Title: Mind's Eye
Fandom: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
Rating: T
Summary: In which the Fey family power is vastly different, and the world as a whole is not the same.
I.
Maya Fey is two years old, and she is visiting the City for the first time.
She does not know what the trip is for, only that she has begged and pleaded to be allowed to come until her mother relented; big sister is going as well, but she's older and is expected to go anyway. She's the heir, after all, and Mama the Master has important business to do in the City. Maya doesn't know what this business is, yes, but it doesn't matter because she's going to the City she's heard all about from all the adults who say this might as well be a good learning experience for her and her powers.
Maya Fey is only two years old, but she's mastered her powers very much. She can see through all the shimmery and sparkling colors all the adults wear and can make them go away just as easily. She's isn't a baby.
The argument is won. The day comes, and little Maya proudly wears her acolyte robes and brushes her hair so that it is extra straight and shiny and can hardly keep from jumping up and down in her excitement, because she is going to the City.
She can hardly wait to get there.
Maya Fey is two years old and she is terrified.
She did not expect to see so many people.
She did not expect to see so much… everything.
Quiet little Kurain village with all its gentle, muted colors is suddenly nothing in the face of this cacophony of colors and shapes; she can't shut them off, can't make them go away. There's too many, too much power, and it is all too much for a little girl of two years old to bear.
Her eyes burn; the pain is crippling.
By the time the family reaches their destination she has already melted in to tears, burying her face into Mama's clothes as she tries to shield her watering eyes. Quiet words are exchanged. Big sister leads her to a quiet room devoid of life, and a stranger brings a cool cloth to drape over her face. There Maya stays for the duration of Mama's important business, shivering as big sister strokes her hair and whispers encouragement. Little Maya is grateful to have someone at her side, and she loves her sister all the more for it. With her aching eyes covered and a soothing voice in her ear, she sleeps, drifting from the world into the realm of dreams.
She doesn't wake until hours later, in the arms of her mother as she is carried home.
A pity, say the adults. Her power is not yet strong enough. It is too soon for her to see the world; more training, more concentration is needed. She will not be going to the City again. Not soon.
Maya is upset, but accepts their words with a silent promise to herself. Next time she'll be stronger. Next time she'll have more control.
And so she trains.
Trains as rumors sweep the village in the days following.
Trains as her mother withdraws from the adults, from her children.
Trains as Mama disappears without a word.
Trains as, years later, big sis leaves too, and she is all alone.
Maya trains her mind and body in the big, empty house left all to her, as she is left behind.
After all, there is nothing else left for her.
Maya Fey is seventeen years old, and she dreams of the City.
She knows she left the village at one point, years ago, but she can't remember much of it; her eyes tingle when she tries, and her mind conjures dancing pillars of color— but nothing else. The last time she went hadn't been good for her, she is told, but it can't have been that bad. Anything would be overwhelming to a toddler, and she's practically an adult now.
Besides, she's never been outside the village since. What exactly is the point of her training, she complains, if she never has the chance to practice it?
Her elders stop talking about the City at this point, and she hasn't made much progress in the argument since then.
Maya has a few things from the outside world, at least. Television, for one. She watches her favorite show on it, but she also watches the news segment and documentaries that pop up every now and then. She also has a phone, but the phone itself doesn't count for much since it only has one number in it anyway: her big sis's number.
Mia is probably the one true link she has to the outside. She calls at least once a month to check in on her sister, and is more than happy to share any and all of her experiences in the City. Maya drinks up every call with eager abandon, locking herself in her room and bombarding the older Fey with question after question. They'll spend hours talking if they aren't careful, staying up late into the night until one of them is too tired to talk.
If she's especially lucky, Mia Fey will come back to Kurain for a visit… and business. Though it's never stated outright, apparently being a Lawyer is a risky undertaking at time, and more often than not Maya will find herself in possession of evidence, one kind or another, that Mia doesn't feel comfortable keeping in her office. It's a bit thrilling, like a Steel Samurai episode, though at times Maya is a little worried that the bad guys might sneak into Kurain in order to destroy incriminating evidence.
Mia usually laughs at her when she says this, so she doesn't bring up the fact that she worries about her sis, too, especially if she's being driven to secure evidence in such a way.
Then again, Mia Fey is powerful. No way she'd be taken out by a bad guy so easily.
…Quite honestly, Maya lives for those long phone calls and visits. The intensity of the waiting isn't that healthy for her these days; Maya figures she's starting to go a little stir crazy being cooped up at home, but no one will let her just waltz out of the village on her own, even if she is the next Master-In-Training, and she hates them a bit for that. Arguments have been a little more heated these days, too…
…this makes the phone call one early September day all the more welcome.
It's a little out of the blue. Usually Mia calls later in the month, but Maya isn't complaining, not with the way she answers on the first ring and sprints to her room in record time, slamming the door as she goes.
"Hello? This is Maya!" She blurts out all in a rush, winded from the run and anxious to hear Mia's voice again— she isn't disappointed as there is laughter from the speaker.
