In this chapter, past events are brought up. No one is happy about it.
Date Unknown - Time Unknown
Desert World
Night snuck up on them without any of them even realizing. One moment were their way through the many, many dunes, accompanied by the faint light of the three suns, the next it was dark. It had been way too long since Judai'd been in this world. He should've remembered the way there was no dusk, how the dark would just sneak up on you. It wasn't a problem for him, of course, but the three kids looked exhausted.
"Let's stop here for the night," he announced. They'd only get themselves into more trouble if they tried to move on in the dark.
The kids looked dead on their feet. The Eagle Eye they'd found earlier was flying circles around them, keeping an eye out for trouble, but it settled back on Apollo's shoulder when it noticed they'd stopped. Apollo stumbled a bit under the extra weight before regaining his balance.
"Right." He frowned as he took in the three of them. They most definitely weren't dressed for this place. It was going to get cold very soon and they barely had anything on that'd keep them warm. Judai carried in his backpack, in order, a one-person blanket, two bottles of water, a whole bunch of granola bars Johan had shoved onto him, his duel disk, a lighter, a first-aid kit, a flashlight and an isolation blanket that would be of little use right now. He hadn't expected to be traveling with this many people.
"I've got a blanket, you can share that," he said. The kids looked at each other. He could almost recite the conversation passing between them word for word.
"Herr Yuki," Klavier said, smile firmly in place. "It does seem a bit careless for all of us to sleep at the same time, nein? You have told us this world is quite dangerous."
"I'll be staying awake. As will Yubel."
"But you should not tax yourself needlessly for our—"
Judai sighed. "Look, I'm not going to kill you. Neither will Yubel." He glanced at her over his shoulder. "I didn't kill anyone."
And right away, he knew he'd said the wrong thing. Saw it in the way Apollo's hand went to the bracelet he was always wearing, the way his eyes went wide.
"You're lying," he said. "You're doing that thing again. You're lying."
Klavier's eyes widened. Athena gasped. Then, she very resolutely stepped in front of Apollo.
"You did kill her. You're the one who killed Cyan Sammons, aren't you?"
"Wait, listen!" Of all the things he could've said. "I didn't kill her, I swear!"
Apollo swallowed. His eagle spread its wings. "Can you say, with full honesty, that you never killed anyone, Mr. Yuki?"
Back to that. He closed his eyes. "I can't."
"Right. Right." Apollo took a deep breath. He stepped back and the other two followed. "Can you at least tell us it was some kind of accident?"
"I… No, it wasn't." Judai said. Yubel grasped his shoulders. "Listen, it was years ago, I was only seventeen–"
"Oh, really," eighteen-year-old Athena cut in. "Yes, funny, I wasn't feeling particularly murderous last year."
"I have to say I didn't have any issues with it either," Klavier continued. "Must be because I was passing the bar."
Judai clenched his fists. "I was stupid, okay? I did terrible things, things I regret to this very day. But I did not kill Cyan Sammons and I'm not planning on killing you. I'm just trying to get you all out of here in one piece!"
"Save it," Athena said. She grabbed Apollo's elbow. "We're out of here. We'll find our own way back."
"Don't be an idiot, girl. You'll die out here without our help," Yubel snapped.
"Oh, I've got a feeling your help won't change that outcome any," Athena shouted back. She dragged Apollo and Klavier with her, away from them. "Do not follow us!"
Judai moved forwards, but the Eagle Eye shot towards him. Judai tried to fend it off. Yubel swatted at it.
"Chrysta!" Apollo shouted, somewhere in the distance already. They were running. The bird flew up and shot after him. They hadn't even gotten far. He could follow them so easily if he wanted to. He could probably see them better in the dark than he could during the day. But they'd run until they'd exhausted themselves, and then they'd be sitting ducks.
"At least look out for them!" he shouted after the bird. It shrieked and circled around the kids. Judai watched it disappear behind a dune top. Then he sat down.
"I fucked up again, didn't I?"
"They wouldn't have listened," said Yubel. "If they want to be idiots, that's their problem."
"They're just kids, and I dragged them into this." He rubbed his eyes. "We've got to keep them safe somehow. They can't keep going like this."
"They're adults, Judai. You know that."
"But they're so young." Judai sighed. "They know nothing about this world."
"Now who's being a hypocrite?" Yubel wrapped an arm around his shoulders and pulled him close. "Look, I'm sure they can survive for ten minutes without you. Let them cool down. They're not that stupid, they'll realize they need our help soon enough."
