Turnabout Legend

Chapter 3: Iron Will Locks & Pitch Black Habits

"Well, this is the Hallway where you'll be staying." remarked Giratina, having the humans follow him into this room. "Your rooms are here as well, along with the holding cell for Darkrai. Don't worry, you won't get nightmares."

After agreeing to Arceus' request to give Darkrai a fair trial, he had to go off quickly back to the Garden.

A message from Genesect had arrived that the Swords were being very uncooperative, investigating before Arceus gave the clear, and refusing to stop to listen to the Cyborg Insectoid.

Giratina was told by Arceus to show the attorneys where they will be sleeping for the next couple of days, and meet Darkrai.

The room that they arrived in is quite spacious. Like Arceus's Hallway, four cream pillars are each corner of the room, and a sheet white floor perfect to see your refection out of.

There are some differences, though. On the right side of the room, three mahogany doors to three rooms are located, door shut tight. On the other side, there were exactly three others. At the end of the room, on the other side, is a large, two door entrance. In the middle of the room lies a large white table, with various things scattered around it, like Guitars, Manga Books, Grape Juice, Cups for tea, some fruit mostly made out of oranges, and a bird stand, with Simon's bird Taka standing on it.

Simon smirks, as Taka flew over to see his owner.

Giratina raised an eyebrow, turning to see Taka landing on Simon's shoulder, then the Twisted Samurai stroked him. "So that bird belongs to you, huh? Mew sent me a mental message saying that thing was attacking her for no reason, and shoved it in here to prevent any other attacks."

Giratina leaned down, to inspect the hawk more closely, never seen it before in his life. "You know, this bird reminds me of a Talonflame..."

"This bird is an animal from my world..." Simon stated, as he paid attention to Taka. "Consider it my world's version of a Talonflame, The Ghostly Drag." Giratina rolls his eyes, expecting this. He did hear from Genesect's explanations that Simon gives nicknames to everyone, mostly insulting or teasing but calls the ones he respects with 'Dono' at the end of their names. Looks like Giratina hasn't done enough to get Simon to respect him.

Athena looks towards the door on the other end. She not sure what it is, but a feeling of dread is coming from that room. It might be a side-effect of Darkrai's nightmare powers, however.

"Das ist großartig!" exclaimed Klavier, eyeing up the Guitars near the table. "There's instruments here? And guitars as well! Die beste Art von Instrument!"

Klavier walked over to one of the Guitars and picked it up, and started strumming it. It gave out a perfect pitch sound out, the best for play Acoustic songs.

"Musik in meinen Ohren ...! This Guitar is perfect for a performance!"

Giratina chuckled lightly. "Continue that up, and you may attract Meloetta here."

Apollo frowned, a confused look on his face. "I'm sorry for not knowing anything about Pokémon, but who is Meloetta?"

Giratina looked down at Apollo, calm. "Meloetta is the Music and Dancing Legendary here in the Hall. She represents all things that have to do with Music and Dancing, able to perform a song perfectly only after hearing it once, and has a large knowledge of dancing. She's a very talented singer, after all."

Apollo nodded, thinking of Lamiroir for some reason when he heard that last line.

Giratina turned his head slightly, with a thinking expression on his face. "However, she is VERY shy. She only appears to humans with a pure heart. It even took Ash a while to get her to appear."

Klavier grinned at this. "Then Herr Forehead will never get a chance to see her, with that big shiny head of his and those massive spike horns of his, frightening every witness he's had so far with his loud voice of his! He may resemble a demon to poor Fräulein Meloetta because of his red clothing!"

An angry tick appeared on the side of Apollo's head, his fists tightening in anger.

Klavier flashed a friendly smile. "Nien, I kid, I kid! Herr Forehead's a wunderbar attorney. He wouldn't hurt a fly! Just scare ein!"

Apollo sighed. Klavier is always joking.

Miles pointed at the door at the end of the Hall, with a perplexed expression on his face. "May you tell us where that leads to? I know these doors here on the right and left lead to where we will be sleeping… But where does that door lead to?"

Giratina blinked, then gave an intentionally friendly smile, but to the attorneys, it ended up looking like he was a creeper. "That's where Darkrai is currently being held. Consider it the Hall of Origin's version of the Detention Center."

Giratina remembered something, suddenly. "Oh yeah!" he went, going over to the table. "There's something I've got to explain to you guys!"

"What is it, Giratina?" asked Phoenix, wondering. Giratina looked at the table, then grinned. A single piece of paper with what appears to be a map on it is lying on the table.

"I need to explain the sections of the Hall to you." Giratina took the map, and showed it to the Attorneys. On the map, appears to be a circle made out of four large blocks, with four smaller blocks closer to the middle, under or above a larger block. A single larger block is in the middle of the four.

"Alright. Listen up, 'cause I'm only going to explain this once."

Giratina pointed to the outer larger blocks. "These blocks are sections of the Hall. Each outer one is respectfully named after the points of the compass. The top block is 'North Wing', the right being 'East Wing', left being 'West Wing' and the bottom being 'South Wing'."

Giratina pointed at the smaller outer blocks.

"These small blocks are named after the middle points of the compass. 'North East', 'North West', 'South West' and 'South East'."

Finally, Giratina pointed at the middle block. "This is Alpha Block, where we are now. This section is only available to the higher Legends in our order, respectfully me, Palkia, Dialga and Arceus."

Giratina pointed at the outer larger blocks again.

"Each of these sections are home to different things that happen in the Hall, but for the sake of this case, I'll just talk about the important stuff."

The Ghost Dragon directed their attentions to the West Wing.

"The party that Arceus talked about is here. That's where we threw the party for Ash, and where all the Legends were at the time of the murder, unfortunately."

"Well, this is helpful..." Apollo thinks, rather sarcastically, folding his arms.

Giratina then shows the North West Wing. "This is where Celebi's garden is, where the bodies were discovered."

