"So… I'm dead." Mia said. She was sitting on the leather couch in the defendant lobby and holding her head between her hands. Maggey sat next to her, awkwardly placing a hand on her shoulder. Phoenix had managed to calm Mia down a bit, but there was little he could do to relieve her confusion. "I'm not surprised, considering how I was before I suddenly appeared here." She paused for a moment. "How did I get here?" She looked up at Phoenix, confused and concerned. The expression looked so wrong on her. This was Mia Fey, the most intelligent and rational attorney he'd ever met, save for maybe Edgeworth.

Speaking of Edgeworth…

"Wright!" The prosecutor shouted, bursting through the Defendant Lobby's double doors. "What the devil is going on?" Mia gave a startled shout and jumped to her feet.

"Gee, thanks Edgeworth." Phoenix said, jumping to his feet as well and gently putting his hands on Mia's shoulders. "Just when I managed to calm her down."

Edgeworth grimaced in embarrassment. "Perhaps I should have entered with a bit more tact."

"You think?" Phoenix asked with an eye roll.

"What the heck was that, pal?!" Detective Gumshoe yelled as he too burst through the doors. Phoenix felt Mia flinch in his arms. "How is stalling for a few minutes gonna…" However, his yell quickly died out and became a whimper, as was the usual reaction of anyone on the receiving end of one of Mile's Edgeworth's glares.

"Detective… a word?" The prosecutor said advancing on the unfortunate detective. He turned back to Phoenix for a moment. "I will still be expecting an explanation later."

"Sure." Phoenix said with a nod. (I'll let you know as soon as I actually have one…)

"It appears you need a lesson in courthouse protocol…" The prosecutor began, as he led Gumshoe out of the lobby. "Perhaps your paycheck is too large."

"But sir…" Came Gumshoe's forlorn reply before the doors closed and cut off their conversation.

"Poor Detective Gumshoe…" Maggey murmured.

Phoenix would have been inclined to agree, but he had work to do and precious little time to do it. He turned back to Mia. "You okay?"

"I… I think so." Mia said slowly. "I don't mean to be so jumpy. It's just… I'm dead and I can't remember anything and I don't know where I am or how I got here-" She her voice started to rise in pitch and tempo.

"We're at a courthouse. I'm a lawyer and my assistant, your sister, is a spirit medium." Phoenix explained quickly, hoping to diffuse the situation before Mia started panicking again. He couldn't really blame her, given what little he knew. "I guess she thought I needed some help so she called your soul. You're possessing her body right now."

That made Mia look incredibly uncomfortable. "So then this isn't the real me?" She sighed, and sat back down next to Maggey. "When I first realized I had a real body again, I was hoping everything else that happened to me had been some sort of dream." She laughed quietly, but there was no joy to it. "I guess that's not the case, huh?"

"No." Phoenix said solemnly. "I'm sorry."

Mia fidgeted, grabbing Maya's robes and trying to cover her ample cleavage. "I've got to say she doesn't dress very appropriately. Especially for a government building like this."

"Actually…" Phoenix blushed and averted his eyes. "Those are yours."

"The robes?"

"Uh… no." He said, scratching his nose and trying to appear nonchalant.

A look of mortified understanding crossed Mia's face. She blushed for a moment, before that look was replaced by one of confusion. "But I thought you just said I was possessing her."

"It's… complicated." Phoenix said, before quickly changing the subject. He had less than twenty minutes to get answers out of Mia while also coming up with a workable defense. "But anyways, is there anything you remember?"

The woman shook her head. "Nothing before about a day ago."

"Nothing about being a lawyer?"

"No."

"What about your sister? Maya?"

"Nothing."

"Not even your name?"

She didn't say anything for a second. Then, quietly, "What is my name?"

Phoenix didn't know why, but he hesitated for just a moment. her name had a… weight to it. The woman had been his teacher, his chief. But more than that, she had saved his life. She was a trusted friend. Her very name was even powerful enough to exorcise a particularly malevolent spirit. "Mia Fey."

The corner of Mia's mouth curled into a small smile, and for a moment, Phoenix saw his confident mentor again. "Mia Fey… I like that."

Phoenix smiled back at her, before adopting a more serious expression. "Unfortunately, I really don't have much time, so we've got to hurry. What is the first thing you remember?"

