Disclaimer: I don't own the Ace Attorney franchise, but I'm going to have fun twisting it around.

For Want of a Badge

Chapter 1: A Fey-tful Save

April, 19, 2019, District Court:

It had been a little over two months since Maya Fey had been in this courtroom. To be honest it was still quite painful to be here, even as just a member of the audience. After all the last time she had been here had been the trial for the murder of her own mother. Yet here she was.

She supposed it was inevitable, she'd come back to the city to surprise Nick with a visit after all and he was an ace attorney. Truth be told she hadn't found out he was in court until after the trial started, hence why she was in the audience and not next to him right now.

Though to be fair it didn't seem like Nick needed her right now; it looked like he had this case well in hand. So why was it that Maya felt uneasy? After all Nick was up against some green "star" prosecutor and was taking him to task like he always did. This guy, Klavier Gavin was supposedly some famous music star but Maya had never heard of him, though she supposed that could be because of all the time she'd been spending Kurain Village.

The trial itself was for the murder of famed stage magician Magnifi Gramarye, and Nick's client was Shadi Enigmar, better known as Zak Gramarye, one of Magnifi's two proteges the other of which Valant was on the stand. Them even Maya knew. Despite the pain that being in this courtroom caused it was fun getting to see Nick work. She may have teased him practically since day one, but Maya knew that her friend was an amazing defense attorney and it looked like this case would be just one more notch in his belt.

"I do believe... well, with this being his first that the burden of this trial has been a bit too much to bear for Prosecutor Gavin." The judge said. "I'm afraid that, while there is a doubt as to the amount of IV liquid in that bag the time of death cannot be proven. And that brings our trial to a close for today. I see there are no objections, court is adjour-"

"Objection!" Klavier shouted. He chuckled and then continued. "Truly, there's no substitute for experience. Nothing blinds one to the truth so effectively. A word to the wise: Underestimate the young, and they'll sweep your feet out from under you in a way you never, ever expected. You see, I know exactly what you're thinking. You say the witness used the syringe to manipulate the level of the IV liquid, but there is no proof."

Come on Nick, I know you can do this, put this guy in his place. You've beaten better than him. This Klavier guy was really starting to get on her nerves. He was no Miles Edgeworth, Godot, or even Fransizka von Karma, there was no way he was going to beat Nick.

"There's no proof he didn't do it either." Phoenix said. Maya grimaced, even she thought that was a bit weak. Still unless this guy had something really big up his sleeve Nick still had gained at least some time to do some investigation.

"Yes, quite true." Klavier said. "Nor was this witness quite as decisive as I'd hoped. This, I admit. After all, why linger in the past, when the future holds so much?"

"You... have something in mind, Prosecutor Gavin?" The judge asked.

"Proof, Herr Judge. I have another way to prove my case. With evidence, no less." Klavier said. That proof turned out to be Magnifi Gramarye's diary. On the last page he'd written that the diary could possibly end or go on based on the actions of someone coming to visit him. He'd written it just after the IV was put in, before Nick's client Shadi Enigmar had visited. Maya had to admit that it was pretty damning evidence at first glance, but Nick had been in this situation before and he'd always found a way out.

"Well, Mr. Wright? The witness's testimony we heard was lacking, but put together with this evidence, it seems quite sufficient for a case." The judge said.

"I'm left with no choice but to show my own evidence." Phoenix said.

"What!? You have some evidence that overturns this diary?" The judge

"Hmm... It's not too late to rethink this and avoid more... embarrassment." Klavier said. That was an odd thing to say, Maya had a really bad feeling about this

"Very well. Please show us your evidence, Mr. Wright." The judge said.

"Incidentally, don't even think of showing us this diary I've just shown the court. Now that we've come this far, I hope you have something a little more... decisive." Klavier said. "Show us evidence that proves the victim continued writing his diary!"

"Alright. I'd be happy to." Phoenix said. "First... take a close look at this diary. Note that a page has clearly been ripped out!" Maya smiled, now that was a classic Nick move, he could always find something the prosecution overlooked.

"What's this? I hadn't noticed that at all." The judge said.

