May 2nd, 4:22pm
Outside Kurain

(So this is where they film the movie?)

Maya had led me to a spot outside the village where a huge crowd of people had already gathered. Many of them were girls and wore training-Kimonos, which confirmed my theory for the reason for Kurain having been as deserted as it was when I arrived. There were also a lot of young boys and girls in normal clothing, accompanied by their parents, staring at the set in awe. The area in front of the dressing tents of the actors especially seemed to be a very popular place. It was busy and loud, just like one would expect in a largely unguarded movie set.

"What happened to the Global Studios that would patch up air vents in order to keep fans from watching the actors on the set…?" I wondered to myself aloud.

"They allow the public during the shooting of scenes that aren't set inside a building," Maya explained to me. "It's because the studios doesn't want to spend a lot of money on blockades and security, I think."

(Remind me to never sign a contract with Global Studios.)

The good thing about the presence of so many people was that neither Maya, in her Medium Costume, nor me stuck out, so we could move forward without being interrupted. A few people actually seemed to notice who we were and turned around to look again, but thankfully, they lost sight of us rather quickly. Apparently, word of the events that transpired during the trial hadn't spread too far yet, otherwise I would surely have aroused a lot more negative attention.

Maya attempted to run towards the dressing tents a few times in order to make up for her lost time, but she failed trice in a row due to it just being impossible to maneuver through the masses of people quickly enough to actually start a sprint, so she gave up. When we approached the tents and went past the waist-high fence they used to keep the spectators a distance away from the actual set – not that this attempt worked all too well, seeing as how I spotted at least ten kids running around freely – I could pay that same set a closer look for the first time.

Basically, there wasn't much that was set up. Mostly, they had prepared cameras to shoot from every possible angle, as well as spotlights and, of course, the aforementioned dressing tents. There apparently wasn't much of an artificial scenery needed for the scene they were about to shoot. The set was built around a waterfall, which quickly caught my attention. I eyed it, wondering if this might be the waterfall the Mediums used for their Spiritual Training.

"Yes, this is the biggest one we have," Maya assured me. "The older Mediums usually use it for their meditations."

"The biggest one?" I asked. "So, there are others?"

Maya nodded. "We have three more! There's a glacier some miles higher up from here. It gives up enough freezing cold water to feed a ton of waterfalls!"

"Hm… And what would happen to the Mediums' training if the glacier would melt down completely?"

"…" Maya seemed a little clueless as she pondered about that question. "Well, I think that'd be a problem…"

(Note: Spirit Mediums are endangered by Global Warming.)

"Ms. Fey!"

Somebody, probably a stage hand, came running our direction, calling out for Maya and waving nervously. It was a good thing we were already out of the crowd; otherwise we probably wouldn't have noticed her. The woman came to a halt before us and nervously looked down at Maya.

"Where've you been, Miss? We are already delayed!"

"I'm sorry! I'll get ready right away!" Maya skipped past me and towards the tents. "Please wait here, Nick, OK?"

"Can I do that?" I asked, pointing at the fence behind us. "I thought this area was for cast and staff members only?"

Maya listened to me and just nodded calmly. She turned towards the stagehand.

"He has special permission!"

And the stagehand shrugged and returned the nod.

"He has special permission."

(That's the quickest that I've ever got special permission…)

"Alright, I gotta hurry now!" Maya got ready to sprint off to the dressing tents. "See you later, Nick! And don't break anything while I'm gone! Heheh!"

And that's how Maya left again, closely followed by the stagehand. It looked like, for the time being, I was on my own once again.

(Well, it was a fun hour…)

She had asked me to wait. Despite actually being under time pressure, I decided to follow that little plead. Maya wouldn't be filming that scene forever, would she?

My heavy suitcase, however, constantly reminded me what kind of important case I was currently following. I had to keep gathering leads.

(Von Karma wants to investigate with me tonight… I don't think that will help much. Edgeworth was already there. He probably didn't leave even a single suspicious nook or cranny unexamined. She won't find even as much as dust at the crime scene. Then, she'll freak out. Then, she'll whip me… *gulp* … I wonder if Maya could make the Studios lend me one of those rubber suits?)

Never before had investigating a crime scene in a Steel Samurai costume seem to be such a tempting idea. I had taken so many beating in the last two days alone, I actually had the feeling that it would be easier to count the spots that weren't bruised yet, rather than to count the spots that were. I wondered how much longer my skin would be able to withstand the constant abuse. I didn't want to end up carrying some kind of scar for the rest of my life and be forced to one day tell my grandchildren, 'This is from when a woman whipped me for not satisfying her expectations.'

(Scar… That reminds me...)

Hadn't Gumshoe said something regarding my health as well, when he told me about the trials he was accused in? I believed he had mentioned a broken leg…

(I somehow have a weird feeling about this… Let's see…)

Checking if anybody was watching me, I took a long look around. Then, I sat down in the grass and rolled up the right pant leg carefully. What I found under it was a short, reddish line going down my leg starting under the knee and going on for just an inch or two more. I could make out tiny lines resembling stitches interrupting the reddish line.

(I knew that there was something down there… Looks like I had an operation on that leg. That must have been a pretty nasty fracture.)

I quickly covered the leg again and stood up, thinking about what I had just seen. Apparently, Gumshoe's story about 'me' being unable to prosecute a case because of a broken leg was true. But that wasn't what was bothering me now. There was something a whole lot more alarming about this.

(I see. So in any case, that means… that I'm in that 'other' Phoenix' body right now.)

It was an unsettling thought, coupled with an even more unsettling feeling. 'Not my body'? Given, there wasn't much of a difference, but it still caused chills to go down my spine and those chills got even more intense when I realized that it wasn't even my spine by that logic.

Was this how channeled spirits felt upon realizing that they were in another person's body? In that case, I had to ask Maya back home to somehow establish Medium training for men once she became master. I didn't find it very fair to expose a man to going through this procedure in a women's body.

(This makes the question, 'Whatever happened to the Phoenix who actually belongs here?' all the more urgent…)

I had a feeling like I was going to be sick. Back at home, there was possibly a guy running around with my face right now, probably doing and saying very unpleasant things in my name. And I had no way to stop that from happening at the moment.

(Alright, alright… I gotta stay calm. If I ever want to get back home, I first need to figure out how I got here in first place, right? And, from the look of things…) I caught myself staring at my right leg as I thought of this. (This is starting to look more and more like it is somehow connected to the power of the Fey family in some way or another. I mean, if this isn't even my body, I shouldn't have any of my own belongings on me, should I? But the Magatama is still there and charged… Actually, maybe more like 'over'-charged…)

I pulled the little gem out of my pocket and took another look at it.

(Maya's Magatama with Pearls' spiritual energy. The one thing I really shouldn't have on me right now. After all, the incident were I got it never happened, right? And yet, it's still there…)

I could ponder about this as long as I wanted, but, in the end, I had to come to a conclusion, which was that I wouldn't possibly come to a conclusion. Not with the information I had on hand now. This whole mystery wouldn't be easy to solve, especially since I had no idea whom I could ask about it. I had a feeling that solving the murder on hand would prove to be a lot, lot less difficult than solving this mess…

I had just enclosed the Magatama in my fist and was about to put it back into my pocket, when I felt somebody pulling on my jacket from behind.

"Excuse me? Mister…?"

The high pitched voice caused me to jerk. The voice of a young girl…

I turned around and found a small person in a Kimono looking up to me with big, curious eyes.

My mouth opened.

"Pear-"

(No… wait…)



A second of looking at the girl before me was enough to realize my mistake. This was a grade school girl and she was wearing a Kimono … but still, this was definitely not Pearls. How did I fail to notice this right on first glance?

While wondering about the answer to this question, my eyes quickly got stuck at her hair, or rather, what she was wearing there. A kind of cord was neatly tied into her short, brown hair in a way vaguely resembling a bow.

(That's one weird ribbon she has there. No wonder I immediately thought of Pearls when I saw that. Looks almost like her hair…)

Aside from this ribbon, she also wore a necklace, but there wasn't any jade charm or Magatama attached to it. Instead, a green glass-brooch, shaped like a Diamond, dangled from it. It stuck out quite a lot and somehow I had a feeling that this brooch wasn't meant to be worn like that. It looked more like the kind you usually pin onto your shirt or jacket. I started to wonder if that girl actually was a Medium, or if she just dressed up like that for fun.

My eyes wandered up to her face.

(…Huh?)

A sudden, strong sense of familiarity overcame me when I took a closer look at the girl's face. I couldn't quite pinpoint why, even though I had a feeling that I was supposed to know it. It was obvious to me right away that this face was supposed to be stored somewhere in my memory, but that was all I got. I knew that I had met her before… But 'where' or 'when' just wouldn't come to me. A kind of straining dizziness was all that I got from trying to remember it…

(It's just like yesterday during that concert,) I realized. (Someone I met before but can't remember…I wonder who she could be…)

"Mister?" Her big, interested eyes were so focused on me, it was almost weird. "Something wrong? You look confused."

"Uhm… No, it's nothing. Now…

I decided to dismiss the thought for now and help her out with whatever question she had first. So I bent down, so the poor girl so she wouldn't have to stare up at me the whole time.

"Did you want to ask me something?"

"Well, yes!" She nodded and smiled cheerfully. "Mr. Spiky Hair…

Of course this was the first attribute she noticed.

"…have you seen Mr. Attorney around?"

I immediately felt like she was talking about me. I wanted to raise my hand and say, 'Right here!', but I quickly came to realize that I really shouldn't feel addressed because of such a general term. And that such a general term really wouldn't help that poor girl finding who she was searching for.

"Eh… I'd love to help you, but, you see, I know a lot of Attorneys, so…"

The girl seemed to realize her mistake and didn't even let me finish my sentence when she already started correcting herself.

"Oh, right! I should probably describe him a bit more, shouldn't I? Well, let's see…

She looked up in the sky and started tapping the floor with her foot.

"Well… He's tall… And I rarely ever understand what he's saying!"

(Still fitting a lot of people…)

"Oh and he always has a real big cup of Hot Chocolate with him!"

I listened up, "Hot Chocolate?"

My face probably looked really confused right now. Still, I had the feeling that something was starting to click.

The girl had meanwhile crossed her arms. She was still looking up at the sky.

"Well, actually, it's really weird Hot Chocolate. It's not sweet… more like bitter. And doesn't taste like chocolate at all…" She looked at me again "…But it's hot!"

(That's not Hot Chocolate, that's Coffee… Wait a second, Coffee?)

The list of people she could possibly be talking about had just shrunk down significantly. To one.

"I… think I know who you're searching for," I told the little girl. "Well, I saw him down at the river, about an hour ago, but I don't know where he's now."

"Aww, really?" She looked disappointed, "and I thought, he'd be here for sure…"

"What did you need from him?" I asked her. Armando wasn't really the kind of man to deal with little children like this in my eyes, so I was really curious about what she could possibly want.

She still had her arms crossed. "Well, the show is starting soon and I am a little tired… I thought if I ask him real nice, he'd maybe give me a little bit from his cup again…"

(What?) I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Especially the little word 'again'. (Don't tell me that guy is feeding little girls Black Coffee?)

"Last time, drinking from it worked so well! I wasn't the least bit tired afterwards! So I thought I might try it again…"

"It's better if you didn't." I assured her, wondering which one of his three bazillion blends that guy was on when he decided that giving an eight- or nine-year-old a sip from his mug would be a good idea. "Believe me, I don't think your parents would be happy to know you drank that…"

"Oh…" The girl's eyes extended a little, before her head started to lower. Apparently a little disheartened by my statement, she looked at the floor. "You think Daddy wouldn't want it?"

"Well, if I was your Daddy at least, I definitely wouldn't want it."

"But…" she looked up at me again, with a certain sense of determination in her eyes. "Daddy always says 'Give it your all on stage'! That's why I really can't be tired right now!"

"Hm… on stage?" I realized what this meant. "So, you're one of the…"

She nodded, before I even had finished the sentence, and told me.

"Yes, I am going to perform now!" She put her hands to her waist and grinned. "And I am going to give my very best! So you'd better keep your eyes on me, Mr. Spiky Hair!"

"Uhm… Well… sure." I smiled. "I hope you'll have fun out there."

She nodded, "I will!"

"Trucy!"

And I froze.

The voice came from at least twenty meters away, presumably in the directions of the dressing tents. The call could have been directed to anyone around. I should have had no way of knowing who it was addressed to. But I did. All of a sudden, I did. I knew that the one they were addressing was the girl before me.

And that's why I froze.

(T-Trucy…) Something started moving in the back of my head (T-That's…That name is…)

I had already suspected, no, known that I had seen this girl before. Somewhere, sometime, in some situation. But now that I had heard her name – and I was sure that this was her name – I was more than just certain. I met her before. I met her before… some…where…

"Oh… I have to go!" I faintly made out that she was smiling at me, but I barely could process that information at the moment. All I know is that she suddenly ran off and, I think, waved at me.

"Bye, Mr. Spiky Hair! Please cheer for me!"

I heard her laugh as she sprinted towards the dressing tents… This should have been the only thing I heard, except for the meaningless noise of the crowd chatting. But I could hear something else as well.

"I believe the curtains will be lifting anytime now. I am in your capable hands, Mr. Wright."

As if someone was standing in front of me, I heard a man. Talking to me.
A headache. A horrible, horrible headache. I had to hold my head with both hands, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to bear it. It was an incredibly sharp pain. Yet, I kept trying to think hard and remember what in the world it was that my memory was blocking out.

('In my capable hands'? Who said that…? Who? …A client? But I don't remember who! T-That's weird… I remember every single one of my clients! I never forget even one of them… So… why can't I remember who said that to me? I… need… to… know… Ungh…)

Ah, there where the Psyche Locks again. Laughing at me. As if to tell me 'No, you don't!'. I wanted to get past them. I really wished I could find out what they were keeping me from revealing. But all I found out by staring at them was that I had no way to break them. No matter how hard I tried to remember, the locks fought against it and I felt every counterstrike they dealt. Every question I tried to ask came back and caused my headache to multiply. I couldn't get beyond the locks. And that was what assured me that whatever 'secret' was hiding behind them was important. Something that I probably needed to know if I want to figure out what was going on. An important piece of information I already had, but couldn't access…

There had to be a reason why.

(I want to know… what is going on… Argh! …This girl… T-Trucy…Who is she? Why did she trigger… this? She and this Gavin Guy… They're both a part of 'this', whatever it may be! I need to remember…)

Nothing. Nothing. Nothing.

It was no use. I came close to sinking to my knees, and that was when I decided that I had to stop and give in. I let go of the 'lead' and my desperate grip on the locks. The pain lessened and I carefully tried to return to reality.

As I became aware of my surroundings again, I noticed that they crowd around me, which had previously been rambling like there was no tomorrow, was silent all of a sudden. Like something else had completely captured their attention. It wasn't hard to figure out what.

(Are they… shooting the scene already?) I wondered. (How long was I out?)

I opened my eyes and tried to regain my orientation, as I heard the actors… who I identified as Maya and another young woman, who I had never met before, from their voices, talking.



Hadn't I known that the script for this was written by Maya, I would have been worried now. This absolutely overdone scene featured a character which I recognized as the Pink Princess, as well as Maya. Yes. The Pink Princess versus Maya. As weird as it may sound. And Maya was being so dramatic, she was practically chewing on the scenery. I would have said that that she, despite performing experience, didn't make a very good actress, but, then again, this was just Steel Samurai, not Hamlet. And the Pink Princess wasn't exactly a talented speaker either.

My sight was getting less blurry again and I tried to get a close view of them. Which proved to be difficult, since I located them standing up on a cliff, almost 50 meters above from where I was, close to the waterfall. They were probably shooting up there for dramatic reasons. The angle was too sharp from where I was standing, so I couldn't see what they were doing, only make out their silhouettes and hear the voices.



(Well, I know who is not winning the Oscar for the most subtle acting.)

I have to get something off my chest now. You know those people who always claim that my shouting in court was over the top and that you couldn't possibly get any more over-dramatic, even if you tried? Well, I had just decided to get myself a copy of this movie as soon as possible and then show it to those people. Maybe that would shut them up.

(Do I have any other choice than to stay here and watch this?)

I looked behind me. There were children. Lots and lots of them. And quite a few were wearing MAYOI shirts. And there were a lot of pebbles that they could throw at their feet. They hadn't noticed me yet, but if I tried to get past them now that everybody – except the actors up there, of course – was so perfectly calm and silent…

(…I guess not.)

There was some noise and grunting going on up on the cliff. Apparently a battle scene. Not that I could see what they were actually doing… It looked like Maya and the Pink Princess actress – at least I hoped that it really was an actress this time, considering that Powers would have to play the part of the Steel Samurai himself. The Pink Princess and Maya were just bouncing around. Maybe because the computer effects were missing?



I suddenly harbored the strong suspicion that Maya, in fact, didn't know what "Escalation" meant.



(Random Word Shouting...)

They could have just as well been playing scrabble up there. I tried to keep reminding myself that this show was intended for young kids, but I couldn't help but think that this wasn't doing said kid's development any good. But maybe I was just not looking at this from the wrong angle. Maybe this attack calling was actually a quite clever method of announcing their moves? Maybe it wasn't random at all, but rather a kind of carefully picked 'code' that only kids of a certain age could understand?

…Or maybe I had been standing here for a few too many 'ROYALS' and 'MOONS' too long already. Yeah, that was probably it.

It went on like this for a long, long time.. I was already about to just sit down in the grass again, when, seemingly out of nowhere, a new voice joined the party.



I listened and looked up. Mostly because this was finally a piece of dialogue that actually made sense to me. Trying to catch a glance of whoever the new actress was, I stepped back a few inches and focused on the cliff, as I listened to her talking, or, rather, crying,



(Huh?)

I had finally taken back enough steps to catch a glimpse of the third speaker and what I heard her say sounded… weird, to say the least, especially for a franchise that was all about battle. I looked as closely as I could at this enigmatic out-of-place pacifist, until I finally recognized the figure.

(Hey…It's her!)

The little girl who had asked me about Armando before… Trucy, wasn't it? The name still caused me dizziness….

She was up on the cliff, giving her most convincing sad face – and it was actually very convincing – and holding a little speech to the battling women, as I listened in interest to what she had to say.



I looked up and watched idly.

I caught myself wondering about the story behind this new character and quickly told myself not to get too engaged. I probably wouldn't ever get to see the finished movie in my life, so I'd rather not start liking it now. Still, it was hard not to like this character. Firstly, she wasn't speaking in random phrase generator speech; secondly, she encouraged the characters to do something else than head-butting each other; and, lastly, she was just cute. Also, she really hadn't been kidding when she told me before that she was going to give her best. She was by far the most convincing actress yet. So I kept my eyes on the girl.

I'm not exactly sure what it was that happened next – thanks, horrible watching angle – but, for some reason, the girl suddenly shrieked and starting stumbling backwards towards the cliff. I wondered what kind of computer effects could be missing here, but she was obviously trying to get away from something. Maya's character was apparently shocked, since she suddenly exclaimed "DIA!" once again when the girl drew closer to the cliff.

I knew what kind of scene this was. Now, any second, some kind of Deus Ex Machina was going to show up and save the little girl from whatever was frightening her and then she could continue talking about peace and friendship. I had been forced to watch enough episodes of those series already to know that this always happens. Always.

So, that's how it should have been. But that's not what actually happened.

The little girl kept stumbling closer to the cliff. Right until she was at its verge.

And that's when I saw her trying to take another step back. Her right foot touched nothing. She was starting to stagger.

(N...NO!)

"WATCH OUT!" I heard myself shout.

But it was too late. There was no way she would regain her grip now. The girl lost her balance slipped off the muddy edge.



The next few seconds rushed by incredibly quickly. The moment I saw her sliding off the cliff, I knew only one thing: The moment she'd hit the ground, she would die. She would be gone and there would be no way to help her, to undo it…

I ran. I ran as fast as I could, arms outstretched, ready to jump and catch her.

I never caught her.

But she never hit the ground either.

What happened in those few seconds? I'm not entirely sure. Probably because I wasn't supposed to know it. But as my heart was racing there in panic, I was about to jump and catch her out of the air…



She vanished.

Yes, that's what happened. She just disappeared in midair. In a rain of sparkles.

(W-What?)

I heard the people behind me gasp in awe, as I stopped running, staring at the spot the girl had been just a second ago. The Kimono she has been wearing had stayed behind and was now slowly floating down, along with the mysterious sparkles the girl had apparently turned into.

Catching a few with my hands made it obvious what those 'mysterious sparkles' really were:

Glitter. Just a bunch of tiny confetti, painted in metallic color, in order to make the air look like it was sparkling.

Baffled, I looked up to the cliff again. The girl was gone. Just gone with the wind. And she left behind glitter.

(Where… How…What…Why!)

"ALAKA-CATASTROPHE!"

This sudden yell was rather loud and outraged, so my ears pretty much obligated me to search for the source. I had barely finished turning around when I already almost got some kind of staff slammed right into my face. It luckily stopped right before my nose, but I still felt assaulted and backed off. The one holding the staff – I only really took notice of him after I finished backing off – was a man with long, black hair, wearing a rather striking, yellow cape and a fitting top hat… a magician, apparently.

(Uhm… Didn't I see this guy on TV before…? Some time back…)

"YOU!"

I backed off a little more, afraid that he might actually want to smack me in the face with his staff.

"M-Me…?"

"YES, YOU!" He glared at me with a fury, enough fury to cause a forest fire. "Have you even the faintest idea how long this trick took us to prepare it?"

"T-Trick…?"

I didn't have too much time to think about it, because the next yell directed at me was already on its way.

"NOEZ!"

Someone with a voice I knew all too well came from the right, obviously to join the Magician in insulting me. "Who let the N00B on the set?"

(Oh no, please not him…)

It was Sal Manella, the overweight director of the Steel Samurai Franchise. And he appeared to be about the same level of 'pleased' as the yellow guy right in front of me.

"THIS! F41LS!" Sal Manella screamed at me from the right.

"YES! A horrendous failure!" The yellow Magician screamed at me from the front.

(…*Meep*…)

I was desperately wishing for somewhere to hide right now. Being almost beaten with a red stick was bad enough, but now I was also being verbally assaulted. In Stereo.

The worst part was that I still wasn't entirely sure what I had just done and I probably wasn't going to find out anytime soon either, since I couldn't really understand what either of them were trying to tell me. I had to keep backing off, because the two of them kept coming closer.

"This was intended to be the most astonishing, most breath-taking moment ever captured by a mere camera, but now all this unfortunate roll of film captured is your misshaped personage! You ruined everything!"

"Eh…"

"GTFOFH, suxor, ASAP! >_<"

"Eh…Eh…"

And now someone was coming from the left. I was prepared for the worst, what do I know, a raging producer or the furious cameraman or something among those lines. But thankfully, it was someone completely different from what I had in mind.

"Wait! Uncle Valant, Mr. Director!"

Still, it was quite confusing to see her suddenly approaching from that direction. Who I am talking about? I am talking about the little girl who I had tried to 'save' just thirty seconds ago.



Trucy. And she was wearing a white dress and a hairclip to go with her brooch now.

"Don't be mad at him," she told the two men before me with a cheerful smile on her lips. "It's not too bad! I can do it again. I'll be ready in ten minutes!"

"Y-You…?" I could only stare at her. I alternately pointed at her and the cliff as I kept stuttering incoherent fragments of sentences. " How did you… When did you… Weren't you… just now…"

"Now?" She grinned up at me. "Mr. Spiky Hair, did you like my show?"

"S-Show… Yes, right… Show… It was… nice…"

I put my hand to my chest and took a deep breath.

(Heart….Attack…)

She wasn't hurt… She was alright…

While Manella didn't take much notice of the girl – and whatever little glance he paid her made me think that the thoughts he had on mind upon seeing a little girl in a white dress probably weren't exactly clean – the Magician turned his head towards her, proclaiming,

"Even if you can prepare in less than ten minutes, Trucy, you know how extraordinarily complex the remaining groundwork for this trick is! We'll need a full hour to set everything up again!"

Trucy turned towards the Magician.

"Let me help then!" She downright demanded. "We can do it in half the time together!"

"Hm…

The magician, whom Trucy called 'Uncle Valant', turned towards me again, the anger still written all over his face.

"You…" He put his staff under my chin again. "I have no idea who you are or who allowed you to pass through here… But let me inform you of one simple thing: You have thirty minutes to leave our stage. And I don't want to see a single black hair of yours here after this time has passed."

With those words, the Magician, who was apparently named 'Valant', dynamically turned around, swung his staff and walked away in a hilariously pretentious manner. I would have found it downright funny, hadn't there been that other guy who was still staring at me like I was the incarnation of all things bad in this world. Being looked 'down' upon like that by the textbook example of waaaay too many unpleasant stereotypes wasn't exactly a nice feeling. He finally just pointed at the people-filled area behind us, as if to say 'Go there and stay there'.

"P3Яm4b4nn'd!" He exclaimed, before turned around leaving in a less dignified, but still just as ridiculous manner as the yellow clad man before him.

I stayed behind, trying to figure out what 'P-Three-rm-Four-b-Four-ned' was supposed to mean. Was that some kind of secret hacker curse that would infect my computer at home with the MC-Bomber or something?

At the very least, something told me that my 'special permission' had just been revoked…

There was a small footway that led down from the cliff that the scene was being shot on to here, where I was standing. That's where Maya came running from. And she looked rather hectic and shocked.

"Nick!"

"Oh… Hi, Maya."

"W-What was that just now?" She asked me as soon as she was in my range. "I mean… You jumped right in front of the camera!"

This statement explained a lot,but also tempted me to look around.

(…There was a camera placed here? At that weird angle?)

"If you wanted to get a part in the movie you could have just told me! I'm sure we could squeeze you in somewhere…"

I quit my search for the enigmatic sharp-angle camera and turned towards my friend before me again.

"I don't want to be in the movie. It's just that when you see a girl falling down a cliff, you usually just don't stand around and watch!"

(That reminds me… I was the only one who came to help her, wasn't I?)

"Huh?" Maya didn't seem to get what I was meaning. "Nick! Didn't you hear the announcement?"

"…Announcement?"

"Right before the shooting started!" She told me. "They told everyone to remain calm during this scene's stunt and that the actress involved is a professional! They even put the speakers to maximum volume for it."

"…Oh…"

I couldn't put together a more articulate response to this, since I felt incredibly dumb at the moment.

(That must have been during my blackout…)

"Nick… everything Okay?"

I nodded slowly. "Yeah, don't worry. I'm fine." I turned around, towards where little Trucy and her Uncle had went. "So… that girl from the scene just now…"

"Oh, you mean Trucy!" Maya grinned as soon as the topic came up. "Isn't she just the cutest?"

"You said she was a 'professional'… Does that mean she's some kind of Stuntwoman?"

"Actually, she's an Illusionist!"

I turned towards Maya again and looked at her. "An Illusionist?"

"A 'Stage Magician', Nick!" Maya laughed. "It's a person who-"

"Yes, Yes, I know what an Illusionist is." I quickly told her, before she could go on to ramble about things that I already know. "I just didn't think that such a little girl could be one…"

"Trucy's really amazing!" Awe was written all over Maya's face. "She can make stuff appear, disappear, she always knows which card I've just drawn and she can cut off her own thumb without bleeding!"

(You will never get behind how this trick works, will you?)

"Hm… There's one thing I don't quite get, Maya," I pondered aloud. "What do you need Stage Magicians for in this? I mean, the Steel Samurai and its spin-off shows usually handle all effects with the Computer, don't they?"

"CGI is so overdone, Nick." Maya explained to me. "Every movie has that nowadays, it's nothing special anymore! That's why we decided early in the production to shoot as much as possible without them!"

"So you hired professional Magicians for the effects instead?"

Maya nodded. "Well, it's impossible to do the Samurais' special techniques and moves that way, because they need to look the same as in the shows, so we still have to use CGI in most battle scenes. But for stuff like that scene just now, we have Trucy and her uncle."

"I see…"

That wasn't a bad idea at all, actually. Maya was right, every single movie that was made nowadays used almost exclusively computer generated effects. Resorting to different ways of creating illusions was probably a good way to score points with critics, if done right.

"Actually, we just wanted them to work on the effects in the background," Maya continued explaining, when her eyes suddenly lit up. "But when I saw Trucy, I just knew that we needed her for the part!"

"What part?"

"The part of Diamond Diana, of course, stupid!" She was still grinning. "The mysterious orphan who wanders through the streets of Neo Olde Tokyo, often appearing seemingly out of nowhere and asking everyone she comes across where her mother is!"

"That's… creepy."

Maya looked eager to explain more.

"But she's also incredibly cute and friendly! You know, I don't want to spoil too much, but…"

"Spoil all you want." I told her "It's not like I was ever gonna watch the movie."

"WHAAAAT?"

That one came out wrong. Maya reacted like I had just personally offended her in the worst way possible.

"NICK! YOU…"

"Maya… I won't watch it because I probably won't be here anymore once it comes out." I quickly told her. "I need to get back home… remember?"

"…Oh!" Maya jerked up before she lowered her head a little. "S-Sorry… For a moment, I forgot that you're not… him…"

The last part of the second sentence was whispered, and I didn't really understand it, but the context was enough to know what she had said. I regretted having brought up that topic again, since she suddenly looked so miserable again…

"…Maya?"

"A-Anyway!" Maya head rose again rather quickly "Diana is a really important character in the movie! Because it eventually turns out that she actually is the human incarnation of the Artemis Crystal, the treasure of night!"

"Treasure… of… night?"

I tried to make the big question mark on my face as obvious as possible so she wouldn't just roll me over with even more information I couldn't understand. The result, however, was the exact opposite.

"OK, OK, let's start at the beginning!" Maya declared. "Long ago, there was the Golden Goddess, the master of all light in the world! She had ultimate power over day and night! But then, the Golden Goddess suddenly disappeared and left each of her three daughters with one of the three treasures of day! Then, she hid the one treasure of night! The legends says that whoever has all three treasures of day can find the Golden Goddess once more, but only the one who has all four treasures will have unlimited access to her powers as well!"

"So, naturally, people run amok to get their hands on those treasures?"

"Yes, and one day, the oldest daughter of the Goddess, Sen the Silver, is killed in an attempt to protect her treasure, the Kusanagi Blade of Valfor! With her last power, she comes to the Steel Samurai and entrusts him with the celestial sword in order to make sure that no evil may touch it and she instructs him to never surrender it to anyone, no matter what! Many years later, however, the two remaining sisters, Chinami the Crimson and Mayoi the Mauve come and try to retrieve their sister's sword and a fierce battle begins! The Steel Samurai, the Pink Princess and the Nickel Samurai fight to protect their home from the forces of those evil sorceresses, but through their treasures, the sisters are too strong to be defeated! Mayoi's Yata Mirror allows her to capture souls and control the bodies of her victims, while Chinami's Yasakani Magatama lets her view into hearts, manipulate them and break them! In battle, they even lose the Nickel Samurai to the power of the Mirror! However, over the course of the story, Mayoi slowly makes friends with Diana, who, again, is often appearing before the Steel Samurai and the Pink Princess! And that's how the two of them get through to her and cause her to have a change of heart! And then-"

"You wrote all of this yourself?" I quickly asked her.

I had already been lost at the part with the soul stealing mirror. And I guess I was lucky to even have been able to follow the plot that far.

Maya looked proud. "Yeah! All of it! Of course, Mr. Manella tweaked the script at a few parts… But it's mostly my doing! Really!"

For a 'busy girl', Maya had a lot of time on her hands, if she seriously wrote all of that down with her own hands.

"So, that little girl in that story is a treasure?"

"The most powerful of them all!" Maya confirmed. "The one to rule them all, the one to find them, the one to…"

"Makes me wonder why you didn't cast Pearls for that role, actually."

"Hm?" Maya looked up with me with big, confused eyes. "What do you mean?"

I made some gestures, as I explained what I thought. "Well, Pearls seems to fit the description of that girl you gave me, being all mysterious and cute at the same time, you know. Also, I'm sure that this outfit Trucy wore up there would look pretty good on her."

Maya, however, didn't seem to understand what I meant. She blinked a few times, apparently wondering, if I was gonna provide some kind of further explanation for her, she came a step closer.

"Nick…" She raised one of her eyebrows in a bewildered way. "Excuse me, but…Who's 'Pearls'?"

…

"…W-What…?" I stared at Maya. "What did you just… say?"

"Well, you mentioned someone called 'Pearls'," Maya answered. "I was just wondering who that is, that's all."

"P…Pearl!" I shook my head. "M-Maya, I am talking about Pearl Fey! Pearly!"

"…Pearly…?"

There are some things you just are convinced that you would never hear a person say. Some of them because it just doesn't fit with who they are, and some of them because they just shouldn't have any reason to say it. I had encountered the first type of this often enough the past two days to get used to it. But I hadn't been prepared for the second type to hit. Not like this.

Looking back, I should have seen it coming though. It was just so obvious that this would happen if I asked a question like this.

And still, I couldn't believe what I had heard.

I shook a very perplexed Maya by her shoulders.

"Yes, Pearl Fey, your little cousin! Nine Years old, light brown hair, most talented Medium trainee in all of Kurain!"

"…What?" Maya stepped back from me, getting free from my, maybe a little bit too tight grip on her shoulders. "Nick…I don't have any little cousins! Iris and Dahlia are both older than me." She turned her head to the side, mumbling, "…And I don't think they have a sister…"

"Y-You don't…?"

My eyes remained on Maya, as I sincerely hoped her to suddenly burst into laughter and tell me that she was just joking, but this moment wouldn't come. She was being serious. And I knew what that meant.

'Pearl Fey' didn't exist. Not in this 'world'. Of course…I should have known all along that she didn't.

(I…I see… Pearls was born in 2009… Eight years after the DL-6 incident. With everything that changed about the Fey Clan here... Her not being born is the logical conclusion of that. But still… still…)

"But I saw her!" I suddenly blurted out. "Down at the river! She was there! She was there and she knew your name and mine… She was-"

…off.

Only now did I remember. That eerie feeling that I had when Pearls had been talking to me down at the river… It had felt like something from a bad dream.

That wasn't Pearl Fey. The girl who led me down there… this hadn't been her.

But who was it then?

A mysterious child, appearing out of nowhere… I felt like I had been thrusted right into Maya's script. But this wasn't even half as bad as knowing the fact that Pearls, the real Pearls… wasn't there.

Cute, shy, intelligent, friendly, love-obsessed Pearl Fey… was gone. She didn't even die. She had been just erased out of history. Without a single trace she was ever meant to exist left…

(P-Pearls…)

"Nick?" Maya looked concerned. "Is everything alright…?"

(No, it isn't… Pearls is gone and you don't even… notice…)

All the lives that had been spared and become better because of what changed here… Ema and Pearls… were they the prices that those other lives had been paid with? Was this fair? I couldn't believe that it was. I just didn't want to.

"…Nick , if you're not feeling well, I can bring you down to our manor. You should probably lie down for a while…"

(I shouldn't tell her about Pearl. There's no reason to worry her with something like that.)

"N-No, it's alright," I assured Maya. "I'm just a little tired. That's all…"

"But this is just one reason more to accept the offer, Mr. Wright."

Maya and me both looked up and turned. Neither of us had seen Misty Fey approaching from the side.

Mrs. Fey standing to our right, dressed in a Kimono –the one she had mentioned during her testimony, maybe? – with her usual calm look on her face.

"Oh! Mom!" Maya waved and walked over to her. "What brings you here?"

Mrs. Fey smiled at her daughter. "You have been shooting for so long today, I thought you might be hungry. Here."

She handed Maya a little thing, warped in paper. The smell made it obvious what it was.

"Ah! Burger!" Maya's eyes gleamed in an insatiable way. The bun was unwrapped and gobbled down faster than one can say 'Please Chew'.

Barely ten seconds later, Maya was, once again, grinning over both ears. She leapt at her mother, both arms outstretched.

"Thank you, Mom! You're the best!"

"Hahaha…"

Mother and daughter, embracing each other… I hadn't thought I would ever be able to see Maya doing this with her mother. Not after the DL-6 incident. And especially not after what happened last winter, in the Hazakura Temple.

The question I had asked myself just a few moments ago came to my mind again:

If Pearl and Ema were the price that had to be paid for this… was it worth it? Suddenly, I wasn't sure anymore if I could just answer this question with 'No'. Not while seeing Maya and her mother like this. But at the same time, I also didn't want the answer to be 'Yes'. That would have been cruel. Was there really no way to avoid making 'sacrifices'?

(There isn't.) Was the conclusion I came to. (Because you can never tell what consequences a decision you make will cause. And even if you could, there will still always be a downside… to everything.)

"So, Mr. Wright…" As soon as Maya let go of her, Mrs. Fey turned to me. "…you said you were tired?"

"…"

I said nothing. I was too surprised about how… casually she accepted the fact that I was there in the first place.

(She knows who 'I' am… shouldn't she be furious, or, at least, confused about what I am doing here?)

She continued despite me not giving her an answer. "If it's like this, maybe you'd like to rest a little in the Fey Manor then? I was just about to make some tea of my sister's recipe."

