ooc; history
Apollo was born to two talented magicians. His mother, Thalassa Gramarye, was once a part of the famed Troupe Gramarye, which, at its peak, had adoring fans across the nation, and were known to dazzle its audience with the most spectacular illusions. As of now, all we know about his father was that he sometimes guest-starred during the Troupe Gramarye’s performances, and that he’s presumed to be dead. Apollo doesn’t seem to know about this, and he’s completely unaware of the powers he’s inherited from the Gramaryes until Phoenix brings it to his attention.
The only thing Apollo has of his real family his mother’s bracelet. He’s hardly ever taken it off. It’s safe to assume it’s one of his most valued treasures.
Trucy Wright is his half-sister, born to Thalassa several years after she left Apollo. The only (alive) people who are aware of this fact seem to be Phoenix and Thalassa herself.
There’s a large gap between the time his mother left him and the time we see him in the game. Fanon speculates he was bounced around the social system and had a troubled childhood, but I disagree with this theory for several reasons. The biggest one is how quick he is to judge Phoenix and Trucy’s family situation, which hints that his upbringing was probably pretty normal. Because he doesn’t seem aware of his own magician’s heritage -- and because Brushel had been unable to locate Thalassa’s son during his own investigations -- it’s unlikely he was raised by relatives on his father’s side. I’m going to run under the assumption he was adopted by a regular family after being abandoned at a hospital or a church.
Note: It’s never stated in canon that Apollo knows he was separated from his real family as a baby, but I’m going to assume he doesn’t for a couple reasons. Firstly, he never mentions it at all in the game, and when Ema suggests Drew Misham is his father, Apollo’s exact words are, “Give me a break! How is that even REMOTELY possible!?” He sounds awfully sure of himself in this scene. Even if the player later learns his father is dead, that doesn’t necessarily mean he knows about it. Furthermore, assuming he doesn’t know he was adopted will justify not bringing up the issue in Landel’s (just as he doesn’t in actual canon), and will be easy enough to retcon if this changes in the next game.
As Apollo grew, he developed an enthusiastic, idealistic spirit, as well as a solid conviction in doing the right thing. It’s never stated in the game why he chose to become a defense attorney, but judging by how passionate he is about his job, it likely stems from his deep sense of morality, and a sound desire to bring justice into the court system. Law itself is a subject that greatly interests him, as well as the idea that it can be changed to better suit the needs of the common people. Apollo was probably active in his high school’s debate club; perhaps he even participated in competitions.
Judging by how straight-laced Apollo is, he was probably a very hard-working student. Perhaps he was even awarded some kind of scholarship to attend law school. While not a prodigy by Ace Attorney standards, he was able to do well enough that he passed the bar exam by the time he was 22.
Not long after graduating, he came into contact with Kristoph Gavin, the “Coolest Defense Attorney in the West,” who had a high reputation in Los Angeles. Kristoph hired him, taking him under his wing as young Apollo became his protégé. During his initial time with Kristoph, Apollo carefully watched his boss’s performances in court and studied hard. He was so eager to take on his own clients that he often practiced honing his Chords of Steel, hoping to deliver the perfect objection when the time came.
He never dreamed his first client would be the legendary Phoenix Wright, nor had he imagined his first case would be a homicide.
The news came as something of a shock. Wright had personally requested the services of Gavin Law Offices, under the condition that Kristoph’s greenhorn apprentice represents him. To say Apollo was nervous would be a huge understatement, but he agreed to meet the challenge head-on anyway. (“I’m fine!” he kept insisting.) The case itself looked like a tough one -- a murder taking place in a room with only three people; the victim, Mr. Wright, and a witness. It would have been logical for a defense attorney to at least doubt his client, especially given Wright’s shady reputation, but Apollo didn’t doubt him for a second. There was no way Mr. Wright would kill anyone! Apollo had a deep respect for the once legendary attorney, and he was determined to defend him with everything he had.
Apollo’s lack of experience made it difficult for him to carry out his arguments with complete confidence, and sometimes he’d yell really loud, as if to compensate for it. During his cross-examination of the witness, though, Apollo kept getting “weird vibes,” but didn’t know what it meant. Phoenix eventually clued him in on a certain “power” he possessed -- the ability to read people’s body language and figure out when they’re lying. This combined with his quick thinking allowed Apollo to fit the pieces of the puzzle together, and he realized there had been a fourth person involved in the murder -- his own boss, Kristoph Gavin!
Needless to say, Kristoph was unsettled by this turn of events, and he asked Apollo if loyalty meant anything to him at all. Apollo simply replied that his actions weren’t a matter of loyalty, but were about finding the truth. It was becoming clear why Phoenix had specifically requested Apollo for the job.
In order to trap Kristoph in a corner, Apollo eventually had to present his “Trump Card” -- a bloody ace that he’d received from Wright’s daughter. Kristoph was stunned. How could he have gotten his hands on that card, when the killer had taken it away from the scene? he’d asked. Wright spoke up and asked how Kristoph would have known the killer had taken it with him in the first place.
