Wow, another quick update. I'm on a roll!

Disturbo: -supplies relief-

MorenoX25: . . . Now you're tempting me to scrap my original plan for what happens to Apollo and have them find him two hours after the reunion is finished. XD

ryuu13: Yeah, I know the plot's pretty common, but I don't think anyone's done the reunion thing before. Plus, it's interesting to see the variations of the plots in these fics, isn't it?

BlueRaider: Poor Pearl. Trucy is such a bad influence on her. :) And Apollo, getting his payback time. . . hmm. Possibly. XD

sonicandlink: . . . And now you're tempting me to scrap my original plan for what happens to Apollo. You people are so mean. XDD

And so, in this chapter, we get to catch up with most of the people invited. To prevent it from seeming boring, I've tried to make it as funny as I could, but I don't know how well I succeeded. Either way, enjoy!

Chapter 7

Whips, Magicians, and Fish Bowl Helmets

In essence, Viola Hall hadn't changed much the last time he'd been here. The tables, both the long ones laden with food and the small, round ones surrounded by chairs, scattered throughout the room, the stage with the red curtains, the red carpet rolled out on the floor. . . but those details weren't what he was staring at with shock. In a semicircle around the door stood a group of people, people whom he had never expected to see, not here, not now, not ever. When the doors had opened and they saw Maya and him, some began clapping, and someone near the back of the group shouted, "Nick! Maya!"

Phoenix and Maya turned to face Pearl and Trucy at the same time, who were watching the two of them with wide eyes. "Did you two put this together?" they asked in unison.

Trucy nodded. "It was Pearl's idea," she explained. "And Apollo helped!"

"Do you like it, Mr. Nick?" Pearl asked anxiously. "We did it for you and Mystic Maya, so you could talk with everybody you met back when you were a lawyer." She looked worried that he might not have appreciated this reunion.

Phoenix felt his eyes tear up. Maya, the first to notice, asked in a surprised voice, "Nick, are you going to cry?"

He blinked. "Sorry." He hugged Pearl, then Trucy, whispering the word "Thanks" in their ears for lack of anything better to say.

As Maya took her turn to hug the girls, a man wearing a red suit stepped forward, hand outstretched. "Long time no see, Wright," he said, nodding in greeting.

Phoenix took his head, shook it, then released it. "Hello, Edgeworth," he said, a bit confused. "Um. . . no offence, but why are you here? Haven't you been living in Europe for the past while?"

"I do come back to America occasionally," Edgeworth informed him, as if any simpleton would know this, "and I happened to be in the country when your apprentice invited me. Apollo Justice, I believe his name was, but his voice was rather strained and it was hard to make it out. Is he here?"

Phoenix shrugged. "My daughter says he's in the bathroom, but something tells me that's not what he's doing."

Trucy came bouncing over at that moment, grinning from ear-to-ear. "Daddy, did you know that Maximillion Galactia's here?" she asked excitedly. "He's a great magician! Not as good as Daddy or Uncle Valant, of course, but still. . ."

Edgeworth was staring at Trucy, as if he couldn't believe his eyes. Phoenix, who was used to this reaction when people saw his daughter, placed a hand on Trucy's shoulder and smiled at him. "Edgeworth, this is my daughter, Trucy, magician extraordinare. Trucy, this is Miles Edgeworth, my ex-rival."

They shook hands, Edgeworth looking a little baffled. Then Trucy skipped away, presumably to speak with Max. When she was out of earshot, Edgeworth asked, "Wright, how old is she?"

"Fifteen," Phoenix replied, trying not to laugh. "She's not my biological daughter, though. I adopted her seven years ago."

Edgeworth nodded understandingly. "Zak Graymarye's daughter?"

"Yep," was all Phoenix could say to that. Maya came over at that moment, beaming.

"Hey, Mr.f Edgeworth! I haven't seen you in a while!" she said, clapping her hands together. "What's up?"