Mia crossed her arms in thought. "I'm not sure. A lot of it is fuzzy. I'm even having trouble remembering recent things."

"Hmm…" Phoenix scratched his chin. He really needed to hurry things up, but he didn't want to push Mia too hard either. Amnesia was not a fun thing.

"I… I think I remember a shop of some kind." Mia said slowly. "There was food there. Bread and muffins and those sorts of things."

Phoenix blinked. It couldn't be. "You mean, like a bakery?"

"Yes." Mia said, her face brightening. "I think it was a bakery."

A bakery. Phoenix himself just recently returned from the grave in a bakery. And it sounded like Mia had been there without a body, just like Sissel. That couldn't be a coincidence. "What else?"

Mia's brow furrowed. "I'm not sure. The early things are really hard to remember."

Phoenix glanced at the clock on the wall. The recess was already almost over, and he still hadn't talked to Maggey. Finding out the rest would have to wait. "I'm sorry, Mia, but I've got to prepare for the trial. Could you stick around?"

The former defense attorney smiled grimly. "It's not like I have anywhere else to go."

"Anyways, Maggey." Phoenix began. The defendant shrank back nervously. Strange, that wasn't like her. "I'm sorry, this is probably really confusing for you too, huh?"

Maggey looked a little relieved and shrugged. "Not really, sir. Even though I'm not an officer anymore, I still love to come here and watch trials. Yours especially get very exciting. I was here for your last case involving the spirit channelling technique, so this isn't all that surprising."

(So Maggey was here for that case, huh?) Phoenix thought. That did simply things.

"…Mr. Wright." Maggey said slowly. "Spirit mediums can only channel spirits in their own bodies, right?"

Phoenix cocked his head to the side. "What do you mean?"

"Well…" Maggey said slowly. "They don't have any other… special powers, do they?"

"I hadn't thought all that much about it." Phoenix admitted. Before yesterday, he'd always taken the Kurain Channeling technique at face value. "Why?"

But then the chains were back. The whipped and turned throughout his field of vision before wrapping around the young woman in front of him. Once again, three locks appeared before her. Phoenix's eyes widened. (Suddenly, I think I have an idea about why Maggey's being so secretive…) He reached into his pocket. Time to put the Magatama to good use.

"Mr. Wright." Said a voice. Immediately, Phoenix's focus broke. The locks were gone, and he found himself able to once again perceive Mia and the bailiff, who had approached them.

No, not now…

"It's time to continue the trial." The court employee said.

Phoenix grit his teeth. Just when he thought he might be close to uncovering something.

Phoenix was snapped from his thoughts by the sharp slam of the Judge's gavel.

"Court will now reconvene." The Judge said, before casting a stern glare straight at Phoenix. "I trust the defense has composed itself?"

"Y-yes, Your Honor." Phoenix said. At his side stood Mia, who had gripped the front of her robes and was embarrassedly holding them shut.

The Judge raised an eyebrow before continuing. "Very well. While it is regrettable to end a trial in such a way, and despite the lack of testimony, the video evidence remains concrete proof that the defendant was indeed the only person inside the victim's apartment during the murder." Maggey stiffened. "As there does not appear to be anyone else capable of committing the crime, I shall pronounce my verdict. I hereby find the defendant-"

"OBJECTION!" Phoenix shouted, probably a little too desperately. Mia jumped a bit. Despite her attempts to keep under control, she was still acting a bit like a frightened rabbit. It was almost like those old court videos he'd seen of her. The Judge glared at him, and Phoenix shrank back ever so slightly before regaining his composure. "Your Honor." He said slowly. "In a case with so little evidence to go on, and no firsthand testimony of the crime, the defendant should have the chance to testify about it herself. After all, she was supposedly the only one present at the scene, right?"

The Judge stroked his beard. "Hmm… you do have a point, but I'm not sure how useful testimony of the crime would be coming from the defendant. It's natural to lie to defend oneself, after all. What do you think, Mr. Edgeworth?"

"While you make an excellent argument, Your Honor, I must agree with Wright at this current juncture." Edgeworth said calmly. "As members of the court, it is our duty to examine all relevant testimony. In a case with still so much uncertainty, I believe it would be unwise to pass judgement now."

There was a pregnant pause before the Judge finally nodded. "I agree. Although I'm not sure how useful the testimony would be in the long run, it would be foolhardy not the hear it at this point. The defendant may testify."

