This wasn't a hard chapter to write, but I don't know how well it came out. Hope you guys like it!

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

OT Chapter 18 – Turnabout Confrontations

"Wait. So let me get this straight. There's a badger loose on the floor?"

"Yes."

"Did you see which way it went?"

"It looked like it was headed down the hall towards your office."

"And what exactly did it look like?"

"It was pink."

"Pink? You saw a pink badger? How is that possible?! Badgers aren't pink!"

"Oh! I didn't mean a real badger! I mean the police department's mascot."

"Oh no. Not that badger. Those things creep me out." Serena sighed heavily, running a hand through her hair. "Alright. Let me know if something comes up. I'll have to go look for this 'badger' myself."

Serena walked off down the hall, searching along the way for any sign of the thing. "Hello? Badger? Where are you?" She rolled her eyes. This is pathetic. I'm walking around looking for a person dressed up as a badger.

She was near her office, so she opened the door and took a quick peek inside. "Badger?" Nothing.

She turned around, only to find herself facing the menacing thing. Her right hand flew to hold her chest. "Oh! My goodness! Um…hello Pink Badger." It didn't do anything, its black, pupil-less eyes staring her down, devoid of any emotion, save for the simple smile, which Serena found rather ominous. The doctor gulped. "Well, you see…I was actually looking for you. I'm very sorry, but I'm going to have to ask you to leave the department. It's only because there's been a slight bit of disturbance with the patients in seeing you. Please don't take any offense." The badger still didn't say anything.

Oh no! I must've offended it! I mean her! No, him! Ugh!

She thought of reasons why the Badger would be there, and immediately became concerned. "But of course, if you aren't feeling well and/or would like to be seen, we'd be more than happy to have look and help you out once you get registered at the front desk."

Next thing she knew, the Badger was making a grab at her. "Ah!" She shrieked, quickly dodging out of the way. Seeing that the mascot was intent on getting a hold of her, she began running down the other hallway which didn't go past any of the patients' rooms, but led to the waiting room.

"I cannot believe I got attacked by a Pink Badger," Serena grumbled as she trudged down the hall.

But I could've sworn the voice I heard yelling from inside that costume was one I heard before…but then again, I couldn't hear it that well.

She was not having a good day. After her little run in with the Badger, which ended with it getting escorted out of the building by a security officer, a certain doctor had been badgering her about this new restaurant that had opened somewhere in town and how he thought it'd be the perfect place for the two of them to go. After that, he was so distracted that patients were beginning to complain about the wait time, causing Serena to have to go and apologize to them for the inconvenience. Finally, the ER was quiet with only a few patients there.

All she wanted to do now was sit in her office in peace and quiet for at least five minutes, if not more. "This day could not get any worse."

Turning the corner, a group of four people came into view. "Oh!" She stopped mid-step, her eyes landing on each person as she greeted them. "Apollo. Iris. Athena…" Her eyes widened a little. "P-prosecutor Blackquill. Er…what a surprise!"

Why are Athena, Apollo and Prosecutor Blackquill glaring at me?! Wait. Prosecutor Blackquill always glares at me. But what about them?

"Uh…is…something…wrong?" Silence. This situation was getting even more awkward as time went by. "Well, um…how are you guys doing today? Does one of you need to be seen, because I'll be more than happy t-"

"Enough jabbering!"

Serena shut her mouth immediately, leaning back. "Er…"

"Admit it, Serena. We're onto you. You don't need to hide it."

"Admit what? What am I hiding?" Hiding the fact that you're freaking me out right now, although I'm sure that's obvious.

"We know your secret. Now just tell us."

"Secret? What secret?" She was getting more confused.

Next thing she knew, an object was coming towards her. She ducked, then looked down at the ground. It was a feather. "Speak before I make you," Simon threatened.

"P…please! I have no idea what any of you are talking about!"

Athena held up her fists. "Serena! How could you betray Iris like that?!"

"Betray Iris? Seriously! What are you guys talking about?!" She asked exasperatedly.

