126 Misguided Perceptions

A/N: Yeesh! I hate covering trials! This took me forever to write and I know it’s a longer read. The good news is I thus far can keep my word about updating this story at least weekly, and also, the next chapter should completely wrap up the AJ Turnabout Trump Trial arc so we can get back to my story! I hope to have it up this weekend … fingers crossed! AJ Spoilers for the first case FYI …

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“Destiny is not a matter of chance. It is a matter of choice. It is not a thing to be waited for – it is a thing to be achieved.”
~William Jennings Bryan~

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Phoenix Wright and Kristoph Gavin
District Court
Courtroom No. 2
April 20, 2026

“Very well,” the judge announced. “The prosecution may call its first witness to the stand!”

A small, meek-looking blonde slowly made her way up to the stand. An old-fashioned film camera hung from her neck. On top of that, she was adorned in a fuzzy winter hat and a cobalt blue coat with white fur trim, over which she wore a white apron. On her shaky hands, which were carefully balancing a tray bearing a domed serving bowl, she wore pink mittens. As her huge, terrified eyes looked out at the court, she immediately began trembling and sunk below the witness stand.

“The witness will state her name and profession,” stated Mr. Payne.

“H-hold on just a moment!” The judge suddenly looked baffled. “Where’s the witness?”

“I surmise that she has been frightened by the defense’s demonic-looking horns,” crowed the reedy-voiced prosecutor.

Wow, you’ve really lived up to your potential, rat-boy! Phoenix barely repressed an eye-roll at the rodent-faced, chrome-domed DA as he glanced sympathetically at Apollo, whose horns sagged dejectedly at this entire unprecedented and asinine onslaught regarding his hairdo. At least the young man actually has hair to style! Jealous much?

“Have no fear!” The judge nobly declared. “If any horns point in your direction, the court will cut them off!”

“You…are…sure?” The witness squeaked.

“I swear it on my gavel!” The judge promised. “Please, come out.”

“Isn’t violence against hair a crime, Your Honor?” Apollo’s horns drooped even further, like fallen radio antennae. The hobo couldn’t help but admire this uncanny ability of the attorney. Not even his oft-remarked-upon spikes could rise and fall on command in such a manner!

“Well, if you are sure it is OK…”

“Ahem,” the judge cleared his throat. “Now, the prosecution…”

Just then, the witness whipped out her camera and took a photograph.

“W-W-Wait a minute!” The judge appeared flustered as the bright flashbulb went off in his face. “Would the prosecution care to explain the witness’s…erm…paraphernalia?”

“Er…yes. She is a professional, Your Honor,” Mr. Payne explained. “Those are merely the tools of her trade.”

“And that would be…?”

The witness introduced herself at last.

“My name…is Olga Orly.”

Oh, really? Kristoph chortled to himself at the palpably phony-as-a-three-dollar-bill Slavic accent, which, naturally, unlike the other gullible humanoids in the courtroom, hadn’t fooled him for a minute! If this dame here is  Russian, then I am the pygmy Queen!

“I am employed as waitress,” the witness went on. “In Borscht Bowl Club restaurant.”

“Then … why the camera?” The judge blinked, obviously still recovering from the blinding flash.

“Of course, it is my pride to serve borscht that is naming restaurant,” Olga replied, as though this was an obvious fact. “But I also perform – how is it said? Other service.”

Oh, I have my own theories about what these other services may be, and which more than likely make up for your other shortcomings as a server, I’m sure! Kristoph cynically sniggered to himself.  Pretty shifty though, seeing as how Boris is a married man! I wonder if Natasha is privy to this other service Olga performs?

“I take it one of these other services is taking the customer’s pictures?” Asked the ever-unassuming judge, completely unaware of the defense attorney’s lewd inner monologue.

“Dah, dah,” Olga nodded. “Like, for example … this one.”

As she spoke, she pulled a picture out of her coat pocket which depicted the poker champ on the night of the murder, seated at the piano bench, next to “Shadi Smith.”

“Th-That’s the defendant!?” The judge’s eyes widened. He wasn’t the only one who was caught unawares by the captured image.

Despite keeping his poker face intact, Phoenix was positively disconcerted at having been unsuspectingly caught on film in such a manner, as he had spent much of the last seven years trying to keep his wits about him at all times. After the nosy reporter, Spark Brushel had left the premises, he’d foolishly assumed he and Zak had been alone in that room.

Sweet salivating salamanders! When did the discernably craftier than she appears waitress take that picture? Moreover, why would she have done such a thing?

“Indeed.” Mr. Payne sounded more smug than usual. “On the night of the murder.”

“Man in white hat…is one who has gone kaput,” Olga confirmed staunchly.

“Indeed…” the judge murmured. “That is the victim.”

There was a lively stirring amongst the gallery at this announcement.

“Order! Order!” The judge pounded his gavel. “This is quite a piece of evidence to casually drop into our laps!”

“It is same way as I drop cold bowls of borscht on laps of customers…” Olga helpfully attempted to draw a parallel. “Casually.”

This only further confirms my theory that they hired you for neither your English-speaking skills nor your serving grace, Kristoph added sardonically. So the question of course is, what the hell reason did they hire you for at that frigid, hole-in-the-wall establishment then?!

“Hmm…Then the court will casually accept this new evidence.” The judge determined.

“Now, witness, where were you at the time of the murder?” Inquired Mr. Payne.

“I was in room. The Hydeout, we call it.”

“Excuse me?” The red attorney asked dimly. “The Hydeout?”

“It is room where famous gangster ‘Badgai’ was arrested. Is room where murder took place,” Olga said simply.

“Whaaaaat?!” Upon hearing this, Apollo’s miracle motion spikes somehow managed to simultaneously stiffen and raise themselves even higher on his head as he visibly recoiled at this bombshell.

Kristoph barely resisted the urge to facepalm at his employee’s overly animated reflexive antics.

If I’ve told him once, I’ve told him a thousand times to always keep his cool, at least on the surface, no matter how badly you’re shaken up internally! He silently screamed. When, in any of my teachings, have I ever told Justice that it was alright for him to completely lose his visible composure and assume the expression of an autistic monkey?!

