[BANG] "Detective, I thought I told you to get these files over to Simon an hour ago!?"
"S-sorry Mr. Edgeworth sir! I'll have them brought to him right away!"
Edgeworth took his hand off his desk sat back down, quickly composing himself. He took a deep breath and folded his arms. It was obvious that he was about to lose his patience with him. "Detective, I understand that it's Christmas Eve, but could you please focus until closing? This is the third mishap you've made all day."
Gumshoe scratched the back of his head and heaved a sigh, "Your right Mr. Edgeworth, It's just… I'm so excited for tonight! Maggey and I will be going out to dinner tonight at this new, fancy French restaurant that just opened up. Then, we're going to party like there's no tomorrow over at Phoenix Wright's place!"
"Oh, yes, that's right… I almost forgot that Wright is hosting a Christmas party tonight…."
"Please tell me you're going Mr. Edgeworth sir!"
"….. I'll have to think about it detective." As he said this he got up and proceeded to take the documents sitting in front of him over to Gumshoe. "In any case, we still have a few more hours left," he said turning toward the window, "please make sure not to let this happen again… if you care about your pay that is."
"Y-y-yes sir! Won't happen again sir!" shouted Gumshoe as he rushed out of the office. Edgeworth didn't move away from the window at first, but after taking a deep breath he returned to his desk and began to type...
… My name is Miles Edgeworth. I am the Chief Prosecutor for this city… I've been a prosecutor for fifteen years now, but some things never change. "Mr. Edgeworth sir! This floor's out of printer ink!"
"…...Please, don't shout detective, you should be able to find some more in the store room on the floor below us."
"Okay! Thanks Mr. Edgeworth sir!" [SLAM]...
"Hmph"…Every day I come to my office… I sit at my desk… file paperwork… and go home… But I have to wonder…
"I'm heading out Mr. Edgeworth sir!... Are you still working sir?
Glancing up from his computer, "…Yes, detective. I'll be just a little while longer." Looking back down, "Don't worry about closing up. I'll take care of it."
"Really? Gee thanks Mr. Edgeworth sir! Oh, and Merry Christmas!"….. [SLAM]…..
…..….. "Merry Christmas detective"….
After diligently working for another thirty more minutes, Edgeworth closes his laptop, gets up from his desk, puts on his coat, and turns to leave.….. "I wonder how long it'll last….. Wright?" He turns out the light and closes the door…..
#
[SLAM] "MERRY CHRISTMAS!"
"Ack!" [CRASH]
"Ah, Mr. Wright! Are you okay?" Apollo said in fright as he ran over to Phoenix, helping him to his feet.
"Yeah, I think I'm alright." At least he thought so, but he wasn't entirely sure. He initially thought a bomb went off when Apollo came bursting through the door screaming at the top of his lungs.
"Daddy? Is everything okay what happened?" Trucy asked, running into the room.
"I'm all right, Apollo just took me by surprise is all."
"Oh, hey Trucy. MERRY CHRISTMAS!"
Trucy giggled clearly amused, "Hi Polly, MERRY CHRISTMAS!"
"What's all the yelling about?" asked Athena walking in with a thick binder in her hand.
"MERRY CHRISTMAS!" shouted Trucy and Apollo in unison. It's a truly happy sight, seeing everyone together laughing and having a good time, Phoenix thought to himself…. Or at least it would be if he had any more sense in his hearing to actually make out what their saying.
"What's that you got there Athena?" Apollo asked.
"Oh, I was just looking up a few things for this case Mr. Wright and I were working on. No big deal," she said trying to shrug it off, but that was a blatant lie. If Apollo was able to catch even one clear look at what was inside that binder, her plan would be ruined. The only other soul in the world she knew she could count on to share its contents was Trucy. With her by her side she knew that everything would turn out alright, but they had to be careful; they had to make sure he wasn't able to see what was inside at any cost.
"Really? Well I can help out if you want." Apollo said, casually reaching for the folder... Her heart skipped a beat, time froze; she wasn't entirely sure what happened next, but whatever it was, she knew that she would take it with her to the grave.
The following can only be described as happening in slow motion: Athena shouted something, but she can't make out what exactly. She tried to reach out and grab Apollo's hand, but there was no way she'd get to him in time. Trucy who was standing behind him, dove with all her might and tackled him, throwing him off balance. Apollo didn't know what was happening, other than he was falling….. and he was heading straight for Athena! His face was the last thing she saw before closing her eyes, and when she opened them, he was on the other side of the desk laying on top of Phoenix Wright. Both of them out cold.
