Phoenix Wright: The Good Old Days

After her prison sentence is over, Iris asks Phoenix about all his old cases, starting from his very first day in court as a defense attorney.

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT own Ace Attorney. It is owned by Capcom.


Chapter 1: The First Turnabout

November 14, 11:04 AM

Outside the Detention Center

Phoenix couldn't believe it. Not only has his good name been cleared of all suspicions of forgery, but his beloved Iris has just been released from prison! Iris, the woman who impersonated her evil twin sister, Dahlia Hawthorne, to keep him safe from harm; the same woman who stated that she would do anything to protect him, even if it meant risking her own life or her sister's.

"Feenie!" said Iris as she ran over to Phoenix and embraced him.

"Iris!" Phoenix shouted as he returned the hug.

"Oh, Feenie. I heard everything! You've gotten Kristoph Gavin convicted, and your innocence from that incident seven years ago has been proven! I'm so happy for you."

"Thank you, Iris. This really means a lot to me. Especially now that you're free at last."

The two looked into each other's eyes and saw the same people they saw in each other when they were younger.

WIthin minutes, Phoenix and Iris's lips met in a tender, yet passionate kiss; it had been 13 years since they had felt this warmth flow from their bodies. As they kissed, they caressed each other, not even bothering to mind their surroundings.

"Um, excuse us?" said a young voice.

Phoenix and Iris broke the kiss and met a young girl of 15 with a young 22-year-old man dressed in a red suit, smirking. The most distinguishing characteristics of these two were that the teenageer was dressed up as a magician, complete with a silk hat, and the man had some of his hair gelled up to look like antennas.

"Oh, hey there, Apollo, Trucy," said Phoenix.

"Hey, Mr. Wright," said Apollo. "Who's this lovely lady?" he asked, causing the ex-convict to blush.

"Apollo, Trucy, this is Iris Hawthorne-"

"Fey," Iris interrupted. "Please, Feenie, my last name is Fey."

"Oh, s-sorry, Iris."

"It's okay, Feenie. I-I just don't want to think about that time again."

Their conversation was disrupted by Apollo snickering to himself, most likely at the woman's pet name for Mr. Wright.

"S-Sorry, Mr. Wright," Apollo said. "It's just that-"

"Apollo!" Trucy yelled. "It's rude to laugh when other people are talking! Anyway, uh, Ms. Fey, I'm Trucy Wright, adopted daughter of Phoenix Wright, and this is Apollo Justice, attorney at law."

"A-A-Adopted daughter?" asked Iris.

"Let me explain." said Phoenix as they proceeded to the Wright Anything Agency, telling Iris the story of Trucy and the circumstances that made it possilble.

"I-I see," said Iris, looking down at the ground as they walked. "Poor girl."

"Iris," said Phoenix. "Do you want to hear the story about my time as a defense attorney, up until that fateful trial seven years ago?"

"Of course, Feenie."

"Well, let's wait until we get back to the agency."


November 14

Wright Anything Agency

The Wright Anything Agency, formerly known as the Wright & Co. Law Offices, was just the way Phoenix, Apollo, and Trucy left it, decorated with an assortment of magic props, a portrait of Trucy's biological father, Shadi Enigmar (Zak Gramarye), and Charley, the beloved plant left behind as a memento from Phoenix's late, great mentor, Mia Fey.

"Ah, home sweet home!" said Trucy.

"Never thought I'd be happy to be here," said Apollo

"Um, Feenie?" asked Iris. "What is this place?"

"The Wright Anything Agency, of course," Phoenix replied. "Or as it used to be, the Wright & Co. Law Offices."

"Or the Fey & Co. Law Offices," said Iris, giggling.

"Now would be a good time to tell you all everything about my days as a lawyer."


Ten years ago

August 3, 9:47 AM

District Court

Defendant Lobby No. 2

Boy, am I nervous! I thought as I sat there, waiting for court to begin.

"Wright!" said a familiar voice. It was my boss, Mia Fey.

"Oh, h-hiya, Chief."

"Whew, I'm glad I made it on time."

"Well, I have to say, Phoenix, I'm impressed! Not everyone takes a murder trial right off the bat like this. It says a lot about you and your client as well."

"Um, thanks. Actually it's because I owe him a favor."

"A favor?" Mia asked me, surprised. "You mean you knew the defendant before this case?"

"Yes. Actually I kind of owe my current job to him. He's one of the reasons I became an attorney."

"Well, that's news to me!"

"I want to help him out any way I can! I just... really want to help him. I owe him that much."

As soon as I was about to say some more about my client...

"IT'S OVER! MY LIFE, EVERYTHING, IT'S ALL OVER!"

Mia stood in silence for a brief moment before speaking again. "Isn't that your client screaming over there?" she asked pointing to the young man throwing a fit.

"Yeah, that's him." I replied, much to my discomfort.

"DEATH! DESPAIR! OHHHH! I'M GONNA DO IT! I'M GONNA DIE!"