As Edgeworth turned to speak with her, Phoenix walked away, wanting to talk with someone else. He took only a few steps, however, when there was a sharp greatcoat, and he felt something slap him across the face, biting into his skin. He let out a yelp and closed his eyes, which were watering with pain. A woman's cool, arrogant voice said, "And so, we meet again. . . Mr. Phoenix Wright!"

When the pain faded away and he could open his eyes without fear of bawling, Phoenix noticed the young, blue-haired woman standing in front of him. She wore black pants and a black jacket with blue buttons and puffy white sleeves, and in her gloved hands she wielded an orange whip. There was only one person who he knew that could fit this description. . .

"Franziska von Karma," he replied, touching the welt her whip had left on his cheek. "It's been a while."

Franziska's lip curled. "The last time we met, you still had your attorney's badge." Her eyes fell on his lapel, the place where he had used to pin his badge and wear it with pride. She shook her head. "To think that you, Mr. Phoenix Wright, would be defeated by a mere rookie, especially the likes of Mr. Klavier Gavin!"

"Yeah," he replied icily, deciding he needed to steer the topic away from his badge. "So, what have you been up to lately?"

"Extending my perfect win record as the Chief Prosecutor," she answered in an arrogant voice. "Naturally.

"Naturally," Phoenix replied, thinking, She hasn't changed a bit, has she? Whip, "perfect" win record. . .

There was another sharp crack as she whipped him across the face. "Stop smirking," she ordered. "I grow weary of this conversation, Mr. Phoenix Wright. I will speak with you again later." She drifted over to one of the tables where some of the guests had lined up to serve themselves. The sight of her carrying a whip guaranteed her a spot in the front of the queue, and, shaking his head, Phoenix spotted a young woman wearing a costume similar to Pearl's, looking in his direction, a sad smile one her face. He made a beeline for her, but before he reached her, a certain detective blocked his path.

"Hey, pal!" he greeted Phoenix, shoving his hands into the pocket of a beige-coloured overcoat. "Haven't seen you in a while!"

"Hi, Detective Gumshoe," Phoenix said resignedly, still watching the woman. "Listen, can I talk with you later? I want to–"

Gumshoe looked hurt. "Aw, come on. That's no way to treat your pal, pal!"

Phoenix sighed. "Sorry, but I–"

At that moment, a pregnant woman seemed to appear at Gumshoe's elbow, wiping her short, dull brown hair from her face. Recognizing Phoenix, she saluted. "Hello, sir!"

"Hi, Maggey." As she lowered her right hand, he noticed a ring on one of her fingers. "Is that a wedding ring?" he asked, surprised. Then he looked at Gumshoe. "To you?"

Gumshoe nodded. "Yep, pal! For four years."

"How'd you afford it?" Phoenix asked, curious. "Your salary seems to get cut every ten seconds."

Maggey smiled. "He's the Chief of Detectives! Didn't you hear, sir?"

Gumshoe nodded again. "I can afford better-quality instant noodles now, pal!" he informed Phoenix proudly.

"Um. . . great?" he said, not really sure what to say. There was an awkward silence before Maggey linked her arm with Gumshoe's and led him away, toward one of the tables to get something to eat.

As soon as they were gone, Phoenix looked around wildly; where was she? Then he spotted the woman, talking with another, shorter woman wearing the same costume as she. He took a few steps toward her, but someone bumped into him from behind. He turned around to find a brown-haired man that was about his age, tall, lanky, with a small beard and a paint-stained shirt.

"You!" Phoenix bellowed. Everyone within earshot turned to look at him, confused, but he ignored them. "Why are you here?"

The man looked hurt. "That's not a very nice way to greet your old friends, Nick! And, besides, didn't you want me here? I got invited and all. . ."

Phoenix let out a sigh. "Larry–"

"Laurice!" the man, Larry, replied hotly. "I'm Laurice Deauxnim!"

He ignored this. "Larry, I wasn't the one who set this up, you know. It was Pearls, Maya's little cousin, and my daughter–" He looked around, then pointed at Trucy, who was showing a purple-haired, top-hatted magician her Mr. Hat trick. "–Trucy."

Larry stared at Trucy. "Whoa, Nick, how old is she?"

