Hey guys! Another update for you all. :)

Christmas was AWESOME. I got a whole bunch of great gifts, including a new laptop (early graduation present, apparently).

Not much else to say. Enjoy!

Chapter 18

February 9

3:15 P.M.

Sacred Cavern

Maya Fey shivered. Not for the first time, she considered the possibility of requesting that the traditional training garb be modified – rather, the creation of "summer" and "winter" outfits, instead of just the usual short dress, sandals, and robe. It was cold in that cave!

She studied the words written on the frosty cave walls. A message from her sister, who had briefly inhabited the young spirit medium's body: "Channel Dahlia Hawthorne…" it began. Sighing, Maya began another game of mindless tic-tac-toe on the ground while she pondered her situation. She couldn't give up. She couldn't.

"Hey, Ema?"

"Yeah?"

"How come… your sister is Chief Prosecutor even now? Wasn't she punished after… what she did?"

Ema frowned, a sadness overtaking her large brown eyes. "Right…"

"You told me the story of SL-9," Maya continued, "and what happened two years later with Nick, but…"

"No, I know." The other girl smiled a bit. "It's still kind of hard to believe. I knew Lana was amazing at her job, but to be promoted again so quickly? I thought there must have been some mistake at first." Maya nodded, prompting her to finish. "But… she never gave up, and worked so hard, with so much determination. By the time I came back from Europe, she was already an esteemed prosecutor at the Prosecutor's Office. It only took a few more months, and a bit of luck, for her to regain her former position." Here, Ema grinned. "That's why I never lose hope! If you have enough willpower… then you can surely defeat any obstacles! Just like Lana… and Mr. Wright!"

Maya closed her eyes for several seconds. When she opened them, they seemed to blaze with enough determination to ignite a massive bonfire.

'Yeah… I'll do it, Sis! I won't fail you… or anyone else!'

February 9

3:27 P.M.

Hazakura Temple Main Hall

Phoenix rubbed his head wearily. "Well, crap."

How on earth was he going to tell Maya and Pearls?

Elise Deauxnim was actually Misty Fey, Maya's mother and Pearl's aunt.

And she had been murdered.

Great.

It had taken a lot to get that secret out of Bikini… and once he found out, Phoenix almost wished that he didn't know.

It would have made life a lot simpler. Not to mention, if Edgeworth ever found out, how would he feel? Misty Fey had a connection with him, as well, through his father's murder case.

Really fucking great.

"Um, sir? Are you alright?" Phoenix realized that he was still standing in front of the portly nun, who looked considerably worried about him.

"Yeah, I think – " His sentence was cut off as the room started shaking violently.

"Oh dear, another earthquake! The Sacred Cavern – I hope it doesn't collapse!" Bikini exclaimed, covering her head.

"What?! Maya! And – " 'Shit! Edgeworth! He's terrified of earthquakes!'

"You look troubled," observed Franziska, a smirk creeping across her face even as the walls trembled around them. "Are you worried about Miles Edgeworth?" The defense attorney ignored her, his many worries clamoring for attention inside his head.

"You get these a lot?" Phoenix finally asked once the rumbling had died down. Upon receiving an affirmative but shaky nod from Bikini, he dashed outside. 'Damn it! Please be okay!'

He found Edgeworth's magenta-clad figure easily enough. The taller man was trembling.

"Hey! Miles!" Phoenix called, jogging up to him and putting his hand on the other's broad shoulder. Tingles raced up his spine at the contact. 'No! No time for this! Make sure he's okay, and don't let your stupid feelings get in the way!'

"Wright…" Edgeworth slowly turned his head, not looking Phoenix in the eye. "I apologize… Iris managed to escape during the earthquake. I still… have difficulty with them."

"It's okay," Phoenix replied. "She wouldn't just run off. She's probably at the Inner Temple."

Edgeworth nodded hesitantly. "Let's go look for her."

February 9

3:34 P.M.

Inner Temple Training Hall

It turned out that Iris was there, with a slight smile on her face. Behind her, Maya's cave door had gained four locks.

"What the hell is this?!" Edgeworth demanded.

Iris's expression faltered. "Oh… I don't know what happened…I just came here and there were all of these locks on the door… probably someone wanted to make sure that Maya couldn't escape."

"Can you unlock them?" Phoenix asked, his eyebrows knit together in worry.

"I… may be able to undo the first one." Iris replied, biting her lip. "These locks can be set in many different ways, so only the person who put them there would know the way to unlock it. I could try to unlock the others, but it would take more than a day, at least."

Edgeworth sighed and left the room, grumbling. Phoenix narrowed his eyes at Iris' calm expression.

"Okay, then. Let's talk about the night of the crime. You were seen in two different places at the same time, correct? Care to explain that?"

Apparently, Iris didn't. Phoenix groaned mentally as three Psyche-locks wove themselves around the nun.

February 9

3:37 P.M.

