Warning! Spoilers for all AA games, especially AA4 ending.

Inspired by a dream and a story by The real assistant called The Living Nightmare (an AA/FNAF crossover), so this is kinda written for her too. The tune that inspires me and that fits through this story is Clockwork Orange by a DJ named RAM because it's awesome melodic trance that shoves creepiness and darkness.

Disclaimers: I don't own Ace Attorney and its characters. Capcom owns them.

Chapter 1: Two Siblings

July 8th 2029, 7:11PM
Trés Bien, Dinner Room

Apollo looked inside his thin wallet before he slowly glared back at his menu in his hands.

While the three other members of the agency were happily holding their classy menu with their equally exorbitant items listed on the pages, Apollo deeply sighed again. His index finger slowly traveled its way on the vast choices of meals waiting to be discovered. He tried spotting the one that won't lift too much weight out of his already light wallet. However, his companions did not agree with his subtle and meticulous act.

"Polly, don't be so cheap!" Trucy exclaimed out loud as she not-so-discreetly glanced on the side to see her brother's choice of meal. "You should go wild with your choice since you're the one paying for everyone!"

Apollo's furrowed brows suggested refusal to shift his eyes away from his menu, but he exhibited an urge to bluntly reply his sister. "You're the one forcing the bill on me," he managed to keep his deceitful calm with these straightforward words.

Unfortunately, eyes and ears of his little family pierced his little wall of fake calm. For a second, Apollo never felt so ungrateful of his boss for hiring all with some type of unnatural talents. Thanks to these "powers", no one was able to hide their embarrassing feelings when awkward moments ensued. Probably hearing his heart speaking his discomfiture, his junior partner Athena pointed at him with a quite loud, "Ah-ha! Gotcha! I can feel anger in your heart!"

Unable to keep his stare away from the two girls, Apollo gave up and rested on them an intense, strict scowl. "Don't raise your tone too much, if you don't want to get thrown out of this place," the young man spitted out, trying to tame them down.

As always, his boss sided with the girls with that narcissist smile making its appearance on his oddly satisfied expression. "Stop complaining, kiddo," Mr. Wright nearly ordered. "You won the trial; you pay for everyone. It's one of the longest running traditions in this agency, you know?" When he finished his words, he let a melancholic laugh out. "A tradition from before the agency even bore the name of Wright."

Apollo heard of the previous owner of this agency, active more than a dozen years ago when he was just a small kid. That was when he had learned of the harsh start of the great Phoenix Wright; how he had managed to defend a young girl despite going against powerful higher-ups while he was a simple newbie defense attorney. Ever since he had overheard the outstanding story from his school newspapers, it had become a long lasting dream to be just like his new idol and save innocent people from an undeserved doom. On a side note, he also wished to put his last name into motion by bringing more justice in this world, like any heroes he looked up to.

But right now, what really mattered was that his last client had been acquitted today thanks to his aptitude as lawyer and his little sister's help for assistance. Trucy had especially insisted on siding with him for this case, for a good reason.

After all, the defendant was an old high school friend, Rosaline Latulippe, accused of the murder of her former math teacher, Anna White.

The case had started in utter chaos. By then, Apollo had been used to the chaos that were all of his past cases. He remembered well the loud sobs when Rosaline called Trucy over the phone, requesting her brother's services. Trucy shared her tears over the call before she clutched after him. No wonder, Trucy's and Rosalina's old teacher, Mrs. White, had just been found dead in the wilderness and Rosalina was wrongly arrested for killing her.

Her murder had been quite gruesome, not anything like any cases Apollo had ever worked on. Bruises and knifes cuts had been aggressively inflicted on the body. Only after the long torture, Mrs. White had been dumped alone in the forest few miles away from the city, where her apparent death had finally occurred. The poor woman must have suffered more than enough before her last breath. From what Trucy had related, Mrs. White had been one of her favorite teachers in high school. The very idea of seeing her murdered by another student was just too much to accept, especially when the supposed killer was a past school friend.

In the end, after endless investigations and trials hours of teamwork, Apollo and Trucy had managed to catch the real culprit for the rude killing: Mrs. White's husband. However, even the victim herself hadn't gone to the afterlife unscathed, and that was going with revealing her secrets beyond the grave. The woman might have been a very caring teacher, but she was an awful, manipulative wife. Indeed, no angel was perfect.

