DISCLAIMER: Phoenix Wright/Gyakuten Saiban is the property of Capcom. This is a non-profit tribute to the games we've come to love.
A/N: It's another character developing chapter! And even though it's so far into the story, it's one of my favorites. You get to see all four main characters (and the OC murder suspect) act in a situation where they easily settle into their roles. We see an intelligent, conceited Edgeworth; a sarcastic and mature Phoenix; a hot-headed and confused Apollo; a somewhat carefree but responsible Klavier. They're all there, confused, angry, but most of all tired, just like Ned Munny, of "all the fighting, the killing and the lying".
So really, what else is there to write about now that the main conflict of the story has been resolved? I suppose you have to stick around and find out for yourselves! I promise you a couple more surprises, intensity and twists for the upcoming finale of this project I've come to enjoy so much.
Please review and enjoy. I hope you have as much fun reading it as I did writing it!
This ain't no place for no hero,
This ain't no place for no better man.
This ain't no place for no hero
to call home.
No Place for a Hero
Chapter 21 – A Stupid World
May 6, 7:52 AM
Defendant Lobby No.3
District Courthouse
"Hey, Edgeworth. Glad you could make it."
"I wouldn't have missed this for the world, Wright; although I am usually the one who makes people squeal like butchered pigs."
"Oh? Are you taking pride in that now?"
"Heh! The pot calling the kettle black. –wait. What's the matter with Justice's eye?"
"…long story, Mr. Edgeworth. Long story."
For all Ned Munny cared, he was hearing ghosts. They were supposed to be communicating with one another, but their chatter was no different than laughter, spirits laughing at his broken pride, the acceptance of his worst mistake. As the ghosts in the room finally took the shape of people, he remembered passing out after hearing a blood-curdling scream, a scream that had been his.
The unfortunate guard coughed a dry cough and straightened himself, suddenly feeling a wet, reeking smear over his cheek; he had drooled while unconscious, just like some kind of inbred monster, he thought. Given the horrible things he had done –regardless of the motive-, that's probably what he was.
Phoenix Wright greeted the murderer while he wiped his face with his shirt.
"Welcome back." the attorney said plainly.
Ned failed to interpret that tone as resentful and only grunted in response. Meanwhile, the other two attorneys in the room, Apollo Justice and some guy doing Victorian cosplay, silently looked on. The latter then decided to introduce himself.
"Greetings, Mr. Munny. My name is Miles Edgeworth. I'm the prosecutor in charge of Alice's Peabody's murder case."
Edgeworth was polite enough, but he didn't offer a handshake. Ned wouldn't have responded anyhow; he was handcuffed and his hands were dirty with spit.
The prosecutor cleared his throat a little and eyeballed the two defense attorneys.
"Am I to understand that you have spoken with your defense counselors?"
Ned's insides turned like the knob on a door, the resulting emotional pain being just as sharp. He could only do so much to escape the truth of what he had done.
His voice came out exhausted: "Yeah. I have."
"Good." Edgeworth nodded. His voice and demeanor were professional and procedural. Ned might as well have been talking to a computer. "Are you ready to write an affidavit confessing to all of your crimes, such as your participation in the bank heist, your participation in a conspiracy to murder an officer of the law, obstruction of justice and the murder charge itself?"
Ned had no rebuttal against that list of crimes. Not anymore. He was tired, so very tired of the fighting, the killing and the lying.
"Yeah. Whatever. I'll sign any papers you want."
Edgeworth turned to face the defense attorneys. All three huddled momentarily.
"Have you told this man the benefits of confessing to his crime?" the prosecutor asked.
Apollo rolled his visible eye. "I…"
Phoenix smirked and looked away nervously.
The frilly prosecutor suddenly felt like taking both of these men's heads and smashing them together like coconuts.
"You imbeciles! Did you just badger this man until he snapped? Are you no better than schoolyard bullies?"
Nick shrugged candidly. "He started it?"
"One day I swear you'll make me blow a gasket, Wright…"
Ned quirked an eyebrow. "Is everything alright over there?"
"—Yes." the prosecutor turned immediately, although he glanced back at the defense counselors with some kind of unspoken death wish. He tugged at his cravat and held his hands on his back. "On behalf of the state and the judge you will soon be facing, I would like to extend my gratitude for your cooperation. While your crimes are indeed heinous and worthy of capital punishment, your admission of responsibility remains nonetheless commendable."
