned my knife of Ema's blood under the tap in the bathroom.
Finally, I attempted to hang myself in the bathroom but failed. The rope couldn't carry my weight.
I fell and lost consciousness. This is all."
Lana attempted to appear calm and collected, but this façade was slightly cracking. The testimony she had just given was filled with holes and she knew it. No wonder, given she had all but a few minutes to come up with it. Then again, this was Lana… She was anything but stupid. If she somehow managed to refute all of the problems with the testimony during the cross-examination, it could drag the trial out further, maybe long enough for her to come up with a 'confession' convincing enough to seal her fate.
That couldn't happen. I knew that and Edgeworth knew it too. We had no choice but to save this woman from her own stubbornness, whether she liked it or not. If not for her, then for Ema…
"Miss Skye." Edgeworth's eyes were clear and serious, looking directly in Lana's face, who tried to subtly evade the gaze. "Is this really where you want to take this? The examination has not started yet. There is still time to take these statements back with a justification. I am telling you this as your attorney."
"I stand by my testimony and will not change it to my own advantage," Lana said in a downright monotonous voice. "I am well aware of the consequences, of course. And am willing to accept them."
(We have everything we need,) I thought to myself. (This trial won't take much longer. As soon as we found out what really happened that day… This will end. Once and for all. And then I can finally take care of figuring out what happened to me.)
"Mr. Edgeworth, you can now cross-examine the witness."
"Very well, Your Honor."
"I arrived at the scene of the crime at approximately 4:40 PM.
I used my keycard to enter. I was wearing gloves at the time, explaining the lack of fingerprints.
Edgeworth's hand hit the desk flatly. "There were no gloves found on the crime scene!"
I bit my lip that moment. "Actually, there were."
The expression on Edgeworth's face changed a lot that moment. As he turned towards me with a puzzled look, I put my hands down on the table and explained, "I investigated the bathroom where the defendant was found the evening after the crime yesterday. We actually did find a pair of gloves there in the end. If the court would please take a look at this…"
I brought out the plastic bag that contained the nylon gloves and handed it to the bailiff, who, in turn, brought it to the judge. I continued explaining, "They were found in the toilet, which complements a suspicion I voiced during yesterday's trial. They were hard to spot, so it took me a while to find them. One of them is damaged, but the water washed away all eventual prints or blood. Still, I think it's rather safe to assume they were used in the murder."
"So what the prosecution proposed yesterday seems to have been correct," the Judge concluded, eying the gloves. "The culprit brought gloves to prevent touching anything directly. Then, he or she disposed of them via the toilet… hm. That makes sense."
Edgeworth had first seemed taken aback when I had presented the gloves, but now, his expression was calmer again. As if he was thinking about something and… somehow I felt like he liked the way his current train of thoughts was going. Don't ask me how I knew this though. It was just something in his expression. Many trials worth of experience might have something to do with it.
"Well, it seems like there were no further questions about this point. Witness, please proceed."
"Yes, Your Honor."
Inside, I waited for my sister's arrival.
When Ema came, we first idly spoke for a while."
When Ema came, we first idly spoke for a while."
"What did you and your sister talk about, if I might ask?"
Lana stood there, stiffly disciplined as ever. "Nothing of importance. It was nothing but idle chitchat between sisters, including some exchange about our impending meeting with Mr. Wright."
"Why were you going to meet with me in first place?" I asked, when I realized that this was something I still didn't quite know.
Lana's response to this was less than impressed. "Mr. Wright, excuse me if I must ask, but is your memory leaving you?"
At this point, Edgeworth gave me a look that could be interpreted in many ways, 'worried' among them – but only because it was him giving it – as Lana continued,
"It was you who had invited both Ema and myself to come to your apartment. We were to discuss details regarding one of your recent cases. I merely used this opportunity to carry out my plans…"
"One of my cases? But what does Ema have to do with that? Why did she come along?"
"Again. You were the one who invited us, Mr. Wright. Shouldn't you be the one who knows this best?"
At this moment, I fell silent. I had nothing to respond with.
(Darn…)
It was then that I realized that, while I had read Ema's text message to, at least partly, explain what she had wanted from me that day, I actually had no idea why Lana had come as well. Was it really like she said? That he - the other 'me' - had actually wanted to meet with both Lana and Ema that day to discuss something? What had he wanted to tell them…? And was it connected to the reason Ema died...?
I couldn't ask Lana those things right now. It would have been too suspicious. All that remained to me was to keep those things in mind until later.
Edgeworth asked another question:
"Was there anything notable about your sister that you noticed when you spoke to her?"
"No," Lana replied. "There was nothing of notice. She behaved perfectly normal and carried nothing on her that would have stuck in my mind."
"I see…"
I read in Edgeworth's face that this statement had only strengthened his belief Lana wasn't telling the truth, though I didn't really understand what – so far – had been wrong with what she had said. The problematic part was only going to come up in the next few moments…
"Then, when I saw the chance, I struck her from behind with a blunt object."
"Would you mind elaborating on said 'blunt object', Ms. Skye?" Edgeworth asked, clearly doubting that she even knew what had hit Ema.
Lana looked away. "I don't really remember it too well. I just took the first fitting object I found and used it. Then, I returned it to its place. I clearly wasn't in my right mind at the time, as you surely understand. It could have been anything. I assume it was a vase or something of that kind."
(She doesn't know what Ema was hit with... That makes me wonder…) I scratched my chin a bit. (Was the 'club' that robbed Ema of her consciousness even at the crime scene? I can't remember anything like this…)
"Next, I carried her to the wall and stabbed her with my personal knife.
I arranged the scene to look like there had been a struggle. Then I cleaned my knife of Ema's blood under the tap in the bathroom."
I arranged the scene to look like there had been a struggle. Then I cleaned my knife of Ema's blood under the tap in the bathroom."
"Let us make sure I understood you correctly, Miss Skye." Edgeworth was calm and focused. "You are saying that you used your personal knife to stab the victim… Then cleaned it with soap and tap water from the bathroom?"
Lana nodded, equally calmly. "This is correct."
Edgeworth shrugged, smiled and sighed.
"Except for the fact that it is not possible."
Surprised, Lana lifted her head a bit, her eyes opening a bit further, her mouth opening slightly.
"What…?"
"Edgeworth." I put both my hands on the desk before me. "Not possible? You mean Ms. Skye's knife couldn't be the murder weapon?"
Edgeworth's hand rested on a file on the desk before him. "I wasn't referring to this directly, though the conclusion is ultimately the same."
Before I could figure out what he meant by that, Edgeworth had picked up the file and continued:
"Wright. Earlier, you mentioned a pair of gloves found in the toilet, complementing your theory from yesterday. You are saying that the killer used these gloves to protect their hands from getting stained with Ema Skye's blood. Is that correct?"
