A/N: Before anything else, I want to apologize from the bottom of my heart for not uploading anything here for the past three months. I've started a new job back in December and it's been a hectic time as I've adjusted to my new role and changed my schedule accordingly. So instead of keeping everyone waiting while I work on the next chapter of Debeste of Friends (which is about halfway done at this point), I've decided to upload a shorter chapter for this fanfic. And as for the next chapter of Debeste of Friends, I'll upload it after the next chapter of Debauched Steel.

Though on a different note, while developing the initial version of this fanfic wasn't as eventful as the one from the previous chapter, it's still special to me in that it's one of the first stories I wrote after playing through Spirit of Justice for the first time. As such, I wanted to have it feature at least one character from the game while also exploring the idea of Franziska being forced to ride on a public bus.

So with all that said, I really appreciate your patience and I hope that you enjoy this new chapter!

Public Bus of Pain

(Time: Sometime after the events of Turnabout Time Traveler)

Normally, whenever Franziska was presented with a case, she'd be excited to get down to the courthouse and deliver her unique brand of justice. It had been this way ever since she first became a prosecutor at the young age of 13- the thrill of presenting perfect pieces of evidence one after the other, crushing the foolish defense attorney's mind with her perfect rebuttals and breaking their body with her infamous whip, and the wonderful thunderous bang of the judge's gavel when the guilty verdict was announced.

But this was no ordinary day- far from it. For on this day, all of the excitement and determination that filled Franziska's mind and soul were replaced with disdain and misery as the silver-haired prosecutor sat alone in the middle row of the public bus.

"Foolish bus! Why of all days did my foolishly foolish car foolishly choose today to foolishly breakdown?" Franziska grumbled to herself, her hand on her cheek as she gloomy stared out the window while contemplating whether or not to punch a large hole in it and jump out of the vehicle into oncoming traffic. "Now here I am, stuck on this foolish public bus with its foolish stops and foolishly sticky seats! What foolishly foolish fool would be foolish enough to willingly choose this foolish form of transportation?"

As if on cue, the bus stopped and Phoenix and Maya got on, and upon seeing Franziska, a smirk spread across the bubbly spirit medium's face as she took her friend's arm and dragged him into the seat behind the enraged prosecutor despite his best efforts to pull away.

"Hey Franziska! I didn't expect to see you here!" Maya chirped, nearly screaming in Franziska's ear as she leaned over the seat.

And like the Spanish Inquisition, here you are. Phoenix nervously thought to himself as he broke out into a cold sweat. Though unfortunately for the Comeback King, his fear was almost immediately replaced with pain as Franziska quickly turned around and gave his shoulder a taste of her whip.

"Phoenix Wright, sitting behind me is an act of foolishness more foolish than your normal foolishly foolish brand of tomfoolery- especially considering that you've foolishly decided to go up against me in court today." Franziska snarled, flashing her courtroom rival a death glare as she pulled on her whip.

"Hey, if you want to get angry and blame someone, talk to the woman who dragged me here." The spiky-haired attorney stated as he nonchalantly pointed his thumb at his assistant.

"Well, in that case..."

Franziska proceeded to lash Maya with her whip, prompting the spirit medium to glare daggers at her friend.

"Thanks a lot, Nick!" Maya yelled, glowering at her friend with brown rage-filled eyes.

"Now, if you fools wouldn't mind, I'd prefer it if you kept your foolish tomfoolery to a minimum until we get to the courthouse." Franziska stated, turning around in her seat and taking out the file for the current case in an attempt to make this trying experience somewhat positive and productive.

"Don't worry, Franziska, you won't even know we're here." Maya chirped.

Even though Maya was infamous for her hyperactivity and low threshold for boredom, she was able to keep her promise and keep quiet for the next few minutes through a combination of drawing crude pictures of the Steel Samurai by smudging her finger on the window next to her. And because of this, Franziska was able to calm down and read her case file in peace, a smirk spreading across her face as she thought about how she was making perfect use of her time- reviewing the trial's evidence and honing her strategy while Phoenix was… Well, Franziska wasn't sure of what her courtroom rival was doing on account of her not bothering to look back at him, but knowing him, he was probably doing something foolish like the foolish fool that he was.

