J is backed to the wall at Bltizo makes a difficult case and now the witness is coming in, can she overcome and prove Joey's Innocence? Find out now.

Disclaimer: I own nothing in this.

DM77's Ace Attorney Chapter 2

Exposing the Lies

A while later the witness Waluigi was brought to the stand and, unknown to everyone in the room, it was the purple clad figure we saw in the prologue. Through this time he was putting on a nice and kind act while standing there.

Blitzo smiles as he continued to make his case "Now, Mr. Waluigi, you sell newspaper subscriptions, is that right?"

"Oh, oh yes! Newspapers, indeed!" Waluigi said with a smile and nod.

"Mr. Waluigi, you may proceed with your testimony." Maccadam told him. "Please tell the court what you saw on the day of the murder."

Waluigi nods and begins to make his Witness account. He said "I was going door-to-door, selling subscriptions when I saw a man fleeing an apartment. I thought he must be in a hurry because he left the door half-open behind him."

"Thinking it strange, I looked inside the apartment." Waluigi continues "Then I saw her lying there….A woman….not moving…dead! I quailed in fright and found myself unable to go inside. I thought to call the police immediately!"

"However, the phone in her apartment wasn't working." Waluigi keeps on going nearing the end. "I went to a nearby park and found a public phone. I remember the time exactly: It was 1:00 PM. The man who ran was, without a doubt, the defendant sitting right over there" He points at Joey.

"Hmmm…" Maccadam thought on this.

'Joey! Why didn't you tell the truth?' J thought both annoyed and worried 'I can't defend you against a testimony like that!'

"Incidentally, why wasn't the phone in the victim's apartment working?" Maccadam asked curious.

"Your Honor, at the time of the murder, there was a blackout in the building." Blitzo replies saying.

"Aren't phones supposed to work during a blackout?" Maccadam asked surprised.

"Yes, Your Honor…" Blitzo said nodding but adds "However, some cordless phones do not function normally. The phone that Mr. Waluigi used was one of those. Your Honor…" He holds up an envelope with a piece of paper in it "I have a record of the blackout, for your perusal."

The Blackout record was added to the court record system and J looks at it and sees that the blackout lasted from noon to 6PM on the day of the murder.

"Now Miss. J…" Maccadam said looking at the drone.

"Yes!" J said snapping from her panic "Er…. yes, Your Honor?"

"You may begin your cross-examination." Maccadam said nodding.

"C-Cross-examination, Your Honor?" J asked a bit confused.

"Alright, J, this is it. The real deal!" Terra said nodding with a smile.

"Um….can you tell me what I'm meant to do?" J asked really confused.

"Why, you expose the lies in the testimony the witness just gave!" Terra told her.

J in shock said "Lie! What?! He was lying?!" He seemed to be telling the truth to her.

"Your client is innocent, right?" Terra asked the drone girl. "Then that witness must have lied in his testimony! Or Is your client really….guilty?"

J thinks and asked "How do I prove he's not?"

"You hold the key! It's in the evidence!" Terra told her simply "Compare the witness's testimony to the evidence at hand. There's bound to be a contradiction in there!" He then explained "First find contradictions between the Court Record and the witness's testimony. Then once you've found the contradicting evidence….present it and rub it in the witness's face!"

"Um….alright." J said following it.

"The console in front of you contains a recording of his testimony, use it to review to find the contradiction" Terra explained "You got this."

J nods and looks at the testimony recording from Waluigi she then pressed on his statement on the phone not working asking "Hold it! The phone in her apartment wasn't working?"

"Yes. I mean, no. No it wasn't. Right." Waluigi said to that confused.

"But you said you didn't go into the apartment….or did you?!" J asked him.

"Oh, oh that? I can easily explain that!" Waluigi said smiling "There was a cordless phone on a shelf in the entranceway. I reached inside and tried using that to call…"

"And of course, that phone wasn't working, correct?" Blitzo said nodding. "No what happened next?"

J sighs thought she had something she then presses the first statement "Hold it! Isn't a man leaving apartment a common sight? I find it odd you would take notice of him…"

"Er…heh." Waluigi said to that. "I don't know. He just seemed strange to me, that's all. Like he was mad, and yet frightened at the same time. Just like….a criminal fleeing the scene of a crime!"

