Phoenix was surprised, but not just by Bison's statement; he was smiling.
"You… confess?" the judge asked.
"There's no more reason to hide it," Bison replied. "It is as the lawyer says. I am guilty of everything he accuses me of."
"But the manifest!" Franziska said desperately. "It shows…!"
"A simple matter when you have operatives within the Mishima Zaibatsu who know the art of discretion," Bison explained. "With my Psycho Drive nearing completion, I was ready to begin constructing my armies; armies not of men, but of monsters. Thanatos was but one key ingredient. But of course, before I could use it, I had to see what it could do. And Kamurocho was just lying there, ripe for the taking. " Phoenix heard someone growl behind him, perhaps Majima. "It also made for the perfect hiding place while we made the finishing touches to my Psycho Drive: a city infested with monsters. And framing the musclebound fool was all too easy with the evidence I had left behind.
"But I didn't count on the Phoenix Wright stepping in." Phoenix perked up at the mention of his name, almost like Bison respected it (for how much Bison respected anything). "I knew of his deductive abilities, even against overwhelming odds. I also knew I couldn't very well bribe him; he has too much honor for that. But with all the resources at my disposal working on my Psycho Drive, and me needing to oversee the creation of my new army, I was forced to turn to outside help. B.B. Hood may not be reliable, but she is effective; I figured such a weakling wouldn't have lasted five seconds against her onslaught.
"But the minute things got difficult, she turned around and left like the crybaby she resembles. And now, my Psycho Drive is destroyed, my armies exterminated, and even my scapegoat is all but free. But that doesn't matter anymore."
"Why… not?" Phoenix slowly asked.
"Because if I am to go down," Bison answered, "I will ensure that you, Phoenix Wright, will go down with me." Bison's body began to glow with a purplish aura and lift itself above the ground. He undid the fasteners to his cape. "This place shall become your grave!"
But before Phoenix could even scream, something hit Bison and caused him to flinch back. Phoenix could see the hilt of a knife sticking out of the dictator's shoulder.
"YEE-HAH!" At that moment, Majima leapt out from behind Phoenix and tackled Bison, pulling the knife out in the process. "Ya know what, Bison? I'm actually kinda thrilled you're back," he taunted. "Now I get to kill you all over again." He spun around in place, slashing the knife at Bison with every pass.
Bison stepped away from the onslaught. "You dare strike me?!" Bu the only response Bison got was a surprise drop kick from Kiryu.
"Yes, we do," Kiryu said. "For the pain and suffering you caused Kamurocho, to say nothing of all the other worlds your dirty hands have touched."
Meanwhile, the courtroom audience was trying to get away from the violent scene. The bailiff tried to lead the people in an orderly way, but between the brawl and the amount of people wanting to stay out of the crossfire, it was incredibly difficult. Phoenix and Maya wanted to leave as well, but the chaotic evacuation made that hard to even attempt.
"You fools!" Bison said to his assailants. "I've learned since our last encounter. You stand no chance against me now!"
"Then how about me?" Heihachi ran at Bison from behind and slammed both fists at his back. Bison fell forward, right into Kiryu's next kick. Bison recovered, however, and spun around toward Heihachi, grabbing his face. His other hand lit up with a purple aura before punching Heihachi in the stomach.
Bison let go, letting Heihachi fall in a heap. But Heihachi laughed. "Ha! It'll take a lot more than that to take me down," he said.
"Well, I do love a challenge," Bison quipped back.
"Soul Fist!" A wave of energy hit Bison's face, staggering him slightly. Morrigan landed in front of him in a way that was both graceful yet threatening.
But Bison just scoffed at her. "Please. I've been assaulted by the mighty Hadouken; your puny fist cannot hope to overcome me."
"You get distracted, you get punished~" Majima's voice sang out, stabbing Bison in the back. Bison was starting to become physically annoyed now. He grabbed Majima by the throat and tossed him aside. Majima collided with Kiryu just as he was about to roundhouse kick. Heihachi and Morrigan charged Bison from either side; Morrigan even had a double fly in from behind. But Bison floated away, too quickly for them to react. All three bodies tackled each other (the double disappeared on impact), and both attackers landed in a heap.
"Psycho Crusher!" Bison flew in, his body parallel to the ground and spinning at high speed. His aura encompassed his whole body as he rammed into his assailants. Everyone was scattered by the impact, and they didn't seem like they would be getting up any time soon.
Satisfied, Bison turned back to Phoenix and Maya. "Now," Bison said, cracking his knuckles, "where were we?"
Phoenix was about to run, but a strange sight stopped him; a black, cordlike object wrapped itself around Bison's neck. Phoenix peered around him to see, to his shock (though not unexpectedly so), Franziska von Karma holding her whip like a rope.
"No!" she yelled. "I will not have you kill the man I've sworn vengeance upon!"
Bison seemed unperturbed by this latest development; in fact, his face showed more exasperation than anything else. He turned to Franziska. "I'll admit, Prosecutor, your penchant for lashing out at others amused me. In another life, perhaps we could have been allies. But if you think you can stand in my way without facing the consequences, then you are the foolish one." He moved toward her.