Of course, the silver-haired prosecutor knew she was right- after all, that was the case 99.9 percent of the time- but that didn't stop her from being consumed by curiosity to the point where it was becoming a distraction. And so Franziska, overcome with the urge to see firsthand just how much more prepared she was than her foolish rival, put her case file down on her lap and briefly glanced behind her to see Phoenix struggling to send a text on that ancient relic that he called a phone, a pained look on his face as he slowly typed out each letter with his index finger.

Upon seeing this sight, Franziska couldn't help but snicker to herself, covering her mouth with her gloved hand as she turned to face forward. Phoenix Wright, the man who had managed to beat not only her and her 'little' brother, but also her father who had went undefeated for 40 years, could barely use a cellphone that was ten years out-of-date 20 years ago. If the silver-haired prosecutor wasn't stuck on this foolish bus and/or facing that pitiful fool in court later that morning, she would have felt sorry for him.

Perhaps that's why Phoenix was doing it: he wanted Franziska to see him in such a pathetic, vulnerable state so that she would hold back during the trial and give him an easy win- that, or make it where she'd burst into fits of laughter during the trial, thereby losing her credibility and the momentum of her argument. That had to be it! No one, not even Phoenix Wright, could be that incompetent when it comes to technology! Well, if that was the bluffing attorney's angle, then he was foolish unaware of whom he was dealing with. Franziska could never be thrown off her game by foolish pity, a skill developed after years of working with Gumshoe- and cutting his pay- and watching Edgeworth struggle with small talk. That's how Franziska was able to move past that humorous sight and return to reading her case file.

However, the feeling of serenity that Franziska was experiencing was about to become a memory when Phoenix's phone started to ring, playing that foolishly obnoxious song that he foolishly hadn't changed in over a decade.

"Hey Athena, how's your case with Trucy going...?" Phoenix asked before chuckling slightly. "Trucy's doing what...? Well, without Apollo around for her to torture, you're the next-best thing... I know that it's not fair, but think of it as a rite of passage. So, was that all you wanted to talk about...?" The spiky-haired attorney nodded his head as he listened to his protégé. "Simon wants to take us out to dinner tonight...? Alright, that sounds good to me!" Phoenix exclaimed with a huge grin. "Maya and I'll meet you guys there after we're done investigating for the day." The spiky-haired attorney chirped as he ended the call.

"So what did Athena want?" Maya asked, cocking her head to the side out of intrigue.

"You know that case she's working on, the one where that pawnshop owner was accused of killing a customer with a knife in his storeroom?"

"Yeah, what about it?"

"Apparently, the shop sells antique weapons and Trucy's looking to buy a few for some new tricks that she wants Athena to assist her with. So now Athena's crying about how it's a 'violation of her rights' and a 'danger to her health'."

"Pfft! What a lightweight!" Maya tittered with a wave of her hand. "If Athena thinks Trucy's bad, she wouldn't have lasted five minutes with Sis."

"Tell me about it. I make one remark about your devil of a cousin not pooping back when I was a dumb kid, and I'm assigned to clean the office toilet on a daily basis the moment I walked in the door on my first day. And mind you, every morning, Mia was… regular, to say the least." Phoenix shuddered at the thought of his early days at the law firm. "But at least now I have a protégé who's willing to help me out with that." The spiky-haired attorney smirked.

"Oh, speaking of Athena, you mentioned something about Simon wanting to take us out to dinner?" Maya jovially asked, clasping her hands together as her eyes filled with excitement at the mere mention of food. "So, where is he taking us? Eldoon's? Burger Barn? Big Willy's? I hope it's Big Willy's!"

"In that case, you're in for a world of disappointment, because we're going to be having soba at Whet Noodle."

"Soba!?" Maya screeched, her face contorted in absolute disgust. "What the hell's soba!? It sounds like soap, and I don't eat soap…! At least, not after Edgeworth's 30th birthday. But in my defense, those bathroom soaps looked like candy!"

"Maya, please don't remind me of that day… I'm still getting angry phone calls from Willow Oaks about what you did to the Governor." Phoenix groaned. "Though back to your question, soba is noodles that are made with buckwheat. So since you like Eldoon's noodles, you'll probably like soba. Heck, you'll probably love it even more since it doesn't contain enough salt to kill a small elephant." The spiky-haired attorney said with a nervous grin as he put a hand to the back of his neck.

