(A:N: Hey everybody! It's time to continue this story while I still have it stuck in my head. Alex:Time for the reviews!
Natekleh: Thanks!
technicolortardis:Fixed! *does happy dance*
Meduka and Hameru: Your welcome. I know right? More like Investigations though...
Me: So, Alex, DISCLAIMERS! Alex: *points at me* She doesn't own Ace Attorney! Capcom does!)
LA Detention Center
January 26- 8:53 AM
Phoenix sipped his coffee for the third time before staring intently at the man behind the detention center glass. He was dragged here when he walked into the agency, sleep deprived of course, to have Trucy run up to him and literally drag him out of the office again. Phoenix only followed, barely picking up on what Trucy was saying before leading him to the detention center. The second he got there, he quickly grabbed the nearest chair and sat on it, allowing Trucy to go off wherever. She came back a few minutes later with a cup in her hand. She gave it to her father, "Alright Daddy, did you get that?" Phoenix took a long sip before answering, smiling sheepishly. "Of course I was, can you just tell me again so I both know we got the same info?" Trucy sighed, crossing her arms, "You weren't listening, were you?"
"Nope!" Trucy took out her cellphone, tapping it a few times before giving it to her father. Phoenix held up his hands, "Trucy, if you dragged me here to have me attempt playing Crossy Road, then you have another thing coming." Trucy sighed before forcing the cellphone into his hand, he shakily grabbed the phone to skim over it. A boxer was accused of killing another man, the boxer's name was Macintosh Healer, also known as Little Mac by his boxing name. The victim was a rising actor, 'Big' Kev Meat, who was going to make his big debut in a new Steel Samurai movie. Sadly, the victim was found dead, at a casino no less, Phoenix frowned slightly at that part.
(Of course he died at a casino. Why not a alleyway, or a nice, clean dumpster?)
Phoenix handed the phone back to Trucy, still to sleep deprived to process much. "So, what does this have to do with me?" He put the coffee cup to his lips as Trucy responded."Can you defend him?" Phoenix almost spat the coffee out of his mouth when he heard that. He covered his mouth, hoping not to choke or spit out the coffee. Trucy frowned, tapping her father's shoulder lightly. "Daddy, are you okay?" Phoenix didn't respond, he only pounded his chest and answered. "Yes Trucy..." He then gave the cup back to Trucy, "Why do I... *cough* Need to *cough* Defend him?" Trucy smiled, sticking her tongue out as she tipped her hat slightly. "Well, you haven't defended anyone in awhile. I don't want my Daddy to lose his talent! What would the others think?" When Phoenix was done hacking, he answered, his voice a bit raspy. "Who are these others?"
"Apollo and Athena." Phoenix rolled his eyes.
(Of course it's them. Although, she is right, I haven't defended anyone as of late...)
Phoenix nodded slowly, "Alright then..." He grabbed his coffee cup back from Trucy, "I'll do it." And that's how he ended up meeting the young man behind the detention center glass. Phoenix hasn't spoke, the man hasn't spoke, and Trucy was looking on in confusion. She poked her dad's shoulder, "What are you doing?" Phoenix leaned over and whispered in her ear, "I'm waiting for him to introduce himself."
"Why?" Phoenix's eyes widened before he laughed a bit, at that moment, the man cleared his throat. "Excuse me, if you're here to gawk about the 'Rising Star Boxer' in jail, you're to late." Phoenix turned back to the man, his skin was a pale color, his light blond hair seemed blinding when spiked back in one spike. He wore a red tank-top with brown jeans, his red sneakers were resting easily on the detention center desk. "No sir, we're, I mean, I am a defense attorney." The boxer took out a straw, and began to chew on it slightly, then pointed it towards Trucy. "Who's the chick?" Phoenix grew slightly aggravated at that, but decided to ignore it, "You first sir. I'd like to know your name to be able to defend you." The boxer set his feet back on the ground, putting the straw in his mouth before making two gun signs with his hands. "The name's Macintosh Healer. Just call me Little Mac, or Mac is fine also."
(Mac it is then.)
Trucy tipped her hat slightly before speaking, "My name is Trucy Wright, and this man right here is Phoenix Wright." Mac was about to set his feet back on the desk, but fell backwards when he heard Phoenix's name. "No way man!" Mac stood up, his hair crazily scattered, his straw a bit bent. He slammed his hands on the desk. "I've heard of you! Uncle Powers told me a lot about you!"
(I only know one man with that name!)
"You're related to Will Powers?" Mac shook his head slightly, grabbing his chair to set it back up. "No, but we should be, considering how big friends we are." Trucy frowned slightly, tilting her head to the side before mouthing to her father.
Who's Will Powers?