Giratina then directs at the South East Wing. "This is where Darkrai's bedroom is located. That section is home to all of the Legend's sleeping quarters. According to Darkrai, he was here getting ready for the party when Genesect got him, meaning he may have still been asleep at the time of the murder."

Athena nods, taking in all of the information needed for this case. Giratina puts down the map and grabs a pen on the table. "I'll mark down what I explained on this, plus some places that you might need to go in order to get some more information about the Hall, okay? I'll get this copied for all of you."

Both Athena and Simon nods, while Apollo murmurs in agreement and the other three say yes.

Athena then took out a notebook, to write down the information given from Giratina.

Hall of Origin Map Info added to the Court Record

Giratina picked up the Map, and looks at the Prosecuting Attorneys. "All right then, time to meet the Legendary who you are Prosecuting. A warning though, he may not be a happy Buneary at the moment."

The Prosecutors nod and Giratina glances at the three Defense Attorneys. "You guys wait here for now. I'll be standing just behind the door while these three are questioning Darkrai. If I hear anything, like if a Legendary comes and attacks you, I'll be right out."

Phoenix sweatdropped upon hearing that. "That's… very comforting, Giratina."

Giratina promptly goes towards the Detention Center, with Miles, Klavier and Simon following the Ghost Dragon.

He opens the door for the Prosecuting Attorneys, and with the group inside, Giratina closed the door behind them. Phoenix, Apollo and Athena are left in the room.

Athena folded her arms in uncertainty, with a frown. She looks around the room, a bit nervous.

Being in the world of Pokémon is fun and all, but it had to have the same things like murder kinda made her nervous being around the Legends. They could easily tear her into shreds if they want to.

"Boy, the anime never said anything about Pokémon killing people. To think something like a Pikachu can kill you easily." Athena nervously said.

"Yeah." Apollo agreed silently. "But no matter what world it is, murder's still murder."

Athena scans the room. It looks quite simple, but at the same time, feels quite mysterious, like something might happen here. It's a feeling...

She turns her attention towards Apollo, who was also feeling kinda nervous. He once told her about the Misham Case. When he was in Misham Studios, it felt overwhelmingly mysterious in there, due to the forged paintings, but it was really simple in there. Deceptively so.

One would think that this murder in the Pokémon world would be an open-and-shut case, but since the Misham case, Apollo learned to never judge a case by its' first glance.

Phoenix looks to be lost in thought. Maybe this reminds him of a case he took?

Athena shook her head, and her eyes eventually lands on the bowls of oranges. She decided to have one. It'll calm her down.

Athena likes oranges, after all.

She walks over to the bowl to grab an orange, as Apollo sits down to read a manga, and Phoenix looks around a bit.

"Hm. So you are Darkrai's attorneys. Can't say I'm impressed." Athena quickly glances over to the entrance to see a Legendary walking in, with Apollo and Phoenix following suit.

The Legend in question is a goat-like, quadruped Pokémon that is covered in aqua blue fur. It has yellow horns similar in shape to thunderbolts. Its' snout is a lighter shade of blue than the rest of its' fur, and there was a black blaze running from its nose to the back of its head. On its' long neck and hind legs, there are small grey spots. It has a white tuft of fur under its' neck, resembling a cravat. On its' shoulder blades are yellow protrusions that resemble fins. Its' tail resembles these protrusions, albeit in the same colour as its snout. Its' legs have black bands with lighter fur underneath and large black hooves.

Athena knew this Pokémon, from a distance. It is so recognizable to her; it's hard not to forget.

The Legendary walks over to the three, and raises a hoof up. "I am Cobalion, of the Swords of Justice. And you are...?"

Athena went to shake Cobalion's hoof, as Phoenix walks over and Apollo gets out of his chair. "I'm Athena Cykes, zu Ihren Diensten!" Cobalion blinks at Athena's sudden language change, and turns to Apollo.

The attorney in red shakes Cobalion's hoof. "Apollo Justice, Attorney at Law. Sorry about my co-worker's language. She's like that." Suddenly, Apollo's bracelet went off.

Apollo then stood back, grasping his arm. Athena could tell, from Apollo's reaction and Cobalion's emotions. She heard a sudden spike in anger when Apollo mentioned his surname to Cobalion, but the Iron Will Pokémon's emotions went back to normal. It still seems that the habit has turned up again.

Cobalion turns to Phoenix, who shakes his hoof as well. "I'm Phoenix Wright, Defense Attorney."

Cobalion blinks, eyes narrowing. "I see."

Phoenix puts a hand at the back of his head. "Um... If you don't mind, what do you mean by 'Can't say I'm impressed'?"

"A porcupine, a demon and an excitable banana." remarked Cobalion, not looking directly at Phoenix. "That's what I'm not impressed by you lot. Darkrai is definitely going to get a Guilty verdict."

Phoenix looked at his hair. "My hair's not that spiky… right?"

"WHAT DO YOU CALL ME?!" yells Athena, fists clutching in anger on what she's just been called. "I'LL SHOW WHO'S AN EXCITEABLE BANANA, VOUS MOUSQUETAIRE STUPIDE!"

Cobalion frowns at Athena's language again. "Please do speak normally, I'm afraid that not everyone speaks the language from where you are, which from I can guess, in your universe, the borders of France and Germany."

"I'M AMERICAN, IDIOTA!"

Cobalion waves a hoof. "American, French or German, they're all the same to me."

"No it isn't!" Phoenix thinks, disheartened at this Pokémon's lack of awareness about different languages. "Now I'm half-expecting a conversation about the difference of ladders and step-ladders… again."

Apollo crosses his arms, not impressed about what Cobalion had called him, but was ignoring that. "Why are you here?" Apollo asked. "I heard you were investigating the crime along with your other companions."

Cobalion suddenly shot a warning stare and scowl at Apollo, frightening the attorney in red.

"'Comrades', Mr. Justice." he corrects, sternly. Athena heard a hint of disgust in his voice, towards Apollo. Why was Cobalion disgusted with Apollo?