"But Niiiiiiiick! I don't want new stuff! I want burgers!" Maya whined, puffing out her cheeks in anger as she crossed her arms.

"Maya, you had seven burgers for breakfast." Phoenix said with an exasperated sigh. "I should know, considering how you drained my poor wallet dry before my very eyes."

"But Niiiiiiiick, those were breakfast burgers- totally different from dinner burgers!"

"Listen Maya, it's not that often that someone other than me pays for dinner, so we're going to the Whet Noodle whether you like it or not. For crying out loud, Maya, you're 28 and the Master of Kurain! So stop making a scene and embarrassing both me and yourself!" Phoenix snapped as he glowered at his assistant.

"Oh, if it's a scene you want, Nick, then it's a scene you'll get!" Maya roared, her cheeks puffed out as she matched her friend's scowl with a death glare of her own.

"Maya, please don't…" Phoenix pleaded with a look of apprehension, his posture slightly hunched over as a few beads of cold sweat dripped down his brow upon realizing what dark path he was now treading. "If you care about me, then-"

But unfortunately for Phoenix, his words fell on deaf ears as his fears came to fruition in the form of Maya cutting him off by screaming at the top of her lungs like an enraged child before unleashing a barrage of rapid-fire kicks on the back on Franziska's seat.

"I want burgers! I want burgers! I want burgers! I want burgers! I want-"

And also as Phoenix had feared, Maya's temper tantrum was quickly put to an end by Franziska turning around and whipping both him and his assistant.

"Will you stop that, Maya Fey!? It is beyond foolish and inconsiderate!" Franziska snapped while pulling at her whip.

"But Nick started it!" Maya retorted in a whinny tone as she pointed to Phoenix, who could help but roll his eyes with an exasperated sigh.

"Well, I'm ending it. So if I hear another foolishly foolish word out of either you or Phoenix Wright, Maya Fey, I will not hesitate to whip the both of you into submission. Do I make myself clear?" Franziska hissed as her eyes narrowed.

"Crystal." The normally energetic spirit medium gulped with saucer-sized eyes.

"Objection!" Phoenix shouted with his famed finger point. "I can understand why you're angry at Maya, but I have done nothing to bother you over the course of this entire bus ride. So why are you threatening to punish me as well?"

"Easy. You annoy me, Phoenix Wright." Franziska smirked with a waggle of her finger. "So now that you both are aware of what will happen if either of you continue to act foolish for the duration of this ride, are we going to have any more problems?"

Without saying a word, Phoenix and Maya shook their heads, much to Franziska's delight as she turned back around in her seat with grin before going back to reading her case file.

For the next few minutes, things went back to being reasonably quiet and Franziska found herself calming down. However, that calmness was once again ripped away from her, only this time in the form of the bus stopping and Uendo Toneido, in his Patches persona, boarding.

"Hello, everyone! Lovely day we're having, isn't it?" Patches chirped, enthusiastically waving to the other passengers who looked as if they couldn't care less as he made his way towards the back of the vehicle.

However, when Patches reached Franziska, he stopped in his tracks as he swapped over to Kisegawa, who was none too happy if the scowl on her face was of any indication.

"Oh, it seems we've got a new girl on the bus today. So spill it, hon, what's your name?" Kisegawa sternly asked, pointing her fan at Franziska.

"Franziska von Karma, prodigy prosecutor." The silver-haired prosecutor curtly replied, not even bothering to look up from the case file she was reading in the hopes that this foolish bus person would go away if she simply ignored them.

Though much to Franziska's disdain, the only thing that course of action brought about was irritating the courtesan, who responded by slapping the case file out of the silver-haired prosecutor's hands with her fan.

"Well, Blandziska, do you know who I am?" Kisegawa asked with a mixed tone of irritation and arrogance.

"No, and I couldn't care less." Franziska stated, picking her case file up off of the ground, only for Kisegawa to slap it out of her hands once again.

"That's what I thought, little girl. Otherwise, you wouldn't be giving me, Kisegawa, the best courtesan and rakugo performer around such lip. Normally, I'd give an uppity child like you a face full of fan and an earful of sass, but since you're new to this bus, I'll let you off with just a warning."