I nodded. "That's what I believe, yes."
"…However. I couldn't help but notice that there is one quality to these gloves that does not quite fit with what you proposed to us yesterday." Edgeworth smirked. "…Namely the fact that you were able to recover them from the crime scene in first place. Didn't you say yourself that the culprit would have flushed them down the toilet to destroy the evidence?"
"…!"
I began to understand what Edgeworth was talking about… And as I did so, more pieces began to line up in my mind. A whole lot of things finally began to make sense… while also some more questions showed up.
"Mr. Edgeworth, weren't you questioning Ms. Skye about the murder weapon just now?" I heard the judge's bewildered voice coming from above. "What is it with this sudden change in topic?"
It was me who responded:
"Your Honor, I think what Edgeworth is trying to tell us is that the knife couldn't have been cleaned… For the same reason the gloves were where they were found yesterday."
"You believe there is the same reason for both of this?"
Edgeworth took the floor again:
"I am going to try to explain the reasoning behind this, Your Honor: It is out of question that the killer threw the gloves into the toilet in order to dispose of them. They could turn out to become vital evidence for this case after all. However… Wright was still able to find them, which means the culprit did not flush after ridding himself of those gloves. The question is: Why? Pushing this one button would have barely taken up a second and there are many ways to do it without leaving any fingerprints. Which leads me to one possibility: What if the toilet wasn't flushed because it couldn't be flushed?"
"It couldn't?" The Judge didn't seem to yet fully understand, so Edgeworth did him a favor and kept explaining.
"During yesterday's trial Ms. Heatherd made a statement that she only mentioned once, yet it stayed on my mind… She said that most of the occupants of the 20th floor had left the building at the time of the crime… due to maintenance works."
Finally, a little light bulb seemed to light up in the Judge's mind.
"Maintenance works…!"
"Indeed, Your Honor. Maintenance works. Connecting the dots from here on should be easy. The toilet couldn't be flushed. Why? For a reason that would have also made it impossible for Ms. Skye to clean the knife of blood at the time of the murder. Namely…"
Edgeworth's hand landed on the desk again and he leaned forwards:
"There must have been no running water in the 20th floor at the time of the murder!"
Old habits die hard. In Lana's case, said "old habit" must have been biting her thumb nail when she was starting to lose her composure. Right now, she was gnawing on it nervously, so much it almost looked downright painful. It took her a short moment to force herself to lower her hand and instead turn towards Edgeworth, leaning on the witness stand as she did so.
"…P…Proof!" she shouted out. "Mr. Edgeworth… This is a fact-changing claim that you make there! Can you support it with evidence?"
"Ms. Heatherd's statement from yesterday is part of this trial's protocol," Edgeworth responded calmly, yet Lana disagreed.
"That statement proves nothing!" she claimed. "Ms. Heatherd was speaking of 'maintenance works'. Did she mention that it was the plumbing that was being worked on? There is nothing you can present to support this claim!"
It was then that I believed it to be my turn to say something again.
"Edgeworth may not have anything to support it… But I do."
"Mr. Wright…!"
Lana was slightly stunned, slowly turned her head into my direction, as I was searching my files for something… and found it.
Once again, I couldn't help but wonder to myself what I would do if Maya didn't always end up convincing me to do things I probably shouldn't do but ended up getting me some invaluable evidence.
"If the court would please pay attention of the following data from the building's administration. If you do so, you will see that Mr. Edgeworth's deduction is absolutely… correct. There was no running water in the building in the timeframe that encompasses the time between the murder and the discovery of the crime scene. In other words: There is no way you could have cleaned a knife of all blood and fingerprints before Edgeworth and I arrived, Miss Skye!"
Lana lost her balance on the stand for a moment there. Clinging to the stand with one hand, she was sweating. Her eyes were on me, piercing, almost as if she silently asking me why I was doing this. More and more, it became clear to me that allowing herself to be pronounced guilty in this trial… Lana expected me to know the reason why. Meaning that the other Phoenix should have known. There was a reason. A reason she thought that ruining her own life once and for all for would make any sense.
To me, however, this didn't matter. All I knew was that Lana was innocent. Not just because I trusted her. Now, all evidence pointed at it as well. There was no way I was going to allow her to end it this way. No matter what her reasons were.
The Judge had, meanwhile, finished taking a look at the data I had presented to the court. Closing his eyes and thinking about it for a bit, he finally let his eyes sweep over the courtroom, the gallery, me, Lana, Edgeworth. He used his gavel once, before he announced:
"Well… In the light of this new evidence, I think there is one thing we can say for sure now… And that is that the knife that was found at the crime scene was not the actual murder weapon."
Edgeworth nodded. "I agree, Your Honor."
I did the same. "There would have been blood remaining on it, after all."
Lana smashed her hand flatly into the witness stand.
"And what does that mean? Just because the knife that was found at the crime scene wasn't the same that was registered in the Court Record, it does not mean that I wasn't the one who committed the crime!"
Edgeworth did the same as Lana, except with his own hand and desk.
"This was the only knife that could have caused the deadly wound at the crime scene, Ms. Skye! If it wasn't the true murder weapon, it means that that the knife that was actually used has been removed from the crime scene in-between the murder and Wright's and my arrival! You, however, where unconscious in this time frame. Meaning that someone else removed the murder weapon from the crime scene!"
Trying hard to regain her cool, Lana stood up straight. She didn't look at Edgeworth however.
"I could have found a different way to rid myself of the murder weapon. My memory of the time of the murder is… unclear. Perhaps I threw the knife out of the window?"
I replied. "The window…?"
"The bathroom window, Mr. Wright," Lana replied. "It might be too narrow to serve as an escape route, but take a look at the plan of the surroundings of the building. The window faces a small stream just behind it. Had I thrown the knife into this small river… It would have been a good enough alternate way to rid myself of it."
I took a look at the plans and realized she was right… There was a kind of small river in the backyard of the building. It would have been perfectly possible to throw the knife there through the small window, though she would have needed some crazy precision to successfully aim for this bit of water...
But this wasn't about probabilities. This was about possibilities. And as long as the possibility was there, there was no way we could argue with the point she had just made. Edgeworth, too, seemed to understand this just all too well.
Still, he wasn't out of munitions yet and was perfectly ready to show that.
"If that is the case… Then let us take a look at another question for now. Namely, how you brought said knife to the crime scene in first place."
Lana still refused to look at Edgeworth.
"What kind of question is this supposed to be? In my handbag, of course."
"Excuse me if I doubt this, Ms. Skye."
The woman in the witness stand jerked at the determined tone in Edgeworth's voice. He went on:
"According to Mrs. Fey's testimony, your handbag was stolen from you on the same afternoon the murder happened. She explicitly mentioned you not carrying anything on you at the time. "
"Mrs. Fey was probably trying to protect me by stating this," Lana claimed. "After all, I am a close friend of her elder daughter. The chance that she lied in order to make it look like I couldn't have committed the crime is rather high."