"I don't need any more people dying because of me." It had been twenty years, and sometimes he still had nightmares. He could still see the pain he'd wrought with his own hands, all the people he'd killed. All the traveling he did and all the people he helped would never make up for the thousands that had died by his hands.
"I'm as much to blame as you are, Judai."
"The Light–"
Yubel shook her head. "Look, we've been over this many many times. Yes, we both messed up. We both did horrible things. But it's in the past now and we can't change any of it anymore, so the best we can do is make sure it doesn't happen again."
Judai nodded. The kids couldn't have gotten far yet. He could easily catch up with them, but that'd just keep them running until they dropped dead from exhaustion. He glanced at his deck. No, it would be easier if he could just keep an eye on them from a distance.
"Black Panther," he whispered. "You awake?"
The monster appeared next to him. "With all this ruckus? It'd be a wonder if any of us weren't."
Judai grimaced. "Sorry about that. But you heard, right? Can you follow them?"
Neospacian Black Panther lifted his left paw with a disgusted look and started grooming it. "You seriously want me to go through all this sand, Judai? Why not send Air Hummingbird?"
"They've got an Eagle Eye with them."
"Oh yes, because it'll spot Air Hummingbird, but not me. It's called Eagle Eye because its hearing is so good."
"Have you been hanging out with Amethyst Cat and Topaz Tiger again?" Judai asked. "Just… Never mind, just follow them. You're better equipped to deal with any monsters along the way than Air Hummingbird."
Black Panther contemplated that for a few seconds. Then he got up with a theatrical sigh. "This better not become a habit. I'm not a babysitter."
"I definitely don't plan on making it one."
Judai watched as the panther trotted off after the kids. If he concentrated, he could still see them in the distance. They'd kept walking all this time, even now that it was utterly dark around them. He hoped Yubel was right and they'd come to their senses soon, because they needed all the help they could get.
March 9 2028 09:10 am
District Court - Courtroom n°2
Phoenix had not slept. He knew Maya had managed a few hours, but Edgeworth, on the other side of the courtroom, looked no better. He'd been waiting up all night for a phone call, a message, anything, that could tell him what had happened to Apollo and Athena. Trucy had been crying when he'd sent her to bed last night; he'd called her in sick for school this morning and told her to stay at home with Pearl.
"We'll find them, Nick," Maya whispered. "Pearly and I will help however we can."
The judge overlooked the courtroom. "This is quite the nostalgic sight," he said. "I do wish it were under better circumstances. Prosecutor Edgeworth, any word on Prosecutor Gavin, Mr. Justice and Miss Cykes?"
"None, your honor. Detective Skye has launched a sweep of the city."
"I am sorry to hear that. I take it Mr. Yuki has not been found either?"
"He is suspected to be with the three of them, your Honor," Phoenix said. The judge closed his eyes.
"Then I will pray for them, Mr. Wright."
Maya sighed. "Your honor," she called out.
"Miss Fey? Why, it has been quite a while since we last met."
"Yes, your honor." Maya leaned forwards on the desk. "But Judai didn't do it, and he's probably the best person they can have with them."
The judge shook his head. "Be as that may, Mr. Yuki is still a suspect for murder." He slammed his gavel down. "Court is now in session for the trial of Mrs. Longxin Huang."
"The prosecution is ready, your Honor," Edgeworth said.
"The defense is ready," Phoenix added. He resisted the urge to rub his eyes. The sleepless night had not done him any good. Next to him, Maya looked agitated.
"The prosecution's opening statement, please."
Edgeworth straightened up. "In yesterday's court session, before the tragic disappearance of both the prosecuting attorney and the defense attorneys, the defense claimed that Mrs. Huang had neither means nor motive to kill Ms. Sammons. The defense then accused Mr. Judai Yuki of the murder. While Mr. Yuki clearly has the means to pull off a murder according to the victim's specifications, he too has no motive. Therefore, it is the prosecution's opinion that the question of motive should drive today's trial."
"Quite right, thank you, Prosecutor Edgeworth." The judge turned towards him and Maya. "Any objections, Mr. Wright?"
"None, your honor." The faster they resolved that question, the faster they could go back to looking for Apollo and Athena.
"For its first witness, the prosecution would like to call to the stand Miss Coral Drake."
