October 25

Wright Anything Agency

"Ugh… Talk about a major blowout." David said. "If it weren't for Crusadermon requesting the trial be suspended, it would've gotten even more chaotic."

"Yeah, that was way too close." 9S said.

"Juniper, Robin and Hugh were willing to do anything to save each other." Sakura said. "And that includes trying to convict themselves."

"Well, we clearly don't have the whole case's picture down. It was evident enough because we have all three of them as suspects now. Robin sure isn't the type to murder anybody, we know Juniper's innocent… but for all that we proposed, and despite his bragging, I'm pretty sure Hugh didn't do it either." Peni said.

"Well, Juniper and Robin have reasons to cover for each other. But really? Hugh? He's your textbook Insufferable Genius, even moreso than me. Are we really on the right track here?" David asked.

"Proposal: The Defense Team should speak with Juniper Woods at the Detention Center and investigate more of the Stage at Themis Legal Academy." 153 said.

"I don't know if going down to the Detention Center is a good idea right now. After our performance, I wouldn't be surprised if Mr. Win-No-Matter-The-Risks would be suggested to jump in." David said. "We need to find definitive proof. That's the only way we can untangle this whole mess."

"I'm gonna go see Juniper at the Detention Center and see what's up. I'll catch up with you guys at Themis later." Athena said. "If Junie really does consider Professor Means to take our place, I'll persuade him to give us till nightfall to find some decisive evidence that proves the truth of the crime."

"Good idea, Athena. Because I don't trust Professor Means. Something about him taking charge of the case now gives me a bad vibe." Hope said.

"Yeah… His whole 'End Justifies the Means' shtick makes me want to puke." David said. "Speaking of which, Crusadermon… I wanted to ask you something about what happened in the trial earlier today."

"What is it, David?" Crusadermon asked.

"From what the others have told me, your whole dogma is about using whatever means deemed necessary to create lasting peace, correct?" David asked.

"That's right. And you saw how far I could go back when I… well, you know…" Crusadermon said.

"Yeah, we kind of figured. It seems Kishibe's influence still lingers a little bit, doesn't it?" Sachiko asked.

"I used Kishibe as my host body for a long while to conduct my plan. I understand just how badly I doomed your world now because I split from her. Kishibe amplified my desire to save the Digital World to such a degree that I would risk endangering both our worlds." Crusadermon said.

"So… This is just out of curiosity more than anything, but… Why did you decide to join the defense in this case of all things? I'm not saying that we're blaming you for staying true to your morals, but… Given the themes thrown around here, it just seemed like something a little too put-together to be a coincidence." David said.

"I guess all this time I spent with you all has given me a new perspective on my own worldview." Crusadermon said. "Fighting the Ikari Warriors in the King of Fighters has reminded me that we Royal Knights still have a long way to go before we can reclaim our lost honor. I guess Aristotle Means reminded me of my old self in a way."

"I see now… It's a clash of wills against Professor Means for you. You wanted to see for yourself whose means are more just. Is that right?" David asked.

"Yes." Crusadermon said. "All the more reason we have to find more evidence that brings us to the truth of the case."

"Crusadermon's right. And I'm willing to bet that the truth is connected to Means somehow." 9S said. "Let's go and clear Juniper's name. Also, there's something I'm gonna look into while we're not dealing with any cases."

"This is about Fulbright, isn't it?" Hope asked.

"Yeah… That guy has been weirding me out a bit too. The way he kept parading about justice the way he does." David said. "Something seems a bit off about him, though… I think I read up on his profile before, but I can't quite remember where."

"All the more reason to try and get some info on him." Hope said. "So you do your thing after this case is over, 9S."

"Leave it to me, as a Scanner I'll find whatever info I can about him through the network." 9S said. "But for now, we need to help Athena prove Juniper innocent."

"Right. Let's head back to Themis Academy and see what we can find." Crusadermon said.

Themis Legal Academy - Outdoor Stage

"Ah!" a voice said as everyone arrived at the stage. There they saw Klavier. "Afternoon, all."

"Klavier? What are you doing here?" Adora asked.

"I'll have you know I'm continuing my investigation, in the strictest of confidence." Klavier said.

"Well, we're conducting a proper investigation of the stage today. Since we're both here, mind if we help you out?" Mai asked.

"I'm not one to refuse a damsel in distress. But you needn't have asked, Fräulein. I'd intended to help from the start." Klavier said.

