Recap / Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Justice For All

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The Lost Turnabout

Our spikey-haired hero awakes from a cell-phone induced nightmare only to find himself knocked on the head by a villainous man in a blue shirt.

Part 1-1: Trial

Phoenix Wright wakes up and sees a young policewoman by the name of Maggey Byrde, who is hoping that he would make her "Not Guilty" in the eyes of justice. There's just one problem: Phoenix doesn't remember anything. He doesn't remember Maggey, his time as a lawyer, or anything else for that matter. As it turns out, she is accused for killing her boyfried and fellow police officer, Dustin Prince, who snapped his neck in a bad fall. The killer had pushed him off an upper path in a local park.

As the trial begins, an irritable Dick Gumshoe is called up. Apparently, he and Maggey were best buds. In yesterday's trial, Phoenix presented a pair of glasses which became important since the victim grabbed the killer's glasses as he fell. The reason they suspected Maggey is because the victim wrote the killer's name. They even have a picture, right there, written with his right hand. Phoenix then spots a contradiction. The name spelt "Maggie" when it's actually "Maggey". Which doesn't make sense since they both had a thing together. Maggey even made a custom yellow baseball glove for his birthday the night he was killed.

Phoenix then spots another contradiction. The baseball glove was made for someone who is left-handed. While it was clear Dustin's finger was used to write Maggey's name, his right hand was used to write the name. Couldn't he have used his left hand instead?

So the victim misspelled Maggey's name and he used the wrong hand. Somehow this is enough to convince the Judge that Maggey is indeed innocent. But wait, Payne has one more trick up his sleeve. He decides to call in a witness that would make the Judge change his mind again.

Part 1-2: Trial

After hearing about Phoenix's amnesia, Maggey tells Phoenix that she found a cell phone lying in the middle of the park. The person who presumably lost it called and told her to meet at 6PM. Maggey gave the same phone to Phoenix yesterday. Just then, an adolescent girl in purple robes barges in and is angry at Phoenix. She had been trying to get a hold of him on phone but he wouldn't answer. Maya Fey gives Phoenix a list of names that he told her to look up. They were pulled from the contact list of the phone Maggey found, and they were names of people suspected of being con artists.

Back in the court-room, Payne brings in Richard Wellington, who claims to be a first-class university student and is not afraid to boast how first-classly he is. He testifies that he saw the victim fall from a higher place and with him a banana bunch. He obviously must have bad eyesight because it was actually the baseball glove Maggey gave to Dustin. And it turns out he does have bad eyesight as when Phoenix presents the glove, Wellington mistakes the glove as a bunch of bananas again. So why didn't he bring glasses to court? He claims that he lost them and didn't bring them with him.

Wellington next testifies that he called at 6:45 PM. But wait, the autopsy confirmed that the murder happened 17 minutes prior to that phone call. There is just no excuse for him to take so long, as there was a phone booth just several steps away from the crime scene. Wellington admitted that he was looking for his glasses. The glasses he grabbed could be from the killer. Wellington also knew Maggey's name, or rather how it's said, because she told him in the phone call.

Payne wants to know why Wellington would kill Dustin Prince. He got his phone back, so why in such a lethal matter? Phoenix accuses Wellington of being part of a group of con artists. It turns out Dustin was in his police uniform when they met at the park. As a con artist, seeing someone with a police officer in uniform is not a good sign at all. The best thing to do is keep him quiet.

Wellington has a motive, but he wants Phoenix to show if all of this is true. After all, he found his phone later right? Phoenix decides to punch in his phone number just to make sure. Phoenix's phone rings - inside Wellington's pocket. Just before today's trial, Wellington tried to take back his phone just to be safe. In fact, he took someone else's instead. This convinces the court that Wellington is guilty and calls off the trial with Phoenix the victor.

Maggey is now free of any charges concerning Dustin's death, but she still feels guilty in some way. She reveals to Phoenix that she is a very unlucky girl her whole life. Her bad luck is taken to ludicrous levels (She lost every tic-tac-toe game she ever played, she never even tied). Based on her luck, she blames herself for Dustin dying the way he did. But as always, she remains optimistic and happy, even in the face of tragedy.

Everyone leaves the court on a happy note as Phoenix finally regains his memories.

Behind the Turnabout

Con artist Richard Wellington lost his cellphone in a park somewhere and had called it in case someone found it. That someone was police officer Maggey Byrde, who promised him she'd return it when they met at the park. That night, Maggey met up with her fellow officer Dustin Prince, who had just come out of work, still in his police uniform.

When they finally met, Wellington freaked out over the sight that the woman had brought a police officer with her. He assumed that she had discovered his list and brought an officer so that he would be taken in for questioning. Wellington attacked Dustin on top of an embankment. The fight ended with Wellington pushing Dustin off the embankment, Dustin taking Wellington's glasses with him, falling on the concrete bellow, dying instantly to a broken neck. He fell on Wellington's glasses, crushing them.

Wellington went to Dustin's body. He used his right pointer-finger to write "Maggie" to implicate Maggey for the murder. He tried to find his glasses for 15 whole minutes before calling the police as a "witness".

Maggey turned over Wellington's phone to her lawyer, so minutes before the trial started, Wellington bashed said lawyer's head with a fire extinguisher, knocking him out, and took what he thought was his phone (it was actually Phoenix's phone) so that he would invalidate Maggey's case.

Reunion, and Turnabout

Phoenix Wright met Maya a month prior to Maggey's story. However, things weren't exactly "Hello, how are you?"

Part 1: Investigation

One rainy day, a foul-tempered surgeon named Turner Grey comes to Phoenix Wright as he wants someone to disprove any rumors of him getting involved in an incident a year ago. His story is that a drugged nurse had accidentally killed fourteen patients who were under her care. Ever since the incident, business has been suffering since no one wants go to his hospital at risk of being at the receiving end of more incidents. He wants the nurse to confess that she did it so that it will all be over. There is one problem, she died in a car accident. The solution? Maya Fey's village. He has heard from an acquaintance that they can contact the dead, so he would need them to have the nurse sign a confession. He wants Maya to do it... Under the condition that Turner brings Phoenix with him.

There he reunites with Maya and also meets her family members: Her 8-year-old cousin, Pearl Fey, who is very good at spirit techniques, and her aunt Morgan Fey, Pearl's mother. He also meets Lotta Hart, a southern photographer from a while back. She is here to see Maya's spirit-channeling in action, but unfortunately they couldn't be allowed inside as the channeler would need peace. However, things turn out rather unpeaceful, as they hear two gunshots. Phoenix breaks down a supposedly unbreakable door and sees a bloodied Turner's corpse on the ground and a different woman in Maya's hairdo and garbs, saying she killed him out of revenge. Lotta takes two pictures as the scene is revealed to her.

Phoenix calls the police, with Morgan taking care of things. Later after Gumshoe's arrival, he learns that Turner was shot in the forehead and stabbed in the heart with a knife. Also, Maya is taken into custody, as she was the only other person in that room, making her the prime suspect.

Phoenix meets a ditzy college student who calls herself Ini Miney, who claims to be here to study the Kurain Channeling Technique the Kurain tribe is known for. Coincidentally, she also knows Turner. He also sees Pearl, who is hiding a key of some kind.

Phoenix has to spend the night at the village. This is gonna be a long next few days.

The next day, Phoenix talks to Maya, who feels guilty for what happened yesterday. She gives her side of the story: She was sitting in front of Turner contacting the nurse when she lost consciousness, as is supposed to happen to one who is channeling spirits. She also recalls having some sort of nightmare. She was trapped in a tight black space, as if she was trapped in a coffin. She also smells a scent that is very familiar to her. While Maya doesn't have much hope for Phoenix, she gives him her Magatama and tells him to let Pearl hold on to it for a bit.

Back at the village, he talks to Morgan, who claims to have performed a severing technique to stop the spirit. She also shows some great pride for Pearl, as the latter has lots of spiritual power in her, even more than Maya seems to have. Phoenix also notices some sort of hole in the sacred folding screen. After Morgan leaves, Phoenix runs into Ini, who denies knowing anything about Dr. Turner, despite that she is very likely the acquaintance that Turner was talking about.

Phoenix finally runs into Pearl, who is still silent. However, this changes when Phoenix shows her Maya's magatama. She seems to think both Phoenix and Maya are "lovers". She gives Phoenix the key and charges the magatama. She tells Phoenix it helps people see other people's secrets.

Phoenix and Pearl talk to Gumshoe, who brings him some bad news: Not only do they have evidence against Maya, Phoenix would be facing one of Manfred von Karma's offsprings. They became a prosecutor at the age of 13 and haven't lost a case. Gumshoe gives Phoenix a tabloid relating to the hospital incident. The nurse that died in the car accident was one Mimi Miney.

Phoenix talks to Ini again, this time she tells Phoenix she doesn't know the victim, but then Phoenix sees a red lock. Pearl explains to Phoenix that what he is seeing is a Psyche-lock, a spiritual entity that represents a secret. The lock breaks when said person reveals their secret. Phoenix manages to break Ini's by proving that the nurse mentioned in Gumshoe's tabloid was her sister. Ini should know Turner because Ini's sister works at his clinic. The lock breaks as Ini gives in. She blames Turner for her sister's death as he pushed her too hard.

Phoenix makes one last trip to the detention center to talk to Maya but instead meets her late sister Mia Fey, who tells Phoenix that it wasn't possible for Maya to kill the victim. She knows this because Maya wasn't supposed to dream while she was using her technique, so it is possible that she was set up. Mia also tells Phoenix that the key Pearl gave him is the "key" to help turn the case around. When Phoenix asks how, three Psyche-Locks appear around Mia. She seems to be hiding something regarding the real killer...

Part 2-1: Trial

Before the trial begins, Phoenix meets with Maya and Pearl, the latter of whom ran the whole way there from Kurain Village without getting winded. Maya brings up Edgeworth, but Phoenix tells her not to talk about him, because he's gone.

The trial kicks off with Phoenix meeting Franziska von Karma, the daughter of Manfred von Karma. She's just as ruthless as her old man, and wants Phoenix to predict a "justified self-defense" plea for Maya as Grey was attacking her. However doing so would confirm that she indeed killed him and her reputation would be ruined. Phoenix pleads "not guilty". Von Karma predicts that he will change his mind in a short time.

Gumshoe is brought to the stand. He testifies about the condition of Dr. Grey's body, namely that he was stabbed near the heart with a knife and then shot at point-blank range with a gun. He also testifies that both weapons have Maya's fingerprints on them. Things aren't looking too good for her. Phoenix sticks to his guns and insists on pleading "Not Guilty", and Gumshoe presents another piece of evidence: Maya's blood-stained channeling outfit.

The blood on the outfit is actually Dr. Grey's. Examining the evidence reveals a hole in the sleeve. This proves that Dr. Grey tried to shoot Maya after being stabbed, and was probably trying to kill her. But as Franziska points out, that argument only works if Phoenix was pleading justified self defense.

Gumshoe testifies yet again, this time speculating on how the fight must have happened. Going off of the evidence, he says that Dr. Grey must have shot at Maya right after being stabbed, but missed because of the close proximity. Phoenix points out the contradiction in that scenario, though. If the outfit was shot at point-blank range, where were the gunpowder burns?

Franziska tries to argue that it still fits. The victim could have shoved the defendant away before shooting. But if that's the case, how could the victim manage that while weakened by blood loss? Franziska then speculates that the defendant shoved the victim away before the shot was fired, but Phoenix says this makes no sense. The hole in the folding screen was about eight inches off of the ground, and must have come from the same bullet that went through Maya's outfit sleeve. If that is the case (as it appears to be), Maya must have been squatting near the screen. The question is, what would Maya have been doing over there, if she was busy killing Dr. Grey?

Franziska's far from finished, though. She yells at Gumshoe for ruining her "perfect" logic, and then announces her plan to bring Lotta Hart to the stand. The Judge calls a recess, first.

