I'm trying to get this story wrapped up quickly. I feel like it's gone on for far too long. I hope you guys are still enjoying (and if you're not and I'm boring you to tears, then I am very sincerely sorry)!

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

Chapter 28 – Turnabout Homecoming

Phoenix, Athena, and Iris sat in the office, again in silence. Another day had gone by, and Trucy and Apollo had yet to be found.

Phoenix, who was sitting at his desk, thought about what Edgeworth had informed him, about who was the mastermind behind the whole kidnapping.

Kristoph...I can't believe it was him...and that he's Thalassa's half-brother. That guy really is demented. That's what worried him. The former defense attorney was clearly insane, and to think that his daughter and Apollo were in some way, shape, or form in his custody, it sent shivers down Phoenix's back. He was very scared for their lives, and it didn't help that Kristoph had the doctor killed already.

Iris was on the sofa, holding onto Mr. Hat once more, something she found herself doing most of the time at the agency these days. She prayed very hard that the two siblings would return safe and sound, but from seeing her boyfriend's lack of optimism, she was very anxious.

Athena was watering Charley. I've been watering Charley these past few days, but he's withering a little. It's almost as if he knows Apollo and Trucy aren't here.

Everyone looked up when a firm knock was heard on the door. Phoenix stood up and approached the door, while Iris went to look out the window.

"Who is it, Iris?"

"There's a police car out there, Feenie."

Police car?

Fear consumed the defense attorney immediately. Taking in a shaky breath, he opened the door.

"DADDY!"

Phoenix felt himself be attacked by a bear hug. He took a moment to overcome the shock before he looked down to see that it was none other than…

"T-Trucy?!" He asked quietly. This was starting to seem more like a dream, one from which he would yanked out of at any minute.

"It's me, Daddy!" Trucy smiled brightly up at him, only to gasp. "Daddy…are you okay?"

She hadn't expected to see him with tears pooling in his eyes. "Trucy…honey, I am so, so, so…happy to see you!" As he hugged Trucy, he saw that the red-clad lawyer was with her. "Apollo."

"Mr. Wright."

Iris had run over and went to wrap her arms around Phoenix and Trucy. "Trucy! I'm so glad you're okay!" Trucy just smiled at Iris and welcomed the warmth of another person. Iris saw Apollo. "You too Apollo. Come on," she motioned for him to join the hug.

"Er…" He hesitated, feeling a little awkward.

"Come here, Apollo." Athena had swooped an arm around his shoulder before pulling him into the now group hug. "You two…are in so much trouble! We told you to be careful when you went out, but…" Athena scolded, but she had tears streaming from her eyes, and she was smiling. "It's so great to see you two! We all missed you so much. Too much!"

Everyone in the group hug eventually shed their tears of joy and relief. The Wright Anything Agency family was finally reunited.

"Heh, heh. Sorry to interrupt the reunion, but I just need to let you know that Trucy and Apollo will need to come down to the station sometime soon, like in the next couple of days, to report what happened," the police officer explained.

Agreeing to do so, Apollo and Trucy thanked her.

Trucy walked inside the agency and said hi to the many objects there, starting with Charley and Mr. Hat.

"Hey you two. How about you tell us what happened? Are you two okay?!" Iris ushered for all of them to sit on the couches.

Phoenix excused himself and grabbed his phone from his desk so he could relay the good news to his friend.

The prosecutor was at the precinct, more specifically on his way to the detention center when he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. "This is Edgeworth."

"Edgeworth. They're okay. They're back."

"Who? Trucy and Mr. Justice?!"

"Yes."

What a relief.

"Oh, and another thing, Edgeworth. She's alive."

"Who's she?"

"Serena."

"Wh-what?! But Wright, that photo..."

"I know, but according to them, she was with them when they escaped, and apparently, she's at the police station right now."

"Is she now?" I should go find her... "Alright then. I appreciate you letting me know, Wright. Are they okay?"

"Those two? Heh. They're recalling the whole story to Iris and Athena. They seem pretty excited about it too."

Edgeworth could hear Trucy enthusiastically retelling the adventure, with Apollo cutting in every once in a while. Heh. Of course. It's hard to get them down that easily. "I need to get going, Wright."

"Sure Edgeworth. Keep in touch, and thanks for you help."

"Hmph. I hardly did anything for you to be thanking me. Goodbye." He hung up. He had intended to visit the recently apprehended doctor, but decided to find the presumably 'dead' doctor.

"Excuse me. Is there a Ms. Sterling here?" He asked one of the officers nearby.

"Chief Prosecutor, sir! Sterling? Why, yes. She's in the detention center."

