Rei Ryghts: Ace Attorney

The Mech-Suit's Turnabout

by Derald Snyder

Post Trial Wrap-Up

July 10, 2:15 PM

District Court

Defendant Lobby No. 3

(This is where I came in,) thought Rei as she sympathetically rubbed Nepgear's back, the goddess still crying from her heartbreak caused by Mortez at the end of the trial.

"Morty... I can't believe it... why..." Nepgear hiccuped as she continued to sob. Neptune stood nearby, remaining silent, not sure how to comfort her sister, since she had suspected him from the beginning...

"...Well, he was c-certainly a g-good actor... a-and good at c-covering his t-tracks..." the lawyer finally spoke up. "He e-even had m-me fooled..."

"And I was going to ask him on a date next week..." Nepgear sighed, causing her sister's eyes to shrink to white circles in shock.

Rei just shook her head. "Nepgear... he never liked you. And I have proof." She took out a piece of evidence from the trial...

"...the mech suit's helmet? I don't understand..." the goddess said confusedly.

"The mouth guard," Rei clarified. "Despite what he said, it wasn't actually a mouth guard at all, but a gag. A gag designed to muffle you so you couldn't scream for help, or yell at people to run for their lives... He was manipulating you from the start, with one purpose: to get you to climb inside that mech suit of your own will. The moment you did that, your fate was sealed..."

"S-so... it was a lie..." Nepgear said, her tears flowing once more. "All a lie from the very beginning... Neptune was... right all along..."

*Nepgear has received the 'Broken-Hearted' affinity!*

"Aw, NO!" moaned Neptune in disbelief. "Not again! I thought we were done with this crap after Victory!" Looking at the screen, she yelled, "Hey, author! Isn't there something you can do to help Nep. Jr. out here?!"

...and then, as if by magic, the doors flung open, a familiar girl dressed in black running in. "Nepgeeeeaaarrr!" she wailed as she crashed into the CPU Candidate's chest, flinging her arms around the other girl.

"Oooof!" Nepgear grunted as the wind was knocked out of her. Looking down, she saw a familiar set of jet-black twin tails... "U-Uni?!" she gasped in surprise.

Looking up, the CPU Candidate of Lastation cried, "I heard about your arrest... I'm so sorry I couldn't come sooner, but Noire had me run ragged with work...!" Seeing the tear streaks on her friend's face, her eyes widened with horror. "No.. don't tell me... you were found guilty?!"

"No, no, she was acquitted," Neptune spoke up. "Nepgear's just crying 'cause her wannabe boyfriend turned out to be in on the frame-up job..."

"R-really?" Uni gasped, before burying her head in Nepgear's chest again. "Oh Nepgear, I'm so sorry! To have your heart stomped on like that...!" If anyone had been paying close attention, though, they might have glimpsed a small, secret smile on her lips...

"...thanks, Uni." Nepgear lightly returned the embrace, finally smiling once more. "I'm glad I still have a friend like you..."

The brunette lifted her head up to look at Nepgear's face. "W-well, yeah... I mean, anytime you need a shoulder to cry on, I'm here for you... you know that, right?" Something then caught her eye, and she turned her head to see Rei standing nearby...

"WAAAAHH!" Uni cried as she jumped back, taking a defensive position. "What is *she* doing here?!"

"Whoa, whoa! It's OK, Uni!" Nepgear cried as she stepped between them. "Rei's my lawyer! She's the one that got me cleared!"

"L...lawyer?" Uni looked around her friend, Rei pointing to the attorney's badge on her lapel. "Since when did that happen?"

"Sheesh, Uni... out of the loop, much?" Neptune sighed in slight exasperation. The doors then opened again, IF and Histoire entering.

"Hey, guys! I just heard about the verdict! Nice job!" said IF.

"Indeed. Well done, Rei," affirmed Histoire. "Your actions today may have saved Planeptune altogether."

"Huh? Iffy? I thought you were in jail for contempt?" Neptune asked confusedly.

"Histoire bailed me out," the Guild agent explained. "I'm still gonna have to have to answer for my deception in court though..."

"Deception?" Uni blinked, looking totally lost.

"Ugh, Histy, could you please explain things to her?!" Neptune sighed.

Histoire sighed. "Well, if I must..." The fairy took Uni aside, and started explaining the events that had transpired. As they were talking, the doors opened once more, Segata Sanshiro striding in.

"Prosecutor Sanshiro?" Rei blinked, nonplussed. "Why are you here? The trial's over, isn't it?"

"I came to inform you all," the judo master began, "that the police have finally located Andrew Bullock. It turns out, he was hiding in a secret room in the basement of the Institute itself."

"Ugh! He was right under our noses the whole time!" Neptune groaned in disbelief.

"W-well, better late than never, right?" said Nepgear.

"Yeah, that's great news, Mr. Sanshiro," agreed IF. "Now that we've got four members of the new Citizen's Group in custody, it shouldn't be too much trouble to roll up the rest of the group and put them out of commission for good!"

