Black Pearls

October 10, 10:00 AM
District Court
Courtroom Nº 91

Oh God. That was certainly not a regular trial this was going to be. Not when the bailiffs suddenly busted in the room before the trial even started, covering the way with a giant red carpet, through which walked right behind, but at a much slower pace, a small blond girl with sea-blue eyes holding… a giant-sized yellow sword on the right hand?
The courtroom fell silent as the bailiffs made ran all the way up to the judge’s stand, where the usual and fair Udgy was not at the time. Then, when the girl finally caught up, she immediately sat and looked at the astonished faces turned to her. She cleared her throat and started.
“Hello. I am Yggdra Yuril Artwaltz, rightful heir of the Fantasinian throne, and currently present here to deliver justice to the guilty and freedom to the innocent! Oh attorneys of law, aid me in this noble and honorable quest that begins now, with the trial of Miss… huh… Meggie Byrde.”
“Sir, that’s Maggey, sir!” A very nervous Maggey by the witness stand shouted, oblivious to the unusual air of tension befalling everyone in the court towards that unexpected new judge. Yggdra blushed.
“Oh, my… my apologies, miss Byrde. Wait… I mean: know your place, criminal! Your fate will be sealed in this very room and in this very trial!”
Phoenix, already by the defense bench, looked across the room to see Edgeworth… and an apparently disturbed Edgeworth at that.
“Well, then, are both the defense and the prosecution ready?” Phoenix eyes were drawn to the judge’s direction again, where he saw her with a script in hand and reading it intently. Gosh, what kind of demented joke was that? He would have to play by those rules, apparently.
“The defense is-“ Phoenix couldn’t finish, for a cry of “Objection!” was heard in a very sexy male voice, and all heads of the courtroom turned to Edgeworth.
“This evidences, videotape, CD album and somewhat drugged witness prove the defendant’s guilt!” He blurted, showering the prosecution bench with a bunch of items in a split second, including a sleeping Ini Miney pushed to the witness stand. “Now give me candy!”
The judge immediately stood up, eyes sparkling with so much intensity it would have blinded any direct witness. “CANDY!! WHERE!?”
Her eyes scanned through the people present, spotting a Sal Manella happily getting ready to eat a petit gateau in the front row of people that watched the trial. She immediately charged against the poor soul, sword at hand, to get the tasty meal, Edgeworth right on her toes. It was by that time that an even stranger figure entered the courtroom: an armored kid with long red hair and amber eyes riding a blood-red dragon and carrying a death scythe. He searched someone there, and when his eyes set on Yggdra, that had disposed of Manella and now dueled Edgeworth for the supreme dessert, he sighed heavily.
“Who the hell allowed sugar here with SHE around?” He said loudly, eyeing another man in the second row, that was about to jump over the first and try to flee while holding two ice-creams, one in each hand. The purple-haired man shook his head furiously.
“It wasn’t me, Emperor, I swear! I don’t even know where these ice-creams came from!” He started, but when he noticed Edgeworth spotted him, he ran for his life. The newcomer didn’t bother helping, and instead flew with his dragon to the judge’s stand, which took unnecessarily long, probably because he was showing off his skills waving back and forth with the dragon.
“Alright… since the prosecutor and Yggdra are apparently getting high on candies, I’ll be the new provisory judge for no reason whatsoever. By the way, the name’s Gulcasa.”
“Is he even legal?” Phoenix rolled his eyes.
“Now for the crime, it was…” Gulcasa scanned the case files conveniently right in front of him, and tilted his head once his eyes set over what he looked for. “Wait… she only ate a barbeque?”
Someone pushed Maggey and Ini aside from the witness stand. It happened to be Larry.
“Yeah, man, that is TERRIBLE! It was for me and my girlfriend Susan, man!! I spent so much time trying to prepare it the right way!” Larry shouted, on the verge of crying.
“I’d rather have Genocide’d souls myself.” The judge commented, getting what looked like a white bun and swallowed it whole. “Now, Mr. Wright, will you plead ‘Not Guilty’ or ‘Self-Defense’?
Despite a possible penalty, Phoenix would have loved to comment on something, but seeing the size of the scythe the judge carried, he decided against it. “’Not Guilty’, Emperor.”
“Very well. Now present your evidence.”
“What the hell? We didn’t even start on the details! Without them, how can I work out the contradictions on people’s testimony and accuse a possible witness around here?
“Screw you, I’ve got a soap opera to watch starting in fifteen minutes and I’m not about to lose it because of a third-rate spiky haired attorney.” Gulcasa replied angrily. Phoenix facepalmed, vaguely distracted by Yggdra and Edgeworth spinning around with joined hands, probably in an ecstatic state after having eaten ice-cream and probably other candies from anyone around. To their side laid a KOed Sal Manella…
“TAKE THAT!” Phoenix shouted, pointing his finger to Sal Manella right across the room.
“What the heck are you doing? You’re supposed to shout that when you present evidence, Mr. Wrong.” Gulcasa commented, obviously annoyed.
“I am, Emperor. I accuse Sal Manella of eating Larry’s bun! I mean, barbeque!”
The courtroom was in chaos, which didn’t took very long to settle once Gulcasa’s pet dragon roared.
“That’s a grave accusation, Mr. Wright… but I kinda have to agree, he looks like he enjoys his meals… and others. But how can you explain he did it!”
Phoenix slammed his hands against the bench. “…Ouch.” He quickly fixed his sentence. “I mean, it’s very simple, Emperor! He disguised himself as the defendant and ate Larry’s barbeque!”
“Nick!!!” Maya suddenly appears from the shadows of the courtroom to knock some sense on the porcupine head attorney. “Are you nuts!? Manella disguised as Maggey! That’s never gonna work!
“B-But…” Phoenix started, but was stopped midsentence by a whipping attack. “Yikes!”
“That was so utterly foolish I had to whip the foolish fool who foolishly stated such a foolish sentence.” An already well-known female voice came from where the door was supposed to be, and through which we were now able to see Yggdra and Edgeworth trying to catch the Swiss Rolls that a pink-tailed jumping mermaid called Nietzche held. “And I was in Germany just now, for crying out loud!”
“Hell, we don’t know until we actually try to fit him in the costume, right!?” Phoenix searched for a way to get out of that mess, but at the same time digging his grave deeper.
“Mr. Wright, how can you possibly imply that gross thing can look like me!?” Even Maggey was now exploding on Phoenix. Gulcasa slammed his gavel (I mean, scythe) and shouted “Order!” before things got out of hand. At that time, Ini Miney was awaking from her slumber.
“Ohh… like, where am I?” She muttered, standing up slowly, and when taking notice of her surroundings, she gasped when she saw the fallen Manella. “Oh my gawd, Maggey! I was, like, looking ALL OVER for you, sweetie!” She ran towards him and started to shake him frenetically. “Like, wake up, wake up! I was like, so lonely without you!”
The whole courtroom was struck speechless. Even Yggdra and Edgeworth dropped their jaw when they glanced at that scene. Gulcasa recovered first. “Witness, are you high?”
She seemed to have listened to him, since she shook her head. “Like, not today, sugar.”
“SUGAR! WHERE!?” Yggdra and Edgeworth shout in unison, and Gulcasa facepalmed.
“Phoenix Wright, you are so lucky. You win.”
“…Wait, what?” Phoenix didn’t take notice of what the sentence meant until some seconds later.
“She’s the only witness we got. And though she’s on a very crazy trip in acid, we have to one to contest her words. And she proved you’re right.”
“…Oh.” Was all that Phoenix could say.
“I see no reason to further prolong this trial.” Gulcasa finished, solemn. “This court finds the defendant, Maggey Byrde…
NOT GUILTY

