Ch. 10
“I can't believe it… It just can't be…”
Minerva kept muttering things like that the whole way to the courthouse. A lot had happened. It all started with the death of a young astronaut named Clay Terran, assumed to have been murdered by his mentor, Solomon Starbuck. During his trial, a bomb that had been brought in as evidence detonated, and alongside the destruction of the courtroom, the detective on the case, Candice Arms, was murdered. Fortunately, Athena aided in clearing the name of the poor girl that had been accused of that mess. And after all of that, the trial for Starbuck had to resume. But that's when things took a turn for the worse.
Aura had taken matters into her own hands at the Cosmos Space Center. Utilizing her robot creations, she took 12 people as hostages, the investigating Inari included. She demanded Athena be handed over in exchange, and when Minerva got the chance to question her motive, she learned the heartbreaking truth. Simon was to be executed tomorrow for the UR-1 Incident, and Aura believed Athena to be the true culprit. It was all to save her brother. But Minerva could hardly believe it. Simon was going to die, yet he never said a word to her. He was truly planning to accept his death to keep Athena from being convicted. And he went on letting Minerva believe that they'd have more time to spend together. He lied to her face every time.
“All this time and he never told me…” Minerva was tearing up under her helmet. “That stubborn fool.”
“He didn't want you to worry.” Clonco the robot rolled alongside the woman, Aura speaking through him. “But no matter. The truth will be brought to light with this retrial. Simon’s name will be cleared, or else those hostages will start dropping like flies.”
Minerva couldn't even be angry with her. “I don't approve of what you're doing, but I…I guess I understand. I'd probably resort to drastic measures too, had I known all this.” She sniffled to try and refrain from crying. “Why release me though? Out of all those hostages?”
“I have no intention of hurting you. You're too special to Simon. And I suppose I care about you. You're my assistant, after all. I'd miss your insane ideas and ridiculously unique designs.”
“How…sweet.”
They stopped at one of the doors, Clonco pointing to it. “Simon is being held here while this mess is sorted. You may see him if you like, but make sure you're prepared to testify and divulge all the information you've gathered on the incident. And who knows, maybe my idiot brother will actually listen to you.”
Minerva placed her hand on the knob, pausing long enough to glance over her shoulder. “Thanks, Aura.”
“Just go already.”
Clonco rolled away, heading toward the dilapidated courtroom that had suffered heavy damage from the bombing. It was the best they could do at such short notice as no other courtroom was available. When Minerva stepped inside, she was met by not one, but two familiar faces. She'd known of the great Phoenix Wright taking the defense, but she had no idea the chief prosecutor had been called upon as well.
She was quick to bow her head. “Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth, I had no idea you had taken on this case.”
The bespectacled man looked quite surprised to see her, as did Simon. “Yes, well, hard to refuse when the request comes from a hostage-taker. More importantly, how in the world are you here? Weren't you one of the hostages?”
“I was released to testify. I have every scrap of information and evidence on UR-1 here in my database.” She tapped the side of her helmet. “I'll do what I must to clear Simon’s name.” Her head turned toward the monochrome man. “You can't keep hiding the truth. I know you're doing this to protect Athena, but you're…” Her voice started to crack, and her fists were shaking at her sides. “You're going to let yourself die for a crime you didn't commit.”
Simon turned his head away. “Aura told you, did she?”
“I'm glad she did, otherwise I wouldn't know how high the stakes are.” She approached the two men. “I know you're innocent, Simon, and I know Athena is too. I was there, remember? And though my memory of it is fuzzy, I'm going to do what I can to save you. Even if it means showing my face to the world.”
Simon moved to grab her firmly by the shoulders, a stern look on his face. “No. If your identity is unveiled, you could be in grave danger. The culprit could very well return to finish the job.”
“I’m flattered that you're so worried about me, but if you can really go through with being executed, then I can go through the danger that comes with my identity being made public.”
“If I may,” Miles interjected, “it shouldn't come to that. You may be able to remain anonymous. In fact, having a mysterious person who knows so much about the case may very well draw out our culprit, whether that be Ms. Cykes…or a third party.”
Minerva nodded. “That's exactly what I'm hoping will happen.”
Simon stepped back, frowning in disapproval at her. “Hmph. You're still as stubborn as ever. Fine, but know this - I won't take back my confession. And the moment Athena comes under suspicion or you go painting a target on your back, I will refute everything.”
