A/N: And here comes the first trial day!

This prosecutor is a little tricky for me to write, but I desperately wanted to give him a go, so… we'll see?

Also, if you say all three of my OC's names out loud (especially Ivana Sokurblad), you'll probably get a kick out of them.

I know I did!

Last thing: Sorry for how long this took. I've been working on this for a while; days, it seemed... For some reason, this chapter just didn't want to be written.

HOWEVER, I WILL NOT BE STOPPED!

Okay, enough talk! Here we go!

…

Chapter Six – Trial: Day 1

Phoenix

August 5

I paced the floor of Defendant's Lobby 2, waiting for my client, and protégé, to walk in. Ema sat on the couch, dressed in her normal white jacket, going over her notes from our lack-luster investigation.

Just then, Apollo walked in. He looked a little worried, his spikes drooping forward and his arms crossed, but otherwise okay.

Ema was up and across the room before I could say a word.

"What were you thinking yesterday when you ran off like that!?" she demanded. Apollo's eyes widened, and he took a step back, his arms uncrossing.

"Uh…"

"You could have been the one to be killed! And now you're on trial for murder!" she seethed. Apollo glanced over Ema's shoulder at me, his eyes pleading for help.

"Ema, I just—"

"I can't believe you'd run off like that on me!"

"Whoa, hey, wait!" Apollo finally found his voice, sounding more disbelieving then angry. "Do you think I killed that woman?" he demanded. Ema scowled, turning and stalking away.

"Would I be here helping Mr. Wright if I thought you did?" she shot back, crossing her arms. She then sighed, her shoulders slumping. "I'm just worried, Apollo. There's a lot of evidence, and—"

"Will the defense please enter the courtroom? Court is about to begin," the bailiff called.

Damn. I wanted to ask him what happened…

"Well, come on, guys," I said with a smile, leading the way.

We entered the courtroom, Apollo settling in the defendant's chair, Ema and I behind the Defense bench. I looked across the room at the prosecutor, and felt a groan bubble up in my throat.

"Court is now in session for the murder of Ivana Sokurblad! Is the defense ready?"

"Yes, your honor," I said, planting a hand on my hip and holding my head high.

"Is the prosecution ready?"

"Hmph. Of course, Your Baldness," my opponent replied. I looked once more at the man across the room. He wore a completely black suit, coupled with a long, black trench coat with white trimming that matched his long hair. Completing the image was the falcon perched on his shoulder, and a feather in his mouth.

All he was missing were the deep bags under his gray eyes and the shackles.

"Prosecutor Blackquill, you're opening statement, please," the judge asked. Blackquill gave the judge a smile like honey, and I knew what was coming.

"Why, your honor, I thought since you so enjoyed giving the opening statement, that you might like to do that this time as well," he said smoothly. The judge gasped like an excitable school girl, shuffled the papers, and cleared his throat.

You know, I'd say it's a little too easy to manipulate his honor, but if I even tried that, I'd probably be held in contempt of court…

"On August 1st, around a quarter after three, the body of Ms. Ivana Sokurblad was found in the Haunted House of Gatewater Land, in the Mirror Hall, stabbed in the back. Soon after, Mr. Apollo Justice was found in a storage room within the Haunted House, covered in the victim's blood, leading to his arrest!" He took a deep breath, his eyes even brighter, and looked at Blackquill. "How'd I do?"

"Perfect, Your Baldness. The prosecution would like to call it's first witness. Detective!" he snapped. I sighed, clearly seeing that Simon already had full control over the flow of the trial.

Next to me, Ema shivered.

"He's spooky…" she mumbled. I nodded in agreement.

"Believe me, Ema, it's only just begun…" I mumbled.

"Name and Occupation."

"Klu Hunter, Homicide Detective, Criminal Affairs!" he said brightly, saluting. Distantly, in the gallery, I swear I heard Athena's Widget chirp "Dork!".

