//------------------------------// // Chapter 39: Kyle Bucy: Ace Attorney! Turnabout Forgiveness: Day 3 // Story: Le Retour // by k12314 //------------------------------// CHAPTER 39 This is it! All will be revealed in this chapter. Did you guess who the killer was? You're about to find out. I heard my ears ringing, and I put my hand on the side of my head. "Oh man... What happened?" I rolled over, and pushed myself onto my feet. My vision was a little shaky at first, but I managed to steady myself. "Ugh... My head... The killer... He knocked me out, and kidnapped me... Who was it..." I remembered two ponies wearing hardhats, one was Hoops, the other... I couldn't remember. The memory was fuzzy. "Damn..." I slammed my fist against the stone wall. "DAMN! I almost had him... And now I'm locked down here... I was so close. I'm sorry, Hoops... I let you down... Good going, Kyle, you really messed up this time. Hoops is going to be on death row for this! You've just cost an innocent pony his life..." I slumped down against the wall, and hung my head. I was in a stone room, with a wooden door, which I was assuming was locked. I was going to be murdered after the trial. I leaned my head back against the wall, and closed my eyes. "How am I gonna get outta this mess?" I checked my pockets. I still had the evidence with me. The metal shards, and the knife's handle. I didn't have the picture, of course. "Well, that does me a whole lotta good... I guess I just have to hope somepony saves me." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ (Third Person) "Woah, Dash! Slow down! I'm not in the best shape, here..." Horseshoe was struggling to keep up with Dashie, who was frantically searching for Kyle in the area around the crime scene. "I can't slow down! He didn't come home last night, and there's a murderer on the loose! I can't just take my time! We gotta find him! What if he's hurt... Or worse?!" Dashie became even more hectic after that, and Horseshoe understood why. What he didn't understand, is why Kyle wasn't a the crime scene. "Where did that guy go...? Wait. He didn't... Oh no." (Listen to this) "DASH! WE HAVE A PROBLEM!" Dashie halted in mid-air, and landed in front of the detective. "What?! What's wrong?!" Horseshoe started sweating. "Remember when I warned Kyle not to go check out the abandoned apartments near here...?" Dashie nodded. "Yeah. Why- Oh no. No, no no no NO NO NO! What if the killer was still there! Who knows what he did to Kyle!" Horseshoe bolted off at full sprint towards the apartments. "Exactly! Come one, we've gotta-" Dashie blasted ahead of him at full speed. "Hurry... WAIT FOR ME!" (Stop the music) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ (First Person) "How the hell am I gonna get out of here? Stone walls... Only one window that's WAY too small for me to fit through... And a locked door. Seems impenetrable to me." I rubbed my chin, trying to think of an escape. I'd regained my confidence, and was ready to find the killer, and give him what he rightfully deserves. "MAN my head hurts... And this thinking isn't helping. At least I don't have amnesia. That would just be... Awful." I thought I heard something come from above me, but when I focused, I didn't hear it again. "Hm... I'm underground... A bit. I wonder... What if I'm in the basement of the apartments?But then why would this room be here...? It may have just been a storage closet. That would make sense. The door is just one of those stupid ones that locks on the outside only." I heard more scuffling above me, and this time, when I listened, I could just barely make out voices. They were saying something about coming downstairs. "Who the heck...? What if it's some buddies of the murderer? Oh, great... Just great." I stood in the center of the room, ready to at least try to make an escape. I raised my fists, ready to wail on whoever came in the door. I saw the handle jigling a bit, but the door didn't unlock. I heard the voices continue, but I couldn't make any of it out, asides from them stating the obvious fact that the door is locked. BANG Something, or somepony, slammed into the door. It buckled a bit, but stayed strong. "They're not friends of the murderer... It must be Dashie and Horseshoe! Oh man they're gonna be mad at me... Oh well!" I started kicking at the door, and it was pretty effective. I saw dents and cracks forming in the frame and around the hinges, and eventually... CRASH The door fell off of the hinges, and I saw Horseshoe and Dashie standing there, their faces a mix of worry and anger. Dashie was the first to confront me. "What were you