NOTE: Hey everyone, sorry about the long, long update. I've just been extremely busy the last couple weeks and haven't had time to do any writing. Also, damn writer's block! Well, anyway, here it is! Thank you for the feedback everyone, please keep them coming! Now, please enjoy!

P.S. Went back and saw the chapter was a bit messy, so I fixed it up a bit and added some minor details. Sorry about that! :)

Earthcub12 Presents

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney ~ Courtroom Champions

-Trial 2-1-

-August 22, 9:30 AM-
-District Court-
-Defendant Lobby No. 4-

Phoenix rubbed his eyes and yawned. Despite taking sleeping medicine and watching the boring-as-ever news, he still could not sleep.

(Have… to stay… awake…) Phoenix told himself. He just started to nod his head when a surprise hit his way.

"Wake up, boss!" Athena gleefully yelled. "Trial starts in thirty minutes!"

"Athena!" Phoenix shouted back, now fully awake. "Don't do that! I'm not as young as I used to be!"

"Oh… right." Athena mumbled. "Well, anyway, you ready for today? It's gonna be a bumpy ride."

"Well, despite me getting a grand total of one hour of sleep last night, plus the fact of not finding anything to go on back at the crime scene, as well as me just about having a heart attack just now, I'm jolly."

"C'mon, Mr. Wright." A voice said. "That's not the attitude you taught us to have." Apollo approached the two and smiled. "C'mon, Mr. Wright. You're fine! Say it with me! I'M FINE!"

"I… I'm fine!" Phoenix forced out.

"Come on, Phoenix! From the gut!"

"I'M FINE!"

"WILL YOU STOP YELLING!? YOU'RE FREAKING ME OUT!"

"Oh. Sorry, Steven." Apologized Apollo. All eyes turned to the always cheery Steven. "We're just doing some vocal exercises. You're welcome to join us if you want."

"I… I'll pass." Replied Steven Vaughan. "You guys find anything… useful?"

"Afraid not." Answered Phoenix. "We looked everywhere and we still could not find anything that could be put to good use."

"I… I see. Well, are you guys going to get me out of here? My family… my home…"

"You needn't worry, Steven." Assured Athena. "Phoenix and I will get you out of here and clear your name, or die trying!"

Steven was silent. He looked awful nervous. Phoenix decided it was time to clear the elephant in the room.

"Mr. Vaughan… what were you and Mr. Stone talking about yesterday?"

"Huh? What?" Replied Steven.

"Yesterday, Mr. Stone drove you to the detention center. What did you guys talk about?"

"I… I…" Steven tried to say. Sweat began to pour down his face.

"COURT BEGINS IN 15 MINUTES!" Shouted the bailiff in the lobby. "The defense and the defendant must take their place in the courtroom immediately!"

"I… I gotta go!"

Steven charged into the courtroom. He is obviously hiding… something.

"Steven… what are you not telling us?" Phoenix whispered to himself.

"Well, this is it, you two. I'll see you later!" Apollo said with a smile.

"Wait! Are you not staying?" Athena interrupted.

"I feel bad for not turning up anything yesterday, so I decided I'll make it up to you by looking for something we could use. I'll even see if the police want to help me out!"

"Thanks, Apollo." Phoenix thanked. "Let us know if you find anything good!"

"You got it! Good luck!"

Apollo rushed out of the courtroom. Phoenix and Athena looked at each other. "Okay, Athena. Let's go."

"I'm with you, boss!"

Phoenix was now full of energy, but he knew this wasn't going to be an easy day. No new evidence. A security chief and ex-prosecutor that wants Phoenix's head. What could go wrong?

-August 22, 10:00-
-District Court-
-Courtroom No. 4-

Court is Now in Session

All Rise.

"Court will now reconvene for the trial of Steven Vaughan." The Judge echoed. "I trust both sides are ready and eager to continue?"

"Yes, Your Honor." Phoenix answered confidently.

"The prosecution, Your Honor, is ready as ever." Mr. Payne replied. "Mr. Wright."

(What is it now?) "Yes, Mr. Payne?"

