Ace Attorney: Fading Bloodlines

Turnabout Monorail Part 10 (Yamato) FINAL

//April 25, 3032. Hospital Room No. 5111, 10:33 AM//

When I woke up the next morning, Aura was curled up in my arms. I was surprised she was still asleep when it was half an hour past ten AM...

Wait... Ten AM was when Xoie's trial started!!

I threw off the covers and tried to stand up, though my back hurt way too much. I groaned as soon as my feet hit the ground, so I laid back down. Stupid monorail explosion... I wanted to be there for her, though I knew that I couldn't. Aura didn't even let me get up to say hi to Ms. Graye, so going to Xoie's trial was an even bigger no-no.

I settled back into my place cuddling with Aura when I heard the door creak open. I checked the clock to see that it was now eleven AM. I frowned and looked up, hoping that it would be somebody other than a nurse or a doctor. I had seen enough nurses and doctors during the past day.

Instead, I saw Takuya and Xoie walking in. Both of them looked somewhat happy, though there was sadness in their gazes, too. "Hi, guys," I greeted, holding a finger to my lips before pointing to a sleeping Auralyn.

Takuya and Xoie nodded, sitting next to me. "How are you feeling?" Takuya asked me.

"I got a not guilty, if that makes you feel any better," Xoie smiled. "Nobody could investigate the case or anything like that, so I was let off the hook."

"Though there was somebody killed in the explosion, sadly..." Takuya frowned. "Mary Sue. I'm sure at least Aura will find the name familiar."

"Even I know it. Aura explained it to me a while ago," I said with a sigh. "I don't know why all of this is happening..."

"I asked for Detective Erikson to give me the case file. He gave it to me, and I think that looking through it would be a good idea," Xoie cut in. She flicked it open and began to look at it.

"Do you think that the culprit is really targeting people involved in the case?" I asked nervously. I hugged Aura a little bit tighter in my fear.

"I bet so. There's no reason for them to start killing all of those people all of a sudden. Ms. Yin and Mr. Yang... Ms. Sue, too... They didn't deserve this," Xoie murmured, looking up from the case file for a few seconds.

"Nobody involved with the case deserves to die," Takuya hissed, his hands tightening into fists.

"Calm down, Tak. Try stroking Aura. She calms me down," I told my brother.

Takuya took my advice and ran his fingers through Aura's hair. He seemed to calm down almost instantly.

"I think I figured out why the culprit started doing all of this," Xoie piped up.

"Really? Why is that?" I asked.

"It says here that the disappeared dude Cotoli Morix was a witness to the case. He was thirteen at the time," Xoie explained. "I guess that the culprit was reminded of their crime and had to cover it up before the case was reopened."

"In that case, we have a clue about who the culprit is," I realized. "If they thought that the case could be reopened, then they're not involved with the law. After all, anybody else would know that the statute of limitations was long expired."

"Yeah. October. Come to think of it, didn't expire a few days after Aura's birthday...?" Xoie asked, looking through the pages of the case file.

"Two days after Aura's sixth birthday," Takuya said tensely. His shoulders were rigid. Why was he so worried about this...?

"That sure is descriptive," Xoie commented. "But you're right. The case did close two days after Aura's birthday. You been looking into this or something?"

Takuya didn't answer. "Maybe a little bit... But it's nothing to worry about," he explained.

I frowned. "Tak, you can't just keep secrets like this. We all need to be there for one another. We're all the others have left," I told him.

"I can't tell you. Please leave it alone," Takuya said. He was starting to glare at us with an anger I had never seen in him before.

"Why won't you tell us!? It's important to know about this stuff! Secrets don't work with what we're doing!" Xoie yelled.

"Nice alliteration," Takuya snorted.

Xoie smiled at him. "Aw... Thanks, Tak," she grinned.

"Getting back on topic, why won't you tell us? We need to know if it has anything to do with-" I tried to begin.

"It's entirely involved with that! Why do you think I'm hiding it?! It's because I can't tell you anything because... It hurts to think of it," Takuya sighed.

Xoie placed a supportive hand on his arm. "You don't seem okay... You look tired. Let me guess... You can't sleep because of this case being brought up again?"

Takuya sighed. "You know me too well. It's almost scary," he said.

"That's Xoie for you. She's frightfully perceptive," I joked.

"Yeah... That she is," Takuya agreed.

"Thanks for the compliments," Xoie grinned.

"I still have a bad feeling about the culprit... If they're really back, then why? Why did they wait so long to make their move? And will... Will it put Detective Erikson in danger?" Takuya questioned.

Silence covered the room. We all knew that it was bad... Knew that the culprit was bad... But if Detective Erikson was in danger...

We didn't want to think of the outcome.

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WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAH MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN

-Digital