After seven years Yatagarasu has returned, but why now, and what is he after?  Edgeworth and all his allies come together to combat an international criminal, with not one murder but two to solve before the night is over.  All five cases lead into this action packed, world-revolving finale.

 

Date:  March 14 - March 15, 2019
Victim: Manny Coachen, Ka-Shi Nou
COD:  Stabbed, Blunt force trauma
MW: A knife, a statue
Guilty: Quercus Alba 
 

The case begins with a hand holding a match.  Two cards, black and white.  Two countries, east and west.  Two become one, and the truth is revealed...!

Spotlights wheel, throwing up a silhouette of a Yatagarasu.  Nearby, flames climb up a five story building.  Cursing Yatagarasu, Edgeworth calls out for Kay.

~ 8 Hours Earlier ~

March 14, 10:17 am.  Only a few hours have passed since Jacques Portsman confessed to murder and was taken away.  Edgeworth sits in his now tidy office, sipping from a teacup, when Kay bursts in.  She shows off a newspaper that reports on the advance notice card sent by Yatagarasu against a foreign embassy.  Because the card is accurate to Yatagarasu's previous MO Kay says it must be the work of Calisto Yew.  Edgeworth wonders why the advance notice is white while the card he found in his office was black, but ultimately lets Kay drag him off.

They visit the Allebahst/Babahl Embassy, and are fortunate enough to catch a live Steel Samurai show there!  It was set up by the Allebahst half of the embassy, while the Babahl half is doing a Jammin' Ninja show later.  Edgeworth does not find it strange that Kay is more of a ninja fan.

Edgeworth explains that the shows are part of a Allebahst vs. Babahl event.  Originally both countries were joined and known as Cohdopia, but it was split apart by civil war.  Even the crest was divided, so that Allebahst took the flower as its symbol, and Babahl the butterfly.  Now the two embassies both claim to hold an authentic piece of Cohdopian Imperial Regalia, and they plan to find out tonight which one is the real thing.  Looking over one of the embassy's brochures, they learn that the Babahl side of the embassy is on the right, and Allebahst on the left.  The building used to all belong to Cohdopia so both sides are like a mirror image of the other.

The Steel Samurai appears, pushing a cart with his Junior Samurai doll sitting on top of it.  Edgeworth is very pleased to get a Steel Samurai autograph signed specifically to him.  The Steel Samurai then leaves to go visit Ambassador Alba.  Edgeworth suggests they leave, as there's been no sign of Yatagarasu, but Kay insists they stay.  Of course, that's when two officers come running, declaring that Yatagarasu has appeared at the Allebahst Embassy.  Kay goes running off, but because she can't get through the Allebahst side she tries the Babahl side instead.  Edgeworth tries to follow but she's too fast for him.  By the time he reaches the Babahl side the building is on fire!  Kay, where are you!?

Of course, she's fine--relatively.  When the fire is out Edgeworth is finally allowed inside, and he finds Kay being held captive by Shih-na with Gumshoe protesting.  The office they're in belongs to Manny Coachen, who has been recently murdered.  Kay claims she was following a shadowy figure and ended up in the office, and that's when Shih-na found her standing over the body.  In AA world that's all you need to be a murderer after all.

Edgeworth demands to know if Shih-na has any other evidence that Kay is guilty, but she calmly replies that they're no longer in his jurisdiction, and she has no obligation to answer him.  After all, when inside the embassy they're technically on foreign soil and only Babahl's laws apply.  Shih-na says that Interpol will handle the investigation and that Edgeworth and Gumshoe should leave.

They're interrupted by Franziska and a blonde man who is actually the Babahl Ambassador, Colias Palaeno.  Colias says that Manny was his secretary and the more people helping, the better--he's already given Franziska permission to join the investigation.  Edgeworth asks that he be allowed to join as well, as Franziska's assistant.  Gumshoe doesn't like the idea at all, but Franziska is happy to accept Edgeworth as an "underling" and they're able to secure Colias's permission for him as well.  As for Gumshoe, he was on the scene already thanks to Colias's invitation: with Yatagarasu supposedly coming to call, he allowed members of the Japanese police to support the embassy guards, not just for the safety of the embassy but the chance to get revenge on the thief.  Of course, that didn't stop Yatagarasu from showing up and getting away again...

Edgeworth asks Colias about the victim, Manny Coachen.  Colias explains that Manny was his secretary and an invaluable asset to the embassy, handling all manner of documents and the printing of various pamphlets and coupons that support Babahl's expansive tourist industry.  He admits that Manny was the accused in the original KG-8 case but was found not guilty.  But that was 10 years ago and Manny has been a hard worker ever since.  He was even heading some remodeling at the embassy.

Investigating the body, they discover that Manny was stabbed to death.  The murder weapon seems to be a knife with a butterfly design on the hilt.  In his pocket they discover none other than the Yatagarasu key-knife that Calisto had run off with at the end of case 4.  Now that Edgeworth has the chance to study it more carefully he notices a star-like pattern on the blade. 

In the rest of the room they find a locked safe and the all important Regalia statue.  Colias asks that they leave it alone, as it's priceless and only Manny was ever allowed to touch it.  It looks a little like the Steel Samurai.  They also find a plaque on the wall where three knives were supposed to have been mounted, including the murder weapon.  The other two have been burned beyond recognition.  Colias also explains that the hilts on the knives can be removed.  There are three more knives just like them in the Allebahst Embassy. 

Edgeworth shows the key to Colias, who has no idea what it's for or where it came from.  When Edgeworth demonstrates the trick behind it he suggests it's an item from back before Cohdopia split up: when it's a key there are butterflies on the handle, but when it's a knife there's a flower on the hilt.  Cohdopia's old flag bore both designs.  Edgeworth asks him more about Calisto, but Colias says he was not involved in the case 7 years ago and doesn't know any of the details.