Part 2-2: Trial

Up next on the witness stand is Lotta. In her testimony, she claims that she took a single photograph and presents it in court. It looks like Maya holding a gun with her back turned from the camera. The examination goes nowhere and Phoenix has nothing to prove that the woman in the picture was not Maya. As it stands, she and Grey were the only people who had gone in the room before the crime took place.

Just when things seem lost, Pearl brings in Mia for help. Mia reminds Phoenix that Lotta took more than a single photo and Lotta is hiding it from the court. Phoenix requests another testimony, but the judge overrules him. He overturns that overrule however as Von Karma wants to continue on, as she doesn't want the trial to end when Phoenix has some fight left in him.

Phoenix brings up the second photo and accuses Lotta of withholding it. The photographer says that the prosecutor told her not to bring it up. When confronted about this, Von Karma says that the photograph is redundant and saw no point in submitting it. The photo is the same woman but her face and physique are much different from Maya. Phoenix concludes that this woman is certainly not Maya, but Von Karma counters his claim by showing a picture of Mia and Phoenix's conversation from yesterday, pointing out that the former, just like Lotta's photo has the same clothing and hair as Maya but with a much different face and body. That is because she is in a middle of channeling a spirit, similar to what we see in Lotta's photo.

Her lecture is moot as Phoenix points out the woman's left sleeve. The bullet hole left by the bullet is missing, and this is after the gun was fired. Von Karma denies hiding it from the courtroom and blames Gumshoe for overlooking such critical evidence. Phoenix assumes the shooter is someone else. He explains by theorizing that Maya left the Chamber at some point. He proves this by showing the Black Key. Maya should have had it by the time of her arrest. Instead, it was found in the hands of Pearl.

At this point, the judge is confused, the woman in Lotta's picture could be Maya, but the key proves that Maya had left the room at some point. He ends the trial without a verdict, leaving Phoenix relieved and Von Karma furious.

Part 3: Investigation

When Phoenix asks Pearl about what she was doing at the time of the murder, she claims she was doing nothing. Her tone of voice and the Psyche Locks that appear suggest something else. When he asks her about the key, she tells Phoenix that she found it in the incinerator at the garden.

Back on Winding Way, he runs into Ini, who shows Phoenix a purple urn. The urn is said to contain the spirit of Ami Fey, the founder if the Kurain Channeling Technique. The are cracks all around it and it is labeled "I AM". Ini still denies being involved with the murder. Determined to get her to talk, he asks her about the accident that killed her older sister. He was met with more Psyche Locks. Phoenix looks inside the incinerator and discovers a shred of Maya's clothing with a bit of blood on it.

In the meditation chamber, Phoenix sees Morgan looking at a photo and talking eerie sentences. She insists that all she did in the channeling room was release the spirit, and tells Phoenix more about the Kurain traditions. It has been 16 years since Misty ran off from a certain scandal. If she doesn't return in 4 years, she would be declared dead and the Master title would be given to her offspring, unless they're all dead of course, or in Maya's case, executed for murder. Then the title would go to the branching family, which Pearl would be the new Master. Phoenix notices that a hint of excitement in her voice, and not the bad kind. Hmm...

Returning to the detention center, he tells Maya what Mia told him about mediums not dreaming. Phoenix concludes that Maya was set up somehow. Someone wanted Grey dead and wanted Maya to take the blame. He also asks about Pearl's alibi. Maya remembers playing with a ball with her before the channeling had began. She usually keeps the ball in a clothing box in the Side Room.

On his way to the side room, he encounters Lotta, who keeps running from Phoenix as soon as he is within her line of sight. After disappearing in the side room, she is found hiding in the clothing box. After she runs off, Phoenix notices a hole in the box. I seems to be the same height as the one on the folding screen! He also finds Pearl's ball.

And speaking of Pearl, Phoenix decides that it's time to get some words out of her. Using the evidence he found, he gets Pearl to confess that she broke the sacred urn with her ball. She spent a while trying to fix it in Winding Way. She saw no one while she fixed it up.

Phoenix ponders about how everything is connected, especially regarding Ini. He was too deep in thought to notice Lotta getting his attention at first. After scolding her for hiding evidence in today's trial, he tries to get information regarding Ini. All Lotta tells him that she was once hospitalized. To get information, she suggests going to the clinic she was treated in.

Reluctantly, Phoenix made a visit to the Hotti Clinic. There he meets a person who claims to be the eponymous owner, but is actually one of the patients. However, he does give information regarding Ini. Ini was a victim of a car accident. She was so badly burnt from the accident, that she needed surgical attention. Luckily, they used her photo to reconstruct her face. Hotti happens to be holding that very same photo... for some reason. He also gives him a tabloid regarding the accident. Here, Phoenix would find some startling information regarding the crash...

Back at the village, Phoenix learns from Lotta that Morgan had called the police and set up a get together with them. Lotta also speculates that Morgan could be trying to steal the Master seat. Lotta has learned that Morgan is Misty's older sister. Misty is the "Master" of the technique, however, usually the eldest daughter of the family, Morgan in this case, should have had the most powerful medium of the family. However, since Morgan was weak, the title went to Misty instead.

With a little help with Maya's Magatama. Phoenix was able to use the evidence he had gotten from Hotti and was able to had Ini admit that she had been the same accident that killed Mimi. She was in the passenger's seat when they both fell asleep and were suddenly trapped in the great ball of fire. Ini grabbed her purse and was able to get out. Her sister of course, wasn't so lucky. This tragedy sounds like a good reason to kill Grey as Ini still holds a grudge against him.

After seeing her mother off, Pearl has a very bad feeling about what was going to happen. She is extremely worried about Maya and wants Phoenix to visit her.

At the Detention Center, Phoenix instead meets Mia, who wants to see how her former student is doing. Breaking her Psyche Locks, he and Mia were able to put together that Morgan and Ini conspired to have Dr Grey dead. And that the cloth and key could be used against them both. Mia doesn't have a clue about why her aunt would help get Grey killed. But suspects that it may have something to do with her mother...

Part 4-1: Trial

Before trial, Phoenix asks Pearl to contact Mia for help, but more so that Pearl won't have to watch today's trial and learn what her mother has done. Von Karma is very confident on her victory. Much so that she had set up a TV crew to watch Phoenix Wright first defeat.

As Mia predicted Morgan was called up to help her claims regarding the key. Morgan testifies that Maya had escaped her while she was performing the technique, which is why she was outside the room and with her, the key. The cross examination saw Morgan cleverly covering up all of the holes in her testimony.

After she was done, Ini was called up to say where the killer had gone to. She testifies that her sister talked to her. She told her about how she was murdered and how she got her revenge. Ini claims feeling happy in a sad way for seeing her sister for the first time in years. She also claims seeing nothing weird on her. Phoenix points out that she would have seen blood all over her sister's clothing. Learning of her mistake she briefly goes out of character when pressured. She then says that the room was dark. Ini claims to have led her back to the channeling room. She said that she saw no one but Phoenix points out that she would have seen Pearl fixing the broken urn along the way. It was obvious that she was never at Winding Way when the crime took place, but somehow she knew that Morgan was the only person in the Channeling Chamber in the aftermath. When asked about this, Phoenix theorizes that she was at the Channeling Chamber the whole time. But weren't Maya and Grey the only ones in the room. Phoenix shows the court she could have been hiding behind the folding screen inside the clothing box that was brought in from the Side Room, waiting for a chance to kill Dr. Grey. Phoenix knows about the box because there is a hole like the one on the folding screen. When Grey fired the gun at the killer, the bullet went through the folding screen and inside the box. When asked about how she did it, Phoenix brings up Morgan as her accomplice.

After going through what really happened in there, it looks like thing are looking up. However, von Karma chuckles, as there is one flaw to Phoenix's theory. Why would Ini go through the trouble to get her revenge, and why in such a ridiculous fashion? The car accident isn't good enough as Ini would have killed him long ago when she had the chance if that were a motive.

Mia gives Phoenix another minute to think over. Phoenix asks for another testimony. Von Karma, clearly not learning from yesterday, allows it if it means driving her opponent to the ground.

Part 4-2: Trial

During recess von Karma shows up to taunt Phoenix... weird.

Phoenix asks to go into more detail about the car accident Ini was in. Ini claims that Mimi was tired from all of the talking she had to do. When asked why they couldn't switch drivers, Ini claims she didn't have a driver's license, and no the "License Photo" doesn't count. Even if she had the license, Mimi still wouldn't have let her drive. That is because the car she drove was new. She got it from England.

Now hold on, if that was a British car and she got from the right as she said from the article and British cars had the drivers seat in the right side of the car, does that mean she came out from the drivers seat? Mimi was the one driving, then that means...

Phoenix then states that the Ini on the stand is in fact her older sister Mimi all along and vice versa. Mimi had used the picture of Ini for the facial reconstruction to fool people into thinking she herself had perished. That's why she wanted to kill Dr Grey. He wanted to contact her through the Kurain Channeling Technique, except she was not actually dead. As soon as the channeling failed, Gray would've realized she was still very much alive.

Not willing to be exposed, Mimi decided she would stop the channeling on whatever costs.

It was unbelievable yes, but then Mimi finally breaks out of her sisterly persona and confesses to everything. She only became Ini to get away from everything that had been happening, from the malpractice incident to the car accident that took her sister's life. It was too much for her. The fire gave her a chance, to escape everything and be reborn as her sister. If only that spiritual mumbo-jumbo didn't happened...

Despite more questions to be answered, the one thing that matters is that Maya's innocence is proven. von Karma does not take her loss kindly, especially since her loss is documented and whips Phoenix out of consciousness.

After the trial, Maya briefly reunites with Mia (which is very awkward considering what we had just seen) Maya recognizes the scent she smelled in her dream. It was Mia's old robes.

Maya is confused on why Morgan helped out Mimi, though. Phoenix suspects that she did all of that so that Pearl would be the next master since with Maya would be out of the way through capital punishment.

Even though that plan may have been foiled, Morgan hasn't given up as she waits for another opportunity to bring Maya down and Pearl up...

Behind the Turnabout

In Kurain Channelling tradition, the eldest daughter of the current Master usually succeeds her. However, because of Morgan Fey's weak powers, the title of Master actually went to her younger sister Misty. Misty would later disappear after the DL-6 incident, and if she did not return within 20 years the village would consider her dead and her eldest surviving daughter would become Master.

Misty had two children, Mia and Maya. Mia would leave the village to become an attorney, while Maya would remain in training. Morgan also had a child, Pearl, who was considered a channelling prodigy and would be a worthy Master if the main Master family were unavailable. Mia would later be murdered, leaving Maya as heir to the title of Master.

At Doctor Turner Grey's private clinic, a nurse by the name of Mimi Miney made a series of errors resulting in the death of 14 patients. The stress of the subsequent police investigation exhausted her. Driving home with her younger sister Ini one night, she fell asleep and the car crashed. In the panic to escape the burning car, she grabs Ini's purse by mistake. Ini is killed in the accident, while Mimi is badly burned. Desiring to escape the scandal, she uses Ini's license photograph and her need for reconstructive surgery to take on her sister's identity. It's not a pleasant year for Mimi, who has no interest in resuming Ini's studies of parapsychology.

Doctor Grey's clinic experiences a downturn in business because of the scandal and the rumours that he drugged Mimi to silence her. In desperation he happens across a Parapsychology Student, one Ini Miney, who tells him of the Kurain Channelling Technique. He announces his plan to have the spirit of Mimi channelled to uncover the truth behind the malpractice. Panicking about being discovered, Mimi goes to Kurain village and conspires with Morgan Fey to murder Doctor Grey and frame Maya for it. The past would stay buried for Mimi, and with Maya imprisoned or executed Pearl would become the next Master.