"You're warning me? Don't make me laugh." Franziska sneered with a waggle of her finger. "If you legitimately believe that a foolishly foolish bus person wearing such a foolishly foolish outfit can intimidate a von Karma, then you're even more foolish than you look."

"Sticks and stones, Blandziska, sticks and stones." Kisegawa nonchalantly replied with a wave of her fan. "Just remember that I'm the queen bee around her, and if I hear any buzzing out of you, I'll swat more than that sad little file of yours. So just mind your Ps and Qs and we'll get along swimmingly, ok?"

Though suddenly, upon noticing Phoenix and Maya, Kisegawa's demeanor brightened as she switched over to Uendo.

"Hello Phoenix, good to see you as always." Uendo said with a soft smile before transitioning to Patches, who started enthusiastically waving at Maya. "Hey Maya, you're looking great as always!"

"It's good to see you too, Uendo." Phoenix politely replied.

"Phoenix Wright, just what kind of foolishly foolish people ride this foolishly foolish bus of foolishness?" Franziska asked with a disturbed look on her face, slightly reeling back in her seat at the sight of the rakugo personality changing so drastically so quickly.

"The kind that don't put up with that kind of lip." Kisegawa retorted as she slapped Franziska in the face with her fan. "So do us all a favor and stick a cork in it, Blandziska."

"Not before I shut your foolishly foolish mouth first!" Franziska snarled, counterattacking by lashing the courtesan with her trusty whip.

"Fine, I'll stop- not because you have a weapon, but because I feel that I'm above this. So don't think that this is over, Blandziska." Kisegawa huffed before sitting down in the seat to Franziska's left, where she proceeded to glower at the silver-haired prosecutor.

Not concerned in the slightest about what this strange bus fool thought of her, Franziska proceeded to pick her case file up off the ground once more, a look of mild disgust on her face upon realizing that it was now slightly sticky, before going back to reading it- only this time, not holding onto it too tightly and making several mental notes to wash her hands later. But apparently, the universe had a vendetta against the whip-happy prosecutor, for as soon as she resumed her reading, the bus stopped once more and someone else got on, only this time, it was much worse.

With obnoxious rap music blaring forth from the boombox that he was lugging on his shoulder, Wocky boarded the bus with crap-eating grin, thinking he looked so cool with his boombox as he swaggered forward to the groans of nearly everyone else present. Sure, this was a public bus and strange things happened all the time- something that the other passengers had grown used to, especially considering that this was Los Angeles, a city with more eccentric, over-the-top people than there are fish in the sea- but even they had their limits.

Though Wocky didn't care what these bustas thought about him. They were just haters who were too tight-assed to appreciate an OG when they saw one. So in an attempt to liven things up, The Vanilla Ice wannabe decided to 'treat' his fellow passengers to a rap as he made his way towards the back of the bus- because as anyone knows, a G's only as cool as how far in the back of a vehicle or room he's sitting.

"Yo, I'm OG Wocky, blastin' down bustas with my glocky! When the cops come by, sayin' me an' my homies are just talk, I go an' kick 'em in the-"

Fortunately, before Wocky could pass by Franziska and finish the current verse, the silver-haired prosecutor stuck out her foot and tripped the wannabe gangster, causing him to fall on top of his boombox and break it before proceeding to whip him until he was rendered unconscious, earning a round of applause from the other passengers.

"My turn! My turn!" Patches chirped, enthusiastically raising his hand like an excited schoolchild before singing his own song. "The wheels on the public bus go round and round, round and round, round and round. The wheels on the public bus go round and round, all-" Though before he could finish, the jester was cut off by searing pain of being lashed with Franziska's infamous whip, immediately silencing him.

For the next several minutes, things were once again peaceful for Franziska- Phoenix and Maya were keeping quiet, that strange bus person wasn't glaring at her, and that foolishly foolish thug who was under the foolish delusion that he was cool was lying on the ground unconscious. Thankfully, in order to be considerate to the passengers, the driver sped the bus up for a brief moment shortly after Wocky was knocked out in order to slide his body up against the back wall.

But then the bus stopped for a third time, and a person who was somehow worse than Wocky staggered onto the bus.

