Ace Attorney doesn't belong to me, instead it belongs to Capcom. Yes, I'm back with another chapter. Woop!
Chapter 13:
Going Through a Burn-Up
Maya decided to stay with Phoenix as he lay in the bath. Phoenix had never left her when she needed anyone and was her pillar of support when she grieved over Mia, he had continued to be her pillar of support after everything that had happened. Seeing him struggling now through a burn-up, she felt like she could finally repay him for everything he's done for her. She wasn't going to let this moment slip away from her.
She heard footsteps running up the stairs before the bathroom door slammed open. Miles was panting, in his arms was a bag of ice cubes. The bag was ripped open before the ice cubes were poured into the tub. Upon contact with Phoenix though, the sound of hissing as the ice started to melt under the intense heat Phoenix was emitting from his body. She turned to Miles, and he immediately knew what she was going to ask and held up a hand.
"I will go out and buy more ice," he spoke as he straightened up with the empty packet of ice in his hands.
"Please hurry," Maya spoke as she turned to Phoenix. Miles stood up straight and let his gaze fall over Maya.
"Miss Fey, Wright will be okay. He's known for turning things around, is he not? He'll do just that here." Miles hoped that his words gave Maya the confidence she needed right now. Phoenix will pull through this; he will pass this burn-up and return to his bubbly self once more. Everyone was here to support him, even Franziska. In her own way of course. When Maya didn't respond he knew that he needed to leave to get the ice. One bag clearly wouldn't be enough. He turned and left, leaving Maya to stay and watch over Phoenix and help him anyway she could.
Maya pulled out her phone and sent a quick text.
Ace Attorney – Chapter 13: Going Through a Burn-Up
When his phone vibrated in his pocket, Godot reached for it. Pulling it out and checked to see who had sent him the text. He smiled when he noticed Maya's name, but it was quickly washed away when he read the two words in the text.
Get ice.
"Burn-up…" Godot whispered as Dick drove. They were going to need ice. While he was sure that Maya would send Miles to fetch some the prosecutor might not have the arm strength needed to bring enough ice home to help through the whole situation. They were always going to need more than they think they believed. He glanced at Dick; the man was talking about something that Godot wasn't paying much attention to. It was a habit he picked up from when he raised Phoenix the first time. Phoenix had picked up a habit in the past to just say whatever was on his mind and as Mia and Diego were his companions (he still had burn-ups frequently when this happened) at the time, they had learnt to tune out Phoenix until he slammed his hands on the table and the topic changed to their work. Godot had wondered if Phoenix still had that trait?
'Honestly, a psychologist would be interested to know what goes on in Phoenix's mind. Especially if he was in court.' Godot thought to himself before he chuckled. He was brought back to the issue at hand as he glanced down at his phone again where the message was staring up at him.
"…So I suggested that Mr Edgeworth and Mr Wright worked together for a case but when I mentioned that, Mr Edgeworth immediately rejected that idea," Dick beamed as he spoke. Godot didn't have any clue what the detective was talking about but he cleared his throat to snag the detective's attention for a moment. "Something wrong, sir?"
"Sorry to interrupt you but the little tyke is going through a burn-up. Drive us to the nearest supermarket please?" Godot asked and Gumshoe turned serious. "Don't worry he'll pull through, but he needs to be cooled down as quick as possible."
The detective didn't need to be told twice as he shifted the route they were going and headed towards the nearest supermarket with available parking. Yup, this man was going to be the perfect babysitter for Phoenix when needed.
Ace Attorney – Chapter 13: Going Through a Burn-Up
It was a coincidence that Godot and Dick had met up with Miles in the supermarket by the freezers. Neither party needed to say anything for them to understand why the other was here. The simple question of 'Maya?' was enough. Godot didn't feel any sympathy for the cashier who had to pass the multiple bags of ice that both Godot and Miles were wanting to buy. With the bags of ice secured though the trio went to their separate cars and drove off back to Miles' home. Godot was sure that Miles was speeding but never made a comment, Miles knew what he was doing and if caught by the speeding police then that was his problem, not Godot's problem. Dick didn't seem to care so Godot pinned it down to something Miles tends to do and because of the power he has in the legal world, can somewhat get away with a tiny bit of speed.
