The Monstrous Turnabout

The Monstrous Turnabout

Image Gallery

Transcript

The Monstrous Turnabout V · T · F
Incident overview
Dates	April 17-19, 2027
Time of incident	April 17, 2027; 3:20 PM
Victim	Rex Kyubi
Weapon / cause of injury	Stab wound from a spear
Related persons	Tenma Taro Nine-Tailed Fox Trucy Wright Phoenix Wright The Amazing Nine-Tails
Related locations	Wright Anything Agency Nine-Tails Vale Yokai Lane Kyubi Manor Kyubi Manor Garden Kyubi Manor Foyer Fox Chamber Forbidden Chamber Detention center Defendant Lobby No. 3 Tenma Town* (not visited)
Evidence	Attorney's badge Yokai Legend Scroll* (later updated with more info about Tenma Taro) Tenma Taro Warding Charm* (later discarded) Nine-Tails Flower* (later discarded) Special Edition Paper Crime Scene Diagram Foyer Diagram Fox and Demon Statue* (later updated twice in court, then twice again after info from Jinxie and discovering its missing piece) Golden Fur* (later reattached to the Amazing Nine-Tails Mask) Crime Photo Amazing Nine-Tails Mask* (later returned to Mayor Tenma) Amazing Nine-Tails Glossy Jinxie's Statement TV Listings* (later discarded) Kyubi's Autopsy Report Blackmail Letter* (later updated with info from Mayor Tenma and then destroyed by L'Belle) Village Superstitions* (later stolen by Filch) Forbidden Chamber Key* (later updated with info from Jinxie) Couleur Me L'Belle! Hand Cream Forbidden Chamber Figure* (later revealed to be an Azuki Kozo Figure)
Trial data
Courtroom No.	4
Presiding judge	judge
Defense team	Apollo Justice
Defense team assistants	Athena Cykes* (co-counsel)
Prosecutor	Simon Blackquill
Defendant	Damian Tenma
Trial witnesses	"Bobby Fulbright" Phineas Filch Jinxie Tenma Damian Tenma Florent L'Belle! (Arrested)

Simon Blackquill

Justice-dono, long has it been since I've been forced to draw my blade. You had best say your prayers.

Episode 2: The Monstrous Turnabout is the second episode of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies. Although the second episode of the game, it is actually the first one chronologically, as the game's first episode takes place a few months after this episode.

Jinxie Tenma has invited Trucy Wright and Apollo Justice for a celebration at Nine-Tails Vale. The festivities are abruptly interrupted, however, when the alderman of Nine-Tails Vale is found dead with a spear through his chest, and Jinxie Tenma's father, Damian Tenma, is arrested as the main suspect. To obtain the acquittal, Justice must uncover the mysteries behind the local legends, utilize the psychological abilities of his new aide Athena Cykes, and battle the mysterious convict prosecutor known as Simon Blackquill, who has mastered techniques of psychological manipulation.

April 17

Long, long ago, the Nine-Tailed Fox defeated the evil Tenma Taro and sealed the foreign demon away. To this day, it is said that he slumbers even still within the Forbidden Chamber.

12:13 p.m.

Apollo Justice received a call from Phoenix Wright regarding a job, so he headed over to the Wright Anything Agency. To Justice's disappointment, Trucy Wright explained that his "job" was to look after her for the day, as Phoenix was busy meeting an acquaintance of his. The two headed for Nine-Tails Vale for a festival that was to take place there.

1:30 p.m.

Trucy and Justice arrived at Yokai Lane and discussed the new yokai craze in the village, which boosted tourism and saved Nine-Tails Vale from the brink of economic failure. The main festival events were taking place at the alderman's manor, so they headed there.

2:05 p.m.

Tenma Taro and the Nine-Tailed Fox.

When the pair arrived at the Kyubi Manor garden, they met Jinxie Tenma, a friend of Trucy's and the maid at the alderman's manor. Jinxie immediately started thinking that Justice was a demon and stuck a warding charm on his forehead to protect herself. Justice presented his attorney's badge to show that he was a lawyer, not a demon, but this only caused her to consider him a demon lawyer. Jinxie apparently believed that there were yokai everywhere. Apparently, an especially evil demon named Tenma Taro was imprisoned in the manor's Forbidden Chamber by the Nine-Tailed Fox. A warding charm was on the chamber doors to seal him away and keep the village safe. Jinxie gave Justice a Yokai Legend Scroll depicting the two beings locked in battle.

The Amazing Nine-Tails saving Jinxie from Tenma Taro.

Suddenly, someone dressed up as Tenma Taro appeared in front of a terrified Jinxie, and acted as if he wanted to snatch her away. However, a figure called out from the manor roof, leaped down between Jinxie and the creature, and revealed himself to be the Amazing Nine-Tails. He then used his wrestling moves to subdue Tenma Taro and chase him away, and then bid the onlookers farewell. After that event, Trucy and Justice decided to explore the rest of the village.

3:40 p.m.