In actuality, the piece of evidence had been forged, and Apollo was shocked -- furious, even -- when Wright later informed him. He was so overwrought with emotion that he lashed out and punched the once-legend in the face. He’d always believed the rumors about him presenting false evidence had been lies, and had nothing but the utmost respect for Phoenix Wright. So why had Phoenix tricked him into presenting a forgery?!
In the end, the forgery didn’t cause problems, since only a few people knew about it. Meanwhile, Kristoph confessed to everything, Wright was declared innocent, and suddenly Apollo found himself with one case under his belt, and completely out of a job.
Apollo was in disbelief as he watched the police lead his former mentor away in handcuffs. For two whole months after that, he tried his best to make ends meet and find work, but to no avail. Even when he hit rock bottom, though, he told himself he’d never, ever turn to Wright and Co. Law Offices for help. Even if working for Wright would have once been a dream come true, Apollo was still angry about the fake trump card he’d been tricked into presenting.
That’s why he was surprised when he received an urgent call from Mr. Wright -- and was even more so when he found himself at the “Wright Talent Agency” for a job interview.
Mr. Wright had been involved in a hit-and-run accident. Although he was recovering well enough, he gave Apollo two jobs -- discovering the identity of the driver who hit him, and finding his friend Guy Eldoon’s stolen noodle stand. As if that wasn’t bizarre enough, Trucy threw in her own request -- finding the culprit who had stolen her favorite pair of panties.
Needless to say, Apollo wasn’t exactly thrilled. “I’m a lawyer,” he kept reminding everyone, “not a detective!” Still, it beat sitting around with nothing to do, and he agreed to work with Trucy and on the three cases. It didn’t take long for Apollo to find the hit-and-run driver, Eldoon’s stand and Trucy’s panties -- but in doing so, he discovered a murder scene…and a client.
A letter of request was given to him by Alita Tiala, Wocky Kitaki’s fiancée. Wocky, the only son of one of the biggest gangsters in town, had been accused of murdering Pal Meraktis in People Park. Although Apollo had been given access to the crime scene by a strange man named Klavier Gavin, and had received help from Detective Ema Skye, he still didn‘t have everything he needed. After all, he’d barely managed to speak a few words to Wocky himself by the time the trial started the next day.
Things were looking grim once Prosecutor Klavier Gavin, the brother of Kristoph Gavin, produced a “decisive witness” who’d seen the crime take place. There were hardly any holes in Wesely Stickler’s testimony, and it looked like Apollo was on the verge of losing until…suddenly, a phantom appeared out of nowhere, took Trucy hostage, demanded a 20 minute recess, and then disappeared.
Apollo was beyond relieved to find the girl alive and well in the court lobby, but was furious to discover that her “assailant” had really been The Amazing Mr. Hat, one of Trucy’s many tricks. Still, Trucy was quick to remind him that she’d bought him valuable time, seeing that if Apollo was handed a guilty verdict, the brutal Kitaki family would wipe him out for sure. She told Apollo he had to use his powers to “perceive” witnesses’ nervous habits, and identify their lies. Apollo wasn’t sure what she was talking about, but he knew he’d gotten weird vibes from Stickler, and that he was running out of options.
When court reconvened, Apollo asked to question the witness again -- and it was during that time his bracelet began reacting to the man’s words. Apollo focused on the Stickler’s body language, and was stunned to find that everything else around him had been completely drowned out -- all he could see and hear was the witness! It frightened him at first, but Apollo pressed onward, and eventually uncovered Stickler’s nervous habit -- and the fact he was Trucy’s panty-snatcher!
As the truth of Stickler’s actions that night were revealed, his once air-tight testimony became undone, and the Judge ordered another day of investigation.
Apollo was determined to get to the bottom of things. Evidence pointed to Wocky’s presence at the crime scene the night of the murder, but things didn’t seem so black-and-white. After some more searching, Apollo discovered a fourth pair of footprints at the murder scene, and remembered a pair of slippers from the Meraktis Clinic he’d found in the garbage the day before. Once he and Ema checked the prints, they realized they matched, and Apollo gained access to the clinic.
It didn’t take him long to find a pair of Tiala’s blue sandals with the same toe prints as the slippers he’d found. Not only that, but a set of documents in a safe had Tiala listed as a nurse during an operation of Wocky’s several months back -- an operation that had left a bullet lodged near the boy’s heart and in grave danger.
Things were falling into place, but Wocky needed help, and he was running out of time.
During the final day of the trial, Apollo had to use his new-found “power” once more, and Alita Tiala’s testimony slowly fell apart. Even Klavier Gavin had to admit he was a bit impressed by Apollo’s performance. With Klavier’s help, he was able to present enough evidence to prove Miss Tiala shot the victim in People Park. She was declared guilty, and Wocky was set free and able to get help with the “clean money” his family started earning.