"It sounds like he wants to die."

"Um, yeah." I sighed.

Then came my client for the day, Larry Butz.


"Larry Butz?" asked Iris. "Oh, you mean Mr. Laurice. Laurice Deauxnim."

"One and the same, Iris," said Phoenix.

"Who?" said Apollo and Trucy.

"He was one of my childhood friends." Though after finding out what really happened, I wouldn't exactly call him a close friend.


"Nick!" said my old friend, Larry, tears pouring out of his eyes. A lot of them.

"Hey. Hey there, Larry." I said trying to comfort him over the loss of his girlfriend, the victim in this case.

"Dude, I'm so guilty! Tell them I'm guilty!" said an overexcited Larry, much to my shock. "GIMME THE DEATH SENTENCE! I AIN'T AFRAID TO DIE!"

"What!? What's wrong, Larry?"

"Oh, it's all over... I... I'm finished. Finished!" said Larry, going back into crybaby mode. "I can't live in a world without her! I can't! Who... who took away from me, Nick? Who did this!? Aww, Nick, ya gotta tell me! Who took my baby away!?" he shouted shaking me with emphasis on the last sentence.

Hmm... The person responsible for your girlfriend's death? The newspapers say it was you.


"So let me clarify this," said Apollo. "Your first case involved a young woman who was murdered in her apartment, and the suspect was your old friend who happened to be dating her?"

"That's right, Apollo," said Phoenix. "Larry Butz. My old friend was surrounded by an all-familiar saying: 'When something smells, it's usually the Butz.' In the many years I've known him, that saying has usually proven to be true."

"Wow," said Trucy, "he must have been just born unlucky, huh, Daddy?"

"You could say that," said Phoenix. That, and the fact that he's an idiot. "But I knew better than anyone that Larry was a good guy at heart. Not to mention that I owed him big time which is why I took the case, to clear his name."


August 3, 10:00 AM

District Court

Courtroom No. 2

My first time in court as a lawyer. I was really, really nervous. The chitter-chatter of the audience didn't help a bit, not even when the judge calmed them down with a whack of his gavel.

"Court is now in session for the trial of Mr. Larry Butz," said the judge.

"The prosecution is ready, Your Honor," said Winston Payne, the prosecutor whose name I couldn't remember back then.

"The, uh, defense is ready, Your Honor," said I.

The judge cleared his throat and addressed me. "Mr. Wright? This is your first trial, is it not?"

"Y-yes, Your Honor. I'm, um, a little nervous."

"Your conduct during this trial will decide the fate of your client. Murder is a serious charge. For your client's sake, I hope you can control your nerves."

"Thank... thank you, Your Honor," I said, nodding. The judge was still looking at me with a stern look on his face.

"Mr. Wright, given the circumstances... I think we should have a test to ascertain your readiness."

"Yes, Your Honor." I said. Just then, I was starting to sweat bullets, which would later become commonplace in my career. Gulp... Hands shaking... Eyesight... fading...


"You, too, Mr. Wright?" asked Apollo. "You were sweating buckets often?"

"Just like you, Apollo." said Phoenix, smirking at the young lawyer. Only a little less often than you are now.

"Now, Mr. Justice, don't interrupt Phoenix next time, okay?" said Iris.

"S-s-s-sorry, Ms. Fey." said Apollo.


"This test will consist of a few simple questions," said the judge. "Answer them clearly and concisely. Please state the name of the defendant in this case."

"The defendant?" I said. "Well, that's Larry Butz, Your Honor."

The judge nodded. "Correct. Just keep your wits about you, and you'll do fine. Next question: This is a murder trial. Tell me, what's the victim's name?"

Whew, I know this one! I thought. Glad I read the case report cover to cover so many times. It's... wait... Uh-oh!

As soon as I realized I couldn't remember the name of the murder victim, I flinched.

"Phoenix! Are you ABSOLUTELY SURE you're up for this?!" Mia scolded me. "You don't even KNOW THE VICTIM'S NAME!?"

"Oh, the victim! O-Of course I know the victim's name! I, um, just forgot. Temporarily."

"I think I feel a migraine coming on."

"S-Sorry, Chief..."

"Look, the victim's name is listed in the Court Record. Remember to look at the Court Record often. Do it for me, please. I'm begging you."

The judge cleared his throat again to catch my attention; he was clearly getting impatient with me as Mia was. "Let's have your answer. Who is the victim in this case?" I looked at the Court Record and found the victim's profile.

"Um... the victim's name is Cindy Stone." I responded.

"Correct. Now, tell me, what was the cause of death? She died because she was...?"

I checked the Court Record again to take a look at her autopsy report and found that she died due to blunt trauma from the head.

"According to her autopsy, she was struck once... by a blunt object."

"Correct. You've answered all of my questions. I see no reason why we shouldn't proceed. You seem much more relaxed, Mr. Wright. Good for you."

"Thank you, Your Honor." Except I didn't feel relaxed at the time.