Regardless on the speed they were going, they arrived at Miles' place at a similar time, Miles arriving first and threw the door open while carrying a few bags of ice before Godot and Dick followed. Dick closed the door when he came through. Godot and Miles had vanished upstairs where Dick assumed was where the ice was needed.
Downstairs was Franziska, her arms crossed while gripping her arm. She was nervous. Looking after children wasn't something she was comfortable with, nothing she was familiar with. She didn't like Phoenix either, the man had ruined Miles' perfect record, managed to send her father to prison (although she felt like he had it coming, somewhat) with his execution yet to have a date, and the last thing was that he had broken her perfect record. She hated him for that. She was a Von Karma, they were perfectionists…yet Phoenix Wright came swanning into the court room, determined to save Maya Fey and by doing so had broken something that couldn't be fixed. What made matters worse…was that Miles seemed to like him. Her foolish brother didn't hold a grudge against the defence attorney.
"Think they've got it covered?" Dick asked her.
"Miles Edgeworth and Prosecutor Godot have this covered; you may leave."
"I'm going to wait until I hear that Wright is okay," Dick said and braced himself for the whip. It didn't come. When he looked at Franziska, she wasn't holding her whip, she hadn't even moved.
"Very well…" was her response. Dick felt a huge relief flow through his body as he wasn't going to be tasting the whip today. He smiled, Miles and Franziska were tricky to get along with, but he always knew that deep down they were good people in their own way.
Ace Attorney – Chapter 13: Going Through a Burn-Up
Heat. That was the first thing that Phoenix registered as he slowly came to. His eyes fluttered open and landed on a creature consumed by flames. That was the only thing he could see, everything else was surrounded by darkness. Not that his groggy mind could decipher anything else, just that he must have been on a void-like area as darkness was everywhere. The fire creature was still watching him, its head tilted to the side as Phoenix slowly transitioned from exhausted and groggy to being more alert and awake. Once his mind had turned the dial, Phoenix's eyes widened as he backed away from the fire creature with a start.
"W-what are you?!" He demanded. To respond to that, the creature spread out its wings and shook its tailfeathers before the flames grew brighter and the fire creature began to change shape. No longer was it remaining as a bird but instead it was shifting to be more human-like appearance. Once the transformation was complete the flames rushed away from most of the appearance, instead more focusing on pretending to be wings while also remaining on the tips of their hair. "Okay, you just shifted into me…" Phoenix muttered and received a chuckle from the other.
"Yeah, sorry but I've long forgotten what I originally looked like. So, I mimicked yours the best I could. Can't quite match the eyes though…I tend to keep mine as a golden colour though," the other 'Phoenix' spoke. The firebird was sitting down, legs crossed so he could remain at the same height as Phoenix without towering over him.
"I'm going to need a few minutes…I thought spirit channelling was strange, but this is just a whole new level," Phoenix admitted. He was still a child while the other 'Phoenix' was an adult. "Also, I'm not going to be calling you Phoenix, that's my name…mind if I just call you Ember?"
The other him pondered on that for a moment before he shrugged and nodded. Now dubbed by such a childish name such as Ember must be somewhat annoying. Phoenix had never been good with naming things on the spot like he was now, he preferred to do research into names and their meanings if he felt creative enough. Now though, wasn't the time. Ember gazed at him, his golden eyes were filled with curiosity and interest which slightly unnerved Phoenix. Why did Ember get to be the adult and he was still a child? Phoenix did his best to remain strong under the gaze of Ember, rising to the challenge of fixing his gaze at the older him.
