After an incredibly length vacation, I wrote a whopping total of one and a half chapters. This is pathetic, even by my standards. XDD

So, this basically takes place about six months after Overdue. It's from Maya's and Trucy's point of view this time around, not like Phoenix's and Apollo's last time. Maybe I'm just being paranoid, but I'm afraid this may result in OOCness. -crosses fingers-

If I blow the sequel, as people so often do with books, movies, fics, etc., you have full permission to flame me. I would deserve it thoroughly.

Disclaimer: I don't have enough imagination to have anything to do with the creation of Phoenix Wright.

Chapter 1

Fey Manor

"Mystic Maya, how many more minutes until the train arrives?" Pearl asked anxiously, pacing up and down the train platform as rain pounded the steel roof overhead. Her older cousin, Maya, looked up from the magazine she was holding upside down, which was titled Oh! Cult!, and checked her watch.

"Five minutes," she answered her younger cousin, trying not to let her own nervousness show.

Pearl stopped her pacing and stood facing Maya, hugging herself with worry. "They are coming, right, Mystic Maya?" she asked, biting her lip. "Nothing. . . nothing's happened, has it?"

Maya felt her stomach sink, as it had done so many times in the past twelve hours, and picked up her pink cell phone, which lay next to her on the park bench she was sitting on. She flicked the cell phone open and checked the "Missed Messages" button. There were none.

"Well, Nick hasn't called to say they aren't coming, so I guess they are," she reassured Pearl, who nodded, though without much conviction, and began pacing again.

Maya set the phone down next to her and picked up her magazine again, realized it was upside down, and turned it so that it was right side up again. However, she couldn't distract herself with any of the articles in the magazine, not even "The Dos and Don'ts of Spirit Channelling", which looked fairly interesting. Giving up, she tossed the magazine aside and picked up her cell phone again, staring at it and hoping it wouldn't ring.

She and her seventeen-year-old cousin, Pearl, were waiting for the eleven-thirty train to pull into the station. In fact, they were the only ones there. They would have stuck out in a crowd, though, with their spirit medium costumes, the magatamas hanging around their necks, and, in Maya's case, the black robes and red talisman that signified that she was the Master of Kurain, though people just stared at her when she went into the city like she was crazy.

"How many more minutes?" Pearl asked again, still pacing. Maya glanced at her watch.

"Four and a half," she answered with a grin. "Relax, Pearly. They're coming!"

Pearl seemed to believe her, because she smiled a little at her cousin. As soon as she looked away, though, Maya's face fell and she looked back down at her phone. She really didn't believe her words; she was nervous, and she had every right to be.

If Maya was right, which she didn't think she was, the next train would be bringing her boyfriend, Phoenix Wright, his adopted daughter, Trucy, and Apollo Justice, defence attorney and, as Trucy claimed, the mascot for her talent agency. This was the fifth time they had tried to arrange such a visit, and Maya wasn't that keen for a fourth failure.

The first attempt had been around Christmas. Maya had invited the three of them to come to Kurain for the holidays, but at the last minute, Apollo was slapped with case that interfered with their plans. Trucy, his assistant, couldn't come either, and Maya, who was determined they all spend Christmas together, reversed the original travel plan and took the train with Pearl into the city instead.

The second try came in mid-January. The night before they were to arrive on the train, however, Trucy had come down with the flu. Apollo insisted, albeit feebly, that he could take care of Trucy and that Phoenix could go into Kurain, but when they called in the morning to explain their predicament, Maya told Phoenix to stay home with Trucy and that they would try again next week.

Unfortunately, the elders of Kurain had different ideas. They could hardly fail to notice that Maya was neglecting her duties as Master of Kurain. She was, theoretically, the most powerful spirit medium in the village, but she was busy going into the city to see Phoenix, whom they didn't approve of in the first place, and she wasn't paying enough attention to spiritual techniques.

When they heard about this new visit, therefore, they put their foot down. The elders booked a spiritual retreat at one of the mountain temples for the day of the visit and sent her there instead. Maya had not been pleased.

The fourth and final attempt came in March. Up until then, everyone had been too busy, Apollo with cases, Trucy with her nightly magic shows at the Wonder Bar, and Phoenix falling down several flights of stairs at the hotel where he pretended to play piano. He only stopped when he hit the wall at the bottom floor. Thankfully, he only broke his wrist, but he was still in the hospital for a few days.

Eventually, a day came where all of three of them were free. It would only be a one-day visit, but Maya, ecstatic that they were able to come, completely forgot her own schedule. Only on the eve of their trip did she remember she had two channellings the next day. In desperation, she called both of her clients, asking if they could postpone the appointments. Both refused.

