A/n: Okay, I lied. Not five… not six… but seven chapters, my final answer. Warning: This chapter contains some spoilers for Ace Attorney Investigations and of course spoilers for the other games as well. Readers must proceed with caution.

And now I will do a magic trick…

Chapter 4: Movie Madness

A walk to the movies normally took about thirty minutes from the apartment, but if they did walk it would probably take a little longer than forty minutes with Phoenix limping most of the way. Instead, the trio decided to take the taxi, which would save them plenty of time as well as energy.

They arrived outside of the cinema at about 10:12 AM. After purchasing their tickets, they hurriedly made their way through the lobby toward screen six, where they would watch the Steel Samurai movie that Maya had been looking forward to for so long, but before they could even make it there, a young man in working uniform stopped them.

"Excuse me, but are you guys here for the 11:15 showing of the new Steel Samurai movie?" The man asked. The nametag he had on read Joe. Obviously, Joe was one of the employees working here.

"Yes, we're here for the 11:15 showing," Phoenix answered as he showed the man his ticket. Maya and Pearl did the same.

After taking a quick glance at the tickets, Joe nodded.

"Okay, you see that line over there," Joe said, pointing to the left side of the corridor where people were lined up. "You'll have to wait there until they finish cleaning up number six, which shouldn't be too long if you ask me."

Phoenix's jaw nearly dropped as he took in the sight before him. Starting from the entrance of screen six and ending somewhere in the lobby was a very long line of people, ready to watch the same movie as them.

Maya clasped her hands together excitedly. "Let's get going, shall we?"

Maya waved the worker goodbye and dragged what still seemed to be a stunned Phoenix back toward the lobby as Pearl followed closely behind.

The three of them headed over to the back of the line where they waited patiently for the doors to the theater to open. Even though the three of them had arrived about an hour before the actual showing, they still ended up at the far end of the line, and being a few of the last ones to enter meant that there was a high chance of them getting horrible seats. Phoenix didn't want that. He wanted them to enjoy their movie as much as possible.

'I'll figure something out,' he thought.

Maya looked around, noticing many other Steel Samurai fans as well. Then she noticed the bags of popcorn they held in their hands, well most of them anyway. Maya couldn't help but feel hungry.

"Would you like me to buy some popcorn?" Phoenix asked as a smirk crept to his face.

Shaking her head, Maya replied, "Hah! I don't need popcorn to enjoy a good movie."

Earlier, Phoenix had promised to treat them out for burgers if Maya promised not to ask for popcorn. Maya, of course, reluctantly agreed.

Within a few minutes, the doors to screen six opened. Phoenix could tell that they were allowing people to enter since the line was now moving forward. This was a good thing, since standing for long periods of time made him feel tired.

As Pearl entered the dome-shaped theater, she couldn't help but feel very small and somewhat a little frightened. This was her first time at the cinemas after all.

"Mystic Maya! This place is enormous!"

"It sure is, Pearly! Where else would you watch a great movie?" Maya exclaimed as she held her cousin's hand in case she disappeared within the crowds. "We'd better hurry or we'll lose Nick."

The two girls spotted Phoenix near the front in the very far left section of the auditorium. Using his right hand, he waved and motioned for them to come over.

"These are the only three seats, where we can sit together," Phoenix told them. Forming a rectangle with his fingers, he stared through, focusing on the projection screen.

Maya and Pearl sat down on either side of him.

"I can't wait for the movie!" Pearl smiled happily as she snuggled into her seat. Her attention turned to the giant projection screen and the somewhat distorted images it was displaying. Pearl's smile slowly faded. "Mr. Nick, I can't see the screen very well. It's kind of hurting my eyes. Can't we sit somewhere else?" she asked.

"Pearly, there aren't any other seats. We'll have to stay here," Maya said, reaching for the arm rest, "but that's okay. It's not like we have to get the finest seats or-"

Feeling something wet and sticky between her fingers, Maya brought her hand up to take a look.

"Eww, Mystic Maya. What's all that pink stuff doing on the side of your chair?"

