The Powers That Be
by Cyberchao X

A/N: Yeah…I'm still not great at naming fics, but I like this name because it has so many meanings at once.

Disclaimer: Ace Attorney is property of Capcom. May contain spoilers for the final cases of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney and Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney.

"So, uh…"

"Yes?" Ema Skye applied irritably, as if she knew any other way to respond to me when I wasn't talking about her beloved science. It was easy enough to figure out how to "work" her, sure, but…

"Thanks. You did save the day back there. Though…did you have to imitate Kristoph Gavin when you did so?"

"…That's right, he was your mentor, wasn't he? Sorry about that. I did it to stick it to that glimmerous fop, not to you. …It was never my attention to hurt you, too."

Ah…I guess she is in a good mood, after all. Hard to tell sometimes. "It wasn't a big deal. Just surprised me is all. And yeah, Prosecutor Gavin seemed to be more affected than I was."

"Of course, that was only the beginning of his bad day…even he doesn't deserve that. And…as far as prosecutors go, he's pretty tolerable. Not like some of the prosecutors that came before him."

"Should you really be saying that, Detective Skye? I thought the detectives worked for the prosecutors' office."

"WITH the prosecutors' office. Not for it, nor it for us. Don't ever forget it."

"Someone has a lot of venom for prosecutors."

"…While they do disrespect detectives on a daily basis…the corrupt agent that once tried to unify the two under his control was actually a police chief. G-G…Gant. D-Damon Gant. The head prosecutor whom he controlled to the letter, over a two-year period following the SL-9 Incident…was Lana Skye."

"Skye? You don't mean…"

"Have you heard of the SL-9 Incident?"

"It was before my time."

"True. You'd be younger than Trucy's age at the time. Still, perhaps you'd know it better by its 'public' name…the Joe Darke Killings."

"Yeah. A prosecutor was killed."

"That is true, but…that particular murder, Darke was framed for. Not for the others, mind you; he was indeed a criminal, but the courts couldn't prove it, and then vice-chief Gant was furious. Furious enough that he took matters into his own hands."

"Darke was in questioning when the lights went out due to a lightning storm. Darke fled, and found himself in the office that Gant shared with his assistant, Lana Skye…my sister. I was to meet her for dinner after she had finished with work, and was waiting in that office. The first one on the scene was prosecutor Neil Marshall. He attacked Darke, trying to protect me…Only able to see by the periodic flashes of lightning, I thought that Darke had the upper hand, and I shoved the 'assailant', knocking him out, and then…I fainted. The next one on the scene was…Damon Gant. He found the three unconscious bodies—mine, Prosecutor Marshall's, and Darke's—and got to constructing a crime scene. First…"

"Ema, is this hard for you? You needn't go on…"

Ema shook her head. "First, he found the handprint that I'd left on Prosecutor Marshall's vest, and he cut it out and put it in his safe. Then…he impaled Prosecutor Marshall on the sword of the suit of armor in his office. He painted my name on a vase in Marshall's blood, then broke the vase and put the most legible piece in his safe as well. The overall implication…was that I had shoved Prosecutor Marshall onto the suit of armor."

"I thought the aim was to frame Darke for this murder."

"It was. The next one on the scene, after Gant had already left, was…my sister, Lana Skye. Gant then 'helped her' alter the crime scene so as to conceal the evidence that I was the true killer. And because of that, she had to do everything he said."

"That's…horrible."

"Yeah. But my science was what helped Mr. Wright and Mr. Edgeworth discover the truth."

"Is that when he got the fingerprinting powder?"

"Yep!" Back in a happy mood. "Back when he was defending my sister."

"Wait, your sister? Weren't you the one who had been framed for murder?"

"…Back in the Pal Meraktis case, you said you found Trucy's magic panties in the exhaust pipe of a car. What possessed you to look there, I wonder?"

"Well, I heard that in one of Mr. Wright's cases, a crucial piece of evidence was found in an exhaust pipe, so ever since then, I always check exhaust pipes."