Soon after, Trucy invited Apollo back to the office. Although he wasn’t exactly enthusiastic about working at Wright’s Anything Agency again, he wanted to find out more about how Wright lost his badge seven years ago. He agreed to come with her.
Less than a month later, Apollo and Trucy were invited by Klavier to attend a concert of the Gavinners. Not a fan of loud music (or the ticket invoices sent by Klavier), Apollo wasn’t too excited (according to him, the Gavinners put the “sick” back in “music”). Still, once he got a chance to see Klavier and his band in action, he had to admit it was pretty cool, and he briefly questioned his own Chords of Steel for its lack of romantic appeal.
The fun and games didn’t last long, however. While Apollo hung around backstage with Ema during a duet between Klavier and world-famous singer Lamiroir, translator Romein LeTouse was shot in one of the dressing rooms. Ema ran for help, and Apollo heard LeTouse’s dying words: “Ask the witness -- the siren.” He died by the time Ema returned.
While police scrambled around the scene, Trucy suggested she and Apollo conduct an investigation of their own. Normally Apollo wouldn’t have bothered, as he had no client, and investigation wasn’t exactly in a lawyer’s job description. But because he heard LeTouse’s final words, Apollo felt obligated to become more involved in the case.
After a bizarre turn of events, Lamiroir’s young, blind, pianist friend Machi Tobaye was accused of murder. He asked Apollo to defend him in court, and Apollo agreed. Because there was no one to translate for Machi, Apollo was forced to go into trial without getting a chance to properly speak to him.
The first witness for the trial was Lamiroir. Once again Apollo had to use his newfound powers to read her body language and figure out what she was hiding. With a bit of information from Gavin, he was able to figure out that Machi’s blindness was just an act to cover up the fact that Lamiroir was the one who was blind. Lamiroir claimed to have heard the Gavinners’ guitarist Daryan Crescend’s voice at the time of the shooting, and court was adjourned on that shocking note.
After finding new evidence at the crime scene, Apollo and Trucy headed to Klavier’s office. Klavier was surprised that Apollo would share his findings with the prosecution, but Apollo explained it was only fair after he got to see the evidence Klavier was keeping in his office. (This is important because it contrasts with the defense attorney/prosecution rivalries found in most Ace Attorney games. Rather than turn the court into a competition, Apollo is willing to collaborate with Klavier in order to get to the bottom of things.)
Later, Lamiroir survived a near-fatal encounter with the person whom Apollo suspected to be the killer. After she mostly recovered, he took her to the detention center to serve as Machi’s translator. They learned the Borginian Cocoon, one of the pieces of evidence brought up in his discussion with Klavier, is used to make the cure for a deadly disease, and that smuggling it out of Borginia is punishable by death. But before they could get Machi to explain if he was involved in smuggling such a cocoon, Daryan kicked them out of the detention center.
After another lengthy day in trial that involved Apollo using his powers and analyzing a tape of the concert, he was able to convince Machi to confess to acting as Daryan’s accomplice in smuggling the cocoon into the States. The evidence against Daryan was damning, and Machi was declared innocent.
Three months passed. Phoenix Wright had been away on a secret mission that Apollo soon discovered involved implementing a new Jurist System. Not only that, but he put together a “test case” that involved a “simple murder” -- it started tomorrow, and Apollo was set to be the defendant’s attorney.
His client was Vera Misham, and she’d been accused of poisoning her father Drew with a substance known as atroquinine.
Because Vera was shy, she gave them few clues and spent most of Apollo’s visit with her doing her nails. After some investigation at the scene of the crime and a visit to the coliseum to hunt up a journalist who might have been of help, Apollo eventually learned that Drew Misham specialized in forgeries.
With Ema’s help, Apollo X-rayed some of the forgeries in order to see what the sketches beneath the paint look like -- only to find a picture of two men playing cards, another of a man pulling a cart, and another of a man on stage, looking as if he’s on fire. Needless to say, Apollo was freaked out -- those were the last three cases he’d worked on this year! Just who was Drew Misham, and what did he have to do with him, of all people?
Interesting questions, but the next day’s trial had to go on.
This trial was special, as the 6 test jurors were watching the proceedings via a live video feed. Apollo was quick to point out that even though atroquinine was slow-acting, Drew’s death after sipping the coffee was instantaneous. After pressing Brushel, the witness to the crime, for more details, he perceived that he was sweating profusely and got Brushel to admit that Drew used to deal in forged evidence. Perhaps Drew had enemies who might have wanted to keep him silent? Maybe the letter Drew sent out was crucial evidence! In fact, something like a poisoned stamp would help explain the small frame with traces of atroquinine Apollo found at the crime scene.
When Apollo was asked how Drew would use a poisoned stamp he’d been keeping, he figured out that the real forger was the defendant. Once Vera was called to the stand, she admitted to being the true forger, and that she was the one who put the stamp in the frame. Apollo later learned that Drew had taken a personal interest in his cases for some reason.
