Family Mottos

Rating: K

Characters: Ensemble, Dual Destinies cast

Spoilers: Dual Destinies, and knowledge of Apollo Justice, Ace Attorney is recommended.

Time: Right after Dual Destinies. Or rather, after the final trial but before the epilogue.

Brief note here: I guess this little piece does tie in beautifully with Dai Gyakuten Saiban: Naruhodou Ryuunosuke no Bouken. Since Phoenix/Naruhodou's ancestor became a defense attorney. After learning there's a case based on my favorite Sherlock Holmes story, I've wanted to play. Anyway, without further ado:

Phoenix Wright here. It was a cool, beautiful night.

We – myself, Apollo Justice, Athena Cykes, as well as Chief Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth and Simon Blackquill and my daughter Trucy – had gathered at Eldoon's Noodles to have a celebratory bowl of noodles. On our way out of the courtroom, we had run into Klavier Gavin. Athena asked him to come with us, and he accepted.

And for the record, Klavier said, "Looking good, Herr Forehead! I can't even tell you were injured in a bombing and bludgeoned on the head with a rock!" Apollo turned almost as red as his vest.

Why am I telling you? Because it's hilarious. Almost as hilarious as Blackquill's expression on the first swallow of Eldoon's noodles. He immediately declared it worse than his seven years' worth of prison food. Combined.

Why didn't I take a picture of him post-swallow? Because Simon Blackquill is utterly terrifying, and you can quote me on that. I proved he didn't run anyone through seven years ago. I didn't prove he's not capable of it. There's a difference, and I don't want to test him.

After we finished eating, we decided to relax and unwind in People Park before going our separate ways. And chat about the trial.

"So how did you seize upon the idea to look for emotions in the recording of the Phantom's voice?" Edgeworth asked Blackquill.

"It is completely unprecedented, but I felt any chance of identification was better than nothing," Blackquill replied. "My father used to tell me to live up to our family's motto. Poros, or creative ingenuity. To come up with new innovations. New ways of solving problems. That was also how I hit upon using psychology as an advantage in the courtroom."

Sometimes I think if there is a god, He's got a weird sense of humor. Poros is the name of a mythological son of the titaness Metis. Whom Metis Cykes was named for. Wait...Greek myth...

"Isn't that a Greek word?" I asked. "Aren't most family mottos in Latin?" I gave an embarrassed laugh. "I've totally forgotten almost all the Latin I learned in college and law school."

"You call yourself a lawyer?" Blackquill derided.

"The Cykes family motto's in Latin," Athena piped up, to my relief. "It's Lux mentis, lux orbis. Light of the mind, light of the world. Don't you think that's fitting? Why don't we all share our family's mottos?" She looked to her right. "Prosecutor Gavin, ego te provoco! I provoke you!"

Klavier grimaced. "The Gavin family motto is Nemo me impune lacessit." He raised his can of soda and chugged faster than it takes Maggey Byrde to break or lose her glasses.

Apollo visibly winced.

"No one offends me and gets away with it?" Athena asked.

I felt my face wince almost as badly as it does in court.

"All right, there's something I'm missing here," Athena said.

"I have an excellent idea," Apollo interrupted. "Let's move on. Who wants to go next?"

Edgeworth cleared his throat. "The Edgeworth family motto is Bono malum superate. To overcome evil with good. My father told me long ago." Yup, definitely sounds like the late Gregory Edgeworth. Whom I never met, sadly.

"My adoptive family's motto is Ignis aurum probat," Apollo added. "Fire tests gold." Odd. I would have guessed something about justice. Apollo's adoptive dad is a college professor who teaches ethics at Besseldorf College. Which is the rival of my alma mater, Ivy University.

"I don't know what the Gramarye family motto is," Trucy shared. "But my other daddy's family, the Enigmars, had Video et taceo, or 'I see and keep silent.'"

"My daughter knows more Latin than me?" I asked. Stone the crows.

"That just leaves you, Wright," Edgeworth said. "What's your family's motto?"

I shrugged. "I forget the exact Latin, but it translates to 'flee not when the tide is at its highest, for it's just about to turn.'"

Everyone looked at me pointedly. "…"

"What?" I asked.