"Thanks Klavier. But don't mistake Mai for a damsel in distress. She's pretty tough." Hope said.

"Alright, let's examine the stage closely. Let's look for anything that merits evidence." Ichiro said.

"Pod, scan the area for anything suspicious." 9S said.

"Affirmative." 153 said, as a sonar began sounding off slowly from her.

"Sss, sss, sss…"

"Who said that?" Al asked.

"You again, huh Miss Reporter?" Sachiko asked.

"Where is she… ah!" Scorpia said seeing a new box out of place.

Simon approached it and lifted the box up.

"I'm afraid you've done enough scurrying around, our little mousey friend." Simon said.

"Ah!" Scuttlebutt yiped and quickly grabbed the box back from Simon. "Hasn't anyone ever told you to respect privacy?! Though, what does it matter? I'm just an empty box. And that's what you do with them - you throw them away."

"Oooh… court must've hit you really hard in the face today, huh?" Hope asked.

"You got that right! I was a complete failure in court today! My work, my pride, my dream - everything I've worked so hard for... Gone!" Scuttlebutt said.

"Actually, come to think of it…. Calling her a failure as a reporter was a bit extreme." Peni said.

"Yeah, that might've been a step too far." Sachiko said.

"We may as well prod her for information while she is vulnerable. Well… That's what Athena would have done." Crusadermon said.

"I bet at the detention center, Athena is sneezing in karma right now." Hope said. "Anyway Myriam, what're you doing here?"

"Take a look…" Scuttlebutt said, showing them some burnt fragments.

"Hey, it's hard to tell, but I can make out the Gavinners logo on this. This is one of the banners!" Luna said.

"Interesting find. We found the school banner, and it was covered in a blood stain." Jin said.

"Don't look at me. I just happened to find it in the incinerator." Scuttlebutt said.

"The incinerator? Was someone planning to burn this thing?" Sachiko asked.

"Why else would someone throw it in the incinerator?" Crusadermon asked. "And if there's a bloodstain on it, I'm willing to bet that someone was trying to destroy crucial evidence."

"Thanks, Miryam, really, we appreciate this find and… what are you doing?" Glimmer asked, as Scuttlebut was erasing something on her laptop.

"Journalism isn't for me… if I decide I'm gonna quit, so I'm erasing all the photos on my PC! I'm really going to do it! Here goes! Five percent... Ten percent... Sss, sss, sss! Four years of my life down the drain!" Scuttlebutt said.

"Hold it, missy. There's no need for you to go that far." David said.

"9S, I think you owe her an apology. We kinda went too far with her, and… well, her testimony and evidence did make sure Juniper was out of an early verdict for a bit." Peni said.

"Yeah, yeah." 9S said. "I'm sorry as long as she is for what she said in court."

"Dude, seriously?" Jesse asked.

"Look, look… If you have problems with your laptop, some of us can let you use ours, I guess." David said.

"Wait, really?!" Scuttlebutt said before stopping her deletion process. "Phew! Just when it reached 99%! And… I guess I'm sorry about that low blow in court. But this doesn't mean I'll stop pursuing the golden trio!"

"You're pretty interested in the three of them. almost like your digs and scoops are trying to get their attention." Hope said. "Now I see what's going on…. You're actually trying to join their club, aren't you?"

"Kahk! ...kahk-kahk! Kaaahk kahk-kahk-kahk! How could you possibly know thaaaaaaaaaaaaat?!" Scuttlebut said in shock, popping her box up as her school supplies and laptop fell out as she once again had a dreaded expression, having done another brief reveal of herself as her box fell on top of her.

"She does know that we already know what she looks like, right?" Hapi asked.

"So… can I ask for a loan on one of your laptops right now?" Scuttlebutt asked.

"Sure but you have to ask to hang with the trio sometime." Erica said.

"Grr…fine. But…you aren't leaving without payment." Scuttlebutt said as she handed them a set of pictures.

"Hmm…the stage being set up. These might come in handy." Luna said.

"Uploading to the court record." 153 said as she did so.

"Sss, sss, sss, sss! Well, see you guys around!" Scuttlebutt said as she soon left.

"She's quite an interesting figure." Sachiko said.

"Yeah, she's not that bad a person. She just has… things to work out." Hope said. "Anyway, did we find anything else here?"

"There were some fragments from the broken statues." 9S said.

"Let's see if we can use them to repair Klavier's statue, and the other one." Ichiro said.