"As it just so happens I have here what I believe to be the missing page." Phoenix said. "Looking at this page It's hard to imagine that the first visitor that night shot Magnifi Gramarye. That's the defense's position."

"W-Wait. Let me see that!" The Judge demanded. "What in sam hill... Why, this is the continuation of the victim's diary!"

"Note the torn edge of the page. It's a perfect match with the torn remains of the last page in Magnifi's diary!" Phoenix said. Again it looked like Nick had things in hand , but Maya couldn't shake that uneasy feeling that she'd had all day.

"Would you care to explain what all this means, Herr Attorney?" Klavier asked.

"The diary continued after his first visitor came. Which means that the victim was still alive after Zak Gramarye left! Leaving no one to take his life but the second visitor, Valant Gramarye!" Phoenix declared.

"The handwriting, too, matches that on the other pages. This is, without a doubt, the genuine article!" The judge pronounced.

"But, but wait! This is... That's impossible! That old man couldn't have written that..." Valant protested.

"Objection!" Klavier shouted. "...Finally. You just couldn't resist, could you, Herr Wright?"

Resist what? Presenting solid evidence?" Phoenix asked.

"Herr Judge?" Klavier asked.

"Y-Yes, Prosecutor Gavin?"

Might I request we put the current cross-examination on hold? The prosecution would like to call a new witness.

"B-But, Prosecutor Gavin! This evidence overturns the current witness'-" Klavier cut the judge off.

I ask only to put it on hold! Please. My new witness has a very, very important piece of testimony to give. Five minutes. No more. I promise... Your Honor."

"W-Well, if you put it that way... Mr. Wright, what's your take on this?" The judge asked.

Well, Your Honor, judging from his enthusiasm we'll have to hear this new testimony sooner or later anyway. So it might as well be sooner." Phoenix said.

Then, though this is highly, highly irregular we will put the current cross-examination on hold. The witness may step down. Now, Prosecutor Gavin, please bring this surprise witness to the courtroom." The judge said.

"Your Honor, I have one more request to make. I must ask that the audience be removed or this witness will not testify." Klavier said.

"Very well, the audience will please leave the courtroom so that we may hear the testimony of this surprise witness." The judge said. Even as everyone else filed out Maya didn't move. She wasn't about to leave Nick alone when a trap was about to be so obviously sprung on him. It wasn't until a pair of bailiffs tried to move her that she spoke.

"You can't make me leave I'm Maya Fey, Nick's assistant, I was late, that's why I was sitting in the audience box!" She protested, "Go on, ask Nick, he'll vouch for me!"

Phoenix started in surprise when he heard Maya's voice. He hadn't expected her to be here. Part of him was happy to see his old friend, but the other part of him was wrestling with the feeling of dread that had come with this latest development in the trial and the scene she was making was a bit if a distraction. Still if he didn't vouch for her he'd never hear the end of it from Maya or Pearl, and for an eight year old Peals had a mean right hook. "Yes, she's with me." He said with a sigh.

"See, I told you so." Maya said as the bailiffs let go of her. She made her way over to the defense bench with a smile on her face. "Thanks Nick."

"What are you doing here Maya? I thought you were busy training at Kurain Village, not to mention being the new Master." Phoenix whispered, he had no intention of letting the court know he had no idea that Maya was going to be here.

"I wanted to surprise you with a visit and then I found out that you were in court so I rushed over here as fast as I could. I wasn't about to let them kick me out of the courtroom, something is rotten here and I'm not about to let you face it alone."

"You feel it too huh? Well I'm glad to have you on board Maya, though at this point I'm not sure what good it will do, our friend Klavier seems to have been waiting for exactly this moment." Phoenix said.

"You've got to have more faith Nick, we've made it out of tougher scrapes than this before." Maya assured him. Phoenix had to admit she had a point, they'd faced some pretty bleak cases together. Whatever Klavier had planned they could get through it. At least he hoped so. Finally a man covered in pain splotches was brought to the witness stand.

"Hmm... Holding trial with no audience is a first, even for me, Prosecutor Gavin." The judge said.

