The Truth and What Remains

by Snivylord1

Louis, Hugo, and Emma had never known their dad. Their mom likes to avoid the story even though Louis has wondered about his dad for his entire life. Adrien had lost someone dear to him 15 years ago, but what he doesn’t know what happened, or what Gabriel did to Marinette. However, the time is coming when Marinette can’t hide what happened and the couple meets again.Modern Child AU

30. Chapter28: ThePastReopensPt2

Author's Note: Hey guys SnivyLord here! I am so sorry for being really late, I'm not super consistent with uploads so here it is! The Past Reopens Pt. 2, I had actually planned this chapter or actually both these chapters months in advance but I never actually written it down on paper because I was busy. However, now this epic trial idea I had in my head can now come to fruition. So here's the summary! Continuing into the trial, Marinette and Phoenix learn what Louis saw in his second encounter. A new witness comes to shine light on the events and cause more doubts about the truth about what happened. What Louis saw and how the encounter even happened to begin with will be revealed, even though it may not be the thing that our cast of characters want to hear. I really hope you guys enjoy the shocking end to Marinette's long standing nightmare! Just an FYI, I made this chapter especially long for you guys, I hope those who follow this story can enjoy the finale to this trial. However, it's not over yet!

Chapter 28: The Past Reopens Pt. 2

The atmosphere was tense when everyone filed back into the courtroom. Everyone was anxious to bear witness to the truth behind Dr. Alver's murder as everything was still shrouded in mystery. Louis sat back down at the witness bench and tried to clear his anxiety ridden thoughts from his mind. Every time that he closed his eyes for a moment, that image of what he saw when he opened the door plagued his vision and he shook himself.

"Let's just get this over with..." Louis whispered to himself as his mom took her place at his side and Chloe Bourgeois took the other, and they could feel the determination radiating off of her in waves. Marinette looked over at Chloe with a slight fear because who knows what Chloe was thinking in that moment.

" Chloe, are you sure you want to do this?" Marinette asked carefully, receiving a snappy response from the other woman.

"What a ridiculous question! Of course! It's my fault that both of you are in this mess," Chloe sighed regrettably as she thought about her decisions in the past and how much trouble they caused for everybody, "If only I had just let it go... none of this would have happened, so I am truly sorry for the suffering you have gone through, and I will do my part to set things right today." Louis and Marinette shared an appreciative look as Chloe gave them a reassuring smirk. And so the trial resumed to find out the truth behind what Louis saw and how Marinette ended getting involved.

"Alright witness, please state your name and occupation for the court," Mr. Payne instructed, looking at the court record and not paying attention to her until he realized that nothing has been said. Looking up, he saw her doing her nails and her makeup on the stand, "Ummm witness! Please state your name and occupation for the court!"

Chloe rolled her eyes and stopped filing her nails for a second to address him, "Oh be patient prosecutor man, would you tell a rose to bloom faster?" Mr. Payne looked taken aback at her remark with the other parties giving her a few worried laughs and by other parties, it really means Louis and Marinette giving her sympathy laughs because they were afraid for her life.

"I like her," Athena remarked as Phoenix rolled his eyes playfully and Chloe finally finished filing her nails.

"Alright, time to get this show on the road, my name is Chloe Bourgeois and my occupation is self proclaimed superstar and queen bee of Paris!" Chloe answered, which was followed by a long silence in the courtroom until Marinette finally spoke up.

"Chloe.. you might wanna refrain from using the word 'self proclaimed' because it doesn't bode well for you," Marinette suggested before she was cut off by a rather abrupt reply.

"Do you want my help or not?" Chloe asked as she turned her head to the side to acknowledge to Marinette. The latter opened her mouth for a moment to say something but thought against it and closed it again, instead she settled on a short reply.

"Carry on," Marinette extended her hand out to signal the continuation of the proceedings. Then the judge cleared his voice and resumed the trial.

" Thank you Madame Bourgeois, now if you can please testify about what you saw when Monsieur Agreste stumbled into the room and what you saw after," The judge asked and Chloe nodded and flipped her hair. What Chloe was going to testify, nobody knew for sure, but Marinette was going to trust that whatever she had to say, it would help her.

"Here we go..." Phoenix murmured under his breath as Chloe began her testimony.

"Starting after Louis left, Gabriel said," Chloe recalled as her thought went back to that day. She had thought to herself that something was definitely strange on that day. One way or another, Chloe had to know what happened for herself so she could bring peace and solace to the past and her conflicted heart after all these years.

8 years ago...

"That was strange.. how did a little boy get lost by accident?" Chloe wondered as she looked over at Adrien, seemingly looking for an answer, but she just got a mirrored look and a small shrug.

"I don't know... although, I hope he finds who he's looking for though," Adrien murmured as Chloe nodded in agreement. After a moment, they realized that Gabriel was just standing there, looking intensely at the door. He didn't say anything for the moment until Adrien called out for his father.

"Father, is something wrong?" Adrien asked as he sat back down into the chair beside the window. Gabriel was still standing there, staring at the door until he saw his father visibly shake himself slightly before turning around to face the two. Adrien could tell his father was slightly beside himself, but he still made the effort to keep a straight face.

"Nothing, just a little surprised," Gabriel replied curtly, taking another look back at the door before sitting down once again and looking straight ahead, waiting for the doctor. Only a while later did Gabriel suddenly stood up and headed towards the cart.

"Mr. Agreste, what are you doing?" Chloé asked wearily as Gabriel gave an acknowledging nod in her direction; sometimes though she doesn't understand what that even means. Gabriel looked over the things on the cart for a moment before replying ominously.

"Just making sure the things are in order, I'll be just a moment," Gabriel explained before grabbing the curtain that covered the room from the hallway and pulling to obstruct the pair's view.

Present Day...

"Wait does that mean that you didn't see what Gabriel did after that?" The judge asked, making Phoenix wince in slight disappointment and Mr. Payne grin slyly in delight. Chloé then quickly held up her hand as if she was signaling the judge to let her finish.

"Hey! Before you discount my testimony, there is one thing I want to mention that seemed a bit off," Chloé noted as she continued her testimony and the judge leaned back in his chair to let her continue. The more she recalled that day, the more unsettling thoughts settled in her mind as she remembered more strange things.

"There was an imprint in the curtain," Chloe continued and with that line, Marinette saw Gabriel visibly stiffen at those words. As if that sentence revealed some underlying truth to what had happened. Phoenix had also seemed to notice and decided to press more on that statement.

"Madame Bourgeois, can you please describe what that imprint looked like," Phoenix asked as Chloé played with her earring with her fingers as she tried to recall the shape, gently tapping the earring to feel it swing.

"It's like an oval shape, like it was kinda round, and it was very noticeable. However, it seemed like someone's behind," Chloé testified as Phoenix took in her words, specifically the one that aimed towards "someone's behind." Suddenly, a thought clicked in his head as the judge questioned him about his line of questioning.

"Mr. Wright, do you think you have an explanation for this eyewitness' testimony?" The judge asked and Phoenix couldn't help but cross his arms and smirk at the implication he was about to make.

"I think I can. So Chloé testified that she saw an imprint in the curtain, and it looked like someone's behind. Now we need to ask ourselves, in what situation would a person that is standing, make an imprint in the curtain with their behind?" Phoenix asked as Mr. Payne interjected for a moment to clear up Phoenix's claim.

Marinette could see the man sweating as he asked, "So you're saying Gabriel Agreste is the one who made this imprint?" The answer to that question was obvious, however admitting to that would cause a few complications to unfold, as it would mean admitting to a very probable possibility.

"Yes, because there was no one else in that hallway, now, the only situation in which you would have your behind go backward enough to make an imprint on the curtain, is when you're bending over," Phoenix explained as everyone could hear the court nodding in agreement as his argument did make sense. Then, Marinette looked over at Gabriel to find him physically uncomfortable with the events that are unfolding. It was as if at this moment, he knew he was caught.

"Meaning what exactly Mr. Wright?" Mr. Payne asked defensively, but he didn't really want an answer because it couldn't mean anything good.

"Chloé, can I ask you this?" Phoenix asked as Chloé nodded and he proceeded to ask the fated question that would lock everyone's fate on this trial, "did you see the container after he was done?" Chloé's eyes widened as she thought about this question, because she did remember Gabriel coming back into the room after and the curtain was open. However, the more she remembered it, she realized that the container was missing after that fact.

With a wave on uncertainty coursing within her because she doesn't know what this means for Marinette, but answering honestly is her best... and only shot, "No, I don't remember seeing it." After that statement, the whole court gasped and murmured as they theorized what this could possibly mean.

"I can't believe this, so, what does this mean?" The judge asked with a hint of panic that should honestly not be there. Phoenix took his hand to rub his eyes in thought before he came to the logical conclusion. If there was anyone to blame for this whole misfortune for Marinette, Gabriel had probably something to do with it.

