"Lilie Heatherd, Attorney at Law. And witness for this case, of course, but that's hardly an occupation… Then again, you didn't yet ask me for name and profession, did you?"

"B-But…"

I couldn't do much more than stutter. This was just too much.

"You… that name… Magatama… didn't react… how did you…you… you…"

"Hee Hee…" She flipped her fringe. "I'm really disappointed you didn't figure me out first, Mr. Wright."

Ironically, she looked satisfied when she said that. And it was for the first time since I had met her today.

"…Me… figure out?" I replied in disbelief "You lied to me!"

I had finally snapped, at least regarding this girl.

"You gave your testimony under a false name! You lied in the courthouse… you… you…"

She had already started playing with her hair again.

"What? I never said that it was my name. Only that you mispronounced it and that my friends can call me 'Sue' and that's the truth. Also, I didn't lie. The testimony still stands. Every single word of it."

"But… I thought we were neighbors!" I replied "If you're really… how did you… how did I not… all the time…"

She looked to the ceiling, like it was more interesting than my irate face.

"Yeah, I was quite surprised too that you apparently had no clue as to who I was the whole time… I thought you had figured out, like, a few months ago, but well… apparently, my public disguise was better than I thought after all."

"Dis… What? No! Just no! You removed one hairpin! That's not a disguise in any sense of the word!" I let my face sink into both of my palms, knowing that I was actually humiliating myself more and more with every further word I said, but I couldn't help it. "And, please, please put your badge off that thing! You don't wear your Attorney's Badge in your hair! You have a perfectly good vest to put it on!"

"Hm." Heatherd didn't seem to exactly care. She moved the pin around a bit, since it apparently wasn't yet in the position she wanted it to be. "I can wear my badge where I want, Mr. Wright. It will stay up there. It fits the color of my hair."

(This hurts. It just hurts to look. Please make it end…)

"Now, if you'd excuse me, I have to use a bathroom. Later."

After that, Lilie Heatherd headed towards the door and left. I wasn't even trying to say anything to stop her or to ensure her coming back afterwards anymore. I just waited until she had passed through the door, then I stepped the three steps that were left from my standpoint to the sofa and let my body fall down onto it.

"Ungh…This is a nightmare." I muttered, facing the furniture under me. "Every moment, the giant gavel comes and squashes me. I just know it."

Edgeworth apparently could still hear me. "Well, you have to admit that she is partly right." He sat down on the chair I had used just seconds prior.

"You should have known who she was."

"I probably did, from how it sounded… up until yesterday, at least."

"So your lack of memory does not just include that one trial…?" Edgeworth asked. Despite him claiming before that he didn't want to know what was wrong with me, he seemed rather interested now.

"Let's just say, it includes a lot of stuff…" I answered, face still to the sofa.

"Court Proceedings?" he asked with a hint of worry.

"Don't worry, those are still there."

"This is good to know."

"Argh…" Finally, I pushed my upper body up again and sat up, facing Edgeworth again. "I mean… how is this possible? This girl can't be a Defense Attorney! She's like-"

"Twenty three years old." Edgeworth told me with a dead-serious face.

"…Twenty…three?"

There was a reason he was making that face. Otherwise, I would have been convinced that this was a joke.

"She looks like sixteen!" I exclaimed, noticing how my voiced rose higher and higher, like a badly tuned guitar.

"And takes advantage of it on every given opportunity." Edgeworth sighed. "I watched two of this girl's trials from the gallery. She's not exactly what you'd call a genius, but she has quite a few tricks she can often resort to and she knows how to use what she has got. And she is quite creative. Most of her successes relied on her ability to make a connection between almost everything she finds on the crime scene, even if it were just a wrapper from a stick of gum. Her explanations are often so long winded and surprisingly thought through that the prosecution and judge have no other choice but to follow her train of thought for a little while. She, however, hardly ever actually goes anywhere with them and only few turn out to have any basis in reality. It's obvious she's only using the tactic to buy time and she earned herself the nickname "Evidence Spammer" with this."

"Not exactly flattering…"

"She doesn't seem to mind. It is generally really hard to actually intimidate or impress her. The Prosecutors' usual tactics, therefore, barely work on her. This is the other reason why she's quite successful. Also, she has a habit of eating in the courtroom."

"I imagine that she'd get a lot of penalties with this kind of attitude…" I thought aloud.

"Oh, she does. But she is careful not to reach the limit. Like I said, she exploits everything as much as she can. The Judge's patience is no exception."

"I see… How good is she?"

"Out of the seven trials she's had so far, she's won five." Edgeworth explained. "One of the two losses she just shrugged off without much consideration… The other one she caused herself."

"Herself?"

