The man's face flushed, his heart pumping at an all too familiar rate. His hands grew clammy, the temperature rising beneath his blue suit. All the while, he asked himself... Why? Why was every case the same? Why, after three years, hadn't he learned to calm his nerves before a trial?

At least, this time, it wasn't a murder case. On the other hand, his client had been charged with multiple crimes, most of them serious.

And he was guilty...

"Mr. Wright?"

He turned to see a man in a dark business suit with a red tie, and matching red-rimmed glasses. Standing at roughly Phoenix's height, he had brown eyes and brown hair that curled at the ends. Concern had replaced his normally gentle expression, though it seemed more for the one he had addressed, rather than for the direness of his own situation.

Phoenix Wright inwardly flinched, realizing he had unintentionally dropped what should have been a convincing poker face. "Oh, um, what is it, Mr. Sycamore?"

Desmond Sycamore was an archaeologist who, for the past several years, had been living a double life that unfortunately included a long list of crimes. It seemed almost a stroke of luck that Phoenix had shown up in London not long after the man had turned himself in. "You appear to be lost in thought. Is something the matter?"

"Oh, no, of course not! I was just mentally going over the arguments I anticipate the prosecution coming up with, and the points I have to counter..."

"Then why do you look absolutely miserable?"

Yikes! Phoenix's face flushed. I forgot the number one rule of being Mia Fey's disciple. A lawyer always smiles, no matter how bad things get. He started to put this teaching into practice when a young woman interrupted.

"Oh, don't mind him, Mr. Sycamore!" Maya Fey cut in. Younger sister to the deceased Mia, she had assisted Phoenix behind the bench for three years. She wore unusual robes and sandals, her long black hair loosely tied behind her back. "Nick may look like a nervous wreck before court...and sometimes during...heck, even toward the end, but he always goes in like it's the fight of his life! Actually, sometimes it is the fight of his life..."

"Gee...thanks...Maya..." Phoenix said through gritted teeth. "Um, anyway, Mr. Sycamore, don't worry about a thing! I've gone over the case plenty of times before this morning. The prosecution can throw whatever they want at me. I'll send it right back at them!"

"Yeah..." Maya suddenly looked disappointed. "We should be okay, considering who the prosecutor is. I mean...that's the best they could come up with? That weirdo who gave us nothing but grief the last time we were here?"

"That's what was decided, Maya. I was really hoping Edgeworth would be at that bench, since he was basically in charge of the case, but I guess he wanted to be involved with the investigation more than anything else."

"This Mr. Edgeworth...he sounds like an important figure," Sycamore suddenly commented. "Did you, by any chance, study beneath him, Mr. Wright?"

Phoenix's jaw practically dropped to the floor. "Wh-what?! Of course not!"

"Oh." Sycamore was stunned by the reaction. "I did not intend any offense, Mr. Wright. It's just that, with the way you speak of him, I assume he had acted as some sort of mentor to you."

"Ugh...no, no, I mean...haha. Ahem." A sheepish Phoenix attempted to compose himself. "You didn't offend me, Mr. Sycamore. Edgeworth's not my mentor...but in a way, you could say he taught me a thing or two about law."

"I see."

The sound of a door opening prompted Phoenix to straighten his posture. "Oh, looks like we'll be starting soon. We'd better get inside."

"The court is now in session for the trial of Mr. Desmond Sycamore." All eyes were on the man in the white wig as he made the announcement from the judge's seat.

"The defense is ready, Your Honor," said Phoenix.

"The prosecution is ready, Your Honor," said a soft but snooty voice. It belonged to a bespectacled man with thinning blond hair and a green jacket.

"Very good." The judge nodded. "Welcome back, Mr. Wright. I did not expect to see you again so soon in this courtroom."

"Likewise, Your Honor. It's good to be back."

"Well, well, well," the prosecutor, a man named Flynch, cut in. "We meet again, Mr. Wright. Now I will repay the humiliation you inflicted upon me mere weeks ago!"

Though such words did not come as a surprise to Phoenix, they still rubbed him the wrong way. "If...if you say so..."

"Mr. Flynch, you appear rather eager this morning," the judge remarked. "Perhaps you could give us your opening statement?"

The man's weasel-like grin only broadened. "Gladly, Your Honor. The defendant, Desmond Sycamore, stands accused of kidnapping, extortion, criminal damage, and attempted murder. It would be my pleasure to prove that the defendant is guilty of all he stands accused."

"What pleasure would that be?" asked Phoenix. "My client has already entered a guilty plea."