January 22, 11:00 AM
District Court
Courtroom Nº 91

“The court shall begin the trial of Mr. Raguna… err, Raguna.” Once again, the court gathered and the judge expected to make a fine first statement after slamming his gavel. However, the defendant’s lack of surname was obviously making him uneasy. When he looked over to both the defense and prosecution benches, though, none of the attorneys seemed to bother with that fact.
“The defense is ready, Your Honor,” announced a spiky haired lawyer in a navy blue suit, the one and only Phoenix Wright. He glared over to his opponent, who couldn’t respond to the glare, for its eyes were hidden behind a weird mask with three red horizontal lights.
“…” Those were Godot’s wise words before the trial started. The judge, following the saying that silence gives consent, hastened up his next line.
“Very well, the prosecution can give its opening statement.”
“Hah…! The defendant is guilty. The answer lies in front of you, simple and clear, much unlike my coffee.” A swing of his arm summoned a cup of coffee to himself, and he immediately took a sip. “However, let us look behind us to the facts that concern this case. The crime took place at 8 PM, at a hot spring complex called ‘Laga Springs’. The body of a regular customer, Nolan… Mr. Nolan, was found on one of the springs by the owner of the establishment, Ms. Melody…”
Someone rushed inside the courtroom, stomping over the bailiff in the rush. It was a young girl with light blue eyes and pink hair in pigtails, dressed in a red and white robe and hat that much resembled a magician. She looked very annoyed, and looked directly at the coffee loving prosecutor.
“Hey, why does that scruffy detective gets to testify first? I need to go first! How could someone stain my lovely bath with blood! That Raguna, he’s going to pay! No matter that he saved Trampoli and keep Whale Island flying, his crime is unforgivable!!” She hissed, all the while looking at the prosecutor. Then, apparently being aware of the coffee that the prosecutor was drinking, she also took her own cup and took a sip.
The court was engulfed in a weird silence, during which Phoenix had begun sweating and the judge had a face of utmost astonishment. “I’d like to present Ms. Melody to the court, the owner of Laga Springs.” Godot said, after finishing his first cup. The magician was suddenly much calmer after drinking the contents of her own cup, and raised her eyes to the judge.
“Oh my! I’m sorry I didn’t introduce myself. Thanks, Mr. Godot.” She bowed respectfully to him. “Anyway, why is there a trial…? Poor Raguna… he couldn’t have done something like that…” Now she was almost dreamy, so ditzy it would leave Ini Miney in the dust. Phoenix looked like he was hit by a massive truck.
“If that isn’t bipolar, I don’t know what it is.” He muttered to himself, shaking his head.
“Hah…!” Godot started, facing Wright. “Such is the power of the Relax Tea.”
“Relax Tea?” Phoenix repeated, intrigued.
“Yes, Trite. It is a special herbal tea that has the most powerful body relaxing properties. It is also special in the sense that it was created in a village named Trampoli, where the murder took place.”
“Wow, Nick, Godot is pretty knowledgeable, don’t you think?” Maya commented cheerfully.
“Since when are you here!?” Phoenix almost shouted when Maya’s sudden comment surprised him. He was going to reply properly, but a huge detective in a green trench coat ran inside the courtroom (not forgetting to stomp over the bailiff), and grabbed Melody by the shoulder.
“Hey, pal, what do you think you’re doing, stealing my spotlight! This was supposed to be my chance of getting a raise! I’ll arrest you, pal!” He was almost handcuffing the girl, that didn’t react whatsoever, but a shout of “Hold it!” made him stop.
“Detective Gumshoe, I’d like to cross-examine this witness first!” Phoenix said with conviction. Why he said it, though, he had no clue. But he was all too accustomed with the ‘act first, think later’ modus operandi. Gumshoe looked at him, and meeting the determination in his eyes, he backed down a bit, but still hadn’t given up.
“But sir… my salary…” He muttered in grief.
“Oh, I’m sorry, Mr. Detective! Here, I hope this makes up for it…” The girl by the witness stand searched the inside of her robe and found a turnip the size of a human head in her pocket, which she offered to Gumshoe. “Here, you can have it.”
“R-Really? I can have it? A turnip! It’s been so much time I could buy one, I forgot they were so big!” Gumshoe screamed in delight while he took the turnip in his hands. In a second, however, it had disappeared: a blond girl dressed in blue had dashed from the audience to grab it and was then happily nibbling it. “Ahhhh! My turnip! Give it BAACK!” The detective dove against the perpetrator, and a fight for the turnip ensued. However, as spoke again, no one made an effort to stop the fight.
“Mr. Lawyer wants me to testify… so I’m going to testify. Is that alright, Mr. Godot? Is that alright, Mr. Judge?” She spoke slowly and sweetly. It was suddenly inconceivable that she was really a witness for the prosecution. Godot, however, had no objection, and just drank from his next cup of coffee. So she started.
“It was getting late when Raguna came to my bathouse…”
“HOLD IT!” Came the shout from the defense bench, but nothing followed. Embarrassed, Phoenix amended: “I’m sorry, miss, it’s just force of habit. B-But since you stopped, is my client a regular at Laga Springs?”
“Yes, he comes at least once a day. I only allow my customers to take one bath per day.” She answered happily, her head hanging to a side.
“Isn’t this a rather unnatural procedure to a person that is getting gold every time people bath at your establishment?” Phoenix promptly stated, but an “OBJECTION!” followed, coming from the coffee loving side of the courtroom.
“This is unrelated to the case. I demand a penalty to Trite.”
“Objection sustained. Penalty, Mr. Wright.”
“Wait, WHAT!? What did I do?” Phoenix complained, slamming his desk. “I wish they would take some of that Relax Tea so they don’t throw off penalties like that…” He then thought, before the pink-haired witness continued.
“But then, after he took his bath and left, the spring started to smell like alcohol. I thought it was Nolan drinking in the bath again. He often does. So I went there to scold him, but… I found him dead.” The words were heavy on the courtroom’s atmosphere, but she was apparently half-oblivious to that. “I thought he was sleeping, but there was no pulse. Some bottles of wine were on the water, and there was also blood… oh, the blood ruined my bath! Oh, the tragedy! He must pay, he really must! What has he done to my BATH!!” She began crying, getting on her knees before she knew it. Apparently the tea’s effect was wearing off.
