Disclaimah: Miles and pals are alllll copyrighted to Capcom. except for that random detective guy.
A/N: Oneshot fic, written for my own twisted enjoyment. 8D;; um, i think this is my first acutal fic. eh... i didnt bother to edit at all, so if you actually choose to review, dont be too harsh. XD;;; Or you can if you want. Not quite sure what to rate this... but i mean... it has death... so K+ it is.
Anyway. I know that the title is extreemly creative. I've seen a few drabble fics on this before, but me 'n my friend came up with this before we read any of those anyway.
Miles Edgeworth sighed deeply as he traversed through the hallways to his office. It was still quite early in the morning, the sun hadn't even fully risen above the horizon, and over the past two days he had gotten all of 5 hours of sleep.
The case that he was working on was turning out to be a real pain. For some reason, Keith Wallace, an investigator working on the case, had called Miles earlier, for some reason having something to discuss at this ungodly hour, cutting down the time he had to sleep even further.
"This had better be important…" the annoyed prosecutor muttered to himself, reaching for the ornate wood door to his office and jabbing the key into the handle. Wallace had agreed to meet in Miles' office, but he was surprised to find it already unlocked. How did Wallace get a key? Sighing again exasperatedly, his sleep deprived brain dismissed the issue quickly and threw open the door.
In the high prosecutor's office, Miles immediately sensed that something was wrong. A single shaft of sunlight emitted from the window, and most of the room was covered in shadows.
Wallace was supposed to be in here, right? Why was it so dark? As his eyes became accustom to the sudden change in lighting, he could see the silhouette of someone sitting in one of the chairs facing his desk. The hair on the back of his neck rose as he watched the still figure in the chair that showed no reaction to the sound of him entering the room.
Suppressing a shudder, the stunned prosecutor slowly walked over to the chair, hesitating before looking directly at the body of his colleague. Eyes wide, the first thing Miles did was check for a pulse he knew wasn't there; the air around the body was already cold and showed no signs of life at all.
Panicking is what most people proceed to do after coming across a dead body in the early hours of dawn, or at any time for that matter. But Miles Edgeworth was always in control of his emotions, and managed to keep a relatively steady breathing rate while looking into the glassy, blank eyes of the late investigator. Checking fruitlessly for other signs of life, Miles took a shaky step away from the rapidly chilling body.
Collecting his thoughts and taking several deep breaths, he scanned the body for some clues as to how de died. He noticed a thin, red line around Wallace's neck, quickly coming to the conclusion that he was strangled to death recently with some sort of wire, which provided substantial evidence that he was murdered. However, no signs of a struggle could be seen in the office, no blood, everything was in the exact place he had left them in last night. That means Wallace was taken completely by surprise. Miles thought, closing his eyes to analyze the scene.
But why on earth was he killed in the first place? Maybe he found something while investigating… Miles' eyes snapped open and widened as he deduced why someone would want this man dead, and why the investigator was in such a hurry to tell him something this morning. …He was killed so he couldn't get certain information to the prosecution.
Turning away from the body, shuddering and taking another deep breath, Miles made a mental note to have what Wallace found out investigated thoroughly, and to keep in mind that whoever was truly guilty would probably not think twice before having anyone involved killed. But right now he needed to report the murder to the police and have the body examined; Wallace might have some sort of evidence with him…
Suddenly Miles froze and his heart rate spiked to about 120 bpm. He had just realized that someone else was standing in his office. There, in the corner, hidden by a shadow made even darker by the contrasting shaft of light. Someone so good at his job that the defenseless man standing in front of him didn't realize he was there. At least until Miles' primal instinct kicked in and told him he was being watched, and also that his life was in danger.
"Hm, looks like I've been spotted," a casual voice emitted from the shadows as a man stepped into view. "Fancy meet'in you here, Edgeworth. Although I suppose it is your office."
Miles forgot how to breathe. The man in front of him was the assassin. Besides the black gloves, lack of his normal blue suit, and the slightly more distant look in his eyes, he was exactly the same as when Miles remembered him before he disappeared four years ago. "…W…Wright?" he managed to choke out.
A shadow crossed Phoenix's face and he grinned. "'S been awhile, Edgeworth," he said, far too casually after just KILLING someone.
At a complete loss for words, Miles just stood there as he tried to comprehend the sudden reappearance of his old friend, and why on earth he would become an assassin. What was all that talk of justice he went on about four years ago when he defended people in court?
"…W…Wright…" was all he managed to stutter out. Phoenix made a noise of amusement. "What a reunion. It's not like you to be at a loss for words," he grinned again.
Well I sure didn't expect you to be making a living killing people… Miles mentally retorted. "Are…Are you here to kill me…?" he asked quietly.
Phoenix raised his eyebrow and stopped smiling. "Ah, no, you've got nothin' to worry 'bout, my job's only t' get him…" he inclined his head, looking at the dead body without a hint of concern. His overly casual way of speaking was starting to annoy Miles, along with his complete lack of remorse in ending another human being's life. How could he have changed so much?
"Why…Why did you…kill him?"
The former defense attorney shrugged. "Have t' make a living."
"So you're just doing this for the money?" Miles accused angrily, disgusted by his motives. How could he have left for that? "Wh-Why?"
Phoenix paused, turning away. His strangely grey eyes grew dark. "It's… amazing, what someone would pay to have another humans life ended," he turned back to the prosecutor and the look in the assassin's eyes was a bit unsettling. "Humanity is heading for extinction." Miles shuddered at the ice in his voice.
As quickly as it had come, the darkness in Phoenix's face disappeared, replaced by a strange smile.
"Bu…Who…"
Phoenix put on a mocking smirk. "Aww, Edgeworth, you know I can't tell you that."
He adjusted his blood red tie. "Well, I should be going." He turned to face the rising sun, which cast a reddish-gold reflection into the room.
Don't leave
"Ah, I almost forgot," Phoenix turned back around, and swiftly cleared the distance between him and Miles, which caused him to jump.
His heart skipped as Phoenix's face drew closer to his own, feeling the breath of the murderer brushing against his cheeks. He backed away shakily as Phoenix's strangely unreadable light grey eyes bore into his own, feeling them read every thought, every emotion.
Suddenly, something was thrust into Miles's coat pocket. Sliding back into the shadows, Phoenix was smiling again. "Just so you wont be a suspect," placing his hands on the sill of the open window.
The shaky prosecutor took a step forward, regaining his regular heart rate.
Wait…
Phoenix swung his legs over the edge of the window, sitting between Miles' office and a twelve story drop to a 99.9998 percent chance of fatality.
"See ya 'round," he said with a salute, flinging himself completely through the window, just as Miles regained feeling in his legs, then proceeding to sprint to the window as Phoenix vanished from view.
Wright… Miles hit the edge of the window, panicking at the thought of Phoenix splattering his innards all over the sidewalk. Though he half expected it, the assassin had completely vanished, despite the fact that he had jumped out the window about 3 seconds ago.
Staring at the street below him in a daze for the next few minutes seemed like a good time to collect thoughts and fully comprehend all that had transpired.
How could he leave again?
Exhaling a breath he didn't know that was being held, Miles backed away from the window slowly and coming back to reality, remembering the gravity of the situation he was in. There was a dead investigator not five feet away from him after all.
He felt something clenched tightly in his hands, remembering what Phoenix had put in his pocket, although he was unsure of how it appeared in his hands. He sighed and brought it up to the light where he could see it.
Bathed in the bloody light of the rising sun, Miles held the assassin's calling card, on it an intricately designed phoenix.
A/N: yeah. now ra-view pu-leez.
