"Okay, you two! Time's up!" Sister Bikini said.

"Finally," Phoenix sighed as he stepped out of the waterfall and dried himself off with one of the towels Sister Bikini had ready for them.

"That was great!" Maya said. "What do we do next?"

"Now you two have to hug each other," Sister Bikini said.

"What?"

"It's part of the Couples' Training."

"Okay..." Phoenix said.

Phoenix and Maya hugged each other. It wasn't too bad—they had done it before.

"The next exercise is a simple one. We're going to walk up the mountain, but you two have to keep hugging each other the whole time."

"We can't go up the mountain and hug each other at the same time," Phoenix complained.

"You can; you just need to work together," Sister Bikini said. "You can't see behind yourself, Mr. Wright, so you need Mystic Maya to tell you where to walk. This exercise is supposed to foster the couple's ability to work together and make them understand how much they need each other."

Phoenix frowned.

"Come on, Nick, don't you like hugs?" Maya asked. "Think of it as...a hiking hug!"

"Um, sure...a hiking hug."

"That's the ticket!" Sister Bikini said. "And to make sure you don't cheat..."

She slapped a pair of handcuffs on Phoenix's hands.

"Hey!" Phoenix protested.

"See you at the top of the mountain!" Sister Bikini said.

"MILES EDGEWORTH!" Franziska yelled. "Prepare for the whipping of a lifetime!"

"I take it you lost the case," Edgeworth said.

"You're the one who gave me the form which allowed Pearl Fey to appear in court! This is all your fault!"

"Objection," Edgeworth said. "You have no proof of any wrongdoing on my part whatsoever."

"Oh, really? Then why did they send the wrong Pearl Fey to be the lawyer?"

"The wrong Pearl Fey? What do you—?"

"I wanted to have a trial against the Pearl Fey who works for Phoenix Wright!"

"Oh, you mean they sent the younger Pearl Fey? Well, that's certainly not my fault. You should have been more specific when you told Detective Gumshoe..."

Edgeworth stopped suddenly as he made the logical connection between the younger Pearl Fey and Franziska's post-defeat anger.

"Wait, are you saying you went up against a nine-year-old in court, and you lost?"

"GRAH!" Franziska shout, cracking her whip against the ceiling.

Edgeworth had to restrain himself from chuckling out loud. He settled for grinning like a child on Christmas.

"Stop smiling!" Franziska ordered.

"Well, I suppose this means you won't have a very good chance of winning King of Prosecutors this year!"

"No making jokes!"

"My, your trip back to Germany is going to be fun, isn't it? 'Hi, Auntie Franziska! What have you been doing in America?' 'Nothing much—I just lost a trial against a third-grader!'"

"Miles Edgeworth, if you say another word, I will sue you for slander!"

"I—"

Franziska snapped her whip against Edgeworth's face.

"Ow!"

Edgeworth rubbed the side of his face. He was rather astonished at what just happened. Franziska never whipped him. She whipped everybody else, but not him.

"Franziska...you haven't done that for years."

"Well, you...you made me angry!"

Edgeworth shut his eyes. "I apologize, Franziska. I got carried away there."

"Apology accepted. Now what do we do?"

"We? I fail to see why I have to do anything."

"You're the one who suggested they send her to court! And besides, little brothers help their big sisters!"

Edgeworth knew better than to argue with Franziska when she was upset. "Fine. Have them send me a transcript of the case. I'll see what I can do about getting an appeal while you're in Germany."

"Excellent," Franziska grinned. "Also, reexamine the rules on minors appearing in court. I think I may be able to prosecute Pearl Fey for impersonating her sister, thus rendering her appearance in court invalid."

"Do you really think suing a nine-year-old is the best way to take care of things?"

"Yes."

"I don't see why Sister Bikini said she couldn't change to another training course," Phoenix complained. "Two hours of waterfall meditation and walking up a mountain does not require a lot of preparation."

"There's a big rock behind you. We're going to have to move left."

"And what—?"

"No, not your left, my left."

Phoenix stepped to his right, but he hit his foot against the rock anyway.

"Ow! Maya!"