J slams her hands on the bench and said "The defense requests that the witness refrain from conjecture!"

"Of sure, sure." Bltizo said nodding "What the witness means is that the man he saw looked suspicious. So, what happened next?"

J then thinks and presses the third statement saying "Hold it! May I ask, what gave you the idea to do that?"

"Well, the door was half-open, you see. Isn't it only human or whatever to want to…peek?" Waluigi said with a shrug. "We climb mountains because they are there! It's the same thing."

"Truer words have never been spoken! Anyone would look inside!" Bltizo said proudly.

'Hmmm…Why did Blitz cut him off so quickly?' J said finding that odd, almost like the imp was trying to hide something.

"So, you looked into the apartment. What happened then?" Bltizo said.

J then reviews the testimony and then presses the ninth statement "Hold it! 1:00 PM! Are you absolutely certain?"

"Yes. Absolutely." Waluigi said nodding.

'Hmmmm….He seems really confident.' J thought on that

"1:00 PM? J. Doesn't that seem strange to you?" Terra asked her.

"You know what…It does." J said and checks Mai's Autopsy and her eyes widen, and she slams her hand on the bench and said "Objection! You found the body at 1:00 PM. You're sure?"

"Yes. Waluigi is sure it was 1:00 PM, for certain." Waluigi said nodding.

"Frankly, I find that really hard to believe!" J said to him looking serious and brings up the Autopsy report "Your statement directly contradicts the autopsy report. It notes that time of death at sometime after 4PM. There was nobody to… er….no 'body' to find at 1:00 PM!" She then smirks and asked "How do you explain this three-hour gap?"

Waluigi eeps and begins to sweat bullets in surprise. He said "Oh, that! Oh, er…"

"Objection!" Blitzo yelled out through this hole in the story got him nervous as he said while sweating "This is trviual! The witness merely forgot the time!"

"After his testimony, I find that hard to believe." Maccadam said shaking his head. He then looks firmly at the witness and said "Mr. Waluigi…Why were you so certain that you found the body at 1:00 PM?"

"I…er…well, I….Wow, that's a really good question!" Waluigi said trying to think.

"Great job J! Way to put him on the spot!" Terra said nodding. "That's all you have to do: point out contradictions! Lies always beget more lies! See through one, and their whole story falls apart!"

"Wait! I remember now!" Waluigi said smiling back to being calm.

"Would you care to give your testimony again?" Maccadam said firmly.

Waluigi nods and gives a new testimony of the Time of Discovery saying "You see, when I found the body, I heard the time. There was a voice saying the time…It was probably coming from this television. Oh, but it was three hours off, wasn't it?"

"I guess the victim must have been watching a video of a taped program!" Waluigi continued "That's why I thought it was 1:00 PM! So sorry about the misunderstanding…"

"Hmmm… I see. You heard a voice saying the time on a taped program." Maccadam said nodding. "Miss. J, you may cross-examine the witness."

"J! You know what to do!" Terra said to her.

"I got this one." J said nodding and looks at the testimony recording, there wasn't a lot but the second statement seemed odd so she pressed it "Hold it! Are you sure it was a television and not… a radio?"

"Well, no, I guess it might have been a radio." Waluigi said thinking.

"Incidentally, there was no radio on the premises." Bltizo states to clear this up. "There was only one large television."

"J!" Terra said "I can't put my finger on it, but something about this seems fishy. Something about 'hearing' the television…"

"The witness has testified. He heard the time." Bltizo said but under his breath said "Through would have been nice to know before now that he heard the goddamn time."

J nods and opens the record finding the evidence she needs and said "Objection! Hold it right there! The prosecution has said there was a blackout at the time of the discovery!" He brings up the Blackout record. "And this record proves it!"

Waluigi gulps and begins looking nervous and sweating again. J seeing this kept coming slamming her hands on the bench "You couldn't have heard a television….or a video!"

"Wah!" Waluigi yelped as he gets more nervous. He said "I…. well… urk!"

"The defense has a point." Maccadam said nodding "Do you have an explanation for this, Mr. Waluigi?"

