A/N: We Back Baby!

Trying Out A Longer Chapter… Enjoy! (Semi-Important A/N at End)

Phoenix hobbled along, his expression stone faced. The events of what just happened are still settling in his mind. It just seemed so sudden. Not even one month from the Zodiac Case, and he's being thrown into another. Just his luck.

Phoenix could almost see the library, but he stopped before rounding a corner. Almost as though his spidey senses were tingling, he stopped at the corner, and stuck his head out. Surely enough, he saw 4 girls standing in the courtyard near the library. One in dominate red, one in yellow, one in a black and white color pallet, and the fourth one in a light blue dress, holding a phone to her ear. Phoenix sighed. Yup, Thats them alright.

Almost on cue, he felt a buzz in in pocket. He returned his head from the corner, as he reached into his pocket to pull out the source of the buzzing. Surely enough, seeing the girl in blue calling his phone was no coincidence, as the caller ID came up Weiss Schnee. Phoenix only looked at his phone, as he let it go to voicemail. They don't need to be involved in this. Phoenix decided. They've already been through enough. I suppose I'll have to find another way to get into the library.

"THERE HE IIIIISSSSSSS!" Phoenix didn't even jump. He only closed his eyes, as a ginger and pink flashed rushed up to him, followed by a red, green, and a black and grey flashes. Knowing that his cover has just been blown, he decided to face the consequences.

"Hello, Nora." Phoenix greeted the hyperactive hammer wielder. As the rest of her team was arriving, he heard several other footsteps coming from behind him. Well, this should be fun.

"Mr. Wright!" He heard from about 7 other voices. But one had a much different tone than the others; one of anger.

"Why didn't you pick up my call?!" Weiss asked, clearly showing her anger at the attorney. Before he could think of a response, he was being barraged with questions.

"What happened to Ozpin?" "You'll defend him, right?" "Did you know he was going to get arrested?" "Will you please help him?" "He has to be innocent, right?" "Will you defend him?"

"ALRIGHT, ENOUGH!" Phoenix finally yelled, which shut all of the voices up. This resulted in an awkward, pause, which ended with Phoenix sighing. "Look, I don't know what happened to Ozpin. I don't know why he was arrested. Right now, I need to figure some things out, okay? But for now, all of you need to go back to doing what you were doing, okay?" In response to this, a chorus of protests from the 8 teenagers rang out.

Finally, Yang's voice came clear through the crowd. "What are you going to do now?" This silenced the crowd, who eagerly waited for a response. Phoenix paused for a moment, and thought to himself.

Well, my original plan was to go to the library, but that seems pointless, as I don't even know why he was arrested. Only a few people would know, and most of those won't want to talk to me. To be honest, I doubt Prosecutor Torchwick would even want to talk to me, as I assume he's the head of this investigation. So where does this leave me?

"Like I said, I need to find out some details before I can defend him. So-"

"Wait, so you aren't sure he didn't do it?" Ruby, quick on her tongue, asked him.

"Well, I don't even know what it is," Phoenix responded calmly, "So, I need to go figure some things out, like I said."

"And how are you going to do that?" Pyrrha asked. Phoenix looked her in the eyes, her bright vivid-green eyes locking with his dark blue, and he saw something he didn't think he'd see in those eyes: uncertainty.

"... As of right now… I don't know." Phoenix responded truthfully. The silence that followed was one of the heaviest the 9 people standing there had ever felt. "But, I'll find a way." Phoenix assured them, trying to get there hopes back up. This had some effect, with the mood lightening up a little bit. "But, like I said, please go back to what you guys were doing before, okay? I'll try to keep you guys posted as I go." Phoenix concluded. He didn't get any answers, only nods, as the 8 students walked away.

Phoenix watched as they walked away, biting the inside of his cheek as a nervous habit as they walked away. As of right now, he might be just as deep in the dark as they were.