Blackquill put a hand over his mouth, but the amusement in his eyes was all too clear.

"You will testify about the details of the crime in further detail, Detective Greenhorn. Wright-dono, the witness is yours to question as you please," he said.

"I feel like no one's paying attention to me anymore…" the judge mumbled, sounding depressed.

You let him take control… I thought with little pity, before focusing on Hunter, who began his testimony.

"As the Judge said, the crime happened just after three in the afternoon, in the Haunted House," Hunter began. I frowned slightly.

"Hold it! This was in the middle of the day, Detective. Why wasn't there someone else in the house to hear the attack and help the victim?" I asked.

"The Haunted House was closed for cleaning yesterday, Mr. Wright. Employees only," the detective explained.

"But my client isn't an employee of the park. How was he able to enter?"

"Um… I guess he snuck in?" Hunter said with a weak shrug.

"This rambling line of questions has nothing to do with the more immediate topic on hand," Blackquill suddenly said. "Continue with your testimony, Detective Greenhorn."

"Yes sir!" Hunter saluted again.

"Major Dork!" came Widget's voice again, and this time both me and Simon had to cover our laughter, especially when coupled with Hunter's slightly, yet quickly covered, indignant look and Apollo's face palm.

Hunter continued none-the-less. "The victim and General Manager of the Haunted House, Ms. Ivana Sokurblad, was stabbed in the back with a thirteen inch Hunting Knife, puncturing her right lung."

I quickly scanned through the Autopsy Report once more. 'Stabbed in back around 3pm, August 4. Right lung punctured. Died when lung collapsed.'

"Hold it!" I called. "You seem pretty sure about that murder weapon, Detective, yet the Autopsy report says nothing of it. Was it found?" I asked.

"Oh yeah!" Hunter said brightly, before pulling out a large baggy. Inside was exactly what he described; a thirteen inch long Hunting Knife. It was fully back, even the blade, with a wickedly sharp point, and one side razor sharp. The other side of the blade was serrated, the points facing back towards the handle.

The entire thing, even the handle, was coated in blood.

"Was it tested for fingerprints, Detective Green Dork?" Blackquill demanded, slamming his hand down on the bench in front of him. I coughed to hide my amusement at the nickname switch, knowing Athena definitely had something to do with it. Hunter frowned slightly, but continued.

"Of course, Prosecutor Blackquill. However, there were none."

"And I'd be right in assuming the blood belongs to the victim?" Ema asked from next to me, adjusting her pick glasses over her eyes.

"Of course it is, Dr. Skye," Hunter said. I nodded, making a note of the blade, before rolling my hand towards him.

"Please continue."

"The victim didn't go down without a fight though! She had a bat with her, and she slammed it into the back of the head of her attacker!"

"Hold it! Where is this bat you're speaking of?" I demanded. Hunter grinned, pulling the bat out.

"Right here, Mr. Attorney!" he said brightly. "The handle is covered in the victim's fingerprints!"

"And those bark colored strands clinging to the top?" Simon asked. I looked closer, noticing the few strands of hair that seemed to be trapped in cracks at the top of the bat.

"Ah! Those! It's hair, belonging to the defendant, Mr. Justice!" Hunter said with a big, bright grin. A soft groan escaped me.

"He's a lot better then Gumshoe..." I mumbled to Ema, who nodded.

"I know. He's still a dork though."

"Well, might as well take note of the bat too," I sighed, turning to the Court Record. I then nodded to Hunter.

"Mr. Justice ran away then, but didn't make it far due to his head injury, and hid in a side room where he passed out."

"Hold it! How was—"

"SILENCE!" Blackquill suddenly snapped, and I jumped slightly. "Do you plan to press every word that Detective Green Dork speaks, Wright-dono?" he demanded.

"I'm just trying to gather more information, Prosecutor Blackquill," I replied.