Phoenix shook his head before turning back to Mac. "So if you knew Will Powers, did you know the victim, Kev Meat?" Mac nodded his head, settling down in his chair. "I did know Kev, or Big as we call him." Phoenix put a hand to his chin in thought, his eyes wandering from Mac to the wall. "Who's 'we'?" Mac grabbed the straw in his mouth as he bit it, "Just some other friends of mine. You'll probably meet them if you take this case. They were at the casino at the time." Phoenix nodded before looking back at Mac. "What exactly were you doing at the casino anyway?" Mac's eyes wandered to the left of Phoenix, bending his straw slightly. "Well, uhm..." Everything in Phoenix's vision grew dark except for Mac, where chains seemed to block him, bearing two red locks.
(Gonna keep it a secret Mac? Oh, I'll find out alright...)
Phoenix waved a hand in front of him, "Never mind that, just point me in the right direction." Everything started appearing again as Mac set his feet on the desk, a slight smirk on his face. "You're going to defend me?" Phoenix nodded, earning a whoop from Mac. "In that case Mr. Wright, I'll give it to you." Phoenix nodded towards Trucy, who already had a notebook out of her pocket. Mac told them the address, and after that, Phoenix and Trucy bid him farewell.
Lucky Shot Casino
January 26- 10:25 PM
Trucy looked at the paper before looking at the building. It's grand light scheme seemed to hide the actual name of the place, it's address lost among the many dazzling lights. "Daddy, are you sure this is the right place?" Phoenix nodded his head, praying to whatever god that they actually walked into the right place. He walked towards the double doors, opening one for Trucy to go through, then him. Phoenix blinked a few times, the lighting was brighter then it was outside. He shielded his eyes as he looked around. There were dozens of machines, lined up in an orderly fashion. There was also a couple of pool tables to the left side of the building, and to the right were some doors. And as luck may have it, Trucy was there, talking to someone, surrounded by yellow police tape. Phoenix couldn't hear her from where he was, but he could tell that Trucy was growing agitated to the person she was talking to. He sighed before quickly sprinting over to her, hoping to get there before Trucy did something drastic.
"As I told you once, you can't go in until the prosecutor gets here!"
"But we're the defense team for Mr. Healer!"
"Look here little Miss, I-" The person speaking was cutoff as Phoenix grabbed Trucy's arm, Trucy turned to him, a slight scowl on her face. "Daddy, this person has to be the rudest detective I've ever met!" Phoenix looked over the person Trucy was speaking to. She had curly brown hair, covered by a fedora, still allowing it to get in her face. The detective also had a thing for the color black, black shirt, black trench coat, black pants, her shoes though were a bright white. Shades were covering her eyes, but Phoenix could easily tell she was glaring. "Excuse me then, I'm just doing my job!" Phoenix sighed, allowing his body to slouch a bit.
(We somehow already have the detective on our bad side...)
All the sudden, the girl held out a hand. "I'm arguing with you, and I don't even know both of your names. My name is Real Check." Phoenix shook it, still sweating slightly. "Phoenix Wright, and you were arguing with my daughter, Trucy." Real took out a notebook, absentmindedly flipping through the pages. "Well, tell your daughter I can't let you in until Prosecutor Versteckt gets here!"
(Well, that's a new one. Never heard of him, or her, before...)
"Well, can you at least tell us a bit about the crime?" Real looked at her notebook in thought before sighing, closing it. "Alright, and don't think I can't see your daughter trying to sneak in." Phoenix looked over Real to see Trucy smiling sheepishly, backing away from the police tape. "Alright then, so, what happened was this..." Real took out a pen and started to chew it slightly. "The victim, 'Big' Kev Meat, and 'Little Mac' Healer were with two friends. One was working at the time, the other was an old friend of theirs. From the smell of the room and the bottles littered on the floor, we could conclude that at least one person was drunk at the time."
(Huh, so it may be hard to find anything solid about the state of the crime.)
"Oh, but that's not the worst thing. According to one witness, the one who works there, they were playing a game. A game known as Russian Roulette."
(Where have I heard that before..? Wait a second!)
"You mean with real guns?!" Trucy chose that time to ask a bigger question on her mind. "What's Russian Roulette?" Real took out her notebook again, looking for a page in it before stopping. "It's where a group of people go around a circle, putting a bullet into a gun chamber, spin it, and then put it to their forehead. They pull the trigger, hoping it isn't going to fire a bullet. This goes on until they quit or there is one person standing." Trucy put a hand to her mouth, eyes wide in surprise. "People do that for fun?" Real nodded, placing her notebook back in her pocket. "Sadly, it's true, there were traces of gunpowder, and another substance in the gun. And from what we could conclude from the angle of the gun the victim was holding, it was his turn." Phoenix put a hand to his chin in thought, "So what are the grounds for Mr. Healer's arrest?"
