Hello! This is my first time writing such a long fanfiction... Hopefully I'll be able to see it through, unlike so many stories I've seen on here... With that, enjoy this prologue!

Rei Ryghts: Ace Attorney

The Mech-Suit's Turnabout

by Derald Snyder

Prologue

H-hello, everyone. My name is Rei Ryghts. If you've played Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory, then you probably know who I am…

W-Wait! Don't panic! I-I'm not like that anymore, I swear! I-I've turned over a new leaf! …*ahem* Sorry… Anyway, I probably should clarify that I'm the Rei Ryghts from the Hyperdimension… y-you know, the one who was still human, until the other Rei gave me some of her power and ended up making me go berserk…

*shudder* Ugh, I don't want to talk about that! Let's talk about after that, when I regained my senses. The last you saw of me in the game was being forced by IF to help repair the damage I'd done to Planeptune City, even though I had no recollection of what actually happened… Not long after, I was put on trial for crimes against humanity, however, thanks to testimony from Neptune and Nepgear themselves (much to my surprise), I was found Not Guilty by reason of insanity. So instead of being thrown in a dark, deep hole to rot for the rest of eternity, I was exiled to the cold, snowy nation of Lowee instead, where the resident CPU, Blanc, promised she'd be keeping a very close eye on me.

I tried my best to start over, but many of the people in Lowee had heard of me and my past wrongdoings, which made it very difficult to find steady employment… until a defense attorney by the name of Bartholomew J. Samson took pity on me and hired me to work at his law office.

Under his tutelage, I managed to become a decent defense attorney in my own right, following in my boss' footsteps of saving the innocent from near-certain guilty verdicts, especially since Lowee doesn't have jury trials… Thanks to that, I've managed to repair my reputation somewhat, to the point where I can now walk the streets without people screaming and running away… Though, I do still get wary looks from some people…

…what's that? You want to hear about a case I worked on? Oh, I'm sorry! So, so, sorry! I got a little long-winded there… *ahem* R-right. Well, let me think here… Okay, how about one of my more recent cases, featuring some familiar faces, which also forced me to confront some ghosts from my past…

June 6, 12:17 PM

District Court

Courtroom No. 1

"…So you see, Your Honor, my client, Allen Roman, could *not* have murdered the victim, Julie Broker… because said victim was and is, still very much alive!"

The crowd erupted into chatters of disbelief as said 'victim' stood in the center of the courtroom, handcuffs on her wrists, her beautiful face marred by an angry, vindictive expression.

"The truth is, Ms. Broker faked her death and staged the crime scene in order to frame my client, as revenge for apparently being cheated on," Rei Ryghts explained to the judge, whose eyes were wide with disbelief, as were the prosecutor's.

"Julie! Why?!" cried Allen, looking on the verge of tears. "I said I was sorry a hundred thousand times over! How could you do this to me?!"

"Because, *Roman*…" the woman growled, "I had to teach you a lesson, that you would never, *ever* forget!" Her voice grew louder as she continued her rant. "And now, Roman…" she shivered with barely-contained rage. "Roman, now you know! There is no price I will not pay… no depth, that I will not stoop, to make your life, here in Gamindustri, a total, complete, living, HELL!" Allen could only drop his head onto the witness stand sobbing. "And I would have gotten away with it, too, if it hadn't been for *this* psycho goddess!"

Rei simply gave her trademark 'psycho smirk' in response. "And now you're going to be a good girl and have the bailiff escort you to a holding cell, *right*?"

Julie's expression shifted from anger to terror as she backed up several steps, nearly colliding with said bailiff. Turning to him, she squeaked, "Y…you heard the lady! G-get me outta here…!" Said bailiff simply rolled his eyes as he clapped a hand on the woman's shoulder, before turning and escorting her out of the courtroom.

The judge shook his head in disbelief. "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, as they say… What a bittersweet ending to this trial. I suppose I'll just go ahead and render the verdict then… This court finds the defendant, Allen Roman, Not Guilty." He banged his gavel. "That is all, court is dismissed."