"…Ms. Skye. I am sorry to tell you that there is proof that you didn't have your handbag when you entered the building that day."
Lana's eyes opened wide.
"Proof…?"
Edgeworth was holding a piece of evidence I hadn't seen before in this trial… A cellphone. Judging by the look in Lana's eyes when she saw it, it was most likely hers.
"Where… did you…?"
"This is your cellphone, Ms. Skye, correct?" Edgeworth asked. "It was found in your handbag, at the crime scene. The police deemed it as irrelevant to the case, so a friend of mine allowed me to take a look at it. What I found was… interesting. There are records of several missed calls on this cellphone… however, all only from one single afternoon. Not one from before. I assume you can guess which afternoon I am talking about?"
Lana had started to bite her thumbnail again. Her other hand enclosed one of the ends of her scarf.
"The afternoon… of… the murder…?" she spat out, only for the sake of responding.
And Edgeworth nodded. "Indeed. Tell me, Ms. Skye, isn't it strange that you have not a single missed call on your phone except for calls that happened that very afternoon? If you, in fact, carried your phone with you at the time, why didn't you pick them up? You also did not call back a single one of them, at least according to the records on your phone. It can't have been because of an empty battery. Your phone was almost fully charged when it was found."
She didn't seem like she had anything to reply to this, so Lana remained silent, trying hard to resist the need to gnaw on her thumbnail and looking all-around nervous. When Edgeworth saw that she wouldn't say anything, he simply continued:
"Given that your phone was found in your handbag and the timestamps of the missed calls match up with the period of time in which, according to Mrs. Fey, you were not on possession of it, that leads me to the conclusion that you indeed entered the building without your handbag, which, by extension, also means that you carried neither your phone, nor the alleged murder weapon at you at the time. How, however, come those items were found with you when I discovered you in the bathroom, unconscious? I can think of only one explanation: Someone else was present in this apartment during the events of the murder. Someone aside of yourself or the victim. And it was this person who returned your handbag to you after you had been robbed of your consciousness. The thief of your handbag and Ema's true murderer could, by that logic, very well be the same person!"
There was a reason Edgeworth added that last statement, and it seemed to work, as Lana suddenly raised her head when she heard it, as if an invisible switch had been turned in her mind and she was beginning to realize something. For a moment, it seemed as if she would ball her hands to fists. Then, however, just as quickly as the changes in her expression and movement had come, they disappeared again and Lana, once more, lowered her head.
"Another person? Ridiculous. Nobody could have entere-"
"This was already disproven, Ms. Skye," Edgeworth disagreed. "There was a person present who could have opened the door lock with ease: Dylan Sengage and, by extension, Lilie Heatherd. Making use of his talents."
Lana shook. Her thumbnail was between her teeth, her other hand still at her scarf. Throwing glances at me from time to time.
"…There was no one else," she kept claiming. "Nobody except for Ema and me entered the apartment at the time of the crime. I know this for sure. This hypothetical person you speak of does not exist."
"You know it for sure? Just like you knew what object Ema was struck with? Or that the knife used in the murder was not the same one as the one in the Court Record? Just how you knew about the lack of running water in the apartment at the time? Or the missed calls recorded on your cellphone?"
The more Edgeworth spoke to Lana, the more often she glanced in my direction. Finally, I returned her looks with my own serious expression.
"Ms. Skye," I told her. "Really, I don't understand why you are doing this. And I don't really care for the reason either. All I know is that everyone here can plainly see that you didn't murder your sister. Stop denying it. I am not going to help you to get yourself sentenced for a crime you clearly didn't commit."
In that one moment after I had said this, Lana seemed to be two things. Helpless and… puzzled.
"Mr. Wright… You…"
She never said more than that, but fell silent right after.
"There are simply too many things you didn't know, Ms. Skye," Edgeworth told her while she was still looking into my direction, surprising her. She slowly turned as he kept talking. "Whether or not you were 'in your right mind' at the time the murder happened, many things you stated turned out to be incorrect and simply recited from previous statements in this trial. In fact, most of your knowledge of the case seems to be a simple patchwork of things that were previously said. I seriously wonder if you actually saw any part of the incident with your own eyes."
(Lana… please take back that confession,) was all I thought to myself. (This is helping nobody, can't you see that? And until you take back that confession… There is nothing we can do to help you either. Please...)
But she didn't seem to share that opinion.
"I… I saw it," Lana kept claiming, as her whole body shook. Her voice faltered. "I was there. I was there… with Ema… It was me who…k…k-killed…"
Yes.
That's exactly what I heard. That word, loud, clearly echoing through the entire room. It cast the courtroom into a silence for just a moment, before slowly, everyone turned to find the source of the shout. Really, everyone turned. Edgeworth, the Judge, the audience in the gallery… everyone.
Somehow, I am still rather sure I was the first one to have my eyes at the right spot. Maybe because the second the yell happened… I just knew where it had come from. And I wasn't mistaken. Up in the gallery, standing straight, one hand balled to a fist, the other one outstretched with the pointing finger aimed straight at Lana – if I think about it, he was clearly imitating my pose there, but I really didn't care much for that kind of copyright-infringement at that moment – was the same boy who had already caused a small commotion earlier. Apollo. And just like before, his eyes were so scarily focused on Lana, it send a cold sensation down my spine. This wasn't a kind of look any kid should be able to give you. By his side, the little Trucy, who had jumped out of her seat as well, was standing, looking just as pumped as him, both of her hands balled into fists as if she wanted to punch the stupid out of Lana. She, too, was glaring down at her.
"Stop lying!" Apollo yelled. "You keep saying that you were there and saw everything, but none of that is true, is it? You can't even utter her name in the same sentence as the word 'killing'! What are you trying to do, Miss? You are going to get yourself a life sentence or worse! And the victim was your sister… God! You think your sister would want that? Why are you doing this? This way, the real killer is never going to pay what he did to her! I mean… It's not like… I could claim that I knew what it's like to have a sister, but… but… don't you want justice for her?"
For a moment, Lana was stunned. She just stared up at the boy telling her off, her face rather blank. Finally, she looked away.
"Things are more complicated than that. You are just a kid. You can't understand that yet."
Apollo's eyes were downright fierce when he replied:
"Maybe I am just a kid… But that doesn't mean I can't tell right from wrong! Even I can plainly see that you're being stupid!"
Maybe there was more he wanted to yell at Lana. Maybe. I will never know. The Judge's gavel came down loudly three times while he was still talking, drowning out the boy's voice under its sound.
