Distorted Reflections

Prologue

A/N: Snow here with a brand new Ace Attorney story! This story is about the Themis trio and the nature of their friendship. To be more precise, it concerns the world of a certain judge-to-be, and how she reacts when she finds herself in an unknown place. Enjoy, my readers!

Distorted Reflections: Prologue

"Grandma, tell me a story."

"Hmm...Have I told you the story of the Mirror Pond?"

"No, you haven't told me that story. What is the Mirror Pond?"

"Legend has it that somewhere in the forest, there is a mystical pond. It doesn't reflect anything- instead, if you hold the image of another world in your heart while looking into the pond, it will instead reflect that world, and you can visit it."

"Oh. Does a pond like that really exist, Grandma?"

"I doubt that it does. Even if it did, I wouldn't want you to go to this pond, Juniper."

"Really? Why is that?"

"Because the legend of the pond also says that some people have found the pond. But when they looked into it, they.... Met an unfortunate fate."

"Th-that sounds b-bad. *cough cough*"

"It's just a story, sweetie. Now go to sleep. Tomorrow we're going with Mrs. Cykes and Athena to the zoo."

"Okay, Grandma!"

January 10, 2028

Forest outside Woods residence

1:15 p.m.

"*gasp* Remind me again why I decided to come along on this hike?"

Juniper Woods, a shy, nature-loving girl stopped walking, looking back to where Myriam Scuttlebutt was lagging pretty far behind from everyone else. In the recent months Juniper has been trying to befriend Myriam, but the purple-haired reporter girl wasn't well suited to exercise... or really social interaction in general.

"Do you want to take another rest, Myriam?" Juniper asked gently.

"Another one? Maybe you just need to give it more effort, Myriam," Hugh O'Conner said, the cool-headed young man walking third in their group. A few months ago the friendship between Hugh and Juniper had become very imperiled, but it pulled through and became stronger as a result. For her part, Juniper was helping Hugh study to not fall behind on his grades.

"Easy for you to say. I can see the pit stains on your shirt," Myriam grumbled, to Hugh's dismay.

"Now, now everyone! If we really need a break, we can regroup. But afterwards we're going at double the p-a-c-e!"

Of the four of them, Juniper was walking second in line. That was because ahead of everyone else was none other than Robin Newman. Up until a few months ago, Juniper had known Robin as an passionate man with an artistic streak.

Except in fact, Robin had been a girl the entire time- forced to live as a boy at the behest of her parents. Once Athena broke Robin free of the lie she lived, the young girl was exploring her newfound freedom. It relieved Juniper that Robin remained true to herself, every bit as passionate and art-loving that she's always been.

Hugh and Myriam groaned, knowing full well that Robin was completely serious. Nonetheless, the four of them rested, eating from some carrots grown from Juniper's garden while drinking from bottled water that they'd brought with them. When they were done taking a break, the four friends continued their hike through the forest.