Into the Dawn - Chapter Eleven
When Miles awoke, he felt no desire to open his eyes.
There was a soft yet incessant beeping sound coming from somewhere off to his right, and after a few seconds of sifting through a thick haze clouding his mind, he recognized it. He also became aware of a rather distinctive sterile smell, further confirmation of his assessment of his surroundings. After all that had happened, it was only logical that he would wake in the hospital, and the foggy feeling...? They had likely drugged him with something...
He was still extremely reluctant to do so, but he blinked his eyes open to take in the sight of the white room. The door was shut, his magenta suit and accessories were folded and ordered on a table near it - they would be terribly wrinkled - there was a television mounted on the wall across from him, he was wearing a white gown and covered with a white blanket, and only a small amount of light was coming in through the closed blinds over the window.
Oh, and he wasn't alone.
Miles stared for a while at the lump on the bench beneath the window before he recognize it as Maya Fey's curled form, huddled under another hospital-issued blanket with her head resting on a pillow. Her hair was a mess, but her back was to him, so he could not see her face. It was difficult to tell, but he concluded that she was wearing a pair of blue scrubs, and he had to wonder how she'd gotten a hold of them.
He also had to briefly consider why she was there, but it came to him rather quickly with an awful sinking feeling.
...Phoenix had brought her here... as a spirit inhabiting her body...
He hadn't wanted to understand what it meant when he saw Phoenix during the rescue, hadn't wanted to face it. He still didn't want to. God, he wanted to deny it and drum up any excuse to justify such denial, but deep down... he knew... He knew the truth and there was no lying to himself. To think that seeing Phoenix as the human man he had once pined over would now be such a terrible sight to behold, simply for what it implied. Miles couldn't even try to dispute it by denying the existence of spirit mediums and the legitimacy of their powers. There was nothing else that sight could have meant unless he'd been hallucinating, and Maya's presence here put a damper on that theory.
No, he couldn't talk himself out of the pit of despair into which he was slowly sinking. He knew what he'd seen, and what it meant, and now all he wanted to do was close his eyes, go back to sleep, and never wake again.
Phoenix... Why...? Miles had known the chances of them making it out alive had been slim, but the idea that only one of them would make it out, that he would be left alone to grieve... he couldn't stand this... Images of the horrors he had seen kept flashing before his mind's eye, and survivor's guilt gnawed at his conscience. He had endured, he had fought back and somehow survived long enough to beat the odds, but in the end... he had lost the only person he had ever truly opened his heart to.
Miles felt like his head was splitting in two, felt like something within him was tearing, ripping, falling to tiny, irreparable little pieces. He didn't shed a single tear, just lay there staring at nothing, too traumatized by it all to even find the will to weep. He was sure this was it, that this would be what finally broke him. He had seen so much horror and death in his life, and this time it had been beyond anything he had ever imagined. He had placed himself in Phoenix's hands, told himself that he could endure anything so long as he had that man to fall back on, his rock, his protector, his savior...
...but now he was gone, and Miles was left to face it all alone. He couldn't. It was too much to bear.
He could not have measured the amount of time he lay there, staring straight ahead into another time and place, but it was the sound of the door opening and closing that pulled him back into the dark hospital room. His attention gravitated toward the sound, and he started badly at the figure that stood there.
Hunched and haggard, dressed in black and belts and chains, skin pale and arms badly burned, Phoenix stood near the door, one hand on the table beside it to keep himself up. Miles gawked in open-mouthed astonishment, unable to find his voice.
He heard a tiny gasp off to his right. "N... Nick...?"
Phoenix struggled for a moment, then took his weight off his arm to move a few steps into the room. He was trying to reach the bed, but didn't quite make it and fell to his knees instead.
"Nick...? Is that...?"
"...hey, Maya..." Phoenix greeted her, drawing out each word as if he were barely conscious and unable to cut them off at the appropriate times. He was working to get back to his feet, and Miles still could not find it in himself to say anything.
"N-Nick, you... Oh my... M-Mr. Edgeworth... Mr. E-Edgeworth, Nick is..."
