Date-December 16, 12:00 AM
Location- Courtroom No. 3
"The court room will come to order!"
The general rumble of voices died to a silence, broken every now and then by someone coughing or clearing their throat. Trucy rocked nervously in her seat, swinging her legs in tight circles. Phoenix placed a hand on her knee, and her legs stopped.
The courtroom looked the same as it always had, with the judge's bench situated in the center of the space and the two attorney's benches running out opposite to each other. The walls were paneled with a warm, coppery maple, and the wall mounted lighting created a friendly atmosphere.
It felt strange to be looking at the room from such a different angle. Athena glanced sideways at Phoenix, curious to see if he was feeling the same way she was. He was staring dead ahead with a blank expression, but his leg was tapping up and down a mile a minute. Athena smiled to herself, finding solace in the fact that she wasn't the only one who was nervous.
"Would the prosecution please make their opening statement? Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth, please go ahead."
Edgeworth cleared his throat loudly and squared his shoulders. He pressed his glasses up on his nose, something Athena had noticed to be a habit of his, and picked up one of his neat stacks of paper.
"On December 13th, Mr. Justice was reported missing from his hospital room. Shortly afterwards, a threatening text was sent to the cell phone of Miss. Athena Cykes. A police search of the area turned up security footage, as well as video from a neighbor that showed a van parked outside the clinic at the time of Mr. Justice's kidnapping. Later the same day, a van matching the description of the one seen at the clinic was spotted and followed to the police station. After officers there heard a gunshot, the building was searched and Mr. Justice was discovered in the basement, heavily injured. Mr. Bobby Fullbright was apprehended after he attempted to flee the station, with Mr. Justice's blood splattered on his clothes." He glanced up from his papers, his eyes boring into the defense attorney's across from him. "Not to mention the fact that Mr. Justice himself survived to implicate Bobby Fullbright as his captor."
The Judge was silent for a moment, his eyes wide. He blinked a few times, then scratched his beard, shaking his head in dismay. "How terrible…" He said quietly. "To think someone would do such a thing. Thank you Prosecutor Edgeworth, you may call your first witness."
The defense attorney swallowed nervously, and adjusted his tie.
"Your honor, my first witness is Apollo Justice himself." A murmur rolled through the gallery, like a wave of uneasiness. Phoenix closed his eyes and rolled his shoulders as if they were sore. Trucy's legs started spinning again, and her hands cupped against her cheeks as if she intended to plug her ears.
"He'll be alright." Athena whispered, though she was nearly sick with anticipation herself.
"If you'll just bear with me, the witness is wheelchair bound due to his injuries. I'll bring him over." At a nod from the judge, Edge worth sidestepped the bench and strode quickly over to the velvet rope that lead to where witnesses usually waited. His footsteps echoed loudly as every head in the gallery turned to watch him.
The gallery where Athena, Trucy and Phoenix sat was raised above the courtroom, giving them a bird's eye view of the proceedings. However, this meant that there was a rather large blind spot as people or objects were obscured as they moved towards the wall that formed the front of the gallery.
The witness waiting area was one of those blind spots. Athena craned her neck as Edgeworth disappeared from view, floating up off her seat in an attempt to catch a glimpse of Apollo. Phoenix cupped a hand over her shoulder and pushed her back down with nothing but a slightly amused smile.
Athena frowned. She had wanted to catch Apollo's eyes and give him a thumbs up before he actually testified, just to remind him that they were all there supporting him. Her right hand was already in position, and she let her thumb fall as she swallowed her nervousness.
Trucy shook her shoulder and pointed as Edgeworth came back into view, pushing Apollo in his wheelchair. "Look, look! There he is!" She whispered excitedly. Then she cupped her hand around her mouth into a megaphone shape, drawing in a large breath of air, obviously intending to cheer loudly.
Athena slapped her leg and shushed her with a frantic finger to her lips. "Shhh! This isn't a sporting rally Trucy! We have to be quiet!"
"That's no fun..." Trucy pouted dejectedly, but she let her hands fall and remained silent.
Athena let out a breath and turned back towards the courtroom. She'd missed the approach, Edgeworth was already swinging Apollo's chair to a halt just in front of the witness stand. Keeping a hand on the chair, Edgeworth locked the chairs wheels so it wouldn't roll, then bent over and said something to Apollo that even Athena, with her extraordinary hearing, couldn't pick up. Apollo seemed to nod, and Edgeworth gave him a final pat on the shoulder before he moved away, returning to the prosecutors bench.
