Disclaimer: Not mine. Not making a profit. Too bad for me.
Author's Notes: I was updating another story of mine and saw this on my hard drive. I wrote it back in 2008 and posted it to the Ace Attorney Livejournal community after beating Trials and Tribulations. I remember feeling a distinct lack of closure as far as Godot was concerned, and wrote this to give myself an ending. It was well-received on LJ so I thought I'd let everybody here read. Reviews are my love and are greatly appreciated.
oooooooooooooooo
It had been Maya's idea to visit him in the hospital. Godo-no, Mr. Armando, Phoenix mentally reminded himself, had been taken there immediately following the trial. He supposed that the prosecutor's weakened condition, combined with a knife wound that had gone untreated for three days had prompted the judge to send him for treatment before the appeal. After that, who knew what would happen?
They arrived at the Hotti Clinic at 7:00 pm, after managing to extract themselves from Gumshoe and his overenthusiastic celebration party. Phoenix reflected that he was lucky on two counts. First, Diego Armando was not considered a flight risk, so there was little more in the way of security than a police officer on the couch in the waiting room watching a Steel Samurai rerun on the battered old television set. Second, given that the patient in question was a male, "Director" Hotti was nowhere to be found, to Maya and Pearl's immense relief.
Maya entered the room first, but stood in the entrance, rocking back and forth, apparently unsure of how to begin to speak to the man who had saved her life. Phoenix supposed that they had come here so she could thank him properly (one of the reasons he had agreed so quickly to come), but now she seemed at a loss for words.
It wasn't so hard to see why. The visor was nowhere to be seen, and a large bandage covered the bridge of his nose where Phoenix assumed the cut must have been. Some antibiotics sat on the service table nearby. Phoenix assumed stitches, and was grateful for Pearl's sake that the prosecutor didn't seem to be bleeding. Godot was simply lying on his back, staring sightlessly up towards the ceiling, oblivious to the beeping equipment around him and the new arrivals into his room.
"M-Mr. Armando?" Maya managed to squeak, her voice an octave higher than Pearl's. The latter grabbed her older cousin's hand in encouragement.
Diego inclined his head ever so slightly in Maya's direction, though his eyes never moved. "Miss Fey." His voice was raspy.
Maya moved closer to stand by his bedside. "I-I wanted to tell you thank you." She paused. "Thank you, and…I'm sorry. I'm sorry about my sister because I know you loved her and about my mother, I don't blame you in the slightest and I just wanted you to know that I'm grateful you saved me, and I'm sorry this had to happen to you. And I-" she cut off. There was nothing else to say. "And you don't have to call me Miss Fey. You can call me Maya… if you want," she added quickly.
He had remained silent through the outburst, but just then, Diego grinned. "Maya. You gotta say what you mean. That's one of my rules. And if that's what you mean, thanks. But you don't have to worry about me. It's over for me, and you should go out and enjoy your celebrations instead of being here. Get Trite to take you out for coffee. You can put some sugar in it. The dark bitterness without something sweet lurking in its depths wouldn't suit you."
Maya waited. But Diego just lay there. He turned his head back away from the young spirit medium, the conversation over. She swallowed, "Alright…I…I guess I'll see you later. I mean, I could testify at the appeal, or something…" she looked pleadingly towards Phoenix, who nodded. Taking a few steps back, with still no sign from Diego, she left the room with Pearl in tow.
"You did what you could," Phoenix told her in the hallway. "I think he needed to hear that."
Maya shook her head emphatically. "No, he didn't need that. Not from me. He needs…" he trailed off. "He needs Sis," she finished. "I'll be back in a minute, alright?" And with that, she turned on her heels and went back into the room.
"Mr. Nick, what does she mean?" Pearl asked, looking up at Phoenix. "She's right," the defense attorney said quietly. "Pearls, Mia is…" he searched for the right words. "Mia was Mr. Armando's 'special someone'"
"Oh! I see. And he's lonely and sad, so Mystic Maya's going to let him talk to Mystic Mia so he'll feel better!" Pearl smiled, pleased with herself for understanding. Mystic Maya was such a kind person!
oooooooooooooooo
Diego sighed at the sound of the door opening. Was he fated to spend this evening being interrupted, never to be left alone with his thoughts? He opened his mouth to berate whomever had seen fit to disturb him this time, when a voice silenced him.
"Diego."
"M…Mia…" he breathed. He turned his head, his eyes straining to see her, even though he knew he never could. He shut his eyes and sighed when he felt her hand cup his cheek. "You're…you were…"
"Maya," Mia supplied by way of explanation. "She's channeling me. She thought you might like to talk."
He grinned, "I'd like to do a whole lot more than talk, kitten," as he reached up to hold her hand in his own.
She laughed. "I'm not using my sister's first kiss on you. That wouldn't be right. And as for the other thing-"
They were interrupted by a scuffling sound as the door swung open behind her. "Mr. Armando! It's time for your medicine!"
Diego decided that this particular doctor was entirely too cheerful about the pair of syringes he knew the man to be holding. He groaned. "I don't want my medicine. Leave it here and I'll take it later."
