The Protégé

Chapter 1: Assistance

The cool, brisk wind of the mid-winter weather hit Phoenix Wright as he entered the apartment complex to work. It was rather meek stuff for Phoenix after the Hazakura wind he had endured in his last case, but it was uncomfortable nonetheless. It was almost 9 AM when he went to his office door and unlocked it. This was actually earlier than usual for him, his start time typically being 10 AM, and if a client called, it usually wasn't until after noon that a significant investigation began. But today he had woken up too early and there wasn't much to do outside of going in to the office.

Usually, he'd have to inspect the office thoroughly. It usually had some grit and grime (or food crumbs), but it had just been him for the past several weeks, so it earned just a momentary spot check this morning from him. He then turned his attention to the humongous stack of documents on his desk. It was all boring legal coding documents about where each case fit into the laws and bylaws of each laws. Phoenix really hadn't been too good with these in law school, and had for the most part left it to his assistant Maya, who was gone indefinitely. With her absence, it fell back on Phoenix's shoulders.

Well better get started. Phoenix thought to himself. Not going to get anything done just standing around.

Unfortunately, not only was Phoenix not very good at this, but it was a huge amount of papers on top of it. So things progressed very slowly.

"…Sorry Nick…" She said.

Phoenix jumped back a little bit, spilling papers on the ground. He looked around, searching for the sight of the voice, hoping it was the person he thought it was. He quickly figured out that it was merely a voice in his idea, some sort of a recollection. And he had a spill of papers on the floor now.

Great. I'm getting messy and going crazy. Just great.

Phoenix rubbed his right hand through the carefully manicured spikes on the back of his head, sighing deeply. He was beginning to develop a minor headache as well, irritating the temples in the back of his head to a slight throbbing sensation.

I need a break. Who would talk to me in such a situation?

Phoenix then looked through the contacts list on his cell phone, now aging terribly with the new smartphones of the latest century. It did its job though and that was the important part. He then began thinking who would availably help him.

Hmm, Godot is in jail so that can be safely checked off.

Von Karma? ... No. Checked off.

Edgeworth? … Worth a shot.

And so Phoenix dialed the number to Edgeworth's office at the Prosecutor's office.

"Ring. Ring. Ring." So went the most monotone dialing machine in the history of dialing machines, carrying on to the point where Phoenix was practically certain Edgeworth wasn't even in the office. And then just like that, the ringing ended.

"Miles Edgeworth speaking." Said the man at the other end, most certainly Miles Edgeworth.

"Hey Edgeworth…" Phoenix was suddenly at a loss as he hadn't thoroughly thought out his conversation with Edgeworth. He just kind of called gung ho and all. "How are you today?"

Edgeworth just sighed over the phone. "Wright, I've already told you that I'm extremely busy at work. I've been running around the country and I just got back from an investigation, the last thing I want is a random personal call Wright." His voice was calculated and controlled.

"Well, sorry…" Phoenix began before his voice started trailing off. "I don't mean to disrupt your work, I was just…"

Once again, Phoenix lost his voice it seemed.

"Lonely?" Edgeworth finished for him. On the other end, Phoenix began to frown.

Well yeah. No way I'd say that to Edgeworth though.

Phoenix scratched the back of his head, as he struggled to finish his sentence on a less dismal note.

Just bluff it out. Just like in court.

"Umm, no?" Came his reply, his voice quite meekly.

… Or not.

Edgeworth had been silent for a while, waiting for Phoenix's response. Now he seemed ready for his retort.

"Wright, I think you need people back in your life." He said.

Phoenix was quite puzzled on the other end. "What do you mean?"

"Like how Maya needed your attention frequently and it refocused you? Right now it's just you, and it's not helping you out." He said, continuing to sound controlled.

"Your right! I haven't even given thought to it since I've had all this work lately, but it seems so obvious now: I need an assistant to help me out! I can't just do this all on my own." Phoenix's voice picked up as he went, and he began sounding greatly upbeat. "But who should I hire?"

"Well, what about just bringing the Feys back?" Edgeworth asked inquisitively.

So that was where he was originally going with this…

"Being master has eaten up all of Maya's time, and Pearls really can't leave. She's nine years old after all."

There was a shuddering silence from the other line. "Right." He finally said.

Don't tell me that he…

Never mind, I don't want to know.

"Well" Edgeworth began with a phone clearing hack "the only suggestion I have for you is to get an actual law student. I don't think you'll find another Maya out there."

He's right. There's not another Maya…

"I appreciate the suggestion, but where would I look? After all I don't have a steady stream of posh prosecutors just waltzing on in."