"Sorry! Keep going straight now. The path is smooth here."

Phoenix sighed. "This whole trip is a lot more hassle than it's worth."

"Don't be such a fuddy-duddy, Nick! It's kind of fun!"

"Going to the movies is fun. Taking a hike when you can't see where you're going is not fun."

"You're the only person I know who could hug someone and still be grumpy. Don't you know that hugs make everything better?"

In Phoenix's opinion, it was somewhat odd for Maya to talk about the power of hugs, seeing as she loved to watch violent cartoons all the time. But he took the hint anyway, and stopped complaining.

Pearl laughed as she listened to her younger self talk excitedly about the trial.

"It was the greatest trial ever! Even better than the one where the bad guy was guilty and was holding Mystic Maya hostage!"

"I never thought you'd win a trial before I did!" Pearl said. "Great job!"

"Does this make me an official lawyer? Because I want to be a lawyer like you and Mister Nick!"

"Sorry, it doesn't make you an official lawyer. You have to take a test for that."

"That's okay," Pearl said. "I also want to be a spirit medium like Mystic Maya! Do you think I can be a lawyer and a spirit medium?"

"The Wright and Fey Offices: Legal Defense and Spirit Channeling..." Older Pearl mused. "Yeah...I think that could work."

"The only bad part was that I didn't get to cross-examine anyone," Pearl said. "But I had lots of objections anyway!"

"What did you object to?"

"That prosecutor lady! She's mean!"

"Pearl, you know you shouldn't call someone else mean, right? I'm sure she's a nice person when you get to know her."

"Really?"

"Sure! Why, I bet that right now, she's doing something nice for someone else!"

Pearl's bet was wrong.

"SCRUFFY! Why did you tell Pearl Fey to appear in court?" Franziska shouted.

"Uh..." Detective Gumshoe thought for a moment, wiggling his eyebrows furiously. Was this a trick question?

"Because you asked me to, Pal?"

"I wanted you to tell Pearl Fey to appear in court, not Pearl Fey!"

Gumshoe scratched his head. "Could you repeat that?"

"Pearl Fey! The one that works for Phoenix Wright! I meant her!"

"Oh, well, I didn't know which Pearl Fey you meant, Pal."

"YOU FOOL! Even a fool should realize that I meant the Pearl Fey who is a legal assistant, not the nine-year-old!!!"

"Oh..." Gumshoe said. "Yeah, that makes a lot more sense, Pal!"

*Whip!*

"Don't call me 'Pal,' Fool! I am not your friend!"

"But...you helped prove Maggey innocent! That makes you my friend, Pal!"

"I am not your friend! I have no friends!"

"You don't? That's so...sad!"

"FOOL!"

*Whip!* *Whip!* *Whip!* *Whip!* *Whip!* *Whip!*

Phoenix and Maya's progress stopped for a moment.

"Okay, um..."

"What is it?"

"Well, the path goes up...and there are steps."

"I have to go up steps?"

"Don't worry! We'll go really slowly. Just move your feet back a little bit and—"

Phoenix's heel hit against a piece of wood with a clunk.

"Is that it?"

"I guess."

"You guess?"

"I can't see your foot, Nick! Your body is in the way!"

"Oh, yeah. Sorry."

"It's okay. Try lifting your foot up and feel for the end of the step..."

"Woah!"

Phoenix slipped and fell backwards. Maya landed on top of him.

"Ow!"

"Ouch!"

Now, if Pearl was writing this story, she would say that what happened next was a magical moment. With Maya and Phoenix's faces so close together, it was only natural that their lips would brush up against each other, thus starting a True Love First Kiss™ that caused the two special someones to realize they were destined to spend the rest of their lives together.

Unfortunately, that's not what happened.

Yes, Maya and Phoenix's faces were close together, and yes, Maya's lips bumped up against part of Phoenix's face.

But it wasn't his lips that entered her mouth.

"May—"

"Ew!" Maya said, turning her head to the side and sputtering. "I think I tried to swallow your nose!"

Phoenix wrinkled his nose. It was wet. "How did my nose end up in your mouth?"

"I'm sorry! It was an accident!"