"Mr. Armado, you know as well as I do that you need to take it now. Here." The doctor rolled up Diego's left sleeve and inserted a syringe into his arm, pushing the plunger down deftly. "There, that wasn't so bad, was it?" He reached for the other and Diego's arm shot out and stopped it. "You know that stuff makes me sick. Leave it so I can talk with my lady friend and I'll take it as soon as I'm done."
The doctor paused, clearly unwilling to leave his charge, but then he turned to Mia. "Make sure he takes it, ma'am." He said, as he made to leave. "Mr. Armando hasn't been feeling too well today, and we don't want him skipping his medicine just because he's in a bad mood." He gave a mock tut-tuting, accompanied by a rather ridiculous finger-shaking gesture that Mia had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing at, before disappearing through the door.
Mia watched the door swing shut behind him. "What's it for?" she asked, indicating the syringe in Diego's hand.
"Stimulants. The poison killed my nervous system. Twice a week I go in for electrical therapy. Stimulants every two hours to keep me running. I'm like a run-down engine, kitten. They keep restarting me, and I keep going."
Mia sighed and ran her fingers through his hair. "It's selfish of me, isn't it? I thought when…when I died it would be okay, because you'd be there to welcome me. But you're the one who ended up staying behind."
Diego's eyes seemed even more unfocused, as though he was trying to see something beyond the world he found himself trapped in. "Hey kitten,"
"Hm?"
"When I go, will you be there to welcome me?" He fingered the ring on his left hand.
"Of course. There was never any other. There never will be."
"Me either. Is it nice there?"
"I'm not allowed to say. But you'll be able to see again."
"Good. Hey, can you change clothes when you're dead?"
"I've never tried, but I suppose you could, why?"
"I'd really like to see you in that hot red number you wore to the Christmas party that one time." He laughed, wishing he could see her face.
Mia managed a glare at him for a moment before deciding it was no good, and joined in with a slight giggle. "Only if you're very good…"
"What if I'm very bad?"
"You can't be bad when you're dead."
"I'm all set then."
"Diego?"
"I told you, right? A lawyer can't cry 'till its over. And it's been over. Promise me you'll be there to see me."
"Diego, you shouldn't, you could still-"
He cut her off. "I don't want to. It's done. I don't have a reason anymore. Promise me."
"I promise."
Diego Armando smiled. Then he lifted up his left hand and smashed the syringe against the metal bedpost. Its lifesaving fluid drained to the floor, mixing with the man's blood. But he continued to smile. "It'll be good to see you again, kitten."
"I'll stay with you," she whispered. "Just give me a moment." And with that, she stood up and opened the door, poking her head out into the hallway. Phoenix, sitting in a chair with Pearl in the waiting area, looked up, clearly surprised to see her instead of Maya. She beckoned him in and gestured for him to sit in the guest chairs near the wall before she shut the door.
"Tell Maya," she paused, unsure what to tell him. "Phoenix, tell Maya thank you. And tell him that he's happy for what she did." And with that, she went and sat on the edge of Diego's bed, and took her soul mate's hand.
They didn't have long to wait. The only sound was that of the heart monitor, methodically beeping, slower and slower. The stimulants had to be taken every two hours and his time was more than up, even with the first one doing its best to keep his body running. Diego never said a word the entire time, just kept a firm squeeze on Mia's hand. Finally, his breath began to hitch, and the grip on her hand slackened. "I should go," she said softly. "So I'm there to meet him." Mia stood up, and kissed two fingers of her hand, pressing the kiss over both of Diego's eyes, shutting them. Then she sat in the chair between Phoenix and Pearl and left her sister's body. Just as Maya was stirring on her own, she was jolted awake by the sound of the heart monitor flat-lining. Diego Armando had passed from this world.
"Nick? He's gone, isn't he?" Maya whispered.
"Yeah," Phoenix replied. "Mia said he was happy. And to say thank you."
The spirit medium blinked back the tears that were forming in her eyes. "I'm glad I was able to help a little."
oooooooooooooooo
As his body died, the spirit awoke. Diego Armando's eyes blinked open, and he sat up, stretching luxuriously. He looked back, and saw his own body. He looked forward, and saw Maya crying softly as Trite was at the door calling for a doctor. But it looked like she was smiling. And Pearl was telling her that Mr. Arm-ahdo had gone to be with his special someone, so it was going to be okay.
He stood up, stepping out of his body, and almost ran into Mia Fey. Whom he could see, in all her glory. And he decided that living or dead, he had never seen anyone more beautiful.
"Mia," he whispered, and kissed her. He was delighted to find that he could kiss her, and she could kiss him back.
She pulled away then, and smiled. "Come on. We'll go meet your new mother-in-law. And you can see anyone else you like. And then we can come back and see how they're doing," she gestured towards the trio, and the small army of doctors who had entered the room and were expressing disgust over the broken syringe they had found on the floor.
"My new mother-in-law?" Diego asked, raising an eyebrow. "You think she'll have me?"
"I know she will."
"Alright then. And what's after that?"
"We visit friends. We see how living friends are doing. And we figure out how I can get myself a little red dress."
Diego threw back his head and laughed, a true laugh, without any irony, and smiled, as he had never had since she had disappeared from his life. "Sounds like a plan, kitten."