Phoenix sighed. He did not want to be having this conversation with Larry. "Fifteen."

Larry let out a low whistle. "Wow, Nick! I never knew you were that kind of guy when you were younger–"

"No, no, no!" Phoenix interrupted, waving his arms wildly. "It's not like that! She's not my daughter."

"But you just finished saying–" Larry began, looking confused.

"Look, Larry, I don't have time for this," he interrupted, talking a step backwards. "I–"

"Aren't we going to talk about where we both are after all this time?" Larry asked, looking snubbed. "You've already talked to Edgey and Franzy and that detective guy. . ."

Phoenix turned and silently began to walk away. Quickly.

"Franzy's Whip-Lash Splash turned into a best-seller!" Larry called, running after him. "Laurice Deauxnim is now a rich and famous children's author!"

He stopped and, surprised, turned to look at Larry. "Wait a second. You're. . . famous? And rich?"

Larry nodded enthusiastically. "Didn't think I could do it, did you? So, what have you been up to?"

"I've been playing piano," Phoenix replied bluntly, walking away again, thinking, Even Larry's richer than I am!

Larry sounded surprised as he said, "I didn't know you could play piano."

Phoenix let out a sigh. "I can't. Now, if you'll excuse me–" His eyes slid to the woman, who was hugging Pearl, again. Larry saw her at the same moment he did.

"Whoa, Iris's is here!" he muttered, slipping by Phoenix. "See ya, Nick!" He took off for Iris, and Phoenix, cursing under his breath, followed him.

"Pearl, I haven't seen you in so long!" Iris was saying, releasing Pearl. Then she noticed Larry and Phoenix. "Mr. Laurice, Feenie!" she said, smiling widely at Phoenix.

"Hey, Iris!" Larry replied, looking a bit flushed.

Phoenix wanted to kick him. Instead, he said to Iris, "Hi. How are things at Hazakura Temple?"

Iris's face fell a little. "Fine," she replied softly. "Sister Bikini and I are busy training more nuns, and caring for all the new guests."

Phoenix opened his mouth to reply, but before he could say a word, Larry blurted out, "Well, that's good, then, isn't it? So, um, Iris, how's Heavenly Hall?"

"Still standing," replied Iris, looking as bewildered by his question as she sounded.

"So, um, I was wondering, after this is over," Larry began, sounding a bit nervous, "if we could go up there and–"

Before he finished, Phoenix stomped on his foot with all his weight. Letting out a howl of pain, Larry began hopping up and down on his good foot, cursing loudly. Pearl, looking appalled by his awful language, slapped Larry across the face.

"Mr. Deauxnim! Stop saying such dirty words!" she yelled at him. Then she raised her hand to slap him again.

Phoenix grabbed Iris's hand. "Come on," he murmured in her ear, taking a few steps toward the other side of the room. "Let's get something to eat."

Iris, looking grateful, followed him toward one of the less-crowded, food-laden tables. Only one person stood there, a rather hairy-looking man wearing an orangish suit. "Mr. Wright!" he called, waving.

"Hello, Mr. Powers," Phoenix greeted him. He could feel Iris's hand tense up within his own, and, to be honest, he couldn't blame her; though Mr. Powers, an action star, was kind-hearted in nature, he looked very imposing. "How've you been?"

Mr. Powers sighed. "Still a poor, underpaid action star, I'm afraid," he said, looking glum. Then, looking at Iris, he brightened up. "Ah, and who is this lovely young lady?"

Blushing, she replied, "Iris." They shook hands, and Iris, looking much more at ease in Mr. Powers's presence, went to look for two plates for Phoenix and herself. When she was gone, Mr. Powers looked at him, one eyebrow raised.

"Is she your girlfriend?" he asked.

Phoenix shook his head. "Once," he replied. "A long time ago. But she's dedicated to service at her temple." He didn't want to get into the story of it at the moment, and Mr. Powers seemed to sense it, because he changed the subject to the newest Samurai series. Iris arrived a couple of minutes later with the plates and, after they had served themselves, waved goodbye to Mr. Powers and took a seat at a round, empty table, covered with a long white tablecloth that touched the floor. They had barely sat down, however, before the purple-haired man Trucy had been speaking to earlier and a young, blonde-haired, sparkly woman sat down across from them. The man looked angry, while the woman merely looked happily clueless.

