Turnabout Attorneys

By: Brendan Aurabolt

Category: Phoenix Wright/Apollo Justice

Rated: T

Overview: Takes place a year after AJ. When Phoenix Wright walks into the Wright & Co. Talent Agency and Law Offices with one Iris Hawthorne, Trucy and Apollo at last learn of the past of the "Reborn Attorney". Things get complicated when startling news from Ema, Gumshoe and a few old friends come to his attention: Judith von Karma, the young daughter of Miles Edgeworth and Franziska von Karma has been murdered. The person accused of killing her...is Franziska herself!

Edgeworth, who found their daughter's body refuses to be the prosecutor in charge of the case so that would automatically mean Klavier takes the case...or does it? Klavier's brother Kristoph is killed in prison by Steven Hawthorne, Morgan Fey's ex-husband and father of Pearl Fey, Iris and Dahlia Fey. Due to the conflict of interest Ema's sister Lana is pulled out of "retirement" to handle the Edgeworth/von Karma Case while Klavier oversees the Gavin/Hawthorne case.

This turn of events forces Phoenix, Trucy and Apollo to take a trip to Kurain Village, where they are in for more surprises. Maya has an eight year-old son named "Nick Wright", but his father can't be Phoenix Wright...right? Maya's not telling and Pearl insists he is. Also living with the Feys is Thalassa Gramarye, who just so happens to be Apollo and Trucy's mother. Only Phoenix and the Feys know this of course, but how long will it stay that way?

Now that everyone has been reunited, the Attorneys and Prosecutors can focus on the cases themselves. At Edgeworth's request, Apollo will be defending Franziska. Wright's past with the Hawthornes and the Gavins prevents him from getting involved, so who's going to represent the defendant? Luckily, Klavier knows an attorney willing to take the case, but not all is as it seems. What exactly does a de Killer Assassin have to do with these cases? Mark Anthony Toss, Hannah Patterson and Henry Gale from the Serene Adventure series guest stars. Derek Stiles and Angie Thompson from Trauma Center also make a guest appearance.

A/N: That is quite possibly the longest summary I've written PERIOD. I hope I didn't give too much away but the story's not as complicated as I made it look. This...you could look at it as cases 1-4, 2-4, 3-5 and 4-4 combined. It's got elements of all four cases in it. The reasons for Angie and Derek should be...self-explanatory. In the Serene Adventure series, Mark Anthony is a Defense Attorney. He's the only person I'm sharing any info about beforehand. I think it'd be more fun if you learned what role Henry and Hannah play the old-fashioned way. Ok that's enough stalling on my part. Read On!

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Prologue: Death's Embrace

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March 13

Los Angeles Prison

8:00PM (PST)

The once-Defense Attorney looked around the mess hall awkwardly. Thanks in no small part to his friend turned foe turned friend again Phoenix Wright, he'd been granted a cell of his own. That didn't necessarily mean he could walk amongst the rest of the prison population unmolested. Especially not recently.

Ever since his last appearance in court, he'd been the subject of ridicule and threats against his life by many inmates. Until the day he'd been summoned to court to testify, he could rest assured he'd defied the law and committed the perfect crime. Much to his surprise, his plans were not only exposed but the mole was acquitted thanks to the new Jurist System.

It was, in a way Phoenix Wright's method of punishing him; not revenge for getting him disbarred but rather punishment for believing he was untouchable. Even after he'd lost his badge Wright had been determined to uncover the truth. It wasn't until after Vera Misam's acquittal the elder Gavin fully understood what a mistake it was to believe the Ace Attorney could be so easily beaten.

"Hey, Gavin!" Kristoph turned to see a pair of prison guards running over to him. They both had a flustered expression on their faces. "Your attorney is here to see you. He's waiting back in your cell."