There was no confetti this time.

June 6, 12:38 PM

District Court

Defendant Lobby No. 1

Allen sat on the bench, still crying from his heartbreak. Rei was sitting next to him, rubbing his back in sympathy.

"Why, Julie…? I would have gladly taken you back if you'd let me… why?"

"I'm so sorry, Mr. Roman… but sometimes, the truth isn't always pretty," Rei said. "If you want my personal opinion… that girl had some real issues under the surface. I mean, pulling such disproportionate retribution for one moment of infidelity… If it were me-er…" she stopped for a moment, considering. "…i-if it were any *normal* person, that is, she'd have just given you some choice words and a slap to the face. T-that's what I think, anyway…"

"I would gladly have taken it…" Allen sighed, his waterworks appearing to have finally dried up for the moment.

Rei looked him in the eye. "With all due respect, Mr. Roman, you need to forget about her and move on… for your own sake."

"Yeah, you're right…" he sighed. "It's probably for the best…"

"Well, it certainly was a twist *I* didn't see coming… and I'm usually the main character!" a slightly high-pitched feminine voice cut in. Lawyer and client looked up at this, to see none other than…

"Neptune?" Rei squeaked in surprise. "W-what are you doing here?!"

Allen blinked in shock. "Neptune? As in CPU of Planeptune?!"

"Hey, hey, it's coolsies," Neptune addressed the man. She was dressed in her usual hoodie and D-pad hair clips. "No need to bow to me or anything like that. Just wanted to see how Rei was doing with her lawyering career and stuff."

"Oh really?" the lawyer in question sighed. "Let me guess, you came to visit Blanc, but she was busy and blew you off, telling you something along the lines of 'Why don't you go watch one of Rei's trials instead'…"

Neptune gasped and clutched her chest in mock surprise. "Oh my goodness, what an amazingly clever deduction! It's a critical hit!"

Allen blinked, before turning back to Rei. "Is she always like this?"

"Pretty much, yes."

"Good thing I don't live in Planeptune, then…."

"Gah! Another critical!" Neptune stumbled and fell onto her backside. "Well, I'm dead. Hope you're happy…"

Rei rolled her eyes as she walked over and pulled the CPU back to her feet. "Could you please cut that out? You're embarrassing me…"

"Well then, allow me to make it up to you!" Neptune twirled away from Rei and flourished. "Congratulations, Rei Ryghts! You've just won an all-expenses-paid trip to Planeptune!"

"Eh…? W-wait, WHAT?!" The lawyer's eyes went wide with disbelief. "Y-you can't be serious! I c-can't go back th-there! T-the moment anyone s-sees me, I-I'll be l-lynched for sure!"

"Oh, that's easily solved," Neptune chuckled. "We'll just disguise you! No one in Planeptune'll know it's you when I'm done!"

"I d-don't like the sound of th-that at all…!" Rei stuttered as she slowly backed away.

The goddess rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on, it's not like I'd put you under the knife or anything! Actually, I dunno why people do that in the first place… why not just be happy with the face you've got? But, anyway…" Walking back up to Rei, she glanced her over. "Okies, first things first, we *gotta* get rid of this!" Her hands closed around Rei's horn-like protrusion…

"Ow, hey, stop it! D-don't pull on it like that!" The former goddess yelled in pain. Thankfully, Neptune complied.

"OK… guess we'll work on that later. But in the meantime…" Rei found herself grabbed by the collar and being dragged out of the lobby. "…let's do some shopping, get you some new threads! Oh, I know! How 'bout a hoodie? Those are all the rage… and we should probably get you some new glasses, change up your hairstyle a bit…"

"U-um, I'll send the bill to you later!" the lawyer cried out to Allen as she was dragged off.

"Yeah, sure…" Allen called back to her just before she was pulled out of sight. (What the heck just happened…?)

To be continued...