Disclaimer: M'eh in stereo.
Notes: As has been pointed out to me Edgeworth is the one that doubts the Kurain Channelling techniques, whereas Franziska accepts them, I went back and changed that in chapter 9. The changes aren't anything important, so no need to go back, I pretty much just switched who said what between them when it came to their discussion on channelling.
Thanks for the encouragement Red Eagle but sadly the mind games end here… or do they?
Precious Maya
Chapter 10: Inversion
Lana looked into the eyes of the psychopath whose face was now mere inches in front of hers. That crazed expression, that evil smile, that look of self-satisfaction that could only come with everything going exactly the way you wanted it. She hated it, and was pleased to see it immediately evaporate the second she donned a satisfied smirk of her own. Replaced by a look of annoyance, curiosity and overall surprise.
"What the hell are you smiling about Skye!" He demanded, backing off. "You just drank poison. I-it was poisoned wasn't it? A-are you trying to make a fool of me?" Lana kept the smile on her face; knowing that it was irritating him, a lesser woman probably would have laughed, but, judging by that glorious composite look now etched on Engarde's face, the smile was having a wonderful enough effect on him. "Y-You can't tell me that your cup was the poison one and you weren't drinking it, I could see less and less drink in it everytime you drank! Grrr… answer me DAMN IT!" He grabbed hold of her collar and glared into her eyes. Lana continued to smile.
"How pathetic, the second you lose control you start falling apart." She mocked, tipping her head to the side. Brushing aside Engarde's hands, Lana pushed her chair away from him and stood. She had nothing to fear from him, guard of no guard. Her colleague had instructions to come if she never called for him in a few moments, that was what she had confirmed with him when he called just now anyway. She took hold of her cup and had another sip, walking around the table in an overly feminine sway as Engarde continued to glare at her from the tabletop, he was beginning to sweat, good. "Oh, you were right Matthew, this cup in indeed filled with a lethal poison, I told you I had your execution scheduled... for right this instant."
"Wh-what are you talking about? N-no, don't tell me you poisoned them both? No, Lana Skye, you're weak and a coward, there's no way someone like you would sacrifice themselves just to take me down." The smile returned to Engarde's face and he laughed. "Good one Lana, you had me going there for a sec." He hissed. Lana continued to smile and sashayed over to the door, she was starting to feel light-headed and her stomach hurt, it was time to end this. She opened the door and poked her head outside.
"You can come in now." The man she had met in the park stepped in beside her; he removed his hat and gave a polite, cordial bow. Engarde's eyes bugged out.
"Sh-Shelly?" He exclaimed, jumping off of the table.
"Indeed, a pleasure to see you again Matthew."
"Y-y-you and Skye! Y-you, you lied, you lied to me! You BETRAYED ME!" Engarde screeched, pointing at the man.
"Lied? I never lie. Betrayed you? How? My dear boy, you and I entered into an agreement well over a year ago." DeKiller said calmly, his eyes closed shut. "I performed my tasks as our agreement demanded; once those tasks were performed I was no longer bound to you. Therefore, how can it be said that I betrayed you?" Engarde's mouth was hanging open and his breathing was laboured, Lana could tell he wasn't taking this well. "Now then; Miss Skye, I have performed the tasks that you have asked of me. I trust the money has been added to my account?" He asked politely, turning to her.
"Y-Yes, one hundred thousand dollars. Fifty thousand for the job, twenty- five to keep quiet, and twenty-five to dispose of the body." DeKiller smiled.
"Very good. I take it you know what will happen if you try to have me arrested while I am here?"
"Y-yes, I know perfectly." Lana said lowly.
"D-Don't ignore me!" Engarde shouted. "What the hell are you talking about?" DeKiller's eyes opened and he glared at Engarde.
"We are just discussing my fee for killing you and getting rid of your body." He said coldly. "I poisoned the drinks, just as you have already surmised."
"B-But?" Engarde's face started to turn red, he buckled over, froth began seeping from hi, gaping mouth.
"Ah, I see it is starting to take effect. A poison of my own design, derived from Tarantula venom and a few other chemicals that I added. Completely undetectable and quite effective when ingested…" The assassin said proudly. "…and quite painful as well."
"B-But-But, she DRANK IT TOO!" Engarde screamed pointing at Lana as his body began to convulse.