(Ah, Morgan Fey's Green Tea… so bitter, you lose your tongue.)

I was about to decline and ask her why she was offering this to me, of all people, in the first place, but Mrs. Fey just looked so… so… so incredibly nice and polite. I couldn't just say 'No' to that calm, kind smile. That was impossible.

"Y-Yes. I'd be happy to…"

"Hahaha…"

Mrs. Fey looked at me. I got a little nervous, to be honest. I had a feeling like she was checking me for something… Suddenly I had the suspicion that she had some kind of ulterior motive for asking me to come with her. But, of course, she was just so nice, I couldn't help but keep quiet about that. Especially in front of her daughter Maya.

"Ah! Nick, you're leaving?" She looked a little upset. "But I wanted you to watch me…"

"To be honest, Maya, Sal Manella just banned me from the set… I think…" I really hoped that I had drawn the right conclusion from that man's gibberish. "So I couldn't watch you anyway. Sorry."

"Oh, because you jumped into the frame? Hm…" Maya seemed to be pondering about something, until she smirked at me again. "Alright! Don't worry, I'll handle that!"

"…?"

(What are you going to do? Threaten to burn his comic book collection?…Wait, I'd rather not give her any ideas…)

"You go with Mom for the time being, okay?"

"Okay…"

"Okay!"

Maya grinned as she raised her arm. She ran off, waving.

"I gotta get ready again now! See ya later, Nick!"

Now Maya was gone again. And I was left behind with her mother. Misty Fey. Still smiling at me as warmly as ever.

"If you would please follow me, Mr. Wright?"

"Alright..."

Through the masses of people – who were once again chatting loudly and thus not taking much notice of me – Misty Fey led me away from the shooting location, back into the village.



May 2nd, 4:45pm
Kurain Village
Fey Manor

"So… the person you mentioned in your testimony today was Maya?"

I finally got around asking Misty Fey that question. She turned towards me, her soft smile again not changing the least bit.

"If that's what she told you, this is probably how it is."

"Yes, but what did you see, Mrs. Fey?" I asked her "I mean… What made you so certain that the one you saw was a Fey?"

"I felt it."

"…?"

Misty answered my puzzled face with an explanation.

"I felt that the person I saw had a certain amount of Spiritual Energy… That's why I thought that it was her."

"You can feel something like this?" I asked surprised.

"Energy isn't something that is confined in a being or object, Mr. Wright," she calmly told me. "It is there in them and around them, giving off a certain aura… Finding this aura is the way to sense the things the mere eye can't see."

"A…ha…"

"By the way, you really shouldn't keep this in your pocket, Mr. Wright."

I jerked when I heard her talk about 'this'.

(She doesn't mean the Magatama… does she?)

"You might lose it if it slips out. You would do better putting it on a chain or necklace… I think I have a necklace of prayer beads in my room that I don't need. You could wear it with those, maybe?"

"N-No thank you…"

(She is talking about the Magatama…)

Just how did she know what I was carrying around in my pocket? Misty Fey… A Master of Spiritualism alright. If anybody deserved that title, it was her.

"Hm… yes, you might be right. A necklace of prayer beads probably wouldn't fit you, would it? Still…" There was something… piercing to her eyes when she went on. "..Why do you carry something like this with you in the first place, I wonder?"

"…"

How to answer now?

"It… was a present." I told her truthfully.

"Oh. I see…"

Without touching the topic again, she led me on through the large manor. The silence that built up this way was beyond unpleasant, for some reason… I had to break it again. That's when my eyes rested on the book she carried under her arms.

"So… you're writing picture books?"

"Yes." Mrs. Fey smiled and nodded, "I also illustrate them myself. It is just a hobby of mine, actually, but one I enjoy a lot."

"What kind of stories do you write?"

"Fairytales, mostly," she explained. "I usually write the plots myself, but for my latest work, I have decided to adapt an already existing story instead."

"Also a fairytale?"

She nodded and showed me the book under her arm.

"I have it right here," she explained. "I already finished it, but have yet to send the manuscript to the publisher. There are still a few flaws I would like to work out first… Would you like to take a look at it? It doesn't have to be right here and now. I would just be happy to receive some feedback."

"Uhm…" I said surprised, examining the book she offered me and hesitated a short moment, before taking it. "…Sure, why not."



'Haruka's Cherry Tree' the cover read. Sounded like a typical children's story. After looking at the cover illustration for some seconds – It was really a pretty picture – I put the book away into my suitcase.

(I will take a look at this later.)

I had to think of Pearls again. She would surely have been envious to know that I got to look at a book by 'Elise Deauxnim' before the actual release…

"Here we are."

We stood before the door to what was probably a living room or something similar. The sound of a burning fireplace was audible through the door. It was probably pleasantly warm in there.

"Please sit down and wait while I prepare the tea," Mrs. Fey told me as she opened the door. I nodded.

"Yes… Thank you."

Still looking at her, I stepped inside just to be greeted by a surprised voice.

"Wright?"

"Hm?"

I turned my head.

Suddenly, I had a feeling I knew why Mrs. Fey had wanted to bring me here… Well, not exactly the reason why she wanted me here at the manor, but the reason why she wanted me to come to this room.

Already sitting on the other side of the room with a cup of tea in his hand was Miles Edgeworth.

Evidence:

*) Prosecutor's Badge

I never thought I'd ever hold this in my hands. The design closely resembles the police's emblem.

*) Magatama

This gem allows me to see the locks on people's hearts whenever they hide the truth from me. It was a gift from Maya and is charged with Pearls' spiritual energy.

*) Photo of Iris

A picture of me and Iris in Kurain. Apparently we were still a couple here, up until recently.
CHECK: http://img823.imageshack.us/img823/1896 ... feenie.png

*) Victim(?) Note

Reads "Lana" in red letters of blood.
CHECK: http://img812.imageshack.us/img812/4660/victimnote.png

*) Snackoos Bag

Found near Ema. She was apparently eating them before she was killed. Imported from Europe.

*) Dart

A small, needle-like projectile, made for use with a tranquilizer gun. There are faint traces of blood on it. Found near the sofa.

*) Rope

Ripped. Apparently, Lana tried to hang herself with it. It was cut before it ripped.

*)Sketch

A picture of Maya, Pearls and me, drawn in my boredom. Note to self: Giving up the art studies was a good choice.
CHECK: http://img829.imageshack.us/img829/645/sketchonaboat.png

*)Autopsy Report

Victim died between 17:00 and 17:20 from massive blood loss after receiving a stab wound in the chest. The back of the head was bruised.
CHECK: http://img827.imageshack.us/img827/6753/autopsyreport.png

*)Crime Scene Photo 1

CHECK: http://img843.imageshack.us/img843/9230/crimescenephoto1.png

*)Crime Scene Photo 2

CHECK: http://img638.imageshack.us/img638/8229/crimescenephoto2.png

*)Knife

The murder weapon. Was cleaned with soap after the crime, so there are no finger prints or bloodstains on it left. Belongs to the Defendant.

*)Fingerprint List

Lists the people who touched the door's handle.
CHECK : http://img163.imageshack.us/img163/4497/fingerprintslist.png

*)Ema's Button

One of the three Badges Ema wore on her labcoat. It came off before she died. The needle is bloody and crooked.

*)Maya's Letter

Was found at the crime scene. Addressed to „Nick". Content unknown.

*)Misty Fey's Book

A picture book, entitled "Haruka's Cherry Tree". Not yet published, this is a manuscript.
CHECK : http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/1628/picturebookcover.png

Profiles:

*) Phoenix Wright

I have been a Defense Attorney for three years now. But now it looks like people were convinced of something else suddenly...

*) Miles Edgeworth

An old school friend of mine. Apparently, he's a renowned Defense Attorney here. The "Him" I remember, on the other hand, was an extremely talented, but arrogant Prosecutor.

*) Maya Fey

Sprite
Singing (Turnabout Sisters Song)[Hatsune Miku(Vocaloid)]
Apparently a famous pop idol known as "MAYOI". In my memory, she was a Spirit Medium and served as my assistant and co-council in many of my cases.

*) Ema Skye

A teenager, who was dreaming of becoming a forensic investigator one day and good friend of mine. Was murdered in the apartment.

*) Lana Skye

Ema's older sister. Apparently tried to commit suicide in the bathroom. Her suicide note implicates her as her sister's killer.

*) Dick Gumshoe

Still detective of the local police force. Still as underpaid as ever.

*) Mia Fey

Maya's older sister and a detective. Currently under arrest for attempted murder. I remember her being my mentor as a Defense Attorney and murdered shortly after my very first trial.

*) Dahlia Fey
Leitmotif

Maya's and Mia's cousin and Iris's identical twinsister. Was the coldblooded killer 'Dahlia Hawthorne' in the world I remember, but declared guilty for a crime she didn't commit alongside Mia in this one. Her personality seems to have been turned upside down...

*) Klavier Gavin

Leadsinger and Guitarist of a Band called "Gavinners". Apparently also a lawyer. His name rings a bell, but I can't remember where I first met him.

*) Lilie Heatherd

Leitmotif
Sprite
Voice: OBJECTION!
A Defence Attorney known as the "Evidence Spammer". Claims to have witnessed Ema and Lana entering the Apartment shortly before the murder.

*) Iris Fey

Leitmotif
Singing (??? Song)
Maya and Mia's cousin, Dahlia's twin and hire to the master title of Kurain in this 'world'. Recently broke up with 'me'. Unhappy with her occupation as a Spirit Medium.

*) Franziska von Karma

Prosecutor Prodigy from Germany, who was assigned to aid me during this trial. She enjoys whipping lawyers, judges and witnesses alike and strives for absolute perfection in her trials.

*) Misty Fey

Sprite
Alternate Outfit
Talented Spirit Medium and mother to Mia and Maya Fey. Saw a third witness.

*) Dylan Sengage

Sprite
Lilie Heatherd's boyfriend, despite being a minor. The owner of the unidentified fingerprints.

*) ???

A girl. With keys in her hair... Just what was that about?!

*)Pearl Fey (?)

Leitmotif?
Led me to Maya's meeting place. She looks like Pearls, but it seems like it wasn't really her.

*)Diego Armando

Most likely Mia's boyfriend. Has a serious caffeine addiction.

*)Trucy

Leitmotif
A young Illusionist and actress in the Steel Samurai movie. She appears to be a very enthusiastic girl.

Bonus:
Music: BGM of the Dream Sequences

Artwork: Lilie Heatherd

The first thing that I'd like to get out of the way is the name of the "Seishigawa River" introduced in the last chapter. I noticed that some apparently searched through Kanji-Lexica in order to find out what it means… which is a little troublesome, since there are quite a lot of Kanji with that pronunciation, with several different meanings. So, in order to avoid misunderstandings, here's how I intend that river to be written in Japanese: 誓詞川

So. That's how it's written, that's how it should be looked up. ^^; Excuse the confusion.

In any case, Steel Samurai movie.

There were tons and tons of subtle and not-so-subtle references to Anime, Games and Japanese Media Clichés in general in there. Actually, I don't even remember all of them. But, I know that I, among other stuff, ripped off quite a few plot points from Sailor Moon and even almost word-to-word quoted from the show twice. (You may be wondering why there's so much Sailor Moon Influence in there. The reason is that over here, in German Speaking Europe, Sailor Moon is considered THE archetypical of Fantasy/Transforming Superhero Anime, so I associate most of the Anime Clichés of this Genre with this show.) I never watched any Tokusatsu Shows, which is why I couldn't put in any, let's say, Power Rangers/Super Sentai or Kamen Rider References, but I think this does it as well. I also referenced some Japanese Mythology in there, mirroring how a lot of Anime movies draw from Japanese Legends.

The part were Maya rambles about the plot… I guess, you should read that like Oldbag-Dialogue, because that's probably what it sounded like to Phoenix. XD

Alright, so, Pearly was, in fact, not Pearly. Which means that, no, there will be no adorably, sugary cute attempts of her to pair off our favorite lawyer with our favorite Medium in this fic. What I, however, give you, is Trucy. Eight-years old Trucy, to be exact.

Because Trucy is just a pretty cool girl. Saves disbarred Lawyers from starving to death and ain't afraid of anything.

OK, it's partly her fault that Phoenix was "fired" as she put it, but, then again, one could also say that it was partly Pearls' fault that Misty Fey died. So I with great innocence comes great danger… or something.

I'm rambling too much. I should just shut up and wait for your opinions on your chapter.
So… that's what I'll do now.

Neni Over and Out for today.

OK, this is without a doubt the best fanfic I have ever read. The story flows really well, and you really bring the characters to life. Lily Heatherd is already one of my favourite OCs, ever. She's just awesome.

Right now, the story is very interesting. I'm really interested to know how Phoenix got transported to the other world. Not to mention, the court phase is very well written.

My Rating: 9.5/10
My only real complaint is that some parts stray a little from normal AA procedure, but that's such a minor point. Great job, and I'm anxious to read more!

That chapter was the funniest thing I've read in a long time! I loved feeding coffee! I laughed so hard everyone at work heard it! Poor ! It must be hard not existing. And being sneaky with ? Classic! Write moar soon!

My left hand shook. What I was about to do… I never thought that I would ever do this to another attorney…

But I had to do it. In fact, I should have done it much, much sooner. Not now that it was almost too late… My hesitation had caused Maya enough trouble already. This had to end.

I stretched out my hand and yelled.

OBJECTION!


"Edgeworth… Stop badgering the witness… THIS INSTANT!"

Could love for tea be predetermined?

I would never have imagined that I'd ever see anyone drink Morgan Fey's tea without flinching, save Morgan Fey herself, of course. Then, there was also this calmness that he was emitting as he drank it. The vibe was as gentlemanly as always.

Miles Edgeworth. He obviously didn't need any ruffles or extraordinarily expensive suit in order to appear dignified and, to say it bluntly, just cool. But then again, he had always been a rather serious, formal person, even back when we were children. After all, he already used words like "amateur" on a regular basis before I even knew what it meant or how to spell it. Though, that might be saying more about me than about him.

"I see… so you actually came," I heard Edgeworth say. He took a sip of his tea after finishing the sentence.

I looked behind myself. Misty Fey had left; I was standing there in the door all by myself. Closing it behind me, I came over to him, sitting down on a chair on the other side of the table.

"What do you mean by 'actually came'?" I asked him on my way.

Edgeworth put the Teacup – obviously a rather old, Asian piece – down onto the table before continuing. "I thought you would show up here sooner or later today. I had some suspicions when I saw how Maya handed you this note."

"Y-You know about that?"

I was surprised to hear him talking about this. Given that Maya claimed to have avoided him ever since noon, he would have had to actually see her giving it to me in order to be aware of it. How could he possibly know about Maya passing me that note?

Apparently, I was easy to read for Edgeworth right now, since he replied in a way that made it seem like he had heard my last few sentences worth of thoughts.

"I wanted to have a word with Von Karma, so I tried to approach the two of you after the trial. Unfortunately she had already left by the time I arrived. That's when I saw how Maya Fey passed you a sheet of paper. I simply did the math after that."

"I see…"

A chain of thoughts was set into motion in my head by what Edgeworth had just told me.

(He wanted to talk to Franziska Von Karma. This has got to have something to do with their fathers' rivalry for sure…)

This was when Edgeworth addressed me again.

"So? Have you talked to Maya yet?"

I looked up when I hear him say this. Then, I nodded.

"Yes. We met down at that one river…"

He interrupted me.

"…By the single Cherry Tree, I suppose?"

"Tree…?" I quickly recalled the place where Maya and I had met. I should have rather not, since my back started hurting again as soon as I had reconstructed the image of the tree it banged against in my mind, but at least I could now nod and answer, "Eh… Yeah, now that you mention it, there really was a tree down there... With pink blossoms, if I remember right."

(And, now that I think about it… That little girl who looked like Pearls really called them Cherries…)

"I understand…"

"Huh?"

Edgeworth's voice sounded weirdly interested in this little detail for some reason. This struck me as odd. Why should someone like Edgeworth have any thoughts on whether there was a tree at our meeting place or not? While I still wondered how that could possibly be relevant, I saw how he closed his eyes, apparently thinking of something. He picked up his cup again and took a sip of tea.

"This place, Wright… You might not remember this, but this place has a meaning. One that could clear up the question about Maya Fey's reason for trying to contact you."

"A meaning?" I asked.

"I am not sure, but if I remember correctly, this spot of the river bench is a popular place for making promises of all kinds. Mostly due to an old fairytale revolving around it. The villagers believe that it will support them in their efforts to keep those promises."

"…!"

My head rose a little when I heard this. I felt like a light bulb had been switched on in my mind.

(A promise… between the two of us? Is that what Maya really wanted to talk about down there?)

Edgeworth saw my reaction and nodded, as if he had, again, read the look on my face. He even smiled a little.

"This is quite suspicious, isn't it? More and more leads point towards Maya Fey indeed having lied about not knowing you personally."

"You are still investigating on this?" I asked Edgeworth. "Maya's and my 'relationship', I mean."

The thought that Edgeworth might, in fact, still be trying to extract information about Maya and me from every little one of our actions… I didn't like it. Not in the least. It made me feel uncomfortable about talking to him. I now sympathized even more with her for having been trying to avoid him all day.

Edgeworth just shrugged, "Of course I am. You saw her reaction during today's trial, didn't you? It is rather obvious that my deduction was at the very least partly correct."

"Yes, but let us get just one thing straight," I told Edgeworth calm, but firmly, leaning a little bit forward, towards him. "Maya and I are not a couple."

"I never claimed you were," Edgeworth returned. "I am just convinced that Maya Fey is still holding back information."

"And you will try to get your hands on that information at all cost, won't you?" I noticed how the tone in my own voice had started to change. A hint of hostility had mixed in now, making me sound a tiny little bit aggressive. For a moment I wondered if it wouldn't be better to just stop myself from talking on. But I didn't. "Just like you did in court today. And once you find a chance to talk to her, you'll question and press her again, regardless of how she feels about it, right?"

"Hm?"

I saw how Edgeworth looked up from his Teacup, straight at me. After that, he stayed silent, keeping his eyes on me patiently. He was apparently waiting for me to say more.

This was my chance. I had to confront him about this. Especially not knowing that Maya, even here, believed in me. Not settling this with Edgeworth for her now would have felt like letting her down.

"What you did in court today…You shouldn't have done that, Edgeworth." I finally said. I tried to give Edgeworth the most serious look I had in stock. "...Maya. You were too harsh on her. You shouldn't have put her through that. Who knows what consequences this might end up having for her?"

Attentively, Edgeworth listened to my words, before finally slightly lowering his head and turning away from me a little.

"Hm," he closed his eyes and sighed. "She didn't leave me much of a choice, Wright. You know exactly what kind of effects it would have had on the trial, had I allowed the cross-examination to just end like this. To prove Maya's presence was the only effective way to refute Lilie Heatherd's testimony."

"But she cried because of it."

Edgeworth reacted to this in a way I wouldn't have expected him too. Turning his head away even a bit more, I could still see how his face turned a little tense… was that remorse I saw there?

"She… did?" he asked, looking rather uncomfortable.

"…You tried hard to ignore it, didn't you?"

"…"

I was surprised to realize that somehow I had suddenly gained the "dominance" over this dialogue. I really hadn't known that Edgeworth would be that hit if I pointed out how hurt Maya was to him… Was it because she now meant something to him? As a friend? Or rather, as his 'Partner's' cousin… similar how Pearls meant something to me.

If somebody had told me that I made Pearls cry, when I had been trying to forget about it… Yes, my reaction would have been pretty similar.

"Edgeworth," I looked straight at him, "I talked to Maya about what happened yesterday. And she knows nothing. She delivered the letter, but that's it. Even if her presence contradicts Heatherd's testimony, there are still issues that you can't explain with it, like Lana's knife being the murder weapon and how anybody but her could have entered. I'm sorry to say it, but you tortured Maya for absolutely nothing."

"…This isn't something we can determine already, Wright."

"…?"

I had a faint idea of what he was talking about, but it wasn't strong enough to prevent my face from taking on a rather confused expression. In any case, Edgeworth went on to take another sip from his tea and look at me again.

"Details are important. You should know this," he told me. "The fact that Maya Fey was present has to be proven to the court without doubt. If we want to get behind how this case happened, we need to reconstruct a timeline of the events at the crime scene that day, as exactly as possible. Who knows… Maya's presence might end up being a crucial contradiction to something our next witness will claim."

He was right about everything he said and I knew it, yet I couldn't just nod and say 'Yes'. I just wasn't willing to accept that putting Maya under this horrible amount of pressure was 'the right thing to do'.

Now it was my turn to turn my head a little.

"Still… Couldn't you have asked her about the letter before the trial?" I looked at him again. "I'm sure she would have told you."

"Heh," Edgeworth faked a laugh. "After how much effort she put in causing us all to believe you were the person she despised most in the world? I doubt it."

Yet another statement that I couldn't add anything to. So Edgeworth took over the conversation again.

"It is important that I find out one thing, Wright. Maya Fey…" He looked straight at me, without blinking or even flinching. "Who is she really to you?"

A silence took over the room, only slightly disturbed by the sound of a burning fireplace. I knew that I could answer this question. But it still took me a while to do so.

I unintentionally lowered my head, as I thought about what I was going to say now.

I knew who 'Maya Fey' was to me. But 'this' Maya Fey?

I knew that she was a daughter of the Fey family, that she possessed Spiritual Powers, that she was a famous singer and a not-so-decent actress…

And I knew what her life 'would have been like' had just one certain incident, which was suddenly missing, taken place.

One day in December 2001, in the District Court, when an Earthquake stopped the elevator and captured three people inside, sealing all their futures and those of everyone connected to them…

But this event was gone now… 'here', and with it everything that 'could have been'.

'This' Maya… To be honest, I actually barely even knew her. I knew only the part of her that 'could have been'.

Sure, there had been certain euphoria when she had suddenly started acting exactly like 'my' Maya, dressed exactly like her. But now that she wasn't right in front of me anymore, I was able to understand again that she wasn't the exact same person. Even if she called me 'Nick' a hundred times…

But then again… I could still hear the way she laughed ring in my ear. And I could still see all her expressions… her cheerful face, her determined eyes, her upset look… They were all exactly the same. I had known Maya for years now… and even then I hadn't been able to make out any difference. She was alike to 'my' Maya in more than just looks. In much, much more.

So, who was 'this' Maya Fey to me? The same as the 'original' Maya? Or something different maybe? In the end, I decided to go with my initial answer.

"Maya… is my friend," I told Edgeworth, sounding as determined as I could.

"Something that I think we have already well established, yes," Edgeworth replied. "However… This brings up a very important question: Why is she your friend? Or, rather, why are you her friend?"

"Why we are friends…?"

I was still busy trying to figure out why this was so important, when Edgeworth had already taken another sip of his tea – why was it that drinking from a cup or mug made you automatically look cool and intimidating? – and continued to explain.

"Maya Fey and you have continually claimed to have had barely any contact to each other in the past three years. Therefore something like a 'friendship' could have impossibly developed between the two of you… unless you were both lying, for one reason or another. This whole issue would be a lot easier to clear up, would you be in full possession of your memory right now, but with things being the way they are, we can only guess."

(Yes, they clearly lied about not knowing each other…But why? It somehow makes no sense…)

"Why is my relationship to Maya so important anyway?" I decided to ask Edgeworth, "I mean… it is not like she was standing in any direct relation to the case."

"This is true. She might not be directly connected to how and why this crime was committed," he replied, going against all my expectations, before he continued. "You, however, are."

"Me?"

"I said it before, Wright," Edgeworth went on. "You are not capable of giving out any kind of information about this case at the moment, beyond the information which was gathered in the investigations. However, it is clear that this whole case seems to be revolving around you. The crime scene was your apartment, the victim one of the few known people you had any relevant friendly contact to in the past few months. And the accused is your own mentor. Even discounting the fact that you were chosen to prosecute despite the obvious probability that one of us might be the guilty party, this all sounds rather suspicious."

It suddenly came to me that Edgeworth was right… I hadn't thought too much about this before, but Edgeworth's and my alibi for the time of death was only verified long after they asked me to prosecute the case. At that point, I should have still been a potential suspect and not an available choice.

(Something is fishy about this… Why was I chosen to prosecute? If what Edgeworth thinks is true, then Ema died because of a reason closely connected to 'me'… Wait, didn't Maya say something among those lines too?)


That was what she had said.

"Ema was investigating on a case for me…" I said.

Edgeworth looked up from his cup, "She was?"

I nodded, "Yes. I know that because she had texted me at noon that day. She wanted to deliver evidence to me…"

"…But nothing like this was discovered at the crime scene." Edgeworth ended my sentence, putting his fingers to his forehead, like he was thinking about something. "Which means that the evidence was removed by someone before we discovered the crime scene."

"Yes," I nodded again. "I think you are right, Edgeworth. This case has a lot to do with me. Ema was murdered because she wanted to deliver information. Information someone didn't want me to discover. If we just knew now what kind of information this was, it would make the case a lot easier, but…" I turned my head away and sighed, "I don't 'remember' and the only other person who could have told us would be Ema… who's gone now."

Edgeworth put down his Teacup when I said this. He then leaned forward a bit and looked at the table.

"Indeed." Like me, he looked a little disheartened. "A lot of things would be a lot easier if we knew what the victim knew. But, in the end, the victim is not able to give testimony to us. This is how it is in every murder case."

Seeing how talking about this wouldn't lead us anywhere, except into our own depression about how much info we lacked, I decided to start a new topic.

"Say, Edgeworth, I wanted to ask you... Why are you here in Kurain? Shouldn't you be down in the city, investigating?"

(Please, don't let the answer to this question be Samurai-related…)

Edgeworth raised his cup of tea once more, taking another calm sip before he continued.

"I am here for… Business. More or less."

"Business?"

I listened up.

"To be exact, I wanted to ask Misty Fey for her cooperation with further investigations. However…"

Edgeworth paused suddenly. He turned his head away and sighed clearly audible. "I think I may have just wasted my time doing this after all."

"Did you lose the lead you were following?" I asked in interest, but Edgeworth answered by shaking his head.

"Mrs. Fey declined my request."

I listened closely and was somewhat surprised by this statement. I may not have known too much about Misty Fey, but it was enough to be sure that she was, in fact, a very helpful person. So her refusing to give help seemed odd to me, causing me to ask.

"…I don't know if you want to tell me this, but what kind of request was it?"

"…"

Edgeworth's reaction to my question was almost alarmingly weird. His already turned away head moved another few centimeters to the side, as he was apparently desperately trying to keep his eyes focused at the wall…Was that him blushing?

"A… Channeling…" He finally uttered barely audible. I guess he was hoping that I wouldn't understand what he said, but that hope was in vain; I heard him just fine.

I stared at Edgeworth, not too surprised – I had already gone through too much the past two days to still be actually surprised by anything- but still caught a little off-guard.

"You requested Misty Fey to channel a spirit for you?"

"Wright. Please listen to me."

Edgeworth's head had suddenly snapped back into a straight position, like that of a figure out of one of those badly animated simulations that were shown on flights in order to show the passengers how to correctly apply the seat belts. He looked at me with a steady, serious look in his eyes- yet the red color was still on his cheeks. It was especially noticeable because of his rather pale skin color and showed clearly that he wasn't too comfortable saying whatever he was going to say.

"This may sound silly and downright absurd, but I know that the practices of the Fey Clan are not entirely make-believe," he told me with an aforementioned serious look on his face, as his blushing cheeks were still telling me that he was probably secretly praying for me not to burst into laughter at him. "At the very least not in the case of Misty Fey."

"So she actually managed to convince you, of all people?"

I wouldn't have asked this question, wouldn't it have been obvious that even 'this' Edgeworth was somewhat reluctant to accept the fact that Spiritual practice could actually work in real life. Apparently, it still didn't fit into his world-concept.

Edgeworth finally couldn't help but turn his head away again.

"Let's just say 'Seeing is Believing', Wright." And he sighed. "I may not be able to explain what exactly it is that happens when she is "channeling"… But it actually seems like she was indeed able to 'become' the requested person to a certain degree. Right down to remembering facts only this person could possibly know and…"

"I know that it works, Edgeworth," I quickly told him, before he could break his own mind trying to find a logical explanation. "I saw it before too."

"Oh..."

Edgeworth now looked like he was feeling a little stupid because of how he got worked up over trying to justify his trust in the Fey's abilities. He leaned back and took a deep breath.

"So, let me guess," I had an idea where this whole conversation was going and remembered back to the events before today's trial only confirmed this suspicion. "You wanted Mrs. Fey to channel Ema Skye for you?"

Edgeworth kept his eyes at the wall next to us – it wasn't even a pretty wall- obviously still somewhat ashamed of the direction this dialogue had taken us. He probably couldn't help feeling this way, being the rational minded person he was.

"Lana Skye is refusing to give any kind of helpful testimony," he finally told me. "I originally thought that I might be able to find another way to acquire the information I need, but I eventually had to realize that I can't work like this."

(I sympathize with you so much.)

"I remembered how you compared the Skye's Sisters relationship to that of Mia and Maya Fey. I then came to the conclusion that the only way to persuade Ms. Skye to talk is to convince her that this is how her sister would want her to act."

"And what better way would there be for that than to have Ema tell her that herself in the face, right?" I concluded, understanding completely.

Edgeworth finally turned his head back at me. The redness of his cheeks had finally diminished a little again. He nodded, "Yes, this is pretty much what I thought… Of course, I usually wouldn't resort to unorthodox methods like this one, but it was not like I was left with much of a choice, you see…"

"But… there is one thing I still don't get." I leaned forward a bit towards him. "Why did Mrs. Fey decline the request? I mean, she is a Medium. It's her job, isn't it?"

"The problem is that I originally issued the request to a different Medium."

"A different Medium? -Oh, wait, now I remember."

Thinking back to this morning, I remembered what I had heard shortly before meeting Franziska Von Karma in the Lobby. How the bailiff had told me about the reason for Iris' presence in the courthouse.

"It was Iris, right? But the channeling failed for some reason…"

"Hm. 'Some reason'? Wright, did you really never notice that Iris Fey suffers from massive self-esteem problems?"

I listened up immediately when I heard this.

"She has low self-esteem?"

"Before even beginning the channeling, she already acted exaggeratedly apologetic. Even for her standards," Edgeworth explained. "It was like she was convinced that she was going to fail. And she continuously kept mentioning how her sister's absence would surely remind her."

"Her sister? What has Dahlia got to do with this?" I asked.

"Well, I may not be an expert, but to me it sounded like she considered herself to be 'incomplete' without her sister."

"'Incomplete'…?"

"A typical phenomenon for identical twins." Edgeworth told me. "The siblings feel so strongly connected that separation gives them the feeling that they were deprived of an essential part of themselves. Although it seems to only apply to Iris in this case."

"So Iris' channeling didn't work because she was too upset because Dahlia was imprisoned…" I summed up, more to myself than to him. I bit my lip as I did. Edgeworth went on.

"Of course, this isn't the entire reason."

"Hm?"

I raised my head slightly, as Edgeworth explained:

"If Maya told me the truth- which I, of course, think she did- Iris has apparently, regardless of her high status in the Clan Hierarchy, always had problems with conducting a channeling, despite training for several hours almost daily."

(Right… She and Dahlia were both born with a very low amount of Spiritual Power, which is why Morgan… the 'original' Morgan, I mean, didn't put up much of a fight when their father demanded to become their legal guardian upon their divorce,) I remembered. (No wonder she has problems getting accustomed to the idea of becoming Master. But with Pearl gone, it's either her or Dahlia. Especially seeing how both, Mia and Maya aren't available either.)

The Mastership of the Kurain channeling technique… I had rarely ever heard of a position that caused as many problems as this one. Except 'President of the United States' maybe.

And now, there was a future Master with barely any Spiritual Energy… one could imagine that the remaining Mediums of the village weren't exactly happy about this development. They were probably cursing the day they allowed Morgan Fey to become Master, rather than her sister. And, while we are at her sister…

"So you came to Misty Fey to let her channel Ema instead?"

"Yes. But Mrs. Fey refused." Edgeworth answered, visibly a little frustrated by this.

"Because you had originally issued the request to Iris?"

He nodded. "She claims that channeling the spirit of a murder victim is no task to be fulfilled by a branch family member and that a request like this should remain Iris' responsibility. She told me to give her a little more time."

"But this makes no sense," I argued. "Misty Fey is clearly the more skilled Medium."

Edgeworth shook his head, "Had this been her true reason to decline taking over the request, I would agree with you. However, I believe that Mrs. Fey is really worried about the girl's self-confidence."

"…Because if another Medium easily handled the request that she failed to carry out, she would feel even worse about it than she already does?"

"Exactly."

Great. This was yet another problem to be added to my list of hindrances in this case. Even if it wouldn't help us in court, Edgeworth's idea to have a medium channel Ema was really good, considering that this could have really been the only way to persuade Lana to take back her false confession. But I knew from experience with Maya that confidence played a big role in whether a channeling was successful or not and if Iris kept putting herself down the way she did in the Defendant Lobby today, there was not much of a chance that she would be channeling anything anytime soon.

"Iris," I heard Edgeworth tell me. "It is incredible how similar she appears to Dahlia, isn't it?"

"And how," I answered, laughing a bit. I wondered why I was laughing though. If there was a person who shouldn't find this funny in the least, it should be me. After all, it was because of this huge similarity that I had ended up dating a woman for six whole months without even knowing her true name. "I didn't think that two people could really be that identical until I found out about them. Luckily, their hair colors are different. Otherwise they would be impossible to tell apart."

"Heh. 'Luckily'?" Apparently it was Edgeworth's turn to laugh a little now. "I wouldn't use this term for something that was done on purpose."

I blinked a few times. "On purpose?"

"Dahlia dyes." He told me smiling. "She visits the hairdresser four times every year for several hours, in order to make sure the color remains just the way it is. A quite expensive habit, you can believe me."

(Don't tell me she makes you pay for it?)

"So… Dahlia's natural hair color is black?" I asked.

"You really didn't know? I thought that it was obvious. After all, identical twins share the same DNA. A difference in hair color shouldn't be possible."

"Yes, now that you say it… This makes sense, actually."

A lot of sense, to be honest. Why didn't I think of this sooner? I guess I was too influenced by the fact that even her Spirit had flaming red Medusa-hair the one time I saw it…

"She does this in order to distinguish herself from Iris." Edgeworth told me.

I moved my head a little. "This is really her whole reason?"

"You shouldn't understand this wrong. Dahlia loves her sister a lot," he told me, and it was incredibly weird to hear him saying this. "But she doesn't want to be considered the same person as her. Her own identity is very important to her."

"I understand… I wouldn't want to share my identity with someone else either."

Seeing that I understood what he meant, Edgeworth nodded satisfied.

"But it is no coincidence that Dahlia is the one who decided to dye and not Iris. You see, they may resemble each other on first glance, but this deceives. Their personalities are very different. Out of those two girls, Dahlia is clearly the more independent one. Iris is a lot more sensible and childlike in many aspects. I think it wouldn't be wrong to call Dahlia the 'stronger' sister…"

"Yes…" I replied, nodding, "I remember Iris telling me something like that herself once…"

A short pause followed this statement, accompanied by Edgeworth dropping his smile. I had no idea how I caused him to act like that, so I got quite nervous. Finally, he spoke to me again.

"Do you remember, or do you think that you remember?" Edgeworth asked me. Of course, I quickly realized what he was referring to and tried to reply.

"I remember it… I mean, I know that it happened in my memory, but… I…"

"Wright," Looking me straight in the eyes, Edgeworth leaned forward a bit "I regret not having asked this question sooner, but… A whole day has passed and your condition hasn't changed in the slightest. Do you feel capable of continuing this case's prosecution in this state?"

"O-Of course!" I leaned forward as well. "If I don't do it, Von Karma will take over! And you know what she'll do if that happens!"

"But you are biased." Edgeworth argued. "You are more concerned with the safety of Lana Skye and the Fey women than with the trial's outcome. And you believe you were a Defense Attorney."

"Well, sure I am worried abou-"

I stopped right there. My brain had just finished progressing Edgeworth's second sentence.

"…!"

My jaw dropped pretty low. I remembered what I had told Edgeworth when I tried to explain my problem to him. Or rather, what I hadn't told him.

"W-W-What… How… When…"

"Why are you surprised, Wright? I thought it was pretty obvious," he looked to the side and smiled "Aside from your numerous small slip ups and lapses that point towards this and your awkward way of investigating alongside the police, you also show a rather great determination to protect people all of a sudden. I haven't seen you like this in years, I have to say…"

The main difference between 'this' Edgeworth and the one I knew, aside from the obvious ones, was certainly that he smiled a lot more often and, most of all, more naturally. And there was something about the way he smiled that moment. It was, in an odd way, very comfortable for me. It was nostalgic.

And for a moment, I felt like we were back in school. Like it was recess and I was just trying to comprehend what we had learned in the previous lesson and fail. And my friend Miles was sitting in front of me. And I knew that he could explain everything to me. Because I knew that he understood it. He was always miles ahead of me. He had always been.

Children grow older. They study and learn, their interests and abilities change, they become adults and find their place in the world… But how much could people really change? How much of those two little boys from back in school was still left here, unchanged, in us two young men sitting at this table now? That was a question that I asked myself that moment.