"Ah, sweetie! So good to see you again!" the man said to Phoenix, and despite the words, his voice was full of rage.

Iris looked at Phoenix inquiringly. Sighing, he said, "Hello, Max, Regina." Turning to Iris, he asked, "Have you ever heard of Maximillion Galactia, from the Barry Big Circus?"

Iris nodded, smiling in understanding. "Once," she said. "Hello, Mr. Galactia, Regina. My name is Iris."

Regina beamed. "Hello, Iris!"

Max seemed not to have noticed anything. He had turned around in his seat and was glaring across the room, or, to be more specific, at Trucy. "That. . . that girl just waltzes up to me, wearing that frivolous costume used by Troupe Graymarye–"

Phoenix looked at the clothes Max was wearing, thinking, If Trucy's costume is frivolous, I wonder what he'd call his own?

"–and she says to me, 'I know you! You're Maximillion Galactia! Troupe Graymarye beat you at the Magician Grand Prix years ago!'" He looked absolutely furious. "Zak Graymarye's daughter, she was. And she wanted my autograph. Ha! A fan of the Graymarye's is no fan of Maximillion Galactia, and I told her so!"

Iris looked shocked. Phoenix placed a hand on her shoulder and opened his mouth to say something, but Max cut across him again, saying, "I know what you're thinking, sweetie! 'How dare she!' Exactly, sweetie, exactly! And she says to me, 'I'm not a fan of the Graymaryes, I am one!' A fifteen-year-old, a professional magician of a non-existent troupe? Ha!" He started laughing uncontrollably, humourlessly, then stopped as abruptly as he had begun. "And we began showing each other tricks, telling the other how it was done, and. . . and. . ." At this point, he seemed unable to go on.

Regina patted him on the shoulder consolingly. "That nice magician girl beat him," she told Iris and Phoenix, looking as if she hadn't a care in the world that Max had just been out-magicked by a teenaged girl. "He's sad now."

Max glared at Phoenix. "Why is she here, anyway, sweetie?" he demanded. "That untalented, classless–"

"She's my daughter," Phoenix interrupted him dryly.

Max stared blankly at him for a few seconds. Then he stood up, and said awkwardly, "Um, I have some business–" Without finishing his sentence, he left, walking away hurriedly. Regina watched him sadly.

"He's so sensitive since the Graymaryes beat him in that big contest," she explained to Iris and Phoenix. "I think the Graymaryes are really good, though, don't you, if they can beat Max? Oh, and did you know we got married?"

"Congratulations!" Iris said, beaming at Regina. All Phoenix could think to say was, "So, you, um, decided not to marry Trilo?"

Regina giggled. "Of course not, silly, he's a puppet." Then she looked over her shoulder at Max, who was talking with Maya and trying not to look at Trucy, who was standing nearby with Pearl. "I'd better go. Max looks really upset. Bye!" she skipped away from their table toward Max and Maya.

Glad to see she finally realized Trilo's a puppet, Phoenix thought to himself with a smile. Iris looked a bit bemused, but she asked no questions, and they ate their food, Iris talking about Hazakura Temple's progress and Phoenix of the guests that had arrived. Of those he hadn't met, he recognized Ben, a soft-spoken ventriloquist whose puppet did all the talking and was one of Max's coworkers, Moe, the ringleader of the same circus that Max, Regina, and Ben belonged to, and Sister Bikini, Iris's superior at Hazakura Temple. As soon as they finished their food, they stood up, and there was a thump from beneath the table.

Phoenix and Iris exchanged a confused look before he knelt down and lifted the tablecloth. A woman with brown, puffy hair, a green sweater, an expensive-looking camera, and a notepad was rubbing her head, cursing softly under her breath in a southern accent.

"Lotta?" Phoenix said, half-angry, half-amused. "What are you doing?"

