The courtroom was thrown into chaos by Phoenix's sudden accusation. Everyone was either shouting, murmuring or debating something; what had just happened? Who was Karen Smith anyway? Is the lawyer just trying to get his client off the hook? Those were some of the questions the audience was now eagerly awaiting an answer to.

The Judge had finally had enough and was now slamming his gavel with as much force as he could muster. "Order! Order! Oooooorder! This is a court of law! If you cannot keep your voices down, I will have you thrown out!" He shouted, managing to finally restore order. "Mr. Wright, I don't think I need to tell you that this is a serious accusation. So far I have heard practically nothing of Ms. Karen Smith, I really hope you know what you're doing!"

"Don't I always, Your Honor?" Phoenix replied jokingly.

The judge, however, didn't smile. "You really don't want me to answer that."

(Oh yeah, sorry, I forgot you're infallible and always know what you're doing!)

"The prosecution has no objections." Maria said, crossing her arms. "Once we have established Ms. Smith's innocence then Mr. Wright will be unable to deny his client's guilt and we can all get on with our lives. Isn't that right, Ms. Smith?"

Several people gasped as a woman in the audience slowly stood up. She was dressed in a long, elegant black dress, a big, black hat with two peacock feathers on the front and giant, thick red scarf which almost covered both of her shoulders. It was Karen, looking as graceful and bored as ever as she surveyed everyone in the room. "Indeed, Prosecutor Tanner."

"Karen, no!" A big man next to her said, putting both of his hands on her shoulders. "This is madness, you don't have to go down there!". Phoenix recoginzed the voice and saw the ever-present sunglasses on the man's face. Apparently Principal David Freeman was there, too.

Karen gave David's left hand a comforting squeeze. "Dave, you know I could never back down from a battle of wits. If Mr. Wright claims I am the murderer, then he must have 'evidence' to support his fantasies, and I want to see just what kind of evidence he has. He has moved the first pawn, and I intend to face him head on." She said and then turned to face the judge. "However, I would like to speak to Prosecutor Tanner before I say anything, if that is alright."

The judge nodded. "Of course, I believe this new turn of events call for a 15-minute recess." He said and slammed the gavel against the table, muttering something about a double espresso and how he was getting to old for this.

Phoenix and Maya ignored the barrage of questions the press had for them as they made their way back to the defendant lobby.

...

"You know, I had almost forgotten how intense our trials can get." Maya said as she sat down on the black leather couch with a sigh. "Oh well, I think we managed to get the quickest recess in the history of trials, at least."

Phoenix sat down next to her, taking her hand and squeezing it firmly. "That was my plan all along, you know. Even if we lose here, our names will be remembered forever in world record books."

Maya giggled and leaned against him. "I like the way you think! Too bad we'll be remembered for our epic win rather than our amazing new record."

They chuckled a bit at their own silly brand of humor, but it was promptly interrupted by Edgeworth who had apparently opted to let go of his otherwise gentleman-like behavior today and not knock.

"Wright, you really couldn't have chosen a worse time to..." He began, but stopped himself when he saw Maya lean against Phoenix, both of them looking at him as if they had been caught with their hands in a cookie jar. "Oh my..."

The pair quickly stood up and tried to explain themselves with all kinds of impressive excuses like 'Maya was just cold!' and 'the couch is really slippery', but they dropped the act once Edgeworth crossed his arms and and gave them his best 'I-can-tell-you're-lying-seriously-I'm-a-prosecuto r' face.

"I'm really happy for you." He said with a genuine smile. "Even if you're both acting like schoolchildren. How did it happen?"

"The, uh, relationship or the schoolchild mentality?" Phoenix asked, scratching his neck.

Edgeworth didn't respond, but instead turned to Maya. "So, how did it happen?" he repeated.

"With a corny confession at a train station in the middle of the night while it was raining. It's the oldest story in the book, but I think we both deserve some normality in our lives considering how our regular days turn out." Maya explained.

"I couldn't agree more." Edgeworth said with a nod. "Speaking of your regular days; Wright, don't you think your timing was a bit off? You should probably have provided some more evidence to support your accusation before you pointed your finger at everyone. I doubt the judge believes you at this point."

