Chapter 1

Accusations

The Dark Age of the Law had ended years ago, but today the light that had shone forth was eclipsed by despair. Phoenix Wright, the man responsible for clearing the law's good name, had been murdered.

His daughter had found him slumped over his desk, a knife protruding from his neck as blood pooled onto the floor below. The rest of the day's events flew past her and it wasn't until she was surrounded by her friends that Trucy was able to regain her composure.

Apollo Justice, Maya Fey, Athena Cykes, honorary member Miles Edgeworth and herself- they were the Wright Anything Agency now. Athena wasn't currently with them (she had been studying in Europe), but once she arrived, Trucy knew that they would be unstoppable. And as the sound of their simultaneous "objection!" resounded around them, she felt something she hadn't felt all day: hope.

Maya grinned widely and thrust her fist into the air in triumph. "Hell yeah!" Trucy and Apollo soddenly found themselves up next to her as she wrapped her arms around their shoulders and pulled them into a sort of group hug. "We're back in business!" The two siblings couldn't help but laugh at her enthusiasm.

"Well, I suppose it's time we head into the office to investigate." Edgeworth suggested. He looked over at Trucy, who had freed herself from Maya's grasp. "Will you be all right? You can stay out here if you want."

Determination alit in Trucy's eyes as she shook her head. "I'll be fine Uncle Edgeworth. Don't worry." She smiled at him and he smiled back.

"What are we waiting for? Let's go!" Trucy turned on the heel of her boot. She would have began walking too, if not for a big man in a green trenchcoat blocking her way. "Oh hi Gumshoe! Almost walked right into you. How's the investigation going?"

Avoiding her gaze, Gumshoe replied quietly. "I uh, I don't really know how to say this pal but…" He pulled some handcuffs from his coat pocket and raised his voice as he finally met Trucy's gaze. "Trucy Wright, you're under arrest on suspicion of murdering Phoenix Wright."

"WHAT!?" Maya and Apollo yelled their question at the same time as Trucy gasped in shock.

Trucy's brother ran to her side in a panic. "Wh-what do you mean 'on suspicion of murdering Phoenix Wright'? Do you even realize how ridiculous you sound?" His voice gradually grew louder as he spoke. "On what grounds can you even make that claim?"

"Glad you asked, pal!" Gumshoe huffed as he pulled a small notebook from his chest pocket. "Now let's see here… ah here we go. The murder weapon was determined to belong to a set of throwing knives that could be found in the main office. We also found a magicians glove covered in blood near the desk the murder occurred at- which would explain the lack of prints. And-"

"That-that's all just circumstantial!" Apollo was full on shouting now. "Anyone could have used those knives or gloves! Trucy keeps all her magic stuff in the main lobby!"

The detective's formerly confident stance changed as his shoulders slumped. "Yeah that's what I thought too, pal. But…" He sighed and frowned deeply. "There was a witness who saw the moment of the murder." This piece of information was met with shocked silence. "I didn't want to believe it either but… it's the way the cookie crumbles, pal."

"No no no no no this has got to be wrong! You have to be mistaken-"

"Polly." Trucy's soft spoken words cut of his ramble. She turned to him and grinned sadly. "If this is the way it has to be, then so be it. You know I'm not lying when I say I didn't do it." A quick glance at his bracelet and a small nod from Apollo confirmed Trucy's thoughts. "I know you'll be able to find the truth. You, Mommy, Athena and Uncle Edgeworth." She turned to Gumshoe and took a deep breath. "With you as my lawyer, I know I'll be okay."

The cuffs clasped around her wrists and Gumshoe led her away in silence. The remaining three of them watched somberly as the police car they entered drove away.

Silence befell them for a few seconds as they processed what had just happened. Maya was the one to break it. "Edgeworth…" Her voice was cautious. "You're still going to prosecute this case, aren't you?"

When Edgeworth replied, his voice was hard and cold. "Circumstances have not changed." He crossed his arms and tapped his fingers against one of them. "I will prosecute Ms. Wright as if she were any other convicted felon- to my fullest extent." He glanced at Apollo, who was glaring back at him.