Edgeworth tries using the Yatagarasu Key on the safe, and sure enough it opens--but it's empty.  After some searching he discovers a second keyhole which is opened by turning the key back into a knife.  Inside the second compartment they find what Franziska recognizes as stolen pieces of foreign art, and some papers.  They're labeled 1/3 and 3/3 and the latter bears Manny's signature.  Franziska offers up page 2/3, which she gained in her investigation of the smuggling ring with the help of Interpol.  All together the documents prove that Manny was involved in smuggling and distributing Babahl Ink, an important country export.

None of their discoveries change Shih-na's mind about Kay being guilty.  Kay herself has been saying she's Yatagarasu for a while now.  Real or fake, she was the only one discovered in the vicinity of the body.  Police may have witnessed someone else starting the fire, but Kay used it as a distraction so she could get to Manny.  Yatagarasu did promise to steal evidence of "evil" from the embassy after all, and the documents Edgeworth discovered prove just what her target was.

Edgeworth objects--the documents are still there.  What kind of thief would Yatagarasu be if she left the object of her search locked in the safe?  Shih-na suggests maybe she didn't know the secret of the safe, and didn't have time to get to the documents before she was caught.  She even claims to have seen Kay holding the bloody murder weapon.

Edgeworth shows off said murder weapon, and how the handles can be switched.  Once removed from the handle, the blade has a flower imprinted on it--it came from the Allebahst side of the embassy, where Kay had no chance of setting foot.

Shih-na agrees that Kay is not the murderer, but she refuses to ignore the possibility of her still being Yatagarasu.  Kay admits it freely--she's the real one after all, not the "fake."  They all head out to see if they can investigate the Allebahst side and confirm the origins of the murder weapon.

In the lobby they run into Lang as he dismisses his investigators.  When they ask about getting inside to see Allebahst he refuses at first, saying it's one of the hardest countries to get into--even he is only allowed to bring half his men.  They're then approached by a group of soldiers and an old man in a cloak: the Allebahst Ambassador Quercus Alba.  Alba says he's leaving the investigation up to Lang, but then Colias shows up with his HIS soldiers and asks if Alba would be good enough to let Edgeworth and his friends in.  Lang finally agrees, though he refuses Kay since she's still a suspect.  Gumshoe stays behind with her to continue investigating in Babahl.  Before heading into Allebahst Edgeworth thanks Colias for his help and is given a bottle of Babahl Ink.  Franziska then explains part of the case she's been investigating all along involves the smuggling of Babahl Inc, because recently it's been used in a large amount of counterfeit money circulating in Zheng Fa.  Counterfeits made using Babahl Inc are very difficult to distinguish from the real thing.  All these things point to Manny being in on the smuggling and counterfeiting, but with him dead unless Franziska can find his boss it won't mean much.

Edgeworth and Franziska enter Alba's office in Allebahst, and run straight into the Steel Samurai.  He takes off his mast, revealing it is in fact Larry Butz!  He immediately starts crying to Edgeworth about being implicated in a murder.  When Edgeworth realizes that it was actually Larry who gave him the Steel Samurai autograph earlier, he is crushed.

Lang interrupts, saying that Larry is indeed a murder suspect, the victim being Mask * DeMasque II.  Hearing that Edgeworth knows Larry he tries to muscle him out of the investigation again, but is interrupted by a sudden appearance by Badd.  For the past 7 years he has still been trying to track Yatagarasu down, and he willingly gives up the information he has to Edgeworth.  He and Lang were playing guard in Allebahst when Yatagarasu made his presence known.  Using the commotion as cover, Mask DeMasque snuck into Allebahst, but was murdered.  The reason Larry is suspected is because as the Steel Samurai he was supposed to be a guest at Alba's speech in the garden, but he was spotted on the roof instead of in his seat, next to the chimney that leads down into the room of the murder. 

Edgeworth questions Larry about what he's doing there in the first place.  Larry promises he hasn't given up on being Laurice, but after breaking up with Elena he met Mindy, the Pink Princess actress, and decided to help her out.  He claims he was on the room trying to reprise his role as Santa Claus, but there was smoke coming out of the chimney so he gave up.

Investigating the body, they find that the victim (real name Ka-Shi Nou) was killed by a blow to the back of the head.  The murder weapon appears to be the Steel Samurai sword, and in his hand he's holding a triangle note with orders to steal the Regalia statue in Allebahst.  They also find a photo of Alba shaking hands with the Steel Samurai, and a knife hilt missing its blade.  The murder blade fits it perfectly, but the handle is chipped and missing a small piece.  Leaning against the wall is a crossbow and the Steel Samurai Spear.

Edgeworth points out that the Spear is bent, and Larry admits that he was swinging it around during rehearsal and accidentally smacked it against the wall.  It's just a prop, after all.  Because the spear was bent he had to use the sword during the show, but then forgot it in Alba's office after their little photo op. 

The Pink Princess shows up, and Edgeworth is horrified to find it's actually Oldbag.  Even Larry is shocked--apparently neither knew who was in the other suit.  Oldbag took the job as Pink Princess when Mindy called in sick, and in no time already got herself a stalker.  She shows Edgeworth a pink letter that was slipped under her door from someone promising to come to her that night.  She doesn't know anything about the commotion and has been warming herself by the fireplace in the next room ever since the end of her show.

An officer arrives on the scene with everyone's favorite police dog, Missile!  He sniffs around in the fireplace and brings back a woman's shirt and a Steel Samurai Dog, which he promptly devours.  As for the shirt, it turns out to be Oldbag's.  She claims she burned it in the fireplace because all the sweating she did inside her costume ruined it.  The Samurai Dogs were souvenirs left over from the show. 

So how did Oldbag's shirt get from one room into the next?  Edgeworth investigates and finds that the fireplaces are connected via a rotating back wall.  Not that it helps Larry at all.

Edgeworth gets him to testify.  Larry says after the Steel Samurai show he left his cart in the Allebahst garden and came up to take some photos with Ambassador Alba.  Then he wandered around until he spotted the chimney and decided to play Santa.  Edgeworth suggests that Larry was actually trying to get to Mindy, the girl he thought was in the Pink Princess suit.   He even offers up his autograph to prove that the penmanship matches that on the "stalker" letter. 

