I acknowledge that I dropped the ball on Trucy not calling Edgeworth "Uncle Edgey". Gosh, that would have been so cute. Too late to change it though...


June 29, 9:48 AM, District Court, Defendant Lobby #9

"So, how's this gonna go, dude?"

Apollo glared at Clay. Investigation had ground to a halt before noon the day before, and no matter how much he reviewed the evidence he had gathered, Apollo wasn't even sure if he'd be able to drag the trial out in order to buy him enough time to find some real evidence. And as a consequence to this, he'd barely slept the night before.

"…that bad, huh?" Clay said, though he was still smiling.

"I'm… I'm sure I'll figure out something," Apollo groaned, "there's still some doubt, I think. I hope."

"Well, there is one thing you can do now," Clay said, clapping him on the back, "come on, Apollo. I'll go first." He took a deep breath. "I'm Clay Terran and I'm fine!"

Apollo sighed. Clay was right. "Okay. I'm Apollo Justice and I'm fine!" he yelled.

"That's the spirit!" Clay said, "Again! I'm Clay Terran I'm fine!"

"I'm Apollo Justice and I'm fine!"

"One more time!"

"I'M APOLLO JUSTICE AND I'M-" Ema walked in. Mortally embarrassed, Apollo finished in his head.

"Hey, Detective Skye!" Clay said cheerfully.

"…you two are weird," Ema said.

"Duly noted," Apollo said, covering his eyes with one hand, "Did you need something, Ema?"

"Nah," Ema said, playing with her hair, "I just came to wish you luck." She crossed her arms, smiling smugly, "You're gonna need it."

"Thanks, Ema," Apollo said, rolling his eyes. She couldn't bring him down, not after his Chords of Steel exercises.

"You're welcome."

"You were the detective in charge of the case, right?" Clay said, "If I remember correctly, you were there when they arrested me."

"Yep," Ema said, taking out her Snackoos, "although I guess in retrospect we could have waited until you actually woke up. I'm pretty sure you're not as dangerous as the anonymous tipper lead us to believe."

"No hard feelings," Clay said, grinning, "even if launch is only eighteen months away… Director Cosmos assured me that four days off wouldn't really make a difference."

"Four days, huh?" Ema said, looking disinterested.

"Yeah!" Clay said, apparently not catching said disinterest, "I mean, trials only run up to three days, right? And Apollo's totally gonna get me off the hook! Heck, I'll probably be a free man today!"

"Woah, woah, woah," Apollo cut in, "Clay, my strategy today is going to be buying more time so I can investigate some more after court is adjourned!"

"Oh," Clay said, completely unfazed, "well, still, I'll be a free man tomorrow!"

Apollo groaned inwardly. At least Clay had faith in him.

"Trial is about to begin," the guard announced.

"Anyway, good luck in there," Ema said, and she sounded relatively sincere.

"Thanks, Detective Skye!" Clay yelled, giving her two thumbs up as he and Apollo went into the courtroom. She actually thinks you killed Dejeu, Apollo wanted to point out, but decided against it.


June 29, 10:00 AM, District Court, Courtroom #9

"Court is now in session for the trial of Mr. Clay Terran."

"The prosecution is ready, your Honor," Trucy said, looking for all the world like there was supposed to be a spotlight on her.

"The defense is ready, your Honor," Apollo said. He glanced at the defendant's seat; Clay was looking fairly unconcerned and appeared to be preoccupying himself with looking around the courtroom, fascinated. At least he's fine, Apollo thought.

"Very well," the Judge said, "Miss Wright. Your opening statement, please."

"Yes, your Honor," Trucy said, and she cleared her throat theatrically. "Two nights ago, or rather, in the early hours of yesterday morning, the police received an anonymous tip from someone who claimed to have seen the defendant dump a body in the river at People Park. They also claimed that Mr. Terran was a dangerous man. Anyway, when the river was dredged, a body was found: that of one Mr. Bernie Dejeu, the ex-boyfriend of the woman Mr. Terran is currently dating." She submitted the autopsy report, identical to the one Apollo already had, and a transcript of the anonymous tip to the court. Apollo noticed that the transcript mentioned the use of a voice-changer of some sort. That's… awfully suspicious, Apollo thought, and made a mental note to bring it up at the first possible opportunity.

"I see," said the Judge, "very well. You may call your first witness."

"The prosecution calls the detective in charge of the case, Ema Skye, to the stand," Trucy said, then added, "she was also one of the officers who arrested Mr. Terran."

Ema took the stand.

"Witness, name and occupation, please," Trucy said.

Ema cleared her throat. "Ema Skye. I'm a detective for the police department," she said, looking aloof.

Trucy grinned. "Detective Skye, please tell the court the results of your initial investigation of Mr. Terran's apartment."

"Well," Ema said, "the defendant was in his apartment, sleeping, when we arrested him. After he was arrested, I personally searched his belongings - I found a bottle of Zolpidem, a prescription soporific, in his bathroom drawer, and there was a set of clear fingerprints belonging to Terran on them." She adjusted her glasses, then added with a significant look at Apollo, "While I was there, I was able to confirm that the model found in the victim's pocket did in fact belong to the defendant."