"W-what happened?!" Athena shouted
"What are you asking me for? You're the one who punched Apollo so hard in the stomach he went flying." Trucy explained.
It took a few seconds for her to register what the young magician told her, "I WHAT?!"
#
Click, click, click… His shoes echoed through the empty streets. He could see his breath in the cold. He'd be spending another night at home alone again, and on Christmas Eve yet..."Edgey!" Though, it's not that big of a deal, he's used to that kind of thing by now…. "Edgey!" He's spent the last several Christmase Eves alon- "Edgey! Hurry up slow poke! Santa's not going to wait forever!" Larry shouted behind him as he ran.
"Huff, huff, I know guys! I'm right behind you!" Edgeworth yelled.
"Is your dad going to meet us there Edgeworth?" asked Phoenix.
"Huff, I think so, but he might be a little late. He told me he's working on a really big case right now, and that we should just go on ahead to the restaurant on the twelfth floor and meet him there!"
"Oh really? What's he working on?" asked Phoenix
"He told me he's looking into a really bad prosecutor or something and that he'd be looking all day for evidence."
"Woah, that sounds awesome! What you think about that Larry?... Larry?"
"Huh? What?" Larry asked as he took his finger out of his ear.
"Never mind," Phoenix said in defeat.
"Hey look there it is! Lordly Tailor's!" Edgeworth shouted in excitement from behind them. Sure enough there stood the towering department store completely adorned with all sorts of decorations. Tinsel wrapped around the flag post and hung from every window, the windows where filled with all sorts of Christmas trees and scenes from T'was the Night Before Christmas, and men dressed in Santa Claus costumes stood outside asking for donations.
As the three rushed over, Edgeworth could hardly contain his excitement. He was going to see the big guy himself and personally tell him what he wanted, and then he was going to have an amazing dinner with his two best friends and his dad. This was going to be the best day ever! When they finally got there, they were entranced by all the toys put out on display. They realized that if they were to buy everything they saw, it wouldn't even fit in all of their houses combined!
Edgeworth kept on looking and spotted it, a junior lawyer's badge that looked just like the real thing. That was the one thing he wanted for Christmas, so he could be by his dad's side at the bench and argue like there's no tomorrow… He kept on staring, for who knows how long. He completely lost track of time. It couldn't have been longer than a few minutes, but he realized that there was little point in looking at such a childish thing through the window of a closed department store, so he decided to continue on home…..
#
"Uhhhh. What happened?" Apollo asked as he lifted his head off the couch.
"Oh, uh, you… were tired so you decided to take a little nap," said Athena.
"Oh, alright… But why is my stomach killing me?"
"I-It must have been something you ate. Well, I hope Trucy doesn't take too long to get the last of the party decorations!" she shouted hoping that would change the subject.
"Par-ty? Ahh!" Apollo screamed as he shot up. "What time is it?"
"It's almost six o'clock."
"Oh no! I'm going to be late!" He exclaimed as he ran for his coat. "Sorry Athena, but I'm going out for a bit. I'll be right back!" And just like that he was gone.
"…. I wonder what all that was about?"
#
"Mr. Edgeworth!"
"?... Ema? Ema Skye? Is that you? My, you've grown since I saw you last!"
"Ha ha, yeah. I finally finished college! I can't believe that you're the new Chief Prosecutor!"
"A title, is just a title and nothing more," he said trying to brush it off. "Did you just get back?"
"Yeah, I'm going to take the Scientific Investigator's Exam in a few days! I'm so excited, I'm so close to finally achieving my dream!... I know that I originally wanted this job to help out my sister… but I-I'm more than happy to have this position to help find you that case winning evidence Mr. Edgeworth!"
He smirked, "I know that I'll be able to count on you to do just that Ema."
"Where are you going now? Do you want to go get a bite to eat or something?"
"… I-I'm terribly sorry Ema, but I already have plans tonight. But I'll tell you what… I'll be more than happy to treat you to dinner to celebrate you're new position as a Scientific Investigator once you pass that exam." That wasn't true, he didn't have any plans that night. He was delighted to see Ema after such a long time, and she had turned into such a beautiful young woman… but he couldn't bring himself to accept her offer. Not tonight anyway….
"Really? Alright! There's no way I'm not going to pass this test now! I'm going to go home and study!" Her excitement couldn't be contained. She already started down the street, "Don't worry Mr. Edgeworth! I won't let you down!" she called back….. "I can't believe I let her down…."
