May 16-- Atishon Residence, Campaign Manager's Office

"Hi, Holland!" She heard Oak reply.

"Hey, Oatcake."Holly chuckled as she heard her older brother groan in reply.

"I'm not an Oatcake, Hollywag."

"But you're no Oke softdrink either."Holly grinned.

"Just because I often drink Coke when I'm stressed doesn't mean you can call me that."

"You keep on telling yourself that's the truth, but then... I yell-"

"OBJECTION!"The siblings yelp simultaneously before they laughed at what just happened.

"Oh yeah, um..." Oak stammered. "Holly, do you know what happened to Dr-"

"Buff? I know."Holly replied. "You probably saw that in the newspaper."

"Yeah... I just want to check up on you if you're doing fine."

"The truth is, Oak, as much as I want to deny it... I'm not fine."Holly spoke. "And it's not because of Dr. Buff."

"Go on."

"Have I left the house or sleepwalked into Dr. Buff's household or something?"Holly asked, hearing her boss' comment of witnessing the crime ringing in her ears.

"Why did you ask?" Oak questioned.

"Let's just say Slimeball thinks that I witnessed Dr. Buff's death."Holly answered, biting her lip before she continued. "Did I really witness it? Or I'm just hearing things?"

Silence accompanied with the constant clicking of a computer mouse lasted for a few minutes when Holly voiced her reason. Soon, she heard Oak spoke.

"I checked Dad's security cameras of last night's footage. The answer is... No... you didn't." Oak replied. "Slimeball's a blind man. That was Hazel going to her night shift work, not you!"

Ever since Holly signed the contract, Hazel insisted that she won't practice law and will work in a night shift until the contract was void. To be honest, Holly was touched at the gesture.

"Oh... so Hazel was the one who saw it."Holly pondered aloud. "But how did he suspect it was me? We don't look the same."

"Hazel woke up late for her work and forgot to tie her hair." Oak added. "You never seem to get it, do you? You and Hazel looked like identical twins if it wasn't for your eyes and the small age gap."

"I get it Oatmeal."Holly rolled her eyes as she imitated her brother's voice. " 'Holly, your grey eyes are more stormy. Your sister's eyes are the definition of silver orbs. The hint is so subtle that Hazel has to tie her hair into pigtails to make a difference.' "

"That was a very bad voice impression of me, Hollandaise."

"I don't even eat Eggs Benedict, so that joke won't apply to me, thank you very much."Holly replied. "But cutting to the point, what else did Hazel tell you?"

"Well, she said to me before you woke up that she stumbled on Dr. Buff's house on the way to work as a security guard, and witnessed the murder. She quickly fled the scene afterwards."

"Did she report it to the-"

"No... she's too... overwhelmed." Oak's voice trailed off, his voice somewhat cracking. "It's really a touchy point for Hazel to witness death, you know."

"If you say so..."Hazel muttered before another point flashed in her mind. "But what am I going to do? Slimeball expected me to testify in court tomorrow otherwise..."

"Slimeball's a slimeball." Oak grunted. "You're on break for a few minutes, right? Meet me on the backyard. I'll give you Hazel's testimony and other... personal topics."

"Okay, I'll see you there."Holly smiled before she ended the call. Guess it was time for her to go home. Luckily, her house resides near the border of Kurain Village and the train stop to the city, so it shouldn't be that far.

---

May 16-- Trin Household-- Backyard

"I'm here."Holly called as she opened the fence gate to the backyard. She smiled as she saw a tall hazel-haired man wearing an orange t-shirt under a brown vest holding a stack of paper files. The man looked at her with forest green eyes before he grinned.

"There you are! I've got the papers containing Nutmeg's testimony."Oak said as Holly approached and received the files.

"Nutmeg? Did Hazel-"

"Oh, she didn't mind that at all, Ree. It was her favorite nickname, I'll say."Oak replied lightly before his tone lowered into a serious mood.

"Listen: you're going to go to court, state your name, and tell the judge that your sister Hazel Trin is actually the true witness, but she's unavailable for personal circumstances so you'll be filling in for her."

