Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Dual Destinies/Episode 2: The Monstrous Turnabout/Trial, Day 2

Trial begins
After the judge's opening statement, Blackquill will say that Mayor Tenma killed the alderman, and after that, Jinxie planted all the yokai evidence and prints. He will call Filch to the stand again.

Cross-Examination: The Yokai Is Jinxie
Present the Forbidden Chamber Key on the fourth statement. If Tenma swallowed the key, Jinxie couldn't have gone into the Forbidden Chamber, so someone else must've opened it. Before you can accuse anyone, you'll need to provide evidence. Present the Hand Cream. Apollo will ask for a fingerprint test. Surprisingly, they find Filch's prints on the cream, not L'Belle's! He will explain that during the boxing match, he got bored and disguised himself as Tenma Taro, using the superstitions to render himself invisible, and entered the Forbidden Chamber through an air vent to look for treasure.

He says he disposed of the costume afterwards, but the police never found it, so where did he get rid of it? Present the open window in the right. He asks for proof. Present the Special Edition Paper. With this, the yokai is proven to be a fake and Jinxie's proven unrelated, but no progress about the mayor.

Filch says that he got out of the chamber when the door suddenly opened, blinding him. That's why he left those tracks, but he didn't actually see the person's face. Blackquill now claims it was Tenma himself that opened the door. Before the judge can render a verdict, Athena objects, with Apollo backing her to say someone's alibi no longer holds. When asked who, present Florent L'Belle's profile. If Filch's alibi was a fake, then L'Belle's is called into question as well. Much to Blackquill's annoyance, L'Belle will take the stand after a recess.

Recess
This recess is a short one. The showdown against L'Belle is up next.

L'Belle's Testimony: What L'Belle Saw
After some brief moments of comedy, L'Belle will say the mayor confessed to the murder right at the scene. Blackquill will also break his shackles. Again. Also as a minor cultural reference, his hair is green and is wearing a purple suit. Doesn't he remind you of a famous villain in another world?

Cross-Examination: What L'Belle Saw
Present Jinxie's Statement on the fifth statement. If L'Belle really fled down the hallway, he would've crossed paths with Jinxie. L'Belle now says he lied to avoid false accusations, and gives his testimony again.

Cross-Examination: In the Fox Chamber
Press the fourth statement. Ask L'Belle about the murder weapon. He will mention both the spear and an "inspiring" statue. When asked, say this is very important. A new statement will be added.


 * A statue had fallen to the floor. It was a token of goodwill celebrating the municipal merger.

Present the Fox and Demon Statue on this new statement. The only place and time L'Belle could've seen the statue's original form is inside the Fox Chamber at the time of the murder! Blackquill shoots down this claim, saying the alderman might've shown him the statue. Not only that, Jinxie never saw L'Belle inside that room. Before the judge can call a verdict, Tenma suddenly takes the stand to give his testimony.

Tenma's Testimony: The Ruler of Demonkind
Similar to how Jinxie's emotions clouded her vision, Tenma might be mistaking something for the yokai because of an unusual emotion. Time to do some analytical psychology.

Mood Matrix: Damian Tenma
On the fourth statement, pinpoint his happiness. Tenma says a creaking sound and a beam of light caused him that joy. This means the mayor wasn't in the Fox Chamber at the time of the murder. Present the Forbidden Chamber. He suddenly remembers seeing both the Tenma Taro statue and the Amazing Nine-Tails.

On the fourth statement, pinpoint the sadness. He says that he felt sad as soon as he saw the Amazing Nine-Tails's red cape. The noise will reduce to 20%. He might be mistaking something for something else, so you need to present evidence that contradicts the image in the Mood Matrix.

Present the Amazing Nine-Tails Glossy on the fourth statement. The wrestler doesn't wear any cape, so he couldn't have seen one. Was there something red that could cause sadness? Present the Crime Photo.

Blackquill objects, saying Jinxie never saw the Amazing Nine-Tails there, she saw her father. When asked if you can explain this inconsistency, say "Yes, I can". Apollo claims that L'Belle was at the scene, and Jinxie didn't see him because L'Belle was disguised as Tenma. How would that work?

Apollo now recalls some of the things Jinxie mentioned during the investigation, and realizes that Tenma has a secret identity. Present the Amazing Nine-Tails Mask. Tenma himself is, in fact, the Amazing Nine-Tails in order to oppose L'Belle's threats without putting Jinxie at risk. Before Tenma can confirm this, L'Belle returns with a new hair color and threatens to bring ruin to Nine-Tails Vale by exposing Tenma Taro's true form.

