A/N: Sorry for totally slowing down the updates. School's started up again and I've been working on writing the script to a fangame lately, too. Anyway, that's why this chapter is relatively short: I wanted to update. Sorry!

December 27, 9:45 PM, Gatewater Apartments, Room #281

Maria sighed. It had been a long week. Of course, Christmas was her favorite time of year, but that didn't mean it couldn't be exhausting, and that really only meant that it was extra depressing when the Christmas spirit suddenly left as soon as she headed home from the Christmas party. Really, though, it was her first Christmas back in the States, and her first Christmas with her family where she had to worry that an argument over religion would break out.

Naturally, it did. Ultimately, it had been set aside, but there was still tension between her, her father, and Miguel. And Miguel, who had always been the more emotional of the two, had at one point burst into angry tears. That was awkward. Also, Miles had ended up storming out of the party after getting into yet another argument with his father. At least that hadn't happened until the party had already wound down.

The days after Christmas, however, had gone marginally better, even if she was the one driving various people to the airport, which was just as well because driving was simple and it meant she didn't have to think about anything but the road.

Almost everyone - except for Maria's father and the kids - from Wright Anything Agency had left town immediately after Christmas. Apollo Justice was visiting his half-sister's family in Texas, mostly because her husband hadn't been able to make it to the Christmas party. Athena Cykes was somewhere in Europe. Phoenix Wright and Miles Edgeworth were in Washington, D.C. Kristoph Gavin was in San Francisco, which in conjunction with the fact that Franziska von Karma and Klavier Gavin had both left around midnight the previous night on urgent business (Franziska to Zheng Fa and Klavier to Germany, and they wouldn't be back for several weeks), meant that Jana had ended up staying with the Wrights (who were being watching by Maria's father during the day and Miles during the night) until at least Kristoph got back. Meanwhile, Maria had agreed to watch over Alois, who arguably didn't need to be watched over, but then, he wasn't supposed to be on his own.

That was just as well. It actually proved convenient for Maria. And speaking of Jana, anyway, she had been frustrating lately. Maria had thought that she was starting to exhibit some real personal growth after the Kurain Caverns case, but as it turns out, her willingness to find the truth there had pretty much been an anomaly. In her subsequent cases, she went back to wanting to demand a verdict as soon as it looked favorable and just leaving it at that. Not that Maria let her, of course, but constantly having to shove Jana down the straight and narrow was vexing, to say the least. Maybe, Maria thought, what spurned her on to find the truth at Kurain Caverns was the fact that Oliver was in danger.

Maybe Jana did like him after all? Maria paused and jotted that down in her notebook. She should probably look into that.

"What are you writing, sowieso, Maria?" Alois said from further down the hallway - he had been looking over the railing at the city lights, although now he was looking at Maria curiously. His breath hung in the frosty night air.

"Nothing," Maria said, doing her best to sound disarmingly cheerful. "Come on, it's chilly out here. Let's go inside." She put her hand on the doorknob - to her surprise, it was unlocked. Had she merely forgotten? That was odd… this was a relatively bad part of town. How could she forget?

"Ja, natürlich," Alois said brightly, although he didn't move from where he was leaning on the railing. Maria opened the door -

And that was the last thing either of them remembered.

December 27, 10:10 PM, Wright Anything Agency

"Is that your phone or mine?" Maya Valerie said, "or was it just the ambulance that just went by?"

"Um, I believe that is my phone," Jana said, sitting up and digging in the couch cushions for it. Maya Valerie helpfully directed her flashlight towards her. "Ach, here it is," Jana said. It was Alois. "Hallo," she said, picking up the call.

"Hello?" said the voice on the other end of the line uncertainly. It wasn't Alois. "Hello, am I calling a relative of - of this kid?"

"What kid?" Jana said, suddenly wary, "who are you? Why do you have Alois' phone?"

"So that's what his name is," the person on the other end said, "are you his little sister? I need to speak to his parents."

"Our parents are out of town," Jana said flatly. What was going on?