Before Doctor Grey and Maya go into the channelling room, Mimi sneaks in, wearing a spirit medium outfit and a wig, and hides in a large clothes box she and Morgan moved there. Once the door is locked and the channelling begins, Mimi comes out and drugs Maya, stowing her in the box, and proceeds to stab Doctor Grey. What she hadn't counted on was that he would survive the initial attack, and had a gun. His one shot misses, so then she grabs the gun off him and shoots him in the head. At this point Phoenix Wright and Lotta Hart break into the room, so Mimi acts as though her spirit is in possession of Maya. Morgan shoos them away to call the police, after which they bring Maya out of the box, put her fingerprints on the murder weapons and move the box back to the side room.

Turnabout Big Top

Part 1: Investigation

Just days before New Years Phoenix took Pearl to see the circus. She was blown away by everything she saw there, including the incredible flying man known as Maximillion Galactica.

The next morning, Maya calls Phoenix and tells him that Max himself was arrest under the charge of murder and wants him to meet her at the Detention Center.

There, they the fabulous Max himself. Max brags about how "rescued" the Big Berry Circus. He also learns that the ringleader, Russell Berry, was the victim. The last time he saw Russell is when they talked in his office. He claims that he only talked about his salary, but some Psyche Locks appear suggesting more than that. Phoenix and Maya slowly realize that Max isn't taking his situation seriously. After being told the reality he is in, he breaks character and pleads Phoenix to defend him in court.

At the crime scene, they meet who else but Gumshoe, who tells them that the victim died by a nasty blow to the head. What’s strange is that the killer’s footprints are nowhere to be seen. Maybe he could have flown? Speaking of flying, the investigators found Max’s hat in the crime scene. Speaking of Max, he doesn’t seem very liked with his co-workers. Gumshoe also mentions that they had an eyewitness, also they are forbidden from entering the Lodging Plaza, or so Gumshoe says.

They head inside the night top, where Phoenix was attacked by a tiger. Thankfully they were saved by a highly charming lion tamer Regina Berry, daughter of Russell Berry. She is unsettlingly perky for a girl whose dad just died. She talks about the time her dad shot her friend lion dead. She remembers that Russell went to his office in a hurry the last time she saw him. She also announces that Max and a tenor singer named Trilo proposed their love to her. They went to Russell's office and find the papers to Max's salary. The salary raise is incredible, but Phoenix notices that the paper was dated a week ago. Maya also steals a poster from the wall.

Outside, they meet a meek and stuttery Benjamin Woodman, a ventriloquist, who tries to say he lost something but couldn’t. They entered the Lodging room, where they meet the Moe the Clown, who greets them with a bombardment of lame jokes and slang (which Maya apparently enjoys). With all of his effort to not lose his mind, Phoenix manages to learn from Moe that he is the eyewitness and that he believes that Max was the killer. He calls Russell a great man, always paying his worker even when no one showed up from the show. When asked about Ben, Moe mentions that he wouldn’t talk unless he has his puppet. He also tells them that Max hit a bottle over Ben’s head at the cafeteria yesterday and says that they should check it out, as there’s “Gotti” be something interesting there.

After finding a shattered battle at the cafeteria, they talked to Max again. With the bottle, they managed to make Max confess that he wasn't called to Russell’s office to negotiate a salary but that he had a fight with Ben over Regina. They both had confess their love to her and it really made Max mad. Max claims that on that night, he asked Russell for Regina’s hand in marriage, a request which Russell accepts. He then saw Russell leave the office with his hat and cloak since it was so cold outside.Max says he hid Ben’s puppet, Trilo Quist, in the Ringmaster’s room, so that Ben, well, Trilo wouldn’t cause him any trouble, so they when back to Russell’s room, find the puppet, and gives it the Ben. As they decide on what to do next, Ben starts to talk in a strange and rude manner at them through his puppet Trilo. Trilo, as we will refer to in Ben’s character, pretty much hates everything in this circus. However, the silver lining in all of this is Regina, whom he is planning to propose to. He also implies that he will testify in court tomorrow against Max.

As they explore more of the circus, a monkey ambushes Phoenix and steals his badge. Regina comes and tells Phoenix the monkey, named Money, usually steals shiny things. She also believes that Trilo is an actual person with Ben always hanging out with him for some reason and that she would be happy to marry him.

Money isn’t really Regina’s kind of animal, so she suggests that she talks to Moe about Money. They learn from Moe that Regina seems to be living in some sort of fantasy world in her head, that everything strange in the circus is everyday normal stuff for her. Moe leads them to the room of the acrobat named Acro, where Money usually keeps his, err, findings. They find Phoenix’s badge, but they also find a ring with “From T to R” engraved to it.

After that monkey business, Phoenix decides to call it a day.

Part 2-1: Trial

The trial begins with Von Karma loudly proclaims that the case from Maya’s village did not count as a legitimate case and wants to beat Phoenix for real this time. She calls up Gumshoe, who testifies that Russell died due to blunt force trauma that snapped his vertebrae. The body was found laying on top of a heavy wooden box. When Phoenix asked for it’s contents, Gumshoe says that they found a small bottle of pepper. He also says that they couldn’t find the murder weapon. Maybe it disappeared through magic?

Von Karma calls up Ben and Trilo. After a difficult introduction, Trilo testifies that he saw Max heading towards the crime. He knew it was Max because he was wearing his signature silk hat, cloak and white roses. Phoenix says he could have also seen Russell, but Von Karma points out that Russell would have had already passed by by the time Ben & Trilo got to their spot. Phoenix then realizes that it was strange that they would be hanging out in the harsh cold weather in the dead of night, so he theorizes that they were waiting for Regina to propose to her.

Trilo says that he was going to give Regina an engagement ring. He says that he still has it in his pocket, when it is actually in Phoenix’s hands. Trilo admits that he and Ben left their spot for five minutes to chase after Money, who stole the ring, which means that someone other than Max may have passed by their spot while they were chasing the monkey.

Trilo then testifies that when he saw Max, he simply said “good evening” to him, which is very unlike him especially after the fight they had that morning. Phoenix then theorizes that the man in the silk hat, cloak, and white roses they saw that night could actually the victim, Russell as they didn’t have a clear view of the man in the hat, cloak, and robes. Von Karma retaliates by bringing announcing another witness, who will cement Max as the perpetrator once and for all!

Part 2-2: Trial

Max says that he went in Russell's office with his costume and Russell went to the crime scene with the costume. Max wonders why they only found the silk hat not not his cloak.

Von Karma calls up Moe. After another difficult introduction, he claims that he peeked out of the window just before he went to bed. Phoenix reminds him of the thump he heard outside. When questioned about seeing the whole crime, Moe admits that he did not see the murder weapon, Phoenix pushes Moe, saying that he saw the whole when he also said that he heard a thump. After his memory is jogged, Moe admits that he only saw Russell already face down on the box. Von Karma told him to keep his mouth shut. He testifies again, saying that he only saw the silhouette of the killer wearing Max's silk hat and cloak but couldn't see what he was holding. Phoenix points out that Moe could have also seen the white roses as Trilo says he was wearing. In another testimony regarding the symbols, he claims that he was wearing his hat the whole time, when it fact the hat was found at the crime scene.

At this point Moe was furious and throws a tantrum. Curious, Phoenix asks Moe how the killer left the scene. Moe finally admits that he himself couldn’t comprehend what happened. Von Karma certainly didn’t help. In his final testimony, Moe claims that the killer flew away from the crime scene. This revelation confuses everyone and the judge calls off the trial for more investigation.

Part 3: Investigation

Part 4-1: Trial

Court reconvened. Franziska opened by stating her plan to present a new witness that hat seen Maximillion fly out the window. She called Acro to the stand. Acro testifies that he saw Max flying with his hat on, but Phoenix points out the hat was still at the crime scene. He then accuses Acro of the murder. Franziska mocks Phoenix for the accusation, as there is no way the wheelchair-bound acrobat could leave his room without someone's else help. Phoenix disagrees, as Acro didn't need help to leave as he committed the crime from within his room.

Phoenix explains that Acro killed Russel Berry by dropping the missing bust of Max onto the ringmaster. He had placed the large box earlier in a spot that would ensure he would hit his target with minimal aiming. The choice of Max's bust as a weapon was by chance, as it was amongst Money's collection of stolen shiny things. Also by chance was Max's cape getting caught onto the bust, which meant when Acro pulled the bust back up, it looked like to an outside observer that Max himself was flying. That neatly explains Moe's testimony, and the contradictions involving the hat and roses.

So Acro could have committed the murder. But what was his motive? After all, he had looked up to the ringmaster as a father figure.

The judge calls for a ten minute recess. After it, Acro will testify on his relationship to Russel Berry.

Part 4-2: Trial

In the defense lobby, Max admits his shock at Acro being the killer. Gumshoe also arrives, with the bloody scarf that von Karma had claimed earlier as evidence. It seems that traces of pepper were found on the scarf.

Court reconvinces. Returning to the witness stand, Acro spoke of his life as an orphan before how Russel took him in to join the circus. Basically he was grateful to the ringmaster. Upon being asked if Acro has a motive, Phoenix concedes that Acro has no motive to kill the ringmaster, but the ringmaster was never the target of his murder plot. He had planned to kill Regina that night.

Phoenix revealed the note Regina found. Acro must have slipped it into her pockets when she brought him his breakfast. Because she didn't understand what the note meant, she placed it up on the bulletin board. The ringmaster, however, knew what the note's contents meant, and so went to the lodging house in order to protect his daughter. Due to being in a wheelchair, Acro could not hold the bust and look out the window at the same time, so he had no way to know that someone else arrived at the designated time instead of Regina. So when he dropped the bust, he assumed it was Regina down there.

As for why he wanted to kill Regina, it was to avenge Bat. Regina had intended to prank Bat by giving him a pepper-laced scarf, in retaliation for making her sneeze when he got pepper on her. However, when he attempted to put his head inside Léon the Lion's mouth, the animal was the one who reacted the pepper on the scarf and sneezed, biting down on Bat on reflex. So unintentionally, Regina was responsible for putting Bat into a coma for the past six months.

Acro thanks Phoenix for treating what happened to Bat with the respect it deserves, but points out the lawyer is missing proof. Specifically, where is the murder weapon? Even Franziska's surprise search of Acro's room didn't turn up anything. Thinking it over, Phoenix declares that the bust is in Acro's possession, specifically under the large blanket he wore. With no way to leave his room without help, Acro had no way of disposing it easily. So when Franziska came unexpectedly, he had to quickly hide it. And he could hide it under his blanket as he was a big man with a rather large wheelchair, meaning lots of room to conceal a bust.

Cornered, Acro confesses. He couldn't stand Regina after the accident, due to the girl's naïve beliefs and her lack of concern of his brother's state. However, when he learned he had killed the ringmaster, his first thought was suicide. But he changed his mind, and decided to go with the prosecution and testify against Max. There was something he still needs to do after all. The judge asks if Acro thinks himself a victim, the acrobat burst into tears, saying that he is a murderer.

Max is declared not guilty, but Regina isn't happy, realizing that everything was her fault, and now the circus is going to fall apart. She asks Phoenix is Acro is still going to come after her. Phoenix explains that Acro doesn't want revenge, but actually wants to see Bat come out of his coma. Realizing she could make up for what happened, Regina will watch over Bat in Acro's place. As for the circus, Moe decided he'll be the new ringmaster, and Max is willing to continue working for them in order to make the circus the best show there is.

Meanwhile at an airport, a figure receives a call from Gumshoe, who states that the surprise search was a success. He asks Gumshoe to ensure that Acro is treated well, and that he'll be returning to the Prosecutor's Office. This person is none other than the supposedly dead Edgeworth, who then sets off to board his flight.

Behind the Turnabout

At the Berry Big Circus, Russell Berry presided over a group of performers: The acrobatic team Acro and Bat, the Ventriloquist act Ben and Trilo Quist, Moe the Clown, Money the Monkey, Maximillion Glactica the Magician and his own daughter, Regina the animal tamer. Regina's favourite animal to control was Leon the Lion.

