This should not have been the way it would end. When the judge banged his gavel and declared the defendant "not guilty," then that should have eradicated all doubts that were held against the legal system. The Dark Age should have been a distant nightmare by now. Yet it wasn't.

After the conclusion of the Phantom Trial, everything was peaceful. Then, a new case went to court: the murder of a small toddler in which the prime suspect was the father. No matter how hard Phoenix Wright fought for the man's defense, the final verdict was "guilty." A few weeks later, the real culprit behind the murder, a very jealous mistress of the man, openly admitted to killing the child when she was taking care of her, and committed suicide immediately after. Since then, similar cases of murder began to pop up, and with the same result every time: the guilty were being found innocent, and the innocent were being found guilty. The new system in which the jury decided the outcome was not working out, and people soon began to lose all faith in the court system once again. Because of this, Phoenix Wright inconspicuously left the city to go on a little crusade of his own to figure out where things went awry, along with Miles Edgeworth, Dick Gumshoe, Ema Skye, and another friend of his (for emotional support). However, people mistook his and the others' sudden disappearances from their duties as an omen that nothing could save the honor of the court now. Everything was in turmoil. Crimes and lawsuits were not being settled in court out of fear of the outcome and the growing distrust of attorneys. Even with the new rush of fresh-out-of-law-school students- over half of which switched professions upon seeing how crooked everything was- there was nothing that could console the reservations and suspicions the public held in their hearts. This was truly the darkest age of the law, returning with a vengeance. There was nothing that could be done now to redeem the system…

But maybe, just maybe, there was still hope for redemption. In the hearts of a few, select people there burned a fire of determination, determination to put an end to the evilness and restore order and trust back into the original legal system which the Founding Fathers poured their entire souls into developing. It was up to these people to bring the Dark Age to an end. For now though, they would have to wait until their time to act would truly present itself. The year is 2028…

March 3rd, 2028
8:57 P.M.

I was sitting alone in the Chief Prosecutors' Office, and yes, that is "prosecutors'" with an "apostrophe s." It seemed that with the coming of the Dark Age, the Board was becoming desperate for reliable and trustworthy people. Yet for some reason, they decided to appoint me, an ex-convict with a criminal background of being an accomplice and forgery, as co-Chief Prosecutor alongside my former subordinate. They merely told me that I had experience in the field, and though Edgeworth himself is very adequate at what he does, there was no way he could fight off these accusations of corruption in the Prosecutors' Office by himself. He understood these things all too well. I have to say that this was a surprising move by the Board, especially when I felt like I'm the one responsible for giving birth to this dark age. I did assist in committing one of the greatest scandals in the history of the police department, though now it seemed that people overlooked what I did over nine years ago in favor of the more recent cases of forgery and misconduct.

Anyways, I was sitting alone in the Chief Prosecutors' Office, which I shared with Edgeworth (and let me add that he is a way better partner than that "worm" I used to work with) until that day he left and entrusted the management of the Prosecutors' Building to me. I was watching the news for any updates on a breakthrough in the current, criminal trials when my cell phone began to ring. The number was unrecognizable, but I answered it anyway, thinking it was someone from Criminal Affairs or the L.A.P.D. How wrong I turned out to be…

"This is Skye." I answered in my cold, professional tone. I guess some part of me never really softened up after all that had happened.

"Chief Prosecutor Lana Skye?" came the voice. It sounded like a high-pitched female.

"Yes?"

"I have to ask you: do you know a Mia Fey by any chance?"

I blinked. When was the last time that name ever crossed my mind? "Yes. I was friends with her in law school. But she's been…"

"She wants to speak with you."

I could feel the cold sweat dripping from my palms when I heard those words. Mia Fey had been dead for nearly a decade now. And here this person was telling me that she wanted to have a conversation with me? What kind of a cruel joke was that?!

"Who are you?!" I practically shouted into my receiver as anger began to boil up inside of me. "I demand to know who this is. This is not funny; it's painful and downright rude! Mia Fey is…"

"Lana?" A new voice came on the other line. I froze, immediately recognizing the voice. It had been so long, yet…Mia…

"W-Who is this?" I could barely find the words to speak.

"Lana…it's Mia. Mia Fey."

"No…that's impossible." My voice was trembling now, as was my entire body. "Mia Fey is dead…who are you? I swear, when I find out this is a prank…"

"Lana, I'm not joking with you. Not at a moment like this."

I paused for a very long time. There was no way this could be happening. It had to be a dream, a dream in which I was having a phone call conversation with my dead friend. There came a sigh from the other person, and I assumed she could sense my doubt.

"Lana, in law school while I was helping you study for the bar exam, we suddenly got on the topic of body art and piercings, and we were so out of it from lack of sleep that I decided to practice on you and pierced your bellybutton myself using an ice cube. I later promised you that I wouldn't tell anyone about it until you would get engaged. Remember? Oh, and the ring was a silver star."

I nearly dropped my phone out of surprise; nobody other than Mia would have known that, after all she was the only one in the room when it happened. And seeing how nobody knew about it yet because I'm still single, she really took that secret with her to the grave...wait, not the grave. She was alive. A torrent of emotions swelled within me when I came to that realization. Here I was, talking with my old friend who I thought- knew- was dead…but was actually still alive. It all happened so fast and I was so unprepared…that I didn't just know how to feel about it.

"Mia…" If I could barely speak before, I was hardly getting any words out now. "You're…alive…"

The person, no Mia, laughed softly on the other end. "Am I ever." I bet she was smiling to herself. "Now that I've convinced you, I have quite a long story to tell you."