“Relax Tea only has a durable and great effect if drank in great quantity.” Godot explained, as to excuse the witness of the sudden breakdown. Phoenix made a mental note of it, as useless of an information as it was going to be.
“Detective… DETECTIVE!” Phoenix shouted to get his attention, but to no avail: him and the girl were still fighting over the turnip, causing a gray fog to lift and hide (read ‘censor’) the violence from the public. “Gah, forget it. Miss Melody, what was the murder weapon?”
“The bottles, of course! Those bottles stained my beloved bath with wine and blood! You know how pissed this makes me?!” She had rose up to her feet again, and her face looked as annoyed as it was when they had first entered. Phoenix rolled his eyes.
“I meant the weapon that took Mr. Nolan’s life.”
“…Oh! Well, how should I know? My bath was ruined at the time, you know!” She hissed, as if that explained everything by itself.
“Was there any incriminating evidence that pointed to my client?”
“…There was a turnip. And Raguna’s a farmer…” Melody answered after thinking for a little while. This made Phoenix and Maya almost faint.
“You mean THAT turnip!? Do you randomly give evidence out as a present!?” Phoenix shouted in amazement.
“Hah…! A true man does not need unnecessary evidence, Trite.” Godot replied, sipping some more coffee. “If you are a real man, use what you have to find the truth for yourself.”
“Hum, I hate to interrupt…” The judge said after a while, staring at the fight in the courtroom. “But could someone do something about those two?”
Melody rolled her eyes and drew from her pocket a teapot (no kidding). She grabbed the girl from behind and dragged her to the stand.
“Mist, have this.” She said while forcing the girl to drain the teapot’s contents. In an instant she fell, motionless, leaving a very happy and couldn’t-care-less Gumshoe free with his loved turnip. The court felt silent.
“D-Did you… kill her?” The judge didn’t seem to be finding the words easily.
“No, I gave her Relax Tea.” She said, somewhat calmer than before. “She might sleep for some days after drinking this much, though…”
Something struck Phoenix like a baseball to the forehead. “OBJECTION!” he shouted, pointing to the witness. “Godot, I now have a firmer grasp of what happened.”
At the time, another blonde wearing light white clothes and carrying a package entered the courtroom. For the sake of tradition, she ALSO stomped the bailiff. “Special Evidence Delivery to Mr. Pheonix Wright!” She announced loud and clear.
“Maya! How could you write my name wrong!?” Phoenix complained, turning to Maya, that was trying to hide below the bench.
“Ack, I’m sorry, Nick! It was in such a hurry that it slipped!” The newcomer had probably heard the defense party, for she ran towards them and put the package over their bench.
“Here you go. It includes a set of bottles, the body of a man by his sixties that loves baths, as well as some water.” She talked pretty fast and went to the point. “That will be 200 gold.”
“That cost me a bit, but I’ll win this case no matter what!” Phoenix thought, after the dealing had ended. He slammed his hands on the desk. “Your Honor! As the girl, Rosetta, was kind enough to examine these pieces of evidence, I’d like them to be known by the court. These bottles were certainly carrying alcoholic beverages… except for two. One was found broken, and the other was filled with… Relax Tea!”
The court went in turmoil. Except for Godot, that sipped his coffee, as usual. “You amuse me, Trite. No matter how you try to play it out, the witness stated that the body had no pulse.”
“Well, we can check that. I am sure the teapot you had, Miss Melody, had a nice quantity of Relax Tea too.” Phoenix said, now looking confident. “Would you mind taking your turnip-loving friend there?”
“Well, OK, but I am sure that… oh.” Melody touched the girl’s pulse, and by her expression, it certainly wasn’t what she expected.
“I see my point goes through.” Phoenix said in triumph. To his side, near Maya, were now several little phantom-like creatures called Runeys, playing the Cornered theme. “In light of this, we hold that the victim is still alive!”
“OBJECTION!” Godot’s voice sounded through the courtroom. “Despite the fact he might have drunk this tea, it doesn’t mean he is still alive. Or how would you be able to explain the blood found on the springs?”
“TAKE THAT!” Phoenix held up the broken bottle. “It is pretty logical that this bottle must have dropped accidentally. At that time, I assume no one other than the defendant and the victim were in the springs. Is that right, Melody?”
“Yes, that much is true.” Melody admitted with a nod. “There were more people on the female side, but none of them went to the male side while I was looking.”
“Good. Now, that broken bottle must have been the reason why you smelled alcohol, Miss. Anyway, the victim does not have any external wounds. How is that possible?”
“…Gah!” Godot’s mask started to fume.
“Yes, it wasn’t he that was hurt at all. It was… my client who was hurt!” Phoenix pointed forward for no reason. “The ‘victim’, grieving over hurting a friend, must have opened the bottle with Relax Tea to… well, relax. Forget it. But he drank it all to fast, and here he is, causing a huge misunderstanding.
“One moment, Trite!” Godot shouted, slamming his cup of coffee against the table. “If that is the case, then why didn’t the defendant speak up for himself to avoid this ‘huge misunderstanding’?”
Everyone looked at the defendant, which had until then passed unnoticed by most people present. He was a young man with brown hair and light blue eyes, wearing a brownish open coat over a navy shirt. He had his eyes closed, and tapped his feet impatiently. When they addressed him, he simply stated: “Simple. No one here gave me the chance!”
The court once again fell silent. The judge then shook his head. “I think this wraps it up nicely. Well done once again, Mr. Wright. This court finds the defendant, Raguna…
NOT GUILTY

December 12, 10:45 AM

District Court

Corridors

It was early for the trial yet. 15 minutes was quite a bit of time. And yet, through the corridor that leads to one of the farthest courtroom ever, two figures walk in fast pace. One, a well-built spiky haired lawyer in his usual navy blue suit, was looking a little tense. The other was his constantly present and always eager spiritual sidekick Maya Fey, using her usual training purple robe. She looked perfectly happy, in contrast with her friend.

