Ace Attorney: Fading Bloodlines

Turnabout Flashback, Part 2 (Pandora)

I stared in confusion at the door, where a young boy stood. He was clinging to a small plush toy, one of a pale blue rabbit. It had a little bit of red on it, though I didn't mind. I was more focused on the kid. He had blue and black hair and bright blue eyes. He wore a blue t-shirt and jeans with black tennis shoes. He looked sooooo cute!

"Who are you?" Mr. Wood asked, crossing his arms. "A crime scene is no place for a child."

"Um... My name is... I'm Cotoli..." The boy bit his lip nervously. 

I crouched down to Cotoli's level. He looked like he was about thirteen, so two years younger than me. "Hi there, Cotoli. My name is Pandora," I smiled at him. 

"W-why are you all here?!" Cotoli yelled, clearly not welcoming our presence. 

"We need to investigate the case," Detective Erikson explained. "So if you could leave us for now..."

"I still don't know why a child like him is at a crime scene," Mr. Wood frowned. 

"I'm a witness for the case, apparently..." Cotoli explained, messing with his shirt sleeve nervously. "The police won't let me go... I want to see my mom... Not be here..."

"I'm sure that you'll be allowed to go and see your mom again soon. But in the meantime, could you please tell us what you saw the day of the crime? It would be a really big help, and maybe you could go home sooner," Anna told him. She had also crouched down to his level. Even if he was thirteen, he still looked really scared for whatever reason... Maybe he knew something about the case that we didn't.

"Okay... Today, I was walking home from school. My teachers held me back because they wanted to ask about... How I've been doing lately..." Cotoli began. I wondered what could be wrong with such a sweet little boy. "Anyways, I was walking home when I heard crying. I looked at Ms. Lilac's house and saw that the door was cracked slightly."

"Where do you live?" Mr. Wood asked. 

"I... Um... Normally, I live with my dad, though today, I've been with my mom. Dad went out of town earlier today, so I had to go with my mom," Cotoli explained. "I walked into Ms. Lilac's house and went upstairs. A-and then... The crying got louder and..."

"And what? We don't have all day," Mr. Wood said, beginning to get impatient. 

"There was somebody on the floor... They were crying because... Blood... Knife... Everywhere..." Cotoli whispered, holding his head. Poor guy... I bet anybody would feel like that if they saw a crime so suddenly.

"What's the victim's name?" Prosecutor Yang asked. "We need to know for the trial tomorrow."

Cotoli shook his head violently. "I-I can't tell you! I don't think that she would like it!" 

"Who wouldn't like it?" Mr. Wood demanded.

Cotoli looked around nervously. He spun around in the blink of an eye and ran from the room, dropping the rabbit toy he had been holding. I frowned and picked it up. "I think it would be best if we let him calm down a little more before talking to him again," I said.

"I wonder why he was holding this... It looks a little bit... Too childish for somebody his age," Anna commented. She took the rabbit from my hand and began looking it over.

"Wait... On the ear... Is that... Blood?!" Prosecutor Yang yelled. He snatched the plush away and looked it over in a little bit more depth. I soon saw that he was right; there was blood on the rabbit's ear.

"I guess that it was at the crime scene," Anna frowned.

"Speaking of the crime scene..." Detective Erikson turned back to the crime scene. I diverted my focus as well. There was a large blood pool in the center of the room with 'S.O.S.' written out in blood.  I frowned. That sure was a strange looking crime scene...

"I wonder who wrote the message... Maybe the victim?" Anna proposed. 

"I bet you're right. Maybe they were trying to hint at who the culprit is," I said. "Why else would it be there?"

"Yeah. It's not as if the culprit would write something to incriminate themselves for a crime. That's just stupid," Anna agreed. 

"Anyways, we should go and talk to the client. We haven't gotten to speak with her yet since we were assigned by the state," I suggested to Anna. 

Anna nodded. "Let's go."

//October 17, 2016. Detention Center, 7:34 PM//

The detention center was supposed to be closed by the time Anna and I arrived, though Mr. Wood's 'I'm Robin Wood' excuse allowed us to see our client easily. Who knew he could be that useful?

The client walked in, her light brown hair swaying. She looked really pretty...

"Did you find out anything?" The woman twirled her hair over her finger as I recalled her name to be Lilac Starr.

"No. The one witness that we have is more than a little stubborn," Mr. Wood frowned. "Though I'm sure that things will all be okay."

Ms. Starr turned to Anna and I. "And who might you be?"

"My name is Anna Yin. I'm a defense attorney. This young lady right here is my assistant, Pandora," Anna explained.

"It's nice to meet you," I smiled.

"It's a pleasure to meet you as well," Ms. Starr said before turning back to Mr. Wood. "Do you think you're ready for tomorrow?"

Mr. Wood nodded, though it was more than a little obvious that he was stretching the truth.

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Man oh man do I love typing

-Digital