Original thread: http://z11.invisionfree.com/court_recor ... wtopic=203

Okay, so with the new move and everything, I thought I'd better let this fanfic toddle over (it's the first one I ever wrote, after all and I'm still a whore for comments! x3).

It was written almost a year ago and, like I said, it's the first time I've ever tackled anything like it so I hope y'all enjoy. I'd also like to take this opportunity to thank absoloutely everybody that provided me with comments on the original thread! You've all been so kind! Mwah! I feel like I've definitely improved as a writer in the year since this fanfic was born so, once school's out for Summer, I can't wait to sit down and try and write another - 'til then, please enjoy...! <3333

(Each chapter's going to be posted in an individual thread, just for convienience's sake ^_^)

Thought I'd better add, this contains SPOILERS for Ace Attorney's second case, Turnabout Sisters.

Chapter I: Nightmare Beginnings

The phone rang. Phoenix turned over, picking up and putting down the receiver immediately – too tired to talk. It had been some kind of unconscious action, Phoenix fell back to sleep immediately, the darkness of his apartment seemed more uneasy than normal – the outside street lamp casting intimidating shadows on the walls of his bedroom, fractured zigzags blasted across the ceiling, stretching right to the floor.

He was having a strange dream, surreal-like. Mia, his ex-mentor, now dead, had been calling to him, in some kind of pain, agony – her murderer, Redd White was there too – laughing coldly like some kind of omniscient figure. Mia’s screams got louder now, more intense, Phoenix tried to run but couldn’t move – Mia was pleading for his help – she called his name, begging – the sounds all around: her pain, Redd’s laughter, Phoenix’s own worries, culminated into an unbearable force; and then, for a mere second, silence. Nothing. Mia’s screams had stopped but Redd was laughing again, more menacingly than before, a new, unknown voice accompanied his – just as chilling and with the same feel of evil, except lighter – Phoenix fell, he tried to grasp for something to break his fall but there was nothing; the images of Mia’s death now all around him. Maya was crying; the stench of blood overpowering. He fell for an eternity. The guilt of his inability to save Mia wrapped all around him – he was about to hit the ground as the sounds rose again – the colours of his surroundings blurring wildly as he sped downwards, on the verge of passing out, Redd was nearer, so too was the unknown figure, stood like a shadow behind him – both ready to strike -

The phone rang again. Whoever it was was persistent. Phoenix’s nightmare was shattered violently and he sat up, suddenly awake. Realising his situation, he picked the phone up once more, except this time he answered, his hand still shaking.

“H-hello?” He stuttered, the line was quiet and still.

“N-Nick! You’re there! I t-tried calling before! Look, you have to come down to the office – something’s happened…!”

Phoenix recognised the voice immediately as Maya’s, the same woman who had cried in his nightmare; Mia’s sister.

“It’s e-early,” Phoenix stammered, “what’re you even doing at the office at this time?”

The static of the line fuzzed wildly in Phoenix’s ear until Maya’s voice suddenly took over again.

“I’ll explain everything when you get down here, Nick. Please – just hurry, I think it’s got something to do with Mia…”

With those final words the line cut dead. Phoenix wasn’t sure if Maya had hung up or the phone had simply died, Mia’s name resonated in his head – he knew that she was gone but he longed for her to return more than anything; an almost all-consuming ache. Phoenix had put a strong face on the situation for sakes other than his own, but deep down – he never stopped missing Mia. Maya had been able to channel her spirit in their case against Redd but had, from that time, been unable to do the same again. They hadn’t had a case since then, Phoenix wasn’t even sure if he wanted another one, Mia had helped him since he’d been in college, if it wasn’t for her he could have been sentenced to permanent imprisonment, she was everything to him and without her everything was just so lifeless.

A chill swept through the open window. Phoenix must have forgotten to shut it last night, it stirred around his bedroom – rousing his trance, forcing him into action. Maya was depending him, there was no time to think about this now but this didn’t mean it was forgotten.

Reaching for the light switch, Phoenix pulled back the bed covers and placed two feet firmly on the carpeted floor. The room was blindingly illuminated now as he stood, proceeding towards his wardrobe. Reaching for his suit and, yawning heavily, he exited the room and headed out of the front door, closing it firmly behind him. The sun was only just rising, filling the sky with warm oranges, the earlier chill to the air had gone entirely, a few birds flew overhead, everything seemed so right, but Phoenix knew that it wasn’t.

Phoenix fingered for the keys in his suit pocket, withdrawing them groggily he opened the car door; his office was a mere handful of minutes away. The drive was smooth that morning, too early for any commuters to take to the roads; they were empty.

As Phoenix pulled up to the newly titled “Wright & Co. Law Offices” he saw a pair of eyes survey his movements from inside the building, they followed his progression up the drive and, before he was out of his car, now parked, Maya came bundling out of the office door. She looked as tired as Phoenix felt, her long black hair scruffily knotted behind her usual acolyte’s garment, the masses of beads around her neck swinging uncontrollably as she ran over to where Nick was now standing.

“Nick! You’re here! I thought you weren’t coming! Y-you’ve got to see what’s happened inside, especially after I just finished tidying up-“, Maya’s voice trailed off as Phoenix followed her inside the building, she walked with a stern sort of menace – clearly angry at what had happened.

Maya outstretched a hand to open the door, allowing Phoenix to enter before shutting it behind her. The sight before Phoenix mirrored that of the night of Mia’s death, the impact of the sight hit Phoenix hard – unable to speak, he merely stood, staring, lost entirely. The main desk of the office was overturned, it’s mahogany surface chipped violently – one of it’s legs severely disfigured in the awkward positioning it now lay; every shelf stood bare, all of their contents lay strewn across the floor. Random drawers could be found at every angle, hidden among loads of papers and books – all open, some with pages missing, others now unnoticeable to their former self. Phoenix felt a rage surge into his mind as the image penetrated, a mixture of confusion and sheer anger.

“W-who did this?!” he begged, carefully placing every foot as she surveyed the ruin, making sure not to add to the damage.

“I-I don’t know! I came in early to watch a morning special of the “Valiant Vampire” and saw the door was open. I thought you might already be here to watch it as well so I came in, but when I did – the office was like this… That’s when I rang you.”

Phoenix couldn’t help but grimace. He was hardly the type to waste his time watching children’s television programmes.

“Did they take anything…?” He questioned, Maya clearly shared his distraught – but Phoenix wondered if this was more out of pain of missing the “Valiant Vampire” than anything else. She hesitated.

“That’s the thing – from what I’ve been able to look at so far the only things stolen are a few files – all from the same book - to do with that trial, you know..?”

Phoenix knew what trial Maya was talking about; she didn’t have to say it anymore. Mia’s death had been as hard for her as it had for Phoenix, the two were inseparable as sisters – and since then, Maya has never been able to talk about the trial of her murder well, the pain still present for both of them.

“Files..? What exact ones?” The last time any papers had been stolen, Mia had been killed, Phoenix stopped his mind from trailing towards that line of thought, he didn’t want to relive those memories and Maya seemed to feel the same, she seemed contracted, reserved all of a sudden, as if they both subconsciously shared the same trail of thought.

“Well, mainly they all concerned t-that evil man, R-Redd – they were all from that log book you kept of the case, you know – the green one? There’s hardly any pages left in it now, someone must’ve torn them all out...There’s nothing left about him at all.” Maya’s eyes began to fill with tears, the liquid emotion splintering her view – her speech becoming increasingly stammered, she lifted a sleeve to wipe her eyes and sniffed heavily, Phoenix walked over to where she stood, slumped, and placed a firm arm around her shoulders, soothing her upset.

“It’s okay Maya – we’re going to get through this, together – for M-Mia’s sake.”, Maya’s sobs quietened slightly as Phoenix said this, he continued, “R-right, just make sure you don’t move anything – I’ll get the Police down here, they might be able to trace it back and find out who did this – I’m sure it’s nothing, just some petty thief, right?” He was trying to reassure himself as he patted Maya’s shoulder, attempting to do the same with her; she smiled weakly through her grief – obviously still stranded in thought. Phoenix crossed the room again to where the phone sat on the floor; amazingly still connected amidst the ruin he picked up the receiver to dial.

---

Last edited by Ryuuichi on Tue Feb 27, 2007 3:09 pm, edited 2 times in total.

Chapter II: Chief Concern

Detective Gumshoe placed his cup of coffee down and stood up as Chief Monty entered the room, knocking the table as he rose and almost sending his cup erupting all over the desk of unorganised papers. The Chief smiled uneasily as he entered the room, surveying its quaint walls with a certain wonderment, as if the whole experience was new to him. Gumshoe hadn’t even got to have a sip before the Chief was telling him they’d received a call and he had to go investigate – such was what could be derived from his bumbling tone at least. Gumshoe was a homicidal detective and from what the Chief was saying there’d been no murder, coupled with the fact he had masses of paperwork yet to complete; still, orders were orders and he wasn’t going to disobey the new Chief.

