Althea Fey shivered and clutched her shawl closer as a cold wind whipped by. A slight dampness still lingered in the air after the evening’s storm. Kurain was eerily silent at this time of night. It was well after midnight, and Althea knew everyone would be asleep. Maya and the pesky lawyer included. This was the perfect time to head down to the vault. She would not be disturbed or noticed.

She descended the stone steps slowly, the large door in front of her becoming more in focus as the light from her small gas lantern moved closer. Setting the lantern down, she reached into her pocket and pulled out the oddly shaped brass key that opened the door. She smiled to herself as she heard the familiar click of the vault door opening. Having a copy made of the Master’s key was an act of pure brilliance. She had relinquished the original to Maya when she had returned to Kurain a few days ago. No one had any idea about the existence of a second key.

“And nor will they.” Althea thought to herself. The ability to come and go from the Kurain Vault without being detected was an advantage that she didn’t plan on giving up any time soon.

Slipping inside, Althea closed the door behind her. She placed the lantern down on a worn wooden desk and set about lighting the lanterns that were fixed to the walls. Once the room had been sufficiently lit, Althea quickly located the tome she had been looking for.

The book was leather bound and unlabeled, but between these inconspicuous looking covers was a comprehensive history of all of Kurain’s traditions, practices and laws right up until the birth of Mystic Meredith, Maya’s grandmother. Althea flipped through the pages, scanning them hurriedly, searching for a particular name. Before long, she found the chapter relating to Maya’s great, great grandmother and her own grandmother – Mara Fey.

“I can’t believe it’s going to be this easy.” Althea said as she carefully tore the pages from the tome. Although she admittedly felt bad about damaging historic Kurain property, the benefits her plan would have for the village far outweighed one damaged book. Or at least that’s what she told herself.

She checked the book to make sure there was no visible evidence of tampering, and returned it to its place on the shelf. With a triumphant smirk she stuffed the torn pages into her pocket, planning to dispose of them later.

Althea then extinguished the lanterns and headed out of the vault, locking the door once again behind her, leaving no evidence that she had even visited the vault at all.



“It’s down here.” Maya called to Phoenix as she headed down the stone steps.

“Careful!” Phoenix called out. “It’s dark down there. You could slip and hurt yourself.”

Maya rolled her eyes.

“I’m fine, Nick. Just hurry up and get down here with the lantern!”

Phoenix ambled down the remaining steps, and joined Maya at the large door to the vault. He placed his briefcase down and angled the lantern so Maya could clearly see the keyhole. She reached into the pocket of her kimono and pulled out an intricate looking black iron key. She held it up and grinned.

“I’ve never seen a key like that before.” Phoenix remarked. Maya continued to grin.

“Yep. This is a special key. One of a kind. It’s the Masters key, and only I can open the vault.” She finished proudly, turning the key and unlocking the door.

Phoenix smiled. Maya seemed to be thrilled at such a perk, and who was he to deny her enthusiasm.

“Feel privileged, Nick. No outsider has ever been beyond this door before.” She said as she ushered him inside.

“Lucky me.” Phoenix quipped as he headed into the dark room, placing his briefcase down on a desk. Phoenix sniffed at the air, screwing his nose up slightly. “It smells like smoke in here.”

Maya nodded as she moved around the room, lighting the lanterns. “It’s probably just from me lighting these lanterns.”

Phoenix nodded in reply, but he was sure he has smelled smoky air before Maya had even struck the first match. He shook his head lightly and dismissed the thought. He needed to focus on the job at hand.

“Now. What are we looking for?” he asked.

Placing the box of matches down, Maya scanned the numerous shelves of books and boxes of papers, chewing lightly on her bottom lip.

“Beats me.” She said with a shrug. “I’ve never been in here before.”

Phoenix stared at her.

“Are you serious, Maya?” he asked incredulously. Mountains of books and papers and she didn’t have the faintest idea where to look? This could take weeks! Months! And time was something that was not on their side.

Maya shrugged again, opening a dusty box.

“There has to be something in here about Althea or Morgan. We have to find something to back up Mia’s notes. She would have got all her information from this room. We need to finish what she started.” Maya said, her eyes pleading. “Please, Nick. I know it’s not going to be easy, but I need your help.” She finished.

Phoenix sighed and headed over to where she was kneeling, rifling through a box of paperwork. Of course he was going to help her. Despite the dank air filling up his nostrils and the dust flying around the room, one glance at the girl sitting across from him was all Phoenix needed to convince himself there was no place he would rather be.

She was distracting, yes, Phoenix admitted to himself as he watched her sift through the contents of the box in front of her knees. Satisfied that it did not contain anything of significance, she pushed it aside with a small frown and started on the next box.

His mind wandered to the night prior. He could not believe that he had the courage to kiss her. It was a memory he would treasure, even if she had decided that they would just be friends. He wasn’t going to stop loving her, and even though she didn’t know he was standing behind her last night as she wept at Mia’s grave, he had heard her tell her sister that she felt the same way about him. She obviously believed that she was protecting him in some way by keeping him at arms length, and he would allow her to keep that impression. For now, at least.

“Earth to Nick?” Maya said, snapping Phoenix from his reverie.

“Hmm?” he responded, raising his eyebrows.

Maya thrust a sheet of paper in his direction.

“What’s this?” he asked, taking it from her outstretched hand.

“Mia’s birth certificate.” Maya answered as she continued to pull papers from the box. “It seems this box is full of stuff about my mother. Oh, here’s mine.” Maya finished, shoving another sheet of paper in Phoenix’s direction. He took it and read the details, his eyebrows arching in surprise.

“Wait a minute. Your father’s name is listed on both these certificates as Sebastian Fey.” Phoenix affirmed. Maya nodded slowly in response, her expression showing that she didn’t understand the relevance of what he was saying. “Fey? How can his name be Fey? Althea told us that he was a lawyer that your mother met while studying away from the village.”

“Oh.” Maya said, finally understanding his question. “Traditionally, men take the women’s name after marriage in Kurain, especially if the woman is in a position of power.”

Phoenix scoffed.

“There is no way I’m changing my name to Fey,” he remarked.

Maya froze as a blush crept across her cheeks. She blinked a few times at Phoenix who came to the stark realisation that his inner monologue had failed him. He hadn’t meant to say that out loud, but it appeared that he had. He tore his gaze away from hers and cleared his throat nervously. The noise seemed to be enough to snap Maya back to reality also and she began sifting through papers once more, although her blush remained and she appeared flustered.

“It’s a shame.” Phoenix said, as he pored over the birth certificates.

“What is?” Maya asked.

“Well if your father’s real name had been listed on your birth certificate, maybe we would have been able to find out more about him. Maybe you have family members that you’ve never met? Grandparents, cousins, uncles, aunts…” Phoenix trailed off.

“Maybe…” Maya said, a small, wistful smile on her face.

“There must be something we can find out about him.” Phoenix said, placing a hand on Maya’s shoulder. Maya smiled weakly.

“But that’s not what we are here for.” She said softly before turning her attention back to the paperwork. Phoenix’s heart went out to her. She had been alone so long. An idea began forming in his head. He sprung to his feet and pulled out his cell phone.

“Augh. No reception.” He said, looking at the screen.

“Of course not, silly. We’re underground.” Maya chuckled.

Phoenix turned and headed for the door.

“I’ll be right back.” He yelled over his shoulder as he sprinted up the stairs, dialling Gumshoe’s number as soon as his phone picked up a reception bar. Squinting at the sudden sunlight, Phoenix tapped his foot impatiently as the phone continued to ring.

“C’mon Gumshoe. Pick up!” he muttered. The phone rang a few more times before finally being answered.

“Hey Pal!” said the cheery voice on the other end of the phone. “I’ve been trying to call you all morning. Where have you been?”

“Hi Gumshoe.” Phoenix said. “I’m still in Kurain. The reception isn’t the best in a lot of areas here. What’s up? Why have you been trying to contact me?”

“It’s the Fey case.” Gumshoe responded. “They’re opening a murder investigation. They found unidentified toxins in Lillian’s blood.”

Phoenix was surprised.

“I bet she didn’t count on that happening. Althea has already pinned Mia for Lillian’s death here in Kurain. Well at least that’s what she told Maya.”

“Mia? Mia Fey is dead, pal.” Gumshoe stated, confusion evident in his voice.

Phoenix sighed. Gumshoe knew about the Fey’s and their ability to channel the dead and he was not about to waste time explaining it to him yet again. He could be so dense sometimes.

“Besides.” Gumshoe continued. “Althea Fey was adamant that the report be ruled natural causes.”

“I figured she would be.” Phoenix said, frowning. “There’s more to this story, Gumshoe. I’ll get back to you when I have some more information that might be of help. Please let me know if you find anything too.”

“Will do, pal.” Gumshoe replied.

“Oh, Gumshoe, there’s one more thing. I have a favour to ask.” Phoenix said.

“Yeah, what is it?”

“I’m wondering if you could run the defense attorney database for a lawyer by the name of Sebastian.”

“No problem, pal. You got a first name?” Gumshoe asked.

“Well, that’s the problem. Sebastian is the only name I have, and it’s his given name, not a surname.” Phoenix added.

“Oh. Well that’s going to make things a lot more difficult.” Gumshoe remarked.

“I know, just do what you can. I’d appreciate it.” Phoenix said.

“I’ll be in touch, pal.” Gumshoe said before hanging up.

Phoenix turned and headed back downstairs where Maya seemed to be building an impressive pile of relevant documents.

“You seem to be getting somewhere now.” Phoenix quipped. Maya looked up at him and smiled.

“I think I hit a lucky box.” She said. “I think there’s a lot of stuff in here that no one was meant to find. There’s a whole bunch of stuff about Hazakurain. There used to be hundreds of people living there, can you believe that?”

“Wow, that is something.” Phoenix said, sitting down on the floor once more.

“This whole box. We should take it with us.” Maya said, nodding her head animatedly. “We should take it somewhere safe.”

“I thought you were the only one with a key to this place?” Phoenix asked. “Shouldn’t it be safe here?”

“It should,” Maya frowned. But I don’t trust Althea. “We should take it.”

“Okay.” Phoenix said with a shrug, as he helped Maya load all of the paperwork she had pulled out back into the box. “So I just spoke to Gumshoe...” Phoenix began.

“Yeah? What about?”

“He said that Lillian’s case is being turned into a murder investigation.”

Maya frowned.

“Did they find something?”

“Toxins in her blood.” Phoenix replied. “Althea was very resolute that they rule Lillian’s death as natural. She’s not going to be happy when she finds out that the police know different.”

“I would say not.” Maya agreed. “But this will work in our favour. It will distract her from whatever she and Andre are planning, or at least slow them down.”

Maya paused, thinking for a minute. “What if…”

“What?” Phoenix asked.

“Maybe I could channel Lillian. We could find out exactly what happened. It might help Gumshoe’s investigation in some way.”

Phoenix nodded as Maya took on her meditative stance. She closed her eyes and began to concentrate and Phoenix waited for her appearance to change. But nothing happened.

Maya frowned and tried again. Still nothing.

“It’s not working. I don’t get it.” Maya said, clearly frustrated.

“Could Althea have blocked her too?” Phoenix asked.

Maya’s shoulders slumped. She nodded slowly. She should have known that Althea would have already thought of that.

“Nick…” Maya croaked. “How are we going to win when she’s always ten steps ahead?”

Maya was fighting back tears as Phoenix lifted her to her feet. He didn’t have an answer for her. He wished that he did.

“C’mon. We should get out of here.” He said softly. Maya nodded absently as Phoenix leaned down to pick up the box of papers.

“We’ll just have to get ten steps ahead of her.” Phoenix said gently as they continued to gather up their things. “And this box of paperwork will help us do that.”

Maya nodded, giving him the best smile she could manage. She turned and moved towards the door, but a sheet of paper slipped out of the folder she held in her arms and fell to the floor.

“Wait.” Phoenix said, kneeling down to pick it up. “You dropped this.”

He glanced at the document, before quickly realising that this was a deed of ownership. And it was in her parent’s names.

“Maya, did you know that your parents owned land somewhere?” Phoenix said handing the paper to her. She shook her head.

“Woodlands Road? I know where that is. It’s about an hour from here.” Maya said, reading the document.

“Maybe we should go check it out?” Phoenix suggested.



Phoenix brought the pushbike to a stop next to the spot where Maya had left hers. His legs were killing him. He felt like they had been riding for hours, but in reality it was more like 45 minutes. Maya seemed to develop an abundance of energy when Phoenix had suggested that they go check out the land her parents had owned, which actually now belonged to her.

And as it turned out, what Maya had inherited wasn’t just land.

Letting his bike fall to the ground, Phoenix headed over to where Maya stood, looking up at a run down and unfinished two storey house. The design and fixings were breathtaking, and Phoenix could tell that if it had had a chance to be completed, it would have been a beautiful home. He glanced down at Maya, and was surprised to see her expression was pained, and she was fighting back tears.

“What is it? What’s the matter Maya?” Phoenix asked worriedly.

Maya shook her head.

“My life, Nick. My happy life. My normal childhood. My family. It was meant to happen in this house.”

Tears began to trail down her cheeks. Phoenix placed an arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer to him. She rested her head against his shoulder, still looking up at the house.

Phoenix closed his eyes and vowed silently that one day, he would make sure she had the happy family she had always dreamed about.

And as for the people who took this perfect white house and all it represented from her? He was going to make them pay.

The office looked like a bomb had hit it. Phoenix sat on the floor with his back against the couch, not far from Maya who was rifling through yet another box they had sent back from Kurain, all of which had arrived this morning. He glanced around the usually tidy space, surveying the carnage. Boxes and manila folders were scattered throughout the office, seemingly in no semblance of order. He was inwardly thankful that he didn't have any clients at the moment. God forbid, one would show up right now. How much faith could they put in such a disorganised lawyer?

No one had blinked an eye at the amount of paperwork that Maya organised to have couriered to the Wright & Co office before she had left. It was agreed that she would be running things and continuing her studies in the city and Althea excluded, everyone in Kurain seemed quite happy that the Master was "on board" so to speak. By the time they had left yesterday morning many of the changes that Maya had suggested to improve Kurain were already in their early stages. Althea had been conspicuous in her absence for the remainder of their visit, and Phoenix wasn't sure whether to be relieved or worried.

Maya sprang to her feet, startling Phoenix out of his quiet thoughts. She crossed the room and opened another box. After picking up a piece of paper and matching it with the one she was holding, she let out a quiet "Ah-ha!" before returning to her spot on the floor beside Phoenix. Given the amount of paper in the room, he was surprised that she was able to just walk up to a box and find what she had been looking for. Mia's files and notes were thoroughly lost within the piles of Kurain records. What a mess.

"How on Earth do you know where anything is?" he inquired.

"It's organised chaos, Nick." She quipped, still engrossed in her papers.

"I think I prefer plain old organised." He retorted.

"Of course you would." She agreed dryly. "Take a look at these!" she added after a light pause, handing some sheets of paper to Phoenix.

"What are they?" he asked, scanning the contents. Lots of numbers. Numbers weren't really his thing.

"Well, I think they're bank statements. The first one is Pearl's trust fund, which I knew she had. But I didn't realise there was that much money in there." Maya explained. "I have no idea who the second one belongs to. I don't know anyone by the name Parker, but the deposits come from Kurain too. The account is almost as old as I am."

Phoenix frowned as he skimmed over the numbers. Pearls was on track to be a millionaire once she was old enough to be eligible for that money. Morgan must have been setting this up to take care of her daughter. "And herself." Phoenix thought, irritated.

"So much for Althea's claims that Kurain was too poor to make any of the changes you suggested at the council meeting." Phoenix said. He turned the page over, noticing something strange. Numbers he might not be good with, but dates he could certainly remember.

"Look." He continued, pointing to the second half of the back page. "The payments continue after Morgan went to prison, so it couldn't be her."

Maya thought for a moment before replying.

"It'd have to be Althea." she said. "No one can move money in Kurain without her knowing about it. Well, except for me."

"So you're saying you don't need me to pay for all your burgers?" Phoenix said, feigning a hurt expression. Maya giggled.

"Don't be silly, Nick. I could be a billionaire and I'd still make you take me out for burgers." Maya said with an innocent smile. Phoenix scoffed.

"Maya. That's just..."

Rather than finishing his sentence, Phoenix reached up behind him to the couch, found a cushion and threw it at his young assistant. Her reflexes weren't fast enough to catch it and it hit her square in the face, before landing in her lap.

"Hey!" she complained, blowing her bangs out of her eyes with a soft huff. She picked up the cushion and hurled it back at him. With a laugh, he ducked to the left, sending the cushion skidding over his shoulder and into a pile of papers on the floor, making an even bigger mess.

"Oops." She said softly, a light blush colouring her cheeks. The corner of Phoenix's lip turned up in a small smile. She was so pretty when she was embarrassed.

He continued to stare at her, a slightly dazed look on his face and a half smile. Her blush deepened when she realised he was staring. She looked away with a small smile, long lashes sweeping down across high cheekbones. Realising he was making things awkward and not keeping his end of the 'friends' bargain, he stood to retrieve the cushion.

"Now you've done it." He joked over his shoulder as he bent down and picked up the cushion, throwing it back on the couch.

"I did not!" he heard Maya gasp from behind him.

"Yeah you did. You threw it." Phoenix said coolly, sitting down beside her again.

"You threw it first!" she countered.

"Because you were mean." He explained calmly.

She scowled and puffed her cheeks out at him, reminding him a great deal of the naive girl he had taken on as his assistant three years ago. Everything they had been through had changed the both of them.

She'd grown up so much.



Phoenix hung up the phone and rubbed his eyes. He'd phoned Gumshoe hoping that he might be able to help them find out more about the bank accounts. Who had opened them, registered addresses and the like. Every little bit of information helped.

It was late now, and Maya sat at her desk, organising piles of papers. They had spent the entire day and evening going through every last box, pulling out anything with any mention of Morgan Fey or Althea Fey and they had been surprised at what they had found. Althea's signature was on Morgan's bail forms and court documents from the Dr Grey case. Bail had been refused, but the forms showed Althea had tried. Why was Althea so desperate to get Morgan out of prison? And why was she allowing so much money to be transferred to these bank accounts? There were also a lot of documents alluding to the 'handling of the Hazakurain Incident', but there was never any more information beyond that. Whatever it was though, it was bad. As usual, the answers just raised more questions.

Maya yawned and stretched, putting the papers down and staring ahead blankly. She looked tired, and Phoenix was thankful that she at least ate the takeaway burgers that he had brought back for dinner. Now, she needed sleep.

"You look like you need to go to bed, young lady." Phoenix said, leaning back in his chair. Maya narrowed her eyes at him.

"You don't look so crash hot yourself, old man." She replied with a sardonic smile.

"Save it." He said, ignoring her barb and waving his hand dismissively. "I'm going to bed shortly myself. I just have to make a couple more phone calls."

"Mmm hmm." Maya nodded and with another yawn as she stood up and headed for the stairs. "G'night Nick." She added sleepily.

"Good night, Maya." He replied, watching her ascend the stairs before turning his attention back to his desk.

He picked up the phone and dialled the number for the main house at Hazakurain. Maybe Iris or Bikini knew something about this 'incident' that the documents kept referring to.

"I'm sorry. The number you have dialled is not available. Please check the number and dial again."

Phoenix sighed and hung up the phone. The number was right, which must mean that the lines were down. With the amount of snow storms they had been having, it wasn't out of the question. Answers would have to wait until tomorrow. Now though it was time for sleep. Phoenix clicked off his desk lamp and headed upstairs.



"I see." Andre said, resting his chin in his hands as he leaned his elbows on the table. Althea sat across from him looking very pleased with herself.

"I don't see any way it could fail." Althea mused, taking a sip of her tea. "No one has as much information as I do, and I have removed everything else from the vault."

"It's clever, I'll give you that." Andre said with a slight nod. "But the lawyer will be furious."

"A satisfying bonus." Althea quipped with a small shrug. "Maya will agree. There's nothing he can do about it."

"What do you need me to do?" Andre asked. He liked this plan. Althea's explanations were detailed and intelligent. She had thought of everything. It sounded far more likely to succeed than the tidbits of information his mother had fed him. He also liked the idea of the suffering it would bring to Phoenix and Maya. They would get what they deserved.

"I think the best thing would be for you to disappear. Maya and the lawyer are suspicious and untrusting of you, and this plan will only work if I appear to be compliant with the Master's wishes. If I tell her that I have 'sent you away' it will work in my favour. Of course you will stay in the village, but just stay out of sight whenever she visits between now and when all this comes together." Althea explained. Andre nodded. Once again, she made sense.

"Understood." He paused, processing the information. "What about my mother?" he added.

"Just keep telling her that everything is progressing according to her plans. What she doesn't know won't hurt her. She'll thank me for this one day."



Maya ran up the Winding Way, her bare feet pounding against the wooden planks with a dull 'thud thud thud'. Reaching the end, she slid the door open. It was dark inside but her eyes adjusted quickly. The air was thick and the smell of blood was all around her. Her stomach lurched. She scanned the room locating the body on the floor, blood pooling around him and into the fabric of the blue suit she loved so much.

"NICK!" Her voice came out as a garbled scream as she lunged towards him. She dropped to her knees, cradling his lifeless body against her own and rocking, rocking, rocking.

"Nick... oh Nick..." she sobbed. Blood splattered the front of his shirt, and a small trickle ran from the corner of his mouth. He was dead.

"That's what you get..." a deep, silky voice began, almost musically from a dark corner of the room. "...for sticking your nose where it doesn't belong."

Andre Fey stepped forward towards Maya. She let out a small yelp and clutched Phoenix closer to her.

Andre twirled his father's knife in his hands. His hands were covered in blood.

"Mystic Maya." He said emotionlessly. "Whatever will I do with you now that you know too much?"

"YOU'RE INSANE!" Maya screamed at him, tears running freely.

"Oh no. No no no no no, my dear! I disagree! I am very much sane. And I know that this village needs to be cleansed of your pathetic blood line." He seethed, taking another step towards her. Realising the danger, Maya scrambled away from Phoenix and ran for the door. Thunder rumbled outside and a bolt of lightning illuminated the figure blocking the doorway.

"You're not going anywhere..." Althea Fey said, her voice icy.

Maya cried out and fell backwards, shrinking away from Althea, while Andre moved closer behind her. She glanced over at where Phoenix lay, cold and lifeless. She whispered his name and squeezed her eyes shut, accepting her fate.



Maya awoke with a start, a small yelp choking its way from her throat. She sat up, looking around for Phoenix before she remembered that she was in her own room again and he was sleeping down the hall. Since they had returned to the city she had been sleeping on her own and the nightmares were getting worse.

She missed his warmth, the smell of him and the security he gave her. She didn't have nightmares when he was with her. Just peaceful sleep. She sighed, sitting up and swinging her legs over the edge of the bed. She knew their decision to just be friends was for the best but she just wanted to see his face right now. She needed to know that he was okay.

She crept silently down the hall and carefully opened his bedroom door, peeking inside. The light from the Gatewater Hotel illuminated his room, and she stifled a small chuckle at the sight of him on his stomach, one leg under the covers, one out with his mouth open slightly, snoring softly into the pillow the she had slept on before their visit to Kurain. She smiled to herself and closed the door with a soft click.

Feeling better with the knowledge that Phoenix was alive and well, Maya returned to her room hoping that the nightmares would leave her alone for the rest of the night and she could get some much needed sleep.

Maya sat at Phoenix's desk, trying to make sense of her sister's notes. It was hard. Mia's handwriting was atrocious at best which didn't make it any easier to decipher the words that all seemed out of context and nonsensical. The names Luciana Armando and Audrina Fey kept appearing on the messy pages along with 'Hazakurain' but Maya had never heard either of those names before. How was it possible that there was another Fey that she knew nothing about? Mia was always really bad with names. Maya hoped she hadn't got these ones wrong too. The whole thing was positively confusing. If only they could reach her to help them make sense of everything.

Exhaling heavily, Maya pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Great." She thought dismally. "It's not even 10am and I'm getting a headache. This is going to be an awesome day."

Sitting back, she allowed herself to observe the state of Phoenix's usually impeccable office space. There were still boxes and piles of paper all around, but she was slowly getting through them all. It looked nowhere near as bad as it did a few days ago when the boxes had arrived.

Idly tapping her pen on the desk, she wondered where Phoenix was. He had already been gone when she got up at six that morning, finding a hasty "Back Later" scrawled on a sticky note stuck to her forehead. She laughed again, as she had when she woke up and realised what he had done. She'd been sleeping so heavily that she hadn't even known he was in her room, let alone felt him stick the small yellow note to her brow.

"Nick is so silly sometimes." She thought to herself with a smile. She could just imagine him laughing at himself after he left her room. He always thought his jokes were way funnier than everyone else did. Still, he'd been gone a few hours and he hadn't called. Where could he be? Maya pondered the possibilities.

"Maybe Pickles chased him into the alleyway again..." she wondered to herself.

Pickles was a very big, very mean Doberman that lived down the street. He would chase anyone if he managed to get out of his yard, but he especially loved to chase Phoenix. Maya always joked that Phoenix's blue suit made him mad, like a bull with a red cloth. Phoenix though, believed that he was chasing Maya to try and 'fetch' the ball type fasteners she used to tie her hair. Yet another joke that he thought was funnier than it actually was. However, last time they had an encounter with Pickles, neither of their theories were of any use. They only managed to escape the dog when Phoenix snatched the remainder of Maya's burger from her hands and threw it to Pickles to distract him while they ran for their lives.

Thinking that too unexciting of a scenario, Maya continued to speculate over Phoenix's potential predicament.

"Maybe it's not Pickles that has him trapped in the alleyway. Maybe... Maybe it's a dragon!"

Pickles disappeared with a poof of smoke from Maya's imagined scene of Phoenix cowering in the alleyway, only to be quickly replaced by a great big green dragon. She chuckled.

"And maybe the dragon wants BURGERS!" she thought with a grin. She began absentmindedly doodling a rudimentary depiction of Phoenix being towered over by a hungry dragon on the notepad beside her. She added a little speech bubble with the words "RAWR! BURGERS!" for effect. Giggling, she put down her pen and picked up her cell phone.

"I guess I'd better call him." She said aloud to herself, selecting his contact and hitting call. She picked up her pen again and started making enhancements to her drawing as she put the phone to her ear. Phoenix answered after four rings.

"Maya!" he said cheerily. He sounded out of breath.

"Nick..." she said, her small frown evident in her voice. "Where are you? Is there a dragon?" She added after a small pause.

"Don't worry I-" Phoenix started. "A Dragon? Maya, what are you talking about?" he finished, puzzled.

"Nothing." She grinned. "Where are you?"

"I'm almost back. I won't be-" Phoenix paused, and Maya could hear a muffled high pitched voice in the background. "No-wait-it's supposed-" he said in an exasperated tone, presumably to the owner of the voice.

"Hold on a second." He said to Maya. A rustling noise signified that Phoenix had covered the speaker of the phone. She could hear him talking animatedly to someone, but the sound was not distinct enough for her to make out any words. What was he up to?

"Anyway, I'll be back soon." Phoenix said, returning to the phone. High pitched voice was silent.

"Niiiiiick..." Maya droned, her tone suspicious. "What are you up to?"

"Nothing! Nothing!" he chuckled. She could hear the badly covered lie in the timbre of his voice. "See you soon!"

Maya hung up the phone, even more confused than she was before she had called him. Shaking her head, she turned her attention back to Mister Dragon. Funnily enough, between Mia's illogical notes and whatever was attributing to Phoenix's absence, a giant green burger hungry dragon was the most rational thing she had seen all day.

***

It was less than ten minutes later when Phoenix barged through the door of the Wright & Co office, the noise startling Maya from her dragon masterpiece. Looking up, her shocked expression broke into a beaming smile as the mystery of Phoenix's whereabouts and secrecy were immediately solved.

"Surprise!" He said with a grin.

"Pearly!" Maya exclaimed as the little girl leapt from Phoenix's arms and ran to her, enveloping her in the biggest hug her little body could manage. "What are you doing here?" She hugged Pearl again.

"Mr Nick is taking us to Gatewater Land!" Pearl said excitedly, her eyes wide.

Maya looked up at Phoenix and raised an eyebrow. He continued to grin at her.

"Nick, I don't know if I can... there's just so much to do here..." Maya said worriedly, her voice trailing off as she looked around the room. She didn't want to disappoint Pearl, but finding these answers was really important.

"Nonsense." Phoenix said. "You've been working so hard these last few days that I think you need to take today off." He finished matter-of-factly.

Maya still didn't look convinced.

"I brought Pearls all the way here!" Phoenix added, hoping that vague emotional blackmail would sway her. As expected, she faltered.

"Oh, alright then." She conceded.

"Success!" Phoenix thought excitedly. He knew there was no way Maya could say no to Pearl. Mission: Get Maya Out Of The Office Today had gone off without a hitch. While Phoenix did indeed have an ulterior motive for the visit to Gatewater Land today, Maya didn't need to know about it. As far as she was concerned, today would be all about fun.

"Dirty tactics, Nick." Maya mused, pointedly glancing at Pearl as she moved from the desk to follow the pair out the door. "I'd hate to see you play poker. I bet you'd cheat."

***

Gatewater Land was alive and buzzing, with happy people everywhere. From the moment they had walked through the gates, Maya found herself soaking in the atmosphere and with all the smiles and laughter around her she found herself forgetting all about Kurain and the figurative dark clouds that the small mountain village always seemed to attract.

"So." Phoenix began. "What do you two lovely ladies want to do first?"

Maya's stomach growled audibly, as if right on cue. Phoenix laughed.

"Well then, I guess we eat!" he decided, directing the girls towards a nearby burger shack. Phoenix suggested they take a seat at one of the tables outside to make the most of the fresh air and sunshine. Pearl began to chatter excitedly about all the things she wanted to do at the park, when their waitress arrived.

Assaulted by the strong smell of perfume, Maya screwed up her nose. The waitress stood over her, chewing gum. She appeared distracted and unimpressed, her over made up face wearing an impassive expression. Then she caught sight of Phoenix as he lowered his menu. She immediately straightened up and put on her best practiced smile, batting her lashes. Maya scowled.

"Typical." Maya thought dejectedly. She had to admit though, it was somewhat satisfying that Phoenix had yet to even glance in the woman's direction.

"Hey gorgeous." She drawled at him. "What can I get you today?"

"I'm not sure." Phoenix said, still lost in thought. "I'm thinking something with chicken. Any suggestions?" he asked, still looking at his menu.

"Well," she purred, "The Hawaiian burger is divine. Chicken, pineapple and a sweet salsa. It's a big enough burger to fill up a…" she paused, eyeing him up and down. "…strapping man like yourself."

She was practically leaning on Phoenix's shoulder, trying desperately to get his attention. He continued to read the menu, oblivious to her advances. The waitress cast an irritated glance at Maya, who by this stage was absolutely fuming.

Maya straightened her posture in her seat and cleared her throat, glaring at the waitress-from-hell.

"We also have fabulous kids' meals for your... two little guests." The waitress finished sweetly. Maya balled her fists at her sides.

"I don't know..." Phoenix said, seemingly ignoring the woman's last comment. He closed his menu and set it down on the table. "I can't say I'm that big a fan of pineapple."

He finally glanced in her direction, his expression indifferent. Her smile widened as his eyes met hers. She appeared to be searching his face for some sign of approval. His expression didn't change.

"You know what?" Phoenix began as he turned his attention to Maya. His expression softened as he gazed at her making her heart flutter and her stomach do back flips. Without breaking eye contact, he reached across the table and took her hand. Maya glanced quickly to her left, relieved that Pearl's view was obscured by the giant menu she was holding in front of her. The little girl was blissfully unaware of the exchange between her beloved Mr Nick & Mystic Maya. If she could see the way Phoenix was looking at her, Maya knew she'd start planning their wedding.

"I think… I'll have…" Phoenix drawled, bringing Maya's hand to his lips and placing a soft kiss against her knuckles. "…Whatever my little guest is having."

From the corner of her eye, Maya caught the shocked expression of the waitress, but even the prospect of gloating wasn't enough to tear herself away from Phoenix's piercing gaze. He placed her hand back on the table, still holding it gently.

Moments later, (or was it minutes? Hours maybe?) Maya registered the waitress clearing her throat impatiently, obviously waiting on her order.

"Ahh… uhh… Ch-cheeseburger…" Maya managed to stammer. Phoenix's eyes twinkled mischievously, still locked with her own.

"A kids meal for the little one." He added, without sparing a glance for the unimpressed waitress. Her pleasant demeanour forgotten, she snatched up the menus and stormed off.

"Hey!" Pearl cried as her menu was pulled from her grasp, turning around in her chair and watching the woman stride away.

Phoenix let go of Maya's hand and leaned back in his chair, a smug smile plastered on his lips. Maya's heart was still pounding so violently in her chest that she was sure he would hear it. She could feel a strong blush heating her cheeks.

"Nick… you-you didn't have to do that." She said softly. Phoenix merely shrugged in reply.

"She was rude." He justified.

Pearl turned back to the two adults at the table, glancing quickly back and forth between them. She frowned. They were always acting so strange. Catching sight of Maya's reddened cheeks; she let out a small gasp.

"Mystic Maya!" she cried. "You're sunburned already! We just got here. Mr Nick, you'll have to keep Mystic Maya out of the sun. She burns so easily."

Phoenix raised an eyebrow and chuckled at Maya, who in response turned an even deeper shade of red.



A short while later, a different waitress showed up with their meals, along with some crayons and paper for Pearl. She finished her lunch and was soon engrossed in her latest artwork.

Maya sighed, contented.

"Thank for this, Nick." She said earnestly. "I think I really needed it."

"My pleasure." He replied. They sat in a comfortable silence for a while longer, enjoying the soft breeze that drifted by.

"I'm surprised they let you take Pearly without me there with you," Maya said, breaking the silence.

"Yeah." Phoenix said, a small frown creasing his brow. "You know, this is totally weird, but Althea was actually really nice to me."

"Really?" Maya asked incredulously. "We are talking about the same woman, right?"

"I know," Phoenix shrugged. "I don't get it either."

"Maybe she's realised that being nice is so much easier than being mean?" Maya questioned.

"Doubtful." Phoenix replied. "It just makes me think that she's up to something. I'd feel less uneasy if she was her usual charming self."

Maya groaned.

"I wish she'd just give up already! Or maybe… move to Peru or something."

"Peru?" Phoenix laughed.

"Yeah." Maya said, the serious look on her face making him laugh even harder.

They sat for a while longer, watching the other visitors wander past while Pearl continued to draw quietly. Exasperated parents were dragged every which way by their excited children and young couples held hands and gazed lovingly at each other as they leisurely strolled by.

"So what next?" Maya inquired, resting her elbows on the table.

"I don't know," Phoenix replied with a frown. "I guess it all depends on what we can get out of all that paperwork."

Maya laughed. The sound was light, almost musical. He wasn't expecting that from her. He ayed her quizzically.

"I meant today, silly." She laughed again. "We've finished lunch, so what now?"

"Oh!" Phoenix realised. "I thought we could take a boat ride. If I remember correctly, you've never been out on a boat before, right?"

Maya smiled. She was surprised he even remembered that. Gourd Lake. It felt like forever ago.

"Sounds great." Maya said. She turned to look in the direction of the lake, glimmering beautifully in the bright sunlight when a flash of something very familiar caught her eye. She gasped.

"Hey!" she cried, eyes widening. "Isn't that…?"

Maya trailed off, not finishing her sentence, but she didn't need to. Phoenix followed her line of sight, inwardly groaning. It was. He had totally forgotten. He glanced down at his watch and quickly stood up. A small 'tch' sound escaped his lips. He was late.

"Oh my gosh he's with a girl!" Maya squealed, still watching the familiar male she had spotted.

"Maya, can I leave you with Pearls for a few minutes? I'll be right back."

"Yes, yes, go!" she ordered. "I want to hear all about this." Phoenix smirked. Gossipy Maya reminded him of Mia when she used to phone Maya back in Kurain all those years ago. Little aspects of Maya's mannerisms and expressions were a constant reminder of the Chief. It made him smile. He moved past her, his hand lingering on her shoulder.

"Watch out for dragons!" he heard her call as he strode away. He frowned, confused.

"Seriously." He thought. "What is with the dragons?"



"Wright." The man said stoically.

"Hello Edgeworth," Phoenix greeted his friend.

"You're late." Edgeworth admonished.

"I know. I'm sorry. I got caught up." Phoenix lied.

"Yes, I'm sure." Edgeworth said, his tone suggesting that he didn't quite believe his spiky haired friend. Edgeworth glanced quickly over Phoenix's shoulder. Turning to follow his line of sight, Phoenix saw the young woman that Maya had spotted him with earlier, talking animatedly to the man at the hotdog cart about thirty feet away.

"Cute." Phoenix said, turning back to face him.

"I hadn't noticed," was the taciturn reply. Phoenix raised an eyebrow at him mockingly. "We don't all fall desperately in love with our assistants, Wright." Edgeworth finished. Phoenix scoffed lightly before responding.

"Good thing." he shrugged. "Franziska would be devastated."

To anyone else, Edgeworth's expression remained unchanged but to Phoenix's trained eye, the small twitch from his prosecutor friend may as well have been a declaration of undying and everlasting love for his former mentor's daughter.

"I can only assume that you didn't ask to speak to me today in order to inappropriately question me on my personal relations." Edgeworth stated aporetically.

Phoenix had phoned Edgeworth the night previous in the hope that he could help him find some information about Maya's defense attorney father. Gumshoe didn't appear to be having any luck, so Phoenix hoped that Edgeworth might be able to find something amongst the old prosecutors' records. Both he and Maya had been having so much trouble finding any answers at all and Phoenix was getting frustrated. Little did he know that his luck was about to change.

"Actually," Phoenix began, "I was hoping that you might be able to help me out with something. I'm looking for a defense attorney."

Edgeworth looked at him as if he had grown an extra head.

"The mirror, perhaps?" Edgeworth quipped. Phoenix shook his head in exasperation. Wait, did Edgeworth just make a joke?

"No, I need information. This man was an attorney about thirty years ago. The only information I have though is the first name Sebastian."

Edgeworth thought for a few moments.

"Well it could be anyone, but the only one that comes to mind is Sebastian Parker. He was a good friend of my fathers."

"Parker…" Phoenix gasped. "The name on the bank statement…"

"What?" Edgeworth asked.

"Nothing." Phoenix said quickly. "Do you know anything more about him?"

"Well," Edgeworth started. "I never actually met him, but he used to phone and talk to my father a lot. He married some woman and moved to the country. My father would lament about how 'the world lost a fine defense attorney'. He had a daughter, I believe. Or was it two? Perhaps if you find them, they might be of more help to you."

Phoenix was flabbergasted. After so many dead ends, had he actually found a piece of the puzzle that fit? He took a deep breath to try and soak the moment in.

"Wright?" Edgeworth quizzed. "Are you ill?"

"No, I'm fine." He replied quickly. "I have to go. I've got to get back to Maya."

He took off in the direction of the burger shack, Edgeworth's voice trailing behind him.

"Wait, do you need help finding his daughters?" Edgeworth offered. Phoenix turned back in his direction and shook his head.

"No. I have a pretty good idea where to find one of them right now." He said with a grin, before turning and sprinting off.

"Who was that?" Kay asked, having just returned with a hot dog in hand.

"No one." Edgeworth lied.

"What a positively peculiar man." He thought to himself as Kay led him off in the opposite direction.



Gathering Maya and Pearl from the burger shack, the trio headed towards the boat dock with Phoenix desperately trying to share what he had learned with Maya, who continued to assault him with a barrage of questions about the girl with Edgeworth.

"So who is she?" Maya asked excitedly. "She's his girlfriend, huh?"

"No-" Phoenix began, flustered. "Look, I have no idea. But I have something more important to tell you." Maya didn't seem to be listening.

"I can't believe it!" she cried. "He's so… so…. Stuffy!"

Phoenix sighed heavily. Maya continued her prattling.

"I mean, he's good looking and all, but I can't believe he'd have a girlfriend!"

"Maya, you've got to li-" Phoenix paused.

"Wait, did she just say Edgeworth was good looking?" he thought bitterly to himself. "Ugh. Not important right now." He shook off the thought and tried again to get her attention.

"Oh! Franziska is going to be furious!" Maya gasped, unable to stifle a giggle.

Giving up, Phoenix just blurted it out.

"Sebastian Parker."

Maya froze.

"What did you say?" she questioned, turning to face Phoenix.

"It's… it's your father's name." He responded with a small smile. "He… ahh… knew Gregory Edgeworth."

Maya remained silent, blinking a few times while she tried to process the information. She frowned a little, and Phoenix could see her struggling to take labored breaths. He immediately felt guilty for telling her in such a blunt manner. This had to be the informational equivalent of throwing a bucket of ice water on her head. He took a step toward her, arm outstretched tentatively. Finally, she looked up at him, eyes wide.

"Nick… you…. you…" She babbled, her eyes filling with tears. She leapt towards him, closing her arms around his neck, choking back small sobs. He gently wrapped his arms around her waist, relieved that she was happy. She didn't seem to make the connection between the name and the bank statements that could potentially implicate her father in a negative manner, and he didn't bother reminding her. Now was not the time. Pearl's grin couldn't have been wider as she watched Phoenix and Maya in such an emotional embrace.

"You found his name…" Maya finished disbelievingly, her voice a whisper as she hugged him tighter. This small bit of information could quite possibly lead to many more discoveries. All of a sudden, solving the mysteries of Kurain and Hazakurain didn't seem so daunting. And family… she could have family out there too. Maya let go with a sniff, wiping her eyes with a small laugh. She was so happy. Today was the most amazing day.

"C'mon you guys!" Pearl called impatiently from a few feet away. She had already begun to cross the ornate wooden bridge that led to the boat docks. "We need to get to the romantic boat ride!"

Phoenix and Maya both laughed softly, heading toward the bridge. He stopped to read the information about the bridge on his map, turning to Maya and offering the folded paper to her to do the same. Maya read the words, committing them to memory. She smiled.

"Eventually." He said, taking her hand.

"Eventually." She nodded in agreement as they moved forward to catch up to Pearl, hand in hand. The little girl skipped along happily behind them as they crossed the bridge.

"I am so happy right now!" Pearl squealed emphatically as she watched her two favourite people, content in being each others 'special someone'.



A short while later, Edgeworth and Kay approached the same bridge. Ever the romantic, Edgeworth scoffed at the sentiment.

"Really. How juvenile." he thought dismissively.

"They say that couples who cross this bridge together will find happiness." He remarked to Kay. "Or so the Gatewater Land pamphlet says."

Kay mused over the idea. It was kind of silly.

"But you think they would already be happy because they were able to come together." She added, half in agreement with Edgeworth.

"Logistics aside," Edgeworth continued, "I wonder who came up with this tale and when? This bridge doesn't look old enough to be the stuff of legends."

He stopped to lean on the railing, spotting Phoenix, Maya and Pearl out on the lake in a small boat. He shook his head. This bridge nonsense was exactly the type of thing that Wright would go for, with all that blind optimism of his and what not. Beside him, Kay sighed briefly. The atmosphere of the lake and the blissful couples around her seemed to be softening her stance.

"Well some things are better left uninvestigated, don't you think? Ignorance is bliss!" she exclaimed happily, before turning to cross the remainder of the bridge.

Edgeworth cast one final glance at his defense attorney friend, before nodding in agreement and heading off after Kay.

Phoenix flopped back against the armrest of the couch, absent-mindedly tossing the small rubber ball that Pearl had left behind into the air before catching it again.

Toss. Catch. Toss. Catch.

His favourite red tie hung loosely around his neck and his shoes lay discarded on the floor beside him. He knew the position he was lying in would no doubt be flattening his hair and his suit was probably wrinkled as well, but he wasn't really bothered. He wondered idly why he bothered with the suit at all today. He hadn't done anything even remotely "lawyerly" as Maya would have put it. Some tracksuit pants and a hoodie would have been far more comfortable on a lazy day like today. Lazy for him, anyway.

"Oh well." He thought to himself. "Doesn't hurt to keep up appearances on the odd chance I do actually get a real client."

He tossed the ball in the air a few more times before sighing audibly. He was bored. The sun had finally disappeared behind the horizon and soon it would be dark. He briefly contemplated getting up and switching the lights on, but the lamp on Maya's desk lit up the office sufficiently. She'd been sitting there for most of the day. The scritch-scritch sound of her pen against the paper might as well have been fingernails on a chalkboard in Phoenix's ears. He scowled and pouted childishly. He contemplated throwing the ball at her for a few moments before deciding that would be even more childish than pouting.

It had been a little over a week since their trip to Gatewater Land and he had noticed that something was seriously bugging Maya. Ever since Pearl had headed back to Kurain she had been slowly but surely slipping back into her old habit of overworking herself. Phoenix hadn't mentioned it to her yet, figuring it was best to let her work through things however she felt she needed to.

He supposed that going over Mia's files again was a valid idea. There may be further mentions of Maya's father that they had not noticed when they first read the files having only just discovered his real name. But Phoenix hadn't found anything noteworthy in the folders that he had been through, and he knew Maya hadn't either. But that hadn't stopped her from insisting that there must be something they had missed and taking it upon herself to go through everything for a third time.

He knew what she was doing. She had convinced herself that his name was the clue that they had been looking for. Her father's identity would pull everything together and make the puzzle pieces finally fit. But that wasn't the case. There was still so much more that they didn't know. Maya was getting frustrated and trying to find things that weren't there. She was obsessing over it, and Phoenix knew he would have to step in soon. He knew there were a few people who might have information that could help, but getting a hold of them was proving to be difficult.

On top of all that, Maya was also busy running Kurain. Signing contracts, reading proposals, organising upgrades and about a million other administrative tasks. She was adamant that she wished to stay with him in the city, only returning to Kurain for official duties, but the amount of work was wearing on her. What was the point of her hanging around if she would just be working all the time anyway. Phoenix suspected that Althea was making Maya's workload as rigorous as possible in order to make her feel that she needed to be in Kurain where help was readily available. What she failed to realise was that Maya had all the help she needed right here. He had no reservations about helping her with the contracts and legalities, but he wasn't going to help tonight. She had been a paperwork zombie for days now. She needed a break, and he was going to make her take one.

He sat up on the couch, turning to face the direction of her desk and leaning over the back.

"Maya…" He called in his best authoritative tone. He caught the corner of her mouth turn up in a small smile as she tried her best to ignore him. Not discouraged in the slightest, he called her name again.

"Hmm?" she replied, not looking up from her page.

"Time to stop working." Phoenix ordered.

"Five more minutes." She said, raising a hand in protest. "You know I've got that big meeting tomorrow in Kurain and this stuff needs to be done before then."

