A Family Celebration
A soft, white blanket of snow covered the ground underneath the white sky of Christmas, as the snow floated merrily in the air, along with everyone's spirits. Red and green decorations lined the streets, and, with the soft white snow dancing in the wind, it created quite a sight. Joy and comfort could be felt emitting from each of the homes that lined the streets as family members rushed to see their siblings. It seemed like everyone had someone to celebrate with…well, almost everyone. For one detective, this would be an unforgettable Christmas.
Gumshoe spotted the snow sitting on the ledge of his window that had piled up overnight as he got up out of his worn out bed. It was morning, and the sun was shining bleakly behind the clouds, and the snow. He unhurriedly got up out of his bed, got dressed, and proceeded toward the window to examine exactly how much snow had piled up overnight. He wasn't exactly anxious to play out in the snow as one would think, however, he was shocked at how much snow they had gotten. Than taking longer than it should have, it finally occurred to him:
"Wait…Today is Christmas!"
Despite the fact Gumshoe lived alone, he still somewhat enjoyed Christmas because he usually spent it with Edgeworth. His spirits rose a little after realizing he'd be able to spend the day celebrating, and eating of course. He quickly showered, got dressed, threw on his usual, worn-out trench coat, and headed downstairs. Gumshoe wasn't particularly fond of his house: it was run-down, dark, and gloomy, which is why he was glad he'd be spending it somewhere else. As he trudged into his cramped kitchen, he noticed a faint red light from his voicemail was blinking from on the counter. He pressed the play-back button, and a computerized voice answered:
"You have 1 new Message."
Gumshoe began rummaging through his cupboard for food, when suddenly he heard a voice he could have recognized anywhere.
"Detective. This is Edgeworth speaking."
At the sound of this, Gumshoe suddenly shot his head out from the cupboard like a startled dog.
"I just wanted to clarify something. I will be spending Christmas alone this year. I do not wish to hold the obligation of inviting people over, and going food shopping again in contrast to last year when you ate all the food out of my refrigerator. Which reminds me: I'm cutting your salary again for that. That is all,"
The recorded message ended with a *beep*. Gumshoe wryly scratched the back of his head in embarrassment recalling last year's Christmas when, indeed, he ate almost everything Edgeworth had in his fridge. It wasn't really his fault!...He just wasn't used to having such a wide selection of food available to him! Then he realized something after recalling his message. If Edgeworth wasn't going to spend Christmas with him, then there was no one else who could! After all, Maggey Byrde had already decided to spend Christmas with her family (plus, Gumshoe didn't think he'd be courageous enough to ask her!). So if those two didn't celebrate with him, then that would mean he'd have to celebrate it alone in his cold, dark house, with nothing to eat but instant noodles! He walked into his living room in a slump and flopped onto his couch despondently. Three things had just gone wrong. 1. He had no one to spend Christmas with. 2. He'd be spending Christmas in his cold, dark home. And 3, and maybe worst of all…He was out of instant noodles!
Gumshoe sadly walked down the snow covered street in a slump. Christmas was turning out to be like any other typical day, and the thought that everyone else had someone to spend it with made him feel depressed. He'd finally awoken from his sad trance when he realized he was at the grocery store. With the last bit of money he had, he could still afford to at least buy some decent food for the occasion. He entered the heated store, only to see Christmas decorations hanging all over the walls and ceiling. The more he thought about Christmas, the sadder he became. Nevertheless, he proceeded into the store with a tiny piece of hope that he would be able to afford something good to eat. As he started down the aisle closest to the entrance, he suddenly heard a familiar voice in the aisle next to him.
"Hey Pearly, you think Nick would like it if we made him something instead of buying premade food?"
"Um…Mystic Maya? Have you ever actually cooked something before?"
"Well… I've cooked grilled cheese before. So it can't be that hard right? I mean, you just throw stuff on a dish, and put it in the oven for an hour right?"
"Wow! Mystic Maya, I never knew you could cook! What should we make than!"
