Disclaimer: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, and all related characters and whatnot, belong to Capcom, not me. Anything else mine, mine, mine. Make sure to tie your shoes before going on the escalator.
Author's Notes: Okayyy! My first PW fic! Scary! ... I suppose it would be a good idea to put a spoiler warning, wouldn't it? Er, yeah, it contains spoilers from both games. So, if you don't want spoilers, go play the game instead of wasting your time here. :) This fic takes place at some time between "Reunion, and Turnabout" and "Turnabout Big Top." I don't intend on having any character pairings, so don't get your hopes up. ;P I haven't played any of the imports, so if any of the story conflicts with the storyline past Justice for All, then I apologize. Just bear with me, mmkay? And it appears I'm rambling. Whoops, sorry. ;
Turnabout Phantoms: Chapter One
"There," Maya sighed, waving the match to extinguish the flame. A thin wisp of smoke trailed from its blackened tip as she flicked the ashen stub away. Out of all the preparations necessary to perform a formal channeling, the candle lighting was always the most tedious. Hundreds of tiny flames danced and flickered around the walls, illuminating the room with a soft light, shadows creeping out onto the floor. It was a strange phenomenon about the deceased - for whatever reason, they were attracted to natural light. The only thing that would provide more than the candles would be a bonfire, but for safety reasons, nobody would dare try to contain one in a room made almost entirely of bamboo, wood, and paper. The next step was always the incense. She struck another match, lighting several incense sticks and placing them in a clay jar. Almost immediately, the room was clouded with the thick scent. It always drove the asthmatics crazy, but everything was now in place, and preparations for the summoning were at last complete.
"Alright, everything's ready! You can come in now!" Maya called out, taking her seat on the tatami mat.
Her client stepped in silently, his clothes still a little bit damp from the rain. The storm was still raging on now; the sound of raindrops colliding with the roof confirmed that. A cynical expression was plastered on the man's face as he studied the decorations placed lavishly about the room. He wondered if all this was really necessary to summon one spirit, but decided not to question for simplicity's sake and kneeled on the cushion stoically, looking at the medium and awaiting instruction.
"You brought the item, right?" inquired Maya, extending her hand. That was another tradition with formal channelings; if the person had been deceased for over a year, an item that belonged to them (preferably something treasured) was usually necessary to pull their spirit from the Beyond.
"Oh, right," he replied, reaching into his coat pocket and pulling out something which glinted in the firelight. Upon uncurling his fingers, he revealed it to be a golden pocketwatch, one that had long since stopped ticking. Maya took the watch from his palm, closed her eyes, and pressed it between her hands, apparently trying to cast a charm of sorts upon it.
Her eyes fluttered open again, and she cast the man a heavy stare. "I'll have to ask you one more time: are you sure you want to do this? Channeling spirits is a very dangerous business. If you say or do anything to upset the spirit, the costs can be devastating. I can't be held responsible for... anything that might happen." Her fingers drummed uneasily against the sides of the watch. Maya's eyes subconsciously drifted to the floor, where Dr. Grey's corpse had been only months earlier. If one looked close enough, there was still dried blood underneath the cracks.
The client looked solemnly at her, and nodded. "Yes," he replied determinedly, a steady glow in his eyes. Maya couldn't tell if it was the firelight, or perhaps something more; but there wasn't a hint of doubt in his features. "This is absolutely necessary. There's something I need him to know."
Maya paused for a second, and took a deep breath. Even though all the precautions had been put in place, it was still pretty dangerous, summoning a spirit without someone as experienced as Aunt Morgan around to back her up... not that she would. She didn't want her second channeling to be her last; however, given the client was a dear friend, she was willing to take the risks involved. "I understand," she said finally, brushing a strand of ebony hair out of her face and placing the gold pocket watch delicately on the floor.
"I think we've gone over the procedure enough already, so let's begin, shall we, Mr. Edgeworth?"
