Turnabout for Tomorrow

"Simon Blackquill"

- You expect too much from me. I'm just a murderer, beyond redemption. Why don't you just let me go so I can settle down into Hell?

Episode 5: Turnabout for Tomorrow is the fifth and final episode of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies, and is a direct continuation of the events of the previous episode, The Cosmic Turnabout. Central to this episode is the UR-1 Incident that occurred seven years prior to the game, which resulted in the death of Athena Cykes's mother Metis Cykes, as well as the arrest and subsequent imprisonment of prosecutor Simon Blackquill. Phoenix Wright uncovers the truth behind the UR-1 Incident and the murder of Clay Terran, and confronts the phantom behind the scenes of it all.

Investigation
"Phoenix Wright"

- No one can escape their past. The sins we've committed... and the sadness we've caused... No matter how far we run, our past remains as ever-present as the moon in the sky. It looms in wait... for the day when we are forced to face it. But only in doing so can we truly make peace and move on in hope towards tomorrow.

Interviews

 * 1:23 p.m.

Phoenix Wright returned to the Wright Anything Agency, regretting everything that had happened with Apollo Justice and Athena Cykes. Attempting to make sense of the facts presented in the case, Phoenix decided to take up Cykes's case and prove her innocence. He set off with Trucy Wright to the Cosmos Space Center. Meanwhile, Solomon Starbuck was released from the detention center holding cell, and he passed by Cykes as she was taking his place. She had obviously been crying, but she smiled at Starbuck and congratulated him on his acquittal.

The Wrights and Starbuck met inside Boarding Lounge 1 and discussed the developments of the case. Apparently, the police had never found the .10 caliber gun that the culprit had used. Moreover, Launch Pad 1 and the Space Museum had been switched to recreate the conditions of the fateful day of Clay Terran's murder. The three headed into the Space Museum corridor when two dead leaves caught Phoenix's eye. He wondered what they were doing there. He also noted the fact that no fingerprint verification was needed from the corridor sides of the launch pad doors.

The Wrights went back outside to the Space Center entrance. Yuri Cosmos spotted them and tried to escape, but Trucy threw a knife, disabling his Galactic Scooter. Cosmos "surrendered" and agreed to talk. However, he refused to talk about his reasons for switching the launch pads, showing three Psyche-Locks.

Phoenix recalled two main points: that Cosmos had switched the launch pads to save the astronauts, and that Terran would have noticed which Launch Pad he was entering. Phoenix concluded that Terran had helped in the plan, and that he had slipped Starbuck his pills. When asked why he had taken the bomb threat seriously, Cosmos responded that the bomber had said, "It's been a while. Planning another launch? I see you haven't learned..." Phoenix realized that this bomber was the same one who had threatened a bombing before the HAT-1 launch seven years ago. Cosmos admitted that the same bomber had also sabotaged the HAT-1 launch, and someone had even been killed. Phoenix realized that he was talking about the murder that had supposedly been committed by Simon Blackquill. Once the second bomb threat had been made, Cosmos had realized that Blackquill was not the killer, and that the real criminal had been at large all these years.

Cosmos decided to tell the truth about the HAT-1 Miracle. The rocket had been sabotaged, a moon rock had been stolen, and a staff member had been murdered. The government had decided to cover up the incident by rushing the investigation and cleaning up the story. Cosmos said that the culprit must be an international spy. Despite the cover-up, the spy had known the true story, making it clear that he was the same culprit.

The government had insisted that the HAT-2 launch go ahead, but knowing the real danger that the bombing threat posed, Cosmos had decided to fake the launch. The night before the launch, he had switched the launch pads and placed a "closed for repairs" sign at the launch pad entrance at Boarding Lounge 2. He had enlisted the help of several staff members, including Terran. However, he had wanted to spare Starbuck the stress of playing along with the plan, so he had had him drugged. Cosmos had then switched the launch pads back after believing that the culprit had already escaped.

Even after all that effort, however, Terran had been killed. Moreover, the Hope capsule had been destroyed in the bombing of Courtroom No. 4. The police had also found a wiretap on Cosmos's phone, indicating that the spy had found out about the fake launch and had acted accordingly. If all this were true, then the spy may have been the phantom that Blackquill was seeking, and the true culprit behind everything for which both Cykes and Blackquill were taking the fall. Phoenix decided to seek more information on the HAT-1 launch, and Cosmos pointed him to the Space Museum.

The Wrights found the HAT-1 exhibit again and noted the staff photograph, a newspaper article about the launch, and a jacket on display, which had apparently actually been worn by one of the staff members. All of the staff members in the staff photo had been accounted for now, save one. Juniper Woods also entered the exhibit and found the Wrights. She told them that Cykes had, in fact, lived in the Cosmos Space Center with her mother, who had worked as a psychologist for the institution. She was the one who had been murdered seven years ago, which explained why Cykes had tried so hard to hide her past at the Space Center from everyone else.

