Character: Mia Fey
Chapter Summary: It's hard to let go when you're a medium who can channel spirits of the dead. (In which Maya seeks advice, and Mia gives her just that.)
Note: This fic will pretty much be lots of scraps from all my Nick/Maya drabbles and ficlets I've been hoarding and thinking about these past few months, all from another person's point of view about the two. I'm trying to keep most of them in-canon with the actual series, so I hope I don't disappoint. I've got a couple characters already planned, but I may ask for some requests later on. I hope you enjoy! (Oh, and kudos to my friend Agnes for proofreading this!)
It's something that just happened once Maya had gotten in the hang of things in Kurain and begun her path towards becoming a full spirit medium. She controlled her ability to channel her - it was easiest because she was blood-related and her little sister knew her like the back of her hand - and she chose to update her on the things going around in the village and little tidbits of the newest Steel Samurai episodes, but mostly news about her through little letters written in purple ink.
It was to make it seem like Mia wasn't even dead.
(Maya pretends as though it's just like usual, like Mia is still in the city and Maya in Kurain - they're just a call or letter away from each other. Mia thinks the contrary, but she keeps her lips shut - rather, hands - and doesn't argue. It's enough, for now.)
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Sis,
Hey! I'm back in Kurain now. I left L.A. a little while ago and I tried to channel you, but it didn't really work out that well. I guess I'm still only able to channel you under tough situations. But! I've been training really hard recently - it's one of the reasons I left, and Nick thinks it's a good idea too (what kind of spirit medium can't channel spirits, anyway?) - and if you're reading this right now, it's probably paid off!
It's pretty dry over here at the Manor, as usual. I can't even watch the Steel Samurai! The stuffy Elders have accomplished one thing while keeping check over the village, that's for sure: making sure everything is B. O. R. I. N. G. At this point I would call you, hop on a train to the city, and ask if we can have dinner together, but I guess I can't do that now. I can't even do that with Nick because I want to prove myself a great spirit medium next time we meet. Uuugh.
...I plan on helping Nick with the firm, by the way, Sis. Not just temporarily like what I've been doing the last few months I was in L.A., but, for real, y'know? I want to be his assistant. I want to help him make the office something to be remembered in the future so that all your work building up your reputation isn't going to waste. He's just so nice, and cool, and - and he's just like you Mia. Well, except he's a guy, and also way less awesome, and kind of a huge dork.
Also, Pearly says hi! I'm still easing her into the, uh… circumstances that happened a couple weeks ago, so she doesn't know what's really going on. But she says she misses Mystic Mia, and honestly, I do too. I hope you're having a good time up there, Sis.
Lots of love,
Maya
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Mia,
Sis! I've done it! The Elders are letting me do my very first official channeling - I'm a full-fledged medium, now, Mia! TAKE THAT!
Ha ha, oops, sorry. I'm kind of just super really nervous and excited and I'm afraid I'm going to mess up somehow - you know I'm not as good as you or Mom, or even Pearly! - but I feel like I'm ready, Sis. I can totally do this. (Right?)
Anyway, that's not the only reason I'm nervous. I told my client - Dr. Turner Grey! You know, the guy who owns that hospital that had that one malpractice incident a couple years ago? 14 people! Dead! All thanks to one person's tragic accident! You're probably so proud that I did my research on the guy before channeling someone for him, but I'm an adult now, Mia. The big 1-8! I do all sorts of reading nowadays. Totally not through tabloids or anything, either, ha.
Er, right, back to what I was saying. I told him that before I could channel the person they wanted to speak to, he should go to L.A. and get Nick for me. I told it kind of as a little joke, like, I maaay have been saying that I had a professional lawyer working under me as my legal assistant to boost up my rep, and uh, that I wouldn't do his channeling without Nick... but I think he thought I was being serious because then he bolted straight back towards the train!
But, I'll be honest, Sis. I'm actually glad he misunderstood me. This might be my chance… I can prove to him with my first channeling that I'm not just some kid who can only sometimes help in court. Once he sees me walk out that room with my very first, satisfied client, he'll see what a great assistance I can provide and I can go back to L.A. and solve really cool crimes with him again.
Plus, I miss him, Mia. I miss you too. Hope you're doing well. What do you actually do up there, anyway? Or is that something super secretive that only spirits know about? In that case, keep it a secret! What if someone finds out I know, and you're forbidden to talk to me ever again? We can't have that happening.
Oops! I must've lost track of time. A freezing waterfall is awaiting my presence in half an hour, you know. Wish me luck for tomorrow!
