CHAPTER 31

AUTHOR'S NOTE: There's one more chapter after this, so don't think this is the end yet. I posted a poll asking about my next stories on my profile, and I just thought I should tell you all to check that out ASAP.

Gumshoe burst into the courtroom, causing an already startled courtroom to rabble aimlessly once more. Franziska didn't even listen to them; she was more interested on what the foolish detective had in his hand; the coffee cup that killed Damon Lyght.

He ran up towards the judge, triumphant. "Your honor, pal! You'll never guess what we found on this coffee cup!" Mick Vick slammed both hands on the witness' bench in a sweat.

*COUGH* *COUGH* "I swear, I really shouldn't go to gas stations anymore during recesses. I'm sorry, Detective Sweatyshoes, I can't say that there's anything to change my verdict. I believe I'm going to hand down my verdict now."

OBJECTION!

Gumshoe had a puppy-dog look in his eyes. "...It's not sweatyshoes, It's Gumshoe..."

The judge grew wide eyed. "Oh, Sorry, Detective Gumshoe. Anyway, we find the defandant, John Doe..."

OBJECTION!

All eyes turned to the defense attorney, but Phoenix seemed confident. "Your honor, the defense believes the court needs to hear out the detective."

Vick yelled out; his face visibly stunned, matching the extreme amounts of sweat pouring down his face. "M-Mr. Judge! Y-You are ready to hand down your verdict! This second-rate detective couldn't find his ass if he were sitting on his own two hands! You can't take this worthless, pathetic, idiotic, second-rate detective seriously, c-can you!?"

The judge turned his attention towards Edgeworth, ignoring Vick's outburst; "Does the prosecution have any objections?"

Franziska could tell Edgeworth had been hiding his anxiety up until that point, and his joy at Gumshoe's arrival. "No, your honor."

"Very well. Detective, explain to this courtroom the significance of this evidence."

HOLD IT!

Vick was beating down sweat now; "N-n-nrghh...No! No! Halt! Stop! This entire courtroom is second-rate! The Prosecution, the Defense, the Judge, all second rate! Kangaroo court, Kangaroo court, I say!"

Edgeworth became the first one to acknowledge Vick's outbursts; "Mr. Vick, it seems to me like you don't want this evidence presented to the courtroom. Can you explain to reason why?"

Vick was sweating and shaking; "N-n...h-h-help me...p-please..."

The judge spoke up; "Gumshoe, what is so special about this coffee cup?"

Gumshoe smiled, knowing what only a select few in the courtroom knew for sure, and what Miles and Franziska had both correctly deduced. "Well, Your Honor, pal, we found fingerprints. Fingerprints that belong to a man named..." Franziska figured that Gumshoe was going for a dramatic pause, to build suspense. Suspense she didn't want to feel, and time she didn't want to waste. CRACK! "OUT WITH IT, SCRUFFY!"

Gumshoe winced. "A-ah, Ok, ok! Haven't you ever heard of a dramatic pause?" He crossed his arms with an irritated look on his face. "...they belong to Mick Vick, pal."

The courtroom gallery was rabbling once again; "What? I thought he was the good guy."

"I guess it makes sense, he was flipping bricks just a second ago, dude."

"Mommy, I hate the Jammin' Ninja! Steel Samurai all the way!"

BANG BANG BANG! "Order! Order in the court!"

For the first time all day, de Killer spoke up; "Your honor, I believe I can explain everything, so my testimony is vital. I believe this has happened twice too many times now..."

Edgeworth spoke up. "Your honor, the prosecution would like to call the defandant, John Doe, to the stand."

The judge nodded; "Very well, does the defense have any objections?"

Franziska noted Phoenix's well earned confidence. "No, your honor."

"Very well, John Doe, will you please take the stand?"

John Doe remained at the defandant's stand, utterly apathetic. "Your honor, I believe I've been lying to the court about my identity. My real name is one that commands respect; one I take great pride in...Shelly de Killer."

The court gallery was speechless for the first time all day. The judge jumped back under his chair.

De Killer spoke up. "Your honor, sir, come out from under there, now." The judge quickly complied.

No emotion from de Killer; "Now, where was I? Oh, yes. Around 4 days ago, I was called on for my services to assassinate a defense attorney; the reason was left unclear. I began work at a coffee shop he frequented, and poisoned the coffee when I heard the unusually loud bailiff tell me he was getting on with sugar and no cream for the prosec utor Klavier Gavin and one with light sugar and light cream for a Damon Lyght. I slipped the poison into his cup, and left my card...but I take it that it wasn't found, was it?"

The judge was flabbergasted; "N-No! We charged the bailiff with the murder!" de Killer still maintained no emotion. "Yes, well, I believe you should release him and clear him from all charges. That was me."

Phoenix Wright spoke up; "And Mr. de Killer, your client?"

