March 5

District Courthouse

Defendant Lobby No. 2

1:15 PM

Arriving out in the defendant's lobby should have been accompanied by a massive sigh of relief, something I had come to expect from the trials I was involved with. This time though, there was nothing of that nature, and all I could do was let out a frown as I stared down at the evidence in my hands. I hated how that trial had turned out even though I knew we had done the right thing. We exposed the culprit and showed who was responsible for Prosecutor Turner's murder, but I still felt awful about the whole situation. This shouldn't have happened in the first place. Prosecutor Turner shouldn't have been killed for one, but beyond that, the legal system shouldn't have been so twisted to lead to Ms. Russell feeling the need to go this far. I couldn't help but think back to everything that had been said at the conclusion of the trial.

Everyone seemed to agree that Oracle had been justified in revealing the truth behind Prosecutor Turner's actions, and while I did think the truth should have been revealed to the world, it made me wonder... Why was an outside figure seemingly unaffiliated with the law being forced to do all of this? The legal system itself should have been handling all of this from the outset instead of counting on somebody outside to take care of everything. It didn't seem right to me that Oracle had to do this under an anonymous title where the truth was left obscured from the public. Shouldn't this have been taken care of in other ways before it could spiral out of control? It didn't make me feel any better knowing that Oracle was out there; if anything, it only made me feel worse that their work was necessary in the first place. It shouldn't have been this way at all, and yet, here we were.

"I would say that trial ended well for you, ja?"

The voice of Prosecutor Gavin ultimately pulled me out of my thoughts, and I glanced up to see that he had come into view alongside Apollo. One of Prosecutor Gavin's arms was thrown over Apollo's shoulders, and the brown-haired lawyer was staring down at the ground with pink in his cheeks. "Yeah... I guess it did," he said softly. He wasn't bothering with pushing away his boyfriend's affection, and I could tell that was a sign of just how emotionally worn down he was by this entire situation.

Beyond that, I could see the truth of his emotions in his eyes. He was thinking the same thing I was. This shouldn't have had to happen in the first place. It shouldn't have taken an outside person to expose corruption happening in the legal system in order for people to wake up and see the truth. The system should have been able to take care of this grave injustice on its own, but instead, all of Prosecutor Turner's cases were left to rot before anyone could see true justice. The cases were already closed, and the defendants he had wrongly convicted were trapped under the thumb of his actions and would be for the rest of their lives.

"I think this calls for a celebration," Trucy announced. "That was a big trial, and now that Polly is out of the detention center, we're going to be able to enjoy ourselves again. After all of that, we deserve to kick back and relax for a while."

Mr. Wright nodded his agreement, and I pretended I didn't see just how tired his eyes were. I wasn't the only one who had picked up on the darkness behind this case. Everyone else was fully aware of it as well whether they chose to acknowledge it openly or not. "You're right, Truce," he smiled. "I'm sure we'll be able to figure out something festive we could do together."

"As long as it doesn't involve cleaning toilets, I'm in," Apollo commented. He was still in Prosecutor Gavin's grasp, but he was starting to decompress, and I chose to not give him trouble over it even though the chance was right there. He needed this, and I wasn't going to poke fun at him for that. He had been through a lot lately, and he deserved to be able to relax for a while. We all did, but him especially.

Mr. Wright chuckled to himself. "I'm sure that can be arranged," he said, his voice halfway joking and halfway serious, though I knew this was because he was split between two subjects, one of fun and one of solemnity. It was on all of our minds whether we admitted it or not, and that only left me feeling more anxious about the whole situation.

"You did a fine job in the courtroom."

I glanced up when I heard Simon's voice, and a smile spread across my face. "Thanks," I beamed up at him. "I did what I could to find the truth, and I'd say that it all turned out well. Apollo is out of the detention center, and we were able to find the true criminal too."

Simon was quiet for a beat before he made eye contact with me, and I could already tell he was on the verge of piercing to the core of my soul if I gave him the chance. "The true criminal... You aren't referring to Ms. Russell here, are you?" he questioned even though both of us already knew the answer.

I stared down at the ground uncomfortably, doing my best to not make it seem like I was as nervous as I was. "No," I eventually admitted, hating how easily he had been able to see through my words. "No matter how much I think about the case, I can't get the truth out of my head. All of this happened because Oracle exposed Prosecutor Turner for his false verdicts. Everything he did up to this point... All of it was a lie. Or, to be more accurate, a lot of it was filled with lies, and we don't have a way of telling apart the falsities from what was true. How are we supposed to look back on everything he did when we barely know what was going on ourselves?"

