Chapter 8
The day following the incidents, Miles was allowed to go home as long as he would be watched by a close friend or family member. With Phoenix unconscious, this left very little in the way of options. That previous day, the two had been put up in a hospital room and evaluated, before Derek was promptly transferred to Cadeceus because of his residency there, followed by Phoenix after Angie received a report on what little they knew of what had occurred. Of course, Miles was set to go there as soon as he possibly could, but first, he had to deal with a certain other obstacle.
Franzika von Karma was furious. She was beyond angry when she got the call from the hospital the previous evening about Miles. Something had made him think that he had the right to leave her behind, to leave that foolish fool Phoenix Wright as well. Well, her little brother had another thing coming. If he had succeeded in killing himself, she would have found a way to bring him back to kill him herself for thinking such things. Her steps were hard as she made her way up to his hospital room, barging into his door and snapping the floor with her whip, speaking in an irritated tone, "Miles Edgeworth, how dare you?"
Though Miles winced, he regained his cool exterior much more quickly than he would have been able to the day before. "Franziska, I'm fairly certain that if hospital security saw you carrying that around, they would attempt to take it away," he said offhandedly, slipping on his jacket, trying to act in his normal, somewhat aloof manner.
Franziska was in no mood for nonsense, approaching him in what most people would perceive as a threatening manner, ignoring Miles' comment and saying in a hard tone, "What made you think that this was an appropriate thing to do?"
"It was not a question of appropriateness," he replied in a prickly fashion, not really enjoying this line of questioning at all, nor intending to give her any real answers.
She poked at his chest with her whip and said, some of her worry barely sneaking into her tone, her eyes narrowed at him, "I had gone to punish that fool Phoenix Wright for treating you in some way that had put you in this mood, and he insisted he was trying his best to help you. He wanted to help you."
"Yes and now he's unconscious at Cadeceus, and no-one knows why," Miles snapped, his voice breaking the only sign that something other than irritation lay beneath his cold expression.
"This is something that we will find out." she said, raising a challenging eyebrow at him as she gave Miles an intense look. She knew she personally owed a lot to Phoenix herself, so not only did she want to find out what was wrong with him for Miles, she wanted to pay him back for everything. Then, in an irritated tone, she continued, "But we will go to your apartment first so that you may rest."
"I don't need to rest," Miles shook his head, checking his pockets for his usual personal effects. "I need to go to Cadeceus, and unfortunately, I do not have my car, so perhaps we will have to stop at the apartment... for that reason only."
Her tone turned sharp and her eyes were angry and worried all at once and she practically barked at him, "You will rest whether you like it or not, Miles Edgeworth! I will not be put through this again in a few days, so I will take all steps to prevent it from being so!" She cracked the floor again with the whip, looking very dangerous indeed.
Miles sighed, sensing her worry and not having the vivacity to argue much with her. "... Very well. But I will see him by tomorrow."
Franziska had made sure that Miles had all of his things at the hospital and then taken him back to his apartment. Though she was great at hiding it, she was incredibly worried about her little brother. He was all she had, and to think she had almost lost him without knowing it shook her to the core. She wouldn't let this happen again, ever. She would let her brother know in her own special way that he was always wanted, and to never commit such a foolish act again. When they were inside the apartment, she let him get settled down to sleep, and then she brought a chair into the room to sit in as he lay down, not caring about the looks he was giving her. She would stay by his side no matter how much he glared at her. It was her place to protect him from himself, especially since the foolish fool Phoenix Wright was temporarily incapacitated.
Despite the constant and somewhat worrisome watch of the younger, Miles did eventually drift off to sleep, still somewhat exhausted from the ordeal. As he fell into a deeper state of sleep, he found himself returning to a place that he never thought would be in his dreams. It was a garden, closed in by wrought-iron fences that led up to a large dark brick house, with more lawn surrounding it on all sides. He was at the house in Germany.
