Before anything else, I would like to say that this story is my first fanfiction ever and I am new to the site, so I am not sure if I broke any rule (despite having read the politics) or just had a bad performance writing, but that's why your opinions and critics are more than welcome!
Also, English is not my first language, so I would like to apologize in advance for any grammar errors I may have done. If you notice anything, let me know.
As a last warning, this story is a crazy parody I imagined a few days ago, so don't mind if there is too much stupidity or characters behaving differently than they do in the game.
Disclaimer: Fire Emblem and its characters belong to Nintendo. Any other character or franchise mentioned belongs to its respective creators. The only thing I own is this (crappy) story.
Morgan: Ace Attorney
Chapter 1: The Princess of the Ylisseans
"I put the cheese in here… And the lettuce in here… And the other bread in here… And... Voila!"
After six extremely methodic minutes (more or less), Morgan had finally finished her greatest creation: the most perfect and symmetric bear meat sandwich! It took more than nine tries to reach perfection, but that was worth the effort! It was so beautiful she nearly lost the will to eat it. Nearly.
Getting a glass of orange juice and her perfect sandwich, she sat at the table and prepared to enjoy her lunch when…
"ROBIN!" yelled a tall, strong, blue haired man opening the door with all force and looking very concerned.
"Huh?" Morgan noticed the person entering her house without even asking for and held her sandwich defensively.
"My sandwich!"
"I don't want your sandwich! I want your father!" the man yelled, darting his eyes everywhere like looking for something or someone.
"Father is out." She answered bluntly, taking a chunk of her lunch.
"And when is he coming back?!"
"Next month."
"NEXT MONTH?!" He asked incredulously "WHY?!"
Morgan stared at the man like he just made an obvious question.
"Have you forgotten?" She asked, taking another bite of the sandwich "You said father was working too much, so you gave him vacations. He and mother decided to use that time to go on honeymoon since they couldn't when they married because of the war. They went to the Outrealms and aren't coming back until next month."
The man facepalmed. How could he forget that? He did it the day before!
"Why do you ask, Chrom?"
The man, whose name now we know is Chrom, sighed trying to suppress his disappointment and simply said:
"Lucina was arrested."
Morgan spat everything in her mouth because of the shock, accidentally covering Chrom with pieces of chewed bear meat, bread and orange juice. She coughed a few times before looking incredulously at the man, apparently not noticing the mess she just made.
"Arrested? LUCINA?! Like, arrested?! Put in jail?! To rot with the rats?! Like a criminal?!"
Chrom just nodded, cleaning some of the food in his hair.
"That's why I need your father."
"But what can father do about that?" Morgan asked.
"She's going to be put on trial tomorrow." He cleaned a few more bits of food from his face "I know Robin in no attorney or something like that, but he knows diplomacy and is very good at analyzing information."
"Well… Since this is an emergency…" The girl stated, before taking a weird, flat object from her pocket. She taped it a few times and placed the object near her left ear.
Chrom looked a bit confused at the object, wondering what it was and why Morgan was holding it near her ear. She noticed he staring amused at her and, like she could read his mind, explained:
"It's a smartphone."
Chrom looked even more confused.
"It's a thing to talk with people that are very far away, play games, search things on internet…"
He looked even more confused than before.
"How can you don't know? Everyone in the Outrealms has one."
"We are not in the Outrealms…" He said dryly.
Morgan raised a finger to him asking for a moment of silence.
"Hello? Father? It's me, Morgan!" The girl said happily. Chrom kept staring confused at her.
"Yes, I'm fine. And you? Mother too? Good to know! And the vacations? Are you enjoying them? Great!"
Chrom waited.
"Really? Amazing! Did you take photos? Great! Send me them!"
Chrom crossed his arms.
"Did you get one for me? Aw, why not? Ecological disaster? Come on, father! It's just a giant poisonous bird that can spit fire! What could go wrong?"
Chrom began tapping his foot.
"Did you get any souvenirs? A what? Fatalis Armor? What's that?"
"Morgan…"
"No! She didn't! Really?! Wow! I would never imagine that!"
"Morgan…"
"Oh! Have I told you that I made the most perfect bear meat sandwich today?"
"MORGAN!"
"What?! Can't you see I'm on the phone?!" Morgan complained covering the lower part of the smartphone with her hand.
"LUCINA!" Chrom yelled angrily.
"Huh? Oh, right!" Morgan took her hand out of the phone and continued.
"Father, I know you and mother are having a great time, and I'm very sorry for asking this, but could you come back? Like right now?"
Morgan remained silent for a few seconds. Chrom wondered what Robin was saying on the other side.
