(A/N: For this part, the song I'm using is "Courtroom Lobby ~ New Prelude" from Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney.)

July 10, 9:47 am

District Court

Defendant Lobby No. 3

*"Ugh… what a night…" Apollo groaned to himself as he stood in the lobby. It had been about two in the morning when Phoenix had given him a call. A murder had taken place at a local café downtown, with Wright himself being one of the witnesses. It hadn't taken long for the police to find the suspect, although the suspect in question was the problem.

"Mr. Justice?"

Apollo shook off the fatigue and looked to see his new client. "Oh, Officer Parkins, sorry, it's been an early morning so far for me…"

"You think it's bad for you, try being put under arrest only hours after being on duty all day!" Parkins snapped. Young, blonde-haired and young at twenty-one, Trey Parkins was fresh out of the Academy and by all means a rookie.

"And yet being accused of murdering someone he never met, I can already tell this guy is innocent… I hope at least." Apollo sighed. "I have no doubt it's been rough the past couple of hours but I promise I will help get you off. You just have to have faith in me." Have faith in your client; that was the other thing he needed to remember.

"I hope you're feeling ready Apollo." Apollo turned and saw his mentor and boss, Phoenix Wright.

"Mr. Wright, I wasn't expecting you here… is Trucy not with you?" he asked.

"Don't you worry about her, I had an assignment for her so I'll be at your side for once today," Phoenix replied. Apollo could see his mentor was tired, most likely he hadn't gotten any sleep at all the previous night. "How are you holding up Mr. Parkins?"

Parkins sighed. "I've been better… only two months in the precinct and I'm already going to lose my badge…"

"Not yet you're not," Apollo spoke up. "As long as you have faith in us, we'll get you cleared, I promise."

"Let's just hope that's true for today," Phoenix commented.

"That's weird, coming from him," Apollo thought. "I know there's something he's not telling me about this… but it doesn't matter, I have to prove Mr. Parkin's innocence and hopefully find the real culprit responsible. Here comes Justice!"

(A/N: For this next part, the song I'm using is "Trial" from Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney.)

July 10, 10:00 am

District Court

Courtroom No. 3

There was plenty of chatter going inside the courtroom. Word of the victim had spread and this was no doubt going to be an interesting trial. The judge then banged down his gavel. *"Court is now in session for the trial of Trey Parkins," he said.

"The defense is ready, Your Honor," Apollo said calmly.

"The prosecution is ready as well." Apollo looked over and saw it was the same man from his first trial almost a year ago. "Well, well, well, we meet again Mr. Justice. This time though, I promise I won't go so easy on you!"

"…Who's this guy again?" Apollo thought. "Something Payne?"

"Now then, would you like to give your opening statement Mr. Payne?" the judge asked.

"Certainly your honor," Payne replied. "Yesterday evening, around eight o'clock, the victim was at a local café with one of the witnesses, Mr. Wright over there. Her name was Iris Fey and she was, as I said, on a date with Mr. Wright." He then shook his head with a smile on his face. "I must say Mr. Wright, you do seem to bring bad luck against the Fey women, don't you?"

"I'd be careful what you say, Payne," Phoenix said almost bitterly.

"Yikes, this is going to get ugly quickly," Apollo thought grimly. "But that name Fey, wasn't that the name of Mr. Wright's mentor?"

"Er, Mr. Payne, the court would be appreciative if you didn't antagonize members of the defense," the judge said warily.

"My apologies," Payne said. "Anyway, Miss Fey was fatally shot while outside the café and died due to blood loss. Shortly after the police arrived, the defendant Mr. Parkins was found in a car nearby and was arrested."

OBJECTION!

"And I'm sure you have evidence to prove that my client was responsible for the shooting?" Apollo asked.

"But of course," Payne said. "We have the bullet that struck Miss Fey and Mr. Parkin's gun."

"Very well, the court accepts both pieces of evidence," the judge said.

"Also it should be noted while examining the gun, it was discovered that the gun had been fired once, no doubt confirming Mr. Parkins is the one responsible," Payne added.

"This…is definitely not good…" Apollo thought.

"Hmm…" Apollo looked over and saw Phoenix was deep in thought.

