Turnabout Guardian

Description; "There are times when people require protection… even those who might not realize that they need it. But… who, exactly, is protecting who?"

Rated; T for mentions of violence/blood, and some minor language.

Disclaimer; [The one and only that you will see, because I don't think it's necessary to repeat it on every chapter.] Anything that is relative to the Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney game and/or franchise is owned by Capcom Co., LTD. All I own is my mind and the laptop that this was written on.

Authors' Note; I… really don't know what to say. I mainly wrote this story for myself (since the idea has been in my head for, literally, months now and it fails to leave me alone)… and because I wanted to create something that would be a slight challenge. I will state that this story will (possibly) be set in an AU, though I aspire to have everyone be as in character as possible... and I hope that I do the characters justice in that regard. The chapters lying ahead will show investigations from both Phoenix and Edgeworth, but I assure you that this work of fiction mainly leans towards the latter. If you happen to stumble upon this, I hope that you enjoy reading the story – Feedback and general comments are welcomed and very much appreciated. :)

Prologue

H e r S t o r y i s H i s t o r y

The darkened sky illuminated with a flash of lightning as the rain poured down heavily, tapping against the glass of a window. A loud rumble of thunder filled the room and woke up the young woman from her sleep. Her eyes fluttered open, greeting the pitch black room.

'The storm must have knocked the power out...' A soft sigh passed her lips as she sat up. Another flash of lightning lit the sky, and she gripped the sheet that was lying across her lap. 'It's only a storm. It's only a storm. It's only a storm...' As the sound of thunder flooded her ears, she quickly pressed her hands to them. 'It's only a storm.'

With a shaky breath, she removed the hands from her ears and slowly opened her eyes. "I hate being back in Los Angeles." The young woman whispered to the darkness; to nothingness. A break in the silence startled her and she looked around. 'What in the world was that muffled sound?' She pulled the sheet off of her body and shifted her position to the side of the bed, stretching her legs out to place her bare feet onto the floor. She pushed herself off of the bed and tiptoed over to the bedroom door, opening it a crack.

"…I SAID GET OUT!" A man's voice yelled. "LEAVE US ALONE! WE WANT NOTHING MORE TO DO WITH YOU!"

The young woman quickly closed the door and rushed over to her desk, hand fumbling along it to retrieve her cellphone. She picked it up and, as she pressed the '9', she heard another muffled sound. 'That sounded like a muffled bang.' The phone slipped from her grasp upon hearing the noise and she swiftly bent down to grab it, then she crawled on her knees over to the foot board of the bed. She slid down to the floor in a sitting position, back flush against the wall, and flipped the phone back open. As her fingers pressed the '9', '1', she heard her door slam against the wall. She instantly froze at the noise as the phone fell onto the floor once again.

"..Ah, so you are here... When'd your flight get in, dear?"

"W-what do you want?"

"Isn't it obvious..?"

"No."

The sound of a chuckle filled the room. "I did all of this... for you..."

"For... me?"

"You know what he was doing... I couldn't let him take you away from me, my love..."

"I am not your love. I don't want anything to do with you! You-you..."

"You don't love me, my dear...?"

"Your actions are not one that would warrant me to profess a love for you that has never existed. In fact, what you have done has made me hate you! I could never and would never love someone such as you."

"Silly...girl. It's because of him, isn't it?"

"H-Him? He has nothing to do with this..."

"Oh, my dear, not him... but him... Your naïve infatuation with someone you don't know and will never know..."

"...Wh- but how?..."

"You're such a delusional little girl... Your time ends now. If I can't have you," Lightning filled the sky as the room was illuminated once again. Her eyes went wide as she saw a pistol being aimed at her. Before the young woman had a chance to react, the intruder spoke again. "...no one else can..." The trigger was pulled and, with a flash of light, the bullet exited the pistol. A soft thud was heard as the body slumped to the floor.

"Maybe in the next life, hmm? It's quite a pity, really, you were such a beaut." The sound of thunder filled the room. "It's a shame that he couldn't have protected you more, 'ey love?" The sound of footsteps echoed off of the walls of the room, the door creaked as a breeze blew by, and another door could be heard closing in the distance.

The young woman exhaled a breath she had been holding and, with shaky hands, she reached for the phone, pressing the final '1', and 'send', with her thumb, and held the phone up to her ear.

"911, what is your emergency?"

She closed her eyes, feeling the tears run slowly down her cheek. "Please, help...m-my uncle-in-law... he's been shot..."

"What is your location, ma'am?"

"1408 Ashcraft Court... Please, hurry, I-I've been shot too."

"Is there anyone else in the household?"

"No, just us...the intruder left."

"Do you know which direction they went, ma'am?"

"N-no...the storm has knocked the power out. Please, hurry."

"I've dispatched officers to your location. Stay on the line with me until they arrive."

"..."

"Miss? Are you still there?"

"..."

"Miss?"

"..."