"I beg the court's understanding, but I had to make a judiciary deal with the witness to secure his testimony." Klavier said.

"A judiciary 'deal'?" Phoenix got that sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach again, he didn't like the sound of this one bit. Who was this man and why was Klavier so confident. "The details of his testimony may have some 'legal ramifications', shall we say. I thought it best to contain the information to this room." Klavier explained.

"Hmm... Very well. And you are the witness, I gather?" The judge asked the man on the stand.

"Ah...Y-Yes. Yes, sir." The mysterious man said.

"State your name and occupation for the record." Klavier instructed.

"Erm... My name's Drew Misham. I'm... a painter." The man said.

"A painter? And you are somehow related to this case?" The judge asked. No, well, not per se..." Misham trailed off. I have one simple question for this witness." A single question now Phoenix was really worried about where this was going. Klavier seemed more confident then ever.

"Mister... Misham, was it? Do you know what this is?" He asked showing the painter the torn diary page.

"Oh, yeah. I know it well." Misham said.

"How's that possible?" Phoenix asked. "Have you seen this diary page somewhere before?"

"Oh, yeah. I mean, I made it."

"You... what?" Phoenix couldn't believe his ears, things were going downhill fast. "You 'made' it!?"

"Yes. You might call it one of my 'works'. Misham said.

"The regional prosecutor's office received a tip-off yesterday. 'Illegal evidence has been prepared for the trial of Zak Gramarye.'" Klavier said.

"Illegal... evidence?" The judge asked.

"I initiated an investigation, and found this witness. A painter to the world at large, Drew Misham has another side, you might say. He is skilled in making perfect reproductions of certain things, forgeries, in other words." Klavier explained.

"F-Forgeries?" This couldn't be happening! He'd been baited and he should have seen it coming. If this was true it would mean the end of his career.

"W-Well! So, we are to understand that this page here is..." The judge trailed off.

"A fake. Prepared by a certain defense attorney." Klavier had a smug grin on his face.

"Hold it! I didn't 'prepare' this evidence!" Phoenix protested, he wasn't going to just take this lying down.

"Ah, the attorney speaks. Something about this page I presume, but what is he saying? It makes no sense! After all it was you who presented this evidence to us, Phoenix Wright!" Klavier declared.

"Witness! Er, Mr. Misham, was it? Who requested this forgery!? Who was your client?" The judge demanded.

"That, I don't know." Misham said.

"What?" Phoenix blurted.

"Most of my clients prefer to remain anonymous, even to me. I make the items they want, and receive my payment. That's the extent of my contact with them." Misham explained.

"Objection! B-But...! There's no proof this is a fake!" The protest sounded weak even to Phoenix's own ears. This was the end of the line for him and he knew it.

"It's a fake." Misham pronounced.

"Huh?" Phoenix asked more out of reflex than anything else. To avoid just this sort of problem I always put a special mark on my 'works'. I can say, without a doubt, this is mine." Mishan explained.

"Mr. Wright. You have just presented illegal evidence to this court. My court. Forging evidence is a serious crime, and presenting it in court, a serious mistake. A fatal mistake, for an attorney." The judge said.

"Hold it!" Maya called out. "There's no way Nick would knowingly present false evidence to the court, there must be some explanation."

"It doesn't matter Fraulein, Herr Wright still presented false evidence to the court and it will have dire consequences for both him and his client." Klavier said. Phoenix watched in awe as Maya stared the prosecutor down.

"I wasn't talking to you rocker boy." She said defiantly before turning to the judge. "Your Honor, with all due respect you know Nick, his record is spotless. You know he would never forge evidence. I'm living proof of that. Just over a year ago you presided over the trial of Matt Engarde for the murder of Juan Corrida. During that trial I was held hostage by Shelly de Killer and Nick was under threat that if he didn't get a not guilty verdict for Matt Engarde I would be killed. Even with his best friend's life on the line Nick has always fought for the truth. At least hear him out."

"I already said it doesn't matter Fraulein, Herr Wright has presented false evidence and thus under the law will lose his attorney's badge. I gave him a chance to avoid this and he didn't take it, now he must live with the consequences." Klavier said.