After the court reconvened, Vera revealed the evidence she was asked to forge was a page ripped from a notebook with the Gramarye logo on the back. Klavier became agitated and badgered Vera for more information -- when Apollo tried to stop him, he was stunned to hear Klavier ask him if Phoenix really never told him just how he’d lost his badge.
In reality, it was a page from a diary that was Phoenix’s undoing, and Vera Misham was the girl who forged it. Both Klavier and Apollo tried to get her to reveal who her client was. “The Devil,” she said before suddenly collapsing at the witness stand.
Vera was placed in an intensive care unit at the hospital for atroquinine poisoning
Sometime between here and when the trial reconvened, Apollo watched the tape of Phoenix’s last trial several times in an effort to get a handle on just exactly what happened. After all, whoever ordered the forged evidence was very likely Drew Misham’s killer.
It’s at this point in the game the player must use the Mason System Phoenix created to piece together clues taken over a 7 year span. Apollo was not personally involved in this segment. He was only later told about the clues that directly relate to the case at hand. Phoenix omits the information regarding Apollo’s powers, his background, and the fact Trucy and Lamiroir (Thalassa Gramarye) are his family.
Among the most important things -- and the things Apollo were told -- are these details:
1) Vera Misham was given a bottle of Ariadoney nail polish by her client under the instruction that it would protect her if she had to go outside. Incidentally, Kristoph Gavin uses the exact same brand, which is expensive and produced in limited quantities. According to Phoenix, Vera admitted that Kristoph was the one who gave it to her.
2) Seven years later, and after the death of Drew Misham, the letter containing the stamp Vera had once saved -- atroquinine traces and all -- was discovered by Phoenix in Kristoph’s cell.
3) Zak Gramarye disappeared the day he was supposed to be given a verdict, only to return as Shadi Smith, who was murdered by Kristoph Gavin.
4) Kristoph was originally Zak’s defense attorney, but was fired in favor of Phoenix Wright after losing a poker game.
5) Details involving the events of Phoenix’s final case, such as the fact Magnifi Gramarye really killed himself, that Zak had inherited the rights to his illusions, and that Valant had tried to frame Zak for Magnifi’s death were also likely explained to Apollo.
6) While Apollo is aware of the death of Thalassa Gramarye, he doesn’t know she’s alive.
Court resumed the next day, and Apollo was determined to get Vera a fair verdict. He had to race against the clock; the trial would be called off if Vera died. He wasted no time in presenting the bottle of nail polish and tying Vera’s poisoning to Kristoph. In response, Kristoph was brought in as a special witness. Although Apollo was intimidated by Kristoph (talking to him felt like he was still talking to his boss, which was awkward), he knew he couldn’t back down.
Eventually, he had to rely on his powers to pin-point that Kristoph became tense when he mentioned the murder of Drew Misham. Apollo then went on to explain that the person who ordered the forgery was likely the murderer -- and that person was none other than Kristoph himself!
Kristoph denied this and told Apollo he had no way to prove that he had originally taken Zak’s case, since council is only recorded the night before the trial. Klavier almost begged Apollo for proof that Kristoph really was the killer, because if his doubts weren’t cleared, he’d need to drop the case. Apollo assured him that he had proof, and Klavier promised to trust him.
It was then that Apollo presented the letter found by Phoenix -- or, rather, a reproduction of the letter. Unfortunately, it was not admissible. The judge told Apollo that he did very well for a novice, but that it was time to give a verdict. Klavier cut in and explained that the only way he knew of Phoenix’s forgery seven years ago was because Kristoph informed him. Apollo is shocked, realizing that it’d never occurred to him to question how Klavier had acted like he’d known about the fake page ahead of time. But now that he mentioned, it did seem unnatural!
From there, it was easy to piece together what happened. Kristoph had intended to win Zak’s case so he could become famous. That was why he got a forgery of the diary page from Vera. When Phoenix replaced him, he told Klavier about the forged document so he could take Phoenix and Zak down at once. Meanwhile, he sent a letter with a poisoned stamp to kill Drew, and then the Ariadoney nail polish would finish Vera off if she ever went outside.
Still, for all Apollo’s efforts, there was no decisive proof of Vera’s innocence. It was then everyone was reminded of the Jurist System, and that a jury of 6 people was going to decide Vera’s verdict. When Kristoph heard this, he went ballistic. Klavier told him that people like Kristoph were no longer needed, because the law is not absolute, and those who cannot change along with the law have no place in the court system.
Apollo was speechless, because he honestly couldn’t think of anything to say. He silently vowed to understand what law was so he could someday help fight to change it.
Vera was pronounced innocent. Kristoph’s crazed laughter filled the courtroom, and it was a sound Apollo will not soon forget.
The next day, Vera opened her eyes. Apollo and Trucy were choked up with tears, they were so happy to see her alive. Vera thanked Apollo for letting her have a second chance at life -- a chance she didn’t intend to waste.
