61 ace attorney 6 - i learn something about my back

Dear Readers,

When I came to, Ahlbi was calling my name. It was in some kind of room with an altar, furniture and a TV. I asked him where we were and he said it was the high priest's house at the foot of the Plaza of Devotion.

Ahlbi told me something terrible happened with Maya and asked me to follow him back. She had been arrested! No!!! Not again!

We rushed to the plaza to where Maya was being arrested by the police. She said she swore she didn't kill him! Then, someone told the cops to back off of me. It was... Ema Skye!!!

She apologised to me sadly and said she and the cops were placing Maya under arrest. She told them to be respectful and they took her away, calling out my name as she was being taken by them.

Ema and I asked each other what we were doing here. I said it was a long story and hers was long too. I said we could get caught up later but I needed to know what happened now.

Ema said Maya was under arrest for the murder of the high priest. She told me his name, Tahrust Inmee and I can finally see the pun! "Trust in me!" Then I learned I had passed out for an entire day from my back pain! I resolved to take better care of it.

Ema said the murder took place in the Inner Sanctum after I passed out. Maya was the only suspect, as only she and the high priest were allowed up there for the ritual. The crime scene was discovered after Maya came down alone. She was the one who told the worshippers the high priest was dead and made a police statement to that effect.

Ahlbi asked if I was gonna defend Maya in that awful court again and I said of course.

I asked Ema what brought her here and she said she was working with a prosecutor from here, must've been Nahyuta, and he told her this was where she could see the latest techniques in international forensic science. She felt fooled by the look of this place, which looked like something from the past.

I said he must've taken a liking to her as it wasn't everyday a prosecutor takes a detective with them overseas. She said he was kind and always had a smile, but it was hard to see what he was really thinking. She said he was assigned to this case.

It was indeed Nahyuta and I knew he handled Trucy's case. Ahlbi was taken aback and said he was highly revered in this country.

Ema said she'd help where she could, but Nahyuta was pretty strict. She gave me the autopsy report for starters. The murder weapon was believed to be Lady Kee'ra's Warbaa'd Dagger, which was a pretty funny name. It was also yet to be found.

The crime scene was off limits to the public, but I begged Ema to let me up there to have a look. She said to leave it up to her and to be careful. She really didn't want to go up there again herself. I asked if it was really that bad and I wondered if I'd be okay with my back. Ahlbi said I was really lucky. He wasn't willing to go himself, as he thought he'd be cursed for being a commoner in a holy place. Just me on my own then...

I looked at all the praying devotees still here. By tradition, they were to stay here for another day. Acolyte Zeh'lot in particular seemed to stay put, even though his teacher had been murdered.

60 ace attorney 6 - meeting maya

Dear Readers,

The Plaza of Devotion was high up in the mountains and it was very cold. This was just the gateway and there were so many people here kneeling and praying. Ahlbi said this country was known as the Land of Prayer and they spent about fifteen hours a day in prayer. Yoiks...

A veiled lady with a deep voice approached. A dramatic anime scene followed where she lifted her hood and it was Maya! After the holy act she was the same old Maya again, calling me Nick! A new version of her theme played. Yay Maya! She did mature a bit on the outside but she was her old self still!

We chatted for a bit. She was standing in for the usual priestess who did the rite but she had a baby on the way, so she asked Maya to do it. After this, Maya'd be able to come home after studying here for such a long time! She told me who Lady Kee'ra was too. She was a bit like a superhero or something. Crowds were drawing today because it's been said there were sightings of her lately, capturing members of the Defiant Dragons. Ahlbi said she would eventually get the revolutionary Dhurke too.

Maya showed me a photo of Lady Kee'ra in the paper too! I told her she should maybe cut back on the super hero shows and she said I lost my edge, telling me my spikes were dull and drooping! Yeesh!

I jokingly told Maya to give the jig up and she went along with it, saying she really was Lady Kee'ra, here to give me punishment! Ahlbi was completely taken in! She was just kidding though, of course!

The high priest was coming, so it was time for her to go. Ahlbi said she was always so bright and cheerful and I was happy to see she hadn't changed.

Ahlbi pointed out Acolyte Zeh'lot (heh, zealot) and mentioned the high priest's name too, Abbot Inmee. I don't get the pun behind his name, not yet anyway.

Ahlbi said it was time to pray so I got into position and hurt myself. I asked him how long did we have to stay like this and he said until the day after tomorrow! When I heard this I passed out!

59 ace attorney 6 - getting ready to see maya

Dear Readers,

The day after the win in court, it was time for Trucy's show at the Penrose Theater. I was now the assistant in the coffin! Trucy gave the instruction to Mr. Hat and the show played out to my screams, objections and Trucy's great success!

That was episode 2! Now for episode 3!

An anime scene played out with a prison break, followed by a shift to two guys in an alley talking about someone's return. Then this masked figure showed up with a blade and the camera shifted to the moon while the guys' screams rang out into the night...

It was back to the Kingdom of Khura'in and I was now Phoenix again! At Tehm'pul Temple with Ahlbi Ur'gaid! I was here now two weeks and all was peaceful, though it was a rough start with that trial.

I was staying at the temple and I was ready to finally see Maya, but she had one important rite she had to do. Ahlbi said she was playing the role of Lady Kee'ra. I asked who that was and he was about to tell a big long story, so I said I'd read up on it. He gave me a guidebook in English that happened to be Maya's. I said I'd have a look through it. On reading it, it seemed like a big dramatic ceremonial bath or something.