Bat was quite smitten with Regina, and would often tease her by throwing pepper at her and make her sneeze. One day she tries to get her own back by giving him a scarf laced with pepper. After this, he announces he will put his head in Leon's mouth to impress her. Unfortunately lions are affected by pepper as well, and Leon sneezes and bites down on Bat. Acro tries to rescue his brother and his legs are terribly injured. Bat is now in a coma from which there is little chance of recovery, and it looks like Acro's days as an acrobat are over.

Russell Berry shoots Leon the next day, believing him dangerous. Due to Regina's upbringing she cannot fully appreciate what is going on, believing that Leon and Bat are now "stars" that she will get to see one day. Although consciously he knows she had no malice, Acro cannot stand to see her so completely ignorant about her role in the accident, and it drives him to try and kill her.

On the day of the incident, Acro slips a note into Regina's pocket for "The Murderer" to come to the circus plaza at 10pm to discuss it. Being in her own little world, she does not realise the note is for her, so posts it on the cafeteria noticeboard. Her father sees the note, realises the implications and tears it off. At the same time, Money has stolen a lifesize bust of Max because of the shiny playing cards and stowed it in Acro's room, who he lives with.

On the night of the incident, Max and Russell discuss the possibility of marrying Regina. After this meeting, Russell dons Max's cloak and hat to avoid being identified. Although he is spotted by Ben and Trilo, they think he is Max. Russell arrives to find a large crate, and as he bends over it to pick it up, Acro springs his trap. Unable to see who is lifting the cradle, he ties a rope to the bust and drops it out the window, thinking it will strike Regina. The bust hits Russell and kills him, Max's cloak snagging on the bust and his hat being left on the ground.

The noise wakes up Moe, who sees the bust being lifted back up by Acro, but due to the darkness it just looks like Max performing his signature flying trick to escape the scene of the crime.

Farewell, My Turnabout

Part 1-1: Investigation

At the Gatewater Hotel, the Nickel Samurai has just been awarded the title of Grand Prix Champion at the annual Hero of Heroes event, edging out his rival, the Jammin' Ninja. Phoenix, Maya, and Pearl are in attendance at the invitation of Will Powers, who is glad to see the next generation star of the Steel Samurai franchise doing so well. Phoenix is in a little over his head, since he isn't familiar with all the shows, but Maya is thrilled to talk shop with Powers. She tries to rush Phoenix from the ballroom to the lobby to attend a post-awards stage show, which is supposed to be followed by a press conference hosted by the Nickel Samurai. Powers gives them a pass to get into the press conference, but he doesn't know much about that beyond a rumor that the Nickel Samurai plans to appear in full costume to confess something.

Alas, when they arrive at the lobby, the stage show has been canceled due to unforeseen circumstances — and everyone is to remain in place by order of the police. To their astonishment, Wendy Olbag is present as part of hotel security — in a ludicrous sci-fi...ish costume — and through she spouts her usual barrage of verbiage, she doesn't reveal any real information. Maya insists on looking around for herself, dragging Nick and Pearls along with her, but before they can get too far she is summoned away by a bellboy, saying there is a phone call for her.

Phoenix and Pearl have a look at the hallway where the two main stars — Matt Engarde of Nickel Samurai fame and Juan Corrida, the Jammin' Ninja — had their rooms. They encounter another familiar face almost instantly: it's Lotta Hart, the freelance photographer, who had been lurking around Corrida's dressing room pursuing some lead of her own. With her is a beleaguered Dick Gumshoe, trying in vain to keep the news from leaking that Juan Corrida has been found dead and that Engarde is the primary suspect. Engarde does have a motive of sorts — Corrida was his main competition — but Gumshoe is unwilling to reveal much more.

They catch up with Powers in the lobby, who is dismayed to realize another Samurai actor is in trouble. According to him, Engarde and Corrida were known for their rivalry even before they took spots on dueling shows. Powers has a radio transceiver in his hand which he says was left for Phoenix by a bellboy. On the other end — is bad news...

Maya has been kidnapped. The man responsible calls himself "De Killer" and has set the conditions for her safe return: a complete acquittal for Matt Engarde when his case goes to court in two days. De Killer will only allow him one trial day to get his verdict. If he fails, or if he goes to the police, he will never see Maya again. Phoenix is so shaken that he can barely understand what the man is saying, and Maya's screaming in the background only makes it worse.

Pearl goes into hysterics, blaming herself for leaving "Mystic Maya" alone with a stranger. Powers wisely suggests telling the police, but Phoenix, afraid of what might happen to Maya, confides only in Detective Gumshoe. Gumshoe can confirm that someone is muddying the waters: there's a suspiciously large amount of evidence pointing to Engarde. It fits the kidnapper's claim that Engarde is being framed, but Gumshoe can't believe that anyone would hold Maya hostage against a guilty verdict if Engarde really were innocent. At any rate, Phoenix can't really do anything until the next day, when the police wrap up their own investigation.

Elsewhere, Maya wakes up in a strange room; a wine cellar from the look of it. She gets her first clear look at her captor — the bellboy from the hotel, recognizable by the scar running the length of his face.

The next morning, Phoenix and Pearl are trying to gather themselves, but she is still blaming herself and bursting into tears by turns. Even Nick is holding it together only because he has to be calm for her sake.

The first order of business is to question Matt Engarde. He is a fresh-faced young man ("Refreshing like a spring breeze!") with hair falling over one eye and a habit of consulting someone over the phone before he says or does anything. He doesn't endear himself to Phoenix by initially mistaking him for an insurance salesman, and he's not in any hurry to pick Nick for his defense, but for some odd reason, name-dropping De Killer changes his mind. A button from Corrida's costume was found in his costume trousers, but he denies killing Corrida, which statement is verified by the magatama. His alibi is that he was alone in his room taking a nap between the awards ceremony and the stage show, and he also drops the tidbit that he didn't even know about the upcoming press conference. This strikes Phoenix as odd since that was the moment when the Nickel Samurai was supposed to tell all...

Part 1-2: Investigation

Knowing their only hope of a Not Guilty verdict for Engarde is to find the real killer, Phoenix and Pearl return to Gatewater Hotel. Unsurprisingly, Oldbag immediately blocks their path. It's clear that Juan Corrida was yet another target of her passionate, one-sided interest — and this, somehow, has put her into conflict with Lotta Hart. But through she definitely saw something, her lips are sealed.

Ms. Hart is also mad as a wet hen. Her expensive camera is missing, and she's willing to blame Phoenix just because he happened to be there. He shrugs off the accusations but is willing to look for the camera on the off chance she got a useful photograph; she doesn't seem too excited about the film since whatever picture she took wasn't the one she really wanted. She admits to doing some tabloid work, hanging out in the hallway in hopes of snapping an incriminating shot.. naturally, she's in no hurry to reveal more details.

At least they can investigate the hotel rooms now. Engarde's is littered with the remains of dinner. A small, sharp-looking blonde woman is there and deduces at a glance that Phoenix is Engarde's lawyer; she herself is Engarde's manager, Adrian Andrews. It's easy to see how he would slack off and let her be the brains of the outfit. She doesn't have much of an alibi for the time of the murder, and she was the one to discover Corrida's body — and she goes sternly silent when asked to speculate on why anyone would want to kill Corrida.

Corrida's room is a profusion of bear-related gifts. Gumshoe is there as part of the official investigation, but given the circumstances he is willing to bend the rules a little and let them in on what they've learned. Corrida was found dead in a chair with signs of a struggle; a knife in his chest could have been the cause of death, and Engarde's prints are on the knife. Furthermore, a button from Corrida's outfit was caught in Engarde's costume, and Wendy Oldbag witnessed something. Gumshoe remains convinced that something is 'off' about the crime scene.

They look around. There are indeed some oddities. There's an open guitar case on the floor which is slightly damp, but only on the lid; an undisturbed glass of tomato juice rests on a dresser despite the mess everywhere else. The guitar case sticks in Phoenix's mind because Maya noticed last night that the Jammin' Ninja didn't have his signature bright red guitar with him (if so, why bring the case?), and Pearl herself calls his attention to the wine glass. Gumshoe confirms that Fransiska von Karma thought the glass was odd too.

Franziska herself catches them in the act (they have a few seconds' warning thanks to a tracking device she planted on Gumshoe) and isn't pleased about it. She takes her frustrations out on Gumshoe and drags him off to the precinct for a briefing, though not before smirking that she's got this case in the bag. She even leaves one of Corrida's autographs behind. The fact that it is (probably by sheerest coincidence) inscribed to "Wendy" is enough to soften Oldbag's heart and get her to reveal what she knows. Unfortunately, it's not good news for his case — she saw Engarde leaving Corrida's room about ten minutes before the body was discovered.

Poor Will Powers is still imprisoned in the hotel by the investigation, but he can drop some relevant gossip: the celebrity tabloids have been buzzing for a while over rumors that Adrian Andrews, Engarde's manager, was secretly having a fling with Juan Corrida. Oldbag is also aware of this tidbit, though to her Corrida-obsessed eyes, it was a dirty trick by Engarde; he let his manager be seen with Corrida to manufacture a scandal and cut his reputation. How Oldbag came to this conclusion is a mystery, but she seems to have inside information. From here, it's not hard to see Lotta's angle — any photo of Andrews leaving Corrida's room would be paydirt given that it's attached to gossip this big. She'd even written up the outline of her story in advance, though of course her notes were inside her camera bag when it was stolen. (And Oldbag has inside information. Hmmm...)

They reconnect with Gumshoe at the precinct, but he's glum. The evidence is airtight: Engarde's fingerprints are on the murder weapon and Corrida's button was on his person. The witness is also certain: Oldbag saw Engarde come out of the victim's room around the time of death. Any prosecutor would consider this one won and done, and when the prosecutor is someone as competitive as Franziska...

The gossip angle about Corrida and Andrews does merit attention, he thinks. Two years ago, there was an incident in which Celeste Inpax — Corrida's manager and Andrews' mentor — committed suicide. There could well be some connection between them, though probably not the romance the gossip papers are imagining. But before Gumshoe can say any more, he is interrupted by another lash of Franziska's whip. She's getting increasingly irritated at his willingness to share information with the 'enemy,' and his treachery has already cost her—

Her perfect record? Is that what she was about to say?

All heads turn as Miles Edgeworth enters the conversation. He coolly stares down Franziska and asks her how well the von Karma creed of "perfect in every way" has been working for her; needless to say, she's not pleased with the question, but she isn't able to answer it either. She resorts to flouncing off, promising to give a master class on perfection tomorrow. It doesn't seem that she's caught the point he wanted to make, but she is, in his words, a wild mare.

Phoenix isn't too happy to see him either (not after "Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth chooses death"), but Edgeworth isn't moved by his bitter greeting. He has some advice for Phoenix too: he cannot win this case or uncover the whole truth by working alone. Nick isn't in the mood to take suggestions from someone who fled after his own perfect win record was shattered. But he, like Franziska, isn't ready with an answer to Edgeworth's riposte: why does HE stand in court? He insists he does it to defend his clients and save their lives — honorable goals, not something self-interested and petty. Again, the blow doesn't quite land, but Edgeworth lets it go for the moment. In the interest of teamwork, he offers what assistance he can.

Like Gumshoe, he thinks the Adrian Andrews' relationship to Celeste Inpax is at the heart of the case. There's evidence that Inpax wrote a suicide note, but the note has never been found, and Andrews is clearly hiding something under her cool exterior. Corrida was the one who discovered her body, so he's the most likely candidate to conceal the note. Edgeworth has the suicide report... what's more, he has an attempted suicide report to go with it. The second report is not on Inpax but Andrews — she attempted to take her own life only a few days after Inpax died. Edgeworth speculates that Andrews has co-dependency issues; she cannot function without a stronger person in her life to give her direction. Inpax must have been that for her.

Armed with this new information, Phoenix meets with Andrews again. Franziska has gotten there first, but neither woman will mention what they were talking about. He tells her plainly that he knows why she got close to Corrida — not for romance, but for a chance to retrieve Celeste Inpax's suicide note. She lets her mental resistance go and admits that her co-dependency is the one secret she never, ever wants anyone to know. But she insists she wouldn't commit murder over a note; if she took any life, it would be her own.