“Chin up, Nick!” She cheered, to liven things up on that empty and otherwise creepy corridor. “You’ve been looking grim ever since we took the bus. But we’re still early for the trial!”

“Well, that’s not what is bugging me…” The one and only Phoenix Wright replied with a sigh. “Maybe the fact that some people were eyeing me on the bus as if they’re going to eat me for dinner has something to do with it. Did I do something wrong?”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Nick. How could someone eat you for dinner if it’s only 10:45 AM?” Maya stated, showing off her utter dominance of the meals’ usual time frame.

Phoenix was about to sarcastically reply when they reached the double doors to the courtroom number 91. As they arrived, though, a chill went down the attorney’s spine. The door itself looked a little different. However, as it happened every time, he couldn’t quite point his finger at it. Maya noticed his concern and looked at it too. Slowly, she approached the door and was about to turn the handle when Phoenix discovered what was wrong.

“Hey, Maya… were those holes there before?” He pointed his index finger to two holes above the doorknobs. They were diamond-shaped and the wood that shaped them looked lighter and clearer than the one composing the rest of the door. Maya bent forward to check them closely.

“I don’t think so. Then again, it’s not been long since we started coming to this room…”

“True. Well, let’s enter, anyway.”

At Phoenix’s command, Maya turned the doorknob, but much to her surprise, it was locked. She announced that loudly to Phoenix, that responded with a “WHAAAAAAT!?” in kind. He hastily stepped up and tried turning it too, but to no avail.

“How come? It really is locked.” Phoenix crossed his arms and tapped his foot, thoughtful.

“Maybe we arrived a bit too early?” Maya risked an explanation. Phoenix shook his head.

“It doesn’t really make sense. Courtrooms are usually open before that. Maybe there was a change in time and we did not receive the info?”

“Hum… maybe they only changed the courtroom! You know, this one might have been locked by accident, and they are in a nearby room!”

Phoenix dwelt in that idea for a moment. It sounded plausible. Though, with his luck, things would end up being more complicated than that.

“Well, then let’s check it out. The closest room is the last in the row, the number 101… huh?”

Both our heroes turned to the end of the corridors, which turned to the right a little farther on. They followed that way, but as they turned, they discovered the area was closed off by a single white tape and a sign that read “Maintenance”. Beyond the tape, a group of several janitors groaned in a zombie-like manner and were spinning around slowly with their hands given to each other.

“Ah, they’re having fun! Let’s spin too, Nick!” Maya said eagerly, but Phoenix held her shoulder before she jumped in.

“No way! Can’t you see the sign saying “Maintenance”? It means they’re working, we shouldn’t interrupt.”

“Oh, phooey.”

The creepy parade ended when a blond man wearing sunglasses and carrying a machine gun and a whip appeared and started lashing the zombie-like janitors like crazy.

“Pesky fools, get back to work!” He shouted, and the zombies fled to the inside of the opened courtroom just ahead. The man followed,
and the door closed behind him.

“Who was that, Nick?”

“No clue… though the shouting around and the whip at hand made me think of a von Karma.” Phoenix confessed, causing Maya to laugh. “Anyway… another weird thing is, I don’t remember those statues there…”

The attorney pointed to the end of the corridor, beyond the maintenance sign. Against the wall were two symmetrical gray statues,
both depicting the same figure: a man holding a torch up. On the tip of each stone torch, something shone brightly, despite the severe lack of light in that corridor.

The glowing objects quickly caught Maya’s interest, and that made a bad feeling breed in Phoenix.

“Maya, whatever you do, don’t-

He couldn’t complete the sentence, for she had already leaped over the poor excuse for a sign, and immediately headed towards the shiny objects like a dog after a Frisbee thrown to the other side of the beach. In her hurry, she ended up bumping into the statue, which was knocked over and shattered to pieces. Surely it was ridiculously fragile, but Maya only cared enough to glance at it before composing herself and going after what she wanted. Behind her, Phoenix was aghast.

“…break the statue…” He continued, completing the now useless sentence. Maya picked up the object of her interest and examined it. It was a diamond-shaped scarlet jewel, which had something of a weird glow in that darkish area of the corridor. Strangely, the spirit medium felt like everything had stopped around her as she examined that item. Maybe the glow was hypnotic or something.

“Nick, look! Isn’t this the same shape as the one we saw just now?”

“Maya, how can you even think about the trivial now!? How am I going to repay the people here for the broken statue when I barely have… oh wait, you’re right.” Phoenix had just noticed the resemblance, and for a while, had inexplicably forgotten the rest of the situation. “Does that mean it should be there?”

“I think so!” Maya readily answered, while stretching herself to try and grab the other jewel from the tip of the other statue’s torch, this time without breaking it. She was successful. “But then, why exactly are they here?”

“No clue either…” Phoenix sighed, but our two heroes started to the side from which they came. Once again in front of the 91st courtroom, Maya quickly attached the stones to their carvings on the door. They fit perfectly. A click was heard. The door seemed to be open now.

Both exchanged looks, all realizing how weird was that situation. And even so, they ventured forth. Maya went first, always the most willing for an adventure, and Phoenix right on her toes. It was then. What they found inside shocked them. Their eyes were beholding something so terrible, so foul that it had to be censored twice to get past standards of fiction censorship. It is… a creepy corridor.

“You got to be kidding me!” Maya blurted, running to the other end to check that there was yet another double wooden door before the proper courtroom, and those doors were also locked. “I don’t remember this corridor! When did they reform?

“We always went past this one rather quickly… I guess it’s normal not to notice. Both doors were always open too…” Phoenix explained as he walked after his friend. Checking his surroundings, it really was a weird corridor. It was quite dirty and it had several drawer stands and some desks to the right. Totally different than what he would have expected. When he got to Maya, she looked away from the door and directly at him.

“Well, I guess we have to find a way to unlock this one too! C’mon, Nick, let’s search for clues!”

“It’s not like there will always be a convenient way, Maya…” Phoenix began, but she wasn’t listening anymore, bestowing upon herself the task of examining the nearby drawers. With a sigh, the ace attorney agreed that he should do something as well. Since he was already facing the door, he would start from there. After all, the previous one had a peculiarity. He wondered whether a close examination or a cross examination would be more efficient in that situation.

As this happened, we see Maya snooping around the things that were around. However, in her concentration given to the task, she did not notice that the noise she made had awakened a hungry zombie stationed to one dark side of the corridor, from the way they came. This bad boy started to walk ever so slowly towards the closest victim, and Maya still hadn’t noticed him when she announced her findings to Phoenix:

“Hey, look, I found some Grenade Launcher shells! Can’t we use them to explode the door and make a grand entrance?”

Phoenix made a face.

