I apologize for the delay, but I actually have a legit excuse. My laptop was with the IT people, and it took several weeks for them to get the right monitor part delivered. At least that's what they told me. Oh well, I have it back now! Flashbacks are in italics. And one other note, when I uploaded this thing, my document did some screwy things, and I spent quite a bit of time fixing them, but I don't know if I got them all, so bear with me.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Ace Attorney series or any of its characters.

"Kristoph…what are you doing here?

Kristoph smiled as his former apprentice took the seat across from him, looking solemn.

"Justice…thank god you're alright," Kristoph said quietly, and he meant it. Kristoph had heard the attorney was in a coma for several days, and doctors didn't know if he'd come out of it. Apollo continued to stare hard at his former mentor.

"You were the one that saved me, weren't you?" the attorney asked, staring straight ahead.

"You've proven that there's not much point in lying to you," Kristoph replied, smiling. "I knew Overhead might try to pull something, so I watched the trial with the antidote for atroquinine ready. It always was his favorite."

"There's one thing that's bothering me though," Apollo began, scratching his chin. "What the hell did you do to your hair?"

Kristoph paused before realizing that his wonderful locks were still dyed jet black. Apollo began to laugh.

"I know disguising yourself was the point, but…you look really dumb, Mr. Gavin," giggled Apollo, temporarily forgetting the circumstances. Even Kristoph began to chuckle. Here he was, in Apollo's apartment on the run from the cops, and instead of calling the police, Apollo brings up his hair.

"Yes, laugh. You don't hear much laughter in a solitary cell."

"Mr. Gavin?"

"Yes, Justice?"

"How…how did you know about Overhead?"

Kristoph looked at the man before him, cocking his head. He could tell him. But he was in Apollo's apartment, and Apollo was too obsessed with the law to let him go freely.

"Justice, I have a proposition. If you let me walk out of here freely, I will help you in any way I can with your investigation into Bison."

"You know about…?"

"Yes…I know about them. I know more than you and Miles Edgeworth could dig up on your own," Kristoph said quietly. He looked into Apollo's eyes, and he could tell he was considering the proposition very carefully.

"Whether or not you go free depends on what you know," Apollo began slowly. "I know I owe you…but I also know that I can't be the only reason for your escape from prison. I don't know what you plan to do…and that scares me."

Kristoph watched as the attorney fiddled with the badge on his lapel. Instead of answering, Kristoph elected to talk.

"I met Overhead long before I met you, Justice. He was one of my first clients, and he was on trial for a murder that he actually didn't commit. Yes, he was involved with shady characters, but he wasn't guilty, and I got him acquitted."

"He was innocent?"

"Of that particular crime, yes. However, during my course of investigation, I discovered a multitude of evidence linking him to the black market. I discovered that if you needed to buy or sell anything, like weapons, drugs, or stolen goods, he was the guy you went to."

"You're saying he was your atroquinine supplier…" Apollo whispered, piecing the puzzle together.

"Yes. I had so much dirt on him, and he sold me everything I needed. Of course, this worked both ways. We both could ruin each other at any time, so we had a very twisted relationship of trust."

"So…if you reported Overhead, he'd get you thrown in prison and vice versa."

"Exactly."

"But…what stopped you from just killing each other?"

"It wasn't in our best interests. I needed his services, and he had to think twice about killing such a lucrative client."

Apollo nodded, still blown away at how casually Kristoph was talking about his relationship with Yuri Overhead. He opened his mouth to speak before feeling a slight pain in his chest, causing him to stop suddenly. Kristoph noticed and jumped over to his former apprentice.

"Apollo? Are you sure you're okay?"

"Mr. Gavin…I'm fine. Really."

"You shouldn't overdo it."

"I'm fine. I'm not working for a while. Now that Mr. Wright has his badge back, he's covering for me…"

Kristoph blanched when he heard the attorney had been reinstated. After all the trouble he went through to make the man miserable, he had found a way to get it all back. Kristoph's seething was interrupted by another bout of Apollo's coughing, causing the former attorney more concern.

"Justice…I've decided I'm not going to walk out of here."

"Really," Apollo said dryly.

"I'm going to stay here and keep an eye on you," Kristoph said, smiling at the younger man.