Maya put on a disgusted face. "Chewed gum..."

"This place isn't very sanitary, is it?" Pearl helped her cousin remove what's left of someone else's chewed gum off her fingers.

Noticing that the girls were a little uncomfortable in their current seats, Phoenix looked around as an idea came to him.

"Wait here," he told them as he quickly headed over toward the middle section of the auditorium.

Three young boys were exploding with laughter but quickly grew quiet when a blue-suited man suddenly approached them.

"Uh, do you kids think you could do a little trade with us?" Phoenix asked, hoping for some kind of miracle. "Your seats for ours?"

"Um, where do you sit?" one of the kids asked him.

Phoenix pointed over to where Maya and Pearl were sitting. "Right over there."

The boys quickly shook their heads.

"No."

"No, thanks," they answered.

Phoenix sighed. 'I'm gonna get these seats no matter what. Let's see how you guys like this.'

He reached for his back pocket and pulled out his wallet.

"How about five dollars?" He waved the money in front of the kids, who in turn showed zero interest.

"Okay, fine," he muttered, pulling out another five. "Ten?"

The boys began to eye the money with little interest. One of them quickly spoke out.

"Ten bucks? How stupid do you think we are, old man?"

Phoenix shot daggers at the kid and growled as he pulled out a few more bills.

"So," Maya began as she eyed Phoenix questioningly, "how much?"

Phoenix shrugged. "Not much. It was just a few dollars, really." He stared at the screen ahead of him, almost as if he was interested in the ads it was displaying.

"It didn't look like a few bucks to me," Maya mumbled as she lowered her head and played with her hands.

Turning to Maya, Phoenix grinned. "Well, at least we got some pretty good seats," he said before giving her a gentle nudge in the side.

Smiling, she nodded in response.

"Now you'll have a fairly nice view of the movie and no gum on the side either. So enjoy yourself as much as you can." He chuckled, pausing a while before continuing, "In two days, you'll be back in Kurain, performing your duties as the new master. Once that happens, you'd probably be too busy to do anything like this," he finished a little sadly.

"I guess so," she murmured softly, her smile slowly fading. 'I love doing these kinds of things with you, Nick. And I don't think I'll ever be too busy for this. I just hope you'll still visit me every once in a while, even when I'm the master and everything.'

He frowned when he noticed she had gone silent for quite some time. 'Maybe she doesn't like the seats. Damnit, Phoenix! You should've tried harder.'

"I'm sorry. We should've left earlier. There might've been more seats to choose from."

Upon hearing this, Maya shook her head. "The view from here is perfect, Nick." She smiled as she placed a soft hand on his shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze.

Phoenix felt a smile tug at his lips. 'She's never really looked at me like that before,' he thought. The way she said that and the way she touched him just now seemed different. Somehow the soft gesture sent shivers down his back, giving him a rather strange feeling, one he wasn't quite sure of. He studied her face, taking notice of something he's never noticed before.

'Her eyes are actually quite… beautiful, like they're sparkling almost.'

Feeling a bit uncomfortable under her friend's gaze, Maya quickly looked away as a faint blush stained her cheeks. The sudden movement woke Phoenix from his trance.

Clearing his head of his previous thoughts, he crossed his arms in a triumphant manner and finally spoke, "Yeah, I guess I did do a good job of getting these seats, didn't I?"

"Yup, you should be proud of yourself, and I'm sure Pearly loves it here too. Isn't that right, Pearly?" Maya leaned forward in her seat to look at her cousin, who was sitting on the other side of Phoenix.

'Oh, man. I completely forgot Pearls was even here.' He turned to his left to see Pearl with her arms crossed and a sort of displeased look on her face, but it wasn't because of Phoenix.

As he and Maya both followed the little girl's line of sight, the problem became clear. Pearl couldn't see a darn thing. The man sitting in front of her was practically blocking her view, and even if Phoenix did switch with her, she still wouldn't be able to see because well… she's short.

"You can't see the screen can you, Pearls?" he asked, knowing the answer to that question already.