Olga smiled winsomely as she snapped a photo of the younger defense attorney’s comical expression.

“Your look of utter surprise … It is lovely,” she tittered. “I will post by courtroom door later for you! Dah, dah, photos will be numbered, and you will write which ones you want copy of.”

Apollo had quickly recovered from his look of shock, replaced by one of deep speculation as he pressed his index finger against his forehead so hard that Kristoph was certain he would leave a permanent dent behind. Finally, he thumped both fists down onto the bench before him, like a primitive caveman, and eyed the waitress with a suspicious glint in his eye.

“Very well. Witness! You will testify to the court about that night’s events.” The judge commanded.

The witness began her testimony.

“That night, customer asked me to deal cards for game.”

“It was cold…Both players with hats on, dah.”

“The victim, he plays whole time with his hand on locket at his neck.”

“Then, last hand is done! But something terrible has happened, dah!”

“That man flew at victim, and is strangling him to death!”

Phoenix goggled at Olga in utter disbelief as the waitress finished speaking, but the blonde refused to meet his confused, questioning stare and timidly slunk down once again behind the witness stand.

At this point, he knew he shouldn’t have been surprised by anything or anyone. Nonetheless, the sharp feeling of confusion and betrayal still stung him deeply at the unjust and glaring falseness of the testimony. This was his thanks for trying to save Olga’s life, as he’d tried to act as quickly as humanly possible when Zak had unprecedentedly attacked her?!

He’d barely crossed paths with Olga at work before that fateful night, so he knew of no cause for her to despise him to the point of perjury. What possible reason could the waitress have to try to frame him for the murder and lying about witnessing the crime, when she’d been knocked unconscious the entire time?

She must have regained consciousness even sooner than I realized… The pianist gathered, the wheels in his brain frantically turning as he tried to establish the blonde’s motives. At this point, I can only assume it was a combination of her being traumatized that Zak could’ve killed her after his outraged violent outburst that the scam didn’t work. Obviously, since he died shortly after assaulting her, there’s a chance Zak didn’t pay her for her services that night so she’s ticked off about being swindled out of whatever promised riches were owed to her and wants to make sure that I bear the brunt of her being slighted!

His mind raced.

But I wonder if there’s more to it than that… My magatama isn’t going off, so she’s not willingly lying about this. Does she genuinely seem to think I was actually strangling Zak? Could it be there’s also a slight possibility that a small part of her mind has originally blocked being assaulted?

“Hmm…” The judge looked thoughtful. “Incidentally, who won the game?”

For some reason, the simple query made the blonde hesitate slightly but fortunately for her, Mr. Payne quickly interjected.

“Isn’t it obvious?” He snorted. “The winner was the victim … Mr. Smith!”

“Objection!” Shouted Apollo. “That’s ridiculous!”

Four sets of stunned, questioning eyes turned to stare at the red attorney: Olga’s, the judge’s, the prosecutor’s, and even Phoenix’s. The young man flushed under their scrutiny.

“Um, because…” Apollo cleared his throat and confidently pointed an accusing finger at Olga. “Mr. Wright can’t lose!”

You’ve got to be kidding me! Kristoph groaned inwardly. My apprentice has chosen this exact moment to go all Phoenix Wright fanboy on us?!

Dead silence met his loyal outburst.

“Ahem. Justice?” Kristoph somehow managed to flash a serene smile despite his gritted teeth. “Maybe you can come up with a more legitimate objection?”

“But!” Apollo protested.  “He hadn’t lost in seven years!”

Kristoph barely stifled an exasperated sigh. He had no idea how to respond to this banality.

“Take it from me, kid,” Mr. Payne inserted. “It happens. I didn’t lose a case my first seven years as a prosecutor, either.”

You’ve certainly more than made up for the lost time! Phoenix miraculously somehow kept a straight face upon hearing this. You never were able to defeat me once in all my years as an attorney!

Unknown to the pianist, across the room at the defense bench, Kristoph was having similar musings himself.

Luckily I’m too big a man to point out the obvious glaring counterattack to that asinine defense! The German shook his head despairingly at the screechy prosecutor. You do realize, Payne, that you also haven’t won a case for your last seven years, either, don’t you?

“Incidentally. I have some evidence here,” Mr. Payne continued. “These are the poker chips as they lay the very moment of the crime. The hand and chips on this table side belonged to the victim, Mr. Smith.”

“Chips, you say?” The judge inquired.

“Dah. Er…I mean, yes!” Mr. Payne corrected quickly. “Imagine that poker is war…Your hand is your army, and the chips are the spoils.”

“I know all about that!” The judge boasted. “After all, in my youth, I was known as … the Poker Head of Courtroom No. 3!”

Once again, Phoenix managed to keep a straight face, but only just barely. He cast a surreptitious gander at both members of the defense counsel, and while Kristoph’s lips twitched ever so slightly, Apollo was flat-out shaking his head at the misnomer.

“Hmm…” the judge continued, blushing slightly as he realized his error. “Looking at this picture…it does seem that most of the chips are on the victim’s side of the table. Very well. The defense may cross-examine the witness.”

Cross-Examination

“That night, customer asked me to deal cards for game.”

“It was cold…Both players with hats on, dah.”

“The victim, he plays whole time with his hand on locket at his neck.”

“Then, last hand is done! But something terrible has happened, dah!”

“That man flew at victim, and is strangling him to death!”

“Objection!” Cried Apollo. “Oh really? ‘Strangled’, you say. That’s odd.”

“Dah!” Olga nodded earnestly. “Normal customers only choke on borscht.”

“No.” With surprising sureness in his voice, the young man referenced the autopsy report in his hand. “I mean, this report shows that the victim died of a blow to the head!”

“Aaack!” The waitress screeched.

“Ms. Orly!” Apollo forcefully thudded his fists down the defense bench before affixing her with his signature courtroom pointer finger and an unblinking stare. “Really now … did you witness the crime!?”

“Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!” Was Olga’s cowering response.

The courtroom buzzed excitedly.