"Hmm?" Who said that, Edgeworth asked to himself. It didn't take too long to find the young man who had said those words a few feet behind him. He was leaning against the side of a building, looking down in despair. Edgeworth was surprised he didn't notice him earlier when he passed by him, but then again this young man usually has a particularly noticeable presence. "Justice is that you?"
"Huh?" Apollo jumped. He didn't know that there was anyone around and was equally surprised by the man he saw, "Ah, Prosecutor Edgeworth! M-MERRY CHRISTMAS!" he shouted trying to smile.
"…. Merry Christmas…. Justice, is everything alright? I may have misheard you, but did you say something about letting someone down?"
"Oh, you heard that?" he said smiling scratching the back of his head trying to look natural... It wasn't working. "You're, right Prosecutor Edgeworth… I'm a failure as a friend, I'm afraid" he said.
"That may be true, but do you mind telling me what happened anyway?"
"...Alright. You know how Prosecutor Gavin's been out of the country this last week right?
"Of course, I'm the one who approved of his vacation time, after all."
"Well, apparently he went to the Republic of Borginia again to perform a Christmas concert with Lamiroir and the Gavinners yesterday….. You see, Trucy is big fan of the Gavinners and she loves Prosecutor Gavin, so I asked him if he could fly in after his concert to surprise her with a little show."
"I see, and did he refuse?"
"No! He was more than happy to do it, he said! He told me he got the plane tickets and was all ready to come back!"
Edgeworth gave him a confused look, "Then what's the problem?"
"…Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaang… Apparently there's a huge snow storm that started recently over there, stopping any planes from taking off. I was on my way to the airport to pick up Prosecutor Gavin, when he called me just a few minutes ago to telling me his flights been canceled…."
…That was the biggest, longest, most exaggerated sigh Edgeworth had ever heard. The problem was clear as day, but there was one thing that didn't quite make sense, "You said you were on the way to the airport? Why did Klaiver wait until just now to tell you about all this?"
"I was wondering about that too at first, but when I checked my phone, it seems that he tried to call me several times before that…. Damn it, why did I have to fall asleep at a time like this!? If I wasn't so tired today, I might have had time to figure something else out!"
"Get a hold of yourself, Justice. The solution to your problem is clear as day. You said this whole event is supposed to be a surprise correct? So tell me what's the problem? You tried and you failed. It was a valiant effort, but it's not as though this was an announced event that everyone knew about-"
"You're right, it was supposed to be a surprise… but she found out about it…."
"….. Are you sure about that?" Edgeworth asked cautiously.
Apollo nodded, "She heard me talking on the phone with Prosecutor Gavin yesterday. She acted as though she didn't hear when I saw her, but I heard her tell Athena shortly after how excited she was that Prosecutor Gavin was coming to the Christmas party…"
Edgeworth took a deep breath and thought about the situation for a moment. "What time is it?"
"A little past seven. Why?"
"Come with me. Hurry we haven't much time!"
#
"…. This is not at all what I had in mind…." Edgeworth said in protest.
"It's not my fault Edgey. It's all I could do with such short notice," Larry replied.
"Well I think you look really cute in that costume Mr. Edgeworth."
Ema's comment wasn't helping. He wasn't planning things would turn out this way, but, then again, he wasn't really planning for any of this to happen in the first place. "Let's just get this over with," Edgeworth said reluctantly.
"This was a great idea, Prosecutor Edgeworth!" Justice whispered. It was remarkable just how loud the young man can be even when he's talking as softly as possible, Edgeworth thought to himself. "Trucy is going to love this!"
"Well, I'm glad someone will be enjoying this at least," Edgeworth added and proceeded to knock on the door.
"Coming!" shouted Trucy from the other side of the door. This was it, no turning back now. How could have he allowed this to happen, he kept asking himself.
The door opened, light landed upon them, and the show began. Standing on the other side of the doorway is none other than "the Steel Samurai: Warrior of Neo Olde Tokyo, along with his companions: the Pink Princess, the Nickel Samurai, and the Iron Teen! Together they destroy the forces of evil banded together by the Evil Magistrate! 'The warriors' swords gleam and strike in the moonlight! One has fallen… but who? Only the moon knows!..."
The four of them stood posed at the entrance for what felt like an eternity until finally it was Phoenix who spoke up, "Edgeworth? Is that you under there?!
Edgeworth stood up straight and took of his mask and said, "I knew it this was going to be a disaster."
"Ah, don't be like that Edgey, I thought it was totally awesome," said Nickel Samurai giving him a reassuring thumbs up.
