Disclaimer: No tengo nada de Capcom o Phoenix Wright
Here it comes, she thought as the restrained memory painfully forced itself back into her consciousness. Here it comes…
It's been almost over a year now that she's been haunted by this fragment of the past. Almost over a year since this missing puzzle piece had begun to mock her relentlessly. Almost over a year and she could still remember it like it was yesterday…
International Departures Gate 12.
"Are you running away?" Edgeworth stepped toward her and reached out a hand, his voice getting lower.
She backed away instinctively. She had to protect herself, she had to reform her cool fortress to protect the vulnerable damsel within. She had been broken here…in this backwards country by a fool of a lawyer. Now even he looked down upon her. Once again, even though they were facing each other, all she could see is his back. "Shut up!" She said fiercely. "You don't understand a thing!"
The scene always played out like this. She hated him. He always left her behind. He had it. Talent, maturity, maybe it was perfection. She never really knew what it exactly was but it was in Miles Edgeworth.
It was the reason she was always behind him.
It was the reason she had been defeated by Phoenix Wright
It was the reason she could now only find the proud prosecutor that was Franziska von Karma in her memories…
She searched for it for so long, using every skill she garnered in her pursuit of perfection. And yet it eluded her again and again. Doubt, however, pursued her with deadly accuracy. Why was she even a lawyer in the first place? Maybe this insurmountable obstacle was divine intervention. Maybe she just wasn't meant to walk the path of an attorney…
"The law is just a weapon that many use for personal gain and profit."
Yes…that's it. That's what the law was. It was her tool to capture the perfection that sustained her. That was the reason that despite what many would've called a successful career…
…She was still empty.
...
"I thought I'd seen this crazy world for the last time…" Rachel Darkstar chortled deeply from within the body of Maya. She briefly scanned the law office, a cloudy intent forming through her eyes, before finally targeting Phoenix and Pearl. "So, how did you summon me here? And what do you want from a dead psychology student?"
The defense attorney shivered. The temperature within the law office seemed to have dropped twenty degrees, and Rachel's chilling demeanor wasn't helping to preserve his warmth.
"Mr. Nick," Pearl frightfully whispered, "this spirit is scary. She might even be worse than…"
"I know, Pearls…" Phoenix cut off the young girl, trying not to revisit memories where that undesirable and dangerous girl lurked. Yet, he knew that Pearl was right. There was a strong resemblance between the cunning evilness that lay within Rachel and her…
Suddenly, the office was engulfed in darkness save the stray light that managed to wander through the windows. Rachel's face hardened into a threatening glare. "Please don't play games, sir. I've never been fond of them. Experiments are my hobby."
Pearl squealed in fear while the defense attorney stumbled backwards.
"I want to know..." the words fearfully emerged from Phoenix's mouth after he recovered, "about Demarco Jurney."
Her eerie laugh echoed within the law office for what could've been centuries. Phoenix stood a little straighter and Pearl gripped his leg tightly. The sound was hollow, but heavy with pain and revenge. The attorney had been aware of the existence of spirits, especially since he first met his spirit medium lover, but behind this being lay the embers of an even greater, malevolent force that prowls in the afterlife.
"Ah…my favorite subject…" Rachel smiled, "That hack of a defense attorney is still alive?" she giggled at a joke unknown to Phoenix and Pearl.
...
-Defendant's Testimony-
"Killing Ms. Darkstar Cont."
"I stabbed her," Demarco repeated his testimony flippantly, "Simple as that. I used one of my old kitchen knives. She invited me into the apartment and when she had her back turned I stabbed her. And then she died almost immediately. Then I quietly slipped out of the apartment, taking the murder weapon with me and later disposing of it," he turned his head toward Phoenix with a confident grin, "Anything else, Defense Attorney Wright?"
The spikey haired lawyer held a fierce glare toward the defendant, his fingers tensing on the wooden stand. Damn it! This is the eighth time he's repeated his testimony and I can't find any holes!
As if he sensed Phoenix's indecision, the Judge slammed down his gavel in annoyance. Looking down upon the attorney, he tensed impatiently. "Mr. Wright, I believe the court grows tired of Mr. Jurney going on like a broken record. Unless the defense has a significant line of questioning, I'm afraid I must reach a decision."
Crap! Phoenix masked his panic with a poker face trained through many similar courtroom situations. What do I do now? He knew he couldn't let Demarco's life be taken away, but hope was waning. That was...until he was touched by an angel.
"Nick," Maya gripped Phoenix's sleeve tightly. "He's never once said Rachel's name! Something seems odd about their relationship. Maybe if you can get him to talk about her…we can get something out of him!"
Although his face remained stoic, internally Phoenix brightened at the idea. That might be it! Boy, what would I do without Maya at my side?
"You'd probably lose a lot more trials...and your life would be a lot more boring." Maya smiled.
Standing upright to brace himself, Phoenix quickly browsed his options.
Should I target Demarco and Rachel's relationship?
"Come on, Nick!" Maya whispered in his ear
What if it's ruled as irrelevant?
"Get 'em, Mr. Nick!" Pearl leaped into the air with enthusiasm.
I guess that means it's time to use "the full extent of my defense"…
"I guess it's difficult when you're up against a real attorney, isn't it Defense Attorney Wright?" Demarco sneered from behind the witness stand.
For Phoenix, the world seemed to fade into nothingness. The only two that remained in the void were him and his former assistant. For an eon, they stared at each other, one's gaze reflected in the other eyes. The same path yielded into two different results. But Phoenix knew what the difference between them was.
It was pain.
"Let me help you, Demarco," Phoenix said lucidly, seeing the conclusion of the case before his eyes. "Let me help you get rid of this burden!" The attorney then turned to the Judge, ready to lay his hand on the table.
He realized through so many close battles that he loved the adrenaline and drama of trial. It was his high...but even more deeply within his body, in his very soul, he loved helping those that society had abandoned: the creatures known as the accused.
"Your honor, the defense would like to move it's questioning toward the topic of Mr. Jurney's relationship with his late fiancée while making a certain claim to the court."
"A claim?" the Judge raised his voice in his trademark confusion. The courtoom quieted as the lawyer's plea gained momentum.
Phoenix nodded. "Yes and that claim is that the defendant is not guilty on reason of insanity!"