By the time Justice and Trucy returned to the garden, a commotion had erupted. Jinxie informed them that Tenma Taro had killed someone! Justice asked her where the crime scene was, in order to investigate. Jinxie put a warding charm on him and told him to go to the Fox Chamber.

A mayoral murder.

Justice dashed into the crime scene to find black feathers scattered throughout the room, blood on the floor with bloody bird-like footprints, a dead body that had been impaled by a spear, and another victim with a head wound. Justice screamed, but then realized the latter victim was still alive. Justice then yelled for someone to call an ambulance.

Justice returned to the garden as the police arrived on the scene. He asked Jinxie about what was going on. He learned that the murder victim was the alderman of Nine-Tails Vale, Rex Kyubi, and the other man was Damian Tenma, mayor of Tenma Town and Jinxie's father. Jinxie had come to Nine-Tails Vale to alleviate her fears and because her deceased mother had come from this village. The nine-tailed flowers in the village were her mother's favorite, and seeing them boosted her courage. Jinxie also mentioned that the warding charm on the Forbidden Chamber door had been removed, and Tenma Taro had escaped and killed the alderman.

The detectives were declaring this an open-and-shut case, and Trucy asked Justice to take the case on. Knowing that Jinxie would have no one left if Mayor Tenma were convicted, he agreed to take the case. Trucy said that she would stay behind to see Jinxie off, and then return to the office. She also warned Justice that Mayor Tenma was an intimidating man.

Interview with Damian Tenma

Nine-Tails Vale's mental image of the "villainous" Mayor Tenma.

Justice found that Damian Tenma was indeed quite intimidating in appearance and mannerisms. However, as he began his interview with him, he found that the mayor was simply excitable. Mayor Tenma explained that his fingerprints had been found on the spear. As for the alleged motive, Mayor Tenma mentioned that he had been pushing a merger between Tenma Town and Nine-Tails Vale, and Kyubi had been strongly against it. The mayor asked Justice to help Jinxie through this ordeal.

The Tenma Taro newspaper article.

After the interview, Phoenix called Justice. He had just met up with the newly-hired Athena Cykes at the airport, but she had bolted toward Nine-Tails Vale as soon as she had heard about the murder there. Sure enough, Justice found Cykes at Yokai Lane, arguing with a police officer about her being a lawyer. There was a slightly awkward introduction after Cykes threw said officer onto Justice. Justice learned that Cykes had procured a newspaper article showing Tenma Taro flying through the air. The two went inside Kyubi Manor to start their investigation.

Investigation

Inside the manor's foyer, Justice and Cykes overheard on a TV that the Amazing Nine-Tails had gone missing. They then met Phineas Filch, who tried to steal Justice's bracelet. When called out on this, he escaped, leaving a pair of shoes and two police-drawn maps: one of the foyer, and one of the Fox Chamber. Bewildered, the two headed to the crime scene.

However, Detective Bobby Fulbright stood in the way of their investigation. Justice explained that they were Mayor Tenma's lawyers, and the two argued that they needed to investigate to assure a fair trial for their client. Fulbright reluctantly agreed to let them through. As they examined the Forbidden Chamber door, the detective explained that the police had found no way to open it, and that it had been shut tightly even at the time of the murder.

Behind the armchair where Mayor Tenma had been found was a small statue, which apparently depicted Tenma Taro and the Nine-Tailed Fox locked in battle. Nearby was another armchair on its side. Fulbright told them not to touch it, but Cykes warded him off by telling him about a woman who needed help outside. They then found a green, blood-stained cloth under the armchair. The room had only one window, which opened only slightly to a steep cliff. Caught in the window frame was a patch of golden fur.

When Fulbright returned, he directed their attention to the air duct in the room, which started in the hallway and ended on a vent on the ceiling on the Fox Chamber. This vent was too high to be a plausible escape route. Fulbright also told them that Jinxie had been the first on the scene, and that she had the only key to the Fox Chamber, other than the master key, which had gone missing. The detective gave them a photo of the crime scene. He also explained that Mayor Tenma was the only one without an alibi, as Filch had been working with the mayor's aide at the time. Finally, he warned them about the prosecutor: a killer named Simon Blackquill, whose conviction had brought forth the so-called "dark age of the law". Apparently, the request for him to prosecute had come from the chief prosecutor himself. Before Fulbright left, Cykes noticed that he was barefoot, and Justice realized that the shoes that Filch had dropped belonged to him. The detective had not even noticed that he was barefoot at all.

Filch showing Cykes the Amazing Nine-Tails's mask on the riverbank.

With that fiasco solved, Justice and Cykes met Filch in the foyer again to ask about his alibi. However, Filch frantically called them outside. The Amazing Nine-Tails's mask had been found washed up by the riverside. Justice found some white hair inside the mask. Filch worried that the Amazing Nine-Tails had been murdered.

The Amazing Nine-Tails.