"Zero more minutes." Phoenix corrected her, picking up the remote and flicking on the TV. She had informed him earlier that there was a meeting to attend in Kurain the following day, dismissing it as 'stuffy masters' stuff' and promising him she would return as soon as it was done. Whatever this stuffy meeting was, surely it couldn't take precedence over the Steel Samurai.

"I don't think you want to miss this, Maya," said Phoenix. "They're showing a re-run tonight of the Steel Samurai New Years Special. It's got the fireworks and everything. Apparently, they aren't even cutting out the bit where the guy playing the Evil Magistrate got drunk and swore at the Pink Princess," he finished as he scanned the TV guide before turning back to her.

Maya laughed.

"That was so bad!" she remembered fondly. "The looks on their faces!" she added, shaking her head, before continuing with her writing. He continued to glare at her, thrumming his fingers against the back of the couch impatiently. Maya sighed in exasperation.

"I'll be there in a sec, Nick! Geez, keep your pants on."

"If I take them off, will it get you over here and away from that damn desk?" Phoenix asked in mock seriousness. Maya laughed again.

"It'll get me away from the desk and running out the door screaming." She responded.

Phoenix narrowed his eyes at his assistant.

"You liar. You know you can't resist my godly physique."

Maya raised an eyebrow at him, fighting the urge to laugh. Phoenix nodded and winked at her. His faux suggestive behaviour was almost ridiculous. She had noticed a lot lately how different he was around her, more relaxed. He wasn't afraid to make jokes at his own expense or make himself look silly in order to make her laugh. She liked that. As impressive as 'Serious Nick' was in the courtroom, she knew she liked 'Silly Nick' even better. Very few people ever saw this side of him and that made her feel special. Almost as if a portion of his personality existed only for her.

"You're so inappropriate, Nick." She said with a shake of her head.

Phoenix merely shrugged.

"You say tomayto, I say tomahto." He countered nonchalantly as he turned back around to face the TV, flopping back on the couch with a rather undignified thud. Seconds ticked by, and Phoenix frowned again. She still hadn't left that desk.

"Maya, c'mon!" he whined. He could hear her chuckling at his petulant tone.

"I'm coming!" she reassured him as she hurried to finish what she was writing.

"You're not." Phoenix said. "You haven't even left your desk. You're just trying to keep me quiet and it isn't going to work. I'm going to complain and complain until you get so annoyed you can't concentrate anymore."

"Believe me, I don't doubt that for a second." Maya scoffed.

"Well, I did learn from the best." Phoenix added.

"Hey! What do you mean by that?" Maya frowned. Phoenix congratulated himself with a mental victory dance. He knew that if he baited her enough she would get distracted from her work and try to argue with him. No matter how silly the argument was.

"All I'm saying is it takes a special kind of person to be able to work with you around." Phoenix explained, needling her further. "You're the queen of distraction. Oh hey, Nick – let's look for evidence over here. Oh wow, look a burger stand. Let's eat! Hey! Boat rides! We should go on a boat, Nick. Whoa! That guy kinda looks like the guy who plays the Steel Samurai's evil twin. Let's follow him!" he finished excitedly, mocking Maya's usual enthusiasm when they were on a case.

"Oh man!" Maya groaned, covering her face with her hands. "Is that really what I sound like? I am annoying!" She continued to laugh behind her hands.

"Nah," Phoenix responded after a slight pause. "You're fun. Larry is annoying."

"And I guess since you've practically put up with him your whole life, putting up with me would be a total breeze, right?" Maya surmised, happy with her logic.

"Right." Phoenix agreed. "So are you going to come watch this or do we have to do things the hard way?"

"The hard way?" Maya asked, putting her pen down and raising an eyebrow. Phoenix stood and turned to face her. He cracked his knuckles for effect.

"The hard way it is, then." He finished with a shrug. He grinned at her.

Maya froze.

"Nick, what are you-"

Before she could finish her sentence, Phoenix had scooped her up from her chair and thrown her over his shoulder.

"Agh! Put me down!" Maya cried, trying her best to sound threatening. She failed miserably as her laughter got the better of her.

"I believe we have already had a discussion about this, Maya," Phoenix stated calmly as she continued to try and squirm her way down. "I told you that if you were going to get all caught up in your work again, I was going to throw you over my shoulder and drag you off to do something fun. I'm simply keeping my word."

"Okay, okay!" Maya conceded. "But I'm kinda upside down here. And your hand is dangerously close to my butt, you perve."

Phoenix laughed.

"Give me a little credit Maya, I'm not some sort of lecherous fiend."

"I bet you say that to all your upside down assistants." Maya countered.

"Yes, because I've had so many of those." He replied with a grin, heading towards the television. Before she could complain or struggle any further, Phoenix deposited her neatly on the couch, where he had been lying before. She pulled herself up to a sitting position as he sat next to her, his eyes locked to the TV.

"That wasn't fair." She said grumpily, kicking her feet out and landing a foot square against his side.

"Ow!" he cried, catching her feet before she could kick him again. "Life's not fair. Deal with it."

The fact that she probably knew that better than most people wasn't lost on either of them, and a slight furrowing of her brow was all Phoenix needed to see to realise that he had said the wrong thing.

"Well that was stupid, Wright." he mentally berated himself. But the fact that he still had a hold of Maya's feet provided him with a quick solution. With a smirk, he began tickling her feet. Whatever she had been thinking was quickly forgotten as she burst into laughter and struggled to get her feet away from him.

"Nick! Please! Stop it!" Maya cried, tears of laughter running down her face.

"Only if you admit I'm right and you've been working too hard." He said.

"Okay, okay! You're right. I'm working too hard. Let me go!" Maya bargained in between peals of laughter. Phoenix refused to relinquish his hold on her feet, re-evaluating his terms.

"You also have to say that I'm the most intelligent, charismatic and devilishly handsome man you've ever met."

"You want me to lie?" Maya said with a laugh.

"Oh, that's mean." Phoenix said in a low growl as he picked up the cushion to his left and hit Maya on the head with it. Since he had let go of her feet, Maya quickly took the opportunity to tuck them underneath herself so he couldn't reach them again. Pulling herself up to her knees, she leaned forward and grabbed the cushion before Phoenix could hit her with it again. She managed to get in a few good hits of her own with the fluffy weapon of doom before she lost her balance, lurching forward and crashing directly into Phoenix's side.

As if under some sort of automatic response, his arm was immediately around her waist to steady her. She was grateful for the assistance, not realising the intimacy of their position until she registered the fact a few moments later that he had yet to move at all. She swallowed hard.

Her eyes snapped quickly to his, just in time to see his shocked expression morph into something else entirely. Something she really didn't want to decipher. She felt heat spreading across her cheeks and the back of her neck. Her breathing was still laboured from her laughter and her heart rate showed no sign of slowing even though now, she was perfectly still.

Realising his hold on her waist was perhaps a little too tight; Phoenix let his grip loosen slightly. Maya fought back a shiver as she instantly became aware of his fingertips against her side. She waited for him to move, to shatter the moment they had somehow found themselves frozen in.

He didn't though. His gaze remained locked with hers as the seconds ticked by. The anticipation was excruciating as they both remained perfectly still, looking for the smallest motion from the other. Any movement that could possibly confirm that they were both feeling and thinking the exact same thing.

Maya's brain was going haywire. The little voice telling her to push him away, that this would only complicate everything and inevitably end in heartbreak was being thoroughly drowned out by the thunderous sound of her heartbeat in her ears.

His gaze flickered to her lips for a brief second, and she knew exactly what he was thinking.

"Oh no. Please don't. Please don't do that, Nick," the last rational part of Maya's brain reasoned. She knew that if he kissed her right here, right now, any remaining semblance of self control would just go hurtling out the window.

His expression shifted slightly, an almost invisible frown creasing his brow. Maya felt a small rush of relief. He knew exactly as she did that actually crossing that line would be something they would both end up regretting. She wasn't a child anymore. There were no more fairytales and daydreams of true love conquering all. Life was harsh and unforgiving, she'd experienced that on many an occasion. Their time was limited, and leaving him when the time came would be hard enough as it was. Allowing things between them to solidify even further would be, in the words of the prosecutor with the whip, "downright foolish". She seemed to lack the willpower to move at all, but prayed silently that he was stronger than she was.

It was only a few moments before Phoenix averted his gaze, blinking heavily. His fingertips slid away from her waist as he sat back on the couch with a soft sigh. He glanced over at Maya, who sank back against her heels, still watching him intently. Her over expressive eyes told him all too much of what she was thinking. Fear, hope, desire, confusion, sadness... all of them were etched across her doll-like features in an agonizing frown that just about broke his heart. He managed a small, somewhat sad smile. He hoped it said everything they couldn't seem to manage with words. He hoped that little smile told her how sorry he was, how he wished things were different and how most of all, he understood.

She returned the same broken smile. She got the message.

Reaching down into the plastic bag on the floor beside him, Phoenix produced a small package. He tore it open, offering its contents to his still silent assistant.

"Snackoo?"

Maya smiled, much wider this time. With a small nod, she took the packet from Phoenix and settled back on the couch next to him. She waited a few moments before resting her head against his shoulder. He offered no protest to the action so she curled herself up next to him, eyes glued to the TV screen. He threw an arm loosely around her shoulders, pulling her closer to him and giving her shoulder a quick squeeze before turning his own attention to the repeat of the Samurai celebration she had loved so much on its first airing. It had been freezing out, so they had opted to keep Pearl in out of the cold, spending the evening flicking channels and watching New Years Eve specials under a blanket until they had fallen asleep at around three in the morning. Maya had proclaimed it her "Best New Years Ever". Phoenix was just happy she was so easy to please.

"Nick?" Maya inquired quietly, interrupting his thoughts.

"Yeah?"

"I think out of all the holidays, I like New Years the best." she said, nodding to herself.

'Why's that?" Phoenix asked.

"Well," Maya began, still watching the screen. "New Years is a celebration for everyone. There's no religious significance, no historical meaning. It's just the New Year. Everyone is happy and thinking about hopes and dreams and new beginnings. Nothing is impossible when a new year is coming. It's a fresh start."

Phoenix nodded, taking in her explanation. He could really understand how hopes, dreams and new beginnings were appealing to Maya, especially considering her life had been pre-determined for her by other people practically from birth.

"I like that." He said. "I would have to agree with you. New Years is the best holiday."

Maya sat up, turning to face him with a smile.

"Plus, there's festivals, right? And carnival rides! And fireworks!" she exclaimed. "I love fireworks too!"

Phoenix chuckled at her enthusiasm.

"Nick, could we go and watch the fireworks next year?"

"You mean this year?"

"Whatever," Maya said, rolling her eyes. "You know what I mean."

"Sure." Phoenix replied.

Maya grinned and sat back down, once again engrossed in the antics of the Steel Samurai as worked to thwart the Evil Magistrate's plan to freeze time just before the clock struck midnight. With a wry grin, he swiftly pinched the bag of Snackoo's from Maya's grasp. Her predicted protest only made him smile further as he popped the small chocolate morsel in his mouth.

He would definitely take Maya to some sort of New Years Festival this year so she could enjoy the fireworks. Maybe they should make it a tradition. But with her role as Master of Kurain demanding so much of her time, who even knew what she would be doing when the New Year arrived. Phoenix vowed to himself that he would be there, no matter what happened.

He silently hoped that there were many more years of fireworks to come for himself and Maya, in both the figurative and literal sense.

***

Phoenix sat at his desk, shuffling through a pile of papers that Maya had left him before she departed for Kurain earlier that morning. He'd managed to make a few notes, but nothing worth jumping up and shouting "Eureka!" over. Not that anyone would do that anyway.

He was just about to start on the next file when the phone on his desk rang, startling him slightly.

"A client?" was Phoenix's first thought as he cleared his throat and picked up the receiver.

"Hello, Wright & Co Law Offices. Phoenix Wright speaking."

"Mr Nick!" came the response of the small girl on the other end of the line.

"Oh hey Pearls, I thought you might have been a client." Phoenix said. "What's up?"

"Where are you, Mr Nick? Why aren't you here?" Pearl demanded.

Phoenix gulped. Why on earth was little Pearls so worked up?

"I'm at the office." Phoenix explained. "Maya left here a few hours ago. She should be there by now."

"Of course she's here, Mr Nick!" Pearl stated, as if that were the most obvious thing in the world. "But why aren't you? It's a very special day today. You should be here for your special someone!"

Phoenix frowned. Ignoring Pearl's assumptions of the relationship between Maya and himself he asked for further explanation from the pint sized medium.

"What do you mean? Maya said she had a meeting, then she's coming home. What's so special about that?"

He barely had time to notice that he had referred to his apartment as Maya's 'home' before Pearl interrupted his thought process.

"But today is Mystic Maya's birthday! She's being in-doctored as Master today!"

"You mean 'inducted'?" Phoenix asked.

"Yes!" Pearl cried. "Why aren't you here?"

"Damn it." Phoenix swore to himself. "Stuffy, boring meeting, huh Maya? We're going to have words when I get there."

"I had no idea Pearls, but I'll be there as soon as I can. Stall Maya. Don't let the ceremony start without me." He instructed the little girl.

"Okay, Mr Nick, I'll try. But hurry!"

Phoenix hung up the phone and dialled the number of the first person he thought of with a really fast car. Thankfully, he picked up the phone after two rings.

"Edgeworth speaking."

Phoenix sighed with relief, thankful that he was not only in the country, but sitting in his office a mere ten minutes away.

"Edgeworth, it's Phoenix. I need a really huge favour."

Edgeworth glanced down at his speedometer for what felt like the hundredth time. Despite the agitated nature of the defense attorney sitting in his passenger seat, there was no way he was going to risk getting a speeding ticket. He could only imagine the scandal it would cause if word got out that such a high ranking prosecutor was driving around with such a flagrant disregard for traffic law.

"Can't we go any faster?" Phoenix asked predictably.

"We are not having this conversation again, Wright. If I get pulled over for speeding we will never get there." Edgeworth replied.

"I'm sorry," Phoenix said, running his hand through his hair. "I'm being a pain, I know. But I really have to get there."

"Yes, you are being a pain." Edgeworth muttered as he manoeuvred the red sports car to overtake a slow moving truck ahead of them. He paused for a moment, before questioning Phoenix again.

"So let me get this straight. Maya's being inducted as Master of Kurain today, correct?"

"Right." Phoenix said with a nod.

"And it's also her birthday."

"Right."

"And despite your relationship with this girl, you had no prior knowledge of either event?"

Phoenix scowled. "What am I on trial here?"

"Give me a break, Edgeworth," he pouted. "There has been so much going on lately and Maya never even mentioned anything. And for the last time, there's no relationship. Maya and I are friends. That's all."

"You should realise, Wright, that the more vehemently you deny something the guiltier you look." Edgeworth responded, raising an eyebrow.

"You should realise that you need to stop prosecuting your friends or soon you won't have any." Phoenix countered. Edgeworth laughed softly under his breath.

"I could add something about denial and rivers in Egypt but I'm afraid that would be terribly tacky and clichéd." Edgeworth said lightly.

"Are you done?" Phoenix cried, causing Edgeworth to chuckle uncharacteristically. "Or are you going to torture me the whole way there?"

Edgeworth didn't respond, but the small smile remained on his lips as he watched the road ahead of him. Phoenix shuffled in his seat, huffing lightly. Silence enveloped the pair once more, but not for long.

"I can't believe you forgot her birthday," Edgeworth added daringly, his expression mocking.

"Seriously, Edgeworth. I'm really starting to regret calling you..."

Edgeworth laughed as Phoenix crossed his arms angrily. This trip was turning out to be a lot more fun than he had anticipated.



A torturous twenty five minutes later, Edgeworth's car passed through Kurain Village's front gates. Bringing the vehicle to a stop, the pair climbed out and headed towards the main building.

"Remind me never to ask you for a favour again," Phoenix sulked. The last hour and a half trapped in a car with his prosecutor friend had done little to improve his mood. Not only was he annoyed and a little hurt that Maya had kept such significant events to herself, but he also felt like a jerk for forgetting her birthday. Edgeworth's jibes hadn't helped at all with either of those issues.

"I promised I would get you here on time, and we are here. Are we not?" Edgeworth inquired.

"That remains to be seen." Phoenix said. "For all we know the ceremony could be over already and I just spent nearly two hours of my life that I'll never get back trapped in a car with you."

"Some gratitude." Edgeworth noted.

Phoenix shook his head and craned his neck searching for someone who might be able to tell them what was going on and where.

He noticed a woman heading towards them, but recoiled when he realised it was none other than Althea Fey. She had been pleasant to him when he had picked up Pearl for their trip to Gatewater Land last week, but which personality of Althea Fey was heading to greet them today was anyone's guess.

"Great." Phoenix muttered as the council elder drew closer. Edgeworth raised an eyebrow, prompting Phoenix to elaborate further. "It's Althea Fey. She's the one that's been causing all of this trouble for Maya."

Edgeworth nodded in understanding as Phoenix steeled his expression. If she even tried to make him leave he would be giving her a piece of his mind.

"Mr Wright," Althea greeted him cheerfully. "I'm so glad you could make it. I was concerned when Mystic Maya arrived alone today. I was sure you would be accompanying her."

Phoenix gulped. What on earth was going on? Althea was practically the perfect picture of a sweet old woman and the stinging barbs he had lined up for her were definitely not called for in this instance. He was truly at a loss for words.

Without waiting for the flabbergasted lawyer to respond, Althea gave Phoenix one last smile before turning her attention to Edgeworth, offering her hand.

"You must be another of Mystic Maya's friends. Althea Fey, Kurain Council Elder," she said courteously. Edgeworth shook her hand lightly.

"Miles Edgeworth," he said stoically.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr Edgeworth. If you two would like to follow me, there are other guests waiting for the ceremony to begin in the reception hall. The wind out here has a terrible chill to it. It would be far more comfortable to wait indoors." Althea instructed, before leading the two men towards what they could only assume was the reception hall. Phoenix wondered if the old bat had rigged the place with explosives or something crazy like that.

As they entered the room, Phoenix quickly scanned the guests and dignitaries that had gathered and was relieved to find no trace of Andre Fey. As if reading his thoughts, Althea turned to speak to Phoenix.

"Andre is not with us today, Mr Wright," she said, surprising him. "I know he is of some concern to you and the council shares your concern. The wellbeing of our Master is our first priority and your claims of him having a connection with Morgan Fey are currently being thoroughly investigated."

Phoenix stared at the woman, trying his hardest to mask his disbelief as she continued.

"We can't have anyone within the village that harbor's ill will towards Mystic Maya. Andre has returned to boarding school where he can be properly supervised until we can get all of this sorted."

She placed a hand on Phoenix's arm, her expression softening.

"I do hope your assumptions are incorrect, but the council realises we must do what is best for Mystic Maya right now."

Phoenix nodded slowly, not quite sure what to say. He didn't believe a word of the elder woman's diatribe, figuring that Andre would still definitely be around somewhere, but causing a scene here about it wouldn't be of use to anyone. Especially Maya.

"I am glad you are taking Maya's safety into account," he said sternly. Phoenix needed Althea to think that he believed her current facade. Feigned compliance would buy him more time to find out what was really going on.

Althea nodded curtly, before turning to leave the two men.

"Please, help yourself to refreshments," she said politely. "The ceremony is due to begin in twenty minutes."

With that she left the pair, heading off to finalise preparations. Phoenix waited until she was out of earshot before speaking to Edgeworth.

"I'm guessing this is the part where you tell me I'm insane and that there's no way that sweet old lady has any sort of sinister plans whatsoever, right?" he said glumly.

"No..." Edgeworth considered carefully as he scanned the room. "That woman is hiding something. Her demeanour just now was extremely forced."

Phoenix exhaled audibly.

"Thank goodness," he sighed. "Because there is some serious trouble going on right now and I'm going to need all the help I can get if I'm going to get to the bottom of it."

Edgeworth scoffed lightly.

"I'm a little surprised, Wright. Perhaps even a little insulted."

"What? Why?" Phoenix asked, confused.

"Reading people and seeing through false personalities is a very big part of what both you and I do every day." Edgeworth explained. Unable to resist another chance to take a shot at his friend, he added "Well, at least it's what I do every day. How many cases have you had since Hazakurain?"

Phoenix rolled his eyes. When exactly had Edgeworth developed a sense of humour?

"Very funny."

"I thought so." Edgeworth quipped.

Ignoring his friends new found preoccupation with making jokes at his expense, Phoenix continued to explain his unease at Althea's unbelievable change of heart.

"Not only is it completely insane that she's being so nice to me, this whole Andre thing is leaving a bad taste in my mouth." He began, frowning. "You should have seen the way she treated Maya at the last council meeting. And I thought she was going to kill me when I mentioned Andre and Morgan Fey in the same sentence."

Phoenix shook his head as he tried to make sense of it all.

"She even mentioned Maya's father. I think she might know how he died. I'm worried that she even might have had something to do with it."

"I'm still trying to find out as much as I can about Sebastian Parker." Edgeworth assured him. "It's been quite difficult, but I have a few contacts that could prove worthwhile. I'm going through my father's records too, but I doubt they'll hold any worthy information."

Phoenix nodded in thanks.

"Who'd have thought that my father's old friend and colleague would end up being your Maya's father." Edgeworth said, shaking his head lightly, still surprised at the information Phoenix had supplied him with earlier. "There really are no coincidences, are there?"

"Not in the Fey family, no." Phoenix said seriously. Edgeworth sighed, laughing quietly to himself.

"I hope you know what you're getting yourself into, Wright," he teased. "I'd assume the Fey's aren't the most ideal family to marry into."

Phoenix glared at him. This was really getting old, although Edgeworth didn't seem to think so.

He opened his mouth to give Edgeworth a piece of his mind, but was interrupted by the sounds of the large wooden doors to the main hall opening. People around him began to move. It appeared that the ceremony was about to begin. Relieved at the prospect of seeing Maya again, Phoenix forgot all about his annoyance with Edgeworth and turned to move towards the doors.

"Are you coming?" Phoenix inquired when Edgeworth didn't move.

Edgeworth shook his head as he flipped through contacts on his cell.

"Do not worry, Wright. I will still be here to drive you and Miss Fey back to the city when the ceremony is over with."

"That's not what I was concerned about, but thanks nonetheless." Phoenix said. "Don't you want to see the ceremony, though?"

"I think I've seen enough formal receptions in my time." Edgeworth explained. "Besides, If I can find somewhere around here with any form of cell phone reception, I'm going to need to make a few calls. It is Maya's birthday after all, and quite the prodigious occasion. It would be only fitting to throw her a party. Perhaps we could even keep it a surprise."

Phoenix beamed. Edgeworth certainly had his moments.

"You're a pal, Edgeworth." Phoenix said with a grin.

"Yes. I suppose I am." Edgeworth said coolly. "Don't go spreading it around."

Phoenix laughed as he turned to head in the main hall, leaving Edgeworth to make his phone calls. He hoped today would end up being a memorable day for Maya, but this time for the right reasons.

***

Maya stared at her reflection and sighed. She almost didn't recognise the woman in the beautiful purple kimono staring back at her.

Grown up. Sophisticated. Kurain's Master. She felt like a fraud.

"What a joke," she thought dismally to herself.

She'd been training her whole life for this day and now that it was here she wanted nothing more than to wish it away entirely. She wasn't ready. There was still so much to do, so much to see and learn. The thought that she would give it all up in a second to simply be Phoenix's assistant flashed through her mind.

"Some ambition, Maya," she mused.

As great as it sounded in theory to forget about Kurain and go back to the city with Phoenix, Maya knew that Kurain was in desperate need of someone who would bring the village up to more contemporary standards. She knew she had the brains to do it, but did she have the backbone?

Giving up was not an option. Pearl was next in line and there was no way that Maya was going to hand down anything less than a perfectly functioning village to her young cousin when the time came. If the time came at all. Eventually the elders would expect her to marry and bear children, hopefully providing a female heir for her position, in which case Pearl would no longer be in line for the title at all.

Maya screwed up her nose as she thought of the kind of man the elders would push her to marry. It would likely be some sort of boring politician or diplomat. Definitely someone who in marrying the master, would tie Kurain to outside power. She hoped it was some time before she would have to deal with that, but now that she had turned twenty she knew it wouldn't be long before the council started pushing the issue.

Her mother had been lucky. She had married her love and escaped the incredibly outdated prospect of an arranged marriage. Although coming back to Kurain pregnant would have been a difficult time for her mother the following years of happiness with her father before his untimely death would have been more than worth any shame the council insisted she bear. Maya wondered how the council would have reacted if she had returned to Kurain in a similar 'predicament' to her mother. She blushed furiously at the thought.

Her father had chosen to leave everything to be with her mother and although she didn't doubt in the slightest that Phoenix had the same loyal nature, she would never allow him to give up being a lawyer just to be with her. As much as it hurt, this is where her similarities with her mother would have to end. They both might have fallen for lawyers, but she would not get to keep hers as her mother did, even if it was only for a short time.

Maya's cell phone beeped loudly in the pocket of her kimono. Pulling it out, she saw that she had received a text from Phoenix.

"His ears must have been burning," she thought to herself with a smile. She opened the text and read it to herself.

"Stuffy meeting, hey Maya? You've got some explaining to do… birthday girl."

Uh oh.

Busted.

Maya felt bad about deliberately misleading Phoenix about the reason for today's "meeting" and the significance of the day but she had her reasons. Kurain and her duty were a sore point at the moment and she knew that if Phoenix had any idea that she was approaching her official induction that he would worry and want her to talk about it, but she really didn't want to. Talking about it would just highlight her doubts and it was hard enough to prepare herself for the responsibility as things were. If he made her really sit down and think about what she was accepting and what it meant she would eventually have to give up she might have broken down and given up completely. She was hoping she could just sneak through the process without him having to find out. At least not for a while, anyway. There were also things during the ceremony that she would be asked to agree to that she knew Phoenix would at least find questionable.

His text seemed light-hearted and Maya was relieved that he didn't appear to be mad at her, but she knew at the very least he would be hurt. She sighed. She really didn't think this through properly. This was a very important day, and Phoenix could very well take it personally that she chose to keep it from him. He might even think that she didn't think he was important enough to be there. That couldn't be further from the truth.

"Damn it." Maya said out loud, covering her face with her hands. She wasn't even officially inducted yet and she was already making poor decisions. Kurain was doomed.

"Mystic Maya," the young woman's voice interrupted her self loathing. "They have requested your presence. We are ready to begin."

"Thank you, Mystic Jess." Maya said politely as she moved to follow the girl. She brought her fingers to her neck, delicately touching the place where her magatama should have been. Her old necklace would be replaced today with the master's magatama & talisman. It would be a constant visual reminder of her position. There was no turning back now.

With a deep breath she headed into the hall to begin the next chapter of her life.



Phoenix shuffled in his seat, switching his cell to silent before slipping it into his pocket. Even with the limited reception he had managed to get a message through to Maya letting her know that he knew it wasn't just some regular meeting today. He'd failed to inform her though that he was here in Kurain for the ceremony. He figured she would find out soon enough.

A small murmuring from the crowd caught Phoenix's attention and he watched as the council members filed into the hall and took their seats at the head of the hall. A few moments later Maya entered behind them. He smiled. She looked nervous, but beautiful.

She glanced briefly in his direction but didn't seem to notice him. About half a second later she did a double take, smiling widely when she spotted him in the second row. He smiled back. He saw relief wash over her face as she turned her back to him to face the elders, sneaking one last glance at him before lifting her chin and focusing her attention on the women in front of her.

Phoenix watched her as the ceremony began and the council elders began speaking of traditions and the history of the position. Maya nodded courteously as required, respectfully listening to the women speak of the ideals she would be meant to uphold. He felt a small pang of worry at the amount of responsibility that she would be taking on, but at the same time he was proud that she was facing it with her head held high. She had worked so hard for this. Perhaps a little too hard at times, but she had done it all for the good of her people. Maya was strong and capable, and Kurain would no doubt flourish under her leadership.

She looked stunning in her masters robes, which he noted had been cleaned since she last wore them. That was the night he had kissed her, the night he had overheard her tell Mia that she loved him. He respected Maya's wishes that they simply remain friends. She really did believe that it was for the best, but if last night on the couch was any indication, their feelings for one another would be difficult to keep under control. He almost wished he hadn't kissed her on the Winding Way. The desire to do so again was becoming overwhelming.

The ceremony wore on, and Phoenix found his mind drifting. He was at least glad for the view of the beautiful woman in purple to keep him at least partailly occupied. He stifled a yawn. Althea would no doubt think he was terribly rude for yawning during such an important ceremony. The address was soon over, and Maya was now required to speak.

He watched her kneel on the floor before the elders, frowning at the fact she was being placed in such a submissive position. His concern only deepened when they began instructing her to repeat vows of sorts, detailing her obligation to the village and how she would always put the village and its interests ahead of anything else.

"This isn't right…" Phoenix thought to himself. "They're basically making her vow to be a slave of the village." He would have to discuss this with her later. He wondered if she had known about this part of the ceremony.

Finally, Maya was allowed to stand again, and two young acolytes approached her with an elaborate new magatama necklace. They fastened it around Maya's neck, bowing slightly before backing away. Maya bowed her head in return at the girls and again at the elders.

Althea then decreed Mystic Maya the new Master of the Kurain technique, and with that the formalities were done. Maya was ushered out of the hall by the acolytes that has presented her with her magatama and the elder council soon followed.

Phoenix followed the rest of the guests outside, finding Edgeworth in the reception hall.

"How did everything go?" Edgeworth asked as Phoenix came to a halt next to him, a frown creasing his brow.

"Good, I guess." Phoenix responded cryptically. "I can't say that I agree with a lot of the things they made her agree to, but I have to trust she knows what she is doing."

"Very true." Edgeworth nodded.

"So did you get a chance to arrange anything?" Phoenix asked, alluding the Maya's birthday celebrations.

"It's all covered." Edgeworth assured him. "I've contacted a caterer and as many of Maya's friends and acquaintances that I could reach. All we will need to do is get her to my apartment. Considering I am driving you two home, that should be relatively simple."

Phoenix grinned.

"I really appreciate this."

Edgeworth made a dismissive notion with his hand. Glancing over Phoenix's shoulder, he spotted Maya heading towards them. Phoenix turned to see what he was looking at, smiling when he saw his assistant, the now official Master of Kurain.

"I understand congratulations are in order, Miss Fey," Edgeworth stated politely.

"Thanks, Edgeworth!" Maya said happily, glancing at Phoenix.

"I'm sorry to disappear, but I have to make a few phone calls," Edgeworth said apologetically as he made a quick, but totally transparent exit. Phoenix couldn't help but note how terribly obvious it was of him to leave them alone like that, but Maya didn't seem to notice. After a quick instruction to meet him at the car, Edgeworth was gone.

"So…" Maya said, eyeing Phoenix sheepishly.

"So." Phoenix said as he crossed his arms.

"I guess I owe you an apology." Maya said softly.

Phoenix sighed softly. He didn't understand the reasons why Maya had opted to exclude him from today, but now wasn't the time to press her on them. It was her birthday.

"Maybe later," he said with a warm smile. "Today is your birthday. Let's just forget about all our troubles for now. We don't have to discuss this now."

Maya smiled broadly, throwing her arms around Phoenix's neck and crushing him in a strong hug.

"Thank you," she whispered. "I'm so glad you came." She added, breaking the hug and taking a step backwards. All eyes in the room seemed to be on her, and such a display of affection for the lawyer would no doubt have the Kurain gossip mills running non stop for the next month.

"Well you can thank Pearls for dobbing you in," Phoenix said. "She called me in a panic this morning asking why I wasn't here. When she told me what was going on, I called Edgeworth and he drove me here. I didn't want to miss this."

Maya smiled at him. She knew he had every right to be mad at her, but here he was, smiling at her. He was so happy to share this special day with her. She vowed never to exclude him from anything again.

"Do you have to stay here?" he asked her, looking at the guests still gathered around the room.

"Nope." She said with a grin. "I'm free to go."

"Good." Phoenix smiled. "I think I need to take you out for some birthday burgers. That is, if burgers are sophisticated enough for the Master of the Kurain technique…"

He wasn't really planning on taking her out for burgers, but he figured she would forgive him for his small lie when she found out what was really happening.

"Oh Nick, don't be ridiculous. I may be the Master, but I'm still the same Maya I was yesterday." Maya said with a chuckle.

"Good to hear,"

"Should I change?" Maya asked, looking down questioningly at her elaborate masters robes.

"Never." Phoenix thought to himself before realising she was talking about her clothes.

"No, you look beautiful, " he responded earnestly. Maya blushed. Phoenix smiled at the pink tinge on her cheeks. "Well, find Pearls and let's blow this pop stand, Master Maya."

"You don't need to call me that," Maya said with a laugh.

"Are you crazy? I'm going to call you that for the rest of the day!" Phoenix cried, offering her his arm.

"Please don't." Maya laughed as he hooked her arm through his. The two of them exited the hall, heading off to find Pearl.

Maya smiled as the warm sun splashed her face. So far, this was the best birthday she could remember.

Maya couldn't help but grin as Edgeworth's car sped back towards the city. Phoenix had taken the seat next to her in the back, much to her young cousin's delight. Not only did Pearl take the opportunity to proclaim all sorts of romantic notions at Phoenix's choice of seating, but she was also thrilled at getting to ride up front in the shiny red sports car. Maya wasn't too sure how Edgeworth felt about the arrangement, as the poor man was left playing babysitter of sorts. Pearl had a seemingly endless barrage of questions about everything from what made the car go fast all the way to the classic 'are we there yet'.

She glanced sideways at Phoenix, finding him leaning back in his seat with his eyes closed. His fingers were laced loosely behind his head and a small smile graced his lips. Maya found herself unable to look away from the handsome lawyer, his serene visage leaving her stomach in knots. She had always found Phoenix attractive, but lately it was harder to ignore than usual.

It wasn't long before Phoenix seemed to sense that he was being watched. He lazily opened one eye, barely containing his grin when he caught Maya watching him. She blushed and averted her eyes quickly, the innocent action causing Phoenix to chuckle. Here was the almighty Master of the Kurain technique, behaving like a fifteen year old with a crush. He found it cute that despite having made his feelings for her quite clear, Maya still felt compelled to sneak glances at him when she thought he wasn't looking. As far as he was concerned, Maya could look at him whenever and however she wanted. The constant denial of his feelings for her was getting tired and no one believed him anyway. He wondered idly how the other occupants of the car would react if he grabbed Maya right now and kissed her. Pearl would probably explode from delight, causing Edgeworth to veer clean off the road.

"Maybe not the best plan," he thought to himself. The possibility of causing a car accident on Maya's birthday didn't sound like the most rewarding idea. He might get the kiss, but if Edgeworth crashed his car, they likely wouldn't make it to her party. Plus, someone could get seriously hurt.

He blanched inwardly, laughing at himself. How exactly did his brain make the leap from schoolgirl crushes to car crashes?

"This whole 'let's just be friends' arrangement must be really messing with my sanity," he thought, still somewhat amused. "Either that or I've been hanging out with Maya too much. I might have started to absorb some of the crazy."

Phoenix's laughter caught Maya's attention. She looked up at him again, her embarrassment quickly forgotten and replaced with curiosity over what could possibly be making him laugh. Was he laughing at her? Once her eyes locked with his she couldn't help but share his infectious smile. His dark eyes twinkled mischievously as he tried to hold back his laughter. Maya soon found herself giggling as well.

Edgeworth glanced in the rear-view mirror, somehow not surprised to find Phoenix and Maya making eyes at one another and giggling stupidly. Did they honestly think that nobody else could see the way they behaved around one another? Their relationship had to be the worst kept secret in history. Even Detective Gumshoe seemed to have an inkling that something romantic existed between the attorney and his assistant and he wasn't exactly world renowned for being quick on the uptake.

As far as he was aware, Maya's party preparations were all going according to plan. He had placed Franziska in charge of getting a hold of those he hadn't been able to and letting the caterers into his apartment. She hadn't phoned him back so he could only assume there were no problems. Franziska was capable and organised. He had absolutely no qualms about leaving the important tasks in her hands. By now the guests should probably be arriving. With one last glance at Phoenix and Maya, Edgeworth turned his attention back to the road.

He had to admit, he was also somewhat thankful that Maya's little cousin was too busy chattering about some sort of children's theatre or art gallery or... whatever she was talking about to hear the immature goings on from the back seat. Pearl had enough questions without adding the potential awkwardness of the nine year olds viewpoint on romance to the equation. He was of the firm belief that a personal life was called so for a reason and Pearl was definitely the kind of girl that would bombard him with questions he wasn't comfortable answering. It was a good thing she was too small to be able to see the rear-view mirror. In fact she could barely see over the dash.

"And so that's when I realised that Janey's puppy had been under the bed all along." Pearl explained. "It was a very good story. I think it's one of my favourite episodes. You would have worked out where the puppy was right away though, Mr Edgeworth. You're a smart lawyer. It took me a little longer because I'm just a kid, but I know you would have worked it out easily."

She paused for a moment, frowning slightly.

"But what I can't work out, is where they could have left the ball. What do you think, Mr Edgeworth?" Pearl asked, obviously under the impression that he had been listening intently to her retelling of last week's episode of Kids Masterpiece Theater.

She stared up at him, clearly awaiting a response. Edgeworth realised with some discomfort that he had absolutely no idea what she was talking about, nor had he any idea of how to answer her question. Those big brown eyes of hers were somehow even more intimidating than Franziska's whip.

"Well," Edgeworth bluffed. "If you cannot find the answers you seek, perhaps further investigation is required."

Pearl considered his response for a moment before smiling and nodding her acceptance.

"You're right Mr Edgeworth," Pearl chirped happily. "I'm going to go home, watch it again and really investigate properly. Just like you and Mr Nick do!"

Edgeworth felt himself relax slightly as the sign signalling the city limits came into view. He really wasn't good with children.



"Almost home!" Maya breathed happily as they drove down familiar streets.

"I hope you'll forgive me, Miss Fey, but I'm afraid I need to stop off briefly at my apartment to pick up a file. I plan on heading back to the office after I drop the three of you off." Edgeworth explained. "It will only take a moment."

It took every ounce of Phoenix's self control to stop himself from giggling like a mad man.

"Oh, that's fine, Mr Edgeworth." Maya exclaimed. "I don't mind at all."

Edgeworth signalled left and pulled the car into the underground parking lot of a very impressive looking apartment building.

"Wow..." Maya said in awe. "You live here?"

"At the very top," Edgeworth stated factually. "You are most welcome to come up and take a look at the view if you like."

Maya's face lit up like a Christmas tree.

"Oh Nick, can we? I've never seen the city from up that high!" Maya pleaded.

"Sure." Phoenix agreed, shooting Edgeworth a look over her shoulder as they exited the car. His calm expression betrayed nothing. He was too good at this. Phoenix watched as his friend pulled out his cell and sent a quick text. It was no doubt to Franziska to let her know they had arrived.

"Edgeworth..." Phoenix thought with a scarcely concealed grin, "...you sly dog, you."

As they stepped into the elevator, Phoenix could barely contain his excitement. Everything was going perfectly. Maya was going to love this.

Edgeworth slipped his security card in the slot and pressed the buttons for the 28th floor prompting the elevator to begin its ascent. After what felt like an eternity (to Phoenix anyway), the elevator rumbled to a stop, opening its doors to reveal a darkened apartment. Edgeworth stepped out ahead of them, flipping on the lights as they were met with a deafening chorus of "SURPRISE!"

Maya squealed, bringing her hand to her mouth in shock, before breaking out into a huge grin. She scanned the festively decorated apartment, hardly able to believe that all of this was for her. Friends she hadn't seen in years waited to greet her, extending birthday wishes and congratulations. To the side of the room, a large buffet table was overflowing with delicious looking food and drinks. She couldn't ever remember feeling this happy. Pearl tugged on her robes, her eyes as wide as her smile. She would have never seen anything like this before.

"Thank you!" she cried, turning to Phoenix.

He held his hands up in protest.

"I'm afraid I can't take credit for this one, Maya." He admitted.

She frowned for a moment, before realising exactly who must have organised the party for her.

"Thank you so much, Mr Edgeworth!" Maya exclaimed, enveloping the man in a crushing hug. Not sure how to react, he patted her awkwardly on the back. Phoenix couldn't help but laugh as he watched the clumsy exchange.

Somehow freeing himself from Maya's grip, Edgeworth brushed his suit jacket smooth of wrinkles before speaking again.

"It was my pleasure, Miss Fey."

"Please," Maya said with a grin. "Call me Maya."

"Very well, Maya," Edgeworth returned. "But you must call me Miles."

Phoenix shot Maya a pointed look, causing her to giggle. Edgeworth caught it, raising an eyebrow at Phoenix.

"You should go and greet your guests, Maya." Phoenix instructed. She nodded, bounding off towards the throng of people waiting for her in Edgeworth's living room. Before long, hugs and animated conversations were being traded as Maya headed around the room, thanking everyone individually for sharing the day with her.

Phoenix nodded at Edgeworth as he moved past his friend to join Maya.

"I owe you," he said thankfully.

"Let's not forget that," Edgeworth quipped with a note of sarcasm.



Maya stepped out on to the balcony, letting the night air cool her flushed cheeks. She had just put an exhausted Pearl to sleep in one of Edgeworth's guest bedrooms and inside the party was still in full swing. Will Powers and Larry Butz were engaged in a serious discussion about the finer points of playing the Steel Samurai, while Lotta Hart flitted about taking photos which she claimed to be uploading directly to the internet. This of course angered Franziska, who did not want to be seen in any photos with the 'Scruffy Detective'. Maggey was trying her best to console the wounded Gumshoe, while Edgeworth had spent most of the evening discouraging his seventeen year old assistant Kay from drinking any alcohol. Judging from her inebriated state, he hadn't been too successful.

Maya couldn't believe the eclectic mix of friends from the past who had showed up this evening. Adrian Andrews sat casually chatting with Franziska while Max Galactica and Regina Berry entertained the partygoers with magic tricks. Even Penny Nichols and Ron and Dessie Delite had shown up for the party.

Phoenix had introduced Maya to a young woman named Ema Skye, who had worked on a case with him a few years back while she was in Kurain. Maya had felt an instant kinship with the girl who was loads of fun, although her infatuation with Edgeworth was a little disturbing. She hadn't seen Phoenix since then and that had been well over an hour ago. She frowned, wondering where he had gone. She slipped her cell phone out of her pocket and began searching through her contacts for his name.

"There you are..."

The familiar voice from behind Maya interrupted her thoughts and she turned to find Phoenix closing the balcony door softly behind him. With a smile, she slipped her phone back in her pocket, once again turning her attention to the view. She leaned against the railing with a sigh. The city actually seemed peaceful from this high up.

"I was looking all over for you," Phoenix said, leaning against the railing next to her.

"I could say the same to you," she responded dryly.

She sloshed the remainder of her drink around in her glass, clinking the ice cubes together before downing what was left.

"Whoa, easy there tiger," Phoenix said raising an eyebrow. "I'm not carrying you home."

"Relax, Nick." Maya groaned, placing the glass down on the small table beside her. "It's just punch."

"And don't lie, you would totally carry me home." she smiled after a small pause.

"You're right, I would." Phoenix admitted. "About that punch though, I should warn you that Larry's never met a punch bowl he didn't spike..."

Maya laughed. She probably should have expected as much.

"Well that would explain why I'm slightly light-headed," she concluded. "Thank goodness we didn't let Pearly have any."

"Oh, Larry." Phoenix said, his voice tinged with something that wasn't quite disbelief. He knew the man too well to be surprised by the things that Larry considered good ideas.

"So where have you been?" Maya asked. "You've been MIA for about an hour. I thought you'd found a better party to crash."

"Not likely," Phoenix assured her. "I had to duck out for something."

"For that?" Maya said with a smirk, motioning to the wrapped box he had placed on the patio table.

"Possibly," he teased.

"Is it for me?"

"Could be."

Maya smiled. She didn't see anyone else here having a birthday. So Phoenix had actually left her party in order to get her a gift. She was touched, but she felt bad at his obvious guilt for having not remembered the date.

"I hope you don't feel bad about forgetting my birthday." Maya said gently. "You didn't have to leave to get me something. You've done so much already..."

"Well if someone had reminded me I might have been a little better prepared." Phoenix countered. His tone was light and his smile evident in his voice, but his words cut Maya deeper than intended. She sighed heavily.

"I'm sorry, Nick. I just, I don't know. Bad decision, I guess."

"Maya…" he began, "I didn't mean…" He frowned in concern.

"No, it's fine," she said cutting him off. "I do owe you an apology."

"I thought we decided we weren't going to talk about this today." Phoenix reminded her.

Maya turned to face him, smiling sadly. She appreciated his constant efforts to protect her, but there would come a time when she would have to do things on her own. As much as he would claim otherwise, Phoenix wasn't always going to be by her side.

"We never talk about anything, Nick," she reasoned.

"Nonsense," Phoenix said, still trying to lift the mood. "We talk every day! What do you call this?"

"You know what I mean." Maya stated stoically, turning back to her view of the city.

He knew exactly what she meant. From the time they had met the two of them seemed to have skipped over the more emotional conversations. They'd been through so much together, but Phoenix could barely recall properly talking about any of it. Mia's death, Maya's kidnapping and her mother's murder were but a few examples. A quick change of topic and a lame joke always seemed to be the easier option. Maya never seemed willing to talk about what was bothering her or what she was feeling. She had a definite tendency to bottle things up, preferring to shoulder her burdens on her own. Growing up alone probably had a lot to do with that, but she needed to realise that she wasn't alone anymore. He knew he wasn't much better either, suddenly feeling quite cowardly for often taking the easier road of keeping things light.

"Maybe we have gotten into a routine of avoiding important conversations," Phoenix admitted.

Maya lifted her chin, eyeing him seriously.

"Well maybe we should try and stop doing that," she suggested. "Tell me exactly what's on your mind."

He toyed briefly with the idea of saying something suggestive to make her laugh and avoid the real issue, but she had made a point of asking for his honesty. He owed it to her. If she really wanted to have this conversation now then they would have it now. He took a deep breath, steeling his expression before speaking.

"Why didn't you want me there today?"

Maya felt her shoulders slump. The slight sense of bravado provided to her by Larry's alcohol infused punch seemed to abandon her the instant she registered the underlying hurt in Phoenix's voice. She thought for a long time, trying to carefully word her answer. Thinking she was not going to respond, Phoenix began to elaborate.

"I know I'm not from Kurain and that they all see me as an outsider, believe me, I know. But I thought you would be the one that didn't care about all their rules. You'd be the one to say 'To hell with you all, I want Nick here with me,' or something like that. When I found out you didn't, well... It just made me feel far away from you. I don't like feeling like you're constantly letting me go, Maya. It doesn't have to be that way."

Actually hearing him explain how he felt made Maya feel a thousand times worse, but she had asked for this. It was time to be a grown up and deal with the consequences of her decisions.

