Summary: In honor of GS5, which technically came out today (7/25). Five attorneys whose minds we see, brought to the past for the trial that changed everything. No, not DL-6. AU, in a sense.

Original case; many OCs and OOCs in the future.

7/25/13

Athena Cykes.

Psychologist, friend, newbie, unknown, lawyer.

Apollo Justice.

Orphan, Gramarye, brother, student, senior, lawyer.

Mia Fey.

Mentor, sister, medium, lover, lawyer.

Miles Edgeworth.

Demon, fanboy, friend, son, brother, investigator, lawyer.

Phoenix Wright.

Crybaby, hobo, student, mentor, father, friend, boyfriend, leader, lawyer.

These five have three things in common. One, that they were all lawyers. Two, that they all served on the defense.

Three, that they are the five Protagonists of Turnabout.

They do not know what they are about to encounter, or that they will be encountering anything at all. Nor do they realize that they will each be pulled from their beginnings as defense attorneys.

Worry not. They won't remember a thing when it's over.

Apollo

The verdict was called; the jury had chosen. Against all odds, Vera Misham was declared Not Guilty.

A breath he hadn't known he was holding escaped him in relief as Trucy tackled him in celebration.

"We won, Polly! We won!" And all Apollo could do was smile dumbly, too caught up in the moment to say anything.

Then, everything went black.

Athena

She stood in the destroyed Courtroom No. 4.

(Why, Apollo... why?) she lamented, staring up at the blue sky, visible past the rubble. She'd thought things were going well. Everything changed after Apollo had started wearing that jacket. He just... wasn't the same anymore. And now this... Now Apollo was turning his back on them.

(Why...?) she questioned in her mind one last time. She barely noticed the world around her fading to black.

Mia

She had just won her first case. Dahlia Hawthorne, the devil in disguise that had poisoned her boyfriend, indirectly killed her first defendant, and nearly pinned the blame for a murder on her current one had finally been arrested and would soon be put on trial for her crimes.

She felt immensely relieved to have finally put that beast away and that part of her past behind her, but she couldn't help but pity her client. The poor sick boy in pink looked lost, now that the trial was over. He couldn't believe his "Dollie" would do such a thing.

Mia laid a hand on his shoulder. The boy (man, really, but a crybaby 21-year-old like him in PINK didn't seem all that manly...) looked at her with sad eyes.

She only got out the word, "Listen..." before everything went black.

Miles

It wasn't his case. Not really.

He'd risked his badge to stand at the defense the first day. All for one insufferable idiot... One insufferable idiot who had saved him, in the end.

He didn't know what possessed him to drop everything for this man. To risk as much.

He supposed his only consolation was that for a day, he was able to live his childhood dream. To wear the defense attorney's badge on his lapel. To defend, as his father once had.

He wanted to say, "Consider my debt repaid," but the words wouldn't leave his mouth.

They'd be empty words, anyway. He certainly didn't feel his debt had been repaid.

So, instead, he stood with his old friend in the lobby, advising him that his medium assistant may be putting on a façade for her cousin's sake.

That's when everything went black.

Phoenix

He watched Maya try to help Miles say, "Thank you," and celebrate his victory, and couldn't help but chuckle a little.

He made eye contact with his rival, and he subtly nodded, a gentle smile on his lips.

(You don't need to thank me. This is my way of thanking you.)

The corners of the other man's mouth twitched upwards in a (somewhat failed) attempt at smiling, and Phoenix knew he understood the "You're welcome" in there.

(If he understood the rest, he'd probably be blushing or holding his arm. Or both.)

Lotta gathered them all to take a picture. Just as the camera flashed, everything went black.