Simon didn't say anything before he ultimately shook his head. "I don't know," he said bluntly, seemingly having run out of sage wisdom to provide before he could speak any to begin with. "Either way, he's gone now. I doubt many people will miss him with his death."

I let out a small snort at that, immediately feeling shame for it but not bothering to take it back. I wish I knew how to handle any of this, but instead, I was just left with a void in my chest that I didn't know how to fill. Where were we supposed to start when it came to thinking about this case? The victim was killed because he forged evidence, and we weren't going to be able to right all the wrongs he left behind. Oracle was still a mystery, and even though we were able to solve this case, it felt like we barely figured anything out about the actors in play behind the scenes. Oracle was the reason all of this happened, but we didn't know anything about them. Where were we even supposed to begin with finding the truth? Why was it continuing to avoid us after all this time?

"Great job in there, pal!"

The sudden, overwhelming shout of an older man left me to wince, and I resisted the urge to cover my ears as I turned to see Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth entering the room with Detectives Gumshoe and Faraday in his shadow. Detective Gumshoe was the one who had spoken, and I smiled in his direction as I did my best to pretend my ears weren't ringing.

Mr. Wright smiled to the three of them, though I noticed how he mainly made eye contact with Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth. "Thank you," he said simply, but he ultimately glanced over to me a moment later. "Athena is the one who did the heavy lifting though. You did great, Athena."

I flushed at his words of praise, my fingers starting to stroke through my hair as I did my best to cope with the embarrassment despite all the eyes focused squarely on me. "I just did what I had to in order to find the truth," I told him simply, not entirely sure what else I was supposed to say. I wasn't exactly in the right headspace to put on a facade of feeling better than I did, and I was sure it was going to be seen right through either way. That was just how things were looking in this moment.

"You still performed admirably," Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth insisted. "The case was a difficult one, especially considering the recent events we've been faced with. That was quite the situation for a murder to take place in."

I nodded my agreement as Detective Faraday crossed her arms. "I guess this case was a lot more connected with Oracle than we thought, huh?" she questioned. She didn't bother waiting for a response before launching into the next part of the conversation. "I didn't see that one coming, but I guess there's not much we can do about it now aside from try to track them down."

"That's going to be much easier said than done," Mr. Wright commented with a small frown. "Oracle has done a fine job of evading the eyes of others for the last two years, and I don't think they're going to let themselves be caught so easily after what took place here today."

"Either way, it's caused a huge stir already, pal," Detective Gumshoe remarked. "I heard a tons of news outlets are trying to figure out who Oracle is. They aren't throwing around accusations just yet, but it's just a matter of time before they start talking about who they think could be behind all of this."

I shook my head as I stared down at the floor. I didn't think anybody was going to have any luck with figuring out the truth given recent events, but I supposed people were welcome to try and find out the truth as long as they didn't put anybody in direct danger. The entire situation was so complicated from the outset, and I really wasn't sure about how we were supposed to handle it. In fact, I was halfway hoping the situation resolved itself without any other direct contributions from us being necessary.

It seemed as if I wasn't the only one thinking this though, and Apollo glanced up to the rest of us with a light frown on his face. Prosecutor Gavin's arm was still slung over his shoulders. "Do you think anybody is actually going to be able to figure out who Oracle is?" he questioned.

"If you're talking about the media, I doubt it," Detective Faraday remarked. "However, I think a talented investigator or two would be more than capable of digging up the truth if they knew where they were supposed to be looking... It would be a funny coincidence if there just so happened to be a few investigators looking to figure out who Oracle is, hm?" She shot a conspiratorial glance to Detective Gumshoe, and he smiled along with her.

"You two are looking into it?" Trucy asked, her eyes going wide with shock. "I didn't expect you to jump into it so quickly."

"We received a request from... Let's just say... An anonymous requester looking for us to find the truth," Detective Faraday explained. "On top of that, the case is of personal interest to us. I mean, who wouldn't want to figure out the truth behind the elusive Oracle of the Law? It would be incredible if we were able to find the truth. It's probably the main piece of gossip people are going to latch onto for a while around here, and it would be great to blow the truth wide open that way."