Gumshoe already knew who it was: Spirit Mediums Maya Fei, and Pearl Fei. They were close friends with the defense attorney, and Gumshoe's rival, Phoenix Wright. He wondered why they were at the grocery store so early in the morning? Suddenly, he heard a shout from behind him.
"Hey! Mystic Maya! It's that scruffy detective!"
Gumshoe turned to see Pearl Fei hurriedly running down the aisle to see him, soon accompanied by Maya.
"Detective Gumshoe!" Maya said clapping her hands together and nodding, "Merry Christmas!"
Gumshoe forced a smile trying not to seem sad for Christmas, and said, "Merry Christmas, Pal! Why are you both here so early?"
Maya pulled out what seemed to be a grocery list. "Pearl and I are buying food for our celebration tonight. Were gonna head over to Nick's place, eat some food, and watch the Steel Samurai Christmas Special! It's going to be the best Christmas EVER!" she said competitively for some reason.
"What about you, Mr. Detective? Are you here with anyone?" Pearl asked confused.
As though Pearl couldn't have asked a worse question, Gumshoe wryly scratched the back of his head, and muttered, "Well…no, actually. I'm just here grocery shopping too, pal…"
Maya's eyes lit up, and she said, "Ah! You're having a celebration too! Do you think Nick, Pearl and I could stop by too?"
Gumshoe felt a bit embarrassed. He didn't necessarily want to tell anyone he'd be spending Christmas alone…
"Mr. Detective?... What's wrong…?" Pearl asked with puppy dog eyes.
"Yeah, you do seem to look a little…sad…" Maya added scratching her head.
Under pressure, Gumshoe suddenly blurted, "Well, actually, I uh…I'm not spending Christmas with anyone, pal…"
The words seemed to hit Maya and Pearl like a strong force!
"WHAAAAAT!" Maya exclaimed. "Why not? Do you not want too…?"
Again, Gumshoe scratched the back of his head. "It's not that I don't WANT to, pal. It's just, I don't have anyone to spend it with…"
Maya and Pearl both looked as though their hearts had been broken. Realizing they may feel bad for him, he quickly added, "B-But it's OK pal, I'm fine with spending Christmas alone! Don't worry about me, pal, I'll be fine!" He put on a his fake but goofy smile trying to seem OK, but it appeared as though both Maya and Pearl could see was upset.
"Mr. Detective…" Pearl muttered quietly.
There was a bit of a silent pause, until suddenly, Maya exclaimed clapping her hands together, "OK, That settles it!"
She suddenly pointed at Gumshoe in a strikingly similar way Phoenix did.
"You're celebrating Christmas with us!"
"Yeah, spend Christmas with us, Scruffy!" Pearl chimed in.
Spend Christmas with his rival, Phoenix Wright, and his friends? Would they want him too? He decided to test Maya to see if she actually wanted to come.
"It's fine, pal. I'd rather spend Christmas alone." Cocking his eyebrows and looking up.
For some reason, Maya looked angry all of a sudden.
"Hey! I don't need my magatama to know that you're lying, Detective Gumshoe! Your just testing me to see if I really want you to come!"
For a moment, he was about to exclaim, "ARE YOU PSYCIC, PAL?" but instead found himself looking a little hopeless. He actually really wanted to spend Christmas with them, he just didn't think they would ever consider it.
"Well…would you mind if I did, pal…?"
Maya clapped her hands together, and said, "Of course! But you've gotta help Pearly and I cook something for Nick than!"
"Have you ever cooked anything before, Mr. Detective?" Pearl asked him.
"Cooked? Well, I've made Instant Noodles, before, pal."
Pearl must not have realized the simplicity of making instant noodles, because she suddenly said, "Wow, really!"
The two jolly spirit channeler's anxiously searched the store for ingredients, now accompanied by an excited, and jolly Gumshoe.
After purchasing what they believed to be ingredients for homemade curry, the three made their way through the snow filled streets toward the Wright. and Co. Office building throwing snowballs at each other the whole way. Finally, they arrived at the building and quickly stepped inside.
"Mystic Maya…Is there a kitchen in this building we can use?" Pearl asked as they walked inside the office.