"Hmph, simpleton..." Phoenix, Trucy, and Real turned towards the raspy sounding voice. The person there seemed straight out of a play, with his grey, slightly baggy grey suit and pants. Along with a slight, navy blue cape on his back, reaching down right below his knees, his hair in a messy manner, with a couple of distinguished hair spikes on his forehead. That wasn't the strangest thing though, on his face was a mask, covering everything on his face but his mouth and soul piercing, hazel eyes.
(He looks likes something straight out of Phantom of the Opera!)
"Excuse me?" Phoenix asked, crossing his arms over his chest. The man laughed a bit, a dark, menacing sound. "It's quiet simple actually. The other substance was originally the given ammo in the gun, but was swapped later on before they played the game. According to witness testimony, Macintosh didn't want to play the game even though he knew that something else was used as ammo. According to the given info given to us so far, we came to the conclusion that Macintosh swapped the ammo right before Mr. Meat's turn." Phoenix stared at the man in shock, Trucy in fascination, and Real in slight anger. "Where have you been getting that info?" The man shrugged his shoulders. "I was late on account of talking to the 'lovely' witness." The man put lovely in air quotes, as if they were anything but that. The man walked towards Phoenix, eyeing the man carefully. "Now then, I believe we haven't met yet Mr. Wright. I'm the fabled Prosecutor Versteckt." Phoenix nodded his head slowly before pointing towards Trucy. "Well, that's-"
"I know who she is!" Versteckt spat, a hint of malice in his eyes. Startling Trucy and Phoenix, who took a slight step back from the man. Versteckt put a hand to his face, almost as if he was fixing his mask. "My apologies for the outburst... Now then, there must be a reason as to why you're here besides to gawk." Phoenix nodded, scratching the back of his head, smiling a tiny bit. "Yeah, we're defense attorneys, we are here on the account of defending Macintosh Sprint. We need permission to enter the crime scene." In a split second, Versteckt snapped his fingers, a smile on his face. "Why not? I always believe in a fair fight." He pointed towards Real, "Please give them info on any evidence collected so far." With that, he made a sharp turn to the right, his cape swishing behind him, before walking off. His walk was relaxed, his hands in his pockets as he slouched a bit forward. Real sighed as she dug into a bag hidden in her trench coat, taking out a manila folder. She handed it to Trucy, "This is the autopsy report for the crime. We also have a document of the room." She gave a document to Phoenix, which was a mini-map of the room.
*Autopsy Report and Room Map added to the Court Record*
Trucy quickly skimmed over the document before handing it to Phoenix, who looked it over slower then Trucy had.
-Victim: Kev Meat
-Cause of Death: One bullet to the skull, killed instantly from a close distance due to the fact that he unwittingly shot himself.
Phoenix gave it to Trucy, who then placed it into a bag she had. Real pointed towards the doors covered with yellow police tape. "The crime scene is in there, good luck." Phoenix nodded, walking over towards the large, gray door. He grabbed the doorknob when Trucy grabbed his hand. "Daddy, we may need this." She held up a key, put it in the lock, the twisted it. A resounding click echoed before Phoenix set his hand on the doorknob again. This time, allowing the heavy door, to Phoenix's surprise, open easily. He turned to Trucy, one of his eyebrows raised. "Where did you get that key?" Trucy didn't look up from putting the key back in her bag when she answered, "Daddy, I got it from the detective when she wasn't looking." Phoenix frowned a bit, sweating slightly. "You stole the key from her?" Trucy shook her head, smiling towards her father, "No Daddy, borrowed." Phoenix sighed before entering the room.
(Well, at least we now know that we need a key to enter this room...)
*Key Data added to the court record*
Phoenix looked around the small room. It could barely fit Trucy, him, and the other 3 cops in the room with the table in the middle of the room. On the left side of the table was a giant bloodstain, which looked more as if someone spilled something there instead of a gun wound spurting blood. He walked over to the table first. "This seems more like a steel table..." He rapped his knuckle against the desk, causing a loud clang sound.
(It is a metal table! I wonder...)
"Trucy, can you ask someone what kind of tables are in other rooms?" Trucy nodded her head, running off towards one cop. Phoenix smiled after her, turning back to the table. He looked around the bloodstained area, finding nothing, he took a step to the left. A quick crunch sound came right after he took a step. He looked down at his foot, seeing a red and white object under his foot. He bent down and picked it up, smoothing out the object. It was a bloodstained piece of paper.
I'm sorry...
(Sorry? Sorry for what?)
