Warning: This chapter is super random, and it's long. I realized that given the direction the story is going to go, I need some goofy stuff in here to help with later on. So yeah. Sorry for the craziness.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Ace Attorney series characters!

Chapter 9 – Turnabout Diner (AN: Not the best title, but I couldn't come up with a better one.)

Background: It's Friday night, a week after Apollo and Juniper were following Phoenix around. Our friends are all at the Wonder Bar, waiting for Trucy's magic show to begin.

"I'm so excited for this! I haven't been to a magic show since…ever!" Kay spoke to Athena. The two of them were sitting at one table. At the other tables in the front row were Iris and Phoenix, Apollo and Juniper, and Edgeworth.

Athena smiled. "Yeah! Trucy's great. You're gonna love it!" She then turned to the person sitting next to her. "And I heard she's got some new tricks up her sleeve, tricks she learned from a certain someone." She nudged said someone.

"Hmph. I have not an inkling of what you speak of, Athena."

"Sure you don't," she countered, shaking her head. She leaned towards Kay and whispered to her. "So. Is Operation Diner a go?"

Kay nodded. "Yup. They should be here soon."

The two of them looked up when they noticed that two people were coming into the room.

"This is so exciting, Rena! I didn't know you went to go see magic shows! I guess you actually do have a life outside that ER."

"I'm going to act like you didn't say that," Serena replied. She waved her hand at the Wright Anything Agency group.

"So where are we going to sit?"

Serena searched the area. "We can sit at that table near Mr. Edgeworth's table. It's the only one that isn't occupied." The two friends made their way over there and took their seats.

"Looks like we're right on time," Sabrina whispered to Serena when the announcer came on.

"Yeah, you're right. Now let's watch. You're gonna love it!"

The show was an absolute success, as always. Trucy had performed a whole bunch of her magic tricks. In particular, she had one trick involving her magic wand. She had the audience oohing and aahing when she waved the wand around as if it was a sword. Of course, during that mini-performance, Apollo, Phoenix, and Athena had glanced over at Prosecutor Blackquill, who acted oblivious, although Athena didn't miss the impressed smile he had on his face when he was watching.

Everyone went over to congratulate Trucy. "Trucy! OMG! That was absolutely fabulous! You are totally amazing!" Sabrina complimented the young magician, who just bowed and giggled.

"Thank you, Sabrina! I'm glad you enjoyed the show!"

Serena smiled as she added, "It really was wonderful, Trucy. Great job." She then looked at her watch, then up at Sabrina. "Alright, Sabrina. I've got to get going."

"Going? Where?!"

"To the hospital. Remember what I told you when we were coming here? I have to go in tonight to cover for one of the doctors."

"Are you serious, Rena?! I thought we were going to have movie night tonight! Now what am I going to do with my free time?!"

"I'm sorry, Sabrina, but they really need me to go in. We can have movie night tomorrow, I promise. Now I've got to go if I don't want to be late. See you guys later!" She waved at them as she ran out of the club. Sabrina huffed a little.

"We're all going to the diner, Sabrina. You'll come with us, won't you?!" Athena asked the blonde. Serena had brought Sabrina to the Wright Anything Agency on a visit a week ago and introduced her to the group, and Sabrina, being the friendly, fun person she was made friends with everyone quickly, especially with Athena and Trucy.

The once pouting blonde immediately perked up at the offer. "Of course I'll come! As if I'd ever pass an offer to hang out with people!"

Athena and Kay share a secret smile. Kay had been introduced to Sabrina during the break in Trucy's show, and had immediately taken a liking to the lively woman.

At the beginning of the show, Trucy had produced a bouquet of light red carnations which she had thrown specifically to Edgeworth, who even though caught by surprise, caught them. They were still in his possession when he went up to Trucy. "Trucy, I believe these are yours." He held them out to her.

She shook her head. "No thanks, Mr. Edgeworth. Besides, who knows? You might just need them," she said, smiling innocently.

"Er…right." Hm…that smile seems just a bit too…innocent.

"Alright then! What are we waiting for?! Let's go!" Athena announced, taking Simon by the arm.

"Actually, you guys go ahead."

Iris looked to Phoenix. "What do you mean, Feenie? Aren't you coming with us?"

He shook his head. "I'm afraid I can't. I…have something I need to do. But you won't mind bringing Trucy back to my apartment, would you, Iris?"

She shook her head. "Er…N…no. I won't."