Lots of love,
Maya
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Hey Sis,
I know what you're thinking right now. "Where am I? What time is it? And what is that smell?"
Er - okay, don't panic. It's a little past midnight and Nick is sleeping, so you better not wake him up! I'm not at Kurain right now, because I decided to leave with Nick back to L.A. because after pretty much everything that's happened, I don't feel - um, welcome there, you know? This isn't your apartment anymore either, 'cause, well, the lease ran out and I didn't have anymore money to keep paying rent for it. I'm sorry, you know the Elders... they won't let me touch my inheritance until I'm 21.
So I'm crashing at Nick's for the time-being. And maybe for a long while? I mean, he does give me free burgers for dinner, and this way we can both go to work together in the morning (even though he doesn't have a car, what's up with that?) and a lot of my stuff is already here from the first couple of months I've spent in the city, and Sis, stop looking at the paper like that! I swear nothing's going on! You sound like Pearly!
Also, that smell is coming from the bag of burgers we got tonight on my nightstand. Or Nick's nightstand, I guess. What? I got a little hungry writing this.
Oh! I saved the day with the last case we did! It involved a police officer being tried, so it was super important, well, at least that's what Nick told me. But then he got hit over the head with a fire extinguisher by the REAL killer and then suffered short-term amnesia and almost lost, until, BAM, the Purple Princess/Spirit Medium, here with the crucial evidence that completes the whole turnabout! It's kind of like Nick can't do anything without me, huh?
He had me crazy worried, though, Sis. Like the second he asked, "Who are you again?" it felt like my heart was going to stop beating. Like I couldn't breathe. But he gained his memory back right afterwards, so thankfully it wasn't for long. It was just so hard seeing him look at me with such a blank expression on his face as he tried to remember who I was - what I was even talking to him about. It's just... Nick's one of the only people I have left. If he forgot me, permanently...
Mia... do you think there's a point where a spirit just... forgets? I understand that that was just a temporary situation with Nick, fire extinguisher and all, but... Mia... I couldn't - I... I wouldn't be able to get through all of this without you if you couldn't remember who I was. You won't forget me, will you?
Woah, I can hear Nick snoring on the couch (I'm going to claim that couch one day when Nick isn't so pushy for me to take the bed! Doesn't he know I'M the guest here?) while I write this, ha ha. Did you know he snores when he sleeps? It's sorta endearing though, once you get used to it. I guess I shouldn't be worried about you waking Nick up with that racket.
Mia... I love you. You're still the best sister ever, you know that, right? I'll have Pearly channel you one day again, not for a trial, but so we can speak in person. I still haven't caught you up on the finale episode of The Pink Princess! I heard Sal Manella is out of jail, now, and is planning to write another spin-off. Cool, right? I'm so excited!
Maybe one of these days we can watch an episode or two together? Just like old times?
Love,
Maya xx
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Yo Mia!
Happy New Year! It's kind of hard to send the dead Christmas cards, but Pearly, Nick and I made a couple to send over to his relatives (okay, well, I found out that people really do make Christmas cards that have photos of themselves and send them out to their family and it sounded fun so I told Pearly about it, and then we sorta pestered Nick about it until he gave in. But he totally likes it though, he's just too much of an old fart to admit it). But I really wanted to show you how they came out. Look how cute it is! Nick let Pearly choose the framing, and I think it looks really nice. We look like a family! Er - not like that, though.
How's it going, Sis? Spiriting around up there, and all. Do you want to grab something to eat? CAN you grab something to eat? I mean, it just ends up in (one of) my stomach(s) anyway, but I'm pretty hungry myself. I bet if you ask Nick for some food, he'll be all over it, "Yes, Chief!" and all.
Nick took me and Pearly down to Berry Big Circus tonight because Pearly wanted to go to her very first circus. I think Nick and Pearly are hiding something from me, 'cause they seem to be able to remove their thumbs at will and all, like real magicians! Isn't that supposed to hurt? But, anyway, Nick is pretty much the SWEETEST guy to Pearly. Enough to remove her whole opposition to guys around the people she loves and stuff, even. Uh, she kind of thinks Nick and I are... yeah. I'm sure I mentioned that to you a couple letters back, but I don't really remember. I said some things to her, but nothing that would warrant that!
At least I think so.
Nick also wishes you a happy New Year! He has some weird obsession with cleaning the toilet, so I bought him a couple of extra bottles of toilet cleanser with his gift I got him for Christmas, and he's ALL over that, just in case you hear weird splashing sounds from the bathroom.
