Once upon a time, there was a curious little girl named Ema who dreamed of becoming a forensic investigator. When the little girl was only five years old, both her parents died, but the girl was not sad, because she still had her brave and strong older sister, Lana.

Her older sister was a Royal Detective for Court Castle and because she was smart and beautiful, Lana became famous throughout the kingdom. But then one day, Lana was tricked by her evil, ambitious partner, Detective Damon, Duke of Gant. Since the little girl was only sixteen at the time, there wasn't very much she could do for her sister, but with the help of the kind defence attorney, Phoenix, Duke of Wright, the little girl managed to save her sister from a cruel public execution. Unfortunately, the treasonous detective was still sentenced to long time in prison on the outskirts of the kingdom, separating two sisters.

With her older sister in jail, the little girl was left alone in the free world. When the kind defence attorney realized this, he introduced her to one of his acquaintances, a simple detective named Gumshoe. Though Detective Gumshoe was very poor, he was still just as kind as the defence attorney, and so he took the little girl in and raised her to be a good detective, just like him.

Thus, for the years following her sister's incarceration, the little girl lived quite contently with her poor adoptive father, Gumshoe and their dog, Missile. But since her adoptive father was a dedicated detective, he was always busy at work, so back home, the young girl – who inevitably grew into a young woman – cooked, cleaned, and walked Missile every single day. In her spare time while her adoptive father was still at work, the still curious young woman would take various household chemicals and mix them in hopes of learning more about science, but more often than not, she would create dangerous reactions that produced a lot of black smoke and covered her entire body with dark residue – like ashes from the fireplace. And thus, the young woman earned her nickname, Cinderema.

Then fateful one day, an invitation arrived to their house. It read:

Dear detectives of Turnabout Kingdom,

You are all cordially invited to Court Castle for a very important Legal Ball celebrating the coronation of Prince-Prosecutor Klavier. In following legal traditions, Prince-Prosecutor Klavier is required to find a suitable individual from the Royal Police Department to be his partner; all Royal Police Personnel are encouraged to attend this formal event so that they may introduce themselves to Prince-Prosecutor Klavier and aid him in his search for a partner. Please find details below.

...

"But, I want to go to the Court Castle for the Legal Ball too." Cinderema, now over twenty years old, protested to her adoptive father.

"Sorry, pal, but it's for members of the police force only." Then giving her a pat on the head, he said, "I'll bring home Blue Badger sticker for you."

That evening, Cinderema sat by windowsill, watching her adoptive father ride towards the brightly lit castle in the distance on his old rickety bicycle. If only she could go to Court Castle and meet her dream prosecutor, then maybe she would be able to have a chance to become a forensic investigator. After all, Cinderema was a very bright young woman, if only she had the opportunity to prove herself, she thought to herself.

But the reality was that Cinderema was just a poor orphan with a love for science.

"Who am I kidding?" she mumbled sadly, "I'll never be able to meet a real prosecutor and become a forensic investigator."

Before she realized it, Cinderema was crying as she wallowed in self-pity. "Oh, Lana, how I wish you were still here to help me."

"Chin up, Cinderema! You can't give up before your fight's even begun!"

Cinderema jumped at the chipper voice behind her. Turning around, she saw a cute girl dressed in a long blue cape and silk top hat; beside her stood a young man with funny hair that stood up like an antennae and a round, golden badge pinned to the front of his red vest. They were a peculiar looking pair to say the least.

"W-who are you two? H-how did you get in?!"

Cinderema immediately glanced towards the front door. It was still closed and had no indications it had been tampered with.

The young girl winked as she bounced up and down on her toes, "I used magic. Sorry, but the trick is my magician's secret!"

Cinderema watched the girl wave her long wand-like stick with a weary gaze. Backing up against the wall, she stammered, "A-as you can see, we're very poor, so there's n-nothing worth stealing here."

The girl smiled brightly, "Don't worry, Cinderema, my daddy sent us to help you!"

"Your daddy?"

"That's right," she giggled, "I mean, the Duke of Wright! We're from the Wright Anything Agency – our job is to help people out in any way they need!"