Out in the gallery, his former Detective instincts in full throttle, Gumshoe’s eyes narrowed suspiciously in the waitress’s direction, while Trucy only looked panicked.

“She’s lying, Uncle Gumshoe!” The teen wailed, yanking at his sleeve as her unnerved eyes swiveled between the Police Chief and the witness stand. “I know she is! She’s trying to wrongfully accuse Daddy! Why is that awful woman trying to put my Daddy in jail for something he didn’t do?!”

“Shhh…” Gumshoe placed an arm around the frantic girl in an effort to soothe her. “Calm down, sweetie, your Daddy has a very good lawyer. It will be alright.”

I hope… He added silently.

Back in the courtroom, the judge appeared to be in deep thought.

“Hmm… Looking at the picture, it doesn’t seem like he was hit. He’s still wearing his hat and everything.”

“Yet it is a fact that he was hit, Your Honor,” replied Mr. Payne. “Here’s a photo we took of the victim with his hat off during the investigation.” The prosecutor then proceeded to present a postmortem picture of Shadi Smith.

Kristoph swallowed back a triumphant, gleeful cackle at the sight of his longtime enemy’s expression, forever frozen on his lifeless countenance, his enormous, bulbous bare skull gleaming beneath the gristly crimson stream trickling down his forehead.

“Well, that’s quite shocking isn’t it?” The judge’s eyes were saucers upon seeing the photo. “This head certainly was hit.”

“B-But…! I have seen it happen!” Olga insisted. “The defendant, he lunge at victim, his neck…”

Kristoph couldn’t have been more elated by the woman’s stubborn persistence that his enemy was the culprit. His protégé had put up a great defense thus far, but there was no refuting an eyewitness testimony. It looked as though Phoenix Wright was as good as declared guilty now. He turned his head to glimpse at Apollo, expecting the greenhorn to appear apprehensive, as this realization surely must have struck him as well. Instead, he found the red attorney to be standing there looking surprisingly composed as he crossed his arms and smirked knowingly at the waitress.

“Justice,” The German cautioned warily. “I admire your enthusiasm, but perhaps you should think this one through more.”

“Wh-What do you mean?” Apollo’s confident expression switched into one of complete befuddlement as he looked at his mentor. “I found a contradiction!”

“There’s one more thing in her testimony that…troubles me,” Kristoph warned him quietly.

“What is it?” Apollo asked, his confused expression deepening.

“You’ll see.” Pursing his lips, Kristoph turned away from him.

“Very well,” the judge nodded. “It seems we should continue the cross-examination.”

Cross-Examination continued.

“The victim, he plays whole time with hand on locket at his neck.”

“Objection!” shouted Apollo, pressing his deeply contemplative pointer finger against his forehead once again.

“Mr. Apollo, would you care to explain what it is you’re thinking so intensely about?” Demanded the judge.

“Recall, the testimony, Your Honor,” Apollo explained. “The victim played with his ‘hand on locket at his neck’, I believe she said?”

“I hope you aren’t about to raise an objection to the witness’s grammar!” Mr. Payne piped up indignantly.

Mein Gott! Kristoph closed his eyes and pushed his glasses up with his finger as he blew out a disgusted breath. You do realize that people just tolerate you, Payne?

He then cast a suspicious glance at his underling.

Please tell me that wasn’t what you were objecting to, Justice…

“No, but look at this photograph,” Apollo pointed to the submitted evidence in the court record. “Do you see a locket on the victim’s neck?”

“Well done, Apollo.” There was genuine admiration in Kristoph’s voice. “I’m impressed. I knew you’d be able to handle this.”

Truthfully, he hadn’t really known this at all! In all actuality, what the blond man was really doing was grinding his teeth about the fact that this trial had thus needlessly been dragged on even further, due to the sudden, unanticipated, astuteness of his assistant. Nonetheless, he couldn’t very well say that out loud, could he?

“B-but what does it mean?” Asked the greenhorn, still confused about the details of the mystery he’d unraveled.

“If we are to believe the witness’s testimony as-is…” The judge began slowly. “Then the locket “disappeared” following the victim’s death.”

“Lockets don’t just disappear, Your Honor!” Apollo burst out, his pointer finger already jamming into his forehead.

“It’s quite simple when you think about it,” Kristoph explained patiently. “If the locket is gone, someone must have taken it off, no?”

“Taken it off…?” The rookie’s eyes lit up as the realization suddenly dawned on him. “Wait, you don’t mean…!”

I got it now. The card shark was uncertain of whether or not to be relieved or agitated. That’s why I couldn’t see any psyche locks on Olga when she was claiming I strangled the victim. In her disoriented state, as she was regaining consciousness, she honestly thought she witnessed me strangling Zak when I was, in actuality, taking the locket off of him! Granted, it makes her seem less suspicious for suspecting me, but this certainly does put me in quite a spot now, as soon as the defense figures this out…

“The defendant wasn’t strangling the victim at all. He was taking off his locket!” Kristoph elaborated to the court. “Wouldn’t that explain it?”

Phoenix cursed inwardly as he frantically wracked his mind for a feasible explanation regarding this one glaring piece of evidence, which if discovered, would undoubtedly tie him to the true identity of the murder victim.

“Aah!” A look of understanding crossed the judge’s face.

“Urk?” Mr. Payne uttered.

The DILF ensured his mien was an unreadable mask as he waited patiently for what he knew was coming.

“Defendant!” The judge finally cut through the pregnant pause. “What do you have to say to this?”

Inexpressive indigo eyes steadily met the confused dark ones behind the judge’s bench, and there was another tense silence.

“Say…” The old man began awkwardly.

“Yes?” Phoenix remained as cool as a cucumber.

“I just noticed this, but…” The judge’s voice was distinctly uncomfortable now. “You have something hanging around your neck, don’t you?”

“Oh? You mean this?” The card shark casually gestured towards the locket hanging around his neck. “Yes, it’s a locket …with a photograph inside.”

He allowed the ghost of a smile to play across his lips.

“A photo…of my daughter.”

A loud, collective gasp sounded across the gallery.

