Disclaimer: I don't own anything...but really, do any of us actually own anything? Haha, jk!

The moon dominated the night sky with its luminescence. Hardly a star twinkled in opposition to its omnipotent brightness. A cool, silent wind snuck through the evening air.

He carefully picked up the final pieces of the shattered mask. Caressing several fragments, he smirked. "You've met with a terrible fate, haven't you?"

His creation was almost unrecognizable. It was true, the young boy had done quite a number on it in the previous battle, but it could easily be remade. The resources were endless and eternal; all that was needed was just a faint desire-a whim, to bring his work back into existence. Once all the remains were gathered, he soundlessly disappeared into the darkness.

XXX

After several fruitless hours in the detention center, Edgeworth could hardly hold back his annoyance. Pressing two fingers against his forehead, he muttered "You can't be serious..."

"It's true," the defendant, Skull Kid, cried through the glass pane. His bright eyes and dark skin shone brightly under a dirty straw hat, illuminating him into an almost ethereal figure. "The mask! The mask made it do it!"

The prosecutor could no longer contain himself at the repetition of such ridiculous testimony. "A mask," he repeated, "A simple mask forced you to almost wipe out an entire town? Do you know how idiotic you sound!? I'm trying to give you a generous plea, you idiot! Just say you're guilty, and you'll be let off easy! Just say the words 'I did it!'"

"But I...I...I didn't do it," Skull Kid stumbled over his reply, tears slowly condensing in his eyes. "You have to believe me, Mr. Edgeworth. Please...That mask is evil…I w-would never hurt anyone..."

"Rubbish! Pure bull shit!" Edgeworth spat into the glass pane, causing the defendant to recoil in fear. His chest rose and fell in excited heaves, and Edgeworth soon realized he was losing control over himself again. He hardly ever cursed, especially in a professional setting.

Guilty at his outburst, the prosecutor shrank back into his seat and gazed at the floor. Skull Kid cried silently for a moment and then recomposed himself. His voice trembling, he started: "It's something so wicked, Mr. Edgeworth. You wear it and you feel so powerful and strong, like you can do anything" a smile briefly slid across his face as he reminisced, then it suddenly contorted into a deep frown, "Then before you know it, it takes hold of you. Suddenly, you aren't you anymore. You're something else…something different..."

Silence crept into the detention center as the defendant finished his statement. He watched Edgeworth for several minutes, hoping the attorney would show some sign, any sign, of affirmation. He was desperate for any source of hope.

"Mr. Edgeworth…?"

"Ye-Yes," the lawyer sprang to life, face pale, "I…I heard you…" A faint smile appeared on the defendant's face. "Listen, Mr. um…Kid," Edgeworth composed himself as he prepared to leave, "we'll discuss this again tomorrow and see what we can do about your case."

"Thank you," Skull Kid happily cheered as the prosecutor left, " Thank you so much! I know you believe me, Mr. Edgeworth! I know you'll find the truth!"

XXX

"Damn it," Edgeworth slammed his car door and angrily threw his wallet into the passenger seat. As it collided into the plush leather, the wallet opened to show a picture of Gregory Edgeworth grinningly widely while he held his son. The prosecutor lit a cigarette and took a smooth drag.

A haunted mask? What cockamamie…But damn, I can't go to trial again. Especially if he's going to be there.

His eyes came upon the photo, and then nervously averted. With a sigh, Edgeworth put his car into gear and sped off.

XXX

Somewhere in a far away land, a horse galloped through a pristine field, carrying a young man garbed in a green tunic and hood to his beloved.

Seven years! Seven long, beautiful years this man had shared with his princess! He couldn't help but thank the gods above for this extreme fortune. This woman could only be described as an angel, and somehow fate saw it fit to bestow this blessing upon a simple swordsman. His heart fluttered as the majestic figure of the castle came into view. Tonight is going to be the night! He patted a small lump in his pocket and smiled.

Tonight is going to be the night!

XXX

How much did I have to drink last night?

Edgeworth awoke at his desk a pounding headache and a nauseating quake in his stomach. Bringing himself upright, he managed to stumble past various papers, folders, and bottles before collapsing in front of a waste basket. He clutched the trash can and heaved convulsively until his stomach was completely emptied. Glancing at his watch, he apathetically noticed he slept past his appointment with Skull Kid.

It had barely two months since Police Chief Damon Gant had been brought to justice, and yet Edgeworth could hardly revel in any sort of victory. A constant desolation had writhed within him ever since his recent string of losses to a certain spiky-haired defense lawyer. Every failure had brought Edgeworth away from his former glory and deeper into a strange, new world of ineptitude, anger, confusion, loneliness…

…And drinking. It was a new hobby the prosecutor had picked up to dull his racing thoughts and, at least for a brief moment, feel whole again.

For a while, Edgeworth lied motionless on the floor of his office. A part of him didn't want to move for the rest of his life. Another part of wondered why he would even want to. He was obsolete…an archaic figure in a changing world where luck, empathy, and Phoenix Wright ruled. As much as he wished to deny it, there seemed to be no place for the cutthroat law Manfred von Karma had taught him: the only law Edgeworth had ever known.

Alas, it seemed to be fate that the prosecutor would witness the defeat of his mentor at the hands of this…this naïve greenhorn! But how much of a mentor had that wretched man been anyway?

"So, you've come to laugh at the fallen attorney? Then laugh, laugh!"

"I didn't want you to find out about it…I just wanted to keep you away from DL-6."

A throbbing migraine enveloped Edgeworth as memories of the infamous case flooded his consciousness.

"You and your father are my curse! I WILL BURY YOU!"

Von Karma's booming declaration echoed in Edgeworth's mind. A curse…maybe that's all he truly was…A curse to be buried.

Well, I'm back at it again! Please don't forget to read and review!