-Turnabout Trials-

-Introduction: A Friend Indeed-

Phoenix Nicholas Wright, no more than a young eight-year-old fourth grader, felt energized, alive, excited, happy, ecstatic; yet another day at school. One full of socializing with those he came to knew through his large classroom. The class, filled with nearly 30 kids, contained a majority of his childhood friends.

Lawrence Orlando Butz, more often referred to by his nickname "Larry", was the one kid in the class Phoenix had known for almost his whole life. Born on the same day, no less, the first time they met in first grade, they knew they had some kind of connection. They always hung out, always stood up for each other, always did things together, the typical best friend relationship. The class clown of his school, even, he had become the source of playful ridicule among his schoolmates; as they said, "When something smells, it's usually the Butz".

However, the one kid he had very little time to chat with was the one who sat in the back; Miles Jameson Edgeworth, that one kid who always came to school in a suit; that one kid who was never immature; that one kid who wore a tie all the time; that one kid who's lunch food always seemed to be cut into perfect, evenly divided squares each day. Then again, he actually ordered school lunch every day, so he did it himself, with impeccably precise movements.

Gregory Madison Edgeworth was his father. An amazing defense attorney, young Miles aspired every day to be like him. He studied law in his free time, and would join his father in the courtroom to watch his performance in trials.

Needless to say, Miles had a promising future ahead of him.

Meanwhile, neither Phoenix nor Larry could decide what they wanted to choose as occupations once they were older. Still, whatever they did, they would still be friends, they decided, and that was all that mattered.

"Nick~!" Larry grinned, tousling Phoenix's hair from behind. A common nickname he gave him, Phoenix didn't mind having his middle name as a way of referring to him.

"L-Larry, please!" Phoenix shooed his hands away as Larry sat across from him at the table during midday lunch.

"Hey, just trying to brighten the mood!" Larry's smile faded a bit, but it returned ever so suddenly. "So why did you leave in the middle of gym?"

Phoenix stopped before he took a bite of his sandwich, setting it down and grunting a bit. "I fell and hurt my leg, so I went to the nurse's office."

"Oh, right...I pushed you. Sorry!" Larry giggled as Phoenix smiled a bit. "You alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, I just landed a weird way and hit my knee cap on the wooden floor." Phoenix shrugged the pain off, bringing his sandwich to his mouth. He grunted louder and put it down when Larry made him look around the room. "What now?"

"Notice something different?" Larry asked. "We're missing one Edgey." Larry really was the almighty fourth-grade nicknaming king.

"Uh...oh, yeah...where is he?" Phoenix looked around, cupping his hands around his eyes like binoculars.

Larry shrugged and kicked his feet on the table, leaning back in his chair. "Who knows? Maybe his tie started suffocating him or something."

Then, as he finished his sentence, in walked Miles, though instead of his stern-looking neutral expression, he hung his head, staring at the ground as he walked to the counter.

"Miles, what's wrong?" The lady at the counter had asked.

"I can't find my lunch money…" Miles spoke softly. "...I can't buy any lunch, can I?"

"Gee, hon, I wish I could make an exception, but you know the rules." The lady shrugged. "Maybe it'll turn up somewhere."

Miles walked away, letting out an out-of-character whine of pain and sadness.

As he did, he was passing by the small table with only two occupants; Phoenix Wright and Larry Butz.

"Edgey, what's up?" Larry asked. Phoenix had stopped from taking the first bite of his food for the third time, and was about ready to throw the sandwich at Larry.

"I can't buy anything to eat...I'm so hungry…" Miles frowned. Even a few tears formed in his eyes. Nobody had ever seen Miles cry, but nobody was about to, either.

After a few tries, Phoenix gave up with the sandwich. "Here."

Miles looked up as he saw Phoenix's outstretched hand in front of him, offering him the sandwich.

"N-No, Phoenix, please, eat your own-"

"I said here, as in please take it." Phoenix was serious. Miles slowly took it and stared at the square sandwich. Crusts cut off, peanut butter on one side, jelly on the other.

"Come on, eat it."

Miles hesitated before he finally took a bite. He chewed, swallowed, smiled, feeling refreshed. "Phoenix...thank you."

He sat down at the circular table, and such a lunch meeting advanced Phoenix's and Larry's knowledge. They had gotten to talk with Miles about his life, telling each other stories of what they had done in the past, and even plan out things to do together in the near future.

A fast forming friendship that Phoenix hoped would live past lunch.

"So, any pets?" Larry grinned.

"I have one dog; Pess." Miles answered. "My dad bought him for me the day after I was born. He was a birth gift as a small puppy, and he's quite the young adult dog today."

"He sounds cool!" Phoenix smiled. "My parents won't let me have a pet, since I'm allergic to both dogs and cats."

"Aw man, Nick, that's gotta suck." Larry giggled as Miles shouted, "Language, Lawrence!"

"Lawrence?" Larry asked. "Come on, Edgey, we're friends now; call me Larry!"

Miles let that feeling sink in; happiness. He hadn't even realized he had made friends, he simply thought they were being nice.

