Rei Ryghts: Ace Attorney
The Mech-Suit's Turnabout
by Derald Snyder
Investigation- Day 3
Court Record:
-Drugged Pudding
-Mech Remote
-Crime Scene Diagram
-Mech Suit Helmet
-Security Staff Roster
-NepCarFax Report
-Abnes Testimony
-Bullock Bros. Robbery Article
July 9, 12:51 PM
Planeptune Basilicom
Neptune's Room
"So, it seems the tide has shifted in your favor," Histoire noted after listening to Neptune and Rei's account of the trial.
Rei nodded as she took a bite of her sandwich. "S-so it seems, b-but there's s-still far t-too many l-loose th-threads hanging..."
"So, we just gotta find the guy who's pulling those threads," added Neptune, as she munched on some celery. "I still can't believe you hid all the sweets on me, Histy..."
"You need to eat healthier," the all-seeing tome admonished. "It's better for your brain. After all, if you want to help Rei deduce who framed your sister..."
"Yeah, yeah, I get it..." Neptune sighed as she chewed on a carrot.
*Ga-thunk!* went the door as a certain reporter made her entrance.
"Oh, hello Abnes," Rei acknowledged. "What are you doing here?"
Abnes bit her lip before bowing to the CPU. "I owe you an apology, Neptune. If I'd known I was being set-up, I never would have gone out to that expo in the first place..."
"We cool, man," Neptune smiled. "At least we got the record set straight..."
"Ah, so that explains why the drop in shares has stopped," Histoire nodded, smiling slightly. "News must have spread quickly after the trial today..."
"Anyway, while you're here, you remember anything else about your mystery contact?" Neptune asked.
Abnes just sighed. "Not really... I had my call logs dumped, and turns out the call was placed from a pay phone at the Institute."
The CPU groaned. "Aw, crappers... figures it wouldn't be that easy."
"But I can say for almost certain that it wasn't that security guard, or his brother," Abnes supplemented. "He had no accent, and I don't think he was disguising his voice... well, too much, anyway..."
"A man with no accent..." Histoire pondered. "That still doesn't narrow it down very much, I'm afraid..."
"Guess we'll have to do some old-fashioned legwork, then. Thanks for your help, Abnes," said Neptune.
"Good luck," Abnes nodded, before exiting.
Rei washed down her sandwich with a few swallows of milk, before wiping her chin and standing up. "We'd better get going back to the school. There's only so much time in the day, and tomorrow is the last day of trial..."
"So, let's go then!" exclaimed Neptune.
July 9
Planeptune Higher Learning Institute
Main Hallway, First Floor
"Well, no obvious clues around the pay phones," Neptune sighed as she finished her search. "I guess it was a long shot, anyway..." Suddenly Rei grabbed her by the hand, pulling her along. "Hey! Wha- Mmmph!" The lawyer clapped a hand over the goddess' mouth as she dragged her around the corner.
Once they were out of the line of sight of the phones, Rei removed her hand and put a finger to her lips, before silently pointing around the corner. Confused, Neptune slowly tilted her head to get a look...
And immediately pulled back. "Is that who I think it is?" she whispered. Rei just nodded.
Indeed, it was the green-haired Underling, making her way to the phones, dropping in the necessary change as she picked one up and dialed.
"What do we do?" the CPU whispered. "The moment she sees us, she'll take off like a rocket..."
"If s-she s-sees you, maybe," the disguised lawyer responded. "B-but she d-doesn't know w-who I am. Maybe I c-can distract her, and th-then you c-can sneak up o-on her f-from behind..."
"C'mon, pick up..." Underling muttered. "Am I really that expendable to you, old man?"
"U-um, hello!" Rei spoke up as she walked out from around the corner, Neptune still hidden from sight.
"Huh?" Underling looked up. Recognition kicked in, and she immediately closed her eyes and smiled as she hung up. "Oh hey! If it isn't Ms. Thirsty Girl from the other day! Whatcha doing here?"
"W-well..." Rei began as she tried to casually walk around the other woman, in an attempt to divert her gaze from the corner. "I-I was j-just curious a-about if th-they were g-going to continue the e-expo or not..."