Phoenix frowned. Before the trial, Edgeworth had hissed something to him about having found witnesses, but hadn't been able to tell him who those witnesses were. The woman who took the stand could be no older than Apollo. She was stocky, with brown hair pulled together in a low ponytail and a metallic, finely crafted bracelet on her left hand she was nervously toying with. At some point she'd clearly tried to apply eyeliner, but it had smudged before she'd reached court.
"Your name and profession, please," Edgeworth asked.
"It's…" she clasped her hands together nervously. "It's Coral, sir. Coral Drake. I'm a lab assistant in Ms. Sammons'…" she let out a dry sob. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I was a lab assistant in Ms. Sammons' and Mrs. Huang's laboratory."
"Yes, it must have been very shocking for you," the judge said. "Miss Drake, could you tell us some more about Mrs. Huang?"
"Well…" Miss Drake hesitated. "I don't know if I should say…"
"Please testify for the court, Miss Drake," Edgeworth said.
Miss Drake nodded. "Mrs. Huang was always very nice to me. I'm sure she didn't do it, really! She was always telling us about her daughter, and how worried she was…"
"What was the matter with Mrs. Huang's daughter, Miss Drake?" Phoenix asked. Miss Drake looked down.
"Mrs. Huang's daughter is in the hospital, I believe. She needs a lot of treatment."
On the defendant's stand, Mrs. Huang was staring at Miss Drake, her expression almost betrayed. She shook her head. Whispering had broken out in the courtroom.
"And this treatment, was it expensive?" Edgeworth asked. Phoenix swallowed. Not good.
"I guess so?" Miss Drake looked at Mrs. Huang. "Must be. She's been there for as long as I've worked at Industrial Illusions." She suddenly gasped. "Oh, but Mrs. Huang didn't sell any secrets for the money or anything!"
"This is the first you've mentioned about money, Miss Drake," Edgeworth said. Phoenix was busy trying to find a way to turn this around. "What would the murder of Ms. Sammons have to do with money?"
Miss Drake frowned and lowered her eyes. "I… Cyan was very worried that someone would try to sell our portal technology. She was so angry when Chairman Pegasus gave that speech last month."
"Which speech was that?" Phoenix interrupted. They really needed to get the chairman of Industrial Illusions on the stand as well.
"I don't know if I'm allowed to say…"
The judge slammed his gavel. "Please testify about this speech, Miss Drake. What you say under oath cannot be hold against you outside this court."
Miss Drake nodded. "All right. It was maybe five weeks ago? I don't really remember. Chairman Pegasus said he had evidence that someone within the science labs was selling information to outside sources, probably military. He's very against that, you know."
Industrial Illusions had had problems with industrial espionage? A card game company?
"What interest does the military have in Industrial Illusion's work?" he asked. Maya looked pensive.
"Maybe they needed a game for when they were bored?"
They should've just bought a deck of cards, in that case.
Miss Drake glared at Maya. "Industrial Illusions does so much more than just create cards! Ms. Sammons was researching summoning conditions and dimensional portals. That's what they were really interested in!"
"Dimensional portals?" Phoenix leaned forwards. Edgeworth mirrored his actions—clearly the significance of that statement hadn't escaped him either. "Could you tell us some more about that, Miss Drake? It could be very important for this case."
Miss Drake hesitated. "You don't really believe she was killed by a dragon, right? I mean, yeah, we had portals, but we only opened them in the lab. We didn't want to take the technology outside yet. It was way too dangerous. Completely untested."
"Natural portals exist," Maya said.
"Well yeah, sure, but what are the odds? A portal here in Los Angeles, and we didn't know about it?"
Good enough odds for two of them to occur– Wait.
"Your equipment could detect where portals open, Miss Drake?" Edgeworth asked. Phoenix exchanged a look with him. They were on the same track.
"Better!" Miss Drake gestured wildly, for once enthusiastic. "Ms. Sammons had it all figured out. She could open them, decide how big they'd get and how long they'd last… We even had remote control for the things, so we wouldn't have to put ourselves in danger. It was genius, really. Her big breakthrough. No wonder she got so angry when people tried to steal her work."
Edgeworth nodded. Phoenix slammed his desk.
"Miss Drake, am I right when I say that this technology could open a portal to a different world, wherever and whenever you wanted it?"
"Yes…?"
"And the chances of a portal naturally occurring are very small, right?"
"Yes, I mean, they usually happen in places like active volcanoes or something. Where the barriers between worlds are very thin."
