120 Bonds Of Moirai
“Life is a process of becoming, a combination of states we have to go through. Where people fail is when they wish to elect a state and remain in it. This is a kind of death. I postpone death by living, by suffering, by error, by risking, by giving, by losing. Life is truly known only to those who suffer, lose, endure adversity, and stumble from defeat to defeat.”
~Anais Nin~
Magnifi Gramarye
Hospital Room, Palliative Ward
April 13, 2019
As always, Valant had been too late. It had been almost a shame to disappoint him so, but after all, he had failed the test that his rival had passed with flying colors, as exemplified by the glaring bullet hole in the clown next to his bedside.
The old man smirked to himself. No matter; the deed was already done. Zak had already come and gone with the cherished magician trade secrets in his grasp, and would be the recipient of his father-in-law’s will, and then, as would, subsequently, his offspring. The Gramarye secrets would continue within his bloodline, as tradition had always both ordained and intended. He beseeched to the powers that be that his granddaughter would someday bear her own progeny, and consequently continue the revered miracle techniques of Troupe Gramarye.
His granddaughter.
Magnifi frowned. His only beloved daughter’s child …Trucy Hecate, the middle name given in honor of the Greek goddess of magic, which he was positive had been aptly bequeathed. The little girl was already showing great promise as an aspiring performer, and he was confident that she would find her way down her destined family path. With that train of thought, a blinding headache sharply and unexpectedly hit him then, along with the glaring brainwave, which he often tried to suppress, but had been coming to him more and more frequently in the two years since his terminal diagnosis. The truth was inescapable. Trucy was not his only grandchild.
She had a half-brother.
His grandson.
The offspring he had ruthlessly decreed should be denied their family name. That child, who would undoubtedly be a man soon by now, was out there somewhere in this world as well.
While it was too late for Magnify to remedy the wrong he had done by the boy when he had mercilessly coerced Thalassa to abandon him, all he could do now with hope against hope that the hands of fate would correct his selfish wrongs. He prayed that someway, somehow, destiny would bring the siblings back together once more.
The ending of life is expected, we all live in this mortal plane. What I resent is death being longer and more painful than it needs to be. My body will self-destruct, day by day. The tumor will grow, spread, consume and squash the very organs that work to sustain it. I’ve had a pretty good life, better than most, I don’t need to hang on as a living ghoul; an “exit” pill would be kinder than all the attention from the hospice staff that lies ahead. My life from here on in these four walls, along with pain medication, until the day I die. I don’t want it, not any of it. Last year I put down my Cocker Spaniel to save him from a painful end, so why can’t I have the same? Perhaps if I scream and scream for pain medication, I can get an overdose and slide out on a feather-lined cloud into the arms of the Almighty.
The doctors had told him he had a maximum of three more agonizing months to endure before he would finally meet his Maker. In the end, it wasn’t dying that scared him so much as the pain. If he didn’t wake up in the morning, he would know nothing of it. His affairs were in order; his successors were as provided for as they were ever going to be. He had already grieved for the loss of life he should have had with his loved ones months ago. He had cried until his eyes ran dry and his chest heaved violently. He had wanted to see his granddaughter grow to be a woman and perhaps even set eyes on his daughter’s forsaken firstborn son, to see how he had turned out, to absolve his own conscience, had he been able to ascertain that the boy had turned out all right. However, that wasn’t his kismet and Magnifi had accepted that the Lord had called him home well before he was ready to return.
Each contact with a human being is so rare, so precious, one should preserve it…
Another sharp pain pierced his skull, more intolerable than the first, and with it came an even clearer image to his mind’s eye. As time went on, they were becoming more and more crystal-clear, and he had recently acknowledged them for what they were… Psychic premonitions of things that were yet to come; events that would happen, only after his passing.
The more of them he envisioned, the more Magnifi came to love his grandchildren. However, at the same time, to his great umbrage, the more it also made him slowly realize the deeply seated and incurable faults of both his protégés. His end was drawing ever nearer and once he passed, the darkness would consume his family; his grandchildren caught in a vicious cycle of unhappiness where both would die on stage. It seemed that there was no hope for them…
Another blinding flash in his mind, this time a crystal-clear image, without any sound, that was so vivid he almost felt as though he could reach out and touch the shining star he could suddenly see in the corner of his vision. His heart was filled with hope.
Magnifi saw a man; not a magician, but equally as gifted at performing miracles as he. The man wore a blue suit and loved with all his heart, always seemingly able to find more. He protected the defenseless and performed death-defying feats for those who carried a piece of his heart. In this man’s future, he could clearly see his grandchildren as two of those very lucky few who were carried within this sacred place, both of them equal recipients of this incredible man’s fatherly love and devotion.
What was this now?
An odd little purple sprite woman who completed that man, with elfin features and laughing eyes. She was exuberant, silly, and lighthearted, bringing smiles to the faces of everyone around her despite bearing a dark family history of her own. She loved her little cousin like a daughter, even though her treacherous aunt had attempted multiple times to have her put out of commission to have her own child usurp her place as their village chief. With this man and this woman watching over them as parental figures, his grandchildren could live long, joyous lives and would be well taken care of for the rest of their days.
