In this chapter we begin to finish the investigation
Disclaimer: I own nothing in this.
DM77's Ace Attorney Chapter 18
One Last Lead
October 18, J & Co. Law Offices
J was sitting at her desk head planted on her desk as their investigation has yielded no new evidence to prove Johnny's innocence or a hint to the actual killer.
"Now what…We're fresh out of clues." J said while groaning. "Everyone's alibi is watertight. We don't even have any promising leads. Things are looking pretty grim."
"It's a little early for giving up, don't you think?" A familiar male voice said to J.
"Huh?" J said confused and looks up
"You've got one lead…" The voice said and J looks to see it was Terra, his spirit being channelled though Jaden and was smiling at her.
"T-Terra! It's you!" J said in surprise standing up from her desk. "What took you so long?!"
"Sorry, J. Jaden has trouble calling me unless he's really in trouble." Terra explained to her.
"Right!" J said nodding but thinks "Oh, wait. I guess that means we're really in trouble."
"I'd say so." Terra said with a serious look.
"By the way, what did you mean, we have one lead…?" J asked him.
"The boy, of course." Terra told her.
J then thinks back to Kota as he said "Yeah, I saw them! I saw everything!"
"What?!" The past Jaden said in shock.
"But… but no way am I telling you losers!" Past Kota told them.
We return to the present and J thinking on it and said "I don't know. He didn't sound like he was going to help us at all."
"I'm sure you can find some way of bringing him over to your side." Terra said smiling "Either way, we should go back to the studios. That boy is our last hope, J."
'Thanks, now I'm more worried than I was before…' J said sweat dropping and leaves the office to head back to Vox Studios.
October 18, Vox Studios, Main Gate
When J and Terra arrive back at the main gate they see that Stan was back guarding it, but he was panting exhausted while still looking annoyed and angry.
"W-what's wrong?" J asked the security guard concerned.
Stan pants still and said between breaths "….Little….Little punk!"
'He's been chasing that that boy this whole time.' J thinks surprise.
"Huff…. Puff… when… when I ca… catch him… I… huff…" Stan says panting.
'Sound like he hasn't had any luck catching him.' J thinks giggling in her head.
"Huff… puff…. I… I got a hostage now, brat bot!" Stan said between breaths.
'A 'hostage'…?!' J thinks shocked and asked "What's this about a 'hostage'?"
"Huff… huff… W-when that boy was running away…he dropped this, a-and ran! Huff… huff…H-he'll come back… huff… huff… for this one!" Stan said panting.
'It's kind of hard to understand him with all that huffing and puffing.' J thinks.
"J! That 'hostage' might be what we need!" Terra tells her. "Kota might talk to us if we gave him that!"
'Good idea!' J thinks and looks to Stan "Mr. Pine! Might I…"
"No!" Stan said firmly "I'm catching that little punk if it's the last thing I do!"
"J. Do you have anything you might trade with him?" Terra asked her.
'A trade, hmmm…I wonder…?' J thinks and said to Stan "Umm… what happened to the boy?"
"I-if I see him a-again, I'll… huff!" Stan pants out. "L-lay him flat! Huff… puff…"
"My, what a violent old man…" Terra said surprised.
"Actually, I met with the director just now…" J said to Stan.
"Eh? Hah… My heart…. I don't feel so good." Stan groans out a bit.
'Is he okay?!' J thinks worried.
"B-before I go, I'd like to v-visit the place where poor M-Malty died…" Stan admits.
'Right… he was saying he wanted to visit the studio where she died.' J thinks then gets and idea and pulls out the Studio One cardkey and holds it out for Stan to see.
"H-hey… that… huff…" Stan said seeing it. "That's a card… huff… Studio One?"
"That's right. A cardkey to Studio One." J said with a nod and smile.
"Huff… puff…. I… I could visit poor Malty…" Stan pants thinking. "I'd like to visit… huff… he died… whew. I was her… her fan."
"You don't have your own car, Mr. Pines?" J asked surprised.
"Studio One isn't my beat. Huff… huff…" Stan explained. "You'll let me borrow… borrow it, then?"
J thinks on it, without this Cardkey she won't be able to get into Studio One but it was worth it and nods.
"Why don't you let him borrow it, J?" Terra asked smiling.
