A/N: Greetings one and all, and welcome back to the story! Got another shorter chapter for you here today, but don't worry, because I can pretty much guarantee that the next chapter will be quite a bit longer. What do I mean by that? Well… you're gonna have to read through THIS one to find out. But indeed, we're on our way to court in this chapter for Swift's parole hearing and… well, if you hadn't guessed by the title, I'm gonna be pulling a few things from a certain video game franchise for this one. So, without further ado, let's get started, shall we? This is…

Chapter 11: Intergalactic Turnabout

…..

"You nearly scared me half to death, you know." Ilia said, her arms crossed as she sat in the back seat of Kevin's car. "I almost thought you had gotten arrested again."

It had been about fifteen minutes since the surprise visit that Max had paid them at the Levin household, along with his surprise guest. The group had not expected that Swift's parole hearing would be THIS early, so they were pretty stunned to see her out and about, especially Ilia. But what had taken them aback the most was the prisoner's garb that Swift wore, which she was required to be in for the duration of the hearing. Needless to say, a couple of them had taken the wrong way… namely Ilia.

The half-Aerophibian girl was sitting right next to Ilia, eyeing her with a raised eyeridge. "Hey, I said I was sorry." She smirked and nudged Ilia slightly. "I mean, it's not like I'd end up on your doorstep if I DID get arrested, right? They'd just cart me off straight to jail, hehe…" No response came from Ilia, who kept her eyes focused on the road. Swift's grin disappeared within moment and she pursed her lips, letting out a sigh as she rubbed her head. "L-Listen, Ilia, I… I know this probably wasn't the most expected of reunions, but I thought surprising you would be fun. If I had known that you wouldn't like it, I'd have—"

"Swift." The hybrid girl stopped as Ilia faced her once again, the chameleon girl wearing a serious expression. "I have no problem with surprises. Honestly, if you had appeared at the house in your casual wear, THEN we'd be having a different conversation. But when you're dressed like an inmate, it kinda freaked me out."

Another sigh escaped Swift's lips and she nodded. "You're right. And I'm sorry for that. I probably should've thought that one through a bit more." She gave a hopeful smile to Ilia, her hands fidgeting a bit. "So… still friends?"

Ilia blinked in shock before smiling back with a scoff. "Psh, you kidding? You might've surprised me, but it's gonna take a WHOLE lot more than that to ruin our friendship."

"Glad to hear it, freckles." Swift lifted up her arms to show her handcuffs. "If I weren't tied up at the moment, I'd give you a hug right now."

"Aw, that's so sweet!" The two girls' attention was drawn up to the front seat, where Kevin and Penny were sitting. The Android had turned her head to face the duo behind her as well. "It is SO nice to see you two still being as friendly as you usually are, especially after two days apart!"

Ilia and Swift both looked at each other with shock on their faces. "Oh, crap, yeah it HAS been two days, hasn't it?"

"Pretty hard to believe, honestly." Ilia admitted with a blush. "…And to make it worse, I've actually been doing quite a bit in that time… and without you…"

"Ah, don't fuss over it, Freckles." Swift assured with another nudge. "Trust me, with a literal whole new world opened up for you and the others, I can't blame ya for wanting to see the sights. So, what'd you guys do the past couple days?"

"Ooh! Ooh!" Penny waved, getting their attention once again. "When we arrived on Earth, we went to Ben's house to meet everyone's parents, and then there was an attack on the city by HUGE robots!" She through her hands up for emphasis. "But, they were inferior models, so we dispatched them without much trouble. Then the NEXT day, we went on a mission to rescue some of our new allies from a cult at Niagara Falls. The Cultists got away… but we DID succeed in the rescue, and afterward, we went to do some sightseeing, only to come across a mysterious old man who disappeared into thin air while we were at the aquarium." Penny smiled from ear to ear as she finished recapping everything. "And that's about it!"

Swift blinked before glancing to Ilia for confirmation, to which the chameleon girl shrugged. "Yeah, that's pretty much how it went down."

"Well, aside from the SECOND robot invasion that happened." Kevin added from the driver's seat, not taking his eyes off the road. "But we weren't there for that, so Coco, Cooper and the rest of Team CFVY ended up takin' care of it with Six and Winter."

"Huh… that's pretty cool!" Swift smiled. "Sounds like you guys have been kept pretty busy."

Ilia reclined in her seat, placing her hands behind her head. "You don't know the half of it, Swift…" Her eyes widened a bit as she remembered something. "Oh! By the way, I actually DID get you a souvenir from Niagara Falls, so once we come back, I'll get that for you."

The Aerophibian girl's lips parted, stunned that Ilia would do that. "I… Ilia, you didn't have to—"

"Hush." Ilia halted, raising her hand. "I DID, because until you're out on parole, you probably can't leave far from home." She reached over and placed a hand on Swift's shoulder. "I promise that I'm gonna bring you some of THE best souvenirs from our travels, okay?" She cracked another smile and winked. "It's the least I can do, right?"

There was a long pause as Swift could feel herself welling up a bit, but she dared not show any tears at that moment. "Oh… Ilia, you're the best!" At that moment, Swift leaned in and put her head on Ilia's shoulder, much to the chameleon girl's shock. "I know this isn't a hug, but it'll have to do until I can get these cuffs off."

Ilia's freckles shifted to a soft pink color and she let out a nervous laugh. "Ahahaha… y-yeah… sure." She swallowed hard as Swift separated from her, leading Ilia to eye Kevin immediately. "H-Hey, Kev, are we there yet?"

"Pretty much." Kevin grinned, pointing out to the road ahead. "Take a look."

The three girls all peered out the front windshield to see… nothing. It was just a back road in town that seemed to be leading to a dead end. This understandably confused Ilia and Penny, the two giving confused faces to the Osmosian. "Um… Kevin…" Penny began. "I hate to state the obvious, but… there is nothing there."

"Ah, but that's what they WANT you to think." Kevin smirked before reaching to his center console and opening it up, revealing a slew of different buttons and switches. He went for a green switch and flicked it, which began sending out a signal from his car, as indicated by the light bar that appeared on his windshield. "Now watch what happens."

At that moment, directly in front of the green muscle car, the entire road began to lift up, including the Dead-End sign that was on it. By the time it lifted up all the way, a secret entrance was revealed, one that lead down into the Earth below. "Woah!" Ilia exclaimed. "I had no idea this was here!"

Kevin wagged a finger with a smirk. "That's 'cause you're not supposed to. We've got entrances to the Plumber Base like this all over Bellwood. Really helps when you need to get to it fast."

"Very intriguing!" Penny smiled… only for a confused expression to take over her features. "Wait… then why did you not go to a nearer one? We have been driving for fifteen minutes."

"Eh, I just thought it'd be better to take the scenic route." Kevin shrugged as he jabbed a thumb toward the duo in the back. "Plus, I wanted to let these two have their little chat. Play a bit of catch-up before we get down to the dirty court business, ya know?"

Swift and Ilia glanced toward one another as Kevin drove down into the base. "Eh, I guess I can't argue with that." Swift figured before raising an eyeridge. "That said… it sounds like you've had experience with this sort of stuff, Levin. Been in juvie before?"

"Heh, nah, I was lucky enough to avoid THAT hell hole." Kevin said as he began driving into the base, with the Rustbucket following behind him. He shot Swift a sympathetic gaze through his rearview mirror. "But, uh… sorry that YOU had to go through it. Can't imagine what sorta crap that you were put through while you were in there."

The Aerophibian sighed and sunk into her seat. "It's no big, really. Those assholes got what was coming to them."