I dunno, Mia, there's just somethin' about 2018 that gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling - like things are going to go right this year. I hope you're safe and enjoying yourself up there. I'll be waiting for your reply, Sis! I'll talk to you again next week.
Love,
Maya
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The next time Maya channels her, there is no note.
Maybe if she wasn't caught up on the situation by Phoenix, then she would've been extremely shocked once she opens her eyes to a damp, small room with only a miniature window to look through acting as her only source of light. Mia wobbles up, feeling her - Maya's - stomach heaving and grumbling, and she begins to make her way to the window.
It is urgent, and there's not enough time.
But, as she stumbles towards the opposite corner of the room where the window is, she feels something on her face. Mia picks at it, peeling off the offending object with a gross sound. It is barely illuminated in the dark room, but she can tell it's some sort of card.
It's a couple moments afterwards that she is able to lift the thin material to a light source, but even then, the natural lighting takes a while to shift from the dimmer shadows to a lighter contrast that allows her to see what was on the card.
"Is this...?" Mia squints, and she grimaces at her voice cracking within her throat. She is extremely thirsty, and resisting the urge to yawn and find a nice spot on uneven, concrete floor to nod off. The card between her fingers is a card of a shell: Shelly de Killer's, the one who is holding her little sister hostage, calling card, one he uses after... performing one of his deeds.
What is this doing here...?
That is when she notices that there's something even more unusual about the card. On top of the seashell insignia is an inked drawing of... Phoenix...
"Maya..." she breathes out, clutching the card closer to her. She really believed in him that much, did she? Mia tries to think this through more carefully - with consideration of what this all really means, - but then she feels her hold on reality beginning to falter and remembering that now isn't the time for that.
With a grim expression, she looks outside the window for any clues while listening out for footsteps in case a certain assassin comes to check on his precious little item in holding. (Mia tries not to gag.)
There's... nothing much to see, really. A mailbox outside the abandoned shack that looks rusty, as if it hasn't been used in years. And - is that a tent? Mia knows that her vision is beginning to blur over and fade, but she keeps the memory of the top of a tent building that seems not so far away.
Before she completely loses possession of Maya's body, however, she kicks aside the card into a crack between two walls. Hopefully, if any of Mia's observations help Phoenix or the police out, it would be found and given to the person it really belongs to.
Mia is sure he needs the reassurance.
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Mia,
Hey, Sis! How's it hanging? Anything new for you up there? Or is that secret too? You know you shouldn't tell me all your secret spirit things, so don't even try replying vaguely. But I DO want to know how you've been doing! It feels like it's been sooo long since I've talked to you, even though I wrote a letter just last week.
Not much has been happening here at Fey & Wright Law Offices (okay, so, it's still Wright & Co. but Nick is totally going to make that change someday). We've got ourselves a new case a couple days ago, just some old boring vandalism case that isn't as exciting as the murder cases you're so used to. And with, uh, Aunt Morgan in custody, Pearly's monthly visits are so much longer, now!
Huh. There's something weird, though. Like... patterns in some of our more recent cases. You know the Mask*DeMasque one, and then the other one with Maggey I told you about? (Speaking of which, I heard from Nick that Detective Gumshoe likes Maggey! Nick's a sucker for gossiping, did you know that, Mia?) Phonies - everywhere! Recreations of crimes in order to get the killers off the hook! People falling in love because of someone's valiant efforts to rescue them from a horrid situation! There were some pretty odd pairs, too, like a scary Xin Eoph whose skin was a super bad shade of orange and a coffee-crazed bandage wrapped lady. Then there was a shopping addict motorcycle enthusiast with a soft-spoken serial THIEF!
Desiree told us a really romantic story, though, and Nick started tearing up. Ha! I should really tell you about that story one time. He says he'd do the same thing for me if I was ever held hostage, heh. But... now that I think about it... that sounds pretty familiar. Do you think it's a conspiracy?
I've been looking at some Oh!Cult! issues with Pearly and we made reservations next month for their Special Course at Hazakura Temple - it's a spiritual resort up in the mountains by Eagle River, you know. We need someone who's at least 20, though, and even though I could try to pull off being 20 - it's just a year older! - Pearly's not so keen on me lying. I could always channel you! You're still 27, right? That'd pass off... I think. Or maybe we can guilt-trip Nick into taking us, hmm.
I need to start flexing my future-Master skills, so... the first order of training is to sit under multiple freezing waterfalls on an equally cold block of ice, chanting an archaic phrase 30,000 times. ...Now that I write that... I'm not sure I'm as excited anymore...
Anyway, I hope you're well, Sis! I'll be sure to talk to you soon!
