(A/N: For this first part, the song I'm using here is "Courtroom Lobby ~ Prelude to the Future" from Phoenix Wright: Dual Destinies.)

Trial Medial

May 14, 11:32 am

Downtown Courthouse

Defendant Lobby No. 3

*"Well, that certainly went better than we hoped for," Trucy said as she and Phoenix stood outside in the defendant lobby.

"To be honest, I thought we had it right there," Phoenix said with a sigh. But as always was the case for his cases, there were always a surprise or two in store. "And now that I think about it…just who could this witness be? If he or she really did see Mr. Bryan at the crime scene, this could really complicate our case."

"I am curious who this mystery witness is though," Trucy said, her finger tapping her chin in thought. "Could they really have seen Mr. Bryan there, and better yet, what were they doing there in the middle of the night?"

"…That's actually a good point," Phoenix said. "Well, it looks like we better head in now, court is about to begin again."

(A/N: For this next part, the song I'm using is "Court Begins" from Phoenix Wright: Dual Destinies. And then after that, "Eccentric 2007" from Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney.)

May 14, 11:40 am

Downtown Courthouse

Courtroom No. 3

*"Court is now back in session," the judge announced as he banged his gavel. "Are the defense and prosecution prepared to continue?"

"The defense is ready, Your Honor," Phoenix said.

"The prosecution is also ready, Your Honor," Thompson said.

"Very well," the judge said. "Mr. Thompson, is your next witness prepared?"

"Yes," Thompson said. "The prosecution calls Damien Pierce to the stand."

"Wait…why does that name sound familiar?" Phoenix wondered. Once the witness came to the stand, he didn't have to wonder for long.

"Witness, will you please state your name and occupation?" Thompson asked.

*"…Mr. Lawyer, is that you?" the witness, Damien asked.

"Wait… you!?" Phoenix exclaimed. "You're the witness!?"

"Witness, do you know Mr. Wright?" the judge asked.

"We've been acquainted," Damien said.

"Ahem, witness, your name and profession…" Thompson said icily.

"Hey miss, you said this guy here's your father?" Damien asked.

"Who me?" Trucy asked. "Yes, that's right."

"Good, make sure to be careful on the streets," Damien warned. "It can be pretty-"

Thompson slammed his fist into the table. "Name! Occupation! Now!"

"S-Sorry…" Damien said. "Damien Pierce…uh…daily juice bar consumer?"

"Yep… I am definitely getting flashbacks here…" Phoenix said, sweating slightly.

(A/N: For this next part, the song I'm using is "Cross-Examination ~ Moderato 2013" from Phoenix Wright: Dual Destinies.)

"Mr. Pierce, you claim to have seen the defendant leave the victim's house at the time of the murder?" Thompson asked.

"That's right," Damien replied.

"Very well, you will then testify to the court of the events that took place."

*"I believe it was around ten o'clock at night when I decided to go out and take a walk. It was rather foggy out, which seemed a bit unusual.

"I was coming by Mr. Sweeney's house when I saw the front door open and someone was running out of it. I would've ignored it except for the fact the door had been left wide open.

"Since the person leaving didn't come back, I went to the door to close it and asked if anyone was there. Since there was no response, I went in and then discovered the body before calling the police."

"So you were the first one to find the body?" Thompson asked.

"Yeah…" Damien said, looking a tad bit pale. "You think you can stomach it, watching all those crime dramas, but it doesn't matter."

"For one to have discovered the victim, his testimony was rather brief," Trucy pointed out.

"Not only that, but it's not very clear either," Phoenix added. There was one part that troubled him, and he would be quick to point it out.

"Now then Mr. Wright, you may begin your cross-examination," the judge said.

*"I believe it was around ten o'clock at night when I decided to go out and take a walk. It was rather foggy out, which seemed a bit unusual."

"Hold it! Just how foggy was it that night?" Phoenix asked.

"Hm… I'd say if it weren't for the street lights it would be pretty hard to see about ten feet in front of you," Damien said.

"I thought as much…" Phoenix thought.

"I was coming by Mr. Sweeney's house when I saw the front door open and someone was running out of it. I would've ignored it except for the fact the door had been left wide open."

"Hold it! Can you describe the person you saw?" Phoenix asked.

"Uh… well from what I can tell, the figure was kind of small but that person sure was fast, I can tell you that. It was kind of hard to see in the dark and fog," Damien said.

"If that's true, then you are still sure it was the defendant Mr. Bryan?" Phoenix asked.

"Objection!" Thompson cried out rather quickly. "Mr. Wright, he's already said that he indeed saw Bryan leave the house!"

"And is the witness one hundred percent sure of this?" Phoenix countered.

"…Oh, uh, well, to be honest… I wouldn't say a hundred percent…" Damien said, grimacing slightly.

"Mr. Pierce, that's not what you were saying an hour ago," Thompson said venomously.

"I-I'm sorry," Damien said. "The truth is I only saw the figure but I am still sure it had to be Bryan, he was the only who could be there!"

"…Your Honor, can I have that part added to the witness' testimony?" Phoenix asked.

"Very well, does the witness permit this?" the judge asked.

"Um… sure?" Damien said. "The only person who could have been leaving the house at the time was Bryan himself."

(A/N: For this next part, the song I'm using is "Phoenix Wright ~ Objection! 2013" and then "Pursuit ~ Keep Pressing On" from Phoenix Wright: Dual Destinies.)

"Objection!" Phoenix cried out.

"…You set me up for that, didn't you?" Damien grumbled.

"…Mr. Wright?" the judge asked.

"Oh, sorry Your Honor," Phoenix replied. "First, I have a couple of questions for the witness. Mr. Pierce, do you know Mr. Sweeney well?"