Maya suddenly stopped abruptly with the bag of groceries in her hand and said,
"Oh wait….No, there isn't…"
She turned toward the detective and Pearly and shrugged her shoulders,
"Whoops."
The three laughed at their mistakes and placed the bags on the messy office desk.
"Where is Larr- I mean, Phoenix, anyway, pal?" Gumshoe said looking around.
"Huh? Maya are you back yet? Who's that with you?" A voice called from a small room to their right.
"Oh Nick, what's up?" Maya called.
On cue, Phoenix Wright stepped out of the room with a toilet scrubber and gloves on.
"Whew, I just finished cleaning the toilet. (Who went in there last!)"
Phoenix turned and spotted Gumshoe suddenly, who greeted with a friendly,
"Hey, pal!"
"Oh, it's you Detective Gumshoe. What's up?"
Maya, who was pulling out the groceries, said,
"Detective Gumshoe has come to take part in our awesome celebration tonight!"
"Oh, well, if you don't mind, pal…" he added feeling a bit sheepish.
At first, both Gumshoe and Maya thought he as going to say something like,
"Huh huh huh?" or "OBJECTION!" but instead, he cheerfully said,
"Ah really? Well in that case, Merry Christmas Detective."
Maya, who had been carefully examining the things Maya was pulling out, suddenly exclaimed,
"Yay! I can't wait, tonight's going to be so much fun!"
"I can't wait to see the new Steel Samurai special!" Maya exclaimed punching Phoenix in the arm.
"Ow…now why did she have to do that?" He thought to himself.
Gumshoe laughed at the two, then said,
"Hey, pal, I'd take a punch like that any day before I'd take a whip from Ms. Von Karma."
"Please don't mention her Detective Gumshoe, I don't want to have nightmares tonight." Phoenix said sarcastically, "But speaking of demonic prosecutors, I wonder what Edgeworth is doing tonight?"
Gumshoe remembered the note, and said, "He'll probably just sit at home drinking tea like usual, pal."
"Actually, I've got a hunch that he's looking forward to something tonight…" Maya said.
"Oh, now I see what you mean, Maya."
Phoenix said laughing.
"What's he looking forward to, pal?" Gumshoe said cocking one eyebrow.
Phoenix, who was looking down at the magatama around his neck, said, "Well let's just say a certain high and mighty prosecutor got very nervous when I mentioned the Steel Samurai to him…"
Maya began laughing as she walked over and turned on the small TV sitting on the end table.
Gumshoe, Pearl, and Maya sat down and watched TV as Phoenix began examining the ingrediants they had bought.
"Um…Maya? Were you planning on murdering us tonight?" he said looking at some of the spices.
"What do you mean, Nick? We were going to make curry!"
"(Curry? I thought she was trying to make some sort of foreign chilly with those ingredients…) Phoenix thought to himself.
The four of the joked with each other while watching TV until the it began to get a little dark. Next, Phoenix and Gumshoe went out and bought 30 burgers for a dollar each at the local burger joint, than the four of them had a burger eating contest: It was a close match, but Pearls ended up defeating Maya, followed by Gumshoe, and then Phoenix who had only eaten two. Afterwards, the four of them tried to make some type of food with the ingredients they had bought, but with only a blender, and a microwave, they could only make some type of mysterious goop that the four of them avoided. Before it got too dark, they had realized that they hadn't gotten each other presents yet, so they all went out to a nearby mall.
Maya and Pearl went to look together, and Gumshoe and Phoenix split up to look for gifts. Since Gumshoe didn't have to spend his money on food earlier that morning, he decided to use that money to get each of them something good.
Satisfied by what he had chosen, he found the others and they all retunred to the building. It was almost completely dark now, and the snow was starting to come down harder. As soon as they arrived, they put their gifts on the counter and turned on the radio.
Now, the four of them were just sitting with each other, enjoying the company.
"Y'know, it's weird talking to you without the constant, 'I CAN'T TELL YOU THAT, PAL!' Detective Gumshoe." Maya said putting emphasis on her imitation.