“C-Come again?” Stammered Apollo, ridiculous primate impersonation fully in place yet again, upon hearing what was astounding news to him.

“Mr. Wright!” The judge’s eyes nearly bugged out of his skull. “You have a daughter!?”

If I weren’t on trial for murder and fighting for my life here, Phoenix thought wryly. I suppose a small part of me could be somewhat affronted by the fact the concept of me having potentially mated and sired offspring is so positively dumbfounding to people!

“We confirmed it at the time of the arrest,” Mr. Payne informed them. “The picture in the locket is indeed Mr. Wright’s daughter.”

Apollo looked pensive, his famous thinking finger once again jabbing against his forehead.

“Well now,” the judge seemed eager to change subjects. “If the results of this poker game led to the murder … Perhaps we should hear a bit more about the outcome of this game?”

“Further testimony won’t really be necessary.” Mr. Payne stated loftily. “It’s clear that the defendant lost. Badly.”

The witness beamed at the district attorney, looking far too relieved at the potential reprieve for the judge’s liking. He shook his head in dissent.

“Ms. Orly!” He barked. “You will testify to the court about the game played between the victim and the defendant!”

“D-Dah…” Olga mumbled, beginning to tremble once more, as if on command.

The blonde then testified about the game itself, and Apollo wasted no time quickly doing the math in his head and ascertaining the inaccuracies concerning the chip count.

Kristoph momentarily put aside the intended outcome of the case and found himself smiling with genuine pride at how well his diligent student had flourished under his keen tutelage. It also gave him great pleasure to see how antsy and perspiration-drenched Mr. Payne was becoming as Apollo began to further pressure the waitress.

Olga was visibly rattled, but she managed to declare that there’d been cheating involved, and attested to such. As she did so, Apollo seemed to have his thinking cap on in high gear as he turned to his mentor.

“Um …Mr. Gavin?” He asked sheepishly. “What’s a full house?”

Kristoph sighed. It really shouldn’t have come as a surprise to him that his still wet behind the ears assistant didn’t know the first thing about poker! After explaining to the boy about a full house, the Judge and Mr. Payne seemed to make it their mission to educate and further inundate Apollo with poker information throughout the cross-examination, as well. By the time the three men were done schooling the overwhelmed red attorney, the poor kid looked as though he wished he’d never asked about the damn game in the first place!

The blonde came across as credibly faint-hearted in her testimony, but of course, to a professional like Kristoph, who had a built-in radar for such malarkey, she was as transparent as a newly washed window. The waitress was so unconvincing in spinning her web of attempted deception as she spoke about Phoenix’s attempted cheating that even his greenhorn sidekick could sense it. At one point, Apollo leaned over and whispered in his boss’s ear.

“Something’s just not right here Mr. Gavin! I understand that I didn’t know a whole lot about poker, and you had to dumb it down and explain it all to me in a brief nutshell, but there’s something amiss here! I just know it!”

“I support your theory, Justice,” Kristoph murmured supportively. “And I agree with you wholeheartedly. Don’t you worry, we’ll expose her for the fraud she is!”

Olga continued with her ridiculous storytelling regarding the incorrect number of aces that had been present in the cards that night until finally, the exasperated German requested an examination of the cards themselves. Payne obliged, and Apollo asked to see the victim’s hand. When he did, the blond man did a double-take.

What’s this?! Most of these cards are red?! Did I somehow … No, impossible! There is absolutely no way that I, of all people, could be so careless…

Kristoph was jolted from his nerve-wracking train of thought as Apollo-I-Have-No-Indoor -Voice-Justice suddenly let out a startled cry – once again right by his ear!

“Your Honor! One of the backs has a different color!”

“Th-That’s impossible!” Olga spluttered. “I put that card in Wright’s hand…Ack!”

Her face visibly paled as she clapped a mittened hand over her mouth.

Game over! Kristoph’s lips curved upward into a cruel smile. I’ve got you now, lady! How I’m going to relish having you pinned down like a bug to a wall!

“What was that, Ms. Orly?” He demanded harshly.

“No!” The waitress shrieked, huge eyes round with dismay. “Ny-Nyet! Er, I merely said, eh … Dah, I have, eek!”

“Your Honor?” Kristoph turned to the judge

“M-Mr. Gavin, yes?”

“Tell me,” the defense attorney asked smoothly. “What is the easiest way to cheat at poker?”

“To…cheat?” The judge echoed, with his customary look of confusion.

“I’ll tell you,” Kristoph smirked. “One merely needs a friend, a ‘comrade’, shall we say … The dealer!”

“Ah…Ah!” At last, it appeared the judge finally comprehended the situation

“Wait…” the young man’s hazel eyes lit up as he grasped the situation. “So you mean …This witness … Ms. Orly…”

“She’s the cheater,” Kristoph’s tone was as cold and accusing as his glare which he now directed towards the witness. “A professional, I’d wager.”

“Nyeeeeeeaaaargh!” Olga screeched in horror.

The courtroom gallery went into a mini uproar.

Seated amongst the spectators, Gumshoe flashed a reassuring smile at the magician sitting next to him, who up until that moment, had been gripping his hand so tightly throughout the trial, that he’d wondered if he still had any circulation remaining within it!

“See? I told you that your Daddy would be all right, kiddo!” He beamed at Trucy. “Apollo Justice is one hell of a lawyer! Phoenix is in very good hands!”

“It serves her right that they gave her enough rope to hang herself with!” Trucy crossed her arms across her chest and scowled at the visibly agitated server. “Dirty, rotten, lying cheat, trying to frame my Daddy like that! Shame on her!”

“Order! Order!” The judge had to shout over the roaring din to make himself heard.

“Your Honor.” Apollo consulted his notes. “Please recall the testimony we have just heard!”

“Th – That’s impossible!” Olga had spluttered. “I put that card in Wright’s hand…Ack!” Her face visibly paled as she clapped a mittened hand over her mouth.

“…Therefore!” Apollo yelled. “Ms. Olga Orly conspired to cheat, not with my client … but with the victim, Mr. Shadi Smith!”