"I guess that could work. Would everyone buy it though? No one has heard of her before."Holly questioned. "Maybe I should-"

"Nope, don't you dare say that p- word."Oak interjected before he gave his sister a smug look. "Besides, if don't believe... they got to answer to me."

"Oh, right. You still pursue prosecution."Holly recalled. "Although I recall... you haven't took your bar exam yet."

"Ouch. But I'll get there soon enough, Holly-bough."Oak remarked.

"Ha-ha."Holly rolled her eyes before she placed the files of the testimony next to her. "Thanks Oak."She then hugged her brother before she felt Oak's arms embrace her.

"No prob, Holly."Oak assured. "I'm here. We're all in this together."

---

May 16-- Kurain Village

Holly walked through the Village, hearing the chirping of birds soothe her worries. The peace calms the hazel-haired girl... if she ignores the newly plastered posters of Paul Atishon around the Village... that is.

"Oh, Miss Holly!"Holly turned around and smiled at the girl who called her. She is rather noted to be... 'charmingly adorable'. Even if she already has grown up into a fine teenager, Holly couldn't help but smile when the girl approached her and bowed at her politely. "How are you since then?"

"It's alright, Pearly."Holly replied before she bowed back at Pearl in reply. "Are you been doing well in your training?"

Pearl eagerly nodded as they walked to an easel supporting a painting. "That's right. I'll be getting there soon enough. I hope it would impress Mystic Maya. She would be the new Master of the village when she gets back."

Holly chuckled, remembering the times where Pearl would tell her how amazing was her cousin Maya is. She then glanced at the painting curiously. The painting... seemed to be very much like how a young kid would paint. Holly didn't really want to ask, but she's curious on it. It was like a nighttime scenery that filled the top of the canvas in midnight blue. Trees covered most of the painting, with a big pear-shaped rock on the left. Next to the rock was a... Holly didn't really know how to describe the yellow-and-green figure.

"Pearl, did you made that?"Holly asked as she sat in a nearby bench of the painting.

"Oh, this is really embarrassing, but yeah."Pearl admitted as she frowned. "I'm not really an artist, even when I was young."

"It's okay. I understand."Holly sympathized. "But can you tell me what's that... thing?"She pointed at the figure. "That raincoat is oddly familiar, though."

"Well, that's actually... Dr. Buff wearing his raincoat."Pearl replied. "I couldn't really bother to hide it from you, Miss Holly. It's that Dr. Buff had his raincoat, even if it wasn't raining at all, and a helmet with a light on. I asked him if he was going to explore somewhere new. He looked surprised when I asked him before he said..."

"Please don't tell anyone you saw me here."

"Oh... thanks for the information, Pearl."Holly remarked before her eyes glazed on the files Oak gave her. "I... really have to go."She stood up, gripping the files tightly. "Sorry for bothering you, but I'm sure we can meet again... in more pleasant circumstances, I hope."

"I hope so too. See you later, Miss Holly."Pearl waved goodbye as Holly cracked a smile before she headed to her office.

---

May 16-- Atishon Residence, Campaign Manager's Office

Holly read Hazel's testimony through the files Oak gave her. The thought that she was going to be testifying in court tomorrow as a witness filled her with nervous anticipation. After all, a detective would always be a witness in a trial, as he or she would mostly lead the investigation of the crime committed.

After reading the testimony, one thing was certainly clear; the fact that Dr. Buff died in an accident written in the newspaper was false. It was a homicide, someone clearly killed him in cold blood. Holly shuddered; no wonder why Hazel was so touchy about the subject. To see someone just die by the hands of a murderer...

"I just hope the facts are all clear in this, sis."Holly muttered. Was this some sort of pedestal of hers to reach for her dream? She doesn't really know, honestly. She stood up and rested her head on one of the corners of her office, trying to memorize the testimony when-

"-be safe?"She heard an older male asked, causing Holly to lean her ear to hear what's next.

"That would depend on how well you represent me."Another voice- Slimeball aka Paul Atishon's voice replied. "Just remember... if I'm arrested or fail to get that treasure, you would know the grave consequences now, would you? It's in what you agreed. Might as well say your last words to your girlfriend."

"Agh...she's..."