Lotta glared at him. "I ain't eavesdroppin', if that's what you're thinkin', Mr. Ex-Lawyer," she said. "I just. . . dropped my fork."

Phoenix looked at the camera and notepad, the pages of which were covered with messy handwriting. "And were you interviewing it, too?" he asked dryly. "Come out from under there, and tell me what this is all about."

"Fine, fine," Lotta replied, crawling out from beneath the table, clutching her camera as if afraid it would run away if she let go. Sitting down in one of the chairs, she said, "I was invited to this fancy-schmancy reunion. So I figured, I'll find out what's up with Mr. Ex-Lawyer, maybe find a scoop, ya see. And if there was nothin' interesting about ya? Well, this place is millin' with famous people. Maximillion Galactia, Will Powers, Miles Edgeworth, Franziska von Karma, even a real-live Graymarye!"

"Same as usual, I see, Lotta," he observed. "Sort of desperate, though, to try to get a story on an ex-defense attorney whose name was cleared a month ago."

Lotta glared at him. "You'd be desperate, too, if ya had to compete with the likes of Spark Brushel! Heard of 'im?"

Phoenix stared at her. "Are you kidding?" he asked.

"Okay, ya have," conceded Lotta. "Well, he and I have a bit of a rivalry, ya see. Well, a big one, really. I get wind of a scoop, he's already sniffed it out." She looked angry. "But not this time. This time, I got the scoop! By the time Brushel's sniffer smells the stink from this place, I'll already be here, layin' my claim to the story!"

Iris looked even more confused. "Um. . . Feenie? Who is this woman?"

Lotta turned to her, her manner turning from anger to friendliness. "Lotta Hart, investigative journalist. I'm from the Heart of the Heartland. And you're Sister Iris, a nun at Hazakura Temple?"

"Yes, Ms. Hart," she replied, a small smile unfolding on her face.

Lotta whipped out her notepad and pen. "The same Sister Iris from the Misty Fey trial? The one who meddled with the crime scene?" She looked from Iris to Phoenix and back again. "What'cha doin', anyway, datin' Mr. Ex-Lawyer here when you're a temple nun?"

"Lotta–" Phoenix began, but suddenly, Pearl was running toward their table, a crazy look on her face, her hand raised.

"Mr. Nick!" she cried, slapping him across the face. "What – are – you – doing – dating – Iris?" With each word came a slap to his face.

"Pearl!" Iris cried, alarmed. "Please stop hurting Feenie!"

Pearl stopped grudgingly, glaring at Phoenix. "He can't date you if he's ma–"

Phoenix, watching Pearl carefully to see if she would hit him again, said, "Pearl, I'm not dating Iris." He looked sideways at Iris, who nodded a little sadly, before continuing, "We're just two friends eating together."

"Sounds like a date to me, Mr. Nick," Pearl replied resentfully, but she walked away from them, though she never let her eyes move from Phoenix.

He sighed. "Sorry, Iris, but I think Pearl will probably just keep coming over and slapping me if I. . ." He didn't know how to put it politely and allowed his voice to trail away. Iris seemed to understand, however; she nodded and stood up.

"I know, Feenie." She looked at him awkwardly. "Um. . . bye."

"Yeah. See you later," he agreed, and swiftly walked away. As much as he liked Pearl, he wanted to kick her for disrupting his conversation with Iris.

At that moment, the doors to Viola Hall banged open. Everyone looked round to find two people striding into the hall, one a short, blond woman whose hair had been pulled back into a bun and who looked rather frustrated, the other wearing what looked like a blue spacesuit, complete with a helmet that looked like a large fish bowl.

The blond woman caught sight of Phoenix. "Mr. Wright, could you please tell this woman that I was invited to this reunion?" she asked, sounding irritable. "I've just spent the past half hour trying to convince her to let me in."

The person wearing the spacesuit took off her helmet to reveal an old, thin woman's face, with short, slightly curly white hair. If possible, she looked even more irate than the blond woman. "It's you, young whippersnapper!" she said to Phoenix, scowling. "What are you doing here?"

"Dammit," Phoenix muttered under his breath, staring at the alien-woman.