"Excuse me," said the Judge, "but what exactly do you mean by a 'superiffic'?"

"A soporific is a drug used to induce sleeping, your Honor," Trucy said cheerfully.

"We did check Terran's medical records, and while he isn't currently on any sort of medication, there are numerous ways that you could get Zolpidem without a prescription," Ema said.

"Very well," said the Judge, "the defense may begin its cross-examination."

Apollo nodded and put a finger to his forehead, thinking. "Detective Skye," he said, "what exactly is the nature of the fingerprints on the bottle of Zolpidem?"

Ema played with her hair, frowning. "There's a single set, slightly smudged but still identifiable." Trucy helpfully updated the Zolpidem bottle in the court record.

Apollo looked at the fingerprints. There was something strange about them, something he might be able to use… "Objection!" he thundered, "the fingerprints are upside-down, which clearly indicates that they may have been planted!"

"Objection!" Trucy yelled back, although she didn't sound very loud right after Apollo's Chords of Steel, "Mr. Justice. Is it true that Mr. Terran usually wears gloves?"

"Uh… yes," Apollo said warily.

"Well, that explains everything," Trucy said, leaning over the bench and shaking her finger at him, "including why the prints are upside-down." She stood up straight and played with the brim of her top hat. "You see… Mr. Terran has only handled the bottle once without gloves. This obviously happened when the bottle fell off of the bathroom counter, and Mr. Terran caught it before it hit the floor!"

The crowd burst into discussion. "The bathroom counter, huh…" Apollo said, sweating, as the Judge banged his gavel.

"Yep!" Trucy said cheerfully, "that's why the prints are upside-down! He wasn't handling the bottle as one normally would if you were, say, getting some pills out so you could drug someone's drink." She put a finger to her mouth thoughtfully. "After all, if he had left the prints at the time of the murder, that would have been really dumb of him, so this must have happened before. That's why the prints are smudged."

That was probably a trap, Apollo thought sourly, and I walked right into it. Who the heck taught this girl?!

"Anyway," Trucy said, "if the defense has no further objections, I'd like to call up the next witness, your Honor."

"Well, Mr. Justice?" the Judge said.

"Wait," Apollo said, pressing his finger to his forehead, "give me a minute." Did he have any other objections? He didn't want to just let this opportunity to throw some doubt on the evidence pass him by… but he couldn't really think of anything else to bring up. Maybe ask for a theory on how the Luna 2 model had ended up in Dejeu's pocket in the first place? No, it was obvious what Trucy or Ema would say.

"What's the matter, Polly?" Trucy said, "Forgot to get a co-counsel?"

"Shut up," Apollo grumbled, "I don't need a co-counsel." Was she trying to break his concentration on purpose? Actually, she probably was.

"There's nothing wrong with co-counsels," Trucy declared, "look, I have one." There was a click and Mr. Hat appeared next to her to some appreciative oohs and ahhs from the gallery (and the Judge).

"Very funny," Apollo said, then sighed. "Your Honor, the defense has no objections… for now."

"Very well," said the Judge, as Trucy put Mr. Hat back, "Miss Wright, you may call your next witness."

"The prosecution calls Badriyyah Zuvan to the stand!"

Apollo took a deep breath as Badriyyah, long legs, strong jaw, and all, walked up to the witness stand. He wondered vaguely how many other witnesses Trucy had been able to find and if Badriyyah was first up only because Apollo already knew that she was to testify today. For some reason the song "Jesse's Girl" started playing in his head.

"Witness, name and occupation, please," Trucy said, bouncing.

"My name is Badriyyah Zuvan," the witness said, "and I'm currently a student at Ivy University. I study aerospace engineering…" she paused and glanced around the courtroom, putting a hand over her mouth and holding her other arm tightly just underneath her… chest. The thought Lucky Clay occurred to Apollo.

"Nervous about being in court, Ms. Zuvan?" Trucy asked.

"Somewhat," Badriyyah replied.

"Don't be, you'll do great," Trucy said, tipping her hat, "so, witness, please tell us your relationship with the defendant, and with the victim."

Badriyyah nodded, but didn't move other than that. "Clay and I have been dating since last May," she said, "but before that, I dated Bernie - the victim, that is - although I've tried to stay out of touch with him." Apollo's bracelet vibrated, and he wondered if it responded to just general nervousness.

Trucy nodded. "Now, please tell us about the relationship between the defendant and the victim."

"I left Bernie for Clay," Badriyyah began, "and he was, understandably, bitter about it, probably because he was utterly unable to get over me. He was constantly calling and calling, harassing me, begging me to get back with him. No matter how many times I tried to tell him I was happy with Clay, he wouldn't listen… so I eventually told Clay about it, about four months ago. I told him how I was starting to get a little scared of Bernie. Clay promised me he would take care of it, and for a while, Bernie stopped calling, but in the past two weeks or so it started back up again. Once again Clay said he'd make sure that Bernie didn't harass me anymore, but… I didn't think it would come to this."

Much to Apollo's alarm, his bracelet had been contracting like mad almost the entire testimony. And… Apollo's heart seemed to stop.

