A Victim for Six Years

I had a feeling that I wasn't the only one about to break into tears. I mean, we all knew that my father was alive after his surgery, but it was a whole new experience to see him, here, alive, coming to our rescue, in the courtroom, talking, in a wheelchair, looking insanely tired, but still here. The judge finally began to speak.

"Mr. Edgeworth." He said, while Franziska looked like she was trying her best to hide her feelings. "As far as I know, you should still be in the hospital, recovering from recent surgery. Why are you and Miss Wright here? How did you get here?"

"You're not wrong, your honor." My father answered, but he looked satisfied with himself. "I probably shouldn't be here right now, but I wasn't about to let my little sister get the guilty verdict when the killer is still out there. I've been watching the case on the television for the past few days, as well as listening from the outside of the courtroom for the past hour. And I think that I may be able to give you the validation you need to hear Mr. Wright's claim." He smirked at Von Karma before saying, "Oh, and I've pretty much been unconscious or nearly dead for the past few days, so my bad, Von Karma, that I was unfortunately not able to 'collude' with Mr. Wright while this has been going on. I'm sorry, this may really hurt your case."

"Mr. Edgeworth," Maya said, "Do the doctors even know  you're here?" My father thought for a bit before shrugging.

"They'll figure it out soon enough." He said. "I called Miss Wright in and asked if she could spare a few smoke bombs to do a bit of a...disappearing act." He finished, as if it were the most normal thing in the world that he technically assisted in his own kidnapping from the hospital. Trucy stood beside him, looking pretty pleased with herself as well. "Now," he said. "Would you allow me to validate whether Mr. Wright's apparent evidence is valid or not, your honor?" he asked.

"Erm," The judge said, still insanely baffled by it all. Von Karma looked like he was about to kill a puppy or something, he was so angry. "Well, if you feel up to it, Mr. Edgeworth, you certainly seem ready to prove something." the judge nodded. "Very well. Mr. Wright, what is the thing that Miss Edgeworth told you about the attack outside of court?"

"This is it." Phoenix whispered to me. "We may be able to create a total turnabout, at least for today, of this case. If your father can validate this evidence, we've got Von Karma right where we want him, and a sturdy alibi for Franziska."

"It should be fine." I tell him. "My father didn't go unconscious until the gun hit the floor, shooting past Franziska."

Phoenix nodded, and faced the judge. "Your honor," he said. "This small detail could cause a turnabout for the case. When my client ran to save her brother and niece, she didn't just begin with whipping at the attacker, but by screaming at her."

Realization spread across Franziska's face. She knew what Phoenix was talking about.

"Now, may I remind you that before, Piper said in her own testimony that the woman who attacked the both of them said something along the lines of, 'Edgeworth. You did this. It's your fault. You bring this upon yourself.' before Miles was attacked, am I correct?"

"That would be correct, yes." The judge answered.

"Well, when Franziska came to their rescue, as Miss Edgeworth has testified, she yelled something to get the attacker's attention to her and away from Piper." He turned to my father. "If you please, Miles, can you tell me what Franziska yelled out at the woman?"

"Yes." My father nodded. "If I may paraphrase, she yelled at her to get the heck away from my daughter, only using a choice word rather than 'heck'." he finished.

"That would be correct." Phoenix nodded, and turned to look at Franziska, who also nodded.

"What of it?!" Von Karma screeched, looking uneasy. "So, both witnesses claim that Miss Von Karma yelled out! Have you two never seen a murder trial?! She could have said both! She could have said that to make them think that she was coming to save them in case her plan failed!! She has what it takes to attack somebody, or do I need to remind everyone that she carries a whip around?!"

"That is enough." My father said loudly and sternly, staring at Von Karma with utmost hatred. "Mr. Von Karma, if you could hold your tongue for two seconds, perhaps you'd understand why this is vital to securing Miss Von Karma's alibi."

Von Karma shut up, but looked at my father as if he was a spot on his (almost) perfect record.

"Now, Mr. Wright." The judge said. "Will you please explain to the court why this detail is so important?"

Phoenix nodded. "Piper." he said, turning to me. "What did the voice of your attacker sound like?"

Thinking, I said, "It was a bit sly, devious, and calm." I racked my brain to try and remember a bit better. "But she didn't really have any accent, she just sounded...american."

Phoenix nodded, and turning to my father, asked him, "Can you confirm this, Mr. Edgeworth?" My father nodded.

"Your honor," Phoenix said, "Both witnesses claim that the woman who attacked them had no accent."

The judge nodded. "We've established that, yes." He said.

"If you'll recall, both Franziska and her father are originally from Germany." Phoenix's claims seemed to connect like a puzzle in the judge's mind, and his face lit up with realization. "And both have rich German accents." Phoenix pointed out, a confident smile on his face.

If I thought that Von Karma looked mad before, boy was I wrong. Now, he was LIVID. He looked like smoke was coming out of his ears, and that he wanted to scream.

"Ladies and gentlemen of the jury," Phoenix said, "How can you speak with no accent when you have such a rich German one?!"

The Jury buzzed with excitement. My father looked at me confidently. Through the noise, he mouthed to me,

"We've got our alibi." But then, he looked serious.

The judge banged his gavel twice.

*bang bang*

"ORDER!!!" he exclaimed.

"Your honor, if I may speak," My father began. The judge nodded, and he said, "This case has been going on for much longer than originally planned, however," he sighed. "I'm afraid it's about to go on for longer." He looked the judge dead in the eye. Pushing his glasses up, he said, "I, as a witness and the main victim of the attack, saw the attacker clearly." In the most serious voice I've ever heard him use, he said, "I recognized her, by her eyes, voice, figure." Phoenix looked baffled, and my father finished his statement with, "I know who the real killer is."