Maya suddenly appeared in front of the blond woman. "Hey, Ms. Andrews!" she said happily.

"What, no greeting for me?" the older woman exploded. "Gah! That's what you get from youngsters nowadays. No respect for their elders! Why, in my day, if you didn't say hello to the old folks, you'd–"

"Hey, Adrian," Phoenix said wearily. To the old woman, he said, "She's invited, Ms. Oldbag." Or, at least, he assumed so. Pearl probably had her on the invite list, he thought to himself.

Oldbag stopped her rant against the youth of today to glare at Phoenix. "Now, see here, young whippersnapper, I was told not to let anyone without an invitation into Viola Hall, and ever since I was rehired by this place–"

"How could she have an invitation?" Edgeworth, who had been standing nearby, asked. "We were all invited over the phone. . ."

It was when Oldbag turned to look at him that Edgeworth realized his mistake. The ugly, angry scowl on her face melted away, to be replaced with an expression better suited for teenaged girls swooning over boys. "Edgy-poo. . ." she said quietly.

Edgeworth started to back away slowly, his eyes fixed on Oldbag. A few seconds later, she ran toward him, arms outstretched and he turned around and raced away from her. Phoenix sighed and shook his head, then turned to Adrian, who was watching Oldbag and Edgeworth with one eyebrow raised. Maya waved a hand in front of her face, and, with a little start, Adrian tore her eyes away from Oldbag and Edgeworth and looked at Phoenix.

"Hi, Adrian," he said pleasantly.

"Hello, Mr. Wright. I'm sorry for being late." She checked her watch before looking up at him again. "I had a lot of paperwork to finish today, and when I arrived, she–" At the word "she," she pointed at Oldbag, "–stopped me outside in the hallway. I kept telling her I was invited, but she wouldn't let me inside."

"It might have had something to do with the Juan Corrida thing," suggested Maya. "So, how have you been?"

Adrian grimaced. "I've been very busy. After the disaster with the Kurain Village exhibit, I thought I would be fired, but thankfully, I wasn't. Since then, I've been promoted to manage all of the security in Lordly Tailor." She spotted one of the tables piled with food. "If you'll excuse me, Maya, Mr. Wright, I haven't eaten for hours." She brushed past them and headed quickly toward the table. Maya watched her go, amused.

"Adrian hasn't really changed, has she?" she mused. "Anyway, this is great, isn't it, Nick? Pearly and Trucy really outdid themselves."

Edgeworth almost ran into them at that point, looking harried. He skidded to a stop, and looked wildly around before his eyes rested on a nearby round table, the ones with the white tablecloths. He threw himself to the ground and lifted the table cloth off the floor in his left hand. As he crawled beneath the table, he said to the two of them, "You never saw me, Wright, Maya." Then he allowed the tablecloth to drop back onto the floor, though his foot was sticking out from beneath it.

Maya opened her mouth to say something, but before she could, Oldbag bowled into her, looking around wildly. Phoenix grabbed Maya by the arm before she hit the ground and pulled her back to her feet, glaring at Oldbag.

"Watch where you're going, whippersnapper!" Oldbag snapped at Maya. Then, her voice softened. "Have you seen Edgy-poo?"

Phoenix's eyes slid to the tablecloth. Edgeworth, seeming to realize his foot was still visible, whipped it beneath the table again. Turning to look at Oldbag again, he said, "Nope, haven't seen him."

Maya nodded her agreement.

"Hmph. What good are you whippersnappers, with your sharp eyes and ears, if you don't use them?" she asked, wandering away. "Must have run out here, into the hall. . ."

As soon as Oldbag closed the doors of Viola Hall behind her, Phoenix drifted over to the table. "She's gone, Edgeworth."

Edgeworth crawled out from beneath the table, looking around cautiously. Then he stood up, nodded thankfully to Maya and Phoenix, dusted off his knees, and left.

". . . Well that was odd," Phoenix observed aloud.

Maya nodded, staring after Oldbag. "She'll be looking for him all over the hotel now," she said, shaking her head. "Poor Ms. Oldbag."

