The Grand Turnabout

"Miles Edgeworth"

- I, too, know that feeling... The feeling of losing what's important to you and being unable to believe in anything.

Episode 5: The Grand Turnabout is the fifth and final episode of Gyakuten Kenji 2. Still reeling from the resolution of his previous investigation, Miles Edgeworth and Kay Faraday are thrust into yet another murder scene, this time of President Teikun Ō of Zheng Fa. In addition to this, a child is kidnapped, and the duo go on a mission to find him before time runs out. This final case takes Edgeworth on a soul-searching journey as he helps Yumihiko Ichiyanagi confront his father, investigates a 12-year-old murder case, and finds the mastermind behind the events of the game.

Intro
In the dead of night at the Big Tower, steady tremors can be heard. As the view moves to the hidden evidence storage room, the noise becomes louder and more regular, sounding almost like giant footsteps. A giant eye suddenly comes into view, leering through the window of the room. The tremors become even more violent as the camera pans over the viewing platform. The next scene is a lone child with horns, standing outside the skyscraper's entrance, glowing an eerie red. Afterward, the Great Monster Borumosu appears and lets out a moo-like bellow.

Beginning, Part 1
"Shelly de Killer"

- I received a request from a curious individual, to take the president's life...


 * April 6, 10:02 a.m.

Miles Edgeworth, Kay Faraday and Lotta Hart finally left the Big Tower, each wondering what Edgeworth would do next. The loose ends from the case that he had just solved, as well as Shelly de Killer's words, were still nagging at his mind. Suddenly, a terrified Penny Nichols ran up to them, screaming for help. The three followed her to a nearby Global Studios temporary film lot where they discovered Shi-Long Lang examining the corpse of Teikun Ō.

Post-mortem

 * 10:05 a.m.

Hart seemed particularly obsessed with Borumosu. She explained that she had seen Borumosu's eye peering through the storeroom window as she was taking the photo of Tsubasa Kagome. Edgeworth decided to leave her alone, and noticed a camera crane and a waterproof sheet nearby. Nichols said that the sheet had been used to cover the camera the previous day due to the overcast weather.

According to Lang, he had heard a scream coming from inside the film lot, so he had run inside through the rear entrance from the Big Tower lot. He had arrived to see Nichols racing out of the front entrance. Edgeworth took a closer look at the rear entrance. The chain locking it had been cut, and the fence beside it had been struck by something heavy, denting it.

Lang explained that the president had been close to his family, especially his father. President Ō had even entrusted his will to the Lang clan. However, 12 years ago, the president had changed drastically, and stopped trusting the police force of Zheng Fa, opting for private security. Even so, Lang respected the president for carrying Zheng Fa on his strength, and vowed to bring the criminal to justice.

It appeared as if the body had been stepped on by a monster. There was a yellow stain on the chest area. Edgeworth also made note of the three "footprints" made by the broken concrete that exposed the ground.

At first, Nichols had believed the "footprints" to be a new addition to the set. Her eyesight was not very good even with her glasses, so she had to get up close to discover the dead body. Apparently, Global Studios was making a film based on the TV series The Great Monster Borumosu. It would be a revival of the series after 12 years, featuring Gourdy as a rival monster.

A combination lock had been used on the front entrance. Nichols confirmed that it had been undisturbed. Edgeworth deduced from this that the culprit had not known the combination to the front entrance, and had used the rear entrance instead. This meant that whoever had broken into the set was not part of the film crew.

Edgeworth noticed a horn near the body. Nichols confirmed that it was part of a horn belonging to a Borumosu head prop from the studio roof. Edgeworth thought about the dent again and concluded that the head had fallen off the roof. He speculated that the head had crushed the president to death, and requested an investigation of the roof.

Lang eventually left, and as he did so, Shimon Aizawa, the lead actor in the movie, arrived on the scene. Faraday introduced herself to him and learned from Nichols about his role in the movie. Apparently, the president had been scheduled to make a small cameo in the film. Aizawa gave Nichols a photo of the film lot that had been taken the day before. The footprints were nowhere in sight.

Edgeworth investigated the studio roof. According to Nichols, the head prop was based off of Borumosu's original design, and could be dismantled for easy transport. Edgeworth recognized this design from the Borumosu doll that the president had. The head was supposed to be on a table, but the table's legs had burnt off. Edgeworth determined that a small fire had occurred, causing the table to break off and the head to fall to the ground below.

Lang returned with some officers and the president's bodyguards. The local police had agreed to allow Lang to assist in the investigation. He had obtained security footage from the Big Tower viewing platform, showing the president and Hakari Mikagami entering on April 4 at 11:05 p.m. The president had specifically requested that the viewing platform be restricted to him and Mikagami. That was the last that anyone had seen of him.

Lang had learned that Edgeworth was no longer a prosecutor, and asked why he was still trying to investigate. Edgeworth answered that his title did not motivate him to investigate. Just as Lang had a stake in the investigation regardless of his status as Interpol agent, Edgeworth was chasing someone who was hiding in the shadows. Lang felt it fitting that he and Edgeworth were still butting heads, despite having lost their prestige.

Dragon Variation
Lang argued that Mikagami had pushed the president off the roof. However, Edgeworth showed Aizawa's photo from yesterday, and no body was in sight. Moreover, the chain to the back entrance had only been broken the previous night, so Mikagami could not have entered the film lot to hide the body. Nonetheless, Lang said that the security footage showed Mikagami leaving alone, but not the president.

Edgeworth suggested an alternative route: the 51st floor storeroom. The idea of the president being somehow involved with the black market auction offended Lang greatly, and Edgeworth remembered that only a select few people had seen President Ō's true self. Nonetheless, Hart testified that the president had never passed through the storeroom. It seemed that there was more to President Ō's disappearing act than it first seemed.

When the police came to take the body away for autopsy, one of the officers informed Lang that small footprints had been found nearby. Suddenly, Nichols told them that she had entered the film lot last night to check up on Aizawa, who was practicing. There, she had seen him talking to a long, white neck, like Gourdy. Edgeworth and Lang knew that they had to talk to Aizawa, but it seemed he had slipped out moments ago.