"Order! Order! ORDER!" The patience of the judge with Apollo had found its end. "I am sorry, but I warned you once before! This is a courtroom, not a school playground! Bailiff! Please take this boy out! He is to not enter the courtroom again until after the proceedings!"
Two bailiffs were up in the gallery faster than I'd have them expected to be, grabbing a rather distraught and surprised Apollo by his wrists. There was a bit of a struggle between the two parties, also thanks to Trucy, who had grabbed Apollo's shirt and was trying to pull him back, away from the men who had come to take him out.
"P-Polly!"
When Apollo realized that it was no use to resist and that he was going to leave this room, whether he wanted to or not, he turned towards me. He shouted:
"Mr. Wright!"
I looked up at him, listening to what the boy had to say. Apollo tried to resist being dragged out for just a bit longer.
"That… That woman! Every time she claims that she knew or saw what happened, she's tugging her scarf!"
I blinked in surprise. Tugging her… scarf? I hadn't noticed anything like that.
Apparently, my face made it rather obvious that I was thinking just that, as Apollo kept shouting:
"It's really subtle! She's just tensing her muscles for a split second. I didn't realize right away either, but… I saw it! Twice in a row! I don't know what it means, but there's something she wants to hide so badly, she gets even more excited when she lies about it! That just has to be it, please, believe me! I really saw it!"
I couldn't help but stare. Just tensing her muscles a split second? If that was true, there was no way he could have seen that! Not that quickly, not from all the way up there. And still… there was such a deep sincerity in his voice, I just felt that he wasn't just making it up. Neither did Psyche Locks appear, not even vaguely. He really meant it. I had no idea how…
I remembered back to the day before, when I had met him and to what he had said in the bus. How he could feel people who weren't honest.
(This boy… just… who is he…?)
He finally gave up struggling when the bailiffs threatened to use handcuffs and, reluctantly, walked along with them. Trucy clung to his uniform a bit longer until he turned around to her and smiled, as if to assure her that he was going to be fine. Hesitantly, the little girl let go and stepped back as the two men in uniform led her friend out.
The door closed behind Apollo and the bailiffs and silence returned to the courtroom. A rather demotivated-looking Trucy returned to her seat, not making a sound and the people in the gallery, one by one, turned their attention back to the actual happenings of the trial…
Except nothing was really happening. Lana just stood in the middle of the room, the eyes of Edgeworth, the Judge and myself all on her. She looked even more shaken than before, but still made no attempt to take her confession back.
A quiet tension hung in the room for a short while. It was only about a minute later that Edgeworth finally broke this uncomfortable silence.
"Disturbance or not. I find it… rather interesting, I suppose."
Lana slowly turned her head into Edgeworth's direction, as if to ask him what he meant.
"What this boy told us just now," Edgeworth stated. "About a secret… that you are hiding with your scarf."
And then, Lana jerked. Wordlessly, not even making a sound, she just jerked. I felt confirmed with my feeling that the boy had been right. There was something Lana was hiding on… on her neck, maybe?
The Judge did not seem to see the meaning of Apollo's words quite as quickly as Edgeworth did.
"Mr. Edgeworth. Does this scarf hold any relevance to the case?"
"I have a suspicion," Edgeworth just replied before turning to Lana again. "Ms. Skye, if I might kindly ask you to remove your scarf?"
Lana didn't even react. She seemed deep in thoughts not really aware of what was happening anymore… or what to do.
I raised my voice:
"Ms. Skye, please take that scarf off."
Silence. Lana just turned her head and looked at the floor.
"I… see no reason to," she uttered.
"If you won't remove it yourself, I'll see myself forced to ask the court for permission to do it in your stead," Edgeworth said. "No matter what you do, Ms. Skye, that scarf will not remain in place."
Lana didn't move or say anything for a while. She just silently kept looking at the floor. Then, finally, a few seconds later, she moved her hands up to her neck. She undid the knot on her beige muffler and let it drop to the floor.
There was… nothing special on her neck.
The tension that had built up within me suddenly dropped in just a moment I felt my shoulders slump down. Nothing? There was nothing on her neck? I would say that I felt 'disappointed', but I don't quite think that's the right word for it. The Judge, too, seemed less than impressed by what the removal of the scarf had brought us. He skeptically looked down at Lana.
"Well. And… now?" he asked.
But Edgeworth didn't seem finished yet. Unlike the Judge and me, his expression had changed not a bit. Calmly, he moved over to Lana where her scarf had fallen. He placed herself right to her left, beside her and… slowly brushed away her hair. Lana did nothing to keep him from doing so. It was a quite unsettling scene to watch, to be honest, may it have been because of the silence, or because of how close Edgeworth had come to his client… Wasn't there a law against that? In any case, Edgeworth was now examining Lana's neck. It didn't even take a few seconds until a smile began to form on his lips.
"Ms. Skye," he asked, stepping back from her, "Could you explain to me what exactly this small hole is doing in your skin?"
My attention rose. A hole…!
"It's a bite mark," Lana claimed. "I was bitten by a mosquito. Is that so unusual?"
"A mosquito bite? Is this really what it is?" Edgeworth asked as he started to return to his desk. "Because actually… I believe something entirely different caused this wound."
"Edgeworth…" I looked at the man on the other side of the room. "Do you think she was hit by…?"
"What?" The Judge looked down. "Could somebody explain to me what Mr. Edgeworth is talking about? What is so special about a little bite mark?"
Edgeworth, already holding something in his hand, turned towards the Judge. "Your Honor, I believe that I might be able to show you the 'mosquito', which caused this 'bite mark,' here and now."
"You can?"
"Yes, I can. Because the object which caused Ms. Skye's small wound was, in fact…"
"The dart…" I said, while Edgeworth was still in the process of presenting his notes of the evidence that I had shown him the other day.
He nodded. "The dart you found at the scene of the crime. Since Ema was rendered unconscious with a blow to the back of her head, there should have been no reason to aim such a dart at her. However… what if this dart wasn't shot at her… but someone else?"
"Hm…" I had brought out the dart from my Court Record already, to take a closer look at it. "The needle is thick… thick enough to leave a mark that would last a bit longer than just a day..."
(If it matches up with the size of the hole in her skin…!)
I looked up from the dart over to Edgeworth.
"So you are saying that the dart's actual target was… the defendant?"
(That makes sense. The dart was found several feet away from Ema… If Lana was rendered unconscious with a narcotic, then moved into the bathroom, the dart could have fallen out on the way. But where had she been sho-)
And suddenly, I understood why everything Lana has said so far had just been recounting previous witnesses' testimonies. It all made sense. Now, it made sense.
"Yes," Edgeworth replied to me. "If the defendant was rendered unconscious with this dart and a narcotic and not due to a fall, unlike previously assumed, it would explain all the discrepancies in her explanation."
I leaned forwards, slowly nodding my head. "I see… She was asleep the entire time… even before Ema ever arrived at the apartment."