I noticed that Edgeworth's teacup was already empty. Meanwhile, I still even hadn't got one yet. Misty Fey hadn't shown up again yet. Not that I was unhappy about it. I wasn't really looking forward to drinking bitter tea anyway.

"To be honest," Edgeworth's voice attracted my attention again. I looked at him. He, however, wasn't looking at me. I heard him sigh, "…If it was an option, I would be very glad if you remained the way you are now."

"…Because I am more harmless that way?"

"Because you are a better person this way… Phoenix."

The sound of my first name made me realize how stupid my last response had been. He had already shown many times how little victory meant to him. But, of course he preferred the 'me' right now… his old friend over the guy who convicted his innocent girlfriend.

It was a little bit like asking me to choose between the Edgeworth who mercilessly prosecuted against both me and Maya and the Edgeworth who helped me save Maya just a year later.

Of course I would have chosen the latter.

"Edgeworth…"

"However, your health, mental or other, has priority," he told me. "We can't let you remain with severe Amnesia and Delusions just for the sake of 'improving' your personality."

"D-Delusions?" I backed off a little, "Listen, I'm sane!"

Edgeworth looked at me in a stern way. "You have no recollection of the last two thirds of your life, and have apparently constructed memories for yourself of events that never happened. Excuse me, but this does not meet the requirements of 'sanity' in my eyes."

"But this is… I am… Argh…"

(There is no way I am going to persuade him of my story the way I 'persuaded' Maya…) I realized. (As long as I can't show him solid proof – and let's face it, I'll never have solid proof for this – he'll just keep believing that I've lost my marbles…)

Knowing that, despite the friendly terms we were on, Edgeworth was probably not taking me seriously now was incredibly frustrating. I wanted to be on his eye level, just once. But what could I do to change this? Nothing.

Discussing my situation with Edgeworth right now was useless.

Still, I had one more question that I could ask him.

"Edgeworth, there's one thing I'd like to know."

I waited till I was sure that I got his attention. Then, I took a deep breath, hoping this wouldn't be too awkward.

"I... heard that… you and… Dahlia are… in a relationship."

(Wow. Four pauses in one sentence. This has to be some kind of record.)

Edgeworth looked immediately somewhat surprised when I asked this question. In the end, he simply nodded and replied, "Yes. Dahlia Fey has been my girlfriend for almost three years now."

Shivers went down my spine and caused my whole body to shake.

(I don't know what's more creepy. Edgeworth using the word 'Girlfriend' or the word 'Girlfriend' being used in the same sentence as 'Dahlia' by someone again… And I guess the combination of both beats it all. )

I tried hard to suppress how disturbed I was and went on to ask Edgeworth.

"And... how exactly did you get together?"

The question was first met with a rather skeptical stare by Edgeworth. I guess he didn't like me digging into his private life. In the end, however, he smiled a little again and calmly answered.

"Well, she was a client of mine."

"…A client?"

"After her trial, she insisted to work for me. She has been my secretary and assistant ever since. "

(Ehh… Why does that sounds disturbingly much like someone else I know?)

It was good that Edgeworth was apparently not paying much attention to my face right now, otherwise he would have probably commented on how I looked everything but relaxed. He himself was smiling uncharacteristically warmly – but not too warmly, fortunately – as he went on to explain.

"It was just a few months later that she addressed me during work and told me about her feelings. And ever since then… well…"

I said nothing, but tried hard to minimize the tension in every single of my muscles. Still, I couldn't keep my mouth from opening a little. The idea of Dahlia and Edgeworth being romantically involved was already disturbing enough as it was, I really didn't need the fact that they were apparently also mirroring me and a certain other person, and the implications connected to this smacked into my face as well.

"But… I don't get it…" I couldn't help but just say it out loud. "Edgeworth, sorry, but you don't seem like the type for this to me. You and… you know… a girl. You were never even too impressed by the love letters you got in school."

(Including those of the most gorgeous girl in our grade.)

It was obvious that Edgeworth wasn't a person who was easily impressed by looks. So, what else could someone like him be possibly seeing in someone like… Dahlia?

Shivers.

"…"

Edgeworth's eyes wandered around somewhat nervously for while, before he finally replied.

"Well… I think attraction of this kind is hard to explain, but…" He looked at me. "It might have something to do with how reliable and capable she is."

"Capable?" I asked.

"She is very good as gathering information, Wright." Edgeworth told me. "She has a certain talent for acting that allows her to persuade otherwise very stubborn witnesses into giving surprisingly detailed testimonies. You can't even begin to imagine how useful this can be."

(The power of a pair of innocent eyes and an angelic smile…)

"And even disregarding this, she is doing a very fine job as a secretary. It is just a good feeling to know that your files are in safe hands."

A sentence about Dahlia, containing the phrase 'In safe hands'… I heard a siren go off in my head.

(Ugh… my stomach hurts and I suddenly have the urge to punch somebody… Is that what Mia felt like every time I mentioned Dahlia during my trial back then?)

Still, I decided that randomly punching Edgeworth probably wouldn't be a good idea.

"Of course, the emotional attachment could also stem from the importance of the case during which I came to know her."

I listened up, "Her case was important to you?"

Edgeworth looked straight at me and suddenly, his smile turned thinner. He took a breath and said something.

"BD-7."

"BD-7…?"

(Nice. Another case I know jack about…)

I wanted to go on and ask Edgeworth more… more about the case, more about how he won it, but I didn't get to do this. Our conversation reached a sudden end when the door behind us swung open loudly. And a cheerful, energetic voice echoed loudly through the room, sounding out all too familiar words.

"Hey Nick!"

I turned around, just in time to see Maya storming into the room with a radiant grin on her face.

"I settled everything! You can come back to the set now and-"

She stopped talking as soon as she saw that I wasn't alone. And how abruptly she stopped. For a moment she looked like she had swallowed her fork.

"M-Miles…" She finally stuttered, the shocked expression still on her face.

Now, it was the three of us looking at each other, wordless, for several seconds. And Maya turned a little more nervous with each of those seconds passing. She kept alternately looking at Edgeworth, me and the door behind her. Finally, she settled on addressing me.

"Well… Looks like you're still busy… Eh… OK. I'll be waiting outside then…"

She turned around and was about to leave the room, when I heard the sound of something being pushed away. Edgeworth had stood up from his chair.

"Maya."

Maya stopped walking. Slowly and hesitantly, she turned back around. Edgeworth was looking straight at her.

"I have to apologize for my harsh treatment earlier."

"Oh…" Maya looked up for a moment, before she lowered her head and looked at the floor. "It's alright," she said. "You just did your job… I guess…"

"No, it is not alright," Edgeworth disagreed "It is true that I didn't have many other options, but if using the letter caused you any kind of harm, this is still entirely my responsibility. Should today's events have any kind of negative aftereffects on your public image, I will try to help redeem them as much as possible. It isn't much, but I am sure a public declaration that I never meant to hint at a romantic nature of your relationship might undo some of the damage."

"Miles…"

Maya looked touched.

"Please believe me, that it was never I my intention to invade your privacy in any way. However, also remember that a human life could be endangered by an act of perjury in this trial." Edgeworth looked very serious as he said this. "We need you to testify again, Maya. Everything you saw and experienced in the few minutes you spent in this building could prove to be crucial. This is why you need to tell the truth to the court."

"But…I…"
Nervous, Maya looked around. She seemed to be unsure what to think. So I stood up from my chair.

"He's right, Maya," I said. "Please, testify again. I think this would really help."

"…"
Just a few moments longer, Maya remained silent. Then, finally she looked at Edgeworth.

"…If you give it back…" she whispered.

"…Pardon?"

"The letter…" Maya spoke a little louder, "I'll tell the court everything… if you give the letter back and don't mention it again."

She looked a whole lot more secure again now and returned Edgeworth's serious look, waiting for him to answer. Finally, he nodded.

"Fine."

After this, he bowed down, picking up his suitcase from the ground. He put it on the table before us, opened it and pulled out something: The letter. He stood up again and handed the pink envelope… to me.

"Here."

"…?"

With confused eyes – similar to Maya's eyes at that same moment – I looked right at Edgeworth, who told me,

"I am returning this to you."

"B-But it's not mi-"

"When I found this letter, it had already been delivered to your apartment. It is yours, Wright. Take it."

I hesitated and looked over to Maya, who looked a little shocked. Apparently, she had, like me, expected Edgeworth to give the letter to her. But now, there he was, right in front of me, holding that envelope under my nose.

"What you do with it is entirely for you to decide, of course," Edgeworth told me, when I just kept staring at it. "You may read it, or keep it closed, or even burn it. I won't intervene. But first, you have to take it."

"Nick…

I looked over to Maya again. She was looking at me and seemed a little nervous. "J-Just take it," she said. "It's alright…But please make sure that nobody but him reads it."

I waited just a second longer, then I took the letter from Edgeworth. I held the pink envelope in my hands now. Its color was still incredibly obtrusive, especially from this close and I could tell that Edgeworth had been right regarding the handwriting: This was clearly Maya's. I didn't need an analysis to see that.

(I wonder what it says inside..?) I immediately thought to myself, but I knew that Maya was counting on me not looking at the letter, so I kept the envelope sealed and quickly put it away into my own suitcase. I could see Maya's relieved smile as I did, like I had just locked away a monster that had been threatening to eat her.

"So… you won't bring the letter up again tomorrow, Miles?" Maya asked, now smiling once again.

Edgeworth nodded.

"As long as you testify truthfully."

"Got it!"

Maya grinned. I had just finished closing up my suitcase again and turned towards her.

"You wanted something from me?" I asked her. She looked over at me.

"Yeah! We're finished with filming Trucy's stunt now! Sal Manella said you can go back on the set, as long as you touch none of the… err… what was it again… oh, yes! 'L33t'-Equipment!"

(Lee… Lih… Eh…Is that equipment labeled?)

"Have you much left to shoot for today?" I asked, but Maya shook her head.

"No, actually I'm done for the day. I just thought that it would be fun if we watched the others working on the smaller scenes together for a while!" She grinned merrily. "So, how about it?"

"Well, I would love to Maya, but, to be honest..." My eyes were on my watch. 17:15 it read. "I'm actually kinda out of time..."

"Huh? Out of time…?"

I looked up from my wrist, at Maya, who appeared to be a little puzzled, and told her.

"You know Von Karma?"

"The crazy whip lady from the trial today?" Maya asked.

"Yeah… exactly. She told me to meet her at the crime scene at 19:00, so she can investigate with me. If I come too late, I guess the results of that are not gonna be pretty."

"Oh."

"Franziska von Karma? Hm…" Edgeworth was taking a look on his own watch now. "You know that the last train to L. A. until 18:00 has left 2 minutes ago, don't you?"

I turned my head over to him.

"That's not a problem, don't worry. Gumshoe is driving me."

A 'good-luck-in-that-case' kind of look appeared on Edgeworth's face the moment I said that. Maya had started talking again before I had a chance to comment on it though.

"Do you think you'll find anything new there?" She asked with doubt in her voice. "I mean, the police already turned your place upside down. And so did Miles."

I could only sigh to this. How true…

"I thought the same thing. But Franziska von Karma is stubborn. I'm willing to bet that she's just gonna invent some evidence if we don't find any."

"I-Invent?" Maya jumped. "But wouldn't that be forg-"

Edgeworth nodded.

"Forging Evidence, yes."

A stinging pain.

I put my hand to my face.

(That again… Argh…)

"But this is not beyond that woman, believe me," Edgeworth continued. "Although I have certain doubts she would go that far in this trial, not actually having been entrusted with its prosecution- Wright, do you feel alright?"

He peeked over at me, mustering how I was massaging my forehead with my fingers

"J-Just a headache, that's all…" I replied. "Didn't get enough sleep last night."

"But... You looked a little pale yesterday evening too." I heard it in Maya's voice that she was worried. "Maybe you should let a doctor take a look at you. What if it's something serious?"

(I doubt a doctor can help me with this.) I thought to myself and sighed. ('Forging Evidence'. Every time that topic comes up, this happens. That topic or… that prosecutor and that girl. 'Forgery' and those two people… What's the connection between them?)

"Ah. Anyway." I stood up upright. "I really should get going now if I want to survive tomorrow's trial in one piece."

I was heading for the door already, when I heard Maya call once more.

"W…Wait!"

I turned around to her, seeing show she stepped towards me.

"I'm coming too!"

"Maya?" I raised my head in surprise. Maya had balled her hands to fists.

"I'll help you with the investigations! I mean, if you don't find anything, Von Karma is going to whip you again, isn't she? And four eyes see more than two."

"You don't have to, really." I told her. "I mean, you already got caught up in this enough. I can handle Von Karma alone."

"And what if you suddenly faint and collapse? That woman's not gonna call 911! But I am."

"I'm not going to faint, Maya!"

"Of course you're not. So, shouldn't we get going, Nick?"

"…"

I stared at Maya, who in turn was grinning at me radiantly. It was then that I remembered that Franziska Von Karma wasn't the only woman I knew who could be incredibly stubborn if she wanted to.

It was weird. On the one hand, I was incredibly glad that Maya no longer despised me and that we were friends 'again'. On the other hand, I was frightened that taking her along on the investigations might turn out to be a mistake later on.

(Maya probably doesn't realize that, but she's still a potential suspect…) I remembered. (Right now, the only thing keeping her from being suspected is the 'fact' that only Lana could have opened the door, but…If we find out how the actual killer opened the door and that it would have been possible for her to do that as well … If I take her along to investigate, it would look like she could have destroyed evidence on the scene…)

"Niiick! How long are you going to just stand there?

(On the other hand… she just didn't do it. And neither Edgeworth nor me are gonna accuse her anytime soon. I guess she's safe…)

"Nick?"

"Alright," I finally answered Maya. "You can come along. But you have to be careful. It's a crime scene, you know."

She seemed not really pleased by that statement.

"You don't need to tell me that! Do I look like that much of a little girl to you?"

I mustered the overly colorful, less-than-mature dress that Maya had changed into.

(I'd better not answer that question…)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

May 2nd, 5:20pm
Kurain; Bus Station

"Huh?"

I took a wide, long look to make sure I wasn't mistaken. And I wasn't. What reassured me even more of this was that Maya noticed it too.

"Didn't you say the Detective would be waiting here for you, Nick?" She asked, spinning around three hundred sixty degrees once, scanning the area for cars as she did.

I too, kept looking around, but it was no use. Gumshoe's car was gone and Gumshoe with it.

"That's not like him…Disappearing without saying a word…"

"Maybe he left you a message." Maya suggested. "Did you check on your cellphone?"

I turned towards her, giving her a skeptical look.

"I thought those didn't have any reception up here?"

"Not enough to make calls, but text messages should still work," Maya told me, sounding a little bit like she was wondering if what she said was even correct. "Yeah, Mia texted me a few times when we filmed the choreography for the summoning scene up here. The messages arrived a little delayed though…"

"Hm… Maybe I should really check on my phone."

I put my right hand into my pocket and started searching it for the little device.

"…Huh?"

"Something wrong, Nick?"

I was taking long to get the phone between my fingers… too long.

(It can't be…) I quickly took the Magatama out of my pocket and turned all of them inside-out, carefully looking through everything that fell out. I gulped.

"It's gone," I realized. "My cell phone's gone! I lost it!"

Maya backed off and jumped. "You lost it? Where?"

(If I knew that, it wouldn't be lost! Argh…)

This was not good. Not just because surviving in the modern world without a cellphone was pretty hard to accomplish, but also because Ema's and Lana's messages had still been on it. Which were important Evidence.

(A-Alright, no problem. I mean… I just have to go back and search for it, right? There aren't too many places where it could be…)

This was a blatant lie. I had been at tons of places since I had last taken a look at the phone shortly after entering Gumshoe's car. It could have been everywhere in Kurain and around-

I raised my head.

"That tree…"

Maya stepped closer, "You mean the Sakura-Cherry Tree down at the river?"

"Yes, that one," I told her as I put my stuff back into my pocket and got up again. "I probably lost the phone when I crashed into it…"

"Hold it! You crashed into the tree?" A weird mixture of amazement, shock and interest was on Maya's face. "How'd that happen?"

"Long story, really…" I wasn't in the mood to tell her about my little encounter with Armando. "Anyway… Gumshoe or not, without that phone, I'm not going anywhere. Not as long as Ema's last message is recorded on it…"

"Her what?"

It had been a while since I had seen Maya that clueless and startled at the same time about a piece of Evidence I mentioned. Come to think of it, this was the first time she had joined me on my investigations mid-way, so it actually was to be expected.

"I'm going to explain it later." I quickly told her. "For now, we need to get back to that tree."

"I know a short cut!" Maya's eyes shone in enthusiasm to be of assistance. "Quick, this way!"

"Alright!"

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

May 2nd, 5:27pm
Seishigawa Riverbank

Maya ran so fast, I almost couldn't keep up with her, though this was actually a good thing. I was, yet again, late already and every second I could save was precious. We didn't even need five minutes down to the river bank, to the spot with the pink-blossomed tree.

"Here we are!" Maya stopped in her tracks like hitting invisible breaks and produced even a small cloud of dust when she came to a halt. As soon as I had caught up, I got onto my knees and looked around in the grass.

"It has to be somewhere around here…" I said out loud, searching the ground for the little device.

(Please, let it be there…)

Maya quickly sat down herself to search, even circling the tree a few times.

"It's not here!" She finally told me.

"It's not here either…" I finally got back onto my feet and wiped the dust of my trousers. "That's bad… very bad…"

(Ugh…Just when things can't get any worse, I lose a piece of Evidence. Great.)

"Hm…" Maya's eyes had wandered into a different direction. "What if it fell into the river?"

"…!"

This was the most alarming – and I mean 'alarmingly plausible' – thing she had said yet.

(When Armando flung me around like a sandbag… Oh no…)

Maya looked a little uncomfortable, now that she had pointed this possibility out. Probably because she had realized that it would be impossible to get the phone back if she was right.

"So…" She turned towards me again "What do we do now?"

"I have no idea…" I told her truthfully. "Gumshoe's gone… the phone's gone… And I have to find a way to be back in L.A. in an hour and a half, or a teenage prosecutor will be going Queen of Hearts on me."

"Well, we could ask Miles to drive us," Maya suggested. "But that's not solving the problem with the phone, is it…?"

I shook my head. "Not exactly."

"Ngh… What to do…?"

There wasn't much we could do. The phone was gone and since the reception up here was so low, there wasn't a big chance that we could find it by performing the 'call-yourself'-trick. It was my own fault. I shouldn't have left it in my pocket.

I gave the search up, got up from the floor again, and turned around.

I am not sure what came next. Maya's 'Huh!', or me noticing the person behind us? But I think Maya was a split second faster. She quickly got up from the floor as well and came to me.

"I-Iris…!"

The young, black haired woman was standing there before us, a bunch of flowers in one hand, and a candle in the other. She noticed me and seemed startled, which was understandable. She probably hadn't expected me to be here.

"Oh! F-Fe… You…" She turned a little to the side. "Maya…"

"…"

Neither of us said anything to her. I don't know how Maya felt about this, but I had a heavy lump in my throat. After the fiasco that was Maya's last cross examination today, Iris finding me and Maya sitting in the grass under a pink-blooming tree probably wasn't exactly a best-case scenario for her blood pressure. I knew her well enough to know that she should react rather sensible to this…

…So why was it, that she looked comparably calm, if not a little surprised?

"…Did I…come at a bad moment?" She finally asked, quickly attempting to smile, which was entirely out-of-place, considering the situation.

"N-No, not at all!"

"Really? That's good to know."

She just kept smiling. The weird thing was, I couldn't tell if the smile was genuine or fake. It was like a part of her was actually in the mood to smile, while another part had to force itself to do so. She tilted her head a little.

"You are… not fighting anymore?"

"Eh… N-No…" Maya sounded rather uncomfortable. "We… eh… we're not…"

"I see… That's good."

"Yes… Yes it is…"

Maybe she 'saw it', but I saw nothing. I didn't see where this conversation led or what it meant or if it had any meaning at all. Probably it didn't anyway. Maya and Iris didn't look like they were trying to make sense anyway. And I felt like an out-of-place piece of scenery in the background that just added to the awkwardness of the whole scene.

Maya looked very nervous. I saw how her eyes got stuck on the flowers that Iris was holding. Finally, after a few seconds of silence, she turned towards me, saying uncharacteristically quietly,

"Nick. We should go…"

"Uhm…" I threw a short glance at Iris, but tried not to meet her eyes. "Okay…"

As soon as I had said that, Maya took me by my arm and, with stiff movement, went away, pulling me along. She mumbled a rather subdued 'See you later' as she did. I somehow felt like the reason behind the girls' weird behavior was a different one than I had initially thought, so I turned around once more, as Maya led me away.

I saw how Iris, letting her eyes off us, turned towards the tree. She approached a kind of stone tablet that was half-buried in the floor at the tree. Then, she kneeled down, placed the candle next to it, lit it… and prayed.

Something else also 'lit up': An imaginary light bulb in my mind.

"17:30…" I heard Maya whisper. "I should have thought about that… I mean, she's coming here almost every day at this time. That was just stupid… Ungh…"

"Maya?" I turned towards her as we walked. "Is there a grave under that tree?"

Maya stopped walking as soon as I asked this. For a moment, she looked at me rather shocked. Then, her face relaxed again.

"O-Oh yeah… right… You don't know about it, huh?..." She threw a short look at the ground, before she continued. "Yeah… There is someone buried there."

I was hesitant to ask, but in the end I did.

"…Who?"

Maya spoke slowly:

"Iris' mother."

Evidence:

*) Prosecutor's Badge

I never thought I'd ever hold this in my hands. The design closely resembles the police's emblem.

*) Magatama

This gem allows me to see the locks on people's hearts whenever they hide the truth from me. It was a gift from Maya and is charged with Pearls' spiritual energy.

*) Photo of Iris

A picture of me and Iris in Kurain. Apparently we were still a couple here, up until recently.
CHECK: http://img823.imageshack.us/img823/1896 ... feenie.png

*) Victim(?) Note

Reads "Lana" in red letters of blood.
CHECK: http://img812.imageshack.us/img812/4660/victimnote.png

*) Snackoos Bag

Found near Ema. She was apparently eating them before she was killed. Imported from Europe.

*) Dart

A small, needle-like projectile, made for use with a tranquilizer gun. There are faint traces of blood on it. Found near the sofa.

*) Rope

Ripped. Apparently, Lana tried to hang herself with it. It was cut before it ripped.

*)Sketch

A picture of Maya, Pearls and me, drawn in my boredom. Note to self: Giving up the art studies was a good choice.
CHECK: http://img829.imageshack.us/img829/645/sketchonaboat.png

*)Autopsy Report

Victim died between 17:00 and 17:20 from massive blood loss after receiving a stab wound in the chest. The back of the head was bruised.
CHECK: http://img827.imageshack.us/img827/6753/autopsyreport.png

*)Crime Scene Photo 1

CHECK: http://img843.imageshack.us/img843/9230/crimescenephoto1.png

*)Crime Scene Photo 2

CHECK: http://img638.imageshack.us/img638/8229/crimescenephoto2.png

*)Knife

The murder weapon. Was cleaned with soap after the crime, so there are no finger prints or bloodstains on it left. Belongs to the Defendant.

*)Fingerprint List

Lists the people who touched the door's handle.
CHECK : http://img163.imageshack.us/img163/4497/fingerprintslist.png

*)Ema's Button

One of the three Badges Ema wore on her labcoat. It came off before she died. The needle is bloody and crooked.

*)Maya's Letter

Was found at the crime scene. Addressed to „Nick". Content unknown.

*)Misty Fey's Book

A picture book, entitled "Haruka's Cherry Tree". Not yet published, this is a manuscript.
CHECK : http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/1628/picturebookcover.png

Profiles:

*) Phoenix Wright

I have been a Defense Attorney for three years now. But now it looks like people were convinced of something else suddenly...

*) Miles Edgeworth

An old school friend of mine. Apparently, he's a renowned Defense Attorney here. The "Him" I remember, on the other hand, was an extremely talented, but arrogant Prosecutor.

*) Maya Fey

Sprite
Singing (Turnabout Sisters Song)[Hatsune Miku(Vocaloid)]
Apparently a famous pop idol known as "MAYOI". In my memory, she was a Spirit Medium and served as my assistant and co-council in many of my cases.

*) Ema Skye

A teenager, who was dreaming of becoming a forensic investigator one day and good friend of mine. Was murdered in the apartment.

*) Lana Skye

Ema's older sister. Apparently tried to commit suicide in the bathroom. Her suicide note implicates her as her sister's killer.

*) Dick Gumshoe

Still detective of the local police force. Still as underpaid as ever.

*) Mia Fey

Maya's older sister and a detective. Currently under arrest for attempted murder. I remember her being my mentor as a Defense Attorney and murdered shortly after my very first trial.

*) Dahlia Fey
Leitmotif

Maya's and Mia's cousin and Iris's identical twinsister. Was the coldblooded killer 'Dahlia Hawthorne' in the world I remember, but declared guilty for a crime she didn't commit alongside Mia in this one. Her personality seems to have been turned upside down...

*) Klavier Gavin

Leadsinger and Guitarist of a Band called "Gavinners". Apparently also a lawyer. His name rings a bell, but I can't remember where I first met him.

*) Lilie Heatherd

Leitmotif
Sprite
Voice: OBJECTION!
A Defence Attorney known as the "Evidence Spammer". Claims to have witnessed Ema and Lana entering the Apartment shortly before the murder.

*) Iris Fey

Leitmotif
Singing (??? Song)
Maya and Mia's cousin, Dahlia's twin and hire to the master title of Kurain in this 'world'. Recently broke up with 'me'. Unhappy with her occupation as a Spirit Medium.

*) Franziska von Karma

Prosecutor Prodigy from Germany, who was assigned to aid me during this trial. She enjoys whipping lawyers, judges and witnesses alike and strives for absolute perfection in her trials.

*) Misty Fey

Sprite
Alternate Outfit
Talented Spirit Medium and mother to Mia and Maya Fey. Saw a third witness.

*) Dylan Sengage

Sprite
Lilie Heatherd's boyfriend, despite being a minor. The owner of the unidentified fingerprints.

*) ???

A girl. With keys in her hair... Just what was that about?!

*)Pearl Fey (?)

Leitmotif?
Led me to Maya's meeting place. She looks like Pearls, but it seems like it wasn't really her.

*)Diego Armando

Most likely Mia's boyfriend. Has a serious caffeine addiction.

*)Trucy

Leitmotif
A young Illusionist and actress in the Steel Samurai movie. She appears to be a very enthusiastic girl.

Bonus:
Music: BGM of the Dream Sequences

Artwork: Lilie Heatherd

Again, an extremely dialogue heavy chapter. I am going to cut down on Phoenix-Edgeworth interaction from now on, because it is getting too repetitive in my eyes. You should keep most things that were mentioned in this chapter in mind, some of them will turn out to be crucial.

Maya will be with Nick for the rest of May 2nd, so I can write an investigation phase more similar to the ones in the game. I've been waiting to do that for a long time and got it all planned out.

Oh, and a little note: The lost cellphone? You can trace back where Phoenix actually lost it, because I removed it from the court record that chapter. I wondered if anybody would notice, but, to my slight dismay, nobody did. Still, now I told you, now you can go and try to figure out how the phone disappeared. Good luck.

May 2nd, 6:03pm

There was currently more than just one mystery to solve. Remembering this fact, I kept carefully looking over all the things I had on me right now. The phone was, of course, still gone – and the chances that I would get it back anytime soon were very slim. The thought caused me to sigh. I had just been too careless and was now paying the price. Now I had to come up with another way to make sure we would be able to exactly reconstruct the course of events around the time of the crime.

I was trying to concentrate, but Maya on the seat next to me was making this a hard task, as she kept bouncing up and down like a rubber ball. I think she was trying to tell Edgeworth how much fun she had with her work on the set today. 'Think', because I barely understood a word of the flood of text that swept over Edgeworth and me. Edgeworth – given from what I had yet seen – would probably have understood more than me of all the Samurai-related things she was talking about and would probably also have been a lot more interested in it, wouldn't it have been for the fact that he was currently occupied with a rather important task, which obviously caused him to experience Maya's continuous babbling as just as much of an annoyance as I did.

In case you can't tell yet, we were in his car and he was driving.

"…Too bad you were busy talking to mom, Miles, because that scene was awesome with a capital 'A'! Trucy was just a-ma-zing! Am I right or am I right, Nick?"

I heard the word 'Nick' and reacted by quickly raising my head.

"Ah- Amazing, yes, right. I couldn't agree more."

"Ugh! You're not even listening, are you?

Immediately, Maya's cheeks blew up, like those of a puffer fish.

"Seriously, Nick! You can't tell me you weren't interested at all in the shooting!"

"Sorry, Maya. It's just that I'm a little busy right now." I led my eyes back to the items I was looking over, the one on the top of the pile in my lap being the two crime scene photos which still had any relevance.

Maya saw what I was doing and her expression softened a little bit again. She brought her hand to her mouth.

"Oh… You're looking over the court record?"

"So Von Karma won't whip me into oblivion when we arrive," I nodded. "I'm already late. The fewer additional reasons she finds to be aggravated, the better."

"Ah! Right, you were to meet her at 7pm, weren't you?" I have no idea why, but Maya suddenly made a rather shocked face. Was she picturing Franziska's reaction to my delay before her mental eye?

"C'mon, Miles, we're way too slow! Hit the pedal! Nick's life is on the line here!"

"…"

Edgeworth didn't even pay this demand a reply. Understandable, since we were already driving at maximum allowed speed and right next to the cliff.

Oh. The cliff.

Did I really have to remind myself of that?

As I felt how my hands started shaking a little and tried to keep clinging to the documents and pictures I had in my hand, Maya's tries to persuade Edgeworth to break traffic-laws continued.

"You could drive at least a tiny little bit faster, Miles!"

"…"

"A microscopic bit faster?"

"…"

Maya's face fell. Before I knew it, her cheeks had expanded again. She turned her head towards me.

"Ungh... Nick! Say, something! It's you who's going to be late!"

I had the choice between openly talking about my own feelings about rushing down this path above the maximum allowed speed, or just miming Edgeworth and keep shut up. I chose the later.

"…"

Silently, I just sat there and waited for me to stop shivering, so I could look at the crime scene photo again, instead of just pretending to be looking at it but not actually being able to make out a thing, since it was, like I mentioned, shaking with my hands.

"Are you both ignoring me now?" was Maya's reaction to this. There was an unmistakable impatience in her voice. I, however, really didn't have the nerve to bother calming her down right now.

Instead, I attempted to calm down myself.

I kept my stomach from twisting by putting the documents down on my lap, leaning over them and focusing on the court record again. It didn't work perfectly, but better than nothing. Only while I was staring at the first crime photo without searching for anything in particular, I came to notice something odd, which had nothing to do with the photos or anything else in the court record.

(Hm… Actually, it's not just Maya's remark. Edgeworth has been awfully quiet for a while now.)

I took a peek up and tried to catch a glance of Edgeworth's face by looking into the rear-view mirror. What I got was a rather… nervous looking pair of eyes.

(…Oh, that's why.) I finally understood. (Edgeworth is afraid of heights, just like me…)

A scene from our childhood came to my mind when I thought of this. It had been in late spring, not too long after Edgeworth had become Larry's and my friend in the first place. The three of us had quarreled over who of us was to climb a certain tree, but Larry refused because he claimed to be a horrible climber and Edgeworth and I 'objected' for the obvious reason.

(Hm… Now that I think about it… why was it so important that one of us climbed up there anyway? I remember that we had a reason. I just… kinda… forget it.)

The inconvenient thing about childhood memories was how unreliable they were. Back then, when the word was still a lot more carefree and simple, keeping things like this in mind didn't seem important. In exchange, trying to actually remember them now was painfully annoying. I eventually just gave up and focused my eyes on the Crime Photo again.

Although I still didn't know what I was actually searching for on that thing.

There was Lana, there was her handbag, and there was the noose with which she allegedly tried to hang herself. I didn't like to admit it, but this picture made it really hard to believe that anything else could have happened... And yet, some things didn't fit into this picture and I knew it. I just had to keep trying to deconstruct it…

"Fine! Ignore me! Ugh …"

I was almost surprised when I heard Maya's voice again. Had it really only been a few seconds? It must have been, seeing how Maya wouldn't have given the two of us more than ten seconds at most to answer her question.

I turned towards her. Maya was now sitting with her arms crossed, sunken into the seat. She was facing the window, but I could still see that she was pouting. The image looked a little bit like that of a grade school kid who had just been told that they've been grounded for a week.

I felt my mouth's corners being pulled upwards once again and realized that I really, really needed to stop spontaneously smiling every time Maya was doing anything I was actually used to her doing. But this was easier said than done. Especially since the thought 'Maya is back! She's really there again!' was still hanging above all of my other thoughts like a much more pleasant version of the infamous Damocles Sword. It actually surprised me that it was like that. I had been 'deprived' of Maya for barely one and a half days after all. So, why was it that I felt like I had to cherish every little second she was there, just doing what she always does?

I knew that once everything was back to normal, Maya would be my assistant again. I would see her every day and we would investigate together in my cases. This was a fact. There was no reason why this should change.

But for some reason, Maya still felt like a 'Thanksgiving Turkey' to me right now: Something fantastic, something you only get your hands on very rarely and have to enjoy every last moment of it.

Frankly, the fact that I was feeling this way was creeping me out. And not just a little bit. It was downright worrying me.

(It's almost like I… like a part of me would believe that Maya won't be there anymore…)

This idea was stupid, of course. Why should Maya just 'disappear'? She's been there ever since I started my career and she was going to stick around for quite a while longer… right?

…Why was it, that the word 'Wrong' was resonating somewhere in the back of my mind as I thought this?

…

Something then came back to me. Misty Fey – the Misty Fey of 'my' world –had died. Not too long ago, actually. So…Maya was going to be the Master of Kurain soon… right? She was going to be in charge of the other mediums' training, the village's finances and a lot more tasks which required a lot of responsibility. This, of course, would require her to move back to the village…

…So what? Kurain was not that far away. And I only took an important case once every three months or so anyway. I could still go visit her. She could still come visit me. And she still could help me with the investigations, whenever she had time. It was not like she was moving out of the country, even if the office was going to feel a little empty without her…

So, where did this weird feeling in my stomach come from? This wasn't just my fear of heights kicking in again, that's for sure. I found myself sighing.

(Ah… What am I doing? Whether here or in 'my world'… Maya is just growing up. She's living her own life and going her own way. I always knew she wasn't going to opt for a career in law all of a sudden. It was clear that she'd stop working in my office one day. So, I should have no reason to feel like… like this, really… We're not going to stop being friends because of this, are we?)

But no matter how long I tried telling myself this, the fact that the mental image of Maya leaving to become a Master – a position, in which I really, really couldn't picture her – caused me an almost worse feeling in the stomach than the height. Maybe it was just because the title she was about to take on was 'Master of Kurain'. Nothing good ever came out of 'Master of Kurain'. Misty Fey had been 'Master of Kurain' for only a few years, before she was humiliated, chased into hiding and finally, brutally murdered. And Misty had been young when she took the title. God knew what happened to Maya's grandmother before that. Actually, I didn't even want to know what happened to Maya's grandmother.

In any case, being 'Master of Kurain' was never a good omen for a woman of the Fey clan, from my experiences. My talk with 'this' Maya just a few minutes ago, before boarding this car had just reaffirmed me in that suspicion…

------------------------------------------------------------

"Yeah… There is someone buried there. Iris' Mother."

"Iris' mother… You mean Morgan Fey?" I asked, finding myself stuttering a little. "She's… dead?"

I didn't expect this turn of events. I really didn't expect it in the slightest. Maya, however, just turned her head away in a way that showed that talking about it wasn't exactly pleasant for her.

"Yes. My aunt Morgan. It happened fourteen years ago, I think… I was still a little girl back then, so I don't really remember it very well."

"Do you know what happened…?" I asked, not even knowing why I was interested in it, but finding myself curious somehow.

Maya looked a little insecure. "I think she was ill… I'm not really sure. She had been lying in bed a lot in her last days and Mom, Iris and Dahlia spent a lot of time tending to her. But one day, she just… passed away."

"…I'm sorry."

I bit my lip and felt insensitive for having asked.

"N-No, don't be." Maya told him, shaking her head. "It's not like I even knew her very well. I can't even say if I was sad when I was told that she died. But… Iris and Dahlia were devastated. Iris especially. She wouldn't stop crying for days."

"Of course. They had just lost their mother, after all." I nodded, before I put my hand to my chin. "Still, there's one thing I don't quite understand about this."

"And what would that be?" Maya asked me.

"If Morgan Fey is dead…" I started. "… then who is the current Master of the Kurain Channelling technique?"

All of a sudden, Maya smiled again, albeit only a bit.

"Well, who do you think? Iris, of course!"

"Iris?" I asked surprised. "But… When I talked to her before, she called herself the 'next' master! That didn't sound like she had already taken the place."