Larry admits it, but Lang says that doesn't clear the suspicion around the murder weapon: the Steel Samurai Sword.  His investigators have already checked the embassy with luminol and weren't able to find another blood reaction anywhere.  But Edgeworth points out that the sword is as hollow and weak as the spear, and couldn't be wielded as a weapon.  There's also one last place that his investigators wouldn't have touched: the Regalia statue, just as Colias had prevented them from studying his.  Lang tries to get permission from Alba to have the statue checked but is denied.

He checks it anyway, and sure enough they discover a trace amount of blood.  On the underside is a handprint which they prove to be Manny's: it's actually Babahl's statue in Alba's office.  Edgeworth leaves the investigation to Franziska for a while and returns to Babahl, where he meets Gumshoe, Kay, and Colias.  He dumps the evidence he doesn't need anymore on Gumshoe and crumples up his Steel Samurai autograph (poor Edgeworth!).

Edgeworth asks Colias about the statues, and he explains that the statue was supposedly commissioned by the first ruler of Cohdopia, and was a symbol of the king's right to rule.  Now there are two, and both embassy's insist their is the authentic one.  After receiving a phone call from Franziska, Colias checked the statue in Manny's office and can confirm that at some point the statues were switched.  He's sure because it's real, and he knew all along that Babahl's was merely a replica.  He expresses his disappointment in Babahl's reputation taking so many hits in one night.

Gumshoe on the other hand is very happy with himself.  He shows off a lantern he got from Colias that's burning with green fire.  It's fueled with a special oil, same as is used in Babahl Ink, that gives it that color.  He lets Edgeworth borrow it.  Kay offers up the evidence she discovered as well: a small chip that looks like a guitar pick she found near the stage area.  She also gives him the bottle of Calisto's perfume that Badd gave her--she's been saving it for seven years in the hopes of using it against Calisto one day.

Edgeworth returns to Allebahst and investigates the rose garden where Yatagarasu first appeared.  Franziska joins him, and as they study the garden fountain Larry abruptly pops out of the water.  He's looking for his kid, Junior Samurai (the doll). 

They ask Lang about how Yatagarasu first appeared, and he admits that all they saw was the silhouette.  When the spotlights were turned on for Alba Yatagarasu's shadow appeared on the backdrop, but as soon as everyone started looking for him it vanished.  Edgeworth and Franziska manipulate the spotlights around the garden fountains and discover a combination that make it look like a Yatagarasu shadow.  Someone had to have rigged the lights before hand for such a specific shadow to appear.  Edgeworth surmises that the lights were a diversion so that Yatagarasu could enter Babahl, while at the same time having an accomplice in Allebahst.

Badd arrives with evidence: a photo taken by a female photographer.  It shows a figure flying over the garden stage.  Franziska says at first that it's impossible for someone to be flying over the courtyard, but Edgeworth says he's seen it happen once before, and then she remembers she's seen it twice.

Edgeworth switches partners from Franziska to Kay and returns to Babahl.  In Manny's desk they find a triangle shaped notepad, the same kind of paper that Mask DeMasque was holding.  They ask Colias if he has any idea why Manny would hire Mask DeMasque to steal the Regalia statue.  He explains first that there were two fires at the embassy that night: one at the start of the Jammin' Ninja show which affected floors 4 and 5, and the one after which hit floor 3 (which is what Edgeworth witnessed).  It was just after the first fire that Lotta's photo was taken.  Edgeworth asks Colias to talk more about what happened at the embassy that day.

In the morning, Manny and Colias met in Manny's office (Colias's office was under construction, which is why the statue and the knives were in Manny's room).  They burned some old unnecessary documents in the fireplace, and Manny got pissed at him when he accidentally spilled some Babahl Ink into the fire.  In the afternoon they were together up until the Steel Samurai show, and afterwards he got a picture with the samurai and Alba.  Then he returned to his office on the 5th floor, and was there when the first fire began.  He was evacuated downstairs, and  tried to warn Manny, but when he opened the door to his office he was stopped by a wall of green fire.

As for the statue, Colias feels it may be his fault that Manny tried to have it stolen.  He confided in Manny that the Babahl version was a replica, and worried constantly about what would happen once that fact was revealed.  Manny promised that he would "handle"  it and make sure that Colias became ambassador should Cohdopia be reunited, and Colias thought he was only trying to cheer him up until now.

Gumshoe shows up with a report for Edgeworth, and Kay remarks on how much their close relationship reminds her of her father and Badd, and how well they worked together.

Then it's time for Little Thief!  Kay recreates the office at the time of the first fire, complete with the green fire Colias saw.  Because Manny's supply of Babahl ink is safe behind his desk, something other than the ink itself must have been burning for it to be green.  As explanation Edgeworth offers up the counterfeit money Manny was suspected of distributing.  Anything made from Babahl ink burns just as green as the ink itself.

Also of notice is the grandfather clock, which Colias says was flush against the wall when he looked inside, but is now angled away.  Edgeworth investigates and finds a length of wire hidden inside its casing. 

They check the fireplace next, and Edgeworth notices a contradiction: Colias said they had burned some documents in the fireplace that morning, but the fireplace is clean with no sign of ashes.  He remembers that both sides of the embassy are mirror images to each other, and therefore the fireplace must be connected to the next room as well: someone must have turned the inside wall of the fireplace at some point after that morning, meaning the ashes are now in the next room.

Edgeworth reminds them of what Kay and Gumshoe both saw.  Kay followed some kind of shadowy figure into the room, who then vanished.  A moment later Gumshoe saw Shih-na come out of the next room just in time to catch and apprehend her.  Edgeworth declares she's hiding something, but before they attempt to go after them Edgeworth has Gumshoe see if he can crawl through the fireplace into the next room.  He makes it through, but his coat gets covered in ash and the hem is stained with traces of Babahl ink.  Edgeworth offers to pay for the dry cleaning, then sends Gumshoe off to get a handwriting analysis done on the note Mask DeMasque was holding to confirm it was really Manny who wrote it.

