The Adventure of the Century-Long Turnabout

The Great Turnabout.

Holmes fell on his knees, sobbing, but as the bailiff ran close to help, he stopped him with a hand signal. He tried to wipe his tears.
“Thank you…Mr. Wright. Thank you so much.” He stood up, crying but with his heart beating strong again. The memory of Ryuunosuke shining on his mind, he finally remembered again why he considered that man a part of his family. He needed to finish this at last, he needed to return the favor and put Naruhodou’s soul to rest. It was time. “You asked for my help, and I shall do everything within my reach to do so.”
“Thanks, Mr. Holmes. But your presence alone was all I needed. You and your testimony have confirmed that all the information contained in these journals it’s true, that there exists two Naruhodou’s journals and that Mr. Baskerville has a strong reason to attack my client in order to retrieve one of them! My client has no motive to steal, and he never took the journal they claim as stolen! Their true intention is to retrieve the journal that they don’t possess!”
“Hold it!” yelled Baskerville.”I didn’t attack your client! I insist that you’re just trying to pin this on me! I will confess!” he ran to the witness stand, almost pushing Sherlock aside. “We were trying to retrieve Mr. Justice’s journal, that’s true! However, I, by no means, recurred to violence. I went to his office that same morning to try and buy it but he refused, we argued since he proposed to buy mine too. Neither of our intentions came to fruition and I left the place.” He straightened himself. “Besides, I do not look for the journals for hiding anything, I couldn’t care less if I’m the ambassador or not, this title was put upon my shoulders even if it wasn’t what I wanted. I want to complete my collection, that’s all! That journals are of no use for me! Even you should know that the journals alone contain no significant information, just chit chattering from a man in love. The important pages that supposely contain the shocking truth you talk about are missing, they vanished into thin air ages ago. And without that you can’t confirm that any of the theories contained into your evidence it’s true. Naruhodou could have died at a mere accident, Moriarty could have been a mere invention of my mad ancestor, the letter that Susato wrote is forged. If there’s no proof that shows that Naruhodou discovered something that led him to death then you’re grasping at straws. Stop pursuing this, I will retire the charges against Apollo Justice if you just stop at this moment. Think, your client is almost dead, the people care more about him than they will ever care about me, I’m tired of being the villain of your game, please. Let’s forget this, everyone will do the same in less than a year, anyway.”
Dropping the case? At this point?
Even if what Baskerville said it’s true, they just couldn’t do it, not being so close to solve the mystery for the old ghost. Apollo would be safe but, for how long? If Baskerville was as dangerous as to nearly kill Apollo, they couldn’t let him go spotless.
“Mr. Wright, I looked around for these pages and I could never find them, I’m truly sorry…” lamented Holmes.
“It isn’t a problem, Mr. Holmes. I can’t accept your terms, Mr. Baskerville, I need to do this for someone else’s sake too, not just my client.”
“Then I encourage you to travel back in time and retrieve the proof, because you have no other way to keep going with this.”
Phoenix smiled and put his good arm on his hip.
“That should be no problem at all, for I do know where these missing pages are.”
“W-WHAAT” Baskerville couldn’t believe it. Everyone turned to Phoenix, especially Sherlock.
“Y-you do? That’s impossible!” Sherlock couldn’t contain his excitement. “Mr. Wright! Please, tell me! Don’t make me wait any longer!”
“Ms. Von Karma”
“Are you going to leave us all just waiting? Or is this just another one of your bluffs?” countered Franziska.
“Oh no no, actually, in this very moment you and I are here for the same reason. I know you’re prosecuting this case in order to recover the old sword that belongs to your family, the katana Karma. It ended up being evidence for this case, right?”
“The katana? What do you have in mind, Phoenix Wright?”
“Can you please lend it to me a minute?”
“Are you seriously implying that the evidence you need right now it’s that sword, are your meds kicking in again?” However, she took the sword and walked in his direction, she also showed interest in the old mystery.
