Disclaimer: Phoenix Wright, Apollo Justice, and any other lawyer games do not belong to me. All rightfully belong to CAPCOM, and this person is simply using their characters for entertainment. Really.

I haven't written a real fanfic in a while.
I haven't completed a real fanfic in a while, either.
Eek.

Post-AJ, but it's more spoiler-y for T&T rather than AJ. This was spurred from the inner workings of a frustrated fangirl…who gave up fanfiction for Lent…and suffered. (snorts)

Oh God…

She dropped to her knees slowly, her fingers stroking the lifeless face of the man. His mouth was open slightly, as were his eyes.

Her lithe, numb fingers hovered over his eyes, and she closed them.

Oh God…

The light was on in the damp cellar, but all that mattered was her and the man in her arms.

And all that mattered suddenly disappeared.

She found her sister, her mother, all the victims and dead bodies flashing before her eyes. She shut them and turned her head, thinking it would be better to not look at his face.

Opening her eyes, she found a katana cloaked in blood.

Oh…Oh God…

The sound of a gasp and a high-pitched scream reached her ears, and her eyes looked towards the two figures at cellar door.

I…I didn't do it…

I DIDN'T DO IT!

February 2
Wright Anything Agency

Apollo and Trucy were sitting in the cluttered agency, watching the television. Phoenix was no where to be seen; the little magician just said he was out to run errands, whatever that was. Apollo was channel surfing, and Trucy was a bit distraught. He had passed over an old rerun of the ever-famous Pink Princess, and obviously, he had no interest in even watching anything relatively like that.

"Polly!" she protested. "I wanted to watch!" But before she could say any more, Apollo stopped at a news channel, and she heard a familiar name.

"Last evening, Maya Fey, master of the Kurain Channeling School, was arrested on suspicion of murder. The victim was her fiancé, Elliot Baron, the would-be successor to the Royalty Banking Company. She was found next to the body by two witnesses with the murder weapon, a katana, next to her. Police are investigating this matter further."

Apollo blinked at the recent light of events, and his eyebrows furrowed together in deep thought. "Where have I heard those names from?" He heard Trucy stand up and walk around the place, and he turned his head to watch. She was looking underneath the little trinkets and toys and tables, behind the piano, and finally found something under the same silk blue top hat where he had found the fingerprinting powder. She took out a white square envelope with elegant gold script on the front. It wasn't there the last time he checked.

"To Mr. Phoenix Wright." Trucy read aloud, the envelope in her hands. "Wow, Daddy sounds a lot like a real lawyer that way."

"I don't blame you—he doesn't come off as a real lawyer if you look at him now."

She proceeded to open the envelope and took out the contents inside. There was just a square piece of white, firm paper and a smaller piece inside. Trucy sat down on the couch next to Apollo, who looked over the letter with her.

"You are cordially invited to the engagement party of Elliot Baron and Maya Fey on February 1," Trucy read again. There was more to the letter, but she looked to Apollo with a wide smile, as if she found hidden pirate's gold. "This is where I heard it from!"

"Wow. Never knew that Phoenix had such connections," he said. "But…wasn't he here last night when the party was going on? Wouldn't he bring you?"

Trucy shrugged. "He said something about going out at seven, but when I saw him still here, he said he wanted to be fashionably late. I didn't mind—it's all about the showmanship!"

"…And you still didn't go?"

"Yeah…I ended up sleeping when I was watching a movie Daddy put in for me. I wanted to show more people my magic panties!"

I have to admit, I'm still curious as to how she could pull a tire out of those things.

There was a sudden knock on the door, and two heads turned to it.

Rock, paper, scissors.

Rock and scissors.

Apollo sighed and stood up. This ritual had started when it felt too hot to move, and Trucy and Apollo duked it out for a good five minutes just to see who would get the door. He lost, but as soon as Trucy saw it was Phoenix with groceries, she pitched in to help.

The young lawyer opened the mahogany entrance, and there stood a light brown-haired girl, half of her hair tied up in two loops. She was a bit taller than Trucy, and she wore a strange outfit.