"No, I….I find it quite puzzling myself! Quite!" Waluigi said agitated but also confused. "Aah! W-wait! I remember now!"

"Mr. Waluigi?" Maccadam said firmly "The court would prefer to hear an accurate testimony from the very beginning. These constant corrections are harming your credibility." He sees the nervousness on Waluigi's face "That, and you seem rather…distraught."

Waluigi eeps and said "M-my apologies, Your Honor! It…er, it must have been the shock of finding the body!"

"Very well, Mr. Waluigi. Let's hear your testimony once more please." Maccadam said nodding.

Waluigi nods and gives his testimony on hearing the time. He said "Actually, I didn't 'hear' the time…. I 'saw' it! There was a table clock in the apartment, wasn't there! Yeah, the murder weapon! The killer used it to hit the victim! That must have been what I saw."

"You saw a clock? I guess that would explain it." Maccadam said thinking on it and nods "The defense may cross-examine the witness."

"Gladly." J said nodding. Waluigi seems to be doing his best not to say too much, but some of the statement he said she found odd. She presses the first startement saying "Hold it! That strikes me as a very suspicious mistake."

"Yes, I can see how you'd be a little doubtful…" Waluigi said nervous "I'm really sorry. I only just remembered that table clock!"

"A 'table clock'?" Maccadam said shocked, this was the first anyone is hearing about a clock.

J nods and presses the third statement saying "Hold it! The…. murder weapon?"

"Yes, the table clock that was used as a weapon!" Waluigi said with a nervous nod. "That's what I just said. Did you power down in the middle of my testimony or something?"

'Something is fishy here…' J thought and she knew it so on this same statement she goes into the evidence and presents what contradicts this saying "Objection! Hang on just a moment!" She then presents the statue "The murder weapon wasn't a clock. It was this statue! Now how on Earth is this meant to be a clock?"

"WAAAA!" Waluigi said shocked and then gets annoyed as he said "Y-you with your 'objections', and your 'evidence'…..Just who do you think you are?!"

"Just answer the question, Mr. Waluigi." J said looking serious.

"Hey, I... I saw it there alright! That's a clock!" Waluigi said serious.

"Um…Your Honor! If I may…" Bltizo said looking embarrassed.

"Yes, Mr. Bltiz?" Maccadam said looking at the Imp prosecutor.

Bltizo holds up the Statue and said "As the witness stated, this statue is indeed a clock. The neck is a switch. You just tilt it, and it says the time out loud. Because it didn't look like a clock, I submitted it as a statue. I apologise for the confusion this caused."

"I see." Maccadam said nodding "So the murder weapon was a table clock after all. Well, Miss. J? It appears that the witness's testimony was correct. This is a clock. Do you have any problems with his testimony now?"

J thinks on it, but this new update may cleared up the clock as a murder weapon, but it opens up a new contradiction in Waluigi's story and said "Your Honor, this is a gaping hole in the witness's testimony! The only way he could have known the weapon was a clock is to hold it in his hand."

She then presents the first testimony and said "However, the witness testified that he never entered the apartment! Which is a clear contradiction!"

"Hmmm…you're right!" Maccadam said with a nod.

"The witness knew it was a clock, because he…went into the apartment!" J said and glares at Waluigi "You're lying! You were inside the apartment on the day of the murder!"

"Oh yeah? Probe it! Prove I went in there!" Waluigi said in anger.

"I'll do better than that!" J said slamming her hands down "I can prove you were the one who killed her! You struck her with the clock, and the shock of the blow triggered the clock's voice! That was the sound you heard!"

This surprised the audience members who be begin to chatter and Maccadam bangs his gavel and said "Order in the court! Intriguing. Please continue, Miss. J."

"Yes, Your Honor." J said nodding and continues "Mr. Waluigi. The sound must have left quite an impression on you. Understandable, since the murder weapon spoke just as you hit the victim! That voice was burned into your mind. That's why you were so certain about the time!"

"Objection!" Bltizo said looking worried of his case breaking apart "W-What's the meaning of this? This is all baseless conjecture!"

"Baseless…?" J said to that and points to Waluigi "Just look at the witness's face!"

"Ngh….grrah!" Waluigi lets out trembling.