Kristoph smiled smugly as everything unfolded. This was working out almost better than he could have planned.

“Ooooooogh!” Olga let out a soft whimper.

“Whaaaaaaaaat!?” The stricken Mr. Payne recoiled sharply, looking as though he were about to faint from shock.

“Not only did she cheat…” Apollo glowered at the witness. “She cheated poorly! Therefore, it’s not hard to imagine an altercation between her and the victim!”

“Whaaaaaaaaat!?” At this point, the prosecutor had gone from shocked to flat-out gobsmacked, unintelligibly blathering idiot!

“Wait!” The judge blinked. “You don’t mean…The defense isn’t accusing the witness, Ms. Olga Orly…are you?”

“… I most certainly am.” Apollo’s arm shot right out as he pointed his accusing finger at the quivering waitress. “The defense accuses the witness, Ms. Olga Orly, of murder!”

“Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!” With this being the last sound that escaped her shaky lips, the waitress’s face drained of all color then, and she collapsed into a dead faint.

“Mr. Payne,” the judge inquired mildly after the waitress’s unconscious body was taken away, as though he hadn’t seen a thing. He was unfazed by the observed theatrics, which was a cakewalk compared to all the countless shenanigans he had seen in his many decades behind the bench. “Where is your witness, Ms. Olga Orly?”

“Erm,” Mr. Payne sounded nervous. “It appears she has lost, eh, consciousness, Your Honor.”

“Hmm…” The judge replied noncommittally. “Mr. Justice?”

“Your Honor?” Apollo held his breath.

“It seems you’ve presented a new possibility to the court,” the judge affirmed. “One suggesting a connection between the witness and the victim, Mr. Smith.”

“And that means…!?” Apollo was now breathless with anticipation.

“This court cannot pronounce a verdict for the defendant at this time!” The judge declared.

Kristoph began a last-minute change of plans in his head.

While this isn’t the outcome I was hoping for, all things considered, what do I care if some worthless waitress turned failed card shark dealer gets arrested and takes the fall for the crime that I committed? The bane of my existence, Zak Gramarye, is still dead, my protégé will win his first case for Gavin Law Offices, I’m off the hook… And will have literally gotten away with murder. It doesn’t make a difference to me if I delay the inevitable punishment for Phoenix Wright just a little bit longer. I can’t say I haven’t been enjoying myself immensely, pulling at the strings and playing puppet master with his pathetic existence…

“Nnk!” Screeched  Mr. Payne, whose unhinged jaw had still yet to be scraped off the floor from its last dropping. “What?”

“I see no point in prolonging the trial this day.” The judge pounded his gavel and affixed the prosecutor with his most withering stare. “The prosecution will need to make further inquiries…”

Apollo looked positively jubilant at this announcement, and Kristoph was nearly giddy with relief and glee himself…Right up until he heard a familiar, heart-sinking sound, which made the blood freeze in his veins.

“Objection!”

Trucy’s heart leaped in her chest, as did Gumshoe’s. They both were all too familiar with that holler and were the only ones in the courtroom who were not surprised by the source of it.

Phoenix had once again resumed his place at the witness stand, that repugnant, smug smile of his playing upon his lips. The defense attorney’s icy blue eyes shot daggers as he glared hatefully at his adversary.

“M – Mr. Wright?” Apollo stammered, looking bewildered.

The beanie wearer ignored his defense and kept his head tilted down so that his face was hidden from the court, although his words were still heard loud and clear.

“You can’t end the trial here, your Honor. Not yet.”

Put a sock in it, Wright! Kristoph was positively seething although he made sure his outward countenance was fully composed.

“What nonsense is the defendant spewing now?” Mr. Payne was beyond flummoxed, as well as sweating buckets. Had Kristoph not been so shaken at this sudden turn of events, he would have offered the human WetNap of a man his handkerchief.

Or…a mop…

“Think. One of the cards has a different colored back.” Phoenix’s unwavering gaze studied the courtroom. “Don’t you wonder what that means?”

“Objection!” Mr. Payne’s shrill voice rang through the court. “Wh-what are you doing, Mr. Wright? Raising objections right when you’re about to get off the hook? Ridiculous!”

Listen to Mr. Ouchy, Wright. Never before in his entire existence had Kristoph ever wished so hard that looks could legitimately kill.  Had that been the case, his nemesis would’ve been shark bait by this point! Best quit while you’re ahead if you know what’s good for you … Ekelhaft! Why is the judge grinning like an idiot at all this?!

“Mr. Payne…” The judge drawled, a ghost of a smile playing on his lips, looking not at all displeased with this outcome. “You of all people should know that Mr. Wright has a talent … for the ridiculous!”

At hearing this, a smarmy smile flickered across the ex-King of the Turnabout’s lips, which he directed first at the judge… And then directly at Kristoph, who was completely fuming at this point! He felt his chest tightening into a knot, like a cramp, as the mounting rage within him began to build. Heaving breaths of incensed hatred were rapidly being expelled from his lips in sharp, ragged pants.

Phoenix noticed his good friend’s reaction, and his infuriating response was to smile even more broadly in return, threatening Kristoph’s rapidly rising blood pressure to hit the roof right there and then!

The German’s rage only further increased when the judge amiably agreed that perhaps it would be best to get to the bottom of things to ascertain what had actually transpired on that fateful night, and with a nod of his head, the former attorney went on to further elaborate about the two red card decks that had been used and at some point, one of them had to have been swapped. After a while, he finally halted in his testimony and gazed directly into the eyes of the red attorney.

“I’d like to hear what Apollo thinks,” he stated quietly. “When do you think the cards were swapped?”

Apollo looked near faint with anxiety, and Kristoph could practically hear the gears shifting in his understudy’s nubile young brain. The German man hoped, somewhat pitifully, he knew, that he’d overestimated the younger man’s capabilities, and that he would get the answer wrong.

Kristoph had already morphed from cursing Phoenix Wright six ways from Sunday to calling himself every name in the book for his injudicious actions! He still couldn’t believe his rotten luck!

How could I have been so damn fatuous as to put the wrong color card back in the deck?!