"Not very well," Damien said. "I only see him at the juice bar from time to time there with his daugh-" *He then stopped and suddenly went paler. "…His daughter."

"Exactly," Phoenix said. "So unfortunately, your previous statement from before would be wrong."

"Objection!" Thompson cried out. "Mr. Wright, do I have to remind you that the daughter clearly said she was not present at the time of the murder!?"

"You're right Mr. Thompson," Phoenix said. "Which leads me to my second question: what is your foot size Mr. Pierce?"

"M-My foot size?" Damien asked.

"Mr. Pierce, answer the question," the judge said.

"It's…" He looked down and mumbled. "Nine and a half."

Suddenly the audience in the court started to murmur amongst each other. The judge banged on his gavel multiple times. "Order, order! Mr. Wright, what exactly are you trying to say here!?"

"It's simple," Phoenix said. "At first Mr. Pierce, I was wondering why you were wearing a coat on a nice spring day such as today. It was then I realized you do it because you're embarrassed about something: you have short legs don't you?"

"I… yeah, you're right," Damien said, looking embarrassed. "I know it's not a big deal but… I have a bigger torso and short legs. It's not… very attractive among the ladies."

"Poor Mr. Pierce…" Trucy said. "But we really don't judge on appearance; at least not all the time."

"Wright, you're not seriously suggesting…" Thompson said.

"I am," Phoenix said. "I've already presented evidence claiming that the person who pushed Mr. Sweeney down the stairs had to be wearing a size nine or around there. Mr. Pierce wears a size nine and a half. Therefore… *it was Mr. Pierce that pushed Mr. Sweeney down the steps!"

"W-What!?" It seemed as if the word came from both the judge and the witness.

"Objection! Mr. Wright, I thought I'd be prepared for such nonsense but clearly this outdoes anything I ever expected!" Thompson exclaimed. "It's also clear you've become desperate enough to even accuse my own witness!"

"Nonsense? I think not, Mr. Thompson," Phoenix said with a confident smile.

"Y-You can't be serious!"

"But it all adds up!" Phoenix said. "Footprints found at the scene closely match the size of shoes Mr. Pierce wears, not to mention he has contradicted himself with seeing the defendant when in actuality it was too foggy that night to barely see ten feet in front of him."

"This… can't be…" Thompson said, his hands gripping the sides of the table.

"I think Mr. Thompson is speechless," Trucy said.

"HOLD IT!" The courtroom suddenly became quiet and everyone looked towards Damien Pierce. "Wait, there was one thing I forgot to mention!"

"And you waited til now to tell us!?" the judge snapped.

"I didn't think it important at the moment, but when I saw the person leaving the house, I heard a noise, one I couldn't possibly mistake," Damien said. "It was a ringtone."

"A-A ringtone!?" Phoenix exclaimed.

"From a cell phone!?" Thompson demanded.

"Yes, and from what I heard, it sounded like a J-Pop tune!" Damien said.

"…J-Pop? What is that?" the judge asked.

"He means Japanese pop music," Thompson explained. "Although I have to say Mr. Pierce, you're not the kind of guy to listen to that kind of stuff."

"E-Er… well…" Damien looked a bit embarrassed.

"That…was a bit uncalled for," Phoenix thought.

(A/N: For this last part, the song I'm using is "Thrill Theme ~ Suspense" from Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney.)

Suddenly, out of the blue, a cell phone went off. The judge looked agitated. "Need I remind the audience that all cell phones are to be turned off or put on silen-"

"That's it!" Damien said, almost standing up. Suddenly, the sound of the door in the back opening and closing was heard.

"W-What is Mr. Pierce?" the judge asked.

"That was the ringtone!" Damien yelled. "You heard it didn't you?"

"Then that means…" Phoenix suddenly felt a cold sweat. *"Your Honor, if this is true, that means the true killer was just in this room!"

"W-What!?" the judge cried out. "Bailiff, find the other officers and close down the courtroom immediately!"

The bailiff made a mad dash out of the courtroom and there was a bit of commotion outside. For Phoenix, the next five minutes felt like the longest he had ever felt in a long time. After that, the bailiff returned. "I'm sorry Your Honor. We locked everything down and looked around but found no one. The person may have escaped."

"I see…" the judge said. "If that is the case, then perhaps we have reached an impasse in this case. With that being said, I move to adjourn for the day so that the defense and prosecution find out more about our mystery murderer. Is this agreeable to you both, Mr. Wright and Mr. Thompson?"

"Yes Your Honor," Phoenix said.

"Very well, I move to adjourn and reconvene-"

"Objection!"

The judge was suddenly stunned. "Mr. Thompson, what is it?"

"I'm sorry Your Honor, but I see no reason to adjourn now," Thompson said.

"And why not?" the judge asked.

"Can you not see what Mr. Pierce is doing?" Thompson asked. "How fortunate for him to suddenly 'remember' a key important fact, and that fact reveals itself two seconds later."

"Objection!" Phoenix countered. "You were the one who denied his involvement moments before!"

"Indeed you are right, and I admit I had my doubts, but the events that took place mere moments ago seem a bit… odd." Thompson then paused. "However… I realize it would be useless to question each person in the audience. Therefore, I will withdraw my objection and by tomorrow morning figure this all out."

"What was that all about?" Phoenix wondered. "He just did a 180 on himself…"

"Maybe Mr. Thompson was still processing everything before he spoke?" Trucy suggested.

"…Well in that case, as I stated before, the court will adjourn and reconvene tomorrow morning, hoping that either the prosecution or defense will find something new to add to this case." He then banged his gavel. "Court is adjourned!"

FoxMcCloud7921