Back in the foyer, Filch explained that the Amazing Nine-Tails was a wrestler from Nine-Tails Vale who donned a gold cape that looked like nine fox tails. He was responsible for the monster craze sweeping Nine-Tails Vale. Filch continued that there were rumors that Tenma Taro had killed the Amazing Nine-Tails. This belief stemmed not just from the discovery of the mask, but also from his disappearance. There was another rumor that the real goal of the merger was for Damian Tenma to gain access to the Forbidden Chamber and release Tenma Taro. Justice then finally asked about Filch's whereabouts during the alderman's murder. Filch replied that he was in the Caretaker's Office with Mayor Tenma's aide, Florent L'Belle, and that he had not seen anybody in the foyer.

Cykes suddenly realized that the patch of golden fur that they had found in the Fox Chamber was from the mask. This meant that the mask might have been at the crime scene at some point. Justice began to wonder whether Rex Kyubi was the Amazing Nine-Tails. He decided to question Jinxie for more details.

The "Tenma Taro" Jinxie encountered in the hallway.

At Yokai Lane, Justice introduced Jinxie to Cykes. Justice learned that there were matches in which the winner would remove the loser's mask. This was considered a humiliation worse than death. When asked about what she had seen, Jinxie resisted at first, but she eventually responded that she had encountered Tenma Taro in the hallway after calling the police. The demon had been carrying a staff, and he had fled toward the foyer. Justice noticed that there was no staff in the Yokai Legend Scroll, which he learned was the only known depiction of Tenma Taro. Justice wondered why Jinxie was so hesitant to talk about Tenma Taro. Jinxie replied that L'Belle had told her about one of the village superstitions, which forbade anyone from talking about Tenma Taro, at the risk of losing their souls to him. Justice wondered why someone who was not from Nine-Tails Vale would say such a thing, and when Jinxie told him that L'Belle was in the foyer, he returned there to question him.

Justice and Cykes discovered a TV guide inside the Caretaker's Office. A wrestling match was circled on it. Filch commented that the match was a complete disaster. Justice tried to question him about Jinxie's statements, but L'Belle arrived and silenced Filch. He claimed that he was merely trying to inform Jinxie of the village traditions, and both he and Filch claimed not to have seen Tenma Taro. However, it seemed to Justice as if L'Belle was controlling Filch's words and feeding him a testimony for the trial. Cykes also noticed in L'Belle's voice that he had an inexplicable obsession with Tenma Taro.

After they left, Justice decided to ask Mayor Tenma about the rumors surrounding him. When Justice asked about the real reason for his push for the merger, Mayor Tenma claimed that he simply wanted to acquire the village for tourism purposes. Justice noticed a reaction in his bracelet, and he focused on the mayor to find that the bottom of his right eye twitched when he mentioned tourism. Justice also told Mayor Tenma that his claim was impossible, since Nine-Tails Vale had been practically deserted before the Amazing Nine-Tails appeared, after the merger talks had started. The mayor then admitted that someone had blackmailed him into pursuing the merger by threatening Jinxie's life. He wondered whether the blackmailer was the killer. As Cykes asked why the blackmailer would resort to murder, Justice guessed that, if Rex Kyubi were the Amazing Nine-Tails, then this would provide a strong motive to kill the leader of the anti-merger movement.

Justice knew that he would have a long trial the next day, since the only plausible suspects were his client and a creature of legend. He returned to the office to prepare.

April 18

9:15 a.m.

Athena Cykes was nervous for her first trial, so Apollo Justice had her do the "Chords of Steel" voice exercises that he would do to relieve his own stress. Phoenix Wright then entered the room, donning a blue suit. He would only say that he thought that he would be needed in court in the near future.

Trial

9:30 a.m.

In court, Justice watched as the prosecutor, Simon Blackquill, entered the courtroom, having been escorted from his prison cell. Justice saw Blackquill's psychological capabilities at work as he manipulated the judge into giving the opening statement. Bobby Fulbright was summoned to testify on the prosecution's argument. Rex Kyubi had been slipped a sleeping drug of some sort, as was revealed in the autopsy report. It was argued that the victim had awakened after being stabbed, and he had struck his killer with the small fox-and-demon statue that had been found on the scene, which was stained with Damian Tenma's blood. Justice pointed out that no fingerprints had been lifted from the statue, but Blackquill countered that the green cloth found at the scene also had Mayor Tenma's blood, which meant that it had been used to wrap the statue.

Cykes then suggested that the real killer had planted the feathers and tracks from the crime scene. However, Blackquill had Fulbright argue that the feathers and tracks were part of the defendant's plan to demoralize the anti-merger movement by making it look as if Tenma Taro had killed the alderman. Blackquill continued that Mayor Tenma had murdered Kyubi upon finding out that he was the Amazing Nine-Tails. To explain why Kyubi had created the Amazing Nine-Tails persona, Blackquill presented a blackmail letter that had been found in Kyubi's pocket, threatening the life of "his dearest" if he did not go through with the merger. Justice recognized this as the blackmail letter that Mayor Tenma had mentioned. He wondered whether the killer had transferred the blackmail letter from Mayor Tenma's person onto Kyubi's while both of them were incapacitated.