The new passenger was a man of average height with greasy, curly reddish-orange hair, a matching long scraggily beard, and a round, bulging stomach despite the rest of his body appearing unusually thin who was wearing a tattered jacket, a grungy tank top, and a tinfoil hat. In his hand, the man held a glass bottle in a dirty paper bag which he proceeded to take a generous glug from upon climbing into the vehicle as if to reward himself for the effort.

"Hey people, I wanna dance on da moooooooon!" The man obnoxiously bellowed at the top of his lungs, taking off his shirt and jacket and tossing them off to the side before wobbling back and forth like an intoxicated metronome while bobbing his head up and down.

"Oh no, Nick! Dionysus tried his hand at making moonshine in the Vitamin Square bathroom again! Should we warn Franziska?" Maya whispered with a worried look on her face.

"Maya, don't you remember? You promised Franziska that you wouldn't say another foolish word. After all, we don't want to get whipped now, do we?" Phoenix snidely whispered back with a mischievous glint in his eyes which Maya couldn't help but softly giggle at.

"You're so bad, Nick!" Maya softly chirped as she playfully slapped her friend's shoulder.

"Shhh..! Dionysus is coming this way and I really want to see how this plays out." Phoenix whispered before focusing on Dionysus, who was stumbling down the aisle while muttering incoherent gibberish under his breath as he struggled to maintain his balance.

And sure enough, just like with Uendo, Dionysus stopped upon seeing Franziska and decided that this stern-faced prosecutor who was devoting all of her attention to the case file in her hand would be a great new friend.

"Hey… *hic* Hey lady, ya new 'ere?" Dionysus slurred.

"Yes, now go away." Franziska curtly responded without looking up once again, hoping this time that the foolish creep would actually get the memo and keep on walking.

However, the plan worked just as well as last time on account of Dionysus ripping the case file out of Franziska's hand and throwing it off to the side, causing the papers contained inside to scatter all throughout the bus.

"You fool!" Franziska roared, her face reddening as she glared daggers at the drunkard. "That file contained pivotal evidence for a trial that I'm prosecuting in less than an hour from now!"

"Hey lady, no need ta yell! Ya… Ya just gotta learn ta relax an' gooo with da flooow. So how's- *hic* how's about I serenade you with my harmonionioni voice and sexy dance?" Dionysus asked with the best enticing tone he could muster with a glazed look in his eyes.

"The only thing I want is for you to move out of my way so I can get my papers back!" Franziska snarled, lashing the drunkard with her whip. However, much to the silver-haired prosecutor's shock, he was completely unaffected as he stood his ground.

"I see yer bein' stubborn, just like… just like my sister who never calls or visits me. But don't ya worry… Don't… Don't worry… I-I don't hate ma egghead sis an'- *hic* and I don't hate you. So I'm gonna perform for ya anyways. Do do do, do do do, do do do do do!" The drunkard sang as he started pelvic thrusting in Franziska's general direction.

"S-Stop your sick tomfoolery at once, you foolishly disgustingly foolish fool!" Franziska shouted with legitimate terror in her eyes as she whipped Dionysus a second time, only for him to once again remain unfazed.

"Oh-ho! Seems like I got an admirer! In dat case, I gotta turn up da heat!" Dionysus replied with a sultry grin before pelvic thrusting even harder. "DO DO DO DO DO DO, DO DO DO DO DO!

"Go, Dionysus! Don't be afraid to shake what your mama gave you!" Kisegawa cheered with a sneer as she pointed her fan at the inebriated man.

"Don't foolishly encourage him!" Franziska shouted before unleashing a barrage of lashes from her whip on Dionysus, all of which had no effect as he continued singing and dancing. "Why won't my whip work!? What kind of foolish freak of nature are you!?"

At that moment, the bus hit a pothole, causing Dionysus to fall on top of Franziska's lap, where he flopped about like a carp while under the delusion that he was still on his feet, causing the silver-haired prosecutor to scream out in a mixture of fury and terror.

"Phoenix Wright, Maya Fey! Make yourselves useful for once and get this foolishly foolish drunkard off of me!" Franziska snarled as she struggled in vain to move Dionysus off of her lap, only to find the spiky-haired defense attorney and spirit medium laughing at her situation from the comfort of their seats. Sure, Phoenix and Maya knew that what they were doing was cruel, but after years of Franziska's abuse, they felt that they'd earned this moment as they enjoyed the rest of their bus ride.