"Well, it's a bit urgent, you know? It's that… Huh…" Morgan tried to find the right words to use, but as she failed to do so she simply said:
"She was arrested."
A weird sound came from the phone, getting Chrom by surprise and startling him a bit.
"What was that?" He asked.
"Father spat whatever he was drinking."
A few more seconds of silence and Morgan continued.
"I know. I couldn't believe it myself!" A bit more of silence "Why? It's because…"
She covered the phone again and turned to Chrom.
"Why was she arrested?"
"They're saying she killed a merchant."
"She killed a merchant."
The weird sound was heard again.
"I know you aren't a lawyer, but Chrom's really desperate." More seconds of silence "Trust me, mother will understand."
She rubbed the back of her head a few times.
"Okay, she'll spank you and put you to sleep on the couch for a few days, but she'll forgive you! It's for a noble cause!"
She remained silent for a few more moments, then smiled widely.
"Excellent! I'll tell Chrom! He's going to be so happy! Okay then! See you tomorrow! Bye!"
She tapped the phone again and pocketed it. She turned to Chrom and smiled.
"Father said he'll be here tomorrow morning!"
The man relaxed. Despite the odds, everything seemed to be going alright.
"Good. When he gets here, tell him to go to the Ylissean Court at two in the afternoon. Now I must go back home. I need to see how Lucina's faring. She was very scared and worried."
Morgan gave him a thumb up and winked an eye. Chrom turned around and left to his home. He was feeling very confident that everything would go smoothly now that Robin was coming.
Ah, if he just knew what was about to happen…
Ylissean Court, 01:47 PM
"Where the hell is he?!" Chrom thought worried. The trial would begin in thirteen minutes and Robin was nowhere to be seen.
Most of the Shepherds were there to give the princess support in that hard moment, and man, she needed support. The usually calm and stoic Lucina looked very shaken and not even her mother and sister could make her calm down. She kept staring at her feet, shaking her legs nervously and tapping her fingers on the chair she was sitting. Her equally nervous father kept looking everywhere for the Grandmaster.
They faced Grima and countless Risen before, but that problem wasn't one that could be solved just swinging Falchion around. The courts of Ylisse were famous for being merciless battlegrounds of attorneys and prosecutors, where anything could happen, even a princess being arrested for the rest of her life for a crime she was sure she didn't commit. That became even worse since Robin and Maribelle updated the Ylissean Law Code, making it even more rigid and limiting the power of… Well, everyone.
"Calm down, dear." Sumia rubbed her daughter's shoulder "Everything will be okay. Robin's coming."
"Yes! Trust me, Lucy! He would never let a hero like rot in jail with all those bandits!" Cynthia tried to cheer her.
Lucina gave a weak smile to her family. She was still worried, but at least she had them to help her.
A soldier approached Frederick, who was just a few steps away from the royal family, and whispered something in his ear. He flinched for a moment and asked if whatever he heard was serious. The soldier just shook his head positively. The tall man looked worried for a moment, then dismissed the soldier. He walked to Chrom's side and spoke what he was told.
"Milord, one of our men has just told me that the person responsible for miss Lucina's defense has arrived."
Chrom looked at Frederick and gave him a relieved smile.
"Thank the gods… For a moment, I thought we were troubled."
"Uh… But there's something you should know, milord…" Frederick added a bit nervous.
Before he could say anything else, a girl wearing a Grandmaster coat and holding two big books that had "Ylissean Law" and "Playing with the Demon" on their covers entered the room, making a lot of noise.
"Worry not, ladies and gentlemen! Morgan is here!"
Everyone was unable to believe what they were seeing. Morgan proudly marched towards Lucina, stopped in front of her and put a hand on her shoulder.
"Keep calm and trust me! Your ace attorney has arrived!" She gave the princess a thumb up. Lucina could just stare incredulous.
"Morgan, what's the meaning of this?!" Chrom asked still trying to process the entire situation "Where's your father?!"
"What do you mean with 'where's your father'? I texted you yesterday!"
"Texted?" He asked.
"Oh, yes… You're an ancient and don't have a smartphone." Morgan sighed.
"First, I'm not an ancient. I'm twenty-two. Second, why should I have a smart-thingamajig?"
"Because it's stupidly useful!" Morgan stated.
"And who else here has one besides you?"
Noire, Severa, Owain, Brady and Cynthia avoided eye contact.
"Hold on…" Morgan mused "If you don't have a smartphone, who received the message I sent you?"
Meanwhile…
"Corrin, what are you looking there?" a light blue haired girl asked to a white-haired boy who was looking at his phone.
"Morgan sent me this message, but I don't get what she meant." He told the girl showing her the message.