"I'm sure. So tell me, you likin' your chances for parole?"

"…Kinda? Maybe?" Swift lowered her head and clenched her hands. "Honestly, at this point, I couldn't tell you. I mean, I know that I've got plenty of people to back me in my defense, but… with everything I did…"

"Hey." Ilia placed a hand on Swift's shoulder, staring into her eyes with an intense gaze. "Everything's going to be fine. I swear, I'm going to fight tooth and nail in that court room until YOU are a free woman. …Well, as free as you CAN be with parole, but all the same, I WON'T give up."

Penny reached around and extended her hand, placing it over Swift's own. "And that goes double for me! And I am quite certain that Ruby will be there fighting for you as well." She winked to her friend with a confident grin. "We are all here for you, Swift. That, you can count on."

A shaky smile appeared on the hybrid girl's face. '…Dear god, you two are seriously making it hard NOT to cry right now.' Once she composed herself, Swift cleared her throat and bowed her head to the two. "You girls are the best. You AND Ruby. I can't thank you guys, Coco and Velvet for being in my corner on this one."

"Anything for a friend." Ilia assured, all while adding in her mind; 'A friend who I have a MASSIVE crush on… but that'll have to be addressed at another time.'

Swift let out another breath and nodded at that. "Thanks girls. You both seriously rock." However, her attention went back to Kevin again. "But ya still didn't answer my question, Levin. Why do you sound so experienced in this sorta stuff?"

"Oh, because Ben and I were in court once." Kevin answered. "We were in a custody battle for Julie's pet against its creator."

The trio of ladies blinked as Penny interjected. "Wait… isn't that Ben's ex-girlfriend?"

"Eeyup."

"And you were in court… for a custody battle… for a pet?" Ilia repeated.

Kevin held up a finger. "Not just ANY pet, but a Galvanic Mechamorph pet." he clarified. "The Mechamorph who spawned Julie's pet, Ship, claimed that he was the rightful owner… even though he basically gifted Ship to BEN and Ben essentially gave Ship to Julie… kinda sorta. Thankfully, we won the case."

Swift wore a hopeful smile at that. "Oh, that's good. Glad to know that I'll have two reliable people defending me." She then noticed Kevin flinch in the front seat, which she immediately took as a bad sign. "…What happened?"

"Well… let's just say that we're lucky that we won the case." Kevin went on. "See, back then, Ben was on this ego hotstreak after having saved the universe from the Highbreed and he thought that just impressing the judge by going alien would be enough to convince him." Both Penny and Ilia were visibly surprised, the two stunned that Ben would get such an idea. "I had the experience in court, so I wanted to do the talking… but Ben transformed into Humungousaur and destroyed the judge's stand." All three women grew even more astonished at that. "…But thankfully, the judge ruled in favor of us, having seen it as a "waste of Ben's time" as he put it." Kevin furrowed his brow a bit. "Unfortunately, I don't think that's gonna work twice."

"…So what you're saying is… that case was a fluke win?" Ilia asked.

Swift fell over and buried her head in the seat. "I'm doomed." she muffled. "Levin, please, you're my only hope in my hearing. You CAN'T screw this up."

Kevin sucked in a sharp breath through his teeth, glancing back to her through the mirror. "Uh, yeah… about that…"

"No, no, NO!"

"…I've kinda been barred from active defense in High Court." Kevin admitted. "I can still be IN the court to show my support FOR you, but I can't DEFEND you." However, the Osmosian sent her a reassuring wave. "But don't worry, I'm sure that Max got you some pretty good defense. Besides, this is a parole hearing, not an actual trial. If it were, we'd actually have something to worry about." He then grumbled; "Damn prosecutors."

Swift let out a breath and ran her fingers through her hair. "Well, I guess that IS one upside to all of this." She pointed a stern finger to the driver. "But you'd better be right about that first part, Levin. I'd better get the best damn attorney someone can get at a moment's notice." Swift's eyes shifted up through the windshield to see that they had arrived in another room inside the Plumber base. It was a rather spacious room with practically nothing in it aside from a large, circular pad that was slightly elevated about a foot off the ground. And standing on it… were her other vouchers. Ben, Yang, Ruby, Coco, Velvet, and surprisingly, Nora and Ren were all present, the group eyeing the car as it pulled to a stop. "Heh, well, guess this is it."

"Yep, c'mon, let's go see everybody." The doors of Kevin's car opened and Ilia stepped out, waving to the group as they approached. "Hey guys! Glad to see you made it."

"Wouldn't miss it, Color Girl!" Yang waved back. "Once Rex told us about the sitch, we dropped everything and came over." She then saw Swift come stepping out of the back seat, and she gave her a greeting nod. "Heya, Swift. You excited?"

"Heh, more like ungodly nervous." Swift shook her head. "I just hope it all goes—OOF!"

She didn't have time to finish her sentence as a squealing Ruby zipped right up and hugged her with every ounce of strength she had. "EEEEE! Swift! Today's the big day!" The Hooded Huntress bounced up and down in place as she went on. "I can't believe it's finally happening! You're gonna get your parole and then we can finally hang out properly and I cannot WAIT until we can do stuff together! EEEEE!"

Swift felt like all three of her eyeballs were going to pop out at that moment. "Urk, ugh… Ruby, I'm looking forward to it as much as you are, but… can I BREATHE?!"

Ruby gasped in shock, realizing that she had done it again. "AH! Oops! Sorry!" she quickly let go, allowing Swift to limply fall over onto Kevin's car. "I-I've been told that I get a bit… overzealous with the hugs."

'Gee, ya think?' Swift thought before shaking her head. "Hah… I-It's okay, Ruby, really." She smiled softly as Penny and Ilia grouped up with them, the four girls forming a circle. "Honestly, I'm just really glad that you three could be here with me. It means more than you could ever know, if I'm being honest."

Penny saluted and beamed back at her. "No problem at all, Swift! After all, we ARE all best friends, are we not?"

"We are." Ilia affirmed. "Which still kinda stuns me, because I didn't think that we'd have a friend group like THIS at all."

"A human girl with silver eyes, a robot who's half-Mechamorph, a Faunus and an Aerophibian hybrid." Ruby listed off before swinging her arm in a rousing way. "We're quite the odd bunch, aren't we?"

"Yeah, but…" Swift gathered the three girls into a small huddle. "I honestly wouldn't trade you ladies for the world. I have you three to thank for helping me get to this point after all." The girls all let out an "AAAAW!" before giving Swift a big group hug, which while the Aerophibian slightly winced at, she couldn't help but feel elated as well. 'Dear god, these girls are so saccharine… and yet I'm so grateful for them.'

Coco let out a small chuckle as she and Velvet came over as well. "Heh, well, it's good to see that you've got friends that'll look out for ya, Swift." She nudged her thumb between herself and the bunny girl. "And remember, you can count on us in that court room, too."

Velvet bowed her head. "Yes indeed! We'll testify for you so hard that they'll HAVE to give you parole, promise!"

The group hug broke up and Swift smiled to the duo as well. "Hey, thanks, girls. I'm glad that you're willing to testify. …And that you accepted my apology."

"Oh, think nothing of it!" Velvet assured. "After all, after all of the… well, I'll just come out and say it, bollocks you've been through, it's the least we could do. Everyone deserves a second chance, after all."

"Heh, I like your thinking, Velvet… AND your choice in vocabulary." The ladies all shared a laugh at that before noticing Nora and Ren coming over to greet them, which piqued Swift's curiosity. "Oh! And you two… Ren and Nora, right?"