Edgeworth and Kay head to the lobby, where they meet Lang, Shih-na, Franziska, and Alba.  Lang is pissed because after all the work he's put into the case they still have no concrete evidence surrounding the counterfeits and smuggling, and there's nothing more he can do at the embassy.  As he starts to leave Gumshoe plows back in with the confirmation that it was Manny who hired Mask DeMasque to steal Allebahst's statue.

Now that he has their attention, Edgeworth questions Shih-na about why she didn't see Yatagarasu that night.  Kay spotted a mysterious figure in a coat and following it to the third floor, where it ducked into Manny's office.  Kay followed, but when the lights turned on the room was empty.  She saw the dead body, screamed, and Shih-na immediately appeared from the next room.

If Yatagarasu had slipped out of the room through the door while Kay was fumbling in the dark, he should have run smack into Shih-na, who claims to have been right next door.  Even if Shih-na was too slow, Gumshoe was approaching from the opposite direction at the same time, and should have seen him. 

Lang demands to know how Yatagarasu could have escaped if not through that door, but Edgeworth stops Kay and Gumshoe from telling him about the passage through the fireplace: it has to be saved for the right moment.  Instead he allows Lang to speculate about the photo Badd showed them with the flying figure.  But that photo was taken at the time of the first fire, not the second, before Kay was on the trail of anyone.  Edgeworth says that because Lang was in Allebahst at the time all this was happening, he ought to be speaking directly to Shih-na.

Lang tries to protest, as Shih-na is one of his subordinates and he's very protective of her, but Shih-na accepts the challenge.  She admits she was in the next room over when Kay screamed, and saw no one else.  She still holds that Kay is the only Yatagarasu there this evening.  Edgeworth points out that she and Lang were both wrong about Kay being the murderer, and they both apologize for that, but it doesn't change Shih-na's story.

Edgeworth finally reveals the secret of the fireplace.  Now that Shih-na has confessed she was in that second room, she has no excuse for not seeing a fleeing Yatagarasu.  Edgeworth supposes she pretended to be Yatagarasu to get Kay to follow her, and once she was through the fireplace she shed her coat and approached Kay from behind and entrapped her.

Shih-na starts to giggle, and then bursts out laughing in an eerily familiar way.  She apologizes, saying she just couldn't help it when everyone is being so ridiculous.  There's no proof anyone went through the fireplace let alone her.   Edgeworth points out that Colias's testimony confirms someone did, thanks to the placement of the ashes.  But Shih-na laughs them off again and still refuses to admit anything in the face of such weak evidence.

Kay has grown very quiet by now, but Edgeworth snaps her out of it, reminding her that Yatagarasu steals truth: the truth is in front of her now, and she can't back down or look away.  Regaining her spirit, she cheers him on.  Lang meanwhile assures Shih-na that he believes in her, and he hopes she will do the same for him.  Shih-na replies only that she's going to finish it.

In her "testimony" Shih-na says there was nothing especially suspicious discovered in Manny's office other than what they already know, so Edgeworth shows her the wire found in the clock.  Not only that, they now know that Manny was burning counterfeits in his own office not long before his murder.

Shih-na asks if they discovered these things using Kay's device, and scoffs at the idea of it even being considered evidence.  There's nothing left of the supposed counterfeit bills but indistinguishable ash.  Edgeworth does a turnabout, saying what he is presenting is not evidence, but a lack of it.  Lang's investigators take orders from Shih-na, and so if she were to say an area was clear, they would believe her.  That means they can't trust that certain areas were fully investigated, and he demands that they take another look at the room next to Manny's office.  Gumshoe runs off to check and returns with a long black coat.

Shih-na admits that the coat is hers, and that she took it off simply because it was getting in the way of her investigation--nothing suspicious about that.  She asks that Gumshoe simply give it back but Edgeworth objects, insisting it ought to be thoroughly examined.  She refuses at first, but then as her superior Lang gives them permission.  He tells her that if she's innocent she needn't be afraid of what they find.

The coat is filthy, but Shih-na explains it got that way when she helped put out the first of the two fires.  She finds it harder to explain the dark stain at the hem, same as what happened to Gumshoe's coat.  There's a very easy way to prove if her coat went through the fireplace: burn it.  The traces of Babahl ink should ignite and burn green.

It works, and Edgeworth accuses Shih-na of being Yatagarasu, otherwise known as Calisto Yew.  Shih-na continues to deny it, but everyone else has already recognized the similarity.  Edgeworth presents the bottle of perfume Kay has been saving for 7 years: she's kept such good care of it that it still has Calisto's fingerprints on it.  All they need to do is check them with Shih-na and they'll know the truth once and for all. 

Shih-na laughs madly, saying that having Edgeworth see through her again is the best thrill she's had in 7 years.  She enjoyed her time with Lang; he was stupidly strong and kind, but also dumb.  She's been spying within Interpol for her organization all along.  Even Calisto Yew was only one of her names, another front, just like "Shih-na."  Kay tries to confront her, but Calisto says she's just as stupid as her father was and gets her in a choke hold at gunpoint!

Calisto declares that she is the true Yatagarasu, and asks Edgeworth what he thinks it means to have three legs.  Edgeworth remembers what Badd said 7 years ago and finally puts it together.  Yatagarasu was never a single person, it was three.  1) One who knows exactly where to get what they're after, no matter the building.  As a defense attorney Calisto had the chance to get information out of all kinds of companies.  2) One knows how to work around any security system.  Using Kay's device and his knowledge of crime scenes and criminals Faraday could accomplish any of the actual thefts.

And 3) One to make sure no evidence is left behind, so answers a mystery person.  With a cock of his gun Badd threatens Calisto from behind.  He says that as a detective it was easy for him to erase any evidence of Yatagarasu's existence.  The three of them together were the best team.

