A/N: Happy New Years, everyone! Here's the next chapter, hehe.

Chapter Nine – Rescue and Surprises

July 10th, 9:45pm

Mountain Pass

Five men crept quietly along a path, moving against a rock wall one at a time to stick to the shadows. The sun had set about two hours ago, and it was a cloudy night. The only light came from the flashlight that the lead man held.

"We're close," he hissed, glancing at the man directly behind him.

"How can you tell, Mr. Drake?" Edgeworth asked. Nate glanced back at the man, and pointed to a turn in the path.

"Watch that wall," he said. Miles nodded, keeping his eyes on that spot. Nate flicked off his flashlight, and not just Miles, but the entire group, saw the glow of a soft light on the rock.

"Their camp."

"Ah."

"Okay, here's what we're going to do," Nate said, turning to the rest of the group. "I'm going to slip in and see if I can find Wright. Sully, climb up there and cover me," he said, pointing to the top of the rock wall.

"With what, kid? My gun's back at the hotel," the older man said. Nate looked around before noticing the LAPD Standard issued firearm on Gumshoe's hip. Nate stepped forward and snatched the gun from the detective's holster, handing it to Sully.

"With that," he said.

"Hey, pal!" Gumshoe growled, stepping forward. Edgeworth held up a hand.

"Stop, detective," he said.

"What? But Mr. Edgeworth…" Gumshoe started, only to fall silent at the look on the prosecutor's face. Sully inspected the gun for a few minutes before nodding.

"Alright. Let's get this goddamn party started." The older man ran over, climbing up the wall.

"What about us?" Apollo asked, looking up at Nate.

"Stay hidden and get ready to run. I'm going to try to be stealthy but… that doesn't always work," Nate admitted.

"Um… alright…"

Nate glanced up to make sure Sully was in position before creeping forward, pressing his back against the rock wall and looking around the corner. There was about five black cars and a tractor trailer with a steel storage container on the back. As Nate watched, a few men came out of a cave, talking amongst each other. Their leader motioned to the storage container, and one broke off from the group, heading in that direction. He opened the door and stepped in. A few minutes later, he stepped out, pulling a man behind him.

The man looked dazed, the lights around the camp showing how pale his face was and how dark the bags beneath his eyes were. His black hair was disheveled and he wore a dark gray and blue hoodie, jeans, and sneakers. Splattered across the front of the hoodie were dark red stains.

Nate recognized him as Phoenix Wright from the traffic footage showed in court earlier today.

The man pulling Phoenix along pushed him down to sit near a wooden crate and placed a tray of food in front of him before sitting close. Nate, knowing where Wright was, let his attention drift back to the cave before looking up at Sully.

He waved to him, catching the man's attention, and pointed to the cave. Sully shook his head, pointing at Phoenix, but Nate simply grinned at him and began on his way.

This group obviously found something in that cave. Valuable information that could be needed to figure out where the Azran settlement was.

Careful, Nate managed to ghost from his position to the entrance of the cave without getting caught.

July 10, 10:18pm

Damp Cave

Burial Chamber

Nate gasped as he looked around the burial chamber. It was huge, full of different coffins. The back wall, however, was a mural. He walked closer, studying it, and recognizing the general shape of the mountain range as the one visible from his and Sully's hotel back in town. One specific peak, the tallest, had a gold star, but unfortunately, the picture looked incomplete.

"Hm…" he mumbled before pulling his journal out. He quickly sketched the mural down before looking around the room. Near the top, was an old mirror that looked like it could be moved. He then looked back at the gold star, returning the journal to his back pocket and going over.

"Hm… it looks like it could move…" he mumbled, touching the stone. It shifted slightly under his fingers, prompting Nate to push on it.

The gold symbol sank into the stone wall with a soft click, and suddenly, a beam of light shot from the ceiling, hitting the mirror, and reflecting to the mural. Nate studied it before looking around the room, finding the almost invisible hand and foot holds that would make up his path to the mirror.

After an uneventful climb, he pulled himself onto the ledge where the mirror sat.