Back at the Wright Agency offices, what little peace they might have found in a long day's work is shattered by the beeping of the radio transceiver. De Killer hasn't touched Maya, but he hasn't given her any food either. He warns Phoenix that all he should concern himself with is a Not Guilty verdict, by any means necessary. Phoenix frantically demands to speak to Maya, and hears her yell just as desperately that he should ask her sister instead. Pearl takes the hint and channels Mia Fey.

Part 2-1: Trial

Matt Engarde is befuddled by Phoenix's theory that Andrews murdered Corrida, but Phoenix is clinging to it since it's the only possible way to get an acquittal and save Maya. De Killer calls with the enigmatic news that he has given Phoenix a "present," though possibly one he won't like. Nothing in his words and tone are reassuring — they ratchet up Phoenix's desperation, as they are meant to.

When they enter the court, Franziska von Karma is not at the prosecutor's bench. The Judge is inches from dismissing the case as a mistrial when a bailiff rushes in with startling news — Franziska has been shot! The meaning of De Killer's "present" is now brutally clear. It falls to Miles Edgeworth to deliver the news that Franziska was shot in the right shoulder and is currently in surgery... and furthermore, since he is acquainted with the facts of the case, he will be taking over as her replacement. Before calling Gumshoe to the stand, he drops an oblique comment that he went away for so long to find his answer — and now, it is time for Phoenix to find his. Mia, still being channeled by Pearl, tells Nick to brace himself.

Gumshoe's continued employment is in doubt, probably thanks to Franziska's poor opinion of him, but he does his duty to lay out the bare facts of the case: in the half-hour break between the Hero of Heroes awards ceremony and the stage show, Juan Corrida was strangled to death in his hotel room; his characteristic bandana was the murder weapon. There was also a knife planted in his chest. His body was discovered by Engarde's manager, Adrian Andrews, when she went to get both men for the stage show. The police initially found his empty guitar case suspicious but later dismissed it; no one but the victim had opened it, and the signature red Jammin' Ninja guitar was located, safe and sound, at the TV studio. Engarde was arrested because his rivalry with Corrida gives him a motive, a blood-covered button from Corrida's costume was found in his costume, and his fingerprints were on the knife stuck in Corrida's chest. Since Engarde would have had to take special measures to bring a knife to the hotel, the prosecution can make the case that it was premeditated murder.

Phoenix jumps on the knife (so to speak) — it was just an ordinary Gatewater Hotel table knife, the kind any guest would use with his room service. Engarde hadn't bought it or brought it in, so how could it indicate premeditation? Edgeworth isn't rattled: it was tableware, yes, but it was from Engarde's room, so he would have needed to carry it to the victim's room in order to stab Corrida with it. There is still a case for premeditated murder. Phoenix realizes that he's walked blindly into an Edgeworth trap.

Seconds later, he does it again — Edgeworth baits him into presenting the out-of-place detail in Corrida's room: the untouched glass of tomato juice. Phoenix goes for it in sheer desperation, hoping he can find something about the wine glass to steer the Judge's mind to someone other than Engarde. Edgeworth scoffs and conjectures that anyone could have set the glass down after the murder, possibly even Adrian Andrews in her moment of shock when she first found the body. Phoenix goes on the offensive and challenges him to prove that it was Andrews — and unfortunately for him, Edgeworth can do just that. Andrews' fingerprints are all over the glass. Phoenix: 0; Edgeworth: 2.

At this point the Judge is ready to call it a trial, but Edgeworth himself insists on prolonging things, wanting his old friend to see that he's learned what it means to be a prosecutor. He calls another witness — and makes his first misstep, because the Gatewater Hotel security guard he's called to testify is Wendy Oldbag. Her unwanted affection hasn't waned a bit and his disgust at the very thought hasn't lessened either. It takes him a moment to recover his composure.

Oldbag testifies that she was working security at the hotel on the night of the murder. After the awards ceremony, she was paying particular attention to the hallway outside Corrida's room and saw a man coming out of Corrida's doorway. She names him as Matt Engarde... but her testimony starts to fall apart when Phoenix presses her for more details on the man's clothing. Initially, she remembers Engarde's characteristic white and red racing jacket — which is to say, his civilian clothes — but Engarde would still have been in costume at the time. In fact, he must have been, since a key point in the prosecution's case is that he had a piece of evidence lodged in the pleated folds of his costume trousers. If so, then how could his gloved hand have left fingerprints on the knife? Edgeworth cannot make a convincing argument for a scenario where Engarde took his gloves off before approaching Corrida, and his case takes its first hit. Phoenix seizes the opportunity to suggest that someone else planted the knife to frame the defendant.

What remains to discuss is why Oldbag would be lurking in the hall in the first place. She was, after all, assigned to guard the lobby. Armed with the latest trashy gossip, Phoenix speculates that she was hoping to catch Adrian Andrews coming out of Corrida's room. Again, in her view Engarde was playing dirty pool, trying to create a scandal by letting his manager be seen with his rival. Phoenix decides to try to dispel the rumor since it could indicate Engarde had a significant dislike of Corrida.

The easiest place to challenge Oldbag is her claim to "inside information." Phoenix is well aware that Lotta Hart was also looking into the 'scandal,' and that her notes were stolen the night of the murder, along with her camera. Naturally, Oldbag proves to be the one who took the notes, making her "testimony" is nothing more than Hart's own baseless conjecture; two gossips echoing each other. And she took the camera too. She unconvincingly protests that it was just an overzealous security check, but by this point she has more or less destroyed her credibility as a witness. However, since she still has the camera with her, she has unwittingly brought some important evidence in the form of the camera's contents. There is only one relevant photograph, but it's a good one: the Nickel Samurai, in full costume, leaving Corrida's room.

With scrupulous fairness, Edgeworth admits that the photo by itself does not prove much — after all, the figure is wearing a full mask — but since Engarde himself testified that he was in costume at the time of the murder, it's reasonable to suppose that it's him in the picture. This removes all doubt in the eyes of the Judge. Now the pressure is on Phoenix to find something, anything to delay the verdict and justify continuing the trial. Fortunately, his eye for detail does not fail him: the person in the Nickel Samurai costume is wearing it oddly. Specifically, the flowing hakama trousers are too long — they bunch up at the person's feet in the photograph while ending neatly above the ankles in the Nickel Samurai's promotional shots. Edgeworth has already opened the possibility that the figure in the costume is not Engarde. Could it be someone much shorter? Could it be... Adrian Andrews?

Edgeworth remains calm, to the point where even Mia wonders what his long game is. He doesn't seem to feel attacked despite the damage his case is taking. But when Phoenix names Andrews — not only as the person in the photograph but as the one who murdered Corrida and framed Engarde for it — Edgeworth reveals that he is still at least one step ahead of them. He has already brought Andrews in, as a witness; she is waiting in the prosecutor's lobby for her turn to testify. Phoenix isn't sure whether to be dismayed or relieved. If Edgeworth hadn't brought Andrews in, the trial would probably be delayed until the following day while a subpoena was issued. But since he did bring her in, it can only be because he is setting yet another trap.

Part 2-2: Trial

The trial goes on recess for ten minutes. Matt Engarde, while still surprised to hear his manager named as the killer, has to admit it would have been easy for Andrews to pull something like this off: she had access to both rooms, plus Engarde himself was taking a nap the whole time. But while opportunity is one thing, motive is another. Phoenix and Mia suspect that Celeste Inpax and her missing suicide note are at the back of it all. But Edgeworth was the one who first set them on that line of logic. Can they trust it?

Adrian Andrews takes the stand, cool as ice (though she is idly toying with a small piece of paper about the size of a playing card). Before she testifies, she admits to dating Juan Corrida, though not for any of the reasons that the gossip magazines are suggesting. She also preemptively denies the charge that she murdered him.

Her initial testimony is that she went to the rooms of Engarde and Corrida in turn to tell them it was almost time for the show. When she entered Corrida's room, she found his body just as the crime scene photo depicted and was too shocked to think clearly; she poured the glass of juice for herself without realizing that it would alter the crime scene and leave her fingerprints behind.

Mia slips Phoenix a hint to press Andrews, knowing her composure will slip if she is rattled and not given a chance to collect her thoughts. Sure enough, when he starts going after the irrationality of her immediate reaction to pour a glass of juice when confronted with a corpse, she admits to making a 'mistake:' she tipped a flower vase off the dresser, breaking it and scattering its contents all over the floor. She hadn't mentioned it to Edgeworth or the police since the room was already a mess. That would explain the dampness on the top of the guitar case, but.... the crime scene photo shows the case open on the floor just below the dresser. Why didn't water and broken glass get inside? Someone, probably Andrews herself, opened the case after her misadventure with the flowers

Edgeworth objects, saying that it's irrelevant whether Andrews or anyone else opened the guitar case. The only thing of possible interest there would be the Jammin' Ninja's guitar, and that was safely elsewhere at the time. Andrews' testimony doesn't clarify anything either: she thinks she must have opened it herself in her initial daze, but even she doesn't know why. But Phoenix is firmly on the track of a contradiction now and won't be turned. Why would Corrida bring an empty guitar case? How did Andrews open it without leaving any fingerprints? She nervously suggests that she was wearing formal gloves... but the idea of taking off her gloves to pour the glass of juice and then putting them on again to open the case is just too strange — unless there was something in the case that she wanted to retrieve without anyone knowing she'd done it. His mind goes back to the image of the too-short figure in the Nickel Samurai costume — Andrews in disguise. Engarde was wearing his own costume the whole time, so she couldn't have borrowed his; the guitar case must have held a second costume. Corrida intentionally brought a spare Nickel Samurai costume to the ceremony!

The burning question at this point is "Why?" Phoenix recalls that Engarde — the Nickel Samurai himself — didn't know anything about the press conference which was scheduled to take place after the stage show that night. Corrida must have planned to use the costume to impersonate him and reveal some damning information on Engarde in the guise of a 'confession.' Andrews admits to helping Corrida obtain a second costume, but she doesn't know what dirty secret he meant to disclose. She defends her own suspicious activities that night as an attempt to protect Engarde — he had a reason to murder Corrida, he had no alibi, and the evidence was overwhelming, so as his manager she did what she could to throw suspicion off of him. After all, the knife with his fingerprints on it is pretty decisive, not to mention the button he must have torn off while the two men struggled.

Phoenix finally cuts through the misdirection: the knife that's been occupying everyone so long is a red herring. Corrida was strangled. The autopsy report indicates that he was already dead when he was stabbed, so Andrews' theory that the bloodstained button was torn loose as the men struggled is clearly false. It could only have been pulled off Corrida's body, after the stabbing, after he was already dead. There is a clear and obvious reason for someone to do that: to frame Engarde for the murder. Andrews' claim that she was protecting her client blows away in the wind: she killed Juan Corrida and then planted evidence to throw suspicion on Engarde.

Now in full stride, he lays out his counterargument. Everything logically, remorselessly points to Andrews. The knowledge of which knife had Engarde's prints on it, the access to plant the button on him while he slept, the secret of the hidden costume in the guitar case so she could escape undetected, the poor fit of the costume trousers that showed she wasn't Engarde — even the odd glass of tomato juice, deliberately left behind so she could convincingly sell her story as the dazed discoverer of a corpse — all indicate that she killed Corrida and framed Engarde for it. The only thing left to uncover is her motive.

Andrews draws her secret weapon: she invokes her right to silence, knowing she can't be forced to testify when she might incriminate herself. The bold move takes the wind completely out of Phoenix's sails; Franziska von Karma must have coached her to do this if things went south. Worse, the Judge moves to suspend proceedings until tomorrow and send both parties out to do further investigation. Tomorrow?! They don't have a tomorrow! If he doesn't get a Not Guilty verdict in one trial day, then Maya—

OBJECTION!