I wondered if Maya matured since I last saw her. We went to the Plaza of Devotion where the rite was to take place.

58 ace attorney 6 - the ratings rajah's ego

Dear Readers,

After being exposed fully, Retinz cursed the Gramaryes! Trucy then spoke, asking him did he really hate them that much? Did he hate so much to kill an innocent man? He said she was damn right and talked about the humiliation he suffered after getting injured and cast out of the troupe.

Trucy said that was no excuse to do something so evil and magic was supposed to make people happy! Not as a means to murder! He fanned himself with his money and said he just used what was available to him. 

She said she understood now that she could see his true attitude toward magic. That's why her grandfather kicked him out. She said he didn't deserve to call himself a magician.

He then brought up the fact that he tricked her completely and that I was needed to reveal his tricks. His ego was satisfied in this and he called her unfit and a naïve greenhorn. She had nothing to say to this.

He continued laughing his egotistical laugh until the judge asked the bailiff to take him away and to bring a fire extinguisher to be safe!

The judge asked Trucy for her true entertainer's smile while he announced his verdict. She smiled. He ruled "Not Guilty!"

It was a happy ending in the lobby. Trucy needed a new assistant now and looked at me. Yikes! Betty and Bonny apologised and Trucy forgave them, wondering if Betty really hated her. Bonny brought up the autograph and about them seeing Trucy's shows and Betty shushed her. I guess she's all tsundere for Trucy but they both really love her. 

Trucy was still downhearted she didn't see through Retinz' tricks. I told her she should be proud of herself and that I knew she was a wonderful Gramarye magician because of the creed written in the notebook: "A true entertainer always keeps a smile on their face."

I said she dealt with the jeering of the crowd and eventually won them over. I said she was everything Magnifi could've hoped for in an heir. She said she couldn't have done it without me believing in her and thanked me from the bottom of her heart. I kept her smiling. Aw that's nice!

Ema showed up and apologised for not being able to convince Nahyuta as to what a good person Trucy was and ended up having to testify against her too. Trucy said she had nothing to apologise for, that she was just doing her job! Ema was touched...

Just then, Nahyuta showed up. He needed Ema to close up the case. He treated me just as coldly as ever. He hasn't learned a thing today has he? 

Athena asked what was up and if I actually knew him? I said we were old acquaintances. Trucy said I didn't like to talk about my past because I always change the subject. I would talk about it someday but not now. I said let's forget it and celebrate Trucy's future.

Just then, Phoenix rang! He asked was everything alright, how was Trucy, did we got a "not guilty"? I had him on speakerphone and we all told him the good news!

He praised me loads, saying I was a full-fledged lawyer in his eyes and everything! He then asked me to go to the show tomorrow, as he couldn't make it. I said I wouldn't miss it for the world!

After the call, Trucy said she would give me the best seat in the house! What did that mean? Well...

57 ace attorney 6 - dramatic logic path!

Dear Readers,

This dramatic logic visual appeared inside my head, making it time to piece it all together decisively. With each answer, this beam of red light smashed through all the answers.

What wasn't part of the original script? Bonny's mistake!

What mistake did she make? The one about her life choices was pretty funny, but it was Mr. Hat's positioning!

What part of the culprit's cover-up attempt was affected by Trucy's new position? The blood in the coffin hole!

To make the crime scene consistent with the facts, the culprit must have... Swapped the coffin sides!

This led to the decisive piece of evidence I needed... the fingerprint results! Mr. Reus' fingerprints were pointing the wrong way!

It was all tampered with and by Retinz.

Nahyuta got very stroppy with this, and protested with all of his insults, saying we were going to hell. I threw it back at him, saying he was the one that was going there for trying to convict an innocent girl. Yeah! That's right!

Nahyuta stretched his beads so much they broke and hit him in the face. That was very satisfying!

I was also now able to say that since Retinz wasn't there to see the show, but had access to the scene after the incident, he was the only one who could've tampered with the evidence! This made him play out a dramatic scene where he burned up caricatures of the Gramaryes, but when it came to Trucy's turn, it was of HIM instead! He couldn't shake it, then it got blood stains, then all these lights shone on him and he couldn't perform any more tricks! Very dramatic indeed!

56 ace attorney 6 - where the murder weapon was

Dear Readers,

Retinz was starting to sweat due to me pointing out his last bit of misdirection and it was time to make it all clear.

The judge asked me why did the culprit make the victim fly up into the air like that and I had three choices:

• To falsify an alibi
• To murder him
• To hide the body

The only choice was the second one. I said the culprit had set it all up so the sword was above stage in the cushion and stabbed the victim when he was hoisted up. That's how he was able to not be there.

Betty was shocked, thinking Retinz was hers to boss around, but in fact she was the puppet being used.

Retinz shouted the Gramarye name in frustration and just when things seemed to go well, Nahyuta objected with some of his chanting and insults.

Nahyuta said I had to prove this remote murder theory decisively, since the murder weapon was found onstage. 

This lead to a dramatic visual inside my head, laying out a logical path, answering some questions. Let's go!

55 ace attorney 6 - the "too perfect" alibi

Dear Readers,

Retinz finally came out with it and revealed details about the victim. The poor guy was a fan and magician who followed in his footsteps. Retinz taught him all his tricks and even acted as his producer and he let him take on the Mr. Reus mantle.

The judge said that he had us all fooled indeed.