"Eehh, I don't think so," the pale-skinned girl replied. "Most of the robots were blown to pieces, so..."
"Oh, th-that's t-too bad..." Rei sighed, though she smirked inwardly as Underling turned to face her, allowing Neptune to sneak out from behind the corner. "Um, I hate t-to say th-this, but thanks t-to th-that attack, I l-lost my p-pudding..."
"Dang," Underling muttered. "I lost all my pudding too, so I can't give you anymore..."
"How convenient," the former goddess' tone suddenly changed. "You got rid of all the evidence, did you?"
"Huh?" the other woman's expression turned confused. "Whadaya mean, 'evidence'?"
"The evidence that you drugged my favorite food!" Another voice spoke up, a hand coming down on Underling's shoulder, causing her to turn...
"WAAAHH! You!" the former ASIC member yelled at seeing Neptune's face.
"Long time no see, Underling," Neptune greeted with a sinister smirk.
"Oh, did I forget to mention that I'm Nepgear's lawyer?" Rei said smugly.
"We got her pudding tested, ya know," the CPU added. "We've got you dead to rights, Underling!"
"Like *hell* you do!" Underling threw something to the ground which promptly exploded into a cloud of smoke, blinding the two girls. The punk girl then elbowed Neptune in the solar plexus, before kicking Rei between the legs and running off.
"Ack-! *cough cough* No fair...!" yelled Neptune.
"Someone... stop her...!" Rei gasped out, even as she keeled over.
"Ha ha! Sayonara, suckers!" Underling laughed as she ran off...
...only to smack into a man's pectorals, falling to the ground as a result. Looking up, she saw a terrifying sight... "Waahh! S-Segata Sanshiro?!"
Indeed it was the feared judo master, who spread his arms before moving in for the attack. Underling found herself judo-flipped over the man's shoulder, before being put in a tight chokehold. In an instant, Segata stood over his defeated opponent, who could only lift her head up slightly.
"Segata... Sanshiro..." was all she could get out.
"Sega Saturn, SHIRO!" declared Segata as he held out a Sega Saturn, before something occurred to him. "Oh, wait. I mean... Underling of ASIC, you are under arrest!" He pulled out the controller cord from the console, before kicking the woman over and tying her arms behind her back with said cord.
Neptune ran up, Rei stumbling behind. "Wow, nice save, Segata! Good thing you were in the area!"
The prosecutor just nodded. "Call Agent IF, so she can take this evildoer into custody. I shall ensure she goes nowhere!" This the CPU did, and a few minutes later, IF arrived with a few burly NPC agents.
"Good job, you three," IF nodded before turning to her fellow agents. "Make sure she gets put in a maximum security cell. I don't want to take any chances of her escaping again."
"Yes ma'am!" the NPCs concurred as they picked Underling up to her feet, before dragging her off.
Neptune nodded in satisfaction. "Well, that's one loose burrito wrapped up."
"Maybe, but... that burrito...hit hard..." Rei groaned as she sat on a bench, still favoring her groin.
"Indeed, hitting someone in that spot during a judo match is an automatic disqualification," Segata stated. "I always fight fair and square!"
"Except that one time you lifted the entire goal to prevent a score in a soccer match," the CPU pointed out. "You got red-carded for that, if I remember..."
The judo master recoiled. "I-I panicked! A-and that was years ago, anyway!"
"Getting back on topic..." IF spoke up. "Now that we've got Underling in custody, hopefully we'll be able to get more information out of her than we did Drew Bullock... It seems he wasn't really much more than hired muscle, at least compared to his brother..."
"You still believe they were 'in cahoots', as Kobayashi said?" Segata inquired.
"Probably because she's got top-secret info from her secret mission," said Neptune, causing Iffy to face-palm.
The prosecutor's eyes went wide. "'Secret mission'? This is the first I've heard of this!"
"Well, duh, if you knew, it wouldn't be secret anymore, would it?" the goddess pointed out.
IF sighed as she ran a hand through her hair. "Well, I guess it'd be pointless to keep you in the dark any longer... but let's go to the west gate and talk there. That way I know we won't be overheard."
