The Phantom Turnabout
Third Person POV
Time and Date Unknown
Location Unknown
The woman looked around at her handy work. Lying at her feet was a young woman, dead, blood oozing from the wound in her chest. Shaking her head, she walked over to the third occupant in the room, a young man.
Blood was splattered across his red and white shirt, a few drops on his face as well. He was unconscious, propped against the wall. In his right hand was a bloody knife. Blood gushed from a wound on the back of his head.
Satisfied, the woman slipped out of the room, leaving the young man and the woman.
Phoenix's POV
July 20th, 8:01 AM
The Wright Anything Agency
I sighed, looking around the office. Despite the mess from all of Trucy's magician equipment, it felt empty without her, or Apollo and Athena, the two young Attorney assistants I had working under me.
Athena had taken a leave to spend some time at the Cosmos Space Center, her old home, while Apollo had taken Trucy to the Magician Grand Prix. That left me here, alone, to my own devices.
(Hey, maybe I can finally get this place cleaned up…) I thought, starting with my desk.
Once all the papers were cleaned up, and I discovered the color of the surface of my desk again, I decided to start with the common area of the office, where all of Trucy's magic equipment was.
"I guess I'll start with this," I mumbled, picking up one of her many top hats.
As soon as my hands touched the silk surface, a white, furry head, topped by two floppy ears popped out.
"Whoa!" I yelled, dropping it and lurching back. The hat fell with a thud, sounding a lot heavier then it felt moments before, and a pure white rabbit hopped out of it.
(I need to catch that thing and put it back where it came from... Will it even stay in there?) I thought, taking a few cautious steps forward and grabbing the hat, quickly putting it over the rabbit.
Expecting to feel movement and struggling from the rabbit, I was surprised when there was none. Carefully, I picked up the hat to find the rodent gone.
"Huh?" I looked between the spot where the rabbit had been, and the hat, before remembering how accurate a knife thrower my daughter was. I carefully placed the hat back where it had been and walked over to the couch, deciding I would have a much longer life if I didn't try to figure out the secrets behind Trucy's magic tricks.
Instead, I walked over to the ever teetering pile of DVDs sitting next to the TV. They were all either of the Steel Samurai or the Pink Princess, sent to me by Maya Fey, my old assistant and good friend. There was a third series, the Nickel Samurai, but after a particularly nasty murder case, we decided to just skip that series.
I picked up The Pink Princess, volume ten, when my phone went off. Without even looking at the ID caller, I answered.
"Hello?" I said.
"Hey Nick. It's me, Maya."
"Hey Maya! How've you been? I was just about to start watching more of the Pink Princess," I said, cradling my phone between my ear and my shoulder as I popped the DVD out of its case.
"There's no time for that now Nick! Listen, I need your help," she said, and I could hear the distress in her voice.
"Why? What's wrong?" I asked, putting the DVD back.
"There's been a murder at Fey Manor."
"What!? Is everyone okay!?" I demanded. Her only response was silence, letting me know in its own painful way how stupid a question that was. "Uh, right. Oh god Maya, please tell me you weren't accused. Again."
"No, not at all. However… well, it's too long a story. Just meet me down at the Detention Center. Please?"
"Um, okay? I'll be there soon," I said, hanging up with her and calling a taxi. My days of bike riding were long gone, and I still didn't have my driver's license.
July 20th, 10:04 AM
Detention Center,
Outside the Visitor's Room
Maya ran over to me as soon as I walked in.
"Oh thank goodness you're here!" she said, a little breathlessly. I put my hands on her shoulders.
"Anything for you," I said. "So, what's going on? Who died? Who's the suspect?" I asked. Maya pressed her lips together.
"Jade's the victim," she said. I started slightly in surprise.
"Not…" I started, thinking about the bright, vibrant girl that also happened to be one of Maya's cousins. She was scary powerful with her spiritual powers, second only to Pearls, Maya's other cousin.
Jade was also only fifteen.
"Yes, her."
"Who'd they arrest?" I asked. By now, I knew pretty much everyone who lived in Kurain Village.