It was a hair-raising case, but Apollo decided to stick around at Wright’s agency for awhile longer. He knew he had a lot to learn, and that his powers need some work. All the more reason to keep up his Chords of Steel training, right?
It’s when Apollo went to bed a couple nights later that he woke up in Landel’s Institute with no recollection of how he got there...
The only thing Apollo has of his real family his mother’s bracelet. He’s hardly ever taken it off. It’s safe to assume it’s one of his most valued treasures.
Trucy Wright is his half-sister, born to Thalassa several years after she left Apollo. The only (alive) people who are aware of this fact seem to be Phoenix and Thalassa herself.
There’s a large gap between the time his mother left him and the time we see him in the game. Fanon speculates he was bounced around the social system and had a troubled childhood, but I disagree with this theory for several reasons. The biggest one is how quick he is to judge Phoenix and Trucy’s family situation, which hints that his upbringing was probably pretty normal. Because he doesn’t seem aware of his own magician’s heritage -- and because Brushel had been unable to locate Thalassa’s son during his own investigations -- it’s unlikely he was raised by relatives on his father’s side. I’m going to run under the assumption he was adopted by a regular family after being abandoned at a hospital or a church.
Note: It’s never stated in canon that Apollo knows he was separated from his real family as a baby, but I’m going to assume he doesn’t for a couple reasons. Firstly, he never mentions it at all in the game, and when Ema suggests Drew Misham is his father, Apollo’s exact words are, “Give me a break! How is that even REMOTELY possible!?” He sounds awfully sure of himself in this scene. Even if the player later learns his father is dead, that doesn’t necessarily mean he knows about it. Furthermore, assuming he doesn’t know he was adopted will justify not bringing up the issue in Landel’s (just as he doesn’t in actual canon), and will be easy enough to retcon if this changes in the next game.
As Apollo grew, he developed an enthusiastic, idealistic spirit, as well as a solid conviction in doing the right thing. It’s never stated in the game why he chose to become a defense attorney, but judging by how passionate he is about his job, it likely stems from his deep sense of morality, and a sound desire to bring justice into the court system. Law itself is a subject that greatly interests him, as well as the idea that it can be changed to better suit the needs of the common people. Apollo was probably active in his high school’s debate club; perhaps he even participated in competitions.
Judging by how straight-laced Apollo is, he was probably a very hard-working student. Perhaps he was even awarded some kind of scholarship to attend law school. While not a prodigy by Ace Attorney standards, he was able to do well enough that he passed the bar exam by the time he was 22.
Not long after graduating, he came into contact with Kristoph Gavin, the “Coolest Defense Attorney in the West,” who had a high reputation in Los Angeles. Kristoph hired him, taking him under his wing as young Apollo became his protégé. During his initial time with Kristoph, Apollo carefully watched his boss’s performances in court and studied hard. He was so eager to take on his own clients that he often practiced honing his Chords of Steel, hoping to deliver the perfect objection when the time came.
He never dreamed his first client would be the legendary Phoenix Wright, nor had he imagined his first case would be a homicide.
The news came as something of a shock. Wright had personally requested the services of Gavin Law Offices, under the condition that Kristoph’s greenhorn apprentice represents him. To say Apollo was nervous would be a huge understatement, but he agreed to meet the challenge head-on anyway. (“I’m fine!” he kept insisting.) The case itself looked like a tough one -- a murder taking place in a room with only three people; the victim, Mr. Wright, and a witness. It would have been logical for a defense attorney to at least doubt his client, especially given Wright’s shady reputation, but Apollo didn’t doubt him for a second. There was no way Mr. Wright would kill anyone! Apollo had a deep respect for the once legendary attorney, and he was determined to defend him with everything he had.
Apollo’s lack of experience made it difficult for him to carry out his arguments with complete confidence, and sometimes he’d yell really loud, as if to compensate for it. During his cross-examination of the witness, though, Apollo kept getting “weird vibes,” but didn’t know what it meant. Phoenix eventually clued him in on a certain “power” he possessed -- the ability to read people’s body language and figure out when they’re lying. This combined with his quick thinking allowed Apollo to fit the pieces of the puzzle together, and he realized there had been a fourth person involved in the murder -- his own boss, Kristoph Gavin!
Needless to say, Kristoph was unsettled by this turn of events, and he asked Apollo if loyalty meant anything to him at all. Apollo simply replied that his actions weren’t a matter of loyalty, but were about finding the truth. It was becoming clear why Phoenix had specifically requested Apollo for the job.
In order to trap Kristoph in a corner, Apollo eventually had to present his “Trump Card” -- a bloody ace that he’d received from Wright’s daughter. Kristoph was stunned. How could he have gotten his hands on that card, when the killer had taken it away from the scene? he’d asked. Wright spoke up and asked how Kristoph would have known the killer had taken it with him in the first place.