Trucy had boasted victory by forcing her brother to pay everyone's dinner in a fancy French restaurant. Her father had felt the need to hide into the deepest hole on Earth when she had called out the name of the restaurant in question. All recollections of that old case with his doppelganger, the girl from an influential criminal family and the truly eccentric cook in this very restaurant had reminded him how horrific and expensive his experience had costed him. Thankfully, the knot in his stomach had immediately loosened when another more experimented chef had welcomed them in the place. New chef came with new marvelous food.

The expensive prices lived on, though. Not that he minded it when his pupil was going to pay.

The girls devoured everything like starving animals and the men did everything to appease their ferocious hunger. Unfortunately, this wasn't helping Apollo's wallet when he felt obligated to order more. Luckily, the feast for victory did not last too long. Trucy ended the dinner when she looked at the time. "Oh no, it's seven already, guys! We should go home already!" the magician yelled out, her mouth sticking out with remnants of her former feast.

Apollo sighed in relief when the girls wouldn't order another fancy dessert.

Maybe this was going to be a short night, after all.

"You guys are so lucky!" Athena proclaimed before the siblings as they all slowly walked out of the restaurant, their belly tight under their belt. "You're going to Borginia tomorrow morning for two weeks! It must be awesome to visit a new country!"

The bolt of energy seemingly coming back to her, Trucy bounced like a little girl after Athena's words. "I know, right? Polly and I are going to have so much fun! Right, Polly?" Trucy finished her sentence with a curious glance at her older brother, though Apollo did not appear to share her enthusiasm. This prompted the sister to give him a disappointed pout.

"Yeah, you could say so," the young man simply replied, obviously not wishing to add more into a matter that should have a happier aspect to the commoners. Somehow, Apollo felt far from being a simple commoner right now when all his companions were giving him cold frowns.

"You're still angry at her, aren't you?" Mr. Wright clearly claimed with a sad smile.

"At your mother…" he added.

To this, Athena's hands formed into firm fists, slightly shaking from the frustration. "Your mother misses you two, you know?" the junior lawyer asserted. "She wants to give you a tour to the country where she lives! She even let you live in her grand manor there and all you can say is 'Yeah'?! Don't you think your mother suffered enough from her memory lost and from being far away from her two children and even her little boy Machi?"

Watching the others making their advance toward him, Apollo gulped in discomfort. Indeed, when he had learned the existence of his mother and the vague reason she had left him in the care of the state, he was unable to understand the motherly love most of children had experienced. After all, he had not even reached a year old when he was given away! With the years growing under the strict state until he had reached adulthood, at least officially, he had long lost his hope for a family. His love for a parent that didn't exist in his world had long vanished. It was merely too late for him.

To him, being a teen parent, just like his mother was when she bore him, was never a good reason enough to leave a child, especially not after the loss of the father who had supported them. How could she abandon him over the financial crisis of a young adult who was found herself without a job? Couldn't she have brought him to her magician family like she did with his little sister?

"Polly, please, if you can't give Mommy a smile, at least give me a smile then!" Trucy exclaimed, trying to keep her joy going. "Do it for your little sister! Pretty, please?"

Apollo blinked for a moment at Trucy's direction. The puppy eyes she was advertising couldn't be overlooked from his caring heart deeply hidden behind this wall of brotherly harshness. With a small head shake, Apollo shrugged.

"Of course, Truce, I'll try my best," he revealed with his chins up.

"Don't do your best! Just do it!" Trucy cheered on him, now holding his arm tighter between her hands.

Apollo completely gave up his anger when a small laugh shied away from his lips. "I'll do it then, just for you," the older brother declared with a smile.

"You better!" the youngest girl approved his final choice and the two others agreed with her. After all, a sad and angry state of mind would only wreck their vacations with their mother furthermore. A ruined vacation was definitely the last thing Apollo needed.

"You sure you're okay with Apollo, Trucy?" Phoenix questioned his daughter, overwhelmed by sudden paternal instincts. "You don't wanna come back to rest in your old home with your Daddy?" Somehow the question came out a little more wrong when it shouldn't be, prompting a reassuring giggle from the concerned girl.

"Nan, I'll be fine, Daddy!" Trucy responded. "I'm not a little girl anymore! I know you want to see me more often but hey! It's just the right choice to live with my family after all these years living apart and being oblivious of our relation! We need to catch up with the lost time not spent together!"

It was nothing new to any of them. It had been a little more than a year since they had learned about the truth of their blood relation. While the reveal had caused the chaos among the agency, it eventually brought the siblings closer, Trucy being grateful to know that the mother she had adored so much as a kid was still thriving. The story went much sourer for Apollo. He had felt the rage that still somehow lingered to this day against the mother who had left him behind. However, and almost adorably, he cried of happiness to find out that he had at least a blood related one with a bright personality, a younger sibling he could protect and love. While he had possessed no family and when he had just lost the best friend he considered the little brother he never had, instead he earned himself a little sister who had always existed separately from his life.