Edgeworth has stepped in to keep the trial going. He proposes a change of topic: Andrews can't refuse to testify when the testimony won't incriminate her, after all, so he asks her to tell the court what she did immediately after finding Corrida's body, and why. Mia admits she can't tell what Edgeworth's game is at this point: he could be helping or harming them.

Andrews goes back to everyone's favorite glass of tomato juice. This time, she didn't pour it for herself in a moment of shock; she poured it for Corrida, thinking he might be passed out or ill. He was a fan of the stuff, after all. When she got closer and realized he was dead, then the shock hit and she upset the flower vase while putting the glass down. Phoenix spots a flaw in her testimony and pounces on it: how could she mistake a bleeding corpse with a knife sticking out of it for a living man taking a nap?! Andrews' calm deserts her. Panicking, she insists she was innocent, that Engarde was the killer — but why did she invoke her right against self-incrimination? Why did she refuse to testify? What had she done that could be considered criminal, except murder? Andrews stammers and goes silent again.

The Judge moves to acquit Matt Engarde. Phoenix's relief is blended with misgivings. Andrews did it. She must have. Right? But why no breakdown, why no dramatic confession of guilt? The Judge raises his gavel, and—

OBJECTION!

Edgeworth refuses to back down. The court deserves to hear the absolute, complete truth from Andrews. He appeals to her to speak: doesn't she realize that her silence means that Engarde will be acquitted and she will be indicted for Corrida's murder? But she is clinging to someone else's words, believing that Engarde will go free if she testifies. (Who else could it be but Franziska?) Phoenix isn't sure what to do now. He needs this acquittal, and Andrews won't talk. Edgeworth lays into him from the other side of the courtroom for letting the trial end like this. But even when Phoenix calls up his better nature and begs Andrews to testify and save herself, she refuses.

So Edgeworth draws his last and most terrible weapon: the secret of Andrews' damaged psyche. He has Inpax's suicide report. He has her own attempted suicide report. He has the knowledge of her codependency problem. And he has every intention of disclosing it all in court, right there and then, if she continues to hide behind her wall of silence. Andrews panics and begs for mercy, but the man once known as the Demon Prosecutor meets her with stone cold indifference. She is going to talk. And if the revelation of her secret means she commits suicide afterward, so be it... first, she is going to talk. The ruthlessness of it all takes Phoenix's breath away.

Andrews folds. With a whimpered plea for help, she agrees to tell all. She really did think Corrida had fainted when she first entered the room; when she realized he was dead, she knew Engarde must have done it to prevent Corrida from revealing dirt on him at the evening's press conference. Engarde had managed to get away clean from a previous crime, so she decided that this time she would make his guilt obvious. She went back to Engarde's room, took his dinner knife, and stabbed the body; then she took the button to plant it on Engarde. However, she hadn't anticipated Lotta Hart and Wendy Oldbag lurking in the hallway, so she improvised by borrowing the spare costume, disguising herself as the Nickel Samurai to get back to Engarde's room undetected.

And with the full truth finally out, the trial day ends. Phoenix slumps on the defense bench with his head in his hands. He didn't get his verdict. What will happen to Maya?

Across the room, Edgeworth has a last question for Andrews as she is taken into custody — what is that card she is playing with? She remembers that she found it next to Corrida's body and picked it up without thinking. It is a plain white card with a pink shell design on one side, and it doesn't ring any bells for Phoenix, but Edgeworth recognizes it instantly. In a surprising burst of vehemence, he demands the card from her. Apparently she's tampered with the crime scene in a serious way by taking that card, but Phoenix cant't fathom how.

Part 3-1: Investigation

Back at the Wright law offices, Phoenix looks for any scrap of hope to comfort Pearl and finally manages to convince her that Maya will be okay since Matt Engarde hasn't been declared guilty; no, they didn't get an acquittal in one trial day, but now it's up to them to go out and find the clues that will prove their case tomorrow. Ex-Detective Gumshoe signs on with them... if only because he doesn't have anywhere else to go.

Phoenix and Pearl go to check on Franziska von Karma at the hospital, where they find her fending off Director Hotti's unwanted advances with her whip. Edgeworth is also visiting, and he's not pleased about what he had to do to get an honest testimony from Adrian Andrews thanks to Franziska's interference. Phoenix isn't happy about that either, but Franziska shrugs off the guilt and walks out of the conversation. That leaves both men together, where Phoenix finally has his chance to ask about the card with the pink shell. Edgeworth informs him that it is the distinctive mark of an elite assassin, Shelly de Killer; its presence next to Corrida's corpse would have instantly tipped police off that this was a contract killing if Andrews hadn't taken it from the scene. So someone paid to have Corrida murdered — and that someone was probably Matt Engarde himself. Phoenix confides in Edgeworth that De Killer has taken Maya hostage to ensure his acquittal, which seems in character for an assassin known to do everything in his power to safeguard his clients against negative consequences. Edgeworth vows to put the resources of the prosecutor's office to work to find and recover Maya, but Phoenix fears that only an acquittal will do. An acquittal for a man he now suspects to be guilty...

Edgeworth doesn't press the point. He gives Phoenix a note to grant him access to the Gatewater Hotel (which will now be swarming with police looking for evidence of De Killer) and leaves to arrange a rescue team for Maya.

Phoenix has access to a little of what Maya knows because last night, just briefly, she was able to channel Mia. She escaped the wine cellar by carding the door (with a shell-marked card!) and managed to get into a den-type room with a large television and a cat door; she looked around, trying to remember every detail for Phoenix. There was an odd bear figurine that looked like it might be made of interlocking pieces, a photo of a woman signed "Celeste," and some kind of radio receiver. But that was all she could discover before De Killer put a halt to her investigation.

Phoenix tries to interview Engarde, but visiting hours are over. Engarde has left him a message, asking him to... go to his house and feed his cat? He dutifully trudges to Engarde Mansion to do the deed; Pearl is delighted to meet Shoe the tabby cat, so the errand makes her a bit happier, at least. They also meet John Doe, the butler, who has a scar down the center of his face and looks a lot like a certain bellboy. Hmm.

At the Gatewater Hotel, Phoenix is able to defuse the menace of Oldbag by giving her a semi-gracious letter from Edgey-poo, but she warns him that Engarde's room will be off limits since the investigation team is busy combing it. Lotta Hart and Wendy Oldbag both admit they weren't at the hallway the entire time, so he can't get any new information off of them: Lotta's upset that her camera has been seized as evidence, and Oldbag's upset that she took Lotta's notes as objective news. She gives them the bit of trivia that Corrida gets a lot of of bears as gifts as an in-joke with his fanbase (which explains the mountain of assorted bear-related gifts in his hotel room), but it doesn't seem like useful information.

De Killer chooses that moment to call. He grudgingly allows a second trial day — he needs that acquittal, after all — but when Phoenix asks about Maya, some sort of static messes with the signal. Gumshoe suggests that another transmitter must be in that room causing electromagnetic interference; a quick search with a bug sweeper reveals a camera concealed inside one of the bears. It's attached to a transmitter and timer. Someone wanted to get video of this room, remotely, and at a very particular hour: between 8 and 9 pm. It's the precise window of time in which Juan Corrida was killed. Someone has a video of the murder! If they could only figure out who gave Corrida this particular bear...

Gumshoe takes the camera and transmitter, intent on checking with the local electronics stores to find out who bought them and where. Edgeworth, who chooses that moment to reappear, takes the bear: it's a rare import and far easier to track than a generic camera which could be bought anywhere. He also reveals that a search and rescue team is out looking for Maya. Phoenix asks what his game is, but Edgeworth won't waste time explaining himself. Before he leaves, he urges Phoenix to focus on the one question that matters: who really killed Juan Corrida?

Part 3-2: Investigation

Phoenix mulls it over. It seems obvious now who killed Corrida — the assassin Shelly de Killer. But the actual murderer is the one who contracted the hit: De Killer's client. Was it Matt Engarde? The magatama verified his testimony when he said he didn't kill Juan Corrida... but that remains true in the most literal sense if he hired someone else to kill Corrida. And even though their rivalry could be dismissed as a motive (Engarde had been leading the popularity polls and had won the Grand Prix that night), there was still the mysterious dark secret Corrida would have disclosed publicly if he hadn't been killed.

There's nothing for it but to talk to Engarde. Edgeworth has pulled some strings to let him into the detention center after visiting hours; however, the chief of police seems to have granted him permission only because he's certain the case is airtight. With a sinking heart, Phoenix faces off with Engarde. On the very first question — what was the terrible secret Juan was going to disclose at the press conference? — the Psyche-Locks come down. Five of them. He has no choice but to change topics. The connection between Corrida, Engarde, Andrews, and Celeste Inpax is a bit clearer now in his mind thanks to some information from Oldbag and Will Powers: Inpax was Corrida's fiancee, but three days after their wedding announcement, Corrida broke up with her and she committed suicide that night. Further, there's a rumor that Corrida hid the note because it contained dirt on him; Inpax had talked to some friends before her death about getting tangled up with an "insidious man." But Engarde won't answer any questions about the suicide note either.

Gumshoe calls with urgent news. The spy camera was a dead end, but the bear has been traced to Matt Engarde. He must have been the one who bugged Corrida's room. Phoenix isn't sure he can take much more bad news, but he gathers himself and confronts his client again. He has to overcome Engarde's mental resistance. Surely whatever's behind his silence can't make things any wor—

It's worse. The camera, the transmitter, the bear: it's all so Engarde can see what he paid for. He was De Killer's client. The murderer. Engarde shrugs guilelessly and says he thought it would be easier on Phoenix if he didn't know, but since the truth is already out... He pulls back his hair, and in an instant the dopey-but-lovable refreshing-as-a-spring-breeze bunny becomes a red-eyed, rabid weasel.

The real face of Matt Engarde is covered in scars and grinning with a perfect absence of remorse. Of course he would film the murder. He needed some insurance for the inevitable day De Killer turned on him and revealed his part in Corrida's death. Corrida had to die before he could give that little press conference, and even though Engarde hadn't planned much in advance, an opportunity to use De Killer's services came up and he went for it. Not that it should be surprising that he managed to find the right person to use at the right time: he's a master of the art of getting people to do what he wants, after all. Even his lawyer.

Phoenix, who had not seen any of this coming, is floored. Engarde smirks at his distress a little longer and then saunters back to his cell.

Edgeworth is probably the last person Phoenix wanted to see at the moment, but the prosecutor is there with the bitter comfort that he has finally arrived at the starting line of the case. Now that he has all the facts at last, what is he going to do? Phoenix asks for advice, but Edgeworth demurs — it's not a question anyone else can answer for him. He himself left the prosecutor's office because he had to find out for himself what a prosecutor is; what someone in that role can and cannot do. Now Phoenix must do the same with his lawyer's role. As Phoenix agonizes over defending a man who is clearly guilty, Edgeworth reminds him that everyone deserves a proper defense and the advocacy of a lawyer who will put up a fair fight. No one expects Phoenix to do the impossible or save everyone, but he needs to find his reason to fight.

The topic is a sour one, and not one Phoenix wants to discuss with a prosecutor who fought to the bitter end for his perfect win record and accused defendants even when he knew they were innocent. Unlike Edgeworth and Franziska, he can't fight for the wrong verdict. Edgeworth replies that Franziska's motivations are not his own; to him, a win/loss record is meaningless. But again, he won't say why he came back, nor why he continues to stand in court. It's up to Phoenix to ask those questions of himself, and quickly — because the answers are the only things that have the power to change the ending of this story.

De Killer chooses that tense moment to speak up over the radio. Phoenix demands to know why he's going to these lengths for a bastard like Engarde, and De Killer explains that this sort of thing is part of his duty to his clients; to preserve the De Killer name and reputation, he has to ensure that no harm comes to those who hire him. Engarde was arrested, so he did what needed to be done to get him a good lawyer. He also warns Phoenix (and Edgeworth, who is listening in) not to test his patience. But just as he ends the transmission, a cat meows in the background. Shoe?!