“With all due respect, Maya, that idea will never work. I mean, c’mon! Grenade Launchers only damage enemies! They surely would be completely useless against this wooden door!”

Maya was puzzled at first, but eventually she came to realize what was wrong. “Wow, you’re right. Silly me.” She giggled at her own idea and threw the shells aside, accidentally hitting the incoming zombie and burning him to the ground. Some laughing could be heard from the janitor zombies that were spying on the room at the moment, and some even raised a sign that read “Rest in Pieces” to laugh even harder.

“Hum… anything useful?” Phoenix asked after a couple of minutes. He had put a lot of effort in cross examining the door, but he got no new information. Maya growled.

“No… last thing I found was an ink ribbon. Maybe it’s time to search inside this ridiculously big chest here.” She commented as her hands opened it almost effortlessly, but at the same time doing some sort of acute noise. “Hmm… a-ha!”

“What is it?”

“I found a small key! Maybe this will work… oops.”

“Did something happen?”

“My inventory is full.”

“Oh, please…” Phoenix shook his head and just went himself to the chest to get the key. “Let’s go, Maya. Whatever is happening, at least we need to make it to court in time!” He said with decision, and went on to unlock the door. Maya checked her cell phone.

“Wow, and just in time indeed! It’s one minute to eleven.” She announced proudly, coming next to Phoenix. In an instant, the door had been unlocked, and it opened on its own. Finally, they found themselves at the courtroom, and so glad they were to finally set foot on a better known place that they didn’t notice an army of zombie janitors swarming the corridor they were previously to clean up the ashes of their fallen comrade.

The courtroom… was just as it should be, differently from all the previous places. The judge sat proudly in his chair as if it was a throne, waiting for the action to begin. On the other side of the room, the talented and youthful prosecutor Miles Edgeworth awaited his next challenger. The spectators were silent, watching Phoenix and his sidekick with the utmost attention, waiting for his glorious presentation of what real trial and real justice were. The truth to be shown by the index finger of none other than the almighty, all-powerful attorneys that were present…

All of that was what Phoenix wanted to have seen, but…

“YOU SAY THAT AGAIN! WHO’S GUILTY NOW, BITCH!? WHO’S GUILTY!?” A female voice shouted through the whole place over and over, while a male weak raspy voice responded in kind with screams of pain. Phoenix took some time to understand what was going on. By the prosecutor’s bench, an uniformed female police officer had the hold of prosecutor Payne and was giving him a world of pain by punching him repeatedly and screaming against him. Both Phoenix and Maya’s jaws dropped. When she had noticed who entered, she stopped beating the prosecutor to a pulp and walked towards them. Phoenix recognized the defendant, Ms. Jill Valentine.

“Ah, Mr. Lawyer, I was trying to facilitate your work against the prosecutor and all… guess I got a little carried away.” She smiled
sheepishly. “You know, I’ve been itching for some action ever since the outbreak and…well… he annoyed the heck out of me.”

“Hum… yeah, I… understand, Ms. Valentine.” Phoenix heard himself speaking with difficulty. At that time, Jill took notice of Maya’s ink ribbon.

“Can I use that, lady?”

“Huh? Ah, sure, keep it if you want…”

“Mr. Wright!” The judge had finally spoken up, scaring Phoenix and Maya: upon seeing what had just happened, both had forgotten where they were. “This… extremely strong lady is your client, right?”

“Y-Yes, Your Honor…” Phoenix stuttered as he followed Jill with his eyes. She had gone over to a typewriter and seemed to be typing something up. What else would she be doing with a typewriter other than that, right?

“Despite the spanking of old Payne, she has been a helpful girl who kept a lot of weird people at bay from here.” The judge stated, confirming his own words with a nod. “And since the prosecutor doesn’t seem to be able to… err… prosecute right now, I guess I can give my verdict. This court finds the defendant, Jill Valentine…