"That's right." the green ninja confirmed. "We met on the mission to Kuroyuri."

Nora frantically waved at Swift with an excited grin. "It's really nice to see you again, Swift!"

Swift nodded as the memories came back to her. "Yeah, yeah, I remember you guys." She pointed over to Ren. "You're the really subdued one…" Her finger then directed over to Nora. "And your girlfriend over there is the hyper one, right?"

Both Ren and Nora simultaneously blushed in embarrassment, all while the others giggled at the misunderstanding. Ren attempted to compose himself, but found that he couldn't find the right words. "A-Ahem… uh… w-well, y-you see, we're… um… it's just—"

"We're not dating." Nora quickly said, though in her mind, she added; '…yet.' She shook her head and moved on. "W-We're just really good friends, that's all."

Swift raised a skeptic eyeridge. "Huh, could've fooled me."

"Everyone says that." Both Nora AND Ren said, the latter finally finding his nerve to speak. But after saying the exact same thing, the duo blushed once again and turned away from one another, clearly flustered by the whole situation. "Ahem…" Ren continued. "I-In any case, we're here representing Team JNPR to show our support."

"…Uh-huh." Swift smirked. She could easily see the kind of situation that was going on here, and she was living for it. 'My god, I love two awkward messes who're having trouble expressing their feelings. When they confess, it's gonna feel SO good for the both of them. Speaking of…' She glanced over to Ilia, taking in every detail of the girl's amazing features. '…I've gotta find a way to express my OWN feelings soon before I become an awkward mess.' She cleared her mind of that thought before going back to the resident power couple. "So, uh… where IS the rest of the team? I know that you've got a lot more people than this."

Ben and Yang glanced toward each other, the Blonde Brawler answering for them; "They, uh… had prior commitments."

…..

"Never once in my life have I been so apprehensive of scaling a snowy mountain." Pyrrha said to herself as she had Link continue up the side of said mountain, all while keeping an eye on her temperature gauge. Over the past hour or so, she and Gwen had been going through the tutorial section of Breath of the Wild, exploring the Great Plateau and experiencing the splendor that it had to offer. And so, far, she was having a fantastic and fun time, killing Bokoblins, finding weapons, learning to cook food and chop down trees, and even getting new clothes from random chests. …Even though that last part covered up the eye candy that was Link. 'Damn it, Pyrrha, stop thirsting for fictional characters! You have a hot boyfriend sitting RIGHT next to you!'

However, once she had activated the Sheikah towers and did the first trial shrine that the old man had given her, it quickly became apparent that there were three MORE shrines that she had to do… and one of them was at the tip-top of a large, snowy peak. Initially, Gwen had assured her that this would be no problem, as they could get a warm doublet from the old man. …But when it became apparent that they needed to cook the man's missing recipe to do so, they were out of luck. "I can't BELIEVE I forgot about that!" Gwen chastised herself.

"It's alright, I'm not afraid to do things the old-fashioned way." Pyrrha had assured as she began picking all of the peppers that she possibly could near the entrance to the snow-covered area. "And I can say with utmost confidence that I will NOT let this mountain beat me!"

"Yeah! Go for it, Pyr!" Jaune gave a supportive cheer, all while playing with Romulus and Rema on the floor. "We believe in ya!"

So, after making an appropriate amount of heat-giving food, Pyrrha had Link eat some and they were quickly on their way… right after using Magnesis to try and cross the river. "GAH! That slab will NOT stay in place!" But, after a bit of frustration and a LOT of balancing, along with eating a few more hot meals, Pyrrha finally made it to the top of the mountain, to which she let out a cheer. "Haha! YES! No mountain can conquer ME!"

"Nice work, Pyrrha." Gwen praised while pointing to the timer. "And with just a few seconds to go for your heat, too."

"Thank you, Gwen." Pyrrha nodded before going to the shrine. "Now, let's get this next power—"

"WHAT?!" All of a sudden, a loud voice from downstairs made the duo jump in their seats, their heads whipping to the door. "You've gotta be KIDDING ME!"

By the sounds of it, that had to be Neptune, and it didn't sound like he was too happy. Himself, Sun and Blake had come over for a visit while the others went to Swift's parole hearing, and the three had wanted to do something to pass the time, along with Winter. So, she had Kenny show them a little game that she suggested.

"Uh… Gwen?" Jaune eyed her friend. "What game did you give them, exactly?"

A small grin tugged at the corner of Gwen's lips. "Oh… just a card game."

…..

Neptune was having the worst time of his life. 'When Gwen comes back down, I'm telling her to her face that suggesting this "UNO" game was the worst idea she's ever had.' He thought to himself with a grimace. No matter what he did, he just seemed to have THE worst luck out of everyone sitting at the table. Kenny was acting as the mediator while Sun, Blake, Winter and of course, himself, were playing… and things just were NOT going his way. It seemed that EVERYONE had at least one Wild Card and even a couple +2's and 4's… except for him. And he was honestly feeling a bit bullied at the moment.

"He-He-Hey Neptune…" Sun began, resisting the urge to laugh as he leaned over, placed a Wild Card on the pile in the middle and said; "What color do you want?"

Neptune narrowed his eyes and leaned toward Sun, glaring at him with all the intensity he could muster. "I would literally rather scratch out my own eyes than answer that question."

"Alright, yellow it is!"

"W-Wait, wha—NO!" Neptune slammed his head against the table. "The one color I don't have!" He set his sights onto Kenny with a pleading gaze. "Can't you do something about this?!"

However, the redhead shook his head. "Sorry, Neptune, rules are rules and no one's cheating at the moment. If Sun wants to switch it to yellow, then it's fair game."

Neptune groaned and reached for the rather sizeable UNO deck, pulling out card after card before finally finding a yellow… which made his eyes light up after seeing what it was. "HAHA! FINALLY!" He laid down the card, which was a yellow +2. "Plus Two! Plus Two!" He pointed over to Winter, who was next to play. "Now YOU get to draw, Winter!"

Winter's eyes widened, and while she didn't seem to be angry, she WAS rather concerned as she pulled two cards from the deck. "…Neptune, you DO know that this is a dangerous move, right? You've essentially skipped me, which means…" Everyone's eyes went over to Blake… who was holding a single card in her hand. For the entire game, she kept her usual neutral face about her, but now… she wore a Cheshire.

"…No." Neptune uttered.

Blake could only shrug. "Sorry, but…" She threw her card down into the pile, revealing it to be a Wild +4. "UNO!"

"WHAT?!" Neptune exclaimed, standing up from his chair. "You've gotta be KIDDING ME!"

Sun facepalmed as he took four cards out of obligation. "Neptune… if you were to look up "all time bonehead plays", YOU would be at the very TOP of that list!"

"Oh, come ON! How was I supposed to know she had a Plus FOUR?!"

Blake simply sat back in her chair with a satisfied grin. "I don't know about you guys, but I actually feel REALLY good about myself with that one. Plus, this game is just plain fun, I say we go again!"

Winter sighed and pulled everyone's card together, reshuffling the deck in the process. "Well, I suppose that game was running rather long anyway. Anyone else up for another round?"

"YES!" Neptune said as he quickly sat back down. "Deal me back in, I gotta redeem myself after that last one!"

…..

Back at the Plumber base, Swift nodded in understanding after hearing Yang's explanation. "I see. Well, I hope they're all having fun. So, when does the hearing START, anyway?"