"Need I remind the court that the Prosecutor's Office is far from innocent when it comes to the crime of forging evidence, or have we so quickly forgotten Manfred von Karma? He was caught forging evidence and only received a penalty and was allowed to keep his job for another fifteen years, but you would disbar Nick without even letting him defend himself? Isn't that a bit of a double standard?" Maya shot back. Phoenix was stunned. He'd never seen Maya so serious and impassioned before, except when it came to burgers. For a moment he thought she was channeling Mia, but the fact that she still called him Nick was all the proof he needed that Maya was still in the driver's seat. It was nice to have someone in his corner at a time like this, even if it didn't make any difference.

"Ms. Fey brings up a good point. Mr. Wright's record is exemplary, even under the most trying of circumstances. I believe it only fair that we give him a chance to explain himself.

"The past doesn't matter Herr Judge. People change, Herr Wright committed a crime." Klavier said.

"I am aware of the severity of the offense Prosecutor Gavin, but given Mr. Wright's past I will give him one chance to speak for himself." The judge declared.

"Thank you, Your Honor." Phoenix said. Maya had given him a chance, one chance, to turn this around. He'd have to pick his words carefully. Saying that Trucy had been told to give him the forged page by someone in the hallway wasn't going to cut it, so he'd have to come at this from another angle. He had a good idea what that angle should be too. "There's no way that I could have ordered that false evidence. According to Prosecutor Gavin, the Prosecutor's Office received the tip about the false evidence yesterday, which means that the evidence must have been prepared before then. I only met the defendant Zak Gramarye last night when I first took his case." Phoenix said.

"A convenient excuse, Herr Wright, do you have any proof that you first met with the defendant last night and took the case last minute?" Klavier asked.

Phoenix smirked, he was back in control now. "Why I'm glad you asked. As you would expect we met at the detention center, which has its prisoners guarded and the meeting was caught on tape by the security cameras there. As all visits to the detention center are a matter of record I have no doubt that you will find that I did not visit my client before last night." Klavier grimaced.

"Objection! The defendant could have had the forgery made himself beforehand and passed it off to you before the trial began!" He countered.

"Objection! I find that highly unlikely Prosecutor Gavin. The forgery had to seamlessly match the tear in the diary and carry on from the last entry Magnifi Gramarye made. That last entry was made only shortly before the defendant visited the victim on the night of the crime. The defendant was arrested shortly thereafter giving him at most an hour to find Mr. Misham and make the request. Unless the defendant had been planning to frame Valant beforehand and knew he would need a forgery, which is again unlikely. As Zak Gramarye had no idea that Valant had been given a similar letter to the one that he had received." Phoenix said.

"Objection! The page we have is still a forgery, and who else would have motive to have it created, but your client, Herr Wright? Surely not Valant, all creating a forgery would do is implicate him." Klavier said.

"You raise a good point Prosecutor Gavin." The judge said.

"Indeed he does." Phoenix said with a nod, "So then we must ask ourselves who knew about the ripped out page of the diary and could have ordered the forgery? If it wasn't Zak Gramarye, or Valant and it wasn't me, then who else could it have been? Prosecutor Gavin knew about the diary because it was evidence, but I doubt that it was him, given what he said about the tip. There was one other person who knew about the diary though."

"Who would that be?" The judge asked.

"The person who gave our humble prosecutor the tip of course. Funny story, I was given this piece of forged evidence by my client's daughter, Trucy Enigmar. She told me that it was given to her by someone in the hallway of this very courthouse and was told to give it to me. Now I doubt that an eight year old girl would lie about something like that. There is one other person who was involved in this case that had motive however. As I said earlier I took this case last minute, my client had previously fired another attorney: Kristoph Gavin." Phoenix said.

"Objection!" Klavier roared, "How dare you accuse my brother of manufacturing false evidence Herr Wright? Even if he did why would he have it passed off to you and tip the Prosecutor's Office off?"

"Maybe he was bitter about being fired and wanted to get back at both of us for it, as for why he would have originally had the page forged, my bet is that he wanted to use it in the trial himself." Phoenix said.