"Anyway," continued Cobalion, smirking slightly to himself. "When I heard that Darkrai's attorneys and prosecutors had arrived from Genesect, I decided upon myself to have a visit to see what they look like and how they act."

Cobalion chuckled to himself, haughtily. "Well, even though Arceus has decided for a fair trial, Darkrai's still going to be guilty. A spiky hair-lawyer that wears a blue suit who could be mistaken for Sonic the Hedgehog..."

Phoenix said nothing, an annoyed tick on the side of his head.

"...a horned boy in red that might as well be a devil..."

Apollo pinches the area between his eyes in frustration, trying not to get angry.

"...and a temperamental banana girl who can't even speak English right."

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING A TEMPERAMENTAL BANANA GIRL, USTED GROSERO CABRA?!"

Apollo turns to Athena, with a concerned but friendly look. "Don't say anything Athena. It would only cause him to go on more."

Athena crosses her arms, with an annoyed expression on her face, Widget turning red. Phoenix, however, is thinking out some possible questions.

"Cobalion said he was investigating the crime scene when he heard us. That means he obviously might know some things that may have gone down at the scene, and on why Darkrai is thought of killing Ash and Cresselia. I think it's time to ask some questions, since Athena's too annoyed to asked, and it looks like Apollo doesn't know what to say..."

Phoenix took a step forward.

"So, Cobalion, what exactly happened?"

The Sword of Justice blinks, and narrows his eyes. "Why are you asking?"

"I like to know what happened, so I get a better idea of the scenario."

Cobalion tsks for a second, with an unimpressed expression on his face.

"...Fine. Guess not everything has been explained to you three YET. It doesn't matter, though."

Apollo's feelings became disheartened from the comment. "Oh great..."

Cobalion suddenly turns his head for a second, to remember about what happened.

He turns back to Phoenix, telling him the remembered events.

"About a week ago, the Legendaries had decided to throw a party for Ash and his friends to celebrate everything that they have done for us. The party was tonight. It was going well, until Genesect came in and announced that Ash and Cresselia has been murdered."

"So that robot legendary came in and told everyone?" asks Phoenix, surprised at this, remembering back to Genesect's reaction to Athena's fangirl moment.

"That one came to me as kinda awkward, and shy."

Cobalion nods, diligently. "Yes. He is quite like that."

"So, what did else did Genesect tell?" Cobalion turns to see Apollo asking this.

Athena heard a tiny bit of anger in Cobalion's heart. She frowned.

Cobalion cocks his head slightly. "Well, some of us thought it was a joke, and he got quite annoyed. He showed everybody the bodies. After that, most of the Legendaries promptly went to the crime scene, while some stayed behind to tell the humans and their Pokémon to stay there. Apart from Ash's Pikachu. And, after that, you can guess."

Phoenix nods, taking this all in. "So, after the crime is reported, everyone went over... Athena might have to talk to Pikachu later on..."

"I heard that Celebi saw Darkrai at the crime scene. What was she doing there, anyway?" Athena questions, flicking her ear-ring in thought of this. "I heard that every Legendary was at the party when the crime happened."

Cobalion shook his head. "That's not exactly true."

He went into a deep thinking pose, eyes closed. "Five Pokémon were out of the party room at the time of the murder.

The first two, Arceus and Giratina, talking about something. Obviously, they didn't do it."

A sweat-drop appeared behind Phoenix's head.

"Well, that's obvious! A God Creature doesn't exactly summon three defense attorneys and three prosecuting attorneys into another dimension to find her out as the killer to the crime she asked them to solve..."

"The other three were Celebi herself, Genesect and Darkrai." Cobalion finishes off, opening his eyes.

"That bug again..." Phoenix thinks, to himself. "He's mentioned a lot... I wonder why...?"

Apollo is seen to be poking his forehead, thinking as well.

"What was those three doing outside the party anyway?" he thought out-loud, asking. "Okay, I admit, Arceus and Giratina out of the party sounds important, from the impression they left out on me. But what about those other three?"

Cobalion frowned a bit, slightly angry. "Darkrai's excuse is that he was ill, but at the time of the murder, he was sleeping his illness off. A pathetic excuse anyway..."

Phoenix didn't do anything, but his mind otherwise. "Actually, that's a pretty good alibi. Shame no one was around to confirm it..."

His mind wanders back to the explanation that Giratina gave.

"The garden is in the North West Wing, and Darkrai's bedroom is in the South East Section. Sounds like Darkrai would have gone the long way round if he was the murderer..."

"For Genesect, he had to step outside the party because it was getting too hot for him in there." confirms Cobalion, slight sympathy in his voice. "Don't blame him. It felt like I was going to choke up in there myself, due to the heat."

He shakes his head, to get rid of that thought. "And for Celebi, she went out of the party room to water her flowers. Genesect accompanied her."

"So, what did Celebi see?" asks Apollo, again, wondering.

Cobalion, surprisingly, smirks arrogantly at the three attorneys. "I don't have a clue what Celebi EXACTLY saw, but I know it's enough for Darkrai to take the blame."

Athena suddenly took a step forward, with a serious expression on her face. Cobalion stares at her.

"What ar-"

"Cobalion." Athena states, taking the Pokémon by surprise. "Every time I heard you say 'Darkrai', I could hear anger coming from your heart. This anger coming from every time you say his name. I can establish that you are angry with Darkrai. Why do you are you mad with him, and why are you so determined to see him die?"

Cobalion is stun by this line of questioning. Phoenix smiles. "Looks like her power of hearing other's emotions still works in this world."

Cobalion's shocked expression soon turns to one of anger. "Ms Cykes. THAT is NONE of your business."

Suddenly, darkness came into Phoenix's vision.

He could see no one else but Cobalion.

He looks over to Cobalion, with the same angry expression on his face. Chains start to appear in front of the Iron Will Pokémon, zooming across Cobalion's body. With those chains, a single Psyche Lock appears.

