Ace Attorney: Criminal's Masquerade

Turnabout Vault, Part 2 (Chrysalis)

//July 23, 2033. Detention Center, 10:05 AM//

When we got to the detention center, a woman with blue and turquoise hair was perched on the other side of the glass, her eyes downcast. I could feel my stomach begin to churn. Seeing all of these familiar faces I was supposed to have left behind ages ago hurt me, though I would never have the guts to admit it to anybody but myself.

"You must be T," James said. "My, you're a lot prettier than I expected you'd be, beautiful."

T gasped. Her voice was heavily accented, and even if she hadn't spoken yet today, I already knew it well. "Why, thank you... But I'm taken," T told him, a blush breaking out on her face. Even if she wasn't saying it, I already knew that she was with S. Some things you just know thanks to your super shippy senses.

"Let's start simple. What were you accused of?" I asked, trying my hardest to not show the truth in my expression. So far, I thought I was doing pretty well...

"I was accused of murder," T answered, her voice lowering. "At the nearby bank, though I forget the name of it, there was a robbery. The police were called in to catch the thief, but when I got down into the vault, there was a corpse right there..."

"Woah... So you were the one who found the body," I frowned.

"This is already a lot harder than I thought it would be," James declared.

I rolled my eyes. "You thought a murder trial would be easy? Gosh, you're weird," I muttered playfully. I earned a punch in the shoulder, a teasing one, don't worry, from saying that. Even if many people think James and I hate each other for the whole love square deal, we actually sort of like each other when forced to admit it.

"Do you know what was stolen?" James asked, getting back on track.

"Yes. There's a rich woman who invests a bunch of jewels into the vault for safekeeping, and the thief took a variety of her gems out of the vault," T explained. "In fact... There are many people that suspect that the victim was the thief."

"What do you mean?" I questioned, frowning.

"He was wearing all black like thieves normally do. He also had a sack of jewels in his hands when he was killed, so everyone thinks that I killed him because of all the crimes that he committed that day in the vault," T explained. "But I didn't do it..."

"We know that you didn't do it," I jumped in. "And we'll be sure to get you a not guilty verdict when this case hits court. Promise."

"When is the trial, anyways?" James asked.

"Tomorrow, I hear," T answered. "It doesn't seem like enough time to me..."

"Don't worry. You'll be out of here in no time," I smiled.

"What was the murder weapon?" James questioned.

"It was one of the stolen gems. A diamond, to be precise. It was found driven into the neck of the victim, so it killed him instantly. The jewel was cleaned and placed back into the bag of gems, so it took forensics a while to figure it out. In fact, the crime took place last night at two in the morning, but the investigation took all night, so I just got in here today," T continued to tell us.

"These certainly are odd circumstances... But either way, I'm sure that the truth will be found soon," I declared. "Come on, James. Let's head on down to the crime scene."

"Also... Could you tell Jasper not to worry about me?" T asked of us.

"Jasper?" James questioned.

"She means S, James," I told him.

"How did you know?" T asked, tilting her head in curiosity.

"It was a lucky guess," I lied, looking away. Even if lying is sort of my job as Oracle, I still feel bad when I have to deceive people that didn't ask for it. That probably sounds weird, but my mind is weird, so who cares?

"Anyways, let's head on down to the crime scene. Do you think it's at that fancy bank called... Um... I forget the name..." James began to say, though his voice trailed off.

"Diamond Shine Bank?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "And yes. It does seem probable. Let's get down there before the crime scene becomes too crowded for us to get anything done. I imagine that this sort of crime would attract a lot of attention from the media when the reporters find out about it."

//July 23, 2033. Diamond Shine Bank, 10:45 AM//

The bank was a lot fancier than I had expected. I had never been inside, just driven past on my way to Sora's house.

Everything was made out of some shiny stone, and everything glimmered in the overhead light. I thought that I would be blinded if I stared at any one place too long.

"Let's go to the crime scene. That place will probably be more healthy for my eyes," James declared.

I nodded and covered my eyes. "Agreed," I nodded. I let him take my hand and drag me down a staircase and to the vault down below.

The vault was pretty dark. There wasn't much light, and the light that was there came from a terrible little lamp overhead. I sneezed loudly. There sure was a lot of dust in here. That would be killer on my allergies.

"Come on. Let's get started," James declared. He pulled me further into the vault, and I let him drag me. Soon enough, we saw it.

The body.

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A kid started blaring Undertale music in the middle of class I'm crying

-Digital