"Would the witness care to elaborate?" Maccadam asked "Did you strike the victim with the clock?"

"I… I…! That…that day…I…I never!" Waluigi said trembling as the visions of that day play in his head "Look…I…the clock….I heard, no! I mean I saw…Saw….nggg! WAHHHHHHHH!" He screams out removing his hat and throws it a J which hits her in the face and slides down, she looked annoyed at that. Then in pure anger Waluigi said "Shutupshutupshutup! I hate you! I-it was him, I tell you! I saw him!" He points at Joey "H-he killed her and he should burn! Burn! Give him death!"

The audience chatter in shock at the sudden change of mood with Waluigi and Maccadam bangs his gavel "Order! Order in the court I say!"

"Your Honor, a-a moment please!" Bltizo said nervous "I want to point out there isn't a shred of evidence supporting the defense's claims!"

"Miss. J!" Maccadam said looking at the drone girl

"Your Honor?" J asked.

"You claim the sound the witness heard came from the clock…" Maccadam said to her "Do you have any evidence?"

'The whole case is riding on this! I'd better think it through carefully!' J thinks on this and said "Y-Your Honor. The sound Mr. Waluigi heard was definitely this clock. A fact which is clear if you simply…Let's sound the clock now, here in this court. Your Honor, may I have the clock?"

Maccadam nods and has the baliff Purge Trooper bring the statue clock over to J and takes it. "I ask the court to listen very carefully…" She said and tilts the switch.

"I think it's 8:25" The Thinker statue said.

"That certainly is a strange way to announce the time." Maccadam said surprised.

"Well, he is 'The Thinker,' after all." J said with a nod.

"So, we've heard the clock. What are your conclusions, Miss. J?" Maccadam asked her.

"Mr. Bltiz…can you tell me what time it is now?" J asked the imp.

"Oh sure, it's 11:25…" Bltizo said checking as he sips his coffee only to spit it out when he realized what he just revealed "Ack!"

J holds up the statue and said "As you can see, this clock is exactly three hours slow! Precisely the discrepancy between what Mr. Waluigi heard and the actual time of death!" She looks at the witness "So, Mr. Waluigi…Try and talk your way out of this one!"

Waluigi pants as he smirks and chuckles "…Hah! Hah hah! You forgot one thing drone!"

'Oh no…. What is he talking about now…?' J thinks looking worried.

"While it may seem like that clock IS running three hours slow…It proves nothing!" Waluigi states firmly "How do you know it was running three hours slow on the day of the murder?! If you can't prove that, you don't have a case!"

J thinks and her eyes widen in worry as she thinks 'He's right! How am I going to prove that?! Dammit! I was so close too!'

"Miss. J?" Maccadam said looking at her "It seems you lack the critical evidence to support your claim."

J gulps mentally and said "Yes, Your Honor."

"That means I cannot let you indict the witness." Maccadam told her and shakes his head "Unfortunately…" He bangs his gavel "This ends the cross-examination of Mr. Waluigi.

"I come all the way down here to testify and look what happens!" Waluigi said in anger though in his head was sighing in relief and smirking he was getting away with the crime. "You treat me like a criminal! A criminal! You lawyers are all slime!"

'Grr! Expense paid vacation! I almost had him' J thinks, she knows he is the murderer, but she can't prove it. She slams her fist into the bench looking down 'Sorry, Joey…. I failed you. There's nothing I can do about it now…'

"Not so fast, Mr. Waluigi!" Terra suddenly called out surprising everyone in the courtroom.

"Terra! I mean, Boss!" J said in surprise.

"Listen up, J!" Terra said looking serious "Don't throw this one away, not like this! Think!"

"But, Boss, it's over." J said sadly "I can't prove the clock was slow the day of the murder! Nobody can prove that!"

"Um…. Well, yes." Terra said nodding. "But that doesn't mean you can't still win! Try thinking out of the box! Don't waste time doubting the facts. Assume the clock was three hours slow and…Think through it! Ash yourself, 'Why was the clock three hours, slow?' Figure out the reason, and you'll have your proof! Right, J? Can you think of a reason as to why the clock would be three hours slow?"

J thinks on it as she checks the evidence and her LED eyes widen "Wait! Maybe I can prove it!"