At last, Miles swallowed and took in a shaky breath, still gazing at Phoenix while he tried to answer Maya's stammering. "Y-yes, I know... That is-"
"NICK IS A ZOMBIE! AAAAAAHHHHHHH!" Miles snapped his head to the right to see Maya spring up from the bench in pure panic, her eyes - puffy and red from crying - blown wide with terror. She made a beeline for the door, intent on escape. However, Phoenix seemed to find his strength in this dire moment and was much faster. In an instant, he stood in front of Maya, hands gripping her shoulders.
"Maya, it's all right. It's okay. Everything is fine..."
Miles blinked in bewilderment as he watched all the tension go out of the young woman. She just stood there, staring back at Phoenix with a blank, serene expression, her gaze locked on his, her eyes wide and hyper-focusing. Realization dawned on Miles then: this was the first time he had ever actually witnessed hypnosis as an outsider.
"You're safe, Maya. No one is going to harm you..."
Maya breathed a little sigh of relief, even though she looked completely relaxed already.
"I'm not a zombie. Zombies aren't real."
"...they're not...?"
"Fuck, I hope n- I mean... umm... No, they're not. You were simply having a bad dream."
"...I was...?"
"Yes. You had a nightmare, and it's time to go back to sleep. When I count to three, you'll go lay down and sleep until morning."
"...Okay..."
"One. Two. Three..."
Still in a trance, Maya turned around and walked back to the bench she was using as a bed, lay down, covered up, and then fell silent and still.
Slowly, Phoenix turned back to face Miles, bending forward to place a hand on the end of the bed to support himself. "Miles, I'm... sorry I worried you..." he said, the strain evident in his voice. "I just... wanted to come here and let you know I'm still around, but... I have to go... I need to... hunt..."
The heart monitor's rhythm suddenly picked up as panic set in and Miles hurriedly sat up. "No, don't leave," he pleaded, reaching out for his lover. He'd only just gotten Phoenix back after being so certain he'd died! He didn't understand how it was possible yet, but he didn't want to be apart from him again.
A guttural growl preceded the sound of Phoenix's fangs protruding, and with his lips slightly parted, Miles could see them glistening with saliva. "Miles, if I stay here with the two of you, I'm going to lose it... I can't-"
"There is no reason to look elsewhere," Miles argued, making no effort to hide his desperation. "I'm right here."
"You're in a hospital bed!" Gravel laced Phoenix's words, telling Miles just how close to the surface the beast had risen. He was honestly amazed the young vampire was holding out this long.
"I'm not hurt." Miles wasn't giving up. He would do anything to keep Phoenix near. "I am only being kept here so they can ensure there are no complications from my... my trauma. If you feel it is necessary afterward, I can take some of your blood! Just please don't-"
His words were cut off with a grunt at the impact of hitting the bed. Phoenix had pounced on him, pinning his shoulders to the mattress. He was momentarily dazed, just staring up at the elongated canines looming mere inches from his face. It did not take long, however, to realize that Phoenix was still struggling, still trying to restrain himself. He was tense and shaking, fingers gripping Miles' shoulders painfully tight.
Miles swallowed hard to brace himself to give the final push. "Phoenix... Please... I want you to..." It wasn't a lie. He needed to know this was real, that this wasn't some dream brought to him in his grief.
The bite came sudden and harsh, causing him to cry out. It had been a long time since Phoenix had bitten him that hard, back during his worst lapses in control. This was a bad sign, but Miles was determined to trust him no matter what. When the shock of pain subsided, he moved his hands to Phoenix's upper back, holding him as he fed. Miles closed his eyes, taking comfort in the familiarity of it: the rhythmic suction, the tongue lapping at his skin, the sound of it all.
Had someone told him six months ago that he would find security in Phoenix drinking blood from the side of his neck, he would have had them committed.
Miles tried his best not to get worried when he began to feel lightheaded. Phoenix had been extremely weak and injured; he just needed more than usual and would stop before the situation became dire. As his consciousness began to wain, Phoenix was showing no signs of stopping, but all of a sudden the fangs withdrew and the weight on him lifted.
An instant later, there came a knock on the door and it opened.
"Mr. Edgeworth, is everything-? Wait, who are-?"
"Everything is fine."
"...it is...?"
"Yes. His heart rate will be back to normal shortly. Oh, and... I have special permission to be here as a second overnight guest."
"...you do...?"
"Yes, don't you remember?"
"...ah, yes... that's right..."