"What is it Mr. Wright?" Apollo asked.

"Something about that bullet looks… off," Phoenix said. "That being said, let's wait for the opportune moment."

"Now then Mr. Payne, who will you call to the stand first?" the judge asked.

"I would like to call the lead detective conducting this case," Payne said.

"Very well."

(A/N: For this next part, the song I'm using is "Questioning – Moderato 2007" from Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney.)

Once the witness had taken the stand, Payne started. "Your name and occupation please?"

"Ema Skye. I'm the lead detective down in the precinct," the young lady replied. She then smiled. "By the way, it's good to see you again Mr. Wright."

"You as well Ema," Phoenix said, smiling. "Although I wish it was under better terms."

"Can you please tell the court about your findings Miss Skye?" Payne asked.

"Certainly," Ema replied.

"As the autopsy report says, the victim was struck in the stomach and died due to blood loss. We were able to recover the bullet which was still inside the victim. We then got a tip from a witness saying he saw the defendant nearby getting into his car which was down the street. Upon searching his car, we found his gun which had been fired once at some point but that was about it."

"Hmm… so the only thing found in the car was his gun?" the judge asked.

"Well, other than food and other non-related stuff, yes," Ema replied.

"As you can see Your Honor, because detectives and police officers are really the only ones who carry guns, Mr. Parkins, being the only officer in the area at the time, is the most likely suspect," Mr. Payne explained.

"That is a good point," the judge replied. "Very well, you may begin your cross-examination Mr. Justice."

"Here we go Apollo," Phoenix said.

"So Miss Skye, you are absolutely sure nothing else was found in Mr. Parkins' car?" Apollo asked.

"Absolutely," Ema replied. "We checked from the front seat to the trunk but nothing else was there. Of course he did have a half-empty bag of Snackoos in his car…"

"Y-You didn't steal them did you?" Apollo asked. He knew how much the detective loved her Snackoos.

"O-Of course not! …Well, okay maybe I did…" she said. "I mean, they only say not to disturb the crime scene…"

"You have got to be kidding me… Well, if there was only the gun, there has to be a contradiction. This bullet looks…wait, that's it!"

"As the witness said, only his gun was found," Payne said. "But I believe that's all that-"

OBJECTION!

"Miss Skye, could you take a look at this bullet?" Apollo asked. "I'm sure you've seen plenty of bullets from handguns but even you could see something's different about this."

"Hmm… yeah I see what you mean, I don't think this is a regular bullet… unless…"

"Unless, and now I admit I'm no expert at guns but perhaps due to the fact that Mr. Wright or anyone else didn't see the killer has me convinced that this bullet did not come from a pistol… but a rifle instead!"

"W-What!?" Payne squeaked.

The courtroom erupted into commotion and the judge banged down his gavel. "Order! Order! Order I say! Mr. Justice, are you saying that the killer used a rifle instead of a pistol."

"Indeed your honor," Apollo said. "As you can see by the shape, this bullet looks nothing like a regular bullet and would not fit inside the chamber of a pistol. Furthermore, judging by the distance, it would be much harder to shoot a person at a long distance with a pistol than with a rifle."

"But… didn't Miss Skye say the gun Mr. Parkins owns had been fired once?" the judge asked.

"Well…" Payne said slowly, sweating. "The defendant claims that he had used his gun at the firing range this morning before reporting in."

"Hmm… then it would appear that Mr. Parkins could not have been the one responsible since a rifle was not found in his car," the judge said.

(A/N: For this next part, the song I'm using is "Thrill Theme – Suspense" from Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney.)

HOLD IT!

"Hee hee, I'll give you that one Mr. Justice," Payne said, his smile now returned. "But before you hand down your verdict your Honor, the court must know that Mr. Parkins does in fact have experience using long-range rifles." *The courtroom then erupted again in commotion.

OBJECTION!

Apollo slammed his fists into the table. "That is irrelevant your Honor! There was no rifle found on Mr. Parkins or in his car!"

OBJECTION!

"That may be true, but Mr. Parkins could have easily hidden the rifle somewhere else!" Payne objected. "And because the police weren't able to pinpoint the exact location of where the rifle was fired, it could literally be anywhere!"

