Disclaimer: I do not own Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney.
A/N: Just a bit of character introspection with Edgeworth. Having finished the anime (I have not played the games), and hearing about Edgeworth's reasons for why he vanished, I decided to write this. Rated T for DL-6.
Important Note: Through checking the PWAA wiki, I found out Edgeworth's disappearance occurs after 'Rise from the Ashes', but in the anime, it happens after Turnabout Goodbyes, so I've portrayed it as such here.
Read on!
Ascend from the Ashes
He watched calmly as Wright defended him from Manfred von Karma. His life was the price here, but he didn't care about the verdict of the trial – though Wright may believe in him, he himself didn't.
He remembered, through his haunting nightmares, having grabbed the gun with trembling hands and throwing it at the man who was fighting with his father. He remembered the confusion and fear, and 'oh my god, what's going on and why are they fighting?' He had blanked out before having done the… deed, but there was no way anyone else could have done it – only three in the elevator, and only one bullet was required to kill someone; the one he had fired, and heard the gunshot for. He had committed patricide.
But as the trial went by, and he saw how passionately Wright was defending him, actually believing he was innocent – he wanted to believe in himself. He wanted to believe he wasn't the one who had killed his father, and that guilt and childish fear he had been harboring secretly could be erased. Perhaps he would be crushed when the truth revealed itself, but believing in himself for the moment made him feel free.
Two cases ago, Edgeworth had seen with his own eyes the changes that had taken place in the black-haired boy from his childhood. But only on the receiving end of Wright's hard work could he truly appreciate how different the man was.
And that made him question himself.
Edgeworth had always wanted to be a defense attorney like his father, protecting innocents in a battle of words, but those dreams had crumbled into dust with the DL-6 incident, and he had rose from the events going on the fast track to being a prosecutor. It was just as a noble a goal: to ensure that all criminals would be brought to justice.
But somewhere along the road, he had lost sight of his goal, using any means necessary to achieve the result he wanted. He may not have gone to the extents of murder or forged evidence, despite what one may believe, but his actions were no less despicable. He had known of his reputation as the "Demon Prosecutor" but he had never particularly cared before.
It was odd how all his perceptions were changing in the course of one trial.
And at the end of it all, he tasted both sweet freedom and disbelief. The victory was bittersweet, his happiness at being given the verdict of 'Not Guilty' for the death of his father warring with his feeling of betrayal. The older von Karma may not have been the best of people, but Edgeworth had honestly believed he was not at all related to what had happened, and he felt some gratitude to the man for taking him in when he had no one. To learn it was all a cleverly-made plan made him feel a hollow loss inside, one he hid well.
As he shook hands with Wright, as the photographer witness from the trial took their group photograph, he found doubts pestering his mind. Doubts that required him to think with his emotions rather than his Logic.
After all the celebration for another of Wright's miraculous turnabout victories, he sat in his office alone, sipping tea as he mulled over his questions.
If… if both defense and prosecution had noble intentions in what they did, then who was right, and who was wrong? If the opposition wasn't just a hindrance, if trials weren't to be won and showcased, what was the end goal? What was the very essence of a prosecutor, what made one what they were? What was their role, and what was that of the defense?
Answers didn't seem to be readily available to him, but his questions went deep, and the answers were those he had to find out for himself rather than being told. But he knew one thing – the Miles Edgeworth of old was dead, and if he wasn't, he had to die, no matter how callous it sounded.
And he needed time away from Wright and his friends, from his own companions, from prosecutors and defense attorneys, to find the solutions he sought.
It only took him half an hour or so to pack; Edgeworth didn't have much in the way of personal possessions, and he took only what he needed.
Before he left however, he had to write a note – at least a short explanation – for those who would enquire after him. But when he put his pen to paper, words that always seemed to come easily to him stilled in their flow.
Five words were all he could gather, and though abrupt, he felt they conveyed his thoughts well enough.
Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth chooses death.
"Farewell, Wright. For the second time," he murmured aloud as his gaze fell on the red keychain he had kept with him from childhood. That would be one of the few personal items he would take; it meant quite a lot to him, the unbreakable friendship of three boys from a single event. Although his heart clenched painfully at the thought of what his leaving would seem like to his friend (he had already hurt Wright too much), he had to do this. Each valuable lesson of life came with a sacrifice.
Standing up, he took his suitcase in one hand and gave his- the office a last look-over before leaving, grabbing the Signal Samurai keychain. There was a flight he needed to catch.
He didn't know when he would return, but he knew that when he did, he would have the answers to his questions and a greater understanding of his role in the legal system. From the ashes of his past, he would ascend, stronger and wiser than before.
After all, who said a Phoenix was the only one to take rebirth in flames?
*FIN*
A/N: Whew. Writing Edgeworth was a bit tough, but it was worth it! I hope I managed to get his character right though; the guy's so damn complicated. Hope it was worth the read!