"Ho ho, that's true, pal. For once, I don't have to think of you as my enemy…that is, until Ms. Von Karma shows up with her whip. Than I have to switch sides."
"Doesn't she call you 'Scruffy'? Haha, I'm gonna start calling you that too now!" Maya said nudging him.
"Oh please don't, pal, that name haunts me enough already!"
Suddenly, Pearl's exclaimed, "Oh, it's 7 o'clock, Mystic Maya!"
"It is already! Nick! Turn on the TV!" Maya exclaimed jumping out of her seat and running over to the couch. The four of them sat down as a familiar jingle rang from the TV, and the "Steel Samurai" Logo appeared on the screen. The action packed episode played through; Maya making sure she hit Phoenix or Gumshoe every time the Steel Samurai attacked someone. Finally, once the episode finished, they decided to stay and watch some of the old Christmas movies that followed the program.
"Hey, Mystic Maya…is it time for presents?" Pearl suddenly whispered.
"Oh, yeah! Guys, come on, let's give eachother our presents now!" Maya exclaimed.
They each grabbed their bags of gifts and sat back down.
"You first Nick!" Maya said practically bouncing up and down on her seat.
"Ok Maya, I just hope you're not expecting solid gold or something!" Phoenix said sarcastically pulling out three DVD cases.
"For Maya, I bought the first three seasons of Steel Samurai, of course."
Phoenix handed them to Maya, who looked as though she was about to leap for joy.
"For Pearly, I got another ball, and an inflatable steel samurai doll," Pearls too, look like she was going to jump for joy.
"And lastly, for Detective Gumshoe, I got a 20$ gift card for the chinese restaurant in the mall that sells Ramen Noodles."
Now it was Gumshoe's turn to look as though he wanted to jump for joy.
Next was Maya and Pearl.
"Ok Ok. For Nick," Maya said pulling her gift out, " Pearl and I both ironically decided to get you a new toilet scrubber!"
At first, he took it from Maya and just looked at it, but then suddenly said,
"Wow you have no idea how much this will come in handy!"
"Ok, now next, Detective Gumshoe, you're gonna love this," She said pulling out what looked like a box.
"We got you a Magician's Set!"
"A what now, pal?" Gumshoe said taking the box and looking at it.
Phoenix Looked as though he was about to burst out laughing, "It was my idea, I'm not gonna lie."
"Remember when you told us you wanted to be a wizard? Well, now you have the set!"
Gumshoe couldn't tell if she was being serious or not, but accepted it anyway.
"Ok, now it's your turn, Mr. Scruffy Detective!" Pearl said.
Gumshoe was almost positive everyone would like what he'd gotten them…well, maybe everyone. He knew Pearl and Maya would like it for sure. But Phoenix…
"Ok first, Phoenix Wright…you're gonna need this, pal…" He said handing him his 'gift'.
"Huh? A toy shield? Why would I need this?" Phoenix said questionably.
Gumshoe pulled out Maya and Pearl's gifts.
"Because you're gonna need it for these too." He said handing them two steel samurai toy swords.
Maya and Pearl snatched them out of his hand immediately, and both said, "Wow!"
Than Maya turned toward Nick, who turned towards Gumshoe.
"What have you done?" Phoenix said morbidly.
"Oh Niiiick?" Maya said waving her toy sword.
"Use the shield, pal!" Gumshoe said laughing.
The four of them played with their new gifts for a little while, then turned their attention back to the old movies.
It was beginning to get late, but none of them noticed. However as time went on, Maya soon began yawning, and Pearls had already fallen asleep on her lap. Without realizing it, Maya had tilted her head and fell asleep on the Detective's shoulder. However, he didn't realize this because he, too, was already asleep. Even Nick had fallen asleep, and leaning on the detective's shoulder too. It had been such an enjoyable night that none of them wanted to leave, and so they stayed. For Phoenix, Maya, and Pearls, it had been a memorable Christmas, but for Gumshoe, it had be the best Christmas he'd ever celebrated. And when the next Christmas had rolled around, and Edgeworth had no one to celebrate it with, he'd find a note on the Detectives door that would say,
"Sorry, I've already made plans."