Phoenix finally arrived at the police station. His eyes seemed to barely be open, as all his energy was almost gone from the day's events thus far. And it's barely even 12 O'clock. Phoenix walked in the doors, and stopped. It actually seemed like a normal day, despite the headmaster of a distinguished school that trained teenagers to fight giant monsters from overrunning civilization's cities and towns being arrested for an unknown crime. There were no frantic rushing of officers exchanging papers, no detectives huddling around in a circle, conferring amongst one another, and there were plenty of uneaten doughnuts, which looked very tempting to Phoenix.

Finally, one of the front desk workers got Phoenix's attention, by waving her arms in front of his face. "Hey, why are you here?" Phoenix looked at the lady. She seemed to be in her mid 50's wrinkles starting to develop. She wore a ton of makeup, but not even that can cover the massive dark spots below her eyes. Her amber hair was done in a messy bun, which seemed to match her crooked glasses, that were slightly ajar.

"Yes, Mrs…" Phoenix didn't know what to call her, as he was unable to locate her nametag on her uniform. The lady cleared her throat, and motioned her head to the desk in front of her. Phoenix almost had a double take when he read her name. "Mrs... Oldbag... you wouldn't happen to know if Mr. Torchwick is available, do you?"

"No honey; he's actually on vacation right now." Oldbag replied, started to file her nails now. On Vacation? Well, I suppose the whole Zodiac thing had to do a number on him…

"Okay… well, this may seem like an odd request, but…" Phoenix reached into his hoodie pocket, and pulled out his attorney's badge, "I'm here to talk to someone who knows of the Ozpin murder. Is there anyone I can talk to?" Oldbag looked at the badge, and chuckled to herself before going back to filing her fingernails.

"I know what you're going to say next: 'I'm his attorney; I have the right to know'. And I know that's a bunch of baloney, because when they dragged him in here, he practically begged to not be assigned an attorney." Damnit Ozpin, why are you making this so difficult?!

"Hm. Alright, is there any way I can talk-"

"-to him? No, he waived his right to visitation." Oldbag didn't even look up from filing her nails.

Phoenix closed his eyes, tilted his head up, and sighed. There has to be something that I can do to get passed this lady… Thats when it clicked. As much as he hated it, he had to try it.

"Say, are you related to Wendy Oldbag?" His head still tilted up, eyes closed. The sound of the filing stopped, and he could practically hear her eyes widening up.

"W-W-Wendy?" Oldbag stuttered out.

"Y-Yes..." Phoenix also stuttered out. There was a quick pause between the two, before Oldbag finally ended it.

"W-Why yes… she is my mother." The desk lady answered.

"Well… I know her… from, multiple cases, that is…" Phoenix clarified.

"... Oh, the you must be…" Oldbag paused again, the cogs in her mind starting to turn. "... Oh, you must be the guy that my mom's crush lost against" She finally connected.

"O-Oh, Edgeworth? Yeah, your mom seemed to have a crush on him." Phoenix reminisced.

"...Ya know, I never found him that cute…" Oldbag looked away for a moment, "...when compared to you that is…" She said, with a slight blush. Phoenix double took while she was looked away, a little bit of vomit coming into his mouth. Fortunately, Phoenix was able to retain his posture from before, as she was turning back to face him. "I'll tell ya what… I know a lot of juicy details about that Ozpin guy, and I'll tell him to ya…" She could tell Phoenix was about to ask her questions, but she interjected before he could, "But… I never said it would come free darling." She responded, with a wink.

Phoenix hoped that she didn't mean what he thought she meant, and instead reached for his wallet to give her a monetary payment. She stopped him, by "nah ah ahh"-ing him, and instead stuck her cheek out, puckering her lips, and made a kissing sound. Phoenix tried to hold his best poker face, which held pretty well, given the circumstances. Ozpin, you're paying me double regardless if I take your case.

Phoenix closed his eyes, and leaned in to kiss her cheek. When he finally made contact, his initial thought was that it felt…

It felt... A little…

...wet...

When he opened his eyes, the horror of the situation struck him. Oldbag had done the unthinkable; She tricked- no, betrayed- no, bamboozled him the hardest anyone has ever bamboozled someone in the history of bamboozling.

And now he was kissing her on the lips.