"So, instead of running away, you want me to break a zillion laws by hiding you in my apartment?"

"Of course not…I bought an apartment upstairs."

"Wh…what?"

"Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Dr. Chris Tolliver. I moved in about three days ago. I heard you were returning from the hospital, so I'll just check in from time to time," Kristoph said, smiling as he adjusted his glasses. Apollo began to chuckle again.

"You? A doctor?"

"Is that skepticism, Justice? I saved your life didn't I?"

"Yeah. But I seem to remember a time when I got bit by that witness's dog…" Apollo chuckled, grinning widely. Kristoph's face began to redden. It had been before Apollo had gone to college, and Kristoph had been interviewing the witness at his office, where Apollo was helping him with some cleaning.

"Justice! Wh-what happened?"

"I…I don't know. I think that her dog doesn't like me…"

"But…your hand. It needs medical attention!"

"Mr. Gavin…it's fine. I just need a bandage."

"Justice, I don't want it to get infected! You should go to the emergency room."

"Mr. Gavin?"

"What? Does it hurt?"

"It's already stopped bleeding. And the dog was a toy poodle."

Kristoph smirked at the memory.

"Fine. I don't like dogs. They're disgusting, foul creatures."

"It was a toy poodle named Fluffy," Apollo replied flatly.

"She could have…!" Kristoph began before Apollo interrupted him again.

"She was only eight pounds, sir."

Apollo continued to laugh as Kristoph's face reddened, and he couldn't help but notice that his former mentor was smiling. Apollo swallowed.

"Mr. Gavin…I won't…tell. But I won't cover for you. If Klavier gets wind of your staying here…I'm not taking the fall."

"That works out just fine. Thank you, Justice."

Apollo knew he was making a huge mistake. Kristoph was evil, and he didn't act without some kind of self-serving goal in mind. But somewhere, Apollo prayed that Kristoph would be saved from the devil within himself. He watched Kristoph slip out the door, hanging on to the tiniest of hopes that he would not regret his decision.

()()()()

"Overhead! What is the meaning of this?"

"It's good to see you too, Rose."

When Yuri Overhead turned up at Rose's bedroom in the middle of the night, Rose nearly strangled the Russian on the spot. The man had almost all of Interpol looking for him, and unfortunately, Shi-Long Lang was not an agent Rose particularly wanted Bison to deal with.

"Yuri…you were careless."

"I'm sorry, but I killed Reed, just as you asked. No one knows about what he made…"

"What he made is none of your concern. My concern is that you being a wanted man makes you a liability to my plans."

"What? All I need is somewhere to lay low, Rose…"

"You were a funny guy. I will truly miss you from the bottom of my heart," whispered Rose, who did feel genuine sadness. Overhead opened his mouth to protest when a single shot rang out. Overhead crumpled to the ground, blood pouring from the circular wound in the middle of his forehead.

()()()()

Miles Edgeworth sat at his desk, mulling over countless papers relating to Bison. Trying to link together everything logically proved to be difficult, as there were so many crimes that Bison COULD have been involved in, but Edgeworth couldn't be sure. It didn't help that he was distracted by the fact that the young attorney he'd been working with was almost murdered inside a courtroom, not to mention that the young woman who'd been Edgeworth's closest companion for the past seven years was currently in the middle of a highly dangerous undercover operation. Edgeworth swallowed as he got up from his desk, in desperate need for a break.

As he walked the halls of the prosecutor's office, he passed by the horrifically loud music of Prosecutor Klavier Gavin. Edgeworth had learned that the louder the music, the more stressed the ex rock star was, and the music was louder than Edgeworth could remember. Of course, he couldn't blame the guy. Per his request, Klavier was in charge of his brother's escape case. Edgeworth knocked on the door before Klavier gestured him in.

"Herr Edgeworth? To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Prosecutor Gavin. I actually had a quick favor to ask you."

"Name it."

"I believe you worked on a case maybe six years ago regarding a Mr. Ty Reed?"

"Hmm…that was the victim in the trial where forehead…"

"That would be him."

"Actually, I know the case you're talking about, but it was actually a cold case. It was Prosecutor Von Karma's case before mine."

"Franziska?"

"Nein. Her father's."