"Sir Wright sent you?" Cinderema cried out in surprise. She felt hopeful again.

"Mhmm! I'm Trucy, Dutchess of Wright, your fairy-godmagician." Then she pointed to the man with funny hair next to her, "This is Polly. He's a rookie defence attorney."

Cinderema looked over the odd pair again. Then she finally asked, "I'm grateful to Sir Wright for sending me a fairy-godmagician, but why do I need a defence attorney?"

"Oh, Polly's just here as my guardian because Daddy won't let me go out in the dark alone," The fairy-godmagician confessed with a coy grin, "I'm the one who's going to help make your dream of going to the Legal Ball come true!"

Though Cinderema wanted to be happy, she still sighed, "That's scientifically impossible. I'm not a law enforcement officer, so they'll never let me into Court Castle."

"Don't worry, Cinderema! With my magic panties here, we're going to turn you into forensic investigator so you can go to the ball too!"

Out of thin air, a large pair of brightly coloured bloomers materialized into the fairy-godmagician's hands.

"All we need are a few things for the spell to work," she pulled a small scrap of paper out of the panties, "A long jacket, a pair of sunglasses, a quadruped, and a pumpkin."

"A pumpkin? We don't have any pumpkins here."

The fairy-godmagician stared at Cinderema in confusion, "Don't you grow pumpkins in your backyard?"

Cinderema looked equally as confused, "No. All Detective Gumshoe and I eat are instant cup ramen."

The fairy-godmagician shrugged, "Alright! I guess instant cup ramen should work too!"

So the aspiring forensic investigator got to work looking for the requested items. After a few minutes of searching, Cinderema found her adoptive father's old trench coat, a pair of old-fashioned pink-tinted sunglasses that she used to wear when she was sixteen, a cup of chicken flavoured instant ramen, and her dog, Missile, who sat obediently next to her.

"Okay, now we'll just put everything into the Magic Panties–"

"Missile too?" Cinderema asked as she picked up the small dog.

"Oh, no. He's fine on the ground. Actually, you should probably to take a few steps away from him." The fairy-godmagician suggested as Cinderema placed Missile directly at her feet.

Giving Missile a reassuring rub behind the ears, Cinderema stepped towards the fairy-godmagician and patiently waited.

"Ready, Cinderema? Just hold still for the count of three now…"

Cinderema closed her eyes, as the fairy-godmagician's Magic Panties' vibrations turned into violent uncontrollable shaking.

"O-o-o-k-k-k-ay! O-o-o-ne-ne-ne. T-t-t-wo-oo-oo. THREE!!!"

Even with her eyes shut tight, Cinderema could still see the bright light that enveloped her, accompanied by a loud gust of wind blowing past her. When everything died down, Cinderema opened her eyes to find her fairy-godmagician and the antennae-haired defence attorney staring at her with smiles on their faces.

"It's perfect!" Her fairy-godmagician gushed, "You look just like a real forensic investigator!"

The old brown trench coat was transformed into a long white lab coat that covered the rest of Cinderema's clothes. Her fairy-godmagician had even changed her old rags into a cute shirt-vest combination, with a pretty red tie to finish her look. Finally, on top of her head sat the pair of old sunglasses.

"What are these sunglasses for?" Cinderema asked, staring at her now more stylish pink sunglasses.

"That's your disguise, Cinderema, so your poor adoptive father won't recognize you."

"Ah, I see." She hadn't even thought of that.

Then Cinderema then looked behind her to find a large bowl shaped carriage pulled by an orange horse. As she stroked the horse's soft white mane, Cinderema realized something was missing.

"Don't I need a carriage driver too?"

Her fairy-godmagician lightly rapped herself on the head as she stuck out her tongue. "Oops, almost forgot about that."

Then suddenly, with a bang, a large wooden figure constructed itself next to her fairy-godmagician. It wore the same blue costume as its creator and upon a second glance, Cinderema realized it had taken her fairy-godmagician's top hat for itself.