Justice then realized that the supposed order of events implied by the prosecution's argument was impossible. The very existence of the bloody tracks, as well as the presence of the feathers on top of the pool of blood, showed that they had to have been planted after the murder. Justice concluded from this that there was a third person at the scene, and identified the Tenma Taro figure that Jinxie had seen as that individual. Although Filch had claimed that he had not seen this figure, Justice called him to the stand for further scrutiny.

When Filch testified about his security duties, Justice felt his bracelet when he mentioned Tenma Taro. However, Blackquill's pet hawk Taka prevented him from focusing on Filch for tells. Justice settled for contradicting Filch's statement that he had been keeping watch during the time of the murder. Justice knew that Filch had been watching a wrestling match during that time. Filch protested that he was watching the foyer and the TV at the same time, but Justice retorted that the direction that the TV was facing made that impossible.

Filch then testified that he would have heard the Tenma Taro figure, even if he could not see it. When Justice pressed him on this, he added that Tenma Taro also carried a staff, which he definitely would have heard. Justice pointed out that the Yokai Legend Scroll did not depict Tenma Taro carrying anything, and the fact that Filch mentioned a staff proved that he had, indeed, seen the Tenma Taro figure. However, Filch still would not admit to seeing Tenma Taro due to the village superstitions. Justice concluded from this that the killer had taken advantage of the superstitions by dressing up as Tenma Taro so that no witness would admit to seeing him. Furious at what the witness had cost him, Blackquill had Taka chase Filch out of the courtroom, and broke his shackles. He asked Justice why Jinxie had not seen Tenma Taro when she was in the Fox Chamber. The judge decided to declare a ten-minute recess to let both sides regroup, but Blackquill insisted on the recess lasting three minutes.

10:43 a.m.

Jinxie Tenma was summoned to the stand. At first, she testified that she saw many yokai in the Fox Chamber. Cykes told Justice that Jinxie was seeing hallucinations triggered by extreme fear. Using Cykes's Mood Matrix, Justice explained to Jinxie what each yokai really was. Jinxie realized that she had not seen any yokai, breaking Justice's claim of Tenma Taro being there.

Jinxie then testified that she had been so frightened that her legs had given out, but Justice noticed that her fear lessened when she mentioned this. He guessed that Jinxie had seen a Nine-Tails Flower, and Jinxie replied that she had seen a small case with a picture of such a flower on it. The judge ordered her to produce the case, and when Blackquill opened it, he found the missing master key to Kyubi Manor. This placed the master key at the scene of the crime, and thus Jinxie, possessing the only other key to the Fox Chamber, was the only person who could have opened the Fox Chamber doors.

Justice rethought the whole situation. He asserted that the killer had locked the door from outside, then entered the air duct from the hallway and dropped the master key back into the Fox Chamber. Blackquill pointed out that the security camera in the foyer had not seen any Tenma Taro, and its only blind spot was a cliff-side window. With no other options available to him, Justice claimed that Tenma Taro could have flown out the window, as was seen in the papers.

Blackquill then gave his own explanation: Jinxie Tenma had been Tenma Taro the whole time. She had planted the feathers and tracks and concocted her encounter with Tenma Taro in order to draw suspicion away from her father. At this, Damian Tenma suddenly became possessed by Tenma Taro, and he claimed that he had left the feathers and tracks, and had flown out the window and returned after a while. Blackquill decided to run with this confession, since Tenma Taro was either Damian or Jinxie anyway, and the mayor was guilty either way. He aggressively pushed for a verdict, but he suddenly felt a powerful shock. Fulbright had planted an electric shock device on his shackles in order to keep him under control.

At this point, although the prosecution's case was strong, the defense still had the argument that a third person could have used the master key. The judge decided that this case needed further investigation, and so he adjourned the trial for the day.

Regroup

1:20 p.m.

Apollo Justice and Athena Cykes regrouped at the Wright Anything Agency and gave Trucy the evidence they no longer needed before heading back to the crime scene. However, when Justice investigated the air duct, he found that it had not been used at all, disproving the theory that he had. They learned from Fulbright that Tenma Taro's staff had been found at the base of the cliff, and they dejectedly returned to the agency. They reported the bad news to Phoenix Wright, who reminded them that their belief in their client was their most powerful weapon. Justice decided to talk to Damian Tenma.

Interviews

Mayor Tenma was still feigning possession by Tenma Taro. He gave Justice the key to the Forbidden Chamber, which he said he had stolen from the killer and swallowed. Justice asked him about the fox-and-demon statue, and Mayor Tenma said that it was a special gift that Rex Kyubi was going to give to him. When Justice asked who could have stolen the blackmail letter and planted it on Kyubi, Mayor Tenma replied that only Florent L'Belle knew about the letter. Reinvigorated by this major lead, Justice headed to Nine-Tails Vale to ask Jinxie Tenma about how to open the Forbidden Chamber.

