Turnabout Snapshots

Author's Note: This fic is a collection of shorts. They will mostly be about the minor characters, though some major ones will show up. This collection will be spoiler-free in regards to Gyakuten Kenji 2.

Disclaimer: All characters from the Ace Attorney series are copyright Capcom. Fic made with no profit motive and out of love for the games. Original characters are mine.

Title: The Paths We Chose

Rating: K+

Characters: Clay Terran, Apollo Justice

Spoilers: Dual Destinies (minor)

Time: Clay and Apollo are in college at this point.

My name is Clay Terran. I'm a second year student at Besseldorf College majoring in Astronomy, with an emphasis on space exploration. After I finish my degree, I hope to join the staff at the Cosmos Space Center and become an astronaut.

Except there's a huge roadblock between now and there, namely Finals. The bane of every college student's existence.

At least I consider myself lucky in that I've got friends to study and be miserable with. For the moment, the three of us – myself and my friends Apollo Justice and Petro Glif – were sitting in a booth at the local Burger Meister, chowing down on burgers and fries. Our bags were by our sides, stuffed full of notes and textbooks. We planned to go to my house to study after dinner.

Apollo's been my best friend since junior high. He plans to go on to law school after college, and in terms of credit hours is way ahead of both Petro and me.

Petro's major is geology, with an emphasis on geophysics. Since geophysics requires some math and physics classes like the astronomy major, there's some overlap with my curriculum. This semester, we're both in Linear Algebra and Dynamics of Particles and Waves. Petro and Apollo are in the same Latin classes.

If I had to describe the three of us with one word each, I'd say I'm an optimist, Apollo a pragmatic, and Petro a pessimist.

Speaking of which…

"So when do lawyers sell their soul to the Devil?" Petro asked. "Upon graduation from law school?"

"Not all lawyers are bad!" Apollo insisted.

"That is true," Petro said. "But ever notice something? That something bad inevitably happens to the ones who aren't evil? Remember Phoenix Wright? You don't honestly believe a straight arrow like him forged evidence? It stinks of a set-up. But who'd be good enough to set him up and get away with it? An evil lawyer!"

"An…evil lawyer?" Apollo asked.

"Why else do you think he was disbarred so fast?" Petro said. "He was a threat, so he had to be neutralized."

"Conspiracy theories, Petro?" I asked. "Next you'll be claiming the moon landing was faked."

"How about this?" Petro continued. "Before Phoenix Wright, there was this amazing defense attorney. Many say he was the best there ever was. Gregory Edgeworth, who ended up shot to death in an elevator."

"Yes, that was one of Phoenix Wright's cases," Apollo observed.

"Then you know it was Manfred von Karma," Petro replied. "And you also know von Karma arranged for the death of at least one other defense attorney. Doesn't take much to see a pattern there. The evil lawyers kill or discredit anyone who threatens their supremacy."

"But von Karma is long dead," Apollo argued.

"Dead, yes, but can you really say he's gone?" Petro sipped his coffee. "My advice to you, Apollo. Either become evil or learn to sleep with one eye open."

"Nothing bad is going to happen to Apollo," I said. "I won't let it!"

"I just realized something, Petro," Apollo said. He smirked. "You say lawyers are evil, but aren't you going to be a geophysicist? You'll be working for an oil company. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black!"

Petro flushed. "All right, I'll stop. Don't want to be a hypocrite, after all."

"Never knew you were a fan of Phoenix Wright," Apollo said.

"Well, um…" Petro was trying to pour himself a fresh cup of coffee, but spilled it. He winced and grabbed some napkins and tried to mop up the spill. His hand bumped against the creamer, which wobbled precariously, but did not topple. "There's a…reason for that."

"Your face is all red," I commented.

"It is," Apollo cried. "Putting my shirt to shame." He brushed the crumbs off his vermillion polo.

"Ngh," Petro said. "Er…how was the movie last night?"

"You're so obviously changing the subject," I said. "How was the lecture you went to instead of the movie?"

Petro's face returned to his normal color, and his eyes lit up. "You should have been there!" And that little voice in the back of my mind echoed: Yeah, he's your father, and you should have been there for support. This was only the thing he's been working on for twenty-five years…

Apollo must have noticed my discomfort, because he patted my shoulder.

"Clay, your dad is so amazing!" Petro was beaming. I'm sure my face looked like that when I met Solomon Starbuck for the first time. "I started to cry! It was that good! He has this sixth sense for earthquakes that is uncanny!"

He's right about that. It frightened me the first time I witnessed it firsthand. How his face got all serious and he said tonelessly, "An earthquake is coming. I can feel it." (Give me a break. I was five.)

I wanted to ask, "Want to switch fathers?" Jokingly. But I just couldn't say it. Because I'd be too tempted to add: He'd be happy you want to follow in his footsteps. Because he can't fathom why his only son wants to go into space and leave the planet he's devoted his whole life to studying.

You know that isn't the real reason, my conscience screamed at me. He hasn't trusted fast-moving vehicles since your mom's accident…and what moves faster than a rocket ship? He can't protect you out there, and it would kill him to lose you too.

"I'm so stuffed," Apollo said. He used one hand to stifle a burp.

"Good," I said. "Then you won't get hungry later."

Apollo nodded furiously in agreement. After all, he was there last week when my dad somehow produced a stockpot of unidentifiable gelatinous green…gunk. And no, he wasn't trying to make gelatin. He was trying to make soup. I love him, but he just won't give up. Even when he's out of his depth, like cooking. He once tried to make my mom's specialty pineapple upside-down cake for my birthday. The fire department was not pleased.

Of course, I won't tell Petro about that. Can't destroy his image of his beloved idol.

I've never met Petro's parents. He lives in a tiny, overpriced apartment just off campus. Apollo still lives with his adoptive parents, the Justices. Dr. Justice is a philosophy professor at Besseldorf, just like my dad is a geology professor there. That's why Apollo and I enrolled there. We got our tuition free.

Anyway, Dr. Justice is nice, even if he's a bit…button-down. Okay, more than a bit. He's been nothing but supportive to Apollo and his dream of becoming a great lawyer.

And of course, my father wants me to pursue my dream, even if it scares him. Besides, he studies earthquakes for a living. I'm not necessarily safe here on Earth. I know he'll understand that, even if he doesn't admit it outright.

The all-nighter we're about to pull won't be fun, but it will be worth it in the end. At the end, we'll be a geophysicist, a lawyer, and an astronaut. Because those are the paths we have chosen.

The End