"Hello, there! I am Mr. Hat!" the wooden figure introduced himself with a tip of his hat. Beside him, her fairy-godmagician beamed proudly. Cinderema was shocked when Mr. Hat floated (since he lacked legs) to the front of the carriage and took Missile's reins into his gloved hands.

"Now remember Cinderema," her fairy-godmagician chided as she scooted Cinderema into the carriage, "you have to leave the Legal Ball before midnight: all this magic will wear off, everything will change back to what it originally was and Mr. Hat will disappear back into my hat."

Cinderema called out to her fairy-godmagician through the carriage window, "But the party ends much later."

Her fairy-godmagician smiled back sheepishly, "Sorry, Cinderema, but Daddy says my curfew is at midnight, so I have to be back in bed."

Cinderema sighed; her fairy-godmagician was still Sir Wright's daughter after all.

"But don't worry, Cinderema. You'll still have lots of time to enjoy the party and meet the prosecutor of your dreams!" Her fairy-godmagician assured her as the carriage started to speed towards Court Castle.

Cinderema waved goodbye to her fairy-godmagician and the defence attorney before the two of them disappeared into the distance, while the castle lights became brighter.

Meanwhile in Court Castle, Prince-Prosecutor Klavier's coronation party was already well underway. Royal Detectives from all corners of the Kingdom had come to meet him with hopes of gaining his favour. Though he met many courteous officers and beautiful frauleins, they were all mundane and none of them caught his attention.

During all the introductions, the King-Judge watched from his elevated throne above the grand ballroom. He was a fair king who ruled with an iron gavel.

"Prince-Prosecutor Klavier, Duke of Gavin, you need to find a suitable detective that you can settle down and create a reliable partnership with." The King-Judge sagely told the prince-prosecutor.

"Yes, your honour." Prince-Prosecutor Klavier responded politely, "I am currently searching for such a person among this impressive crowd."

The King-Judge nodded once, "Just remember that I must have your final verdict by the week's end."

"I understand, your honour."

When Cinderema finally arrived at the Legal Ball, the party was already well underway, so no one noticed the extra white lab coat sneak in. The aspiring forensic investigator was immediately entranced by the sophisticated equipment throughout the castle. Along with an extravagant amount of food prepared, there were also various types of investigative equipment laid out across tables. Unable to resist, Cinderema took a small bottle of Luminol, a small bottle of fingerprinting powder and handful of Snackoos before she started her search for Prince-Prosecutor Klavier. They would make much better souvenirs than Blue Badger stickers.

Suddenly, there was a loud commotion from one of the castle lobbies. Luckily Cinderema was close by, so she quickly moved through the crowd and into the room to see what the excitement was about.

There was a man in an entirely white robe lying in the middle of the room, he had a small kitchen knife sticking out of his lower abdomen. Next to the man laid a blond haired woman dressed in the same uniform as all the members of the Royal serving staff.

Cinderema recognized the man standing over the two unconscious bodies – it was her adoptive father, Detective Gumshoe; she quickly checked to make sure she was wearing her pink sunglasses. Then edging a few steps closer, Cinderema heard her adoptive father reporting the situation to a young man wearing a long purple robe and a thick gold necklace with a large "G" dangling at the end.

"The deceased victim is identified as Smith. The woman's name is Orly; she's one of the new servants here, but rumours among the other servants say that she was here with an ulterior purpose. Her prints are all over the murder weapon – it's a knife that only servants have access to. It looks like she and the victim may have struggled during the murder, so she might've hit her head after she shoved the knife into him."

The explanation was logical and appeared to correspond with the scene before them. But as the other detectives crowded to confirm all the facts, Cinderema noticed peculiar dark patches in the deep red carpet. She took out her bottle of Luminol and sprayed it over one of the dark patches; there was an immediate reaction. Carefully, she sprayed the area between the splotches and began to notice a solid trail leading from the man towards a single door opposite the open doors leading back to the grand ballroom. Quietly moving away from the rest of the detectives, Cinderema walked over to the unexpectedly unlocked door and slipped inside.