Woods talked about Cykes's past at the Space Center, saying that she had never talked much or gone outside much. She would get dizzy in public places due to her sensitivity to other people's emotions. She had also always worn what looked like headphones, which her mother had given her for research purposes. Phoenix showed Woods the staff photo and confirmed that the one unidentified individual was Metis Cykes, Athena's mother, who had been murdered in the robotics lab the day before the HAT-1 launch.

The Wrights returned to the detention center to talk to Cykes. Instead, they found Bobby Fulbright, who was interviewing Ted Tonate. Tonate had suddenly claimed that he was not the courtroom bomber. He said that someone else had snuck in and taken the remote switch while Tonate was arguing with Candice Arme. Tonate was the killer, but not the bomber. Fulbright said that the bomb fragments were being analyzed to investigate Tonate's claim, and Wright received a photo of the fragments. Fulbright was still questioning Cykes, so the Wrights decided to go to the robotics lab.

The Wrights found Justice and Aura Blackquill conversing in the robotics lab. Aura started mocking the Wrights for agreeing to defend Athena. She seemed adamant of Athena's guilt, while Justice would only say that he did not know, to the Wrights' shock. Aura then told Clonco to say something, and strangely, he addressed Justice as "Mr. Terran", detecting that something was wrong with him. Clonco also mentioned that both he and Ponco had been created as a collaboration between Aura and Metis. The latter had made the framework for their thoughts and emotions, which resided in a separate mainframe that controlled the robots remotely.

Aura asked why Metis's murder had garnered the lawyers' attention, and Phoenix explained to her that the same culprit might have killed Metis as well. He also expressed the doubts that were looming that Simon was Metis's killer. Aura replied by explaining that Simon had sought out Metis to learn psychology to give him an edge in court. Suddenly, Aura seemed to have decided on something, and she refused to let the Wrights investigate her lab. Instead, she had Clonco kick them out. Trucy began to worry about Justice and ran back to look after him.

Phoenix returned to the office alone. To his surprise, he found his Pearl Fey, who had delivered a letter from Maya Fey. Pearl had apparently come to help clean up the office, as the letter stated. Encouraged by his old friends, Phoenix decided to return to the detention center to talk to Simon.

The Blackquills were arguing about something, with Fulbright watching awkwardly. After Phoenix arrived, Aura left, telling Simon that if he had nothing to say, she had a backup plan ready. Phoenix tried to talk with Simon about the "phantom", but Simon merely claimed that he had unquestionably killed Metis, and then he immediately had himself escorted out. Phoenix decided to ask Fulbright about Metis's death instead.

Fulbright told Phoenix that Metis's murder was officially known as the UR-1 Incident. Two decisive pieces of evidence had brought Simon's trial to a speedy end. Security footage of the corridor to the robotics lab showed that Simon had been the only one to pass through at 3 p.m., the determined time of the crime. Moreover, a photo taken inadvertently by a reporter showed Simon holding a katana owned by Metis, whose blade was stained with blood. Fulbright also revealed that Simon was to be executed tomorrow. It seemed bizarre to Phoenix that Simon would refuse any effort to prove his innocence even to the day of his execution.

A hostage situation
Suddenly, Fulbright was alerted to a hostage situation at the Cosmos Space Center. He and Phoenix hurried over to find that riot police had surrounded the area. The hostage-taker spoke through Clonco, showing that there were 12 hostages in the Space Museum, including Trucy, being held by 15 robots. The hostage-taker demanded that the police hand over Athena Cykes. Realizing that the hostage-taker was Aura, Phoenix made an alternative proposal: retry the UR-1 Incident trial. Aura agreed to this and allowed Phoenix and Pearl Fey to investigate the robotics lab while she contacted a prosecutor.

After waiting a while in the robotics lab, Chief Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth greeted Phoenix and Fey, having been selected by Aura as the prosecutor for the retrial. He had obtained photos of the the crime scene as it had been found, as well as the autopsy report. A Space Center staff member and two police officers had made the discovery. Simon Blackquill had been arrested hours later. He had pleaded guilty and maintained this position for seven years, and he was later placed under suspicion as the spy who had sabotaged the HAT-1 mission. If one could prove that the same spy had committed the HAT-2 sabotage, it would help clear Simon's name.

In the present time, a large, incomplete robot named "Judgetron" dominated the robotics lab, and a detached robot hand was nearby. However, seven years ago, the Hope probe had stood where Judgetron was. The moon rock had also been in the lab, and it had disappeared along with Metis's life. The Hope probe had then been removed to make way for the police investigation.

To Judgetron's left was a work desk where the Hope capsule had stood. Apparently, the discoverers of the body had gone to the lab to pick it up. They had brought with them a custom-made, shock-resistant bag to carry the capsule. To Judgetron's right was a large power plug. Apparently, Ponco and Clonco used this to recharge. Beside it was were three rolling cases of different sizes.