"So, where do I point you?" Nate asked the mirror, gripping the handholds and studying the mural.

That's when he remembered watching the sunset over a specific mountain. He quickly studied the mural until he found the one he was looking for. He swung the mirror around so that the light reflected there.

Bingo.

The mirror locked into place, and a new light appeared from a different location, shone at the mountain, and reflected to a specific mountain peak. Nate quickly pulled his journal out and marked the location before looking around. On the ledge behind him were big, heavy rocks. He picked one up and slammed it into the mirror, shattering the glass and making it impossible for anyone else to find the settlement.

July 10, 10:52pm

Mountain Pass

Sully scowled at the cave entrance yet again since Nate disappeared into it. They were here on a rescue mission, and with the state Mr. Wright seemed to be in, it was going to be hard enough for Nate to get out of there unnoticed.

But, on the other hand, if this group was on to something, they needed to know.

Movement in the entrance alerted Sully to Nate finally coming out from the cave. He glanced up, waved at Sully, and hid.

"Alright, kid. Let's do this quietly," Sully mumbled, taking the safety off of his borrowed gun.

Nate pressed his back against one of the cars, glancing around it. There was about thirty feet between himself and where Mr. Wright sat. The man had hardly touched his food, Nate noticed, and every time his head nodded forward onto his chest, Phoenix would sit up quickly, his head snapping from side to side, looking pretty freaked out.

Surveying the space between himself and Phoenix, Nate picked out spots of cover before starting forward.

Phoenix took a deep breath, sitting back and resting his head against the crate he was sitting against. Guilt gnawed at him, and sleep was, yet again, impossible.

"Psst," a voice suddenly hissed close to his ear. Phoenix jumped slightly and turned his head slightly to spot the owner of the voice. It was a man, dressed totally different from the suit and ties that had captured Phoenix to begin with.

"Who are you?" Phoenix asked.

"Nate. I'm here to save your butt. Come on," he said, putting a hand under Phoenix's arm and pulling him up. Phoenix let him, knowing better then to ask questions and waste time. Nate put a finger to his lips before pointing out their path. "Just stick to the patches of cover and stay quiet," Nate hissed close to Phoenix's ear. Phoenix met his eye and nodded once, and Nate was relieved to see the determination on the man's face. He gave him a quick smirk before ghosting forward, staying two patches of cover ahead of Phoenix.

The two nearly made it to the entrance when things went wrong.

Phoenix was in the middle of moving from one patch of cover to another, when he heard the softest click, close to his ear.

"Well, well, Mr. Wright. Leaving so soon?" the smooth voice of the leader of this group said. Nate, hearing this and recognizing the voice, stopped and stepped from the cover. The man noticed the movement and looked up. "Along with Mr. Drake, it seems."

"Talbot," Nate growled. "I shot you. You fell into the quicksand back in Ubar. So how the hell are you here now?" he demanded. Talbot did look a little different then when Nate last saw him. He still wore the suit, but his dark brown hair was a little longer now, the tips brushing his shoulders, and contained a few gray strands. His five o'clock shadow was now a short, yet neatly trimmed beard, and his light blue eyes now held the haunted look of a man who'd seen and experienced way too much in his life.

Talbot just smirked at Drake. "Didn't your friend Cutter shoot me as well? You can't kill me, Drake. No matter what you do."

"I might not be able to," Nate agreed, his eyes moving from Talbot's face to a point just a few inches over the man's left shoulder. "But Sully might be able too."

"What?"

BANG!

The noise was soft, and it echoed off the surrounding rock walls, making it hard to tell where the shot came from. Something impacted with Talbot's shoulder, just a few inches over his heart, and Phoenix flinched away from the man. Before Talbot could make another move, Nate was on top of him, snatching his gun away.

Damn it, Sully! You missed! Nate thought in aggravation, pointing the gun at Talbot's head. "Run, Phoenix!" he yelled at the man. Phoenix hesitated, however, wanting to make sure his rescuer would be okay.