"And Justice-dono was found, unconscious, in a side room, in the Haunted House, with head trauma, but little bleeding." His tone was that of reading from a grocery list. "What more information could you possibly ascertain about this statement?"

"Um…" was my intelligible reply.

"Well, Mr. Wright?" the Judge asked.

"N-nothing… never mind…" I mumbled.

Last time I think one of your nicknames are funny, Blackquill! I thought, a little childishly, I'll admit.

Hunter decided to continue.

"As a final act of defiance, Ms. Sokurblad did two things to point us to her attacker! She grabbed Mr. Justice's bracelet during the fight, and wrote his name in her own blood!" he said, his eyes bright with excitement and adrenaline, probably at just the thought of the struggle.

"OBJECTION!" I yelled, pointing at the witness. He turned a bewildered look to me, and I fished out the picture of the word written by the victim. "Ms. Sokurblad did not write the defendant's name!" I slammed the picture down. "She wrote the word 'red'!"

"Red? What does that mean?" the Judge asked in confusion.

"Obviously, it was the color of Justice-dono's garb," Blackquill said, like he was talking to a young child.

"That leads to another question, though," I said, regaining everyone's attention. "If she didn't even know Mr. Justice's name, why would he have reason to attack her?"

"Why… Mr. Wright! You're right!" the Judge gasped, and I smirked, crossing my arms.

"SILENCE!" Blackquill snapped, emphasizing the point by slamming his desk again with his hand. "It matters not the motive or connection as of yet, but the facts of the case. And while this witness has exhausted his usefulness, I have yet another who will shed more light on this murder."

"Another one?" the Judge gasped.

"Of course," the Twisted Samurai smirked. "An eyewitness!"

WHAT!? My eyes widened at that, and I gripped the edge of the bench tighter. There was an eyewitness!?

At these words, Detective Klu Hunter stepped down from the witness stand, and a young, creepy man, dressed entirely in black, stepped up.

"Name and occupation," Blackquill demanded.

The young man looked at him.

"Robin Graves," he said, pushing his glasses up his nose. I noticed that he also held a clipboard. "Personal Assistant of Ms. Ivana Sokurblad."

"Please, Mr. Graves, testify about what you witnessed!" the judge said.

"I was put in charge of cleaning the mirrors in Mirror Hall. I didn't get there until after lunch," Graves began.

"Hold it! Was this around the time of the murder?" I asked.

"Of course."

"And your lunch ended around three? Doesn't that seem a little late?" I asked.

"The Park's lunch breaks are staggered, so that not everyone goes out at the same time. Everyone in the Haunted House got the last lunch," he explained.

Then… what was Ms. Sokurblad doing there?

"As I walked in, I saw the defendant lowering Ms. Sokurblad down," Mr. Graves continued.

"Hold it!" My eyes were narrowed. "Were they facing each other?" I asked.

"Who?"

"The defendant and the victim! When Apollo was lowering Ms. Sokurblad to the ground, were the two face to face?" I demanded, slamming my hands onto the desk in front of me. Graves looked thoughtful for a moment.

"Actually… yes," he said.

"This has nothing to do with the case," Blackquill suddenly said. "Continue."

"The defendant then turned and ran. I think I heard this loud crack, and he stumbled, but he didn't stop," Graves said before my suspicion could fully formulate in my mind about the last statement.

This one, however, worked perfectly.

"OBJECTION!" I yelled, pointed at the witness. He jumped slightly.

"Y-yes, Mr Wright?"

"You said that you witnessed Mr. Justice lowering the victim to the ground, then you heard an odd noise, like a crack?" I asked.

"Well, yes…"

"What does this have to do with anything, Wright-dono?" Blackquill demanded. I pulled out a piece of paper, tapping the back of my hand against it as I studied it.

"It is the prosecution's argument that the victim struck my client in the head before she was stabbed," I reminded the court, putting the paper back in front of me and slamming my hands down. "However! If the order of events happened as this witness states…" I trailed off, and horrified realization flashed across Blackquill's face.