"The container would have had to have been moved, because it was found in Marinette's room. That would mean... Gabriel Agreste hid the container to purposely prevent Madame Bourgeois from using it," Phoenix exclaimed, causing the whole court to gasp in awe at his deduction. However, if that was true, then that means that there's a whole new avenue of truth that was going to reveal itself to the court.

"W-WHAT?!" Chloé exclaimed as she whipped her head to Gabriel, who sat there coolly, but Marinette could tell he was unnerved because he was refusing to meet Chloe's eye, "Gabriel, you were the one that did the switch?!"

"The attorney hasn't any proof that the accusation of his is even valid," Gabriel replied coolly, earning a scoff from Marinette and Louis and a shriek from Chloé.

"Well, if the container ended up in Marinette's room when the whole thing was over, then it would have had to been moved from Madame Bourgeois' room, and you were the only one with the opportunity to," Phoenix explained just as coolly as Gabriel as he knew he had him, "plus, with Madame Bourgeois' testimony, we have proof that you could have done it."

Gabriel could only sneer at Phoenix as everyone could feel the tension rising in the room, "You've only proven the possibility that I could have done it, but proving that I did do it is a different story," Phoenix was sure of one thing now and that was Gabriel definitely had something to do with it. He can see it in his eyes, his demeanor, and the way he's talking, like he's trying to slip past the spotlight centered on his crime.

"What I think the innocent plaintiff here is trying to say," Mr. Payne emphasized as he went on, "is that there is a few holes in your theory Mr. Wright. First of all, if the container had ended up in Madame Dupain Cheng's room, then Gabriel would have had to have known Madame Dupain Cheng's room number, which is an already ludicrous accusation in itself. Also, Gabriel would known that Madame Dupain Cheng was there that day. In conclusion, your theory is way too slipshod to hold any water," Mr. Payne explained as if he just won a point in a game of chicken. Maya thought about those two questions and if they were going to indict Gabriel for these crimes, they were going to have to prove both questions were actually the circumstances of the incident.

"In order for the container to make it into Marinette's room, Gabriel would have had an accomplice, an insider in the clinic that would have helped him," Maya whispered to Phoenix, whose eyes widened at the implication, but in his mind, that is the only thing that would make sense. While the court was in thought, Chloe spoke up.

"Ummm Your Honor? Can I like leave now?" Chloe asked, shifting uncomfortably as the judge nodded and gave a small smile.

"Thank you for your testimony Madame Bourgeois, you may step down," The judge nodded to Chloe, who breathed a sigh of relief before backing off of the stage and back her seat at the witness bench. It's hard to imagine Chloe looking and feeling rattled by the developments the just occurred, but Marinette could clearly see AND feel the unease oozing off of her friend. Marinette knew that Chloe was aware of her testimony opening up a few shocking possibilities that could actually save her. However, the possibilities could lead to a truth that no one wants to know.

"This trial isn't over yet..." Louis murmured under his breath as the judge readied the court to proceed onto the next hearing. Even though he could breath a sigh of relief or relish in the fact that he is no longer culpable, he couldn't. Chloe uncovering the truth could mean something else even worse for his mom, so he just couldn't relax. After a few more moments, the court reconvened with the prosecution leading.

"In this hearing, we will hear the testimony from a new witness who was with the defendant on the day of the crime," The prosecutor announced, making Marinette tilt her head slightly and question who the prosecutor was talking about.

"What? Who is she talking about...?" Marinette wondered to herself before her words died on her tongue when she saw who walked into the room. It looked like a shy, reserved woman who was dressed in a white blouse and a periwinkle cardigan. She wore her brown hair in a messy side braid, but Marinette couldn't mistake her, "Y-You!"

The woman who walked up the the stand heard her and turned her head to meet her appalled eyes, "So we meet again Madame Dupain Cheng..."

"Please state your name and occupation for the court," The judge stated as the woman turned her attention away from Marinette to face the court and fulfill her duty. Marinette never expected her to show up here; to think that one of the witnesses who worked at the hospital where it happened would actually testify after all these years.

The woman took a deep breath, but that breath looked like it could actually shatter her fragile figure, "My name is Francine Mendelev, and I was a nurse at the Lafayette Hospice Clinic where it happened." It seemed only Marinette remembered her form 8 years ago, although granted, she didn't think anyone would think to remember her.

"Very good, witness, you may begin your testimony," The judge nodded, checking over the records one more time to reassure that he got the right person. Phoenix narrowed his eyes at the nurse, his thoughts running wild about what she could possibly say. What he wanted to find out is what happened during the appointment, because so far, they haven't gotten testimony to what Marinette was doing nor what Louis saw, but he had a feeling that they were going to get to that soon.

"I was the nurse who accompanied Madame Dupain Cheng into the clinic to wait for Doctor Alver, and I guided her into the room, to wait for the doctor while I went to go get the clipboard to record her health," Francine testified, as she regrettably recalled that day in her mind. There were certain things from that day that she didn't want to remember.

8 years ago...

"Alright Madame Dupain Cheng, if you would please wait right here, the doctor will be with you in a few minutes, and I will be back to ask a few questions for your record, ok?" Francine asked Marinette as Francine stood by the door and let Marinate walk in to sit on the examination bed. Marinette gave her a cordial, kind smile in response.

"Yep, got it, thank you," Marinette nodded, however, Francine noticed there was something off about the patient as she could see the worry wrinkles etched in her face.

"Is there something wrong?" Francine as Marinette shook her head as she proceeded to explain.

"I'm sorry, it's just my son, he's usually allowed to go in with me on these visits, I'm just worried because he's only 6 and he's on his own out there," Marinette wrung her hands, taking in a deep breath to calm herself down. Francine nodded in understanding as she could only imagine how nerve-wracking it could be to leave her child out there in the daycare section of the lobby.

"Your son should be fine in the daycare, he'll be fine in there until you come out. Plus, a pap smear isn't something your son should see anyway," Francine joked slightly as Marinette gave back a small courtesy chuckle in response, "Alright, just sit tight," Francine nodded one last time before closing the door behind her, taking in a huge breath to still her conscious. So that was the woman, the woman that man told her to subdue. She didn't get why she had to do that to the kind lady, she seemed perfectly nice; however she knew that if she didn't do what she had to do, then her secret would get released to her family, and she couldn't bear it. However, she couldn't mention what she did to the court. Plus, she had to go see another patient, and Doctor Alver could take care of her. She walked back to the nurses' office to get her clipboard and grabbed a bottle of "relaxing, anxiety reducing medicine" for Madame Dupain Cheng, because she thought she could use some. Walking down the hall to prep her next patient for the doctor, she found her rendezvous waiting for her by the corner in the hall. It was another doctor, and she noticed that he was wearing a doctor's coat over a 3 piece suit, and a mask over his face, obscuring most of it from.

"Hello Doctor! Would you mind taking this medicine to the patient to room 1220? She's having a little anxiety about her son, being outside in the lobby," Francine nervously asked she handed the bottle of medicine over to the man, who nodded graciously and replied.

"Of course, I'll bring that right over to her, not to worry," The doctor said, but she caught that mysterious and nefarious tone. However, she knew that for the sake of her family, this was as far as she was willing to get involved. Little did she know, it was going to escalate into an all out disaster. As she continued to walk to her other patient with the other doctor going in the other direction, she looked back at him with a strange sense of foreboding.

Present Day

Francine left out the part about her involvement in Marinette's part in the story, however, she knew there wasn't much she could testify about that wouldn't reveal what she did. The court listened intently, but found that her testimony was rather vague. However she wasn't done yet, as the actual part of the testimony as just begun.

"Alright, then what happened after that?" Mr. Payne inquired as Francine nodded and continued.

"The period of time when I checked back upon Madame Dupain Cheng was about 15 minutes perhaps, but when I checked back upon Madame Dupain Cheng. Something was definitely wrong, I saw her run out of the room and down the hall and there was smoke pouring out of the room!" Francine testified, making Marinette cocking her head to the side. She didn't remember that though. She ran out of her room due to a bunch of smoke? Thinking back to that day, Marinette always knew that there was a blank in her memory, but she couldn't figure out why. Did she really run out of the room when there was smoke? "I approached the door while blocking my nose and when I opened the door, I screamed because there she was, Doctor Alver crawling towards me! The gas, I realized was poisonous so I backed away and alerted the authorities immediately using the emergency phone in the nurses' office."

"I see, alright, defense, you may begin your cross examination," The judge nodded as Phoenix proceeded to cross examine the nurse. All the sudden, the oh so familiar cross examination theme filled the courtroom, and this process started again.

Looking through all of her statements, there were a few that struck to him as odd. She first commented on how she was the person who guided Marinette to the room, and decides to mention that Marinette was worried about her son. She went to go tend to another patient, and gave anxiety-reducing medicine to another doctor to give to Marinette. However that statement didn't make any sense since Marinette testified that she didn't see any other doctor that day. So that's where he should press.

"Madame Willow, are you sure that when you gave that medicine to the doctor, it made it to Marinette's room?" Phoenix pressed with Francine nodding in response.