The others nodded in agreement...
July 9
Planeptune Higher Learning Institute
Western Gate
IF and Segata were the first to arrive, Neptune lagging behind, supporting the still-sore 'Yuu Kobayashi'.
"Now then," the judo master spoke, "Would you care to tell us all exactly what is going on here?"
The agent looked down, lightly biting her lip as she considered where to begin. "Well, have you ever heard of the 'Citizen's Group'?
Neptune and Rei both jerked their heads up at this. "Wait, Iffy, you don't mean..."
"Right," she nodded, "the anti-goddess organization headed by Rei Ryghts herself, before she became a goddess herself and went berserk."
"Th-that's s-something I'd rather f-forget..." the lawyer groaned.
"Because you used to be a member yourself, right?" IF stated.
"You were?!" Segata turned to 'Yuu' in shock.
"I... *really*... d-don't w-want t-to t-talk about it..." she squeaked.
Neptune cut in, "Then don't talk about it. Let Iffy do the talking."
Segata nodded, turning back to the Guild agent. "Very well, we're listening."
"Well, as you know," IF began, "the original Citizen's Group was rendered defunct when Rei Ryghts went berserk and attempted to destroy Gamindustri itself. However, there's been rumors going around recently that a new Citizen's Group has arisen from the ashes of the old one, led by one of the members of the original. We looked into it and realized that the rumors might have some credibility to them. The fact that Underling had resurfaced after being in hiding for so long only strengthened our hunch. So, we put a tail on her, hoping she'd lead us to the rest of the group."
"I'm guessing no dice until this point, huh?" Neptune muttered.
The agent nodded grimly. "It seemed the members of the group kept in contact only through pay phones or disposable cell phones that couldn't be traced. However, we did observe that Underling seemed to be hanging around the Institute a lot. When we found out that the annual Robotics Expo was going to held soon, it didn't take a genius to put two and two together and realize that since Nepgear would likely attend the event, that the Citizen's Group would make a move on her there."
"Wait, so you *knew* this would happen?" Segata asked incredulously.
"We didn't expect what actually occurred," IF sighed. "We were expecting something more along the lines of an attack against Nepgear herself, instead of manipulating her into circumstances that made it look like she had attacked innocent civilians... A serious mistake on our part." She then glanced over at the disguised Rei. "Honestly speaking, I'm glad Rei Ryghts herself did what she did... Her attacking the mech suit to stop it before people got killed... well, the consensus among me and my fellow agents is pretty much, 'not exactly what we had in mind, but we'll take it.'"
"Which is why you're not putting much effort into finding her, I take it?" the prosecutor inquired.
IF ran a hand through her hair nervously. "Well, Mr. Sanshiro, the truth is... we actually *do* know where she is, but seeing as she hasn't made any other aggressive moves at the moment, we've been inclined to let sleeping dogs lie, and focus on the investigation into the attack on the expo instead." She then turned to the purple-haired goddess. "Also, I owe you an apology, Neptune. I know you thought I was blowing you off a few days back, but the truth is, if the Citizen's Group had seen me at the expo, they might have realized we were onto them and scuttled their plans, which would have put us back at square one."
"Yeah, I was kinda bummed," Neptune muttered, "but now that I know what's been going on behind the curtain, so to speak, how could I not forgive you, Iffy?" She smiled at her friend, causing IF to smile back, in spite of herself...
Suddenly, the side of the black van opened, an NPC climbing out. "IF!" he called. "We just got a fax from Forensics! Looks like they've finally finished their analysis of the drugged pudding."
That got everyone's attention. "Wow, they sure took their sweet time, huh?" Neptune sighed as the NPC handed some papers to his colleague. IF started reading through them, the other gathering around to see for themselves... "Sheesh, I can't make heads or tails of this," the CPU groaned.
"I think I understand about half of it, myself," Rei chimed in.
"So what does it say?" inquired Segata.
"Well, the gist of it is that the sleeping drug added to the pudding is a chemical called 'Senyak-13'." Taking out her mobile device, IF entered the name, bringing up more information. "What the-?! This is a highly experimental compound that hasn't been approved for general use yet!"