thinking?! You could have been killed!" I crossed my arms. "I need more evidence. I'm sorry I put myself at risk, but I just can't lose this. I don't think you realize the seriousness of the situation. If I don't win this, Hoops will be executed for a murder he didn't commit. I need to win this. Hoops' life is in my hands." Dashie calmed down a bit, and nodded slowly. Horseshoe let out a long sigh. "Yeesh, bub. You always this intense?" I nodded. "Yes, yes I am. Now come on. We need to go upstairs. I want to see if the murderer left anything. He most likely tried to clear the place out after catching me." Horseshoe nodded in agreement, and then cocked his eyebrow. "Wait, he knocked you out, right? Did you see him?" I shook my head, and frowned. "Sadly, he snuck up behind me, and hit me over the head. I saw a picture of him and Hoops, but I can't remember it... The memory's all fuzzy. I think that has something to do with having a large chunk of wood bashed over my head..." I rubbed the back of my head, where there was a big welt. "Oh~... Goose egg... Hey, wait a minute... What time is it?" Horseshoe took a cheap-looking pocket watch. "It's about... 8:45 in the morning. We've got a couple of hours before the case. Come on, let's get upstairs." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ (Listen to this) Dashie looked around the "hideout floor" of the apartment complex. "Yeesh, this place sure took a beating." Horseshoe nodded. "Yeah, no kidding... This guy really is crazy." I cocked my eyebrow. "What was your first clue? The fact that he's a murderer, or the fact that he attacked me, and then locked me in the basement? Now come on, lets split up- Wait, no, that's a really stupid idea. It NEVER works in the movies, and it usually results in someone getting killed. Lets stick together. That's the smart thing to do." Dashie and Horseshoe looked at each other, and shrugged. "They probably think I'm nuts right now... What the hell. Alright, now then... That living room. That was the only place where I saw anything important." I headed towards said living room, and sure enough, it was almost completely empty. The only thing left was... "The picture...!" I picked it up, but the frame was empty, and the glass on it was smashed. "DAMMIT. Oh well, I could probably use this against the witnesses Guilt's gonna call. I KNOW one of them will be the killer, and if not..." I swallowed hard, knowing that I was being very risking letting my case ride on the chance that the murderer turns up on the stand. "Well, if you don't take any risks, you don't get any rewards. I just hope I'm right about all of this..." Horseshoe looked around the room a bit. "It doesn't look like there's much here." Dashie lifted a loose bit of cloud, and smiled. "Oh, but there is. It's a plaque from the Weather Factory. The nameplate is gone, but the plaque... It might be useful." I nodded, and took it. "Right. I can use it to unnerve the killer, just like I'm gonna use the rest of my evidence on him. Eventually, he'll snap, and he'll end up spilling his guts to us. That's how these things go." Horseshoe grunted. "Yeah, but what if the killer isn't even on the stand?" I closed my eyes, and furrowed my brow. "I thought of that... That's why I'm trusting Guilt Trip to make the right decisions, and bring in the right witnesses." Dashie stared at me like I was insane. "You're trusting that creep? Come on! He's probably gonna bring in bogus witnesses and shoot our case down." I shook my head. "No. I know his type. He just wants the truth revealed, nothing more, nothing less. He's a bit of a snob, sure, but he's a good pony nonetheless. I trust him, and I just hope I'm placing my trust properly." They both just stared at me, but their eyes told me that they trusted my decision. "I have some of the best friends ever..." Dashie looked around the room a little bit. "I think we're done here." Horseshoe nodded. "Yeah. Whaddya say, bub? Should we leave, or should we pick around in here for another minute or two?" I stuffed my hands in my pockets. "I think we're done here. Come on, lets go get ready for the trial." (Stop the music) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ (Listen to this) "Alright... This is gonna go well... You'll be fine... Holy crap I'm nervous..." I shook my head, and Dashie rubbed my back with her hoof. "Calm down, Kyle... You'll be alright! Sheesh, you're acting like it's the end of the world." I rubbed my face, and cracked my neck. "I know I need to calm down, but I'm just really freaked out. What if I lose this? Hoops-" Dashie covered my mouth with her hoof. "Shut