The group worked together to repair Klavier's statue, and then worked on the statue with the white fragments. Putting the fragments together, they added up to the form of Lady Justice.

"Pretty impressive the way you fixed that so quickly." Apollo remarked.

"This could be an important piece of evidence, why would the statue of Lady Justice be here and why would someone destroy Klavier's statue?" 9S said.

"Well, let's rethink this. Professor Courte was murdered in the art room, but she was found dead here at the stage. So that means whoever did kill her moved her body to the stage, but in the process, mistakenly destroyed the statues." Hope said.

"Aside from the statues, everything about this case correlates to the mock trial's script." David said.

"And the culprit used it to their advantage and pinned Courte's murder on Juniper." 9S said, before looking at the tied up school banner. "And I think our culprit used their environment to erase any evidence that could point to them."

"Let's see what they're hiding on that banner." Simon said as he unfurled it. "We already know there was blood in this, but… hm?" he said as he quickly caught a piece of paper that fell out.

"It has the same symbol as the pages in Courte's planner." 9S said. "'October Hugh 120', hmm. This looks like something we should talk to Hugh about."

"Well then let's go find him." Vashyron said. "As it stands right now, he could be the most suspicious."

Themis Legal Academy - 1F Hallway

The group went inside the building and found Hugh there.

"Hugh, if you don't mind, we have some things to speak with you about." Glimmer said.

"If it was Mr. Wright, then sure. But you guys? Meh." Hugh said.

"Cut the crap, dude. You confessed in court. You're a prime suspect." David said.

"Oh, that? Let's just say I had no choice in the matter. You guys weren't doing so great." Hugh said.

"Does that mean you're honestly willing to take the blame for this?" Adora asked.

"Not gonna happen. The voice on the tape is female, so that rules me out. Let's put it this way: you don't actually believe that ridiculous play on words, do you?" Hugh asked. "Well, my confession is just like that - a means to an end. Or as we say around here...the end justifies the means."

"Yet Blackquill knows something about you that you don't want anyone else to know." Simon said.

"Even if that were true, you really think I'd open up to you lot?" Hugh asked.

"(He's definitely hiding something, just like Robin is. But what could be so important to him that Blackquill held in front of him to testify?)" Hope wondered.

"June's held as the prime suspect in Courte's murder. Do you even care what happens to her?" Hapi asked.

"Well, I've already told her this, so I'll tell you. I don't really care about her anymore." Hugh said. "And before you ask why, just as I have my secrets, she has a side you've never seen. Juniper's not all sunshine and rainbows like you think she is. But anyway, if you're looking for the truth you're after with me, you have to force it out of me, in court. I'll be testifying again tomorrow, on my own terms, not anyone else's. For now, I must be going."

Hugh then left after that.

"That dude's got a SERIOUS ego problem." David said.

"It's guys like him who boast so much that always have the biggest demons to hide. We'll find out why he's so intent to maintain this perfect image." Hope said.

"Maybe we should check out the art room next." Ace said.

"Hopefully Fulbright has finished his investigation there by now." David said.

Themis Legal Academy - 3F Art Room

"Hahaha! Why if it isn't Team Lawyer!" Fulbright greeted them.

"Hey detective. So, this is where it all went down, huh?" Scorpia asked.

"That's right. You can't see it with the naked eye, but there's blood on the floor! That area roped off in the middle of the room marks the spot. The police investigation is done, so if you want to look around, knock yourselves out!" Fulbright said.

"Sure. We were hoping to check this place out, mainly because of that last piece of evidence Blackquill submitted today." Peni said.

"Hmm?" 9S asked as he spotted something and walked over before kneeling down. "A copy of the Mock Trial Script and an Envelope with the word 'Use' written on it." he said.

"It's probably Myriam's. But we all know Juniper's was used." Mermista said. "More importantly check out the clock."

"The clock?" 9S asked before looking at it. "It's ahead by one hour."

"So that means Blackquill's evidence wasn't accurate. He tried to take us down not knowing the entire story." Kendo said.

"W-W-Wait just one minute! The clock is an hour ahead right now, sure! But what proof do you have that it was running ahead on the day of the crime?!" Fulbright asked.

"Detective, you would agree that there is a moon outside this window, correct?" Crusadermon asked.

"Sure, it looks like a nice drawing of a crescent moon." Fulbright answered.