"Were you the one who put them up to this?" Mr. Wright asked, shifting his attention over to Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth. He was undoubtedly asking because he knew how deep the ties between the three of them ran, not that I could blame him for suspecting this in the slightest.

Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth shook his head. "No," he replied. "I don't know who did ask them to look into it, but they won't tell me. They're insistent on maintaining client confidentiality on the matter."

"Because that's how business like this is supposed to work," Detective Faraday chimed in. "We're doing what's best for our work, and you have to respect that."

I nodded my understanding even though I was quietly disappointed they weren't going to tell us who was asking them for this investigation. Maybe we would be able to speak with the requester and see if they knew anything. Then again, if they knew the truth, I guess they wouldn't have much of a reason to ask for this investigation in the first place, would they? You can't blame me for being curious though. Everyone was wondering what was happening, after all.

"I'm glad to see you're all celebrating your victory. You've earned it."

I gasped as I turned to look at the door of the defendant lobby. None other than Prosecutor Lin was standing in the entryway to the room, a light smile on her face. I grinned once I regained my composure. "It's nice to see you too," I told her, but I could tell there was something more on her mind. She had question for us as far as I could tell, and she was going to have to ask it sooner or later.

"I'm relieved the truth was found during that trial. I was worried for a while there that the culprit was going to get away with their crime, but you did a great job of making sure that didn't happen. I need to thank all of you for your part in uncovering the truth behind what happened," Prosecutor Lin went on, bowing her head to all of us before her gaze narrowed in on me specifically. "Though... I will admit there's something that continues to bother me about the case you made."

"What is it?" Apollo asked, almost seeming nervous about what Prosecutor Lin was going to say next. I noticed Prosecutor Gavin stroking his hand gently across Apollo's shoulder, and while the action was subtle, it seemed to be just what Apollo needed to release the tension that had mounted in his upper body.

"You used the GC-9 Incident's case file in order to reveal the truth behind what happened the day of the murder," Prosecutor Lin began, and I found myself unsurprised that this was what she had decided to ask questions about. "I would like a few extra details about all of that, if you don't mind my asking."

I found my gaze drifting in the direction of Trucy and Mr. Wright as I fumbled for the words necessary to explain the situation. It was a complicated story even though it should have been so simple in theory. I could tell Prosecutor Lin hadn't been in on her younger sister's plan to help us reveal the truth behind what happened on the day of the murder, and she hadn't been able to ask Chrysalis about it either. If anything, that only added to the mystery and intrigue behind what was going on behind the scenes of this case, and I couldn't tell if that was for better or worse.

"It was your younger sister, as a matter of fact," Mr. Wright finally said, breaking through the silence effortlessly. "She approached us with the case file claiming it had all the necessary information for us to figure out what happened the day of the murder. Given the fact that we were able to figure out the truth behind what took place, I would say that she was correct in her assumptions about what information we would need."

Prosecutor Lin was quiet for a long moment before she glanced over to me. "If you don't mind my asking, would you be willing to let me look through that case file?" she questioned carefully. "I guess you don't need it much now that the trial is over anyways, huh?"

I nodded before I handed her the file. She began to look through it, her expression completely unreadable as she did so. When she was satisfied, a gentle smile appeared on her face, and I could have sworn that she was relieved about something within the file. Then again, given how little the file actually contained, it probably would have been more accurate to say that she was relieved at something that wasn't there. We didn't know much about the GC-9 Incident from this case file, and Prosecutor Lin almost seemed to be happy about that. I wasn't sure how I was supposed to approach this subject, but I found myself considering asking her about it when I heard a familiar set of footsteps approach us from nearby.

I turned over my shoulder and saw Mr. Morix standing nearby, a gentle smile on his face. "Congratulations on the victory in the courtroom," he told us kindly. "I'm glad you were able to uncover the truth behind what happened the day of the murder."

I shook my head and flicked my wrist nonchalantly. "It was nothing. We just did what we had to in order to reveal what happened," I said simply. I did my best to pretend I wasn't looking for something else in the midst of our conversation, but I couldn't really hide it that well. If Mr. Morix was here, Chrysalis couldn't be far, and we had to talk about a lot before I was willing to let her go. She was the reason we were able to solve this case in the first place, and I couldn't help wondering if she would be willing to let at least a bit of information slip by.

"You're wondering where Chrysalis is, aren't you?" Mr. Morix questioned, his gaze briefly flickering to the case file in my hands. I could have sworn his eyes twitched with something negative, but I could barely notice it before I nodded my dull response. "She's going to be in here soon, I'm sure."