"Sorry, I'm just taking in your appearance…so much has changed since I was last awake," Ember apologised, a soft smile on his face, his gaze was less intense and more apologetic. "I'm also sorry you're experiencing this intense heat. Baby phoenix chicks can't monitor their heat levels well and sometimes it just spikes. We're both somewhat unconscious during this and naturally the heat levels will decrease naturally. Miss Fey and the others are doing their best to bring your temperature back to normal levels though."
"HOLD IT!" Phoenix thrusted her arm forward which ended up at him pointing towards Ember, the movement felt familiar, comfortable…like he was supposed to do this. It felt natural. Ember's eyes widened slightly before an amused smile was on full display. "What do you mean baby phoenix chicks?"
"I probably should have explained that first…my apologies." Ember rolled his shoulders slightly and allowed his mind to form what needed to be said. Phoenix watched and waited patiently. "We are a phoenix. Yes, exactly like the mythological bird you can find on the internet. We were killed and have been reborn from the ashes found in your office. When I mean 'we' I more mean the body. Body and souls are different things, I'm sure you're aware?" Ember gave him a puzzled expression.
"If…we are a phoenix, how come I didn't know…? I would have thought I'd know something like that," Phoenix asked Ember. He was sure that if he was a mythological bird then he would know about it, right? You don't forget things like that!
Ember's look changed to sorrow. Was he responsible for Phoenix not knowing about what he was? This would have been one of the times when he would have liked that magatama that Maya had told him about earlier. He would know if Ember was lying to him about anything or at least concealing the complete truth from him. He heard Ember let out a small huff, finally finished debating on what he should say to him. Ember placed his right elbow on his right leg before he opened his mouth to answer.
"That's when the souls come into play. Currently I am one soul while you are another." Ember watched as confusion grew on Phoenix's face. Two souls? Ember waited for the words to sink in before he continued, "a phoenix soul, my soul. And your soul, a human soul. Centuries ago, I was in so much pain after loosing so many close people that I decided to hibernate until the pain stopped. Spoilers, it never does. It dulls but it lingers in the back of your mind, regardless of how much time passes. During my sleep, my body was empty. Heart still beating, my flame still burning but it was 'soulless'," Ember raised two fingers and did invisible air quotes. "Before I put myself into a deep hibernation, I used my flames and created a placebo soul, something to keep my body going until I was ready to awaken."
Phoenix's eyes were wide. He couldn't tell directly if Ember was lying but just listening to this…he felt like it was the truth. Ember's emotions were dancing across his face as he told this story. It seemed too farfetched to be made up yet sounds impossible to be real. Firebirds like Ember were only in mythology, fantasy novels and films…they weren't real. Phoenix reached over and gently poked Ember's leg and was met with a solid presence. He didn't need to look at Ember to hear him chuckle at the action.
"You're telling the truth…aren't you?" Phoenix asked as he glanced up at Ember's face.
"I wouldn't lie to you."
"Then are you going to kill me?"
Ember didn't move.
Ace Attorney – Chapter 13: Going Through a Burn-Up
Godot watched as Maya changed the cloth on Phoenix's forehead for the umpteenth time that evening. He wondered how much longer Maya could go before breaking down and crying, feeling utterly helpless that all she could do was change the cloth. They had asked Franziska to take Miles and Pess out for a walk. The man had been reluctant at first but after reassurance from Godot and Maya that Phoenix would be alright the man stopped fighting and allowed his sister to take him and Pess out. Dick remained in the house and was happy to run out and grab more ice if they needed it. The bathroom was quiet though, save from the water that was bubbling every so often as it was getting cooked by the heat from Phoenix.
Maya watched the water before her hands reached into the pocket of her clothes and brought out the green magatama, the glow from the rock was fluctuating. Glowing dimly for a bit before trying to be blinding. She didn't care if Godot knew of the existence of the rock, she could feel some spiritual energy coming from his pocket that felt somewhat like her magatama's energy. He still had something of Mia's on him, did he? The white-haired prosecutor must have felt Maya watching him or had finally noticed the green magatama himself as he adjusted his head to look at it.
