Pheonix has always had faith in Athena. From when he met her at a legal convention in France to watching her take down Kristoph Gavin, to freeing Blackquill and catching the Phantom, she has never failed to impress him. So, when they turn up to the courthouse, he's confident that she can handle whatever this case throws at them.

Meeting Miles at the door certainly tests that conviction. Getting out of the passenger seat of Athena's beat up old car, they climb the massive stairs and make their way towards him.

"Edgeworth!" Phoenix waves needlessly, since they've already been spotted. "This is a surprise! I didn't see your name on the docket."

"Wright. Ms. Cykes. I won't be appearing in trial, actually. I'm here to supervise the prosecutor for your case."

Athena frowns.

"Our case? Does that mean Simon is in trouble?"

"I had to shuffle some cases around at the last minute. It's not ideal, but Blackquill won't be against you either."

Athena looks disappointed and Pheonix puts a hand on her shoulder.

"Who-" Before the question could even leave his mouth, Pheonix saw his answer.

A party of two, walking up the steps of the courthouse and making their way towards them.

The taller man, hanging a few steps back, was dressed like a paratrooper in green army fatigues, a harness with utility pouches, and black laced boots. A purple scarf and a pair of goggles sat on his neck. As for his face, it was almost entirely hidden by his bushy brown hair and beard. It was hard to see what a man like him would be doing at the courthouse.

The shorter man, in the lead, was dressed so strangely he could only be a prosecutor. His brown hair fell freely just past his shoulder blades, but his bangs were braided in two neat tresses that framed his face. On his large forehead was a reddish tattoo of two concentric rings, giving the strange impression of a third eye. His true eyes, scanning the crowd with unnerving intensity, were brown with a hint of red swirling in their depths. He wore a short sleeved red button up tunic suit, embroidered with elaborate gold designs, white suit pants, and tall dark red boots trimmed with gold that nearly touched his knees. His arms, covered in large red splotches that seemed to be burn scars, caught Pheonix's eye, as did the shining gold bracelet on his left wrist.

The two men approached their little group at a brisk step. Once he was within earshot, the shorter man spoke.

"Hap'piraki, Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth! It's a pleasure to see you again."

He smiled, voice warm, and Pheonix didn't need Athena's ears to hear the genuine emotion in every syllable. Edgeworth stiffly nodded.

"The pleasure is all mine, Prosecutor Justice. May I introduce you to my old friend Pheonix Wright and his junior partner, Athena Cykes. They will be acting as defense in today's trial."

Justice bowed; hands clasped in a traditional grip that made Pheonix's joints hurt just by looking.

"An honor, Mr. Wright, Ms. Cykes. I am Prosecutor Apollo Justice of the Kingdom of Khura'in and this is my invaluable partner, Detective A'nohn Ihmus."

The detective placed a hand on Justice's shoulder as he straightened.

"AJ, sir? As nice as it is to meet PW and AC, we need to move out if you want to ask the witness about the thing."

Suddenly panicked, Justice jumps.

"Pohlkunka! Thank you, Ihmus! Sorry to cut our meeting short. I promise to make up for it with an excellent delivery of last rites!"

The pair moved in near perfect unison and disappeared into the courthouse before either defense attorney had the chance to ask what he was talking about.

"Wow, boss. That's quite the team we're up against! Wonder what he meant by "last rites"?"

Edgeworth cleared his throat clearly a little overwhelmed at the foreign prosecutor's exuberance.

"I believe he was referring to the Khura'inese beliefs about the religious significance of the courtroom. As I understand it, they see the trial as a sort of funeral for the victim. His mentor, Prosecutor Sahdmadhi, even earned the moniker of "the Last Rites Prosecutor" among our international colleagues."

"That's kind of cool! Isn't it boss?"

Athena flashes him a victory V and Pheonix can't help but smile with her.

"It's certainly interesting. Does that mean we're interrupting a funeral?"