"Um, w-why n-not?" Rei asked.
"Well, according to some tests, some of the rats that were subjected to this drug went to sleep... and never woke up again."
"NEPU?!" Neptune gasped in shock, her eyes shrunk to white circles. "B-but what if that had been me?!"
"Underling likely did not care," Segata suggested. "However, how did she get her hands on this drug, if it is not available for the public?"
"Good question," muttered the agent as she tapped on the screen. "According to this, only a select few laboratories are experimenting with the drug..." Her eyes suddenly went wide. "And one of them is right here, at the Institute itself!"
"What?!" everyone else gasped.
*Drugged Pudding updated in Court Record.*
"Well, guess it's obvious where we gotta go now," said the CPU. "To the labs, everyone!"
"You guys go on ahead," said IF. "I gotta go back and check on the divers dredging the river, and see if they've come up with anything yet."
"OK, you do that, Iffy!" Neptune nodded. "C'mon, Yuu, Segata, let's go!" She ran off, Rei and Segata jogging behind...
July 9
Planeptune Higher Learning Institute
Chemistry Labs, First Floor
"Well, here we are," muttered Neptune as the trio stopped in front of a door, which read 'UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS STRICTLY PROHIBITED.' "So, how do we get in?"
"You don't," a gruff, unaccented elderly male voice spoke up. "Surely you know how to read, CPU Neptune." The trio turned to the source of the voice- a tall man wearing a long white coat, with blond-grey hair and a significant bald spot on the top. He wore an old-fashioned pair of spectacles, which had piercing gray eyes behind them. Underneath the coat, he wore a simple button-up shirt and dark slacks.
"Ah, Headmaster," Segata nodded in recognition. "Ruling your school with iron discipline, as always..."
"Wha-? This guy's the headmaster?!" Neptune gasped in shock.
"Correct," the man affirmed as he pushed his glasses up his sharp nose. "My name is Professor Austin Paragan, the head of this prestigious school. And though you may be the CPU, miss Neptune, my word is law here, and I would request that you respect that. Unlike your sister..."
Neptune opened her mouth to protest, only to have it covered by Rei. "With all due respect, sir, we're here as part of our investigation into what happened with Nepgear. I'm her lawyer, Yuu Kobayashi."
"Mmm mmmph!" The CPU mumbled in protest.
"I see," the professor nodded. "But what does chemistry have to do with Nepgear's attack on the Robotics Expo?"
Segata handed the pudding analysis to the professor. "Well, you see, professor, miss Neptune here was drugged asleep by a fugitive that had infiltrated the expo. Ms. Kobayashi's argument is that said felon did so in order to prevent miss Neptune from intervening in the attack on the expo."
"Hmmm..." Professor Paragan looked over the analysis. "Wait, Senyak-13?"
"Exactly!" said Neptune, having gotten free of Rei. "Which is only being tested on a few labs across Gamindustri... including this one! Doesn't take a genius like you to put two and two together here..."
"So you believe that this felon robbed my laboratory in order to drug the CPU?" Paragan pondered. "Personally, I don't see how that's possible..."
"Why not?!" Neptune challenged.
"Neptune, please," Rei admonished. "I apologize for her, Headmaster..."
"Well, if you would all quiet down for a second, I would explain why I don't believe it possible that this felon robbed us," stated the professor, with the air of a parent admonishing a child. "Simply put, no common criminal would be capable of penetrating our tight security."
"She's not exactly common, Professor," the CPU argued. "She's a former member of the Arfoire Syndicate of International Crime, and pretty darn resourceful, at least from my memory..."
"Even if what you say is true," Paragan countered, "I highly doubt she would make it past the door to the lab containing the drug itself. Perhaps I should show you what I mean..." Moving over to the door, he gestured to a device set just above the doorknob. "In order to open this door, you must place your thumbprint on this scanner while entering your access code. If either of these are not listed in the security database, or the access code does not match with the thumbprint of the individual assigned that access code, an alarm is sounded."