Then again, friends were nice.

Happiness quickly changed to sadness; for Phoenix Wright, that is.

Returning to class from lunch resulted in something confusing and bizarre, an event occurring that was very foreign to Phoenix. As he walked into the classroom, he noticed the desks rearranged, and everyone stared at him, save for the teacher, who looked at him with a serious, yet otherwise emotionless glare.

"What's everyone doing…?" Phoenix asked quietly.

"He stole it!" Some kid shouted, catching the boy offguard.

"Yeah! Punish him! He took the money!"

"Quick, teacher, give him the death penalty!"

"Class! Calm down this instant!" The teacher, Mr. Laccari, yelled, slamming his ruler on the desk, resulting in a loud bang. "That is unacceptable behavior!"

"Mr. Laccari...what's happening?" Phoenix looked around worriedly.

"Mr. Wright, stealing is of no use to anyone, and doing so is wrong. You should feel ashamed of yourself." The teacher glared harshly now, along with every other kid in the room.

"S-Stealing? B-But...I didn't-"

"Quiet, young man. If you have something to say, testify to everyone and see what they think." Mr. Laccari gestured to a table at the front of the class; a witness stand.

Phoenix found himself as the unwilling defendant in a mock trial, and for a crime he didn't even commit.

"I-I...I don't know what people are saying I s-stole…" Phoenix stuttered, rubbing his eyes, sniffling and holding back tears; the feeling of being alone and hated by everyone around him made him want to run away screaming and crying, but he held his ground.

"Don't lie! You stole Miles' lunch money!" Some kid yelled.

Phoenix gasped. The same money Edgeworth had lost! But he didn't steal it, why were they accusing him?

"I didn't steal it! I swear! I-"

"You didn't participate in gym, so you must've gone off and stolen it then!" A girl yelled this time.

"Yeah! Face it, you took his money!" A boy yelled.

"I-I...I j-just...-p-please stop!" Phoenix wailed, but everyone glared harder. "I-I stole nothing…! I didn't...didn't...I-I…-"

The tears trickled down his cheeks, non stopping, as someone in the room stood up and yelled.

"Objection!"

Miles Edgeworth firmly slammed a hand on his desk, standing up and pointing at Mr. Laccari. "You don't have any proof my client did it! There are no eyewitnesses, and the defendant merely went off to the nurse's office, as told by the nurse herself!"

"Mr. Edgeworth! Sit down this instant, unless you also want a detention!" Mr. Laccari snapped.

But Miles continued. "The defendant in question is merely being accused for the sole purpose of blaming someone for a crime that nobody knows who committed!"

Some of the kids felt backed into a corner, and everyone remained silent.

Mr. Laccari spoke up. "Well do you have proof he didn't do it?"

Now Miles was the one feeling backed into a corner. "I...uh…" He trembled slightly, feeling the entire class glaring icy daggers at him for his poor attempts at defending Phoenix.

"Everyone just shut up for a moment!"

Now it was Larry's time to speak up. He leaped onto his desk, surprising most everyone. "Guys, seriously! Why do ya think Phoenix of all people was the one who stole the money? He wouldn't stoop that low!"

Phoenix felt a warmth develop inside of him, seeing Miles and Larry defend him. He muttered quietly to himself, "You guys…"

"I say we should take a break and find some real, cold, hard evidence!" Larry suggested.

"You mean call a recess? I second that!" Miles now stood on his own desk. "If we take the time to find decisive proof my client didn't do it, then we can find the true culprit!"

"Well we are nearing the end of the day, so I must apologize, but we cannot afford a recess." Mr. Laccari stated.

Miles felt his heart drop. That was his last chance! Now what was he supposed to do? Larry couldn't think of anything to say either. Phoenix whimpered slightly.

"Mr. Laccari, at least give me the chance to cross-examine the defendant and acquire some information." Miles finally said among the silence, stepping off of his own desk.

Mr. Laccari thought for a moment. "Very well. Mr. Wright, please testify once more."

Phoenix nodded hesitantly, sniffling once more. "I-I hurt my leg in gym, so I went to see the nurse about it…"

"Hold it!" Miles shouted, pointing at Phoenix. "How exactly did you end up getting hurt?"

"Oh, Larry and I bumped into each other and I fell…" Phoenix added.

"Makes sense, Lawrence is quite the clutz." Miles said.

"Am not!" Larry retorted angrily.

Miles ignored him. "Please, defendant, continue."

Phoenix nodded again. "When I came back, we had to go to lunch...and I went straight to the cafeteria."

"Straight to the cafeteria? No detours at all?" Miles asked.

"Objection!" A kid interrupted. "Just stop it, this is getting boring! He did it!"

"Objection!" Miles shouted back. "That is merely baseless conjecture until proven otherwise!" He turned to Phoenix. "As I asked before, no side trips of any kind?"

"Well I went to my locker to get my lunch, so...does that count?" Phoenix asked.

"No, it doesn't, since it is on the way." Miles said. "Carry on."