Leaving his coffee behind and applying a fresh band aid to his scarred face as he walked, Gumshoe left the building, his destination – “Wright & Co. Law Offices”. The name sounded familiar but he couldn’t pinpoint where he’d heard it before, something to do with a case he’d been involved in in the past – his memory proving mediocre at best. It was a hot morning, the sun hung intently in the sky – echoing furious heat all around; Gumshoe unlocked the door to his car and sat inside – the sweltering leather seat burning his back even through his thick overcoat. He placed his now sweating hands on the wheel and, after pondering his direction for a moment, headed off to the location the Chief had shown him on the map, turning up the radio and chanting merrily as he drove, twice almost careering off the street entirely in the process.

Phoenix and Maya waited in the Office for the Police to arrive, the impact of the situation had set in now and, surprisingly, both had calmed somewhat in the interval between the Police’s arrival. Phoenix had helped Maya survey the wreckage and seen for himself the truth in what she spoke, the only things missing being a few ineffectual articles regarding Mia’s murderer that Phoenix had logged. Still baffled at what anyone would want with such files, the two made sure to touch as little as possible in their search, if fingerprints were still lying around then they may be able to tie this entire case up in a day.

As the two pondered, a knock at the door disturbed their thought and, before Phoenix or Maya had time to walk over and welcome the new entry, not that either were in an entirely sociable mood – it flew open, it’s old handle rattling brashly against the hollow, wooden surface. As the outside heat now came flooding inside a bold figure bundled inwards, scratching the back of his head before speaking in an increasingly unprofessional tone, his black hair slicked back roughly.

“Detective Gumshoe, we got a ca-“ the Detective froze mid-sentence, greeted the two staring faces with a familiar smile and continued, chuckling, “Oh! It’s you – that murderer from a few weeks back, right? Nice to see you again, pal!”

Phoenix felt his problems multiply with this new arrival, if only for the fact that he greeted an apparently suspected murderer with a smile; this wasn’t going to go as smoothly as he had hoped. Maya on the other hand, smiled in a slightly more sincere manner than she had before, clearly happy to see the detective again.

“Err Detective? You’re in charge of homicides, right?” Phoenix hesitated – unsure of how Gumshoe had attained such a status when he couldn’t even distinguish between the guilty and not-guilty, Maya’s smile evaporated as he spoke – Gumshoe’s charm already seemingly gone with it.

“Sure am, pal.” Gumshoe beamed in return, blissfully unaware of Phoenix’s trail of thought.

“Well…this isn’t a murder case you see, nobody’s been killed.”

“Oh – no, I know that.” Gumshoe replied, in a way that appeared almost proud, “You see, there’s chaos at the station with this new Chief, most of the officers are refusing to work so they’re putting anyone that will work on any job that comes up. Just so happens I’ve been put on this one, pal. You’re lucky you got me, eh?”

Phoenix didn’t answer, nor did Maya – the two unsure how to reply, neither having the heart to instil Gumshoe with any sense of reality, Phoenix changed the topic.

“Wait – there’s a new Chief?” Phoenix asked, “What happened to the old one? Didn’t he bring the entire force back on their feet? I was only speaking to him last month about how well he’d done.”

“Oh, you mean Leiter? Well yeah – it’s true, he was the best Chief we’ve ever had – put me in charge of homicides he did. I owe that man everything. But, last week – he just… resigned.”

Maya was intrigued now, she too had heard of the legendary status that surrounded this man and could see Gumshoe had clearly respected him.

“He resigned? What for..?” She said, clasping her hands together in what Phoenix determined as sheer curiosity.

Gumshoe changed his focus to Maya and, looking down from his immense height as he removed his now damp overcoat, he spoke.

“We don’t know, miss. There’s chaos at the station now; not only because Leiter’s gone but because of his replacement. I don’t want to speak badly of Chief Monty but, before being promoted he was nothing more than an everyday officer, lowest rank ‘n all – how’s a man like that supposed to run the entire force on his own? Especially after someone like Leiter. He’s really been struggling, y’know.” Gumshoe almost knocked the coat stand completely over as he spoke, not realising the force he was applying in attempting to place his overcoat on it. Maya crossed the room to help the now clearly struggling detective, after which he returned a cheery, although obviously embarrassed, smile.

“Right, so they put an inexperienced officer in charge of the entire Police Department? How does something like that happen?” Phoenix interjected, not wanting the two to get disillusioned in each other’s sprightliness.

“Well, pal – Leiter insisted that Monty be his replacement, wrote up an official document and everything, of course there was outrage but the board of Governors had no problem with it and so that was it, Monty was made Chief. I was surprised, me and Leiter were good pals, I thought I stood a chance of being put forward for the job, y’know?”

Phoenix was grateful for Leiter’s decision, anyone would be better than Gumshoe at being Chief, he was sure; he could picture the Criminal Investigation Offices with Gumshoe in charge – shuddering as he imagined the room, unnoticeable amongst incomplete paperwork, he let the thought drift from his head as quickly as it had entered.

“Well, pal – I’d love to chat but I’ve got a job to do – mind if I look at the scene…?”

Phoenix stepped sideways, realising they hadn’t addressed the issue why he made the call at all and, partially shocked to hear Gumshoe reminding him of their work, unblocked the view that lay behind him to a now speechless detective, revealing the full damage of the situation.

“R-right.” Gumshoe exclaimed, clasping his forehead with one great hand and thinking indignantly, “…Looks like you’ve had a break in, pal.” He analysed, removing his miniature notebook from his pocket and scrawling roughly, Maya nodded enthusiastically in agreement – clearly impressed.

Wondering why he’d waited so long for such a professional breakdown of the situation, Phoenix realised he was going to have to do all the work and drove the conversation forward.

“Well, the only things missing are a few documents – all on Redd White, you remember? From the case a few months back.”

“Ah – yeah, I was filling out some paperwork on him only the other day, pal.” Gumshoe glanced around the room with vigour, “So – you’d better leave this to me then pal, Chief’s given me some new equipment to scan the scene – I’ll have to dust for fingerprints – tricky business. It’ll take a while, pal. Why don’t you go see Sir Edgeworth in the meantime? I mean, he was prosecutor on Redd’s case – he might be able to help you…”

Phoenix grimaced once more; the idea of getting help from Miles Edgeworth hardly filled his heart with glee, Maya however, felt differently.

“So you think this is more than just a random theft? Someone actually came with the motive of taking those articles?” She questioned, walking over to where Gumshoe was now headed – surveying the walls excruciatingly.

“Looks that way to me, pal” he spoke confidently, scribbling down notes in his pad with every step he took, “I mean, what would someone want with a few papers if they weren’t interested in the guy? I’ll tell ya’ more once I get some prints, like I said – Edgeworth might be able to help, good with all that motive stuff he is.”

Wondering if Gumshoe knew the criteria of his job at all, Phoenix stood sullen. Taking his new role a little too seriously, Gumshoe ushered Maya and Phoenix out of the building and, smiling widely, waved them goodbye. The two heard what sounded like him shutting his tie in the door before realising he hadn’t been joking and after a few seconds, light rummaging could be heard from inside.

Despite not wanting to admit the fact that Gumshoe may have been right, and remaining equally persistent that he didn’t need Edgeworth’s help, Phoenix saw no alternative. After all with Mia gone, who else was there? Maya certainly seemed anxious to return to investigating – perhaps if only to occupy her time, to block out the fact her that besides Phoenix she was now practically alone in the world.

“Right – to Mr. Edgeworth’s then, Nick? D’you know the way?” Maya certainly seemed to have forgotten her grief, now smiling wildly as she lead the way to Phoenix’s embarrassingly parked car.

“Err yeah – I think I know how to get there.” Phoenix spoke as little as possible as the two sat in the car and headed off; rapt in thought, he could still hear Mia’s voice calling him, begging him from the nightmare – was it possible Redd had returned? Phoenix had seen him being lead down to the prison cells after the trial; he couldn’t have gotten free…

After what seemed like an age but was in truth no less than ten minutes, Phoenix pulled up outside a District Apartment, Edgeworth’s. Maya couldn’t hide her awe in surveying the expensive suburb as the two trotted along the perfectly co-ordinated pavement slabs, past equally flawless gardens, to Edgeworth’s front door. Identical buildings bordered either side of the street; nothing appeared out of place, everything quiet and tranquil. Phoenix raised a hand to knock on Edgeworth’s door before being enthusiastically corrected by Maya who pointed to a doorbell; not wanting to oppose, Phoenix pressed the bell.

Within a few seconds Phoenix could see signs of movement behind the frosted glass of Edgeworth’s door and, after an apparent look through the window to see who his visitors were, Edgeworth, surprised, reluctantly opened the door. He looked the same as always, dressed in his expensive, plum suit – a ruffled white cravat comforting his neck, tucked neatly into a pinstriped, grey waistcoat – complimenting perfectly his equal shade of aptly styled hair.

“Oh, Mr. Wright – what can I do for you?” Edgeworth spoke, brandishing his usual, suave smile, “Come to gloat your victory have we? No need to bring a partner to do so, I can assure you.”

Realising Edgeworth hadn’t lost his charm; Phoenix began on what was surely going to be a tiresome situation.

“I – err – I need, your – T-there’s been trouble at the office and you might be able to – to…help.” Phoenix knew what an opportunity this was for Edgeworth but, as Gumshoe had said, he might know something, even if it meant that Phoenix had to sacrifice his pride in finding out whatever it was.