"Nice magatama."
"It technically belongs to Nick. I'm just holding it until he's ready for it," Maya admitted. Godot chuckled as he reached into his pocket and withdrew what Maya assumed was his magatama.
"I'll tell you what mine does if you tell me what Phoenix's does?" He offered.
"That was Mia's…wasn't it?" Maya asked, a pang of hurt passed through her. She missed Mia, even if she could ask Pearl to channel Mia to talk to her, sometimes that just hurt too much. Godot placed his hand on her shoulder.
"It's okay to cry because I miss Kitten too."
"Kitten…?" Maya blinked at the unfamiliar nickname. Godot let himself laugh for the first time since he heard of Phoenix going through a burn-up.
"I used to call her Kitten. It annoyed the heck out of her at first but as we worked together, she grew to like the nickname. Kitten was the one who gave me this magatama," he held it to Maya. She hesitated to reach for it but as Godot gave her a reassuring smile, she gently took it. She didn't tap into the powers immediately, but she felt a similar presence within the magatama.
"They both feel warm…both pulsating together," Maya spoke as a warm smile grew on her face. "Both are warm, like Nick…Nick?" She looked back at Phoenix and moved the two magatamas closer to him. "Did Nick ever hold your magatama?"
"Never leave a child like Phoenix unsupervised," Godot warned Maya. She couldn't help but laugh and agree.
"Trust me, I know. I'll tell you what Nick's magatama does. It allows him to see if someone is concealing the truth from him or if they're only telling him a half-truth. He uses the magatama during investigations, but it comes with a drawback. If presenting wrong evidence, he gets hurt. From what he's told me, it starts off small like a warning before it hurts him physically and if still presenting wrong evidence, it can damage his soul."
"Please tell me it hasn't gotten that far yet."
"No no no! he's very good at presenting the correct evidence!" Maya spoke quickly, hoping that she hadn't just landed Phoenix into hot water with his father-figure. Godot seemed to backdown from that, did he even realise how tense he had gotten? Maya didn't know nor want to find out. "What…does your magatama do?"
"Mine isn't as dangerous as Phoenix's is, it simply allows you to see auras."
"Auras? That's neat!" Maya yelled as she looked at the orange magatama. Mia's magatama allowed her to see through people by reading their auras, that was rather cool to know. Godot chuckled at Maya's enthusiasm before looking back at Phoenix. He watched the two magatamas that seemed to resonate with each other. He glanced at Maya.
"Can you feel the spiritual energy from these two?" He asked, pointing at the two rocks.
"Yeah, why?"
"Phoenix has held both of them, right?" He paused as he watched Maya nod. "Then can you feel if they have any similarities to Phoenix? Because I've never needed to recharge my magatama and I'm sure you've noticed the same with his."
"Now that you mention it, they do have a similar yet different energy. Do you think by accident he put some of his spiritual energy into the magatamas?"
So, I finished Turnabout Big Top and I've learnt not to take that case seriously. Most of the characters I wanted to have in jail but I couldn't help but laugh seeing Phoenix struggle just as much as I was with the cast of characters. Also, Max throwing his cards...that was annoying. I just used a walkthrough for Moe's trial. I wasn't dealing with his jokes.
Now that the case is out of the way, I have yet to start Farewell, My Turnabout but I wanted to write this chapter and publish it to keep you all updated on how I'm getting on with the games. Also, Easter holiday is here so maybe I'll have more time to write/play Ace Attorney. Who knows?
But yes, I'm still alive and I haven't abandoned this story, regardless on how many one-shots I end up writing. I will finish this story. If I don't, you all can take me to court.
Thank you for reading and look after yourself. You're important.
