Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Holy fuck, that’s one attractive guy.

What a pleasant surprise. I hadn’t expected that in a Russian restaurant situated down in a basement.

Presently, he was situated by a piano and playing what I assumed was supposed to be Moonlight Sonata. Sadly, it was performed with hardly any recognition. It was a miracle I identified it, and that was only due to an obsessive addiction to instrumental pieces as I studied. Incidentally, that would have been law.

Oh, don’t fucking remind me of law right now.

I gulped down the remains of my glass of wine in one swish and I instantly regretted it. I was already a bit woozy, more so than to my liking.

“Refill?” The Russian waitress asked me in what must’ve been the fakest Russian dialect I’d ever heard. She’d been trying to get me to try some of her borscht all night, but last thing I needed was food.

 I need alcohol. A lot of it.

“Da,” I mumbled, and I held my empty glass towards her as she swiftly filled it all the way up, and then took off. As the restaurant was empty except for myself and the mediocre pianist, it explained why she was over me like a hawk.

What even is borscht? It’s red, so either tomato soup or blood. I smell shellfish, though. Lobster blood? Do shellfish even have blood? … I hate all three candidates, tomatoes, shellfish and blood, so it’s an ultimate pass on the borscht.

The only red liquid I’d be consuming tonight was the one in front of me.

I sipped a bit on my refilled glass and stared into the wall, as I listened to the carefully placed and at times wrong tunes coming from the piano, wallowing in the icy air down in the basement restaurant. Looking around myself, I would've guessed that the lack of customers was mostly due to the constant cold. A very amateurish guess from me would say the basement restaurant was at a constant degree of 5° C, in order to create an authentic Russian atmosphere. 

I loved it. 

I had always been very sensitive to warmth; plus my style of clothes was very covered up, so I couldn’t really dress down if I wanted to keep true to myself. Which led me to constantly feeling hot. Not to mention the sweating. The violent sweating. 

So when I heard of this place, I was ecstatic. The lack of people only added to that feeling. Now, I spend my afternoons here.  A perfect place for me to embrace the cold and my self pity.

Tonight was a new record, however, since I’ve been here for about seven hours straight.

“Damn, I hate wine,” I murmured to myself, as I took yet another sip. Don’t even know why I started drinking it in the first place. 

“Yeah, I’m more of a grape juice person, myself,” a voice called out, and the tunes stopped coming. I turned my head to the piano and saw how the pianist now turned around, looking at me with a crooked smile.

Shit on a stick, that’s one attractive guy.

“More of a cider or nothing gal, myself,” I say with a similar cross smile, wiggling my glass so the contents swirled around. “But those won’t get you drunk. Sadly. Desperate times call for desperate measures."

“You seem to have had a pretty desperate week, then,” the pianist said with a chuckle. “I would’ve guessed you liked what you always order.”

Shit, he recognised me. And he knew I always ordered wine. Not so surprising, though. I think I’ve been their only customer this week, at least that I’ve seen.

“Guilty,” I sigh, and I look down at my glass wistfully. Jesus, I was drunk.

“… Is that an attorneys badge that I see?” The pianist said, and stood up from the piano, revealing his length. I had never seen him standing up, as he had only sat by the piano during my visits. Shit, he was tall. Together with his broad shoulders and stubble, I could’ve swooned right there. Instead, I just stared, and he chuckled again as he started walking towards me. “An attorney should never wilfully agree to a guilty verdict, you know, not even when the client would be yourself.”

“What would a pianist in a Russian restaurant know of guilty verdicts and attorney’s badges?” I snorted, being reminded of my current predicament.

“A bit of a… contradiction, I guess,” he sneered, as he got himself seated in front of me without asking permission. 

Oh my god, what a dork.

“So, as the attorney I’m supposed to be, now is the time when I should, what, cross-examine you and find out why this contradiction exists?” I asked with a raised eyebrow, well aware of how nerdy we were sounding.

“It would, if the witness would be willing to testify,” the pianist said with a shrug. “this one, however, isn’t.”

Feeling he was very serious in that, I shrugged back at him.

“I would rather get back to my initial question,” the pianist said. “about your desperate week, that I’m guessing has to do with your attorney’s badge.”

I sighed and rolled my eyes. “Oh, there’s not much to tell. Fresh out of law school.”

I smiled ironically and raised my hand up and put my gaze up at the ceiling as I dramatically said “With eyes at the stars, I travelled here, to the town of the legendary attorneys and prosecutors.”

I snorted and let my hand fall down, and I looked at the pianist with a congested look. “But when you’re neither a prodigy or a genius, and you didn’t graduate at the MARVELLOUS young age of eighteen or whatever, and your grades were just average, well. You don’t get a job. So this is useless.”

I grabbed my collar and pushed the fabric forward, showing the little pin I had attached with such pride and care at the start of the week. Now, it was upside down and sadly hanging onto the fabric.

“Hm. Grades aren’t a reflection of your skills, though,” the pianist said with a light frown. “And neither is the age you graduate. I should know.”

“Say that to the law firms in town,” I moaned, and put my head in my hands. “You can’t write ‘I may not be a genius or a prodigy but I’m still damn good’ on a resume. I’ve been job hunting for two weeks, sweating and running about. So I’ve come here to cool down. There, the grand mystery about me solved. You didn’t even need to cross examine me.”

My mystery pianist was quiet for a time, watching me with a raised eyebrow and a thoughtful look.

“What?” I asked, raising my eyebrows.

“Well, just thinking,” the pianist asked. “If you’d be really desperate for a job, I guess one step would be to grow out your hair, dye it, and remove those piercings? Just a thought?”

I glared at him at that and my attraction to the guy sank a thousand points.

“Look, if my appearance somehow changes my capacity in my line of work, then that would’ve been a good argument,” I countered. “And if a work place would have something against it, I wouldn’t want to work for them anyway."

The pianist smiled excusably. “Sorry, I don’t have anything against it, I think it’s… great.”

Wow, could you say that with more enthusiasm?

“I merely meant that fact is that many people think it’s unprofessional, and if you’d really want a job, that could be something to do.”

I snorted again. “I’m not gonna sell myself out to get cash.”

The pianist smiled at me, and I couldn’t help but smile back. 

Attraction points slightly if not fully restored.

“But yeah, thanks for the tip,” I said, and looked down at my glass of wine, now not really feeling like it. “if I can’t afford blue hair dye, I’ll think about it.”

“Hope that doesn’t happen,” the pianist said, and he leaned forward slightly. “Blue really goes well with your eyes.”

And there it was.

I’m going home with this guy.

Chapter Text

"So here's the front desk," Phoenix Wright said as we entered the Wright Talent Agency, and I a bit drunkenly and still a bit shocked looked around at the mess that covered the most of the surfaces in here.

Okay, so apparently saying one's hair goes well with your eyes is no longer considered flirtation.

Then again, I hadn't known the scruffy, almost homeless looking pianist I'd been flirting with (one-sidedly apparently) was the infamous lawyer Phoenix Wright who just about two years ago lost his license. I didn't even know his law firm was still up and running. If I had, I would've been knocking on the door I just walked through the second I got into town.

"I'll wrap up the contract for your employment right now so you can come into work tomorrow," legendary lawyer Phoenix Wright said as he walked behind the desk and opened a drawer, which immediately let a sort of spring pop out, that made me cringe in surprise. Wright just chuckled, and started rummaging through the drawer.

"Um," I began, not knowing where to begin, "tomorrow? Already?"

"You're in desperate need of a job, weren't you?" Wright said with a smile as he briefly looked up from his quest, "I assumed you'd want to start work as soon as possible."

"It's Saturday tomorrow," I pointed out, "it's 3 am now. I'm… drunk, I'm fairly certain I'm dreaming, and you want to employ a drunken… barely-allowed-to-legally-drink twenty-one year old?"

"See, you can still point out contradictions after a whole bottle of wine," Wright said as he found what he was looking for and pulled a slightly ruffled up sheet of paper from the drawer. "Here we go, let's see, pen, pen, pen… under this rubber chicken, how about that. … Okay then, full name?"

"… You're employing someone you don't even know the name of," I pointed out again as I attempted to steady myself on what I thought was a coat hanger but turned out to be made of rubber, like some kind of prop. I almost stumbled right there as it folded under my weight, but Phoenix Wright didn't notice, as he was going ahead filling out other things on the paper that he didn't need me for.

"Full time, seven hours a day, all week…"

"All WEEK? You mean 'all week' as in 'including weekends'?"

"Lawyers can be called to court any day, don't worry, most days you won't have anything to do anyway, now; full name?"

"This is ridiculous," I said with a sharp laugh, wondering if the legendary lawyer was as drunk as I.

"I don't think so," Wright said with a shrug. "This office hasn't had a licensed lawyer for two years. My sole income is from working in the restaurant, and it's not enough to keep the office running anymore. So I need more staff."

"And how…" wah, drunk, "okay, yeah, but if you're short on money, how you gonna pay me?"

"Well, about that," Wright said and put down the pen briefly, "in the beginning, I… might not be able to."

"These are the worst job benefits I have ever heard."

"But as soon as you start working here, cases will flood in, and…"

"I'll take it."

Wright raised an eyebrow.

"… Now that you're not protesting to such a ridiculous offer, I kind of don't want to hire you anymore." He said with a light frown.

"Yeah, and boy, am I gonna regret this tomorrow," I sighed, as I wobbly walked forward to what must be supposed to be the couch clients should use while waiting, but it was covered in more props like the fake coat hanger I had almost died on. After pushing them to the side so I could sit, I looked up at Wright who was still wearily watching me.

I sighed again. "Look, Mr. Wright, I'll be frank. I'm a lawyer because of you… kinda. Well, basically. In a way. During law school I obsessively stared at all of the court videos of you doing… well… whatever stuff you do in court…"

Professional, dude. Well, excusable since you're drunk. … Also professional, jackass.

"… So no fucking way I'm gonna turn down a job offer from the goddamned Phoenix Wright."

"…You flatter me," Wright said, and a sort of weird look got into him as he looked away from me, "but you should know, that won't be what you're signing up for. My reputation is…"

"Screwed, fucked up, yeah, I'm aware," I said and waved away his words, "but I am too, so it's a damn good match, don't ya think?"

Wright smiled again now.

"Well, then. We're back to the first question. Full name?"

Dang it.

"… Teachme Toanimate."

"What now?"

"Just call me Tea, okay?"

"… Yes, but I still need your legal name. Could you repeat it?"

"I'm foreign."

"I'm not saying anything, I just need your full name and I didn't catch it."

"Teach. Me. To. Animate."

"As one word?"

"No, Teachme is my first name, Toanimate is my last."

"Does that mean something else in your country than it does here?"

"… No."

"… Well, then wh…"

"Maybe at my retirement party, I'll indulge you."

Wright looked at me, amused at that.

"You plan to stick around for that long?" He asked, and almost seemed genuinely enticed by that idea.

I shrugged. "Unless I end up in a murder investigation and you fail to acquit me."

"Well, that won't happen anytime soon," Wright said with a shrug and a carefree smile, as he glanced down at his chest to show off the absence of the badge I myself was wearing.

Haha, he isn't denying I might be caught up in a murder. At least he's upfront about it.

"As if it's gonna stay that way," I mumbled, as I looked around for somewhere to puke.

Ah, a hat. Marvellous.

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

"Daddy…"

"Damn," Wright gasped next to me, and through sleep deprived eyes I saw his dark silhouette fly up from the pillows.

"Well, what a development," I mumbled as Wright climbed out of the bed clumsily just as the doorknob started to turn.

Yawning as I pulled the covers up higher over my chin just to be safe, and just as Wright managed to pull on his pants, a girl, at least 8 and at most 12, wearing a cozy pyjamas and a pink wizards hat (very alike the one I had destroyed), opened up the door to the bedroom.

"Hey, Trucy," Legendary Attorney Phoenix Wright smiled, pathetically trying to act casual, as he continued his panicked dressing, "Is it time for school already?"

Trucy stood in the doorway, blinking sleepily, as she yawned and quietly said "It's Saturday… I'm just thirsty."

I sneered at Wright from under the cover, still not really seeing well through blurry, newly awakened eyes, yet I could still see a blush so visible even in the dark bedroom that I almost laughed, and he mumbled "Okay, I'll run and get you a glass of water, hang on, sweetie…", and out he fled.

Leaving me in his bed, alone with his daughter.

"Who're you?" Truly asked, just as I hoped she hadn't noticed me.

"… I'm, uh… your daddy's new employee, I needed somewhere to sleep," I explained with a panicked look at the door where Wright had disappeared out of.

I had hoped she'd get bored at that, but her eyes lighted up and she asked "You're hired at Wright Talent Agency?! Do you do magic?! Tame lions?! River dancing?!"

River dancing?

"Uh, I wish," I snorted as I shook my head, "I'm just a boring old lawyer."

"Just like daddy?" Trucy said as big eyed, as she slowly started walking forward. To my relief, Wright came back into the room with two glasses of water, and handed his daughter one of them, which she gladly took from him and started gulping down. He turned towards me in the bed and handed me the other with an apologising smile, and he mumbled "you, uh, seemed like you were thirsty before and then things… escalated…"

"You went on an escalator?" Trucy asked, glass empty.

I started to laugh, and Wright with a red face said "Alright, Trucy, back to bed, school night."

"It's 7 am! And it's Saturday, daddy!" Trucy laughed, and I laughed even more.

"He's hopeless," I said as I shook my head.

Trucy shone up and said "I know, right?!"

"Okay, okay, go and get dressed, Trucy, and I'll come out and make you breakfast," Wright called out and started shooing Trucy out of the door as we started ganging up on him.

"Bye, lady!" Trucy called out, looking back at me over her shoulder, "I like your hair!"

"I love your hat," I grinned as Phoenix closed the door after his daughter.

Wright sighed deeply and closed his eyes as he leaned on the door and slowly started butting the back of his head to it.

"She is utterly adorable," I said, sneering at him.

"… Yeah," Wright mumbled through his apparent life crisis.

"You know, nobody ever mentioned in those court videos you had a daughter," I said with raised eyebrows, and Wright let out an exasperated sigh.

"Yeah, well… it's a fairly new… development. After I stopped starring in any court videos," he explained as he walked away from the door and sat down at the edge of the bed on my right. "God, I must be the most horrible dad."

"What, because you let a lady crash in your bed?" I asked with raised eyebrows.

He turned towards me and started to slowly shake his head at me.

"... You do remember us having... uh..." Phoenix said with the blush slowly starting to return.

I frowned lightly at that.

"Well, you'd think I would've connected the dots," I said thoughtfully as I became very aware that I was naked under the covers, "yet here I am, surprised."

"… What the hell am I doing?" he asked me with a sigh and a shake of his head, "Not only did I just hire you, you're- you're like, seven years younger than me… and- and with mydaughter in the other room?"

"Hey, I'm surprised about myself," I said as I tried to remember the last part of yesterday, "I'm asexual, damn it, who'd have thought?"

"And you were drunk- oh god, this qualifies as rape," Wright moaned, and put his head in his hands.

"... Well, yes," I said with a slight nod of my head, "however, I'm no worse for wear. I forgive you."

"Oh, thanks," Wright said ironically without lifting his head, "God, this is an all time low."

"Yeah, even for the 'fallen from graces' Phoenix Wright," I said in an attempt to lighten the mood, and I put a friendly pat on his naked shoulder in the dark, "but if it's a comfort, at least I've raised myself considerably. On your expense, mind you."

"Indulge me," he said with an exasperated sigh.

I leaned forward and kissed the naked shoulder I had just patted.

"I'm in Phoenix Wrights bed," I explained as I slowly shuffled closer to him, "Who solved countless murders, freed innocent people when there didn't seem to be any hope left. If me from three years ago had known that, I bet she would've gotten her studies right the first time and not had to retake a year."

Or two.

Wright didn't say anything and neither did he turn to look at me.

"… So you made a mistake," I said with a light sigh, "And I did, too. Big whoop. Does that one fuck up just eliminate all the great things you did before that? Fifty successes and one mistake and suddenly you're 100% a failure? I don't care about that and you shouldn't either."

"Are we talking about… us two, or me losing my license?" Wright said without turning around.

"I'm doing a metaphor, you twat," I chuckled, "My point is that you fucked up, yeah, but are things that bad? You've got a daughter, and you got a hot lady naked in your bed and somewhere to go to work today. Is life really that bad?"

I moved up towards his bare back and gently kissed the back of his neck. He finally turned around to look at me and gave me the faintest of smiles as the sun just as faintly started to shine in through the window behind him.

Great pep talk, boss. I deserve a raise. … From nothing to something, if you would.

Chapter Text

"So, so then, Mr. Hat came out to say hi, and- and the crowd went 'ooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO'…!"

"Trucy, Trucy, indoor voice!" Wright begged, placing a bowl of cereal in front of his very awake daughter, who immediately got distracted by the magic of Froot Loops.

"Mr. Hat isn't some kind of weird uncle, I hope?" I whispered to my new boss during Trucy's rare silence.

"Don't ask her about it, please, she'll go get him" Wright said with a begging look, "I'll tell you later."

"Aaa'ie, ai u…" Trucy sounded through a mouthful of Froot Loops and milk.

"Chew, then speak, Trucy."

Trucy swallowed her entire breakfast, then quickly said "Daddy, why do you have dark circles under your eyes?"

"I don't think your daddy's used to long nights, Truce," I chuckled, and playfully wagged my spoon in his direction, "unlike a certain someone here."

"How are you not miserable right now?" Wright moaned, "you should be worse than I, I just have sleep deprition to deal with. You've got that, plus a bottle of w…" Wright stopped and looked at his daughter, who looked at him expectantly, and he finished "… grape juice."

Isn't that the exact same thing as wine?

"Coffee, my friend. Coffee," I explained, and raised my cup with a nod, "Which reminds me, why don't you have a cup?"

"… I save coffee for special occasions," Wright said, and pulled his tea bag out of his cup and blowed into it before taking a small sip. "Besides, a friend of mine got me into tea. … Yeah, not the same thing."

"Not a tea person, myself," I said with a shrug, and sipped demonstratively on my coffee. Milk and two sugars. Aah.

"I thought your name's Tea?" Trucy asked wide eyed.

"Sure is, Truce," I said, and smiled at the girl, "But just because your daddy's called Wright, doesn't mean he likes being right."

"Actually, I do," Wright said with a frown, "Who wouldn't?"

"Okay then, just because your daddy's name is Phoenix, doesn't mean he likes phoenixes, right?"

"How can you not like a fiery, immortal bird?" Wright asked.

"Fine, then just because Detective Gumshoe's name is Dick it doesn't mean he likes-"

"WE'RE LATE FOR WORK"

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

I don't even like parks.

"Lady! Lady! Look at me!"

Trucy threw her hat up in the air, then jumped straight up and flawlessly caught the hat back on top of her head.

"Cool, Truce!" I called out for her, then turned to Wright. "I don't even like parks. And why does she call me 'lady'? Do I look old?"

"You look too young," Wright sighed, and shook his head, "what if people find out about us, ugh…"

"Okay, for starters, you don't exactly have that big of shoes to fill since you're just a pianist now. And second, when you actually had a rep to live up to, you surrounded yourself with young girls all the damn time. And now you're wondering what people will think of you? Is it my piercings? Hair? Ink?"

"I didn't surround myself with young girls," He said and looked genuinely offended.

"Mostly it was Maya Fey, then once in a while she'd transform into your busty, dead old mentor…"

"How do you know about Mia?"

"Oh, Phoenix, please. Then there was Pearl Fey…"

"She was eight!"

"Eight year old girls fall under the quota 'young girls', Mister. Oh, and I forgot about that girl from that one case, you know, the chief prosecutor's younger sister?"

"Ema," Wright confirmed with a sort of congested look on his face.

"There, point proven," I said with a nod as we watched a few kids approach Trucy after she started the old 'pull a string of handkerchiefs out of the sleeve' trick, "now, you didn't answer, are you worried about what people will think of you possibly having relations with a punk with piercings, tats an-"

I was interrupted when I walked straight into someone, and we both stumbled to the ground, but not before I yelled out "HOLY FUCK"

"Shit on a stick, watch where you're going!" A voice called out in perfect english, but with a hint of an accent I guessed had to be african.

"Language, ladies," Wright said as he offered me a hand to help me up, "there are kids around here."

"And it's not like you kept an eye out yourself, lady", I snorted as I was pulled up, but I still reached my hand out to help my attacker up.

It was a young woman, around my age or a few years older, but in that case not by much. As her accent suggested, her skin was dark and her features were sharp and lined. Her eyes were slightly crooked like a cats, and her cheekbones were out of this world. Hadn't I been ace, I would've had a lady boner.

She scoffed, and accepted my helping hand and allowed me to haul her back to her feet. "You've got a point, punk girl. Sorry bout that."

I nodded. "Sorry bout that, too."

"LADY YOU OKAY?!" Trucy called from over ten feet away, not bothering to come running to ensure my well being.

"MY BUTT AIN'T BUT I AM!" I called back, waving at her with a smile. She went right back to her playing.

"Language," Wright complained.

"Oh, since when is 'butt' a fucking swear?" I asked. He didn't deem me with an answer.

"Yours? She's cute," The beautiful princess asked while pushing back some of her pitch black hair that had escaped her high ponytail in our fall.

"His, not mine," I clarified, "You think my kid would call me 'lady'? I'm her dad's employee. Name's Tea, Tea Animate, defence attorney."

"So if I sue you for the fall you'll be defending yourself?" The goddess chuckled, "I don't think I have much to fear from someone named Tea Animate."

"So yours is better?" I asked with a delighted scoff. Some friendly banter with a stranger. My idea of fun.

"Kunto Virág," The empress said, and offered her hand in a greeting instead of leveraging, "pleasure to be brought down on my knees by you."

"Pleasure," I chuckled, as I answered the greeting.

"… Phoenix Wright." Wright said from the side, "Pianist. Not that anyone asked, just throwing it out there."

"As you've already shared your occupation, I'll share mine," Kunto went on without deeming him a look, "I'm second gardener at Babineaux Gardens."

"… Is that here in town? Never heard of it, sorry, I'm new here," I said with an embarrassed smile.

Kunto gave out an exasperated sigh, and scratched the side of her cheek.

"That's our problem. We're this preposterously ridiculously fancy garden with plants from all over the world, but our only visitors are old people and an occasional plant fanatic like moi,but now that I work there they sure lost one heck of a fanatic."