Beside her, Athena heard Phoenix swallow loudly before settling forward, steepling his fingers and balancing his elbows on his knees. She ignored him, instead focusing in on Apollo. He was sitting incredibly strait, shoulders square to the judge, unmoving. It almost looked like he was holding his breath. As Athena watched, his left hand crept up to scratch the back of his neck, the way it always did when he was nervous.
Athena screwed up her face against the wash of anxiety, sympathy, and good old adrenaline that coursed through her. Puffing out her cheeks, she sent a few dozen prayers down to him, hoping he didn't pass out or throw up or something before the trial could finish. You got this Apollo, she thought as she stared intensely at the back of his head, you can do this.
"Jesus Athena, don't light him on fire."
Athena turned, ready to give her boss the chewing out of a lifetime, but the judge's voice brought an enhanced silence over the room.
"Mr. Justice," He said slowly, "Before we begin, I'd like to make it known that you have my utmost sympathy for what you have been through. I admire the courage it takes for you to stand in this courtroom and testify so soon after everything that has happened." The judge's face was serious but calm, his mouth obscured by the familiar bushy beard. His voice had a friendly quality to it, to Athena it was almost calming.
"Thank you your honor. It means a lot to hear that."
Athena sucked in air over her teeth at the sound of Apollo's voice, her stomach flip flopping. She knew he was nervous, but his voice betrayed just how nervous he actually was. While to someone else it might have sounded normal, relaxed even, Athena didn't even need Widget to pick up the underlying tremor that betrayed his composure. However, there was a tiny twitch of something else that she couldn't quite identify, something that worried her the more she thought about it. Her finger went to her earlobe reflexively, but, finding only empty space, curled back against her palm.
"He'll be ok Athena." Trucy whispered, rocking on her haunches to be closer to her. "Remember, he's got us on his side!" She smiled cutely, flicking her own earlobe pointedly. Athena smiled back and nodded, but didn't honestly feel any better. Phoenix looked at the two girls out of the corner of his eye with an eyebrow raised, not moving from his hunched position.
"Well. With that said, please go on ahead with your testimony Mr. Justice." The judge swept his hand outwards, bobbing his head at the same time as a signal for Apollo to begin.
Edgeworth's eyes flicked up to the gallery for a split second before landing back on Apollo.
Apollo cleared his throat loudly, a wet sounding cough that made Phoenix and Athena flinch simultaneously. Trucy closed her eyes and began whispering something, but Athena wasn't listening to her. Her full attention was on Apollo.
Apollo turned something in his fingers, then clenched his fist, took a deep breath, and began.
"On December 12th, Bobby Fullbright abducted me from my hospital room. He drugged me, tied me up… Once, I woke up and he was kneeling over me, shoving a phone in my face. When I tried to speak, he dropped a knee into my sternum, fractured four of my ribs and punctured my lung. I couldn't breathe. I was a bargaining chip to him, not a person. He beat me to within an inch of my life, and when he felt the noose tighten, he tried to get rid of me by shooting me in the gut and leaving me to bleed out." Apollo's head swiveled towards the defense. Though Athena couldn't see his face, she was sure that he was staring into the eyes of the attorney, almost daring him to prove him wrong. "I fully believe that he intended to kill me from the very beginning." He said flatly.
Apollo's words hung in the air for what seemed like an impossibly long time, as no one spoke, no one breathed. Athena felt herself shiver as he finished. His voice was so cold, so hard, and yet swirling with so many conflicting emotions it made her slightly nauseous.
He was still nervous, still afraid, but now those emotions were dwarfed by something else, something much stronger. Anger, an icy malice dripped from every word he spoke, making the hair stand up on the back of her neck. She'd never heard hatred like that, from anyone in her entire life. She blinked, realizing that her hand had risen to touch Widget. She swallowed dryly and tucked her hands tightly between her knees.
Hang in there, Apollo, she thought. Hang in there.
The judge blinked a few times, his eyes wide, then shook his head slowly. "My word." He said under his breath. Then, clearing his throat and blinking again, he turned to the defense. "Mr. Ogino, he's all yours."