Arms still crossed and a pout on her face, she spoke, "I can't see at all." She continued to stare or more like glare at the man with the enormously large head in front of her. How is it, that one's head can block her view of the entire screen?

"I got it!" Maya snapped her fingers as she thought of a simple solution. "There are some booster seats back in the corridor, near the entrance. You can use one of those, Pearly."

"Booster seat?" The young girl asked. It was the first time she had ever heard of such a thing.

"They're these… um, extra seats," Phoenix answered. "Let's just say they make you taller, that way you'll be able to see over someone who's taller than you."

"Wow, that's wonderful. I think I'll get myself a… booster seat." Pearl said excitedly as she stood up and walked toward the aisle. It wasn't difficult since Maya's seat happened to be at the end of the row, making it so much easier for little Pearl to get to the aisle and to avoid stepping on people's toes.

But before she could even make her way to the entrance doors, Maya asked, "You want me to go with you, Pearly?" Thinking that Pearl might need some help, she stood up from her seat.

Pearl sat her cousin back down. "No, I'll be fine, Mystic Maya. I want you to stay and talk with your…" she sighed dreamily as she continued, "…special someone." With that, she left and disappeared out of the entrance doors.

Phoenix and Maya sat in silence for a moment, listening to those around them. It wasn't exactly quiet in the theater, especially when there were screaming Steel Samurai fans.

"So…" The lawyer began, wanting to start a conversation. "…why didn't you wear something a little more casual, instead of wearing the same clothes you always wear?"

Maya turned so that she was facing Phoenix. He smirked, and she knew why. Yesterday, she asked him a question similar to this one.

"Oh c'mon, Nick. This is way different."

"How so?"

"Well…" She placed a finger to her chin. "I'm a spirit medium, and I have to wear these whenever I'm training."

"Maya, you aren't training at this very moment." He pointed out.

"And how would you know that?" She looked at him questioningly as a smile crept to her face.

"Look, we're about to see a movie, right? That means we'll be sitting for about an hour and a half, doing nothing but watching your favorite hero on the big screen. Do you honestly call that training?"

"Of course, old man." She smiled brightly at him.

Phoenix rolled his eyes. "Please stop talking to me like I'm your grandpa or something."

"Sorry, Nick. It's just too much fun."

"Yeah, for you anyway. To me, it's more like verbal abuse," Phoenix said as he stretched his arms above his head.

At that moment, he was hit with a bright light. Phoenix, now squinting, tried to get a good look at what was causing the sudden brightness. Apparently, someone was pointing a large flashlight at them. He couldn't make out the face since the person was mostly covered in shadow, but judging by their uniform, the person was a part of security. He was quite surprised when the figure spoke.

"Keep your arms and legs within your own space. It's in the rules."

Maya couldn't believe it. "Th-that voice… it's so familiar. It can't be."

"You youngsters… you think you own the place. Rude, rude, rude… That's all you whippersnappers are. Talking here and there, laughing and running around, rocking your chairs back and forth, calling on your cell phones, and you… stretching your arms up toward the sky as if you could actually touch the ceiling, but you never worry if you're blocking the view of the person sitting behind you. Tsk, Tsk, Tsk… "

Maya blinked, shocked when she came to realize who that voice belonged to. "Ms. Oldbag?"

The person stepped out of the shadows as soon as they heard that name, giving Phoenix and Maya a better look at their face. Yeah, it was definitely her.

"Wendy Oldbag. That's me… And just how is it that you know me?" she asked with a serious expression, one that many find quite disturbing. Her eyes grew wide the moment she recognized the dumbfounded look on Phoenix's face. "Wait a minute… it's you! You're the spiky-headed lawyer who… who…"

"Yeah, I know. I'm the one that questioned you on the witness stand and then accused you of murdering Mr. Hammer a few years back," he finished for her.

Oldbag silently stared at him for a mere two seconds before continuing what she had said earlier before she was interrupted. "You're the one who carelessly pushed me into the water back in that good for nothing theme park they call Gatewater Land."

