“ | I like robots MUCH better. At least you can make them any way you want them. Unlike humans, with their petty emotions and constant worries. | „ |
~ Aura Blackquill. |
“ | I mean, people are imperfect. They lie, they're influenced by silly emotions... You can't expect such imperfect creatures to uphold a reasonable system of law. I like robots much better. Even sad sacks like this one | „ |
~ Aura Blackquill. |
“ | "Enough for today"?! Today is all there is when there's no tomorrow! | „ |
~ Aura to Simon. |
Aura Blackquill is the secondary antagonist of of the 2013 visual novel Phoenix Wright - Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies, the fifth installment in the Ace Attorney franchise and the second installment in the Apollo Justice trilogy.
Aura is a robotics engineer at the Cosmos Space Center, and the older sister of Simon Blackquill, who she desire to save from his execution after being accused for being the murderer of Dr. Metis Cykes, while seeking to get revenge on Athena, Metis' daughter whom she believed is her actual murderer.
History[]
The UR-1 Incident[]
Aura Blackquill worked with Dr. Metis Cykes at the Cosmos Space Center to build machines. Aura controlled the manufacturing while Metis, a psychotherapist, fashioned the computers and worked on the "intellects" of the androids. This developed in the invention of two robots, Ponco and Clonco, which were designed to serve as guides for the Cosmo Space Center Museum. Aura's brother, Simon Blackquill, regarded Metis as a mentor in psychology. Metis also had a daughter, Athena, who had the ability to sense the feelings contained in a person's voice. This ability was often overwhelming for Athena, and she often avoided leaving the Space Center altogether. With the help of Aura, Metis created a distinctive set of headphones for Athena, which dampened the auditory input that often overwhelmed her in public.
Everything changed when, days before the projected beginning of the Cosmos Space Center's HAT-1 rocket launch, Director Yuri Cosmos received a message from an unknown caller threatening to sabotage the initiative. Cosmos was certain to carry out the launch regardless. However, before the rocket's launch, Metis Cykes was killed, and Simon was arrested for her murder. Despite this outrageous occurrence, the HAT-1's rocket launch still went ahead. The rocket ended up launching early, leaving Solomon Starbuck as the only astronaut on the vessel. The sole astronaut was left with the responsibility to transmit the Hope probe, which would collect data, onto the moon and return harmlessly back to Earth.
Simon's trial was expeditious and the evidence—a photograph revealed Simon wielding a bloody saber, and a movie showing him leaving the scene of the crime moments later—was telling. Despite Athena testifying on the witness stand, Simon admitted his guilt and was imprisoned with a definite execution date. Meanwhile, in the advent of her mother's death, Athena was taken to Europe to live with her next of kin. Aura would often visit Simon in the correctional facility, urging him to ask for a retrial, but he never budged. The courts declined Aura's recurrent requests for a retrial. Aura grew antagonistic toward the judicial system and Athena, whom she thought to be the real murderer.
The Murder of Clay Terran[]
Seven years after Metis' demise, the Space Center planned to launch another rocket, the HAT-2, with Solomon Starbuck and Clay Terran as the astronauts. However, the phantom caller from before appeared once more, warning of impending danger. Because of the threat, detectives Candice Arme and Bobby Fulbright were assigned to monitor the Space Center. Despite their observation, the phantom still managed to set off two bombs in the center and set fire to the space.
The phantom was present at the Space Center, and they needed a way to escape. Detective Fulbright had Aura lower an emergency ladder from her laboratory. Despite feeling uncertain, Aura complied with the order. As she descended the ladder to escape the burning building, she saw a shadowed figure through the window that led to Boarding Lounge 1. The individual was cloaked in the darkness of the room, holding a lighter. All Aura could see was their shadow.
Soon afterward, it was revealed that Clay Terran, one of the astronauts designated to reside in the rocket, was killed in Boarding Lounge 1. As the only witness, Solomon Starbuck was arrested for the murder. Simon Blackquill was summoned from his imprisonment and told to prosecute against Starbuck. Terran's faithful friend, Apollo Justice, served as the attorney who defended Starbuck. However, the trial was stopped when a bomb was revealed to be in the courtroom. Everyone managed to evacuate the room in time, but the entire courtroom was reduced to rubble. Juniper Woods, friend of Athena Cykes, didn't flee in time and was about to be hit by falling debris. Justice protected her and was then struck with the falling debris. Later on, Justice would go on to investigate the bombed courthouse—after Juniper Woods was arrested for the bombing. Just as he realized the truth of the case, he was attacked by an unknown assailant.