Phoenix bowed his head in relief. As he did so, two droplets of sweat fell from his forehead onto the desk. That had been too close. "Thank you, Your Honor."

A minute later, Maggey was on the stand. "Name and occupation, please." Edgeworth said.

"Maggey Byrde." She said, surprisingly loudly. Unlike most defendants on the stand, Maggey's back was straight and she actually looked professional for once.

(It must be her police training coming back out…) Phoenix thought.

"Right now, I'm a delivery girl for Mario's Pizza Castle." She continued.

"Hold on." The Judge said, confused. "Weren't you just here a few months ago? And weren't you a maid back then?"

"Waitress, actually." Maggey said with a blush. "But I got fired, so I now I'm a delivery girl."

Edgeworth looked Maggey in the eye and gave her the slightest of nods. That surprised Phoenix. Edgeworth was usually more impassive, even cold, to defendants. Was this his way of trying to be reassuring? "Please testify about your actions during the night of the crime."

Maggey nodded back. "Yes, sir." She paused, but only for a moment. "That night, I was to deliver a pizza to an apartment in the Watery Fowls building. I was really surprised when Detective Spade was the one who opened the door." She smiled softly. "He was always very kind to me back on the police force… Anyways, we hadn't seen each other for a while and it was my last delivery of the night, so he invited me in to talk. I don't know how long we talked together but eventually…" She paused, and looked down. "I fell asleep. I didn't wake up until I heard the police banging on the door. By then," She clenched her fists on the witness stand. "Detective Spade was already dead."

The Judge stroked his beard again. "So you claim you were asleep during the murder?"

"That's right, Your Honor." Maggey said.

He looked grim. "It is as I thought. As it stands, your testimony will not change anything. Without any proof of your claims, it appears as simply a convenient excuse."

Maggey's professional attitude broke, leaving her looking forlorn. She almost seemed like she wanted to cry. "I understand, Your Honor."

"I honestly see no reason to perform a cross-examination." The Judge continued. "However, the defense does still possess that right." He turned to Phoenix. "Mr. Wright, will you cross examine the witness?"

Phoenix nodded. "I will, Your Honor." He had no idea what he might find, but he had no choice in the matter. He wouldn't be getting any help now from Maya or from Mia. It would all be over if he couldn't find something in Maggey's testimony. But there was still the matter of those Psyche-Locks. Whatever Maggey was hiding, he would have to bring it out, and pray it could help them.

The Judge gave a short nod. "Somehow, I knew you would say that." Then, "This will be the final, cross-examination. Unless you find something crucial, Mr. Wright, I shall declare my verdict."

"I understand." Phoenix, with a gulp. He turned back to Maggey. (Here we go… I'm sorry, Maggey, but I will get the truth out of you. By force if necessary.) He would first start small; gather any and all information her could. "You were surprised when you saw Detective Spade? Wouldn't his name have been on the order, or something?"

Maggey shook her head. "No, sir. After delivering pizzas all the time, there was no real reason to look at the name on the receipt before delivering them."

"And then you just went on in?" Phoenix said. "Didn't you have to, I don't know, take the money back to base or something?"

She grinned sheepishly. "Well, he had already paid with a credit card, so all he had to do was sign the receipt. I figured I could get away with being a little late back. I just kind of lost track of time is all. My shift ended right as I delivered the pizza, anyway."

"But didn't you have to get back to clock out, or something like that?"

Maggey shook her head. "No. Mr. Mario doesn't like employees wasting company time. If we're not back by the time our shift is scheduled to end, then it's on our own time."

(I'm not sure if that's good business model…) "Okay, then. What time was all of this?"

Maggey looked thoughtful. "It would have to have been around 10:30 or so."

"Well, Mr. Wright. Was any of what the witness just said important?" The Judge asked.

Phoenix looked thoughtful before shaking his head. "No. No, I don't think so." He returned his attention to Maggey. The Judge was liable to start getting impatient, so it was time to start pressing her harder. "So you fell asleep." It wasn't even a question, really. He already knew Maggey was lying.

The defendant nodded defiantly. "Yes, I did."

"And the victim didn't think to wake you, even though you still had a job to complete?"

Maggey shrugged. "I guess not. I admit I don't really know what he was thinking."