It was another empty day in the office. Defense Attorney Phoenix Wright sat idly in his chair, drumming his fingers against the desk. Those law books. All those accursed, dust covered law books. They were laughing at him. They mocked him. He heaved a sigh, looking dreadfully at the shelves upon shelves of unopened texts. He knew he had to start reading them eventually; he couldn't rely on blind faith to win all his trials, after all.
Or at least that's what Mia had always told him, anyway. By now he was starting to doubt it.
"Hey, Nick! You'll never believe this!" chimed Maya as she entered the room, dragging behind her a rather confused looking Pearl. "Pearly's never heard of the Steel Samurai before! Surprising, huh? I mean, sheesh! I know Kurain's pretty desolate, but they do get TV out there..."
Phoenix raised an eyebrow. "And? I'd never heard of it until that one case..."
"Um, Mystic Maya?" Pearl interrupted, twiddling her thumbs.
Maya snorted. "That's because you're an old fart, Nick. You wouldn't get it, anyway. But Pearly, of all people! I mean, just about every kid I can think of has at least heard of the Steel Samurai!"
"Mystic Maya?"
"It's not her fault. Pearls hasn't even been to a baseball game before. Give her a break, she's been culture deprived all her life..."
"Mystic Maya!"
"What is it, Pearly? We're kind of in the middle of something," said Maya.
Pearl cleared her throat. "S-sorry, Mystic Maya. It's just... I think your phone is ringing."
"Huh?" Maya listened closely. She could barely hear the faint tune of The Pink Princess theme beeping from across the hall. That kid had some sharp ears. "Oh, thanks. We'll finish this later, Nick." She exited the room about as abruptly as she had came, her sable hair swishing behind her.
"Finish what?" said Pearl, bewildered, her head tilted slightly.
Phoenix blinked. "Frankly, I have no idea." He swiveled his chair around, reached for one of the books on the shelf, grabbed it by the spine, and... put it back, shuddering. Not today. Maybe he'd get around to it later. Maybe.
---
Maya grasped the pink cell phone from the desk. With a push of a button, she held it to her ear. "Hello?".
"Hello, is this Miss Maya Fey speaking?" inquired a male voice over the phone. Maya thought she recognized it from somewhere, but she couldn't quite put her finger on who it might be.
"Yes. Who is this?" inquired Maya. Where had she heard him before? It had to be someone she knew...
The voice on the other end paused before answering. "Before I tell you, you have to promise me one thing."
Maya frowned. What was he trying to pull? "... What do you want?" she asked cautiously. "Who are you?"
"Just one thing," he replied. "Promise me not to let Mr. Wright know I called."
"Who are you?!"
"Just promise me."
Maya growled. She didn't like this. Not one bit. She hesitated; could this man be trusted? After a few seconds of debating whether or not to accept, she reluctantly gave in. "Fine. I won't tell him anything, I promise. Now, who are you?"
"Oh, come now," the voice said coyly. "Don't tell me you don't remember a certain prosecuting attorney? One with a perfect win record, or, that is, until his spiky-haired rival came along and put him in his place? Does any of this ring a bell to you?"
Maya gasped and clamped a hand over her mouth, eyes widening. No. It couldn't be. She tiptoed across the room and shut the door quietly, as to not let anyone overhear. "E-Edgeworth?!" she hissed, the color draining from her face. "I thought you were --"
"Dead?" he suggested. He laughed bitterly. "Of course. I'm not surprised. After all, who would expect 'Prosecutor Edgeworth chooses death' to be metaphorical? It does sound a lot like a suicide note, doesn't it?"
But Maya wasn't laughing. "How could you?" she said coldly. "Nick is devastated because of you. Every time someone mentions your name, he gets painfully silent and avoids the subject. He thought you'd gone and died, you know that? All because of that little lie, he hasn't been the same, and it's all your fault!" Her grip tensed around the phone.
Edgeworth paused. "... Really now?" he replied, a hint of surprise in his voice. He was silent for a few more seconds, and added solemnly, "And who says it wasn't a suicide note?"
It took a second for his words to sink in, but when she realized what he was saying, a sickening feeling swelled in the pit of her stomach. Maya swallowed, her lips dry. "You... you were really going to kill yourself?" she almost whispered. "But why?"