"Like we said, we know your secret. "We know about you and…" Athena waved her hands in the air.

"Me and what?"

"What Athena's trying to say is that we know that you're having an affair with Mr. Wright."

"WHAT?!" Serena cried out. She could feel her face turn really red. "A-affair?! With Mr. Wright?!"

"So it's true!" Apollo pointed an accusing finger at her.

Serena shook her head along with her hands. "No, no! It's not! What gave you that crazy idea?!"

"Apollo saw him go to your apartment! And the doctor told us about how Mr. Wright comes to visit you here!" Athena alleged. "And speaking of that doctor, how could you cheat on your boyfriend like that?! You should be ashamed of yourself!"

Serena considered everything they had just told her. "Now hold on a second there. Which doctor told you about all of this?" Serena had a good hunch who it was.

Athena went to answer. "His name was…what was it?"

Apollo answered. "Dr. Emilio."

"Him. Of course, it was him." Serena huffed. "Here's one piece of advice. Take everything that man says with a grain of salt. Now, let me make a couple of things very clear." She counted off on her fingers. "First of all, Mr. Wright and I are not dating." She looked at Iris, who had been silent ever since she got there. "I would never, ever do something like that to you, Iris."

She turned to the trio. "Second of all, Mr. Wright isn't the one who's coming in here to visit me. That's Mr. Edgeworth."

"So you're having an affair with Mr. Edgeworth!" Athena was quick to accuse.

"No! I am not having an affair with Mr. Edgeworth! I'm not having an affair with anyone! Now, if I may continue, third of all, I'm not dating any lawyer. I am definitely, absolutely, positively not dating Dr. Emilio. I don't know what kind of fantasies he may have swirling around in his head, but we are not an item. Lastly, I'm not dating anyone! I am single, and not ready to mingle."

The group was quiet before Athena said meekly, "Sorry."

Serena sighed, running a hand through her hair and keeping it there. "It's fine. As sad as it is to say, I've had…worse things happen lately." She crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. "But what's all this about Mr. Wright having an affair?"

Apollo and Athena took turns explaining the situation to her, and she listened to them. "Well, this is just me, but I highly doubt Mr. Wright is the kind of person who would cheat on his girlfriend."

"Yeah, but Apollo had us clearly convinced he was having an affair. Nice going, Apollo!"

"What?! Just because I suggested it doesn't mean you had to accept it so quickly!"

"Come on, you two. There's no need to argue." Serena leaned against the wall. "So he won't tell you anything?"

Iris shook her head. "No, he won't." She glanced up at the doctor. "Serena. What would you do?"

Serena frowned, rubbing her neck a little. "Me? Well, if I were in that situation, I would probably ask him about it again." She spoke directly to Iris. "I know that's a hard thing to do, and I myself would hesitate in doing so, but you should confront him about it, Iris. Tell him how you feel about all of this and ask for a clear explanation instead of making assumptions."

"But what if he still won't tell me? He hasn't been willing to tell anyone about it, not even Trucy."

Serena considered the thought. "That…sounds difficult, but you should at least let him know how all of this making you feel. Be assertive. Communication is key to a good relationship." Serena shook her head a little having heard herself say that. "Goodness. I've been spending so much time with Sabrina, now I'm starting to sound like her."

"Hm…maybe, I could try that," Iris replied. "Thank you."

"We're really sorry about suspecting you like that," Athena apologized, and Apollo nodded with her.

Serena shrugged it off. "It's okay. I can…sort of see how you would come to that conclusion, but just keep in my mind what I said about Dr. Emilio."

"That's been noted. Thanks!"

She watched as the group walked away. Dr. Emilio…Ugh. Shaking her head, she entered her office, praying nothing else crazy would happen that day and that she wouldn't have to see the man any time soon.

"Cykes-dono. I…I can't do something like this."

"Why not?!" Athena whined.

"It's because of Wright-dono that you and I are free from what happened. I…it would be wrong of me to do something like this to the man."