"Okay, so let's say you were asleep." Phoenix pressed. "Wouldn't the gunshot have woken you up? I find it hard to believe that knocking on the door would do that, but a gunshot wouldn't."

She gripped her arm uncomfortably. "I can't explain it. That's just what happened."

Phoenix was starting to get annoyed again. Why couldn't even his own clients be honest for once? "I don't believe you, Maggey."

"OBJECTION!" Edgeworth slammed his desk with his right palm. "Wright, do you have any evidence to back up this claim of yours?"

Phoenix grimaced. "Not really, but…"

The Judge slammed his gavel. "Mr. Wright, I will not tolerate any shenanigans at this point." He said sternly. "While your theory does make some sense, you know very well that you must present evidence to support it."

The defense slumped. "I"m… sorry, Your Honor." Did he have anything that could prove Maggey wasn't doing what she said? He didn't think so, especially since he still had no idea what she was actually doing. He was running out of statements to press, but there was still a line or two of questioning that he could pursue.

"What did the two of you talk about?" Phoenix asked.

Maggey shrugged. "Lots of things. My time on the force, how we were doing, that sort of thing." She smiled. "I'm grateful I had the opportunity to tell him I didn't blame him for firing me."

"Wh-wh-what?!" The Judge sputtered. "He fired you?"

Edgeworth piped up. "Indeed. Ms. Byrde was known on the police force for having notoriously awful luck, and it eventually lost her the job."

"But… that sounds like a motive!" The Judge said.

"OBJECTION!" Phoenix said quickly. He had to try to squash this line of thinking fast. "Ms. Byrde has just stated that she did not blame the victim for her firing. Furthermore, if what Edgeworth said is true, it sounds like she would have lost her job soon anyway."

"You didn't have to put it like that…" Maggey said dejectedly, before straightening up. "But Mr. Wright is… well… right. I could tell I wasn't going to last much longer after…" She looked away. "After Dustin died."

"Dustin?" The Judge asked, confused.

"Dustin Prince." Edgeworth said, reading from a report. "He was Ms. Byrde's boyfriend two years ago, before he died in an unrelated incident."

The Judge's face brightened up. "Oh, that's right! I remember that!" He looked pityingly at Maggey. "You sure do have bad luck, don't you?"

"You're telling me." She said. "After the scandal that trial caused, I knew my time was running short. Just because Detective Spade happened to be the one to fire me doesn't mean anything. If he hadn't done it, someone else would have. Everything always just goes wrong for me." At this point, Maggey just seemed to be talking to herself. "Everyone close to me always ends up dead. I try to be positive about the whole thing, but…"

(Oh, Maggey…) Phoenix was about to interject. He'd never seen Maggey in such despair, and he knew firsthand about how the weight of the world could just pile up on the witness stand… and in the defendant's chair.

But then Maggey perked up. She didn't seem happy, but something had just occurred to her, and it excited her. "Hold on a second. Detective Spade mentioned something about that."

"About what?" Phoenix asked.

"About dying."

"H-huh?" Phoenix, Edgeworth and the Judge all said in unison. Immediately the gallery broke out into confused murmurs, but they were quickly silenced by the slam of the gavel.

"Order! Ms Byrde! What exactly do you mean?"

"It was just something he said in passing." Maggey admitted. "I didn't think much about it until now, but Detective Spade was worried someone was going to try coming after him."

"Who?!" Phoenix said, the tops of his hands white as his palms pressed into the table. "Who was after him?"

"I-I don't know." She said. "He just told me he'd set up precautions in case anything happened… in order to catch the killer."

"Like the camera." Edgeworth realized.

Maggey nodded. "Right, like the camera."

The Judge looked thoughtful. "And that would mean that his precautions did precisely what they were supposed to. They captured the image of the defendant entering his apartment on the night of his murder!" The gallery began to murmur again, but they were once again silenced.

"W-wait!" Maggey said hastily. "It wasn't me, I swear!'

Phoenix was already mid-point at the Judge by now. "OBJECTION! Your Honor, why would he tell her that if she was the one going to murder her?"

"OBJECTION!" Came Edgeworth's voice. "Unless Ms. Byrde was the one pursuing him and he was just unaware of that fact. That, or it very well could have been a coincidence."

"OBJECTION!" Phoenix replied. "Irregardless of whether Maggey was after the victim, there was no logical reason for her to murder him if she knew about the camera."

