Rei Ryghts: Ace Attorney

Turnabout of the Mobile Tank

by Derald Snyder

Epilogue

April 19, 11:37 AM

Samson & Co. Law Offices

(Another day, another mountain of paperwork...) Rei sighed internally. Still, she would gladly take this compared to the excitement of a few days ago... (I wonder if they ever found out who hired 'Nala Janeway' to assassinate Zelda Daphnes, anyway?) Just then, there was a knock at the door. "Come in!"

To her mild surprise, it was Jacob Fredrick who entered, dressed in battle armor, though he held his helmet in one arm. "Oh! Mr. Fredrick! Nice to see you again... m-might I ask wh-why you are h-here?" Her voice started stuttering upon seeing the grim expression on his face.

"I've got orders from Lady Blanc," the hunter stated solemnly. "See wants to see you at the Basilicom ASAP."

"Huh? W-why...?"

April 19

Lowee Basilicom

Blanc's Office

"I've brought her, Lady Blanc," Jacob announced as he and Rei walked into the room.

"Good work, Jacob," the CPU nodded as she stood up from her desk. "Go ahead and wait outside, OK?"

"But Miss Ram is throwing books around again," Jacob mildly protested. "I barely ducked the last one..."

"Put your helmet on and deal with it," Blanc deadpanned. The hunter heaved a sigh before acquiescing and leaving the office. Once the door had shut, the flat-chested goddess turned to Rei. "OK, let's get right to it. To be blunt, I'm putting you under armed escort by Jacob Fredrick until further notice."

"A-armed escort...? B-but why?" Rei asked.

"Forensics finally finished dumping the data from 'Nala Janeway's' brain," Blanc began. "We were right about one thing- the trial was definitely a set-up. But Zelda Daphnes wasn't the target."

"Wh-what d-do you m-mean?" the former goddess inquired confusedly.

"We uncovered the robot's primary objective... it said: 'Collect DNA sample from CPU.' And given that you're near-defenseless in your human form, it only makes logical sense that Janeway would try to lure you into a position where she knew you would be in your human form- the courtroom. That's why she lunged at you instead of Rhoam Daphnes."

Rei felt the room start to spin. "I... I was the target...?"

"Damn straight," Blanc growled. "Whoever built that robo-assassin wanted a sample of your blood, most likely so they could make a CPU of their very own!"

The lawyer snapped back into focus as the implications became clear. "Wh... WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAATTT?!"

Date: ? Time: ?

Location: ?

"NJ-02 to base. NJ-02 to base. Come in, base..."

"Copy, NJ-02. Report."

"I have grave news. NJ-01 has failed her mission. She was destroyed by Rei Ryghts herself."

"What?!"

"Furthermore, her head was preserved intact and was most likely data-dumped by the authorities. Ryghts herself now appears to be under armed escort as a result..."

"Damn... And all the other CPUs are too well-guarded, themselves... How are we supposed to collect a sample now?"

"Base, all is not lost. Even if NJ-01's brain was data-dumped, they would still have no idea of my existence. All I request is time... enough time for the target and her guardians to relax, and maybe lower their guard."

"And how long would you believe that would take?"

"At least a month, but two would be preferable..."

"Two months?! What if they trace our operation in the meantime, NJ-02?"

"I believe that two months would be more than enough time for you to relocate your operations, if you feel it necessary. Besides, as you have said, you cannot proceed with the project without the sample anyway..."

"...So be it, NJ-02. Go and do as you propose. But remember, you are our last chance. Do not fail us as NJ-01 did."

"I assure you, I will not repeat her mistakes. NJ-02 out."

-END TRANSMISSION-