Hey, MadFox here with a brand new story! (Well, new for you guys. I've been done with this chapter for two weeks). is holding an OC contest, and I'm entering with 4 OC's- Prosecutor Amber Barnett, her little brother Dylan Barnett, her detective Keith Aiden, and her co-worker, Adrianna Means. This story has plenty of returning characters, including Kay, Gumshoe, Ema, Klavier, Maggey, and more.

I hope you all enjoy this story, I'm really proud of it! :)


~Chapter 1~

POV: Athena

A pair of smiling brown eyes looked up at me distantly from a picture on my desk, and I took out my pen. Victim: Clay Terran.

"How's that paperwork coming along, Athena?" my boss called.

"It's just as boring as usual," I grumbled, barely awake enough to meet his amused gaze. It's a bit sadder this time, though.

He didn't seem to care much about my response. "We've got a defense request. Two, actually."

"Really? How are we going to manage that?"

"There are three lawyers in this office. One is a murder case, and the other is Aura's case… For false imprisonment. I was thinking that Apollo could take Aura's case, and the two of us could work on the murder."

"Do you think that I could take Aura's case?" An inexplicable determination rose up inside of me: All I knew was that I absolutely HAD to take that case, and I'd never had reason to doubt my instincts before.

My boss looked at me uncertainly. "Alone?! Are you sure? You were… Struggling a bit the last time."

"I'm positive. I know I can do it! Plus, you and Apollo haven't ever investigated together, have you?"

"We haven't. ...It's fine by me, I believe in you. You'll need Apollo and Aura's seal of approval on this one, though… But I doubt you'll have a problem with that. The only thing that worries me is that the prosecution…" He paused, scratching his chin in thought. "Do you know the name Amber Barnett?"

"Huh… It sounds familiar, but I don't know who she is."

"She prosecuted against Simon Blackquill, and got him his death sentence."

"No way!" I gasped. "I… I think I remember her…" Visions of a young woman shot through my memory: Platinum blonde hair, striking brown eyes, and a voice that shook with a web of emotions tangled beyond recognition.

"She reminds me of another prosecutor I know… Short, cute, and terrifying." My boss smirked.

"She didn't seem short to me," I replied, deep in thought. "Although I guess I was eleven."

"Ha, you're not exactly tall yourself."

"I'm not short! My height is completely normal for a girl my age! And I'm still growing!"

"I'll believe it when I see it." My boss laughed, and I glared at him. "Well, you should probably work on your case… You could talk to Aura in the detention center, and Trucy, too."

"Uh… Who's going to be the detective? You know, since Detective Fulbright was a phony."

"I'd assume it would be Prosecutor Barnett's assigned detective, wouldn't it?"

"And who's that?"

"Detective Aiden."

"I've never heard of him… I guess I'll just have to meet him, huh?"

"Probably." He smiled, and I grinned back with twice the enthusiasm.

"I'll see you later, Boss!" With that, I headed off to the detention center, leaving behind my unfinished paperwork. Apollo could do it later.

(O)

"Well, look who it is. It's nice to see that the Princess decided to visit." Aura smirked.

"I'm glad to be here. I'm going to be your take on your case, if that's ok."

"Just you?" she asked, her face taking on a more serious look.

"Yeah… Apollo and Mr. Wright are on another case at the moment."

"I don't mind, honestly. I don't regret what I did, and I'm willing to take whatever punishment they might give me."

"You'll be out of here in no time," I promised with a grin.

"You've got to watch what you promise, or you might disappoint. Of course, I'm used to it by now."

"That wasn't a promise, that was a fact," I responded, feeling pretty confident.

"Aura, the prosecutor wishes to speak with you," a voice called. I looked to the back of the cell to see a bailiff standing guard, clearly bored.

"Whatever. Where do you need me?" The guard grabbed her by the wrist as she walked up to him, and the two of them walked out the door. I couldn't help but feel a bit irritated by the fact that she hadn't said goodbye. That's not how you should be treating your lawyer!

"Are you her defense attorney?" I turned around to find a man standing behind me, leaning casually against the wall. He wore a short-sleeved dress shirt, a red bowtie, and a pair of jeans.

"Yep!"

"I guess I'll be seeing you around then, kid. I'm the detective on this case." I'm not a kid!

"Oh! So you're Detective Aiden?"

"Yeah. And you are?"

"Athena Cykes!"

"Cykes…?" He looked me over curiously. "You proved Blackquill not guilty."

"Uh, yeah. Just yesterday."

"Heh, Amber's really mad. I'd stay away from her if I were you. She doesn't like to be proven wrong, especially when a guy's life is on the line."

"It's better to find the truth, isn't it?"

"She's a pretty logical person… She didn't like all the touchy-feely stuff that went on. She likes cold, hard evidence, and she thinks she had it."

"Humans are too complicated to be understood with fingerprint data and blood charts! Psychology is crucial to figuring out the complexity of criminals!"

"Hey, don't flip out on me. I never said that psych was a bad thing."

"Sorry… I just get mad when people reject what I love the most, you know?"

"Well, I didn't reject it, so you can calm down." Well, that was rude.

"Arrogant jerk!" Widget bleeped. I blushed.

"Did that thing call me an arrogant jerk?"

"No, no, it… um…"

"It's all right… Most people don't like me much. I'll try not to bother you anymore." He began walking away, and I grabbed him around the wrist.

