A/N: Yet another chapter! At this point it looks like there will only be 11 chapters to this. It was originally going to be 10, but this chapter went on a LOT longer than I thought it would, so I cut it in half, heh.
Enjoy!
The Phantom Turnabout
Day 2 – Investigation Pt 1
July 22nd
Wright Anything Agency
Phoenix Wright
"So, why'd we come back here?" Maya asked as I pulled my keys out to unlock the door to my office.
"I want to drop off the coffee Ruby gave to me and look into something before we continue our investigation," I explained, surprised to find the door already unlocked. Maya seemed confused as well, but I pushed the door open.
"Daddy!" a really familiar voice squealed, and a grin broke across my face. I held my arms open, only to be tackled moments later by my seventeen year old daughter.
"Hey, Mr. Wright. Hey Maya," another voice said, that one belonging to one of my subordinates, Apollo.
"Hey, Apollo. What are you guys doing home?" I asked. "I thought the Grand Prix lasted another two days.
"It was boring," Trucy huffed as she pulled away from me, crossing her arms under her blue cloak. "Max Galactica wasn't even there…" she pouted.
"Wait, what?" Maya gasped, her eyes wide.
"He said he had a family engagement," Trucy sighed before grinning up at me. "But that's okay! Your bag looks heavy. Working on a case?" she asked. I noticed Apollo's eyes light up and smiled slightly.
"Yeah. Today was the second day in court," I said before quickly explaining. Apollo quickly sobered up.
"Wow. I'm sorry, Maya," he said, looking at her. She shook her head, smiling slightly.
"Thanks, Polly, but don't worry. Nick will find the killer. Right, Nick?" she said, looking up at me with a bright grin. I nodded.
"Right."
"Can I help in any way?" Apollo asked. I thought about it, thinking about everything I still needed to do, before nodding.
"I asked Ema to analyze something for me yesterday. She should be done by now. Maybe you could swing by the precinct to pick it up for me, then meet me in Kurain?" I said.
"Oh! Can I go?" Trucy asked.
"Wait, but…" Apollo tried to cut in. I smiled at my daughter though.
"Sure, why not?" I said.
"YAY! Come on, Polly!" Trucy said, grabbing Apollo's arm and dragging him out of the office.
"Wait! We don't have a train pass!" I heard him yell from the hall.
"Oops," I said with a shrug. Maya laughed as me.
"You're so nice to him," she said as I walked over to my desk, putting the coffee down. I smiled at her.
"I was going to give them a pass, but she dragged him out," I said, checking over everything else. "I need to ask Mr. and Mrs. Fenton something," I told Maya.
"How come?" she asked. I smiled.
"Come on, I'll explain on the way," I said, leading the way back out.
July 22nd
Fey Manor
Side Room
Phoenix Wright
Mr. and Mrs. Fenton were studying a spare Magatama when we entered the room.
"I know I saw Miss. Maya's necklace flash just before that ghost came out of that boy. These things can sense ghosts!" Mr. Fenton was saying.
"I just can't figure out how," Mrs. Fenton said, turning the Magatama over in her hands.
"Excuse me, Mr. and Mrs. Fenton?" I said. They turned to face us.
"Oh, Mr. Wright! Can we help you?" Mrs. Fenton asked. I noticed Jazz, Danny's sister, look up from where she was sitting in the corner, reading.
"Actually, I wanted to ask you about something. I found this on the floor of the courthouse today, and I was wondering if maybe it had something to do with ghosts," I said, pulling out the folded paper that held the glowing green liquid. Mrs. Fenton leaned forward, adjusting her goggles as she took the paper. I didn't think it'd be a good idea to tell them that I had found it at the crime scene…
"This is ectoplasm!" she gasped, looking up at me.
"Ectoplasm?" I asked.
"It's a substance that ghosts are made of. Kind of like their blood," she explained, handing the paper back to me. I nodded, jotting that down in my Court Record.
"Huh. Alright. Thanks, Mrs. Fenton."
"Does this have anything to do with Danny's case?" Mrs. Fenton asked. I hesitated.
"I'm… not sure. That's why I'm investigating it," I answered, truthfully. I knew it might have something to do with the case, but why, I couldn't be sure.
"Alright," she said softly.
"By the way, Mr. Wright," Mr. Fenton boomed, his huge hand landing on my shoulder. I winced slightly. "If this lawyering thing doesn't work out for you, you could always become a ghost hunter! The way you jumped in front of that spook earlier and walked out of it unharmed! You have potential!" he said. I smiled weakly, carefully stepping out from under his hand.
"Heh… heh… thanks, Mr. Fenton…" I said, rubbing my shoulder. Maya was giggling from where she.
(If only he knew about my losing my badge…)
"Well, we should get back to investigating," I said, backing towards Maya again. The Fenton's nodded, letting us escape.