So, what could Magnifi do other than begin his work? THIS would be his greatest performance! His most rewarding miracle! For it wouldn’t be for inconsequential things like ‘fame’ or ‘fortune’ or ‘glory’ or some all-encompassing ‘greater good.’ No, it was all to make his grandchildren happy. And happy they would be and blessed, all of them.
However, that couldn’t happen while they were trapped with the Troupe. Zak was always going to leave them, eventually. Too much wanderlust… and passion for frivolous games. Would all hope be lost after all? The magician’s heart sank.
Wait!
Another likeness loomed from the shadows, coming into the fray. A man in a top hat? He somehow discovered the Gramarye ties that bind and brought it all to light because he knew this mysterious man in the blue suit. This man had uncovered great mysteries in the past as well… Including solving the puzzle of an illusory town that was one big magic trick, which had been conjured into being all for the sake of one little flaxen-haired girl; perhaps a tad excessive, but he could certainly appreciate the masterful work, especially from a man who isn’t even a magician. He was a man of science and logic – a world-renowned puzzle-solving archaeologist? Perfect! Then, all he would need was a bit of a hint so then he could pass on the important message to this man in blue. The man’s name …Phoenix was it? Yes, Phoenix! What a wonderfully majestic and poetic name … A mythical bird that rose from its own ashes… As would this man, from any hardship that tried to leave him buried and forgotten in the dust…
Phoenix. You have my blessing, take care of them… Make sure to take care of yourself, too. It seems that the world still has quite a lot in store for you…
The pain that once burned like a fire had faded away to an icy numbness. Black filled the edges of the old man’s vision then as it jerked him back to reality, and the only thing was then conscious of was his own accelerating heartbeat. His breath came in ragged, shallow gasps. Seconds passed as he lay there in agonizing pain. Magnifi’s eyes fell to the red nurse call button on his bedside. If he were to press it, he would have people soon swarming all over him, trying to help him, trying to save him. Had the effort not been so unendurable, the magician would have laughed. Surely, they could tell that it was far too late for him to be saved, yet they were like children, naive to the darkness of the real world, something he had readily accepted long ago. Perhaps his excruciating, long-drawn illness, which would cause his untimely demise, was a divine punishment; karmic retribution of some sort for the sins he had committed but was too late to atone for.
Magnifi had long since stopped asking “Why me?” He had ceased raging at God. The man upstairs worked as fast as He could through scientists and doctors, the magician knew this. It just wasn’t fast enough for him. Therefore, now that he had taken care of his affairs, the old man was now all set to go to Him. He was ready. Ready to leave behind him the despair and suffering he’d endured in the world. He would be exiting it soon enough and finally be able to leave all the pain behind him.
It was time for the final curtain call.
He closed his eyes. With that last premonition of what the future held for his descendants easing his mind, he knew he could die happy now.
These were the final thoughts of Magnifi Gramarye, Master Perceptionist, as he pulled the trigger, and his fragile, human heartbeat one last time.
Kristoph Gavin
2019
Kristoph Gavin’s long-standing hatred for Phoenix Wright had begun first by reputation before it accelerated into being a matter of principle. It was three years in the making, all of which had come to a head in April of 2019.
The initial cause of ire had been when the greenhorn attorney had first gone head-to-head in court with Winston Payne and shamelessly defeated the Rookie Killer veteran prosecutor in the same manner of ease that one would crush a beetle under a steel-toed boot. Certainly, Winston Payne was a bumbling idiot at best, but it had been the spiky-haired man’s first-ever case! And a murder trial to boot! Since when did defense attorneys successfully win such cases?!
Kristoph had been both annoyed and intrigued but ultimately had dismissed it as beginner’s luck and nothing else.
A few months later, another murder case made all the television news channels and newspaper headlines. The renowned defense attorney, Mia Fey, had been murdered, and apparently by none other than her own baby sister, Maya! No defense attorney worth his or her salt would take it on, as the press and the public were both positive of the teenager’s guilt in the heinous crime, declaring it an open and shut case. Kristoph had only paid more than half a mind to the entire situation when it came to light that Phoenix Wright would be handling the defense. The blond man had enjoyed a perverse chuckle at the notion. What could the bumbling, wet behind the ears, attorney possibly gain, other than a humiliating defeat?! Especially with the prodigal, undefeated High Prosecutor, Miles Edgeworth, who Kristoph had always respected and admired, being Wright’s courtroom opposition?!
Phoenix Wright may have won his first case based on pure dumb luck, Kristoph convinced himself. Nevertheless, this time he is in way over his head!
The German man had been completely gobsmacked when, after miraculously absolving his client from all murder chargers, then somehow ending up in the defendant’s chair himself, Phoenix Wright had done the mother of all turnabouts and handed the esteemed Miles Edgeworth the first defeat of his illustrious legal career!