"Very good. Thank you for being so diligent in taking care of Mr. Edgeworth. Good evening, miss."
"...good evening..."
Miles heard the door shut softly and then the rattling of the chains on Phoenix's pants as he returned to the bed. The mattress shifted and he soon felt that cool mouth on his neck again. There was no bite, but his lover seemed to be cleaning up after himself a bit. "I'm sorry," he muttered. "Here..." There was a brief pause, and then a finger was pressed to Miles' lips. He parted them and took the digit into his mouth, bracing himself for the bitter taste that quickly flooded his tongue. Despite how awful it still was to him, he lightly licked the wound until it closed and Phoenix withdrew his hand.
Miles stayed still for a time as he waited for those few drops of vampire blood to work their *magic*, kept calm and relaxed the entire time by the soothing feeling of Phoenix's fingers carding gently through his assuredly messy hair. The wooziness began to ebb away and he soon felt confident enough to open his eyes, to see his lover once again.
Phoenix was smiling softly at him, looking good as new. His eyes were bright and intense, his flesh unmarred by burns, and his balance and posture perfectly steady. "Hey there," came the gentle greeting. "I, uh... got some blood on your pillow. We'll just flip it over and hope they don't notice." Phoenix leaned down, placing a soft kiss against Miles' lips. "I'm sorry I worried you... I... well... I also thought I would never wake up."
Part of Miles didn't even want to question what seemed like a miracle, but that was simply not his nature. "I... don't understand," he murmured, still feeling somewhat out-of-it. "You were being channeled by Maya, were you not? As I understand it, that can only mean one thing..."
"That's what i thought, too," Phoenix said, leaning back to just sit on the edge of the bed and resume stroking Miles' hair as they spoke. "Yesterday evening, I woke up in my old office, wearing Maya's robe thing... which was about as awkward as you'd think. She'd left me a note saying she just couldn't wait any longer to find out... I was sure then that I'd been killed while resting and hadn't even been aware of it. I... knew you were still trapped, though, and I saw on the news that the police were looking into some... horrible videos that had been released - trying to find their source."
Miles swallowed hard and nodded, knowing exactly to what Phoenix was referring.
"I called Gumshoe and told him I knew where the videos were coming from and where some more captives were being held... including you. I tried to warn him over the phone that he couldn't just go in there like they normally would, but he cut me off... pretty worried about you, I think. So, I had to get down to the police station before he ran off and got himself and/or a bunch of other people killed. When I got there, I found a whole bunch of people in black uniforms with a whole arsenal of weapons each. Apparently, there's a top-secret group within the FBI that knows we exist and knew our kind was involved in those videos. I talked with one of them, told her my situation, and... well... she sort of just believed me..."
Miles raised an eyebrow. "Wait. So... you informed one of these agents that you were a vampire who was now dead and being channeled by a spirit medium... and she just believed you?"
"Yep." Phoenix chuckled to himself. "To be honest, I'm not sure that one is sane... Either way, she said it explained how i knew where everyone was and that they could go in on my word alone. I insisted on going along... I was... so terrified they'd already killed you... It seems we arrived just in time to stop that from happening..."
Miles closed his eyes and nodded, trying not to remember what had transpired that night and what he had almost endured. "You did... Thank you..."
Carefully, Phoenix slid an arm behind his shoulders and pulled him into a somewhat awkward embrace, given their positions. "After they sedated you, that agent came up to me and... said something really strange. She said I was 'in two places at once.' I ran downstairs to where we were all being held captive and - sure enough - there was my body... still in tact. I'd been sure I was nothing but a pile of ashes, but that wasn't the case at all."
Miles opened his eyes to gaze up at his lover from where his head rested on the vampire's shoulder. He was thinking, forcing himself to go back to that terrible place and remember. "Actually, I... Yesterday evening, shortly before sunset, I was trying to wake you. Everything was chaos and we were in the process of trying to fight back, to escape, and I was trying to wake you up, but you wouldn't respond."
Phoenix looked thoughtful. "Yeah, that timing sounds about right. I have no idea how, but... it seems like... Maya channeled me right out of my body."
Miles was incredulous. "Can that happen?"
Phoenix chewed his lip. "I mean... I doubt it could happen to a living person, but maybe it has something to do with our restive state. We're all but dead during the day... Maybe we sort of... partially cross over into that other world where mediums call spirits from, or something... I honestly don't know enough about any of it to say anything for sure..."
