Earthcub12 Presents

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney ~ Courtroom Champions

-St. Owen's Baptist Church (Outside)-

Phoenix and Apollo walked out of the church. The press and police still scurried about as the air seemed much warmer than it was in the morning.

(Where is that Filch character? I can't focus on anything else without my Magatama.)

To their surprise, a young priest approached them and handed them a small book. "Huh? What is-?" Phoenix asked, before getting interrupted.

"Good afternoon, gentlemen." The priest told them. "Are you hear to bathe in the love and light of the church? Or perhaps a kind donation would suffice?"

The priest had a typical, black priest's coat, with black pants and black dress shoes. Looking to be around his late-twenties or early-thirties, the man's shiny, golden hair was gelled back and nine of his fingers had a silver ring surrounding them. He also wore a silver cross necklace that reflected off the sun's powerful light.

"Um, no thank you, mister...?" Phoenix tried to politely say.

"My name is Damien Hope." The man answered. "I am the head priest of St. Owen's Church."

"Head priest?" Apollo said. "Wait, wasn't Owen Miles the head priest?"

"Oh, well, about that…" The priest named Damien replied. "I was his… apprentice. When Owen passed on, that meant I was next in line to lead the church. It's not official just yet, mind you, but in the coming day or so, I'll be in charge."

"Oh. Uh, I guess that makes sense." Apollo said, still a bit confused.

"Mr. Hope, do you mind if we ask you a few questions?" Phoenix asked him. "It's about the murder last night."

"Just who are you?" Damien asked, his glare piercing Phoenix. "I don't think I have even seen such faces at this church."

"My name is Phoenix Wright." Phoenix said. "You know, the, uh… Blue Apostle?"

"Blue… Blue Apostle?" Asked Damien. All of a sudden, the priest began to hysterically laugh. "Oh, please, no such thing! That's absolutely ridiculous!"

"Huh!?"

"Please. I'm no fool. My other brothers and sisters may have been blinded, but I know that there is certainly no such thing as a 'Blue Apostle'! The idea is laughable! Please, come forward with your true name, sir."

Apollo smiled at Phoenix. "Sorry, boss. Looks like that won't be working this time."

Phoenix sighed and turned towards Damien. "Fine, fine. The truth is, I'm just a regular lawyer from a regular town living a regular life. I never chose to be this… 'Blue Apostle', you understand? It was just given to me and I was caught up in the moment. I'm sorry."

Damien laughed again. "Brother, please have some generosity. This arrogance will plague you."

"I… I apologize, Mr. Hope." Phoenix told him. (This guy is just as sharp as I am!)

DAMIEN HOPE

"How long have you been a priest here, Mr. Hope?" Phoenix asked him.

"Hmm… a little over two months." He answered, skimming through a book from his pocket.

"Two months? You're set to lead the place and you've only been for two months?" Phoenix questioned, puzzled.

"In the short time that I have been here, I have shown endless commitment and dedication to the practices and beliefs of this church, Mr. Wright. By running charities, spreading our gospel, and putting others before myself, I have proven my worth here. Owen Miles appreciated my hard work and made me his apprentice. I'm proud to follow in his footsteps."

"Well," Apollo said, "I'm sorry for your loss. I'm sure he was a great man."

Damien went silent, then looked at Apollo. "Yes. Yes he was."

THE MURDER

"What do you know about the murder?" Phoenix asked the priest.

"I do know that my closest colleague, friend, and tutor was murdered by somebody of the church." Damien told them. "What difference does it make?"

"Where were you when the murder occurred?" Phoenix questioned. "I hear you have an alibi?"

"I was doing service that night for the attendees." Damien explained, skimming through a book he was holding. "As we were concluding with prayer, word got around that murder occurred inside the church, interrupting our service. We were then dismissed from the building."

"You say you were doing a prayer while the murder occurred?" Phoenix questioned.

"I did." He said. "Record time, actually. A solid ten minutes of nice, peaceful prayer. I'm a bit proud of my prayer, if I do say so myself. Would you like a manuscript?"

"Um, no thank you." Phoenix kindly refused. "But ten minutes? Really? That seems a bit… too much. Don't you ever get tired or run out of things to say?"

"Not at all." Damien told Phoenix. "If you love the church as much as I do, you would go on forever. Sort of like how you've been known to just kind of ramble during your trials."