"But if you look at that window in the back with the winch attached to it... ...you'll see that the only view to be had is the opposite side of the school building." Crusadermon said.

"Oof! Then… Then what's this moon doing here?!" Fulbright demanded.

"The proof's right here, Detective. This shows it was 6:00 PM when the photo was taken!" 9S said as 153 presented the Stage Setup Photos that were given by Scuttlebutt.

"They were still prepping the stage, so its backdrop wasn't in place yet. This photo shows them in the process of moving the backdrop into position." Peni said,

"Wh-Wha-What?! Where?! Where does it show that?!" Fulbright asked.

"The answer lies on the board being lifted by the crane." Peni said. "The picture of the crescent moon is on the back of it. So around 6:00 pm, this photo was taken from the front."

"What do you mean? The front is against the wall!" Fulbright mentioned.

"Hate to burst your bubble there. There's still the matter of the window. Remember how we said the moon shouldn't exist in the photo?" Sachiko asked.

"Are you suggesting that the moon is the one of the backdrop?!" Fulbright asked.

"That's right. In short, this photo was taken while the backdrop was being moved! And as you can see here, it was around 6:00 when the backdrop was being set in place. So, the art room clock was running fast at least as far back as the day of the murder." 9S concluded.

"Agh, this is terrible! How am I gonna face Prosecutor Blackquill?!" Fulbright asked.

"Yes! Blackquill's ace has been crushed!" Frosta said.

Fulbright sighed. "Looks like it's back to square one on this part. However! You won't get anything else out of me regarding our investigation."

"Actually, we're done here. We were wondering if you've seen Robin around." Vashyron said.

"Oh, you mean Ms. Robin Newman? She was just here a moment ago! And she mumbled something about watching videos in the Lecture Hall." Fulbright said.

"Then that's where we're going next." Hope said.

Themis Legal Academy - 3F Lecture Hall

The group headed to the lecture hall and found Robin there with Athena. They were watching a video of some kind.

"Hey, guys." Glimmer said.

"Oh, there you guys are!" Athena said.

"What're you doing here with Robin, Athena?" Mai asked.

"She and I were reviewing a video of the mock trial to see if there were any clues about the truth of the crime. Anything turn up with with you guys?" Athena asked.

"A couple of photos and new pieces of evidence." Luna said.

"...And that's why the defendant is... DEFINITELY GUILTYYYYYY!" said a voice on the video.

"Oh…guess we should pause it." Athena said as they listened to the video before Luna stopped her.

"Wait…go back to when Juniper spoke." Luna said.

"Okay…" Athena said going to that part.

"I didn't do it! I had suffered a breakdown and pretty much lost it. It's true I shouted, 'You're a goner!' but I didn't mean it!" said Juniper in the video.

"It's…just like in the tape!" Izuku said.

"It's exactly the same. The tape we heard was a recording of the mock trial. It's fake evidence." Luna said.

"They didn't get to do a voiceprint analysis in time for court today. That's why the gender of the voice became so important. And if the real killer had foreseen that gender would become key in today's trial…" Double D started.

"It would be easy to deflect it and make us think the killer was a girl." Iida said.

"Only our sole male suspect could do this. One who follows 'the ends justify the means' philosophy." Athena said. "We need to get this tape analyzed."

"...Allow me to assist you with that." A voice said as the group saw Klavier.

"Prosecutor Gavin! At least make some kind of noise so we know you're there!" Athena said.

"It's go big or go home with rock star entrances, Fräulein. Timing is everything. Let me make a copy of that tape right now, and I'll get you the results as soon as I can. I trust that would be all right?" Klavier asked.

"We'd really appreciate the help, sir." 9S said.

"Well, it's almost nightfall. We've done all we could today." David said.

"I'll head back to the Detention Center and tell Junie the news." Athena said. "Is everyone in agreement that Hugh is the prime suspect as the real culprit?"

"Well, for right now, yeah." 9S said.

"I still feel like there are some things left unanswered, though. Especially a certain you-know-who." Sachiko said.

"Yeah, I was thinking the same, that's why I have doubts that Hugh is the culprit." 9S said. "We'll have to find the truth during the trial tomorrow."

"And we have to do it on our terms. Not the dark age's." Peni said.

"Couldn't have said it better myself." Crusadermon said.

"I'll visit Junie one more time tonight before we all get some sleep. Cause tomorrow, we're getting her that not guilty verdict." Athena said.