He couldn't find her tic.

He supposed that it must be something do with her mouth, or perhaps her hands, considering he was at the moment unable to really see either of them, but without specifics, he hadn't the slightest idea what she was lying about.

"The defense may begin its cross-examination," the Judge said as though nothing were wrong.

Apollo nodded shakily, almost forcing himself to take his hand off of his forearm. Trucy's piercing stare wasn't helping him any - she probably realized, too, that Badriyyah was lying somewhere, but if Apollo's bracelet couldn't help them, they were both equally in the dark. "Witness," Apollo said finally, "could you describe to the court the nature of Mr. Terran's promises to 'take care of' Mr. Dejeu?"

"Well," Badriyyah said, her "nervous" act completely intact, "I can't remember the exact wording, but I remember thinking at the time that he sounded like a 'macho' kid trying to protect his little lady-friend from the big, bad schoolyard bully. Honestly, I thought it was kind of cute." She giggled a bit, and Apollo had never really realized before how acerbic her laugh sounded.

"I… I see," said Apollo, "well, can you tell us if you'd noticed any changes in his behavior in the last two weeks?"

"Yes," Badriyyah said immediately, "not at all like his usual self. He's been moody, evasive, paranoid-"

"Hold it!" Apollo yelled, "Ms. Zuvan. Surely you're aware that Mr. Terran and I are roommates?"

"Yes?" Badriyyah said.

"Then I'd like you to explain to me how I didn't notice any of this strange behavior you just described."

Badriyyah's brow furrowed slightly - she was probably frowning. "Mr. Justice," she said coldly, "no offense intended to you, but I am Clay's girlfriend while you are only his roommate. Of course I'd be more likely to notice-"

"Mr. Terran and I have been best friends for almost a decade!" Apollo shouted, "I think I know him better than you-"

"Objection!" Trucy interrupted, "Mr. Justice, the defense is not allowed to be a character witness for their own client!"

"Objection sustained," the Judge said, a little too fast for Apollo's liking, "Mr. Justice. Do you have any substantial objections that you can back up with evidence?"

Not good… Apollo thought. "N-No, your Honor," he said, frustrated beyond belief, and glanced at Clay. Clay's expression looked like Sol Starbuck himself had just told him that the moon landing was faked.

"I didn't think so. The current witness is dismissed," the Judge said, banging his gavel. "Miss Wright, you may call-"

"Actually, your Honor, I'd like to request a recess before calling the next witness," Trucy said.

"Do you still need to prepare him?"

"Something like that." Trucy's gaze was drilling into Apollo again.

"Very well then. I declare a thirty minute recess." Down the gavel swung.


June 29, 11:01 AM, District Court, Defendant's Lobby #9

"What was up with Badriyyah?!" Apollo asked Clay as soon as court was out.

"I - I don't know, dude," Clay said, rubbing his eyes, "I didn't expect her to-"

"Clay. Seriously, tell me," Apollo said, grabbing Clay by the shoulders and shaking him, "what is going on between you two and Dejeu? I'm pretty sure Badriyyah's testimony was one giant lie, but why would she-"

"Polly!" Apollo was interrupted by Trucy poofing into defendant's lobby in a puff of brightly-colored smoke (almost giving Apollo a heart attack), angry in the comically cute way she always was. "What happened out there?!"

"What?" Clay said as Apollo let go of him. "Prosecutor Wright?"

"Why didn't you catch anything in Zuvan's testimony?" Trucy demanded, "She was so tense that whole time, even I could tell! How come you didn't do your bracelet thing and yell 'Gotcha!' at her and-"

"Trucy, calm down," Apollo said, holding his hands up, "let me explain."

"You'd better!"

"What's going on?" Clay said, ignored.

"I think it was the way she was standing, and had her hand over her mouth," Apollo explained, "but I couldn't find any of her tics. I could tell she was lying, but without being able to see what she was doing, that was all I knew! I still don't know what she was lying about, so it wouldn't be much help-!"

"You could have said something," Trucy said, still pouting, "anything! Instead of just letting her stand up there and spout lies!"

"Don't talk about my girlfriend like that!" Clay protested.

"You're the one who called her as a witness in the first place," Apollo snapped, ignoring Clay, "aren't you supposed to go over the testimonies before you put them up there?"

"I did!" Trucy retorted, stomping her foot, "I did! I knew she was lying, but I can't do what you can do, so I thought, if I put her up on that stand, then you could-"

"WHAT ARE YOU TWO ARGUING ABOUT?!" Clay yelled. Trucy and Apollo turned to him, slightly startled. "Seriously! I mean, for one thing, Prosecutor Wright, why are you so worried about Badri's testimony? Isn't it favorable for you?"

"T-The most important thing is to find the truth," Trucy said, finally calming down, "so we needed to weed through her lies."

"And - and how come you know about Apollo's magic bracelet powers?" Clay continued.

"She was the one who taught me about them in the first place," Apollo said sheepishly.

"And I have them, too," Trucy said, back to bouncing happily, "although I don't have a bracelet…"

Clay raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure you're not related?" he asked.