"The murder weapon. A switchblade originally belonging to Joe Darke, with which he allegedly killed Neil Marshall…and with which Damon Gant actually killed Detective Bruce Goodman, who had worked that case and who was considering reopening it at the request of another of the detectives on the case: Prosecutor Marshall's younger brother, Jake Marshall. Lana, being Damon's 'puppet', was told to dispose of both the body and the actual murder weapon, while also stabbing the corpse with a different knife in order to make that the 'murder weapon'. Someone witnessed this second 'killing', so she became the suspect." Ema paused. "I think I've revealed far too much of my own personal life to someone I know so little and on such a professional basis. I guess, if you want a summary, the tyrannical and altogether illegal methods that Gant used to gain power over both the police force and the prosecutors' office have turned me off to the idea of us ever being a single organization."

"Can you state it…scientifically?" Trucy's advice still rang in my ears.

She laughed. It was…actually quite cute. "Evidence is evidence. If our evidence benefits the prosecution, we give it to the prosecution…but if it benefits the defense, we should be obligated to give it to the defense. More than either idealistic defense attorneys like yourself and Mr. Wright…or idealistic prosecutors like Mr. Edgeworth and 'Herr Glimmerous'…we detectives should hold our only duty to the truth."

Suddenly, something felt wrong. Something I heard? No…something I didn't hear, that I'd been hearing at a fairly steady pace throughout the conversation. My time on the case of Romein LeTouse's murder attuned my ears to catching slight differences, though I'd never be able to do what Lamiroir does. "She's out of Snackoos…" And then the empty bag hits me in the face.

"Your tightwire act in court there today had me all nervous, so I was running low on snacks already when you chatted me up. And I still maintain that I've said far too much to someone I have no personal relationship."

"'Highwire' or 'tightrope'…hey, hold it! Are you blaming me for your lack of Snackoos!?"

"Yeah, I don't think you need your 'magic eyes' to see that one."

"You eat too many of those, anyway. They can't be healthy for you."

"What do you care? We've been at odds just about every time we've met."

"Not today. Not at any point during this case, actually. We worked together pretty well, actually."

"That's true. You showed a healthy appreciation for the power of science, unlike a certain glimmerous fop who calls me to the witness stand fully intending for the cross-examination to destroy my credibility, much like his predecessor used to do to Detective Gumshoe."

"Who?"

"You know who."

"No, I mean Gumshoe. Who's that?"

"A friend of Mr. Wright and Mr. Edgeworth. Though generally not terribly effective, and abused by Edgeworth much as I am by Klavier. But enough about me…" That menacing tone again.

"I'd be happy to share what I know…but I don't really know much. Not about where I came from, anyway. And…I suppose I'm buying you more Snackoos, aren't I?" Eh…she deserves a gift, anyway.

"Thank you. I'd like to get to know you on a more personal level…you may not be as cool as Wright or Edgeworth, or even as handsome as glimmer-boy, but you're pretty cool in your own right."

I blushed and thanked her, then did what I always did when something felt fishy: examined my current collection of evidence. "Snackoos Chocolate Liqueurs." And she devoured a whole bag of these…at normal consumption levels, this wouldn't be powerful enough to really effect a human, even one who wasn't fully grown, but her behavior definitely did seem out of character. Still, there's a common saying, one that holds no merit in a court of law, but often holds sway over the court of public opinion. In vino, veritas. So, Ema, is this how you really feel? Or is your science just that underappreciated?

"Are people who appreciate your science really in such short supply? I mean, you have to remember that my so-called assistant is a magician—a Gramarye, no less."

"Enigmar."

"I wasn't referring to her father. Trucy's mother is Thalassa Gramarye, who was not merely using Magnifi's name as a stage name."

"Right…she died during an accident while practicing a trick."

"Yeah… Let's not speak of such grim things. Come on," I said, taking her arm in mine, "your Snackoos await." Perhaps it was just because she was slightly inebriated (though having eaten the whole bag, not as inebriated as I'd expect), but having her arm in mine, it felt…so warm…

To be continued…

A/N: If this is below my usual quality, blame me ignoring my usual rule about late night writing. And yes, I do plan to continue this...hopefully.