He pulled away as soon as it hit him, his body almost going into shock. Luckily, Oldbag didn't care that he pulled back. She still got her kiss. "Alright, now," She took a pen and a pad of paper from her desk, and began scribbling on it. It only took her 15 seconds, and she ripped it off when she was done. "This is where you'll get most of your help". She informed him, as she handed him the slip of paper. He thanked her groggily, as he left the desk and out of the doors of the police station. Forget double Ozpin; Your bill just got tripled.

After fully recovering, Phoenix looked at the slip of paper given to her, which read:

1370 Modus Way 3

Phoenix shuddered at the heart, but walked to where the address was, knowing roughly where everything is. "Eberle Way… Zech Street… Jones Ave… Dunkleman Junction… Ah, Modus Way!" Phoenix turned onto Modus Way, and noticed one police car, and a group of officers starting to clean up what appears to be a crime scene. Phoenix began cursing his hurt leg under his breath as he hobbled as fast as he could towards the officers.

"Excuse me! Wait!" Phoenix got all the officers attentions, then slowed down.

"What do you want?" One of the officers said, as Phoenix finally got to them.

"Look, I know you're wrapping up, but can I please take a look at the crime scene, only for 10 minutes?"

"Look buddy, we don't just let anyone see a crime scene. You need to-" Phoenix went ahead and showed him his badge. The officers all looked at the one who was talking to Phoenix, to see what he was going to do. "Well… Fine. But only because you kind of helped out in the Zodiac case." The officers all cleared the way, and allowed Phoenix to go into the store.

When Phoenix walked in, he was grateful that all the evidence markers and outlines were still there. There didn't seem to be a whole lot, which worried Phoenix. If he really did do this… No! I shouldn't be thinking like that. Ozpin would never…

Phoenix first walked up to the most obvious and most telling marker: the body outline. The body had been sprawled out, by the looks of it. But, it was outside the white outline that interested Phoenix. Near the top of the head, there was a dried blood puddle. Phoenix, from this, was able to deduce that this, most likely, was how the victim died. Phoenix, after reaching this conclusion, followed the white outline with his eyes, seeing if there was anything else. And, unfortunately, there was.

On the right and left hands of the body, there appeared to be hair. And, as Phoenix took a closer look, he noticed the color was grey, almost steel. Just like the color of… Phoenix shook his head, and moved on. Strands of Hair added to evidence.

Once Phoenix had made a full loop, he noticed something: Bloody footprints from around the blood spot. They almost looked the same color, so it seemed obvious that these footprints formed when the blood was still fresh. But what made Phoenix slightly confused, was that there were no footprints in the pool, where they probably originated. Phoenix took a small note of this, and followed the footprints to a closet in the far right hand corner of the store. Bloody Footprints added to evidence.

Phoenix followed them to the closet, where he gave a tug on the closed closet door, which appeared to be locked. Was it locked the day of the crime? Phoenix took a step back, and noticed no unusual markings on the door: no signs of forced entry, no signs of blood, nothing. It looked like a normal closet door.

Phoenix then proceed to the next two rooms: The manager's office, which was in the center of the back, and the bathrooms, which was in the far left. Both, however, were locked. One was because it was an important room, and the other was because it was under plumbing maintenance.

Phoenix walked back out of the store, a little bit more satisfied, and a little bit more concerned for Ozpin. As he walked away, he could not get out of his mind the hair that was found at the crime scene. There was no way that the hair was not Ozpin's. But, Phoenix knew that just because he was probably there, it doesn't make him a murderer.

Phoenix walked down the block, and found a bench to sit at. He needed a break today. After all, he has to do this investigation by himself. Not that he was complaining, though. Those girls already have so much on their plate. It would be unfair if I were to ask them to do any more to serve their community. Speaking of which… Phoenix reached down into his phone, and found that there were no messages, not even from Trucy. Phoenix unlocked his phone, and went into his contacts until he got to the R's, and hovered his finger of Rudy's name. Phoenix badly wanted to send them an update, tell them what he saw. But, something was telling him not to. Not yet, at least. As of now, he isn't even the attorney. And, assuming Ozpin held strong, he won't even have one.