"Okay, again, yes," Apollo replied, rolling his eyes, "on the grounds of having younger siblings usually requires having a mom."

"That is true," Clay said, cracking a grin.

Trucy sighed. "Well, I've still got some witnesses to go, and the next one I'm sure is telling the truth." She played with the brim of her hat, frowning. "Hopefully you'll be able to find something, somewhere that you could use to break Zuvan - we can't have a proper verdict while she's still lying for some reason. Anyway, I'd better go," she said, then vanished.

"…I don't think I like the way you guys keep talking about my girlfriend, dude," Clay said, scratching his cheek.

"Yeah, well, like it or not, the fact that she's lying to get you implicated for murder is pretty suspicious," Apollo said bitterly, "so right now I'm thinking she's the main suspect for being the real killer."

"Badri would never-!" Clay began, but Apollo held a hand up.

"Then you need to tell me what she's up to," he said, "I don't want to think she did it any more than you do. So right now, Clay, you need to tell me the truth about what happened between you and her and Dejeu. The whole truth."

Clay gave him a forlorn look, then sighed. "I knew I was gonna have to tell you sooner or later, man… okay, so, it all started-"

"Court will resume shortly!" the guard informed them.

"Arrrrrrrrrrgh!"


June 28, 11:25, District Court, Courtroom #9

"Court is now back in session for the trial of Mr. Clay Terran," the Judge said, banging his gavel, "Miss Wright, are you ready to call your next witness?"

"Yes, your Honor," Trucy said without a trace of her earlier fury, "but before that, I'd like to explain something to the defense."

"Yes?" Apollo said. He remembered Trucy's warning that this witness was telling the truth.

"We're pretty sure that this is the guy who left the anonymous tip," Trucy said, "but due to the nature of the hotline, we can't confirm this. But I'd like you to keep in mind that the witness may be somewhat… frightened of the defendant and therefore might not feel very comfortable being in the courtroom."

"So you want me to go easy on him?" Apollo said.

"Yep," Trucy said. Apollo nodded. "Alright, your Honor," Trucy continued, "the prosecution calls Hans Dromeda to the stand!"

A short, skinny greaser, complete with pompadour and leather jacket, took the stand.

"Witness, name and occupation, please," Trucy said.

"Name's Dromeda. Hans Dromeda," the greaser said, snapping out his switch-comb and running it through his pompadour, "don't you go forgettin' it, dollface." Apollo wondered if Wright was in the gallery. "As for my occupation," Dromeda continued, "I guess you could call me… one hip cat."

"He's unemployed," Trucy said cheerfully.

"You could also call me that," Dromeda said without missing a beat.

"Please tell the court what you saw the night of the 27th," Trucy said, "or rather, the morning of the 28th."

"Sure thing, baby," Dromeda said, back to combing his pompadour. He doesn't look remotely uncomfortable, Apollo thought, exasperated. "Lessee… the morning of the 28th… 'course," Dromeda said, "I was in People Park for a little stargazin', see, when alluva sudden I heard this commotion comin' towards me." He pointed his comb at Clay. "Now, I'm not one much for conflict, so I hurried myself over to the bushes, where I hid and watched what was unfoldin'. And what was unfoldin' was that bull there cartin' something to the river." He went back to running his comb through his pompadour. "And that something looked suspiciously like a corpse… so after that bull dumped the thing in the water and skedaddled, I ran for it. Didn't wanna get involved, see, but the little lady here still found me."

The gallery broke out in conversation. "Order!" the Judge commanded, banging his gavel. "Mr. Justice. Your cross-examination, please."

Apollo nodded. "Witness," he said, "first off… where exactly were you in the park at the time you heard the 'commotion'?"

Dromeda frowned, sticking his comb to his lip. "Got a map?"

Apollo presented the map that Ema had previously marked up. "I was 'bout here," Dromeda said, indicating a space not far from the river.

"And how far exactly could you see from this point?"

"Not far," Dromeda said, "my night vision's awful. If he hadn't'a been makin' a huge racket, he coulda been right on me by the time I noticed."

Apollo banged his fists on the desk. "And yet," he said, "you still expect us to believe that you could see the defendant?"

"Hey, cool it," Dromeda said, sweating and playing with his comb. Flick, flick, flick. "There was a streetlamp right there. I couldn't see much outside'a its light, but the defendant passed right under it when he was cartin' the body."

"Oh," Apollo said, and pressed his finger to his forehead. "Witness," he said after considering his next angle for a moment, "you keep saying you saw someone 'carting' the body, while the scrapes mentioned in the autopsy report would seem to suggest that the victim was dragged. Why is this?"

"Easy," said Dromeda, back to attending to his pompadour, "the body wasn't bein' carried or dragged or anything. It was in a wagon. I s'pose the scrapes came from when the body was tumblin' around in that river."

"Miss Wright, was a wagon recovered anywhere in People Park?" Apollo asked. He didn't recall seeing one.

"No," Trucy replied, frowning slightly.

"Witness, did the person pulling the wagon push the wagon into the river along with the body?" Apollo said.

