I have to admit, when I first saw the prompt on the kink meme and my analysis being put up there, I felt a bit awkward. Needless to say, there is no sexual content in this fic (not all kink meme prompts are sexual too). I decided to do this mainly because I'm probably one of the few people that have experienced sensory overload before and this should be filled by somebody who has known that experience.

Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this, and I hope it gives some insight on how sensory overload works.

Disclaimer: Ace Attorney and all recognisable characters belong to Capcom

Kryptonite

The case seemed to be fairly simple. A businessman, Pascal Watt, was murdered in his hotel room, and the accused, Megan Hertz, was working in room service. According to Dessie Bell, a photojournalist, she witnessed Ms. Hertz deal the deadly blow to Mr. Watt's head using the small statue sitting in the middle of the table.

But we were getting a different story from the defendant's testimony. By the time she entered the room, Mr. Watt was already dead and nobody else was in the room. Not only that, but she managed to get a glimpse of the person who took the incriminating photograph of her at the crime scene. Prosecutor Blackquill attempted to convince the court that Ms. Hertz falsified her testimony, but me and Apollo proved with evidence that she was telling the truth. After all, the police couldn't have possibly been on the scene two minutes after Ms. Hertz was photographed in the room.

From the tone of Apollo's voice, I could sense that he was totally excited that we were going to crack this case. We knew from our investigation yesterday that Ms. Bell's behaviour was strange. I picked up joy in her voice when I asked her about why Ms. Hertz clobbered Mr. Watt, an extremely unnatural reaction for watching somebody getting killed in front of her. Unfortunately, before I could dig deeper, a policeman escorted her away from us because she was 'clearly distressed and traumatized from witnessing a murder.' That was the biggest load of crap I'd ever heard.

Now that we were in court, there was nothing to stop us extracting the truth and exposing every contradiction. I knew what I had to do next.

"Ms. Hertz, you said that you managed to catch a glimpse of the photographer. Please describe to the court what you saw."

Prosecutor Blackquill slammed his desk. "Enlighten me, Cykes-dono. How does the photographer have any other relevance to the case, other than capturing the moment of the crime?"

Smirking, I announced, "The defence believes the photographer is the real culprit!"

The gallery erupted into gasps and murmurs at this revelation, probably wondering how I came to that conclusion. It made complete sense to me. The photographer murdered Mr. Watt, exited the room and hid somewhere down the hallway. The photographer called room service, then the police, and waited until the unlucky woman, Ms. Hertz, found the grisly scene. Once she entered the room, the photographer snapped the photo, fled the scene and bumped into the police who were making their way upstairs. The photographer showed them the photograph saved on the camera, and that's why they believed Ms. Hertz was the killer.

However, my ears were tingling at an unusual noise that stood out from the chaos. It was discord. But how could that be? These people were just watching us determine whether the defendant was guilty or innocent of murder. Something was just not right.

"That was a bold move you made," Apollo chimed, breaking my chain of thought, "Although, we shouldn't be putting all our eggs in one basket."

I acknowledged Apollo, but I could still hear that discord screaming over the voices of the people in the gallery. Whenever I heard discord, my ears sting slightly and it only lasts for mere moments. But this sound of discord was constant, and the longer I heard it, the more my ears ache.

With the entire court in disarray, the additional noise wasn't helping. I was starting to feel a bit dizzy. And that was a very, very bad sign.

The Judge's gavel came down with a bang, and his booming voice silenced the people. But the discord was still present. Were my ears playing tricks on me? Or was it really there?

"That is quite a claim, Ms. Cykes. Can you explain why this photographer is relevant?"

"Sure, Your Honour." I rubbed the back of my ear, feeling every nerve around that area registering pain. I flinched slightly, hoping no one noticed that I was faltering. "The photographer could've used that photo to frame my client. Considering my client was at the scene of the crime two minutes before being arrested by the police, it's possible that the photographer showed the photo to one of the arresting officers. Therefore, that's how our client became the prime suspect of the murder."

While the Judge mused over my explanation, I heard Apollo whisper, "Are you fine Athena?" I wasn't surprised Apollo picked that up from my body language; it was an obvious tell that something was wrong. Although, I bet he didn't know what my actions meant.

"Don't worry, I'm good," I whispered, trying to reassure Apollo, and myself from this pain. The pain was beginning to become intolerable, as the high pitched sound was slowly chipping away at my composure. I couldn't display any weakness while I was defending my client. I had to be strong for Ms. Hertz.

"That does sound possible. But the court needs at least some validation of the identity of the photographer," the judge charged.

Great. It wasn't a good time to spell out things to the judge, as it was getting harder to concentrate by the second as long as that discord still existed. I rubbed my ear again before giving the obvious answer.

"Then let's ask the defendant. She did catch a glimpse of the photographer, so any information of their identity is better than nothing."

"Do you have any objections, Prosecutor Blackquill?"

The Twisted Samurai smirked. "I'm looking forward whether the defence is chasing a lead, or chasing their tail."

I shrugged off Simon's attempt at provoking a reaction from me and turned my attention to my client at the witness stand. She appeared daunted to give another statement. As much as I didn't want to force it out of her, we had to find the truth, and hopefully prove her innocence. She was the key to getting us closer to that truth.

"Ms. Hertz," the judge stated, "Please describe to the court what the photographer looked like."

She hesitantly gave her approval, making me a bit worried that she may not have seen enough of the photographer to give an accurate description. I had to deal with her own suffering before my own, so she could feel more comfortable giving her statement.

"It's all right Ms. Hertz. Tell us as much as you know. The defence believes in you."

My client gave me a small smile. I was glad she was a bit more comfortable. This next statement she could give was the breakthrough we needed.

But as soon as she opened her mouth, the discord grew slightly louder. I grunted quietly, the pain was a lot more unbearable than it was before. It was becoming incredibly difficult not to show it in front of Apollo. It was like something was drilling through my ears and into my brain. I could feel my head throbbing from being exposed to this noise.

I took a fleeting glance at Apollo, who was focused on Ms. Hertz's testimony. I was wondering how he could not hear what I was hearing. The discord was much louder, and in a quiet courtroom, that wasn't natural.

Ms. Hertz stopped speaking. I missed her entire testimony because of... whatever was making that noise. I had to find the source of the noise now. It was interfering with me and I couldn't focus unless it was gone. Just... who would believe me?

"That description matches-"

The noise then pierced my ears. I gave in, covering my ears and made a horrifying scream.