September 24, 1:40 am
Prosecutor's Offices
Working until late was a thing of the every day, just as he was in that moment at his office, drinking tea and reading all kind of archives that were over his desk.
Miles Edgeworth was an interesting man. As a Prosecutor he was feared, he was the Demon Prosecutor, but there's a part of his life that the public would never know. He was a Templar.
It all began when he was a kid. He had born into another Order; the Assassin's Brotherhood, being his father the Master of the local Order. Miles admired him, he was a noble and good man that tried to help his people in every way he could, he was like a hero to him. But one day, he was betrayed by his subordinates and killed in cold blood, leaving Miles as an orphan, all alone.
He then met Manfred Von Karma, a powerful Templar Master who took him under his wing and raised him like if he was his own child, he taught him all he needed to know to become a Templar and later Miles joined the Order with the goal of hunting down the Assassins that had killed his father. He despised them. He studied to become a Prosecutor and chase the Assassins from the courtrooms too, he was a key member for the Templars due to his talent and power.
However, after years of hunting Assassins he never imagined that the next one would actually came to him, right at his door.
The lights of the office went out for a minute, Miles instantly knew that something was wrong and took his weapon, watching at every nook and cranny of his office. Assassins were tricky, but also foolish, this one was fool enough to play with the lights but also leave the door open, he had to be close to it. Edgeworth slowly came closer, aware of his surroundings, but then he realized that the Assassin was nowhere to be seen and that the door showed signs of being opened by a trick and not by hand like he expected. He turned around in worry and right in that instant someone jumped like a tiger at him.
They struggled but the man that attacked him was far too strong and skilled, the fight ended with Edgeworth being pressed against a wall, a blade pointing at his neck and his lip bleeding from a deep cut. Just now Miles was able to take a look at his assailant; it was a man, tall and strong, he was wearing a blue coat and his signature hood covered his face pretty well, all he could distinguish was that the man had a scar in his lip.
"Assassin!" growled Edgeworth.
"Miles Edgeworth" mumbled the Assassin in a low voice, he refused to look at him directly.
"Just do it! You Assassins are all a buch of blood thirsty animals, dialogue and words are too much for you."
The assassin pressed his blade just enough to draw a little blood.
"You don't despise us Assassin's that bad, you still wear his blade after all. I knew it." His hand was holding Miles' arm, the one in which he wielded his father's hidden blade. "You are his son, you're the son of Master Gregory Edgeworth!"
"Like you care! You killed him!"
"No. He wasn't murdered by the Order, and I will prove it!"
"Nonsense!"
"I'm investigating this case, the story you think you know it's wrong, you have to have the courage to search for the truth!" Miles caught a glipse over the Assassin's strong blue eyes, they shined in a way he hasn't seen before. "Some rogue Assassins are coming to kill you, you need to run away right now, find a safer place until everything calms down."
"Rogue Assassins? All assassins are rogues. And why I should take your word?"
The Assassin flinched and seemed to hesitate for a moment, then he pulled down his hood to reveal his face.
"Wright?!" Miles knew the man, they had met as kids and later in life they fought in the courtroom as lawyer and prosecutor. Wright had defended a young girl accused of murdering her own sister and ended up defeating him, that was the last time he had saw him but back then he looked naïve, proper of a rookie lawyer. Now his expresion was serious and his clothes weird.
"I have no reason to lie to you."
Then Wright punched Miles in the head and the world turned black, as his concience slipped away the words he had just heard stayed dancing in his mind "I'll prove it!"…
He hoped so.
llllllllllllllllllllllllll
December 14, 11:34 pm
"Damn it!" cursed Phoenix as he ran. He was being chased by a bunch of guards since blocks ago, he had been running for what felt like an eternity and his legs were starting to give up.
The rain helped him to get out of their sight and hide in an alley. When he felt that he couldn't move anymore he pressed his back against the cold wall and slowly slipped down until he found himself sat in the floor. His breath was very agitated, his right hand was pressing his shoulder trying to stop the blood that flowed like a river from a wound he had received. He had heard the crack of many guns but one lucky bastard managed to hit him while he was climbing a building, it made him fall and hit the ground hard, he was sure that he had at least broken something but the adrenaline kicked in and he was able to move. But now it was slowly fading away and the pain started to take the best of him.
"How many times did Maya tell you that you weren't a field assassin…that your place was at the courtrooms…how many…" he murmured, closing his eyes "you have to move, Phoenix. She will be mad at you but she can patch you up…" he was trying to give himself the courage to move but his body wasn't responding, he was feeling dizzy and weak. "C'mon…get up…"
He then heard steps and the fear forced his body to move but not for so long. When his knees bent by themselves he looked desesperately for a hiding place, he found a trash container; "Worse is nothing" and approached to it. But his sight blurred badly and soon he found himself laying in the floor, unable to lift even an arm.
"I'm sorry…Maya…"
The guards stayed behind looking for the Assassin, he had stolen some information and tried to escape. Edgeworth found himself looking for the thief, he walked right into the darkest places he could find knowing too well that Assassins tend to be fond of them. He discovered that he was right when he entered an alley and found a man in the floor, laying on his stomach, he lighted him with his lantern and saw a blackish stain that was spreading through his back, he was badly wounded but alive.