Detention center? "Thank you." That's where Edgeworth went to next, and not too long after, he was standing in the visitor's room.

And in through the door on the other side of the glass walked the 'deceased' Serena Sterling.

She's wearing that same outfit from the photograph…

"Mr. Edgeworth," she greeted him.

"Ms. Sterling…I must say it's a surprise to see you here." And alive.

"Hm…yes. I didn't exactly expect myself to land in here. Again."

"Why are you here anyway?"

"I was escaping with Trucy and Apollo, and we got pulled over by the police. Long story short, I got arrested on the suspicion of having kidnapped them." She crossed her arms. "Because apparently, there's this belief going around that I died. You wouldn't happen to know why that is, do you?"

"I do. Wright received a threatening note saying that Trucy and Apollo would be targeted next, and the photo was of you, presumably dead."

"…Oh. I see."

"Is that blood on your front, Ms. Sterling?" He pointed to the front of her scrubs, which had a huge blood-red circle on it.

She shook her head. "No, it's not. It's some kind of red liquid, but definitely not blood."

Now he crossed his arms. "Do you have any idea who might have kidnapped you?"

"Not really."

"Perhaps it has something to do with one Dr. Emilio?" Her eyes darted up at him. "I happened to do a search of your office after your…disappearance, and I came across those notes you made tracking the movements of your coworker, and his involvement in Ms. Gramarye's death."

"Did you now? I should probably be mad at you for going through my desk without my permission, but…I'm not. Actually, I'm glad. I was going to tell you all about it that day."

He tapped his finger against his arm, a disapproving frown forming on his face. "You really should've mentioned this as soon as you had suspicions. It was rather irresponsible of you to keep such sensitive information to yourself until the last minute."

"As right as you may be, I have to disagree. I needed to do enough investigating to make sure I could prove he did it. The last thing I would want was for me to have overlooked something and have falsely accused him of a crime." She glowered. "Especially given how much the board likes him, if I did something like that, I could get into some serious trouble." She turned back to him. "Besides, I was going to tell you that day."

"But you ended up getting kidnapped," he countered.

"Fine. I concede. Should such a thing ever happen, which I really hope it doesn't, I'll tell you immediately. So what's happened since I've…'died'?"

"He's been arrested."

"He has?!" She asked a bit too eagerly. Clearing her throat, she calmed down, trying to contain her satisfaction. "It's about time he got caught. Has he admitted to his crime?"

"No. From what I've heard, he's been very inflexible and won't admit anything."

"Figures. The obnoxious jerk."

They looked up to see the same officer who had arrested her walking in. "Well Dr. Sterling. I guess you were right. Sorry for questioning your identity."

She shrugged. "I don't blame you. I would be doubtful too, especially since people thought I was dead." She stood up. "So I'm free to go, right?"

"Not yet."

"Oh?" Her smile faded.

"You may not be a kidnapper, but you did break the law. You drove without a license."

"But I did remember my license number, didn't I?"

"Yes, but that isn't the only reason why you're in trouble. You drove without corrective lenses, Dr. Sterling."

She what?!

She saw Edgeworth give her a shocked look. "It's not like I really had another choice! It was either that or let Apollo try driving!" She explained before sighing. "Okay then, officer. What's my charge? A fine to pay?"

"Nope. You technically have two offenses against you, so your driver's license will be suspended."

She grimaced. "For how long?"

"Two months."

She nodded her head. "I…can live with that. But other than that, I'm free, right?"

"Yes, you're free to go."

"Excellent. Thank you so much." She turned to the prosecutor. "Is he here? Dr. Emilio?"

"He is. I was going to pay him a visit."

"If you wouldn't mind, I'd like to come with you."

"Mm…well I suppose it wouldn't hurt."

In a matter of minutes, Serena was in the visitor's room with Edgeworth, and they both waited patiently until Dr. Emilio came in.

Serena didn't bother to greet him or give him the chance to settle down. "You scoundrel! How dare you deny that you didn't kill Ms. Gramarye?! What kind of doctor are you?! No, you can't even call yourself a doctor!"

"Glad to see you're alive and well, Serena. You do know I was ordered to kill you, right? But I didn't. I spared you your life, and made everyone think you died. You should thank me."

"I didn't ask you to save my life, but I guess I should thank you for that. Although, you were the one to chloroform me, right?"

"If you hadn't gotten involved, you would've stayed safe and sound, Serena. Why did you have to stick your nose in my private affairs?! Your job is just to save lives."

"Yes, that's true. But when a patient in my care passes away, I believe it's my personal responsibility to find out how they died and why." She glared at him. "And I won't let anyone, especially a fake doctor, get in my way."

