Later that night, Phoenix, Maya and Pearl went back to the Wright & Co. offices. Phoenix sat down on his couch and sighed. It had been a long day.

"I'll put Pearl to bed," Maya volunteered.

"But I'm not tired," Pearl yawned.

"I am," Phoenix muttered. "It's time for bed, Pearl."

But even after she was tucked into bed, Pearl refused to go to sleep without a bedtime story. "Tell me a love story, Maya," she begged.

Maya groaned. "Just go to bed, Pearl."

"It can go like this. Once there was a really beautiful girl." Pearl said. "All the boys in Kurain were in love with her because she was so beautiful, but she only cared about her special someone."

Pearl was bouncing up and down on her bed now. "And that someone was a handsome lawyer named Phoenix Wright. And he loved the beautiful girl..."

"So he and Franziska got married," Phoenix interrupted. "The end. Go to bed now, Pearly."

Pearl immediately protested, but Phoenix shut the door and left the room. Maya followed, laughing.

"Pearly's going to be really mad at you now," Maya said.

Phoenix shrugged. "She's going to be mad anyway, when she finds out we're not really getting married. I don't care that much; it's been a really long day. I'm tired."

"Me too," Maya smiled. "Getting accused of murder really wears a girl out."

"Actually, I would think you'd be used to it by now," Phoenix said.

"I think I am used to it," Maya said. "I took it a lot better than Iris did, didn't I? I barely even blinked, and she was crying her eyes out."

Phoenix groaned. He couldn't help it. He had decided to put "reflecting on the bombshell Iris had just unveiled" onto his list of things to do after he went asleep. Talking about Iris with Maya was definitely not something he wanted to do right now.

"I noticed she cries a lot," Maya said, thoughtfully. "So what'd you say to her at the restaurant to make her so upset? You said you'd tell me later."

"Can't it wait until tomorrow?" Phoenix asked. "I want to go to bed."

"Is the case not over or something?" Maya asked. "Did Godot file for an appeal? I don't know what else would make Iris cry like that."

Phoenix sighed. "No, there's not going to be an appeal," he said. "I proved that Sister Iris didn't kill Mystic Misty, and that's the end of it. Can I just go to bed now?"

"M-m-m-m-Mystic Misty???" Maya blurted out. "You mean, MOM? I thought it was Elise Deauxnim who was killed!"

Uh oh, Phoenix thought. He had forgotten that Maya wasn't found until after Elise Deauxnim's true identity was revealed.

"It...it turned out that Elise Deauxnim was Misty Fey," Phoenix said. "Your mother."

"WAAAAAAAH!!!" Maya started crying. "My mom is dead!"

"I'm sorry," Phoenix said lamely.

Maya grabbed Phoenix's suit, and stared directly at his face with pleading, teary eyes. "It's not true, is it? F-first Sis and now Mom...You're joking, right?"

Phoenix shook his head sadly. "It's true, Maya."

"Mooooom!" Maya cried.

Phoenix hugged Maya consolingly. "Look, it's okay," he said. "You still have me and Pearl. And it's not like you can't see her ever again. Pearl can channel her any time you want her to."

Maya held onto Phoenix with surprising strength, so he couldn't move away even if he wanted to. It was a rather awkward situation, having a girl hold onto him while she cried her heart out, but Phoenix cared about Maya, so he didn't feel awkward at all. He just kept saying supportive things to Maya, patting her on the back every now and then, and eventually, her sobs subsided into deep breaths.

When she was ready, Maya let go of Phoenix, and wiped her mouth with her sleeve.

"I'm sorry," Maya said. "I shouldn't be acting this way."

"Don't feel sorry," Phoenix said. "You're upset about your mother. I understand."

"I'm an adult. Adults don't cry," Maya said.

"Godot cried today, and he's an adult," Phoenix pointed out. "Adults are allowed to have feelings, too, you know."

Maya smiled. "Thanks, Phoenix. You're such a good friend. If it wasn't for you, I don't know what I'd do."

"Oh, Maya..." Phoenix said. As aggravating as Maya could be sometimes, Phoenix couldn't imagine his life without her.

"I love you, Phoenix," Maya whispered. "It's so sad. I never got to tell my mother I loved her. She left when I was only two."

"She knew," Phoenix said. "Your mother loved you. That's why she always wore the locket."

"What locket?" Maya asked.

Phoenix dug around in his pocket and pulled out the locket with a picture of Mia and Maya inside. Maya's eyes widened as she looked at it. "This was my mom's?"

"She was wearing it when she died," Phoenix said. "Your mother always kept the two of you close to her heart."

Maya was crying again, Phoenix noticed. But this time, she looked more happy than sad.

"Thanks," Maya said. "For everything."

She kissed Phoenix briefly, then left to go to her room.

Phoenix woke up early the next day. He had not had a very restful night. Although a lot had been resolved, a lot was left to do.

First off, Phoenix had to sort out his feelings for Iris.

There was no denying that he had been madly in love with Dahlia. That is, Iris. It had taken him a long time to get over her and start dating other girls, especially with the lack of closure. After all, a girlfriend suddenly trying to kill you isn't exactly the sort of thing you forget easily.

It was odd, in a way. Back then, he was absolutely convinced the girl he loved wasn't a murderer. And now, years later, it turned out to be true.