"Hmph, this poison of mine is only deadly when enough is consumed at any one time. The few small sips Ms. Skye took may make her stomach sick for a few days, but she'll be fine." DeKiller explained. It was true, Lana was already feeling queasy, but it was well worth it.
"I-I needed an X-factor Engarde, something I knew you wouldn't count on, as well as someone I could trust to keep their mouths shut, DeKiller fit the bill quite nicely." Lana smiled. "I knew y-you wouldn't be able to resist switching the cups when you thought you had a chance. I knew y-you wouldn't-wouldn't be able to resist drinking all the poison to show how 'superior you are either. Everything went exactly as planned." She said triumphantly with her arms crossed, though a bead of sweat was running down her temple..
"Y-Y-You mean you planned this!, n-not Sh-Shelly?" DeKiller smiled.
"Yes, it was all the lovely Ms. Skye's doing. You underestimated her Matthew; that was your one mistake."
"No. no NO!" Engarde grunted, crawling along the cold floor towards her. He grabbed her lapel and pulled himself up so he was eye level to her. DeKiller moved to stop him but Lana waved him off. "NO!" he screamed one last time in her face. "This-this isn't how it's supposed to! I-I'm supposed to die, looking Wright in the eye, so I can see how much I broke him and Maya. You-you weren't supposed to-you're not capable of this Lana Skye!" His face was blood red, veins were popping out everywhere on his head, he was still frothing at the mouth and his eyes were bulging so much in both pain and shock they looked like they would fall from their sockets, it was a very disgusting sight. Lana choked down the bile that was building in her throat in part due to the poison and in part due to Engarde. She could feel his grip weakening and could tell his breathing was getting shallower.
"Go to Hell." She muttered as Engarde's eyes rolled back in his head and he fell back onto the floor. He gurgled and convulsed for a moment before becoming still. "I-Is he dead?" Lana asked. DeKiller crouched over the body and checked the pulse.
"Oh yes, yes, quite dead." He replied calmly. DeKiller tipped his hat to her. "It was a pleasure doing business with you Ms. Skye, now if you'll excuse me; I still have work to do." Lana nodded slowly and excused herself. It was over she had done it, Matt Engarde had been executed. Once in the hall she leaned against the wall next to the door to the interrogation room and crossed her arms across her aching stomach, a single tear escaped her eye.
Mia looked absentmindedly out the window as she sat in the backseat of Miles Edgeworth's car as she, Franziska and Edgeworth travelled towards Lawrence Butz's apartment complex. Pearl was well rested, so she would be able to stay in her body for another few hours, hopefully, it would be enough. Mia looked down at the magatama that had lead her to her conclusions. Maya had told her over and over what this magatama meant to both her and Phoenix; it was quite powerful when she thought about it. Mia had explained what she had come up with just before they had left and of course Maya had listened intently and believed it. Of course, if Mia said that this wasn't really Phoenix, but some alien doppelganger Maya would probably believe that too. The devotion that Maya had for Phoenix was troubling sometimes. Maya had wanted to come with them to get Phoenix back, but Mia had convinced her to stay behind. Maya was an emotional wreck right now and this was going to be rough, not something a pregnant woman should be involved in. Plus, she didn't want her there if this didn't work and she couldn't get through to him. Who knows what Phoenix would say or do?
"A-are you okay back there M-Ms. Fey?" Edgeworth asked, still clearly uncomfortable with her presence.
"Y-yes thank you. When we get there I want you to leave everything to me." She instructed. Just then, a vibrating sound started coming from Franziska, more specifically, her purse. She reached inside of it and took out her phone.
"Brother, I think we need to return to the office." She stated, looking wide-eyed at the screen of her phone.
"Franziska, what are you…?" She held the phone in front of his face, just long enough for him to read the message she had apparently just received. Mia could see Edgeworth's eyes widen in the rear view mirror what little color he had drained from his face.
"What's wrong?" She asked.
"I-I am sorry Ms. Fey, but-but something has come up at the office and Franziska and I need to return immediately after we drop you off." He stammered.
"Is it really more important than this?" Mia questioned. Franziska turned to look back at her before her eyes turned downward.
"I- I am sorry, but we have too." She muttered. Mia sighed and crossed her arms.
"That's okay I guess, it'll probably be better if it's just me and Phoenix anyway." Edgeworth nodded.
"I will return as soon as I can."
"Alright, but don't be too long, Pearl doesn't know about any of this and if I lose my connection, it might be a shock to her to wake up at Lawrence's, and I don't trust either one of those idiots to be able to explain it to her."