Being a defense attorney wasn't enough anymore; becoming a big brother would complete his new life goals.

It was shortly after the reveal that Trucy had begged her newfound brother if she could live with him as a now reunited family. At first, Phoenix hadn't been too keen with the idea of seeing his daughter moving out. Yet, Trucy had insisted that Apollo was living much, much closer to the Ivy University she was going to attend. The university was so nearby it would only take her five biking minutes to reach the place from his apartment. She would not only save on transport, but she would have more time for herself. Surprisingly, Apollo did not protest against her suggestion. The concept of living with a family member pleased him to no end since he never enjoyed the feeling before.

When a tiny smirk appeared on Athena's face, the young woman could not avoid a particular comment about Trucy's decision to move out, much to Apollo's shame. "Yeah, and Apollo told me he was really happier about sharing his rents since Trucy's there!"

"Athena! You didn't have to mention that!" the pure horror expressing on Apollo cried out at his junior attorney partner. His face reddened when his glance met his boss's, only to be welcomed by a rather compassionate laugh from him, to his relief.

"No wonder," Phoenix laughed. "My daughter's the golden girl of the agency. Being a magician by night surely comes in handy to save the day."

Indeed, now it had been a little more than a year since Apollo was sharing his apartment with Trucy. The siblings never had any problem so far living together, except for Trucy missing her Daddy in her first days and Apollo's Chords of Steel training each morning. Strangely, sharing house chores was something Trucy would qualify as fun, much to Apollo's contentment.

A month ago, their mother, Thalassa Gramarye, living in Borginia in a marvellous manor since her success as the famous international singer Lamiroir, had acknowledged her children's success with siblings' friendship. She had begged her children to come visit her for two weeks during Trucy's school summer vacation. Because Trucy was thrilled to see her mother again, Apollo had felt obligated to accept her offer, even if his resentment against her would never completely fade away. The date of their departure from the city international airport was scheduled for tomorrow morning, so Trucy insisted of ending their dinner earlier.

"I heard Borginia's a very beautiful country, though it has strict policies, even for tourists!" Athena promoted the country's reputation for remotely differing from many other European countries. "I heard of many things about it when I lived in Europe, and the landscapes are super spectacular!"

"You're also going to Europe the day after tomorrow, Athena, don't you? And for a month, almost!" Trucy enthusiastically uttered. "You should come to join us in Borginia once there!"

"I'd like to, but my foster family over there had already made their plan for my trip, and Borginia isn't part of it!" Athena answered with a deceived sulk.

"Aw shucks!" a disappointed Trucy sighed before shifting back to her excited persona. "At least Polly and I won't be alone there, and you neither! Everyone will be happy of their vacations!"

At this point, someone male cleared his throat. All curious stares darted on the oldest one present. Trucy laughed at her dear father Phoenix Wright. "Well, no vacation for Daddy! He'll still work harder than ever, of course!" she added, and everyone laughed along, including the two men. Of course, Apollo's laugh sounded a little weaker than all others'.

July 8th 2029, 7:32PM
Baker's Street, Shopping District Area

On their way pedalling home, Trucy's eyes met an unexpected wonder that would attract her awareness. From the corner of her sight, she caught a small flower shop with an old clerk lady ending her working shift by locking the entrance of her business. To Apollo's embarrassment, he watched as his sister quickly descended from her bike with a scream and with her hands high in the air, waving for the lady's attention. Thanks to her flamboyant move, the clerk finally detracted her glare toward the magician girl.

"Please don't close your shop yet!" Trucy shouted from afar. "I need a bouquet for a special someone!"

"Oh no, what is she thinking?" Apollo told himself with a slap on his forehead. Why buying flowers now, and for who exactly? It was not like Trucy had a special someone who deserved a bouquet from her, unless his sister hadn't told him everything, like a hidden relationship with someone... He couldn't think of anyone in her life being a little more special than anyone other than her father, or mother…

The old lady blinked at Trucy for a moment as the young girl approached closer. The woman flashed a smile with a nod, letting the eccentric one enter the shop. That was what Apollo would call a dedicated businesswoman! He decided to wait outside the shop, too much entitled (and stressed) in his deep thoughts that took over his curious mind. Who the hell was the mysterious receiver who will get the bouquet Trucy planned to buy out of the blue? The older brother had, by now, been used to his sister's abrupt changes of mood, but why buying flowers when time was short was beyond his hypothetical answers. They must return home as soon as possible to get themselves prepared for their trip at the very least.