"Now, if excuse me, I'm needed at the detention center." He started walking away but stopped in front of Apollo. "I wish you the best of luck in your investigation, Mr. Justice." He held out his hand and grinned.

A new sense of determination surged through Apollo as he grabbed Edgeworth's hand and shook it forcefully. "And I look forward to seeing you in court tomorrow, Mr. Edgeworth."

"Consider the feeling mutual." Letting go of his hand, Edgeworth walked towards his expensive looking sports car. He gave one last glance over to the two of them before entering his car and driving away.

Maya groaned and ran her hand down the front of her face. "So much for the Wright Anything Agency… We don't even have a Wright anymore." She turned to Apollo. "Either way, I guess we should start our investigation."

They walked towards the office and were surprised at how easy it was to get in. "Maybe Edgeworth called and put a good word in for us?" Maya suggested with a laugh.

The inside of the office was abuzz with investigators, to the point where Apollo briefly wondered if they would even have anything to investigate for themselves. After inquiring about if they had any space to an officer at the front door, they were pointed in the direction of the desk.

The approached it slowly, almost reluctantly. Apollo looked away at the sight of body outline. Maya placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "You okay?"

"Y-yeah." He swallowed and his voice cracked cracked slightly. "I just saw him working at this desk yesterday. I keep forgetting he's gone."

"Well, we gotta keep him alive in memory. And what better way to do that than by doing what he did best: investigating!" Her lack of sadness initially confused and kind of angered Apollo before remembering she had gone through this before with her own sister. Judging by how Phoenix had described that case, Maya was grieving in the same way now as she had been back then.

"I thought his special talents was yelling 'objection'. And cross-examining animals." He had a snicker in his voice as he said the last bit.

"Fair point." Maya was opening and closing drawers in the desk in rapid succession. Apollo followed her lead, kneeled down and opened the bottom most drawer. He pushed through the contents- mostly just papers and pencils. His fingers traced over something metallic and he pulled out a golden chain, the kind you would wear as a necklace. It was probably a spare one for Phoenix's locket. The thought made Apollo's heart sink; it was probably covered in blood now.

"Find anything, Apollo?" Maya's voice drifted into his ears.

He sighed and placed the chain back in the drawer and closed it. "No. Not yet." His eyes scanned the bottom of the desk as he spoke, in hopes that maybe he would find something. "Hey, what's that?" A suitcase had caught his attention. It was tucked away under the desk, almost unseeable in the shadows. He reached underneath and pulled it out.

"What you got there?" Maya questioned as she knelt down next him.

"I'm not sure. I've never seen this before." Which was odd in and of itself; Apollo knew basically every corner of the agency and everything that was in it at this point.

"Well don't just sit there, open it!"

Apollo flipped open the top and both gasped at its contents. Inside were papers splattered in blood.

"Oh my gosh!" Maya placed her hand over her mouth in shock. "These papers...they're covered in blood!"

Nodding, Apollo picked up a handful of the papers. The blood had dried so he didn't have to worry about getting it all over himself. "The splatters aren't just on the top either; they're scattered throughout. Meaning someone rummaged through this after Phoenix was killed." But for what reason, he had no idea

Maya leaned over his shoulder to look closer at what was written on the papers. "Hey, this one is a newspaper article about that Phantom case a few years back." She grabbed her own handful and began to flip through them. "This one is a police report about the UR-1 incident...and this one is...a copy of Bobby Fullbright's autopsy?"

They exchanged confused glances and began to sift through the contents of the suitcase together.

"Everything...everything in here is about things relating to the Phantom." Apollo ran his hand over his hair spikes as he spoke. "What on earth would he do with all of this?" He glanced at his partner to see her eyes wide in fear. "Maya?"

"Apollo…" When she turned to face him, her face was pale. "What if he was trying to figure out the Phantom's true identity? Or the organization he worked for? What if...what if Nick found out too much?"

"What are you saying Maya?" He wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer.

"Apollo," Maya's voice was hardly more than a whisper. "I don't think Nick was just murdered. I think he was assassinated."