Kay asks why Calisto killed her father then, and she says it was all she could do.  She declares she's going to end it all now, and the screen goes black as a gunshot rings out.

Lang jumps in the way and is shot by Badd in the leg, but that doesn't stop him from getting Calisto around the neck.  He says, "Sorry Detective Badd.  But whatever her past is, if she's a spy or whatever else, she's my subordinate and my responsibility.  I can't let you shoot her!"

Lang holds her while Franziska searches her for weapons.  The find the Babahl knife blade that she switched out for the Allebahst one used to kill Manny.  Calisto admitted that when she saw Kay at Bando land (not to mention her device) she recognized her immediately, and knew she could set her up for the murder.  She let Kay follow her on purpose and tried to catch her herself.  She also wanted to get her hands on the device itself, as it was that which allowed Faraday to get into the embassy years ago and steal the Yatagarasu Key in the first place.   She worked really hard getting that back. 

Badd asks again why the incident 7 years ago had to happen.  She says that Yatagarasu was a hindrance to their smuggling operation, and admits she didn't kill Faraday because she wanted to.  But her boss back then is also her boss now; she was a traitor from the start.  She admits to starting at least one of the fires in order to destroy evidence, but the rest is up to them to uncover. 

Lang starts to take her away, but is stopped by Kay.  She presents two sticks that look like hair pins, saying Calisto dropped them when Lang tackled them.  Calisto lets Kay keep them, saying she can just throw them out if she wants, but Kay accepts them.  Calisto then lets Edgeworth know he was wrong about just one thing: she hasn't killed anyone tonight.  It's the only hint she has to offer.  Lang promises he'll be back and then leads Calisto away at last.

Kay reflects on what's happened, and describes Calisto as cold, dark...and lonely.  Someone was ordering Calisto, most likely the head of the smuggling operation, and she and Edgeworth are both determined to find out who.  She hands Edgeworth the hair pins, but as he takes them he notices there's traces of soil on them. 

Badd compliments Edgeworth on his deduction and declares that the legend of Yatagarasu has come to an end.  He's happy to let Edgeworth continue their work from now on.  He gives back to Edgeworth the KG-8 court record he stole from his office: he was the one that snuck inside and shot down the suit display case.  He recalls how he, Faraday, and Calisto formed Yatagarasu after they failed to convict Manny for the murder of Calisto's sister.  It was their way of going beyond the bounds of the law.  Just when they were getting close to discovering the head of the smuggling syndicate they were after, Calisto betrayed them and killed Faraday.

Kay asks why Calisto would do such a thing when it was those very criminals who killer her sister, and Badd admits he looked into it after Faraday's death.  The victim, Yuuko Calisto, never had an older sister: it was just another of Calisto's covers.  She was a spy from the very start. 

Badd urges Edgeworth to continue the investigation, using the "trump card" Faraday left behind in the KG-8 files: a black Yatagarasu card that Manny had at the time of his arrest, with Yuuko's blood on it.  He explains that the reason they called themselves Yatagarasu in the first place was because of the three-legged design that appeared on these cards, which the head of the crime syndicate used to deliver orders to his minions.  The cards were meant to be burned after read, giving off a green fire that proved they were from the boss.  Badd and his companions used a white card bearing the same symbol when they completed their heists as a message to the "boss" that only he would understand: "we're coming for you."

Badd also entrusts them with the decisive evidence from KG-8 that was stolen all those years ago: a VHS tape, which was recently recovered when they hauled Ernest in for questioning (thanks to the events of case 3).  It's the same VHS that Jacques Portsman tried to steal with the help of his partner--yes, Jacques was working for the boss as well.  The black card Edgeworth found in his office wasn't from Yatagarasu, it was the instructions the boss sent to Jacques to get him to get back that evidence.

Edgeworth considers the tape and the documents, but because they were both obtained illegally through admitted thieves, he can't confirm they're the real thing and is not certain that he can use them.  Badd says that is up to him, but they may be the only things that can fight against an enemy who exists beyond the bounds of the law.  Edgeworth says that it's up to them to decide how far the law can reach, and with that Badd leaves.

By now it's just past midnight.  Yatagarasu has been uncovered but the investigation is no where near complete.  Using the VCR in the lobby Edgeworth, Franziska, Gumshoe, and Kay view the tape Badd gave them.  It shows Manny walking into an apartment building with a black card in one hand an a knife in the other.  Earlier in the video is a black car with the Cohdopian flag portrayed on it.

Alba enters the lobby and thanks Edgeworth for the work he's done so far, but then asks him to leave.  Since "Yatagarasu" has been caught there's no need for them to delay their event any longer with tedious investigation.  His own officers will handle the rest. 

Lang returns, and declares that he knows the identity of the real killer: Franziska von Karma!  She was one of the only outsiders who was given permission to move freely between both embassies.  Lang asks Alba to allow them into the crime scene one more time so that he can prove it once and for all.  He agrees, and Edgeworth insists on joining them.  After all, it's his responsibility to look after his "superior."  They all return to Alba's office

Lang argues that only Franziska was in a position to move the Babahl statue and the Allebahst knife between the two embassies.  Edgeworth reminds him of the photo of the "flying" object moving between the buildings.  He suggests it was not a person that flew, but the statues themselves.  In order to prove it he asks for Franziska to testify.  She came to the room some time before the incident and may have seen something.  She testifies that when she came to see Alba he was at the window, tending his "4" flowers in the window box.  However, the box now only has two flowers.  Upon investigating he finds that the two remaining flowers are being supported by wooden sticks, which happen to be just like the ones Calisto dropped earlier.  Edgeworth shows they're actually arrows which can be fired from the crossbow hanging on the wall.  Using the wire discovered in Manny's clock, someone (with Calisto's help) was able to use the arrows to rig up a pull line and transfer the statues across.