She looked at it and couldn't understand as well.
"She probably sent to the wrong number." He dismissed "I'll text her back later. Now, where were we?"
Back at Ylisse…
"Ah, doesn't matter. I'll discover sooner or later." Morgan shook a hand and proceeded to explain.
"A few hours after you came home, father called me back and said he wouldn't come anymore."
Everyone looked shocked at Morgan. Robin abandoned Lucina in the moment she most needed him? If they weren't hearing that themselves, they would never believe it.
Chrom felt a mix of emotions: pain, betrayal, confusion and a LOT of anger. Sumia and Cynthia looked worried at each other and Lucina began panicking inwardly.
"Before you jump to conclusions…" Morgan interrupted everyone's thoughts "It's not that he didn't want to come, it's that he COULDN'T come at all."
Everyone's frustration and anger turned into confusion.
"He couldn't? How comes?" Lissa asked the question all the others wanted to make.
"The Ourtrealm Gate of the place father and mother are now is located in an island very far away from their current location. A bit before dinner, the authorities announced that a big storm was going to that island. The only way to get to there is by boat or airplane, but both cannot be used under bad weather conditions."
"Airplane?" Chrom asked.
"It's like a wyvern, but bigger, made of steel, doesn't breathe fire and is not alive." Morgan explained.
"Fascinating." Miriel scribbled something in her notes.
"So, until the storm subsidies, they can't come back." Morgan finished.
For a moment, Chrom thought about giving up on making the question that came to his mind fearing to hear the answer, but it was too important to simply ignore so he had to gather the courage to mutter it.
"And…" He made a pause and took a deep breath "When the storm will subside?"
"That's the critical part. Please, stay calm and don't freak out." Hearing that made a chill run down his spine "Father said the authorities aren't sure, but it's very likely that it'll only happen next week."
"NEXT WEEK?! NEXT WEEK?!" Chrom yelled desperate.
"Hey! I said not to freak out!"
"HOW CAN I NOT FREAK OUT?! BY THEN IT'LL BE TOO LATE! THE TRIAL IS TODAY!"
A wave of despair fell over the Shepherds. Without Robin, Lucina had no defense, which meant she was very likely to be put behind the bars. A general commotion began, with a lot of voices speaking at the same time.
"Hey! Hey! Hey! Calm down, everyone!" Morgan yelled "Have you forgotten what I said just a few moments ago? Father isn't here, but I am! And I am going to be Lucina's defense!"
The mix of noises suddenly became a morbid silence. What did she say?
"Wait… Can you do that?" Frederick asked.
"Of course I can!" Morgan proudly answered "You probably don't know, but father made me his official proxy!"
"Proxy? What's that?" Cynthia asked.
"It's like a representative." Frederick answered for Morgan "That means whenever Robin's unavailable for something, no matter the nature of the case or the reason he can't attend, Morgan can take his place and officially represent him in any place of Ylisse without the need of a previous notification and enjoying all his rights as Grandmaster."
"But the Grandmaster's proxy is a post that can only be designated by the Grandmaster himself and must be recognized by the Ylissean Court!" Maribelle shot at them "I don't recall Robin ever doing…"
Before she could finish, Morgan opened the "Playing with the Demon" book and took a piece of paper out of it. It was a document with the Ylissean Court seal and the signatures of three judges and Robin stating:
"I, Robin, Grandmaster of Ylisse, head strategist, economics analysis chief, head of the Ylissean Special Operations Guard and the Exalt's representative, officially grant the post of Grandmaster's Proxy to Morgan. For this specific case, I also grant her the right to demand reevaluation and revocation of any law or order made by me and free access to the Ylissean Secret Archives. Through this document, I also extend her rights as my proxy by allowing her to represent me in any place outside of the Ylissean boundaries."
Maribelle gulped and felt a drop of cold drool running down her face. Not only Robin did make her his proxy, but he made her the most powerful one in the history of the Halidom. Just the thought of Morgan having so much power in her hands was terrifying.
"B-but…" Chrom stuttered.
Before he could finish, the sound of a bell echoed through the room.
"Oh! The trial is beginning!" Morgan said enthusiastically, grabbing Lucina by the hand and dragging her to the court "Come on, baby! It's time to kick asses!"
"Morgan! You don't need to pull me!" Lucina complained, trying to keep up with her 'attorney'.
Although everyone was still having a hard time to digest the wave of information they just received, little by little the Shepherds began to follow the two girls and enter the court room. Cynthia was the first member of the royal family to go after her sister, Sumia going a bit after. Chrom, on other hand, remained completely still, unable to believe what he just heard.