En passant

 * 10:54 a.m.

Aizawa was nowhere to be found. Outside the Big Tower entrance, Edgeworth encountered Dick Gumshoe, who ran as soon as he saw him. Lang left to continue to look for Aizawa. Faraday noticed that one of Lang's MiBs was standing nearby. The man explained that Lang's team had been disbanded after he almost aided and abetted a criminal. He also mentioned Lang chasing a ghost from 12 years ago, but would not elaborate on it.

Edgeworth and Faraday decided to question Mikagami. At the moment, she was presiding over the trial of Marī Miwa for the murder of Manosuke Naitō. The duo headed to the courthouse.

Beginning, Part 2
"Miles Edgeworth"

- We have sufficient information about your past. I doubt you had a motive to kill Naitō. Rather, you are probably the most affected by his death. And I doubt someone as timid as you could work up the courage to murder someone. Alright. I'll get you out of here. ...We'll believe in you.


 * 11:23 a.m.

Court was in session. Franziska von Karma and Tateyuki Shigaraki had taken over Yumihiko Ichiyanagi and the late Tsubasa Kagome, respectively. Marī Miwa was called to the stand, acting confidently. As von Karma was making her opening statement, she found that the murder weapon and Ryōken Hōinbō's chisel had both gone missing. To everyone's surprise, Hakari Mikagami moved to end the trial, even though she knew that the evidence existed. Shigaraki eventually convinced her to adjourn the trial.

The swindle

 * 11:38 a.m.

Miles Edgeworth and Kay Faraday met the two attorneys in the 3rd Floor Lobby. Regina Berry and Sōta Sarushiro had also come to watch the trial. Edgeworth tried to calm von Karma down while discussing the situation with Shigaraki. It was agreed that the attorneys would stall the trial until Edgeworth retrieved the key evidence. As the attorneys left, Edgeworth made to look for Yumihiko when Mikagami entered the lobby. He informed her of the situation with the president, but she refused to talk about her meeting with him.

Mikagami said that she was not obligated to answer Edgeworth's questions. Edgeworth determined that he should not confront her while she was hiding her feelings. She claimed that everything that she did was part of her duties, including her meeting with the president. Edgeworth pointed out that she had given Faraday's Promise Notebook back to him, purely as a gesture of kindness. Moreover, she had shown distress upon learning of the president's death. It turned out that Mikagami knew about the film lot.

Edgeworth wondered why Mikagami was more flustered than usual. He decided to talk about Yumihiko's disappearance, but Mikagami insisted that she had to render a verdict regardless of what Yumihiko was doing. She did admit that she was worried about Yumihiko's whereabouts "as well," prompting Edgeworth to ask whether she was also worried about someone else. She tried to insist that she was not swayed by personal feelings, but she was no longer convincing. Edgeworth reminded her that she was only human, but this made her even more distraught.

Edgeworth asked if she was looking for Yumihiko. She replied that Yumihiko had to deal with his problems on his own. He could always come back when he was ready, but it seemed that that was not true for a certain child. Edgeworth also asked about the president's death. It seemed that she had been surprised by the location of the death. She said that she was worried about the film crew, but Edgeworth replied that they had already found the body. Edgeworth determined from Mikagami's reactions that she was looking for Shimon Aizawa.

Edgeworth suggested that Mikagami was a fan of Aizawa's, to which she agreed. She mentioned that she had heard that the crew would be filming all day. It sounded to Edgeworth that Aizawa had told her this himself, and that she was not merely a fan. Edgeworth used this to prove that she and Aizawa were acquainted. Edgeworth asked her where he was now, but she still would not talk about it. Edgeworth realized that Aizawa had been kidnapped.

Mikagami admitted that Aizawa was her son. His kidnappers had one request: an acquttal for Miwa. For all that she had said about not letting feelings cloud her judgment, she was about to pronounce an unfair judgment based entirely on her feelings. Faraday and Edgeworth assured her that nobody would sacrifice their child for impartial judgment, and Faraday offered to steal Aizawa back. Mikagami thanked her and said that she would do her part to prolong the trial. However, the trial could only go on for two more hours, until 2:00. Edgeworth and Faraday set off posthaste.

Mysterious rook move

 * 12:10 p.m.

Edgeworth looked around for witnesses and found Will Powers, a Global Studios actor who was to play the role of Borumosu. Edgeworth learned that filming had to be done quickly, as construction was about to start in the area soon. Powers had seen Aizawa leave the filming lot and enter the nearby studio trailer, but he had disappeared thereafter. Moreover, a box had been stolen from the trailer. Edgeworth found a videotape inside the trailer, which showed Aizawa practicing by himself. A monster's footprint could be seen.

According to a nearby police officer, only a taxi and a blue truck had come through the plaza this morning, both of which were currently in the area. According to the taxi driver, the only people he had picked up were two men in black. The truck was empty. Edgeworth touched it to determine that it had been here for a while.

The poisoned pawn

 * 12:33 p.m.

Edgeworth suddenly saw Mikiko Hayami and Lotta Hart snooping around. Apparently, Hayami had been investigating Borumosu and had been in the vicinity. Edgeworth was about to show her the photo of Aizawa, but she apparently already knew who they were looking for. She claimed to have seen the boy being carried away by two men in black.

Edgeworth figured that these were the same men that had gotten into the taxi. They had stolen the box to hide the boy inside. The taxi driver confirmed that the two men had had a box with them. He offered to take Edgeworth and Faraday to the place at which he had dropped off the men.

The woodpusher

 * 12:57 p.m.

Edgeworth and Faraday found themselves at Bansai Ichiyanagi's house. The garage was open, so they decided to take a peek inside. A motorcycle greeted them, and a pair of mechanic's gloves was on the floor nearby, beside the stolen box. The gloves were stained with dirt, and had letters spelling "DEATH" on its fingers. As they were looking at the shovel on the wall, they heard a thumping noise from behind the back door. They looked inside to find Yumihiko Ichiyanagi tied up!