"Let's go find out!" Dragging him by the arm, she dashes into the courthouse.

After a few words with their client and a quick look at the court record, Pheonix found himself watching the trial intently from his spot as co-council. Justice lay out all the facts in his opening statement, checking a small notebook occasionally to verify details. Unlike most prosecutors, he mentioned even the possible flaws in his case, the lack of prints, the possible alibi, the other suspect. He finished by saying:

"As a humble servant of the Holy Mother, I subscribe to her teachings on familial conduct. T'iska brohd t'iska mit oron deh'tus. Siblings who would harm one another have no right to call themselves family, after all. That is why it gives me no pleasure to accuse one brother of killing another. However, I see no other option. Should the defense have heard the Holy Mother's truth more clearly than I, their insight would be most welcome."

Athena took his invitation and ran with it. She was doing very well, raising all the right objections, but the case wasn't looking good.

Justice was restrained at first, but even Pheonix could hear the barely concealed passion behind every word. But as the case grew more and more certain and the inevitable guilty verdict loomed closer, he started letting loose. Pounding both fists onto the desk, grinning like a feral animal, he countered Athena's theories. An alternate murder weapon with the idea of gloves, another suspect with a lack of motive. When the witness to their client's alibi, a twenty-something-year-old college girl, took the stand, he looked positively giddy, rubbing his wrist, eyes glittering almost red.

"He was with me the enti-"

"GOTCHA!" Justice's interjection nearly shattered their ears. "The entire time? Is that what you were going to say, witness?"

"Yeah? Why'd you cut me off?"

"Because I took a holy oath as a servant of the law as well as of the Holy Mother. If a crime is about to occur, it is my duty to prevent it. Perjury is a criminal offence with a sentence of up to five years in prison."

The gallery erupted into noise. As the judge called for order, Athena leaned over to Pheonix.

"He's right; she was lying. I heard discord in her voice. What do I do?"

Justice continued.

"I would like to direct the court's attention to the witness's social media profile. More specifically, the selfie she posted of herself doing her makeup in the bathroom at the time of the crime. The defendant, being male, could not have entered the bathroom with the witness!"

He didn't have much to offer her and as their case fell to pieces around them, they could only watch. Pheonix certainly had thoughts about Justice. He was remarkably fair and more polite than most prosecutors. There was also an unusual joy about him. Not that Edgeworth, Franziska, Godot, Gavin or Blackquill had ever been unhappy about standing in court. Just that Prosecutor Justice seemed to revel in it.

He tuned back into the proceedings when the judge said:

"I'm about ready to deliver the verdict, if there are no objections?"

Widget turned dark blue, and Athena's voice was carefully held together.

"The defense has no objections."

In an instant, all the excess energy Justice had boiling inside him seemed to drain right out.

"The prosecution-"

The prosecutor choked, doubled over and started coughing. Clutching his chest and shaking, he didn't seem to be able to stop. After thirty seconds of uninterrupted wheezing, Detective Ihmus, seated in the gallery, took matters into his own hands and hopped the rail. Landing in the well, he dashed to his prosecutor's side and wrapped an arm around his shoulders.

"Come on, AJ. Let's go sit down in the prosecutor's lounge for a bit, ok?"

"Th- the ver- verdict."

Justice stammered the plea out between gasps and coughs. The detective smiled and shook his head in disbelief.

"Well, your honor? You heard the kid. What's the ruling?"

The Judge, having seen much stranger, simply said:

"I now pronounce the defendant, Judas Cain, guilty of the murder of his brother."

Athena slumped, it was different to know the verdict and to hear it aloud. Phoenix watched her as she stared at the prosecutor currently being mostly carried out of the courtroom before she slowly packed up her notes and documents. When she finally spoke, it filled his heart with such pride that it could have burst.

"We should check on Prosecutor Justice before we leave. He sounded like he was in pain."

Just Having a little fun with this AU where Apollo never left Khura'in for America! What do you think? Let me know!

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