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askaceattorney · 2 years

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Dear Anonymous,

Daring today, aren’t we? Keh heh heh!

My essay on John Marsh can be found here, by the way.

So, how does one of the worst sorts of people -- a professional assassin -- become one of the heroes in a complex tale of misery, revenge, and deception? If dogs could talk, perhaps Anubis could educate us on the matter, but I’ll be happy to do it in his stead.

Before being cornered and sent to prison by our favorite prosecutor Miles Edgeworth (a story I’d love to hear more about sometime, by the way, even in a piece of fan fiction), Sirhan Dogen was taking his dog for a walk on a cold Christmas Eve night, when he came upon an unusual sight. Or, to be more accurate, Anubis did.

Whether by fate or coincidence, the two of them happened upon two young boys locked in a car, on the brink of freezing to death. It makes one wonder if someone heard their prayers and decided to answer them in the most ironic way possible, but much to their great fortune, Dogen was an assassin who had a soft spot for innocent children. Rather than leave them for dead, he decided to take them to a nearby orphanage, where they became part of a *COUGH* happy family. (Sorry, still getting over a cold.)

Also to their fortune, Dogen wasn’t caught and arrested until after he rescued them. We can only guess when and how that went down, but because of that, our first encounter with him is at his new home in a “Special Cell.”

The blind assassin and his seeing/killing dog are now behind bars where they belong...although they hardly seem to be suffering very much. In fact, they’re practically in seventh heaven.

These bizarre settings don’t seem to concern Edgeworth, however, whose primary concern is the murder of an ex-bodyguard.

Our old “friend” Frank Sahwit apparently saw Dogen’s black beast biting Horace Knightley’s body, presumably after killing him. Considering who Dogen is, Sahwit’s testimony (which is actually somewhat reliable this time), and the fact that Anubis was involved, this seems very much like an open-and-shut case. Or at least it would, if this wasn’t an Ace Attorney game.

Dogen denies Edgeworth’s allegations, claiming that he was in his humble cell at the time of the murder, occupied with his new hobby: whittling.

It’s refreshing to see that he’s been doing something constructive with his time (and a little unrefreshing to know that it involves metal chisels given to him by the Warden), but this supposed alibi adds a layer of complexity to the murder. Why would he send his dog after someone except to kill him?

His testimony ends up neither proving nor disproving his innocence, but he does help Edgeworth’s investigation along by revealing something about Knightley:

He’d certainly know a thing or two about that, wouldn’t he?

Only that’s not what happened, according to Edgeworth and Kay’s memory.

Thanks to this contradiction, Edgeworth discovers why the P.I.C. removed him from the case -- for some unknown reason, they intend to twist the truth about Knightley’s crime.

This leads to an interesting piece of advice from the former assassin:

It’s no big surprise that a convicted criminal would feel this way (and his dog, too, apparently), but could there be any truth to what he said? A certain Interpol investigator once felt the same way, in fact.

Who’d have thought a bad guy and a good guy (with some level of bad in him, perhaps) would have similar opinions about the court?

But regardless of Dogen’s philosophy, the evidence proving him to be Knightley’s killer has yet to be found, so Edgeworth decides to leave him alone for the time being...but not without some foreshadowing.

They probably won’t have to worry about him skipping town, at least.

Sure enough, Edgeworth and his team (technically led by his “Uncle Ray,” but that’s just whatever), discover more clues pointing to the dastardly assassin and his equally dastardly dog:

And to top it off, Sahwit reveals Dogen’s role as “The Supplier,” as well as the existence of a secret route he uses to procure things for other prisoners. Not to mention he has henchmen outside the prison, as revealed by Warden Roland (which might explain the number on his uniform, come to think of it).

Sounds like someone has some ‘splaining to do, doesn’t it?

As fate would have it, however, another investigation team is there with a completely different theory.

Thankfully, Edgeworth’s resolve to find the truth, even at the risk of his badge, wins out, and the ensuing debate between him and the prosecution leads to what seems like the final nail in Dogen’s coffin.

Where could a prisoner possibly hide a murder weapon? For that matter, how could they use it to commit the crime? As far-fetched (heh heh) as it sounds, the possibility exists with a dog as well-trained as Anubis, who was able to tackle Knightley to the ground, knocking him conscious, drag him through a secret underground tunnel to the Special Cell where Dogen could murder him, drag him back again, and finally remove the murder weapon and carry it in his mouth, where no one but Dogen would be able to find it. It’s the perfect crime, you see! Keh heh heh!

Or is it?

