Turnabout Labyrinth

Summary: When Edgeworth collapses during a trial one day, Phoenix gets pulled into a plot no one could have expected. Surely there must be a way out of this labyrinth...if only they can find it...

Rating: T for safety

Genre: General/Drama

[A/N:] This story idea will not leave me alone. Darn it, I hate when there's not good suffering character! stories and I have to write my own. Oh well. This was inspired by a couple of other fics that I read and everything sort of snowballed from there. I am not trying to plagiarize, this story was simply inspired by those other ones. My summary is kind of bland but I don't want to spoil the plot; I plan to revise it as we go.

Disclaimer: HOLD IT! I don't own any Ace Attorney characters. Those belong to Capcom.

"OBJECTION! I object! Your honor, that evidence has no place in this court. It's irrelevant." Phoenix Wright, defense attorney shouted as he pointed at the prosecutor's desk.

Miles Edgeworth shook his head and gave Phoenix a 'you'll-have-to-do-better-than-that' smile. "Not true, your honor. This scrap of material is a Borginian design rarely sold outside the country. Mr. Whales had visited Borginia shortly before the murder. What's more is that the victim owned a shirt, retrieved by detectives, with a piece of material torn out of it that aligns perfectly to this piece." Edgeworth paused and took a sip from a bottle of water sitting on the desk. "Res ipso loquitor." He finished, setting the bottle back down with a hand that trembled slightly.

"I see," The judge said with a nod. "Objection overruled. The evidence shall stand as presented."

Oh come on, Phoenix thought, this can't right.

The trial was well into its second day, and it had been a brutal fight so far. The defense and prosecution were locked in a stalemate; and while the prosecution hadn't made any significant advancements, neither had the defense.

And, much to Phoenix's annoyance, every time he brought up a piece of evidence, Edgeworth was ready to explain exactly how it fit into the murder scenario.

Well, it'll be okay," Phoenix decided. We'll get through this.

"Your honor, the prosecution requests a ten minute recess." Edgeworth spoke up, pressing a hand to his forehead.

"The defense concurs, your honor." Phoenix added.

"Very well." The judge said. "The court will adjourn for a ten minute recess."

Outside the courtroom, Phoenix let out a sigh. Maya came out a moment later and stood next to him. "Nick, we might be in trouble if we can't prove this case soon. Don't we have any evidence that was can use to make the case?"

"I don't know, I'd have to look. Actually, you know this case as well as I do. Will you take a look through the folder and see if there's anything that jumps out at you? Ask Mia if she sees anything, too." Phoenix asked as he turned and began to walk away.

"Sure. But where are you going?"

"To talk to Edgeworth."

He found the prosecuting attorney in the hall of the courthouse, near the vending machines.

"Wright. What do you want?" Edgeworth asked as the thud of a bottle depositing out of the vending machine was heard, followed by the clinking of coins.

"I shouldn't really ask this, because it's better for my case if you're not on top of things, but are you okay? You look pale."

"I have a cold." Edgeworth said, retrieving his bottle of water and change from the machine. He pulled out a small bottle of acetaminophen out of his pocket and shook two tablets out of it as he walked past Phoenix, down to a bench that had been set up nearby. "So I'm sorry to say that my physical health will not interfere in this case. Only evidence will." He finished as he sat down and swallowed the tablets, following them with a water chaser.

"If that was your only hope of winning this case, you'll have to try harder." Edgeworth continued.

"Well, for your information, it wasn't. I was just checking on you."

"Oh," Edgeworth seemed a little surprised by the idea. "Thank you, then."

Phoenix grinned. "What are friends for?"

Edgeworth stood back up, slowly. "We should head back. Recess is almost over."

Phoenix was about to leave, when he remembered something. "Hey, wait."

The prosecutor was almost out the door, but he turned back around and saw the card the defense attorney was holding up. "What is this all about?" Phoenix asked.

"It's a party for Franziska. Her birthday is next week."

"For…Franziska?" Phoenix asked nervously.

"Yes. She didn't have anyone in particular to invite, so I invited a few people." Edgeworth said glibly. "It's going to be a small party, held at my home."

Still uneasy, Phoenix tucked the invitation back in his pocket and followed the other man back out of the room.

The trial had resumed.

Maya's frantic whispering to Phoenix as they walked back into the courtroom that she had not been able to find anything out of the ordinary in the files was not an encouraging sign, but Phoenix was holding out hope that upon cross-examining the witness, he would be able to prove something.

"Ms. Sons, are you certain that you saw Mr. Whales with the gun?" Phoenix asked the witness.

The large-bosomed lady sighed dramatically; her bosom heaved in commiseration as she began to speak. "I know I saw him with the gun when he came home that Thursday. I saw the case he always keeps his gun in. He had it in his hand when he got out of the car."

"HOLD IT!" Phoenix shouted. "Are you sure it was the gun case you saw, and not, maybe, this briefcase?"

"OBJECTION!" Edgeworth shouted in response. "Your honor, a child could see that the gun case and the briefcase look nothing alike. I must insist that…that…." He trailed off.

Phoenix looked across the room; it's wasn't like Edgeworth to stop so suddenly when he was arguing a claim like that. Edgeworth met his eyes, a look of confusion on his face, and suddenly Phoenix was worried.

Edgeworth was never confused.

He didn't have any more time to ponder it, as a moment later the prosecutor had collapsed on the floor and begun to convulse. "Somebody call an ambulance!" Phoenix shouted as he darted across the room to where his friend lay.

The seizure had stopped by the time he got there, though Edgeworth was still unconscious. Phoenix reached a hand out and laid it on Edgeworth's forehead. The other man was running a high fever.

"This is not just a cold." Phoenix muttered.

[A/N:] Hmmm...Not sure if writing Ace Attorney fic or Ace Attorney/House crossover.

I don't know how I feel about trying to write angst. Ugh. I'm going to tell you upfront that I had only barely gotten into this series when I started writing this fic, so later on you will see that I have basically made an anachronism stew out of this series.

I'm kind of afraid to post this story because I don't know if I'll finish it, but my muse is giving out on me a little, so I thought I would post the first part and get some reviews and see if that would help. I haven't written a multi-chapter fic in so long, though, so I'm worried. I hope i can finish it. Anyway, the inspiration for the title is from the song 'Labyrinth' by the German band Oomph!. Res ipsa loquitor is legalese (I know some legalese, sorry) for 'the thing speaks for itself.'

Anyway, please review!