Miles sighed and shook his head. “Talk about being stubborn. Then Wright and I will just have to dig up the truth, won't we?”
“You can try,” Simon replied.
A loud static suddenly emitted from Minerva's helmet, loud enough for the two men to hear it. The woman winced and nearly ripped off her helmet right then, but then that voice cut in, and it, too, could be heard loud and clear.
“I told you to dig up information on UR-1, not to hand it over to lawyers!” Simon scowled at the unknown voice, realizing it was the hacker. “If you're going to testify, then our agreement is off!”
Minerva gasped. “No, wait!”
“It's too late. Consider your system terminated. Goodbye, Ms. Cyber.”
The voice was gone, and warnings and errors began popping up on her screen. Clutching her helmet, all she could do was watch as all her precious data was erased.
“No!” Minerva began furiously pushing the buttons to try and interrupt the process. “All the information and files! The simulations I ran! Every shred of evidence! It's disappearing!”
The static grew louder until it was nearly deafening. In the same instant, a jolt went through the blonde, making her shriek. All feeling in her lower half went away, and she began to collapse. Simon was there in an instant to catch her, lowering her gently to the floor. Minerva threw off her helmet, not caring that it cracked and rattled against the hard floor. Tears were already pouring from her eyes, panic overtaking her. She gripped Simon’s arms.
“This can't be happening… This can't be happening… They disabled my spine… They erased everything from my system…”
Simon pulled her against him as much as possible, leaning his head over hers with a deathly glare. Judging by all that, he knew his hunch was correct on who the hacker was. “That bloody butcher,” he muttered before softening his voice for her. “You have to calm down, Minerva. Breathe.”
The woman tried her best to do as he instructed. He suddenly slid an arm under her knees, kept the other around her waist, and lifted her up, moving to sit her comfortably on the sofa.
Miles followed them over, a deep frown on his lips. “I'll call for you to be taken to the local clinic.”
Minerva looked up at him through teary eyes, trying to get her breathing under control. “Huh?”
“You're in no condition to testify. Besides, you'll be safer under surveillance there. However, I don't know how useful the doctors will be at fixing your apparatus.” Miles didn't hesitate to fish out his phone to make the call.
The woman tried to dry her eyes, still on the verge of breaking down again. “R-Right. Okay. That's…probably for the best.” She heaved a sigh. “Back to being useless.”
“You're far from useless,” Simon argued. “You're one of the most capable people I know. Who else would think to make an artificial spinal cord?”
Minerva met his gaze, slowly nodding. “I suppose. But now I won't even be able to help clear your name. This is the most important trial for you, and I…” She hit her fist against the cushion of the sofa. “I can't even be there for you. And if…if today's really your last… I don't want you to die, Simon. Please, take back your confession.”
Simon turned his head away. “You know I can't do that.”
Tears welled up in her eyes again, but she refused to let them fall. “Of course.”
Miles cleared his throat to get their attention, having just tucked his phone away. “A couple of officers will drive you to the clinic. They should be here in a moment.”
As if on cue, a pair of officers burst into the room, one rolling a wheelchair. “Miss Inari!” one of them cried, both finding her there on the sofa. “We'll get you safely to the clinic, ma'am. It's the least we can do after your invaluable service to the force.”
Minerva couldn't help smiling a little, recognizing their faces from the police station. “Thank you. If one of you could grab my helmet while you're at it.”
“Yes, ma'am!”
While the talkative one hurried to fetch her broken helmet from the floor, the other brought the wheelchair over. Just as he started to reach out to help the woman, Simon sent a harsh glare at him that stopped him in his tracks. The prosecutor was the one to effortlessly lift her up and move her to the chair, without saying a word, no less. The officer prepared to wheel her away, but she placed a hand on his arm to halt him. Minerva looked over at Miles, forcing a smile to keep herself from crying again.
“Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth.”
“Yes?”
“Save this stubborn, foolish man, would you?” She pointed her thumb at Simon. “Don't let him throw his life away. If it helps, I could give you a written testimony.” Without waiting for a response, the pair of officers readied a pen and paper for her, and a book to lay it flat on her lap. Minerva read aloud as she wrote, “On October 7th 2020, the day of UR-1, Metis Cykes and I were attacked in the space center’s robotics lab by an unknown person. I didn't get a good look at them, and my memory is fuzzy, but I can say with 100 percent certainty that Simon Blackquill was not our attacker.”
She handed the paper to Miles, who accepted it and gave one of his elegant bows. “Thank you, Ms. Cyber. Your account of the incident will prove useful in freeing Blackquill.”