"Hey, Maria just managed to convince him that the bloodstained letter was somehow irrelevant, for the moment at least. What was I supposed to do? Besides, I KNOW she's the killer! I just have to put on the pressure, create an opening and present the ace up my sleeve." Phoenix explained confidently, sitting down in the couch again.

Edgeworth looked unimpressed. "Cocky, are we?"

Phoenix shrugged. "For once I actually know what happened, I'll just have to prove it somehow." He said, removing the lab tape on his finger which he had used as a makeshift band-aid the day before. His fingerprint had made a light mark on the tape in blood, much to his surprise.

"Well that won't be easy." David Freeman suddenly said darkly as he entered the lobby, scaring the trio with his abrupt arrival, although he didn't seem to care. "I've never seen Karen succumb to any kind of pressure, and I've known her for 20 years. Mr. Wright, are you sure you know what you're doing? There's got to be some kind of mistake."

Phoenix looked down at the floor and threw away the tape, not knowing what to tell the older man who was clearly hurt by everything that was happening. He remembered how David had blamed himself for the death of Sarah a few days before, and not only had there been another murder since then, but one of his colleagues was now accused of committing the crime. It made Phoenix wish he was mistaken, but he knew that wasn't the case. The truth would hurt, but he couldn't ignore it.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Freeman." Phoenix said quietly. "I know this must be hard for you, but I'm absolutely convinced of Ms. Smith's guilt."

The room grew silent. Edgeworth and Maya nervously looked at David, then to Phoenix, then back to David again, trying to figure out what was going to happen.

After almost a minute of absolute silence, David took a deep breath and adjusted his sunglasses. "Son, I've known the woman for 20 years, she's one of my closest friends. She has taught dozens of prominent scientists and scores of talented musicians. She's not only a brilliant teacher, but also very respected within her fields of expertise. Why would someone like her kill a regular student? This has to be some kind of misunderstanding!" He said his voice shaky, and the last sentence was more of a desperate shout than anything else.

Phoenix didn't know what to say. What do you tell a man who has done everything he can to help that one of his best friends is a killer? How do you justify blaming a productive member of society of murder instead of a lazy leech of a man? It was hard, but Phoenix knew the truth was more important; no one, no matter how worthless, deserved to be accused of a crime they didn't commit.

"Mr. Freeman, I'm sorry, but I will soon prove to you that Ms. Smith killed Sarah Trueman. I can't look past her crimes, no matter how great a person she is, or used to be. I became an attorney to stand up for those who had nobody on their side, and that is exactly what I'm going to do. The truth must come out." Phoenix said, standing up and looking David dead in the eye to show him he was serious.

Phoenix half expected a punch to the face, but David just looked tired and defeated. With only a 'I see', he walked out of the lobby with slow, careful steps.

Once he knew David was out of earshot, Phoenix placed his face in his palms and sighed. "I feel like shit."

Maya ran up to him and gave him a bone-crushing hug, which he returned. "You shouldn't, you're doing the right thing, Nick. Mr. Freeman is suffering because of Ms. Smith, not because of you."

"She's absolutely correct, Wright." Edgeworth chipped in. "The truth is not always comforting, but it can never, ever be ignored. You handled that situation impeccably.

"Thanks guys." Phoenix half-whispered, still hugging his girlfriend. "That means a lot."

The three of them prepared to head back to the courtroom, but Maya stopped and had a puzzled expression on her face. The two attorneys turned around and looked at her expectantly.

"Mr. Edgeworth, why are you here today? This isn't your case."

Edgeworth recoiled ever so slightly. "W-Well, you see, since my investigation wasn't going swimmingly, and I suspected Ms. Smith, whom I knew Wright was going to accuse today, I didn't really...have a lot to do today."

Phoenix and Maya looked at each other and then back at the prosecutor. "You came here on your day off?" Phoenix asked with a teasing smile. "That's...kind of sad."

"Mr. Edgeworth! You've got to relax and live a little! Read a book! Eat a cookie! Ask Ema out!" Maya ranted and punched the older man playfully on the arm.

Edgeworth rubbed the spot where Maya had punched him even though it didn't hurt. "It wasn't a day off! And thanks to Wright I already had to take her out for dinner."

"Oh yeah, how was your night?" Phoenix asked curiously.

"...Really nice, actually." Edgeworth admitted before he walked towards the courtroom with a giggling couple behind him.

...