I jumped in and said in his hatred of Troupe Gramarye, he killed the victim, Mr. Mistree and framed Trucy for it! He then said he didn't, that Trucy found out and carried out the murder anyway. He insisted that it was a prank still. He still had his alibi about being at the TV station and went on to testify about it.

I guess that's why he was so confident in revealing who he really was, he could account for it perfectly. But still like, I mean, he conspired in the whole thing. I pressed him on all points but couldn't find anything.

It was looking bad and Retinz was going on about his grand illusion. It was time to bring up something we were told was there but actually wasn't, time to address this magician's misdirection. I had a choice of one of three things that we were assuming the whole time:

• Roger Retinz's guilt
• The culprit was on scene
• The crime scene

I eventually got it right with the second one.

Then a thing came up about what resembled the shadow in the video. I picked Mr. Hat but that was wrong, so I picked the other shadow and that was what let me progress with talking about Mr. Hat. Some of these things are just silly...

The question then emerged about who the second shadow belonged to, if it wasn't Mr. Hat. The answer was Mr. Reus, the fake one, the victim and I had to pick the crime photo.

I pointed out that the prank script said he was to be hoisted up and that's what cast the other shadow. With this explanation, Retinz drew his cape and started sweating. Here we go!

54 ace attorney 6 - the real reus

Dear Readers,

I argued that Retinz himself was a magician because of that camera thing he pulled during recess and that he bore ill will toward Trucy. I was told that shouldn't have anything to do with it and that I still had to prove a connection.

I thought about a connection between an actual magician who could've had a grudge towards the Gramaryes.

Then it hit me like a huge lightning bolt.

I declared I wanted to present a piece of evidence that established a motive, someone who would have something against Trucy since she was the sole heir of the Gramarye legacy. I pointed out Mr. Reus on the thirteen year old poster.

The judge pointed out that I was making the victim the suspect. I asked if he was really dead or not. I raised a possibility: What if the man who died on the stage wasn't Mr. Reus? I had some blank reactions. One outraged one from Nahyuta, who said it was absurd. The judge asked who the real Mr. Reus was, if it wasn't the victim.

I said it was Roger Retinz! The Ratings Rajah! HE was the real Mr. Reus! The music changed! Everyone was floored! Except for Retinz himself, who said it wasn't a bad soap opera idea.

I said I had proof. I pointed out the scar on Mr. Reus' arm on the poster from the injury he got. I then pointed out that there was no such scar on the vlogger's arm. I then asked if Retinz had anything on his arm on that spot. 

He said nothing for a moment before laughing a little and with no trouble at all, he rolled up his sleeves in a dramatic way. There, on his right forearm, was the very same scar that Mr. Reus had. Everyone was floored again!

Nahyuta seemed mystified at the karmic threads before him. He asked who the victim was then? Retinz said he was a fan. A fan who became a magician and followed in his footsteps. All was being revealed now...

53 ace attorney 6 - retinz explains tv editing

Dear Readers,

Retinz wanted to speak for himself on the witness stand, and the judge gave him the go ahead.

He explained that TV stations edited footage all the time and that there was nothing malicious about it. I said I knew he bore Trucy ill will and I had the evidence to prove it.

I had plenty of evidence, but I didn't know what exactly worked when presenting at that moment in time so I had a few guesses and reloads, and got it right with the clipboard.

This led to the bringing up of the contract that Retinz conned Trucy into signing. The judge was shocked at the unreasonable sum of three million dollars. With that added into the testimony, I presented the other thing that Trucy supposedly signed, the note. I presented with an "Objection!"

I laid it out about how the signature was forged and Retinz seemed to encourage me. He said it would get great ratings for sure.

Nahyuta objected to my saying that Retinz had ill will towards Trucy by saying he only had pecuniary greed. I didn't believe of course, especially after hearing Retinz talk about the Gramaryes.

I thought there must've been some sort of connection between Retinz and Trucy that not even she was aware of. I said it aloud.

The judge then asked about this hidden connection and I had three choices:

• He was Trucy's biggest fan
• They were dating
• Retinz was a magician too

I chose the magician one! Other two are of course improbable, and we've suspected Retinz of being a magician himself for quite a while now!

52 ace attorney 6 - watching and analysing the footage

Dear Readers,

It was time to compare the two pieces of footage. I took some time to get used to the controls and went through the scenes a few times. I was able to point out the playing cards with the cursor and present it with a "Take that!"

This changed things indeed. The footage from the TV station was indeed edited with malicious intent. The judge requested the bailiff go contact the TV station to see if they had an unedited copy. Someone interrupted with a "Hold it!"

It was Retinz. He introduced himself very politely to the judge and to Nahyuta, business card presenting and all. They got chatting about TV and eventually about burgers. A very good topic.

Retinz had with himself some more footage that had Trucy throwing the playing cards. He came up with the argument that the murder happened after Mr. Reus fell out of the coffin and brought up one of the shadows in the footage.

I objected and reminded everyone that Retinz willfully edited the sword switch out of the footage. Retinz then wanted to testify so he was allowed to explain that all TV stations edit footage so that nothing drags on or gets boring. He insisted there was nothing done maliciously here.

I had to press him on a few details.

51 ace attorney 6 - trucy testifies with a trick

Dear Readers,

Back in the courtroom, it was Trucy's turn to testify. The gallery hurled all kinds of abuse at her and the judge threatened to throw them all out. Sounds like the group Retinz brought in. They didn't stop and the judge gave them a final warning.

For a moment Trucy seemed not ready for this, which worried me, but she perked up and requested that she would testify with her sword swapping magic trick.