The blue attorney frowns, and puts a hand into his pocket, to take out his Magatama, and looks at it.

"Psyche Locks... I remember the case when they first appeared to me. That involved a lot of weird things in that case. They appeared when anyone is telling a lie or is hiding something intentional... These things even appeared in that case in another world..."

Phoenix looks up at the single Psyche Lock.

"Cobalion is hiding something. Maybe I could break it..."

Phoenix goes to stand in front in Cobalion.

PSYCHE LOCK:

Your Anger with Darkrai

"You're hiding something from us, and I know, Cobalion."

"I haven't a clue what you are talking about, Mr. Wright." Cobalion retorts back. "Now stop your jabbering. You're not making sense."

Phoenix sighs.

"I know what I am talking about. Let's say, I have a way of getting secrets out of people, or in this case, Pokémon."

"What witchcraft is this?!"

"Not witchcraft, Cobalion, spirit-channelers and E.S.P… which you'd probably chalk up to witchcraft anyways…"

Phoenix shakes his head again. "Anyway, there is something about Darkrai that makes you angry, from what Athena told all of us. The question is, why?"

Cobalion snarls. "That is none of your business. I would prefer you to stop asking questions!"

"I'm afraid asking questions is my job, and so is finding the truth." Phoenix quickly fires back. "Like I said, something about Darkrai is making you angry with him."

"..." Cobalion glares at Phoenix, angrily.

Phoenix is thinking, possible ideas going through like light speed. Then something from earlier is remembered.

FLASHBACK START

Arceus nods. "What Giratina says is correct. The reason why you're all here is that most of the Legendaries are calling for his death sentence, presuming him to be guilty without a trial."

Arceus looks upset, very upset indeed. "I'm afraid it all has to do with bias. The Pokémon who would have been the Prosecutor would have done anything to get Darkrai a guilty verdict, even forging evidence and witness to do so."

FLASHBACK END

"Maybe?" Phoenix thinks, to himself. "Could Cobalion...? Well, only one way to find out..."

The attorney in blue looks at the Iron Will Pokémon, who looks angrily at Phoenix.

"Are we going to stand here, blabbing on or are you going to let me go back to the crime scene? I need to get back there, you know, so hurry up!"

Phoenix raises a hand, to stop Cobalion snapping out. "No, I got why you are angry with Darkrai, and I bet it has nothing to do with Ash's and Cresselia's death."

Cobalion raises an eyebrow. "Huh?"

"And here is the proof that you're angry with him!"

Phoenix points at Cobalion, suddenly.

TAKE THAT!

Phoenix shows a profile of Darkrai to Cobalion.

The Iron Will Pokémon looks confused, and looks at the attorney in blue.

"Why are you showing me a picture of Darkrai?"

"Well, I remembered something from the conversation with Arceus earlier, something about Darkrai's trial."

Cobalion scowls, looking not impressed about it.

"So, what's that have to do with my apparent 'anger' towards Darkrai?"

Phoenix blinks, thinking about it.

"Arceus said that one of reasons why she wanted us here to give Darkrai a fair trial has to do with bias. She said that most of the Legendaries are calling for his death sentence, and the Legend who would have been the Prosecutor would stop at nothing to get Darkrai a guilty verdict."

"I'm still not following you, Mr. Wright."

"There are probably two reasons for your anger. The first is your bias towards Darkrai. From your attitude towards him earlier, from what I saw, you hate him, so much that you want him to die."

Cobalion suddenly flinches, in shock of Phoenix finding that out. The said attorney in blue saw Cobalion's Psyche Lock beginning to form cracks in it.

"I'm getting closer... Just a bit more..."

Cobalion looks visibly shocked, and is panicking a bit, flustered at being found out so easily.

"S-so what?!" he stammers, nervous slightly.

He composes himself to calm down, and then speaks: "Okay, I admit I dislike Darkrai, but that doesn't mean anything. You can dislike someone, but not feel anger towards them."

Phoenix nods. "True. But there is something else about Darkrai that is making you 'dislike' him more than you say."

The Iron Will Pokémon flinches slightly again, but yet again composes himself. "I have no clue what you are talking about, Mr. Wright."

"Yes, you do. You're just too stubborn to admit it..." Phoenix thinks, disheartened a little. "But I'm going to make you admit it!"

Phoenix thinks again, to what could make Cobalion crack, and to relate to what he's angry about.

Then, he remembered something again. Something that will make Cobalion's Psyche Lock crack.

It's the only option he's got, anyway.

"Cobalion."

"Yes?"

"I might have figured out why you 'dislike' Darkrai a lot. From what my limited knowledge of Pokémon is, Legendaries are supposed to represent something."

Cobalion frowns, cocking his head slightly. "What on earth are you talking about, Mr. Wright?"

"Well, doesn't your trio represent Justice?" asks Phoenix, rather rhetorically. Cobalion is about to answer when the attorney in blue stops him "Don't answer, I already know it."

The Iron Will Pokémon nods.

"Incidentally," remarks Phoenix, getting closer. "A Legendary mentioned something about Darkrai, and I figured out that's why you hate him."

A furious expression appears on Cobalion's face. "What?! Who?! Who told you that?!"

"Simple. Here is who told me about what Darkrai represents…"

TAKE THAT!

"Arceus did." Phoenix presents the profile of Arceus to Cobalion.

"She mentioned that Darkrai is the Nightmare Pokémon."

Cobalion's expression is extremely neutral, although Phoenix sees his Psyche Lock form more cracks.

"Nightmares are something a lot of people hate." Phoenix continues, knowing this is the right path. "Nightmares frighten those who suffer them, and I guess even in this universe, they're hated as well."

Even more cracks are forming on the Lock. "Some beings think they're evil as well."

Cobalion blinks, still neutral.

"Cobalion, the reason why you hate Darkrai is because he is the living essence of Nightmares, something that is horrible and frightening. You may consider them evil as well. You hate Darkrai because he causes nightmares, and spreads them around. You think he is evil, and that explains why you are biased against him, and that is why you want the death penalty for him!"