Ben gave her a shrug. "Well, I'd assume soon. We haven't gotten an ETA, we were just told to come here." The hero faced his grandfather, a curious expression coming to his face. "So, grandpa, are we leaving like right now, or…"

"Should be soon, Ben." Max assured. "We just have to wait for Rook and the others to get here."

"Oh yeah, Weiss and Rex should be with him, too." Ruby added, placing a hand to her chin. "I wonder why they had to go to the mall in such a hurry…"

However, the fact that only three more people were coming along concerned Swift greatly. She was familiar with Weiss and Rex, yes, and she recognized the name "Rook" as the one belonging to her future parole officer. But the fact that there didn't seem to be ANY lawyers in sight definitely raised some red flags. "Uh… pardon me, but…" Swift sent a concerned gaze over to Max. "If we're only waiting on them… then what about the person who's gonna defend me in court?"

Max cleared his throat, an awkward expression on his face. "Ahem, yes, well… about that."

"Oh god."

"We couldn't find anyone for a last-minute parole hearing." Max admitted. "Usually, these things are scheduled in advance, so for one to pop up right at the last minute… well, let's just say that intergalactic lawyers are busy people."

Ben raised a single finger with a hopeful smile. "But don't worry, we DO have a solution."

Swift let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank goodness. What is it?"

"Well, remember back in Remnant when we went on that mission to Kuo Kuana? The one where you first met Ilia?"

"Heh, how can I forget?" Swift sent a soft smile to said chameleon girl, whose spots turned a soft pink. "Why? What does that have to do with this?"

"Well, a couple of our teammates actually put in a good defense for a repentant White Fang member." Ben explained. "Even got her punishment reduced to just community service instead of being locked up. So, we've enlisted their help for this trial."

Swift pursed her lips at that. On the one hand, it wasn't exactly ideal for her to not have a professional lawyer, but on the other… she didn't have much choice in the matter. That and the fact that the person who was going to be defending her would know her personally definitely helped. Swift sighed and smiled to the group. "Heh, well, alright, I guess having one of you guys argue for my parole won't be SO bad. So, which one of you two are gonna do it?"

Before anyone could answer, however, the door to the room opened, followed by a certain voice announcing their arrival; "¡Buenos dias, muchachos! We have arrived!" Everyone turned their heads toward the doorway… and were flabbergasted by what they saw, especially Swift. Entering the room first was Rook, followed by Weiss, who both appeared in their relatively normal attires. But Rex… was in a blue three-piece suit with a white button-up shirt underneath, complete with black shoes, a brown suitcase and a glaring red tie to complete the ensemble. He had even ditched his goggles to appear more professional. But as always, his hair was slicked back… even MORE so than it usually was. He smiled and waved to the group as he came over. "Rex Salazar, Ace Attorney at your service! Did we miss anything?"

"…I'm fucked." Just by how he was dressed, Swift knew she had gotten her answer… to which she promptly buried her eyes into Ilia's shoulder. "Remember me for how I was, Freckles. I'll miss you."

Ilia gasped and pulled Swift off of her shoulder… as much as she didn't want to. "Hey, hey, don't worry, Swift! You heard what Ben said, Weiss and Rex managed to reduce my friend, Trifa's punishment. They're not professionals, but they'll definitely argue your case hard."

"That's right, my dear, Swift!" Weiss proclaimed with a proud smile. "The S&S Law Offices are here to serve you!" She leaned in and whispered; "That stands for "Schnee & Salazar, by the way. And look at this!" Weiss zipped over to her boyfriend and spread her arms out to him, presenting his attire as Rex puffed out his chest. "Doesn't this suit just SCREAM "lawyer"?"

"It SCREAMS "Phoenix Wright"!" Swift waved her arms around frantically. "Salazar, did you HAVE to go all out with the freaking cosplay?" She got right up in his face and poked him in the nose. "Do you even know HOW to be a good lawyer?!"

Rex gave a reassuring wave. "Ah, no te preocupes, Swift. Trust me, I've played through ALL of the Ace Attorney games, so I think I've got a pretty good idea about what I'm getting myself into here. Heck, I'm SO confident…" He opened up his brief case, revealing it to be completely hallow. "That there's not even any FILES in this thing! It's just empty! I promise, we'll get you on parole in no time!"

Swift narrowed her eyes at the EVO in skepticism. "For your sake, I hope you're right…" She trained her eyes over to the Revonnahgander standing not too far away from her, sighing again before giving him a smile. "So, you're hopefully gonna be my parole officer, am I right?"

"Indeed." Rook offered his hand, which Swift gladly shook with both of hers. "I am Rook Blanco. I have heard much about you, Swift. It is truly a pleasure."

"Likewise. I'm just hoping that everything goes alright…" Swift moved her sights out to the rest of the group, stepping over to Ilia and giving the rest of them a nod. "Well… shall we face the music?"

"Yes, it's time for the moment of truth." Max affirmed as he went over to the controls. "Now, everyone step on the platform and don't move a muscle while the teleport is taking place. If you do, there's no telling what could happen to your body parts." With the teens from Remnant all mildly perturbed by that, Max set the controls before stepping on the platform himself. And only a second after that, everyone saw a flash of light before disappearing from the room altogether.

…..

Within a split second, the group had reappeared, their vision clearing up as they took in their new surroundings. However… it was NOT what they were expecting. Once they were able to see, their jaws went slack as they saw that they were now on a large slab of solid ground that was floating in the middle of an asteroid belt, taking everyone by surprise. "Well kids, welcome to High Court." Max said, spreading his arms out around him.

"Uh, "High" might be an understatement." Yang commented.

"Yeah, because we're in FREAKING OUTERSPACE!" Nora waved her arms around frantically. "How the heck is this happening?!"

"Yeah, shouldn't we be… ya know, be dead right now?" Ren added.

Kevin pointed up above their heads. "Invisible air pocket. Keeps in a small atmosphere of air in this place. Pretty neat, huh?"

The group murmured in agreement before Ruby began searching around the barren slab floating in the cosmos, with only one thought on her mind; "So… where IS everyone?" She turned to Ben and Max with a tilted head. "Don't court rooms usually have like… a jury, a bailiff and a judge? Or heck, even an audience?"

"In most cases, yes." Max confirmed. "That's definitely how humans have their courtrooms set up, at least. However, in the High Court, aliens find it simpler to not have an audience or a jury, settling for the judge's verdict, a defense, and a prosecution. As for said judge…" At that very moment, a flash of light suddenly shined from behind everyone, drawing their attention to the other side of the slab. "Ah, there he is now with the bailiff."

The group did an about face… and the Remnant teens were all stunned by what they saw. There, dressed in long black robes and with a pair of spectacles on his face… was what they assumed to be the judge. He was a robotic life form with a gold-plated metal face and hands, holding a gavel in his right hand while his yellow eyes gleamed at them. …Also, his brain was exposed in a glass dome for them all to see. He was also sitting atop the judge's stand, which had appeared with him.

The bailiff, however, was MUCH more eye-catching. He stood a good eight feet tall, had a muscular build… and was VERY visually threatening. He was mostly red with black hands and feet, both of which had only three claws on them. He had black markings on his chest that lead to four green eyes on his pectorals, and he had an additional three green eyes on his face. Said face was also a royal shade of blue, with black markings that resembled teeth at the bottom of his chin.

All in all, the teens were quite taken aback, with Nora leaning over to Ben. She pointed to the bailiff and asked; "So… where does the face begin and end on that guy?"

Ben deadpanned slightly at that. "That… would be a Highbreed."

The group all stared at him in shock. "W-Wait… THAT is one of the things you said you beat?!" Weiss whispered harshly. "Ugh, it's nastier than I imagined. What's one of them doing here?!"