L'Belle's Testimony: The Amazing Nine-Tails's True Identity
Without the mayor's admission, this case will go nowhere. You have to disprove L'Belle's threats.

Cross-Examination: The Amazing Nine-Tails's True Identity
Press the fifth statement. Tenma Taro is a Forbidden Chamber treasure that's been kept secret through the superstitions! L'Belle says disaster will repeat as long as it exists, the greed it inspires will bring disaster. He will add this to his testimony.


 * TRAGEDY is DOOMED to repeat as long as Tenma Taro exists.

Present the Azuki Kozo Figure on this new statement. Filch's ancestor stole the treasure, meaning Tenma Taro's influence will no longer exist! Hearing this, Tenma admits he's The Amazing Nine-Tails, and explains Tenma Taro's actually a gold ingot. It seems you're about to close the case, but Blackquill intervenes, claiming you have no conclusive evidence. Answer "Of course I do".

Finding conclusive evidence
L'Belle says there's no evidence left in the crime scene, but what about outside the crime scene? The Amazing Nine-Tails Mask was found washed up near a river, with a white hair inside it, and if the alderman never was the Amazing Nine-Tails, then the hair must belong to Florent L'Belle!

Apollo will claim the white hair is L'Belle's, but both Blackquill and L'Belle deny it. When asked, present Couleur Me L'Belle! to solve the remaining riddles. L'Belle will break down and end up in massive debt.

Damian Tenma is found...



What really happened
Florent L'Belle worked as Mayor Damian Tenma's aide, and also had his own line of beauty products. Due to his extreme narcissism, he advertised his products, but refused to actually sell them to the public. This left him in huge debt with no means of repaying. After threatening Alderman Rex Kyubi through his hospitalized wife, he found out about the true nature of the yokai "Tenma Taro". It was actually a golden ingot inside the Forbidden Chamber that could very easily free him of his debts. L'Belle started anonymously blackmailing Mayor Tenma, coercing him into pushing a municipal merger between Tenma Town and Nine-Tails Vale. His daughter Jinxie Tenma's life would be in danger if he refused, so he pushed for the merger. Eventually, Mayor Tenma created a secret identity: The Amazing Nine-Tails in order to battle L'Belle's merger without risking Jinxie's life.

L'Belle started formulating a plan to speed up the merger and get to the gold faster: Alderman Kyubi and Mayor Tenma would have a meeting in the Fox Chamber, and there, he would kill the alderman and pin it on Tenma. Following the guilty sentence, he would expose the Amazing Nine-Tails's identity and crush any opposition against the merger.

On the day of that meeting, L'Belle brought coffee laced with sleeping pills to the Fox Chamber. The two men let him in as L’Belle gave them their coffee. Shortly afterwards, both men fell asleep from drinking it. L'Belle then proceeded lock the room from the inside and stab Kyubi on the chest with a spear, killing him. After that, he moved Tenma inside the Forbidden Chamber.

Meanwhile, the mansion caretaker Phineas Filch was watching a wrestling match on TV, but got bored. He then disguised himself as Tenma Taro and entered the Forbidden Chamber through an air vent, attempting to steal the gold. (Which was actually stolen by his grandfather long before) He dropped a L'Belle brand hand cream in the process.

L'Belle disguised himself as Tenma and put on the Amazing Nine-Tails's mask, letting out a scream to attract Jinxie to the scene. There, he "confessed" to killing the alderman, leading Jinxie to believe it was her father that confessed. After Jinxie left, L'Belle opened the Forbidden Chamber, startling Filch, who ran away into the corridor. (Leaving bloody prints and feathers, and scaring Jinxie in the process) He later disposed of the costume through an open window, which was mistaken for a real flying Tenma Taro.

L'Belle then took Tenma out of the Forbidden Chamber and planted his fingerprints on the spear. As Tenma was regaining his consciousness, he swallowed the forbidden chamber key from L’Belle, but was then knocked out from a blow to the head from a statue that was meant to represent the merger. Finally, he removed the disguise and threw the Amazing Nine-Tails Mask out a window, not noticing one of his hair getting stuck on the mask, which would later turn out to be his downfall.

After the trial
Now that the merger is no longer an issue and with L'Belle behind bars, peace can return to Nine-Tails Vale. Tenma wonders about what will happen with his secret identity, but fans have gathered outside to celebrate! Present the Amazing Nine-Tails Mask. The Wright Anything Agency crew go for a bowl of noodles.

This case had the Dark Age of Law so far... but the next case would bring it much closer.