Yumihiko had shut himself off, and was on the verge of an emotional breakdown. Edgeworth had to find out why Yumihiko had been tied up in his own house, but in order to do that, he had to listen to Yumihiko first. Scolding or mocking Yumihiko would only cause him to blow Edgeworth off and never trust anyone again. Edgeworth had to convince Yumihiko that he was genuinely willing to listen to him.

Edgeworth said that he understood that Yumihiko was in a lot of pain because of what had happened. Edgeworth told Yumihiko that if he could not believe in others, he could at least believe in himself. Yumihiko wondered if he was incapable of being a prosecutor. Edgeworth said that it was difficult for anyone to judge his or her own abilities, but he assured Yumihiko that he was improving.

Yumihiko seemed to have calmed down somewhat. He did not know why he had been kidnapped, but he had heard one of the kidnappers say to blame the owner of this house. Bansai had been behind the kidnapping. Yumihiko also said that the kidnappers asked him whether he knew Mikagami. Edgeworth realized that the kidnappers had mistaken him for Aizawa.

Suddenly, Yumihiko remembered something and became severely distressed again. Edgeworth determined that it was about Bansai, and Yumihiko commented that this must be the skill of a real prosecutor. Edgeworth asked why Yumihiko had chosen to be a prosecutor, assuring him that he, too, had become a prosecutor for personal reasons. It turned out that Yumihiko had wanted to earn Bansai's approval.

Edgeworth asked Yumihiko if there was some connection between Bansai and Miwa. Yumihiko replied that Bansai had given Miwa the prison warden job, and had known her from his days as Chief Prosecutor. Back then, Bansai would look over every piece of evidence that went through the prosecutor's office. Because of this, Yumihiko had given the evidence for Miwa's trial to him for safekeeping. Bansai had betrayed his son to secure Miwa's acquittal.

Edgeworth had all the information that he needed, but he decided to help Yumihiko decide what to do with his life. Yumihiko wondered if he even deserved to continue as a prosecutor, but Edgeworth told him that he had to decide that himself. Edgeworth also told Yumihiko that he, too, had once run from the truth, but a friend had shown him the error of his ways. Edgeworth offered that same support to Yumihiko.

Yumihiko decided that he wanted to continue as a prosecutor. He felt that, if he quit now, he would regret it for the rest of his life. However, he wanted to be different from his father, who continued to obfuscate the truth for his own selfish ends. Edgeworth encouraged Yumihiko to pursue the path that he had chosen by himself. Suddenly, Yumihiko ran away, leaving Edgeworth still with little to offer to Miwa's trial.

The three assassins

 * 1:15 p.m.

Edgeworth decided to report to Tateyuki Shigaraki his findings on a possible connection between Bansai and Miwa. Shigaraki said that he would have Bansai take the stand. Meanwhile as Edgeworth and Faraday were talking about Bansai, Yumihiko exited the Big Tower. He bolted away as soon as he saw them. Wondering what he had been doing, the duo ended up heading back to the 51st floor to find that a safe had been opened.

The safe contained Manosuke Naitō's ring and chessboard. There was also a report ostensibly written by Miwa, detailing her intention to interrogate Naitō on his connection with Ryōken Hōinbō. Since the safe could only belong to Bansai, this established some kind of connection between the three of them. The report also mentioned retrieving something from a flowerbed from 12 years ago.

As Edgeworth and Faraday climbed back to the viewing platform, they encountered Shelly de Killer. He cryptically told them that many attempts on the president's life had been made, but he would keep coming back. He also said that his client had betrayed his trust by giving him a false target, so he had revoked his contract to kill the president. As he left, he added that Hōinbō had escaped from prison three days earlier, just as de Killer had wanted to visit him.

As the duo returned outside, they received a call from "the one in the red hood," who told Edgeworth about a plan to order Bansai to kill Tsubasa Kagome, then have Edgeworth catch him by getting Faraday involved. The voice also admitted to kidnapping Aizawa, and began taunting them, expressing a wish to see the looks on their faces. The figure knew secret details like Mikagami's meeting with Edgeworth at the detention center. An explosion was heard before the call ended.

Edgeworth and Faraday were shocked that this person knew so much about what they were doing, including the kidnapping. Since Aizawa's kidnapper could not see their faces, Edgeworth concluded that they had been bugged. He also remembered that all of his evidence had been confiscated during his stay in prison, save the Yatagarasu's Badge. Surely enough, a bug was found inside the badge.

The passed pawn

 * 1:40 p.m.

Faraday angrily shouted at the bug, startling a nearby Hayami. Faraday told her that her information had led them the wrong way. Apparently, she had not looked at the photo properly. In an effort to redeem herself, Hayami gave them a recording of what she claimed was Borumosu spewing flames. It turned out that she had recorded this by intercepting wireless communications, which also explained why Faraday had startled her. She had unwittingly intercepted the bug as well.

Berry and Sarushiro then appeared. They had been searching for Yumihiko at Sunshine Coliseum, where there were events like fireworks displays going on. Sarushiro was glad that Yumihiko had been found so soon. Edgeworth realized that the explosion from the phone call had been a fireworks explosion. The kidnapper had been near Sunshine Coliseum.

Edgeworth spotted Dick Gumshoe lurking near the taxi. He said that he was capable of investigating on his own. He had heard the conversation between Edgeworth and Bansai in the holding cell, and then had gone to examine the evidence again to produce the updated autopsy report for Kagome. As he made to leave, Edgeworth asked him, not as a prosecutor, but as a friend, to help him, even bowing to him. Unable to take Edgeworth being in this state, Gumshoe agreed.

The detective had obtained some key information. Firstly, the analysis of Faraday's clothes had revealed traces of an extremely powerful sleeping drug. Secondly, the footage of the security camera at the viewing platform did not show Faraday coming up from the elevator at all. Lastly, Gumshoe expressed his gratitude for being able to work with Edgeworth again.

Edgeworth told him about Aizawa's kidnapping. Gumshoe remembered seeing him walking into the Big Tower's garbage pickup area. Edgeworth headed there and found Aizawa's milk carton on the ground. A sign indicated that the garbage had been taken out at 11 a.m. Edgeworth deduced that the blue truck from earlier must have picked up the garbage.