Phoenix turned his attention to the other side of the lab. The robot operating table where Metis's body had been found was still there. Phoenix also found the emergency ladder that Aura had used. As Phoenix examined Aura's work desk, he asked Clonco about what Aura had been like seven years ago. Clonco explained that Metis's murder had changed her, and that she had repeatedly demanded a retrial, but without new evidence, her pleas had been ignored. Meanwhile, Edgeworth found papers on the desk describing the detection systems that Ponco and Clonco used.

As Phoenix wrapped up his investigation, he thanked Edgeworth for his help and decided to tell Fey about the special request that Edgeworth had made. He had come to the office some time before Justice's latest full trial, informing him that Simon Blackquill would be prosecuting cases. Edgeworth had asked Phoenix to observe Simon and help to prove his innocence. The so-called dark age of the law had been ignited after Phoenix was caught presenting forged evidence and Simon was convicted for Metis's murder. The former matter had been cleared up a year ago, and it was time to clear Simon as well.

Athena Cykes
Phoenix went to the detention center to meet Athena. She told him that she had snuck into the Space Museum on the night before the murder, before Cosmos had switched the launch pads. She had fainted upon seeing the jacket on display, which had belonged to her mother. She had not awoken until noon the next day, after all the commotion, hidden from view behind the rocket. She had little memory of what happened afterward, and did not know how she had even gotten home.

Phoenix decided to ask Athena about her mother. She said that her mother's research was in making robots that could read people's emotions, and Athena was convenient for that research. Metis had left her only with Widget and her earring, which was cut from a moon rock. Phoenix assured Athena that she had meant more to her mother than she had apparently let on.

Phoenix asked Athena about the robots. Athena explained that she had had no friends other than Woods, and so she had had a difficult time distinguishing robots from people. She pointed to the staff photo, where Ponco was covered in bandages. Athena explained that Ponco had broken, but Metis had later had the robot fixed in a flash with the robot operating table.

Simon was Athena's reason for becoming a lawyer. She had known that he was innocent by her ability to read his emotions. However, she could not convince anyone of his innocence on the witness stand, being an 11-year-old girl whose only evidence was an ability that no one else had access to. It was after meeting Phoenix that she had decided to save Simon by becoming a lawyer.

Fulbright returned, informing Phoenix that all the open courtrooms were in session. Just then, Aura called Phoenix through Trucy's phone, saying that time was running out. Phoenix realized that there was only one place left to hold a trial: the ruins of Courtroom No. 4. Phoenix asked whether she was ready to have his brother declared innocent, but she replied that the defendant would be Athena. As it dawned on Athena that she was the only other possible suspect for her mother's murder, she froze in shock. Phoenix then saw around Athena the last thing he expected to see: five black Psyche-Locks.

The UR-1 Incident

 * 3:11 p.m.

"Phoenix Wright"

- Defense, prosecution, and judge. There are even people in the gallery. The roof has been completely blown off and the walls have collapsed... but today, this ruin is my battleground!

Pearl Fey did some research on black Psyche-Locks, and explained to Phoenix Wright that Athena's secret was buried deep within her subconscious, to the point that even she was not aware of it. Wright had Fey stay with Athena while he faced Miles Edgeworth alone. The tension that permeated the ruined courtroom was reminiscent of their past confrontations. After giving an overview of the UR-1 Incident, Edgeworth called Bobby Fulbright to the stand. Fulbright had obtained notes that Aura Blackquill had made while conducting her own investigation of the incident.

In the notes, Aura argued that Simon Blackquill had hidden Athena inside one of the rolling cases in the robotics lab in order to cover for her. Indeed, the security footage from the time of the murder showed Simon leaving the scene with a rolling case. Said case had later been found outside on the Space Center grounds. Athena had been found in the Cykes family residence on the fifth floor, and no witnesses or evidence could pinpoint where she had been before then.

The judge asked why an 11-year-old girl would kill her own mother. Edgeworth replied that Metis Cykes had subjected her daughter to experiments. He argued that Athena had killed her mother to escape from the anguish that the experiments had been causing. The judge remarked on the terrible tragedy of the prosecution's argument and had the defense begin the cross-examination.

Wright insisted that Aura's claims were merely conjecture, and that Simon could have been transporting something else. However, Edgeworth pointed out that Simon had specifically chosen the largest case. Wright compared the photo of the discovery of the body with the photo of Simon with the bloody katana, and he found that the latter showed a bandaged robot arm. He told the court that this arm belonged to Ponco, whom Athena had bandaged in the Space Center staff photo. Wright added that Simon must have dismantled Ponco to make her fit into the rolling case. The blood at the base of the arm indicated that Simon had used the blood-stained katana to cut the robot, since the robot operating table was occupied by the body.

Edgeworth, however, said that Simon had carried Athena using his left arm, while his right had carried the case. The security footage showed Simon from behind, and his left arm was hidden in front of his body. Moreover, Simon's surcoat from that incident was stained with the victim's blood, and the stain was in the shape of Athena's headphones. Wright responded that, since Ponco had been at the scene of the crime, she had to be questioned in order to make any judgments about the murder.