I turned my head to Lana. "You were shot with the dart before you entered the apartment, weren't you? Right… Your keycard was probably in your handbag as well! You couldn't even have entered by yourself! Ema… You never even met her that afternoon, did you?"
Lana was trying her best to evade both Edgeworth's and my glares. Finally, she stated, "…This is enough, Mr. Edgeworth."
She looked up. "I did not hire an attorney to be badgered at the stand with wild claims like this. I… am revoking my own right to an attorney."
(She's pulling this again…!)
"Ms. Skye… no… Lana! It's over!" I told her. "Even if Edgeworth doesn't prove your innocence, it still won't change that I won't let this trial end until the actual killer has been found! Come to your senses and stop trying to make yourself into the scapegoat!"
"I have no idea what you are talking about, Mr. Wright," she replied, looking in an entirely different direction. "I am merely taking responsibility. That is all."
Edgeworth was silent. He didn't try to argue with Lana, or talk her out of it. Instead, however, he turned to me.
"Wright."
I directed my attention at him.
"Give the dart to the forensic scientists for analysis," he told me. "The narcotic that was used on Ms. Skye might have been rather strong. Should there still be traces of it left on the needle, a test on a sample of her blood might be enough to prove that she was hit by it."
"You are wasting your time."
It was Lana, and her voice sounded cold and factual. "You won't find anything, even if you take a blood sample from me. There is no use to it."
I sighed. She was not going to change her mind, was she?
"Ms. Skye…"
"Scientifically speaking, she is right."
My ears perked. I was hearing a voice again. One that wasn't Edgeworth's, nor Lana's, nor the Judge's. I wasn't the only one who heard it. The entire courtroom was turning once again, except this time, they weren't turning towards a spot in the gallery, but rather… the door.
My mind was about to think 'That can't be!' but then I reminded it of how many things in this world I had found could, in fact, 'be', so I just looked at the door, where a girl with long, black hair, wearing a Kimono, was standing.
"Everyone's body breaks down different substances with a different speed," the girl stated with a certain fascination in her voice. "It's been about sixty-eight hours since the incident, right? Chances are that the traces of the narcotic might have vanished by now, depending on Lana's body. The difference is because- ehm… I kinda forgot that. But that's not too important. Still, you should get the dart analyzed. Because if there are traces of the narcotic left on it, that would mean that somebody was hit by it and fell asleep! And since that couldn't have been the victim, since she was hit on the head, it must have been Lana, right?"
People's reactions to the girl's sudden appearance were very diverse. For the gallery, there was whispering, chatting, wondering who she was and where she had come from and why she was interrupting the trial like this. Edgeworth's reaction was silence, his face not showing any particular emotion. He didn't seem like he had expected this, but not overly surprised either. Maybe half-surprised is the right word? As for me, I was more surprised than Edgeworth, at least a bit.
Lana's reaction, however, was very different. She froze. The moment she heard the voice, she turned into a statue, not moving, not twitching… I'm not even sure if she was breathing.
And as for the Judge…
"Um… Miss Fey?" There was a strange mixture of bewilderment and annoyance at the continued interruptions in his face, "I find it nice of you that you want to share your deductions with us, but… You are currently not being questioned. So if you would please return to your seat…?"
"Hey! Who are you calling 'fey' here, Your Honor?" The girl took a few steps forward, clearly unhappy about what the Judge had said. "You know, I haven't had a chance to testify even once yet! And I find that pretty weird, given how I am the focus of this entire trial! …Scientifically speaking, of course."
She got a wide-eyed, confused look for a reply. "…The focus? Ehh…Who exactly are you, young lady?"
The Judge's question was about to be answered. Not by the girl. But by Lana.
Lana, who was now very, very slowly beginning to turn around, bit by bit, until she was facing the girl.
Her body was shaking like crazy. Her breathing was irregular and loud enough to be heard. And then finally, after a while of Lana staring… just staring at the girl in the door before her, she finally, with effort, managed to cough out a word:
"E…E-Em…a…?"
And the girl's face changed when she saw the woman like that. Slowly, her previously normal, childish expression vanished, changing into a painfully forced smile.
"…Hello, Sis."
A blank-faced Lana Skye broke down to her knees and cried without a sound.
Spoiler: Court Record - Chapter 27
Evidence:
*) Prosecutor's Badge
I never thought I'd ever hold this in my hands. The design closely resembles the police's emblem.
*) Magatama
This gem allows me to see the locks on people's hearts whenever they hide the truth from me. It was a gift from Maya and is charged with Pearls' spiritual energy.
*) Photo of Iris
A picture of me and Iris in Kurain. Apparently we were still a couple here, up until recently.
CHECK: http://img823.imageshack.us/img823/1896 ... feenie.png
*) Victim(?) Note
Reads "Lana" in red letters of blood.
CHECK: http://img812.imageshack.us/img812/4660/victimnote.png
*) Snackoos Bag
Found near Ema. She was apparently eating them before she was killed. Imported from Europe.
*) Dart
A small, needle-like projectile, made for use with a tranquilizer gun. There are faint traces of blood on it. Found near the sofa.
*) Rope
Ripped. Apparently, Lana tried to hang herself with it. It was cut before it ripped.
*)Sketch
A picture of Maya, Pearls and me, drawn in my boredom. Note to self: Giving up the art studies was a good choice.
CHECK: http://img829.imageshack.us/img829/645/sketchonaboat.png
*)Autopsy Report
Victim died between 17:00 and 17:20 from massive blood loss after receiving a stab wound in the chest. The back of the head was bruised.
CHECK: http://img827.imageshack.us/img827/6753/autopsyreport.png
*)Crime Scene Photo 1
CHECK: http://img843.imageshack.us/img843/9230/crimescenephoto1.png
*)Crime Scene Photo 2
CHECK: http://img638.imageshack.us/img638/8229/crimescenephoto2.png
*)Knife
The murder weapon. Was cleaned with soap after the crime, so there are no finger prints or bloodstains on it left. Belongs to the Defendant.
*)Fingerprint List
Lists the people who touched the door's handle.
CHECK : http://i1187.photobucket.com/albums/z390/MeikyuButterfly/Complete%20Turnabout/Fingerprintslist2.png
*)Ema's Button
One of the three Badges Ema wore on her labcoat. It came off before she died. The needle is bloody and crooked.
*)Maya's Letters
Adressed to „Nick".
CHECK (1): http://i1187.photobucket.com/albums/z39 ... etter1.gif
*)Misty Fey's Book
A picture book, entitled "Haruka's Cherry Tree". Not yet published, this is a manuscript.
CHECK : http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/1628/picturebookcover.png
*)CD
Maya's three year jubilee compilation. She appears to be very proud of the songs selected for this disk.