"Wait! I'm sorry, we're off to a really bad start. I don't think you're really an arrogant jerk."

"Doesn't that thing blurt out your thoughts?" Is this a well-known fact around the police department now?!

"It was just a knee-jerk reaction! I don't like it when people tell me to calm down. Sorry, I didn't mean it, uh…"

"Oh… I didn't realize I was being rude. Sorry." He looked at me sheepishly. Man, this guy needs to hone his people skills.

"It's fine. So, um… Nice weather we're having, huh?"

"...It's storming outside." Maybe I could use some people skills honing, too.

"Heh heh… I was just trying to change the subject."

"Do, or do not. There is no 'try'." I remember hearing that somewhere...

"So, do you have a better subject?"

"Not particularly. I'd recommend that you leave before Amber gets here. She's usually quick with her interrogations, and she probably doesn't want to see you."

"Is she usually this grumpy?"

"No. She's actually really nice. She just doesn't have a great first impression of you."

"Why not?"

"Like I said, you proved her wrong without much tangible evidence. Stick to the facts, and you'll probably get on her good side… She's not one to hold a grudge."

"I guess that's a good thing, then… I'll try my best."

"Good." He nodded his head, and stood there impatiently. Oh… He probably wants me to leave. I guess I'm done here, anyway.

"I'll see you tomorrow, I guess."

"Yeah. Bye."

(O)

By the time I got back to the agency, I was sopping wet. Stupid storm.

"Hey, Thena!" I turned around to find Trucy grinning up at me.

"Hey! Man, it's pouring out there."

"Hm. I usually just have Mr. Hat hold my umbrella for me."

"Heh. I wish Widget could do something like that."

"Did you come from the detention center?"

"Yep. I talked to Aura for a total of thirty seconds, and then I talked to a guy for a while, and came back."

"Ooh, you talked to a guy?"

"Yeah."

"What was his name?"

"Detective Aiden."

"Was he cute?" Trucy looked up at me, bouncing slightly on her toes.

"Heh, a little. He was too old for me, though."

"Aww… That's no fun."

"So, can you tell me anything helpful for the trial tomorrow?"

"Of course! Let's see… Um, what do you need to know?"

"Well, we're going for a false imprisonment plea, so it might be nice if you could tell me about how she treated you guys."

"Is kidnapping the same thing as false imprisonment?"

"Not quite… When you kidnap someone, you have to transport them somewhere. False imprisonment is when you keep someone locked up."

"Oh. Well, we never left the space center, so we weren't really transported."

"That's good for us, then. Did she hurt anyone?"

"Nope. She just locked us in the space center. There were twelve of us, and about fifteen robots. Aura herself stayed and watched us there. There was a bathroom and water and stuff, so nobody was even that uncomfortable."

"Did she threaten to hurt you?"

"Yeah. I actually wrote some stuff down… Which is why the prosecution wants me to testify in court tomorrow."

"Really? What?"

"Uh, one sec." She pulled out her magic panties and dug around for a piece of paper. "Here we go! 'If you don't bring me that little princess, I'll have Hunk of Junk kill all the hostages!'"

"...Ouch. She was willing to kill twelve people just for me."

"You should feel honored," she joked. "Let's see… 'If you don't mind losing hostages, you can take all the time you want.' And, 'I told you I'd give you one hour… I guess it's time to pick one of the hostages… Make all the excuses you want, but you won't get more time. Your daughter is first. The poor thing. She's a little too young to die, don't you think?' and then she said, 'Time's up. Too bad. Any last words you'd like to say to her? '"

"I remember that! Weren't you scared?"

"Not really. She wouldn't kill me. She was good friends with Polly, remember?"

"...Now that I think about it, you're just about the only person that he didn't hate at one point yesterday."

"Exactly! So she wouldn't have killed me. Plus… I have a secret magic trick reserved for situations like this!" She winked.

"Really? What?"

"What do you think the word 'secret' means?"

"Aww, but you can tell me!"

"Nope!" She stuck out her tongue. "Now, anything else you need to know?"

"I don't think so. I need Apollo to sign a document, though."

"Huh? For what?"

"I want his testimony that Aura was aware of the connection between the two of you. If I can prove that she had no intention of killing anyone, she'll be charged with a misdemeanor instead of a felony."

"Oh! Yeah, he'll be back in a little while. Him and Daddy left to investigate that crime scene."

"All right. Man, I've never felt so good walking into a trial before!"

"Don't get used to it!" I would have expected a smirk off of Trucy's face, but I could only see her usual, peppy smile. "Oh! Who's the prosecutor?"

"Prosecutor Barnett."

"Barnett? Like, Amber Barnett?" she asked. Does everyone know this girl?

"Yeah. Do you know her?"

"Her brother's a friend of mine." Trucy grinned.

"Is he cute?" I asked, a teasing grin on my face.

"Yeah, a little," she admitted.

"Wow! Does your dad know?"

"Heh, a magician never reveals her secrets!" she laughed. "Oh! What time is it?" she blurted out suddenly.

"Uh, 6:43."

"My show at the Wonder Bar is starting in 17 minutes! You want to come?"

"Depends. How much are you going to tell me about this guy?"

"Well, I met him in English class..." she began as we walked out the door.

For the first time in weeks, the atmosphere was cheerful, all sense of impending doom gone.

Little did I know that it would soon come back, strong as ever.