The Judge nodded. "You make a valid point, Mr. Wright. However, the problematic piece of evidence is still the video footage. There is still nothing to suggest that anyone other than the defendant or the victim were inside the apartment that night."

"But-"

"While it would have been illogical for the defendant to kill the victim, the fact remains that there was no one else there." The Judge continued. "Plus as there was no actual video footage of the crime, perhaps she thought she could escape and explain away the footage of the door. Or, better yet, take it with her." He nodded thoughtfully. "As a prosecutor once told me, once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however unlikely, must be the truth."

Phoenix grit his teeth. (He told ME that, Your Honor.) This was bad. Nothing he said could put a dent in that security needed a leg to stand on, and quick. He peered into his briefcase to find something, anything that could help him. There were files and folders; nothing he had time to reread at the moment. He spotted that signed softball. (Oh yeah, I forgot I took that…) But could it help him? Doubtful. And… a stuffed bear?

No, not a stuffed bear. The stuffed bear. The one he'd found at the crime scene. He was about to turn to Maya and ask if she stole it from the apartment while he wasn't looking, but then he remembered she was still channelling her sister. Mia had been remarkably quiet the whole time, just drinking in the courtroom proceedings. It had to be nice to not have to immediately get up and defend someone right after losing your memories. He couldn't believe Maya would even want a stuffed bear after what they'd gone through. Even now, he still couldn't look at one without thinking of Juan Corrida's hotel room.

(Wait, hold on.) Thinking back to that case made something occur to him."Isn't that a little odd?"

Edgeworth said what everyone else was thinking. "Isn't what a little odd, Wright?"

"We've established that Hercule Spade was a very thorough and organized man." Phoenix said, tapping the autopsy report with his hand. "Furthermore, he thought that there was someone who might attempt to kill him, so he set up a camera just in case. And yet…" Phoenix placed his palms on the desk. "We also know that he was a detective who had testified in this very courtroom before."

"Yes, go on." The Judge prompted rather unnecessarily.

"If that were the case, would he really only leave one recording? Especially one that has caused us so much trouble?"

"Hmm…" The Judge closed his eyes in thought. "Yes, that does seem strange." He opened his eyes. "So you're suggesting that Hercule Spade had other cameras besides the one in that orange sculpture?"

Phoenix nodded. "Precisely, Your Honor. Why would someone hide their only method of recording in such a gaudy… thing?"

The Judge nodded as well. "You make an excellent point, Mr. Wright. But where could these cameras be hidden?"

Phoenix shrugged. "Anywhere, really. Nowadays you could hide cameras in pretty much any household objects. A phone, a statue, a stuffed bear…"

Edgeworth's eyes widened as he spotted the toy in Phoenix's hand. "Wright… are you suggesting…?"

Phoenix nodded. "I think I am." He was about to rip the bear open when he spotted a zipper concealed on the back. "Hmm…" He unzipped it and reached into the stuffing. After feeling around for a moment, his fingers brushed something smooth and plastic. "I think I've found something…" He wrapped his fingers around it and pulled, dislodging…

A small digital camera, and a miniature hard drive.

A quick examination of the camera (once the understandably talkative gallery had been quieted) revealed that the hard drive had been jerry-rigged to automatically save the recordings from the camera. It wasn't long before the bailiff had hooked it up to a display, and now the entire court was watching with bated breath as he fast-forwarded through its contents. Soon, the image of Maggey's bright red coat appeared on the screen and he returned the video to its normal speed. There was a time-stamp on the video: 10:37. Maggey was speaking over her shoulder to someone out of frame, but Phoenix couldn't hear any words.

"Baliff! Where is the sound?" The Judge demanded.

"There doesn't seem to be any, Your Honor. The display is at full volume." The bailiff explained.

"Well that's not very helpful at all, is it?" The Judge grumbled.

(What are you glaring at me for?)

"It is possible that the connection or the hard drive itself was damaged during whatever created the mess." Edgeworth offered.

That seemed entirely plausible. What stood out to Phoenix most, however, was the fact that the apartment appeared to be in immaculate condition. The bear had been propped high on a shelf, and its fisheye lens had a view of nearly the entire living room area. Nowhere was the mess that Phoenix had seen in his investigation of the apartment: Shelves were untouched, the floor was spotless, and the coffee table books were actually on the coffee table. That meant that they were almost certainly about to discover what had caused the mess. Despite himself, Phoenix felt himself getting excited. The uncertainty of what he might discover was unsettling, but he couldn't help but feel some hope. He had been trapped in a corner, but now he had a lifeline. Whatever he discovered in this video could become another weapon for defending Maggey.