After dropping Mia off at Butz's Edgeworth and Franziska carried on. Lana was nowhere to be found at the office, so he decided to head down to the precinct by himself. There was something, he really didn't like about that message Franziska had received and he didn't really want his sister to get involved in the sordid affair any more than she already was. Edgeworth had enough on his conscience already, let alone something happening to Franziska's career because of the mistakes he had made. So, after had gone their separate ways to look for Lana, he left without telling her. She would be mad later, but he was used to that.
He and Franziska had wished the elder Fey luck, as odd as it seemed to him to be wishing a deceased woman luck. As surreal and unnerving as it had been to sit and listen to the late Mia Fey discuss her thoughts about what was happening in Wright's mind; and her plan to snap him out of it; Edgeworth had to bow to her superior intelligence, it certainly made a lot of sense. However, he was worried if Wright was even capable of understanding what she was going to try and tell him; or if he would even listen at all. But right now, he had something else to worry about. The text message his sister had held in front his face was nearly as unsettling as his earlier session with Mia:
'Ms. Von Karma, I can't reach Miles, if you see him; tell him to tell Phoenix Wright that it's done, Matt Engarde is dead. Lana
He didn't have any idea as to how Lana could pull off that execution in such short order without him even knowing about it. His intuition wasn't allowing him to like this, not one bit. The air felt heavy inside the precinct, the good officers were going about their business as usual, but there was definitely something off about the atmosphere, it made his mouth dry and was already wreaking havoc on his nerves. Lana did something he knew it. After making his way to the back area where the holding cells were, he found Lana, hunched on the floor, back against the wall besides the door leading to the interrogation room.
"Lana?" He asked, approaching. She looked up at him, her face was red and she was crying, her fingers were slipped into her jacket most likely digging into her stomach. She opened her mouth to speak when the door next to her opened and a man in a white suit and hat stepped out, dragging a large black sack with him. He looked down at Lana and tipped his hat before flinging the sack over his shoulder, without saying anything to either Lana or Edgeworth he started down the hall towards the back entrance. Though the man's wardrobe had changed, Edgeworth automatically recognised him.
"De-DeKiller?" Edgeworth stammered with wide eyes. The assassin, though Edgeworth had certainly said it loud enough for him to hear, made no effort to acknowledge him. "G-Get back here!" He ordered and made to chase after him, but he was stopped when Lana's hand caught his wrist.
"N-no Miles, le-let him go." She said.
"B-but…" Then it all started to come together, the sack DeKiller was carrying, the message saying Engarde was dead, Lana blocking all access to the lunatic today. This had been Lana's plan. "L-Lana, d-do not tell me you..?" Edgeworth gasped. Lana's hand fell away from his wrist, she didn't say anything, just looked down at herself. "How could you?" He shouted, his anger growing. "Hiring a known murderer to execute a prisoner? What the hell were you thinking? Wh-what if this gets out, you may have just ruined all of us!" Lana glared up at him, wiping one final tear from her eye.
"I did this for all of us!" She said. Edgeworth turned his attention back toward the assassin, who was just stepping out into the daylight with his grim package. All he could do was wipe his hand across his forehead and sigh.
Laying on Larry's couch was not the best way to spend a night. There were springs sticking into his back and it was a little too small for him, but, perhaps in part thanks to the alcohol that he had destroyed himself with the night previous, he had finally managed to drift into a very light sleep. His dreams were broken, one minute he was dreaming about being on the street, the next he was just sitting in a restaurant, the next he thinks he can hear Larry talking to someone, the next he's back with Maya and all is forgiven. He knew that it must have been close to noon but he didn't care, he felt too low to move from that spot. He wondered if he would ever have the energy to move again. He didn't have to wait for long to get the answer for that however because a splash of freezing cold water soon had him jumping up.
"Wh-what the hell Larry!" He shouted, coughing up some of the water that went into his mouth and trying to wipe it off of his face. When he opened his eyes though, he saw Mia holding a bucket which she passed back to Larry, who was timidly standing behind her.
"S-sorry Nick." He squeaked.
"Thank you Lawrence." She said coolly, Phoenix could feel the colour draining from his face as she glared at him. Without another word she brought up her leg and kicked Phoenix directly in the face. "That's for hurting Maya!" She yelled as Phoenix fell backward against Larry's couch. She caught him by the collar and slapped him. "That's for making her worry about you!" She slapped him a second time and he crumpled to the floor. "And that's for being an idiot!" Phoenix just lay at her feet; he felt it was a suitable place for him, the only way this would be more poetic would be if Maya was doing it herself.