De Killer just responded in the same, refined and emotionless manner he had been talking in all this time; "That was a Mr. Mick Vick at WorldWide Studios."

Mick Vick broke with a blood curdling yell;

"NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNRRRRRRRRRRRR RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHH HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

He slammed his fists down on the witnesses' stand down so hard he shattered each and everyone of his rings. Once he was done, his sunglasses were gone, revealing a pair of bloodshot eyes, and his perfectly-maintained pompadour began to unravel. "Nrghh-No! He lies! Lies I tell you! He's nothing but a second rate assassin! Why should we believe him? And even if I WAS his client, you could only get me for being an accomplice, anyhow!"

Franziska noticed Maya had ducked beneath the defenses' bench during the blood-curdling, earth shaking yell; a yell that still echoed throughout the courtroom.

Edgeworth spoke up; "Very well, but, you are in the showbiz world, aren't you, Mr. Vick? You should know that the impact of the RY-3 case was substantial...it changed the laws. The client of an assassin is now to be tried as the murderer...not just an accomplice. And I believe you're being accused of murder under those circumstances, are you not? You'll be tried in this very courtroom."

"Nrrghh! No! No! Second-rate! Second-rate, I tell you!" He slammed his head down on the witnesses stand, hard.

De Killer spoke up. "But Mr. Vick...keep in mind that there is an heir to my name. I've trained him quite well to replace me upon my retirement. You should know that, due to your betrayal, and bringing shame upon the de Killer name...it will be his first and only priority to restore mine and his ancestors honor..."

Vick laughed...a dark, maniacal laugh that sent shivers down Franziska's spine. "Heh..hehehheheheheheheheheheha-ha-haaaaaaa!"

All of a sudden, Vick pulled out a revolver from his suit pocket, pointing it straight at Maya, who had stood back up at this point. Before anyone could react, a gunshot rung out.

Mick Vick lay at the witness' stand clutching his bloody shoulder, breathing heavily in pain; a bullet hole had pierced and gotten stuck in the judge's beard, although he himself was safe. The most shocking thing, though, was Shelly de Killer, holding a gun at the defendant's stand; he had saved Maya's life.

He spoke up as the cops began taking both him and Mick Vick away. "Your honor, I believe an immediate search is necessary to be performed on Mr. Vick's house. You might find something...of dire importance in there."

The judge just nodded, still in shock and unable to speak. "I...I...find the defandant...Shelly de Killer..."

GUILTY.

Cheers erupted in the gallery; part in the fact that they brought down Vick, and part in respect for the unlikely hero, at least for the day, that is.

Edgeworth, Franziska, Nick, and Maya all sat outside in the lobby together, celebrating their victory, yet somberly.

Franziska didn't pay any attention; she was disoreinted from what all had just transpired; she heard voices, but was unable to determine who's voice they belonged to.

"I-Is Pearly safe?"

"The police are finding her right now, Maya. All we can do is wait."

"Don't worry; I believe your young cousin will be safe, Maya."

"Franzy? Franzy, what do you think?"

All of a sudden, a high-pitched scream broke Franziska out of her daze; "MYSTIC MAAYYYYAAAAA!" Pearl Fey. It was the only voice she had been able to recognize since the verdict had been handed down.

A young, pale girl with a black eye came running up to Maya in tears. Maya yelled "PEARLY!" And kneeled down, hugging her as they both cried.

After a bit of crying into each other's shoulders, Maya lifted her up. "Pearl...Nick, Mr. Edgeworth and Franzy all helped save you...you need to thank them."

She jumped down from Maya's shoulder and ran to Phoenix Wright. "Mr. Nick! Thank you..." She hugged his sleeve against her cheek for a second, and he reached and patted her on the back. Next came Edgeworth; "Mr. Ed-ji-wurth! Thank you so much!" He pulled his cravat out of his shirt and gave it to her. "Here...keep this with you. I think you deserve it." Pearl promptly blew her nose into it, causing Franziska to wonder where she had seen that before. Pearl walked over her next, and Franziska didn't know what to expect; the young girl had always hated her for some reason.

Pearl turned her nose up and crossed her arms. Franziska saw that the swelling was starting to go down on her eye. "What's that ring doing on your finger?" She impatiently inquired.

Franziska stumbled over her words. "I...I, uh...Miles and I..."

All of a sudden, Pearl brightened up, holding both of her hands to her face with an excited and pleased smile on her face; "Mr. Ed-ji-wurth! Is...is the mean whip-lady your..." She gained a sparkle in her eyes with her next words; "...special someone?"

Miles looked over at Franziska; their eyes met for a second, but it seemed to Franziska as if time stopped around them during that moment, if only for a second; unbeknowest to her, it had felt the exact same way to Miles. "Yes, Pearl...she is."

Pearl let out a long "Awwwwwwwwwww!" Her voice had started high, dove low, and went back up to high at the end.

Yes, it seemed to Franziska as if she had been waiting for this very moment all of her life.