"I am a doctor. I have a medical license, like you."

"You killed someone, and yet you have the audacity to call yourself a doctor?!"

Oh my. If looks could kill, that man would be dead at least twenty times.

"Ms. Sterling…perhaps you should calm dow-"

"Sorry Mr. Edgeworth, but I can't just calm down!" She shifted her eyes back to Emilio. "Why?! Why kill someone? What did that poor woman do to you?!"

"Part of my job."

"Part of your job?! What kind of job do you have?"

"A difficult one, that's for sure." He then smiled that annoyingly suave smile of his. "But why all the hostility, love? I thought we were getting along nicely, especially after our little date, although I didn't like how you kicked me out of the ER the other day."

"Ha! Only a fool like you would think that was a date. Not only did I make it all too clear it was a friendly outing, I had an ulterior motive. I thought going with you would help me figure out whose dirty work you doing, and that's exactly how I figured out the initials of your accomplices."

"You…you what?! So…you weren't genuinely interested in our date?! No…I can't believe that. You seemed so…"

She laughed a little. "Do you have any idea what the family I grew up with was like? They were the Bandits. If I learned nothing else from them, I did learn how to deceive people. And you have to admit, I did a pretty good job, even if it was my first and I assure you, last time!"

Emilio was silent, as was Edgeworth. Looks like Ms. Sterling's got more of a backbone than I thought she did. I just hope she doesn't go around deceiving other people though. Myself included.

He decided to intervene. "So you admit to having killed Ms. Gramarye then, Mr. Emilio?" He caught himself from referring to the man as doctor, a title he was undeserving of.

"What difference does it make? You have proof against me. I did it."

Criminals…How is it possible for them to say they took a human life so casually?

"You know who my boss is Serena?"

She had been quiet until then. "Er…no. Why?"

"Perhaps this name might ring a bell." Serena crossed her arms, highly doubtful. "Kristoph Gavin."

Her eyes widened at the name. "Did…you just say, who I think you said?"

"Mmhm."

"You know Kristoph Gavin, Ms. Sterling?"

"I've heard of him. An insane murderer, isn't he?" She said with bitterness in her voice even she didn't know was capable of. "To think a man behind bars could do this much damage, and ultimately be the reason why one of my patients passed away…" She shook her head. "Makes my blood boil."

"Anything else the two of you need? I really don't like to waste my time."

Serena and Edgeworth both shot a glare at him, causing him to shrink away. "For now, nothing. What about you, Ms. Sterling?"

She sighed again. "No. I should really get home, Mr. Edgeworth. Sabrina's going to be really worried about me. And I really don't want to waste anymore of my time on this wannabe."

"Right. I need to get back to the office. Take care."

Edgeworth was more than relieved to hear that Trucy and Apollo were back, and Dr. Emilio was arrested. The only question that remained was who was the person who killed Mr. Huntley. Detective Gumshoe had informed him that while Emilio did admit to placing poison into Thalassa's IV, he claimed not to have killed the other man, and did not say who the real murderer was.

Who could this other murderer be?! How could we have let them slip through the cracks?! There must be something we're missing…

Serena exited the elevator and headed over to her apartment door. She stood there for a moment before going to Sabrina's apartment, which was right next door. She knocked a couple of times, with no one answering.

She must be in my apartment then. She walked over and knocked. Slowly, the door cracked open, and there was a wide-eyed Sabrina, staring at her. "R-Rena? I-is that really you?!"

Serena shrugged, smiling. "Who else would it be?"

"Rena!" The blonde squeezed the doctor tightly in her arms, to the point that Serena could barely breathe.

"Sabrina! Kind of…mushed here."

"Oh gee, sorry! I'm just really happy to see you! Are you okay?! What happened?!" Sabrina ushered her friend inside.

"I got kidnapped and then arrested. I…actually don't really want to talk about it now, if you don't mind."

"Oh…sure. Okay. Whenever you're ready, I'll be ready to listen. So…what are you going to do now?"

"Probably get some sleep. It is only five, but…" She yawned. "All the craziness from today's made really tired."

"Sounds good. I'll be going out for a bit, but if you need anything, let me know, right?"

"Right. See you later." Serena waved and watched the door shut behind her best friend. She flopped down unceremoniously on the sofa and almost immediately fell asleep.

"The tables will turn on you. Just you wait."

"Is that a threat…or a promise?"

"Consider it a promise."

"Well then. I hope you intend to keep it."

Despite the fact that story should be done very soon, I had to a little suspense here with the last part. Feel free to review or private message me! Thanks!