up, and calm yourself. You'll be fine. I mean, come on, this is you we're talking about. You've pulled some pretty slick tricks in there, I doubt you couldn't do it again. I believe in you." She smiled. It was a sweet, trusting smile. She knew I could do it, and she was right. "Alright... Calm down... You've got this..." I leaned back, and let out a long sigh, and ran a hand across my hair. "Alright... I'm good. I'm calm... I'm cool..." Dashie gave me a quick hug. "Good. Now, what's the plan?" I cracked my knuckles, and then my back. "Alright. So what I'm gonna do, is instead of try to press the witnesses for information or contradict them, I'm going to show them evidence like the knife handle, the plaque, the picture frame... Things like that. If the witness I show them to is the killer... They'll react. It's as simple as that." "A very clever plan, Mr. Bucy." Guilt Trip's voice came from beside me, and it almost gave me a heart attack. "WOAH! Man, don't do that! You scared the heck out of me..." He chuckled. "Terribly sorry. I do like your plan though. Now, I came to tell you that I've got two witnesses who worked closely with Hoops. They are both stallions, and seem like the thuggish type." I grinned. "Thanks. I'm assuming you can't tell me their names?" He shook his head. "I cannot." I shrugged. "That's fine. I'll learn them in there anyways." The guard tapped me on the shoulder, and Guilt Trip gave me a nod goodbye before heading back to the prosecutor's lounge. I took a deep breath, and headed into the courtroom. (Stop the music) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ (Listen to this) The judge cleared his throat. "Court is now in session. Is the prosecution ready?" Guilt nodded. "Yes, Your Honor." The judge looked at me, and stared for a moment. "Is the defense ready?" I nodded. "Yes, Your Honor. Always." "Then the prosecution may make its opening statement." Guilt gave me a small grin, before putting on his serious face again. "Well, I have called in two witnesses from the Weather Factory. A Mr. Tornado, and a Mr. Dumb-Bell. They both work with the defendant, and are waiting for us as we speak. May I call my first witness, Your Honor?" The judge nodded. "Go ahead." "The the prosecution calls Mr. Tornado to the stand." A blue pegasus, with a blonde mane, and yellow eyes, wearing a white work shirt, and matching hard hat, came to the stands. Guilt Trip leaned down on his desk. "Name and occupation, please." "My name is Tornado, and I work at the weather factory, mainly making rainbows, but I help the other departments from time to time." Guilt nodded, satisfied. "Would you like to tell me who you think killed Mr. Lightning?" Tornado nodded, and suddenly furrowed his brow, a very serious expression on his face. (Stop the music, listen to this now) "Well, I don't think Hoops did it. I know you all suspect me, but I swear, I didn't do it either. He may have... 'Messed with' my sister, and broke her heart, but I couldn't kill anypony! I promise! I mean, he was a bad pony, and he didn't exactly consider anypony's feelings, but... I don't understand why somepony killed him." I slouched forward, and stared at him. "It's as if he wants me to suspect him." Guilt slammed his hoof on his desk. "You do realize you just established a motive for yourself, and you've made yourself sound very suspicious with your opinion of Mr. Lightning." The judge nodded. "I agree. Now... The defense may begin it's cross examination." "Alright, lets do this." I slammed my hands on my desk. "Mr. Tornado!" He recoiled a bit, and started to sweat. "Y-Yes?" I pulled out the knife handle, the plaque, and the picture frame. "Do any of these items mean anything to you?" He looked them over, and blinked once when he saw the knife handle. "Hey, that's the handle to my knife! I was wondering where that thing went." I stared at him like he was crazy. "Wow. You're a really good criminal, you know that?" The judge furrowed his brow. "Hm... Very suspicious. I say that the bailiff take the witness in to holding until he is otherwise proven un-suspicious." The bailiff, a large, brown stallion, wearing a police uniform, stared down Tornado, who said nothing, but hung his head, and followed the bailiff out of the courtroom. Guilt tapped his hoof on his desk. "I call my next witness. Mr. Dumb-Bell." Suddenly, a large, dark-brown pony, with a light cream mane, and a dumb-bell as a Cutie Mark burst into the courtroom, carrying a certain swagger about him. He was wearing the same uniform as Tornado. "Seems like a show-off to me..." Guilt cocked his eyebrow. "Name and