Chapter 183: Phoenix Rises and Wrights Wrongs
Fortunately, the readers need not be cliffhanged by such a tense 2nd issue as Ace Attorney #3 was part of the mass release.
Under the discernment of the judge and jury, what started out as a simple fining of a plagiarism case became a confrontation between schemes and honesty!
With little Aleksei and Sully Kreid being called out to stand interchangeably, Marvella's prosecution team laid out their attacks and swayed the entire hearing team with their coordinated "evidence" and so-called witnesses.
Just as how the disgusting media propaganda painted Alexander Creed and Creed Comics in a bad light, Aleksei and Sully Kreid were made out to be evil plagiarists that everyone present in the court should condemn.
Little ten-year-old Aleksei was a little delinquent in the making as he took Marvella's hard work as his own. Although he was cute and handsome, they were just outward appearances that hid his evil heart.
Then, there was Sully Kreid, the bad influence that swayed such a little boy towards such a path. There was no doubt in the Marvella camp that it was this old grandfather that masterminded the entire 'Calvin and Hobbes' incident.
The old man wanted to profit from his grandson's success and it was just quite assuring that Miss Marvella Suprise didn't want to take that injustice to herself.
She stood up for her creative rights and hopefully sway little Aleksei to the right path before his evil grandfather could completely turn the cute boy into scheming ways.
When Marvella got called up to the witness stand, she emphasized her saintly intent and swayed the jury and the judge to her side.
Being kind-hearted was always advantageous in court cases and being the devious evil was always to be condemned.
Most court cases are won with masterful manipulation and favorability after all.
Marvella's camp just capitalized on that by making her favorability shoot up to a hundred points while making Sully Kreid's down to the negatives.
Of course, Marvella's IPC lawyer didn't just depend on favorability and the good graces of the hearing's majority. He also had to make quick work of hard "evidence" and coordinate the creation process script that his client has prepared.
When Detective Charlton, the boyfriend, came to the stands, the sketches and deliberation process for Calvin's final character design and Hobbe's tiger striping were presented.
It was all faked and rushed, of course, but Detective Charlton's expertise allowed him to make it look like something that Marvella had been working on for quite some time.
It was the proof of long planning and earlier creative work while the Kreid's camp was more dependent on little Aleksei's current 4th-grade notebook.
The judges need only discern which had an earlier conception but the forged "evidence" already swayed to Marvella's camp.
How could Aleksei's school year notes beat the aged piece of paper that Marvella sketched her works upon?
Of course, the "evidence" corroboration did not stop there as the witness that came to testify was more about Marvella's entire creative process.
Everyone can tell from the debated 'Calvin and Hobbes' strip that it was about little kid Calvin's commentary on things in a mature and humorous tone.
Marvella claims that she got the creative inspiration from strolling and mingling in a certain park.
The Haz Bros, Thomas Lanky Twins, little Newmer, and Miner were hanging out in the park like how kids usually do.
They talked about the awesome tiger animal and Bald Archibald who happened to be lounging near them, uttered something funny.
Artist Marvella was inspired by a clash of tigers, kids, humor, and adults to come up with the competition-winning 'Calvin and Hobbes'. Eastman Laird of Mirage Agencies says that his client's talent and professionalism were clear to see and he was there to see through the entire inspired conception.
Of course, a representative of the little kids and Bald Archibald was called out to testify as well. They agreed with the story to further established the fake creative process to be true.
It was only in their camp that knew how scripted their testimonies were and what truly went down.
Anyways, the judge and jury's decision was already tilted to their side and it was no trouble that they lied under oath.
They didn't forget to kick the poor enemy while it was already down though as they scorned Sully Kreid and reprimanded little Aleksei for being a manipulated poor boy.
Every reader who read the story procession with immersion and overseeing perspective can't help but be disgusted by these evil people's means of turning tit for tat.
They felt indignant as the entire courtroom was tricked by these Marvella siding tricksters and heavily sympathized with poor little Aleksei Kreid.
The little ten-year-old at the center of it all was just too pitiful and relatable in their opinion. There was no doubt that the Alexander Creed parallel aided with that as well.
The more grandpa Sully was made to be an evil influence, the more little Aleksei blamed it on himself as tearfully cried and tugged the heartstrings of people.
Why did I even have to submit that comic to the competition? Why did I even make 'Calvin and Hobbes' in the first place? Stupid Aleksei! Just stop drawing so that grandpa would be fine!
Although little Aleksei didn't voice those out, Phoenix Wright can still read it with his experience.
His phoenix-like conviction to carry out justice was burning bright and it was time for him to make things right!
Throughout the entire witness calling, his counterclaims were a bit on the weaker side but he had to make that decisive sacrifice to catch every evil in a single swoop of his net.
Just as the presiding judge was about to give out his verdict, Phoenix's last stand was still there.
With all the enemy's fake pieces finally pieced together, the up-and-coming Ace Attorney got a clear picture of their wacky puzzle and broke it down into successive pieces as well.
First, there was the sketch aging trick that a smart protagonist like Phoenix somehow knew. With the use of obscure knowledge application, he exposed the forged sketches for what it truly is!
Little Aleksei's notebook sketches were much more older and solider with his many other sketches. A testament to the boy's passion for creativity and genuineness for his craft.
The same could not be said for Marvella's fake "older" dated sketches. It only proved her forging ability was high and it needs to be considered that Marvella only has 'Calvin and Hobbes' readied sketches for obvious reasons.
When asked to draw new characters on the spot, little Aleksei drew easily while Marvella was panicked and just drew a pre-existing character.
Does this Marvella have no creative talent? Not really but Phoenix's evidence gathering sealed the deal. It turns out Marvella's acclaimed comic strips were made by other creators and she claimed them as her own.
Mirage broker, Eastman Laird, was also the one who consolidated everything to happen as it is. When new comic-making talents come to their agency, he would mark them out to bolster Marvella's worth.
The true plagiarizer was them all along as Phoenix gathered confessions from her victims and how her detective boyfriend, Detective Charlton, was the one threatening them to keep the injustice to themselves.
The entire courtroom was appalled by the revelation and could only feel angry when the indisputable evidence was laid out.
They were angry at the scheming Marvella group while also angry at themselves for previously siding with these hypocritical bitch camp!
The tides had turned but Ace Attorney #3's contents had already run out.
Anyways, the 'Phoenix' did rise up to the occasion and 'Wright' up some wrongs.
The comic readers could only grit their teeth at the hateful 'To be continued...' phrase!