"There he is!" a voice shouted. Nate looked up, realizing he hesitated a moment too long and the time to kill Talbot, and make sure he was dead this time, was gone. Talbot's minions were running towards the three men, guns drawn. With a curse, Nate jumped up, shoving the gun into his belt, and ran, grabbing Phoenix's arm to drag the man along.

Sully took another drag on his cigar before taking aim again and picking off two more of the men giving chase. The two joined up with the three men that had been waiting, and together, those five escaped. Satisfied, Sully slipped into the darkness, taking a roundabout way to meet up with the group.

July 11, 12:08am

Mountain Road

The group stopped running only once they got back to the two cars they had driven. That's when Miles finally took a look at Phoenix.

Phoenix leaned against Edgeworth's shiny red sports car, his hands on his knees, breathing hard. Miles watched as he finally caught his breath and looked up. In Phoenix's eyes, he could see the same expression Edgeworth himself wore for fifteen years.

"Wright…" he mumbled. He didn't get to say much more though, before Gumshoe stepped forward, a really upset look on his face.

"Phoenix Wright, you are under arrest for the murder of Dylan Done. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law," he droned out. Phoenix just stared at the bigger man for a few minutes, seeming shocked.

"Whoa, hey, detective! What are you doing?" Apollo demanded, stepping forward. Gumshoe looked apologetically at the man.

"My job, pal. You know Mr. Wright here is the prime suspect, with charges pressed against him and all. My hands are tied on this one," Gumshoe explained. Apollo frowned, looking desperately at Edgeworth, hoping for him to do something.

"Apollo, stop," Phoenix said. The younger defense attorney turned and looked at the man who'd been a legend, and had become a mentor to him. "The truth will come out in court," Phoenix said with a smile, before turning and looking up at the detective seriously, letting the bigger man put him in handcuffs and lead him away. Apollo watched after him, boiling over with anger.

"I will drive Wright and the detective back. Mr. Drake, can you drive Mr. Justice home?" Edgeworth asked. Nate, stunned by what just happened, nodded.

"Uh, yeah," he said. The prosecutor nodded and climbed into his car. Once all three were settled, he took off, leaving the two ex-treasure hunters alone with Apollo.

"If that's what's going to happen when that detective comes to rescue someone, never let him rescue me," Nate said with a grin, slapping Sully on the shoulder before going over to their rental jeep. Sully chuckled at that, climbing in as well. Apollo watched after Edgeworth's car, rubbing his arm right below the bracelet, thinking.

"Come on, kid! We need to get back!" Sully called to Apollo, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"Oh, right," Apollo mumbled, jogging over and jumping in.

July 11, 9:02am

Detention Center

Visitor's Room

Even once the police finished their questioning and got Phoenix settled into his holding cell, it was another sleepless night. The same scene, the same sounds, everything, just continued to play over and over in his head as soon as his eyes closed.

So, instead, he paced his cell, counted the tiles on the floor, counted the tiles on the ceiling, went over different laws in his head, anything to keep himself awake.

Until visiting hours rolled around.

Now he sat across the plexiglass from two of the last people he wanted to see.

"Phoenix!" Maya gasped, pressing her hands against the glass. "You're okay."

"Yeah," Phoenix said with a tired smile, before looking at the second person. "You're not defending me in court today, are you, Apollo?"

"I am. Why?" Apollo asked, taken aback by Phoenix's tone. Phoenix hesitated for a moment before sighing.

"There will be no need. I'm pleading guilty," Phoenix announced. Both Maya and Apollo started talking at once, surprised, angry, worried, and a whole slew of other emotions. Phoenix waited for them to stop.

"Why?" Apollo demanded at the end of their rant.

"Because I did it," Phoenix said. His fingers unconsciously reached up, gingerly touching a spot on the right-back side of his neck. Apollo's bracelet squeezed almost painfully tight around his wrist, and his eyes flickered red, locking on Phoenix's hand.

What Phoenix said next shocked Apollo out of his Perceive ability though.

"I killed Dylan Done."

A/U: You all hate me. I know you do. MWAHAHAHAHA!

Next chapter will be coming soon!