"Chief." He grunted pathetically, not having the courage or the desire to even lift his head to look at her, blood dripped from his nose. Mia pulled Phoenix to his feet and looked him in the eye; it was the scariest look she had ever given him. "Ch-chief listen, I don't have any fight left. Th-there's nothing you can say that I haven't already told myself. So, please just do what you got to do and leave me alone." He said, nearly begging. Mia, let go of his shirt and let him fall back to the couch. After looking at him for a second, Mia gave a tired sigh and her face softened. Reaching inside of her robe, she pulled out some tissues and wiped away the blood from Phoenix's nose. "Ch-chief?"
"Sorry Phoenix, I didn't mean to hit you that hard, but I am very angry with you." She said crossing her arms. "Phoenix, I want to ask you a simple question, what did Matt Engarde say to you when you caught him."
"Why…?
"Just answer the question, and don't bother lying, I've got Pearly's magatama here." She warned, fingering the gem around her neck. Phoenix took a deep breath. He'd never forget Engarde's words as long as he lived, they repeated in his head at least once a minute.
"He-He asked me why I was angry at him, asked me if it was because he hurt Maya, or if-or if it was because he did something to her that I wanted to." He answered.
"By that he meant taking Maya's virginity?" Mia said, really more a statement than a question. Phoenix nodded; hanging his shame filled head so that he was looking only at the cluttered mess decorating the floor of Larry's apartment beneath the chief's feet. Water from his hair and clothes dripping onto the floor, he didn't see the knowing smile appear on Mia's lips. "That's exactly what I thought. Phoenix, you idiot, I thought you were at least smarter than that?" Phoenix's head shot up to look at his mentor.
"Wh-what?" He stammered.
"Maya, Edgeworth and von Karma told me some interesting things. One, before you found Maya, you were acting perfectly normal, maybe a little obsessive, but normal given the circumstances, it wasn't until after you had your encounter with Engarde that you started to change. Two, you didn't get really bad until you visited the bastard in jail. And three, Engarde's been bragging about poisoning your mind." Mia said, counting off the examples on her fingers.
"A-and?" He asked timidly. Mia sighed and rolled her eyes.
"Stop being so stupid!"Mia shouted. "It's a lie Phoenix, it's all bullsh*t that Engarde made up to get to you! He was playing you! Did he say anything about taking Maya's virginity from you when he contacted you before?"
"N-no."
"When he-when he raped Maya…" Mia began, her voice catching on the word "…he probably just then realised she was still a virgin. He knew you two had been together for awhile and figured you were frustrated sexually and used it to mind rape you." She said with confidence. Phoenix couldn't really tell if this was the bluffing techniques he learned off her that they used in court, but it was certainly nice to hear. "Listening to Edgeworth; you'd think Engarde was some sort of Machiavellian genius, but the idiot was making it all up as he went along."
"Ch-chief?" Phoenix stammered. "How-how?" Mia held her hand out to him, in her palm was another magatama, the one Maya had given him, he almost shrinked back looking at it, knowing all it represented.
"I figured it all out when I saw this." She held it in her fingers so it was upside down in front of his eyes. "It was just lying on the coffee table and I just happened to look at it when, from my perspective it was a 'six' instead of a 'nine'. I think there's a higher power looking out for you Phoenix." She smiled.
"I-I don't get it." Phoenix muttered.
"This magatama is a symbol of your connection with my sister right? Well, do you know what happens when you turn a symbol upside down? You invert it's meaning; an inverted cross is satanic, an inverted pentagram becomes a symbol of chaos instead of a symbol of the balance of the world." Mia explained. "When I saw this magatama inverted I realised that what Engarde did was take some of the essential elements of your relationship with Maya, and twisted them. He took your desires to protect her and be with her and twisted them to make you believe that Maya's 'purity' being 'stolen' from you was what you were concerned with and not the fact that he did all these horrible things to her. The bond you share, you're always trying to keep Maya safe, but bad things still keep happening to her; that's what really got to you, isn't it Phoenix, being forced to watch, that, happen to her, it- it did something to your mind, it-it made it so you'd actually believe something like what Engarde was spewing." Mia crouched down in front of Phoenix and took his hand in hers; Phoenix could feel the maternal warmth in those hands, something he never thought he'd feel again. "He used you Phoenix, he used Maya, and he messed with your mind so badly, it changed you into something you're not. The Phoenix Wright I know, the Phoenix Wright I love isn't capable of treating someone he loves like this." She said softly. Phoenix's heart jumped into his throat, could the chief be right, it seemed to make perfect sense and Mia, other than Maya and Pearls; is the only person to have never lied to him. But then he remembered, and his heart sank again. Pulling his hands away from Mia's he slumped back onto the sofa.