She went ahead and performed the trick flawlessly with a spin, which impressed both the judge and the crowd! The praise drowned out the hecklers.

The judge asked her where the sharp sword went, insisting it was in the interest of the case and not his own curiosity. She revealed that she puts it backstage and said she skewed the apple just for demonstration. I asked her was the spin part of it and she said it was. I noticed an inconsistency.

Nice unique movement filled testimony. Unfortunately I couldn't figure out where the inconsistency was or what evidence to bring in where, so I had to go back to guessing.

I decided to use the footage and object on the point where she swished around. This worked. There was definitely something there but I didn't know what it meant. Nahyuta liked that I seemed to be coming round and Athena argued with me, but there was definitely a discrepancy between the switch here and in the footage!

A "Hold it!" emerged. It was Bonny. She was inspired by Trucy's perseverance, and stood up to her sister. She wanted to reveal the thing that was bothering her. She had footage of her own, from the cameraman who was a fan of hers and he gave her a present of the footage he took while he pointed at her the whole time.

The footage was shown. It was from Bonny's side of the stage. It was leering in at her but also showed some stuff like the smoke and also some cards that flew by?

Athena showed me how to compare the two pieces of footage and point out where they don't match up.

50 ace attorney 6 - the camera trick

Dear Readers,

At the well-needed recess, Trucy mentioned her dislike for Nahyuta with his "Let it go, and move on" saying. I don't like him either! Although to be fair, he didn't know all the facts, even with his mumbo jumbo nonsense.

Retinz came up to us with his camera and told Trucy to smile, asking us about our next evil scheme. Athena got really mad at him and brought up the fact that filming was prohibited and threatened to get the bailiff. All of a sudden, the camera was gone, like some kind of... magic trick? He said he called in "Trucy's fans" from online to get some footage.

Trucy noticed the camera disappearing and told me he had some serious magic skills. Huh. Even with his disdain for magicians he's a talented one himself? Something's going on...

Bonny then came up to us. She wanted to tell me something that was bothering her, but then Betty showed up and shushed her before taking her away, whatever it was.

Trucy seemed worried about testifying, but I said with my special ability that she'll be FINE! She perked up and felt more ready.

49 ace attorney 6 - more signature shenanigans

Dear Readers,

Bonny and Betty revealed the prank and showed the court the script of the whole prank event that Retinz came up with. They didn't expect Mr. Reus to actually show up dead though. 

Amusingly they had a bunny and a bat pop out from under their hats now.

That left the court with asking who killed the victim and when. The twins then revealed a vlog made by Mr. Reus about the prank he was just about to make.

It looked like Betty was going to be excluded from the suspects and since the vlog was made backstage, it led to to Nahyuta asking Trucy if she knew about the prank beforehand. She insisted she didn't, which made him thump his desk and present another piece of evidence...

It was a note giving instructions signed by Trucy, which seemed to prove that she knew about the prank. She was confronted with this and said she never signed it. She didn't know what was going on but she insisted she never signed it and didn't kill Mr. Reus.

A huge silence came over the courtroom. Even over the defence! Come on! We know there's foul play with signatures going on because of the tricky clipboard! The scene played out with the gallery calling Trucy all kinds of horrible things. All these dramatics... and stupid Nahyuta having an influence over people just like that.

I raised an objection, making another dramatic turnabout. this wasn't time for the clipboard so I had to do something different. I had to bring up the sword in the stand to establish the swapping of the rubber and real swords.

Nahyuta objected and brought up the blood on the coffin hole. I said maybe someone tampered with it and put the blood there after. The judge said further discussion was needed and called for a 15 minute recess. Whew. I feel like a courtroom typist or something.

48 ace attorney 6 - nahyuta figures it out

Dear Readers,

When I brought up that explanation, the twins didn't want to reveal their magician secrets. This made Nahyuta chime in, saying I had been chasing this illusion without evidence. He also told the twins to keep their deceit for their magic act. Athena then chimed in and said it was good that Betty was now finally able to be herself, but if she kept lying she'd be doing herself harm again.

Betty complained about all these questions leading to her being put in jail and insulted everyone in the courtroom for thinking she did something she didn't do.

I asked her how did she know the fire trick wasn't going to go ahead and she said it was a secret under contract.

Nahyuta then butted in after I said it still made her a suspect. He said some mumbo jumbo about stuff coming together, karmic threads or whatever. He mentioned this secret reason and talked about the dragon that fell from above, saying it was all too perfectly aligned with the incident to be happenstance. He said he studied the mass media in this country and came across something called the "hidden camera prank"

He confronted the twins on knowing about everything that was going to happen beforehand by Take-2 TV. Their umbrellas almost blew away again.

Bonny begged Betty to tell us now as she couldn't take it anymore. Betty begrudgingly agreed. She admitted the TV station paid them to cooperate with them on the plan. The whole thing was set up as a prank. Completely scripted.

This was a shocking revelation that got everyone chattering.

Bonny said that Mr. Reus was supposed to pretend to be dead according to the prank plan. Neither of them expected him to actually be dead.

Everyone was lost for words now. The twins had some explaining to do.

47 ace attorney 6 - finding where to use the dusty bucket

Dear Readers,

With the twins Bonny and Betty revealed, the judge said this changes the facts of the case rather dramatically. Bonny couldn't have committed the crime, as she was onstage, but Betty could've, as she was understage.

Nahyuta clutched at his beads. Betty said she didn't kill Mr Reus and I asked her to testify as to what she was doing in the understage. Nahyuta quietly said to Betty that she lied to a humble servant of the Holy Mother. He said he was going to give her a taste of her punishment in interrogation hell.

