The Fatal Turnabout

A Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Story

All characters are property of CAPCOM. The plot was heavily influenced by Hudson Soft. We don't own anything in this other than the final plotline and idea.

FULL SUMMARY :: Ten years ago, Phoenix Wright faced the most difficult trial of his life and buried his darkest demon in the past where she would never be able to hurt anyone again, or so he thought. A threatening message and a mysterious package mark the return of the biggest monster the defense attorney and his crazy company ever faced, and she's hungry for revenge. Last time she played by the rules of their world, this time they'll play by the rules of hers. When the living walk among the dead, it's only a matter of time until they join their ranks.

Rated T for intense situations, violence, mentions of suicide, death, and just general horror.

Author's Note: This is a collaboration between Melody Canta and Shikola Krasno, so we'll both be writing different sections. This is a strange mix of horror and a little of everything else. We're flexible. This is heavily influenced by Hudson Soft's Calling (which you can find on both the Wii and PC, so if you haven't checked it out, do!) Don't worry if you haven't played it though; we find that most people haven't. This fanfiction isn't dependent on knowing the game, though it'll be more enjoyable if you have. We're not strictly sticking to the plotlines of either games, so keep reading, and this might surprise you. We're excited to get started, so onward with the prologue!

Prologue :: The Gift of Turnabout

It started out as a mostly normal day at the Wright Anything Agency. Phoenix was finishing up paperwork from his most recent trial, the murder of a parrot named Helfrich von Something-that-meant-a-lot-of-paperwork-for-Edgeworth. The prosecutor, already irritated with losing the case, had been furious when he realized that his ringtone was now Helfrich saying "Not guilty. Squak. No, not guilty." How his face had reddened when he received his first phone call, right inside the courtroom lobby after the trial, was the only thing making this bearable.

Phoenix was on page three of fifteen when his phone beeped. A text message. He reached across the desk, relieved for the distraction, and immediately sighed when he saw what it was.

"OMG HI GUYS!"

For the three days Maya had been in Los Angeles for her visit, she'd been attempting to learn the intricacies of group chats. Of course, to even get into the intricacies, she had to learn to send one to begin with. Hence the seven, "Did I do it?" messages he had received recently.

He smirked and typed back, "Think you've done it this time?"

A smaller chat bubble popped up under his, a purple one rather than the green and blue bubbles his and Maya's were. "Who is this?"

Blue bubble. Maya. "Really, Edgeworth? You don't remember me? You're never getting a Christmas present from me ever again. D: Especially not a Limited Edition Steel Samurai figurine."

Phoenix snorted. He and Edgeworth were the two she decided to start her group chat with? Really?

Well, maybe not. A pink bubble had entered the conversation. Now that four people were in the chat, everyone's names showed next to their messages. "Larry Butz: Mayaaaaaaaa! What's up, little lady?"

Phoenix blinked in surprise. Larry too?

Oh god. How many people had Maya added to the conversation?

"Miles Edgeworth: Maya Fey?"

With a sigh, Phoenix put his paperwork aside and focused fully on his phone.

Conversation: Group Chat (7)

Maya Fey: OMG HI GUYS

Phoenix Wright: Think you've done it this time?

Miles Edgeworth: Who is this?

Maya Fey: Really, Edgeworth? You don't remember me? You're never getting a Christmas present from me ever again. D: Especially not a Limited Edition Steel Samurai figurine.

Larry Butz: Mayaaaaaaaa! What's up, little lady?

Miles Edgeworth: Maya Fey?

Phoenix Wright: Maya, if you've added Franziska, I'm leaving.

Franziska von Karma: What was that, Wright?

Phoenix Wright: Nothing! Good afternoon, Franziska.

Maya Fey: Wow, you guys all type so fast! o_o Hi Larry! And Edgeworth, I'm ignoring you. D:

Athena Cykes: Hi everyone! Oh wow, this is so exciting~ Can I add people too, Maya?

Miles Edgeworth: Please don't.

Maya Fey: Sure! C:

21 contacts added to conversation.

Phoenix Wright: Athena!

Apollo Justice: 21 is a bit much, don't you think?

Old Windbag: is my edgeypoo online?

Miles Edgeworth: Maya!

Maya Fey: Sorry, Edgeworth. I don't know how to take her out of the chat. D:

Larry Butz: The more the merrier, right?

Miles Edgeworth: No.

?: You all will suffer.

Phoenix Wright: Maya? Who's that?

Maya Fey: I don't know. D: I didn't add anyone else. Athena?

Athena Cykes: I don't know who it is either.

Franziska von Karma: You! State your name and occupation!

?: I will take my revenge.

Phoenix blinked, slightly alarmed. Maya had a knack for getting into trouble, and adding someone who wanted her dead into a group chat was mild compared to some of the other stuff she'd accidentally done.

Almost as soon as he had put the phone down, it started ringing.

This was how horror movies started. First you got the message, and then the call with the heavy breathing and whispered "You have seven days." His breathing ramped up, panicked despite himself.

There's no such thing as ghosts. There's no such thing as ghosts. There's no such thing as—

Wait a minute.

Luckily, the caller ID flashed across the screen a second later. Larry. He let out the breath he'd been holding, a bit embarrassed, and picked up the phone. "Texting wasn't enough for you?"