"Well, then... First, a question for the prosecution. Mr. Payne?"

"Yes, Your Honor?" said the prosecutor.

"As Mr. Wright just told us, the victim was struck with a blunt object. Would you explain to the court just what that 'object' was?"

"The murder weapon was this statue of The Thinker. It was found lying on the floor next to the victim."

"I see. The court accepts this into evidence."

"Wright," said Mia. "Be sure to pay attention to any evidence added during the trial. That evidence is the only ammunition you have in court. Please check the Court Record frequently."

The judge banged his gavel again and asked the prosecution to call their first witness.

"The prosecution calls the defendant, Mr. Butz, to the stand."

"Uh, Chief? What do I do now?"

"Pay attention. You don't want to miss any information that might help your client's case. You'll get your chance to respond to the prosecution later, so be ready! Let's just hope he doesn't say anything... unfortunate."

Uh-oh, Larry gets excited easily... this could be bad, I thought.


"The first witness called on the stand with you as a lawyer was your own client?" said Trucy.

"Yeah," said Phoenix. "But he wasn't the first witness I cross-examined; the guy who I did question came after Larry."

"Hmm, I see," said Iris. "So what did Mr. Laur... I mean, uh, Mr. Larry say?"

"You really want to know?

"Yes."

"Okay, here goes..."


Larry took the stand, sporting a somewhat cocky smirk on his face, despite the position he was in. Prosecutor Payne cleared his throat.

"Mr. Butz, is it true that the victim had recently dumped you?" he asked my client.

"Hey, watch it, buddy!" my livid client shouted. "We were great together! Like Romeo and Juliet, Cleopatra and Marc Anthony!"

I cringed. Um... didn't they all die?

"I wasn't dumped! She just wasn't taking my phone calls. Or seeing me... Ever. WHAT'S IT TO YOU ANYWAY!?" he shouted, but Payne was unfazed.

"Mr. Butz, what you've described is generally what we mean by 'dumped.' In fact, she had completely abandoned you... and was seeing other men! She had just returned with one of them the day before the murder!"

"Whaddya mean, 'one of them'!? Lies! All of it, lies! I don't believe a word of it!"

"Your Honor, the victim's passport. According to this, she was in Paris until the day before she died."

After accepting the victim's passport into the record, the judge remarked, "Hmm... Indeed, she appeared to have returned the day before the murder."

"Dude... no way..." said Larry.

"The victim was a model," said Payne, "but did not have a large income. It appears that she had several 'sugar daddies.'"

"Sugar... daddies...?"

"Yes, older men who gave her money and gifts. She took their money and used it to support her lifestyle."

"Duuude!"

"We can clearly see what kind of woman this Ms. Stone was," remarked the prosecutor, who was now smirking to himself. "Tell me, Mr. Butz, what do you think of her now?"

"Wright..." Mia said to me. "I don't think you want him to answer that question."

Yeah, Larry did have a way of running his mouth in all the wrong directions. So I decided to stop him from answering. I slammed my desk and said, "My client had no idea the victim was seeing other men! That question is irrelevant to this case!" The prosecutor winced in pain, but Larry being Larry answered anyway.

"Nick, dude! Whaddya mean, 'irrelevant!?' That cheatin' she-dog! I'm gonna die! I'm just gonna drop DEAD!" he yelled, but he didn't stop there. In fact, it got worse. For him, and for me. "Yeah, and when I meet her in the afterlife, I'm gonna get to the bottom of this!"


Iris said nothing; neither did Apollo or Trucy.

"That's what I thought at the time," said Phoenix. "The whole audience just stood there in silence, like you are right now."

"Y-You know, Phoenix," said Iris, "I've seen him testify in court, but I can't believe he almost... you know..."

"Yeah, I know."

"This Larry guy sounds a bit like Wocky," Apollo whispered to Trucy who nodded in agreement.

"Um, Ms. Fey?" asked Trucy.

"Yes, Trucy?" said Iris.

"What did you mean by seeing Mr. Butz testify in court?"

"That's for a later time, Trucy. We'll tell you later."

"Okay."

"Anyway let's get back to the past." said Phoenix.


The prosecution had provided a motive for my client, and, once again, I was sweating profusely.

"Next question!" said Payne. "You went to the victim's apartment on the day of the murder, did you not?" Larry gulped and with good reason. "Well, did you or did you not?"

"Heh heh..." Larry chuckled nervously. "Well, maybe I did, and maybe I didn't!"

Uh-oh. He went. What do I do? I thought. My first instinct was to stop him from answering, but this time, I decided to let him answer the question, and let him do it honestly by sending him a signal: slam the bench (TELL), rub my chin (THE), and pointed my index finger (TRUTH).

"Er... Yeah! Yeah! I was there! I went!"

The gallery was talking amongst themselves again; one pounding of the gavel silenced them.

"Order!" yelled the judge. "Well, Mr. Butz?"