"Is it the garden on the southern part of town?" Wright asked, obviously trying to hop into the conversation, "I've seen the occasional ad for it and maybe went past it sometime, but I've never been. Is there anything other than, um… flowers?"

Kunto finally deemed Wright a look, but her magnificently sharp eyebrow only raised once in his direction with a light frown before she looked back at me and said "There are relaxation spots for the older people, a labyrinth for the younger visitors, and more than enough interesting and rare plants to entertain anyone in any age, not to mention an amazing café. Seriously, best coffee in town. You should bring your kid there sometime, fresh air and a more… sophisticated aura for her to adapt to."

At the word sophisticated she looked at Wright and softly wrinkled her nose as she eyed his beanie, stubble, and sweatshirt.

Wright opened his mouth, but I swooped in "That's exactly what Truce needs, some fresh air! We'll take her over there tomorrow!"

"Sounds good," Kunto said and smiled again, "I'll treat you to a personal tour as an excuse for the falling bit, and you can treat me to a coffee at our café afterwards as an excuse for the falling bit."

"Sounds absolutely perfect," I blurted out, hoping my cheeks didn't give me away, "We'll be there tomorrow, around noon?"

"It's a date, I'll meet you all at the entrance. Gotta run now, I'm afraid." Kunto then excused herself before walking off, swooping me by just like the tornado she had arrived in.

I remained in a sort of shocked state as I wallowed in the entire conversation, and I could only just barely hear Wright mutter "While you do all that, I'll just get lost with Trucy in that maze…"

Chapter Text

"Don't I have a sophisticated aura?" Wright asked, while again seating himself by the TV, this time at home, and zapping through the channels. He had just seen Trucy off to bed, and for the first time that day we were alone again, which was just a little more awkward when no booze was involved, and it was officially my boss that I was alone with. In his home.

"And what would be giving off this sophisticated aura, exactly, the sandals, the sweatpants, or the beanie with 'daddy' on it?" I teased, and got myself seated on the couch next to him.

"… You know, if you had been a guy, I would've said you were smitten with that woman," Wright said, obviously in an attempt to tease me back.

"I was, though," I said with a shrug, "still am, to be honest. Did you even SEE her? Everyone in her path should be smitten by her."

Wright almost dropped the remote at that, and when a blush started forming in his face, I went on. "And what do you mean, 'if I had been a guy', what the hell does being a guy have to do with being smitten by people?"

"Uh, uhhh umm no, uh nothing, no, you're right, uh, nothing, just uh, no I mean… *gulp*"

"Dude. I just heard you swallow nervously."

"Okay, point… point taken, it's uh just…"

There's obviously something more bothering him than that a lady can, *gasp*, find another woman attractive.

"… I… just thought that, with what… what we, uh… did yesterday…"

Holy fuck.

"Phoenix Wright, Ace Attorney, single father of one, are you trying to tell me you're jealous of the nice lady in the park?" I giggled, not believing it.

Cheer up, pre-finals, 18-year old me, things will ACTUALLY get better.

"I wouldn't call her a nice lady," Wright mumbled, the blush in his face worse than strawberries by this time, "I'm just, uh, confused. If you liked her so much, and you uh… were with me yesterday, then… how does… I mean…"

"There's something called being 'bi', Mister," I chuckled, wondering how the hell I ended up teaching Phoenix Wright about sexualities, "that means that you don't like just one gende-"

"I know what bisexuals are," Wright interrupted me with a frustrated sigh.

Well, maybe you should write your writers and let them in on it too.

"I just have a distinct memory of you saying you were asexual this morning," Wright said with a suspicious look at me.

"I'm both," I said with a grin, "I'm asexual and biromantic. You see, parallell to the sexual orientation, there is a romantic orientation that usually apply to asexuals, but people of other sexualities may benefit from the term too. It means that even though I'm not turned on by people, I do feel attracted to people and appreciate their looks. you know, aesthetically. So I can fall in love with people no matter what gender, and I can still say 'holy crap, have you seen his/hers/theirs hair, I am in love'. Any questions?"

"No, I'm fairly in the clear about that now," Wright said with a sort of intimidated look on his face.

Look, dude, just cus you don't need labels doesn't mean others doesn't.

"Anything else bothering you?" I asked with my eyebrows raised.

"... Well, I'm confused about, uh... that yesterday you were with me, and now you flirted with her and landed a date tomorrow. So I'm just wondering weather we're strictly coworkers now or if… I mean, not that I'd mind if you'd want to only be coworkers, what happened yesterday wasn't... I just- I don't like not knowing for sure where the hell I'm at."

"Language."

"Teach."

I need to stop fangirling, but seriously, Phoenix Wright just said my name for the first time.

"So you wanna have 'the talk', one day into knowing each other?" I asked with and teasing smile.

Wright fell quiet at that.

"Um," He finally got out, but then didn't follow that statement with anything.

"First of all, Mister, getting jealous on a strange lady because we had a moderately friendly conversation and I found her attractive is in no way justified or okay," I started off, "because A, you and I barely even know each other, and B, even if we did and we were officially together, it'd still not be okay, so you can drop that moping to start with."

"Um…"

"And second of all, I don't get into relationships with people I don't know. I mean, I slept with you simply because if you walk into one of your greatest inspirations and you get the chance to sleep with them, you do it, simple as that. I'm asexual, for fuck's sake, you just don't say no to that. I mean, I've scratched like five things off my bucket list after just a day around you. So no, Wrighto, just because we slept with each other it doesn't mean we're in any way 'a thing', and you have no right to be offended by my statements about a very beautiful lady, and no reason to feel confused either."

"… Um. So… that's it then, I guess," Wright said, and coughed to himself, "Thanks for, uh… clarifying. … Ms. Animate."

"Hey, jesus, I'm not saying we can never, like, become a thing," I said with a shrug, "I'm just saying I'm not a thing you get to claim because of that one night, and that I'm not comfortable with us changing our Facebook statuses to 'in a relationship' yet, not even 'it's complicated'."

"Oh, oh, uh, that- that wasn't what I wanted to- like, I was never thinking about doing tha-"

"You are adorable," I laughed. "Let's decide on this; I'll be your employee for at least a month, then we can revisit things. Who knows, maybe I suck as an attorney and you'll fire me, it'll be less painful if we're not dating."

"Um, that, uh, that sounds…"

"Holy hell, good thing you look good in a stubble," I sighed to myself, grabbed the remote from him, and switched to the local news channel.

We watched mindlessly for a few seconds before I whispered "Do I still get to crash here cus hotel is getting expensive."

"Sure."

"Sweet."

"… And now we head back to this evenings crime scene, the Babineaux Gardens. Our reporter on location gave us this live report an hour ago…"

Both me and Wright immediately gave the local news show our full attention.

"It was just today at 3 PM that a very shocking discovery was made here at the amazingly beautiful Babineaux Gardens. A body has been found…"

"Holy fuck, that's where Kunto worked," I breathed, but Wright shushed me.

"We do not have much details at the moment, as the police have yet to make a statement about the body. There is, however, a few theories and rumours that this reporter has overheard. It's been said that the body was found inside the gardens most famous symbol, the handsome and well dressed Fiyero the Scarecrow. There is also word around that it's quite obvious whose body was inside the famous scarecrow. Two years ago, an employee disappeared and was never found. It is firmly believed that the body must be that of Baako Virág, a…"

"Wait, wait, Baako Virág, that's the same last name as Kunto's," I mumbled, staring wide eyed at the screen, "This is too much to be a coincidence, maybe he was her husband? Or…?"

Wright shushed me again as the reporter kept going.

"… who at the time of his disappearance held the prestigious rank of First Gardener at the gardens. This is, however, not yet confirmed. I will remain here at the Gardens until more is revealed. Back to you, Matilda."

"That was our own reporter Ciel Johnson, in a report an hour ago. We now go back live to Babineaux Gardens and Ciel, to hear more about the body that was discovered earlier today. Ciel?"

"… Yes, hi, Matilda, I'm Ciel Johnson, and I'm standing here with Detective Gumshoe of the local police office, who has some news to share, detective?"

"Well, look at that," Wright said, and turned to me with a smile, "never thought Gumshoe'd be the type to appear on TV."

"I've never met the guy, but I didn't either," I said breathlessly, as the reporter reached the microphone towards the unmistakable figure I knew as detective Dick Gumshoe, who I had seen plenty of times in my precious court videos.

"Hahahahahahahaha… haha… well, pal, here's the thing…"

"I think dearest Dick is a little nervous," Wright chuckled, and now it was I that shushed him.

"At this point in our investigation, we're, uh, ready to bring a suspect in for questioning, and most probably we'll be charging them with a murder charge later tonight…"

"That's quick," Wright said with a frown, "that means they've got evidence and grounds to hold a trial tomorrow morning. The prosecutor on the case must feel confident."

"And who is this suspect?" The reporter asked.

"Well, uh, let's see… it's… Dwai… D-D-wiiiii?" The scruffy detective seemed to now very inconspicuously look at something written on his hand, apparently a bit smudged. "… D-vitamin?"

"Holy fu- detective, the suspect is not a vital vitamin provided by the sun, out of the way," A voice outside of the screen that could barely be heard suddenly interrupted, and stepped out from behind Gumshoe and squeezed himself in between the microphone and the gigantic Gumshoe, who now looked like a lost puppy. I was just about to remark on poor old Gumshoe, when a realisation hit me.

"Holy shit, that's Al!" I exclaimed, as I stared at the purple suited young man who shooed the poor detective out of the picture, but Wright now hushed me as the new figure started to talk.

"The suspect is called Dwi Tamin, an employee here at the gardens. The police has enough reason to believe she is the culprit to this crime."

"And, um, sorry, who are you?" The reporter rightfully asked.

"I'm the Prosecutor of Wonderland, that's who, who also happens to be the acting prosecutor for this case. And I can inform you that the prosecution has charged Dwi Tamin with murder of first degree."

"That prosecutor does not play nice," Wright mumbled to himself.

"Is there any other information the prosecution would like to state at this point?" The reporter continued, "Has the victim been identified?"

"They have," Al said with a nod, "the victim is the employee that disappeared two years ago, Baako Virág."

"Is there any more information about the manner of how the body was discovered? It's told it was find inside the scarecrow known as Fiyero…"

"Yes, you can certainly say this case is… pfft… a-maize-ing."

The silence that fell was deafening.

"… A-maize-ing. Get it? We're on a field. The body was found inside a scarecrow. Field is growing maize. Get it?"

"Y-yes. That's um… fun."

"… Yes, the body was found inside Fiyero the Scarecrow."

"About the body, how long has it been there? Where has the victim been all this time?"

"… Well, fact is that the body has gone through the entire decomposition process and nothing remains but a skeleton, which begs us to believe during these two years the victim has not only been gone, he has been dead and hidden away inside the scarecrow."

"For two years? Wouldn't the body have been discovered during two years?"

"Yes, it's certainly odd it's been hidden away this long, almost… humerus. … … Pfft."

"Good one."

"You get it? There's nothing but a skeleton left. Humerus is a bone."

"Yes, I got it, sir."

"That's the Prosecutor of Wonderland for you."

"… But that's-"

"I know. That's all for now."

And just as fast as he had arrived, Al disappeared from the video as the reporter started to sum things up and 'back to you, Matilda'-ing.

"Do you know that bad-humour prosecutor?" Wright asked as we started losing focus on the news station, "I've never met him, but I've heard lots about him. He's been working directly under Edgeworth for a year now, more or less stepping into his place during his Europe trips."

What.

"Oh, that's, that's wonderful," I sighed, and denyingly looked at the TV, shaking my head. "My genius, prodigy best friend who I went to law school with ends up as Miles Edgeworth's goddamned apprentice or whatever? While I went around unemployed and barely graduated? Without even calling me? Great. Just. Just wonderful."

"… You barely graduated?" Wright asked with a worried tone.

"Like, I'm glad for the guy, really. But I'm living with my boss. I bet he has like, a condo at this point."

"… You're just crashing here, right? Not actually living here?"

"Mister, hey, less you, more me."

"Oh, right. Well, he might've worked with a famous prosecutor for a year or so, but you're working for your idol now too. You're not so far behind him."

Hm.

"… Okay, that's a point, I guess," I sighed, but it still very much bugged me.

"… Not to mention, I doubt he's ever slept with Edgeworth. So, in a way…"

… Holy fuck.

"I'm fucking in the lead, holy hell!" I laughed out loud. Then I stopped. "… Unless they have."

"I seriously don't think so."

"Call him."

"… What."

"Call Edgeworth and ask."

"… No."

"Boooooss, pleeeease, I'm sad and shocked about seeing my friend after two years, come oooooon, for meeeee"

"NO."

"But boooss-"

We were interrupted by the doorbell.

"I'LL GET IT" a shrill voice called from another room, which made both me and Wright jump in surprise, and like a lightning Trucy ran out of her room, and towards the door.

"Trucy!" Wright yelled and got up on his feet, "You're supposed to be asleep! TRUCY, DON'T-"

Unavoidably, Trucy already threw herself on the door, and opened it.

Amazingly, breathtaking, goddess Kunto Virág was on Phoenix Wright's threshold, blinking surprisedly at the little girl with the top hat who beamed up at her.

"It's the strange lady that body tackled you today, Lady!" Trucy called out behind her before she just as fast started running back to her room.

"TRUCY YOU GET BACK HERE!" Both me and Wright called out in one mouth.

Chapter Text

"Well, I was actually looking for Ms. Animate," Kunto said, and sighed as she looked down into the kitchen table, her cup of tea between her hands, "but there was no address for you anywhere here in town, so I thought I'd look up Wright since you said you worked for him. … Didn't imagine you were actually at his place, but yay for me."

Wright blushed, but I laughed shortly. "He's just a good guy and let's me crash here until I get my own place. … But why did you want to look me up?"

"I'm guessing it has something to do with what happened at Babineaux Gardens?" Wright asked knowingly.

Kunto nodded slowly. "Yeah. I need a defence attorney."

"But they've arrested someone else?" I said with a frown, "Dwi Tamin, is that how you say it?"

"Yes. I need a defence attorney for her. She's my girlfriend."

Aw, damn it. They're always taken.

"Okay, Ms. Virág, how about you tell us everything you know about the crime?" Wright asked, leaning forward and resting his arms on the table, getting a whole new look in his eyes.

… I'll have to recover, it seems.

"… I was the one who discovered the body," Kunto began, and without letting us recover from that bomb, she continued "Last night was very windy, and that often gets Fiyero a little crooked or even lets him fall…"

"Fiyero?" I asked.

"The scarecrow, right?" Wright asked.

Kunto nodded. "Yeah, he's kind of our mascot. Anyway, he was crooked due to wind. I noticed earlier today, but I was busy so I didn't pay it much mind. Then, around three, I was really bothered by it and I decided to straighten him up. That's, well…"

She fell quiet at that.

"… So, um, he was your brother?" I asked after a small cough. "I am so sorry."

She smiled and waved my condolences away. "He's been gone for two years, I assumed he was dead after the first month or so. I've gone through the whole mourning period and then some extra since I had no idea what happened to him. … Besides, he was a douche."

"… Your brother was a douche?" Wright asked with a raised eyebrow, as the two us exchanged worried glances.

"Yeah, a real tool," Kunto said with a sigh, "He was a manipulative son of a bitch, really. All he did, he did just to show me he was better than me and would always be. I've always loved plants and the outside. And of course he had to ruin that for me. I land my dream job at the gardens, as an apprentice; a week later he starts as Third Gardener. A rank over me. He was soulless. We both got promoted as we worked there, and by the time he disappeared, I was Third Gardener, but he was First Gardener. He kissed the ass of Master's every chance he got…"

"Wait, wait, you had 'masters' at the gardens? Sorry, I don't get this second gardener, third gardener, apprentice system…" I interrupted with a grimace.

"And while you're at it, how about you tell us a little about everyone working with you and your girlfriend at the gardens?" Wright added, in true attorney spirit.

"Oh, no, sorry, here's how it is; it's a feudal system, or a pyramid ranking. At the very bottom is the Apprentice Gardener; that's what I started as. It's sort of like how they treat the newest member in a sorority, you know? You're basically the other gardeners bitch. You have to do all the lousy crap work nobody else wants to do. Fetch equipment, weed out weeds, sweep the pathways, that sort of stuff. Today, that'd be Kai Baum. They're pretty new, but they're nice and they're passionate about the occupation. Reminds me of me when I was the 'Tice round there."

"Was Baum employed before your brother disappeared?" I asked, trying to ask just as good questions as Wright.

"No, they've just been working for us for about half a year," Kunto explained with a nod. "Above the Apprentice is the Third Gardener, which would be Pétit Beauchene. She's some daughter to one of the investors in the gardens, so she got the job as apprentice back in the day before Baako disappeared. She's basically just working there because she needed a job and her dad got her this one, so she's not exactly passionate, but she's serious about her work. We've worked together for about three years now, so I consider her a close friend. Then…"

"Sorry, hang on a bit; TRUCE!"

"What…?" Wright began and looked at me questionably, but he understood as Trucy looked around the corner that had hidden her from sight.

"Yeah, lady?"

"Trucy, you're supposed to-" Wright began, but I interrupted.

"Truce, could you fetch me some paper and a pen? I need to write all this down."

"Sure!" She exclaimed in happiness, and ran off.

"Don't let my ten year old help you with a murder investigation!" Phoenix exclaimed and looked offended.

"As if you've never done that," I snorted, and just as I finished Trucy ran over to me and placed a piece of paper with a print of bunnies and wands all over it, and a pen with a magic hat on the top.

"Thank you, Truce," I said and patted the little girl on top of her top hat, "now, you'd better go back to bed before daddy blows an aneurysm."

"What's an anysm?" Trucy asked with a frown.

"Go to bed," I laughed, and was actually pleased to see that she did what I said.

Poweeeer.

"Sorry bout that," I smiled to the amazingly beautiful woman in front of me, "you were saying?"

"Well, currently I'm the Second Gardener," Kunto continued, although smiling now after the adorable scene with Trucy, "which means I outrank Pétit and Baum."

"Right, as per the pyramid system," I nodded, as I quickly drew up a triangle and filled them in with the names I had been provided, "and the First Gardener would then be…"

"… My girlfriend, yes," Kunto said, and the smile was wiped off, "who's now charged with the murder of my brother."

It was in silence that I filled in the name Dwi Tamin in my little pyramid.

"Can you tell us a bit about miss Tamin?" Wright asked.

"Well… she was working at the gardens before me and my brother," Kunto began with a bit of a doubtful look, "and we immediately got along. Me and her, I mean. Not exactly her and my brother…"

"You mean they disliked each other?" Wright blurted out, and I elbowed him.

Kunto's slanted eyes narrowed, but she responded calmly "My brother was a bully, Mr. Wright. Everybody disliked him, except the people he suck up to."

"That may be so, miss Virág, but if the prosecution gets to know this, which they most undoubtedly will, they will use this to their advantage, no matter how many people disliked him," Wright said very seriously and without breaking eye contact with the queen of all beauty.

Respect, man.

"Dwi is innocent," Kunto said with such certainty I held up my scribbling of the garden anarchy, "she was with me the night Baako disappeared. The entire day and night, she was with me. She could not have done it."

Wright and I exchanged a look at that.

"… We believe you," I said, and put down the pen, "however, the court will most probably not take your testimony seriously, as you're as close to the defendant as you are…"

"You're telling me this is hopeless?" Kunto asked with flaring nostrils, "I know that. I didn't need you to tell me that over a cup of tea, I've had that told to me over the phone of every agency in town, nobody wants this case because of the publicity it's gotten."

"… We were the last people you went to?" I asked, a little bit hurt.

"As if I'd put my girlfriends life in the hands of someone named Tea Animate and an agency called Wright Talent Agency unless I didn't have another choice," She snorted. "I mean, you're cute, but not that cute. Now, will you take the case or not?"

"How about you tell us a bit more, first?" I asked as softly as I could. "On what grounds did they arrest Ms. Tamin? What evidence do they have?"

"… I don't know about evidence," Kunto said with a frustrated sigh, "I mean, the crime occurred two years ago. It's not as if there's a murder weapon still lying around somewhere in a flowerbed. They basically just have one thing, and that's motive."

"And what is that?" I asked confusedly.

"Well, Baako was above Dwi in rank back then," Kunto said with narrowed eyes.

"… You're saying they arrested her because they think she killed him for his job?" I asked, bewildered.

"As good a reason as any," Wright sighed next to me, "with a case that has grown as cold as this. This case is all about testimony, Teach. Who liked that person, where that person was at that time, who that person really is. There are no fingerprints to run, no blood to analyse. People's words against each other. … A good first case for you, wouldn't you say?"

"What now?" Me and Kunto said in one mouth.

"Her first case?" Kunto moaned, and rested her head in her hands, and then she quietly mumbled "Dwi, mimi hivyo pole…"

"I'm- I'm actually taking this case?" I asked, and looked at Wright with scepticism. "You heard her, nobody wanted to take this case, probably for a reason!"

"A stone cold case as this is never popular," Wright said with a nod, "because it's not easy. But it can be done. I've had a few cases where I've gone back to crimes years old, even one as much as seventeen years old."

"… Yeah, but those weren't the ACTUAL cases," I retracted, "you just referred to them and solved them in part of another, current investigation. And neither was your first case!"

"True," Wright said with a smile, "which is why you have to prove yourself now; be better than I was back then."

"Jesus, Wright, go up in court tomorrow morning?" I said, and felt my stomach roll over, "I have nothing to work with!"

"You've got me," Kunto said, and stared me down with dark eyes, "I've got all the material you need."

"I should've retaken another year," I moaned, and leaned my head in my hands.

"Tea, didn't you say you believed miss Virág when she said her girlfriend was innocent?" Wright asked me kindly.

"Yeah, what of it?" I asked through clenched teeth.

"That's all you need to stand in court tomorrow," Wright said, and I heard the smile in his voice.

Damn you and your inspirational heroism.

Chapter Text

"Tea, this is my girlfriend, Dwi," Kunto said, as I was introduced to my client for the first time. Twenty minutes before I was going to defend her in court.

I can fake puking, that always works… although I'd need some fake puke. Not like I have some flour, milk and ketchup here to make a smelly paste… … I'm far too good at faking illnesses.

