PX: Wah, sorry for keeping y'all waiting! This story isn't dead, just so you know. Maybe...updated sporadically? Yeah, that XD Anyway, spoilers for Awakening ahead. Hope you enjoy!

"Attack!"

The loud bellow of the bandits' leader echoed throughout the land, but Phoenix's mind was far too dazed to process everything going on around him. As a defense attorney, he had always sworn to protect people's lives…not take them. Even out of self defense, he had never killed anyone before. Now there was blood on his hands, and he felt just like the murderers he had sent away to prison. Everything he had ever stood for…what did it all mean to him now?

"Mr. Wright!"

Phoenix looked up just in time to see a bandit standing in front of him, axe raised and ready to bring it down onto him. Instinct told him to fight back, but he couldn't even bring himself to pick up his sword. He felt so sick. The thundering sound of galloping hooves was getting closer in the distance, and suddenly he found himself being hoisted up into a saddle right before the bandit brought his axe down, which surely would have ended him right there. Phoenix craned his neck around and noticed the judge glaring at him with censure.

"Mr. Wright," He said again. "I understand your sentiments, but you have to understand. These men are aiming to kill, and you cannot negotiate with them."

"Your Honor…" Phoenix sighed, observing the carnage around him. The bandits were already backing his friends into a tight spot. "But…I just can't…"

"I know, but with these people it's kill or be killed. You must pick one. If not for yourself, then what about your daughter?"

The judge was right. If they didn't fight back, then they would all die by the bandits' hands, and Phoenix knew that he just couldn't let that happen to his daughter. As much as he didn't want to fight these men, he knew he had no choice. Nodding to the older man, he carefully jumped from the horse and unsheathed his sword.

"Everyone!" He shouted. "We have to defend ourselves if we want to escape out of here!"

"Daddy?" Trucy questioned.

"Boss?!" Athena and Apollo responded, still trying to hold off three axe-wielding bandits and dodging archers left and right.

"We must fight. It's vital we stay alive!"

"Get behind me, pals!" Gumshoe called out to Juniper and Hugh, shielding them with his armor.

"H-Hey, where does that leave me, a sitting duck?!" Larry cried. His eyes widened when he found himself face to face with a tough-looking rogue.

"Yo, shawty, sorry I gotta do this, but I ain't got no choice." He said, brandishing an axe. His flicked a strand of orange hair out of his face. "Hope this won't cause no beef between us."

"HEEEEEYYY! BACK OFFFFFF!" Robin screamed, forcing herself between Larry and the rogue. The rogue seemed surprised.

"Wh-What?! Aw heeeell naw. I ain't fightin' no chick. Dat's just wrong yo."

Apollo suddenly perked his head up upon hearing that familiar voice. "What the…it can't be. Athena, think you can handle things from here?"

"Define 'can' and 'handle.'" Athena muttered, barely dodging an arrow at the same time knocking back an axe. "Whatever you're doing, can you please hurry?"

"Hopefully this won't take long…" Apollo kicked his horse into a gallop and steered it over to where Larry and Robin were. The two were surprised at his sudden intrusion, but he ignored it as he dismounted and got a better look at the rogue. "Just as I thought. You're here too…Wocky."

"You know that crazy guy?!" Robin exclaimed.

Wocky raised his eyebrows in recognition. "Ayy, shawty, is that you?! No way, man. I must be trippin' or something."

Apollo shook his head. "You're not 'trippin',' Wocky. This is as real as it gets."

"…Damn."

"Can you tell me why you're fighting with these thugs?"

Wocky crossed his arms as he glanced upwards. "Ya see, it's some crazy shiznit. It was just a boring day, no biggie, then I find myself here. I thought to myself 'holyyy…I be trippin' or something…' so I goes to wander around for a bit, tryin' to find my homies. Next thing I know, I come across this looted place, and I goes inside…well I get mixed up with these people and they tellin' me to fight and stuff. I'm like, 'nah, man, I ain't taking orders from nobody.' But then they says they'd kill my family if I didn't, so I kinda had to. Then that sad sap," He pointed to Larry, "dared come across our gang, didn't give us no mula, so dat's why we fightin' now."

Robin, Larry, and Apollo all blinked, not saying anything. Larry finally spoke up, "Uh…you get any of that, dude?"

Apollo shrugged. "I think he's trying to say that he accidentally stumbled upon these guys as he was wandering around, kind of like we were earlier, and they made him join their group. Then when you had an encounter with them, you kind of pissed them off."