Inner Temple Garden

Phoenix followed Edgeworth's footprints into the garden, where the man in question was standing with his arms crossed and his back facing Phoenix.

"I meant to tell you earlier, Wright." Edgeworth began, not turning around, "During my investigation of the suspect, I was sure that I had met her before in court. However, my suspicions proved to be incorrect. The woman in question that reminded me of Iris has nothing to do with this particular case."

'I wouldn't be so sure about that,' Phoenix mused, remembering that Edgeworth had encountered Dahlia Hawthorne, Iris' look-alike, in his first case.

"As for the current investigation," Edgeworth continued, "we must also name Maya as a suspect."

Phoenix sighed. He knew that it would come to this. 'Can't she ever get a break?!'

"She didn't do it, Miles."

Miles looked over his shoulder at Phoenix, who had to admit to himself that the other man looked quite stunning in that pose. 'Wait. Not the point.'

"I know, but you will have to prove it. Otherwise, there is nothing any of us can do."

Phoenix frowned. There was still something that was bugging him. "Are you sure you're all right, Miles? That was a pretty big earthquake earlier…"

Miles turned to face him, gripping his sleeve tightly. "Wright… I'm fine. I need to get over this phobia." The taller man gritted his teeth, and a worried crease appeared on Phoenix's forehead.

'I wish I could just hug it out with him, but from the looks of it, he wouldn't appreciate that.'

"Don't punish yourself," Phoenix said instead, turning to leave.

"Thanks," he heard Miles mutter behind him.

Phoenix smiled.

February 9

3:45 P.M.

Heavenly Hall

"Oh, great," Phoenix muttered as he walked toward the Heavenly Hall, where he saw Larry and Pearl sitting on the ground and loudly bemoaning their status as "failures".

"Just what I need."

Larry looked up, his eyes glinting suddenly. "Hey, Nick. Sorry about this… we're just having a little group therapy session. 'Failures Anonymous', we call it. Care to join?"

"What?"

"Not that hard, Nick. Goes like this." Larry stood up and cleared his throat. "Hi. My name is Laurice, and I'm a failure."

"Hi, Larry," Phoenix and Pearl said, Phoenix rolling his eyes.

"See, you're getting it!"

Phoenix sighed. "This is a blatant rip-off, Larry."

"So what?" Larry retorted, grinning slightly. "By the way, I got a new idea for my book, Franny's Whip-Lash Splash! I decided to make her have a rival for the status of 'hero of the city'!"

"And who would that be?" Phoenix asked dryly, deciding to humor Larry for the time being.

"Fantastic Nick and his two-inch di-"

"Larry!" Phoenix hissed. "There's a kid here!"

Larry chortled. "Oh, so I guessed right on the size!"

Phoenix swore that he felt a vein throb on his temple. "No, you did not! Now shut up!"

"Mr. Nick, what did Mr. Butz mean by your 'two-inch dick'?"

Shit.

Phoenix nervously turned to face a curious Pearl. "Uhh… Detective Gumshoe's first name is Dick, so I would be going around with my tiny little minion, Detective Gumshoe."

Pearl smiled. "How'd he get to be so small?" Behind Phoenix, Larry was rolling around on the snow, screaming with silent mirth. Phoenix shot him a dirty look.

"I don't know. Laurice here needs to come up with that part of the plot."

"I can't wait to read it, Mr. Butz!"

Larry's ribs creaked ominously while he attempted to contain his hysterical laughter. "I'll get started right now," he choked out, running inside the Heavenly Hall.

Phoenix smacked his face into his hands a few times before turning to Pearl. "So what's up with you, Pearls?"

Her expression quickly grew solemn. "Mr. Nick, what do you think of Mr. Butz's drawing?"

Phoenix pulled out Larry's picture of a figure flying over the flaming Dusky Bridge. "What, this? It's kind of… weird…"

"See?" Larry yelled from inside Heavenly Hall. "He doesn't believe me either! Nobody takes me seriously!"

"I feel kind of bad for him," Pearl continued. "I'm the only one who believes him… if he says that Iris flew, then I think she did."

"…Okay. Let's talk about you now. What exactly were you doing at the Inner Temple?"

Pearl bit her lip as five Psyche-locks appeared around her. "Um… I… I seem to have lost my powers, Mr. Nick." Then she fell silent.

"What do you mean by that?" Phoenix asked, hoping that the answer would shed some light on the reason for Pearl's Psyche-locks.

"I tried to summon somebody last night," Pearl began.

"While you were at the Inner Temple?"

"Yes. But… I failed. I'm not sure why…" Pearl began to cry. "Th-that's why I'm a… f-failure… I can't help you any more…"

"Pearls, it's okay! I'm sure your powers will return!" Phoenix soothed frantically. 'How odd… Pearl has always been a very strong medium… why would her powers disappear suddenly?' "Who was it that you tried to summon?"

Pearl shook her head. "…I can't tell you, Mr. Nick."

Crap. There went that approach.