The same fickle press, who had first deemed Maya Fey, and then Phoenix himself of being guilty of their accused crimes, and had all but sentenced them to death, were now hailing the young attorney! Kristoph felt positively ill as the media inundated him with the outpouring of praise and glory being showered on the rookie attorney, now referring to Phoenix Wright, ad nauseam, as the King of the Turnabout! His meteoric rise to fame completely eclipsed Kristoph’s own minor acclaim as The Coolest Defense in the West! It was so unfair! How had a second-rate attorney, a complete lowlife from nowhere, not only stolen his thunder but then gained such an undeserved reputation for legal brilliance?
Kristoph’s fuming only intensified into a full-blown rage as later that year, another legal bigwig he’d always revered, the legendary Manfred Von Karma, also toppled at the hands of Phoenix Wright, not only suffering his first courtroom loss but being sent to death row for crimes he’d committed that the spiky-haired man had uncovered from 15 years ago!
Phoenix Wright was now seen as a hero, on top of being considered the best thing since sliced bread to the legal world! It was flat-out stomach-turning!
To watch how the mighty had fallen at the hands of a newbie defense attorney was bad enough. But then, a year later, Phoenix Wright’s courtroom brilliance soon began to ruin Kristoph’s own courtroom record, thanks to that porcupine-headed prick being the champion of getting his clients declared innocent via having the unsuspecting witnesses of their trials end up shouldering the blame! The result was that the incensed German would be stuck with defending these guilty as sin clients, whose fates were already sealed by the time Kristoph got around to defending them!
Ken “Acro” Dingling, Richard Wellington, Furio Tigre…all their trials were a complete joke – the German’s defense arguments all a complete sham, which he had no hope in hell of ever winning! All of this resulted in only further intensifying his burning hatred for the blue attorney.
Now it had become personal!
Someday, Kristoph brooded darkly. Somehow… I will claim my rightful place at the top of the pile, and nothing, not even God himself, will stand in my way!
Kristoph was a patient man when he had to be. He knew his big chance would come soon enough, as surely as he knew that nothing would hinder his entitled and surely destined heralded spotlight in the legal world. He was consumed by the seductive allure of promised power, fame, and prestige – the three symbols of status that validated his own importance, as well as his reason for turning to the world of law. It was hard to make a recognized name for oneself when their much younger teenage sibling was a universally beloved household name, both as a Rock God, and now, at 17, as the youngest prosecutor in the state, but Kristoph was confident his enduring perseverance would pay off.
The answer to his prayers arrived one day in April when a young girl named Trucy Gramarye had called the Gavin Law Offices, stating that her father Zak wanted Kristoph to come to see him at the Detention Center.
Kristoph had felt his pulse quicken with excitement. Of course, he had heard of the world-famous magician troupe, and the idea of potentially representing his first-ever celebrity client, and getting all the fame that would go with it, was like a dream come true. He all but flew down to the Detention Center to see the incarcerated performer.
Kristoph listened intently while the illusionist explained his woeful tale of wrongful arrest and being the falsely accused suspect in the murder of his father-in-law, Magnifi. The pink-hatted man told the attorney that before his mentor’s passing, he had been given the inherited transferal of rights of the old man’s legendary magic tricks. As Trucy watched the two men silently, Zak proceeded to show Kristoph the diary page he had been given showing all of the information he had just relayed to him.
“You’ve made the right decision in contacting me,” Kristoph assured him smugly. “Rest assured that The Coolest Defense in the West will see to it that you walk away from the trial tomorrow as a free man.”
“I’m very grateful for your willingness to defend me,” Zak returned smoothly. “However, before we agree to anything, I wish to challenge you to a game of poker. Do you accept?”
Kristoph was floored at the outrageous proposal. He had never been the sort to engage in chance endeavors whatsoever. Moreover, while he had refined tastes and certainly had more than enough wealth to enjoy the better things in life, he had never been the type to squander or risk his money foolishly. He despised gambling or anything where his luck was not a guaranteed sure thing, although he was somewhat acquainted with the preliminaries of poker and had a decent grasp on how to play. However, what he could not grasp was how a man that was facing death row if convicted of the crime, which he insisted he was innocent of, could wish to gamble at a time like this?
The magician saw the attorney’s bemused, disapproving expression and laughed.
“Don’t worry, we are not playing for money. There’s so much more that can be determined from a simple poker game than mere dollars.”
Kristoph shrugged mentally and allowed the cards to be dealt. Immediately he saw that his hand was terrible, and folded right away, completely disgusted by what he saw as nothing more than a waste of time on such trivialities when he should have been investigating matters to better assist his client in court the next day!
“Okay fine, you won, I lost,” he announced peevishly, glaring at the larger man. “Are you happy now? Now that you are assured that you are the more superior player of this menial little card game than I am, shall I go about my duties of putting together your defense for tomorrow’s trial?”
“You’re mistaken, Mr. Gavin,” Zak answered, a dark shadow crossing his face. “There’s so much more that lies beneath the surface than just a game of cards. It is through poker that you can see the type of man a player really is. His entire character can be ascertained by his body language, his emotions, and even his innermost thoughts can be revealed by something that is seen as a simple trivial game of chance. I have seen your hand, in more ways than one, shall we say?” He flashed a mystical smile then as if to take the bite out of his previous words. “I am happy to have you as my defense counsel. Good day to you.”