"I guess it can't hurt." J said smiling and hands it to Stan "Here you go, Mr. Pines."
Stan takes it and recomposes himself and said looking serious "Listen to me, drone. I don't like having debts to no brat bots or little punks." He pulls out a trading card and said "You take this, and we're even. Deal?"
"What's this…? A White Ranger trading card?" J asked looking at it as she takes it.
"That sneaky kid dropped it!" Stan said smirking "I figure it's pretty important to him, though."
"Thank you, I may have a use for this." J said with a smile. 'This must be the 'hostage' he was talking about.' She adds it to the Court Record.
"Right. I'm off." Stan said and leaves.
'There he goes, hobbling off toward the studio…' J thinks and she and Terra go to the Employee Area.
October 18, Vox Studios, Employee Area
As they enter the area J sees Kota and called out "Hey! Hey wait!" She sees the boy run into the dressing room
"J… Was that the boy?" Terra asked her.
"Yeah." J said nodding "His name's 'Kota Izumi.'"
"It looks like he ran into the dressing room." Terra said nodding.
J nods and goes into the dressing room.
October 18, Vox Studios, Dressing Room
J walks in and looks around "He's sure to be in here somewhere…" She then sees him "Found you!" Kota quickly runs "Dammit! He's getting away!"
"Come back!" Terra calls out to Kota who listens and comes back "There. He's back."
'How did he…?!' J thinks confused
Kota looks at Terra, the older Yuki sibling asked him "Hey there. Would you mind helping us out? Please?"
Kota thinks then said nervous "I'm Kota…"
"Hey, Kota. I'm Terra. Terra Yuki." Terra said smiling. "Nice to meet you."
"Hey." Kota said excited.
"And I'm Serial Designation J!" J said smiling at him.
"Who asked?" Kota asked looking annoyed.
"J, you can take it from here." Terra said to the drone.
'I'm not so sure I'm qualified…' J thinks sweat dropping. She had a feeling Kota won't talk to him but maybe giving him back his trading card will work and presents it to him "Kota…This look familiar?"
"Hey! My UR!" Kota said in shock.
"'You are'…. Huh?" J said confused.
"'U.R.' You know, 'ultra rare'! That card's really hard to get!" Kota explained to her. "Man, for a grown-up drone you sure are dumb!"
"I'll give you this…IF you help me." J told him.
"But that's my card!" Kota told her. "By offering me something I already own, you're in effect eschewing the very basis of our consumer society, namely the principle of fair trade! Man, for a grown-up drone, you sure are dumb!"
'W-what do they teach these kids in school these days?! Quantum physics?!' J thinks in pure shock.
"Whatever, I don't need that card." Kota then says firmly
"What?" J said confused, didn't she say this card was hard to get.
"I got a double." Kota explained and grins "Just keep it. It's yours."
'What?! After I went though all that trouble…' J thinks annoyed.
"If you want to trade, find me a REALLY rare card!" Kota told her.
"'Really rare'?!" J said surprised "You mean there's something rarer than 'Ultra Rare'?!"
"Ultra Rare Premium cards are way rarer than plain Ultra Rare cards! Come ON!" Kota explained to her. Then adds grinning "Man, for a grown-up drone, you sure are dumb!"
"Premium… rare… why do I feel like we're talking about streaks?" J said confused.
Having nothing else to do here for now J and Terra leave to explore and find out what to do next.
October 18, Studio Two Trailer
After exploring most of the areas they arrive into Studio Two's trailer and find that in there was not Stella but Hashtag.
"Oh, hi." Hashtag said waving.
"Hello. What brings you here?" J asked her.
"O, well, I had to arrange some stuff…" Hashtag explained but looks at Terra. "Umm…"
"Yes?" J asked wondering what was up.
"The, um, guy with you. Doesn't he seem a little different?" Hashtag asked her. "Like, is he even the same person as before?"
"Um, nope! He's the same as always." J told her.
"Same as always." Terra said smiling playing along.
"Okay… whatever you say…" Hashtag said not convinced but doesn't press on it.
"Have you seen that boy since then?" J asked Hashtag wondering if she's seen Kota.
"Nope. You missed it, though." Hashtag told her "The security man was chasing around after the boy so fast I thought he'd collapse. Of course, he got away in the end. Boy, was he mad!"