Neptune just shook her head. "I've seen a keypad/fingerprint scanner a lot like this one get foiled on Myth-bonkers, with nothing but a licked piece of paper with a thumbprint on it."
The headmaster just smirked. "You're not the only one who watches that show, miss Neptune... which is why I'll let you in on a secret security feature for this door. There is, in fact, a hidden camera on this device, linked to a computer with facial-recognition software. Even if someone attempted to foil this scanner in the manner you describe, if their face does not match with the profile picture linked to the thumbprint and access number, the door will not open."
*Notes on Lab Security Door added to the Court Record.*
"Hmph. If I needed to get through that door, I would simply kick it down," stated Segata.
"And set off every alarm in the building," Rei deadpanned.
"Exactly," Professor Paragan assented. "I can assure you, there have been no unauthorized attempts at access in the last month. You can check the log at the security office if you don't believe me."
"OBJECTION!" declared Neptune. "Unfortunately, Professor, your security has already been compromised!"
"And just what is *that* supposed to mean?" said Paragan, narrowing his eyes at the CPU.
"I think she means this," said Rei, pulling out the article on the Bullock Bros. robbery and handing it to him. "Your two recent hires for security turned out to be felons at large. I think you'll see what I mean if you look at the profile pictures of the robbers..."
The headmaster adjusted his glasses as he skimmed over the article. "My word," he muttered, "It is them. This is quite disturbing... it seems we will have to review our hiring practices."
"So how do you know those two just didn't make it so that Underling wouldn't trip the alarm when she snuck in?" challenged Neptune.
"The fact that they were only recent hires," Paragan retorted. "They were not cleared to have access to this laboratory. Only the scientists themselves and higher-up security personnel are authorized to access this lab. And, of course, being the headmaster, I have access as well..."
"Then only one possibility remains," said the judo master. "Either one of your scientists or these higher-ups gave the sleeping drug over to Underling willingly!"
Paragan jerked his head up at this. "Do you have any idea what you are insinuating, Prosecutor Sanshiro?"
"Once you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth," Segata stated, unflinching.
"I see. Very well then," the headmaster conceded, "I shall give you a list of personnel that has access to the lab containing Senyak-13. Though I still don't see how any of them could violate their ethics in such a manner..."
'Yuu Kobayashi' nodded. "OK. In the meantime, we'll head to the security office and check the log and security cameras, just to make sure all our bases are covered. Also, I want a word with my client in private."
"Then I shall go with the headmaster for now, to obtain the roster," Segata assented.
"Fair enough. Come on, Neptune." With that, Rei walked off briskly, the CPU following behind, slightly confused...
July 9
Planeptune Higher Learning Institute
Main Hallway, First Floor
Rei sat down in one of the seats, letting her breath out in a rush. Neptune took the chair to her left, before speaking, "Alright, Rei, you mind letting me in on what's going on? You seemed kinda stiff back there..."
The disguised lawyer looked over at Neptune, removing her sunglasses so she could look her straight in the eye. "That professor, Austin Paragan... I know him."
"You do?!" Neptune's eyes went wide. "What, you afraid he made you or something?"
"N-no, I d-don't th-think he recognized m-me... thank goodness," Rei sighed. "B-but that's n-not t-the major th-thing..." She took a deep breath. "You s-see, he was m-my professor a w-while b-back... and h-he was a-also the one w-who i-instilled m-my a-anti-goddess views t-to b-begin with..."
"W-w-whaaaaaatt?!" the CPU gasped in surprise. Lowering her voice to a conspiratorial whisper, she inquired, "So, do ya think *he's* the mastermind behind this whole scheme?"
Rei shook her head. "I don't think... I *know*. If a-anybody c-could reconstitute th-the Citizen's Group a-after my... b-berserk episode, it would b-be h-him..."
Neptune bit her lip. "Any way you can prove that?"
"I'm not sure..." Rei rubbed the bridge of her nose. "B-being a p-professor and h-headmaster, he's obviously v-very intelligent... he l-likely h-has all his b-bases c-covered... i-it's n-not g-going t-to be easy..." Something then occurred to her. "Th-that being said, I wonder if he m-might be th-the one who g-gave Underling that drug..."