"It was an important day for you and therefore it's important to me," Phoenix continued resolutely. "I wanted to be there with you. I don't care whether they like me or not, I'm a part of your life and I'm not going away. I know we always steer clear of conversations about us, but Maya, I-"

"It's hard," she said, interrupting him. He smiled pathetically.

"I know," he replied softly as he placed his arm around her shoulders. "But as long as we keep trying to talk about this stuff and work through it, we'll only get better at it."

She nodded in agreement before resting her head against his shoulder, sighing peacefully. He stroked her back reassuringly, turning slightly to place a soft kiss atop her head.

"One thing I can tell you is that I'll always be here. I said that to you before and I meant it," he murmured softly into her hair. "I'll always come find you, Maya. Always."

Maya felt her heart constrict, at that moment overwhelmed by emotions she had been trying to stop herself from feeling. It was no use. She was head over heels in love.

"We are hopeless, aren't we?" she finally managed, eliciting a soft chuckle from Phoenix.

"Yep." was his simple reply. Maya pondered the reality of their friendship, knowing the answer to her next question before it even left her lips.

"This just friends thing isn't going to work, is it?"

Phoenix knew the question was borderline rhetorical, but answered her anyway.

"Nope."

Maya let out a small groan that ended in a laugh. Somehow it felt like the most poignant way to express herself over their situation. She knew she loved him and was pretty sure he loved her. There had to be a way to make it work.

"You should open your gift." Phoenix said, moving away from her to grab the present from the table. He returned quickly, handing her the clumsily wrapped box. She couldn't help but smile.

"You wrapped this?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. He looked at her sheepishly, raising a hand to the back of his head in something akin to embarrassment.

"I... uh... I'm not so good at the whole wrapping thing," Phoenix admitted.

"It's what's inside that counts," she reassured him, carefully tearing open the paper. Her breath caught in her throat when she uncovered a beautiful, intricately decorated silver jewellery box. She looked up at him in surprise, then back down to the box in her hands, turning it slowly to better view the ornate design.

"Nick..." she breathed. "It's..."

"Go ahead," he urged, grinning at her reaction. "Open it."

Carefully, she lifted the lid on the box. The tinkling sounds of a beautiful lullaby soon reached her ears as she inspected the rest of her gift. The inside was lined with plush navy velvet, but most stunning of all were the small figures of a man and woman dancing together, spinning slowly with the lilting tune. The woman's hair was long and black like her own, and her dress glittered with hundreds of tiny rhinestones, catching the light as she spun with her beau.

Maya struggled for the right words but found herself coming up blank. This was the most gorgeous thing she had ever seen. Where had he found this? She had never seen anything so expertly crafted.

Phoenix smiled broadly, realising Maya was nothing short of enthralled with the music box.

"I knew you'd like it," he beamed.

"I love it," she corrected him. "It's so beautiful. How did you find something like this on such short notice?"

"Well," he explained. "I've actually had it a very long time. I've been waiting for the right time to give it to you."

"Really?" Maya asked, surprised.

Phoenix nodded.

"My father had it made for my mother as a gift on their wedding day. That's meant to be them," he said, pointing to the dancing pair. "This is one of the few things of theirs that my Grandma made sure was kept for me."

Maya watched Phoenix compassionately. This was the first time he had ever made mention of his parents. Clearly, he had inherited a romantic streak from his father.

"Grandma would always say that one day, I would give it to the right girl. A girl who would cherish it, just as my mother had." Phoenix added, a light tinge of pink on his cheeks.

"I will." Maya promised, feeling tears stinging the corners of her eyes. "Always."

Maya placed the music box on the table, almost afraid to let it out of her sight. The sentimental value that it held for Phoenix made the gift even more special. She was incredibly moved that she was the girl he had chose to give it to, especially knowing how infatuated he had been with Dahlia. Perhaps some tiny part of him knew back then that she wasn't the one for him.

She moved back towards him, slotting herself in under his arm where she had stood before. He rested his hand back on her shoulder.

"I don't think you've ever told me about your parents before," she said softly. She felt Phoenix shrug.

"They've been gone so long that I guess I just got used to not having them around," he said casually.

"What happened? I mean... if that's okay..." Maya asked carefully.

"It's fine." Phoenix said with a sad smile. "They died in a plane crash. I was too young when it happened to remember them. My Grandma raised me."

Maya nodded, although her heart went out to him, she was pleased that he had chosen to share something so personal with her. She frowned, once the reality of what he had revealed started sinking in.

"It's really not fair," she said quietly.

"What isn't?"

"So many of us have grown up without our parents," she lamented. "Me, you, Pearly... even Edgeworth. It's really awful that we all share that in common."

"Yeah," he agreed sadly. "But I think it helped shape who we all are today."

"Nick... if... if you ever want to see them, you know I can arrange that," Maya offered.

Phoenix gave her shoulder a squeeze. He'd never even thought of that.

"Thanks," he said earnestly.

They settled into a comfortable silence while Phoenix actually considered the possibility of meeting his parents. Although, having his mother channelled by Maya might be a little weird. Maybe she could get someone else to do it.

"I hope when I have children, I live long enough to see their children," Maya said hopefully, jarring Phoenix from his thoughts. "Maybe even my grandchildren's children too."

"You will," Phoenix reassured.

Maya hoped he was right. Here she was, barely twenty and already having lived through multiple attempts on her life. She shuddered to think what else could possibly be in store for her.

Phoenix thought carefully before broaching his next subject. He hoped it wouldn't upset her, but honesty seemed to be the theme of the evening.

"Have you given any thought to maybe channelling your mother?" he suggested gently.

Maya tensed slightly at the mention of her mother, but quickly allowed the tension to dissipate.

"I don't think I'm ready yet, Nick." she replied. "But I will. One day soon, I will."

Phoenix nodded. He wouldn't push her on it. He trusted that she would seek her mother out once she had a little more time to grieve.

"I've got big shoes to fill." Maya stated, giving Phoenix a window as to what she was thinking about.

"I think you'll find they already fit," he responded, keeping with her analogy. She laughed lightly.

"Thanks Nick, but my Mom... they say she was something else. The best there ever was," she explained, her voice drifting. "She tied it all together. She ran the village and had a family. No channelling job was too difficult for the great Misty Fey."

"I'm sure future generations will speak the same of the great Maya Fey." Phoenix assured her with a smile.

"By the time my mother took the Master's position on her twentieth birthday, she was already married and she had Mia," Maya said, shaking her head.

"No kidding?" Phoenix mused. Looking down at Maya he found it hard to imagine her married with a family at her age. She was only just coming to terms with who she was. Misty must have been a strong woman. But Maya held that same strength too, even if she didn't realise it.

"I just don't know if I'm ready," she frowned, looking down at her elaborate robes. "Look at me. I look ridiculous. I feel like a kid playing dress up."

Phoenix shook his head at her. She was so dense.

"You are ready. It will be tough, but you'll do great. You'll be outshining your mother before you know it."

Maya turned, wrapping her arms around his waist and resting her head against his chest. He returned the hug, pulling her closer to him.

"Thank you, Nick." she sniffed.

"And you don't look ridiculous at all," he said quietly. She looked up at him just as he angled his head downwards to press his lips against her cheek. "You look beautiful," he finished with a whisper.

He felt her clutch lightly at his shirt as his breath tickled her ear. He shifted slightly, resting his forehead against hers as his nose grazed hers gently. After only a moments hesitation, her lips found his in a soft kiss she felt she had waited an eternity for.



Edgeworth walked into the kitchen, placing the empty wine bottles on the counter with a faint clink. The gathering may have been a small one, but Maya's friends sure knew how to knock them back. Glancing at Maya's uncut birthday cake still sitting on the bench, he wondered where the guest of honour had disappeared to.

"Come to think of it," he mused. "Wright is still missing also."

The question of the pair's whereabouts was soon answered as Edgeworth caught sight of them through the balcony doors sharing a rather intimate embrace, absolutely oblivious to the fact that anyone who walked into the kitchen would see them.

In a decisive motion, Edgeworth swiftly pulled the cord on the drapes over the balcony doors, obscuring them from sight. He strolled back towards the kitchen counter, leaning down to select a Sauvignon Blanc from his wine rack before heading back to join the other guests.

The cake could wait.

"You know what? This isn't nearly as hard as I thought it would be."

Maya snapped the binder she had been writing in closed with a satisfied grin. Another day of paperwork for Kurain's almighty Master was done and dusted, and it was only just after lunch. She'd managed to get into a routine of sorts over the past two weeks and was quite happily managing Kurain's affairs without actually having to be there.

"Good to hear," Phoenix said with a nod from across the room. He picked up his coffee and took a sip, grimacing at the bitterness before placing the cup back down on his desk and flipping the page of his newspaper. Maya had been too swamped to make him coffee like she usually did, so he had resorted to utilising his own barista skills, or rather as he was learning, lack thereof. Deciding he definitely needed more practice, Phoenix turned his attention back to the paper in front of him.

Maya stood with a faint stretch and moved to his desk, perching herself on the edge and crossing her legs casually. Phoenix peered over the edge of his newspaper, raising an eyebrow.

Now that Maya was no longer required to wear acolyte training robes at all times, she had quite happily opted for a more casual look, or "normal people clothes" as she had called them. She'd gone on a couple of shopping trips with Ema, taking advantage of the fact that her new friend had decided to stay in the country a little longer before heading back to Europe next month. Maya seemed absolutely awestruck at being able to "go to the mall" and "pick out cute clothes". Ema was clearly a bad influence, but it had been a long time since Phoenix had seen Maya so happy. And if shopping helped that along, he was pretty sure he didn't have a problem with it. Especially considering she had her own money now.

"Somehow, I still end up footing the burger bill though…" he thought dismally.

Phoenix couldn't help but gaze appreciatively at his assistants choice of attire for the day. He wasn't normally one to take any notice at all of what women around him wore, but with Maya it was somewhat of a novelty. Apart from her Master's robes (which he would admit he quite liked), he'd only ever seen her in acolyte robes or her pyjamas in the last three years. As far as he was concerned, this new change was welcome.

The white short sleeved blouse and black knitted vest she wore today with a black mini skirt her sister would have been proud of definitely accentuated a lovely figure that had been hidden from him under her unflattering robes for years. Her hair was free of any sort of ceremonial loops or knots, falling to her waist in a simple braid. She had finished off the outfit with knee high white stockings and black ballet flats, giving the whole ensemble a cutesy schoolgirl look which Phoenix decided he liked.

A lot.

He folded his newspaper and placed it down on the desk in front of him as the corner of his mouth turned up in a cheeky smile.

"Well look at you," he drawled, eyeing Maya up and down. "Sitting yourself on the edge of my desk like that. Who do you think you are? My sexy secretary?"

Maya chuckled lightly under her breath, before leaning over to grab his tie. With a grin, she tugged at the tie, pulling his face towards hers.

"Don't you forget it," she said playfully before silencing any response from him with a deep kiss. When they eventually broke for air, she felt Phoenix smile against her lips and couldn't help smiling in return.

"Somehow, I don't think I could," he said, his voice raspy. She smiled at him.

They hadn't talked about what had happened out on Edgeworth's balcony. Even though they had vowed to be more open and communicative about what they were thinking and feeling, Phoenix didn't think this was something that really required any more words at all. Ever since Maya had taken that leap and kissed him on her birthday, it was like she was a whole new person. She no longer seemed afraid of any changes in their relationship. She smiled more, laughed more. She was confident in herself and her position. And best of all, she had stopped pushing him away.

Things felt right. Phoenix marvelled at the way that everything seemed to have fallen into place. Maya was able to stay on with him as his assistant while still managing her duties as Master of Kurain. This was exactly what they had hoped for. The two of them had been through so much pain and heartache that he felt compelled to close his eyes and just take in the normalcy that had avoided them for so long.

Well, as normal as things could get living with a spirit medium anyway.

They hadn't told anyone about this new development between them, instead enjoying the thrill of sneaking around and stolen kisses. While it was true that most of their friends already suspected some form of romance between them, Phoenix didn't feel ready to share the details with anyone yet. This was something that they alone shared, personal and private. It was almost as if telling everyone else would dilute the excitement. He wasn't willing to share this side of her with anyone yet. That look in her gorgeous brown eyes was just for him.

"I really hope my acolytes made it to Hazakurain okay," Maya said distractedly, letting go of his tie. She straightened herself back up to a sitting position and began swinging her legs absently. "The phones are still down there. I sent a letter to Bikini to let her know that I was sending the girls, but I haven't been able to call."

Phoenix frowned. The storms had been bad. He had been trying to get through to Hazakurain himself, but had no luck.

"I'm sure they're fine," Phoenix assured her. "We just have to keep trying the phones. I'm sure we'll get through eventually."

Maya nodded.

"Well, I hope they can help over there. There are far too many acolytes in Kurain, yet there's only Iris and Bikini at Hazakurain. I don't understand why no one sent people sooner," she frowned.

"I'd say it has something to do with the 'Hazakurain Incident' that Mia's notes mention." Phoenix said. "Althea is trying to hide something from you. She knows about what happened there, I just know it."

Maya sighed noisily.

"Well, we're going to work out happened," she stated resolutely. Phoenix nodded.

"I don't buy for a single second that she's on your side," Phoenix said shaking his head. "Edgeworth saw through her niceness act as well."

"Well I don't believe that she sent Andre away either, but I guess we need to keep making her think that we do believe her," Maya frowned.

"Hmm," Phoenix nodded in agreement. Whatever Althea was up to, the more time they had to work it out, the better.

Maya picked up Phoenix's coffee and took a sip.

"Ugh!" she cried, screwing her nose up in disgust. "What is this, Nick? Did you confuse the dishwater for coffee or something?"

"That bad?" Phoenix asked sheepishly. Surely she was exaggerating.

"That bad." Maya confirmed as she stood, confiscating the cup. "I'm going to go dispose of this toxic waste and make you some real coffee," she finished as she moved towards the stairs, holding his mug comically at arms length as if the mere smell of it could poison her.

Phoenix watched her ascend the narrow staircase fixated by the delicate sway of her hips in that tiny skirt. He grinned, at that moment feeling like the luckiest man on Earth.



"Do you think she believes you?" Andre Fey asked calmly as he sipped at his tea. Althea sat across the table from him, filling her own cup. She placed the teapot in the centre of the table, eyeing Andre casually.

"At this point, it doesn't matter," she stated. "Whether Mystic Maya believes you aren't here and that I stand in support of her as master really has no bearing. If she doesn't believe me, she will likely think having me think she does will give her the upper hand. This is not so."

"I see," Andre said, placing his cup down and lacing his fingers together. "However, if the hand you play is so foolproof, why is there a need for such niceties?"

"They are less likely to cause trouble if they believe things are in their favour. I assume they think it will buy them time to find out what we are up to," Althea answered.

"And what are we up to, exactly?" Andre asked.

"Getting impatient, are we?" Althea said with a small laugh. "Don't tell me you wish to control the situation as your mother would."

"Hardly," Andre responded. "I am merely curious as to your plans. I have no doubt in your ability to control things. But I do need to keep my mother believing that her own plans are on track. Perhaps if I could grasp the whole situation I would be better equipped to do so."

Althea smiled, nodding slowly.

"Be calm, my child. I did bring you here with the intention of explaining everything today."

Althea stood and moved across the room, unlocking the top drawer of a small chest on the far side. She removed some worn pieces of paper, placing them on the table in front of Andre before taking a seat again. He picked up the pages and scanned them briefly, a frown creasing his brow.

"These pages talk of the removal of a particular village law three generations ago. I don't get it," he said, confused.

Althea smiled knowingly.

"Yes, you are correct. The pages detail the removal of a law. However since I have taken those pages from the records there is no proof to show that it was ever removed."

Andre was beginning to understand.

"What law would this be?" he inquired.

"The law stating that if the heir to the Master of the Kurain technique is unmarried and childless at the time of her induction, she is to be sent to meditate in isolation until such a time as she is able to channel Mystic Ami Fey herself."

Andre almost grinned as Althea continued to explain.

"Most successors to the title were already married with daughters at the time of their induction, thus providing an heir to the position which back then was of the highest importance. Kurain was most concerned with keeping the main family in power and not having to resort to the branch family for a suitable heir. In the event that the new master was without a daughter to inherit the position, she would have to prove her worth to the village by channelling Mystic Ami, thus convincing the council that her substantial power was worthy of allowing extra time for her to produce a suitable heir. It was politics, plain and simple."

Andre nodded, understanding the elder woman's intentions.

"The council will not dispute the law, nor will they reject my claim that the law still stands if there is nothing to prove otherwise. The last three generations of Master were married and with child at their inductions, so no one will remember anything different, and as I am the village's historian, what I say on the matter will be believed. The only person who would have known the law was voted out was Lillian, and you already took care of that problem. Mystic Maya will be sent to an isolated cabin in the woods, separated from her beloved lawyer, whilst Pearl Fey will be given the position. As she is too young to formally accept, the administration of Kurain's dealings will revert back to me." Althea finished. "With you as an advisor of course, Andre. Your help removing Mystic Maya will not go unrewarded."

"You don't believe she will be able to complete the task and return to assume her position?" Andre asked, carefully making sure all possible outcomes were covered.

Althea scoffed at the notion.

"Absolutely not. Mystic Mara Fey took two years to complete the task and Maya is nowhere near her level. She will be out of the picture for a long time."

Andre nodded, impressed. He picked up his teacup, smiling plainly.

"Then I propose a toast," he began as Althea raised an eyebrow.

"To Master Pearl Fey."



Phoenix picked up the phone and dialled the number for the main house at Hazakurain. Maya was out picking up some groceries for dinner, so he figured it was worth another shot while she was out and he had nothing to do.

To his surprise, the line connected and the phone on the other end began ringing.

"Hello!" a cheery older woman answered. "You have reached the mystical mountains of Hazakurain! The number one spiritualist retreat in the country as voted by the readers of Oh Cult! Magazine!"

Phoenix spoke quickly, hoping to interrupt Sister Bikini's spiel before she had him booked in for the Ultra Special Course, whatever that was.

"Sister Bikini, it's Phoenix Wright. I have been trying to get a hold of your for weeks."

"Oh Mr Wright!" Bikini cried. "The storms here have had the phones out for quite some time. But I am so glad everything is working again. Now that the new girls are here we can begin taking more bookings!" she finished excitedly.

"That's good to know," Phoenix said. "Maya was wondering if the acolytes had arrived safely. She will be glad to hear they did."

"Oh yes!" Bikini chuckled. "The girls are lovely and so helpful. Please thank Mystic Maya for all her help."

"I will," Phoenix promised. "But there was something really important that I need to talk to you about."

"Oooh, you wish to book the Ultra Special Course?" Bikini predicted. "I'll start making the arrangements right away!"

"Err, no." Phoenix frowned. "This is something a little more important."

He paused as he considered how to broach his subject.

"How long have you lived at Hazakurain?"

"Why, going on thirty years now, Mr Wright. Why do you ask?" Bikini answered, confusion evident in her voice.

"Well, there's been some trouble at Kurain lately. Lillian Fey was murdered. Maya's sister Mia told us that it was Andre Fey who did it, although he has framed Mia for it. Andre is really Morgan Fey's son and he's working with Althea Fey to get rid of Maya. Althea placed a spirit block on Mia and right now, we have no idea what to do. I'm worried for Maya's safety. Mia has a bunch of notes that are years old that talk about an incident at Hazakurain. I was wondering if you knew what she was talking about." Phoenix finished, taking in a large breath.

The woman on the other end of the line was silent.

"Hello? Sister Bikini?" Phoenix asked, hoping he hadn't been disconnected again.

"I'm here Mr Wright," Bikini said sadly, the usual jovial ring to her voice notably absent.

"I know it's a lot to take in, but we just need some hel-"

"I think you should come and visit me, Mr Wright." Bikini interrupted solemnly. "I can help you, but it is far too much to explain over the phone, nor do I feel comfortable doing so."

"Sister Bikini…" Phoenix began. "I'm so sorry if this has dragged up some bad memories, but Maya's life could be in danger."

"I know, dear." Bikini said compassionately. "We all have to face our past eventually. Perhaps it is time."

Phoenix was silent for a few moments, wondering exactly what she meant by that. What did she know about the Hazakurain incident? Was she there at the time?

"You said that Althea Fey placed the spirit block on Mia Fey?" Bikini questioned cryptically, shaking Phoenix from his thoughts.

"Yes." Phoenix confirmed.

"Hmm."

Bikini paused for a moment before speaking again.

"Mr Wright, please come and see me as soon as you can. I will help in any way possible."

"Thank you," Phoenix sighed. "You don't know how much this means to us."

Phoenix hung up the phone, unsure whether he should be happy or concerned about the conversation that had just taken place. Bikini clearly knew about the Hazakurain Incident, but now that they were closer to finding out what it all meant, he began to worry about what they were about to find out.



Bikini hung up the phone and frowned, sighing heavily. Tears stung the corner of her eyes. She had really believed that this was over and done with forever, but now the past had come back to haunt her as she had always known it would.

She left the room, seeking out Iris who was sweeping the main entry way.

"Iris dear, I have something important that I need you to do."

The jarring sound of his cellular phone ringing snapped Phoenix back to the present, and out of his reverie. He rolled his eyes once his brain registered the tune. It appeared Maya had changed his ring tone back to the Steel Samurai theme. Again. Some things never changed. He reached across the desk to pick up his cell, frowning lightly as he glanced at the caller ID.

"Kristoph Gavin?" he remarked, wondering why Gavin of all people would be calling him. They barely even knew each other. Phoenix couldn't even remember where he got Kristoph's phone number in the first place. The clock on his phone also indicated that he had been reminiscing and daydreaming the afternoon away for close to forty five minutes.

"You're a loser, Wright," he laughed to himself, tearing his gaze away from the small bare feet and the distracting woman they belonged to before answering the call.

"Hello, Phoenix Wright speaking."

"Herr Wright. This is Kristoph Gavin. I need to ask you a very important question." Kristoph said, his thick German accent making him sound rather intimidating. Given the lack of pleasantries, Phoenix realised the call must be for something important.

"Go ahead."

"Do you play poker?"

"What an odd request," Phoenix thought in bewilderment.

"Well, I guess I do. Why do you ask?" he asked cautiously. What could this possibly be about?

"No time for explanations. I need you to come down to the detention center immediately."

Click. Kristoph had hung up.

"What is going on?" Phoenix wondered out loud.

He put his phone down and stood up, stretching. He'd been sitting at his desk too long. He glanced out the window, happy to note that the rain appeared to be easing up. The last thing he wanted was to head out in a torrential downpour. Being hospitalised again certainly wasn't on his to do list.

With a soft smile he crossed the office to where Maya was napping on the couch. She'd been shopping again this morning and a variety of coloured bags sat in a pile on the floor, along with the blue sandals she had been wearing. Phoenix chuckled and leant down beside her, gently tucking the hair that had fallen across her face behind her ear. She didn't stir. He knew for a fact that Ema was hard to keep up with. He could only imagine her dragging Maya from store to store.

"Maya..." he said softly. She didn't move.

"Maya..." he repeated a little louder.

"Hrmmmnn..." she murmured softly.

"I'm going down to the detention center. Want to come?" Phoenix asked, his voice still hushed.

"No. That's okay," she mumbled. "You go."

Phoenix shrugged lightly and stood up. She was clearly wiped out. Maybe it was best if he left her to sleep. He grabbed his jacket from the back of the couch where he had left it earlier, shrugging into it as he continued to observe her peaceful state. It wasn't too often that Maya was still like this. He was more used to her bouncing about the office like the buzzing ball of energy she was.

"Don't forget to let the cat out," she muttered. Phoenix frowned, slightly puzzled.

"Maya..." he said gently, "…we don't have a cat."

"I don't know!" she said sharply, causing Phoenix to jump. "Ask Mia... Purple?" she mumbled.

Phoenix peered down at his slumbering assistant. What was purple? What was he supposed to ask Mia? He opened his mouth to speak again, but Maya cut him off.

"A sandwich. Maybe two." She said, before turning on to her side, her long black tresses falling across her face again.

Finally, it dawned on him. She was talking in her sleep. Deciding it best to leave her to whatever weirdness she was dreaming about (and knowing Maya it would certainly be very weird), he leant down and brushed her bangs from her brow, placing a soft kiss on her forehead. With one last smile, he turned around and headed for the door. Kristoph probably wouldn't be too happy about being kept waiting.

"G'night Nick..." she whispered, the sound barely reaching his ears. "Love you..."

Phoenix froze. His mind raced. "What did she just say?"

Spinning on his heels, he turned to look at her. The expression on her face was peaceful and she appeared to be sleeping deeply, just as he had left her moments before. Phoenix frowned. Maybe he imagined her saying that. And even so, he told himself, if he wasn't hearing things, she was asleep. She could have been dreaming about anything...right?

He had been standing behind her that night she had been sobbing at Mia's grave, emotionally telling her sister that she loved him, but she'd never actually said the words to him. He felt an odd warmth blossom in his chest and flow through his body. He smiled down at her, unable to resist the urge to whisper a soft reply.

"I… I love you too, Maya."

Looking at his watch, Phoenix realised he really needed to go. He would have to think about this later. Striding over towards the door, he quickly grabbed his keys and phone before heading out into the dreary weather.

He vowed to himself as he sprinted down the stairs, that he would concentrate one hundred percent on whatever was happening down at the detention centre and leave his non work related thoughts back at the office.

His efforts however, though noble, were completely in vain. He realised as the taxi pulled up outside the detention centre that the only thing he had thought about the entire trip was Maya.



A harsh rapping on the door roused Maya from her sleep. Bolting upright at the noise, she took a moment to adjust to her surroundings, rubbing at her eyes before the intrusion began again. Finally registering the sound as someone knocking on the door, she slid her legs off the couch.

"Calm down, I'm coming," she muttered in annoyance as she padded towards the door. She wondered idly where Phoenix was when she realised he wasn't in the office. Perhaps he was upstairs.

Reaching the door finally, she smoothed down her hair and turned the handle only to find an apathetic looking postal worker standing before her chewing gum.

"Telegram for Maya Fey," he said emotionlessly. "You Maya Fey?"

"Yes," she nodded, taking the envelope from him and scribbling her name on the small pad that he offered. With a curt nod, he disappeared, leaving Maya to close the door and head back into the office.

She flopped back down on the couch with a thud, tearing open the envelope and removing the paper from inside. She stifled a yawn with the back of her hand as she read the contents.

Mystic Maya Fey,

As decreed by long standing Kurain Law, any unmarried, childless Master of the Kurain technique is required to complete the task of channelling Ami Fey to prove her worth to the village. It is the elder council's duty to inform you that you must return to Kurain immediately and begin your isolation meditation. Once the task has been completed, you will be able to return to Kurain and reassume your position as Master. Pearl Fey will be acting Master of Kurain in your absence, assisted by the elder council.

Failure to comply will result in your dismissal as Master of Kurain, with Pearl Fey named as your successor.

Sincerely,
Althea Fey
On behalf of the Kurain Council of Elders

Maya blinked, rereading the telegram for a second and third time before panic started setting in. Her breathing felt uneven as she sat there shaking and staring at the piece of paper in her hands.

"This can't be happening," Maya thought to herself as tears began to sting her eyes. Blinking them back, she knew she had to remain calm in order to find out what was going on. This had to be a mistake. She'd never heard of this law, surely… surely it couldn't be right.

Phoenix swore softly under his breath as he stepped out of the cab and into the thunderstorm. He made a quick dash for the main doors of the office building, but still wasn't able to escape the rain. Brushing some stray raindrops from his suit jacket, he caught sight of his watch.

It was past eight now and he should have been back hours ago. He had promised Maya that morning that he would take her out for dinner, but his afternoon had been a total disaster. The man Kristoph Gavin had arranged for him to see had been nothing but difficult, refusing to give him any information on the case he was taking tomorrow. His new client had decided after a single game of poker that he would hire Phoenix to represent him on a murder charge, but beyond that he had absolutely no clue what was going on.

He had then tried going to see Kristoph as he had been the man's previous attorney and might possibly have some worthwhile information. That didn't work out so well either. He'd gone all the way across to the other side of town to Gavin's office, only to find that Kristoph was now back at the detention centre where Phoenix had started. But by the time Phoenix got back to the detention centre, he had missed Kristoph again, running his phone flat in the process of trying to get a hold of the elusive German. Detective Gumshoe had given him the barest of details on the case, not for lack of trying though. He really had given Phoenix all the information he had for which the lawyer was thankful.

Then the storm had arrived, causing absolute traffic chaos. The fifteen minute cab ride back to the office took well over an hour. It probably would have been quicker to walk if there wasn't a danger of being blown away by gale force winds. Realising he would have been soaked to the bone before he'd even managed to walk a single block, Phoenix had remained in the cab, cursing the stupid weather and watching the meter tick over as the cab moved by inches.

Finally back at the office, he ran up the stairs two at a time reaching the door to his suite in no time. Somehow, coming home to Maya made the day's disastrous events seem a little less colossal. He fumbled with his keys, surprised to find the place in darkness once he got the door open. He had expected Maya to be sitting on the couch watching a movie and complaining about how hungry she was. Flipping on the lights, he frowned at the sight of Maya's desk, littered with cardboard boxes.

"Maya?" he called. There was no response.

Dumping his jacket and briefcase on his desk, he headed up the stairs to the apartment above, also shrouded in darkness. Phoenix began to get the feeling that something was very, very wrong.

"Maya? Are you up here?" he called again, panic etching into his voice. He opened the door to her bedroom, finding the floor covered with more boxes, but no Maya. He ran a hand through his hair wondering why all her stuff was packed up as if she were leaving. Surely she couldn't be that mad that he missed dinner.

Closing her bedroom door, he headed up the hallway to his own room, hoping to god that she was inside because he was fresh out of ideas. Opening the door softly, he was somewhat relieved to find Maya curled up on his bed. Realising she was crying, he moved to the bedside in an instant.

"Maya!" he said as he sat on the edge of the bed. "What's going on? What's the matter?"

Maya lifted her head slowly, pulling herself to a sitting position by tucking her feet underneath her. She wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand before silently handing Phoenix a crumpled piece of paper that she had been clutching.

He smoothed out the note as best he could, struggling to read in the dim light of the bedroom. It was a telegram from Kurain. He felt his breath catch in his throat as he read the words.

"They…" he began, "…they can't do this. This is…" he struggled to find the right words.

"They can," Maya croaked, her voice cracking.

"But… but how can they? How come you didn't know about this?" Phoenix stammered, unable to comprehend exactly what they were asking of her.

"It's an old law," Maya said sadly, her words offering little explanation. Phoenix groaned in frustration, balling up the telegram and tossing it across the room.

"I'm not letting you go anywhere," he stated plainly, fixing his gaze on the floor in front of him. He was so angry right now, but he didn't even for a second want her to think that any of it was directed at her.

"I…" she started, reaching out to touch his shoulder. "…we don't have a choice."

"There's always a choice, Maya. Always a solution," he reasoned, a little more sternly than he had meant to. She sniffed lightly. He reached up and squeezed her hand softly in a silent apology for his abruptness.

"There's no way." Maya said quietly. It appeared she had given up hope hours ago. Phone calls to council members earlier that day had all but confirmed Althea's telegram as the truth. There had been a council meeting that morning and it had been decided. If she didn't go through with it, Pearl would have to take over her position and Maya would never see her again.

"So let me get this straight," Phoenix said turning to face her. "Because you're not married and you don't have any children you can't be master until you prove yourself to them?"

Maya nodded solemnly.

"The most important function of the Master of Kurain is to provide an heir to inherit the position. Since I haven't done that, I need to complete this channelling in order to prove that my power is worth valuing over my ability to continue the main family line."

"So can't you just channel Ami Fey?" Phoenix asked, trying to understand. Why was it any different to channelling anyone else? Maya shook her head again.

"Channelling Ami Fey is the most difficult task any Fey can complete. It requires long periods of training and meditation and can only be performed in the place where she used to live. They're sending me there until I can do it. If I don't I'll be kicked out of Kurain and I'll never see Pearly again. She'll have to be Master and I can't do that to her Nick, I can't." Maya finished with a sob. Phoenix slid his arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer to him as she started to cry again.

"Why is this only coming up now?" Phoenix asked her gently. If this was a long standing law, surely she should have known about it. She wiped at her eyes and cleared her throat before attempting to answer.

"The last three Masters before me were all married with children when they took the position. No one knew about this because it hadn't been mentioned in so long. There was no need for all this until me," she explained, her eyes filling with tears again.

"Then we'll get married." Phoenix said desperately, grabbing her hands. "We can have children!"

Maya's silence was deafening. His head drooped as he fought back tears of his own. He knew it was too late for that, but he would give anything if it meant she could stay.

"Nick…" Maya said softly, causing him to look back at her, his grief stricken expression like a knife to her heart. "…I have to go."

Phoenix shook his head.

"No. You can't go. No." he repeated, still shaking his head. He clutched at her hands as if doing so would keep her with him. She remained silent as she closed her eyes and allowed the tears to fall. They both knew that nothing said tonight would change anything. Maya leant against his shoulder, her tears soaking through the fabric of Phoenix's shirt.

Phoenix felt helpless. A debilitating mixture of sadness, anger and desperation coursed through him. How could they have let Althea do this? This had been her plan all along and when it came down to it, she had played her hand so well that there was nothing they could do about it. This wasn't right. Things weren't supposed to go this way. The bad guy wasn't supposed to win.

But Maya was leaving, and there was nothing he could do to stop her.

"My train leaves at nine." Maya uttered after a long silence. Her words felt like a blow to his stomach. Not only was she leaving him, but tonight?

"Maya, it's already after eight, and it's pouring out there." Phoenix reasoned. "Please, just stay tonight."

Maya sighed.

"I don't want this to be any harder than it already is," she whimpered. "I should just go."

Phoenix frowned, desperate to make her understand that all he wanted was a little more time with her.

"No." he said. "It doesn't matter if you leave today or tomorrow or six months from now. It's not going to hurt any less."

He swallowed nervously, debating whether or not to say what he was about to say. Deciding it was best to be honest, he took a deep breath.

"I love you, Maya."

Whatever shred of strength Maya had been using to hold herself together disappeared in an instant as she broke down in his arms. Harsh sobs wracked her body as she clung to Phoenix's shirt. This was all so hopeless. Emotion flooding through her, her lips found his as she continued to cry. He seemed shocked at first, but soon began to respond gently, hoping that soft kisses could at least help relieve some of the pain they were both feeling.

He held her close to him well into the night, her nine o clock train departure time coming and going without another word. Her cries soon settled to light sobs and eventually she tired of crying altogether. The thunderstorm raged outside as Phoenix thought it seemed fitting that even the weather was angry at their situation.

He spent the rest of the night kissing her softly and gently stroking her hair and back. She clung to him as he whispered reassuringly in her ear that everything was going to be okay and that he would never let anyone hurt her.

The both knew they were lies, but they were lies they both wanted so desperately to believe.

"I can't believe I'm doing this," Maya said, trying her best not to sound afraid. Her small laugh was forced, an odd attempt at bravery in the face of a sad and unfamiliar situation. Phoenix tore his gaze away from her for a moment and surveyed the busy train platform. Maya didn't usually take the peak hour train, but since his trial started at nine thirty this was the latest departure time they could have managed without making him late. Considering he had done zero preparation he figured he should at least get to the courthouse on time if he had any chance at all of securing an innocent verdict.

He watched the people around them as they bustled along the platform jumping on and off trains and preparing for a day of work or school. He wondered if there was anyone else at the station today saying goodbye to someone they loved. He wondered if their heart ached like his did right now. Turning his attention back to Maya, he saw her looking up at him expectantly, her eyes questioning what he had been thinking about. Gazing down at her, he knew that walking away from her today was going to be the most difficult thing he had ever done.

She huffed lightly, her breath visible in the morning chill as the cold air tinted her cheeks and the tip of her nose a light pink shade. The hood of her jacket was pulled up over her head, its fur trim framing her face as her long black hair spilled out the front in waves.

"She's easily the most beautiful girl here," Phoenix thought with admiration, as he swiftly pulled out his phone, snapping a picture of the startled woman in front of him. The picture was perfect. Her eyes were wide, her cheeks flushed and lips slightly parted with an unspoken question, that split second now forever captured. Phoenix smiled, slipping the phone back into his pocket. He wondered if she actually knew how beautiful she was.

"Nick!" she complained. "What did you do that for? My nose is all red, I can feel it."

She brought a hand to the tip of her nose instinctively, frowning when her fingertips confirmed it was ice cold.

"Great. I'm leaving you for god knows how long, and the one picture you take to remember me by l look like Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer."

"It's a beautiful picture," he offered reassuringly.

She pouted disbelievingly, screwing up her nose.

"And don't worry," he added as an afterthought. "You'll be back before you know it. Then I can take a new picture."

She sighed softly, gazing up at him compassionately. She really wanted to believe him. Desperately so. The thought of returning to him would be the only thing to help her push through. But who was she kidding? She was too old for fairy tales. Her eyes downcast, she shook her head sadly.

"It took my great great grandmother two years, Nick," she sighed. "And she was... well... let's just say I'm nowhere near her level."

Phoenix gently tilted her chin upward, her sad eyes meeting with his.

"Maya, you'll set the record. I'm sure of it," he said firmly, his voice unwavering and expression confident.

Maya smiled tenderly, wondering how on earth she was going to live without him after so long. Their little makeshift family was being torn apart by obligation and circumstance. Maya fought back tears. Not just for herself and not just for Phoenix. Who would take care of Pearl?

"Please, Nick..." she began. "While I'm gone, check in on Pearly as much as you can? She'll be so lonely. Make sure she's being taken care of."

It wasn't something Maya needed to ask. Phoenix had planned on doing it anyway.

"You know I will," he said simply. "But maybe you should send her to Hazakurain," he added after a small pause. "Just to be sure..."

Maya nodded. The thought had crossed her mind. Even though Pearl would be acting Master of Kurain in her absence, it was more of a formality than an actual official role. She was far too young for any real responsibility. The council would likely just continue to run things as they always had. Pearl shouldn't need to stay in Kurain and Maya knew she would be much safer with her sister far away from Althea and Andre.

Phoenix's heart lurched at the idea of poor little Pearls facing the world without himself and Maya to protect her. A memory resurfaced of the elderly woman on the train to Hazakurain who had assumed Pearl was his daughter and Maya his wife. It was a scenario he had quickly denied then, but now he would give anything to make it a reality. Perhaps it wasn't too late for that.

"Maya, have you ever thought about applying for formal adoption of Pearls?"

Maya furrowed her brow and shook her head.

"I can't... her mother is still alive. She'll be out of prison eventually. Morgan would have to give her up and she would never do that," Maya explained.

Phoenix scoffed lightly.

"Are you forgetting what I do for a living?" he asked her with a wry grin, drawing her attention to the badge on his lapel. "You know we could get around things like that. With Morgan's record, she's not fit to be Pearl's guardian. You're old enough now, and I really think we could take better care of her than anyone else could."

Maya thought about his idea for a few moments, before her brain latched on to the most important part of what he had just said.

"We?" she asked him, raising her eyebrows sadly. In about ten minutes there would be no more 'we' when it came to her and Phoenix. She would have to get on that train and leave him behind with no way of knowing when they would see each other again. He didn't seem to be able to grasp the fact that channelling Ami Fey could quite possibly take her a very, very long time.

Phoenix shuffled on the spot and stuffed his hands in his pockets.

"Sure," he shrugged, his eyes avoiding hers. He knew what she was trying to say, but he didn't want to hear it. "You know I adore her."

Maya's heart constricted at the happy future Phoenix was painting for the three of them. Wonderful, devoted, loyal, Phoenix. She sighed. Why couldn't it be that easy? Last night he had suggested they get married without a single moment of hesitation making it more than clear to her how much he wanted to be with her. Maya's heart ached as she allowed herself a brief moment to imagine what it would be like to marry him and have his children. Squeezing her eyes shut, she banished the thought from her mind. It was too painful to consider with the reality they were now facing. She couldn't ask him to put everything on hold in the hope that she would be coming back soon.

"Phoenix..."

Maya's uncharacteristic use of his full name caught Phoenix's attention; he snapped his head up to look at her. Her eyes were calm, but sad and resolute at the same time as she regarded him carefully.

"I'm going to be gone for a very long time. Years even. I can't ask..."

"I'll wait for you."

His adamant declaration cut her off before she was able to finish. He couldn't let her finish that sentence.

Phoenix's serious expression touched Maya's heart. She smiled softly and brought a hand up to stroke his cheek tenderly. Phoenix Wright was indeed loyal to a fault.

She said nothing. She knew she couldn't change his mind today but in time his attachment to her would fade, she was sure. He would eventually meet someone else and move on. It was for the best. She loved him, but she would never dream of holding his life for ransom.

"When you get back, you should really look into it. I'll help you with all the legalities, you know that." Phoenix said, shifting the conversation back to Pearl and of course more talk of Maya's return.

Maya nodded slowly, turning her attention back to the earnest man standing before her.

"You really think you'd be ready to be an instant dad?" she asked him with a small smile.

Phoenix shrugged. His eyes travelled across the crowded platform and settled on a man about his age, busy tying his young daughters' shoelaces. The little girl smiled down at her father as he finished the job. He then picked her up settling the small girl on his hip. Maya followed Phoenix's line of sight, smiling softly when she spotted the father and daughter duo.

"It can't be that hard." He said casually, glancing back at Maya.

Maya smiled at him again. It was true, he was fantastic with Pearl, always patient and kind. There was no doubt in her mind that he would make an amazing father. But he was talking like she would be back within a few months. Maya didn't want to even think about how wrong that might actually be.

The muffled voice of the station conductor came blaring over the loudspeaker, signalling to all travellers that the train was due to depart momentarily. Maya lost all of her composure, dropping her suitcase and throwing her arms around Phoenix, hugging him as tightly as she could. She never wanted to let him go. He hugged her back, crushing her small frame against his. He felt exactly the same way. For a brief moment he considered blowing off the trial and asking her to run away with him. They could take Pearl and never look back. But they both had their responsibilities. Their lives had to separate here.

She touched her forehead to his, a lone tear escaping and beginning its sad journey down her cheek.

"I'm going to miss you…" she whispered, her voice shaking.

"Me too," he said, feeling slightly foolish at not having had anything more touching to say. Why could he never find the right words? In a flash of clarity he realised that there were no words to express what he was trying to communicate, so he pressed his lips against hers, pouring everything he was trying to say into one last kiss. He hoped she got the message.

Reluctantly, she pulled away from him, picking up her suitcase and backing up towards the train. His grip remained firmly on her hand, until her distance forced him to let it slip away. She turned away and boarded the train, looking over her shoulder at him one last time before the doors slid closed.

He was reminded of that fateful night during their last trip to Hazakurain, when he had found her in her room crying softly in the moonlight. It was the first time he had truly seen her for the beautiful woman she was and he had finally admitted his feelings to himself. There was so much in her eyes that night that he couldn't identify, but now he could clearly understand what he had been unable to interpret before.

Love.

Maya loved him. Completely. She had for a long time.

Deep down he knew that he had loved her for a long time too. Perhaps even before he had crossed that burning bridge.

The train heaved into motion, and Phoenix let his head drop. She was gone.

The busy station bustled with life as people went about their daily business. No one seemed to notice the forlorn man standing alone on the platform with his shoulders slumped and a heavy, empty feeling where his heart should be.



Entering the court lobby, it didn't take long for Phoenix to find his client. There weren't many people in the building dressed in a magician's outfit. He was suddenly hit by an attack of nerves. Not only had he done no preparation, but he couldn't ever remember going into the courtroom without Maya, or someone else at his side. Even as a rookie, Mia had been there to help him. He could sure use her help right now.

Phoenix wondered if Mia knew about what was going on with Maya from wherever she was stuck on the other side. Surely she would be able to help them. Once this trial was over with he needed to get to Hazakurain as quickly as possible. If Bikini had ties with Kurain like he suspected she did, maybe she knew someone who could remove a spirit block. Mia would know what to do for sure. He hoped his former boss wouldn't be upset with him for failing to protect her baby sister. He wasn't sure he could handle her disappointment. He was angry enough with himself as it was for being powerless to help Maya.

Before he could allow himself to think about Maya any further, Phoenix took a deep breath.

"Time to focus on this trial and get it over with... whatever it's about."

"Ah. Good Morning Mr. Enigmar." Phoenix said, hoping desperately that he sounded more confident than he felt.

Shadi Enigmar smiled apologetically.

"I'm sorry to have sprung this on you so suddenly," he said, his expression seemingly genuine. Phoenix bit back the urge to point out that he could have been more helpful yesterday, deciding instead to cling to some form of professionalism. Well, the best he could muster under the circumstances, anyway.

"I received the files from your previous attorney only yesterday." Phoenix said. He neglected to mention that the brief notes Kristoph had left him had sat untouched on his desk until earlier that morning, and with everything that had happened with Maya in the last twenty four hours he had only barely managed to skim over the contents in the cab on the way to court.

"Honestly, I'm not sure I'm prepared," he finished, shaking his head.

"I understand I am asking the impossible of you..." Shadi said, frowning slightly.

"Yes, well you haven't really told me what happened yet. All we did was play cards." Phoenix said, wondering why his client couldn't see the importance of letting his lawyer know what was going on.

"And that was enough." Shadi said cryptically.

Phoenix frowned. This wasn't a poker tournament, and he couldn't challenge the judge to a game of Texas Hold 'Em to secure an innocent verdict.

"Ooh! Morning, Daddy!"

A little girl who looked no older than Pearl skipped towards Phoenix and his client from the other side of the room.

"This must be his daughter." Phoenix thought to himself.

"Ah, I'm so glad you came!" Shadi said with a genuine smile for the little girl.

"You okay Daddy? They picking on you?" she asked, rolling up her sleeves, as if she wanted to pummel anyone who was bullying her father.

Shadi laughed at his daughter's valiant action.

"I'm fine, as always."

Phoenix felt his heart lurch as he looked at the girl and her father. She was so much like Pearl. Poor little Pearl didn't even have Maya to look out for her anymore. He hoped that she would be safe until Maya was allowed to come home.

"This old boy is here to help me, after all." Shadi said, motioning to Phoenix.

Phoenix scowled. Who was he calling old? If he were to hazard a guess he would say that his client was a good deal older than he was. He shook his head and kneeled down to speak to the little girl.

"Good Morning." Phoenix greeted the tiny girl with a smile. "That's a cute outfit you have on."

She was dressed in what appeared to be a child's version of her father's elaborate magician's outfit. It was the same odd shade of pink and all.

"Thanks!" she said with a grin. "My first show's today, after all."

"I'm sure it is!" Phoenix said, patting her on the head. He had absolutely no idea what she was talking about but decided it was best to humour her anyway. He could never bring himself to dampen the excitement of someone who reminded him so strongly of Pearls. He stood, preparing to speak to Shadi, when the little girl's voice interrupted him.

"Oh... Old boy!" she said, looking expectantly at Phoenix.