Edgeworth accuses Ambassador Alba.  Upon inspecting the replica statue that he got from Babahl they find a secret compartment, and inside are the printing plates Manny used in his counterfeits.  Edgeworth suggests that Alba was trying to retrieve them when Mask DeMasque showed up, and he bashed him over the head with the statue.  He may even be the head of the smugglers and counterfeiters entirely!

Alba says if they're looking for the boss, Manny is already dead.  And wasn't Lang trying to prove Franziska guilty anyway?  Lang laughs and admits that he never really thought Franziska was guilty, he just needed an excuse to get back into the office and keep investigating.  He apologizes to her and she forgives him.  He also admits to Edgeworth that while he was able to get them in to find the evidence, he needed Edgeworth's logic to put it all together.  Edgeworth teases him, saying, "Isn't that what the relationship between a detective and a prosecutor is supposed to be?"

Alba refuses to admit anything.  Edgeworth wonders if he could use the "trump cards" Badd gave him, but technically they're illegal evidence, and he's not sure he can let himself use them.  He flashes back to von Karma, and his words of "Only victory matters to a Karma.  By whatever means!"  And then Badd's warning that the law has to be bent to touch those beyond it.

Edgeworth then thinks, "I did not walk the same path as Manfred von Karma.  And I reject the path Yatagarasu chose!  But then...what do I believe in?  If I seek the truth now, I dirty my hands... If I chose what's just, the truth will be lost...!  What is "law"?  What is "justice"?  Which path should a prosecutor choose?  I must make the decision here and now!"

(At this point the game lets you choose whether to use the evidence or not.  If you choose not to, it'll make you present it anyway)

Edgeworth shows Alba the black Yatagarasu card that was sent to Manny 10 years ago, and says that by using the video tape from KG-8 he can prove just who the "boss" really is.  They all move to the lobby to review the tape.  It shows Manny carrying the card, and then in the shot of the car, Manny can be seen in the back seat with the card in his pocket.  Not only that, but the license plate on the car is clearly visible.  It shouldn't be too hard to trace.

Alba starts laughing, and "evolves" upright, going from a hunched old man to a tall and imposing general.  He compliments Edgeworth but argues there's no way to prove he was in the car.  Except there is!  In the car window is a reflection of a gold medal, just like the one that can now be seen on Alba's chest.

Alba calmly admits defeat.  He agrees to be put on trial for killing Mask DeMasque--out of self defense.  After all, MDM attacked and injured him, and he had no choice but to fight back.  As proof he shows a wound on his chest that has been bandaged but is still clearly visible.  He claims MDM attacked him with a pair of scissors and stabbed him.

Franziska promises to prove in court that it couldn't have been self defense, and Alba admits that maybe she could, except he won't be tried by her, or anyone in Japan for that matter.  As an ambassador he has the right to be tried in his own country, under his own laws.  Edgeworth asks if there's anything Interpol can do, but Lang admits his job extends only to investigation, not trials.  Since Alba has confessed there's nothing he can do.

Alba leaves, and so does Lang.  By now things don't look good, but Kay encourages them not to give up.  If Alba was willing to confess just to get them all to leave, chances are there's still evidence hiding somewhere that he doesn't want them to find.  They split up, Gumshoe to Babahl and Franziska to Allebahst, and Edgeworth and Kay hunt around the lobby.  They find a blown up photograph of the Steel Samurai posing with Alba and Colias, who are holding flowers.  Edgeworth notices something strange about Alba's bouquet and realizes that one of the flowers is actually the handle of one of the Allebahst knives.

Edgeworth surmises that the reason Alba wanted them to leave was because he didn't want them to find out about his second crime, the murder of Manny Coachen.  The two of them had been working together, but then Manny promised Colias that he would back him when it came to deciding Cohdopia's ambassador.  When Alba found out, he killed him.  There is only one place where the two of them could have met, and that's in the neutral event area. 

Franziska returns with security camera footage from both sides of the embassy.  On the Allebahst side they see Quercus go past at 4:22, and the Steel Samurai go past at 5:23 wheeling his cart.  Edgeworth takes a note, wondering where the cart ended up.  On the Babahl side, they don't see Manny come back at all. 

Alba returns with a group of soldiers.  Now that he's admitted his guilt he's about to get on a plane and go back to his home country.  But then Colias shows up with soldiers of his own.  With a sweet smile he asks that Alba delay a while longer--he wouldn't want to damage relations between their countries by refusing, would he?  Alba agrees, and invites Edgeworth ask him one question.  As his question, Edgeworth asks Alba to testify as to his alibi at the time of Manny's murder.

Alba testifies that he was in Allebahst, and had no way of going to Babahl, therefore he couldn't have killed Manny. He doesn't even have a reason to.  Edgeworth presents Manny's orders to MDM as evidence that Manny was going to betray Alba, which is a pretty good motive.  But Alba says that "motives alone don't kill people" and then declares he's leaving.  He already answered Edgeworth's one question, after all.  Colias tries to stall him again but this time fails. 

Kay jumps up, and shows Alba her father's old journal, claiming it has information in it that implicates him.  She also shows off Little Thief, the tool her father used to break into the embassy 7 years ago when he stole the Yatagarasu Key.  She tells Alba that she'll hand both over to him if he agrees to testify for Edgeworth one more time.  In private she confesses that there isn't anything in the journal that's definitive enough to catch Alba, but he doesn't know that, does he?  Franziska warns her that she might not want to give up something as important to her as her father's journal, but Kay says she trusts Edgeworth.

Alba agrees, and says the last time he saw Manny was at the Steel Samurai show, so the timing makes it impossible for him to have killed Manny.  Edgeworth disagrees, and shows the Allebahst knife seen in Alba's bouquet.  If he had a knife with him at the show he could have killed Manny then.

Alba declares game over and tries to leave again, but is stopped this time by Lang and his investigators.  Lang thanks Edgeworth for stalling, as it gave him just enough time to contact the Allebahst royal family.  By their order, Quercus Alba has been discharged as ambassador!