"Actually Mr. Wright, Trucy was going to come over and stay with me at my apartment tonight, remember?" Athena reminded him.

"Oh, that's right. Okay then. Make sure to call me when you get there, okay?"

"What do you need to do, Daddy?"

"Some business I need to take care, Trucy. That's all. I'll see you soon. Bye you guys." He quickly made his way out the door.

Athena and Iris exchanged glances, while Apollo was staring at the door through which Phoenix left, his eyes narrowed.

"Well…I guess that means there's going to be less of us, but that's okay!" Trucy then spoke to Edgeworth. "You're going to come with us too, right Mr. Edgeworth?"

"I suppose I wouldn't mind coming along."

"Great!" Trucy said just a little too enthusiastically, at least in the prosecutor's opinion.

The guys had all lagged behind the girls, who all ran to the diner. Edgeworth was the last of the group to enter, and when he did, he was stopped by Trucy.

"So Mr. Edgeworth," Trucy began. "We all know how your last date…didn't go as well as we had hoped."

Edgeworth's mind flashed back to that day, and he had to refrain from shuddering at the memory. "Yes, that was…not good, to say the very least."

Trucy nodded. "We realized that maybe she wasn't the…best person…to have you with. So that's why we arranged another date for you!"

Why did I not see this coming?! "Trucy…as kind as it is that you're doing this…"

"Mr. Edgeworth!" Athena cut in. "This time, it's with a person you know!"

"It…is?" Someone I know? I really hope they don't mean who I think they might mean.

"Yeah! Your date is sitting right there!" Kay pointed to one of the booths.

Edgeworth followed Kay' s finger, and he let out a sigh of relief. Thank goodness! It wasn't her. His eyes went down to the flower bouquet he was still holding. "Ah. This is why you gave me these flowers, isn't it?"

Trucy's bobbing head affirmed this. Kay then prodded the prosecutor towards the booth. "Now go on and have fun on your date!"

Edgeworth straightened up and walked over to the booth. The woman looked up at him and smiled cheerfully. "Hey there stranger!"

"Er…hello, Miss Reece."

"Oh, let me take those flowers off your hands now." She took the flowers from him. "Alright then. Have a seat!"

Edgeworth sat across from her. A waitress came up to them. "What would you two like to drink?"

"I'll take the…hm…" Sabrina looked over the menu. "I think I'll have some Coca-Cola."

"I'd like just a glass of water, please."

"Coke and H2O, coming up. Your food should be out soon."

"But we didn't order any food," Edgeworth pointed out.

"Those young ladies over there ordered for you."

Edgeworth saw that she was referring to Trucy, Athena, and Kay, who were giggling with each other. "I…see…Very well then."

As the waitress left, he noticed that Sabrina was on her phone, texting someone. "Come on! Answer my text already!" She typed furiously, and then waited for a minute or two. "I know you're ignoring me."

"Er…who might you be texting, Miss Reece?"

She looked up at him momentarily before returning her attention to her phone. "Rena. She's ignoring me, I just know it. Come on! Answer my texts already!" Just then her phone rang. "Hello? Rena! Why won't you answer my texts?!"

Edgeworth could hear a voice on the other side, and it seemed to be reprimanding Sabrina, who frowned. "Right…I'm sorry. I won't text you unless it's an absolutely emergency...Bye." She hung up and sighed. "Ugh." She then sighed heavily before looking up at Edgeworth. "So! The girls told me that you've only ever been on one other date besides this one!"

Edgeworth pushed his glasses up. "Yes, that's true. Unfortunately, that date ended…well…disastrously, I would say." Why can't anyone just drop it?!

Sabrina snickered. "I think the best part of that story was hearing about Rena getting covered in spaghetti by that old lady who stalks you!" She burst into a fit of laughter. "I can see it now!"

Edgeworth nodded his head. "Right."

"But…we're not here for that. We're here because we're on a date!" She clasped her hands and placed her elbows on the table, resting her chin on her hands. "So…how do you like me so far?"

Edgeworth was taken aback by the question. "Er…I…well…I can't really give you an answer to that question…not yet anyways."

"Right answer! You barely even know me! I was just testing you."

I'm here for a date, not to be tested…although, I'm not really here for a date either, not that I had the choice.

"So tell me about yourself, Mr. Edgeworth. I feel like there's a lot more to you than what meets the eye."

"I'm a prosecutor here in Los Angeles."

"Chief Prosecutor," Sabrina corrected.

"Er…yes."

"Do you live by yourself?"

"Yes…well, I do have a dog."