"Actually, we saw them." J said nodding "How's the old pine doing?"
"He was squeezing donuts though his clenched fists back at the guard station." Hashtag explained.
'Some people take their jobs a little to seriously.' J thinks and asks looking at the old movie posters "Are all the posters on the wall here of Malty?"
"Yes. It's really a terrible loss for the studios." Hashtag said sighing sadly.
"But… her popularity had been waning recently, right?" J asked her.
"That's true" Hashtag said nodding. "Then again, after what happened…"
"After WHAT happened?" J asked curious.
"Y-you mean, you don't know about Malty…?" Hashtag asked.
"No, what?" J said.
"I-I'm sorry." Hashtag said, "I shouldn't have said anything."
"Wait, now you have to tell me." J said to her "What happened with Malty?"
"I-I'm sorry." Hashtag said nervous "I'm probably not the one who should tell you."
'Uh oh. Why do I get the feeling something's being covered up here?' J thinks concerned, she decided to show the White Ranger card to Hashtag asking "Do you know anything about this?" She shows it.
"Hey, that's a White Ranger trading card." Hashtag said looking at it "I collect those, actually. I'm one card away from a complete set!"
"A complete set?" J asked her.
"Yeah, a set of one of each card." Hashtag said with a nod.
"Huh…" J thinks on it.
Hashtag then looks at the card again and her optics widen "Wait….waitwaitwaitwait! That's it! That's the card I need! You don't know how long I've been looking for it!"
"Uh…" J said surprised at this.
"I don't care what kind of girl you might think I am, I need that card!" Hashtag told the drone and quickly pulls out some White Ranger trading cards "P-please! I beg you! Please trade with me!"
"T-trade with you?" J said taken aback.
"Yes, trade cards!" Hashtag said nodding and presents a very fancy White Ranger card "Look, I'll even trade you an Ultra Rare Premium card!"
"Trade me a… huh?" J said really confused.
"Yes, it's a good deal for your Ultra Rare!" Hashtag said with a nod. "Please!"
"J! Can't you see she's desperate?" Terra said to her.
'W-what's everybody getting so excited about…?' J thinks but she figured that card would be useful with Kota and agrees to the trade "Okay."
"Really?! Th-thanks!" Hashtag said happily "Then this is for you." The two trade and J replaces the White Ranger Card with the URP Card to the Court Record. "Yaa-hoo!" She cheers and runs out.
'And there she goes…' J thinks sighing.
"Doesn't doing good things like that make you feel great?" Terra asked J smiling.
"Yeah. Yeah, it does." J said with a small smile and the two head back to the dressing room
Kota was still here, and J approaches him and takes out the URP Card and asked "See this card?" She presents it Kota.
"Yeah, so… Wait! That's it!" Kota said in surprise "That's the last Ultra Rare Premium card I need! Come give it to me, please! You got to give it to me!"
'Wow, I've never seen him so… eager.' J thinks in surprise and she said "R-right! Okay! How about a trade?"
"You're on!" Kota said with an excited smile and gets his own card collection out "I'll give you a 'Saba Sword' and throw in an 'Evox' to boot!"
"No, no, no, no… not that kind of trade." J said stopping him. "I don't want cards. I want information."
"Huh? You sure? Fine by me!" Kota said shrugging and takes the card to add to his collection.
"Okay, J. Let's hear what he has to say." Terra said nodding. "If he knows something that could help us, we can have him take the stand tomorrow."
J nods and looks to Kota and asked "So…. You like the White Ranger."
"He's so cool!" Kota said with a big smile.
"I… I guess." J thinks, she still thinks the Toa Rangers were the coolest.
"You're judging him by his looks!" Kota told her "You have to look at his actions, at his life!"
'I am being lectured on life by a grade schooler…' J thinks deadpanned.
"You like him too, don'tcha?" Kota asked smiling
"Um… Oh me? Y-yeah! I, um, love the White Ranger." J said rubbing her head
"So, tell me what your favourite thing about the White Ranger is!" Kota asked smiling.
'Got to think of something…' J thinks and said "I like it when he, uh, he vanquishes his foes!"
"Yeah! Whizzam!" Kota said smiling "The White Ranger always wins! Always!" he then pulls something out of his backpack "Check this out! It's my fan album!" It was an album of pictures of the White Ranger.