There was a pause as Phoenix and Maya looked away from each other for a while, which is somewhat hard for two people to do when they're lying on top of each other.

"Well, this is incredibly awkward," Phoenix said.

"No doubt," Maya agreed. "Good thing no one else is here."

Phoenix turned his head to look towards Maya again.

"Um...how do we get back up again?"

"You're on the bottom. Push yourself off of the ground. Duh."

"I can't! My arms are handcuffed behind your back!"

"Uh oh."

Franziska returned to her office in a slightly better mood. After all, it was almost the weekend. Maybe Miles would have the whole situation under control by the time she returned from Germany...

Waiting on her desk was a note and a news report. The report was printed from a local website.

Nine-Year-Old Wins Trial

Earlier today, there was an unexpected change in lawyers for the State VS Byrde trial. Rather than represent his client himself, Ace Attorney Phoenix Wright sent a nine-year-old girl named Pearl Fey in his stead.

What is more amazing is the fact that she managed to win the case within five minutes, much to the shame of Prosecutor Franz Vonk Arma, who attempted to use physical violence to stop the child lawyer.

The article went on for several more paragraphs. The note was shorter.

Franziska,

See me immediately.

-Lana Skye, Chief of Prosecutors

Franziska swore loudly.

"Maybe if we rolled over on our sides?" Phoenix suggested.

"That won't work," Maya said.

"So, basically, we're stuck lying here until Sister Bikini comes back."

"Don't be silly, Nick. I can get out of this."

"How?"

"My hands aren't handcuffed together like yours, remember? I'll just...slip out of here..."

Maya pushed against the ground and squirmed her way out of Phoenix's arms. Once he was no longer pulling her down, she was able to stand up.

"Ta-da!"

"You could have done that this whole time?" Phoenix asked. "We didn't have to hug-walk up the mountain?"

"Well, yeah, but that would have been cheating! Sister Bikini said we had to hug-hike all the way up the mountain."

Maya pulled on Phoenix's hands and helped him get to his feet.

"Besides, hugging you is fun. Now come on, let's try going up those steps again."

Phoenix sighed. "Fine..."

"Hazakura Temple. Sister Bikini speaking."

"Hi, Sister Bikini. It's Pearl."

"Don't forget me!"

"Pearl's here, too."

"Hello, Pearl and Pearl! Good to hear from you!"

"We thought we'd call and see how Nick and Maya are doing with the Couples' Training."

"Have they kissed yet?" Younger Pearl asked.

"I had them do two hours of waterfall meditation," Sister Bikini said. "Right now, they've hiking up the mountain while hugging."

"Have they kissed yet?" Younger Pearl asked.

"Pearl wants to know if they've kissed yet."

"No," Sister Bikini said.

"No," Pearl told Pearl.

"Awww...try harder, Sister Bikini!" Pearly encouraged.

"So everything is going well? There haven't been any...unexpected murder plots or something like that?"

"Not yet," Sister Bikini said cheerfully. "Just our two friends, learning how to strengthen their spiritual power and emotional bond."

"Well, I'll call back later, then. Right now we have to go for a celebratory lunch."

"Really? What are you celebrating?"

"Pearl won her first trial as a defense attorney!"

"I'm the best lawyer in the world! Except maybe for Mister Nick."

"Pearl was in court?" Sister Bikini asked, scratching her head. "How old is she again?"

"She's nine."

"...Right. Goodbye!"

Lana Skye folded her hands over her desk. "What happened in court today?"

"It was the most foolish trial ever," Franziska said. "Such a mockery that it shouldn't even count as a trial. No witnesses gave testimony, the defense was a child..."

"There really was a nine-year-old girl in court?"

"Yes, it was—"

"Silence."

Lana pulled out a form and showed it to Franziska.

"Do you recognize this? The waiver you signed to let a non-licensed attorney serve as the defense?"

"Yes," Franziska said, sullenly.

"When you submitted this form for my approval, you didn't mention that Pearl Fey was nine years old. Not only do you look stupid for letting her in court, you make me and the entire Prosecutor's Office look stupid as well."

"I meant the other Pearl Fey!" Franziska protested.