With that, he tipped his hat at Kristoph, and allowed himself to be led away by the bailiff, leaving Kristoph even more confused, and now somewhat irked, even though he wasn’t quite sure why. Regardless of what he thought of Zak Gramarye, however, the man was his ticket to guaranteed acclaim and prestige, and unlike the magician, Kristoph Gavin did not believe in leaving things, including the fate of his clients, to mere chance.
He was whistling softly to himself as he headed off to go visit his old acquaintance, Drew Misham.
Kristoph Gavin
Gavin Law Offices
April 18, 2019The evening before Zak’s trial, Kristoph conceitedly ran his finger over the envelope holding the forged piece of evidence he had commissioned, with which he had ensured his victory. The icing on the cake was the discovery that he would be going up against Klavier, and his debut prosecutor case in court the next day. The supercilious grin on the defense attorney’s smug visage was unwavering at the notion as he rapturously daydreamed about how this famous trial would not only make him a legend of the legal world but also give him the unsurpassable pleasure of showing off his superior lawyer skills against his empty-headed, superficial baby brother.
I’m going to mop the floor with you, Klavier, he snickered to himself. You’ll wish you had stuck with caterwauling mind-numbing lyrics for your legions of teenyboppers and left the legal world to the big boys!
The German man was so engrossed in his quixotic woolgathering that when the phone rang a moment later, at first, he was positive that he had heard Zak incorrectly.
The son of a bitch had opted to forego his attorney services and was therefore informing him that he would not be representing him in the trial the next day!
Shocked to his very core, Kristoph heard his meek voice numbly asking who would be taking his place as the magician’s defense counsel, somehow already knowing the answer even before Zak told him his despised nemesis’ name. He barely registered the piffle that the magician apologetically spewed right afterward, regarding his genuine belief about what kind of man was behind the poker cards, and blah blah blah. At this point, the blond man was too busy shaking with rage at the notion that he had once again fallen victim to that imbecile of a defense attorney! And over something as trite as a freaking poker game?!
There were no words to describe the raging hatred that threatened to consume him.
You’ll pay for this Phoenix Wright. I don’t just want to kill you; I want to put you in a pit and add the shovels of dirt slowly until your Goddamn mouth is full of muck. I want to hear your cries as the rocks rain down on you thicker than a hailstorm. Death would be too good for you, although that would almost be welcome at this point.
He grinned cruelly; his wild eyes wider than any sane person’s should be.
I don’t care if you have no idea what it is that you have just done, I don’t want to hear it. Zak, you should have told me all that crap back when it could have made a difference! After all the trouble I’ve gone through for you, sparing no expense whatsoever to ensure your freedom, this is how you choose to betray me?! The two of you deserve everything I’m about to unleash upon you henceforth! Hatred is all that is left. All I am is hatred, all I am is rage and I’m going to ruin you. I’m going to see to it that you pay. What then? I have no idea. I don’t care what’s next, that’s where I finish. I hope you’re proud, this is all your handiwork!
Kristoph Gavin
April 20, 2019
Revenge is a dish best served cold.
Kristoph rubbed his bony fingers together with glee. Phoenix Wright’s fall from grace and exile from the legal world was the most poetic justice imaginable, and it was all he could do to keep from cackling with glee when The Bar Association panel demanded the helpless, pleading man’s attorney badge and then proceeded to destroy it right before his devastated eyes.
Even though he had made every move possible to ensure his bases were covered, what with the “special nail polish” and even more “exclusive stamp” he had gifted Vera Misham with, Kristoph knew he still had to be one step ahead of the game. He would be keeping a very close eye on Phoenix Wright going forward, who was surely a man of some intelligence to have lasted on his bumbling legal luck as long as he had and therefore, possibly have half a mind to deduce Kristoph’s own conspired involvement in getting him stripped of his badge. Being the sole dissenter of the tribunal to vote against the action would not be enough.
He would have to ensure that he never showed any sign of hostility towards the unassuming disgraced attorney. He needed to maintain a respectable appearance to the world, after all, even if it meant forging a friendship with the disgraced former attorney that he so loathed, spending copious amounts of time visiting him in that dank hole in the wall bar where he assaulted everybody’s ears with the godawful drivel he called piano playing! While their feigned alliance was of course a complete ruse, the grim satisfaction the German man got by regularly seeing the great Phoenix Wright forced to make a living in that frigid Russian hovel, run by a couple of cartoon-character individuals as his bosses, was 100% genuine. It helped ease the blow to his still scarred ego!
Admittedly, the second-rate former defense attorney, turned equally second-rate pianist, did provide some intelligent and witty conversation, although Kristoph often fervently wished Wright’s disheveled face showed some sort of indication of the pain and depression he was undoubtedly feeling, rather than the impassive, slightly smug countenance he always bore, which didn’t suit his current plight in the least!
With the forgin’ attorney no longer around as his key rival, Kristoph’s law firm prospered greatly, and he slowly, but surely, began to achieve the prestige he had so coveted. He hand-selected, out of hundreds of applicants from the Ivy University Law program, an understudy five years after Phoenix Wright’s career defense attorney had met its untimely end, to commence working in his office upon graduation.
