Lotta was tough to write! Getting that southern accent in writing is hard!
The nightmare started the same way; Maya, Pearls and Miles all safe in the hotel room giggling over pancakes. Then came the knock, but this time Phoenix got up and answered the door with Miles not far behind him. Phoenix braced himself for gunshots, but instead felt a rush of freezing air that blew the door open and what Phoenix saw there horrified him to the core. The red hair blazing and innocent white dress was unmistakable, but impossible since she was supposed to be in jail.
"Phoenix Wright..." With her head down and her eyes glowing with an unearthly light, Dahlia was scarier than she was at the trial. She started walking slowly towards Phoenix as he backed into Miles. "You sweet brainless twit..." Her voice was as sweet as candy, and yet laced with venom as she reached out to touch Phoenix. He was entranced as his skin was left cold by her touch. "Do you really think anyone would rely on you for anything?" She disappeared in a flash and reappeared in front of Maya who seemed to be just as entranced as Phoenix. Dahlia touched Maya's face. "Such a sweet innocent girl. Too bad she has to DIE!" She wrapped her arms around Maya, paralyzing her and consuming her at the same time. Everything about Maya changed; her skin turned ashen, her eyes turned dark, her clothes...
"Phoenix Wright, I will have my revenge on all of you!" She let out a terrifying scream that put Phoenix to his knees and left Miles convulsing on the floor. The demon grabbed Phoenix by the neck and squeezed, then slammed him against the wall.
Miles had to slap Phoenix to bring him out of his nightmare. He was straddling him trying to control his wild gestures and when Phoenix's eyes flew open, Miles froze for a second. He saw the red mark on his cheek and hissed, he knew that was going to leave a mark.
"Miles, you're alive!" Phoenix sat up and almost smothered him.
"Phoenix. What was it this time? I couldn't get you out of this one." Miles stroked Phoenix's hair as he spoke softly into his ear.
Phoenix sniffed. He realized that this was the umpteenth time that he had cried on Miles's shoulder. Miles hadn't seemed to mind, but Phoenix was tired of crying, and tired of the nightmares. He was tired of being haunted by all of his cases.
"Miles, do you ever get tired of my tears, of my nightmares? I am tired. I want it to end."
"Phoenix, I will never tire of drying your tears, and the nightmares will end shortly, I hope." Miles broke the embrace and put his hands on Phoenix's weary tear-stained face. "You have so much bottled inside that crazy head of yours, you make me look sane."
"I hope I can make it through this."
Now stuck in the elevator, Miles echoed the words that Phoenix had breathed the night before. Phoenix could feel the air getting warm and the walls in the courthouse slowly closing in around him. Miles was in the elevator pacing like a trapped animal. Phoenix took a deep breath to try to keep himself calm, but he wasn't sure he would hold for very much longer.
"What the HELL is taking so long! Imbeciles! I should've left when I had the chance!" Phoenix blinked at Miles words. A commotion at the end of the hall caught his attention before he could ask Miles about his statement.
"Ya big lug! Ah reakon I belong here! This is the scoop of the year!" Phoenix recognized the woman's southern drawl and groaned. He excused himself from Miles saying he had to do some "tabloid damage control".
"OH NO YOU DON'T PAL!" Gumshoe's voice echoed through the hall.
"None o'the other dumb reporters know the way in that I do! We'all deserve to know whats goin' on!"
Phoenix paused. 'Hhhmm... I wonder if I could use this to my advantage.' He stroked his chin as he thought about using Lotta Hart to fend off the reporters.
"Hey Phoenix Wright! I knew you'd be here!"
"Pal, tell this lady that she doesn't belong here and ..." Gumshoe was huffing as Phoenix put a hand on his shoulder and winked at him.
"Lotta Hart! I thought you were gonna give up the nasty tabloids?"
"Well, I was, till I caught wind of this gem of a story!" She grinned her million dollar smile. "After that whole Engarde trial, I scouted out this here courthouse, in case of good stories like this. I know all the ins and outs, so to speak, of this courthouse. Yep, I reckon I do!"