Miles brought a hand to his forehead, grunting slightly. "Just thinking about that is giving me a migraine... You're still here... Nothing else really matters right now..."
Phoenix laughed softly and bent his head to kiss Miles lovingly. "Couldn't have said it better myself." With that, their conversation ended, substituted by another kiss, then another, and another. Phoenix's mouth tasted like blood, but Miles couldn't have cared less. He knew that Phoenix would have to leave him come sunrise, but until then, he did not want even an inch to part them.
Maya woke the following morning shortly after Phoenix departed, and Miles was left with the task of trying to console her. It took quite a bit of time to convince her that Phoenix was, in fact, not dead, and in the end, he had no choice but to reveal the secret he'd been hiding for half a year. The young woman was understandably shocked, confused, a little upset, and in disbelief. Multiple times she questioned whether or not Miles was under the influence of some drugs from the hospital staff, but he managed to convince her that he was perfectly coherent and had been given nothing since the sedative the previous morning.
About halfway through his attempt to explain everything to her, there came a knock on the door and a tall woman in a black uniform stepped inside, fiery red hair tied back with a thick black band and sunglasses perched on the bridge of her nose. She appeared to be loaded down with bags, and it only took a brief moment for Miles to recognize them as his and Phoenix's.
"Morning!" the visitor chimed with a cheery grin as she dumped the bags unceremoniously on the floor. "Brought your crap from the place with the stuff. How's everyone doing today?!"
Miles had to take a moment to process the attitude of the woman who had invited herself into his room, thus it was Maya who ended up speaking first.
"Um... Hi, there," she said uncertainly with a smile to match. "Uh... who are you?"
"Agent Lita Nyxier, FBI Spec. Ops. And you must be the medium lady I saw yesterday." The agent stuck her hands in her pockets, looking as casual and relaxed as you please.
Maya blinked in confusion. "Uhhh... No, I don't think we've ever met before. I'd remember."
"Oh!" Agent Nyxier giggled. "Sorry, my bad. It was only kinda' you, I guess. It was more your friend Spike."
"Spike...?" Maya sat in bewilderment for a moment longer, then realization seemed to strike her. "O-oh, you mean Nick! Umm... Yeah, I was channeling him for a while, but how did you know that?"
The agent grinned. "I know lots of stuff. Most of it's stupid, but some of it's pretty cool and useful, so the Bureau gave me a bunch of guns and sent me off to shoot bad guyus in the face!"
Miles cleared his throat, finally deciding to sit up and interject. "Agent Nyxier, I... thank you for your efficiency in rescuing myself and the others, and for delivering my and Mr. Wright's possessions, but... is there not another reason why you are here? Perhaps it would be pertinent-"
"You think I'm here to get a statement, don't ya?" Her smile changed then to something a little softer. "Well, no worries. That can wait 'til you've gone back home and gotten settled in. Then, we'll have you go down to the local precinct and give your account. I mean, if there's anything urgent I need to know while we're investigating and cleaning up viscera, go right ahead, but otherwise, just chill for now."
Miles curled his fingers into the fabric of his blanket, at which he was now staring. He was relieved, albeit still very perplexed at her behavior. "I... must say I find it peculiar that a federal agent of such caliber would be sent to deliver luggage."
"Oh, no one sent me," she informed him, making him look up at her to see what now looked like a mischievous grin. Despite her cheerful demeanor, this woman was somewhat intimidating, likely due to its contrast to her stature and the array of lethal weapons she carried on her person. He also couldn't figure out why she was wearing sunglasses while inside. "I kinda' just go where I think I should be. Irritates the piss outta' my superiors, but I'm usually right, soooo..."
Miles frowned. "And why is it you *think* you should be here?" He didn't like the sound of that one bit.
Her expression looked thoughtful, but since he could not see her eyes, it was difficult to tell for sure. "Hmm... No idea, but now it's time to go! See you guys later! Nice meeting you! Thanks for killin' all those guys! Bye!" With a chipper little wave, she turned and trotted back out the door before either of them could recover enough to call out to her.
Slowly, Miles turned his head to meet Maya's gaze, and the two of them just looked at each other for a time, silently sharing the same thought.
What the fuck was that all about?