Still Alba refuses to give up.  Even if he can't run back home for protection now, there still isn't any evidence proving he killed Manny, and the other murder is still self defense.  Since Manny was found in Babahl, if he was killed elsewhere it would have been impossible for Alba to move the body.  Edgeworth presents the Steel Samurai cart, which is missing even now, and could have been used to move the body.  Alba refuses to accept that logic without proof, and just then Gumshoe charges in with it.  He claims he found it around the stage area on the Babahl side, when it should have been in Allebahst.  Inside they find traces of blood.  Edgeworth says that if he can just prove how the cart went from Allebahst to Babahl, he wins.

Alba testifies that he simply went back to his room after the show, and Edgeworth isn't able to find any openings.  Alba's about to leave AGAIN when Dramatic Interruption Part V begins, starring The Steel Samurai and Pink Princess!  Larry has with him his Junior Samurai doll, which he found in the pond in Babahl.  He thinks it's very strange, since he spent all his time in Allebahst before then.  Remembering that the two sides of the embassy are identical, Edgeworth has Gumshoe go inspect the Babahl pond.  It's in fact connected to the pond on the Allebahst side through an underground passage. 

Lang argues that maybe a doll could float through the passage, but not a grown man's dead body.  And even if Alba put the body into the pond, and it did float to the other side, how did it get into Manny's office.  Edgeworth presents Calisto/Shih-na as a possible accomplice.  When the first fire started, Calisto helped the officers put it out using water from Babahl's pond.  If they used enough, it would have emptied both sides, leaving a clear open passage for the dead body to be passed through.   By controlling the water using the fountain on the Allebahst side, Alba could have put the Steel Samurai cart (and body) into his pond, waited until the water was drained fighting the fire, then had Calisto wheel it through the tunnel and turned the water back on so it could float to the top.  As proof Edgeworth adds the evidence he and Kay thought was a guitar pick discovered in Babahl: it's actually a piece off the handle of the murder weapon, which also made the trip underwater.

Edgeworth has Alba testify about the Steel Samurai show, and Alba insists he was in his seat the whole time.  He'll never forget the dramatic conclusion: The Steel Samurai's Early Summer Rain Jab with his spear.  Edgeworth objects: because Larry had bent his spear during rehearsal, he couldn't have used the Early Summer Rain Jab in the show (oh Edgeworth, you fan boy).  So if Alba didn't see the show, where was he?  Killing Manny in the back room!

Alba protests, saying he only got out of his seat once, and that was just to go to the bathroom and come back.  He must have missed that particular move and assumed it was the Stab, since he's a big Steel Samurai fan.  Edgeworth objects.  No self-respecting fan would dare leave his seat during the climax of the show!

Suddenly, a "hold it!"  Everyone looks around, wondering who it could possibly be this time, and it turns out to be Larry; he thinks that Alba is a fantastic Steel Samurai fan.  After all, how else would he know the proper name for a move that didn't even appear in the show?  It was brand new and a secret, and only a few members of the staff knew about it.  In fact, it wasn't until five minutes before the show started that it appeared on the white board in the dressing room.

Alba tells Larry to shut his trap, it's not important anyway, but Edgeworth insists it's important testimony.  Because the name was a secret the only way Alba could have learned it is if he was in the dressing room during the show.  It also means that Alba had the opportunity to hide the dead body in the Steel Samurai cart, since it was also in the dressing room at the time the show was going on. 

Alba still isn't ready to give up.  He explains that when he was on his way to the bathroom during the show he got lost, and ended up in the dressing room by mistake.  That's when he saw the white board.  Edgeworth requests that they check the dressing room for more evidence, but Lang says his men already combed the place and found no evidence of a murder.  They're out of steam.

ONE MORE HOLD IT.  From...Oldbag!?  She admits she has no idea what they're talking about, but she doesn't like seeing Edgeworth so upset.  To cheer him up she offers a special set of Samurai Dogs with a "sun circle" on them.  Edgeworth takes a closer look at the box and indeed finds a red dot on the label.  The Samurai dogs were all in the dressing room during the show, and afterwards they were supposed to be in the Samurai Cart, pushed around and distributed as souvenirs.  But earlier Oldbag mentioned she was able to get and eat several boxes--if the cart wasn't full of Samurai dogs, it must have been full thanks to Manny's body.  Which means the red on the box must be...

Edgeworth offers Oldbag his heartfelt thanks for delivering just the evidence he needed.  The red spot is actually a drop of blood.  Lang has one of his officers test it, only to discover it's not the victim's blood.  Alba laughs at them for making such a big deal over pointless evidence.  Edgeworth wonders, if it were him, how would he turn about this situation?  Rather than worry who's blood it is, who's blood would it have to be to make a difference? 

Alba boasts that the law cannot touch him, but then Edgeworth makes his final push.  If the blood isn't Manny's, it must be Alba's!  He already showed off his "self defense wound" to them after all.  Alba challenges him to present a weapon in the dressing room which could have inflicted that wound, so Edgeworth produces the Yatagarasu Key.  Manny could have easily had it on him when he went to the show.  Alba returned it to his pocket afterwards because he wanted the authorities to find it and be able to reach the documents in the safe, which all point towards Manny being involved in the counterfeiting and smuggling.

Edgeworth suggests they be allowed to examine Alba's wound and see if it matches the knife, thus proving that the two of them struggled in the dressing room.  Alba breaks down, blaming Manny's betrayal for everything.  That's why Alba sent the Yatagarasu advance warning himself; he wanted everyone to believe that Yatagarasu finally achieved it's objective by killing the head of the crime ring, Manny Coachen.  But thanks to Edgeworth he's ruined, and he collapses.

