I decided to write my take on why Apollo Justice became a lawyer. I hope you enjoy.
Everyone always asks why I became a lawyer, everyone. They all expect the tragic backstory of an orphan who wanted a better life for himself, or that some attorney once saved me and that I wanted to follow in their footsteps. I can't say that either of those are true, yet I can't exactly deny them either. I'm probably just confusing you, aren't I. Why don't I tell you the story? Of course I'll be telling you the abridged version, no need to bore you with the details.
It was August in the year of 2016. I was still stuck in an orphanage just outside of L.A., and frankly I didn't think I would be getting out anytime soon. Nobody wants to adopt a child who is already thirteen. I was gathered around the television with a few of the older children while the younger ones played. We were forbidden to change the channel from the channel 5 news station, as our care taker was paranoid that "breaking news" would occur as soon as a different show came on.
"In other news, a greenhorn attorney has successfully defended his client while exposing the true culprit in the murder trial of Cindy Stone. Cindy Stone, an up-and-coming model was-" The news woman continued on about the details of the murder. I don't know why but this particular story piqued my interest. It had nothing to do with the fact that a "celebrity" was murdered, but this attorney. It was uncommon for a defense attorney to win a case, let alone find the real perpetrator.
"Phoenix Wright, the defendant's lawyer, has not yet released a statement to the press, but if he does our station will be the first to report it. Up next, the race for the presidency is heating up. Who will win your vote?" Then a commercial came on for some product nobody truly wanted. Phoenix Wright, that was his name huh? It was obvious the news station wasn't going to cover the story moment any more, but I still wanted to know exactly what had happened.
Wait, they recorded court cases didn't they? I smiled slightly; I needed to get my hands on one of them.
"Miss Robinson, may I please go out for a bit?" I knew the answer would be yes.
"Of course Apollo, just make sure you're home by ten." She never took her focus off of the dinner she was preparing for the children. It obviously wouldn't take five hours to get a video tape, but I was grateful for the freedom.
I immediately set out to the courthouse, and when I finally arrived I was able to squeeze through the swarm of people, who were presumably waiting for some high profile defendant to leave the courthouse. I walked up to the first bailiff I saw.
"H-h-hello sir," Oh god. Maybe straight out asking for a recorded trial wasn't the smartest idea. Nobody was going to just give a kid a tape of a legal proceeding.
"You okay kid?" The bailiff asked with worry etched into his features.
"I-I'm fine!" I cleared my throat. "I'm fine. I was just wondering if you had a copy of… ummm… a copy of the Phoenix Wright trial from today." I let out a sigh of relief. At least I had gotten what I wanted to say off my chest.
"I'm really not supposed to…" I immediately deflated. A guy had to try, right? "But I suppose I could make an exception for you. Just don't tell my superiors. I'll go grab one." I beamed up at the man. This guy was making one hell of an exception.
I quickly thanked the bailiff and ran back to the orphanage. No one understood why I was grinning like a maniac when I burst through the door, and I didn't explain it to anyone either. Of course I had to wait until after midnight till I could play my new prized procession. "Why" you ask, because once again I couldn't change the channel with Miss Robinson around, and that included playing a video.
I was totally engrossed in the trial. At first the case had looked hopeless. Larry Butz had evidence and testimony stacked against him, yet Mr. Wright was able to turn everything around and pin the crime on the witness. From that point on I attended any trial involving Mr. Wright, even if it meant skipping school. Heck, I even gave myself the last name of Justice just because it was often used in the courtroom.
From his second case where he defended his mentor's younger sister to the case where the mysterious masked prosecutor, Godot, revealed his true identity, he always won. There was an exception though. Sometime during the middle of his career he lost the case of Matt Engaurd, yet he seemed happy. There were many strange happenings during that case, the most prominent being that his usual assistant wasn't there. Mr. Wright seemed tense throughout the trial, even more tense than I seemed to get when someone testified.
Even though Mr. Wright lost that case he earned the name Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney. Then the one day I missed a trial, the one day I lay sick in bed with a fever, it happened. Mr. Wright went from the "Ace Attorney" to the "Forgin' Attorney." I was mortified when I heard this. The past three years of my life were meaningless. What did you expect me to do? The man who I considered my idol had just used forged evidence.
I took the video tape of his first ever trial, my only procession of real worth, and snapped it in half. I then chucked it out of my two story window, never to be seen again. I was furious. I thought he took pride in his work. I didn't think he would stoop that low.
I entered into a depressed state. I would never leave my room anymore; the other children always had to bring me my food. Finally, after two weeks one of the older kids, fed up with having to wait on me, talked to me.
"'Pollo, why the hell are you so hung up on this one lawyer guy. Didn't I tell ya? All lawyers are giant scumbags who'll do anything to get a not guilty. They're in it for the money." He said as he sat down next to me on my bed.
"Not all lawyers are bad." I stated refusing to make eye contact.
"Yeah? Name one." I thought long and hard but could not come up with an answer.
"I… can't." I slumped visibly.
"See, if anyone could name just one honest lawyer, the state would be a better place, that's for sure." An honest lawyer? Was it possible? My guidance counselor from school had already been asking what I wanted to do with my life, and in that moment it just came to me. I would become Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney, the first honest lawyer to live.
So, how was it? This is my first work that I have published and would like to know what you thought. Was it terrible? Was it genius? I would greatly appreciate any criticism you could offer me on my work.