“The sword, THE SWORD MR. WRIGHT! ARE YOU TELLING ME THAT--” Sherlock was yelling, moving towards the defense bench, he had both his hands at his head in disbelief.
Franziska put the sword at the bench, contained within an old leather case that had the same red band he had seen in his dreams. His heart was jumping in excitement as well as in fear, it was the same weapon that had almost taken Apollo’s life. His hand was trembling when he, at last, touched the hilt. Trucy held the case for him as he drew the sword out one-handed.
“It... still has some blood...” murmured Athena, gulping at the gruesome sight. But Phoenix wasn’t looking at the blade, he examined the hilt closely and put the sword at the bench again.
“Athena, help me with this. The end of the handle can be removed, try to open it.”
“WHAAAT.” yelped Sherlock.
However, when Athena tried to open it, it didn’t move even an inch, it was united firmly with the handle, all in one piece. Phoenix felt his soul falling to the ground.
“No...no! the sword was all he had on! They have to be in there, there’s no other place!” he was starting to panic.
“Mr. Wright! You're right! I checked the place of the accident over and over again, I checked his clothes and all but I never checked this sword as carefully as the rest of the evidence. When Gina Lestrade found him, it was because she tripped with this sword, it was really far from Mr. Naruhodou and he had never took it off from his side before, there has to be a reason why it wasn’t attached to his hip as always. You hit the nail! We just need to find out where a small sheet of paper could be hidden in there!” said Sherlock, examining the sword like his life depended on it. “I just know it! It HAS to be here!”
Phoenix had renewed the hope in Sherlock’s heart, a man that had given up to the point of killing himself. He thought that he had no reason or time to doubt in himself now. The Ryuunosuke he had met in his dreams also remembered hiding the pages within the sword, he never told him exactly where, but it couldn’t be that hard.
Phoenix remembered the ghost, so stoic with the sword held in his hand and a soft wind making his hair and the red band flutter, yelling him to get a hold of himself. Only then, realization hit him like a train.
The red band.
He took the case and put all his efforts into untangling the strong knot that kept the band attached, his hand clumsy and nervous, but he made it.
“Mr. Holmes...” he muttered, getting the man’s attention. He carefully unrolled the band out of the case, finding out that it was folded in half at some point. When Holmes unfolded it, he screamed.
“THE PAGES! MR. NARUHODOU FOR GOD’S SAKE!”
Phoenix couldn’t help but laugh, almost cry to be honest. The pages were folded in a hurry so they were very misshapen, but they were there, at last.
“This band once belonged to Mr. Naruhodou’s best friend, Asougi Kazuma. I would have never thought that he could be so smart to deceive me, Moriarty and a hundred more. He was...truly amazing...” Sherlock was on the verge of tears again, but then, as he unfolded the paper, a scream broke the emotion.
“HOLD IT” it was Barrymore, he looked like an angry cat, all fuzzed over and his face was as red as a tomato. “Have you already forgotten? You have no right to read that journal, nor even these free pages! You must deliver them immediately to Mr. Henry Baskerville! Or else I will make the police arrests you all!”
“No... not again...” cried Athena. Phoenix couldn’t give credit to it.
(“This can’t be happening...not when we are so close!”) Phoenix thought, but even before he could argue something, Franziska spoke.
“This foolish man has all the right to read that journal.” she said, making Barrymore’s eyes to go wide. “While you were into your sentimental talk, I received an email from my fool little brother.”
“Edgeworth?!”
“He first told me that you didn’t answer your phone, and then he explained what you had asked him to investigate. I will take my laugh later at him for being this fool’s lap dog but right now what matters is that you were right, Phoenix Wright.” She smiled. “Susan Wright is part of your family tree, she only had one son named Ryuuichi Wright, who is also your ancestor. Phoenix Wright, you’re a descendant of Naruhodou Ryunnosuke!”
The gallery gasped, even the Judge was really impressed. But in that room, there wasn’t anyone as surprised as Phoenix himself, and it wasn’t precisely for his blood, it was about Franziska. The Franziska he once knew would have hidden that information in order to win the case, but this time she gladly gave it off in sake of the truth. He had noticed that she had interest in solving Naruhodou’s case since she gave him her precious sword, it could be that or it could be that the Franziska he once knew had changed.