He got up from the bench, his leg still a little bit sore, but his desire to help his friends neutralized his soreness. He walked the entire way to where Ozpin was being held, which was the precinct. As he walked there, his heart throbbed faster and harder. Not because Ozpin intimidated him, but because she intimidated him. Oldbag… the name made him shudder. In a reversal of his luck that day, Oldbag was off shift when he arrived at the detention center inside the precinct. Phoenix walked up to the person who was in charge of the detention visiting hours. "I would like to visit with Ozpin."

"Heh. Wouldn't we all right now." The officer replied, and then clarified himself, "He doesn't want any visitors." Uh oh, Phoenix internally panicked. If I don't see him, I can't defend him… Well, I guess there's only one thing to do at this point.

"What if I was defending him? As his legal guardian?" Phoenix asked. The guard shot him a sideways glance.

"You're going to defend him?"

"That's the plan." Phoenix bluffed.

"...Well, I suppose I can let you into the room, and tell him you are here. But I can't force him to come to you."

"Well, you can lead a horse to water…" Phoenix started, trying to get on the guard's good side. The guard only gave him a sideways glance, and disappeared into his office. Smooth Phoenix… Smooth...

Phoenix sat in the visiting booth assigned to him, waiting to see if the elusive headmaster of Beacon would come see him. After 5 minutes of waiting and no response, Phoenix leaned back in his chair, and tilted his head towards the ceiling. What if he doesn't show up? What if I have to tell them… Phoenix's mind started to race. All the different outcomes flashed in his mind, almost all of them bad, whether the school had to shut down, or the school going into a downward spiral for years to come, potentially ruining the future of many hunters and huntresses.

It was while Phoenix was thinking about all of these things that he heard the familiar click of the door, and a ray of light was shown through the opening door. Phoenix looked at the door eagerly as it was slowly opened, and revealed a finely dressed man with grey hair.

"Mr. Wright." Ozpin greeted, with a hint of dissonance in his voice. "I thought I had made myself clear."

"Oh, you had." Phoenix sat back in his chair, preparing for whatever verbal game of chess was about to ensue. "But I thought you knew by now, I don't play by all the rules every now and then."

"Just like how you planted evidence in the 'Shadi Smith' Trial?" Ozpin fired back.

Phoenix only laughed. "Now, let's get onto the main show: Why don't you want me to take this case?"

"I just don't like seeing futures broken, Mr. Wright."

"Oh, so you don't think your students' futures are in jeopardy because you're behind bars?"

"Every hunter and huntress has to deal with loss, Mr. Wright. This is just a stepping stone."

"I know that their job is dangerous, but they're just kids, Ozpin. Let them learn this lesson naturally. But don't force this upon them." To this, Ozpin was quiet, seemingly weighing his options. Ozpin only sighed.

"Hm. Defending a guilty man seems like a fetish for you Mr. Wright."

"Until proven innocent Opzin." To this, Ozpin was silent again.

"Fine. I'll let you defend me. But I must let you know, Mr. Wright."

"And what is that?"

A sly grin emerged on Ozpin's face. Almost as though he was planning on having Phoenix defend him this entire time.

"The prosecutor in this case will be me."

To Be Continued…..

Evidence:

Hair Strands: Grey hair, found in mass amounts near the victim's hands

Bloody Footprints: Found originated near pool of blood, leading to closet.

A/N: How long has it been, 2 years? Hot Diggity…

Alright, I'm sorry about this long break. I had lost motivation entirely to finish this, partly due to school, picking a college to attend, and also I didn't like the direction I was going in with this trial.

So, I did the most logical thing: I chose a college, Deleted a few chapters, and started this trial fresh. I like this level of organization I have going for me, and I think you will too.

Can't write a lot right now, about to ride in a car for 3 hours to Memphis. Fun.

To Green Ninja: Unfortunately, I have no plans to include the spirit of justice. Don't know them too well yet. Sorry!

Question of the Chapter: Favorite Flavor of Ice Cream.

Too-da-loo!

~May God be With You until we meet again! -Nathan

*I do not own Ace Attorney or Roosterteeth. All Rights Reserved*