Edgeworth swallowed, trying not to think too hard about Manfred Von Karma. It had been a long time since he'd been sent to prison, and to Edgeworth's understanding, he had died many years ago. Klavier began rummaging through his file cabinets, continuing his conversation.

"After his arrest, it came out that a lot of his evidence was quite possibly forged. I was one of the people in charge of sifting through his old cases."

"Why you?"

"I've got a reputation. Apparently, I'm sort of an expert on exposing evidence forgeries…"

Edgeworth knew that Klavier Gavin had been the one to expose Wright. For a time, Edgeworth hated Klavier. He knew Wright would never be stupid enough to forge evidence himself, and he blamed Klavier for eliminating one of the few lawyers who stuck up for the truth. But as Edgeworth began to know Klavier, he realized that Klavier was also one of the good guys. He was much more concerned about the truth than a win record, and Edgeworth respected him for it.

"Ah, here it is. Ty Reed was a witness in a manslaughter trial 30 years ago. He testified against a scientist named Peter Salt, who accidentally blew up a laboratory that killed three bystanders," Klavier said, reading the file. "He was convicted largely based on Mr. Reed's testimony because explosions don't leave much usable evidence behind."

"Can I talk to Salt?"

"Well, he'd be about 95 if he was alive, and I don't think he is. Though I did confirm that at least one piece of evidence was most likely forged. The file's in the records room."

"Thanks," Edgeworth replied before he felt his phone vibrate once. He pulled it out and looked at the text.

NNNGGHHOOOO

Edgeworth chuckled before excusing himself from Gavin's office. He made his way to his car, got in, and drove to Gatewater Land, where a young woman was waiting outside the wild west saloon.

"Kay…isn't it dangerous for you to be here?"

"Aw…c'mon Mr. Edgeworth. At least act happier than that! Like the text?"

"Kay, if your boss finds out you're here…"

"Relax, would you? We've got more important things to talk about. Like the fact that Overhead is dead."

"Wh…what?"

"I don't have the name of the trigger man, but Rose had him killed because of what happened at that trial. And no, I still don't have Rose's real name."

"Kay…are you sure you're okay with this?" Edgeworth asked, clearly concerned. He couldn't shake the fact that Rose had obviously killed someone who had worked for him much longer than Kay had, and the man would have no issue with killing Kay if he found out her identity. Kay, on the other hand, brushed Edgeworth's reservations aside.

"Geez, Mr. Edgeworth, this is my job! I even got a picture of Rose!"

"What? Really?"

"To be precise, I entered his data into Little Thief from memory, and then I took a picture of that. Neat, right?" Kay giggled, revealing her picture.

"Kay, you're invaluable," Edgeworth mumbled, analyzing the photo. He didn't recognize the man at all, but none of the other officers managed to take a picture of the guy. Edgeworth was interrupted by Kay once more, but her tone was much more serious.

"Hey, I have more important information for you. I know what he wants me to steal."

"What?"

"Data for the MASON system."

"That game Wright was using?" Edgeworth asked, taken aback. He had been expecting weapons plans or data that could compromise national security; the last thing to cross his mind was some electronic simulation.

"You got it. Though, I have no idea why he wants it," Kay muttered, shrugging her shoulders. Edgeworth looked at Kay and smiled.

"Kay…I could kiss you."

"Really? Sorry, but that's more than awkward," Kay replied, laughing.

"I'm kidding, but I've been working this case for ages, and this is the biggest break we've ever had."

"No sweat, Mr. Edgeworth. But I do have to steal this data, and I don't know what Rose plans to do with it. It could be dangerous."

Edgeworth sighed. In his head, he tried to connect all the pieces of this bizarre case. Bison was directed by a guy known as Rose, and he hired Kay to steal data for a machine that could offer glimpses into the past. He had a dying man silenced, most likely due to his knowledge and involvement with an explosion that happened 30 years ago. He had killed his own man because he had caused a scene in the courtroom. He shook his head before responding to his good friend.

"You're right Kay…but has danger ever stopped us before?"

All right, read and review. I know it looks like two completely different stories at the moment, but they will intertwine, cross my heart. Updates will be every two weeks from now on, assuming my computer doesn't die again.