Miles let himself into the gate and walked slowly through the garden, getting good and not so good memories of the place as he strolled slowly toward the house. It seemed to be spring time, since everything was in beautiful bloom. His favorite time of the year. As he neared the house, he was surprised to pick up the sound of someone crying. Deciding to find the source of the sound, he followed it, realizing that it seemed to be coming from his favorite part of the garden, a bench that sat under a large tree; it had been his favorite place to study.
Driven by curiosity, he moved to that part of the garden, stunned to see his lover sitting on the bench, crying. He moved to him, relieved to see the other, his normal social inhibitions removed in this dream setting. "..Phoenix?" he asked softly, kneeling down so he was eye level.
Phoenix had been in the dark for hours with the feelings of worry and despair pushing down on him, and he finally couldn't take it anymore, wondering if he'd be stuck in this weird limbo forever. He'd broken down and cried for who knows how long, and he hardly even noticed the change of scenery. But he looked up in shock to finally hear someone else's voice. "Oh, god, Miles!" tears of relief running down his cheeks as he saw him, pulling him into a bone crushing hug, never wanting to let him go after the experience he'd been through.
Despite the slightly odd position he was forced into by the hug, Miles hugged back equally tightly, unsure of what to say. Even in a dream, what do you say to someone after things had happened the way they did? He pursed his lips, trying not to be emotional.
Phoenix practically sobbed into Miles' shoulder, all the time feeling like he'd be alone forever in the strange blackness, and feeling the first shred of affection from Miles he had in weeks sent his emotions awry. "Don't leave me, please don't leave me..." Phoenix choked and begged, not loosening his hug in the slightest.
"...I'm here," Miles said softly, part of his subconscious telling him that this must have been his mind's way of punishing him for what he had done, which clearly made Phoenix and Franziska suffer, if no-one else.
At first, Phoenix was just far too upset to think of how Miles suddenly appeared or what exactly was going on here, just wanting to hold on tight to him. After what must have been many minutes, Phoenix finally began to calm down, his arms loosening just slightly, but he didn't let go completely. Finally he could breathe again, and he pressed his face into Miles' neck and he whispered, "Oh, god, I've felt so alone..."
"You must meanthese past weeks," Miles mumbled, trying to make sense of it all. Even though he was certain Phoenix was nothing more than a creation of his subconscious, he couldn't pull away, not only because he wanted to hold him now, but because he didn't want the other to see his face.
"Is this how you feel all the time? This sad?" Phoenix said, pulling back and finally making Miles look at him, his eyes still a little teary.
Miles looked confused, sad, and lost even now, though his expression was much more honest than it was in real life, he still held back. "What do you mean..?" he asked softly.
"I'd thought you didn't want me anymore..." another tear finding its way down his cheek, "But, now I've seen it, I've felt it...you are so sad all the time..."
"You... I don't understand, Phoenix..." He shook his head slightly, unsure what the other meant by all of that.
"I never knew..." Phoenix replied cryptically, his emotions making it hard to think straight, "Please, just don't leave me." He pulled Miles into another hug, his body trembling a little.
"I won't... I promise..." Miles found himself saying, moving to sit on the bench and pulling Phoenix into his arms.
Miles' affection comforted him, and something told Phoenix that the prosecutor was telling the truth. "Why are you so sad?" Phoenix asked him in a whisper, his eyes wide and beseeching.
"What do you mean?" Miles asked softly, closing his eyes as he pulled the other close, not wanting to look at those eyes.
Phoenix accepted the hug and he replied into Miles' ear, his voice gentle, "You shut me out, and you feel so depressed, and you never want to be close to me. Was it something I did?"
"No..." Miles said softly, feeling only a bit less reluctant to talk in this dream setting, but it was enough. "I just don't want to burden you. You care... perhaps too much..."
Phoenix realized that Miles didn't want to talk right now, and he didn't care for the time being. He was just so happy that he wasn't alone anymore. He pulled back to look at Miles and he touched his face tenderly and said, "You mean everything to me...if you're not with me...I don't know how I could live."
