Ace Attorney: Secrets beneath Secrets

Turnabout Below, Part 18

May 31

Prosecutor's Office

1:30 PM

Chrysalis Starr

"I don't know what it is that you're dragging us into, Cotoli, but you had better have a plan," Polly frowned. We were following my brother into the Prosecutor's Office after having just arrived outside the building. Polly didn't seem too pleased with this keeping her from getting back home after she had already been out of the house for days on end thanks to being arrested. However, Cotoli seemed pretty sure that this would make her change her tune. I didn't know if that was possible, but I decided to go along with it for now. After all, if he knew what he was doing, who was I to question it? He was the one who had been involved with this case and all its messiness, not me.

"I have more than a plan. I want to introduce you to someone familiar... Though I must admit that this introduction will be in a new light," Cotoli told her, a small smile on his face. I knew that smirk all too well. That was the face he made when he was up to something. I knew it wasn't anything bad, but I couldn't help my suspicions that this was going to be interesting.

"You're making it sound so mysterious," Anton remarked, his eyes as wide as saucers. He looked up at Cotoli with all the adoration in the world, and I have to admit that I found it rather sweet. He was absolutely precious. There wasn't any other way I could think of to say it.

"I don't know if I would call it mysterious, but it's certainly intriguing. In fact, I'm sure that you'll find it interesting as well. You'll love to hear about all of this, because it means that our family is going to grow a little bit larger," Cotoli grinned, nudging Anton with his elbow as we got into the elevator. He reached out his finger to press the button for the correct floor.

I have to admit, the bit about our family getting larger caught me by surprise. I looked at him with a small frown, unsure as to what he could be getting at. My first instinct was to think that he was talking about Pieter, but that couldn't be possible. Pieter had been missing for ages now, and even if he came back, why would he be at the Prosecutor's Office? Sadness settled deep in my stomach despite my best attempts to dispel it. I couldn't think about him now. There were clearly other things to focus on, and I didn't want to be bogged down by the past. Pieter would come back when he was ready, and I couldn't force it as much as I wanted to.

"What are you talking about, Morix?" Polly asked, looking at him with a harsh, inquisitive eye. She only ever called him by her last name when she was suspicious of him for something, and it was rare. She knew just as well as I did that he wasn't getting up to anything bad, simply because Cotoli didn't have it in him to do something awful, but she had no idea what was happening.

"You'll figure it out soon enough. In fact, it involves a story that you've told me before. You'll find it to be interesting when we finally get the chance to dive deep and learn more," Cotoli explained, smiling more. I didn't even think that was possible. He was certainly excited, but I had no idea how to take it. I had seen him hyped for something before, but this was something different entirely.

The elevator doors opened, and we stepped out. I surveyed the area, trying to see if anything suspicious was hiding nearby, but my attempts to find something ultimately came up short. I remained towards the back of our quartet, letting Cotoli lead us down the hallway. I knew the layout of the Prosecutor's Office rather well, but I didn't know why he would have us here. After all, this wasn't the floor where Polly, Sora, or Ghastly had their offices. We didn't regularly visit the other floors, so what made this visit so special?