"You must have evidence somewhere that can prove it, J!" Terra told her "Find it and let them have it!"

"Well, Miss. J?" Maccadam said "You say the clock was already running slow on the day of the murder…Have you found the evidence to support this claim?"

"Of course." J said nodding "There is a piece of evidence in the Court Record that can prove my claim beyond a doubt!"

"Wah-hahaha! Tough words!" Waluigi said smirking "Let's see you pull this one off drone girl!"

"Let's see this evidence that proves why the clock was running slow!" Maccadam asked.

"Take that!" J said as she presents on the screen the victim's passport. She explained "The victim had just returned home from abroad the day before the murder. As we all know, the time difference between here and Kalos is nine hours! When it's 4:00 PM here, it's 1:00 AM the next day there. The clock wasn't three hours slow; it was nine hours fast!" She points at Waluigi "The victim hadn't reset her clock since returning home! That's why the time you heard when you struck her dead in her apartment was wrong!" J then glares at him and said "Proof enough for you, Mr. Waluigi? Or should I say…Mr. WA-I Did It!"

"Ngh…I..." Waluigi lets out and then foams in his mouth and collapses onto the floor fainting.

The audience chatter in surprise as this turnabout, and Maccadam bangs his gavel "O-order! Order, I say!"

A while later after some Purge troopers came and dragged the unconscious Waluigi away and everyone was settled did the trial resume.

"Well…" Maccadam said "This case has certainly turned out differently than we all expected. Mr Bltiz…. Your witness?"

"He….er…. He was arrested and has been taken away, Your Honor." Bltizo said a bit uncomfortable.

Maccadam nods to this and said "Very well. Miss J?"

"Yes, Your Honor." J said standing straight.

"I have to say, I'm impressed" Maccadam said smiling. "I don't think I've ever seen someone complete a defence so quickly… and find the true culprit at the same time!"

"Thank you, Your Honor." J said nodding.

"Yeah, you did will but listen toots you may have won today but next time I won't go easy on you." Bltizo said arms folding "Same goes for you Terra, I haven't forgotten the humiliation you gave me all those years ago."

"Just name the case Bltiz" Terra said chuckling.

"Anyway, at this point, this is only a formality, but…" Maccadam said firmly. "This court finds the defendant, Mr. Joey Wheeler…Not Guilty!"

The crowd cheers at confetti drops down and J smiles at winning her first case. Maccadam bangs his gavel ending the trial by saying "And with that…. This court is adjourned."

In her head world J mentally notes and said "It turns out that Waluigi was a common burglar! He posed as a newspaper salesman to check and see when people were out of the house!"

"That day…" We see Waluigi watching as Joey was leaving Mai's apartment "When Joey wen to her apartment, the victim wasn't home. After he left, Mr. Waluigi let himself in to do his dirty work!"

We then see the moment where Mai arrives back at her apartment surprising Waluigi. He said "While he was searching her place, the victim returned! Flustered, Mr. Waluigi grabbed the nearest blunt object he could find…"

We then see the aftermath with Mai bleeding out on the floor and a shocked Waluigi standing over her.

August 3, 2:32 PM, District Court, Defendant Lobby No. 2

J and Terra were in the Lobby relaxing and recovering from that intense trial. J thinks 'Whew… I still can't believe we won!'

"J! Good job in there!" Terra said giving the drone girl some oil with she accepts. "Congratulations!"

"Th-thanks, Boss. I owe it all to you." J said sipping her oil.

"Not at all, not at all!" Terra said shaking his head and smiling "You fought your own battles in there. I''s been a while since I've seen a trail end on such a satisfying note!"

'Huh, I've never seen the boss looking this happy…' J thinks to herself 'If he's this glad, imagine how Joey must feel!'

"My life is over…" Joey said tears in his eyes.

"Joey! You're supposed to be happy! What's wrong now?!" J said shocked.

"Ohhh, J…" Joey said still upset "Don't worry about me! I'll be dead and gone soon!"

"Good! Wait, no! I mean… Bad! Bad, bad, bad!" J said shaking her head "Joey you're innocent! The case is closed."

Joey sadly said "But… but my Mai's gone! Gone forever!"