Maggey sat on a nearby couch before Hercule Spade walked into frame carrying two plates of pizza slices. He was speaking to Maggey and laughing as he sat down in a wooden chair next to the her. Maggey stood, presumably to offer the older man her seat, but he said something, and she sat back down. He then handed her one of the plates and the two began eating.

"That man…" Mia said. Phoenix jumped. He'd almost forgotten she was there. It was very odd for Mia to be so quiet.

"What about him?" Phoenix whispered.

"I… I think I know him." She said slowly.

Phoenix almost shouted, but managed to keep his volume low. "You do? But how?"

Mia gripped the robe tighter. "I can't remember. He just… he just seems familiar to me."

(So you remember this guy but not me?) Whoever he was, he must have been important, right? If only Mia didn't have amnesia!

As Maggey and Hercule continued to talk, the Judge glanced on the clock at the wall. "How long did you two talk for, again?"

Maggey shrugged, her eyes glued to the screen. "I don't know. An hour maybe, more?"

"The Prosecution suggests we fast-forward to a time closer to the victim's time of death." Edgeworth said.

The Judge nodded. "I agree. Any objections, Mr. Wright?"

Phoenix hesitated. He really wanted to get to the bottom of Maggey's Psyche-Locks, and there could be something in this early footage that would let him do just that. Even so, what he was most eager about was whether the recording showed the murder. If that was the case, that would be the fastest way to proving Maggey's innocence. Either way, he doubted it could hurt them any more. He knew Maggey was innocent. Therefore, the worst this video could show them would be nothing.

Right?

"I have no objections, Your Honor."

"Very well." The Judge returned his attention to the bailiff. "Please fast forward to, oh, 11:30."

The man did as he was told, and soon they were looking at… pretty much the exact same thing. During the fast forwarding, Phoenix had spotted the two subjects move around a bit, but they mostly stayed in the same place. Even an hour later, they were still talking, but they definitely seemed less animated. Was it just because they were tired? Or were they discussing something more serious? Aside from that, all that had apparently changed were the number of uneaten pizza crusts to appear on their plates. Phoenix glanced at Maggey, who was leaning forward and staring fiercely at the screen. That was odd. From what he knew of Maggey's personality, he would have expected her to avert her eyes, or at least clutch her arm for comfort. She was mouthing something. "I have to see…"

"…Maggey?"

"Oh, sorry. It's nothing." She didn't take her eyes from the screen even for a moment.

Phoenix returned his attention to the video. Why was Maggey acting like this? What was going to happen?

He didn't have to wait long. After a few minutes, something occurred. Phoenix barely noticed it at first, and evidently neither did the two people on the video. But there, in the center of the coffee table, Spade's plate began to wobble. Soon enough it drew their attention, before rising into the air.

(WHAT?!)

"The plate…" Edgeworth began, his expression confused.

"It's floating!" The Judge gasped. Immediately, the gallery exploded into murmurs, but the Judge did nothing to silence them. Everyone was too enraptured by the video, and none more than Phoenix Wright.

After hovering for another moment, the plate shot off randomly and crashed into a wall. It shattered, but then a nearby lamp rose into the air to repeat the process. Its bulb flickered and failed the cord was pulled from its outlet and the lamp shot off like the plate. By now, Hercule Spade was on his feet and wildly looking around. Maggey, on the other hand, had fainted. Phoenix finally tore his eyes from the screen to look at the real Maggey. She was pale, and her eyes were still glued to the screen. And all of a sudden, Phoenix couldn't blame her for lying. (Asleep, huh?)

The chaos continued. The most random of objects continued to fly around the room - but, notably, never more than one at a time - as Hercule Spade tried to keep up with his eyes. Then, without warning, he ran off screen. The pandaemonium didn't let up, until a shoe flew up and struck the camera. It fell to its side, and began filming the blank wall near the shelf.

Neither of the attorneys, nor Mia, Maggey or the Judge, did anything. They just continued to stare at the screen as the gallery talked away. Finally, the Judge spoke.