"Well, like I said before, the Highbreed actually became peaceful after the war was over." Ben explained. "And many of them actually went out through the galaxy and got ACTUAL jobs, like the bailiff over there." He leaned over to Nora and Weiss with a serious look. "And I suggest you two don't speak like that to his face. They may be a peaceful race now, but they're still a pretty proud race that don't take too kindly to being offended."

Both girls instantly covered their mouths, fearful that the Highbreed may have in fact, heard them. "We'll shut up now." Nora promised.

Max took a breath and whispered; "Okay, let's do this." With that, the old Plumber lead the group closer to the judge's stand, where the golden robotic being gazed down upon them. "Judge Domstol, always a pleasure."

"Ah, Magister Tennyson and company." Domstol answered. "Good, you've arrived in a timely fashion."

"Of course. We're thankful that you could squeeze us in like this given the nature of the High Court."

Domstol nodded back to the old man. "Indeed, you're quite lucky that one of my more high-profile cases ended early… it might've been a disaster involving the witness lashing out, revealing himself as the ACTUAL killer and nearly decimating the entire court room, but still." Domstol scanned his beady eyes across the entire group. "I see that the defendant is here and you have plenty of witnesses for—" He cut himself off when he caught sight of a certain Osmosian and hero, his eyeridges furrowing. "Kevin Levin… Ben Tennyson?!" He pointed his gavel at the duo. "I thought I specifically said that you two were not allowed to—"

"Domstol!" Kevin exclaimed with great enthusiasm. "Pal, amigo, I don't know what you're talkin' about. We're not playing defense on this court, I can assure you."

"He's right, you're honor." Ben confirmed. "We're just here showing our support for the defendant. Nothing more."

The Sylonnoid narrowed his eyes slightly at the two at their claim. "Hm, I see… well, if that's the case, then I will allow your presence. Now, let's get on with this, I am a busy Sylonnoid after all, so I have plenty of cases to take care of today." Domstol glanced across the group and found Swift, who was standing directly next to Rex. He took note of the suit the latter was wearing and raised an eyeridge. "I would assume that YOU are the Defense, young man?"

Swift murmured under her breath; "Reluctantly."

Rex cleared his throat and nodded. "Yes, Your Honor."

"Are you ready then, Mister…"

"Salazar, Rex Salazar. And yes, the Defense is ready."

"Very good." Domstol approved before setting his sights onto Swift. "Well then, let's get started." With a snap of his fingers, Domstol summoned a desk in front of Rex and Swift before summoning the latter. "If the defendant would please step forward." Swift strode forward until she was about five feet away from the judge's stand, to which the bailiff raised his clawed hand, signaling her to stop. Domstol hit his gavel once and pulled out a file full of papers from his robe, setting them on his stand. "This parole hearing for Samira Meriwether, also known as "Swift", is now in session."

The sound of a pin hitting the ground could be heard after that as the entire room fell into a stunned silence. The entire group of teens behind the Aerophibian hybrid were all standing their with their mouths agape at the revelation, and Swift herself could practically feel their eyes boring into her. Finally, and most mortifying for Swift… it was Ilia who spoke first. "Your real name is SAMIRA?!"

"Forget that!" Yang uttered. "Your LAST name is MERIWETHER?!"

Swift pursed her lips and hung her head low. "I don't like to talk about it."

Domstol pounded his gavel thrice before calling; "Order! I will have order! If things become unraveled this early then there WILL be consequences!" Everyone saw the bailiff become visibly agitated at the word "consequences", so they promptly silenced themselves. "Very good." Domstol directed his eyes back down to Swift. "Now… Swift, I have read your case files and I must say that it is… very interesting. I'm going to read it back to you…" He lifted the papers up and adjusted his glasses before reading it off; "Ahem… you have been charged with, armed robbery, defacing and destruction of property, battery and assault, resisting arrest, harming your fellow inmates at the juvenile detention center you were held in, and escaping from said detention center." He sent Swift a questioning look. "Is this all true?"

Swift swallowed hard, but nodded nonetheless. If she tried denying any of this, it would be seen as a slight. "Yes, your honor. That's all true."

Domstol lifted a page and took note of something else. "And I can see that "attacking a school and its students" has been added to that recently."

"…Yes, your honor."

"Hm, I see." Domstol set the papers down and sent a skeptical eye down toward Swift. "Well, given all that you have done, I wouldn't exactly say that you're ready for parole just yet, especially after that recent misdemeanor. So tell me, why have you come to plead your case so soon?"

Swift took a deep breath and pressed forward. "Your Honor, if I could add context behind that last one…"

"Of course."

"It was after Vilgax's escape, along with the huge explosion that transported the inmates and Team Tennyson to… an unfamiliar land." Swift rubbed her hands together apprehensively. "After that, I had been on my own for a week in the wilderness, with barely any food to survive. But then, one day, I was approached by a man who promised me food and shelter if I could attack that school for him. He didn't give me too many other details, but at that moment, I was desperate, so I agreed." She furrowed her eyeridges and her hands tightened into fists. "But… after hearing the TRUE reason why he wanted me to attack the school, I probably never would've done it."

Domstol's eyeridge raised in intrigue. "Really? And why is that?"

"Because he was really part of a group of truly evil people." Swift went on. "People who wanted to take over the land that we were sent to. I might've been no better than a thug at the time, but I wasn't in it for TRUE evil. At the time, I was just looking out for myself." She directed her gaze so that it was locked onto the judge's own eyes. "If I had known that they wanted me for their plans, I never would've agreed to his terms."

The judge was silent for a moment before putting a hand to his chin. "Hm, I see." He set his sights onto Rex. "And can anyone vouch for this claim?"

Rex smiled and placed his hands on his hips proudly. "Indeed, your honor. I would like to call my first two witnesses;" He gestured over to the two Team CFVY members standing just a few feet away from him. "Coco Adel and Velvet Scarlatina."

"Very well. Defendant, if you could step back for now." Swift agreed and took a couple steps back as Coco and Velvet came forward, the two girls giving her reassuring grins before stopping in front of the stand. "Please state your names for the court." Domstol requested. After Coco and Velvet did so, Domstol pressed on. "So, I assume that you two were there for Miss Swift's attack on the school?"

"Yes, Your Honor." Coco affirmed. "We're students at the school. We were having an assembly in the atrium when the attack happened."

Domstol folded his hands at that. "I see, and was anyone seriously hurt?"

Velvet pursed her lips a bit, knowing that lying would not do Swift any good. "…Yes, your honor, but the injury wasn't life threatening. A friend of mine took an energy blast for me." In the corner of her eyes, she saw a slight smirk on Coco's face, knowing exactly who this "friend" of hers was.

This made Domstol's head tilt. "I see… so you were in a direct path of one of Swift's attacks? If that is so, then if I may ask… for what reason do you have to testify on her behalf if she did indeed try to kill you?"

"Well… because she apologized to me." Velvet answered. "She apologized to all of us, really." She and Coco looked over to Swift with kind smiles. "I know that doesn't seem like much, but really, with how much Swift has changed in such a short amount of time, it's truly awe inspiring. She may have been scary when we first encountered her, but she's made a significant improvement ever since making friends."

"She sure has." Coco affirmed, taking off her sunglasses so that the judge could see the truthfulness in her eyes. "Believe me, Your Honor, if there's anyone who deserves a second chance at life, it's definitely Swift."