"Well, aunt, uncle, friend of the family, anybody at all. And you," the voice said, "come to Gatewater Apartments. Room, uh…" Movement. "281. Door's open, paramedics will be here soon - can't miss it."

"Paramedics?!" Jana said, sitting bolt upright.

"Wh-what happened?" Maya Valerie said, startled.

"Just come as soon as possible," the voice said, then hung up. Jana stared at the phone in her hand for a minute, then jumped up.

"Jana, what happened?" Maya Valerie said, also jumping up.

"I - I do not know - I am going to Maria's apartment! I can run there - it is nearby - where is my jacket?!" Jana said, running out of Maya Valerie's room and looking around the darkened Agency, disorientedly.

"I heard something about paramedics," Maya Valerie said, putting her hand to her mouth. "I'll go get Miles," she said, and ran in the opposite direction down the hallway. By the time Maya Valerie had woken up her older brother, Jana had already found her jacket and was out the door and running down the street as fast as she could.

December 27, 10:13 PM, Gatewater Apartments

The person on the other end of the line was right: it was hard to miss Maria's apartment. The door was wide open, and there was an ambulance waiting in the street, siren blaring loudly. It was probably the one Jana and Maya Valerie had heard earlier. Jana rushed past the ambulance and attempted to run into room 281, but she was stopped by thickly-bespectacled man with sparkly light blue hair and black, feminine-looking clothing.

"Wait, you shouldn't go in there-" he said. Jana recognized his voice as the person who had picked up Alois' phone.

"What happened?!" Jana screamed at him, "What is going on?!"

Jana's question was answered when a couple of paramedics hurried a stretcher past them. Lying on it was Maria Fey-Armando, unconscious with a nasty head wound.

"Sh-she's still alive, I think," the blue-haired man said frantically, grabbing Jana's shoulder, "at least she was when I found her. And the other kid isn't even injured-"

"The one you grabbed the cell phone from?" Jana demanded.

"Yep," the man said, thumbing vaguely towards the apartment. Only now did Jana see him, since he was surrounded by paramedics and police officers, the former of which were trying to control the amount of questions the latter were asking: Alois, with a shock blanket and a thousand-yard stare. Jana could see blood on his clothing.

"Alois!" Jana yelled, pushing the sparkly-haired man roughly aside and pushing her way through the small crowd. "Weißt du was passiert ist?!"

Alois started, then looked up at Jana with unfocused eyes. "Ich weiß nicht…" he mumbled. I don't know.

"Are you a relative of his?" one of the nearby paramedics asked.

"L-Little sister," Jana said, "the other woman is my assistant."

The paramedic nodded vaguely. "She was assaulted," he said, "I'm sure she'll be fine, and your brother isn't injured, physically at least," the paramedic added, "but he was unconscious when we found him and so far he hasn't been able to answer any of our questions. Does he speak English?"

"Yes," Jana said, struggling to keep calm, "h-he has severe hemophobia, and sometimes he will only speak German when he is… stressed."

"Hmm," the paramedic said, "can you ask him if he saw what happened to the woman - Maria Fey-Armando, was it?"

Jana nodded and repeated the question in German. Alois shook his head. "He probably will not remember what has happened for several weeks, if he ever does at all. In situations like this, he loses his memory concerning the events that caused him to come into contact with blood in the first place," Jana explained to the paramedic.

"So this has happened before?" the paramedic said. Jana nodded again.

"Excuse me," a lab-coat-wearing middle-aged woman said, "is the boy free to go?"

"Um," the paramedic said, "I can't in good conscience recommend that, Detective Justice."

"Skye, please." Oh. Jana thought she looked familiar.

"Anyway, he doesn't remember what happened," the paramedic said, "unless the victim wakes up, I don't think you'll find out who the assaulter is."

"I wouldn't say that," Detective Skye said, adjusting her pink glasses, "I've been talking to the person who found them." She crossed her arms, then glanced at Jana. "Hey Jana," she said, "haven't seen you around lately."