"Because she refuses to accept she has." Maya explained to me. "Officially, she's the current Master. But she has never seen herself as the Master."

"…Let me guess: Because she thinks she's not ready yet?"

"To be honest, I don't think she'll ever believe that she's ready…" Maya replied, looking at the floor in a disheartened way, "She keeps putting herself down and claiming she's not good for this, and will never be able to do that, and so on and so forth… Sometimes, it's really depressing to hear her talk like that, you know."

"And 'me'?" I asked, making sure the emphasis on the word 'me' came out correctly "Didn't the 'me' of here do anything to stop her from talking herself down like this?"

Maya looked up. "I wouldn't know," she told me.

"Huh?"

"Iris and the other Nick didn't do a whole lot together when we were around." Maya told me, mimicking the way I has placed my emphasis. "But… usually, she was a whole lot more happy whenever she came back from spending some time with the other Nick."

"…Really?"

I probably reacted surprised to hearing this. This sounded… different from the other things I had heard about him so far. Maya nodded.

"Whatever he kept saying to her… It really raised her spirits! And sometimes, it really looked like she had finally found a little, you know… 'Confidence'."


---------------------------------------------------------------

The sound of the Steel Samurai's Theme called me back to the present.

We were probably already having reception again, so I knew what was going on the moment I realized that the music was made up of bleep-sounds. I already wanted to long into my pocket when I remembered that it couldn't be my phone, since that one was, unfortunately, still lost. Before I could even look up and see where else the music could be coming from, I felt how something fell into my lap. Suddenly, a dark red phone with a simple design was lying on my legs, vibrating.

"Wright, please do me a favor and answer this call for me," I heard Edgeworth telling me. There was a hint of nervousness in his voice. "I am… not particularly fond of accepting phone calls while driving."

(Just say that you're not comfortable with doing it while driving down this road. I'd be the very last one to laugh at you for this, believe me.)

Absolutely agreeing with Edgeworth on the point that I should probably answer the phone rather than him, I quickly hit the green button and led the device to my ear.

"Hello? This is-"

"Mr. Wright? Is that you?"

I was rather surprised when I recognized the voice on the other end.

"Gumshoe?"

There was an uncanny sense of excitement – the negative kind – in Gumshoe's voice.

"Where've you been, Pal? I've been trying to reach you for over two hours now! Did your cellphone run out of battery?"

As always, I could downright picture Gumshoe's excited face before my mental eye as his slightly distorted voice reached me through the receiver. I was almost ashamed to answer that question.

"No, actually, it's not the battery. I just…kind of… lost it."

The reply came almost faster than I had finished mumbling the sentence.

"You lost it? Where?"

"…"

(Sometimes I feel like Maya and Gumshoe had more in common than you see when merely looking at them. And I'm not talking about Junk Food.)

"So, you didn't get my text message?"

"At the very least, I didn't read it." I told him truthfully. "Was it important?"

"And how!" Gumshoe downright shouted into his phone. "Somebody has broken into your office, Pal!"

My eyes widened the moment I heard this.

"W-What?" I pressed the phone closer to my face. "Wait… By 'my office' mean 'my' room in the local prosecutor's office, don't you?"

"Eh… Well, sure, pal. It's not like you had any other offices I don't know of, right?"

(I guess, I shouldn't have asked that out loud.)

I tried to get over that little slip of mine and continued to ask.

"But…Why? What did they want? Did they take anything important?"

"They stole some old case files."

(File theft…?)

"But, it's kinda weird, you know… If you think about it, it doesn't make sense that those files were stolen at all."

"What do you mean it makes no sense?"

"Because the thief's choice of cases was pretty random, pal. Just a few completely unrelated cases… And the files from the BD-7 incident disappeared from the police archive too, around the same time. Weird, given you never actually prosecuted that one, but it somehow looks like there's a connection between the thefts."

"BD-7?"

(Where have I heard that before…? Wait, didn't Edgeworth mention that case earlier?)

So the case files of an incident Edgeworth had spoken of to me just half an hour ago had gone missing, just today. Could this really just be a coincidence? Somehow, I had the nagging feeling that it wasn't.

"Is something wrong, Nick?" Maya asked me from the side, leaning over to me curiously. I covered the mic-end of the phone with my hand and looked at her.

"It's Gumshoe. He says that somebody has stolen something from my office."

Maya looked up surprised.

"From the office…?"

"Yeah. Apparently some files."

"Mr. Wright? Are you still there?"

I turned my attention back to the phone.

"Yes, Detective, I hear you."

"I'll meet you at the office once you're back in town. I'll explain the details there, pal."

"Alrigh-"And that's the moment I remembered my little 'date' with the human incarnation of suffering, which, for the record, I was already late to begin with. "W-Wait I can't meet you right n-"

"I'll see you in a few minutes, Pal!"

*Click!*

The repeated sounds of beep-beep-beep which followed told me that Gumshoe had hung up. Not good, considering that this was either going to cause him to wait at the High Prosecutor's office for hours, just to have nobody show up, or to make Franziska Von Karma wait even longer. The latter sounded like a more child-friendly way to say 'commit suicide'.

I sighed, putting my hand back onto the buttons of the phone.

"Ah… I better call him again…" I whispered.

Edgeworth interrupted me, "Wait, Wright."

I already had my finger on the 'dial'-button, when Edgeworth stopped me.

"Hm?"

Waiting for Edgeworth to explain why exactly I was supposed to 'Wait', I raised my head. Without turning around, he told me.

"I heard what you spoke about. There has been a file theft in your office, correct?" Edgeworth paused at this point, making it seem like he was thinking about something, "I don't believe that leaving the Detective and the Police to investigate in this matter alone now would be wise."

"Letting Von Karma wait even longer is not wise either." I replied, while listening to how unmotivated my own voice sounded when I did. Actually, I would really have rather investigated the theft in 'my' office with the perfectly harmless Detective Gumshoe, than investigate a crime scene I had already examined once before together with Franziska Von Karma. But this wasn't about what I wanted, obviously. I sighed. "Also, I wouldn't be much of a help anyway. I don't even know which of the prosecutor offices is supposed to be 'mine' right now, not to mention what's supposed to be inside there or what kind of cases I had filed. I would be more of a hindrance than a help, I guess…"

"Then maybe it would be better if someone else met with the Detective in your stead."

"Huh?"

Of course, I understood right away what Edgeworth meant by this, but my mind still needed one or two seconds to confirm that this was actually what he was trying to say. After all, it seemed a bit out of place. However, Edgeworth himself quickly reaffirmed what my initial thoughts with the following words.

"I will bring you to the apartment building for your meeting with Franziska von Karma. Right afterwards, I will pay the Detective a visit and ask him to explain the situation to me in detail and maybe look into the facts at the scene of the theft a bit myself, so I can pass the won information on to you. If you give me your written permission to investigate, it shouldn't be a problem. After all, this theft is in no way connected to our current case."

"But… why?" I asked slightly confused. "I thought you wanted to talk to Von Karma as well. Why would you give that up because of something that has nothing to do with you?"

"It will take a while until yours and Franziska von Karma's investigations on the crime scene are finished. I will come and attempt to talk to her later. For now, it is important to determine the true reason for and the amount of damage caused by that sudden file theft that took place in your office…" He lowered his voice a little after saying this. "I have a feeling that there is a possibility that this theft could stand in a more or less direct relation to your… current situation."

"But you… don't have any reason to do this for me!"

"Yes, I do have a reason to do this."

Something in his voice alarmed me when he said this. I soon realized that it was because the tone in his voice sounded somewhat like he felt 'mocked' by me in a certain way... And still, it was a kind of tone I wasn't used to from him. Edgeworth made a short pause, before he continued,

"I'm doing it to help you. You're my friend, Wright. …At least you are again. Right now."
I raised my head in slight shock at what I heard. It wasn't a 'bad' kind of shock, though. More like…a frightening surprise. If that makes any sense.

For a few seconds, I just looked at Edgeworth, who hadn't turned around while talking –a good thing, considering that he was still driving – and I wondered what his face might look like right now. But probably he had, once again, an expression on his face that I haven't seen in years now.

'Friend'… It was a term you only heard Miles Edgeworth use very rarely. The Edgeworth of 'my' world, of course…

"So, Wright?"

I raised my head a little, when I heard that Edgeworth was waiting for a reply.

"Eh… Yes, right." I nodded, despite knowing Edgeworth couldn't see me. "I guess it's really best if we do it like that. Thank you, Edgeworth."

I had just finished saying this, when I heard how Maya addressed me from the side.

"Remember that Miles and I are with you in this now, Nick," she told me. "We're not gonna let you down. We'll figure out what is really going on together."

She had her hands balled to fists by the time she finished that sentence and looked at me in a very determined way.

"Maya…"

I couldn't even say more than that. They really cared about me, didn't they? Despite not actually knowing the 'me' they were talking to right now.

Right after this, Maya winked at me, "And don't worry: If you need to know anything about the other Nick, just ask me. I remember it, so you don't have to! … And so you won't embarrass yourself again!"

The tone in her voice during the last sentence sounded a little bit like she was expecting that I definitely was going to be humiliated without her help. I shook my head, smiled and sighed.

"That's… good to know, Maya."

"Hey! A little bit more excitement, please, Nick!" she returned, when she realized that I didn't look too impressed. "Also, where's my 'Thank you'? Come on, Miles got one too!"

I laughed when I heard this.

"Right," I told her, pausing a bit after this, before continuing. "Thank you, Maya."

"Heheh! You're welcome, Nick!"

And Maya just grinned at me, satisfied.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

May 2nd, 7:03pm

Apartment Building

I leapt out of the elevator as soon as the door opened and took a deep breath. My eyes immediately wandered to my wrist and the watch I wore there.

"I-I don't believe it… We pretty much made it… Just three minutes too late." I said, sighing deeply.

"Good thing there's an elevator here." Maya, who was right behind me, nodded. "I mean, just imagine if everybody had to take the stairs all the way up here! Nobody would survive that! …Hm. Now I wonder why there are even stairs up here, Nick."

I raised my head up and turned around towards her.

"The elevator could defect, Maya," I explained. "What would you do in that situation?"

With an honestly straight face, she told me, "I'd get myself a ladder that reaches to your window… Or, if I want to get down, I'd call the fire brigade, so they can let me jump onto that huge, red trampoline they got."

"Eh… I don't think they have that thing so you can use it that way." I replied to Maya. "And, to be honest, you're the last person I want to discuss ladders with…"

"Ladder or not, there's no way I'm ever taking all those stairs. That can't be healthy."

(But an all-junk-food diet is A-Okay…?)

I had barely finished that thought, when Maya jumped and told me with her hands balled to fists and an excited look on her face,

"Anyway, we should get over to your apartment quickly! Von Karma is probably already the-"

*SLAP!*

Maya's pupils shrunk to half their size the moment the whip hit just half an inch behind her heels. She jumped again.

"Eeek!" she exclaimed, before she skipped out of the way and hid behind me.

(Well, you just had to say it didn't you?)

With Maya out of my field of vision now, I had a good view of another young woman. Guessing that woman's name shouldn't be a very difficult task, should it?

"You are late, Phoenix Wright," she said with a voice cold enough to freeze a volcano and the fitting expression on her face. She stretched her whip above her head as she did. The sight of this thing alone was enough to make me trip back an inch or so. I might have fallen, hadn't Maya been right behind me.

I put my hand behind my head and tried to appear confident, an attempt which failed spectacularly. I didn't need a mirror to know that.

"Heheh… Yeah…I had been… held up a bit…?"

Franziska did not look amused.

*SLAP!*

"YARGH!"

Correction: She definitely wasn't amused.

*SLAP!*

*SLAP!*

*SLAP!*

"OUCH!"

*SLAP!*

"OUAAAAH!"

As I was already on my knees, cowering on the floor, Franziska finally rolled up her whip again.

"Five strikes," she said, and then dramatically pointed at me. "One for every precious minute of my time you wasted!"

"Huh… I guess we spent two whole minutes talking there, Nick…" Maya whispered at me from behind, unwittingly raising the attention of the female Prosecutor in front of us.

"And what is this singer doing here, Phoenix Wright?" Franziska looked down at Maya, who was still cowering behind me. There was resent in her voice as well her eyes. "This is a crime scene, not a playground. I demand that this girl leaves."

"What? I'm not here to play! I am-"

"AH- I brought her for more questioning!" I quickly jumped up and interrupted Maya, before she could make the situation even worse. "She is the only witness the prosecution hasn't interrogated thoroughly yet, after all. And we don't want to give the Defense an advantage, right? …Ehe…"

"Hmpf…"

With sharp eyes, Franziska again looked over Maya, who was now standing right beside me. Poor Maya. She looked as uncomfortable with being looked at like this as one could look. Franziska, finally told me in a warning tone, "Fine. But don't let this kid touch anything. Otherwise, you will both meet a more… unpleasant side of me."

I didn't like the way she played with her whip when she said that. I really didn't like it. Meanwhile, Maya who was beside me was mumbling something like 'But she's just nineteen too…' sounding very upset and even somewhat offended.

Probably not having heard this, Franziska turned around and left into the direction of the apartment.

"Maya," I whispered to her, when Von Karma wasn't looking. "This woman can be very manipulative if she wants to. She'll try to turn your second testimony tomorrow to her advantage. Don't let her influence you with anything she says, alright?"

Maya quickly nodded, "Got it," she paused a short moment. "...But I can't promise that I won't do anything stupid if she uses that whip again."

(Well, at least she's honest.)

"That thing hurts, you know."

Without even replying anything to this statement of the obvious, I followed the way Franziska Von Karma went, Maya right behind me. I saw her using a Key Card (probably a Master Key she received for the Investigations) to get inside and quickly followed, before the door could fall back into its locked state. Edgeworth had returned 'my' Keycard to me in the car before, but I still didn't feel like cramming it out right now.

Maya and I entered.

"So… this is where it happened," was the first thing I heard her say, as soon as we went through the door.

"Yes. 'My' Apartment… The scene of Ema Skye's murder." I nodded, once again putting an intentional emphasis on the 'My' Part. It still didn't feel right to accept this place as something that belonged to me, after all.

Maya was silent for a moment, looking through the room for a few seconds, before she lowered her head.

"I haven't been here for pretty long now … It looks different from before," she said.

I listened up.

(So she was here before?)

She then paused once more, before a smile suddenly appeared on her face. "Still, there's one thing that hasn't changed."

"And that would be?"

She clapped her hands together and grinned,

"It's still as untidy as ever."

(Ouch.)

"Hm…" I let my eyes wander across the room. "The remains of the staged struggle are still there. The police was apparently careful not to change a thing."

"If you hadn't told me that there was a staged struggle, I wouldn't have known that it wasn't supposed to look like that here," Maya bluntly once again stated when I said that.

"H-Hey…!"

(How many times is she going to rub that in now?)

Maya grinned again, "Nick can be so chaotic sometimes. You wouldn't believe it! …Don't look at me like that. I'm talking about the 'other' Nick, you know.

(But why does it still feel like you were insulting me?)

I quickly moved on a few steps and promised myself not to lose even one more word regarding the chaos in here, so Maya wouldn't find any more reasons to nag me about my cleaning habits or the lack thereof. As I kept looking around, Maya finally addressed me.

"Hey, Nick."

I turned towards her. She continued.

"That white chalk outline… That's where the victim's body was laying, right?"

I nodded, "Yes, that's how the police mark the spot and position in which the body was found."

(I guess that is 'this' Maya's first time investigating a crime scene.)

"Hm… It has roughly my size…"

"Huh?"

I looked at Maya in slight confusion, as she told me,

"I would fit into that outline too."

"Hm… Yeah, I guess you would. Ema was about your size. Maybe a bit shorter. But not a lot."

Maya shook a little when she heard that. Her head sunk.

"…"

"Maya?"

"It…could have been me just as well," she finally said, before she looked at me again. "If I had known whatever Ema knew… they would have probably killed me too, right?"

"…"

Maya sunk her head again. Finally, she whispered.

"I guess I was lucky…"

"…?"

I would have asked Maya what she meant by that, but barely a second after saying it, she just raised her head again and skipped two steps to the side. She was now taking a look at the vases and the flowers inside.

"Hm… Tulips… and Sunflowers? That's a weird combination for a flower bouquet." Maya then turned around for me and asked, "Are those your favorite flowers, Nick?"

"Actually, those are my only flowers." I replied.

"Huh?"

"I can't name any flowers except for those two."

"Really? Just Sunflowers and Tulips?" Maya asked, giggling a bit. "That's pretty weak, Nick! How did you pass biology in school?"

"…"

(I copied half of my tests from Edgeworth and other people who read more than me, but I guess I shouldn't tell her that. She would probably just laugh.)

"Hey, you have a Dolby CD Player in that room!"

She didn't even give me time to think much about the things she told me. I quickly followed Maya, who was now standing in front of a black machine, resembling a stereo.

"Eh… Dolby…?"

"It makes you feel like you were right in the middle of the music!" Maya explained to me with a commercial-worthy smile.

(In the middle? How does that even work?)

"Hm… That makes me wonder…"

Maya jumped a step to the side and reached her hand onto one of the shelves, starting to go through its contents. Alarmed, I tried to stop her,

"H-Hey! Von Karma told you not to touch anything, remember?"

"Ha! Here it is!"

Triumphantly, Maya pulled a Disk from the shelf and held it above my head,

"I knew it was there!"

I tried to take a closer look at the object in Maya's hands, and asked her.

"What is it?"

"My three year jubilee compilation!" Maya presented it to me with a grin. "It was released earlier that year. I put re-edits of all my best songs on that thing! I don't want to brag, but I think it turned out pretty neat."

(So, it's a MAYOI CD?) I summed it up to myself. I examined the CD she showed me for a few seconds, before…

"Is something wrong, Nick?" Maya finally asked me.

I then looked up at her. "How did you know that this was here?" I asked interestedly.

Maya just grinned, "Oh, I… just kinda guessed!"

"Hm…"

I turned my eyes back to the CD Cover, which showed Maya, releasing a white dove into the air.



(That's weird,) I thought. (I mean, Maya's not a bad singer, but… I've never been too big a fan of Pop Music. Why would the other Phoenix have bought a jubilee album?)

Maya was talking again, "That reminds me… you haven't heard too many of my songs yet, have you, Nick?"

With those words, she pressed the CD into my hands and grinned. "Here. I want you to listen to every single song on this tonight!"

Startled, I took the disk and stared at my friend.

(What? But those are about twenty different songs! When am I supposed to find time for that?)

"And write me a review on each one! I want to see them by tomorrow, or you'll have to pay consequences! Heh Heh!"

(Are you my teacher now?)

I realized that I probably shouldn't even try fighting over this with her, so I just silently accepted Maya's little "condition" and took one more look at the CD, this time paying more attention to the title.

"Hm... 'Gyakuten'?" I read out in an asking tone. (Sounds somehow familiar…)

Maya smiled, "It's Japanese. I think it roughly means 'Reversal' or 'Turnabout'. I thought it fit with most of my songs, so I chose it for a title. Japanese gives everything such a… cool sound!"

(That doesn't change the fact that you obviously don't really speak it.) I sighed. ('Turnabout'… is that really the main theme of her discography? That sounds too much of a coincidence to be true…)

Maybe it was just me, but sometimes I felt like my whole life was just a big, long line of twists and 'turnabouts'. Especially my last case in February that had made me feel like I had suddenly ended up in some kind of overly complicated Soap opera. Probably it was some kind of in-joke of fate that Maya had named her three year jubilee album that…

Still, this CD wasn't helping us with the case. I put it into my suitcase.

Just when I had closed it again and was standing up straight once more, I heard someone address me from behind,

"Quit fooling around with the witness, Phoenix Wright!"

*SLAP!*

The whip cracked just a few inches to my right. I jumped and turned around.

"Eh…" I was looking Franziska right in her very not-pleased face, "Y-Yes… Sorry about that. I just thought…"

She pointed me right in the face, "You are not here to think you are here to investigate, a task at which you are obviously not successful so far!"

(Well, care to show me the evidence that you have found here in that case…?)

"Stop looking at me with that foolish look in your eyes. It is your own fault we have to repeat these foolishly foolish investigations, which you and this fool of a detective messed up so horribly, once more. Miles Edgeworth is in possession of a great amount of information that we lack already. We can't allow the situation to remain this way until tomorrow."

"Ehm… Well, this would be a lot easier if I actually knew what we were looking for…"

*SLAP!*

There were times when I could control quite well what I was saying out loud, and there were times when I couldn't. This had been, unfortunately, an instance of the latter.

"Proof," Franziska told me, rolling up her whip again. "Hard, solid proof that Miles Edgeworth's theory is invalid!"

"Hm…" I thought a bit. What did Franziska probably want to hear right now? "I guess, that would be easiest to prove if there was evidence that Ms. Skye staged the struggle herself and that the suicide attempt was, in fact, real…"

"…Hm. Good."

Was that an actual smile I saw there on Franziska von Karma's face? Somebody poke me, this must be a dream.

"You are finally starting to show some shades of competence," she told me, then continued to speak in a way that sounded a bit like she was thinking aloud to herself. "Yes… Of course, proving that the suicide attempt was irrefutably real would shatter the Defense's claims that the suicide note was a fake... You!"

The slight smile disappeared again, as she flung her pointing finger into my direction again, "Investigate the scene of the suicide attempt right now! I will take over the examination of this room!"

(In other words, you will be doing nothing…?)

*SLAP!*

"What are you waiting for?"

"A-Alright, I'm going, I'm going!" I quickly exclaimed, before turning to the side, "Maya…?"

I found her with wide open eyes, looking tempted to hide behind me again.

"I-I'm coming too!" she stated.

Highly 'motivated' by the threatening way Von Karma was still holding the end of her whip in her hand, Maya and me downright stormed towards the bathroom door. If a random person without any idea what was going on had watched us right now, they would have probably thought that we had just come home from a juice drinking contest or something among those lines.

As soon as Maya had entered behind me, I closed the door and sealed it. God be blessed for lockable bathroom doors.

"This is quite a large bathroom," Maya soon stated.

"Well, I guess your 'other Nick' had quite a large budget," I answered.

"Hm…" Maya suddenly eyed me suspiciously for some reason. She finally asked, "Say…Is that suit made of cashmere?"

"…!"
Spontaneously, I looked down myself and rubbed the material of my jacket under my fingers.

"Eh… No… feels like always. Wool, I guess…"

Maya looked a bit disappointed at first, but then gave me a slightly pondering look.

"Well, I guess that's like him… Being stingy in the weirdest places."

(Just because it's not silk or cashmere, it doesn't mean that suit wasn't expensive!)

Just in case you were wondering, yes, I had noticed that Maya seemed to know a lot about the 'me' of here, but that didn't surprise me all too much. She knew my nickname after all. It was obvious that she had some kind of history with the guy, even though I wasn't really sure about the exact nature of that history yet.

I had decided to let the issue rest for now. If it turned out to be important, I could still ask Maya about it later. For now, I'd just enjoy the fact that she didn't hate me with every fiber of her being anymore.

We 'split' the room into two halves when we started our 'bathroom investigations'. I started taking a closer look at the shower where Lana was found after the crime, while Maya examined the area around the toilet. It didn't take long, till Maya was standing in front of the bathroom window, looking like she was pondering about something.

"What is it, Maya?"

"It's just… bathroom windows are always so tiny!" she turned around and stated, "You can barely see anything through that thing!"

"That's the point, Maya." I told her, "Would you rather be watched while… you know?"

"But this is the twentieth floor," Maya disagreed. "Nobody can look up all that way."

"Uhm… Yes, right… I guess…"

She then grinned, "See? You could have made the window a bit bigger, Nick!"

(I thought we had established that I am not the one who lives here?)

"I mean, look at this tiny thing! It barely lets in any light… Not even I would fit through that thing!"

(Hm… Yes, she's right.) I took a closer look at the window as well. (This window is too narrow for a person to fit through. So it is not a possible escape route for the killer…)

I was starting to wonder where the true murderer had taken all their time from. This crime was obviously very well prepared and they would have needed several minutes to set everything up. The next spot I investigated, the shower rod, pointed towards this as well.

"Hm… The shower rod looks very stable. And it's also quite high up. It's at least two and a half meters high. It would really be easy to hang yourself on that thing. On the other hand, one would have to get up there first before attaching the noose…"

Maya came up to me and nodded, looking like she was pondering about something again,

"And there are no chairs around… You think the killer used a ladder to attach the noose?"

When I heard the 'L' word, I barely even dared to bring up my argument… But I did anyway.

"Actually, seeing how there's no wall close enough to the spot where the rope was hanging, they would have needed a stepladder," I told her, already knowing what I had triggered with this. My mind started the obligatory countdown.

(Three…Two…One…)

As I suspected, Maya grinned and stated, "So, what? A ladder's a ladder after all, right? Seriously, Nick, you need to stop being so nitpicky about details! … Uhm…Nick?"

Maya then stopped smiling. She looked slightly worried all of a sudden

"Do you have something in your eye?" she asked me.

Surprised, I looked up.

"…Huh?"

I touched the skin under my eyes with my fingers and noticed that it was actually… a little wet.

(What? What is going on now…? Don't tell me I'm actually crying because of… What's wrong with me?)

"Eh… Sorry, if I said something wrong…" Maya told me, looking at the floor.

"N-No…" I quickly told her, wiping off the bit of tears on my face, "I was just thinking about… how great it is to have you back around."

(That's really what I was thinking about,) I realized. (... Again. This is getting creepier and creepier with every passing minute.)

I let the eternal 'ladder contra stepladder' debate rest for now, as well as the unpleasant feeling in my stomach that had become even harder to ignore now. Maya's presence and absence; Klavier Gavin, the rock-singing lawyer and little Trucy, the Magician girl… I knew that there had to be something I was suppressing, but I was starting to wonder if I even wanted to know what it was. It couldn't be anything good if my subconscious was causing me to shed tears over stepladders.

Maya, meanwhile, had carried on investigating 'her' half of the room. I heard her voice again.

"But at least this is made of porcelain, right?"

She was pointing at the toilet.

I was slightly baffled, "Isn't every toilet made of porcelain?"

"It could be made of marble," Maya claimed. "…Or plastic. If Nick was being stingy again."

"Plastic? That's a bit extreme. I doubt that even Gumshoe is poor enough to own a toilet like that."

"You never know," Maya claimed with her expression unchanged.

(Yes, you never know, Maya. With you, that is.)

"…Huh?"

I had wanted to return towards the shower, but something had captured my attention before I could do so.

"What's wrong, Nick?" Maya asked.

I took a step closer, "I thought I saw something… shining in the toilet."

"Hm? Shining."

Maya took a closer look, "Hey, you're right. There's something swimming in the water…"

"Well, let's get it out and see what it is."

"What?" Maya looked shocked at the thought. "From inside the toilet? EWW! That's beyond gross!"

"I didn't tell you to fish it out, did I? Also, it could be a piece of evidence. We have to take a look at it."

"B-But Nick! That's a toilet! A toilet!" she told me with an extra amount of emphasis. "You never know what kind of stuff there is down that dark, dark drain!"

"Nothing you haven't seen before, trust me."

"But-!"

"Maya, there are no dragons or mutant turtles on the other end of that pipe."

All of a sudden, Maya was silent. I sighed, "Wait, I'll get it…"

Maya was still staring at me big eyed, obviously, cringing at the thought of touching something that came from the toilet. To be honest, I wasn't keen to do it either. Luckily, I knew enough about myself to "orientate" in the bathroom. I quickly found myself using a pair of rubber gloves for toilet scrubbing and got to work. Maya, despite obviously still being somewhat disgusted, watched me, as I reached in pulled out the object.

"And? What is it?" she asked, as soon as I raised my hand out of the bowl.

I raised the object up, so I could get a better view of it. What I could already tell was that it was transparent – That's probably how the police missed it during the initial investigations – and rather soft.

"It's a… nylon glove?"

Surprised, I took a better look at what I had fished out of the toilet bowl, just to confirm what I thought.

"A nylon glove?" Maya asked.

Slightly surprised myself, I nodded. "Yes… And there's another one."

I didn't quite know what this meant, but there they were. In my rubber-glove enclosed fingers, I was holding two transparent nylon gloves…

"Hey, Nick… one of them looks a little weird," Maya told me, after she took a closer look at my find, and I had to agree,

"Yeah. One of them is ripped. Pretty badly, actually," I examined the ripped glove closely, mumbling. "Even if they hadn't been in the toilet, at least this one would be unusable…"

"Do you know what this reminds me of, Nick?"

I turned towards Maya, "No. What does it remind you of?"

"Today's trial," she told me, putting her hand to her mouth "I mean, didn't you say something like this when you objected back then? Something about gloves and a toilet…?"

"I… did…? …Hey!"

I suddenly remembered what Maya was talking about…

-----------------------

"The reason the Defendant removed the gloves she must have been wearing is the same as the reason why the murder weapon is lacking bloodstains! To get rid of the blood!"

"The… blood? So there was blood on her gloves…? Oh I see!"

"Yes. It would have been impossible for the killer to avoid getting blood on her hands… seeing how the victim was stabbed! So what would have been the Defendant's first move after entering the bathroom? Getting rid of this blood, of course! Now, tell me, Your Honor, if you had a pair of bloody gloves on hand, which you just wanted to have out of your sight, no matter what, what would you do?"

"Hmm…Throw them out of the window?"

"Not quite. You forget that the Defendant was found in a bathroom. And what does this bathroom conveniently feature?"

"A toilet!"

"Exactly! There's a simple reason why the defendant wasn't wearing gloves anymore when we found her and why we didn't find them at the Crime Scene… She flushed them down the drain!"

-------------------------------

"I-I don't believe it… " I said, slightly shaking my head. "I mean… I just said that for the sake of prosecuting a bit better!"

"But it looks like it was actually true…" Maya said. After that, she fell silent for a short moment. She lowered her head, before she started talking again. "N-Nick? Does that mean Ms. Skye actually…?"

"N-No…" I shook my head. "Don't worry, those gloves don't say anything… I made it sound more impressive than it actually is back in court. Those could be here for a different reason just as well."

"Hm, then…" Maya turned towards me. Enthusiasm was starting to shine in her eyes again, "Maybe those belonged to the real murderer!"

"…?"

"Well, our Nick is obviously using a different brand of gloves, right? At least the one you're wearing are different."

I nodded, "Yes. Those are rubber gloves." (Feeling a little weird on the skin, but a lot more practical than those nylon gloves…)

"That means, someone else must have brought them here!" Maya told me, "And that someone else… is our killer!"

"…Yeah, you're right." I thought a bit about what she said, while I kept examining the gloves. "That rip… maybe that happened during the crime?"

"I bet it did!" Maya said, "Come on, let's go and make the forensics dust the things for finger prints!"

I had to shake my head to that, "I'm afraid that won't work, Maya."

"What? Why?"

"They've been swimming in toilet-water for over twenty-four hours now," I explained to her. "There's not much of a chance that there's still fingerprints on them. I mean, look at them: If they were really used in the murder, there should be blood on them, but even that has apparently been washed off already."

Maya looked deeply disappointed, "Argh… And it could have been so easy…"

"I'm just wondering one thing," I had already put the gloves into a plastic bag and pulled the rubber gloves down from my hands. Now, I was tapping my chin with my, once again bare, fingers. "Why are those even here?"

"Hm…?"

Maya looked curious, so I explained it to her further, "If you remember what I said in court today, the killer would have probably flushed the gloves down the drain. I mean, even with all finger prints and blood washed off, they're still evidence."

"Maybe the killer was in a hurry?" Maya suggested.

"But pushing the Flush-Button takes barely a second. It doesn't make any sense…"

And no matter how much I thought about it, it probably wouldn't start making more sense all of a sudden. That's when I decided. I was about to pack the little bag with the gloves away to the remaining evidence, when I heard a voice behind me.

"So, you have actually managed to find something? I am surprised."

For some miraculous reason, that sentence wasn't followed by a whip-crack. Maybe she was starting to hate me a little less? In any case, Franziska Von Karma was coming over to us…

(…Wait! Didn't I lock the door…?)

"Nick…" I heard Maya whisper to me, "You know that you can easily open a bathroom door from outside with a coin, don't you?"

"…Oh."

Before I knew it, Franziska had arrived and taken the bag with the nylon gloves from me. She seemed very satisfied,

"Just what I needed. The proof that Lana Skye was, indeed, wearing gloves during the time of the crime!"

"Actually, there is no proof that it was her who wore the…"

Franziska's face fell that very second.

*SLAP!*

I jumped, tripped backwards and hid behind Maya, who seemed a little shocked about this,

"N-Nick! What are you doing? Don't leave me to face her!"

Franziska stepped closer to us, now once again having that piercing cold look in her eyes.

"While you are cowering so foolishly behind that foolish fool of a girl, Phoenix Wright, I would like to know why this door behind me here was locked."

"Eh…" I was coming out of my pathetic 'hiding place' again and tried to stand as upright as possible, "Force of habit… I guess?

She obviously didn't buy it. Playing around with her whip between her fingers, Franziska looked at us, telling me,

"You are lucky that I am somewhat satisfied with the new evidence you found, otherwise such a foolishly obvious lie would have earned you my 'special treatment', if you understand what I mean."

I gulped at the way she said that.

She then dramatically stretched her hand out towards us, "If you lie, lie at least convincingly, I say!"

(Must be one of her life mottos…)

"In any case, it looks to me like there is nothing else of interest here," Franziska just decided, making me wonder how she would know that, not having investigated here herself, "It is time to take care of a few other unfilled holes in today's trial."

"Holes…?" I asked a little confused.

Franziska clutched her sleeves and explained, "The main witness testified that there had been maintenance works regarding this floor on the afternoon of the crime. I think further information about this matter would prove useful."

(Hm… Yeah, actually, we don't even know what exactly they were working on, right...? Heatherd was very vague regarding all of that…)

"I want you to go down and interrogate the building's Janitor about the maintenance works on May 1st. Meanwhile, I will keep investigating the living room. Oh, and take the witness with you," she looked at Maya in a somewhat contemptuous way. "I can't use an annoyance like this here."

Maya looked like she didn't know whether to feel glad or highly offended.

"I am expecting you back in this apartment in thirty minutes… You know what happens otherwise."

She was proudly presenting her whip as she said this, so I knew very well what was going to happen if we weren't back within the next half hour. But, fortunately, I didn't think getting a report about the maintenance work from the Janitor was going to take longer than that anyway… Well, except for one thing maybe…

"Do you know where the Janitor's Office is, Nick?" Maya asked me with slight worry in her voice, as Franziska was already turning her back on us, expecting us to leave.

"Eh… Those offices are usually on the first floor, aren't they? Also, this is a huge building, so I guess it will be signposted…"

(I hope…)

"Hm…" Maya didn't seem very convinced by what I had told her, "We'd better hurry…"

I understood Maya all too well. I wasn't keen on getting Franziska Von Karma's 'special treatment' either. However, my mind was still on three other things as the two of us returned to the elevator to go search the Janitor.

The first were the gloves we had found in the bathroom. The second was the theft in the Prosecutor's office, which Edgeworth was probably being informed about in detail right now.

…The third were the things I probably 'should' know but didn't know. I am repeating myself but: What was wrong with me? What had happened? The more unsettling things that happened over this course of events, the more I wanted to know this one thing. It was frightening me, even more than the thought of that 'other' me who I had been told was the antithesis of everything I believed in.

There was currently more than just one mystery to solve. Remembering this fact, I pushed the button labeled with a "1" in the elevator and returned to the building's first floor, alongside Maya.

Evidence:

*) Prosecutor's Badge

I never thought I'd ever hold this in my hands. The design closely resembles the police's emblem.

*) Magatama

This gem allows me to see the locks on people's hearts whenever they hide the truth from me. It was a gift from Maya and is charged with Pearls' spiritual energy.

*) Photo of Iris

A picture of me and Iris in Kurain. Apparently we were still a couple here, up until recently.
CHECK: http://img823.imageshack.us/img823/1896 ... feenie.png

*) Victim(?) Note

Reads "Lana" in red letters of blood.
CHECK: http://img812.imageshack.us/img812/4660/victimnote.png

*) Snackoos Bag

Found near Ema. She was apparently eating them before she was killed. Imported from Europe.

*) Dart

A small, needle-like projectile, made for use with a tranquilizer gun. There are faint traces of blood on it. Found near the sofa.

*) Rope

Ripped. Apparently, Lana tried to hang herself with it. It was cut before it ripped.

*)Sketch

A picture of Maya, Pearls and me, drawn in my boredom. Note to self: Giving up the art studies was a good choice.
CHECK: http://img829.imageshack.us/img829/645/sketchonaboat.png

*)Autopsy Report

Victim died between 17:00 and 17:20 from massive blood loss after receiving a stab wound in the chest. The back of the head was bruised.
CHECK: http://img827.imageshack.us/img827/6753/autopsyreport.png

*)Crime Scene Photo 1

CHECK: http://img843.imageshack.us/img843/9230/crimescenephoto1.png

*)Crime Scene Photo 2

CHECK: http://img638.imageshack.us/img638/8229/crimescenephoto2.png

*)Knife

The murder weapon. Was cleaned with soap after the crime, so there are no finger prints or bloodstains on it left. Belongs to the Defendant.