The courtroom was buzzing when Phoenix and Maya returned. Both Maria and Karen were at the ready, probably mentally preparing themselves for what was to come. While Maria looked rather tense, Karen looked completely unaffected by her surroundings. Her strange, classy clothes and bored expression made it look like this was just a waste of time that would soon be over with, even as a few overzealous reporters were trying to ask her a few questions in the most obnoxious manner possible.

(That woman is tough, I'll give her that) Phoenix thought as he approached his bench and ignored the journalists behind him.

"Order in the court!" The judge burst out, successfully silencing the audience in a matter of seconds. "Now then, Ms. Smith, you've been accused of murdering Sarah Trueman three days ago. How do you plead?"

"Not guilty, Your Honor. And I'd like to testify regarding my actions that night." Karen said without missing a beat. It looked like her confidence was contagious, as Maria visibly relaxed.

The judge nodded. "You certainly sound confident, Ms. Smith. But please, do testify, that was the plan anyway."

"Of course." She began with half a smile, which was more emotion than Phoenix had ever seen her show, even though it was no real warmth behind it. "I must admit I'm not exactly sure what I'm supposed to tell you all; my actions that night were few and far between. I was going through a few exams until Jorge showed up and suggested I 'chill out' and take a cup of coffee with him in the cafeteria. I didn't hear about the murder until a policeman came charging in."

Maria looked almost cocky once Karen finished her testimony, crossing her arms and leaning back against the wall. "Will that be enough for you, Mr. Wright, or do you intend to waste more of our time?"

"It'll only be enough for me when everyone sees Ms. Smith for what she truly is, Ms. Tanner!" Phoenix replied through clenched teeth, annoyed at her behavior.

"Enough, both of you! I won't have the attorneys act less professionally than the witness, it just won't cut it! Now, Mr. Wright, your cross examination please." The judge said, banging his gavel once shortly after.

"Of course, Your Honor." Phoenix said, trying to regain his composure. "First of all, Ms. Smith, would you please tell the court why you had to read through exams in July in the middle of the night?"

"Why certainly." Karen said like it was the most natural thing in the world. "Not only do many take summer courses at Freshwind University, but there are also, sadly, some students who work on improving their grades since they didn't perform adequately last semester. My class had just finished a biology exam and I got caught up in reading through them. I like to read them all at once, if possible. Not only does it clear up my schedule, but my students get their results back faster and I believe I'm less biased when I read through them all in one go. Consider it...mild superstition, if you will."

Phoenix heard murmurs behind him admiring the seemingly perfect teacher standing at the witness stand. (Great, I'm really digging my own grave today)

Karen turned to him and gave him another one of her cold smiles. "Would you mind continuing? I don't really like wasting time. Or is your king already in check?"

"Stay strong, Nick! She has barely even moved a pawn!" Maya said cheerfully.

"Don't you start with the chess metaphors, too!" Phoenix pleaded, and then turned to Karen. "Anyway, where is the cafeteria, and when did you go to it?"

Karen closed her eyes and slightly turned her head upwards. "The cafeteria is in the aesthetics building, or simply put the 'western building'. I can't rightly remember when we went to the cafeteria, but we were there during the time of the murder."

Phoenix put his hands on his hips and smiled. "Is that so? Isn't that strange?"

Maria frowned. "What is?"

"Two people are in the western building at the time of the murder, supposedly not hearing the shot..." Phoenix began, but was cut off by Maria.

"That proves absolutely nothing! You're grasping at straws!" She burst out incredulously

"I wasn't finished yet!" Phoenix pointed out and wagged his finger. "They fail to hear not only a gun shot, but they also don't see the killer running towards the western building. Not to mention the fact that they're in the same building as the coat with the bloodstained note!"

"OBJECTION!" Maria shouted, pointing at Phoenix with all the aggression she could muster. "That proves absolutely nothing! Don't forget; the policeman found them in the cafeteria not more than ten minutes after the murder had taken place!"

"Ms. Tanner." Phoenix replied, completely calm. "When did the murder take place?"

Maria scoffed and ran a hand through her hair. "At 02.30, you know that already. You have a copy of the autopsy report!"

"Indeed I do." Phoenix admitted with a nod. "And what does the autopsy report say? 'Time of death estimated to be around 00.00 - 03.00', correct? Well, what if we've been approaching this case from the wrong angle?"