Betty testified that she was there to prepare for the fire trick that Mr. Reus was going to do.

It's cute and funny the way Betty gets mad at Bonny and nudges her, though maybe not so good.

Found a language mistake! Though it could be seen as not being one. Betty says "Just be nice and quite like a good little bunny, got it?" to Bonny, telling her she should've kept her mouth shut. With context it ought to be "quiet" not "quite", though quite still kinda fits this sentence. So it's a mistake but... not really?

I knew that the fire bucket or the script had to be brought up somewhere, but I didn't know exactly where. I ended up having to consult Athena, so she brought up the statement I was able to use the fire bucket on. It was the one where she said she had to make sure they were prepared for the very dangerous trick. After consulting, I reloaded my save haha.

I raised an "Objection!" with the fire bucket on this statement and the music stopped. I asserted that she didn't even attempt to prepare for the act and she and Bonny were both blown away with their umbrellas. They were reluctant to explain so I offered one instead. I had three choices and chose that she "Knew the show wouldn't go on", which was true, she did!

46 ace attorney 6 - the secret of the teleportation trick

Dear Readers,

How did Bonny know that Trucy moved the stage lifts? I was now able to raise an objection. I was also able to assert that Bonny was understage to see Trucy move the lifts and that this made her a suspect! This made her umbrella turn inside out with the impact!

Nahyuta objected and said Bonnie could be seen in the TV footage and I myself was an eyewitness to this. I eventually made the assertion that Bonny was both onstage and understage at the same time, even though it made no sense.

The judge asked me to explain and I had three choices:

• She teleported
• There were two Bonnys
• The Bonny onstage was a fake

I wasn't really expecting this path so I wasn't sure which choice to make but I connected something. I chose the second one, there were two Bonny's. As expected, people thought I had a screw loose. I was asked to prove the existence of a second Bonny and I used the fingerprint results with a "Take That!"

I argued that the unknown fingerprints, of which not even Nahyuta had any awareness, belonged to this second Bonny that we had right here in front of us. He actually lost his cool with his beads and thumped his table, saying enough of this foolishness! He couldn't fathom how this was the case with the fingerprints.

Bonny was confronted with this and admitted that the prints were hers. There was lots of shocked chatter. She revealed herself to be not Bonny, but Betty! She then followed up with a dramatic magic trick where the lights went off and there were now TWO of them! Bonny and Betty! That's how they did the teleportation trick! Bonny was the nice one we met in the dressing room and Betty was the one we heard understage with Retinz.

Bonny and Betty de Famme. Whew! Another dramatic twin thing for the series!

45 ace attorney 6 - refresher course on athena's mood matrix

Dear Readers,

It was time to cross-examine Bonny. Objecting to her statement about lift #2 didn't work, so I pressed her for details.

Nahyuta was more than ready to jump in at any moment and stop me from going anywhere. Bonnie herself was able to back everything up but she showed her more temperamental side as well when she got impatient with me.

She got impatient with the judge too! She told him to make his ruling, pronto! She then corrected herself. 

Nahyuta told me about "Pahpul Boljhig", a kind of Khura'inist hell, one of many, reserved specifically who kept fighting against their fate, telling me that it was most appropriate for me. He can go right there himself!

There were no contradictions I could work with, so Athena piped up and told me there was discord in Bonny's voice with her special abilities. She then asked the judge if she could do a sort of therapy session with Bonny and find the truth through looking at her emotional state shifting.

This was introduced in Ace Attorney 5 and I remember some of it, but I agreed to have a tutorial on it again.

The Mood Matrix! It made me want to turn on the 3D feature again too! Also, there was artwork representing the stuff Bonny was saying, which was weird. There's never usually artwork for when lies are being told.

When Bonnie said she felt so bad about what happened, her "happy" mood marker lit up. This was where it didn't match and I pinpointed it with a "Got it!"

I had three choices for why she was feeling happy about it and I chose that Bonnie got a chance to mess Trucy's act up. I then told her that we heard her talking about Trucy in the understage. With this, the noise level dropped to 50%.

With this, Athena and I told Bonny to reveal her true self as she was doing herself harm by hiding it. With this, she transformed! Her bunny features became bat features!

With her true feelings revealed, Bonny took glee in the fact that Trucy had to move the stage lifts. With this, I was finally able to make my "Objection!" with Trucy's statement about how she told nobody about it. Onward!

44 ace attorney 6 - bonny raises the possibility

Dear Readers,

Athena raised an objection and argued that Trucy was petite and wouldn't have the strength to haul Mr. Reus up into a coffin. Nahyuta talked down to her, then claimed he had deep respect for women. Whatever.

He not only had an explanation, but also a witness!

Ema then asked if she could step down now and she was let go, but Nahyuta first praised her work and for how she handled the situation with dealing with her personal feelings too. He said she'd be rewarded.

At least he was fair. Athena said he was even pretty nice, as long as you weren't up against him.

This witness, being introduced from toe to head, was Bonny. She wanted to do a trick for everyone, but Nahyuta wouldn't let her. She said she didn't want to testify against Trucy, being such a huge fan of hers, but she had to.

I remembered her change of manner understage. We'll see...

In her testimony, Bonny raised the possibility of raising a dead body with the stage lifts. She herself was on stage for the whole act, so she couldn't have carried out the murder.