("You've got to be joking me... he forced whoever he's talking to... to experience what I've been through?! A blackmail threat just like what he did to my sis five years ago?!") Holly's mind yelled, her grip on her files getting tighter.

"Just represent me in the civil trial and make sure I get my hands on that Orb."Atishon's voice drawled. "I must deliver it to my benefactor at all costs."

("Is it your Crystal of Ami Fey or this so-called Orb that I heard from that Apollo guy? I'm so confused...")

"Why do they want it anyway?"The older man questioned.

Atishon's voice chuckled. "It's something to do with an old legend. My benefactor seeks for the great power said to be acquired to whoever solves its secret."

("Secret? Great power? Can someone pinch me that I'm just hearing crazy things in my mind?")

"Fine. You have my word, Mr. Atishon. I'll represent you tomorrow."

("Why would you just let yourself give in?! Turn back now!")

"Excellent, excellent. I was hoping that would be the case."Atishon said as Holly slammed her files to her face in frustration.

("And there goes your chance of freedom... whoever you are.")

"Now, I trust that you already gained information about this case with the detective and the... main witness."Atishon spat the last two words hesitantly. "You still have yet to meet the other witness."

("......He's not talking about me, isn't he?")

KNOCK KNOCK

("Gak... it's me! Okay, try to keep calm on who the other man could be.") Hazel quietly yelped as she quickly dashed to her revolving chair, placing the files on her desk.

"Come in."She said monotonously before she quickly added. "And please tell me you at least gave the staff their break."

To her surprise, Atishon walked by foot, not in his palanquin. What was even more surprising was the person beside him. The older man Holly heard wore a blue suit with a red tie. His eyes were navy blue with fair skin, and his hair is notably spiky with a single strand of it drooping at his forehead. A shiny pin rested on his suit and in a blink, Holly realized the man standing before her.

("Wait a minute... is he... you're kidding, Slimeball. You're kidding.")

"-in! Trin, are you even listening to me?"Atishon questioned as Holly nodded her head.

"Indeed sir. I was thinking about the testimony I would deliver tomorrow."Holly replied smoothly as she looked down, her eyes on the files. That was somewhat true. Holly then glanced at the person beside Atishon, her mixed emotions of the situation breaking and forming repeatedly by just looking at him.

"I believe you are... Phoenix Wright, a-a-attorney-at-law?"Holly inquired, surprise lacing her tone, her fingers coiling in response.

"Indeed it is, it's a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Holly Trin."Phoenix greeted as he offered a handshake. Holly looked up and nervously shook his hand, mixed emotions burning within her that she tries to bottle within.

"Well then, I better be going on my way. Kurain Village needs the Paul Atishon for his great speeches."Atishon bragged before he left the office, leaving just Holly and Phoenix alone.

"Can we get started with your testimony for the case?"Phoenix asked, as Holly merely nodded. She then stood up from her revolving chair, carrying the files and her notebook and sat to the chair next to Mr. Wright.

"Before I start, let me just tell you that my older sister Hazel was the one who witnessed it. I was here because she would be busy tomorrow for personal reasons."Holly began, remembering Oak's words. Phoenix simply nodded at her statement before Holly gave him Hazel's statement written in a document.

"I see. Are you close to your sister that she'll trust you to say it for her?"

"Well, yeah. Although we rarely see each other lately, as my sister is often sleeping in the day and working every night, we still stay in touch."Holly answered, emotions seeping in her words, losing its monotone. It was kind of a lie, but she supposed it was true as her fingers traced her notebook, placed on top of the files of Hazel's testimony.

("But enough of that. I need to confirm if what I heard earlier is true.")

"Now, can you please be honest with me, Mr. Wright? Did you or did you not sign a contract for Paul Atishon?"Holly questioned.

"Why are you changing the subject?"

"I have to know."

"Can we just-"

"You can trust me with the truth, Mr. Wright."Holly assured before she frowned, looking at the small picture of her boss in contempt. "Because I overheard your conversation with him."

"Why do you even want to know? Did you even understand what topics are we talking about?"