When the bus finally stopped at the courthouse about ten minutes later, Phoenix and Maya decided to show some mercy and roll Dionysus off of Franziska, who proceeded to wobble his way towards the front of the bus while muttering some obscenities under his breath.

"Why didn't you two fools help me sooner!?" Franziska snarled, springing to her feet as she ruthless lashed both Phoenix and Maya with her whip.

Because we were enjoying ourselves. "Sorry, Franziska…" Phoenix stated with a nervous grin as he put a hand to the back of his neck. "Is there anything we can do to make it up to you."

"Yes, let me convict the defendant in today's trial without your usual bluffing." Franziska angrily replied as she pulled at her whip.

"Ok, let me rephrase that, Franziska. Is there anything we can do to make it up to you that doesn't involve me compromising my principles and-"

"Listen here, Phoenix Wright!" Franziska snarled, grabbing the spiky-haired attorney by the collar of his shirt. "I went through hell on this foolishly foolish bus of foolishness! A crazed fool slapped me with their fan-"

"You're no Miss Congeniality yourself, princess." Kisegawa snidely interjected.

"As I was saying, a crazed fool slapped me in the face with their fan, a foolishly foolish drunk got rid of my case file and traumatized me in ways that no amount of therapy can fix, and I had to sit in a seat that was oddly sticky! So with all that said, you owe me, Phoenix Wright! I don't care if that foolish defendant is innocent; I don't care if they have a sad backstory; and I don't care if they're holding one of your friends hostage! When we get in that courtroom, here's what's going to happen: I'll say that the defendant's guilty, you'll be quiet and nod your head like a good boy, and the Judge will slam his gavel and give me my victory. Do you understand?"

"I don't care how angry you are, Franziska." Phoenix sternly stated as he pushed the silver-haired prosecutor off of him. "I'm sorry that your experience on the public bus was so horrible. Trust me, if Maya ot I could drive, I wouldn't be anywhere near this thing. But as long as I'm around, I won't let you ruin an innocent man's life!"

"We'll just see about that, Phoenix Wright…" Franziska sneered with a waggle of her finger.

"You don't scare us, Franziska!" Maya replied with a confident grin. "Nick's gotten punched, tazed, hit in the head with a fire extinguisher, fell off a burning bridge into a river that people disappear in, hit by a car and launched headfirst into a telephone pole, and survived Pearly's slaps of terror! There's no punishment in this world that Nick can't handle- he's indestructible, like the Steel Samurai!" The bubbly spirit medium boasted as she slapped Phoenix's back.

"Who said anything about me destroying Phoenix Wright…?" Franziska asked in a sinister tone before cracking the air with her whip, prompting the spiky-haired attorney to gulp as terror filled his now saucer-sized eyes.

Later, the courtroom was filled with the murmurs of the gallery as Franziska and Maya stood behind their respective benches, only to be immediately silenced when the Judge slammed his gavel.

"Court is now in session for the Trial of Ed O'Tayle. Is the prosecution prepared?" The Judge asked.

"The prosecution is ready, Your Honor." Franziska chirped.

"Good to see that you're in such high spirits, Ms. von Karma. And is the defense- Wait a minute, where's Mr. Wright?" The Judge asked with a look of shock on his face upon seeing just Maya behind the defense's bench. "It's not like him to be late like this. Did he get hit on the head with another fire extinguisher?"

"Don't worry, Your Honor. Phoenix Wright is perfectly fine." Franziska smirked with a finger waggle. "You see, Phoenix Wright's currently going on a ride through the city and can't join us today. However, just because Phoenix Wright isn't here doesn't mean that we can't have a trial. After all, Maya Fey has worked with him for so many years that she knows all of his foolish strategies like the back of her hand. Right, Maya Fey?" The silver-haired prosecutor calmly asked with a threatening undertone to her voice as she pulled at her whip.

"R-Right." Maya stuttered as she broke out in a cold sweat.

"Very well. Ms von Karma, your opening statement, please."

"Certainly, Your Honor." Franziska replied with a curtsey. "You see…"

Meanwhile, back on the public bus, Phoenix's limp, unconscious body was lying on top of Wocky's, the other passengers acting completely indifferent to the sight as if it was an everyday occurrence while Dionysus was busy stealing both Phoenix's and Wocky's shoes.