In actuality, the piece of evidence had been forged, and Apollo was shocked -- furious, even -- when Wright later informed him. He was so overwrought with emotion that he lashed out and punched the once-legend in the face. He’d always believed the rumors about him presenting false evidence had been lies, and had nothing but the utmost respect for Phoenix Wright. So why had Phoenix tricked him into presenting a forgery?!
In the end, the forgery didn’t cause problems, since only a few people knew about it. Meanwhile, Kristoph confessed to everything, Wright was declared innocent, and suddenly Apollo found himself with one case under his belt, and completely out of a job.
Apollo was in disbelief as he watched the police lead his former mentor away in handcuffs. For two whole months after that, he tried his best to make ends meet and find work, but to no avail. Even when he hit rock bottom, though, he told himself he’d never, ever turn to Wright and Co. Law Offices for help. Even if working for Wright would have once been a dream come true, Apollo was still angry about the fake trump card he’d been tricked into presenting.
That’s why he was surprised when he received an urgent call from Mr. Wright -- and was even more so when he found himself at the “Wright Talent Agency” for a job interview.
Mr. Wright had been involved in a hit-and-run accident. Although he was recovering well enough, he gave Apollo two jobs -- discovering the identity of the driver who hit him, and finding his friend Guy Eldoon’s stolen noodle stand. As if that wasn’t bizarre enough, Trucy threw in her own request -- finding the culprit who had stolen her favorite pair of panties.
Needless to say, Apollo wasn’t exactly thrilled. “I’m a lawyer,” he kept reminding everyone, “not a detective!” Still, it beat sitting around with nothing to do, and he agreed to work with Trucy and on the three cases. It didn’t take long for Apollo to find the hit-and-run driver, Eldoon’s stand and Trucy’s panties -- but in doing so, he discovered a murder scene…and a client.
A letter of request was given to him by Alita Tiala, Wocky Kitaki’s fiancée. Wocky, the only son of one of the biggest gangsters in town, had been accused of murdering Pal Meraktis in People Park. Although Apollo had been given access to the crime scene by a strange man named Klavier Gavin, and had received help from Detective Ema Skye, he still didn‘t have everything he needed. After all, he’d barely managed to speak a few words to Wocky himself by the time the trial started the next day.
Things were looking grim once Prosecutor Klavier Gavin, the brother of Kristoph Gavin, produced a “decisive witness” who’d seen the crime take place. There were hardly any holes in Wesely Stickler’s testimony, and it looked like Apollo was on the verge of losing until…suddenly, a phantom appeared out of nowhere, took Trucy hostage, demanded a 20 minute recess, and then disappeared.
Apollo was beyond relieved to find the girl alive and well in the court lobby, but was furious to discover that her “assailant” had really been The Amazing Mr. Hat, one of Trucy’s many tricks. Still, Trucy was quick to remind him that she’d bought him valuable time, seeing that if Apollo was handed a guilty verdict, the brutal Kitaki family would wipe him out for sure. She told Apollo he had to use his powers to “perceive” witnesses’ nervous habits, and identify their lies. Apollo wasn’t sure what she was talking about, but he knew he’d gotten weird vibes from Stickler, and that he was running out of options.
When court reconvened, Apollo asked to question the witness again -- and it was during that time his bracelet began reacting to the man’s words. Apollo focused on the Stickler’s body language, and was stunned to find that everything else around him had been completely drowned out -- all he could see and hear was the witness! It frightened him at first, but Apollo pressed onward, and eventually uncovered Stickler’s nervous habit -- and the fact he was Trucy’s panty-snatcher!
As the truth of Stickler’s actions that night were revealed, his once air-tight testimony became undone, and the Judge ordered another day of investigation.
Apollo was determined to get to the bottom of things. Evidence pointed to Wocky’s presence at the crime scene the night of the murder, but things didn’t seem so black-and-white. After some more searching, Apollo discovered a fourth pair of footprints at the murder scene, and remembered a pair of slippers from the Meraktis Clinic he’d found in the garbage the day before. Once he and Ema checked the prints, they realized they matched, and Apollo gained access to the clinic.
It didn’t take him long to find a pair of Tiala’s blue sandals with the same toe prints as the slippers he’d found. Not only that, but a set of documents in a safe had Tiala listed as a nurse during an operation of Wocky’s several months back -- an operation that had left a bullet lodged near the boy’s heart and in grave danger.
Things were falling into place, but Wocky needed help, and he was running out of time.
During the final day of the trial, Apollo had to use his new-found “power” once more, and Alita Tiala’s testimony slowly fell apart. Even Klavier Gavin had to admit he was a bit impressed by Apollo’s performance. With Klavier’s help, he was able to present enough evidence to prove Miss Tiala shot the victim in People Park. She was declared guilty, and Wocky was set free and able to get help with the “clean money” his family started earning.
Soon after, Trucy invited Apollo back to the office. Although he wasn’t exactly enthusiastic about working at Wright’s Anything Agency again, he wanted to find out more about how Wright lost his badge seven years ago. He agreed to come with her.