"I'm afraid he has a point, Apollo," Phoenix said. "Because he's the only officer in the area at the time and the rifle hasn't been found yet, he's still the only suspect."

"Damn it, and we were so close to that Not Guilty verdict!" Apollo thought.

"With this information, I'm not exactly sure if I can grant a verdict," the judge said uncertainly.

"As it so happens, I have a witness who heard and saw the murder take place, as well as seeing Mr. Parkins fleeing the scene."

"This is going from bad to worse…"

"Very well, you may bring in this next witness," the judge said.

The next witness was soon brought in after a few moments. "Your name and occupation please?" Payne asked.

"Colin McGray, I work at the local pet store downtown." The witness looked to be in his early thirties with short black hair.

"Mr. McGray, you were at the café when the murder took place?" Payne asked.

"Indeed I was," McGray replied.

"Hmm… very well, you may give your testimony to the court," the judge said.

"I arrived at the café about thirty minutes before the shooting took place. I was sitting in the back drinking coffee when I heard the gunshot. I got up to my feet and went to the front to see if I could help. That was when I saw the defendant running across the street to his car and I had a feeling he was the one who shot the victim!"

"Hmm… Mr. McGray, just for clarification, when you saw the defendant, was he carrying anything?" the judge asked.

"No, not that I could see," McGray replied. "But he looked panicked, scared. If he was a cop, he should've been protecting people, not running towards his car."

"That… may be true but we're not exactly sure why he did that," the judge said. "Anyway, you may begin your cross-examination Mr. Justice."

Apollo then noticed Phoenix was staring at the witness. "Mr. Wright?" Phoenix didn't respond so Apollo decided to leave it. "This witness has a pretty good testimony, but I'm not sure at the moment if he's lying about anything."

OBJECTION!

The sudden outburst caught him off guard. "H-Hu-?"

"Mr. McGray, you said you heard the gunshot while inside the café?" Phoenix said. He then smirked. "Sorry but that's a big fat lie."

"W-What?" McGray said.

"I was in that same café, in the front and there was music playing inside, loud enough that it was hard for me to hear anything and if that's true, then it would next to impossible for you to hear anything!"

McGray then froze and stammered. "Well…I…"

"Is this true Mr. McGray!?" the judge said.

"I… no I didn't hear it, I should have specified what I meant by that," McGray said. "I thought I heard something and then I saw there was commotion outside and I pieced everything together."

"I see… well do try to be more specific when you're testifying!" the judge said, glaring.

"Y-Yes your honor!"

"Now then, please testify again and explain exactly everything that happened."

(A/N: For this next part, the song I'm using is "Questioning – Allegro 2007" from Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney.)

*"As I said, I thought I heard something loud from outside, and then I saw a commotion taking place so I went up front. People were saying there had been a gunshot and I thought it best to stay inside to stay protected. That was when I saw the cop outside running towards his car."

"Hmm… well now it makes more sense it seems," the judge said. "You may start your cross-examination."

"The more and more I hear this, the more and more I'm starting to suspect something." He then felt his bracelet tighten. "I knew it… he is lying about something and I think I know just what about?" As McGray had talked about hearing something, there was a twitch, not a noticeable to many but he had seen it self, on the back of his left hand.

"Mr. McGray, you say that you heard something loud and yet, you immediately thought it was something bad, why?"

"Isn't it obvious, the sound was rather deep, something most people don't hear," McGray replied.

"Large rigs make deep sounds, trains make deep sounds," Apollo said. "And of course I noticed you twitched slightly while mentioning it. Which means I think you knew there was going to be an incident; that someone, being Miss Fey, was going to be shot."

"Gah!" McGray looked even more horrified now.

"W-Wait, what are you suggesting Mr. Justice?" the judge said.

(A/N: For this next part, the song I'm using is "Pursuit ~ Overtaken" from Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney.)

"It's quite simple your Honor," Apollo said as he smiled. *"Mr. McGray knew the attack was going to happen because he was the one who set it up!"

"NO!"

The courtroom once again erupted in commotion as the judge banged hard with his gavel. "ORDER! ORDER OR ELSE I WILL ADJOURN THIS COURT! Mr. Justice, what is the meaning of this!?"