The woman I was introduced to was… not what I expected. For a woman as beautiful as Kunto, I had expected an equally beautiful woman. Dwi was, but not in the way I had thought. She was short, about one and a half head shorter than me, and about two heads shorter than her partner. She was chubby in all of the right places, with a wonderful round face and curves where they mattered in her small statured body. She looked very asian in her features, at first I thought Korean but I thought Thailand would be a better description. She had her black hair put up in a bun high up on her head, which completely went together with her image. She was wearing a pair of wide framed glasses, all in tune with my own tastes in hipsterish glasses. She was adorably beautiful in a way that made me want to kneel and hug her, and to later watch a movie and cuddle with her. Her partner was beautiful in a way that made me want to break ace protocol.

"Tea Animate, miss Tamin, nice to meet you," I said, hoping my mouth was smiling and not twitching uncontrollably. I thought it might be the latter, by the way Dwi worriedly glanced up at her partner, then gave me a small smile.

"Do you feel better about this today?" Kunto asked me suspiciously, as she grabbed Dwi's hand reassuringly as she eyed me.

Nope, nopelinope nope, nooooooooooo, nononono, nooope

"Well, after a night's sleep…"

Not a wink.

"And some reviewal of the info you gave me yesterday…"

What goddamned info.

"… I'd say we have a fighting chance, at least."

"Thank you," Dwi said, speaking in perfect english with no hint of an accent, "Thank you so much for taking my case… I know it's… not the smartest decision for an attorney to make… to take a case as hopeless as this…"

Not smart for an attor- was that a backhand insult?

"It's not hopeless, Dwi," I said with what I hoped was a reassuring smile, but what probably was a grimace, "As thin as our defence is, the prosecution's has to be just as thin. In the end, it will all come down to testimony. I just wish I knew who will be testifying today."

"Gumshoe, probably, to start things off," Wright said with a smirk as he arrived, Trucy close at his heels.

"Lady!" Trucy called out and gave me a hug, of all things.

"Be careful with the old lady,' I chuckled amusedly.

"Me and Mr Hat will be cheering you on!" Trucy beamed at me.

Okay I really need to know who Mr Hat is, especially if he's gonna cheer me on.

"I'll make sure to wave at you and your dad from the defence bench," I said, trying to look as beaming and confident as her.

"Why are you making that face at me?" Trucy asked with a light frown.

"Oh, didn't I tell you?" Wright asked and raised his eyebrows at me, "I'll be with you at the defence bench."

HAAAAALELUJAHHH

"Oh, you don't have to do that…" I tried to say nonchalantly.

HAAAAALELUJAHHH

"Besides, Trucy might get bored up there all alone…"

HALLELUJAH, HALLELUJAH, HALLELIIIIIIIIIIIIILUJAAAAAAHHHH

"I'll be with Ms. Kunto and Mr Hat, I won't get lonely!" Trucy assured me.

"You think I'd let a rookie in my own bureau stand alone up there?" Wright scoffed, although smiling, "I do care a little about my reputation, you know."

You don't have a rep anymore, but I'm not complaining.

"Okay, Ms. Tamin, uh, before the trial starts…" I said as I turned to my client again, feeling awkward at best. "I'm sorry, but… you didn't kill Baako Virág, right?"

"I told you yesterday," Kunto exclaimed at once, "She…!"

"I'm sorry, miss Virág, but I was asking miss Tamin," I interrupted, giving the beauty as much of a firm look as I could muster.

Always wanted to use that phrase.

"No, no, I… I didn't," Miss Tamin said, as timid as could be, but while looking me in the eyes, and with which I believed was the truth.

"Can you tell me where you were the night Mr Virág disappeared two years ago?" I followed up.

"I was with Kunto," She continued, as per what Kunto had told me last night, "at my house. We were doing research on the Franklin Tree…"

"The Franklin Tree?" Wright asked with a frown.

"Right, this?" I asked, and pulled out the scientific article Kunto had handed me yesterday night after Wright had grown bored and gone to bed.

Kunto nodded. "Around then, it was the most exciting thing that had happened in Babineaux since its opening. It's extinct in the wild since the 19th century, but it survived as a cultivated species because of the botanist William Bartram, who collected samples of it and managed to get it to bloom at his home. Every example of the tree today is a direct descendant from those samples Bartram collected."

"It's only been known to grow in the wild around Georgia in the US," Dwi took off, a whole new light coming into her eyes as she started talking about the plant, "And seeds from them is very sought after, not only to grow some of the trees, but to attempt and make them procreate in the wild again, reviving it as survivable species. And so, around two years ago, when our garden managed to land ourselves not only seeds, but a few saplings of the trees, well…"

"Our climate here is very similar to that in Georgia," Kunto continued, "which meant it was a great place to attempt and make the species independent again."

"Which is a big deal, I assume?" Wright asked.

"It would be a big deal if someone ever succeeded, yes," Dwi said with a nod, "but anyone has yet to manage it, including our garden."

"We had just received our saplings by that time, but sadly, two of our three saplings died shortly after they arrived," Kunto continued, "leaving just one. We had several seeds, yes, but the saplings took a whole year to grow that size, and our investors would hate to have to wait that long for some progress. So much depended on that sapling surviving and succeeding. So, I went over to Dwi's house after work that night to do some research into the tree, see if there's something we missed in our attempt to recreate the ideal climate, that sort of thing."

"You were Second and Third Gardeners at the time, correct?" I asked, pulling out my badly written notes on the magic stamped paper Trucy had given me yesterday, "wasn't the First Gardener, your brother, interested in doing research for this as well? Why wasn't he with you?"

Kunto scoffed and Dwi looked hesitant. "He… wasn't the most passionated man for his work…" Dwi said carefully.

"He was a lazy bum," Kunto spat out, "he would let us do all the work, and then steal our credit when we'd succeed with something. If we tried to complain, nobody would believe us because he was the First Gardener, and the First Gardener is always right, fucking bullshit… … not you, baby, you're an amazing First Gardener and you're always right."

"Nice save," Dwi said, and raised the hand in which she held her partners hand and kissed the top of it.

Oh my god I'm going to swoon from the adorableness that I have just witnessed.

"And Pétit, the Apprentice Gardener at the time, can confirm that Baako was not with you that night, or that you were at Dwi's place doing research?" Wright asked while I was trying to collect myself.

"I don't know about that," Kunto said with a thoughtful expression, "She was just the 'Tice at the time, even if she wanted to help out with the Franklin Tree, she wasn't allowed near any of it, it was barely that I was allowed to as Third. So she wasn't with us at that time, and I doubt she remembers overhearing our plans about going to Dwi's place. If she could affirm anything, it's that Baako was a lazy bum."

"Well, that in itself wouldn't be so bad," I said with a 'not so bad' face.

"Well, well, well… If it ain't my cup of Tea."

I almost laughed out loud, if I hadn't been so nervous. Instead, I just turned around to face my opponent for today, who also happened to be my old best friend.

"Good one. Did it take you all night to come up with it?" I asked with a smirk.

"Dude, I didn't know you'd be here," Al said with a snort, "How the hell would I prepare for that?"

"Right, I was the one who saw you on the news, not the other way around," I reminded myself.

"So you were the one who should've had the awesome line," Al teased with raised eyebrows.

"I actually take my job seriously, you know," I chuckled, "I was up all night going through the details, not come up with bad puns."

"… Oh, so you're actually my opponent?" Al asked with a genuine surprised tone, "I thought you were here to watch the trial or something. You're working in town, then, that's awesome, whe-"

Al's gaze went behind me, and his mouth remained open in his unsaid sentence as he noticed exactly who was there with me.

"Holy shit," Al then finished, looking back at me, and then laughing shortly. "Damn, Tea. Who knew we'd be standing here three years ago, and you with Phoenix Wright, no less."

"And you with Miles Edgeworth, huh," I said with a nod, "yeah, life sure actually turned out great."

And just like that, we ran out of things to say, and we both seemed to remember that we hadn't spoken in two years and the awkwardness that ensued.

"Well," I said with a weak smile, and pointed behind me at my posse that followed every word I was saying to Al, "I should get back to talking to my client. Not much time before showtime."

"Yeah, sounds good," Al said with a distracted nod, "I've got some details to go through with today's witnesses too. … Hey, Tea, good luck, yeah?"

"Yeah," I nodded back at him, "Good luck to you too."

With that, Al walked away, and I turned back to curious bystanders.

"We were classmates in law school," I explained shortly, "Now, Dwi…"

"Why do both of you have such weird names?" Kunto asked with a light frown, "Tea Animate, The Prosecutor of Wonderland, no way those are real."

"Her name is actually Teachme Toanimate," Wright said before I had the time to shush him.

"Okay, Tea Animate is better than that," Kunto agreed, "but the Prosecutor of Wonderland?"

"Well, his name is actually Alice of Wonderland," I said with clenched teeth, "So he's just calling himself what he's supposed to be called, you know, Prosecutor Edgeworth, Prosecutor of Wonderland, it's his last name. He added the 'the' before that to make it grammatically correct, I guess."

"… Still doesn't make any sense," Kunto said.

"Court will convene in three minutes! Please take your seats in the courtroom!" The bailiff suddenly called out.

"Great, you wasted our precious time before this thing with asking about our names, just great," I moaned, as the bailiff came towards us to escort Dwi into the courtroom.

"I doubt there was much more to say," Wright tried to comfort me.

There's always fucking more to say.

Chapter Text

"Court is now in session for the trial of Dwi Tamin," The judge said, fidgeting through a few papers on top of the judge's bench. It was to my big surprise that this judge wasn't the one I had been prepared for; no old, bearded gentleman in my first trial, of course not. No one predictable that I knew all about. No, now sitting in the judge's chair was a young woman. Her hair was long and puffy, much like what Hermione Grangers hair would look like. She was also very pale, from D-vitamin deficiency or nervousness was hard to tell. Perhaps both.

"… The defence is ready, Your Honour," I got out in a sharp, high voice that I instantly regretted.

Good first impression. Again.

"The prosecution is also ready, Your Honour," Al's voice called out from the opposite side of the courtroom, calmly and steadily as ever, his smirk bugging the hell out of me.

This new judge for the first time looked up from her papers, and she looked at me at once.

"Ms… Toanimate, I see this is your first trial," The judge said, after a quick look down at her papers again to verify my weird last name.

"Um… 'Ms. Animate' is just fine, Your Honour," I corrected her nervously.

"Ms. Animate, then. Well, this is also my first trial," The judge said with a shakily smile and nod, "So let's hope for the best, shall we?"

"… Um, yeah," I said, nervously glancing over at Wright by my side.

Do judges usually want to exchange friendship bracelets?

"Well then, Mr. of Wonderland… hah, I guess that would be simply Mr Wonderland, then?" The judge asked as she turned her attention to the prosecutions bench.

Al's jaw clenched up, "No," he shortly stated, "it's 'of Wonderland', Your Honour."

An awkward silence fell as the judge looked more than a bit off thrown.

Aww, Al, if you're not gonna play nice with the new judge, how the hell will you act towards me?

"… Apologies, Mr. of Wonderland," The judge said with a light blush on their face, "now then, let's get on with today's proceedings. Mr of Wonderland, your opening statement?"

Al not so much glanced down at his stack of papers that were probably just for show as he started speaking.

Show off.

"The victim in this case is Mr. Baako Virág, who disappeared two years ago," Al said with certainty and is gaze directly at me as he spoke, "His corpse was just yesterday afternoon found at his workplace, the Babineaux Gardens, inside a scarecrow by the name of Fiyero."

"A scarecrow?" The judge called out surprisedly.

Don't you watch the news, your Honour?

"Yes, inside a scarecrow," Al nodded, "at least, what remained of the body was. After two years of exposure to wind and rain, nothing remained but bones."

"… But Mr. of Wonderland, how would a body hidden in that way escape discovery?" the judge asked with a confused frown.

"… Your Honour, usually the court waits until there's a witness to cross examine to ask their questions, not to the prosecution," Al said with a raised eyebrow, "At least, that's the proper court proceedings."

Again, Al brought a blush to the judge's cheeks.

"Apologies, please continue."

"The Babineaux Gardens is a very exclusive and influential institute in the gardening community. It is a high honour to be employed there, even as a mere assistant or apprentice. The garden also has a unique ranking system amongst its employees and head gardeners. The highest rank one can have is that of the Master Gardener…"

Wait, Master Gardener? … Right, Kunto mentioned that Baako kissed the 'Masters ass', but we got sidetracked…

"… who is the sole head of the gardens. And right below that, there is the First Gardener, who is the Master's foot soldier on the grounds of the gardens."

A garden isn't a battlefield, Al.

"The position of First Gardener happened to be held by our victim, Mr. Virág, at the time of his disappearance," Al went on, "and right below him in rank was the defendant, Dwi Tamin, as the Second Gardener. It is the prosecution's claim that Ms. Tamin murdered Mr. Virág in order to claim his spot as the Master Gardener's most trusted."

A small murmur filled the courtroom as the opening statement was discussed among the watching people. Apparently, I was the only one who thought that was just a bit of a vague reason for someone to kill someone.

"Relax," Wright murmured as he leaned towards me, "You could bounce pennies off of your tense muscles."

"Wanna put that to the test?" I asked with clenched teeth.

"O-order in the court!" The judge called out, weakly smacking the gavel down. Slowly, the murmur died out. "Ahem. Now then, Mr. of Wonderland, your first witness?"

"The prosecution calls Pétit Beauchene, fellow employee of the defendant, to the stand."

"Wait, what?" I blurted out, looking at Wright accusingly, "you said Gumshoe would be first out."

"Well, I could only guess," Wright said with a shrug.

"Not to mention, the judge didn't even ask about why the prosecution only had a motive?" I asked Wright angrily, "With this claim, wouldn't it be just as logical that Kunto or Pétit killed him just to get a promotion?"

"Well, yes," Wright in a much lower voice than mine, "but of Wonderland has already embarrassed the judge twice, calling her out on a few technicalities, and with her nervousness, she's not bound to challenge him if she's even a bit uncertain."

"You're telling me to make the judge fear me?" I asked, bewildered.

"No, I'm saying that of Wonderland read the judge as a book and knew just how to treat her to get it his way," Wright said quickly, "and so far you've been just as flustered and nervous as her. You have to use this cross examination to get the judge to see you not as her fellow newbie, but as a lawyer."

"… This trial will really just get down to testimony, won't it?" I asked sadly, looking down at my sad excuse of a court record, all of it given to me from Kunto's bag last night, the few things she'd been able to grab from her station before rushing over. A photo of Fiyero the Scarecrow, and the article about the Franklin Tree.

"Usually, all that matters in a court of law is evidence," Wright said, his eyes darkening, "but that's slowly being overturned as we speak. This trial is just the beginning."

"… Why do you have to be so needlessly cryptic?" I asked, as Pétit stepped up to the witness stand.

Like Dwi, this woman was very short, but unlike Dwi, she wast also incredibly thin. Almost sickly so. She had bright auburn hair that was put up in a sloppy bun, and her face was caked with makeup, with heavy eyeliner and lips shining of lipgloss. She was sort of contradictory in herself; her face was carefully painted, but her hair was sloppy and her clothes were probably what she wore to work; a white linen with bare arms, and heavy working pants with several pockets. She was strangely attractive in herself, as well, and I briefly wondered if it was a work qualification that the ones working at the gardens had to be some version of beautiful.

"Witness, state your name and occupation," Al said, and I swear to everything holy, it was as if I watched a court video with an Edgeworth imposter, with the exact same posture and tone of voice, only that instead of a scarlet suit with a cravat, Al was wearing a purple suit with a red bowtie.

"Pétit Beauchene," The woman said in what I interpreted as pure french, but as she kept on speaking in english it was with no accent whatsoever, "I'm the Third Gardener at the Babineaux Gardens."

"Miss Beauchene, if you would please testify about your image of the victim, Baako Virág, before his disappearance," Al asked, and for a brief second he looked up at me with what I could swear was an expectant look.

Pétit nodded once. She seemed very affirming and certain in her posture, and since Kunto had said she thought of Pétit as a friend, I had no idea what would come from this testimony. Would she be saying something that would affirm Dwi's guilt?

In either case, first cross examination coming up.

Chapter Text

WITNESS TESTIMONY

Image of Baako

"I started at the gardens as the 'Tice. … That is, the Apprentice Gardener."

"At that time, Baako was already the Second Gardener."

"He was… not the most caring guy. He would often be condescending towards all of us in front of the Master, or blame us of things either he had done or that had no consequence."

"He was incredibly and competitively ambitious. Didn't take more than a month after I got there that he got promoted to First Gardener."

"He spared no expense in his greed. He pushed down anyone in his path."

"Hm. Figures," Al said now, shaking his head with an almost disappointed face as he looked at Pétit, who would not look him in the eyes.

"… What figures?" The judge asked.

"That the witness is trying to cover for the defendant," Al sighed, sighing resignedly, "The witness is withholding a vital detail."

"Why not just spit it out instead of waiting for the judge to ask you?" I blurted out without being able to stop myself.

Now, I was the one who made the judge blush.

"The witness didn't mention that the person who was First Gardener when Mr. Virág got his promotion and hence got a demotion, was none other than our defendant, Miss Dwi Tamin," Al said, a smug smile on his face, "A huge scandal, I've heard."

I could hardly contain my huge gasp as the court started mumbling. The judge attempted to make them quiet, and Wright took the opportunity to lean forward and whisper "That's certainly a plot twist."

"Now, THAT'S the sort of detail I could've gotten out of Dwi and Kunto while you were all about me and Al's names," I grumbled lowly as the Judge smacked down her gavel.

"Now! Miss Animate, your cross examination, please."

"Remember," Wright mumbled in my ear, "Testimony is everything in this trial. We need to establish doubt into the judge about the motive so we at least can gain more time to investigate further. We don't need to finish this today, we just need to convince the Judge we need another day."

I nodded once, my jaws and hands clenched to the point they both hurt.

Here goes, then.

WITNESS TESTIMONY

Image of Baako

"I started at the gardens as-"

"OBJECTION!"

"Teach." Wright wheezed through clenched teeth.

"Right, sorry, please continue, Ms. Beauchene."

"Umm, miss Animate?" The judge asked.

"I'm sorry, Your Honour, I got carried away, never mind, please go on."

"Umm, I'm pretty sure this qualifies for a penalty."

"You're right, go ahead, my bad, let's get on with it."

I had to.

"I started at the gardens as the 'Tice. … That is, the Apprentice Gardener."

"HOLD IT!"

"Was it hard for you to land the position?" I asked Pétit as professionally as I could muster.

"Well, actually, my father is a shareholder in the gardens," Pétit explained, "and he got me the job when I was 18."

"18?" I asked with raised eyebrows, "a tender age to be working at such an exclusive place as Babineaux Gardens."

"I was in need of a job, and my father had connections," Pétit said with a light shrug, "you have to have connections to land a job there. Dwi did a reportage on the gardens for her high school newspaper and got to know the Master then, Kunto was a regular and familiar with both Dwi and the Master and sprang at the opportunity when the position opened up…"

"Kunto…? Ah, yes, the victim's sister, Kunto Virág?" The judge asked.

"Yes, Your Honour," Pétit confirmed, "And I recommended Kai, the present 'Tice, to the job."

"Pray tell, Ms. Beauchene, how did the victim, Mr. Virág, land his job to start with?" Al cut in.

"… Through his sister, I think," Pétit said hesitantly.

"So his sister was already working there when he started?" Al questioned.

"Well-"

"OBJECTION!" I bellowed at all my strength, "This has nothing to do with the victim, I was questioning about the circumstances of the witness' employment, not the victim's, and I'd appreciate it if the prosecution didn't cut in during my cross-examination!"

The judge smacked her gavel down as I barely finished. "The prosecution asks a valid question," she then added, "Overruled. Witness, answer Mr. Of Wonderland."

"Nice try," Wright murmured.

"Well, yes, Kunto was working there as the 'Tice when Baako came to see her one day, I think," Pétit went on, but as if she was spilling some sort of terrible secret, "He chatted the Master up, and kept coming day after day to 'visit his sister', but after a while the Master offered him the position of Third Gardener, and Baako gladly accepted. And Kunto, who was the 'Tice, could just grit her teeth while her brother passed her in rank… this was of course before I worked there…"

"So Mr. Virág didn't just steal the job of Miss Tamin, but completely stepped over his own sister, who for the record is involved with the defendant," Al smirked while staring right at me.

"Your Honour, this is clearly simple hearsay!" I tried again, although I knew it would go onto deaf ears, "The witness don't know this happened for certain, since she didn't work there at the time, this cannot be passable as testimony!"

"… Sustained," The judge said to my surprise, "The last part of the witness' testimony will be disregarded by all parties."

"As if the harm wasn't already done," Wright sighed in my ear, "Now everyone knows of Dwi and Kunto's relationship, and how Baako stepped on both their toes, repeatedly."

"Ms. Beauchene," I continued, "At the time of your employment, what position did Mr Virág hold?"

"At that time, Baako was already the Second Gardener."

"HOLD IT!"

"So he started as Third Gardener, skipped being Apprentice, and got yet another promotion in the manner of… how long, would you say?" I didn't know where this line of questioning would get me, but I didn't have much else to do.

"I'd say about four months," Pétit said after a short time to think, "I remember it being a bit of a gossip thing when I got there. He wasn't exactly the most popular guy."

"The paperworks at the gardens confirm this," Al cut in as he dug through his neat little pile and pulled out a piece of paper, "This was given to me by the Master Gardener, Archelaus Masters, yesterday. It is very clear Baako Virág cut through the ranks very efficiently."

"And your overall impression of Mr. Virág was…?" I continued after giving Al a grimace, which he answered with a know-it-all-glare.

"He was… not the most caring guy. He would often be condescending towards all of us in front of the Master, or blame us of things either he had done or that had no consequence."

"HOLD IT!"

"Do you have any examples of these incidents?" I asked.

"Well, one time, a few bushes had been wrongly cut," Pétit said, looking up at the ceiling as she remembered, "I was 'Tice, and Baako was still just Second Gardener while Dwi was First. He had been responsible to maintain the bushes, but had failed to cut everyone exactly the same, and sadly, it was the Master himself that noticed the mistake. Usually, we could reprimand Baako before the Master caught wind so he or we could fix it…"

"Hang on, so despite him sabotaging and being completely disrespectful to all of you, you helped him?" I asked surprisedly.

