A Turnabout in Goodbyes
Miles Edgeworth considered himself to be a very objective person. He believed all people were capable of all things, and concepts such as faith were best left to defense attorneys and organized religion.
But even he wasn't ready to respond to the allegations of forged evidence levied against his... gottverdamnt, his friend.
Phoenix Wright.
The man he stood up for in childhood, who chased him down in the darkest pits of his life and taught him the error of his ways, who worked beside him time after time, joined together to find the truth. The man he trusted the judgement of so much, he was willing to assume his place and defend a woman of murder. He had yet to investigate, yet to even meet this woman, yet all it took was a gesture from Phoenix Wright for him to know she was innocent.
That man was not deceitful. He balked at the mere thought of corrupt practices. When he was trapped by a killer, it tore him apart. He wouldn't ignore the truth for the sake of Maya's life, much less for the sake of winning a case.
There wasn't a single possibility of Wright knowingly using false evidence. All the evidence pointed against the conclusion.
Edgeworth had to get to the bottom of this. He couldn't let such a contradiction stand.
So he did what he always did, when approached with a case:
First, interrogate all available parties from the scene of the crime. He would start with those who were easiest to find.
Klavier Gavin was not particularly difficult to track down. They worked in the same office, after all.
"Prosecutor Gavin. I was hoping to inquire into the affairs of your first case. Particularly, the instance where-"
"I accused Herr Wright of forgery? That is it, ja?"
This man's German grated him. Peppered into his English speech with little regards to conflicting grammar, pronunciation, or even the true meaning of words...
Not the point.
"Yes. I have faced Wright in court on several occasions. Never once had there been any sign of foul play. When I saw the charge in the news this morning, I was understandably shocked."
Klavier nodded. "I don't know what Herr Wright was like before, only what he was like for my trial. In my experiencel, he was arrogant, wanting to lecture me on this or that aspect of a case. As if he's even been a lawyer that long. He presented his evidence with force, confident I knew nothing," the teen had the audacity to laugh. "I am a rookie, it will be easy to slip things by, ja? He wouldn't have risked it with you, perhaps, but I was an easy target. So he might have thought."
Edgeworth stifled the irritation he felt for the child. "Are you aware, Prosecutor Gavin, that Wright was only brought onto the case a day before it went to court? I find it hard to believe he had false evidence prepared in enough time. To start, how did he know what to prepare?"
"Obvious, ja? The defendant told him. You're familiar with the trial, you know the defendant escaped. When his attorney's fraud was revealed, he chose to flee. As good a confession as any, ja? Herr Edgeworth?"
He couldn't argue with that. At this point, he had to consider it a distinct possibility.
"Es tut mir Leid. You must feel... betrayed. Much like the SL-9, ja?"
"Good day, Mr. Gavin," he spoke tersely, leaving the office before he said something regretful.
He wasn't a bad prosecutor. Edgeworth had, indeed, watched the trial video. He was impressed at how quickly Gavin was able to adapt in the courtroom, particularly considering Wright's unpredictable nature.
Klavier Gavin was merely immature, much like he and Franziska had been. He couldn't hold it against him so long as he grew out of it. And soon.
The next witness on his list was His Honor Judge Chambers, who luckily had no case that morning.
"Why, Mr. Edgeworth! How good to see you. It's not every day I see you outside the courtroom. Do you remember that time I was a witness to one of your-"
"Your Honor, please," Edgeworth tapped the sides of his sleeves, coming up with an excuse to rush things. "I don't have much time."
"Oh, very well. Why are you here today? Is it about your upcoming case against Mr. Grossberg? If you must know, this will be his last case before retirement. I hope it ends well for him, though that's not something I can decide yet."
"It is not. I was wondering what you could tell me about your most recent case. The case in which Phoenix Wright was accused of, ah." How could he reasonably investigate, if he couldn't even say the charge out loud? "Forgery."
"Oh yes. What an awful case, indeed. In all my years, Phoenix Wright was one of the brightest, most confusing lawyers to ever stand in court. It's a shame, to be sure. And I never even got to declare a verdict."
"Did you not find it... odd, the prosecution was so prepared for it to happen? He had a witness ready to testify before the page was even presented."
"Now that you mention it, no. I didn't think anything of it at the time. Prosecutor Gavin explained to the court he had been tipped off in advance. The day before the case went to court."
The day before, hm? That hadn't make much sense to begin with. Wright hadn't even taken the case until that evening. While still feasible, it was becoming increasingly unlikely that he had anything to do with the forged evidence's creation.
