MAYA FEY: Ace Spirit Medium
Sometimes the very thing you're looking for,
Is the one thing you can't see
Trucy had left for college, and Phoenix realised he felt curiously lonely, all by himself in the empty apartment. It was a long time since he'd lived alone, and since he was unable to see his friends Maya and Edgeworth as much as he would like to, he certainly didn't like it. Edgeworth immersed himself in his work, and so could not exactly socialise with the frequency Phoenix would prefer, and Maya was still 2 hours away in Kurain.
He'd retaken the bar exam some years ago, but didn't have a client right now (the whole disbarring incident, although resolved, had still been quite damaging to his career and reputation), Apollo had left some time ago to start his own law firm, and, Phoenix realised as he stared dejectedly out the window of his deserted office a few weeks after Trucy's departure, he was all alone.
He turned to the TV. Maybe he'd distract himself with some Steel Samurai reruns.
No, better yet. Why didn't he try calling Maya?
Phoenix broke into a grin as he recalled Maya. Talking to her rarely failed to cheer him up. Maybe he could even invite her over.
Maya seemed pleased to hear from Phoenix too. Phoenix found himself admitting to Maya that he seemed to be chronically lonely now that Trucy had gone. Maya empathised that yes, it did suck living alone, Phoenix recalling that Pearl had also recently left for college. Phoenix invited Maya to come and visit him sometime soon.
"Oh thanks so much, Nick! But I'm so sorry. I can't come for a while. There's all these channellings and other annoying stuff lined up, so I'm stuck in the village. But it'd be great if you'd come and visit me here." Maya suddenly warmed to the growing excitement of another idea. "I know! Why don't you come and stay for a while? I'm sure you could use a holiday. And I miss you."
The concept was oddly inviting. "Gee thanks Maya! That's really kind of you. When would it be okay for me to come?"
"Oh anytime. As soon as you're ready." Maya felt an involuntary surge of warmth at the thought of Phoenix staying over again. "I can't wait to see you."
So it was that 3 days later, Phoenix turned up at Fey Manor. He and Maya had seemingly forgotten to arrange how long he was to stay, but he'd brought sufficient personal belongings to last approximately 2 weeks.
Phoenix and Maya warmly embraced, both recalling the sense of novelty and delirious happiness which always accompanied Phoenix's several-times-annually stays in Kurain. Always a fleeting, dreamlike return to a happier, idealistic past, blurring away all too quickly, only to be inevitably forcibly parted and dumped back into the callous drudgery reality of their separate, jaded lives.
They suppressed this reality. Now was not the time to be forced to think of again parting.
"Hey Nick, do you want this room?" questioned Maya. "I have more free rooms now, and this is nicer than the guest room."
It did indeed look nicer. "Make yourself at home," smiled Maya.
The mundane tedium of Maya's daily tasks and drudgeries vanished whenever Nick was around. The pair still had an endless capacity to amuse each other, and they could carry on an endless conversation about every conceivable topic. Besides, Nick was really quite helpful. And he was great at cleaning toilets.
Most importantly, the pair knew they could relax around each other. None of these requirements to obscure parts of themselves, as they had been so frequently forced to do in the world at large in their lives. Of course, they still had their minor irritations and disagreements, but on the whole, they were completely accepting of each other for who they were. That, Maya realised, had been an immensely powerful catalyst in changing her life to be able to cope with the string of horrors befalling her following Mia's murder. That, Phoenix now realised, had helped give him the will to continue after almost everyone else had abandoned him as a criminal, fraudulent hobo.
Time flew past in a flurry of shared moments and exuberant enthusiasm, but Phoenix suddenly recalled with dismay that two weeks were now up. It would be impolite to outstay his welcome, and he hadn't really brought enough belongings for a much longer stay.
"Thanks so much, Maya, but I suppose I'd better go tomorrow," sighed Phoenix regretfully.
"Awww." Maya's face visibly fell. "I suppose you have something you have to do, right?"
"Well.." Phoenix paused. Usually he did have some actual reason that he had to leave, but there didn't seem to be one this time. "Not really. But I don't want to outstay my welcome."