"Not exactly like that," Pétit explained, "Every time he screwed up, deliberately or not, he would always find a way to blame one of us. So if we fixed the problem before the Master did, nobody would get in trouble, neither us nor Baako. Sadly, the Master noticed and he started to give Baako hell, but of course he turned the situation around. He claimed that Dwi, who was his superior at the time, had failed to give him correct instructions in how to tend to them. He got off and Dwi got a real chew out because of that."

"And this happened often?" I inquired.

"Fairly often," Pétite nodded, "Frequently enough and focused on Dwi for her to get demoted and Baako promoted."

"And never did the Master listen to the three of you? I mean, three words against one?"

"No matter what we said, the Master would always take Baako's side," Pétit said with a sad tone in her voice, "I'm blaming sexism."

"As you should," I nodded along, "And he behaved like this purely because…?"

"He was incredibly and competitively ambitious. Didn't take more than a month after I got there that he got promoted to First Gardener."

"HOLD IT!"

"Could you tell us more about how he not only got promoted, but got Ms. Tamin demoted?" I asked.

"Well, he didn't exactly get her demoted, as in he framed her for something and she got demoted on the spot," Pétite said hesitantly, "It was building up, I guess, after months of blaming her for this and that, and getting real close to the Master. After a lot of ass licking, he just managed to convince the Master that he was the right man for the job."

"And how would you rate Mr Virág's gardening skills?" I inquired.

"Average, at most," Pétite snorted, "He had nothing to do in a garden such as Babineaux."

"Why do you think he pursued a career there so ferociously, if that was the case?" I continued.

"My guess? His sister," She shrugged, "From what I've heard, they've always been competitive, almost dangerously so. It's Kunto that has the real interest in the place and the passion for the skills. Baako just wanted to be able to look down at his little sister with a smug face."

"Which more than enough would give Ms. Tamin enough reason to truly despise the man," Al said stated, "He got her demoted and went to such length to disrespect her girlfriend? Must be frustrating to watch after such long time."

"Ms. Tamin and Ms. Virág weren't involved at that time," I interjected, "Using Mr. Virág's supposedly debunking of his sister is hardly relevant for a motive, at least not at the time of his disappearance."

"Figuring that the two worked closely for a time and then later became involved, you have to assume there were, if not romantic, friendly emotions at work," Al pointed out, "and watching a friend being treated that way would be just as frustrating."

I hate you, Al.

"Ms. Beauchene, what was your opinion of Mr. Virág?" I went on, without looking at Al, but feeling his triumphant gaze at me.

"He spared no expense in his greed. He pushed down anyone in his path."

"HOLD IT!"

"That sounds remarkably personal, Ms. Beauchene," I noted.

Pétit swallowed once before answering. "I suppose it was. I guess that Baako was especially hard on me."

"How so?" I pressed.

"How should I know?" she chuckled with a carefree shrug, "He simply did. I despise the word, but I think 'bullied' applies here. He would never give me a break."

"He made sure to get Ms. Tamin demoted, though," I went on, "But you say he was worse to you?"

"Once he was above Dwi and Kunto, the only thing he did towards them were to make sure they knew he was better than them, and make them look worse than him so he was safe in his own job," Pétit explained, "That never applied to me, though. He pushed me around as 'Tice and he pushed me around as Third. He never actually insulted the other two, either. He probably left Dwi alone because she was a close friend to his sister or something. But me? I was called useless, weak, and ugly on a daily basis."

Oh my god I have never heard of such a douche good for him he's already dead or else I'd be after him. Dwi if it was you after all it's totally OK.

The judge smacked down her gavel at the last syllable of Pétit's testimony. "I think the court has heard enough about what kind of person the victim was. Ms. Beauchene, you're dismissed."

Pétit nodded, looking over at me at the defence bench with a sort of regretful face. My guess was that she knew exactly how damning her testimony had been for Dwi, and she seemed genuinely sorry about that. There seemed to be a tight group over at the Babineaux Gardens.

"Mr. of Wonderland, your next witness, please," The judge said.

"The prosecution calls the lead detective on this case to the stand," Al stated without further ado.

"Ah, here's dear old Gumshoe now," Wright smiled.

"I think we're in much too deep water," I sighed despairingly, refusing to look over at either the defendants chair or the general public where I knew a beautiful lady was sitting and squeezing the seats.

"If anything can save us, it's Gumshoe, weather he'd like it or not," Wright said reassuringly, "besides, this testimony was just your friends way of saying 'I've got this in the palm of my hand'. He knows how much on thin ice he's in, now we just got to break it to him."

Break it to hi- oOOOOH good one, he's on THIN ICE, BREAK IT, I'm so stealing that so Al thinks I'm better at puns than him.

By now, Gumshoe had stepped up to the witness stand.

"Witness, state your name and occupation," Al said, per protocol and just as Edgeworthy as before.

"Dick Gumshoe, Detective," Gumshoe stated as gleefully as ever.

"Now, Detective, would you please testify about the crime scene as it was found yesterday afternoon?" Al asked, and I swear I saw him quickly look up at me as he said the words 'crime scene'.

Does it mean he expects me to crash and burn, or that he genuinely wonders how I'll handle this?

"Sure thing," Gumshoe said, as happily as ever. Then, he turned towards the defence bench, and he looked straight at Wright with a big smile. "How's lil Trucy, pal? She eating okay now?"

"It was just that one time when you watched her that she skipped meals, Gumshoe," Wright smirked, "which reminds me, I won't need you to watch her next weekend."

Gumshoe looked sad all of a sudden, "Aww, pal, come on," he squirmed, "I already cleared my schedule for that day. I handed off a real cool case to get off for this!"

"Sorry, detective," Wright said with a shrug, "I've got someone who will certainly not allow Trucy to skip meals."

It's me, isn't it.

"Aww, come on, pal, what am I gonna do this Saturday now?" Gumshoe asked, almost slumping where he stood from these bad news.

"You could always come down here and testify, detective, if you're too busy now," Al said with a nonchalant shrug.

"Oh!" Gumshoe gasped, "Sorry, sorry, I'll testify, right away, sir!"

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

"Why is Al so certain that it's Dwi who killed Baako?" I asked Wright, my heart still racing from my triumph and my adrenaline making me sharp, "These things that I've pointed out are obvious, it's as though he put no time into it at all."

"Well, that's explainable," Al said behind me. I swooshed around, almost expecting him to jump over me in my current heightened senses.

"Don't you have an explanation or a witness to find?" Wright asked with a confused look, "do you have time to be here?"

"I have already found both, actually," Al smirked at Wright.

"Court was dismissed two minutes ago," I pointed out.

"Best make use of the eight minutes you've got with me before court reconvenes, then," He said as smugly as was humanly possible.

I used to love when he was this smug. Towards other people.

"How could you miss the obvious?" I asked straight out.

"… It's a bit embarrassing, but not as embarrassing as missing those incredibly simple contradictions," Al sighed, and his smug look disappeared, "I have a certain piece of evidence in my possession that made me, well, naive. I thought this case would be a walk in the park and well, frankly, it's not on the top of my priority list. I've got five other cases to tend to, so best to make this one over and done with."

"Back up," I said, "A certain piece of evidence? What evidence? There's no such thing as a decisive evidence in the court record, all you've got on Dwi is a motive."

"I didn't think it'd be necessary to present it," Al said with a light frown, "which now was, well, again, naive of me. It's simply so that it compromises the privacy of another person, so in respect to that person, I tried to not use it. You've left me no choice, now, though."

"Would that piece of evidence explain why the body was moved into the scarecrow, and why?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"… Well, no," Al said with a shrug, "I'll fight that battle here, today. I'll save this certain piece of evidence until tomorrow, I think."

"So the court will be extended until tomorrow?" Wright asked.

"If my next witness fails to explain the scarecrow-contradiction, yes," Al nodded, "And perhaps even then."

"Does it come with being an attorney that you get more and more cryptic?" I asked, and looked between Al and Wright, "How about just spilling it instead of dancing around it? What is this mysterious piece of decisive evidence?"

"Why on earth would I tell you that?" Al chuckled.

"Because you owe me five bucks, you-"

"Court will now reconvene! Please take your places inside the court hall!" The bailiff called out.

"Sorry, Tea," Al smiled apologetically, "unfortunately, this piece of evidence is worth more than five bucks."

And with that, he strode off.

"He's playing you, you know that?" Wright asked with a raised eyebrow.

"That's kinda the only thing he's ever done," I shrugged at him, "playing people for fools."

But never me. Until now, at least.

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

WITNESS TESTIMONY

Fiyero the Scarecrow

"First of all, Dwi's innocent. She was with me that night, doing research for work."

"Everybody hated my brother, it's not exactly news. And him getting her demoted, well, everyone saw it coming. She was lucky he didn't convince Masters to have her fired. Get your damn motives from somewhere else, you clods."

"The scarecrow was raised a few days after Baako disappeared, or something like that, I suck at time, but I know it was after his disappearance."

"It was an art project we had been working on with kids that came to the gardens and who left suggested designs on a new scarecrow. Fiyero was the result."

"The field he stands on, the corn field, was part of a project we tried out, a compost project."

"We had local schools, hospitals and restaurants give us their natural waste, leftover foods, plants, that sort of thing, which they could come and throw on our pile, basically, to help the environment, etcetera."

"We also had a collaboration with farms outside the city that would come by with their waste. The cow poop, that is."

"And the corn field was where we applied most of that compost as we got it started."

"So that's my guess. That the smell of the compost covered or blended in with the smell the body was giving off."

"As for birds feeding on it, well, there were clothes in the way and nothing of the body showed. And again, the compost must've disguised the smell so even the birds didn't find it."

"That's a logical explanation, Ms. Virág," the Judge nodded, "Well then, Ms. Animate, your cross examination, please."

"Two things," Wright mumbled in my ear as I prepared myself to question the goddess in front of me, "One, prove that the body must've been kept elsewhere. Two, find a loophole in Wonderlands 'motive is reason enough' speech, prove that Dwi couldn't possibly have done this."

"So it's the famous third party hunt, huh," I mumbled, trying to form all of my questions straight in my head.

"It always is," Wright affirmed.

WITNESS TESTIMONY

Fiyero the Scarecrow

"First of all, Dwi's innocent. She was with me that night, doing research for work."

"OBJECTION!"

It was Al that shouted this, not me.

"The witness is supposed to only testify about the scarecrow," Al said while rolling his eyes, "Since she is as close to the defendant as she is, this testimony cannot be taken seriously since she is most probably just trying to cover for the defendant."

"How fucking dare you?!" Kunto yelled to not only my surprise, but everyone in the courtroom. It was as if everyone in there leaned back in shock at the sudden rage and strength in her voice as she kept on shouting "You're saying I'm lying?! My testimony is my testimony, damn it! It's what happened, and my relationship with her shouldn't compromise the goddamned truth!"

"Order! Witness, calm yourself," The Judge commanded, but Kunto turned towards her with fire in her eyes, opening her mouth angrily, making the Judge flinch as she awaited the storm.

"Ms. Virág!" I called out desperately, stopping her from saying God knows what to the poor Judge, "I'm here to make sure the truth comes out, and we need your testimony to do that! You cannot help Dwi if you're held in contempt of court!"

Kunto now slowly turned towards me again, and I could almost swear I saw a flicker of fear there amongst her anger in her dark eyes.

"… Fine. Sorry," Kunto mumbled, refusing to look at Al again, who for the record seemed completely unfazed by the sudden yelling. "Whatever. Get on with it."

That's one loyal girlfriend, that's for sure.

"What do you say about the prosecutions reasons to have Ms. Tamin arrested in the first place?" I asked, hoping to get her to get some aggression out by answering that.

"Everybody hated my brother, it's not exactly news. And him getting her demoted, well, everyone saw it coming. She was lucky he didn't convince Masters to have her fired. Get your damn motives from somewhere else, you clods."

"HOLD IT!"

"So you're saying others had just as much of a motive to kill your brother as Ms. Tamin?" I questioned.

"Objection," Al said a bit lazily, again rolling his eyes, "leading question, Your Honour, the defence is giving the witness the answer."

"Sustained," The judge said with a nod, "The defence will rephrase the question."

"Did anybody else have a reason to have Mr. Virág killed?" I asked with grinding teeth.

"Killed? There's never a reason to have anyone killed," Kunto said with a snort, "but if people hated him? Sure. I can name ten people on the top of my head. Past schoolmates he made life piss for. Teachers he made life piss for. Basically anyone that he ever met, he somehow pissed off. To say Dwi is the only possible person to have been able to do this is just ridiculous. You only have a motive on her, for Christ's sake. He bullied Pétit, is that a motive too? Heck, I had a motive if that's how this works, he made life shit for me as kids and then stalked me into my dream job and stole the position that I longed for my entire life, hell, arrest me instead of-"

"Your Honour, this testimony is completely getting out of hand," Al sighed, shaking his head, "the prosecution brought the witness up to speak about the scarecrow, not her personal opinions about the prosecutions claims. The prosecution calls for the witness to seize her ramblings at once…"

"Ramblings? Really?" Kunto forced out of clenched teeth, her voice shivering with suppressed anger.

"… Her statements to be removed from the record, and her to get onto the question she's supposed to be answering. Otherwise, the prosecution calls for her immediate removal from the courtroom and to be held in contempt of court. The same would apply for the defence, who happily supports the witness' complete disregard of court procedures."

"Happily? Really?" I forced out of clenched teeth, my voice shivering with suppressed anger.

"Think of puppies and rainbows," Wright suggested, his eyes firmly stuck on Al's smug face, "doesn't help, but it'll keep you distracted."

"Agreed," the judge affirmed, "Witness, can you abide by the prosecutions demands, or should I have you removed?"

Kunto looked at me, and I just tiredly nodded to her.

"… I'll testify," Kunto said, "but you should all know tha-"

"This court doesn't care," Al interrupted, "Get on with it."

Is every side of your bed the wrong side, dude? Wright's bed is heaven, I'll get him to hook you up later.

"The scarecrow was raised a few days after Baako disappeared, or something like that, I suck at time, but I know it was after his disappearance."

"HOLD IT!"

"And it's your belief that if the body was placed inside the scarecrow, it was during the time between Baako's disappearance to the raising of the scarecrow?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I guess," she shrugged, "If Baako was in there for those two years, that has to be the little hole of opportunity that the killer would have to- … … oh."

"…Oh?" I asked with a a questioning look at Wright, who shrugged at me.

Kunto didn't respond, but it seemed obvious she had realised something. And it did not sit well with her, whatever it was. She stared down at the floor with a light frown, her face a stiff mess, which then moved over to something I had to describe as completely conflicted.

"Ms. Virág, do you have something else to disclose to the court?" Al asked with a raised eyebrow. Good, he was in the dark too about this revelation of Kunto's.

"… No, yes, um…" Kunto began, as she started to slowly shake her head, "it's just, I didn't have much time to think about all this, since I found the body yesterday, and now I had ten minutes to prepare to get up on the stand, I didn't think things through…"

"… Your Honour?" I asked softly, figuring how sudden her mood had gone from confident, then enraged, and now to this confused mess, "The witness has a very personal tie to this case. I think it's safe to say miss Virág has every right to either ask for a break or withdraw her testimony due to-"

"No, no," Kunto interrupted me, shaking her head wildly, "it's fine, I'm fine. I just need to add something to my testimony… or maybe make a whole new one."

"Need I remind you, Ms. Virág, that it was the prosecution that called you to the stand, not the defence, and for one purpose alone," Al said with a sigh, "Whatever this huge realisation of yours is…"

"The court will hear this new testimony," the Judge proclaimed with a beat of her gavel to all of our surprises, not to mention Al's, who blankly looked at the Judge with a sceptic look. "I doubt there's much a cross examination of the witness testimony of the scarecrow would bring, and if there is, we're sure to get back to it later. Ms. Virág, your testimony, please."

"… Thank you," Kunto swallowed nervously.

"I'm sick of not knowing anything," I moaned quietly to myself as Kunto took a deep breath before speaking.

Chapter Text

WITNESS TESTIMONY

I just realised…

“I don’t know why this didn’t hit me earlier… I guess it all just moved so quickly…”

“The one in charge of Fiyero… is Pétit.”

“It was her project idea from the start, she arranged the competition for the kids to design him, and it was she who built it from scratch, completely by hand.”

“She was responsible for his maintenance, she made sure he was tidy and stood upright and looked the way he should.”

“So… I just realised that if there’s anyone over these two years that could make sure the body stayed inside the scarecrow and keep it from being discovered… well… it has to have been her?”

“I mean, there’s also no way she could’ve kept maintaining him and not have noticed the… skeleton.”

My mouth was already on the floor when Kunto’s last words were drowned out by the mumble of the people around us, accompanied by the Judge’s gavel and call for order.

“This feels off,” Wright said with a frown as he looked at the obviously very confused and stricken Kunto. 

I agreed. It made sense, but in a weird sort of way it didn’t. I had set out to prove that Dwi couldn’t have done this, but now I wanted to run up and defend Pétit instead. She didn’t feel like a killer. Neither did Dwi or Kunto. But it’s one of those three, since they were the ones working at the gardens at the moment. They all had motives for the same reason; he was a douche and stood in their way, career-wise, like Kunto had pointed out in her earlier ‘illegitimate’ testimony. And if we assume it wasn’t Kunto, and it also wasn’t Dwi, then it had to have been Pétit.

But it was too easy. Kunto just now ‘realising’ all this seemed very convenient. Almost desperate. In my mind, there were two explanations for her actions; either Kunto had been covering for Pétit all this time and withheld this fact until now, when her loyalty to her girlfriend won out. Or, she was throwing an accusation Pétit’s way since her girlfriend was being charged. But who was she protecting? Herself, or someone else?

“If Pétit is the third party…” Wright mumbled in my ear as people still discussed this testimony, “then she is not very smart. She testified earlier to this very court of how much she despised the victim. Would she have gone up and said those things if she really killed him?”

I nodded at what he said, as the Judge brought down her gavel.

“This certainly throws some doubt into the premise that the body was kept inside the scarecrow for so long,” the Judge proclaimed with a sullen nod.

I didn’t know if I really should, but as defence attorney for Dwi Tamin, I had no choice.

“Your Honour, this new information gives us two different scenarios that could have happened,” I stated calmly, but still feeling doubtful. “Either the body was not kept inside the scarecrow for these two years. Which means that anyone with motive could be our killer. Or, it was kept inside the scarecrow for two years. Under the constant knowledge and intent of Pétit Beauchene. The defence claims at this point that it’s impossible to reach a verdict until we know which of these it is.”

The judge nodded and opened her mouth, but was interrupted by Al, who spoke up for the first time in a while.

“The Prosecution agrees, but would like to make one point very clear,” he said, and looked straight at me. His smug look was gone, replaced with a firm stare that almost yelled out ‘I challenge thee’. “If we find that the body was indeed kept someplace else, then the killer can be no other than Dwi Tamin.”

“You have a motive, Mr. of Wonderland,” I said as I took up the challenge, “and unless you have something more substantial than that, there is no reason to hold Miss Tamin, and let the two other people with just as much motive, Miss Beauchene and Miss Virág, go free.”

“That’s a risky move,” Wright mumbled with a frown, “this will force him to get out his decisive evidence.”

“I want time to fight whatever it is,” I explained lowly as I watched Al ponder my words, “I don’t want him to bring it up tomorrow when we’ve established the body wasn’t inside the scarecrow.”

“You seem very sure it wasn’t,” Wright asked with a frown.

“Too many small inconsistencies,” I shrugged.

“That would point at Dwi being the killer, though.”

“Or a third party,” I added quickly just as Al started to speak.

“… The prosecution would like to add a new piece of evidence to the court record,” Al said, not to mine or Wright’s surprise, but to everyone else’s.

“… Mr. Of Wonderland, have you been withholding evidence?” The Judge asked suspiciously.

“Yes,” Al agreed, “but only since this certain piece of evidence is very incriminating towards another person. I wanted to avoid harming this certain individual’s reputation if I could, but the defence have left me no choice.”

“What is this?” Kunto spoke up, staring at the prosecution with a nervous look, “Incriminating towards who? And it will show why Dwi killed my brother?”

“It not only does that,” Al said, and he got back his smug smile, “it tells us that the defendant met with the victim the day he disappeared.”

A mumble was heard as the bailiff was sent over to Al to retrieve this evidence and hand it over to the Judge, but before he gave the bailiff the paper he froze up and looked up at me, and he ‘smugged’ at me again.

“Actually, give this to Miss Animate,” he instructed, “so she can read it out to us. I think her way of speech matches this very accurately.”

The bailiff hesitated and looked at the Judge, who shrugged and allowed it. I shared a puzzled look with Wright before I took the piece of paper from the bailiff and gave it a glance.

“… What the hell is this?” I asked, looking up at Al with the feeling of my heart sinking in my chest.

“That, miss Animate, was sent to the defendant on her work email,” Al explained not only to me, but to everyone in the court hall. “It is from the victim, Baako Virág. Two days before he disappeared. Would you please read it out to us?”

I scoured over the email in my hands again.

How in hell does this match my way of speech? This is imbecile writing.

“…. ‘Yo… Dwi…” I began hesitantly, but Al interrupted me.

“You can do better than that, Animate.”

I clenched my teeth, but thought hey, if I’m gonna go damning my client anyway, why not do it accurately?

“‘yoyoyo dwiwi im gonna need you to come by the garden hose at nine pm this friday usual applies you dont tell anyone and you do exactly as i say or ill tell the press and higher ups about your little flings with old pervert masters :) oh and bring info about the franklin stuf, i seriously couldnt be bothered. oh right you know what else i think sis has a thing for you you want me to break it to her you like guys old as balls? :’D you crazy dykes its so funny to me that you were with pervo masters and realised u like chicks like I dont blame ya lol but anyway friday nine pm dont you dare not show up!!!!!!’”

“How did you manage to read out the smileys and typos?” The Judge asked with an impressed look.

How can a grown man have such a disregard for proper grammar, spell check and capital letters, this must be the worst blackmail letter ever.

“Your Honour, I think the prosecutions take on this is clear,” Al now started to sum up, “Dwi Tamin was called to the garden house after hours for reasons unknown, but for reasons very much known, given the victim was clearly in every way a very ignorant and despicable person, the defendant killed him. Both for years of verbal abuse, and for blackmailing her regarding her alleged affair with the Master Gardener, Archelaus Masters.”