“The great Phoenix Wright needs help from dear old me? Well Wright, I can be sure when I say I have better things to do than assist you in some mindless chase.”

Phoenix didn’t know if he could go through with this, watching Edgeworth’s smug grin widening he was sure there was an easier way, ready to walk away – Maya halted his proceeding, nudging his stomach assertively.

“Look, Mr. Edgeworth. It’s just – we think you might know something – a-about someone. All we want is to talk –“

Edgeworth looked insulted that Maya had even attempted to undercut him. “Well I don’t know how your business is going at the moment, miss, but I certainly don’t have time to sit around all day gossiping, I have a visitor at this very moment in fact – how am I supposed to make a good impression on the new Chief with your hapless interruptions?”

Phoenix stopped when he heard those words; Edgeworth had the new Chief visiting? This could be a good opportunity to see what Gumshoe had spoken about; he wasn’t going to give up so easily. Maya too realised this and, clasping Phoenix’s hand in her own, marched directly through Edgeworth’s door – forcing him to step back, startled. Edgeworth attempted to protest but, oblivious to his whining, Maya lead Phoenix through the apartment, eventually arriving in what appeared to be a sitting room where a single man sat, alone – he jumped up when the two entered, shortly followed by Edgeworth himself. The room itself was decorated elegantly, fine burgundy walls barely noticeable behind layers of paintings and shelves, crammed with golden awards and authorised certificates.

The man, who Phoenix took to be Chief Monty, spoke in an almost indistinguishable tone – quivering heavily. He was of average height, with a shock of red hair blasted scruffily across his head – he wore a suit similar to Phoenix’s and was probably about the same age too, wearing thickly rimmed glasses with both hands stuffed in his pockets nervously, practically shaking. Phoenix questioned his earlier conclusion as to whether this man would make a better Chief than Gumshoe, now he wasn’t so certain…

“Oh, if you were e-expecting people, Miles – then I-I can go, it’s r-really no problem…”

Edgeworth took hold of the situation again, barging past Maya and Phoenix who now stood quietly, observing the situation.

“No, Chief – please, do sit down – these were… unexpected visitors to say the least…” Edgeworth glanced back at where Maya and Phoenix were stood with a meaningful scour, he wanted to escort them out but, already embarrassed at their interruption in front of the Chief, decided not to make a further scene. Chief Monty sat down again, still far from settled as Edgeworth pretended to be unaffected by Phoenix’s disturbance. “So, Mr. Wright” he spoke, sitting down next to where Monty was, still quivering, “I guess this would be a good opportunity for me to introduce you to the new Chief of the District Police – Chief Monty.”

Phoenix edged into the room more clearly, sitting down on a brown leather sofa opposite to an identical one where Edgeworth was now sitting next to Monty, only a peculiar coffee table separated them, an elegant china tea set positioned on it’s centre proudly; he beckoned Maya to sit next to him.

“T-terribly nice to meet you, Mr. W-wright…” Monty stammered, failing to make eye contact at all with Phoenix as he spoke. “I guess you’re surprised to see a fellow l-like me as Chief, eh? Heh, I was too…!” He chuckled unconvincingly.

Phoenix moved in.

“Yeah, I am a little surprised as it happens – no offence, Sir – I mean, Leiter’s resignation itself was pretty shocking, why d’you think he chose you to replace him…?”
Edgeworth was livid.

“Wright! Honestly! Do you not th-“

Monty for once, spoke out, ushering Edgeworth’s protest into silence.

“No no Miles, it’s fine – I’m going to have to g-get used to these type of q-questions if I’m going to be Chief! T-to be honest, Mr. Wright, I have no idea why I was appointed either. Leiter stood down and next thing I knew, I was being p-phoned and told he’d put me forward for the j-job, of course I wasn’t going to say no, especially with all those nice governors practically insisting I got the j-job!”

“The governors insisted?” Edgeworth asked, it seemed this was a new tale of events to him and one he didn’t particularly seem fond of.

“Y-yes, quite persistent they were – told me I was the only m-man for the job.”

Silence. Nobody knew what to say. Phoenix wondered how Monty could be “the only man for the job”, in fact – he was now certain Gumshoe would make a better Chief, Monty had shown no qualities of a leader in the little time Phoenix had been acquainted with him. All four sat there, Edgeworth still writhing, Phoenix adrift in thought, Maya and Monty mirroring each others actions – sitting contently. A loud beep rang out throughout the room; Phoenix followed the noise to its source – a small, digital pager, now sitting in Monty’s hands – he scoured its face thoughtfully before speaking.

“Oh – I’m s-sorry Miles, looks like a Detective wants me to look over something – we’ll have to continue s-some other time, it was l-lovely m-meeting you.” Monty rose, not sure how his sudden exit would impact he left the room swiftly – smiling weakly at Phoenix and then Maya, who had remained quiet the entire time, more happy to observe the situation from afar, unsure whether she could compete with what was being said. Now only Edgeworth remained with the two, not sure if he should feel angry, embarrassed or relieved – he sat back on the leather sofa, sighing deeply, both he and Phoenix knew that despite Monty’s incompetence, he was harmless.

“Well, that was certainly a spectacle wasn’t it, Phoenix? Now if you don’t mind, what was it you wanted to ask me? I’m already behind on my work and don’t wish to be delayed further.”

Phoenix explained the situation to Edgeworth, wondering if he generally wished to help or if this was merely another one of his games.

“Wait – Gumshoe told you to see me? You want to know more about Redd White?” For someone who in their own words had previously stated they preferred not to gossip, Edgeworth indeed took an interest in the subject. “Well – ever since the case, Blue Corp. was shut down, after the motive of their business was shown –“

Maya now sat forward; a little more comfortable to talk now that Monty had gone.

“So, what about it’s employees?” She asked.

“Well – the majority faced private investigations; most were either arrested or dismissed on a lack of substantial evidence. Nobody that evaded arrest posed enough of a threat, Mr. Wright – surely you don’t think it’s an ex-employee that’s done this?”

“Nobody in particular you can think of?” Phoenix was intrigued – Edgeworth didn’t usually take such an interest in these kinds of matters, perhaps the loss of that case had hit him hard. “You were the prosecuting attorney after all, Edgeworth – nobody you can remember that might’ve stood out?”

“You don’t need to remind me, Phoenix - like I said, everyone that deserved arrest was dealt with. I don’t take pride in my stance on that case you know, Redd was an awful man – even bribed his own daughter to get what he wanted – I’d rather just leave it at that okay, I’ve got a lot of work to do.”

Phoenix wasn’t going to argue, despite Edgeworth’s smugness he was grateful, albeit surprised, that he had been willing to discuss the matter, he was clearly still agitated at loosing the case – at least now Phoenix could eliminate some possibilities as to who had done this. Realising they had already outstayed their visit before having even arrived; Maya lead Phoenix once more outside of the apartment, leaving a silent Edgeworth to resume whatever practise it was he was involved in – back onto the lawn, Maya shut the door firmly behind them.

“Well!” she chirped, cocking her head as she spoke in a wholly enthusiastic manner, Phoenix remained surprised at how she was dealing with the situation – he knew she was hurting as much as he was but, like him, she wasn’t going to show it. “I guess we should head back to Gumshoe now, right? We’ve been a while – he might have some evidence for us…!”

She was right, the visit had taken longer than expected and Gumshoe would probably be awaiting their return. Phoenix glanced once more at the street as he and Maya returned to the car, hoping never again to have to grace the area. Groaning sympathetically as if it understood the situation, the car steamed forwards, down the tarmac hill and out of sight.

Arriving back at the office, Phoenix was eager to see Gumshoe’s findings. Reversing the car into his usual space, he and Maya headed outwards – the hot air still lingering stubbornly all around, the very ground seemed to be steaming. Loosening his tie with one hand as he walked, Maya humming behind him, Phoenix proceeded to the office door. He outstretched a hand to open the door but it was already ajar, at such an angle that it still hid what lay inside; Gumshoe must’ve been feeling the heat in the office while he worked and fancied a bit of fresh air, Phoenix thought. As Phoenix hesitated, Maya jumped ahead, swinging the remainder of the door open. Its course stopped abruptly as it came into contact with something hard. Maya looked down at what had stopped the door and, unable to mask her emotions anymore, screamed. There, on the floor at the very front of the office lay Detective Gumshoe, not moving.

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Chapter III : Kirisaki Hospital

Blues and reds flashed ferociously, illuminated colours spinning, whizzing – tyres crunching over the hot tarmac. It had only been a number of minutes since Phoenix and Maya had discovered Gumshoe – just lying there, helpless. The phone wire in the office had been cut; someone had done this to him on purpose…

Maya had tried her cell phone but got nothing more than the operator’s dreary tone, apologising for the inconvenience, stating that her call to the emergency services could not be connected. There was nothing either of them could do, Maya knew too well of the dangers of touching a crime scene, she herself had been put on trial for the murder of her own sister, Mia and she certainly wasn’t going to put herself in anymore danger, despite her want and, in a way, need to make sure that Gumshoe was alright.