"Dat's exactly what happened, bro!" Wocky gave him a thumbs up.

"Look…Wocky, we don't want to fight you. Can't you deflect or something?"

"Uhh…I dunno, man. I mean, I don't want to fight ya either, shawty, but these guys…they threatened my family…"

"Is your family here right now?"

"They could be! I just ain't seen 'em yet!"

"How about this? You join our side, fight these guys, and that way no harm will come to your family?"

Wocky tapped a finger to his chin, contemplating an answer. Apollo started to sweat nervously, knowing that he couldn't wait any longer, his partner needed him. Finally, the young gangster snapped his fingers.

"You got yo'self a deal, shawty!" He shook the young attorney's hand. "Whoop! Time to go kick some ass!"

Apollo sighed with relief, then went to go get back on his horse. "Great. I'll go tell Mr. Wright. You can start working with Larry and Robin."

Wocky laughed mischievously to himself. "You shawties gotta check dis out. I got a way to end this all in a flash. Got this piece from my old man. Allz I gotta do is load this up, find my target, and pop a cap in everyone's…" He stopped as he reached into his pocket, only to pull out a dagger. "Aw, what the hell?! Are you kidding me?! I ain't got a use for this!"

Robin shrugged. "Guess we're doing this the old-fashioned way. Let's G-O!"

Meanwhile, the battle was quickly becoming intense. Everyone was trying hard to fight off the bandits, but they weren't killing them, and though the bandits were becoming wounded, that didn't stop them from retreating. They continued to surround Phoenix and his friends until the situation was becoming dire. Phoenix held his daughter close to him to make sure she wouldn't come to anymore harm, though looking at his team, it was obvious they were becoming tired. He wondered how much more they could take of this continuous onslaught.

"Mr. Wright, what should we do?" The judge inquired, fending off more bandits.

"They just keep coming! Ack!" Athena cried as she felt the blade of a sword cut into her shoulder.

"Athena!" Juniper shouted, running from Gumshoe's protection to heal her.

Apollo glared at the bandit responsible. "Y-You'll pay for that!"

"What are you gonna do about it, boy?" The bandit taunted, raising his sword to provoke him.

Apollo, fueled with anger, charged the brigand with all his might with his lance aimed towards him, piercing the enemy's chest. The bandit seethed with pain, but did not die, nor did he retreat. Instead, he retaliated immediately. Apollo instinctively deflected the attack and went for another blow. He was hoping to wound the man in a way that would force him to withdraw, but at the last second the bandit lunged forward right as he thrusted his lance, impaling himself on the end of the spear. Apollo felt the blood drain from his face as a sick feeling rose up in him.

"Oh…oh my God…" He choked out.

Phoenix glanced over to see had happened. He sighed. "We need to escape…but there's no way for us to fight our way out of this…we need a miracle…"

Somewhere on the other side of the land, a young woman was roaming about on her own. She wasn't exactly lost, though the land was foreign to her. Having been here since that morning and seeing no sign of civilization or any other signs of life besides the foliage, she was starting to get frustrated.

"I should have asked that crazy old man where he was sending me before stepping foot into the Outrealms." She mused to herself. "I don't even know what timeline this is…if it's my old one, then it looks so peaceful than what it once was…"

Her name was Lucina, and she had just wrapped up fighting in a difficult war against the Fell Dragon Grima. In order to ensure that her world would not be destroyed for good, she time travelled back to before her father would be killed and helped him in the fight against Grima and his countless armies of Risen. Now that peace had been restored to both lands, she disappeared from that world in order to keep the normality between the timelines. The only problem now was that she had no idea where she was at the moment.

After walking around a bit longer, she finally decided to call it quits for one day and rest. "Something seems off…" She mumbled. "There is no one here. This can't possibly be my world, if that's the case."

All of a sudden, a shout could be heard in the distance. Lucina's head instantly shot up as she started to scan the area around, but she couldn't see anything. Deciding to investigate, she quickly headed in the direction where she thought she heard the noise from. The more she walked, the more she could make out the distinct sounds of a battle going on. She quickly sprinted as fast as her legs could carry her, and soon she happened upon the scene: a bunch of ruthless bandits attacking a group of people who, even though they carried weapons, looked like they never used them before in their lives. A few of the bandits were dead already, but the people were obviously in a tight spot. Lucina's blood began to boil.

