(Warning: contains some very mild PhoenixXEdgeworth)
(Disclaimer: I do not own Ace attorney or any of the characters.)
The winter winds blew across the streets. The bare trees seemed like they would lose their branches and the river rushed along, it's ripples crashing loudly like thunder. It was then where a certain spiky-haired attorney sighed, glaring at the freezing water beyond the security rails.
How come the river decides to go on a joy ride in the middle of January? Phoenix thought as he glared to the surging water.
"Niiiiiiick!" A voice then cut into his thoughts as Phoenix snapped back to reality.
"Huh?" The lawyer cooed as he locked his blue eyes onto the orange-clad blonde before him.
"Did you even hear what I said?!" The other man snapped, offended by Phoenix's short attention span.
"Uh..." Phoenix started, then pulled a sheepish grin, rubbing the back of his head the same way he does in court "N-not really! Sorry Larry!"
Larry pouted as a silver haired man gave a sigh "Honestly Wright, how low is your attention span? It almost rivals Gumshoe's."
"H-hey!" Phoenix studdered, giving a pathetic glare to the man in the maroon suit. Despite having saved the man from getting convicted, Miles Edgeworth still had the same bitter attitude towards Phoenix. I wish that he would lighten up a little...hell I saved his fancy ass from the death sentence! Twice! "I was just admiring the scenery! That's all!" He protested.
Edgeworth smirked at the attorney "I highly doubt it. You tend to do the same in court."
Phoenix then shot Edgeworth a glare "Oh shut up Edg-"
Phoenix was then cut off by a high pitched scream. All three men widened their eyes as they looked at each other with a distressed look "What on earth was that?!" The man in maroon demanded, his already pale face even paler to the point where he looked like a ghost.
Larry then pointed to one of the trees "NICK! EDGEY! Up there! Someone's stuck in that tree!"
The two attorneys then snapped their heads to where Larry was pointing at. Surely enough, to Phoenix's shock, a young boy was up there, his shirt was stuck in one of the branches. The branch itself was slightly broken, swaying slightly as if to threaten the three men that it will snap and let the boy fall into the Frozen river below. Just what is that kid doing up there?!
"H-HELP!" The boy screamed, his voice was incredibly loud for a kid. Phoenix could see that the little guy was crying as well.
I can't just stand here and watch him fall! I have to help him! Phoenix screamed in his head as he took action "Larry! Get up on that tree and try to bring him down! Use one of the lower branches!" He ordered Larry in an assertive voice, making the blonde flinch from the sudden change of tone. Larry then gave a brisk nod, then climbed up the tree. Phoenix then turned to the Prosecutor, whom was frozen in shock "Miles!" Phoenix snapped, using Edgeworth's first name as it was easier to say in this situation. Edgeworth's attention quickly reverted towards him, his gray eyes locking onto Phoenix's blue ones "You have a med kit in your car right? Go get it! He might be hurt!" He told Miles as Phoenix turned around and went towards the boy, but remained on ground level "I'll catch him if I have to!"
Edgeworth gave one stiff look at Phoenix "I hope you know what you're doing Wright...I'm...counting on you two to bring this boy to safety." He told as calmly as he could before running off.
"Hey kid!" Phoenix called out as the boy yelped in surprise, then looked down towards Phoenix. The attorney examined the child from afar, the boy had short, hazel brown hair. He had small bangs that swept lazily on the left side of his head. He had brown eyes and he wore a bracelet on his left wrist, which complimented his red coat well. Phoenix could guess that he was around 13 years old.
"H-huh?" The boy managed to squeak out.
Phoenix gave the boy a smile "It's alright, we're help." He said in the calmest way possible, which was hard since Phoenix was inwardly panicking. "You're going to be fine! Larry's coming up to get you!" He assured the boy
"But what if I fall?" The boy asked, concerned.
"I'll catch you. Or the water breaks your fall." Phoenix replied, remembering that there was the river that they might haul the kid out of.