:POV SWITCH:

My name is Mia Fey. Up until a few- well, I guess it's been more than that- years ago, I was a pretty well-known defense attorney. I had my own law firm, I was taking up and winning a lot of cases, and I would teach my tactics I used in the courtroom to my old student, Phoenix Wright. I was renowned for my quick-thinking techniques and the strong faith I placed in all of my clients; but that all changed one day, when I had let my guard down for only a few, mere minutes…

I was hiding evidence for a case against a man I had been investigating for quite some time. This man was responsible for ruining my mother's name and blackmailing a long list of people, including my former employer. After I had returned to my firm following a pre-trial meeting, he broke into my office before I could hand the evidence over to my sister, who had not yet arrived to pick up it up. I couldn't evade him fast enough, and he hit me over the head with a clock styled after The Thinker. I suffered massive brain damage as a result, and was presumed dead at the scene…but I wasn't. Miraculously, I survived the blow to my head, though it left me with a scar on my temple and a few, forgotten memories. When they brought me to the hospital, I was taken straight to the morgue where I regained consciousness, much to the surprise of the coroner. However, I convinced him along with a few others from the hospital not to tell anyone I was alive. If word got out about my survival, then that man would have been one of the first to know about it, and this wouldn't be the only attempt on my life. I was able to get him to agree, reluctantly of course, and he prepared a hospital room for me under a fake name, as well as coming up with a fake autopsy report. Yes…me lying my way out of death caused that man to get a "guilty verdict," but he was already guilty…being the sole cause of many suicides and demolished lives; he practically deserved it. The trauma sustained to my head was more severe than they thought when I had suddenly fallen into a coma one day. There have been times where I went into cardiac arrest, and ironically enough, Maya had been able to contact me right during those episodes. If those weren't instances of miracles, then I don't know what is. When I finally awoke from my coma years later, I found what my apprentice- now successor- had accomplished during this long period of time. I couldn't have been more proud of him, stepping up and being a leader, as well as taking two rookies under his wing and caring for a daughter at the same time. There was so much I had missed out on, but I didn't have time to catch up. As soon as I recovered, I slipped away, and went into hiding in the hopes of building a new life for myself. Believe me, I had my reasons for vanishing. For the past year, I had been staying with a woman who had just become a detective and it was through her where I found out all about the Dark Age of the law, and how it was gradually returning, far worse than it has ever been before. When I learned of Phoenix's and the others' disappearances, I realized that I couldn't just stand around and do nothing. As much as I tried to get away from my old life, I knew I had no choice but to return. After all, law is what I've been practicing for as long as I can remember. My roommate was able to pull a few strings to get me my badge back, and as soon as I got back into my profession, I had already taken up a case.

I relayed all of this to Lana over the phone.. From the way she was breathing too hard, I wondered if she was still shocked out of her wits or was getting a bad migraine from all of this overwhelming information. It must have been hard for her to process all this, but I couldn't think of anyone else I trusted more than her to tell. She was a strong woman; I figured she'd be able to get over the surprise pretty quickly by her standards. After a few seconds, her breathing calmed down and she spoke in the same, calm, normal voice. Yep, I was right; she hadn't changed much since I've last talked to her.

"So this is the first case you've taken up after over nine years of being out of practice?" She surmised.

I winced. When she said it like that, it sounded like I was making a mistake. "Y-Yes. I figured better now than later, you know?"

"…I wasn't expecting anything less from you, you know." Came her blunt reply. "Even after being gone from existence all this time, you're still the same, old Mia."

I didn't answer, hoping I could come off across as not impressed with her sarcastic humor. In actuality, I just didn't have a clever comeback for that one.

"So…your reason for calling me…?"

"Ah, yes!" Finally, I could get down to business. "You see, I need someone to be my co-counsel tomorrow, and…I figured you would understand my circumstances better than anyone would at this point. Of course, I know how busy you are, with being Chief Prosecutor in such a dark time…"

"I'll do it."

That was fast. Almost too fast. "Are you sure?" I had to ask her for confirmation. She knew that I would hold her to it, and backing out wouldn't be an option.

"Positive." Even though her tone was flat, I could practically envision her smiling with excitement. "I owe you a lot, Mia. And it's the least I can do for an old friend."

"Are you sure it isn't because you miss the courtroom drama?"

This got a laugh from her. "You never cease to amaze me. It'll be great to see you back in action again."

"Excellent." I found myself smiling too. Even though I had already many trials under my belt, I still felt those familiar, jittery nerves I often got when I was a rookie. The rush was exhilarating, especially after being out of a courtroom for so long. It wasn't going to be easy with these dark times surrounding us, but I would be able to pull through. And if I could just shine the tiniest bit of light in the darkness, then I would know that I had made the right choice to "come back to life."

I ended my phone call with Lana once I gave her the time and courtroom number before I returned to studying the case file before me. I noticed my roommate glancing at me from across the room and giving me a knowing grin.

"I'm coming to watch your trial tomorrow." She announced.

"Great, add more pressure to me than there already is. Exactly what I needed." I replied sarcastically, to which she laughed.

"You have an interesting history with trials. I'm really looking forward to it." She stretched her limbs as she went to her bedroom to return for the night. "Be sure to rest up. It's your first day back in court after all."

As if I needed to be told that twice. "Don't worry. I won't push myself too hard."

If only she knew that sleepless nights before a trial was practically a ritual to me. The fact that I had just put my attorney's badge back on didn't change that. I smiled impishly. It was great to be back.

PX: Hope you enjoyed! Don't forget to leave a review!