Flynch's face fell briefly before the smile returned... though this time, strained. "W-well, of course he has, Mr. Wright! And how wise of you to support his decision. You both must have known I was to stand in court today. And what a pity- I had rather hoped this would be a challenge."

"I'm not finished."

"What?"

"We are going ahead with the guilty plea, but there will still be a trial."

Flynch laughed. "Mr. Wright, surely you are not a masochist?"

"Sometimes I think he's the masochist," came the voice to Phoenix's right.

"Shh, Maya," said Phoenix.

"Drawing out your client's crimes in great detail..." the prosecutor continued. "...haha, hmm...well, you are nothing if not brave."

"Bravery has nothing to do with it," Phoenix told him. "Our purpose is this... to uncover the entire truth of the matter. It is true that my client is guilty, but that by itself is not the entire truth. During this trial, it will all become clear. I am prepared for whatever may be revealed here. Can you say the same?"

"Wh-wha..." Flynch's second attempt at getting under Phoenix's skin had failed, he saw. Still, he did his best to recover. "O-of course I'm prepared! This is a trial I will not lose, after all! Give me everything you've got, Mr. Wright."

"Oh, you bet I will."

The judge cleared his throat loudly. "This is a court of law, you two. Save the fight for after the trial. Now, as Mr. Sycamore has entered a plea of guilty, we will examine each of his crimes and their impact on those victimized. Mr. Flynch, I understand you have multiple witnesses ready to testify?"

The sneer returned. "But of course. I trust that twenty is enough?"

This time, Phoenix was unable to conceal his shock. "T-twenty?! You mean you found twenty people to testify for this trial?" I don't even run into that many over two trials... then again, our initial trials are pretty short...

"Oh, no, no, no. I've found much more than that. You see, Mr. Wright, your client has been a rather naughty man, and has earned the ire of nearly everyone subjected to his cruelty. There are easily a hundred waiting, I assure you. But as we'll only get through a portion of Mr. Sycamore's crimes today, the twenty should suffice. Is this not so, Your Honor?"

The judge nodded. "I imagine we will only require a fraction of that number today, but your preparation is to be commended."

"Ugh..." Phoenix felt the first drop of sweat begin to form on his forehead. No way. Edgeworth didn't even hint at that many witnesses...

Flynch looked over, noticing Phoenix's reaction. "What is it, Mr. Wright?" he asked mockingly. "Did you think I would be so careless after last time? Heh heh... I will enjoy wiping that smug look off of your face."

"Well, first you'd have to look smug," Maya commented quietly. "C'mon, Nick, don't show that face. Remember what Sis used to say."

"Urrgh...I know, I know..." Phoenix took a deep breath to compose himself.

"Now, I shall continue," Flynch said. "Desmond Sycamore is a highly respected archaeologist who specialized in ancient civilizations, or at least one in particular. I will show how he misused funds from multiple institutions in order to carry out his nefarious plots. This court will know the injury he inflicted upon tens of thousands of people through deception, abduction, extortion and attempted murder. And then I will reveal the undeniable truth behind the additional crimes he committed to attain his ultimate goal – a chance at great fortune, and to go down in history as the man who singlehandedly solved the riddle of the Azran."

He would love for that to be Mr. Sycamore's true motive, wouldn't he? Phoenix shook his head, and gave a bold smirk. "Hate to break it to you, Mr. Flynch, but if that's the road you're on, you may want to consider backpedaling a bit."

The man simply chuckled. "Already trying to distract the court from the truth, are you, Mr. Wright? Don't worry, you'll get your chance to refute everything I say here today. Did I say refute? I meant to which pitifully sputter in response."

"Say what you will. I'm ready."

"That's the spirit! Now, as I was saying... some years ago, Mr. Sycamore studied the Azran civilization, eventually becoming an authority on the subject. Certainly, at some point, as countless others before him, he learned of an 'ultimate riddle' to solve, and the riches that would surely follow. Naturally, he succumbed to his greed, devising elaborate plots to attain the Azran treasure... at all costs."

"A great treasure..." murmured the judge. "Well, I could see how anyone might be tempted."

Flynch was showing a smirk. "Right you are, Your Honor."

Phoenix felt his stomach squirm. Please don't encourage him, Your Honor...

"To achieve his goals, he researched the conditions under which he would gain this treasure. First, he had to locate the sites of three specific ancient ruins, and activate them. Activating these sites would reveal the final location of the Azran treasure, and also initiate a new mission to construct a 'key,' with which he used to access the final site. But before that, he met with several institutions to obtain funding for this endeavor – funding that, I shall add, he abused for his own selfish purposes."