Frederick and Maribelle noticed his nervousness and stayed behind with him. When everyone else left the hall, Chrom finally spoke what he wanted:
"Frederick, Maribelle… Please, tell me this is all a dream…"
Both sighed.
"I don't think so, milord." Frederick answered.
"Maribelle, there's no way to change that? Maybe put you in Robin's place?"
"Unfortunately, it's too late for that, milord." Maribelle just stated "Robin was assigned as Lucina's defense yesterday and you have to change it at least one day before the trial. Besides, the document Morgan showed us is official and her post as her father's representative can't be denied by anyone. The only person who could do that would be the Grandmaster himself or the entire Ylissean Court. Years before, as the Exalt, you could make it yourself, but due to the…" She coughed and blushed slightly "Improved law code Robin and I made…"
Chrom felt an urge to cry.
"Maybe we should give Morgan a chance, milord." Frederick said "I won't lie, it's a bit worrying that she's going to be Lucina's defense because of her… Peculiarities… But Robin would never give a post so important and powerful to someone unable to take the responsibility."
"She's his daughter…" Chrom said dryly.
"That surely helped…" Maribelle added "But Frederick's right. Robin wouldn't make Morgan his Proxy and give her so much power if she wasn't ready for such a thing. Aversa asked him to make her the new commandant of the Pegasus Knights unit, but he refused."
"He made her captain…" Chrom shot back "And she's his wife."
"We understand your worry, sir, but it's still early to give up on hope." Frederick said, putting a reassuring hand on the Exalt's shoulder "Now, we must go. The trial is about to begin."
A few moments later…
The imposing chair that stood above all others in the room was still empty. The judge hadn't arrived yet, but the air was already tense. In front of the judge's chair, two tall and strong guards kept their emotionless eyes on the people present. In the defense's table, in the left side of the room, Lucina looked nervously everywhere, clearly unsure how to act in that situation, while Morgan was having some difficulty organizing the papers she got from the Ylissean Archives last night to use in the trial. Cynthia decided to sit at her sister's side to give her some comfort. Chrom, Sumia and the rest of the Shepherds present were right behind them.
On the prosecution table, in the opposite side, a boy slightly taller than Lucina was so busy organizing his own papers he didn't notice the princess and her attorney arriving. His hair was a deep red, even some tones stronger than Cordelia's, groomed to make him look as much professional as possible, the only defect being some bangs over his left eye. He wore a coat like a Sage's one, with a white shirt and black pants underneath. His deep black eyes kept analyzing his documents like nothing else in the world existed.
Although it took her some time, Maribelle eventually recognized the boy and felt a chill running down her spine. She changed her seat for one nearer Chrom and Sumia, poked them on the shoulder and whispered:
"I don't want to make you two more worried than you already are, but…" She pointed to the boy, the royal couple following her finger.
"That boy in the prosecution's table… His name is Seiji. Seiji Kanto. His father is a respected prosecutor from Chon'Sin that recently moved to Ylisse. He followed his father's steps and became one of the best prosecutors in the Halidom."
Chrom and Sumia looked at the boy, unable to believe. He looked so young! He probably wasn't more than two years older than Morgan!
"He is considered a beast in the court. Seiji defeated even some of the best attorneys we have and currently holds the record of consecutive trials won."
"And that record would be?" Sumia asked, a bit worried.
Maribelle sighed.
"Thirty-six."
Chrom and Sumia exchanged worried looks. The opposition was strong. Very strong.
"Finally!" Morgan celebrated "Now that my documents are organized, we can start this trial!"
"How can you be so upbeat even in a moment like this?" Lucina asked with a low voice "If I had just a bit of that optimism…"
"Ah, chill down, Lucy!" Morgan said giving the princess a confident smile "Being nervous never helped anyone! Besides, you have me!"
"Do you have any experience with courts or trials?" Lucina asked.
"No, but who needs experience when you have all this deliciousness?" Said the young Proxy, making a model pose.
Everyone in the front row that heard that stared incredulously at Morgan. The only exception was Inigo, who was desperately trying to hide his bleeding nose.
"You're kidding… Right?" Lucina asked nervously.
"Of course I'm joking!" Morgan reassured "I mean, there's no doubt I'm delicious…" She made another pose, causing another eruption in Inigo's nose "But that won't solve all problems in the world. It's like father once taught me: your arsenal is all you need, and yet never enough."
"Wow! Sounds like a hero lemma!" Cynthia commented "Uh… And that means…?"
"That you always should use the most of your skills, but never try to do more than you can. That's why we improve ourselves! To expand our…"
"Morgan?! Is that you?!" Suddenly spoke a fourth, masculine voice coming from somewhere to their right, interrupting Morgan.