43 ace attorney 6 - cross-examining ema

Dear Readers,

It was time to press Ema on the statements she was making. Sometimes Nahyuta interrupted, talking about divine punishments in the form of salary evaluations. Jerk. It was just like what Edgeworth did to Detective Gumshoe. I wonder how he is by the way?

There's one moment Apollo says (thinks) "(Get a little too addicted to using your precious white powder, did you, Ema?)" and I'm like what?! Don't make that kind of reference!

It's really interesting to see Ema, the forensic scientist, clash with the holier than thou jerk Nahyuta. Her beloved job was at risk because of his approval/disapproval of everything she did.

I asked what were the grounds for saying it was homicide and Ema didn't know, so Nahyuta said it was the luminous tape. He said Mr Reus used it as a guide and that Trucy moved it so he would go into the coffin where he was stabbed. I asked for proof and Ema said she found Trucy's fingerprints on the luminous tape, which was a big surprise for me.

Ema said she guessed Trucy must've moved the luminous tape during the show and I said "Objection!" with the fingerprint results. Trucy was wearing gloves after all!

Ema was taken aback, but was glad on a personal level.

It came down to the question of the incident being a murder or involuntary manslaughter. I maintained that it was murder and that it must've been a third party.

I was then asked how did the body wind up inside the coffin? I said he was killed understage. What if the victim was dead already before being put into the coffin.

Nahyuta responded by throwing beads at my head and chanting something! I demanded to know what he was doing and he said I was interfering with his last rites stuff whatever. He said who would have the opportunity to do what I was arguing and the only one in the show with that possibility was Trucy. He led me into it!

Athena then raised an objection!

42 ace attorney 6 - ema's difficult position

Dear Readers,

Ema was called to the stand. She was eating Snackoos! Also looking very glum... The judge gave out to her and said the courtroom was no place for gorging oneself. She was stressed about something.

She said for the record that she believed Trucy was innocent. Nahyuta said she was misguided and she would get divine punishment from the Holy Mother.

Ema stress-ate again... Wow... I've never seen her eat and and look so sad and stressed... they really captured her emotional state here. It was less apparent in Ace Attorney 4.

Ema showed a poster of the Gramaryes. It was the same as the one in Trucy's dressing room, but it had the word "CANCELED" under Mr. Reus. He also had a scar on his right arm, which made Magnifi decide that he was too unskilled. Mr Reus tried to go on stage anyway, which made Magnifi oust him entirely.

Nahyuta said the Gramaryes were extreme and that Trucy had a putrid talent for criminality. This made the courtroom silent and the judge say that Nahyuta was a bit extreme himself.

Ema went on to say that Mr. Reus vowed revenge on the troupe someday. She was hesitant, but continued.

She said Mr Reus' plan for revenge was to steal Trucy's notebook and reveal the tricks of the Gramaryes. Nahyuta said this forced the defendant to kill the victim and make it look like an accident.

I immediately objected to this! I knew this wasn't the case! Nahyuta objected back and brought up Bonny's statement to the police. It didn't look good and Nahyuta, with a butterfly on his hand, told me to let it go and move on, saying I'd be a stink bug, at best, in my next life.

Insulting jerk! Time to cross-examine!

41 ace attorney 6 - first encounter with nahyuta sahdmadhi

Dear Readers,

At the court, I psyched myself up for Trucy's trial. Athena told me about the prosecutor, that he had the power to accurately read a trial's karma and its ultimate fate, so he can lead a trial whichever direction he has in his head. Yikes. She said she got Ema to speak to him at least. Let's see what he is like...

The trial began and it was the good old judge again! Then there was the prosecutor, Nahyuta Sahdmadhi; a name that doesn't seem to have a pun, at least, not that I can see right now anyway. He delayed his introduction a bit, saying that he was praying and he was all humble and apologetic about it. He did seem very gentle-mannered and mystical. I finally meet this guy from the 3DS diorama preview image.

He laid out the situation, revealing Mr Reus' name as Manov Mistree. He took the position that this was a murder made to look like an accident. The judge asked if he believed it was the defendant that was behind it and he said that he had no other choice but to conclude as much after going through all possible scenarios.

Athena noted that Ema couldn't convince him after all.

The judge asked what our position was and I said that naturally we had the position that the defendant was innocent. Nahyuta (I need to get used to this) asked for my reasoning and I said that it was mainly because I believed in the defendant. He implied that wasn't concrete and said I had a putrid mind.

When I was about to beg his pardon he interrupted me with a foreign uh... objection of sorts and chanted something. The judge asked what it was and he said it was a Khura'inist incantation to awaken the foolish from their fruitless slumber. It was for me...

He said that if I interfered with his last rites for the victim, and didn't repent for the accused's guilt, then he would cast me down into the pit of hell, along with Trucy.

I resented these words and asked if this was any way to address someone in a court of law. The judge asked him to refrain and he said it was merely a sermon and that harsh words were often necessary. Yuck! What a slimeball he is himself!

The judge then asked me to be open-minded about this cross-cultural exchange. What? From a culture that hated defence attorneys?

The judge asked for the first witness.

I gotta say I really don't like this "holy" guy and his culture is garbage. I'm all fired up for this adversary.

40 ace attorney 6 - repossessed!

Dear Readers,

When Athena and I returned to the office, we found big red REPOSSESSED stickers all over everything! Retinz showed up and started flashing his money fan around. He was enforcing Trucy's contract and we couldn't use the clipboard to prove anything. The sleazeball filmed our reactions as well.

Then he switched on the TV, showing that this whole event was being televised! His awful TV "news" made us out to be the villains!