"What the…? It's all pictures of the White Ranger." J said surprised.
"I go to every live performance!" Kota explained.
'Those stupid publicity stunts where they beat each other up in public…?' J thinks.
"I always take a picture when the White Ranger lands the final blow! Whizzam!" Kota explained. "I got'em all! I never missed one! A perfect collection!" He shows his camera "Check it out! My new digital camera!"
"Wow, that's very impressive." Terra said seeing it "The newest model, isn't it?"
"You bet sir! I just got it for my birthday." Kota said smiling "My album has a name, wannat here it? 'The White Ranger: Path To Glory.' The White Ranger always wins! Always! Hey, if you want this, you can have it, sir."
"Really? Are you sure?" Terra asked surprised.
"Yeah, I took these with a digital camera." Kota said nodding. "I got all the data at home so I can always make another one."
"Well, then I'm happy to accept!" Terra said smiling taking it "Thank you." J nods adding it to the Court Record.
'What's with people always giving stuff to Terra? What a life!' J thinks
"Hey, I noticed your keychain, my aunt used to watch that show" Kota said to J regarding her Toa Rangers keychain "I saw some episodes it was alright for it's time and got me to start watching White Ranger."
"Glad to hear it" J said smiling then asked "You were here on the day of the… incident, right?"
"Yeah…" Kota said looking away.
"Did you see anything unusual?" J asked him. Kota remains quiet.
"Kota." Terra said to him getting the boys attention "Kota, he needs to know because he's fighting for justice. Isn't that the White Ranger's motto? 'For great justice'? You have to help us fight for great justice, too."
"I…I saw…" Kota began to say, "I saw everything!"
'Well, well… We might get some useful information out of him yet.' J thinks smiling and asked "Kota…. I need to ask you something very important. What did you see on the day of the incident?"
Kota thinks and then said "I got here that day around 2:00…I had to come in through the woods out back so that old man wouldn't see me. I got kind of lost, though. I was in there for maybe a half hour or so. Then I finally got to the studio. After that…"
"What is it, Kota?" Terra asked him.
We see a flashback of Kota in the woods look in amazement as the White Ranger walks by. Present Kota said "Th-the White Ranger killed the bad guy! He used his Saba Sword! Just like always! One shot, one kill! It happened so fast… I got scared. I went home after that."
We return to the present and J nervous asked "I… I see. It must have been hard for you."
"Man, you say those nice things but it's so obvious you aren't speaking from the heart." Kota said to J.
'Umm… right.' J said nodding to that "Terra?"
"Yes?" Terra said to her.
"I think we can say for sure this means the White Ranger did it." J said worried.
"True enough." Terra said nodding.
"And the director has an alibi, so it wasn't him." J said concerned.
"Indeed" Terra said in agreement.
"So… the only person left who it could have been is Johnny Bravo!" J said really worried.
Terra looks concerned and said "I have to admit, it's kind of a shock. But if you put this boy on the witness stand, your client will be 'guilty' for sure."
"Let's not call him then…" J said nodding.
"I think that would be wise. Best to leave this one alone." Terra said smiling.
"Not so fast, buddy!" A familiar voice said and the group see the one who entered was Detective N who said smiling "I heard everything! This boy here's a key witness! And he's under police trooper protection, starting now! Come on, young man. You've got a rendezvous with me down at the precinct!"
"No! I ain't going!" Kota yells out "Waah!" He is grabbed by N who leaves with him.
"That didn't go so well." Terra said concerned. "We're back to zero leads. And now we have a serious handicap in court."
"W-what're we going to do, Terra!" J said worried.
"Well, hmm…" Terra said thinking "I… really need to be going. Don't worry, J. I'm sure you'll be fine!"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" J said in shock "C-Come to the trial tomorrow, please! I need you there!"
"J, can I ask you something?" Terra said to her and asked "Do you really believe that Mr. Bravo is innocent?"
J thinks and nods "Of course he is!"
Terra smiles and said "That's all I wanted to hear. Excellent. I'll see you in court, then."
"Great! Thanks, Terra!" J said smiling
"See you soon." Terra said nodding.
J nods and the two leave to prepare for tomorrow.
Well things sure have gone from bad to worse. We can only hope J can poke halls in the proscution stories and find the truth.
Please Read, Review and Suggest. Thank you.