“So this is who you were trying to cover for? For the Master Gardener?” The Judge asked with an understanding nod.

“Not just him, the defendant as well,” Al pointed out, “I saw no reason for her reputation to get yet another hit, or destroy his impeccable one, if I could help it. Especially since the affair is over now.”

“It was over?” The judge inquired curiously.

“Years ago, yeah,” Kunto said with a sour face, “it only happened when Dwi first went to the gardens, six or five years ago. They had their thing, then stopped since it was highly inappropriate as she was going to start working there. It meant nothing. They’ve been nothing but boss and employee for years now.”

So this all happened before Kunto and Dwi became a thing. Judging on her face, though, Kunto didn’t seem like she was okay with what she spoke about.

“The Master Gardener is 48 today, making him 42 at the time of the affair,” Al went on, “Ms. Tamin was barely 18, making their ventures not restrictedly illegal, but in the eyes of the shareholders and those in the committee of the gardens, this would be seen as unacceptable. Both could lose their job. So yes, in respect of both parties, who both wished it to be so, I attempted to hide this fact.”

I was grinding my teeth all the while Al spoke, while the crowd mumbled and had their little discussions. Wright for once had nothing to add, and I was fairly grateful he didn’t. Al hadn’t been kidding; that was some decisive evidence.

“Order!” The judge commanded. “I will now give my take on today’s proceedings. It seems that the defendant, Ms. Dwi Tamin, had both opportunity and motive in plenty to kill Mr. Baako Virág.”

“There it is,” I sighed, and looked down at my bench, “my first case ends in failure. Wonderful. Fire me, Wright.”

“Never,” Wright said, while never looking away from the Judge.

“… However,” The Judge added, and my head flew up with a jolt, “It is as the defence said. If it cannot be established that the body was kept someplace else than inside the scarecrow, then we cannot be certain that she is the guilty party. On the off chance the body was actually kept inside the scarecrow for two years, then the evidence would clearly point to miss Pétit Beauchene as the true murderer. The court therefore and hear-by calls for another day of investigation, where we hopefully can establish just where the body has been kept for the last two years. Agreed, Mr. of Wonderland?”

“… Agreed… Your Honour,” Al said, and even though he had seen it coming, it probably still hurt him to admit it.

“Ms. Animate?” The judge asked as she turned towards me.

“O-of course, yeah,” I spilled out, being taken unawares of the sudden question.

“Then court will reconvene tomorrow,” The Judge proclaimed, and smacked down her gavel, “Court dismissed!”

Chapter Text

"Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa…"

"You're like the second longest sigher I've met," Wright chuckled as we were seated on a bench outside of the court room, on my request.

"I will succeed to the first place with my mezzo-soprano lungs," I mumbled before I inhaled slowly but loudly.

"Your mezzo-soprano lungs need to be used in other ways right now," Wright said, and first I thought he meant it very sexually until I followed his gaze and saw Al striding towards us. I almost choked on my own air in surprise.

"Have you gotten a license yet, Tea?" Al asked with a raised eyebrow, judging my slightly red face. I could easily tell.

"Sure did, fucker," I coughed out, pointing meaningfully at my collar and my Attorney's Badge.

"A drivers license, you twat," Al said as he rolled his eyes at me.

"Oh. Nope."

"And you don't either," Al sighed, as he looked at Wright disapprovingly.

"… How do you know tha- right, you work for Edgeworth," Wright nodded as he rolled his eyes, "figures that detail came up."

"Then it seems we're splitting a cab," Al nodded, looking at his watch, "The garden's almost out of town, no buses goes that way, it's either car or bike, and if you don't have a tricycle parked outside, I suggest we move."

"… Wait, we're- we're investigating together?" I asked with a weird look at Wright.

"No," Al declared, looking at me just as weirdly, "I'm suggesting we split the fee and are environmental by splitting a cab instead of taking one each. Might also be a chance for us to catch up."

"What the heck is there to catch up o- I was thinking of grabbing breakfast or something," I pleaded, looking at Wright who just shrugged at me.

"You didn't eat before the trial?" Al asked with a more doubtful look, "no wonder you looked so pale. Well, that and another reason, I guess."

"You shut your handsome face," I grumbled, got up on my feet, and pulled Wright up sharply and angrily, "but we're stopping by a coffee stand or something, I need a cinnamon bun and a double macchiato."

A guy then appeared out of nowhere, and handed Al a white paper travel mug that in my eyes looked like an extra large, and then he disappeared again just as quickly. Al handed me the cup, and then silently gestured for us to come along as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a phone, which he then called a cab with.

"… It's a double macchiato," I breathlessly informed Wright of after a nervous sip, "was- was that Godot's coffee guy?"

"Teach, come on."

"Wright, was that Godot's coffee guy and what does he take an hour?"

"Figuring you can't afford your own place, out of your price range."

"IS THERE A CHANCE THERE IS A CINNAMON BUN GUY WRIGHT"

Chapter Text

"Pétit Beauchene," Al said, as he handed me a file from his little cute briefcase. Wright, from the front seat, almost turned where he sat so he could take a look as well. "Twenty years old, graduate from an Ivy League uni from the art program with highest honours and recommendations. Been working at the gardens for about two and a half years."

"… Art doesn't really involve gardening, does it?" I asked with a raised eyebrow, "I mean, they might be related, but someone with highest marks in painting, crafts, and digital creation, it seems like an odd take on a career choice."

"As she testified, her father got her the job," Al nodded along with me, "perhaps she had problems finding one in her field and had to take that job to sustain herself."

"She was only eighteen at the time, though," I frowned, "to have graduated from college that early and have problem finding a job, even in the finer arts… strikes me as odd."

Not to mention Kunto had told me Pétit wasn't particularly fond of her work, but I wasn't going to tell Al that.

"Whatever," Al sighed, and closed his briefcase with a smack, "How long you been in town, Teapot?"

You're one to talk, 'Off with your head'.

"A week or so," I shrugged, "A week and three quarters?"

Al looked at me weirdly at that. "Are you telling me you arrive in town and find Phoenix Wright right away and becomes the first acting lawyer in Wright and Co Law Offices in a long time? What connections do you even have, bro?"

Wright and I shared a look.

"… Actually, we uh… we met three days ago," Wright said with a blushing face as he faced the road in front of him instead.

"… Three days ago," Al said with blindly blinking eyes.

"Well, actually, Mister," I said thoughtfully, "we met on Friday night, you employed me then and there, then we got the case yesterday, which was Saturday, and today is early Sunday, so if we're speaking hours, it's technically closer to two days."

"You are fucking me over right now, right?" Al asked with a raised eyebrow, "some kind of weirdass sarcastic joke my aspie ass can't pick up?"

"… No, it's actually true," Wright said from the front seat, "it was, well, a spur of the moment thing."

"You're telling me that I graduated one year early, interned for about five different prosecutors for two years, until Edgeworth noticed me and took me in directly under him, and you retake like, what, two years and get a job the minute you step into town?"

"One year, jeez," I said nervously.

Don't tell my boss I failed twice, please.

"Please tell me about what kind of conversation led up to your immediate employment," Al said with a sour face, "so I can take that course of action should Mr. Edgeworth decide to fire me."

Wright gave me a glance that said 'please-don't-tell-him-we-banged-he-will-tell-edgeworth-right-away'.

"Dude, this guy is literally completely out of it," I chuckled, and smacked the back of Wright's seat, "We started chatting, he noticed my attorney's badge, I mentioned my failed job hunt the entire week, and he just went 'well I'll hire you', I hadn't even told him my name yet."

"Figures, who the hell would hire someone called Teachme Toanimate?" Al snorted as he glanced out of the window.

"You're one to talk, Alice of Wonderland," I snorted back.

The cab ride took a ride for the awkward for a few seconds, and I bet the cab driver felt a lil uncomfortable.

"So how's Miles?" Al asked without taking his eyes from the window.

"Flushed down the toilet," I sighed.

"Noooooooo," Al complained, "what happened?"

"I dunno dude, what the heck happens to all living things, he floated upside down one day when I got back to our room."

"You sure you didn't forget to feed him again?" Al asked accusingly.

"Sir, how dare you. I did no such thing. And how's Feenie while we're on the subject?"

"Alive and well, thank you very much, still doing his little wiggle thing with his fin when I pull out the guitar."

"Oh my god, I forgot he did that-"

"Please tell me you're talking about fish," Wright begged from the front seat.

"We were roommates for two years back at law school," I explained, "I had a fish with me when I got there, a cute little red-finned black shark called Feenie."

"And I, funnily enough, also had a fish with me, a siamese fighting fish, affectionally called Miles after yours truly," Al went on. "Once Tea and I met and we saw each others fishes and learned what the other had called them-"

"It was a cute thing," I said with a shrug, "so when Al graduated a year early and I decided to retake a year, we decided to switch fishes. Al got Feenie, I got Miles. To, you know, remember each other. Didn't really work, though."

"Excuse?" Al asked, "It worked perfectly, every time I looked at Feenie-"

"Not enough to pick up the phone once or twice," I snorted, and now it was me that looked out the window.

"You didn't exactly do that, either," Al then said accusingly.

"Oh, don't you even try that," I sighed, and pulled up my phone, "so what do you call this?"

I pulled up the chat with about one hundred messages that had gone unseen from me and handed it over to Al, who accepted it with a puzzled look, and started scrolling through the 'bro I read the best book', 'bro watcha doin I'm booooooored' 'broo guess who gRADUATED finally lmao u should've been there though' 'k bro you okay starting to get a bit worried here' 'mah brooo broseph where you at I miss your fine ass' messages.

"… This many?" Al said with a frown as he kept scrolling, "I mean, I know I didn't respond on a few, I pushed it forward, but I didn't think… crap."

"Agreed," I grumpily added, as I took my phone back from him.

Phoenix coughed awkwardly from the front seat, as Al and I spent the rest of the ride in silence.

Chapter Text

"This is where we part ways, Tea," Al said without eye contact as we paid the cabbie and were left at the entrance of the most pretentious place I had ever seen.

"Once again," I sighed with a meaningful look at Wright, who looked away awkwardly, not wanting to get in the middle of this.

"… You can keep that file on Beauchene," Al said with a light nod, "I've got a copy at the office."

"And why would you be so gracious?" I asked suspiciously.

"Oh, come on, Tea," Al said with an exasperated sigh, "You know as well as I that Beauchene didn't do it."

"And exactly how well do you know that?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I know that becau- ugh, no, I've given you enough material," Al said, now wrinkling his nose at himself, "You'll have to figure that one out yourself and realise how foolish you've been."

"Foolish how?"

"When we've established that the body was inside the scarecrow for the entire time, then you'll have to bow in shame and admit you failed your first trial, and for what? For the pretty lady that's involved with your client?"

I looked in surprise at the sudden harsh words.

"… Hey," Wright said above me, "that's…"

"Oh, don't you dare fight my fucking battles," I snorted, "Look, Al, as you know very well, I don't care about victories or my record or whatever. I fucking care about morals, and if getting to the truth means my client gets locked behind bars, then so be it. But if there's ever a loose end, like the client having an alibi, albeit from the clients own girlfriend, then I'll investigate that until I either find Kunto lied to me or I find the real killer. And don't you dare take out your frustration on me because you are the reason we haven't spoken for years. I don't fucking care we've got conflicting interests, you fucking get off my back. Take this damn file, I'll find my way to why Pétite's innocent by myself, thank you."

I walked past Al and shoved the file back into his chest as I passed, hearing the quickened footsteps of Wright as he jogged after me.

"I knew I hired you for good reasons," Wright said lowly and smugly.

"Shut your handsome face," I muttered, not in the mood after giving my best friend an earful.

"Tea!" Al called after me, and I turned around so I was walking backwards while looking expectedly at him, "I'm sorry I never responded. I was busy convicting murderers!"

"I had my nose in books, jerk face, I expect another bad excuse next time we meet!" I called back, and turned forward again just as we walked through the entrance into the gardens.

"Why did you name your fish Feenie?" Wright asked with a worried frown.

"Because it had spiky fins that reminded me of your hair, now can we get on with the murder investigation?"

"Absolutely, and about that; here you go."

While we were walking through a pathway with high hedges on each side, Wright slipped his hand into his pocket and pulled something out that he handed to me. It was a sort of green gem that had been cut in a way that looked like one half of the Ying and Yang symbol.

"… If this is some kind of eastern method of proposal…"

"Just take the damn thing, Teach."

I obliged. As I grabbed it, I noticed it started to glow slightly.

"… Um. This doesn't have something to do with the Kurain Channeling technique, does it?"

"How do you…"

"Oh my god, Wright, just assume that everything that's occurred with you in the courtroom, I know about, including the Kurain people and their, uh, spirit thing."

"… Well, you shouldn't know about this, then," Wright said after thinking for a second.

"You're right, I don't," I said, as I held the little thing up towards the sun and looked at it more closely, "I just recognised the symbol cause Mia, Maya and Pearl all wore it round their necks."

"… This is getting a little creepy," Wright said.

"Who the hell cares, now tell me what it does, does it let me channel dead people? Oh, I will NOT channel Baako, he was a douche and he will insult eleven people and have myself killed."

"Nothing that fun. No, this is a Magatama, and it is filled with spiritual energy. It will let you peer into a persons heart."

"… So I am basically a cardiologist now?" I asked suspiciously.

"Oh my god, Teach. No, you'll be able to tell weather someone is hiding something and lying to cover it up."

"GREAT let's head back to Al and ask if he really just forgot about responding to my messages and if Feenie is really still alive, he was looking down when I gave him to hi-"

"Not so fast," Wright called out and grabbed the collar of my leather jacket as I tried to turn on the spot, "Investigating, remember?"

"Right, correction," I said thoughtfully, "We will find Kunto, and ask if Dwi was really with her the night of Baako's disappearance."

"Sounds like a start," Wright smiled.

"But is she here at the Gardens?" I asked thoughtfully, "and while on that subject, where the hell are we and how do we get to the crime sce-"

"YOU!"

I froze and turned around, to see Pétit Beauchene hurry out from one of the small pathways leading into the main one Wright and I were traversing, and she was striding right towards me. Her eyes were filled with anger and looked swollen, as if she had been crying.

"M-me?" I asked, looking up at Wright, who were backing away from me, establishing that Pétit was indeed going straight at me.

"How DARE you?!" She yelled as she got up in my face as I, shocked, backed. She raised her hand and pointed it accusingly in my face, "have you NO CONCERN for others?! How dare you accuse me, are you so desperate to free Dwi that you'd mindlessly jump at anyone convenient to get the blame off your client?! Is that how you earn your money at that repulsing law office of yours, blaming witnesses and then go to their defence in an evil circle?! I am a PERSON! I have places to be, a life! I cannot just have a murder charge placed on me, it has destroyed my social life and my reputation!"

To add to her words, a cop stepped out from the side path Pétite had come from, obviously having the duty to follow Pétit around in case she would be accused of murder, as I had suggested.

I swallowed nervously. "M- Ms. Beauchene, I assure you, I-I…"

"Spare me," Pétit sobbed, and stepped back from me, "I know your heart was in the right place, I know that, it's… it couldn't have been more inconvenient for me… For this to happen…"

"… I assure you, when it's established that the body was kept somewhere else than in the scarecrow, then you won't be charged with-" I tried, but Pétit's glare shut me up.

"It doesn't matter, it's too late," Pétit said wistfully, "You made your accusation, and I will never be allowed to forget it, no matter if it's true or not. Save it."

Wright nudged me from behind, as Pétit's lip started to shiver.

"… I'm so sorry it came to this," I said carefully, "I simply needed to open a possibility to the court to allow me another day of investigation. With the testimony Kunto gave me, I…"

"Yeah, Kunto," Pétit snorted with a laugh, "Good friend she turned out to be! Damned me with that testimony! Not only does everyone think I'm a killer, they know I made that scarecrow!"

"… What's wrong with that?" I asked, knowing I'd get another earful, but not really caring at this point, "I love Fiyero… I mean, until a skeleton was found inside him, and even with one inside it was really impressive…"

"It's silly," Pétit sighed, "Unserious and meaningless! Nobody would hire me if they know I dabbled in things like that, and now with all that's happened here I'm probably going to get fired, and…"

She gave out a loud sob.

"… You really believe your skills are useless?" I asked breathlessly, turning to Wright.

This turned from a blaming game to playing psychologist.

"You damned me, and you dare try and show concern now?" Pétit laughed, tears running down her cheeks, "why don't you just-"

"I am so, so sorry," I begged again, catching her gaze before she could look away again, "I was backed into a corner, but that's not an excuse, merely an explanation. I can only try and repair what I've done, as much as I can. … And for that, I need information. Ms. Beauchene, please. Can you tell me some things about yourself and the victim? Anything that comes to mind about two years ago that you can tell us, to prove you're not the culprit?"

"Why should I help you?" Pétit snorted, "The prosecution wants to nail Dwi to the crime, not me. And Dwi's your client. If I talk, you'll just use that against me and in Dwi's favour."

"I believe Dwi is innocent, too," I said with a nod, "but please-"

"Better her than me," Pétit breathed angrily.

"… Ms. Beauchene, I heard you were sick for some days before the body was discovered," I said with a look at Wright, who shook his head at me, but I ignored him, "you were also gone yesterday, when the body was found."

"So?" She stabbed at me. I swallowed nervously.

"You were then present at court, even called as witness, without so much as a sniffle," I continued, "neither looking tired, or a bit pale, nothing to suggest a sickness."

"I recuperated," She snapped, "I got better and was supposed to be at work yesterday, but I took another day off just in case. What of it?"

"… Was there another reason for you being away those two days?" I asked carefully.

"What are you suggesting?" Pétit asked suspiciously.

"I'm not suggesting anything," I responded, "I just found it odd. And if it turns out you weren't sick, it could harm your case if it comes to you being charged for Baako's murder. So I'll ask again. Were you really sick?"

Pétit's cheeks flushed red as she took a threatening step towards me, but for once I didn't back away. She stared fiercely into my eyes as she whispered through clenched teeth "Yes. I was."

A deafening sound of chains came over me, as they came flying out of thin air, covering the air between Pétite and myself. To top it off, two strange locks joined themselves together with these chains.

"WHAT IN THE FUCK OF EVERYTHING-" I yelled in fear and shock, and Pétit immediately stepped back, suddenly looking frightened.

"I wasn't going to hurt-!" She began, but Wright stepped between us at that.

"We know, Ms. Beauchene, we're not saying you did."

"Then-" She said, but I interrupted while staring at the locks still hovering over Pétit's chest.

"No, I'm sorry, I… I've got a problem with personal space, ahah… I am so sorry…"

"You- you goddamn…" Pétit began, but a sob got caught in her throat and she turned on the spot and fled back into the small pathway she had arrived from, and past the cop who immediately followed with a strange look on me and Wright.

"… That could've gone better," Wright sighed, and scratched his head, "work on your bedside manner."

"Oh, excuuuuuuuuse me that I wasn't prepared for the invisible chains and locks that flew out of the fucking air!"

"… Well, I did say you could see when someone hides something, but we were interrupted before I got to the whole chains and locks part."

I sighed, and crossed my arms over my chest. "Okay, so she's lying about being home sick. What now?"

"You find a way to break the locks," Wright said with a nod, "you find the reason why she wasn't at work, and once we prove it to her, she will hopefully give us some new information she is withholding."

"You make it sound like the easiest thing," I sighed wistfully, as we continued walking down the main path.

"So tell me what you're thinking," Wright asked as we walked, "about the case, I mean."

"I have no stinkin' clue," I moaned, "Did Dwi do it? Did Kunto? Did Pétite? Did the Master Gardener we have yet to meet? I have no damn clue at this point, we really needed this day to investigate."

Wright nodded slowly. "It's true that we have far too little evidence at this point. But don't you have any thoughts on who the culprit is?"

I took a deep breath to buy some more time to think.

"… I don't think any of the Three Caballeros did it, to be honest," I said while shaking my head, "It's silly, yeah, since they all had their own motives and all three could've possibly had the opportunity, but I just can't picture it. My gut says it's not any of them."

"… Which leaves one person," Wright said, "since the Apprentice Gardener today didn't work for the gardens then."

"It seems really fucked up to blame the one guy I haven't met yet, though," I complained, "but then again, I also did blame Pétit although I didn't really think she was the one."

"And you got what was coming for that," Wright comforted me, "Don't dwell on it and just focus on getting more information."

As he finished that sentence, the hedges surrounding our path opened up in front of us and let us out into a bigger, more open area. The edges of the area was covered in flowerbeds with colours of all the rainbow, all with little plaques in front of them to inform the viewers on what plant it was. To their right there was a gigantic field with high green plants that I knew to be corn. As I looked at the corn field, a head stuck out from the rows, and I almost screamed, startled.

"Hey, pal," Gumshoe greeted us, and clumsily climbed over the low fence standing in his way, his already scruffy coat a bit more scruffier from dirt and branches that he had breached while inside the corn field.

"Gumshoe," Wright greeted with a smile, "Thanks for the help at the trial today."

"… Wasn't like I was trying to help ya, but sure, you're welcome," Gumshoe said with a frown and a shrug. Then, his face lit up. "Hey, you, the new lawyer! Heya! Dick Gumshoe! Didn't believe my eyes when I saw what law firm you were workin' in when I read the case file, but there ya stood next to old Wright!"

"I would hardly say old…" Wright mumbled as Gumshoe shook my hand with a shining smile.

"This your first case, huh?" Gumshoe smiled at me, "I remember Wright's first case, lucky for you you don't at least know the victim, hahah…"

Then another look got in his eyes. "Uhh… unless you did?"

"… No," I said with a raised eyebrow, "I didn't."

"Phew," Gumshoe smiled and scratched the back of his head, "dodged a bullet, there."

"Knew the victim…? … Gumshoe, you do know that the trial for Mia's murder wasn't my first?" Wright asked with a light confused frown, "You weren't part of my first trial."

Gumshoe looked shocked at this revelation. "You sure bout that, pal? I could've sworn I was at your first trial…"

"Nope," Wright stated.

"Wright's right," I said with a nod, "his first trial was when he defended his friend, Barry or whatever, and you weren't there for that."