A black car which had been docked nearby reversed and drove off to accommodate the speeding ambulance, it halted suddenly outside of the office doors, two men jumping from its elevated interior to the ground beneath, the taller of the two clutching a leather bag of medical instruments. Relieved at the arrival of the ambulance, Phoenix, hearing the sirens, spun on his heel and walked over to where the two men were now progressing towards him, leaving Maya, still at Gumshoe’s side – clutching herself in self-assurance.

“Afternoon, Sir.” The shorter medic said, he was a plump, somewhat aged man with thinning, grey hair and a barely noticeable, white moustache – having to double his walking speed just to keep up with his companion. “We got a call from around here – something about an emergency, mind if we take a look inside?”

Phoenix was confused, he and Maya had tried the office phone and later her cellular but neither responded – they certainly hadn’t made a call. At the moment however, that was beside the point – Gumshoe was hurt and that was Phoenix’s only concern.

“N-no, not at all – he’s just inside here…” Phoenix lead the two a handful of steps away to the office entrance where Maya was now stood, arms folded weakly. After performing what Phoenix interpreted as a salute, the shorter of the men lowered to his knees next to Gumshoe while the taller man, a lot younger than his companion, remained stood, passing tools of increasing oddness to his workmate.

“Right” the medic said, attempting to lift one of Gumshoe’s eyelids before proceeding to feel his wrist for any sign of a pulse, “Looks like your friend has sustained some concussion, Sir, feeling here – “ he pointed to the back of Gumshoe’s head which was fully visible as he laid face down – “it appears he was dealt a blow to the back of the head, I’d guess he was knocked out immediately.”

Maya buried her face in her hands, sobbing softly. Lifting her head up amidst tears, her cheeks flushed a pale shade of pink, she stammered.

“Is h-he…d-dead…?”

The medic, still kneeling, placed the silver instrument in his hands down and raised his head too, eyes wide yet somehow remaining solemn he broke into a sudden smile.

“No, ma’am – he’ll be fine, I’d like to get him down to the hospital though, just to give him a thorough check – make sure he doesn’t suffer any prolonged side effects.” He turned his attention to the other medic who remained stood, quivering slightly. “Could you get the transportation bed, Guy? We’ll take this guy down to Kirisaki.”

The taller doctor, who Phoenix now recognised as Guy, returned shortly with what looked like a slim, green table under his arm. Placing the surface on the floor, he, with his companion, holstered Gumshoe onto the bed – grudgingly carrying him out of the room. Following the men outside, Phoenix placed an arm around Maya, although both were happy Gumshoe had met no serious damage, they knew that whoever had been here before had come back, their worries were far from over.

Having placed Gumshoe in the back of the ambulance, the shorter medic resumed his position in the driving seat; Guy reappeared from behind the vehicle.

“We’re taking him down to Kirisaki Hospital, Sir” he spoke in a youthful tone, scratching his shaved head as he did so, “You’ll be able to stop by later, give it an hour or so for him to be checked over and he’ll be up for visits – I’d imagine they’ll only keep him in for a few days, the Police will probably want to do their bit ‘n all.” With that, he returned to the side of the vehicle – loosening its large, white door and stepping inside before giving Phoenix one last salute goodbye.

After watching the ambulance trail off and round the corner, Phoenix stood, unsure what to do next, Maya still remaining silent.

“N-nick?” Maya said in a reserved tone, eyes focused on the ground.

“Yeah…?” Phoenix replied, trying every effort to make eye contact with her despite her best efforts to do the exact opposite.

“D’you think – d’you think the person that did this is the same one that stole those papers?”

“I-I don’t know” Phoenix was honest in his response, “Perhaps – I mean, it’s a bit suspicious isn’t it? Look, we should go inside, c’mon Gumshoe’s test results might still be around or a clue at least.” Phoenix doubted that the attacker would simply leave any clues in broad daylight but with no other option to turn to, he focused on consoling Maya above all else, placing his arm around her and guiding her gently back inside.

The office scene was practically the same as Phoenix had remembered leaving it. Gumshoe’s overcoat still hung intently on its mahogany hook and a few pots of various testing substances lay on the floor – no apparent paperwork present to indicate any culprit. The predicament was such that, without organising the office – the possibility of doing any work was non-existent, but if Phoenix moved a crucial piece of evidence he may ruin their entire effort. All that was left now was to visit Gumshoe in the hospital to see if he could provide any enlightenment.

*

It was almost an hour before the nurse at Kirisaki Hospital would allow Phoenix and Maya into Gumshoe’s ward and, after an equal amount of time spent trying to find the hospital in the first place, it was getting late. The sky outside Gumshoe’s window was darkening, but the heat remained ever-present – so much so that he had earlier attempted to open the nearby window but, after orders from his doctor that he was not to leave his bed for the night, he decided not to. Phoenix’s arrival was a pleasant surprise for the Detective and, switching off the episode of the “Steel Samurai” that beamed from his hospital television set, he sat up rigidly. Maya was first into the room, clasping a bag of what she called “necessities” but from what Phoenix could see, consisted of a handful of steak lunches and a comic book. She placed the bag down on Gumshoe’s bedside table and, pulling a stool over from the corner of the room, sat down intently. Phoenix followed, deciding to stand at the absence of any other seats.

The room was fairly small, only enough for a bed and a few tables. The musky white tiles shone so brightly that they reflected the fading sun brilliantly; a large, rectangular window looked out onto the nearby street – everyday sounds spilling inside. Gumshoe ruffled his covers, he was wearing a large patient’s gown of distasteful colours – his large feet poking out of the end of the bed.

“Hey, pals! It’s good of you to come see me like this.” He chortled; he certainly seemed to be fine, with only a small cluster of bruises noticeable behind his right ear.

“It’s good to hear you’re okay, Detective.” Phoenix spoke, removing his jacket as he did so – the heat of the room getting to him too.

“Heh – the doctor says I should be okay to leave tomorrow, wanted to keep me overnight just to be safe.” Gumshoe noticed the bag on the side of his table and, after receiving an enthusiastic nod from Maya, clasped it excitedly, rummaging through it as he spoke. “Wow – it’s good of you to get me all those lunches Maya! How did you know steak was my favourite?” Overjoyed at this unexpected supplication of food, Gumshoe, much to the delight of Maya, discarded the bag – the unnoticed comic book still inside somehow finding its way into Maya’s hands who, with a devious grin, placed it sneakily into her own satchel.

“So – G-Gumshoe… is there anything you can tell us about when you got attacked? Like who did it for example?” She asked, hoping nobody had seen her shifty thievery.

Gumshoe pondered, it seemed he hadn’t given the situation much thought.

“Well, miss – I didn’t see the attacker, no – I was doing some fingerprint tests and needed some help interpreting the results, it’s all new to me you see. That’s when I contacted the Chief, he’d said he’d come right over but – next thing I knew, I woke up in here.”

Maya pondered what Gumshoe had said, the attacker must have certainly come from behind, Phoenix however was trigged into response.

“Wait – you contacted the Chief before you were knocked unconscious?”

“That’s right, pal. I was the only one in the office the whole time. It must have been after I was knocked out that the Chief arrived.”

Phoenix frowned. “Yeah – see, we went to Edgeworth’s like you said, and the Chief was there – he left after saying a detective had called for some help, that must’ve been you!”

Maya’s jaw dropped, accompanied by her satchel.

“But – Gumshoe said he was alone the whole time, and the Chief couldn’t have been there after the attack because me and Nick were; we saw you into the ambulance, Gumshoe. Are you sure he said he was coming over when you contacted him?”

Gumshoe looked sincerely confused but decided not to let it dishearten him, grasping and tearing open the first of his steak lunches.

“Yeah – he gave me his new pager number only this morning” Gumshoe said, shovelling a forkful of meat into his mouth allowing it’s clear juices to trickle down his chin as he spoke, “I paged him on that and he sent me one back right away saying he was on his way, I don’t know how to read the fingerprints after dusting you see, he would’ve had to help me make a comparison against the records.”

Phoenix shared the concern except chose not to look at Gumshoe directly, not sure if his empty stomach was strong enough to withstand the sight of this particular detective eating.

“We’ve already established that Chief Monty can’t have been there, Detective.” Phoenix murmured, looking for some feature of the room to focus his attention on away from the horrendous sight, “He wasn’t there before because you never saw him and he wasn’t there after because we never saw him either.”

Maya realised, a blinding illumination springing her from her stool, Gumshoe almost choked on his fork as she leapt skywards.

“Wait! Nick! That’s it! Remember, we couldn’t work out who had rung the ambulance after we found Gumshoe because none of our phones worked. It must’ve been Chief Monty! He probably arrived, rang the ambulance and then …. Left.” She trailed off into silence as she spoke; Phoenix was almost convinced.

“Hang on, Maya – so say what you said is true – the Chief, receiving Gumshoe’s message, left Edgeworth’s and arrived at the Offices – why would he ring the ambulance only to leave right away?”

Maya clearly hadn’t thought of this and sat back down, defeated. Gumshoe took control, twiddling the miniature fork between his fingers as he spoke.

“So – it wasn’t one of you two that rang the ambulance? Well then, like Maya said, it must’ve been the Chief. He probably left afterwards because he had a lot of work to do, if he’d just been at Edgeworth’s with the two of you then he must have known you would’ve been heading back to the Offices soon enough, he most likely just thought it was okay to leave. Heh, I guess I owe him one, eh pals?”