After having left the ER, the group had went to a café to talk about what they would do. Well, Simon was really dragged by Athena to accompany them. Iris had been reluctant to face Phoenix that same day, and much to Athena's chagrin, she decided that she would confront him in the following days.

Apollo soon left too, mentioning that he had promised he and Trucy would hang out a little, leaving Simon and Athena at the café. Athena was unsuccessfully trying to get Simon to talk to Phoenix, and he had been successfully declining.

Really? You choose now of all times to become a softie?! Argh! I'm only asking you to threaten him into speaking!

"Yes, I do Cykes-dono. Sorry, but I don't think this is something I can achieve." Athena's shoulders slumped, until she came up with another idea, standing up a little taller. "And don't even think about using Taka."

She groaned. It's like he can read my mind.

"As a matter of fact, I can, but that makes me a good boyfriend, doesn't it?"

She smirked. "Yeah, sure." She tapped her trusty sidekick. "Because Widget didn't say a word, right?" She sighed heavily, a huge frown on her face and shoulders falling once more.

Simon sighed, seeing how she was going to sulk around unless he did something. "How about this alternative? I'll go ask Wright-dono if there's something the matter?"

"You…you'd do that?" Athena asked, quite surprised.

He exhaled loudly. "If it'll get you to stop sulking around, then yes, I will."

"Oh Simon!" She hugged him. "You are a good boyfriend!"

He hugged her back, while rolling his eyes. The things I do for love. Nonetheless, the corners of lips curved upwards, knowing she was feeling better already.

I don't need to be nervous! I need to be confident. Why did I even say I would do this?!

Simon had stood in front of the door to Phoenix Wright's office for at least two minutes, having an internal debate.

No. I must stop frittering away time. I need to just get this over and done with. He knocked on the door and waited. He lifted his hand to knock again when it opened, revealing the spiky-haired, blue-clad attorney.

"Prosecutor Blackquill."

"Wright-dono."

The two men stood in silence, before Phoenix stepped aside. "Please, er…come in."

Simon walked into the office. He didn't remember it much, since it had been quite a while since he had stopped by the office. His eyes immediately landed on one of the desks. On it was a whole bunch of yellow smiley faces. A smiley face calendar was on the desk, little smiley faced trinkets, a mug with a smiley face on it and yellow pens in it.

"That, as you can probably tell, is Athena's desk."

Simon smirked. Figures she would decorate her desk like that.

He had sat down in front of Phoenix's desk, facing Phoenix himself. "Athena sent you here, didn't she?"

Simon just sat silently for a moment, before crossing his arms. "Wright-dono. I do not know what is going on here at this office, but I know one thing for sure. Something is very wrong." He saw Phoenix quirk an eyebrow, and he elaborated. "This place…" Simon motioned around him with his hands. "The word that one could use to describe it now is dull. It's dull and lifeless." He stared straight at the defense attorney. "Last time I was here, this office was thriving, full of life and happiness and light."

"And it's all my fault, right?"

Simon paused. "Not all your fault, but you are one person to blame, yes."

"If you're here to tell me that I need to tell everyone about whatever it is I'm hiding, then I'm afraid your words will be falling on deaf ears."

Simon couldn't help but slam on the desk in the similar fashion that he did in court. "Wright-dono," he began, his voice dark and his grey eyes shooting a sharp glare at Phoenix. "In case you haven't noticed, this whole agency is falling apart, right in front of your eyes." Leaning forward, he added, "Can you not see that everyone is being negatively impacted by the secret you are keeping?!"

Phoenix didn't answer.

This is useless. I need to stop jabbering.

Simon just stood up and headed to the door. Before seeing himself out though, he faced Phoenix once more.

"Take heed, Wright-dono. If you do not try to rectify this situation…" He shut his eyes. "I fear what will become of this place."

Phoenix sat in silence at his desk, Prosecutor Blackquill's warning echoing in his mind.

He's right. I need to change things. I wish I could…but…

He was so engrossed in his worries that he hadn't heard his office door open and shut. Only when the lights turned on did he realize he had company. He looked up, his blue eyes clashing with brown ones.