His wish for an answer was soon fulfilled when Trucy emerged from the flower shop with the clerk, her unstoppable grin visibly stuck on her tender, guiltless visage. This time, a new addition made its entry between her hands with a small bouquet of roses in a cutely decorated wrap. Apollo stared at her with a tapping foot, waiting for the answer impatiently as Trucy climbed back on her bike.

"Who's your special someone?" Apollo strictly asked, giving an odd emphasis on his last two words, his stern expression plastered on his face.

Surprisingly, Trucy's smile remained unfazed from her big brother's bluntness. "Duh, Mrs. White, silly!" she cried, expecting him to go obvious with the answer.

Trucy was the first to start pedalling, faster than ever. Apollo had a hard time following behind, the poor man struggling to keep up. He pondered why she should be giving flowers to a dead woman late at night. "Huh?! But Trucy, why now!?" he loudly gasped with the question. "Shouldn't we return home to prepare our belongings for our trip tomorrow?"

"But Polly! You don't understand how a girl's mind works!" was Trucy's clear reply until she noticed Apollo's pure confusion on his face. She stopped from her tracks, allowing the young man to catch his breathing. Some tiny tears were added in the lot of her casual, happy expression from which grief slowly arose. "It's just Mrs. White might have been awful with her husband, but she was an awesome teacher. She had inspired so many of us to keep going with our lives! So, she deserves that I, at least, give her a last gift where she had drawn her last breathing!"

Apollo's eyes widened at Trucy's comment. "Wait, don't you mean... to the murder scene?!"

"Of course, where else?!"

The brother nearly lost balance from his bike. "The murder scene is like forty minutes away from here on our bikes, Trucy! And it's starting to get dark! You actually know where the murder scene is, right?"

"Yup! In the forest outside the city! C'mon, Polly, we went there several times to investigate! I'm not dumb!"

A long, deep sigh escaped the man's throat. "You know exactly what I mean," he expelled.

"Yeah, yeah, it's late and we should hurry back home to prepare and sleep for tomorrow morning!" the girl disdain tone announced, but soon it altered to a more pleading feel. "But the police will surely clean the murder scene tomorrow now that everything's solved, so it will be like nothing had ever happened to Mrs. White... It's just... important to me, Polly! It's like her soul's still lonely in the scene, and these flowers... I think these will give her some company and she'll know some people cared for her. She'll probably go away when the scene will be cleaned, but she'll leave happy!"

Attentive to each of his sister's words, Apollo began entering into a more pensive state of mind. The manner she said them sounded a little childish, and yet at the same time, it felt mature. It was in these rare moments he couldn't disagree much with her. His temper suddenly reformed to a far more comprehensive one, much to Trucy's joy.

"All right, let's offer her the flowers," Apollo gave up with a resolute smile.

As expected, the road to the murder scene took about forty minutes. Apollo was glad they hadn't met a single car in the forest, though he would have definitely asked for a better concrete under their wheels. Biking over a path filled with scattered potholes hurt his bottom like mad. He envied Trucy so much because she didn't appear to have been bothered by these holes at all. Sometimes he wondered if her bones and muscles were made of metal or something sturdy for her fierce endurance. Or maybe he was the one getting old. Funnily, whenever he'd blame his age for a disastrous incident or a random dizziness, someone older like Mr. Wright would burst out laughing at him by reminding him that he was still a kid. Since when were twenty-five years old deemed as "kid"?

Apollo watched Trucy quietly dropping off the roses bouquet over the remnants of the white outline that reminded them how Mrs. White's body had been found. The older brother could have sworn he heard her mumbling some kind of prayers. In the end, these were just simple words any grateful student would tell their awesome teachers.

When Trucy concluded her little mantra, she turned to Apollo with a gritty nod. "Let's go back home," she humbly said.

The way back home would have been dull and long if Trucy didn't suddenly cry out loud that, "We'll see who's gonna get home first!" She forced her legs faster, so much Apollo could have heard her rushing young bones creaking. Exhausted, he decided to let her lead the path instead. Besides, it was now almost completely dark above their head. The rare street lamps scattered through the old forest road allowed him to see where exactly Trucy was; that way, he could keep up with her. To his luck, it appeared that sooner than expected, she was already starting to slow down, probably from the fatigue.

Minutes later, when darkness had overtaken the world, sometimes, one of the two would become entirely invisible to the other's eyes as they breached in the blackness of the forest shadow, small areas lacking a street lamp. Apollo guessed these forest roads weren't conceived with nocturnal biking in mind. How inconvenient for them. Right now, he just wanted his full night rest before flying to Borginia, but he realized he might not be able to get much of it tonight.