"B-but...I can't swim!" The boy yelled out, panicking as the branch started to break a bit more, causing the boy to go in even more in a panic.
"N-Nick! I can't reach him in time if he moves any more! Calm him down!" Larry urged from the branch below.
"You're fine!" Phoenix then shouted to the boy, which made him calm down considerably, looking down at Wright.
"Wha...?"
"I said you're fine." Phoenix said assuringly. "If you keep telling yourself that, then you will be fine! Alright?"
The boy's eyes sparkled "R-right!" The kid then started to mumble "I'll be fine." over and over again. Larry getting very close to the boy.
"Almost there...you're doing fine!" Larry cooed
"Wright! I got the kit!" Edgeworth called, running over. He panted in exhaustion, most likely from running so far.
The boy then jerked his body to where the new voice came from, this then made the branch snap as the boy fell to the water below.
No!
"AHHHHHHHH!" The boy shrieked
"NO! NICK! CATCH HIM!" Larry screamed.
There was a loud sploosh that was heard as the kid disappeared into the freezing water below. Without thinking or hesitation, Phoenix threw himself into the water, going after him.
"Wright!" Edgeworth shouted
He plunged under the water, only hearing the muffled sounds of his friends shouting his name. He glanced around frantically, searching for the drowning boy. Once he saw the figure he was looking for, he swam towards the boy, grabbed him under the arms and pulled him up to the surface
Don't worry kid, you're going to be fine! I won't let you die like this!
He gasped for air as he did his best to pull the unconscious boy to shore. He noticed that the current had pulled them out of Edgeworth and Larry's sight, which made Phoenix worry. Once at the shore, Phoenix immediately started shivering from the icy water he had just swam in.
Looks like I'm getting a cold... He sighed to himself as he looked down to the boy. Good thing I learned how to do first aid.
"Hey kid! It's me! I'm trained in first aid, can I help you?" He started the procedure. When the boy didn't answer, he checked the airway. Clear. He then checked if the boy was breathing, to his dismay, he wasn't. After confirming that his circulation was fine, he started CPR. "Onetwothreefour..." He murmured to count how many times he had to do chest thrusts.
"Wright! Wright! Where are you?!" Edgeworth's voice echoed as the two men ran to their location.
"Over here Edgeworth!" Phoenix called after doing two breaths to the boy, before restarting chest thrusts once again. The two men soon arrived as Edgeworth opened his first aid kit, taking out a foil blanket. After a few minutes of CPR, the kid coughed out water and opened his eyes.
"Take off the clothes on his upper body!" Edgeworth demanded as Phoenix did so. The kid seemed embarrassed that he had to get undressed. "Larry! Call the ambulance! We can't have the boy and Wright get Hypothermia! Tell them our location as well!" He told Larry as Edgeworth put the foil blanket onto the boy. He then looked back at Phoenix, the lawyer giving an attentive look. His eyes widened when Edgeworth said "Take your shirt off."
"Huh?" Phoenix blurted.
"You heard me, take your shirt off. You're at a risk of getting hypothermia, I can't have you die on me." Edgeworth said, sounding a lot more sincere than he ever did.
Phoenix raised an eyebrow at what Edgeworth said, he then took his blazer and undershirt off, revealing his wet and cold chest. He then noticed Edgeworth taking his coat off, then put it on Phoenix. The Lawyer felt awkward that Edgeworth of all people offered his coat to him. He then looked at Edgeworth once again, who seemed to be starting into Phoenix's chest, before buttoning up the coat.
Okay, I'm almost certain that Miles Edgeworth, the demon prosecutor, is attracted to me. Phoenix thought, somewhat okay with the fact that Edgeworth was most likely gay for him, which was kind of flattering considering that Edgeworth was the most socially awkward person he had ever met.
"See kid?" Phoenix averted his attention to the boy "I told you that you'd be fine!" Phoenix assured, giving a wide grin.
"Y-yeah..." The boy shivered "Th-Th-thank you uh...I...I d-didn't get your names..."