"Dude, chill! She wasn't home, man... So, like, I didn't see her."

"OBJECTION!" screeched Prosecutor Payne. "Your Honor, the defendant is lying."

"Lying?" asked His Honor.

"The prosecution would like to call a witness who can prove Mr. Butz is lying."

"Well, that simplifies matters. Who is your witness?"

"The man who found the victim's body. Just before making the brutal discovery, HE SAW THE DEFENDANT FLEE THE SCENE OF THE CRIME!" he screeched even more as he pointed at the unlucky defendant, causing the audience to talk loudly again. This time, the judge had to pound his gavel three times to keep them quiet.

"Order! Order in the court!" he shouted. "Mr. Payne, the prosecution may calls its witness."

"Yes, Your Honor."

This is bad, I thought. Not only did Larry make an idiot of himself earlier, but now there was a witness who was going to testify against him!

"On the day of the murder, my witness was selling newspapers at the victim's building," said Payne. "Please bring Mr. Frank Sahwit to the stand!"

Approaching the witness stand was a particularly shady looking man all dressed in purple. His eyes were almost always shut, his body moved in a strange way, and he had a mole on his forehead.

"Mr. Sahwit," said Payne, "you sell newspaper subscriptions. Is this correct?"

"Oh, oh yes!" said Mr. Sahwit in a weird tone of speech. "Newspapers, yes!"

"Mr. Sahwit," said the judge, "you may proceed with your testimony. Please tell the court what you saw on the day of the murder."

"I was going door-to-door, selling subscriptions when I saw a man fleeing an apartment. I thought he must be in a hurry because he left the door half-open behind him. Thinking it strange, I looked inside the apartment. Then I saw her lying there... A woman... not moving... dead! I quailed in fright and found myself unable to go inside. I thought to call the police immediately! However, the phone in her apartment wasn't working. I went to a nearby park and found a public phone. I remeber the time exactly: it was 1:00 PM. The man who ran was, without a doubt, the defendant sitting right over there."

The judge sat in his chair, pondering. I was standing there, extemely nervous, thinking I couldn't defend Larry against a testimony like that. Boy, was I wrong.

"Incidentally, why wasn't the phone in the victim's apartment working?" asked the judge.

"Your Honor, at the time of the murder, there was a blackout in the building," the prosecutor answered.

"Aren't phones supposed to work during a blackout?"

"Yes, Your Honor. However, some cordless phones do not function normally. The phone Mr. Sahwit used was one of those. Your Honor, I have a record of the blackout for your perusal." Payne said as he handed the paper to the bailiff.

"Now, Mr. Wright," said the judge.

"Yes!" I shouted before regaining my composure. "Er... yes, Your Honor?"

"You may begin your cross-examination."

"C-cross-examination, Your Honor?"

"Alright, Wright, this is it. The real deal!" said Mia who meant all-business that day.

"Uh... what exactly am I supposed to do?"

"Why, you expose the lies in the testimony the witness just gave!"

"Lies?! What?! He was lying!?"

"Your client is innnocent, right? Then that witness must have lied in his testimony! Or is your client really... guilty?"

I flinched. Again. "How do I prove he's not?"

"You hold the key! It's in the evidence! Compare the witness's testimony to the evidence at hand. There's bound to be a contradiction in there! First, find contradictions between the Court Record and the witness's testimony. Then, once you've found the contradiction evidence, PRESENT IT AND RUB IT IN THE WITNESS'S FACE!"

"Um... okay," I said, getting the general idea of what to do.

"Look at the Court Record and point out contradictions in the testimony!"

It was then I began my first cross-examination, and, man, did it feel good!

"I remember the time exactly: it was 1:00 PM."

"HOLD IT!" I shouted. "1:00 PM? Are you sure?"

"Yes, for certain."

"OBJECTION! Let me ask again: you found the body at 1:00 PM. Are you certain?"

"Yes, it was 1:00 PM. For certain."

"Frankly, I find that hard to believe! Your testimony just now contradicts this autopsy report. It estimates the time of death between 4 and 5 PM. There was nobody to, er, no 'body' to find at 1:00. How do you explain this 3-hour gap?"

"...!" Mr. Sahwit was starting to sweat. As he stammered, trying to come up with an excuse, Payne gave yet another shrill objection.

"This is trivial," he said. "The witness merely forgot the time!"

The judge, however, did not see it that way. "After hearing this testimony, I find that hard to believe. Mr. Sahwit, why were you so certain you found the body at 1:00 PM?"

The aforementioned witness could only stutter, as he attempted to think up an "explanation" for the 3-hour contradiction.


"Wow, Feenie," said Iris. "Your first cross-examination and the very first contradiction exposed. How did it feel?"

"Same thing here!" Trucy chimed in.

"Likewise," said Apollo.

"I felt like I was on top of the world," Phoenix responded. "Exposing a witness's lies to find the truth made me felt alive for the first time since my college days." Except for the time I was framed for murder, of course.