He said the whole country was against us and we had to be out of the office by tomorrow. Then he left.

Then someone threw something through the window, yelling that they didn't want murderers here. Athena ran to the window to yell back at them and the ran away, fearing they would get killed too.

Just then, Phoenix rang! He got my messages and asked about Trucy. We both took a deep breath and I explained the whole thing.

He said we had to handle the whole thing while he was still away as he couldn't make it in time. He said the contract only addresses the liability, so all we had to do was prove tomorrow that it wasn't her fault. He said that the fate of Trucy and of our office was riding on my shoulders.

He then gave me words of encouragement, saying that after watching me grow these past two years he was able to now say, with absolute confidence, that I'd be fine. He said he believed in me and wished me good luck tomorrow.

An anime cutscene followed, with the new prosecutor sitting at a tree being approached by Ema, telling him that I'm the attorney handling the defence. He murmured my name to himself and that was it.

Next day, the trial!

39 ace attorney 6 - visiting the take-2 tv studio

Dear Readers,

Athena and I headed to the Take-2 TV studio. It looked like a huge casino with camera crew and there was also a big screen with their story about Trucy. Athena was furious at this. She said Trucy would get tried in the court of public opinion. I assured her that no matter what garbage they reported on TV, we could set the record straight at the trial.

This programme being filmed was about celebrity scandals and gambling on whether they were true or not.

We found Retinz's workstation, marked by his trademark coffee cup. The staff were able to vouch for him being here when the incident happened because he had a show going on here too. 

We spoke with various crew members and one of them was really helpful! He gave us footage of Trucy's escape trick on a disc! It was the footage we saw before. He also said Bonny wasn't doing well on her own so she sweet-talked Retinz into doing this magic show.

With all that, we headed back to the office to plan out our case.

38 ace attorney 6 - investigating the understage

Dear Readers,

Athena and I went down to the understage, now that it was unlocked. A rat scurried along the floor. Yikes! Athena called it a fearsome beast with long, sharp fangs, ready to prey on unsuspecting souls haha.

I couldn't examine the rat, as it was too fast and it examined something else whenever it stopped. The most interesting thing was the writing on the wall, which was written by someone who vowed to make it big someday. Athena implied it was me but it wasn't, OKAY!

I climbed the ladders as Athena was wearing a skirt. One of them lead to the blinding stage lights, the other lead to darkness, supposedly inside the coffin backstage with the dragon picture on it.

We found the rubber sword, one of the swappables.

The stage lifts were really heavy. Even Athena struggled with them. How did Trucy manage to push them?

Just then we heard voices and hid. It was Bonny and the Ratings Rajah. She said it was so much work pretending to be cute and sweet. Athena found something off in their voices and that's why we hid.

Bonny showed her true colours. She sounded a lot more threatening now and said she wanted Trucy's head on a platter. Retinz was all simpy but I don't know if that was an act or not. Probably was. They left shortly afterward.

With this witnessed, Athena and I went to the Take-2 TV studio to investigate further.

37 ace attorney 6 - the truth about the contract

Dear Readers,

Athena and I returned to Trucy's dressing room, where we found the clipboard that was used when Trucy signed the contract.

There was some fun banter when examining it more closely, including when the holder part "bit" Athena. Aw!

There were some screws, one of which came loose. Then, the back of it was something that could be removed. We found carbon paper inside, tracing paper! What Trucy signed must've signed another contract underneath! This is how she got conned! This was a dirty trick from the "Ratings Rajah"!

Next it was time to investigate the understage. We found it unlocked this time. Yay for Bonny!

36 ace attorney 6 - returning trucy's notebook

Athena and I went back to the detention centre to see Trucy. She was performing tricks for the guard, so she was dealing with stuff in her usual way.

I showed her the contract she signed and she was shocked at the three million dollars part, saying she didn't see that, and she read it from top to bottom. There must've been some foul play with Roger Retinz behind all of it.

Then I asked her about Bonny's mistake and she got all dramatic and cliffhangery, making an entertaining narrative of how she overcame it.

There was another stage lift under Mr Hat's new position, but it was raised. Trucy then had to push that lift out of the way and then push the one she wanted to use into place. She was able to use that instead. She said she couldn't use her magic as the understage was a dark place that drains magicians of all their powers. That was a nice little detail.

Trucy didn't tell anyone else about this, so I made sure to make a note of it.

I gave her back her notebook. She said it was her granddaddy Magnifi Gramarye's notebook. He used it as a diary and to write down new tricks, some of which only members of the Troupe have seen. It was also under lock and key.

She repeated the creed that was written inside: "A true entertainer always keeps a smile on their face."

I like to think of this blog as a bit of a notebook too!

I then told Trucy that we found it mixed in with Mr. Reus' belongings and she was shocked, saying there was no way he would've tried to steal it. It would've made for a motive though, being all packed with secrets like that.

She apologised for the mess with the contract and said she would be willing to use her magic to help, though she was better at making stuff disappear. I said not to worry. It was time to check out the dressing room again and the understage too.

35 ace attorney 6 - chatting with bonny de famme

Dear Readers,

Athena and I popped into the dressing room, where we met Trucy's bunny girl assistant, who introduced herself as Bonny de Famme. She had trouble confronting us about taking Trucy's notebook, because she also had a very bunny-like timid manner. She also deeply admires Trucy as a fan and would do anything for her, including helping us prove her innocence.