"Objection!" shouted Phoenix. "What proof do you have that he abused these funds?!"

"I'm so glad you asked, Mr. Wright," Flynch replied, the smirk becoming a full-blown grin. "We have retrieved copies of the agreements between Mr. Sycamore and these institutions, as well as eyewitness accounts of how the money was used. For example, in none of these records was it specified that Mr. Sycamore use the money to build machines to vandalize and damage parts of a town, including residential areas in which citizens were living. He was not instructed to build a disposable theater and a machine of destruction, or purchase seacraft to abduct and transport people. He did not have permission to create elaborate hoaxes for entertainment purposes in a different city, and then endanger lives by causing an event comparable to a natural disaster. Oh...hohohoho. As I said, Mr. Wright, your client has been... shall we say... very busy these last few years."

"Ugh..." When he states it like that, I'm almost ready to put Mr. Sycamore behind bars myself, defense be damned. But... I can't give in this early! Before the end of this trial, Mr. Sycamore's side must be told in its entirety.

"Though each university was generous with their records, unfortunately, they have not decided whether or not to press charges. That being the case, I will outline the first part of Mr. Sycamore's plot. Mr. Sycamore discovered that the first Azran site was located within the vicinity of the town Misthallery. Some may recall, it was also in several news publishings at one point."

The judge nodded. "Ah, yes, Misthallery. Charming place. I have had the honor of meeting the former mayor... Clark Triton, I believe?"

"Yes, Your Honor. As it happens, he was the mayor when these events were occurring. And in fact, his own family was directly affected by Mr. Sycamore's plot!"

"You don't say!"

"Mr. Sycamore kidnapped both Mr. Triton's wife and butler, and used their well-being as a means to control Mr. Triton himself. As any devoted husband and father, Mr. Triton would do anything to ensure the safety of his family."

"Mr. Sycamore did all of that...?" The judge could scarcely contain his shock. "The scoundrel!"

Phoenix shifted his weight uncomfortably, trying not to swallow the lump in his throat. And again, the pendulum swings to the side of doom for my case.

"Oh, and isn't he?!" Flynch said gleefully. "By the way, the Triton family is here today, waiting in the lobby. I intend to bring in at least one of them soon enough...but first, I will focus on the machines that were built to perform excavations on the town."

"Excavations?" asked the judge. "That doesn't sound so bad."

"Yes, if you ignore the fact that men were blackmailed into assembling these machines."

"Wh-what?!"

"Yes, extortion is a theme here," said Flynch. "He forced the chief engineer of a local factory into building the machines. And the man had just retired as well! I will let him tell his story – he is my first witness."

The judge nodded. "Very well. Please call this engineer to the stand."

No, Phoenix thought defeatedly, nearly ten minutes later. It's much too early to be so thoroughly whipped... so to speak.

Flynch's chuckle did nothing to alleviate Phoenix's feeling of dread. "...And would you say Mr. Sycamore blackmailed you into building the machine?" he asked the engineer, who was at the witness' stand.

The very question caused the man's face to redden. "Blackmail? He coerced, bullied, threatened, told me I would lose my home and family if I didn't do as he wished. Aye, I would say he blackmailed me."

"Ladies and gentlemen of the court, let it be known that the defendant threatened harm to both the witness and his loved ones. Though no physical harm was dealt, there were still consequences for this gentleman here. Witness, would you tell the court what happened five years ago, as well as subsequent years?"

"When this... Mr. Sycamore first had me build the machines, it put a tremendous amount of strain on me, as well as my relationships. My wife couldn't understand why I suddenly wanted out of retirement, or why I was back at the factory, and at all hours of the day. She was so angry with me, and she had every right to be. Eventually, she demanded a divorce, but before that could happen, the Golden Garden was found, and that horrible man had disappeared. Afterward, I told her everything, and we were able to move on together."

Flynch tsk-tsked, showing a face with exaggerated sympathy. "So your marriage suffered awhile, but that wasn't all, was it?"

The elder man shook his head no. "My health...took a dive. The long hours and the stress of keeping Mr. Sycamore and his lackeys away from my family... it all got to me. Used to be I didn't have to take medicine to stay healthy. Suddenly my blood pressure was though the roof, and the doctors worried about my heart. I'm finally at a place where I'm managing, but I'll always remember what that man put me and my family through. It was the worst year of my life."

"And there it is, Your Honor. Mr. Sycamore tormented this good man day in and day out for a year, nearly destroying his relationships and even causing harm to his health. And yet, there are some who believe the defendant shouldn't be punished to the fullest extent of the law, and would even stoop to justify what he has done... scoundrels of the lowest kind, to be sure."