"I went easy on you yesterday. I underestimated your capabilities. Now, I will not be so soft. That, I promise you, is a promise! And we Paynes always keep promises that we promise!"

(Why is it that whenever a Payne talks, I want to throw up?)

"Mr. Payne," The Judge dictated, "please proceed with your opening statement."

"Gladly, Your Honor." Mr. Payne replied. "In yesterday's proceedings, we witnessed an admittedly inaccurate and not-so-useful testimony from a Miss Rosie Flowers."

"Ah, yes, I faintly remember that young girl. How is her… what's it called? Other spirit doing?"

(Your Honor, get with the program! It was a fake!)

"The witness claimed she saw the defendant, Mr. Steven Vaughan, strangle the victim, Richard Mann, with his very own hands. Alas, the defense debunked this with a rather thoughtful theory."

"The theory that the defendant merely tried to resuscitate the victim, correct?"

"That is right, Your Honor. Today, we plan on answering a series of conundrums."

"Huh? Such as?"

"The prints on the murder weapon…" Phoenix chimed in.

"The motive for murder…" Mr. Payne continued.

"And who really killed Richard Mann." The Judge finished. "Mr. Payne, ready your next witness!"

"Yes, Your Honor!" Mr. Payne "He will be out here in a second!"

"Good." The Judge stated. "We got a new, nice, and shiny witness stand this morning, so I'm happy we'll be putting it to good use!"

(Okay, Oliver Stone!) Phoenix thought to himself with vigorous dedication. (Time to show your true colors!)

Within moments, Steven Vaughan stepped up to the witness stand. He avoiding eye contact and looked rather nervous as per usual.

(Or… Steven Vaughan…) Thought Phoenix.

"Your name and occupation, please." The Judge ordered.

"My… my name is Steven Vaughan, and I… I'm the defendant!" Steven answered with fear.

"Oh! Is that so!?" The Judge stated, surprised. "But… I'm afraid that is not an actual occupation, Defendant."

"Oh… my bad." Steven blushed. "I'm a security guard at Wall-2-Wall Shopping Center… Your, uh, Judge. Y-Your Honor, I mean."

"Mr. Vaughan," Mr. Payne hissed, "as the main suspect of murder, do you have anything to say in your defense?"

"Huh?"

"What do you have to say for yourself as a murder suspect? How does that make you feel?"

"What!? Well, it feels bad, I guess."

"Do you have anything you wish to take off your mind? Any… weight on your shoulder?"

"I… I don't know!" Steven shouted, grinding his teeth.

"Why do you think Mr. Mann was so brutally murdered!? Why do you think he deserved such a tragic fate!?"

"I don't know! He was… unlucky, I guess."

"Unlucky, you say?" Payne giggled. "That's what guilty people say."

"OBJECTION!" Disrupted Phoenix. "Your Honor, the prosecution is harassing the witness!"

"Witness? Ha!" Payne said, giggling. "More like murderer! Is that true, Mr. Vaughan?"

"N-no!" Mr. Vaughan yelled, sweating. "You're wrong!"

The Judge slammed his gavel. "Order! Mr. Payne, I ask you stop pushing this witness this instant!"

"But it is my sworn duty to push the witness, Your Honor!" Mr. Payne responded with a cool tone. "I'm just doing society a favor and doing my job!"

Phoenix glared at Payne. (Yeah? Well why don't you go do society a favor and-!)

The slamming of the Judge's gavel interrupted Phoenix's train of thought. "Now then… will the witness please state their side of the story? Specifically, what were you doing on the night of the crime?"

"Um… okay… I'll try." Steven sighed.

WITNESS TESTIMONY

"I CAN'T EXACTLY REMEMBER, BUT I WAS PATROLLING THE MALL THAT NIGHT WHEN… IT… HAPPENED."

"I THOUGHT I HEARD A NOISE COME FROM UPSTAIRS, SO I WENT TO INVESTIGATE."

"BY THE TIME I GOT UPSTAIRS, IT WAS ALREADY TOO LATE."