Iris blushed and giggled. "I'm sure you did very well, Feenie, and I'm sure Mia was proud, too."

"Exactly," said Phoenix. "In fact, she praised me openly that day and said that's all I had to do: point of out inconsistencies. I'll never forget her words: 'Lies always beget more lies! See through one, and their whole stories fall apart!'"

"That's so cool, Daddy!" Trucy replied. "Hopefully, Apollo will be as good as you."

"HEY!" Apollo shouted, his Chords of Steel intact.

"Not so loud, Apollo."

"S-S-S-Sorry..."

Iris could only laugh to herself as this little exchange occurred.

"Anyway, Phoenix. You continued to question Mr. Sahwit, did you not?"

"Indeed, I did, Iris. Indeed, I did."


The purple-clad witness finally found something to say and testified once more. "You see, when I found the body, I heard the time. There was a voice saying the time; it was probably coming from the television. Oh, but it was three hours off, wasn't it? I guess the victim must have been watching a videotaped program! That's why I thought it was 1 PM! Terribly sorry about the misunderstanding..."

I began my cross-examination once more and found the next obvious lie.

"There was a voice saying the time; it was probably coming from the television."

"OBJECTION!" I shouted once more. "Hold it right there! The prosecution has stated that there was a blackout at the time of the discovery. This record proves it!" I said, tapping the blackout record with my hand.

The witness could only squeak.

"You couldn't have heard a television or a video!"

"Gah!" Mr. Sahwit was really backed into a corner.

"The defense has a point," said the judge. "Do you have an explanation for this, Mr. Sahwit?"

"No, I... I find it quite puzzling myself! Quite!" After some stalling, Sahwit "remembered" something else, but before he could testify any further, the judge gave him a warning.

"Mr. Sahwit? This court would prefer to hear a more accurate testimony from the beginning. These constant corrections are harming your credibility. That, and you seem rather... distraught." The judge seemed to have struck something as the witness flinched, his hair jumping off his head, telling me that he was definitely wearing a toupee.

The witness apologized, claiming it was a "shock" from discovering Ms. Stone's corpse. He then gave one last testimony.

"Actually, I didn't hear the time. I saw it! There was a table clock in the apartment, wasn't there? Yeah, the murder weapon! The killer used it to hit the victim! That must've been what I saw."

A table clock? I thought. That wasn't in the report! I went ahead and cross-examined him for the last time.

"There was a table clock in the apartment, wasn't there?"

"HOLD IT!" I shouted. "A 'table clock?' Was there a clock at the scene?"

"This is the first I've heard of it," said the judge.

"Yeah, the murder weapon! The killer used it to hit the victim!"

"HOLD IT!" said I. "The murder weapon?"

"Yes, the table clock that was used as a weapon! That's what I just said. Did you doze off in the middle of my testimony or something?"

Something's fishy here...

"That must have been what I saw."

"OBJECTION!" I yelled once again. "Wait just a moment! The murder weapon wasn't a clock! It was this statue! How is this supposed to be a clock?!"

"Whaa!?" The slimeball was getting angry, shaking his fist. "Y-you and your 'objections,' and your 'evidence'... Just who do you think you are?!"

"Answer the question, Mr. Sahwit."

"Hey, I saw it there, okay!? That's a clock!"

"Y-Your Honor? I-if I may...?" said the prosecutor, hunched over his desk, sweating bullets.

"Yes, Mr. Payne?"

"As the witness stated, this statue is indeed a clock. The neck is a switch; you just tilt it and it says the time out loud. As it doesn't look like a clock, I submitted it as a statue. My apologies."


"A clock, in the shape of The Thinker?" asked Apollo.

"Yeah..." Phoenix grew silent.

"Phoenix?" said a worried Iris.

"Daddy, what's wrong?" asked an equally concerned Trucy.

"I'll... tell you later."


"I see," said the judge. "So the murder weapon was a clock after all. Well, Mr. Wright? It appears that witness's testimony was correct. This is a clock. Do you have any problems with his testimony now?"

I was at a loss for words, ready to accept that fact, but something was amiss.

"Your Honor," I answered, "there is a gaping hole in the witness's testimony. The only way he could have known the weapon was a clock is to hold it in his hand. Yet the witness testified that he never entered the apartment!" I slammed my palms on the bench to make my point. "Clearly, a contradiction!"

"Hmm, indeed!"

At that moment, I had made my first accusation against a witness. Mr. Sahwit knew that The Thinker was a clock because was inside Cindy Stone's apartment!

"You're lying!" I yelled, pointing at the slimeball. "You were inside the apartment the day of the murder!"

"Oh yeah?! Prove it! Prove I went in there!" said Sahwit.

"I'll do better than that! I can prove that you were the one who killed her! You struck her with the clock, and the shock of the blow triggered said clock's voice! That was the sound you heard!"

Before I could go on, the gallery was speaking loudly again, only to be silenced by the judge's gavel.