"So…bandits exist in this world too…" She muttered with anger. "As a daughter of the Exalt, I cannot allow this injustice to go on for much longer!"

With that, she unsheathed Falchion from its scabbard and dashed towards the carnage, ready to engage in battle. She struck down an archer immediately, only to be challenged by another bandit close by. She dodged his attack, and felled him before he could even defend himself. Two rogues were ganging up on a man with unusually spiked hair; Lucina targeted both of them next. She cut down one, summersaulted over the other one, and ran him through from behind. An archer, who stood from afar observing the sudden defeat of his comrades, attempted to fire an arrow into her heart. However, Lucina didn't stand still enough for him to get a consistent aim, and the next thing he knew, Falchion was in his chest. Everyone else was in shock at this mysterious girl who suddenly showed up, watching in awe as she showed no remorse and felled bandit after bandit with ease. Finally, only the leader remained standing, and Lucina was prepared to fight him to the death. She whirled around, glaring at Phoenix with the heat of battle still flaring in her eyes. He reared back, obviously afraid of her.

"Move!" She barked. "Get to safety!"

"B-But…" Phoenix started to object, but then noticed that she would not be swayed. "A-Alright then…" He shouted to everyone else, "Let's get going!"

No one seemed to have any problem with that as they all responded, "yes, sir!" as they begun to make their escape.

The bandit glowered at Lucina with pure hatred and contempt in his gaze. "I'm going to send you to Hell for what you did to my boys."

Lucina didn't flinch. "Try me."

The bandit let out a war cry as he ran with his axe raised. Lucina blocked the attack, attempting to go for a blow to the side. He wouldn't let her, as their weapons clashed together in a battle of endurance, their strength unwavering and unwilling to submit to the other. Lucina grit her teeth as beads of perspiration began to form on her forehead. She just needed an opening. Suddenly, she heard footsteps, and both she and the bandit turned at once to see that spiky-haired man from before sprinting towards them, his sword ready to strike. He slashed a huge wound down the bandit's side, causing him to pull back and holler in pain. Lucina looked at Phoenix, shocked.

"What are you doing?!" She exclaimed. "I can handle him!"

"It just didn't seem right to leave you like that." Phoenix responded. "Now finish this!"

The bandit growled as he picked up his axe, and hurled it towards Phoenix. Phoenix didn't see the axe coming towards him until it was too late. It was coming straight for his neck.

CLANK!

Lucina jumped in front of him, catching the blow in the nick of time with Falchion.

"Run!" She shouted.

Phoenix started to scoot away, but the bandit roared after him. "I won't let you get away!"

Seeing that the bandit was distracted by Phoenix, Lucina used this as an opportunity to free her sword from the bandit's axe and ram it through his chest. He screamed in pain, but he knew he had been defeated.

"D-Damn you…you…ugh…" He coughed out before falling down lifeless.

Lucina surveyed his corpse as she sheathed Falchion, then walked over to where Phoenix was sitting on the ground. All the color was gone from his face. This was probably his first time ever being in a bloody battle before. She knelt down next to his side, observing his injuries. He stared up at her, eyes wide and pupils dilated. Ignoring his shell-shocked expression, she attempted to initiate conversation with him.

"Are you alright?" She asked.

No sooner had she asked that question did he start to feel his head spinning and his vision start to lose focus. For some reason, his body felt heavier than usual and not because he was wearing chain mail. Suddenly, the world around him grew dark, and he fainted right there on the ground.

The darkness was starting to lift as Phoenix found the ability to open his eyes again. Sunlight irritated his eyes, and he forced his eyelids to open. When he did, he could see a blue sky dotted with white clouds, and a young woman with blue hair hovering over him. She smiled gently at him.

"So…you're awake now." She smirked. "You know, there are better places to take a nap than on the ground. Here, let's get you on your feet. May I see your hand?"

Phoenix didn't know why, but he felt like he should oblige. He placed his hand into hers and allowed himself to be pulled up into a standing position. His legs wobbled, and his head started to pound, but at least he could stand.

"Good…I was starting to get worried." She said. "That fight must have taken a lot out of you."

"Fight?" He inquired.

"Yeah. Your party is pretty much in the same condition." She pointed to the rest of his group. All of them were sleeping soundly on the ground. "They came to check on you after you passed out. Quite an…interesting troop you have going on. Are you travelers?"

"You can say that." Phoenix sighed. "Anyway…thank you so much for coming to our rescue. I don't know how we would have survived if you hadn't intervened."