"Larry's here too?" asked Phoenix in surprise.
"Hi, Mr. Wright," said the Pink Princess, whose true identity also was revealed the moment she spoke.
"But who's the 'Iron Teen?'" Athena asked approaching the masked individual.
"BEHOLD! THE GREASTEST WARRIOR OF NEO OLDE TOKYO! I AM THE VANQUISHER OF EVIL, THE FOUNTAIN OF JUSTICE, I AM NONE OTHER, THAN THE IRON TEEN SAMURAI!"
"Hi, Apollo," Athena said trying to stop the ringing in her ears.
"Polly!" shouted Trucy as she ran up to him.
"Uh…. Sorry Trucy. I guess I'm not a very good friend after all."
"What are you talking about, that was amazing!"
"What? Y-you mean you actually liked it?!"
"Did I? I thought it was amazing! You look like a real life super hero Polly!"
"You think so?"
"Absolutely!" Trucy, then turned to the rest of them and said, "Alright everyone, thank you for coming! We have some punch and snacks over there so feel free to help yourself!"
"Snacks?" said Larry as he jumped out of his costume.
"Well, it was fun while it lasted," said Ema as she proceeded to take the cumbersome costume off.
Edgeworth and Apollo both did the same, "Thank you so much for helping me today Prosecutor Edgeworth. If you weren't there, I don't know what I would have done."
"Don't mention it… I'm just glad it's finally over," Edgeworth stated glancing down at the Steel Samurai costume.
"Oh really," said Phoenix as he walked up to him, "It sure did sound as though you knew those lines pretty well, though. Almost by heart by the looks of i-"
"Wright, if you continue that train of thought, I want you to know that I'll have no regrets of unleashing the Steel Samurai's signature 'Early Summer Rain Jab' on you." Edgeworth said cutting him off. If Edgeworth hadn't said something so totally ludicrous, Phoenix would probably be trembling by the icy-cold stare that came his way. Thank goodness someone was knocking at the door.
"I'll get it," he said practically running for the door. What would be awaiting them this time, Phoenix wondered. Whatever it was, he was sure it couldn't be anything more shocking than Edgeworth in a Steel Samurai costume…. He couldn't have been more wrong. On the other side of the entrance were two people he wasn't expecting in the slightest, one was a timid little girl with charms placed on her forehead and the other was another samurai. The former's name was Jinxie, the daughter of the mayor of Tenma Town, and the foreboding figure standing next to her was Simon Blackquill, the fearsome Twisted Samurai of the Prosecutor's Office.
Apollo didn't waste any time greeting their new guests, "MERRY CHRISTMAS!"
"Hmph. Merry Christmas, Justice-dono," Blackquill responded as he entered the office.
"Merry Christmas, Mr. Demon Lawyer!" Jinxie shouted as she slapped a charm upon the young attorney's head.
Apollo, entirely shocked by this sudden assault, began to lose his balance and stumbled backward. "Our combined demon-fighting might must be too much for him," Jinxie remarked. "We need to remind him we know he's not a bad demon." She looked around. Her eyes landed on the hawk resting on the crazed samurai's shoulder and snapped her fingers. "Maybe Taka should reassure him that everything's alright. Do you think that would work?
A broad smile curved around Blackquill's lips and he nodded, "I'm certain of it." He shook his head in Apollo's direction and Taka flew towards him in an instant. Apollo's screams of pain and fear were overlooked by Gumshoe and Maggey's arrival shortly thereafter. As all the events of the evening unfolded before Edgeworth, he looked around and smiled. He was glad he didn't go straight home that night….
#
"… Hey Clay. M-Merry Christmas!" Apollo said trying to hold back his tears as he looked down at the grave, "It's so cold over here, but I'm sure you could have already guessed that, aha ha ha." …. "You see, the reason I stopped by Clay is because…. I miss you… I m-miss you so much…." He couldn't hold back anymore, Apollo dropped to his knees and began weep, "I'm sorry, Clay… sniff, I-I promised not to cry anymore….sniff, sniff."
"Apollo." He barely heard his name called and looked up. Standing behind him was Athena, holding a small present, "Oh, Apollo!" she exclaimed as she rushed over to him.
"A-Athena," he choked as he clung on to her. They stayed like that for some time. Athena hugged him as hard as she could, and he did the same as he cried in her arms. The present laid on the ground a few feet away, but it'll have to wait. She realized, this support that she was giving him, the kind that only she could give, was all that truly mattered on this night….