"Huh? Me?" he asked the girl, grimacing when he realised that her father's casual reference to him earlier had stuck.

"Um, uh... Here.' She said, thrusting a crumpled piece of paper into his hands. Phoenix looked at it briefly. It appeared to be some sort of diary page.

"What's this?" he asked her.

"I dunno! I just got it over there in the hall." She said cheerfully, pointing in the direction she had come from earlier. "They told me to give it to the old boy in the blue suit with the spiky hair. They said it was really important!"

With a smile, he pushed the piece of paper into his pocket, ignoring the prickling sensation making the hair on the back of his neck stand up. It had been a rough twenty four hours. He needed to just concentrate and get this trial over and done with. Then he could start working out how to help Maya.



Standing at the defense bench without his assistant, Phoenix glanced down at the spot where she should have been. He allowed himself one final moment to reflect on the events of the night before. He remembered kissing her softly as he held her close to him, caressing her face and wiping away her tears as she clung to him in the darkness of his bedroom.

He wanted to remember every last detail. The smell of her hair, the smoothness of her skin, the taste of her lips… and the total feeling of contentment he had felt when shortly before she had fallen asleep, she had whispered his name.

Followed by three perfect words.

"…I love you…"

She would always hold his heart. It didn't matter that she thought his feelings would fade if she didn't return soon. She was so very wrong.

Cruel fate had shown him something beautiful and then snatched it away. Closing his eyes, he sent her a silent message.

"I don't care how long it takes, or what we have to do to get there. We will make it, Maya."

"Is there something wrong, Mr Wright?"

The judge's impatient voice interrupted his thoughts. Phoenix took a deep breath and straightened his shoulders, lifting his chin up high.

"No, your honour." He said resolutely.

"Well, then, if the defense is ready…" the judge said, banging his gavel, "…court is now in session for the trial of Shadi Enigmar."

"Mystic Maya!"

Pearl's lip trembled as her tears began to fall. Maya knelt down slowly, bringing herself to eye level with her devastated young cousin.

"Oh Pearly," Maya said, gathering the small girl up in an embrace. "Everything is going to be okay. Please don't cry."

Pearl sniffed, clinging to Maya.

"But why do you have to go? I don't want you to go Mystic Maya," she wailed.

Maya sighed. Two heartbreaking goodbyes in one day was more than she could handle.

"I don't want to go either, but I don't have a choice. I'm the master now, and I have to do the masters job," Maya said in the bravest voice she could manage. She had to stay strong and show Pearl that she wasn't afraid, even though she wanted nothing more than to break down and cry along with her.

"But I'll be all alone!" Pearl tried to reason. "If you leave me, I'll be all alone!"

Maya hugged her tighter, hoping her words would offer some comfort.

"No you won't Pearly," she said softly, trying her best to ease Pearl's fears. "I'm going to make sure they take you to Hazakurain to stay with Iris and Sister Bikini. They'll take good care of you. And Nick promised to come and visit you as much as he can too."

Maya's proposed arrangement seemed to placate Pearl somewhat. She sniffed lightly, her little face filling with concern as she realised that while she would have Iris and Bikini to take care of her, Maya was the one that would be all alone.

"But Mystic Maya, you won't get to see Mr Nick! I just know he's going to be sad." she said quietly, tears filling her eyes once again. "Special someone's shouldn't be apart!"

Pearls innocent words tugged at Maya's heartstrings. The little girl had no idea how right she was.

"I know Pearly." Maya finally managed, her bravado dangerously close to faltering at the mention of Phoenix. "That's why I need you to take care of him for me. You have to make sure he's not sad whenever you see him."

Pearl looked unconvinced of her ability to do the job.

"I'll try, Mystic Maya. But no one can make Mr Nick as happy as you do."

Maya's words got stuck in her throat as she stared at her small cousin. A tear that had been threatening to fall finally made its escape, trailing down her cheek. She remembered leaving Phoenix on the platform that morning, his sad eyes forever burned into her memory. She had cried all the way back to Kurain, barely managing to hold herself together once she had arrived back in the village. She had tried to call him an hour or so ago to see how his trial had gone, but he hadn't answered his phone. As much as it hurt her to not be able to speak to him one last time, perhaps it was best if they didn't have to go through another painful goodbye.

Maya stood quickly, placing a hand on Pearl's shoulder when she noticed Mystic Marion of the elder council approaching them. Marion brought with her the four acolytes who were to lead Maya to Mystic Ami's cabin, which was hidden in the vast woodland between Kurain Village and the Hazakurain mountain ranges. Maya knew of its existence, but its exact location was a well guarded secret. Only those handpicked by the elders were privy to that information. It was a sacred place that was not meant to be easily found.

Maya pulled her cloak together in an attempt to keep out the winds biting chill that had arrived with the setting sun. The spring days were indeed getting warmer, but the mornings and nights were still cold, especially since it was still snowing in Hazakurain. With the sun disappearing beneath the horizon, it was just about time to depart.

Maya squared her shoulders and lifted her chin as the small party drew closer. She would not give any of them the satisfaction of seeing her in any sort of emotional state. While she had never had any problems with Mystic Marion before, she was aware that the woman was always quick to tow Althea's line, no matter what doing so involved.

"Master Maya," the woman said formally. Maya nodded in response.

"I had expected Althea to see me off this evening." Maya stated plainly. Pearl clutched at Maya's leg, hiding partially behind her. Although the people before her were not strangers, the tiny girl could sense the tension in the air, which made her uneasy.

"Mystic Althea has taken ill, my dear." Marion explained. "She requested that I be here in her place."

Maya raised an eyebrow.

"Taken ill?" she thought disbelievingly. "Not ill enough."

She had a feeling that Althea was watching her departure from somewhere close by. Heck, she was probably even high fiving Andre and breaking out in to a victory dance at that very moment.

"She wishes you all the best and hopes to see you return soon." Marion added, noting Maya's silence.

"I'm sure," Maya said dryly. It would have been near on impossible for Marion to miss the sarcasm in Maya's reply, but nonetheless the older woman didn't respond.

"I'd like arrangements to be made immediately for Pearl to be moved to Hazakurain in my absence." Maya said firmly. "Please make sure this is done."

"Yes, of course Master Maya." Marion nodded submissively. The woman seemed to cower under any sort of authority, explaining easily why Althea had such a strong influence over her.

Maya knelt down to speak to Pearl once more.

"Pearly, I have to go now, so I need you to stay with Mystic Marion, okay?"

Pearl nodded her understanding, trying her best to hold back tears.

"I want you to go and pack your things so they can take you to Hazakurain tomorrow. You make sure you stay there until I come back, okay?"

Pearl nodded again, flinging her arms around Maya's neck and sobbing lightly.

"I love you, Mystic Maya. Please come back soon," she whispered.

"I love you too Pearly. You be a brave girl now and take care of Iris and Sister Bikini and especially Nick while I'm gone, okay? Remember what we talked about."

Mystic Marion stepped forward and took Pearls hand, leading her away. Reluctantly, Pearl let go of Maya, inching away as her cousin stood tall.

Without another word, Maya turned and left the pair behind striding towards the path that led to the forest. She heard the acolytes behind her pick up her belongings and follow suit. She hoped she could escape into the darkness before anyone saw the tears coursing down her cheeks.



Phoenix sat on the floor behind his desk, his head resting against the large wooden bookcase. For the fifth time that hour, he briefly considered getting up off the floor and perhaps moving to the couch where it would be a little more comfortable. But the alcohol running through his bloodstream soon ensured that particular thought forgotten as other thoughts flooded his mind in a drunken haze.

Apart from getting up to use the bathroom or to source more booze he'd been sitting down here for two days. He hadn't slept. He hadn't showered. He hadn't even changed his clothes. His legs were aching from lack of use, or they would have been if he wasn't so damn drunk.

He clutched lightly at the wine bottle in his left hand, the latest of many, bringing it to his lips for another swig. He'd stopped grimacing at the foul taste a long time ago, barely registering the acrid tang of the cheap wine as it passed over his tongue. He didn't care what it tasted like, so long as it helped ease the emptiness he felt.

Ease was probably the wrong word. He recognised the emotions he was feeling, but they felt distant. Almost like the pain wasn't his. He felt almost as if he were watching a grainy old black and white film, and this was the part where the main character had lost it all. His life, his love, his reason for living. He wondered idly if this movie had a happy ending, or whether it had somehow turned from a beautiful romance flick into a terrifying tragedy.

His cell phone began ringing, its screen lighting up the darkness as the vibrating motion caused it to inch around on the floor beside him. Recognition of the Steel Samurai theme caused a dull ache in his chest, yet so far he hadn't been able to bring himself to change the annoying tune. He was surprised the phone still had any charge remaining at all. It had been ringing nonstop since the trial two days ago. He'd even had people come to the office door trying to speak to him. They were mostly reporters though, and they seemed to give up quickly enough when he didn't answer. It appeared news did indeed travel fast, especially when it was bad news.

He picked up the phone, fumbling with the buttons in an attempt to reject to call but wound up inadvertently answering it instead. He could hear Detective Gumshoe's gruff voice on the other end of the line without even holding the phone to his ear.

"Pal! Hey Pal! Are you there? Can you hear me?"

Phoenix hadn't spoken a word in almost forty eight hours. Curiosity about what people were saying mixed with a twinge of loneliness made him second guess his decision to hang up on his detective friend.

"I'm here." Phoenix croaked, his voice sounding alien even to him.

"Oh Pal!" Gumshoe said, relieved. "I've been trying to call you for days. Are you okay?"

Was he okay? Of course he wasn't.

"Everything I lived for is gone. It's all gone. She's gone." Phoenix mumbled.

"What? Who's gone?" Gumshoe questioned. "Where's Maya, pal?"

"Gone." Phoenix said cryptically. "She's gone."

Gumshoe paused on the other end of the line, wondering what the hell Phoenix was babbling about. Just how drunk was he? Maya would never leave Wright, that much he knew.

"But Maya wouldn't leave you," he said, puzzled. "Especially not now. Where did she go?"

"They made her go back to Kurain." Phoenix slurred. He briefly registered Gumshoe's sigh on the other end of the line.

"Of all the lousy timing…" Gumshoe whispered under his breath.

He was silent for a moment before speaking again.

"Look pal, I rang to talk to you about the little girl, but I'm guessing this isn't the best time. She'll be fine with Maggey for a few more days, but she keeps saying she is supposed to stay with you."

A vision of Pearl flashed through Phoenix's hazed mind, before he frowned lightly, realising she wasn't the girl Gumshoe was talking about. He recalled an image of his clients daughter. The little magician girl… Lucy? Was it? What did she want with him?

"You know, Gumshoe…" Phoenix muttered after a small pause, having already forgotten about the little girl, "Didn't you know I'm a criminal? Police people aren't supposed to be friends with criminals."

"Aw c'mon pal." Gumshoe said sadly. "We all know you're innocent. You'd never do anything like forge evidence."

Gumshoe's words of support were of little consolation to Phoenix.

"I used it," he stated with a slight hiccup. "I did it. I used it. I didn't even read it. God damn it, I used it and I didn't even think. She would have stopped me if she was there. I know she would have. This is all my fault."

Phoenix broke down slightly as Gumshoe remained awkwardly silent on the other end of the line.

"If Maya's back in Kurain, maybe you should go there too, pal." Gumshoe offered eventually, realising just how much worse Maya's absence was making Phoenix's situation. "You really shouldn't be alone right now."

Phoenix blinked a few times, registering Gumshoe's words, and playing them back like a recording in his mind. It was the best idea he'd heard in the last two days.

"You know what? You're right. You're right. I need to go there and tell them that they can't take her away from me. I'm gonna go there and I'm going to tell them that their laws are stupid and that they're stupid and that I'm taking Maya with me. And Pearls. Pearls is coming with me too.

Phoenix stood defiantly, wobbling slightly when he reached his feet as the combined effects of too much alcohol and complete misuse of his legs nearly knocked him back to the floor.

"I'll show them that they can't take her away from me," Phoenix said, letting his phone slip through his fingers. It fell to the floor with a crash, prematurely ending his conversation with the confused detective. He stepped over the phone, pausing only to grab his wine bottle before heading out the door and out of the office building.

He only had one destination in mind.



"Hello? Hello? Pal? Aw, damn it."

Gumshoe hung up the phone realising Phoenix was no longer there. He attempted to dial his number again, but there was no answer. He quickly phoned Maya's cell, but there was no answer there either. His worry over the defense attorney was steadily increasing as he began piecing together the facts in his mind. It didn't take him long to work out that Maya was likely back in Kurain because she had to be and Phoenix heading there in his current state could end up being a huge problem.

Picking up his phone again, Gumshoe dialled the only person he could think of that might be able to help. He sighed, wondering how on earth this had all ended up going so badly as the recipient of the call picked up the other end of the line.

"Hello, Edgeworth speaking."

"Err, Hi Mr Edgeworth," Gumshoe stammered. "It's Detective Gumshoe. I'm sorry to call you so late."

"What is it, detective?" Edgeworth asked formally.

"Um… you wouldn't have happened to have spoken to Mr Wright would you?"

Edgeworth frowned.

"No. He refuses to take my calls."

It wasn't for lack of trying. Edgeworth had been trying to phone Phoenix ever since news of Gavin's 'victory' had reached his office.

"Why?" Edgeworth added after a small pause. "Have you?"

"Uhh…" Gumshoe began cautiously. "Yeah. I have."

Edgeworth raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"And?" he inquired tersely.

"He's not in a good way, Sir. Not at all."

"Understandable." Edgeworth responded as Gumshoe went on to tell him what he knew about the trial, and about Phoenix's clients daughter who was currently staying with Maggey.

"I don't know whether it's right to give him the kid, you know?" Gumshoe frowned. "He didn't sound good. I think he'd been drinking a lot."

Edgeworth sighed.

"I wouldn't worry about that detective. The wound is still fresh and Wright would be simply trying to dull the pain. You and I both know that Miss Fey will not allow him to remain in that state for long."

"But that's just it," Gumshoe groaned. "Maya isn't there. He kept saying that she was gone."

"Oh dear…" Edgeworth remarked worriedly. Maya was the one lifeline that he was certain would keep Phoenix from drowning in the depths of his depression.

"I think she might have gone back to Kurain. But he wouldn't say why." Gumshoe explained. "But then I might have said something kinda bad…" he added meekly.

"What did you do…?" Edgeworth questioned, slight irritation seeping into his voice.

"Well… I might have put the idea in his head that he should go get her." Gumshoe muttered quickly. "But I didn't realise that she was probably there because she has to be and I didn't think he would try and go right away and-"

"Wait, he went right away?" Edgeworth demanded, losing his usual composure.

"Yeah." Gumshoe said sheepishly. "I tried calling him back, but I think he dropped his phone on the way out."

Edgeworth sighed heavily.

"Don't worry about it, detective. I'll take it from here."

Gumshoe paused, not quite sure how to convey how sorry he was for contributing to the whole mess.

"Thanks Mr Edgeworth. I hope Mr Wright is alright. Let us know okay?" he asked sadly. As clueless as he was sometimes, Dick Gumshoe's heart really was in the right place. Edgeworth quickly acknowledged his request before hanging up the phone.

He strode across his apartment, picking up the remote for the projector screen and switching it off. With a whirr the screen retracted into the ceiling.

"Come now, Kay. Let's go."

His assistant clambered to her knees on the couch, leaning over the back with a pout.

"Are you kidding me? The Jammin' Ninja Movie Part II: Jammin' Down The House is just about to start."

Edgeworth crossed his arms over his chest, raising an eyebrow at her. She glared at him a moment longer before admitting defeat and mumbling something he couldn't quite hear while she pulled on her boots. Once Kay had discovered on Maya's birthday that Edgeworth had a 120" projector screen instead of a TV, she'd been taking it upon herself to arrange 'movie night' whenever something she liked happened to be on television.

Edgeworth wondered if this was the kind of thing Wright had to put up with from Maya. Although, judging from what he had seen of them out on the balcony during Maya's party, it could be easily assumed that the pair spent their evenings doing other things besides watching movies.

Kay's constant presence didn't bother him too much. She was relatively low maintenance, and at least when she was with him he knew that she wasn't out getting herself arrested for being the Yatagarasu.

"Where are we going anyway?" Kay questioned as they headed towards the door.

"We're going to make sure that Wright doesn't get himself into any more trouble."



The station conductor eyed Phoenix warily as he stumbled off the train. Gathering some composure, he managed to exit the station without incident. He'd even been able to conceal his wine bottle beneath his jacket for the entirety of the trip.

Leaving the lights of the train station behind, Phoenix headed up the road that led to Kurain. It was usually only a ten minute walk, but at his pace it would more likely take him closer to twenty.

He struggled with the incline as the dirt road headed up the mountainside, tripping and dropping the bottle he had been holding. He managed to escape any injury himself, but the bottle smashed when it hit the ground, the remaining liquid seeping into the dirt. He barely even noticed that he had reached the village gates, blinking tiredly when he registered the wrought iron monstrosity before him. Those gates had never been locked before, but they were tonight.

Picking up the neck of the smashed bottle which was somehow still intact, he hurled it at the gates in anger. It shattered with a loud clang. He sank to his knees, Maya's name leaving his lips in an anguished cry.



"MAYA!"

Iris froze, ducking back behind the trees when she heard a man's voice yelling up ahead. She began to panic. No one was supposed to see her. No one was supposed to know she was here. She was supposed to get in quickly, and then back out again without anyone knowing. If someone caught her out here away from Hazakurain she would likely end up back in prison. Whoever that was up ahead had really made things difficult now that people in the village would be waking up due to the noise.

She gasped when she saw a car heading up the road, its headlights illuminating her hiding spot. This was not going well. The driver brought the car to a halt a few metres from where she hid, the closure of the main gates making it impossible to drive up any further. She was thankful that they turned off the headlights before stepping out of the vehicle. A second person emerged from the passenger side.

Her eyes readjusting to the darkness, Iris breathed a sigh of relief when she recognised the owner of the car.

"Mr Edgeworth!" she whispered as loud as she could.

Edgeworth jumped slightly.

"Who's there?" he asked, peering into the scrub. A woman in a long black cloak stepped forward, pulling the hood back to reveal a pretty face that Edgeworth immediately recognised.

"Iris?" he asked, his voice hushed. He moved back towards the trees, obscuring them from sight. He motioned for Kay to follow. "What are you doing here? Aren't you violating some sort of parole?"

"Sister Bikini sent me to retrieve something important. Something to do with the murder case." Iris explained.

Edgeworth's brow furrowed. With everything that had been going on with Phoenix's trial the unsolved murder at Kurain had completely slipped his mind.

"What are you doing here?" Iris asked.

"You haven't seen Wright, have you?" Edgeworth asked quickly.

Iris appeared confused.

"Phoenix?" she frowned, before shaking her head. "No… I haven't."

She thought for a second, before realising the voice she had heard earlier had sounded a little like him, but she had never heard him yell like that before.

"But there was a man yelling up ahead just before you got here. I heard some glass break too."

"Great." Edgeworth said, his shoulders slumping tiredly. It appeared he was too late to stop Phoenix from making a scene.

"What's going on?" Iris asked.

"From what I can gather," Edgeworth began, "Something has happened to prevent Wright from seeing Maya. When we were here for her induction he was convinced that one of the elders was up to something. Perhaps she succeeded."

Iris nodded in recognition. It made sense combined with the information that Bikini had given her.

"You must be talking about Althea Fey. Sister Bikini sent me here to retrieve spirit boxes that she used to block both Lillian Fey and Mia Fey from being channelled."

Edgeworth frowned. This 'channelling' business was still quite confusing to him, but he understood that it had definite significance with anything involving the Fey family. Once again Wright had managed to find himself in a right mess.

"I don't understand why Phoenix is here though," Iris frowned. "Maya comes back to Kurain all the time. Why is today any different?"

Edgeworth sighed, rubbing his temples as he explained the events leading up to Phoenix's drunken excursion.

"Wright was framed for using forged evidence in a trial a couple of days ago. He will face a committee tomorrow that will likely strip him of his badge. Being separated from Maya couldn't have come at a worse time."

Iris brought a hand to her mouth in shock.

"Oh my goodness!" she cried, her face falling. "Poor Phoenix…"

"I'm not sure if you are aware, but there have been... developments... between Wright and Miss Fey."

Iris's small nod was evidence enough that she already knew all about what Edgeworth was alluding to.

"I believe Wright is taking their parting rather badly," he continued. "Especially considering it appears her absence was not voluntary. I need to get up there before he endangers himself or someone else. He's rather intoxicated and clearly not of sound mind at the moment."

Iris followed Edgeworth's line of sight as he turned to peer up the road, towards the gates.

"Althea seems to be the common thread in both our problems," she stated sadly. "I need to get these boxes without getting discovered, or we'll never have any chance of stopping her."

A delicate frown creased her brow.

"If anyone finds me I'll end up back in prison again."

Edgeworth suddenly had an idea. Maybe Wright's appearance at Kurain could serve as a distraction of sorts, working in Iris's favour rather than against her. He glanced over at Kay who had been uncharacteristically quiet for the duration of his conversation with Iris. It was possible that she understood the weight of the situation.

"Kay, perhaps you can be of assistance to Iris." Edgeworth suggested.

Kay's eyes seemed to light up at the prospect of using her unique talents to help good people in need.

"Of course!" she quipped. "I am the great thief Yatagarasu after all!"

Iris glanced back and forth between Edgeworth and his assistant, clearly not understanding the exchange between the two.

"Alright then. Kay, you stay with Iris. Send me a text when you are in the clear with the boxes. You'll need to be fast. I'll phone you once I have managed to subdue Wright. I may need to escort him back to his office."

"Piece of cake." Kay said smugly, crossing her arms.

"Kay is welcome to return to Hazakurain with me," Iris offered. "At least that way you'll know where she is and that she's safe, Mr Edgeworth."

Edgeworth nodded, still somewhat surprised that a demon and an angel could wear the same face.

"And please... do whatever you can to help Phoenix," she added softly after a brief pause, her expression pained.

Edgeworth gave the woman's shoulder a light squeeze. If he remembered correctly, this woman had loved Wright at some stage in the past. Perhaps a part of her still did.

"Very well ladies, good luck," he said as he turned and headed up the hill towards the main gates. He hoped Phoenix hadn't got far.

Kay turned to Iris as they headed back through the bushes in order to find another way to gain access to the mountain village's vault, now that the main gates were not an option.

"So these boxes…" Kay began excitedly. "Would you say that we're stealing the truth?"

Iris frowned, slightly puzzled.

"Um, I guess you could. Yes."

Kay grinned. This was so much more fun than staying in watching the Jammin Ninja.



"You're trespassing."

Phoenix looked up, his eyes locking on to the woman that stood a few feet away, protected by the heavy iron gates.

"You…" he seethed.

Althea Fey stood primly before him, her expression one of smug satisfaction.

"You heartless witch." Phoenix spat. "You won't get away with this."

Althea laughed musically.

"I think you'll find that I already have," she replied simply.

Phoenix lunged at the gates.

"Tell me where she is! You can't keep her from me!" he shouted, shaking the gates. Althea was unmoved by his outburst.

"She's not here," she snapped. "And I most certainly can keep her from you, Mr Wright. We have seen the papers. We know what kind of man you are."

Phoenix slumped, resting his head against the cold iron.

"Please," he said pathetically. "I need her."

Althea scoffed.

"And you are the last thing she needs!"

She glared down at the sorry excuse for a man, clinging to the gates. How dare he even show his face?

"Her mother and her sister caused this village no end of shame."Althea fumed. "She does not need your shame also. Leave now, Mr Wright! Forget about Kurain and forget about Maya Fey!"

"Mr Nick!"

Pearl's frenzied cry caught Phoenix's attention immediately. He looked up to see the small girl running from the main house towards the gates.

"Pearls!" he cried in response.

Pearl's attempt to flee was halted by none other than Andre Fey. He picked her up as she kicked and screamed, carrying her back into the main house. Phoenix could still hear Pearl crying out his name long after she had disappeared from view. Rage bubbled to the surface as he lunged at the gates once more.

"What is she doing here?" Phoenix roared. "She is supposed to be in Hazakurain!"

Mystic Marion had conveyed Maya's request that Pearl be relocated to Hazakurain, but Althea had overruled it immediately. It wasn't like Maya could do anything to stop her.

"Maya Fey is not in charge here anymore." Althea said icily.

Phoenix felt a scream rise in his throat, but was shocked by a hand on his shoulder, causing him to fall silent. He turned to find Edgeworth standing behind him. He blinked a few times to make sure he wasn't imagining his prosecutor friend. Was he really that drunk?

"Come on now, Wright. We have to get you home," he said calmly.

Edgeworth decided he had stood back in the shadows long enough watching the old woman taunt Phoenix. As much as he wanted to stay hidden to allow Kay and Iris more time while Phoenix kept Althea distracted, the distraught man's control was slipping away. If he hadn't stepped in, things could have ended up getting very ugly.

Phoenix shrugged Edgeworth's hand away.

"No! You don't understand!" he cried. "She's keeping Maya from me! And Pearls! Pearls is still here! We can't leave her with a murderer!"

Edgeworth leaned close enough to Phoenix to whisper roughly in his ear.

"Quiet, Wright. Don't say something you'll regret later!"

Phoenix reluctantly quieted, recognising even in his inebriated state that he couldn't go telling Althea everything they knew.

"I'm sorry Ms Fey," Edgeworth said, bowing his head apologetically as he attempted to keep a hold of Phoenix. "Mr Wright has been under a great deal of stress. I am truly sorry for any trouble he has caused."

Althea nodded sternly.

"Please remove him from the premises." She stated firmly, turning to walk away.

"Ms Fey!" Edgeworth called. "Please, wait."

Althea turned back to face him, as Edgeworth clamoured for something to say that would keep her attention. He still hadn't received a text from Kay. He needed to come up with something that would buy them more time.

"What is it?" Althea asked impatiently. Edgeworth thought for a few moments, dragging his question out for as long as he could.

"May I enquire as to Miss Maya Fey's whereabouts?" he improvised. Althea raised an eyebrow, taking the bait.

"No, you may not." She answered rigidly. "The Master is away on official business and will be for some time."

"I see," Edgeworth said, glancing down at Phoenix who continued to glare at the elderly woman. "That's a terrible shame. I do think Mr Wright would benefit greatly from her presence in such a time of need."

Althea scowled.

"I have already informed Mr Wright that he has no further business with Maya Fey. If you are any type of friend to him at all, sir, I suggest you try and convince him the same. If he is seen anywhere near Kurain again, the authorities will be notified."

Edgeworth opened his mouth to speak again, but stopped short when his phone beeped in his pocket. Pulling out his cell, he read the quick text from Kay detailing that she and Iris were clear with the boxes. He smiled to himself. If anyone could pull off a lightning quick heist, it was Kay.

"Very well then Ms Fey, I am sorry to have bothered you." Edgeworth said, grabbing Phoenix by the back of the jacket and hauling him away from the gates.

Althea raised an eyebrow at his hasty exit, wondering why the young man appeared to have been stalling her. Even more suspicious was the fact that he left as soon as he received that message.

In a flash of panic, she realised there was only one reason that pesky lawyer and his friends would be trying to distract her. Turning away from the main gates, she quickly headed past the main house, not at all surprised when she found the lock on the vault door had been delicately tampered with. Slipping inside, the smell of smoke assaulted her nostrils. Someone had recently held a lit torch in here, yet to the best of her knowledge no one had been in the vault for days.

Anger swelled within her. How could she have fallen for such a deliberate ruse?

Striking a match, she pounded her fist on the table when she noticed two spirit boxes missing from their place on the wall.

There was only one person other than herself with the ability to remove those locks.



Mystic Jess rushed in to Hazakurain's main hall to answer the ringing phone, wondering who on earth would be calling at such a late hour. The oddly familiar voice on the other end asked politely to speak to Sister Bikini.

"Sister Bikini!" Jess called. "It's for you."

Bikini waddled into the main hall, taking the receiver that the young acolyte held out to her.

"Hello? Sister Bikini speaking," she chirped happily.

"Bikini…" the woman on the other end of the line laughed mockingly. "I always thought that was such a ridiculous name."

Sister Bikini swallowed hard, instantly recognising the voice of Althea Fey.

"I know that you're working with that lawyer, and I know that you took those spirit boxes." Althea remarked.

Bikini remained silent, causing Althea's temper to boil over.

"Have you forgotten what you did all those years ago? Do you really want all that to be dredged up again?" Althea spat.

"I have nothing to say to you." Bikini stated calmly, although in reality she felt anything but.

"Don't think I don't know what you're up to, Audrina." Althea snarled.

Unable to listen to any more, Bikini abruptly hung up the phone. She rushed out of the main hall, leaving a bewildered Mystic Jess in her wake.

Phoenix slumped back on the couch, covering his eyes with his forearm. Edgeworth had insisted on switching on the lights when they had arrived back to the office which needless to say, Phoenix thought was a terrible idea.

"I think you need some coffee." Edgeworth stated, moving past the couch and heading towards the stairs. Phoenix merely grunted in reply. Glancing at the empty wine bottles littering Phoenix's desk as he passed, Edgeworth's distaste was evident.

"Jesus, Wright," he said, disgusted. "I'm all for a nice glass of wine every now and then, but I must emphasise the word nice. I don't know how you managed to drink that… swill."

Phoenix remained unmoving, still not ready to allow the harsh fluorescents to assault his eyes. He chuckled softly.

"We can't all afford the finer things in life, my friend," he mused lightly. That much was true, especially now. Edgeworth considered his response before nodding lightly and heading upstairs, leaving Phoenix in the office alone.

For the first time Phoenix began to think about things like rent and paying the electricity bill. How would he eat? He had some savings, but he knew they wouldn't last long. Without the comforting padding of an alcohol induced haze, the reality of his situation began to sink in. There was no more job. No more cases, no more clients, no more investigations. And perhaps worst of all, no more Maya.

Edgeworth returned after a few minutes with a pot of coffee and a mug for Phoenix, setting both down on the table. He took a seat on the single sofa to Phoenix's left, pouring the coffee and placing the mug in front of his weary friend. He laced his fingers together across his knees and cleared his throat.

Reluctantly, Phoenix removed his forearm from his eyes, immediately grimacing at the bright light. Squinting against the intrusion, he picked up the mug and took a sip. It was good. Could everyone make decent coffee except him?

"Aren't you having some?" Phoenix asked Edgeworth as he cradled the mug in his hands.

Edgeworth shook his head.

"I try not to consume any caffeine after dinnertime. I find it hinders my ability to get a good night's sleep."

Phoenix nodded lightly, remaining silent.

"However, in your case I think you'd benefit from the jolt right now. I believe I'd also be correct in assuming that no amount of caffeine would prevent you from sleeping when you finally do get to bed," Edgeworth added. "You haven't slept since before the trial, have you?"

Phoenix hesitantly shook his head, his eyes downcast.

"I didn't really sleep much the night before, either," he admitted.

Edgeworth leaned back in his chair, crossing his legs. Wright was now far too experienced in the courtroom to suffer from nerves on the night prior to a trial, so his lack of sleep most likely had something to do with his missing assistant. While he was not normally one to pry into matters such as this, he deduced that Phoenix would not have alluded to it if he did not wish to discuss it. Sometimes having learned to read people so well as a prosecutor had its advantages outside of the courtroom.

"What happened?" he inquired simply. He knew his nondescript question would provide Phoenix with an opening point to discuss whatever was troubling him most, be it Maya or the trial. If he hadn't gone into law, Edgeworth had no doubt that he would have made a fine psychologist. The human brain was not so much a mystery to him as it seemed to be to most people.

Phoenix sighed audibly, before taking another sip of his coffee. The warm liquid was helping the return of clarity, but he wasn't so sure that he welcomed it.

"Things were perfect. Just perfect," he began cryptically. "But Althea was always a step ahead. We didn't even see it coming."

Edgeworth's attentive silence willed Phoenix to explain further.

"You see, there's this law in Kurain. If the Master doesn't have a child by the time she accepts the position, then they have to send her off to an isolated place to contact their great ancestor. Apparently, doing so takes years."

Edgeworth frowned.

"And the point of such an exercise would be…?"

Phoenix shrugged, glad he wasn't the only one who saw the ridiculousness of the situation.

"According to what Maya told me, it proves that her spiritual power is worth valuing over her ability to produce an heir."

Edgeworth continued to frown, shaking his head.

"How positively archaic. Why would she agree to such a task?"

"Pearls is next in line for the title of Master of Kurain. If Maya refused, Pearl would have to either marry young and have children quickly or complete the channelling in her place and on top of that, Maya's refusal would mean banishment from Kurain. She'd never see Pearls again." Phoenix finished, sipping again at his coffee and setting the mug down on the table. "She really didn't have a choice,"

Edgeworth sat silent for a few moments, processing what Phoenix had told him.

"Such a primitive notion…" Edgeworth began. "Forcing these young women into early marriages to maintain a particular bloodline."

Phoenix nodded in agreement.

"So there was no attempt made by the council to forewarn Maya of such a law? No attempt to arrange a suitor in the past few years?" Edgeworth asked.

"Not at all." Phoenix replied. "This whole thing totally came out of left field."

Edgeworth narrowed his eyes.

"This strikes me as odd, Wright. Very odd. With all the lead up and preparation for Maya's induction, surely someone would have mentioned this."

"Maya said that everyone forgot the law because she is the first Master in three generations to not have a child when accepting the title," Phoenix shrugged.

"Seems like an important thing to forget." Edgeworth said, shaking his head.

Phoenix sighed, leaning back on the lounge and closing his eyes. Edgeworth may have had a point, but odd or not, it didn't change the fact that Maya was gone. Perhaps the old Phoenix would have seen this as an opportunity to fight, an opening to discover the truth. But he wasn't that man anymore. He was a fraud. A purveyor of false truths. Maya deserved better than him anyway.

Everything that had happened in the last three days had left him feeling tired. As if reading his thoughts, Edgeworth spoke again.

"You know that none of us believe that you used that evidence on purpose," he offered reassuringly.

"Doesn't matter." Phoenix said flatly. "The fact that I used it at all is what matters."

"In the eyes of the Bar Association, yes," Edgeworth admitted. "But not in the eyes of your friends."

Phoenix smiled glumly, genuinely appreciative of Edgeworth's efforts to cheer him up even though he could do little to comply.

"How did you even come to have that note in your possession?" Edgeworth asked finally.

Phoenix remembered clearly.

"The little girl…" he began, concentrating as he recalled the details. "The little girl gave it to me in the lobby just as court went into session. She said someone else gave it to her."

"I could be wrong, but I sincerely doubt that she had any ill intentions in doing so." Edgeworth considered.

Phoenix shrugged. He had no idea anymore. Everything had just happened so fast.

"Detective Gumshoe spoke to me about the girl earlier." Edgeworth said. "Since your client, well… disappeared, she is currently staying with Ms Byrde. But for some reason she is adamant that she is to stay with you."

Phoenix scoffed.

"Yeah. I'd definitely be a shoe in for father of the year."

"I don't know, Wright. You managed to care for Pearl Fey with some modicum of competence. Perhaps it would be in your best interest to take this young girl in. She may be of some value." Edgeworth suggested.

Phoenix frowned at his prosecutor friend. Surely he wasn't suggesting putting the girl in any danger.

"How so?"

"Well, Gumshoe relayed to me that she was a rather happy little thing. In very good spirits for someone whose father had recently disappeared into thin air. I believe the girl may know something," Edgeworth explained. "And if that is indeed true, she could quite possibly be in danger. Keeping her close to you could prove beneficial for the both of you."

Phoenix nodded thoughtfully. Edgeworth once again had a point.

"Provided you clean up your act," he finished, raising an eyebrow. "You can't provide sufficient care for a child with an alcohol dependency problem."

Phoenix groaned.

"Have you ever seen me drunk before today?" he complained. "Jeez Edgeworth, cut me some slack. This has been the worst week of my life. Surely I can drown my sorrows just once without being labelled an alcoholic."

Edgeworth seemed unaffected by his Phoenix's annoyed outburst.

"So long as you don't make a habit of it. Remember that there are far more constructive ways to deal with problems," he asserted.

"Such as?" Phoenix asked, still somewhat irritated.

"Solving them." Edgeworth stated seriously.

Satisfied that he had done all he could for his downtrodden friend, Edgeworth stood, straightening his jacket.

"You need to get some rest, Wright. You'll need time to shower and shave before your meeting with the Bar Association tomorrow."

Phoenix's head drooped. He had almost forgotten that tomorrow morning he would be stripped of his badge.

"It's not over yet." Edgeworth said, eyeing his friend with a small sigh. "Perhaps explaining the situation and pleading your case may facilitate some leniency. Your record is exemplary thus far, that has to count for something."

Phoenix nodded, although he seriously doubted what Edgeworth was suggesting.

Moving behind the couch, Edgeworth stopped to give Phoenix's shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

"I'll be in touch," he said quietly before heading out the door. Phoenix listened as it closed with a soft click, and Edgeworth's footsteps disappeared down the hall.

With a great deal of effort, he pulled himself to his feet and headed for the stairs, pausing to hit the lights. He trudged to his bedroom, stripping down to his boxers and crawling between the sheets.

The faint scent of Maya's hair still lingered on his pillows. He inhaled deeply.

"Sweet dreams, Maya. Wherever you are," he whispered softly as he closed his eyes.



Edgeworth held the phone to his ear as he sprinted down the stairs, waiting for Kay to answer. He hoped there was reception wherever she was.

"Hey!" she cried happily as she answered her cell. Edgeworth cringed lightly at her loud greeting. It had to be at least two in the morning. How on earth was this girl still so animated?

"Hello Kay," Edgeworth began at a more suitable volume. "I trust you and Iris made it back to Hazakurain without complication?"

"Oh yeah!" Kay said excitedly. "You should see this place! There's a great big temple and all this really cool old stuff everywhere. And everyone here is so nice. I'm going to need to take a souvenir I think."

"Please don't," Edgeworth said, recoiling slightly.

"Relax, boss," she said with a laugh. "I'm just kidding. How's Mr Wright?"

"Not good I'm afraid," he sighed. "But I expected as much."

"That's too bad," Kay said sadly. "Iris says he's a really great guy. Did you tell him we got the boxes?"

"No, I didn't." Edgeworth said. "He has enough to process right now, and he will learn soon enough. Tell me, are you still with Iris?"

"Uh huh." Kay confirmed. "Sister Bikini and some other girls are here too. They're trying to get these boxes open. Sister Bikini says it's going to take a few days. These locks are something, Mr Edgeworth. I can't even see them. Who'd have thought there was a lock that the great thief Yatagarasu couldn't pick?"

Edgeworth couldn't help but smile at her wide eyed enthusiasm. The mysticism that surrounded the Fey family made for a rather interesting first impression. Kay seemed positively captivated.

"Kay, could I ask you to pass on some details for me?" Edgeworth asked.

"Sure, go ahead." Kay replied.

"It's about Maya Fey," he started. "Could you ask Sister Bikini if she knows anything about Kurain law?"

He still couldn't shake the feeling that the Kurain Council's sudden reasoning for Maya's departure seemed somewhat contrived. He heard Kay's muffled voice in the background, asking Bikini as he had instructed.

"She says she knows a little, but not much. She said she hasn't been to Kurain in a long time."

Edgeworth frowned, mulling over Maya's predicament in his head.

"Never mind, I'll be there in a little while to pick you up. I'll speak with Sister Bikini when I arrive."

"Okay, cool." Kay chirped. "See you soon!"

Kay hung up the phone, slipping it back into her pocket.

"Mr Edgeworth is on his way. He'll be here soon. He said he had some stuff to ask Sister Bikini about the laws in Kurain," she said to Iris, who had been sitting beside her as she spoke on the phone.

The pair watched on as Bikini and the acolytes placed the spirit boxes in two circles of red candles. Kay had no idea how you could open a box without touching it, but then again she had never seen a box with an invisible lock before either.

"So this is going to take days, huh?" she asked Iris, who nodded in reply.

"Only Sister Bikini can initiate the removal of the locks because she is related to the person who locked them."

"Interesting." Kay said, nodding. "Won't she get tired though?"

"Yes." Iris explained. "That's what the other girls are here for. Once Sister Bikini starts the lock opening, anyone can finish it."

"Are you going to help too?" Kay asked.

Iris cast her eyes downward quickly.

"I'm afraid I don't have any spiritual powers," she admitted sadly. Kay frowned. She had only met Iris a few hours ago, but had decided in that short time that she really liked the girl. She was a good person who tried hard to help those she cared about.

"Aw, that doesn't matter." Kay said with a grin. "If it wasn't for you, the boxes wouldn't even be here, would they?"

Kay grinned wider, nudging Iris who looked up at her, surprised.

Iris felt a swell of pride as she realised Kay was pointing out to her that whether she had spiritual powers or not she most definitely an important part of what was going on.

"I… I guess not." Iris said, smiling.



Althea Fey slammed the folder she had been carrying down on the table. She clutched at the edge of the desk with both hands, leaning forward slightly as she closed her eyes and took deep breaths.

It had been three days since Phoenix Wright had appeared at Kurain's gates, drunk and disorderly, and although she had not heard from him again, this morning his detective friend had been back in the village asking questions.

She herself had managed to evade him, but had heard from various other sources that the questions he had been asking pertained to Lillian Fey and the day of her death. This was not good. The police had denied her request that no autopsy be performed and of course had found traces of the poison Andre had used to kill her in her bloodstream, even though Morgan has assured him that it couldn't be traced.

She squinted her eyes closed as a dull ache began forming at her temples. This problem needed to go away, right now.

Lost in her thoughts, she hadn't heard Andre enter the room behind her.

"The detective has finally left," he stated emotionlessly. Jarred from her thoughts, she turned to face him, scowling.

"He wouldn't be here at all if your mother wasn't so careless."

Andre shrugged impassively. Althea wondered how he could remain so calm when there was every chance that his involvement in Lillian's death would be discovered.

"It seems she isn't the only careless one around here."

Althea snapped her eyes upward to meet his icy blue ones.

"What are you talking about?"

Andre shook his head.

"Mia and Lillian's Spirit Boxes. They're gone," he stated.

Althea froze in shock. There was no way he could know that.

"How do you know that? They are in the vault and I possess the only key."

"Drop the act." Andre said coldly. "The lock on the door is broken. I saw with my own eyes that they aren't in there. And given that the lock is broken, I can only assume that they were stolen."

Althea raised her chin haughtily.

"They won't get them open," she seethed.

"But what if they do?" Andre countered, raising his voice. "Am I to die because you're too lazy to cover your tracks?"

Althea glared up at the boy, affronted by his new attitude.

"Your insolence is not appreciated, nor will it be tolerated, Andre Fey!" Althea snarled.

Her attempt at authority had no effect on the young man before her. He shook his head in distaste.

"The biggest mistake I made was listening to either of you. Neither of you know what you're doing. All these intricate plans with so many ways to fail! You know, there's a very simple way to get rid of someone you don't want around!"

Althea gasped. Was he suggesting they should have just killed Maya? Dealing calmly with Morgan's arrangement of Lillian's death had been difficult enough, but did this boy really think that murder was the only way to get things done? Was he that much like his mother? Where would the trail of blood end?

"If I had done all of this myself from the beginning I can assure you there would be no problems, but no. I allowed you and mother to lead me. To manipulate me. Now I have to go clean up your mess!" Andre continued to rant.

"You and mother… you just aren't clever enough to pull this off without getting caught," he finished, shaking his head. "But I am."

The snarl on Andre's face was nothing short of horrifying as he turned and left the room. Althea clutched at her chest, once again needing deep breaths to calm herself.

Andre was a sociopath. One that she had helped create. Fear for her own life began to rise within her. If Andre could take life so emotionlessly, what was stopping him from killing her? From killing anyone?

She slumped in her chair, for the first time really thinking about everything that had happened. The truth had been there, plain to see for a long time, but she just hadn't wanted to see it.

Misty Fey's bloodline had never truly been the problem in Kurain.

It had always been Morgan's.



Mystic Jess sat in her meditative stance before the boxes, concentrating as she projected her spiritual energy forward to open them. It had been three long days since they had begun and there was no real way of knowing how much longer it would take. It could be another three days, or it could be three minutes.

Although she didn't know exactly why, she knew that it was important that these boxes be opened. It was very rare that any spirits were sealed in Kurain, but if Sister Bikini believed they should be free then she would do everything she could to help. Hazakurain was home to her now, and Sister Bikini like a mother.

Settling into a deep concentration once more, Jess was startled as the candle flames surrounding the boxes roared upwards, changing from yellow to red and then extinguishing completely. Before her eyes, the boxes opened. The small pieces of paper within disintegrated into dust.

"Sister Bikini!" Jess yelled, scrambling to her feet. "Sister Bikini! They're open!"



Phoenix scratched lightly at the stubble on his chin, pondering whether or not he should shave. It had been three days since the Bar Association had stripped him of his badge and he had yet to figure out what his next move would be. His days had been spent moping, sleeping, watching soap operas on TV and eating instant ramen.

Deep down he knew he couldn't do this forever, but for now he felt he needed to wallow in his own self pity. People had phoned, and Edgeworth had even been by to check on him but apart from that there was no one to help pull him from his misery. He missed Maya terribly. He wondered how people could say that it got easier with time. Each day without her felt significantly worse.

He picked up his phone, pulling up the photo he had taken of her at the train station for what was probably the thousandth time. He smiled, touching the screen gently. At least he still had his memories of her.

A harsh knocking at the door caused Phoenix to jump. Swearing under his breath, he placed his phone back on the table and headed to open it, silently vowing that if it was another reporter he was going to give them something to report about.

As he swung the door open, Phoenix's breath caught in his throat.

The tall woman standing before him wore a knee length black coat and stood with her arms crossed over her chest. Her long brown hair fell straight to her waist. Eyes the same colour as Maya's regarded him impatiently. He could barely speak. How was this possible? He never thought he would see her again.

"Ch- Chief?" he finally stammered.

"Are you going to stand there and gawk at me Phoenix, or are you going to let me in?" Mia asked, grinning and raising an eyebrow.

Phoenix stepped back, his expression still stunned.

"How? The spirit boxes… Althea?" he stuttered as Mia made her way inside.

"Sister Bikini undid the locks. And here I am," she said dismissively as if it were the simplest thing in the world.

Mia looked around, surveying the state of the room. She placed her hands on her hips with an overstated sigh.

"Good lord, Phoenix. Look at this place. It's no wonder you don't have a case right now. A client would walk in, turn around and walk back out again," she said with a laugh.

Phoenix frowned, his questions about the spirit boxes dying before they left his lips. Mia glanced over at him, obviously expecting some sort of witty response. Her face fell when she realised she had struck some sort of nerve.

"What is it?" she asked, eying him cautiously. He shuffled on his feet, clearing his throat before speaking.

"I lost my badge, Mia," he said simply, his voice heavy with emotion. "I'm not a lawyer anymore.

