Case One:

"The Venti Turnabout"

Note from the author: This is my first fic, so please be nice. However, don't be afraid to criticize me in your reviews, as long as you do it, you know, nicely. Rated T because I'm a prude; I probably could have gotten away with K+. NOTE: This takes place in a parallel universe, where Trials & Tribulations Case 5 never happened, nor, obviously, did any of the events detailed in Apollo Justice. So, anyone who wants to say how "inaccurate" this work is, I'm sorry, but you're just going to have to suck it up. I mean that in the nicest way possible, sorry. SPOILERS for Trials & Tribulations Case 5. It will get fluffy later.

Chapter One

|9:37 AM, March 15|

| Wright & Co Law Offices |

"Phoenix!!" Maya's voice broke into my thoughts. She only uses my real name when she's uber mad, so I knew I had to tread gently.

"What?" I asked, careful not to look up.

"Will you stop cleaning that toilet!" she raged. "This is important!!!!" I stood up slowly and looked at her. She was practically steaming.

"What is it?" I asked. Judging by the look on her face, this had gotta be good- or catastrophic.

"It's in here." she said, and proceeded to shove a newspaper article in my face. Literally- shoved it in my face. Hard. When I was done rubbing newsprint off my eyelids, I started to read the article out loud.

"Local Woman Charged in Murder, Claims Innocence," I read the headline.

"Jeez, Nick, you take so long!!!!!" she growled. "Gimme that!" She snatched the paper out of my hands so hard it ripped completely in two. She searched the paper for a certain part, realized it was in the other half, and then grabbed the second half away from me too. She found what she was looking for, then shoved that in my face so hard that my left eye began to swell shut. "It says here that she hopes to hire attorney Phoenix Wright."

"That's great, but I really don't see the big d-" I stopped. Maya had already stormed out and slammed the door behind her. I sighed and turned around. Pearls was there- and she was staring at me with her mouth open. Pearl Fey is Maya's nine-year old cousin, but I like to call her Pearls. Right now Maya is the only family Pearls has, so the three of us are way tight. Usually.

"Oh, hi, Pearls..." I said weakly, hurriedly trying to hide my rapidly swelling eye from her view. Pearls is stubbornly under the impression that Maya and I are a couple, and I really didn't know how she would feel if she saw-

"Mr. Nick!" she said in her 'take-charge' voice. "I'll go get a steak for your eye!"

"No Pearls, that's okay, you really don't have to, I'll be absolutely fine, it's okay, really it is," I blabbered reassuringly, but she ignored me. She's good at that.

"Any idea why Maya is in such a bad mood?" I asked. This level of violence was above average, even for Maya.

"Well," Pearls said, frowning. "We just had a meeting with the Kurain Village Elder. It didn't go so good."

"So well." I corrected her without thinking. "The meeting didn't go so well." She looked blank, so I changed the subject. "Anyway, I thought that Maya was pretty much it for village authority, at least until her mother reappears..." Although, now that I think about it, Kurain Village probably would have collapsed by now if Maya was the only leader,I realized.

"Yeah..." she said, handing me a steak. "We kinda thought so too. Maybe that's one of the reasons the meeting didn't go so good."

"So well."

"What?"

"Oh, nothing." I said, holding the steak to my head.

"Hey Nick, I'm back!" Maya announced, coming through the door and shaking her coat off. "Nick, why do you have a steak on your head?"

"Funny you should ask," I snarled. "I'm advocating vegetarianism."

"Oh." she said, considering this. "Well, no need to drip fire on me about it."

"He was being sarcastic." Pearls explained. "You accidentally gave him a black eye with that newspaper article five minutes ago."

"Oh." Maya said, surprised. "Was I really that forceful?"

"Oh, you definitely were." I assured her.

"Oh. I'm really sorry about that."

"Apology accepted. I guess."

"So, anyway, did you read the article yet?

"Um, the article is in two pieces. With my face imprinted on it."

"Oh. Well, anyway, it said this lady Ryxxette Someone-or-other is accused of

murdering this other lady, who has a name. Probably."

"Thank you, Maya."

"Anytime."

"So where's the scene of the crime?"

"On the corner of 42nd and Stewart."

"Let's go."