Cinderema found herself inside an immaculately decorated office that must have belonged to a nobleman. Everything was neatly organized and appeared to be in its rightful place, so her initial hypothesis was that the murder must have occurred outside the office, but Cinderema sprayed the carpet with Luminol anyways.

"What, may I ask, are you doing in my office?"

Cinderema looked up to find a young man, no older than herself, standing at the open door. Though he was very handsome and had enviable long blonde hair, her eyes couldn't help but be drawn back to the garish glimmering "G" that hung around the man's neck – Cinderema immediately hated it.

"I followed a Luminol blood trail here. It looks like the victim was dragged from inside this office into the position he is in now."

The young man's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Are you implying that I murdered that man out there? Do you realize who you're accusing? I am Prosecutor–"

Cinderema cut him off absently, instead focusing on finding the end – or rather, beginning of the blood trail.

"The murderer would not have been foolish enough to kill the victim in their own office then return to examine the real scene of the crime. Who else has access to your office?"

"This is the private office of the Dukes of Gavin."

"'Dukes'? There's more than one of you?"

"I have an older brother, but I just saw him outside in the grand ballroom enjoying a bit of chitchat."

"I'd check again if I were you."

"Excuse me?" The young man, who Cinderema deduced to be a prosecutor, stared at her with a look of confusion on his face.

Cinderema slowly began to circle the office, voicing her scientifically astute observations as she made them.

"I'd say that the murderer met with the victim in here earlier. Judging by the lack of disturbance they were probably having a chat when the killer made his strike. There are rings left behind by two cups on the coffee table here – judging by the size and shape, I'd scientifically conclude that it was a wine glass and likely a short liquor glass. There's also a lingering scent of cigar smoke and a strong… strong alcohol."

"Behind you," Cinderema turned suddenly, pointing to a spot on the ground beside the glimmerous prosecutor, "a wet patch, purely based on my sense of smell and sight, I would assume to be a hard liquor of some sort. Dropped by the servant who walked in on a killer and a dead body, perhaps?"

Another possibility suddenly formulated in her mind, "Maybe the cause of death wasn't the knife wound. Maybe the stabbing was just a clever ruse to distract us from the real crime that took place in here."

Cinderema rushed back into the lobby. The crowd of detectives had been cleared thanks to someone who had shut them out on the other side of the large lobby doors. Carefully turning the corpse over, Cinderema found the back of the man's bald head covered in blood.

"He must've been struck by a blunt object." She muttered, examining the wound carefully, "I wonder what the real murder weapon is…"

Just as Cinderema stood to search for the missing murder weapon, a loud bell sounded overhead. It was the first toll of midnight. All thoughts of solving the crime suddenly disappeared as she was reminded of her fairy-godmagician's strict warning. Cinderema abruptly left the lobby.

The glimmerous prosecutor followed behind her. "Where are you going?"

Cinderema continued forward, "I have a curfew so I must be leaving now."

"What? But you have just started to unravel the true series of events that led to this murder. You cannot stop now!"

"Unfortunately, I do not have the luxury of staying out all night long. If you'll excuse me, sir-prosecutor."

"Pause for me, Fraulein Detective!" the glimmerous prosecutor called out, grabbing onto Cinderema's arm, "I demand to know your name."

"Denied. Now let me go, you glimmerous fop." Reaching into her pocket, she tossed a Snackoo at the prosecutor; it hit him right between his eyes. The glimmerous prosecutor cried, out as he immediately released Cinderema's arm to rub the painful spot on his forehead.

Taking advantage of her opening, Cinderema quickly dashed towards the front doors, not sparing a single glance behind her.

"Achtung!" the glimmerous prosecutor called out as Cinderema neared the exit, "Bailiffs, stop the fraulein detective in the white lab coat and pink sunglasses!"

Cinderema gasped as blue uniformed men suddenly appeared out of the crowd and started to chase after her. She fled through the large wooden doors, escaping her pursuers. When she arrived outside, Cinderema realized that her sunglasses made it impossible to see in the dark, so she hastily took them off just in time to see Mr. Hat pull up to the bottom of the stone stairway with Missile and her cup ramen coach.

