Butterfly
by Cyberchao X

Summary: It's amazing how drastically the course of history can be altered with just the slightest difference in a single event. In the world of Ace Attorney, the first quarter of the 21st century was shaped by one single moment.

CCX: Guess who's starting a law course? …Unfortunately, it's all about contract law. We spent the first 20 minutes or so talking about criminal and tort law, just because that's what most people are most familiar with due to the media (Guilty as charged!), so we know what we're not doing.

February 23, 2015
10:00 AM
Courtroom #7

"Court is now in session for the trial of Joe Darke for the murder of Neil Marshall." Darke looked stunned upon hearing the name of the victim. "Is the prosecution ready?"

"The prosecution will give 110%!" came the reply, confusing the Judge, who had to be told that it was only a euphemism. He then asked the defense if they were ready and got a far more subdued response.

"Your opening statement?"

Jacques Portsman nodded. "In September 2014, Joe Darke allegedly struck Edward Jones with his car, killing him, and then killed four other witnesses to the crime. However, today's trial concerns only one murder—that of Prosecutor Neil Marshall. A few days ago, Darke was finally caught, and when he attempted to escape custody, he and Prosecutor Marshall fought, and Darke killed Marshall."

"OBJECTION!" Miles Edgeworth shouted, evidence in hand.

"You can't object to my opening statement!" Portsman rebutted.

"I can when it contradicts the evidence. Joe Darke turned himself in of his own free will, and had no plans of escaping." He presented the recording he'd made two days prior. "With the permission of the police department, I recorded my initial conversation with my client. He had no prior knowledge that the conversation would be recorded, and I have signed affadavits from the detention center guards backing me up on this." He played the tape.

"A visitor? I don't want any visitors."

"I'm sure you don't, Mr. Darke. However, your trial will begin in two days. For the record…can you list the charges that are being brought against you?"

"…I am being charged with five counts of murder. Edward Jones, Jason Knight, Edith Kirby, Rachael Moss, and Jeb Bates. I have confessed to these crimes, and wish to plead guilty to all five counts."

"Thank you, Mr. Darke. Let the record show that my client, Mr. Joe Darke, has willingly confessed to those five murders, and only those five, and at this time, February 21, 2015, at 10:02 AM, was entirely unaware of the identity of the victim in the trial that would be beginning two days hence."

"In fact, my client had previously waived his right to counsel regarding the five murders committed this past September. However, since a new charge was being brought against him, he had reacquired the right to retain counsel, and chose to do so, as he is being framed for this crime. …Frankly, I'm disappointed that the police department felt the need to frame him for a crime when they already had his confession to five others."

"Objection!"

"Withdrawn. Now, then, I believe the customary procedure is to start by calling the detective heading up the investigation to give a summary of the case?"

"That's my job. The prosecution calls Detective Lana Skye to the stand." Lana Skye took the stand. "Witness, state your name and occupation."

"Lana Skye, detective with the LAPD. I was honestly unaware that my superiors had failed to inform Mr. Darke of this new charge at the time that it was brought against him, though I'm relieved that someone at least managed to get him a lawyer. I'd hate to think that we were violating the basic tenets of due process." (CCX: I stand corrected. Looks like I've already learned something new.)

"Very good. Your statement?"

Lana's Statement

"It was just past 7:00 PM. I was on my way to my office when I learned of Darke's escape. Knowing that my sister was waiting in my office, I hurried there to make sure that Darke hadn't gone there. When I arrived, I found both Darke and my sister unconscious and Prosecutor Neil Marshall dead."

Cross-Examination

"It was just past 7:00 PM."

"HOLD IT! You're certain of the time?"

"Very certain. I was originally supposed to get off from work at six that day, but due to the high-profile case—that would be Joe Darke's—I was asked to stay an additional hour."

"…"

"I was on my way to my office when I learned of Darke's escape."

"HOLD IT! You say you 'learned of' Darke's escape. From whom did you learn this?"

"My partner, Deputy Chief Damon Gant. He was in the interrogation room with Prosecutor Marshall prior to the blackout."

"Why weren't you in there with your partner?"

"I wonder that as well. I keep thinking that perhaps if there had been another person present, Darke might not have escaped, and Neil would still be alive."

"…You can't blame yourself. Whatever it was that happened, it's not your fault."

"Knowing that my sister was waiting in my office, I hurried there to make sure that Darke hadn't gone there."

"HOLD IT! Your sister?"