"Order in the court!" said the judge. "Intriguing. Please continue, Mr. Wright."

"Yes, Your Honor." I turned my attention to the nervous killer. "Mr. Sahwit, the sound must have left quite an impression on you. Understandable, since the murder weapon spoke just as you hit the victim! That voice was burned into your mind. That's why you were so certain about the time!"

"OBJECTION!" screeched Payne. "W-W-What's the meaning of this? This is all baseless conjecture!"

"Baseless? Just look at the witness's face!" Indeed, Mr. Sahwit was looking pretty guilty.

"Would the witness care to elaborate?" asked the stern judge. "Did you strike the victim with the clock?"

The murderer was at a total loss for words, stuttering. "I... I...! That... that day.. I... I never!" Just as soon as he reached his breaking point, Mr. Sahwit snapped, grabbing his hairpiece and throwing it right in my face!


"Oh, my goodness!" said Iris. "That must have felt disgusting."

"Indeed it was, Iris," said Phoenix. "Indeed it was. And needless to say, I was not amused."


Frank Sahwit, panting and sweating, was absolutely angry with me. Despite my turning everything against him, he still insisted that Larry was the killer, and that he should be executed. Again, the audience was loudly speaking, most likely jeering the witness. The judge had to keep them quiet again, slamming his gavel and calling for order.

"Your Honor, a-a moment please!" said the prosecutor, hunched over and sweating again. "There isn't a shred of evidence supporting the defense's claims!" He was losing the case and he knew it.

"Mr. Wright!" the judge shouted.

"Your Honor?" I said, keeping calm.

"You claim the sound the witness heard came from the clock. Have you any evidence?"

The whole case is riding on this! I'd better think through it carefully! I thought.

"Yes, Your Honor. The sound Mr. Sahwit heard was definitely this clock. A fact which is clear if you simply try sounding the clock. Your Honor, may I have the clock?"

The judge agreed and let the bailiff hand me the murder weapon.

"I ask the court to listen very carefully..." I said as I tilted the clock's neck.

I think it's 8:25.

"That certainly is a strange way to announce the time."

"Well, he is The Thinker, after all."

"So, we've heard the clock. What are your conclusions, Mr. Wright?"

"Mr. Payne," I said, "can you tell me what time is now?"

"It's 11:25... Ack!" he yelled, his mouth wide open and holding his arm back.

"As you can see, this clock is exactly three hours slow! Precisely the discrepancy between what Mr. Sahwit heard and the actual time of death! So, Mr. Sahwit... Try to talk your way out of this one!"

Unfortunately, he found a way and laughed at me, saying I forgot something.

"While it may seem like that clock IS running three hours slow," he said. "It proves nothing! How do you know it was running three hours slow on the day of the murder?! If you can't prove that, you don't have a case!"

I couldn't argue against that, and so, I went back to being "Mr. Sweaty Novice Lawyer" again.

"Mr. Wright," said the judge. "It seems you lack the critical evidence to support your claim."

I cringed. "Yes, Your Honor..."

"This means I cannot allow you to indict the witness. Unfortunately..." The judge banged his gavel, bringing the cross-examination to an end. Mr. Sahwit was ranting at me, saying he came to testify and how I treated him like a criminal (which he was), and went as far as to call us defense lawyers slime.


"Ugh..." said Apollo. "I can't believe what that guy just said to you, even though he was the slimeball."

"Yeah!" Trucy agreed.

"But you still won the case, right?" said Iris. "How did you turn the situation around?"

"Heh..." Phoenix chuckled. "That was thanks to Mia."


"Not so fast, Mr. Sahwit!" Mia shouted in full-force, surpising the witness, prosecutor, judge, and myself.

"Mia! I mean, Chief!" I said.

"Listen up, Wright! Don't throw this one away, not like this! Think!"

"But, Chief, it's over. I can't prove the clock was slow on the day of the murder! Nobody can prove that!"

"Well, uh... yes. But that doesn't mean you can't still win. Try thinking out of the box!"

"Thinking out of the box" was her way of saying "look at this from another angle." She told me that said for me not to look for proof that the clock was slow on the day of Ms. Stone's death, but rahter the reason "why" the clock was slow.

"Figure out the reason, and you'll have your proof! Right, Wright? Can you think of a reason as to why the clock was three hours slow?"

I thought over everything I've learned from the trial and found my answer. "Wait! Maybe I can prove it!"

"You must have evidence somewhere that can prove it, Phoenix! Find it and let them have it!"

"Well, Mr. Wright?" asked the judge. "You say the clock was already running slow on the day of the murder. Have you found evidence to support your claim?"

"Of course," I said. "There is something in the Court Record that can prove my claim beyond a doubt!"

"Hah, tough words!" said Mr. Sahwit. "Let's see you pull this one off!"

Gladly.

"Let's see this evidence that proves why the clock was running slow!"