It's just enough for a desperate Phoenix to seize on. He and Edgeworth race to Engarde Mansion with all speed, with the police behind them. They get the house surrounded and run in, but they're too late. De Killer is already gone. All that remains is some evidence: the bear figurine, the receiver (probably the one Engarde used to record the murder, though there's no tape in the VCR), and Celeste Inpax's portrait. On the back is a message from Maya. She tells him to forget about her safety and nail Engarde. It sounds very... final.

Phoenix departs to pursue his last remaining lead — Adrian Andrews. He hopes the picture will break down her mental barriers, and he is right. When he shows her evidence that Celeste Inpax was close to Engarde at one point, she finally reveals her last secret: Inpax dated Engarde first. After they broke up, and she became close to Corrida, Engarde waited until they'd announced their engagement to tell his rival that he was dating his own 'used goods.' Corrida ended the relationship immediately, which was the reason Inpax killed herself. Andrews wanted to find and destroy her suicide note so that it couldn't be used as yet another weapon in the war between the two men, but Corrida took it himself and hid it somewhere. Recovering that note was Andrews' only motive for getting close to Corrida. And for Engarde, she had taken it upon himself to frame him for the murder to keep him from escaping his guilt a second time — he had never suffered any consequences for destroying Inpax. She wanted revenge. But the suicide note is still missing.

Part 4-1: Trial

That night, Phoenix has his nightmare about the Judge again. His nerves are stretched to the breaking point on the morning of the trial. Gumshoe offers him a scrap of hope: the police are still doing all they can to find De Killer and retrieve Maya, and they swear to keep searching as long as the trial is running. If they can get her out, he can get Engarde a guilty sentence without fear. All he has to do is stall the verdict... which should be possible if Edgeworth will play along.

Edgeworth has the opening statement. He acknowledges that Adrian Andrews is guilty of tampering with the crime scene to throw guilt on Matt Engarde but denies that she played a role in the murder. Shelly de Killer, the professional assassin, strangled Juan Corrida as a contract killing paid for by Engarde.

The hapless Will Powers is the first on the witness stand. He has a bit of new information: shortly after the Hero of Heroes awards ceremony, he tried to go to Engarde's room to congratulate him. There, he saw Engarde in costume speaking with a man he initially mistook for a bellboy, but something about the incident seemed vaguely strange; eventually he remembers that Engarde gave the man a "tip" in the form of a large roll of bills. Edgeworth wastes no time pointing out what this means: the "tip" was payment for the killing and the "bellboy" was De Killer himself. Powers then recalls a bit more: he was in the hallway again a few minutes later to use the restroom when he saw the same man come out of Corrida's room. The man's black leather gloves caught his attention, as did his actions: he went from Corrida's room to Engarde's and gave a small item to the person who opened the door. Phoenix reluctantly shows the bear figurine found at Engarde's house... which of course is the object in question. The "bellboy" went from Engarde to the scene of the murder after receiving a large amount of money, then returned to Engarde with an item taken from the crime scene, which turned up at Engarde's house courtesy of his "butler" — De Killer again. Thanks to Powers' testimony and Edgeworth's expert prosecution, the case against Engarde is all but sealed. And worse, all of it is true.

But Phoenix is willing to resort to dirty tactics if it will keep Maya alive: according to his own testimony, Powers didn't see the face of the person who received the bear, just the arm of someone dressed in a Nickel Samurai costume. It could have been Adrian Andrews who took the bear, and its presence at Engarde Mansion would be yet another piece of evidence planted to frame him. The gallery is justifiably outraged at Phoenix's move, and Edgeworth doesn't seem happy either, but he professes himself willing to explore the possibility. For one, he wants to reveal the significance of the little wooden bear figurine. To that end, he calls Andrews as his next witness.

The court takes a recess, during which time Mia briefly leaves Pearl. She returns with a hint at Maya's whereabouts: she seems to be in some kind of office building on the third floor, with a circus tent within sight of wherever she's being held. Phoenix gets the information to Gumshoe immediately. Reprehensible as it may be, accusing Andrews is the only way to keep the trial running and buy enough time for Gumshoe and his men to find Maya.

Andrews takes the stand to reveal the secret of the wooden bear. It's a jewelry box: inside is a space large enough to hold a small item, but it can't be opened unless you know how to remove the pieces. She herself bought it in Switzerland as a gift for Juan. It's fragile enough that it couldn't be opened by force without obvious damage, and only she and Juan knew how to unlock it. But it would be hard for anyone know about the secret compartment just by looking at the bear.

Concealed inside is a note — Inpax's suicide note, which Andrews had failed to retrieve the night of the murder. It is a gruesome record of Engarde's misdeeds toward Inpax and Corrida. Undoubtedly this is what Corrida was going to publicly disclose; just as undoubtedly, this is why he was murdered.

Phoenix does what he must. Engarde couldn't have known the secret of the bear, so he would have no reason to request that De Killer take it. Andrews, on the other hand, had a very good reason to want it: she had herself admitted that she wanted to find the note and burn it so its contents could never be disclosed. Edgeworth replies by showing the court the hidden video camera — the possibility remains open that Engarde knew the secret of the bear by spying on his rival. And the camera in question is not the one from the hotel but a different one, this one planted in Corrida's house. And Engarde's fingerprints are on it.

The entire courtroom seems to be looking at Phoenix with disgust now. He knows he won't win any fans with his next move either: he challenges the validity of the suicide note. After all, no one has run a handwriting analysis test on it yet; Andrews herself could have written something incriminating while the bear was in her possession. Has Edgeworth just embarrassed himself by presenting forged evidence? He sees the blow strike home on the prosecutor, but it's a bitter triumph: everyone sees his tactic as a flagrant grab for time, and the Judge is ready to suspend the trial right then and there.

And then his phone rings. It's Gumshoe. De Killer has slipped out of their hands again, but if he could talk to Edgeworth, get him to buy them just a bit more time—

Edgeworth hangs up on him... and then all but begs the Judge for a continuation of the trial. If they could go on recess for just half an hour, they could analyze the handwriting on that note. The Judge grants his request, albeit with extreme reluctance.

Once out of court, Edgeworth confronts Phoenix and demands an update. Gumshoe fortuitously calls back just then, with big news: yes, De Killer escaped, but he left some things behind. Gumshoe seized them from the police and ran; he's on his way to the courthouse now, knowing their only hope is that one of them will turn out to be decisive evidence. But before either of them has time to be relieved at the news, they hear a terrible crash on the other end of the line, then silence. They don't know where Gumshoe and his priceless pieces of evidence are now, and there's no way to find hi—

Franziska von Karma. Could she? Would she—?

Phoenix is a mess of self-recrimination, but Edgeworth none-too-gently shakes him out of it. Until the verdict is read, nothing is final. He needs to make himself ready for what is to come.

Part 4-2: Trial

When court reconvenes, Edgeworth looks like he's been kicked in the stomach: the handwriting analysis has shown the note to be a forgery. It was most likely written by Corrida. But Engarde didn't know it was fake, so the forgery doesn't change the facts of the case — he still wanted to get that note before Corrida could disclose its contents. Phoenix objects: the camera planted in Corrida's house could also have spotted him forging the note. Edgeworth loses the resulting courtroom tennis match and has to switch tactics: if he can't establish Engarde's motive through evidence, he'll have to do it through testimony. He calls to the stand... Shelly de Killer!

De Killer contacted Edgeworth during the break and offered to testify via radio transceiver, on the condition that no one tries to trace the signal. He even brings Maya to the radio to prove his bona fides. His answer to the question of whether he killed Juan Corrida at the request of a client is a matter-of-fact "yes," but when Edgeworth asks for the name of his client, he temporizes. The client-assassin relationship is sacred to him, he explains; it's a not a trust he will lightly betray. He protects his clients in exchange for their discretion; if one of them were to reveal too much about his name or whereabouts, De Killer wouldn't consider that person a 'client' any longer. But he is willing to disclose his client's name in this case because the person went outside the rules and tried to incriminate someone else for the murder. Yes... De Killer names Adrian Andrews as his client.

Edgeworth, who had apparently allowed De Killer to testify under the belief that he would name Engarde, is almost too staggered to voice a protest, and when he does, the Judge won't hear it. Between this and the forged suicide note, the prosecutor's case has been torn apart. Again, Phoenix can't find a way to be wholeheartedly relieved: yes, they will probably get Engarde's acquittal and save Maya, but he knows De Killer is lying. The assassin makes his exit (so to speak) and Andrews returns to the courtroom. Her desperation is obvious, and her pleas of innocence further twist the knife in his uneasy conscience. But the Judge is convinced of her guilt. Maya's safe return is moments away. Even the restless gallery has gone silent. All he has to do is call for the verdict...

And he can't do it. He can't take the acquittal when he knows Engarde is a murderer. He can't abandon Andrews to take the fall in Engarde's place. And he can't betray Edgeworth, who knew Engarde was guilty from the start but didn't go for the kill because he wanted Phoenix to see for himself that Not Guilty was the wrong verdict. If he ignores all that and takes a cheap acquittal, he'll be no better than Engarde, using others to make his own life easier and giving them nothing in return.

So he puts victory aside and demands to question De Killer again. There's still hope that he can resolve this without sacrificing Maya or Adrian — or the truth. He has to hold out until Gumshoe's pieces of evidence arrive. He has to hope for a miracle.

Edgeworth, knowing they need to proceed carefully to stall the trial without raising De Killer's suspicions, asks for more information about his client. De Killer answers that Andrews arranged for the murder at a specific place and time, as most of his clients do: even in cases where they don't, he tells them his plans so that they can be sure to be elsewhere at the time. Andrews, however, returned to the crime scene, planted evidence, and even removed the shell-marked card in order to pass her guilt onto Engarde; this is a clear violation of the rules for De Killer, whose philosophy is that his clients deserve to live with their guilt. Phoenix and Edgeworth both find it odd that Andrews (on De Killer's scenario) knew precisely when and where Corrida would be killed — the glass of tomato juice seems to indicate honest surprise — but De Killer becomes suspicious when they press too hard on that point.

Edgeworth changes topics and asks what happened when Andrews contracted his services. According to De Killer, the request came in on relatively short notice, asking for a hit the night of the awards ceremony. The timing was important because Andrews wanted De Killer to find and retrieve the bear figurine that Corrida had brought with him in anticipation of the 'Nickel Samurai's' press conference. He had met Andrews in person at a local bar to finalize details; a face-to-face meeting is his standard procedure because a phone call or a letter isn't enough to establish trust. Unfortunately for De Killer, he slips up when Phoenix presses him for more details and refers to Andrews as "him." That one misplaced pronoun is enough to show that he never met Andrews in person at all.

De Killer backpedals — yes, he usually insists on a face-to-face meeting, but in this case he took the request by mail. Andrews requested the murder and also the retrieval of the bear figurine, both of which seemed equally important to her. He strangled Corrida, recovered the bear, and passed it directly to Andrews. Phoenix objects — if the bear really had been in Andrews' possession for any length of time, it would be empty now: she had made it plain that the only reason she wanted the bear was to find and burn the suicide note. The person who actually took possession of the bear must have been someone who didn't know how to open the puzzle, which is to say, Engarde.

Shelly de Killer's patience is at an end. Since Phoenix keeps questioning testimony that only helps Engarde, this must mean he is reneging on their 'agreement,' and such betrayal means he has no further reason to keep Maya alive. When he excuses himself to go "take care of something," Phoenix panics. He begs the assassin to stay his hand; De Killer relents, but only if he stops stalling the trial and proceeds to the verdict.

It's over. He can't push his luck any further, and Edgeworth can't buy him any more time. The prosecutor tries to find something more to say, but even he stammers into silence with De Killer inches from taking Maya's life. Looking agonized, he rests his case. It's all on Phoenix now.