"Apparently, the defendant had 'offended' her during the recess. She then held a nap in the Defence's Bench for the remainder of the trial…"

A short silence followed after this. Just when I had thought that I couldn't possibly find this person's attitude even worse than I already did, Edgeworth had proven me wrong.

"…And there are actually people who entrust this Heatherd girl with their Defense?"

"For some reason, she keeps getting clients." Edgeworth told me. His voice made it obvious that he didn't know much more about it. "Anyway… weren't you on the way to collect the remaining evidence?"

"Ah, right…" I took a look at the watch. It was 8:30 now. One and a half hour till the trial… I had to inform myself fast. "Alright, I'll go find Gumshoe. If this Heatherd girl comes back…"

Edgeworth nodded.

"I'll try to keep her from leaving, but I can't promise you anything. I still have my own preparations to do after all."

"Thank you!"

With an honest smile, I nodded thankfully before I turned around and headed for the door. I had to hurry. Edgeworth was right, I was lagging way behind with my preparations. If I really wanted to catch up on the time I wasted, I needed to finally get my hands on those investigation results.

I stepped outside…

"Pal!"

For once, I was lucky. The first thing that greeted me when I had left the Defendant Lobby was a great, big grin and the owner of said grin waving at me from across the hallway. It was a relieving sight, at least for me in my current situation.

"Detective Gumshoe!" I ran up to him. "Good thing I found you… Hey, do you happen to have the evidence you mentioned in your text message from yesterday on you? I still need to take a look at it."

"Actually, I was just searching for you because of this, Pal!" he handed me a small bag he was holding in his hand. "Here you go!... Heh… Heh…"

I took it, but not without letting my eyes off Gumshoe… The detective had a weird smile on his face for some reason.

"…What are you laughing about…?" I asked him finally, after deciding that I found that expression a bit too unsettling to just leave him alone about it.

"Ah… nothing... eh heh…" he seemed embarrassed. "I just thought about what a strange feeling it is to be able to call a superior 'Pal'. Like I had been promoted to a higher level… something along those lines!"

(Maybe I gave him a little bit too much freedom there?) I wondered. (You never know, it could go to his head…)

"And yesterday, I got that huge bonus…Actually, isn't that a huge step forward in my career? Hey, maybe the actual promotion isn't that far away!"

(…)

I decided to start another topic, in order to get him off those thoughts.

"Could you tell me something about the new evidence, Detective?"

"Sure thing! Let's sit down over there to talk about it, Pal!"

"Alright."

We went over to the bench on the hallway's end and sat down. I got out the Autopsy Report and skimmed through it:

"According to this, she died from the blood loss…"

"Yeah, the stab wound was located in her chest, but somehow the killer missed the heart, so she stayed alive for some time. Not that this would have done her any good…"

"Yes, she was still alive when we found her." I told him. "…Barely. I don't want to know for how long she had been suffering in that state by the time we arrived."

"And to think her own sister did this to her… poor girl."

"…Hm?" A part of the autopsy report caught my attention. "…There was a bruise on the back of her head?"

Gumshoe nodded. "Yeah, they found it when they examined the body closer. It wasn't bleeding, so her hair was hiding it quite well. She was probably hit there during the struggle. Not strong enough to kill her, but she was probably out for a few minutes after that. That must also be where this ribbon came from."

"Ribbon?"

"Take a look at the crime scene photo."

I did as Gumshoe said and saw a picture of the dead Ema, lying on the floor, her pink glasses next to her. At first the position confused me since I distinctly remembered her sitting against the wall when I found her, but then I recalled that she had fallen over when she finally died…

The stab wound in her chest was clearly visible, as was the blood on her coat, shirt and skirt. Between her scattered hairs, something blue was visible. Only now I noticed that something was missing…

"Oh… I see. Her hairstyle - Uhm… what did Maya call it again- Ah, anyway… It came undone."

"Yeah, the ribbon must have slipped when the killer hit her."

"Hm…"

There was one question on my mind and I voiced it.

"Any chance… you found the murder weapon?"

"It's right here, pal! Look!"

Gumshoe reached into the bag and got out a smaller plastic bag. There was a knife inside.

"We found this with Miss Skye. According to some of the other Prosecutors, she always has a knife on her for self defense. This is probably it."

"Hm…"

I took a close look at it. "But there's no blood…"

"And no finger prints either." Gumshoe admitted. "The knife was probably cleaned with water and soap right after the crime. She tried to hang herself in the bathroom after all."

I looked up from the knife and turned my head to Gumshoe. "No fingerprints? But then this knife could have been used by anyone."

"But there was nobody else present." Gumshoe said and then he started to smile. "And we even have proof for that! Take a look at this!"

He gave me a sheet of paper from the bag.

"What's this?" I asked.

"A list of the fingerprints on the door handle!" Gumshoe stated. "The forensics made this at my request!"