Love,
Maya
P.S. What does it mean when someone sees you in another outfit and says, "Maybe you should quit being a spirit medium"? Just wondering.
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Mia smiles at the familiarity of the situation; feeling her soul extracted from her current place in the spirit realm and finding its place in Maya's body. It's hard to say whether or not a week had passed by since the last letter - time moves slow there, and she can't exactly pinpoint what day it is whenever she is channeled - so she wonders whether this has to do with a court case or not. She represses a small sigh - Phoenix was going to have to complete his battles on his own, someday, but she'll do whatever she could to help this time…
Except… wherever she is right now isn't the defendant's lobby, or even behind the defense's desk. Not the office, not Kurain… where exactly is Mia?
She looks through bleary eyes, and she feels cold sweat seep through Maya's robes. Her head is pounding, and it's almost like Maya's soul is still somehow incorporated within hers, and the extent of unwavering emotion is draining.
What… what's going on?
She spots an open notebook on top of a drawer stashed in the corner of the cool, damp room, her little sister's frantic writing scribbled across it. It's not purple and it's more loopy than usual, but it's Maya's handwriting. Mia grabs it, eyes wandering across the sheet.
It doesn't take long. There's not much.
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Sis…
You've gotta help me. Someone - someone is out there to attack me. I don't know what's going on and I don't know what to do... just help! Please!
Maya
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Mia quickly puts everything together, remembering where Maya had told her they were going the week before. Hazakura, huh, she muses, her forehead beginning to crinkle in thought. Who would be out there to kill Maya - especially in such a secluded spiritual training place like this?
... No...
Dahlia Hawthorne. Morgan Fey. They're up to something, aren't they? Mia's been following their movements ever since she had left Kurain; since her very first trial. It might be her mom that motivated her, but Redd White wasn't the only criminal she was chasing. It could only be one of the two.
She used to be content with this way of communication. She used to satisfied with possessing Maya's body and responding to every single one of her letters. She used to be happy she could still keep in contact with her. It used to be enough.
But right now, it isn't. As far as Mia's concerned, she couldn't rush up to Maya and coddle her in her arms; couldn't whispers sweet nothings into her ears that Dahlia Hawthorne will not hurt her and that she was going to make sure of it; couldn't do anything but write a damn note back.
Because Mia is dead. And no amount of channeling will be able to change that.
But... Maya is in trouble. And if that's all she can do, then she'll do it. So, Mia writes. She writes a quick set of instructions for Maya to take long, calming breaths and to relax herself before locking herself in the cavern behind her and channel Dahlia Hawthorne. Mia writes that it is the only way to make sure no one else gets hurt, and she writes until she reaches the bottom of the page. There are still two lines left blank.
The first priority is to keep Maya calm, because it's all as hell difficult to keep a demon under the reigns if she's panicky.
Mia thinks back to last year, back to when Maya had channeled her with the last of her energy and tried to gain her whereabouts about the location she was being held hostage. Back to when she saw that drawing of Phoenix's face, pressed flat against her face. Mia is not dumb, not by a landslide, and despite not being able to tune in and out of the real world at will, she's not entirely left out.
Phoenix is Maya's emotional rock and vice versa; there's a dependence between them that bypasses more than anything else. Mia may have not meant it like that when she had first wrote to Maya to take care of Phoenix for her, but she realizes herself now that whatever had conspired between the pair for the last three years is something even beyond her knowledge. How they had felt when they first met, how they turned to each other when there was no one else left - that is between them, and not Mia.
All she has are Maya's letters - but for her, it's evidence enough to tell her that Phoenix Wright and Maya Fey are two halves of the same whole. One cannot possibly exist without the other.
And so Mia continues to write, because that is all that is left for her to do in this situation. She writes the one thing she knows will Maya will keep close to her heart; something that will reassure her of her own safety - to keep her calm throughout all of this mess.
"Don't worry. Phoenix will save everyone in the end."
(And from the bottom of her heart, she so desperately wishes this is true.)
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As an after thought, she turns the notebook paper over and starts over on a new, fresh page, scrawling neatly for safe measure: "P.S. Once this all blows over, mak e sure to have Pearl channel me. We need to talk. You two are going to stop dancing around each other someday or another."
Setting the note back down on the surface of the dresser, she clicks the end of the pen, retracting the inky tip. And, for the first time since she's realized the reality of the situation, Mia feels her lips curve up into a smile as she feels her soul reach towards the heavens once more.
Maybe she can't be there for Maya. Not like this.
But she knows Phoenix can.