Phoenix still wasn’t entirely convinced – would the Chief, the sole one responsible for Gumshoe’s safety just leave after having found him unconscious…? It was certainly suspicious, but as Gumshoe had said, and as he had seen for himself, Monty was hardly the most organised of men – perhaps he just panicked and left after ringing the ambulance. Whoever it was that had called them certainly didn’t hang around.

The deliberation had taken its toll on Gumshoe and after a further few minutes he was practically unresponsive. Discontent with the prospect of one of her patients being disturbed, the ward patrolwoman seized the situation in what could only be described as an impolite manner – she escorted Maya and Phoenix from the room – barely giving him time to reclaim his suit jacket, tutting wildly as she forced them down the marble steps and outside, slamming the door behind them. Their visit had certainly proved intriguing, it now seemed that Chief Monty had hardly visited the scene at all – only arriving to call the ambulance and then, for a reason still to unbeknownst to Phoenix, leaving immediately after. There was still the entire confusion of Leiter’s resignation as well; Phoenix was beginning to wonder if this series of events was more than just a coincidence – from his past knowledge, albeit a mere two cases, he knew that coincidences were merely an excuse in the absence of reason.

It was only now that the considerable cold of the night could be felt, if only proving so strong in comparison to the day’s earlier temperatures. The street lights were on now, shining dimly on the patio streets, reflecting off each blade of grass – bringing all to light in perfect unison – a brilliant sea of green needles. Maya wrapped her shawl tightly around her shoulders and, shivering wildly as she fastened her rucksack, forced Phoenix into movement.

“H-hey! M-Maya! What’re you…?” Phoenix exclaimed as Maya dragged him along the street by his lapel, directly past the hospital and into a neighbouring shop.

“Look, Nick – it’s been a busy day – I’ve hardly eaten at all! We’ll get nowhere on empty stomachs!” Maya spoke in a forcefulness Phoenix hadn’t seen in a while, he was surprised, she’d definitely brightened up – perhaps her approach was right, dwelling on the matter wasn’t going to produce results – the two could return to work in the morning but for now, just a single night, they could spend some time together – he might even be able to enjoy himself.

The bell over the door sounded as the two walked in, Phoenix lagging behind Maya painfully. It was nothing special but it was a release at least. The shop was quaint; a certain homely feel surrounded it. Maya, letting go of her hold on Phoenix rushed immediately over to the sweet stool – arming herself with candies of every colour and placing each one individually down on the checkout as she reappeared from behind a particularly large shelf– somehow Phoenix knew he was paying. Removing his pocketed wallet, Phoenix drew his attention to a small television set in the upper corner of the room, behind the desk where Maya was waiting, wide grinned. It was the local news. Somehow, Phoenix managed to simultaneously pay for Maya’s choices while keeping one eye on the small screen, listening intently to what was being spoken by the formal news reporter. His ears pricked as he heard a familiar name mentioned, his eyes widening as he scanned the television set consciously, waiting for the reporter to repeat what he’d missed – the words resounded once more, Phoenix dropped his wallet, he had been stupid to think ignoring the situation, if only for a single night, would solve anything – staring at the set in disbelief the situation impacted, the reporter repeated herself for a final time: “Police Chief Monty – Missing”.

---

Chapter IV: Phantom Mentor

The sun rose hesitantly, breaking up over the window and glaring awfully through the room. Phoenix clasped a heavy hand to his head, he must’ve fallen asleep on the couch, Maya was probably still in his bedroom – she’d stayed the night and Phoenix wasn’t going to make her sleep on the sofa. Monty’s disappearance had hit them both hard – if only for the fact that they’d been naïve enough to think they could take the night off – whoever was behind all this clearly didn’t have the same idea. Phoenix didn’t even know where Monty was, if he’d run away or, knowing him, got lost somewhere and not thought to phone.

It was too bright to even attempt to sleep now, Phoenix sat up, sighing – still wearing the same suit from yesterday, now crumpled and tattered. He stood dozily; the whole apartment seemed to be under some kind of haze, he thought he better check on Maya, just to make sure everything was alright. Not wanting to disturb her, Phoenix quietly grasped the door handle – opening it gently and cocking his head around the small frame to peek inside. The room was noiseless and still, everything was the same except for – where was Maya? Realising there was now nobody to disturb, Phoenix opened the remainder of the door – striding inwards as he looked around. It was as it had first appeared; Maya was nowhere to be seen.

Phoenix returned to the living room, calling Maya’s name – nothing. He had overslept, so perhaps she had just gone to the office or maybe even to pick up some more things for Gumshoe? Snatching his car keys from the kitchen counter, Phoenix walked towards the door when a small, folded slip of white paper caught his eye lying innocently on the wicker doormat. He rejoiced, Maya was fine – she’d left him a note. Replacing his keys in his pocket Phoenix, with the note now clutched firmly in his hands, sat back down on the sofa where he had earlier woken up. He unfolded it calmly, wondering what Maya had to say for herself, except, upon opening the note, he realised that it wasn’t from Maya:

Hello Phoenix – it’s such a shame, I’ve been watching you for some time now, it’s become quite fun – but you still don’t even know who I am, do you? To think, I have to go to such lengths to get your attention – it’s really quite extraordinary, you know – such dire, dire lengths. I’m closer than you’d imagine, well, not me personally, but – how should I say? …A friend of mine.
Thing is, you see – my game’s moving on now and it’s come to that stage where people are trying to ruin it – of course, I’ve got a plan for them too – but don’t worry, your poor, sweet Maya can come along for the ride too, I’m sorry if it means you won’t be able to see her for a while – I’m sure you’ll understand- we’ll meet soon enough.

DW

Phoenix’s lip quivered as he folded the note, he placed it back down slowly – fearing that if he moved suddenly he may pass out. The room wasn’t friendly anymore; menacing windows beamed his movements outside, Phoenix felt vulnerable – what if someone was watching him now? A familiar noise resounded throughout the apartment piercing his trail of thought; Phoenix spun his head – forgetting his earlier logic he darted to where the sound was coming from – Maya’s phone: a small, pink cellular lay ringing on his bed – the theme tune of some children’s television show sounding out proudly, muffled somewhat through the thick bed covers. He picked the phone up tentatively; the screen flashed a wild green as he pushed the central button, connecting the call.

“Hello…?” Phoenix spoke, feeling almost guilty for his intrusion into Maya’s belongings.

“M-Maya? You’re sounding croaky, pal, it’s Detec-“

Phoenix felt partly relieved as he heard the familiar voice; he had half expected some murderous tone to be pounding down the phone – the same chillingly lethal feel as that in the note, still, he was far from rested.

“It’s n-not Maya, Gumshoe – it’s Phoenix – I’m a bit busy at the moment d’you mind making it quick?”

“Err not at all, pal – look, they’ve decided to keep me in for another day just to make sure everything’s okay – would you mind dropping by the Station and picking up some forensic records for me…? I was going to ask Maya; they’re the ones I made the other day – b-before the attack, if Monty went to the scene like we think then I’d assume they’d be in his office, I’ve already cleared it with everyone, they said you can drop by anytime, pal. I’ll come by tomorrow to pick them up from you…”

Phoenix pondered for a moment.

“Yeah – sure, n-no problem…look sorry about this Gumshoe, something’s just come up… I’ll drop by the station later for you, b-bye.”

Hanging up the phone Phoenix slumped backwards onto the bed, he wasn’t going to worry Gumshoe with the news if he was supposed to be recovering – he just didn’t know if he could deal with this alone. He didn’t even know if Gumshoe was aware of Monty’s disappearance yet, let alone Maya’s. All he knew was that he had to find Maya; he would never forgive himself if something happened to her.

*

The room was spinning. A memorable scream resounded, followed by another of a similar nature. Mia was falling, tears flooding her eyes as she grappled for something in mid-air – her dark hair plastered to her face, her very skin pale and coarse. Maya was there too, crawling helplessly across the floor – begging for help as she sluggishly moved forwards, pleading wildly as some kind of evil manifestation spread over her body – her skin turning a fiendish, evil kind of black as she simply melted away – uniting with her surroundings into nothingness. Against all of this, a resonant laughter rang out – it’s very malevolence turning the air cold – the silhouette of Mia’s killer, Redd White was no longer in view; instead a smaller, less menacing shadow was visible – suspended in mid air, surveying with pleasure the sights that lay underneath it, twisted from all kind of emotion. This was all too familiar to Phoenix – he was encompassed in a cold kind of responsibility for the visions before him yet he could still not move, some invisible force drawing him to the ground – forcing him to see the horrors of what lay before him. This was his entire fault after all; the shadow thanked him for this, praised him for what he had done – his very guilt bringing it an untold pleasure. Then came the usual spinning, it had happened every time but Phoenix was still not accustomed to it – he too submitted and fell, the entire surroundings of his nightmare moulding into a spiralling mass of darkness – the sounds getting quieter as their very essence trickled away, they had depended on his help but he had not delivered and now they were gone; helpless; lifeless; dead.