After what seemed like forever, and Kristoph was sure his heart was going to explode inside his chest, Apollo seemed to have come to his conclusion. His gaze was steady and sure as he answered his client’s question.

“Perhaps it happened … after the murder?”

“Objection! That’s ridiculous! What’s the point of cheating after the hands have been shown? That’s silly!” Mr. Payne looked as confused as a fart in a fan factory about how the rookie had come to that deduction.

“Objection!” The greenhorn countered. “Yes! But tell me … how do you swap cards during the game? I’d take silly over impossible.”

Thatta boy, Apollo! Phoenix grinned at him. I knew you’d figure it out! I can see your confidence building with every passing minute! Although it seems your mentor is less pleased with this than I am…

His amused gaze slid over to the slightly shaken Kristoph, who appeared distinctly uncomfortable, looking as though he desperately needed to pass gas!

Ah well, if that’s the case, let him suffer holding it in then! The spiky-haired man chuckled ruthlessly to himself. Although at this point, Kristoph would be doing the whole world a big favor if he did spontaneously combust!

“Take it from me, son,” Mr. Payne addressed Apollo in an almost fatherly fashion. “There’s a lot of silly in this world…”

I do believe your generation referred to these individuals as The Gay, Winston.

At this point, Phoenix was having a blast, although he supposed he was somewhat grateful nobody could read his train of somewhat juvenile and completely undignified thoughts!

“…But very little impossible.”

The courtroom went to a standstill as everyone present mulled over the veracity of Winston Payne’s surprisingly articulate statement…until Apollo dragged everybody back to reality.

“Oh? Even when the backs of the cards are a different color? If you pulled that during a game, you’d be caught in no time!”

The courtroom was buzzing like a swarm of bees. Kristoph was regarding his apprentice in an entirely different light now, amazed at how grossly he’d underestimated him. Apollo Justice was no longer a rookie attorney who was in over his head. He was an ingenuous, fledgling attorney well on the rise…who now posed a very genuine threat.

Phoenix was officially having the time of his life! He knew he had the case in his hands at this point, and that he just needed to give just a bit of steering aid to help guide the wholly capable young man in the right direction.

“A simple, decisive question must be asked.” The pianist cocked a half-smile in Apollo’s direction as he then posed the next loaded question. “Who swapped a red card for a blue card?”

“Wh-who?” Apollo inquired cautiously, his new-found confidence seeming to waver. The German’s heartbeat quickened as a glimmer of hope surged through him. He had to capitalize on that if he was going to sway the young man to think in his mentor’s favor. And he had to do it fast.

Kristoph’s throat was dry and his voice was hoarse as he stared beseechingly at his apprentice, silently begging him to alter his course of logic, although the German could already see it was an exercise in futility, as Apollo wasn’t looking anywhere but into the reassuring eyes of Phoenix Wright for guidance now.

“The game and murder is over and done. The victim is dead. Only two remain in the room. Alive, that is. The defendant, Phoenix Wright, and our witness, Olga Orly.”

“The one who swapped the cards wasn’t Mr. Wright, of course,” Apollo determined, jutting his chin, much to Kristoph’s great chagrin. “And, well, it doesn’t seem like it could have been Olga Orly, either…”

“Wh-What are you suggesting then!?” The judge was baffled.

“That’s hardly a logical conclusion, I’ll admit,” Kristoph told his employee. “However, as the defense, I think it only makes sense for you to name Ms. Orly at this point.”

He was sorely hoping his stealthy manipulation of the circumstances and his lofty declaration of the culprit as fact, rather than speculation, would be accepted as such by his normally naïve protégé, but it seemed as though Apollo had cast all his self-doubts aside and was going to veer on the previously uncharted path of purely independent thought now.

“Yes, yes, I know!” Apollo dismissed, with more than a trace of belligerence. Kristoph’s heart sank. “But…But she was the one who dealt the cards, right? I…I just can’t believe she would make the mistake of swapping the wrong color card!”

“And if the card was swapped during the game, it’d be obvious…” the judge noted, to no one in particular.

“Heh,” Phoenix chuckled mirthlessly. It was a loud and distinct sound that was unmistakably audible across the hushed courtroom. “Heh heh heh heh.”

Apollo stared at his idol as though he’d acquired a second head. After all, Phoenix hadn’t gotten off the hook for murder just yet. So could possibly be so darn funny?

Kristoph felt his spirits sink even further. Was his rival literally getting the last laugh, after all?

“Something you’d like to share with the court, Mr. Wright?” The judge asked, clearly as lost about the cause of mirth as everybody else.

“Oh, my apologies, Your Honor,” Phoenix responded with a devilish glint in his eye. “I was just thinking about how much fun all this is.”

“Objection!” Screamed Mr. Payne.

The high-pitched falsetto startled Kristoph with its intensity. Between his assistant and the screechy prosecutor, the latter of whom he’d momentarily forgotten was even in the room, the German was certain his ears would never fully recover from the abuse they had suffered after that day!

“Fun!?” Scoffed the reed-voiced prosecutor. “How about confusing!? I have no idea what the defense is claiming, Your Honor! If the one who swapped the cards wasn’t the defendant, and it wasn’t Ms. Orly … Then who was it!?”

“Er, yeah…” Apollo flushed slightly and awkwardly scratched the top of his head adorably. “Well, that is the question, isn’t it?”

“Precisely,” Phoenix deadpanned.

“Huh?” Apollo studied him blankly.

A mysterious smile flickered across the hobo’s stoic features.

“I believe we’re about to see this case take…a new direction.”

“A new direction?” Repeated the judge.

The pianist nodded.

“We’ll find that, indeed, after the murder…someone swapped one of the cards in the victim’s hand.” The ex-attorney raised his head then, and his intense eyes peered directly into Kristoph’s, who for the first time in his life, was the first one to look away. “And that someone made two critical mistakes.”

“I’m sure you’re going to tell us that the first was swapping the wrong color card,” Kristoph whispered thickly.

“Indeed I am,” Phoenix smirked. “Because the one who did the swap didn’t know the two colors of the cards being used. The other mistake…was the number on the card.”