"Your request?" I repeated in disbelief "You actually thought ahead far enough to ask them to analyze the handle?"

"Well…" he seemed a little embarrassed. "…actually, it was Mr. Edgeworth's request. I just passed it on to them. I gave him a copy of the list afterwards too."

"Oh."

(So, Edgeworth requested the fingerprints on the doorknob be analyzed? He must have had a reason for this… let's see…)

I quickly browsed through the names on the list:

*)Phoenix Wright

*)Ema Skye (victim)

*)Iris Fey

*)?

"Huh?" My eyes rested on the second-to-last name in surprise. "What is Iris's name doing on the list?"

"Hm… Isn't 'Iris' the name of your ex, pal?" Gumshoe asked when he heard me whispering and he tried to peek over my shoulder.

"Ex-girlfriend." I corrected him "I don't think we were ever married…"

"You… don't think…?"

"Eh… But, you're right. She pro—I mean, she, of course, had a keycard to my apartment." I could say this without a doubt, because I knew that I would have given one to her. "The fingerprints must be from her last visit then… What about the question marks?"

"The owner of those prints wasn't in our databank." Gumshoe answered. "So, we don't know whom they belong to yet, but we recorded them anyway. Who knows, that guy or woman could show up sooner or later during the case, Pal! Better be prepared for everything!"

"…You got that from Edgeworth too, right?"

"…Eh...Heh Heh Heh Heh…"

(It was a good idea to let him support Edgeworth.) I thought to myself. (That list was just what I needed… it clearly contradicts that brat's testimony. But I wonder if I can get through her Psyche Locks with this alone?)

I kept looking through the evidence. There were two more crime scene photos. One showed the messed up room, the other showed the unconscious Lana with the string from around her neck.

After that, there was just a single other piece of evidence left in the bag.

"…Huh?"

I was quite surprised, when I found myself holding one of Ema's decorative badges in my hand. The needle was crooked…

"Where did you find this?" I showed it to Gumshoe.

"Right next to the victim." He answered. "Probably came loose during the struggle, just like the ribbon. It's not really important, but we thought we should take it too."

"…There's blood on the needle…"

Interested, I took another look at the crime scene photo. Really, it was lying there on the floor by her feet… It had just been so small that I didn't really notice at first.

"The blood probably got onto it when it fell down." Gumshoe explained "There was a rather big puddle on the floor… quite creepy, Pal."

"Yeah, I saw it…" I sighed, remembering what had happened when I had tried to keep Ema alive. Taking another look at everything, I put the items back into the bag Gumshoe gave me and asked. "And this is everything you found?"

"Yup. Everything relevant to the case we could find in there, Pal! We searched every corner of those two rooms… Oh, but we didn't touch your personal stuff! I swear!"

"Wouldn't be mad if you did." I told him. "You were just doing your job, after all."

(And you hopefully did it right. I'll need to figure out what really happened based on these few items…)

I still had no clue why the killer had murdered Ema or how exactly he or she managed to access the apartment, but one thing was for sure: that the testimony Lilie Heatherd had given me was phony. The Psyche Locks alone were enough to prove this. I needed another talk with her in order to find out more…

"Oh, by the way, Mr. Wright…" Gumshoe seemed a little nervous. "About the witness… We… kinda… uhm…"

"Don't worry, I managed to catch her before she had a chance to leave." I told him.

"Ah! Well, that's good! And I thought we'd have to start the process witness-less. You have no idea how much trouble she caused, pal."

"Actually, I think I got the idea…" I sighed. "The worst thing is, I'll have to put up with her even more…"

After another look at the watch – which said 9:00 – I got up and stretched a little before reaching for the Magatama in my pocket.

"Time to get the truth out of that girl…"

I left for the Defendant Lobby No.2 again, armed with a bag full of evidence. This time, I'd get her… I finally felt somewhat ready to take on this case and everyone related to it.

However, when I stepped into the Lobby, I knew that my luck had already left me again. I could spot neither my oh-so-decisive witness, nor Edgeworth. Except for a few bailiffs, nobody seemed to be here.

(Huh? Now, that's weird… where did he go?)

It was strange… Edgeworth was not the type of person to just break promises. Then again, he had said himself that his own preparations were still his first priority… Did something happen that required him to leave? I hadn't really been paying attention to what else went on in the hallway when Gumshoe and I went through the evidence…

I took a look around… the bailiffs looked rather nervous. Probably something happened while I was outside… Maybe something relevant to the Defence Team, explaining why Edgeworth left.

(Hm… That girl is not here either… with Edgeworth out of the way, she probably took the chance and bolted for the Cafeteria… Argh… I should probably go look for her ther-)

"…Huh!"

I had finally noticed the one person in here who was, obviously, not a guard or bailiff… A young woman with black hair was sitting at the table… I gulped.