July 22nd
Fey Manor
Winding Way
Phoenix Wright
I glanced around as we walked along the path between the small side house and the main house. Maya was telling me about the garden, and I couldn't help but grin.
"I find it hard to believe that they're still alive if you planted them," I teased.
"Hey!" she said, smacking my arm.
"Mr. Wright!" a voice called from behind. I looked over my shoulder to see Jazz running after us. I stopped, waiting for her.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"I… it's about the Prosecutor," Jazz said, glancing over her shoulder, back to the entrance of the side room, before looking up at me. I glanced over as well, but there was nothing there.
"My parents don't know this but… Walker? He's not really a prosecutor."
July 22nd
Detention Center
Visitor's Room
Danny Fenton
I sat behind the Plexiglas window, waiting for the guard to let in my visitors. I didn't know if it would be Mr. Wright and Maya, my parents, or Sam and Tucker.
It was the last two. I could see the shocked looks on their faces at seeing me behind the glass, but I just smiled at them, trying to make them feel better.
"Hey, dude," Tucker said weakly. Sam just frowned slightly, looking down. I sighed softly before looking at Tucker.
"Find anything?" I asked, looking at Tucker.
"Well, I did some digging into Walker's past, you know, before he died," he explained, pulling out his PDA. I nodded, leaning forward. "Apparently, he was a fairly famous prosecutor in Illinois who never lost a case. After about twenty years of that, he decided on a career change to a prison guard. He quickly flew though the ranks and became the warden of the prison, but that only lasted about a week though, before there was a riot. He tried to get it under control with the rest of the guards, but was killed by his prisoners," Tucker explained. I leaned forward, resting my elbows on the table in front of me.
"So he wasn't lying…" I said softly, before sighing. "But… I'm sure there was a death certificate, right? So how are they letting him prosecute now?" I asked, confused.
"Maybe he overshadowed the Chief Prosecutor or something?" Sam suggested.
"Maybe. I just… wish I knew why," I said. "I really don't think he killed Jade. Why would he?" I said.
"We actually talked about that," Sam said. I looked up at her, waiting for her to continue. "Walker wants you in jail, right?"
"Well, yeah," I said.
"But, he can't keep you in jail in the ghost zone. After all, in the ghost zone, humans are the ghosts," Tucker continued. I nodded, before realization struck.
"But if he can get me arrested here, in the human world as a human, he knows I wouldn't escape!" I said. Sam and Tucker both nodded.
"You can, but if you did, you'd have to totally leave your life behind," Sam pointed out. I nodded, my shoulders slumping.
"Should have figured it'd be something like that," I said softly to myself before letting out a deep sigh.
"But hey, Mr. Wright seems to be doing a really good job! I'm sure he'll get the charges dropped!" Tucker said hopefully.
"Except that he can get one of his goons to overshadow Mr. Wright, like he did that witness today," Sam pointed out. I felt my hopes plummet more.
If Walker thought of that, then I'm doomed, no two ways around it. Especially since the Judge seemed was no genius.
"Let's just… hope it doesn't come down to that, alright?" I said weakly. Both nodded in agreement.
July 22nd
Prosecutor's Building
Chief Prosecutor's Office
Phoenix Wright
I knocked hard on the solid wood door, knowing it was kind of late, but hoping against hope that the inhabitant was still there. Maya was shifting from foot to foot next to me, just as worried as I was, especially after what Jazz had told us.
"Enter!" a voice called from inside. I let out a breath I didn't even realize I had been holding, and walked in.
Miles Edgeworth sat behind his large, oak desk that was twice the size of mine and twice as clean. Behind it was a large window with an even better view then when he was just a high prosecutor, and still sitting on the window sill was the Steel Samurai figurine, along with other cast members from that series. In fact, the entire office was set up just like the one he had as a high prosecutor, just on a bit grander of a scale.
"Wright? What can I do for you?" he asked, adjusting his glasses as he looked up at me from whatever file it was that he was reading.
"It's about the case I'm working on now," I said, coming over and sitting in one of the chairs in front of his desk. Maya decided to study the figurines on the window sill.
"Ah, the Fenton case?" he asked. I nodded.
"Yeah. It's about the Prosecutor. Walker." Even Edgeworth frowned slightly at the name.
"Warden Walker. Something's… odd about him," he said, leaning back in his big comfy-looking chair.
(There's something odd about ALL the prosecutors, not just him.)
"Like what?" I asked.
"Well, for one, the Prosecutorial Investigation Committee demanded that he be in charge of this case. It's strange that they'd take such an interest in this case," Edgeworth explained. I was shocked by this news. The P.I.C. almost never stepped in unless it was something huge, which this case, at least by their standards, wouldn't be. And the P.I.C. of California DEFINITELY wouldn't ask a prosecutor from an entirely different state. Edgeworth must have read the look on my face.
