Klapollo Ace Attorney *Apollo justice*

"Interviewer"

'Misham felt like he was being "watched" like you,  You sure it wasn't just nerves?'

he asked, watching him carefully, brushel looked at him, 

'Nerves? No, it's nothing so mundane... ...I stopped paying attention to my nerves a long time ago! But I felt it, too! "Journalist Sure He Is Being Watched", end quote. Don't you wonder why Zak Gramarye got rubbed out after seven years... ...right after coming into contact with me!?'

Phoenix quickly wrote that down

'He completely vanishes from that courtroom... ...Then, for seven years, he talks to no one. Not a soul! Then, just as the "remaining time" was almost up... ...he contacts me in order to have this made'

'And then, he dies'

he finishes, brushel scratched his head with the toothbrush

'Starting to put the pieces together, are we!?'

phoenix gave him a look to stop talking

'you were being "watched" this whole time?'

'Maybe not just me. Maybe you were, too!'

Phoenix eyes slightly widen, him being watched?!, brushel was quick on changing the subject however, and they moved on from the conversation

'I met Zak through that case, actually'

'the shooting of Magnifi Gramarye?'

Brushel shook his head

'No, before that... It's not widely known'

'..the accident? During the Quick-Draw Shootem practice?'

brusel looked at him surprised

'My my my, you're well informed! You should've seen me back then. I'd dug up quite the scoop. I wanted it all. Money, fame, women, a little puppy... all for me! I was younger then, and my days and nights smelled of fresher mint than they do now'

phoenix figured it was him, who else would look like brushel

'In fact, I was on close speaking terms with Magnifi Gramarye at the time. I knew his daughter, too, of course. Thalassa, was it?, Then Thalassa disappeared. Quite suddenly, at that. And Magnifi wouldn't say a word about it. Yeah... My evil habit got the better of me. "Journalist Catches Scent Of A Scoop, Goes On Feeding Frenzy"... end quote. I set up a one-on-one interview with Thalassa's husband, see'

he nodded as he wrote all of this down

'Something strange was in the air over at Troupe Gramarye in those days. The whole screwy mentor-controlling-disciples scene'd started by then, I'm guessing. Thalassa, she was part of it all, right? C'mon, you can tell me, off the record!'

Phoenix thought very carefully, before shaking his head, best keep what he knows to himself, and not to some wacky cartoon interviewer 

'...I don't know'

was all he said, brushel simply shrugged at his answer 

'...Anyway. I kept prying, and eventually became friends with Zak. Sure, he punched me once or twice. Or five times. But over time, he came to see me as his confidant., He's been waiting this whole time. Seven years, eh?'

'for what?'

he asked

'For his big comeback, of course! A big "revival of the Magnifi Miracle"... 'Course it was all a dream, In the absence of any official documents, he was golden. Who's to say the old man didn't give his rights to both Zak and Valant?'

"..valant waited until zak died legally in the public"

'The time finally comes, and Valant's like a kid on Christmas morning!'

'...He's getting ready for his show at the Sunshine Coliseum'

'If that document sees the legal light of day... ...it's going to put a bit of a damper on the big show. He's a sorry one, that Valant Gramarye. Lost out to his partner at work... and in love, too'

Phoenix looked at him, with a look that told brushel to explain himself

'...It's the same old story, really. Two disciples, and their mentor's only daughter. What has three sides, and all of 'em pointy? ...A love triangle'

Phoenix nodded, mentally rolling his eyes at that, of course

'When you're in a performing troupe, that's your world. It's like family. ...One with an entire high school's worth of drama, intrigue, and backstabbing'

'what was your experience like with zak and thalassa?'

'I was friends with Zak, after all... He hit me a few times. Five times, actually. But still! I'd never forget his wife'

'tell me more about her'

he demanded, brushel looked thoughtful for a moment, before he shrugged 

'...... Well, why the heck not!'

phoenix flipped a page in his notepad

'So... Thalassa married Zak and had Trucy, see. It was her second marriage, actually'

'she was divorced?'

'Not quite. Her late husband was a performer, too. He died in an accident on stage. Tragic, really. They had only been married one year'

phoenix nodded

'...Ah, but she was a beauty. I still carry a portrait photo of her around, you know. I've known Trucy since she was a little thing, too. ...She got the better deal, really. She's got you for "family", after all'

phoenix looked up at him, ..what did he mean when he said trucy was better off with him as family?

'What do you mean?'

Brushel shrugged

'Just reminiscing, you know. "Thalassa Has Another Child Besides Trucy", end quote'

Phoenix eyes widen at that

'What!? Trucy said she was an only child!'

he started to panic a little, their was potentially another child out their who could be in need of a home and trucy's half-sibling 

'Ahh, yes. The one she had with her previous husband,. They had themselves a kid. Another orphan, now. That's another one who slipped through the cracks. No idea where they are now'

Phoenix looked at the photo

'can i have this?'

'...Sure. I can be generous on occasion, you know'

'whatever'

he muttered as he put the photo into his bag

'People and events all get tangled together and get biggerer and biggerer... ...don'tcha think?'

Phoenix just continued to read his notes, ignoring what he was saying in the beginning

'...Sometimes, you just gotta accept that you won't be able to untangle it all, I think'

phoenix closed up his notepad, brushel then spoke up 

' you know, Magnifi told me once, back when Zak married Thalassa. He said Zak had good "eyes". But not good like a Gramarye's eyes. Not that good. Who knows what the "Gramarye Secret" was...?, then again, Maybe nobody, now that Zak's gone'