Cobalion stands there, looking at Phoenix.

Then, a small smile appears on his face.

"I don't have much respect for humans, Mr. Wright, apart from Ash and his friends. Your associates don't impress me either. Neither do you, but... I guess you are adequate at your job."

Cobalion's Psyche Lock shatters into pieces. Cobalion's secret is now out.

The chains around Cobalion disappear, going back from where they came from, and the darkness disappears.

UNLOCK SUCCESSFUL

Apollo looks somewhat shocked, probably because Phoenix figured that all out with evidence, while Athena is calm, having seen it before.

Apollo blinks, looks round nervously, and then puts his attention on Cobalion.

"That's... why you hate Darkrai?"

Cobalion tsks.

"Yes, that's why. I hate him for all he represents. He is the Nightmare Pokémon and a Dark Type at the least. He creates fear and chaos within people and Pokémon's hearts. He is one of the many reasons for the Dark Age of Legends."

"What?!" Athena suddenly yelped, surprise at this.

Cobalion blinks a bit, not surprised. "It is something some of the younger Legendaries had come up with. They don't understand why Darkrai is kept around, representing something that is bad. Since Darkrai is evil to them, they want him gone, but Arceus is making him stay in the Legendary Order. That's bad to them, and I kinda have to agree. I don't know myself why Darkrai is in the Legendary Order, representing something so evil. The younger Legends think a dark age is in the order of the Legendaries, which an evil figure is in an order of good. To be honest, I think the name for this apparent age is a bunch of balderdash, but what they say is correct. Why is Darkrai among us? I have argued time and time again that Darkrai shouldn't be in the order of Legends, for he is evil. But, my arguments were ignored for that Darkrai hasn't done anything bad."

Phoenix saw a smirk form on Cobalion's face.

"And now, the time for Darkrai to go is at hand. He is definitely guilty, and his proper punishment will be given to him. As a Sword of Justice, I promise that."

Apollo is scowling, angry at Cobalion. "How... How could you do this?"

The Iron Will Pokémon turns slightly to the attorney in red. "What are you talking about?"

"Why are you doing this to Darkrai? He's part of your Legendary Order! I've hated some people in my life, but if we're on the same team, it doesn't matter! Before this happened, Darkrai was on the Legends' side, a comrade! Why would you so easily betray a comrade?"

"Things are not always grey, Mr. 'Justice'" Cobalion remarks bluntly. "There is always black and white."

Cobalion turns, facing away from the attorneys. "I have never considered Darkrai a comrade or an ally, despite him being in the Order. We're on two opposite sides of the coin. I am on the good side, and he is on the bad. I will do anything to get the proper sentence."

Cobalion starts to walk away, but stops.

"Think about this, humans. I am a Sword of Justice. I am one of four Pokémon that represents Justice itself. We all think that Darkrai did it. And I mean all, me, Terrakion, Virizion and Keldeo. Now, think of this. We represent Justice, and I am sure that Reshiram, the Pokémon of Truth would not support you. So, what are you going to do? Neither Truth nor Justice will help you in this trial. Will you continue this foolish charade and defend Darkrai, or will you give up, so you may be spared of the antagonizing crush of the guilty verdict?"

He chuckles to himself, slightly.

"If you want my opinion, go for the latter."

HOLD IT!

Cobalion jumps suddenly, and sees Phoenix pointing at him.

The attorney in blue smiles. "I'm afraid I can't do that, Cobalion. I find it my duty to defend the ones who have no one that believes in them, and at the moment, Darkrai is one of them.

Say what you say, but if someone comes to you for help to defend someone they know, it's most likely they're not guilty.

It's my duty as a lawyer to believe in my clients, no matter what."

"Natürlich!" cheers Athena, doing the peace sign. Apollo didn't say anything, but he nods, and smiles.

Cobalion blinks a bit, neutral. "Huh. I see." He then gives a small smile. "Well, then. This will be interesting.

We'll see who is right in the end."

Cobalion then walks off, out of the room, leaving the three attorneys standing there.

Apollo crossed his arms, poking his forehead. "Well, that was something I would never have expected..."

He notices that Athena is frowning angrily, most possibly from Cobalion's insults at her. Apollo doesn't blame her for being angry, but there is one thing that Apollo didn't get. He once saw the movie with Cobalion in it, and from what he could tell, the Iron Will Pokémon was a lot nicer there than from what they just encountered. Maybe it's because of them defending Darkrai. This is some prejudice…

A click of the door is heard, and the three attorneys turn towards the door entrance where Darkrai is being held. They see Miles, Klavier and Simon walk out, discussing something important, heading off to the crime scene for a brief look before the proper investigation tomorrow. Then, Giratina pops his head around the door to look at them.

"What was all that yelling about, with 'Take that' and such?"

Phoenix shakes his head. "I'll explain in a bit, but what I can say, we met one of the other Legendaries."

Giratina frowns, and steps out from behind the door. "Which one?"

"Cobalion." Athena forms an angry scowl on her face, Widget going red. "He insulted us, and said we had no chance at getting a not guilty verdict. Chèvre stupide..."

Giratina nods. "I'll talk with him later..." The death dragon shakes his head. "Anyway, would you like to speak with your client?"

The three attorneys nod in agreement, and proceed to follow Giratina into the Detention Center. They all have one thing on their mind: "What's Darkrai going to be like?"

The three attorneys are standing in the Hall of Origin's Detention Center, waiting for Darkrai to come through. Giratina has briefly left to let him back into the room. He had to put Darkrai in his cell when the Prosecutors had finished interrogating him.

Athena is currently sat in the interviewer's seat, in front of a thick layer of glass, with the defendant's seat on the other side. Both Apollo and Phoenix are standing, due to Athena being the one who is defending Darkrai first.