Jumping down the stairs two steps at a time, Cinderema rushed towards the cart as the bells continued to toll overhead.

Suddenly, there was an explosive bang as the large wooden doors burst open to reveal the glimmerous prosecutor and a blue uniformed man with a large megaphone.

"According to the Royal Decree of King-Judge of Court Castle, I order you to stop where you are and put your hands where–"

Ignoring the bailiff's deafening orders, Cinderema hopped into the carriage, but in the hectic scramble, she accidentally dropped her pink sunglasses. Before she had a chance to reach back down to pick them up, the cart lurched forward leaving the glimmerous prosecutor, the extravagant castle, and her magically transformed sunglasses behind in a cloud of dust.

"Should we give chase, sir-highness?" The royal bailiff asked.

Prince-Prosecutor Klavier shook his head. "Nein, Herr Meekins." With his gloved hands, he carefully picked up the stylish sunglasses that the mysterious fraulein detective had dropped.

"Powder this down with fingerprinting powder and run the prints through the kingdom's Fingerprint Database. I need to find out who that Fraulein Detective was!"

By the next morning, the officer was able to obtain a perfect set of prints, but even after they searched the entire database, there wasn't a single person on file who matched those prints. Frustrated with the results, Prince-Prosecutor Klavier immediately ordered the entire police force to fingerprint every single woman the entire kingdom.

Back in the small cabin where Cinderema and her family lived, her adoptive father was getting ready to leave for work.

"But it's Sunday, Detective Gumshoe. Why are you still going to work today?"

"Prince-Prosecutor Klavier ordered every single law enforcement officer onto overtime. I think he's got a lead on the murderer at yesterday's ball."

Her adoptive father gave her a pat on the head, "The murderer's still loose out there, so stay home and be careful, okay, pal?"

Cinderema nodded obediently as her adoptive father left, locking the door behind him. Alone again, Cinderema wandered up to her room, where two small bottles and a blue silk top hat sat on her bare desk. On her bed, an exhausted Missile lazily wagged his tail as Cinderema gently stroked him.

It had almost become a dream come true for her. Last night, she had almost solved the crime when her time ran out. In the end, she had to flee the castle before anyone discovered her true identity. Cinderema sighed heavily; it was nice pretending, but the sad reality was that she would never be able to meet her dream prosecutor and become a forensic investigator.

A loud knock at the front door awoke Cinderema from her reveries. Grabbing a large broom, Cinderema opened the door cautiously. She was able to relax a little when she recognized the person standing outside as the Royal Bailiff she had escaped from the previous night.

"Hello, miss!" the bailiff saluted loudly, "I am Officer Meekins, Royal Bailiff! We are in search for a mysterious fraulein detective who appeared at last night's Legal Ball at Court Castle."

Cinderema instinctively tensed. Why were they searching for her? Did they think "the mysterious fraulein detective" was the murderer? Cinderema silently berated herself for having said so much at the crime scene yesterday – she should never have talked to that glimmerous prosecutor.

Forcing herself to appear cool and passive, Cinderema simply replied, "Sorry, Officer Meekins, but I'm not a detective, so I was not allowed to attend the Legal Ball last night. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to sweep the house."

The officer saluted her crisply. "It's protocol, miss! I need your fingerprints, please."

Cinderema stubbornly crossed her arms, "I told you already, Officer, I could not have been at the ball last night."

"But, I've been ordered-

"It's alright, Herr Meekins, allow me to handle this."

Suddenly, the glimmerous prosecutor that Cinderema had encountered last night appeared in front of her. The bailiff swiftly took a look backwards as he saluted the prosecutor, "Yes, sir-highness, Prince-Prosecutor Klavier!"

Cinderema stared at the young man in front of her in shock. The glimmerous prosecutor who she had so rudely spoke to and threw a Snackoo at last night was actually the prince-prosecutor.

With his white gloved hands, he removed the broom from Cinderema's hands, handing it to the bailiff. Then he gently took both her hands into his own and held them close to his chest.

"Please, Fraulein. I simply wish for a set of your beautiful fingerprints."

"No."

"Allow me to assure you that it's a harmless process."