Miles knew that he had to kill him, that was the protocol, he pulled out his gun and pointed at the man's head, he didn't want to make him suffer more. But when the time to pull the trigger came his hand trembled, he couldn't bring his finger to fire the gun.
Why? This was a part of the job, this had to be done. He was a proud Templar, one of the best ones and the best option to became the Grand Maestre, he couldn't have doubt in his heart. He knew it would happen some day.
And yet, he never shot.
He sighed and put his gun back at his pocket, he looked at the man and hoped that his wound would kill him eventually, but then he recognized the blue clothes. He kneeled and pulled down the hood of the Assassin to confirm his doubts and they were immediately cleared when he saw the unmistakable black and spiky hair.
"Curses!" he checked his pulse while pulling out his phone with his other hand. "Detective, I need to ask you for a favor…"
llllllllllllllllllllllllll
Phoenix woke up slowly, his entire body ached but it was specially bad at his shoulder, he felt that it was tightly bandaged. He was on a fancy looking coach and he noticed as well that his hidden blade was missing.
"Don't move" he turned his head and saw a man sat next to him, pointing a gun at his head. It was Edgeworth. Phoenix knew that it meant that he was captured by the Templars; he was as good as dead. Unless he could bluff his way out.
"You won't shot me, you're not a murderer." he said.
"How would you know?"
"If you wanted me dead you would have left me at the alley."
"I want information."
"I refuse to talk, it doesn't matter what you do to me."
"Like if. You like to bluff, don't you? The door when you attacked me, the courtroom, your attitude right now. You're sweating bullets and still you have that defiant look, you will not deceive me." Edgeworth held his gun stronger, a shadow filled his eyes "I've done it before, killing, I mean."
"You didn't kill your father."
Edgeworth jumped.
"H-how did you know? See? You know a lot about that incident! A lot about me! Just what in heavens do you want?!" He yelled, Phoenix flinched.
"I want to save you, Edgeworth."
"What?"
"I know that you haven't forgotten us, the Assassins. You wanted to be like your father, you wanted freedom and truth! I wish to save you from Von Karma and the Templars."
"I don't remember asking you for help…" he sighed "…yet."
"Huh?"
"I need your assistance, I must find that so called truth, there's so much doubt in my heart a Templar should not hesitate. But, the Grand Maestre…I don't fully trust him anymore."
"So you have your doubts on Von Karma too. However, you can't confront him directly, you would be killed. And, exactly which truth are we talking about?"
"Ngooh! I thought we were talking about the same thing! You said you were investigating it as well! The information you stole days ago was about Von Karma, don't try to fool me!"
"D-days ago?" Phoenix paled "How many?"
"Two…I honestly thought that you would not make it. You were so lucky, it was a clean wound, the bullet missed vital organs but you lost an awful lot of blood, you were unconscious for two days. You're pretty bruised too, I guess you fell from a high place."
"Maya…" he tried to get up but a sharp pain stopped him, Edgeworth got nervous and jumped to his feet, still pointing the gun. "I will kill you if you did something to her!"
"Your assistant? She's safe, I sent someone to keep an eye on her, I'm not a monster."
"Oh, thank god…" Phoenix relaxed and went limp in the coach again, touching his shoulder and furrowing his brow in pain. "Your father's death…" he changed the topic "that's the case you're talking about."
"Yes. You will cooperate with me to find out who was the true culprit. You already poked your nose into this so you must know something already."
Phoenix smiled.
"That's why you saved me?"
"…" Edgeworth finally lowered his gun, he was also avoiding to look at him. "No, you saved my life that time, even if you left a mark I still owed you." He touched the scar of his cut lip "You can walk away of this if you want to and you will owe me nothing, but if you decide to stay know that a wrong step of yours and I won't hesitate to take you down."
"Undestood. I will help you, I too need some answers."
"About what?"
"You may eventually know." Phoenix looked bad, he was pale and was sweating a lot, he closed his eyes and just focused on breathing. Edgeworth took a box and a glass of water from his desk and offered them to Phoenix.
"Here, painkillers, the doctor said that it would be painful. I need you on your feet as soon as possible."
"Thank you"
"Hmph…just rest and heal fast."
He may be cold and rude, but Phoenix knew that the Miles Edgeworth he once knew was still in there, just like he thought…
llllllllllllllllllllllllllll
"GRAAAAAGHH!" screamed Von Karma as he fell defeated to the floor of his office. He had tried to fought against the two men in front of him but they were far too skilled, more than he expected.
"So, it's true!" yelled Edgeworth, wielding his father's hidden blade."YOU killed my father and framed the Assassins for it! I lived all this time under you…under your lies! All this time you made me believe that I had killed him by accident…"
"DAMN YOU, EDGEWORTH!" Von Karma looked so mad, almost like if he could suffer a heart attack at any time."You! Of all people, had to say that! You, a dirty traitor!"
"Traitor? You based your entire power in nothing but lies and cheap tricks, it was only a matter of time before it crumbled down on itself."