Edgeworth forced up a fake laugh over the phone. "Very funny, Wright." Came the sarcastic reply.

Who said I was kidding?

"Unfortunately I have no great leads, as I mostly interact with prosecutors, rookie and veteran alike. So you're mostly on your own I'm afraid."

"Damn. Well thanks for giving me a lead to start with Edgeworth."

"Well actually, I take that back; I do have one possible prospect for you. A bit of a long shot, but its fits your style."

Phoenix was greatly interested, if for no other reason than it would allow him to not create several bland, puny posters for the job. "Alright let me in on the dirt."

"If you mean the prospect, here's what I know: I went down to interview him for a possible position in the prosecutor's office as his marks in law school were quite impressive. However, he refused, saying he wants to be a defense attorney, claiming it is the only way to fulfill his mission." Edgeworth sounded at least a little annoyed (disappointed?) in his voice over the loss.

"What do you mean by his mission?" Phoenix asked. This sounded vaguely like him; had to be why Edgeworth thought of him.

"Your guess is as good as mine; very tight lipped, a bit of an introvert in fact. But I've heard nothing but great things from his instructors about his dedication, and so I feel this is someone who could be an asset to you, Wright."

Yep, as I thought.

"I'm definitely going to make plans to meet him. What's his name?" Phoenix asked.

"Brady Hastings. He's 22 years old, currently working in Sacramento as an intern, but he has finished law school." Edgeworth finished.

Phoenix was suddenly taken aback. "Sacramento!? That's at least six hours away in a car, seventeen by bus!"

"I understand it would be difficult for you to make arrangements, but I assure you that it'll be worth it."

"Can't you at least give me a private jet ride there?" Phoenix asked in a desperate voice.

Edgeworth let out a light chuckle. "International use only Wright. I will let my colleagues in the Sacramento County Law offices know of your arrival so that you don't get stood up."

Damn. Guess that means it's going to be a nice long train trip. At least I won't get stood up.

Phoenix let out a frustrated sigh "Well thanks Edgeworth, I appreciate you telling me about this. Hopefully it'll be worth the trip."

"Me too Wright. Me too." Edgeworth said as he hung up the phone.

Well no time to waste then. Time to look up times for the buses and get going I guess.

And so Phoenix, looking at the clock, saw it was already past noon and he had absolutely no time to waste as he prepared to board the 1:30 to Sacramento.

XXX

About a Day later…

It was only a day ago since Phoenix's conversation with Edgeworth, but it felt like a week ago with all the hurdles he'd gone through. The bus cost over $30 and the ride was roughly about 20 or so hours. It didn't help that for a 12 hour period there had been a woman with a young child, probably about a year or younger, who seemed to be having a bad day and constantly needed more room.

Upon finally reaching the capital city, Phoenix was nothing except exhausted. Sweat was clearly visible through his white dress shirt, having accumulated as the hours passed. He knew as soon as he had stepped off the bus, that he was in no condition to be professional. He looked at his cell phone clock. It read back that it was 7:32 AM.

Nobody in their right mind is ready for an interview. I'm going to get some rest and go by in the afternoon.

After calling and getting fare for a taxi, Phoenix went to the closest motel to the offices. Well it was actually called Go Tel 7, but it was essentially a motel for the underbelly of the city, but convenient as it was only two miles away. After paying the young looking guy at the front desk, Phoenix went to room 62 and dropped his bag on the bed and took a glance around his room. It was a dark shade of orange with several oblique bumps on the walls. In the furthest right corner of the room laid the TV, plugged right into a cable socket. It was definitely dated, being rather bulky. Phoenix tried to open the bathroom next, but the immediate smell that greeted him as he opened the door was so revolting that he quickly decided his bladder was empty. Shortly after finishing the tour of his room, Phoenix used the dark blinds on the windows to block out the bright California sun, and set an 11:30 alarm on his phone. To this point it hadn't failed him before, so he felt good about this.

Get a quick rest, meet this guy and head home. Airtight as I would say in court. Nothing can or will go wrong.

Phoenix then closed his eyes as he laid on the right bed of the twin beds. And for a serene moment it was greatly quiet as the world seemed to be sitting still just for him. He didn't give a thought to what time it was or to the things going on in the rooms around him like he usually would. He was drifting out when he suddenly heard a voice. It wasn't clear enough to be fully heard, as it sounded distant and faint from where he was. However hearing it had alerted Phoenix, so he opened his eyes and started looking around the room.

The first noticeable thing was that the room's color seemed to have lightened up considerably. No longer was it dark, puke orange but it looked sun orange almost like a giant crayon had colored the room in his mini slumber. Also no longer were there two beds, but just the one he had slept one in the middle as if the two had somehow morphed together. As he stood up, the voice talked again, this time more clearly.