Since Edgeworth has dropped his challenge, the Judge is willing to accept De Killer's testimony as accurate, meaning that Adrian Andrews would be charged with murder and Matt Engarde would be acquitted. Engarde takes the stand, smirking and not even bothering to hide his true face; his refreshing-as-a-spring-breeze image may have taken a hit, but it seems worth it to him to know that Phoenix is pressed firmly under his thumb.

As the defense lawyer, he has the closing statement, and the time has come to make the awful decision. Choose "Guilty" and side with the truth; put away the smug monster in front of him; spare Adrian Andrews — or choose "Not Guilty" and save Maya's life? He has stalled so long, hoping for a miracle that isn't going to happen. Getting an acquittal for Engarde goes against everything he believes in, and it's not what Maya would want. But... but Maya...

Maya... I'm sorry...

"Your Honor, my client, Matt Engarde, is—"

OBJECTION!

Whatever else may be said about Franziska von Karma and her creed, this entrance is absolute perfection.

She has arrived with the final pieces of the evidence, their last hope. With a flourish, she presents three items wrapped in Gumshoe's ragged coat: a pistol, a bellboy's uniform, and a videotape. Unfortunately, the Judge is nearly out of patience; to his mind, the trial is already over. He isn't in the mood to be presented with more evidence, especially when it doesn't seem to reveal any new information. The bellboy's uniform must be the one De Killer used while murdering Corrida; the pistol is mostly likely the one he used to shoot Franziska, and the videotape, while the contents aren't known yet, must be important because De Killer made strenuous attempts to keep the police from taking it. De Killer's role in the murder is already known. Nothing clears up what they still need to decide — the identity of De Killer's client.

All hope seems lost, but Mia urges Phoenix not to give up: it's not too late for him to make a miracle happen. If Engarde can be made to want a guilty verdict, De Killer will let his client's wishes stand. Alternately, if De Killer can be persuaded to end his contract with Engarde, he will no longer protect him, meaning he will stop holding Maya hostage against a guilty verdict. One person still doesn't know the whole truth, and one of those pieces of evidence will convince him...

Now Phoenix knows what to do. He petitions the court, with Edgeworth backing him, to be allowed to present evidence to a third party. The Judge, thoroughly sick of this by now, will allow him only one chance... but one is all he needs. He asks permission to show the videotape to Shelly de Killer.

It's almost too easy to make his case. Engarde had told the assassin to guard this particular tape and never watch it. He also specified a certain place and time for the murder. And he planted a camera in the hotel room to film the killing... as insurance, he had said, so that De Killer could never turn on him. But his purpose was more sinister: it was to give Engarde a hold over De Killer, to have evidence that could potentially blackmail him into becoming yet another person for Engarde to use. The client-assassin trust that De Killer held in such high esteem had been betrayed from the very beginning. When De Killer grasps his point, he gets very angry... and then very quiet. Edgeworth prompts him to describe how he would handle a traitorous client, and the answer is delightfully simple: he would sever their contract... and then target that person for his next assassination. And, as of that very moment, Engarde is no longer his client, which means Maya is very well free.

For some peculiar reason, Engarde doesn't want an acquittal any more — and Phoenix and Edgeworth can be forgiven for gloating just a bit about that fact. Whether he goes to jail for his crime or goes 'free' to face justice at the hands of De Killer, he'll get what he deserves. Phoenix offers his opinion on the verdict, but it doesn't really matter... Engarde starts babbling his guilt at the top of his lungs, clawing more marks into his scarred face in an agony of terror.

It's finally over.

Out in the safety of the ordinary world, Phoenix muses over what's happened. It's his first 'loss,' in a sense — his first failure to get an acquittal — but it was still the right verdict. And he's finally had to confront his reason to stand in court; to decide whether his real motivation is to fight for the truth or to fight to 'save' someone.

Edgeworth brings the good news that Maya is now safely in police custody and on her way back to them. Pearl is beside herself with joy, but Franziska von Karma's arrival puts a definite damper on the mood. She had come to gloat about the loss of Phoenix's perfect record, and finding him happy completely baffles her. Edgeworth understands all too well, however. It took a lot just to shake him out of a similar mode of thought: a year ago he himself went into court thinking only of how to ensure a win every time. He lost his perfect record to Phoenix, and then would have lost his own life and freedom if his 'enemy' had not saved him. So he fled in shame, leaving nothing behind but a note that said he had chosen death.

Thus far, Franziska still understands him: what does a disgraced prosecutor deserve besides death? But she can't grasp how losing everything brought him to a moment of clarity... he couldn't defeat Phoenix because he couldn't defeat the truth. No amount of dirty von Karma tricks can keep the truth from coming to light; as long as one person in that courtroom unrelentingly fights for the truth, it will finally appear. The prosecutor and attorney must learn to see themselves as honest partners in pursuit of the same goal; true, one will get the verdict he contended for and the other will not, but neither will 'lose.' The verdict that arises from the truth will always be the right one.

When he had returned, he had seen the bitter anger in Phoenix's heart. Was it because he'd known all along that Edgeworth was fighting for a false cause and had left because he couldn't bear to face the truth? Phoenix replies that he was more upset over the loss of his childhood friend, the boy who stood up him for in the class trial and inspired him to become a defense attorney. Prosecutor Edgeworth was so far gone — such a betrayal of his own ideals — that his old friend might as well have been dead.

As before, the conversation seems to be striking a bit too close to home for Franziska, and she storms out, though not before declaring Edgeworth — and herself — unworthy of the perfect von Karma name. As she leaves, she throws her whip at Phoenix's feet: Edgeworth correctly interprets it as her way of saying she has abandoned her role as a prosecutor.

And then, at long, long last, Maya reappears. Their joy at the reunion is cut short by her insistence that they have to get food, soon. With Edgeworth rather reluctantly coming along, they go back to Gatewater Hotel, where Gumshoe meets up with them: he's bandaged up but seems no worse for wear. He accepts their praise and thanks in a slightly baffled way, but... he distinctly remembers taking four items from De Killer... Will Powers is also present, as is Lotta and her camera, and everything seems resolved.

Edgeworth slips away. He doesn't say where he's going, but he has the transceiver Franziska was using to track Gumshoe, and its registering a signal. Before he leaves, Phoenix is moved to give him Franziska's whip, along with his thanks. It's a good time to get gone, since everyone else seems intent on sticking Nick with the bill for dinner.. as usual.

OBJECTION!

Behind the Turnabout

Young stars Matt Engarde and Juan Corrida had been bitter rivals for years. One victim of their feud was Celeste Inpax, a woman who had been Engarde's manager and girlfriend; when they broke it off, she changed jobs and began dating Corrida. Engarde revealed their former relationship to Corrida after the couple became engaged: his pride was too great to accept his rival's hand-me-downs, and he broke up with her. She penned a suicide note and took her own life. A young woman named Adrian Andrews saw all of this and was filled with bitterness when Engarde's role in Inpax's death never came to light. Inpax was her mentor; she had depended on the other woman for everything. After her death, she felt like her only purpose in life was to get revenge.

Two years later, Engarde and Corrida had taken starring roles on dueling shows — as the Nickel Samurai and the Jammin' Ninja, respectively — and were neck and neck in the popularity polls. Andrews became aware that Corrida was betting everything on winning the Hero of Heroes Grand Prix that year, and that he had a contingency plan if he didn't. He was going to hold a press conference as the "Nickel Samurai" and reveal the contents of Inpax's suicide note to tarnish Engarde's squeaky-clean reputation. Andrews, not wanting to see her friend's private pain made public, began dating Corrida in hope of finding the suicide note and destroying it. She even gave him a puzzle bear jewelry box which would be a perfect place to conceal something like that note. But they had both underestimated the ruthlessness of Engarde.

Engarde had placed cameras in Corrida's house and knew of the plan. He couldn't risk the chance that his rival would destroy his refreshing-as-a-spring-breeze image, so he contracted the services of Shelly de Killer, an elite assassin. After the awards ceremony, De Killer murdered Corrida and brought the bear to Engarde. Andrews discovered the body and assumed Engarde had done it; she deliberately planted evidence to draw suspicion to him and unintentionally muddied the waters further by taking De Killer's calling card. Engarde was arrested, so De Killer took advantage of Phoenix Wright's presence at the Grand Prix that night: he abducted Maya and held her hostage to force Phoenix to take Engarde's case and get him acquitted. He also shot and incapacitated Franziska von Karma, thinking that the replacement prosecutor would be unprepared and thus easier to defeat.

Unfortunately, her replacement was Miles Edgeworth, back with renewed purpose and a desire to prosecute for honest reasons; through his prompting, Phoenix went beyond his usual limits to seek out the truth of the case. Ultimately, the evidence they turned up revealed the facts of the matter to De Killer — his client had recorded the murder with intent to blackmail him. De Killer accordingly released Maya and turned his lethal attention to Engarde, catching the man in his own trap and driving him to seek a guilty verdict for himself rather than fall into the hands of the man he had betrayed.

As for the others whose lives have been affected...

Maya's faith in Phoenix was vindicated yet again, but then, she's had a lot of practice at being the damsel in distress. And Pearl is so convinced that Nick is going to marry Mystic Maya any day now that she's made reservations for them at the Gatewater Hotel... you know, just in case...

Gumshoe is back on the force after Edgeworth put in a good word for him, but Maggey Byrde is leaving to take up new work as a waitress.

Director Hotti has fond memories of Franziska, whip and all. (Shudder).

The Berry Big Circus is on its way to Zimbabwe. It's not clear if Regina even knows what Zimbabwe is, but judging by her hopes about castles made of cake and bunnies who can talk, she'll be disappointed.

Wendy Oldbag is still sweeping the Gatewater Hotel for bugs — with Gumshoe's bug sweeper, so there are a lot of false alarms. She seems to have been at this a long time. But Edgey-poo wouldn't have sent her on a Snipe Hunt, right...?

Adrian Andrews is in detention because she tampered with the crime scene, but she's much calmer now, even smiling. The ordeal Phoenix and Edgeworth put her through has actually helped her get a sense of herself, and it sounds like Franziska von Karma is interested in staying in touch.

Shelly de Killer is finding his notoriety somewhat of a burden, so he is (probably) leaving the country. But he is making an effort to keep up with the digital age, so feel free to stop by his website if you have someone you want killed.

Franziska is at the airport about to board a flight out of the country when Edgeworth catches up with her; he was able to trace her because still has Gumshoe's coat, tracking bug and all. He's curious about the fourth piece of evidence that went missing, but more than that, he wants to know what she's planning. Is it her turn to be embarrassed by Phoenix and run away?

She retorts that he can't possibly understand what it means to be Manfred von Karma's daughter; to live every day under the weight of those expectations. A von Karma is a perfect, flawless genius. A von Karma doesn't lose. And she, who was never a genius but had to look like one, she who has lost.... if she can't be perfect, she can't be a prosecutor any more. Didn't her discarded whip make that perfectly clear?

He replies in her code... by giving her back the whip. Whether she's a genius or not, she's still a prosecutor. It's up to her to understand that her motivation cannot be 'perfection' or personal pride. But the bitterness of all those years in his shadow is too much for her to give up; she never felt like his equal. If she could even have had the satisfaction of beating Phoenix Wright in court when he could not, perhaps she could have felt like she'd surpassed him. Edgeworth replies that the shadow she stands in is her father's — like Adrian Andrews, she has always lived on someone else's words. Just that very day, he saw her start to become her own person, and, for that moment at least, they both seemed equally adrift. But he has found the path he wants to walk. If she will not walk with him, then this is where they must part ways.

Franziska starts to cry and swears that she won't walk in Edgeworth's shadow forever. She's either missed his point or understood it all too well. But she still boards her flight. In her possession is the fourth piece of evidence: one of De Killer's cards. Scrawled over the shell design are some extra lines that make it resemble Phoenix's Wright's face — it's a drawing Maya made when she was bored. Franziska vows to return to face Phoenix someday... not for pride, you understand, just so she can return this card...

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