Apparently, my 'Huh' had been quite loud, since she had noticed. She raised her head in surprise and turned it towards me. Then she froze.

" Oh! …Y-You…"

Hands to her mouth, Iris was staring at me with her unnaturally big, clear eyes.

"…"

It took her about five seconds of awkward silence between us before she finally turned her head down again. She quickly looked at the ground, trying not to move her eyes, resulting in her looking strangely tense. Every bystander who wasn't noticing my presence would have probably thought she had a weird obsession with the carpet.

I bit my lip.

('Ex-Girlfriend', huh?)

What a dumb situation. I had no idea what to do now. Not even a little clue. Quite a few years had passed since I had dated Iris, at least for me, and I also had absolutely no idea how to behave in front of a girl one just recently broke up with. Was I supposed to show remorse now or play some kind of egotistic jerk? The first option seemed better, yet I was kind of afraid of accidentally saying something wrong if I try to appear regretful… Not talking to her at all would have been a so much more pleasant idea, hadn't she already noticed my presence. Just walking away now was out of question…

Finally, I decided to approach her a few steps… One, two, three…

"Good… morning, Iris…"

She didn't turn towards me, but lowered her head even more.

"…"

At least she wasn't randomly screaming at me and attacking me with mysteriously convenient sports equipment. That was something.

"…You… don't so happen to know where Edgeworth is, do you…?" I asked carefully.

(Wait…This is the first thing I ask her? The only thing I could come up with? Wow. Fail.)

"…Mr. Edgeworth had to leave…" Iris whispered. "There was an emergency…"

"Emergency…?"

She stayed silent for a few moments, before she continued whispering.

"Because of his client… Miss Skye…"

"Lana… is there something wrong with her?" I asked worried.

"…"

Iris said nothing more, but she continued to stare at the floor. Somehow, the fact that she wasn't adding anything was giving me a very bad feeling… What did happen while I was busy?

"…What to do…?"

"Hm?"

I looked over to Iris… I was sure that she had said something just now. Finally, she continued talking.

"…What to do…" she whispered "…when the last one left to you is gone and you will never be able to see this person again? What to do when you want to hear this person's voice again and see this person's smile again, but are convinced it was impossible?..."

Iris slightly raised her head. She looked at me with a weak smile.

"I think… in a certain way… we Fey women can consider ourselves lucky. Because we know the truth. That the people we love are not lost once their lives come to their end. They will watch over us who stay behind and guide us. This is why I will always know that I am not alone… even if my sister… my aunt, my cousins and everybody pass away from this world. They will still be watching out for me and… and I'll always know that I don't need to follow them to be by their side..."

(Follow them…?)

Iris continued whispering.

"So I should probably consider myself the luckiest person in the world… Probably… I should probably be thankful for being what I am. But… But I am not... I hate it. I always hated it."

Iris paused. I could see her hands trembling:

"…What is behind the veil that separates us and them? I should know. I am… the next Master after all. But I don't know. I am so scared of it… And if those I love the most were to get lost behind that veil… I don't know if I would have the strength to search for them behind it. Even if I could…"

"Iris…"

She clutched her Kimono with her hands as her eyes turned a little wet.

"I… I wanted to help Miss Skye. I really wanted to help her to see her sister again… But I couldn't. I was too weak…"

(…Miss Skye? She tried to channel Ema?...)

What was this reminding me of? The way Iris kept talking herself down… Oh, right. Maya had acted the same, shortly before she first returned to Kurain after we became friends. She had failed to channel Mia several times in a row back then…

I came to wonder… for a Spirit Medium, who spent her whole life doing nothing else but training to channel the spirits of the dead… What must it be like for these girls to find that they are incapable of doing this one thing they had dedicated all their lifetime to?

"I… I am sorry." Iris suddenly said. She turned her head away from me. "What… What am I doing… I don't know why I am even talking about all of this… After all…"

Iris looked up to me again.

"Why should you be interested in what I say…? After all, you… you… Ah- I… I am sorry…I…actually, I shouldn't be here…"

Iris suddenly stood up. "I-I'll be leaving now…"

"Iris!

She stood still.

"Iris, wait! I…"

I approached her a few steps.

"I'll bring Dahlia and Mia back! I promise."

Iris waited a little, before she finally moved her head and looked at me.

"For whom?"

"…What…?"

Iris looked a little more confident now. A certain seriousness was on her face when she continued her question:

"For whom would you do this?…For yourself? Just so I will stay with you?"

"No." I answered. "So you and Maya get your sisters back! So you can actually smile again!"

"…!"

Iris seemed quite surprised by the answer. She blinked a few times, before she lowered her head a little again.

"…Are those words… coming from your heart? Or are they just what seemed the best thing to say for you at the moment?"