Furthermore, their was the matter of the tipster. In newscast interviews, Prosecutor Gavin had insisted his source wished to remain anonymous. Not surprising, considering the fanclub Wright seemed to have among the poplace. Had such a person come forward, their safety may well have been compromised. Initially, Edgeworth hadn't seen anything wrong with it.
Now, it bothered him. Depending on what time this person had come forward, there's no way they could have known Wright's forging intentions. Intentions that couldn't have developed if he had yet to take the case.
Not to mention, the tipster would have been a key witness. Edgeworth was interested to know how this person had discovered Wright's forgery. Or, if it was as he suspected and this was a false charge all along, they would be vital to uncovering the true culprit's identity.
Unfortunately, Edgeworth's investigation wasn't official. He had no right to inquire into the whistleblower's identity from Prosecutor Gavin or anyone else. Normally this wouldn't stop him, but everyone knew how close he was to Wright. If he overstepped himself, it would be seen as a conflict of interest. Even now, he was struggling to investigate objectively.
And that's when he knew. Everyone knew he was friends with Wright. Any results he brought forward wouldn't be trusted.
But he had to know. The truth was the truth, however ignored.
"Was there anything else, Mr. Edgeworth?"
"Yes, Your Honor. About the witness called about the matter, Drew Misham. Do you have any knowledge regarding his whereabouts?"
The judge shook his head mournfully. "I'm afraid not. One of the conditions of Mr. Misham's testimony is that the police wouldn't go after him for his role in the forgery. I don't think he gave them any contact information."
"That's odd. Is there anything, apart from Mr. Misham's word, that confirms the diary page was a forgery?"
Edgeworth tried not to get his hopes up. It was an obvious question to ask.
And naturally, the Judge's answer was damning. "Not that I know of. Still, it's mighty suspicious. Phoenix Wright never visited the crime scene. The police said Mr. Enigma didn't give it to him, either. If the diary page was real, where did he find it?" he sighed. "I'm sorry Mr. Edgeworth. I know you two worked well together. I was looking forward to your next case together. They may be stressful and hard to believe, but you two always found the truth. Now, I'm afraid the truth is lost forever."
"With this case, perhaps. But there will be more," Edgeworth consoled the old man. It was what he told himself, when a case ended poorly. "Good day, Your Honor."
"See you in court, Mr. Edgeworth."
Edgeworth had no luck in finding Mr. Misham. It seemed he was in the process of moving away from his house, staying in a location unknown while his stuff lay packed in storage. He couldn't help but wonder what it had to do with the investigation.
Nor did he have any luck locating Shadi Enigmar. His interrogation of Valant Gramarye was similarly fruitless. The case was doomed.
Interesting. So I consider this a case, now? He couldn't do that. Nothing about this investigation was official. He didn't even have Gumshoe's help, this time.
No, this was a personal affair. The only truth he sought was the state of his longtime rival, Phoenix Wright.
These thought coursed through his head as he made his way up the stairs. Wright's disbarment hearing had been today. The charge was official, and the sentence carried out.
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney was no more.
He had to see him. No doubt he was packing his things now, ready to vacate the office he'd once owned. Edgeworth had no insight into where Wright lived, and it was unlikely their paths would ever cross by chance. Nothing was chance when it came to them.
The prosecutor knocked on the door, softly at first. The longer the silence persisted, the more insistent he became.
Finally, the door opened. A man in wrinkled pants and a crumpled jacket stood at the door, in need of a shave. Had he been sleeping here?
"Edgeworth."
"Wright," good, we know each other's names. "May I come in?"
He didn't respond, but he left the door open as he walked away. Edgeworth took that as an invitation.
Wright hadn't packed a single thing. If anything, he seemed to have moved his personal belongings to the office, instead of the other way around.
Miles Edgeworth understood attachment, but did Phoenix Wright honestly intend to live here? Surely there were regulations against that.
"So you heard," Wright spoke to him, tone dry. His eyes were red, gaze lost. "You heard about the trial."
"Yes. I've also been investigating the prosecutor's claims. While I've yet to find any concrete evidence that says-"
"Let it go."
"What?"
"It doesn't matter if I requested the evidence or not. You can't prove it either way. All that matters is I presented forged evidence in a court of law. All the investigating in the world won't change that."
"Surely that isn't something to be disbarred over, particularly if it was done without your knowledge," Edgeworth argued. "Why, I myself have-"
"I know you have. But you know what? There's a difference between you and me. When a top notch prosecutor gets caught in a cheating scandal, he gets... maybe a penalty. When an attorney who's fresh out his greenhorn years is even accused, he gets disbarred and shamed. See the imbalance, there?"
He did. Edgeworth knew the Bar Association had a few different rules than the PIC, he wasn't aware they were that extreme. "Different systems have different rules. You can't blame prosecutors for what the PIC decides."