"Right...once in the cafeteria, I sat down, started eating, and...well, you know the rest."

"Indeed, afterwards I ate lunch with you and Lawrence after you shared some of your food." Miles flashed him a quick smile, making Phoenix smile as well.

"Hey, when did you notice your money was stolen?" Larry spoke up, asking Miles.

"Well, during the time when everyone normally goes to lunch, at noon time. The halls are crowded by that point." Miles answered. "Wait...defendant, when did you grab your lunch?"

"I...I got it quickly after returning from the nurse's office." Phoenix responded. "Why?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Miles shrugged and shook his head with confidence. "You grabbed your lunch after the halls had cleared out, as nobody is able to move quickly during the time period of immediate travel between rooms!

"Because of this, we can rule out Mr. Wright as the culprit!" Miles said. Nobody said anything, because everyone had to admit; such a statement was agreeable, and entirely plausible.

"Well, that was quite the turnabout…" Mr. Laccari muttered. He cleared his throat. "Mr. Wright, you are acquitted of all charges...my verdict is not guilty."

The class moaned, continuing to say he did it, despite the obvious statements that proved his innocence. But Mr. Laccari shooed away their claims. As everyone cleared out, Phoenix smiled as Larry and Miles approached him.

"Thank you guys...thank you so much…" Phoenix felt more tears well up in his eyes; tears of happiness.

"I know you didn't steal my money." Miles smiled. "You're too good of a person to do that!"

"Yeah, Nick, what Miles said!" Larry grinned and Miles shot him a slightly irritated glance.

Miles placed a hand on Phoenix's shoulder. "You are innocent...right, Wright?"

And the three of them laughed.

As the cars drove to the school, parents inside ready to pick up their children, the three friends stood outside and leaned against the wall, impatiently waiting.

"I have a lot of things to talk about with my mother once I get home..." Phoenix said.

"A lot is an understatement!" Larry giggled.

Miles scouted out for a certain car to pull up, waiting for his idol to arrive. His idol being his father, of course.

"Oh, there!" Miles pointed to a car approaching. To his surprise, there were two people in the car.

One was the driver; Gregory Edgeworth. Dressed in a tan trench coat with a grey suit underneath, gray slacks with black loafers for shoes, and sporting a dark grey fedora on his head. He smiled and tipped his hat at his son as he pulled up.

Sitting in the passenger's seat was someone in his late teens, 18 years old or so. He donned a blue button-up long sleeve over a white and red striped shirt and a brown bowler-hat on his curly hair. He scribbled some kind of message on a notepad, then proceeded to tear the paper off and...eat it? Yep, that happened. This was Raymond Amadeus Shields.

"Wait...of he brought Ray with him, then...!" Miles gasped in delight. A full day of investigating was to come.

"Who's that with your dad, Miles?" Phoenix chimed in.

"That's my dad's assistant, Raymond Shields. The two have been at work together on many cases since I was an infant." Miles explained, smiling. "Whenever he's with my dad, that means they must be off to investigate something!"

"Investigating, eh? Like, Sherlock Bond or James Holmes or whatever?" Larry asked.

"First, Sherlock Holmes and James Bond. Second, one of them isn't a detective. Third, they're better than any detective out there!" Miles exclaimed. "Because of how great they work as a team, my father has never lost a case ever!"

"Wow! That's...that's gotta be something awesome!" Phoenix couldn't comprehend an achievement as big as never losing a trial, as being a defense attorney was an important job in society.

"Yo, Miles! Hurry up!" Raymond honked the car horn, and Gregory chuckled.

"Son, come! I'd like you to join us on a ride to the detention center!" Gregory called out. His father smiled warmly, a smile Miles would never forget.

"Bye guys!" Miles waved to Phoenix and Larry, who returned the gesture, before sprinting over to the car and leaping into the back seat. The vehicle pulled it of the school parking lot and drove down the road as Miles buckled in.

"Now, time to prepare for the next case!" Raymond cheered, eating another note scrap.

"So, dad, what kind of case is this?" Miles asked.

"Murder case; there is a vicious criminal out there who killed a renowned French ice sculptor, Pierre Hoquet." Gregory explained. "Of course, I've taken the case, and I'm determined to get our client a not guilty, as always."

"Who's your client?" Miles asked.

"You never told me that either, boss, who is it?" Raymond asked as well.

Gregory looked ahead at the road. "Our client is a famous chef, Jeffery Master."

-(End Of Chapter)-

Hm, yes, I'm writing a Phoenix Wright story. Something new for once.

The plotline of this story is all of the major events from Ace Attorney told in chronological order with added details here and there to make it more...more...indulge worthy, I guess. I dunno.

As shown here, this first chapter was the first major event ever: Phoenix's class trial! Plus, the ending, in case you haven't realized, is a segway into the IS-7 incident featured in The Inherited Turnabout from Gyakuten Kenji 2 (Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth 2)!

Also, the middle names of the characters are not canonical, they're just my interpretations.

Anyways, I hope you've enjoyed this introduction, remember to read and review!

Have a good one!

~087-B