A/N: Here's the next chapter! Another trial day. Hopefully this one goes a lot faster then the last trial day…

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Chapter Eight – Trial: Day 2

Phoenix

August 6

"Court is now will now reconvene for the trial of Apollo Justice. Is the defense ready?" the Judge said. Last night, by the time we finally found Ms. Sokurblad's apartment, it was already close to eleven at night, meaning we didn't have time to investigate it if we wanted to be awake for court the next morning.

So, again, I stood in court, totally unprepared.

"Of course, your honor," I responded.

"Is the prosecution ready?"

"Always, Your Baldness."

"Yesterday, the defense had provided the possibility that there could have been a third person in the hallway. Has either side found evidence to prove or disprove this theory?" the Judge asked. Thinking about the blackmail letter in my bag, I opened my mouth.

"No, Your Baldness. The prosecution has, however, decided to bring a witness to the stand," Blackquill said before I could say a word.

"Then by all means, Prosecutor Blackquill, call them up," the Judge agreed.

"OBJECTION!" I yelled, pointing at the Judge. He jumped at my shout. "The defense does have evidence!"

"If you have evidence, then perhaps you can use it to prove your point during this testimony," Prosecutor Blackquill suggested, before turning to the judge. "I call the defendant, Justice-dono, to the stand!"

As he spoke, Blackquill's hawk, Taka, fluttered up from his shoulder and landed on top of the Judge's head, making it difficult for him to refuse.

"He has control again, doesn't he?" Ema asked. I sighed softly.

"Yeah…"

Apollo stepped up to the stand, looking just as surprised as I felt. I nodded slightly to him though.

No matter what, I will make sure he'll be okay.

"Name and occupation," Blackquill demanded.

"I'm Apollo Justice, Defense Attorney at Law." Apollo seemed calm on the surface, but he was watching the prosecutor wearily. I understood. After all, Simon Blackquill was the scariest Prosecutor he ever faced.

He didn't have the pleasure of meeting Manfred von Karma.

"Please tell us what happened that night, Mr. Justice," the Judge asked. He nodded.

"I was…" he hesitated and blushed slightly before starting again. "I was on a date at Gatewater Land the day of the murder. While we were eating, I got a text."

"Hold it!" Blackquill yelled, surprising both me and the Judge. "What text do you speak of? The police investigated your phone with nil results."

"Mr. Blackquill! This is the defense's cross-examination!" the Judge said. I planted my hands on my hips with a smirk.

"The defense has no objections to his question, your honor. However, we did investigate Mr. Justice's phone, with Chief Detective Gumshoe's permission, and found the text my client is talking about," I revealed, pulling the phone out.

"Detective Hunter didn't find anything due to the password on Mr. Justice's phone," Ema explained. Prosecutor Blackquill was practically seething at this piece of news, and I knew Hunter was going to catch hell for that mistake.

I pulled the text up, cleared my throat slightly, and read the text out loud. The Judge gasped, and Blackquill growled slightly. I smirked, knowing he realized the hole this blew in his case. I then looked at Apollo and nodded.

"Please continue."

"Because I didn't want anyone to die, I ran to the Haunted House and found Mirror Hall," he said.

"Hold it! How were you able to get in?" I asked. Apollo looked confused for a moment before shaking his head.

"I actually… don't know. It's a blur. After all, I was panicking. I only had two minutes to get there from the Wild West section. Then I had to find the Mirror Hall, so most of that run is actually a blur," he admitted. I nodded, understanding that.

Blackquill scoffed. "Convenient."

Apollo scowled at him before continuing.

"There, I saw the victim. She was angry, and she accused me of sending her… a letter or something? Then she was stabbed in the back, and stumbled towards me. I saw the blade come through the left side of her chest."

"Hold it!" I said, slamming my hands on the desk. "A few things, Apollo. did you just say a letter?" I demanded, heart hammering. He looked shocked, but nodded.

"Well, yeah."

I smirked.

"Your honor. The defense would now like to present the evidence we found yesterday, pointing towards a third person being in that hallway," I said.

"Mr. Wright! Why didn't you present this sooner, when asked?" he demanded.

"If you remember correctly, Prosecutor Blackquill told me to use it during this testimony," I reminded him.

"Ah."

I pulled the letter out, holding it up.

"This is a blackmail letter, addressed to the victim."

"Blackmail!?" the Judge gasped. "Well, read it out loud, Mr. Wright!"

"Yes, your honor. 'Ivana, I am tired of this game we've been playing. I have information. Documents. And if you would like to keep it private, you will meet me in the Mirror Hall of the Haunted House at 3 on August 4th. It is time to end this.' There is no signature."

"And if you're paying attention, that's the same date and time as the murder," Ema added brightly from next to me.

"Where did you obtain this?" Blackquill demanded.

"Mr. Robin Graves gave it to us, while also admitting that the victim has been acting strangely since she received this," I told them. "This proves that there was a third person in that hallway. After all, both the defendant and the victim were blackmailed into going there! Finally, my client said he saw the victim get stabbed in the left side of her body, when everything else says right. If he's telling the truth, this means that he must have been facing the victim, and got confused with his own left!"

The gallery began muttering amongst each other, falling quiet only after the Judge slammed his gavel a few times.

"Mr. Wright, do you—"

"WAIT!" A voice yelled from the gallery. We all looked up to see a man, with neat, blond hair and an unremarkable face stand, rushing down the aisle between seats towards the front of the courtroom. A bailiff moved between him and the low partition.

"ORDER!" the Judge yelled. The man continued to yell anyways.

"That's a lie! I'm Ivana's boyfriend, and she was just fine!"

"The victim's boyfriend?" the Judge gasped in surprise. I was watching the man though. He seemed distraught, but otherwise okay… until he looked at Apollo. His eyes became cold, filled with rage - no, hatred, and his jaw tensed. A scar on his cheek that was so light that I hadn't noticed before suddenly became prominent.

He became a totally different person. I was happy the bailiff was already holding him back.

I was actually scared that he'd hurt Apollo.

Sokurblad's boyfriend, Mr. Jacky Hyde, caused such a ruckus that the Judge had to postpone court for the day.

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A/N Yay! Only a day working on this!

What do you all think about Jacky Hyde?