The two princesses looked over Morgan's shoulder to see who spoke, while the girl turned around to see…
"What the… Seiji?! Is that really you?!" She said unable to believe in her own eyes.
While the two exchanged blank looks, Lucina, Cynthia and their parents kept changing their focus between their attorney and the prosecutor. Apparently, the two knew each other, which was quite a surprise.
"What are you doing here?!" Morgan asked.
"That's what I should be asking." Seiji retorted "Since when are you a lawyer?"
"Like you said: that's what I should be asking." Morgan shot back.
"I'm here representing my family's name."
Morgan giggled.
"Oh! So, you decided to become a prosecutor like your daddy? That's great! After all, that would be easy with the help he would give you."
"Said the Proxy who's the Grandmaster's daughter." Seiji retaliated with a smirk.
"I got my post thanks to my awesome skills! And you?"
"Thanks to my flawless intellect, of course!"
Morgan giggled even more.
"Flawless? I would say flawed!"
"If you consider my intellect flawed, then I can say that YOUR intellect is the flawed one."
"Oh, really?" She gave him a challenging smile "Do you remember the tests we made at the Plegian Royal Academy? Who got eight perfect scores out of ten and two ninety-eight while your best note was a measly ninety-six?"
"Ninety-six is a measly result?!" Sumia whispered to Chrom "At which academics level they are at?!"
Seiji shook his head and laughed lowly.
"Results in tests mean nothing in the real world."
"I know, that's why I became Proxy." Morgan added proudly "By the way, I haven't answered your question yet. I am here because my father was designated as Lucina's attorney, but couldn't come."
"You? Her attorney?" Seiji laughed "She's condemned."
"We'll see, pretty boy. We'll see." Morgan challenged.
With nothing else to say, Seiji returned to his papers, a mocking smile in his face. Morgan did the same, trying to hide a giggle.
"Morgan…" Lucina began "Do you know that boy?"
"Yes. I do."
"But… How…?" The princess tried to find the words.
"Long story, Lucy. Looooooong story. I'll tell you later."
"Everyone stand up! The judge arrived!" One of the guards announced.
All people present stood up. The judge entered by a lateral door to the right of his chair. He was a tall, slender man with a long white beard. His wrinkled face had an air of wisdom and his round glasses helped his now poor sight. He wore the traditional vests of Ylisse's judges, a long, black tunic with the Ylissean Court seal stamped on the back. He calmly walked to his chair, took his place and gave everyone an emotionless look.
"Very well. You can sit now." He stated with his deep and monotone voice.
Everyone sat back on their seats. The judge got his own papers and began organizing them, preparing for the trial. Morgan and Seiji took that time to finish their own papers. While they were at it, Maribelle quickly passed a folder to Chrom. The Exalt thanked her and poked Morgan's shoulder, making her turn around.
"This folder has some material Maribelle gathered for the case." He passed the folder to Morgan "I believe it'll be useful."
"Oh, thanks a lot, Chrom!" Morgan stated.
That surely was useful! More data to use! With so many resources at her disposal and an incompetent like Seiji as her rival, that case would be easy!
Easy, although…
"Hey! Hold on!" Morgan turned around to face the Exalt again "If Maribelle had all this information to use in the case, why did you…"
Before Morgan could finish her sentence, the judge began the trial.
"Very well. Court is now in session!" He announced.
The Proxy growled lowly. Something about Maribelle having evidence for the case and Chrom asking for Robin to be the attorney instead seemed off. That rose many questions, but she would have to wait to make them. It wasn't the time for that.
The trial was about to begin. Lucina's future depended on her and that was everything she should worry about.
The show had started.
To be continued…
What will happen next? What secrets that will be revealed? Will Lucina be arrested? What is the truth behind all this? Will Morgan succeed or Seiji will put the princess behind the bars? Why am I making so many questions only I know the answers?
Except for the last one, all of them will be answered in the next chapters!
If you kept reading until now, I want to thank you for keeping up with this mad idea I had. Don't forget to comment and give your opinions about this story. By the way, I'm not a very good writer, so I can't promise a complex plot full of surprises and mysteries like the Ace Attorney series I based it on, but I'll try my best!
Also, I would like to comment that, although I had a lot of fun writing this, I am not fully satisfied with the result. This was originally going to be a one shot, but it would become a very long one, so I decided to split it in chapters and, because of that, I may have exaggerated a bit and put too much irrelevant information and/or dialogues to complement it, so from now on I'll try to make them more compact.
I hope you liked to read it as much as I liked to write it. See you in the next chapter!