"This is it!" "It's like the witness said, he heard something and immediately thought it to be a gunshot, but why? I think Mr. McGray had this whole planned out from the start. He wanted to be there to see the victim, Iris Fey be shot but he of course had to set up his alibi which was why he arrived early!"

OBJECTION!

"This is absolutely ludicrous!" Payne shouted. "Why would the witness want the victim dead in the first place!? What motive could he possibly have!?"

"Yeah, Mr. Attorney, what proof do you have!?" McGray snapped.

"I…" "No! I don't have any proof! But it's the only explanation!"

"Ha, you see your Honor, the defense is once again pulling at straws!" Payne countered.

"I'm afraid I have to agree with the prosecution," the judge said. "If there is no evidence linking the victim and witness, then I will have to deny this accusation. If there's nothing else the witness has to say, then-"

HOLD IT!

(A/N: For this next part, the song I'm using is "Pursuit ~ Cornered" from Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney.)

The room went absolutely quiet. "Hold on your Honor," Phoenix said. "It took me awhile to remember the name but I remember you now Colin. We never met but I remember seeing you twelve years ago at Ivy U. with your friend Doug Swallows."

"Y-You remember!?" McGray asked.

"That case! It was when Mr. Wright was accused of murdering Mr. Swallows and that was how he met Mia Fey his mentor!" Apollo thought. "Um, Mr. Wright-!"

"Of course I do, and I'm sure you remember well what happened to Doug," Phoenix said. "As well do Mr. Payne and your Honor of course."

"…Yes, I do remember that name!" the judge said.

"What's your point Wright, since we're going to play this game?" McGray asked.

"I think it's very simple," Phoenix said. *"You wanted to avenge your friend's death so you had Iris taken out!"

"Why would I do that? That girl, the real killer is already dead so why go after her sister!?"

"As much as I hate to admit it, both Iris and Dahlia Hawthorne were both in on the case that took place years ago. Dahlia of course wanted to kill me but Doug figured her out so she killed him instead and planted the blame on me. Still, even though Iris wasn't involved directly, you knew both were at fault so you wanted to make both of them pay!"

McGray bared his teeth. "Okay, I admit I wanted to make them both pay but Dahlia was the mastermind and putting her to death was enough for Doug to rest in peace."

"Or so you thought at first, but seeing Iris again made you think and the tempting thought of striking her off almost seemed to good to be true so you hired a hitman."

"You can come up with any story that you want Wright but it changes nothing since you still have no proof that I was involved."

"This is… most surprising but I have to agree again that unless you have proof I cannot charge the witness," the judge said.

HOLD IT!

Someone had just rushed into the courtroom and Apollo couldn't believe his eyes. "It…it can't be!"

"I'm sorry for the interruption your Honor." The entire court was now witness to Iris Fey, who should have been dead, was now standing there before them.

"I-It's you!" the judge said. "But that's-!"

"IMPOSSIBLE!"

McGray was standing there, shaking and pointing his finger at her. "No…! You… You can't still be alive!"

"Wait a minute Mr. McGray did you just say what I think you just said!?" the judge asked.

"To settle the matter straight, yes I have unfortunately passed on and am channeling my spirit through a spirit medium," Iris said, bowing her head slightly. "I came here on behalf of Mr. Wright's instructions."

"This isn't…what!?" Apollo couldn't say anything.

Phoenix smiled. "Your Honor, as you can see the witness is surprised and judging by his reaction, he has very well confessed to his crime."

"I… see…" the judge said. "Well Mr. McGray, is this true!?"

(A/N: For this part, the song I'm using is "Reminisce – The Bitter Taste of Truth" from Phoenix Wright: Trials and Tribulations.)

"…Yes, yes I did it… I hired someone to kill her." McGray said. *"I know deep down I should've been happy that the one who killed Doug was brought to justice, and yet it wasn't enough for me. Days ago I had spotted the victim in the café and I became upset. Being upset led me to think the unthinkable and the rest has already been said.

"I'm… sorry Wright, I know she meant a lot to you and I never wanted you to take it personally but… I thought I did what was best for Doug."