"You brought this man here! Do you know exactly who he is?" he was talking about Phoenix who stood right next to Edgeworth. "Phoenix Wright! The New Master Assassin!"
Edgeworth looked surprised at Phoenix, he couldn't be…
"We were about to eliminate the Assassins, we had them cornered, there was more templars undercover inside the Assassin Order than actual Assassins. We had finally taken down Mia Fey, the Master! But then…this…BASTARD turned around the tables!" he pointed at Phoenix menacingly "the Assassins stole an animus a month ago and suddenly a competent Assassin shows up out of nowhere. You didn't think it was strange for a dumb lawyer to know perfectly how to wield a hidden blade? How to climb up a building like a spider? Our database said that he had an special ancestor, a legendary Assassin called Naruhodou Ryuunosuke. Mia Fey trained him to be the next Master with the animus!"
"M-Mia Fey, you don't mean…" mumbled Miles.
"Yes! The same victim from that case you lost at the courtroom! You sent Reed White, one of the most powerful Templar allies, to prison. Just as this man wanted!"
"Wait, if you considered that I sent him to prison then you thought of me as a traitor since then…that time, when an attempt against my life was made, you sent them to kill me! They were no rogue Assassins, they were the undercover Templars. You were going to kill me just like my father!"
"That's right, Edgeworth." Said Phoenix, giving a step forward "Mia joined the Brotherhood years ago to find the truth about his mother's dissapearance, she was believed to be silenced by the police but Mia discovered the truth, she found out that it had to do with the Templars, that they had treathened her mother to keep silence about a certain case that compromised the Templar Order. It was this case, she swore to find out the truth about it and with that land a huge blow to the Templars, bring peace to her mother and make the Brotherhood stronger. But then she came too close to the truth and Von Karma managed to silence her. When Mia was killed the Brotherhood faced the worst crisis it had ever seen, the few members remaining lost all hope. It's true that Mia was training me but I wasn't ready, I still had a lot to learn, a lot to find out. I discovered the plot to kill you and decided to act, with that I did not only saved your life but also pinpointed the double agents. That's when the Brotherhood started to believe in me, but I had a weight over my shoulders; I wanted to catch Mia's real killer, I wanted to ensure that Maya could live safe, I wanted to save you too, Edgeworth. It all came down to just one man…and I finally have him just in front of me."
Von Karma kneeled.
"So, you're going to kill me next, I assume."
"No." Aswered Phoenix firmly, causing a surprised look on Von Karma. "An Assassin is not the same as a murderer."
"Are you kidding me? That's all you do!"
"I don't believe so, there's so much more to being an Assassin than just that, Mia believed so but I just couldn't understand it, until now, until I worked side by side with you, Edgeworth. To say that "Nothing is true" means that we must doubt everything, everyone, that we must find the truth by ourselves even if it's a painful one. "Everything is permitted", tells me that I should not hesitate to do all I can to reach that truth, to find the light…" Edgeworth looked amazed at him, to have such a solid determination was something that he didn't expected from him, he sounded like a true Master, he sounded like…his father. "I want to have the people believing in justice again, in our judicial system. You shall be judged and face your punishment according to law, Von Karma!"
"HAHAHAHAHA, are you seriously that naïve? That foolish? I'M THE GRAND MAESTRE, I control everything and everyone! Law can't touch me!"
"You're wrong…" said Edgeworth."I will personally prosecute you, you won't escape…your tyrany over the Templars will come to an end too, you will hereby name me Grand Maestre, right here, right know."
"W-what? Grand Maestre? YOU, a born Assassin! I would prefer to die!"
"That's alright for me." Edgeworth smiled "The documents Wright stole were all yours, I read them. In your testament you named me the next Maestre, you didn't have the chance to change it because you were out of the country when you thought of me as a traitor and as soon as you returned Wright stole it. You always thought of me as your mindless minion, but I'm not anymore. It's over, Von Karma."
"AAAAGHHHHHH!" Von Karma screamed in frustration."I had to destroy them, I was so close! If it wasn't for that goddamned Gregory Edgeworth the Assassins would have dead long ago! He had evidence against one of our members, if he exposed it our secret would be revealed and my organization would be dismantled! I killed him and thought that I was done, I took you in to destroy the last speck of him over this world, to destroy his ideas! It was all your fault, Phoenix Wright! You had to apart him from our cause!"
"The Assassins are not a person, they are an ideal, an ideal you will never destroy!" answered Edgeworth "Same goes for the Templars, you're far too corrupted, Von Karma, your ideals are those from a century ago. Your Order? Templars are all about order, about peace. We use the power as our weapon but when tyrans like you have that much power our true purpose ends up buried! I shall get us back to our tracks! I shall reach that peace!"
Manfred Von Karma stayed quiet, defeated at least.
Miles Edgeworth was now the man he was destined to be; a born Assassin as the head of the Templar Order. He had the power and ideals to finally put an end to the war between Assassins and Templars, but, would that work? Would his effforts achieve something? Only time could tell now.
But with Phoenix at his side, he finally started to believe that such a future was possible...
