Rei Ryghts: Ace Attorney

Turnabout of the Mobile Tank

by Derald Snyder

Post-Trial Wrap Up

April 17, 1:41 PM

Dr. Janice Grove's Residence

Living Room

*knock knock*

"Come in," Jacob's voice answered. Rhoam Daphnes and his daughter walked into the room with concerned expressions. "Prosecutor Daphnes? Wasn't expecting you here... Oh, and you too, Zelda? So I guess you don't need to be protected anymore, huh?" The hunter was now dressed in a red shirt, blue jeans, and a grey-ish long-sleeved jacket.

"Yes," Zelda nodded, "Father told me everything that happened. I can't believe that I was manipulated so easily..."

"Well, you were dealing with a deadly-efficent robot assassin, so it's no surprise," Rhoam said as he laid a hand on his daughter's shoulder. "Even I had no inkling of the assassin's true nature, until Miss Ryghts pointed it out to me..."

"Speaking of which, where *is* Rei Ryghts?" Zelda asked as she looked around.

"Well, she *was* here," Jacob began, "but then Lady Blanc showed up and realized that Miss Ryghts was still upset with what happened with Sophia... long story short, the two of them transformed and flew off somewhere... probably somewhere out in the wild, so Miss Ryghts could blow off some steam..."

"Ah, so that explains the strange noises we heard in the distance en route," Rhoam nodded in comprehension. "Those must have been the sounds of Rei Ryghts and Lady Blanc's battle..."

"But I cannot hear anything now," Zelda observed. "Perhaps their fighting has wound down..." Turning to Jacob, she then asked, "So is it true what I heard? That Miss Sophia is in fact, a machine?"

"Yup," the hunter nodded. "Dr. Grove's working on her right now... she said it shouldn't take too long to fix her up."

"Well, that is good to hear," Rhoam nodded. Just then, the door opened, Blanc and Rei Ryghts entering, being supported by HDD Rom and Ram, respectively.

"I still can't believe... you had a second transformation..." Rei panted in slight exhaustion.

"I'm surprised... I had to resort to that," Blanc answered, looking a bit tired out herself. "You may not be as strong as you were in your final boss fight, but damn..."

"Good thing you called us over there, seeing as you kinda double KO'ed each other," the pink-haired White Sister spoke up.

"Yes, so I could heal your wounds afterwards..." the blue-haired White Sister added.

"Anyway Rei, you feeling a little better now?" Blanc asked.

"Y-yes, I think so," Rei nodded. "Th-thanks for helping me b-blow off some s-steam..." She then looked and saw the two prosecutors. "Oh! Mr. Rhoam! Miss Zelda! I wasn't expecting t-to see y-you here..."

"Why not?" Rhoam retorted with a slight smile. "Though we may have been opponents in the courtroom, that doesn't mean we can't be concerned for Miss Grove's wellbeing... even if she is a robot. Also, I wanted to thank you, Miss Ryghts."

"F-for stopping th-the a-assassin?" Rei guessed.

"Indeed, both literally and figuratively," the old man nodded. "I felt that since the assassin was likely a professional, the only way to draw them out into the open was to go after you with everything I had. Fortunately, it seems you were more than equal to the task. Bart Sampson has indeed taught you well..."

"Th-thank you, sir," Rei blushed profusely. "B-but it's 'Samson', not 'Sampson'..."

"I thank you as well," Zelda bowed in gratitude. "Your pursuit of the truth may have literally saved my life, Your reputation as 'goddess of the courtroom' is indeed well-earned."

"I think you better stop with the thanks and praise," Ram cut in, she and her sister having reverted to normal. "Or Miss Rei is gonna die from embarrassment..." She pointed to the lawyer's beet-red face...

Just then, the door to the workshop opened, Dr. Janice Grove walking in. She looked like an older Sophia, with a few wrinkles and a pair of glasses being the main difference. She wore a plastic apron over a simple t-shirt and worn blue jeans, with old black slip-on shoes.

"Dr. Grove!" Jacob immediately stood and turned to his old professor. "Is Sophia fixed?"