"Thank you, gentlemen." Kristoph replied with a nod. He understood their expressions when they came before him. His attorney, Mark Anthony Toss was young but gifted. He had a reputation of getting all legal matters having to do with him settled before the scheduled court date. When he couldn't, he always got his clients an acquittal on the first day. He had asked him to come to discuss getting his sentence reduced from death to life in prison.

As Kristoph walked into his cell the first thing he noticed was the light bulbs were missing. No, they weren't missing; they were broken, the shards sprinkled on the ground. He glanced up to see if the video camera recording the cell was on but to his surprise, it was turned off. "Sorry about the mess." his guest said as he turned around. "If I didn't tell the guards I was your attorney, well...they wouldn't just let me come and see you, yes?"

"Who hell are you?" Kristoph demanded as he walked over to the unknown visitor. He stopped when he saw the figure's face. Immediately, he knew. "So that's how it is, huh...?!" The sound of one of the iron gates closing prevented the name of the assailant from being heard by anyone who happened to be nearby.

With an almost fluid motion the assailant rose, pulled a pistol out of of their vest and shot Kristoph between the eyes before returning it to its holster. "It's nothing personal, Mr. Gavin." the assassin said as he stepped over his target's body and walked out of the cell. "Just business." It would be several minutes later before prison guards discovered Kristoph's body. Of course, the first person notified was his brother Klavier. Naturally, Klavier didn't take the news well at all.

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March 13

Edgeworth-von Karma Residence

9:00PM

Miles Edgeworth pulled his car into the driveway of the home he shared with Franziska von Karma and their daughter Judith. After that last trial involving the Feys, the two fell in love. Two years later they had a daughter and now Franziska was pregnant with their second child. Despite being a mother Franziska kept her job as a prosecutor. They took turns looking after Judith and made it a rule to never take a case each at the same time if it meant Judith wouldn't have someone to look after her.

The few times they were forced to work at the same time they'd been lucky Dick and Maggey Gumshoe were available to watch her. At the moment, neither of them had a case to work on. In fact, only recently had they been able to get in touch with Phoenix Wright since he'd been disbarred eight years ago. Although Wright was reinstated after that case last year, fate seemed to prevent either of them from facing him in court.

Edgeworth walked up to the front door in time to hear a gunshot from within the house. He knew Franziska and Judith were both home and immediately burst into the house. He also knew Franziska owned a gun and knew how to use it. "Franziska! Judith!" he exclaimed as he ran about the house. When he came to Judith's room, his heart stopped. Lying bleeding on the floor was their daughter Judith. Franziska was frantically trying to stop the bleeding.

"CALL AN AMBULANCE!" She exclaimed when she heard her husband enter. "HURRY!" Without another word, Edgeworth whirled around and ran into the living room and dialed 911.

"This is Miles Edgeworth. I need an ambulance. My daughter's been shot."

March 13

Hope Hospital

9:30PM

When the ambulance bay doors swung open at the hospital, Judith was immediately wheeled into the the waiting Emergency Room, her distraught parents right behind her. "Six year old girl with a single gunshot wound to the left lung...possibly the heart as well." the nurse in charge briefed the doctor on duty. "Bullet appears to be lodged in the pericardium. Her name's Judith Edgeworth von Karma."

"Did you just say EDGEWORTH?!" the young doctor exclaimed in surprise. "As in Miles Edgeworth?!"

"Yes, she's my daughter." Edgeworth interjected. When the two looked at each other, each man recognized the other. "Dr. Stiles?!"

"Hello, Mr. Edgeworth." the doctor replied as he managed a weakened smile. "I'll be taking care if your daughter. Her wounds are serious but I will do everything I can to keep her alive. Come, Angie. We must get her prepped for surgery."

"A moment, Dr. Stiles." Edgeworth suddenly said as he approached him. "Please hold onto the bullet when you extract it. It's valuable evidence."

"I understand." the doctor replied as he and Angie rushed her upstairs. Only then did Edgeworth turn to face his wife. No one said anything for a few moments. finally, he spoke.

"...Do you want to talk now...or after you've consulted Wright?"