Lana nodded. "As I stated before, I was originally only supposed to work until six o'clock that day. I had made plans with another detective, Mia Fey, to get together for dinner that night along with our respective younger sisters, who are around the same age, since Mia's sister was going to be in town visiting her."

"YAWN!" Jacques Portsman said dramatically. "Witness, please try to stay on topic!"

"Mr. Edgeworth asked a question. I was merely providing the necessary information. To summarize, my sister arrived at the precinct at 6:00. Detective Fey informed me that Ema had arrived and would be waiting in my office and then left to meet her sister at the restaurant where we'd made plans."

(A lie, of course. I know as well as she does that Detective Fey was still there at 7:00…but there's no evidence to prove it, and that's one lie that it does me no good to pick apart.)

"When I arrived, I found both Darke and my sister unconscious and Prosecutor Neil Marshall dead."

"HOLD IT! Can you testify about the condition of the crime scene?"

"You'll have to clarify."

"The body. The positioning of the body, for example…All of the bodies, I should say."

"Are you sure you want to hear that?" Portsman asked.

"But of course."

Finding the Bodies

"Neil Marshall was face-down on my side of the office that I share with Deputy Chief Gant. A broken knife was near him, and there was a stab wound in his back that suggested some difficulty removing the weapon. Darke was unconscious next to Neil's body. Ema was slumped over on Damon's side of the office."

(That's perfect,) Mia Fey thought from her position in the gallery. (By placing a body on Damon's side of the office, she provided an opening for the jar to be introduced as evidence.)

Cross-Examination

"Neil Marshall was face-down on my side of the office that I share with Deputy Chief Gant."

"HOLD IT! Face-down?"

"Yes. It was immediately evident that the two had struggled. It did seem odd that Marshall had been stabbed in the back, but the autopsy report confirmed it. The prevailing theory—and this is only a theory—is that they had struggled in such close proximity that Darke actually had a better angle to reach around and stab him in the back, towards his own body."

"HOLD IT! He stabbed Marshall with the point of his knife pointing towards himself? That's absolutely ridiculous!"

"HOLD IT! A psychological profile of Mr. Darke done by the police department shows that he is, in fact, less than completely sane. Strictly speaking…'Murder' may not actually be the best charge to pursue; however, the end result would be the same as he's clearly too much of a danger to society to be left on the streets."

"…If the prosecutor is finished trying to undermine his own case," Lana said annoyedly, "in this case, not necessarily. The knife was not long enough to pierce all the way through Neil's body to hit Darke, and they were too close for Darke to possibly hit himself in the event that he somehow missed Neil completely, though even that strains belief."

"…Could you add that bit about the length of the knife to your testimony?"

"Is this important, Mr. Edgeworth?" the Judge asked.

Edgeworth nodded. "Very important, Your Honor."

"A broken knife was near him, and there was a stab wound in his back that suggested some difficulty removing the weapon."

"OBJECTION!" Present: Autopsy Report. "This report states that the weapon itself was found in the wound with a broken tip."

"I was the discovering officer. There was obviously a miscommunication; we found the broken-off tip in the wound."

"…And the 'difficulty removing it'?"

"We believe the knife broke when it was being removed from Prosecutor Marshall's back."

"…Please add that clarification to your testimony.

"Darke was unconscious next to Neil's body."

"HOLD IT! Who knocked Darke out?"

"Most likely Neil Marshall did. Death was not instantaneous. The knife likely fell a short distance away afterwards, explaining its positioning."

"Ema was slumped over on Damon's side of the office."

"HOLD IT! Why all the way over there?"

"That's not really my place to say. The department took a statement from Ema…of sorts."

"Of sorts?"

"My sister was traumatized by the incident, and was unable to really speak much of it. She drew a picture of what she saw. As best as I can tell…she saw the fight lit up by a lightning strike, tried to break it up, and got shoved aside."

"This picture is in evidence?"

"Indeed."

"We believe the knife broke when it was being removed from Prosecutor Marshall's back."

"OBJECTION!" Present: Ema's drawing. "This drawing depicts a moment before the stabbing took place, yet you can clearly see that the knife in this drawing is already broken!"

"OBJECTION! You can't clearly see anything in that drawing; it's all shadows, which makes sense because this happened in a room with no lights."

"OBJECTION! There was lightning lighting up the room!"

"OBJECTION! You also can't prove this was before the stabbing! Detective Skye stated that the struggle likely continued on after Prosecutor Marshall had been stabbed!"

"…A fair enough theory. You're right, I can't prove this. You also can't disprove it. Tell me, Prosecutor, how do you propose we break this standoff?"