NOT GUILTY

January 22, 11:00 AM
District Court
Courtroom Nº 91

“The court shall begin the trial of Mr. Raguna… err, Raguna.” Once again, the court gathered and the judge expected to make a fine first statement after slamming his gavel. However, the defendant’s lack of surname was obviously making him uneasy. When he looked over to both the defense and prosecution benches, though, none of the attorneys seemed to bother with that fact.
“The defense is ready, Your Honor,” announced a spiky haired lawyer in a navy blue suit, the one and only Phoenix Wright. He glared over to his opponent, who couldn’t respond to the glare, for its eyes were hidden behind a weird mask with three red horizontal lights.
“…” Those were Godot’s wise words before the trial started. The judge, following the saying that silence gives consent, hastened up his next line.
“Very well, the prosecution can give its opening statement.”
“Hah…! The defendant is guilty. The answer lies in front of you, simple and clear, much unlike my coffee.” A swing of his arm summoned a cup of coffee to himself, and he immediately took a sip. “However, let us look behind us to the facts that concern this case. The crime took place at 8 PM, at a hot spring complex called ‘Laga Springs’. The body of a regular customer, Nolan… Mr. Nolan, was found on one of the springs by the owner of the establishment, Ms. Melody…”
Someone rushed inside the courtroom, stomping over the bailiff in the rush. It was a young girl with light blue eyes and pink hair in pigtails, dressed in a red and white robe and hat that much resembled a magician. She looked very annoyed, and looked directly at the coffee loving prosecutor.
“Hey, why does that scruffy detective gets to testify first? I need to go first! How could someone stain my lovely bath with blood! That Raguna, he’s going to pay! No matter that he saved Trampoli and keep Whale Island flying, his crime is unforgivable!!” She hissed, all the while looking at the prosecutor. Then, apparently being aware of the coffee that the prosecutor was drinking, she also took her own cup and took a sip.
The court was engulfed in a weird silence, during which Phoenix had begun sweating and the judge had a face of utmost astonishment. “I’d like to present Ms. Melody to the court, the owner of Laga Springs.” Godot said, after finishing his first cup. The magician was suddenly much calmer after drinking the contents of her own cup, and raised her eyes to the judge.
“Oh my! I’m sorry I didn’t introduce myself. Thanks, Mr. Godot.” She bowed respectfully to him. “Anyway, why is there a trial…? Poor Raguna… he couldn’t have done something like that…” Now she was almost dreamy, so ditzy it would leave Ini Miney in the dust. Phoenix looked like he was hit by a massive truck.
“If that isn’t bipolar, I don’t know what it is.” He muttered to himself, shaking his head.
“Hah…!” Godot started, facing Wright. “Such is the power of the Relax Tea.”
“Relax Tea?” Phoenix repeated, intrigued.
“Yes, Trite. It is a special herbal tea that has the most powerful body relaxing properties. It is also special in the sense that it was created in a village named Trampoli, where the murder took place.”
“Wow, Nick, Godot is pretty knowledgeable, don’t you think?” Maya commented cheerfully.
“Since when are you here!?” Phoenix almost shouted when Maya’s sudden comment surprised him. He was going to reply properly, but a huge detective in a green trench coat ran inside the courtroom (not forgetting to stomp over the bailiff), and grabbed Melody by the shoulder.
“Hey, pal, what do you think you’re doing, stealing my spotlight! This was supposed to be my chance of getting a raise! I’ll arrest you, pal!” He was almost handcuffing the girl, that didn’t react whatsoever, but a shout of “Hold it!” made him stop.
“Detective Gumshoe, I’d like to cross-examine this witness first!” Phoenix said with conviction. Why he said it, though, he had no clue. But he was all too accustomed with the ‘act first, think later’ modus operandi. Gumshoe looked at him, and meeting the determination in his eyes, he backed down a bit, but still hadn’t given up.
“But sir… my salary…” He muttered in grief.
“Oh, I’m sorry, Mr. Detective! Here, I hope this makes up for it…” The girl by the witness stand searched the inside of her robe and found a turnip the size of a human head in her pocket, which she offered to Gumshoe. “Here, you can have it.”
“R-Really? I can have it? A turnip! It’s been so much time I could buy one, I forgot they were so big!” Gumshoe screamed in delight while he took the turnip in his hands. In a second, however, it had disappeared: a blond girl dressed in blue had dashed from the audience to grab it and was then happily nibbling it. “Ahhhh! My turnip! Give it BAACK!” The detective dove against the perpetrator, and a fight for the turnip ensued. However, as spoke again, no one made an effort to stop the fight.
“Mr. Lawyer wants me to testify… so I’m going to testify. Is that alright, Mr. Godot? Is that alright, Mr. Judge?” She spoke slowly and sweetly. It was suddenly inconceivable that she was really a witness for the prosecution. Godot, however, had no objection, and just drank from his next cup of coffee. So she started.
“It was getting late when Raguna came to my bathouse…”
“HOLD IT!” Came the shout from the defense bench, but nothing followed. Embarrassed, Phoenix amended: “I’m sorry, miss, it’s just force of habit. B-But since you stopped, is my client a regular at Laga Springs?”
“Yes, he comes at least once a day. I only allow my customers to take one bath per day.” She answered happily, her head hanging to a side.
“Isn’t this a rather unnatural procedure to a person that is getting gold every time people bath at your establishment?” Phoenix promptly stated, but an “OBJECTION!” followed, coming from the coffee loving side of the courtroom.
“This is unrelated to the case. I demand a penalty to Trite.”
“Objection sustained. Penalty, Mr. Wright.”
“Wait, WHAT!? What did I do?” Phoenix complained, slamming his desk. “I wish they would take some of that Relax Tea so they don’t throw off penalties like that…” He then thought, before the pink-haired witness continued.
“But then, after he took his bath and left, the spring started to smell like alcohol. I thought it was Nolan drinking in the bath again. He often does. So I went there to scold him, but… I found him dead.” The words were heavy on the courtroom’s atmosphere, but she was apparently half-oblivious to that. “I thought he was sleeping, but there was no pulse. Some bottles of wine were on the water, and there was also blood… oh, the blood ruined my bath! Oh, the tragedy! He must pay, he really must! What has he done to my BATH!!” She began crying, getting on her knees before she knew it. Apparently the tea’s effect was wearing off.
“Relax Tea only has a durable and great effect if drank in great quantity.” Godot explained, as to excuse the witness of the sudden breakdown. Phoenix made a mental note of it, as useless of an information as it was going to be.
“Detective… DETECTIVE!” Phoenix shouted to get his attention, but to no avail: him and the girl were still fighting over the turnip, causing a gray fog to lift and hide (read ‘censor’) the violence from the public. “Gah, forget it. Miss Melody, what was the murder weapon?”
“The bottles, of course! Those bottles stained my beloved bath with wine and blood! You know how pissed this makes me?!” She had rose up to her feet again, and her face looked as annoyed as it was when they had first entered. Phoenix rolled his eyes.
“I meant the weapon that took Mr. Nolan’s life.”
“…Oh! Well, how should I know? My bath was ruined at the time, you know!” She hissed, as if that explained everything by itself.
“Was there any incriminating evidence that pointed to my client?”
“…There was a turnip. And Raguna’s a farmer…” Melody answered after thinking for a little while. This made Phoenix and Maya almost faint.
“You mean THAT turnip!? Do you randomly give evidence out as a present!?” Phoenix shouted in amazement.
“Hah…! A true man does not need unnecessary evidence, Trite.” Godot replied, sipping some more coffee. “If you are a real man, use what you have to find the truth for yourself.”
“Hum, I hate to interrupt…” The judge said after a while, staring at the fight in the courtroom. “But could someone do something about those two?”
Melody rolled her eyes and drew from her pocket a teapot (no kidding). She grabbed the girl from behind and dragged her to the stand.
“Mist, have this.” She said while forcing the girl to drain the teapot’s contents. In an instant she fell, motionless, leaving a very happy and couldn’t-care-less Gumshoe free with his loved turnip. The court felt silent.
“D-Did you… kill her?” The judge didn’t seem to be finding the words easily.
“No, I gave her Relax Tea.” She said, somewhat calmer than before. “She might sleep for some days after drinking this much, though…”
Something struck Phoenix like a baseball to the forehead. “OBJECTION!” he shouted, pointing to the witness. “Godot, I now have a firmer grasp of what happened.”
At the time, another blonde wearing light white clothes and carrying a package entered the courtroom. For the sake of tradition, she ALSO stomped the bailiff. “Special Evidence Delivery to Mr. Pheonix Wright!” She announced loud and clear.
“Maya! How could you write my name wrong!?” Phoenix complained, turning to Maya, that was trying to hide below the bench.
“Ack, I’m sorry, Nick! It was in such a hurry that it slipped!” The newcomer had probably heard the defense party, for she ran towards them and put the package over their bench.
“Here you go. It includes a set of bottles, the body of a man by his sixties that loves baths, as well as some water.” She talked pretty fast and went to the point. “That will be 200 gold.”
“That cost me a bit, but I’ll win this case no matter what!” Phoenix thought, after the dealing had ended. He slammed his hands on the desk. “Your Honor! As the girl, Rosetta, was kind enough to examine these pieces of evidence, I’d like them to be known by the court. These bottles were certainly carrying alcoholic beverages… except for two. One was found broken, and the other was filled with… Relax Tea!”
The court went in turmoil. Except for Godot, that sipped his coffee, as usual. “You amuse me, Trite. No matter how you try to play it out, the witness stated that the body had no pulse.”
“Well, we can check that. I am sure the teapot you had, Miss Melody, had a nice quantity of Relax Tea too.” Phoenix said, now looking confident. “Would you mind taking your turnip-loving friend there?”
“Well, OK, but I am sure that… oh.” Melody touched the girl’s pulse, and by her expression, it certainly wasn’t what she expected.
“I see my point goes through.” Phoenix said in triumph. To his side, near Maya, were now several little phantom-like creatures called Runeys, playing the Cornered theme. “In light of this, we hold that the victim is still alive!”
“OBJECTION!” Godot’s voice sounded through the courtroom. “Despite the fact he might have drunk this tea, it doesn’t mean he is still alive. Or how would you be able to explain the blood found on the springs?”
“TAKE THAT!” Phoenix held up the broken bottle. “It is pretty logical that this bottle must have dropped accidentally. At that time, I assume no one other than the defendant and the victim were in the springs. Is that right, Melody?”
“Yes, that much is true.” Melody admitted with a nod. “There were more people on the female side, but none of them went to the male side while I was looking.”
“Good. Now, that broken bottle must have been the reason why you smelled alcohol, Miss. Anyway, the victim does not have any external wounds. How is that possible?”
“…Gah!” Godot’s mask started to fume.
“Yes, it wasn’t he that was hurt at all. It was… my client who was hurt!” Phoenix pointed forward for no reason. “The ‘victim’, grieving over hurting a friend, must have opened the bottle with Relax Tea to… well, relax. Forget it. But he drank it all to fast, and here he is, causing a huge misunderstanding.
“One moment, Trite!” Godot shouted, slamming his cup of coffee against the table. “If that is the case, then why didn’t the defendant speak up for himself to avoid this ‘huge misunderstanding’?”
Everyone looked at the defendant, which had until then passed unnoticed by most people present. He was a young man with brown hair and light blue eyes, wearing a brownish open coat over a navy shirt. He had his eyes closed, and tapped his feet impatiently. When they addressed him, he simply stated: “Simple. No one here gave me the chance!”
The court once again fell silent. The judge then shook his head. “I think this wraps it up nicely. Well done once again, Mr. Wright. This court finds the defendant, Raguna…
NOT GUILTY