"…Iris…"

She took a deep breath and turned around again:

"I… I wish I could just trust your words…Feenie…but…"

"…I already lost your trust… right?"

"…"

I was surprised that I had actually been able to answer this. Iris, however, took a step towards the door. She stopped just once more… and raised her head, still not facing me. But I could clearly hear her words…

"Float far, float far,
far away my oath shall travel,
drown will, drown will,
those whose words are meaningless."

(A… song?)

After this, she went outside.

I was left behind a little dumbstruck. What had she meant to tell me by this? Was this supposed to have any… meaning for me?

I bit my lip, as the door closed behind Iris.

"Why did she even come here…?" I wondered aloud.

Loud enough for a bailiff, who passed by, to hear me:

"Oh, that girl just now? I think she's some kind of occult priestess or something. I heard the Defence hired her to get the Defendant to finally talk to her lawyer somehow. Didn't work out too well."

"Huh?" I turned towards the bailiff. "Why? What happened?"

"Dunno all the details, was just watching." He shrugged. "But somewhere along the way, the Defendant just stood up and left for the bathroom. A few minutes later, the guards caught her trying to strangle herself with her scarf there."

"She… WHAT?"

"Yeah, she probably hasn't got all too much faith in her lawyer, if she's already trying to go that route, right? I guess this will be one easy session for you, Mr. Wright."

I seriously hoped this guy was just joking. Judged by his face, however, he was not. I gulped.

(Lana… What are you doing, Lana?) I thought (Now they'll all think she did it for sure… Of course, that's what she wants… Darn it…)

"All the best in the trial, Mister Wright! I got work to do."

And the bailiff left the lobby.

I needed to sit down for a moment, so I chose the chair next to the one Iris had been sitting on and put my arms on the table. Just a few moments later, I noticed that I felt uncomfortable sitting straight up, so I started supporting my head with my right hand and sighed.

(Great… Just great… Two innocent women are in jail, Ema is dead, Maya hates me, Lana's as good as declared guilty, Iris is miserable, my witness is refusing to do anything cooperative whatsoever and I'm right in the middle of the whole mess as the great big jerk of everything. Not to forget that there are three sets of Psyche Locks that I haven't figured out how to break yet… And one of those is on me. Argh…)

Burying my hands in my hair, I finally let my head sink down to the table.

(Can it possibly get any worse?)

And that's when I heard it. The world's most annoying sound.

*SLAP*

Paired with world's most horrific voice. Well, almost.

"Is there anyone named 'Phoenix Wright' in this room?"

My head had already catapulted up from that eardrum-breaking sound, so there was no need for me to raise it. All that was left for me to do when I heard the voice was freeze and stare at the wall before me in horror, hoping that I didn't just hear who I thought I heard.

(I just had to ask, didn't I?…)

"Y-Yes, Miss… he's the one in the blue suit over there…"

"Thank you."

(No. No, I am not! Go away!)

I heard the steps. Obviously caused by someone wearing high heels. And the heels came closer and closer and…

"So, you are Prosecutor Phoenix Wright?"

"…"

I didn't budge an inch. I didn't even try to look at the person behind me. I knew all too well who it was and I did not want to interact with her. Not in any way possible on earth.

(Pretend you didn't hear her, Phoenix.) I thought. (There's a possibility that she doesn't know you. Maybe she'll think she found the wrong guy and lea-)

Well, of course, this wasn't the case, as I was about to find out.

*SLAP*

Pain. Pure 100% of concentrated pain pulsed through my back as the long string hit it with all force.

"OWW!"

"I demand you to listen to me when I'm talking!"

"OK, OK, I'm him! It's me!"

I turned around, rubbing my back, my eyes still closed from the pain. Actually, I didn't even need to open them. I knew who this was. There was only one person in the world that could enforce her will this way…

"Good. Of course, I knew that it must be you. I should probably tell you that I am never mistaken."

(The bailiff told you. Stop boasting.)

"Argh… now, what do you want…?" I asked, finally opening my eyes- Yes, it was her. No doubt. Not that this made anything better…

"…Franziska von Karma…"

Yes, there she was, the same blue hair, the same frilly outfit, the same… may god safe my pity soul… whip.

There was a satisfied smirk on her face when I looked at her. She was probably feasting on my pain…

"So, you have heard of me?"

Or on her reputation. Either goes.

"Uhm… yes… I…" I threw a quick glance on her whip. "…I guess I have…"

"Excellent! This saves time… Of course I had already expected you to know my name, but recognizing me on first glance… I see, you have a good taste when it comes to choosing role models!"

"Role… models…?" I needed a few moments to comprehend what she meant. "W-Wait! I am not your fan!"

"..You are not?"

"No, I am not!"

*SLAP*

"ARGH!"

Wrong answer. Obviously.