Ponco was called to the stand and testified that she had detected Athena "hugging" Metis, after which Metis had fallen down. Ponco had then gone into sleep mode as she recharged at 2 p.m. After that, she had begun cleaning the lab when Simon entered. Wright asked for clarification on Metis's falling, and Ponco replied that she had fallen near the round window on the workbench side of the lab. Wright pointed out that this contradicted the fact that Metis's body had been found on the robot operating table, and that Athena could not possibly have moved the body so far.

In response, Edgeworth asked Ponco about her cleaning of the lab, and the robot mentioned that Athena had told her to move a heavy object to the operating table. Edgeworth asserted that Ponco had moved Metis's body. Metis rarely wore her Space Center uniform, which had the ID tag with which the robots could identify her. There were still the heartbeat and facial recognition systems, but if Metis were dead and her face had been covered, both of these detection systems would have been compromised. Whether Athena had moved Metis to the operating table to "dismantle the evidence" or to try to "fix" her, Edgeworth argued, she had done the deed.

Suddenly, Simon came up to the stand to testify. He said that he had gone to the robotics lab to kill Metis, but had found Athena instead. Regardless, he had waited in the lab for Metis to arrive so that he could kill her. Simon brushed off Edgeworth's arguments as mere conjecture. Metis's falling and Athena's commands to Ponco could easily be indicative of activities that were ordinary and commonplace in the Space Center.

In response to the testimony, Athena went over to the defense's bench, intending to use her Mood Matrix to save Simon and find the truth once and for all. Wright noticed that Simon exhibited happiness when mentioning that he had found Athena rather than his target, but Simon explained that he had simply been relieved at finding Athena. Wright then noticed that he also expressed sadness when talking about plunging the katana in, but Simon claimed that his sadness was had been for Athena and her circumstances. He said that he had killed Metis to save Athena from the experiments.

Simon testified that he had gone to the psychology lab first, since Athena would usually be there. However, he had heard crying from the robotics lab next door, so he had hurried there. Metis had entered before Simon could take Athena out of the room, so he had killed her. As he testified, the noise level in the Mood Matrix increased, indicating that he was trying desperately to pile lie on top of lie to make his testimony believable.

Wright noticed that Simon had expressed surprise when opening the robotics lab door. Simon claimed that Ponco had attacked him as he entered the lab, which had forced him to cut her down. However, Wright pointed out that the bloodstains in the photo of Simon and the robot arm proved that Ponco had been cut down after the murder. Simon protested that Wright had no idea of what he was doing, and exhibited a whirlwind of emotions.

Athena determined that the source of these emotions was what he had really seen when entering the robotics lab. Wright pinpointed Athena as the specific source of the emotions. He insisted that Simon should trust him to prove Athena's innocence. Simon finally gave in and admitted that Metis had already been dead and on the operating table. Athena had been beside the body, and she had told him that she was trying to fix her.

It seemed the truth had finally been revealed, and that Athena was indeed the killer. However, since Simon had admitted to the falsehood of his testimony, he assured Athena that Metis had not seen her as a tool for her research. In fact, Metis's research had revolved around helping Athena deal with her ability to hear other people's emotions. The headphones emitted sound waves to cancel out these emotional inputs, allowing Athena to go outside without being overwhelmed. Because of this, Simon had thought that what he had seen had been some kind of mistake, and that is why he had covered for Athena all these years.

Wright tried to protest, but Athena decided to take the stand to admit her guilt. The court allowed her to testify on her recollections. She testified to remembering the weight of the blade, the feeling of it stabbing in, and the blood that had flowed down the handle onto her fingers. As the trial moved to wrap up, Wright noticed a contradiction in the testimony. The katana only had blood on the tip of the blade, nowhere near the handle. He asserted that Athena had used a utility knife instead, like the one that had killed Clay Terran.

Edgeworth confirmed that a toolkit had indeed been found at the scene of the crime, and he presented a photo of its contents. No bladed tool was there. Wright retorted that the handles on the tools bore parts of the GYAXA logo, and so they could be rearranged to see whether anything was missing. Indeed, the utility knife fit right in the middle.

Edgeworth responded that the weapon that Athena had used changed nothing. The basic facts of the case still held: only Metis and Athena had been in the lab, and Athena had definitely stabbed someone. Athena could have faked the murder weapon and hidden the utility knife. Wright knew that he had to turn the case around by placing a third person in the room.

Edgeworth and the judge wondered why Wright had suddenly paused, and they decided to move to end the trial. However, Wright suddenly interrupted them, having figured out how a third person had entered the lab undetected. This character had hidden his face and donned Metis's jacket in order to fool Ponco into thinking that he was Metis. By then, Metis had already been killed. It was this third person that Athena had stabbed with the utility knife. Athena began to remember a man with a mask, and Wright saw her black Psyche-Locks break.

Athena remembered everything. She had drawn a picture and gone to show it to her mother. However, what she had seen upon entering the lab was her mother on the floor, impaled with the sword and her face covered with a hankerchief. Also in the room was an intruder wearing Metis's jacket and a Japanese Noh mask that Metis had owned.

