Ace Attorney: Web of Mistrust

Turnabout Mansion, Part 2 (Lily)

//November 1, 2029. Detention Center, 12:30 PM//

I crashed into the detention center panting. "I came as soon as I could!" I yelled.

All the people in the room stared at me in confusion. Chrysalis and Yuri were on the side of the glass closer to me. On the other side was the typical guard, but in the chair was...Niamh!?

"Niamh?!" I exclaimed as I approached the glass.

Niamh nodded with a frown. She said nothing, but watched me as I pulled up a chair in between Chrysalis and Yuri.

"What have you been arrested for?" I asked.
"Murder," Niamh frowned, averting her gaze from anything and everything. "A prosecutor named Callie Umber was killed during a party last night at her mansion. My finger prints were on the knife. I don't know how they got there, though. There was also writing in blood that said 'TW.'"

"That's weird," I commented.

"U-Umber?!" Chrysalis and Yuri exclaimed in sync.

Niamh nodded. "The mother of the prosecutor and detective who arrested me."

"Do you know who the prosecutor is?" I questioned, speaking of prosecutors.

"Moody, I believe," Niamh replied. "Prosecutor Umber chose not to, for some reason."

"Weird," Yuri said with a frown.

"We're taking the case right now, got it?" Chrysalis told me with a wink.

I nodded. "I agree entirely!"

Niamh smiled. "Thank you."

"We should get down to the crime scene," I suggested.

"I'm coming with! You can't just expect me to twiddle my thumbs until my partner gets released from prison!" Yuri exclaimed.

"To Umber Mansion!" Chrysalis shouted, finger pointing at the door.

//November 1, 2029. Umber Mansion, 1:01 PM//

Upon entering the mansion, I was in awe. The walls were velvety and there was a chandelier hanging from the ceiling that was so beautiful I thought I'd collapse. The wood floor was flawless. I could tell that Chrysalis and Yuri were just as breathless as I was. Chrysalis' eyes were wide with awe and Yuri was sighing dreamily.

"This place is most certainly much better looking than my apartment," Chrysalis finally said.

"Same here," Yuri nodded.

"Let's go find the crime scene," I suggested. Chrysalis gestured for us to follow her. Yuri and I trailed her just like she wanted.

After a few minutes of us just walking through the mansion in breathless awe, we finally heard voices. One was a man's, one a woman's, and the final a teenage girl's.

"That sounds like Prosecutor Umber and Detective Umber," Yuri told us. I nodded, not knowing what they sounded like.

Chrysalis didn't appear to care. She was listening to the voices intently. "I saw somebody run by me, a knife in hand," the teenage girl said.

Chrysalis turned around suddenly, her braid coming close to whipping me in the nose. I took a step back, just to be safe. "Girls, the witness here is crazy. A total nut job! I think there's something seriously wrong with her!" Chrysalis exclaimed.

"Chrysalis! Is that any way to treat an old friend?"

A girl ran closer to us. She had a navy blue shirt under a woven cardigan in shades of dark blue, dark purple, black, and gray. She had jeans and short black boots with heels that could probably kill a person. The girl had short brown hair with a black beanie on top. Her eyes were the color of chocolate.

The girl began to speed up before...

Tackling Chrysalis to the ground.

Yuri stared at me in confusion. I shrugged in reply.

"E-Estella! Not in front of my coworkers!" Chrysalis cried, clearly surprised by being forced onto the ground.

"So these are your friends?" the girl, Estella, I assume, asked.

"Lily, Yuri, meet Estella Cignus. The witness for this case and my old friend," Chrysalis introduced, clearly miffed. "Estella, meet my sane coworker, Lily, and my insane coworker, Yuri." I suppose I see where the 'Estelle' alias of Chrysalis got its name.

"It's nice to meet you, my fellow insane teenager!" Yuri smiled, holding out her hand. Estella shook it enthusiastically. Chrysalis groaned and laid her head down.

"Estella. Off. I'll call Nevada on you," Chrysalis said.

"Nevada? Is she one of your legal friends?" Estella asked.

"You two don't go to school together?" I questioned.

"I'm a student at the school where Chrysalis here camps out as a forensic scientist. You know, Aria Claris?" Estella explained. "Though I don't use a fake identity in there."

"We are in public! Do not mention that!" Chrysalis exclaimed, her eyes suddenly ten times wider. "I don't feel comfortable with it after that case-!"

"NOPE NOPE NOPE-" Yuri yelled. She covered her ears with her hands. "NOPE NOPE-"

"Alright, alright," Estella said, pushing herself off of Chrysalis. "I get it. No speaking about torture after that quail snail 5 case."

"Thank you," Chrysalis told her, standing. She brushed some invisible dirt from her shoulders and knees. "Now, what exactly did you see?"

"Why do you think I saw anything?" Estella asked.

Chrysalis sighed. "I have to save Niamh, Estella. Just tell me what you saw. It's important. Really important."

Estella sighed. "Alright. I was walking around during the party last night when I saw this dude in black run by, a knife in his hand. Some of the red on it splattered onto my leather jacket! I had to send it to the cleaner's to get the blood out! I have to deal with this thing while it gets cleaned up!" Estella was practically seething now, anger obvious in her eyes.

"Cardigans aren't so bad, Stel. You'll warm up to 'em," Chrysalis smirked.

"Are you two done?" Yuri questioned. "I don't meant to break up the happy time reunion, but Niamh's in prison right now! We have to get her out!"

"For once Miss Crazy is being focused," Chrysalis commented.

Yuri sighed sharply and turned to Estella. "Could you just take us to the crime scene? We have a wild Niamh to save!"

Estella smiled. "I thought you'd never ask! Right this way!" Estella gestured for us to follow her.

She couldn't be any worse of a guide than Chrysalis.

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Yay double updates whoop.

I referenced something that hasn't even been written yet in this chapter and I swear people will come back to this after that case is up and be like 'oh man I understand sugar now.' The book isn't even up yet. Myeah.

I'm one chapter closer to case 3 at least whoop!

-Dij