Edgeworth worked through the kidnapper's plan. The blue truck had to have been a real garbage truck, since the door to the garbage storage space was locked. The kidnapper had put Aizawa into a box, so that the garbage truck would unwittingly take him to a dump. The kidnapper had then gone to the dump to collect the box, claiming that it had been thrown away by mistake. There were two garbage dumps in the vicinity, but only one was near Sunshine Coliseum.

It was almost 2:00. Gumshoe headed for the garbage dump with Faraday, while Edgeworth went to the courthouse.

Time control

 * 2:16 p.m.

Edgeworth entered Courtroom No. 3 to find Bansai denying any connection between himself and Miwa. Edgeworth presented Miwa's report on Naitō to prove the existence of a connection. However, Bansai stated that, without having proven that he was the black market auction conductor in court, Edgeworth's accusations were invalid. As long as Aizawa was still missing, Mikagami would continue to agree with Bansai.

Just then, some timely intervention arrived to scupper Bansai's plans. Yumihiko had finally arrived to confront his father. Moreover, the phone calls came in: Aizawa had been found! Yumihiko told the court that his father had thrown the evidence away, wrapped in a newspaper. Yumihiko had set off to the garbage dump to try and retrieve the evidence, only to find a piece of newspaper.

As Bansai laughed at his son's failure, Yumihiko examined the newspaper. Inside was a bell with no traces on it. Yumihiko decided to examine the newspaper itself to find a peculiar left handprint, which turned out to be from a glove. Yumihiko recognized the smell of the handprint; it was composed of motor oil.

Yumihiko realized that he could not bring himself to bring down his father. However, with Edgeworth's help, he regained his resolve and showed that Bansai's mechanic's gloves fit the handprint. The worn-out "A" on the left glove fit the handprint perfectly, and an analysis of the dirt on the gloves and newspaper would seal the deal. Yumihiko thanked his father for everything up to this point, but he no longer needed him.

The matter of Bansai Ichiyanagi's concealment of evidence would be settled at a later trial. Moreover, a search of the garbage dump would be conducted to find the knife and chisel. Mikagami moved to end the trial at that, but suddenly, Shi-Long Lang interrupted. He had no objection to the trial, since Miwa and Bansai were responsible for the events of the SS-5 Incident 12 years ago, and they had evaded justice until now. However, he wanted to investigate the scene of President Ō's murder with his two suspects, Mikagami and Aizawa.

Middle, Part 1
"The Grand Turnabout!!???"

- Thank you so much for helping with my plan! I'm glad that we can help each other get what we want. It's like killing two birds with one stone! Please get revenge for 12 years ago!


 * 2:52 p.m.

Shi-Long Lang asked Hakari Mikagami about her meeting with the president, but she still refused to answer, even under suspicion. Lang turned to Shimon Aizawa and asked him about his activities the previous night, during his rehearsal. Aizawa insisted that there was nothing out of the ordinary, but Miles Edgeworth showed the practice video that Aizawa had made, where the monster footprints could be seen. Moreover, the Borumosu head had fallen due to a fire. It seemed that Aizawa also had something to hide.

Lang noticed in the practice video that a monster costume was unzipped. Will Powers said that it would usually be zipped up when not in use. Lang argued that Aizawa was an accomplice to his mother's crime, and had hidden the body inside the monster costume. Edgeworth looked inside the costume to find dirt inside the front of the costume. This contradicted the fact that the front of the body was spotless save for the yellow stain.

Given that there were also gray bits in the costume, the dirt pattern matched up with what was found on Bansai Ichiyanagi's mechanics gloves. Edgeworth deduced that these gray fragments were concrete. Bansai had taken his hammer and shovel from his garage, broken one of the locks in order to get inside the film lot, and used his tools to create the three "footprints", all in order to dig something up. When Aizawa came in to practice, Bansai had quickly hidden himself in the costume to avoid being spotted. A bag seen in the practice video matched a same bag that was now where Yumihiko had been found.

Lotta Hart and Mikiko Hayami, who had come to confront the film crew on the Borumosu, would have none of this, pointing to Penny Nichols's Gourdy sighting. Edgeworth revealed that "Gourdy" was really the camera crane, which had been covered up with the protective sheet that now lay beside it. Due to Nichols's ever-failing eyesight, she had mistaken the sheet for scaly skin. The reporter duo had been foiled again.

A member of forensics arrived with the president's autopsy report. According to the autopsy, the victim had died the previous night from being crushed, and the time of death was last night. Traces of gunpowder had been found on his right hand, indicating that he used a gun at some point, but no weapon had been found with him. This eliminated the Big Tower fall theory, placing suspicion away from Mikagami, and squarely on Aizawa. Mr. Analysis was used to zoom in the practice video and find President Ō hidden behind the stairs of the studio building!

Aizawa admitted to accidentally causing Borumosu's head to fall. He had used the heater, but had forgotten to turn it off before practicing. Flammable cans placed near the heater had resulted in the fire. Edgeworth asked what the state of the body had been. After Edgeworth pointed out that his actions simply did not add up, Aizawa admitted that he had seen the body up close. He had not been certain that the man was dead because the clothes had been spotless. It was apparent that he was trying not to talk about the yellow stain.

Mikagami explained that, during her meeting with the president, she had brought him a bouquet of lion lilies. The yellow stain was most likely the pollen from those flowers. With that revealed, Aizawa confessed that he had found the flowers crushed on top of the body, so he had disposed of them. Although he refused to admit, he had done so to try to protect Mikagami from being suspected.

Lang pointed out that this still left Aizawa as the only suspect in the president's assassination. Edgeworth disagreed, pointing out that the boy was a victim as well. Dick Gumshoe and Kay Faraday detailed the rescue of Aizawa from inside a refrigerated warehouse. The refrigeration had been turned off, but Aizawa had been drugged. A bottle of the same sleeping pills used on Faraday had been found nearby.