"TAKE THAT!" I shouted, presenting the victim's passport. "The victim had just returned home from abroad the day before her murder. As we all know, the time difference between here and Paris is nine hours! When it's 4:00 PM here, it 1:00 AM the next day there. The clock wasn't three hours slow, it was nine hours fast! The victim hadn't reset her clock since returning home! That's why the time you heard when you struck her dead in her apartment was wrong!" I slammed my desk once more for emphasis. "Proof enough for you, Mr. Sahwit? Or should I say... Mr. Did It!"

After I finished, the bald-headed man in purple was hyperventilating to the point where he frothed at the mouth and collapsed; it was over for him. I had exposed him as the real murderer, clearing my friend's name in the process.

"Well..." said the judge. "This case has certainly turned out differently than expected. Mr. Payne, your witness?"

"He... uh... he was arrested and taken away, Your Honor." said Mr. Payne.

"Very well. Mr. Wright?"

"Yes, Your Honor." I said.

"I have to say, I'm impressed. I don't think I've ever seen anyone complete a defense so quickly and find the true culprit at the same time!"

"Thank you, Your Honor."

The judge then proceeded to hand down his verdict. "This court finds the defendant, Mr. Larry Butz... not guilty."

The whole audience cheered, going as far as to throw confetti.

"And with that.. this court is adjourned."


"That was great, Daddy!" Trucy said cheerfully. "A not guilty verdict in just one day, and you didn't take a recess!"

"Not like the ones we have to take so frequently," said Apollo.

"You did very well, Feenie, despite the circumstances," said Iris, kissing "Feenie" on the cheek.

"Yeah, that was the first of many times I've turned seemingly impossible cases around in my favor," said Phoenix. "But that was nothing compared to the other trials I endured."

"Say, Phoenix?"

"Yeah?"

"Why was that man in the apartment that day? Wasn't he supposed to be a salesman?"

"Well, Iris, it turned out that Frank Sahwit was just a common burglar! He posed as a newspaper salesman to check and see when people were out of their houses!"

"A burglar?"

"So he was just a small-time crook all along, huh?" asked Apollo.

"Yeah." said Phoenix. "That day, the day of Cindy Stone's death...

"When Larry went to her apartment, the victim wasn't home. After he left, Mr. Sahwit let himself in to do his dirty work! While he was searching her place, the victim returned! Flustered, the burglar grabbed the nearest blunt object he could find..."

"And that's how Ms. Stone lost her life?"

"Yes, that's right."


August 3, 2:32 PM

District Court

Defendant Lobby No. 2

I was so relieved with the results of the trial.

"Good job in there, Phoenix!" said Mia. "Congratulations!"

"Thanks, Chief," I said. "I owe it all to you."

"Not at all, not at all! You fought your own battles in there. It's been a while since I've seen a trial end on such a satisfying note!"

I couldn't believe how happy my boss looked at the time. If she was this happy, I imagined just how Larry would feel. Unfortunately, he was not.

"My life is over..." said the Butz.

"Larry! You're supposed to be happy! What is it this time?!"

"Aww, Nick. Don't worry 'bout me! I'll be dead and gone soon!"

"Good! Wait, no! I mean, bad! Bad bad bad! Larry, you're innocent! The case is over!"

"... But, my Cindy-windy's gone, man! Gone forever!"

I wanted to remind him that his girlfriend was a model, but I couldn't. Just then, Mia congratulated him, mispronouncing his name "Harry" in the process.

"Yes, you," she said. "I can just see the headlines now: 'Harry Butz Innocent!'"

Larry felt grateful for her and thanked her for proving him innocent even though I was the one who got him off the hook and everything! He even went as far as to give her a little present: another clock that looked like The Thinker! It turns out that he made two of them himself: one for Ms. Stone and one for himself; the one used as the murder weapon was the victim's, of course. Mia gave Larry her thanks, saying she would keep it as a memento of sorts.

"Yo, Nick. Can you believe it? I was so into the chick. And... and she was just playing me for a fool! Don't that make you wanna just cry?" Larry sobbed. But not to worry, I offered him some comfort, as did Mia.

"Are you so sure?" she asked.

"Excuse me?" said Larry.

"I think she thought quite a lot of you, in her own way."

"Nah, that's okay. You don't gotta sympathize with me."

"Oh, I'm not just sympathizing, really. Isn't that right, Wright? Don't you have something to show your friend? Something that proves how she felt about him?"

I kind of jumped when Mia asked me that question because I didn't know what she was talking about, but I decided to present that "something" to my pal, anyway. That "something" was the clock he made for her, the one she kept.

"Hmm, she probably just needed a clock, that's all."

"You think so? It's a pretty heavy clock to take when traveling."

"..."

"Well, make of it you will, Larry."

"Hey, Nick? I'm glad asked you to be my lawyer. Really, I am. Thanks."