Domstol wore a surprised expression on his face, genuinely taken aback by how supportive they were for the defendant. "Hm, I can see that you two feel strongly about this. That said, the attack on your school is still only one misdemeanor of Miss Swift's case. If I may present some evidence to the court…" Domstol pulled out a remote control and pressed a button on it, causing multiple holographic pictures to pop up on either side of him.

The group were quite stunned at what they saw. The pictures were on young men and women in their late teens, and all of them rather rough around the edges. However, what stood out to them all were the multiple burn marks that all of them had, with one boy in particular having practically half of his face burned. Swift recognized him as the one who attacked her first. Weiss couldn't help but mutter; "Oh… my god."

"Indeed." Domstol nodded. "These are some the juvenile inmates from the detention center that Swift was held in. And as you can see, they were all severely burned from Miss Swift's attack on them." He set his gaze onto Swift again. "Will the defendant please step forward again?" Reluctantly, Swift did so, with Coco and Velvet being ushered back by the bailiff. "Tell me, Miss Swift, was this all your doing?"

"…Yes, your honor, it was." Swift confirmed.

"This is quite serious, Miss Swift, I hope you know that." Domstol reminded. "Because of you, these people will have these scars for all their lives."

"HOLD IT!" Rex interrupted, slamming his hands on the desk before pointing at Domstol. "Your Honor, if I may. My client was provoked into attacking those kids. They made the first move on her."

Domstol hummed to himself as he laced his fingers together. "Really? Then what provoked this rather violent attack?"

Swift breathed deeply before answering. "I… I was being attacked beforehand." she explained. "One of the boys knocked me over… and my ID mask fell off, revealing my true form to them. Obviously, everyone in that detention center was human, so when they saw me, they automatically started calling me a freak. They spat on me, kicked me, punched me… one of them even took out a knife."

A range of gasps echoed through the court room as Judge Domstol leaned forward. "And none of the guards thought to help you?"

"They were just as shocked as everyone else there." Swift explained. "I'm pretty sure if the kids weren't attacking me already… they probably WOULD have, and they'd make sure that I was dead."

"…I see." Domstol gestured to all of the burned faces around him. "So, you're going to claim that all of this was in self-defense?"

Swift gulped and nodded. "Y-Yes, it was."

"And do you regret the permanent damage you have done to them?"

"I do… b-but I don't regret defending myself, Your Honor." Swift wore a confident expression as she faced the judge. "Yes, my actions in using my lasers were uncalled for. I could have defended myself in a better way, but in the heat of the moment, my mind just went to the quickest solution possible. I regret giving them those scars, but… if I hadn't defended myself, I probably could've died that day."

"I see. Well, if that is the case, then I would like to see proof of this claim. Do you have any witnesses?"

"…I-I—"

"OBJECTION!" Came a sudden shrill voice. Everyone's attention was directed back to Rex… only to see that he wasn't the one who object. Instead, it was Nora, the hyper redhead having zipped right over to the defense's table. With everyone's gaze squarely on her, Nora pointed up to the judge and shouted; "I object PROFUSELY to this!"

Everyone's faces contorted in absolute terror as Domstol narrowed his eyes at Nora. "Really? And who're you to object in this court, ma'am?"

Nora's eyes shifted left to right before a bashful blush came to her face. "Oh, hehe… sorry, I uh, I just always wanted to say that and thought that would be the best opportunity." She saw that Swift was giving her a rather stressful look as well, to which the redhead squeaked out; "Sorry."

Next to her, Rex broke out in a nervous sweat with a deadpan expression. 'Why is it always stuff like THIS that gets us into these situations?'

With surprising speed, Ren ran up and grabbed Nora, slinging her under his arm as if she were a duffle back while bowing his head apologetically to the judge. "Sorry Your Honor, this will never happen again."

"See that it does not!" Domstol sighed and rubbed the bridge of his face as Ren took Nora back. "I swear, every time something like this happens, I—"

"OBJECTION!"

"Oh, what now?!"

With the utterance of that word again, everyone's eyes went back to Rex, the EVO giving a hard glare at Domstol. "Your Honor, my apologies, but my friend Nora was kinda on the money about that objection. There's absolutely no way that Swift could have ANY witnesses from that day, least of all ones who would vouch in her favor!"

There was a brief, apprehensive pause, with everyone worried that Rex might've made the wrong move. However, after pondering it for a bit, Domstol nodded in agreement. "You made a very good point, Mr. Salazar. It would seem that I overstepped my bounds. I rescind my call for a witness." He pounded his gavel once before pointing it at Swift. "But still, I'm not entirely convinced yet that you should be let off for parole, Miss Swift. After all, there are still many other things you have yet to answer for. Have you anyone else who would vouch in your favor?"

Before Swift could answer, Rex did for her. "In fact, Your Honor, she does!" The young man pointed over to Ruby, Penny and Ilia with a confident grin. "I would like to call Ruby Rose, Penny Polendina and Ilia Amitola to the stand!"

Domstol's eyeridges rose up. "Hm, three witnesses at once? How bold of you, Mr. Salazar." With that, Ruby, Penny and Ilia all stepped up, with Swift stepping back once again. "Please state your names for the court." The three girls did so and Domstol folded his hands together, ready to listen to whatever they had to say. "So, ladies, Mr. Salazar says that you're ready and willing to vouch for Miss Swift in this case. Tell me, what exactly is your relationship with the defendant?"

"Swift's our best friend, Your Honor." Ruby said truthfully. "We made friends with her not long after her attack on our school. Er, well, I did, anyway. Penny and Ilia met her a bit later."

Domstol nodded in understanding. "I see, so you all are students of this school as well." He tilted his head a bit. "So tell me, why DID you three make friends with Miss Swift after that. Did her attack not leave an impression on you? Not even frighten you in the least?"

"W-Well, it did, but… I just didn't think that Swift was all THAT bad of a person, especially when she said that she didn't want to join up with those bad guys that she mentioned earlier." Ruby explained as she twiddled her thumbs. "After that, I began visiting her regularly, and we got to know each other. Hehe, I-I even managed to bring her out of her shell a little bit. We talked on a long flight while she was still in her cell on Tetrax's ship, and it was really enjoyable."

Penny raised her hand with a cheery grin. "I met her not long after that. We shared a piece of Ruby's delicious birthday cake and had a fun conversation!" She gave a salute over to Swift, who smiled sheepishly. "And ever since, we have all built up quite the friendship!"

"And then I met her soon after." Ilia went on. "I had a talk with her on our way to free my people, and… well, she helped me get passed my own shortsightedness when it came to certain people." She set her gaze upon Swift with a soft smile. "And… when a massive villain attack almost got me killed… she saved me. Caught me right as I was falling to what would most certainly be my death." Her freckles became a soft pink at the memory, recalling how Swift had literally swooped right out of no where to catch her bridal style right in the air. And if she was closer to Swift, she could see that she was blushing as well. "I owe a lot to her, more than even JUST my friendship with her."

Ruby directed her eyes back to the judge and bowed her head. "So you see, Your Honor, if what we've said is anything to go by, if anyone deserves a second chance at life, it's Swift. She may have done some bad things in the past, but we want to help her make a better future for herself."