"Yes, I'm sure that the medicine got to her," Francine replied, and Phoenix went over the statements again. There was something wrong about saying yes to his question, because if she gave the medicine to another doctor to give to Marinette, and she didn't come back to Marinette's room until she saw the smoke, then how did she know that she did take it? Marinette already stated that she didn't meet anyone else while she was waiting for the doctor.

"How are you sure? Marinette already testified that she didn't meet anyone else during the visit. Then how do you know that the medicine got to her? If not at all?" Phoenix asked, which struck a very good point in Marinette's head. When she thought about it, it didn't take sense, she clearly remembered that she didn't meet any other doctor that day. Perhaps it was something that she overlooked?

"I'm positive that it got to her because the doctor told me that it was delivered," Francine carefully stated, thinking that the reason is acceptable and plausible. Phoenix mulled over that thought for a moment before nodding.

"Alright, please add it to your testimony," Phoenix requested and Francine abided. Looking down at the evidence he had at his disposal, he was starting to figure out the warped sequence of events that happened in her testimony. The medicine that she spoke of, she was certain got to Marinette, and the doctor told her that. However, even before that, Phoenix realized that no one ever really explained why Marinette would kill Doctor Alver, "Madame Willow, may I ask you a question?"

Francine nodded in response, "Of course."

"If you are a key witness in this incident, then can you explain what motive Marinette had in murdering Doctor Alver? Because as it stands, the gas container with Marinette's fingerprints on it does not hold water because we are dealing with a strange circumstance," Phoenix explained as there was an immediate objection from across the court.

"This woman is only a witness, how could she explain Marinette's motive in her horrible crime?" Mr. Payne objected, and while Phoenix knew that was true, he also knew that the motive was a question with a vague answer. No one knew definitively why Marinette wanted to kill Doctor Alver inside a hospital.

"Then can you explain a motive? Because if not, I'd be happy to suggest an alternative to what happened," Phoenix challenged as Mr. Payne scoffed in disbelief as he tried to recollect his thoughts so he can explain the incident. The whole court settled in to listen to what Mr. Payne had to say, even Marinette was interested in trying to find out what motive she possibly could have had.

"Well, ummm you see," Mr. Payne started, but could not think of any legitimate reason that covers the facts of the case. After a few more moments, his momentum to explain died and the judge turned his head over to the defense for the explanation.

"Defense, I trust that you have an explanation for the events that transpired with the nurse?" The judged inquired as Phoenix nodded and continued to explain. He had a sneaking suspicion that the reason why Marinette had a blank in her memory about what happened in the middle of the insemination was because of what he was about to present.

"Ladies and gentlemen of the court, I would to present this medicine bottle as evidence," Phoenix walked up to the evidence table in the center of the room and placed down the bottle for all to see, and Mr. Payne knew exactly what he was about to insinuate.

"Wait Mr. Wright, you can't possibly be suggesting-" Mr. Payne interjected but was cut off by Phoenix.

"I am, because this would explain why Madame Dupain Cheng has a blank in her memory that way," Phoenix responded and then proceeded to explain, "this witness has just testified that she had medicine delivered to Marinette to help with her anxiety, and this bottle that was found in the room that she was checked into, strongly suggests that this is what Marinette took." Phoenix explained as Marinette tried to rack her brain to remember if she took any medicine that day, but she couldn't.

"And how does that bottle explain the blank in her memory as you claim?" The judge asked as Phoenix narrowed his eyes at the bottle, and came to the conclusion that there was some foul play behind what happened.

"This medicine bottle was tested, and there was apparently trace amounts of a powerful sleeping drug, a powerful anesthesia if you will, in it. This would mean that Madame Dupain Cheng was drugged to sleep while something unbeknownst to her happened," Phoenix theorized as Louis, Marinette, Chloe, and practically everyone's eyes widened as they heard that explanation. Adrien couldn't believe it, Marinette was drugged?

"Is this true? Madame Dupain Cheng, if you could please explain what happened , perhaps Mr. Wright's theory might hold some water," The judge asked as Marinette nodded and walked up to the stand, with Francine stepping aside.

"I don't exactly remember taking any sort of medicine, however, that day, another doctor came in to check in on me and offered me some water. I did take his offer, but after that, I just felt really groggy and sleepy, and..." Marinette tried to keep going but everything's a blank after that, "I think I blacked out because I don't remember anything after that." After she explained, she was immediately called out on her testimony by the prosecutor.

"You're just testifying in his favor! Where's your proof that you fell asleep?" Mr. Payne asked harshly as Marinette immediately fired back. Of course, she understood that her explanation seemed a bit weak, but she truly cannot remember what happened.

"How am I supposed to prove I fell asleep? I told you that I blacked out sometime during the visit, it's not like I keep reminders on how and when I sleep," Marinette argued back, as Phoenix interrupted the both of them while he was reading the advanced report for the medicine bottle.

"I think I have her proof," Phoenix intervened while slapping the paper slightly with the back of his hand. The report that he had on the medicine bottle could rightly explain how Marinette never came to remember what happened.

"The medicine that was given to her ,as it says in the report, was soluble, meaning that the medicine is able to be dissolved in water, and Marinette, what did you say you did?" Phoenix concluded, knowing that case has tipped in his favor, however, it became clear to him that someone meant for this to happen to Marinette. It was a very elaborate setup to be sure.

"I had a glass of water... Oh NO!" Marinette realized, clasping a hand over her mouth, now that she was accepting the real possibility that she could have been drugged. However now she had one more question that needed to be answered, "who was that doctor?"

Phoenix wore a grave expression when he turned upon Francine, who cowered slightly under his gaze, "Francine, you were the one who gave the doctor the medicine, did you know that the medicine was laced with the drug?"

Before Francine answered, the judge made sure to remind her of the risks, "Madame Mendeleev, take caution that if you lie to this court, you will be held in contempt of court for breaking the oath, and your testimony will no longer be accountable." The judge reminded her, looking down on her as if he knew that she would try something. After all, he's seen too many liars in his day trying to weasel themselves out of trouble.

Francine took a deep breath before replying shakily, causing Gabriel to grit his teeth and curse under his breath, "Yes, I knew the medicine was laced." This new confession that came to light shook the entire court. Marinette's family watching from the stands watched in horror as they came to understand that Marinette was in the middle of such dubious business. Louis comfortingly placed a hand on his mom's shoulder in an attempt to calm her down, but she was overwhelmed with disbelief and anger. It was no longer about his trauma and his struggles with what happened that day, so he had to be there for his mom, who wore the full brunt of the blame.

"Francine! Why! You drugged me on purpose! How dare you!" Marinette exclaimed, slamming her hands on the rails of the defendant's seat. Louis stood up with her and tried to calm her down, but to no avail. Francine didn't answer as she could only look down in shame.

"So then you did know, so then, I do not believe you are the true mastermind behind the incident since you did not know Madame Dupain Cheng personally, however, that would make you an accomplice," Phoenix concluded as Francine looked despairingly at him because she knew he was right. She knew that she walking on thin ice because the existence of a true mastermind was apparent, however she couldn't say who it was.

"If that's the case, then Marinette would have been asleep at the time of the incident," Maya noted but another problem came to light, a very serious problem, "Wait! If Marinette was asleep in the room where the gas was released, then how is she here?" Maya exclaimed, shaking Phoenix's shoulder slightly, and he understood the problem well. That must mean that Marinette couldn't be in the room where it happened, or at least, she was in that room.

"Madame Mendeleev testified to that extent didn't she? Madame Dupain Cheng must have woken up before she got back to her and in her haste, murdered Doctor Alver because she- ack!" Mr. Payne tried to explain but Phoenix immediately objected to it.

"There are a few problems with that explanation. One, Marinette didn't realize she was drugged until just now. And two, if she murdered Doctor Alver like that, then how did the body end up in the Seine? There is not enough concrete evidence to implicate Marinette as the murderer," Phoenix retorted as Adrien felt an air of understanding waft around the room. Everyone believed that there are too many uncertainties to implicate Marinette as the murderer and Adrien couldn't feel more relieved for her and their son. Hugo and Emma could feel the relief radiating from Adrien as they saw him visibly relax. To be honest, they couldn't hold their anxiety in, but now they could face this truth together.

"I saw her! I'm sure of it! Doctor Alver came out right after, but she was crawling on the ground and the smoke was still billowing out of the door. I was so surprised, but I couldn't help her since the smoke was still in the way," Francine testified as no one knew an answer to where Marinette was at the time of the murder.

Phoenix mulled over her statement for a bit because her testimony does add up with Louis'... and suddenly he realized the contradiction in her statement, "wait Louis' testimony before the trial started. He said something about how he saw Doctor Alver. That's it!" Phoenix exclaimed with Maya looking at him questioning what he was talking about, "Madame Mendeleev, if you were there, then where was Louis?" Phoenix asked as it suddenly dawned on Francine that Louis was there, and that she completely forgot.

"Louis Agreste? What do you mean? He was there?" Francine tried to feign ignorance but Phoenix wouldn't have it.