The emotions behind Miles' eyes were conflicting, but Miles nodded. "I am sorry, Phoenix. It's difficult for me to rely on anyone else... but if I mean that much to you, if I am not just a problem"
"You are my world." Phoenix said with absolute certainty, taking Miles' face into his hands to give him a soft but passionate kiss.
Miles could have melted. He'd almost forgotten what it was like to be kissed by the other. It made him feel better, but he found tears in his eyes as they parted, and he quickly looked away. "You're unconscious right now... but maybe I'll tell you what I just told you when you wake up..."
Phoenix narrowed his eyes in confusion. "Unconscious? But, I'm here with you."
"You're just a figment of my imagination," Miles informed him softly.
Phoenix thought for a moment, and remembered what happened before he ended up in the dark horrible place. He was working with Derek to try to unlock Miles' secret. Derek! Phoenix thought in worry, slowly piecing things together. Since he was using the magatama and doing strange stuff with it that he'd never done before, he figured this must be some sort of side effect. He was trapped in Miles' body! Then he looked back at Miles, who was regarding him curiously, and he realized that this mustn't really be Miles at all. It was...his soul perhaps? "Miles, you have to believe me...I am real..." Phoenix said, wondering just how he could prove it.
Miles just looked at him for a moment "... Right. Perhaps in some way, yes..." he didn't really want to think about how that could be plausible. It didn't make any sense if taken too literally... did it? "...Do you know where we are, Phoenix?"
Suddenly looking around, he realized that he was in an unfamiliar place. "No, where are we?"
Miles sighed softly. If Phoenix was a figment of his imagination, wouldn't he know? "The house in Germany. The place where I spent all of my childhood after I disappeared."
Phoenix looked around him in surprise. "It's beautiful..."
"It was well kept for the entire time I stayed here. I am not sure how it was done... Von Karma did not like outside help very much, but I did occasionally see a gardener. A new one every time..." Miles spoke without really thinking about it. After all, it was a dream...
"I'm sorry you had to be so far away all that time. I wrote you for so many years, you know?" Phoenix admitted softly, looking a little embarrassed.
Miles looked back to him, mildly surprised. "You wrote me?"
"Yeah, a lot." he said, "I suppose von Karma intercepted all the letters, then?"
"... I suppose so. He intercepted a lot of things, so to speak," Miles shook his head a little bit.
Phoenix was silent for a moment, not sure what to say, but he saw this as a rare opportunity to ask Miles questions about his past, since the prosecutor was usually very reluctant to talk about that time in his life. "Hey, Miles...how was it to live here?"
"Our needs were well catered to, we were taught more than I would have learned in any public school around the world, and... we were lonely," Miles admitted softly.
Phoenix then took Miles into his arms, feeling like returning the comfort he'd just received, gently stroking his hair. "I'm glad you ended coming back to the U.S. I missed you..."
"I miss you now," Miles mumbled quietly, not really sure about saying it. "I wanted to come to you so many times, but... I couldn't shake that feeling that I was just... a burden."
"I'll always be here for you, no matter what." Phoenix said, continuing the soft stroking, and then placing a small kiss on Miles' forehead.
Miles nodded slightly. "You're going to be all right. Right..? You're going to wake up..."
This caused Phoenix to look a little troubled, and he said, "I'm not sure how it all happened, but I'm sure I'll be fine." Thinking for a moment, he added, "But, I'll be with you the whole time...literally."
Miles sighed. "All right..." he said softly, his image beginning to fade.
Phoenix realized that Miles started to fade, along with their surroundings, and he figured the prosecutor's dream must be ending, and that he'd be alone again. But this time, he didn't feel nearly as afraid or sad about it...he figured this was because Miles' mood had been significantly improved by their talk. He really hoped Miles would remember this when he woke up, and before he'd completely faded away, he quickly said, "I love you." And then he gave him one last kiss.