"…hello," Jana said. She wasn't in the mood for pleasantries.

Detective Skye didn't say anything for a moment, only looking to the side evasively. "I see some of Mr. Wright's kids are here," she said at length, "I heard you were staying with them until your parents get back. Go to them."

"But-" Jana started, but Detective Skye shooed her away.

"What happened?" Maya Valerie asked. She had arrived with Miles, but Jana didn't know when.

"That was Maria they just took off in the ambulance, wasn't it?" Miles said, "since this is her apartment, and Alois is just over there…"

"Th-the paramedic just said she will be fine," Jana said hollowly, "he also said it was an assault."

"…that's terrible," Miles muttered.

"Poor Alois. He must be terrified," Maya Valerie said, hand to her mouth.

"How is he?" Miles said.

"He is not injured," Jana said, "but there was blood on his clothing."

"Ah," Miles said, grimacing. "Does he remember what happened, then?" Jana shook her head. They fell silent and watched as Alois was led into the remaining ambulance and sped away into the night, along with the paramedics and Detective Skye. A singular police officer remained, presumably to guard the crime scene.

"I wonder what'll happen now," Maya Valerie whispered.

"…I'll go find out," Miles said, putting on a (in Jana's opinion, terribly forced) smile, and simultaneously tousling Maya Valerie's and Jana's hair in a big brotherly fashion. "You two head back to the Agency. Misty'll be awake."

And with that, he left. "I'm sure it'll be fine," Maya Valerie said sweetly. It didn't make Jana feel any better.

December 28, 8:49 AM, Wright Anything Agency

"Jana, wake up."

"Mmmnh…"

"Jana, seriously, visiting hours start in ten minutes. Get up."

Jana propped herself up on the arm of the couch, staring at Miles bleary-eyed. "What…?" she mumbled, then blinked rapidly, all at once remembering what happened last night. "M-Miles - do you know what-?"

"Get dressed. You need to go to the detention center," Miles said, doing his best to smile reassuringly, "Watson will take you."

"Detention center?"

"Alois got arrested."

December 28, 9:10 AM, Detention Center

"…hallo, Jana," Alois said. He looked so small and pathetic on the opposite side of the detention center glass.

"Alois," Jana said, swallowing hard. "Are you… well?"

"I'll live," Alois said, half-smiling. "Still don't remember much about last night, though…"

"Do you know Maria's condition?" Watson said carefully.

Alois looked at his lap. "Ace is one of the guards here," he said after a moment, "and he was late to work this morning because he was visiting her."

"How is she?" Jana asked.

"Pretty bad brain damage," Alois said, looking back up, "she hasn't woken up yet."

"She'll be fine," Watson said. If her confidence sounded empty to Jana, she could only imagine how it sounded to Alois.

"…ja," Alois said, "at the very least, I'd rather stand trial for assault than murder."

There was a brief silence.

"So they think you did it?" Watson said.

Alois shrugged. "The person who found us - a neighbor of Maria's, Ich denke - described the scene to Fräu Detektivin Skye, and something about it lead her to the conclusion that I was the only one who could have done it."

"But you did not," Jana said.

"She doesn't know that," Alois said, looking away, "I was there, offensichtlich, but I couldn't account for what I was doing since I don't remember… anything beyond Maria saying it was cold out and we should go inside - I barely remember talking to the EMTs last night. So I could have done it, jein?"

"Of course not," Jana said irritably.

"Prove it in court, then," a new voice said. Jana and Watson turned around to see a tan-skinned, black haired man holding a cup of coffee. He was dressed in red and black, had a magatama around his neck, and was very, very attractive. Miguel Fey-Armando. Maria's little brother, Alois' best friend, and apparently completely unconcerned about the bad position both of them were in - although it was obviously only confidence that all would be well, as opposed to cruel apathy.