It seemed that the same mysterious individual had kidnapped Faraday and Aizawa, and was involved in this case. However, with no indication as to who this person was, Edgeworth pointed out that Bansai was also somehow involved. He asked Lang about what had happened 12 years ago. It was a subject that kept popping up, notably in Miwa's report to Bansai and the fake letter to Tsubasa Kagome.

As if on cue, three of Lang's former men approached him, begging him to reopen the investigation into the SS-5 Incident. Lang tried to brush them off, saying that he was not their boss anymore, but they insisted. Lang finally agreed to reopen the case, but it would be difficult because the case files were sealed. For the moment, he detailed what he knew about the case.

The SS-5 Incident referred to the kidnapping of President Ō on February 10, 12 years ago. The last time he had been seen was at the embassy of Zheng Fa with Dairyuu Rou, at midnight on the 10th. The Zheng Fa government had hastily gathered the ransom money that the kidnappers had asked for, and the president had been returned. Dairyuu had taken responsibility for the incident and had been demoted.

Dairyuu had continued his investigation of the incident and eventually arrested Marī Miwa. However, she had been acquitted, and Dairyuu had resigned shortly thereafter. After being relieved of his men, Lang had taken up his father's case, trying to do what he could. This had been the reason for his visit to the prison over a week ago.

As Lang finished his story, Franziska von Karma and Tateyuki Shigaraki arrived with the SS-5 Incident files. Von Karma had taken interest in it after it had been mentioned in court. It turned out that Bansai had been the prosecutor in charge of that case. Since his authority had just been revoked, so had the restrictions on the case files.

According to the police files, a reporter named Ryūji Kamei had been found dead outside the Happy Family Home orphanage, where the Big Tower stood now. Everyone headed to the plaza for a Little Thief simulation.

Discovered check

 * 3:25 p.m.

A simulation was made of the crime scene as the police had discovered it at 7:22 a.m. Two sets of footprints were in the snow, a larger set belonging to Kamei and leading to the body, and a smaller set moving both toward and away from the body. On the other side, the area near the orphanage entrance was burned. On the evening before Kamei's murder, a child had spilled kerosene here and started a fire.

Lang was thinking about the flowerbeds, wondering if he had seen them before. The orphanage had had three gardens containing three flowerbeds each, and one of the flowerbeds contained a lion lily. Edgeworth realized that the "monster footprints" matched the locations of the left-side flowerbeds. Bansai had dug something up from there, as Miwa had instructed in her report about Manosuke Naitō.

The body was accompanied by a considerable amount of blood. According to the autopsy report, Kamei had been bludgeoned from behind by a brick. The telltale brick was next to the body, with a bloodstain on it. However, it could have come from just about anywhere in the garden. A bloodstained button had been found in Kamei's right hand.

Kamei's phone was nearby, and his camera was still around his neck. He had left a message for his girlfriend, Tsubasa Kagome, detailing his sighting of the president. A light had gone out, and then the call ended with a loud noise. Apparently, Kamei had been attacked during the call. His camera had only taken one photo, showing the president being held at gunpoint by an unidentifiable individual.

Faraday used the photo to recreate the scene at 1:15 a.m., when Kamei was about to be killed. Dairyuu had attemted to connect the orphanage to the kidnapping, but since the photo showed the kidnapping taking place outside the grounds, a connection was difficult to prove. Lang suspected that Bansai had been a partner in crime. If this were true, then what Bansai digged up was related to the kidnapping.

There was a snowman near the president. There was a handprint where one of its button eyes should have been. Edgeworth deduced that the Kamei had grabbed the missing eye after being attacked. This meant that Kamei had been standing near the snowman, not near the flowerbeds, when he was killed.

Edgeworth went back to the 7:22 simulation and examined the body again. The shoes were tied strangely and did not fit quite right. It was evident that Kamei had been moved to the flowerbeds after his death, and the shoes had been planted on him. Edgeworth also found that one of the bricks near the snowman was missing. Evidently, the murder weapon had come from this area.

Considering the evidence, it was clear that Kamei had been killed near the snowman while facing the orphanage. That was the only way in which he could have been attacked without seeing his attacker. Edgeworth returned to the 1:15 simulation to find everybody in the same place, an obvious contradiction. Edgeworth concluded that the photo had been faked in order to change what Kamei had allegedly seen.

There were four lamps on the orphanage grounds, and two of them had gone off. One was near the snowman, and the other was on the opposite side, near the entrance. The kidnapping had really occurred there. The crime scene had been altered to hide the connection between the orphanage and the kidnapping. Faraday accounted for this to recreate the 7:22 scene with the body in its original place.

Edgeworth reexamined the blood splatter. It was fresh enough that someone else's blood must have been spilled shortly before the murder. The blood stopped at the area where the fire had been, so the fire had taken place afterward. Lang ordered his men to find every report on the fire, and have the police in Zheng Fa look in Dairyuu's room for a child's drawing that resembled the orphanage scene.

According to what Lang's men found, the child had snuck out of bed on the night of the murder. He had disappeared several days later. Among the possessions that he had left behind was a small horn. Edgeworth recognized it immediately as the missing horn of the president's Borumosu doll. The doll was fetched from the 51st floor and the horn was fitted into it.

Mikagami tried to stop them from hearing the subsequent recording, but it was too late. In the recording, Ami Aizawa told President Ō that their child, Shimon Aizawa, had just been born. She also told him to meet them at Happy Family Home on February 9. Shimon had already known that he was adopted, but the fact that President Ō was his father was new, and it shocked him.

Ami was Mikagami's cousin, who had died five years ago. She had worked as a diplomat in Zheng Fa, and then returned to America. She had found a job at the orphanage before giving birth to Shimon. As for why she had never made the meeting, someone had been stalking her the whole night.

Now the purpose of Mikagami's secret meeting with the president was clear. It was for her to tell him about Shimon's whereabouts and Ami's death. She had had to keep the meeting a secret until now to protect Shimon and the president from scandal. To prove who she was, had brought the president a bouquet of lion lilies as a reminder of the lion lilies that he had given to Ami.