occupation... Please..." Dumb-Bell snorted, and raised his head to appear as if he were looking down on all of us. "The name's Dumb-Bell. I work at the Weather Factory, and I'm the best worker they've got." "Yep. Show-off. Big time." The judge seemed surprised at Dumb-Bell's arrogance. "Right... Defense?" I nodded. "Yes, Your Honor... So, Dumb-Bell..." "What?" I showed him the plaque first. "What does this mean to you?" He grinned. "It's a plaque for 'Employee of the Month' down at the factory. I've got a load of them at home." I slouched forward again, and stared at him. "I doubt that, Dumb-Bell." "Alright..." I pulled out the knife handle. "What about this?" He cocked his eyebrow. "What's that? It looks like a handle to something." I rubbed my chin. "So he doesn't know about the knife handle... Interesting." I leaned down on my desk. "Alright, enough with the displays. Dumb-Bell, what is your opinion of the defendant?" "Who, Hoops? I think he's a pushover. There's some mare he likes, and she's a goodie-goodie-two-shoes. Not hot at all. I think he's going soft." "So he doesn't like Hoops... I can't tell which one of these guys really did it... I still have the picture frame, but I'd better keep pushing for more info, so I can make a solid connection." "Alright, Dumb-Bell... What about Lightning? What do you think of him?" He shrugged. "He's a pimp. He goes around, bucking any mare that he can get his hooves on. He's a creep, too. Always trying to steal mares from other stallions..." He gritted his teeth a little bit. "Wait... He steals mares... AHA!" I slammed my hands down on the desk, and glared at Dumb-Bell. "So... He steals mares... I heard that one of Hoops' friends got his mare snatched away from him not too long ago." He tried to keep a straight face, but I could tell that got to him. "Alright... I have my suspicions... But still, I can't be sure if this is our guy." Dumb-Bell let out a sigh, and nodded. "Yeah... He stole my marefriend. I'm pretty peeved about it, but that's no reason to kill somepony." I nodded in agreement. "True. Now..." I pulled out the picture frame. "Ever seen this before?" He shrugged again. "Yeah, it's mi-" His eyes widened, and he stopped himself mid-sentence. (Stop the music, listen to this now) I grinned, and put my hands on my hips. "Ah, so this is yours, huh? Funny, because I found it in the hideout of the murder." The judge stared at me. "What?!" I nodded. "Yes, Your Honor. The abandoned apartment complex, just down the street from the scene of the crime." The judge closed his eyes, and thought about that. "Yes... Yes, it was abandoned a few years ago. Continue, Mr. Bucy." I shrugged, and held my arms out in front of me in a matter of fact way. "It's quite simple. The hoofprints that seemed too big to belong to Hoops? They belong to Mr. Dumb-Bell here. He's slightly bigger than Hoops, he'd fit, I bet. And the handle of the knife that belongs to Mr. Tornado... Dumb-Bell borrowed the knife, hoping he might be able to pin it on Tornado." Dumb-Bell winced a bit. I'd cornered him. "And leaving the body... He's friends with Hoops. He knew Hoops walked that way to get home every day after work, and he knew Hoops would see the body, so he alerted the guards right after committing the murder! He's just been trying to dump all of this on his friends!" Dumb-Bell glared at me, and just shook his head. "OK... So how can you prove all of that?" I leaned down on my desk. I felt something brewing in my head. "His voice... The picture... The killer attacking me..." Then, I remembered the picture. "Oh, it's quite simple... Can I have the picture?" Dumb-Bell's eyes widened, and he started to sweat. "W-What picture?" I looked to the bailiff. "Could you search him, please?" And the bailiff did just that. Sure enough, Dumb-Bell had a picture in his shirt's pocket, and I took it. Just as I'd suspected, Dumb-Bell was the other stallion in the picture. "I've got you now..." "Look! I found this frame in the murderer's hideout last night, and this picture was in the frame. I had it with me... Until the murderer knocked me out. I have a welt on the back of my head to prove that." The judge looked to Dumb-Bell, and back to me. "But-" The bailiff checked, and he looked to the judge, and nodded. "Oh my word..." I smiled, and lifted the picture and the frame in front of me, and put the picture in. It was a perfect fit, and the picture had small cuts on it where the glass from the frame was smashed, and the picture was yanked out. Dumb-Bell just stared, shocked at my discoveries. (Stop the music, listen to this now) I slammed my hands down on the desk, and