December 12, 10:45 AM

District Court

Corridors

It was early for the trial yet. 15 minutes was quite a bit of time. And yet, through the corridor that leads to one of the farthest courtroom ever, two figures walk in fast pace. One, a well-built spiky haired lawyer in his usual navy blue suit, was looking a little tense. The other was his constantly present and always eager spiritual sidekick Maya Fey, using her usual training purple robe. She looked perfectly happy, in contrast with her friend.

“Chin up, Nick!” She cheered, to liven things up on that empty and otherwise creepy corridor. “You’ve been looking grim ever since we took the bus. But we’re still early for the trial!”

“Well, that’s not what is bugging me…” The one and only Phoenix Wright replied with a sigh. “Maybe the fact that some people were eyeing me on the bus as if they’re going to eat me for dinner has something to do with it. Did I do something wrong?”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Nick. How could someone eat you for dinner if it’s only 10:45 AM?” Maya stated, showing off her utter dominance of the meals’ usual time frame.

Phoenix was about to sarcastically reply when they reached the double doors to the courtroom number 91. As they arrived, though, a chill went down the attorney’s spine. The door itself looked a little different. However, as it happened every time, he couldn’t quite point his finger at it. Maya noticed his concern and looked at it too. Slowly, she approached the door and was about to turn the handle when Phoenix discovered what was wrong.

“Hey, Maya… were those holes there before?” He pointed his index finger to two holes above the doorknobs. They were diamond-shaped and the wood that shaped them looked lighter and clearer than the one composing the rest of the door. Maya bent forward to check them closely.

“I don’t think so. Then again, it’s not been long since we started coming to this room…”

“True. Well, let’s enter, anyway.”

At Phoenix’s command, Maya turned the doorknob, but much to her surprise, it was locked. She announced that loudly to Phoenix, that responded with a “WHAAAAAAT!?” in kind. He hastily stepped up and tried turning it too, but to no avail.

“How come? It really is locked.” Phoenix crossed his arms and tapped his foot, thoughtful.

“Maybe we arrived a bit too early?” Maya risked an explanation. Phoenix shook his head.

“It doesn’t really make sense. Courtrooms are usually open before that. Maybe there was a change in time and we did not receive the info?”

“Hum… maybe they only changed the courtroom! You know, this one might have been locked by accident, and they are in a nearby room!”

Phoenix dwelt in that idea for a moment. It sounded plausible. Though, with his luck, things would end up being more complicated than that.

“Well, then let’s check it out. The closest room is the last in the row, the number 101… huh?”

Both our heroes turned to the end of the corridors, which turned to the right a little farther on. They followed that way, but as they turned, they discovered the area was closed off by a single white tape and a sign that read “Maintenance”. Beyond the tape, a group of several janitors groaned in a zombie-like manner and were spinning around slowly with their hands given to each other.

“Ah, they’re having fun! Let’s spin too, Nick!” Maya said eagerly, but Phoenix held her shoulder before she jumped in.

“No way! Can’t you see the sign saying “Maintenance”? It means they’re working, we shouldn’t interrupt.”

“Oh, phooey.”

The creepy parade ended when a blond man wearing sunglasses and carrying a machine gun and a whip appeared and started lashing the zombie-like janitors like crazy.

“Pesky fools, get back to work!” He shouted, and the zombies fled to the inside of the opened courtroom just ahead. The man followed,
and the door closed behind him.

“Who was that, Nick?”

“No clue… though the shouting around and the whip at hand made me think of a von Karma.” Phoenix confessed, causing Maya to laugh. “Anyway… another weird thing is, I don’t remember those statues there…”

The attorney pointed to the end of the corridor, beyond the maintenance sign. Against the wall were two symmetrical gray statues,
both depicting the same figure: a man holding a torch up. On the tip of each stone torch, something shone brightly, despite the severe lack of light in that corridor.

The glowing objects quickly caught Maya’s interest, and that made a bad feeling breed in Phoenix.

“Maya, whatever you do, don’t-

He couldn’t complete the sentence, for she had already leaped over the poor excuse for a sign, and immediately headed towards the shiny objects like a dog after a Frisbee thrown to the other side of the beach. In her hurry, she ended up bumping into the statue, which was knocked over and shattered to pieces. Surely it was ridiculously fragile, but Maya only cared enough to glance at it before composing herself and going after what she wanted. Behind her, Phoenix was aghast.