"If that is so…" Franziska had crossed her arms and was now clutching her sleeves… I knew what that meant. It meant that I had managed to severely displease her. I had to be more careful now, or I'd end up in hospital bruised from head to feet faster than I could say 'Incoming hurt". So I bit my lip and kept my mouth shout while she continued talking.

"… why is it that you requested me then?"

('Requested'…? You…?...) I had no idea what she meant… for approximately three seconds. Then it struck like lightning.

(…AH!)

"D-Don't tell me… you're the… the…Co… Cou…"

"Why are you shivering like a pile of dry leaves, Mr. Phoenix Wright?" she asked me, stretching out her hand dramatically. "I assure you that there is no need to be nervous. Looking at the facts, today's trial should be pure child's play to win. Just follow my instructions and I promise you that the judge will swing his gavel to announce the Guilty verdict in less than five minutes!"

"…"

My eyes were not at her face, not at her mouth or her eyes. They were at her whip. Just that long, godforsaken, suffering-inducing string on a wooden stick.

(Why her?) I asked myself, feeling how the sweat dropped down my forehead. (Why, of all the Prosecutors there are in this world, her? )

"You should know, I usually don't play babysitter for rookies, but I made an exception for you due to certain circumstances. You can feel honored now!"

(How are you even here? Shouldn't you be in… what do I know… Frankfurt or Munich or Baden or some other strange-sounding place I will never see with my own eyes in my life? …She has no reason to be here! I'm seeing through your scheme, destiny! Go away and screw with someone el-)

*SLAP*

"YIKES!"

My bruise collection expanded by one. By the end of this trial, I would probably qualify for Guinness World Records under the title "Most Bruises received within the time span of three days" at this rate.

"You are not listening to me, are you?" Franziska hissed at me, her eyes slanted. "What kind of foolish fool are you, to think you could just call in a Von Karma to support a rookie like you in your foolishly amateurish way of work and not appreciate them at all for actually accepting such a foolish plea? If you are even lacking the ability to listen to your elders properly, you should quit before you disgrace the whole Prosecutor's office with your foolishness!"

"…Actually, I am not a rookie." I told her, preparing to duck, in case she decided to randomly whip me for no apparent reason, which was more than likely.

Franziska's arms were still crossed.

"Oh? And why did you request my presence in the Prosecutor's stand during this trial then?

"Well, actually, that was…"

*SLAP*

I had finally managed to jump out of range before she hit me. Despite having asked the question, she didn't let me finish talking to answer it, she just whipped me. Apparently she had meant it rhetorically… or something…

"I see. You didn't expect me to be a woman and are now judging me by that fact… What a foolishly foolish way of thinking."

"I-I'm not biased against women! Actually, my own mentor is a-"

*SLAP*

Franziska grabbed the ends of her whip with her hands and angrily pulled on them:

"Don't talk until I'm finished!"

I decided to not move at all anymore. In fact, to do nothing except breathe.

"Mr. Phoenix Wright, I put my promising career in Germany on hold and came to this country for one sole reason… Revenge."

(Uhm…Déjà vu? Didn't you say almost the exact same thing when we first met… for real, I mean?)

"I will tell you right away: I only accept perfection in every way and will not allow an unimportant, little rookie like you to ruin everything! Do you understand?"

In fear of saying something that would cause her whipping reflexes to go off, I just silently nodded.

"Well, in any case…" Franziska let her arms down again. She seemed a lot calmer now. "…the trial should start soon, so we probably should waste no more time in this Defendant Lobby. You can indulge me on all details to this case while you make your final preparations."

"…"

(…I can't possibly explain to her that I need to talk to the witness again when Heatherd's testimony is nothing but one huge advantage for the prosecution… Darn…)

"We will be leaving now. Come."

Reluctantly, I stood up from my chair. Only now, that I was standing, I remembered how much taller than her I actually was, making me wonder why I had remained on the chair this whole time. This had made her seem even more intimidating to me than was necessary… Not that being above eye-level with her changed much. She still had the Karma-glare, the word 'fool' in her vocabulary and, most importantly… her whip.

I was not looking forward to having that whip next to me in the bench. Not in the least.

For some reason, I felt like having her on my side of the Courtroom was going to feel even worse than having her on the other side. For one: she was closer, and that would probably increase her whip's effect on me. Second, I couldn't even defend myself against her since she would now technically be trying to 'help' me, rather than hinder.

But 'help me', in this case, meant 'keeping her perfect score clean by ending this trial with a Guilty verdict at all cost' for sure. This was not good. How was I supposed to give Lana even a hint of chance with her trying to be found guilty and a Von Karma at my side? All I could do now was trust in Edgeworth's abilities as an Attorney… Actually, not a hard task. He was indisputably better than Franziska in a few ways. If both their skills were still at about the same level as I remembered them, it should work out… hopefully…

Lacking any other choice than to follow her, I was just about to go through the Lobby's door after Franziska, when somebody addressed me.