At Yokai Lane, Justice and Cykes discovered Jinxie in a sort of trance. After being woken from this trance, Jinxie told them that she remembered that there had been no feathers or tracks when she initially discovered the crime scene. Justice also learned that the key to the Forbidden Chamber was unique, and that only Kyubi knew how to open the door. Justice showed Jinxie the fox-and-demon statue, and Jinxie noticed that it was broken. There was supposed to be a cup that the fox and demon would hold up together, as a sign of goodwill. Only Jinxie and Kyubi knew about the statue before the murder. Jinxie then said that that was all she knew, but Justice's bracelet reacted. Before he could question her further, however, Fulbright arrived and took her away for questioning.

The duo found L'Belle in the garden. He claimed that he had seen Tenma Taro, but he had lied about it to protect Jinxie. It seemed that Jinxie was known for the trances she went into. Justice confronted him about the blackmail letter, but he simply laughed it off, destroying the letter in the process. He suddenly got a call from a store wanting to buy his products, but he refused, saying that he advertised his products only to show his beauty, not to have them bought and used by "peasants". Nonetheless, after Cykes mentioned that L'Belle's hair was a different color, he gave her a sample of his newest creation, a hair color dye named "Couleur Me L'Belle!" that washed out with water.

The Forbidden Chamber

After that, Justice and Cykes entered the Fox Chamber to solve the mystery of the Forbidden Chamber and find more clues. They found the cup from the fox-and-demon statue under the table. Cykes discovered that the two fox statues on either side of the door moved. Justice also noticed that the folding screen in the room depicted two foxes. He examined the back of the screen and discovered pictures of keyholes and keys that looked like the Forbidden Chamber's key. When the folding screen was folded so that keys and keyholes lined up, the screen depicted the two foxes facing each other, with an open door between them. Justice and Cykes moved the fox statues to face each other, and the keyhole to the Forbidden Chamber door was revealed.

The Forbidden Chamber.

A gigantic Tenma Taro statue greeted the two lawyers as they entered the Forbidden Chamber. Justice noticed a rack containing staves similar to the one that the Tenma Taro figure had been carrying, as well as more feathers on the floor. This meant that the figure must have been inside the Forbidden Chamber at some point. There was also a bottle of L'Belle's hand cream on the floor. In front of the statue was a scroll, which seemed to depict the birth of Tenma Taro. Justice also found a compartment at the base of the statue, with some kind of dusty figurine inside. There was also an air vent in the ceiling. Justice decided to ask Filch about the village superstitions.

In the foyer, Filch greeted them by trying to steal Justice's bracelet and Cykes's Widget. He mentioned that stealing was in his blood, and that his grandfather was the famous thief Azuki Kozo, who would leave figurines of himself at the scenes of his heists. Justice realized that the dusty figurine from the Forbidden Chamber was one of these. When questioned about the Tenma Taro sighting, Filch claimed that he was afraid to talk because of the superstitions. However, Justice told him that, had he believed in the superstitions, he would have left Nine-Tails Vale immediately, as the superstitions instructed to anyone who had seen Tenma Taro. Filch then admitted that L'Belle had threatened him into keeping the sighting quiet, due to Jinxie's "possession" incidents. Justice decided to get to the bottom of these supposed possessions.

By the time they had gotten to the detention center, Cykes had figured out what Jinxie's "possessions" really were. She told Justice and Mayor Tenma that Jinxie suffered from a rare form of a sleepwalking disorder, originating from repressed stress and lack of sleep caused by her fear of demons. She could not have done any of what she had been accused of in this state. Upon hearing this, Mayor Tenma dropped his Tenma Taro act and admitted that neither of them had planted the feathers and tracks. Justice returned to the foyer to confront L'Belle about this. He learned that both he and Filch were going to testify in court, but they left before the lawyer could press them any further.

The only matter left unresolved was Jinxie's secret. Justice and Cykes met up with her in Yokai Lane, and they asked her what she had seen. Jinxie replied that her father had told her to call the police before passing out. However, Justice noticed that her fingers shook when she claimed that that was all that her father had said. Jinxie then admitted that her father had indeed said something else:

"Forgive me, Jinxie. I killed Alderman Kyubi."

April 19 trial

9:30 a.m.

Trial began the next day. As Simon Blackquill summoned Phineas Filch to the stand, Apollo Justice focused on discrediting Filch's claim that Jinxie Tenma had been the Tenma Taro figure. He pointed out that Damian Tenma had hidden the Forbidden Chamber Key, which meant that Jinxie could not have accessed the Forbidden Chamber to acquire one of Tenma Taro's staves. Justice submitted for fingerprint analysis the hand cream that he had found. The analysis revealed, contrary to Justice's initial assumption, that the hand cream belonged to Filch.

Filch confessed to what he had done. Rex Kyubi had had him dress up as Tenma Taro for the special event involving him and the Amazing Nine-Tails. Afterward, Filch had worn the costume and had broken into the Forbidden Chamber through an air duct between it and the foyer. Justice realized that he must have thrown the costume out the window after he was done, explaining the Tenma Taro sighting in the papers. Blackquill deduced that someone had to have opened the chamber doors, which Filch confirmed, though he could not identify who it was. Justice suggested that if Filch were the Tenma Taro, Florent L'Belle's alibi no longer added up.

10:25 a.m.

A recess was called to prepare L'Belle to take the stand. Justice had a nagging feeling that he was missing something important, but he could not figure out what.