Wright and Gumshoe both looked at me with weird looks, and I blushed slightly.

"Were you there too, pal?" Gumshoe asked and scratched the back of his head again, "Man, my memory must be going…"

"Your memory is fine, about this, at least," Wright said reassuringly, "Teach hasn't been around until two days ago."

"Phew, dodged another bullet!" Gumshoe chuckled. I took this opportunity to look around.

Next to the corn field was a conspicuously painted building in dark green with a glass roof. I could only assume this was some kind of workplace for the gardeners, since it was sort of hidden away behind great hedges clipped in magnificent shapes and creatures. The green colour melted in with the hedges and vines surrounding it, and only reason I spotted it was because the glass roof blinding me by reflecting the sun.

"So I guess you all want to get in on the crime scene, huh?" Gumshoe changed the subject, and I was forced back to the conversation. "I, uh, wish I could, guys…"

"Well, what is there to see?" I asked with a shrug as I looked up at Wright, who confusedly looked back down at me, "I mean, an old scarecrow with a two year old skeleton inside of it? Didn't you say this trial will rely on testimony? Let's not risk poor old Gumshoe's salary or job anymore than you already have during the last years, and let's just focus on-"

I couldn't get further before I found myself crushed by the hardest and most bone crushing hug I had ever taken part of, and just as I heard every loin in my body crack, I was released. Left was an uncomfortable silence as Gumshoe visibly blushed.

"… S- sorry, pal," He stuttered, looking absolutely horrified for what he had done, "I- nobody's ever, uhh, shown concern for my job or my salary, I- I don't know what came over me…"

"… Um." I just said as I glanced at Wright, who looked just as freaked out as I felt.

"… But, uh, since there ain't really much to see, I guess you can take a look a lil later," Gumshoe said as he scratched the back of his head and avoided eye contact, "Mr. of Wonderland is gonna come take a look any minute now, so I guess you could swing by once he's left…"

"That'd be great, Detective," Wright said with a cough, "Thank you-"

"Oh, Jesus, you two, grow up," I sighed, after overcoming the first shock, "I was taken unawares, but what's wrong with a hug, damnit, I love hugs. Get over here, Gumshoe, let's hug it out."

I opened my arms to the ginormous man, as his face turned the same shade of Edgeworth's suit.

"Ah, no, no- I don't need to-"

"You didn't deserve all those reductions on your pay, Gumshoe, you did you very best, an-"

Again I was in an embrace by poor old Gumshoe, and this time I laughed as Wright awkwardly turned away.

What's wrong with a grown man showing gratitude and affection after years of being ridiculed, Jesus Wright, I'll make a feminist out of you yet.

Chapter Text

After an almost tearful goodbye from Gumshoe (Nobody's ever told me I didn't deserve it all, you're an okay gal), Wright and I walked past the maize field with the now infamous scarecrow Fiyero, and entered the a bit secluded and camouflaged garden house.

"Oh, I'm dying," I gasped, as a wall of heat struck me, and I immediately proceeded to pull off my leather jacket in precaution.

"Well, it is a greenhou- … holy hell, you're covered in tattoos!" Wright exclaimed as I threw the jacket over my shoulder.

I frowned as I glanced down on my right arm holding up the jacket, which was covered in black and white tribal patterns in a gaelic theme, and then to my right, which had a water coloured-stained themed bluejay with the asexual colour scheme with some surrounding vines and branches in black and white.

"… You've seen me naked, Wright," I stated as I shook my head at the man.

"It was dark," Wright complained as he stared at the tattoos with raised eyebrows.

"I have a tat on the back of my hand and barbed wire on my throat," I backfired, raising the left hand in question and pointing meaningfully at my throat.

"I knew about those," Wright a bit annoyingly said, "I just didn't know abou-"

"Trouble in paradise?" A sad voice greeted us, interrupting Wright in his second life crisis.

We turned around and were greeted by Kunto, who came towards us from inside the garden house.

"Oh," I said surprisedly as she stopped in front of us, "Hi, um, sorry, I thought you'd be back at the Detention Centre with Dwi…"

"I came here directly instead," Kunto said with a sigh as she looked behind her, "I had to go and take a look myself…"

"… Yourself? On what?" Wright asked with a frown.

"At Dwi's email," Kunto explained with a tired blink, "I had no idea about the blackmailing… I knew Baako was a douche, but to stoop that low? Ugh, I dunno…"

"Kunto, is it really the best idea to be here right now?" I asked with a worried glance at Wright, "I mean, you found your brother's body here just yesterday, your girlfriend's incarcerated…"

"Do you have to remind me?" Kunto snapped, but immediately she looked regretful. "I know, I know. I just can't be of any use sitting over at the detention centre and worry about Dwi, she can take care of herself. And you've already got your own share of enemies here…"

"Enemies?" I asked with a frown.

"Pétit, for one," Kunto said, and Wright nodded along, "and Kai, who's her best friend, doesn't look too friendly on you after accusing her today, and, well, I don't know about the Master, to be honest… it could be either way. It wasn't exactly you who brought forward the fact about his and Dwi's affair, but he might still blame you."

"So basically you're the only one who can give us some actual info," I summed it up with a sigh.

Oh boy.

"Which is why I can't really go home and cry under my covers," Kunto agreed, and just then I saw exactly how tired she looked.

"So, do you have something for us?" Wright asked, "Did you find anything on Dwi's email?"

"Nothing the police didn't already find when they found that blackmail letter," Kunto said as she crossed her arms and looked over her shoulder back at the room she had just come from, "and nothing looking like it, either. To me, it looks like it was the only time he blackmailed her."

"Or she deleted the other ones?" I said with a raised eyebrow.

"That email was in her spam filter, actually," Kunto said with a frown, "I didn't even find it first. Which means she moved it there manually, since our work emails is in the same network and similarly addressed, it would never land in the filter automatically."

I looked at Wright, who looked at me with raised eyebrows.

"Can you maybe print out a physical copy of that email for us?" I asked, "It might be a really good clue in tomorrow's trial."

"Oh, absolutely, I'll get right on it," Kunto said, her eyes practically beaming at the thought of being able to help, "I still have it up on her computer. Come with me."

She then lead us into the work space. The entire garden house seemed to be this entire room that we just entered, aside from a few small doors on the opposite of the gigantic room. The ceiling was higher than I would've guessed from outside, probably big enough to room two floors in the open space to the ceiling. Aside from that, the room had four big partitions that sorted the entire wide space into four different areas. I got a fast glimpse into one of the partitions as we passed the small opening, and found it was a workspace, and an actively used one at that. The floor was covered with tables, vases, high carts, and pots, all filled or carrying different plants. Hanging from small metal beams that covered the top of the partitions in what would be the normal height of a regular ceiling hung even more pots with various plants. To top things off, I got a glimpse of the innermost corner inside the partition which was furnished just like your everyday office, a simple blue carpet covered the floor in a small square where a desk and a high tech computer stood. There was no chair for the desk, as it was an adjustable one where you can rise the entire desk so you can stand while using the computer.

"This space is shared between the Three Gardeners," Kunto explained as we walked past that first partition and then entered the one on the same side as the one I had looked in at, which I assumed was Dwi's. It was practically the same as the first, except this was way messier. The floor was covered in branches and dirt and whatnot from the plants she kept in here, her working bench was covered by different tools and dirt, and the blue carpet that was supposed to mark the spot for her more office part of her workspace was so covered in soil that it appeared more grey than blue, blending in with the dark cemented floor. Kunto moved over to the computer while we took in the sights.

"Dwi certainly seems busy," Wright commented, as he a bit judgementally looked around at the mess.

You will not like living with me.

"We all are," Kunto nodded as she woke the computer from the screensaver, "It's an amazing, but demanding job. The gardens are large, but only us three and the Master work here, since most plants are very delicate and can't be trusted to simple maintenance workers."

"You tend to the entire gardens by yourself?" I asked with an impressed raise of my eyebrows.

"Basically," Kunto affirmed as she clicked her way through an email program.

"So the Master has his workspace here, too?" I asked as I walked over to the opening of Dwi's partition to scout outside, "I was hoping to catch a few words."

"Look up," Kunto called out from behind me.

I did, and my jaw almost dropped. I had completely missed the elevated floor that was above the two innermost partitions of the garden house, but not the two first, which probably explained why I overlooked it the first time. I walked out of Dwi's workplace and took a few steps back towards the entrance, seeing the entire thing entirely.

Complete with glass walls, I could see directly into what I would've described not as a work space, but a green house. The glass roof I had seen from outside was a part of the Master's office, I now realised.

"You can only access it from outside, through an elevator you can only use if you have the key," Kunto explained as she remained by the computer, "it's the most secure place in the Gardens. It's where we keep all of our experimental and rare specimens."

"The Master isn't very trusting, is he?" I mumbled as I continued watching the seemingly hovering greenhouse above my head.

"There," Kunto said, and she walked out of Dwi's workplace together with Wright, "I'll go and fetch the copy, our printer is in the break room." She gestured over to one of the two doors at the end of the garden house. "I'll be right back."

She had hardly turned her back on me before I hurried over the small aisle between the partitions and slunk into one of them, fully intent on snooping around.

This particular partition was tidier than the first two I had seen, but it was far from immaculate. This work space was stuffed to the brim with what looked like bookshelves on wheels, all full with different potted plants. It was a sort of organised chaos, though; there were a very small path made between the movable bookshelves leading from the opening of the partition to the working bench and the office space. I was a bit broader than whoever had made these paths, so I had to sidestep my way to the working bench.

"Teach," Wright called out from outside the partition as soon as the sound of a door closing was heard, "you didn't even wait a second."

"Shush, I'm investigating," I said as I squeezed myself into the small open space in front of a cluttered working bench. I mindlessly lifted up a few tools that were like doll versions of real gardening tools, and I was just about to move over to the office space when a pair of hedge clippers caught my attention. I picked them up and grabbed each handle in both hands, and held the gigantic clippers in front of my face. The handles were brightly coloured red, and were basically formed exactly after my clutching fingers. It was light enough for me to raise it with ease, but heavy enough for me to feel the quality of them, even if I had never in my life held a pair of hedge clippers before. But what had caught my attention from the start was the small icon imprinted on the side of the red handle, an elegant design with the word 'Nukes'.

"Huh," I mumbled, as I put the clippers down again, and then sidestepped back into the variety of shelves with flowers that made me almost sneeze, until I entered the small office space. Even here, the movable flower shelves had been rolled up onto the carpet, invading the intended office, and practically squeezed in the ergonomic raisable bench to the limit. The computer was off and I didn't think I would get away with booting it up, besides, what if it was password protected, so I settled with just looking at the two things on the bench aside from the screen and keyboard.

It was two framed photos, which told me whose this workspace was.

"Here, you curious lil mouse," Kunto said as she smacked a sheet of paper in my face from behind, making me jump in surprise. How she had been able to move through the rows of flowers soundlessly I couldn't say.

"Thanks for the warning, Boss!" I called out grumpily as I took the paper away from my face.

"You're welcome."

"I see you found Pétit's little cramped hole up," Kunto said as she meaningfully glanced over at the towering shelves surrounding us.

I only just then realised exactly how cramped up the two of us were in front of the computer, with barely two meters to move around. I tried to ignore how close Kunto was to me as I reached forward and grabbed one of the photo's to take a better look.

About twenty people has managed to get inside the frame of it, squished together as effectively and compact as the shelves surrounding us now. There were mostly children in the photo, sitting on the ground in front of a few women who was sitting on chairs, and behind them stood the men of the family, towering over their respective others with not so much as a smile. Actually, no one in the picture was smiling, not even the children.

"Jesus christ, this is the most heteronormative thing I have ever seen," I said with a shake of my head as I looked in disbelief.

"Tell me about it," Kunto sighed next to me, "and this is where our little Pétit comes from."

I identified Pétit, who sat on the far right of the four ladies sitting on chairs. She stood out since she was the only one of the women who had a child in her lap, a young child. On closer inspection, I found that Pétit was the only one with a smile on her face, as small and weak as it was. The child in her lap was as expressionless as the others, probably only reason why Pétit had the child in her lap was because they were too small to sit on their own as the other older children.

"Family photo from last year," Kunto explained to me, "She has a new one with her every year from the annual family reunion in France. She has two brothers and a sister, look, those two guys standing above her on the left are them. The one next to her brothers is her sisters husband, and next to him is Pétit's shit of a father."

I looked in disgust at the oldest man in the picture. I had never seen a more emotionless and stoic man. His posture was more killable than Edgeworth's, his face featured a bushy black beard with some distinguished grey in it, and I could tell from just this picture that his eyes were the coldest I had ever seen.

"I dunno why she bothers to have this framed here when she has photos like these," Kunto said and pointed to the other photo on the desk. I replaced the one I was holding with that one. In this, the two guys behind Pétit on the photo was smiling broadly at the camera together with Pétit in one of the most heartwarming groupies I had ever seen. One of her brothers, the youngest from what I could tell, had his arms around Pétit's shoulders and the older one was giving her a kiss on her cheek just as she took the photo, a bright smile on her face. I couldn't help but smile as well, it was simply too adorable.

"She really loves her brothers," Kunto told me as she too started to smile, "When she's in France she lives at her oldest brothers place with his kids, Adrianne and Victor. She never shuts up about her niece and nephew."

She pointed out two of the children, one of the older boys and the child in Pétit's lap.

"It's not like she's on bad terms with her sister or anything, but they just don't connect, I hear," Kunto continued in her review of Pétit's family. Her sister is the oldest, the guy kissing her cheek is next to oldest, Pétit is third in line, and the guy around her shoulders, Adrien, is the last and fourth. They've got a really special relationship, those two. It's such piss they hardly see each other."

"Is he in France?" I asked.

Kunto nodded. "That, and that their waste of a life dad doesn't want her to see his perfect family too often. She's barely allowed on the annual reunions."

"You're shitting me," I said, looking at the glum family photo with a wrinkled nose.

"Nope. Apparently she's the great disappointment of the family because she went to art college and hasn't gotten married. The other siblings has and all have kids except for her."

"Her youngest brother too?" I asked with a shocked look, "Pétit's just twenty, he has to be, what, eighteen, barely?"

"He married his childhood sweetheart half a year ago and she's knocked up now," Kunto moaned with a roll of her eyes, "With his fathers blessings, of course."

"This is so fucked up," I said as I looked at the contrast between the two photos.

"Her father also forced her to take this job," Kunto went on, "He never truly accepted her artistic interest, and when she announced she was moving from France for an apprenticeship in an art gallery in New York or something, he flipped a shit and gave her an ultimatum, either get cut off from the entire family and lose her inheritance, or take a job which he felt had more promise than an apprenticeship in an art gallery. And that job was an apprenticeship in a garden."

Filled with guilt of what I had done to Pétit and just now realising the consequences Pétit would have to deal with from her father because of my accusations, I put both photos down and turned away from the bench, leaning against it as I took a look at the email Kunto had printed out for me.

"… Families sure are douches, aren't they," I sighed after reading the blackmail letter sent from Baako to Dwi again.

"Tell. Me. About. It." Kunto snorted.

"… Have you guys forgotten about me?" Wright called from outside the partition.

"You're welcome to join us," I called out, "plenty of room!"

Kunto giggled, as Wright mumbled "That feels like a lie."

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

"As you exposed in todays trial, yes, me and Dwi had a brief affair," Masters said as we slowly walked along the rows of flowers I had no idea what they were called.

"Well, I didn't," I pointed out, "A- I mean, Prosecutor of Wonderland was the one who presented the email."

"But you knew about it and let him, didn't you?" Masters asked, his arms behind his back almost as a proper gentleman. Slightly behind us, Wright walked by awkwardly while listening to our conversation and looking at the flowers.

"… No, I didn't," I said with a strange look up at Masters, who raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Is there a reason why you think I did?"

"I assumed that Dwi would tell the defence everything that was damning," He said slowly as he got his thoughts together, "which would include the blackmail letter, which would incriminate me and our past relationship."

"You knew about the blackmailing?" I asked.

"… Yes," Masters said with a nod, "I was made aware of it about a week after Baako's disappearance. Dwi noticed that he disappeared the day they were supposed to meet and was beside herself. Since she hadn't gone there, why was he gone?"

"And you've kept quiet about this?" I asked suspiciously.

"I did," Masters agreed, "Because telling the police about the blackmail letter would put her on the scene, even though she wasn't there. Why would she come to her boss and show the letter if she indeed did go there and kill him? That'd be like a confession. So I believe she is innocent. I didn't mention it because at that point, nobody seemed to know about the email. I did not want to be the one to reveal it, especially when it would get me involved."

"Not getting involved might be a fruitless train when you work with only four people," I said as I looked at him with a sceptical look.

He didn't look at me as he smirked. "It might have been a bit naive, yes."

We walked on for a few seconds before I spoke up. "Didn't you ever notice what a douche Baako was?"

"Teach…" Wright moaned behind me, but I put a finger behind my back and hushed him.

"I'm serious, Mr. Masters. Here you have four employees under you whereof one is a man, and the rest are women or else-wise. Didn't you ever notice how unfair Baako and yourself treated them? How you even demoted your former lover because of this guys sole word? I don-"

"Yes, I demoted my former lover," Masters said with a sigh, "In favour of my current one."

I stopped so abruptly that Wright walked into me, and Masters stopped and looked back at me with raised eyebrows.

"Problem?" He asked innocently.

GAY GARDENS

"… Opposite," I said with a smile, "You sly dog, yo-"

"Remember who you're talking to," Wright begged in my ear, but Masters started to chuckle.

"Usually what people say when hearing of my affair with Dwi," he amusedly said.

"Well, I mean it in a sort of negatory sense," I said with my smile still intact, "Only I'm happy you're not exclusive for young women, but also young men. Focus on the gender in that sentence, not the 'young' aspect."

"And both the young lady and young man had a thing for older people," Masters said as he looked away, his smile fading. "Or in Baako's case, as I later learned, a thing for ambition. Look, I could stand here and defend myself…"

"You just stated they had a thing for older people," I said with raised eyebrows, "That sounds like defending."

"Are we here to discuss my preference in partners or Dwi's defence?" Masters said with a polite smile.

"Her defence, and in light of your actual relationship with the victim, I'd say I'd like to hear some details around that."

Masters sighed and shook his head. "What the hell is there to tell? I was seduced, plain and simple. I was flattered by the attention of a handsome young man and suddenly I found myself where I was found, and constantly getting talked into doing all kinds of things for him. Including demoting Dwi."

"And about Dwi, how come you two ended up together?" I asked.

"It's not something I'm proud of," Masters said, "Dwi was doing a project surrounding the gardens and came here a few times and tried to get an interview with me. She was, well, she admired and respected me a great deal, and after the interview we kept in touch. I followed her project and herself, and after running into each other on a night out, well… similar interests and career choices and a fateful meeting simply turned out with our brief fling and her employment."

Wright and I looked at each other at the exact same time, and I saw Wright turn red as I felt my own cheeks turn red.

"We ended things pretty soon after she became my subordinate, and that was that," Masters said without having noticed the exchange of looks between Wright and I.

"And what about your 'fling' with Mr. Virág?" I asked.

Masters was quiet for a few seconds before answering. "It was straightforward. I was flattered for the attention of a young, attractive man, and I can't say I was anything than seduced. After which I gladly gave my young lover all that he asked for."

"How did things end?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"… It didn't," Masters said with his eyes fixed forward, "We were still involved when he disappeared."

I looked behind at Wright, who was looking at the back of Masters head with a glare.

Masters sighed and stopped to turn towards me, bringing us all to a halt. "And that's all I feel you're entitled to know, Ms. Animate, Mr. Wright." Masters said with his hands behind his back and a tired look down at me and a quick glance over at Wright.

"Hang on," I said and put my arms over my chest, "I appreciate your honesty by telling us about you and Mr. Virág, but I'm confused. You insist Dwi is innocent. But with your relationship with Mr. Virág, am I to believe…?"

"… That I'm the murderer?" Masters said with a chuckle, "It won't be that easy, I'm afraid."

"So you deny it?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes," Masters said with a small laugh and shake of his head.

"Then, you're saying it's neither Dwi nor you," I said, shaking my head back at him, "So here's what I'm confused about. What do you want? What did you hope to gain by talking to me about this? Are you saying the murderer is either Kunto or Pétit?"

Masters amusement disappeared at once. "You make it seem like it has to be someone who works here at the Gardens," Masters said cryptically.

Now it was my turn to laugh.

"Not likely," I said with a shake of my head, "Only people who work here have access to the gardens and Fiyero, which means that even if the body was buried somewhere else than the Gardens, which I highly doubt, whoever did move the body MUST have been an employee. Which narrows it down to four suspects: Dwi, Kunto, Pétit, and you. Hence, I ask you: what do you WANT, Mr. Masters?"

"… I want this Garden to survive." Masters said with his eyes on the ground.

"… Survive?" I asked with a frown. "What does that mean? Is there a reason it wouldn't, Mr. Masters?"

"I've told you all there is to know," Masters said with certainty and while looking me in the eyes again.

The rest of the Master Gardeners words were drowned out by the sound of chains, and I winced as the locks and chains came flying out of nowhere once again, covering most of Masters up in a wide array of locks, five, I realised on close inspection.

Oh my fucking god can I never catch a fucking break.

Chapter Text

"I'm taking off," Wright said as we parted with Masters after I understood I wouldn't be able to get anything else out of him, "I need to pick Trucy up from her magic class."

"There's a magic class?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"There's a class for everything," Wright said with a light sigh, "But not many that are as expensive. You'll be okay by yourself?"

"Think so," I said, "only two things I want to do before tomorrow. Check out the crime scene, and break Pétit's Psyche-locks."

"… Uh, before I take off, I wanted to just, uh, say something," Wright said while scratching the back of his head and with cheeks reddening.

I raised my eyebrows with expectation.

"I was just, uh, thinking about Masters and Dwi," Wright said with a light frown, not meeting my eyes, "and, uh, well, I… I don't want to be the same as Masters. I don't want to be someone who can't distinguish between employees and… more. I don't want to be one who defends my relationships with 'they had a thing for older men'. So…"

"Jesus Christ, Wright," I said, shaking my head. "There is seven years between us. And there was twenty-two between Masters and Baako. Twenty-four between Dwi and him. We are most definitely not talking about pedophilia here, which is just borderline in Masters case. I'm 21 and you're 28. We're two adult and consenting people."