Both the male attorneys are lost in their own thoughts, thinking of things. Athena is kinda nervous. This is her second case technically, since the one about the Courtroom explosion didn't count since Phoenix took over. This feeling of nervousness was high during her first case, and the feeling is still apparent now.

Her eyes wander across the room. This room is just like the one in their world. Guess that Detention Center architects and Arceus have the same tastes.

Athena struggles to keep an image out of her head of Arceus in D.I.Y clothing, holding a paint brush. Apollo raises an eyebrow at Athena's small snorts of laughter, while Phoenix is looking around.

"Dunno what you're laughing about, but it better not be me."

Athena calms down almost immediately, and directs her attention towards the other side of the glass, where Darkrai is sat. Athena immediately recognized the Nightmare Pokémon straight away, but notices something off about him. His 'hair' or whatever it is, which is normally floating, is drooping down, barely able to see it if viewing Darkrai from the front. The reason why Athena is able to see it drooping is due to Darkrai sitting sideways. Athena is currently hearing lots of sadness coming from Darkrai's heart, though his expression is neutral.

The Nightmare Pokémon stares at the three attorneys, if inspecting them. He rolls his eye and sighs, sadly.

"Great, more interrogating... What do you humans want from me this time?"

"Darkrai, they're your defense attorneys. Treat them with some respect." Athena turns her head to see Giratina walking into her side of the glass, going to stand besides the door.

"They're here to defend you, so be a little bit happier, so your hair doesn't droop. Seriously, it looks weird."

Athena hears a bit of happiness coming from Darkrai's heart, and his 'hair' stops drooping a bit.

Darkrai sighs, and crosses his arms. "Fine... Ask away on whatever you want... I'll respond to the best of my standards..."

Athena frowns sadly. Darkrai's emotions are a mixture of sadness and anger. Not surprising from a friend being killed and being suspected of their death.

Athena clears her throat, and begins to speak. "Hello Darkrai, I'm Athena Cykes, your attorney on the first day of your trial."

She points at Apollo, who is smiling sincerely at Darkrai. "This is Apollo Justice. He'll be your attorney on the second day." Lastly, she points at Phoenix, who nods.

"And this is Phoenix Wright, the third attorney on the third and final day of your trial."

Darkrai looks at all three with a gazing stare. "I see. You already know my name, from what I just heard. I guess you three were summoned here as well."

The Pitch Black Pokémon sighs, sadly. "Sorry about this, having you three taken from your own world just to defend me. I feel pathetic…"

Apollo shakes his head. "It doesn't matter. No matter what, we'll defend you."

Darkrai said nothing, but his heart became happier. Athena feels it's time to ask some questions.

"Okay, Darkrai." The Pitch Black Pokémon looks at Athena. "First things first, how well did you know the victims?"

"You mean Cresselia and Ash?"

"Yes. What was your relationship between those two?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Simple, really. We try to see if you had a good relationship or not with the victims. If you did, it's less of a chance you'll be found guilty."

Athena frowns, seriously. "But don't lie to us. It will affect the trial, and we will know, hat es?"

Darkrai nods in agreement. "Yeah, I do."

He blinks, and cocks his head slightly to think. "Well, with Cresselia, she was my counterpart. There WAS times we didn't get along, but most of the time, we did. She stuck up for me when I was getting harassed by some of the older Legendaries, be kind to me and was a friend to me. Cresselia was literally my first friend."

He sighs, going into a depression. "I... can't believe what happened... I can't believe that... she's gone..." Darkrai covers his face, and bends over in a depression.

Athena feels Darkrai's sadness intensifies greatly. A friend lost...

She looks out from the corner of her eyes towards Apollo, who is frowning, thinking. She knew who he was thinking about.

"Did you have any arguments with Cresselia lately?" Phoenix remarks, trying to piece Darkrai's relationship with Cresselia together.

Darkrai sat up, uncovering his face. His eye is slightly puffy.

"We..." he starts, reluctantly. "We... did, but don't get any ideas! It was just over something small! Honestly!"

Athena turns her attention back to Darkrai, with a confused look on her face. "What do you mean?"

"Well..." Darkrai looks slightly nervous. "...the week running up to today, for the party, the Legendaries were getting the Hall of Origin ready for it. Before I fell ill, Cresselia and I had a small disagreement on the frozen food."

"Frozen food?"

Darkrai nods. "Yeah. We have a cold storage where we freeze our food. Cresselia and I were tasked to get the freshest food possible for the cooks. I wanted to get the food needed on the day, so it would be fresher. Cresselia wanted to store the food needed into the cold storage, frozen fresh, so it would be fresh when we got it out. We had a small argument over that."

Darkrai became nervous again. "Even if I was the killer, and I'm saying that I'm not, that's a VERY weak motive! I wouldn't kill anyone over that!"

"I agree." Apollo nods. "That is a weak motive if I heard one."

Athena smiles at Darkrai, believing him. "So, what about Ash? How was your relationship with him like?"

Darkrai crosses his arms, and pulls a thinking face. "Well, I only met Ash four times."

"Can you explain that?" Athena asks.

"Sure." Darkrai raises one of his arms to see his hand to count off the amount of times he met Ash. "The first time I met Ash was during the incident in Alamos Town, where Dialga and Palkia were fighting. I didn't interact with Ash that much, apart from putting him in a nightmare to protect him. I don't remember that much interaction with him during the first time, because I was trying to stop Dialga and Palkia at the time. I was quite pissed off, though."

A sharp snarl is heard, and Athena turns to see Giratina in a bad mood. She remembers the Movie afterwards, where Giratina dragged Dialga into the Torn World. Maybe Giratina is still angry about that...

"Anyway..." continues Darkrai, catching Athena's attention, counting down another finger. "...the second time I met Ash was at Canalave City, the incident with Team Rocket and their nightmare machine. I was attracted to it, due to it causing nightmares, and things that cause nightmares attracts me for some reason. I appeared where the nightmare machine was, and Ash and his friends, along with Cresselia were there. Cresselia and I had a small fight, and I went away. I said sorry to her later."