11:00 a.m.

The original form of the statue.

L'Belle testified that he had witnessed Mayor Tenma confessing to his daughter. He claimed that, after the mayor had released Tenma Taro, L'Belle had then fled toward the hallway phone to call the police. Justice objected to this, since Jinxie had also gone to call the police, and so the two would have seen each other. L'Belle then admitted that he had entered the Fox Chamber, but he claimed that he had entered after the murder. Justice asked him to elaborate on the weapons at the scene, and L'Belle described the fox-and-demon statue in particular as "inspiring". Justice caught him on this, as only the original, complete form of the statue would be "inspiring", which placed L'Belle inside the Fox Chamber during the murder. Blackquill disagreed with this reasoning, since Kyubi could have told L'Belle about the statue beforehand, and Jinxie's statement about no third party in the Fox Chamber still stood firm.

Suddenly, Damian Tenma, as "Tenma Taro", decided to testify. He described being in a dark room, with Tenma Taro and the Nine-Tailed Fox on either side of him. Justice used the Mood Matrix and discovered that Tenma felt joy when mentioning the Nine-Tailed Fox. Tenma replied that the joy had come from hearing a door open and seeing light, and Justice concluded that he had been in the Forbidden Chamber. Tenma then remembered that he had seen the Amazing Nine-Tails, not the Nine-Tailed Fox, but Justice noticed shock and sadness when he made this statement. Tenma replied that the red cape that the Amazing Nine-Tails was wearing had caused these emotions. However, Justice realized that the Amazing Nine-Tails did not wear a red cape, and that the "red cape" was, in fact, blood from the crime scene. Tenma then remembered that he had seen Alderman Kyubi's body behind the Amazing Nine-Tails.

L'Belle tricking Jinxie with a false murder confession while while disguised as the Amazing Nine-Tails.

Blackquill pointed out that Tenma's claims contradicted his daughter's; she testified to seeing him, not the Amazing Nine-Tails, and everyone recognized that the Amazing Nine-Tails was Kyubi's secret identity. Justice proposed that L'Belle had disguised himself as Tenma and "confessed" to Jinxie, but Blackquill countered that Jinxie would have seen through the disguise and unmasked him. Thinking it through, Justice came to an earth-shattering conclusion: Damian Tenma was the Amazing Nine-Tails! Because of the blackmail letter, the mayor had created the Amazing Nine-Tails to secretly oppose the merger.

L'Belle preparing to murder the alderman.

Justice laid out his hypothesis of L'Belle's plan. L'Belle gave Kyubi and Mayor Tenma coffee laced with a sleeping drug, allowing him to kill the incapacitated Kyubi. He then put on the Amazing Nine-Tails' mask, hid the Mayor in the Forbidden Chamber, then let out a scream to get Jinxie's attention before "confessing" to her while disguised as the Amazing Nine-Tails. Jinxie would not have unmasked him due to the wrestler's code forbidding the removal of a wrestler's mask. After Jinxie went to call the police, L'Belle reopened the chamber to place the mayor back on his seat, inadvertently releasing Filch, who ran out in his Tenma Taro costume, leaving the footprints and feathers behind. L'Belle finally threw the Amazing Nine-Tails's mask out the window.

However, L'Belle threatened Mayor Tenma again. He said that he would reveal the secret behind Tenma Taro if the mayor admitted to being the Amazing Nine-Tails, and that this would bring ruin upon Nine-Tails Vale. Justice wondered why the truth would bring ruin, and he realized that Tenma Taro was actually a secret treasure kept inside the Forbidden Chamber. He then told L'Belle and Mayor Tenma that Tenma Taro could no longer inspire the greed that would ruin the village, for Azuki Kozo had stolen it long ago. Tenma revealed that Kyubi had hinted as much during their meeting, telling him that the gold ingot was gone.

The scroll kept in the Forbidden Chamber, depicting the origin of the yokai Tenma Taro.

With the threat no longer valid, Damian Tenma told the real story of Tenma Taro that was actually depicted on the scroll that was in the Forbidden Chamber. His ancestors had used a gold ingot to purchase land from the ancestors of Nine-Tails Vale to form Tenma Town. However, the ingot had inspired so much greed and conflict within the village that a mythical creature had been invented to scare people away from the treasure. Prompted by Justice, Tenma confirmed his true identity as the Amazing Nine-Tails. Jinxie admitted that the person who "confessed" to her had been wearing the Amazing Nine-Tails mask; the mayor also revealed that L'Belle had suggested to Mayor Tenma that he should reveal that he was the Amazing Nine-Tails.

Despite all of these revelations, Blackquill pointed out that Justice had not presented any conclusive evidence for his claims. Justice thought about this carefully, and then he showed his decisive evidence: the white hair inside the Amazing Nine-Tails's mask belonged to the last person to wear it. Blackquill pointed out the obvious that L'Belle's hair wasn't white, but Justice presented L'Belle's "Couleur Me L'Belle!" hair coloring dye. L'Belle's hair was artificially colored with his personal brand of hair dye, which had washed out from the hair when the mask had fallen into the river. A DNA test was all that would be needed to prove that the white hair belonged to L'Belle.