The man had attacked Athena, so she had found the utility knife. After slashing at the intruder once and cutting the jacket, she had tried again and managed to stab his hand. The intruder had then kicked her, causing her to pass out. After regaining consciousness, Athena had had Ponco move Metis to the operating table to try to fix her. This explained what Simon had witnessed.

This did not convince Aura, however, who demanded evidence that this so-called intruder even existed. Athena remembered Ponco's testimony and concluded that the intruder must have entered the lab before Ponco's 2 p.m. recharge. Wright had the court rewind the security video from the incident to 2 p.m., and indeed someone with a bloody right hand was seen passing through at that time, wearing Metis's jacket. This seemed to confirm Athena's memories of the masked intruder.

Edgeworth pointed out that Metis's jacket had been found at the scene of the crime. This meant that the killer had to have returned the jacket for Wright's theory to work. However, all of the people in the security footage had been accounted for. Wright replied that the killer must have been one of the discoverers of the body, who had planted the coat back into the lab while the other two were busy focusing on the body. Edgeworth recalled that they had carried a bag with them to carry the Hope capsule, so the jacket could have been hidden there.

Edgeworth finally conceded to Wright. This result took Aura aback, as she had spent so much time blaming Athena for Metis's death. She had planned to prove the identity of Metis's killer, but both prime suspects had turned out to be innocent. However, with the accusations against Athena and Simon cleared up, the Twisted Samurai brought the court's attention to a lead that he had on Metis's real killer.

Seven years ago, Simon had tried to track down a spy who was about to sabotage the HAT-1 launch, but no information could be found on him, earning him the title of "the phantom". One day, Simon had finally found a lead: a faint recording of the phantom's voice. He had had Metis analyze the voice sample to create a psychological profile. The phantom had come to silence Metis and take the profile, but he had come up short, because Simon had hidden it with the help of his avian friend Taka.

In prison, Simon had spread rumors among the criminals and had even been given an opportunity to prosecute to draw the phantom's attention. He did all this while keeping his mentor's last work safely hidden, so that he could reveal it at the right time, when the phantom could be brought out into the open. Simon handed the profile on to Wright, telling him to keep it safe for him. The judge overturned Simon's conviction, and he moved to declare the verdict on Athena. However, he was interrupted yet again, this time by Apollo Justice.

Apollo Justice
Apollo Justice had arrived to present his arguments and findings on the Clay Terran murder case, which pointed to Athena Cykes as the killer. He testified about how he had come to suspect Cykes, beginning when his bracelet had reacted to her when she had seen the murder weapon, and would continue to react whenever she talked about the case. Justice had decided to wear an eyepatch so that he would not be able to perceive Cykes's tells. The lighter had confirmed his suspicions. Moreover, a security camera in Boarding Lounge 2 had captured Cykes, and no one else, exiting the Space Museum, making her the only possible suspect. This case was personal to Justice, and so he had to find the truth, even if it meant indicting his own co-worker.

Wright conceded that Justice's argument was solid but insisted that there must be an alternative explanation. Justice knew that Wright was bluffing, but admitted that even a bluff would be fine for him. In a moment of anguish, Justice pleaded with Wright to dispel the suspicion he had over Cykes, this being his other reason for indicting her. Edgeworth agreed, saying that this is what the court system is supposed to be about: prosecutors and defense attorneys working together to find the truth.

Wright conceded that the culprit had to have entered the Space Museum. However, he remembered the dead leaves that he had found in the Space Museum corridor, and he realized that the culprit had opened the door outside and jumped out while the Space Museum was moving back to its original place. The emergency ladder had been lowered from the robotics lab by then, and the culprit could have landed on this ladder to survive the jump.

Edgeworth pointed out that the Space Museum corridor and the main building were 20 feet apart, and the corridor was 50 feet above the ground. Escaping in this manner would have been far too risky and senseless for most people, and the culprit could just as easily have hidden inside the Space Museum until a good opportunity to blend in with a crowd had arisen. At the very least, next to no one would be able to overcome the fear that would come with attempting such a jump. In response, Wright presented the phantom's psychological profile, which revealed an individual who did not express emotions to the same extent that other people did. Someone who did not normally feel fear would prefer the dangerous escape route that nonetheless would prevent him from being captured on camera.

Wright had also figured out the phantom's identity. The main clues were that only one emergency ladder had been lowered, and that everybody had been directed to the basement shelter. These had been done to ensure a specific escape route. The phantom was the detective who had ordered these measures: Bobby Fulbright! His goofy, animated persona had all been an act, including his concern for Simon Blackquill. He was also the one who had submitted the lighter into evidence. The judge declared a recess to prepare Fulbright for taking the witness stand.

Intermission

 * 5:13 p.m.

The three lawyers and Simon were waiting in the defendant lobby. Justice apologized to Cykes for letting his doubt get to him. Cykes thanked him for taking the effort to find out who she really was. Edgeworth then arrived and said that Aura Blackquill had surrendered and set the hostages free, and she had come with him to talk to them. Aura said that she still did not trust the court system, but she at least trusted them to deal with Metis's killer. Simon thanked her for helping to save him, and a heartfelt moment later, Aura had the bailiff escort her out to the detention center.