"WHEN I GOT TO RICHARD'S OFFICE UPSTAIRS, THE KILLER RAN PAST ME."

"IT WAS DARK AND THEIR FACE WAS HIDDEN, SO I COULDN'T GET A GOOD LOCK AT THEIR FACE."

"I WALKED INSIDE AND… AND…"

"I SAW RICHARD MANN'S CORPSE!"

"Is that all?" Phoenix asked his client. "Even the smallest detail can save your life, Mr. Vaughn."

"I'm sorry." Steven weakly apologized. "I can't remember."

"Nothing at all?"

Steven shrugged. "Not a clue."

"Hmm…" The Judge said. "If this testimony were to be believed, then Mr. Vaughan really did see the killer."

"OBJECTION!" Sheldon Payne shouted. "Not yet, Your Honor. The defense must still do their cross-examination!"

"Oh! Yes! Mr. Wright, initiate cross-examination!"

(What is this, a space movie?) Phoenix thought.

CROSS-EXAMINATION

"I CAN'T EXACTLY REMEMBER, BUT I WAS PATROLLING THE MALL THAT NIGHT WHEN… IT… HAPPENED."

"HOLD IT!" Phoenix blurted. "The murder, is that correct?"

"Um… yeah." Steven answered. "The murder! Exactly!"

"Are you okay, Mr. Vaughan?" Phoenix asked.

"Uh, yeah! Just have a lot on my mind, you see. Murder case and all."

"Um… okay?"

The Judge then said, "It's okay. If I was on trial for murder, I'd be lost too. Even though that's a rarity to have those 'senior moments'."

(You still don't have any 'senior moments' here and there, Your Honor?)

Silence. The Judge had his eyes closed. He seemed frozen. Suddenly, he opened his eyes. "Ah! Sorry about that! I lost track! Er, proceed."

"I THOUGHT I HEARD A NOISE COME FROM UPSTAIRS, SO I WENT TO INVESTIGATE."

"HOLD IT! What kind of a noise did you hear?" Phoenix asked Steven.

"It was… a loud crash… I think? Could've just been a large rat." Steven answered, sounding not very sure of himself.

"Um…" Said Phoenix in puzzlement. "Well? Which one?"

"…I'm sorry. What were you saying?"

"Forget it… you heard something right?"

"Yes, it was a very loud CRASH-ing noise. Like something broke."

Phoenix looked at the police's crime photo and examined the broken table. "That must be when he heard the table break."

"That's likely it." Athena added. "A table like that would have made all kinds of noises when it was broken down."

The Judge nodded. "Okay, then. What happened next, Mr. Vaughan?"

"BY THE TIME I GOT UPSTAIRS, IT WAS ALREADY TOO LATE."

"HOLD IT!" Blurted Phoenix Wright. "You mean the murder?"

Steven sniffed his nose and wiped away some sweat. "Yeah. Yeah, you're right. The murder."

"Did you see any details you'd like to point out for us?" Questioned Phoenix. "Anything new?"

"No… nothing. I-I'm sorry. Just a broken table and a body. That is all."

"Continue with your testimony, witness." The Judge said.

"WHEN I GOT TO RICHARD'S OFFICE UPSTAIRS, THE KILLER RAN PAST ME."

"HOLD IT! Did you see the killer himself?" Phoenix pressed.

"I… I, uh… no. I didn't see anything… peculiar…"

"Peculiar?" Phoenix asked. "What do you mean, peculiar?"

Steven went oddly mute. He started to just look off to the side, avoiding eye contact with pretty much everyone. "What did I say?"

"Um… forget it." Phoenix said, working up a sweat. "But you did indeed see the killer at the top of the stairs, correct?"

"That's right. But here's the thing…" Steven continued, still looking off to his side.

"IT WAS DARK AND THEIR FACE WAS HIDDEN, SO I COULDN'T GET A GOOD LOOK AT THEIR FACE."

"HOLD IT!" Interrupted the ace attorney. "You couldn't see the culprit's face, huh? Isn't that what Ms. Flowers said in her testimony just yesterday?"