"She is, in a manner of speaking... oh, hello Lady Blanc, Rom, Ram..." She trailed off on seeing Rei standing there. "R-Rei Ryghts?!"

"I'm Jacob's lawyer, ma'am," the former goddess stated, pointing to her badge.

"It's cool, Dr. Grove. We can trust her," Jacob reassured Janice. "She's not a final boss anymore."

"I see... well, I trust your word, Jacob," Dr. Grove nodded. "And you two are...?"

"Rhoam Daphnes. Retired prosecutor," the large man introduced himself. "And this is my daughter, Zelda."

"Nice to meet you, doctor," Zelda curtsied politely. "But what did you mean by, "in a manner of speaking'...?"

"Oh, that. Well," Janice began, "the damage was relatively minor and easily repaired, but... I'm afraid her memory circuits were totally fried. I had to restore her memory from backup... So she's not going to remember anything that happened in the past week, I'm afraid..."

"Y-you mean she w-won't remember us?" Rei guessed.

"Well, she'll remember Jacob and Lady Blanc," Dr. Grove elaborated, "but anyone she met in the past week she won't recall, nor any related events..."

"So, she won't remember the trial, nor any of the events leading up to it," Zelda surmised.

"It can't be helped, I guess," Blanc shrugged. "We'll just have to fill her in on what happened..."

Janice nodded in response. "Alright, just making sure you understand." She then turned back to the garage. "Sophia, honey? Jacob, Lady Blanc, and some other people are here to see you."

"OK, Mother," a familiar voice answered, Dr. Grove stepping to one side as Sophia walked into the room, completely repaired.

"Sophia!" Immediately Jacob ran up and embraced her. "Oh man, don't you scare me like that ever again, OK?"

"Oh, Jacob! Did I cause you undue emotional stress while my functions were suspended? I'm sorry." With that, she returned the embrace. After a minute they separated, the robot looking at the other people gathered there. "Hello, Lady Blanc... and I don't know the rest of you, I'm afraid."

"Y-you should know m-me," Rei stated, stepping forward. "Y-you and Jacob r-rescued me from f-freezing to d-death nearly t-two years ago..."

"We did?" Sophia blinked as she searched her memory files. "Oh, yes! Now I remember! Rei, right?"

"A-actually, it's Rei Ryghts, with a Y," the lawyer clarified. "D-don't worry, I'm n-not a final boss anymore..."

"Yeah she's cool," Jacob added. "Actually got me out of some legal trouble just now..."

"Y-you're that Rei Ryghts? I had no idea... But if you helped Jacob, then thank you," the robot bowed politely. "And who are you two?" She turned to the prosecutors.

"Rhoam Daphnes, retired prosecutor. And this is my daughter, Zelda."

"A pleasure to meet you," the regal blonde curtsied again. "And before you ask, yes, we were the prosecutors handling your boyfriend's case."

"B-boyfriend?!" Sophia stammered, while Jacob flushed. "I-it's not like that between us...!"

"Oh, its not? I guess I was mistaken. My apologies," Zelda demurred.

"I honestly wouldn't mind if it was," Janice Grove said under her breath.

"Dr. Grove...!" "Mother...!" Jacob and Sophia both yelled in protest.

"I think you two would make a cute couple..." Rom put in her two cents.

"Blech! Ralph! Enough of this lovey-dovey stuff!" Ram shouted. "Aren't we here to tell Miss Robot what happened since her memory was wiped?!"

"Y-yes, indeed, I don't enjoy having empty space in my memory banks for the past seven days!" Sophia agreed quickly.

"Well, that's part of the reason we're here," Rhoam nodded. "Miss Ryghts, why don't you start?"

*A few minutes later...*

"And th-that p-pretty much sums it up," Rei stated. "And make no mistake, I made that bitch pay after she shorted you out. Nothing's left but her head, which is most likely on its way to forensics to be data-dumped."

"Oh, my!" Sophia's eyes went wide. "Did you really have to go that far?"