Phoenix woke; he must’ve fallen asleep again. Ever since finding that note this morning he had promised himself he wouldn’t stop until he found Maya but as of yet, nothing . He’d searched everywhere, anywhere – asking anyone if they’d seen anything but of course, everything returned was negative. He was still wearing yesterday’s suit and hadn’t even eaten, he didn’t care about himself; all that mattered was Maya and finding her, safe. A heavy kind of guilt loomed over his head, Phoenix got an image of what his life was like without the Fey sisters and went blank – he swallowed hard to prevent himself from crying but the worst fact was that this was all his fault.

Standing again, ready to reassume the relentless search, Phoenix pulled himself together. Exiting the bedroom, the lights in the living room flickered – each one in turn growing dim and then illuminating again. A strange kind of presence could be felt; it was indescribable but somehow felt strangely warm and inviting as it passed through the room. Phoenix halted suddenly as he felt a certain solidity become apparent, in front of him the air was thick and translucent and had a memorable aroma. A human form appeared, as if someone was painting in mid-air, a kind of incomplete person stood – first the head became visible and then, gradually, the rest of the body followed; if Phoenix wasn’t seeing it for himself, he wouldn’t have believed it. There, in front of him, stood the ghost of his former mentor, Mia Fey.

Mia didn’t speak but Phoenix knew what she was saying, words flashed through his head as she carefully shaped her lips, as if she were singing the most beautiful of songs she stood there, resonating tenderness so perfect Phoenix felt, if only for a second, sheer contentment.

“Phoenix… it’s not…your fault…you can’t blame yourself…Maya is unharmed…go….find her….do not dwell on what is gone…I will never leave your side…”

Phoenix blinked suddenly, the room before him was normal and still, nothing stood before him but he knew he hadn’t imagined it; the apparition that he had seen was so clear and perfect it was almost saddening. A brilliant kind of triumph and energy brewed from his stomach as if he were liberated, energy spurred so perfectly everywhere; this was not his fault, he was going to find Maya and whoever had committed these crimes was going to pay, somehow, some way Phoenix trusted what his mentor had told him.

Clarity filled the room. Phoenix’s earlier conversation with Gumshoe rang in his mind, that was the one key place he hadn’t looked: the Police Station. He could’ve gone straight to the Police in the first place but knew that this was his problem and he had a certain accountability in seeing it through; he’d never thought there’d be a time when he wished Monty was Chief but now, in his absence, he wished he was – if only to ensure his safety above all else. Phoenix headed to the station, not only for Gumshoe but for himself, a new sense of revitalisation echoing in his mind.

*

It was as Gumshoe had said, Phoenix practically walked straight into Monty’s office without any obstruction. The room was indeed a sight, expansive walls stretched endlessly outwards, the marble floor shining proudly, a lone desk sitting in the far corner. On the central wall, a list of photographs were tacked horizontally – each presenting the Chiefs that had reigned over the District Police department. Nearing the lists’ end, Phoenix saw Monty’s picture and laughed at his uneasy smile staring back at him; his uncontrolled, red hair scruffily blocking his eyes. Next to Monty’s on the left was Leiter’s picture, it was the first time Phoenix had seen the Chief for a while, after his supposed seclusion following his shock resignation. Standing next to an expensive looking black car, presumably his own, Leiter stood, looking much more professional than his predecessor; smiling confidently, his aged appearance oozed experience.

If Monty did, as Gumshoe was certain, have the forensic records then Phoenix held little restraint in thinking they’d be in his desk. Crossing the room to the suspected table, Phoenix began his examination. Surprisingly, the tabletop was clear – housing a tower of drawers underneath. Starting at the top, Phoenix worked his way downwards, but it was not until he reached the bottom that his drawer findings were worth noting. A small huddle of papers sat in the drawer’s confines, Gumshoe’s barely legible scrawl noticeable against a captioned fingerprint, it seemed the Chief hadn’t gotten round to identifying the culprit but this verified that he had, as they had suspected, been at the scene following Gumshoe’s attack.

Stuffing the document into his briefcase only now did the blue sheet of paper sitting underneath where Gumshoe’s document had been become noticeable. Feeling somewhat curious, Phoenix lifted up the paper for further inspection. From the style of handwriting Phoenix had identified as Monty’s on earlier documents, he immediately knew that the writing on this page must have been completed by someone else. In fact, it appeared that two different people had contributed to the document, the writing style changing noticeably half way down. Listed on the page was a rally of names, most of which Phoenix did not recognise – it appeared this document was nothing out of the ordinary, that was, until, the list proceeded – familiar names started arising, Marvin Grossberg, Joseph Leiter, Mia Fey, himself and Maya were all noted on the blue page. Scanning it’s exterior for some kind of clue, all Phoenix found was a familiar address listed in the upper right hand corner of the page – a certain cold confusion exuberating from it’s surface – what did this list mean?

Cautiously placing the page in his briefcase alongside Gumshoe’s document, Phoenix exited the office, somewhat mixed between triumph and confusion. He had only one choice, the address on that page had struck something in the back of his mind and he had a certain feeling that it hid an importance beyond a mere name on a page.

Retrieving his keys from his pocket, Phoenix broke into a run and headed outside of the building – it was raining now, slits of water hurtled downwards against the purple night sky, splattering coldly on Phoenix’s shoulders and face. Grasping the now glistening car door, Phoenix ducked inside and drove – he knew where he was going to but couldn’t identify where from his past this address had been prominent, all he knew was to drive.

Eventually pulling up at the apparent derelict building, Phoenix trotted inside – the neighbouring street hauntingly empty. From outside, Phoenix could see that there was a single room illuminated amongst the rallies of windows. Pushing open the clear glass door and heading inwards, the building was dark making progression almost an impossibility, heading towards the single light of the top storey room, Phoenix somehow made his way upwards – grasping tightly to the stair banister as he proceeded. Suddenly the light flickered off, someone had heard him enter. Phoenix squinted forwards but could not see the culprit. A bolt of thunder flashed from outside as the rain intensified, temporarily illuminating the room. Phoenix now saw that the entire room was empty, except for two seats sitting in the middle – there, one on each seat, sat Maya and Chief Monty – each tied tightly to the wooden surface, the taut ropes wrapped expertly around them and their lips gagged, both struggled consciously upon Phoenix’s entry. Whoever it was had expected Phoenix’s arrival, the light flickered back on and there, from the shadowed corner of the room, stepped a woman.

---

Chapter V: Deep Revelations

As she stepped forward, her face came into full view, a flash of metallic black shone from her hand, she twirled a gun carelessly around her fingers as she walked, suddenly stopping and lifting her head up. She had shoulder length hair coloured a deep crimson, it curled menacingly over her ears – contrasting wickedly against her pallid skin. Whoever she was, she couldn’t have been much older than Maya – Phoenix guessed she wasn’t even in her twenties but she walked with such a demeanour that even he wasn’t sure. Placing each foot carefully one at a time, each heel resounding harshly against the floor as she walked, she began to speak, a thoughtless, uncaring voice.

“Phoenix, it’s so good of you to come and meet me like this – I bet you thought you were taking me by surprise, didn’t you?”, the woman chuckled, a slow, painful laugh, “Don’t be so silly, I knew you’d be coming – it’s so sad we have to play these games isn’t it?”

Phoenix edged forward hesitantly; both Monty and Maya sat lifelessly in the middle of the room, their eyes cast on him helplessly, urging him to do something, anything – he spoke.

“W-Who are you? W-what do you want with me?” he stammered.

The woman flicked back a lock of hair casually, bringing forward her endless, brown eyes and smiling.

“Oh – I’m ever so sorry, Phoenix – please do forgive me, my manners are atrocious. I’m the woman whose life you ruined, I’m the woman who lost everything after your stupid investigation – I’m the woman whose going to make sure you can never do any harm to anyone again.” She pointed the gun upwards, her tone becoming increasingly meaningful as she spoke.

“L-look, if you can just tell me your name, perhaps we can-“ Phoenix had never seen this woman before yet she spurred these wild accusations upon him; her face void of any emotion.

“My name?” She stopped for a second, thinking, “…Deep; Deep White.”

Phoenix was cast aback; Deep White of course – the “DW” on the note…Deep White…White…Redd White…was it possible…?

“Miss W-White?” he asked – she lifted her chin upwards as he spoke, his realisation of the connection making her laugh, cackle – the same evil bellow that had haunted his nightmares.

“Very well done, Mr. Wright – I don’t suppose you remember me. I wouldn’t expect you to; we never actually met after all. That didn’t stop you from dealing your damage though, did it? I’ll never forgive you for what you did to my father.” She had reached the centre of the room now and stood between Monty and Maya’s seats, surveying her hostages with an icy glee. Phoenix was still with shock.

“Redd White? Your father?” Phoenix’s mind cast back to his conversation with Edgeworth, “B-but, Redd only had one daughter and s-she was acquitted of all charges upon his arrest – she’d been a victim of his own bribery.”

Deep smiled once more.

“Oh Phoenix, did you really believe that? I wasn’t going to just let them take me away was I? So, I had a plan – play the victim, the poor, innocent daughter who had been trapped by her own father – it was flawless. The police left me alone and I promised to avenge my father’s shame – the shame you brought upon him.”