"As a matter of fact, I do understand and I can summarize it."Holly deadpanned before her emotions starts flaring up. "You are forced to represent Paul Atishon in an upcoming civil trial for tomorrow, because if you don't, something bad would happen to one of the people you cared about. Now, is that true or is that false?"

Silence lasted for a few moments. Holly once thought if she made the wrong choice of interrogating him... until she saw him sighed.

"...You were right. I didn't have any choice."Phoenix confessed. His eyes closed, about ready to shed tears, before he opened his eyes, forcing himself to keep his composure. "...It's true. One of my friends is taken hostage... and I could only hope she would be fine if I did my part."

"I'm sorry if this question would be a bit personal, Mr. Wright... but which friend of yours was taken hostage?"Holly whispered quietly yet clearly.

She never seen this side of him before. The Phoenix Wright she knew was strong and always made sure that his client would be free from murder charges. But this... sitting in front of her was an internally-broken man, giving in to a contract to save his friend.

"Maya Fey."

The quiet and somber answer echoed on Holly's ears. She didn't know what happened next, but she could say her emotions broke free from her suppression. As a mental image of her friend Pearl appeared in her mind, a provoking thought scared Holly's wits.

("Pearly... what would she say about this? Oh sugar honey iced tea... she would be distressed. This Maya was her cousin. If she heard of this...")

She held her notebook tight before she hugged her visitor in sympathy, earning a surprised yelp in return as the files resting on his lap scattered on the floor. The thought of Pearl realizing the situation of her cousin provoked Holly's suppressed emotions. Anger, fear and sorrow broke out from its bottle of emotions, her tears quietly shedding themselves from her eyes, staining her face.

"Ms. Trin, are you okay?"She heard her visitor asked in concern as she released the hug.

"Mr. Wright, I am deeply sorry for the circumstances."Holly sniffed as she tried to wipe her tears away with the hair ties on her wrists.

"It's okay, but I didn't know it would impact you emotionally."

"It did... and I cried for the sake of her cousin."Holly whispered, picking up the files from the floor and putting them back to her desk.

"You knew Pearl?"Holly nodded at the question, wiping the last tears staining her eyes.

"Living here in Kurain Village made me closely affiliated with her."She explained. "I have heard of Ms. Maya before, on how you and her were a team on your first cases."Holly then chuckled at the memory of finding old newspapers telling their cases. "I even heard from Pearl that you two were meant to be."

"Yeah... um, moving aside from that last statement."Holly noticed her visitor blush as he ruffled his spiky hair, causing the girl to suppress a chuckle. "I just noticed, you seem to hate Mr. Atishon, considering you were glaring at a picture of him while we're talking. Why's that?"

Holly's expression darkened, her eyes glaring at the picture of her boss again. Contempt, anger and a hint of sorrow laced her next words.

"I'm sorry, but it's none of your business, Mr. Wright." Holly replied, her voice hollow and stoic. Phoenix then stared at her, one of his hands reaching into his pocket from some odd reason. "Why don't we stay into more... pressing matters?"

("I'm sorry, but... I can't tell you, Mr. Wright. Your current circumstances is only a quarter of what I've been dealing through. If you want to know... you're going to have to spill it out of me with what you've got.")

“Ms. Trin, what was it like being a campaign manager for Mr. Atishon?”Phoenix asked, causing Holly to blink in response.

“A simple normal relation between a manager and its boss. Do you expect the two of us to be in love with each other?”Holly guessed, a raised eyebrow on the remark.

“That wasn’t the point.”Phoenix affirmed. “The point is... I don’t think you have a normal relationship with Mr. Atishon. You seemed to have a shaky relationship with him, in fact.”

“How would you know? Just for your information, I could have been glaring at this picture for an entirely different reason other than what are you trying to prove.”Holly lied, holding Paul Atishon’s picture at her visitor’s face. “What proof do you have for your assumption, Mr. Wright?”

“TAKE THAT!”Phoenix then showed Holly a piece of paper that has been crumpled for a long time. The crumpled paper had a streak of lavender that stains the paper. “Does this note ring any bells to you?”