"I… don't think so. Coulda sworn I saw the defendant walkin' off with the wagon," Dromeda said, playing with his comb again. Flick flick flick. "I didn't think it made sense at the time… still doesn't, actually."

"You're right, it doesn't," Apollo said, crossing his arms, smiling smugly. Trucy raised her eyebrows at him. If Apollo presented the security footage now, it would be a huge point in Clay's favor… but Apollo still had some questions for Dromeda. "Witness," he said, making a mental note to bring up the security footage later, "can you describe to us the condition of the victim at the time?"

"Obviously, I didn't get a very good look at 'im," Dromeda said drily, "if you're askin' if he was already dead or just catchin' some Z's… I dunno."

"Right," Apollo said, pressing his finger to his forehead, "one last question. What makes you so sure that it was the defendant that you saw? Did you see his face?"

Dromeda began flicking his comb again, his pompadour begin to suffer from his sweat. "W-Well," he said, "no. But I knew it was him!"

"How did you know this?"

"I…" Dromeda said, "well, don't judge me for bein' a… a nerd, but I spend a lotta time hangin' 'round at the Cosmos Space Center. So I'd recognize most of the people who work there… I even recognize you, Apollo Justice," he added, "considerin' how much time you kill there. I… kinda picked up your name at some point."

"Oh," Apollo said, "so, you didn't see Mr. Terran's face… but you were able to identify him using other characteristics."

"That's right."

"What were these characteristics?"

"Black hair, sturdy build," Dromeda said, fixing his pompadour, "GYAXA jacket."

Apollo smirked. "I see," he said, "Miss Wright, did the search of the suspect's house yield this GYAXA jacket?"

"…no," Trucy said, "it didn't. However…" she trailed off, frowning. She was probably realizing that Clay wasn't wearing his GYAXA jacket in any of the security footage. Come to think of… Apollo glanced at the transcript of the anonymous tip. Clay's description didn't include a jacket, just black hair… and if Dromeda already knew who he was, why tail him to his apartment?

"Well, as his roommate, I can confirm that the jacket hasn't been in the apartment for several days now," Apollo continued, "witness! Are you positive that it was the GYAXA jacket you saw?"

"Of course!" Dromeda said, riling up, "it use'ta be a dream of mine to work at the Cosmos Space Center! I know GYAXA when I see it!"

"In that case," Apollo yelled, "it was impossible for you to have seen Mr. Terran drowning Mr. Dejeu, because Mr. Terran was not wearing his jacket that night!"

Dromeda recoiled, accidentally flinging his comb into the air, but catching it neatly on its way down. Meanwhile, Trucy gasped while her cape fluttered a bit in shock. "O-Objection!" she yelled, fists up, "how do you know that Mr. Terran couldn't have put the jacket on after entering the park and taken it off before leaving it?"

"Why would he do that?!" Apollo yelled.

"Just a minute!" the Judge said, "Mr. Justice! Do you have any proof that Mr. Terran wasn't wearing his jacket?"

"Oh, right," Apollo said, "yes." He had gotten swept up in the excitement and had almost forgotten. "Please take a look at this, your Honor," he said, showing the security footage to the court, "as you can see, Mr. Terran is not wearing his GYAXA jacket when he enters or leaves the park, nor does he have a wagon with him at any point."

"Objection!" yelled Trucy, "all this proves is that Mr. Terran didn't have either of those things at 10:10 PM or 1:03 AM! Did you forget that there are ways in and out of the park that aren't seen by the security cameras?" she added, wagging her finger at Apollo, "which means he was free to move in and out of the park at will. It's possible that he specifically passed in front of those cameras at those particular times in order to establish an alibi of sorts."

"An alibi?" the Judge said, "It looks more to me that the defense has just proven that the defendant was at the crime scene at the time of the crime."

"…I meant about the jacket and wagon, your Honor, but that is also true," Trucy said, bouncing.

Well, that backfired, Apollo thought. But he couldn't give up now. "Witness!" he yelled, slamming on his desk, "one last question!"

"That's what you said last time," Dromeda grumbled.

"I'd like you to explain to the court why you did not call the police!" Apollo yelled, pointing.

"I…!" Dromeda said, "I…"

"Witness, did you…" Trucy said with a sudden look of trepidation, "Did you call the anonymous tip hotline?"

"No," Dromeda said, "I…" he looked down, "I wasn't able to call anyone. See, I sorta broke my cell last week… and none of the public phones I could find were underneath any streetlights. I couldn't see them."

Trucy recoiled again.

"As I thought," Apollo said, crossing his arms confidently, "especially considering the anonymous tipper never mentioned a GYAXA jacket or a wagon. And the tipper claimed to not know who Mr. Terran was!" He pounded on his desk. "There was no way that Mr. Dromeda could have been the anonymous tipper!"

"So?" Trucy said.

"Also, the tipper disguised their voice!" Apollo said. The gallery broke into discussion again. I probably should have mentioned that first, Apollo reflected.

"Why would you call an anonymous tip hotline and disguise your voice?" the Judge said.

"I don't think this is a question of why, your Honor," Trucy said, finger to her mouth, "but rather of who."

"Who would do such a thing, then?" the Judge said.