"Hmm," Alois said, his typical smile slowly returning, "my little sister defend me in court? Naja, I suppose it's either her or Herr Armando…"

"I've been up against Dad in court before, kitten," Miguel said, sipping his coffee, "but I've never been up against the filly before. It'll be interesting."

"E-Excuse me?" Jana said. She could feel the blood rushing to her cheeks.

"So you're the prosecutor for this case?" Watson said, raising an eyebrow.

"I wanted to take this one," Miguel said with a toothy smirk, "but anyway, I came here to give you a warning. Do you remember reading about the Dark Age of the Law?"

"…the thing that ended over 25 years ago?" Jana scoffed.

"That's recent enough for plenty of people in both the police department and the Prosecutorial Offices to remember it," Miguel said cryptically, "now, do you remember what caused it, filly?"

"Uncle Wright's disbarment?"

"And Herr Blackquill's conviction," Alois added.

"Guess which one this is similar to, considering the lack of motive and all?" Miguel said lightly, then took a swig of his coffee. "The point is, this trial is pretty much going to be all-or-nothing. A 'not guilty' verdict with any doubt remaining in the public eye is going to lead to accusations of the Prosecutorial Offices covering things up just because the accused is a prosecutor. And a 'guilty' verdict will have the same issues Prosecutor Blackquill's conviction did 33 years ago."

"Which means…?" Jana said.

"Which means that the majority of the LAPD and the Prosecutorial Offices have already started doing damage control. They assume he's guilty and they're washing their hands as fast as possible. Only the relatively few who know him personally still want a fair trial here," Miguel said, "and obviously I'm one of them. Personally, I think my kitten's innocent. Which is why I came to tell you that there's only one acceptable outcome for this trial: not guilty by virtue of the fact that we figured out who really bashed Maria's head in."

"Easier said than done," Watson said.

"…of course I - we can do it," Jana said resolutely.

"That's not your usual strategy," Alois commented.

"You are not my usual client," Jana said, "for the first time, I actually care that you did not do it, because I know for sure that you did not."

"And it'd be nice to not have a Dark Age of the Law in our time," Watson added.

"…danke," Alois said, looking at his lap again.

"I also came to see how my kitten's doing," Miguel said after interrupting a quiet moment with his coffee-slurping, "they're not treating you badly in there, are they, kitten?"

"Nein, of course not. I'm fine."

"If you need to, I have a few strings I could pull-"

"Miguel, bitte. I've been accused of a crime," Alois said resolutely, "I should be treated like any other suspect."

"…if you say so, kitten."

Watson glanced sidelong at Jana. "Are they…?" she whispered, hooking her pinkies together. Jana shrugged and shook her head. She hoped not, anyway.

"Well, I suppose I'll take my leave, then," Miguel was saying, "the crime scene is waiting. Oh, except that I have one last piece of bad news."

"I'm afraid to find out," Alois muttered.

"What is it?" Watson asked.

"Maria… isn't expected to wake up," Miguel said, and for the first time since he came here he sounded sad, "so this is being treated like a murder case."

"…I'm sorry," Watson said.

"Don't be," Miguel said, squaring his shoulders again and smiling reassuringly, "you and the filly need to stay strong for my kitten, for one thing. And besides, Maria and I are still Feys. Death doesn't mean much to us." He took another sip of his coffee. "If you need me, you know where to find me."

"Danke for coming by, Miguel," Alois said. At least he seemed to have been cheered somewhat, even if tomorrow Miguel would be trying to prove his guilt in court.

"No problem, kitten," Miguel said, "I'll see you three around." And he was gone.

"…so there's really nothing you can tell us?" Watson said, "anything at all?"

Alois shook his head. "For some reason, I keep thinking something was odd about the door, but I have no idea what."

"Then we will need to check out the door," Jana said.

"Have fun at the crime scene," Alois sighed, "if Fräu Detektivin Noir is there, tell her I said Grüß dich."

"Will do," Watson said, although her expression plainly read that she had no idea what "Grüß dich" actually meant.