A defeated L'Belle deprived of his makeup.

L'Belle went out of control, threatening Justice while spraying perfume on himself. This removed all of his makeup, revealing his pale face and hair as they really were. The calls came in. The sponsors were pulling out, the party was canceled, L'Belle was fired from his position as Mayor Tenma's aide, and there was a stratospheric damages claim of $100 million against him. After he was taken away, Blackquill learned that L'Belle's habit of promoting products that he would never sell placed him in great debt, and this had spurred him on toward his convoluted plot to steal the gold ingot known as Tenma Taro. With all of the facts of the case finally brought to light, the judge declared a not guilty verdict for Damian Tenma.

Aftermath

1:23 p.m.

Damian meeting his fans as the Amazing Nine-tails.

As the defense team celebrated, Athena Cykes wondered why Florent L'Belle had only killed Rex Kyubi. Phoenix Wright believed that L'Belle had intentionally left Damian Tenma alive so that he could reveal him as the Amazing Nine-Tails after the conviction, thus destroying the symbol of the anti-merger movement. Jinxie Tenma told them that she was not afraid of yokai anymore after seeing what the lawyers had accomplished for her father. Damian believed that he should retire the Amazing Nine-Tails - the role had served its original purpose, and given his own unpopularity, he expected his fans to desert him. Cykes told him to listen to the crowd that had gathered right outside to meet the man behind the mask, and Jinxie likewise encouraged her father. Apollo Justice returned Damian's mask to him so that he could go outside to greet his fans.

Wright assured Justice and Cykes that Nine-Tails Vale and Tenma Town should do just fine, now that the wedges driving the two apart had been removed and the Amazing Nine-Tails was as popular as ever. They went out to Eldoon's Noodles to celebrate. However, the dark age of the law would be waiting for them at Themis Legal Academy...

References to other cases

• Upon hearing about the circumstances of Kyubi's murder regarding about the Crime Photo, Phoenix muses that he also had to deal with a "locked room" style murder case, although in his case, it was his assistant at the time who was the main suspect. He also remarks that the prosecutor for the murder case loves to swing her whip around in court, much to Apollo's surprise.
• After hearing Cykes' idea about becoming a masked wrestler, Justice states that no one would hire a masked lawyer. This could be a reference to Godot, a masked prosecutor who appeared in Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations.
• While examining the airduct at the crime scene, Cykes comments that there would be no way that anyone could escape though it. Justice then replies that they had gone to all the trouble of bringing a ladder with them, only for Cykes to correct him by pointing out that it's a stepladder. This is an in-joke in the series that began in Turnabout Samurai and has been in every Ace Attorney game to date.
• While Jinxie Tenma tends to refer to the people she meets as some sort of yokai, upon meeting Bobby Fulbright for the first time she instead calls him a ghost, to which Fulbright objects that he "is no phantom." This is subtle foreshadowing of the reveal in Turnabout for Tomorrow that not only is the real Fulbright dead (a "ghost"), but also that he has been replaced by the international spy known only as "the phantom" who was responsible for the UR-1 Incident.

Cultural references

• When investigating the tracks and feathers, Athena Cykes says that the tracks are big and bird-like and that the feathers also point to a bird. Justice then states, "It must have been one big bird! And not the friendly yellow type either!" This is a reference to Big Bird, a prominent character on the children's educational television show Sesame Street.
• The wrestling match that Phineas Filch was watching during the crime is between "Howlin' Wolf" and "Pretty Boy Vampire", and is commentated by "Timothy Twilight". These are likely references to the Twilight franchise.
• During several parts of the trial, Cykes says that Blackquill is playing, and winning, "Simon Says" with the judge.
• During Bobby Fulbright's second cross-examination, pressing one of his statements causes Blackquill to refer to the villagers' fear of yokai as being as though Jack the Ripper were let loose in their village. Jack the Ripper was an infamous Victorian serial killer, who struck London in 1888 with a string of brutal killings.
• When called to testify, Filch first calls the judge "Your Lordship", which is the standard honorific for judges in the United Kingdom.
• When Cykes suggests going back to the scene of the crime she says, "Vamonos Apollo Vamonos!" This could be a reference to the educational animated children's television show Dora the Explorer, as that is a paraphrase of one of her trademark lines.
• After the true form of Tenma Taro is revealed, Athena Cykes says, "Well you know what they say, 'The love of money is the root of all evil.'" This is a common way to paraphrase the Bible verse 1 Timothy 6:10.
• On two occasions when Phineas Filch's lies are exposed, Blackquill calls him a "fool of a tanuki." This is likely in reference to a scene from The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, where Gandalf uses the insult "fool of a Took" when Peregrin Took makes a mistake.
• At one point, Athena Cykes suggests Apollo Justice should become a professional wrestler under the moniker of "The Amazing Firebrand". This references the character Firebrand, a Red Arremer from the Ghosts n' Goblins series, which is also made by Capcom.
• At one point before running off Phineas Filch say "Run to the Hills", a possible reference to a song of the same name by the rock band "Iron Maiden".
• Presenting Azuki Kozo's statue to Phineas Filch prompts the latter to say he was noble, "just like your Robin Hood". Robin Hood is a heroic outlaw from English folklore that is traditionally depicted to have robbed the rich, to give to the poor.
• While pointing out an inconsistency in emotions for Jinxie Tenma using the Mood Matrix during the first trial, if the player chooses the wrong emotion, Athena Cykes says “Hello? Is there anybody in there? Just nod if you can hear me.” to Apollo Justice. He then has an inner monologue- “Yes there is someone at home, and that someone is going to try that again.”.This is a reference to the lyrics of the song Comfortably Numb by Pink Floyd.
• On the second trial day, Florent L'Belle's green hair, purple suit, and pale complexion is reminiscent of the Joker, the archenemy of DC Comics' superhero Batman.