“That's all I ask.”
With that, the blonde was wheeled out of the room. Simon lowered his head, waiting patiently for the retrial to begin. Miles skimmed the file of information one last time, adding Minerva’s statement to the evidence. He then looked over at the silent man standing by, and crossed his arms at his attitude.
“As worried as Ms. Cyber is for you and the results of this retrial, and still you keep up this farce.” He sighed and shook his head upon seeing that Simon was practically ignoring him. “It's nearly time. Let's go, shall we?”
~~~~~
Minerva couldn't tear her eyes away from the TV in her room. The retrial was being broadcast for the world to see. Even stuck at the hospital, she was able to watch the proceedings. The top half of her bed angled up so she could sit up. The hospital gown was annoying to wear though, but the doctors had wanted to check her spine for visible injuries. However, they couldn't do anything to fix her apparatus.
There was a point early on when Simon gave testimony to counter Miles’s argument that Athena killed her mother, and Athena herself, despite being the defendant, sided with Wright behind the defense’s bench. Only once the truth was forced out of him using Athena’s Mood Matrix did he give his honest testimony that pointed to Athena being the killer. Minerva knew that wasn't right, but Athena took the stand to admit her guilt, memories beginning to come back to her. But thanks to Phoenix, more was revealed and Athena began to remember more - a man donning the Japanese mask Metis had on the wall, and both Metis and Minerva on the floor covered in blood. It was actually Simon who came forth on a lead he had to the true killer. Due to his hunt for the phantom, he'd given Metis the single clue on the mysterious spy - a voice recording. Thus, Metis analyzed it and created a psychological profile on the phantom. That's why she and Minerva had been attacked. He was searching for it, unaware that Simon had hidden it away.
Apollo Justice, Athena's fellow attorney, stepped up to still accuse her of the murder of his friend, Clay Terran. But Phoenix and Miles connected the evidence until they found that, due to the insane stunt that had to be pulled off to get away with Terran’s murder, only the phantom could've done it. Which led them to his identity as well considering who had set up that perfect opportunity - Bobby Fulbright. Minerva could hardly believe it. Fulbright…that whole time, it was him. He killed Metis. He left her paraplegic. He sabotaged the HAT-1 rocket. And he killed Clay Terran. A recess made by the judge gave her a moment to process it all.
This whole time, he was hiding in plain sight, she thought. He tried to…kill me. Then I wonder…could he be the hacker? Use me to get to Simon - that sounds like something a spy would do.
When the trial reconvened, Minerva was pleasantly surprised to see Simon take over as prosecutor, and without his shackles. He was officially a free man. That was the biggest load off her shoulders. He had to be thrilled to not only be free, but to also take down the phantom after all those years. Speaking of, the trial was dragged on by Fulbright giving them the run-around. Some of his evidence had been faked. He even tried to claim he was an undercover investigator forced to do the phantom’s bidding for the safety of his family. Athena's Mood Matrix had nearly been hacked by him too, and Minerva began to wonder if he truly was her hacker all along. It would make sense given his goals.
But finally, Miles arrived with information. A year old body had recently been found and identified as Bobby Fulbright, meaning the one present truly was an imposter. A slice from Simon cut away his mask, revealing more masks of people they'd met in past cases. But with the combined onslaught from the defense and prosecution, and some very decisive evidence, the phantom had a bit of an existential crisis regarding his lack of identity, as he'd thrown it away long ago. And then it happened. A gunshot rang out. Minerva covered her mouth. The phantom fell to the floor. He had mentioned earlier in the trial that the phantom had information on all sorts of countries and corporations. It was really no wonder they probably had assassins ready to kill him at that trial.
And so the truth was revealed at last. Simon's conviction was overturned, Athena was acquitted, as was Starbuck, the astronaut that had been accused of Terran's murder. And the phantom had been taken down, at long last. Minerva took the remote and turned off the TV, looking at the clock on the wall.
“It's already after 9 pm. That trial really dragged on. But everything's okay now.” The little smile on her lips swiftly faded and she looked down at herself. “At least…I hope it'll be okay now.”
A heavy sigh left her and she leaned her head back. Everyone else was safe and sound, and everything had been resolved. But she may not be back on her feet again, at least not for a while. The thought terrified her. And she couldn't exactly call anyone with her helmet broken. For now, it was probably best to simply rest. That was really all she could do at the moment.
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