"Is… is that it?"

"I think it might be." Phoenix said. "I think I found the bear in the same position as it was at this point in the video." His heart fell. That meant…

"The camera did not capture the murder after all." Edgeworth said. He almost sounded disappointed.

"But what it did catch was extraordinary!" The Judge proclaimed. "Everything was flying around, as if by magic! What do you make of it, Mr. Edgeworth?"

"It is perplexing." The prosecutor agreed. "Unfortunately, I cannot offer any explanations at the moment."

Phoenix could. He could only think of one possible explanation: Sissel. Really, what else could it be? Something controlled household objects at the crime scene and made them behave unnaturally. Sure, Sissel was at Kurain Village most of the night, but he had explained on the train that he could travel through phone lines. How difficult would it have been to get there after everyone went to sleep?

Phoenix finally understood why Maggey had kept quiet. How could anyone believe that if they hadn't seen it with their own eyes? Even so, he now had is own conundrum. Should he chime in with his thoughts? He had always believed that the truth was the most important thing in court, but how could he offer an explanation without sounding like a lunatic?

"What about you, Mr. Wright?" The Judge asked. "Do you have anything to say about this video footage?"

"I…" Phoenix rubbed the back of his head nervously. "I'm not sure."

Edgeworth's eye twitched ever so slightly. Phoenix was positive that the man knew he was hiding something. The question was, would he act on his suspicions?

"You're not sure about what happened, or you're not sure you should say anything?" The Judge clarified.

"I… I'm not sure?" Phoenix repeated.

"Mr. Wright. If you have a theory, I would like to hear it." Apparently even the Judge was suspicious of Phoenix's non-answer.

Phoenix gulped. It was now or never. "Well… Your Honor… I was thinking it could be… a ghost?"

You could hear a pin drop. Then, the silence broke as the gallery exploded into conversation.

"OBJECTION!" Edgeworth was not amused. "A ghost? That's preposterous, Wright!"

"OBJECTION!" Phoenix countered. There was no going back now. "What's so hard to believe, Edgeworth? You yourself have seen proof that ghosts exist! And you, as well, Your Honor. Need I remind you of the trial of State v. Iris?"

"OBJECTION!" Edgeworth shouted. "While I must concede your point about the legitimacy of Kurain Channeling Technique," He did not sound happy to say it at all. "Said technique has absolutely nothing to do with levitating objects!"

"OBJECTION!" Phoenix shouted. "But we have seen proof of the existence of ghosts. It stands to reason that they could levitate things. Besides, what else could explain the video?"

"OBJECTION!" Edgeworth was absolutely livid now. "The footage from the bear is entirely inconsistent with the Kurain Channeling Technique! I've seen you grasping at straws more times than I can count, but this is a new low for you, Wright!"

"ORDER! ORDER! ORDER!" The Judge bellowed. In fact, he had been yelling it for a while, but no one was paying him any heed. Finally, the gallery began to quiet down, and Phoenix and Edgeworth's shouting match subsided. "Mr. Wright. I must agree with Mr. Edgeworth here. I cannot accept your theory that a ghost was involved, especially if you have no evidence to back up your claims. Why, I recall there have been at least two other cases of yours in the past involving objects supposedly 'flying' that resulted in rather mundane explanations."

Phoenix grimaced. "I'm sorry, Your Honor."

The Judge eyed him cooly, before turning his attention back to the full courtroom. "I cannot end this trial now. There are far too many unanswered questions. What else can be learned from this video footage? Did the victim have any other cameras hidden in his apartment? But perhaps the most interesting question of all is just what happened to cause his belongings to 'fly' around his apartment? Both sides shall further investigate the crime scene and the footage, and the trial shall resume tomorrow."

Phoenix grit his teeth. He had another day. He should be happy. This would even give him the time to find Sissel and figure out his involvement. But still… if it was true that a ghost was behind the murder, how could he hope to get Maggey acquitted?

The Judge slammed his gavel one final time. "Court is adjourned."

And there we have it. Thus ends the first day in court. Phoenix sure is going to have his work cut out for him in this case. Unfortunately, while I have made progress on the next chapter, this is an extremely busy week for me, so I won't be able to get it out seven days from now. Oh well, I hope you've enjoyed these last three weeks. I won't make you wait over a year for the next batch of updates, I promise.