"Fine. But what about this: it doesn't even matter if I knew the page was forged. Again, they can't prove it either way. Without another suspect, I'm as good as guilty. Remind you of anything?"
"Our court system has flaws. That isn't anything new. But it has nothing to do with what's happening right now. Phoenix, I can help you. An investigation could turn uupanother suspect. The suspect you need to fight this."
"Oh, so you're going to go accuse some poor sap who once got mad at me? Two innocents don't make someone guilty."
Edgeworth recoiled. "That's not what I was implying!"
"Can't prove it either way, can you? Might as well have been."
This was worse than he thought. He knew Wright was going to be upset, but this? Wright defined himself by his optimism. It wasn't like him, to be this way.
He had to calm him down. Edgeworth's eyes searched the office for something, anything that could help him.
Instead, they landed on adoption papers. Now why on Earth would Wright have those?
"You're adopting a child?"
"It's none of your business," he threw an old newspaper over the documents. "Just someone to keep me company, now that Maya can't be my assistant anymore."
"You want to adopt a child? In the state you're in?" Edgeworth was stunned. "Wright, are you certain-"
"Like I said, it's none of your business. So why are you so interested. Are you investigating me, now? Is that why you're here?"
He wasn't going to deny it, "yes. To discover the culprit behind this incident, I have to hear your account of events. Can you tell me about your first meeting with Mr. Enigmar?"
The man wouldn't respond. He stared at Edgeworth, shaking his head. "You suspect me. You come in here, announcing you're gonna defend me, try to remove these charges, and-"
"Phoenix. I said nothing of the sort. I'm investigating the incident to discover the truth behind this forgery. Your account, please."
"I can't believe you suspect me. You actually think I did this, don't you?"
"Wright! If you want me to confirm your innocence, you have to cooperate. I won't know the truth until every option is explored," he sighed. "You know me, Wright. I'm not the kind of person who can blindly believe in people-"
"You don't believe me."
"I never said that," Edgeworth did everything he could to not raise his voice. Odd, he was usually more composed than this. "Are you telling me you never once investigated your client as a potential suspect?"
"Never! Even when Engarde forced me into his puppet mold, I believed in his innocence. It wasn't until he confessed, about Corrida and Maya-"
"And you wonder how these things happen to you! At this point, I would honestly believe that some stranger handed you the evidence, told you it would be important later, and you took it without further questioning. Did you even think to ask them where they'd gotten it, or why they took it from the scene of the crime, or why they had it when the police hadn't found it after a five day search? That's just like you, to be so naïve! You can't just trust the first person who helps-"
"You're right."
Edgeworth started, just realizing he'd been cut off. "What?"
"I can't just trust the first person to offer me help. I can't trust my friends to believe in me after the courts called me a liar. I can't trust anyone. Not even you.
"Get out. I have a lot to do, and none of it requires a prosecutor."
Was it really going to end like this? He couldn't just leave him here, could he?
Finally, Edgeworth made a decision. He grabbed the first loose paper he could see, writing a string of numbers down.
"What are you doing?"
"Giving you my personal number. Call it when you regain your sense. You fight for the truth, whatever your method. If you really want to give up, I won't stop you. But it you want to fight... we'll figure out what we need to do. I don't care it takes years. The courts can't afford to lose you. Trust me, I've tried. You can't do this to yourself forever. No one wants to lose you."
Was Wright considering it? That look in his eyes... it was gone before he could identify it. "They've already lost me. Now. Get. Out."
Edgeworth left. That wasn't at all what he'd expected to find.
Quite the turnabout, as goodbyes went.
A/N's: This is not a fill in any way, shape or form. If anything, it's an experiment. I wanted to see how convincingly I could write the character of Miles Edgeworth. Please tell me how I did. I know Phoenix's characterization was shaky.
I need to write a convincing Edgeworth because I'm currently the sole writer of the fan project AAI3. However, I'm lucky enough to have two wonderful Betas who are willing to help me out, and if AAI2's sequel is a project you'd consider, head down to the Google doc I posted below and sign up while you still have time! I need to have all the Cowriters and Betas lined up by July 1st.
I... also need to experiment with Franziska and pre-UR-1 Blackquill. As of now, both look like they're going to land a major role in the story. If anyone could give me tips for their characters, I would appreciate them forever.
If you just wanna see what's going on, submit an idea, or help in other ways, you should still check out the idea sheet, which can he found here: (Google doc's generic URL, plus) /document/d/1VV_80EEXnlI_lThRrDV0allRDHzeyHRRA49AJH7eR48/edit?usp=drive_web