"Colin… I just want you to know that I never would've wished any harm against Doug, if I had known what my sister was going to do…" Iris said sadly. McGray didn't respond.

"Regardless of what you believed in, you have to face the truth and own up to your crime," Phoenix said. "And realize only causing more bloodshed solves nothing."

"Mr. Payne, how is Mr. McGray doing?" the judge asked.

"He has been put under arrest, your Honor," Payne said.

"I see… what an unfortunate thing to happen to the poor girl…" the judge said, sighing. "Now then, with that being said, I find the defendant Trey Parkins…"

NOT GUILTY

The crowd cheered as the judge struck his gavel one last time. "Court is adjourned."

(A/N: For this next part, the song I'm using is "We Won The Case! ~ Our Victory" from Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney.)

July 10, 12:39 pm

District Court

Defendant Lobby No. 3

*"Mr. Wright…" Apollo said weakly. "I'm… not sure what to say."

"Ah, I should apologize Apollo," Phoenix said, looking a bit embarrassed. "I kind of took that case out of your hands."

"As long as we got Mr. Parkins that's all I care about," Apollo said. "But how did Miss Fey-?" He was then interrupted as Iris entered the lobby.

"Iris… I…" Phoenix began.

Iris put her hand up. "There's nothing to apologize about… I guess I should've known cooperating with my sister would have eventual consequences. But… even so, I thank you for helping me. I'm afraid I don't have much more time so… I came to say goodbye…"

"Yeah… I figured as much…"

"Always know I'll always be with you Nick." She then went up to him and kissed his cheek. "Forever and always…" Both men could feel Iris passing on as the spirit medium crumbled to the ground.

"Ah! Is she okay!?" Apollo almost yelled.

"Don't worry, just give her a minute…" Phoenix said.

The girl moaned slightly and opened her eyes slowly. "…Nick, is that you…?"

Phoenix smiled. "Welcome back Maya…" He then helped her up. "Apollo, I'd like you to meet Maya Fey, a very close friend of mine."

"I… uh… hi?" Apollo said.

Maya giggled. "Oh you remind me so much of Nick when we first met! Don't worry, it took him awhile to understand all this as well too."

"Er… right," Apollo said. "So… you're a spirit medium?"

"That's right," Maya nodded. "And of course I used to be an assistant for Nick as well."

"I'll explain a little more later," Phoenix said. "Maya, I can't thank you enough."

"Hey… I'm always here if you need me Nick," Maya said. "You done me plenty of favors as well so it was about time I do the same. But enough of that! With this case closed, I say we celebrate and I know just the burger joint to go too!"

"…You haven't changed one bit Maya…" Phoenix laughed.

"And I could use a drink too. I have this weird taste in my mouth… I wonder from what…?"

"Urk! Um… I'm sure it's nothing, really!" Phoenix said.

"…It's funny, seeing these two almost remind me of Trucy and I…Almost two completely opposite people and yet here they are having been friends for a long time…

I got to know more about Maya while we celebrated our latest victory. It wasn't long after we ran into Trucy who had just finished her "assignment." Apparently Mr. Wright had her check out the area where the shooting had taken place but came up with nothing. I guess it shouldn't be a surprise but now that I think about it… who could've been this mysterious hitman?

"I didn't have much time to think about it... this was just before I met Athena... and the adventures we got sucked into as part of the Dark Age of the Law..."

(A/N: For this last and final part, the song I'm using is "In-Flight" from Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney.)

July 10 ?:?

?

?

*"So Nick, now that everything's all said and done, what are you going to do now?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you are going to become a lawyer again, right?"

"I had been thinking about it, yeah… I've come to realize being a lawyer isn't just a job, it's a duty, for those who need help. I've made up my mind: I'm going to retake that bar exam and get my badge again."

"There's the Nick I know! By the way… I know I've been busy, being the Kurain Master and all but… I wouldn't mind coming back and working on a new case, just like old times."

"My door's always opened Maya… but thank you again… for everything…"

The End

(A/N: So like I said, I did things a little bit different with this fic compared to the games but hopefully I stuck true to the game's concepts. As for this episode, it has come to a close but do not think it ends here!)

FoxMcCloud7921