"Nick! Meet me at the Detention Center, pronto!"

"Huh? Larry, what's wrong?"

"Just hurry!"

Phoenix sighed, wondering whether he would be defending Larry or his girlfriend this time.

"Make sure to watch over him this time, okay?" the prison guard said. Phoenix sighed. He should have expected it when Larry didn't spam the group chat repeatedly. According to the police, his friend had received a package from a "secret admirer", and made enough racket for the neighbors to believe a domestic dispute had started. Someone had called the police, and when they arrived, Larry had shoved the package in their faces. Leading, of course, to his arrest.

He supposed he could count himself lucky that the prison guard recognized Larry enough to realize the dope hadn't meant any harm.

"The bomb squad checked the package and they didn't find anything. You still want it?"

Larry beamed. "I want to open it now!"

Phoenix and the guard exchanged glances, but the guard finally shrugged and nodded. "If he starts destroying stuff, at least we won't have to bring him far."

Larry gave a rather feminine squeal before tearing into the box. Styrofoam peanuts flew everywhere as he searched, finally pulling out a small black object. "Wow! It's . . . it's . . . it's the other half of a heart! Some lady has given me her love! Nick, look!"

He thrust it out towards the attorney, and Phoenix peered over the cup of his hand to see a black . . . magatama? Phoenix took his out, still glowing green with spiritual power. "Larry, that's not a heart. See the hole in it?"

Larry blinked. "It's just like yours!" He paused for a second, going pale. "Nick, please don't tell me—"

"NO! No no no no no no no! Maya gave me this one."

"So Maya sent me—?"

Phoenix shook his head. "I don't think so. Why would she have sent it in the mail?" And why was it black? With the whole black psyche-lock thing, this seemed concerning, at least. "I don't know about this, Larry. Maybe you should get rid of it."

"No! Don't be jealous, Nick!"

"I'm not—"

"Jealous."

"No, I—"

"Jealous."

Phoenix sighed. Obviously, Larry wasn't going to listen. "Anyways, I got you out of jail. Can I go home now?"

Larry's face fell. "Nick?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I—Can I stay at your place tonight?"

"Why?"

Larry scratched the back of his head. "It's just . . . with that strange text message and all, and the guard said my neighbors are kind of mad at me . . ."

Sigh. "Fine. Anything to keep you from owing me more for bail."

"Thanks, Nick! You're the best!"

Conversation: Group Chat (28)

Larry Butz: Party at Nick's office!

Maya Fey: WHAT?! Nick, how could you not invite me? ;o;

Phoenix Wright: WHAT? NO, NO THERE IS NOT! LARRY!

Athena Cykes: Yay! I knew something great was going to come out of this group chat!

Phoenix Wright: NO!

Apollo Justice: Maya, don't feel left out. He didn't tell me either.

Maya Fey: God, Nick! You left out some of your closest friends! Now I'm ignoring you too. D: But I'll be there.

Phoenix Wright: Maya, I didn't tell you because THERE IS NO PARTY!

Trucy Wright: Oh, can we pleaaaaaaaaase, Daddy?

Apollo Justice: Trucy, how long have you been in this conversation?

Trucy Wright: For a while. C: Pleaaaaaaaase, Daddy? Pretty please? With sugar on top? And sprinkles? And MAGIIIIIIIIIIIIC?

Phoenix Wright: Fine. Just a few people though. And only for a few hours!

Somehow a few hours had morphed into a sleepover at the office. Complete with horror movies, courtesy of Athena ("well, we all got that creepy message, right? Now we can watch scary movies and laugh!"). They were on the first half of the first movie when Phoenix's eyes started drifting closed. "I think I'm gonna go to bed," he said.

"Nick, you're such an old man. You can't even get through the first movie?" Maya asked.

"Nope. And I have no desire to either."

"Daddy, do you know where the flashlight is?"

He racked his brain before shaking his head. "Why?"

"In case we tell scary stories afterwards!"

He thought for a moment before tossing the magatama towards his daughter. "This is the best I can do. Sorry, Maya."

She shrugged. "I use mine to find the bathroom in the night."

"Anyways, good night, everyone. Keep it down and try not to kill each other please."

They all nodded. "Good night!"

It wasn't until he was in bed and drifting off to sleep that he realized he hadn't mentioned Larry's black magatama to Maya. Oh well, he supposed. It could probably wait until morning.

A/N (Melody) :: And the prologue is done!

A few administrative things before I go into the prologue and talk about it. As mentioned above, Shikola and I are co-authoring this story, which meant that we had to break things up somehow. If you've ever played the Calling, you know that the game is broken up into sections for each character. We used that to break up our chapters. I'll be doing the Rin and Shin chapters, and Shikola will be doing the Chiyo and Makoto chapters. Of course, that means that the first few chapters will be all me. I've written the prologue as well, though I won't be writing all of the grey area chapters.

Onto the fun part! We're super excited to be writing this, and since this is really my first collaboration, I'm thrilled to be working with Shikola. We really hope you guys enjoy this, and I'll try to get the next chapter up and ready ASAP!

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[Edit: Changed summary 1/14/14]