I got a bracelet reaction when Bonny said she always performed her trick perfectly. I expected her nose to twitch when she said that but instead there was like a pair of eyes under her hat looking around shiftily and I said "Gotcha!"

I feel bad for using her timidness against her, but I had to confront her to admit she messed up Trucy's escape.

What happened was Bonny made Mr Hat appear on the wrong side of the coffin, but Trucy was able to deal with that mistake on her feet and pull off the trick anyway.

We asked Bonny to help us get to the understage and she said she would, but then, Roger Retinz came into the room to talk to Athena and me. He showed us the contract Trucy signed, specifically the part where the second party would have to pay three million dollars if the show got cancelled. Yikes! He enjoyed and recorded our shocked reactions, worthy for reality tv or viral social media posts.

He then left with Bonny to do more filming, doing his slimebally "Hang loose, baby" surfing gesture. 

First it was Phoenix's life, now it's this money threat hanging over our heads! What did that guy hate about the Gramaryes and magicians so much anyway? We had to go see Trucy.

34 ace attorney 6 - meeting roger retinz

The guy we met outside with the coffee cup was here at the stage now. He got all friendly when he saw our attorney badges and offered his business card. He fanned himself with a huge wad of money. He introduced himself as Roger Retinz and he was a bigshot in TV. he also likes to whip out his camera and make people do dramatic reality TV stuff. Yuk!

He didn't seem to think much of Trucy, or magicians in general. In fact, he was going to use his media control to tarnish Trucy's name! The jerk!

We'll have to save Trucy from the likes of him.

33 ace attorney 6 - examining the backstage

Dear Readers,

After taking fingerprints from the coffin, something bothered me. It was Mr. Reus' position of his fingerprints. It looked like he was facing backwards. I also wondered why the stab was in his back. Ema said he could've twisted and turned as this was happening, or at least that's what the prosecutor said anyway.

After showing my lady-killer eyes, as Athena put it, Ema allowed us to examine the backstage but not to move anything. She opened the backstage curtain.

There was another coffin here that looked like it had a dragon stuffed inside, but it was just painted on the front. There was a path to the understage, but the door was locked. Trucy called it the abyss and I said this was a swing and abyss, which is really clever!

Other interesting included the winches, the disused fire bucket and not so interesting was the ladder to the catwalk. I was terrified of going up there but we had to anyway.

The Mr Hat puppet was up here and it looked like his cape was slashed with a blade or something.

Two pulleys up here. The smaller one was attached to Mr Hat and the larger one must've been for the dragon.

We took a closer look at the cushions that absorb the impact of things being raised up. Athena saw that I was trembling so much she offered to hold my hand.

That's all we could examine for now. Ema said we would have to get a magician to let us check the understage passage.

32 ace attorney 6 - taking fingerprints with ema

Dear Readers,

With that hypothesis in mind, we asked Ema if there were any fingerprints on the coffin. She was saving the best for last and we had the chance to help her.

She went over the mechanics of dusting for fingerprints with the touch screen and blowing into the microphone for blowing the dust away and incredibly to refill the jar if we use it excessively and run out. Amazing!

Weirdly, the microphone didn't work for blowing dust, but there was a blow button so I pressed that.

Then I realised that the microphone on my headphone cable was being used. Hahaha. All this time, even the objections and stuff in the last case. Oh well I stand corrected!

I was now able to check the whole of the outside of the coffin. I checked the doors but there were none. Then I saw a smudge on the top and found prints around it. When it came to analysis it didn't match anyone involved with the case. The prints inside from before belonged to Mr. Reus.

After a lot of dusting and blowing and rotating, I eventually found another print on the front, towards the top right. It was Bonny's. She wasn't wearing gloves and she put the front on during the show.

That was it. All belonging to Bonny, Mr. Reus and an unidentified person.

It's fun doing this stuff with Ema again after all this time!

31 ace attorney 6 - investigating the stage

Dear Readers,

Now to investigate the stage with Athena and Ema.

Athena even offered a tutorial on this! Very kind of her, but I declined.

Ema was doing her own investigating. There was a curtain to backstage, but I didn't want to incur her displeasure, so I left it for now.

There was a box like the shelving unit we had in the office, the dragon thin that Ema herself was looking at, the camera which showed the same footage that was on TV and this time Athena noticed the shadows, the reference she made to Pop-up Pirate; yeah that game is popular in Europe like she said but isn't it in America? Ah well.

That was about all we could investigate for now... at least at this angle! I was able to use the direction pad to change angle to look at more stuff on the stage.

We examined the coffin which was now unfolded and spread out on the ground. There were secret doors on the bottom and in the back.

We examined the outline and Ema showed us the crime scene photo. Mr. Reus had a stab wound in his back and a stunt wire harness around his waist.

The stunt dragon thing was all flat panel stuff. Trucy convinced me to help her make it with her magical smile. Athena said Trucy had me wrapped around her little finger. Oh well...

There was a sword here covered in blood and it looked like the murder weapon. It looked nothing like what Trucy was using. I asked Ema about fingerprints and she said there were none. On the other hand, Trucy was wearing gloves, on both hands.

At the end of this, I was thinking this didn't add up at all. I had to think about all the stuff that happened. Athena tried to snap me out of my concentration and I said I think somebody switched Trucy's rubber sword for the metal one in order to pin the murder on her. Athena asked when and I had three choices: Right before the trick, after the set piece fell and during Trucy's trick. 

I picked the wrong answers before picking after the set piece fell. Before the trick choice had some amusing dialogue. 

Someone must've been trying to frame Trucy for murder.