December 28, 10:00 AM, Gatewater Apartments, Room #281

"I take it my kitten didn't have much to tell you," Miguel said, sipping his coffee.

"Well, it's not like he remembers anything," Watson said.

Maria's apartment was, as expected, a nice, neat place, tastefully decorated and also covered in blood. It was almost impressive that Maria could have lost so much blood and yet had hung onto life long enough that she was still alive by the time she got to the emergency room.

"She did like to talk about miracles," Miguel muttered to himself.

"So what exactly did the neighbor see?" Watson said.

"Well-"

"I'll spill, sir," said a Chicago accent. Detective Noir emerged from an adjacent room. She looked the same as ever, which ticked Jana off.

"Traitor!" she burst out, "you work directly under Alois for almost a whole year, and as soon as he gets arrested you turn around and work to secure his conviction? How could you?!"

"Easy there, little twist," Detective Noir said, holding her hands out defensively.

"He trusted you!"

"And I'm not here to be a skid rogue, little frail," Detective Noir said, "I'm here to sniff out any possible lead that could lead us to the real perp."

"She begged to be on this case," Miguel added, sipping his coffee.

"…oh," Jana said, deflating. Only now did she notice the bags under Detective Noir's eyes and how disheveled her hair looked under her fedora.

Watson cleared her throat. "So what happened?"

"The neighbor heard screaming, so he rushed over to see if everything was jake. When he got here, the dish was on the floor and Alois was slugged in the corner. The weapon was lying on his hand."

"Lying on his hand?" Watson said.

"The neighbor took a picture of the crime scene after calling for an ambulance," Miguel said, then pulled it out and showed it to Jana and Watson. It was as Detective Noir described, complete with a statue of Rodin's The Thinker lying on top of Alois' outstretched hand. "He wasn't gripping it, which made sense because he was unconscious. Detective Skye figured that if he'd been framed, the real culprit would have wrapped his hand around it unnaturally, as opposed to placing it in a more natural position like this."

"There's also the problem about what the neighbor didn't pipe," Detective Noir said.

"What did the neighbor not… pipe?" Jana said, making a genuine effort to follow Detective Noir's speech pattern.

"He didn't pipe the real perp leaving the crime scene."

"…how long was it between the screams and the neighbor discovering the… discovering Alois and Maria Fey-Armando?" Jana said.

"He claims it was immediate," Miguel said, "although that remains to be seen."

"How does it remain to be seen?" Watson said, finally handing Miguel back the picture.

"See that statue of The Thinker?" Miguel said, pointing at it, "it's not really a statue. It's a clock. Last time I checked, it still worked, too."

"It's pretty old, so it might have been busted in the attack," Detective Noir said, "and if it was busted in the attack, we'd be able to tell the exact time it went down."

"…a clock shaped like a statue of The Thinker?" Watson said thoughtfully, putting one hand to her face, "that sounds familiar."

"It should," Miguel said, sipping his coffee, "it's actually the exact same clock that killed our mother. Maria picked it up at a police auction several years ago."

"…that's really morbid."

"Maria could be like that."

"Hopefully she'll continue to be like that," Detective Noir muttered, "Prosecutor Fey… they're fitting her out for a Chicago overcoat, aren't they?"

"She'll pull through," Miguel said confidently. Meanwhile, Jana's attention was caught by a framed photograph on Maria's desk. It was one of Maria, Miguel, and Armando standing in one of the Prosecutor's Lobbies at the courthouse. Miguel and Armando looked the same as ever, with identical toothy smirks and coffee cups, but Maria stood out. For one thing, Maria's now-typical black sweater was absent, revealing her bright red spaghetti-strap tanktop for the world to see. She also had at least four piercings on each ear, which looked a little odd in retrospect. But strangest of all was her mischievous smile and the cup of coffee in her hand. "What are you looking at there, filly?"

"This picture…"

Miguel walked over, picked up the photo, and scrutinized it. "I remember this," he said, "we took this right after my debut trial three years ago. This was also right after Maria started working for QLF… it wasn't long afterwards that she joined that weird cult, gave up the coffee, and turned her back on us."