"His name is Danny Fenton. That's his parents and older sister," Maya said, motioning behind her. Looking up, I saw a man and woman, both wearing brightly colored Hazmat suits. The man actually reminded me a lot of a certain detective, as scary as that was. With them was a redhead who could only be about seventeen, eighteen at the oldest. "They're ghost hunters, and visited the village to learn more about spirit channeling," Maya explained while I studied the three.
"Did you just say that was his older sister? Maya, you know I don't take on minor cases, and this Danny kid can't be older then sixteen," I said. I had no experience with them. Everything was different.
"Fifteen, actually." She nibbled on her thumb nail, a gesture that immediately reminded me of her older sister. She finally dropped her hand. "Nick…" she hesitated, then sighed. "They're trying him as an adult due to the violent nature of the crime," she said softly. I started yet again in surprise before nodded.
"Well, guess I should go meet him," I said with a soft sigh. Before I could make it to the room, however, the two in Hazmat suits came over.
"Maya, when is this lawyer of yours going to get here?" the woman asked, her bluish-purple eyes red-rimmed.
"This is him, actually. Mr. and Mrs. Fenton, Jazz, meet Phoenix Wright," Maya introduced. I held my hand offering to shake. Mrs. Fenton's grip was pretty tight, and my hand all but disappeared in Mr. Fenton's hand.
"Nice to meet you," I said.
"Danny didn't do this. He'd never murder anyone," Mrs. Fenton said.
"Yeah!" Mr. Fenton boomed. I actually took a step back from the large man. "Not unless he was possessed by a ghost or something!"
"Uh, right…" I said. (Why do I always find the weirdoes?)
"Nick's never lost a case," Maya said proudly, as though it was her accomplishments, not mine, that she was bragging about.
"Well, I lost once, but only because my client was guilty," I admitted.
"Mr. Wright! What are you doing here?" the guard said, walking over. I turned to face him, wondering which officer it was.
"Ms. Byrd?" I asked, surprised. Maggey Byrd was an ex-cop/ex-waitress who had been my client more times then I wanted to count. "What are you doing here?" I asked, unwittingly repeating her question.
"Mr. Edgeworth helped me get my badge back! Isn't it great? I'm a guard here now. But what about you?"
"Visiting a potential client. Danny Fenton," I said. She nodded.
"Well, right this way," she said. I felt Mr. and Mrs. Fenton step forward to follow me into the Visitor's Room. Ms. Byrd stopped them.
"Actually, only the attorney and his assistant can go in," she said.
"But Danny's a minor!" Mrs. Fenton said in surprise.
"Yes, but because he's being tried as an adult…" Ms. Byrd said, the sentence trailing off awkwardly. I glanced at Maya, slipping in while Ms. Byrd dealt with the awkwardness of explaining this part of the law to the Fentons.
Across the glass sat a teenager, a heavy bandage around his head.
Danny's POV
June 20th, 7:02 AM
Hotti Clinic
Visitor's Room
The first thing I noticed when I woke up was the pounding in my head. It was all throughout my head, but it felt the sharpest in the back of my head. With a groan, I went to lift my hand to my head.
I didn't move it more than five inches before it was stopped, metal biting into my wrist.
"Huh?" I looked down, noticing that I was handcuffed to a hospital bed.
"You're awake," a voice said. I looked up to see a man that reminded me a lot of my dad. He was big, with a wide chest and short, black hair. Rather than an orange Hazmat suit, however, he was dressed in a dirty, green trench coat, a pencil behind his ear and a bandage on his cheek.
"Um, hi?" I asked, confused. Behind him, I noticed two officers standing by the door.
"The doctors said you were okay to leave the clinic," he said, coming over. "My name is Detective Dick Gumshoe." He came over, undoing the handcuff and taking me under the arm, pulling me up. My head swam a little, but not bad enough for me to fall. Even if it had, I don't think the Detective would have let me.
(Nice name…)
"Daniel Fenton, you are under arrest for the murder of Jade Fey," he said, pulling my arms behind me and cuffing me.
"What?" I gasped, looking back at him. His face was grim, like he didn't enjoy doing this either.
"Sorry, kid. But all the evidence points to you. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law," he continued, leading me out of the hospital room.
June 20th, 10:28 AM
Detention Center
Visitor's Room
I had my eyes closed, my head in my hands. It was throbbing again, so bad that I felt like I was going to throw up. Since getting to this building, the police have been questioning me. I asked once if it was okay for them to do this without my parents.
