Well, here's another chapter. This one can be considered a filler, but also leads up to the next case. Takes place before Turnabout Big Top, though, since that canon case takes place several months after Reunion and Turnabout.
Disclaimer: Capcom owns the copyright to Ace Attorney and its characters and settings.
The Cave of Turnabout-Prologue
Two months later, Chris woke early in his apartment and ate a light breakfast, part of him couldn't stop thinking about Maya, He enjoyed her company when they, along with Phoenix toured the town with her cousin, Pearl. The little girl was shy, but sweet, Chris could almost hardly believe that Pearl was Morgan's daughter after hearing what that old Fey woman tried to do to her own niece. Business at the Law Office was slow, but Chris still liked spending time with Phoenix, Maya and Pearl.
'Well, no use dwelling about it, Morgan Fey and Miss Mimey have gotten their comeuppance' Chris shrugged, having read the newspapers the night before going to bed. Part of him felt sorry for Mimi Mimey for the loss of her sister though, but what was to be done? Murder is a very serious crime, one that earned those found guilty of it a very, very long prison sentence, and in some cases, an execution.
Putting on a jacket and his badge, Chris set outside his apartment for the Firm, whistling a merry tune. He reached the firm and went in to greet his uncle and the two Feys who have arrived around the same time"Morning."
"Morning, Chris" Maya smiled"Did you catch the news about a mysterious cave that has just been discovered two months ago?"
Chris shook his head"Nope, was too busy keeping up on the latest news about the case Uncle Nick solved just a couple months back, and then there's something I read about a Casino Owner getting busted by Prosecutor Whiteshore for suspicious behavior."
"She's not someone I'd want to cross, but she's not as bad as Franziska from what I heard" Phoenix commented.
Maya grinned"You interested in this Whiteshore girl, Nick?"
"Of course not" Phoenix rolled his eyes, ignoring the look he just got from Pearl. He hadn't dated since he was an Art Student before taking the bar exam and becoming an Attorney, and the person who had been his crush was believed by him to not even be who he thought she was.
Chris chose this moment to reenter the conversation"So, what do you reckon this cave has?"
Maya thought for a second"Hm. Maybe there's some ancient treasure or piece of history to be discovered, an Archeologist is supposed to accompany the group. Hey Nick, would you, Chris and Pearly like to come with us to see what's going on?"
"Sure, Mystic Maya" Pearl said.
Phoenix nodded"All right, its not like we're going to be getting a Client anytime soon at this point, anyway. I'll just leave a note and my cell phone number outside, just in case."
"Well, I got nothing better to do right now" Chris smiled.
The four of them left the office and hired a taxi to take them to the northwestern mountain cave. Chris took a breath as he sat next to Maya"Well, nothing like spending the day with hopefully a bit of spelunking."
"I agree" Maya grinned.
Phoenix couldn't say he was really all that interested, but he had nothing better to do, and he wanted his nephew to enjoy himself once in a while, and there was Pearl and Maya to think about.
The car ride took an hour at most, the group arriving in time to see a few more cars parked at the vicinity of the mountain in question. Chris looked around"Guess a lot of people were interested. No surprises there, since the place had been discovered just a couple months ago."
"Heh, you bet" Maya smiled.
The four got a bit closer to see a small crowd of people gathering to look at the mountain, the entrance to the cave was just large enough for someone to enter. A woman in her forties was jotting notes as she spoke with another man who was in his fifties and had glasses, brown hair flecked with grey, a brown jacket and pants, with a white shirt. Priscilla and Kenderick were also on the scene.
"Wow, sure must be a big deal" Phoenix commented.
Maya nodded"Yeah."
The older man spotted the group, pleasantly surprised"Ah, we got more celebrities joining us, today. Phoenix Wright, I assume?"
"Uh, yeah" Phoenix rubbed his head"And you are?"
The man smiled"I'm Professor Robert Bones, an Archeologist, Explorer and University Professor from Arizona. I read about your cases, you young people sure know how to make things interesting."
"Thanks" Chris smiled"Professor Bones, I'm actually an admirer of history to some extent, though I'm more interested in law."
"And to think I would meet you here" Priscilla stepped forward"Chris, I'm pleasantly surprised to meet you, here."
"Thanks" Chris smiled.
The woman Professor Bones was talking to glanced over at them"Chris? Phoenix?"
"Mother?" Chris turned to the woman"How is everything?"
The woman smiled"Pretty good. I see you even made some friends during your career. I hope Chris has been doing okay in your care, Phoenix."
Phoenix nodded"Yeah, he already took a case a couple months ago and won."
"And who are these two?" The woman inquired, referring to Maya and Pearl.
Pearl shyly stood by Maya, but politely said"My name is Pearl, ma'am."
"And I'm Maya Fey, Nick's Assistant" Maya smiled.
The older woman smiled back"Nice to meet you, I'm Katarina Wright."
"How is Chase doing, Katarina?" Phoenix asked.
"Same as always" Katarina replied"As for me, my job's been getting more and more hectic, its not easy being a Journalist when you have to help with retractions whenever someone who was wrongfully accused or convicted was proven innocent, but who am I to complain? I very much prefer the truth, even the Turnabout variety. Anyway, as you can see, I'm here for today's scoop, and that is the expedition into the cave, there."
"We're interested in it, ourselves" Chris said"Is it in some way related to the Fey Clan or any historical periods?"
Katarina shrugged"I don't know, that's why the professor is here. We've no idea how large this cave is, either." She took a look at her notes again.
Professor Bones took this moment to speak"While I have brought an excavation team and Mrs. Wright was assigned by the press to keep to help keep a record of our findings, we'd be happy to have volunteers help us as we explore the cave and dig up any artifacts that we may find if anyone is interested. I will accept no more than six people, we don't want the place to get too crowded."