“Right,” Apollo bobbed his head in agreement. “The person replaced the fifth ace with a king.”

“I’m sure whoever swapped it wasn’t expecting there to be a fifth ace, after all. All they knew was that the game had been won with a full house. So they picked up a king from the table, and swapped it in.”

“Objection!” Squealed Mr. Payne. “B-But! There’s one problem! According to our case record, this person doesn’t exist!”

Well, he’s here, right in this courtroom, and his goose is about to be cooked. Kristoph swallowed hard. Unless of course, I’m misreading Phoenix Wright, and there truly is no damn good reason he’s wearing such a despicably cocksure expression on that ever-smarmy mug of his right now…

“True,” the defendant drawled. “That, is, not until now. But you have to admit the possibility of a fourth person. Though it’s more than a possibility. There was someone else there that night at the scene of the crime.”

“Wh-Whaaaaaaaaaat!?” Mr. Payne caterwauled at another ear-splitting decibel.

Kristoph seriously wondered how the older man didn’t have laryngitis at this point! He clenched his jaw as he stared across the room into his foe’s composed gaze.

“I believe the judge spoke truthfully earlier.” The defense attorney’s voice was pure ice, even as he forced a thin smile to flicker across his face. “You do make trials…ridiculous, Mr. Wright.”

“That’s my pal!” Gumshoe grinned in the gallery, lightly nudging Trucy in the ribs. “Ridiculous is his trademarked game! It’s what he does best!”

The teenager only giggled softly in response, although her captivated gaze never wavered from her father.

“This trial has proceeded on one central assumption.” The judge pounded his gavel, shaking his head. “Namely, that, at the time of the incident, there were only three people in the room.”

“I believe this new evidence…” the accused smiled benignly at the judge. “Shall we say…overturns that assumption?”

The reprimanding judge sternly regarded the pianist.

“The problem is that you chose to conceal this information from the court!”

The recipient of the warning glare responded with his best shit-eating grin in the old man’s direction, making the exasperated magistrate then look like he didn’t know whether or not to smile back or whack the erstwhile attorney over the head with his gavel!

“I suppose that is a problem, yes,” Phoenix agreed blithely, neither appearing apologetic nor concerned with his faux pas.

“Very well!” The judge decreed. “Court is adjourned for a brief recess! Mr. Gavin, I’ll see you in my chambers during this time!”

“Certainly, Your Honor,” Kristoph retorted stiffly.

“Very well!” The judge affirmed. “The trial will resume in twenty minutes!”

Phoenix Wright and Apollo Justice
District Court
Defendant Lobby No. 3
April 20, 2026, 11:52 AM

During the recess, Apollo was beyond pumped. After all in his first-ever courtroom debut, he had not only managed to cast doubt on the prosecution’s chain of events, but he instinctively knew he was close to uncovering the actual truth!

His enthusiasm took a backseat, however, as he then proceeded to curiously observe his mentor and defendant exchange words.

For some incomprehensible reason, Mr. Gavin did not seem nearly as pleased with the whole affair as his apprentice was!

Kristoph decided his best course of action to ensure his survival was to play completely dumb and have a short but sweet discussion with the Hurensohn who was stumbling dangerously close to his well-guarded secret.

“That was quite…unexpected, Mr. Wright,” he ventured coolly, a plastered phony smile set into place as he approached Phoenix. “To suddenly claim there was another person at the scene of the crime like that…I must ask…is it the truth?” He touched his glasses menacingly, an innocent but threatening gesture. He was most displeased that this time there was not even a remote flicker of unease in the dark blue depths that peered back at him impassively.

The card shark was completely unfazed as he stared down his archenemy. This bastard had ruined his life enough already, and the time had finally come for the tables to be turned. He’d already lost everything because of the Zelig fiend standing before him, and there was nothing else Kristoph Gavin could do to him now.

“Well now,” he said with quiet intensity, meeting the other man’s unwavering gaze steadily. “I’d think you would know the answer to that?”

“Ah, being mysterious are we?” Kristoph shook his head with mock dismay. “Sadly, I’ve no time for mysteries. I’d only ask that you leave the defending to your defense, in the future. Otherwise…I cannot guarantee the outcome.”

Once again, if Phoenix had gotten the picture, as intended by the heavily laden words the defense attorney had just uttered, his expression belied no indication of such.

“I see you haven’t mellowed out one bit, Kristoph,” he chuckled, then turned his head away to adjust his beanie, as though the other man weren’t even worth setting his eyes upon for another moment!

Thoroughly miffed at being dismissed in such a callous manner – hell, forget miffed, Kristoph was just flat-out pissed now! – He abruptly turned towards his protégé, who had been eyeing the exchange between the two men with an expression of complete befuddlement on his weather-vane face.

“Justice,” he said curtly.

“Y-Yes, sir!” Apollo stammered.

“The judge has summoned me to my chambers, so carry on without me.” With a final nod at his assistant and without even another glance in Phoenix’s direction, Kristoph strode off toward the judge’s chambers, leaving the two men alone in the lobby.

Apollo was still weirded out by the bizarre conversation he had been privy to unintentionally eavesdrop on and was completely at a loss for words about what to say to his longtime hero. Mr. Gavin had told him that he and Mr. Wright were good friends… But based on what he’d witnessed just now, it was glaringly evident the two men couldn’t stand each other! What the heck was going on here?!

The former legal legend was the first one to break the awkward silence and gave the young man an affable grin.

“You did well, Apollo.”

“Thanks…” He smiled back uncertainly. “Um… Can I ask you something?”

“Sure,” Phoenix replied easily.

“That locket you wear…” Apollo looked away, trying to find the right words for what he was about to ask, and ultimately just blurted out the question that had been plaguing his mind. “Is that really yours, Mr. Wright?”

I truly do like this young man, Phoenix mused as he studied the defense attorney’s earnest expression, which reminded him more and more of Trucy’s the more he looked at him. The resemblance between the two half-siblings was quite astonishing, at least to him. The kid cuts right to the chase and has no guile whatsoever. Completely trustworthy. However, that still doesn’t mean I’m about to lay all my cards on the table for him… Just yet.