Notes

Ted Tonate in the mayor's mansion during the demo.

• In the investigation demo trailers, a HH-3000 bomb, similar to the one in Turnabout Countdown, is discovered under a table at the crime scene. Ted Tonate is also discovered by Phoenix Wright after he asks Athena Cykes to check what is behind a suspicious-looking door.
• In the Japanese version of the full game, when the Mood Matrix overflows for the first time, "Mood Matrix ~ Now Commencing: Psychoanalysis" plays. In the English version, however, it is changed to "Running Wild - Mood Matrix ~ Get a Grip on Yourself!" which plays every other time the Mood Matrix overflows.
• The circumstances surrounding this case parallel those in The Stolen Turnabout in a number of ways: both culprits were blackmailing the defendants, were engaged in larceny (successful or not), were linked to and impersonated a famous mask-wearing individual whom they framed in order to give themselves an alibi and put the blame on someone else, both defendants were both knocked out cold at the scene of the crime by the actual murderer, and both rooms where the bodies were found were locked.
• This case also contains a number of similarities to Reunion, and Turnabout, in particular, the manner in which the culprit framed the defendant. Both murders took place in a locked room in a manor where the defendant was apparently alone with the victim. In both cases, the culprit drugged the defendant before murdering the victim, planted the defendant's fingerprints on the murder weapon, hid the unconscious defendant in the back of the room, then disguised themselves as the defendant to create a witness before escaping the scene. Both cases also take place in Japanese-themed settings, are the second in their respective games, and are initially believed to involve supernatural elements that are later proven to be false (the channeling of Mimi Miney in Reunion, and Turnabout and the involvement of Tenma Taro in The Monstrous Turnabout).
• This case is one of only a few in the series in which the killer is clearly shown in the introductory cutscene actually committing the crime (with the others being The First Turnabout, Turnabout Sisters, Turnabout Visitor, and The Foreign Turnabout).
• When Apollo Justice says that he has proof that the killer may have jumped out the window and flown away, the Judge responds by saying, "Oh, I can't wait to hear this." This is likely a joke about how the series has used the "alleged flying person" plot point a number of times before.
• In the Dual Destinies Launch Trailer , the end of the Revisualization sequence, this case is depicted for a brief moment. However, the question that the player is answering is "why didn't the killer arrange the alderman so he was laying on his stomach", and the concluding statement is "The killer didn't know the lullaby". This was likely changed on purpose to avoid spoilers.

Typos and mistakes

• After Blackquill tells the judge to give the opening statement, the latter says, "...but I suppose I could give it try" (instead of, "...but I suppose I could give it a try"). This is corrected in the iOS version.
• When Cykes is about to claim there was a third party to the prosecution, Justice asks her "Are sure about this?", missing out the noun in the sentence.
• Justice at one point states that he needs to "pour over every word he says" in reference to a witness statement, when it should be "pore over every word he says".
• When Justice uses revisualization in court, he says, "Also, we all though the alderman was killed because he was the Amazing Nine-Tails", when it should have been written as thought.
• When Justice suggests that the killer, dressed as Tenma Taro, could have flown away from the crime scene, Blackquill says, "It is your brain that has flow the coop," instead of "flown".

Development

• Dual Destinies head writer Takeshi Yamazaki came up with several supposed-paranormal case ideas that were ultimately scrapped. Among these was an "ethereal murder" where the defendant remembers committing the murder but there is no body or proof of it even happening. This was scrapped as it would ultimately be an inconceivable premise, particularly due to the absurdity that someone would be tried over a non-existent murder. Other scrapped ideas that were also deemed as too ridiculous or "dumb" included the supposed murder of a doll, a murder where someone died but there was no "cause of death" (as if their body just instantaneously shut off), and a case in which an fictional heroine is charged with killing her own actress after the character supposedly stumbled into the real world.

Other languages

• Japanese - 逆転の百鬼夜行 (Gyakuten no Hyakkiyakō; lit. "Turnabout's Hyakkiyakō")
• Korean - 역전의 백귀야행 (Yeogjeon-ui Baeggwiyahaeng; lit. "Turnabout's Hyakkiyakō")