"Uh-huh. It was nearly pitch-black at the mall that night, so I could barely see a thing without my flashlight."

"I see….. wait…" groaned Phoenix, "you… you didn't have a flashlight on you?"

"I couldn't find it." Explained Steven. "Besides, I know that mall like the back of my hand! You could gag me, blindfold me, and plug my ears, and I could still show you where you need to go!"

"O… kay." Phoenix said, regretting this conversation.

Suddenly, Steven's skin turned pale. "But… but then…"

"But what!? Don't leave us in anticipation!"

"I WALKED INSIDE AND… AND…"

"HOLD IT!" Shouted Phoenix Wright. "It's okay, Steven. Take your time. What did you see?"

"It was horrible… I couldn't breathe. I could barely even stand!" Steven said with a shiver.

"Take your time, defendant." Said Prosecutor Payne. "Tell us, what happened next?"

"I SAW RICHARD MANN'S CORPSE!"

"HOLD IT! What did you do next, Mr. Vaughan?" Pressed Mr. Wright.

"I rushed to his side and tried to give him CPR." Vaughan answered nervously.

(Aha! I knew it!) Phoenix thought to himself with pride.

Steven continued, "But it was all for naught. He wouldn't wake up. He was already too far gone. And as I was doing so, he caught me and arrested me."

"He?" Phoenix asked with puzzlement. "Oh! Mr. Oliver Stone, right?"

"Yeah, that's it." Steven answered. "I tried to explain everything to him, but he just didn't want to hear him. I probably really disappointed him, you know?"

"What else do you remember?" Mr. Payne asked.

"Not much, really." Mr. Vaughan replied, again looking off to the side. "That's pretty much everything."

"What do you think, boss?" Athena asked Phoenix.

"Well, I know he's innocent, so there's that. But there's one part of the testimony I thought was a little… strange."

"Hmm… nothing is coming to me right now."

"Come on, Steven… what are you trying to hide?"

"WHEN I GOT TO RICHARD'S OFFICE UPSTAIRS, THE KILLER RAN PAST ME."

"OBJECTION!" Phoenix shouted out. "Mr. Vaughan, are you sure about that statement?"

"Uh… yeah. Why wouldn't I be?" Steven nervously chuckled.

"Please take a look at this." At that moment, Phoenix presented the Security Camera Feed to Steven.

The Judge leaned in to try to get a closer look at the evidence presented. "What is that, Mr. Wright?"

"This is the Security Camera Feed that shows the defendant about to enter the crime scene just as the crime occurred." Phoenix answered to His Honor. He looked back over to a sweating Steven Vaughan. "You say the killer ran past you just as you reached the top of the stairs near the crime scene. Now answer me this, Mr. Vaughan."

Phoenix pointed his finger at Mr. Vaughan. "Why isn't the killer visible on the camera feed!?"

"OOOHHH!" Mr. Vaughan groaned, jumping back and dropping his hat.

At that moment, the court went into a chatter until the Judge's gavel broke the socialization. "ORDER! ORDER!"

"Well, Mr. Vaughan?" Phoenix snapped. "How do you explain this!?"

"I… I…" Mr. Vaughan started to mutter, chewing on his nightstick. Suddenly, he dropped his hands and closed his eyes. "I, uh… sorry, Mr. Wright. I know you're trying your best. But… I told a lie."

(Yeah, we all gathered that.)

"But why?" Phoenix responded. "What did you lie about!?"

"I… I lied about seeing the killer. I thought it may have put me in the clear, you know? I'm just… I want out of here!"

Steven dropped his head down, ashamed. "Don't worry, Steven." Phoenix consoled. "I won't give up on you. Just tell us everything that happened. Please…"

Steven slowly brought his head back up. He sniffed his nose and stood straight up. "Okay, Mr. Wright. I trust you."

"OBJECTION!" Mr. Payne blurted out. "I'm sorry Your Honor, but this is ridiculous! Are we not going to acknowledge the fact that the defendant lied? If he's innocent, what reason would he have to lie!? And what was it he said? 'I thought it may have put me in the clear'? No innocent person would say that! Smells fishy if you ask moi!"