The young man had a most unusual name, Apollo Justice, but the defense attorney sensed a genuine earnestness in the young student and was impressed by his determination and dedication to the law. Undoubtedly, he had the potential to be a great lawyer someday and Kristoph was happy to take him under his wing. There was little doubt in his mind that someday, Apollo had the makings to perhaps even be in the same ranks as Kristoph himself as far as great attorneys in history went!
Apollo Justice
Gavin Law Offices
April 17, 2026, 1:15 PM
“Thanks for coming to meet me for lunch, Clay,” Apollo said to his best friend as they neared the Gavin Law Offices. “It was nice to get out and enjoy some beautiful spring weather for a change. I’ve been up to my eyeballs in folders and paperwork.”“You’re still just a glorified desk jockey?!” Clay’s animated dark eyes widened in surprise. “You’ve been working there a good few months now! You’re telling me he still hasn’t let you work on an actual case in the courtroom?!”
“I guess Mr. Gavin doesn’t think I’m ready yet.” Apollo’s spikes drooped dejectedly. “All I do is push paper and boring administrative stuff because Mr. Gavin is so busy with ongoing trials that he cannot be bothered to deal with these sorts of miscellaneous tasks!” He scowled and kicked a rock on the pavement in frustration. “I don’t want to sound like an ungrateful brat, Clay; I know it’s a privilege to already be working for such an esteemed attorney straight out of law school – there’s a bunch of kids from my graduating class who still haven’t found a job! However, I have to tell you this pussyfooting around …freaking stinks! What’s the point of graduating at the top of my class if I can’t put my theory to practice and get a chance to point my finger in a live courtroom and shout out Objection!”
“This truly bites the big one,” Clay nodded solemnly, although his eyes were dancing with mischief. “To think of all the time spent waking up at the crack of dawn to practice your earsplitting Chords of Steel may have been in vain! I think that’s what so greatly diminishes the fact that you have the coveted position of being assistant to the best defense attorney in Los Angeles! You know I honestly think the allure of emulating your former idol’s finger-pointing and shouting was the real reason you decided to be a lawyer?”
“Very funny, Space Man!” The fledgling defense attorney glowered at the young astronaut, then his shoulders slumped and a wistful look came across his baby-faced features. “Number one – Mr. Gavin wasn’t always the best in the west, of whatever it is he claims to be! And number two…Phoenix Wright never stopped being my idol! I still strive to one day be as great as he was! Do you know except for that Matt Engarde case, he trumped Mr. Gavin’s winning record by a landslide with a perfect set of courtroom triumphs?”
“Apollo…” Clay let out an exasperated sigh. “I know you had this fanboy level of hero worship for the guy back in the day, but I’ve seen widows in less mourning than you have been in the last seven years! You have got to move past this whole Phoenix Wright thing! As your best friend, I have to tell you it’s mondo depressing for me to watch and it cannot be healthy for you! You never knew the man, and he never even knew of your existence! He’s probably forgotten all about that book I got him to autograph for you a million years ago! Besides, no one knows where the guy is, or what he’s doing … Or even if he’s still –”
“Don’t even think of finishing that thought!” Apollo interrupted fiercely, his golden eyes ablaze. “I know he’s out there, Clay! He’s going to come back with a vengeance and totally clear his name! He’s just waiting for the right moment, that’s all! He’ll return even better than ever and everyone is going to call him The Comeback King!”
“You make quite the fervent defense, Mr. Justice. Phoenix Wright should be so lucky to ever have you as his counsel.” The raven-haired boy eyed his friend sympathetically. “It’s been seven years. Do you seriously think he’s ever going to come back after having disappeared for so long?”
“I do.” Apollo jutted his chin stubbornly. “He’ll rise from the ashes, Clay, you mark my words!”
“I’m sorry. I just hate the idea of anyone who you put so much faith in, disappointing you,” Clay said gently. “It’s touching that you still have the memory of him on such a high pedestal, but do you honestly, in your heart of hearts, believe that he’s innocent?”
“I know it sounds crazy because he’s like a celebrity that I never met, whose death I am lamenting,” Apollo muttered, shuffling his feet awkwardly. “But from everything I saw and knew and read about him, Phoenix Wright was special. One-of-a-kind. He was this…epic, larger-than-life figure in court, yet still I sense he was also a gentle soul when out of the courtroom, whose loyalty and kindness were unsurpassable. At his core, I just know he’s incapable of such foul misdeeds; he’s as honest as they come!”
“After hearing your passionate plea on his behalf, I no longer know what I think about Phoenix Wright, Apollo.” The boys had reached the office now, and Clay smilingly shook his head and gave his old friend a goodbye punch to the arm. “But I do know that tonight after work, you and I are going to go out for a drink, and we are going to raise our glasses to your dreams! I am going to get us a couple of Dead Lawyer cocktails, and we shall have a celebratory toast to my best friend! I just know he is going to finally prove himself to his blind as a bat, completely bullheaded mentor, and thus receive his first big case, really soon, and make a name for himself in legal history as Apollo Justice, Ace Attorney!”