"Gah…!" Phoenix gasped. (I… I don't ramble! Do I…!? I'll have to ask everyone back at the office what they think.)

DAVID VAUGHAN

"Let me ask you about David Vaughan." Phoenix continued. "Do you think he killed Father Owen?"

Damien fell silent, his head down in sadness. "I… I don't know what to believe. David does not strike me as the kind of man to slay his superior. However, the facts are there; proof that he did, indeed, strike down Owen Miles. His motives for doing so? I'm afraid I don't have the faintest idea."

"But do you personally believe he is the killer? Is there anyone else that could have done it?" Phoenix asked.

Damien looked back up and faced the two lawyers. "…As I have previously stated, Wright: I don't know what to believe. I want him to be innocent, I really do. But I must have my doubts against him."

Damien crossed his arms and began tapping his fingers. "I trust you are defending him for the murder? Is that right?"

Phoenix nodded. "I will. He may not want the help, but I think I have a way to convince him. After all, I have a way with words."

Damien chuckled. "You and your pride again, I see. Anyway… I trust David is in good hands. I wish to see him back at the church in welcome, forgiving arms. Can I count on you two?"

"Of course you can!" Apollo shouted. "After all, David's a close friend of mine! He's in good hands, I promise! He'll be out of there before you know it!"

"So what are your plans, Mr. Hope?" Phoenix asked Damien.

"I'm on my way to retrieve Father Owen's belongings. His items are very precious to the church. I hope the police have not lost or tampered with anything." Damien told them, nervously looking off to the side.

"Good luck with that, Mr. Hope." Apollo said, smiling.

"Please, please. 'Father' Hope now." Damien gave one last nod and walked away. When he was out of sight, Apollo turned to Phoenix. "Okay, Phoenix! Time to talk to David and plan for tomorrow! We have a big trial ahead of us!"

"I can't leave until I get my Magatama back, Apollo." Phoenix argued. "For all I know, he could have pawned it or something! You go on ahead and talk to David. Here, remember to show him this." Phoenix took out the book he received from Maria Cupp and handed it to Apollo. "Explain the situation to David and I'll meet up with you at the detention center shortly."

"Sure thing, boss!" Apollo graciously said, taking the book from Phoenix. "Don't take too long. I'll see you soon!"

With that said, Apollo walked off with the book in-hand. Phoenix turned around and surveyed the sea of people walking around the church in search for the janitor. "He has to be here somewhere." Phoenix sighed. "Time to walk around the church and see what I find."

-St. Owen's Church Alleyway-

Phoenix walked around the corner of the church and saw a long, dark alleyway. Dumpsters and graffiti covered the walls. Phoenix walked through the alleyway. In the alley, he noticed red prints on the lid of the dumpster. Blood. It appears it's from a shoe's print. Next to the dumpster, shards of glass and a torn piece of some kind of black fabric. On one of the shards of glass, a small amount of blood can be found on the sides. Phoenix looked up to his right and saw a broken window. That must be where the glass came from. Phoenix examined these peculiar items. "Hmm… interesting. I wonder if this mess is involved with the murder last night? I think I may wanna jot these down just in case."

'DIRTY SHOEPRINT' ADDED TO COURT RECORD

ITEM DESCRIPTION: Some kind of bloody print from a shoe on top of the dumpster. Could it be involved with the murder?

'GLASS' ADDED TO COURT RECORD

ITEM DESCRIPTION: Shards of glass littering the floor. Must have come from the broken window next to it. A shard has blood on it.

'BLACK CLOTH' ADDED TO COURT RECORD

ITEM DESCRIPTION: A black strip of cloth. Origin unknown.

(Wait, what am I doing? There's no way he's-.)

Phoenix was about to turn around and leave until he heard something rummaging around in the dumpster. Phoenix walked towards it and put his ear in front of it. A faint noise came from inside the metal trash container.

"No way, mum… you CAN'T… do that… I… didn't KNOW, mum… I'm SO SORRY…"

Phoenix stood up and kicked the metal dumpster. As soon as he kicked it, the lid flew open and a short, chubby man popped out, screaming. As the man revealed himself, Phoenix screamed back at him, falling to the ground on his buttocks. "F-F-F-FILCH!?"

"GET BACK! GET BACK, I TELL YA!" Filch began screaming, swinging a broomstick around. "Wait… it's just you! What'cha think ya doin', bargin' into other people's homes nowadays!? Damn kids!"