"OBJECTION!" Phoenix screamed. "And I'm sure Mr. Vaughan will explain everything. Go ahead, Mr. Vaughan. Explain why you had to lie to us. I'm sure there was a reason and you know it."

Steven started to cough and sweat. To the eyes of everyone in the court that day, he looked more than quite suspicious.

"Okay… okay." Steven sighed. "I'll tell you why I had to lie. I… I was hoping it would never have come to this. But… you forced my hand."

Suddenly, Steven's usually cowardice and nervous face turned into a deadly glare.

"Mr. Vaughan?" Phoenix asked with a worried tone.

"I… I don't want anyone else taking the blame for my wrongdoings, okay!? Not Oliver, not that psychic girl… nobody! I can't handle it anymore!"

Steven looked to be on the verge of tears.

(Wait… no. Steven, don't!)

"I… I killed him. I killed Richard Mann!

"Wait… WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!?" The Judge shouted with surprise.

The courtroom suddenly turned into social hour:

"You hear that!? He didn't even waste any time on that! He DID kill him!"

"To think such a kind, handsome man would take a life! It disgusts me!"

"See? Told you he was guilty. You owe me ten whole dollars, buddy!"

"Hey, man, trial's not over yet!"

"OBJECTION! Steven… no!" Phoenix begged. "Don't do this! This isn't what your family would want! Take back what you said, hurry!"

"I'm sorry, Phoenix." Steven responded. "But it's the truth. I mean… look at that security feed, will you? It's me, clear as day. Nobody else could have waltzed in there. And as for the weapon? That's mine. I used it to kill Rich Mann."

"Hmph." Mr. Payne said. "I figured as much."

"Your Honor… I'd like to testify just one more time for my sins. Please. Let me explain everything."

The Judge grew silent. "What we have here is an honest-to-goodness confession here. I think we should hear more what the defendant would like to say. Go ahead, defendant."

(C'mon, Steven. You're smarter than this... So why are you doing this…?)

WITNESS TESTIMONY

"YOU ALL HEARD ME; I KILLED THOMAS MANN."

"HE THREATENED TO CUT MY PAY. I WAS DESPERATE, SO I DID THE DEED."

"THIS MAY SOUND ODD, BUT… PART OF ME SOMEWHAT… ENJOYED IT."

"SEE HOW SICK OF A MAN I AM!? ARREST ME! PUT ME IN THE CHAIR AND BRING THIS MADMAN TO HIS MAKER!"

The court grew silent yet again. The silence was broken by The Judge.

"Mr. Vaughan. You are hereby under arrest for the first-degree murder of Richard Mann. Do you have anything else to say in your defense?"

"Just one thing, Your Honor." Steven replied. "Tell everyone I'm sorry. I don't mean to be such a disappointing hassle."

"Steven…" Phoenix weakly said.

The Judge sniffed. "Very well. Bailiff, please escort Mr. Vaughan out of the court. With that said, I hereby conclude today's ruling."

The Judge held up his gavel.

"OBJECTION!"

All eyes turned to Athena Cykes. She is staring at Mr. Vaughan.

"Your Honor… we never got to cross-examine the witness."

"Hmm?" The Judge said.

"Athena? What are you-?"

"I hear it. I hear it loud and clear, Nick. His heart." Athena answered. "His heart is screaming that he didn't do it."

"You-you do!?"

"A very strong reading of Fear is going out of control; it's invading his other emotions."

(I remember doing this. Usually when a witness has one significant emotion circulating, it's interrupting the flow of his or her other emotions.) Phoenix told himself. He looked over at Steven Vaughan. (A strong reading of Fear, huh? That must mean he's hiding something. Something important. I just need to pinpoint that root cause of the Fear with the images I see on Athena's Mood Matrix. Easy enough.)

Phoenix nodded. "She's right, Your Honor. We attorneys are obligated to cross-examine any and all testimonies from any witness. In this case, I'd like to read deeper into Mr. Vaughan's emotions."

"Wait… NO!" Vaughan shouted.