March 17th, 11:21am, Courtroom waiting room 2.  Alba is about to go on trial in Japan, and next week he'll be going back to his home country to be tried there as well, by Franziska.  Gumshoe says he can't imagine having to be tried by Edgeworth AND her.  Since Alba's surrender they've learned that Jacques and Cammy were both part of Alba's organization, and there may be more placed all over the world.  Even Ernest Amano is on trial today, for having supported Alba's group for the past ten years.  At long last KG-8 has been settled.  They've even received gifts from Colias: crab and beef and other foods that Edgeworth offers to Gumshoe.  Now that Cohdopia has been reunited as a single nation Colias is the new ambassador.

Kay and Lang show up.  Lang says it's been a long time since he's stepped foot in a courthouse, but he wanted to see not just the end of the case, but how Edgeworth is in the courtroom.  He thanks Edgeworth for putting down the smugglers which were wrecking such havoc on his home country.  Not that he's given up on not liking prosecutors, of course.  He's still going to follow his own rules.  Edgeworth thinks that's just fine.

Edgeworth reflects back on Yatagarasu, the defenders of justice who went beyond ordinary means.  He too used to believe that as a prosecutor the ends justified the means, but now he knows that's not what's more imp

After the credits, the trials is over and Edgeworth, Gumshoe, and Kay are back in Edgeworth's office enjoying their victory.  Now that Kay has avenged her father, she plans on continuing as Edgeworth's assistant.  But unlike the last Yatagarasu, she wants to be full partners in a great group of three (maybe with two other girls her own age?).  But before she leaves she gets a picture of the three of them.

 

 

For over ten years Quercus Alba was the head of an international crime syndicate specializing in forgeries, counterfeits, and smuggling.  As Cohdopia's ambassador to Japan his diplomatic immunity gave him freedom from the court systems, and he was ideally placed to meet and deal with men and companies from all over the world.  One of those companies was Amano Inc, headed by Ernest Amano.  His business connections in addition to Alba's influence gave them power over agencies all over the world.  When Alba had orders to deliver, he did so by writing them on the back of black cards bearing a white three-legged crow.

For years, Alba's right hand man was Manny Coachen, an employee in the embassy.  But when civil war tore their country of Cohdopia in two, Manny went to work for the new ambassador from Babahl, Colias Palaeno.  This put Manny in a position to take advantage of their supplies of Babahl ink, and the printing press used to print out coupons, brochures, and other tourist paraphernalia.   However, because Manny was also so good at manipulating Colias, it gave him enough confidence that he thought he could usurp Alba's position.

In the present day, Allebahst and Babahl decided to reconcile and become Cohdopia again.  An event was planned that would determine which of the two Regalia Statues was authentic, thus helping decide which of the two men would become the sole ambassador for Cohdopia.  Seeing his chance, Manny threw his hat in with Colias (whom he knew he could influence better than Alba) and promised he would find a way to get Colias the promotion.  Colias didn't catch on at the time, but Manny's plan was to steal Allebahst's authentic statue and replace it with Babahl's replica.

Alba caught on to Manny's betrayal, and decided on a preemptive strike.  He sent a white Yatagarasu card to the media proclaiming that the famous thief would attack the Embassy the night of its big event and steal evidence of evil.  He hoped that once Manny's murder was discovered, everyone would assume that Yatagarasu had returned after 7 years to finish what it had started: finishing off the head of the syndicate.  He allowed Interpol in as a means of getting Shih-na, one of his own agents, onto the scene.

Earlier in the day, Manny hired an agent of his own: Mask DeMasque II.  He gave him a note telling him to steal the Allebahst statue from Alba's office, figuring that there would be enough of a distraction with the events going on.

Everyone went down to the combined stage area for the Steel Samurai show, and Alba brought with him a knife from his office: one of three with flowers on the handles.  During the show he and Manny met and fought in the dressing room.  Manny managed to stab Alba with the Yatagarasu Key, but it wasn't enough to stop him, and ultimately Alba killed him using the Allebahst knife.  In order to hide the body, Alba emptied the Steel Samurai cart of its Samurai Dogs and dumped Manny inside.  During all this the handle of his knife chipped and a portion got caught on Manny's body.  Alba gave himself a quick bandage, wiped down the key, and rejoined the event.

After the show, Larry wheeled his Steel Samurai cart into the Allebahst rose garden and left it there.  Alba snuck down in order to set up the lights so that a Yatagarasu shadow would appear during his speech, and also pushed the cart into the pond.  Over on the Babahl side, Shih-na lit a fire on the fourth and fifth floors of the embassy, burning Colias's office.  Water from the ponds were drained in order to combat the fire, allowing Shih-na to sink to the bottom of the joined ponds and retrieve the cart and body.  Alba refilled the ponds, floating Shih-na to the top once more.  The knife chip, which looked like a guitar pick, fell off the body onto the stage area.  Shih-na then moved the body up to Manny's office and switched the Allebahst knife handle for a Babahl one to throw off any investigators.

Alba returned to his room, and used his crossbow to fire a length of wire across the buildings to Manny's office.  Shih-na was there to receive, and together they rigged a pulley system to switch the two statues, using the ceiling fans for momentum.  Lotta Hart managed to get a photo of the moving statue, which she later passed on to Badd.

Alba received the replica, which actually held Manny's printing plates used in their forgeries.  But then Mask DeMasque finally appeared, not realizing that the statues had already been switched and his client was dead.  Alba bashed him over the head with the statue and stained Larry's samurai sword with the blood so no one would find the real murder weapon and its secret.

Alba went down for his speech, but as soon as the spotlights were turned on the shadow of Yatagarasu appeared, throwing everyone into a panic.  At the same time, Shih-na started a second fire in Babahl, burning up all the rest of Manny's counterfeits.  Wearing a black coat, she snuck down to the stage area, and as expected was spotted by Kay.  She allowed Kay to follow her up to Manny's office and escaped her by sneaking through the rotating fireplace.  She then ditched the coat and approached Kay from behind so she could catch her over the body and pin the murder on her.

If not for one drop of blood, Alba might have gotten away with it all, but in the end he was arrested and tried.  Somewhere, a new boss is already being chosen...