Chapter Three preview: "The kids, Apollo, Trucy, Athena,-they're gone for a while. We're all there is, Edgeworth. You, me, Larry, the detective, and…your father."

"Mr Wright seemed really intent on havin' you over tonight, Chief Prosecutor, sir. You think everything's all right?"

He turned to his partner and confidant, the one and only Detective Dick Gumshoe, with eyes of the deepest calm. Unbreakable even when the future threatened to swallow everything whole, Chief Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth spoke gently, serenely.

"I'm sure all is well. You have no need for worries, Detective."

Quiet winds of panic settled themselves in the pit of the detective's stomach, creating a stream of worries. "Think they'll be all right with me comin' along? I have th' feelin' I'm about to intrude on a family matter, Chief, sir."

The voice met his words was forever gentle, somewhat stern but kind. "What did I just tell you, Detective? There's no need for concern. They've always been all right with my baggage cart-I see no need for a change in opinions now."

The phrase 'baggage cart' should've been a harsh one, and would've been coming from anyone else. But the words laced in unwavering calm, coming from the Chief Prosecutor, brought a warm smile to Gumshoe's face. In acknowledgement of their growing friendship, he dropped the 'pal' whenever speaking to Edgeworth and replaced it with 'sir'. Miles Edgeworth, in turn, spoke even softer than before. With affectionate phrases like 'baggage cart' in tow. But that, like all of his other affectionate terms, conveyed a constant need for Gumshoe's presence. A need that always put a smile on the detective's face. However, the worries didn't end there. He had one more to voice.

"Sir…it's your father's birthday, isn't it?"

"Yes it is, Detective," came the painfully cool answer.

"You really all right with cutting your plans short? I mean-"

Edgeworth cut into his worries with deceptively tranquil words formed into a karate chop. Gumshoe couldn't miss the fierce speed of the other's reply, knowing all too well how important a certain birthday was. "It'll be all right, Gumshoe," the Chief Prosecutor snapped, ice blanketing every word. The words were gentle but not at all light. Sure, Edgeworth referring to him as 'Gumshoe' was infrequent, but that moment sent a gale of ice through the detective's spine.

"We'll see what this is all about, then I'll return to my office. Please stop making mountains out of molehills."

Clutching a bouquet of magnolias to his chest, Gumshoe caught a good look at the fire within his friend's eyes. The prosecutor pretended to be a statue but the wildfire surging through his eyes painted a much different picture. Bringing up a certain birthday caused the flames to be lit, but it was something the detective couldn't ignore. Whenever that day arrived on Edgeworth's calendar, the paragon of calm spent most of the day and night inside his office. Without company. Actions unknown and thoughts unclear, but emotions just as clear as Gumshoe's salary cuts. So Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth driving over to the agency, on such a precious night? Sure, it's always nice seein' the gang and all, and I'm sure Miss Fey's gonna love these flowers, but-

"Try not to let them fly out the window, Detective. I'd appreciate it."

Jumping out of his thoughts and back into the present, Gumshoe brought the flowers even closer to his chest. The windows were down in celebration of the warm evening breeze, but letting the magnolias dance upon the breeze wouldn't have been at all acceptable. The flowers were a gift, after all, for the one and only Maya Fey. Wright told them she was visiting the agency, fresh off the final stages of her training, so she deserved a special gift. "Sorry, sir, I'll take better care of 'em," the detective apologized frantically, bundling them so close they wouldn't have a chance at flying away.

The rest of the ride was spent in silence, a blanket of fog that birthed a river of sweat on Gumshoe's brow. Fortunately, there were only a few minutes of their journey left. Detective and prosecutor soon made their descent from Edgeworth's car, Edgeworth refusing Gumshoe's attempt to open his door. Never accustomed to being treated like royalty, a scowling prosecutor locked his car and began walking towards the agency, detective forever at his side.

Magnolias close at hand, heart on fire, the detective suddenly found breathing difficult for a reason he could not explain. Just a simple visit, right? Maybe an evening chat. Maybe it's just Wright finally wanting to let the Chief know how he feels. That's all. Nothing's wrong, right?

Seconds were like hours. A wide-eyed Gumshoe watched as Edgeworth knocked on the door, gently interrupting the evening tranquility. One minute, two minutes, three minutes-something was going on. No answer came from the other side. With the prosecutor giving his confidant a glare of confusion, Gumshoe voiced the thought running through both of their minds.

"What's goin' on? Wright invited you, didn't he? Don't tell me he's not even here!"

Edgeworth opened his mouth to respond, but the door to the Wright Anything Agency was quickly thrust open-done so by a strangely frantic Phoenix Wright. With an increasingly stunned prosecutor taking the flowers from his friend's hands, Edgeworth immediately found himself in what promised to be a vortex of strange proportions. "Hi, hi, good morning-I mean, good evening," Phoenix panted, not at all ushering either one of them in. He seemed intent on preventing both of them from entering, truth be told. Gumshoe, on the tips of his toes, tried to see what the attorney could have possibly been hiding.

"Hi there, Edgeworth, Gumshoe! Welcome! Nice of you to drop by!"

Edgeworth was never one to mince words, especially when he felt a situation was not in his control. "Wright," he began, tone laden with ice and steel. "Please explain yourself. I know it was forward of me to bring Gumshoe, but-"

Phoenix cut off his thoughts instantly, like an arrow piercing a bull's eye. "Oh no no no, not at all," the attorney laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. "You and Gumshoe, what a pair, huh? You two would be lost without each other! You go together like peanut butter and jelly, ham and eggs, vanilla and ice cream cones, French fries and-"

"Wright. Pardon me, but I'm having trouble deciding whether I should be confused or furious. You haven't acted this strangely since our final days in the classroom."