He looked at her like she was insane. "You're probably mistaking me for some other spiky-headed lawyer. I didn't see you anywhere in Gatewater Land. The only person I accidentally pushed into that lake was whoever was in that… Pink… Bad…ger… costume…" Phoenix gulped. "You were the Pink Badger!"

Maya smiled, clasping her hands together. "Oh, yeah, I remember that. It was right after our little boat ride. That was really funny how you shoved the Pink Badger into the water. Oh man, I wish I'd taken a picture of that. That was a once in a lifetime."

"Maya, you know very well that that was an accident. I tripped and fell…"

"Yeah, and pushed me while you were at it!" Oldbag huffed, her voice seething with anger.

"Hey come on, now. It really was an accident." Phoenix waved his hands in defense. 'I don't want to know how she got to be the Pink Badger. That one's a mystery. What I do want to know is what the hell she's doing here? Never mind. I don't think I want to know that either.'

"I bet you're wondering what I'm doing here." Oldbag smiled through her teeth. "Well, I'll be glad to tell you, you whippersnapper."

Phoenix uncomfortably slid down in his seat, bringing a hand up to run his forehead in an awkward manner as the Oldbag continued to run her mouth. 'This has to be some kind of bad luck. I just know it.'

Suddenly, the old lady stopped her blabbering when she felt something hard and plastic against the back of her knees. She turned around to see a small girl with a red booster seat in her hands.

"You must be the alien from last year," Pearl said as she took a good look at her.

'Except now she's got a lightsaber instead of a ray gun,' thought Maya.

"Hmph," Oldbag snorted. "Why am I wasting my time with you young whippersnappers anyway? Excuse me, but I've got some security work I need to attend to." She returned to the aisle where she came from, flashing her light in the faces of other people. "Hey, you brats! Put your feet down or I'll put it down for you!" She screamed, scaring a few kids as well as some parents. Within a few seconds, the old lady was out of sight.

Pearl made it back to her seat and placed her booster seat on top. Sitting down at a now higher level, she was able to get a good look at the projection screen.

"How is it, Pearls?" Phoenix asked.

"It works, Mr. Nick. Now, I don't have to worry about Mr. Big Head."

The man in front turned his head to look at them, feeling a little hurt because someone had called his head 'big'.

Phoenix waved at him nervously. "Sorry about that."

The man didn't say anything. Instead, he turned his attention back to the screen.

Pearl tugged on Phoenix's sleeve. "Mr. Nick? While I was out in the hallway getting a booster seat, I noticed a large metal box full of colorful balls. What are they?" she asked curiously.

"Hmm," Phoenix thought for a second. "Oh, you mean the gumball machine."

"Did someone say gumball?" Maya asked as she leaned forward to look at him with her puppy eyes.

He knew that look all too well. Phoenix glanced at his watch. 'We still got ten minutes 'til the movie starts.' He sighed in defeat. "Here's two quarters. Should get you two pieces. One for you and one for Pearls." As he was about to place the coins in her hand, Pearl snatched them.

"I'll get the gumballs, Mr. Nick. I really want to look at the pretty colors again," she said as she disappeared out through the big doors for the second time.

"She really seems to be enjoying herself, huh," Phoenix said as he faced Maya.

"Well, it is her first time at the movies. What do you expect?" Maya laughed softly, but stopped shortly when she noticed a woman sitting in her cousin's seat. "Nick, that woman's in Pearly's spot," she whispered.

Turning to his left, Phoenix met with two blue eyes, which seemed to darken the moment he looked into them.

"Hi there, big boy." The woman purred, batting her long eyelashes as she leaned towards him. "Name's Katie."

'What's he waiting for?' Maya thought. 'She's in Pearly's seat, Nick! Tell her she's in Pearly's seat! Say something already!'

"H-Hey," he breathed nervously.

Maya smacked her forehead. 'He's a goner.'

Moving her lips over to his ear, Katie whispered, "I'm so lonely right now. I could use some company…" She smiled suggestively at him. He swallowed hard.