"…oh." Jana didn't know what to say to that. She tried to imagine Alois just one day turning his back on his family, but she really couldn't. Instead, she opened one of the desk drawers. It was empty. "Miguel, do you have any idea what the motive is?"

"'We're' assuming my kitten got into an argument with Maria and lost control of himself," Miguel said, "which is why he didn't pass out at the first sign of blood - he wasn't in a normal state of mind until after Maria had already passed out."

"What would Alois and Maria possibly argue about, though?" Watson said.

Miguel shrugged. "I just work here, Wat."

"The angle that she interrupted a gonif was considered," Detective Noir said, "but nothing seems to be hot from her dive."

"…was there anything odd about the door?" Watson said, walking over to it, "Alois said he remembered something about it."

"The lock wasn't forced," Detective Noir said, frowning, "which was another reason why Detective Skye said there couldn't have been a greaser involved."

"Interesting," Watson muttered to herself, crouching by the door, "Miguel, can I see that cell phone picture again?"

"Sure," Miguel said, handing it to her.

Watson spent a moment looking from the crime photo to the door. No, not the door, Jana noticed - a key on the ground by it. Watson handed the picture back to Miguel. "I can't really see anything."

"I'll get it enhanced by tomorrow," Miguel said, taking a sip of his coffee.

"Is this the key to the house?" Jana said.

"It's got the room number on it," Watson said.

"If it is on the floor here, it is possible that Maria Fey-Armando dropped it while she was using it," Jana said slowly, "which would imply something in her apartment surprised her while she was entering it."

"Assuming the key's been there the whole time," Detective Noir pointed out, "if the croakers had kicked it over there while they were trying to patch up Fey-Armando, it's completely irrelevant."

"Hey. Don't give up hope," Miguel said, grinning at Detective Noir, "if we do that, my kitten's going behind bars and the bastard that did this to Maria is going to get away with it."

"Not if I can help it," Jana muttered.

"By the way, Detective Noir," Miguel said, "do you know how Detective Skye's search for other witnesses is going?" Detective Noir shook her head.

"There were other witnesses?" Watson said.

Miguel shrugged. "If there's any merit to the argument theory, then at least one of Maria's neighbors should have heard shouting."

"Have you heard anything so far?" Jana asked. Miguel shook his head and took a swig of coffee.

"I'm as out of the loop as the prosecutor heading up the case can possibly be, filly," he said, "there's a reason why the only officer here besides Detective Noir is just guarding the crime scene." He nodded towards the door. "Detective Skye's own investigation is at a standstill. I think she's waiting for some things from forensics, actually."

"I can probably find out what she's sent over ahead of time," Watson said thoughtfully.

"Well, it's not like there's much else for you here," Miguel noted, "I'll let the CAD know you're coming, for what it's worth."

December 28, 12:00 PM, Criminal Affairs Department

"Do you think they found fingerprints?" Watson said as they entered the building.

"Most likely not," Jana said, trying to sound cooler than she felt, "Alois is in the habit of wearing gloves, and since it is December, that is not unique to him."

"They're probably doing bloodstain analysis, then," Watson said, mostly to herself, then stopped in her tracks. "Oh. Hi, Mom."

The lab-coat wearing detective who had previously been discussing something with the director turned around. "Hi, Wat. You're helping out Jana?" She frowned. "You're defending Alois, aren't you?"

"Is that a problem?" Jana said defensively.

"You don't exactly come from the most ethical school of legal thought," Detective Skye said, pulling out a bag of chocolate Snackoos and munching a few. "I started my career during the Dark Age of the Law, so you understand why I'm worried."

"If you're worried about forged evidence-" Watson started.

"I didn't say anything like that. Anyway, how's your father?" Detective Skye said, changing the subject.

"Um," Watson said, slightly taken aback, "well, he kinda misses you."

Detective Skye scoffed. "After ten years?"