“…break the statue…” He continued, completing the now useless sentence. Maya picked up the object of her interest and examined it. It was a diamond-shaped scarlet jewel, which had something of a weird glow in that darkish area of the corridor. Strangely, the spirit medium felt like everything had stopped around her as she examined that item. Maybe the glow was hypnotic or something.

“Nick, look! Isn’t this the same shape as the one we saw just now?”

“Maya, how can you even think about the trivial now!? How am I going to repay the people here for the broken statue when I barely have… oh wait, you’re right.” Phoenix had just noticed the resemblance, and for a while, had inexplicably forgotten the rest of the situation. “Does that mean it should be there?”

“I think so!” Maya readily answered, while stretching herself to try and grab the other jewel from the tip of the other statue’s torch, this time without breaking it. She was successful. “But then, why exactly are they here?”

“No clue either…” Phoenix sighed, but our two heroes started to the side from which they came. Once again in front of the 91st courtroom, Maya quickly attached the stones to their carvings on the door. They fit perfectly. A click was heard. The door seemed to be open now.

Both exchanged looks, all realizing how weird was that situation. And even so, they ventured forth. Maya went first, always the most willing for an adventure, and Phoenix right on her toes. It was then. What they found inside shocked them. Their eyes were beholding something so terrible, so foul that it had to be censored twice to get past standards of fiction censorship. It is… a creepy corridor.

“You got to be kidding me!” Maya blurted, running to the other end to check that there was yet another double wooden door before the proper courtroom, and those doors were also locked. “I don’t remember this corridor! When did they reform?

“We always went past this one rather quickly… I guess it’s normal not to notice. Both doors were always open too…” Phoenix explained as he walked after his friend. Checking his surroundings, it really was a weird corridor. It was quite dirty and it had several drawer stands and some desks to the right. Totally different than what he would have expected. When he got to Maya, she looked away from the door and directly at him.

“Well, I guess we have to find a way to unlock this one too! C’mon, Nick, let’s search for clues!”

“It’s not like there will always be a convenient way, Maya…” Phoenix began, but she wasn’t listening anymore, bestowing upon herself the task of examining the nearby drawers. With a sigh, the ace attorney agreed that he should do something as well. Since he was already facing the door, he would start from there. After all, the previous one had a peculiarity. He wondered whether a close examination or a cross examination would be more efficient in that situation.

As this happened, we see Maya snooping around the things that were around. However, in her concentration given to the task, she did not notice that the noise she made had awakened a hungry zombie stationed to one dark side of the corridor, from the way they came. This bad boy started to walk ever so slowly towards the closest victim, and Maya still hadn’t noticed him when she announced her findings to Phoenix:

“Hey, look, I found some Grenade Launcher shells! Can’t we use them to explode the door and make a grand entrance?”

Phoenix made a face.

“With all due respect, Maya, that idea will never work. I mean, c’mon! Grenade Launchers only damage enemies! They surely would be completely useless against this wooden door!”

Maya was puzzled at first, but eventually she came to realize what was wrong. “Wow, you’re right. Silly me.” She giggled at her own idea and threw the shells aside, accidentally hitting the incoming zombie and burning him to the ground. Some laughing could be heard from the janitor zombies that were spying on the room at the moment, and some even raised a sign that read “Rest in Pieces” to laugh even harder.

“Hum… anything useful?” Phoenix asked after a couple of minutes. He had put a lot of effort in cross examining the door, but he got no new information. Maya growled.

“No… last thing I found was an ink ribbon. Maybe it’s time to search inside this ridiculously big chest here.” She commented as her hands opened it almost effortlessly, but at the same time doing some sort of acute noise. “Hmm… a-ha!”

“What is it?”

“I found a small key! Maybe this will work… oops.”

“Did something happen?”

“My inventory is full.”

“Oh, please…” Phoenix shook his head and just went himself to the chest to get the key. “Let’s go, Maya. Whatever is happening, at least we need to make it to court in time!” He said with decision, and went on to unlock the door. Maya checked her cell phone.

“Wow, and just in time indeed! It’s one minute to eleven.” She announced proudly, coming next to Phoenix. In an instant, the door had been unlocked, and it opened on its own. Finally, they found themselves at the courtroom, and so glad they were to finally set foot on a better known place that they didn’t notice an army of zombie janitors swarming the corridor they were previously to clean up the ashes of their fallen comrade.

The courtroom… was just as it should be, differently from all the previous places. The judge sat proudly in his chair as if it was a throne, waiting for the action to begin. On the other side of the room, the talented and youthful prosecutor Miles Edgeworth awaited his next challenger. The spectators were silent, watching Phoenix and his sidekick with the utmost attention, waiting for his glorious presentation of what real trial and real justice were. The truth to be shown by the index finger of none other than the almighty, all-powerful attorneys that were present…

All of that was what Phoenix wanted to have seen, but…

“YOU SAY THAT AGAIN! WHO’S GUILTY NOW, BITCH!? WHO’S GUILTY!?” A female voice shouted through the whole place over and over, while a male weak raspy voice responded in kind with screams of pain. Phoenix took some time to understand what was going on. By the prosecutor’s bench, an uniformed female police officer had the hold of prosecutor Payne and was giving him a world of pain by punching him repeatedly and screaming against him. Both Phoenix and Maya’s jaws dropped. When she had noticed who entered, she stopped beating the prosecutor to a pulp and walked towards them. Phoenix recognized the defendant, Ms. Jill Valentine.

“Ah, Mr. Lawyer, I was trying to facilitate your work against the prosecutor and all… guess I got a little carried away.” She smiled
sheepishly. “You know, I’ve been itching for some action ever since the outbreak and…well… he annoyed the heck out of me.”

“Hum… yeah, I… understand, Ms. Valentine.” Phoenix heard himself speaking with difficulty. At that time, Jill took notice of Maya’s ink ribbon.

“Can I use that, lady?”

“Huh? Ah, sure, keep it if you want…”

“Mr. Wright!” The judge had finally spoken up, scaring Phoenix and Maya: upon seeing what had just happened, both had forgotten where they were. “This… extremely strong lady is your client, right?”

“Y-Yes, Your Honor…” Phoenix stuttered as he followed Jill with his eyes. She had gone over to a typewriter and seemed to be typing something up. What else would she be doing with a typewriter other than that, right?

“Despite the spanking of old Payne, she has been a helpful girl who kept a lot of weird people at bay from here.” The judge stated, confirming his own words with a nod. “And since the prosecutor doesn’t seem to be able to… err… prosecute right now, I guess I can give my verdict. This court finds the defendant, Jill Valentine…

NOT GUILTY