*)Fingerprint List

Lists the people who touched the door's handle.
CHECK : http://i1187.photobucket.com/albums/z390/MeikyuButterfly/Complete%20Turnabout/Fingerprintslist2.png

*)Ema's Button

One of the three Badges Ema wore on her labcoat. It came off before she died. The needle is bloody and crooked.

*)Maya's Letter

Was found at the crime scene. Addressed to „Nick". Content unknown.

*)Misty Fey's Book

A picture book, entitled "Haruka's Cherry Tree". Not yet published, this is a manuscript.
CHECK : http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/1628/picturebookcover.png

*)CD

Maya's three year jubilee compilation. She appears to be very proud of the songs selected for this disk.
CHECK: http://i1187.photobucket.com/albums/z390/MeikyuButterfly/Complete%20Turnabout/CDCover.jpg

*)Nylon Gloves

Found in the toilet at the crime scene. One of the is ripped badly.

Profiles:

*) Phoenix Wright

I have been a Defense Attorney for three years now. But now it looks like people were convinced of something else suddenly...

*) Miles Edgeworth

An old school friend of mine. Apparently, he's a renowned Defense Attorney here. The "Him" I remember, on the other hand, was an extremely talented, but arrogant Prosecutor.

*) Maya Fey

Sprite
Singing (Turnabout Sisters Song)[Hatsune Miku(Vocaloid)]
Apparently a famous pop idol known as "MAYOI". In my memory, she was a Spirit Medium and served as my assistant and co-council in many of my cases.

*) Ema Skye

A teenager, who was dreaming of becoming a forensic investigator one day and good friend of mine. Was murdered in the apartment.

*) Lana Skye

Ema's older sister. Apparently tried to commit suicide in the bathroom. Her suicide note implicates her as her sister's killer.

*) Dick Gumshoe

Still detective of the local police force. Still as underpaid as ever.

*) Mia Fey

Maya's older sister and a detective. Currently under arrest for attempted murder. I remember her being my mentor as a Defense Attorney and murdered shortly after my very first trial.

*) Dahlia Fey
Leitmotif

Maya's and Mia's cousin and Iris's identical twinsister. Was the coldblooded killer 'Dahlia Hawthorne' in the world I remember, but declared guilty for a crime she didn't commit alongside Mia in this one. Her personality seems to have been turned upside down...

*) Klavier Gavin

Leadsinger and Guitarist of a Band called "Gavinners". Apparently also a lawyer. His name rings a bell, but I can't remember where I first met him.

*) Lilie Heatherd

Leitmotif
Sprite
Voice: OBJECTION!
A Defence Attorney known as the "Evidence Spammer". Claims to have witnessed Ema and Lana entering the Apartment shortly before the murder.

*) Iris Fey

Leitmotif
Singing (??? Song)
Maya and Mia's cousin, Dahlia's twin and hire to the master title of Kurain in this 'world'. Recently broke up with 'me'. Unhappy with her occupation as a Spirit Medium.

*) Franziska von Karma

Prosecutor Prodigy from Germany, who was assigned to aid me during this trial. She enjoys whipping lawyers, judges and witnesses alike and strives for absolute perfection in her trials.

*) Misty Fey

Sprite
Alternate Outfit
Talented Spirit Medium and mother to Mia and Maya Fey. Saw a third witness.

*) Dylan Sengage

Sprite
Lilie Heatherd's boyfriend, despite being a minor. The owner of the unidentified fingerprints.

*) ???

A girl. With keys in her hair... Just what was that about?!

*)Pearl Fey (?)

Leitmotif?
Led me to Maya's meeting place. She looks like Pearls, but it seems like it wasn't really her.

*)Diego Armando

Most likely Mia's boyfriend. Has a serious caffeine addiction.

*)Trucy

Leitmotif
A young Illusionist and actress in the Steel Samurai movie. She appears to be a very enthusiastic girl.

*)Morgan Fey

The mother of Iris and Dahlia. Has been dead for about 14 years in this 'world'.

Bonus:
Music: BGM of the Dream Sequences

Artwork: Lilie Heatherd

I am really, REALLY glad now I have a huge file with detailed plot infos on my PC. Otherwise, I would have forgotten half of the stuff I had planned for this chapter. Really. I am still fighting , so I won't accidently create Plot-Holes though. You may have noticed, but I have a ton of intertwined side plots going on and keeping track of them is HELL. Sometimes, I forget what exactly the motivation of a certain character where, then I have to go back to the Info-File, read, read some more to get all the connections down again and keep writing… It can be frustrating, really.

However, I am speeding things up a little now. I decided to get right down to the point of several plot points quicker than I had planned, so I can make sure that everything will resolve satisfyingly once the time will come. The last new side-plot will be opened in the next chapter (A character you all know and either love or hate will make an appearance) and after that, there will be no new plot traits. I will just resolve the five hundred open ones after that… heh… heh… (Somebody please kill me… How can you enjoy and be tortured by something like this at the same time?)

I really enjoyed writing Maya in this chapter, especially in the investigation scenes. Coming up with dialogue for her is just huge fun. I know why I squeeled in joy when I could finally write her as cute and bubbly again.

Everybody, you are awesome! Read ya soon!

May 2nd, 7:35pm

Apartment Building

The Janitor's Office was, in fact, signposted. This, in addition to the discovery that it really was on the first floor, just like I had guessed, caused me a great deal of relief. I guess Maya was relieved too. At least she looked rather happy when we stood in front of the door to the Janitor's Office. Just this once, it seemed like life had finally decided to go easy on me…

"Eh? Nick! Look at this!"

But I had already jinxed it. Guess I should have thought nothing, right?

Maya's finger was stretched out towards the door, pointing directly at a sheet of paper hanging on it. Already having an unpleasant assumption about the contents of said sheet of paper, I took a step closer towards it. I read out loud,

"'Absent for the day. Please try again tomorrow afternoon. Apologies for any inconveniences'… Signed by a certain… 'Ján Ítor'? …Seriously? That's his name?"

"Hm… That's not good," I heard Maya tell me and saw her tap her cheek with her finger and look at the ceiling. "The next part of the trial is tomorrow morning, isn't it?"

Of course it was tomorrow. Like always. Prep Time had always been a thing of legends – as in 'it goes down in history if you're ever given a significant amount of it' – in our court system. And this meant we had nothing to bring to Von Karma. Wonderful.

"Uhm… Maybe's there's another way of finding out what exactly the maintenance works were about?" I wondered to myself aloud, focusing on the ceiling for the moment myself. Looking at something as plain as a white wall always helped thinking. At least me. "We could figure out the phone number of the firm who did them and ask directly instead. Or, we could ask the other occupants of the twentieth floor…"

"Or…We could just take a look inside this office!"

"…?"

I was struck by confusion when I heard this somewhat odd statement and so I turned my head into Maya's direction again. That's when I saw her standing there, leaning against the door to the janitor's office, grinning. The open door to the janitor's office, I should probably add. As I was still wondering just how she managed to do this, she presented a dark brown tie to me.



There was a huge grin on her face,

"This was stuck in the door! I guess that kept the lock from closing!"

With those words, things started to make sense.

"…And because the janitor's not here, nobody noticed the warning signal that's supposed to go off in his office," I concluded. (That whole building's security is dependent on those locks closing correctly, after all… Why does this huge building only have one, single janitor to take care of all this, actually? That's just careless.)

"Now? What are we waiting for?" Maya had a kind of smile on her face that was very familiar to me. The kind of smile that said 'I am eager to do something I am not supposed to do'. "Let's go inside!" She told me, "Maybe we'll find something about the maintenance works in there!"

I did not quite agree with that idea.

"Wait! We can't just sneak in there and mess around with the Janitor's documents."

"We're not messing around with them," Maya winked at me. "We're just taking a quick peek! Also, do you want to tell Von Karma up there that we won't get any info about the maintenance works until tomorrow after the trial?"

She had a point there. A good point, in fact.

"Just relax, Nick!" She told me. "You're a Prosecutor! Taking a look at stuff like this is part of your job, right?"

Of course, she was somewhat right, and even if she hadn't been, this was still far from the first time that Maya dragged me to investigate someplace I shouldn't have, but it still felt like I was 'intruding' in a territory I was not supposed to be in. After all, this place was supposed to be locked, meaning that the owner had not intended us to just come and leave as we please.

Still, we needed that information and there was not really any other place we could get it from. Out of options, as usual. I sighed,

"Alright… But we're only checking for the maintenance works, Maya, OK?" I focused my eyes on hers, "No taking the Janitor's clothes, magazines, posters or doughnuts."

Maya looked quite offended when she heard that.

"You're talking like I was some kind of kleptomaniac, Nick!" She told me with a slightly reddish face and pulled-down eyebrows.

(No comment)

I took the door handle from her and opened the door for both of us, so we could enter.

What we found behind the door was a place that might have been called 'Janitor's Office' on the door's outside, but resembled something entirely different on the inside…

"Whoa!" Maya's curiosity visibly skyrocketed – I decided it was a good idea to keep a close eye on her from now on – when she saw the inside of the room. "Look at all those digital Doodads!"

This room featured several computers. Labeled with small signs, each of the machines seemed to have a different purpose and their cables were covering the floor, as well as the desks and, to a certain extent, even the walls. I don't think that any normal person would have guessed that, in fact, only one single man was working here. From the looks of it, I would have guessed that it would need at least three to run all those PCs and the devices attached to them. Then again, I don't know all too much about Computers. Maybe it was really possible to handle it all, if you knew how.

"This place looks like a secret hideout!" Maya concluded in a voice full of amazement.

"I was thinking more along the lines of an IT Administration Center," I told her. "But, yeah, there's quite a lot of stuff here… I didn't know an apartment building's janitor could need that many computers."

"It's the 21st century, Nick," Maya told me with a cheerfully melodic voice, "Everything is online!"

(Everything but me. I don't even have Facebook.)

"Well, what are we waiting for?" There was a downright frighteningly eager expression in Maya's face. "Let's try them out!"

"Maya, don't touch anything we don't need to touch," I warned her once again as her hand was already reaching for the mouse of the computer labeled 'Administration of Electricity'. "We only need the data regarding the maintenance works, remember? "

I threw her a disapproving look and so she quickly took her hand of the machine again, looking visibly disappointed. She proceeded to pout a bit, but only for a few seconds.

Meanwhile, I took a stroll through the room myself, trying to single out the source of the data I was searching for. Finally, I found something that seemed promising.

"…'General Administration'… I guess that one should do it."

Maya immediately took a quick step towards me, and declared, "I think we should check out 'Administration of Electricity' as well!"

Her pointing finger flung out into the direction of the computer she had just attempted to use. I turned around towards her, a big question mark on my face,

"'Administration of Electricity'…Eh… Why? How do you think that could help?"

"If we check yesterday's count, we know if the killer used the television set in your room!"

I stared at Maya for a few seconds, wondering if she was serious about this. When her tense expression didn't waver even slightest, I finally opened my mouth.

"…You know, I don't think I would exactly be in the mood to pleasantly watch TV, if a person I am about to murder could come through the door any second."

"That's because you don't have the sick and twisted mind of a killer!" Maya stated.

(And you do…?)

She didn't even seem to notice that I wasn't too amazed by her reasoning. I was about to just turn back to the 'General' computer, when I noticed that Maya was holding something in her hand, or, rather, in her fist. In her attempt to look firm and convinced, she had balled both of her hands. I took a closer look at the object she was clutching and didn't need more than two seconds to recognize it,



"You still have that tie…?"

It was the one she had found stuck in the door a few minutes prior. Maya smiled and nodded, quickly replying to my question. "I thought the owner might still be close by. If we come across them, I can give it back. If not… it makes a nice souvenir!"

(There she goes again, just taking stuff… *sigh*)

"And what if the Janitor is the owner?" I asked her finally. "He's absent today, so we'll hardly stumble across him."

Maya did not seem impressed,

"Actually, I don't think this tie belongs to an adult, Nick."

"…?"

I gave her a confused look. Maya registered said look and quickly handed me the tie, pointing at a certain spot on its front side.

"Look at the emblem," she told me.

When Maya said that, I finally noticed what she was talking about: A little picture, showing half of a red circle on a golden yellow background, was embroidered on the brown tie.

"That's the mark of that one local high school." I noticed slightly surprised and Maya nodded,

"Yeah. 'Rising Sun High', wasn't it? Their boys' uniforms are bright red with dark brown ties…"

That, however, created more questions than it answered, "Wait…What is a High School Student doing down here in the Janitor's office?"

"Maybe the Janitor has a son enrolled in that school?" Maya suggested. "He could have been visiting his father… And when they left, the boy lost his tie!"

"Still, it's strange that he didn't notice it when the tie got stuck there," I voiced my opinion, "After all, the Janitor, of all people, should know how important it is that those doors close correctly."

(Was that boy in a hurry…?)

"You know, Nick…Maybe we should keep that tie for now." Maya was apparently pondering quite hard about that little thing. "You never knew when it might come in handy."

"I don't know." I told her. "I don't think blue and dark brown fit together very well."

"Hmpf! Not like this! I meant in case we meet the owner!"

(Hey, Hey, I just made a little joke! Am I not allowed to do that once in a while…?)

"Your jokes are really not all that funny, Nick."

(…Not fair.)

I was pretty sure that I looked embarrassed, so I tried to get away from the topic and just stored the tie in my suitcase, like Maya had wanted me to. Who knew, maybe it would really be useful later. I mean, I had no idea how a brown tie was going to help me with my current problems, of course, but, hey, I had seen weirder evidence in my cases already, right?

In any case, I turned my attention back to the computer, without leaving Maya out of my sight. Her eyes and hands were moving faster than it should be humanly possible, however, so I had a hard time watching her while still browsing through the computer files. Still, in the end, I somehow managed to find something.

"Here… I guess that should do it."

"Hm?" Maya strolled back over to me. "What is it, Nick?" she asked me, as I double-clicked the Excel-file I had found in the folder on the screen.

"A summary of all events related to the infrastructure in this building… I think."

"Infrastructure…?"

"Supplies and other things like that. Water, Electricity, Cleaning, the Phone Lines… All the stuff the Janitor has to take care of."

As I was still saying this, I scrolled down the huge list. It started with the 1st of January this year, so I had to skip quite a bit before I finally got to the 1st of May. Page 57 was what I was searching for. And there it was: The report on the maintenance works, written down neatly, along with the exact time frame it took place in.

"Alright," I said, "And now, let's print it…"

I hit a symbol on the screen and entered the numbers '57, 58' when asked which pages to print. The noise of the working printer to my left finally told me that it would be long until I would have the information for Franziska. I sighed relieved and leaned back,

"So much for that."

"Shouldn't we take a look on the security footage as well, Nick?"

I turned. Maya was pointing at the PC labeled 'Security', the only one which had multiple screens.

"The footage might show the real killer!" She told me with eager gleam in her eyes.

(Hey… She's right!)

I quickly got up from the seat and joined Maya, who had apparently noticed my approving look, over at the other PC, where she had already turned the screens on and was browsing through the menus.

"Don't you need a password for this…?" I asked surprised, when I saw how Maya just casually scrolled up and down the screen, searching the folders.

"You didn't need one for the other PC either, did you? …Looks like all the computers were turned on already," she told me. "I guess the janitor thought nobody was gonna come here anyway and left them running."

(How… unprofessional?)

"Wait, I'll have what we need in a sec… There!"

Just when I came to her side, Maya had double-clicked an item on the screen. Quickly, a grey window, labeled 'APA-CAM' opened. We were prompted to enter some information then.

"Now, the time frame… Eh, that was…"

"May 1st, between 15:00 and 18:00pm, 20th floor," I told her. I had widened the time-frame on purpose, just to make sure.

"Oh, right!" Maya nodded. "Alright, let's see what we have there…"

Despite using only four fingers, for some reason – maybe she never learned it properly? – Maya was typing a lot quicker than I would have expected of her and I was quite surprised. I had no idea she had any skills with computers. Then again, this Maya had spent a lot more time in the city than the Maya I knew. And, really, if you're writing a story worth a whole movie script, you probably need to be typing fast if you're planning on ever getting done.

"And… Enter!"

Maya hit the Button with an unnecessary amount of force, making me hope she wouldn't break it. The computer immediately started processing the data. The two of us could just stand there and wait for the results to come up. Finally, after about three minutes, a window popped up on the screen, accompanied by a loud sound. In bold, red letters, it spelled out to us:

No Data

"Huh?" Maya almost jumped. "It's… It's not there!"

"What? That can't be!" I blinked to make sure that I wasn't just seeing things. Apparently, I wasn't. The "No Data" window remained.

Maya tried again and again, but the window just kept popping up, as she turned more and more confused. Finally, she tried entering other floor-numbers for the same timeframe, but to no avail.

"It's no use… The data's gone!" She gasped.

"But it can't be gone!" That made no sense. Why would the janitor erase the camera data of the day a murder happened? "Wait…I'll try!"

I quickly leaned over the keyboard and, watched by a still startled Maya, I tried typing in the data in again. Of course I knew that it made no difference whether Maya or I typed in the data; the result would stay the same; but a tiny bit of hope within me that Maya might have just made a mistake or typo over and over again was enough to make me try again in my desperation for solid evidence. However, I was typing so hastily, I accidentally hit the 'F5' button somewhere along the way. The speakers then gave up a 'Bleep' sound. Immediately, a different window came up. I backed up from the screen.

"H-Heh…? What's happening now…?"

"I think you brought up the live-camera," Maya told me, "Look, the window has a clock in the upper corner."

Said clock was giving our exact current time.

It didn't take long until the other screens of the computer started turning themselves on as well, apparently all by themselves. Footage showing different parts of the building started coming up.

"I-I didn't mean to do that!", I uttered when I saw the different camera images coming up. That wasn't just useless, but embarrassing.

"Well, you did." Maya told me. "You're really clumsy, Nick."

And it only got more embarrassing.

"Eh… Anyway… Let's just bring up the other screen again."

I wanted to quickly switch back to archive-mode before Maya could go on to make any comments on my skills with computers, but her sudden, loud gasp beside me distracted me.

"H-HUH!"

My head turned into her direction, "Maya, what's wrong?"

"Nick! Look at that!", she told me and her finger flung out towards one of the additional screens before us.

It was the top right one, labeled '4th floor hallway'. Alarmed by the tone in Maya's voice, I immediately took a closer look at it. The picture wasn't entirely clear, so it was impossible to make out details… But there were two people standing in the hallways, talking.

- No. Actually… It looked more like they were fighting.

I knew that for sure when one of the two, after gesticulating wildly, just went on to charge for the other and tried to hit him. The second person dodged, but just barely.

Maya gasped, "Nick! Those guys…"

"I think those are teenagers…" (The blur makes it hard to tell, but judging by their heights…) "They're having an argument of some kind."

"If they go on like this, something might happen! We need to stop them!"

"The screen says it's on the 4th floor," I nodded. "Quick, let's get up there!"

Maya jumped up from the chair she was sitting in, "Yeah!"

As soon as Maya agreed with me, I grabbed the papers I had printed and stormed out of the room, closely followed by her. We had no idea where exactly the camera which had filmed this scene was stationed of course, but at least we knew the floor. The fourth one… That wasn't too far up. Not even thinking about taking the elevator, the two of us ran up the stairs, listening closely for voices. Whatever the two boys – it seemed they were both boys, at the very least – had been fighting about, it must have been a rather intense disagreement they had. And I knew how this kind of disagreement could end. I had all too much experience with this…

The problems on hand were big enough already. If it was possible, I wanted to avoid having anymore incidents of that kind around here. And so, Maya and I sped up-

"UHF!"

We had just reached the 4th floor, when I ran into something. Or, rather, someone. It was too soft to be a normal object…

"Huh! Nick!", I heard Maya's voice

"Sorry, Sir!", I heard someone else's voice, proving that the 'object' really had actually been a person.

I didn't even have the time to actually register what the person who rammed me looked like, since I had closed my eyes out of reflex immediately during the impact. As my behind hit the same ground which had been beneath my feet just a second ago, the steps I heard beside me told me that whoever had just pushed me over was already continuing his way again. And rather quickly too. He might have excused himself, but he still didn't even bother to help me get up.

Maya, however, had that decency.

"Are you alright, Nick?" She asked me, lending me a hand.

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine."

(Is it just me or are a lot of people just ramming me lately…?)

I took a look around. While I wasn't able to spot the person who knocked me over, I saw how the elevator door, not too far from us, closed.

"There he goes…" Maya said, confirming my suspicion that the person using the elevator and the person who rammed me were one and the same. "Whoever that was, he sure was in a hurry…"

"Yes… A real hurry. Almost like he was running from something…"

"We should be running now too!" determination gleamed in Maya's eyes. "The guys from the security camera…!"

I nodded, "Yeah. They have to be somewhere around here…"

My eyes wandered around the area, and I was listening closely for voices or other sounds, so we'd know what direction to go now.

(Huh… That's weird… If there's a fight going on close by, shouldn't there be some noise?)

It was then that a thought crossed my mind, like a light bulb had been switched on.

(Wait! That person just now… Could it be that he…?)

Loud panting approaching us took my mind off this train of thought. Really, really loud panting, in fact. It was only interrupted by the following words.

"…E…Excuse me! Miss! Sir!"

And the panting resumed, along with steps into our direction, growing louder.

(…Hm?)

I, just like Maya, turned my head to see who was addressing us.

A young boy with brown hair came running down the hallway, right towards us. To say that he looked excited would have been a huge understatement; in fact, he was sweating so much, his skin was reflecting the electrical lights of the place like the surface of a pool of water.

He was wearing rather neat clothes, however, the way he wore said clothes wasn't really all that neat. Half of the buttons were open, like he had just closed the most necessary ones hastily and also his hair looked like he had attempted to comb it back nicely, but something just went… wrong. Two strands of hair were sticking out for apparently no reason, making it look like he had just decided to stop combing before he reached them. Those two strands obviously weren't meant to look like that either, since he kept brushing them out of his face.

The boy finally reached the two of us, still panting so loudly, I downright felt sorry for him. I would have offered him some water, had I had some with me…

"S…Sorry! Miss! Sir!" He coughed out as soon as he had taken a few breaths and some air in his lungs to use to talk.

Maya seemed a little startled, probably because of the boy's entrance.

"Y-Yeah…?" She asked.

The boy immediately stood up straight, his hands both balled to fists. He was looking at both of us with so much determination in his eyes, I almost felt the need to step back.

"Have you seen a boy my age coming past here? A little shorter than me, black hair, wearing the same uniform as me?"

(…Uniform…?...Hey…)

Only now I noticed what kind of clothes the boy was actually wearing: It was the bright red uniform of the Rising Sun High, which Maya had mentioned earlier. In fact, it even had the emblem sewn onto its pocket…

As I wondered if this could be a coincidence – I doubted it – Maya was already about to answer the boy's question, pointing at the elevator behind us,

"Well… Yes, we saw him. He just took the-"

"ARGH! DARN IT!"

I mentioned the 'need to step back' earlier. For Maya, this need came into effect now. Probably because of how the boy had suddenly just started shouting without even letting her end the sentence. It was good that she jumped away though, since this spared her suffering the same ramming-fate I had been subjected to earlier: The boy wasn't even done with his two – or can you call that three? – words, when he sprinted off towards the stairs and ran down them.

And that's how he made his exit.

Maya and I looked at the stairs he took for a little while, dumbstruck.

"…What was that just now?" Maya exclaimed.

I had no answer for this. So I did nothing other than… stare at the stairs for a few seconds more, before I finally took my eyes off them. Maya turned towards me.

"Anyway! Our brawlers-"

"Maya," I looked at her. "I believe those were our brawlers."

"Huh?" there was a sense of surprise in her eyes. "You think so?"

I nodded at her. "Yeah. I mean, how many quarreling boys can there possibly be on this floor?"

"Hm… I guess you're right." Maya tapped her chin a bit with her fingers. "Hey, but one of them escaped! That means he gave up and we don't have to separate them anymore, right?"

"Eh… yeah, right."

(I just hope no one else has to do it late…)

"Hey, Nick, look! There's something on the floor!"

(…Hm?)

Maya was already bending down when I looked to see what she meant. She was just picking it up.



"What a pretty necklace! You think one of the boys just now lost that, Nick?"

She stood up again and showed to me what she had found.

It was a green enamel pendant, shaped like a clover.

"…!"

My alarm bells went off.

(That first boy… That was...!)

The look in my face was apparently worrying Maya,

"Uhm… Nick? Something wrong…?"

"ARGH!"

This time, it was me who gave Maya the reason to jump out of the way and it was also me this time who attempted to sprint down the stairs with full speed. At least until I heard Maya shout after me from behind,

"Nick! Where're you going?"

I turned back around. She had followed me the few steps I had run already, so I didn't need to shout.

"That necklace, Maya… I saw it before. It belongs to Lilie Heatherd's boyfriend!"

"W-WHAT? You mean… Doughnut Girl?"

(The nickname got stuck now. Well, serves her right.)

I quickly nodded at Maya. "I questioned her again after the trial and this pendant came up. Turns out her boyfriend is a witness to the crime as well, more or less."

"But… what's a high school student doing with the pendant of this girl's boyfriend?"

I barely even dared saying it,

"…I think that high school student is her boyfriend…"

"…What?"

It was a rather flat 'What' Maya had sounded out there. Like she believed –or hoped – that she had just misheard me. I really couldn't blame her for that.

"Wait…

I took the clover pendant from her and put my fingers to notch, in order to open the locket up.

"Here… Look at that."
The same photo I had seen several hours prior was revealed once again. Maya's eyes widened quite a bit when she saw it.



"H-Hey! That's… The boy who just ran into you!"

(I knew it…)

"Yes. And he's one of the people whose fingerprints were on the apartment door…"

"And you're trying to tell me that this boy and Doughnut Girl are…?

Maya seemed less than ready to believe it, so I slowly nodded to assure her that, yes, it really was the case. She didn't look to fine with the thought of the two of them being a couple. Again, I couldn't blame her.

"I wonder if he was here to visit her," she finally stated.

"I'm actually more interested in who that boy who fought with him was," was my reply. "He seemed pretty agitated when Sengage escaped him…"

"You weren't exactly calm either when you realized who he was just now," Maya reminded me.

"Ehe…" Another laugh of embarrassment. Those were getting even more frequent lately. "Anyway… I guess it's not like I could catch up with him now, is it?"

"No, not really," Maya agreed. "After all, we don't even know which floor he went to, do we? We'd have to search the whole building…"

"And he'd be long gone before we finish that. Assuming that he's not left the building already, of course."

I sighed. Another chance to interview a witness just disappeared into nothingness.

"Well… at least we still have this." I held the clover locket in my hand, closing it. "If we're lucky, he'll notice and come back to reclaim it."

"And if not, you can still call him up during the trial, right?" Maya pondered a bit. "I mean, he's a High School student, and we even know which school he visits, so it shouldn't be hard to summon him during a thirty minute recess. It's Friday tomorrow, after all… And Rising Sun High isn't too far from the courthouse, just like this place."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Let's just hope that boy doesn't have a habit of skipping school…"

I rolled the necklace into a ball around the pendant, so it wouldn't get stuck on any of the other evidence, and put it away with the rest of my things.

"Anyway, we should probably get back to the 20th floor now," I told Maya. "I'm sure we're already past Franziska's due-time…"

"There was a due time?"

"No actual one. But this is Franziska Von Karma we're talking about here. As far as I can tell, the word 'patience' is not even in her vocabulary."

Maya didn't look very happy when she heard this, "And I think the word 'mercy' isn't either…"

She shivered a bit. That was enough to tell me that she was agreeing with me.

"Alright. Let's go back."

The two of us headed for elevator after this. There was only one more thing which caught my eyes before we boarded it.

(Now that I think about this… There are two elevators here, right?)

I took a look to the right, just to make sure that this other elevator wasn't out of order or anything. It really wasn't.

(I should keep that in mind. Two elevators mean one more way to miss another person coming through…)

---------------------------------------

We arrived back at the 20th floor. Maya and I had used our time in the elevator to prepare mentally for what was coming to us. Namely: Whippings and screaming. I had offered Maya to just wait outside while I go and talk to Franziska, but she had refused, telling me that we were going to pull through this together. Brave, brave Maya.

So, we were prepared for everything that could be waiting for us. Except for the case that there could be nothing waiting for us. And that's the case we were confronted with as soon as we opened the door. Silently and confusedly, Maya and me stared at the interiors of the living room. No Franziska. No Franziska and no whip. In fact, nobody was there at all.

"Huh?" Maya took a step inside. "Now, that's weird… Where is she?"

"I have no idea…" I told Maya truthfully.

(What could have possibly happened to cause Franziska to abandon her *perfect* investigation…?)

"Hello?" Before I knew it, Maya had taken a few steps more into the apartment. "Anybody there?" she asked in the probably loudest voice she had in stock.

"Psst! Don't shout like this!" I quickly told her, in surprise. "It's 8pm! There are other people living here, you know."

Maya replied to this with a huge grin, "Aww, Nick, you think anyone actually keeps an 8 o' clock bedtime nowadays? How naïve, how naïve…"

"That's not the point!" My shoulders were pulled upwards, towards my ears, when I crossed my fingers and hoped she just would cut it out with the shouting without any further discussion. Maya was really incredibly hard to keep under control sometimes. Her impulsive curiosity was usually really useful for finding clues, of course, but for just keeping quiet and being unassuming… not so much. I didn't really want neighbors to come run over here to complain now, just to find that I am 'playing around' with 'that girl' rather than getting my job done. This scenario was especially undesirable right now because of what had happened in court today – I wondered if the evening issue of the local boulevard press had already caught wind of it.

It's a good thing that Maya came up with a much more useful idea before she could call out loudly for Franziska once more,

"Hm… Hey, the bathroom door's closed. Maybe she's in there?"

Maya turned towards the door to said room, as I walked up to her,

"I thought she wanted to investigate further in the living room?"

"Yeah, but that's obviously not where she is right now, right?"

I couldn't argue with that, of course. Before I had said anything else, Maya has already headed for the bathroom door, grabbed the doorknob and tried to open the door. To no avail. She tried to spin the knob a bit, before she gave up.

"Huh…Locked. You think she is…?"

I shook my head, "Maya, we just found evidence in that toilet. I don't think she would… Well. It's part of the crime scene now, after all. And…"

"…And the crime scene should never be altered. Got it, got it," She nodded, before she led her fingers to her lips and started pondering. "…I wonder why she locked the door. Didn't she want us to bring her evidence?"

(Actually… I wonder about that too.) I thought to myself, (Why would she be locking herself in there when our time is sparse already? That's pretty counterproductive, if you think about it…)

"…Oh! I know what we do!"

"Hm?"

I was just in the process of turning my attention back to Maya, when she had already put her hand into her bag and started cramming for something. It didn't take her more than a few seconds to pull out a bit of change. A slightly mischievous grin appeared on her face, as she let the coins bounce in her palm. For some reason, I didn't like where this was going.

"Uhm… What do you need the money for, Maya?"

"Oh, really, Nick. You can't tell me you forgot again already. I mean I told you before, didn't I…" she grinned even more. "About coins and bathroom doors?"

"…!"

Should I be embarrassed that this actually caused me to have a kind of 'Aha!-moment'? In any case, I now knew why I hadn't liked this from the beginning. And I still didn't.

"W-Wait! Maya! If she's locked the door herself, you can't just-!"

Sometimes, Maya could also act like she was deaf. That didn't stop her from pleasantly humming to herself, of course, as she put a nickel into the slit in the doorknob and twisted it around.

Impulsive curiosity. Apparently causes you to open locked bathroom doors for no good reason. Any more questions about it?

*Click!*

"Done!" Maya joyfully informed me.

(Yes. We're really done, if Von Karma notices that you did that.)

Well, the door was open now. There wasn't really anymore use to stop Maya from going on now, so I just watched, as she put her hand on the doorknob again, turned it, started to open the door and-

"…So I just wondered if this could be your real reason for your interest in this case. That's all."

"Once again, I tell you, I have no idea what you are speaking of!"

"Huh!"

Maya backed off from the door, startled, when she heard the voices. I, too, took a step back.

(Franziska…She's talking to someone in there…)

I took a step closer again.

(Wait… That other voice is…)

Maya and me were probably both thinking the same thing at the moment, since we both reacted the same: We re-approached and carefully tried to glance through the partly opened door.

"You know very well what I am talking about, Franziska. You can't tell me you didn't notice them. The connections between those cases are obvious."

"Hm. And I should care about this, because…?"

"We both know that you care about this more than most other people we know."

"…You are talking too much, Miles Edgeworth. Should you actually plan on getting to the point any time soon, get there now."

(Edgeworth…? What is he doing here…?)

Maya and me kept listening attentively, as Edgeworth, after a short pause, finally resumed talking.

"This afternoon, somebody stole files from Phoenix Wright's office. …I wondered if you knew anything about this…?"

*SLAP!*

"What? You are not accusing me of theft, are you?"

"Gnn… No, certainly not. But it is certainly curious, Franziska. Of all the possible cases you could have chosen to confront me in, you took the one in which he is involved. Maybe it is merely a coincidence, yet…"

*SLAP!*

"It is a coincidence. Believe me, I would not have offered my services, had I known what kind of incompetent fool I would be forced to babysit. And I don't know how you can even come close to assuming I could be even vaguely interested in any of the foolish cases this foolish fool has led already!"

"…So you truly have no idea who this man actually is?"

"Does it matter much? What kind of significance could he possibly hold to me?"

"... Franziska. Among the files which were stolen from his office today were they files of a… certain case that most likely does, in fact, bear a very important significance to you, Franziska."

"…Hm?"

"I am talking about the BD-7 incident, Franziska."

I could hear audibly gasping at this point, even though she was trying to hold it back.

"S-So this clown of a prosecutor is really…? …I… don't believe this."

"You should probably also have a look at this, Franziska. It was found at the scene of the theft today."

"…! This… This card…!"

"Yes. The material is different from the one they used to be made of, and it doesn't appear to be as carefully crafted either… But I am still not certain that this is a fake. If it is, in fact, real… There might be even more to this case than we always assumed. A lot more, in fact."

"…I always knew it."

Franziska paused, before I saw her pointing at Edgeworth in an accusing way from behind,

"I always knew that this case wasn't closed yet! I knew it from the very beginning.

*Slap!*

"So…Tell me, Miles Edgeworth, how does it feel to finally realize that your greatest victory was actually your greatest failure?"

"And now, it is my time to have no idea what you are talking about. Since when are we talking about victories and failures here?"

*Slap, Slap!*

"Stop this foolishness! You know very well that the trial should have ended on a different sentence! And even if that sentence wouldn't have been "Guilty"… You know just as well as me that there was always something missing, right? Because your cute, little theory, with which you managed to confuse that senile fool of a judge so successfully, would have required something that just wasn't there… Another person. A person, who was never found!"

"…"

Edgeworth stayed silent for a moment, but something told me that Franziska had hit a nerve with what she had said. Maybe it was the uncomfortable way he attempted to turn his head away from her.

"So, if I asked you now, Miles Edgeworth… Would you be able to tell me? Tell me the identity of that person you failed to hold responsible for their crime?"

"…I can't. Not yet, at least."

And he paused uncomfortably once more.

"But I think that this case is closer to finally coming to a conclusion than you believe."

"Hm. The foolish thoughts of a foolish fool aren't even worth the foolish air they were breathed out with if the fool who said them can't even present proof."

"You want proof, Franziska? Just look around. I think this crime scene alone should be proof enough."

"This… crime scene?"

"Franziska. No matter where I investigate or search for information and clues… Everything always comes back to one name. One person is at the center of it all… And it appears to all be cumulating with the events of the past seven days. Climaxing in a murder committed in the very apartment of this person, who stands at the center of it all. And that man's name is…"

"…Phoenix Wright…"

Franziska finished the sentence with disbelief in her voice. I could relate to this disbelief so well.

(Me… at the center of everything. Ema's murder, Mia's and Dahlia's arrest and sentence… and now whatever case is tying together Edgeworth and Franziska Von Karma as well…)

In any case, Franziska appeared to be startled,

"Ungh… This fool… This man… Who is he really?"

"I'm afraid this is the greatest problem right now… as not even he himself might be able to answer this question. But we are getting closer, Franziska. Soon we will be able to finally uncover the truth behind all of this… I have faith in this."

"…Why…

Franziska paused.

"…Why are you telling me all those things… Miles Edgeworth?"

Edgeworth then lowered his head a little, but it still looked like he was trying to keep his eyes focused on Franziska.

"Because I want you to take some time to think about what you are doing here… Franziska Von Karma. And if this is really the path you want to walk down."

"Hmph! What do you know about my 'path'?"

"More than enough to tell that you are committing a mistake which you are actually wishing to escape from. An enormous one, in fact."

"… You don't even know what you are saying, do you…?"

"Wie sieht sie eigentlich heute aus… Die Narbe, auf deiner Schulter, Franziska?"

"…!"

As Franziska backed off from Edgeworth startled, Maya started whispering to me from the side,

"W-What…? Why did she react like that? I didn't understand a thing of what he just said, Nick!"