"Heh. It may be a tie after Round 1, but I'll still knock you out! Clearly, we need the younger Miss Skye to testify about her drawing!"

(A boxing metaphor? Really?) "I couldn't agree with you more. However, as Detective Skye stated, her sister wasn't exactly doing so well with giving a statement to the police, and testifying in court is a far more stressful situation…not to mention one that the department initially believed she wouldn't have to do."

"Prosecutor Portsman? Is Miss Skye in the courthouse at this time?"

"…She is not. It is, after all, a Monday. In spite of her traumatic experience this past Thursday, she felt that the best way to get past this incident was to move on with her life, and so she is currently in school."

"Well, then. Our key witness is unavailable. I hate to close the day's proceedings so quickly, but it seems I have no choice."

"HOLD IT!" Lana Skye. "The school is not all that far from the courthouse, and I believe that due to the magnitude of this case, you have no other trials scheduled for today, correct?"

"That is true…"

"Perhaps you can take a recess of…85 minutes, let's say. It's currently 20 minutes to 11:00 AM. Ema's lunch break is at noon; we could easily have her here within five minutes. Her testimony shouldn't take long, though if it does, the department will take full responsibility for further missed class time."

"…Very well. Court will reconvene at 12:05 PM."

10:42 AM
Courtroom Lobby #3

"So my last alleged victim was Prosecutor Marshall?" Darke asked.

"Indeed. My apologies for not telling you; I felt your genuine surprise would help your case."

"…It's weird. You'd think I'd be relieved that it was the prosecutor and not the girl, but I don't feel any difference."

"Prosecutor Marshall was a good man. Not like a lot of the other prosecutors I've faced. But the real reason you don't feel any difference is because you're innocent either way."

"I'm far from innocent. But I know what you meant. Regardless of the victim, I wasn't the killer in this instance."

"While accused killers rarely get to testify, I'd nevertheless like to ask you what did happen that night."

"…I'm not entirely sure. I did run away from the interrogation room, and I did end up in that office, and I did take that girl hostage. I fought with the prosecutor, and…the girl came at us, and I don't know what happened next."

"That's pretty close to what they said, minus the stabbing part." Miles thought about this for a moment. "This drawing that Ema—'the girl'—made, it shows a broken knife raised to stab a man. Do you have any thoughts?"

Joe Darke thought about it. "It was dark. I guess the knife could've been broken…"

"Your knife?"

"No…his."

"…What."

"During our fight, he had a weapon as well. It was about the same size as mine."

"…Damnit, they're covering up evidence again."

"…Of course they are."

"…Wait a minute. I think I've figured it out. I'll see what I can come up with."

12:05 PM
Courtroom #7

"Court will now reconvene. Is the witness present?"

"Not yet, Your Honor," said Jacques Portsman. "Hold on, I've just been informed that she has just arrived."

"Very well. Call your witness."

Portsman did so. "Witness, please state your name and profession."

"My name is Ema Skye. I'm a student…eighth grade."

"Very good. Miss Skye, I know we all wish we didn't need to call you away from school to testify here, but there are certain…uncertainties in the statement you gave to the police this past Thursday night; ones that must be cleared up in order for our case to proceed. Could you please go into detail about the contents of this drawing?"

"…That's not the full drawing."

"…Excuse me?"

"There was another piece of it. See, this paper's all torn."

"The relevant portion is here," said the deputy chief, Damon Gant. "Emmy, dear, please tell the court what you saw."

"O-okay…"

What I saw

"I was waiting for my sister when the lights went out. A man came rushing into her office and grabbed me. Neil was right behind him, and they fought. The other man held up a knife to stab Neil, and I pushed him away. He shoved me back, and I fell unconscious."

"Satisfied?" Portsman asked Edgeworth.

"Very. Miss Skye has in fact stated that she did not witness the moment of the stabbing."

Portsman bit down on his medal. "…Just cross-examine her already."

Cross-examination

"The other man held up a knife to stab Neil, and I pushed him away."

"HOLD IT! This drawing doesn't look like a knife!"

"…Well, they told me afterwards that it was. And when the lightning struck, it shined like a knife would."

"Would you believe that it was a broken knife?"

Ema nodded. "That sounds about right."

"And this was before the man actually stabbed Neil Marshall?"

"Correct."

"This presents a contradiction. Joe Darke's knife was not actually broken when he first entered the office; the tip was found inside Neil Marshall's body. Furthermore…this drawing depicts one man already on the ground, which goes against the scenario described to us earlier by Detective Skye."