"OBJECTION!" Mr. Payne screamed. "Your Honor, please! The defendant has already confessed everything! To continue would be-."

"OBJECTION!" Phoenix Wright retorted. "We still don't know every detail on the crime. Your Honor… I humbly request permission to continue."

The Judge was visibly in deep thought; then, he sighed. "Very well. The court will allow the trial to continue. However, if nothing is found shortly, I will not hesitate to resume my ruling. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Your Honor." Wright answered.

Phoenix looked over to Athena and nodded. "Let's get to work, Athena."

"Sure thing, boss!"

Athena tapped on Widget and a screen projected in front of her. After an assortment of presses and clicks, Steven's Mood Matrix opened up.

MOOD MATRIX

"YOU ALL HEARD ME; I KILLED THOMAS MANN."

IMAGE: A proud-looking Steven Vaughan adding the final blow to Richard Mann.

"HE THREATENED TO CUT MY PAY. I WAS DESPERATE, SO I DID THE DEED."

IMAGE: Steven Vaughan exiting the crime scene, covered in blood.

"THIS MAY SOUND ODD, BUT… PART OF ME SOMEWHAT… ENJOYED IT."

IMAGE: Steven looking at his bloody hand, smiling.

"SEE HOW SICK OF A MAN I AM!? ARREST ME! PUT ME IN THE CHAIR AND BRING THIS MADMAN TO HIS MAKER!"

IMAGE: A strange silhouette of a large, muscular man.

"GOT IT!" Phoenix yelled. "Mr. Vaughan… you do not need to lie, really. Just tell us who killed him. That's all we need."

"Are you daft, Phoenix?" Steven growled. "I did it! I killed the man! Why don't you believe me!?

"When you said that last part of your testimony, we saw a man appear on the screen. How do you explain that random occurrence?"

"Huh…?" Steven began to sweat. "I don't know. Must be a glitch in your system."

Phoenix shook his head. "No way, Steven. I think there's a glitch in your testimony."

"WHAT!?"

"We all know who this 'mysterious' man is. It's no mystery."

"Well, it's a mystery to me!" The Judge interrupted. "Well, Mr. Wright? Who is this mystery man on the screen?"

"TAKE THAT!" Said Phoenix, as he presented Oliver Stone's profile to the court. "The build, height, and overall form of the silhouette looks very peculiar to a certain Security Chief we all met. Namely, Oliver Stone!"

"NO!" Steven shouted. "That's ridiculous! You don't have any evidence to support your claim!"

Phoenix shook. "I may not have any actual, physical evidence with me right now. But as soon as we question the Chief himself, all our answers will be crystal-clear."

"No… NOOOOOO!"

(I don't get it. Why is Steven being so defensive?)

"Hey, uh, Phoenix?" Athena jumped in. "Sorry to interrupt, but you might want to see this."

"What's wrong?" Asked Phoenix.

"Steven's discord… it never went down."

"Huh!? It's still at a hundred percent?"

"That's right. So there's still more we need to uncover. I'll update the testimony and see what we find."

"You do that, Athena."

"OBJECTION!" Steven shouted, clinging onto the stand. "No! Please stop! I killed him, I swear I did!"

"We're just figuring out what else we can do for you, Steven." Phoenix told him. "We do this because we care."

"No…!"

(Why is Steven so frightened by Oliver? I guess I'll have to find out why…)

MOOD MATRIX

"YOU ALL HEARD ME; I KILLED THOMAS MANN."

DISPLAYED EMOTIONS:

SADNESS/FEAR (HIGH)

"HE THREATENED TO CUT MY PAY. I WAS DESPERATE, SO I DID THE DEED."

DISPLAYED EMOTIONS:

SADNESS/FEAR (HIGH)

"THIS MAY SOUND ODD, BUT… PART OF ME SOMEWHAT… ENJOYED IT."

DISPLAYED EMOTIONS:

SADNESS/FEAR (HIGH)

"SEE HOW SICK OF A MAN I AM!? ARREST ME! PUT ME IN THE CHAIR AND BRING THIS MADMAN TO HIS MAKER!"