He didn't elaborate on why he was asking in the first place, and I was left to wonder if perhaps he had been told the truth about the case file. He looked over in Prosecutor Lin's direction, and I could tell based on the glint in their eyes that they were going to be discussing this as soon as the chance arose. Of course, the crowded defendant's lobby was hardly the time for that, so they were going to have to head out before engaging in their chat on the matter.

My gaze slipped over to the door, and I saw a flash of something gray in the entryway. Someone had dashed past the door in the hallway outside, and I knew what that shade of gray meant. My eyes narrowed, and I glanced over to the others in the area before I started to walk toward the door. "Uh... I'll be right back," I said simply. I was gone before they could say anything to try and stop me, not that they were going to put up much of an effort to keep me from heading out.

When I got out into the hallway, I could see Chrysalis clear as could be, leaning against the wall with her eyes shut and her arms crossed. She didn't even bother opening her eyes when she heard I was approaching. "You did a great job in there," she told me simply, her voice difficult to read. I resisted the urge to shudder at her cryptic behavior. There was something else on her mind about this case, and I was determined to press it out of her.

"Thanks to you," I responded as casually as I could. "I don't think the case would have been won without your knowledge of the GC-9 Incident. If you hadn't put that case file together, it certainly would have been much harder for us to figure out what happened. I think we all owe you a lot for that. Apollo... He deserves better than to be locked away for a crime he didn't commit."

"The same applies to everyone else who has been hurt by that man," Chrysalis muttered, her voice going dark briefly. I knew she was referring to Prosecutor Turner, and I opened my mouth to respond before she ultimately cut me off. "I'm glad you were able to put all the pieces together. I was worried you weren't going to figure it out at first."

"You knew?" I questioned, unable to stop the way my eyes went wide. "You knew Ms. Russell was the one behind the crime?"

"I had a sneaking suspicion. I know that case file like the back of my hand, and I was able to figure out pretty easily that she probably had something to do with this," Chrysalis replied, inclining her head in the direction of the envelope in my hands. "I wasn't confident, but I could at least say that I guessed something was going on with her, and in the end, that instinct pushed me to put the case file together and pass it on so you could use it."

"Why did you do that in the first place?" I asked. "I don't think many people would want to get involved with a case like this just because they can. You have to have an express motivation for what you did, so... What is it?"

Chrysalis was quiet for a long moment before she looked over in my direction. "Let's just say that I had a debt to repay," she said bluntly, her voice still impossible to read. I could barely tell what she was feeling, and I wondered if she knew what was going on in her own head either. "I wanted you to find the truth behind what took place, but beyond that, I wanted to settle an old score."

"What score are you talking about?" I inquired, though I could already tell she wasn't going to be so willing to give up the answer to such a question. I had been lucky enough as it was to get everything out of her that I had, and I didn't think I would be able to push it given just how secretive she had already proven herself to be.

"That's for me to know alone," Chrysalis replied, living up to my expectations even though I hated how my assumptions were right. "Either way, I'm glad you were able to figure out the truth behind the case. I know my sister is going to look forward to working with you again in the future. It's nice to know you're just as impressive in the courtroom as we had heard... I'm excited to see what your next few trials have in store. I'm sure they're going to be incredible already."

I stared at her for a long moment, doing my best to try and get any other clues out of her just by looking at her posture. Before I could figure out what was going on though, she was gone, retreating into the nearby defendant lobby. I could already tell that she was going to be grabbing Mr. Morix and Prosecutor Lin so they could leave together, and that meant I was just as a clueless as I had been while we were working on the case. I had said I was going to do what I could to figure out what was going on after the trial was over, but it seemed as if that was proving itself to be much easier said than done already. I let out a heavy sigh and wished that something would go well for us for once even though I knew it wasn't going to be that easy.

I brushed past Mr. Morix on my way back into the room as he was leaving, and he offered me a small wave before focusing back on the conversation he was having with his sisters. I returned the gesture before I turned to the other people in the courtroom, knowing I couldn't get too caught up in everything. This was a good chance for us to enjoy ourselves, and it wouldn't be a good idea for us to let it pass us by. After all, we had done something amazing and we deserved to be able to take the time to enjoy ourselves.