Maya looked in disgust as the woman leaned closer to Phoenix. Who does she think she is? Whatever it was that she said, it made Phoenix blush something terrible.

'Maybe that's what Nick's attracted to. Girls with pretty faces, long eyelashes, and large… breasts.' Maya folded her arms subconsciously over her chest as she continued to glare viciously at the woman.

Where did this she come from anyway? Maya looked over and noticed two empty seats beside the strange woman. It looked like she's been sitting in the same row as them.

Phoenix tensed up as Katie slid an unwelcomed hand up his inner thigh. He quickly placed his hand on top of hers to prevent it from traveling any further.

"I-I'm sorry, Katie," he stammered, "…but I… I'm already… um, taken. Uh, I mean… I already have company, uh no I…" He immediately cleared his throat. "That seat is already… taken."

She began to run her fingers along his arm, ignoring what he had just said. "You are so good-looking, but I bet you already knew that." She had on a sort of dazed look as she stared at him. "And you have such strong arms… so sexy."

"Uh," was all Phoenix could say.

'That's it!' Maya gritted her teeth and stood up, jealousy obviously getting the better of her. 'This was supposed to be our time together. This obsessed woman has got to go!' She was about to open her mouth and say something when her cousin, Pearl, suddenly showed up.

Pearl had seen most of what was going on and she was quite disappointed in what she saw. 'Don't worry, Mystic Maya. I'll kick him back to his senses.' She hurriedly ran over to where Phoenix was sitting and kicked him as hard as she could on the side of his leg.

"Aaaah!" he screamed as he clutched his leg in pain. His loud voice made the woman next to him jump up in her seat.

"Mr. Nick!" Pearl rolled her sleeve up and glared at Phoenix. "How dare you look at another woman! You should only have eyes for Mystic Maya. And I can't believe you gave my seat to someone else!"

"Pearly, wait!" Maya quickly grabbed hold of her cousin before she could do any more damage.

"Cute kid," Katie said as she smiled at the small girl. "… but someone's got to teach her some manners."

"You're the one who's got poor manners if you ask me," retorted Maya.

"Kate!"

The four of them turned in the direction of the deep voice. A man appeared, wearing a bright red sleeveless shirt, a pair of light blue ripped jeans and on his head he wore a white bandana. In all honesty, his clothes made him look like a giant Tylenol caplet.

'Whoa! This guy is huge!' thought Phoenix as he got a good look at the guy. He was definitely a good four inches taller than Phoenix.

Pearl quickly hid behind Maya, trembling in fear as the man came closer.

"Oh hey, Mike." Katie said as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "What took you so long? I missed you."

'Yeah right,' Maya rolled her eyes at her.

"Who's this punk?" Mike questioned as he eyed Phoenix suspiciously.

Phoenix quickly stood from his seat. "N-Nobody, I was just –"

"Oh, this guy's been flirting with me the whole time." Katie giggled. "Weren't you, you naughty boy?"

"What? You've been touchin' my girl!" Mike shouted as he grinded his teeth in anger.

Phoenix found himself backing towards Maya and Pearl. "Huh? Wait, no. I wasn't-"

"You've been touchin' my girl!" The man shouted again, nearly catching everyone's attention.

"Fight! Fight! Fight!" A couple of kids and young teenagers began to cheer them on, while a few quickly got up to look for security.

"Use the samurai slash!" One kid shouted.

Mike's face contorted with anger as he moved closer to Phoenix. "I'm gonna crush you 'till you-"

"Nick didn't do anything! He's innocent!" Maya cried out. She couldn't stand to see Phoenix get hurt. "It was your girlfriend here who-"

"Shut your trap, girl! You ain't in this you got that!"

"Hey! Don't you dare yell at her!" Phoenix screamed, balling his hands into fists. He was more than prepared to hit him if needed be. "You don't have the right!"

Mike roughly grabbed Phoenix by the collar, pulling him closer. "You don't wanna mess with me, porcupine head," he said in a dangerously low voice. "… 'cause it's gonna get ugly.'