The silence was heavy in the air as Mia registered what Phoenix had said, disbelief and shock washing over her like a wave.

"What?" she exclaimed. They hadn't told her anything like that before she left Hazakurain.

Phoenix said nothing. His gaze remained on the floor by her feet. Mia frowned sadly, her heart aching for her former apprentice.

"I'm so sorry, Phoenix," she said shaking her head, her tone still full of disbelief. "They didn't tell me. I can't believe it. When? Why? What happened?"

Mia moved to the couch, patting the spot beside her as she sat down. Phoenix shuffled over and sat next to her. For what felt like the millionth time, he relayed the story of the murder case and the forged diary page that had proved to be his undoing. Mia listened intently, her heart breaking more and more with every word.

"Oh Phoenix," Mia said, slipping her arm around his shoulder. "Don't beat yourself up about this. You were set up. Any of us would have made the same mistake."

Phoenix leaned against her shoulder, grateful that she understood. He had honestly thought she would be disappointed with him. He had underestimated her empathy.

"You wouldn't have," he sniffed.

"I totally would have," Mia admitted. "In our line of work, when you have evidence you use it. Most of the time, there's no way of knowing if it's forged or not. You just gotta throw it out there and go with your gut."

"And a lot of good that did me." Phoenix sighed.

Mia gave his shoulder a pat.

"Everything happens for a reason Phoenix. You'll get to the bottom of this. And when that day comes, you'll know exactly why it all happened. I really, truly believe that."

"Thanks Chief."

"Does Maya know?" Mia asked after a brief silence.

Phoenix shook his head.

"She left that morning. She wasn't in court with me that day."

Mia sighed. The hurt in Phoenix's voice was all too apparent.

"I guess you know that the elders sent her away." he added quietly.

"I do." Mia said with a nod. "But I also have something to tell you about that."

Phoenix looked up at Mia, his expression serious.

Mia smiled at him.

"But with all this melancholy you've got going on, are you sure you're ready for some good news?"

Phoenix's face lit up. He eyed Mia expectantly.

"Go on…" he urged.

"Althea lied. That law about marriage and kids… it was abolished years ago. There's a book on Kurain laws in the vault. It was one of the first books I read when my mother left and I decided I wanted to pursue law as a career. Lillian knows all about it too – she was the record keeper in Kurain. She was the one that showed me the book."

Phoenix was taken aback. Questions rushed through his mind at a frantic pace. He struggled to pick one out.

"Then how… how did Althea convince the council that Maya had to do it?"

Mia shook her head.

"I don't know, Phoenix," she said with a small shrug. "But you realise what that means, right?"

Phoenix nodded as the realisation set in.

"We can go get her, right?"

"Right." Mia nodded.

Phoenix threw his arms around her shoulders, enveloping his mentor in a fierce hug.

"Careful!" Mia warned with a chuckle. "This body is only rented. Don't squeeze her to death."

"Thank you Mia." Phoenix mumbled into her shoulder, relief flooding through him. "Thank you so much."

Mia patted his back.

"You're welcome, Phoenix," she said softly.

He hugged her for a while longer before she felt him tense up slightly in her arms. Mia frowned, wondering what was wrong with him.

"I'm really in love with your sister, Mia. I just want you to know. I love her more than anything." he blurted out quickly, pulling away from her.

He eyed her carefully, wondering what her reaction would be to his blunt admission. He wanted her to know he was serious. This wasn't just some crush.

"I know that," she said finally, a small laugh escaping her lips. "I think I've known longer than you have. I already told you last time I was here that I approved."

Phoenix relaxed, his smile reaching his eyes for the first time since Mia had walked through the door. He remembered the note she had left him. He kept it in his wallet.

"Hurry and pack your things," she said, pointing in the direction of the stairs. "We have to get back to Hazakurain as quickly as possible."

Phoenix nodded quickly in understanding. He turned and bounded up the stairs, a renewed sense of purpose in his step.



Channelled by Jess, Lillian Fey sat across from Sister Bikini, her expression stricken.

"Oh my," she said sadly as Bikini finished relaying the true events surrounding her passing. "You are sure about this?"

Sister Bikini nodded solemnly.

"I wish I could tell you otherwise," Bikini said sadly. "I haven't seen you in so long. I wish it was under better circumstances."

"Hush, child." Lillian offered, patting her hand. "What's done is done. We can't change what has already transpired. We can only hope to prevent it happening again."

Lillian sat silent for a few moments, no doubt trying her best to understand what had happened to her. She had believed Andre Fey to be a good, trustworthy boy. It must have been a shock to learn that he had murdered her.

"Althea blocked my spirit from being channelled, you say?" Lillian asked, still piecing together things in her mind. "I don't understand why she would do that."

"Mia seems to think that she was protecting Andre, although at this stage we don't know why. None of this seems to make much sense." Bikini answered, fidgeting slightly.

"Mia is here?" Lillian inquired hopefully.

"Not right now," Bikini explained. "Mystic Eve has channelled her. I sent her to go and fetch Phoenix Wright. I believe he will be able to fill in the gaps in our knowledge of what is going on. He also has some questions of his own."

Lillian nodded, as Sister Bikini suddenly remembered what she had to ask her.

"Oh!" Bikini cried. "I almost forgot! I need to ask you about Master Maya."

"Oh no." Lillian frowned. "Please tell me that my little Maya is okay."

The devastation in Lillian's voice was all too apparent. She had all but raised Maya after her mother had left.

"She is fine," Bikini assured her. "But she has been sent away from the village until she is able to channel Ami Fey and prove her worth as Master."

Lillian looked puzzled.

"My dear, that law was removed over three generations ago. Mara Fey had it abolished."

Bikini sighed. Mia had said the same thing when she had been informed of Maya's whereabouts. Lillian's reaction had only confirmed the truth.

"That was what I was going to ask you about. A friend of Mr Wright's who helped us recover the spirit boxes thought it seemed odd that Maya knew nothing about such a condition. He believed I should question the validity of the law."

"And with good reason, it seems." Lillian nodded. "Do you think this might have something to do with why I was murdered?" she asked after a small pause.

Suddenly, pieces of the puzzle began to fit together in Bikini's mind. If Althea's plan had been to get rid of Maya, Lillian clearly stood in the way. But she couldn't believe she would be as callous as to have Andre kill the woman. It was believable that she would block Lillian from being channelled, but to go as far as to coordinate a murder plot? It was too much to take in. Was Althea really capable of such evil?

Bikini breathed heavily, tears stinging the corners of her eyes. The realisation hit her hard. She could no longer deny exactly what kind of woman Althea Fey was.

"I know…" Bikini began, choking back sobs. "I know that she changed after what happened here. I know she wasn't the same person when she left. But… but I didn't think she would be capable of murder."

Sister Bikini broke down, crying openly as Lillian gathered her up in her arms, rubbing her back in a soothing manner.

"There, there Audrina. You poor, poor little lamb. No ones mother should ever let them down as much as Althea has you."

Misty Fey squinted at the papers in front of her, rubbing her temples. She wasn't sure what time it was, but it was obvious from the pitch black outside the window that it was late. The lamplight flickered erratically, casting shadows across the room. The power was out again and the thunderstorm continued to rage on outside, showing no signs of easing. She hoped it would be dry enough for the electricity to be restored in the morning.

While there was no denying that the work was hard, the job of Kurain Master felt both rewarding and right. Misty couldn't remember ever feeling so content. She had been lucky enough to inherit the leadership of Kurain at an enormously prosperous time. Her mother, Madeline Fey, had worked hard to make Kurain most profitable and while her passing at a mere forty six years of age had been untimely, she had left the village to her youngest daughter in the best financial shape it had ever been in.

Of course, there had been many whispers when Misty was named successor to the title and not Morgan, the eldest of Madeline's two girls. As instructed by her mother, Misty paid the gossip no heed. No one was to know that Morgan didn't carry the spiritual power passed down from mother to daughter in the Fey clan. This odd anomaly had to be kept under wraps for the sake of the reputation of the head family. Misty knew that there was a possibility that her own daughter, Mia, would inherit the same genetic anomaly, although there was no point in worrying about that yet.

Misty smiled as she thought about her precious baby daughter. Not only was she new to the position of Master of Kurain, she was new to the position of motherhood as well. And although she would never tell the elders, she knew which of the two was more important to her.

Mia was a joy. At only twelve weeks old, she had already captured the hearts of everyone in the village. Older women often remarked how lucky Misty was that Mia barely cried and was happy to be held by anyone. Everyone they met thought that Mia was the most beautiful baby they had ever seen. Misty couldn't help but agree, but she was more than likely a little biased.

With a soft sigh and a smile, Misty placed her pen down on the desk and stretched her arms above her head. She yawned quietly, moving to stand when the door to her office slid open slowly.

She smiled when she recognised her husband duck through the door, holding Mia in the crook of one arm and a bottle in the other hand. He closed the door softly behind him before turning to her and raising an eyebrow. She heard Mia's soft whimpers indicating that it was feeding time.

"Do you have any idea what time it is, dear wife?" Sebastian admonished, propping Mia up against his elbow and offering her the bottle he held.

Misty shook her head and shrugged, allowing a cheeky smile to ghost her lips. Sebastian chuckled lightly.

"Don't try looking cute, Misty. This is hardly a good example to set for Mia. It's 2 AM. Mia is up for her 2 AM feeding," he emphasised, turning his attention to the baby in his arms. "That means Mommy is working too hard, doesn't it, princess?"

Misty huffed lightly, frowning and puffing her cheeks out at her husband. "Give me a break, Sebastian," she whined. "I was actually just about to come to bed."

"Sure you were," he mocked.

"Fine. Don't believe me," Misty pouted, standing and heading towards the pair. "Let me hold my daughter."

Sebastian handed the child to her mother and headed over to Misty's desk, sitting down and skimming the papers she had been reading.

"What are you working on?" he asked, turning a page absently. "Anything I can help with?"

Misty propped Mia up against her shoulder, stroking her back in order to burp her.

"Just financials," she said flatly. "But they look good."

Sebastian nodded in response. "Very good," he agreed, setting the pages down. "I always knew I would marry into money," he finished sweetly, batting his eyelashes for effect. Misty couldn't help but laugh.

"I wouldn't say that too loud," Misty joked. "You never know when the elder committee is listening."

Sebastian screwed up his nose. "I'm pretty sure those old bags couldn't possibly think any less of me."

Misty found herself giggling despite trying her hardest not to. Only Sebastian would to refer to the elders as "old bags". Joking aside, his firm non acceptance of their authority over her decisions had inspired her own courage to blossom, much to the collective chagrin of Kurain's elder council.

"Have you given any more thought to what you were thinking about Hazakurain?" Sebastian asked, recalling an earlier conversation with Misty about Kurain's abandoned branch village.

Misty frowned as she rocked Mia softly. "I have... it's a lot of work."

"I know," Sebastian said. "But the payoff will be worth it. I'm telling you. You can't just sit on all this money, Misty. If you invest it in something like Hazakurain, you'll be able to bring in more."

Misty sighed audibly. As usual, he was right.

"I know. But the place is so run down, the repairs alone..." she trailed off.

"Are worth it," Sebastian finished for her. "For starters, you wouldn't have to turn away bookings anymore."

Misty nodded, once again mulling over the prospect of restoring Hazakurain. It had been abandoned at the turn of the century when Kurain had hit a financial rough spot. Nearly one hundred years of neglect and decay was going to be costly to fix. But Sebastian had never led her astray before. Her smart attorney husband knew what he was talking about, more often than not.

"We should do it." Misty decided, nodding emphatically. "You're right. It makes sense on so many levels. I don't know why I'm hesitating. It's a good idea."

Sebastian gave her a look that said he knew he was always right, but Misty ignored the opportunity to laugh at his usual brand of cocky confidence and continued to make plans for Hazakurain.

"I can even send Morgan to lead the village. It might stop some of the whispers about why she isn't Master of Kurain."

Sebastian smiled broadly. He'd never made any effort to disguise the fact that Misty's older sister was not one of his favourite people.

"This plan just keeps getting better and better!" he grinned with enthusiasm.

"Sebastian!" Misty chided ineffectively, doing her best to stifle her laughter. "Don't be so terrible. She's family."

"I know," he said with a shrug as he stood from the chair, moving towards his wife and sleeping child. "And soon she'll be long distance family!"

Misty chuckled as Sebastian slipped an arm around her waist. He smiled as he peered down at their infant daughter.

"You really are terrible. Why did I marry you again?" Misty asked, smiling up at him.

"Because I'm handsome." Sebastian replied simply. Misty laughed and shook her head.

"Well it definitely wasn't your modesty."

Sebastian feigned a hurt expression. "Are you saying I'm not handsome? That can't be true! Look at this beautiful daughter we made!"

Misty laughed again, glancing downwards at the babe in question. She hoped that her father's emphatic declarations and her own chuckling wouldn't rouse Mia, but like the angel she was, she continued to sleep soundly.

She watched Mia sleep for a few moments longer, before becoming aware that her husband was watching her. He smiled, brushing her bangs aside and placing a quick kiss on her forehead. He then leant down, kissing little Mia's forehead in much the same fashion. Misty felt her heart swell. Sebastian was so enamoured with both her and their child. She couldn't have wished for a better husband.

"We should put her back to bed." Misty said quietly. Sebastian nodded in agreement.

"You too, Master Misty," he instructed, turning his wife around and facing her toward the door. He gave her backside a quick pat, prompting her to move out of the office and towards their quarters. She shuffled along compliantly, all of a sudden realising how tired she was.

"You know, you missed a great old Samurai movie before the power went out," Sebastian said absently. Misty rolled her eyes.

"Ugh, you know I can't stand those movies," she groaned. "I don't know how you can watch them so incessantly."

"They're fantastic." Sebastian reasoned. "You just don't have any taste. One day you'll change your mind."

"Highly unlikely." Misty stated.

"That's okay." Sebastian said, peering over Misty's shoulder. "Mia will watch them with me when she's older, won't you, princess?"





"This place is a dump."

Morgan Fey dropped her suitcase at her feet, crossing her arms and scowling. Althea Fey and her teenage daughter Audrina came to a stop beside her. The trio peered up at the main temple for a while before Audrina broke their silence.

"Don't be so negative Morgan," she said softly, staring up at the building in front of her. "This place is beautiful. It's so full of history. And the mountain views are just breathtaking."

Morgan narrowed her eyes at the girl, scoffing under her breath. Audrina didn't appear to take any notice.

"That's Master Morgan to you," she snapped. "And it's freezing. Take my things inside and begin building a fire."

Without another word Morgan stormed off, heading into the building. With a sigh, Althea Fey picked up the suitcase that Morgan had dropped at her feet, motioning for her daughter to follow her inside. Audrina seemed unaffected by Morgan's contempt, a fact which Althea knew would no doubt anger the newly appointed Master of Hazakurain even further. She would have to keep her daughter as far away from Morgan as possible.

Althea watched as around them the rest of the acolytes that had been relocated from Kurain chattered excitedly. Some carried boxes and suitcases, while others wielded brooms or washed windows. The atmosphere was abuzz with excitement and positivity, even if Morgan didn't share their enthusiasm. This was their new home, and a fine home it would be.

"Come, Audrina. There is much to do," Althea instructed.

Audrina tore her gaze from the structure before her, offering her mother a bright smile before following her indoors.

"And do try not to agitate Master Morgan." Althea added, eliciting a soft chuckle from her daughter.

Hazakurain was going to be eventful to say the least.





"Hello? Is anybody here?"

The dark haired woman clutched tightly at her oversized shawl, pulling it around both herself and the small boy settled on her hip. She knocked on the massive wooden door again, hoping desperately that someone could hear her over the howling winds of the impending blizzard.

"Please, anyone? We are so cold!" she cried, her knuckles reddening from rapping at the rough wood. The little boy huddled as close to his mother as he could, his teeth chattering from the chill in the air.

Finally, the door creaked open, revealing a beautiful blond woman in strange robes. The firelight from inside created the illusion of a golden halo around her head, and the little boy stared up at her in awe. She looked like an angel.

"Please," the woman repeated. "My son. My son and I are so cold. Please."

"My goodness!" the blond woman exclaimed. "Come in, come in! We must get you warm. You shouldn't be outside in this weather. Follow me. Come, come."

The woman followed, setting her son on his feet so that he could walk on his own. The blond woman led them to a kitchen where she sat them at a small table, disappearing for a few moments, only to return with two steaming bowls of what smelled like a delicious beef broth. She set the bowls down in front of the weary travellers, seating herself across from them. The young boy tucked into his meal quickly, while his mother simply smiled at their rescuer, relief and gratitude evident in her sad brown eyes.

"Eat, eat," the angel urged, smiling back at the young mother. She nodded and took a mouthful. It was warm and delicious.

"My name is Audrina, by the way," the blond woman introduced herself with a soft smile. "And this glorious haven you have stumbled upon is Hazakurain."

"I'm Diego!" the boy chirped happily between mouthfuls of soup. He smiled up Audrina who found herself chuckling softly at his eager personality. "Are you an angel?" he asked innocently.

Audrina grinned at the boy.

"No, I'm not an angel," she responded. He seemed disappointed in her answer, frowning lightly as he considered the possibility that she was perhaps not some form of celestial being.

"Nonsense," his mother said gently, her light Spanish accent somehow giving the statement more weight. She nodded knowingly at Audrina. "To me and my son, you are an angel. I cannot tell you how grateful I am for your kindness."

"It's nothing, really." Audrina said compassionately. "I could never leave anyone out in the cold."

"There are not many people in this world as generous as you, Angel," the woman reasoned. Audrina smiled, accepting the woman's words and the new nickname she had apparently been bestowed with.

"My name is Luciana Armando. My son, Diego has already introduced himself. He is..." she paused, looking down at her young son, a smile spreading across her lips. "He is not one for shyness."

"Well it's a pleasure to meet you both," Audrina smiled. She turned her attention to Diego who was finishing up the last of his soup.

"That's a healthy appetite you have there Diego," Audrina commented. "You're going to grow up to be big and strong."

"Yep." Diego agreed with a nod.

"And how old are you, little guy?"

"I'm four," Diego answered happily, holding up as many fingers. The gesture appeared to be practiced. "How old are you?"

"Diego," his mother chided. "It's not nice to ask a lady what her age is."

Diego frowned, clearly not understanding why. Audrina laughed lightly.

"It's okay, Ms Armando." Audrina reassured her. "I'm not offended at all."

"Please," Luciana said gently. "Call me Lucy. And my boy must remember his manners."

Audrina nodded in recognition before turning back to Diego.

"I'll tell you what, Diego. I am exactly five times as old as you are," she grinned. The boy's brow furrowed as he tried to understand what she had told him.

"But Miss Angel, I can't count good yet," he reasoned.

"Well then," Audrina said with a small smile. "You'll learn how old I am once you learn how to count, won't you? You'll just have to practice."

Diego considered her offer before nodding resolutely, the action looking oddly serious for a four year old. Audrina could tell that Diego was a smart boy, who had no doubt been 'taking care' of his mother as much as he could.

"Okay," he agreed. "But will you help me, Miss Angel?"

"Sure," Audrina nodded. "I'm not letting you or your Mom outside in this storm and it's supposed to last a few days. I'm sure that's more than enough time to teach a smart boy like you how to count, right?"

Diego grinned.

"Right!" he exclaimed, his little voice filled with excitement.

Audrina stood, clearing away their empty bowls before heading towards the door that led to the main hall. With a smile, she motioned for them to follow.

"C'mon," she said. "I'll show you where the guest quarters are."

Diego leapt happily from his seat, while Luciana hesitated. She fiddled absently with the gold chain she wore around her neck.

"Are you sure we are not causing any trouble, Angel? I would not want to be a burden," Luciana frowned. Audrina shook her head.

"Don't be silly!" she reassured the woman. "We have plenty of room."

"Come on, Mom!" Diego called. "Miss Angel says it's okay."

"Very well," Luciana agreed. "But only until the storm passes. Then we must leave."

Audrina led the pair down a winding corridor until they reached a series of rooms lined up along a beautiful lamplit walkway to the right of the main hall. The wind had died down for a spell, but with the blizzard they knew was approaching it wouldn't be long before it returned at full force. Audrina slid one of the doors open, placing the lantern she had bought with her on the small table inside.

"It's not much, but it's warm and dry. Plus there's running hot water in the bathroom if you wish to shower or bathe," Audrina offered. Luciana frowned lightly at the young woman's undervalued appraisal of the room they had been given.

"It's wonderful," Luciana smiled. Diego had already begun running laps around the room, excitedly opening every door and checking ever corner.

"The room is yours as long as you like," Audrina said.

"Cool!" Diego cried from across the room. "Mom, I want to stay here forever!"

"Diego," Luciana chided, before muttering something to the boy in Spanish, emphasising her statement with the word 'manners' in English as she finished.

Audrina got the distinct impression that the pair were running from something , or someone and had been for some time. She hated to think of the kind of places this woman and her son had stayed in and the conditions they had endured.

"Lucy," Audrina began, placing her hand on the woman's shoulder. "Really, it's okay. As long as you want. Our Master isn't even spending her winter in Hazakurain. She thinks it's too cold. My mom is the one in charge around here and I'm certain she'll adore you both. You don't need to run anymore."

Luciana looked startled.

"How... how did you know?"

"You'd need a pretty good reason to be out in weather like this," Audrina shrugged. "I can tell that you wouldn't have Diego out in the cold unless it was totally necessary."

Luciana averted her eyes, looking down at her feet. Audrina was saddened by the pain and fear that she saw in the woman's expression.

"We meet a lot of troubled people here in Hazakurain," Audrina explained further. "It gets pretty easy to spot someone in need."

"Diego's father..." Luciana started, swallowing back tears and straightening her posture, clearly for the sake of her son. "Diego's father is involved with some bad people. They do bad things. I do not want my son to grow up around such things."

She didn't need to explain any further. Audrina took Luciana's hand, squeezing it lightly.

"You're safe here," she whispered. Luciana nodded gratefully, a lone tear escaping and falling across her cheek. Audrina let go of her hand and stepped back. Luciana was a proud woman, and Audrina did not want to give her the impression of pity.

"You said you meet a lot of troubled people," Luciana asked as she recomposed herself. "What is it that you do here?"

"We are spirit mediums," Audrina explained. "We channel the dead and help the living move on."

Audrina was surprised when Luciana merely nodded her acceptance. Most outsiders were sceptical and afraid of what the Fey women could do. Luciana didn't seem bothered at all.

"My grandmother," Luciana began. "She had the ESP. She used to help people too. They would come from all over to ask for her guidance."

Audrina smiled. It was nice that Luciana understood that what they did was primarily to help people.

"Sometimes, I know things," Luciana explained further. "But I have no control. I cannot call on my gift at will."

She turned, peering across the room at her young son, who had found the bathroom as was busily turning the water faucet on and off.

"Diego can read people's souls. He knows when he meets someone if they are good people or bad. He is never wrong."

"He is a smart boy," Audrina nodded.

"Sometimes too smart for his poor mother," Luciana chuckled. She sighed, for the first time since they had arrived she began to look relaxed. Audrina could see how tired she was.

"Well you and Diego get some rest. I'll stay in the room next door. If you need anything during the night, please come and wake me. Tomorrow I can give you a proper tour of the village and you can meet my mother."

"I would like that," Luciana smiled. "Thank you again, Angel."

"It's nothing." Audrina replied.

"Diego, say thank you," Luciana instructed.

"Thanks Miss Angel!" Diego called happily from the bathroom.

Audrina grinned at the boy before nodding at his mother. She turned, leaving the room and sliding the door closed. Muttering an old Kurain prayer under her breath for the two, she headed to the room next door to settle in for the night.





"You're back early. I didn't expect to see you here," Misty said flatly. "Isn't it still a little cold in Hazakurain?"

Misty's heels clicked against the wooden floor in the main hall as she approached her older sister. Morgan's pregnancy was already visible despite the fact that she was only sixteen weeks along. Despite her best efforts to be civil, Misty found herself chuckling at the thought of Morgan's baby being larger than average. If anyone could do with a little hard work and pain it was Morgan.

"Someone has to do some work around here," she responded dryly, looking up from the candles she had been rearranging. "We can't all go gallivanting around the country. I have a village to run."

Misty scoffed. Morgan was clearly alluding to the social responsibilities that the Kurain Master's position demanded. It was well known in most political circles that Kurain still presided over Hazakurain and Misty was usually deemed representative enough for most engagements. Morgan's attendance was barely required, a fact which Misty knew Morgan regarded with great contempt.

"Surely you wouldn't want to be gallivanting around in your condition anyway, dear sister." Misty said sweetly. Morgan failed to respond.

The physical distance between them over the past few years had done little to help their already troubled relationship. Morgan's jealousy of Misty's title was a constant hindrance to any sisterly closeness that the pair might have achieved, and Misty had long stopped trying to make friends with her bitter older sibling. The fact that Morgan was actually unable to perform Misty's duties seemingly mattered little to her.

Althea Fey knew of Morgan's lack of spiritual power and under Misty's instruction had carefully orchestrated Morgan's duties in Hazakurain so that no one would know the truth. Althea or Audrina often channelled spirits for clients in Morgan's place, donning a hood to cover their blond hair. As their features changed their appearance to that of the channelled spirit, no one was any the wiser. Audrina hated deceiving people, but she loved her mother and understood that what they were doing was also to protect Misty who risked losing her position as well if the main family was to be overthrown. Audrina and Misty had been childhood friends, growing up together in the village. The pair were only a year apart in age.

"So what brings the almighty Queen of Kurain down to the slums today?" Morgan asked dryly.

While it was true that Misty's visits to Hazakurain were few, she had been so busy with the handling of Kurain's affairs. She also knew that Althea Fey was running Hazakurain quite sufficiently, and her own assistance was in no way required.

"Audrina is taking care of Mia while Sebastian and I attend a function in the city," Misty explained. "As I said, I didn't expect you would be here."

Morgan waved her hand dismissively.

"It doesn't bother me that your daughter is here. It is of no consequence to me."

Misty felt herself scowling. Of course Morgan didn't care about Mia being there. Despite being Mia's aunt, she had never once held the child. Misty couldn't even remember the last time she had heard Morgan speak her daughter's name. It was obvious that Morgan resented Mia due to the fact that the little one was now the direct heir to Misty's position.

Relief flooded through Misty when her husband materialised beside her. She was so close to giving her sister a piece of her mind and her husband's calming presence couldn't have come at a more convenient time.

"Are you ready to go, Misty?" Sebastian asked.

Morgan glanced up at Sebastian, a predatory smile spreading across her lips.

"Hello Sebastian," she crooned.

"Morgan," he nodded stiffly.

"My, don't you look handsome," Morgan said appreciatively, eyeing Sebastian up and down. She had always found her sister's husband to be quite pleasing to the eye, but the effect was amplified when he wore a suit. She remembered that he had been a lawyer when he met Misty. It was no mystery at all to Morgan as to how Misty had wound up pregnant so quickly.

Sebastian raised an eyebrow impatiently at Morgan. He could sense his wife positively fuming beside him.

"It's been a pleasure, as always, Morgan, but Misty and I have no time to chat," he said firmly. "We must be on our way."

"Such a shame..." Morgan drawled.

Misty was beside herself. Her sister's blatant flirting with her husband was both inappropriate and repulsive. Morgan had a husband of her own, to whom she was pregnant. Although it seemed at this juncture, Daniel Hawthorne was the furthest thing from Morgan's mind.

"Goodbye, Morgan." Misty snapped, turning and walking briskly towards the doors of the temple. Sebastian shot Morgan a look of disdain before following after his wife.

Morgan chuckled to herself as she returned her attention to arranging the candles on the altar.



"Can you believe her! Oooh she makes me so mad!" Misty growled as Sebastian caught up to her.

She rushed down the front steps of the main temple, her heels slipping on the icy stone in her haste. Sebastian reached out to steady her before she fell. She turned to face him, flustered.

"I don't know why you let her get to you so much," Sebastian said, shaking his head. "You know she's in there laughing."

Misty frowned, clenching her fists at her sides.

"Why can't she see how much I've done for her? I've given all of this to her!"

"Some people will just never be happy and your sister is one of them," Sebastian shrugged in reply.

Misty's shoulders slumped. She rested her forehead against Sebastian's chest. He closed his arms around her shoulders, holding her against him.

"Let's not let this ruin our day, okay?" he offered soothingly. "It's not every day we get to be godparents."

Misty felt herself smile, despite her mood.

"Miles looks so adorable. I can't wait to meet him. Gregory and Elizabeth seem so thrilled," she said wistfully.

She was fully aware that the birth of Sebastian's friend's son had intensified her own maternal instincts. Mia was three years old now and she longed for another baby. Perhaps when Kurain wasn't so busy they could try for another.

"Well we shouldn't keep him waiting then," Sebastian said happily, offering his hand to his wife. He helped her down the remaining steps so she wouldn't slip again.

"Master Misty!"

Sebastian and Misty paused, looking in the direction of the woman who had called out to them. Misty smiled when she recognised the familiar face.

"Luciana," Misty smiled. "It's so good to see you. It's been so long."

Luciana nodded in greeting to both Misty and Sebastian.

"Master Misty, I heard you were here. I just wanted to come and thank you again for allowing me to stay here in Hazakurain. Never before have I felt so blessed."

"Lucy, every time I come here you thank me and every time I tell you that we should be thanking you for staying. Every client that comes here for a channelling speaks so highly of the cuisine that they keep coming back! I might go bankrupt if you were to leave me."

Luciana grinned, a light blush colouring her cheeks.

"You exaggerate, Master Misty, I'm sure."

"Just Misty is fine," Misty said with a smile. "There's no need for that kind of formality."

Misty was positive that she said the same thing to Luciana every time she visited Hazakurain, but Luciana still insisted on addressing her by her full title.

"How is Diego?" Misty inquired. Luciana's face appeared to light up at the mention of her son.

"He is such a smart boy!" she exclaimed with pride. "At school he gets all A's . I am so proud of him. We are both so thankful for the education you are providing him with. My boy will be a doctor some day, I just know it."

Misty smiled. Luciana did so much for Hazakurain. She cooked all the meals along with helping out with the cleaning. She greeted guests, made beds and helped out wherever she could. Footing the bill for a decent education for Diego was the least they could do to repay her.

"I hear law is good too..." Sebastian interjected with a grin. Luciana nodded.

"Whatever my son chooses to be, he will be the best."

"Isn't school out at the moment?" Misty asked.

"Yes, Diego is here." Luciana replied. "He is playing down at the swing set."

"That must be where Mia is too," Sebastian said. "We should go down and say goodbye to her before we go."

"I'm sorry Luciana, but we are a bit pressed for time. We will have to return soon for a proper catch up. I still have dreams about your magnificent roast chicken." Misty said.

"Of course, of course." Luciana said quickly. "It has been a pleasure to see you both again."

"Likewise," Sebastian agreed.

With a wave, Luciana headed away in the direction of the guest rooms, while Misty and Sebastian set out towards the swing set to say goodbye to their daughter.



Diego swung forward on the swing, crunching his heels against the ground to stop his momentum. Pulling himself back, he repeated the motion. He smiled as he looked out over the mountain ranges in his line of sight. He loved school a lot, but he loved the holidays when he could come home even more. He always missed his mom and Angel a whole lot.

Skidding to a stop, he became aware of a rustling in the bushes behind him. He turned his head, looking over his shoulder, but there was no one there. He watched for a few moments longer, before turning his attention forward once more. He prepared himself to swing upwards when the rustling noise reached his ears again. He turned, fixing his eyes on the spot he had heard the noise from moments before. The bushes moved and Diego frowned as he caught sight of what appeared to be a fluffy tail. Was it a cat?

"Rarrrr!"

Diego chuckled as a little girl jumped out from behind the bushes with her best roar. She paused as she landed, her little fingers curled up into menacing claws. She pouted, placing her hands on her hips when he didn't appear startled. She shifted from side to side on her feet, the fluffy tiger tail that was pinned to her jacket swaying behind her. Her tiger outfit was completed by a pair of fluffy ears on a headband covering her dark brown hair.

"Didn't I scare you?" she asked squeakily. Diego shook his head to signify no.

The little girl crossed her arms in front of her.

"But I'm a big scary tiger!" she whined.

"You're more like a little kitten." Diego said, smiling down at her.

"Am not." she said defiantly as she scrambled up on to the swing next to the one Diego occupied.

"What are you doing down here on your own anyway, did your parents come for a channelling or something?" Diego asked the girl, who stared at him blankly in response. He laughed to himself. The little girl was probably too young to even know what a channelling was.

"My mommy is the boss of here," the little girl said frankly. Diego suddenly realised who the girl was.

"You must be Princess Mia." Diego said. "I haven't seen you since you were much smaller."

"Only my daddy calls me Princess Mia." Mia said. It was more of an observation as opposed to an admonishment of Diego's use of the name.

"Well then, I will call you kitten." Diego said.

"No!" Mia cried. "Tiger! Rarrrr!"

Diego laughed as Mia tried her hardest to convince him that she was indeed a scary tiger.

"How old are you now, Mia?" he asked.

"Three," she answered quickly. "I'll be four before Santa comes again."

She leaned her weight back in the swing trying her hardest to get it to propel forward, but she was too small. She tried a few times before giving up and turning her attention back to Diego.

"What's your name? And how big are you?" she asked.

"My name is Diego, and I am exactly three times as old as you are. Minus two."

Mia stared at him, frowning lightly.

"You might be a little young for that one," Diego chuckled. "Do you want me to push you on the swing?"

Mia beamed.

"Yes please!"

Diego jumped off his swing and moved behind Mia, nudging her back gently so her swing lurched forward. The little girl grinned and cried out happily as the swing moved higher and higher.

"Mia!"

Diego turned at the sound of the voice calling out to the girl. Two adults were headed down the path and Diego could only assume that they were Mia's parents although he couldn't quite make out their faces clearly. He took a hold of the chain on the swing to slow its momentum. Mia frowned at his action.

"More!" she pouted.

"Your mom is calling you," he said as he helped her down from the swing seat.

"Okay," Mia sulked.

"C'mon now, kitten." Diego said, taking the small girl by the hand. "Let's go see what your mom wants."

"No!" Mia said as she trudged along behind him, his grip on her little hand forcing her to take more steps to keep up with his taller gait.

"I'm not a kitten, I'm a tiger! Rarrrrr!"

"You could at least have the decency to pretend that you enjoy my company."

Morgan stared at her husband across the table, awaiting some form of response. He remained silent for a few moments before sighing in an irritated manner. He lowered the newspaper her had been reading, folding it and placing it on the table between them.

"You're the expert on pretending, Morgan. This whole marriage has been one great big lie."

Morgan winced at his barb. She supposed she deserved it but she knew that he was no angel either. They were far better matched he realised. She clutched lightly at her stomach as one of the babies kicked her quite hard. This kind of stress was clearly no good for her pregnancy.

"You can't sit across from me and act like you are without fault, Daniel," Morgan said daringly, her voice heavy with emotion. "Don't think I don't know about your maid, Valerie's nanny, the blonde clerk at your San Francisco store and the woman in New York!"

Of all the terrible things her husband had said and done to her during their brief, yet tumultuous union, there was nothing that Morgan loathed more than the fact that Daniel Hawthorne was unfaithful. Knowing that he preferred the company of other women to her own left her with the same feeling of inferiority that she felt when she thought of Misty and Kurain. It had always stung knowing that she was second best, and her own mother had confirmed that in naming Misty as her successor. Morgan felt like she had been playing second fiddle to her younger sister for as long as she could remember. Now, it seemed that even in her marriage she was second best. Or was it third best? Fourth? Morgan had no idea how many mistresses Daniel had, but that didn't matter. Just one was far too many already.

Daniel seemed unaffected by her listing of his indiscretions, staring through her disinterestedly as if she had just rattled off something as mundane as a grocery list. He shrugged, shaking his head at her.

"You promised me power, Morgan. Political connections. You've given me nothing but problems."

Morgan sighed heavily as he continued. They replayed this same argument so much lately that it had started to sound like a broken record.

"I can't believe I fell for your act. It's your younger sister that wields all the power, not you," Daniel spat, his temper flaring. "Why should I abide by our marriage vows when you tricked me into marrying you in the first place? This whole marriage is a farce."

Morgan swallowed hard at his mention of Misty. Her perfect sister Misty had everything she didn't. Misty had power, position and most of all, a husband that actually loved her.

She glanced up at her angry husband, ignoring the conversation for a moment just to look at him. Even with his current ill temperament, Daniel Hawthorne was still notably attractive. She had seen first hand the way that he turned heads with his expertly styled auburn hair and startling, icy blue eyes. He always dressed impeccably and seemed to radiate confidence and stature, but there was no denying that he still paled in comparison to Sebastian Parker. Morgan sighed as she wondered how Misty always seemed to get the best of everything.

"Daniel, please..." Morgan began, softening her stance. She hoped there was still some shred of a chance that she could save their marriage. Although, probably not for the right reasons.

"No," Daniel snapped, narrowing his eyes at his wife. "I don't want to hear it. You have nothing to offer me but more lies."

Morgan frowned, her hand moving to stroke her stomach absently. The movement had been involuntary, but Daniel had noticed. He stared down at her round belly with disdain.

"You couldn't even give me a son," he seethed.

His words struck Morgan with a ferocity that she wasn't quite prepared for. If there was one thing she was proud of, one thing that gave her hope, it was the possibility that the daughters she carried possessed the kind of power that she could only dream of. Within her womb were two real chances to overthrow her ungrateful, conceited younger sister. Morgan ground her teeth together and bit down on her tongue, until her anger was so great she couldn't hold in her response any longer. She looked up at him incredulously, her face contorting into a fierce snarl.

"How dare you belittle my precious daughters in any way!"

Her words doing little to abate the anger she felt rushing through her, Morgan picked up the glass of water on the table in front of her, hurling it towards her poor excuse for a husband. He ducked swiftly to the right and the projectile shattered against the wall behind him.

"You bitch..." he growled, standing abruptly. His rough movement caused his chair to clatter to the floor. He barely noticed as he stepped over it and moved around the table to where Morgan sat.

She cowered in her chair as he moved closer, anticipating what was coming. Pregnant or not, Daniel had never had any qualms about 'disciplining' her however he saw fit. She looked up at him, her eyes filled with fear as he dragged her roughly to her feet by the collar of her dress.

Daniel's eyes were wide and his breathing heavy as he surveyed his frightened wife. He gnashed his teeth together, his lips snarling into a sick looking smirk that almost made Morgan believe he got some kind of perverse pleasure out of dominating her physically. Terrified by his expression, she squeezed her eyes shut seconds before she felt his hand connect with her face in a fierce slap. She crumpled back down into her chair as he let go of her, tears escaping without warning as her pale skin darkened to an ugly red welt across her cheekbone. Relief flooded through her at the realisation that he was done, deeming a lone slap sufficient. There had been other times when she had not been so lucky.

"Don't you ever do anything like that again, do you hear me?" Daniel threatened. Morgan stammered slightly and nodded, clutching her stomach as the babies started kicking again, clearly alarmed by their mothers emotional state.

Daniel Hawthorne had a violent temper, and this was not the first time that Morgan had been on the receiving end of one of his outbursts. It likely wouldn't be the last time either.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't just leave you, right now."

"Daniel, please. I'll fix this. I will." Morgan pleaded.

"There's nothing to fix!" Daniel cried. "I know you have no power, political or otherwise. I have nothing to gain by being with you."

"That's not true," Morgan whimpered pathetically. "I can channel someone for you. Anyone. I'll do it."

"Go on then," Daniel challenged, crossing his arms. "Channel someone for me right now. Do it."

Morgan sat silent for a moment, her eyes darting around over the floor around her feet.

"You know I need to meditate and prepare..." she started meekly.

Daniel cut her off with a scoff before moving back to his seat across from her, setting the chair upright and sitting down casually as if nothing had happened.

"What a load of garbage," he muttered as he picked up his newspaper again. The large pages obscured his pathetic wife from view. That suited him just fine.

Morgan touched her cheek gingerly before wiping away her tears with the back of her hand. There had to be a way to make him believe in her again. Her love for him faded a little more each time he hit her or cheated on her, but she couldn't stand the thought of being alone. Especially raising two newborn babies. Daniel had lots of money and a huge mansion and Morgan was not about to give up a life of privilege for herself and her daughters without a fight.

A soft knock at the door caused Morgan to straighten instantly in her chair. She wiped her eyes one last time and cleared her throat before instructing the person to enter.

The door opened slowly, and Luciana Armando entered with a large tray of breakfast balanced carefully over one arm. She closed the door behind her and carried the tray over to their table. Daniel put down his newspaper and watched her as she set out their meal. His entire demeanour changed from the moment Luciana entered the room, a fact which hadn't escaped Morgan's attention at all.

"I am so sorry to interrupt you, Master Morgan," Luciana said softly. "But you must eat for the babies. You need to be strong."

"Of course, of course." Daniel answered quickly, not giving Morgan a chance to voice her thanks. "Thank you, Luciana for being so thoughtful."

"It is nothing Mr Hawthorne," Luciana said dismissively, avoiding his eyes. "I am just doing my job."

"Please," Daniel said, smiling widely at Luciana. "I have told you to call me Daniel."

Luciana glanced warily at Morgan, whose impassive expression betrayed nothing of the inner turmoil she was feeling at her husband's blatant flirting with the help.

"Oh Mr Hawthorne," Luciana said nervously, "I couldn't. I must be polite."

"Nonsense," Daniel countered. "I insist."

Luciana nodded quickly, although she had no intention of addressing him so casually, especially in the presence of his wife. Noticing the shattered glass on the floor behind him, Luciana darted towards the mess. She was eternally thankful for the much needed distraction from the tense situation at the table.

"I will clean this up," Luciana muttered apprehensively to no one in particular.

"Thank you, Lucy." Daniel said, still smiling sweetly. "My dear wife seems to be getting a little clumsy in this late stage of her pregnancy."

Luciana frowned and nodded, glancing again at Morgan, this time noticing the dark area over her cheekbone.

"Master Morgan! Your face… are you okay? What has happened?"

"As I said, Lucy," Daniel cut in quickly "My wife has been quite clumsy lately."

He started pointedly at Morgan, who lowered her eyes.

"It's nothing Luciana," Morgan said softly. "I fell. That's all."

Luciana frowned again. Although she would never dream of eavesdropping, she had heard them arguing before she had entered with their breakfast. This was also not the first time that Morgan has suspicious marks visible on her person, dismissing their cause as that of a "fall". Deciding it best not to pry, she turned her back on the pair and began cleaning up the mess of shattered glass on the floor.

Daniel glanced over at Morgan to ensure she was watching him before very obviously ogling Luciana's backside as she leant down to clean up. Morgan's lip twitched and her heart pounded violently. Tears stung the corners of her eyes and threatened to fall, but she vowed right then and there that she would not cry in front of Daniel Hawthorne ever again. She bit down on her lip and tried her best to steel her expression, but Daniel could tell from his wife's small facial tics that his actions had hurt her, as intended.

Sensing the tension at the table rising further, Luciana rushed from the room with the broken glass cradled in her apron. Daniel smiled smugly at Morgan before picking up his paper again.

Dumbfounded at her husband's complete disregard for her feelings, Morgan sat in silence as she tried to comprehend exactly what had just taken place. She had long suspected Daniel of having an affair with Luciana, but he had never been so open about flaunting it in front of her before. And Luciana... she had clearly been uncomfortable. Morgan concluded that the source of Luciana's discomfort had to be guilt. Luciana must have rushed from the room because she was afraid that she and Daniel would be found out.

With her stomach in knots , Morgan stood and strode out of the room without another word to her husband. Her palms were sweating and her breathing was erratic and she could no longer fight the urge to throw up. How could he do this to her, under her own roof in Hazakurain? What if it wasn't just Luiciana? How many of those young acolytes were his playthings?

Although she knew everyone else would just attribute it to morning sickness, Morgan knew that the sick feeling in the pit of her stomach had nothing to do with the babies she carried.



Shuffling towards her office, Morgan paused in the hallway. She braced her hand against her lower back, stretching her shoulders back slightly. The twins had been kicking quite violently today, no doubt as a result of her altercation with Daniel earlier that morning. She was well over six months pregnant now and simple things like getting out of chair or walking across the bridge to the inner temple were becoming increasingly difficult. Adding undue stress to her life only made the little things harder.

Daniel's infidelity and aggressive behaviour had become much more frequent over the last few months and he had seemed to lose interest in their twins as soon as he had found out that Morgan had been carrying girls. His discovery of the fact that Audrina had been "covering" her channelling appointments in her place had only added fuel to the fire and he didn't seem to buy her excuse that it was dangerous for her to channel anyone while pregnant.

Morgan hated her husband as much as she loved him, a fact which left her feeling overwhelmed and emotionally unstable. But getting divorced and living out the rest of her life in her ridiculous fake position of leadership that her sister had concocted to keep her quiet and out of the way in Hazakurain was just not an option. But she could not ignore the other women in his life. The emotional toll his affairs took on her was far too heavy. As much as she hated to face the fact, the truth was the charming man she had met and married was long gone, leaving a cruel, heartless monster in his place. Although Daniel liked to complain that he had fallen for Morgan's ruse of power within Kurain's ranks, she had fallen for his lies as well. She had believed he had loved her, but she now wondered if that was ever true. Her husband was an abusive womaniser who didn't want the children she carried.

Her mind began racing, as horrible thoughts about Daniel and Luciana's affair filled her with frustration and sadness. How could Daniel want Luciana more than her? Morgan wondered if she was really that repugnant. Why wasn't she ever good enough for anyone?

It was all just too much. She moved through the door to her office, shutting the door behind her and leaning her back against the heavy wood. She closed her eyes shut tight, holding back tears.

Wrong and right, good and bad, reality and imagination... all began to mix together in a dangerous jumble as Morgan Fey's mind was clouded with emotion and pain. She clutched at her hair, choking back sobs as her tears finally made their escape. Her hands shook as she balled them into fists at her sides.

She shook her head as she turned and walked towards her desk, muttering to herself as a twisted plan to turn everything in her favour began forming in her mind.

"Gotta fix. Gotta fix everything. Gotta fix everyone. Fix this."



With her composure regained, and her cheating husband napping in the wing adjacent thanks to a few sleeping pills, Morgan strode purposefully back towards her office, a basket of supplies in hand. She spied an acolyte heading towards her and stopped the young woman as she passed by.

"Mystic... er...?"

"Amelia," the girl offered politely.

"Ahh, yes." Morgan bluffed with a carefully practiced smile. "Would you be a dear, Mystic Amelia, and fetch Luciana Armando for me?"

"Of course, Master Morgan," the girl nodded.

"I'll be in my office. Thank you." Morgan finished, her politeness uncharacteristic. Had the girl known her better, her humble courtesy would have raised significant alarm bells.

Morgan entered her office, placing the basket she had been carrying on her desk. She positioned herself by the window exactly as she had planned and waited for Luciana. Although it was only a few minutes before she arrived, it felt like an eternity as Morgan went over the plan again and again in her mind, each time convincing herself a little more that what she was about to do was totally justified.