"You don't mean...?" The judge asked, surprised at the unexpected new theory from the ever-unpredictable defense attorney.

"I do. The murder didn't take place at 02.30 at all, but at midnight!" Phoenix exclaimed, causing the audience to start buzzing.

"OBJECTION!" Maria yelled out, immediately silencing everyone who had been talking before the judge was able to. "That is fucking ridiculous, ludicrous and preposterous! If that is what you're really suggesting, then show me the proof!"

Phoenix smiled, enjoying the exasperated look on Maria's face as she struggled to keep up. "Why, I've already presented it. The bloodied note that says 'schoolyard at midnight' is proof enough." He explained with a shrug. "Think about it; Mr. Freeman never actually SAW someone get shot, all he saw was someone in a coat fire a gun at 02.30, and he called the police immediately after that. They, in turn, conveniently find the body at the schoolyard and a student passed out drunk in the middle of the corridor."

"That was 'convenient' because the defendant was found drunk out of his mind with the murder weapon in hand! You're just trying to get your client get away by pinning this whole incident on an innocent!" Maria said, starting to get red in the face.

"OBJECTION!" Phoenix shouted with a passion. "This is the only explanation that makes any sense! Do you honestly believe two people didn't hear a gunshot being fired nearby? No, what really happened is that the victim was lured to the schoolyard at midnight, where Ms. Smith waited for her. She killed him using Mr. Hunter's gun, hid the body and then used the coat to create a false witness incriminating my client!"

"Mr. Wright." Karen suddenly said, wearing the same bored expression on her face. "Your pieces are in each others' way, forcing your strategy to take a dramatic shift for the worse."

Phoenix looked at Maya for help. "She means you don't make sense and that you're mixing up the evidence." Maya merrily explained.

(Oh, of course, how obvious...)

"You claim that I killed my student due to a note? And that my fingerprints magically disappeared from the murder weapon? I'll concede that I knew about Derek's weapon, just like absolutely everyone since he would never stop talking about it. Still, your theory is far-fetched at best." Karen said, playing a little with her gigantic scarf.

"And I thought we decided the blood on the note didn't matter at this point..." The judge chipped in unhelpfully, looking slightly lost.

Phoenix shook his head. "The blood merely proves the note belonged to the victim, what's important is what's written on it. As for the fingerprints...well, that's actually easy to explain!"

Maria jerked back as if someone had punched her. "Wh-What are you saying?! There's absolutely no way she could've used the defendant's gun without adding her own fingerprints! And if she had been wearing gloves, she would've at least partially removed some of Mr. Hunter's fingerprints, but there was no mention of that in the case files!"

"But you see, I discovered her clever way of adding fingerprints to whatever object she desires just a few minutes ago." Phoenix replied, having a hard time keeping the smugness out of his voice. "Ms. Smith, I believe you're familiar with lab tape?"

Karen suddenly appeared to be paying much more attention. Her hat made a 360 before her face darkened considerably. "Yes, what of it?"

"I must admit that while I visited your house yesterday, I borrowed some since I couldn't find any band-aids. When I removed it earlier today, my bloody fingerprints were clear as day on that tape." Phoenix explained.

"Ah! Wait, are you saying that...?" The judge began, once again doing his best to keep up with the craziness that transpired in front of him.

"That's exactly what I'm saying, Your Honor - MS. SMITH USED LAB TAPE TO INCRIMINATE THE DEFENDANT!" Phoenix explained loudly, causing a commotion in the audience.

"OBJECTION!" Maria yelled, once again silencing everyone who was talking before the judge could bang his gavel, much to the latters disappointment. "This is madness! Even if she COULD do that, she'd need the defendant's fingerprints!"

"My thoughts exactly, Prosecutor Tanner. Mr. Wright, even though your bishops are behind my line of defense, you're incapable of removing any of my pieces. I suppose you're now going to prove that I have a replica of Derek's finger at home?" Karen taunted, but she had lost some of her cool, and that much was clear for everyone to see.

"Hardly, I have something even better." Phoenix said as he carefully took out the plastic bag protecting the yellow magnifying glass. "I believe you recognize this?"

Karen's hat did another 360 as her eyes widened. "Wh-When did you...?"