“Ah, you’re wondering about the victim’s disappearing locket?” He inquired mildly. “Here, you can take a look at it. That’s a picture of my daughter in there.”

“I’m… just surprised to hear you had a daughter.” Apollo cast a cursory gander at the photo of the sweet-faced moppet in a pink magician’s hat inside, then quickly handed it back.

“Most people are,” Phoenix replied glibly, although there was a mischievous twinkle in his eye that Apollo couldn’t help but be curious about. “Perhaps you’ll meet her one of these days.”

Apollo looked startled at the statement, and the DILF couldn’t help but snicker to himself. He supposed it would appear strange for a client, who was on trial for murder, to be idly chatting about meeting other members of his family to his defense attorney, as though this was a social setting, considering they were supposed to have a more businesslike relationship. Regardless, he just couldn’t help himself! There was something so genuinely endearing about this kid. Apollo possessed an air of such unadulterated vulnerability that it just made you want to hug him or adopt him or something.

“One more question…” Apollo began hesitantly. “The one who cheated that night… Was it you?”

The pianist studied the anxious look in those heartfelt hazel eyes and realized two things immediately. First, Apollo Justice desperately wanted the answer to his question to be no … And second, this was undoubtedly the very same boy whose friend had approached Phoenix, in another lifetime, and beseeched him to autograph his law book, citing that it was for his dear friend, Apollo, who completely idolized him.

Although Phoenix was touched to know he was held in such high esteem, he was also slightly depressed by it. He wasn’t that man anymore, and he no longer deserved such reverence, not from Apollo or anyone, if he ever really had. What good could be had for this young man with a promising future to remain clinging to the childhood hero-worshiping of a disgraced ex-attorney?

“What do you think?” He asked quietly, staring directly into those anxious Bambi eyes.

“Huh?” Apollo appeared startled by the response, so Phoenix figured he needed to hammer his point home just a bit more.

“You know what happened seven years ago … What I did,” he said flatly, poker face in full effect now. “It’s not unreasonable for you to think I might cheat.”  

After all, everybody else in the world at the time assumed that was the case, right?

“I-I never!” Apollo protested vehemently. “Honest! But…”

“Want to know something?” Phoenix decided the time had come to somewhat change topics now. “There’s only one game where you can be dealt bad cards all night and still win. Poker.”

“Eh…?” Bewildered golden orbs gawked back at him.

“You see, poker is all about reading your opponent. In that way, it’s a lot like a court case.”

“Poker… is like trial law!?” The rookie’s eyes widened as he digested this new information.

“Figure out what your opponent is thinking, and you win.”

“Well, yeah, but that’s harder than it sounds,” Apollo admitted, ruefully acknowledging that he had no poker face whatsoever.

“I think not.” The ex-attorney shook his head. “Try as they might to conceal it, everyone reveals their true thoughts in the end. Their body language can become a valuable source of information.”

“You’re kidding!”

“That witness, for instance, Ms. Orly,” the pianist elaborated. “She would touch the back of her neck during certain parts of her testimony. Did you notice?”

“Uh…No.” The younger man blushed and shook his head.

“Words, habits, twitches…It’s all information for the reading,” the fake musician advised. “That’s the secret to winning.”

Apollo simply goggled at him, trying to understand, but failing.

“Someone taught me that once.” Phoenix’s voice grew uncharacteristically soft then, and he allowed the affection to show in his eyes as he fondly looked upon his daughter’s brother. “And now, I pass the secret on to you.”

“B-But, I’m not worthy!” Apollo shook his head stubbornly. “I mean, there’s no way I’ll ever pick up on these ‘signals’ which you speak of!”

The poker champ barely suppressed a sigh of impatience at the young man’s obtuseness. He was honestly amazed that a Gramarye descendant could be this much in the dark about his mystical, otherworldly abilities. How it was that Trucy had clued into her own innate talents by such a young age, yet her much elder sibling had not?

At this point, Phoenix could hardly sit the boy down and tell him just what he was truly capable of! And it wasn’t as though Apollo was likely to believe such an outrageous claim from a man who was nothing more than a stranger to him anyway!

No, unfortunately at the moment, all he could do was give Apollo a few, well-placed hints, and keep his fingers crossed that he would figure out the rest, somehow, someway, on his own.

“No.  You can do it,” he insisted gently, trying to convey as much as he possibly could with his eyes.  “You just don’t know it yet. But you will. Soon.”

Glancing down at his wristwatch, Phoenix realized his brief time to converse with his attorney was rapidly drawing to a close, as recess was going to end soon, so he tried to tie up the conversation as neatly as he could.

“Ah, almost forgot, one more thing,” he said casually, intending for it to come across as a mere afterthought. “About this case…You should know, I haven’t told the truth to anyone yet.”

“Whaaaaaaaa –!?” Apollo’s jaw dropped as he gaped at Phoenix in a stupefied manner which was nearly identical to Winston Payne’s, although with his cute baby face, somehow it was a much more charming, albeit more amusing, look when worn by the red attorney!

“I have my reasons, of course,” Phoenix added mysteriously, casting a cursory glance at that impossible-to-miss Gramarye heirloom bracelet the young man wore on his wrist. Apollo’s gaze followed his, and he reflexively clapped his hand over the thick bangle. “All shall be revealed.”

He affixed the spiky-haired man with a level gaze, hoping to project the sincerity of his words with his expression.

“And Apollo… I need you to be there, defending me.” He decided it was time for one final hint. “I need your power.”

“My, um, power?” The words only earned him another blank stare.

Phoenix sighed, more audibly this time. He had said all he possibly could. In all actuality, he’d probably said too much. Luckily, or perhaps not so luckily, Apollo still hadn’t clued into the underlying message of anything he’d tried to discreetly convey.

“…It’s time.” A slight upturned curve hovered over the pianist’s lips. It was only a slight gesture, one he was no longer unaccustomed to making, but it was still a completely sincere smile that he directed at the somewhat awed-looking attorney. “The real trial begins now. Do your best, Apollo Justice. I know you can do it.”