"So... What do you say we all go out to dinner to celebrate our victory?" Trucy questioned as she looked up to Mr. Wright. "That seems like a nice way to round off this trial and close this chapter of our work, hm?"

Mr. Wright hesitated before he smiled, caving in under the influence of Trucy's smile. "Sure," he relented softly before glancing up to Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth and his detective companions. He looked to Prosecutor Gavin and Simon soon afterward. "What do you all say?"

Before Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth could even think of offering a response, he was cut off by Detective Faraday clapping her hands together in excitement. "You have yourself a deal!" she exclaimed. She started off toward the door soon afterward, gesturing for everyone else to follow her. "Let's go have the time of our lives, everybody!"

Nobody bothered to object to her statement, and I found myself smiling as I trailed after her as well. I was glad to see she was having a nice time with all of this, though I once again was left to wonder who could have asked her to look into Oracle. I knew it wasn't going to be easy to get answers out of her if not even Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth had been able to convince her to talk though, so I figured it would be best to leave this subject alone for a little while longer as we worked out everything else.

My biggest questions had yet to be answered, but I knew it wasn't going to be quite so easy for us to figure out what was going on behind the scenes of this case. The obvious question inquired as to who Oracle was, but I couldn't help thinking about Chrysalis' cryptic behavior either. Why had she helped us out to such a degree? What was this score she insisted on settling? Why was she doing so much to hide the details of the GC-9 Incident from us? What exactly happened during that trial that did so much damage behind the scenes?

However, I knew those were all questions for another day, and I would be more than able to find out the truth soon enough. Well, that was what I was hoping for, at the very least. For the time being, I had a celebration to enjoy, and I wasn't going to let my curiosity stop me from that much. I had earned this break, and I wasn't going to let it go to waste.

March 5

Location Unknown

9:00 PM

In the midst of a dark room, a television droned on with details regarding the trial that had taken place that day. The person in the room was barely paying attention as to what was being said, already knowing the general idea and not bothering to listen to the specifics. The truth behind the murder of Prosecutor Huber Turner had been revealed, and when the truth was exposed, everyone was once again left rattled at the idea that his verdicts had been so widely falsified. it was impossible to say which cases he had lied on and which ones were honest guilty verdicts, and it would remain a mystery forever when he was being truthful and when he was putting on a show for his own reputation.

The person leaned their head back against the cushion that lined the back of the couch, their eyes falling shut. It seemed like something new went wrong each day, but this was a step in the right direction. There was much that had yet to be understood, but at least one corrupted figure was being exposed in full. It seemed like everyone who was at all interested in the legal world or current news events was fully aware of what Prosecutor Turner had done in life, and that was all that mattered to them. It was a small step, but it was still a step in the right direction.

There was a lot they had left to do before their mission could be considered complete. Countless other figures of corruption still lived in the shadows practically begging them to exert their unorthodox power and reveal the truth. There were people suffering each day under the weight of those who were doing everything they could to oppress those around them, and the person in the dark room wasn't going to let that continue forever. It was just a matter of time before they found success in defeating the greatest threats to justice, and when that time did finally come, perhaps there would be something resembling peace in the city. It wouldn't be perfect, but nothing ever was.

The person heard their name on the television screen, and that was enough to make them force an eye open to lean up and see what was being discussed. The news anchor was still summarizing the details of the trial, and their name was coming up quite a bit. That was to be expected; how could it not be mentioned when they were the reason this had happened to begin with?

"Oracle."

"You bet your ass," the person murmured quietly, a sad yet satisfied smile on their face. "And this is only the beginning."

TURNABOUT INTERTWINED

END

And so we stumble upon the end of case two! Hell yeah, everybody!

I'll be the first to admit that I had a lot more fun with this case than I expected to, but I guess that's just how this sort of thing goes, huh? I love how this case turned out, and planting the seeds of the overall story was tons of fun. There's still a lot left to come from here, but this is the start, and I'm in love with it.

Next time around, we'll be getting into case three! This case goes by the name of "Turnabout Express," and I hope you guys are enjoying seeing the familiar faces from the main franchise in this story, because next case has that and then some! Plus, we're going to get more details on the overall plot, Oracle, and what the hell is going on behind the scenes. Oh, I love this story so much.

But I'm not going to talk too much in honor of this case ending, so I'll leave things off there. I hope to see you all next time when we launch into case three! Until then, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Feedback is appreciated as always. Have a nice day, everyone!

-Digital