"Huh?"
Edgeworth stammered. "Y-yes? What is it?"
"English, buddy." Ned leaned forward. "Can you speak it for me?"
Apollo and Phoenix both held back a fit of laughter, the older attorney mouthing the words "Now you deal with him" at Edgeworth. The prosecutor made a face –more like a scowl, actually- to hide his embarrassment before continuing.
"…of course. In exchange for your confession, the prosecutor's office is willing to accommodate a determined number of privileges regarding your sentence."
"So it's a plea bargain. You should've started there." Ned replied, losing any enthusiasm in his voice (if that was possible at this rate). "There ain't much you can do for me now, tho'. Hanged or not, I'm as good as dead the second I step in prison."
"Don't jump to conclusions yet." Edgeworth showed Ned a haughty smirk. "The prosecution will not object to the acquittal of your original murder charge; thus you will be cleared of any and all suspicion regarding the killing of Viola Cadaverini. Is that not good enough?"
Ned blinked. It made sense. Almost.
"Wait. Then what about the bank heist deal? What about that detective girl?"
Apollo flinched from afar. That was still a fresh wound.
"If you cooperate with the organized crime bureau and give us the names of those who participated in both operations," Edgeworth explained. "we will ensure your safety as well as your family's. Likewise, we will make sure to place you in a maximum security wing. No harm shall come to you under our watch."
Really? It couldn't be that good. Ned kept thinking about it. There had to be an angle there, a catch. Something.
And there was. Edgeworth next statement made it clear. His voice was stern, cold, unfeeling.
"I would like to make it clear, Mr. Munny, that this state is not one to go soft on killers. You will be awarded no less than capital punishment for your crimes. You will be forced to serve a sentence of no less than twenty five years with no right to an appeal, but I will personally see to it that the minister of justice foregoes signing your execution. Once your mandatory time is up…" Edgeworth breathed a deep sigh. "the prosecution will not object to a request for parole. We do not condone murder in any form, or for any reason, but upon reviewing your case and the circumstances in which the crime was committed, I am personally willing to concede to the fact that you were not of sound mind at the time you murdered Ms. Peabody."
Ned's face turned peaceful. He wasn't feeling comfortable being handled all these privileges without being reminded, funnily enough, that he was scum. Scum had to go to prison and be miserable.
"Okay." he said. "Bring me a paper and a pen and I'll write whatever you need."
"Fair enough. My assistant will come shortly to talk you through the proceedings before we go to court. Until then, let's get that affidavit and wait for your original prosecutor to review it." Edgeworth signaled Apollo with his chin. "Justice?"
Apollo was across the room, resting his back on the wall while shooting daggers at Ned with just one eye. The fact that he was wearing the medical eyepatch made his stare that more menacing.
The prosecutor called his name again.
"Coming." he answered drolly. He walked over to his satchel and quickly procured the items Ned requested. The young attorney stormed out of the room as soon as they changed hands.
Edgeworth placed the red pen and legal pad in front of Ned Munny while his eyes traced the Apollo's sudden exit. Phoenix was right behind him, cautiously following.
"I'll be right back, Miles." he said before closing the door right behind him.
The prosecutor understood that both partners had something important to discuss and asked no further questions. Instead, he left them to their business.
May 6, 7:58 AM
Second Floor Hallway
District Courthouse
Klavier Gavin walked towards Defendant's Lobby No.3 with some documents in tow, all carried neatly under his arm. He wasn't humming a tune nor carrying his usual friendly disposition. In so many words, he was in a terrible mood. His latest case had taken a turn for the worst; last night he almost lost one of his best detectives, even if Ema Skye didn't believe that much herself. And for the first time since their professional relationship began, the prosecuting rockstar wondered if he was to blame for that.
Just as soon as this sobering thought struck his mind, a clearly upset Apollo Justice nearly burst out of the defendant lobbies. He was headed straight towards Prosecutor Gavin.
"I gotta talk to you, Klavier."
Klavier rolled his tongue against his gums. He didn't like the tone Apollo was taking with him.
"What's with the eye, Herr Forehead?"
"Nevermind the eye." then Apollo said: "Answer my question."
"No guten tag? No friendly greeting?"
Apollo insisted. "Drop the crap! I said answer my question!"