"OBJECTION! Detective Skye stated that the scenario she described was only a theory!"

"Well, then, allow me to present a theory of my own. Due to the poor lighting, Ema didn't actually see what she thought she saw. I believe that the man on the ground in this picture is actually…" Present Profile: "Joe Darke."

"That's ludicrous! So then the man with the knife is Neil Marshall? Is that what you're saying?!"

Miles Edgeworth nodded. "And I have evidence to support it." Present: Newspaper Clipping. "On the day of his murder, Neil Marshall received the King of Prosecutors Trophy, as depicted in this article. It should've still been in his possession at the time of his demise."

"…Such a trophy is listed among the evidence found at the scene."

"Might the court see the trophy itself?"

"You've already shown us what it looks like," Portsman retorted.

Miles shook his head. "I've shown you what it looked like. I believe you'll find the version in evidence to be a bit…lacking." Portsman begrudgingly presented the trophy, revealing that the bladed half of the trophy was missing.

"But what does this mean?"

"As stated, Joe Darke and Neil Marshall fought. However…Neil Marshall was not unarmed while defending himself, and he won the fight. However, just as he proved victorious, lightning lit up the room, and Miss Skye, misunderstanding the situation, attacked the man she believed to be Joe Darke. In reality, this man was Neil Marshall, and he shoved her across the room—as Miss Skye testified—knocking her out."

"But then who murdered Neil Marshall?"

"That…is still an unknown. The next person to arrive on the scene, I would assume."

"You mean…Detective Skye?"

Miles Edgeworth shook his head. "No. The real killer arrived after Neil's fight with Joe Darke and was gone again by the time Detective Skye arrived on scene. That said...Miss Skye needs to be returning to class, so I'd just like to ask one more time about that missing piece of the drawing."

"It's irrelevant!" protested Deputy Chief Gant.

"Irrelevant? Or…damaging to your case?"

"…I'll allow it. Bring in the missing piece of the drawing."

"…What is this?"

"I'm not really sure about that myself, actually," Ema admitted. "But I definitely saw it in the office, during the struggle."

"Hmm…perhaps it was this?" Edgeworth pointed to an entry on the evidence list labeled "broken jar". "I'm unfamiliar with the jar in question, but perhaps it looks like that if viewed from a certain angle? Or did when it was whole, anyway."

"I fail to see its relevance to the case," Portsman said.

"Well, it's not worth keeping Miss Skye over, anyway," agreed Edgeworth. "No further questions for the current witness." Ema was dismissed from the courtroom. "As for our resident detectives…I see blood on this jar?"

"Allow me," Deputy Chief Gant said. "That jar resided in my half of the office. Those pieces were found near Emmy's unconscious body. Testing the blood revealed it to be Emmy's; we believe that when she was shoved away, the jar was knocked off of its stand and hit her in the head, knocking her out."

"I didn't see any signs of a head wound," Edgeworth said.

"It hit her in the back of the head. Certainly you wouldn't expect a teenage girl to go to school with such a wound and not try to hide it, would you? I've known Emmy for three years and this is the first time I've ever seen her with her hair down."

(Damnit. That would've been an easy lie to disprove if Ema was still in the courtroom, but as it stands, it's perfectly believable.)

Meanwhile, attempts were being made at reassembling the jar. "There…seems to be a piece missing."

"So the detectives missed a piece. It should be complete enough to test Mr. Edgeworth's theory."

"HOLD IT! That missing piece…is quite important."

"…Bull."

"These bloodstains are too far apart to have merely been caused by the jar hitting Ema. It looks like…writing."

"I don't see it."

"Neither do I," concurred the Judge.

"Well, of course not. It was cleaned up…for the most part. Just enough left to not be suspicious. Except for the missing piece. The insurance."

"Insurance?"

"Let me spell it out for you again, Your Honor. The police department was so afraid that they wouldn't be able to make the charges against Joe Darke stick that they created a new murder with ready-made evidence. Everything about this trial thus far has been a lie."

"OBJECTION!"

"Deputy Chief, I do not believe you have that right. Or are you nervous as to what we might find? Now, the autopsy report conveniently left out the presence of the exit wound…a wound that, as per Detective Skye's earlier testimony regarding the size of Darke's knife, shouldn't exist. Of course, this photograph clearly shows the body…and, for that matter, the murder weapon." He presented Lana's Photo.

"This…this is illegal evidence!"

"It most certainly is not. See, 'Crime Scene Photograph'. It's written right there on the evidence list."

"That's not the photograph listed there."