“Thanks a lot.” Despite his depression, the red attorney flashed a rueful grin. “It means a lot to me that you’re so confident in my abilities.”
“And just what kind of best friend would I be if I wasn’t?” Clay returned blithely, flashing his customary shit-eating grin. “The key thing is, do you believe in yourself? You know you’ve got what it takes to be a Clarion of Revelations in the courtroom, so why not just ask your boss to give you a performance review to see where he thinks you’re at?”
“That’s not a bad idea.” Apollo blushed slightly and scratched the back of his head in his typical endearing fashion. “Now why didn’t I think of that?”
“We’re in big trouble now, aren’t we?” Clay smirked, adjusting his visor. “I was supposed to be the looks, and you were supposed to be the brains, Apollo! It wouldn’t be fair for me to be both! So smarten up, get those Chords of Steel ready, and go roar your own damn praises at that boss of yours!”
The quip earned the astronaut a final laughter-filled, parting shot to the arm before Apollo took a deep breath and strolled into the office, where he found Kristoph sitting at his mahogany desk, flipping through some case files, mumbling and nodding to himself.
The young man took a deep breath and quickly expelled it before he lost his nerve. “Mr. Gavin, Sir, might have a word of your time? Um, that is, may I please get a moment of your time to have, er, a word?”
The blond man glanced up, looking most displeased at the interruption, but quirked a well-groomed brow at his employee and waved a manicured hand at the seat across from him.
“What’s on your mind, Justice?” He steepled his long fingers together and looked down his nose and over his glasses at the now squirming defense attorney. “Is something troubling you?”
“Well, not exactly troubling me per se…” Apollo blushed and scratched his head nervously. “I mean, I love working for you, Mr. Gavin, really I do! It’s both an honor and a privilege! It’s just that…um, I think I have been doing a really good job handling every administrative task you’ve given me, no matter how heavy the workload is, and I was just wondering… When you would think I would be ready to finally see the inside of a courtroom?”
“You mean to say you’re sick of pushing paper, and you want to do the more fun stuff associated with being a lawyer now, do you?” Kristoph chuckled quietly as he studied his understudy’s fervid expression. “The young Mr. Justice seeks to play in the big leagues now, does he?”
“Er… I don’t think I would be too terrible…” Apollo mumbled, his burning face undoubtedly matching his vest by now. “But you know, you’re the boss for a reason! Er, many of them! Ergo, if you don’t think I’m ready, maybe it’s just best to try to forget that we have had this conversation in the first place?”
“I suppose I could give you my thoughts about your performance as an employee in a nutshell if you desire.” Kristoph smiled thinly and pushed glasses up his nose. “Would you like to get your performance review?”
“Um, sure.” Apollo nervously laced and unlaced his fingers underneath the edge of Kristoph’s desk as his boss reached into his drawer and pulled out a leather-covered notebook, flipping open to a page that looked as though it had a lot of writing on it.
“Coming to work on time… Perfect. Attendance… Perfect.” The defense attorney looked up from his notes to study his employee’s visibly relieved face and cocked a half-smile. “Accuracy with reports… Mostly satisfactory.”
Apollo felt his horns beginning to droop.
“Adherence to deadlines… Passable. Maintaining decent voice levels both indoors and in front of clients… Needs work.”
Apollo felt himself begin to sweatdrop. What the hell was I thinking just accosting him like this and demanding to go to court already?! He silently screamed. Worst. Idea. Ever!
“Overall, considering you are a fresh graduate and I knew better than to expect any sort of perfection as such…” Kristoph clapped the notebook shut and smiled proudly at his understudy. “Altogether, I’m quite impressed. You’ve certainly proven to be a valuable employee under my instruction thus far, and I agree that you should get a chance to prove yourself in court. Not solo of course… I don’t think you’re quite ready for such, but under my guidance, I think we can release you from the shackles binding you to your desk with the next client we get. How does that sound?”
“That sounds incredible!” Apollo blurted out before he could stop himself. He already knew his voice had gotten too loud for comfort when Kristoph cringed slightly and motioned with his hand for his protégé to lower his volume. “I promise I won’t let you down, Sir! And I’ll work super hard on my indoor voice, I promise!”
“I’m glad to see I have alleviated your concerns.” Kristoph smiled thinly. “I’m quite certain of your capabilities as an attorney, Justice. You’re smart, you’re sharp, and while you’ve got your quirks, I have no doubt that you have what it takes to make me very proud to be your mentor, and that you will represent me and my firm very well in the near future.”
Kristoph Gavin
Gavin Law Offices
April 19, 2026, 5:33 PM
Kristoph was just about to leave the office for the evening when the telephone rang.
“Hello?”
“Kristoph, it’s me.”
“Good evening, Herr Wright. To what do I owe the pleasure of hearing from you … Yet again?”
“It was just as I feared when I called you last. I’ve been arrested for the murder of Shadi Smith, and I need an attorney.”
“I see. And when will I be defending you?”
“You…?” A humorless chuckle on the line. “No, Kristoph, I don’t believe I will be requesting your services in court. All these years of being a poker shark have decidedly made me a gambling man.”