"You know how he is around Christmas…" Jana cleared her throat loudly. "Oh, right," Watson said, "what exactly did you send to forensics?"

"Nothing you won't find out about in court tomorrow," Detective Skye said, munching some Snackoos. Watson and Jana exchanged a glance. What else could they possibly do?

"Come on, Mom," Watson whined, tugging at the sleeve of her own labcoat nervously, "cut us some slack." She then quailed under Detective Skye's stern look, turned slightly to Jana, muttered, "Let's just go. There has to be something else somewhere else," and practically dragged Jana out of the Criminal Affairs Department.

December 28, 7:00 PM, Wright Anything Agency

There has to be something else somewhere else. Jana really wished that were true.

Watson and Jana had searched all day, aided by Miguel and Detective Noir, and, later, Maya Valerie and Armando, when the latter finally returned from the hospital. But other than a promise from Miguel to get an enlargement of the cell phone photo the neighbor took of the crime scene, Jana was completely and utterly unprepared for court, since even that she had to wait on: Miguel had ordered the enlargement alright, but he wasn't going to actually receive it until just before the trial. He also didn't know where the neighbor had gone to, although Detective Skye assured him that the weird sparkly-haired man would be ready to testify tomorrow.

To make matters worse, Jana had no idea what sort of opponent Miguel would be. Armando said that Miguel was a top-notch bluffer, but Miguel said that he wouldn't be bluffing during Alois' trial. Not yet, anyway. Not until he and Jana needed to work together to find the real would-be-killer. Under ordinary circumstances, Jana would have been oddly thrilled about the prospect of working together with Miguel. But under these circumstances, she only felt anxiety that she strove to crush.

It was better not to think about how the chips were stacked against them, Jana decided. You can't keep cool if you worry so much, Kristoph had told her once. And of all the cases she had taken since her debut, she needed her mentor's strength more than ever. Too bad he was in San Francisco.

"So how is Maria?" Misty asked as Armando got off the phone for the dozenth time since that morning.

"Her condition is stabilizing," Armando muttered, "but…"

There was a quiet moment. "But?" Misty prompted.

"If she wakes up, it won't be for another five years at the least," Armando said, "no wonder they're treating this like a murder trial… the doctor's recommending I pull the plug already."

"It's only been about a day, though," Watson protested, "if she's stabilizing already…"

"I'm not a doctor, Wat," Armando said, sitting down heavily and summoning a cup of coffee.

"The brain damage must be pretty severe," Maya Valerie said quietly to Jana, "whoever did this must have been really angry at her. That's pretty scary…" she added, tearing up, genuinely this time. "It'll probably take a miracle for her to make it out of this alright."

"She never did shut up about miracles," Armando sighed, then sipped his coffee. "Maybe her God will come through for her this time."

"She'll be fine," Watson said abruptly, "five years in a coma is nothing, right, Mr. Armando?"

Armando shook his head. "It doesn't feel like anything," he said, "but when you wake up everything's different, and you lose the people dearest to you. That's just how it works."

"Then we'll just have to make sure none of us die," Maya Valerie said sweetly.

Armando was silent for a minute. "I don't think I have five years." He took a swig of his coffee. "I'm already 68, and it's a wonder I lasted this long after what your aunt did to me."

"Oh, stop whining," Dahlia said, appearing out of nowhere, "if you feel so bad about being old and frail, just retire already."

"I was planning on it."

What happened to this conversation? Jana wondered incredulously.

The door opened and Miles stepped in, took a glance around, then frowned. "Investigation at a standstill?" he said.

"Yes," Jana sighed.

"Wish I could have helped," Miles sighed, shrugging off his jacket and hanging it up, "but they aren't happy at QLF right now. Josephson's been yelling at me all day…"

"Something to do with Maria?" Misty said.

Miles glanced at her, then disappeared into the kitchen without saying anything. A minute later, he came back with a cup of tea and settled onto the couch. "I can't really say."