She…she came back. But why…

He stood up in awe. "I-Iris."

She didn't smile for him. She had a rather serious look on her face. She was here for something important.

"Feenie…we need to talk."

She's going to break up with me, I just know it. How could I not see this coming?

"Iris…"

"Wait. I…I need to do this," Iris said, knowing she needed to summon up courage. If I don't do this now…our relationship will never be the same.

"Have a seat then, Iris."

She accepted the offer. She stared at her lap for a couple of minutes. She had practiced what she'd wanted to say and how she was going to say it, but upon getting there, the moment she saw his blue eyes, she had forgotten everything. Taking in a deep breath, she shut her eyes, then opened them, lifting her head up to his face.

"Feenie. As I'm sure you can tell, the two of us have been having some…lack of communication issues." Phoenix nodded a little, and she continued. "I asked you once before what it was you were hiding, and you…" She didn't finish the sentence, because she knew she didn't need to. "After that, we haven't spoken properly to each other since. And…that needs to change."

She paused, collecting her thoughts. There was no turning back now. "Feenie. I know…whatever it is that you're hiding from everyone…it's hurting you." She looked into his eyes. "Deeply. And it's hurting us that you're keeping secrets from us. But what's more…" She gazed down at her lap. "Is that it's hurting me. I hate to see you in pain, Feenie. I hate that you're pushing me away. I…I understand that you need to keep a secret, and that's fine, but…I want you to know that I'm worried about you. Really worried."

With that, she was finished. She had had so much more she wanted to tell him, and she had planned to say it much more elegantly, but this was the best she could do now. Her eyes never left her lap.

Phoenix, on the other hand, stared at her incredulously. I…never thought she would do something like this. She's really matured. It must've been really hard for her to confront me like this. Should I…should I…tell her?

Iris was confused to see him smile at her. She was expecting him to yell at her and to tell her to go away.

So naturally, she never expected him to lean way over his desk to grab her face in his hands and kiss her senseless. She sighed happily at the feel of his lips pressing hers. It was the first time since he had yelled at her that she felt so at peace.

As he pulled away, he saw her smiling. Opening her eyes, she tilted her head to the right. "You…what…why did you…"

"You have no idea how wonderful it is to see you, nor how proud I am of you for talking to me about how you feel. I missed you so much, Iris. You have no idea."

"I missed you too, Feenie."

"I…I did some long thinking today, especially after a certain someone came into the office." Phoenix sat back down behind his desk, and he laced his fingers together. "I shouldn't have hidden things from you, of all people. I don't know why I did that, but I did, and I know I made you suffer. I'm sorry."

"Feenie. It's alright. I forgive you. I'm glad you're not mad at me, and you…don't need to tell me about it." She stopped when she saw Phoenix shake his head.

"No, Iris. I think it's about time you learned about this." He stood up, grabbing and pulling on his coat. He held out a hand to her. "Come on. There's…something I need to show you."

Iris glanced at his hand and carefully placed hers in it. Helping her up, he led her out of the office.

Iris was led to a familiar apartment building. "This is…where Serena lives."

"True, but she isn't the only one who lives here," Phoenix explained as they climbed into the elevator and went to the 7th floor. They passed by apartment number 705, Serena's apartment, and went to 707. Phoenix rapped his knuckles on the door.

"Come in," a voice called from behind. Iris didn't recognize it. He opened the door and led her inside.

"Ah…it's you. And I see you've brought someone with you."

"Yes. This is my girlfriend, Iris Fey."

"Yes. It's nice to finally meet you, Iris. I have heard nothing but wonderful things about you. I apologize for any trouble I caused you."

Iris didn't know what to say, so she nodded. She had no idea who this person was, although they seemed somewhat familiar.

Phoenix turned to Iris. "Iris. This is…"

Who is it, you ask? Beats me. For those of you who are curious, half this mystery should be revealed in about two or three chapters (not sure if I told any of you that already). I'll try to update more. Please feel free to leave a review or private message me! Thanks!