Phoenix nodded. "Thank you, Miss Drake. Your honor, the defense would like to propose a theory."
"Mr. Wright?"
"We do, unfortunately, know of a portal in Los Angeles. The one at the crime scene."
Edgeworth had caught on. "And the prosecution suspects the existence of another one, near the location where the victim's car was found. Understandably, the police didn't try looking too hard for it."
"Yes, I agree, Prosecutor Edgeworth, Mr. Wright. However, what is your theory?" the judge asked.
"Two things, your honor. First of all, Ms. Sammons was not killed at the crime scene."
The judge's eyes widened. "Oh, I see. You mean to say that she was killed in the parking lot where her car was found?"
"Impossible, your honor." Edgeworth said. He shuffled a few pages around. "I have here a report of the investigation of Ms. Sammons' car. The extent of the damage done to Ms. Sammons' body suggests severe blood loss, yet no traces of blood were found in or near her car. "
"And it isn't the defense's theory either," Phoenix picked in. "We propose that Ms. Sammons was taken from her car, transported through the first portal, and killed in the world she was transported to. After that, a second portal was used to bring her body back to earth, thereby making it look like the crime scene was in a completely different location. That, combined with the unnatural cause of death, would have been enough to throw us off the scent of the killer."
The judge nodded. "It truly is a very compelling theory, Mr. Wright. However, I am obliged to ask, can you present us with any evidence to support your claims?"
Ah, right… That.
"Short of going to the dimension the portals led to, your honor, I'm afraid not."
The judge banged his gavel. "Prosecutor Edgeworth, do you have anything to say?"
Edgeworth shook his head. "I do believe the defense had a second part to their theory. I propose we hear them out."
Thanks, Edgeworth. "Miss Drake has just testified for the court that the chances of a portal appearing out of nowhere are very small. The odds of two appearing on the same day, in the same city, are truly microscopic. Ergo, those portals were not naturally occurring, but opened with Ms. Sammons' equipment! Ms. Sammons' killer was an employee of Industrial Illusions!"
"Meaning Judai couldn't have done it!" Maya cheered. Phoenix glanced at her.
Yeah, we did just prove that, didn't we? If Judai Yuki truly wasn't the person who'd killed Cyan Sammons, it made Apollo and Athena and Prosecutor Gavin just that little bit safer.
The court was in uproar. The judge banged his gavel loudly.
"Order in the court! Mr. Wright, you are claiming that an employee of Industrial Illusions killed Ms. Sammons and used her own equipment to do so?"
"Yes, your honor!"
"Um, Nick…" Maya whispered. The courtroom fell utterly silent.
Uh oh, I don't like this. What'd I say?
"Mr. Wright," Edgeworth said. He gestured theatrically. "I do realize that defense attorney wasn't your first calling, but I would prefer it if you did your job and I did mine."
"Meaning?" Phoenix snapped back.
"Meaning that you just placed the blame for Ms. Sammons' death squarely on the shoulders of your own client."
March 9 2028 11:00 am
District Court - Defendant Lobby n°2
Miles Edgeworth couldn't remember the last time he'd wanted a nap this badly. Even the responsibilities of being chief Prosecutor didn't measure up against the day he'd just had. He spotted Wright and Maya Fey on the other end of the lobby, muttering to each other. Longxin Huang was sitting on one of the sofas. He couldn't help but feel bad for her. She looked horrible, no doubt because her own defense attorney had managed to accuse her again.
"Wright," he said. "Maya. A moment, please?"
"I know she didn't do it," Wright said without preamble. "Apollo and Athena trusted her, and—"
"Yes, I know." They really didn't have time for this. "Wright, I'm sure you know the significance of that technology Ms. Sammons developed."
Wright nodded. At least he seemed to be slightly more awake than he appeared. "We need to get our hands on it somehow. It's their only hope."
"I've already sent Ema to confiscate it. They won't be happy, but I agree." He turned to Maya. "I have a favor to ask of you."
Maya looked him straight in the eyes, resolute. "What do I need to do?"
"It's a very particular situation, otherwise I wouldn't be asking this. But for the sake of the lives of–"
"Out with it, Edgeworth," Wright snapped.
"Yes, all right." They all needed a nap very badly. "When court resumes, I need you or your cousin to channel Cyan Sammons and have her testify."
For reference:
yugioh. wikia wiki/ Neo-Spacian_Dark_Panther
Comments, questions and concrit are much appreciated!