"The consenting part is doubtful, though, since you were drunk…"

"True, but I can also personally assure you that had I been sober, I would've consented. And what the heck, our case is similar to Masters, but fuck, it's different in the right places. Masters got to know young Dwi over the span of months, who idolised him, and he suddenly decided that this young woman was now a-okay to take advantage of the moment she passed the legal threshold. Fuck, half the night I got to know you, I didn't even know who you were."

"Isn't that worse?" Wright said with a raised eyebrow.

I shrugged. "I don't think so. But if you do and you want to use that as an excuse to end whatever this is, then OK. I just think you're being silly."

"I- hang on, I don't want to end things, I- I just don't know if this is appropriate."

"Who fucking cares?" I asked with a frown. "You're your own boss, it's not like we can get fired for this. And it's not like we're engaged or anything, Wright, we literally just had sex. You're overthinking this."

Wright blushed even heavier. "I… I should really go and pick up Trucy."

"Yeah, you should," I said with a nod, "See you back at your place once I'm done here. … If you're still cool with me staying there?"

"Oh, yeah, of course," Wright said, looking down at his watch, refusing to look at me, "See you then."

And there he went, leaving me looking after him with an amused look.

The way he treats this thing you'd think he's never been in a sexual relationship. …Maybe he hasn't. Cool.

Chapter Text

While walking back towards the maize field, I got a glimpse on who I was hoping to see.

"Ms. Beauchene!" I yelled and got into a run, and Pétit stopped in the entrance to the garden house, and both her and the guard turned towards me as I ran up to them.

Pétit glared at me with red eyes. "What?" She asked with absolutely no mercy in her tone.

I stopped in front of her and pretended to catch my breath, which I also did, but also tried to figure out how to formulate this.

"Ms. Beauchene, first of all, I want to apologise for what I've put you through," I sincerely said as I wiped sweat off of my brow.

Pétit's grip on the door to the garden house tightened, as did her face.

"But I still need to speak to you," I said, as I put my hand in my pocket and grabbed the Magatama Wright had given me before, "about how you weren't really sick for the last days."

Pétit's face froze up, and she glanced at her guard briefly before she a bit choked up said "I was sick."

Again, the chains appeared and showed me how her secret was locked up behind two bright red locks.

With a firm grip on the Magatama in my pocket, I felt oddly powerful. Wright hadn't been really helpful in telling me how to work this thing, but it didn't feel like I needed a tutorial here.

(Psyche-Locks)

Break em. Easy.

"I'm not buying it, Ms. Beauchene," I said frankly, focused on nothing but the locks, ignoring the guard I knew was looking on. "You do realise that if it turns out my theory about the body being moved fairly recently is correct, then your alibi surrounding the recent days are more important than ever. So I do think it's in your best interest to be truthful about it."

Pétit grew a paler shade of white than she had been before.

"If we assume you're not the one who killed Baako, I can only assume that the reason you lie about this matter is because you have no choice," I continued, knowing by looking at her I was on the right track, "which makes me think about your unfortunate family situation."

"How do you-!" Pétit exclaimed angrily, and my heart took a leap as one of the Psyche-Locks started to slightly shiver.

"I had a talk with Kunto," I said truthfully, "I don't think she has the entire story, but I got the gist. Your father is an a-hole, and you don't actually want to work here. You're in an awful situation. And now your passion, art and crafts, is the cause behind you being accused of murder."

"You don't know anythin-"

"Your father must be absolutely livid."

Pétit took a shivering breath and looked away from me, and as she did, one of her Psyche-Locks shattered into million pieces, just to disappear from my view.

FUCK. YEAH.

"So with that down, the big mystery remains," I continued, on the biggest roll of my life, "Why are you playing along with your fathers rules?"

"I- I can't be cut off," Pétit said with a slight shiver in her voice, "Not from my family, or economically…"

"Being an Apprentice or even Third Gardener at Babineaux has to be very profitable, even if you're here against your will," I said, "I doubt you're still dependant on your father and his riches, however vast. If you'd really want to, you could cut ties and pursue your dream."

"I can't," Pétit said on the brink of desperation, "You don't-"

"Then, there's your brothers," I said with a nod, "I understand that being apart from them has to be hard on you."

Pétit looked away from me at that.

"You're all grown people, though," I said, "I doubt your father could actually keep you from meeting and being the siblings you are. So there's more. He's got something more on you which is why you put up with him."

"Fuck. You." Pétit said as she looked back up at me with tears streaming down her face, "Fuck you."

"How old were you when you got pregnant, Pétit?" I asked silently.

The last Psyche-Lock shattered, and the chains disappeared, leaving Pétit standing in the beaming sun, staring at me with fear and uncertainness.

"… Seventeen," Pétit said after swallowing once. "How…?"

"It was a process of elimination and a suspicion," I said calmly, "I thought of reasons why your father would be so completely adamant in keeping track of you by getting you a job, yet still keep you at arms length by limiting access to your family. I thought it was probably a matter of a scandal that he couldn't stand be connected to his perfect family. I saw the picture on your desk, as well."

"Then… you saw…" Pétit said with a weak voice.

"I guess your niece Adrianne is actually your daughter?" I asked.

Pétit took a shivering breath and hugged herself as she nodded.

"Father… forced me to give her to my oldest brother, Alain, to raise as his own," Pétit explained carefully, saying each word with effort. "Officially, she's his and his wife's daughter. … How did you know Adrianne was my child, and not Victor?"

"Well, it was a lucky guess, sort of," I said thoughtfully, "I heard from Kunto that you had a really special relationship with your younger brother Adrien. So I thought that the child named after him would be yours."

Pétit nodded hesitantly. "… Nobody outside my family knows about this," She said, "I never dared…"

"But why do you still play along?" I asked with a frown, "I mean, your daughter is raised by your brother, who I thought you loved. Why would he be in on this?"

"… Father can ask whatever he wants of Alain. He made a few bad investments and isn't as successful as father wants people to believe. He gets by, but to keep up appearances, he needs the affirmation he has an inheritance to collect eventually. When I got pregnant… father stripped my of my share of the inheritance and transferred it to Alain in exchange for pretending Adrianne was his own."

"Holy shit?" I said with a speechless face. Pétit smiled at that before continuing.

"The deal was that Alain got my share, but if I prove reliable enough to make up for my past mistakes by being responsible enough to leave behind my passion for art and show I can really take care of a child, he'll agree to me getting the custody of Adrianne. Alain still keeps my inheritance, which is perfectly fine with me. I don't want that money, and I could never ask Alain to decline the offer because of his situation." Pétit explained with tears still dripping down her face. "The only thing I've ever wanted is my child back. Screw my fathers money. So now that I've worked for two years at Babineaux and gotten a promotion, my father agreed to me having Adrianne here with me for a small amount of time to show I truly can take care of her. So no, I wasn't sick these last days. She was. I stayed home to take care of her, for if father and Alain come to town to see how she's doing and she's sick-"

"Oh my god, children get sick, what the hell, it's not like she's malnourished or…"

" … But none of that matters since they're already on their way to collect her now that I'm a part of all this," Pétit said with a sob that sent her face into a grimace, and she turned away from me.

"… Thank you for telling me this," I said with a solemn tone, "I'm very sorry for all this. Tomorrow in court I will do my best to clear you of all charges. Perhaps then-"

"No, now my father knows I made Fiyero, and hence knows I haven't let go of my 'obsession' with art," Pétit said, shaking her head. "It's over. Adrianne will grow up only knowing me as the outcast aunt nobody speaks about. I've… come to terms with that."

Without saying anything else, she looked up at me with the weakest of smiles I had ever seen, tears still falling from her eyes, as she turned her back to me and walked into the garden house, closely followed by the guard who gave me a lingering look before disappearing after her.

Leaving me standing alone, feeling absolutely useless.

Chapter Text

With a feeling of absolute distress, I walked away from the Garden house and set my tracks towards the huge maize field. I walked towards a hoard of police officers standing on my side of the yellow crime scene tape, and as I got closer, I realised that Gumshoe wasn't there.

Al, however, was.

Which meant my chances of seeing the crime scene was equal to zero.

Ho, boy.

I turned around at once, aiming towards the exit to the gardens instead. Not being able to see the crime scene, not being able to break Masters Psyche-Locks, and having destroyed a young woman's chances of being the mother she wants to be, I felt the same kind of pit forming in my stomach that I had only felt on two occasions so far in my life.

Each time had been when I realised I'd have to retake a year at law school.

Nothing has really ever compared to the particular hurt I felt when I saw the people I'd gone to school with, my friends, go on without me. Seeing all the happy faces as they make future plans. And there I'm sitting, laughing it off. Laughing it out, even though I wished I could sit there with them, wondering what to wear to graduation.

On top of all that, though, what hurt the most… had always been that while all of them went through school with ease, when having spent just the same amount of time as I joking around, I was the only one who failed.

Twice.

So, of course, the consensus around me had always been this: that I'm stupid.

Failing school equals stupid.

I'm not fucking stupid. I'm not.

"Hey, Teacher!"

As having to be reminded even further, Al waved for me to wait up, as he turned towards the small hoard of cops and ordered "And if any of you see that little obstruction of a doctor, you tell him to come find me ASAP, and same with Gumshoe, that clear?"

After getting a positive response from his troops, Al jogged towards me, even though I'd rather not talk to him at the moment.

"How bout this one?" He breathed as he caught up to me, sweat on his brow in the scorching heat, "Reason I never responded to your texts was cus Feenie the fish actually did die, and I was too ashamed to let you know?"

I couldn't laugh it all off anymore.

"So the reason why Pétit can't possibly have done it is because she has a kid and she'd never risk anything that could harm her chances of getting her back?" I asked with a raised eyebrow as I kept walking. "Isn't that a little vague reason to be so sure?"

Al didn't respond at first, and when I turned to look at him, he had a surprised look on his face.

"I didn't think you'd figure that out so fast," Al said with a light frown, "Did Gumshoe spill the beans?"

"No," I said. I was about to explain how I'd worked it out, but instead I sighed to myself. "I got her to tell me, okay? I gotta get back to the Detention Centre now…"

"Oh, that's cool, we can grab a cab again," Al said, making me almost flinch at his cheerfulness, "We can catch up some more. I wanted to ask you what happened after I graduated law school, exactly what was it that you failed so catastrophically in?"

"Who said I failed it catastrophically?" I asked with clenched teeth, hoping he'd catch that I wasn't in the mood.

He didn't.

"Obviously, you did," Al laughed, shaking his head to himself, "otherwise you-"

"Oh! Hey! Excuse me!" I called out and started running forward, after I saw a shadow falling into the main path from one of the smaller ones. As I had assumed, the face that stuck out from one of the hedges to look who had shouted, was unknown to me.

Wearing shorts in the fantastic weather, they were absolutely magnificent where they stood, with broad thighs and big hips. They had muscular arms and well trained calves. Their face had a distinct five o clock shadow, yet the wondrous black hair fell over their shoulders in wave after wave, making me almost stare in awe.

"You… must be the Apprentice, yeah?" I asked as I stopped in front of them, "I've been hoping to catch a word. I'm Tea Animate, I'm Dwi Tamin's lawyer."

I offered my hand, just to be faced by a stone cold face, staring at me almost angrily. Confused, I looked down, and saw that their hands were entirely preoccupied, holding a bucket full of something squishy and brown in one hand, and a trowel in the other. I laughed nervously as I retracted my offered hand, as the Apprentice sighed exasperatedly and bent down to put down the bucket.

"It's Kai Baum," Baum said without looking at me, while throwing the trowel down into the bucket of squishiness, and I watched the trowel slowly sink into the substance as they removed the gloves covering their hands and added with a side glance at me "Pronouns is 'they/them'. I'll accept 'it' and 'its' if you feel you gotta, but if you ask me what I've got down in my pants I'll barrage you with this stuff." They meaningfully kicked the bucket by their feet, which hardly moved. "We clear?"

"Crystal," I said with a smile, "I've actually heard others refer to you as 'they', so I was…"

"Well, whoopdidoo for you," Kai said while rolling their eyes, and raised a hand to wipe some sweat off their forehead, "Now what the fuck do you want?"

Okay, so Kunto really didn't kid around when she said Kai wouldn't be my best ally.

"Well, I just wanted to check if there, well… if there's anything you can tell me about Dwi. Or Kunto. Or Pétit. Or…"

"I'm not saying anything to you after what you pulled in court this morning," Kai spat out, grimacing at me menacingly. "Especially not 'bout Pétit."

"I… Look, uh … uh…" I started to stutter.

Baum raised an expectant eyebrow. "Cat got your tongue?"

Shit, what do I call them? I can't call them Mister or Miss Baum. Isn't there a gender neutral title?

"Mx. Baum, it's hardly the lawyers fault for doing her job," Al suddenly said behind me, stepping up beside me.

"Oh, look at that," Baum said with a sarcastic tone, "The prosecutor who tries to give Dwi a death sentence banding together with the one trying to ruin my best friend's life. It's my lucky day."

"I simply thought a little gender neutral honorary titles needed to be educated to lil old Tea here," Al smirked, and elbowed my side playfully.

"We're not banding together," I said, eyeing Al crossly, "and I'm not trying to ruin Pétit's life, I promise."

I was looking straight at Baum, and ignoring Al's gaze next to me who I knew had to be either confused or angry.

After a few more seconds of awkward silence, Al broke it.

"Teach, I'll be by the entrance, waiting for the cab," Al now said, "since I'm obviously just being a bother to both of you."

Just as quickly as he had come to my rescue, he disappeared, leaving me with the angry non-binary apprentice.

"… Mx. Baum, how long have you known Pétit?" I asked with what I hoped was a somewhat polite tone.

At first I thought they'd made use of their threat to turn that bucket upside down over me.

"… Got to know her online," Baum said while eyeing me slowly, still with complete distrust in their face, "She was still in France by then. Didn't actually meet her until she came here. Pfft, who'd have thought a person like me'd have a cis straight girl as best friend?"

They turned away from me and spat on the ground. "Not to say we got along great at first. I critiqued a painting she posted, she went on to criticise my junk."

"I was told she got you your job here?" I asked, hoping to just keep them talking until I got something out of this. I owed it to Pétit.

Baum shrugged nonchalantly. "Yeah. So? Only way to get a position here is through connections. Her dad is rich as fuck."

"I'm aware," I said, hoping my impatience didn't shine through, "I was just curious, Pétit told me she isn't really that passionate about gardening. And you said you too were an artist, that's how you met, so…"

"It's a living," Baum said with an emotionless look on their face, "I don't care that much about 'passion' or whatever, I'm happy as long as I have a job. Privileged little cis, white, rich Pétit is bound to feel frustrated, though. … Don't get me wrong, I'd die for that girl, but damn, she can be a bit narrow-minded about things."

Feeling we were finally about to get somewhere, I was just about to ask another question when Baum sighed. "Not that it matters, I guess, since the place is shutting down soon."

Now HOLD YOUR HORSES

"It's shutting down?" I blurted out.

"Well," Baum said with yet another shrug, "Maybe. It's just my luck if it is, so I assume it will."

"Why?" I asked, looking around. This place didn't exactly shout 'bankruptcy'.

"Well, let's see here," Baum said, straightening up and holding forward their dirty hand, and raising a finger for each point they mentioned. "Stock-holders aren't happy with the profits, advisors say the garden isn't 'pleasing for a larger audience', Pétit's dad is an absolute shithole who wants the whole thing to crash and burn, the compost project went straight to hell, the Franklin Tree sapling isn't closer to becoming independent than it was when it was extinct, we're grossly undermanned because of this ridiculous 'cool third, second, third gardener' system, not to mention we found Kunto's brother inside Fiyero, the Master is a pervert, First Gardener is behind bars, and Third Gardener is also a fucking suspect, we have to keep closed during the hottest day this entire summer cus there's a murder investigation going on, and the plans for the fucking building of the souvenir shop that was supposed to save our asses hasn't begun yet because of this whole fucking shit, now excuse me, can I borrow your hand, I seem to have run out of fingers since this goddamned garden is doomed."

Baum took a deep breath after their rant, leaving me mostly speechless.

"That's about all I've got to say to you," Baum said while grabbing the gloves they had previously taken off and putting them on aggressively while looking me straight in the eyes as if they wanted to challenge me to something, "Except for this one thing; Pétit is innocent. I don't know who did it, but I know for a fact it wasn't her."

"I know," I said with a nod as they bent down to pick up the bucket.

When Baum had straightened up, they looked at me with an entirely different look. After having been completely defensive and mistrusting, they now seemed to take a double take on me. They eyed me up and down, seemingly contemplating something.

Then, a small smile crept over them, and my heart leapt as I revisited my earlier theory that this garden only employed attractive people.

"I'm prepared to believe you mean that," They said with that same small smile, before turning on the spot, and walking away briskly, something light in their steps that I hadn't seen before, their long hair swaying behind them as they rounded a corner and disappeared.

Oh dear lord.

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

WITNESS TESTIMONY

The Secret I’ve Kept

“Knowing that Dwi will go to prison if I don’t come clean, I now feel I have no other choice.”

“Dwi was not the only person Baako was blackmailing. Pétit was, as well.”

“He asked them both to the gardens that night, without telling the other.”

“His reason? He wanted to sabotage the surviving sapling of the Franklin Tree.”

“Apparently, he became so greedy that being First Gardener wasn’t enough. He wanted my position as Master Gardener. So he tried to get me fired.”

“Pétit, however, was done with the bullying, manipulation, and blackmailing. So she killed him.”

“She confided me with this soon after Baako’s disappearance. After learning his plot against me, feeling it was for the best for everyone, I promised to keep quiet. I now have to break that promise.”

Shocked conversations were now being kept up in the gallery. The Judge demanded order, and taking advantage of it, I stuck my head together with Wright.

“I don’t believe that for a second,” Wright said with a frown, “He’s trying to pin this on Pétit.”

I nodded in agreement. “And Kunto was the one who revealed that Pétit was in charge of Fiyero the other day. Had she kept quiet about that, Pétit would never have been involved.”

“So Kunto is covering for Masters?” Wright asked, as he glanced over at the Master. He was looking as serious and untouched as ever, eyeing the conversing crowd with a certain look. “And has their plan been to pin it on Pétit from the start? If so, why?”

Even if I had a chance to answer that, I couldn’t share it, since The Judge had managed to get the crowd silent. 

“So Ms. Beauchene is the actual culprit after all, you say?” The Judge asked Masters, something looking like clear doubt on her face.

“That’s right, Your Honour,” said Masters with a nod, “I’m very sorry for keeping this secret for so long. It was not easy making the decision…”

Yet you only confessed when I forced you to testify, fucker.

“… Yet there has been no finding of blackmail letters sent from Mr. Virág to Ms. Beauchene, has there?” The Judge asked Al with narrowed eyes. It pleased me to see a judge who didn’t gobble up testimony as truth at once, and actually used her brains and didn’t look to the prosecution and defence to do all the thinking.

Al shook his head as response. “Yet its fully possible that all such records were wiped clean,” Al continued with a light shrug, “We found no trace of the email sent to Ms. Tamin from Mr. Virág’s old email account, so I suspect he was very careful in erasing every blackmail letter he ever sent. It is also fully possible that the blackmailing going on between Ms. Beauchene and the victim was purely oral, and there is no written account of this correspondence.”

The Judge slowly nodded.

“Very well, then,” She concluded, yet still visible doubt remained on her face. “Ms. Animate, your cross examination, please.”

With pleasure.

WITNESS TESTIMONY

The Secret I’ve Kept

“Knowing that Dwi will go to prison if I don’t come clean, I now feel I have no other choice.”

“HOLD IT!”

“Forgive me, Mr. Masters, but I don’t see why you’d ‘come clean’ now, of all times,” I said, hoping my voice was drooping with exactly as much resentment as I meant it to, “Why keep quiet for two years, watch Dwi Tamin, your employee and former lover get wrongly accused, and wait until day two of the investigation to say something, and only when called for? It seems suspicious, you have to agree?”

“… I suppose,” Masters said with a deep sigh, “I suppose, yes. But you must believe that I was simply torn. What Baako did back then… I was completely fooled. I took his word for everything, believed all the things he used to say about the other employees… so when Pétit told me what he had called her there to do, to destroy the Franklin Tree sapling and have me fired… you have to understand the anger I felt.”

“Naturally,” Al said with a snort, “If I found out Detective Gumshoe was trying to have ME fired…”

How is that even here nor there, he’s a detective, not a prosecutor.

“So when Dwi was accused, I half hoped Pétit would confess herself,” Masters said, his head hanging low, “I truly sympathised with her. Hell, I’m not blaming her for what she did. After all she told me, I just wanted to forget Baako Virág had ever existed. So after yesterday, when you revealed her part in the murder, I either hoped you would figure it all out by yourselves, without my help, or that Pétit would confess… it wasn’t until today, when you called me up to the stand, that I realised neither of those things would happen. I wanted to stay out of this whole business for the Gardens reputations sake, but if it saves an innocent woman from going to prison, then I had no choice, now did I?”

This heartfelt speech seemed to go home with everyone. I glanced at The Judge, and found that the doubt in her face had been replaced with pity. 

Note taken, never let the Master speak for more than three sentences a time.

“Let’s keep going with your testimony, Mr. Masters,” I tiredly asked.

“Certainly,” he smiled at me.

I wanna punch Johnny Depp.

“Dwi was not the only person Baako was blackmailing. Pétit was, as well.”

“HOLD IT!”

“Mr. Virág blackmailed Ms. Tamin about her affair with you,” I said, “so what did he have on Pétit?”

Masters looked doubtful. “Is it truly necessary to reveal that?” Masters asked, on the border of begging, at me. “Obviously, just like with Dwi, it’s a deeply personal matter that they’d prefer to keep hidden. Must we destroy the life even further for this young woman?”

A stab of guilt hit me right in the gut. Obviously, so obviously, Masters knew about Pétit’s child. If I pressed the matter further, even if I proved Pétit was innocent, she would probably not only never be the girls mother, she’d probably never see her again. And I’d be the cause yet again of unspeakable horror to Pétit Beauchene.

But if I didn’t get it out of him, Pétit could face jail time, even death row. 

“What will you do?” Wright asked me, “Press further, or let it go?”

Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit.

“… And what did he want from Pétit?” I asked. 

I can’t. I can’t do it.