stared straight into Dumb-Bell's eyes. "You've only got one option now... Confess. Give up. I've got you." Dumb-Bell leaned down on the witness stand, and clenched his eyes shut, and started shaking. "You... You think you've got me? What do you know, huh?" I crossed my arms. "The truth." He flicked his head up, and stared at me, gritting his teeth, his eyes the size of pins. "AND HOW CAN YOU BE SO SURE?! YOU HAVEN'T WON YET! I'M NO MURDERER!" I shook my head, and tapped my temple. "Face it, I've followed all of my leads, and come to a logical conclusion.You killed Lighting because he stole your marefriend, and tried to frame your friend. You disgust me." He started to sweat, and then pounded his hooves on the stand over and over again. "NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! HOW COULD YOU HAVE FIGURED ALL OF THIS OUT! I PLANNED IT ALL! IT WAS PERFECT! How did you... I don't understand. I thought I'd covered all of my tracks..." I chuckled. "You did. But you covered them with bright red paint, my friend." He rested his head on the stand for a second or two, breathing heavily, until he composed himself, and looked out over the room. "Alright... You got me. I did it. I give up... Take me away." (Stop the music) Dashie looked up at me, and smiled. "You did it!" I looked down at her. "I did... You were pretty quiet today, what's up?" She shook her head, and smiled. "You're the attorney here, not me." I smiled, and ruffled her mane a bit. "I have one last thing to say to you..." Dumb-Bell stared at me, a sinister smile on his face. "Just know, that by proving that I did it, you've condemned me to die. I'm going to be executed... And it's all thanks to you... I hope you're happy. Just imagine, my mother crying, as my head rolls from the chopping block-" The bailiff nudged him, and frog-marched him out of the courtroom. (Listen to this (Do not replay when it ends)) I just stared at him. "He's right... I just killed him, right there. He's a dead pony walking now..." The judge shook his head. "That's that, then... I declare the defendant, Hoops Basket..." NOT GUILTY. Dashie pulled me into a big hug. "You did it! You saved Hoops!" I nodded, and swallowed hard. "Yeah... But at the cost of another pony's life..." "Hey, bub. Don't let it get to you." Horseshoe stood in front of me, and he had a smile on his face. "You did a good thing today. You saved the life of an innocent pony, and got rid of a killer. Be happy. Come on, lets get out of here." I followed Dashie and Horseshoe out of the courtroom, but I wasn't really there. My mind was clouded, and I was unsure of whether I'd done something truly right or not. "Sure, I've saved Hoops... But I just put another pony to death... I... I don't know what to think right now. Am I a savior... Or a murderer?" I felt a hoof connect with my side. "Hey, Kyle... Somepony wants to talk to you." Dashie had a big grin on my face. The pony in question was none other than Hoops. (Listen to this) He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Hey..." I grinned. "Hey. How does it feel to know that you're free again?" He smiled. "Pretty good. Thanks for going through all of that for me. I don't know how to thank you. Even after everything I did, you still helped me." I shrugged. "Hey, it's what I do. I knew that you couldn't have killed anypony. You just don't have it in you." He chuckled a bit, and nodded. "Yeah, I really don't. Still... How did you manage to figure all of that out?" "Logic." I looked at Dashie and Horseshoe. "I had a little help, too. You should be thanking all of us, not just me." He nodded to them. "Well, thank you all, then. And Kyle..." I cocked my eyebrow. "Yeah?" He hung his head. "Sorry. For everything." I clasped my hand down on his shoulder, and smiled. "No problem, dude. Lets just put all of that behind us..." I let go, and held out my hand for a hoofshake. "Friends?" He stared at me, and then to my hand. He smiled, and it widened until it was ear-to-ear. He grabbed my hand, and shook. "Friends." Yay! Happy ending. So, I bet none of you saw that coming, huh? If any of you guessed anything like "Dumb-Bell" or "That pony Hoops was with in that episode" or anything like that, then congratulations, you've solved the case! I hope you all had as much fun reading that as I had writing it. If it seems at all weird anywhere, blame the fact that I decided to write this at 3:30 in the morning. INSOMNIA, YAY. And I hate going back and changing things I write, so... Yeah. WELL. THAT WAS FUN. Maybe I'll finally find something productive to do with my time... Maybe, do my homework? Yeah, right...