Times Change

By SonicTH228

(Author's Note: Since there are no original characters, I can claim no ownership to anyone presented in this story)

Seven years…

I can say with certainty that no period of time has ever hung over my head as much as this. That was the period of time between my fall from grace and the day justice was finally seen. In that time I learned a lot of truths…both about myself and those I considered "friends".

My name is Phoenix Wright. At the beginning, I was living as a successful attorney. I had acclaim and recognition from not only the legal community but the community at large. I had tried my share of cases in my three years as an attorney. I can't say it was a smooth ride but in the end I always found the truth. People claimed that I had rewritten the role of the defense attorney on my years behind that desk. I always tell them I'm a humble attorney who only wants justice done.

But "that case" seven years ago…that changed me. It changed my view of the world and of our justice system. I was charged with defending stage magician "Zak Gramarye". He was accused of killing Magnfi Gramarye, leader of "The Troupe Gramarye" and his mentor. While deathly ill with both diabetes and a rapidly progressing cancer, the police still believed Zak had done the deed. Apparently he had an attorney until the night before the case went to trial but…well, I'll get to that later.

My adversary was a rookie prosecutor…Klavier Gavin. At 17, he was called a "genius"…but when you've seen as many "geniuses" as I have, the term tends to lose meaning. I've had cases where I've been given a night's preparation in the past…nothing exactly out of the ordinary for me. But then a piece of paper handed to me by a young girl would turn my world upside down…

That piece of paper was supposedly pulled from the diary of the dying Magnfi. I took it into evidence…how I didn't pick up on the suspiciousness of it all is something I can't even say for certain now. Since when have I ever just accepted "convenient" evidence? Looking back at the court record, there must have been other ways to attack that case but I chose the direct route and paid for it. It turns out that page was a piece of fabricated evidence; compiled by a talented girl with the ability to replicate anything placed before her. Presenting that diary entry spelt doom for not just the case…but my legal career. Zak made a great escape that day…with the aid of his daughter. Truth slipped through my fingers in that courtroom as a verdict was never read but I refused to say that I'd let it rest that easily. Even without my attorney's badge I still sought out information that might make clear what exactly had happened.

So what was the truth I was so desperately seeking? At the time…I couldn't say. But as I pushed forward, I found that truth…the truth that you never know who your "friends" are…

Kristoph Gavin…a talented defense attorney and brother to the last prosecutor I faced off with. Even when I was still carrying my badge he was defending clients with his own pinned to his chest. I respected the man and his work in the courtroom. When I was disbarred, he was the one member of the review board who stood up for me. There's no way I couldn't consider a man like him to be a friend. So why do I bring him up? Well…you never know who your friends are…

I guess I just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time…and happened to be the lucky sap to beat Zak Gramarye at a game of cards. Turns out Zak judges men by their ability to compete…a test that Kristoph couldn't complete. Kristoph lost to Zak and that's how the job of defending him passed from Kristoph to me. Kristoph was actually the one who had prepped that fake page. He was planning to use it in court to defend Zak, not me. But when Zak refused his council, he turned the tables on all of us…slipping me that fraudulent evidence through Zak's daughter and then confiding in Klavier to target it in court.

Was it vengeance that caused him to do what he did? Greed? I don't have a definitive answer for you. But whatever his reasons might have been, I fell for his trap and that case was never solved because of it. The seven long years since then have been fraught with questions over the whereabouts of Zak Gramarye and why I, the "Ace Attorney" Phoenix Wright, would "stoop" to forging evidence to win a case. My entire legal history was cast into turmoil and the news had a field day with my disbarment. I'm not concerned…I accept responsibility for what happened and the media can choose to make of it whatever they will. All I wanted were answers and I'd get them no matter what it took.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. I'll cover this…as you'll see. In the pages ahead, you'll peer into my life bookended by those seven years. I'll show you what had to change and how that lead me to the answers I was looking for…

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March 14, 1:37 PM
Wright Anything Agency

Phoenix turned away from the computer screen when he heard a knock at his office door. He had been writing the introduction to a book he was authoring to document his experience for the last seven (nearly eight) years since he was forced out of the legal profession. He recognized the knock and turned to face the door.

"Who is it?" he asked anyway.

"Someone's special little girl!" the cheery voice on the other side called back.

"Are you mine?" he asked back.

"You'll find out!"

"Well, I guess you can come in…" Phoenix said, slyly with a hint of sarcasm.

The door swung open and standing in the doorframe was Phoenix's bubbly magician daughter Trucy. She had a bright smile on her face and some small slips of paper in her hand. She was wearing her usual magician's outfit but without the cape or hat, for a change.

"What are you up to?" Phoenix said. He saw his daughter had something planned by the look in her eyes. I don't need any special power to see you're going somewhere.

"Oh, I see you're finally working on that book, Daddy!" she said when she saw Phoenix sitting in front of his computer. "Glad you finally stopped making excuses!"