After this, Maya gave up. Phoenix, who wasn't particularly eager to visit Kurain, didn't bring up the subject. It wasn't until last week, when Maya had brought Pearl along into the city with her on one of her bi-weekly trips to see Phoenix, did the topic emerge.

"That's so cool!" Trucy exclaimed after Pearl had described Fey Manor to her. Turning to Phoenix, she asked, "Hey, Daddy, can we go visit Pearl and Maya sometime?"

Phoenix, who was tying his shoe before going out for food with Maya, looked up, surprised. "Um. . ." he said, stalling for time.

"We don't mind. Right, Mystic Maya?" Pearl asked, appealing to her cousin.

"Um. . ." Maya echoed, her eyes flicking from Pearl and Trucy's eager faces to Phoenix, who was looking as if he'd wished the subject hadn't been brought up. "Sure. We'll talk about it tonight, okay?"

But at the word "Sure," Pearl and Trucy had their head together, instantly planning out their visit.

It was decided that, on the sixth of May, that Phoenix, Trucy, and Apollo would come to Kurain via train and stay for a week. Phoenix had been fired from his job at the hotel after breaking his wrist and Apollo was between cases at the moment, so Trucy had cancelled her shows at the Wonder Bar so that she could come as well.

However, Maya couldn't shake the feeling that something was going to go wrong. Terribly wrong. Like the three of them missing their train and all of the tickets being sold on the others. Or the train derailing.

To Maya's relief, she realized that the train was chugging into the station just as the thought crossed her mind. She stood up uncertainly, waiting as the train stopped and the doors opened. She felt the bottom of her stomach drop away as a man wearing a pair of jeans, a gray hoodie, and bright blue beanie stepped out onto the platform, carrying two suitcases, one in each hand.

"Nick!" she cried, and launched herself across the platform. He saw her coming, grinned, and dropped his suitcases before she reached him and kissed him.

After a moment, a polite cough from behind Phoenix reminded them they were blocking the doorway. Stepping off to the side, Maya watched as Trucy, wearing her signature blue cape and matching top hat, and Apollo, with his typical red suit, step out onto the platform. Apollo was carrying a suitcase, but Trucy was empty-handed.

"Pearl!" Trucy cried, running at her friend and hugging her. "I haven't seen you in forever!"

". . . You saw each other last week," Apollo pointed out.

Trucy turned to look at him. "What's your point?" she asked.

Maya grinned and made to hug Apollo, but with a furtive glance at Phoenix, he stuck out his hand instead. Trying so hard not to laugh that she was shaking, she shook it, then stepped back. Phoenix put his arm around her shoulders and glared daggers at Apollo, who quickly interested himself with the ceiling. As soon as he had looked up, Phoenix looked sideways at Maya and grinned, evidently enjoying himself.

"I'm so glad you're here," Pearl said, looking immensely relieved. "I didn't think the three of you would make it."

"Four," Trucy corrected promptly.

Pearl stared at her, wide-eyed. "Four? There's no one else here. . ."

"You forgot–" Apollo groaned, interrupting Trucy, who ignored him. A wooden puppet unfolded itself from beneath her cape, sweeping her silk hat off her head and placing it on its own. "The Amazing Mr. Hat!" Trucy finished.

Pearl gave a start but, otherwise, took it well. Maya laughed and clapped – Mr. Hat was her favourite out of all of Trucy's tricks. Phoenix, who was used to this, seemed to shrug it off. Apollo glared at both Mr. Hat and Trucy, in much the same way as Phoenix had glared at him a few seconds ago.

"We'd better get going," he pointed out, still glaring as Trucy tucked away Mr. Hat and bowed in Maya's direction. "Come on." He crossed the platform and stepped out from beneath the shelter cast by the steel roof, and suddenly, all they could see of him was a red blob with horns sticking out of his head through the rain.

"Why doesn't Mr. Apollo like Mr. Hat?" Pearl asked Trucy in an undertone as they followed him into the pouring rain.

Trucy grinned at her but didn't reply.

The rain was so dense that it was hard to see where they were going. Pearl and Trucy had to run after Apollo, who had gone in the opposite direction by accident, and pull him back the way he had come, toward the manor. When he joined the others inside, his face matched his suit perfectly.

The room they were standing in was large. And empty, for that matter. The only thing of interest was a pair of heavy, locked doors at one end of the room. Trucy was looking longingly toward them, and Apollo, knowing her habit of picking locks, poked her in the back to keep following Pearl through another, unlocked door, leading to a long and narrow hallway lined with doors.

Maya turned to the first door on the left and opened it, announcing, "This is your room, Apollo!"