"My name is Phoenix Wright, I'm a lawyer. And it's no problem ! We couldn't just stand there and watch you drown!" Phoenix greeted with a warm smile.
"A lawyer?" The boy cooed
"Yep! I'm only a rookie, but I haven't lost a case!" Phoenix bragged, puffing out his chest in pride.
Edgeworth rolled his eyes "He only did four cases. But I'll give him the fact that he destroyed my win streak as well as my mentor's 40-year win streak."
"40 years?! Awesome!" The boy beamed, his eyes glittering.
"Well..." Phoenix started, being flattered "Of course, It's just the fact that my clients are truly innocent! All I do is prove their innocence!"
Larry then came back "The ambulance is on it's way."
Edgeworth nodded "Good, come on Larry, we need to share our body heat with these two while we wait." He instructed, wincing slightly at what Phoenix assumed was the thought of other human contact.
"Cmere kid." Phoenix said softly as he pulled the boy close. Larry was on the other side of the boy, huddling against the kid. Edgeworth huddled on the other side of Phoenix, his pale face turned red pretty fast. This basically made Phoenix confirm of the prosecutor's supposed crush on the lawyer.
The boy spoke shakily "Th-thanks again...you saved my life..."
Phoenix smiled as he ruffled the boy's hair gently "Like I said, we couldn't just leave you! Who knows what could've happened to you!"
The boy smiled as the ambulance came, the paramedics come out of the vehicle. Edgeworth and Larry moved away from the two wet males, letting the paramedics take them into the vehicle. Phoenix had suddenly felt very weak once he stood up, his breathing was also rough. Oh no not now...
The boy on the other hand, couldn't even stand up. He seemed like he was about to pass out by the looks of it actually. "You alright kid?" Phoenix then asked as the vehicle drove off to the hospital.
"I'm...I'm fine...really..."
"He's under the first stage of Hypothermia." A medic said "He might get confused around his environment."
"Oh." Phoenix muttered, then looked at the kid, "I never got your name. You mind telling me?"
The boy looked at Phoenix with groggy hazel eyes "Oh s-sorry! I f-forgot to tell you! My name's A-Apollo, Apollo Ju-" then the boy slipped into unconsciousness.
Apollo felt like a truck had just hit him. He barely remembered what happened, as instead of being wet and freezing, he was surrounded by warm bet sheets.
He opened his eyes and met with a plain hospital ceiling. Why am I here? Oh...wait. I fell into the river...right...
He sat up, pain surging through his back. He groaned, then noticed the spiky haired attorney, whom had a mask covering his mouth, the silver haired man and the blonde man in orange, watching him intently. The blonde spoke first "You're awake!"
Why are they here? They didn't really come to visit me because they're worried about me...right? I'm just a random kid they found stuck in a tree after all...
"Wright was worried about you" the maroon clad man spoke "So we came to see you. It's nice to see that the damage in Wright wasn't in vain." The man said rather coldly. This guy isn't very pleasant to be around is he?
"Uh, yeah! Heh...so how long was I out?" Apollo then asked.
"At least seventeen hours." The maroon man replied.
"SEVENTEEN?!" Apollo shouted in shock.
"Woah there Apollo! You got quite the voice, don't *cough* you?" Phoenix spoke, trying to calm the boy down "You *achoo!* may have been out for a while, but you didn't suffer much damage other than major weakness for the next few days and a few cuts on your back. That's..." Phoenix then went through a coughing fit "all really..."
I guess that I'm fine now...but Mr. Wright isn't looking so good himself... "What about you Mr. Wright? What was your diagnosis?"
"Wright's damage looks like a mere cold and slight weakness, but apparently he swallowed some water, permanently damaging his lungs. He's going to be very wheezy whenever he does lung-based exercise." The maroon man explained, Wright seeming anything but amused, judging from his gaze.
"Oh...uh..." Apollo honestly had no idea how to react to what he was just told. "Anyway! I never got your names! Other than Mr Wright that is. I'm Apollo!"
