Ace Attorney: Quiet After the Hurricane

Turnabout Ignition, Part 2 (Anton)

A girl maybe a year or two older than me walked up to the witness stand. Her shoulder brushed mine gently. Something was familiar about her...

She had black hair with half of her hair in a pair of ponytails over either shoulder. The rest of her locks were down. Her eyes were dark blue and had some sense of familiarity. She wore a blue shirt with golden swirls and a dark purple skirt. Her eyes met mine, and I started racking my brain for when I had met this girl previously. She flipped a purple fan open, and the golden swirls were almost entrancing.

"Witness, state your name and occupation for the record," the judge instructed.

The girl nodded. "I'm Shayla Willows, spirit medium and artist. And I...I..." Shayla's voice trailed off.

"Is something wrong, miss?" the judge asked. He didn't seem like he had this kind of soft side.

Shayla looked at him innocently. "I...witnessed the murder," she said through sobs.

The whole courtroom buzzed. Shayla looks at me again, and her gaze shows one thing: she's acting. I'm honestly surprised nobody has figured that out yet. It seems so obvious.

"O-order!" the judge stammered. People shouldn't have found her witnessing the murder so strange. If she hadn't seen anything, why would she be up at the witness stand in the first place?

Am I the only one with a brain in this courtroom? Polly has one, but I don't think anyone else does.

"Testify to the court about what you saw, Shay-Ms. Willows," Mr. Morix instructed. He slipped up. But why?

Shayla nodded, her face now less red. "I will do so to prove the defendant..." I expect her to say guilty. Nearly everyone in this court thinks I killed the victim, Venus Rinko. This is the dark age of the law, after all. Nobody believes anything in the legal world anymore. "Innocent."

Her words shocked me. There were only three people in this whole courtroom who believed me: Polly, Ms. Shield, and Mr. Morix. I guess Shayla made that four people.

The judge gasped. "Th-then begin your testimony, Ms. Willows."

WITNESS TESTIMONY: SHAYLA WILLOWS- ANTON'S INNOCENCE

-I promise you that Anton is innocent.

-He was driving a car with the victim in the passenger's seat.

-Another car slammed into the front of his car, and he fell unconscious.

-The victim was dead almost instantly, and a tall person walked in front of the car.

-He came from the other car! He must have killed the victim!

Ms. Shields looks at her. "Could you see who this person was?" she asked.

Shayla shook her head, fan fluttering slightly. "No. They wore a dark hoodie and jeans, but clothes can easily be changed."

"Ms. Shields, your cross-examination," the judge commanded.

CROSS-EXAMINATION: SHAYLA WILLOWS- ANTON'S INNOCENCE

I remembered something at this point. That woman's eyes...I had seen them in the detention center. The detective stared at me the same way: lonely, fearful, and determined of my innocence. But how did that make any sense?

-I promise you that Anton is innocent.

-He was driving a car with the victim in the passenger's seat.

I can tell Ms. Shield is flipping through the evidence. She pulled out a piece of paper: the picture of the crime scene. "Objection!"

Shayla stopped. She flapped her fan nervously, the air pushing strands of hair away from her face. "What is it, Ms. Shields?"

"Take a loot at this," Ms. Shield said, pointing out the picture of the crime scene. It has Venus in the driver's seat of a car.

Shayla gasped. It was fake; I could tell. "The crime scene..."

"The victim is clearly in the driver's seat!" Ms. Shield exclaimed.

Shayla fanned herself rapidly. "I know what I saw. And I'm sure that person rearranged things."

"What happened after that?!" Prosecutor Shield demanded. "If this crime scene we see is a fabrication, we need testimony!" I'm pretty shocked that he's not getting onto Shayla about how it's impossible.

"My memory goes fuzzy for a while, but I saw the hooded figure grab the defendant and throw him into his red car. I'm not sure how the victim got where she was, but it was probably something similar," Shayla explained.

"The crime scene is a fabrication..." Ms. Shield's voice went quiet all of a sudden. "So Anton could be innocent!"

I feel my heart sink. She didn't believe in me before...?

"Witness! You will testify about the fabrication you saw!" the judge commanded.

Shayla nodded. "I will prove that Anton is innocent through my testimony."

WITNESS TESTIMONY: SHAYLA WILLOWS- THE FABRICATION

-The hooded man carried Anton into his car.

-I peered into the car when he wasn't looking and saw so much blood from the victim...I thought I would faint.

-I saw the man look around to see if anyone was watching, but he didn't see me.

-My vision goes fuzzy here, but I saw a brown figure moving inside the car.

I stare at her. She's still trying to prove my innocence. Ms. Shield looks half relieved. I hope things turn out okay.

"Ms. Shield..." the judge began.

"I'm already ready," Ms. Shield said, sneaking Prosecutor Shield a glance. 

CROSS-EXAMINATION: SHAYLA WILLOWS- THE FABRICATION

-The hooded man carried Anton into his car.

-I peered into the car when he wasn't looking and saw so much blood from the victim...I thought I would faint.

-I saw the man look around to see if anyone was watching, but he didn't see me.

-My vision goes fuzzy here, but I saw a brown figure moving inside the car.

"Hold it!" Ms. Shield's voice startled me, so I jumped slightly. "How would you describe this brown figure?"

"It surrounded the victim and was spreading outwards slowly. It looked like melted chocolate," Shayla answered.

"I'd like you to add that to your testimony," Ms. Shield smirked. She has a plan. Maybe we aren't running into this case like headless chickens.

-The brown surrounded the victim. It looked like melted chocolate.

Ms. Shield motioned for Shayla to go back a few lines. She smirked. "Objection!" she yelled at the second statement.

Shayla flapped her fan. "What's going on?"

"You said you saw a lot of blood, but there is none at the crime scene." Ms. Shield tapped the crime scene photo.

"Then what do you propose this mystery substance is?" Prosecutor Shield asked.

"What the witness called the brown substance earlier...melted chocolate."

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A/N

Hi!

It's past midnight where I live and my throat feels like sandpaper, so good bye.

Hope you enjoyed!

-digital