CHECK: http://i1187.photobucket.com/albums/z390/MeikyuButterfly/Complete%20Turnabout/CDCover.jpg
CHECK SONG: http://www.4shared.com/audio/LbphpRQN/180_Degree.html
Lyrics:
*)Nylon Gloves
Found in the toilet at the crime scene. One of the is ripped badly.
*)Maintenance Work Data
Check for more details.
*)Locket
A necklace that a young boy dropped. It is shaped like a clover.)
*)VIP Pass
Allows one to enter and leave the shooting scenes of the 'Steel Samurai' movie as they please.
*)Newspaper Clipping
CHECK: http://i1187.photobucket.com/albums/z39 ... ping-1.gif
*)STV-01 Casefile
Details the events that led to the suicide of Dietrich Sengage.
Profiles:
*) Phoenix Wright
I have been a Defense Attorney for three years now. But now it looks like people were convinced of something else suddenly...
*) Miles Edgeworth
An old school friend of mine. Apparently, he's a renowned Defense Attorney here. The "Him" I remember, on the other hand, was an extremely talented, but arrogant Prosecutor.
*) Maya Fey
Sprite
Singing (Turnabout Sisters Song)[Hatsune Miku(Vocaloid)]
Apparently a famous pop idol known as "MAYOI". In my memory, she was a Spirit Medium and served as my assistant and co-council in many of my cases.
*) Ema Skye
A teenager, who was dreaming of becoming a forensic investigator one day and good friend of mine. Was murdered in the apartment.
*) Lana Skye
Ema's older sister. Apparently tried to commit suicide in the bathroom. Her suicide note implicates her as her sister's killer.
*) Dick Gumshoe
Still detective of the local police force. Still as underpaid as ever.
*) Mia Fey
Maya's older sister and a detective. Currently under arrest for attempted murder. I remember her being my mentor as a Defense Attorney and murdered shortly after my very first trial.
*) Dahlia Fey
Leitmotif
Maya's and Mia's cousin and Iris's identical twinsister. Was the coldblooded killer 'Dahlia Hawthorne' in the world I remember, but declared guilty for a crime she didn't commit alongside Mia in this one. Her personality seems to have been turned upside down...
*) Klavier Gavin
Leadsinger and Guitarist of a Band called "Gavinners". Apparently also a lawyer. His name rings a bell, but I can't remember where I first met him.
*) Lilie Heatherd
Leitmotif
Sprite
Voice: OBJECTION!
A Defence Attorney known as the "Evidence Spammer". Claims to have witnessed Ema and Lana entering the Apartment shortly before the murder.
*) Iris Fey
Leitmotif
[/i]Singing (??? Song)
Maya and Mia's cousin, Dahlia's twin and hire to the master title of Kurain in this 'world'. Recently broke up with 'me'. Unhappy with her occupation as a Spirit Medium.
*) Franziska von Karma
Prosecutor Prodigy from Germany, who was assigned to aid me during this trial. She enjoys whipping lawyers, judges and witnesses alike and strives for absolute perfection in her trials.
*) Misty Fey
Sprite
Alternate Outfit
Talented Spirit Medium and mother to Mia and Maya Fey. Saw a third witness.
*) Dylan Sengage
Sprite
Lilie Heatherd's boyfriend, despite being a minor. Apparently able to pick about any kind of lock.
*) ???
A girl. With keys in her hair... Just what was that about?!
*)Pearl Fey (?)
Leitmotif?
Led me to Maya's meeting place. She looks like Pearls, but it seems like it wasn't really her.
*)Diego Armando
Most likely Mia's boyfriend. Has a serious caffeine addiction.
*)Trucy Enigmar
Leitmotif
A young Illusionist and actress in the Steel Samurai movie. She appears to be a very enthusiastic girl.
*)Morgan Fey
The mother of Iris and Dahlia. Has been dead for about 14 years in this 'world'.
*)Apollo
A Highschool Student living in the local Orphanage. Shares a room with Dylan Sengage.
Bonus:
Music: BGM of the Dream Sequences
Artwork: Lilie Heatherd
*) Prosecutor's Badge
I never thought I'd ever hold this in my hands. The design closely resembles the police's emblem.
*) Magatama
This gem allows me to see the locks on people's hearts whenever they hide the truth from me. It was a gift from Maya and is charged with Pearls' spiritual energy.
*) Photo of Iris
A picture of me and Iris in Kurain. Apparently we were still a couple here, up until recently.
CHECK: http://img823.imageshack.us/img823/1896 ... feenie.png
*) Victim(?) Note
Reads "Lana" in red letters of blood.
CHECK: http://img812.imageshack.us/img812/4660/victimnote.png
*) Snackoos Bag
Found near Ema. She was apparently eating them before she was killed. Imported from Europe.
*) Dart
A small, needle-like projectile, made for use with a tranquilizer gun. There are faint traces of blood on it. Found near the sofa.
*) Rope
Ripped. Apparently, Lana tried to hang herself with it. It was cut before it ripped.
*)Sketch
A picture of Maya, Pearls and me, drawn in my boredom. Note to self: Giving up the art studies was a good choice.
CHECK: http://img829.imageshack.us/img829/645/sketchonaboat.png
*)Autopsy Report
Victim died between 17:00 and 17:20 from massive blood loss after receiving a stab wound in the chest. The back of the head was bruised.
CHECK: http://img827.imageshack.us/img827/6753/autopsyreport.png
*)Crime Scene Photo 1
CHECK: http://img843.imageshack.us/img843/9230/crimescenephoto1.png
*)Crime Scene Photo 2
CHECK: http://img638.imageshack.us/img638/8229/crimescenephoto2.png
*)Knife
The murder weapon. Was cleaned with soap after the crime, so there are no finger prints or bloodstains on it left. Belongs to the Defendant.
*)Fingerprint List
Lists the people who touched the door's handle.
CHECK : http://i1187.photobucket.com/albums/z390/MeikyuButterfly/Complete%20Turnabout/Fingerprintslist2.png
*)Ema's Button
One of the three Badges Ema wore on her labcoat. It came off before she died. The needle is bloody and crooked.
*)Maya's Letters
Adressed to „Nick".
CHECK (1): http://i1187.photobucket.com/albums/z39 ... etter1.gif
*)Misty Fey's Book
A picture book, entitled "Haruka's Cherry Tree". Not yet published, this is a manuscript.
CHECK : http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/1628/picturebookcover.png
*)CD
Maya's three year jubilee compilation. She appears to be very proud of the songs selected for this disk.
CHECK: http://i1187.photobucket.com/albums/z390/MeikyuButterfly/Complete%20Turnabout/CDCover.jpg
CHECK SONG: http://www.4shared.com/audio/LbphpRQN/180_Degree.html
Lyrics:
Quote:
Verse1:
The stars have faded and from the crimson clouds above me rain falls.