"Exactly. I can't help but wonder why," he said.
"Well, I have some news for you," I said, leaning forward.
"What is it?" Edgeworth asked.
"The defendant and his family, or at least sister, knows Walker from back home. Apparently, the guy's not even a licensed lawyer," I explained. Edgeworth stared at me for a moment before sighing softly.
"Does it have anything to do with… that ghost in the courthouse today?" he seemed really uncomfortable as he asked, fidgeting slightly with his sleeve.
"Uh, yeah, actually…" I said, shocked. Edgeworth didn't believe in stuff like this. Not spirit channeling, at least. Maya must have shared my thoughts, because she turned around and gave Edgeworth the stink eye before returning to studying his Samurai collection. Edgeworth, again, guessed my thoughts.
"A ghost shows up in the courtroom, possessing a witness, then attacks the defendant. How am I supposed to ignore that?" he demanded.
"Uh… right. Anyways… Apparently, according to Jazz, Danny's sister, Walker's a ghost that's attacked their hometown before," I explained.
"What motivation would he have impersonating a prosecutor then?" Edgeworth asked.
"Well, think about it. The defendant in this case is the son of the two local ghost hunters. My guess is Walker wasn't too happy that they stopped his plans, and this is his idea of revenge," I explained. Edgeworth nodded at that, thinking it through.
"Do you think he's the killer?" he asked finally. Maya quickly turned and looked at me. I could tell from the look on her face that the thought never crossed her mind. I thought through everything real fast before shaking my head.
"No. There's no evidence pointing to him. Also, if he had done it, I think he'd have killed Danny, not Jade," I explained. Edgeworth nodded before picking up the receiver of his phone.
"Alright. "I'm going to call the P.I.C. and get this straightened out," he said, quickly punching in a number. I waited while he talked to someone on the other end, looking first confused, then surprised, and finally angry before hanging up.
"What is it?" I asked.
"Apparently, no one remembers giving those orders. Walker must have possessed them or something. I don't know," he said, standing abruptly. "But I have a ghost to kick out."
He stalked out of the office, calling someone on his cell as he went. Maya and I glanced at each other before following quickly.
July 22nd
Prosecutor's Building
Room 0813
Phoenix Wright
Walker's temporary office was on the eighth floor, along with the junior Prosecutors, and it was on this floor that Detective Gumshoe met us. Walker's office was about the same size as mine, minus the mess. Walker was sitting behind his desk, reading through that odd book of his, when we walked in.
(Guess an angry Edgeworth doesn't believe in knocking… )
"Entering a room without knocking first? That's against the rules," he said, turning those piercing green eyes on us. I frowned, thankful I wouldn't have to hear that stupid saying ever again. Edgeworth, however, scowled deeper at him.
"Walker. You are under arrest for impersonating a prosecutor and practicing law without a license," Edgeworth began. Gumshoe, who never got an explanation, jumped slightly as Edgeworth motioned for him to handcuff the ghost. Walker, however, stood, his eyes flashing.
"I don't think that's quite necessary, Mr. Edgeworth," he said, backing towards the window.
Gumshoe walked towards him.
"Now, now, pal. Relax. I have to put the cuffs on," he said, pulling the handcuffs from his belt.
(Because, you know, that's definitely something to say to someone to get them to relax…)
Walker sneered at the head homicide detective.
"Not today," he said. I noticed his hands start glowing.
"Gumshoe, watch out!" I yelled. The large detective moved deceptively fast for a man of his size, throwing himself to the side as the fake prosecutor shot a blast of green light at him. I glanced down to make sure the detective was alright before looking up.
Walker was gone.
"Damn!" Edgeworth growled.
…
A/N: Okay, a few things!
First, THIS IS NOT THE LAST OF WALKER! Don't fret, my lovelies, he will return before the end of the story! HE SHALL NOT BE DEFEATED SO EASILY!
Second, it was originally going to be Athena, not Apollo and Trucy, but after writing it, I felt those two worked better. It doesn't help that I'm not a big fan of Athena. Don't get me wrong, her back story and ability are awesome, but her as a character… just gets on my nerves, really. Besides, I truly love the father/daughter relationship Phoenix and Trucy have, especially in Apollo Justice.
Third, what do you think of Walker's backstory? I always imagined him being a prison warden when he was alive and getting killed by his prisoners (I just added the prosecution bit for this story). But, considering this is a kids show, the only ghost you get an inkling about her death is Ember (and only if you listen to the full version of her song carefully, look on youtube), so... who knows if this is true or not. Actually, I have theories on almost ALL the ghosts of Danny Phantom and how they died. BUT that's another story for another time.
That's about it! Tell me who you think did it! I'm curious to see if my little hints are enough :D