"Heeey, that's right!" Neptune gasped, hitting her palm with her fist. "He said as headmaster he has access to that lab! It'd be like taking candy from a baby for him!" Standing up, she turned to face Rei. "C'mon, let's get moving to the security office, so we can see if he went in there recently!"
The lawyer nodded as she slipped her sunglasses back on, before standing herself. "OK, let's go... but please don't run... I have trouble keeping up with you as it is..."
July 9
Planeptune Higher Learning Institute
Security Office
Segata Sanshiro was already there by the time the two women arrived, typing away at a computer in the back, and apparently not having much luck...
"Hey, Segata!" Neptune greeted. "Find the access logs yet?"
"No, I haven't," the judo master groaned in frustration. "Though, I think I found the footage from the security cameras for that lab, but I'm having trouble accessing anything from the past few days..."
"H-here, let m-me do it, b-before you k-karate chop the c-computer or something..." Rei offered. Segata promptly gave up the seat for Rei, who immediately started typing away. "I hate t-to say th-this, b-but the reason y-you c-can't find anything f-from the p-past few d-days is because i-it's n-not there... p-probably deleted."
"Deleted?!" Segata cried in shock.
"Aw, crappers!" Neptune groaned. "Andrew Bullock strikes again! Probably trying to cover for the guy who gave Underling the drug..."
"Does that mean the access logs were deleted as well?" the prosecutor inquired.
"W-well, let's not j-jump to conclusions h-here..." Rei stated as she continued to type away at the computer. "Let's see... maybe... Ah-ha, here they are! You were just looking in the wrong directory, Mr. Sanshiro... And it looks like these logs are intact. I'm guessing Andrew either didn't know where these logs were, or he thought that deleting them as well would look too suspicious..."
"Right..." Neptune nodded grimly. "If he only deleted the camera footage, he could argue that it was just a glitch in the system or something..."
"And the police still have not found him. I checked with them while I waited for you," Segata explained. "Either he has already fled the city, or he is very well hidden..."
"Well, putting that aside..." Rei cut in. "It seems these access logs only have the numbers, not the names associated with them. And there haven't been any attempts at unauthorized entry, either..."
"Do not worry," said Segata, "for I have the list of personnel right here. All we have to do is match the names to the access numbers."
"Good," the defense attorney nodded. "But it looks like I can't print these off, so we'll have to copy them manually..."
"I can do that!" Neptune volunteered, grabbing a pen and a sheet of paper. "I'm pretty good with numbers, so this should be a snap!"
"Very well then," Segata assented, "let us proceed..."
About 10-15 minutes later, they had successfully matched most of the names to the access numbers, save one...
"Strange," muttered the judo master, "why is there one number that does not match the list? I thought the headmaster had given me a complete list..."
"12119-20914," the CPU read the number off. "And look when they accessed it... July 6 at 11:05 PM! You'd think everyone'd left and gone to dreamland by then... suspicious much?"
"Indeed," the prosecutor nodded, "This mystery person may well be our culprit. But who could it be...?"
(I think I know...) Rei thought to herself, before saying aloud, "Well, Mr. Sanshiro, perhaps you could have the good professor come in to court tomorrow to testify on this matter..."
"Agreed," said Segata. "I was planning on calling him as a witness anyway, to explain the security for the lab where the drug for miss Neptune's pudding was likely obtained..."
"Fair enough," Rei nodded, before shutting the computer down. Standing up, she stated, "Well, I think this is all we're going to find for today. Neptune and I should get going, I want to touch base with IF, before we get ready for court tomorrow..."
"Good idea, Yuu!" Neptune exclaimed as she stood up as well. "I'll keep these access numbers on hand, just in case... I've already made a note about the unmatched number and time."
*Security Access Log added to the Court Record.*
"Then I suppose this is where we part ways, for now," Segata said. "I look forward to seeing you in court tomorrow, Ms. Kobayashi." As he said this, he held out his hand, which Rei grasped in a firm handshake.
"Likewise, Mr. Sanshiro," said Rei with a smile, trying not to grimace from the man's tight grip. "And may the truth win."
To be continued...