"This yellow magnifying glass was found in Ms. Smith's home, and on it are three sets of fingerprints; Ms. Smith's, Mr. Hernandez's and Mr. Hunter's! With this she could easily replicate the defendant's fingerprints with the lab tape and put them on whatever object she wished!" Phoenix explained.

"Mr. Wright!" The judge burst out. "Why on Earth would you take somebody's magnifying glass just like that? And why are there three sets of fingerprints on it?!"

Phoenix took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down, the next few sentences would determine the rest of the trial. Things had gone well so far, and he didn't want Karen to catch up. "I saw a magnifying glass just like this at Mr. Hernandez's home, Your Honor. Judging by the size and color of it, I'd guess this is merely prop, just like the coat we found in the western building. It stuck out like a sore thumb in both Ms. Smith's and Mr. Hernandez's homes, and I guess we know why they were there, now."

"Wait, why did Mr. Hernandez have a magnifying glass, too?! Why couldn't he have committed the crime?!" Maria asked, wiping her forehead with a napkin. She didn't look like she could take much more of this barrage.

"Because thanks to a certain young scientist, I learned something very interesting about Mr. Hernandez's magnifying glass; there were three sets of fingerprints on it as well, but Ms. Smith's and Mr. Hunter's fingerprints were weak and followed an impossible pattern. Mr. Hernandez had clearly been trying to add extra sets of fingerprints to to his magnifying glass, but since he wasn't used to working with lab tape like Ms. Smith, it didn't look convincing to an expert forensic scientist!" Phoenix explained.

"B-But that doesn't make any sense! Why would he do something like that?!" Maria asked.

"He took that answer with him to the grave, I'm afraid, but I've got a pretty good guess of what he was trying to do; he knew what was going to happen to him, so he tried to at least leave a warning behind, a warning against YOU - MS. SMITH!" Phoenix shouted and pointed accusingly at the teacher, whose hat spun around once again.

Karen was biting her bottom lip and seemed to be hard at work at trying to come up with something to say. Everyone was looking at her in expectantly in silence, wondering how she would get out of this one and where the trial had gone from structured to total chaos. Even Edgeworth seemed to be swept up in all the drama.

"If there's one thing it's this; why would I do any of this? You say I did it, but you can't say why. It's as if you don't know a knight can jump over other pieces." Karen said after a few moments of thinking.

"Motive...that's right." Maria thought aloud, lost in her own thoughts.

Maya suddenly lightly elbowed Phoenix in the ribs. "She doesn't know that we know! This ought to be the final nail in the coffin!"

"The defense would like to remind everyone of what Sandra Gardner said yesterday about the boy who committed suicide one year ago after the victim cheated on him. His name was Martin Valiant, and he was Ms. Smith's son!" Phoenix announced.

"Ho-How...DAVIIIIID!" Karen roared. It was the first time Phoenix had heard her raise her voice, and it was not a pleasant experience.

Maria ran a hand through her hair. "But that doesn't make any sense, why would Ms. Smith wait a year to kill Sarah Trueman? Surely she would have known about it and acted sooner if that was her only motive."

"I..." Phoenix began. "don't know..."

Karen appeared to be relieved and regained some of her composure as several members of the audience started debating amongst themselves.

"Hey, Nick..." Maya whispered. "It's a long shot, but I think I know why."

Phoenix looked at her in surprise. "What? Tell me!"

"Think about it, what has she talked about everytime we've met her? She was working on a song about sorrow with her student; maybe that has something to do with it?" Maya suggested.

Phoenix nodded. "Ms. Smith, would you mind testifying about the Elegy of Sorrow?"

The courtroom went dead silent as Karen looked at Phoenix with a murderous glare. "Th-The Elegy of Sorrow? Right...right...right..." Her voice trailed off, and everyone looked at her expectantly, but she didn't continue.

"Ms. Smith?" Maria asked weakly, clearly exhausted by the intense trial.

"So it has all come to this, has it? My son...Martin...my baby boy..." Karen said, her voice trailing off again.

"I believe this is checkmate." Phoenix said proudly. It was over, at last. After days of hard work, they'd finally be able to leave this case behind them and Derek would be free. The truth had once again prevailed.

"Checkmate? Mr. Wright, you're sorely mistaken." Karen said, her dry tone returning from seemingly out of nowhere as she pulled out a gun that she had hidden in her scarf and pointed it against Derek. "We have only just begun."