"Me neither…I-I guess he's speaking German…"

(Darn! How am I supposed to know what they're talking about now…?)

I continued listening, in hope that Franziska wouldn't switch to her native tongue now… Regrettably, she did. She grabbed her right shoulder in a protective way, before she resumed talking.

"…Wie kannst du es wagen… "

"Franziska…"

Edgeworth took a step towards her,

"Ist dies wirklich der Weg, den du gehen willst? Der Weg deines Vaters… Des Mannes, der dich mit dieser Narbe versehen hat? Is es wirklich sein Erbe, das du dein ganzes Leben tragen willst? Trotz allem?"

Franziska clutched her hand around her poof-sleeve. She kept backing off a bit more, before she finally responded,

"Was.. Was weißt du schon… Du… Was wirst du jemals über mich wissen?"

She made a short movement, like she was about to hit – and not whip- Edgeworth, but it stayed at that. She didn't actually strike.

„Du… Du hast kein Recht zu glauben, dass du mich kennst! Du hast keine Ahnung!"

„Ja… Vielleicht habe ich keine Ahnung."

Edgeworth took a step towards Franziska.

"…Ich werde wohl nie wissen, was in einem vorgeht, wenn man mit einer Person wie deinem Vater für so lange Zeit zu leben hatte. Aber… was ich weiß ist, dass der Weg den dein Vater beschritten hatte nicht der richtige war."

Yet another short pause.

"Franziska. Um ehrlich zu sein… ich bemitleide dich. Du könntest vollkommen anders sein. Das ist eine Tatsache. Denn wenn es eine Sache über dich gibt, die ich mich Sicherheit weiß, dann ist das, dass du ein im Grunde gutes Herz hast."

Franziska turned away again.

"Ungh…"

Edgeworth attempted to make her look him in the eyes,

"Du solltest dir noch einmal überlegen, ob du dein Leben wirklich auf diese Art und Weise führen willst. Tue nichts, was du am Ende bereuen würdest… Denn dann wäre es zu spät. Verstehst du?"

"Hm…"

Finally, she turned her head back at him,

"Das von jemanden, der schon seit Jahren eine Mörderin in Schutz nimmt!"

I could see a faint, but strange kind of smile appearing on Edgeworth's face,

"Also bist du dir sicher, dass sie die fehlende Person ist?"

„Es kann doch nur sie gewesen sein… Das Mädchen war auf dem Band, und du weißt es!"

„Aber du hast keine Beweise, dass es sie war, nicht wahr?"

In case you were wondering: We were still there and watching this German soap opera.

(…I should have learned German. Without any dialogue, this scene looks like something it hopefully isn't… I really hope it isn't… Especially because Edgeworth has a girlfr-… ARGH! I thought of that again!)

Franziska, once again, took a few steps back. She looked contemptful,

„Du dummer Dummkopf der in seinen dummen Fantasien nicht einmal bemerkt, wie dumm er wirklich ist! Dumm genug, um die Mörderin seines eigenen Vaters nicht zu erkennen, wenn sie direkt vor ihm steht! Ob er wohl noch so stolz auf die wäre wenn er davon wüsste?"

At these words, it was finally Edgeworth's turn to look startled again. Slowly, he turned around,

"Ich weiß was ich tue, Franziska. Glaube es mir."

„…Und du möchtest wirklich keine Rache für ihn? Wie erbärmlich…"

„Unsere Definitionen von ‚erbärmlich' unterscheiden sich wohl sehr stark…"

He looked at her again,

„Rache ist nicht der Weg. Und sollte dies wirklich der einzige Grund sein, warum du Interesse an diesem Fall gezeigt hast… dann solltest du jetzt aufhören. Diese Sache ist ernst. Deine kleine Privatfehde sollte sie nicht in Unordnung bringen. Zumindest nicht, bis ich die Wahrheit gefunden habe."

„Und aufgeben und zusehen, wie du diese Schande von einem Staatsanwalt in den Boden rammst? Ich bitte dich! Merke dir meine Worte, Miles Edgeworth, ich lasse nicht zu, dass du diesen Fall gewinnst… Und wenn ich diesen Clown zwingen muss, die Leitung der Anklage an mich abzugeben!"

*SLAP!*

A loud crack echoed through the air, as Franziska resumed talking,

„Das schwöre ich bei meiner Peitsche!"

„Hm…"

Edgeworth then let his eyes wander across the room for a bit, before he said,

"Ein Clown, ja, vielleicht ist er das. Du solltest ihn dennoch nicht unterschätzen. Seine Sturheit kann Berge versetzen, glaube mir... Auch wenn mir seine neu gewonnene Tendenz, Leute zu belauschen ehrlich gesagt Sorgen bereitet…"

„Huh…?"

Franziska looked at Edgeworth, like she had just realized something. Her expression gradually changed from angered to startled to confused to… angered again.

" 'Belauschen…'… E-Eavesdropping?"

(Oh crap…)

'Eavesdropping' was a word I understood, though a part of me wished I hadn't understood it, since my heart started racing in panic when I heard Franziska's voice switching back to using English intonations as she said it and saw her head slowly turn around, towards the door. Her eyes seemed to be catching fire as she did.

Maya besides me was frozen like me, as far as I could tell.

I would have bolted now- had I had time to do so. But Franziska acted incredibly quickly. Before I had even finished registering what was happening, I already had the door in my face. The door literally slammed into me, with horrific speed and enough force to catapult me back a few meters across the room. I ended up on the floor there, loudly moaning and seriously wondering if my nose was broken now. It felt like it was broken.

"N-Nick!" I heard Maya shout in shock, just a moment, before loud, angry steps approached her from the bathroom,

*SLAP! SLAP! SLAP!*

*SLAP SLAP SLAP SLAP SLAP SLAP SLAP SLAP!"

"KYAAA!"

I heard Maya shriek.

When I finally got up from the floor again, I found her lying on the floor, Franziska standing in front of her, tightly clutching her whip. She had whipped Maya unconscious- Not the first time that this happened, but still pretty horrible.

And I was next.

I gulped, when I saw how Franziska turned around, stepping towards me, slowly. Her eyes were burning with enough rage to wipe out the Amazon rainforest in a flash. I had seen her pretty angry before… But never THAT much.

Usually, I would have agreed that a little punishment served me somewhat right for just eavesdropping on what had obviously been a private talk, but I couldn't shake the feeling that she was going to kill me now. That look on her face spelt out 'DIE' in big, bold, red, neon letters. She was twisting the end of her whip between her fingers tensely… not a good sign either.

"So… You listened? All the time?"

(…Goodbye, cruel World.)

I was about to come to terms with the fact that my life was probably about to come to a quick, yet painful end, when an intervention 'saved' me from her wrath. An intervention named 'Miles Edgeworth'.

"That's enough, Von Karma."

He grabbed her by her wrist before she could whip me. Her fist opened, her whip slipped out of her hand. She was still in slight shock, when Edgeworth told her,

"I don't think a trivial offence like this should warrant providing him with a stay in the hospital, should it? Especially when we still need this person to lead the prosecution tomorrow…"

"Ghh…!"

For a few seconds they just stood there. Edgeworth looking at Franziska, Franziska staring at Edgeworth. They were both exhausted from their discussion before, it was obvious, but Franziska was worse. She was sweating a lot already and now, she was even shaking. Finally, she freed herself from his grip.

"I… I am done here!" She loudly proclaimed before she picked up her whip and furiously stormed out of the apartment, banging the door shut behind her. The walls shook.

Once she had left, however, the apartment quickly grew quiet…

I stared at the door through which Franziska Von Karma had just left for a bit, before I let my eyes wander over to Maya, who was still knocked out and then to Edgeworth, who just stood there, looking at the door in a thoughtful way.

And so, the silence continued for a bit. Finally, I got up from the ground again,

"T-Thanks… Edgeworth," I finally said once I was standing again.

"You should not attempt to listen to people in secret that often," he replied. "You are not good at it."

"Actually, it wasn't my idea… Maya just wanted to find Franziska," I pointed at poor Maya at the floor. "We had no idea you were in there with her...How long did you know that we where there?"

"From the moment the door opened," he told me. "I happened to catch a glance of it when it did. But this was my only chance to talk directly to Von Karma. I couldn't let it pass…"

"So… the German…?"

"On purpose, in order to lock you and Maya out of the conversation. It was getting too personal," he explained to me. "There are some talks that just aren't meant for everyone's ears. "

"I am sorry…"

A sound from next to the bathroom door caught my attention.

"Uhh…"

Maya was waking up again. Dizzily, she tried to get back onto her feet. Her eyes were still half-closed.

"Ow, Ow, Ow…"

I went over and helped her get up.

"Are you alright, Maya?"

"That whip really hurts!" She moaned at me. "How come guns are banned, but she can run around with that thing? Everything that hurts should be forbidden! Like whips and needles and high heels…"

(I'd agree with her, if I didn't know from experience that literally everything can hurt you if you just hit it hard enough…)

"…Huh? Where did Von Karma go?"

Maya was looking around in confusion, as I tried to explain,

"She left when Edgeworth stopped her from whipping me. I don't think we're gonna see her again tonight…"

"… Hey!" Maya looked disappointed. "How come you didn't stop her from attacking me, Miles? We're friends too!"

She looked at him with Puppy Dog eyes and sniffled with Crocodile Tears in said Puppy Dog Eyes.

"I didn't react quickly enough. Excuse me," he just replied calmly. "I didn't expect her to lose all of her temper as suddenly as this."

"What were the two of you talking about anyway?" Maya asked in curiosity. Edgeworth just shrugged and shook his head.

"Excuse me, but that is strictly confidential. I'm afraid I can't tell you."

"Gnn…"

It was one 'disappointment' for Maya after another now. I couldn't tell whether to feel sorry for her or think that it served her right for just going around opening locked doors without permission.

The whipping, however, she really didn't deserve, of course.

Still, there were other things we had to be concerned with yet.

"And?" I turned back towards Edgeworth, "What does it look like over at that… my office?"

"Chaotic. Although, that might not entirely be the thief's fault, I think…

(Ugh… Could they finally stop pointing that out every two seconds? )

"In any case, a huge number of files have been taken. There is, however, a curious, common aspect among most of those stolen files."

"Huh? And what's that aspect?" Maya asked.

Edgeworth looked slightly puzzled when he said it. "Almost all of those files were actually accessible to public."

My ears perked. "They weren't confidential? But… That means…"

Edgeworth nodded, "Yes. It would have been easier to just copy those files at the courtroom archive and take them home. The thief should have had no reason to break into your office to take them… And, while we are at the topic of "breaking" into the office…" His eyes narrowed. "Wright… You don't happen to be keeping your keys in an easily accessible place, like your pocket… are you?"

"Huh…? Ehm… Well, actually, yes, I am keeping them in the same pocket as my cellphone. Where are you going with thi-"

And then, my eyes widened.

(Oh no.)

I immediately stuffed my hands into my pockets and started cramming for my keys in them. Surprise, Surprise, they weren't there. How I managed to not notice this when I had already noticed my lack of a phone prior to this was a mystery to me.

As I was still frantically turning all my pockets inside out and trying, praying that the keys would be there, I already heard Edgeworth asking me.

"I think you are searching for these, Wright." I looked up. Edgeworth was holding a bundle of keys in his hand… my bundle of keys. "You should be taking better care of something as important as this."

"Heh? Where…?"

"The thief left them at the scene of the theft," Edgeworth told me. "Alongside… this."

Edgeworth longed into his own pocket and pulled something out to show it to me. When I took a look at it, I saw that it was a card, picturing a stylized, white wing on a black ground,

"Hm? That's… A Calling Card?"

"Not exactly," Edgeworth shook his head. "Calling Cards are usually sent prior to the theft by thieves who want the thrill of avoiding to get caught. This one, however, is always left at the scene after the crime."

" 'Always'… You mean, this card has been found at crime scenes before?"

"Well, this one is the first of this kind to be found in years now but, yes, the motive and culprit behind the thefts under this symbol are well known to law-enforcement. I would be surprised that you don't know about it, wouldn't it be for your current situation…"

While Edgeworth was talking, I had taken another look at the card myself,

"…Wait, I think I remember seeing that before," I finally realized. " That… was all over the newspapers a few years ago, wasn't it? Something about a 'Great Thief'..."

Edgeworth nodded. "Yes. 'The Great Thief 'Yatagarasu' to be exact. There had been a long series of file- and information-thefts under this guise seven years ago."

"I think I heard about that!" Maya said. "Quite a few companies got into trouble because of the information that person leaked, right?... But, wait… I actually thought the culprit was caught…"

"Caught and executed, to be exact."

This was an unexpected correction by Edgeworth, at least for Maya's and my tastes.

She jumped. "W-WHAT? Executed…?"

"I-Isn't that a bit extreme for… thefts?" was my reaction.

"She wasn't executed for the thefts," Edgeworth explained to us, " but for a double murder she committed. She killed the Prosecutor in charge of her case, as well as the Defendant."

"How horrible…" Maya's fingers were on her lips again.

Meanwhile, something came to my mind,

"But… if the original thief is dead… That would mean that this theft was committed by a copy cat, right?"

"This would seem to be the most logical explanation, yes," Edgeworth nodded. "Still, I am not sure if this is really the exact nature of this 'new' Yatagarasu… After all, there seems to be a lot more passion than professionalism behind their actions…"

Maya seemed to agree. "Yeah, I mean, if the original one was executed for what they did, one would have to be pretty brave to mimic them, right? And also, stealing those files was pretty pointless, if I got that right…"

I pondered a bit. "Hm…Either the thief did it for the thrill… Or they were uninformed and had no idea the files were easily accessible."

Yet another nod by Edgeworth. "This appears to be the case. However, the first option does not fit into the Modus Operandi of the Yatagarasu. The second, on the other hand, hints towards the culprit being inexperienced and slightly careless. Should this be the case, a few more mistakes like this could mean the end of their 'career'…"

"In that case, we should probably not worry about that thief too much, should we?" was my opinion. "I mean, they're gonna get themselves caught sooner or later anyway, acting like this."

"…"

Edgeworth looked somewhat lost in thought when I said this. I wondered what he was thinking about. Probably he knew a reason to watch out for the thief regardless.

My thoughts, however, weren't really with that theft at all at the moment. If I could go and copy the files at the courthouse anytime I wanted anyway, I didn't feel like there was a need to find the one who took them either. And the thief was 'nice' enough to return the keys as well, after all… I felt like I could just call the 'office' theft Case Closed for now and focus on other things. Like on what exactly Dylan Sengage had been doing here that time of the day and why there was another boy fighting with him.

There was just too much stuff going on right now and too little time to focus on all of it. I had to set priorities. My number one priority at the moment was Ema's murder. I was trying not to get too distracted from it anymore.

"…In any case, Wright," Edgeworth must have noticed that I was thinking about something else, since he was trying to regain my attention. "There was something else we found at the scene of the theft, except for your keys and the card."

"Hm? Something else?"

(For a thief, they are sure leaving behind a lot of stuff…)

Without any further words, Edgeworth just longed under his jacket and took out something. He handed it to me.

…And I wasn't sure if that was supposed to be a joke.



It was an envelope. A pink envelope.

Maya, beside me, backed off when she saw it. She put her hand over her mouth. Meanwhile, I was baffled.

"W-What? But I thought you gave me tha-"

Edgeworth made a quick movement with his wrist, fanning out what he held in his hand and revealing, that is was in fact, not 'a' letter… It was six.

I gulped.

(What in the…?)

"W-Where…?"

"Excuse me… But we attempted to open your safe during the investigations in order to determine if the thief laid hand on its contents… And were successful in doing so."

Edgeworth then scolded me. " '19 04 00'… Frankly, I expected you to be a bit less obvious with choosing something as important as a safe combination. It wouldn't have hurt to choose something I actually can't figure out on the second try."

"Huh?... 19…04…Ah!"

(19th April 2000… That's 'that' day… The day of the 'class trial'…)

Now, what was more worrying? The fact that Edgeworth could crack my safe that easily, or the fact that the 'other Phoenix', that reportedly 'evil Phoenix', choose that day, of all possible days to choose from, as his safe combination?

(That means… 'He' still remembers that date well. It's still important to him…?)

However, that wasn't even the main 'problem'… My eyes were still on the letters. That was when Edgeworth handed them over to me.

"Here. As I said before, they are yours."

I saw Maya shiver next to me when Edgeworth handed me the letters and Edgeworth took notice of this. I then took a look at the envelopes myself.

"…They've all been opened…" I noticed.

"Meaning that you read them all at one point."

"…"

I didn't know what to think of this. Six… altogether now, seven pink letters in my possession. All of them signed in Maya's handwriting, all of them reading 'To Nick'. What was the meaning of this?

The dates on the envelopes differed wildly. The only thing they had in common was that they were all from within the past three years…

…The three years since I had become a lawyer. Was that a coincidence?

There they were, in my hands, and I had no idea how to act? What was I supposed to do now? Read them? Destroy them? Give them to Maya? She looked so helpless again…

(Why were those in the safe…?) I wondered.

I was about to open one of them, take out the letter and read it, but I hesitated. 'Make sure that only he reads it' she had said. No matter what Edgeworth thought, those letters weren't meant for me. Not for the 'me' of 'here'…

My head turned to the side, towards Maya, giving her a pleading look. She just turned her own head away, remained silent and bit her lip.

"…"

Finally, I just sighed. I couldn't just read them… No matter how tempting it was. Under the watchful eyes of Edgeworth, who seemed to be studying exactly what I did, I put the letters away, into my suitcase and closed it.

The moment the letters were out of sight, Maya lightened up a bit again. It was obviously the possibility that I might read them which scared her...

When I was finished, I saw that Edgeworth was taking a look at his watch, which prompted me to do the same. Almost 9:00pm…

"It's already late. I will leaving now," he looked up from his watch. "Maya, I think I will take you home. The streets are not exactly safe for someone like you this time of the day."

"W-Wait!" Maya looked at Edgeworth. "What about Nick? He can't stay here overnight, can he? We should take him along and…!"

I quickly shook my head. "Don't worry about me, Maya. I've got a room in the Gatewater Hotel. I'll be fine."

"Gatewater? That's just across the street from Miles' place!", Maya said then. "We can drive you there!"

"Actually…I wanted to stay a little longer and check on a few things," I told her. "I…I think I'll take the bus later."

But in reality, I was still wondering whether to read the letters or not. And I couldn't decide it as long as Maya was around. As long as she shivered as soon as I even looked at the envelopes, I'd not be able to concentrate on them without feeling bad for her. And yet, I had a feeling that I should read them. That it was important that I read them.

Also, if there were six of them… What if there were even more…? If there were, they would be here, in this apartment.

I had decided to wait until Maya was gone and think about the letters in peace then. Alone. That's why I couldn't drive to the hotel with Edgeworth and her.

Maya's face fell when I denied her invitation. She seemed genuinely disappointed about it. She let her head sink and sighed,

"Alright then… Oh, wait!" Her head was up again and her face lightened up, "I almost forgot something! Here!"



After some cramming in her bag, Maya handed me something with both hands. It looked like a colorful plastic card. I eyed it in confusion.

"…Huh?"

"I told you I'd solve your problem with Mr. Manella, right?" She grinned. "It's a VIP Backstage Pass! You can come and go on the set whenever you want to now!"

The movie… I had already forgotten about that again. With both hands, I took the card from her. I smiled,

"Thanks, Maya."

She just kept grinning,

"Heheh… Remember to use it whenever you have time, alright?" She winked. "I want to see you at the set at least four times a week!"

(…A week…?)

I looked up when I realized what Maya had just said.

"Four Times a week… Maya?"

"O-Oh!"

It was then that Maya realized what she had said, a bit startled she looked at me and tried smiling,

"S-Sorry… That won't quite work out, will it? Excuse me… I think I just forgot who you are again for a moment there… Heheh…"

The moment she said this, a Psyche Lock appeared before me. A single, lone Lock.

(No, you didn't,) I realized (You knew exactly who you are talking to…)

A cold sensation started to spread through my body, as I comprehended what she was thinking… I tried not to show that I was feeling more and more unpleasant with every passing second, but the more the realization dawned on me, the colder I felt.

She expected me to… stay here. Maya was expecting me to stay here.

It could just have been a "slip". Maybe she accidentally said 'Four Times a Week' and didn't remember that this wouldn't be possible, but… something told me that she had said it, because she really had wanted to say it. Because she really wanted it to be like this.

It looked like she was already taking for granted that I would still be here, in this place, until long after I finished working on this case on hand here.

Maybe even after they finished that movie. Maybe even forever.

Yes, maybe those words had just slipped… But this lock on her made me rather sure that this had been the kind of slip that reveals what a person is truly thinking.

Maya didn't expect me to make my way back.

Maya wanted me to stay.

Evidence:

*) Prosecutor's Badge

I never thought I'd ever hold this in my hands. The design closely resembles the police's emblem.

*) Magatama

This gem allows me to see the locks on people's hearts whenever they hide the truth from me. It was a gift from Maya and is charged with Pearls' spiritual energy.

*) Photo of Iris

A picture of me and Iris in Kurain. Apparently we were still a couple here, up until recently.
CHECK: http://img823.imageshack.us/img823/1896 ... feenie.png

*) Victim(?) Note

Reads "Lana" in red letters of blood.
CHECK: http://img812.imageshack.us/img812/4660/victimnote.png

*) Snackoos Bag

Found near Ema. She was apparently eating them before she was killed. Imported from Europe.

*) Dart

A small, needle-like projectile, made for use with a tranquilizer gun. There are faint traces of blood on it. Found near the sofa.

*) Rope

Ripped. Apparently, Lana tried to hang herself with it. It was cut before it ripped.

*)Sketch

A picture of Maya, Pearls and me, drawn in my boredom. Note to self: Giving up the art studies was a good choice.
CHECK: http://img829.imageshack.us/img829/645/sketchonaboat.png

*)Autopsy Report

Victim died between 17:00 and 17:20 from massive blood loss after receiving a stab wound in the chest. The back of the head was bruised.
CHECK: http://img827.imageshack.us/img827/6753/autopsyreport.png

*)Crime Scene Photo 1

CHECK: http://img843.imageshack.us/img843/9230/crimescenephoto1.png

*)Crime Scene Photo 2

CHECK: http://img638.imageshack.us/img638/8229/crimescenephoto2.png

*)Knife

The murder weapon. Was cleaned with soap after the crime, so there are no finger prints or bloodstains on it left. Belongs to the Defendant.

*)Fingerprint List

Lists the people who touched the door's handle.
CHECK : http://i1187.photobucket.com/albums/z390/MeikyuButterfly/Complete%20Turnabout/Fingerprintslist2.png

*)Ema's Button

One of the three Badges Ema wore on her labcoat. It came off before she died. The needle is bloody and crooked.

*)Maya's Letters

Adressed to „Nick". Content unknown.

*)Misty Fey's Book

A picture book, entitled "Haruka's Cherry Tree". Not yet published, this is a manuscript.
CHECK : http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/1628/picturebookcover.png

*)CD

Maya's three year jubilee compilation. She appears to be very proud of the songs selected for this disk.
CHECK: http://i1187.photobucket.com/albums/z390/MeikyuButterfly/Complete%20Turnabout/CDCover.jpg

*)Nylon Gloves

Found in the toilet at the crime scene. One of the is ripped badly.

*)Maintenance Work Data

Check for more details.

*)Locket

A necklace that a young boy dropped. It is shaped like a clover.)

*)VIP Pass

Allows one to enter and leave the shooting scenes of the 'Steel Samurai' movie as they please.

Profiles:

*) Phoenix Wright

I have been a Defense Attorney for three years now. But now it looks like people were convinced of something else suddenly...

*) Miles Edgeworth

An old school friend of mine. Apparently, he's a renowned Defense Attorney here. The "Him" I remember, on the other hand, was an extremely talented, but arrogant Prosecutor.

*) Maya Fey

Sprite
Singing (Turnabout Sisters Song)[Hatsune Miku(Vocaloid)]
Apparently a famous pop idol known as "MAYOI". In my memory, she was a Spirit Medium and served as my assistant and co-council in many of my cases.

*) Ema Skye

A teenager, who was dreaming of becoming a forensic investigator one day and good friend of mine. Was murdered in the apartment.

*) Lana Skye

Ema's older sister. Apparently tried to commit suicide in the bathroom. Her suicide note implicates her as her sister's killer.

*) Dick Gumshoe

Still detective of the local police force. Still as underpaid as ever.

*) Mia Fey

Maya's older sister and a detective. Currently under arrest for attempted murder. I remember her being my mentor as a Defense Attorney and murdered shortly after my very first trial.

*) Dahlia Fey
Leitmotif

Maya's and Mia's cousin and Iris's identical twinsister. Was the coldblooded killer 'Dahlia Hawthorne' in the world I remember, but declared guilty for a crime she didn't commit alongside Mia in this one. Her personality seems to have been turned upside down...

*) Klavier Gavin

Leadsinger and Guitarist of a Band called "Gavinners". Apparently also a lawyer. His name rings a bell, but I can't remember where I first met him.

*) Lilie Heatherd

Leitmotif
Sprite
Voice: OBJECTION!
A Defence Attorney known as the "Evidence Spammer". Claims to have witnessed Ema and Lana entering the Apartment shortly before the murder.

*) Iris Fey

Leitmotif
Singing (??? Song)
Maya and Mia's cousin, Dahlia's twin and hire to the master title of Kurain in this 'world'. Recently broke up with 'me'. Unhappy with her occupation as a Spirit Medium.

*) Franziska von Karma

Prosecutor Prodigy from Germany, who was assigned to aid me during this trial. She enjoys whipping lawyers, judges and witnesses alike and strives for absolute perfection in her trials.

*) Misty Fey

Sprite
Alternate Outfit
Talented Spirit Medium and mother to Mia and Maya Fey. Saw a third witness.

*) Dylan Sengage

Sprite
Lilie Heatherd's boyfriend, despite being a minor. The owner of the unidentified fingerprints.

*) ???

A girl. With keys in her hair... Just what was that about?!

*)Pearl Fey (?)

Leitmotif?
Led me to Maya's meeting place. She looks like Pearls, but it seems like it wasn't really her.

*)Diego Armando

Most likely Mia's boyfriend. Has a serious caffeine addiction.

*)Trucy

Leitmotif
A young Illusionist and actress in the Steel Samurai movie. She appears to be a very enthusiastic girl.

*)Morgan Fey

The mother of Iris and Dahlia. Has been dead for about 14 years in this 'world'.

*)?(Boy)

We saw him fighting with Sengage in the Apartment Building. He seemed rather excited and hectic.

Bonus:
Music: BGM of the Dream Sequences

Artwork: Lilie Heatherd

The probably longest Chapter in the Fic yet, if I remember right. Writing the beginning dragged, because there is just no way to make something as plain as "Phoenix and Maya use Computers" seem exciting. I was stuck for weeks on that part. -_-;

I, however, loved writing the scene between Franziska and Edgeworth.

Ha Ha! It's German, so you can't understand it~! ... Or maybe, some of you can. ;-P

You can try to enter it in Google Translation, if you want. I'd be interested what kind of results that thing gets you. XD

Edgeworth mentioned being fluent in several languages in the Games, because he needs those languages to study foreign justice systems. I see no reason why Defense!Edgeworth shouldn't be thinking the same about this, which is why I made him fluent in German. Alright, he might be unrealistically fluent, given that he didn't spend half his youth in Germany, but, meh, it's Edgeworth. He's just that awesome.

I feel a bit bad, because I totally hyped a certain character's appearance in this chapter on the CR Back-Up Forums and made everybody think he was gonna have a big role or something and then he's there for all but 2 minutes. XD

I just realized a disturbing trend with my writing lately:

Maya types with four fingers, because that's how I type. Phoenix doesn't have Facebook because I don't have Facebook.

Bottom Line: I'm putting too much of myself into this thing… Meh…

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I hope I'll be able to bring you the next one significantly sooner. ^^;

Over and out.

May 2nd, 8:30pm

Apartment Building

Quiet…

It was so quiet when Maya wasn't around. It felt like nothing around me was moving at all, making me feel a bit uneasy about moving myself. This apartment was much too big and my steps were just too harsh in contrast to that silence. There was something about this silence that was spooky… downright unsettling.

I knew that it wasn't the fault of this apartment, but rather, my own. It was me who wanted a bit of noise. To be exact, I wanted a specific kind of noise.

I had no idea why I felt like this lately, but there was no denying: Maya was the cause.

The question was: Which Maya? The one of 'Here'? Or the one of 'My World'?

I sat there on the couch, staring at the table before me. The seven pink letters were lying there, lined up neatly, in a row. I didn't dare to touch them, even now. A sigh was all I got from trying to raise my hand and take one. Maya's 'secret'… What was it?

Did I even want to know? What if it had to do with 'my secret'? The secret that I was hiding behind those white locks… Something inside me obviously didn't want to remember it. Maybe it would be for the better if I didn't?

'Maya's secret' and 'My secret'... Were they connected in any way?

I kept staring at the envelopes before me. There were so many mysteries to solve… Too many…

I could have taken the first step to get rid of them now. All I needed to do was take one of those envelopes… and read the letters inside. Maya's 'secret' would have been much easier to unravel then. But, on the other hand, there were Maya's despaired eyes… the helpless look on her face when Edgeworth threatened her to open and read the letter.

"It's alright…But please make sure that nobody but him reads it."

Nobody but 'him'… There was only one person who was supposed to read those letters. And that person wasn't me, despite all similarities. I wasn't supposed to read them. And I didn't want to give Maya a reason to think again about not bludgeoning me to death with that baseball bat of hers.

"… It's no use." I finally said to myself, "Read the letters and betray Maya's trust… Don't read them and stay stuck without the information… I just can't decide that!"

(Why won't life just give me a break?)

I finally let my head fall into my hands and one more sigh escaped me. Silence. Too much silence. I needed some noise now. Badly. Something aside from my own voice. Preferably…

I looked up when something came to my mind. Soon after this, I had my hands on my suitcase and opened it to take something out.

Maya's CD…

The few memories of Maya's singing from the concert the day before came back to me. I remembered how clear and strong her voice had been up there on the stage. It was still hard to believe for me that Maya, our Maya, was actually capable of this. A weird feeling, to suddenly be aware that a friend I had known for so long now had a hidden talent all this time… Like Larry turning out to be the next Picasso. Or Edgeworth turning out to be talented enough at Tennis to beat an actual Sportsman. Or me being a Pro at Gambling, just for the heck of it.

(She wanted me to listen to this… didn't she?)

My eyes were at the cover, that picture of Maya releasing the white dove into the sky. Only now I made out some details on the picture. Like the feathers the Dove was spreading turning into something resembling sparkles – it was hard to tell – as they fell down. Or a white silk-banner in the background, reading…



'You only lose when you give up.'

"…"

I kept looking at it for a short while.

(Well… Might as well put it in now, right? This place has a CD Player, after all.)

Finally letting my eyes off the CD cover, I stood up from the sofa, approached the huge, stereo-like machine close by, opened the CD's Box and inserted the Disk.

'Dolby. It makes you feel like you were in the middle of the music,' Maya had claimed. Now, I was about to find out how much of this was true. I put in the CD and pressed 'Play'.

http://www.4shared.com/audio/LbphpRQN/180_Degree.html

I wasn't disappointed. From the first accord on, the sound was crystal clear and surprisingly similar to that of the concert the day before – except on an acceptable volume. 'I' thankfully hadn't put the switch all the way up on Maximum level when 'I' last listened to music on this thing, so I was spared having my eardrums kicked out of my head once again.

The Intro was comparably short… only one or two accords. I can't tell. I have never been that good with music. And then, Maya's singing started.

(Her voice sounds even cleaner on the recording than it did yesterday on the concert…), I noticed (Seems like they could really do a lot in whatever kind of remixing studio they use to finish off those Songs…)

That didn't change anything about the fact that the lyrics were, similarly to Maya's work on that Steel Samurai movie, pretty pseudo-poetic. But it was Pop. I guess I could forgive it. I kept listening.



"…"

Maya put an incredible amount of emotion into this song. Re-Mastering or not, I couldn't help but feel like there was something different in her voice when she sang this song. Like there was more… 'Sincerity' behind what she sang. And passion.

And actually… that wasn't the only weird thing about that song. I couldn't quite pinpoint it, but as I listened to the song, I got a kind of… feeling of familiarity. As if I had heard the lyrics before, at least in parts. In any case, this song seemed to be different from the ones I heard at the concert the day before.

My suspicions finally reached their peak, when the song's bridge was about to end.



"…!"

I looked up.

(This line… Bird of Dragonfire…? W-Wait!)


---------------------
"I guess they're blaming you for the fact that she stopped performing that one song."

"…That one song…? "

"In the guise of 'MAYOI', Maya Fey has a lot of popular songs, but the one she's most famous for is certainly '180°C'."

…

"You see Wright… The girl in the song is being led by something… A 'bird of dragon fire'."

"A bird of… dragon… fire… Ah…!"

(I get it… the 'bird of fire'. That song is referring to the…)

"You see now why she doesn't want to hear or sing it right now?"

"She actually prevents the song from being played because of this? B-But it's just my name!"

----------------------------------------------

(…It's the song… THAT song…)

Even though there was no doubt about this now, that I had heard the lyrics, I still took a look at the back of the CD cover, just to be sure.

There it read, without doubt:

#1 - 180°C ~ Revive-Rebirth Mix

"…"

I looked at the title for a while.

(So that's it,) I thought to myself. (The song that got me the slingshot-treatment yesterday afternoon…)

My neck hurt even from just remembering it.

(Now that I actually listen to it… It's true. What this Prosecutor… Singer… whatever… told Maya yesterday at the concert. It's just one line. Not even a very important one. One you could easily switch out. So why does she refuse to sing the whole song…?) I rubbed my chin a bit as I pondered. (Could there be another reason…? I mean, the lyrics are cryptic enough, there could be something else hidden in there… Something they just don't know about… That or I'm finally turning paranoid now.)

I sighed as the song neared its end. So, that was the song that had earned me the few hits with the slingshots I had taken yesterday. This rather powerful, emotional song…

Before the next title could even start up, I went back to the CD player and made it eject the disk. I had decided that I had heard enough. All I had wanted was some kind of sound to break the silence while I decided whether to look at those letters or not. But now, this song had made the decision even harder. From second to second it became more and more painfully obvious that Maya had something to hide. Something that might or might not have had something to do with me and my current situation. The feeling of familiarity that had overcome me while listening to the song was particularly worrying.

So, what was I supposed to do…?

"…"



I was, once again, back to staring at the seven letters. Just staring at them. Before, I had wondered if I should search the Apartment for even more of those, but now, I didn't even dare that anymore.

Seven letters. Each written by Maya. Each filled with content that she didn't want anybody to read. Each filled with content that could have been of use for me right now… so much use…

Finally… I stretched my hand out for the envelopes.

(Just one of them…) I told myself. (I'm taking a quick look at JUST one… Nothing more…)

With that thought, I picked up a random envelope out of the seven on the table. I led my Finger inside, opened it up and took out the letter inside. Still somewhat nervous, I slowly unfolded it:



And that was how the letter ended.

For a few minutes, I just kept… looking at it. Let my eyes wander up and down alongside the paper, wondering if I didn't miss something and tried to make me absolutely aware of the letter's content as I did. It changed nothing about the revelation, however. And once again I was wondering why life enjoyed making fun of me so much.

"…Pen… Pals?" I slowly asked myself "That's it? That's what those letters are? They are… were… Pen Pals?"

I felt how my hand wander up to my forehead all by itself and slap it. Pen Pals. I had been worrying for hours and hours and hours about opening letters from a Pen Friendship between Maya Fey and 'me'. And the worst thing about this was that things, amazingly, now somehow made even less sense than they did before.

(This… This is what Maya was trying to hide so badly? I don't get it! And… more importantly… why?) I tapped my own chin. (Edgeworth said Maya and 'me' apparently hadn't had much contact before the trial of her sister… But now, those letters show up. How did they come to know each other, without anybody knowing? And why did they start writing letters? Couldn't they just have visited each other? I mean, even if she spent much time in Kurain, it's just two hours away…Hm… From Maya's reaction, it seems like the two of them were keeping this whole friendship secret…)

Something in my mind, which had already slowly started to move, back when Maya and I had our encounter at the river, was now shifting even more noticeably. The whole story about 'me'- the 'Phoenix Wright' who was supposed to be here- was off. Something about it was just incorrect. A giant contradiction had to be hiding in this story, of which I still had not as much information as I should have had. And the more I figured out about this current case, the more I started to suspect that said contradiction played an important role in its solution and that I wouldn't get around discovering what exactly it was.

(If Maya and him were friends at one point,) I summed up my discovery to myself. (He couldn't have been a completely heartless monster, like she claimed earlier… Which casts a whole new light on Edgeworth's and Iris' behaviors towards me. And Maya's, especially.)

I nervously played with the letter in my hand, while keeping my eyes on it and reading certain passages again and again.