"But Mia, it-it's all a sham. You said it yourself; I wouldn't treat someone I love like that. But I did treat Maya like it, so how can I possibly love her?" He said; the hopelessness returning. "I mean love is supposed to be sweet and pure, b-but since Maya got raped, ev-everything just seems so different. I-I don't think love is supposed to be like this."
"You're wrong Phoenix; this is exactly what love is. Love isn't all walks in the park, or pink sweaters or Feenies or sitting around watching TV, or running around in the rain or chasing someone around the office, love is hard work! God knows I know." She chuckled sadly. Suddenly, as if remembering he was in the room, Mia turned to Larry. "Lawrence, do you have any fishing line or anything here?" She asked.
"Y-Yeah, I –I think so." Larry answered.
"Go get some for me would you?"
"Y-Yes ma'am." He returned a couple of minutes late with a small spool of the stuff. Mia took some and wrapped it around her two index fingers.
"This is love Phoenix." She said holding her bound fingers up to his eye. "It's a connection between two people." She started moving her fingers, so the line stretched. "It can be extremely strong, capable of withstanding the differences between the two people, or it can be flimsy, and break with the slightest tug. The thing is Phoenix is that when love is real; both people are willing to do anything to make sure that connection stays intact. That's the way Maya feels about you." Phoenix bowed his head in shame again. "Phoenix, when you fell 'in love' with Dahlia and Iris, what made it happen?"
"Dah-Dahlia was so pretty and she carried herself so well. And she just seemed so nice and cheerful." Phoenix answered thinking it was an odd thing to be asking.
"Hmm, when I was talking to Maya on the phone I asked her what it was about you that was so special to her, why she still loved you despite everything. You know what she said?" Phoenix scanned his still troubled mind for an answer.
"Because I protect her, and buy her stuff and make her laugh?" He guessed. Mia simply smiled.
"Wrong Phoenix, she just said, 'Because he's Nick.'" It was like a dagger to his heart, tears began to sting his eyes, after everything, she loved him, just for being him. "Maya understands what love is Phoenix. Do you?"
"I-I think I do now, chief and I know love her." Phoenix stood and collapsed into the comforting arms of his teacher. Crying onto her shoulder. She patted him on the back and gently shook him.
"Shh, it's alright." Mia whispered. Larry's door bell chimed, he excused himself to answer it.
"What else, what else in my life am I going to owe this woman, this angel." He thought to himself as the tears came, he still had his doubts, but she managed to save him, exorcise his demons and bring him back. Engarde's whispers in his mind were nothing compared to the words of the woman who saved him time and time again. Larry soon returned, with Edgeworth.
"H-How is everything going Ms. Fey?" Mia pulled away from Phoenix.
"Here's my ride Phoenix, are you coming with me, back home, Maya's waiting." She asked, putting the magatama in his hand. Phoenix ran his fingers through his wet, greasy unkempt spikes and gave the first real smile he smiled in a long time.
"Yeah, let's do it, let's go home. B-but I gotta make a stop first."
Maya was trying to keep herself busy. Trying to keep her mind off things until she heard from Mia. It had only been about an hour but it felt a lot longer. She had cleaned and watered Charley, doing all the housewife stuff she'd been doing before. Her heart skipped when the door opened, Mia came in followed by Nick.
"M-Maya I-I 'm sorry, I'm so sorry." He said. Maya didn't answer; instead she ran up to him and threw her arms around his neck. "I-I…" Maya kissed his cheek.
"I know you're sorry Nick, and I forgive you." She said looking up at him with a broad smile.
"I-I got you something." He handed her a tube of paper he was carrying beneath her arm, she unrolled it to find it was a new Steel Samurai poster, like her old one. Maya smiled at him before wrapping her arms around him and snuggling into his chest as Mia looked on.
"Welcome home Nick."
to be concluded...