There was one last item sent from Zheng Fa: the president's will. In it, the president acknowledged Shimon Aizawa as his son. It seemed that the president had meant to reveal this fact the whole time, but had left it in his will just in case. Suddenly, Aizawa ran off.

Middle, Part 2

 * 4:51 p.m.

"Yutaka Kazami"

- I had finally... earned my place as the greatest confectioner in the world... To achieve that goal... I cast everything aside, even my own son...!

Everyone caught up with Shimon Aizawa at the film lot. Not only had he just found out who his father was, but it was possible that he had killed him. Many questions went through his mind, and Hakari Mikagami tried to console him. Miles Edgeworth and Shi-Long Lang knew that they had to piece together the information that they had just uncovered.

No matter how Edgeworth looked at it, the bloodstain inside the orphanage grounds showed that someone other than Ryūji Kamei had been murdered on that fateful night. The drawing from the missing child depicted President Ō along with a bald man with a knife and a black dog: Ryōken Hōinbō. Finally, the truth behind the SS-5 Incident had been revealed: it had been not a kidnapping, but a presidental assassination! The president who had survived until now was actually a body double.

This relevation explained the stark difference between Teikun Ō as Lang remembered him, and the Teikun Ō that Edgeworth had witnessed. Edgeworth pressed on by pointing out that President Ō had been in two places at once at midnight on February 10: the embassy and the orphanage. If this were true, then the president in the photo that had been forged after the incident was the body double. In other words, the body double had contracted Hōinbō to kill the real president, in order to take his place.

This also explained why Bansai Ichiyanagi had made the monster's footprints. The real president's remains had been buried here, and the deadline to retrieve it as Marī Miwa had instructed was when construction would start. After all, things would have gotten sour if the construction crew discovered the body. A search was conducted, and indeed, the remains of the real president were found in Ichiyanagi's home.

The existence of the body double also explained the footprints. The left footprints had been made by the real president. The body double had arrived after the murder, killed Kamei, and then stepped over the real president's footprints to move the body and then plant his shoes. Since Kamei had sent a message to Tsubasa Kagome about the president, the kidnappers had been forced to make up a kidnapping.

Dairyuu Rou must have figured it all out. He had hidden the child's drawing in order to cover up the truth. News of the assassination of the beloved president of Zheng Fa would have caused chaos. He had taken the blame, causing the fall of the House of Lang, and had taken the secret to his grave.

The conversation was interrupted by Hōinbō, who had slipped in while they were talking. He said that he was looking for the boy who had saved his life, the one in the red raincoat that Edgeworth was looking for. The body double had found out about Ami Aizawa and had waited for the right opportunity to execute his assassination plan with Hōinbō, Ichiyanagi and Miwa. However, the boy had overheard the three conspirators planning to kill Hōinbō. He had set the fire as a distraction so that the assassin could escape.

In Hōinbō's testimony, Edgeworth noticed that he talked about being reunited with the boy. Hōinbō explained that, 18 years ago, on December 24, he had found a locked car containing two boys who were freezing to death. He had rescued them and sent them to a nearby orphanage. Edgeworth realized that these were the same boys who had gone missing during the IS-7 Incident. The assassin continued that both boys had suffered amnesia from the incident, and that the boy he was concerned with had been tied up.

Hōinbō detailed how he had blackmailed Miwa using evidence that would expose the body double. He had heard Ami's recording playing while approaching President Ō. The president had asked him to wait until he had met his son, saying that he had made preparations to reveal the existence of his son. The preparations referred to the mention of Shimon in his will. Hōinbō's first strike had cut off the Borumosu doll's horn, and the second had dealt the fatal blow.

Hōinbō also mentioned that he had continued his correspondence with the boy even from prison. More specifically, they had been playing chess together. Edgeworth remembered establishing that Manosuke Naitō had been Hōinbō's opponent. He examined Naitō's ring to find that it had Paul Holic's insignia. It had been returned to Holic's son after the IS-7 investigation had concluded. The problem was, Naitō was already dead, and could not be the mastermind behind the current case.

Edgeworth noticed something else: Hōinbō said that he wrote his letters in braille, but the memo from the prison was typed on a word processor. Evidently, someone had been intercepting the letters and transposing them. Hōinbō confirmed that the letters that he received had been written in braille. Now Edgeworth realized why Hōinbō had denied that Naitō was his chess opponent. The mastermind had pretended to play with both Naitō and Hōinbō, and sent each player's moves to the other to establish a connection.

Edgeworth figured out who the mastermind was. The last thing to explain was how he had gotten Kay Faraday to the top of the Big Tower. Using the "monster" sighting of Lotta Hart and the "monster" recording of Mikiko Hayami, he deduced that the mastermind had used a hot air balloon. Edgeworth remembered seeing a hot air balloon in the shape of a lion's head in a poster that a certain person had given him. Indeed, the mastermind was Yutaka Kazami's son, the childhood friend of Paul Holic's son Naitō, and an animal tamer at Berry Big Circus: Sōta Sarushiro!

As this revelation was made, Hōinbō made his escape. Though Aizawa caught him, he had Kuro attack Edgeworth as a distraction. While the police searched for the assassin, Edgeworth devised a plan to catch the mastermind. Lang would look for the balloon, Gumshoe would perform a follow-up investigation of Aizawa's kidnapping, and Faraday would fetch Ema Skye for backup. The pieces were set. Now was the time to bring the game to an end.

Meanwhile, Aizawa swore revenge against the man who had killed his father.

End
"Tateyuki Shigaraki"

- To fight crime as a prosecutor, or to save people as a defense attorney. I want you to think carefully, about how you want to live your life from now on.


 * 5:30 p.m.

The team arrived at the Berry Big Circus to confront Sōta Sarushiro. As the one in charge of the hot air balloon, he was the only one who could have transported Faraday to the top of the Big Tower. Sarushiro pleaded for Miles Edgeworth to believe in him, but Edgeworth now knew that this was all a trick. Sarushiro's dropped his timid facade to reveal the mocking and callous mastermind behind the case.

