A/N: Snow here with a brand new Ace Attorney story! This story is about the Themis trio and the nature of their friendship. To be more precise, it concerns the world of a certain judge-to-be, and how she reacts when she finds herself in an unknown place. Enjoy, my readers!

Distorted Reflections: Prologue

"Grandma, tell me a story."

"Hmm...Have I told you the story of the Mirror Pond?"

"No, you haven't told me that story. What is the Mirror Pond?"

"Legend has it that somewhere in the forest, there is a mystical pond. It doesn't reflect anything- instead, if you hold the image of another world in your heart while looking into the pond, it will instead reflect that world, and you can visit it."

"Oh. Does a pond like that really exist, Grandma?"

"I doubt that it does. Even if it did, I wouldn't want you to go to this pond, Juniper."

"Really? Why is that?"

"Because the legend of the pond also says that some people have found the pond. But when they looked into it, they…. Met an unfortunate fate."

"Th-that sounds b-bad. *cough cough*"

"It's just a story, sweetie. Now go to sleep. Tomorrow we're going with Mrs. Cykes and Athena to the zoo."

"Okay, Grandma!"

January 10, 2028

Forest outside Woods residence

1:15 p.m.

"*gasp* Remind me again why I decided to come along on this hike?"

Juniper Woods, a shy, nature-loving girl stopped walking, looking back to where Myriam Scuttlebutt was lagging pretty far behind from everyone else. In the recent months Juniper has been trying to befriend Myriam, but the purple-haired reporter girl wasn't well suited to exercise… or really social interaction in general.

"Do you want to take another rest, Myriam?" Juniper asked gently.

"Another one? Maybe you just need to give it more effort, Myriam," Hugh O'Conner said, the cool-headed young man walking third in their group. A few months ago the friendship between Hugh and Juniper had become very imperiled, but it pulled through and became stronger as a result. For her part, Juniper was helping Hugh study to not fall behind on his grades.

"Easy for you to say. I can see the pit stains on your shirt," Myriam grumbled, to Hugh's dismay.

"Now, now everyone! If we really need a break, we can regroup. But afterwards we're going at double the p-a-c-e!"

Of the four of them, Juniper was walking second in line. That was because ahead of everyone else was none other than Robin Newman. Up until a few months ago, Juniper had known Robin as an passionate man with an artistic streak.

Except in fact, Robin had been a girl the entire time- forced to live as a boy at the behest of her parents. Once Athena broke Robin free of the lie she lived, the young girl was exploring her newfound freedom. It relieved Juniper that Robin remained true to herself, every bit as passionate and art-loving that she's always been.

Hugh and Myriam groaned, knowing full well that Robin was completely serious. Nonetheless, the four of them rested, eating from some carrots grown from Juniper's garden while drinking from bottled water that they'd brought with them. When they were done taking a break, the four friends continued their hike through the forest.

This was just one of many outings that the four friends had gone on since Myriam joined their group. Sometimes Hugh would take them to a place he had visited while working, or Robin would take them to an art gallery. Today, Juniper wanted to show her friends the forest around her home.

Taking the lead, Juniper guided the group through a segment of the forest she wasn't entirely familiar with- Juniper hoped she'd be able to get back home later, and everyone had their cell phones in case of an emergency. However, Juniper wanted to be more brave, and have new experiences.

I'm Juniper Woods, and I'm fine, Juniper thought to herself, the mantra giving her a sense of calm. Off in the distance, Juniper spotted a body of water off the beaten path. Curious about it, Juniper headed in it's direction, the rest of her friends following behind her.

Upon reaching the body of water, Juniper saw that it was a small pond. A curiosity that she immediately noticed is that the surface of the pond didn't seem to reflect anything. Instead, the water was completely glassy, reflecting only the sky no matter how Juniper leaned towards the pond. This caused a faint memory to stir in the back of her head.

"What's up with the pond? It doesn't seem to reflect anything, sss sss sss," Myriam said, arriving with everyone else at the pond.

After wracking her brain, Juniper remembered where she'd heard of this pond. She explained how her Grandma had told her a story a lot like this, when she was a little girl.

"Hmmm. A pond that only reflects different worlds. I wonder what that means," Hugh said. "This sure does not seem to be impressive for a supposed pond of legend."

"I mean, my Grandma says that the legend probably isn't true in the first place," Juniper said. "This is likely just a normal pond."

It was then that Juniper noticed that Robin hadn't said a word since arriving here. Looking back, Juniper saw that Robin was looking into the pond with an odd look on her, then shook her head and looked away.

Juniper felt the need to ask Robin just what was on her mind. Except, chances were Juniper already knew what her friend was thinking. Glancing at the pond, Juniper found her own thoughts going down that path.

Would life have been different for Robin if her parents didn't do what they did? Juniper wondered. If Robin had been born a boy like they wanted… would that have really made them happy?

For a split second, Juniper saw her own reflection in the pond, but it faded, leaving only the glassy surface of the pond. Staring at the pond didn't seem to make anything else happen, so Juniper straightened up and turned to face her friends.

"If we go any further in this direction we will get lost. Should we turn back?" Juniper asked.

"Yes! Please take us back to your place, Juniper," Myriam said.

"Oh! Once we're there let's all watch watch a movie together," Robin said, back to her usual self. "And have some of your Grandma's great home cooking!"

"Sounds like a plan," Hugh said, smiling to himself.

After successfully making her way back home with her friends, Juniper indeed enjoyed watching a comedy movie with them, after which her Grandma served them all dinner. Once all her friends went back to the city, Juniper decided to tell her Grandma about her encounter in the forest.

For a moment her Grandma froze, before saying, "That does sound like a curious little pond. I doubt it's actually the so called Mirror Pond, though."

"Well… I did see my reflection in the pond," Juniper said, unsure of what exactly happened at the pond. "But that pond was still disquieting to me."

"Then put it out of your mind, Juniper," Her Grandma said sternly. "There is no point on dwelling on what ifs."

Taking her Grandma's advice, Juniper went to bed, trying her best to not think about the pond. Yet her mind went around in circles, still nagging at the question she'd asked herself while looking into the pond.

In her mind's eye, Juniper saw the pond again. She headed towards the glassy surface at great speed, before plunging headfirst into the water. As she went deeper and deeper Juniper was blinded by an approaching light-

So you wish it, so it shall be, a garbled voice said in Juniper's head.

Juniper opened her eyes. Looking around her bedroom, she saw that it was now morning. Believing she'd just had a strange dream, she got out of bed and got dressed, getting ready to go to school. It was during her preparations that she noticed something very wrong.

Her proof of friendship was missing.

A/N: Where exactly has Juniper Woods found herself. What is the true nature of the Mirror Pond, and the world she has found herself in? The following chapters will answer those very questions, and more. So I hope you all explore this world too! See you next time! Please review.