Phoenix was wrought with emotions; confusion, shock, anger. Deep bent down to where Monty sat – he flinched backwards as she bent down, ripping off the black tape that covered his mouth harshly, she laughed; Monty gasped for air.

“But we’re not over yet, Mr. Wright – oh no, we’re only just beginning. See, remember that friend I mentioned in the letter? My accomplice should I say? Well, I best introduce you – what’s that? You’ve already met?” The gun curled around her finger once more, reminding Phoenix of her danger; her insanity, he stood, unable to speak, only listen – what did Deep mean “her accomplice”? Phoenix’s eyes darted to where Maya sat, surely she didn’t mean–

“Say hello to Chief Monty, Mr. Wright – the bumbling idiot I believe..?” She crouched down and stared into the Chief’s eyes, he averted his gaze to the floor, “Ah well, he’s actually been quite helpful you see – I wouldn’t have been able to get half as far without his help, I really do owe him one.” She placed a dainty hand upwards, curling her hair on a single finger as she poke.

Phoenix stepped back to prevent himself from falling – what did she mean he’d helped her? He tried to speak but couldn’t find the words, Deep continued her rant.

“I mean – I wasn’t going to get my hands dirty was I? I stayed behind the scenes working and your friend the Chief dealt with all the business out front for me. Nobody would suspect the Chief of Police, would they? That is, until he started getting greedy, thought he could outsmart me – big mistake.” She bent down once more, toying with the Chief’s tie murderously, “To think of it, he began demanding more money – said he deserved it; poor, poor Chief, behind that innocent exterior lays a criminal. Go on Monty, tell your friend how you broke into his office, how you attacked that innocent detective…” She jolted her grip on his tie, pulling him forwards suddenly she twirled on her heel and laughed.

Phoenix felt queasy – the Chief had attacked Gumshoe? That was why he was delaying any investigation into the case! He had also been the one that had broken into his office, Deep probably didn’t want anymore bad information regarding her father being kept, but why was he working with this woman in the first place? What was going on?

Monty didn’t speak. Deep sighed carefully.

“I’m guessing you want an explanation – don’t you?” She said in an almost friendly tone, “You’re not going to be living for much longer so I may as well let you die knowing the truth – it’s only fair, perhaps then you’ll realise the mistake you made in dealing with my father…and me.” She paused, “Well, it started a few months back – the day you imprisoned my father was the day my world ended. Nobody wanted to speak to me, I was tainted by your stupid revelations, my life was over. Then, I met Chief Monty, of course he wasn’t Chief then, only a mere officer, but we hatched a plan. I would pretend I had been bribed myself and with Monty’s help, avoid arrest, and then we could begin, to regain what I had lost and to get revenge – on you. Of course, there was something in it for Monty – I hadn’t learnt nothing from working under my father and every poor sap we bribed gave us money, which of course, in return for his help, we shared. Our first goal was to get rid of that idiot Leiter – there was no way our plan could be realised with him in control. So of course, we found out a little dirt on him and he was gone – just like that” Deep pouted her lips, fluttering her eyelashes as if she were the victim, she continued, “Poor Leiter, he was so scared everybody would find out his little secret we even got him to put Monty in control, he wrote a document for it and everything; the Governor’s weren’t going to argue were they? Not when I had information left from BlueCorp on them too, my father isn’t silly – you’re stupid friend Mia may have found out about a few cases he was involved in, but there are still many to be solved. Oh that reminds me, don’t you recognise this place?”

Phoenix was still in shock; Monty had been in cahoots with Deep? She was realising her revenge on him while he got money for his participation…? Leiter’s resignation no longer seemed very shocking, they’d commanded the entire police force – no wonder there was no real investigation into the case. Deep certainly was her father’s daughter.

Deep was laughing again, Monty had his eyes shut – hiding from the implications of what he had done, his red hair matted and greasy.

“This is the building where you first met my father, Mr. Wright, this very office is the place where you would start your games against him and ultimately – ruin him. Doesn’t look much like the once proud BlueCorp building anymore does it, Mr. Wright?”

Phoenix blinked. The room looked all familiar so suddenly, despite its emptiness – this was indeed the old BlueCorp office block. Monty’s whimpers filled the silence, Maya wasn’t moving.

“Well, it was attacking that Detective that was the final straw for our dear Monty.” Deep continued, “I’d asked him to take a few documents beforehand, there was no way I was going to let a second rate lawyer such as yourself keep any information on my father, and imagine his shock when some idiot detective was offering to fingerprint the place for him – there certainly would have been some very tricky questions turning up at the office if he found the Chief’s fingerprints all over your place, wouldn’t there? Luckily for Monty that idiot detective was still new to the whole business, so of course what did Monty do? Knocked the fool out and stole any evidence of his whereabouts. Hit him hard did that – he realised the risk behind this entire business, began demanding more of the takings from our victims – so of course, I wasn’t going to have that was I? And that’s what brings him here – see, it was going to just be your sweet, little Maya I took for a bit of fun...”

The impact of the situation was still too overwhelming; Deep had recreated her father’s entire scheme of bribery with the ultimate goal of revenge, against him and most shockingly, Monty had been her accomplice the entire time. Everything was clear now: Leiter’s resignation, the stolen documents, Gumshoe’s attack – there was just one thing remaining. Dropping his briefcase quickly, Phoenix withdrew the blue document he had found in Monty’s desk and threw it across the room, as it landed at Deep’s feet she bent down cautiously, picking it up and cackling, Monty’s eyes darted to the page she now held in her hands.

“Oh – did a bit of an investigation did we? Well, Monty may have pretended to be an idiot around you but, truth is, he wasn’t the most memorable of people. I kept having to make lists for him – people we had bribed, dates, times, everything, just to be sure – looks like you found the former. My father had started this one for me when I first joined BlueCorp and I was merely continuing his genius – it’s all I have left of him.” She folded the list neatly and pocketed it, pulling a second gun out of the same pocket and observing it interestingly, she walked over to the window to observe the night sky. Phoenix remembered a final question he needed answering, the ambulance – if Monty had been the one behind the Gumshoe’s attack all along he certainly wouldn’t have called them – he proceeded to speak but found himself interrupted.

“Well, I hate to end the party early but things must progress – I’m sorry Phoenix, its nighty night for you, hope you don’t mind.” Turning around, her back to the clear, glass window, Deep recharged both guns simultaneously, their sleek, black surfaces shining wickedly. Maya was struggling now, the old wooden chair creaking as she fidgeted, kicking and shaking – trying to get out of the ropes to help Phoenix. Phoenix gulped.

A flash filled the room. Phoenix’s eyes were drawn to where Maya was – struggling more violently than before, her eyes squinted so tightly Phoenix feared she may pass out. Out of nowhere, a blinding illumination split from her chest, spreading outwards but at the same time over her body, the light swallowing her and changing her form, her shape to something entirely different. Maya was smiling, her face contorted to a more elegant, aged form. Her arms elongated, her hair shortened and her very figure grew – breaking the confines of the ropes and causing them to fall to the floor. Where Maya had been sitting now sat a combination of two people – both Fey sisters were sharing the same body – Maya was channelling Mia.

Deep gasped a high pitched shriek, she dropped both guns, her eyes twisted on the sight that lay before her, her face an image of pure disbelief – she immediately jumped back in shock but, having no floor upon which to regain her balance, plummeted backwards out of the window – its glass surface splitting and shattering, her screams fading into nothingness as she fell, curling, spinning until she was out of sight; dead.

The whole thing had happened so fast. Suddenly bursting into movement, Phoenix ran over to where Maya now was, slumped on the floor, her normal appearance regained. Monty had seized the moment of confusion to free himself and, as Phoenix comforted a tiring Maya, he ran over to the window – its entire glass boundaries broken – fragments of the clear solid spilt inwards over the office floor. As Phoenix carefully removed the tape still covering Maya’s mouth she breathed a sigh of relief, triumph. The two hugged – a moment so powerful Phoenix felt his eyes swell with happiness, she was safe at last.

An unwanted sound erupted from the sight of Deep’s death; Monty had armed himself with the two guns and was striding to where Phoenix stood, now disunited from Maya but still in a blissful elation – their backs to him. He nudged the barrel of the gun into Phoenix’s shoulder, edging him forwards and forcing him to turn around; in his trance he had entirely forgotten Monty’s presence – Maya too, seemed to be forced into remembrance and stood up weakly, fear creeping back into her face.

“L-look, pal” Monty spoke, his voice was deeper than usual but he retained the harmless impression, Phoenix suddenly saw the traits Deep had spoken about in his character and, despite the familiarity, could no longer relate this new Monty to the bumbling Chief he had known. Hands shaking, a gun in each, Monty continued, “I-I’m sorry for what I done, pal – but you’re gonna let me go, you understand?” He wavered the gun as he spoke, Phoenix, helpless, nodded, the desperation to do something crying from his insides.