Merciless, painting my name, Red on White.
The thoussand rays of the sun have been extinguished like a candle,
Casting the shadows of doubt on my Heart.
I want escape, but I have been chained to the ground,
Want to scream, but my voice makes no sound,
This world is like a dessert with no Horizon,
And I can't find a way to turn around.
Chorus:
But then I heard your voice and saw a deepblue lightshine.
Telling me "Don't be afraid, I'll protect and defend you from dark."
And so my heart decided, that I too can rise
And I will break free and turn Around, This is my Turnabout. Now.
I'll let my fire burn. 180 Degree.
Verse2:
No pain will stop me, and even if I was to lose my memories.
The burning passion within, it would still remain there and would keep me going!
I won't throw away my true face and won't cling to naive innocence.
As long there are still battles to fight for the two of us.
Teach me what is "truth" and how to measure it,
what if the scale in your hands was to fail?
I'd still believe in you, like you believed in me,
if you just swear to stay true to yourself.
Chorus:
I see a single red star in the dark sky shining.
We have set it aflame and revived it from the dead.
I see an iceblue star, which has yet to catch fire
But we will save it and turn around, we will return light to this world...
Woh, Woh, Woh...
Bridge:
I know, you too had a painful past.
But regardless of all our bloodstained memories.
The sun will keep watching over us
Even if lies attempt to drag us down and break our wings!
Just now I realize how brave we two have truely been,
I have become a woman, who can walk even through flames,
and you're the bird of dragonfire, who led me all this way
Would pass one last trial with me?
Chorus:
I know that I can take on everything from now on,
because you told me "I trust you and I know that you're strong!"
I'll take the next step alone, till we meet again
as I hear your voice telling me "Don't be afraid, I'll be there,
as long as you believe. And let me take your hand..."
The stars have faded and from the crimson clouds above me rain falls.
Merciless, painting my name, Red on White.
The thoussand rays of the sun have been extinguished like a candle,
Casting the shadows of doubt on my Heart.
I want escape, but I have been chained to the ground,
Want to scream, but my voice makes no sound,
This world is like a dessert with no Horizon,
And I can't find a way to turn around.
Chorus:
But then I heard your voice and saw a deepblue lightshine.
Telling me "Don't be afraid, I'll protect and defend you from dark."
And so my heart decided, that I too can rise
And I will break free and turn Around, This is my Turnabout. Now.
I'll let my fire burn. 180 Degree.
Verse2:
No pain will stop me, and even if I was to lose my memories.
The burning passion within, it would still remain there and would keep me going!
I won't throw away my true face and won't cling to naive innocence.
As long there are still battles to fight for the two of us.
Teach me what is "truth" and how to measure it,
what if the scale in your hands was to fail?
I'd still believe in you, like you believed in me,
if you just swear to stay true to yourself.
Chorus:
I see a single red star in the dark sky shining.
We have set it aflame and revived it from the dead.
I see an iceblue star, which has yet to catch fire
But we will save it and turn around, we will return light to this world...
Woh, Woh, Woh...
Bridge:
I know, you too had a painful past.
But regardless of all our bloodstained memories.
The sun will keep watching over us
Even if lies attempt to drag us down and break our wings!
Just now I realize how brave we two have truely been,
I have become a woman, who can walk even through flames,
and you're the bird of dragonfire, who led me all this way
Would pass one last trial with me?
Chorus:
I know that I can take on everything from now on,
because you told me "I trust you and I know that you're strong!"
I'll take the next step alone, till we meet again
as I hear your voice telling me "Don't be afraid, I'll be there,
as long as you believe. And let me take your hand..."
*)Nylon Gloves
Found in the toilet at the crime scene. One of the is ripped badly.
*)Maintenance Work Data
Check for more details.
*)Locket
A necklace that a young boy dropped. It is shaped like a clover.)
*)VIP Pass
Allows one to enter and leave the shooting scenes of the 'Steel Samurai' movie as they please.
*)Newspaper Clipping
CHECK: http://i1187.photobucket.com/albums/z39 ... ping-1.gif
*)STV-01 Casefile
Details the events that led to the suicide of Dietrich Sengage.
Profiles:
*) Phoenix Wright
I have been a Defense Attorney for three years now. But now it looks like people were convinced of something else suddenly...
*) Miles Edgeworth
An old school friend of mine. Apparently, he's a renowned Defense Attorney here. The "Him" I remember, on the other hand, was an extremely talented, but arrogant Prosecutor.
*) Maya Fey
Sprite
Singing (Turnabout Sisters Song)[Hatsune Miku(Vocaloid)]
Apparently a famous pop idol known as "MAYOI". In my memory, she was a Spirit Medium and served as my assistant and co-council in many of my cases.
*) Ema Skye
A teenager, who was dreaming of becoming a forensic investigator one day and good friend of mine. Was murdered in the apartment.
*) Lana Skye
Ema's older sister. Apparently tried to commit suicide in the bathroom. Her suicide note implicates her as her sister's killer.
*) Dick Gumshoe
Still detective of the local police force. Still as underpaid as ever.
*) Mia Fey
Maya's older sister and a detective. Currently under arrest for attempted murder. I remember her being my mentor as a Defense Attorney and murdered shortly after my very first trial.
*) Dahlia Fey
Leitmotif
Maya's and Mia's cousin and Iris's identical twinsister. Was the coldblooded killer 'Dahlia Hawthorne' in the world I remember, but declared guilty for a crime she didn't commit alongside Mia in this one. Her personality seems to have been turned upside down...
*) Klavier Gavin
Leadsinger and Guitarist of a Band called "Gavinners". Apparently also a lawyer. His name rings a bell, but I can't remember where I first met him.
*) Lilie Heatherd
Leitmotif
Sprite
Voice: OBJECTION!
A Defence Attorney known as the "Evidence Spammer". Claims to have witnessed Ema and Lana entering the Apartment shortly before the murder.
*) Iris Fey
Leitmotif
[/i]Singing (??? Song)
Maya and Mia's cousin, Dahlia's twin and hire to the master title of Kurain in this 'world'. Recently broke up with 'me'. Unhappy with her occupation as a Spirit Medium.
*) Franziska von Karma
Prosecutor Prodigy from Germany, who was assigned to aid me during this trial. She enjoys whipping lawyers, judges and witnesses alike and strives for absolute perfection in her trials.
*) Misty Fey
Sprite
Alternate Outfit
Talented Spirit Medium and mother to Mia and Maya Fey. Saw a third witness.
*) Dylan Sengage
Sprite
Lilie Heatherd's boyfriend, despite being a minor. Apparently able to pick about any kind of lock.
*) ???
A girl. With keys in her hair... Just what was that about?!
*)Pearl Fey (?)
Leitmotif?