Sacrifices were necessary.

Luciana entered the office, surprised to find Morgan standing next to a small table by the window, instead of behind her desk as she usually was.

"Luciana." Morgan stated. "Please, close the door behind you."

Luciana did as she was instructed.

"You wanted to see me?" she asked, turning back to face Morgan.

"That is correct." Morgan said stoically. "I just wanted to let you know that I don't appreciate being treated like a fool."

Luciana frowned, not understanding what the woman before her was alluding to.

"Master Morgan, I'm afraid I don't understand."

Morgan lifted her chin, eyeing Luciana distastefully.

"I know what he's like. Believe me, I know. But I thought you had more respect for me than that, Luciana. After everything I have done for you and your son. This is how you repay me?"

"Master Morgan, please, I don't know what you me-" Luciana started, before Morgan's bellowing voice cut her off.

"I know about your affair with Daniel, Luciana. How could you? That is my husband!"

Luciana gasped in shock.

"Oh no, Master Morgan... this is not true. I would never… I am so grateful for all you have done for Diego and I!"

"I am not a fool, Luciana Armando. Do not treat me like one!" Morgan yelled.

"Please, I'm not... You must believe me... I would never..." Luciana pleaded, her sobs jumbling her words.

"Leave." Morgan seethed. "Take your son and leave at once."

Luciana began crying openly as she realised that she no longer had a home at Hazakurain. She gave Morgan one last pleading look, hoping that the woman would believe her bur Morgan refused to meet her eyes. She turned and padded slowly towards the door, never once suspecting that she wouldn't make it that far.

Morgan's slender fingers closed around the marble goddess statuette she had strategically placed herself next to. Silently, she lunged forward, striking Luciana across the back of the head with great force. The woman crumpled to the ground instantly, blood tinting her curly brown hair in a dark red hue.

Without wasting a single second, Morgan ambled down beside Luciana and checked her pulse. She found none. Using her desk for support, Morgan pulled herself back to her feet. She grabbed Luciana's hands and dragged her body around behind her desk and out of view of anyone that might enter her office. Pulling a cleaning rag from Luciana's pocket, she wiped the blood off the floor and the excess from her hands, tossing the rag in the small bin by her filing cabinet. Breathing heavily, she cursed her cumbersome state. This would have been a lot easier to pull off if she hadn't been so heavily pregnant.

Closing the door to her office behind her, Morgan headed out to find Audrina. It was time for phase two.



Audrina hummed quietly to herself as she folded a large pile of linen. Lost in her own little world, she was visibly startled when Morgan burst into the room.

"Audrina!" Morgan cried. "There you are. I am so glad I have found you."

Audrina frowned, puzzled. Morgan was never 'glad' to see anyone.

"What is it, Morgan?" Audrina said, deliberately leaving out Morgan's title. "Are you okay? Is it the babies?"

Surprisingly, Morgan didn't snap at Audrina over the exclusion of her title.

"No, no," she said quickly. "The babies are fine. I just need you to channel someone for me urgently. It is very, very urgent. Please, come with me."

Audrina placed the towel she had been folding down on the bench. Morgan was acting very weird. She seemed distressed and fidgety. She had also yet to meet Audrina's eyes. Morgan was normally the kind of person who would stare through you, head held high. Audrina knew that something was very wrong, but chose to follow Morgan back to her office anyway. Maybe she could help.

Morgan walked briskly ahead of Audrina who could only wonder what was going on. They reached Morgan's office quickly. Morgan ushered her inside, looking around to make sure no one had seen them enter before closing the door.

"I'm afraid it's Daniel…" Morgan said cryptically. "He is doubting my power again. He is threatening to leave me and the babies!"

Morgan began sobbing lightly. Audrina placed a hand on her shoulder, all of a sudden understanding why the woman was so upset.

"Of course, I'll channel someone for you. Anything," Audrina said compassionately.

"Thank you, thank you," Morgan said, handing Audrina her hood to cover her hair and a piece of paper with the name 'Ernestine Welles'. The name meant nothing to Audrina, but she assumed it must have been a relative of Daniel Hawthorne's.

"Are we doing this in here?" Audrina asked, motioning to Morgan's office.

"Yes," Morgan nodded quickly, her tears seemingly forgotten. "Daniel will be here any moment so I need you to get started."

Audrina nodded in response and closed her eyes over lightly, relaxing into a meditative stance. Losing her own lucidity as the channelled spirit took over, she had no way of hearing Morgan move around behind her, or feeling the blunt object strike her across the back of the head rendering her unconscious.

Audrina crumpled to the floor, face down. Her body was still as dark red blood stained through the white fabric of her hood covering the back of her head. Morgan glanced down at her, wondering briefly if she should check to make sure she was dead, but decided against it. It was too hard to get up and down off the floor at this stage of her pregnancy and if Audrina was still alive now, she would likely perish in the fire that Morgan was about to start. She moved over to her desk, picking up the can of lighter fluid she had brought with her. She squirted the liquid liberally over the floor around the bodies and over the bookshelves, much the same as she had already done in her own quarters where her husband slept.

This fire would not only destroy her office and the bodies of both Luciana Armando and Audrina Fey, but also her own quarters where her husband was fast asleep. With Daniel Hawthorne dead, everything he owned would be left to her. She knew he didn't have a will and as his wife she and their unborn daughters stood to inherit everything. Well, there was his other daughter Valerie but she could be removed from the picture just as easily. She would likely be returned to her own mother anyway.

She glanced down at Audrina as she crossed the room, heading towards the fireplace. She felt a pang of something that could have been described as something close to guilt, or the closest she could feel to guilt in her current mental state. The child was a necessary sacrifice. Morgan planned to blame Audrina for the fire, claiming that the spirit she had channelled had become violent and unstable.

Morgan reached down into the fireplace, dragging her hand over the blackened inner wall. She pulled the pins from her hair, and rubbed her soot covered hand over her face and clothes, giving herself the appearance of a person who had barely escaped a fire. She moved back to the door and reached into her pocket, pulling out a small box of matches. She struck one, staring at the flame as it flared before tossing it across the room. She waited for a few moments as the fire blazed to life, making sure that her office was well and truly burning before fleeing the room in order to find Althea.



"Althea! Please, help!" Morgan screamed when she finally found Althea outside in the garden.

Althea looked up, alarmed at Morgan's state of disarray. She took the woman by the shoulders, steadying her as she sobbed.

"Master Morgan, what is going on? What has happened?" Althea asked, panic rising in her voice.

"Audrina… channelling… fire," Morgan stammered. Althea felt her heart constrict in her chest.

"Where is Audrina? Please, calm down Master Morgan. I can't understand what you are saying."

Morgan sniffed, her tears leaving blackened streaks across her soot covered cheeks.

"My office, it's on fire. We need to get help. I barely got out of there."

"Where is my daughter?" Althea asked firmly, hoping Morgan would calm down enough to give her a straight answer.

"She's still inside my office! We need to get help!" Morgan sobbed convincingly. "She channelled someone for me, but they got violent and angry. They started a fire!"

"But Audrina would never allow herself to be controlled by a spirit like that! That's an amateur mistake. My daughter is able to sever a spirit connection on her own." Althea frowned, shaking her head in disbelief.

"I don't know!" Morgan said, her voice panicked. "I don't know why she couldn't break it, but we have to get help!"

The smell of smoke had started to reach Althea, making her realise just how dire the situation was. She rushed past Morgan heading towards the phone booth by Dusky Bridge. Looking over at the compound as she dialled the emergency number for the fire brigade, she could see smoke billowing from the buildings. A group of dazed acolytes had gathered outside the main hall. While they were scared and dizzy from smoke inhalation, they had thankfully made it out alive.

Morgan grimaced as she followed Althea's line of sight. The wind had changed directions and instead of burning her own quarters to the ground, the fire had moved in the opposite direction, tearing through the rooms behind the main hall and the meditation building. Morgan knew that inside that building a large group of acolytes were gathered for afternoon meditation. She squinted her eyes closed, feeling sick to her stomach. This had all just spiralled out of control way too quickly.



Given their remote location, it took the fire brigade a long time to arrive. By the time the fires were extinguished, there was little hope of finding any more survivors.

Daniel Hawthorne was rescued alive and well, and treated for smoke inhalation. He returned home, divorcing Morgan a month after the twins were born.

Surprisingly, Audrina Fey was also found alive. A large beam had fallen from the roof in Morgan's office, causing the roof to fall in. While the beam had fallen on her back, causing extensive nerve damage that would never be fully repaired, a large section of the roof had miraculously protected her from the flames. She had a severe concussion and third degree burns on the lower half of her body, but they would eventually heal and leave minimal scarring.

Althea Fey visited her daughter only once in hospital. Audrina had no memory of the events of the day beyond Morgan asking her to channel the spirit and was appalled when Althea told her of the damage she had caused. Althea was ashamed that Audrina had displayed such poor technique and discipline that resulted in such heavy damage. Many lives were lost, and ultimately Audrina was responsible in her mother's eyes.

Althea informed Audrina that Morgan had agreed to keep quiet about her involvement in the fire, deeming it a terrible accident on the condition that Audrina was never to return to Kurain. Morgan believed the loss that Audrina had caused was too great and that having her in the village was an insult to the families that she had destroyed, a notion with which Althea agreed. Twenty three acolytes had lost their lives that day, along with Luciana Armando. Diego Armando was also missing and presumed dead.

Audrina was shattered by her mother's cold disposition. Althea had never been openly loving or affectionate, but she had mistakenly believed that her mother would be supportive at such a time. Althea left the hospital that day, turning her back on her only daughter who she believed had brought shame to the Fey name. Morgan had agreed to protect Audrina from any criminal charges, but even back then, Althea knew it would be at a price.

Audrina recovered and returned to Hazakurain, spending her time in solitude to atone for the deaths she had caused, slowly rebuilding and repairing what the fire had destroyed. She vowed she would never channel anyone ever again, blessing the white hood she wore and praying every day that the garment would protect her from evil spirits. She severed all ties with Kurain, trying her hardest to forget about her family altogether. She succeeded for a while, until five years after the fire when Daniel Hawthorne returned to Hazakurain.

No words were exchanged as Daniel exited his impressive looking black limousine, a young girl of about five with dark hair following behind him obediently. Audrina stood at the top of the steps to the main hall, unable to hear what he said to the girl as he knelt down in front of her due to the distance. He stood after a moment, glancing up at Audrina before returning to his car, leaving the little girl behind. He never set foot in Hazakurain again, nor did he ever inquire into the wellbeing of the child.

The little girl looked at her feet as she clutched the handle of a small suitcase in both hands. A pretty, dark haired Barbie doll clad in swimwear was tucked carefully under one arm. Audrina headed down the steps, stopping in front of the girl. She knelt down in front of her smiling at the pretty young girl that she could only assume was Morgan's daughter.

"Hello there," Audrina said happily.

"Hi," the little girl said sheepishly, still looking down at her feet.

"What's your name?" Audrina asked, hopeful that the girl would answer.

"Iris," she said softly after a small pause.

"That's a very beautiful name, Iris," Audrina smiled. "A beautiful name for a beautiful girl."

Iris looked up a Bikini, a small smile gracing her lips. No one had ever called her beautiful before.

"And what's your dolls name?" Audrina asked, motioning to the doll she was holding under her arm.

"She doesn't have a name yet. She's only new. Dahlia keeps breaking my dolls. Daddy gets angry at me when he has to replace them." Iris said gently, looking at her feet once more.

Audrina patted the girl on the head reassuringly. Dahlia must have been the other twin. And from the sounds of it, she was just like Morgan and Daniel. Somehow, through some sort of miracle, Iris had seemingly turned out more like her Aunt Misty.

"Well that's no good." Audrina said softly. "No one is going to break your doll here, so let's give her a nice name."

Iris nodded, placing her suitcase down. She held the doll up for Audrina to inspect. The dolls olive skin and curly dark hair reminded her of a friend long lost.

"How about Lucy?" Audrina suggested. Iris smiled, looking down at the doll in her hands.

"That's pretty," Iris said. "Lucy," she repeated.

Audrina picked up the little suitcase and took the girl by the hand, leading her towards the main hall. She smiled. The sun peeked through the leaves of the tree behind them, creating little slivers of light on the path ahead of them. She hadn't realised how lonely she was until there was someone around to remind her how it felt to have company.

"You never told me your name," Iris asked, looking up at the woman holding her hand. Audrina thought for a moment, glancing down at the doll in the girl's hands.

"You can call me… Sister… Bikini."

Iris giggled.

"That's a silly name."

The newly named Sister Bikini chuckled as the pair ascended the stone steps.

"Well I'm glad you like it!"

Lillian gave Bikini's hand a compassionate squeeze, frowning sadly at the emotional woman sitting across from her.

Bikini's eyes remained downward cast, clouded with the guilt of tragedies long since passed. Lillian wished there was something, anything she could do to alleviate her suffering, but really, what words could be said? Lillian knew the fire had been an accident and that Bikini was not in control of her actions when she had started it, but that wouldn't lift the regret that the poor woman carried with her regarding that day. Lillian had fought many times with Althea about her decision to abandon her daughter, but she had always been resolute. As far as Althea was concerned, Audrina had brought shame to the family and deserved to be outcast because of it. Lillian eventually gave up trying to change her mind, but often wondered about the girl hiding away in the mountains that everyone else believed dead.

As saddening as it was to accept, given the information that Lillian had just received about Andre Fey and her own death it was plain to see that Althea Fey was no longer worthy of the respect she had once afforded her.

The heavy silence was interrupted by the loud creak of the wooden doors to the main hall swinging open swiftly. Bikini snapped her head up, almost doing a double take as Mia strode purposefully into the room, her heels clicking rhythmically against the floorboards as Phoenix kept pace behind her. He looked tired and dishevelled. The man was almost unrecognisable without his clean cut appearance and trademark blue suit.

Bikini watched as Mia drew closer. It was almost uncanny. Her posture, her mannerisms – even her walk was exactly like Misty. She smiled to herself as she recognised the black coat that Mia wore. It had been one of Misty's favourites. She had kept the coat in Hazakurain along with a few other items to use whenever she visited.

"You found your mothers things," Bikini said softly as Mia took a seat across from her.

Mia smiled, crossing her long legs casually. Phoenix remained standing behind her, his arms crossed and expression stoic.

"Yes," Mia nodded. "Mystic Deanna showed me where her belongings were before I left. I thought I might attract too much attention if I headed to the city wearing acolyte robes and I wasn't in the mood for questions."

Bikini nodded in understanding.

"Your mother wore that coat often when she visited," Bikini remembered fondly, still amazed at how much Mia resembled her childhood friend. Of course it was to be expected as Mia was Misty's daughter, but the resemblance was not so much physical as it was something below the surface. Something deeper.

Mia looked down at her attire, delicately fingering the fabric of her mother's winter coat. She straightened the crystal snowflake pin on the lapel before shrugging lightly and rearranging the garment.

"Mother always did have impeccable style," Mia said. "But it's a little tight in the chest area."

The sound of a man coughing directed Bikini's attention to Phoenix. He covered his mouth with the back of his hand, seemingly to stifle laughter.

"Something amusing, Phoenix?" Mia asked, raising an eyebrow. She didn't bother turning around to face her former protégé.

Phoenix shook his head as he cleared his throat, quickly regaining his composure.

"Not at all, Chief," he said with an innocent shake of his head.

Despite the sullen mood of the day and all that everyone involved had been through, Bikini was relieved that they could still take a moment to joke and laugh.

Although she likely didn't want Phoenix to see, a small smile graced Mia's lips as she rolled her eyes. Bikini found herself chuckling softly at the easy rapport between the two. They were almost like siblings.

"Good," Mia said, her tone authoritative. "We need to get down to business."

Any and all jokes about Mia's ample bust were soon forgotten as Phoenix moved past Mia and took a seat next to her. He sat forward with his hands clasped together as he eyed Bikini seriously. Bikini noted the pensive nature of his body language and felt herself straighten in her chair under his scrutiny. She was no expert at reading people, but could clearly see the worry etched deep into the lines of his forehead. His worry no doubt for Mystic Maya.

"Lillian," Mia began, addressing the older woman who had yet to speak. "How much longer is Jess able to sustain channelling you?"

"I should still have a few hours left before the child will need to rest," Lillian replied with curt nod.

"I probably have about an hour, tops before Eve will need to rest, so we should try and piece together as much information as we can while we are all here," Mia suggested.

Bikini nodded, glancing up again at Phoenix. She took a deep breath before lacing her fingers together and meeting the eyes of the desperate man seated across from her.

"I guess we should start by filling you in on the Hazakurain Incident."



Phoenix sat silent as Bikini retold the story of the fire that had nearly destroyed Hazakurain. His heart ached at the pain in her voice and the tears that fell freely as she spoke of the women who had lost their lives. Underneath the cheerful, chuckling facade that she wore everyday was a deep emotional wound that festered away with guilt.

Pouring salt on the wound was the fact that her own mother had turned her back on her, even though the whole thing was clearly an unfortunate accident. He'd always figured Morgan the type to cut and run so the fact that she had done so was no surprise, but Bikini spoke of Althea with a much higher regard. He could only assume that she wasn't always the hardened witch that he knew her to be. Perhaps a lot had changed that day.

Phoenix felt drained and winded, the information that he now needed to process was like a punch to the stomach. So Morgan had asked Bikini to channel someone and the channelled spirit had gone berserk, setting Hazakurain alight. People had died and Bikini had spent 25 years shouldering the guilt. Knowing Morgan as he did, Phoenix couldn't believe that there wasn't more to this story.

"So let me get this straight," Phoenix said, blinking heavily as he sorted through the facts in his head. "Althea Fey is your mother?"

Bikini sniffed as she wiped at her nose with a handkerchief. Lillian stroked the distraught woman's hand soothingly.

"Yes," Bikini said eventually. "My real name is Audrina Fey."

Phoenix's eyes widened. Snapping his head sideways, he turned his attention to Mia.

"That name was on your notes. Did you know? I mean, that Audrina was Bikini?"

Mia frowned, shaking her head to signify that she did not.

"Hazakurain was hardly mentioned but when it was, we were told that the whole village was abandoned after being destroyed in a fire," Mia explained. "I never knew about anyone still being out here at all. My memories of Audrina are limited as I was so young, but whenever anyone mentioned Audrina Fey, Althea always said that her daughter had died."

Mia's admission caused Bikini to sob lightly, the concrete confirmation of her mother's rejection breaking what little composure she had left. Mia leaned forward, patting her gently on the knee.

"I'm sorry..." Mia fumbled. "I didn't mean to say it so bluntly like that... I – "

"Mia, it's fine," Bikini said, cutting her off as she did her best to smile and blink back the rest of her tears. "Just hearing it is hard, that's all."

Mia nodded dumbly, averting her gaze and trying her hardest to hold back tears of her own. This whole mess just was so sad and awful and her beautiful baby sister sat right in the centre of it. Maya didn't deserve any of this, and now it seemed that generations of betrayal and lies had somehow become her problem – her mess to clean up. Mia clenched her fists tightly. This had to end here. She could not allow the misery of the Fey family's past to be Maya's legacy as well.

"Sister Bikini," Phoenix said softly, breaking the silence. "You can't blame yourself for this anymore. You weren't in control of your actions."

"That's right," Mia added sympathetically. "Morgan never should have asked you to channel anyone that could have turned volatile. She also should have stayed close by to supervise the channelling. She took advantage of your kindness and your willingness to help. As far as I am concerned there is blood on her hands."

Bikini squeezed her eyes shut, shaking her head as if to shake away the memories she was having.

"Even after all these years, I still have the same nightmare. Over and over," Bikini said sadly. "I channelled hundreds of spirits before that day and never once did I dream of such horror. It was like I could sense that spirit's evil. I dreamed such horrible things... the screams, the smell of smoke and blood, the heat of the flames..."

Phoenix sat straight up in his chair. He glanced over at Mia who was frowning. She nodded as he caught her eye briefly, the small notion reassuring him that they were thinking the same thing.

"You dreamed?" Mia asked. "You definitely dreamed?"

"Oh yes." Bikini sighed, blinking heavily. "I still dream the same terrible dream often."

"But that's impossible..." Phoenix piped in.

"Wh-what do you mean?" Bikini stammered.

"That's how we knew Maya didn't kill Dr Grey..." Phoenix trailed off.

"I'm afraid I don't follow," Bikini said, her eyes darting back and forth between Phoenix and Mia.

"When you channel a spirit, that spirit takes over your entire consciousness." Mia explained. "There is no independent thought. That's why we never have any memories of the experience. There is no conscious part of you that would be able to remember anything at all, so dreaming is impossible."

"I don't understand..." Bikini said, frowning. "But what about severing the spirit connection? My mother said that experienced mediums can dispel spirits on their own. How can they do that without conscious thought?"

Mia glanced pointedly at Lillian, hoping that she had the answer because she had never heard of such a thing. Mia had never heard of mediums being able to dispel spirits without someone else present to sever the connection for them except for when the spirit had stayed too long.

"I believe what you are referring to is called a 'split channelling', my dear," Lillian explained. "A split channelling occurs when the medium shares the consciousness with the channelled spirit, but it is a very rare ability and also very dangerous to use."

Bikini shook her head in confusion.

"But if it's rare and dangerous, why would my mother assume that I had that ability?"

Lillian sighed heavily. How was it possible that there were still so many secrets hidden away by the Fey family?

"Althea is able to perform split channelling, as could your grandmother. The ability to split channel a spirit is passed down from mother to daughter, but there have been instances where it has skipped a generation, as was the case with you, Audrina."

Bikini didn't know what to say. She had so much information to take in right now, yet here was something else she had never even known about. It was yet another way in which she had disappointed her mother. Lillian frowned sadly as she continued to explain.

"Your mother refused to believe that the ability may have skipped you. Even though it normally manifests quite young, Althea was adamant that your ability was latent despite the fact you had never once displayed any signs of being able to perform a split channelling. It is quite possible that if you had birthed a daughter of your own that she would have inherited the ability, even though you are unable to do so."

"So I never could have..." Bikini trailed off, covering her face with her hands. Her composure faltered and she began sobbing. "I failed her in that way too?"

Mia shook her head.

"Sister Bikini you didn't fail anyone. Don't you see? You couldn't have dreamed. If you were channelling someone like you thought you were you couldn't have dreamed," she repeated.

"What do you mean?" Bikini said through her tears.

Mia frowned, her mind already reaching the inevitable conclusion.

"The only solution is..." she began.

"That someone else started that fire and blamed you." Phoenix finished, a scowl marring his features.

There was only one person that it could have been.



Phoenix groaned as he stretched his shoulders back, his brain barely registering the cracking sound from his protesting shoulder joints. Relief from the muscle tension was fleeting. It was only a matter of seconds before the dull ache of fatigue set in once again.

With a groan he pulled himself to his feet, padding over to the small armoire where he had left the lantern Iris had given him when she had showed him to the room. The sun was setting, casting long shadows through the bay window and he knew if he didn't light the lantern soon he would find himself in darkness.

Sister Bikini hadn't dealt well with the news that she most likely wasn't the person responsible for the fire. Her entire world had changed in an instant. Up was down, right was wrong. Everything that she had believed for so long was no longer true. Her life of solitude, her mother's abandonment, the guilt that she had lived with for years… it was all for naught. She had asked for some time alone which Phoenix could totally understand. The poor woman had a lot to process.

Mystic Eve also needed rest after channelling Mia for such a long time so it was suggested that they all take a break for a little while. Iris had shown him to the room so that he could perhaps take a nap for himself. He couldn't remember the last time he had slept decently, but he was far too wired to sleep today. He just wanted to get to Maya.

He struck the match, watching the flame flare to life before dying down in an instant to almost nothing. He could relate. The great Phoenix Wright rose quickly to fame in the courtroom before fizzling out into the man he was now, just like the match burning away between his fingertips. He was disgraced, disrespected, disbarred. Would Maya still love him now that he was nothing? Now that he had nothing to offer her? He swore lightly under his breath and shook his head before lighting the lantern and disposing of the match. Maya wouldn't care if he was a lawyer or not, but he still didn't look forward to telling her what had happened. She was the one person he knew he never wanted to disappoint.

Placing the lantern back down, he turned, surprised to see Mia standing behind him. He hadn't heard her enter the room.

He raised an eyebrow sardonically, noting the change in her appearance from when she had been channelled by Eve.

"Blonde is an interesting look for you Chief," he quipped.

Mia chuckled lightly under her breath.

"Instant makeover courtesy of Mystic Deanna," she replied with a small laugh. "Eve is still resting. I guess I wiped her out pretty bad."

Phoenix shrugged lightly.

"I'm sure she understands. We all do what we have to do."

"I know," Mia said. "All the girls here have been wonderful. It's really great the way that they are all banding together to help Maya."

"Well, she is their leader," Phoenix offered.

"Yes, but she is also their friend." Mia added. "I always knew that Maya wouldn't place herself above the people after she became Master. They all respect her more for it. She's more right for the job than she thinks she is."

Phoenix nodded lightly before moving back to his spot on the floor, resting his back against the wall.

"I'd offer you a seat, but there doesn't seem to be any," Phoenix said, motioning casually around the sparsely furnished room. Other than the futon on the floor, there was the chest of drawers where he had left the lantern and not much else. The room wasn't really designed for luxury.

Mia chuckled softly again. She walked towards Phoenix, crouching down to join him on the floor. She removed the cloak she had been wearing and draped it over her outstretched legs.

The pair sat in silence for a while before Mia finally spoke.

"Something wrong with the window seat?" she asked, motioning to the bay window across the room.

Phoenix sighed heavily. There was nothing wrong with it at all, but he just couldn't bear to sit there. The last time he was in this room, in that seat, he had held Maya in his arms. He had realised how much he loved her. He knew if he sat there that it would just highlight her absence. He couldn't deal with any more misery today.

He wondered idly if Iris remembered that this had been Maya's room. She probably didn't. This was likely just another of those annoying coincidences that seemed to plague his life.

He opened his mouth to give Mia some sort of explanation as to why he preferred to sit on the floor but came up with nothing. Maybe he was just being silly. Mia sensed his hesitation to answer, wondering if he had been in this room before. She knew he had been to Hazakurain at least twice previously.

"I just…" Phoenix began. "This was Maya's room, the last time we stayed here."

Mia nodded, waiting for him to continue. So he had been here before. He had been here with Maya. But that still didn't explain why he didn't want to sit on the only seat in the room.

Phoenix sat silent for a few moments longer before he felt the need to elaborate.

"I knew that night, for sure, that I loved her. Something just clicked inside my brain, you know. I just knew. I'd been fighting it."

Mia smiled softly. She couldn't have asked for a better man to take care of Maya. For so long she had been the only one to protect her little sister. It had been unbelievably hard for her to leave Maya in Kurain while she went off to become a lawyer, but she just had to keep reminding herself that she was doing it to help her. Mia wanted to find their mother and bring their family back together again. Althea had tried to keep them apart by banning Mia from returning to Kurain because of Diego, but Maya had just insisted with a smile that she would come to the city to visit her instead.

Maya was an optimist, a ray of sunshine after a thunderstorm. But Mia knew that Kurain and all it encompassed was one hell of a storm to weather, especially alone. She used to worry about who would be there for Maya if something should happen to her but was glad to know that she didn't have to worry anymore. No matter how heavy the rain, she knew that Phoenix would always be by Maya's side with an umbrella.

She looked over at Phoenix, smiling at his soft expression, highlighted by the flickering of the lamplight. He gazed over at the window, lost in a memory that Mia wasn't sure that she wanted to interrupt.

"So you'd rather freeze your butt off on the floor, rather than sit up there simply because this was Maya's room?" Mia queried further. "I don't understand you Phoenix."

She had a sneaking suspicion that she knew what was so significant about it, but couldn't seem to quell the curious gossip in her that wanted verification, not to mention more details.

Phoenix sighed, looking down at his hands. He laced his fingers together and began fidgeting with his thumbs. The fact that he was stalling his answer led Mia to believe that her inclination was correct. He didn't want to tell her because something had happened between them. He was worried that she wouldn't approve. She could barely hold back her smile. Young love was so exciting.

"Well?" Mia pried.

"We had a fight that night," Phoenix said finally. "We both yelled at each other and said a lot of things that we didn't mean."

"Oh..." Mia said softly.

Perhaps she had been wrong after all. She had forgotten that young love was just as much heartbreak as it was excitement.

"I stormed out on her. I know I shouldn't have but I was really upset at her. I walked down to Dusky Bridge. That's where Iris found me," he continued.

"Iris?" Mia asked, surprised.

"Yeah," Phoenix sighed. "She overheard us yelling and basically convinced me in much nicer words that I was being a jerk."

"But I thought that Iris and you... I mean back in college, right?"

"Yes." Phoenix nodded. "I thought I loved her."

He shook his head, scoffing lightly to himself.

"I had no idea what love even was," he finished, sighing under his breath.

Mia felt her heart swell. What Phoenix felt for her sister... it was special. Once in a lifetime special. She felt intense happiness and sadness at the same time. How could the world see fit to keep these two apart? It just wasn't fair.

"So Iris was okay? I mean, with you and Maya?" Mia asked.

"I don't know," Phoenix shrugged. "I mean I guess so. She was the one that told me I needed to help her. Apparently everyone could see that I was in love with Maya, except for me."

"You always did need a little coaxing to reach your conclusions, Phoenix," Mia quipped.

"Gee. Thanks Chief." Phoenix responded sarcastically.

"I'm sorry," Mia chuckled. "I couldn't resist."

Despite Mia's teasing, Phoenix felt the corner of his mouth lift in a half smile.

"Anyway," he continued. "I headed back here to go to bed, but I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep if I didn't say sorry. I expected Maya to be asleep, but she wasn't. She was awake. Sitting in that window seat right there, crying."

He paused, his eyes dropping to his hands in his lap.

"Crying over me," he whispered painfully.

Mia frowned sadly at the thought of her sister's tears. The blunt way that Phoenix had spelled it out spoke volumes of his own guilt as well.

"What did you do?" Mia whispered, eager to hear how Phoenix had reacted to finding her sister in such a state.

"I couldn't think of anything to say that would make it better," Phoenix said quietly. "So I just held her. I held her until she stopped crying. I fell asleep with her in my arms."

Mia felt the tears stinging the corners of her eyes before they fell. She reached out and took Phoenix's hand in her own, squeezing it gently.

"Oh wow." Mia sniffed, wiping away her tears with the back of her free hand. "I think that's the most beautiful, romantic thing I've ever heard."

"Really?" Phoenix asked.

"Really." Mia confirmed. "Geez, here I was thinking that you two had... well... you know."

"We'd what?" Phoenix asked, puzzled.

It only took a moment for him to realise what Mia was alluding to. He straightened instantly against the wall, his cheeks reddening as he turned to face Mia.

"Oh! Oh, no. No. We didn't. I mean, haven't. I wouldn't. I mean… umm…"

Phoenix struggled with his words and raked a hand through his spikes. Mia found herself laughing softly at his flushed features.

"It's okay, Phoenix," Mia said reassuringly. "There's no need to be embarrassed."

Phoenix covered his face with his hands.

"You don't think so?" he groaned from between his fingers. Removing his hands from his face, he turned and glared at Mia pointedly. "I don't suppose you've ever been put on the spot like that by your girlfriend's older sibling who also happens to be your former boss?"

"No, I don't suppose I have," she laughed. "I'm just trying to say that it's okay though. You're both adults. What goes on between you and my sister is your business."

"Well I'm just trying to say that it's not like that." Phoenix countered, still flustered. He crossed his arms over his chest and settled back against the wall.

Mia frowned. Phoenix loved Maya, and it was pretty obvious that she was crazy about him too. How could it not be like that?

"You do find my sister attractive, don't you?" she asked.

"Of course I do." Phoenix replied. "Maya is beautiful."

"So why is it not... 'like that'? I don't understand. You two are young and in love. Surely... I mean... surely you want to..." Mia stammered, bewildered.

"Oh, no!" Phoenix said as he realised that Mia had misconstrued what he had said. "Of course I want to. That's not what I meant. Maya is..."

He paused, blinking heavily and shaking his head.

"Maya is... well... wow. I mean, trust me. There's been a whole lot of self control on my part."

"Then what's the problem?" Mia asked simply.

Phoenix stared at Mia for a moment before raising an eyebrow.

"You do realise that the role of the big sister is usually to protect her little sister's virtue, right?"

Mia huffed lightly, throwing her hands in the air dramatically.

"Virtue is overrated," she said flatly, causing Phoenix to laugh.

"I'm starting to think you might be right about that," he agreed with a chuckle.

"Of course I'm right." Mia said. "I'm always right. So...?" she asked again, attempting to veer the conversation back on track.

Phoenix frowned before sighing audibly. He could not believe he was having a conversation of this nature about Maya with Mia of all people.

"I just... I just wanted to wait for the right time," he said eventually, finding it hard to put what he was trying to say into words. "Sometimes… sometimes she just still seems so…" he paused, trying to figure out exactly what he wanted to say when Mia cut him off.

"There's a small part of you that still sees her as my little sister, isn't there?" she asked.

Phoenix glanced up at Mia, relieved to find an expression of understanding on her face. He nodded. She was right. Maya was amazingly beautiful and he was so in love with her, but he knew he was holding himself back. Partly because she was so much younger than he was and he didn't want to rush her, but he definitely had his own reasons as well.

"I'm supposed to protect her," he explained. "Sometimes I feel guilty about the depth of my feelings for her because you left her in my care. I feel like I'm taking advantage of her and I worry about what you might think of me."

Mia smiled reassuringly at him.

"I think you did a wonderful job taking care of her and making her happy." she said sincerely, patting Phoenix gently on the leg. "I couldn't have hoped for her to fall in love with a better man and I am truly glad she chose you, Phoenix."

"Thanks Chief," he said as slumped back against the wall, hoping that their embarrassing conversation could finally be put to rest.

"I know that you love her," Mia said softly. "What good would I do by making things difficult and trying to slow things down for you two because of some outdated notion of chastity. Love is far too important."

Phoenix nodded silently. As usual, Mia was right.

"It's so easy to run out of time…" she whispered, trailing off sadly.

Phoenix knew that Mia had known her own heartbreak. Clearly she didn't want her sister to experience the same pain of love lost and opportunities missed.

"Did you and Diego run out of time?" he asked boldly.

Mia was quiet for so long that Phoenix began to think that perhaps he shouldn't have asked something so personal. He glanced sideways at her, guilt flooding through him when he realised Mia was crying.

"We did," she croaked with a small nod.

"I'm sorry," he apologised softly.

"It's okay," Mia sniffed with a shake of her head. "I just don't want you two to make the same mistake."

"I know," Phoenix said. He wrapped his arm around Mia and pulled her closer to him. She sniffed again before resting her head on his shoulders. For a moment he was struck by the oddity of it all. Here he was, in a hidden spiritual retreat in the mountains with his once unflappable, now deceased former boss crying on his shoulder. The world had indeed gone mad.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked gently. He wondered if anyone had ever asked her about this before. Maya didn't seem to know very much at all about Diego and Mia didn't seem to have many friends. She had always preferred to keep to herself, or at least she had for as long as he had known her.

Mia's sigh was almost inaudible.

"I guess I kind of have to," she replied.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, there are things he told me... things that could help you. But you need to go and see him." Mia said. "There is a lot he never got the chance to tell me. We... like you said. We ran out of time."

"I will. If it helps us protect Maya and take down Althea and Andre then I will." Phoenix reassured her.

"The Hazakurain incident is the key." Mia maintained. "Once we have all the facts I just know it will tie everything together. Morgan has to have something to do with it."

"That's what I was thinking too." Phoenix said suspiciously. "But there's still so many pieces of the puzzle that are missing."

"Well maybe I can help you with some of that."

Phoenix smiled glumly at his former boss. It seemed to be time for her side of the story.

"Perhaps you can," he nodded, settling back against the wall, watching Mia attentively.

"You know about me leaving Kurain to become a lawyer and find my mother, right?" Mia asked.

"Yes." Phoenix nodded. "You worked for Grossberg, right?"

"Right." Mia confirmed. "Diego worked there too."

She smiled, her eyes brightening as she remembered.

"From the moment I saw him..." she began dreamily. "There was just something about him. I was crazy attracted to him. But he was a flirt. He would chat up anything in a skirt and they all swooned over him. He was so charming and that was the biggest part of the problem. All the other girls in the office warned me that he was a certified womaniser, so I avoided him. I knew a suave, sophisticated charmer like him would just break my heart."

Phoenix listened on as Mia gathered her words.

"But Diego was persistent. He went out of his way to talk to me. He brought me coffee every day. He even volunteered to mentor me, which Grossberg, of course, was thrilled about. Grossberg assumed we were dating and despite the fact that I denied it constantly, Diego did nothing but encourage that belief when he started calling me 'kitten' around the office. I was infuriated. I spent most of my time trying to antagonise him, push him away or make him mad."

Mia chuckled to herself.

"I think that just made him more determined."

Phoenix thought back to his trial with Godot. Suave, sophisticated, persistent and determined were definitely all correct words to describe the man once known as Diego Armando. He was the type that made a lasting impression.

"Eventually, I relented and agreed to have dinner with him. I tell you, I was determined to make it the worst date of all time. I made him wait, I was rude, I ordered incredibly expensive food... but he just smiled and weathered all of it. There was nothing I could do to dissuade him. I started to feel bad about how I was behaving and once I started to relax, I realised how much fun I was having. Diego wasn't smarmy or sleazy. He was sweet and attentive, not to mention patient with a brat like me," Mia continued.

"As we walked back to his car, he stopped me and told me there was something important that I needed to know. I started to doubt him for a second, thinking that maybe I was wrong and this was where he would make his big play, but I wasn't prepared at all for the bombshell he was about to drop."

"He told me that he had grown up in Hazakurain. He knew my relatives, my parents... he had even met me when we were children. The woman that Bikini told you about earlier... Lucy..."

"Luciana Armando..." Phoenix finished, eyes wide. That name had featured heavily in Mia's notes. "She was his mother?"

"Yes." Mia nodded. "I invited him back to my place and he told me all about what it was like here, about my mother's visits, about Audrina. He had so many happy memories. He even recalled pushing me on a swing when I was a little girl. Part of me thinks I might kind of remember that too, but it's hazy."

"Wow," Phoenix said, exhaling dramatically. "That's a lot to take in. Was he here the day of the fire?"

Mia took a deep breath and nodded, signalling silently that she would get to that part shortly.

"We talked for hours about the villages and growing amongst spiritual mediums. I felt so relieved to have found someone who not only understood me, but also my abilities. He wasn't afraid of my spiritual power. In fact, he was curious about it. I knew I was falling in love, almost instantly. It was like he was like an old friend."

Mia paused for a moment, considering her last remark.

"I guess he was an old friend. I just didn't remember him," she smiled.

Phoenix smiled in return as Mia continued.

"I told him all about Maya and what I knew about DL-6. He promised me that he would do everything he could to help me find my mother. It was getting late by this point so we decided to call it a night. I can still remember his handsome face as he stood in the doorway to my apartment and asked if he could kiss me goodnight. To my surprise, I said yes without even thinking about it."

Mia paused, sighing breathily as she rested her head back against the wall, playing the night over in her mind as she had done so many times.

"One kiss was all it took. He didn't go home that night."

Mia smiled, falling silent for a while. Phoenix decided it was best to wait for her to speak again.

"I awoke in his arms the next morning, deliriously happy, but full of more questions about Hazakurain. I asked him as he was dressing if he knew what had happened on the day of the fire. He just smiled and leaned forward to kiss the tip of my nose. He said that he didn't want to ruin such a perfect morning talking about unhappy memories. He promised that he would cook me dinner that night and tell me all about it when we finished work. He had a witness to interview that afternoon and we could get together afterwards."

Phoenix noted the change in Mia's voice as she recalled what had happened that day. He almost knew who the witness was before she had a chance to say anything.

"That witness was Dahlia Hawthorne," Mia breathed, her voice barely above a whisper. "The next time I saw Diego was in the hospital... in a coma."

Phoenix's felt his heart lurch. Poor, poor Mia.

"So he never got to finish telling you about it?" Phoenix asked.

Mia shook her head.

"By the time he woke up, I had been murdered. But you already know that part of the story," she said dejectedly.

Phoenix cursed under his breath. A life of heartache seemed to be a prerequisite for being born into the Fey family. Mia's forward nature in regards to his relationship with Maya now made a lot more sense. She had loved and lost, all in the span of twenty four hours.

"I'm so sorry Mia," he said sadly. "I had always assumed that you and Diego were together for some time. I mean, Maya and I found that letter from Althea banning you from Kurain amongst your notes."

Mia scoffed.

"I got that letter three months after he went into hospital. I don't know how Althea found out about him, or what she was worried that he might have told me, but it was like a knife to the heart. Maya was the one thing I had left. That's when I started trying to piece everything together. Something was up and I had to get to the bottom of it, for Maya as well as myself. The worst thing is though, I doubt Althea even knew that Diego was in a coma. She always was a tactless, insensitive old shrew, even if Bikini says otherwise."

"That is awful," Phoenix said with a grimace. He wondered why Althea would want to keep Mia away from Maya simply because of Diego. What did he know that was so dangerous? And why was it dangerous to Althea? None of it made sense at all.

"Go and see him tomorrow." Mia urged. "I know you want to go and get Maya right away, but trust me. She's safer where she is until we know everything."

Phoenix frowned. He really wanted to get to Maya as soon as possible, but he trusted Mia's judgement.

"Okay, I will." Phoenix agreed. "But I wish there was some way that I could just know that she's okay. Some way to let her know that we still trying to bring an end to all of this."

"There is," Mia said simply. "Don't worry, I'll take care of it. You just go and find out what you can from Diego."

Phoenix nodded as Mia stood to leave. She walked to the door before pausing.

"Phoenix?" she called over her shoulder.

"Yeah Chief?"

"Thank you," she said simply.

He smiled as she slid the door closed behind her and an odd, yet comforting feeling of déjà vu washed over him.



Maya yawned as she plodded through the kitchen, the socks on her feet doing little to protect her against the chill of the wooden floorboards. She flipped the switch on the kettle, preparing to make herself some tea. The sun was up, but she had no idea what time it was. The one thing she had forgotten to bring with her was a clock of any type. Her cell phone was back in Kurain.

Mystic Ami's "cabin" was not at all what she had expected. The original cabin was long gone and a more modern dwelling had been constructed in its place to be used as a 'Master's Retreat'. The cupboards were well stocked and she even had a vegetable garden outside. As steeped in tradition as Kurain was, apparently it was the site that was sacred and not the structure. Although it took a while to reach from Kurain on foot, there was running water and electricity, which led her to believe that the cabin might not be as secluded as the Elders wanted her to think. She could probably find a road if she was to follow the power line overhead for long enough.

But there wasn't much point in that. She was stuck here until she could channel Mystic Ami. Who knew how long that might take?

With a heavy sigh, she poured the boiling water and dunked the teabag a few times. She picked up the mug and began to head out to the front porch to sit in the sun, when the sudden force of someone shouting her name in her subconscious almost knocked her off her feet.

Steadying herself, she had barely placed the mug back down on the counter when it happened again. This time, the voice was clearer.

Maya's eyes widened in shock as she recognised Mia's voice. Scrambling over to the kitchen table, she sat and relaxed into her meditative stance. She began calling on Mia and was thrilled to discover no pain. There was no block!

Shuffling through the books and piles of paper on the table, she found a blank piece and scrawled a message for her sister at the top before closing her eyes and commencing the channelling.



Mia opened her eyes to unfamiliar surroundings. Looking down, she saw familiar purple training robes... along with feet clad in gaudy blue steel samurai socks.

Chuckling to herself, she noticed the piece of paper sitting in front of her.

There were only three words written on the page.

"Tell me everything."

Mia smiled as she picked up the pen and began to write.

Straightening his tie, Phoenix walked briskly through the gate towards the prison complex. Having been stripped of his badge, he had no right to be here in any sort of official capacity but he had decided to drop in at his office on the way from Hazakurain to shower and make himself look presentable nonetheless. He needed every ounce of strength he could gather and the familiar fit of his blue suit seemed to provide him with a heightened, albeit false, sense of bravado. Almost like a toddler with a security blanket.

He slipped his hand into his pocket, rolling the magatama that Maya had given him between his fingers. Perhaps this would come in handy too.

Pushing through the doors, the officer on reception looked up at him with mild annoyance. Officer Annie Barnes was a portly woman of around fifty with curly red hair and a penchant for blue eye shadow. Phoenix had seen her before when visiting the complex, but she didn't seem to remember him.

Or at least she didn't at first.

"State your business," Annie said, her voice monotone.

"Ahh, I'm here as a visitor," Phoenix responded nervously.

"Fill this out," she said flatly, slamming a worn clipboard with an identification form attached down on the bench in front of him.

Phoenix filled in the form, handing it back to the officer who skimmed it quickly, her eyes sparking with recognition when she read the name written at the top of the paper. She raised an eyebrow at him.

"Phoenix Wright huh?" she drawled. "I thought I recognised you. You're that corrupt lawyer aren't you?"

Phoenix said nothing, pursing his lips together in frustration. How was he meant to respond to a question like that? His reaction however, did little to dissuade the nosy prison officer from continuing.

"Yes. It is you. I saw your picture in the paper." she continued tactlessly. "You know, I thought we'd be seeing you on the other side of these bars. Perverting the course of justice and all that…"

"Is everything fine with the form?" Phoenix said impatiently, crossing his arms in front of his chest. Why couldn't this woman just keep quiet and do her job?

Officer Barnes let out a small, sardonic laugh, recognising the ex-lawyer's discomfort at her impolite comments. Phoenix continued to glower at her, but decided wisely to keep his thoughts to himself.

"The form's fine," Officer Barnes said, sighing disinterestedly.

"Good, then can I begin my visit?" Phoenix snapped.

She scowled lightly, turning back to her computer.

"Fine," she snapped back. "Who are you here to see?"

Godot's name flashed through Phoenix's mind, but when he opened his mouth to speak, a completely different name emerged.

"Morgan Fey," he said coolly.



As Morgan entered the visitors room, Phoenix felt his fingernails digging into his palms. He hadn't even realised how tightly he had been clenching his fists. With his face fixed into a permanent scowl, he surveyed the calm visage of the woman that had ruined Maya's life. Prison wasn't punishment enough for all the misery this woman had caused. He was going to make her pay if it was the last thing he did.

Noticing Phoenix's scowl, the smallest trace of a satisfied smirk ghosted Morgan's lips.

"To what do I owe this pleasure, Mr Wright?" Morgan said politely, as if Phoenix's visit was some sort of wonderful social call.

"I didn't think you'd come when they told you it was me," he seethed.

"Don't be so silly," Morgan said with a smile. "You and I are old friends."

