Klapollo Ace Attorney *Apollo justice*

"Proof of Innocence"

'C'mon! Why would I even want to kill that manager?, You want a reason? Easy. I got no motive, man!, This was that diva's first trip to this country, right?, How could I possibly know her manager?, If I didn't know him, why would I want to kill him!?'

the judge hummed to himself for a moment

'Hmm. A simple reason, indeed. Prosecutor Gavin. Is it the case that Mr. LeTouse had not been to our country before?'

Klavier looked at the papers in his bench

'According to our records... Yes. Not even once'

'I see... Very well! Mr. Justice, you may begin the cross-examination'

Apollo took a little shaky breath

"Great, now I need to find a motive..."

from the corner of his eyes, he felt a gaze on him, he peeked up head up a little to see klavier glancing at him with calming light blue shimmering eyes, silently telling him to relax and just focus on the case, he felt his heart flutter all over again, but did feel more at ease then before

'Your Honor... Take a look at this'

he said at last after 10 minutes of examining over the testimony and evidence, the judge stared down at him

'What's that? Hmm... Looks like candy'

Apollo blinked at him

'Er, it's not. Don't lick it, please. Detective Crescend. ...Ever seen this?'

daryan shrugged as a cocky grin appeared on his face

'...Looks like a piece of candy'

Apollo sighed

'What it is... is evidence. Don't lick it before you try it'

he snapped a little, daryan said nothing but kept his gaze on him

'Specifically, this is a replica of a cocoon... ...It was found among the victim's belongings'

apollo explained

'A cocoon? Never seen one that color'

Klavier chimed in

'It is a variety only found in the Republic of Borginia. Nowhere else'

'Alright... But what is this cocoon replica doing in my courtroom? Surely, this has nothing to do with a motive for killing Mr. LeTouse! ...Does it?'

he nodded

'It does! ...Wait! I mean, I think it does'

he added a bit nervously, blushing a tint red at his mistake, daryan smirked as he spoke in a taunting confident tone, making apollo mentally shrink 

'...You don't sound so confident, man'

apollo swallowed the nervous lump in his throat as he tried to remain calm and un-bothered, the judge then spoke in

'A cocoon... Is it one of those silky cocoons? The kind that you can make, well, silk out of?'

Apollo shook his head

'...Not this one. This cocoon makes a powerful "curative"'

'A curative? For what...?'

'Apparently, it is most efficacious at treating a disease thought incurable. It is the only medicine of its kind. ...However, it is illegal to take one of these healing cocoons out of Borginia'

klavier explained

'Whatever for? If it's such a miracle cure, why not share it with the world?'

'Yeah, that's what I've been wondering!'

trucy suddenly said

'We looked into the matter at some length. Apparently, it isn't difficult at all to manufacture the remedy from the cocoon. Yet, if you change the process only slightly... ...you can easily make a large quantity of something else entirely. ...A deadly poison, in fact'

'Wh-What!?'

the judge cried out

'There was an incident, several years ago, where some of these got out onto the black market. It caused quite the commotion in the global community. Though the media was kept largely unaware'

the Judge stroked his bread

'Hmm... Intriguing!'

'All this has led to a strict ban on the cocoons' export. One rigidly enforced... by Interpol, among others'

'Interpol...'

Apollo nodded as he intervined

'Right! The victim, Romein LeTouse, was an Interpol agent. Detective Crescend! You insist on referring to him as a "manager"... But that is misleading! Romein LeTouse wasn't killed as a manager! He was killed as an undercover agent!'

'...... So I was trying to smuggle this gumball into the country? That what you're trying to say?'

he spat, apollo glared back at him

'I'm saying that could well be a motive for murder'

'Oh, so I was going to sell it on the black market, make myself a pretty penny? ...Ridiculous. I mean, totally unthinkable'

apollo took a slight step closer to him

'"Unthinkable", you say? Why?'

he challenged, the judge quickly cut in, not wanting to see a fight between the two, he had pardoned ever since he met phoenix wright

'Perhaps it's time for another testimony... ...about this "smuggling of cocoons" business!'

daryan huffed but complied, apollo flipped a page in his notebook and began to write

'International Affairs got a memo about these cocoons, Interpol's all hot and bothered about 'em, Can't sell 'em on the black market. Too dangerous, Yeah, cocoon smuggling ain't exactly lucrative anymore, Man, I'm in International Affairs! I know the deal!'

the judge "hmmed"

'Indeed... Interpol wanted these cocoons bad enough to send Mr. LeTouse undercover'

daryan shook his head

'You kids think up the craziest things... But no way am I going to risk life and limb... ...just to get my hands on some dirty cocoon money!'

'Not the most noble of statements, but duly noted'

the judge said, nodding his head, klavier then cut in as apollo finished up writing the details

'According to reports, these cocoons top Interpol's list. Selling them to an underground organization would be risky'

'Hmm... Very well, you may begin the cross-examination'

the judge allowed, apollo nodded as he read back the testimony on his notebook

"This is the only motive I've got... He was up to something, and I'm going to find out what!"