(Still… Mia mentioned that 'I' had a perfect record… and no Prosecutor ends up only getting cases with truly guilty Defendants. Our system is too hasty for that. They barely ever investigate longer than half a day before pressing charges. Plus, he got the Life Sentence for Mia and Dahlia. This is a fact. …Mia's not a murderer. If this other Phoenix Wright is really just one bit like me, he wouldn't have done that… Something is wrong here. And I'll have to find out what it is.)

I carefully folded the letter again and put it back into the sugary pink envelope it came from, closing it carefully. I had broken my promise to Maya and looked at it. A certain sensation of guilt gnawed on my nerves, but I knew that it had been the right thing to do in the end. It helped me take a step in the right direction… And an idea about where exactly this direction would lead me was starting to form in my head. All that was left to do now was to gather more information on Ema's murderer…

This was easier said than done. Mostly because Franziska, Maya, Edgeworth, Gumshoe and, to an extent, also me, had already 'cleaned up' neatly all over the Apartment. I really did the best I could do to maybe find a bit more overlooked evidence. In the end, I wound up finding nothing new. Opening a few drawers, I found more and more pink envelopes spread all over the place, but that wasn't really shocking me, seeing how I now knew exactly what they were and why they were there. And since there was also no use in breaking my promise to that poor girl again, I just left them where they were. Even though I had still no idea why it was so important to Maya to keep this harmless relationship secret, I wanted to respect her wish as far as it was still possible. Except for those letters, I found nothing that caught my eye even in the least. This crime scene apparently held no more undiscovered secrets, at least none I could have found right here right now. After a search of about twenty minutes, I finally gave up and frowned. I had found out more about Maya, Edgeworth and Franziska today than about Ema and her killer. And something told me that this wouldn't change if I searched any longer. I finally packed my suitcase.

I took Maya's CD with me, as well as the six letters which I had already had on me when Edgeworth and Maya left.

I was just thinking about how convenient it was that those doors' locks closed automatically when you shut them, when it came to me:

(…Argh! The door to the janitor's office!)

Only now it really came to me: When Maya and I had seen the fight on the third floor, we left the room so hastily that we forgot to close the door behind us. Most likely, it was still down there, open…

(…I'd better go and close it,) I decided. (Don't want to get into trouble for leaving it open like that…)

And with that, I boarded the elevator and headed for the first floor.

-----------------------------------------------------

Once again: It's a good thing that the Janitor's Office was signposted. It didn't take me too long to find the room, which was completely open. The tie Maya had found came back to my mind, even if just for a moment, when I took the door handle and closed the office. It having been stuck there had just been a little too convenient… Could there have been a reason for it? But, maybe, I was really just being paranoid now.

I was just on my way out of the building, so I could take the bus to the Gatewater Hotel, when something caught my attention. I stopped in my tracks. Voices from not too far away reached my ears and I could make out an actual sentence,

"That girl… I just don't think you should see her anymore!"

I listened up.

"Hm?" (That came from the door over there…)

Said door led to the backyard. I only knew this because of the big lettered sign which said so. While I was still wondering if I should go and see what was going on there, I heard more words from out there.

"Hey! That's none of your business!"

"I'm telling you that for your own sake, really! If you continue dating her, it's going to be bad news!"

"Y-You're lying!"

And that moment… a cold sensation went down from my head through my whole body, making me shiver.

(This… is starting to sound… uncomfortably much like…)

That couldn't be. For a moment, I was wondering if my ears were playing tricks on me. In any case, I was having a serious case of Déjà vu there.

"Listen to me! There's something I need to tell you! You know about that incident that happened here yesterday, right? Well, yesterday morning I saw how that girl followed that one woman, all the way, down to that huge building and…"

"W-Wait! Were you spying on her?"

This was getting too much. It felt exactly like the events of this one day, a day I couldn't just banish from my mind, no matter how much I sometimes wished I could, were replaying from that opened door. Except that those weren't our voices.

(*gulp* Does that mean… They're not going to…?)

Maybe I was being paranoid again. But better paranoid than having to take care of two murder cases in the same building within the span of two days. Not wasting any more time, I rushed towards the door, as the conversation behind it continued:

"When she came back she was carrying that woman's handbag, I swear! She stole that from her! And now, that woman is on trial…She's playing some role in that murder! That woman… She's trying to frame her!"

"STOP IT! You're mean! Don't… Don't talk about my Lily like that!"

Just the moment I wanted to put my hand on the door handle and rip the door it belonged to open, a loud sound, like something crashing into a wall, followed by an all too familiar, loud gasp of pain made me jerk and stop for a moment. When I wanted to finally grab the handle after this, I didn't need to anymore: The door was suddenly being smashed open. I could just barely jump out of the way, before the door was flung open and a person crashed into the wall right from it. A person stormed out so quickly I wondered if he even noticed that I was there. Though, I had time to recognize who it was:

Dylan Sengage. For the third time this day. And his face was reflecting the lights of the corridors in a way that made me certain that he'd been crying just a moment ago.

"H-Hey, you! Wait!"

I tried to get a hold of the boy, but he took not the slightest bit of notice of me and just continued rushing down the corridor. I was about to follow him when I remembered: He hadn't been alone in there. And from the sounds I had heard from inside, the other person was now…

My priorities shifted quickly when that sense of Déjà vu overcame me again, and I quickly turned towards the open door again, rushing out into the yard.

"Hello?" I called out as soon as I had taken my first step outside, "Is anyone there?"

"Ungh… Ouch…"

Loud groaning. Feeling a bit relieved, I turned the direction I heard it coming form. Why was I relieved? Well, groaning meant that whoever was groaning was probably conscious, after all.



When I turned around, there was a boy lying on the floor, leaning against the wall with part of his upper body. It looked like he had just been smashed into this wall which- judged by what I had heard, was probably exactly what had happened. But he was conscious, seemed to be relatively fine and there were no electric cables around. My relief doubled. I took quick steps towards the boy.

"Hey, are you OK? Can I help you?"

I offered the teenager my hand, just to recognize that it was the boy who Maya and me had earlier encountered in the hallway. Apparently, he had pursued his search for Sengage the whole evening and found him – just to be put into this state. For some reason I felt guilty and even a little stupid just by looking at him lying there like this, even though I was completely aware that this hadn't anything to do with me… Not this time anyway.

The boy, meanwhile, tried to get up, rubbing the back of his head, which had probably crashed rather uncomfortably into the solid bricks behind him. It took him a few moments till he opened his eyes, half-heartedly looked at me and tried to get up again:

"N-No… I'm fine, Sir! Excuse me!

Declining the hand I had offered him, the boy tried to get back on his feet, way too suddenly and way too hectically. The result was that he immediately lost his balance again and fell.

"WOAH! Ungh…

The fall had been face forward. The boy raised his head and coughed out dust. He broke out into cold sweat, probably out of shame. I saw him taking a quick glance at me before he, yet again, attempted to get up, but was taking it a little slower this time. It was now that the true problem showed.

"…ACK!...Ungh…!"

As soon as the boy tried to put his right foot down and walk away, the leg immediately sprung up again and he ended up on the floor once more, except that now it was a bit less like awkward falling and a bit more like voluntary sitting down. Barely having arrived back on the safe ground, the boy proceeded to hastily take off his right shoe and roll up the right leg of his pants. I kneeled down beside him when he did so, having a suspicion what he was going to find there. The suspicion turned out to be true.

"Looks like it was sprained…", I said, eyeing the boy's ankle a bit worriedly.

"Argh!" The boy looked at his newly discovered wound in disdain for a few seconds, before he breathed in a suspiciously powerful manner. I should have been smart enough to cover my ears now. I wasn't.

"Dammit, DYLAN!"

I shrunk away.

(My eardrums! My poor eardrums!)

If there was anything the boy wasn't lacking, it was volume. I wondered how long it would take 'til this would take a toll on his voice…

"Alright, that's it, this time I'm going to the caretakers with thi—"

"Hold it! You're going nowhere right now!"

I quickly stopped the boy when I saw him starting yet another attempt to stand up.

"We need to get you to the hospital-"

The boy hastily interrupted me, pushing my arm away,

"No! Sir, I have to catch up with that guy who just left! That, or he'll do something stupid!"

"And if I let you just get up and leave now, you'd be doing something stupid," I told him trying to cool his boiling temper. "Alright, first things first…"

I tried to get out my cellphone, just to remember that I didn't have it on me, so I let it be and reached for change instead. There had to be a public telephone nearby.

"Could you tell me your parents' phone number? We need to inform them of this first."

"…"

The boy looked a bit intimidated when I said this. Instead of snapping at me with a quick answer like before, he gnawed his lip a bit, and then turned his head to the side. A somewhat uncomfortable expression appeared on his face,

"I'd… rather not tell anyone I'm out here…" He whispered in a surprisingly meek voice. "I'm… not actually supposed to… that time… you know…"

"…" I looked at him skeptically. "…You snuck out?"

"…Ehe…"

That nervous laughter of shame was just all too familiar to me. I decided to ask no further questions, but sigh. Knowing that he would be forced to tell his parents sooner or later anyway, I decided that it was for the best to make sure that his sprain was treated quickly, so I put my suitcase down next to the boy and opened it, taking out a few items. This was the kind of injury I had to deal with regularly, due to my unique brand of 'luck', so I was prepared for it. The boy looked a bit surprised as he watched me pulling some bandages and cooling paste out of my suitcase, but apparently he decided it would be better not to question it, since he didn't say anything.

"So… You're a High School Student, aren't you?" I asked him while taking care of his sprain. "What were you doing out here, all alone? You don't live here, do you?"

"…"

The boy turned his head away, seeming uncomfortable with having been asked that. Finally, he mumbled under his breath,

"Ungh… It's all his fault… Oh, just wait 'til I tell the caretakers about this. I've been shut up for long enough now…"

"Caretakers…?" How he used this word here brought up a few more questions for me, but I decided to start with one that wasn't entirely related to it, "By 'him'… You mean that boy who just ran out, don't you? The one you chased through the whole building?"

"…"

There was something about those suspicious pauses in the boy's speech. They made me feel like, in the boy's head, he was very much adding some lines here. Just that he didn't feel like sharing those lines with me. Of course, I was not the one to talk – Inner Monologue, my life- and reputation-saver – but why did I have the feeling that his Inner Monologue would make me feel very, very offended if I could hear it?

I had finished wrapping the bandages now, but the boy hadn't answered my question yet, so I decided to leave it be for now. I got up from the floor, "First of all, we need to get you home now. Here, I'll help you walk."

I offered the boy my hand and helped him get up. He accepted, although not without some slight reluctance. Apparently, the thought of needing help to walk was not something he really enjoyed.

"Hm… There's a bus stop right in front of this building… I'll bring you to the next hospital, if you're alright with that."

"N-No… It's not that bad, Sir, seriously," he quickly shook his head, "I live just three bus stops from here. I think I'll just go home."

"…Fine, but I'll still come along and bring you home, if you don't mind." I told him. "It's gotten rather late. I'm not really comfortable with the thought of sending a kid off alone at this hour—"

I shouldn't have said that. The next thing I knew, the boy was snapping at me once again.

"I'm not a kid anymore!" He said and crossed his arms. "I'm fifteen! Next year, I'll be old enough to drive!"

(That doesn't mean that you'll actually do it, kid. I mean, just look at me…)

"Look, I just want to help you."

"I know, I know…"

I knew that the boy was uncomfortable with the idea of me accompanying him on his way home, but there wasn't really much of a choice. No matter how many times he would claim to be 'fine', the sprain wouldn't just disappear. Leaving him alone like that would have been irresponsible. Thankfully, I didn't have to argue with him much longer.

The boy, still looking at me, sighed. Then he slowly nodded, "Alright, Sir… Thanks for your help."

"Don't mention it. Let's just go."

--------------------------------------

It was an uneventful trip to the bus-stop we had and an even less eventful wait for the bus itself. Mostly because the boy didn't talk to me a whole lot. No wonder; I was a stranger to him after all. Just trusting me like that would have been a little naïve. Still, I wanted to help him, which was the reason I stayed with him and also helped him getting on the bus. Then I sat down beside him. He just remained silent. His wariness of me was actually quite unsettling, even though I knew that it was a very normal reaction. I guess what made me feel uneasy were the boy's eyes. He had rather unusually big, expressional eyes, which had a certain "piercing" quality to them. And he kept them on me all the time… even though he was trying his best to disguise the fact that he was watching me, as if he felt that I could leap at and strangle him any moment.

Even though it was only three bus stops, the stops were still fairly far apart of each other, meaning that the boy and I would spend another fifteen minutes like this, side by side in icy silence, if it went on like this. I had to break this silence somehow.

(Alright, Phoenix. Say something. Something, just a little bit of small talk…)

"Uhm… Nice… Bracelet?"

This was the first thing I could come up with, for some reason. It was probably because my eyes had been stuck on the golden ring around the boy's left wrist for a while now, mostly thanks to the fact that he kept fiddling with it nervously, again and again.

(Actually, seeing a boy like him wearing something like this is kinda odd. This is more like the kind of jewelry I would expect Maya to wear.)

The boy just kept his head turned away.

"Yeah… thanks," he replied in a not very thankful manner.

"Where did you get this?"

"Can't remember."

"O-Oh…"

And with that… we were back to awkward silence. Wonderful. I had to find a way to keep the conversation up, before the air between us would finish freezing…

"So… Would you tell me your name?"

"…"

The boy immediately turned his head away when he heard this question. He stayed mute for a moment, making me wonder if he was going to reply.

"…'Pollo…", I finally heard him quietly mumbling under his breath, his head still turned towards the window.

"Hm? What did you say?"

Another short pause followed. It was like the boy wasn't sure if giving me any information about him would be a good idea at all.

"…Apollo."

He finally turned his head towards me again, but not without hesitating, "My name's… Apollo."

"Apollo?" I looked at the boy. Probably puzzled, "That's an…unusual name."

At the very last second, I managed to stop myself from saying the word 'weird'. But the pause gave away what I was really going to say and the boy was bright enough to understand what that meant. He frowned, before returning the question in a slightly unmotivated manner,

"And your name …Sir?"

"I'm Phoenix Wright."

The moment I said that, the boy – Apollo – looked straight at me, and his face had a clear, unmistakable expression on it. It read 'You Hypocrite'. I needed a few seconds to figure out why that was. When it hit me, I felt a bit like slapping myself.

"Phoenix… Wright, huh?" I heard Apollo whisper. He sounded like he was not too sure if I was being serious or just messing with him. I proceeded to quickly think up a response that had a chance of breaking the two meters thick wall of ice the boy had now built up against me.

"Ehe… Yes, that's… Absolutely 'Wright', I guess? Haha…"

"…Not funny."

His blunt comment hit like hail. I stopped laughing, as one more icy blow of wind seemed to sweep over the boy and me. Not much of a loss. My laughter had been forced anyway. The sinking temperature of the atmosphere around the two of us, however, worried me.

(…This is one of those days my mouth just doesn't want to do what my brain tells it to, is it?)

As I mentally wished for something to tape my mouth with, the icy silence around us got supporting company from a freezing cold stare, which the boy threw at me. It wasn't an intimidating stare, which was largely thanks to the fact that the boy looked just too much like the kind of kid to regularly get into and loose schoolyard brawls to be intimidating in any way, but if there was one thing it made me know, it was that Apollo was convinced now that I wasn't taking him seriously, which was pretty much the exact opposite of what I had been trying to achieve. Unsure what to say, I kept silent, until Apollo finally spoke.

"Yeah," the boy started pushing himself off his seat, "If you don't mind, Sir, I'll be over there, on the other side of the bus then…"

"Yes… Wait, no, no!" I tried to somehow place myself in a way that would hinder the boy from just leaving like this. "I do mind! ...Eh, I mean… Don't you want to stay here? It's only two more bus stops, changing seats now isn't really necessary, so…"

"It's about Dylan, isn't it?"

Apollo turned around, towards me again. He crossed his arms and sat up straight on his seat, as I looked at him. I was more than just a bit surprised,

"How did you…?"

"You were interested in why I was chasing him before as well, weren't you? And why else would you come along on this bus ride with me?" The boy crossed his arms. "People don't just… do that for no reason..."

A short pause followed as Apollo, yet again, turned his head away. I don't know if he was expecting me to just go on and question him about Sengage now. But, in any case, that's not what I did. Because I just couldn't ignore the tone with which he had said that last sentence.

"…I would have done that even if I didn't need any information about Sengage," I told him calmly.

"Oh really?" There was disbelief in his voice. "Why?"

"Because you needed help."

"It's just a sprain…"

"It's still a problem. Leaving you alone with that wouldn't be a very nice thing to do, would it?"

"Why do you even care?"

Apollo suddenly turned his head back in my direction. "I'm fine! I tried to do something, I couldn't manage, I screwed up, end of story! Now leave me alone, Sir…"

"You were trying to help that other boy, weren't you?"

The boy shifted uncomfortably in his seat when he heard my question. His arms still crossed, he tried not to look at me. I let him be, understanding that he was already rather upset about what happened. The last thing he needed was a stranger questioning him like a criminal. However, in the end... no further pressing was needed anyway.

"I was… just trying to figure out where he was going every day. That's all," Apollo finally told me, still without looking me in the eyes. "… I should have known that it's got to do with that girl again… Argh…Dylan…"

"Dylan Sengage…," I said, more to myself than in reply to him. I focused on the boy again, "And by girl… You mean…"

I crammed out the court record and skimmed through the witness profiles, 'til I found the one I needed.

"…this one?" I showed Lilie Heatherd's photo to the boy.



At first, he only took a quick peek at the photo. Once he had done that, however, his head and attention immediately rose.

"Wha— That's her!" He exclaimed in surprise, "The girl he's dating…Where do you know her from?"

"She's a Key Witness in a case I am working on right now. I'm… a lawyer."

As I explained this, I could see how the boy's hands balled to fists. His eyebrows pulled down as well. Also, his voice was back to being loud and penetrating, like it had been before.

"Key Witness… I knew it! I knew she had something to do with that!

For a moment, it looked like the boy was about to try and jump up again, but, knowing that this wouldn't be exactly of advantage for his hurt foot, I quickly put my hand on his shoulder to keep him from doing so. So, he just continued ranting at me, finally looking me in the face,

"I told him! All along, I said 'I've got a bad feeling about this girl', but would he listen to me? No! 'Cause nobody ever listens to me! And now, look at that! She's involved in that murder case here after all! I knew it! I knew it all along!"

"I said 'Key Witness' not 'Prime Suspect'," I told the boy in an attempt to calm him down, even though I could very much relate to his opinion that Heatherd's role in this case was more than that of just an observer. "And I doubt your friend doesn't know about that. He visited her in the Courthouse today."

As soon as I said this, the boy crossed his arms again and looked away from me.

"He's not my friend," I heard him mumble. "He's… just my roommate…"

"Roommate?"

Before I could ask any more questions about this, the boy already had his eyes back at me, snapping.

"But someone just needs to keep him away from that girl! I know she's going to make him do something he's gonna regret, I… I just feel stuff like that!"

I listened up when I heard this.

"You 'feel it'?"

"People who aren't honest!" He told me with a slight nod. "That kind of people just makes me feel all… all…

He was apparently trying to find words to describe something he couldn't really explain. So he ended up waving his hands around wildly he finally resumed talking,

"…It's just… a kind of 'tightening' feeling… I get all wound up and…and," he paused for a moment. "Look, I just know that she's hiding something from him! That girl's gonna end up getting him into huge trouble! I just know it!"

"Alright, alright, I believe you!" I quickly told him, before he could get any louder. My ears were already taking damage. That was something I 'just knew'. "So… What were the two of you doing in that Apartment building? If I remember right, that incident just now wasn't the first time the two of you fought there today. "

"I'm not really sure myself," Apollo answered. "But he didn't show up in school today again, so I wondered where he went… Then I remembered that this incident happened and… yeah."

"You suspected it had something to do with it and came there to search for him?"

He nodded, "Yeah. And now, it looks like that girl – the one he's seeing – was living there too."

"So he was down there to visit her?"

"I don't think so… I saw him ring the bell on one of the doors, but nobody opened up, so I guess she wasn't at home."

"Which means that he wasn't invited by her… Could it be that he had another reason to come to the Apartment Building then, maybe? Do you have any idea?"

When I said that, Apollo lowered his head,

"…"

And then something that occurred a lot more often lately than I wanted it to happened.



With a loud locking sound, I saw how the chains closed around the boy before me and were sealed with a single, red Psyche Lock.

"H-How should I know…Heh…?"

He was raising his head again… But looked notably flustered. Even if it hadn't been for that Psyche Lock, I would have known that he was hiding something right away. Three years of experience were enough to recognize a bad liar when I see one. He also started to scratch his head nervously. Another dead giveaway.

"I met him when he was about to leave," He tried to explain to me. "I confronted him in the hallway and that's how we got into the squabble. That's all that happened, seriously. Nothing else…"

"I see…"

(Yes. I see that you're trying to hide something you know from me, that is. But it's only one lock, right? This should be easy to break. Well, then…)

"So, let me sum up… You had a bad feeling about your friend's girlfriend and decided to follow him to make sure he was going to be alright, and this is how you ended up fighting him in the hallway, correct?"

"He's not my friend!" Apollo's nervousness suddenly flipped over into anger, as he repeated to me what he has told me before, but with more emphasis. "Or does that look like something a friend would do to you?"

He proceeded to point at his foot.

"So?" I asked. "If he's not your friend, why are you so worried about him going out with this girl then?"

"Because she's going to get him into trouble, that's why!"

"And why do you care?"

"…"

Apollo fell silent after this. He seemed to be out of arguments. Sweating a bit again, he looked at the floor. I smirked. Now it was my turn to wear a 'You Hypocrite' face.

"I… " the boy apparently finally found words again. "I just think helping him is the right thing to do… That's all."

"'The right thing to do'… I see…"

And somehow… this made me smile even more. This kinda of idealism was something you didn't see in a lot of kids these days, after all. Tilting my head a bit into his direction, and feeling more relaxed than I did before – apparently, I managed to melt a good amount of the 'ice of awkwardness' already – I asked him.

"You think that helping people is something important then?"

"I just see people who didn't do anything get into trouble way too often," Apollo explained to me, his fists on his lap. "Something happens, there's some stupid coincidence and someone makes a dumb mistake and gets blamed, then nobody listens to them and the one who really did it just gets away like this. That happens all the time at my school… I think that's just not right, that's all."

"…"

I closed my eyes. Hearing the boy say this, I couldn't help but remember something once again… The images of the moved tables in the classroom and my shouting, booing classmates appeared before me for just a moment.

"…You are right," I finally replied with a nod. "Things like this do happen too often."

"Yeah…" Apollo beside me sighed. "It makes me so angry every time I see it. I really wish I could just stand up and take care of the mess, but… It's not like I could do too much about it, is it? Nobody would be listening to me if I said something…"

"Hm…" I leaned back in my seat a bit. "So, you don't think you could make a difference?"

"It would be awesome if I could," I heard Apollo sigh once more. "I mean, just imagine that! Being able to actually change something, actually help someone… And then, getting the praise. People looking at you and saying "Thank you! You were great! I'll never forget that."… That's got to be an awesome feeling, I'm sure!"

"And, do you have anything specific in mind, when you say this? Like… something you want to do once you finished your education?"

"…"

My curiosity regarding the boy had now reached its peak. There was something about him, a kind of enthusiasm that just gave me the feeling that this teenager had a lot of… potential. So there was a specific answer I was hoping for… Though, I wasn't surprised when I didn't get this answer.

"I don't really know, to be honest." He said. "What to do with my life once I'm out of school, I mean… My grades are good, sure and there's tons of stuff I could do, but…"

I watched him as he, obviously also a lot more relaxed than before now, leaned back in his seat and started fiddling with the bracelet on his left wrist again,

"Somehow I just haven't found anything that I think 'fits' me… Something I could do and think 'This is just me! This is what I was born to do, here I come!', you know?" He sat up straight again. "I don't want to just study some fancy subject and get some random job, just to get through life, I want to feel that I am doing 'The' job! I want to get a bit of… a 'kick' out of it, I guess."

"Yeah, I think I understand what you mean," I told him with a nod. "Finding the right path can be hard."

A nod from Apollo's side.

"It sure is…"

"But…" I smiled at the boy. "I can tell you: In the end it is all the more satisfying once you get there."

And then, all of a sudden, Apollo looked at me. And not just in some casual way. He looked at me, like I had just said the wisest thing in the entire world. I wasn't too sure why that was though. I had just said what I had on my mind. It felt a bit embarrassing to have someone looking at me with those eyes. This was the kind of look wise, old men who had seen everything there was to see already tended to get. But I was just young myself. A 26-year-old lawyer who just barely learned to stand on his own two feet. This look felt like something I didn't really deserve. And that's why it gave me a feeling of awkwardness… no matter how sincere the boy actually meant it to be.

An announcement finally brought our conversation to a sudden end.

"Letonova Boulevard. Sunview Orphanage. Connections available to lines-"

I listened up,

(The… Orphanage…?)

"This is my stop…" Apollo told me and I saw how he tried to get up from his seat, so he could get out. "Well… It was nice talking to you, Mr. Wright. And thanks for the bandages…"

"Wait, I'll help you get out…"

Of course, this was a cheap excuse to leave the bus alongside the boy. I still had some questions for him, after all. Also, I knew enough about this Apollo by now to know that he would have rather taken those last few steps home by himself. However, for some reason, he didn't object when I helped him leaving the vehicle. The bus' door closed behind us as we found ourselves at a bus station before a rather huge building. 'Sunview Orphanage' it read on the front…

"So… There we are." Apollo turned towards the building and was about to walk off, "Again, thanks for helping me out, Mr. Wright."

My eyes wandered from Apollo to the building behind him and back to the boy again,

"So… you are…"

When I said this, Apollo laughed a bit, "Well, why else did you think I didn't want you to call my parents? Also, I told you that I'm sharing a room with Dylan. You know that Rising Sun High isn't a Boarding School, don't you?"

He pointed at his own Uniform.

I just looked at him for a few seconds, silently.

"…So, your parents…?"

"Never even met them."

"I- I understand…" I looked away, "I'm sorry…"

Apollo, however, just shook his head,

"Hey, Hey, it's not that bad, really! It's always been like that for me, I'm used to it. It's not like the movies always make it look at all, I swear. The meals are good, I've got a computer in my room and I'm getting a fine allowance, too! Nothing to worry about, seriously."

"…How old are you again?"

"Oh, me? I think I said that before, but I'm fifteen this year."

(Fifteen years? And he's still here…? I don't understand why. He does seem like a nice kid…)

Maybe this was just my own disability to walk past someone who was alone, but I couldn't imagine why nobody would want to take a kind person like this boy in… Then again, I had known him for all but thirty minutes now. That was probably not enough time to judge if you could live with someone for the rest of your days…

"Heh… It'd be even better if I didn't have to share my room with Dylan…" Apollo then admitted, scratching his head. "He can be pretty annoying at times… A lot more than my old roommate."

"Your old roommate?"

"Yeah. Dylan only moved in two years ago," he explained to me. "That was shortly after my old roommate was adopted. I had the room all to myself for a few months back then. Can't say I didn't enjoy it… but, well, then Dylan came, so…"

(Sounds like he really didn't like that other boy too much…) I thought to myself, (And yet he's trying to defend him… This kid sure is something.)

"Well… I guess I should go now." Apollo looked a bit nervous as he said that. "Heh… I'm sure gonna get it, once they figure out I was out that late and what happened to my foot… It was nice to meet you Sir. See you…"



I stopped the boy before he could leave.

"Hm?" He turned around towards me again, "Something else you want to tell me?"

"Well, actually… It's more of a question," I admitted to him. "If I can ask one, of course."

"A question?" Apollo looked puzzled. "Uhm… Sure. Ask away then, I guess…?"

(This is my chance. If I want to find out what Sengage was doing down there, I have to try to do so now!)

My hand was already in my pocket, touching the small trinket I still carried with me there. I grabbed it and focused.



And with that, the single Psyche Lock on the boy reappeared before me.


Surprised, Apollo eyed the item in my hand, "Uhm… Nice… Stone?"

"Yeah…Thanks…" (Why do I feel like we had that conversation before…?)

"And… where did you get it?"

"From a friend, some time ago. But that's beside the point now," I leaned a bit forward towards Apollo. "What I want to know from you is what Dylan Sengage was doing near the crime scene today. Everything you know."

"Huh?" Apollo looked up surprised. "That again? I already told you! I have no idea!"

"Is that really the truth?"

With a rather serious expression on his face, Apollo looked straight at me, like he was trying to stare me away. "You think I was lying to you?"

"At the very least, you're not telling me everything you know. There's something you didn't tell me…

And I have a feeling I know roughly what it was."

My hand was back in my suitcase again already. I knew exactly what I was going to show him. Once again, Maya's kleptomania was proving itself to be a rather useful 'problem' after all. It was moments like this that I wondered what I would do without her.



"I noticed," I told him. "that your clothes are lacking something."

"L-Lacking?" Apollo wondered, pressing his index finger to his forehead, like he was trying to figure out what I meant.

I nodded, "Yes. The Uniform of the Rising Sun High School features a tie. But you don't wear one. How come?"

"Uhh…" The boy backed off a bit, as it seemed that he was starting to figure out where I was going. Nervously, he tried to talk himself out of the corner I had gotten him into. "Eh… I, well… forgot it at home? …Ehe…"

"I don't think so."

"Huh?"

"You know what I think? I think that this is your tie."



Having said that, I showed him the tie Maya and me had found in the Janitor's office.

"T-That's just some tie!" Apollo claimed, but it was obvious that he knew he was not getting anywhere with this. And I proved this knowledge right.

"No, it's not. The emblem of your school is sewn onto it. It can't be Sengage's tie either. I clearly remember that he wore one when he ran out before. You're the only one it could belong to."

"Uhh…"

"You know where this tie was found?" I asked Apollo .

"Uhh…P-Pray tell?"

"It was stuck in the door to the Janitor's Office and kept the door from closing correctly. Meaning that whoever lost it there was in the Janitor's Office shortly before that."

"B… But that's crazy! What could I have wanted in the Janitor's Office?" Apollo argued. "I don't even know anyone who lives in that building!"

"You might have had no reason to go there… But someone else had. And that could have been the reason you were there as well."

"S-Someone else…?"

Apollo knew where I was going. I saw it in his eyes. The lock was about to be broken down into tiny little shards. All it needed was one last push.

I nodded.

"Yes…

The person you followed into that Office was…"





In my hand, I held my notes on one certain person, alongside a photo.

"…Dylan…" Apollo said, as if he was reading out from the notes.

"I have a reason to think that too," I told him. "My friend and I were in the Janitor's Office earlier to take a look at the security footage of the day the murder happened. Guess what we found?"

"…Nothing." Apollo balled his hands to fists and looked away, before he started speaking a little louder. "You found nothing…"

The boy took one last, deep breath, before he looked back at me. And his face told me that he understood that I knew. And that there was no use hiding it.

"You couldn't have found anything," he told me. "Because he deleted it all before I could stop him."

And with this, the Psyche Lock shattered. The chains faded, as Apollo just stood there, looking disappointed, but not exactly shocked. He had probably figured that I was going to find out from the moment I showed that I had the tie with me.





"Yes, it's true," he admitted to me with a nod, "When I first found Dylan here, he first wanted me to help him. He told me I should 'look out for anybody coming our way' and just dragged me into that office. I had no idea what was going on and first just tried to go with it. By the time I realized he was erasing the security footage, it was already too late. I tried to talk to him about it, but he stormed out and I had to follow him quickly… That's how my tie got stuck in there. I wanted to take it back later, but when I came back…"

"It was already gone. Because Maya and I took it."

He nodded again, "Yeah."

"And do you know why he deleted the footage?"

"You can imagine, can't you?" Apollo crossed his arms. "I mean, I don't know for sure, but I'm willing to bet my allowance that it's got to do with that girl again."

"Lilie Heatherd…" I said more to myself than to Apollo.

(Yes. I should have known all along… The footage was probably contradicting her testimony, so she sent that boy to delete it.)

"There's still one more thing I'm wondering," I told Apollo, who immediately raised his attention again.

"One more thing?"

"Yes. How did Dylan open the door to the Janitor's Office?" I asked "All the doors in the Apartment Building have special locks that only open if you have the right Key Card. You don't so happen to know how he got past this?"

"…Oh… That…" Apollo sigh. "Yes… He does that all the time…"

"Huh? Does what all the time?"

"Lock picking."

And my ears perked.

"Lock…Picking…?" I paused and blinked a few times, wondering if Apollo was being serious. "But… That's a digital card lock!"

"That doesn't stop him," Apollo told me, his voice carrying a bit of… disdain, maybe? "He can open anything, from a Piggybank to a Safe. He used to brag about that a lot when he first moved in…"

I stared in amazement.

"Anything?"

Apollo nodded.

"Anything."

"But… But how?"

"I'm not really sure…" Apollo seemed to be trying to remember something. "But I think… it had something to do with his parents."

"His parents…?"

"I think his name was in the papers shortly before he got here, but… That's all I know, really. But I'm sure he could have opened that lock easily. He's good at cracking codes and is generally good with computers as well. It's kinda… his special field, I guess."

(Sengage… I'll have to remember that…)

"Thank you, Apollo," I told him. "You really helped me. This is something I needed to know…"

"Dylan didn't do it."

"Hm?"

I looked at Apollo again, as he repeated to me.

"You're… searching for the culprit in that murder case, right? The one who killed that girl."

Apollo stood up straight, trying to look as serious as he could.

"Please listen to me. Dylan's an idiot sometimes. And he is eating out of that girl's hand and would do anything she tells him, but… He wouldn't have done that. Never. So, please…"

There was something begging to his voice.

"Don't use what I've told you just now against him, alright? He doesn't know what he's doing, really. If he's really done anything that's got to do with that case, I'm sure it was that girl who made him do it. It's not his fault."

I looked at Apollo after that for a while. I saw a determination in his eyes that I knew all too well. It was the same determination I had seen in Edgeworth's eyes back on the day he defended me and we first became friends. The same determination I had seen in Mia's eyes, when she fought against Dahlia for my freedom. …The same determination Mia once told me I had myself as well.

"He is not your friend."

Apollo shook his head.

"I can't call him that, no."

"But… you believe in him… right?"

The boy paused for a bit, before he finally nodded clearly.

"Yes, I think I do."

"I see…"

I smiled. Yes, this boy sure was something. I just knew. He had something that was much too rare these days in my opinion…

"Say, you said you had no plans for your future?" I asked him, packing my things away again. I felt relaxed for some reason… And glad.

"Uhm… No, not yet. Why do you ask?"

"Well, " I finished closing my suitcase again. Then, I turned back towards Apollo. And smiled.

"Did you ever think of becoming a Lawyer?"

"A…Lawyer?"

Apollo stared at me for a bit, puzzled, maybe also feeling a bit ridiculed. I didn't think that he really understood what I meant by that… It soon turned out he really didn't.

"You mean… those guys who chase ambulances for clients?"

"E-Ehh—" I backed off slightly. Was that really how the teenagers saw us…? "Ehm… No… That's not the kind of 'lawyer' I was thinking of, to be honest."

Embarrassed, I put my hand behind my head, „I was actually thinking more along the lines of… A Criminal Defense Attorney."

"Defense Attorney…?"

"Yes," I nodded. "Defending and representing people who are being prosecuted by the state in court. You seem like the kind of person who could pull that off easily to me."

"Defending and Representing…"

Apollo looked like something in his mind was moving, like he was thinking through some possibilities. Something told me that I had piqued his interest.

"…Here."



I handed Apollo my business cards. I just felt that I had to do this.

"Think about for a while," I told him. "And if you ever need help… feel free to call me…"

With those words, I turned around to leave. Gatewater Hotel wasn't too far from here. The sidewalk would take me thirty minutes still, I knew that, but I just felt like walking now…

I, however, could only take a few steps, before I heard a voice behind me call out again.



"Wait! Sir!

I turned around again, to see Apollo. Confused, he was holding up the business card I had given to him, waving it around in the air.

"It says here you're a Prosecutor!" he shouted at me from that bit of distance.

I just waited a few moments… Then I lowered my head and smiled. "Yeah, I guess it does."

"But I don't understand!" Apollo proceeded to shout. "You're telling me I should go and be a Defense Lawyer, but you're a Prosecutor yourself? That doesn't make sense!"

He balled his hands to fists. "I mean, you want to help people too, don't you? Otherwise you wouldn't have helped me today! So… If you think I should be a Defense Lawyer because of that, then why are you a Prosecutor?"

This question was important to him. It was easy to tell. His whole mimic and gestures gave it away. This boy was really incredibly easy to read. He wanted an answer to this question. Badly. Maybe it was even important enough to him to influence his own decision in the end. So it would have probably been for the best to take a moment and think about my answer, tell him something that would sound reassuring to him…

But I didn't.

"I'd like to know that myself."

With those words that said absolutely nothing, I turned around again and left.

And I know that the boy with the bracelet kept staring at me from afar for a long time, as I walked down the sidewalk, away from the Orphanage. I could feel his eyes in my back.

Evidence:

*) Prosecutor's Badge

I never thought I'd ever hold this in my hands. The design closely resembles the police's emblem.