Unknown to everyone in Viola Hall, who had been distracted by the entrance of Ms. Oldbag, Trucy had been setting up a microphone nearby. They only noticed when Trucy screamed into it, "Testing, testing, one, two, three!" Everyone covered their ears in an attempt to block out the ear-shattering screech it came out as. When the noise had died down and everyone was glaring at her, Trucy, not even batting an eye at the noise, said, "Hi, everybody. Pearl has an announcement to make, so I'll let her take over now."

Pearl, who had been standing nearby with a couple of cue cards in her hands, looking around nervously before stepping up to the microphone. "Um, hi, everybody," she said in a shaky voice, an improvement on what Trucy had done a few seconds ago. "There are, um, two reasons why we had this reunion. The first is because it's been so long that everyone's seen each other, and Trucy and I thought it would be nice if everyone got to catch up with each other."

People nodded in agreement to this, including Phoenix and Maya.

Looking a bit more confident, Pearl continued, "The second reason is because of Mr. Nick and Maya."

At this, Phoenix and Maya looked at each other, confused. "What is she talking about?" Phoenix whispered to her.

Maya shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe there was a second surprise to this they had planned?"

Pearl took a deep breath. Then, with a huge smile on her face, she said, "Mr. Nick and Maya – are getting married!"

. . . And, on that note, I shall end the chapter. :)

Now, here's my reasoning on the characters I did and didn't invite to the reunion:

Edgeworth and Franziska: As soon as I thought of this plot idea, I was like, "They are so totally going to be at the reunion. They just have to."

Gumshoe and Maggey: I wanted these two to get married because they really deserve someone, and it was heavily hinted at the end of Trials and Tribulations they were going to get together. Plus, Gumshoe, like the two people above, had to come.

Larry: He's. . . he's Larry. That's all I can say, to be honest. XD

Iris: I wanted Iris to come, but at the same time, I didn't want her to come, because that complicates the whole MayaxPhoenix thing. . . but I've come up with a solution which will be explained later, and was hinted at (I don't know how well) during this chapter. :)

Lotta: I thought it would be funny if she was eavesdropping on Phoenix. Plus, as pointed out by Fireblast123 in a review, she would probably already be at the Gatewater anyway.

Oldbag: She's been in every game except Apollo Justice (she was in the credits for Trials and Tribulations) and it's a perfect opportunity for her to stalk Edgeworth. XDD

Max and Regina: Since Max already proposed to her anyway, and since she got a little wake-up call at the end of her father's murder trial, I figure she'd better go with the magician rather than the puppet. XD Also, while playing Apollo Justice, I noticed that Valant saying that Troupe Graymarye had won the Magician's Grand Prix, or something to that effect. Either way, it was the same thing that Max won, and then lost to them. Poor Max's ego must have taken quite a blow from that, eh?

Mr. Powers: Still a poor, underpaid action star. But he still totally had to come.

Adrian Andrews: I figured she deserves to come. If she hadn't been in Trials and Tribulations, I wouldn't have included her, because she wouldn't have known Maya, and this reunion is as many people that they both knew that I could think of. -nod-

Sister Bikini, Moe, and Ben/Trilo: My imagination is pretty much dead from all the work I had to make it do, trying to think of amusing ways to keep the story going and keep you guys interested, so I couldn't think of anything to put for them. :( They were still there, though.

Ron and Desiree: I had them on the list of people I wanted to come, but I couldn't think of any way to include them. Like I've said before, my imagination is shot. I'm sorry if you guys were looking forward to seeing them there. I really am. D8

Diego/Godot: I decided not to invite him, even though when people started suggesting that I did invite him, an idea popped into my head for a little scene between him and someone else whose name I shall not disclose at this point. . . Anyway, while he does sort of make amends with Phoenix at the end of Trials and Tribulations, he's probably still in jail, or he might have died in the past seven years. Who knows?

So now, the story is entering the homestretch, with only a couple of more chapters to go. Next chapter comes the reaction to Pearl's announcement, the arrival of a character I don't think many will expect to see, and a few more serious flashbacks. Fun, eh?