Kristoph felt as though his heart had stopped beating at that moment. What the hell is that blasted man up to now?
“Are you still there? I was under the impression that you had an understudy, I believe…?”
Kristoph’s mind reeled. Every single time he had seen Phoenix Wright over the years it had always been on his adversary’s own territory, never his. And while he had made sure that he had familiarized himself with every single relevant detail of the disbarred attorney’s comings, goings, and all relevant associations over the last seven years, he hadn’t ever made the other man privy to any sort of information about himself, whatsoever! After all, what better way to ensure that he remained the hunter rather than the hunted than to keep all his own dealings secret and held close to his chest?
“How have you become in possession of this information?” He demanded harshly.
He could almost hear the other man shrug on the other end of the line. “Let’s just say I have my sources. If you’d be so gracious as to allow Mr. Justice to defend me in court on the day of the trial, I would be much obliged.”
“You’re calling rather late you know. It’s a miracle that I was still at the office.” Kristoph said quickly, wondering how the damned degenerate knew the name of his employee! “Apollo has left for the day already …”
“Oh? Is it after-hours?” A short, dry laugh. “They don’t let us have access to clocks or watches where I’m currently at. No matter, just to be safe, I have already taken the liberty of putting together my letter of request for Mr. Justice to be sent out tonight. I imagine you will receive it in the morning.”
Kristoph found himself simultaneously growing more and more furious and perturbed. “You would forsake my counsel for my apprentice?” He hissed. “Is this some sort of a twisted joke?”
“A Joker is a wild card in a poker-playing deck. However, I am not anything of the sort in either the literal or figurative sense, although I suppose one could consider me to be fortune’s fool, considering this is my third time being charged with murder.” Another mirthless guffaw. “I tend to not be a Joker when my life is on the line.”
“Apollo Justice is fresh out of law school rookie! While the young man is very bright and shows a lot of promise, he most certainly is not ready to take the lead on a case, least of all a murder trial!” Kristoph’s voice was barely above a strangled whisper. This threw quite the monkey wrench in his game plan! What the devil had motivated Phoenix Wright to request his apprentice, of all people?!
“Thank you kindly for the warning, but I already signed and filed the request. Look out for it in your early morning mail at the office. You should receive it right before my trial commences…tomorrow morning.”
“Herr Wright, this is not a poker game! This is your very existence that you’re gambling with,” Kristoph tried one more time to appeal to the man’s nonexistent logic. “You are literally playing a game of chance with your life. The stakes here are higher than you can ever imagine!”
“I understand them better than you think, dear friend.”
“Fine, have it your way then! But don’t expect anything special!”
Kristoph’s final words were met with the sound of the dial tone in return. Just like the last time, Phoenix hung up before he could continue his argument. He slammed down the phone with an earsplitting clang and gritted his teeth.
That detestable Hurensohn dares to snub my benign offer of services to him in place of a rookie who hasn’t even gotten his feet wet in the world of law! I had only wanted to get us both off the hook and deal with Wright myself, but fate has directed this turn of events! Oh well, at least the only silver lining in all of this is that the constant thorn in my side will spend the rest of his years rotting in prison for my own offenses since I’m as sure as the day is long that Justice is too much of a newbie to have the skills to declare his innocence! Even if my protégé heads the case, he’s still going to be under my guidance. Yes…the plan will still work…so what if there’s a minor change?
The defense lawyer was mentally going through his step-by-step plan for the following morning’s trial. Everything was going according to his plan, with only a couple of hitches. In this particular case, he supposed, with a touch of waspishness, that he could at least pretend to talk to all related witnesses and get their testimonies beforehand, as per usual, to at least somewhat give the appearance that he was going to do the best job he possibly could as the defense counsel! In this case, though, he wouldn’t need to make the extra invested time or require bribery to secure the various applicable affidavits, but at least he could be relatively sure that by talking to the people involved in the following day’s court case, everybody’s stories would be accurate! Ultimately, it was all about keeping up appearances; just because he planned to send his client up the river, it most definitely didn’t mean it had to be glaringly obvious to all who witnessed it!
Humming to himself, and feeling slightly calmer now, Kristoph whipped out his mobile phone as he strolled out the door of his office, and began dialing a number.
“Hello?”
“Hello, Justice,” he said smoothly. “Mr. Gavin here.”
“S – Sir? I- Is everything OK?” The young man stammered, obviously flummoxed by the phone call. “Er, sorry, I wasn’t expecting your call, since you’ve never rung me after hours before…”
“There’s a first time for everything,” Kristoph replied calmly. “It was only a few days ago that you requested your premier courtroom appearance, did you not? Your wish is my command. You have your first client case.”
“A client…Me?” he asked uncertainly, although Kristoph could hear the excitement bubbling beneath the surface. “But are you sure…I’m ready, Mr. Gavin?”
“I have complete confidence in you, Justice. You’ll do fine.”
“W- wow! Thank you, Sir! This is great news! I’ll come in bright and early tomorrow morning to start preparing!” Apollo was positively bubbling with excitement, like a bowl of Rice Krispies cereal. “When is it?”
“Tomorrow morning.”