He smiled; it didn’t matter right now.
“Thank you, Ms. Von Karma.”
“Are you going to make me wait another century? Read it already!” she answered, being Franziska again.
Sherlock gave Phoenix the unfolded pages, wearing a smile from ear to ear.
“I knew it...” Holmes murmured. Phoenix cleared his throat and read out loud:
“September 16.
I took Baskerville-san’s case by Holmes-san request. He says that his friend isn’t capable of committing the murder since the victim was his best friend, Mr. Stapleton.
I haven’t meet Barkerville-san yet, but we visited his house and the crime scene. There, a strange man appeared and said that we should drop the case, that Baskerville would be ok with an estate attorney and that there was no reason to get ourselves mixed, unless we wanted to get cursed.
The man said that his name was Dr. James Moriarty, I haven’t heard that name before but he seemed like a decent man.
After that, Susato seemed worried so we came back home but stopped at a restaurant to drink some tea.
Right now, I’m writing this on my way to Baskerville Mansion. I need to check on something that has been bugging me since we left.


September 16.
This case is much more than it meets the eye.
I came back to Baskerville’s mansion to investigate the library, the only room that was yet to be investigated, and found some astonishing evidence.
There was a complete set for tea; one teapot and two cups. Along with a receipt of a drug store that proves that Mr. Baskerville purchased the poison.
I honestly can’t believe it, I really can’t. I have a lot of doubts regarding this receipt, why it wasn’t consumed by the fire? I understand that the tea set didn’t burn, but the receipt? It’s mere paper, it HAD to burn.
What if Mr. Baskerville wanted me to find this receipt? Why else he didn’t destroy it at all?
Thinking about back then, when Susato and me were about to enter the library a strange man stopped us, a man named James Moriarty. I can’t put into words the feeling he gave me, it’s like uneasiness but stronger. His eyes seemed smart but...hollow. I asked the Barrymores about him and they have heard of him just once, from Baskerville’s mouth. He’s a very nervous man that often suffers from nightmares, the Barrymores know him very well and they say that he usually dreams about the Hound, but one night he repeated over and over again the name of “Moriarty”. That man has to be quite the menace if he overcame Baskerville-san's fear of the Hound, the legend that ruined his life.
Our encounter was no coincidence, he warned us of this case and kept us away from the library. He didn’t want me to find what I found and I know why. When we met him, he was wearing a badge on his shirt, he tried to hide it but I saw it when he bowed to greet us. The shape of said badge was an arrow, and I found that same arrow at the bottom of the teapot. Maybe Barkerville stole it, maybe it was a gift, but if Moriarty tried to hide it then he didn’t want it to be known.  His implication in this case is obvious, I need to investigate further.
As for Baskerville-san, if he left this evidence at plain sight he must be desperate, I want to talk about this with him as soon as I can and, if it’s in me, help him. But if he was the culprit of Mr. Stapleton’s murder, I can’t look the other way around.
I’m tired. I haven’t even found the right moment to propose to Susato, it has to be perfect…my heart races every time I think about it. I think I will do it at the dinner, I’m ready.”
Then, Phoenix flipped to the next sheet and felt a shiver ran down his spine. The message looked like if it was written on an unstable place, it was clear that it had been written in a hurry, even the ink was all over the page. Still, the shaky letters made sense.
“MORIARTY WILL KILL ME.”
The courtroom fell silent, not everyone understood the real meaning behind these words, but those who did didn’t dare to say a single word.
Sherlock took the old leather bag with the evidence from that case and looked for the teapot pieces, finding the one with the arrow that Ryuu mentioned. He put a hand on his head and the other at the bench, looking for support.
“Mr. Naruhodou...”he murmured.
“Can you explain exactly what does this mean, Mr. Holmes?” asked the Judge. Sherlock nodded.