Athena nods, remembering the episode when that happened.

"The third time I met Ash..." Darkrai's last finger remained up, for some reason. "...was earlier today, before the party. I was down in the medical center to take some medicine for my illness, and I was on the way back up, when I past him. He said hi to me and we had some small talk. I then went back to my room."

"Did anything seem off about Ash at that time?" Apollo asks, poking his forehead again. Darkrai shakes his head.

"No. He seemed his normal self."

Darkrai sighs, going back into his depression, the last finger going down. "And the last time I saw Ash was his body lying on the floor, dead, after Genesect brought me to the crime scene..."

Athena nods, feeling Darkrai's pain. It's hard to be accused of a murder that you didn't commit. She knew how that felt.

Time to ask another question. "At any point when the guests arrived did anything strange happen? Did anything out of the blue occurred which you think was weird or odd?"

Darkrai rubs the back of his head, thinking.

"...No, nothing that I can think off. Nothing strange happened, from what I can guess."

"...!"

Apollo grabs his wrist, the one with his bracelet on, in pain. It's squeezing on his wrist. That means one thing. Apollo's detected a habit.

The ability to detect even the smallest of habits, consciously or unconsciously. That's Apollo's power.

He looks at Darkrai.

"May you say that again?" he asks, suddenly while serious. "That last sentence!"

Darkrai blinks, confused. "Uh... 'No, nothing that I can think off. Nothing strange happened, from what I can guess.'...?"

PERCEIVE: DARKRAI'S HABIT

Suddenly, a vortex of darkness and purple appear around Darkrai. It was an endless vortex around him. This is part of Apollo's ability, a way to detect the habits. Time to see where Darkrai's habit is, or what it is, then expose it!

"I'm sorry to ask you this again, but can you repeat what you just said?"

Darkrai frowns, and then sighs again.

"I don't know why you keep asking, but fine."

He took a deep breath, puts one, and began to repeat that sentence where the habit it.

'...No,'

No habit was detected here, so Apollo listens on.

'nothing that I can think of.'

Nothing here either.

'Nothing strange happened,'

Then, Apollo sees that Darkrai is rubbing the back of his head ever so slightly, so much that no one would notice without Apollo's ability.

He grins. This is the habit that Darkrai is doing, and he knows that the Pitch Black Pokémon is hiding something.

Apollo points at Darkrai, seriously.

GOTCHA!

Darkrai jumps at Apollo's yell. "What the heck are you screaming about?"

"Darkrai, you're hiding something unconsciously from us."

The Pitch Black Pokémon cocks his head in confusion. "I thought I was talking to Miss Cykes. And what do you mean I'm hiding something?! I'm telling you everything!"

Apollo shakes his head. "You're not hiding something on purpose; you're hiding something that you don't even know of."

"Eh?"

Apollo crosses his arms. "I noticed that when you said 'Nothing strange happened', you unconsciously rub the back of your head ever so subtly. By doing this, you are unconsciously trying to remember something, but you don't know what it is."

Darkrai chuckles a bit. "Well, I'm impressed. I didn't even know I was hiding something like that! Can you explain more?"

"Yes, I can."

Apollo goes into a thinking pose, to think the possibilities out. "Well, from what I can guess, something strange did happen. By you rubbing the back of your head, I can establish that you hurt the back of your head recently, and whatever caused you to hurt your head was strange."

Apollo gestures to Darkrai. "Did anything happen to make you hurt your head?"

Darkrai shakes his head, slight nervous. "No, I don't. Nothing happened."

Apollo frowns. "That's an utter lie, and I know it. Something did happen, and you're not telling us."

Dark energy appeared around one of Darkrai's hands, and he raises it up angrily. "I am NOT hiding anything! You are my attorneys and it's your job to defend me!"

Apollo shakes his head. "That may be true but it's my job to find the truth, and I want to know what you're hiding."

"..."

"Something is preventing you from telling us what happened to your head. Whatever it is, you dislike it and you don't want to talk about it."

"..."

Apollo points at Darkrai. "And I know exactly what it is!"

TAKE THAT!

Apollo presents Cobalion's profile. An expression of fear and anger appears on Darkrai's face.

"W-what is this?"

"You know what I'm talking about, Darkrai." states Apollo, seriously. "Earlier, we met with Cobalion. He talked about this thing called the 'Dark Age of the Legends."

Darkrai suddenly grips his arm in fear. Apollo smirks. "From your reaction, I can assume that you have heard of it. Cobalion told us about how much he and most of the other Legendaries hate you, that they don't understand why you're part of the Legendary Order, because they think you're evil as you represent Nightmares. From what I can see, you're completely different from what they have described you."

Darkrai sighs, sad. "Just because I'm a Nightmare being..."

"But there is something else." Darkrai looks at Apollo, who spoke that. "The whole 'Dark Age of the Legends' thing upsets you, doesn't it? Having almost everyone hate you."

"...!"

"And some of Legendaries bully you, don't they? It's no shock to me if that's true. A person who is hated by most of his peers is bullied a lot. The reason why you hurt you head, is because one of the Legendaries purposely hurt you!"

Surprise appears on Darkrai's expression, and then changes to one of sadness. "...You're right..."

Then, the area behind Darkrai, and the Pitch Black Pokémon himself went completely negative, and fades back to normal.

Athena and Phoenix look confuse, while Giratina is pissed off.

"WHAT?!" he yells, angrily. He walks up to the glass, threatening. "Some of the other Legendaries have been bullying you?! Why didn't anyone know?! Why didn't you tell anyone?!"

"Cresselia knew." Darkrai says simply. "She tried to stop it. Only some of the Legendaries continued bullying me, despite Cresselia's objections. I've tried to ignore it..."

Giratina snarls. "That's it! I'm telling Arceus!" The Death Dragon bursts out of the door, leaving the three with Darkrai.