"Order!" The judge banged his gavel. "You realize that you have made a very serious accusation about a fellow defense attorney Mr. Wright."

"I do your honor, and it's not something that I would do lightly, I truly do believe it do be the most plausible scenario." He said with a nod.

"My brother is not that sort of man Herr Wright. Besides it doesn't change the fact that the only evidence exonerating your client was forged. What sort of client needs forged evidence a guilty one!" Klavier shouted.

"Objection! There still the matter of the actual missing page from the diary. Until we find that, there is no way to be absolutely sure." Phoenix said.

"That is true Herr Wright, but for all we know that page could be blank, a red herring to set up the forgery and I doubt whoever has the real page with be very forthcoming. Your own logic eliminated all of the prime suspects from ordering the forgery. All the evidence as it stands points to your client being guilty and you have no way to prove otherwise." Damn it, as much as he hated to admit it, the kid was right. This trial had been brought to a standstill, and the only suspect he had for forging evidence would have been smart enough to destroy the original. He was stuck, he couldn't see any way to get his client off now, and after Maya had saved his bacon and given him this chance. Then it hit him. There was a way to prove what was on that page. He had Maya!

"Your Honor, if you would permit, the defense would like to call a decisive witness to the stand: Magnifi Gramarye." Phoenix said. This was it. Win, lose, or draw, it all came down to this.

"Objection! Your Honor, Herr Wright is making a mockery of this court! Magnifi Gramarye is the victim of the crime in question, there is no possible way that he could testify." Klavier protested.

"On the contrary, there is a way. Your Honor, I'm sure you remember the last case that I defended about two months ago, the last case of Prosecutor Godot." Phoenix said.

"Yes, the murder of Misty Fey, that was a long and complicated trial involving spirit mediums... Ah!" The judge seemed to catch on to what he was planning.

"That's correct Your Honor as you know, my assistant is Maya Fey, the daughter of Misty Fey and the current Master of the Kurain Channeling Technique, if she's willing I believe we can clear this matter up." Phoenix said.

"No problem Nick, I'll just need a picture of Magnifi Gramarye so I can channel him." Maya said.

"Not a problem Maya, there's a picture of him in the Court Record." Phoenix said before handing her the photo.

"Are you really so desperate that you would depend on magic tricks to save you Herr Wright? Haven't you embarrassed yourself enough?" Klavier mocked.

"Prosecutor Gavin, while this trial may deal with magicians and magic tricks I can assure you that the Kurain Channeling Technique is no simple parlor trick as you are about to find out." Phoenix said with a smirk.

"Yes, I have seen the power of the Kurain Channeling Technique firsthand. The transformation is no simple trick, which is why I'm allowing Mr. Wright to go through with this." The judge said. For once Klavier was speechless, and so was Phoenix for that matter when Maya channeled Magnifi. Phoenix had seen his friend channel spirits many times but never that of a man. The transformation was so complete it was startling. She looked just like Magnifi Gramarye, right down to the facial hair, only with Maya's hair and clothes. There was no way Klavier could say this had been faked. In fact everyone in the courtroom was stunned into silence for a moment.

"Mr. Gramarye, will you please take the stand?" The judge asked after regaining his composure. The old man said nothing and simply took the stand.

"Please state your name and occupation for the record." Klavier was visibly flustered, but still trying to carry out his job. "My name is Magnifi Gramarye, my occupation, well deceased, formerly stage magician." Magnifi said.

"Alright Mr. Gramarye, I just have a couple of questions for you. The first of which is who killed you?" Klavier asked.

"I killed myself. I did it shortly after my student Valant left." Magnifi declared.

"You mean it was suicide?" The judge asked in shock. Phoenix had to admit, of all the turns he'd expected the trial to take suicide had not been on the list.

"That's correct." Magnifi said.

"Then what about the ripped out page of your diary?" Klavier asked.

"I ripped that out myself. I wrote my will on it. When Zak came in that night I pretended to be asleep the whole thing was a test to see who, if anyone would inherit the rights to my tricks. Zak shot the clown doll which was the right answer, so I wrote a will passing the rights to him." The old magician explained.