"There's no way you would miss a child in front of the door, so where was he?" Phoenix asked again as Louis looked fearfully at Francine, knowing that a conspirator like her was there when he got traumatized, "Louis testified that he saw Doctor Alver trying to crawl out the door, and you testified the same, meaning that you both had to be there when she was still alive."

Francine sighed as she knew she couldn't escape, "Alright, I was the one who found Louis in front of the door. I took him out to the lobby to recuperate before something worse could come along and do even worse things," Phoenix narrowed his eyes at this statement and scrutinized the nature of the second half of the sentence that she said.

"Did you think there was something else that would have came along and did something worse than witnessing a murder?" The judge asked Phoenix's question for him as Francine immediately answered.

"Yes," Francine sighed and took a shuddering intake of breath. She decided to make a side glance at Gabriel and saw him scowling at her with the stone cut damning expression. It's been 8 years, surely now is the time to finally make peace with herself and come clean, but Gabriel's presence was just making it difficult.

"I see... then I think we will need Louis' testimony on what he saw to get down to the matter of what happened during that moment," The judge declared as Louis felt his face turn pale and Marinette reached over to hug him reassuringly.

"W-w-what?" Louis stammered as Phoenix looked over at Louis and nodded in agreement.

"Louis, we're going to need your testimony if we're going to really specify what happened," Phoenix confirmed as he saw Louis' eyes fill with fear, no matter how traumatic it may be, every perspective has to be explored before coming to the truth. Louis slowly stood up and walked up to the stand with Francine stepping aside for him and sitting back down. Marinette looked fearfully at him because she knew that he almost had a mental breakdown just mentioning it earlier.

"Alright Louis, if you would," The judge nodded towards Louis, who slowly nodded as he tried to take deep breaths.

"To put it simply, I encountered a monster, it had a horrible air about it, and it was sucking me in to kill me. I felt I was suffocating, even when I looked at the monster, it was pale and almost ghoulish looking. I quickly closed the door on it, but I felt like it had somehow teleported on the other side of the door because I saw it again! I thought for sure I had killed her... but I must have blacked out by then because I tried to get away from the poisonous gas... I don't know how to explain the sadness that I feel... that I killed that monster, or person, or whoever it was," Louis testified as the court tried to discern what he was talking about because it seemed like he was just rambling on the stand. Athena then looked over at Phoenix and got his attention because she could just sense the waves of unease and guilt radiating off of Louis.

"Boss, I'm detecting a lot of anxiety and guilt coming off of him, it's completely making Widget go nuts," Athena warned Phoenix, looking down at her necklace and she could see it just visibly shaking with fear from the transference of emotions from Louis.

"You think he needs a psychological session here?" Phoenix brought a curled finger up to his chin to ponder about it and looked back at Athena, who nodded with absolute certainty.

"Yes, I think that would be best," Athena replied as Phoenix smiled and gave her an assuring nod.

"Alright then Athena, take it away," Phoenix gestured to Louis, who overheard them talking as he took even more deep breaths to calm himself down.

"Louis, I'm going to examine your emotions in this device that I call the Mood Matrix, it translates your emotions with your statements to paint scenes of the circumstances based from your memories. It should help you and I understand why you think of this incident in such a deprecating way," Athena explained with Louis cocking his head slightly because he didn't understand how emotions can be captured and translated, "I have a special sense that allows me to feel other people's emotions and I can translate those into my friend Widget here to get a sense of how you felt when it happened."

"So seeing what I saw on a hologram so I can relive the trauma then? Is that really gonna help me?" Louis asked with a hint of sarcasm as the judge chimed in on that comment.

"Trust her Louis, I've seen her work wonders by examining the psychological facet of events that have transpired in many cases. It will help you calmly understand why you remember the event a certain way," The judge reassured Louis as he nodded and Athena shot him a blinding smile before starting up the mood matrix.

"Alright, I'm going to need you to testify what you said earlier again so I can capture the emotions you were feeling ok?" Athena asked as Louis complied and he repeated the testimony again for her. Now Marinette and the rest of his family and friends can see scenes of what happened on a hologram for all to see. The Mood Matrix showed up on a huge hologram in the middle of the court with a huge smily face before splitting into four separates emotes on the four corners of the screen. Joy was top left, sadness was bottom left, anger was top right, and shock was bottom right. Just then, the orchestra started to play the theme for the Mood Matrix and Marinette could only gape in shock.

"There is a theme for this?" Marinette wondered aloud as she turned to face Chloe to see what she thought only to see her shrug in response. The first statement that appeared on screen:

"To put it simply, I encountered a monster, it had a horrible air about it, and it was sucking me in to kill me..." Louis heard his voice ring in the air as a 6 year old Louis appeared on the screen, falling backward as if he had just fallen backward to the floor on his bottom in shock. There was a door in front of him and there was the monster: a distorted ghoul with contorted limbs on all fours crawling towards him. However, these were only slightly moving images which was a godsend to him, because who knows how he could have reacted if that scene played out in full motion. With this statement, Phoenix and Athena saw that there were high levels of shock and sadness, it's only understandable that Louis would be shocked and scared however they also saw a bit of anger in this statement as well. That's a miracle to Athena and Phoenix because they already found the discrepancy.

"Louis, why were you angry when you encountered a monster? What is there to be angry about? I understand you must have been scared and shocked, but why were you angry at the monster?" Athena asked and she saw a flash of uncertainty cross his face as he tried to figure out why he was mad.

"I... was mad? I was definitely scared and shocked for sure... but I don't think I was angry at the monster... I..." Louis tried to remember as he was thinking about why he could be mad about what he saw, but then he suddenly remembered what it was, "Oh yes, I was mad at the person who told me that my mom was in that room, because the last thing I wanted to see was my mom... like that..." Louis recalled as Phoenix and Athena nodded and gave him an assuring smile.

"I see, that would make sense, and who told you that your mom was in that room?" Athena asked as Louis tried to recall what he did before he opened the door.

"I saw a doctor come out of that room and I figured I should ask around to see if anyone knew where my mom was," Louis testified as Phoenix's eyes widened at what he said, because that would mean he talked to the doctor that knew there was a dying person in there, "I remember I described her to the doctor when he agreed to help me, and then I said her name, and I remember he told me that she was in that room even though he turned kinda indifferent after I mentioned that to him . And when I opened the door, well... you know what happened." Louis finished and then he realized the major revelation that came to light: he talked to the murderer, and that made his blood run cold.

"Louis, you talked to the person who set off that poisonous gas bomb, and he directed you to that room, knowing that it was a hazard and it could kill you," Phoenix emphatically explained as Louis took a step back in disbelief and scoffed.

"So I had three attempts on my life and here I thought two was plenty, or even one attempt on my life is one too many for a kid," Louis huffed in disbelief and he felt like he was losing his mind, like near psychotic breakdown bad. Marinette clapped her hands together and held it too her face, praying for this new fact to not be true, squeezing her eyes shut to make this nightmare go away. She felt a hand on her shoulder and she opened her eyes to find Chloe looking at her sympathetically. As much as she appreciated the gesture, she was too anxious to be thankful.

"From the Mood Matrix, we can see he wasn't in a hurry to alert anyone, and he knew that someone was dying in there, and yet directed Louis to go see to that very room," Phoenix explained to the court as Gabriel got even more unhinged and worried about the course of events that were happening right now, "This person that Louis talked to must have set off the poisonous gas bomb and killed Doctor Alver, and then tried to kill Louis in the process." Phoenix concluded as he turned on Francine and immediately questioned her.

"Francine, you were an accomplice to this man, weren't you?" Phoenix asked strongly and straight to the point with an unwavering confidence. However, before Francine could answer, Mr. Payne fired back:

"How can you be so sure that the person that Francine gave the medicine to and the person that Louis talked to is the same person?" Mr. Payne retorted, but he knew it was a weak objection because both of these events were too closely related.

"Francine gave a drug-laced medicine to a doctor to take out Marinette, and then in that room Marinette was supposed to be in, a doctor set off a poisonous gas that killed Doctor Alver and almost killed Louis, " Phoenix explained to Mr. Payne as a matter of factly as it was pretty clear to the court that these two events must be related, "Also you can see the security footage from that day and as you can see," Phoenix presented the hospital video footage and replayed the two moments at Marinette's room: the one where the doctor went into that room and later exited for a while, and the other moment where Louis talked to the doctor before opening the door and witnessing the 'monster,' "These two events occurred within 10 minutes of each other when you look at the time stamp, and you can tell by their outfits that they are the same person."

"Then there's one question you have to answer then Mr. Wright if you're so sure," Mr. Payne challenged, "Where was Madame Dupain Cheng in all of this? She couldn't have been in the room when the bomb went off because she would have been still asleep. How could you possibly explain that?" Phoenix had been trying to figure out this problem for a while since Marinette had been drugged and so she was incapacitated the whole time. Perhaps it was time to turn his thinking about, maybe he didn't have think about where she could have gone during the incident, but think about WHY she HAD to be moved and still be alive.