"A dog, huh? Dogs are cool, although I much prefer cats, especially since they'll do everything all by themselves. They just need someone to feed them and love them."

"Well, dogs are pretty much the same, wouldn't you say?"

"Not really. Dogs don't clean up themselves. Cats do."

"That is true, but don't cats leave hairballs all over the place as a result?"

"Yeah, that's kind of gross, but I think they're quite…I don't know…sophisticated."

Cats? Sophisticated? "I suppose it would depend on the individual dog or cat, but I wouldn't go as far as saying all cats are sophisticated."

"Really? Well, maybe that's just my opinion. I am biased towards cats, in case you couldn't already tell."

Of course I couldn't tell. You weren't making it obvious enough for me. Hmph. "Do you happen to have a cat, Miss Reece?"

"No. I was thinking about getting one, but as long as I'm going to be hanging out near Rena's place, there's no way I can get one, unless of course I wanted to kill her or something."

"What do you mean kill her?!"

"She's extremely allergic to cats, or their dander. I remember this one time. I brought her with me to this one place where there were a whole bunch of cats. My god! She started having a cough attack and sneezing and wheezing after just five minutes of being there. I thought she was dying! Boy was it freaky! If she didn't stop me, I would've called 911!"

"Oh. That's quite an allergy."

Sabrina nodded, then she saw that the waitress was bringing their food. "Two Wonderful Wonderland Whoppers for the lovely couple," she said in a rather monotone voice. She set in front of them two whoppers and two baskets of French fries and their drinks before she left.

Edgeworth just stared at the food with wide eyes. This is what they ordered for us? Not exactly very appetizing…He looked up to see that Sabrina had already eaten half of her whopper. She eats fast.

"Mmm! This is so good!" She exclaimed, her mouth full. Edgeworth just took a sip of his water when she asked, "So what else is there to know about you, Mr. Edgeworth?"

"What else? What do you mean?"

"What are your hobbies? You know, stuff you do when you're not working?"

Edgeworth had to think hard about that question. "I play chess, and I like to read, primarily law books. I take my dog out for walks."

"That's it?" She asked incredulously. "There's nothing else?"

"No, there isn't, at least, I don't think so. I'm very consumed with my work and studying law."

"Wow. You're kind of boring, no offense," she admitted bluntly.

Hmph. None taken.

"But I have to say, you do have a decent sense of fashion, and boy do I know fashion!"

I guess I should take that as a compliment, even if it wasn't one. "You mentioned you were a fashion designer, if I recall correctly."

Sabrina smiled proudly. "I sure am! Well, I'm still kind of training. I switched between a whole bunch of career choices. Back when I was in school, I thought I wanted to be teacher, because I wanted my students to bring me apples for me to put on my desk, but once I got older, I realized that I could never be teacher."

"Why is that?"

"I don't have the patience to deal with little kids. They can be annoying."

"That would be a good reason for not going into the teaching profession."

"Yeah, so then I thought, 'Gee! I would make a great newswoman!' But then I learned about how they actually have to learn a lot of things, and I was like, 'No way, Jose!' That's not my kind of thing! Let's just say I went through a whole bunch of options for careers. The last one I had was a modelling career. I was actually seriously considering that, especially after hearing about how much drama occurs behind the scenes, and I love drama! But then I didn't want anyone to boss me around."

"Rena was actually the one who suggested that I go into fashion designing. She said I always had a nice sense of fashion, compared to her. But yeah." She had already finished her whopper and her French fries. She called the waitress over to refill her drink, which she had also managed to finish too. "So is that really all you do? Work, play chess, and walk you dog?"

"Yes, that is pretty much what I do most of the time. I do occasionally go to see Trucy's magic shows too."

She stared at him for a long time before she mused, "You kind of remind me of Rena. You're both stick in the muds."

I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that and that I'm not insulted. But speaking of Ms. Sterling… "Er…Miss Reece. How did you meet Ms. Sterling, if you wouldn't mind my asking?" I find it quite hard to believe she could've become friends with this woman. They're complete opposites, it seems.

"Not at all! I met her when we were 12 years old." Sabrina's eyes landed on his plate. "You going to eat those French fries?"

"No, I…"

"Super!" She grabbed the tray and pulled it toward her. She began chewing on one of the fries. "I still remember it like yesterday. We were in the same class together in sixth grade. Actually, I think we had been in the same class in every grade since first grade, but we'd never really talked to each other. Then again, she never really talked at all. Anytime the teacher called on her, she'd get so nervous, and she had such a quiet voice. You could tell she was super shy."