Led me to Maya's meeting place. She looks like Pearls, but it seems like it wasn't really her.
*)Diego Armando
Most likely Mia's boyfriend. Has a serious caffeine addiction.
*)Trucy Enigmar
Leitmotif
A young Illusionist and actress in the Steel Samurai movie. She appears to be a very enthusiastic girl.
*)Morgan Fey
The mother of Iris and Dahlia. Has been dead for about 14 years in this 'world'.
*)Apollo
A Highschool Student living in the local Orphanage. Shares a room with Dylan Sengage.
Bonus:
Music: BGM of the Dream Sequences
Artwork: Lilie Heatherd
Spoiler: Author's Notes
This semester was so full of fail. Not on part of the University (I still love my studies), but on my own part. I am not even sure I passed, but… At least have holidays now. Time enough to finally get this fanfic kicking again!
Yes, I know, I promised this chapter would end the trial, but it turned long and longer and ultimately I decided that this was a good spot to end it. Though, I swear, the next chapter is finally gonna close it. There's not even gonna be any more crossexaminations. Just the end of this section of the trial.
This chapter featured two events I have been wanting to write badly ever since I first started this fanfic: Apollo showing off his perceiving powers from the gallery (As to how he did that: There's a reason I placed Trucy next to him, you know. ) and Ema appearing channeled to save her sister. I was so excited when I wrote those parts, I kept making typos. ^^; Heh…
I hope Edgeworth invading Lana's personal space wasn't too suggestive… I just kinda thought that would make for good tension. The scene before resembling the part of Turnabout Corners where Alita Tiala is asked to remove her scarf is a coincidence. I only realized the similarities while writing it.
Again, if you have any questions, go to the tumblr-blog. I may take a while to respond, but, trust me, I will.
Now, for something more exciting:
GS5! GOSH, I cannot describe my feelings at this announcement! Heavens have opened up before us and are inviting us in with Nectar and Ambrosia!
Though… I am a bit worried that the game might end up starring Nick, rather than Apollo, thanks to all the Fanboy bickering. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Nick (As this Fanfic can testify), but I doubt there is much one can still do to further develop his character after AJ, unless they go full out and retcon AJ, which, I am honest, might turn me off Capcom and all their games forever, since that would be a cowardly, horrible, idiotic move.
Also, I want to see poor Apollo and Trucy developed a bit more. They never really had a chance to shine as characters. A bit of respect and limelight… That is all I want for them. Please, Capcom. Don't deny them that.
P.S.: Did you see that new artwork of the entire GS Cast (Where Mia and Kay are conspicuously missing…)? Apollo is so SHORT! I mean, look at him! He's almost as short as Maya! Suddenly, I understand all those complexes he has… and wonder why Klavier didn't call him "Herr Shorty". X
Yes, I know, I promised this chapter would end the trial, but it turned long and longer and ultimately I decided that this was a good spot to end it. Though, I swear, the next chapter is finally gonna close it. There's not even gonna be any more crossexaminations. Just the end of this section of the trial.
This chapter featured two events I have been wanting to write badly ever since I first started this fanfic: Apollo showing off his perceiving powers from the gallery (As to how he did that: There's a reason I placed Trucy next to him, you know. ) and Ema appearing channeled to save her sister. I was so excited when I wrote those parts, I kept making typos. ^^; Heh…
I hope Edgeworth invading Lana's personal space wasn't too suggestive… I just kinda thought that would make for good tension. The scene before resembling the part of Turnabout Corners where Alita Tiala is asked to remove her scarf is a coincidence. I only realized the similarities while writing it.
Again, if you have any questions, go to the tumblr-blog. I may take a while to respond, but, trust me, I will.
Now, for something more exciting:
GS5! GOSH, I cannot describe my feelings at this announcement! Heavens have opened up before us and are inviting us in with Nectar and Ambrosia!
Though… I am a bit worried that the game might end up starring Nick, rather than Apollo, thanks to all the Fanboy bickering. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Nick (As this Fanfic can testify), but I doubt there is much one can still do to further develop his character after AJ, unless they go full out and retcon AJ, which, I am honest, might turn me off Capcom and all their games forever, since that would be a cowardly, horrible, idiotic move.
Also, I want to see poor Apollo and Trucy developed a bit more. They never really had a chance to shine as characters. A bit of respect and limelight… That is all I want for them. Please, Capcom. Don't deny them that.
P.S.: Did you see that new artwork of the entire GS Cast (Where Mia and Kay are conspicuously missing…)? Apollo is so SHORT! I mean, look at him! He's almost as short as Maya! Suddenly, I understand all those complexes he has… and wonder why Klavier didn't call him "Herr Shorty". X
Spoiler: My notes
Hey everyone.I'd like to take this time to introduce myself briefly. My Alias/name is Zerkon Terona, obviously. I am a great fan of Phoenix Wright, and Neni/this fic, which I found through TV tropes.I am also in college, though I have a lot more time then Neni, as she is pursing her dreams and whatnot. On that subject,I will be updating here, for those of you who follow the fanfiction here and not in fanfiction.net, in order to assist her. Both are enjoyable in their own way.Either way, I just didn't want to be some random dude who was posting chapters her with no introduction or notice.
Now, as for this chapter itself, I apologize that it took me a while; as you can tell by my little profile thingy over there, I am still relatively new to the site, so I was having a few issues figuring out the smilies, why they have to be images in the center, and figuring out the exact font Neni used for Testimony. Not really hard, per se, just tedious; I can understand why she doesn't have a lot of time for this. I'll be working on the next one soon, though I'll be on Christmas break. But at the very least, Since I'm not rewriting these chapters, I have no excuse not to update as infrequently as the chapters themselves (No offense, Neni),at least until I get us up to date, so I'll try to get it done ASAP.Let's just hope my selective memory selects to remember this.
Neni, if you spotted any errors, please let me know ASAP, so that I can correct them.
(P.S. The reason I'm putting my Notes down here is to separate it from Neni's section and try not to be distracting.)
Now, as for this chapter itself, I apologize that it took me a while; as you can tell by my little profile thingy over there, I am still relatively new to the site, so I was having a few issues figuring out the smilies, why they have to be images in the center, and figuring out the exact font Neni used for Testimony. Not really hard, per se, just tedious; I can understand why she doesn't have a lot of time for this. I'll be working on the next one soon, though I'll be on Christmas break. But at the very least, Since I'm not rewriting these chapters, I have no excuse not to update as infrequently as the chapters themselves (No offense, Neni),at least until I get us up to date, so I'll try to get it done ASAP.Let's just hope my selective memory selects to remember this.
Neni, if you spotted any errors, please let me know ASAP, so that I can correct them.
(P.S. The reason I'm putting my Notes down here is to separate it from Neni's section and try not to be distracting.)
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