"It's simple, your Honor!" Apollo yelled, "The real killer, in an attempt to frame Mr. Terran!"

The discussion in the gallery loudened and Judge began banging his gavel.

"Miss Wright," the Judge said once the gallery had quieted down again, "do you have a rebuttal to this?"

"I have more witnesses, actually," Trucy said, "but for the time being, I'd like to request that court be adjourned until tomorrow. After all," she said, tipping her hat, "a perfect investigation doesn't leave any unanswered questions… like the jacket, or the wagon."

Come to think of it, Apollo thought, I'm sure I saw that jacket somewhere yesterday. But where? He vaguely remembered being distracted at the time.

"Does the defense have any objections to this?" the Judge asked.

Apollo shook his head. "No, your Honor," he said.

"Very well," the Judge said, "I expect some answers from both of you tomorrow. Until then, this court is adjourned."


June 28, 1:50 PM, Detention Center

"That was a close one," Apollo said, sitting down heavily.

"You pulled it off, dude!" Clay said happily, "great job!"

"Just barely," Apollo pointed out, "if Trucy hadn't requested that court be adjourned, who knows what could have happened."

"I dunno, man," Clay said, grinning, "the thing with the jacket, and the wagon… there was no way the Judge could hand down a verdict after you brought them up!" He gave Apollo a thumbs-up. "I can almost taste freedom!"

"It all comes down to what investigation today reveals," Apollo said.

"So why don't you go investigate? It's not like I'm going anywhere."

"Because," Apollo said, "you need to tell me what's going on between you, Badriyyah, and Dejeu."

"Oh, right," Clay said, deflating, "yeah… but before that, can you promise me something, dude?"

"What?" Apollo said dubiously.

"I know Badri's really suspicious right now and that's only going to go deeper," Clay said, looking determined, "but promise me you won't suspect her of being the murderer. There's no way she could do something like that! And frame me, too!"

"Clay…" Apollo said, frowning.

"Apollo, she loves me!"

Apollo sighed. "Clay, calm down." He placed one hand against the glass. "Look, the truth isn't always pretty. I can't promise anything. If Badriyyah really is the murderer, then of course I'm going to suspect her."

"Apollo-!"

"But," Apollo added quickly, "I don't want to think she drowned Dejeu any more than you do. What she's doing is suspicious already, but there might be another explanation for it. So… I'm going to give her the benefit of the doubt as much as I possibly can." He crossed his arms.

Clay was silent for a minute, then sighed, leaning on the little shelf table. "Fine," he said, "I… I'm fine. I'll tell you everything that happened between the three of us."

Apollo nodded the go-ahead.

"It all started before I started dating Badri. She was dating Dejeu when I met her… and she left him for me. Well," he said, rubbing his eye, "I suppose it'd be more accurate to say she didn't leave him for me, because she never left him at all."

"…what?" Apollo said, shocked, "Badriyyah was dating you and Dejeu at the same time?!"

"Y-Yeah," Clay said, "although… publicly, she did end her relationship with Dejeu when she started dating me. I didn't know she was… well, cheating on me for a while. In fact," he added, "I'm pretty sure she still doesn't know that I know."

"How come you never told me this?" Apollo asked, "And how come Badriyyah didn't know that you knew? Did you not confront her about it?"

"No!" Clay said, sitting up straight, "I'm pretty sure that she didn't leave Dejeu because he wouldn't let her! So, I didn't tell anyone because I didn't want to hurt her reputation, and I didn't confront her about it because I thought she would end the relationship on her own!"

"You just let her keep secrets from you?" Apollo said, feeling a mix between exasperation and suspicion.

"…I also thought she would tell me on her own," Clay said, "when she was ready."

Apollo sighed deeply. Not that he had ever been in any sort of significant relationship before, but… Clay clearly knew nothing about this. Maybe he should stick to being in a relationship with space, Apollo thought sarcastically. "So, basically," he said, "everything in her testimony was a complete lie."

"Not necessarily," Clay said, scratching his cheek with one finger, "it may be true that Dejeu was harassing her… but yeah, dude, as far as she knew, I barely knew who Dejeu was. I've never even really talked to him before, let alone threaten him and force him to leave my girlfriend alone."

"So, Dejeu didn't know that you knew about his and Badriyyah's relationship?" Apollo said, putting a finger to his forehead. This could mean something.

"I'm pretty sure he didn't, yeah," Clay said, "so… that's the story. Badri was cheating on me with Dejeu, and the only one who knew this was me, and the only one who knew I knew was also me."

"Right," Apollo said, "okay, one more thing," he added, thinking back to his conversation with Clay yesterday. "What were you doing in the park so late?"

"I - er…" Clay said, looking away.

"Come on," Apollo said, exasperated, "I know it has something to do with Badriyyah. Don't tell me… she called you there?"

Clay was silent for a moment, then nodded grimly. "I'm sure she had her reasons," he said quickly.

"Yeah, sure," Apollo said, eyeing Clay, "just tell me what happened."

Clay sighed. "She called me up out of the blue and told me to meet her at People Park at 10:00. She also told me she'd be a little late, so wait up for her. Well, I got there, and there was no one there. I waited for a bit, then figured I might as well take a nap. When I woke up I guess three hours later, she still wasn't there, so I just went home."