"So one day, one of my 'friends' ditched me at recess. Well, she wasn't really my friend; she was just acting like my friend because she totally wanted to get styling tips from me. I could tell she was jealous of my awesome outfits and my style. There was this one day I was wearing this super cute outfit, and she came over to me and accidentally on purpose spilled her drink all over me, which ended up totally ruining my outfit! How uncool was that?!"

Sabrina stopped. "Oh, sorry! I went way off topic there! We were talking about…"

She talks so much…just like…her. Edgeworth had to shake that thought out of his head before he answered her. "How you met Ms. Sterling?"

She snapped her fingers. "Oh right! Yeah! So I was kind of bummed out, and I usually played with…or rather, hung out with that friend and her posse. I didn't know who to talk to, so I decided to go sit by myself at the corner of the playground, where there was this large oak tree, and feel bad for myself. I walked around to the back of it, and that's where I saw Serena. She was sitting there, all by herself, reading a book."

Sabrina had a lopsided grin on her face. "I freaked her out, accidentally. I said hey! And the poor thing. She screamed and jumped to her feet. I asked her what she was doing all by herself, and she told me she was reading. Then I asked her why she wasn't sitting with anyone." She frowned a little. "She mumbled at first, but I was able to figure out that she had said that she didn't really have anyone to sit with. So I plopped myself down next to her and told her that I would sit with her."

Sabrina smiled once more. "I got her to talk to me a little bit, but I was the one doing the most talking. We've been friends since then."

"That's nice."

"Yeah. She's cool once you get to know her, but she's quiet. I've been trying but not succeeding at getting her to socialize more, but it seems like she's doing a better job now, seeing how she's made so many friends here." Sabrina sighed, then glanced at his untouched whopper. "You aren't going to eat that, are you?"

Edgeworth shook his head. "No…I'm not that hungry, actually." Definitely not hungry enough to eat that.

"So…you wouldn't mind if I was to eat it?"

"Er…no, I don't think so."

"Cool beans!" She grabbed the whopper and bit into it, smiling goofily.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the small diner…

"Oh my gosh! Mr. Edgeworth let her have his whopper!" Trucy squealed in delight.

"This date seems to be going much better than I thought it would!" Athena had her eyes on the couple.

"Maybe she's the one!" Kay suggested. She then waved the waitress over. "Hey! Could you get those two a chocolate milkshake?"

"Alright. Two chocolate cows, coming up."

Back at the table, Sabrina had left not a single piece of food leftover. Well, at least I don't have to worry about letting the food go to waste.

"One chocolate milkshake."

"We didn't order a chocolate milkshake," Edgeworth stated.

"I know. Those girls did."

"Who's it for?" Sabrina asked, staring longingly at the glass.

"For you."

"You didn't specify which of us it's for." Edgeworth was starting to get annoyed.

"It's for both of you."

"Both of us?" The prosecutor didn't realize what she meant until the waitress popped two straws in the glass.

"Yes, both of you, as in you're sharing it. She drinks from one straw, and you drink from the other, get it?" She shook her head, and as she left, Edgeworth could hear her mutter under her breath, "Idiot."

How dare she?! He cleared his throat. "Miss Reece. As nice as this whole thing was, I'm afraid I won't be able to share this drink with you."

She shrugged. "Hey, fine by me!" She grabbed the glass with both of her hands and popped the two straws in her mouth. "More for me!" She slurped it up.

Back at the other table…

"What is she doing?!" Kay cried. "She's supposed to be sharing the milkshake with Mr. Edgeworth, not downing it by herself!"

"We even told the waitress to make sure to tell them to share it!" Athena saw the waitress and motioned for her to come over. (AN: Athena's music was playing when I wrote this part. Another music coincidence!) "I thought we told you to make sure they shared that drink!"

The waitress frowned. "I did tell them that, but obviously they didn't want to!"

"Well maybe you should've tried harder!" Athena countered.

"That's it! I've had it up to here with all of the nonsense I have to deal with at this diner!" The waitress ripped off her apron and her badge and threw them on the floor. "I QUIT!" She then turned to the three girls. "Why don't you three try to get them to drink out of the same glass?! Or better yet, leave 'em alone! Sheesh!" With that, she stomped out of the door.

The three of them looked at each other, and then at Simon, Apollo, and Juniper, who were all trying to hold their chuckles.