Phoenix bit down on his tongue in an attempt to calm his anger.

"It's so nice to get visitors," she said with a smile, her voice dripping with faux sugary sweetness.

Phoenix felt his blood pressure rising. Why had he asked to see her? He knew she was going to be like this. He took a deep breath, trying his best to calm himself. He was here to get information. Morgan was a smart woman, but she was not infallible. She was incredibly conceited, a fact which he planned to use against her. He knew that the one chance he had to get her to slip up was to trick her into boasting about recent events that she had had a hand in.

Morgan took Phoenix's silence as an opportunity to bait him further.

"So I read about your last case in the newspaper," she began. "How terribly sad."

She paused, delighting in Phoenix's furious expression.

"I wonder if I could ask for a retrial now? I mean, seeing as you're a forger and all."

"Not a chance," Phoenix said icily.

"I'd say that's out of your hands, Mr Wright." Morgan said dryly. "Your days of putting people behind bars appear to be behind you."

"I wouldn't be too sure about that, Morgan." Phoenix said. "I've still got one more person to put away before I'll hang it up. Badge or no badge."

"And who might that be?" she asked, bemused.

"Your son." Phoenix said bluntly.

Morgan eyed him impassively for a moment, before speaking.

"I'm afraid you must be confused," she lied expertly. "I don't have a son."

"Whatever you say, Morgan." Phoenix said with a light shrug. He could have argued the point about Andre but he knew when it came to Morgan it would be far more effective to withhold as much information as possible about what he knew and what was going on. He knew he could rattle her just as much as she could him. Two could play at her game.

"So where is my niece today," Morgan said, lacing her hands together as she changed the subject. "It's very rare that I see you without her somewhere close by."

Any feeling of satisfaction that Phoenix felt at having held his knowledge of Andre's parentage over Morgan's head disappeared in an instant when she mentioned Maya so casually. His composure slipping, he slammed his hands down on the desk in front of him, breathing heavily.

"You know exactly where she is!" he spat. "How dare you even speak of her? Do you have any idea what you have done?"

Morgan was taken aback, her eyes widening ever so slightly in surprise at Phoenix's sudden outburst. Unbeknownst to Phoenix, her reaction was genuine. She had not been afforded any information on Althea and Andre's plans, and had no idea of Maya's whereabouts at all.

"You, Althea and Andre have ruined her life!" Phoenix continued angrily. "I'll get her back you know, you can't keep her from me."

Morgan remained silent, trying to compile the facts from the emotional snippets given to her by the distraught lawyer. So it appeared that Maya had been sent somewhere, where Wright was unable to see her. This fact had upset the man to the point of uncharacteristic emotional outbursts and desperation, which suggested the possibility that a romantic relationship had developed between the two. He had also mentioned Althea, which could very well mean that the old woman was working with Andre knowingly, despite the instruction to Andre to keep their plan to himself.

Morgan smiled to herself and shook her head. It was just like that old witch to undermine her plans. She no longer needed to wonder why she had yet to hear from Andre regarding the next phase of her plan. Althea was likely leading the boy in her own direction.

"Well?" Phoenix snapped. "Don't you have anything to say for yourself? Surely you want to gloat or something?"

Morgan sighed, shaking her head gently at him.

"And what good would that do?" she said simply. "I can tell you that I had nothing to do with Maya being sent away until I am blue in the face, but you have already made up your mind about me. I don't even know where she is."

"And you expect me to believe that?" Phoenix cried incredulously. "You don't give me much credit, do you Morgan?"

Phoenix continued to seethe while Morgan simply stared at him emotionlessly. The silence was heavy in the room.

"Next time you want to underestimate me, Morgan, you just remember who put you in here," Phoenix spat, his voice filled with venom.

"You remind me of him," Morgan noted after a small pause.

"Who?" Phoenix asked, annoyed.

"Sebastian." Morgan said, immediately noticing the recognition in Phoenix's eyes. "I see you know who that is, I'm surprised."

Phoenix's stunned silence willed her to continue.

"The fire in your eyes… that unbreakable spirit… the quest for the truth," she elaborated. "Just like him. Such a handsome man. He was so ridiculously in love with my sister. He would have given anything for her. Much the same way that I believe you would for my niece. Isn't it odd how history repeats itself?"

Morgan tilted her head slightly, raising an eyebrow.

"It would be a terrible shame if it were to continue to repeat itself… definitively."

Phoenix eyed Morgan coldly.

"What do you mean?" he asked carefully.

Morgan sat back in her chair, recognising that she was playing with fire, but unable to resist the urge to give the pesky lawyer just enough information to drive him insane.

"Sebastian's poor choices caused him a lot of trouble. It would be an awful shame for you to find yourself in similar trouble, Mr Wright," she drawled with mock concern. "I would suggest that you head back to the city and forget about Kurain, and my niece."

"Never." Phoenix said resolutely. Morgan Fey didn't scare him one bit.

"Your loyalty to her is touching, but I can assure you, just like I told Sebastian of my sister – Mystic Maya isn't worth the effort."

Rage bubbled up within Phoenix like a volcano. It took every inch of resolve that he had left to not throw his chair at the glass separating the two visiting rooms.

"Maya is a thousand times the woman you are!" Phoenix cried. "She's kind, wonderful and caring. You wouldn't even know what that means!"

"Just like him," Morgan repeated with a light shrug, ignoring his insult. "Your devotion is sickening. Just be warned that bad things happen when people like you get in the way."

Phoenix narrowed his eyes at Morgan, wondering what exactly she was playing at. She was feeding him small pieces of information about Sebastian, almost as if she wanted him to piece them together.

"You know what happened to him… don't you?" Phoenix asked.

Morgan barely reacted.

"He fell. It was an accident."

Her flippant description of Maya's father's death combined with her previous warnings set off all sorts of alarm bells in Phoenix's mind. Morgan had always wanted everything that Misty had. Her position and her power to begin with… so why not her husband too? She had already mentioned how handsome she thought Sebastian was and how she had told him that Misty wasn't worth his effort. But he had been too devoted to his wife to take any notice of Morgan. The pieces were starting to fall scarily into place.

"You… you killed him… didn't you?" Phoenix stammered.

Morgan laced her fingers together again, meeting his shocked gaze defiantly as he continued to piece everything together in his mind. Slipping his hand into his pocket, he quickly found his magatama. Closing his hand around the stone, he wasn't at all surprised to see a series of locks and chains appear in front of Morgan. This woman probably had more psyche locks than he could crack in a lifetime.

"Whether I did or whether I did not is something that can never be proven."

Morgan knew she probably should have denied it, but baiting the lawyer was far too enjoyable. And besides, what she had said had been correct. There was no way he or anyone else could prove any connection between herself and the death of her sisters husband.

Phoenix felt winded.

"You're insane," he breathed in disbelief. "What is wrong with you?"

"Nothing is wrong with me Mr Wright," Morgan said calmly. "I have always wanted what is best for Kurain. My sister and her pathetic offspring have just always gotten in the way."

He stood quickly, the chair he had been sitting on clattering to the floor loudly. He eyed Morgan with utter disbelief, shaking his head as he backed towards the door. He rapped quickly on the heavy door to signal to the guard outside that he was done with his visit. Morgan remained still, her eyes locked with his with an almost mocking gleam. Phoenix knew that there was no way that he was ever letting her near Maya ever again. She would be due for parole in a few years, but he vowed to do everything in his power to make sure that she was never released. Ever. It was now crystal clear that Maya's life, and perhaps even the lives of her future children, would depend on it.

Ducking past the guard who opened the door, Phoenix charged towards the men's room just outside the visitors area. Once inside he turned on the cold faucet full blast. Splashing cold water on his face, he glanced up at his reflection in the dirty mirror. The man staring back at him was almost unrecognisable. He looked pale… almost frightened. His stomach knotted furiously as he realised that almost every tear that Maya had cried for her family could be traced back to one Morgan Fey.

He clutched at the basin as a feeling of utter helplessness washed over him. Even in prison, Morgan's influence was still so far reaching. She had just practically admitted to murdering Sebastian Parker, and there was nothing he could do about it. How could he ever keep Maya safe? How could he sleep at night if she wasn't with him? Morgan wasn't going to give up and it didn't make a difference that she was locked up. She was a master manipulator, always quick to find someone else to do her dirty work.

Phoenix clenched his fists as he glanced up once more at his reflection. He had to get to Maya as quickly as possible.

Exiting the bathroom, he headed towards the exit when Mia's words flashed through his mind.

"The Hazakurain Incident is the key…"

Phoenix stalled, cursing under his breath. He remained still for a moment before turning back towards reception. There was no way that he could leave until he had seen Godot, even though he would much rather skip the exercise. He had made a promise to Mia and she was right – the incident at Hazakurain could be the key to removing Morgan from the picture permanently.

"Back again Mr Wright?" Officer Barnes asked with a raised eyebrow as Phoenix reached the reception desk.

"Yes," he said with a curt nod. "I need to see Godot."



Phoenix couldn't help but feel some trepidation as he took a seat in the visitors room for the second time that day. He was still quite rattled from his visit with Morgan and silently hoped that it wasn't outwardly visible. Godot was still a prosecutor at heart and would more than likely pounce on any sign of weakness, especially from him. It didn't matter that he had previously earned the man's respect; he knew that Godot was the type of man that would constantly test him. Acquiring his help was not going to be easy, but Phoenix couldn't give up.

This was for Maya.

"Wright," Godot said with a nod as entered the room, taking a seat at the empty desk. He took a sip from the coffee mug in his hand and placed it in front of him.

"Godot," Phoenix said, returning the nod. "Or would you prefer Diego?"

Godot shook his head.

"The man you see in front of you is the man you get."

"That's a shame." Phoenix said with a light shrug. "Because I have questions for Diego."

"Well you're in luck," Godot said, flashing his trademark grin. "I knew Diego quite well. Perhaps I can help."

Phoenix was relieved to have caught Godot in what appeared to be a good mood. He hadn't even called him 'Trite'. He took a deep breath, readying himself for the conversation he was about to begin. He really had no idea how Godot was going to react to such personal questions.

"I need to know what happened on the day of the fire at Hazakurain." Phoenix said bluntly, cutting to the chase. There was no point in beating around the bush. Either Godot would help him or he wouldn't.

"What is going on, Wright?" Godot asked seriously. He knew there was no way Phoenix could have known anything about his past with Hazakurain if not for Mia, and Mia wouldn't be around unless there was trouble.

"Look, are you going to help me or not?" Phoenix asked with a sigh. He really didn't have time for games or long winded explanations.

"That depends on whether or not you deserve my help." Godot said simply.

Phoenix groaned inwardly. Why couldn't this just be easy? Why couldn't Godot just answer him so that he could leave? He needed to find Maya, and these stupid games would just slow everything down.

"Look Godot, Maya is in trouble. Either you'll help me or you won't." Phoenix snapped. "I don't care either way, but Mia sent me to you. She said you would help me. She obviously sees something in you that I don't because I knew coming here would be nothing but a hassle."

Godot watched on in silence looking mildly amused as Phoenix continued his tirade.

"I don't know if you know this, but Mia loved you and she's counting on you to help me save Maya's life. I'm doing everything I can, but there are so many damn secrets in the Fey family that it's near on impossible to piece things together without help. I know you grew up in Hazakurain and I know you know about the fire. So just humour me here and help me fill in the gaps and I'll get out of your hair."

Godot's continued silence simply served to frustrate Phoenix further.

"To be perfectly honest," Phoenix snapped, "You owe Maya in a big way after what happened at Hazakurain so I'm not going to sit here and let you look down on me or play your stupid mind games when her life hangs in the balance. I don't care what you think of me and I don't care whether you think I'm worthy to be Mia's successor. So save your veiled insults and coffee themed riddles and just tell me what you know, otherwise I'll just leave right now."

Phoenix took a deep breath as he finished, eyeing Godot seriously.

"Are you done?" Godot asked, unaffected. Phoenix remained unmoving, refusing to back down.

"I've gotta say, Wright, that was definitely something," he quipped, nodding appreciatively. "You might be a stronger blend than I anticipated. I'll tell you what I know, but only if you tell me what's going on."

Phoenix sighed, raking a hand through his spikes.

"Deal."

"Good." Godot nodded. "So tell me what you know and I'll do the same."

Phoenix sighed as he began retelling what Bikini had told them.

"Sister Bikini told us about the fire. She said that she summoned a spirit that tried to burn the place down. She also told us that… that your mother died that day."

Godot remained silent as Phoenix tried to predict how he would react to the mention of his mother.

"You're right about one thing," Godot began. "My mother died that day."

He paused as Phoenix watched him intently, waiting for him to continue.

"But Angel didn't start that fire. Morgan did."





Morgan's concentration was interrupted by soft knocking on her office door. Frowning with slight annoyance, she instructed the person waiting outside to enter. Luciana Armando opened the door and scurried into the room with an armful of paperwork. Her seven year old son Diego trailed behind her helping her with more papers.

"Hello Master Morgan," Luciana said happily, moving towards her desk. "I've finished with the last months expenses but there were quite a few transfers that I couldn't make sense of," she finished, placing the pile down on Morgan's desk.

Luciana took the pile of papers that Diego was holding and placed them on top of the pile she had carried. Morgan looked on in stunned silence as Luciana began to point out entries on the bank statement that she had marked with a red pen.

"You see here, here and here there are transfers from the account, but I cannot understand what they are for." Luciana explained. "There are no receipts so I am a little confused. Perhaps I am doing this wrong. I am still learning."

Morgan felt panic well up within her. No one was meant to see these statements and no one was meant to know about those transfers. It was plain to see that her marriage to Daniel Hawthorne was failing. With twins on the way she had decided that she needed to organise an insurance policy of sorts. Luciana's interference could very well end up destroying everything.

"Where did you get these?" Morgan inquired as calmly as she could manage.

"Oh!" Luciana exclaimed. "Audrina told me I could help you with these. She said that with Daniel here and the babies coming soon you could use the help. You see, I'm learning the bookkeeping so that I can earn money to help Diego in college."

Morgan fidgeted with her hands in her lap.

"And Audrina… she has helped you with this paperwork?" Morgan asked, trying her best to sound casual.

"Oh no," Luciana said, waving her hands dismissively. "She said she thought I could handle it. She just took the pile from your desk. I do hope you don't mind Master Morgan. We were just trying to be helpful."

Morgan took a deep breath. This was not good.

"Thank you Luciana. I'll finish the rest," she managed calmly.

"Very well Master Morgan," Luciana said with a smile. "Please let me know if I can help you again. This is very good experience for me."

Luciana gave a small nod before leaving the room, with Diego following silently behind her.

Morgan let out the breath she had been holding as Luciana closed the door behind her.

This was not good at all.



"Morgan?" Phoenix asked. "You're certain?"

"I saw it with my own eyes." Godot said firmly.

Phoenix didn't know what to do or say. This was a huge revelation.

Godot picked up his coffee and took a long sip. He'd kept the story of what happened at Hazakurain to himself for too many years. It wasn't supposed to be this way. He'd worked tirelessly piecing together the clues and broken memories of what happened that day. When Mia had walked through the offices of Grossberg & Co it was almost like it had been a sign. He knew that she would be the one to help him bring Morgan Fey to justice. But it had taken too long to get Mia to listen. By the time Mia was finally ready to hear what he had to say, Morgan's own daughter had stolen their chance to make Morgan pay for her crimes.

Fate was so very, very cruel.

Looking up at Phoenix, Godot realised that perhaps it wasn't too late for him to do some good. If the fire that day was somehow connected to the trouble that Maya was in now, he owed it to her to help. Exhaling loudly, he placed his mug back down on the table.

"I was seven years old," he began. "The day that it all happened... I can remember wondering where my mother was. You see, lunchtime had been and gone but she hadn't called me to eat. I asked some of the acolytes if they had seen her, but none of them had. I ran into Mystic Amelia in the North West hallway who told me that my mother was in Morgan's office. I figured she was just caught up with doing more bookkeeping work. She'd been learning. I ran over there straight away."

He paused, and even though Phoenix couldn't see his eyes he could tell that these memories were painful for the former attorney. Godot gathered his thoughts and continued.

"When I got there, the office was in darkness. I wasn't allowed into Morgan's office but I went in regardless. I couldn't find my mother. Not right away anyway."

"I knocked a paperweight off Morgan's desk. It rolled underneath so I went to pick it up. That's when I found my mothers body."

"Oh god…" Phoenix said, covering his mouth in shock. "That must have been… I can't even begin to…"

"I tried shaking her but she wouldn't wake up." Godot continued. "I started to panic. Then I heard the door handle rattling. I was just a child. I was terrified, so I hid behind a screen in the corner. Morgan came back with Angel. They talked for a while, and then I saw Morgan hit her over the head. She then spread some sort of flammable liquid around the room and set it alight. Once she left the room, I managed to escape out the window."

"What did you do?" Phoenix asked, frowning heavily.

"I ran until I passed out. I was picked up by the police... I don't even have any idea how much later that was... hours? Days maybe? I was so traumatised that I couldn't speak. They had no idea who I was or how to find my family so I was eventually put into foster care. It was five years before I uttered another word."

"Wow. That's just… just…" Phoenix stammered. "...terrible..."

Phoenix felt his shoulders slump under the weight of this new information and the pain that Godot must have suffered as a child.

"You never returned to Hazakurain?"

Godot shook his head.

"What was there to return to? My mother was dead, and at the time I believed Angel was too. It wasn't until I discovered Morgan's plot to kill Maya that I knew that I had to go back there, which was difficult, but at the same time it was such a relief to know that Angel had survived."

"Did you see her... at Hazakurain I mean? Did you speak to Sister Bikini?" Phoenix asked.

Godot shook his head.

"I didn't want her to know what I had become," he sighed heavily. "Angel always believed I was destined to be this great man who would change the world, but I failed her. I couldn't let her see that."

Phoenix nodded in understanding.

"Misty recognised me though." Godot noted. "When I contacted her about what I had discovered that Morgan had planned for Maya, she knew right away who I was. She told me later on that she had been keeping tabs on her daughters over the years. She knew all about what had happened to me, my connection to Mia and my history with Hazakurain."

Phoenix frowned. He would never understand why Misty didn't just return to her daughters once the media circus surrounding DL-6 died down. Maya would have given anything to have her mother back, especially after Mia's death. Everyone that inhabited Kurain seemed to be under the impression that the worst possible thing they could do was bring shame to the reputation of the village, which he thought was just plain stupid. Surely the worst thing a mother could do was walk away from her children.

"Why the frown, Wright?" Godot inquired, noting his expression. "Misty was quite fond of you, you know. Kept telling me to go easy on you."

Phoenix was visibly surprised. He'd barely spoken to Misty... or Elise rather, while they were both at Hazakurain. But if she had been watching her daughters as Godot had suggested then she likely would have known about all the times he had rescued Maya from trouble. God knows it had happened enough times to be noteworthy.

Phoenix found himself feeling pleased with the fact that Misty had liked him, even though it meant very little. Maya cherished the memories of her mother dearly and her approval of Phoenix would have no doubt pleased her as well.

"You didn't listen to her though," Phoenix said with a small smirk.

"Of course not." Godot admitted. "I had my own issues with you. But we aren't here to talk about that."

Phoenix nodded. Godot was right, and he had more questions to ask.

"So you think it was Morgan that killed your mother?"

He already knew the answer, but he wanted to hear it from the man himself.

"There isn't a doubt in my mind." Godot said resolutely, his grip tightening around the mug in his hand. Phoenix prayed that it could withhold the pressure.

"Didn't you go to the police?" he asked. "Even if it was years later it doesn't change the fact that what you saw was a pretty big deal. Surely someone would have listened..."

Godot laughed to himself and shook his head. Phoenix began to wonder what on earth was so funny.

"I think you're forgetting something important."

He paused as Phoenix awaited his great revelation.

"Proof." Godot finished simply. "It's the most important thing in our profession, although I've never seen someone able to bluff their way through a case without it like you can."

Phoenix rolled his eyes, choosing to ignore the veiled insult of his courtroom prowess.

"I blocked out the memories of what happened that day for a long time, but eventually I started dreaming about it." Godot explained further. "Then I started remembering. By the time I started to piece things together I was heading into college. Who was going to listen to the broken, hazy memories of a seven year old boy? So I decided to go into law. The only way I could think of to uncover the truth and bring Morgan to justice was to do it myself."

Phoenix sat back in his chair, shaking his head. He and Mia had believed Morgan to be responsible for the fire, based on pure suspicion alone, but actually having it confirmed was something else entirely.

"I'm so sorry," Phoenix said, still somewhat at a loss for what to say. "But thank you for telling me... for helping me."

When Mia had said that Godot had been there on the day of the fire, Phoenix had no idea that what he had seen would be so terrible.

Godot merely shrugged. He had long suspected that the time to tell his story would come eventually and he'd had many years to come to terms with what had happened that day.

"Just because life brews you a bitter cup, doesn't mean you should force everyone else to drink it." Godot remarked cryptically.

"Umm... yes." Phoenix bluffed, pretending to understand what the enigmatic coffee enthusiast had meant. "One thing is still bothering me though."

"What's that?" Godot asked.

"Well... motive I guess." Phoenix shrugged. "What reason could Morgan possibly have had to kill your mother? From what Sister Bikini has told us of Luciana I'm pretty sure everyone adored her. I know Morgan is crazy, but she's not that brand of crazy."

Godot sighed, the sound laced with annoyance.

"Really, Wright?" he asked sarcastically. "I would have thought you would have figured it out by now."

Phoenix swallowed hard. Had he missed something important or was Godot just messing with him again?

"I... I'm afraid I haven't." Phoenix said, frowning lightly. "Did I miss something here?"

"Mia's files." Godot stated simply. "You found them, didn't you?"

Phoenix nodded.

"And you still haven't pieced everything together?" Godot asked.

"Not yet... we couldn't seem to link everything together."

Godot sighed in exasperation.

"All the pieces are there now, Wright. Think. The bank statements... the huge unexplainable transfers... my mother learning to do the books... Do I need to spell anything else out for you?"

Phoenix felt like a lightbulb lit up in his brain. But with the realisation of Morgan's motive came the crushing weight of the truth.

"You mean..." Phoenix gasped. "...you mean to tell me that this all of happened because... because of money?"

"Disgusting isn't it?" Godot quipped, picking up his coffee and draining the remaining contents in one gulp.

"Morgan killed your mother, tried to kill Sister Bikini and then lit a fire that killed 23 acolytes simply because she was embezzling money from Hazakurain?" Phoenix repeated, still shocked at how terrible the truth was.

"Everything adds up." Godot said. "And given what you know about Morgan from your own experiences is it really that hard to believe?"

No, it wasn't. Morgan's arranged attempt on her own niece's life had proven that. Her distinct sociopathic tendencies were a psychiatrists dream. The woman clearly had no real division between right and wrong. Phoenix remembered what she had hinted to him earlier about Sebastian's death. A cold shiver ran down his spine.

"But I have one more question for you." Godot said, his tone deadly serious. "What does any of this have to do with Maya? That fire was twenty five years ago."

"Despite the fact that she's locked away, Morgan's still pulling strings on the outside." Phoenix sighed. "She's still trying to manoeuvre Pearls into the master's position by removing Maya. Mia thought that this Hazakurain incident was the key to getting her taken care of for good."

Godot nodded.

"I'm afraid I've told you all I know, but it's up to you to find the proof. I'm not much use to anyone in here."

"Are you still appealing your murder one?" Phoenix asked, frowning lightly.

"Not much point," Godot replied. "They only see the black and white of the situation, which is nothing more than the fact that I killed Misty Fey."

"But you saved Maya's life." Phoenix countered.

Godot shrugged.

"Once again, that's something I can't prove. I can't prove Maya was in danger and I really can't prove that Dahlia Hawthorne was the one that I stabbed."

He paused for a moment, his grip tightening around the empty coffee mug.

"It's all about the proof. And I need you to wrap this one up for me, Wright. Morgan has caused enough pain. It's time to end this."

Silence enveloped the room. Realising there was nothing more to be said, Phoenix stood and prepared to leave. Godot remained motionless, staring down at the bottom of his empty cup before glancing up at Phoenix again.

"By the way, it's a shame about your badge." he said simply.

Phoenix was surprised. He had expected Godot to mention the Gramayre case, but he hadn't expected him to be understanding or supportive about it.

"I honestly expected you to be hurling insults at me thick and fast for sullying Mia's name." Phoenix said, shaking his head.

"I don't believe everything I read, Wright," he said with a light shrug.

Phoenix nodded appreciatively. It appeared he had been wrong about Godot after all.



Phoenix stepped off the train back at Hazakurain feeling utterly exhausted, but new found determination pushed him forward. He had promised Godot that he would find Maya and stop Morgan, this time for good and he intended to make good on that promise. Morgan's reign of terror had gone on long enough. It was time to end this.

He felt his phone begin to vibrate in his pocket before the Steel Samurai theme reached his ears. He smiled softly to himself. It no longer hurt his heart to hear the annoying tune. Maya didn't seem so far away now. The caller id signalled that it was Gumshoe who was calling. He answered it quickly.

"Gumshoe."

"Hey Pal!" the detective said cheerily. "Gee pal, you sound a lot better. It's good to hear your voice again."

"Thanks." Phoenix said earnestly. Gumshoe had no doubt been worrying about him since the trial went awry. The last time they had spoken had not been under the best circumstances. "What can I do for you?"

"Well it's more what I can do for you," Gumshoe explained.

"Go on…" Phoenix urged.

"I have some information about Sebastian Fey. We found an autopsy report."

Phoenix's interest was immediately piqued. Morgan had alluded to some kind of fall, but it would be interesting to hear the official cause of death.

"Looks like he fell from some scaffolding at a house on Woodlands Road. Cause of death was a broken neck. It also looks like he hit his head on the way down."

"Thanks Gumshoe," Phoenix said. He remembered that the house on Woodlands Road was the one he had taken Maya to. Sebastian must have been working out there when he fell.

"Looks like it was just a nasty accident, pal." Gumshoe said sadly.

"I'm not so sure about that, Gumshoe." Phoenix said, narrowing his eyes. "I had a rather interesting visit with Morgan Fey today. Let's just say she knew an awful lot about the circumstances of his death."

"Gee pal, maybe we oughta look into that." Gumshoe said.

"I think you should." Phoenix agreed. "Say, Gumshoe… are you able to monitor her calls?"

"I might have to call in a few favours, but it shouldn't be too hard." Gumshoe replied.

"Great." Phoenix said. "I'm worried she's going to try and pull something soon. It might be an idea to keep an eye on her."

"I'll see what I can do." Gumshoe said.

"Thanks Detective." Phoenix said, before hanging up the phone.

Phoenix took the steps to the main hall two at a time. Pushing open the wooden doors, he strode inside, heading towards the back where Sister Bikini was waiting. Mia rushed to meet him.

"How did it go? What happened?" she asked quickly.

"We've got problems." Phoenix said, frowning heavily.

"What? What's going on?" she asked, her eyes widening with concern.

"There might be more to this than we originally thought." Phoenix explained. "Morgan started that fire. Diego watched her do it."

"Diego?" Bikini said, her head snapping up in recognition. "What do you mean? How do you know that?"

"No time to explain right now." Phoenix said quickly. "I need two acolytes right away."

"What for?" Mia asked. Phoenix was moving way too fast and she was having trouble keeping up.

"We need Lillian back here," he answered. "And I also need someone to channel Luciana Armando."

Andre picked up the receiver and dialled the number of the prison. The guard fetched Morgan immediately, as he had expected. He had no idea what kind of deal his mother had struck with the prison guard, but whatever it was, it seemed to be working. He had never had any trouble at all getting a hold of her, no matter what time of day it was.

"Andre," she drawled. "It's been a while since I have heard from you."

"I suppose it has," he responded. "I have been quite busy."

"So I hear," Morgan said cryptically. "I hear that you've gotten rid of Mystic Maya."

"Where did you hear that from?" Andre asked.

"I have my sources." Morgan said simply. "Congratulations are in order, I suppose."

Andre said nothing, opting to continue with the speech he had already planned before phoning his mother.

"Such pleasantries are not necessary," he stated formally. "I am, however, phoning to tell you that I no longer require your assistance. I have already worked out how to fix the problems within Kurain and I have found your plans to be over complicated and full of potential weaknesses."

Morgan was taken aback. It seemed her son had finally grown a spine.

"Is that so?"

"Yes," he responded seriously. "I believe that a simple approach is in order. I also believe that seeing as you are already in prison, not only are you a liability, but your plans also set a precedent for failure. I will not fail and I will not go to prison."

Morgan sighed inwardly. Who did this child think he was? Did he not understand who he was dealing with?

Andre waited on the other end of the line for his mother to respond. After a long pause, Morgan finally spoke, her voice brimming with emotion.

"Oh Andre!" she cried. "I feel… I feel so proud. I feel like I can finally call you my son."

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

"I am so proud of you!" she continued on. "You're standing up for yourself!"

Andre was puzzled. Was his mother really accepting him after all this time?

"My son…" she gushed. "You've proven that you are my boy, my blood, after all. No child of mine would allow themselves to be controlled. Andre, you have passed my final test!"

"Really?" he asked. "That's what all of this was?"

"Yes." Morgan said. "I needed to know if I could trust you to uphold the good name of Kurain now that I am unable to. I am so pleased to know that I can."

"Alright then…" Andre said, his confused frown evident in his voice. "But this doesn't change anything. I'm still going to finish things my way."

"Of course, of course." Morgan said. "So how do you plan on finishing things?"

"Mystic Maya needs to be permanently taken care of." Andre said flatly.

Morgan was surprised and more than a little bit impressed. Andre planned to permanently remove Maya. That could only mean one thing.

"You're going to kill her?" she asked quietly, glancing over her shoulder to ensure that the guard wasn't listening.

"Yes." Andre said. "She is isolated out at Ami Fey's cabin at the moment. It will be the perfect opportunity."

"Perhaps an unfortunate fire is in order?" Morgan suggested.

"That will do quite nicely." Andre agreed.

"I am proud to call you my son." Morgan said sweetly.

Andre sighed softly to himself. He had waited so long to hear that.

"Thank you… mother."



Morgan let the smile fall from her face as she hung up the phone. The stupid child was even easier to manipulate than his drunken wretch of a father. A few sweet words were all it took, and he was off once again to do her bidding, without even knowing it.

With Maya dead, Pearl would be next in line for the position of Master. It was all she had ever wanted all along. And given the pesky lawyer's visit today, for Maya to perish in a fire would be almost poetic.

She laughed callously to herself as the guard led her back to her cell.

When would these imbeciles ever learn?

Phoenix found Mia's silence heart wrenching.

She blinked heavily, as if the simple action alone was tremendously difficult. It had been a few minutes since Phoenix had finished retelling all that Godot had told him along with the shocking details of his visit with Morgan. They were long, excruciating minutes drawn out by the silent pain of a woman whose heart was breaking all over again.

She didn't need to speak. Phoenix knew what she was thinking. Nothing was constant anymore. The facts kept changing and it didn't matter how long you had believed in something, or how important that belief was. None of that mattered. Mia's father's death was no longer an accident. She could no longer hold on to the comforting belief that his death was something unavoidable. He had been taken from her, and from Maya. Phoenix knew that in death she had likely met him again, but too many living years had been spent suffering. Misty's heartbreak, Mia's own grief, Maya's loneliness – it was all Morgan's fault.

Phoenix sighed audibly as he scanned the room aimlessly. He didn't know what to say to Mia to make her feel better. Really, was there anything that he could say that would remotely stand a chance of helping her? He hoped that Sister Bikini's return with the acolytes he had requested would help distract Mia from the memories she was no doubt reliving painfully, although there was still the business of the fire to explain to Bikini, which he knew that she would probably react to in a similar manner.

This was all so hard, so draining. But he knew he had to stay strong for everyone else. He had to fix this. Maya needed him and he would never let her down.

Guilt flashed through him as he considered that perhaps telling Mia the truth about Sebastian's death was a bad idea. The thought dissipated quickly. She deserved to know what really happened. Somehow, some way, Morgan would have to pay for what she had done.

He watched in silence as her shoulders slumped and her head fell. He felt his fists clench at his sides. His eyebrows knitted together closely in a look of fierce determination. Her pain was fuelling his anger.

"Everything… All this is because of her." Mia whispered eventually.

The pang he felt in his chest at her words surprised him. It was almost like he could physically feel her heartbreak. He wondered how Maya was going to take the news. It was probably more than she could handle right now. The mere thought of Maya's tears did nothing but anger Phoenix further.

"No more." Phoenix said grimly, his expression hardened. "Too many people have been hurt or killed because of her and I can't let this happen anymore. Not to anyone else. Not to Maya."

"What can we do?" Mia said, defeated. Phoenix sighed sadly at his former mentor. It really hurt him to see her like this. Mia was strong. Mia was capable. Mia could leap tall buildings in a single bound. The woman sitting before him was broken and dejected. Crushed under the weight of a truth she could never have imagined was so vile.

"Godot told me that proof is the key, and he's right. We can't do anything without something solid. I have a feeling that we're close, but there's something missing. There has to be a way to prove that everything can be traced back to Morgan."

Mia straightened herself, regaining some composure. She sniffed lightly and wiped at her eyes.

"We have to do this right this time, Phoenix. No mercy," she said stoically.

"I know," he nodded.

Morgan was still capable of far too much even though she was in prison. Even locked up, as long as she lived she would still pose a threat to Maya. Phoenix was not the type of man to wish death on anyone, but he knew that this time they needed Morgan taken care of for good. There was no other way. If they could pin her with a murder charge, she would be executed.

"Chief," Phoenix began. "Tell me, do you have contact with your parents on the other side?"

Mia nodded, but quickly frowned when she realised where Phoenix was heading with his line of questioning.

"I do, but don't get excited. The only way for you to get information out of them is to have someone channel them. There are certain rules… It's difficult to explain. There are questions we can't ask and things I'm not permitted to repeat. We communicate differently on this side. I can't ask my father anything about his death."

"Damn it." Phoenix swore, raking his hand through his hair. "We're going to have to get someone to channel him then. Your mother too. But I don't have time for this. Maya has been out there in those woods long enough. I need to go and get her. Morgan knows she's out there alone. It's not safe."

Mia nodded, still staring down at her hands in her lap. They were so close to finally bringing everything to an end. She could feel it. She fought the urge to flee back to the other side where it was safe and warm. There was no pain there, no tears or heartache. But she had to stay. She had to see this out. She could still help, and as long as that was the case, she wasn't going anywhere.

She looked up at Phoenix, surprised at the strength she saw in his posture. His back was straight and his arms crossed as he watched the door, waiting for Sister Bikini's return. His jaw was set in a hard line and his eyes cold, rendering his thoughts all too transparent. It was then that Mia knew that this would be the last time she would be summoned under such circumstances. Phoenix would end this.

"Phoenix…I…" Mia began. Phoenix looked over to where she sat, his expression softening.

"I knew I could count on you to protect her," she finished, her voice heavy with emotion.

Phoenix smiled wanly, placing a hand on Mia's shoulder, conveying his gratitude at her faith in him with a small nod. They weren't out of the woods yet. He wouldn't rest until Maya was safe with him and Morgan was gone for good.

But right now they had to focus on clearing up the events of the first Hazakurain Incident. Sister Bikini would return at any minute with the acolytes and there was still one rather touchy subject he needed to run by Mia.

"Bikini doesn't know..." he broached carefully, "...about what happened to Diego."

Mia glanced up at him, her silence willing him to continue.

"I don't think he wants her to know," he finished.

"She didn't know he was here? That he was the one that..." Mia trailed off, alluding to the more recent Hazakurain Incident.

"No," Phoenix said, shaking his head. "He didn't want to disappoint her. I don't know if I can bring myself to ruin that, but we have to tell Sister Bikini that he was there on the day of the fire and that we have seen him since."

"Well then, maybe we should leave out a few details when we talk to her. It probably wouldn't hurt to be a little vague on the details. We don't have to lie, we can just... well... leave a few things out," she suggested.

"That's what I was thinking," Phoenix sighed.

"He should be remembered as Diego Armando. He never deserved anything that happened to him after Dahlia poisoned him," Mia added sadly.

Godot had done him a huge favour by telling him what he knew about the day of the fire. Leading his mother and Sister Bikini to remember him in the way that he wanted was the least Phoenix could do.

"How did everything end up going so horribly wrong, Phoenix?" Mia said rhetorically, sighing heavily.

She shook her head sadly as silence filled the room once more. It was true, they had all seen so much heartache and sorrow, but he also knew that in between there had also been a lot of joy. He had found love where he had never before thought to look for it, and he knew that Mia had too, however fleeting that might have been.

"You were right, Mia." Phoenix said eventually, smiling softly.

"About what?"

"About Diego," he replied. "He is a good man. I shouldn't have been so quick to judge him. He loved you so much that he'd do anything to protect Maya. It's only now that I know the same kind of love that I can finally see that properly."

Mia smiled sadly as a tear broke free, coursing down her cheek. She said nothing in response, instead using all of her concentration to hold back the tears that were threatening to flood forth. Phoenix moved closer to her, reaching out to wipe away her tear with his thumb as he offered her a smile.

"Everything is going to be okay," he said softly. She made a small noise before resting her head against his hand. He stroked her hair absently. She'd been through so much today.

The moment was broken when Bikini finally entered the room with Jess and Deanna following closely behind. Phoenix dropped his hand back to his side, straightening his shoulders as the trio approached. Mia also straightened in her chair, trying her best to clear her mind. It was time to get down to business.

"Sister Bikini," Phoenix said, "Before we begin, you'd better sit down."

Sister Bikini's eyes darted around the room nervously as she wondered how bad the news was that Phoenix was about to deliver. She settled herself next to Mia, who wrapped a reassuring arm around her shoulders. Deanna and Jess sat also, their expressions concerned over the tense situation they had been summoned into.

Phoenix stood silent for a moment as he gathered his words. He dropped down to a crouch in front of Sister Bikini, taking one of her hands in his as he began to speak.

"Sister Bikini... I'm sure you remember last night when Mia and I speculated that you weren't the one responsible for the fire,"

Bikini nodded, swallowing nervously.

"You didn't take that too well," Phoenix said, concern filling his voice. "I just want to know if you are okay now. I know you have so much to process and I can't even begin to imagine how you might feel right now so if you aren't ready to hear about everything I'll totally understand if –"

"Mr Wright," Bikini said calmly, cutting him off. "Please. I am fine. Tell me what I need to know. I have waited twenty five years for the truth."

Phoenix nodded tersely, letting go of her hand. He stood, pacing slightly.

"I can confirm that what Mia and I believed was correct. Morgan started the fire and blamed you for it," he said quickly.

Bikini swallowed hard, nodding as she accepted what he had said.

"Do you know why?" she croaked.

"Yes." Phoenix said. "She had murdered Luciana Armando and needed to cover up the crime scene."

"She did what?" Bikini cried, shocked. "Luciana? How could... I mean why would anyone want to kill Luciana?"

"Luciana had accidentally discovered that Morgan was embezzling money from Hazakurain. She had been helping with the books. It's highly likely that she didn't even know what the transactions meant, but I would imagine Morgan didn't want to risk being caught."

"Oh no," Bikini said, bringing her hand to her heart in shock. "I gave her that paperwork. I told her she could help. Oh my goodness! It's my fault she's dead!"

"Sister Bikini, you can't possibly believe that." Mia said softly as she stroked Bikini's back soothingly. "Morgan made the decision to do what she did, not you. Don't ever blame yourself for what happened."

Bikini hung her head, sniffling to herself. Regardless of whether or not she had actually taken Mia's advice to heart, she nodded.

"How do you know all of this?" Bikini asked eventually.

Phoenix and Mia glanced quickly at each other.

"Diego Armando was hiding in the room when Morgan struck you down as you prepared to channel. He found his mother's body and hid when Morgan returned to the room with you. After she lit the fire, he escaped out the window and ran away." Phoenix explained.

"Diego is alive?" Bikini exclaimed, her eyes widening.

"Yes," Phoenix said. "He believed you had died like his mother, so he never returned to Hazakurain. He was quite happy to learn that you lived."

"Oh that poor boy, growing up all alone..." Bikini said sadly. "I can't believe this, I really believed that he died in the fire. How did you find him?"

"Mia and I both know Diego quite well." Phoenix said, choosing not to elaborate further.

"And he is well?" Bikini queried.

"Yes," Mia said quickly with a small smile. "He is a lawyer, just like Phoenix and I were."

Phoenix felt his stomach knot at Mia's use of past tense with regard to their occupation. With all the drama surrounding Maya he had almost forgotten that he had lost his badge. He quickly shrugged the feeling away. This was no time to be feeling sorry for himself.

Bikini smiled softly.

"I always believed he would be something special. Diego was such a smart boy."

Phoenix half smiled, happy with his decision to withhold the downfall of Diego Armando from someone who thought so highly of him. Such a little white lie would do more good than harm.

"Are you okay?" Phoenix asked Sister Bikini. "I know it can't be easy finding all of this out now and I'm sorry it has happened this way."

"I'm fine, Mr Wright," Bikini said with a small nod. "I believe I will hurt for some time over what I have lost. I blamed myself for the fire for twenty five years. I thought I was responsible for the death of my good friend and her son and all those other girls too. But what you have given me today is a clear conscience. I could not ask for a better gift. I am sad, but what I am feeling mostly is relief."

Phoenix nodded.

"If it's okay with you, I wanted to get Mystic Jess or Deanna to channel Luciana for us. I want to find out what really happened."

Bikini nodded in reply, her gentle smile surprising him.

"Now that I know I am not responsible for her passing, I would love to see my friend once more."

"Could one of you girls do the honours?" Phoenix asked the two mediums sitting quietly across the room.

"Sure thing Mr Wright," Jess said quickly, relaxing into the same meditative stance that he had seen Maya perform many times.

After a few short moments, before their very eyes, Jess's form began to shift until before them was a beautiful olive skinned woman with almond shaped eyes and a very surprised expression.

"Where am I?" Luciana said quickly, her eyes darting around the room before settling on Bikini. "Angel? Is that you? What is going on?"

"Yes Lucy," Bikini said quickly. "It's me. I know this must be a shock to you, but you need to trust me, you are safe."

Luciana nodded as she continued to look around the room at the less familiar faces. Mia stood, moving towards Phoenix as Bikini motioned for Luciana to take a seat next to her.

"Angel, you look so much older. I don't understand..." Luciana frowned.

Phoenix was puzzled. He frowned lightly, leaning towards Mia as to not interrupt the other conversation going on in the room.

"I don't get it." Phoenix whispered to Mia. "How come she doesn't remember that she is dead like you do?"

"She knows on a subconscious level, but being channelled, especially for the first time can be traumatic and confronting. Right now she would be getting a rush of memories that she hasn't remembered in a long time," Mia whispered in reply. "Besides, only spirit mediums can consciously experience both this plane and the next and retain memory of both. It stops a channelled spirit from blabbing about what happens when you die. It's one of the big no no's."

Phoenix nodded in understanding as he turned his attention back to Luciana. For once something related to this whole channelling business actually made sense to him.

"Try to calm your mind, Lucy." Bikini said soothingly. "I need you to relax and tell me the last thing that you remember.

Luciana frowned softly before her eyes snapped open in shock.

"Master Morgan!" she cried.

Phoenix and Mia looked at each other quickly. It was just what they had suspected.

"Master Morgan accused me of having an affair with Mr Hawthorne, and then she struck me. I do not remember anything else." Luciana said, her voice tinged with panic.

"Daniel?" Bikini asked, surprised. "How could she have thought that? I mean I don't doubt that Daniel was capable of such a thing, but she should have trusted you. You would never..."

"I tried to tell her that, but she was so mad. So angry. She asked me to leave and I remember feeling sadness that Diego and I had to leave our home. Then I felt pain in the back of my head, and then nothing..."

Bikini sighed, taking her friend by the hand.

"You died that day, Luciana. I'm so sorry. You are being channelled right now. You've been gone for twenty five years."

"Oh... oh my..." Luciana stammered. "Diego!" she cried, as clarity began to return. "Where is my son?"

Bikini opened her mouth to speak, but Mia beat her to it.

"Diego grew into a fine man, Ms Armando," she said lovingly. "He finished college and became a lawyer. He has helped a lot of people."

Bikini stood, motioning for Mia to take the place where she sat.

"Mia, please, sit. Tell Lucy all about her son." Bikini said.

"Mia...?" Luciana asked, surprised as Mia sat down. "Princess Mia?"

Mia chuckled softly to herself, remembering her father's nickname for her with fondness.

"You know my son? I mean now that he is grown?" Luciana asked, her eyes pleading for more information.

"Knew," Mia corrected her sadly. "I died three years ago."

"Oh, child..." Luciana said, her heart lurching. "Oh no."

"But rest assured, Ms Armando. Diego grew into the kindest, most wonderful, loving man that I ever met. I loved him more than I can tell you in words. I still do."

Luciana shook her head, smiling sadly.

"Princess Mia fell in love with my boy. I bet Master Misty was so surprised."

Mia simply smiled at Luciana's mention of her mother. There was no point telling her about the DL-6 mess. Not when she looked this happy.

"So beautiful," she said, patting Mia's hand. "But love lost is so sad. He must miss you terribly."

"He does." Phoenix piped in. "He told me so when I saw him this morning."

Mia smiled as she dropped her head. She recognised that his comment was just as much for her as it was to reassure Diego's mother.

"Phoenix Wright," Phoenix said, offering his hand to Luciana as he stepped forward. "I'm a friend of Mia's. And of your son."

Luciana shook his hand, her eyes darting to Mia and Bikini. A tense atmosphere had begun to fill the room now that the pleasantries and introductions were done with.

"Ms Armando –" Phoenix started.

"Please, Lucy." Luciana instructed.

"Lucy..." Phoenix nodded. "I really wish that we had brought you here under more positive circumstances, but I'm afraid we need your help with something really important."

"Is something the matter with Diego?" Luciana asked, worried.

Phoenix bit his tongue. If she only knew.

"Diego is... fine." He said quickly, choosing his words carefully. "Our real problem is Morgan Fey."

"I have a little sister." Mia interrupted, explaining further. "She's someone very special to Phoenix... Morgan is trying to hurt her."

Luciana's expression hardened.

"How can I help?" she asked.

"I just need to know what happened that day, with the fire and all." Phoenix said.

"It is like I said," Luciana frowned. "Master Morgan accused me of having an affair with Mr Hawthorne, she yelled at me to leave and then struck me when my back was turned. I don't know anything about any fire..."

"That doesn't make any sense," Phoenix said, stroking his chin. "Diego said that Morgan murdered you over money. Is it true that you were helping with the bookwork?"

Luciana looked confused.

"Yes. Yes I was," she nodded. "But Master Morgan and I did not argue about that."

"Why would she think you were having an affair with Mr Hawthorne?" Mia asked, anticipating Phoenix's next line of questioning.