"Deputy Chief Gant is right," Jacques Portsman said. "This is the only photograph of the crime scene."

"Huh. Really. Perhaps the discrepancy comes from an incomplete evidence list. Because, you see, there's another one listed on this half…You'll forgive me for assuming that the photograph I'd received was incorrect, since it contradicted the other evidence so drastically."

"You had that photo from the start, and had plenty of opportunities to present it. Give it up, Worthy; it's not legal evidence."

"…I received this photograph directly from a member of your department. My hesitance to submit it earlier was because, as I said, I believed that there was something off about this case, and I had seen the photo that Mr. Portsman is brandishing as well. Having seen the complete evidence list, containing two separate photographs, I'm now certain that this is, in fact, legal evidence."

"…Well done, Mr. Edgeworth," Lana said. "But I don't buy it. Why wait?"

"I assure you, Detective, it was only to make sure that I had the facts straight. And also…because I could only be certain of its significance once that jar had been reassembled."

"THE! JAR! ISN'T! SIGNIFICANT!" Portsman was frothing, which Gant was silently thankful for as the overzealous prosecutor was distracting attention from him.

"It is. For you see…that fragment isn't the only piece of evidence that's missing. TAKE THAT!" He pointed out the missing piece of Neil's vest. "This photograph contradicts another piece of evidence—the newspaper clipping with the photograph of Prosecutor Marshall receiving his award earlier that day. At some point between that morning's ceremony and his death, a piece of his vest was cut out. I believe that this cloth could be decisive evidence."

"And where is this piece of evidence?" the Judge asked.

"That's the question, isn't it? It doesn't appear on the evidence list—not even the concealed portion. It seems that in addition to covering evidence up, the police failed to do a thorough job of investigating this murder at all."

"You're out of line…Unworthy."

"It is my job as a defense attorney to pursue justice for my client."

"Your client is guilty."

"Of five murders—well, an involuntary manslaughter and four murders, really, but that's just quibbling. And he's confessed to all five of those. But that is at best tangentially relevant to the case at hand—it provides background as to why he was at the precinct that day, but ultimately it just makes him a convenient scapegoat at best and a motive at worst."

"Mr. Edgeworth. What do you mean when you say that Mr. Darke was 'a motive'?"

Miles Edgeworth sighed. "As I just stated a couple of minutes ago, someone in the police department murdered Neil Marshall, not because they had a motive to murder him in particular, but because he was a convenient victim for 'Darke' to be convicted for murdering, due to perfectly manufactured evidence. Judging by the Deputy Chief's reactions to the most recent proceedings, starting with the moment I declared the majority of today's proceedings to be lies, I believe he is at the very least a key figure in the cover-up."

"'At the very least'? If I didn't know better, I'd say you were accusing me of murdering Neil!"

"It is a distinct possibility. After all…the only other logical suspect was the one who took this photo in the first place."

"Enough!" interjected the Judge. "Mr. Edgeworth, you have made your point, and everything else here is just baseless conjecture. Court is adjourned for the day, and a thorough investigation will be conducted, under supervision from higher authority."

"Higher authority?" Portsman asked.

The Judge nodded. "Normally, the Prosecutor's Office alone provides enough oversight to keep the Police Department in line. However, the victim in this case is a prosecutor, so they cannot be unbiased."

"…Might the P.I.C. be a proper authority? Their job is to oversee the prosecutors."

"Very well. We'll contact them."

(Perfect. Chief Debeste will make sure things go our way.)

CCX: The chapter would've been a bit short if I'd ended it after Lana's testimony, but even though she had more testimony than Ema did, it became quite long once Ema testified. It took a while to figure out how to make the picture legal evidence despite not being presented early on, but I realized that thanks to the cover-up, it was quite possible that presenting the other half of Ema's drawing, aka the rest of the Evidence List, would be an action that would make it legal. As for how it got there, well, I'm still not sure how Ema's drawing ended up on the back of an evidence list in the first place, since she presumably gave her statement the night of the crime. I mean, I know it says that she testified in the trial itself, but…it all seems a bit vague.

Hopefully this has provided enough that next chapter will finish the SL-9 arc. Much like Chapter 4 being done before Chapter 3, I had another chapter that I'd started working on even before Chapter 6, which at the time I'd designated as "Chapter 8" but I quickly realized would have to be Chapter 9. I completed it earlier today, and it should be posted right after Chapter 8…assuming that I can indeed wrap this up in only one more chapter. I've also got plans for a couple more "major arcs"…Until then, this is Cyberchao X, signing off.