Domstol blinked at the genuine compassion behind the three ladies' words. The Sylonnoid had heard some pretty convincing testimonies in his day, but he had to admit, the amount of sincerity that was behind Ruby, Penny and Ilia's statements were very compelling. He processed all of the information in his head before directing his eyes down to the girls, giving them a rare smile. "Well, you three definitely know how to come to your friend's defense, I'll say that." His lips turned down as he faced Swift once again. "Miss Swift, if you may please come forward again." The Aerophibian did as she was told, with Ruby, Penny and Ilia about to move back. "Ah-ah, you three, stay put. I want you all to be right there as I say this." He pointed his gavel over at Coco and Velvet as well. "And you ladies as well, come." The five girls complied as Domstol went back to Swift. "Now, Miss Swift, after hearing out all of the testimonies…" He glanced up to Rex. "At least, I would assume so?"

Rex lifted his hand and gave a nod. "Hey, I'm fresh out of witnesses, your honor… unless you want them to testify." Rex jabbed a thumb over to Kevin, Ben, Yang and Weiss. "After all, they were at the school, too. Heck, even I was there."

Yang smirked and crossed her arms. "Fair warning, Your Honor, I can put up a pretty good fight, even in the court room."

"That will not be necessary, thank you." The Sylonnoid assured. "Trust me, I've heard pretty much all that I need to. Besides, no matter who you call to the stand, I'm sure that your testimonies will still be in support for Miss Swift." He directed his eyes back to said defendant and nodded. "Now, I hope you know that if I DO grant you parole, then there are certain requirements that you must fulfill. You must get a job, have sufficient housing, go see a counselor regularly for the duration of your parole, and most importantly, you must be monitored by a parole officer." He set his sights onto Max. "I assume that you have one lined up for her, magister?"

Max grinned and set a hand on Rook's shoulder. "He's right here, Your Honor."

Rook saluted without missing a beat. "Rook Blanco, recently graduated from the Plumber Academy, Your Honor."

"Hm… a recent graduate?" Domstol questioned.

"Believe me, his skills are beyond his years, Your Honor." Max assured. "He'll be able to handle the job quite well, I think."

"…Well, magister, you've been known to have good judgement, so I'll take your word on that." Domstol hit his gavel on the stand once more and pointed it down to Swift and the ladies. "Miss Swift, given the severity of your actions, I would normally give you a parole length of about five years. …But, given how passionate and genuine your friend's testimonies were, I have decided to put my trust behind there words. As such…" CRACK! The gavel hit the stand one final time as Domstol nodded down to them. "You shall be given two years. I trust you will be able to integrate back into society well." He smiled at the shocked faces staring back at him. "After all, you have many friends to help you along the way."

A collective of happy gasps came from Ilia, Ruby, Penny, Coco and Velvet, all while Swift was still in utter disbelief. She… she was good to go? Just like that? At that moment, she could feel tears begin to well up in her eyes as the girls surrounding her all began shouting with glee, going into give her a group hug. "AHAHAH! SWIFT! We did it!" Ruby shouted at the top of her lungs.

Back near the others, Kevin crossed his arms at the scene. "Huh, well this went MUCH better than I'd expected."

"Yeah, and to think we didn't have to do much of anything." Yang remarked. "Congrats, Swift! You're a free woman!"

"WOO-HOO!" Nora suddenly cheered, seemingly having popped out from out of nowhere as she tended to do. "This calls for a celebration!" All of a sudden, from out of her back pocket, the Pink Dynamo pulled out a small confetti popper and pulled on its string, with the confetti shooting out over the girls' heads. "Haha! Hooray for Swift's freedom!"

"I… I'm free?" Swift muttered, still processing everything. "I'm FREE?!"

"YES! Yes, you are!" Ilia exclaimed, wrapping her arms around her friend. "…Well, kind of, but YES!"

"There is still plenty of work to be done, though." Penny added. "If you wish to be truly free in two years, you must adhere to your parole responsibilities." She went in and pulled Swift into a hug as well. "But I know that we will be able to help you! I can promise you that we will!"

Swift found herself short of breath, still in utter shock of what had just happened. She wasn't going back to jail. She wouldn't have to sleep in a cold cell ever again… so long as she followed the rules. Usually, that wasn't an easy task for her, especially in the past. But, in this moment, she knew she would be willing to do anything to stay a free woman. With that thought in her mind, she let her tears fall freely… and then she felt her cuffs unlock and fall to the ground. In a split second, she wrapped her arms around her friends and began to cry, the reality finally hitting her that she had gotten what she wanted for so long. "I'M OUT! I-I don't have to go back! And I'm never going back!"

"Provided that you do not violate your parole, that is indeed the case." Rook affirmed, stepping over to the group as they slowly unraveled their hug. He and Swift stood face to face as the Revonnahgander went on. "And rest assured, I will be making sure that you do follow the guidelines of your parole."

The Aerophibian raised a hand to Rook, smiling up at him as she dried her eyes. "Hey, at this point, Slim, I'll do ANYTHING to stay out of the slammer. Trust me."

Rook tilted his head in confusion. "Um… my name is Rook, not "Slim"."

Swift rolled her eyes and shook her head. "It's a nickname, you dunderhead."

"Who is this "Nick"?"

"…Are you for real?"

"Amazingly enough, yes he is." Coco smiled as she gave Swift a pat on the back to show her support. "But hey, in any case, I'm really happy for ya, Swift. Congrats."

"Yes! Celebrations are clearly in order!" Velvet smiled before clapping her hands together. "Ooh! How about we all gather back at the Plumber Base later on tonight for a little party?! Doesn't that sound like fun?"

At that, Ben and Yang both brightened up. "Hey, now THERE'S an idea!" the hero said before turning to his grandfather. "Well, grandpa? What do you think? Can we do it?"

Max let out a chuckle and set his hands on his hips. "Well, I don't see why not. But, we WILL need some party supplies. That's not exactly something we keep on hand at the base."

Coco gave a salute. "Vel and I will gladly go shopping for some."

"And Rex and I will help!" Weiss jumped in eagerly. "I've been meaning to scope out the shopping scene more in Bellwood." She went up to her boyfriend and rubbed his suit sleeve. "After all, on a tight schedule, there's only so much one can see while shopping for a suit." She sent a knowing wink up to the EVO, followed by a kiss on the cheek. "But might I say… you performed quite well, Mr. Ace Attorney."

"Heh, thanks, Ice Princess." Rex said with a blush. "Though to be honest, I didn't really end up doing much…"

"Ahem." Everyone looked up to Judge Domstol, who was gazing down at Rex with a grin of his own. "Young man, while you may not have played a major part in this hearing, you did what you had to do in a very orderly fashion. Impressive for someone so inexperienced." He pulled out a card and flicked it toward Rex, who caught it in his hand. "If you ever want to get into Intergalactic Law, give me a call and I can set you up as a protégé to one of the best lawyers in the galaxy."

"Uh, heh, thanks, but my hero career kinda takes precedence." Rex said before pocketing the card. "But I'll keep the offer in mind."

Domstol nodded at that. "Good to hear. Well, now that our business is done here, it's time for all of you to go." He set his gaze over to Swift. "And remember, Miss Swift, we'll be keeping an eye on you. Bailiff?" The Highbreed wordlessly lifted a small remote and pressed the button on its center, causing the entire team to suddenly disappear in a flash of light. "NEXT!"

…..

About half an hour after the group got back, Swift was finally allowed to change out of her prison clothes and into her casual clothes. She gave a content sigh as the familiar fabric graced her skin once again, her torn black jeans, white undershirt and black leather jacket slipping on as if they were a second skin. After reapplying her fingerless gloves to her hands and giving herself one last once-over in the mirror, Swift stepped out of the changing room… only to be met by Rook Blanco, bumping right into him as she came out. She stared up at him with a confused face. "Uh…"

"My apologies, Swift, but my new job requires me to keep an eye on you during select moments of the day." Rook explains.