Less than a month later, Apollo and Trucy were invited by Klavier to attend a concert of the Gavinners. Not a fan of loud music (or the ticket invoices sent by Klavier), Apollo wasn’t too excited (according to him, the Gavinners put the “sick” back in “music”). Still, once he got a chance to see Klavier and his band in action, he had to admit it was pretty cool, and he briefly questioned his own Chords of Steel for its lack of romantic appeal.
The fun and games didn’t last long, however. While Apollo hung around backstage with Ema during a duet between Klavier and world-famous singer Lamiroir, translator Romein LeTouse was shot in one of the dressing rooms. Ema ran for help, and Apollo heard LeTouse’s dying words: “Ask the witness -- the siren.” He died by the time Ema returned.
While police scrambled around the scene, Trucy suggested she and Apollo conduct an investigation of their own. Normally Apollo wouldn’t have bothered, as he had no client, and investigation wasn’t exactly in a lawyer’s job description. But because he heard LeTouse’s final words, Apollo felt obligated to become more involved in the case.
After a bizarre turn of events, Lamiroir’s young, blind, pianist friend Machi Tobaye was accused of murder. He asked Apollo to defend him in court, and Apollo agreed. Because there was no one to translate for Machi, Apollo was forced to go into trial without getting a chance to properly speak to him.
The first witness for the trial was Lamiroir. Once again Apollo had to use his newfound powers to read her body language and figure out what she was hiding. With a bit of information from Gavin, he was able to figure out that Machi’s blindness was just an act to cover up the fact that Lamiroir was the one who was blind. Lamiroir claimed to have heard the Gavinners’ guitarist Daryan Crescend’s voice at the time of the shooting, and court was adjourned on that shocking note.
After finding new evidence at the crime scene, Apollo and Trucy headed to Klavier’s office. Klavier was surprised that Apollo would share his findings with the prosecution, but Apollo explained it was only fair after he got to see the evidence Klavier was keeping in his office. (This is important because it contrasts with the defense attorney/prosecution rivalries found in most Ace Attorney games. Rather than turn the court into a competition, Apollo is willing to collaborate with Klavier in order to get to the bottom of things.)
Later, Lamiroir survived a near-fatal encounter with the person whom Apollo suspected to be the killer. After she mostly recovered, he took her to the detention center to serve as Machi’s translator. They learned the Borginian Cocoon, one of the pieces of evidence brought up in his discussion with Klavier, is used to make the cure for a deadly disease, and that smuggling it out of Borginia is punishable by death. But before they could get Machi to explain if he was involved in smuggling such a cocoon, Daryan kicked them out of the detention center.
After another lengthy day in trial that involved Apollo using his powers and analyzing a tape of the concert, he was able to convince Machi to confess to acting as Daryan’s accomplice in smuggling the cocoon into the States. The evidence against Daryan was damning, and Machi was declared innocent.
Three months passed. Phoenix Wright had been away on a secret mission that Apollo soon discovered involved implementing a new Jurist System. Not only that, but he put together a “test case” that involved a “simple murder” -- it started tomorrow, and Apollo was set to be the defendant’s attorney.
His client was Vera Misham, and she’d been accused of poisoning her father Drew with a substance known as atroquinine.
Because Vera was shy, she gave them few clues and spent most of Apollo’s visit with her doing her nails. After some investigation at the scene of the crime and a visit to the coliseum to hunt up a journalist who might have been of help, Apollo eventually learned that Drew Misham specialized in forgeries.
With Ema’s help, Apollo X-rayed some of the forgeries in order to see what the sketches beneath the paint look like -- only to find a picture of two men playing cards, another of a man pulling a cart, and another of a man on stage, looking as if he’s on fire. Needless to say, Apollo was freaked out -- those were the last three cases he’d worked on this year! Just who was Drew Misham, and what did he have to do with him, of all people?
Interesting questions, but the next day’s trial had to go on.
This trial was special, as the 6 test jurors were watching the proceedings via a live video feed. Apollo was quick to point out that even though atroquinine was slow-acting, Drew’s death after sipping the coffee was instantaneous. After pressing Brushel, the witness to the crime, for more details, he perceived that he was sweating profusely and got Brushel to admit that Drew used to deal in forged evidence. Perhaps Drew had enemies who might have wanted to keep him silent? Maybe the letter Drew sent out was crucial evidence! In fact, something like a poisoned stamp would help explain the small frame with traces of atroquinine Apollo found at the crime scene.
When Apollo was asked how Drew would use a poisoned stamp he’d been keeping, he figured out that the real forger was the defendant. Once Vera was called to the stand, she admitted to being the true forger, and that she was the one who put the stamp in the frame. Apollo later learned that Drew had taken a personal interest in his cases for some reason.
After the court reconvened, Vera revealed the evidence she was asked to forge was a page ripped from a notebook with the Gramarye logo on the back. Klavier became agitated and badgered Vera for more information -- when Apollo tried to stop him, he was stunned to hear Klavier ask him if Phoenix really never told him just how he’d lost his badge.