"I was pissed, OK?" the lawyer muttered. "Besides, if anyone deserved it..."

"I probably woulda done the same thing," Ram added, "except I probably would've just encased her in ice instead..."

"I'll admit it was likely justified in this case..." Blanc agreed, "but DON'T start making a damn habit of it, got it?!"

"N-no, ma'am!" Rei stood at attention. "P-perish the th-thought!"

"Right, just making sure," the goddess nodded.

"Well, at least Miss Zelda is safe now," Sophia observed. "I certainly hope your next time in court doesn't go as badly as this did..."

Zelda looked down at this, biting her lip. "Actually, about that... I... I've had some time to think while I was in protective custody, and..." She turned to Rhoam. "Father, I don't think I want to be a prosecutor anymore."

"Wh-what's this now?!" the elderly lawyer was taken aback.

"Please, Father, hear me out!" Zelda clasped her hands. "I... I've always felt pressured, since I was but a small child to follow in your footsteps and become a prosecutor, especially after Mother passed away. Even though the sight of dead bodies turns my stomach, even pictures of them... but I thought that maybe it was just something you became inured to. But, after this incident... thinking about how many enemies you must've made... I've realized I just don't have the stomach for this- literally or figuratively. I've rather always wanted to pursue the path of becoming a scholar instead. It's not that I don't love you dearly- I do, but I just can't do this anymore. Please understand, Father!"

Rhoam was silent for a moment as he closed his eyes. "Zelda... if that was the way you felt about it..." His eyes opened again. "...then why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"F-Father?!" Zelda gasped, hope and uncertainty in her eyes.

"I had no idea you felt you were being pressured to follow my path," the prosecutor explained. "I had been under the assumption that you were doing this of your own volition... and if any of my advice seemed harsh, know that I only did so out of love for you, and to keep you from repeating some of the mistakes I had made when I was just starting out. It never occurred to me that you had felt coerced into becoming a prosecutor... Truthfully, Zelda, I would be happy with whatever path you chose in life... within reason, of course. After all, your mother told me on her deathbed not to be too harsh on you... And I could never say no to her." He smiled as he said this.

Zelda breathed heavily as tears welled up in her eyes... "Oh, Father!" she cried as she buried her head in her father's chest, Rhoam gently embracing her as she sobbed into his dress shirt.

"Um, Dr. Grove," Sophia spoke up, "I don't think I'm completely repaired, my eye cleanser ducts are leaking..."

"Oh no, Sophia honey, that's completely normal," Janice shook her head with a smile.

"My ducts are leaking too, Sophia," Jacob assured her.

"I th-think everyone's d-ducts are l-leaking," Rei observed as she briefly removed her glasses to wipe her own eyes...

"Mine aren't," Ram countered. "I told you I don't like lovey-dovey stuff... but dad-and-daughter stuff's alright," she quickly added at seeing Blanc's disapproving glare.

"Better," the CPU nodded at her sister. "Anyway, Rei, good work on getting my No. 2 hunter cleared. And rest assured, Mr. Daphnes, as soon as we find out who hired that damn assassin, he or she is going to face my wrath..."

"Well in that case, I hope they have their last will and testament in order," the old man chuckled.

"Might I suggest, Lady Blanc," Sophia cut in, "that when you discover the identity of who hired the assassin, that Jacob and I head out to arrest them instead... unless they're already incarcerated, that is."

"Y-yes, I think th-that would g-go a little b-better," Rei nodded.

"You're one to talk, Rei, seeing what you did to that robot," Blanc shot back, causing the lawyer's face to go red.

"Well, I'm just glad I didn't have to witness Miss Ryghts' HDD form myself," Zelda sighed. "I can't imagine how traumatized that poor prosecutor in Lastation was..."

(She heard about that?!) Rei thought in disbelief.

"Not to mention any subsequent prosecutor who has to deal with her," Rhoam added.

Rei's eyes went wide at hearing this. (Do they seriously think I'm going to HDD on a hair trigger?!) There was only one way to respond to that...

"OBJECTION!"

And everyone burst out laughing.

~*Fin*~