Sarushiro claimed that he used the balloon to practice. More specifically, he would load the balloon onto a truck, then transport it to a park near Sunshine Coliseum and launch from there. The last time that he had done this was two days ago. Edgeworth remembered seeing a blue truck at the Big Tower plaza, and suggested that Sarushiro was lying about when he had last used his truck.

Just then, Shi-Long Lang and Ema Skye arrived. Lang had found the balloon in a blue truck at the dressing room parking lot. Edgeworth remembered that he had touched truck at the plaza, and dusted the truck in the parking lot for his fingerprints. There was a match, placing two vehicles related to Sarushiro at the scenes of both kidnappings.

Sarushiro asked for more decisive evidence, but the only connection between both kidnappings was that they had made use of the same sleeping drugs. Edgeworth tried to connect the correspondence chess middleman to Sarushiro. However, Sarushiro had thrown his letters out. Nonetheless, a late letter from Naitō arrived at the circus tent. This had all been part of a plan to get Naitō killed.

Sarushiro cursed Naitō and revealed that he had hated his "friend" ever since he had locked both of them inside the car 18 years ago. He said that he had sought revenge because he had lost his father, Isaku Hyōdō, through that ordeal. To set things straight, Edgeworth showed him Naitō's ring with Paul Holic's insignia on it. Sarushiro's revenge on Naitō had been over a grave misunderstanding.

Sarushiro laughed and admitted to orchestrating the murders of Naitō and Tsubasa Kagome. He explained that Marī Miwa had found out about what he had seen, and had subjected him to constant interrogation. He had managed to run away, but spent his life hiding from Bansai Ichiyanagi's cronies. He did not admit to the kidnappings, but did admit that they had helped to expose the truth behind Kagome's murder and the SS-5 Incident. His motivation was his desire for revenge, and this desire had come to fruition.

Sarushiro continued, revealing that he had given Naitō the fake assassination plan, as well as the chisel that would place suspicion on him. Sarushiro bragged about how easy it was to manipulate them into committing murder. He had simply done the same with Kagome and Ichiyanagi, by sending information to each about the other. He had even gotten Edgeworth to save him with his act, believing that he was just trying to emulate his father. Tateyuki Shigaraki realized that Sarushiro did not understand the notion of saving others.

All that said, Sarushiro claimed that none of his actions constituted instigation, so he had no obligation to continue this conversation. Even if the police tried to stop him, he could escape by having the animals attack Lang, or pulling out a hidden gun. Edgeworth told Sarushiro that their earlier conversation where he admitted to ordering Bansai to kill Kagome had been wiretapped by Mikiko Hayami. However, Sarushiro had figured out that Hayami had been wiretapping him due to her knowledge of the kidnapping, so he had turned the bug off.

Edgeworth was not about to give up, however, and had Hayami play her recording from two days ago. After the sound of the fire, a gunshot was heard, followed by a metal clanging sound. Edgeworth remembered the gunpowder residue that had been found on the body double's hand. Hakari Mikagami said that the body double had heard something and had told her to leave ahead of him. Edgeworth concluded that the body double had shot at Sarushiro's balloon, and examined the balloon basket to find a bullet embedded at the bottom.

Sarushiro admitted to what Edgeworth had deduced, saying that the body double had probably intended to kill Mikagami because he feared that she would figure out that he was a fake. Edgeworth tried to ascertain what had happened after the shot. Sarushiro claimed that the body double had gone down the hatch to the 51st floor, but this contradicted Lotta Hart's testimony. The body double had to have left the viewing platform via the balloon.

Sarushiro retorted that the body double could have remained in hiding until Hart had fainted, then gone through the storeroom. Moreover, the body double had been crushed by Borumosu's head, making Shimon Aizawa the culprit. For all anyone knew, Sarushiro had manipulated Aizawa into killing the body double. Shigaraki told Edgeworth to consider what circumstances would allow the body double to leave the viewing platform using the balloon.

Edgeworth then came upon the answer: Sarushiro had crushed the body double with his balloon. Just like his father, Sarushiro had frozen the body to throw off the time of death, using the warehouse in which he had left Aizawa. The irony of being so connected to the man that he had hated so much caused Sarushiro to begin to break down, but this turned out to be a fake-out. Edgeworth's logic connected every crime, but he still had no evidence.

Just then, Dick Gumshoe arrived at the scene, and revealed that the refrigerated warehouse was contracted to Berry Big Circus. Regina Berry confirmed that Sarushiro had handled getting a location to store the animals' food. As for the proof that Sarushiro had committed the murder, Edgeworth had Skye test the balloon for traces of lion lily pollen. The basket would have contacted the lion lily bouquet when the body double was crushed.

Sarushiro's plan was completely unraveled. He had had to move the body from the viewing platform because Kagome was going to be murdered. He had had to move the body from the warehouse because he had been using it to store the animals' food. He had decided to pin the murder on Aizawa after seeing the Borumosu head fall, and the body had been captured in the practice video. As a final insult, the animals became angry and attacked Sarushiro.

"Shelly de Killer"

- It seems the game is finally over.

Shelly de Killer suddenly appeared to kill Sarushiro. It turned out that Sarushiro had stolen the body double's gun, and had been about to use it. Before de Killer could bring forth his retribution, however, he found himself with his knife to Ryōken Hōinbō's neck, and Hōinbō's chisel to his own. Hōinbō begged de Killer to spare Sarushiro's life, saying that he would do whatever it took to protect him. De Killer agreed to this and escaped.

Hōinbō then made to go back to prison, but Aizawa caught his attention. The assassin offered Aizawa his knife so that the boy could kill him and have his revenge. However, Aizawa refused, having realized from Sarushiro's actions that revenge would only benefit him at the expense of others. The ones to punish the assassin would be people like his mother and Edgeworth. With that settled, Hōinbō returned with Sarushiro to their "home", the prison.

Edgeworth's path

 * April 8, 2:54 p.m.

Two days after the arrest of Sōta Sarushiro, Miles Edgeworth called Hakari Mikagami, Tateyuki Shigaraki, Dick Gumshoe and Kay Faraday to the Prosecutorial Investigation Committee meeting room. He had made his decision. He remembered the influence that two defense attorneys - his father and an old friend - had on him. However, that would not be his path. He aimed to save people, not as a defense attorney, but as a prosecutor.