"Excuse me. Could you help me?"

"Hm?"

I turned around and faced a woman with black hair, holding a book. She smiled at me gently as she continued.

"I was searching for the Defendant Lobby No.2. Does this happen to be the right place?"

"Uhm…"

For some reason… the woman seemed familiar…

(Strange… I'm sure, I saw her before… but I'm not sure where…)

"…Yes, this is Lobby No. 2…"

"Really? Ah, this is good then. I feared I might have gotten lost… this building is so awfully huge."

"Excuse me… but who are you?"

I knew that just asking this question out of the blue wasn't exactly polite, but I needed to know now. My curiosity wouldn't let me sleep tonight otherwise.

The woman bowed when I asked her this.

"My name is Misty Fey, Sir." she told me.

"M-Misty Fey…!"

(Maya's and Mia's mother…! That where I knew her from!)

I looked at her face closely now. She wore her hair differently from when I had last seen her, this was probably why I hadn't recognized her right away. Only now that I met her with the knowledge of who she really was did I notice that she did, really, look quite a lot like Mia... They even had the same smile…

"And I am here…" she continued. "…because I want to testify to the court. As a witness."

"A… A witness?"

"Phoenix Wright!"

*SLAP*

I should probably inform you that before the sound of the whip hitting me, there was also the sound of the door swinging open with force and hitting the wall with way too much speed.

Franziska had apparently run out of patience.

"You will not be wasting my time any longer!" she shouted at me. "Do you understand me?"

"Yes, yes…"

*SLAP*

My reflexes were getting better. I had managed to escape her again.

Still, Mrs. Fey seemed quite shocked by Franziska's behavior. "Oh my…"

"And I don't accept half-hearted answers like the last one, Phoenix Wright!"

(Great. She dumped the 'Mister'. This means nothing good…)

Out of other options, I followed Franziska out of the room, but took one last glance at Mrs. Fey before I did…

…Misty Fey… when I had last seen her, she was Elise Deauxnim… the victim in a murder case which involved many members of her family…

But now she was alive… Alive and there for her daughters.

Come to think of it… All the time I had only thought about how much worse everything had become for me all of a sudden… Now I saw that there were also good changes, which I had completely missed out on thinking about till now. If Misty Fey was still alive… how many other people who had originally died were?

And also… Edgeworth was a Defence Attorney, like he had wished as a kid, and rid of his phobias and nightmares of DL-6.

Also, there was Mia… she had escaped the same fate as her mother had.

And Dahlia seemed to be a normal girl with normal desires…

Maybe for everything else that was worse… there was one thing that was better…?

The people who were alive now… Some of them would be gone again once everything went back to normal… right?

I led my conversation with Franziska in the Third Floor Lobby rather absentminded, but comprehendible enough to spare me any more whipping. My thought still with the now-alive Misty Fey, I explained the basics about the Evidence to Franziska von Karma, getting some rather satisfied smiles out of her in the process. Apparently, she saw this trial as good as won.

It wasn't long anymore until I heard the familiar words:

"Court will commence shortly. Please take your places in the courtroom."

Finally. The trial was starting.

I hadn't had another chance to interrogate Heatherd… But, for some reason, I still felt a little relieved. Only after a bit of thinking did I realize why. It was because Edgeworth had a witness.
Misty Fey would be there… testifying for Lana's innocence.

And now I wondered what she saw…

Court Record (Go to Author Profil to Check further on Evidence and Profils):

Evidence:

*) Prosecutor's Badge
I never thought I'd ever hold this in my hands. The design closely resembles the police's emblem.

*) Magatama
This gem allows me to see the locks on people's hearts whenever they hide the truth from me. It was a gift from Maya and is charged with Pearls' spiritual energy.

*) Photo of Iris
A picture of me and Iris in Kurain. Apparently we are still a couple here.

*) Cellphone
Compared to the Cellphone I usually use, this is high tech luxury. There are textmessages from Ema, Lana and Detective Gumshoe on it.

*) Suicide Note
Found near the unconscious Lana Skye.

*) Victim(?) Note
Reads "Lana" in red letters of blood.

*) Steel Samurai Cards
Some trading cards I confiscated. I didn't really look at them yet, but the writing on at least two of them is sparkling. They must be quite rare.

*) Snackoos Bag
Found near Ema. She was apparently eating them before she was killed. Imported from Europe.

*) Dart
A small, needle-like projectile, made for use with a tranquilizer gun. There are faint traces of blood on it. Found near the sofa.

*) Rope
Ripped. Apparently, Lana tried to hang herself with it. Something is weird about the rupture, but I can't quite point my finger at it.

