Author's Notes: I posted this because it's one year after I posted my first fic. This is the Prologue, so that's why it's in italics.
In order to clear up any possible confusion, I changed the time of the lightning strike to about 10:00. Sorry for not sticking with the actual timeline of case 3-5… but… this was the only way I could make this fic work. Sorry...
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended.
Date: February 7th
Time: 9:30 PM
Place: Hazakura Temple.
It was cold.
It was dark.
For the hundredth time, Phoenix Wright wondered what he had been thinking when he had left the comfort in his room to venture out into the below freezing weather. Ok, so his guest room at Hazakura Temple wasn't exactly what could be described as 'comfortable', but now that he was knee deep in ice cold snow, he would give an arm and a leg to be back there.
But he was almost to the bridge.
He couldn't go back now.
"Don't blame me if you become one with those you channel!"
Those words were the ones that had caused him to wake up in the first place. Sister Bikini's words had continued to ring in his ears as he jumped out of bed and rushed outside, leaving his coat behind.
He regretted that now.
He tramped through the snow, wondering if he could make it across the bridge before the channeling started. He was blind due to the fog and falling snow that wouldn't allow him to see more than a few feet ahead. The only things he saw were the mental pictures of Maya... locked inside the sacred cavern for hours on end. She would speak the spell she had to chant 30,000 times through chattering teeth... her lips would turn blue...
He shook the thoughts from his head. He would get to the Inner Temple in time to talk Maya out of this idea. He mentally cursed himself for being so stupid. All he had thought about when he arrived here was the dark haired nun... the one that reminded him so much of Dah-... her. He hadn't stopped to even think about the dangers of the training Maya would be put though. Maya... who was barely even an adult yet...Maya... who...
"Maya... oh... Mystic Maya...."
Yeah. Her.
"How could I be so... so... stupid..."
...?
Was he hearing voices now?
"I have to... have to watch out for M-Mystic M-Maya. But... the lights out b-bell... mother... ten o' clock... the... the incinerator... oh, but M-Miss Deuxnim will get so worried. Maybe I-I shouldn't... Mystic Maya w-wouldn't want me to...to...to... oh! Mr. Nick!"
The 'voices' inside his head turned out to be coming from Pearl Fey, talking to herself.
"P-Pearls?!?!" He stammered, teeth chattering. "What… Y-you shouldn't be here…"
She looked up at him with wide, frightened eyes.
"Mystic Maya."
She said it so simply. As though it was the obvious answer to his unspoken question.
Without another word, he took the small girl's hand and they headed across Dusky Bridge.
*CRACK!*
No sooner had they safely crossed the bridge and were about to enter the inner temple than they heard a sound louder than any sound they had ever heard before. Immediately afterwards the coldness in the air vanished and they felt… heat. It was so warm… blazing. They could almost… hear the heat. No… not the heat… they were hearing the sound of something crackling… something burning…something like…
Flames.
They turned around, fearing the worst.
And the worst was, unfortunately, what they got.
Dusky Bridge was on fire.
And they were on the other side.