"I… I see," Apollo said, "did she tell you why she wanted to meet you?"

"No," Clay said, crossing his arms and looking down, "b-but just because she called me there doesn't necessarily mean she actually went to the park, right? And maybe it wasn't even Badri who called, just… the real killer… who had Badri's phone, and… sounded exactly like her…?"

Apollo stared at him for a long minute.

"You can't prove anything!" Clay suddenly snapped.

"Clay," Apollo said, "do you remember my case two weeks ago? Where the guy's girlfriend tried to pin a crime on him and he even tried to confess to it, all because he was too infatuated with her to realize who she really was?"

"Y-Yeah," Clay said, sweating, "but dude, this is different…!"

Apollo shook his head. "I think it's pretty clear what's really going on here."

Clay looked at him defiantly for a moment, then deflated, rubbing - no, wiping his eyes. He was clearly holding back tears. "…yeah," he said, "yeah. It is."

"It was Badriyyah?"

"I don't see how it couldn't have been," Clay said, sniffling, "but… you can't prove anything."

"! Clay-" Apollo started. How far was he going to go for Badriyyah's sake?

Clay looked up at him with a new resolve. "No, I don't mean it like that," he said, "I mean you literally can't prove anything. No one will take my testimony seriously because I might be covering for myself, and it's not like my phone records calls or anything - if Badri's does, she would have already deleted the conversation where she asked me to come to that park. And all of the other evidence except for the jacket and the wagon points directly to me."

"Which means the jacket and the wagon are our only shot," Apollo said.

Clay nodded. "And… I did accidentally leave my jacket at Badri's house a few days ago, although I don't know where it is now. But even if you can prove that she had the jacket the night of the crime, isn't that just circumstantial?"

"…yes," Apollo said, pressing his finger to his forehead, "so that won't be much help. But the wagon…"

"That probably won't help any, either," Clay said, "Badri's smart. She wouldn't leave any evidence."

Apollo pausing, thinking. Wait a minute… "What if that's what she was doing?"

Clay cocked his head. "What do you mean, dude?"

"The reason why she didn't just dump the wagon in the river along with Dejeu," Apollo explained. "If she had done that, and the prosecution assumed that you had coincidentally found the wagon in the park, then it wouldn't have contradicted the security footage at all."

"Hmm," Clay said, scratching his cheek, "I don't think Badri would make that kind of mistake, though."

"And it'd be easier to just leave the wagon there, too," Apollo said, "which means she must have taken it with her on purpose."

"And the only reason why she would do that was if the wagon was really incriminating somehow?" Clay said. Apollo nodded. "But how could a wagon be incriminating?"

"I don't know yet," Apollo said, "I guess we'll find out when the wagon is found."


June 28, 4:20 PM, Gatewater Apartments

Nothing.

Ema had found nothing so far. No wagon, no jacket. And Trucy was here, too.

"I really thought that Dromeda was the anonymous tipper," she was saying.

"I guess Apollo does have a point about the voice-changer," Ema said, "it is really suspicious."

"Yeah, but Dromeda seems like he would be little… you know, paranoid, I guess," Trucy said, "I thought he was just covering his tracks because he was scared of Terran, but now… hm."

"How are you planning on explaining that away?" Ema asked.

"I don't know yet," Trucy said cheerfully, "I guess I'll ask Aunt Franziska for advice. But still," she added, "I kind of feel sorry for Dromeda."

"How so?" Ema said, not really paying attention. She had already searched Terran's room again, which of course turned up nothing, as did her search of any empty rooms (even if it did seem a little bit unlikely that Terran could have, somehow, accessed them in the first place). So far her search of the apartment grounds was going the same way - and they were only here because People Park and the area around it as far as the train station had been cleared, too.

"Well, he said that his dream used to be to work at the Cosmos Space Center," Trucy said, "I bet he wanted to be an astronaut. Imagine," she added, "him: a dandy guy in space." Ema frowned. Dromeda seemed more like a T-Bird than a dandy. "He could comb the galaxy like his pompadour!" If that was a reference to something, Ema didn't get it.

"…why would Terran leave with the wagon, though?" Ema said, playing with her hair, "I can see how he could've found that wagon in the park to begin with… but why would he go to the trouble of sneaking it out without being seen by the cameras?"

"My guess is that he planned around Polly," Trucy said, bouncing, "so he specifically did things that would look like they were actually the 'real killer' making mistakes. He knew Polly would be able to use them to establish reasonable doubt, at the very least."

"Are you sure he's that clever?" Ema asked.

"Who? Terran or Polly?"

"…both," Ema said, pulling out her Snackoos.

"Well, if we assume that Terran actually is that clever, then the only points that don't make sense are the anonymous tip…" Trucy began.

"What if Terran called in the tip himself?" Ema said, "If he planned around Apollo, then he clearly intended to stand trial. And we have to admit that the suspicious tip does kind of point towards the possibility of a different killer."

"Pretty smart," Trucy said, "which means… the only issue here, at least until we find the wagon and the jacket, is Zuvan's testimony."