"Objection!" Phoenix exclaimed. "Your Honor, the prosecution should stick to the facts of the case instead of hurling thinly veiled insults at the defense!"

The older man nodded. "Mr. Flynch, please refrain from suggesting that the defense is on the same level as the defendant. Although, I don't see the use in defending someone accused of that many crimes..."

Phoenix slumped where he stood. Thanks a lot, Your Honor.

Flynch chuckled again. "Yes, Your Honor. I suppose when something is that evident, words are not needed. Now, witness, you've had to interact with Mr. Sycamore many times over the course of a year. How is your health today, being in his presence?"

"I dunno what you mean," said the man, a bewildered look on his face. "But as soon as I face him again, I'll tell you."

Flynch's merriment vanished. "What? What are you talking about? He's right here."

"Where?"

"In...in the defendant's seat!" a flustered Flynch exclaimed. "Please tell me your vision didn't suffer along with your blood pressure!"

"How dare you? My vision is the same as it was then! I can see the man in the chair just fine. But if anyone is raising my blood pressure today, it's you!"

Wow, though Phoenix. That went south, fast. I wonder...could this all be a misunderstanding?

His thoughts were interrupted by the gavel hitting its sound block. "If I may, witness, Mr. Flynch," started the judge. "Witness, is the man sitting in the defendant's chair the same man you met five years ago?"

The engineer shrugged. "Honestly, I couldn't say."

"Wh, wh..." Flynch was sputtering. "And why is that?!"

"The man I met was in some sort of costume. Mask, cape, and all that. Never saw him without it. Until today, I didn't even know his real name. Always called himself...'Descole,' I believe. If the man in the chair was him, I wouldn't know."

"Wow," murmured Maya. "We didn't have to give Flynch any rope at all. He supplied it, then hanged himself completely."

"Hmph." The judge bowed his head. "Then this testimony was pointless. If we can't confirm the one who blackmailed the witness was indeed Mr. Sycamore..."

"Errgh..." Flynch was the one hunched over now, attempting to salvage the pieces of his case. "Well, perhaps...I...we...we can..."

"Yes, Mr. Flynch?"

"We...can get the witness to describe this costume, and search the defendant's home? Yes, I think it's worth a try..."

They can search for it, but they won't find it, thought Phoenix. "Your Honor, if I may interrupt?"

The judge nodded. "You may."

"I would like to request a thirty minute break."

"For what purpose, Mr. Wright?"

"I need to discuss with my client the whereabouts of this costume, and of course, share this information with Mr. Flynch."

"Share information?" Flynch repeated incredulously. "Do you take me for a fool, Mr. Wright? You know where this disguise is, and intend to keep its location hidden from this court!"

Phoenix felt himself growing hot beneath the collar. "No, no, no..."

"During the break, you will obviously have someone take the costume from Mr. Sycamore's home!"

"Is this true, Mr. Wright?" asked the judge.

"No, absolutely not!" insisted Phoenix. "Just listen! First off, Mr. Sycamore doesn't own a home anymore. His last known residence was an airship known as the Bostonius. Sometimes he'd keep it at the airdrome here, but not recently."

"I see... then you're saying he no longer owns this airship? Where exactly is it now?"

"It was destroyed in a crash about two or three weeks ago. But that doesn't matter now-"

"Doesn't matter?!" Flynch exclaimed. "Your Honor, you see what the defense is trying to do-"

"Order, order!" the judge bellowed, repeatedly bringing down his gavel. Murmurs among the audience followed. "Mr. Flynch, your concern is noted, but I do not believe Mr. Wright is attempting to deceive the court. Mr. Wright, I will grant your request for a break. We will reconvene in thirty minutes." One final pound of the gavel barely masked Flynch's whimpering.

A/N: Though there are some ties to PL vs AA, I put this in the crossovers section for a reason. It isn't focused on anything in the crossover game aside from the court portion, so it feels like a new crossover more than anything else.

I will confess to not knowing crap about law or the courts; most of my knowledge comes from the AA games and movies/media with lawyers. I am following the court system from the AA games and PL vs AA, but since it is kind of a weird AU with an Initial Trial system, I think I can get away with it. Or I hope, anyway. This isn't to say I'm not looking some things up, but if it contradicts game canon too much, I might write around it.

As mentioned in the summary, this story is a direct sequel to the PL fic, "Storm's End." So if there is any confusion on how certain people know one another, I hope a quick read will clear that up.

I can't promise speedy updates or the best fic (since my skills have been regressing as of late), but stay tuned, and thanks for reading.