Just then, something small hit the side of Mike's head. "Okay, who the hell just threw popcorn at me!"

"That would be me."

They all turned to see Wendy Oldbag. In her hand was a bag full of buttery popcorn. The man standing next to her with an irritated expression pointed a finger in their direction.

"These guys have been going at it for five minutes non-stop. Look, I've already missed the first two minutes of the previews," The man complained.

Pearl quietly whispered into her cousin's ear. "It's the Big Head, Mystic Maya."

Maya nodded.

"Is there a problem here?" Oldbag asked as she kept her focus on Mike, who was still gripping Phoenix tightly by the collar.

Mike slowly released his hold on the lawyer. "No, there's no problem. We were just leaving. This movie's probably stupid anyway." Grabbing his girlfriend's hand, he made his way toward the exit. Before the man completely disappeared however, he turned around and gave the lawyer a death glare as his girlfriend gave him a wink. Phoenix gulped.

Oldbag turned her attention back to the three of them. "What about you youngsters? You gonna watch the movie or do I have to kick you out too."

"We're good," Phoenix said, sitting down in his seat. He watched as the old lady walked away, snacking on her popcorn. Phoenix let out a tired sigh. 'Whew, saved by the oldbag.'

Maya took her seat as well, while Pearl grabbed the booster seat from under her own seat and placed it back on top.

"Are you okay, Nick?" Maya asked.

He nodded then looked at her. "I'm fine. Let's not worry about what happened earlier. We came here to watch a movie, remember?" Smiling, he patted her head. "You still want to watch, don't you?"

"Of course!"

They were now halfway through the movie, watching one of those major fluffy love scenes. The Steel Samurai was confessing his love to the Pink Princess, and Phoenix couldn't help but roll his eyes at how corny it all sounded.

'So I guess that's how they ended up getting married and having a kid. All this time I thought it just came out of nowhere,' he thought as he turned his attention toward Maya, who seemed to be entranced at the moment.

Speaking of kids, soon Maya will have to find a husband. How else would she provide an heir? And who knew how soon exactly? It wasn't something he really wanted to think about, and he knew for certain that Maya wouldn't need to search too far for a husband.

'Any guy would be lucky to have her as his girl,' he thought. 'She's funny, kind, and she never gives up on you… I definitely know she's never given up on me.'

For some reason, Phoenix felt the need to study her as his wandering eyes ran her over from top to bottom. Maya had a pretty face with smooth features that seemed to fit her personality just right. Even though she would act childish at times, she was very mature in her own way, and there's no doubt that she had indeed grown into quite a beautiful young woman over the last few years.

He continued to gaze at her. There was just something special about Maya that he couldn't really put into words. It was like she had this glow around her that gave him a warm feeling inside.

He thought about her smile. She had quite an amazing smile, a smile that had that always seemed to brighten his day no matter how down he felt. There's no doubt about it, her smile is quite addictive. That happy-go-lucky personality she had made her that more attractive... Wait, did he just call Maya attractive?

'Don't think about her like that! She's your friend, or are you saying you want her to be something more.'

His eyes then slowly trailed down to her beautiful and slender… legs. He swallowed hard, unable to look away.

Noticing he'd been staring, Maya suddenly spoke, "Is something on your mind?" She stared at him with a raise of her brow.

"Legs," he replied without thinking. As soon as he realized it, he mentally slapped himself. "I-I mean, uh, why doesn't the Steel Samurai… show his um… legs." He mentally slapped himself again, this time even harder.

A couple of kids behind them spoke, "Hey old man, shut up. We're trying to watch the movie. Talk to your girlfriend after it's done."

Phoenix sank in his seat completely embarrassed, while Maya turned a bright red.

A/n: That was some pretty good magic trick, huh? Anyway, I hope you guys liked it. I'm sorry if the chapter was long. I don't usually write long chapters, and this has got to be my longest chapter yet! Again, thank you to those who have reviewed.

Reviews are cookies. I want some cookies. If you give me more cookies, I'll perform another magic trick. xD