"N-Nick-k-k…"

Phoenix was taken aback. It was familiar, and yet also impossible if logic was clear.

But Kurain… It-It's even further away now! How is this possible!?

After finishing his inner monologue battle, Phoenix realized the voice was coming from the bathroom worthy of condemnation.

I guess I have no choice.

As he thought this to himself, he cupped his hands over his nose hoping to avoid some sort of poisoning or some other danger. However as he opened the door he was stunned that the rancid smells were completely gone. Looking in there was a mirror above a sink stained with piss and feces, and a toilet with no seat. The shower to the right was barely the size of the room and the shower curtain was also covered in what Phoenix sorely hoped was ketchup. It would be fair to say that this bathroom was confirming all the reasons why people did not like motels. But somehow none of those smells or sights were bothering Phoenix at the moment, as he was solely focused on discovering the origin of the voice. And then he heard it again.

"NICK!"

This time there was no doubt who it was or that it was coming from behind the shower curtain.

I don't know what to think. I just know I'm too intrigued and close to back out now.

Phoenix took a deep breath in and out to calm his nerves. He couldn't say this was the most surreal situation he'd ever been in, but it was the most sudden he'd been thrusted into on his own. The breathing did nothing as he was still shaking severely from the dissonance between what he heard behind there and what he knew couldn't be there. Still he was in too deep to back out now. As the trepidation rose inside of him, Phoenix slowly pulled back the shower curtain to reveal a human figure facing away from him. The person was wearing no clothes, but the angle revealed nothing that wouldn't or shouldn't have otherwise been seen. The person also had extremely long black hair, straight down with no waves or curves within. Phoenix had an idea who it was, and went to confirm his suspicion. Approaching the figure from the back, Phoenix put his arm on the right shoulder.

This-This can't be real can it?

"Maya-!"

But Phoenix was suddenly stunned by a bright flashing light and couldn't see a thing in front of him. It was all bright and white. Phoenix couldn't even move, frozen in place by uncertainty and fear of what was next. When suddenly a noise occurred.

*Ring Ring* *Ring Ring*

Phoenix suddenly lunged forward to see the ugly orange walls once again. He then realized the sound was his earlier set phone alarm on the bed stand next to him. 11:30 just as he had set.

It was all just a dream. A pretty disturbing dream though.

He breathed heavily as he came to his realization, although another one had also begun to set in. Phoenix wished he could say that this was the first occurrence and just the result of the exhaustion the trip had caused him. But he knew it wasn't true.

I wish these would just stop. The random voice, the odd dreams. Maybe it's because…

But Phoenix stopped from pursuing his thought any further. He wasn't ready to figure it all out yet. He was just ready to go interview his new potential assistant and go home.

XXX

The Sacramento County law offices were as big as he had expected of an office in the capital city. White columns sat on the sides of the entrance doors, which were rotating doors covered in gold plating. The stairs to climb up were made of fine marble, and as Phoenix discovered while climbing up, as slick as they appeared shiny. Walking into the lobby room, it was surprisingly empty for a county office. There were only two people sitting in the waiting area along with the receptionist behind her desk. One person was a younger looking man, probably in his early twenties or even a late teenager sitting far on the left end. The other was an elderly woman, covering her face up with a cloth so her age wasn't immediately clear for Phoenix's estimation. He quickly finished his game of silent profiling and went up to the receptionist to continue his quest.

"Hello, I'm here to see someone." He began.

"Do you have an appointment? If so what time?" She asked blankly.

…Crap! All Edgeworth said was that they were expecting me. He didn't tell me a time!

"Umm, no but…" but he was suddenly cut off.

"No excuses. No appointment, no go." She said as blank as before.

Phoenix was annoyed at this. He did not come all the way out to Sacramento to be sent away.

"Well Madame, I had a friend of mine in a high place tell me that I was expected so does that work?" He forced up a smile as much he didn't have any desire to do so.

It better!

"Who is this 'friend' of yours?" She asked, this time quite mockingly of him. She clearly thought he was lying.

"Miles Edgeworth." Phoenix responded with his own blank expression. She was taken aback and pulled out her telephone.

"Please take a seat sir, I'll be right back with you." She said. Her tone reflected worry, as she had begun to realize she might have made an error. Still Phoenix had little to do now, so he went and sat down next to the old lady. Sitting by her, he could now tell that she was not just covering her face, but concealing tears as he could hear faint crying. It didn't take him too long to realize that this could take a while, so he might as well try to start conversation with her.