A rustle rose and fell across the gallery as heads swiveled and people adjusted in their seats, attention moving from the prosecution to the defense. The defense attorney wasn't young, he had a well-kept goatee and looked comfortable enough in the courtroom. His dark hair was slicked back in a sweeping curve from his forehead, a shock of blonde streaking back from his temple. Athena stared at him, looking him up and down in an attempt to get a read on him. His suit was cool and suave, but she could see the beads of sweat on his forehead from all the way up in the gallery. She didn't even have to hear his voice to know just how terrified he was.
Athena glanced at Phoenix in her peripheral, curious as to what he thought of the nervous man. Phoenix was still sitting forward, his elbows on his knees, but he now wore an amused smile, his chin resting on the palm of his hand.
Ogino swept up the papers in front of him, tapping the stack against the desk and clearing his throat at the same time. "Mr. Justice, I am truly sorry for what happened to you." He said quickly, as if he was prefacing something. His voice was deeper than Athena had expected. She giggled internally, realizing that she'd imagined him with a squeaky mouse voice.
"Mr. Justice you say that Bobby Fullbright was the one who abducted you?" Ogino continued. "Did you ever see his face, directly?"
"Yes I did." Apollo's answer was abrupt, coming seconds after Ogino's last word.
Athena sighed, stiffened. He was expecting that question.
Ogino nodded silently, rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet. "Mmm Hmm. Did he speak to you, did he ever tell you why he would do something like that?"
Apollo's head angled towards his injured arm, turning just enough that Athena could see a sliver of his face. His expression was tight, held back. His eyes were closed, and his shoulders rose and fell as he took a deep breath. Athena swallowed thickly. She knew exactly what it felt like. To have everything about you questioned, analyzed.
"He told me that he was responsible for the murder of Clay Terran. He needed to stop the investigation into his death because he knew it would lead to him in the end. I was a ransom, basically." Apollo shrugged to emphasize his point.
Ogino blinked. "You said he was Clay Terran's murderer?" He stammered, clearly surprised. That revelation hadn't been covered in the opening statement, and clearly Ogino hadn't heard anything about it. His eyes flicked over to Edgeworth, who was standing calmly behind the prosecutions bench with his arms folded, his finger tapping against his forearm. He smiled and waved his hand silently, gesturing for Ogino to continue.
"That's what he told me." Apollo repeated, his voice slightly less controlled. Athena noticed the muscle in his neck work as he clenched and unclenched his jaw.
Ogino's mouth hung open for a moment, his eyebrows slightly raised. His hands were frozen on his sheaf of papers. He looked confused as to what to ask next, completely hung up on Apollo's words. Trucy giggled beside Athena, pulling her knees up and bracing her heels on the edge of her seat.
"Mr. Ogino. Are you going to continue, or shall I go ahead and declare a verdict?" The judge sounded genuinely annoyed at the attorneys seeming lack of preparation.
"O-Of course, I apologize your honor!" Ogino's shoulders prickled upwards, and he reshuffled his stack of papers. He turned back to Apollo, a nervous smile playing across his lips. "Mr. Justice, you said that you were drugged? How did you know that?"
"I felt very groggy, lightheaded. It was very hard to stay awake." Apollo replied.
"Mmm Hmmm. Mr. Edgeworth, did the tox screen confirm this?"
"Yes. The police found ketamine in his IV, and a very faint trace of it in his blood stream." Edgeworth answered, without even looking down at his neatly organized papers. Athena smiled, impressed with his level of preparation.
"Thank you Mr. Edgeworth. So, if Mr. Justice here was under the influence of drugs during the event, even if it wasn't by his own doing, couldn't it be said that his testimony is unreliable?"
A rumble of sound went up in the gallery as everyone reacted to the accusation. Athena leapt to her feet in a fit of indignation, fully prepared to hurl an insult down at the attorney. She felt her face grow hot, frustration boiling up from within. How dare he! How dare he not believe him, after everything! Beside her, Trucy made a sound like she was about to explode.
Once again, Phoenix sat her back down by pulling her wrist until his hand was flat on top of hers on the bench. She whipped her head around to face him, mouth open, holding her free hand out in protest. The look on his face tore at her heart.
His expression was pained, twisted with understanding. "Athena, trust me, this is killing me just as much as it's killing you, but he has to fight his own battles here." He whispered desperately, squeezing her hand and flashing an anxious smile. "He knows we're here. He knows we believe in him. You two have done the best you can for him." He flicked his fingers towards Athena's unadorned earlobe. Athena blushed, sucking in her lower lip in embarrassment. Phoenix smiled knowingly. "Good luck charms help, they really do. Especially when they're from good friends."