"Wait, you live here?" Phoenix asked, standing up and catching his breath, his legs still shaking.

"DIDN'T I TELL YA!?" Filch shouted, his face red and showcasing a murderous expression. "I got nowhere to go! I'm just taking a lil' break in my office! Are ya blind?"

"Th-this is your office?" Phoenix said, scanning the messy alleyway. "Looks like a dump to me."

"That's cuz it is a dump, ya dope! After all, there ain't no custodians' office inside! All there is are those nasty, ol' stairs that lead to a nasty, ol' basement. Wait, what am I sayin'? You think you're better than me cuz you got a nice job, nice suit, and all that stuff, and that makes ya better than me! I don't need your first-class 'genda here!"

(This guy needs professional help. Like, seriously.)

Phoenix shook his head. "Look, Filch, I'm sorry, but I'm gonna have to ask you some more stuff. I wasn't satisfied with the information I got."

Filch finally cooled down and sighed. "Fine. Not like I got much else to do."

THE MURDER

"Mr. Phineas Filch, you have something that belongs to me." Phoenix confronted. "I want it back, now."

"I gave you back your darn phone, okay!?" Filch snapped. "Won't ya just leave me alone!?"

"No, I won't." Phoenix continued. "Give me back my Magatama, Filch. Then I'll leave you alone."

"I didn't take no marinara, ya devil!" Filch responded. "Just go get another one. I don't know nothing! I swear on me mum!"

Seconds later, everything behind Filch went black. Out of nowhere, mysterious chains flew across Filch as four red, peculiar locks appeared on the chains.

Phoenix sighed. (Fine, Filch. You brought this onto yourself. If you won't willingly cough it up… I'll force it out of you. Time to break these locks and see what Filch is hiding. But as I said before, I have to be careful. I flub up too often, and Filch won't be the same again. Okay… here it goes.)

"You're hiding something, Filch. Just cough it up and I'll leave you be. Scout's honor." Phoenix pressed the filthy janitor. "So how 'bout it? Wanna tell me something you know?"

"I got nothin' to say to ya, ya home intruder!" Filch barked, pulling on the towel around his neck. "Besides, I was sleepin' all the way out here, no way I would have noticed anything! If I saw or heard something, I'd tell ya."

"Interesting you say that, Filch." Phoenix commented. "Because I have proof that you did, indeed, hear something. Something loud and piercing."

"No way, Jose!" Filch said, smiling and rubbing his hands together. "I was asleep like a rock."

"I don't think so, Filch. Here's proof that you heard something. Take that!"

Phoenix presented the shards of glass to Filch. "What is that mess?" The janitor asked.

"It's glass, Filch. The one that you're standing over right now." Phoenix answered.

"YIKES!" Filch screamed, jumping to the side. "Why didn't ya tell me!?"

"If what you said is true, and that you were sleeping in your 'office' while the murder went down, then surely you would have heard this broken glass right? The glass came from that window just right above your lovely home."

Filch screamed and cowered underneath his towel. "GAH! Y-Y-YA GOT ME!"

Suddenly, one of the four locks broke into pieces. Phoenix clenched his fist in excitement. (Okay! One down! Keep at it, Phoenix!)

"Fine! Fine, okay? Ya got me! I definitely heard somethin' out of the ordinary, now that ya remind me. Sorry. Me and my elder-brain, am I right?"

(You can't be THAT old…)

"I'm glad that you told me that, Filch. Now tell me what you saw. The tiniest detail can help a lot." Phoenix went on.

"Hey, what did I say? I said I didn't see nothing!" Filch argued again.

Phoenix shook his head in disagreement. "I'm afraid that's unlikely. I think you DID see something."

Filch chuckled. "That there's a good one, friend! What makes ya think somethin' so oddball?"

"The main question is… what MADE you look?" Phoenix said.

Filch froze. "What… made me look?"

Phoenix pointed his left arm at Filch. "If you were still in this dumpst-… I mean, uh, home, when the glass broke, then this truly would have made you come out and look around! Take that!"

Phoenix presented the bloody mark on the dumpster. "Huh?" Filch asked. "Oh! That! Th-that's been there for a couple days, I meant to clean that up, but-."

"Filch, stop lying!" Phoenix snapped.

Phineas screamed again. "Gah! Okay, okay! Cat's outta the bag! I repeat, THE CAT'S OUTTA THE BAG!" With that said, another lock snapped into pieces.

(Okay… halfway there!)