That's when I found out they were trying me as an adult.
"Hello?" A voice said. I looked up, finding a man with spiky hair, wearing a blue suit, and Mystic Maya standing behind him. The man smiled warmly at me and sat.
"My name is Phoenix Wright. I'm a Defense Attorney. And you already know Maya."
"I'll be acting as his legal assistant," Mystic Maya quickly said. Mr. Wright looked up at him in surprise before smiling warmly.
"Hey," I said, looking between the two. They looked like old friends. "Did Mom and Dad hire you?" I asked.
"Actually, Maya called me, and I have a few questions for you," he said, studying me. "Why don't you start with what happened last night?"
"Well," I sighed, rubbing my head. "I don't remember everything. After dinner, Jade asked if I wanted to see real spirit channeling. I said sure, and we went into the Channeling Chamber. I…" I hesitated. I had been asked this question about a million times this morning, but still couldn't remember what happened. I noticed the worried look on Mr. Wright's face. "I think she did channel, but…" I shook my head with a half-helpless, half-frustrated shrug. "I don't remember anything else past waking up at the clinic this morning." Mr. Wright nodded.
"Not the first time I've heard of a head injury causing memory loss," he said with a smile before looking at me seriously.
"Now, I have a question, Mr. Fenton," he said. I cringed at how old that made me sound.
"Please, just call me Danny," I said. Mr. Wright chuckled at that before looking at me again with a piercing look.
"Did you have anything to do with this murder?" he said. I looked at him, surprised for a moment, before a chill went up my spine. I didn't see my breath, but staying at the Fey Manor, I felt the same chill multiple times. I think it had to do with the spiritual powers surrounding there. Looking at Mr. Wright, I felt the same spiritual power coming from him.
"No," I said. "I didn't have anything, at all, to do with this murder," I said. Mr. Wright nodded with a smile, going to stand, before looking back at me.
"One more question. Are you hiding anything from me?"
Panic filled my chest at that question, before I pushed it down. There was no way he could know I was half ghost. How could he?
"No, I'm not hiding anything," I said as calmly as I could. Mr. Wright studied me, his eyes narrowed and flickering to different spots around me before nodding, the look clearing from his face.
"Alright, Danny. I'll take the case." He smiled at me. "I'm going to go investigate, but I'm sure I'll be back later with questions, okay?"
"Um, alright," I said, surprised.
I didn't think he'd take the case. After all, he knew I lied when I said I wasn't hiding anything.
Phoenix's POV
"Did you have anything to do with this murder?" I asked, my hand in my pocket, clutching my Magatama. He seemed surprised for a moment, possibly at how straightforward and blunt my question was, but he answered all the same.
"No," he said. "I didn't have anything, at all, to do with this murder." I waited a second, but nothing happened. With a smile, I began to push my chair back, until, suddenly, another question struck me, out of the blue. I turned back to him.
"One more question. Are you hiding anything from me?"
Danny's blue eyes widened for a moment, before he shook his head.
"No, I'm not hiding anything," he said. Everything went dark, until all I could see was the pale teenager in front of me. Chains appeared, surrounding him, and on those chains, five big, red locks.
Psych-Locks.
My eyes narrowed as I studied him. He was hiding something, and whatever it was, it was big. However, somehow, I knew it had nothing to do with the murder. Realizing this, I smiled, deciding to forget about it for now.
"Alright, Danny. I'll take the case." I said, finally standing. "I'm going to go investigate, but I'm sure I'll be back later with questions, okay?"
"Um, alright," he said, surprised. I nodded to him before heading out, followed by Maya.
"You saw Psych-Locks, didn't you?" she asked once we'd left the Detention Center. Mr. and Mrs. Fenton were relieved to find that I had taken the case.
"Yes. But only when I asked if he had a secret," I said. I looked at her. "I don't think it has anything to do with this case. After all, he's a teenager. All teens have secret," I said.
Maya nodded, before smirking.
"Even Trucy?" she asked. I stiffened slightly at the thought of my daughter having a secret big enough to be hidden by five Psych-Locks.
Maya laughed at my silence before taking my arm.
"Common! We have a train to catch!" And with that, she dragged me off.