Laughing even still, the increasingly nervous attorney came up with a response but then snatched the flowers out of Edgeworth's arms. "Aw, how sweet, for me? Thank you! You've always been such a gentleman, Edgeworth!"

"They aren't for YOU, you ignoramus, they're for Miss Fey!"

"That's right, pal," Gumshoe put in, not knowing whether to be amused or concerned with Phoenix's behavior. "Isn't she here? Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth wanted to congratulate her on completing her training!"

"Yeah, about her-um, she's kinda busy at the moment." After a round of uproarious laughter coming from an obviously nervous attorney, Phoenix pressed on. "But guess what? Larry's here! Say hi, Larry!"

Completely unexpected by the prosecutor, Larry's response was lukewarm. His presence wasn't at all strange, but whenever the Butz was anything less than cheerful, something was definitely off.

"Heeeey, Edgey, Gummy. How's it goin'?"

"Great, huh? Gang's all here, The Three Musketeers, together again! Here, I'm gonna go put these in a vase and I'll be RIGHT BACK! Promise!"

"I've made my decision," a frowning prosecutor declared, after Phoenix oh-so-ceremoniously slammed the door in their faces. "I'm worried. Very worried. And confused. Is this how one acts when playing a prank, Detective?"

"I dunno, Chief Prosecutor, sir," Gumshoe replied, always overflowing with warm joy whenever Edgeworth asked for his counsel, but increasingly bewildered by the unfolding situation. "And I know-I've had quite a few pranks pulled on me! But this? I dunno, Edgeworth sir. I DID, however, see candles."

The one at his side turned to him, eyes widened in alarm. Looking very much like a curious pup. "Candles?"

"Yep, Edgeworth sir, candles! Place was full of 'em! Didn't see nothin' else, but the more I think about it, the more I think I've got the answer! Maybe Miss Maya Fey bein' here was a lie, sir! Wright just pulled out her name t' get you over here! And the other kids aren't around! I don't hear any of 'em!"

"Detective, what you're suggesting is preposterous!"

"Is it, really, Edgeworth sir? If it was really that 'preposterous', your face wouldn't be as red as my bank account! Think about it! Why else could Wright be actin' so weird?! This ain't normal, sir! You said so yourself-he hasn't acted like this in forever!"

"All right then," a flustered Chief Prosecutor snapped, arms folded, foot tapping. "Explain why Larry's in there!"

"Moral support! You guys are th' Three Musketeers, right?! Wow, this really is a big night! I'm definitely stoked about bein' along for the ride, now! Finally, I finally get to see Wright tell all!"

With a face as red as a rose, Edgeworth balled his hands into fists. A sure sign of not only frustration but sweet, sweet embarrassment. "Detective Dick Gumshoe, I demand you stop this ridiculous line of thought at once! Honestly, in all of my days, I have never-"

The second the door opened, it was all Edgeworth could do to keep himself from falling off the doorway. That time, though, the door was opened slowly. With a no longer nervous but worried, fearful Phoenix Wright at the helm. Edgeworth turned to Gumshoe, Gumshoe turned to Edgeworth, both faces wreathed in astonishment-

And Phoenix laid a hand on the prosecutor's shoulder. "Sorry about that. Just had to make sure everything's in place. But before I let either of you in-"

"Wright-"

"Please promise me something. This was my idea. It wasn't Maya's or Larry's. If you're going to get mad at anyone, please get mad at me. Not them. They have nothing to do with this."

Frowning with even deeper confusion, Edgeworth spoke in an abnormally tender tone. "Should I be this uncomfortable?"

"What's goin' on, pal?" the detective growled, none too happy with his conclusion being thrown out the window. "If this is some kind of joke you're playin' on the Chief Prosecutor, I'm gonna let you have it, I swear it! Like nothin' else, pal, just you watch!"

A ray of sadness pierced the attorney's face. "This isn't a joke, Gumshoe. It's anything but a joke." He returned his eyes to Edgeworth, his eyes made of the softest, most loving emotions.

"You have to promise me. Promise me you won't get angry at either of them. Let it be me, okay?"

The gentle innocence Edgeworth carried as a child returned, wrapping itself around his tone and eyes for the first time in a lifetime. "…you sure you aren't playing a prank on me, Wright? Larry didn't put you up to anything, did he?"

Phoenix shook his head, hand still on Edgeworth's shoulder. "No. If this were only a prank. Edgeworth, you remember the sacred art of Kurain, right? Their art of channeling spirits?"

"Of course I do. You know I do. But-"

Biting his bottom lip, the attorney gently ushered Edgeworth into the agency, then Gumshoe. "We're the only ones here," he let the know, sadness and fear rising in a voice made of the softest moonlight.

"The kids, Apollo, Trucy, Athena,-they're gone for a while. We're all there is, Edgeworth. You, me, Larry, the detective, and…your father."

"My fa-wait, Wright, what is this?"

"Make yourself at home, Gumshoe," Phoenix urged his friend, his voice a frantic whisper. But like Larry, Gumshoe was transfixed by the scene unfolding before them. Larry's face was a solemn portrait of anticipation, Gumshoe could hear his own heartbeat, and-

Edgeworth, Miles Edgeworth, had his eyes locked on the one in the center of the room.

Maya Fey was there, all right, but at the same time she wasn't. In her place was-

"Good evening, Miles."