AN: I do believe Maya remarks on this at one time during the series, but I couldn't let it go uncommented on.
Perfection Corrupts Perfectly
It happened in the Law offices of Wright and Company. Phoenix was sitting behind his desk, innocently filing papers and going about his own business, when a realization appeared and savagely beat him over the head.
The realization was almost as shocking as the suddenness of its attack. It was a subject that Phoenix rarely, if ever, reflected on. While looking back over the papers relating to all the old cases he'd worked on, he noticed that despite all the close shaves and near misses he'd experienced in his career, there was not one case he had lost.
His win record was perfect.
To a normal person such an epiphany would be a cause for celebration, but not for Phoenix. He had seen what had become of Manfred von Karma, of Franziska, of Miles. Their preoccupation with perfection and their drive to maintain an immaculate record had nearly destroyed each one of them. It was terrifying to know that he, Defense Attorney Phoenix Wright, was in possession of something as corrupting as a perfect record.
As long as that flawless reputation for victory hung over his head, there would always be the threat that he might become as twisted as Manfred had been. A demon defense attorney, willing to do anything to obtain a "Not Guilty" verdict.
'But...' He thought, 'That wouldn't happen. That would never happen! I don't fight cases for my record. I fight hard for my clients because I believe in their innocence!' The little mental slap took effect instantly, making Phoenix feel more empowered, more in control and sure that his record wouldn't cause any sort of ethical downward spiraling. Then that bothersome, insidious, rational part of his brain just had to speak up.
'Objection! Didn't you also defend Matt Engarde? You knew he was guilty, the creep confessed to you! But you still fought for an acquittal.'
Now that was a low blow, especially when it comes from your own mind. Phoenix couldn't believe he was trying to guilt himself into believing himself by spinning the facts of a case he had barely survived through. Yes, he had defended Engarde, a guilty man; but there had been more extenuating circumstances in that case than in all of the history of defense attorneydom ever! What's more, even when suffering through all the stressful, conscience-wracking hardships of that experience, Phoenix had displayed more moral fiber than you'd find in Honest Abe Lincoln's morning oatmeal. (That's almost superhuman levels of fiber!) After all that didn't he deserve a little indulgence? A teensy break?
'That's exactly how von Karma operated.' It was that pesky inner voice again. 'He worked by the motto "the ends justify the means", that and "perfection at all costs!" He thought that because he was working, breaking the law, to get what he considered the right verdict, he was on the side of the angels. That's exactly what you just did, taking the moral high ground to rationalize why you selfishly protected Maya when you should have been fighting for justice!'
It scared Phoenix mightily that his inner voice could sound so fanatical. The fact that he could make himself doubt the good intentions he'd had while trying to save Maya's life was horrible. It was like he had a tiny Manfred von Karma sitting on his shoulder, taser in hand and whispering all these dark thoughts in his ear.
If there was one thing he feared, it was drifting away from himself and his beliefs to satisfy some idiotic pride over his record, and it seemed that one thing was exactly what he was doing now. Phoenix had never thought about his record before, but already he was starting to obsess. Luckily, he knew someone who could set him straight. Even better, he had her number on speed dial.
Fishing around in his pocket, Phoenix pulled out his cell phone and scrolled down through his list contacts. (He'd just recently gotten around to re-entering them all after that snobby conman Richard Wellington purged the phone's memory.) When he finally found the number he was looking for (in the M's, not the F's where it belonged) he quickly selected it. Thankfully, he wasn't forced to listen to her Steel Samurai ringtone when he was the one calling her.
"Hello, Maya here."
Phoenix paused on his end of the line. He knew he could always count on her to snap him out of his messes, but that would mean he had to admit his problem out loud, something he had yet to do. Taking a deep breath, Phoenix gathered his courage and said what was on his mind.
"Hi Maya, it's me. I think I've got a problem..."
"Oh, really? What's wrong, Nick?" Maya sounded a little confused. Understandably so since Phoenix was usually the one solving problems, not asking for help.
"You know I have a perfect record of always winning my court cases, right? Well, I think that may have started influencing the way I fight to get 'Not Guilty' verdicts." Phoenix waited with bated breath to hear what she'd say. Now that he'd actually voiced his worries he thought they sounded rather silly, but he wanted a second opinion. After a moment of deliberation, Maya's voice came back to him over the phone.
"That's silly Nick, you're fighting your cases for the same reason you always have: because you believe your client is really innocent! What, do you think that just because you're perfect you'll turn into some verdict-driven nut like Manfred von Karma?"
Once again, Phoenix was struck by how utterly uncanny Maya could be. He never quite knew if she was bringing her latent ESP to bear, or if her accuracy was just a coincidence.
"Y-yeah, that's exactly it. I started thinking about it and-" Maya cut him off with a noisy "humph". Phoenix was sure that she'd puffed up her cheeks and was looking very indignant, even though he couldn't see her.
"Nick! Stop doubting yourself! You'd never go bad, you don't have what it takes." Phoenix was mystified as to whether that was an insult or a compliment, but he accepted it and listened intently as she continued. "Besides, if it's such a problem you can just wait for a while. Sooner or later you'll get another client who's actually guilty like Engarde was. You won't be able to defend them because you won't have the evidence to back up your claims." Phoenix really didn't like where this was going. Maya seemed so sure of herself, almost like she was gloating; yet being helpful at the same time. "When that happens, Mr. Edgeworth will do his job and beat the pants off you. He'll shatter your perfect record and you won't have to worry about it anymore."
"You're right, I just have to be patient. Thanks, Maya."
"No problem, Nick! I'm glad to help out, it's what I do best! Well, I'll see ya around. Bye!" There was a light click as she hung up, but Phoenix stayed on the line. He was stunned, too deep in thought to notice his cell phone had switched to an incessant dial tone.
It wasn't Maya's solution that threw him off, she had been absolutely right. For Miles and Franziska, having their perfect records broken had been a sort of liberating experience and it would be for him too. What had shocked Phoenix was the revelation that, in this instance, having Miles beat the snot out of him in one of their courtroom duels would be something for him to look forward to. It was an odd world indeed...