He turned the paper in his hand, looking for any identification as to who wrote the message. Not finding anything, he shrugged, placing the paper into his breast pocket hastily.
(I'll have to find out who wrote that later...)
*Strange Message hastily stuffed in pocket*
"Hey Daddy?" Phoenix turned to the sound of his daughter's voice. "Yes Trucy? What did you find out?" Trucy took out a piece of paper, reading over it carefully. "Every table is made of wood, all metal tables are used for work desk or large, hidden safes." Phoenix put a hand to his chin in thought. He then nodded, walking towards the exit doors. Trucy stood there for a few seconds before jogging up to him. "Daddy, where are we going?" Phoenix looked over his shoulder, not stopping. "Mr. Healer has some questions he needs to answer, and we're going to find out about it now."
LA Detention Center
January 26-11:54 PM
Phoenix's phone buzzed as he walked into the building, he took it out of his left pants pocket and looked at the screen.
Apollo: What's going on Mr. Wright?
Phoenix sighed slightly when he saw the text. Apollo hasn't been seen for days, the last time he saw him wasn't exactly a good day either. Apollo was having major headaches, barely being able to walk. Athena had to walk him home that day. This happened 4 days ago, ever since then, they've only been getting text from Apollo.
Wright-Dono:Just taking a new case. Nothing big.
Apollo: ... Mr. Wright, why did you label yourself Wright-Dono?
Wright-Dono: I had a dare with Athena, loser had to change their ID name to whatever the winner wanted them to.
Apollo: XD Really Mr. Wright?
Wright-Dono: I'll guess I'll have to tell you later then. How's your headache?
Apollo: Not getting any better. Don't worry, the only thing stopping me from going to work is the fact that if I get up, I'll fall to the ground seconds later.
Wright-Dono: Well, I have to take care of that case. Text me later okay?
Apollo:Good luck Mr. Wright!
Phoenix placed his phone back in his pocket, surprised a bit when he saw Trucy waiting for him. "Was that Apollo?" Phoenix nodded slowly, Trucy smiled a bit, then turned around, walking towards the detention center glass wall. Phoenix followed close behind, surprised to see Macintosh on the other side of the glass. "Alright Mac, let's get straight to it..." Phoenix pulled a chair away from the desk. He grabbed the Magatama from his pocket, grasping it in his hand tightly. "What were you doing in that casino last night?" Everything around Mac grew dark once again, the same chains and locks blocking off Mac.
-Last Nights Events-
"It's not nice to keep something from your lawyer Mac." Mac brung his arm up, holding a pair of boxing gloves, holding them together by a few strings. "Listen, I'm hiding nothing-"
"Mac, we learned something interesting while we were investigating. One fact was that there were bottles littered about the room. Do you know why this interests me?" Mac's eyes widened slightly, his straw seemed to stiffen in his mouth. "N-no..." Phoenix smirked slightly, putting his hands to his hips. "Well, the bottles, according to the detective, contained some kind of drug. Now tell me, did you have any kind of drug while you were there?" Mac stiffened up, setting his feet to the ground, setting his gloves around his neck, he began pulling on the strings leading to the gloves. "So what if I did?" One lock broke in Phoenix's vision, leaving one left to break.
(One down, one more to go!)
"Tell me, do you remember doing anything while being intoxicated?" Mac tightened his hold on the glove's strings, not answering. Phoenix continued, placing a hand to his chin in thought. "You were playing a game weren't you? Now what was it called? Would you like to refresh my memory?" Mac shook his head quickly, the straw almost falling out of his mouth. "Well Trucy, would you care to remind me?" Trucy tilted her head to the right, placing her head on her hand. "Daddy, how could you forget? It was quiet easy to remember. It's Russian Roulette!" Then she saw the look of hopeless and sadness on Mac's face. "D-don' t-tell anyone p-please!" He lost his grip on his boxing gloves, sending them flying straight into his face. The last lock broke, the chains receded.
-Locks Broken-
Phoenix watched as Mac slowly got off the ground, two red marks on his face.
(Well, even if that did involve pain, we got the truth out of him!)
"Alright, I admit, we were about to play that stupid game. It was all Kev's idea! 'C'mon Mac' he said, 'It'll be alright' he said. I didn't agree, even when he told me that the bullets were replaced with powder. He went first to ease my fears, and he... And he..." Phoenix held up a hand, a calm look on his face. "It's alright Mac, you can tell us the rest at court tomorrow." Mac nodded slowly before getting up, walking slowly towards the rest of the detention center. Phoenix turned to Trucy, who had a smile on her face. "Get ready Daddy, something tells me that this will be the start of something big!"
(A:N:And indeed it will. I'll edit off my computer later. R&R, and remember, your flames warm my family!)