Reincarnate
PG-13: hobo angst, Edgeworth angst, unrealized love, PHOENIX BEING A BIG ALCHIE, etc...
By Muh Says The Cow, y'all
Summary: When a Phoenix dies, the reincarnation still remembers it's past life. When the past and present combine, it makes a bittersweet memory. (Edgeworth/Phoenix)
Part 1/2
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How many years had it been?
To many. I'm tired. I'm really, really tired, of the gore and the death. I'm tired of the bad people. Maybe that's who I'm tired of the most. The awful people who kill and hurt and rape... It hurts, to see these innocent people, shaking and scared as another prosecutor tries to give them a sentence they don't deserve. Why is it that I'm even needed? Shouldn't the system be perfect enough to find the correct killer? We have DNA, fingerprints, witnesses, and lie detectors... yet they still can't get it right.
Wright... right, heh, how many times have I heard that joke?
Maybe it's when Edgeworth left. He just... He went to Europe, and he never came back. Franziska was a good fight. So was Godot, though I got a few burns from that coffee on my head. And there were others. Not so noticeable... Once I turned into a famous, international 'Ace Attorney', people flocked to me, and prosecutors were filled with disdain over this new rookie. I still didn't accept a lot of people, but I got more money during that span. I finally moved out of the apartment and got a house. I even had enough to ride the taxi during the night instead of just hoofing it back to my house...
I felt so empty.
Edgeworth was gone. Maya was gone. Mia... has always been gone. There were few people left. I was so alone... Every once and awhile, Gumshoe would come visit. Larry never had enough time. (He was the creator of 'Larry's Weenie Land', a place that sells out hotdog carts, and they were really popular. It's ironic, how he went from a hotdog vendor to someone who helps people vend their own hotdogs so they can keep their own supermodel girlfriends happy...)
All I had was my work. And, I love being an attorney. It's been my life drive. But the whole time, it was for defending the innocent, whilst trying to find an old friend. Miles had gone away, like so many times before.
It's a noble deed, but the title of defender of the innocent wasn't as nice without a certain prosecutor to go against.
So I decided I would leave. I couldn't take it. I was slowly unraveling... the drinking nights would get longer, spill into days, one time a weak... Gumshoe said he was worried, Larry asked if I need some hotdogs to cheer up, and Maya even called back, wondering how 'Nick, Ace Attorney!' was doing...
I think I would have stayed, and wilted, if it were not that one night, I woke up suddenly. I remembered, back then, when I had helped Ema Skye. I had showed her my badge, like I had a habit of doing, to prove I was an attorney. (Yeah, I guess I am a little cocky...)
'Oh, I'd buy that for $50!'
'It's not for sale!... not yet, at least.'
The next day, I called Ema at college. We started with pleasantries, and then I told her I needed to talk to her. In her high-pitched voice, she invited me over to her dorm. I came.
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"Wow, Mr. Wright! You look... older." It was the first thing she said. I smiled thinly. Yes, I guess I did get older. More creases, wrinkles... Not in the best of shape. "But more distinguished. Very nice."
"Thanks, Ema..." I scratched the back of my head, looking away quietly, before asking her bluntly. "How much would you pay to have my badge?" The night before, I had taken out a large sum of money from the bank. In a week, I was planning on having most of it out.
She was quiet, as I had been, but then burst out into bubbles of sugary laughter. "What? Ah, aha, that's funny, but, um- do you still remember that conversation? Yeah, your badge was always cool, but-"
I smiled, exhausted, before reaching into the lapel of my coat and unpinning the badge. I held it up. "Since it's aged a bit, how about you just pay me 20$?"
Her eyes glittered. Ema was into the game of buy and sell; she had became a bit of a compulsive Ebay shopper in her older years... She took out a pen from behind her ears, and flipped out a small checkbook. "40$!"
"I can't make you pay that much, Ema, go for 30$ at the most..."
"40 dollars, Mr. Wright..."
"30$ and... And, your pin." I say suddenly, pointing to the little smiley face on her jacket. It's worn, like mine, but she eagerly plucks it off, scribbling in the little checkbook and tearing out the page.
"One 'Oh No!' face pin and thirty dollars, exactly- a good deal. Scientifically speaking, I think I got more out of this then you."
I smile, taking the pin and the check. In a week's time, I had left with a wallet filled with money and a small note for Gumshoe.
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Hobo! 3 Reviews are appreciated, and I'll try to reply to all of them.