Chapter Eight: Searing Rebirth (Part 1)
April 24 07:11 PM
Wright Anything Agency
Phoenix was just relaxing on the couch, a bottle of grape juice in hand. He was just clicking through the channels on his old TV, wishing he could afford cable as the same fizzy greyness ran through every channel. When someone was as imaginative as Phoenix, he doesn't need actual channels. In fact, he could imagine, just by looking at the fizzy screen, that he was watching boxing, a gardening, show, someone throwing a strange-looking ball at an adorable beaver-like creature, or images of delectable foods throughout the world.
Speaking of food, Phoenix was rather hungry. He went over to the makeshift dining room, took some leftover noodles from the day before, and threw it into the microwave. The truth was, he was used to eating dinner alone, but eating dinner alone knowing you may never see your daughter again is a different.
The microwave made the familiar beeping sound as Phoenix walked over to it and took the noodles out. The familiar smell of ramen with extra pork hung through the air as Phoenix cleared the table for his bowl. Apollo's case files accidentally fell off the cluttered table, so Phoenix picked it up. It's been a while since Phoenix held a case file of his own. He's only been seeing Apollo's, reading over his cases and making sure that they were done correctly (being a mentor sucks).
Phoenix placed the warm bowl of ramen on the table and grabbed a pair of chopsticks. He then began to wolf it down. He never got out of the habit of wolfing down ramen. He did that with any form of ramen he obtained from Eldoon's Noodles.
Finally, Phoenix finished downing the last salty noodle. He felt quite satisfied with himself, then immediately got up and ran to get a bottle of water. He found one hiding by the sink and drank the entire bottle in ten seconds flat. "Man." he thought. "What salty noodles!"
He then returned to his comfortable position, attempting to relax. It was hard, despite his efforts. How could he relax when his apprentice was in the hospital and his daughter was somewhere he didn't know. He turned off the TV to save on the electricity bill and to stop the endless white noise.
Just as he did, someone knocked on the door. "Who is it?" he called out.
The person behind the door answered.
"It's detec... Ema." she called out. "Mr. Wright, will you please let me in?"
"Of course, come right in. The door is unlocked."
Ema let herself in.
"Mr. Wright, I hope you don't mind my me coming without you knowing..." she replied sheepishly.
"No, it's fine. I was hoping for some company a while ago. It does get kinda lonely here." Phoenix exclaimed. He held up his bottle. "Grape juice?"
"No it's fine." Ema chuckled. "I'm not a big fan of grape juice."
Phoenix put on a shocked face, even though he didn't really care. "Well, I guess we all have different tastes." He then stared blankly up to the ceiling, then realized that the young detective was still standing by the door. "OH please, sit." he pointed to a small loveseat by the coffee table covered with Trucy's props.
Ema sat down quite reluctantly, but then felt relaxed as soon as she sunk in.
"Why did you come, Ema?"
"Oh, I just wanted to check up on you, Mr. Wright! You know, keep you company and such."
Phoenix pouted.
"You think I might go do some dangerous stunt in an attempt to save my daughter?"
"What do you mean?" Ema looked at him confusedly. Then she looked down. "Yeah."
Phoenix sat upright on the couch he was lying down on. "Have you had dinner?" he asked casually.
"Umm.." Ema glanced over to the empty ramen boxes. She then took out her half empty bag of Snackoos. "No, I'll be fine." she chuckled nervously.
Phoenix just continued to relax on the couch, closing his eyes, but not sleeping. Ema, on the other hand, began sitting nervously on the loveseat, but then got up and went over to the dinging table.
"So you are hungry?" Phoenix asked.
Ema gasped because she previously thought that he was sleeping.
"No." she responded. "I was just interested in the case files."
"Oh." Phoenix responded back. He casually put his hand in his hoodie pocket. "Whatever. Those are just a bunch of Apollo's previous cases. Go ahead and look if you want to."
Ema then took that opportunity to look at the files. Many of them were familiar, considering the fact that she was involved in the majority of them. They all brought back memories, though Ema was most intrigued by the most recent one. It was still yet to be completed.
State VS Butz it read. Ema opened it up, only to be greeted by a picture of a young man, the same age as Phoenix but a lot more messy. He had a cute little smile and spiky brown hair, but unlike Phoenix, his spikes went up.
"Larry Butz..." she read. Phoenix chuckled behind her at the name.
Phoenix sighed. "If something smells, it's gotta be the Butz." he chuckled, remembering loved memories.
Ema glanced back. "You knew the defendant?"
"Knew him? He was my best friend!" Phoenix replied.
Ema was tempted to ask more questions, but Phoenix closed his eyes once more. Ema assumed he was going to sleep and continued to read in silence.
Phoenix on the other hand wasn't exactly going to sleep, but he was dreaming. His hand clutched onto something in his pocket. He opened his eyes.
Ema continued to read on, unaware that Phoenix was taking something out of his pocket. She then heard him moving and assumed he was awake.
"So, do you think Trucy will be alright?" Ema asked. She was scared of asking, but oddly enough, Phoenix started to laugh joyfully.
"Mr. Wright?" Ema asked dumbfounded, a very confused expression on her face. Why would Phoenix be laughing at his daughter's kidnapping and the fact that she was going to be tried for murder tomorrow with no defense attorney?
She turned to face Phoenix, who was sitting on the couch, slouched over. She realized that Phoenix was holding something in his hand. (You can already guess what it is.) It had a smooth gold coating and almost circular in shape. Phoenix had a smile plastered on his face. Ema still couldn't tell what it was that was making him smile so much.
"Of course Trucy will be alright!" Phoenix exclaimed.
He stood up.
Ema got off her chair too and stood to face him. A confident look was glued on Phoenix's gaze as they looked eye-to-eye.
"Mr. Wright... what do you have in your hand?" Ema asked.
Phoenix glanced at it first, then lifted it up, somewhat shoving it in Ema's face. Ema was shocked.
"Trucy will most definitely alright." Phoenix laughed. "That's because I'll be there."
Ema was stunned. She was scared to ask, but she went anyway. "You mean to say..."
"That's right. I'll be defending her tomorrow." Phoenix took off his hat, letting his spiky hair spring up.
"That's because I'm Phoenix Wright, ace attorney."