Swift pursed her lips a bit and hummed in irritation. "Okay, I don't have a problem with that, but if you're going to be standing THIS close to the changing room, then we might have a bit of an issue."

Rook's eyes widened in realization. "O-Oh, pardon me. I had not realized I had gotten into your personal space."

"It's fine, just keep it in mind for the future." A wry smirk suddenly appeared on Swift's face. "After all, we wouldn't want to have a SUPER awkward incident on our hands, do we?" Rook promptly shook his head before Swift saw someone peek their head out from behind him… one that was accompanied by a certain curly ponytail. "AH! Hey you!"

"Hey!" Ilia greeted as she and Swift hugged briefly. "So, finally happy to be out of that orange monstrosity?"

"Ugh, don't I know it?" Swift agreed as the three began walking down the hall. "You have NO idea how much prison clothes chafe, especially with skin like mine."

Ilia let out a giggle at that. "Hehe, well, at least you won't have to worry about those anymore. Now c'mon, the gang is waiting for us outside." With that, the trio made their way through the Plumber base and to the main elevator, the platform promptly taking them up to the surface. Once they emerged, they found themselves… inside a rather gross bathroom.

"Gah! Ew!" Swift cringed as she put her hand over her face. "What the heck—where are we?!"

Ilia winced as well as she covered up her own nose, her skin and hair becoming a sickly green. "Ugh, oh god, WHY?! Why are we in a smelly bathroom?!"

"Because this is the front for the Plumber base entrance." Rook said as he opened up the door, revealing a whole store on the other side. "Welcome to Max's Plumbing. A very clever disguise, if I must say."

The two girls promptly got out of the bathroom and took in a deep breath. The store's air wasn't exactly fresh, but it was better than the smelly latrine. "Yeah, because NO ONE would ever GO in that bathroom to find the hidden entrance!" Swift exclaimed.

Ilia's skin and hair changed back to normal as she shook off the horrible smell. "Ugh, THAT'S an understatement." She sighed and smiled back to Swift. "Anyway, Rex, Weiss, Coco and Velvet already left to get the supplies. And since it's only noon, Max figured that we should get started on another big part of your parole."

Swift blinked in confusion. "And that would be…"

"Getting YOU a job." Ilia answered as she ushered Swift out the door. "Now c'mon, let's go!"

The Aerophibian girl couldn't help but grimace at that as she stepped out, greeted by the smiling faces of Ruby, Penny, Ben, Yang, Ren and Nora all standing on the sidewalk, with Max standing closer to the door as well. "Oh, right… the whole "job" thing kinda slipped my mind."

Ruby smiled over to her and gave a shrug. "Yeah, I think we can all sympathize with that part, Swift. But think about it; it's a WHOLE lot better than having to spend your life in a cell, isn't it?"

"…Touché, Ruby." Swift sighed before noticing Nora standing off to the side, wearing a rather sorrowful expression as her eyes were locked on her. "…You gonna say something, Pinkie or just stand there staring?"

Nora immediately bowed her head and blurted out; "I'm sorry for almost screwing up your trial!" She pressed her hands together, pleading for forgiveness. "It was REALLY dumb of me and I should've never done it! I hope you can forgive—"

"Eh, you're good." Nora's eyes popped open as she snapped her head back up to Swift in shock. "Honestly, Rex WAS about to object anyway, and the judge didn't take offense to it in anyway, so everything's fine, really." She gave her a small wink and a grin. "Just don't do it again, okay?"

Nora sighed and smiled in relief. "Y-Yeah, I'll keep that in mind." In her head though, Nora couldn't help but think to herself; 'Rein it in, Valkyrie, you're better than this.'

Swift then faced Max, crossing her arms expectantly. "So, magister, you told me a couple days ago that you had a potential job lined up for me?"

Max nodded to her. "I do indeed. As I mentioned, my old friend, Ignacius Baumann is expanding his business as of recently, and he's searching for more employees to help run his new store." The old Plumber gave her a thumbs up. "And believe me, he'd hire you in a heartbeat. He needs all the help he can get, after all."

"He would? Even if he knew I was on parole?"

"Well, there might be a slight bit of hesitation." Max admitted. "But once he sees how serious you are about wanting to do right by what you've done, he'll definitely come around."

Ben stepped up once again and sent Swift a reassuring wink. "Don't worry, Swift. Mr. Baumann's a good man. I've known him for a long time and I can say that you'll definitely like working for him."

After giving it some thought, Swift let out a breath and shrugged. "Eh, well, not like I got any better options at the moment. Alright, let's get go—"

SHA-KOOOOOM!

Everyone's heads simultaneously whipped up at the sudden loud noise that echoed through the streets, which was accompanied by a thunderous shake of the ground. The team began searching for whatever made the noise before Penny shouted out; "Hey! Over there, down the street!" The group directed their attention to where the silver-eyed girl was pointing and immediately saw a plume of dust and smoke rising up over the many tall buildings, giving them their answer as to the source of the sound. "So… what do you think made that?"

"I dunno…" Nora said as she pulled out Magnhild. "But it must've been PRETTY big."

Ren glanced over to Ben and Max, expecting instructions from the two. "Should we go investigate it?"

"More than likely." Ben agreed as he eyed his grandfather as well. "After all, it's right on the way to Mr. Baumann's place, isn't it?"

"It is." Max affirmed. "Seems like we're taking a little detour…"

Ruby smiled eagerly as she pulled out Crescent Rose. "Haha, yes! I was hoping we'd be seeing more action soon!"

Yang wore a wild smirk as she activated Ember Celica as well. "Oh, I can attest to that, little sis!" She glanced over to her boyfriend, raising a brow at him as she nudged him in the side. "Well, Green Boy? What do you say?"

"Oh, I think you already know THAT, Goldie Locks." Ben grinned back. "It's Hero Time!"

…..

A/N: Hoo boy, seems like everyday is an exciting day in Bellwood, isn't it? We've got explosions happening practically on every corner. So, what will the team encounter on THIS new mission? Well we'll get to that later. But for now, it's time for celebrations as Swift has been granted her parole! …After a rather nerve-wracking hearing involving Pheonix Wright levels of court-room shenanigans. And we got to learn what her real name is, so there's that.

Also, we got to see just what the missing members of the team were doing while the court case was going on! Pyrrha and Gwen are still going through Breath of the Wild, of course, and well… if you're a fan of a certain YouTube channel, you'll probably get what the Uno portion of that bit was about. Hehe… Still, with a ton of help from her friends, Swift managed to make her parole, and now it's time for her to get a real job.

Which leads me to the next point; Mr. Baumann. If you guys hadn't noticed, the way I described him actually sounds a bit more like his Ultimate Alien self. A nice man instead of a crotchety old curmudgeon. Well, this story's version of Mr. Baumann's actually going to be a bit of an amalgamation of BOTH Baumanns. Corey Burton's still going to be his voice, but for his appearance and personality, it's going to be mainly his UA version… with a few quirks from his Omniverse counterpart.

Now, with that said, let's get on the topic of NEXT TIME! When they gang finally arrive at their destination, they find a rather shocking scene of destruction… and they quickly find the culprit of said destruction in the form of some massive insectoid beast. …Or have they? Because as they soon learn from a certain little alien, there's a bit more going on in Bellwood than meets the eye, and it involves the alien population and their businesses. Will our heroes be able to get to the bottom of this case? Well, stay tuned to find out, because next time, it's finally time for… The More Things Change, Part 1. Thanks for reading, everybody and I'll see you all next time! Peace out and stay safe out there!