"Excuse me Madame?" he asked. She then turned towards him and for some reason was completely startled by this.

Not embarrassing. Not at all. Phoenix thought in order to regain his composure.

"Sorry young man, this has been a hard time for me." She said through the tears and phlegm that cluttered her voice. "I recently lost my partner."

"I'm so sorry to hear. Is that why you're here today?" He immediately felt somewhat insensitive for asking though and almost took it back before she replied.

"Yes sadly, the government said the plot of land we owned for his burial was not properly purchased even though we did it over twenty years ago."

They bought it when I was about six years old, so they probably were together long before that. That's…. a bit mind blowing.

"That sounds like a very silly thing for the government to quibble over with someone who I'm sure doesn't deserve it."

"I agree, but I would do this every time. Anything for my dear Ron." She said, sounding a little happier if only marginally so. "When you find that person, you'll do anything for them. You understand what I mean?"

Phoenix nodded in agreement, thinking about a response when the receptionist rang the bell. "Mr. Wright?" she said.

He figured the person she talked to had told her his name after getting somewhat in a quibble with them. She then handed him a piece of paper after he stepped up to the counter.

"Floor 4, Room 425. He'll be there, and he's waiting." She said, her tone coming off harshly and sounding hurried. She must have wanted nothing more than to forget this incident with her sudden change in tone. Phoenix just wanted to go home himself, so he politely nodded back and began climbing the stairs to the fourth floor, then looking for room 425. Upon finding and entering the room, he suddenly felt as if he had entered the Daily Bugle, or a comically imagine police station. Several desk cubicles lined in the middle of the room with two wooden walls with a large glass window in the middle on both sides. The majority of the people seemed entirely preoccupied in their work, so Phoenix saw no need to bother them. Instead he went to the furthest desk to the left of the room. The name plate on it read simply "boss."

Well no one will mix you up now will they? Phoenix thought as he read it. I guess I'll need to talk to this guy to find my guy won't I?

Luckily this man was right in front of Phoenix. The man was portly and rotund with a mountain of papers to rival the one Phoenix had unintentionally created back at his office.

"Excuse me sir?" Phoenix asked,

"Yes spiky?" He asked, giggling like a school girl as he said it.

Well aren't you a comedian? "I'm Phoenix Wright, here to meet Mr. Hastings."

"Oh Mr. Wright or Mr. Spikes?" The man mockingly asked, his face red in laughter at his own hilarity supposedly. Phoenix would've been a lot more annoyed had he not recognized he's so close, so he bit his tongue. He then pointed Phoenix to a room across the hall to the right, claiming that was where Hastings was. Phoenix did so and walked into a lone cubicle room. There he spotted a young man working diligently.

He was a mostly average height, probably just a tad below Phoenix with a thin stomach was unnoticeable without nit picking. His hair was a dark shade of brown and he was clean shaven. He currently was wearing black dress attire and brown pants. A weird match but Phoenix had seen a lot worse in his years.

"Brady Hastings?" Phoenix asked.

He turned upwards from his work to face Phoenix, where he came face to face with the bluest eyes Phoenix had ever seen. It was almost unnerving to him.

"You are Mr. Wright?" Came a deep, but meek sounding voice. Nerves I guess.

"That I am." He said. "I've heard some good things about you, and your wish to be a defense attorney."

Brady nodded back, clearly looking a little more comfortable with Phoenix then he had just two minutes ago. "Yeah, it's all I need to do. I just haven't found someone to take me in and help me along the way."

Need to do? Interesting way of wording that. I wonder if that's his way of wording his mission.

"Well normally I'm a bit more through then this, but I had a recommendation for you from someone I know, so I'm willing to give you a chance off the bat." Phoenix said. "You will have to come to Los Angeles, but I have a spare room I'll pay for with part of your pay."

Phoenix saw Brady was having a bit of information overload, so he slowed down and decided to let him take it in.

"I understand this is a lot of information all at once, so I'll just give you my card and-" Phoenix started before being cut off.

"I'll take it!" He said gleefully. Somehow this was the same person who five minutes ago looked like a clam with how non talkative he had been.

"Are you sure? I mean it's at least six hours away you're committing to." He said.

"Yes, Mr. Wright. I'm sure." He said.

And so they shook on it and Phoenix had his first legal assistant in some time, and perhaps his first real legal partner in three years. He could not have even begun to imagine the adventures they would endure together.

A/N: Hey guys, if you read the original version of this story and wondered what happened to it, I took it down to revise it. It didn't feel right when I reread it and wrote up future chapter so I took it down to revise it a bit. Anyhow hope you enjoyed this, let me know in the reviews!