Chapter 6: John Phoenix Becomes Psychic and Experiences Loss
The day following the night of his mother's murder (which he still didn't know about), John Phoenix was in the Wright Anything Agency showing off his nascent psychic powers to his uncle Phoenix Wright.
"Watch," said John Phoenix. He set a plastic water bottle on the coffee table. John Phoenix's uncle Phoenix Wright sat on his desk with his legs and arms crossed and watched skeptically. Surely his nephew couldn't have psychic powers?
John Phoenix stood about 1 foot away for the water bottle. He moved his hands through the air toward the bottle very quickly and the bottle fell over, even though he didn't actually touch the bottle.
Phoenix Wright's jaw dropped and he uncrossed his legs. John Phoenix smiled. "See, Uncle Phoenix?" John Phoenix said. "I have developed psychic powers since my first trial. I can knock over bottles by moving my hands in the air, without touching the bottle, as long as I am standing close enough to the bottle. I believe my psychic powers will grow more powerful as I continue to practice knocking over bottles everyday."
"Come now, John Phoenix!" replied his uncle Phoenix Wright. He was scared of his nephew's newfound psychic powers and wanted to explain them away. "Surely you don't have psychic powers. There must be some logical explanation for all of this." There wasn't. It was just psychic powers. Though perhaps one day psychic powers would be considered part of logic. John Phoenix smirked even greater.
"If you don't believe me, examine the bottle," John Phoenix replied. "You will find that there is no trick. It is merely a plastic bottle, as found in many parts of the world."
Phoenix Wright stood up. Then he walked. Then he stood. He was standing in front of the coffee table on which the bottle had been knocked over. Phoenix Wright picked up the bottle. Why, it was just a bottle! There was no trick or hidden compartments. It was merely a bottle. So that confirms it, John Phoenix has psychic powers.
"John Phoenix, this bottle confirms it," said Phoenix Wright. "You have psychic powers. But the question is, why? And how?"
"I believe your badge not only gave me defense attorney powers," replied John Phoenix, "but that it also gave me psychic powers that I only unlocked yesterday after solving my first court case. It is a magic badge."
John Phoenix's uncle Phoenix Wright scratched his beard. "What? Magic badge?" Phoenix Wright replied. "But John Phoenix, my badge isn't magic? It's merely a badge."
"That is where you are wrong, Uncle Phoenix Wright," replied John Phoenix. "You see, I believe that when I touched your badge on that day 2 months ago when I was first birthed that I was given magical powers. I needed to examine the badge to be sure, so last night I broke into your house while you were sleeping and snuck into your bedroom. I knew you wouldn't wake up because I had drugged you."
"What?" said Phoenix Wright.
"It was the only way to be sure my work wouldn't be interrupted," continued John Phoenix. "Anyway, I took the badge from your nightstand and examined it. First I turned on the lamp. I looked at the back of the badge. I noticed that something on the back of the badge had been painted over. I scratched off the paint with a toothpick and revealed a name: Merlin."
"Merlin?" replied Phoenix Wright. "Who's that?"
"The person who made your badge, I suspect," said John Phoenix. "And the reason why it is magic. Obviously, someone painted over the name so you wouldn't suspect the badge's hidden powers."
"But who hid the name?" asked Phoenix Wright. "And why?" But before John Phoenix could reply, Dick Gumshoe entered the room.
"Hey pal," said the detective. "Your mom was murdered last night." He handed John Phoenix a photograph of his dead mother.
"That is my mother," said John Phoenix, looking over the photo. "Yes, I can confirm it's her. She is dead."
"Oh my god!" said Phoenix Wright, sad because his newly-found sister was dead. "What a tragedy! John Phoenix, I'm so sorry. Detective, do you have any idea who did this?"
"No pal," said detective. "All we know for certain is that she was shot in the head. Here's the bullet." He handed John Phoenix the bullet that had been retrieved from his mother's brain.
"Interesting," said John Phoenix. "So this is the bullet that killed my mother." He put the bullet in his pocket. "I'll hold onto this bullet for now, detective. It may prove useful."
"Sure pal," said Gumshoe. He pointed at the coffee table. "Hey how come that bottle is knocked over?"
Phoenix Wright exploded. "Detective! My sister's dead!" he shouted. "You should be out there getting the bastard who did it! Don't you have any other clues?"
"Well pal, we did find two footprints at the crime scene. But they were weird."
"Weird?" repeated John Phoenix sharply. His eyes grew cold and logical. "Elaborate."
"Well pal, both the footprints were from a right foot," said Gumshoe. "There are two different theories down at the precinct. Both have their supporters. The first theory is that the murderer stepped on the ground with the same foot twice. The other theory is that the murderer had two right feet."
"There is another possibility, detective," replied John Phoenix. "The feet could belong to two different people."
"Whoa pal," said Gumshoe. "I never even thought of that. That makes since."
"Yes, it does," replied John Phoenix. "So we might be looking at not only a murderer, but also an accomplice."
"Hold the phone, pal," said Gumshoe. "How do know you the second person is an accomplice? Couldn't it be a witness?"
"No," said John Phoenix. "Because a witness would have called the police. It's what witnesses do. Since the second person didn't call the police, he or she must be an accomplice by default."
"Ok I guess you're right," said Gumshoe. "I'm going to leave now."
"Please for the love of god," said Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney, "find the person or people or whoever killed my sister. I only met her 2 months ago... it's... it's not fair!"
"Ok pal," said Gumshoe. "I'll let you know if anything turns up." He turned to leave but then remembered something. "Oh, one more thing, that bullet is also weird. It didn't come from any known gun on earth. It's a really weird bullet. Anyway bye." And he left.
John Phoenix gripped the bullet in his fist as his uncle cried. His mother was killed... And this bullet found in her brain was the only clue. John Phoenix's face was grim. Because he had reason to be grim. Because he knew he couldn't rest until his mother's murderers were brought to justice!
BONUS EMOJIS
👦Dick Gumshoe