"Except for that professor," the CPU interjected. "It really sucks that couldn't get enough proof to put *him* away..."

"I wouldn't worry too much about it, Neptune," Iffy reassured her. "After all, Rei *did* prove that Paragan was part of the original Citizen's Group... Once that news hits the ears of PHLI's board of directors, I highly doubt he's going to holding on to his position as headmaster much longer."

"You mean, like a vote of no confidence or something?" asked Nepgear.

"Indeed," nodded Segata. "Not to mention, he will be very closely watched from this point forward. The moment he steps out of line..." He took a fighting pose. "Sega Saturn, SHIRO!"

"Well, I feel sorry for him now... almost," muttered Neptune.

"...Okay, I think I get what happened now," nodded Uni as Histoire finished her explanation of events. The brunette then turned to Rei. "So, if you defended Nepgear, does that mean you don't hate us goddesses anymore?"

Rei Ryghts shifted uncomfortably. "Well, my thinking these days is more along the line of, 'nobody's perfect'. You CPUs may not be the best at your jobs sometimes, but it's clear that you all care about your citizens, if nothing else... After all, Neptune and Nepgear went out of their way to help me, when they had every right to just throw me to the wolves, so to speak..."

Uni pondered this for a moment. "Well, I know Noire wouldn't have given you any mercy, if it had been her nation you leveled... But then, you wouldn't have been able to save Nepgear from terrorist charges, so I guess it worked out this time."

"Indeed, fate does work in mysterious ways," Segata nodded. "Well, if you will excuse me, I have to finish the paperwork for this trial, so I can return to my training. Fare well, goddesses." With that, he strode out.

"Bye Segata! Don't be a stranger!" Neptune called after him. A strange growling noise was then heard echoing through the room, causing nearly everyone to sweat-drop.

"Hungry again, Neptune?" IF muttered.

"Nuh-uh! That wasn't me! I plead not guilty!" The CPU insisted.

"Um, actually... That was me," Uni confessed. "I must have used a lot of energy flying over here in HDD..."

"Well, how about we all go out and get something to eat, in celebration of Nepgear's acquittal?" IF suggested.

"Sounds good to me!" agreed Neptune.

"Um, I'd love to, but..." Rei hesitated. "Now th-that e-everyone knows w-who I am, well..."

"Don't worry, Rei. I know of a place we can eat where your presence won't cause too much of a ruckus," IF said.

"So what are we waiting for, then? Let's go!" exclaimed Neptune.

July 10, 4:07 PM

Used Game Restaurant

Rei looked around at the servers and few other patrons as she nibbled at her plate of food... everyone seemed to be giving her dirty looks, but fortunately the presence of no less than three goddesses seemed to keep anyone from trying anything...

Neptune let out a small burp as she patted her full belly. "Ahhh... that was good. Especially after a day and a half of nothing but vegetables..."

"Histoire forced you on a diet again, huh?" IF guessed.

"Well, at least it wasn't all sugary sweets this time..." The all-seeing tome sighed. "But you're still getting back to work tomorrow! You need to make up the Shares that were lost, after all..."

"Figured you'd say that..." the CPU groaned.

"It's OK, Neptune," said Nepgear. "I have to regain the citizen's trust, so I'll be working right alongside you..."

"You know... " Uni spoke up. "Doesn't it seem strange that, except for the judge, all the original characters in this story were evil?"

"...Holy OC's, Batman! You're right, Uni!" Neptune gasped, her eyes shrunk to white circles. "And even the judge was based on a villain from another game!"

"Dang," muttered Iffy, "If I'd known that, my job would've been a lot easier..."

"But then, this wouldn't have been a very good fan-fiction," Histoire pointed out. "Which means nowhere near as many people would have read it..."

"That's true," agreed Nepgear. "You need a bit of suspense to make a mystery genre-type story work, after all..."

"W-well, p-putting the fourth wall b-breaking aside..." Rei spoke up. "Who's p-paying for th-the food?"

"Not me," said Neptune. "I don't have any credits on me at the moment..."

"Me neither," added Uni.

"My wallet got confiscated when I was arrested," IF sighed.

"Um, mine too," said Nepgear.

"I used all the money I had on hand to post bail for IF," said Histoire.

Rei blinked, as everyone else's eyes trained on her. "W-wait... me?! You want me to pick up the tab?" As if one cue, the bill was promptly placed in front of her, her eyes nearly bugging out as she saw the total. "Y-you ate *that much*, Neptune?!"

"Actually, that's a light meal for me," the goddess admitted, putting a hand behind her head. "So Rei, you'll pick up the tab, right?"

"Please, Rei?" pleaded Nepgear.

"Pretty please?" added Uni.

"C'mon, Rei! Whaddaya say?" Neptune asked again.

(What do I say? What do I say?!) Rei thought in panic. (There's only one thing *to* say!)

"OBJECTION!"

~*Fin*~