"Nick!"
Phoenix barely even waited. As soon as Maya shouted, he had already leapt to action.
"TAKE THAT!"
Out of nowhere, spectral, almost ghostlike chains appeared and surrounded Bison, binding his arms and legs, before being secured by a large, ornate, red lock.
"What… What devilry is this?!" Bison asked.
Maya immediately charged in, flanked by similarly ghostly images of, much to Phoenix's continued surprise, the Steel Samurai and Pink Princess. Both figures slashed and stabbed at Bison with their weapons. Even Maya got a few hits in, though her fighting style was more haphazard than any organized martial art. She ended things by reaching into her robes and pulling out her seemingly constant supply of confetti. She threw it around Bison and it exploded. Unfortunately, this caused the lock on the chains to break, freeing him.
But Phoenix acted almost immediately.
"HOLD IT!"
Bison was blown back by a literal speech outburst with the words "Hold it!" written on it. Maya quickly ran back to Phoenix's side.
"Ready, Maya?" he asked.
"Let's do it, Nick!" she replied. They both held out their left hands, index fingers outstretched.
"OBJECTION!"
Another outburst appeared, this time with the respective word written on it. The force this time was much harder on Bison, and he landed back first on the front of the judge's bench. He groaned in pain loudly and slumped onto the floor.
Phoenix and Maya just stood there for a few seconds, hands still pointed forward. When it became clear that Bison wasn't getting up, they both relaxed slightly. "Please tell me it's over," Phoenix mumbled.
A faint groan could be heard, but it definitely wasn't Bison; the voice was far too feminine. Phoenix looked to the side to find Morrigan standing up, shakily but otherwise easily.
"Morrigan!" Maya exclaimed. "Are you okay?"
"I'll be fine," Morrigan said, slightly pained. "Bison wasn't hitting us with his full power. I suspect he wanted to save the real damage for you, Phoenix."
"I'll be sure to send him a card thanking him for the sentiment," Phoenix remarked dryly.
"Bailiff!" Franziska called. Her voice sounded shaky, but hadn't lost its edge. "Remove this man from the courthouse at once!"
"Allow me to help, Franny," Morrigan said. She snapped her fingers in Bison's direction. Blue cords of mystic energy appeared and surrounded his limbs. "These bindings can hold even the most vicious demons in Makai. Tall, red, and ugly here will have a hard time getting out of these. At the very least, it should hold until you get him back to Interpol."
As she and the bailiff carried Bison out of the courtroom, Maya whispered to Phoenix, "Hey, did she just call von Karma 'Franny?'"
"I think she did," Phoenix replied. He looked at Franziska; she was glaring at Morrigan with a look Phoenix recognized as one she usually saved for him. "And judging by the look on her face, I don't think it's a habit we should take up."
After the courtroom was mostly cleared of the damage, people started to return to the gallery. Phoenix noticed that the seats weren't nearly as full this time; he surmised that after the events that just unfolded, much of the audience decided to just get out of the area altogether. Those that stayed were either brave, crazy, or just dedicated trial-goers.
He looked up at the seats Majima and Kiryu had taken earlier on, but they were empty. He had to remind himself that they likely had to recover after the beating they took from Bison. If Morrigan was right, they would probably still live, but Phoenix couldn't help but imagine both in bandages and casts.
Surprisingly, Heihachi was still mostly okay. Even though he had plenty of visible bruises, he maintained his confident posture as he sat at the defendant's chair. He must really be one tough cookie, Phoenix thought.
The sound of the judge's gavel coming down brought Phoenix out of his musings. "Well," the judge interjected, "that was certainly a trial for the history books. I can honestly say I've never presided over a trial quite like this one."
I'd be more surprised if you said you had, Phoenix thought to himself.
"Still, even with all that has come to light and the... abrupt pause in the proceedings," the judge continued, "I would like to end this whole matter on a more official note. Heihachi Mishima, step forward."
Heihachi stood up, slightly slower than Phoenix would have expected; perhaps he hadn't truly withstood Bison's attack. Still, he made his way to the stand.
"Before I go on," the judge said, "Ms. von Karma, what is the condition of Master Bison?"
"By now," Franziska answered, "he should be in a holding cell in the local precinct. Interpol personnel will pick him up in due time. Until then, I have assurances that he will not cause further trouble." Her voice was slightly strained; it was clear she was still trying to keep up her professional air, but Phoenix could hear exhaustion as she spoke. Whether it was from witnessing the battle in front of her or just having to lose to him again was not entirely clear.
"Very well, then," the judge affirmed. "Then let us bring this trial to a close. For the crimes of smuggling and releasing the Thanatos virus into Kamurocho, this court finds the defendant, Heihachi Mishima…"
NOT GUILTY
The gallery applauded at the verdict. Many of the people started throwing confetti everywhere; Maya also got in on the action, thankfully without the paper strips exploding this time. Phoenix was actually kind of surprised; he'd expected this sort of thing back at home, but it made him comfortable to know that some traditions crossed international borders.
"That is all," the judge said as soon as the cheering died down. "Court is adjourned." The gavel came down one last time.