Wright nodded next to me. What that meant, I didn’t know.

“He asked them both to the gardens that night, without telling the other.”

“HOLD IT!”

“What would that even do?” I asked, “What would he gain by having the two women he blackmailed not know the other was coming?”

“I only know what Pétit told me two years ago,” Masters said with a frown, “And given she didn’t say a word about Dwi then, and how we were all shocked to learn about Dwi’s blackmail, I only assumed as much.”

“Makes sense,” Al said with a nod.

It doesn’t really. Why add an ‘assumed’ comment about something like that?

“And why did he call them there in the first place?” I asked tiredly.

“His reason? He wanted to sabotage the surviving sapling of the Franklin Tree.”

“HOLD IT!”

“We heard about the Franklin Tree yesterday,” I said, “But exactly why is it so important?”

“As I said in my previous testimony,” Masters explained, “ the Franklin Tree was a big investment that was supposed to give the Gardens a bigger international reputation. A project in trying to revive an almost extinct species seemed like a sure way to place us on the map. Only if it were successful, that is.”

“And Baako wanted to destroy the Gardens biggest chance for a better reputation, why?” I asked.

“Apparently, he became so greedy that being First Gardener wasn’t enough. He wanted my position as Master Gardener. So he tried to get me fired.”

“HOLD IT!”

“So Mr. Virág was certain that destroying the sapling would get you fired?” I asked, tapping my finger at the bench in front of me as I thought, “But if it was so important to the shareholders, wasn’t there a risk that the Gardens wouldn’t just fire you, but go bankrupt? He’d risk his own job by doing that.”

“That’s correct,” Masters nodded, “But I don’t think Baako knew that. Or maybe he did, but he got so greedy that he was willing to risk it. At the time I didn’t know this, of course, but after the last years and having heard from my other employees exactly what kind of person Baako was, I realised that he just might not have paid enough attention or understood exactly how important the Franklin Tree was.”

A bit vague, but okay.

“And exactly what happened once Pétit got to the Gardens that night, per Mr. Virág’s blackmail?” I asked, feeling there wasn’t anything I could say that contradicted that.

“Pétit, however, was done with the bullying, manipulation, and blackmailing. So she killed him.”

“HOLD IT!”

“You mean that Ms. Beauchene, a tiny woman, managed to kill 190 cm Baako Virág with a pair of shearers?” I said with a laugh.

Masters smiled at me. “I agree, it sounds preposterous. But again, I’m simply repeating what Pétit confessed to me. She didn’t go into detail, she was much too distraught, but naturally, she must have found a way. A well placed kick or a finger bent in the wrong angle, and you can bring the biggest man to his knees. Anyone who takes a self defence class is sure to know the ways. And figuring Pétit is, well, petite, from a wealthy family, and in all bluntness attractive and seemingly defenceless, she is sure to have attended one or two of those classes during her lifetime.”

The Judge nodded along to this, and even though I wanted to scream conjecture, conjecture, I let him be.

“And exactly why did she tell you all of this?” I asked.

“She confided me with this soon after Baako’s disappearance. After learning his plot against me, feeling it was for the best for everyone, I promised to keep quiet. I now have to break that promise.”

“HOLD IT!”

“Why would she go to you with this?” I asked. “Hypothetically, if the roles were reversed, and Ms. Tamin had been the one in this situation, she would most probably go to you because you had been just as much in danger as she was with Mr. Virág threatening to go public with your affair. But Pétit didn’t have such a reason. I assume.”

“You assume correctly,” Masters nodded.

“So why did she tell you?” I asked while shaking my head, “She must’ve known you could’ve gone to the police with this.”

“You’ll have to ask her herself exactly why,” He said, “I only-“

“-Know what she told you, yes, you’ve said that,” I said, impatient, “but since you’ve thought pretty hard about Pétit’s reasons and actions even though you haven’t been strictly told, I assume you have an explanation ready now, as well?”

“Objection!” Called Al, “The defence is badgering the witness with baseless accusations-“

“It’s alright, Mr. of Wonderland,” Masters said calmly, with a hand raised towards Al to silence him. “As a matter of fact, Ms. Animate is right. I do have a theory. I have had two years to think about this and make my assumptions. They may not be what happened but nevertheless, I’d like to share them, as I’d like to think that despite all, I know my employees well.”

“Speak your mind, then, Mr. Masters,” The Judge allowed.

“I believe that Pétit came to me because of Baako’s plot to destroy the Franklin Tree,” Masters calmly explained. “You see, at the time, neither of us knew Dwi was in any way involved. What Pétit knew was that Baako had bullied her around for years, and blackmailed her, and now was aiming to destroy my career. After killing him, you must imagine the fear and guilt she felt over what she had done. So what would you do when at a loss of what to do? You seek an understanding ear.”

“You mean Pétit confided in you because she thought you’d understand?” I asked with a raised eyebrow.

Masters nodded. “Baako was not very well liked by anyone. The only one at the Gardens that didn’t think ill of him at the time of his disappearance was myself. So by telling me that Baako had planned to destroy something important to me, and take everything I cared away from me, well… as we’ve touched the subject before, you can understand my rage.”

“So she sought your understanding, and she got it,” Al said with a nod.

“She got my sympathies, yes,” Masters agreed. “It wasn’t right, that’s not what I’m saying. I’m prepared to take whatever consequences are due for keeping this hidden. But yes, she had, and has, my understanding. I advised her to never speak a word of it, to hide the body, to forget him and all he ever did. I was almost prone to believe he had been nought but a bad dream until all this resurfaced.”

A blunt silence followed Masters last words. I had to pinch myself into believing that every word out of Masters mouth was balderdash.

“… Aherm!” The Judge coughed out after a few more seconds of silence, “I believe this cross examination has come to an end. Mr. Masters, you can…”

“OBJECTION!”

The Judge blinked at me, surprised. “Ms. Animate? Do you have something to add?”

There’s something here. Something that’s not right. 

“I want to revisit one of Mr. Masters statements!” I pleaded, staring dead into Masters eyes, whose eyes I swore I saw narrow slightly before returning to normal.

“I don’t mind,” Masters ensured the Judge and Al, “Anything to bring more clarity to this case. It’s time to end it.”

Finally, we agree.

“Could we hear your statement about Pétit being blackmailed again, please?” I asked, not looking away from Masters.

“… Of course,” Masters said, but I could hear a strain in his voice that hadn’t been there before. 

“Dwi was not the only person Baako was blackmailing. Pétit was, as well.”

“HOLD IT!”

“And what was it Mr. Virág blackmailed Ms. Beauchene with?” I asked very slowly and carefully, looking for a reaction.

It was pretty clear. Masters was uncomfortable. When he before had had his arms behind his back and a straight back, the shadow of the years of gardening work I had glimpsed yesterday was now apparent. He leaned forward on his arms on the witness bench, and he looked me dead in the eye.

“As I said before, is it really necessary-?“ he began, but I shook my head.

“You’re accusing Ms. Beauchene of murder. What could be worse than that?” I asked sceptically.

The crowd murmured in agreement to my statement, and Masters looked torn.

“… Very well,” he said. “Pétit herself told me about it. You know that Dwi and Kunto are in a relationship, yes? It turns out that Pétit developed a crush herself on Kunto. Given her fathers stern views on family, this getting out was unacceptable. I don’t know how Baako figured it out, but I’m sure Pétit was adamant-“

Got you, you old wheezer.

“Your Honour, I’m pretty sure that the testimony we have just heard from Mr. Masters has been a mixture of lies and truths. I would like to point out what is what,” I said, while looking right at the Judge, never deeming Masters a glance.

“Lies?” Masters exclaimed, “I’m telling you, Pétit told me-“

“I’ll start with the lies,” I said, pulling out my notebook out of my pocket, and opening it up to my checklist of facts.

“… Hide the cover, please, we don’t need the word ‘anaconda’ associated with us,” Wright begged from beside me.

I held the notebook up high, showing off the cover in its entirety, before I started.

“Pétit is not the real murderer,” I began, as the crowd started buzzing, “She also never confessed a single thing to Mr. Masters. She was never blackmailed by Mr. Virág, and she never had a crush on Ms. Virág.”

“ORDER!” The Judge shouted, and the courtroom fell quiet. “Ms. Animate, please explain yourself! What is the meaning of this?!”

“If its necessary, I’d ask Mx. Kai Baum up to the witness stand to support this, but I’ll hope you’ll take my word for it,” I continued. “Mx. Baum told me yesterday that Ms. Beauchene is heterosexual. I’m not saying that anyone’s sexuality is a sure deal or that people can’t change, but given that Mx. Baum is Ms. Beauchene’s best friend, I doubt a thing such as their sexuality would not be correct in the others eyes. So I find it deeply suspicious that Mx. Baum would describe Ms. Beauchene as straight if she had ever had a crush on a woman. It’s possible, but not likely.”

“Your point?” Masters asked, “She just never told anyone but me, and Baako knew somehow.”

“She’d tell her boss she had a crush on a lady she worked with, but not her best friend?” I asked with a laugh, without looking up from my notebook, “you must know nothing of real friendship.”

Before Masters could retort, I continued.

“As to the ‘not guilty’ part. There is indeed a secret that Pétit has, but it’s not the one Masters has given us. If there had ever been a single reason why Pétit would do what anyone says, it would be this reason.”

“Are you sure about this?” Wright asked me.

Prison or family. Life or death.

“Ms. Beauchene is a mother.” I said. The crowd erupted in shocked shrieks.

“ORDER! ORDER!” The Judge screamed, banging her gavel several times before it settled down remotely well for her to yell “but she’s twenty years old! How-“

“She had her daughter when she was sixteen,” I explained coldly, while staring at Masters, who had gone extremely pale. “Her existence was kept a secret. As Mr. Masters mentioned, Ms. Beauchene’s father is a man of traditional family values, meaning his daughter bearing a child at that age was unacceptable. He made her give her daughter to her older brother to raise as his own, and has not been allowed to be her mother unless she acts the way her father finds more appropriate, hence the secrecy.”

The buzz became louder again, and as the Judge called for silence, I went on the offensive.

“Mr. Masters would have us believe that a single mother, scared out of her wits to never be able to call her daughter her own, too afraid to anger her father that she dared not live her life to the fullest, would risk all of it, by killing a man?! Risk going to prison, risk never seeing her child ever again?!”

Masters was terrified. His grip on the witness bench was so tight his knuckled were as white as his face. He suddenly looked just the age he was.

“He is lying!” I finished, banging my fist on the table.

The noise was now so loud that nobody paid attention to the Judge’s efforts. 

Wright stuck his head in next to me and whispered “Keep striking while the iron’s hot, we have no evidence, we only have testimony.”

Words, words, words.

“OOOOOOOOOORDER!!! Mr. Of Wonderland, is Ms. Beauchene truly a mother?!” the Judge shrieked over the voices.

“… Yes,” Al conceded, “It’s all in her file. It says she put her child up to adoption and that her brother is the child’s legal guardian.”

“How could she keep that secret?!” Masters shouted, shaking his head wildly, “if I had known-“

“You would never have tried to pin the blame on her?” I finished his sentence with a crooked smile.

Masters looked like lightning had struck him.

“Now, onto the truths in Mr. Masters statement,” I went on, “I find it very believable that the reason Mr. Virág called Ms. Tamin to the Garden House that night was to sabotage the Franklin Tree. He needed someone who knew what to do to make the tree appear as if it had been mistreated, not destroyed.  So that, I believe is true. Question is: how do Mr. Masters know about it? Ms. Tamin never went, after all. And Mr. Virág would probably not spill his plans to his own boss before his ultimate demise.”

“You are suggesting?” The Judge asked breathlessly.

“I’m suggesting Mr. Masters heard it from the victims own mouth,” I stated, “I’m suggesting Mr. Masters was at the scene of the crime the night Mr. Virág was killed.”

The crowd now erupted into sounds so bad that the Judge couldn’t get the order she shrieked for, and during the commotion, I was suddenly taken with panic.

Yeah, I suggest it, but can I prove it? I don’t have a single piece of evidence, not a single thing that points to Masters being the murderer, even having been there. 

“ORDER! ORDER! Bailiff, clear the courtroom!”

What do I have? A shitload of nothing. Just a bunch of people’s testimony.

Words, words, words…

What do I know?

Kunto was there. I know this. But I can’t make that statement without any shred of evidence to support it.

And Masters was there. He was. But how do I prove it?

Kunto saw something, she must’ve. 

If she didn’t do it, she saw it happen.

She saw Masters kill her brother.

But why would she lie about it? Why risk her girlfriend ending up in prison over Masters?

Think it through. What do I know for a fact? Think it through.

“They’re settling down, finally,” Wright muttered next to me, nudging me slightly, “Here comes the real battle…”

“Ms. Animate, exactly how do you know Mr. Masters was at the Garden House that night?” The Judge asked, her voice strained after shouting for so long.

What do I know?

It must’ve happened in the garden house. 

Kunto went there and saw it. She must’ve.

Baako was killed by a pair of shearers in his ribs.

He was hit on the top of his head by a circular object.

But he was too tall. He was taller than everyone working in the Gardens, taller than Masters.

How did he get his injury?

“A minute, Your Honour,” I thought I heard Wright say.

It happened pre-mortem.

“She has nothing,” Masters smiled, shaking his head, his usual confident self returned, “I heard Pétit’s confession, there is no evidence left. There is no reason to doubt, this has gone on long enough!”

“Teach,” Wright whispered to me, while all eyes were on me, “You need to say something. Try calling Dwi to the stand to testify about Kunto being on the scene…”

What do I know?

The blow to his head. 

The blow to his head. 

How did it get there?

They were in the Garden House.

Where? Where were they standing? Where was Baako standing when he got the injury?

How did it look like two years ago… how did it look when I was there?

Four different areas… two doors at the back… where did it happen? 

Masters office is elevated in the ceiling…

Ceiling…

…

… CEILING.

“Teach!” Wright muttered hastily, while the Judge opened her mouth to speak.

“MASTERS WAS THERE!” I shouted, making everyone jump.

“What?” Al asked from his side of the court room, a look of surprise on his face, “You said that, but how do you kn-“

“I KNOW WHAT HAPPENED!” I called out, shaking out of excitement from my thoughts.

“Ms. Animate, can you please speak normally?” The Judge asked irritably, pushing the hair that had gone into her eyes from her face after jolting from my shout.

“There is something that we have not ventured into this trial,” I said with glaring eyes, while still sorting out my theory, “And that is Baako’s only visible injury aside from the one that ultimately killed him. The one on top of his head.”

The Judge frowned as she opened up the autopsy report and flipped a few pages, as if she hadn’t heard of it. 

Al smirked.

“Jumping at every detail you can?” Al asked, shaking his head, “Getting desperate, are we?”

“I heard of this head injury in yesterdays trial,” Masters nodded along on the witness stand, “What of it?”

“The injury is inexplainable,” I said, ignoring them both, “It’s on the top of his head, which makes it unlikely anyone hit him with something, since he was very, very tall. Nobody at the garden is of the same height, making it impossible that someone hit him to cause it.”

“What about if he was lying down?” Masters suggested, “Or on his knees? Surely a well placed kick or a hit with the handle of the shearers…”

“… Here is a statement about it,” The Judge interrupted, and started reading aloud. “Comparing the heights of all employees at Babineaux Gardens, there is nobody that could have caused the cranial indentation, no matter the length of the weapon. The angle of the indentation is completely straight, meaning he was hit directly on top of his skull. Its my professional opinion that nobody could have caused this injury with their own hands, no matter if the victim was bent forward, backwards, lying down, slouched, on his knees, or any other conceivable position. The victim was most assuredly in a standing position as the blow occurred.”

Good old Bo.

“I have a suggestion of how Mr. Virág got the injury,” I said cunningly.

A murmur filled the room.

“Order! Please do tell, Ms. Animate!” The Judge called out after smacking her gavel, obviously intrigued.

“She’s bluffing to buy time,” Al said with a sigh, “A known tactic of her boss, and one she used just yesterday to prolong the trial for today...”

“My ‘bluffing’ turned out to be right,” I pointed out, “The body wasn’t kept inside the scarecrow.”

“You also accused Ms. Beauchene,” Al said knowingly with raised eyebrows.

“Because it was the only scenario that could be true if the body was kept inside the scarecrow.” I stated, even after the Judge smacked her gavel in the middle of my sentence.

“Enough, Mr. Of Wonderland. I wish to hear what could possibly have caused the injury.”

IN YOUR FUCKING FACE, AL

“Do we have a diagram or a picture of the Garden House?” I asked out loud to anybody listening.

“Not on me,” Al said sulkily.

“Then have one brought here,” The Judge said.

After about three minutes anxious waiting, with Masters trying to act nonchalant but failing completely, the Bailiff hurried over with the picture to me, and after a brief look, my heart took a jolt as I knew I was right. 

I sent the bailiff with the picture over to the Judge, as I started to speak.

“We know for a fact that most probably, the crime occurred in the Garden House. We know this because of the blackmail letter Mr. Of Wonderland presented to the court yesterday. It places the victim there at the night of his disappearance…”

“… As it does both the defendant and according to Mr. Masters testimony, Ms. Beauch-“ Al began, but The Judge shushed him, to my glee, while looking at the picture she had just been handed.

I continued.

“The Garden House has a unique feature,” I continued, my heart beating with excitement, “It has, over the four cubicles that works as work space for the employees, an elevated greenhouse.”

“Oh, so that’s what this is?” The Judge said as she looked at the photo, understanding spreading over her face, “I see… and what does… Oh.”

The Judge gasped. “Oh shi-!”

“You see it too, Your Honour?” I asked with a smile.

“See what?” Al asked suspiciously, his grin gone. 

Masters was noticeably shivering.

“There’s a window in the glass wall,” The Judge explained with a stunned face as she stared at the photo in her hands, “It’s closed here, but I can see the handle on the other side. Ms. Animate, you…?”

“The greenhouse serves as the Master Gardeners office,” I continued, “And is only accessible with an elevator which is positioned at the back of the Garden House, and only functions with a key the Master has.”

“Wha- OBJECTION!” Al exclaimed, finally seeming to catch onto what was going on, “This is- this is preposterous! The defence does not have a shred of proof that Mr. Masters…”

Al’s words faded, however, once he and everyone else noticed Masters.

The Master Gardener slouched where he stood, utterly defeated. He didn’t say a word, and his face wasn’t visible as it was aimed to the ground, but it was clear to all.

“He’s not fighting,” Wright mumbled next to me as everyone, just like Al, seemed to simply understand. “He’s not fighting, because he never truly wanted to.”

Didn’t stop him from trying to frame two people.

“Masters was in his office that night,” I said slowly, leaning forward onto my forearms. “And while in there, Masters saw Baako Virág down on the first floor, through the glass walls. He opened the window and managed to overhear a conversation.”

“And exactly what reason would the Master Gardener have to be in his office that late at night?” Al asked, but just like Masters, all fight seemed to have just been sucked out of him.

“I don’t know,” I truthfully said, “A coincidence, I can imagine. Working late, perhaps. Which explains his surprise as he saw or heard people down on ground level, and opened the window, perhaps to ask them what they were doing there. Mr. Masters, am I correct?”

Masters said nothing.

The Judge, however, posed a counter question instead of forcing Masters to answer.

“You keep saying ‘he saw them’ and that he overheard a conversation, but if neither Ms. Tamin or Ms. Beauchene was on the scene of the crime, then who was Mr. Virág talking to?”

“His sister,” I said with certainty, “Ms. Tamin told Ms. Virág that Baako wanted to meet her that night, but she didn’t tell her of the blackmailing. She made it sound like he just wanted to meet with her. Since Ms. Tamin planned on not going, Ms. Virág couldn’t resist going to see what he was up to. Either she caught him in the act of destroying the Franklin Sapling, or she simply got it out of him, but the truth came out between them.”

I now looked at the 58 year old man in front of me, who was grabbing his wristwatch and turning the small dials on it frantically. 

Can’t turn back time, Mr. Masters.

“But Mr. Masters, unbeknownst to both of them, overheard the conversation up in his office, through the glass window!” I went on in a quicker pace. Masters was frantically looking between me and his wristwatch. “As he has himself stated many times today, that obviously, he felt absolute rage about what he heard! Not only was Mr. Virág planning to get him fired! He could potentially cause the Babineaux Gardens to close, something Mr. Masters would never allow!”

“No-!” Masters wheezed through closed teeth, now simply grabbing his wrist as if his hand was cramping, “It wasn’t-!”

“AND AS IF THIS WASN’T ENOUGH!” I mercilessly went on, “Mr. Masters and Mr. Virág were in a romantic relationship at the time of the incident!”

“STOP!” Masters shrieked, and slammed his arm against the witness stand, making a loud crunching noise emanating from his shattered wristwatch. I almost couldn’t hear any of those sounds over the shocked gasps from the gallery.

“Learning that your romantic partner had been plotting against you and risk to destroy all that he cherished, Mr. Masters was consumed with rage!” I kept on passionately, “And so he grabbed the closest thing on hand, and he dropped it on top of Mr. Virág’s head!”

“Oh my G-!” The Judge gasped, but I wasn’t done.

“This caused the head injury that we have been unable to explain until now! It is the only possibility for anyone to have caused it for such a tall man as Mr. Virág, and since nobody could access Mr. Masters office other than the Master Gardener himself…!”

All colour was drained from his face, as I drew breath to finish it.

“THIS UNDOUBTEDLY PLACES MR. MASTERS AT THE SCENE OF THE CRIME THAT NIGHT, AND FRAMES HIM AS THE TRUE, COLD BLOODED KILLER OF BAAKO VIRÁG!”

“OBJECTION!” A shriek came, filled of despair and fright.

It hadn’t been Al, or Wright, or Masters. We all looked around in confusion, looking for who had called out.

A few grunts and complaints was heard from up in the gallery, and as I looked up, I saw Kunto fighting her way to the front row of seats, white in her face and tears streaming down her cheeks.

“That’s not what happened!” she pleaded, “He is NOT a cold hearted killer!”

Yeah, I overdid that one, I don’t blame him. Baako was a douche.

“Kunto…” I barely heard Masters mutter, “It’s no use… It’s over…”

“NO!” Kunto yelled, and the old confidence and certainty I associated with her mixed with her tumult feelings, “I need to tell them exactly what happened!”

Chapter Text

Up to the stand Kunto went.