"You can stay as long as you like!"
"Also, I didn't bring enough stuff to stay a long time."
Maya pondered the unpleasant concept of Phoenix leaving again. "You can go if you want," she sighed, "But I really will miss you. Or if you want to stay longer, well you can just go home and then bring more stuff back here!"
Phoenix found Maya's offer was very attractive. "It really is okay for me to stay?" To Maya's enthusiastic affirmative reaction, Phoenix agreed. "Okay. I'll stay another week."
Two weeks drifted to four.
Despite the fact that men were generally regarded as fairly useless in Kurain (Maya had instigated various reforms to allow men greater involvement in village life, but there was just no subverting the fact that they were devoid of spiritual powers), Phoenix had somehow rapidly found ways to make himself indispensable.
He even regularly partook in Maya's waterfall training with her, a taste she had successfully accustomed him to some years prior. He still didn't exactly enjoy the waterfall torture, but it provided a certain masochistic exhilaration. Maya's 'spiritual' training had been instrumental with equipping him with the inner strength to face both Kristoph Gavin and the poker table with an inscrutable expression and a calm veneer.
With a foreboding trepidation, Maya realised it was again time for the dreaded monthly meeting with the village elders from Kurain and the branch families. Kurain was organised in such a fashion that although the Kurain Master was leader and external ambassador, real power still lay with the bickering, infighting, branch-stacking chief elders.
Maya's leadership had attempted to promote harmony between the main family and between the various branch families, and many of the elders had turned to support this sensible endeavour, but there was still a sizeable power-block of bitter elders, who had enjoyed wielding considerable power under the divisive tenure of Morgan Fey, hated Maya, and attempted to obstruct her at every turn. They would also loudly interrupt proceedings insulting the quality of her leadership, and use cheap, petty tricks to throw her off-guard, such as insulting her mother.
Phoenix sensed her unspoken disquiet as Maya explained she had to attend a meeting tomorrow. Maya was suddenly hit by inspiration. She was sure the meeting would be a lot more bearable if Phoenix was there with her.
Men certainly never usually attended the meetings, but he was her special guest, and although she was positive some of the elders would be furious, she, as the Master, did have the final say on such matters. Maya grinned slyly to herself as he imagined Nick leaping up, shouting "OBJECTION!" at the spiteful elders. Unfortunately, this would be regarded as a too overtly intrusive level of participation for her non- Kurain Elder special guest.
Maya briefly explained the logistics of the meeting and the elders and the various power struggles. Phoenix was all too happy to come with her. "I'm sorry, Nick, but I think you'd better just watch and not say anything.. oh I'm sorry, that sounds so bad doesn't it.."
"Oh, it's okay, I understand," assured Phoenix, who was not offended. "I'm not a Kurain Elder, so I'm not qualified to speak, right?"
"Uh.. yeah.." affirmed Maya. "But I'd be really grateful if you'd come with me."
As predicted, the problem elders raucously protested the presence of Phoenix. Phoenix had become partially desensitised to this style of hostility during the long period of disbarring, so he merely sat quietly, wearing his best inscrutable expression as he took notes of the proceedings, breaking only to glare at one of the elders when she voiced a particularly tactless barb at Maya.
Afterwards, Maya and Phoenix poured over Phoenix's notes. It was immediately obvious to Maya that behind that calm exterior that formidable legal brain had been churning overtime, highlighting contradictions, flaws and lies in the elders' raucous arguments. He had suggestions too, whenever she asked for them. What with their collaboration, it was the most productive meeting she could ever recall.
Phoenix was suddenly horrified to realise that he had been at Maya's for 5 weeks. He found himself admitting he for some reason had no wish to leave, but it was ridiculous that he subsist in some parasitic lifestyle off her. After all, he didn't have a job or anything and she was probably sick of him, just too polite to say so.
So he regretfully announced to Maya that he'd better leave and take a case, or get some other job, since he wasn't exactly bringing any money in.
"Yeah," sighed Maya sadly, "men always leave Kurain. I'll miss you Nick. You're really useful. And..." She trailed off, unable to articulate her feelings.