"I don't trust what you could do with my fingerprints. Try to frame me for murder? Or swap my fingerprint records with a criminal in the database?"

"Do not fear, Fraulein. You have the word of Prince-Prosecutor Klavier, Duke of Gavin. I would never–"

"I don't care who you are. I don't trust you or your intentions. Good day, your highness." Swiftly pulling her hands back, Cinderema boldly closed the door on the prince-prosecutor – it's not as if she ever had a chance of becoming his partner anyways.

Outside, Prince-Prosecutor Klavier instructed the bailiff to carefully dust the broom he had removed from the young woman who had just slammed the door in his face. The prince-prosecutor had a distinct feeling he had faced that same brash demeanour not too long ago.

The sun was already hanging low in the sky when there was another loud knock at the front door. With Missile at her side, Cinderema opened the door to be greeted by Prince-Prosecutor Gavin. Immediately, she began to close the door again. The prince-prosecutor surprisingly pushed back.

"Please wait, Fraulein. I only wish to speak with you."

When Cinderema opened the door, the prince-prosecutor pulled a familiar broom from behind his back. "I have come to return this."

Cinderema's eyes widened in realization. He had stolen her fingerprints. "I should press charges for theft."

He met her cold glare evenly, "Then I can have you arrested for treason."

When Cinderema made no indication of admitting to the charge, the prince-prosecutor pressed further, "Fraulein Detective. I have evidence proving that you were at the Legal Ball last night and witnesses that can testify that you were at the scene of the crime. I even personally spoke to you during the initial investigation. Or are you planning on denying all of that as well?"

Cinderema felt her blood run cold, the familiar feeling of losing everything returned. Staring straight into the ice-blue eyes of Prince-Prosecutor Klavier, she firmly stated, "I didn't kill him."

"Fraulein Detective, I am not here because I believe you committed the murder."

Cinderema regarded the prince-prosecutor sceptically, "So, why are you here then? Certainly, there is nothing in this rundown old place that could interest a wealthy, royal prosecutor, such as yourself."

The prince-prosecutor sighed, "You were right. The cause of death was blunt trauma to the back of the head. My brother also disappeared from the Court Castle shortly after the murder yesterday, and I have been unable to contact him. Fraulein Detective, I would like to request your assistance to continue this investigation."

Cinderema bluntly responded, "I'm not a detective."

"That is neither relevant or of any concern. As you may already be aware, I am in need of an intelligent and capable partner in justice. You have more than proved yourself to be both during your impressive display of skill last night.

"I am offering you a very respectable position. The salary will allow you," he motioned towards Missile who was growling at him protectively, "and your dog to live in luxury. And of course, as the partner of the prince-prosecutor, you will have every department of the Royal Police Force at your disposal."

Those words instantaneously piqued Cinderema's interest.

"Every department?"

"Every department."

"Even forensics?"

"The forensic investigators shall be at your beck and call. And if you so wish," the prince-prosecutor added with a knowing smirk, "you will have full access to the forensic labs and all the equipment at any hour of the day."

Cinderema felt her heart beat faster at the prospect of spending an unrestrained amount of time in the Royal Forensics Lab – it was a fantasy come true.

Reaching out her hand, she accepted his offer gracefully, "It will be an honour working with you, Prince-Prosecutor Klavier."

The prince-prosecutor took her hand firmly, "The pleasure is all mine, Fraulein Detective."

It wasn't exactly a fairy tale ending, but she was sure enough one step closer to achieving her dream of becoming a forensic investigator.

So, somehow the two of them managed to work together happily ever after.

[2009.08.31] Author's Notes:
Completely random, completely pointless, but a complete blast to write and imagine. Hope you enjoyed it. This was inspired by "Cinderella Panic", a Full Metal Panic Cinderella story written by Shouji Gatou himself and the version I read was translated by Brandi, back when Boku-tachi still existed. I tried to keep it in fairy tale prose, but I don't really think it worked. Please feel free to leave any comments or concerns. This is completely experimental, so depending on how well it's received, maybe we'll be able to see a few more Turnabout Fairytales.