Apollo looked inside. There wasn't much to it; it was small, with some bedding laid out on the floor, a clothing box, and a window looking out into a small garden. Maya swore she saw the horns he moulded his hair into every morning droop as he tossed his suitcase inside.

"You and I are sharing a room, Trucy," Pearl explained. Trucy beamed.

"Let's go!" she said, and they set off down the hallway.

"Lunch is in half an hour!" Maya called after them. "Don't be late, or else the elders will be even grouchier than usual! They're very strict about visitors!" She glanced sideways at Phoenix, who was looking suddenly nervous. She knew that she wasn't referring to either Apollo or Trucy; she was talking about him. As a disgraced defence attorney, the elders didn't want Phoenix connected to Kurain Village in any way whatsoever, even though everyone knew that he was innocent of presenting false evidence in court, which had cost him his badge.

"Should you be yelling that around here?" Phoenix asked her in an undertone, looking over his shoulder cautiously, in case on of the elders was behind them.

Maya shrugged. "I guess not," she conceded. "Who cares, though? They're just elders."

Phoenix looked up at the ceiling, as if praying for patience.

Apollo glanced at the two of them, then turned around and ran down the hallway after Trucy and Pearl, deciding they wanted to be alone. Maya waited until he rounded the corner before opening the door across from Phoenix. "This is where you're sleeping, Nick!"

Phoenix looked inside. This room was slightly larger than Apollo's, though it had no window, but otherwise, it was exactly the same. He set his luggage down and sat down on the bedding. His face brightened.

"It's an improvement on my lumpy mattress," he said.

Maya leaned against the door, her arms crossed. He saw the expression on her face and sobered instantly. "You don't want to be here, do you?" she asked him.

Phoenix stood up and took time dusting off his jeans, evidently deliberating how to answer. At last, he said, "No, not really."

"Why not?"

Phoenix's eyes flicked past Maya, to the hall beyond the door, and then back to Maya again. "The last time I was here, someone died, and you almost took the blame for it. That doesn't really invoke confidence for a return visit."

Maya grinned. "Yeah, but you defended me, and got me off the hook! No big deal, right?"

"No big deal," Phoenix muttered, just loudly enough so she could hear. "No big deal, she says with a smile on her face."

She shrugged. "It could have been worse, right? You could have totally bombed it and gotten me the death penalty. Then I would have been haunting you through Pearly!"

Phoenix closed his eyes and rubbed his temple. "Could you at least, you know, not smile like that and not act all nonchalant when you say that?" he asked her. "That's like saying when you got kidnapped by DeKiller–"

A dry cough came from behind Maya. Phoenix blinked, looking surprised and wary. Maya gave a start but kept her smile in place as she turned around to face a tall, intimidating-looking woman with graying brown hair and a spirit medium costume beneath a set of pale gray elder's robes.

"Hello, Elder Mai," she said before turning to Phoenix. "This is Ni–I mean, Phoenix Wright. My, um. . ."

Her voice trailed away as she saw the look that Mai was giving Phoenix, like he was something disgusting on the bottom of her shoe, resting on the blue beanie and the black stubble on his chin. In an attempt to break the ice, Phoenix stepped forward, his hand outstretched, but she looked down at it coldly. After a few seconds, he withdrew it and stuck his hand in his pocket, giving her a frosty look.

"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Wright," Mai said, though the tone of her voice said otherwise. She then turned to Maya, completely ignoring him. "We require your assistance for set-up for lunch."

Maya stared. She hadn't been asked to set up for a meal since before she had become Master. It just wasn't something that the Master was supposed to do. "But–"

Mai gave her a look almost as cold as she had given Phoenix. "There is plenty of time to speak with Mr. Wright later. Now, we require your help with setting up, Mystic Maya."

Before she could protest again, Mai turned on her heel and stalked off down the hallway. Maya turned to Phoenix and rolled her eyes at him. Then she saw the hurt look on his face, and her own expressions softened. "Trust me, Elder Mai is the worst of them," she reassured him. "She's the one who banned me from going into the city to see you when you lost your badge."

Phoenix winced. The subject of losing his badge was still sensitive.

"Sorry," she apologized. "And she's the one who arranged that spiritual retreat in January that interrupted the visit. She–" She stopped, trying to think of how to phrase it.

"Hates me?" Phoenix suggested, looking both defiant and hurt by the cold reaction.

"Don't worry, she hates everyone," Maya reassured him.

"Mystic Maya!" called Mai from down the hallway.

Maya made a face at Phoenix. "See you at lunch," she said, backing out the door.

"Bye," he replied gloomily as she closed the door behind her.

. . . I am so hoping that this isn't terrible. -hides- This was literally the fourth version of the chapter, I was so paranoid.

So, next chapter, lunchtime! All I can say is, poor Apollo. . . XDD