A/N: This is my first Ace Attorney fanfic! XD Hope any reader enjoys reading this first Chapter of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Shadows of the Past

Chapter 1 - The Wrong Shadow

Is that, a gun?

Did I use it?

Is that a person?

Are they asleep?

Why aren't they moving?

Is that a bullet hole?

Did they get shot?

Did I shoot them?

Did I KILL them?

Late again! I can't afford to be late any more!

Apollo Justice was walking, albeit very fast, to his workplace, very late. The amplified wind pushed itself against Apollo, and his signature horns were being suppressed from standing on end, in the harsh wind. It wasn't as if Apollo wanted to be late, he wanted to be as punctual as he possibly could, even if that waking up at the crack of dawn, and annoying his neighbours with his Chords of Steel practices in the morning.

However, he was late. Quite late. And he was now jogging to make up for lost time. He did not want do displease his boss, however soft-hearted he could be.

Apollo hadn't had problem sleeping lately, he had actually slept more than he normally would, but he couldn't deep sleep. He was constantly locked in dreams, which he could not escape from, nor easily remember. It meant that he couldn't get up in the morning, as he was paralysed from the dream, of what he could remember.

Smothered by the wrong shadow.

Even with his quickened pace, he had arrived at the Wright Anything Agency nearly fifteen minutes late! he promptly went into the office block, greeted the receptionist hurriedly, and raced up the stairs (the lift would take far too long' and burst into the office.

'Mr Wright! I'm so sorry I'm late! I don't know what happened! I promise it won't happen again!' The red attorney exasperated to his boss. To Apollo's surprise, no on was there to greet him, at that exact moment. He started to panic. Where were they? Mr. Wright and Trucy always were prompt, usually.

'Relax, Apollo' Phoenix calmly told him, 'Me and Truce just got here also. Even if you were prompt, you would just be waiting outside the door for a while anyway'

Apollo sighed in deep relief. He was actually early, even though he was late. Always a paradox to start the day, he thought.

'Polly? Are you okay? Daddy said that you weren't late, yet you're still flustered!' Trucy asked, now emerging from the back room.

'Huh? Oh!' Apollo exclaimed, now more flustered, 'I just keep having some weird dreams lately, so I'm just a bit jumpy, that's all.'

'Okay, Polly!' Trucy them bumbled off to whatever she was doing, which happened to be watching the TV.

'So, anything new, Mr. Wright?' Apollo asked, attempting to break an awkward silence before it formed.

Phoenix laughed. 'Apollo, there has been nothing on the the legal frontier for weeks now, so I wouldn't get excited. However, I've nearly finalised the vacation plans out to Kurain to visit Maya and co.; you're welcome to come of course - you're practically family anyway.'

'Aw, thanks Mr Wright, I'd love to join you and Trucy!'

It was at that moment that despite neither Phoenix or Apollo having Athena's heightened hearing, they picked up what was blurting out of the TV:

'... and In other news, has the so called 'Dark Age of the Law' not ended. We all thought it ended with the trials following the HAT-2 bombing, but now a case has arisen which may cast further doubt on the legal system...'

At this point, both Phoenix and Apollo had raced in the room, in a mixture of fear and excitement of what the news-piece. Phoenix then grabbed the remote and turned up the volume.

'... the so-called 'student' of Chief Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth, it is currently believed by the precinct that Laurence Rodgers committed a terrible deed of murder in the early ours of the morning - of none other than the retired city governor : Fleance l'Aurestré...'

Phoenix was asking many questions: Since when did Edgeworth get a student? Why, When and how did they meet? What did Edgeworth think of this allegation? But mostly, Who was this guy? Almost searching the room with his eyes for any of these answers, he noticed his protégé had gone unusually quiet. Before he could query him, a voice asked his very question.

'Hey Apollo, did someone die, because you're screaming nothing but sadness?!' The ginger attorney walked in, to then cover her ears with her hands.

'I-I'm fine...' Apollo said weakly.

'I can't hear you! Your heart is exploding in sadness!'

'Pyro...' Apollo wiped his eyes slightly. He then readjusted himself. 'Laurence Rodgers - or as I knew him, Pyro - was one of my closest friends when I was young.'

'But I thought that you and Clay were best buds?'

'Yeah, through high school. But in middle school, it was Me, Clay and Pyro!'

The room was suspended in an awe of silence. The Red Attorney looked as if he had been dragged through a hedge and back, after revealing that he was not part of a duo, but a trio of friends. Phoenix was the first to speak up.

'Apollo, if Pyro was such a close friend to you, then why have you never mentioned him?'

There was a long pause. The silence was suspended for sometime, until Apollo eventually responded.

'He apparently disappeared of the face of the Earth, about three years ago. The last thing he said to me was Congrats on your new job... ' Everyone gasped. Apollo then began to explain further: 'Since I when I was 7, I was changed orphanage, so thus moved school. No one was really friendly to me, not even noticing me that much, well except for Clay and Pyro. The two of them took me in as their friend, and it went from there

'Pyro was really into science, and I mean super into science. He loved physics mostly, especially space. It was him who introduced me and Clay to the space centre! He was into science so much he skipped middle school and went straight to university. Me, Clay and him all stayed in contact for most of the time, until he disappeared...'

Everyone was in a shock, however letting out all his held up woes seemed to make Apollo relax slightly. He then re-composed himself.

'Mr. Wright? Can I have permission to go to the detention centre, and attempt to take Pyro's defence?'

'Of course, Apollo. You don't need to ask my permission'

'Thanks Mr. Wright, I'll get on over there ASAP!' Apollo then hastily left for the detention centre. After Apollo had left, Athena posed a question to her boss.

'Should I follow him, Boss?' She asked. Phoenix nodded, and Athena left. Phoenix chuckled to himself.

'Daddy? What's funny?' Trucy asked her adopted (but more truthful) father.

'Don't worry about it Truce' Phoenix replied, picking up his phone, 'I've got a call to make...' Phoenix then dialled a number

'Hello?' A familiar voice said through the speaker

'Edgeworth! I just saw the news. So, you have a protégé now?'