"Anyway, I'm visiting Edgeworth tomorrow," explained Phoenix. "He might have a job for me. I suppose I'll go home the day after."
Edgeworth, now high-ranking at the Justice Department, still trusted and respected Phoenix implicitly. Right now he was working on instigating legal reform - facilitating justice and weeding out the vestiges of corruption in the legal system. There were thousands of reports to write, test cases to analyse and recommendations to be written. Edgeworth was envisaging outsourcing some of these which were applicable to the impeccably qualified judgement of Phoenix Wright.
Phoenix studied the brief for the position. It seemed to be mainly writing legal reports and recommendations - maybe not the most exciting thing in the world, but at least carrying less risk of bodily harm than investigating murderers. "So, where is the job located? The Justice Department?"
"Well, no, the position has been outsourced, so you can just compile the reports in your office and send them via e-mail. Also there's a board meeting, but that's only once a month."
A curious proposition suddenly crossed Phoenix's mind. "Could the position be performed remotely?" he found himself asking.
Edgeworth gave him an inquisitive look. "The requirements are to send the reports via e-mail and attend the physical board meetings once a month. Since I would be acting as your supervisor, provided you fulfilled all requirements I would not care to ask exactly where you are sending your e-mails from." Edgeworth elected not to mention that really the Department desired him to perform daily physical supervision on the work of Wright, and doubly edit and rubber-stamp every word of his reports. It was criminal, really, that due to that murderous Gavin, Wright was stuck in infatomably lowly positions not befitting his legal talents. Edgeworth was determined that he could facilitate at least some of Wright's passion for justice being brought to fruition.
So Phoenix was leaving, Maya mused sadly to herself as she burned garbage in the incinerator. It had been inevitable, of course. She did not know why she'd attempted to distract herself from that reality.
Maya's thoughts flowed back to the past. Those three exhilarating years as Phoenix's partner at Wright and Co., she now reflected, were by far the best of her life, vastly eclipsing anything before or since. Momentously significant due to the fact that, by any reasonable definition, they should have been the worst - her sister and mother murdered in front of her, her own aunt repeatedly attempting to murder her, and herself being on trial for murder - twice. Maya had finally come to realise why those years had instead been the best. It was because she had been with Phoenix.
Staying together, they could somehow, fleetingly, reject the world and recapture some of that time. But that time was long over, prematurely terminated by the very enemies of justice they had worked so hard to fight, forcibly severed by the brutal battering and ruthless progression of divisive adversities, clouding their lives and tearing them apart.
Or was it? The past few weeks, Maya had received the impression that somehow, despite all these years, there had been a new continuation of the exhilaration she'd felt as legal partners. But she supposed it was just an unreasonable fantasy, destined to end now, anyway. She could not comprehend exactly why parting from Phoenix was so upsetting. She should just get over it and face reality.
Here was Nick now. After Maya had asked after Edgeworth she enquired "So, did you get that job?"
"Well, yeah,"
"Oh that's great," smiled Maya kindly. "So... I guess that means you'll still be leaving tomorrow?" she queried sadly.
"Well.. I guess so," agreed Phoenix. "I can't really expect you to let me stay."
"Oh, I'd love it if you stayed," assured Maya "but I understand you have to leave."
Phoenix noticed that Maya genuinely appeared to regret his leaving. "Well, technically I don't have to leave..." he found himself admitting.
"Huh? But you need a job..?"
"My new job can be performed remotely. Telecommuting." Phoenix internally thanked Maya for her foresight in finally installing 21st century Internet access to Kurain early in her tenure as Kurain Master. "But of course, you probably don't want me hanging around any longer.."
"Nick! You can stay forever, I don't care!"
"Hmm, the offer is attractive.." smiled Phoenix teasingly.
"Why don't we just try living together?"
It took only one second of looking at Maya to make up his mind. "Seriously? It sounds great."
Maya was delighted to have Phoenix to assist with her channelling business, able to fulfil some of the gaping gap left by the absence of Pearl. So now it was Phoenix's turn to be Maya's assistant, helping her whenever she performed a channelling for a client.