"Yeah…it's about time I did get around to this," Phoenix responded while looking at what he had written so far. "So, you still haven't told me what you're doing."

"Apollo said he'd take me to the movies today, remember?" Trucy said, somewhat peeved her father had forgotten her plans already. "I told you that last night!" She held up the pieces of paper she was holding, which turned out to be movie tickets.

"Did you?" Phoenix replied, in one of his typical stupors. He reached around the back of his neck and tugged on his locket chain nervously.

"Oh Daddy…I'm surprised you ran this place as a law office for three years! You're such a ditz!" she said back, almost as if she were his mother.

"Heh…heh heh…alright, alright Trucy. No need to get all 'mommy' on me," he replied with a slight chuckle. "You have fun with Apollo and be safe, okay?"

"Well…aren't you coming?" she asked with her hands at her hips.

"Eh?"

"Apollo said he got tickets for all of us…" Trucy responded. Her voice grew a little disheartened upon learning her father might not be joining them.

"Oh…er…" Phoenix stuttered. Once again he seemed to forget the commitments he made the previous day. "Well…I wanted to try to get the first chapter written by the end of today and it's already a little late as-is…why don't you ask Vera if she wants to go…?" He was making up his excuse as he went.

"Vera?" Trucy considered. "Hm…well she did say she's trying to get out more…I guess I could call her."

"Great!" Phoenix said, relieved his daughter took the bait. "You guys have fun and tell me all about it tonight!"

"Jeez…you could act a little more disappointed…" Trucy said with a slight air of disgust. To that Phoenix simply waved back with a sheepish grin on his face. She quickly turned on her heel and walked off.

Phoenix leaned back in his chair and sighed out a big one. His mind processed all he had learned in the last year…particularly about the connection between his daughter and their rookie, in-house defense attorney Apollo Justice.

Someday…I really need to tell them about that… he thought. He reached over his desk and picked up a photo. It was of Lamioir, a famous foreign singer whom he met the previous year but who was also Thalassa Gramarye; the only daughter of Magnifi Gramarye who had gone missing following a stage accident. He was waiting for the right moment to reveal to Apollo and Trucy that they were both linked by the same mother…the photo of whom he held in his hand. Lamioir was presently out of the country so he wanted to wait until she could be there when the moment was revealed.

"Hey! Daddy!" Trucy called out from the hallway. Her voice snapped him out of his thoughts. He looked up and saw Trucy had returned to his office doorway. "Vera said she could join us so we're going down to Drew Studio to pick her up."

"Okay…have fun," he replied.

"Really, though…you owe me a trip to the movies," Trucy said in a huffy tone. "Next time you're definitely coming with me and we're going to see The Pink Princess Returns!" She stuck out her tongue and then went on her way.

That'll certainly be memorable… Phoenix thought, already imagining what he was in for. He returned to the screen to resume his writing.

------

A few hours later, Phoenix had written about 2/3 of his first chapter.

I didn't think it would take this long… he thought. He picked up a pile of the notes he jotted down to organize his thoughts and went to get some coffee. He thumbed through his notes while waiting for the coffee to brew, trying to figure out how to proceed. When it was ready he poured himself a cup and returned to his office. Upon arriving, his cell phone was ringing.

Is Trucy calling again? Didn't she just call 15 minutes ago? He thought. Trucy had called him not too long before to tell him the three of them were staying out for dinner. He set down his coffee and picked up the phone. Looking at the number, it wasn't one he recognized. He pushed the talk button and raised his phone to his ear.

"Hello, Wright & Co. Tal-…I mean Wright 'Anything' Agency, how can I help you?" he said into the receiver. He still hadn't gotten used to his daughter's alteration to the name of their agency.

"Is this…Phoenix Wright?" the voice on the other end said nervously. It was distinctly female.

"Yes it…" Phoenix said before suddenly cutting himself off. He nervously sat down in his chair as the voice on the other end had struck a chord with him. There was no communication between the two parties for what seemed like an eternity.

"Do…do you know who this is?" the woman said, trying to cut the dead silence.

"Uh…uh…yeah…yeah, I…I do," Phoenix muttered out, composing himself as best he could. "Why…why are you calling me…?"

"I want to talk to you again…are you free tomorrow?"

"Yes…I've got nothing…ahem, nothing planned."

"Then I'll see you at noon at the bistro on Mitch Ave." the caller said.

"I'll…be sure…to be there," Phoenix said, somewhat breathlessly. The two hung up their phones. Phoenix lay his down on his table gently before getting up. He reached for his coffee mug and faced the window in his office.

Six years…and now she suddenly wants to talk? He thought as he sipped his coffee and looked out over the city.

To be continued…

(A/N: Well, I beat Apollo Justice…lots of unanswered questions in that one. But hey, I'm inspired to write again. This is the first of what I hope to be a series of fanfics about Phoenix picking himself back up again. If I can pull it off, I'm going to try to make this all come together as a bridge that will serve as a fanmade prequel to GyakutenSaiban 5. Expect familiar faces as I go.)