"Are you Apollo?" she asked.

"Uh…yes. Who are you?"

"Mr. Nick told me to show you your new client at the detention center."

Was it him, or did Apollo not hear her name in that sentence?

"Excuse me? Mr. Nick?"

"Mr...Phoenix Wright?"

"That's Daddy!" Trucy piped in, appearing (like magic) next to Apollo. He almost fell over. "C'mon, Polly, looks like you got a new client!"

February 2
Detention Center

It was the same detention center that he and Trucy went to numerous times before. It was nothing different. There were still the gray walls and the glass separating his client and him. There was still the lone camera in the corner and the security guard standing by himself by the door. The surprise was what the chair held: his client.

"Polly? What's wrong?" Trucy asked. He didn't respond. "…Polly, I'm going to touch your hair." He still didn't respond. "Oh no, something's wrong."

"You sure that's them, Pearly?" the woman across the glass asked.

"Uh-huh. Mr. Nick said that they weren't the hardest characters to miss."

"Great. Thanks for all you've done."

"Don't worry about it, Mystic Maya! The elders are kind to me back at the village." The girl checked the clock on a nearby wall and frowned a bit. "I have to go now. There's a meeting in a couple of hours. I'll visit you again soon, I promise!"

The girl whom Maya Fey had called Pearly waved a good-bye to Trucy and Apollo as she left the center.

Maya's concentration now focused on Apollo, and she looked amused at his expression. "Mr. Justice and…Trucy, correct?"

"Yep, that's us!" Trucy bounced. "You must be Maya Fey!"

Maya smiled back at the young girl. "That I am. I'm wondering why Mr. Justice here seems so…surprised."

"Ah! S-Sorry! I-I'm fine!" He sputtered. Trucy giggled at his sudden exclamation. "I just feel dumb for not realizing it sooner."

"Realizing what?" Trucy asked.

"Maya Fey was your dad's former assistant back when he was a lawyer." Trucy's mouth turned into a small 'o', as if she had just realized it, too.

The black-haired woman nodded. "The one and only."

"Yeah, Polly, how could you not have realized that sooner!"

Hey! Didn't you just look surprised too?

"Please, just call me Apollo."

"Daddy and I call him Polly, so you can call him that, too!"

He threw a small glare at Trucy, and Maya chuckled. "From what I've heard, you're a real passionate one in court, Apollo."

"His voice always hurts everyone's ears in the court."

"Hey! Don't make fun of my Chords of Steel." He coughed and appeared to resume business. "Anyway, there was a certain reason why we're here."

"You are going to be my defense lawyer?" Maya asked, tilting her head with a small smile.

"As long as you agree, Ms. Fey."

"Maya is fine, and yes, I would love for you to defend me." Maya seemed to always have a smile on her face. "Nick has told me good things about you, so I'm sure that I can come out of that court, knowing the truth has been revealed." Apollo flushed a bit and scratched the back of his neck.

He coughed again. "So, what was your connection to the victim?"

"Elliot Baron? He was my fiancé."

"How romantic!" Trucy piped in. "How did he propose?"

Maya chuckled. "Well, he didn't exactly propose. The elders at my village saw it fit to hire a matchmaker for me. Elliot Baron was chosen, and we got along just fine. We talked about marriage and thought it was best to go along with it."

Trucy pouted cutely. "Aw. That's kind of…boring."

"Don't worry. I'm sure you'll have your own romantic proposal, Trucy."

"Your engagement party was last night, correct? Where the murder was held?" Apollo interrogated. As soon as he went around to the event last night, the sparkle in Maya's eyes suddenly diminished, and she nodded slowly. It was like every muscle that enabled her to nod screamed in agony when she had to admit it. He could practically feel her pain, and his fists tightened.

His resolve to prove her innocence was made stronger.

"Tell me everything you know."

All will be revealed in due time. That's...all I have to say, honestly.

R/R, please!