*)Sketch
A picture of Maya, Pearls and me, drawn in my boredom. Note to self: Giving up the art studies was a good choice.

*)Autopsy Report
Victim died between 17:00 and 17:20 from massive blood loss after receiving a stab wound in the chest. The back of the head was bruised. Check for more details.

*)Crime Scene Photo 1
Check for details

*)Crime Scene Photo 2
Check for details

*)Crime Scene Photo 3
Check for details

*)Knife
The murder weapon. Was cleaned with soap after the crime, so there are no finger prints or bloodstains on it left. Belongs to the Defendant.

*)Fingerprint List
Lists the people who touched the door's handle. Check for details

*)Badge
One of the three Badges Ema wore on her labcoat. It came off before she died. The needle is bloody and crooked.

Profiles:

*) Phoenix Wright
I have been a Defense Attorney for three years now. However, it seems like recently everyone seems to disagree with me regarding this topic…

*) Miles Edgeworth
An old school friend of mine. Apparently, he's a renowned Defense Attorney here. The "Him" I remember, on the other hand, was an extremely talented, but arrogant Prosecutor.

*) Maya Fey (MAYOI)
Famous pop idol "MAYOI" and member of a Fey branch-family. In my memory, she was a Spirit Medium and served as my assistant and co-council in many of my cases.

*) Mia Fey
Maya's older sister and a detective. Currently under arrest for attempted murder. I remember her being my mentor as a Defense Attorney and murdered shortly after my very first trial.

*) Iris Fey
Maya and Mia's cousin, Dahlia's twin and hire to the master title of Kurain in this 'world'. Recently broke up with 'me'. Unhappy with her occupation as a Spirit Medium.

*) Dahlia Fey
Maya's and Mia's cousin and Iris's identical twinsister. Was the coldblooded killer 'Dahlia Hawthorne' in the world I remember, but declared guilty for a crime she didn't commit alongside Mia in this one.

*) Ema Skye
The victim. A teenager, who was dreaming of becoming a forensic investigator one day. I once investigated in a case alongside her, and even here she seemed to have a rather close friendship with me.

*) Lana Skye
The Defendant. The victim's older sister and Chief Prosecutor. Due to a weird twist of fate, she somehow took the place of my mentor in Mia's stead in this "world".

*) Dick Gumshoe
Still a detective of the local police force. Still as underpaid as ever.

*) Klavier Gavin
Leadsinger and Guitarist of a Band called "Gavinners". Apparently also a lawyer. His name rings a bell, but I can't remember where I first met him.

*) Lilie Heatherd
A Defence Attorney known as the "Evidence Spammer". Claims to have witnessed Ema and Lana entering the Apartment shortly before the murder.

*)Franziska von Karma
Prosecutor Prodigy from Germany, who was assigned to aid me during this trial. She enjoys whipping lawyers, judges and witnesses alike and strives for absolute perfection in her trials.

*)Misty Fey
Talented Spirit Medium and mother to Mia and Maya Fey. Claims to be a witness for this trial.

I love this Chapter. It just flowed so easily when I wrote it and I had great fun imagining all the scenes. Phoenix takes a lot of beating in this chapter (in more than one sense of the word) and, seeing how the trial is about to start, this not going to change anytime soon.

Franziska von Karma did not originally have a role in this fanfic, since I didn't know how to integrate her into the story, but then, suddenly, out of the blue, I came up with a possibility how to use her and all the use ends just tied up. Now, she is just as important to the plot as every other character. She's, however, mostly there to add the tension of having a 'real' prosecutor on board since, be honest, would a battle between two Defense Attorneys trying to defend the same woman really be that interesting?

It's similar with Misty Fey, who wasn't supposed to show up that soon originally as well, but I eventually decided that I needed her here, as well as Iris.

As for that short song Iris sung, I'd try to remember it if I were you. It will come up again later.

As for Lilie's description as an Attorney, I wanted to make her seem like someone to be taken serious, but still not really on par in term of real skills with our canon characters. 2 Prodigies (Phoenix, Miles) was believable. 3 Prodigies (Plus Franzy) was BUYABLE. Once Klavier rolled in, things got weird and Wallbangerish.

I wanted to avoid worsening this situation, so I deliberately made Lilie a trickster, rather than a genius.

Just a random fact at this point: I do have a habit of picking Anime-style Opening and Ending songs for any story I play, read or write myself. For this fanfic, those two would be "Unchain World" by "Nana Mizuki" and "Flow" (or: "Over/Flow") by "School Food Punishment" both of the songs fit certain aspects of my fanfic in parts of their lyrics, as well as music and I already have animations accompanying them in my head. Yes, that's what kind of huge nerd I am. Sal Manella would be proud of me… I guess…

Anyway, "Unchain World" and "Flow". Awesome songs. Inspired a lot of this story. Check them out.