Edgeworth had realized that he had been like Sarushiro in a way. Both had lost their fathers, as well as the ability to believe in anything else. Edgeworth had eventually had someone reach out to him, but Sarushiro, left unable to rely on the courts, had taken matters into his own hands. As a prosecutor, Edgeworth would be able to fight the abuses of and contradictions in the law. Shigaraki saw the same determination that he had seen in Gregory, and wished him well.

With that, Mikagami formally conferred upon Edgeworth his prosecutor title, and returned his prosecutor's badge. Edgeworth thanked her for showing Edgeworth his new path through her fight against Bansai Ichiyanagi. He told her about the greatest judge he knew, who, despite being very emotional in court, would render the correct verdict without fail. Mikagami had learned that her emotions and her bond with Shimon Aizawa were not a weakness, but the source of her strength.

Aftermath
"Miles Edgeworth"

- Though I once lost my position as Prosecutor, I have now reclaimed it, so that I may tread a new path as a prosecutor. I shall surely reach the truth waiting at the end of this path. No matter how difficult the path may be, if any seek to stop me on my path, they shall receive no mercy. No matter who they may be, I will shout just one word.




 * Mikiko Hayami and Lotta Hart were continuing their usual lookout for the next big scoop. Hart refused to give Hayami any information, as they were technically in competition for a scoop. However, Hart seemed to hold a double standard regarding asking Hayami for information.


 * Shelly de Killer, apparently having evaded Shi-Long Lang, was now at Gourd Lake. His wound still had not healed, and he remarked he'd never forget the man who had given it to him. He contemplated continuing to sell ice cream or perhaps running a crêperie; he desired to live a calm life until his services were called upon again.


 * Shūji Orinaka was not about to let his defeat at Miles Edgeworth's hands get him down. He would keep working toward a successful prison escape.


 * Frank Sahwit talked about continuing to work toward being a pet trimmer. However, as soon as he learned that he had his prison sentence extended due to acting as an accomplice to Marī Miwa, he became enraged and gave up on his supposed dream.


 * Regina Berry was still shocked by her former employee's actions, but tried to put it behind her to carry on her next circus show. She would have to work hard to surpass the magic and ventriloquist divisions.


 * Ryōken Hōinbō was surprised that he would go to such lengths to save a child that he had saved on a whim. He was happy to have the child as a fellow inmate.


 * Issei Tenkai and Tsukasa Oyashiki were singing in the detention center Visitor's Room. Tenkai vowed to visit Oyashiki every day, just as she and Tateyuki Shigaraki had done for him.


 * Delicy Scone schemed to develop new diet drugs to use with Tenkai's sweets.


 * Larry Butz's drawings of women cost him his current girlfriend. He contemplated whether to be more serious with his life, or to pursue his next girlfriend.


 * Tyrell Badd was set to testify in the IS-7 Incident retrial. Tateyuki Shigaraki told him about Edgeworth's decision. Shigaraki still intended to watch over Edgeworth. Badd commented that Shigaraki had grown up as well.


 * Due to her being forced to aid Bansai, Tōko Mutō was not seriously punished, and returned to act as a coroner's assistant to her grandmother, Otome Itami. Mutō still regretted what she had done, but she was glad that she could still be with her grandmother and work alongside her.


 * Ema Skye would return once again to her studies abroad to become a full-fledged forensic scientist.


 * Franziska von Karma empathized with Yumihiko Ichiyanagi, as both of them had to overcome the legacy of a skilled, but criminal, father.


 * Shi-Long Lang never could have imagined the truth that his father had protected for the sake of his country. Lang declared that he would carry on his father's legacy and revitalize the Republic of Zheng Fa.


 * Yumihiko Ichiyanagi asked everyone to stop using the nickname "Ichiryuu" because it felt as if he was still feeding off of his father's power. He would study hard on his own so that even Edgeworth would not defeat him easily.


 * Thanks to all the publicity due to the murder of the body double, the Borumosu movie received a great reception. However, the newspapers seemed to mistake Will Powers as the "monster" who had killed the president of Zheng Fa.


 * Shimon Aizawa realized that he enjoyed being an actor. He told Hakari Mikagami that he wanted to buy a lion lily in his father's memory. Mikagami suggested buying three, one each for her and for Ami Aizawa.

Epilogue

 * 4:17 p.m.

Miles Edgeworth, Dick Gumshoe, and Kay Faraday were in Edgeworth's office in Room 1202, wondering why they had encountered so many cases over the past month. Gumshoe joked that perhaps Faraday was a magnet for crime, but Edgeworth knew that this was not that far off the mark for the cases that they had worked. Faraday decided that she would not try to emulate her father, but would be a hero in her own way. Edgeworth thanked Gumshoe for his help, and finally gave him a raise.

Faraday remembered that she had been trying to assemble a Yatagarasu trio, but she had failed. Gumshoe assured her that she was already in a trio, and the three of them would be unstoppable. Edgeworth agreed and thought of his father. Just as Gregory followed his path, so Miles would follow his without hesitation, accompanied by his friends. Though their paths of the two Edgeworths diverged, their destination was the same: the one and only "truth".

References to other cases

 * At the conclusion of the case, Miles Edgeworth tells Hakari Mikagami that the greatest judge he knows is overflowing with humanity. The judge Edgeworth is referring to is the man who has presided over the majority of the trials in the Ace Attorney series.
 * This case is very reminiscent of Farewell, My Turnabout. Both involve Shelly De Killer, both have a kidnapping to coerce a trial's participant to get a criminal declared not guilty and a kidnapper who talks over a transceiver, and both involve a "client" of some sort backstabbing the protagonist and turning out to be the guilty party.

Secret cameo
During the initial investigation of the murder, Edgeworth is required to examine the rear entrance to gain some logic pieces. If he examines the rear entrance again, the camera pans beyond the back wall, revealing Phoenix Wright and Maya Fey looking up at the Big Tower.