"Maybe she didn't move on her own... but perhaps someone moved her before Doctor Alver came into the room," Phoenix claimed as he realized he need to think this through a little more so he started to go through the sequence of events one more time: Marinette and Louis went to the hospital in the morning for an appointment for something that wasn't an artificial insemination. When Marinette went in alone, Louis waited in the day care lobby for her until he decided to go find her himself. While Marinette was waiting for Doctor Alver, she got drugged, but why? After a moment, he finally settled with the fact that whoever drugged her didn't want Doctor Alver to get to her. Then, completely by coincidence, Louis encountered Chloe Bourgeois and Gabriel and Adrien Agreste. It is by that time that the sperm container was still there until Phoenix had proved the possibility that Gabriel could have moved it. Maya had mentioned that Gabriel would have had to have an accomplice in order to move the sperm container out and over to Marinette's room. However this would have been before Marinette got drugged since there would be no time to inseminate her since a murder was going to take place in that room. That accomplice... must have been Francine because the doctor that drugged Marinette and the doctor that killed Doctor Alver are the same person. This leaves Phoenix with two questions to prove: Was Gabriel that doctor that did both of these things? And if Doctor Alver wasn't there by the time Marinette woke up, then who inseminated her?

"You're saying someone moved her? Alright, then let's see your evidence to prove it," Mr. Payne challenged again as Phoenix thought about it a bit more before turning to Louis.

"Louis, do you remember seeing anything else before you opened the door? Like anything in the hall at that time? If Marinette was moved, if would have had to be just minutes before Doctor Alver as killed," Phoenix asked as Louis furrowed his brows in thought as he tried to remember how Marinette could have left before hand.

"Maybe check the security footage for a few minutes before I discovered the room, she must have been moved before then," Louis commented and that actually wasn't a bad suggestion. Phoenix looked through the security footage again and he could only find a clip of of two people wheeling someone on an emergency seat carrier down the hall to a room. However, something in this footage seemed strange, but then he realized the sequence of events that must have happened, and the timing was completely miraculous.

"I'd like to present these series of clips to the court as I explain what happened," Phoenix declared as the video clips appeared on the screens of the TV's in the courtroom, placed near the judge where all can see. As the clips rolled through, Phoenix explained everything in order, "After the doctor drugged Marinette, he loaded Marinette on to an emergency carrier to be wheeled to another room, and that is how she was moved, and you can tell it was her because in the video, the body that was on the carrier was completely covered except for her hair, but as you can see," Phoenix continued as the clip showed who the court could tell was two people wheeling someone down the hall, and he paused the video the video where they could see the head of the person they were wheeling, "The hair is a dark shade of blueberry, and only one person fits the bill and that is Marinette," Phoenix concluded that part of his theory, but then again, that was only PART of it, "However, when you go to an earlier time in the footage, you can see that Doctor Alver had entered the room before the doctor and Francine could get her out. Then, within the next couple of minutes, only those two exit the room and Doctor Alver doesn't." Phoenix finished with an conclusive ending note and he looked over at Marinette to find her gaping in horror.

"How could I let this happen... to myself? How did I let down my guard down like that?" Marinette sighed in disbelief as Louis leaned over to nestle his head in the crook of her shoulder. She needed some support because it turns out that day absolutely sucked for both of them. They both had been violated and traumatized as they were pawns of a nefarious scheme, but for what?

"How can you tell that those two in the footage are Francine and the other doctor? This footage never showed their faces! So you can't definitively say that they did this," Mr. Payne protested but Phoenix had a rebuttal to that, and this only frustrated Gabriel even more.

"Well, sure it never showed their faces, but the footage showed the doctor that was moving the carrier talked to Louis briefly before leaving. That doctor is the one that left Marinette's room, who we already proved is the one who murdered Doctor Alver," Phoenix replied, making Mr. Payne his teeth and clench his fists on the counter, but he did have one last counter as a final gambit. However, he knew it was going to have some consequences.

"So you proved that this doctor was the one that murdered Doctor Alver, but who is this doctor? Francine is the only one we have identified," Mr. Payne asked as Francine breathed a heavy sigh and looked over at Gabriel and knew that this time, it was truly over and she trusted Phoenix Wright to end it.

Phoenix thought about it for a moment to reaffirm his belief in his conclusion on who the "doctor" was. Who personally knew who Marinette was and would defile her to such a degree? Who would intentionally attempt to murder her son as well as another innocent victim in an attempt to cover his tracks? Who, COINCIDENTALLY, was at the hospital at the time who fit all of these conditions? Finally he looked over at Marinette and slowly nodded to her.

"Madame Dupain Cheng?" Phoenix asked as Marinette nodded back and replied.

"Yes... Mr. Wright?" Marinette asked hesitantly as the whole court felt silent all of a sudden. It was like they were waiting for the end of the trial, because they knew it was coming.

"Your struggle is about to come to an end... right here, right now," Phoenix said lowly and it sent shivers down her spine as she felt those words to her bones. Marinette could feel her lungs releasing from their constriction as those words rang true in her head. She believed he could do it, end the 15 long years of suffering that she had to go through. Now is the time.

Phoenix lifted his hand and he felt his fingers automatically move like a machine to point at the one he knew was responsible for this entire case. Maya saw him readying his pointer finger and gasped.

"Phoenix!" Maya whispered harshly as Phoenix narrowed his eyes at the one he wanted to 'Take That!' to , "are you sure? Do you know who it is?"

Phoenix nodded in response and readied his stance, "I'm sure..." Phoenix took a deep breath and then he announced what would be the claim that caused such an uproar, that it would change history for the Agreste's and what Paris would know forever. Even the orchestra knew what was coming as they played their "Cornered Theme":

"The defense would like to indict Gabriel Agreste of all charges of first degree murder and grand larceny by being the imposter doctor who committed this heinous crime!" Phoenix declared, pointing his finger at Gabriel and the movement was so fast, sharp, and strong that it created a strong whirlwind in the court, sending papers flying and sending the whole room ablaze with golden light. Everyone had to shield their eyes in order to continue seeing since the wind was so strong. Louis had one arm covering his eyes so he could see and his other holding on to the handrail of the stand because he was afraid he might actually get blown away since it was practically a mini hurricane.

"How is that even physically possible!? Just pointing his finger at someone caused this powerful of a draft?" Louis yelled over the wind as Marinette was too busy trying to block the wind to comment. Chloe coughed and sputtered as she looked around the courtroom to find it awash in golden light from what just happened.

"Seriously, like what is up with this courtroom? This lighting is totally ridiculous!" Chloe exclaimed as the wind finally died down and everyone could unblock their faces. Everyone looked towards who Phoenix had his finger pointed at: Gabriel, who stood to face this accusation.

"You dare accuse me?! The legendary fashion taste maker of Paris? So this is where this foolishness has gone?!" Gabriel roared with such a fury that it caused a commotion in the courtroom. Marinette could feel the fury rising in her as her shock soon melted into rage.

"Oh I'm accusing you! I proved the possibility earlier of how you could have moved the container, all I needed to prove is what situation was granted to you to move the container, and that was to set up a murder," Phoenix explained coolly with Marinette looking at Gabriel in disbelief, but she couldn't imagine what Adrien was feeling. His father was most likely involved in a murder in which she could have been killed along with Doctor Alver, or even worse, her son could have been killed.

"How do you explain how these two events are related? What ties the imposter doctor and Gabriel Agreste?" Mr. Payne challenged Phoenix again, but he was just digging his grave even further.

Gabriel grit his teeth as he felt like this prosecutor should just keep his mouth shut, "Monsieur Payne, I would highly advise you to keep your mouth shut because this man," Gabriel looked back and forth between Mr. Payne and Phoenix, "can probably answer that question for you."

"They're connected through Francine, who was the accomplice to Gabriel's actions. Gabriel came into contact with Louis in Chloe Bourgeois' room, and it was that moment when Gabriel knew that Marinette and Louis were coincidentally there as well. That was when the plan was set in motion. Remember that Chloe testified that he covered the hallway with the curtain so neither Chloe and Adrien could see what he was doing," Phoenix explained as he lifted Chloe's statement to the court to demonstrate what he meant, "Remember that this container ended up in Marinette's SECOND room when the detectives first investigated this case, so someone had to move it, and the only person who had the opportunity to move the container and know Marinette's room with the help of an accomplice was Gabriel." Phoenix looked over at Francine, who looked fearfully between Phoenix and Gabriel, and the latter looked so angry with his scowl that it could have burned right through anyone's soul. Phoenix then rounded on Gabriel and demanded answers from him, "Now Gabriel, given that you moved the container, you must have had a plan to do something with it, and what does it have to do with Marinette?"