Crossing the office while keeping the front of his body focused on where Maya and Phoenix still stood, Monty hobbled to the elevator in the secluded corner of the room. He pushed the button at the side with a shaking hand and, breaking the silence, the elevator doors swung open sideways. With his back to the elevator, keeping both eyes firmly on Maya and Phoenix, Monty smiled and stepped backwards cautiously – Phoenix studied his face, his entire hope draining away; suddenly, his smile disappeared, warping into an image of pure shock, dropping the two guns he held, each hitting the floor with a simultaneous thud, Monty swung his head around in disbelief – two pairs of arms had grabbed him from the elevator behind, pushing him forwards, Phoenix squinted but could see little from the darkened corner. The taller of the men took hold of Monty by himself now, while the smaller, more aged man picked up the discarded guns, tutting; they had heard everything.

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Chapter VI

Gumshoe and Leiter stepped forward from the darkness, Monty was still struggling helplessly in Gumshoe’s arms – after a nod from the former Chief Leiter, Gumshoe clasped one great hand towards Monty’s head giving him a seemingly powerful strike and knocking him to the floor, unconscious. Taking the gun from Leiter’s hands cautiously and placing it in a sealed evidence bag, Gumshoe turned to where Phoenix and Maya were still stood – their realisation at who the two visitors were a comforting one.

“H-hey pal, s-sorry about not coming in sooner – we had to make sure we heard the entire story before disturbing and potentially loosing them, we wouldn’t of let ya’ get hurt or nothing.” Gumshoe strode over to Phoenix, placing his around him reassuringly and pulling out a much larger gun of his own, Phoenix knew the detective meant his words “…Neither of you were in any danger with us there, pal. Got the whole conversation on tape we did.” He now produced a small, black pocket recorder proudly, chuckling at himself as Leiter surveyed Monty’s unmoving body, crumpled on the floor.

Maya burst into action, knocking Phoenix aside and jumping to where Gumshoe stood.

“But Detective – how did you know she’d taken me here? H-how long had you been there?”

Gumshoe went to speak but was interrupted by the now standing Leiter, it was the first time Maya had seen him in the flesh but she seemed to recognise him straight away – his entire demeanour exuberating elegance and confidence.

“T-that was where I came in, ma’am. As you heard, I was practically silenced by Deep – when I heard Monty had gone missing I knew there was only one place she could’ve taken him, o-of course I couldn’t act on my own so I called Gumshoe and we got here as soon as we could – about the same time as you arrived, Mr. Wright.”

Everything seemed to fit together now; Phoenix understood it all except for –

“Wait a minute, there was one thing” he spoke, all three heads turning to him as he stood, suddenly filled with pride, “Gumshoe when you were attacked – somebody phoned the ambulance r-right? If it was Monty that attacked you then it certainly wasn’t him and it wasn’t me or Maya either – who could’ve-“

Leiter poked his head over Gumshoe’s shoulder, his aged eyes comfortingly looking into Phoenix’s, he smiled.

“Oh – t-that was me. I-I wanted to do something, by sheer coincidence I’d been driving past and seen Monty go in the office, suspicious I stopped my car outside the building and saw the whole thing – but what could I do? If I spoke out or took action Deep would make sure that was the end of me – so I-I phoned the ambulance, it was the least I could do – I felt so guilty I couldn’t help more-“ His smile suddenly faded and he looked downwards, ashamed that he had let someone control him so explicitly.

Gumshoe took Leiter’s shame to heart and turned to where his accomplice stood, peering into his eyes.
“It’s n-no problem, Chief – I’m fine now aren’t I? Your call was probably the one thing that saved me – I owe all that to you, t-thanks, pal.” Leiter raised his head as Gumshoe spoke, his frown suddenly breaking into a warm smile, the wrinkles on his aged face fading as it stretched in happiness – Phoenix had no qualms in thinking this was the first time he’d smiled in a long time, he looked suddenly liberated as Gumshoe chuckled, reassuring any doubt he’d had.

“I g-guess we better sort this mess out, pal” Gumshoe murmured, “Leiter – could you drive these two down to the station? They’ll probably just want to get statements from you, pal – I’ve got some work to do here – I’ll make sure they don’t keep you long.”

Leiter cocked his head towards the same elevator from where he had entered, signalling Phoenix and Maya to follow him; stepping over Monty’s body, still unconscious on the floor, they surveyed the scene one last time before huddling into the miniscule lift and sighing a relief as they headed downwards and out of sight. It was still night time, the cold air remained outside – lingering still, except now it had lost its menace and despite the temperature Phoenix felt warm and somewhat achieved. They remained silent as the walked past the pavement where Deep’s body was bundled, awkwardly positioned in a pool of blood, it seemed Gumshoe must have phoned for backup – three police cars were positioned next to Leiter’s black saloon – the area of Deep’s demise already cautioned off, they nodded to Leiter as he passed, opening the back door of his car for Phoenix and Maya to enter. Of course! The same black car Phoenix had seen on the day of Gumshoe’s attack and the office photograph – Leiter must have waited until the ambulance had arrived before driving off!

Sitting inside against the comfortable leather interior, Phoenix placed an arm on Maya’s shoulder – he had forgotten of the ordeal she must have suffered yet she remained smiling, almost content, clasping her hands together excitedly as Leiter pulled away and down the road – away from the sights Phoenix was sure he would never forget.

*

The questioning had been relatively short, all things considered – Phoenix thought. Exiting the small officer’s room, Phoenix sat down on a corridor bench outside, waiting for Maya from the next room. She too appeared not long after, looking tired but accomplished – running over to where Phoenix sat, almost asleep, she joined him on the bench. Before the two had an opportunity to speak a loud clapping echoed throughout the corridor and Leiter appeared, poking his head round from a third door and smiling upon seeing Phoenix and Maya, a taller, equally aged man whom Phoenix had not seen before accompanied him, Phoenix stood as the two approached, the second man beaming wildly. He was slightly taller than Leiter and his skin appeared somewhat more tanned, although it was hard to notice against the outlandish, orange suit he wore – riddled with badges of different colours and sizes. His hair was the only feature that showed his age – its deep whiteness almost blinding in its brilliance; he wore a pair of peculiarly tinted half-crescent spectacles.

“Mr. Wright there’s someone I’d like you to meet, the n-new Police Chief-“ Leiter spoke, dignified, he let the taller man step forwards, outstretching his hand, Phoenix shook it without thinking.

“W-wait – Leiter, you’re not resuming your role – b-but with Deep gone and Monty in custody you can-“ Phoenix trailed off into silence, realising how rude he must have sounded in the new company, Leiter filled the silence.

“I thank you for your concerns, Mr. Wright – b-but my time is done here, I wish to explore new fields – too many…painful memories remain here. I’ll let you get acquainted with Mr. Gant.” Striding off down the corridor Phoenix felt a distinct empathy for the former Chief but somehow understood what he had said – perhaps it was just too painful…

Returning his head to the now embarrassed Chief Gant, Phoenix realised the two were still shaking hands and, withdrawing his grip hesitantly he nudged Maya to break the awkwardness.

“W-Wrighto was it? N-nice to meet you” the Chief bellowed, “looks like we might be getting to know each other, eh? You being a top lawyer ‘n all. Well, I know your pal Leiter wanted us to get acquainted but I’ve got business to attend to – I’m sure you’ll understand? Drop by sometime if you want.”

There was a certain aura around Gant that Phoenix disliked, and, as the new Chief walked off in the same direction Leiter had earlier done, Phoenix couldn’t help but think he seemed somewhat uneasy around him – he wondered if it was merely his tiredness taking control, the man had just assumed one of the most important roles in the district after all, there was no wonder he was apprehensive. Maya had returned to sleep, her head lolling sideways as she stood, snoring sweetly – Phoenix wondered if she had heard any of his conversation with the new Chief. The entire situation had been overwhelming, the grudges it had given new light to and the sheer energy it had drained, Phoenix surveyed Maya’s and knew she must be dreaming, a distinct, albeit subconscious, smile spreading across her face as she stood, peaceful with the world.

Stirring her gently, Phoenix placed an arm around her shoulder and guided her out of the Police Office – it was morning now and, as the two trotted down the steps of the building and onto the pavement, Maya almost sleepwalking, Phoenix smiled at last; he welcomed the new day.

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Wonderful story Ryuuichi. This was the first one I ever read on this site and absolutely loved it. I love reading well written stories.

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<33 Aww, thank you, SkittleLover!

Since I wrote this a year ago, I figured that I may want to give it another proof-read this weekend and see if there's anything that can be changed - nothing drastic, I just know, looking back on it now, that a bit of the grammar needs to be improved, like I said, nothing too major...xD

Your comments make me all warm 'n fuzzy inside so THANK YOU! *hug*

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Oh, yeah. This fic is uber.

You do great at the mystery/drama/suspence genre of fanfictions, which I wish alot of people have. Although, I still do love the overrated ones like romance/angst/humor XD

Anywhoo, lovely fic. :D

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Eep! The kind comments always catch me off guard...I feel so loved! xD

Thanks, Aurezai - it means a lot to me that you were willing to take the time to read and comment. You're so luffly! *hugs* <3333

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I love your fic Ryuu.

I can only hope that when you and I put our RP together into a fic, that my parts will make it as good as this. :3

Luff. <333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333

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Omg!!

Make another one! Now!!

99/10

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99/10? Why not 100/10?

But seriously, Ryuuichi, I think the community of this board would enjoy it if you made another piece. You could possibly do it in the JFA timeline seeing how this one is in the PW:AA timeline.

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