"Hey Maya, it's me," says Mia Fey, and she can hear the smile even through the phone. Maya stifles her gleeful giggles as she slides down to the floor.
"Mia! What's up? You haven't called in a while."
There is a sigh. Big sis sounds somewhat guilty. "Sorry I haven't called for a bit… it's been busy. How have you been?"
"Well, lonely, for one… no thanks to you." She lays on the pouting for this, but is quick to bounce back. "Nah, just teasing! I think I've finally gotten used to having the house to myself."
"Good to hear," Mia says, accepting the humor, but lapses into a short silence. Gathering her thoughts, Maya realizes. Suddenly this call doesn't appear to be a social one. "I'm coming up to Kurain later today… I have a favor to ask."
Maya feels her heart skip a beat. "Let me guess," she says, "You want me to hold evidence, huh?"
The laugh and compliment on her sharp analytical skills are nice, but somewhere along the line Maya feels her heart start pounding like a marathon runner in the middle of a race; that is to say, it wasn't fear she was experiencing, but rather… an impending sense of victory. Sure enough, big sis has a favor to ask… again. The kind that involves evidence, and the hiding thereof. There's a big trial in the making— a gathering storm. It might not be safe, Mia says, keeping the evidence in one place.
She had a meeting until late, and so if Maya didn't mind staying up could she please—
"W-Wait, Sis!"
Mia stops mid-sentence, surprised. Her mind stalls for a split second and Maya stutters, but only briefly— "I'll come! I'll come and get the evidence myself, how's that?"
…and lays out her hopes on the line.
Radio silence falls. Big Sis is quiet— too quiet, for a longer amount of time than Maya likes. She fiddles with her sash, unconsciously wiping down sweaty palms and trying to ignore the sharp ache where she's been sitting on her leg enough for it to fall asleep, and—
"I—I don't— that's a sudden question, Maya." The reply comes at last, and she abruptly forgets about her tingling leg.
"Please please please say yes," Maya begs, "Look, I'm going nuts in this place! The adults won't let me go outside the village but if you say it's okay then they'll have to let me go a-and-and think of it as training or something please—"
"Maya, stop." Mia Fey is calm, but the words are as heavy as an anvil. Maya shuts up. She hears the elder Fey draw a quiet breath on the other end of the line, apparently thinking. Preferably in her favor. There is a short pause. "…Are you sure that's a good idea, Maya? You haven't exactly completed your training, after all."
Somehow the annoyance drowns out the anything else.
"Oh, come on!" Maya voices her feelings accordingly. "I've done nothing but train for… for years! There is literally nothing else to do here!"
"I thought you liked watching that TV show? That samurai one?"
"…Okay, I train and watch Steel Samurai, but that's not much better and you know it."
Mia pauses again, and Maya takes this as her cue to defend her case, so to speak.
"Look, I think it's safe to say I've already completed my training," she says in a lower, more persuasive tone. "I've memorized everyone's faces here— both versions. I don't even need to think about it anymore. I mean, I'm gonna need to practice with a wider audience at some point, how can I gauge how far along I am if I don't have anything more challenging to take on—"
"Objection! You can't claim you've completed your training, but state you have no clue where you stand."
"Wha—!? Hey, Sis! This isn't a trial!"
…Still, she feels she might have an edge here; Mia had teased her with that objection. Obviously she needs to press this angle further.
"Level of training aside, just… think about it, Mia!" Maya pleads one last time, one last appeal. "I've never left the village. Not once. How am I supposed to train like this…. Live like this?"
Just like that, her throat tightens. Those last words she tacked on for dramatic effect don't feel that off the mark. "I-I want to see the world, is that so wrong? Pretend I'm an apprentice becoming a journeyman. Just— please let me come. One trip. That's all I want. I won't even ask again."
"Maya…" Big Sis seems at a loss for words. "…You know, you have been to the city before," she says softly, a hum over the line, "It, um, didn't turn out well."
"But… I was like, two, right? Of course it wouldn't turn out well," Maya shoots back, a little uncertain. "I'm… loads stronger now… right? That's counts for something, doesn't it?"
Silence.
More Silence.
Mia Fey thinks.
Maya Fey feels hope slip out of her fingers bit by bit…
"…o'clock."
She jumps.
"Wait, what?"
"Nine o'clock," Mia repeats, "That's when my pre-trial meeting gets out. It'll be pretty late. You have my address, right? Catch a cab to my office, there's plenty outside the station. Tell you what, you might as well stay over and make a night out of it, I'm not sending you home at that hour—"
Maya's triumphant shout and subsequent pumping of fists sends her phone flying away. She so excited that it takes five minutes to properly find it and pick it up again, and when she does Mia is laughing at her but she doesn't care because Maya Fey is going to the city.
"Thankyouthankyouthankyou—" she chants, running in silly circles around her room while Big Sis is forced to say her name multiple times to get her attention.
"This is the best day ever!" the younger Fey bursts out at last, out of breath and wheezing in delight, "I'll pack an overnight bag, this is the greatest—"
"Hey, stop shouting! You're hurting my ears, jeez." Mia laughs softly. "…You like burgers, right? We can go out for some city food, you'll like that. And— oh." She laughs again, more to herself. "...You can meet my junior partner. He just won his first trial, actually."