“The case Naruhodou was investigating was the murder of Mr. Jack Stapleton, best friend of my time’s Baskerville, Henry. I think you know better that situation, Mr. Wright.”
“As we read earlier, Henry was being blackmailed by Dr. James Moriarty, who controlled his life. In order to escape from him, Stapleton gave up his life but it was also an attempt to call for Mr. Holmes’ help.” Completed Phoenix.
“But Mr. Naruhodou…he was smarter than Moriarty expected. I had been chasing Moriarty since I started my career but he never left a clue behind, not even once. Mr. Naruhodou managed to not only obtain evidence of the crime but to proof that Moriarty was behind it; he had seen his badge, the man himself and the teapot, which was obviously Moriarty’s. Even the teapot alone was enough to prove that Moriarty money was dirty: the salary of a teacher could never buy a teapot like this one. The teapot, Mr. Naruhodou’s testimony along with his skill to convince the jury, even Baskerville’s testimony were enough to finally accuse Moriarty, to bring him down…but, Moriarty was probably following Naruhodou and he provoked the accident that killed him, then he stole his journal but never found the missing pages that still accused him. I’m afraid that this doesn’t help much anymore.”
“You’re wrong, Mr. Holmes.” Assured Athena.” This proves that all the information we have is real. All the journals were written by real people, all of them are their testimonies and are as valid as a testament, as Mr. Barrymore said. We now know that Baskerville’s position as an ambassador was obtained with blood! Even if Naruhodou’s death wasn’t entirely his fault, Henry Baskerville still committed a murder!”
“I’m afraid that what the defense says it’s true, we have all the proof necessary to strip him of his position. We are a country of tradition, and if the first Baskerville did such things, we can’t allow one that carries his blood to continue with this. I’m sorry, Mr. Alexander Baskerville.” Said the Judge, however, Baskerville wasn’t mad. He wasn’t even tense, he looked…resigned. Totally opposite to Barrymore, who was really close to start spitting foam like a rabid dog.
“Being Baskerville’s position at risk with this information he needed to retrieve it at all costs! He said it earlier, right? He has the other journal, he said that Mr. Justice tried to buy it but then they argued and the sell never occurred. My client, Apollo Justice, never had a reason to stole the other journal!” argued Phoenix, concluding everything. ” But still, Mr. Justice ended up gravely injured after someone attacked him with a sword and a mask that was supposedly at Baskerville’s Manor and only he could obtain it.”
Trucy checked Apollo’s journal again, reading his last entry.
“JOURNAL. HOUND. KARMA. RYUUNOSUKE. SHERLOCK. BASKERVILLE”
“All this time, he tried to point at his assailant! The JOURNAL was the reason; the HOUND was who attacked him, with the mask on; KARMA was the weapon; RYUUNOSUKE and SHERLOCK were those who we had to look up and the journals he possessed. Lastly, the person he accused of being his assailant, BASKERVILLE!” Phoenix felt triumphant, he had connected every single clue to this point, the century old mystery was now solved and Apollo’s case was crystal clear now. He had found his culprit.
“N-NO, STOP!” Baskerville screamed, smashing the stand with both his fists. His previous calm look was now lost, he looked really nervous and was shaking. “Mr. Wright please! Stop! I didn’t do that, I didn’t attack Mr. Justice, I swear it! I…I…”
“How much time will he try to deny it?” asked Trucy. “Daddy? Are you okay?”
Phoenix had paled, it looked like if he had seen a ghost. He glared at Athena who also had a look of doubt in her face, she was touching Widget, meaning that she was hearing discord from Baskerville.
Phoenix had seen a lot of culprits over his years as a lawyer. All of them seemed to experience a breakdown when their lies had been exposed, some showed no regrets, others were resigned, angry or even sad. But Mr. Baskerville were none of that, he was scared, so scared that it obligued Phoenix to stop and think seriously.
“Mr. Baskerville.” Wright held the magatama in his hand, ready. “Did you attack Apollo Justice?”
“No, no! I didn’t! Please believe me!”
Phoenix’s heart skipped a beat. Not even one psyche-lock appeared…