"And you say that the reporters out there have no idea who or what is going on in here?" Phoenix put on his best cross-examination face. Gumshoe stood shifty-eyed and confused as always.
"Oh hoh hoh hoh! You bet your sweet potatoes!" She leaned in closer to Phoenix. "But I know whats going on! You and that Edgeworth guy are now workin' together and you're movin' your office here to the courthouse and now its destroyed ... along with most of your records!" Phoenix suppressed a giggle. Oh if she knew the truth, she would have a field day!
"Well, no we aren't working together, and I am not moving my office into the courthouse. I came to the courthouse to get a file from Mi ... Mr. Edgeworth for a case that I am defending and he is prosecuting, and found myself in a throng of reporters. Then I found Edgeworth trapped in that elevator and I am here to help him...nothing more." Phoenix cleared his throat and smiled. Gumshoe chuckled. He knew Phoenix was a bad liar.
Lotta regarded the spiky-haired man for a moment and sighed in defeat when Phoenix didn't say anymore. Something that sounded like a slight growl escaped her throat. "Fine. If that's all ya got, then I guess I'll leave." She turned on her heel and Gumshoe escorted her down the hall to the stairs.
"Oh and if you could relay that story to the reporters, I would be grateful! Please?" Phoenix called after her, flashing his brightest smile. She waved back at him and disappeared through the fire exit door.
Thirty minutes later, Miles was sitting in his office, his head in his hands trying to get the horrible images of his dead father and that bailiff out of his head. Phoenix tried to console him, but Miles shrugged him off. Defeated, Phoenix turned to the window and saw that the reporters below were slowly dispersing. He heard a sigh behind him. He turned his head and watched as his silver-haired friend sat up and straightened his cravat. Phoenix turned his attention back to the window and noticed it had started raining. Damn rain. Matched his foul mood. A warm hand on his shoulder brought him out of his reverie. He turned to face Miles and saw that the prosecutor had been crying. He hesitantly drew his hand up to touch the pale face before him. Instead of rejection, Miles nuzzled into Phoenix's hand.
"I'm sorry about brushing you off. I needed a moment to get my bearings. I don't think I will ever get over my fear of earthquakes." Phoenix caught the troubled look in the gray eyes that met his and knew there was something else that Miles wanted to say to him. He decided to prompt him.
"Miles, I...there's something ... you said something in the elevator..."
"I'm sure I said a lot of things." Miles took Phoenix's hand and laced his fingers with the attorneys.
"You said that you should have left when you had the chance." Phoenix looked down at his shoes. "Were you ... what did you mean by that?" He heard the prosecutor let out a long sigh and looked up. Miles led him to the couch parallel to his desk and they sat down. He never let go of Phoenix's hand.
"I -I ... there is a opportunity in Germany that I can't pass up. In fact, I applied when I was there a few months ago ..." Miles paused trying to seek the right words. "I received a call a couple weeks ago and ... they told me that I can move to Germany as soon as convenient for me." He paused. Several emotions passed over Phoenix's face. He wasn't sure what to feel. "I haven't moved yet, obviously, but I am finalizing a lot of paperwork. And, I wanted to make sure that you would be alright before I left."
"I am happy for you, please don't get me wrong," Phoenix hugged Miles to emphasize the fact. Then whispered into his ear, "What about us?"
"I've given that a lot of thought as well," the silver-haired broke the embrace to look into Phoenix's bright blue eyes. "I don't want us to stop what we have just because we are separated by an ocean." Phoenix let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding. It was the response he was looking for and embraced Miles again.
"I don't think I could bear the thought of losing you again. Even though letters and emails aren't quite the same, it'll be enough." Phoenix sniffed. Miles broke their embrace again.
"Are you sure that you are going to be okay? I know that your nightmares have returned, but you can't bury yourself in work. That was the cause of them in the first place."
Phoenix ducked his head and sighed. "I know." He paused and his face lit up. "But Maya and Pearls are coming back here for a bit, so I will have them to lean on." Miles smiled a little thinking about the two girls. "I want you to be happy Miles, and this will be the perfect opportunity for that." Miles couldn't help himself as he took Phoenix's face in his hands and kissed the attorney passionately.