I hoped that our little exchange about the clock made him feel better, which it probably did. Anyway, after Larry left the courthouse, Mia said something to me that I'll never forget:

"Phoenix... I hope you see the importance of evidence now. Also, hopefully you realize, things change depending on how you look at them. People, too. We never really know if our clients are guilty or innocent. All we can do is believe in them. And in order to believe in them, you have to believe in yourself. Phoenix... Listen. Learn. Grow strong. Never let go of what you believe in. Never."


"And that's how my first case came to a close," said Phoenix.

"Good story, Daddy," said Trucy.

"I agree," said Apollo.

"Me, too," said Iris.

"Oh, I'm not done just yet. I promised Mia that I would tell exactly the reason why I became a defense attorney, starting with Larry."

"Did you get paid?" Apollo asked.

"Nah, I don't think so. Unless you count the clock Larry gave to my boss." Phoenix chuckled. Soon, his chuckling died a little, remembering what happened a month after his first case. His pondering was interupted by the sound of a cell phone going off.

"Excuse me," said Apollo, answering the phone. "Yeah, this is Justice... Okay, I'll be right there!"

"Who was that, Apollo?" asked Trucy.

"It's a client requesting my services."

"Huh? But shouldn't Daddy take care of this? I mean his name's been-"

"That's alright, Trucy," said Phoenix. "After all, I haven't taken the bar exam for a while. So I'll just leave this to you, Apollo."

"Thanks, Mr. Wright!" said Apollo enthusiastically as he and Trucy went to the detention center for another trial.

"Iris?"

"Y-Yes, Feenie?"

"Let's have a little test to make sure you've known everything I've said."

"O-Okay. How does it go?"

"I'm going to ask you five questions, and if you know the answer, then... well, say it." He chuckled.

"Hee hee hee. Okay, Feenie. I'm ready."


Recap Time

1.) "Ten years ago, I had just passed the bar exam and began working under the eye of Ace Attorney Mia Fey. For my first case, I was asked by my friend Larry Butz to defend him on the charge of..."

a. Murder

b. Arson

c. Robbery

"Murder."

"Correct. Larry was accused of murdering his girlfriend. Her name was Cindy Stone."

2.) "At 10:00 AM on August 3rd, 2016, my first trial had begun. The presiding judge took notice of my uneasy state and decided to conduct a three-question test to ascertain my readiness. The first two included the names of the defendant and the murder victim. The third and final question was..."

a. Date of death

b. Cause of death

"How did the victim die?"

"That's right. The cause of death was due to blunt trauma from a single blow to the head. The murder weapon itself was a statue shaped like The Thinker. Or at least we thought it was."

3.) "Larry was soon called to the stand and spoke before thinking, causing problems for us. After being given a motive, he was asked if he had gone to the victim's apartment to which he said yes. He claimed the victim wasn't home yet, but the prosecution had a witness to counter his claims. The name of the witness was..."

a. Frank Sahwit

b. Winston Payne

c. Mia Fey

"Frank Sahwit."

"Yeah, that's it. His occupation was listed as 'newspaper salesman.'"

4.) "Mr. Sahwit's testimony was as holey as Swiss cheese; first, he mistook the time of discovery, then, he tried to say the mistake was due to a video even though there was a blackout, and finally he said it was a table clock that said the time, calling it the murder weapon. How exactly did he know about the weapon being a clock when it looked like a miniature statue at first glance?"

a. He heard about it.

b. He had seen it before.

c. He held it.

"He was holding it in his hands."

"That's right. He used it to hit and kill the victim. I proved his guilt when I pointed that Ms. Stone hadn't reset her clock since coming back from an overseas trip to Paris. Soon after, we learned that Sahwit was just a small-time burglar."

5.) "I won my first trial on a happy note. Well, except Larry was feeling down because he was still sad that Ms. Stone was dead, and he believed that she was just messing with him. But Mia thought otherwise. What was it that proved that Ms. Stone thought something of Larry again?"

a. The clock

b. A passport

"It was the table clock she took with her overseas."

"That's it. Larry made that clock for her. In fact, he made two of them: one for her and the other for himself."


"Um, Feenie?" asked Iris.

"Yes?"

"Why were you so quiet all of a sudden? You just talked about Mr. Larry giving my cousin that clock and that's when you stopped chuckling. I-is it because of... th-that incident a month later?"

After some pondering, Phoenix said, "Yes, Iris. I didn't know it then, but that clock was going to be at the center of another incident. And my promise to tell the chief about me and Larry would be one promise that I wouldn't be able to keep..."

"Oh, Feenie..." She didn't need to hear anymore... at least not until the next morning.


And that's it for this chapter. Next time, Phoenix tells Iris about how he got involved in the investigation of his mentor's death, how he met the young lady who would become his trusted friend, ally, and partner, and the prosecutor who would, at the time, stop at nothing to win a trial.

Author's note: Just so you know the recap session at the end is a reference to Trace Memory (aka Another Code: Two Memories) and Hotel Dusk: Room 215, two adventure games developed by Cing. As for why Iris knew that the agency started under Mia's name, we can assume that Phoenix told her in one of his visits to the detention center.