"Why does your law firm deal in so much classified information, anyway?" Armando said.

"It's not me who deals in it," Miles protested, "Maria did, though, and apparently something… well, something happened to something. They wouldn't tell me much."

"Why are they asking you anything in the first place?" Maya Valerie asked, sitting next to him and casually stealing his tea.

"They assumed I might know something just because we're second cousins," Miles said, then yawned. "I guess tomorrow I'm supposed to check some things out… but I can't tell you that, either," he added, catching Misty's eye.

"I told her that law firm was trouble," Armando said, standing up and finishing off his coffee. "Guess it's a moot point now. Anyway, I'd better head home."

"Good night, Uncle Diego," Maya Valerie said sweetly.

"Hmph." He closed the door a little harder than necessary on his way out.

"…you don't think he suspects Alois, do you?" Watson said.

"He always acts like that around me," Maya Valerie said. Watson raised an eyebrow, to which Maya Valerie shrugged. "I think he's just stressed."

"And understandably so," Miles sighed, "so how are you holding up, Jana? I know Maria's the one in a coma, but things obviously aren't going so well on your end either."

"Miguel's the prosecutor," Misty volunteered.

"Oof," Miles said, wincing, "poor Miguel. Prosecuting his best friend for his sister's attempted murder… what is Edgeworth thinking?"

"Did Daddy even assign him in the first place?" Misty said, putting her hand to her mouth thoughtfully, "who's acting Chief Prosecutor while Daddy's in D.C., anyway?"

"No idea," Watson said, "not Mr. Blackquill, anyway. I don't think he ever lived down that thing with your dad, Jana."

Jana rolled her eyes. "For your information, Miles, Miguel wanted to take the case."

"Hmm," Miles said, stealing his now-cold tea back from Maya Valerie, "he must trust you a lot, then, Jana," he said with a kind of sappy smile. Jana looked away, slightly flustered.

"I'd better go, too," Watson sighed, picking up her scarf and wrapping it around her neck. "I'll see you in the Defendant's Lobby tomorrow, Jana." She, too, left before anyone could say anything.

"…huh," Maya Valerie said, "I thought Wat never wanted to be your co-counsel."

"Well, it is a unique situation," Jana said, although Maya Valerie had a point. Watson wasn't particularly close to Alois, so perhaps it was a little odd after all...?

"Er," Misty said, "does anyone know where Aunt Dahlia went…?"

"She mentioned something about having a little talk with Miguel, then left," Maya Valerie said.

"…thanks for telling us that earlier," Miles said, then started profusely apologizing when Maya Valerie burst into tears. Misty rolled her eyes.

"What could she possibly want to talk to Miguel about?" Jana said, playing with her riding crop in thought.

"Probably nothing to do with the case, don't worry about it," Misty said.

December 29, 9:50 AM, District Court, Defendant's Lobby #4

"-I'm here, I'm here," Watson said, running into the room. She was shoving a couple scraps of paper into her pockets. "I'm not late, am I?"

"Do you own a watch?" Jana said derisively.

"…oh, I had time to spare," Watson sighed, glancing at the clock. "Sorry. I wanted to check some things. Hey, Alois."

Alois nodded, and gave her a slightly shaky smile.

"There is no need to be nervous," Jana informed him.

"I… I'm just worried," Alois said, "about Maria. And Miguel, too."

"Yeah, this must be pretty hard on him, too," Watson said, "it's hard on all the Armandos."

"I think that goes without saying," Alois sighed.

"Court will begin in just a few moments," the guard informed them.

"Are you ready, Alois?" Watson said.

"Are you?" he replied, smiling lightly, but Jana caught his voice wavering.

"Of course we are," Jana lied confidently, wagging her finger at him. And they entered the court for what would surely be the most difficult trial of Jana's life.

Aaaand now that the aforementioned Miguel Fey-Armando has appeared, almost all of the next-generation OCs have shown up. Note the use of the word "almost". Heh heh heh...

Next update to come sometime in the next century, probably.