The maroon man shifted in his seat "Miles Edgeworth, Prosecutor and rival of Phoenix Wright." He greeted half-heartedly. Apollo mentally noted to not get on Edgeworth's bad side, or to talk to him much.
"The name's Larry Butz! Just call me Larry!" Larry chirped, giving a friendly grin at Apollo.
"Nice to meet you Mr Edgeworth and mr Larry!" Apollo smiled.
Phoenix then cut in "Pardon me for *cough cough* asking, but how did you get up in that tree in the first place?" The sick man asked, his blue eyes puzzled.
"Oh." Apollo muttered that...I forgot about that..."Um...some of the people at my school actually forced me to do it...once I was up on the tree, they ditched me..."
"That's terrible! Who in their right mind would do that!?" Larry hissed in a defensive way.
"Well you see...I don't exactly have parents, they're gone. I'm not homeless or anything! I have a foster home! It's just that the kids at my school can be jerks about it." Apollo explained the best he could.
Edgeworth's expression altered drastically, from being calm to distressed and angry in a heartbeat. "Gnghhhhh...why the nerve of those kids!"
Phoenix widened his eyes, coughed, then pat Edgeworth's shoulder "H-hey now! No need to get hasty! A-anyway! I'm sorry to hear that. I'm sure that I can visit your school with Edgeworth and punish the kids for endangering another student." Phoenix assured.
Edgeworth gave a slight nod of agreement to the sick man. Apollo felt more or less glad that his rescuers were willing to help him with his problems. "Thanks, but you really shouldn't-"
"No need to make yourself feel bad." Edgeworth cut off, giving a smirk "I'm sure that your colleagues won't ever bother you again once I'm through with them."
Phoenix then pat Apollo on the head and rubbed it like how an owner would pet a dog "Hey, maybe you should come see one of me or Edgeworth's trials when you get the chance! Catching us facing each other always fires up the courtroom!" Phoenix proposed.
Apollo thought for a second, he then nodded and smiled "I would love go to one of your trials Mr Wright and Mr Edgeworth!"
Wright then gave what seemed like a smile under the mask. Edgeworth then said "Maybe you could become a Lawyer or a Prosecutor yourself one day. I would enjoy seeing you face Wright or myself in court, if you wish to follow that path that is."
Apollo couldn't help but laugh "I'll probably do that, knowing me!"
"Haha!" Phoenix laughed "Nice to see the lively side of you!" He then coughed "just remember Apollo, keep telling yourself that you're fine and you'll be fine!"
"Wright, where on earth did you get that from?" Edgeworth asked, slightly annoyed.
"Oh um. I don't know actually." Phoenix smiled a hidden sheepish grin as he rubbed the back of his head "but you'll remember what I said, right Apollo?"
"Right! I'm Apollo Justice, and I'm fine!" Apollo shouted.
"Wow Polly! I can't believe that daddy had THAT big of an effect in your life!" Trucy chirped
Athena was sobbing, Widget was dark blue "That was the most heartwarming story ever!"
Apollo chuckled "Heh, yeah! I guess Mr Wright's spiky hair and Mr Edgeworth's bangs must have been what made me use my current hairstyle too!"
"So did you go see one of their trials?" Athena asked
"Yep! Saw the one where Ema and her sister Lana were a part of. It was the most intense thing I ever saw!" Apollo said cheerfully.
"Did you ever get to see Mr Wright after that?" Athena asked, interested in her co-worker's past.
Apollo shook his head "No. I never got to meet Mr Wright in person again until two years ago, when I just became a lawyer myself and had to defend him." He explained.
"Well that story surely explains why you look up to daddy so much." Trucy smiled while saying this.
"It sure does!" Apollo added Too bad neither of the three look like they remembered...
I'll probably tell them eventually, I'm sure it'll take them back in some way. Apollo thought After all...
I'm Apollo Justice, and I'm FINE!
End
(That's all readers! I hope you enjoyed! This is my first AA story so sorry if the characters seem out of character in any way. I like the fact that Apollo does look up massively to Phoenix so I wanted this to reflect on this somewhat.)