"Oh Mia," she started sadly. "Mr Hawthorne was not a good husband. He was... how can I say? Amorous with many ladies. Master Morgan was pregnant too. The morning that she... umm, the day that it happened, I overheard them arguing. Master Morgan had a bruise on her face. I felt so sad for her. She did not have his love."

Phoenix frowned lightly, recognising a slight feeling of compassion for Morgan loitering somewhere in the back of his mind. He scowled, shaking it off. Morgan did not deserve an inch of compassion from anyone. He could clearly see that Mia was struggling with the same emotion.

"So he believed that her husband was having an affair with you based on his actions alone? There was nothing from you that might have made her think that her belief was true?" Phoenix asked.

"Oh no," Luciana said, shaking her head. "Mr Hawthorne was always very forward. He made me very uncomfortable."

"So basically now we've got two possible motives. The money or jealousy." Phoenix surmised.

"Well we know that both are correct, we've seen the bank statements and Luciana would have no reason to lie, so maybe it was a combination of both." Mia suggested.

"What happened after...?" Luciana asked, pausing to word her question correctly. "After what Morgan did. You mentioned Diego. Master Morgan did not hurt him, did she?"

Phoenix shook his head.

"From what he told me, he found your... your body... and hid himself away in the room when Morgan returned."

"What happened then?" Luciana asked.

"Morgan bought Bik-...err, Audrina back with her, telling her she wanted her to channel a spirit for her. She then struck her down in the same way that she did you and set the room on fire. She blamed the spirit that Audrina had supposedly channelled for starting the fire."

"Oh no," Luciana frowned. "Diego escaped?"

Phoenix nodded.

"But a bunch of other acolytes didn't. Audrina has been living in exile for the last 25 years, blaming herself for everything. Her own mother abandoned her because of it."

Luciana stood, moving towards Sister Bikini with open arms.

"Oh Angel... you poor thing! You have lived with this guilt for so many years!"

Bikini hugged her friend close, unable to hold back her tears any longer.

"Lucy..." she sobbed. "I'm so sorry for everything. I wish I could have saved you. I wish..."

Luciana stroked Bikini's back as she cried openly.

"You have nothing to be sorry for, Angel. You made life wonderful for me and my son, and I will never forget that."

Phoenix smiled to himself as he watched the emotional exchange between the two women, happy that Sister Bikini was finally letting go of the guilt she had carried for twenty five long years.

Mia motioned silently for Phoenix to follow her as she stood and left the room. He followed her quickly, leaving Bikini, Luciana and Mystic Deanna inside.

"So what now?" Mia asked, shrugging against the cold breeze.

Phoenix shook his head and stuffed his hands into his pockets.

"Well in terms of finding undeniable proof that Morgan was responsible for what happened, I guess we came up short. But I think what we just did was still very important."

"Sister Bikini can finally put the past to rest." Mia agreed before scoffing lightly. "I wonder what Althea will say when she finds out. Twenty five years of being wrong isn't going to go down well with her."

Phoenix's head snapped up as the answer suddenly became clear in his mind.

"Chief, you're a genius!" he cried.

"I know that," Mia said, slightly puzzled. "But for what reason this time?"

"Althea!" Phoenix said excitedly. "There were still transfers being made to Morgan's accounts after she had gone to prison. Maya said that no one else could have authorised them."

"You think that Morgan was blackmailing her?" Mia gasped.

"Yes. I do." Phoenix said as even facts started coming together. It was all starting to make sense. "Althea knew that Bikini was out here. I wouldn't doubt for a second that Morgan did too. It's the perfect ammunition to get whatever she wanted, and it's so undeniably Morgan's style that I can't believe that I didn't see it sooner."

"Go on..." Mia urged.

"Althea believes that Bikini was responsible for the fire and the deaths of all those people, right? Morgan threatens to tell everyone about what happened, so Althea gives her whatever she wants."

Mia nodded emphatically, catching his train of thought.

"I get it now. If we tell Althea the truth about Morgan being the one responsible, she won't hesitate to turn over details about the money." Mia continued. She paused, her shoulders slumping slightly. "But Phoenix, that won't be enough to get her executed. We need to prove that she's guilty of murder."

"That's where your father comes in." Phoenix said. "I went to a council meeting with Maya not long ago. Althea and Maya got into an argument and she mentioned Sebastian. I have a strong suspicion that she knows what happened to him. And who did it."

"You didn't know your father was a lawyer, did you? They were married immediately and Mia was born only days after your mother turned twenty. Who do you think convinced your mother to help with that damn case that caused all the trouble?" Althea asked. Maya was dumbfounded.

"Right before he died." Althea added cryptically, tilting her head slightly, making Phoenix wonder what that had to do with anything.

"Why would you even mention that?" he couldn't help asking her.

"Don't ask questions you don't want the answer to, lawyer." Althea shot back.

"Oh god, this just keeps getting worse." Mia said, shaking her head.

"We'll need to channel him, but it's going to have to wait until I get back. I have to go and get Maya. I'll bring her back here and we can all work out what to do next."

"That sounds like a plan. She'll be safer here." Mia nodded.

"I need Mystic Deanna to channel Lillian again for me. The sooner I can get a map to Ami Fey's cabin, the sooner I can get out of here." Phoenix said.



Tired and hungry, Phoenix continued to stumble through the bushes. Dark clouds had appeared overhead, making it impossible to tell what time of day it was or how long he had been walking. A quick glance at his watch told him that it was around half past five, which meant that it had been about three and a half hours since he had left Hazakurain. Wiping the sweat from his brow, he sighed. He needed to find the cabin soon, or prepare for a night of camping, and with the threat of rain looming overhead he knew which he would prefer, without a doubt.

He was getting frustrated. He had been following Lillian's map for hours and the woods just seemed to be getting thicker and thicker. He had expected to find something by now – a trail, a light off in the distance, perhaps even the smell of smoke from a chimney, but there had been nothing. Not even the slightest shred of proof that there was anyone living in these woods at all.

"But I guess that's the point really…" he mused to himself, a slight smirk crossing his face. This place wasn't meant to be found. At least not easily.

From what Lillian had told him, the cabin was much closer to Hazakurain than it was to Kurain. It was hidden somewhere in the vast woodland between the two villages, and he should have been able to reach it in around three hours on foot.

With a small groan, he sat down on a rock and unzipped the backpack he had thankfully had the hindsight to grab from his apartment, along with clothes more comfortable for the hike he knew would be ahead. His suit would have been well and truly destroyed by now. He laughed lightly to himself at the absurdity of his worry. It wasn't like he was going to wear the damn thing again anytime soon.

He pulled his map out and scanned it thoroughly, his brow furrowing as he attempted to pinpoint his location. The compass in his palm told him that he had been travelling northwest, which according to the map, was correct.

"The river is there…" Phoenix said to himself as he traced the line with his finger, "And I passed that about an hour ago. I don't get it. It should be right here!"

Frowning, he stood and scanned the surrounding area. It was getting darker already, making it hard to see. He looked down at his map again, trying to discern if he was, indeed, where he thought he was.

"Wait a minute…" Phoenix said as he studied the sky above the tree line. Behind him, he could see the silhouette of Hazakurain's snowy mountain ranges. On the map he had in front of him, they were clearly South – but according to the compass in his hand, the ranges were definitely more South East of his current location. The clearing where he stood was marked on the map, but the direction he was facing was all wrong.

Realising just how close he was, Phoenix stuffed the map back into his bag and took off in a sprint, using energy that he had no idea that he still had. The terrain dipped into a slight valley as he raced through the trees, picking up speed as he moved down the slope.

"This is it. I know it." Phoenix thought to himself as adrenaline began to pump through his veins. He pushed through one last branch and there it was.

The log cabin he had been searching for.

Phoenix sank to his knees, emotion overwhelming him as the rain began to bucket down.

He had found her.



Maya hummed quietly to herself as she sat in front of the mirror in her room, brushing her hair. She frowned, struggling to remember where the tune had come from.

"Was it the Steel Samurai movie part three or four?" she wondered silently.

The sound of the door to the cabin opening shocked her out of her thought process. She froze, dropping her brush. Who could possibly be out here? Panic filled her as she scanned the room, looking for anything she could use as a weapon. Grabbing the only thing within reach that could even be remotely considered effective weaponry, she headed out into the hallway to investigate.



Phoenix closed the door behind him, running a hand through his hair and brushing the stray droplets from the soaked sleeve of his grey hoodie. He turned, just in time to see Maya moving down the hallway to his right, brandishing a hairdryer in front of her.

She froze when she saw him, her chest rising and falling with laboured breaths as the hairdryer clattered to the ground.

"Nick!" she cried, darting forward and leaping into his arms. "Nick, is it really you? Tell me I'm not dreaming."

Phoenix tightened his arms around her, lifting her off the ground.

"You're not dreaming," he murmured into her hair as he set her back on her feet. "I'm really here."

Maya took a small step backwards, so she could look at him again, just to make sure her eyes weren't playing tricks on her. Satisfied that he was indeed standing before her, she wrapped her arms around his neck again and began planting kisses across his cheeks, nose and lips.

Phoenix couldn't help but giggle at Maya's affectionate barrage. All of a sudden everything didn't feel so bad. Things weren't so hard. Maya made things better.

Releasing him from her death grip, Maya led Phoenix over to the table and sat him down.

"What are you doing here? Are you hungry? Tell me what's happening. I was just about to eat. You eat fish, right? Mia wrote me a letter. She told me that Bikini unlocked the spirit boxes. How did she do that? I didn't think she had any powers."

"Maya, please." Phoenix laughed. "One question at a time."

"Sorry," she smiled sheepishly. "I haven't talked to anyone in weeks. And I missed you so much, Nick."

He sighed. He doubted he could even put in to words how much he had missed her.

"I missed you too," he smiled. "And to answer your questions, one, I'm here to take you home. Two, I'm starving. Three, yes I eat fish. Four, Bikini opened the spirit boxes after Kay and Iris stole them from Kurain. It turns out that she does indeed have spiritual powers. Sister Bikini and Audrina Fey are one and the same."

Maya's mouth dropped open.

"You're kidding me," she said.

"I'm not." Phoenix said. "But there's more. Audrina Fey's mother is none other than Althea Fey."

Maya quickly finished loading up their plates of food and returned to the table. Placing the plates down, she watched Phoenix, wide eyed.

"Oh my god!" she cried. "Mia didn't tell me that! All she told me was how she was free and you guys were working hard to take down Morgan."

"Is that all she told you?" Phoenix asked, taking a mouthful of the dinner Maya had prepared. It seemed to be some sort of fish curry.

"Well, she also told me how lovesick and pathetic you are without me," Maya laughed. "But I could have guessed that anyway."

Phoenix shot her an annoyed look as he took another bite of food.

"This is delicious," he mumbled through a mouthful of food.

"Naturally," Maya said with a self satisfied shrug. "But never mind the food, tell me what is happening!"

Phoenix sighed, placing his fork back down on the table.

"It's not all good and exciting news," he said sadly. "In fact, most of it is pretty damn terrible."

"I can handle it." Maya said plainly.

Phoenix eyed her carefully. He hoped she was right.



Phoenix placed a hand over Maya's as she sat at the table, her eyes downcast. He had finished relaying the truth about the Hazakurain incident, about what Diego had seen and how he'd tried to tell Mia before Dahlia came into the picture.

"Poor sis," she said sadly. "Poor Sister Bikini, Poor Luciana, Poor Diego... Oh Nick, it's just so sad. How could Morgan do all this?"

Phoenix blanched. He hadn't told Maya about Sebastian's death yet. He would wait. She had enough to process right now.

"But Althea lied, right? Which means I don't have to stay here anymore?" Maya asked.

"We can leave first thing in the morning," Phoenix nodded.

"That's something good at least, right?" Maya said, forcing a smile as she stood began clearing the plates from the table. Phoenix stood also, moving out of her way as she tidied around him. He swallowed hard. It seemed that Mia hadn't told her about his badge. He had to tell her now.

"Maya, there's something else I need to tell you, " he said seriously. Maya stopped, placing the plates down. She watched him intently as she waited for him to continue.

"You remember my last trial?" he said, scratching the back of his head nervously.

"Oh yeah, the magicians. How did it go? I tried to call you after but you didn't answer."

"Something happened..." he started. "I was careless. I got... I got set up by someone."

"What?" Maya asked, confused. "What do you mean, Nick?"

"Someone supplied me with forged evidence. I didn't check it. I stupidly used it," Phoenix frowned. "I'm so sorry, Maya."

"Nick, what are you talking about?" Maya said firmly. He wasn't making sense.

"They stripped me of my badge. The bar association, I mean. I'm... I'm not a lawyer anymore," he finished sadly.

"Oh, Nick..." Maya said, moving forward to envelop him in a tight hug. "I'm so sorry... I can't believe it. You can fight it right? When we get home, we'll fight it okay?"

He said nothing, just closed his eyes and breathed in the scent of her hair. How he had missed her. She stepped back, eyeing him compassionately and stroking his cheek gently.

"Don't worry," she said confidently. "We've got through worse than this. We'll get your badge back."

Phoenix smiled at her. He wondered if she knew that she was exactly what he needed. She was the positive counter weight to his ever present pessimism. She said things with a conviction that made him believe in her. She made him believe in himself.

"Maya... I lo-"

He was cut off by an unexpected sneeze. Oh no. This was not the time to get sick again.

"Oh Nick, you're sneezing!" Maya fussed. "You need to get out of those wet clothes. Go and take a hot shower, you'll feel better."

He nodded slowly. A hot shower did sound pretty good.

"The bathroom is the first door on the left down the hall." Maya smiled. "Go on... shoo!"

Phoenix chuckled to himself and moved towards the doorway.

"Oh and Nick?" Maya said as she reached out to him.

"Yeah?"

She raised herself up on her tiptoes, placing a kiss at the tip of his nose.

"I love you too," she said softly.



Maya busied herself cleaning up the dishes in the kitchen and hanging Phoenix's damp hoodie to dry while he showered, still unable to believe he was actually here with her. Her sadness at the news of his disbarment was strangely counterbalanced by the good news that she didn't need to remain in this cabin any longer. She wasn't sure what emotions she should be feeling right now. Everything he had told her had left her feeling overwhelmed. But first and foremost in her mind was the news that she could leave with him tomorrow. She knew she would do everything in her power to help him get his badge back, whether he wanted her help or not.

Phoenix emerged from the bathroom moments later, interrupting her thoughts. Maya felt her mouth go dry at the sight of him, dressed only in a pair of shorts, absently running his towel over his wet hair. He seemed unaffected by his state of undress in her presence, however Maya felt like her whole body was blushing. The plate she had been drying slipped through her fingers, shattering as it hit the wooden floor with a crash.

She cursed inwardly as she dropped to her knees, picking up the broken pieces. Phoenix was beside her in an instant, his expression one of concern.

"Maya, are you alright?"

She nodded quickly, unable to meet his gaze.

"I'm fine, Nick. It slipped," she managed finally. "I'll… uh… see if there's some robes in the closet that will fit you."

She stood, pivoting on her heels and heading for the hallway, desperate to get away from him for a few seconds to calm herself. She dropped the broken plate pieces in the garbage as she reached the doorway, almost free of the kitchen when she felt his hand clamp over her wrist.

She let out a small yelp of surprise before turning to face him. His eyes locked with hers as he let his fingers slip from her wrist. He took a step towards her, closing the short distance between them. Maya swallowed hard, feeling as if she was glued to the spot. She could feel her heartbeat hammering wildly in her throat. He gazed down at her for a few moments, his expression curious before bringing a hand to cup her cheek. He ran his thumb delicately across her cheekbone, watching intently as her eyes fluttered closed. Slowly, he lowered his head to hers, their lips meeting in a gentle kiss.

Maya felt all the tension drain from her body as she leant against him, resting her hands against his chest. His skin was warm, and she could feel his erratic heartbeat beneath her fingertips. Excitement coursed through her at the realisation that his heart was beating in that manner for her. Because of her.

She snaked a hand into his damp hair, pulling him impossibly closer to her as she felt him take tiny gasps of air against her lips as their innocent kiss deepened into something more passionate. His hands rested against her lower back, holding her body against his. She revelled in the sensations running through her. He had never kissed her like this before. No one had. She had never felt anything like what she was feeling now.

He kissed her with a desperation that she matched eagerly, almost afraid that if they broke apart, the other would disappear and this would all be a cruel dream.

Almost as if her body were on autopilot, she found herself backing out of the kitchen and leading him down the hallway, her lips still locked with his. Her blood pumped furiously through her veins and the need to touch him was almost too much for her to bear. He paused when they reached the doorway of her bedroom, his lips leaving hers to trail across her jaw and down to her collarbone. She gasped and clutched at his hair.

"Are you sure about this?" he murmured heavily into her neck, anticipating what would likely happen between them if he walked through that door. It wasn't that he didn't want it to happen, quite the contrary, but he had to be sure that it was something she was ready for.

"Yes," she breathed into his ear with a conviction he wasn't quite expecting. She couldn't think of anything else she wanted more right now. Although she felt some nervousness about the physical aspects of what she had agreed to, the desire to bond with him on such a deep emotional level far outweighed any trepidation she felt at her lack of experience.

His lips met hers again as he swiftly hooked an arm behind her knees and lifted her up, carrying her into the bedroom. He lowered her gently to the bed, breaking their kiss as she lay back against the pillow. Bracing his forearms either side of her head, he admired the woman beneath him, trying his hardest to commit everything about her to memory. He never wanted to forget how she looked right now. She smiled at him then, with a fire in her eyes that excited him more than he thought possible. It was something he knew that he would never, ever tire of.

She looked up at him as he gazed down at her, wondering if he had paused to give her another chance to change her mind. With a smile she reached up and twisted her fingers into his hair. The corner of his mouth crept up slightly as he seemed to register her certainty. His lips were quick to find hers once more, all caution quickly discarded as rational thoughts seemed to cease and the powerful forces of instinct took over.



Moonlight spilled through the open curtains, and Phoenix lay awake, watching the woman sleeping across from him. She slept on her side, the ambient light bathing the pale skin of her bare back in a luminous blue glow. Her hair spilled on to the bed behind her, the silky black tresses pooling at her waist and disappearing beneath the sheet that covered the lower half of her body. Her breathing was calm and steady and even though he couldn't see her face, Phoenix couldn't help but admire how beautiful she was, from any angle.

He reached out and traced the line of her shoulder causing her to shiver involuntarily under his fingertips. He didn't think it possible to love her any more than he already did, but Maya had a habit of constantly surprising him. He understood the significance of what they had shared earlier, masculine satisfaction flooding through him at the realisation that she had given him a gift that she would never give to any other man. He had been her first, and nothing could ever change that.

She had seemed almost timid at times in her inexperience, trusting him to lead her as if he had known exactly what to do. He scoffed lightly at the thought. His experience with women was minimal at best. There had been a few in his twenty seven years, but he had never felt anything like he had tonight with Maya.

He reached out to her, slinging an arm over her waist and pulling her petite frame against him. She murmured softly, but didn't stir any further as he pressed his lips against her shoulder, and settled in to get some sleep himself. Despite their difference in stature, she seemed to fit against him almost perfectly. Phoenix wondered sleepily if that meant she was always meant to be with him, like fate or serendipity or something like that.

His last thought before slipping into a deep, restful sleep was that he had to protect this woman, no matter what the cost.

No one would ever hurt her again.

Even the moon was trying its hardest to thwart the plans of Andre and Morgan Fey as it slipped behind a cloud, obscuring the forest path under a shroud of darkness. Andre continued on, certain he was heading in the right direction. He had learned the location of Ami Fey's cabin long ago, and today that information was going to finally be put to use.

The gasoline can stored in his backpack sloshed noisily with each step, almost as if it were trying to make sure he was completely aware of what he was about to do. He knew that a quick splash of the flammable liquid and the matches in his pocket were all he would need to bring Misty Fey's bloodline to an end, leaving only his own to become Kurain's head family. Though it had rained the night prior, he felt fortunate that the spring sunshine had dried everything off earlier that day, making his task even easier.

Finally, the cabin came into view. As he had expected, there were no lights on inside meaning that Maya was already fast asleep. Andre smirked to himself as he snuck around the side of the structure, stopping beneath the window of the room she would be sleeping in.

He unzipped his bag and removed the gasoline, carefully pouring a liberal amount around the outer walls of her room. Satisfied that the cabin would burn as intended, he hid the empty can in the garden shed and returned to Maya's window.

He stood for a moment, seething at the building and at the woman inside it, cursing all it represented. He then took a deep breath, his angry visage melting into calm impassiveness once more. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small book of matches. Striking one, he watched the flame dance for a few seconds before turning his attention back to the cabin.

"This is for my mother," he said coolly as he tossed the match towards the gasoline soaked wall. With a whooshing sound, the structure burst into flames as the liquid ignited.

With a sardonic smile, Andre turned and headed away from the burning cabin.

"Sweet dreams, Mystic Maya..."



Detective Gumshoe felt like someone had ripped his heart from his chest. He stood before the charred remains of Ami Fey's cabin, still unable to believe what had happened here.

They just hadn't been quick enough, and he felt like it was all his fault.

He had made sure that his contact at the prison had monitored all of Morgan's calls just as Phoenix had requested, and they were lucky enough to have caught her conversation with Andre Fey. She was hauled in for questioning but so far was being uncooperative. Gumshoe himself had taken charge of the operation, immediately dispatching officers to Kurain to find Andre Fey before he could make his move.

Unfortunately, Andre wasn't in Kurain and his officers returned empty handed. Althea Fey had also refused to disclose the exact location of the cabin and Gumshoe simply hadn't had the time to organise the paperwork that would allow him to demand that she do so. Althea had claimed that Andre was away at boarding school and that she had no way of contacting him. She didn't seem to care that Maya's life was being threatened, which Gumshoe just couldn't understand.

It wasn't until a ranger reported a forest fire that the police department was notified, only to discover that the fire was a lot more sinister. The remote location had made it difficult to get a fire crew close enough to put out the blaze and by the time it was extinguished, there was nothing left of the cabin. Nor was there any sign of its occupant, Maya Fey. The coroner had been called in at about half past six that morning, and the firemen continued to search the ruins for her remains as the sun came up over the disastrous scene.

Gumshoe wiped at his eyes with the back of his jacket, sighing heavily to himself as he pulled out his cell phone. Phoenix was not answering at his office or on his cell and Gumshoe knew that he desperately needed to get a hold of him. He wasn't going to take the news well. Flicking through his contacts, he tried Phoenix's cell number once again.



Something in the back of Phoenix's mind registered an oddly familiar sound through the haze of his dream and he soon found himself awake, wondering what the hell the sound was and why it was getting louder. After a few moments of clarity he realised that it was his phone, ringing away on the floor beside the futon.

"Who on earth could that be at this time of the morning?" he thought grumpily to himself as he picked up the offending object. Glancing to his right, he was glad to see that the commotion hadn't woken Maya. She was still fast asleep.

"Hello?" Phoenix mumbled, answering the call.

"Pal... *sniff* Oh pal... *sniff* I'm so sorry, pal..." the man on the other end of the line blubbered.

Judging from the amount of times he had used the word 'pal' in one sentence, Phoenix surmised that it must have been Gumshoe. But why was he so upset?

"Gumshoe? Is that you? What's the matter?"

"It's me, pal." Gumshoe confirmed, pausing as he gathered his words. "I'm so sorry. I don't know how to tell you this. We tried. We tried everything. But we were too late. I'm sorry."

"Gumshoe, you're not making sense." Phoenix said sternly, now fully awake. The volume of his voice caused Maya to stir beside him. She pulled herself up on to her elbows and eyed him groggily.

"Wha's goin' on?" Maya mumbled. Phoenix held up his hand to her, motioning that he would tell her in a second as he tried to get some sort of coherent explanation from the detective.

"It's Maya. She was in the cabin, pal. Andre burned it down. You were right," Gumshoe finally managed.

"He what?" Phoenix cried, louder than he had intended to.

"What? What is it?" Maya asked, now considerably more alert.

"We started recording Morgan's calls like you said we should. Her and Andre were talking about burning down the cabin. Everyone at Kurain said Maya was here, but Althea wouldn't tell us where. But then the fire... Aw pal, we were too late," Gumshoe trailed off, sobbing openly.

"Gumshoe, calm down okay?" Phoenix instructed.

"How can you say that, pal? How can you be so calm? It's Maya!" Gumshoe wailed.

"Maya is with me. I can assure you that she's right here, right now and very much alive," Phoenix explained. "She wasn't in the cabin. We left yesterday afternoon. We're at Hazakurain right now."

"What? He thinks I'm dead? What's happening, Nick?" Maya cried. Phoenix motioned again for her to hold on a second while he tried to clear things up with the distraught detective.

"Really? You're sure?" Gumshoe asked, his voice brightening.

Phoenix blanched at the stupidity of the question. Was he sure? He was looking at the girl. Of course he was sure.

"Yes, I'm sure. Here, I'll prove it," he said, holding the phone to up to Maya's ear. "Maya, tell Detective Gumshoe that you're not dead."

"Hi Detective Gumshoe, it's Maya. I'm not dead," she chirped into the phone as instructed.

"See? I told you," Phoenix said. "She's perfectly safe."

Gumshoe let out a huge breath.

"Oh pal," he said, his grin evident in his voice. "This is great news. You have no idea... I thought... we thought... oh pal..."

"I know," Phoenix said gently. He realised that the poor detective must have had quite a scare. He could only imagine how he would feel if... no... he couldn't even imagine it. "But she's fine. So tell me what's going on."

Gumshoe seemed to be recovering some of his composure and thus was able to explain things a little better this time around.

"We tapped Morgan's phone, like you said. Andre called and told her he was going to kill Maya. We have it all on tape. We went to Kurain looking for him, but I think that elder lady is hiding him. Then when the forest ranger reported the fire out here, we thought it was too late."

Phoenix sighed heavily. He was so lucky that he hadn't waited another day to go and retrieve Maya.

"I can guarantee you that Althea is hiding him. But give me a few hours to sort something out, Gumshoe, and I'll call you back. I have a feeling I might be able to make Althea cooperate with us."

"Well let me know pal. We have enough now to stick this kid with attempted murder," Gumshoe said flatly. "Whatever you're doing, you'd better do it quickly so he doesn't get a chance to get at Maya again."

"It's probably best to keep it to yourself that you know Maya is alive," Phoenix suggested. "Just for now. If Althea and Andre think she's dead then they won't come looking for her here."

"Good idea," Gumshoe agreed.

"Oh and Gumshoe?" Phoenix added. "You should probably add the murder of Lillian Fey to that list of Andre's charges too. I'm sure that once we're done with Althea she'll testify to that as well."

"He was already under suspicion, but any new information would sure help," Gumshoe said.

After agreeing to inform the detective as soon as any new information came to light, Phoenix said good bye and hung up the phone. He flopped back on his pillow with a huge sigh, turning his head to see Maya staring down at him expectantly.

"Now are you going to tell me?" she asked impatiently.

"Andre burned down the cabin, thinking you were inside," Phoenix stated seriously.

"Well it's a good thing I wasn't," Maya said with a shrug, flopping back down on her pillow, just as Phoenix had.

"I'm starting to think you're getting a little too used to being the subject of murder plots," Phoenix said, shaking his head at her calm acceptance of what he had just told her. "But, the good news is he was stupid enough to say he was going to do it while speaking to Morgan on the phone. I had Gumshoe tap the phone at the prison."

"That's great!" Maya exclaimed. "Does that mean Gumshoe gets to arrest him?"

"Yes." Phoenix nodded. "But Althea is still hiding him. We need to get her to cooperate with us."

"And how are we going to do that?"

"I have a plan. But I'll tell you later."

"Aw, how come?" Maya whined.

"Because. It's barely past seven and I'm not ready to get out of bed yet." Phoenix said with a small smile.

"Well you woke me up, Nick. You gotta entertain me," Maya said, returning his playful smile.

With a soft chuckle he grabbed her waist, pulling her closer as he entwined his legs with hers.

"That… I think I can manage..." he growled into the crook of her neck as she giggled.



Showered and dressed, Phoenix and Maya headed to the main hall for breakfast. Iris had promised them when they had arrived in Hazakurain the night before that she would make pancakes and they were running late. The acolytes would most likely have eaten already. Maya hoped there was food left as they hurried to the hall, because she was starving.

Even thought the table was almost empty, there was still plenty left to eat. Maya cheered as she sat down at the table and immediately began heaping piles of fluffy pancakes on to her plate. Phoenix chuckled as he took a seat beside her, opting for a piece of toast instead. No matter how dire the situation, he could still always trust the fact that Maya would get excited about food. He glanced across the table, nodding briefly at the other occupant. Maya had been so busy with her breakfast preparations that she hadn't noticed her sister sitting across from her.

"You two are certainly late for breakfast," Mia said, not taking her eyes off the magazine she was reading as she pushed another forkful of pancakes into her mouth.

"Mia!" Maya cried, finally looking up from her mountainous pancake stack with a huge smile. "What are you doing here?"

"Eating breakfast," Mia stated.

"Well duh, I can see that," Maya grinned. "But what are you doing here?"

"I left a note for Eve telling her to channel me the next time Iris made pancakes. I can't tell you how much I miss pancakes..." Mia explained, trailing off as she savoured another mouthful.

"Wait..." Maya said, dropping her fork. "Are you telling me there's no pancakes in heaven?"

"Afraid not." Mia shrugged. "But I'm telling you. Once you get there, in a very long time that is, you won't mind."

"I remain sceptical." Maya frowned.

"It's okay though, I think you've got enough on your plate there to last you an entire afterlife. Hungry are we?" Mia asked.

"Starving." Maya said dramatically, shovelling another mouthful.

"Phoenix, you've got to give my sister a break from all this sex. Look at her. She's ravenous." Mia said casually, flipping another page in her magazine.

Phoenix did his best to stifle his laughter while Maya practically choked on her pancakes. He hadn't told Maya about the rather interesting conversation he had had with Mia before he left Hazakurain to come find her. Mia's forwardness was making Maya hilariously uncomfortable.

"Mia!" Maya frowned, her cheeks turning bright pink.

"Oh Maya, I wasn't born yesterday. That glow on your cheeks... that spring in your step. Someone got lucky last night."

"Oh god..." Maya said, placing her head in her hands.

"And this morning," Phoenix added daringly, sipping at his coffee.

"Nick! Oh my god!" Maya cried, unable to contain her embarrassment.

"Nice!" Mia said with an appreciative nod as she stood up to clear her plate. She leant over the table and offered her palm up to Phoenix for a high five. Maya glared at him as he high fived her older sister.

"Oh my god." Maya said to no one in particular as she shook her head. "You're both crazy."

"Just crazy about you..." Phoenix said lightly as he stood and picked up his plate, placing a kiss atop her head with a chuckle. He turned and followed Mia toward the kitchen.

"Don't you act all cute with me, Nick." Maya called out as he walked away. "You're in so much trouble. What have you been telling my sister?"

"Nothing!" he called out as he disappeared from her line of sight.

Maya let her fork drop the table with a huff.

Nothing like extreme embarrassment to spoil your appetite.



"I'm still not talking to either of you," Maya sulked as she flopped down cross legged on the floor in front of Phoenix, who sat on the couch behind her. Mia took a seat across from them as they waited for Sister Bikini, Jess and Deanna to arrive.

Mia sighed, laughing softly under her breath.

"No need to be embarrassed, Maya. You're all grown up now. And I know how much you two love each other," Mia explained. "I'm happy for you. I'm just teasing, that's all. I mean, how often do I get to tease my baby sister?"

She opened her arms, gesturing to her pouting younger sister that she wanted a hug. Maya smiled glumly before shuffling across the floor.

"I love you, Maya." Mia said sadly, burying her face in Maya's hair.

"I know… I miss you so much, sis." Maya croaked.

"I miss you too," Mia said sadly, hugging her sister tight. "You know, eventually you're going to be older than me. Then you won't be my baby sister anymore."

"That's kinda weird." Maya said with a small laugh, pulling back from Mia's hug and leaning against her heels. "But I'll always be your baby sister, no matter how old I get."

Mia nodded, smiling widely as she wiped a tear from the corner of her eye. Maya moved back towards Phoenix and settled herself against his legs.

"So does this mean I'm forgiven too?" Phoenix asked.

"Nope. You're still in trouble." Maya replied simply.

"What?" Phoenix cried. "How is that fair? Chief, help me out a little here."

"Sorry Phoenix," Mia shrugged. "You're on your own with this one."

Phoenix groaned as the two women laughed at his expense. He opened his mouth to complain some more when he was interrupted by Sister Bikini entering the room with Jess and Deanna.

"We're here, Mr Wright," Bikini started apologetically. "I am sorry for keeping you waiting. Mystic Deanna had to ring the bell this morning and Mystic Jess was down at the gate seeing off some guests. I thought it best to wait for them seeing as they are already aware of the situation."

Phoenix nodded in agreement. There was no point in dragging more acolytes into this mess.

Once they had all taken seats, all eyes shifted to Phoenix. It was time to set his plan in motion. He just hoped that Maya was going to be okay with it. Mia nodded at him in encouragement. It sure was nice having her around for support.

He reached down and placed his hand reassuringly on Maya's shoulder. She looked up at him and smiled, waiting for him to speak.

"I... err... I don't think there's any way that we can get to the bottom of this without the help of your parents," he said finally. He felt Maya tense up slightly as she squeezed her eyes shut, but after a deep breath she decided to let the tension go. It was hard to overcome the trepidation she felt at seeing her mother again after everything that had happened. It was still hard to believe that the mother she had missed her whole life was actually there with her that day. She never even got the chance to tell her mother about her life or learn about the kind of person she was. She was still angry at her for not being there when she needed her. The fact of the matter was that Maya had been avoiding speaking to her mother simply because she was still just so confused. But Phoenix was here with her and this was important. Maybe it was time that she faced her fears.

"Maya? Are you okay with that?" Phoenix asked gently.

"Yes," she said, exhaling heavily. "We need to do everything we can to stop Morgan. And you're right, Nick. My parents might be the only chance we've got."

Phoenix rubbed her shoulder affectionately as he spoke to the other girls.

"Okay, Jess, Deanna? I need you two to channel Sebastian and Misty Fey."

The girls nodded and relaxed into their meditation.



Andre strolled casually into Althea's office as if nothing at all had happened and it was just a regular day. Althea was startled by the sight of him, standing from her chair and slamming her hands down on her desk.

"What do you think you're doing here?" she asked incredulously.

"I live here." Andre said simply. "And I'm part of the head family now."

"Andre, do you have any idea what you have done?" Althea cried. "The police were here this morning. Looking for you! They know what you did. I can't protect you any more."

"What are you talking about?" Andre asked, frowning. "How could anyone know where I was or what I did? Unless..." he paused, narrowing his eyes. "Unless you told them..."

He moved around the desk, closer to Althea who sank back in her chair.

"No... I didn't, you've got to believe me. I didn't say a thing, I swear." Althea stammered, leaning away from him.

"You're lying," Andre concluded. "You're afraid of me, so you want to get rid of me."

"No, that's not true!" Althea pleaded.

"Well you should be." Andre said flatly, retreating back to the other side of the desk.

"I should be what?" Althea asked timidly.

"Afraid of me," he clarified. "I'm not afraid to do what is necessary to get what I want. My mother is proud of me."

Althea closed her eyes and rubbed at her temples gingerly.

"I'm afraid that's the problem, Andre. The police recorded your last conversation with Morgan. They know all about your plans, and that she is your mother."

"What?" he cried, straightening immediately, and for the first time in a long time, Althea thought she even registered fear in his expression. "How... how can they do that? They can't do that. That's an invasion of my mother's privacy. They can't..."

"Andre they can... your mother is a convicted criminal. She doesn't have the same rights as..." Althea explained before Andre cut her off.

"Don't you EVER refer to my mother as a criminal again. EVER!" he bellowed.

Althea was startled by his outburst. She gripped at the edge of her desk to calm herself as she continued.

"The police are looking for you Andre. They were here this morning and they will most likely still be around. You need... you need to leave until we can sort this out."



"Would someone care to explain to me why I'm wearing a dress?"

Sebastian Fey looked down at his lap, puzzled by the acolyte robes that he was dressed in. He had worn training robes in the past when completing spiritual training with his wife, but nothing this short... or this purple.

"You've been channelled, my love..." came the sweet voice of Misty Fey from beside him. He glanced over at his wife, eyes wide. Why was she so much older?

"Misty?" he frowned. "Why does it feel like I haven't seen you in forever?"

"Because you don't remember where we came from," she explained, patting his hand.

"Where did we come from? I don't understand? And how can I be channelled? I'm not..." he trailed off as realisation set in. "Oh..."

He looked up at his wife again as he began to understand the entire situation.

"Oh no... you mean you are... too?"

Misty nodded.

"Why are we here then?" he asked, still slightly disoriented from the channelling process.

"Our daughters need our help," Misty said gently, motioning to where Mia and Maya sat with Phoenix.

For the first time, Sebastian tore his eyes away from his wife and surveyed the other occupants of the room, his face lighting up when he saw the two girls sitting across from him. Neither had said a word, and Maya was gripping Phoenix's hand so tightly that Phoenix worried that she might break a few of his bones.

"Mia...? Maya...!" Sebastian cried. "My beautiful girls! Oh, look at you two."

He stood from the couch and moved towards them, before stopping suddenly.

"Wait... can I hug you? Is that allowed?"

"Of course you can hug us, Dad." Mia said happily, breaking out into a grin. He dropped to his knees in front of them, gathering both girls up in a bear hug. Maya let go of Phoenix's hand and wrapped her arms around her father's neck, hugging him tightly as she tried to contain her tears.

He turned, looking at his youngest daughter. An expression of pride spread across his face.

"Oh Maya, look how beautiful you are. You look just like your mother. How old are you now? How much have I missed?"

"I'm twenty," Maya said as she sniffed back an emotional sob. "It was my birthday not long ago."

Sebastian beamed at his youngest before turning his attention to Mia.

"And if Maya is twenty, that makes you thirty, doesn't it? You look beautiful, princess."

Mia glanced over at Maya, a small frown creasing her brow. She looked back at her father before shaking her head slowly. She looked down at the acolyte robes that she was also wearing, the action causing her father to register her meaning.

"Oh no... no... not my princess too. No!" Sebastian cried, visibly upset.

"Dad... it's okay. It was a long time ago now." Mia soothed. "It's okay. The man who did it is long gone. Maya's... friend over there made sure he was put behind bars."

Sebastian turned his attention to Phoenix.

"Phoenix Wright," Phoenix said nervously, offering his hand to Sebastian. Sebastian shook his hand, but eyed Phoenix warily as he glanced between the man and his youngest daughter. Phoenix gulped. He really didn't think he would have to deal with the overprotective father bit today.

"So you're my daughters friend," he said sternly as he stood, placing a little too much emphasis on the word 'friend' for Phoenix's liking.

"Yes sir," Phoenix said, nodding nervously.

"And what do you do for a living, Mr Phoenix Wright? Mia says you put her killer in jail. Are you a cop?" Sebastian asked, moving back to sit with Misty.

Phoenix swallowed hard. Right now, he was unemployed. But how could he tell someone who retired a great defense attorney that he had used forged evidence and been disbarred. That wasn't going to make the best impression on his new girlfriend's father, even if he was only being channelled. He'd probably come back and haunt him.

"Phoenix is an attorney, Dad. Just like I was. I taught him. He was my apprentice." Mia cut in, shooting Phoenix a look that told him to play along.

Sebastian brightened considerably.

"You're a defense attorney?" He asked, a smile spreading across his face. "And you too, Princess?"

He clapped his hands together happily and turned to his wife.

"You hear that Misty? My Princess was a defense attorney, just like her Dad. And she taught this young man everything he knows."

Misty smiled at her husbands enthusiasm.

"I like you Phoenix Wright," Sebastian decided. "You're free to date my daughter."

"Sir... I never said I was..." Phoenix stammered.

"I'm not blind, Wright. So don't treat me like I'm stupid or I might change my opinion of you."

"Yes sir." Phoenix said quickly.

"Look at them, Misty." Sebastian said, turning back to his wife once more. "Don't they remind you of us at that age?"

Realising his own remark, Sebastian straightened in his chair, narrowing his eyes at Phoenix.

"Wait a minute..." he said. "Maya's not pregnant, is she?"

"No sir!" Phoenix said, shaking his head. He ignored the little voice in the back of his head that told him that it wasn't absolutely impossible. But he would never tell her father that.

"Good." Sebastian said, satisfied with Phoenix's quick answer. Maya sat perfectly still next to him, as red as a beet. "Then I still like you, Phoenix Wright."

"Uhh... thank you, sir." Phoenix said.

"Dad, we called you and Mom here today because we need your help. To cut a long story short, because we're short on time, the problem is Morgan. She and her son are trying to kill Maya. We have to figure out a way to stop her." Mia said seriously, hoping that now the introductions were out of the way that they could all focus on the task at hand.

"Morgan has a son?" Sebastian asked.

"Andre..." Misty said, her eyes narrowing. "I had a feeling that the apple wouldn't fall far from the tree in that instance."

"Well you were right on that one, Mom." Mia agreed. "Last night he burned down Ami Fey's cabin, thinking that Maya was asleep inside."

"What were you doing at Ami Fey's cabin?" Misty asked, turning her attention to Maya.

"Long story." Mia answered before Maya could. "Basically Althea sent her there after lying about the law that Great Grandma Mara abolished. The one where you had to have a daughter to take the Masters postion."

"How could she do that though, Lillian would have known...?" Misty frowned.

"Andre killed Lillian." Mia shrugged. "And they framed me for it."

"Oh no... " Misty said sadly. "But wait a minute, how could you have done it? You're dead..." Misty frowned again.

"Yes, but they said Pearl was channelling me. Which she was. And I was there, but I saw Andre poison Lillian."

"Wait, who is Pearl?" Sebastian asked.

"Morgan's ten year old daughter." Misty explained quickly.

"How many kids does Morgan have?" Sebastian asked incredulously.

"Hopefully no more than the four we know about, because I'm getting sick of surprises." Phoenix responded.

Misty sat back in her chair, tapping her chin as she thought. Phoenix recognised the trait as one belonging to Maya.

"This is bad." Misty said, pursing her lips together. "I don't know how Sebastian and I can help you, but we'll do everything we can."

"Well Phoenix has a few questions he wanted to ask Dad. We're hoping that will help us." Mia said.

Sebastian eyed Phoenix expectantly.

"Well go ahead, son. Princess says the clock is ticking." Sebastian said. Phoenix took a deep breath.

"I need to ask you what you remember about the day you died."



"I will keep this brief, as there are many things to attend to regarding this matter," Althea stated stoically to the crowd of people who had gathered outside the council chambers for the emergency town meeting she had called.

"Some of you may have seen police officers around here this morning. I can now confirm that it is my sad duty to inform you of the passing of Mystic Maya. She has perished in a fire at Mystic Ami Fey's cabin in the early hours of the morning."

Gasps and whispers of shock were heard from the crowd of people. Pearl stood towards the side with a young friend of hers by the name of Emily. Emily Fey was two years older than Pearl was, and a lot taller.

"Emily, what does per-rished mean?" Pearl asked.

"I think it means she died." Emily said with a shrug as she craned her neck to try and see more of what was going on.

"Pearl Fey will be named as unofficial Master of Kurain until she is able to formally accept the title on her twentieth birthday." Althea continued.

"What?" Pearl said as her lip began to tremble and tears started falling. "No! No! Mystic Maya isn't dead! No!" she started yelling.

People in front of her turned to look at the commotion, their hearts breaking at the sight of the distraught little girl. Their red rimmed eyes and looks of pity were too much for Pearl to handle as she turned and ran as fast as she could to Fey Manor, running straight to Maya's bedroom and crawling into her bed where she cried until she ran out of tears.



Sebastian frowned heavily, concentrating as hard as he could to remember the details. Phoenix knew that it wouldn't be easy. It had taken Luciana some time to remember what had happened to her and there was also the possibility looming that Sebastian hadn't even seen Morgan before she had pushed him from the scaffolding.

"The last thing that I remember was that I was painting the second story balcony at the back of the house..."

He looked up, his eyes widening as his hazy memories became clear.

"She pushed me!" he cried. "Morgan, she pushed me!"

"Mr Fey, please slow down and tell me what you remember." Phoenix said, hoping to god there was something in his story that could help them.

"Sorry... I just... this is all such a shock when it comes back to you like this."

"I know dear," Misty said, her eyes filling with tears. It was hard to hear that her own flesh and blood had murdered the love of her life. "You have to try. For Maya."

Sebastian took a deep breath, concentrating once more.

"I was painting the balcony at the back on the left hand side. The house was almost finished. Misty and I were planning on moving in with the kids so that we could have a place of our very own that was still pretty close to the village. I definitely didn't expect Morgan to step out on to the balcony that day."

"Then what happened?" Phoenix urged.

"She started telling me what a mistake I made in marrying Misty. She was telling me that I would be forever tied to Kurain and I would never know what else the world had to offer. I told her that I loved Misty and I loved Kurain and she started getting frustrated.

She produced some papers. A bank statement actually. She had set up an account with my name and had transferred an extraordinary amount of money into it. She told me that if I left Misty and the girls and ran away with her that we could live out our lives anywhere we wanted to. She said that she had money too and we could be rich."

Misty brought her hand to her mouth, the words from her husband difficult for her to hear.

"I told her that I was already as rich as any man could hope to be," Sebastian continued, taking his wife's hand. "I had a beautiful wife and two beautiful daughters. I told her that I didn't want her or her money. She got angry at me and started yelling about how she loved me more than Misty ever could. I asked her to leave. Then I made the mistake of telling her that I was going to tell Misty about the money. That's when she pushed me.

After that, I guess I died, so I don't remember anything." Sebastian finished. "I'm sorry Phoenix Wright, but I'm not sure how any of that will help you. It's all just heresay. I can't even testify either. I'm dead."

Phoenix slumped back in his chair. There had to be something.

"Are you absolutely sure there's nothing else?"

"I'm sure. I'm sorry-..." Sebastian stopped suddenly. "WAIT!" he cried. "There is something!"

"Yes? What is it?" Phoenix said, bolting upright.

"Morgan put her hand on the railing. The paint was wet! Tell me, is the house still there? Has anyone touched it or finished the building?"

"Yes, Maya and I were there only recently. It's still there and it's still unfinished." Phoenix answered.

"Then, my boy, that would mean that Morgan left her prints at the scene!" Sebastian grinned.

Phoenix felt all the air rush from his body. This was the breakthrough they had been waiting for. He had never felt so relieved in his entire life.

Just as he was about to thank Sebastian for his lifesaving information, Sister Bikini burst through the door.

"Mr Wright, Detective Gumshoe is on the phone for you. He said it is very, very urgent."

Phoenix nodded and quickly stood to go and take the call. There was a new spring in his step. They were so close to tying the entire thing up in a neat little package. Nothing could spoil his mood now.

Or so he thought.