“W-Where did you get that?”Holly flinched in surprise. That was her rage self-entry depicting her anger and stress as Atishon's campaign maneger months ago. She threw it away so Atishon wouldn't find out. As Phoenix opened the letter, Holly mentally grumbled. ("I should have kept that note at all times.")

“It seems someone working with Paul Atishon brewed a tension between him and the person who wrote this letter."Holly gripped her notebook tighter, remembering that she wrote that letter with a lot of swears and cusses.

"I believe that person was you, Ms. Trin.”Phoenix answered, not answering Holly’s former question. “It would make sense, considering that according to Mr. Atishon, you’ve been his campaign manager for quite a long time as of now.”

Holly’s fingers coiled up into the fist, anxiety seeping at her veins as she huffed before she later gained her composure.

“Answer me this one question, Mr. Wright. Do you think I wrote this?”Holly questioned before she dryly scoffed. That was only shown to the outside, on the inside, she was trembling, trying her best to keep her visitor from knowing the truth. She flicked at her notebook absently, hoping her entries to her sister would calm her shaking mind. “Ha! For all I know, someone could have attempted to forge my handwriting poorly and throw this in the trash because of how terrible it is.”

“I know that you wrote this, Ms. Trin.”Phoenix replied. “And I believe the reason is self-explanatory. In fact, the proof is in your hands.”He then pointed at Holly’s notebook, causing Holly to gasp, finally seeing what her visitor was getting at. She sighed, finally ready to tell the truth.

“Mr. Wright.”She sighed in defeat as she looked at Phoenix, a smile on her face. “I should have expected this to happen.”She chuckled. “I guess you’re still sharp as ever.”

"So, do you think you can tell me why you don't like Mr. Atishon. It might help us on the civil case tomorrow, as I need to understand fully the plaintiff's wishes."

"I guess I could tell you that."Holly sighed. "Once, my older sister Hazel, my older brother Oak and I made a promise. A promise that we'll be servants of the law, pursuing the truth from an old case last 2014. Five years ago, Mr. Atishon tried to make Hazel be his campaign manager. She refused, holding on to her dream, but he is such a slimeball that he would do something that would 'shake my family to the core', as Oak would always say to me."

"I had no idea what was that something, but I volunteered to be his campaign manager, just so my sister could be who she wanted to be."Holly sighed before she glanced at Phoenix. "She wants to be just like you. A defense attorney. Oak would be a prosecutor bringing justice to the guilty... and I would be a detective, seeking the truth through the clues around the crime scene. It would have happened... if he hadn't entered my life in the first place."

"Oh...... I'm really sorry about that, Ms. Trin."

"It's okay, Mr. Wright. And you're free to call me just Holly. I hope you don't mind if I call you Phoenix, though."Holly smiled. Telling someone what she's been going on through somehow lifts a huge weight on her chest.

"Not at all, Holly."Phoenix replied before he asked another question relating to the case at hand. Perhaps this won't be so bad after all.

---

May 16-- Trin Household-- Holly's Bedroom

On second thought, Holly took back her last statement. Everything was going downhill. She couldn't imagine what was going on when she and Phoenix caught up with Atishon an hour later after their discussions. Atishon was talking with Apollo, Trucy and Dhurke at that time. A woman wearing a lab coat and a man wearing something that resembles a paratrooper's uniform were watching the conversation at that time.

Now on her bedroom, her pen is ready to tell the truth; she was ready to tell Hazel what went wrong at that particular afternoon.

Dear Hazel,

Things just went spiraling downhill after you sent me the letter. I mean, sure: I just realized that I met your favorite attorney in the flesh. But what I didn't expect is that your favorite attorney that you often mentioned is facing the same threat as you do. A blackmail. What's worse; he was going to battle his apprentice Apollo in court tomorrow representing Slimeball. This was concerning about this treasure Apollo found. Apollo says it's the Founder's Orb, a relic from the Kingdom of Khura'in. Slimeball, however, thinks it's the Crystal of Ami Fey, a family heirloom from his. Honestly, I don't know if I'm up to task at hand as a supposed witness. But I hope you'll be there. I hope you'll be fine.

Holly sighed as she placed her pen and notebook on her nightstand before her head hitting the pillow in exhaustion.