Filch continued, "I heard some rapscallion bang on my office! It woke me up from a great dream, so of course I was in a fit! I hopped out and chased the yaro out of here with me broomstick! Kids, I tell ya!"

"You saw somebody?" Phoenix asked. "May I ask who it was?"

"I didn't see their face, no." Filch added. "It was dark, I was half-asleep, and I was in a fit of rage. Course I didn't see the punk kid! Of course if I had, I would have pounded 'em to a pulp! What's wrong with kids these days?"

"That doesn't matter, Phineas." Phoenix told him. "What matters is everything that happened last night. Is there anything else you can tell me?"

"Get lost, ya devil!" Filch growled. "I got work to do, and these accusations ain't helping my good mood!"

"Too bad, Filch." Phoenix told him. (Hmm… he still has a couple of Psyche-Locks left. What else can he be hiding?)

"No! I DON'T WANNA GO TO TRIAL AGAIN! YA CAN'T MAKE ME!" Filch finally lost it. "SCREW THIS! IT AIN'T WORTH IT! HERE'S YA STUPID MASCERA!"

Filch pulled out Phoenix's green, glowing Magatama and tossed it at Phoenix. The stone bounced off Phoenix's chest as Phoenix tried to catch it. The lawyer caught it before it could hit the ground. Phoenix looked back up and saw the remaining two Psyche-Locks disappear. The chains broke free as everything behind Filch was back into view.

"Wait… trial? Is that what this is all about?" Phoenix asked. "You're lying about all this just so you don't have to go to trial as a witness?"

"Exactly! Look, I may be dumb, but I'm not dumb! I didn't see no murder, just that punk kid waking me from my beauty sleep! I swear!"

(Hmm… I don't see why Filch would continue to lie. I think that's about all I can do here. So, Filch saw the potential killer, huh? That means the killer must have busted through the window, cut himself on the way out, and was chased away by Filch. Hey, I'd run away from this guy too. Anyway, hopefully what Filch said will be enough to take to court.)

Phoenix looked down on his Magatama and wiped off some dirt. "Well, Filch, thank you for your cooperation. I just need to ask you-."

Phoenix faced up and saw Filch was long-gone. Phoenix sighed as he put the Magatama back into his pocket.

(Why do I have to be involved with the most insufferable people on the planet?) He thought to himself as he began to walk out of the alleyway. (Looks like I'll have to have a word with him once I see him again. Anyway, I've been gone long enough. Time to check with Apollo and David. Hopefully David will see things through. For his sake.)

COURT RECORD

-Attorney Badge: My personal badge proving my profession. I never leave home without it.

-Owen's Autopsy Report: Cause of death was an instant kill by a David statue to the victim's head. Time of Death: About 8:00-8:30 PM. Victim is covered in bruises.

-Body Outline: The aftermath of the crime. Blood is splattered around the head and facial area. The statue sits to its left.

-David Statue:Depiction of Michelangelo's David statue. The murder weapon.

-Shattered Coffee Mug: A cup that was likely to have been shattered during the fight between Owen and the killer. Owen probably used this cup against said killer in defense. Was made by Maria Cupp for an ill Owen.

-Jar of Blood: A jar of blood found in Owen's office. Why he would have a jar of blood is the question.

-Child's Drawing: A drawing showing Owen, David, and an unknown woman. A bloody smear is on the side because of me.

-Bloody Print: Some kind of bloody print from a shoe on top of the dumpster. Could it be involved with the murder?

-Glass: Shards of glass littering the floor. Must have come from the broken window next to it. A shard has blood on it.

-Black Cloth: A black strip of cloth. Origin unknown.

PROFILES

-Apollo Justice: A strong, but loud and persistent, attorney who works with me at the agency. Is friends with the defendant.

-Athena Cykes: A gifted attorney that can read people's emotions though their hearts.

-David Vaughan: The suspect of the crime. A priest at the church where the murder took place.

-Jack Anchor: A prestigious news anchor who prides himself a bit too much. Witnessed the murderer.

-Raya Novak: A no-nonsense detective in charge of the investigation. Only been working for a few short months.

-Phineas Filch: A tricky thief that was a witness to a crime a long time ago and is now a janitor at the church.

-Damien Hope: A happy-go-lucky priest that was Owen's apprentice. An overall loving, trusting guy.

-Maria Cupp: The kind, eccentric coffee-lady that works at the church. Called the police.