It was decided that Simon would be taking over the prosecutor's bench. He was finally freed of his shackles, and he happily left to prepare for the hour that he had anticipated the most. Wright requested that Justice stand by his side, and Justice agreed and removed his eyepatch and Terran's jacket. Edgeworth, meanwhile, headed back to the prosecutor's office to investigate the first responders of the UR-1 Incident, the facial data registered by Ponco, and Fulbright's background. Wright, Justice and Cykes were ready for the final stretch.

The phantom

 * 5:27 p.m.

Fulbright took the witness stand, but he seemed unfazed. He insisted that he was the embodiment of justice, and that the lawyers' arguments against him were circumstantial. Wright insisted that his arguments were based on careful reasoning, but Fulbright pointed to the lighter incriminating Cykes. Wright asked how many prints were on the lighter, and Fulbright replied that three prints from a right hand had been lifted. This contradicted Aura's statement that the killer had held the lighter in his left hand.

Wright pointed out the contradiction, but Fulbright responded that Aura must have seen a reflection of the culprit in the mirror of Boarding Lounge 1. Moreover, Aura had also seen the lighter's Earth emblem. The only way to open the lighter easily without covering the Earth emblem was to use the right hand. Justice's bracelet suddenly reacted, and he saw that Fulbright's left thumb moved along the edge of his holster whenever he referred to the Earth emblem. Blackquill had Fulbright hand over the lighter to the lawyers, and they found that the Earth emblem was actually a button that transformed the lighter into a .10-caliber pistol.

Although Justice accused Fulbright of being the owner of the gun, the detective insisted that it was Cykes, not him, who had fingerprints on it. In fact, the gun proved that Cykes had been responsible for the entire incident, including the bombing. Thinking on this, Justice guessed that the lighter might have been fabricated to use as a basis for accusing Cykes, and asked Wright if Fulbright had been behaving unusually in his absence. Wright recalled that Fulbright had indeed been strangely helpful and given them a copy of the fingerprint data, and suggested that the data itself might have been faked. Wright had the court reexamine the prints using the official data compiled by the police, and it turned out that the prints belonged to Clay Terran. Blackquill realized that Fulbright had taken Terran's fingerprints in order to forge the evidence, using the pretext of identification to do so.

Fulbright then claimed that he was an undercover investigator tracking down the phantom. He asserted that the phantom had taken his family hostage and forced him to comply with his demands. He said that he had prepared the ladder and framed Cykes in accordance to said demands. He also said that the phantom had told him to retrieve the psych profile from Blackquill. He claimed not to know the phantom's identity. After all, the phantom had information on a host of different countries and corporations, and there were probably assassins in the courtroom, waiting to kill him.

Fulbright's story seemed to convince Blackquill, who said that he trusted the man who had been his investigative partner for the past year. Fulbright thanked Blackquill for trusting in him, and the court seemed convinced as well at that point. However, Cykes told Wright that, although Fulbright was displaying over-the-top emotional behavior as usual, he had not expressed any inner emotions thus far, even when he should have felt a whole range of emotions such as relief and fear for his family. It turned out that Blackquill had been using a ploy to expose Fulbright's lack of emotions.

Fulbright used a spy gadget on his watch to try to hack into the Mood Matrix and disrupt Cykes's therapy, but Blackquill sent Taka after him and prevented him from interfering. In response, Fulbright revealed his profound ability to control his emotions, and he confused the Mood Matrix by expressing a torrent of fluctuating emotions. Despite this, Wright pinpointed a persistent expression of fear when Fulbright asked how they could accuse him of killing over a moon rock. Wright presumed that the phantom was afraid of the moon rock because it would somehow reveal his identity, and that was why he had stolen it seven years ago.

Fulbright told Cykes that her emotional analysis of him was nonsense, and that she could not get anything on him without hard evidence. Cykes protested that sometimes emotions were key to solving cases, but Fulbright told her to listen to the hearts of the people in the gallery. Cykes did so, but all she heard was an expression of distrust. Fulbright goaded Cykes, pointing out that in the dark age of the law, where fabrication of evidence was the norm, Cykes had no basis in using her device to obtain verdicts based on emotional readings. However, to Fulbright's surprise, the judge accepted Cykes's assertion, having seen the effects of her analyses before.

Fulbright gave in, and he testified that the moon rock reminded him of the phantom. In fact, he claimed that the phantom had no reason to fear the moon rock. Wright disagreed, positing that some of the phantom's blood had gotten on the moon rock after Cykes stabbed him. Wright noted that, despite stealing the moon rock, the phantom could not have brought it out with him without being caught with it by the security cameras or personnel. Fulbright retorted that the Space Center had been thoroughly searched for the moon rock, to no avail.