Phoenix turned toward his client looking none too pleased. "Why didn't you tell me this before? You were nearly convicted for murder!" He said.

"Being tried for murder would damage my reputation, guilty or innocent. That isn't a good environment to raise a child in. I had planned to disappear and have you take Trucy in, then I would pass off the rights to the tricks to her shortly before being pronounced dead by the statute of limitations." Phoenix was damn near speechless at this. He could only muster a single sentence.

"You're a horrible father." Zak Gramarye simply hung his head. The judge cleared his throat.

"I assume that you can provide this will to the court so we may put this matter to rest?" He asked.

"Why yes, of course." Zak said producing the requested paper and giving it to the judge to study.

"The handwriting matches that of the diary, that in conjunction with the witness' testimony leaves no doubt in my mind that this will is in fact genuine." The judge said. The witness may step down." With that Maya stopped channeling Magnifi Gramarye and walked back to her spot beside Phoenix at the defense's bench.

"Great job Maya, you just won us this case." Phoenix said.

"Given recent testimony I have no choice, but to declare Shadi Enigmar Not Guilty on the charge of murdering Magnifi Gramarye." The Judge announced. "However there is still much that is left unknown and laws that have been broken. Bailiff please take Valant Gramarye into custody for perjury, and Mr. Shadi Enigmar for obstruction." The bailiff moved to follow throw when Zak spoke.

"Your Honor I'm afraid I will not be appearing in court again. You cannot take me into custody, it is impossible."

"I'm afraid the defendant is quite mistaken. I most certainly have the authority have you taken into custody."

"Except... tell me, how do you plan on taking me in... when your I do not exist?" Zak asked.

"'Don't exist'? What are you talking about? " The judge asked.

"I am talking... about this!" Zak said, a flash of light blinded everyone in the courtroom and then when everyone could see again, he was gone.

"M-Mr. Enigmar!" Phoenix called. He couldn't believe it, despite all that work to get him off for murder, Zak had pulled his little disappearing act anyway and left his daughter alone. Sure, he would have been put away for Obstruction of Justice but that was a light sentence compared to murder.

"The defendant's escaped! Find him! Quick!" Klavier shouted.

"Bailiff! Close all exits from the building! On the double! He must not be allowed to escape!" In the end it was no use, they didn't find Zak. Once that was established the judge turned back to Phoenix. "Mr. Wright, there's still the issue of you presenting forged evidence. After everything that's happened today I believe that you did not willfully try to deceive the court. As such I see no reason to report this to the Bar Association, as your innocence in the actual forgery can be easily proved by checking the detention center records."

"Thank you, Your Honor," Phoenix said, "and thank you Maya. You just saved my career. I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't been here."

"It's not a problem Nick, you've saved me countless times, it's about time I returned the favor." Maya said with a smile.

"Herr Wright, I will not forget this day, you are a worthy opponent. I look forward to they day we meet again in court. For now I must further investigate that false diary page." Klavier said before walking away.

"Wow, a prosecutor who isn't bitter about losing. I think I could grow to like that kid." Phoenix mused. "Right now I have to figure out what to do with Trucy."

"Can we take her out for burgers?" Maya asked.

Phoenix smiled, classic Maya, he'd missed that since she'd left, "Sure burgers sound great we'll go to the usual place."

So here we are my first Ace Attorney fanfic. Going through the flashback trial in Apollo Justice and basically watching Phoenix lose his badge I was struck by a single thought: This wouldn't have happened if Maya was there. So I added Maya and got this. I almost kept Zak around, but then I realized that if he'd really wanted to stay with his daughter all he he had to do was give Phoenix the will. Instead he planned to go on the run the whole time and leave Phoenix to raise Trucy.

So yeah in the end I decided that Trucy was better off without her deadbeat dad and being raised by Phoenix, and in this fic, Maya. So the Ace Attorney has kept his badge and soon things will grow to be very different than canon. I hope you all enjoy. Please leave a review. Also there was a weird formatting issue where the middle turned into a text block when I fist posted this. I have since fixed it, if you read this in the short time before that, sorry.