This is Part One of the Seven Year War Chronicles.

Kiria Nomura, Nathaniel Price, and any character that isn't Capcom's creation is mine. Any character that is Capcom's, as well as the original plotline, is Capcom's. I wish it was mine though.

FULL SUMMARY: When something goes wrong in the present, it's up to Apollo Justice to investigate the past. What he doesn't know is that he's following the footsteps of Kiria Nomura, Phoenix Wright's former protégée and the victor of some of the most famous trials of the century. Using the MASON System, he must piece together what happened to this legendary attorney so that he can solve the mystery of where she went and why she disappeared.

Rated T for intense situations, violence, minor adult themes, language, and drug use.

Prologue :: The Future Turnabout

Could they really be asking what I thought they were asking? I was expecting to see everyone's faces break from their uniform pleading to a round of laughter as they pulled off their stunt, but their faces weren't changing. If anything, Trucy was turning on her puppy-dog eyes full force. "Pleaaaaaaaaaase, Polly?" she asked. Her hands were clasped together, lip stuck out in a pout, leaning towards me like she was halfway to grovelling on her knees if I didn't say anything soon.

Beside her, Pearl looked like she was going to cry at the thought that I wouldn't agree.

So I took a deep breath to actually think this crazy idea over. If I agreed, I would be weeding through seven years of solved cases to try to locate a girl who was supposedly dead. I fiddled with my bracelet. It would be good experience, watching all of these cases. On the other hand, it would require the use of the MASON system, which I was beginning to dislike very much. I'd have almost a whole week without clients. Besides, what happened if I couldn't help?

"Why can't you do this again?" I asked Mr. Wright.

He only grimaced. "I did. Last week. But I experienced it; I know what's there. If I could solve this with my biased eyes, I would have done it a year ago."

"So, you just want a set of fresh eyes?" I clarified. "But why me? Why not Prosecutor Gavin or someone else?"

"Gavin experienced some of it. He knew her. He doesn't have fresh eyes," Mr. Edgeworth explained. He was perched on the edge of the couch, Ms. von Karma sitting next to him.

I pondered that. I was really the only person in the room who hadn't personally known Kiria Nomura, and judging by the newspaper article I'd read last year, I never would. "Famed International Attorney Commits Suicide," the headline read. It had been vague, but the picture had said everything crystal clear. Hanging from a single string, a life taken in broad daylight, in front of a crowd of people. It had been theatrical. Iconic. A film was even set to come out this year surrounding the hazy circumstances of the death.

And this room full of people . . . they wanted me to get her back.

"She's not dead, if that's what you're afraid you'll find," Maya volunteered. Inky tendrils of hair fell into her face as she smiled. "I can't channel her, so she can't be dead."

"Oh, come on, Polly! You can't not take it! She was you! She sat in your chair and did your job! Aren't you at least curious about her?" Trucy was pushing all of the right buttons. When she put it that way, how could I not want to find out more about this mysterious lawyer?

I looked around at the faces in the room. Trucy, Mr. Wright, Pearl, Maya, Klavier, Kay, Ms. von Karma, Mr. Edgeworth, Mr. Nomura, and Ms. Suzuki. They all needed the closure. They needed to know what happened last year, and what ever happened to the attorney they had all known.

They all depended on me to provide that.

"I'll do it."

There was a collective cheer. But Mr. Wright seemed to be determined not to waste time. "Right this way, Apollo. There we go, right this way. Let's just get the MASON system all warmed up, and . . ." he paused for a second, tapping a few keys on the external computer before the MASON system flickered to life. ". . . we're in business. Now, this MASON system isn't like the one you experienced a few months ago when you did the test trial for the Jurist System. This is like a movie. We've taken the liberty of putting everything in chronological order, pieced together from our memories of the cases. All you have to do is watch them and take notes."

I nodded. It seemed easy enough. "So, where do we start?"

"At the very beginning." He fitted the helmet over my head. "Have fun. And take notes; she's got some techniques you might want to employ in your own court endeavors." With a hum and a click, the movie started playing.

A/N: A new prologue was exactly what was needed to bridge the frame and the present. Added 9.11.11