Wright realized that the phantom must have hidden the moon rock inside the Hope capsule. The phantom had hoped that it would be lost along with the HAT-1 rocket that he had sabotaged. However, the mission had been successful, and so the moon rock had safely returned with the Hope probe to Earth. The phantom had attacked Clay Terran to retrieve the capsule, but he had failed to do so before attracting the attention of Yuri Cosmos.

Fulbright insisted that this was just another one of the phantom's traps, and that further investigation was in order. However, Blackquill was willing to come to blows with Fulbright to prevent him from escaping. Nonetheless, Edgeworth arrived before anything could really happen. He announced his findings. The first responders had all been registered in Ponco's memory bank, and none of them resembled Fulbright. However, a body that had been discovered a year ago was recently found to possess Fulbright's fingerprints. Bobby Fulbright was already dead and the one currently in the courtroom was an imposter. Blackquill promptly sliced the imposter's face, revealing that it was a mask.

The imposter realized that the jig was up and removed his Fulbright mask to reveal... Solomon Starbuck! However, Blackquill recognized that Starbuck had been in the sabotaged HAT-1 rocket, so he could not be the phantom. Cykes said that, regardless of what mask the phantom wore, a psych profile comparison would reveal who he really was. However, "Starbuck" removed his mask to reveal... Aristotle Means! Declaring that Cykes would know the true meaning of "the end justifies the means", he used a grappling hook to snatch the phantom's psych profile and destroy it.

"Means" challenged Wright to present his decisive evidence, and that was when Wright remembered that the Hope capsule had been destroyed in the courtroom bombing. The phantom had activated the bomb solely so that he could erase the fatal evidence. However, Wright found a small piece of the moon rock left over in the photo of the bomb fragments. Blackquill had a DNA comparison done between the moon rock fragments and the imposter, and indeed the moon rock had blood with the imposter's DNA.

Suddenly, "Means" raised an objection and removed his mask to reveal... Phoenix Wright! He insisted that there was no way of knowing with certainty that the rock fragments with his blood on it was the moon rock from the UR-1 Incident. A sample of the moon rock would be needed in order to make a surefire comparison, but it seemed that no confirmed traces of the moon rock existed anymore. In response, Wright presented Cykes's earring, revealing that it had been made from the moon rock, and that it was the final decisive evidence that would seal the phantom's fate for good.

Wright told the phantom to reveal his true identity. The phantom replied that he had no identity to reveal, but everyone could hear the mounting fear in his voice. Due to his inability to trust others, he had forsaken everything about himself, and now he had no one to help him face himself. In desperation, the phantom shouted at the air that he had not revealed anything. He then became frantic and removed his masks one by one, until a sniper shot him. The phantom fell from the light of the moonlit sky into the shadows cast by what was left of the ceiling.

The test results later came in. The compositions of the earring and the rock fragment from the bombing matched. As for the phantom, he had survived the sniper attack and had been relegated to the custody of the prosecutor's office. With that, Athena Cykes was finally declared not guilty and court was adjourned.

Conclusion

 * 9:12 p.m.

Phoenix Wright returned to the lobby to be greeted by Pearl Fey, Trucy Wright and Miles Edgeworth. Edgeworth offered his gratitude to Wright for exposing the phantom, but Wright responded that it was Edgeworth who had allowed Blackquill to prosecute in the first place to lure the phantom out. Wright had also figured out that Edgeworth had helped him to regain his badge. It would normally have been harder for Wright due to the evidence-forging scandal, but Edgeworth had pulled some strings. Now that Blackquill's conviction was overturned, Wright and Edgeworth looked forward to seeing the dark age of the law come to an end.

At that moment, Blackquill arrived to thank Cykes for going through all the effort that she had made to save him. Cykes cried as she said that she had made it just in the nick of time. She was upset that Blackquill was willing to throw his life away for her. Although the prosecutor insisted that he had never intended to throw his life away, he had regarded the protection of his mentor's most precious treasure as more important than his own life.

Wright then thanked Justice and Cykes for being there for him, saying that they were "the best, most capable lawyers around." They would need to continue to work together to overcome the many more false charges that were being laid and were going to be laid. Cykes then suggested that they should celebrate with a noodle take-out, and Wright found that the other lawyers were intending to have him pay. Edgeworth, Blackquill, Trucy and Pearl also expressed interest in joining them, with Trucy suggesting that Wright invite everyone who had been involved in the case. Wright said that he had only one response, which Justice and Cykes insisted on joining him in saying:



Aftermath

 * Trucy found a bunch of new jobs for Justice, and did not seem to mind that none of them were legal cases.
 * Juniper Woods wondered which type of pepper to grow in her garden next, and after some consideration decided to go for red ones.
 * Gaspen Payne was asked about the dark age of the law. He was not bothered by the notion of getting a guilty verdict by any means necessary. However, his bravado quickly dissipated once he learned that Edgeworth was looking to give him a review, and ran away again.
 * Jinxie Tenma reported to her father that people had been calling for him to appear as Tenma Taro, as well as asking for a match between Tenma Taro and the Amazing Nine-Tails. As Damian Tenma pondered over how he could possibly fight himself, Jinxie suggested that Justice take over as the new Amazing Nine-Tails.
 * Phineas Filch claimed to have taken over as alderman of Nine-Tails Vale, but ran away after the police approached him for trespassing.
 * Robin Newman reaffirmed her decision to become a prosecutor instead of an artist, and was preparing to take the bar exam. Hugh O'Conner would be retaking the entrance exam to Themis Legal Academy, in order to prove that he could obtain a perfect 100% on his own merits. Newman yelled that their dreams and Woods' would live on forever.
 * Myriam Scuttlebutt was annoyed that her new-found friends did not like the cardboard boxes she had picked out for them. She was pleased that the trial had brought attention and junior students to the journalist club, though their write-up about how she had cried at her graduation rehearsal unnerved her.
 * Klavier Gavin was full of praise for Woods' performance during the school festival, and expressed interest in participating in a trial with her as the judge.
 * Pearl was disheartened to find the office muddled and untidy so soon after her clean-up efforts. She became determined to clean up the attitudes of the others in preparation for a visit by Maya Fey after the latter finished her training.
 * Yuri Cosmos continued to be full of passion and self-importance, preparing for the upcoming HAT-3 launch, despite being demoted to Assistant Director.
 * Ponco and Clonco would be going to the moon with the HAT-3 rocket. Ponco mused about whether which lunar features Athena and Metis would be interested in. Clonco, on the other hand, missed Aura Blackquill terribly.
 * Solomon Starbuck was determined to make it to the moon for Clay Terran and himself. He was confident about not giving up, thanks to his lawyers. However, he became nervous when he thought about space having no air and being cold.
 * Simon Blackquill appeared at the Wright Anything Agency, intending to ask Athena Cykes to help defend his sister. He met someone who was looking for one of the lawyers for the sake of his or her arrested father. Blackquill expressed interest in seeing him in court.
 * Miles Edgeworth told Payne that he was looking forward to the latter's next salary assessment. He said that, in the wake of the overturn of Blackquill's conviction, much of the corruption in the prosecutor's office had been brought to light. Edgeworth felt that he now owed Wright even more favors, but he was sure that he would be able to repay Wright in due time.

The HAT-3 launch
Solomon Starbuck prepared to launch with the HAT-3 rocket, muttering "I'll be fine" to himself. In the control room, Wright, Cykes, and Justice watched on in anticipation as the crew counted down to zero. The rocket flew off into space as others watched its ascent: Simon Blackquill from an open field, Edgeworth from his seat in his office, and Aura Blackquill from her detention cell. Starbuck held on tightly as violent vibrations reverberated through the rocket. As he heard the voices of the lawyers encouraging him, he opened his eyes and saw the moon in front of him. He thanked the three lawyers for believing in him. The control room erupted with cheers as Wright looked on and smiled.

"Phoenix Wright"

- Through the years, I've seen as much joy as heartache, honesty as deceit. But just as Mr. Starbuck was able to escape the harsh pull of his fears and despair, I believe that hope and friendship can lift us all up towards a brighter tomorrow.

Bad endings
Usually, when the Confidence Gauge is emptied, the defendant is declared guilty and the player is given the typical "Game Over" menu. However, due to the unconventional nature of the UR-1 retrial, there are three alternate bad endings that are triggered by depleting the Confidence Gauge during specific chapters.


 * If Wright loses during the chapter "Cross-Examining Blackquill", the judge ends the trial with no change to the UR-1 verdict, and Simon is executed the next day. Aura Blackquill disappears with her captives, including Trucy, and are never seen again. Athena Cykes leaves, Justice stops smiling, and Wright, feeling useless as a lawyer, takes off his badge and resigns in shame.
 * If Wright loses during the chapter "Remembering the Killer", Aura, unconvinced that Cykes is innocent, stops the trial and takes her hostage in exchange for her captives. Wright never sees either of them again.
 * If Wright loses during the chapter "The Phantom's Heart", Cykes is acquitted, but the phantom vanishes shortly thereafter, leaving no resolution to the case and allowing the dark age of the law to continue.

References to other cases

 * The drawing of Phoenix Wright in the letter from Maya Fey is very similar to the one she made on a Shelly de Killer calling card in Farewell, My Turnabout.

References to popular culture

 * When talking to Clonco in the robotics lab, he says, "I am ready to utilize my blast processing abilities to impart all available information!" This is a reference to a Sega Genesis marketing gimmick used as part of a campaign to advertise the Genesis as being faster than its competitor, the SNES. While the term "blast processing" itself referred to the Genesis's ability to display one image while loading another into memory, this true meaning was lost on most of the public and served instead as a catchphrase building on the idea that the Genesis was the faster, cooler console.

Other languages

 * Japanese - 未来への逆転 (Mirai he no Gyakuten; lit. "Turnabout to the Future")
 * Korean - 미래를 향한 역전 (Milaeleul Hyanghan Yeogjeon; lit. "Turnabout to the Future")