Since Apollo was incapacitated, Phoenix Wright took up Starbuck's defense. Wright visited the Space Center with Athena to investigate. Unbeknownst to them, Simon Blackquill's execution date was looming on the horizon: with only two days left before he was set to be killed for the murder of Metis Cykes. Meanwhile, Fulbright spoke with Wright and expressed that he was concerned with Simon Blackquill's behavior, on account of the phantom. Fullbright explained how Blackquill was in search of a "phantom" killer—the true murderer of Metis Cykes. This phantom was the same person who threatened the Space Center both times, and they were later speculated to be some sort of international spy. Thanks to this conversation, Wright became well-informed about the events of the case and began to connect the UR-1 incident with the murder of Clay Terran. Next, Wright spoke to Aura, though she was biting toward him on account of her hatred and distrust of the judicial system and attorneys.
The next day, while Starbuck's trial was ongoing, Aura took matters into her own hands. Apollo Justice, recovered from his injuries, was revealed to be doing his own investigation. Justice joined her in her laboratory, and the two got along well because of their nearly identical stakes in the case. Both had suffered devastating losses throughout the case—Apollo lost Terran, his best friend, and Aura's brother's execution date was only two days away— and were skeptical of Athena's innocence. The end of the second day of the trial came with an innocent verdict for Starbuck thanks to evidence from Detective Fulbright. However, the evidence was revealed to have Athena's fingerprints, which then indicted her with the murder of Terran.
Then, Aura made one last visit to the correctional facility to visit Simon. Simon still denied her assistance, and Aura left feeling as if she had to resort to more extreme methods in order to ensure her brother's safety.
Meanwhile, Phoenix Wright returned to the Space Center alongside Trucy and confronted Aura and Justice. Phoenix was amazed to find that the two seemed to be getting along, although they both had more in common than he knew (they both lost people to the case, and both suspected Athena). Aura unexpectedly kicked the Wrights out. With Simon's execution day drawing closer, Aura decided to take matters into her own hands. She had the robots Ponco and Clonco take hostages from the Space Center—among which was Trucy Wright, Phoenix's daughter. Aura then demanded that Athena Cykes be handed over. Instead, Phoenix offered a retrial of the murder of Metis Cykes, which took place seven years prior. Phoenix eventually made it happen with the help of Miles Edgeworth. The two of them decided to hold the retrial in the bombed courtroom 4, since it was the only one available. Aura continued to threaten the safety of the hostages and Trucy if Phoenix were to make a misstep. Aura then got Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth to serve as the prosecutor of the case. Phoenix would take on Athena's defense in the trial.
During the trial, Aura contended that Simon had secretly stowed Athena inside one of the rolling cases that he was pictured with. Phoenix argued that, in reality, Simon had placed Ponco in the case. However, Edgeworth displayed that Simon had transported Athena in the case. Simon testified about how he killed Metis, but his testimony was proven to be a lie. Athena then realized that she had stabbed her mother. However, before she could admit her guilt, Phoenix suggested that she had really stabbed the actual murderer. Upon showing proof of the occurrence, Edgeworth was convinced that Athena was not the murderer.
Before the retrial could end, however, Apollo Justice took the witness stand and demanded Athena testify more about the murder of Clay Terran. Thankfully, Phoenix realized that the murder of Terran was likely tied to the murder of Metis Cykes (the UR-1 Incident). The phantom had a role in both murders. After some deductive reasoning, Phoenix realized that Bobby Fulbright was the phantom. With Edgeworth, they reviewed the murder of Terran and established how the phantom (Fullbright) fled the scene.
Phoenix, Justice, Athena, and Simon continued to claim that Fulbright was the phantom. However, they were missing a murder weapon: a .10 capacity revolver. They soon found that Fulbright was in possession of a disguised weapon that turned into a revolver— a weapon that only a spy would have. Eventually, "Fulbright" was unmasked as an impersonator, and a sniper shot him when he revealed his true face. Aura released the hostages and was later arrested for her actions. Near the end of the chapter, Aura was shown watching the launch of the HAT-3 rocket from her prison cell. In the post-credits, Simon approached the Wright Anything Agency and asked the attorneys to defend her in court.
Trivia[]
- Some fans perceive Aura to be in love with Metis Cykes, Athena Cykes's mother. The following dialogue is then seen as an allusion to her true feelings for Metis:
“ | Simon Blackquill: Metis was deeply passionate about her work, and she chose you as her partner. Isn't that- Aura: Shut up, Simon! You know exactly how I felt about her! Her respect as a co-worker wasn't all that I wanted! |
„ |
External Links[]
- Aura Blackquill on the Ace Attorney Wiki