"Wait! Ok! Ok... I admit it... I was Gabriel's accomplice in what he did almost 9 years ago," Francine confessed, trying to stop Phoenix from coaxing the rest of the truth from Gabriel, she could feel Gabriel's eyes burning in the back of her head, but surely he must have known that he had nowhere to run at this point, "Just please... know that Marinette is innocent and let it end there please!" Francine pleaded with Phoenix who acknowledged her confession but was still waiting for Gabriel's answer, "why! Why do you need to know the full truth?! It doesn't need to be revealed because you already proved that Marinette is innocent!"

Phoenix barely spared her a glance as he simply replied, "As representatives of the law, we must see this through to the end, no matter how ugly it is," Francine could only gape at him in disbelief.

"I won't relax until I know everything Gabriel has done... so I can put it behind me," Marinette agreed with Phoenix, as she stood up slowly from the defendant's seat and walked over to where Gabriel was sitting on the opposite side of the witness stand. Gabriel had a plan for that sperm container, and with a sinking heart, she thinks she knows what it is, "Gabriel answer me this... you planned to use the sperm to inseminate me didn't you? It wasn't an accident that the hospital made... you planned it." Marinette restrained herself as it took all of her strength not to completely snap at Gabriel. Her voice was a low, threatening growl that spoke volumes to how mad she was without her needing to yell or scream. After a few moments, Gabriel said nothing as he looked to the side to avoid her gaze, refusing comment, "So... I take your silence as your answer then..." Marinette's voice barely over a deadly whisper. Hugo and Emma couldn't believe this is how truth about their birth came to be. They didn't know how to feel or even react to this new revelation. Then, everyone snapped out of their stupor when they heard Marinette completely snap and scream at Gabriel. It was too sad to watch to be honest.

"GABRIEL ANSWER ME!! WHAT COULD POSSIBLY POSSESS YOU TO DERAIL MY LIFE LIKE THAT?! WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT FROM ME YOU SICK BASTARD!!! YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO MY WORDS, MY BODY, OR MY DECISIONS!!! I WILL MAKE THAT CLEAR RIGHT NOW!!!" Marinette screamed as she slammed her hands on the wooden rail of his seat, actually making him flinch for the first time that anyone has seen. Phoenix and the crew could only watch in sympathy because they know how their trials usually end: with a betrayal everyone saw coming. The emotions feel new every time they find the truth to these cases, they could only imagine the rage and anguish Marinette must be feeling, "DO YOU HAVE NOTHING TO SAY FOR YOURSELF?! ANSWER ME GABRIEL!!" Marinette broke down into sobs as she couldn't believe that things turned out like this. Suddenly, she felt someone pull her away from the stand and hug her tight. She opened her eyes that were teary and red from anger to find her son hugging her reassuringly.

"Mom... that's enough... it's over," Louis whispered softly as Marinette reciprocated the hug by leaning her head against his and gripping his arm that was around her softly. Suddenly, they heard a few chuckles and laughs that came from Gabriel, and like a mad man, it turned into a crescendo of mad laughter as it only got louder in volume. Everyone bore witness to this madness as Gabriel, who had his head down slightly before, threw his head back and laughed while having his hands outstretched in that classic evil guy pose. Then, like out of thin air, the white and ecru suit that he was wearing before started turning a dark purple from the bottom up and his suit collar became more pointed and the tie he was wearing before turned into a lavender gem that crystal wing-like protrusions coming from it like a butterfly. His head was then enveloped by a silver mask and they could still see his piercing blue eyes. It was like he was completely changed man and was like some sort of villain in a cartoon show. Marinette and Louis slowly stepped back from the stand to process what just happened.

"Oh jeez, is this guy another one of those weirdos who completely snap and transform into some sort of 'final form' when we finally got them cornered?" Maya sighed as Phoenix looked at her knowingly as this didn't really come as a surprise. Meanwhile, Hugo and Emma had a completely different reaction to this new "transformation."

"Wait a minute... doesn't he look like the villain from the show that we watch? Miraculous Ladybug?" Hugo examined Gabriel's outfit further to find that it was strikingly similar to another outfit that he knows from a show. Emma could see it too and she couldn't help but laugh, but still be amazed.

"Oh my god, do you know what this means? Gabriel watches Miraculous Ladybug! There's no way that's a coincidence! He's wearing Hawkmoth's outfit!" Emma exclaimed as Adrien could only laugh at their comments, leave it to them to find the positive in this situation, even if it was getting crazier by the minute.

"So? For a god knows how old man who just transformed into a villain from a dare I say, kid's show, is this your 'final form?' How nerdy do you have to be?" Louis positioned himself so he was in front of his mom and held his hand out to protect her.

"You and your siblings are my curse!" Gabriel declared as he whipped out a staff out of nowhere and firmly planted it into the ground.

"Oh my god even the weapon is the same!" Hugo wheezed as Emma tried to help him recover from his laughter-induced asthma, but she couldn't help but laugh too, "it's the same purple staff with the orb thing on top. This is hilarious... AHA!" Adrien smiles softly at his son while used his arm to pull Hugo into his side to hug him. Emma joined in later by leaning into his arm.

"If only I hadn't known or seen how much you and Adrien were in love, then maybe I wouldn't have been so obsessed and desperate to stop it!" Gabriel forced out of his mouth as if he was wounded or something. Marinette then moved forward ahead of Louis so she could listen to what Gabriel or Hawkmoth or whoever he was had to say, "it was so similar... to how Emilie and I fell in love and had Adrien. I lost her only years later when her heart condition silenced her forever, and she never woke again..." Marinette listened silently as Gabriel explained without a hint of sadness, but with malice and loathing, "I didn't want Adrien to make the same mistake to fall in love the way he did, because it will only end in a tragedy!" Gabriel roared as glowing white butterflies appeared out of thin air, and they seemed to multiply whenever he makes outbursts like that.

"And what did you think that accomplished?" Marinette asked, but wasn't really expecting an answer, "Nothing, absolutely nothing. You only hurt your son, me, and his kids. You realized that the day where I would return was coming because Louis and Adrien were of age to finally meet, and so you planned to inseminate me on purpose to use Hugo and Emma as leverage to keep me away. How? How do I even respond to that?" Marinette sighed shakily, she could still feel the rage swirling within her. This is what it has come to, and in the end, people still get hurt for not particular reason. Louis then walked forward to scrutinize Gabriel for what he was and his actions.

"You have no business acting like the lives of others are yours to decide on a whim, and this is your punishment..." Louis said through clenched teeth. There was no fathoming the depths of his hatred for this man, who had made three attempts on his life. It was time, once and for all, to bury those memories away where he wouldn't have to remember them again, "I'm not scared of you anymore, I'm just fucking sick of you." Gabriel and him had a stare down for a few moments before he said something that shocked Louis because he didn't think he would remember.

"Now I see why she wanted to save you so desperately... from the darkness..." Gabriel murmured so only he could hear. Louis knew exactly what he was talking about: Emilie.

"So you remember that then?" Louis replied back softly as Gabriel proceeded to explain.

"I don't know how I got there, but she was determined to save you. Said that you had so much life to live and more importantly, she said that Adrien needed you in his life as much as you needed Adrien in your life. I don't remember what happened after that because it seemed as if everything faded away into nothingness, her conscience and her memory faded away into nothingness," Gabriel reminisced as he tried his best to remember the fleeting memories of his wife, the love of his life. Louis could understand what Emilie meant, he only wished she could have been here to see the end.

"My mom's life... my life... my siblings' lives... and my dad's life, we're all looking towards the future and want to appreciate life as it goes as a family. It's only you who can't let go of the past, and I'm sorry that you can't, because now it's over," Louis breathed in a shuddering breath before calmly letting it go, feeling the weight of everything slowly leave him, "and you've been left behind..." Louis took a few steps back before returning to his seat with his mom and the court had to gather its bearings before continuing.

"Your Honor?" Gabriel asked as he magically turned back into his normal self. The judge looked at him curiously and nodded at him to continue, "I confess, I was the one who drugged Madame Dupain Cheng and attempted to murder Doctor Alver and Louis Agreste. I also admit to planning Madame Dupain Cheng's artificial insemination mixup as well." The whole court gasped, hearing his confession for the first time. Adrien could only look on at his father in anguish and shame, to think that it's come to this between them.

"I see, your other crimes will be decided at another date," The judge replied, receiving a nod from Gabriel before turning to Francine, "Madame Mendeleev, since you were an accomplice to Mr. Agreste's crimes 8 years ago, your crimes will also be decided at a later date."

Francine nodded and smiled, "I understand Your Honor, and Marinette?" Francine turned so she could face Marinette, who stood up to meet her, "I'm truly sorry for everything..." Marinette nodded to her in acknowledgement, "I only went along with Gabriel's plan because he found out my history as a nurse, and I wanted to protect it at all costs..."

"Did something happen when you were a nurse that Gabriel found out?" Marinette asked, and it took a moment for Francine to figure out how to properly respond to that. However, now was the time to come clean.