While the evidence seems to point in Dogen’s direction, the only common thread between him and Knightley is that they played correspondence chess together. And it turns out he has explanation for all the other evidence -- while Anubis did drag the body to his cell, Knightley had already been stabbed with a chisel with one of Dogen’s trademark bells attached to it, so in order to divert any suspicion toward himself, he had Anubis move the body to the workroom, then remove the chisel from his neck. Unfortunately for him, Sahwit...saw it, but that only ends up supporting his testimony. Can it be true, though?

While a former assassin carrying out a murder from the inside certainly makes for a twisted plot, it’s just not quiiiiiiite twisted enough for Ace Attorney.

A quick test reveals that the only fingerprints on the chisel are Knightley’s, meaning that, for once, Dogen is off the hook. He’s not entirely uninvolved, however...

It turns out Dogen did commit the murder by way of coercion, the same way he obtained the Special Cell and any items he wanted from the warden. That is, according to her testimony. Is that twisty enough for Ace Attorney, though?

...Nope.

The guilty party in this case turns out to be the one who feared Dogen and his henchmen. Believing Knightley to be one of them, she finished him off and tried to pin the blame on Dogen in order to be rid of him. It’s almost understandable considering Dogen’s reputation, but it turns out we still have a few more twists to run into, this time closer to the end of the game.

During his investigation of President Huang’s murder -- which was actually carried out by Dogen 12 years ago at the behest of his body double, it turns out -- Edgeworth crosses paths with an escaped Dogen, who has some interesting tidbits of information to share (other than the obvious fact that the Detention Center is in serious need of better security). To begin with, he and Edgeworth are apparently after the same person.

On top of that, the person in question saved his life from the body double and his co-conspirators, who were planning to kill him after his job was finished. And the conspirators in question include two people Edgeworth already knows well: Blaise Debeste and Patricia Roland. With this in mind, it makes even more sense why Roland would want to be rid of him, as well as why she treated him like royalty in prison -- he knew as well as the rest of them where the real President Huang was, and had decided to use that knowledge as a weapon.

But then comes the real twist -- the boy who rescued him was the same boy who was rescued by him only six years earlier, along with another boy, and they both went missing afterward. What became of them?

We might never know, if not for Edgeworth’s skill at investigating. Simply put, one became a selfish bodyguard (now a dead one)...

...and one became a circus performer with a hidden agenda.

Much like Dogen, however, this “young acolyte” failed to commit the perfect crime. Before he could get away, one of his loose threads came back to haunt him.

And it’s here that we come to the biggest twist in Dogen’s story. As an assassin known far and wide for ending lives, including that of a President, no one would expect him to have mercy for someone whose trickery is about to cost him his life. He’d probably be willing to do the same to a client who’d double-crossed him, for that matter. However...

...it seems not all assassins are created equal.

The idea of a serial killer deciding to leave crime behind and use his weapons for something constructive instead is heartwarming (and crazy) enough, but, quite unlike Simon’s father, Sirhan has apparently come to see value in life, even going so far as to risk his own to save someone. And for once, he’s able to use his unwavering resolve, backed up by his vicious companion, for good.

And while he doesn’t seem to feel much in the way of remorse for his actions, he seems to have a somewhat clearer grasp on the concept of justice.

We’ll never know exactly what led him to enter the killing business, but now we have to wonder, what could’ve changed in him since his killing days were put to an end? Somehow or other, he’s gone from a cold-blooded assassin to a protector and father figure for someone he’s only met in passing. What could’ve sparked such a change? It turns out Dogen himself has a theory about it:

That’s certainly a possibility, but if you ask me, I’d say it’s just as possible that he’s come to realize that the assassin’s life, while dangerous, is actually pretty boring compared to using his talents to help someone. No matter how much one might gain from crime, it can’t compare to the unique joys and pains of those who fight on the side of justice. I mean, just look at Edgeworth and his band of merry men (and girl). It may not be enough to erase the blood on Dogen’s hands, but in my book, there’s nothing like a good redemption story, no matter who the redeemee might be.

One other interesting thing about Dogen -- which I completely missed somehow -- is that his head isn’t shaped the way it is just to make him look scarier; it’s actually meant to be shaped like the bishop piece in chess, symbolizing his status as a “fallen priest.” Edgeworth even makes a reference to this metaphor.

He even carries prayer beads with him, which makes one wonder if perhaps he once was a priest, or at least religious in some form or fashion. Whatever the case, the question now is this: Can a fallen priest pick himself back up again? Only time will tell.

-The Co-Mod

P. S. I just now noticed that he and Kay have the same laugh.

I’m not sure how I feel about that.

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