'Joey, she was a…. No…Never mind' J thinks mentally sighing.

"Congratulations, Terry!" Terra said smiling.

"T-Terry..?" Joey said confused.

"Yeah, you! I can really see the headlines now: 'Terry Wheeler, Innocent!'" Terra said nodding

"Oh well…thanks! I do owe it to a tough looking guy like you." Joey said cheering up and smiling. "I won't forget this, ever! Let's celebrate! How about a guy's night out? My treat!"

"Oh no, I couldn't" Terra said shaking his head.

'Hey, I was the one who got you off the hook!' J thought a bit annoyed.

"Oh, hey!" Joey said smiling and takes out The Thinker clock?! And hands it to Terra "Here dude! Have this, it's a present!"

"Oh a present for me?" Terra said surprised "Wait… Wasn't this the evidence that…"

"Actually, I made this clock for her!" Joey said smiling "I made one for her and one for me."

"Wow, really? You? You made this?" Terra said surprised and amazed. "Well, thanks. I'll keep is as a memento."

"Hey, J…" Joey said looking at her "Can you believe it? I was so into that girl… And… And she was just playing me for a fool!" He gets upset "Don't that make you wanna just cry?"

"Joey…" J said seeing her friend getting upset again.

Terra looks at this and asked "Are you so sure?"

"Eh…excuse me?" Joey asked.

"I think she thought quite a lot of you, in her own way." Terra said smiling.

"Nah, you don't have to sympathize with me, it's okay." Joey said.

"Oh, I'm not just sympathizing really." Terra said looking to J "Isn't that right, J? Don't you have something to show your friend? Something that proves how she felt about him?"

"H-Huh? Oh, yeah, right!" J said confused 'What the heck she is talking about?' She checks and finds the other Thinker and gets it out to show him "Check this out, Joey. Proof positive you weren't just some chump to her."

"Huh…? What about that clock?" Joey asked confused.

"This is the clock YOU made for her, Joey!" J explained "And she took it with her when she travelled."

"Eh, whatever. She probably just needed a clock, that's all." Joey said smiling rubbing his head.

"You think so? My calculation suggest for a normal human this is a pretty heavy clock to take traveling." J said. Joey remains quite and said "Well, make of it what you will."

"Hey J." Joey said looking at J and pulls out a green sentai coin keyring and smiles "I'm glad I asked you to be my lawyer. Really I am. Thanks."

J smiles and shows her sentai coin which was attached to her phone and was black and silver nodding as she thinks 'I hope that made him feel a little better…'.

"J?" Terra said smiling. "I hope you see the importance of evidence now. Also, hopefully you realize, things change depending on how you look at them. People too. We never really know if our clients are guilty or innocent. All we can do is believe in them."

"And in order to believe in them, you have to believe in yourself." Terra continues. "J…Listen. Learn. Grow strong. Never let go of what you believe in. Never."

"Of course" J said nodding

"Well, I think our work here is done! Shall we be off before the usual Cyber City traffic gets bad." Terra said smiling

"Yeah, I guess so!" J said smiling.

"Say, how about dinner. On me?" Terra offered. "We'll drink a toast to innocent Wheeler!"

"Oh yeah!" J said excited.

"Oh, speaking of Terry…" Terra said remembering something "You were saying part of why you become a lawyer was because of him."

"Er, yeah. Part, at least." J admits.

"You'll have to tell me more about it sometime! I am also curious on those Sentai coins." Terra said nodding "Perhaps…over drinks?"

J nods as she looks at the coin as she flashbacks to her younger with a kid Joey and a third kid both had sentai coins, the thirds being yellow and she smiles to herself.

"And so my first trail came to a close." J mentally said writing it into her memory. "Joey slapped me on the back and said 'Gee, J, it's good to have friends!' But I am positive he's not going to pay us. Unless you count the clock he gave Terra."

J hesitates as she writes down "I didn't know it then… but that clock was soon going to be at the center of another incident. And my promise to tell the boss about me and Joey… would be one promise that I wouldn't be able to keep."

The End of Episode 1

J had won her first case, but how will she do when tragedy strikes her own mentor and she has to go it alone mostly

Please Read, Review and Suggest. Thank you