"Well, since we are airing our grievances... a long time ago when I used to work at another hospital, I was greatly stressed and scrutinized by my overbearing sister, who I think was your teacher in high school , and my parents. Working as a nurse at a hospital is hard enough, and something had to give when I tried to handle both pressures as once. One day as I was tending to my patients, I accidentally mixed up the medications for my patients, and because of my mistake, 16 people died because of that malpractice incident, and it had been weighing on me for years... and I could never forgive myself," Francine explained as Marinette gasped and held a hand over her mouth to disguise her shock. Marinette could surmise from there that Gabriel found out about it and used it as blackmail to get her to help him in this case, "Again... I truly am sorry..."

"Huh... Nick, doesn't that story kinda sound familiar?" Maya noted as Phoenix looked up slightly in the upper right corner as if he was trying to remember. It did sound really familiar, but he couldn't quite place where it was from.

"Yeah... it does sound really familiar, it must have been a story from years ago if neither of us can remember where it was from," Phoenix replied, thinking that the story was from one of his cases any years ago, but he just couldn't pinpoint which one," Save the thought for another day then..."

Marinette sighed and gave her a gracious smile," It's ok Francine, I accept your apology." The judge got their attention by clearing his voice and then he continued the proceedings.

"Well then! This calls for a verdict, Marinette Dupain Cheng, you are declared NOT GUILTY!!" The judge announced as a few small explosions could be heard in the air and confetti started to rain down on the court. The judge smiled as he saw an unbelievable smile break out over Marinette's face, he was glad that Marinette was innocent, "Court is adjourned!"

Marinette couldn't believe her ears, it's really over, "I'm... not guilty..." she said breathlessly, unable to contain her joy and excitement, "I'm... NOT GUILTY!!" Marinette exclaimed as she felt herself crying out of joy. She turned to Louis, who had the biggest smile on his face as they both said it together.

"I'm not guilty!"

"You're not guilty!"

Marinette laughed through her tears and hugged her son tight and he reciprocated the same enthusiasm. However, the moment was dulled for her when she realized what her son had went through all in an attempt to find her. She pulled away from him slightly to cup his face and sighed softly as he sported an expression of confusion, "Louis I am so sorry for letting you suffer all these years... and I never noticed how much you were suffering. I always knew that you and I have always been at the forefront at resisting Gabriel... but why didn't you tell me?" Marinette asked softly as Louis sighed and looked down slightly in shame.

"I was scared... I was only 6 at the time, and I couldn't find the words to describe what happened. I meant to tell you eventually but days turned into weeks and into months, and eventually years. I just never got the chance to tell you, and I'm sorry," Louis whispered with it ending on a sob as Marinette carefully wiped away the tears that were forming in his eyes.

"It's ok Louis, it's over now, you have nothing to worry about now," Marinette leaned in to hug him again to reaffirm her belief that everything is over now. She couldn't help but cry as well, but she was still smiling because they were joyful tears. When she pulled away again, Louis wore his million dollar smile again because nothing could express how happy he was for the both of them. After they let go of each other, Marinette was immediately tackled by Chloe, who squealed in delight as she hugged Marinette tight.

"Woah Chloe! You're that happy I'm innocent?" Marinette joked as Chloe huffed and flipped her hair. It can be so hard to be happy for this girl sometimes when she jokes like that.

"Utterly ridiculous of you to ask that. Of course I'm happy that you're innocent, since it's thanks to me you managed to get off scot free," Chloe blew on her nails as if it was a job well done by her. Marinette couldn't help but smile in response, she just found the statement so amusing.

"It really is thanks to you, a long time ago I never would have imagined that you would help me in this manner, and now... I'm glad to have a friend like you," Marinette held her hands with Chloe's and she could have sworn she saw tears in Chloe's eyes, but that suspicion was quickly expunged.

"Don't get all sappy on me, I'm simply paying what I owe you," Chloe laughed as Marinette's face fell a little but Chloe then quickly explained, "you didn't deserve any of this, and believe it or not, you've done a lot for me, enough that I would actually associate myself with someone other than Sabrina and Adrien. But I was also paying you back for the letter," Marinette gasped slightly as she remembered the letters that she left behind when she disappeared. That seems like so long ago that she had written those, she almost forgotten what she wrote in them, "You told me to take care of Adrien when you were gone, and even though I technically did a bad job with this whole insemination situation being partly my fault, I just wanted to pay you back because it wasn't fair to you. He was always waiting for you, and now you're finally free!" Chloe exclaimed as she hugged Marinette again and Marinette laughed and cried at her explanation.

"Thank you Chloe, for everything!" Marinette said as she pulled away from Chloe and looked past her to find Alya, Nino, and all of her old classmates there waiting for her.

"MA GURL IS FREE!!!!!! Halleulujah!" Alya laughed as they both ran into to hug each other. When they finally pulled away, Alya had something she wanted to say to her too, "you did so well to make it through this trial. I felt like I was literally on edge the entire time, and I felt like crying the entire time." Alya said as she tried to wipe away the tears from her eyes, but she was just too emotional. Marinette smiled endearingly at her best friend as she noticed Nino popping out behind Alya and laughing.

"It's true dudette, she was losing it the entire time. She cried like twice," Nino held two fingers up in a peace sign as both Marinette and Nino snickered at the prospect of Alya crying. Then Nino was promptly smacked in the arm by his wife, who glared at him playfully, "Owww, anyway, I'm really glad that everything turned out well for everyone. I honestly don't know what I would have done if Gabriel tried to pull something else." Marinette scoffed and smirked at him knowingly.

"Thanks Nino, truly, you and Alya have helped bring my life back to what it was like before I left, and I cannot thank you two enough for making that happen," Marinette smiled brightly as she brought her two friends in for a hug, who practically swallowed her in the hug. She was so glad to have friends like them, who looked out for her and wanted all the best for her. She heard sniffling as she let go of them, seeing Alya wipe her tears away again. She looked past them to all of her classmates and friends who were waiting for her and walked up to them while drying off her tears.

"I'm so happy for you Marinette!" Rose exclaimed and Juleka added on.

"You did it Marinette, and it was awesome when that lawyer delivered the final blow," Juleka chimed in with her usual emo-like drawl.

"There was an absolute 100% chance that you would come out of this innocent, I had no doubts," Max proudly said while pushing his glasses and Marinete couldn't help but laugh at his comment.

"I knew someone like you could pull it off Marinette, your son and you have come a long way, and it paid off!" Kim declared, raising his arm in a fist as if Marinette physically worked her way to being innocent. Marinette heard Louis come up behind her and chuckle at his comment.

"This entire trial was intense, and it was an absolute show to watch," Alix laughed as Marinette and Louis raised an eyebrow at her comment, since it insinuated that she enjoyed watching Marinette getting tried for murder, "I mean, everything turned out fine, and it was one hell of a ride to get here. So good on you!" Alix nervously laughed as Marinette and Louis knew what she meant and laughed with her, dispelling her nervousness.

"Oh I am just so glad for you Marinette, Ivan and I knew everything would turn out alright! And it's been a pleasure to see you again," Mylene squealed as Ivan nodded and gave Marinette a thumbs up.

"I absolutely knew everything would turn out ok, it was just really surprising to hear about what happened. The mood in the room was a total cacophony of sounds and emotions," Luka patted Marinette on the shoulder and then brought his hand up to his mouth to ponder what kinda song the whole trial would be like. Marinette then spotted Kagami, who was actually smiling for once.

"It's good this is how it ended Marinette, you've come a long way and to decide it here was the safest and best course of action. You're finally free," Kagami hugged Marinette briefly, who returned it before letting go and looked around for a specific blondie. Then, Marinette spotted something blond out of the corner of her eye and when she turned slightly to see what it was, everyone stepped out of the way to reveal Adrien smiling widely at her with Hugo and Emma by his side. Slowly, Marinette walked towards him and called out to him.

"Adrien! Did you hear? I'm not guilty!" Marinette called out excitedly as she saw Adrien look adoringly at her and call right back at her.

"Loud and clear Mari..." Adrien called right back, and they both saw each other tearing up because this was so emotional for the both of them. The light that shined down from the ceiling illuminated them in a heavenly light, making them both look exalted in the light, just like angels. This time, they faced each other with an open heart and a free feeling that was absolutely infectious.

"It's over Adrien... this whole nightmare... is finally at an end!" Marinette started crying again because there was no fathoming how much emotion she was feeling over the end of a long standing nightmare of her. Adrien couldn't help but smirk at her for being so emotional but in all honesty, he was beyond elated for her.

"I know, now come over here and give me a hug!" Adrien smiled wide and held out his arms wide, gesturing her to come over. Marinette tried to wipe the tears away, but she eventually just gave up and ran over to him, wrapping her arms around him and snuggling her head into his shoulder. He leaned down to snuggle into her shoulder and after a bit, he whispered into her ear.

"I love you Mari..." Adrien whispered softly as he pulled away slightly to see a big smile on her face. What he would give to see that smile every day, and it was just for him.