But was the unexpected appearance of an old girlfriend enough to stop him from caring about his new girlfriend?

Woah, wait a second. New girlfriend? Where did that thought come from? Phoenix wondered. Maya was partner. Not his girlfriend.

But they had kissed the day before. Twice, in fact. And everybody thought they were married.

Ugh. Life was confusing.

Phoenix got up and poured himself a glass of orange juice. He checked his watch. Pearl and Maya wouldn't be up for another hour, at least. Perfect. More time he could spend worrying about his love life.

Phoenix sighed. If only there was somebody he could talk to about what was happening...

But no, there was no one. None of his friends knew him when he was going out with Dahlia, except for Larry, and he had been abroad that year...

Wait. There was one person who knew everything about him and Dahlia.

Mia.

Mia knew everything about Maya, too. It was perfect. Now all he had to do was see if Pearl or Maya was awake.

Phoenix peeked into Maya's room. She was still sleeping.

He peeked into Pearl's room. She was sleeping, too. Darn. He was about to shut the door when...

"Mr. Nick?"

"Pearl?" Phoenix asked. "You're awake?"

"You woke me up," Pearl said, yawning. "Why'd you do that?"

"I want to talk to Mia," Phoenix said.

"It's too early for channeling," Pearl said. "I'm going back to sleep."

"Please, Pearl," Phoenix said. "It's important that I talk to Mia."

"I'm sleepy," Pearl said. "And she'll stretch out my clothes like last time. No."

Phoenix sighed. "I want to ask her about Maya," he said. "It's...important grown-up love business."

Pearl gushed. "Aw...that's so sweet. Okay, Mr. Nick."

Pearl closed her eyes and summoned Mia's spirit. Soon, Mia was sitting before Phoenix, looking slightly odd in pink bunny jammies.

"Hello, Phoenix," Mia said, smiling. "It's a little early for channeling, isn't it?"

"I suppose it is," Phoenix said. "But I have to talk to you."

"What about? The trial yesterday? You don't have to worry about the trial. I think you did a great job, Phoenix."

"No, not about the trial. I want to talk to you about my dating life."

Mia blinked. "Oookay. That was unexpected."

Phoenix grinned stupidly. "Um...sorry. I probably should have built up to that."

"It's okay," Mia said, feeling a little unwary. "I guess I can try to help you with dating, though. Who's the girl you want to go out with? Is it the Franziska woman I hear so much about?"

"Franziska?" Phoenix echoed. "No, no, no, no, no."

"Then is it Lana Skye?" Mia asked.

"No, I haven't seen Lana in over a year," Phoenix said.

Mia looked stumped. Those were the only girls she could think of. "Gumshoe doesn't have a sister, does he?" she asked.

"No, it's—this is kind of hard to say—she's...she's related to you."

"Maya?" Mia asked. "Really? I thought you might have had a crush on her..."

Phoenix groaned. Why did everyone think he was dating Maya? "No, it's not Maya. When I said 'related to you,' I meant that she's your...cousin."

Mia became immediately upset. "Pearl? This had better be some sort of joke, Phoenix, because if it's not..."

"Not Pearl! I meant Dahlia Hawthorne!"

Mia tilted her head to the side in confusion. "Phoenix, I have no idea what you're talking about. Try starting over again from the beginning."

Phoenix sighed. "I talked with Iris yesterday," he started. "She said that I never really dated Dahlia. The person I went out with was her, pretending to be her sister in order to get the necklace from me."

"Oh..." Mia said. "I didn't know that."

"And now everything is totally crazy!" Phoenix exclaimed. "It took me forever to get over Dahlia, and now she's returned! Only it's not her; it's Iris, which means she didn't really try to kill me, so I shouldn't have tried to get over her in the first place, and I don't know what to do!"

"Phoenix, please, calm down," Mia said. "So...your old girlfriend has returned, and naturally, you're upset. Is that what you're trying to say?"

"Um...basically?" Phoenix guessed.

"I'm sorry, but I don't know much about Iris," Mia said. "I never met her. How does she feel about meeting you again?"

Phoenix thought for a moment. "I'm not sure, actually. She seemed kind of upset about it."

"Well, why don't you try talking to Iris about how she feels before you automatically assume she wants to be your girlfriend again?" Mia asked. "You've changed a lot in the past five years, and I'll bet she has, too."

Phoenix smiled. This was why he asked Pearl to summon Mia. Somehow, she always seemed to have the answers for everything.

"Okay," Phoenix said. "Thanks. I'll do that."

"Good," Mia said. "Is that everything? Can I go now?"

"Why, don't you want to stay here for a while?" Phoenix asked.

"Normally I would," Mia said. "But now that Mom is dead, she and I have a lot of catching up to do in the Spirit World."

"Well, then have fun in Spirit World then," Phoenix said. "Try not to run into Dahlia!"

Mia smiled sadly. "Phoenix, where Dahlia is now, we can't possibly meet with her. Like I said in court, she's going to be alone for a very long time."

"Is it like you said in court?" Phoenix asked. "Dahlia is going to exist as an empty shell for all eternity?"

Mia shrugged. "It's her choice. She decided she'd rather be alone than move on with everyone else. Maybe someday she'll change her mind...but I doubt it. She doesn't like other people very much."

"Oh," Phoenix said.

Mia smiled. "Don't tell anyone, okay? We're not supposed to tell people what happens when you die."