She's a little too wound up to properly care, but the mention tweaks her attention all the same.
"Oh, yeah! Um… that guy." Uh-oh. She can't remember his name. What was it…? "Er, that guy...Wrong...?"
"Phoenix Wright, you doofus."
"I knew that! What kind of guy is he, anyway? You don't talk about him much. Ooh, actually," her voice lowers in a conspiring manner, "What is he? Anything cool?
"Well, where do I start? He's…" Oddly, Mia sounds… a little reluctant. "…You are up to date on your training, right? Meeting him might be a little, um, overwhelming for you?"
"Wait, what?" Maya asks a bit bemusedly, "Is he really ugly or something?"
"No! Definitely not. Phoenix is… he's… well, let's just say he's a bit… dazzling."
That's all she'll say on the matter. "But enough on my junior partner," Big Sis says, changing the subject to more important things, "The evidence I have, you might like it."
"Ooh, what is it?"
"It's… a clock."
Hours later, that very same day, a train pulls into a station. The doors open, releasing a small stream of passengers onto the platform.
Maya Fey is one of them.
The station is mostly empty given the time of night, and fairly contained. So are her nerves about this entire trip in general; not bad nerves, mind you, but around halfway to her destination her eyes had begun to sting with long-forgotten memories, and now Maya stands near the station exit, berating herself for freezing momentarily under the enormity of the entire expedition. Briefly she wishes Mia was there, to pick her up, but her insistence over her adulthood had won out that particular battle, which she kind of hated herself for now.
She takes a deep breath. Either way, she'd have to leave the station, which she is going to do. Right now.
Now.
…Now.
…a rowdy crowd of passengers, disembarking from a different train come sweeping up behind. They are loud and a little drunk, and without meaning they jostle Maya along with them, out of the platform and into the beyond…
Into the City.
At that moment her training kicks in, and Maya Fey sees.
And it is blinding.
All at once her eyes are watering, her pulse is racing, panic is setting in at an exponential rate. There are too many people, too many things too much color too much too much too—
Remember the training.
Breath.
Three.
Two.
One.
She closes her Eyes.
The colors fade. They don't disappear, not entirely— there's too much power for her to focus on it all at once, but the auras are now manageable and best of all— she'd fixed it all by herself. That thought alone makes her almost giddy again, until another crowd of exiting bystanders pushes past her and Maya remembers that she's standing all alone outside the train terminal, at nine o'clock at night.
She hurries to find a cab. Mia must be waiting.
There are so many things she wants to say to her sister, but most of all she wants to talk about the people and everything they are underneath. There are so many— so many bloodlines here, dozens more, hundreds more than in dinky little Kurain village, and she can't even hope to remember her studies enough to identify them all.
The cabby drops her off on the corner, right outside the office building where Fey & Co. Law Offices is located. Maya tries very hard not to stare too much at his forehead as she pays the fare, because one of her very first lessons was that it was really, really rude to stare past someone's glamour like that, something she'd all but forgotten the moment she stepped foot in the city…
She almost sprints inside— as much as her footwear lets her anyway (okay yeah she's taking the elevator up) and bounces in place as she jabs the button to her sister's floor (whoops some guy wanted her to hold the door… too late, sorry mister).
As the elevator rises she idly wonders what the mysterious junior partner is like, if Mia's cryptic description was anything to go by. Never mind; she'll find out, and the door is opening, yep, there's her sister's office, she's never actually seen a law office before, gosh this trip is gonna be great—
That's odd. The door is open, but all the lights are out. Didn't Big Sis say she'd be waiting…?
Maya Fey enters the office.
Her world ends.
It had to be a joke.
"…S-Sis?"
A big, stupid joke Mia was playing on her. She was going to look up and laugh at her any second now, and Maya was going to be so angry—
Oh god, there was blood. So much blood.
"M-Mia, say something… say something please…"
But… she'd been so happy.
So excited.
Her first real trip to the city—
"S-Sis…!"
Maya's emotions coil tightly in her chest, and begin to fester. The air hums. Control is slipping from her grasp quicker than water, and there are footsteps miles away, someone running, a voice shouting—
"Chief!"
Somehow she finds the energy to look up, no mean feat considering she's lost the ability to stand properly—
She looks up, and—
Light.
The vision hits her all at once. She'd stopped focusing on her Eyes the moment she'd stepped into the office, stopping focusing on anything at all except her sister—
Her eyes burn. There's too much light too much fire too much too much she can't control it can't shut it off—
"W-Who are you…?"
There is a figure underneath the conflagration she knows there is, heard his voice, but she can't see. Can't focus. Can't tear her streaming eyes away to save herself, to slam them shut and block out everything—
Maya can still see sunspots even as she loses consciousness, and surrenders to the merciful abyss.
.
.
.
.
.
...Hopefully this turns out the way I'm imagining it...? Anyway, first time in the AA archive, thanks for reading and hope you enjoy!