"..." Franziska said nothing as she caressed her belly. Her gaze was fixed in Edgeworth's direction but she wasn't looking at him. For the sake of their unborn child she could not afford to lose it right now.

"I'll take your silence to mean after." Edgeworth remarked as he paced in front of the elevator. "I'll call him myself once we get an update on her condition." The worried parents didn't have to wait long. roughly fifteen minutes later, Dr. Stiles returned to them. His tired expression was enough to tell them it wasn't good news.

"...I'm sorry." he said as he looked them in the eye. "I...I couldn't save her. She's dead." Edgeworth said nothing as he felt his vision go dark. By sheer willpower he somehow stopped himself from fainting on the spot. Franziska, however had no such hesitation.

"Mrs. Edgeworth!" the doctor exclaimed as he dove, catching her in time.

"It's von Karma." Edgeworth said, more to himself. There were millions of questions flooding him mind and one fact that was the cause of them: "Franziska...killed our daughter..."

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March 13

Wright & Co. Law Offices

10:30PM

"Apollo! Trucy!" Phoenix called as he and his companion entered the offices that once bore his mentor's name. After a few moments and the sound of some equipment being shuffled around, the two emerged from the his office. "Reading my old cases behind my back again, Apollo?"

"You know me too well." the young attorney remarked with a nervous laugh.

"I've already told told you: If you want to look at my old cases you need to wait until I've looked them over first. There are a few cases that I'd rather not have read by anyone except myself or those involved."

"Daddy, who's that with you?" Trucy asked. Standing next to Wright was a woman with dark hair and matching eyes. Her gaze was one of incredible beauty yet she looked sad and remorseful. Apollo couldn't quite put his finger on it but she looked like someone he'd read about in that case before the case that ended in Wright getting disbarred.

"This is our new secretary." Phoenix replied with a warm smile. "Her name's Iris Hawthorne. She and I go way back. She was just released from prison and was in need of a job. It just so happens we could use an extra pair of hands to help with our two areas of expertise."

"Apollo Justice, Ace Attorney." Apollo introduced as he shook her hand.

Trucy Wright, Magician Extraordinaire." Trucy said in kind with a bow. "A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Hawthorne."

"Please...just call me Iris." the former nun replied with a smile.

"Say Mr. Wright?" Apollo suddenly asked in surprise. "How come when I asked you if we could hire Larry Butz you said we weren't hiring?"

"I don't remember saying anything like that." Phoenix replied with an impassive expression. "Iris doesn't have housing yet so she'll be staying with us as well, Truce. Tomorrow will be your first day with us and once again, welcome aboard!"

"Thank you so much for the job, Feenie." she replied as she stroked his face with her hand. "I promise I will do everything in my power to make up for all of our lost time." Trucy and Apollo looked first at each other and then the couple before them in shock. Neither could think of anything to say so they kept their mouths shut.

"You two should probably get to bed." Phoenix said to them. "Tomorrow will be--" Phoenix was cut off when the phone suddenly rang.

"Who in the world...?" Apollo trailed as Wright picked up the phone.

"Wright & Co., this is Phoenix Wright speaking." said Wright as he answered the phone. "WHAT?!" he exclaimed. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHE'S DEAD?! HOW?!" Realizing where he was, Wright calmed down immediately. "I understand. I'll meet you at the precinct."

"Who was that?" asked Trucy.

"Our next client." Wright remarked as he looked at the three gathered before him. "Well, Apollo. You wanted to meet a certain someone from my past so now you'll get your chance."

"Really?" the younger man asked in surprise.

"Yes." Wright replied. "That was Miles Edgeworth. He and his wife have requested our services."

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And so ends the Prologue. Don't worry, Larry will make an appearance in the story. Derek and Angie will make another appearance or two as well. At least one more definite appearance. Before I finish writing Chapter 1, it would help to know how the story has been received thus far.

...Reviews aren't required but they do motivate me to update quicker.