Klavier chuckled. "What question? You haven't asked anything!"
Phoenix Wright was hot on Apollo's tail, and he had arrived to the confrontation just in the nick of time it appeared. He sensed the budding hostility between the two young men and kept them apart with the full length of his arms.
"Alright. That's enough, both of you. You're not thinking straight. I say we chill out."
"No. I'm good." Apollo said in a calmer voice, gently removing Phoenix's hand away from his chest. He ignored his senior and went straight to the point. "Did you know all this time?"
"What? Excuse me?"
"Look me in the eye and tell me you didn't know Ned Munny was guilty of murder."
Phoenix huffed in exasperation. "Oh, for the love of—"
"It's my job to find people guilty… Herr Justice. It's my job to suspect them." Klavier furrowed his youthful brow into a seldom seen frown. Then he took an invasive step forward. "You should know that better than anyone. Or are you telling me I intentionally risked a valuable member of our police force based on a hunch, because I clearly don't do my job well enough?"
"You knew about the loan contracts way before I did!" Apollo pointed accusatorily. "You knew about Ned Munny and the Cadaverinis! You could've done something!"
Klavier's nostrils flared and his eyes were open wide, but Phoenix interceded before things got really out of hand.
"Come on, Apollo! That's enough!" then he signaled the prosecutor. "You too, Klavier. You need to see Edgeworth, don't you?"
Klavier had no ears for Phoenix. He stood still as a statue, staring right at Apollo, or through him.
"Don't you?" Phoenix repeated.
Moments later, Klavier Gavin headed straight into the defendant's lobby Apollo had just left, walking a strong, upset gait. Both defense attorneys were now left alone in the hallway, observed closely by the bailiff keeping watch there. He would have stepped in had things escalated further.
Phoenix watched Apollo as he slumped on a bench close to a snack machine.
"Apollo…" he commenced, gesturing towards the lobby with both hands. "what the hell was that? What did Klavier do to deserve it?"
"Nothing, okay!" Apollo admitted in a fit of frustration. "He did nothing. He didn't deserve it. I'll apologize to him later, when he's not pissed anymore."
Nick rubbed the bridge of his nose.
"We talked about this last night, Apollo. I thought we had accepted the fact that none of us could have seen this coming. Not you, not me, Edgeworth or Klavier."
"Yeah. We did." Apollo furrowed his brow and his voice broke a little. "But that was before realizing I almost got Detective Skye killed, okay? Jesus!"
Phoenix sighed, sympathizing with Apollo's plight.
"Look, Apollo." he said as he joined him in the bench. "The one thing you are guilty of is believing in your client. You did what you were supposed to as a defense attorney."
"And I almost got a friend killed because of it."
"But you didn't make the phone call, alright? You didn't call the hit on Ema." Phoenix retorted immediately, using the detective's first name for emphasis, perhaps. "And that's enough. That's the last I want to hear about it from you. Okay?"
"…Yeah, okay."
Phoenix gave himself a minute to relax, a moment he hoped Apollo would take advantage of as well.
"Look." said the older attorney. "Remember last night, when I talked to you about learning what it meant to truly defend someone?"
Apollo nodded, lazily fixing the eyepatch.
"I'm afraid this is it." Phoenix pronounced unceremoniously. "Even if your client is guilty, and you know in your heart that this is true, it's your job to defend him… to save him from himself. Ned had to come to terms with what he had done, Apollo, or he wouldn't have been able to live with himself; even worse, he'd have done it again and again, non-stop. You saved him from a kind of darkness a lot of people meet but seldom escape from."
The younger attorney threw his head back and closed his eyes, as if shifting positions would help him digest the bittersweet truth.
"Do you understand that, 'Pollo?"
Apollo sighed.
"Not really."
Phoenix smirked and gave him two friendly pats on the knee.
"You'll get there. And when you do, you're gonna be great. You're gonna be the best, you hear?"
At least you'll get farther than I did, was Phoenix Wright's sentiment that precise moment.
Apollo slid two fingers underneath his patch and began to rub at his eye. It continued to hurt pretty bad.
"What a stupid world." he thought out loud, with a dry sense of humor not unlike his boss'.
A stupid world, indeed. However, the attorneys know it is still worth fighting for!
Next chapter: The trial of Ned Munny! One final, dramatic twist awaits!