Clients tended to eye Phoenix curiously, so Maya decided that Phoenix had better look the part. There were some old mens' clothes, including some Japanese traditional outfits, stuffed in the back of the wardrobes of Fey Manor, Maya assumed they had once belonged to her father. So she chose one of these which seemed conveniently appropriate (blue, emblazoned with dragons and phoenixes..). She hung his magatama around his neck. Now, Phoenix blended in perfectly with the Kurain mystique. 'Mystic' Nick!
"So, what do you want me to do?" queried Phoenix as Maya arranged a complicated arrangement of candles and mystic objects which he doubted he could ever get his head around replicating. He feared he was not qualified for whatever job Maya envisioned him performing.
"Oh, not much. Just sit next to me while I'm doing the channelling and make sure nobody tries to shoot me or shove me in a box."
"Oh." Phoenix eyed her sympathetically. Poor Maya.
"Also," Maya continued, handing him a brutal-looking object, "if the spirit starts acting violent or has to be ceased for some reason, hit me over the head with this Spirit-Severing Stick. Hard. You have to knock me unconscious."
"Well. Okay," agreed Phoenix, fervently hoping he wouldn't have to perform this horrible task. "Won't it hurt?"
"Do it."
A stream of channelling sessions passed without incident. Maya discovered she felt significantly more relaxed, now that Phoenix was her assistant the vague niggling insecurity she still bore from the Mimi Miney incident faded entirely. She had trusted Pearl too, of course, but there was always the vague fear of a situation Pearl couldn't handle, or of her being physically overpowered.
Phoenix, for his part, was delighted to be able to help Maya out. Besides, he suspected he was singularly lucky to witness so many dead people. He was also quite amused - and slightly touched - that Maya was continuously talking him up in front of the client, always referring to him as 'Mystic Phoenix' and sometimes indirectly alluding he had some kind of spiritual powers as well.
One day, Maya took another client. They wanted to apologise to their dead wife. "Watch it, Nick!" Maya whispered to Phoenix as she began the channelling. Phoenix didn't need to be reminded. Hopefully this client wouldn't reach its worst case scenario potential...
The dead wife wasn't pleased to see her husband again and did not appear to accept his apology. Instead she gave a shriek of anguish and lurched for his throat.
Phoenix sprang to his feet, brandishing his weapon.
The husband had abandoned his apology and began attacking his wife. "GET BACK!" screamed Phoenix at him in full finger-pointing formation. The man was sufficiently intimidated to obey.
Unfortunately, the spirit did not calm down, and began throwing candles at her ex-husband. This was getting dangerous. Regretfully, time to use the Spirit Severing Stick. Phoenix smashed the spirit over the head as hard as he could, hands quavering slightly as he was acutely aware it was Maya's body he was brutalising. The spirit vanished with a scream, and Phoenix immediately dropped to the floor, brimming with concern as he cradled the lifeless Maya. He wondered fearfully how long she would take to regain consciousness. Without leaving Maya, he briefly farewelled the client, then gently carried her out onto the couch.
Phoenix felt intensely bad for knocking her out. As he observed her motionless form, he noted that she possessed a certain grace and elegance, and a petite frame which did not adequately belie her considerable amount of inner strength.
Conscious awareness gradually began returning to Maya. Her head hurt, that was the first impression she noticed. As the steady throb of pain consumed her, she gradually regained awareness of other sensations. Someone seemed to be holding her in a very caring fashion. Maya lay compelled to enjoy the sensation for a few moments, then forcibly cracked open her eyelids.. only to be immediately transfixed by blue eyes staring down at her, illuminated with kindly concern.
"Maya! Are you okay? Do you need a doctor?" Maya became aware that he had been pressing an ice pack to her injured head.
"I'll live," Maya assured him. "I take it things didn't go so well?"
"Not really," agreed Phoenix. Maya snuggled back against Phoenix and closed her eyes. Despite the pain, this was all rather nice.
Phoenix and Maya awoke several hours later - they must have somehow dropped off to sleep, huddled together on the couch. For some reason, neither was concerned by this considerable upgrade in the physical contact department.