He remained silent.
"Are you listening?" she said.
"Yes." More silence.
"Then why? Why did you want to die?"
"I..." Edgeworth started, and cleared his throat. "I was foolish."
"Tell me what happened!"
"My personal matters are none of your business," he stated.
That Edgeworth, always pushing his feelings aside. Was it really any wonder why he always seemed so miserable? "I'm making it my business," she declared simply.
He sighed. There seemed no way out of this. "Do you really want to know that badly? ... Fine, so be it. I'm not going to say this again, so listen carefully." Edgeworth paused for a moment, thinking over what he was going to say. "I left because... I thought Wright had taken everything from me."
Maya blinked. Nick? That was the last person she'd expected to make him want to leave. She listened closely.
"First, he took away my flawless record. It took me years to get to where I was standing, and despite popular rumors, I was honest. I never forged a piece of evidence, not once. I knew that prosecution was an honorable cause, and that by using fraudulent means, I would be no better than the criminals I shot down. For years, without slipping up, or cheating, I slowly clawed my way up to the top... just to be shot down by a stubborn amateur."
Maya didn't respond. She knew he'd been Phoenix's rival, but she never knew exactly how Edgeworth had viewed him.
Edgeworth continued, "next, he took away my mentor. Von Karma; he was the one man who took me into his home, and raised me as a son when no one else would. He was a master of his profession; I wouldn't be half the lawyer I am today if not for him. He taught me to strive for perfection; and before Wright came along, I thought I had finally achieved it. But then he unveiled the truth; that von Karma was a pitiful, corrupted man. He had not made me perfect; he had only made me merciless."
Maya bit her lip. Maybe Edgeworth had valid reason after all...
But he wasn't finished yet. "And that's not even why I loathed him. When I was accused of Hammond's death, almost guaranteed a life sentence, no one would come to my aid... except my own enemy. And that's when he took away my dignity. If it were him in that chair, I would have ignored him. But he extended his hand to me. To spiteful, wretched me, of all people. That was when I decided I'd had enough. He was a better man than me. He didn't have the knowledge I had, but what he lacked in logic, he surpassed with courage and perseverance. He'd always bested me. What was the point of trying anymore? I couldn't find a reason to fight, so I decided to stop fighting. I was going to do it; the day they let me go, I was going to pull the trigger, right then and there. But I..."
"Edgeworth..." Maya said in disbelief, her eyes downcast. She couldn't believe what he was saying. She had never seen this side of Edgeworth before.
"I couldn't do it. I couldn't even do that," he said gravely. "because I realized that I was being irrational. If he had risked everything to make sure I was found innocent, to make sure I could live... how could I simply tell him it was a waste of his time? Because that would be all I was saying if I were to die. It was then that I realized the obvious truth; he didn't win that verdict to fuel the rivalry. He didn't want to spite me. He wanted to save me. If he could find my pathetic life to be important, then why couldn't I? ... It was then that I put the gun down."
"But as far as he knows, you're dead!" Maya snapped, slamming her fist on the desk. "Why can't he know the truth? Why can't I tell him you're okay?"
"He will know in due time, but I emplore you not to tell him yet. I'm not ready to come back from the dead right now. Trust me, when I decide to come back, he will be one of the first to know." He paused, then added, "Remember, you made a promise."
Maya sighed. "I know," she said lowly. "I don't get it, but I know." She didn't want to think about it anymore, so she changed the subject. "So, what did you call me for, anyway?"
"Ah yes, that," replied Edgeworth, abandoning the previous topic easily. "From what I've heard, you're the last direct heir to the Fey family, correct?"
"Um, yes... Why?"
"There's a favor I'd like to ask of you..."
END OF CHAPTER ONE! WOOHOO:D
So... tell me, tell me, tell me.
Whatcha think?
Too long? Too short?
Is it suspenseful enough?
Am I staying in character?
Too much angst? Not enough angst?
Comments and critiques would make me a happy panda. You want me to be a happy panda, right? ;)
Chapter two coming soon!