Athena caught Simon's eye, and she glared at him. "Don't. Even. Say. Anything," she threatened.

Apollo couldn't help but speak up. (AN: Apollo's music is playing right now…) "Nice going, Athena. Way to make that lady quit her job. Not to mention, looks like Operation Diner is another failure."

Athena grabbed her glass of water and threw it at Apollo, who yelled aloud. "Hey!" His hands immediately went to his hair, which was now soaking wet. "My horns! You ruined my horns!" He glared at her. "Do you know how long it takes me in the morning to get these babies in perfect shape?!"

Simon scoffed. "You claim to spend so much time, and yet, we see no good results from that." He hit the table with his hand, laughing, until something cold and wet was poured on his head.

"Serves you right! Nice work, Apollo!"

Simon's eyes flashed before a smile appeared on his face. "Yes, well done, Justice-dono."

"Uh oh…" Apollo knew something was up. He watched as the prosecutor scooped up some of Athena's ice cream with a spoon and flung it at Apollo. Apollo ducked, but he gasped when he realized who the ice cream ended up landing on. "Juniper! I'm so sorry!"

Poor Juniper had ice cream on her forehead, which was now flowing down her face. Juniper wiped her eyes with a napkin before she smiled. "It's fine, Apollo." She took some of her own ice cream and smeared it across Apollo's face. "Now you don't have to feel sorry!"

"Ha ha ha! Polly! You look so funny!" Trucy laughed aloud, along with Kay.

"That's it." Apollo stood up and declared, "FOOD FIGHT!"

And so it began. The six of them started flinging food at each other. They even got out of the booth and started running all over the place.

Edgeworth had heard the commotion, and he spoke to Sabrina. "We better get out of here before they drag us into this mess."

Sabrina tilted her head to the side as she watched them. "Actually, I kind of want to get involved too." She stood up. "But you can go if you want. This was a nice date, although I can tell we're not exactly compatible for each other. Oh well! I still had fun, and it was nice to get to know you a little better. Well, kind of."

Edgeworth stood up as well. "It was nice to get to know a little more about you too, Miss Reece. Er…have…fun." Edgeworth left some money on the table, and he hastily exited the diner, only to run into Phoenix.

"Wright. Where were you? I thought you had business."

Phoenix nodded. "Yeah, I did. But's taken care of, for the time being anyway. Is everyone in there?"

"Yes, well everyone except Ms. Fey. She said she needed to get home."

"Oh, that's odd. So why are you leaving so early?"

"I'm leaving my date, Wright." Edgeworth glared at the defense attorney. "Once was enough, Wright, but two times? You seriously need to stop this dating nonsense."

Phoenix held his hands up in front of him. "Hey! I had no idea they had planned this thing! And anyway, I have much more pressing matters to deal with right now to be able to think of something like that."

Edgeworth dropped his glare, but his eyes remained narrowed. "What do you mean?"

"It's none of your business, Edgeworth." Before Edgeworth could ask any further, Phoenix continued. "How was your date, anyway?"

"Not as awful as the first one."

Phoenix grinned. "Is that so? So are sparks flying?"

Edgeworth crossed his arms. "Hmph. Hardly. Miss Reece may be a nice woman, but I don't find her to by my type. Actually, she reminds me of someone."

"Who might that be?"

"Larry."

"Larry?!" Phoenix was surprised, but then he tapped his chin. "Hm…maybe we could get them together. They could possibly make a good pair."

"You're not actually considering getting involved in Larry's love life, are you Wright?"

Phoenix chuckled, scratching the back of his head. "Yeah, you got a point there. But speaking of Larry, we haven't seen him in a while, huh? Wonder what he's doing." The spiky-haired man looked through the window of the store. "What's going on in there?"

"Oh, they're having a food fight."

"A food fight?! How can you say that as if it's the most normal thing in the world?! Did you try to stop them?"

"Stop them? Wright. If I tried to stop them, I'd probably somehow get dragged into the mess myself, and I'd rather not get involved. Anyway, I need to get home."

"See you."

Wright's acting a little odd. What could be this business of his? Well, I shouldn't worry about it. Surely, it's probably nothing illegal, but then again, it's Wright. He does get himself into many situations. Deciding to let the matter drop, Edgeworth began to make his way home, although he did wonder how exactly the food fight would end.

Like I said, this was a random chapter I just wrote. It's sort of comic relief, if that's the right term for it, because things are going to be getting more serious later on (although there may be funny tidbits here and there). Feel free to leave a review or private message me. Thanks!