“T–Tomorrow morning?” Apollo croaked. “Sir, that would be asking a lot even from a veteran defense attorney like yourself! How can you expect a novice like me to be able to handle a case that’s been dropped into my lap at the eleventh hour?”
“You’ll be fine,” Kristoph returned dryly. “As sure as you’re Apollo Justice, you’ll be fine. I should know; I’ve heard you enough times, shouting ‘I’m Apollo Justice, and I’m fine!’ while you practice to your Chords of Iron each morning before I get to the office!”
“Oops! Heh, heh! I try to do that when I’m alone at the office to spare your eardrums, Sir!”
“That’s quite considerate of you. Incidentally, I can still hear you coming down the hallway from the elevator.”
“Er, sorry Sir. And it’s um, Chords of Steel, not Iron, sir.” Apollo sounded embarrassed. “But if you have faith in me, I’ll do my very best, Mr. Gavin, Sir! So…what is our client’s name?”
“It should be a familiar name to you, Justice,” Kristoph smirked. “You will be defending Mr. Phoenix Wright in court tomorrow.”
There was silence on the phone for the longest time, and the German man was just about to ask if his employee was still there when he suddenly heard a loud screech of euphoria on the line and had to hold the phone away from his poor, abused ear.
“Holy freaking cow! Is this for real?” The boy gasped, breathless with excitement. “The Mr. Phoenix Wright?”
“Yes, Justice, the one and only. He of forging attorney acclaim.” Kristoph rolled his eyes disgustedly. Why in bloody hell is everyone so hung up on that pathetic has-been, Phoenix Wright?! He’s been disbarred for even longer than he was an actual attorney, and he’s never achieved half of what I have accomplished for the legal world! “I suppose things have taken quite a turn for the unexpected, yet interesting, have they not?”
“I can’t believe I finally get to meet him!” The young man sounded positively giddy. “I mean, worst circumstances ever but…”
“Justice, have some dignity and calm down!” Kristoph ordered, the irritation evident in his voice. “The man has been accused of a crime I am sure he is innocent of, and your job is not to act like a starstruck fanboy, but as the competent attorney I’m assured that you are, in order to get him that not guilty verdict in court tomorrow! I presume my belief in you is not misplaced, and that you can be trusted with this matter?”
“Yes, Sir!” Apollo sounded slightly more subdued now. “I just don’t understand though! Why would he choose me and not you?”
“Your guess is as good as mine,” Kristoph responded tersely. “I have never mentioned it to you before, as I prefer to keep my matters private, but Phoenix Wright is a good friend of mine. I happen to have dined with him on the night of the murder, and I only imagine he thought that information would give the prosecution unnecessary material.”
“If you say so, Sir!” Apollo sounded panicked now. He had mastered the art of panicking, complete with the ability to make his hair droop on command, like a falling TV antenna. “I guess we have no time to waste then. I will be there bright and early tomorrow.”
“Good. I’ll see you in court tomorrow.” Kristoph hung up the phone, trying to stifle the mounting feeling of apprehension and unease that he couldn’t quite shake.
What is Phoenix Wright up to? Just what the hell is going through that accursed man’s mind?!
Phoenix Wright
Detention Center
April 19, 2026, 6:00 PM
“Hey, pal.” Gumshoe cleared his throat as he regarded his old friend sitting quietly inside the holding cell, looking completely drained. “How are you holding up?”
Phoenix shrugged noncommittally.
“About as good as one could possibly be when he’s in prison, I guess? Thanks for asking.”
“You’re not in prison, pal.” The big man regarded the former defense attorney with saddened puppy dog brown eyes. “You haven’t been convicted with anything yet. If I had my way, you’d be out on bail until trial. I know you wouldn’t be taking off anywhere! For the record, seeing you like this is killing me.”
“I know it is, Gumshoe.” Phoenix smiled wanly. “Thank you though. I know there’s only so much you can do, even as chief of police.”
“Well, that would include making sure that you get your one phone call.” Gumshoe’s lips twitched slightly. “Which is why I’m here.”
“What are you talking about?” The big man was treated to a nonplussed indigo stare. “I’ve already had my one phone call, not even half an hour ago! Don’t you remember that I already called my lawyer? I mean…you’re the one who escorted me to the phone!”
“You get some perks having a friend who’s police chief.” A mysterious smile flickered across Gumshoe’s face. “I know that you already made a phone call, Pal! I’m here to escort you to the telephone because you have a call. As in, an incoming received one.”
Since when are suspected criminals who are in jail – sorry, detention centers! – Allowed to receive phone calls as though this is some sort of hotel? The baffled Phoenix wondered to himself as he hesitantly walked up to the phone and looked questioningly at the now smirking Gumshoe, who was watching him with now twinkling eyes.
“Who is it?” He asked his friend.
“I have no idea.” Gumshoe affected his most innocent expression. “Suppose you try picking up the phone and finding out for yourself?”
Phoenix gingerly lifted the receiver to his ear and cleared his throat.
“H – Hello?”
“Wright, you bloody imbecile!” The unmistakably familiar voice on the phone barked. “What fine mess have you gotten yourself into now?!”
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