"No!" he growled.

"What? What!? Don't keep me in suspense!" the Judge whined.

"Then the order of events would be reversed," I replied with a smirk, planting my hands on my hips.

"Score!" Ema cheered softly next to me as the crowed erupted.

"Order! Order!" the Juge yelled, slamming his gavel. I was talking again before he even finished.

"There is one more thing!" I pulled the autopsy report out. "If the victim and the defendant were facing each other, then there is now way Mr. Justice could have stabbed her in the back!"

"SILENCE!" Blackquill snapped, slamming his hand against the surface in front of him. "What proof is there, Wright-dono? Could he not simply walk up close to the victim?" he demanded.

"Think about it, Prosecutor Blackquill," I said, pulling out the picture of the victim's dying message. "The victim left us a clue. She didn't know the name of her attacker, just that he favored the color red. If that's all you know of someone, Prosecutor Blackquill, who wasn't supposed to be in the closed Haunted House, by the way, would you allow them close enough to hug you? Because that's the distance and pose this type of attack would require." Blackquill gasped, at that, flinching back slightly. I continued on my lead. "Not only that, but I didn't think it was possible to hit someone in the back of the head with a baseball bat… when facing them head on!"

The courtroom erupted once more, and it took several minutes for the Judge to regain order. He then turned to me.

"Mr. Wright, what does this all mean!?" he demanded. I smirked, planting my hands on my hips once more.

"I'm glad you asked, your honor. I have just bought up the possibility that most of the prosecution's claims were false; first with the order of the events between my client's head injury, and the actual murder. Second, if it was possible for the two to injure each other from behind while facing each other. Not to mention the hole poked in Mr. Blackquill's argument by the lack of motive!" I took a deep breath, calming my excited nerves and preparing myself for this crucial moment. I snapped open my eyes and slammed my hands down on the desk in front of me.

"It is the defense's belief that there was a third person at the scene of the crime! The true culprit! One with means and motive to kill Ms. Ivana Sokurblad, then pin it on my client by making sure he didn't leave the Haunted House!"

"Mr. Wright! Surely you're not accusing the witness!" the Judge gasped.

Why are you so surprised? That's a totally normal tactic for me to take, I thought in confusion before looking at Mr. Robin Graves. However…

"Not at this time, your Honor. There is still too much doubt, and too much investigation needing to be done to come to that conclusion," I replied. The Judge closed his eyes in thought for a moment, before nodding.

"You are right, Mr. Wright. Court is now adjourned until tomorrow morning. Until then, the Prosecution and Defense will investigate and attempt to find evidence to clear up these doubts. That is all!" he slammed his gavel down.

…

I gave vent to a sigh of relief as Ema and I entered the Defendant's Lobby, Apollo close behind. He gave me a tight smile.

"Thanks, Mr. Wright," he said. I chuckled.

"Only repaying you back. You got me an innocent verdict once too, remember?" I pointed out. Apollo laughed.

"I think you paid me back when you gave me this job when no one else would hire me!" he shot back, causing Ema to laugh too. I grinned, remembering a constant gripe of his.

"Even if most of the work is Pro Bono?"

His face fell, but he didn't get a chance to answer before Athena, followed by Trucy, and Apollo's parents, Zeus and Thalassa, rushed in, all talking at once and surrounding Apollo. Ema sighed next to me, and I looked over to see her watching them happily.

"What?" I asked. She jumped slightly and looked at me, before giving an embarrassed laugh.

"Nothing. I just love seeing him happy," she admitted, with the slightest trace of a blush.

…

A/N: FINALLY! I cut out Morty Ishan's testimony for fear of slowing the chapter down even more.

Hopefully the next five chapters won't go like this…

Alas, Poor Detective Green Do- I mean Klu Hunter!

I've always imagined Widget's voice being super chipper, by the way...