Ace Attorney: Web of Mistrust

The Theatrical Turnabout, Part 4 (Chrysalis)

//November 29, 2029. Defendant Lobby No. 3, 9:34 AM//

I desperately hoped I had managed to scrub off all the stupid makeup from two days ago as I walked into the defendant lobby. It was bad enough that I had to wear a costume to my trial. I made a silent reminder to myself to get Cotoli to bring me a change of clothes if the Umber siblings would allow it.

"Chrysalis!"

Sure enough, my big bro himself ran into the room. I could feel the stares of everybody else in the lobby. Seeing a teen in a kimono and a man with four hair colors isn't something you see everyday.

"Cotoli!" I smiled, approaching him. "Do I have any makeup on still?"

He shook his head. "I brought something for you."

Please be a change of clothes, please be a change of clothes.

I didn't get exactly what I wished for, but it still was a little piece of home.

Cotoli pulled my Magatama out of his hoodie pocket. "I thought you might want it."

I gasped and took the stone in my fingers. I rubbed the smooth surface gently. "Thanks!" I grinned. "Could you put it on for me?"

I turned around and moved my ponytail out of the way. Cotoli fastened the charm around my neck within seconds. "There you go."

"Thank you," I told him, doing the type of bow I would have done if the show had gone on. The thought of what would have happened if Saya hadn't died comforted me. I sighed dreamily as I became lost in dreamland. I couldn't wait to go home.

"Ms. Starr?"

"Yo! Chrys! Snap out of it!"

I jerked out of my daydream when Niamh and Yuri walked closer. Yuri had yelled at me, after all.

"S-sorry," I stammered sheepishly. I found myself flushing with color. Too bad I couldn't blame it on the makeup since I'd already wiped it all off.

"Could you tell us what you remember from the night of the crime?" Niamh asked.

I nodded. "Most of it you saw, but there is one weird thing: when I went into the bathroom, the lights were off."

"Why would that be weird?" Yuri questioned. Her bow flopped slightly as she cocked her head.

"The lights are supposed to be on at all times on performance nights. For them to be off is weird. I guess that the real killer did that to screw with our brains," I replied.

"Why would the killer do something like that though?" Yuri wondered aloud.

I shrugged. "I don't really know why it would matter. In light or darkness, murder is still murder."

"Is there anything else?" Niamh asked.

"The murder weapon was a stage prop for the show. Saya had to use it, and so did Shane. Since I'm, er, was, Saya's understudy, I had to use it, too," I explained. "That's why our prints were on it. But there still is one thing I find rather perplexing about all of this..."

"What is it?" Yuri questioned.

"Sure, my prints were on the weapon. But so were Shane's. Why did they choose to arrest me?" I frowned, lost in thought.

"The police think you were jealous of her role in the play. Though this motive could easily be refuted with a stronger motive from somebody else," Niamh answered. "Prosecutor Bloom came up with something better, however..."

"What might that be?" Cotoli asked.

"...The project," Niamh finally replied.

Cotoli tensed up. "If this trial ends with a guilty verdict...!"

"Everything we've been working for throughout the past four years goes down," I finished. I knew that my brother wasn't willing to say it until I had. "More is on the line for this trial than just an innocent person going to prison. Forged evidence, false charges, so many faux legal actions... They'll do nothing but spike if I get a guilty."

My heart was suddenly pounding ten times more than a few seconds before. Luckily, I got cut off by a bailiff shouting, "Will the defense and defendant please proceed to the courtroom?"

I silently thanked the bailiff and pulled Niamh into the courtroom with one hand and Cotoli with the other. "Let's go and take this case head on!" I exclaimed.

//November 29, 2029. Courtroom No. 3, 10:00 AM//

"Court is now in session for the trial of Chrysalis Starr... You know, I'm getting a sense of deja vu here," the judge announced.

"Can we just get on with this, deja vu or not?" I asked from behind the witness stand, crossing my arms.

The judge nodded. "Very well, then. Are the prosecution and defense ready?"

"Born ready," Polly said.

"The defense is also ready," Niamh continued.

"Prosecutor Bloom, your opening statement, please," the judge instructed.

Polly nodded. "Okay. The crime took place two days ago at the local performance hall. The victim was an actress named Saya Kan. She was stabbed in the chest and her death was instantaneous. The defendant was alone for just the right time to commit murder and she has the motive of jealousy of the victim's part in the play, so she was arrested."

"Thank gosh she didn't mention..." I didn't even finish my whispered statement.

"Very good. Please summon your witness now," the judge told her.

Polly finger pointed at the witness stand. "I call Detective Abilene Umber to the witness stand!"

Abilene and I walked by each other as she approached the witness stand. A shiver went down my spine as we passed by one another. The image from yesterday flashed through my mind once again.

"Witness, name and occupation," Polly demanded. I'm pretty sure people only say that because it's a formality. She just said all we need to know, after all.

"Abilene Umber. I'm the detective in charge of this case and head of the investigation," Abilene replied.

"Please give the court testimony on an outline of the case," Polly told her.

"Certainly," Abilene said with a smile. Surprisingly, it wasn't one of the sickly sweet smiles I had become accustomed to during interrogations.

This certainly is an odd character, and that's coming from me.

---------------------------------------------

I screamed so much today you don't even know.

First time: I got into Honors Choir at school.

Second time: ACE ATTORNEY ANIME SCREAMS-

Third time:

Pho: "'Read a story from AAF... The Returning Past...'"

Me: *screams despite being in public*

How has my voice not broken like really-

-Digital