In reality, it was a page from a diary that was Phoenix’s undoing, and Vera Misham was the girl who forged it. Both Klavier and Apollo tried to get her to reveal who her client was. “The Devil,” she said before suddenly collapsing at the witness stand.
Vera was placed in an intensive care unit at the hospital for atroquinine poisoning
Sometime between here and when the trial reconvened, Apollo watched the tape of Phoenix’s last trial several times in an effort to get a handle on just exactly what happened. After all, whoever ordered the forged evidence was very likely Drew Misham’s killer.
It’s at this point in the game the player must use the Mason System Phoenix created to piece together clues taken over a 7 year span. Apollo was not personally involved in this segment. He was only later told about the clues that directly relate to the case at hand. Phoenix omits the information regarding Apollo’s powers, his background, and the fact Trucy and Lamiroir (Thalassa Gramarye) are his family.
Among the most important things -- and the things Apollo were told -- are these details:
1) Vera Misham was given a bottle of Ariadoney nail polish by her client under the instruction that it would protect her if she had to go outside. Incidentally, Kristoph Gavin uses the exact same brand, which is expensive and produced in limited quantities. According to Phoenix, Vera admitted that Kristoph was the one who gave it to her.
2) Seven years later, and after the death of Drew Misham, the letter containing the stamp Vera had once saved -- atroquinine traces and all -- was discovered by Phoenix in Kristoph’s cell.
3) Zak Gramarye disappeared the day he was supposed to be given a verdict, only to return as Shadi Smith, who was murdered by Kristoph Gavin.
4) Kristoph was originally Zak’s defense attorney, but was fired in favor of Phoenix Wright after losing a poker game.
5) Details involving the events of Phoenix’s final case, such as the fact Magnifi Gramarye really killed himself, that Zak had inherited the rights to his illusions, and that Valant had tried to frame Zak for Magnifi’s death were also likely explained to Apollo.
6) While Apollo is aware of the death of Thalassa Gramarye, he doesn’t know she’s alive.
Court resumed the next day, and Apollo was determined to get Vera a fair verdict. He had to race against the clock; the trial would be called off if Vera died. He wasted no time in presenting the bottle of nail polish and tying Vera’s poisoning to Kristoph. In response, Kristoph was brought in as a special witness. Although Apollo was intimidated by Kristoph (talking to him felt like he was still talking to his boss, which was awkward), he knew he couldn’t back down.
Eventually, he had to rely on his powers to pin-point that Kristoph became tense when he mentioned the murder of Drew Misham. Apollo then went on to explain that the person who ordered the forgery was likely the murderer -- and that person was none other than Kristoph himself!
Kristoph denied this and told Apollo he had no way to prove that he had originally taken Zak’s case, since council is only recorded the night before the trial. Klavier almost begged Apollo for proof that Kristoph really was the killer, because if his doubts weren’t cleared, he’d need to drop the case. Apollo assured him that he had proof, and Klavier promised to trust him.
It was then that Apollo presented the letter found by Phoenix -- or, rather, a reproduction of the letter. Unfortunately, it was not admissible. The judge told Apollo that he did very well for a novice, but that it was time to give a verdict. Klavier cut in and explained that the only way he knew of Phoenix’s forgery seven years ago was because Kristoph informed him. Apollo is shocked, realizing that it’d never occurred to him to question how Klavier had acted like he’d known about the fake page ahead of time. But now that he mentioned, it did seem unnatural!
From there, it was easy to piece together what happened. Kristoph had intended to win Zak’s case so he could become famous. That was why he got a forgery of the diary page from Vera. When Phoenix replaced him, he told Klavier about the forged document so he could take Phoenix and Zak down at once. Meanwhile, he sent a letter with a poisoned stamp to kill Drew, and then the Ariadoney nail polish would finish Vera off if she ever went outside.
Still, for all Apollo’s efforts, there was no decisive proof of Vera’s innocence. It was then everyone was reminded of the Jurist System, and that a jury of 6 people was going to decide Vera’s verdict. When Kristoph heard this, he went ballistic. Klavier told him that people like Kristoph were no longer needed, because the law is not absolute, and those who cannot change along with the law have no place in the court system.
Apollo was speechless, because he honestly couldn’t think of anything to say. He silently vowed to understand what law was so he could someday help fight to change it.
Vera was pronounced innocent. Kristoph’s crazed laughter filled the courtroom, and it was a sound Apollo will not soon forget.
The next day, Vera opened her eyes. Apollo and Trucy were choked up with tears, they were so happy to see her alive. Vera thanked Apollo for letting her have a second chance at life -- a chance she didn’t intend to waste.
It was a hair-raising case, but Apollo decided to stick around at Wright’s agency for awhile longer. He knew he had a lot to learn, and that his powers need some work. All the more reason to keep up his Chords of Steel training, right?
It’s when Apollo went to bed a couple nights later that he woke up in Landel’s Institute with no recollection of how he got there...