UPDATE: Image of Oliver Stone replaces the silhouette.

DISPLAYED EMOTIONS:

SADNESS/FEAR (HIGH)

HAPPINESS (HIGH)

"GOT IT!" Phoenix said excitedly. "Mr. Vaughan. You said you took great enjoyment out of killing Richard Mann, is that correct?"

"Yes, that's right." Steven replied, nodding. "My mind was in a spiral. I couldn't think straight. But I was still excited. Happy, even."

"Huh. That's peculiar. You say you were happy. But it doesn't say so here."

"WHO CARES WHAT THAT DUMB MACHINE THINKS, OKAY!?" Steven snapped. "I'm telling you! Believe me!"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Vaughan. But I don't."

The gallery began whispering to each other until The Judge slammed his gavel.

"Order! Mr. Wright! Explain!"

"Mr. Vaughan says he was excited, even happy, when he killed Mr. Mann. However, this is not the case, as Happiness is not displayed on his testimony." Phoenix did as he was told, pointing his index finger at the defendant. "Therefore, it is the defense's opinion that the defendant never killed the victim at all!"

"Argh!" Steven grunted as he dropped his baton.

"OBJECTION!" Sheldon Payne cried out. "But, Mr. Wright. The defendant already confessed! Why would an innocent man confess to something he never did?"

"OBJECTION! Well, Mr. Payne, that is what we will answer right now. Who would Steven want to protect, you ask? His family, of course!"

"Family!?" Mr. Payne cried.

"OBJECTION! No! You're wrong!" Steven argued. "I mean, I love my family to death, but their only involvement here is my crime."

"OBJECTION! I think there's more to it than that, Mr. Vaughan, and you know it. Why lie like this? Why be so defensive? Perhaps there's somebody threatening them?"

"Wh… what…?" Steven quivered.

"Lately, you have been awful nervous around us and Mr. Stone. Maybe there are some ties with Mr. Stone and your family?"

"No! Not true!" Steven barked, sweating up a river. "How many times must I say it!? I! KILLED! RICHARD!"

"Nick… NICK!"

Phoenix turned to Athena. "What!? What's wrong!?"

"His… his noise… went past one-hundred percent!"

"WHAT!? That's impossible!"

Phoenix leaned in and observed the screen. Steven's Noise Level was a solid 110%, something neither Phoenix nor Athena have ever seen.

"This is just getting ridiculous! He's going to deny and deny forever!

"If we keep going like this, we'll get nothing. The Judge already looks like he's running out of patience." Athena added. Phoenix turned to the glaring eyes of the Judge.

"Steven is acting extremely defensive when we talk about Oliver and Steven's family. Perhaps we should take a different approach with good ol' fashioned testimony and evidence." Athena insisted.

"Okay… I'll try." Phoenix told her. "Your Honor, the defense truly believes we are making progress. Please allow another testimony."

"Absolutely… NOT!" The Judge barked. "I gave you this chance to prove your client's innocence! I will not allow anymore testimony! Now, Mr. Wright, do you or do you not have any evidence to show us?"

"I… I… well…" Phoenix muttered.

"HOLD IT!" Steven intruded. "Your Honor… I don't mind testifying again. Really."

"Huh? Are… are you sure?" The Judge asked.

"Apparently I need to clarify how much of a murderer I am in the eyes of my lawyer. So, I ask I am granted this last testimony. Please. Your Honor."

The Judge went into a moment of thought. "Very well. You will testify one more time. If Phoenix Wright cannot find anything, though, I can assure everybody a ruling will be made. Is that clear?"

"Yes! Thank you, Your Honor!" Phoenix praised.

(Showing off a simple piece of evidence will not be enough. I must destroy his ENTIRE testimony, one evidence and statement at a time. Please, Steven… make this easy for all of us.)

EVIDENCE OVERVIEW:

-Attorney Badge

-Victim's Autopsy Report

-Crowbar

-Crime Photo

-Security Camera Feed

-Rosie Flowers Business Card

-Street Diagram

-Witness Crime Photo