"I love you too Adrien, now and always," Marinette wiped a tear away from her eye, but her words rang true in his ears and he couldn't help but lean down to capture her lips with his. Initially surprised, she happily returned the kiss and he filled it with as much passion as he could to show her how much he loved her. She wrapped her arms further around his shoulders and he happily picked her up so they could deepen the kiss. Hugo and Emma ran over to Louis to hug him in a simultaneous tackle before they turned back to watch their parents. Louis had this dopey, relieved smile that he couldn't get off his face because he knew that things were going to get better from here on out. Marinette gave one last kiss to Adrien before pulling away to hug him again and he happily twirled her around, making them both laugh. When they pulled away, Phoenix, Maya, and Athena walked up to the family with big smiles.

"Congratulations Marinette! I hope things calm down for you soon, you deserve it!" Maya bowed to Marinette graciously, who reciprocated the gesture.

"Congratulations Marinette! And Louis you too, I hope it wasn't too difficult to deal with my therapy techniques, it can be a bit traumatic at times," Athena played with her golden crescent moon earring while smiling nervously. Louis shook his head and held out his hand.

"No, it was what I needed to finally get over my fear of the past. Even though it may still haunt me now, but I know that it won't bother me anymore knowing that Gabriel is gone. So thank you for that," Louis explained, holding his hand for Athena to take and they shook hands in thanks.

"Congratulations to you both, I'd like to thank you for your cooperation because I know it was difficult for both of you to talk about the past. But thank you for holding out for me, because it gave me the info I needed to save you both," Phoenix congratulated Marinette and Louis in earnest and they both took his hands and shook it.

"Thank you Phoenix for doing everything you could to save our lives. I don't how we would have managed it without you. You were absolutely amazing and it was a pleasure meeting you," Marinette thanked Phoenix, who bashfully accepted the compliments, but it was comedically interrupted by Maya, who made his embarrassment worse .

"Oh please, you think he's cool? In most of his other cases, he's mostly had to bluff his way to the truth and it manages to always work. Even in this trial, he had to bluff it a bit in order to get somewhere," Maya joked as Louis accidentally let out a guffaw that caused a domino chain of laughter to erupt among everyone except for Phoenix.

"Oh come on Maya! Can't you let me have just one?!" Phoenix exclaimed as he shook his head and laughed along with everyone else. It was another case closed and it was the beginning of a new dawn for the Agreste Family. One that would lead to a happy future for the long lost couple, who were reunited again.

Everyone else left for the day after saying their goodbyes to Marinette and the family. Soon it was just Marinette, Adrien, Louis, Hugo, Emma, Nino, Alya, Chloé, and Phoenix and his team. As they walked down the stairs of the courthouse back to the main entrance, there was someone waiting for them there. As Marinette walked down the stairs, she came face to face with a familiar figure that she hadn't seen in a while.

"Nathalie... it's been a while," Marinette called out softly as the woman nodded to acknowledge her.

"Yes it certainly has Madame Dupain Cheng, I just wanted to congratulate you, Adrien, and your lawyer a job well done," Marinette noticed that she was smiling the tiniest bit, and even that spoke volumes to her.

"I wanted to thank you Nathalie, for looking out for me in these last 15 years in which I was exiled. Even though you didn't show it, I knew that you didn't agree with that Gabriel was doing either. I just wanted to thank you for doing everything you could," Marinette folded her hands in front of her, trying to see how Nathalie would react to her thanks. Nathalie smiled graciously as she turned to Louis to address him.

"Louis, I wanted to say this for a while, but I wanted to commend you for what you did during that fateful recital a few months ago," Nathalie praised Louis, who remembered what she was talking about, it was a recital he wanted to remember forever but in truth he wanted to erase it from his memory, "it takes a lot of strength to stand up to Gabriel, and even more to expose his plan in the middle of the recital."

Louis thought about what he did back then, and remembered that if he had stopped playing the song, then his family would be sniped within the recital hall. He wondered why that never happened, but then he figured out the reason why, "You stopped the snipers didn't you? That's why they didn't shoot us back then?" The whole group looked shocked as they looked at Nathalie even though Phoenix had no idea what they were talking about. He had known about Gabriel's attack on the recital hall when he did research on his past crimes, but he didn't know the full story.

"Wait snipers?" Phoenix wondered aloud as Louis briefly explained.

"It was a long story, Gabriel threatened to snipe my family within the recital hall if I didn't finish the song I was playing, which would activate a bomb to blow up the whole room," Louis explained as Phoenix wondered how Louis could explain that so plainly because that's completely nuts.

"You stopped the snipers Nathalie? But why?" Adrien asked as Nathalie sighed and clutched her tablet tighter in her arm.

"I for one, enjoyed the performance you and Louis put on for the audience. It was truly moving and heartwarming, and I knew that you were finding your own happiness. You deserve to find your own happiness, and that's why I had to do something. It's what your mom would want," Nathalie's voice shook slightly with emotion as Adrien understood her intentions. Adrien stepped forward to hug Nathalie, who was surprised by the gesture at first, but then gingerly wrapped her arms around him. After a moment, they pulled away as Adrien stepped back to put his arm around Marinette.

"Thank you Nathalie, I finally found my own happiness now. Don't worry about a thing," Adrien smiled wide making Nathalie appreciate the whole picture of Adrien, the love of his life, and his family. They all looked wonderful.

"I know... well, I wish you both the best, and please keep in touch. Marinette, please take care of him for me," Nathalie turned around to leave and she heard Marinette call out to answer her.

"We will! And I promise Nathalie that Adrien is in good hands!" Marinette called out and Nathalie responded by extending her hand out in a wave before leaving the building. She then sighed and leaned into Adrien, "it's over Adrien... 15 long years... I'm sorry I took so long," Marinette continued to stare at the entrance and felt tears prick at the edges of her eyes. Adrien looked down at her and smiled softly at her.

"What matters is that you came back to me, and opened my eyes to a family," Adrien looked over at Louis, Hugo, and Emma, who all in unison looked over at their parents with bright smiling faces, "I kept my promise to you... so thank you for waiting for me." Adrien leaned his head on top of hers and then the group heard a series of footsteps coming down the left hall and they all looked to find police officers leading Gabriel out in handcuffs. Soon the the group came within seeing range and they stopped so Gabriel could say anything to them if he wanted to.

"Adrien..." Gabriel started but didn't continue.

"Father..." Adrien replied back, but didn't say anything else. Marinette looked fearfully between the two because they haven't gotten the chance to speak to each other yet. However, now's the time to make peace and be done with the nightmare, "I'm sorry that it had to come to this... but you hurt the people I love and now I can't trust you... I'm making sure that all the accomplices that you have that did your dirty work be investigated so you won't hurt anyone else ever again."Gabriel then looked down as if he was ashamed and then he finally spoke again.

"See to it that you don't make the same mistake that I did, farewell Adrien," Gabriel nodded to Adrien and then to Marinette before leaving with the police officers, the sounds of their footsteps fading out of the door. Marinette released the breath she was holding and left Adrien's side to walk forward a few steps to stare at the entrance where Nathalie and Gabriel left.

"I'd like to think that this is the only way it could have ended... because the alternate ending would have ended up with us being dead..." Marinette's eyes fell a little bit but her heart still remained strong and faithful, she can't afford to be sad, "But this is for the best..." All of them stood in silence at her words until Maya suddenly broke the ice.

"Alright this is getting a little depressing, you're free now Marinette! The only thing you can do now is celebrate! Nick, get your wallet! You're treating us to dinner!" Maya exclaimed as she took Marinette's hand to pull her along with a yelp as Phoenix chased after them. Adrien, Louis, and the others couldn't help but laugh and come along for the prospect of a nice celebration dinner after everything that has happened.

"Maya! That's not fair! Why do I have to treat everyone to dinner!" Phoenix called out after them, frustrated yet strangely happy that this sort of thing is happening again.

"I actually could go for some food right now.. thanks Maya!"

"You know there's this really good burger place on the Champs Elysees, shall we go?"

"Of course let's go!"

"Wait, I'm not paying for this right? Because that would be utterly ridiculous!"

"Hey, can I take a picture of all of us from my blog when we get there? I want to celebrate my best friend returning to us for real this time!"

"Oooooh burgers, I can't wait! Hugo pick up the pace!"

"Yeah I know Emm, I'm coming..."

"Hey you two... let's go together... and enjoy ourselves for once."

"Yeah!"

The talking and the laughter were a beautiful backdrop for the sunset of a dark time and the dawn of a new beginning. Marinette could finally close the past behind her and walk forward once more with Adrien and their beloved children by her side.

Author's Note: Oh MY GOD! This is finally done... 15,469 words included the note I included at the beginning. I think this is the longest chapter I have ever written and I was really surprised this went on for so long. Anyway, school's out and summer's here so I hope I can update more consistently as this story only has a few planned chapters left. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the collaboration between Miraculous Ladybug and Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney. This was an absolute joy to write. The next chapter's name is E Pluribus Unum: Out of Many, One. So watch out for that and it will thankfully not be as long as this one. Stay safe and stay healthy! Even with the world getting rather worse for the wear. I hope you enjoyed the journey of all the characters up until this point, and stick with me for the ending.