"Order in the gallery please!" The judge boomed, drawing attention back to the courtroom floor. Athena jerked a lock of hair back behind her ear angrily, then turned back to glare daggers at the defense attorney. Trucy reached out and grabbed a hold of Athena's hand, squeezing it tightly. Athena squeezed back.
"Mr. Ogino, are you leveling an accusation against a witness?" The judge continued, raising an eyebrow at the attorney.
"All I'm saying is that Mr. Justice may not remember the events correctly because he was drugged!" Ogino seemed to be growing more and more confident, as his stuttering was becoming less and less frequent, and his voice louder and stronger. As he spoke, he shrugged his shoulders and held up his hand like it was obvious.
Athena ground her teeth to keep herself from shouting out. She was boiling, but she wasn't nearly as mad as Apollo. Even though she couldn't see his face, his head was bowed forward slightly and his hand was resting on the armrest of the chair, clenched into a fist so tight his fingers were white. A tendon in his neck was taught, his jaw clenched. He hadn't spoken in a while, and Athena got the feeling it was because he had nothing nice to say.
"Mr. Ogino, I really don't care if you find Mr. Justice credible or not." Edgeworth said curtly. Phoenix seemed to perk up a little bit, and Trucy drew a sharp breath at the sound of his voice.
Ogino flinched visibly. The judge blinked a few times, and raised his eyebrows, but didn't say anything.
"I'm not about to stand idly by while you hurl unfounded accusations at the only firsthand witness in this entire case, not to mention the victim of a terrible crime. The thing is Mr. Ogino, this is a court of law," Edgeworth crossed his arms, tucking his hands tightly against his sides and leaning back on his heels. He angled his jaw upwards, looking down at Ogino along his nose. His expression dripped with contempt. "You can't just say whatever pops into your head. You need proof. Evidence." He picked up one of his stacks of paper and slapped it back down on the desk. "Like this." He said with a smile.
Phoenix whistled quietly and tapped his fingertips together, rocking forward in his seat. "Here it comes." His face split into a wide grin. Trucy giggled with excitement and pedaled her feet in front of her.
"Edgy's in the zone!" She whispered, shaking Athena's hand spastically.
Edgeworth pressed his palm down on the stack and swept in an arc, spreading the papers evenly across the wooden surface of the desk. "The blood found on Fullbright's clothes belonged to Mr. Justice. The rifling on the bullet recovered from Mr. Justice's body matched Fullbright's gun. The reflection in the security footage recovered from the clinic matched Fullbright's image. Fullbright was documented driving the van that was used to abduct Mr. Justice." He glanced up over his glasses. "Should I go on?"
Ogino recoiled as if he'd been slapped. He opened and closed his mouth dumbly, like a fish out of water gasping for air.
"That's just-"
"OBJECTION!" Edgeworth slammed his hand down on the desk, scattering the papers with the air that came off his fingers. The judge twitched in surprise. "Do you or do you not have a single shred of proof that Bobby Fullbright wasn't the one kidnapped and tortured this young man?!"
"Hold it Edgeworth! The most basic principle of the court system is that defendants are innocent until proven guilty, not the other way around!" Ogino lashed back, leaning forward over the desk as the conversation grew more and more heated.
"I have proven him guilty! I have shown you overwhelming proof that he is responsible for this crime. You haven't been able to provide a sufficient explanation for any of it, and instead all you've been doing is questioning the credibility of my witness? Really?" Edgeworth was shouting now. Athena watched in fascination, she'd never seen Edgeworth so heated before.
There was an awkward silence. Ogino bit his tongue, unsure of how to respond. The air in the room felt heavy, pressing down on the back of everyone's necks. People shifted uncomfortably in their seats all across the gallery. Athena's heart pounded against her ribs so loudly she could have sworn Phoenix could hear it in the silence.
"Your Honor, may I say something?"
Athena gasped in surprise, then clapped a hand over her mouth. Trucy let go of her hand with a soft "Oh". Apollo's voice rang out in the courtroom unexpectedly, calm and clear. It was strangely unreadable to Athena, like murky water. Though the surface was smooth, she couldn't see into it's depths. Hair prickled up her arms, and she felt a shiver blast up her spine.
"Mr. Justice," The judge smiled softly. "Please go ahead."