"Why didn't you tell Arceus?" asks Athena, confused. "Surely she would have stopped it?"

"...Have you ever been bullied about something?"

Apollo nods, in response of Darkrai's nod. "Yeah. I was bullied because of my height. I'm not short, so it's not true."

Darkrai looks up. "Unlike you, what they say about me is true. I am a being of the Dark type, one that causes Nightmares and despite among others. Despite what I try to think, I will always know that anyone who tries to get close to me will suffer with nightmares that have horrors beyond their imagination. That's why I don't have many friends, because in the end, they will get nightmares."

Darkrai grips one of his arms. "I will always do that, no matter what. I will always cause nightmares for other, and watch others suffer for what I am."

A phantom of a smile appears on Darkrai's face. "Cresselia was different. She didn't care that she got nightmares from me, because she knew that I never meant to give them. Lonesomeness can affect beings in different ways. Mine was being anti-social, but Cresselia saved me from my own lonesomeness.

She protected me from the others, knew what I was like others, and how to response when I was feeling a very powerful emotion, like sadness. She eventually helped me gain a few more friends, like Celebi, Giratina, Mewtwo and Genesect. I was happy, and I'm extremely gratefully for what she's done for me. I… I could never kill her."

Darkrai then became angry. "But now she's gone... My first friend, gone..."

He looks up, scowling. "I don't know who did it, but I'll make them pay for killing my friend, and the Chosen One. I was neutral towards Ash, but I knew how important he was to the Legendaries. I did NOT kill them. I didn't get anyone else to do it for me! I may be the King of Nightmares, and despite what they show, Nightmares are bad dreams. They are not real. I will never kill anyone."

Athena nods, with a grin. "That's good to know! That means I can trust you that you didn't kill them."

Phoenix slowly puts his Magatama back into his pocket. He had it out for when Darkrai said he didn't kill them or got anyone to do it for him, and no Psyche Locks appear. Darkrai is telling the truth.

He smiles at this. They can trust him.

Apollo nods, and then remembers something. "This whole conversation started from you finding it weird that you got your head hurt. We found out that another Legendary did it, but who was it?"

Darkrai became nervous.

"I thought it was strange myself. I was walking when suddenly the Legendary slammed me against the wall, and I hit my head. The strange thing is, it's a Legendary that I trust."

"Who is it?"

Darkrai looks at all of them. "Celebi. Yesterday, Celebi slammed me against the wall all of sudden, with her eyes closed, laughing.

Then she floats off weirdly."

"Wait..." goes Phoenix in shock. "Isn't Celebi a witness to the crime?"

Darkrai nods. "Yeah. She's usually kind to me, so I have no idea what that was all about..."

Athena scowls, frowning.

"Mein gott, that is weird. A usually kind Pokémon attacking her friend unprovoked? That is strange and scary in my books. But what caused Celebi to do that? Strange that a witness attacked the defendant a day before the crime...Eso es extraño ... What's going on here? I guess I'll have to find out tomorrow..."

TO BE CONTINUED...

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Evidence List:

Defense Attorney's Badge: My proof of being a defense attorney. Although, it may not work in the Pokémon World...

Hall of Origin Map Info: Map for the Hall of Origin's layout. The party was in the West Wing, the murders happened in the North West Wing and Darkrai's Bedroom is in the South West Wing.

Profiles:

Athena Cykes: That's me! A greenhorn attorney still fresh from a big case, and had been dragged into the Pokémon World to defend a Legendary Pokémon. I would have never expected this… ever.

Phoenix Wright: My boss, and the Head of the Wright & Co Law Offices. The attorney for Darkrai on the third day. Will do anything to find the truth, though he is sarcastic most of the time.

Apollo Justice: My co-worker, and a fellow attorney. He's the attorney for Darkrai on the second day. He yells a lot but he means well.

Simon Blackquill: A former prisoner and a prosecutor who's a close friend of mine. He's my opponent for the first day of Darkrai's trial. Kinda scary sometimes but he's really nice.

Klavier Gavin: A musician who is also a Prosecutor, and Apollo's opponent on the second day. I think he's great, though Apollo doesn't like him. I wonder why?

Miles Edgeworth: The Chief Prosecutor for L.A., an old rival for my boss, and the prosecutor for the last day. His skills as a Prosecutor are legendary.

Arceus: The leader of the Legends Order, and the Pokémon God of the Pokémon world. Serious and firm, apparently Arceus is a female despite me seeing the 12th Movie...

Giratina: A Legendary Pokémon that's a large dragon. Quite blunt and sarcastic sometimes, he cares for Darkrai. Despite his hardened shell, he's actually quite kind.

Genesect: A Legendary that resembles a robotic insect. Acts weird for some reason.

Darkrai: The Nightmare Pokémon, and the defendant for this case. Despite his looks and reputation, he's quite nice, though slightly anti-social. He's sometimes bullied by the other Legends for his nightmare powers.

Ash Ketchum: The main protagonist for the Pokémon Anime, the Chosen One for the Legendaries, and one of the victims. Was here in the Hall of Origin for a party celebrated in his honor.

Cresselia: Darkrai's counterpart, and the other victim. Was one of the Legends who didn't care about his powers.

Cobalion: A Sword of Justice, and one of the investigators for the crime scene, or how I would put it, the Detective for the case. He's a big jerk who assumes that Darkrai is automatically guilty.

Celebi: Yet to meet her, but is the witness to the crime. Is nice to Darkrai, but apparently she attacked him the day before the crime unprovoked. I wonder what that was all about...?

Pokémon © Nintendo / Game Freak

Ace Attorney © Capcom

Turnabout Legend (c) AuraWielder & DragonNiro

Alright, the 3rd chapter of Turnabout Legend is up. Sorry for not working on my own stories for a while, guys. I've had a huge case of writer's block and a lot of real life drama to deal with. Fortunately, I'm snapping out of my writer's block, and the next chapter of Slaves and Soldiers is officially in progress! Expect that to be my next update!