Chris smiled, excited"I'd like to help out."
"I'll come, too" Maya piped up.
Priscilla took a breath and stepped forward"I shall come as well. Professor Bones, you are too kind."
"Well, this is a popular site for Archeology Enthusiasts. Plus, as a teacher, I hoped to spread the wonders of Ancient History" Professor Bones smiled"Besides, there's bound to be some historical artifacts, like I said."
"I'll wait here with Pearl" Phoenix offered.
"Thanks, Nick" Maya smiled.
The volunteers entered the cave with the professor, the first chamber of which was mostly a rocky area with ancient rock-like walls along with a dirt pathway.
Maya gasped in awe as she saw an underground waterway"Wow, this place is just... Well, its something."
"Isn't it?" Professor Bones surveyed the area, there were three more chambers to the west, east and north of this"Well, I reckon I will check the room up north, myself. Everyone else, you're free to borrow some of our extra digging tools and explore the other parts, just be careful not to hit anything that might be an artifact."
"Is it okay if I join you, professor?" Chris asked.
"Sure" Professor Bones nodded"If your mum is okay with it."
Katarina nodded"Its all right with me."
"I guess I'll follow you three" Maya volunteered.
The three went into the northern chamber, which featured a large green crystal with several smaller ones surrounding it. Professor Bones was puzzled"Hm. Now here's something I haven't seen before in my life."
Katarina approached it"Hm. Yes, it is quite something."
Chris glanced curiously at the closest of the greenish-blue crystal and walked forward"You think this has some kind of historical value?"
"Maybe" Maya shrugged"We won't know until we look."
Chris picked up the nearest crystal and it seemed to glow in his hand, a glowing aura could be seen around Maya, his mother and Professor Bones as he held it"Hm?"
"What is it?" Katarina walked forward, seeing the crystal.
Chris noted that the others had the same colored aura"You can't see it?"
"See what?" Maya asked, puzzled.
Chris shrugged, unsure what to say at first"Well..." He rubbed the back of his head with a free hand"When I picked this crystal up, a strange colored aura appeared around you three."
"What?" Katarina was surprised.
"May I hold it?" Maya asked.
Chris nodded and handed the crystal to Maya.
The Spirit Medium was pleasantly surprised when she saw Chris' aura"Huh, there must have been a tremendous amount of Spiritual Energy imbued within to make such a pretty gemstone do that."
"I don't understand what you're saying, right now" Katarina frowned"Only Spirit Mediums are said to be able to harness spiritual power, and even then, it is used only to channel the spirits of the dead."
"Yeah, well, I'm a Spirit Medium, and I don't understand exactly what it is" Maya said"Chris, you don't happen to know anyone in your family who was a Medium, do you?"
Chris shook his head"No, not that I am aware of. Let's show this to Professor Bones."
"Sure- Ack!" Maya cried as a gunshot was suddenly heard.
Katarina paled and ran toward the source, only to find Professor Bones lying on his back, dying. Maya followed the woman, only to find a discarded pistol near the dying Archeologist.
"What on earth?" Katarina frowned"Who could have done this?"
Professor Bones groaned"Uh... I didn't see anyone... Nearby.." He closed his eyes after coughing up blood.
Katarina paled and picked up the discarded pistol, looking at it"Whatever its... Someone must have had it in for him, but who?"
"Could they have been after the crystals?" Chris frowned, turning to the monument. Sure enough, several more crystals had gone missing.
Just then, Priscilla and Glenn entered the chamber, having been alerted by an anonymous source. Priscilla ran forward"Katarina Wright, I'll have to ask that you come with me for questioning."
Chris frowned"Prosecutor Whiteshore, there's no WAY she could've done this, my mother is not a killer!"
"The evidence and the scene state otherwise" Priscilla pointed out
"Someone tipped you off, right?" Katarina asked.
The Prosecutor nodded"Yes, but that person was obscured by shadow, so I couldn't see who It was. Miss Fay, as one of the few people who are at the scene at this moment, you will be participating in the trial as a Witness. And since the Source of the information was anonymous, we will first launch an investigation."
Maya reluctantly nodded"All right." She then turned to Chris, handing the crystal back"This might be important, so hold on to it, okay?"
"Sure" Chris nodded.
"Don't be so hasty" Priscilla interjected"What if the perp was after it? I will be taking it as evidence."
Chris shook his head"I'll hold on to it, I promise I won't lose the crystal." If the presence of the nearby people's aura was any indication, he might be able to figure out the mythical crystal's importance. He might even be able to use it somehow.
Priscilla was a little skeptical, but relented with a sharp sigh"All right, then. Just be careful with it, from what I can see, this crystal is a rare sight and I have not heard of any other cave or mine that it would be found it."
"I can imagine" Chris then headed out of the cave while Maya remained behind to talk with Priscilla.
Phoenix and Pearl came in to meet him. The older attorney was slightly pale"Are you all right, Chris? I just heard what happened."
"Yeah, and my own mother's a suspect, I gotta help her. What's more, Maya will be a witness at the Trial" Chris stated"I'll need to investigate the Crime Scene. But since the scene of the crime was the room with the crystal in it, it looks like Prosecutor Whiteshore isn't giving me any leeway this time."
"I will help you this time as your Co Counsel and in the investigation" Phoenix assured his nephew"I don't know my own sister-in-law that well, but I know she isn't the type to commit manslaughter."
Chris smiled"Thank you Uncle."
And this is where I end this chapter on a cliffhanger. I'll go back and fix this if it turns out there were any errors, as I wasn't sure where I was going with it.