It didn't help when he heard a crashing metallic sound along with a girly yelp when Trucy hit another black spot of the road. Panicked, Apollo immediately jumped off his bike, feeling the adrenaline rush and fearing about a sister to save from anything that had caused her to fall. "Trucy! Are you okay?!" his Chords of Steel at full volume screamed after her.

When Apollo finally caught up with Trucy, he allowed himself to accustom to the darkness, only to discover a chaotic scene: the wheel of her bike was curved inward like it had rammed into a decent sized pothole. Worse was the view of his little sister, her back on the ground and a bleeding knee held by her two hands. Trucy's stare was glued to her newly open wound, the source of her present misery. Apollo noticed the stinging drops on her lids, but she didn't appear to be crying of pain, really. Shock seemed to be at fault this time.

"Heh, I think I fell down," Trucy mumbled, trying to keep her cool with her glare now adhered toward her brother.

"Trucy, you just didn't fall down, you're hurt!" Apollo replied as he searched for something to cover the bleeding wound. Without thinking, he grabbed the scarf he had kept in his pocket and quickly wrapped it around his sister's knee. "You're feeling better now?" he asked as he gave the finishing touch to the knot.

A pleased grin formed on Trucy's lips. "Yeah, much better! Thank you so much Polly!" she exclaimed.

However, this didn't bring more relief to the young man, especially with Trucy's bike gone defunct and with her having a hard time to even stand on her feet. "Guess I'll call a cab," Apollo sighed. "I wonder if we can even get reception here in th-"

"POLLY WATCH OU-"

Trucy was never able to complete her warning scream when an intense light, followed by a blaring screeching tire sound, sealed both of them in total darkness.

?
?

"T…Tr…Truu..."

It hurt the very core of her soul and each fiber of her body. She couldn't grasp her surroundings. Trying to look and hear things around brought her an unbearable pain that caused her to cry weeps out. Lying on the cold, stained ground, the only thing that could appease her immense torture was giving up moving her limbs, thus preventing her from wasting her lingering energy.

However, as soon as a clearer vision came back upon her, the physical agony from each inch inside her felt nothing when her eyes settled on the one in front of her. That was when her emotional surge took over all.

Apollo rested there, his head and arms bathing in his own ocean of blood, with a hand trying to stretch for her. Trucy was unable to stop her uncontrollable whimpers as the lasting life of her brother was slowly leaving what soul remained in him. Despite all, he continuously whispered at her, softly.

"P... Plea... d...don... die..."

Trucy distinctly saw the living hazel eyes completely losing their vigor when his life leisurely charred away from this world.

Apollo, her loving older brother, withered down like a dying flower until he was no more.

...

Nonononono... what did I do? Goddamnit...

She didn't understand. What happened? Who just spoke? It was a male voice, but… Apollo couldn't speak. Dead men don't speak...

I-I-I rammed into them... killed... them... Please no... I would never... N-No... I'm not a murderer damnit...!

"W... Who..." Trucy faintly moaned, the speaking move using up more of her insignificant sparing vitality.

Soon she noticed someone on two feet, gasping in horror. He picked up the barely inaudible lament from Trucy's severely weakened, bloodied lips. From the voice that was stuttering its words and the two legs nervously shifting left and right in front of her, she knew he was an old man...

Wait a moment. Just mere seconds earlier... the screeching tires, the blinding light, the voice saying he rammed into them...

So, in the middle of nowhere, Apollo and Trucy were involved in a car accident…

…As victims.

Her brother was gone forever, and she understood the same merciless fate will fall upon her too, very soon.

Trucy decided it was time to give up as she let her lids shut her diminishing sight.

...

No! I can't let that happen! I can't leave both of them here! I'll be eventually found out by investigators if they're found dead here!

What should I do? What should I do?!

You two... Young boy, young girl... I'm so sorry I've killed you, b-but trust me... it was an accident... I never wanted to hurt you...

Don't worry... Don't...

...

Wait...! Guys...!

Hang in here, guys, I'll use my talent! This... is the only way...!

Everything grew darker. As she lifted away from the burden that her body had become, she listened to the last words from the world of living things.

I'll give back your lives!

Author's notes: Oddest story I've ever written. I've been trying to write the concept of it and I've scrapped it at least four times. Now this feels like a cheap B movie. As always, criticisms are always welcome as I strive to get better in English (while I just leave my main language gathering dust, yay)!