"Really?" Ema said, "What was wrong with it?"

"She was lying," Trucy said, crossing her arms and frowning, "but I don't know why."

"Uh, sure…" Ema said. She knew that whenever Trucy or Apollo (or even Mr. Wright) randomly said that someone was lying, they were inevitably right. How they knew, Ema had no idea. It didn't seem very scientific to her, anyway.

"I wonder what the wagon will turn up, though?" Trucy said, putting her finger to her chin, "Even if Terran snuck it out so that Polly could 'prove' that he didn't have it the night of the crime… why would he hide it? Why not leave it nearer to the park?"

"So you think he hid it because it was incriminating somehow?" Ema said.

Trucy shrugged. "I just think that it'd be a waste of time to do anything with it besides ditch it at the first opportunity. I mean, all it had to be was not in the park, right?"

"Maybe you should go interrogate Terran again," Ema suggested.

"I don't think he'll tell me anything directly," Trucy said, "It's not like I can prove that he was planning for Polly's involvement, anyway."

"Maybe you should bluff," Ema said. She actually wasn't being sarcastic - after all, it worked for Wright in the past.

"…Aunt Franziska told me that prosecutors don't bluff," Trucy said, bouncing.

"And Mr. Edgeworth keeps telling you that prosecutors don't pin their badges to their clothing," Ema said, "so I've noticed that you don't seem to listen to your prosecuting 'relatives'."

"Aunt Franziska's different," Trucy said, pouting, "I can get away with not listening to Uncle Edgeworth, but Aunt Franziska whips Daddy when I don't listen to her."

"…I see," Ema said. Mr. Wright has some really weird friends, she thought.

"But the most Uncle Edgeworth can do is yell at Daddy or ground me," Trucy continued, "except that me being grounded only applies if I'm at Uncle Edgeworth's house, since Daddy doesn't care if Uncle Edgeworth grounds me… which means that Uncle Edgeworth yells at Daddy."

"Right," Ema said. She really wondered about Trucy's home life sometimes. "That's nice. Let's find that wagon, shall we?"

"Have fun with that, Ema," Trucy said, adjusting her hat, "I actually have a show at the Wonder Bar that starts in 15 minutes, so…"

Ema shrugged, although she was irritated. "Well, it's not like you need to be here."

"Okay," Trucy said cheerfully, "good luck! We'll need that thing in court tomorrow!"

Yeah, yeah, Ema thought, no pressure.


June 28, 11:59 PM, Wright Anything Agency

Trucy stared out the window into the empty street. Once again, Phoenix was out all night, although nowadays he didn't even have the poker circuit excuse. Who even knew what he was up to? Normally it didn't bother Trucy, but… People Park was right around the corner from where they lived, and two people had died there in as many weeks! And it was just about midnight - if Phoenix wasn't home by now, he should have told her that he was going to be out all night, as opposed to just disappearing again. He always does this, Trucy thought bitterly.

The phone rang suddenly. "Hello? Wright Anything Agency," Trucy said, picking up the phone immediately.

"Heya, Trucy," Phoenix said on the other end.

"Daddy!" Trucy yelled, "Do you have any idea what time it is!?"

"…no," Phoenix said after a long pause, "but isn't it dark out?"

"It's past midnight, Daddy!" Trucy shouted into the phone.

"Oh, it is?" Phoenix asked, his voice sounding a little muffled - he was probably holding his phone away from his head. "Shouldn't you be in bed, then?"

"That's not funny!" Trucy cried, "Where are you? When are you coming home?!"

"Uh," Phoenix said, "actually, I'm probably not coming home tonight."

"R-Really?" asked Trucy, tears in her eyes. "Oh… okay. Are you sure?"

"Yeah," Phoenix said apologetically, "will you be okay on your own?"

"Of course I will!" Trucy said, picking herself up, "I locked the doors and everything!"

"…it's okay to be scared," Phoenix said, and Trucy cringed, "I mean, yeah, two people got murdered right on our doorstep..."

"I'm not, I'm not scared," Trucy said, "if I'm scared about anything, it's that… what if something happens to you?"

"Nothing will happen to me," Phoenix assured her, "I just don't want you to be scared that someone will break into the Agency and-"

"I'm fine," Trucy interrupted, "really, I am."

"Trucy."

"What?"

"I don't need any special powers to tell that you're lying," Phoenix said, "there's nothing wrong with being frightened. Do you want me to call Edgeworth? He can come pick you up, and you can stay at his house tonight… you'll be safe there."

"…okay," Trucy said in a small voice, "Yeah."

"I'm gonna hang up now," Phoenix said, his voice soft, "so keep the doors locked until Uncle Edgeworth gets here, okay?"

"Right," said Trucy. It was a good thing she had a toothbrush and some clothes in Edgeworth's guest rooms to begin with.

"I love you, Trucy."

"I love you too, Daddy." And Phoenix hung up, leaving Trucy to continue staring out the window until Edgeworth showed up.


Sorry if the last scene seemed out-of-place. I mean, this fic is supposed to be about Trucy, but Apollo was taking all her screentime. How dare you, Apollo.