*) Magatama

This gem allows me to see the locks on people's hearts whenever they hide the truth from me. It was a gift from Maya and is charged with Pearls' spiritual energy.

*) Photo of Iris

A picture of me and Iris in Kurain. Apparently we were still a couple here, up until recently.
CHECK: http://img823.imageshack.us/img823/1896 ... feenie.png

*) Victim(?) Note

Reads "Lana" in red letters of blood.
CHECK: http://img812.imageshack.us/img812/4660/victimnote.png

*) Snackoos Bag

Found near Ema. She was apparently eating them before she was killed. Imported from Europe.

*) Dart

A small, needle-like projectile, made for use with a tranquilizer gun. There are faint traces of blood on it. Found near the sofa.

*) Rope

Ripped. Apparently, Lana tried to hang herself with it. It was cut before it ripped.

*)Sketch

A picture of Maya, Pearls and me, drawn in my boredom. Note to self: Giving up the art studies was a good choice.
CHECK: http://img829.imageshack.us/img829/645/sketchonaboat.png

*)Autopsy Report

Victim died between 17:00 and 17:20 from massive blood loss after receiving a stab wound in the chest. The back of the head was bruised.
CHECK: http://img827.imageshack.us/img827/6753/autopsyreport.png

*)Crime Scene Photo 1

CHECK: http://img843.imageshack.us/img843/9230/crimescenephoto1.png

*)Crime Scene Photo 2

CHECK: http://img638.imageshack.us/img638/8229/crimescenephoto2.png

*)Knife

The murder weapon. Was cleaned with soap after the crime, so there are no finger prints or bloodstains on it left. Belongs to the Defendant.

*)Fingerprint List

Lists the people who touched the door's handle.
CHECK : http://i1187.photobucket.com/albums/z390/MeikyuButterfly/Complete%20Turnabout/Fingerprintslist2.png

*)Ema's Button

One of the three Badges Ema wore on her labcoat. It came off before she died. The needle is bloody and crooked.

*)Maya's Letters

Adressed to „Nick".
CHECK (1): http://i1187.photobucket.com/albums/z39 ... etter1.gif

*)Misty Fey's Book

A picture book, entitled "Haruka's Cherry Tree". Not yet published, this is a manuscript.
CHECK : http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/1628/picturebookcover.png

*)CD

Maya's three year jubilee compilation. She appears to be very proud of the songs selected for this disk.
CHECK: http://i1187.photobucket.com/albums/z390/MeikyuButterfly/Complete%20Turnabout/CDCover.jpg
CHECK SONG: http://www.4shared.com/audio/LbphpRQN/180_Degree.html
Lyrics:


*)Nylon Gloves

Found in the toilet at the crime scene. One of the is ripped badly.

*)Maintenance Work Data

Check for more details.

*)Locket

A necklace that a young boy dropped. It is shaped like a clover.)

*)VIP Pass

Allows one to enter and leave the shooting scenes of the 'Steel Samurai' movie as they please.

Profiles:

*) Phoenix Wright

I have been a Defense Attorney for three years now. But now it looks like people were convinced of something else suddenly...

*) Miles Edgeworth

An old school friend of mine. Apparently, he's a renowned Defense Attorney here. The "Him" I remember, on the other hand, was an extremely talented, but arrogant Prosecutor.

*) Maya Fey

Sprite
Singing (Turnabout Sisters Song)[Hatsune Miku(Vocaloid)]
Apparently a famous pop idol known as "MAYOI". In my memory, she was a Spirit Medium and served as my assistant and co-council in many of my cases.

*) Ema Skye

A teenager, who was dreaming of becoming a forensic investigator one day and good friend of mine. Was murdered in the apartment.

*) Lana Skye

Ema's older sister. Apparently tried to commit suicide in the bathroom. Her suicide note implicates her as her sister's killer.

*) Dick Gumshoe

Still detective of the local police force. Still as underpaid as ever.

*) Mia Fey

Maya's older sister and a detective. Currently under arrest for attempted murder. I remember her being my mentor as a Defense Attorney and murdered shortly after my very first trial.

*) Dahlia Fey
Leitmotif

Maya's and Mia's cousin and Iris's identical twinsister. Was the coldblooded killer 'Dahlia Hawthorne' in the world I remember, but declared guilty for a crime she didn't commit alongside Mia in this one. Her personality seems to have been turned upside down...

*) Klavier Gavin

Leadsinger and Guitarist of a Band called "Gavinners". Apparently also a lawyer. His name rings a bell, but I can't remember where I first met him.

*) Lilie Heatherd

Leitmotif
Sprite
Voice: OBJECTION!
A Defence Attorney known as the "Evidence Spammer". Claims to have witnessed Ema and Lana entering the Apartment shortly before the murder.

*) Iris Fey

Leitmotif
Singing (??? Song)
Maya and Mia's cousin, Dahlia's twin and hire to the master title of Kurain in this 'world'. Recently broke up with 'me'. Unhappy with her occupation as a Spirit Medium.

*) Franziska von Karma

Prosecutor Prodigy from Germany, who was assigned to aid me during this trial. She enjoys whipping lawyers, judges and witnesses alike and strives for absolute perfection in her trials.

*) Misty Fey

Sprite
Alternate Outfit
Talented Spirit Medium and mother to Mia and Maya Fey. Saw a third witness.

*) Dylan Sengage

Sprite
Lilie Heatherd's boyfriend, despite being a minor. Apparently able to pick about any kind of lock.

*) ???

A girl. With keys in her hair... Just what was that about?!

*)Pearl Fey (?)

Leitmotif?
Led me to Maya's meeting place. She looks like Pearls, but it seems like it wasn't really her.

*)Diego Armando

Most likely Mia's boyfriend. Has a serious caffeine addiction.

*)Trucy

Leitmotif
A young Illusionist and actress in the Steel Samurai movie. She appears to be a very enthusiastic girl.

*)Morgan Fey

The mother of Iris and Dahlia. Has been dead for about 14 years in this 'world'.

*)Apollo

A Highschool Student living in the local Orphanage. Shares a room with Dylan Sengage.

Bonus:
Music: BGM of the Dream Sequences

Artwork: Lilie Heatherd

It is done.

DONE, DONE, DONE!

I am so sorry this chapter took me ages to write, but I was suffering from a severe case of writer's block, not exclusively, but largely thanks to the fact that I had some problems with studying for University- Don't worry it's relatively fine now, and even if I didn't pass the courses this semester, I don't care about having to do them again. I love Japanese Studies and am not averted to taking them for a year more than I originally planned.

Another thing that kept me from progressing faster is that the Ace Attorney RP I started with some friends on the CR Backup Forums (which seem to be becoming the new main Forums now…) has gotten insanely huge and popular and I was just having so much fun playing it, that I spent most of my spare time doing so. ^^; I am playing Dahlia and Trucy in this RP… I originally intended to take Maya (you know she's my favorite), but due to some coincidences, I ended up with Trucy. I don't regret it, however. Playing Trucy thought me a whole new respect for the girl and I thought about cosplaying as her now, something I wouldn't have considered before. The RP spans 3 threads, one of which has recently broken the 1000 pages mark, that's how awesome it is. If you are on CR sometime, hey, check it out. It's really worth it, I promise. Where else can you watch Apollo ramming his head into a wall on purpose, or Maya possessing Nick and giving Edgeworth a heart attack doing so? ;-)

About this chapter: This is something I've planned to write from a pretty early point in planning of this fanfic. Surprisingly, the scene didn't change too much from my original first plans from it. The only thing that really changed was the setting. I originally wanted this whole talk to take place in a backyard with a pond, so Apollo could be throwing pebbles into the water in his frustration. Then, I decided that this was too similar to the many scenes at the river that this fanfic already has and changed it. Teenage!Polly was hard to get right, at first, since I had to write him without his Inner Monologue (of course) and from another person's perspective, but once I got into it, it started to flow. I had always intended for Nick to slip into Hobo-ish behavior when talking to Apollo in this scene. He did, but in a different way I would have imagined he would. Weird thing is, it happened all by itself. Sure, I had intended it to happen, but in the end, I didn't really have to "force it". When looking at Apollo from Nick's perspective… acting like this is suddenly surprisingly logical. Well, so much for "Out of Character Hobo". Ha. Take that, AJ bashers… I guess Apollo just prompts it. He's a nice kid, but, seriously, a little complicated at time. XD Makes me wonder how much different Nick would act in AJ if we were playing as another character... Ah, that's a Fic for another time, I guess.

I originally planned Apollo's Psyche Lock to be what I like to call "A Fail Lock"; a Psyche Lock that goes down in one present. However, Apollo wouldn't let me do that, when I wrote him. He demanded me to do at least two presents, before having him go down. And how could I deny my big Brother? —AH! No Neni, you are not RPing right now! You are not Trucy! Bad mindset, Bad Mindset! X.x

…So yeah, should I ever randomly start acting like Dahlia, you know the reason now. XD

As for the names of the Orphanage and the Street it's located in, I'll have to give two fellow CR Members credit for those. They came up with them for me during one of our RP-Skype-Sessions. "Letonova Boulevard" was the idea of "Athena Von Karma", who plays Thalassa and Morgan in the RP and acts as a stand-in for Ema's player occasionally. I am not exactly sure anymore who came up with "Sunview Orphanage", but I think it was my Co-GM Regiwi, who plays Phoenix and Von Karma. He makes an awesome Phoenix, seriously. No matter if Hobo!- or Layer!Form... It's really fun going all "Daaaaa~ddy" on him as Trucy... ^^

I'm rambling too much again. I should better get back to writing the next chapter, huh?

I hope you enjoyed this one! See ya later!

?

"Come on! I'm almost there, just take my hand!"

"No! No, no, no, no, no, no, no!"

I held my hand out to the little girl. She just pulled back and kept clinging to the branch she was stuck on. She wouldn't budge one inch. And she wouldn't look at me either. Every time I tried to look her in the eyes to make sure she knew that I was being serious about helping her, she would turn her head away.

I could hear the guys' voices shouting up to me,

"Whoa, Whoa, be careful, Nick!"

"Phoenix, do you really think that was such a good idea? It's not too late to come back down! Wait, I'll call my father for help…"

I shook my head,

"N-No, don't worry… I can do it!"

(But this is so high up… *gulp*)

I had to force myself to not look at the ground. I knew, if I did, I would get sick, much too sick to move anymore. I just really couldn't deal with heights. But the girl up here was so scared, I couldn't bring myself to just come down again and wait for someone else to come and help her, even though I was scared of heights myself.

Being scared is horrible. I knew that all too well. So I wanted to help her, even though she was making it hard.

I held out my hand again,

"Here! You just need to take it! I'll do the rest, I promise!"

But the girl kept holding on to her branch, and she started shaking her head,

"No, I will fall! If I take your hand, you'll pull me down, then let go and I will fall! I will fall and then I'll land on the floor, make 'splat' and be dead! That's what'll happen, yes!"

She started wailing and crying when she yelled that. I tried to calm her down,

"Huh? N-No! I won't! I'm your cousin's friend, so why would I do that to you?"

"Everybody does!" she wailed.

"C'mon, Lil'!" I heard Larry shout up to us, "Nick would never do something like that! He's too much of a wimp!"

"Yeah! ...Wait…"

I promised myself to think twice before agreeing with Larry from now on. His little cousin now finally turned her head towards me. But she looked at my hands. Still not at my eyes.

"… Why can't a shining prince come and save me?" she complained then.

"E-Eh… Because… I don't think there are any princes around," I replied a bit started. Then, I tried to make her take my hand again, "But, I promise, I won't let go of you, if you give me your hand! So please! Just trust me!"

"…"

She was still hesitating and she still didn't look me in the eyes. But then, finally, she let go of her branch with one hand,

"W-Well… if Larry says you won't… trick me... then…"

Her hand came closer. I stretched out mine a bit further. Just a bit more, just a bit more…

But in the end, it was a bit too much.

*CRACK*

That sound. It came suddenly. And it scared me right when I heard it. I felt something shaking, so I knew that it wasn't her branch that had made that sound… It was mine.

And just a moment after I realized that... the branch I was sitting on, slipped away. And I along with it.

I could hear Miles and Larry shout,

"PHOENIX!"

"NICK!"

And then I just closed my eyes and screamed.

(I'm… I'm falling. I'm falling down, all the way… And when I hit the ground…)

So this was it. This was how I was going to die… right? Sure. It was. I just knew it. It's not like I was lucky enough to survive that. Or strong enough. I had never been rather lucky or strong. Well, maybe a bit lucky. And maybe, I would have grown stronger. But now, I'd never know. Because this was where I would die. Right now. Any moment. When I hit the ground.

But… just when I was thinking that… I realized that it wouldn't come. The moment I hit the ground, I mean. It just didn't come. And I kept falling and falling…

(W-What is going on?) I wondered to myself. (Why am I still…? Why don't I…?)

[blur=]

You're not getting away that easily.

[/blur]

A voice. It seemed familiar and still strange. And that was when it all started… once again.

"He did it! It's so obvious!"

"That he'd ever sink that deep!"

A cold shock went through my body. I realized what was happening once again. As quickly as I could, I opened my eyes wide. And that was when I finally understood the reason why I wasn't hitting the ground.

"How could he ever think he would get away with that?"

"We should have known that there was something wrong all along!"

I wasn't falling any longer. I was floating. In water. And the surface. It was so… high… high above me… too high to reach…

"Yeah! All this guy is really good at is bluffing!"

"He's probably been doing it like this all the time!"

"What a giant cheater!"

(Stop… Please… stop it…)

I tried to swim, tried to reach the surface, but my distance to it only seemed to grow, until I could barely see the light patterns dancing on the water anymore.


I couldn't take this much longer. I knew it. I would run out of air. I would die. And I couldn't even scream, couldn't even cry. All I could do was try to fight and reach the surface. And I kept trying. Until every single one of my muscles hurt and I could barely even think.

The voices… Those voices were still there, talking to me, as if I had done it. As if I had done something wrong. As if they hated me. And I was scared.

Being scared is horrible. I knew that all too well. So I wanted to keep fighting… No matter how hard it would be.

But what could I do now? Was that really it? Could I really not even help myself?

"Phoenix Wright, we are all very disappointed in you."

(Why…?)

"You betrayed the ideals you kept preaching yourself… That's despicable…"

(I would… never…)

"You're no longer worthy of your title."

(I… I worked so hard… why… why…?)

I stretched out my arms, tried to reach for the light far above me, but I couldn't even touch it and could barely see it. It was as if a force, far stronger than me, was pulling me down. I didn't give up though. Not yet. Despite how horrible I felt. How much it hurt. How much I wanted to scream and cry. But I couldn't. I just couldn't. And I knew it. Actually… Actually I was just groping into nothingness, right? And I was completely aware of it. Every second.

…Someone was calling for me.


I stopped moving. I knew that voice.



It sounded weird, as if something was distorting it… But I knew the girl this voice belonged to. I just knew it. She was…


…my friend.

So… Why am I not answering her? Why am I not? Why can't I answer my friend?

"Come on! Just pick up the receiver and tell me what really happened! I'm sure we can work this out! We always do! I mean, everybody knows that you didn't do that! Right? Right?"

(M-Maya…)

"You… didn't really… did you?"

I couldn't move anymore. And without my resistance, I was sinking even quicker. But her voice stayed. And the despair in it grew.


I had no idea what was happening anymore. Why couldn't I just answer her? Why couldn't I just get up and pick up the phone?



I shook.

(…Maya?)

"…"

(M-Maya…!)

I tried to move again, with all my might. But I couldn't. My body was like frozen. My mouth wouldn't open. I could just stare, as I sunk and just listen as her voice resumed talking.

"…Y…You know… I'm gonna hang up now… I… I might try again later.

…Maybe…I guess…."

(No… Maya…) I wanted to reach for the light. So badly. (Please don't go away… Not you too…)

"… Bye…"

(No… No, no, no, no, Maya…)

"M…MAYA!"

And suddenly, I had that bit of power that I had been missing before. Suddenly, I could move again. Suddenly I could struggle to move, to reach out, towards the light again and…

And suddenly… I was standing on solid ground. And there it was again. Her voice.



"M-Maya!"

I looked around. But there was nothing. Absolutely nothing was around me… The only thing there was, was this voice. And so, I turned into its direction. I tried to follow it.

(Maya…)

As I started running, I heard more things, more people… calling out for me…

"Wright!"

"Mr. Wright!"

"Hey, Nick!"

(They are there, ) I found myself thinking. (They are all there… I… I just need to follow the sound and… And I'll…)

I suddenly had strength again. It was, as if the voices drove me, pulled me towards them. I kept going and running and searching and, finally… Finally they were there. Right before me. All of them

Everybody was there. Edgeworth, Larry, Maya, Gumshoe, Franziska, Ema, Lana, Maggey… everybody.

"Ah…Nick!"

Maya… Maya was just turning around for me. And waving. And smiling.

"Over here!" she shouted. "Come, we've been waiting here all this time! Get going, old man!"

And as Maya said this and waved at me… They all turned to me. And they were all looking at me. None of them with anger or hatred. They were all smiling. Every one of them was smiling at me…

I didn't run up to them. I just stood there, looking at them… my friends. It felt so good to know that they're there. That they were glad to see me. But… But somehow, yet…

I raised my hand a bit. And then I led it into their direction. Just a bit… only a bit…

"Isn't this wonderful?"

A voice from behind me. I turned my head. And… found Pearls.

She too, was smiling at me. But somehow... something about her smile was different from that of the others. She bounced a bit,

"Everybody is here! Everybody wants you to be with them! Isn't that great, Mr. Nick?"

Pearls looked at me in anticipation for an answer. I still found myself a bit hesitating. Just to look at her. A part of me was wondering, why she was standing behind me… not with the others…

Finally, I nodded at her, "Yes… Yes it is."

"Go to them!"

I raise my head a bit. And for some reason… I shook.

Pearls was still smiling at me,

"Go to Mystic Maya and the others!" she said. "You like to be with them, right? You want to be with Mystic Maya and the others! So just go to them!"

"…"

It had returned, that feeling that I… couldn't move. That feeling like I was frozen and unable to do anything. All I managed to do was to turn around a bit, towards my friends again. And then I saw that they were starting to drop their smiles…

"…Go to them," I heard Pearls' voice behind me repeat. And I could feel that she, too, had dropped her smile again. "Why are you hesitating, Mr. Nick? Don't you like them anymore?"

"…"

I tried to move. I wouldn't budge an inch. I tried to stretch out my hand further. It wouldn't move even a bit more. I was stuck and didn't even know why.

"Go to them," Pearls repeated, "Go to Mystic Maya and the others… Before they go away."

"…Go… away?" My voice shook in fear when I repeated what she said.

"Don't you want them to stay? Don't you want to stay with them? Don't you want to stay with Mystic Maya?"

"I… I…"

It was no use. I tried to run- I remained standing. I tried to shout- My voice wouldn't work. The faces of my friends turned more and more confused and disappointed at I struggled on,

'Guys, wait for me!' I wanted to say, 'I'll be over there with you in a moment. Don't leave me alone.'

But I it didn't work. Like I was being pulled back, pulled down, like I was stuck. And then… Then suddenly, I lowered my head. I couldn't look at them anymore. I couldn't even look them in the eyes.


Maya's voice…



My body was shaking and felt cold. Cold, like I was freezing. It was so cold, it stung like needles. I knew, if I moved, I would warm up and the pain would stop, but… But I wouldn't move.

"Mr. Nick…"

Pearls' again…

"Mr. Nick… Why won't you answer the calls? Why won't you open the door?"

"…I… I can't…"

"Why?"

"…"

She kept talking to me.

"Mystic Maya has been calling and calling for you… Why won't you answer her, Mr. Nick?"

"I can't…"

(Why can't I…? Why…? What's the… reason…?)

"Don't you like her anymore? Do you want to be alone?"

"I just can't… face them anymore…"

"Without a single friend in the world?"

"NO!"

I finally screamed. I finally broke down into my knees. I couldn't take it. I couldn't take it anymore. No more. I wanted it to stop.

"No, I don't want to be alone!" I yelled, "But I can't face them! I can't just talk to them! I wouldn't know what to say! I… I…"

(I did… what? What happened! What did I do…? Where was my mistake?)

"I…I can't even… explain myself… I… I have no right to… I… I disappointed everybody!"

I slammed my fists into the floor. Hard. And the sound was loud. So loud, it echoed on for a short while. But except for that… There was silence.

Were the others still there? Had they left already? I didn't even know. But it didn't matter. Because I knew I didn't have the strength to look up. I couldn't look at them, couldn't face them. Not after what happened.

I… disappointed them, right? Their hopes in me… their trust. They had all believed in me. And I failed them. I failed them all.

Yes, that was what happened… That was what I couldn't remember.

I had been careless… Too convinced of myself… Acted too quickly.

I ran. I ran without thinking. Then I tripped. I had tripped and couldn't find my balance again. And that was why I fell. And I was still falling. I felt it. I felt that I was still falling.

They were too high above me. I wouldn't be able to reach them, even if I tried. So I couldn't try. Not really. The struggle that I put up was fake… A fake, just like…

…

I couldn't struggle to explain myself. I couldn't face them. It was impossible.

I sat on the floor. And I breathed heavily. And there was silence.

"…"

I heard steps behind me. Someone… No, I knew who. Pearls. Pearls was coming closer…

"Mr. Nick… Are you a liar?"

"N-No…"

I held my head with both hands and shook it.

"But you lied. They all say you lied. And when you told Mystic Maya that we would all stay friends... that was a lie too, right?"

"No!" I shouted. "No, I am not lying! We're still friends, we'll always be! I… I just… I…"

"Why are you afraid of answering then!"

I looked up. She had yelled at me. Actually yelled, loudly and full of anger. Turning my head towards her, I stuttered,

"P-Pearls…"

"Coward!" she shouted, "You're a coward and a liar! You lied to Mystic Maya, all along, admit it!"

"Pearls… I didn't…"

"You broke your promise!"

I stopped breathing for a short moment.

"...My… promise?"

I looked at her. How she balled her little hands to fists… And stared down at me in anger. How she glares at me, as if she hated me with ever part of her being. How she frowned, as if she was about to cry…

"…Pearls…?"

"You…" Her fists shook for a moment. "…LIAR!"

I backed off.

"P-Pearls…"

"Everything was a lie! Everything! You lied to everyone and you lied to Mystic Maya too, right, right?"

"I…I…"

"…!"

And it started again… All over again, all over again.



And it wouldn't stop. I couldn't even cry, couldn't even scream and it wouldn't stop.


I just wanted it to stop… That was all I wanted. Nothing more, nothing less.


"…!"

Maya's voice. Maya's voice was yelling at me... cold and harshly, striking me like someone was kicking me on the floor again and again. And only now I realized what the other voices were…

Those were the voices of people I knew. People who meant something to me. People who had set their trust in me. My friends, my clients…

…People I had disappointed.

And they wouldn't stop. The voices wouldn't stop. Pearls' voice. Their voices. Nothing stopped. No matter how long it went on.

"You are a liar, Mr. Nick! A coward and a liar!"

(I can't take this anymore…) I thought to myself. (I want it to stop! I want it to end… Just be over… Please… Why can't I just… vanish…! Why can't I just forget it all and vanish… Vanish to somewhere where it all never happened… will never happen… Just stop it… Just… Just…)

"That is enough!"

I looked up. A voice. A voice that split right through the other voice. There was a light and then…

Then the yelling from all sides… was over.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

It happened suddenly. But all I really know is that from one moment to the other, everything appeared to be a lot … clearer. Also, whatever had restricted me was suddenly gone. I could move freely again. I could finally stop cowering on the ground and sit up straight. I really needed to do that…

There was a woman who hadn't been there before. She had just appeared. I didn't understand where she had come from, but there she was. And it was a woman I knew.

That woman was Mia. Mia Fey, as I had always known her, in her black jacket and skirt. She had a stern, serious expression on her face, as she walked in my direction. She didn't look at me however. She was looking at someone else instead…

The only other person that was here with me. And this person was directly behind me.

"I've been watching this going on for long enough now," Mia declared, not blinking even once as she spoke.

"…"

Pearls just looked up at her in silence. All of the anger and emotion that had been there before had disappeared from her face. Instead, her expression was rather… empty. And so, the two Fey Women went on to stare at each other, intensely. And in the middle of all of that, looking alternately at each of them in confusion, was me.

Not much happened for the next few minutes, except maybe for me wondering just what was going on here. Only now, it actually came to me how surreal and confusing the situation – strike that – everything that had happened in the past minutes was. As I was still trying to make sense of the scenario, Mia took another step towards Pearls. Her expression was even colder than before. She slightly lowered her head, before she asked.

"…Who are you?"

"…"

'Pearls' didn't reply. Instead, she took a step backward. And then, she vanished. Just like that, she disappeared into thin air.

I just stared,

"H-How… What… Why…?"

"Hmpf… I see, this is the game she wants to play…"

When I heard Mia say this, I turned towards her. She took a few steps closer towards me,

"Well… At least she is leaving you alone for now. That is at least something, I think…"

She approached me then. I didn't know why, but somehow, I felt alarmed when she did that. As if it was instinctively, I raised my arms, backed off, and took a protective stance.

"P- Please don't yell at me!" I heard myself beg.

(…Eh… What…? 'Don't yell at me'? … Seriously? I…I don't even know why I said that. Something is wrong…)

"Phoenix," I felt Mia putting her hand on my shoulder. "Phoenix, calm down. It's over. I'm not going to do anything to you."

I slowly let my arms down and looked at her. Mia was smiling warmly now… A good feeling. I got a bit calmer.

"I…It's over…" I repeated what she said to myself. "…Right…"

"Do you know who I am, Phoenix?" she then asked.

I replied rather quickly, due to how out-of-place the question seemed to me.

"Of course I know who you are, Mia! You're Mia Fey, Maya's older sister, and you mentored me. Why do you think I wouldn't…" I stopped after I had heard myself talking for a bit. Somewhat shocked, I led my fingers to my lips, "My… My voice…!"

Before I could even really realize what exactly was wrong with it, however, Mia had resumed talking.

"…Alright, you recognize me… That means you can access most of your memory. And your consciousness seems to be rather clear right now too… That's good. It will make this easier," Mia said, examining me with her eyes.

"Chief…?"

"Listen Phoenix, we need to hurry with this. I have no idea for how much longer your REM-phase will last."

"Ehm.. R…E…M?" I stared up at Mia, puzzled. … Wait. 'Up'?

Staring 'up' at Mia wouldn't have been so weird had I still been sitting on the floor, of course, however, I was pretty sure that I had gotten up onto my feet somewhere along the way. I checked again –Yes, I was standing. Which meant that either Mia had grown a LOT since I last saw her, or…

I finally dared to take a look down myself. What I found was... not exactly normal.

"W-What…! I… I'm…!"

" 'Rapid Eye Movement Phase', Phoenix," Mia explained to me in response to my previous question, as I was still staring down my body. "I'm sure you heard about it in School sometime. It's the time during sleep in which people dream. The length of those phases differs from night to night and from person to person."

I was now examining my hands. "S-So… This is… a dream…?"

(This explains… a lot… And yet so little…)

Mia laughed a bit, "Don't worry, it's only normal you have a hard time understanding things right now. Your mind is set on the dream, so you can't think quite as clearly as when you're awake… We're lucky that you're even able to remember me like this, really…"

"R-Remember you… Yeah… But still…" I was still too focused on eyeing myself from bottom to top over and over again to pay too much attention to what Mia was saying. "T-This is wrong!"

I ended up wrapping my arms around myself and hadn't Mia just told me that this is a dream, I would have probably also prayed that it was one. Still, for some reason knowing that it was one didn't really make me any calmer.

"W-Why am I looking like this? That's… not how I'm supposed to look! Why am I…a…"

"A Kid?" Mia ended the sentence for me. "Well, that's something only you can answer yourself, Phoenix."

I looked up at Mia again. "…Myself?"

"This is your mind, Phoenix," she explained to me, "Everything that exists here exists in your thoughts and feelings. Your appearance here, too, is based on your thoughts."

"I-I didn't want to look like that!" I immediately insisted.

"Yes, maybe not consciously. But maybe this is how you see yourself at the moment?"

"How I…see myself…?"

Mia leaned down to me a bit and put her hands on my shoulders, "You're confused and feel helpless right now. That has left you a bit fragile. Maybe this is your mind's way of expressing this…"

"Fragile…" I blinked at Mia, feeling a bit uneasy being referred to as this. "But… I… I don't get it! Why would I be… I don't want to be-"

"Phoenix. Calm down," Mia told me again. "Close your eyes. Take a deep breath. And believe in yourself."

(Believe in myself…)

After a little hesitation, I gave Mia a short nod. "Alright."

Then I lowered my head and did exactly what she had told me. I tried to just get down and regain my composure. And, most of all, stop feeling as if somebody would attack me again any second. After all, I was a grown man. I shouldn't be that paranoid of people yelling at me. And it had just been a dream. Nothing but a dream. Nothing of it had been real… right?

"..."

I opened my eyes again, finding myself on eye height with Mia. She smiled at me.

"Better…?" I asked a bit unsure.

"Much better," she replied.

"Suit and all?" I asked, just to check, while also looking down my body once again.

"Suit and all," She nodded.

I saw that she was right and sighed. "That's fine then…"

"Alright, let's move on then," Mia said, her expression turning more serious again. She crossed her arms. "First of all, I guess you'll want to know what is going on and why I am here, right?"

That was just like Mia. She always knew how and where to start dealing with a problem and never had trouble figuring out what was the right thing to say or ask. This, as well as a few other things were telling me that I was really speaking to Mia Fey here. Yet, there was still the fact that she had said herself that all of this was just a dream… Leaving me confused. But, again, she had started the conversation just the right way, giving me a chance to get rid of this question at the very start,

"Well, there are a lot of things I don't understand right now," I explained to her. "Like, for example… You. That you are here, I mean. Mia… How are you here? Is it really you or is this, too, just part of that dream I'm having right now?"

Mia listened closely as I spoke and smiled when I was about to finish my question. She tilted her head a little. "I can promise you that I'm real, Phoenix… As 'real' as the spirit of a dead person can be, at least."

"So, you are…"

She nodded, "The Mia Fey you know. The one who died three years ago. Unlike everything else you've encountered in the past two days, I belong to the world that you remember."

My eyes opened wide when I heard this, "Y-You know about my situation?"

"I've seen everything that's been going on around you, ever since you woke up in that apartment," Mia explained. "Even if you didn't notice me, Phoenix… I've been with you all the time."

"Mia…"

I looked at my mentor in confusion. Even though she did her best to explain everything to me, I still had a hard time understanding what was happening. Had she really been there? By my side? All the time? I didn't even know that this was possible… Then again, I actually hadn't known that any of this was possible until it actually, well, happened.

"As to how I'm here, I'm afraid that I can't really tell you much about that beyond that I came here along with you…"

"Along with me?" I asked.

Mia tilted her head, "I was… watching you at the time you got here. One way or another, I ended up getting dragged along."

(So Mia is just as trapped here as I am,) I realized. (But… 'Watching over me'? What exactly does that mean? I thought she decided I didn't need her help any longer?)

"So… 'Here'… This 'other world'…"

"I am sorry, but I don't really know what this place is either," Mia said, before I could even ask the question. "I'm just as clueless as you."

"Oh…"

"…I have a few theories, however."

"Hm?" I listened up, "What kind of theories?"

"Well… This place could be many things. The most obvious choice would be a literal parallel universe, of course. A world in which one detail in history was changed to completely alter everything after it. Let's just assume that for every option of what could happen in a certain situation, the not-taken options don't just vanish, but rather 'split off' into their own realities. That would mean that the reality we come from is just one of many, many possible ones. And this reality would have split off from ours at some point during our youths…"

"S-Something like this exists?" I asked in amazement.

"I don't know," Mia replied with a shrug. "Again, it is just a theory… Albeit an interesting one, don't you think?"

"Uhm… Yeah, I guess so. It does sound interesting…"

(Separate universes for everything that ever could have happened? That means there'd be an endless number of different 'Me's out there…!)

"Another possibility is that this all is actually just a kind of… dream of yours."

"A dream?" I asked. "But… I am dreaming right now! Would it be possible to dream within a dream?"

"I don't know," Mia responded. "I may have used to be a Spirit Medium, but even we don't know about everything a Soul is capable of. For all that I know, this whole other 'World' could just be an Illusion that you created for yourself."

"But… Why would I dream up something like this!"

"…"

Mia remained silent. It was a kind of silence that unsettled me. As if there was something she didn't want to talk about… And I decided that maybe I shouldn't address her about it right away. So I moved on.

"Talking about Spirits… The girl before…"

As soon as I mentioned the girl, Mia's eyes slanted, "Her…"

"She's not the real Pearls, is she?", I asked Mia, causing her to nod slightly, going into a kind of pondering stance.

"I don't know who she really is, or if she even actually is a 'she'. But I do know that she has been here ever since this all started. I suspect that she has something to do with how we got here in the first place…"

"Wait… You don't know if it's actually a 'she'?"

"She took Pearl's form, presumably copying it from your memory, but I'm rather sure that her actual form is different from her current one. Though…"

"Though…?" I tried to get her to finish the sentence. She nodded, understanding what I wanted.

"…Though there are some similarities between her and Pearl aside from her appearance… I'm sure you noticed already…?"

"Yes," I nodded. "That confuses me as well. I mean, she calls me 'Mr. Nick'… And seems to be rather obsessed with getting Maya and me together… wait!"

I looked up at Mia. "You don't think that she's 'another' Pearls, do you? I mean, you must have heard what Maya said! Pearls… she never even existed… here…"

"Well… to be exact, this 'Maya' only said that a girl by that name wasn't born. About 'existing', however…"

"…?" In confusion, I stared at Mia, hoping for her to explain this more. However, apparently she didn't think that this was worth our limited time.

"…In any case, we shouldn't make any hasty assumptions. All I really know is that this 'girl' is a spirit and probably a malevolent one."

"Malevolent… You mean because she caused me those nightmares?"

"Not just that," Mia said. "I think that she used a weakness in your inner Defense in order to gain herself access here. Ever since she's been here, she's been trying manipulate you from inside."

I almost jumped. "M-Manipulate me?"

"She attempted to alter your emotions and even your memory. Thankfully, you're a rather strong person and withstood her rather well so far, so I managed to interfere and avert almost all of the damage… I couldn't prevent those nightmares though. Excuse me."

"But she messed with my memory… That means the reason for those Psyche Locks-"

Mia shook her head. "No, Phoenix. Those Psyche Locks were not created by that girl. Those are yours and yours alone. In fact, I think those locks are part of the reason she was unable to actually take influence or implant on your memories so far… Some of the memories she wants to alter must be sealed away by those.

"So the locks are protecting me?"

"In a way, yes. However, I don't think they are only protecting you from this girl…"

"…?" I listened up, "Mia… What else could they be protecting me from, you think?"

"…" In a way that is absolutely unusual for Mia, she turned her head away, to the side, "…Isn't it obvious? The memories they are sealing off themselves."

"But why would those memories be 'dangerous' for me?"

"…"

Mia said nothing. But she closed her eyes, moved a bit uncomfortably… And then, it happened.





The chains and locks appeared. Three locks. And Mia looked at them, as if she could see them… Of course she could. This was my mind. And if thoughts were real here… So were Psyche Locks.

"Mia…"

A thin smile appeared on her face,

"I guess you know now that I know it… The truth behind your own 'Psyche Locks'."

"… Mia!" I took a step towards her. "What is it? If there's really something I don't remember… I need to know! Please!"

"…" Mia just looked at me, and her face was unreadable. Was she sad? Was she disappointed? Was she struggling to regain that thin smile from before? If it was the last one… she managed to do so after a minute,

"…I think it's better if you find out yourself. Phoenix…"

"Find out myself… But I can't!" I told her. "I have those locks on me! And how am I supposed to question myself? There's no way I can break them without your help! Chief! Mia! Please!"

Mia just turned her head away. "…and, to be absolutely honest, even if this is selfish… I'd also rather not be the person who tells you about it…"

"M-Mia…!"

Surprised, I just stared at her. Something… something that not even Mia wanted me to remember. Something that I didn't want to remember. Just what could that have been? What could that possibly have been?

"Please, understand me, Phoenix," she turned her head back at you and smiled. "You… were my student. And I always enjoyed watching you learn and grow. And I always knew that you had great promise and are very strong… And I… still do. I still believe in you. This is something I want you to remember, alright?"

(What happened! Just what happened!)

"Phoenix… You are a good person and a great lawyer. You can believe that. It's the truth. Never forget it, please."

"But-"

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"In the end, it doesn't matter if I tell you or not, Phoenix. This is a dream, remember?

And dreams aren't a reliable source of information. You should know that.

I'm glad we could talk though. Thank you. And keep going. I know that you can solve this case. Just try to keep smiling. And don't give up. Neither on the ones you're fighting for… nor yourself."

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I was asleep and woke up immediately forgetting everything I might or might not have dreamt that night, which is quite normal for me. Maya once told me that writing down your dreams right after waking up helps getting better at remembering them, but, to be honest, I'm not keen on being able to remember every single one of my nightmares in detail.