"There are two?"

"Yes!" Franziska said. "I meant the one who works for Phoenix Wright! The one who is preparing to take the bar exam—not the child!"

Franziska snapped her whip on the ground.

"Any fool should see that I—"

"Enough," Lana said. "To be frank, Franziska, you've always been a bit of a liability to the Prosecutor's Office. There have been constant complaints about your methods, your treatment of co-workers and your harassment of innocent victims. I've tried to overlook these complaints in favor of your exceptional record in court, however..."

Franziska snapped her whip on Lana's desk. "Lana Skye! I am the perfect prosecutor! Today's trial was a mere mockery, a—"

"Don't snap your whip on my desk!" Lana ordered. "In fact, give me your whip now."

Franziska reluctantly handed her whip to Lana. Lana took the whip and unceremoniously threw it in a trash can.

Lana swung around in her chair so her back was facing Franziska.

"I understand you're leaving for Germany in a few days. You would be well advised to make your stay there more...permanent."

Franziska growled. Was she being...fired? No. No, that was inconceivable.

"That is all. Goodbye, Franziska."

"Ah, good! You finally made it!" Sister Bikini said, clapping her hands. "Did you enjoy the hike?"

"Have you ever hiked up a mountain while handcuffed to someone else?" Phoenix muttered sarcastically.

"I had fun!" Maya said.

"That's great!" Sister Bikini said. "But I'm afraid I have some bad news, Mr. Wright. I lost the key to the handcuffs."

"Whaaaaaat?" Phoenix cried.

"Ha ha ha! Just kidding! I'll take them off for you!"

Sister Bikini removed the handcuffs, and Phoenix rubbed his wrists. Both his arms and his wrists were hurting now.

"What's next with the training?" Maya asked.

"You two have been busy, so I'll give you a break before the next training exercise. You can unpack your belongings in your room, and then we can have a short meal together."

"Sounds good to me!" Maya said.

"Yeah, me too," Phoenix agreed.

The Pearls were really excited about having lunch with Detective Gumshoe and Maggey Byrde in celebration of Maggey's innocence, but their lunch was cancelled due to some bad news.

"Sorry, pal," Detective Gumshoe said. "We'll have to schedule our celebration for another time. There's an emergency back at the office."

"Oh no! What's wrong?" Pearl asked.

Gumshoe looked to the side. "It's Prosecutor von Karma. She's in a bad situation right now. I'm worried about her."

"Really? Why?"

"It's just...she told me she doesn't have any friends."

"How sad!" Pearly said.

"Well, I guess it makes sense that she doesn't have friends..." Older Pearl mused. "She is kind of mean..."

"But everybody needs friends!"

"That's not the worst of it, pal." Gumshoe said. "I just heard that she's been fired for losing the trial today."

"What does fie-yured mean?" Pearl asked.

"It's mean she lost her job," Older Pearl said.

"Then we have to help her!" Pearl said. "Especially if she doesn't have any friends!"

Sister Bikini showed Phoenix and Maya to a room near the front of the temple. She had brought up their luggage while they were doing waterfall meditation.

"This must be Iris' room," Maya said.

"How do you know?" Phoenix asked.

Maya pointed to the bed. The quilt on top of the bed was decorated with pictures of irises.

"Oh," Phoenix said.

Phoenix looked at the bed for a while. "Why is there only one bed?" he mused. "Shouldn't we get separate rooms?"

Maya wasn't paying attention. She was busy having fun going through Iris' clothes dresser.

"Look at all these hoods!" Maya said, taking one out and putting it on. "Hey, Nick, what do you think?"

"You look ridiculous," Phoenix said. "Stop playing with Iris' clothes."

"Party pooper," Maya complained, taking the hood off and putting it back.

Phoenix unzipped his pack and was taking out his socks when he heard Maya give a short shriek.

"Woah! It's...you!"

"What?"

Maya pulled out a small photograph from inside the dresser. Phoenix recognized it immediately—it was a photograph from when he was going out with Dahlia in college. The two of them were laughing and smiling together.

"Nick...why does Iris have a photo of the two of you in her drawer?" Maya asked.