Lucina stared at him skeptically. "Do you not know how to use a weapon?"

"To be honest…no."

"…I suggest you learn how to then. It would be essential."

"Yeah, thanks."

Soon, everyone else was starting to rouse from their sleep. Trucy was one of the first to get up and rushed towards her father, hugging him tightly.

"Daddy, I'm so glad you're okay!" She cried. "Don't you ever do that again!"

"Seriously, boss, we thought you were a goner!" Athena griped angrily.

"And you say I make bad decisions. You're pretty stupid yourself, Nick." Larry laughed.

Phoenix just ignored his friend's remark as he held his daughter close to him. He glanced over at Lucina, whom was looking rather amused at this scene.

"By the way," He said. "What's your name?"

Trucy slightly elbowed him. "Daddy, were you not paying attention whenever Pearly and I got into those heated debates over who to pair you up with?"

"Sorry to say, Truce, but those conversations always flew over my head." Phoenix decided not to tell Trucy that he always tuned them out anyways.

Lucina chuckled, though she had no idea what the two were talking about. "My name is Lucina, daughter of the Exalt Chrom…er, well you probably never heard of him."

"Yeah, you're right. I don't know who you're talking about. My name is Phoenix Wright. I'm a lawyer."

"A…lawyer?"

"You don't know what that is?" Phoenix wracked his brain for some way to describe his profession. "I'm a knight of the court. A defender of justice, so to speak."

Lucina's eyes lit up with understanding. "Ah! I see now."

There were a few snickers behind his back, but he paid them no mind.

"Well…Lord Wright, it was nice meeting you." Lucina bowed. "But I'm afraid I must be going now. If Naga wills it, we may meet again."

Phoenix went wide-eyed at what she said. "W-Wait, you're leaving? Why? Can't you come with us? I mean, we don't know where we are and you're the first person we've met who seems to know what they're doing…"

"Well…if I am to be completely honest…I don't know where I am either." She sighed. "When I saw you, I was hoping you could lead me to civilization, but it seems we are both stuck in the same dilemma."

"You HAVE to come with us!" Larry ran over and slipped an arm around Lucina's shoulder. "I mean…we can't let a hot chick just slip from our grasp!"

"Larry!" Phoenix shouted.

"Ditto, shawty." Wocky followed up.

"How does that saying go again…'two wrongs are better than a left?'" The judge said.

"I think you just corrupted 'two heads are better than one' with 'two wrongs don't make a right.'" Apollo muttered.

As this banter was going on- and Phoenix finally managed to pry Larry off of Lucina- Trucy went over to the battle heroine and tapped her on the arm.

"Lucina," She started. "Let me just begin by saying that I think you're awesome. Also, I really think that you should come with us. I mean, my daddy is strong, but he's kinda old. Look, his sword is weighing him down already."

"I'm only thirty-four, thanks." Phoenix mumbled.

Trucy continued on, "The thing is, we're not from this world. Crazy, I know."

"Time travelers?" Lucina inquired.

"Not really. We just kinda…got here."

"And we're still trying to figure that out." Apollo said.

"I mean, our old world was dangerous, but we're not used to the kind of dangers in this world. For one thing, we never had to…actually take a human life before. In our society, there's a whole bunch of legal matters that go along with that, but it's different here. Anyways, we're trying to find our friends, and we want to get to them before certain dangers can. Do you think you can help us, since you're used to all of that? And maybe we can help you too…somehow."

Lucina stared down at the young girl, not saying anything.

"Oh and by the way, we encountered Risen earlier."

That got Lucina's attention. "What?! Risen, here? In this world?! Where?"

"Around this area." Hugh responded. "Some were also on the other side of this land."

"I can't believe it…I thought I already dealt with this nuisance." She swore, looking up at Phoenix. "Alright then. Lord Wright, I have decided that I will go with you."

"YES!" Larry cheered.

Phoenix glanced at her hopefully. "You mean it?"

Lucina nodded with determination. "Yes…but can you at least promise me that you will learn how to use your weapon?"

"I…I can try…"

"No worries. If you need help, I can give you some instruction."

"Okay then. That would be much appreciated."

"Good. I will look forward to fighting alongside you and your legion, Lord Wright." Lucina smiled as she offered him her hand.

Phoenix returned the smile, shaking her hand. "Me too." And I think I like the sound of "Lord Wright."